Episode 90: Sprited Away
Takes place 17-18 February 2012.
Short version
Two new Lanterns, one violet and one green, join the Team, which investigates and curtails Sheeda activity in the town of Kennedy.
Longer version
The team expands again, with Lantern Jordan bringing his trainee, Arisia Rrab, and Carol Ferris -14 returning from Zamaron with a new Violet Lantern, Ghia'ta (who appeared in the Renegade timeline several months earlier). Paul takes a hand in broadening their horizons, persuading Lantern Rrab to wear armour and correcting some of Ghia'ta's misconceptions about the orange light. Also, the lady previously known as Linda Danvers and Noriel has joined under the alias Supergirl.
Paul leads part of the team on a mission to investigate abnormally high suicide rates in Kennedy, Oregon. Their search reveals several Sheeda Mind Killers, which the Sivanas help them to detect and capture. Dr Sivana Sr then informs them that the butterflies in the region contain Sheeda modifications; they investigate and find a whole crop of Spine Riders hatching, as well as a magician from Witch World who may or may not be able to control them. Paul disables and arrests the magician while his team mates hunt down the Spine Riders and their hosts.
The Renegade performs a series of experiments (using people like drug dealers as his test subjects) aimed at improving the human brain; tetrachromacy, enhanced complex reasoning, telepathy, etc.
The title is a play on "spirited away", and presumably refers to the Sheeda looking like fairies and causing people to do away with themselves.
- Alternate Universe: Jade-adopted-by-Alan-Scott appears again. As a result of training to use his ring, she is chosen as the next Green Lantern when Guy Gardner is critically injured, taking the ring that canonically went to John Stewart. However, when she reports to Oa to demonstrate her skills, the universe cracks and she is "acquired" by an external force (Krona, as it later turns out).
- Armor Is Useless: Lantern Rrab initially thinks this, until Paul points out to her that three out of four of Earth's Green Lanterns wear armour and carry sidearms, including the host of Ion.
- Bread, Eggs, Breaded Eggs: Paul is amused to see new Lanterns being brought to Earth for training.Paul: Welcome to hard mode. We have demons, monsters, demon monsters, robots, robot magicians, monster magicians, demon magicians, telepathic starfish magicians, time travellers and people made of mud. I'm sure that you'll fit right in.
- Continuity Nod: Paul's ownership of Cadbury and him spreading around the use of Dolmen Gates are mentioned.
- Driven to Suicide: The modus operandi of Mind Killers, which are only perceived by their target and are able to read minds to determine the most demoralising things to say. They have apparently been active in Kennedy for a very long time.
- Enlightenment Superpowers: Paul meets a telepathic teenager who believes that everyone hides from their own desires and fears, leaving their minds muddled. The boy is stunned to discover Paul's conflict-free mind (thanks to orange enlightenment) and states that it's beautiful.
- Killed Offscreen: With Mount Justice getting more crowded, Paul mentions in passing that "Challenger Mountain's on the market." Since the Renegade timeline included Grayven healing the owner of Challenger Mountain of her Alzheimer's Disease in order to rent the mountain from her, it's pretty clear that in the Paragon timeline she has passed away.
- Our Souls Are Different: OL, Squire, Starfire, and Supergirl have a short theological debate about the nature of souls and the afterlife.
-
Word of God: Batman is actually surprised Paul took so long
to do something about some of the criminals in Gotham after living there for a few months.- Frankenstein is stuck in a SHADE storage facility in the Paragon timeline.
- Frankenstein is stuck in a SHADE storage facility
- Would You Like to Hear How They Died?: A "Despair" Mind Killer offers to tell Paul about exactly how Earth fails between the present and the time of the sheeda. Paul internally notes that if he didn't know timelines are flexible, he might actually find it discouraging.
