[Archive] With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Story Only)

[Mr Zoat]

6th March 2025
12:32 GMT -5

"Baaaah-h-h-h-h-h."

"…hundred sheep, two-" Invincible frowns for a moment. "-piles of government emergency cheese and thirty industrial pumps. You good?"

Armour Invincible nods, looking up from the damage on his chest plate to check the assembled survival materials. "More would be nice, buuuut honestly it's more than I was expecting." He turns towards Angstrom as Invincible flies off to talk to Local Invincible. "Okay, we already cleaned up most of the radioactive material from New Zealand. Can you open the portal to there?"

"No. My power only lets me open the portals relative to the planet. If you want one in New Zealand, we will have to travel there on this Earth."

I knew this was possible, but I haven't actually done it before. And everyone's.. sort of both horrified and enthralled by the glowing orange Angstrom Levy standing next to me. The Invincibles sort of sneak a look and then pretend that they were looking somewhere else.

Armour Invincible look at me. "You mean you could just have taken the sheep to New Zealand instead of here?"

I shrug. "I didn't know where you wanted them. Why don't you pop back and get things prepared, and I'll take them to New Zealand once we're finished here?"

"Mm-hm. Quick question: how do I know that you're actually opening a portal back to my Earth?"

"Ah… Because it would be far more work for me to do all this than it would be for me to pick a fight with you and then portal you somewhere else when you charged me?"

He tilts his head slightly to the right. "I mean… Yeah…"

I call down the drone I acquired and hand it to him. "Can you interface with that? It used standard Viltrumite Empire protocols."

"Just a sec…" The drone blinks, then does a self check. "Got it. I send this through the portal, it sends telemetry back, and that's how I know I'm home. Okay, open the portal."

I nod, and-

Ssshnnng.

-the portal opens, the drone flying through a moment later.

"What did he offer your Invincible?"

"A chance to kill Cecil Steadman."

"Huh. Seems like a lot of work to kill one guy. Is that what he's doing next?"

I look over to where he's talking to Local Invincible, Atom Eve and a short purple viltrumite who was introduced to me as Oliver. Local Invincible's half-thraxan half-brother, which I guess explains why Purple Invincible is purple.

"Maybe. I'm not sure. But it's his decision."

"Hm." He rises off the ground and flies towards the shipping containers with the pumps. They're wreathed in chains to spread the load when he picks them up, and it should all hold. "You can still watch through the drone, right?"

"Yes. Just hold up a sign when you're ready."

There's a.. decidedly unpleasant screeching-clanking sound as he picks the shipping containers up, and then I breath a little easier as he flies through the portal. I generate a giant sack barrow construct and start conveying the rest of his order through.

Purple Invincible drifts over. It's… A little surprising, but he's not paying any attention to the other purple viltrumite at all. I'd have thought that they'd have.. something to talk about. Or is that racist?

"Cecil, huh? Why Cecil?"

"He holds him responsible for his mother's death."

Purple Invincible shakes his head. "He shouldn't make it so personal. It's self-indulgent."

"What did he offer you, then?"

"I wanted to make sure that he stayed away from my Earth. Thraxan-viltrumite hybrids grow up faster than human-viltrumite hybrids. In my reality, Dad went to Thraxa first. He brought all of my brothers and sisters to Earth. It wasn't really much of a fight. Angstrom was a threat to us…" He looks pointedly at the construct. "And now he's not."

"Do you mean to imply that I am?"

He huffs with amusement. "No. You're not crazy like he was, and neither of us has anything the other one wants. I can go home and tell Dad and my brothers and sisters that it's taken care of."

I nod.

Ssshnnng.

He nods, and heads towards the portal with a wave. "Let's hope we never see each other again."

"Likewise."

He flies through, back to his home Earth, the portal shutting down a moment later.

Ssshnnng.

Still got some more equipment to move, and then I've got to transport these sheep to New Zealand… Which wasn't targetted by any of the Invincibles, so at least things should be relatively calm there.

"Hey…" Local Invincible drifts towards me, awkwardly pointing at Angstrom. "Is that..? Permanent?"

"I believe so. I haven't made a point of turning people into constructs on a regular basis, so I can't say for certain, but…" I nod. "I believe so. I certainly don't feel any sort of mechanism for turning it off."

"Would it work on viltrumites?"

"If I could survive in close physical proximity to one for long enough… Probably."

He looks thoughtful. "I know you said that you didn't wanna join your G.D.A…. But if you had… I mean-."

"I could have killed my Invincible. Probably. Or.. helped someone else do it. The x-ionisation process isn't something that I worked out on my own, but attacks based on mental focus seem like they'd work. And with anti-matter? There'd be a crater in the planet the size of Australia, but I think I might have managed to kill Omni-Man as well. Distinctly possible." He nods slowly. "That wouldn't have helped with the next dozen viltrumites, who'd know what happened and could easily ambush me. Or just throw rocks at the Earth. Or… Any one of a number of things." I sigh, shrugging. "Or maybe they don't have that many people to send after an unimportant place like Earth and it would have been fine. Or at least taken them until I got x-ionisation technology and could outfit other people… Or take on a greater number myself. I don't know."

"Huh." He thinks for a moment, and then nods. "Cecil says that all of the other Invincibles are dead, so it's just the two of you…"

"Baaaah-h-h-h-h-h."

"And the sheep still to go. Do you have a reason to stick around?"

"No. Not really. It's been… Nice to see an Earth that hasn't been stamped on, but this isn't my home."

"You… Can stay. Cecil would love the ability to make portals, and… Learn how 'x-ionisation' works."

"I can hardly abandon my wife or child. And I want to finish putting the planet back together. But… Thank you for the off-"

Bwf-fytt!

Angstrom ripples-. Armour!

"-er."

A bullet slams into the side of my head!

 

[Mr Zoat]

6th March 2025
12:36 GMT -5

Self-scan basically fine need information fall, transmute and expel blood from impact site.

"Lantern!"

I hit the ground, environmental shield cushioning my impact without slowing it. Scan. Who just shot me?

An image forms in my mind: soldiers in some sort of full-body tactical gear, outer surface perfectly mirroring their surroundings. General design… Matches what the G.D.A. troops wear.

Huh.

That makes sense-

"Oliver, get out of here."

"It's just bullets!"

-given Cecil's confrontational attitude. Clearly, people invading his planet getting more power doesn't improve the situation as far as he's concerned. Even if it looks like we're leaving, that doesn't bring back any of the people who died. A high-calibre round to my head… Probably wouldn't have gotten through my environmental shield, but there would be some bleed through. It could have knocked me out or stunned me. But they assumed that construct Angstrom was only as tough as meat Angstrom and targeted him first.

"Who was that!?"

That was.. lucky.

Alright, I could have Angstrom mark the targets, but I suspect that Invincible will simply kill them if I do that. And I know that he wants to go after Cecil anyway, and… I'd like to be sure.

I…

Nothing I've seen suggests that Cecil Steadman is someone I actively want to stay in office. Nothing about.. this situation only being managed because Angstrom's recruits turned on him suggests that he's actually all that vital to the defence of this Earth. And he just had someone shoot me. But even so, I… Instinctively, I'd rather not kill people if I can get away with it. All I'd have to do is open a portal, say… I needed emergency medical attention, fake some sort of injury. Invincible would believe that.

But he just tried to kill me after I repeatedly helped him, damn it! If it was him, he's got this coming.

Plot and transition.

My view flickers, and I'm behind the squad.

Accelerate. Sonic scan. Jam. Silence. Grab.

I see the vibrations as the soldier on sternguard duty tries to call out a warning, only for my orange glow to absorb the sound waves. He tries to activate his radio but hears nothing. The others start to come alert as they realise that they can't hear their surroundings.

Then the construct clamps grip them torsos, arms, legs and heads, knocking their guns from their hands and hoiking them into the air.

Remove stealth armour.

And there they are. Three men and a woman in their under suits. I rotate them to face me, sighing quietly as a quick scan of the G.D.A.'s personnel files finds matches for all four of them.

"That was foolish."

I once tried using my abilities to inspire fear. I was.. trying to get some protestors to pack it in before Invincible arrived. And my ring stopped working for a moment and they decided that made it a good idea to hit me with a crowbar. It's not just feeling fear that disrupts my connection to the orange light. Deliberately seeking to provoke it has the same effect.

So beyond my desire to contain the people trying to kill me, I try to avoid feeling anything else. I try not to feel anger, though I think under the circumstances that would be quite justified. I'm used to preventing myself feeling fear, but I try to avoid deliberately inspiring it too. Hope, love, compassion? Hardly relevant. Taking a moment to centre myself with willpower? Forget about it.

"And now you've got to make a choice, and I suggest that you make it quickly. Invincible will be here in a moment -my Invincible- and he'll be minded to kill you. Explaining why you just did that might make you live a little longer, but you'll need to explain it to me and you'll need to do it now."

They try to look at each other for guidance, but I force their heads to remain in place.

"You're G.D.A. soldiers with G.D.A. weapons and armour." I fabricate paper copies of their personnel files and float them in front of their owners so that the front piece is clearly visible. "You have no plausible deniability. If Invincible sees you, he will immediately reach the conclusion that Director Steadman sent you. He will then fly to his location and kill him, right after he kills you. That's if you say nothing. Saying something on the other hand could change that. So I'm going to stop preventing you from speaking and I strongly advise you to take advantage of my largess."

I sigh. This has never worked, but if I don't hold myself to higher standards…

Dismiss.

There's a brief delay.

"Sergeant Michael Phelps. Serial-."

Gag.

"Would someone who isn't a moron like to try it? I know who you are." I jab him in the face with his own paperwork. "We were leaving. You want us to leave. 'Name, rank, serial number' applies if we're at war, and I rather think you'd prefer that we weren't."

The woman's eyes widen. "Ah-. I-." She strains to look over to the other two, but again I keep her locked in place as I drift closer.

"Not taking the shot would have been the best option, but providing a scapegoat is the second best."

"In-." She hesitates, trying once more to turn so that she can see how the others respond to her speaking. "Invincible was supposed to talk you into staying. We know that your Invincible wants to destroy the G.D.A. and we can't risk you getting away with Angstrom Levy. The Director gave Invincible a chance to get away from him, and…"

"And since I didn't take it, and since you can't leave the capacity to open portals in enemy hands, you were ordered to take the shot. Did the order come from the Director himself, or from your commanding officer?"

"F-from… Ah…"

"If you tell me that it came from the Director, Invincible will probably kill him. If you tell me that it came from your commanding officer, Invincible will most likely kill him and the Director. So I will ask again: who gave the order?"

"… The Director."

"Thank you. Thank you." I begin replacing the construct bonds with chains of tungsten. "I will-."

"You're okay!"

I look up, then nod to Invincible. "Yes. According to these people, Director Steadman was concerned that we might use Mister Levy's ability to strike them again in the future, so-."

"Oh, don't worry." He t-.

…

He tosses Director Steadman's head down to the ground next to me.

"I already dealt with it. Let's go home."

 

[Mr Zoat]

13th July 2013
12:35 GMT -5

I stare into the depths of my pint glass, watching the bubbles making up the foam on the head gradually burst. On the television in the corner of the room Batman is introducing the first few Global Peace Agency officers to a broadly positive reception, both from the audience and from the few people in the bar watching it.

National sports leagues haven't really restarted yet. They could, in theory, but the money isn't there to pay the participants what they're accustomed to so there have only been a few exhibition games.

"Hey."

I don't look up.

"Miss Grant. How can I help you?"

"Depends. How many of those have you had?"

My eyes ascend to the top of the glass. "Looks like about half of one."

"According to the social media posts I've been following, you got here three hours ago."

"I like to nurse my drinks." I sit up and turn to face her. "I've never really been drunk before. I don't think I'm doing it right."

"Never?"

I shake my head. "The closest I ever got was 'tipsy', and all that really happened was that I went to bed early. Didn't even have a headache the next day."

She frowns. "What brought this on?"

"Political legitimacy."

"Are you a secret political science major?"

"Philosophy."

"Want me to get you some laudanum, then?"

"Best you didn't." I pick up my glass and take a sip, the twenty or so minutes since my last one not having noticeably improved the taste. "You know… How, originally, the Vice President was the person who came second in the Presidential Election?"

"And it got changed almost immediately because no one wants to work with the guy they just campaigned against?"

"Right, but… You've got an ideal, and everyone shares it, and you might disagree about what the best way to realise it is, but you're all working to the same goal… And then someone comes along and says 'I've got a new ideal'…"

"The U.S. Constitution can be changed."

I shake my head. "That's just top tier laws. I'm talking about something fundamental. The assumption that people have rights and as such there are things a state must do and things that it cannot do. And within that paradigm you can disagree about what those rights are and how far they extend… But that faith in intangible rights is the same."

"… Just half?"

"Philosophy degree. But then I look at Greater Kahndaq, right? Adom wanted a democratic system that he could oversee in a… Hands off sort of way. And then Mannheim sent in robots to murder most of the people who could make that work so he ended up needing to make a far more centralised state. There's still… Voting, but it's more of a test to see whether appointed officials have enough popular support locally to do their jobs, rather than a source of independently minded representatives. Their constitution guarantees a few things to its citizens, but it's more procedural rather than a high-minded metaphysical claim. Like… 'So that we may best enact good order and public safety, citizens will receive fair trials'. Rather than 'citizens have an innate right to fair trials'."

"And when the Anti-Life broadcast happened, barely any Kahndaqis died. Because Adom could use his magic to shield them. And obviously, that's not something any elected politicians could do. You can't vote Anti-Life away, so..."

I smile unhappily.

"How did the Ron Jeremy sketch go? 'All men are created equal? What bullshit'. So maybe my problem is that I'm working with outdated schema? My expectations are wrong?"

She waits a moment to see if I'm going to ramble about anything else. When nothing else comes out she sits down next to me. "Is this about the Justice League taking over the world?"

A burst of laughter escapes my lips, then I lean forwards until my forehead touches the surface of the bar.

"'Taking'? Well, I can't talk about that, but it looks like I don't need to."

I… Straighten back up… Most of the way.

"And Accalacan didn't do as well as Kahndaq, but they did pretty well. Short supply lines, dispersed population… They didn't get any city boss equivalents. And I… I want people to have the opportunity to improve themselves, but maybe people don't want to? Do you know what s-? High school attainment rates are like in the U.S.? How many people, living in an advanced society, can't read that well? People from a hundred years ago would kill for that opportunity, and a lot of people today just can't be bothered? So maybe people don't want that."

"Ah… Don't want to read?"

"Don't want to push themselves. And think about how many people don't bother voting in elections. I know there's an assumption in the United States that people are put off voting if they don't think it will make a difference, you know, if a place always returns a candidate from a particular party. But maybe they don't care? Maybe one person in power is pretty much like another at such a deep psychological level that it's a fools errand to try and engage… A lot of people. Maybe it's not the party but the decisions they decide they can't really affect… Whoever they vote for, and that's what turns them off."

"I guess? Are you okay?"

I gesture to her with both hands. "I mean… Would you prefer a sweet merchant, or a dentist?"

"I… Guess that depends what for?"

"No, no, no. It's a thing from Ancient Greek philosophy. The guy was arguing against democracy, on the grounds that people will always vote for someone who gives them nice-tasting food over someone who stabs holes in their mouth for a living. Most… Modern democracies don't have qualifications beyond 'is a citizen' and 'isn't in prison', but the Greeks had other requirements, Rhodesia had other requirements and even the Founding Fathers discussed a property requirement before deciding against it. So… Adom rules Kahndaq, and there's no point giving people the opportunity to vote against him because, one, they wouldn't, and two, even if they did, there isn't anyone else who could do what he does."

"So are we getting to a point where the well-known flaws in democracy have… Reached the point where human civilisation needs something radically different? Where..? Some other form of legitimacy is..? Coming to the fore? Should I be working towards bringing about meritocratic rule instead of trying to make new opportunities available to a broader base? I can, it would be a lot simpler once I had a way of identifying the best motivated people in the population. I hadn't done that… Other than sharing things with self-selecting people who can use them now to make it easier to get results, but my intent was always to move to something with mass appeal."

"Is this about the Global Peace Agency? The Justice League's police officers?"

"Yes. Or… Maybe 'no' but it comes from the same place. Batman is the best detective on the planet. What does holding him accountable to a body far less capable than him do except waste his time? Or Superman? 'Accounts audit? Sure, I guess those Nepalese villagers can just dig themselves out of that mudslide.' And when we have telepaths and truth lassos, we don't need systems to ensure that people are staying trustworthy because we can directly test it in advance."

"Maybe oligarchy is the way to go." I shrug with both hands. "Maybe it is. Maybe I've been on a hiding to nothing. But I can't help but feel a bit despondent about it."

 

[Mr Zoat]

6th March 2025
21: 35 GMT

Anissa tightens her grip on my left arm slightly as the recording of me stabbing my epée into the eye of the Invincible who attacked the Teen Team plays on the screen in front of us. Not to the point of fracturing it. Not even to the point of being painful, really. Just an nonverbal indication that she thinks that what she's seeing is notable. It's… Nice, that she's bothered to learn how to do that. That she's bothered to put what she's learned into practice.

"Could you do that without the sword?"

Could I?

I theory, I could make a construct capable of piercing viltrumite skin… But I think that's beyond my current ability. "Maybe in a few years?"

She makes a quiet 'hm' noise as that Invincible finally dies, but she doesn't pull away. She doesn't appear to be as irritated by it as she would have been when we first met. Contemplative Anissa is a new thing. But clear communication is good for a relationship, so…

"Penny for your thoughts?"

"I was thinking about the story you told me, about the shapeshifting alien in the hospital."

I nod. The Sector General series is the oldest I remember my parents reading to me, though it wasn't until I reread it as an adult that I encountered that story. The central claim -which the martians demonstrate to be false in reality- is that a shapeshifting species won't learn to build tools until they encounter tool-using aliens, as their physiology encourages them to alter themselves instead. You don't learn to dig ants out of an anthill using a stick if you can shapeshift your arm into being longer and ant-proof.

"What about it?"

She turns her heard towards me, prompting me to do the same. "You were making the point that viltrumites don't bother to learn things that other species do, because we don't need them."

I make a small frown. "I thought you understood that when I-."

She rolls her eyes. "Of course I understood it when you told it to me. What I did not appreciate is that we don't think to learn things that we might actually need. I have never heard of anything like Angstrom Levy's portals, and until I saw what they did to Maah-Akh I thought of your blades as amusing tools. Either of them make you a threat to viltrumites."

"Is that a problem?"

She leans forwards and kisses me. Voluntarily. On her own initiative. "It is as it should be."

"It's a bit of a relief to hear you say that. I've been a bit worried that I might end up like the rognarr if I got too dangerous."

"You could have hidden your swords."

"I've been a bit worried that I might end up like the rognarr anyway. I thought that showing that I was at least somewhat dangerous was the most sensible course of action."

Her eyes narrow as she returns them to the screen. "How strong were those Maah-Akhs?"

"The one native to that world was a little stronger than ours. The others were-."

The doorbell rings, and Anissa give me an interrogative look.

"Were about as strong." Scan. "It's Invincible and Atom Eve."

She blatantly decides not to groan, and releases my arm so that I can fly over the settee and towards the door. I'm not.. sure what Invincible would want. He seemed happy enough when we got back, and it's not like we didn't have as much time to talk as much as he wanted while we were waiting to deliver the sheep.

I pull open the door with a smile. "Invincible. Atom Eve. Good evening."

Eve's expression is… Somewhat blank, which is about normal. For her and me, actually. Invincible looks… A little awkward. Nervous? That's… Not something I'm used to seeing from him.

"Ah, hey. I… I need to have a private conversation with… You and Eve. Like, in orbit?"

This isn't like him at all.

"Certainly..?" I turn back inside the house. "Anissa, Invincible needs to borrow me for a little while!"

"I've paused the recording! Don't make me wait too long!"

Invincible looks a little awkward. "Was I..? Were we interrupting..?"

I step through the front door and close it behind me. "Nothing that won't keep. Shall we?"

I fly upwards at high speed, Invincible and Eve just behind me. Eve generates armour around herself as we go. She told me that she finds it easier to maintain her air supply if it's contained within a physical barrier rather than just free floating around her. And the fact that she likes to have a solid barrier between her and Invincible… I can understand it.

I keep going until we reach near-pure vacuum, the curve of the world clearly visible below us. As the other two reach my level I project a near-opaque bubble shield around us and fill it with breathable air. Invincible takes a breath with a smile, and a moment later Eve dismisses her armour.

And then Invincible stops smiling. Stops looking relaxed and starts looking… Uncomfortable.

"Lantern, you can open a portal to any parallel Earth, right?"

"I haven't mapped any, but I can have Angstrom open one to any Earth he's previously been to, or a new one."

He nods. "Eve… You can-. Go. If you want."

Huh?

A quick glance at Eve suggests that she doesn't know where this has come from either.

Invincible sighs. "I got talking with the other Invincible. The one who's Earth we were on. I wanted to know how we were different. Turns out it wasn't just Mom dying. Dad… He wanted to make sure that I didn't get too attached to the G.D.A., even when he was working for them as a superhero. So he made sure I knew about all the underhanded and.. evil stuff they got up to. That all governments do. He didn't say it at the time, but looking back he was obviously trying to prepare me to want to overthrow them and help the Viltrumite Empire take over. For that In-. For that Mark, the whole… Take-over thing came out of nowhere, so of course he said 'no'. For me it wasn't, and Cecil getting Mom killed… It just cemented the whole thing for me. I only-."

He takes a moment.

"I only wanted to overthrow the governments. I didn't.. realise how hard people would fight, even if they.. couldn't win. And I didn't realise how long it would take for us to actually bring the…" He looks at me for a moment.

"Transition team?"

"Yeah, transition team, over here to start improving things. And I just… Dad was my… Anchor through the whole thing, and I…" He closes his eyes for a moment. "I get I started acting… Different. I didn't… I didn't know how to.. handle it, so I just started copying Dad… I didn't think it would keep going as long as it did. And I can't.. undo it, or.. change it…" He faces Eve. "But I can get you out of here. Or… He can."

I don't think she knows where this is coming from any more than I do, but this display of openness and honestly is enough to provoke her in restoring her naturally harsh facial expression. "What?" And tone of voice.

"I think-. I was trying to make.. things like how I think they should be. But that's-. Dumb. I can't. Things are.. what they are, and-. We aren't going to happen. But I do… Care about you, and offering you a portal to another Earth is the most I can do."

He makes a helpless shrugging gesture with his right arm.

"So? Do you want to-?"

The pink beam of energy hits him right in the face!

 

[Mr Zoat]

6th March 2025
21: 39 GMT

"You killed-"

Invincible winces, jerking his head back slightly-

"-hundreds-"

-then raises his arms to shield his face as the shots keep coming.

"-of thousands-"

I generate a wall construct between them-

"-of people-"

-which she keeps battering because she has completely lost her cool.

"-because-"

As it starts to crack I realise that more extreme measures are necessary. Construct chains projected from the inside of the bubble grab her arms and haul them back while construct armour covers my body as I interpose myself.

She glares ferociously at us both.

"-you thought you should?!"

"I-. I mean I-. Wouldn't.. put it like that-."

I raise my right hand towards him. "I appreciate that was a big deal for you, but-. Stop talking. Please."

He sighs, but nods.

"Eve."

She glares at me, though thankfully the pink glow has gone out. "What!?"

"Histrionics are not helpful. Invincible has chosen to open up to us. We should consider how to proceed rationally and dispassionately. And if you can't do that, then accepting his offer is probably the wisest course of action."

She… Well, she's regularising her breathing while refusing to look at either of us, and that's probably as much as we're going to get right now.

Okay.

I turn back to the awkward-looking young tyrant. "Okay. Invincible? What are you hoping to get out of telling us?"

"I-. Dunno? Friends, I guess? I mean, we.. work together, we're trying to make the same thing happen… And there's no way we can fight the Viltrumite Empire, so we're just.. making the best of it."

Eve's head snaps back to him "Don't pretend you're not on board with this!"

"Compared to what, Eve?! If Dad was just a regular superhero, none of this would have happened! Hell, if Immortal had just-."

"Stop." I hold out my right hand again, realising that on top of everything else both of the people I'm dealing with here are teenagers. "Think very carefully whether or not what you're about to say adds anything to the discussion."

He nods. "Immortal could have made it a negotiated surrender. How many people on Earth right now have even seen a viltrumite? A few hundred?"

"You keep killing them."

"We had a global war! And after me and Dad won, they thought they could change that by moaning about it! The whole reason things got that bad was because the governments couldn't just accept that they lost, and they wanted to carry on doing that instead of fixing things! And yeah, I know I could have done things better-."

"You could have fought him too!"

"I already-!" He bites down his instinctive response. "The Invincible of the world we went to did that. His dad threw him around a city and killed hundreds of people with him before he somehow convinced him to quit. But there was another Invincible who came with us all covered in scars. His dad decided he was defective and put him in viltrumite prison for re-education. The me with the Mohican asked why Angstrom didn't bring more of us, and he said that in most realities we don't even make it this far. Mostly, either Dad kills me or the other viltrumites do when they get here. So whether I fought him or not, it didn't make any difference."

"Except the one time it did."

"No, the other viltrumites are just giving him a little while longer to complete Dad's mission. Then they'll send Conquest, and he'll be dead too. And because it's Conquest, the guy the other viltrumites think is a violent nut job, he'll probably kill even more people. Or just fly right through the planet and wreck the whole thing!"

I sigh. "Perhaps if we move on to something actionable?"

"Okay." Invincible nods. "Okay. What do you want?"

Ah… "Could you please stop calling me 'buddy' in that really creepy way?"

"Creep-?" His face falls. "You found that creepy? I was trying to be friendly."

"While I don't know how you spoke to Mr. Clockwell, I assure you, friendliness was not what you were communicating. Furthermore, when you're super strong, wrapping your arm around someone's shoulders has rather different implications."

"Like what?"

"Like 'if I squeeze, your head comes off'." It's a threat pantomiming friendliness."

He looks like I just shot his dog.

I blink rather heavily. "Did you really not do that intentionally?"

"No!" … "I mean, maybe a little bit threatening, but more 'I'm keeping an eye on you', not 'I can rip your head off'." I look at him expectantly. "Okay, no more 'buddy' and no more… Arm around the shoulders."

"Thank you. In return, it seems to me that having the most human viltrumite being as strong as he can be is in our interests. I took scans of the training equipment the other G.D.A. used for their Invincible, and I can set that up for you. I can also ask Anissa what sort of equipment she used, and… I can have Angstrom look for Earths with other training opportunities."

He nods. "Okay." … "Thanks."

"And I can also cough pointedly when I think you're leaning into the 'deranged alien overlord' bit a little too hard. Just in case we're in company."

"Yeah, I-. Apparently I need that."

"Alright." I offer him my right hand, and after a moment's hesitation he takes it with a weak smile. Then I turn to Eve, dismissing the construct chains. "Do you have anything you'd like to contribute?"

"What do the viltrumites actually want from Earth? Is it just..? Breeding?"

He shrugs. "That, and so there are people who can do all the jobs in the Empire that aren't fighting. Dad says they usually wait a generation or two before training people for anything important…"

"But why Earth?"

"I dunno? I guess because we look like them. I mean, if you could get a.. fish pregnant, would you want to?"

"What's the plan for educating the new children?"

"I don't know. I guess they'll probably get tutors. They'll have enough for a whole class…"

"Human tutors?"

"Ah. Maybe? Early on, I… Guess so."

"Find out."

I raise my eyebrows. "Do you have a plan?"

"If the only thing that can beat a viltrumite is another stronger viltrumite... Then we need to make sure that the next generation is on our side."

 

[Mr Zoat]

We're All Mad Here

14th July 2013
08:02 GMT

I stare in confusion at the masked face construct hovering over my ring.

"Forget 'how did you get this number?'. How are you even talking to me?"

"Oh, that's simple, sir. Between Batman's power ring and the Apokoliptian technology build into this station, there's very little on Earth that we can't communicate with."

Huh. I hadn't realised that those could interface in that direction.

"Alright, ah… Who are you?"

"I am a Peace Agent, sir. As you observed yourself, having one man -or even two- oversee the reconstruction of a planet isn't a viable method."

"So in addition to the field agents like Mister Blank, we've got additional administrators."

"Just so, sir. Batman and Mister Atom oversee our work, but unlike before other members of the Justice League could step into their roles. My role is to identify areas of need, and contact Justice League associated assets in order to meet those needs. I can also handle discussions with other agencies concerning operational matters, though obviously higher level negotiations would need to be handled either by Batman or a designated member of the Justice League."

"Mister Blank mentioned that he'd had his memories removed. Do you..? Did you have that done?"

"Of course, sir. That's part of the reason why I wear a full face mask. I could come from any country or ethnic group and no one could know. We can represent all nations."

And none, naturally.

"What about your accent?"

"Since we're essentially using a power ring translation system, it's simple to turn that into whatever the person we're speaking to thinks is appropriate for a functionary. I imagine that you're hearing me enunciate in the manner of an English butler."

"Close." Hm. "So, is there something that you want me to do?"

"No. This is simply one of a long list of introductory calls I will be making today to acclimatise people to the system that the Global Peace Agency will be using going forwards."

"So are you 'my' Global Peace Agent?"

"No, sir. We're completely interchangeable. Any of us can contact you as needed, and you won't know the difference."

"Okay. That's a bit weird, but obviously… Availability is going to be a bit random, and I can see how it's useful to make sure that there's no loss of efficiency if one of you is busy…"

"Oh, that's not why, sir. We at the Global Peace Agency don't believe in personal attachment. That's why I don't have a face or accent."

"That's a bit strange, but I suppose that's true of Hub City's last two superheroes. Is there anything that you need me to do right now?"

"Not at the moment. Your work in bringing Hub City to full functionality takes precedence. However, Justice League affiliate Squire relayed your idea to increase the number of nuclear power plants worldwide, and that's received approval. Orders have been sent out for construction work and raw materials, so in a few weeks we'd like you to collect the fuel rods."

"A few weeks? Feeling optimistic?"

"The time line is perfectly possible to achieve with new technologies being properly leveraged."

"Alright. Yes, I can be available for courier duty."

"Thank you, sir. The only other matter of local concern is the location of The Question. He hasn't been seen for a considerable amount of time. While turning Hub City into an agricultural manufacturing hub is the most useful thing you could be working on, it would also be useful if he could be located."

"I'll keep an eye out. Anything else?"

"Not at this time, sir. Thank you for your time."

The head disappears, and I…

Huh.

The J.L.I. maintained a team structure. Obviously there were people who weren't superheroes in support roles, but they didn't do hero management. From what I remember of the Earth 12 Justice League… Same sort of thing. The staff were just maintenance, communications and… Canteen? Medical? Something like that.

This is novel.

Incoming message from Honour Guard Lantern Guy Gardner.

Answer.

Guy's face takes the place recently abandoned by the Peace Agent. He's frowning disconcertedly. "Hey Paul, did you just get a super-creepy message from a guy with no face?"

"I'm not sure that I'd call it 'super-creepy'. My creep-resistance has increased a great deal over the last few years." Wait. "How long are you back on Earth for?"

"'couple weeks. Make sure Tora remembers what I look like. See if I can get my head 'round some of what Lantern Priest was tellin' me."

"He is the second best Green Lantern ever. You could learn a lot from him."

He grins. "Second best Green Lantern, huh?"

"I… Actually got around to watching Clarissi Dox fight a little while ago. You know how Lantern Kreon makes construct that stay there for a second and then vanish because they're done what he need them for?"

"Yeah?" He looks mildly curious. "Dox does that?"

"It doesn't even stick around for long enough for you to see it. I used to think that a fight between me and him would be a coin toss." I shake my head. "No. I thrash him in raw power, but it would not matter. And that trick Priest has of charging without a personal lantern, I can do that now."

"Yeah, me too. You know he told Hal that he'd need a couple' centuries to get good enough to do that?"

I grin. "Optimistic, was he?"

"Puttin' it mildly. But serious, what's with no-face?"

"The League got given extraordinary power-. Extraordinary political power to fix Earth. Batman decided to found his own planetary police force. That was one of their phone operators."

"They gunna be telling me what t'do? I don't f-."

"No. But they can suggest things that could benefit from your attention without tying up a League member on communications duty."

"Like a secretary?"

"Perhaps. But less personal. I'm not completely sure how it's going to work in practice."

"Huh. Weird. But okay, I guess. So what you been up to?"