Episode 123: Coup Data
Takes place 27-28 October 2012.
Paul visits Themyscira, and learns that Wonder Woman has been sent to inspect Tartarus and ensure that the prisoners are not getting up to anything like Cronus' creation of Donna Troy — shortly after refusing to marry Zeus. Enraged by this blackmail and abuse of power, Paul sets out to identify a way to hold Zeus to account, and potentially remove him from his position. Hecate is able to provide expertise that may allow Hephaestus to safely draw on the power of the emerging God/Titan of Technology, which Richard Simpson had previously attempted to possess, and which is considerably stronger than any Olympian god; Hephaestus expresses interest for the sake of possible revenge on Ares (who previously had an affair with Hephaestus' wife).
With the assistance of some artefacts that Paul has encountered before, such as Guardian Meadlux's power ring prototype, the process is successful; Hephaestus is reborn as "Hephaestaean", god of technology and artifice. When Zeus proves recalcitrant, and attacks Paul for showing insufficient respect, Hephaestaean challenges his fitness to rule, successfully defeating both Zeus and Ares (who came to Zeus' aid), casting Zeus into exile and demoting Ares to a lesser portfolio.
- The Alcatraz: Tartarus has never had a breakout, but the discovery of Donna Troy's creation has made Zeus worried about what the prisoners might be getting up to, even if they're not escaping, so he has Diana perform an inspection. Or so he claimed.
- Arch-Enemy: After Paul makes it clear that he doesn't intend to show respect for Zeus until Zeus, in his opinion, earns it, Zagreus cautions him about the original meaning of "nemesis", essentially Create Your Own Villain. Paul assumes that Zagreus is suggesting that Zeus, by his own bad behaviour, has turned Paul into his nemesis, but Paul is skeptical that things actually work that way.
- Breast Expansion: Jade modified herself with Paul's power ring out of curiosity off-screen
before changing herself back. - Call-Back: It's been over a year and a half In-Universe, and nearly six years in Real Life, but it's finally shown that Paul has been working behind the scenes to assist Akhlys, the Anthropomorphic Personification of misery. The many enchanted objects he's given her have only a limited effect in promoting health and drawing out illness, but apparently Sephtian learned a lot from making them. And then Hephaestaean rebuilds her body with cyborg components to minimise the effects, "to reflect the technological improvements humanity has made to medicine and healthcare since the days of Ancient Greece."
- Catch and Return: As the god of technology, it's simple for Hephaestaean to build a hammer that can absorb Zeus' lightning and return it as plasma.Hephaestaean: You use lightning but don't understand the first thing about physics. Let me educate you.
- Chekhov's Armoury: Paul makes use of the power ring prototype he got back in Negetiations, the nascent god/titan of technology discovered in Maladaptive, and the Spear of Destiny in his plans to power up Hephaestus.
- Curb-Stomp Cushion: The surprise attack that Von Daggle and several Genesisians stage against the Renegade is able to catch him off guard and injure him at first, but he and his allies swiftly rally and quickly subdue all the attackers.
- Divine Conflict: After Zeus rejects Paul's right to question his behaviour, and tries to smite him, Hephaestaean steps in and challenges Zeus' fitness to rule.Zeus: It seems that I'll have to throw you off this mountain again, Hephaestus. This time you'll land on your head.
Hephaestaean: We'll see. - Double Take: Hecate does this after Paul reveals that he's aware of the cats.Paul: (about how the world was created) What about the cats?
Hecate: The c-? [neck cranes towards Paul with narrowing eyes] How do you know about that?
Paul: I've got all of Venturia's spare researchers studying the Dream's connection to the material world. And I've had multiple encounters with time travellers. It wasn't hard to notice that something was off. And then there's all the internet cat videos. - Exact Words: Paul promises Wonder Woman that he won't fight Zeus, to alleviate her worries. But she must have been distracted at the time, because she didn't make him promise not to arrange for someone else to fight Zeus. Nor is there anything stopping him from fighting any allies that Zeus may call upon, such as Ares.
- The Exile: After using his superior understanding of physics to resist Zeus' lightning, Hephaestaean exiles Zeus from Olympus — until such time as Zeus obtains a Masters of Meteorology.Hephaestaean: Don't worry, Father. I don't intend to kill you. But I find the concept of a weather god who doesn't understand thermodynamics positively offensive.
- Felony Misdemeanor: Paul points out to Hades that even a trivial crime like littering can eventually escalate to more serious consequences, even jail time, if the police actually choose to pursue it and the offender won't cooperate. Similarly, Zeus' treatment of Diana is relatively small, but things may snowball if Zeus is uncooperative with her friends' efforts to liberate her.
- Fighting from the Inside: In a fairly literal example, when Hephaestaean deliberately focuses his attacks on injuring Zeus' forehead, it allows Metis (whom Zeus long ago devoured, and he was drawing on her power) to escape.
- Fusion Dance: Paul's plan to empower Hephaestus includes several options for drawing on different amounts of power from the emerging god/titan of technology. However, the real prize, if Hephaestus can pull it off, is to fully merge with it in a controlled fashion, becoming the god of technology himself. Hephaestus wants it, but is concerned about losing himself in the process.But it essentially involved chirurgically pulling his brain apart, sticking more brain in between the parts and sewing the whole thing back up and hoping that his mind still functions.
- Gold Digger: After Hephaestaean takes the throne, his estranged and serially unfaithful wife Aphrodite suddenly decides she wants to make their marriage work after all (which would, naturally, make her Queen of Olympus). Hephaestaean turns her down and issues the divorce that Zeus previously wouldn't grant them.
- Groin Attack: After winning the duel and claiming the throne, Hephaestaean decides to transfer Ares to "God of Eunuchs" and castrates him with a hammer.
- I Shall Taunt You: Since Paul promised Wonder Woman that he wouldn't fight Zeus, he instead just stands by and sings excerpts from the Heralds of Valdemar song "Oathbreakers", while Hephaestaean delivers the beating.Paul: These are the signs of the king honour-broke,
Pride coming first over all,
Treading the backs and the necks of his folk,
That he alone might stand tall.
Giving himself to desires that are base,
Tyrannous, cunning and cruel.
Bring him down — set someone else in his place,
Such men are not fit to rule.
Cursed Oathbreakers, your honour's in pawn,
And worthless the vows you have made,
Justice shall see you where others have gone,
Delivered to those you betrayed. - Mass "Oh, Crap!": The Amazons, the League, and the Team react this way when Paul learns of what Zeus ordered Diana to go to Tartarus, as they're aware that Paul is willing to go to extreme measures to protect his loved ones and don't want a repeat with what happened with Nabu.
- Meaningful Rename: To fully gain the power of the god of technology, Hephaestus undergoes "conceptual unbinding", breaking apart his old self to fuse with the power of the emerging god and become something greater. As a result, after the process, he is a somewhat different person, and calls himself "Hephaestaean", ie "similar or related to Hephaestus".
- No-Sell: Ares uses his power over weapons (as the god of war) to snatch Hephaestaean's hammer away and claim it for himself. However, when he tries to strike Hephaestaean with it, it halts in mid-air, because it's still first and foremost a tool rather than a weapon, so Hephaestaean still has control of it.Hephaestaean: Did you really think that I'd forget what you can do? That isn't just a weapon; it's an engineering tool. Almost anything can be used destructively, but that doesn't make my forge hammer into a weapon of war.
- Taught by Experience: As Paul has shown how far he is willing to go to save his loved ones, everyone tries to keep him from doing anything similarly extreme in regards to Zeus sending Wonder Woman to Tartarus.
- Tranquil Fury: When Akhlys talks to Paul about how disgraceful it is that Zeus didn't take his rejection well, implying that Wonder Woman turned him down and was sent to inspect Tartarus as a punishment, Paul pauses for a moment, and then simply asks, "I beg your pardon?" The whole next chapter is filled with red text, despite Paul remaining very polite and controlled, until he deliberately calms down to plan.
- With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility: Hephaestaean declares that Zeus is not providing direction and protection and justice, as required of a king, and so he is not owed a king's fealty or respect.Hephaestaean: You're a bent nail, a rotten beam due for replacement.
