With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)

19th January
19:02 GMT +1

"…not expecting any visitors from Mars in the medium term." Queen Clea's expression makes it clear that she isn't sure what to make of the situation. "Which is a little disappointing, but I suppose that they have more immediate concerns at present. Is there any chance that they will join us in the future?"

I shrug. "Impossible to say. The situation on Mars is… Salvaged, but those Sorcerer Priests who are prepared to work with King J'emm-" Technically inaccurate, but actually pretty accurate. "-are busy removing the Guardians' restrictions from each other and their fellow citizens as a show of good faith. And the rest are either isolating themselves or hunting for Karmang. J'emm doesn't place any blame on me, and has stated that he would like more contact with Earth…"

"But nothing concrete."

I shake my head. "No. And.. he rebuffed my offer of help with the restriction removal, either personally or by hiring human magicians."

Circe arches her right eyebrow. "Would it be worth my time to go hunting for this… Karmang?"

"No." Adom leans forward slightly. "I understand the position of King J'emm. It does not do for a ruler to appear too tied to foreigners. His task now is to convince people that they are safe from Karmang and from one another. There will already be suspicion at his survival of the attack which slew his peers. Grayven retaliating for an attack against his person is one thing, but for J'emm to be shown depending on foreign aid to hunt down a criminal would undermine him."

I nod. "I tend to agree. Unless you or-" I look at Richard. "-Richard could do it so easily that we could say we were just being good neighbours or if he threatens Earth… I'd say 'no' for now."

"A sorcerer even older than myself?" Circe shakes her head. "I doubt that it would be easy."

Richard removes his glasses and looks at the left lens for a moment. Then he pulls his handkerchief out of his jacket pocket and wipes it. "I'm rather… Out of the criminal-killing business. Unless no humane alternative presents itself. Has Karmang been seen since your exercise in capriccio geology?"

"Not by anyone in communion with either the Martian government or the White Rights movement." Richard stops wiping and looks at me. "And I haven't spotted him either."

"Then if you'll excuse me, I think I'll give it a miss." His handkerchief returns to its pocket and his glasses to his face. "Entertaining as it might be."

I nod. "Very well. And in any case, in my analysis, there's little risk to Earth. Little extra risk, I should say."

Lex's monitor blinks. "I have concerns about members of one of their more violent extremist groups acquiring spacecraft. The Earth is the only other inhabited world in the region."

I shake my head. "I see where you're coming from, but while the Martians have 'spaceships', they don't have faster than light travel. And given their need for strong telepathic contact, their ships would have to undergo a major refit in order to incorporate animation suspension units, and.. then they'd be sitting ducks for the entire journey. I have sensor nodes throughout this system, and unless they have an unusually skilled magic user who also has the capacity to endure the absence of other conscious minds I don't think the risk is significant."

"Unt zhe zeta rays? Or teleportation?"

Circe shakes her head. "Planet to planet teleportation is exceedingly hard. Merely seeing us use it wouldn't be enough without a sound grounding in the theory behind it. And naturally I have already placed wards around the Earth to inform me whenever anyone travels here using such a technique. It's quite distinctive."

I nod. "And it would be very difficult to generate zeta rays with Martian biotechnology. If someone did, we would have less warning, but my sensors should detect that as well." I look around. "Any other questions on the subject of Mars?"

No one replies.

"Very well. On to happier news, then. Richard." He makes a demi-bow from his seat. "Congratulations on your appointment."

He smiles. "Yes, I got your bouquet. And-" He looks around the semicircle. "-those of our other colleagues as well. And I'm proud to announce that so far none of my fellow Justice League members have died on my watch."

"Glad to hear it. Keep up the good work. Adom? Your new accommodations meet with your satisfaction?"

"It is a little extravagant. My tastes are somewhat simpler than those of leaders of the previous regime." He smiles. "But the location is excellent."

"Black Manta's people performed as expected."

He nods. "They are capable men. They cut communications to the Heliopolis Palace as directed. No alert was sent out before I entered the building, nor during my attack. The criminal pretenders who ruled my country are dead."

Lex's screen blinks again. "While there is a certain clarity in hanging their bodies from the walls, I feel obliged to point out that… For the international media, the optics were… Not ideal."

"That image was for domestic consumption. I want my people to see that my justice is swift and absolute. And given the trade embargos which Kahndaq is under, I do not believe that my purification of government will worsen life within my country."

I nod. "How is the power consolidation process going?"

"Slow but steady. Your g-gnomes have been invaluable in allowing me to divine who is worthy of their office and who is not, who is criminal and who is merely misguided. Those parts of the country furthest from Cairo were most eager to treat with me. Central government officers were a.. little slower, though that was mostly due to them going into hiding."

Clea raises her eyebrows slightly. "Is there any danger of a civil war?"

"Any senior army officers who might have felt inclined to fight me have already been dealt with. So long as I provide strong and clear leadership, it is now only a matter of time."

I smile. "Good show. Let us know if you need any further support. Once things settle down, I'll start working on President Horne." He nods. "Circe?"

She smiles. "I've managed to retain the services of a number of ex-SHADE employees." I shift uncomfortably in my seat. "Though a little… Frustrating, it has allowed me to create a curriculum more appropriate to the needs of law enforcement officials than the general one I have produced for trainee magicians. Mister Constantine has been surprisingly helpful in creating practical exercises."

I sit back slightly. "SHADE?"

"They've already been cleared of any wrongdoing. Formally, at least. Understandably, their host organisations aren't best pleased with them."

"Then I'm glad that they've found a new home. When will you start taking students?"

"I've started casual demonstrations already. Classes for law enforcement officials are being filled now, while I envisage our first students of the arcane will begin attending over the summer. Unfortunately, the American public are simply too ignorant of magic for it to be worth trying to teach anything beyond the most basic lessons. Once I know whether any of the summer school students have any promise, I'll know what sort of teaching schedule to create for the next scholastic year."

"Unt for zhe regular subjects?"

"I'm… Torn. Clearly, few parents would be prepared to send their children to a school which teaches magic and nothing else, but by the time they reach college age it's a little late. I suspect that I will be spending years teaching police during the day and adolescents at night, at least until a generation with some skill reach college age."

"We have a school in Aberrance. We could… Extend zhe day? Zhey study science unt mathematics wizh us, unt magic wizh you..?"

"Thank you Cranius. That is a most generous offer, but it's simply too early for me to commit to anything. How is your own work doing?"

"Zhe first generation wizh zhe enhanced liver are doing well. No side effects, no rejections unt zhe poison unt disease immunity works as intended. General Lane has been most effusive in his praise. I am already designing new bio-augmetics based upon zhe demands of zhe market, unt Janus is meeting wizh zhe insurance companies regarding offering our product to zheir customers."

I nod. "Excellent news. To finish up then: Lex's first factory is nearing completion and LexPower have finished transitioning over to cosmic power generation. Their share of the energy supply market in the US is nearing sixty percent, and will probably reach eighty before the end of the year. Doctor Metcalf's team has completed designs for the corvette and destroyer vessels, and work will begin on building the first generation of ships early next month. Work is still ongoing on the plans for the battlecruiser, and I doubt that construction will begin much before August."

I smile. "All in all, I'd say that things are going pretty well. Any matters arising?"