Countdown to Danger!

"Well, hold on a minute," Quinn says. "You *could* take the shield ... or you could ask nicely where I got it, and I might just show you. Because there's a lot more where this came from."

While he's saying this, he's very quietly, and behind the shield, preparing that weird alien skin tonfa to strike Amazo on the wrist of his ring hand if he isn't intrigued by the possibility of EVEN MORE STUFF.


JimBob throws his hands up 25 feet in the air in frustration. Then he'll shout "Quinn, how could you?!"

Amazo says,

"Where, nicely, did you get this shield?"

Quinn's face lights up. "Oh man, that is a *great* story! I won't even make you let go before I tell it to you. So OK, do you know what a 'comic con' is? Well . . ."

At this point Quinn will allow his natural exuberance and his story-telling skill to take over. He won't get off track, but he will balance "previously, on Substitute League of America" narration, actual answering of the question but in vague terms, and asking questions of Amazo like, "what do you know about President Luthor?" or "did you know that superpowers can be REPLICATED?"

He will *not* say anything about the Justice League's specific mission (not that he knows much) or the flying whatchamahoozit that gave them the choice of powers, and he *will* end up blaming it all on Sinestro (convenient!), Mr. Mxyzptlk, and Brainiac.

He will under no circumstances release the shield.

The conversation reveals that, yes, Amazo does know that super powers can be replicated. On the other hand, Amazo does not know who the President is, or indeed, what the United States is.

Quinn notices Sinestro looking at him intently.

Vina hears Sinestro counting quietly to himself ... counting DOWN.

"Fifty, forty-nine, forty-eight, forty-seven ..."

Quinn is a Big Fan of teams and teamwork and there being no "I" in team and whatnot. He was also attracted to the Wonder symbol because it was both brave and unorthodox. He is hoping, therefore, that bravely stalling the villain will allow his team to do whatever it is that they do (because he also assumes they've got a better handle on this situation than he does).

His questions are designed to get Amazo alternating between gathering information and correcting error -- both of which androids love to do! At least, if TV and movies have taught Quinn anything. So if he can buy another forty-seven seconds, he'll do it.

His plan to do so, once he feels like Amazo is going to just murder him and take the shield, is to offer to show him how it "works" -- how you power it up and such. Then he'll walk Amazo through a mildly intricate step-by-step process that uses magic words and turning the shield around and holding it up and oops he did those things in the wrong order and so he'll start again but he promises it'll be really easy and basically he's doing the "Fizzban Maneuver" and by the time you realize you've been reading this for too long, Sinestro and Vina and JimBob have already done the Amazing Thing To Defeat You.

At least, that's Quinn's plan.

Vina is watching the proceedings like a... Yeah, well, she is ready to snap out her wings as a shield or to rescue someone when the countdown is finished.

Chin-Su will wrap his feet around the nearest tree/shrub/thing firmly attached to the ground, then flatten his body out until it becomes clothlike and catches a breeze. He becomes a parachute-kite high above the conflict, keeping an eye on the proceedings.

He is not certain why. He just feels better prepared in this situation.

And then Sinestro is counting "four, three, two, ONE -- Get him!"

Sinestro lets go of Vina's arm, sort of nudging her in the direction of Amazo, and dives. His fist jabs out in front of himself, blazing with yellow brilliance and shaping it into a baton with holes drilled in its oversized far end, so that the air whistles through them with a keening screaming sound.

"EEEEEEEE" goes the scream-hammer, and then BTOK as it deflects off Amazo's shield.

But wait! It wasn't Amazo's shield at all. Because he swung Quinn's shield in the direction of Sinestro's attack, and Quinn absolutely wouldn't let go of it, so Quinn was swung around through the air at the end of his shield like a big swinging thing, fortunately not in line with the incoming screamer!

Sinestro's attack has failed. Or was that his plan all along? Regardless, JimBob and Vina are in excellent positions above Amazo to dive-bomb him, or something, and heck, you couldn't get much closer than Quinn is!