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

28th September
21:26 GMT -3

"Cleanse the ground!"

How many mage slayer and Angel feather rounds do I have left now? Not as many as I'd like… But this isn't the time. I dismiss the railguns and switch to all-cold guns, sweeping the ground below us at full power. No sense in being conservative either; we either get back now or we'll have to hide somewhere in Hell, and if we have to do that then I'll either have time.. or we'll be dead. Demonic fires flicker around the demonic bikers as they try to avoid being frozen, but they're nothing like powerful enough. Of course here Demons aren't quite as vulnerable to anything so base as physical destruction; they can maintain their physical forms with only the power freely available all around them.

That's why I thrust giant shovel constructs into the mass and shove their fracturing parts aside, dropping us into the gap as fast as I can. Next: railguns. I take advantage of the lower angle to fire full force mage slayer rounds into the closest edge of the horde. The closest few fade and falter, while the kinetic force of the shot is enough to drive those behind them back as well.

That.. giant Slug demon with a palanquin is getting a bit close…

"Beulah?"

Shimmering witch signs float over both of her hands. "Cleanse, blast you! I need the demonic taint gone!"

"But there was a Demon on the other side-?"

"I will not use Demon magic!"

Ah… Right… Maintaining fire and-.

The Slug convulses, and a foul blob of something bubbly and magical flies through the air and splats over my construct barrier. It immediately starts both eating through the construct and tainting it. I-. And I can't get rid of it.

I shoot my own construct with an Angel feather round. Golden flames flare through it, causing a moment of decidedly uncomfortable feedback through my rings. Then I regain control as the taint is burnt out, thrusting my shield outwards while replacing it with another.

Then I target the slug with another round. It hits home with the expected burst of golden fire, but… The Slug… It's actually made of many.. smaller slugs and… A lot of them die, but the structure as a whole carries on just fine. Forget that. Cleansing. I fire Angel feather rounds into the ground in a rough circle around us at low power, then aim my railguns a little further away and fire again. A haze of translucent golden fire wafts across the hellish landscape…

"Good enough?"

Beulah's visibly straining, hands shuddering as if witch signs are electrifying her. "Nearly…"

Jade points upwards. "Paul…"

I follow her-. Ah. Fiddlesticks. Agony has abandoned his former reticence and has followed us down, smiling curiously as he does so.

"Escaping? A theoretically sound approach, but I'm afraid-" The barbed wire around his legs lashes out and.. somehow sticks in the air. "-that my manipulation of the Selvage is far-"

"Gaaarh!"

Beulah's eyes roll back and her whole body convulses as the witch signs fade and die. Praexis Demons!

"-too good for that to be a realistic prospect. Satanus wanted to see if I could block your access to avarice as well… But it looks like that won't be ne..cess-." He looks up as the massively expanded Praexis horde bears down on him. "Ah. A moment." He raises his arms, the barbed wire covering them flying outwards and tearing through the mob. A flicking motion, and the greater proportion of them are flayed apart and don't return to my rings. "Creatures with no capacity for pain or pleasure. How distastef-."

My railguns form a circle around him and shoot. His heads jerk towards my guns and his eyes widen slightly, the barbed wire around his torso swirling to intercept the oncoming projectiles around him. None penetrate his defences, but I don't see any spare strands…

I form a new railgun beneath him and shoot him with my last Angel feather round.

It strikes him in the crotch, golden flames enveloping his skin and incinerating his barbed wires. Immediately Beulah rights herself and recreates her witch signs as Agony writhes in the air with a massive grin on his increasingly skull-like face. "It's a good pain!"

I don't bother with railguns, I just shoot a pneumatic ram construct into his chest and thrust him in the general direction of the demonic army.

"Clear?"

I see an arm stick out of the palanquin's curtains and gesture for the foremost Demons to advance across the burning rock. A few obey, shuddering in pain as it eats into their bodies… But the flames dim in response.

"Beulah?"

"There!"

The witch signs flare, momentarily blotting out the hellscape. When they fade, we're standing on the patch of bare earth surrounded by forest. Far more forest than was here a few minutes-

"Pavlos!"

-ago. I turn around to see-

"rAAAAAAAGHH!!"

-the Demon who sent us there being shredded by the razor sharp thorns running throughout his body.

"Are you all back?"

I check, Beulah slumped in Nyssa's arms, Jade watching our surroundings for the next attack and Thana standing rigidly in the centre of our group.

"Yes!"

The brambles squirm and contract, all that's left of Mr Okereke falling apart as the thorns cut him to pieces. The nails that had been stuck through him fall free, and I swiftly envelop them in small lumps of iron.

"Link broken?!"

The wooden Ogre that Euanthe has become shoulders its way through the foliage and plants her right hand on what's left of the Demon. "It is as broken as I can make it. The power of the Green outshines all other influences!"

"Good sho-."

Jade jabs her right hand at me. "That was not good."

"Alright. No, not.. good in absolute-."

"Going to Hell is not good! We would have died and our souls-!"

She bites the rest of her diatribe down, trying to regain her composure.

I nod. "You have a good point. Trying to carry on now that Satanus knows how to do that would be.. foolhardy."" She grudgingly nods. "So if we limit ourselves to people who aren't monotheists-."

"NO!"

Um..?

"Look." Jade steps up into ideal stare-down range. "I get you're trying to help. And to start with it was nice… In a weird sort of way. But this needs to stop. If this is what happens when we bring people back from the dead, I'll learn to live with the consequences of what I did the normal way."

"If that's w-?"

"And you need to not… Go.. crazy when I say things like this."

I send my armour back into subspace and nod solemnly. "Alright. I'll.. try. Ah, everyone? I'll.. fly you all home."

 

29th September
17:13 GMT -5

Jade takes a moment to look me and my bouquet over as I stand in the doorway, then steps back to allow me inside.

"I… Asked Doctor Mist to check the site." I look around and fail to spot a suitable vase, so I take one out of subspace and put the flowers in it before setting them in the middle of her kitchen table. "Apparently, Euanthe did a good job of sealing it."

"Without creating a killer forest?"

"It was a.. forested area anyway. Nothing like as interesting, spiritually speaking."

She nods, taking a moment to look at the flowers. "What else did Doctor Mist say?"

"He.. wasn't exactly impressed with the fact that I was bringing people back from the dead. He.. seems to regard it as 'cheating'." I look at the floor for a moment. "I've.. added an equipment harness to my power armour. I'll be carrying the Aces around with me from now on."

"That's.. not the problem."

I nod. "Yes, I… I know. You told me that the problem was having killed them, not the fact that they were currently dead. And I ignored that and focused on the resurrection part."

"And got us pulled into Hell."

"That… Wasn't something I could reasonably have foreseen."

"Did you know it could happen?"

"I knew that some of the people we brought back had been in Hell. Ambrose and I had procedures in place for dealing with that, with… For dealing with small amounts of Hell magic, making sure that no one could track it. But I had no idea that it was possible for them to possess a corpse while it was being infused with geomantic power. The whole… Thing with Thana checking was supposed to ensure that the person we were targeting was.. actually who we thought they were, but…"

"But it turns out that Satanus knows more about Demon magic than you do."

I look up. "Yes. Demon-magic isn't.. really well-explored by professional thaumaturgists."

"And what happened to 'I've read the Book of Truth'?"

"Satanus.. wasn't in it. I recognised Agony-."

"The golden one with the barbed wire."

I nod. "Yes. And I could try summoning him, but he'd know it was me and he wouldn't have to come. And the people who wrote the book didn't write it with people who could brawl with high-end Demons in mind. I could.. identify most of the other Demons either individually or collectively, but I.. don't think that's really the point."

"No." Jade thinks for a moment. "How are the others?"

"Thana isn't.. coming out of the Temple right now. Beulah tried shooting me again. Nyssa thinks.. suspending the study is the right thing to do, though she did say that she wouldn't mind taking a look at the successful resurrectees. Euanthe was.. pretty upbeat, actually. Which.. given what happened to her-."

Jade scowls. "And what did Ambrose say when you gave him those nails?"

"That.. they could probably be used to make another Ace for.. when I have to fight Angels. And.. that the people he was looking after looked like they were starting to recover a bit, so that's… Still not the point." I take a.. slightly wary step towards her. She doesn't back away. "I tried to deal with the way you were feeling in a rational way rather than an empathic way. I can't.. exactly relate to how you feel, as the only person I felt guilty about killing got better-."

She frowns. "You felt guilty about killing Ra's?"

"No, Matthew Hagen. Missus Wayne's mudman turned out to be able to survive being baked by gamma radiation. My point is, if you want to talk about it, I'll actually listen and not.. do anything crazy… No matter how logical it seems… I'll do it. Alternatively, I.. can get hold of someone with experience in counselling child soldiers or... Harleen?"

"I'm not sure that confessing to committing a string of unsolved murders to a prison psychiatrist is such a smart thing to do."

"She takes her patients' privacy very seriously. Or…" I spread my hands out to the sides. "Whatever you want. What do you want?"

She half-turns away. "I don't know how to deal with a guy who says he'll do anything for me and actually can."

"Well… You can… Think about it. Though there was… One other thing…"

"Mm?"

"This…" I tilt my head back for a moment. "I didn't think we'd be having this conversation for a month or two…"

"What conversation?"

"I'm really powerful. And the few enemies I have are either really powerful or really good at hiding. I didn't predict a horde of Demons, but fighting a horde of Demons is something I'm prepared to have happen to me."

"And you don't think I'm powerful enough."

"It's not that you're not powerful enough. Superman's girlfriend is a baseline Human woman. But… She's got basic self-defence training and can use a handgun. She isn't directly involved in superheroing and has no.. pretensions in that direction. So Superman can get into whatever fights he wants and she… She knows she's not part of that. And it only bothers her when someone throws her off a building or throws a car at her. On the other hand, your.. self-concept is tied up in your abilities as a fighter."

"I fought Nabu with you."

"We had preparation time and you had a weapon specifically designed to disrupt his magic. This time Demons just turned up unexpectedly."

"I know that. And I know that being around you is-. You expect these things and I can't do that."

"And it makes you angry. Quite understandable. What do you want to do about it?"

"I-." Her eyes narrow slightly. "You were planning for this conversation?"

"Well, yes. I know that your skill in combat means a lot to you, and I know what a Lantern can do. Assuming that we stay together -and I do want to- it was inevitable that the relative difference in capacity was going to come up at some point."

"And what exactly did you decide I should do about it?"

"I'm.. not…"

"You may as well say it."

"The obvious alternatives are that you improve your capabilities, or that you find something else to do. I can train you with a ring-"

"No."

"-or… I mean, you're only twenty, you could retrain for.. anything. Anything you want. Or you can keep doing what you're doing now. I don't think you'll find it satisfying-. "

"Okay."

I stop and wait.

"You've… Given me some things to think about. Thank you for the flowers."

Ah.

I nod, turn, and walk out through the doorway.

 

30th September
18:03 GMT -6

I feel a little nervous when I see Warden Waller waiting for me. I'd like to say that it's a bit late for her to have second thoughts, but the truth is that she can cancel this little excursion at a moment's notice.

"Warden Waller. I thought that Deputy Warden Bendemann was handling this?"

"Since I'm the one who's going to have to explain it to the Senate Judiciary Committee if anything goes wrong, I thought I might as well see you off myself."

"Do you.. actually have any reason to think anything will?"

"Oh, I've got a-" She holds up a ring binder and shakes it at me. "-whole mess of reports telling me that they're behaving, they're getting educated and staying away from bad influences. And I've got a state Governor who heard about them helping you back in January and who's been asking me about commuting their sentences."

"The State of Louisiana wants to let someone out of prison early?"

"Uh-huh."

I shake my head. "I don't understand you."

For a brief moment she nearly smiles. "I don't either. This is the man who laughed when I told him the reason why I wanted to build this prison in his state was because they wouldn't let me hang them."

And she's.. probably not joking.

"I.. honestly don't think that totally commuting their sentence is a good idea. Did he.. give you some idea of the figure he had in mind?"

"And why would I tell you details of a private discussion I had with the Governor?"

I shrug. "You brought it up. We're both trying to rehabilitate them, and… They're not really the deferred gratification types. If they know that what they've already done has materially improved their position, I think it would help make sure that they keep going."

"I'll make you a deal: if this whole thing happens without incident, I'll talk it through with you."

I smile warmly. And maybe a little smugly. "There aren't going to be any incidents, so that's fine."

She looks unconvinced, but activates her radio. "Warden Waller to Correctional Sergeant Haynes. Bring them on through."

I turn and stand at parade rest as the armoured door behind me slides open. Two plasma gun armed correctional officers walk through and take positions on either side of the door. Then with a quiet "Get moving." Tuppence Beresford trudges out. She's wearing a white t-shirt, blue jeans and a blue denim jacket, solid working boots… And of course that fetching prison-issue choker. She flickers her eyes to the armed guards waiting for her and then dismisses them. I get a suspicious glare, but I just grin and wave until she starts to feel awkward and looks away.

A similarly dressed Thomas comes out a moment later. He spots me and smiles and waves back. "Hey man."

"Convict."

"Ah." He comes to something that might generously be called attention. "Warden."

Two further correctional officers follow on behind them, guns raised.

"Thomas and Tuppence Beresford. Contrary to my expectations, you've actually shaped up since coming here. As a consequence, I have signed off on Orange Lantern's work release program. For exactly twenty four hours you will be under his direction, no less than eight hours of which will involve performing useful labor under his direction on the project you have agreed to."

Thomas nods. "Yes 'm."

"If I hear anything about the two of you taking advantage of this, it'll be the last time it ever happens. Am I clear, convicts?"

Thomas nods, while Tuppence just sort of shuffles slightly. "Yes, Warden." / "Yes Warden."

Waller breathes deeply, then activates her radio. "Warden Waller to Control. Deactivate collars on prisoners Beresford, Thomas and Beresford, Tuppence."

The red lights flash, then fade. Tuppence yanks hers off immediately while her brother takes a little more care. Both hold them out as the prison officers on either side lower their guns to approach and recover them, Tuppence smiling as she hands it over and stretching to loosen up her re-empowered muscles.

"God help us." Waller turns to face me. "They're to be back no later than twenty hundred hours and you have to feed them."

"Understood." She looks away, waving her right hand in an arc from me to them. "Thank you." I walk towards my new charges. "Shall we be off, then?"

Thomas shrugs. "I dunno, man. Shall we?"

I'd love to believe that was intentional. "Transition in three, two, one."

1st October
06:06 GMT +6

Since I've travelled with both of them like this before, neither Thomas nor Tuppence react much to the sudden scenery shift. He looks around vaguely before turning to me for directions while she starts studying the ship hulks. A few of the locals turn to stare in our direction, but this place doesn't really come alive for another hour or so.

"Welcome to the Chittagong Ship Breaking Yard. We'll be starting over here-."

"Ah! You're here!" Magnificus Sivana gets out of the rugged off-road vehicle he'd been waiting in, accompanied by site supervisor Mr Hazari. Magnificus has gone for work boots, khaki Bermuda shorts and a similarly coloured short-sleeved shirt. "Ready to get to work?"

Tuppence pulls a face. "What you doin' heyah?"

Magnificus stops as the mud sinks slightly further than he was expecting, evaluates, then strides through it anyway. "I'm joining in."

"Don't y'all got fancy doctor-work to be doin'?"

"Yes, but I'm here anyway. I don't mind a little physical labor now and again." He looks like he minds a little physical labour now and again. "Oh, watch out for the mud when you're leaping. It won't support your landing."

"Thanks, man. Good t' finally meet y'all." Thomas extends his right hand, and Magnificus doesn't hesitate. Honours in the resulting squeezing contest are about even, though Magnificus disguises his reaction slightly better.

Tuppence looks Magnificus over disinterestedly. "Mah double not comin'?"

"Oh, no, she's-" He and Thomas let go, honour apparently satisfied. "-here. Beautia volunteered to help out in the local medical center. You'll meet her at lunch."

"Mister Lantern?" I turn my attention to Mr Hazari. "You are welcome to start on any of the-" He points toward the shore. "-three ships there. Just break them up and drag the parts to the high tide line. Our workers will handle the sorting."

"Any potential hazards?"

"We took out most of the fuel after they were beached, but there are probably still fumes in the fuel tank area. Otherwise, no. Not for people as resilient as…" He points to my work detail.

"Thank you, we'll get started right away then."

 

1st October
12:21 GMT +6

"Tuppy!" Thomas hoists a sheet of steel hull over his head. "Catch!"

Tuppence turns around, giant marine propulsion unit held in both hands over her head. "Whut?"

Thomas throws, sheet metal spinning through the air from the partially dismantled hulk like a giant Frisbee.

Tuppence is already tossing the engine- "Doc, catch!" -to Magnificus as she takes three hurried paces-

"What? Agh!"

-in the direction of the oncoming oblong then leaps, shooting through the air and intercepting it as it starts to fall in earnest. Their momentums cancel each other out almost perfectly, and the local workers hurry to get out of the way as Tuppence lands in the mud with a plop and an explosion of silt!

She pauses to catch her breath, then shoves the plate into the mud and checks herself over. Yeah, I think there's… Maybe a square inch in total that isn't covered in grey-brown sludge right now. She tries wiping her face, then flicking as much off her hands as she can. Her attempt accomplishes little.

"YAH BIG COOYON!"

Thomas appears to be cracking up. Tuppence spots this, and goes to pick up the hull plate-.

Ah, no. I transition next to her and she spots me just as she's winding up for her retaliatory throw. She sort of waves the plate around for a moment, not wanting to throw it with me right there but not prepared to retreat in the face of her brother's prank.

"Allow me."

A wave of orange light passes over her from her feet to the top of her head, removing mud as it passes. She looks at her hands, lets go of the plate with her right hand so she can check her face. "Uh. Thanks." She sticks the plate on her shoulder and starts walking back to the drop-off point. "Ah guess."

"You're welcome." I float after her, accelerating until I come alongside her. "I couldn't help but notice..?"

"Whut?"

"Are you growing your hair?"

"What if'n I am?"

"Nothing, nothing. Just making a social enquiry."

"Burman's women's side barber."

"Really? Wow, that.. doesn't sound clever."

"She ain't exactly bad at it? But I ain't lettin' her nowhere near me with a razor."

"You know, I could… Probably get you a hair dresser..? If you wanted one? Someone who wasn't a serial killer?"

"Naw… I kinda like it."

I nod. "Enjoying the day so far?"

"Beats gow'n t'class, I guess."

"So -given the choice between a normal day in Belle Reve and doing this again..?"

"I'd come back. Probably." I smi-. "What yew lookin' so happy fawah?"

"You've found a legitimate job which you enjoy. That's a big part of getting you to the point where you can be released from prison."

"How much we gettin' fer today?"

"I'm paying for lunch."

"Uh." She grunts, then tosses the hull plate so that it spins in the air before landing and embedding itself point first next to the others. "I'll have the Lobster."

"Having checked the water quality around here, I wouldn't recommend it." Ring, radio.

Compliance.

"Thomas, I was thinking we could break for lunch now. That alright with you?"

He waves his right arm, nods, then turns around to lower himself off the side of the ship before letting go and falling to the ground. The resulting mud wave is deflected by the lumps of metal already covering the ground by the ship, and he makes his way towards us in a series of somewhat more conservative leaps.

I turn back to the scrap pile, where Magnificus is directing people who do this for a living on a daily basis how to take an engine apart. "Magnificus, are you joining us?"

He looks around. "Yes, alright. Do you have somewhere in mind? If you don't, I.. know a place in Dhaka..?"

"Fine with me." Thomas lands and has to stagger to absorb his momentum. Mister Hazari looks around and sees the four of us together. "We're going to take an hour for lunch."

He waves back. "Okay!"

Magnificus looks at his somewhat soiled apparel. "Lantern, would you mind..?"

I wave my right hand, orange light giving him and Thomas a quick clean up. Thomas smiles. "Shuwer beats prison shawahs."

"Hey." Tuppence jerks her chin at Magnificus. "Doctor Magnificent."

"Magnificu-. Magni, just call me Magni."

"Raaht. Doc Magni. We actually related or whut?"

"Father assures me-" Our surroundings flicker as we appear just outside the local medical centre. "-that we're not. Beyond.. being from the same ethnic group, obviously. Tia?!"

"The whut group?"

"Physical features. Pale skin, blonde hair, blue eyes. It was most likely an evolutionary response to the low levels of light in Northern-."

"An' the formula we gaht don't do nuthin' to make us smartah?"

"Nothing.. significant. It would make you resistant to head injuries… We still aren't entirely sure what all of the effects are, but-."

"Hello!" Doctor Beautia Sivana strides out of the medical centre, dressed in the shapeless sort of clothes recommended for Western women visiting Islamic countries. "I'm Tia, and you must be Thomas and Tuppence."

Thomas leans a little closer to me as Tuppence regards her doppelganger. "Not related, raht?"

"Thomas…"

He grins and nods. "Yeah, Doc. Tommy Beresford. Please t' meet cha. How's it… Ah, how's it gawin'?"

"Malnutrition, poisoning and deformities from industrial waste, five different diseases that don't exist in America any longer… About what I was expecting." Beautia turns to Tuppence. "How are you finding ship breaking?"

"S'okay ah gyus? Lot more fun than sittin' in Belle Reve."

Huh. First time I've heard her address a new person with something other than hostility. Interesting. "Magnificus, where was that restaurant?"

 

1st October
12:34 GMT +6

"…'Sivana' like the midget guy?"

I am seeing an entirely new side of Tuppence right now. And other than Magnificus' famous ability with condescension I'm really not clear why. She wasn't even this nice to Dr Munro. Contrary to my expectations of Magnificus' tastes we're in a tourist-orientated restaurant rather than a more prestigious establishment. Which is fortunate, as I don't think I'm renowned enough around here to walk into whatever restaurant I want and be guaranteed a table. We've been issued with menus and drinks, and Thomas has fallen silent as he tries to work out exactly what he's being offered.

"He's.. not actually a midget. Dad's just short. And he's not even that short; he's just a little under five feet."

Magnificus nods. "We both take after our mother, physically speaking."

"Sounds lakh you gaht the best a' both."

Beautia folds her menu and puts it to one side. "Dad won't tell me exactly what he did-"

Thomas elbows me. "Hey."

"Yes?"

"-but he always said that's what he was aiming for. I'm not sure exactly how…"

Thomas tilts his menu my way. "What is alla theus?"

Normally I'd treat a question like that as a joke. But I don't think that's the correct thing to do here. The menu is in English, but I'm.. assuming that he's not used to this sort of restaurant. "Bangladeshi food. It's all perfectly edible."

"Yeah, but… What's a 'pakora'?"

"A fritter, basically."

"So that one theyah is 'fried chicken'?"

"Fried in spicy batter, but essentially, yes."

Thomas smiles with relief. "And here I thawt this wuz gow be hard."

"Never eaten Indian food before?"

"Naw, man. Hey, ah, what you having?"

"Mutton bhuna khichuri with mixed vegetables."

He frowns. "What sort a' animal's a 'mutton'?"

"A female or castrated male Sheep over two years old. Though… In this part of the world it can also mean 'goat meat' for some reason."

"Then why don't it just say 'Sheep bunna kicurry?"

"I think it was the Normans, but-"

"Are you ready to order, sirs?"

"-that's a history lesson for another day." I look around. "Are we?"

Magnificus looks a little sceptically at Tuppence, who responds by pointing somewhere in the middle of the second page of the menu. "Thayat one."

I suppose that if you've never had this sort of food that's as good a way of picking something as any other. It also means that she doesn't have to ask for help. Sort of makes me wonder how the two of them managed after they left home. I haven't wanted to bring it up for fear of alienating them, but they were on the road for over a year before they rampaged badly enough to come to League attention. They must have been eating alright, and their clothes were clean when they ran into Wallace and Kon so they were either recently stolen or they'd been doing laundry. And I don't remember that being on their charge sheet. Given their mother, they'd probably have had to learn how to clean things at a fairly early age…

"And you sir?"

"Mutton bhuna khichuri with mixed vegetables, thank you."

I pass my menu back, and he piles it with the others. He gives us a short bow and then turns around and heads for the kitchen.

"So, you think ship-breaking could be the career for you?"

Magnificus shakes his head. "Oh, good heavens no. Give me a nice clean laboratory any…" Something occurs to him. "You weren't talking to me."

Beautia smiles at his discomfiture, while Tuppence looks like she's about to take offence. But her eyes flick to Beautia and she just snorts instead. Heck, if this is all it takes I'm going to get in touch with Ms Brauer and see if she minds doing some mentoring.

"I imagine that they'd take you on if you wanted the job…"

"No, no, not about me. Thomas?"

Thomas turns his head to look out of the window. "I dunno, man. I ain't never-" Magnificus twitches. "-had a regular job befowah. They gawt places like that in America?"

Magnificus shrugs, so I nod. "Yes, though nothing quite on this scale. I'm not sure they could provide you with enough ships to make it worth your time."

"Hey, thayt's even bettuh. We could jus' stawp by a few days a month."

Tuppence shakes her head. "They ain't gonna pay fer a few days a month."

"Actually, they might. If you think about it, if it costs them slightly less to hire you than to hire a whole team plus equipment, then-" Assuming they're confident that you'll behave yourselves. "-they'll pick you. That's just good business sense. The only reason I'm sure about the workload is because super strength doesn't help with sorting or processing the parts of the superstructure, and they make their money selling that. But, since they can only get so many ships in…"

Thomas nods. "Makes sense ah geuss."

Tuppence frowns. "Hey, how come we ain't they'uh raht now?"

"Because US law makes hiring you to do jobs like that legally complicated while in Bangladesh they don't care. Once you're released it's easier, but until then their insurance wouldn't cover the risks."

"'Cause they think we gonna go crazy or somethin'."

"Because you might drop something on someone and they'd be financially liable for the damage. They understand cranes. They don't understand super strength."

"Hey." Tuppence looks thoughtful. "What wuz that you wuz sayin' 'bout them havin' all kinds a' diseases 'round here?"

"Um, well… Parts of the world like this don't have the same sort of immunisation program or healthcare that the US does. If children don't get immunised, they can get sick from the disease and the disease is around because people still carry it. And those regulations that make companies liable for the consequences of their action exist for a reason; it's practically impossible for someone here to get compensation from their employer if they get injured."

"But it ain't a problem fer us?"

"Danner enhanciles aren't immune to disease, though we are resistant to side effects, injuries and poisons. Assuming that you had your shots, you shouldn't have anything to worry about yourself, but-."

Tuppence shrugs nonchalantly. "Sucks t' be them, don't it?"

 

3rd October
00:04 GMT +3

"Thana?"

I step nervously into the Temple of Hades. I've visited here every day since the Hell incident, but each time another priestess -a woman by the name of Natasa- told me that she wasn't available. I hadn't even realised that there was another priestess of Hades on Themyscira. I mean, logically it makes sense that there would be more than one priestess but after their forebears went crazy the job rather slipped down the totem pole as a status symbol. I certainly hadn't seen anyone other than Thana in here in a professional capacity before that. Huh. Given that I might eventually end up here permanently, I.. do.. sort of need to smooth things over with her.

"Natasa?"

No, she's not here either. I could scan for her, but that does seem somewhat intrusive. Particularly given that the reason I'm here is I think I've… What's the word? Scared her? Trespassed against her?

"Identify yourself."

An Amazon soldier I don't recognise walks out of the crypts, a shield decorated with a wreathed skull on her left arm and her right hand on the hilt of her sword. I'm.. not seeing much from her, just the black eddies I get from Thana when she's communing with the dead.

"My.. Amazon sisters have taken to calling me Pavlos, though I'm afraid that I can't speak my real name." She.. doesn't appear to recognise it. Odd. "The Orange Lantern? The one who… Ah… Instigated the incident that led to Thana spending a few minutes in hell last week?"

"Ah." She releases the hilt of her sword. "Natasa told me that you had wanted to propitiate her."

"Right, and I'm.. sorry about the lateness of the hour, but Natasa said she might be available if I came back.. now. Is she?"

"She is." A woman… Thana, appears to materialise out of thin air as she lifts a helmet from her head. "I apologise for keeping you waiting, but I had urgent business to attend to." She's.. dressed warmly, and in addition to the helmet has a pack on her back.

"Quite understandable. Are you.. going somewhere?"

She nods, stowing the helmet under her left arm. "Indeed. Captain, why don't you go and complete your preparations?"

"Yes, priestess."

The.. captain? Bows, then strides back into the crypts.

"Thana, I want to apologise. My preparations were inadequate. I should have waited until my Atlantean contacts were available before pressing on with my investigation."

"Oh, that is quite alright. I had every opportunity to refuse to take part, and I should have noticed that there was something wrong with Mister Okereke's shade."

"Oh. Ah, I'd rather gotten the impression that you were avoiding me. I thought that I'd offended you rather worse than I.. appear to have done."

"Oh, I'm not offended. In fact… I should say that I'm grateful."

Um? "You are?"

"Oh yes." She looks down at the ground for a moment. "Eternal torment. Such a deceptively simple phrase. I wonder if it's truly possible for a person to understand the concept until they.. are forced to experience it for themselves."

"I… I don't know. I hope not."

"You hope..? Ah." She nods. "I suppose that would be kinder." She takes a moment to examine the decorations on one of the walls, the ones detailing the fates of those the Olympians singled out for 'special' treatment. "Prometheus, condemned to have his liver pecked out. Painful, extraordinarily painful. But it could not kill him, and he only endured it for thirty years before Herakles killed the Eagle."

"And Zeus didn't just send a new one?"

"I believe that Zeus was distracted at the time. Lord Hades believed that the punishment was excessive, and chose not to remind his brother once his schedule became clear."

"Oh?" I smile. "What was her name?"

"Ganymede."

Ah.

She walks a little further along the diorama. "Sisyphus, obliged to roll a stone up a hill whose summit he will never reach. Hardly agonising. Many labourers must do more each day, and he was a quite unpleasant man." She sighs. "But true eternal torment, great pain being inflicted constantly with no hope of release at all… Horrifying."

"Yes. It is."

She looks at me with mildly disappointed affection. "You don’t understand, do you? I am attuned to the spirits of the dead. That did not stop-" Oh shit. "-simply because we were in the domain of another god. Satanus called the region we were in Hell's centre of industry. Do you know what sort of industry they are engaged in?"

"No."

"Once their psyches decay too far into madness as a result of Hell's torments they transform shades into reflections of whatever device they require. Both the process and the results are… It is unspeakable. A violation such as…" She shakes her head. "I could see their suffering. Feel the echo of it in my own breath… It was such an obscenity, and I did not even begin to understand it until I saw it myself. Thank you for showing it to me."

"You're welcome? So… Where have you been?"

"I have been in Asphodelopolis, consulting with Lord Hades as to what to do about it."

"I've been thinking about that myself, but as big a threat as Satanus is, I don't think that an attack is going to be a realistic prospect for the foreseeable future."

"I agree. But I wasn't talking about that." She glances back towards the crypt as the captain emerges once more, followed by a small squad of other Amazon guardswomen. All are carrying packs for travel and all show the same black blur when I try looking into them. "I do not believe that there is much I can do for the poor souls already there, but I can try to prevent others from being sent there. I am travelling to New York and..." She takes a deep breath. "And then onwards wherever I must go, to preach against the evils of the God of Monotheism and convert as many as I can away from the foul faiths which condemn people to such a place."

…

"I see. Um. You appreciate that about two thirds of the Human species are monotheists of various stripes, yes?"

She nods. "My resolve is no less for that. In the face of such a horror, I can do no less." The guardswomen come to a halt just behind her. "I would have gone on my own, but Lord Hades felt that it would be better if I took a retinue for my protection."

I take another look at her companions. And on several of them I see thick scars on parts of their bodies where strikes would have been lethal.

"And as proof of my own god's generosity."

"You understand that this offer will appeal most of all to some fairly unpleasant people?"

She nods. "I don't care. No one deserves that. The worst person it has ever been my misfortune to meet is Herakles, and even he…" She shakes her head. "No. No one. Punishment for wrongdoing is just, but not forever."

"Right. Well. I wasn't expecting this, but I wish you all the best of luck. Feel free to get in touch with me if you need anything."

"Thank you, Pavlos. I will."

 

3rd October
12:34 GMT -5

Jade narrows her eyes in a distinctly unimpressed way. "What do you mean, Catwoman can't keep up with Batman? She was stealing from rich people in Gotham for years without getting caught for longer than five minutes."

I take a moment to look around the restaurant, but either no one is paying attention or 'IRL Who Would Win' debates are so common here that no one cares. But… I take out a sound scrambler anyway. "Catwoman was most successful when Batman first started, when he was mostly fighting organised criminal gangs and corrupt officials. The reason why she was so successful was that he generally had better things to do than chase down a cat burglar who didn't kill people. On the few occasions they did run into each other, she was able to get away. That isn't the same as being able to win an actual fight."

"She took on Carmine Falcone and his bodyguards armed with inch-long claws. They had guns. Falcone had that scar across his face until Dent killed him."

"I didn't say she couldn't fight. I just said that she's not in Batman's league. Look." I raise my hands to forestall her retort. "If two people in costumes operate in the same sort of area and one is a vigilante and the other is a criminal, they get linked in people's minds. That doesn't mean that they're actually an even match. Very few of Batman's opponents can win a fistfight with him. Mister Cobblepot can't, Mister Nygma can't, Ms Pye can't… Even Mister Napier needed preparation and a lot of luck. Talia could, because she used highly lethal weapons and he wouldn't, but you have to go down the list to Doctor Langstrom or Mister Reardon-."

Jade frowns in puzzlement.

"Man-Bat? The Ten-Eyed Man?"

She looks incredulous. "Batman.. fought a man with.. ten eyes."

"He has photosensitive cells on his fingertips and I know it sounds stupid. The point is, it's possible to be an extremely successful criminal in Gotham without being able to fight Batman one on one. Most times Batman has come close to death were due to traps, ambushes or 'industrial accidents'." I smile. "Though Holly probably deserves a special mention for stabbing him on his first night out."

"Hol-? Holly stabbed Batman?"

"Please don't tell her. I really want to see her face when she finds out."

"How can she not know? He is kind of distinctive."

"He was dressed up like a drifter, pretending to be a local while he took in a few crime hotspots. He hadn't even settled on the whole 'Batman' thing back them."

She raises her eyebrows. "And you know this how?"

"Batman has a scar right where it would have gone in, and there's a report matching what I remember on the Justice League's database. And Holly once mentioned something that sounded very much like the incident in question."

"And I thought killing a Justice League member was supposed to be hard."

"Batman isn't on the League because he's good at punching people. Which is -again- why the Catwoman comparison falls through. Because even if she was as good at fighting as he is, she doesn't have most of the other skills that he does."

"She might not be as good a detective as Batman, but she can track down criminals perfectly well."

"And the rest?"

"She doesn't have a Catmobile, if that's what you mean."

"Catwoman's perfectly capable of investigating street crime locally. But more to the point… Batman started work in Gotham about twelve years ago. Since then, the crime families have gone underground and the city's government is far less corrupt. He fought a campaign, and he's largely won it. And he didn't do it just by punching people."

"And Catwoman cleaning up East Side doesn't count because..?"

"Because there's no strategy. She only went sort of straight because she made enough money that she no longer needed to steal." And because of her interesting personal relationship with Batman, but that isn't public knowledge. "But take.. drugs. Okay, she beats up a dealer and ties them up somewhere where the police can pick them up. The demand is still there, so someone else comes in. Net change as far as the area is concerned, nothing. Maybe a slight spike in local prices."

She sits back, crossing her arms. "So you're saying I'm wasting my time."

"Depends what you're trying to get out of it. But if you're trying to improve Gotham in a lasting way… Then… Yes. If you're just beating up acceptable targets for the exercise, then, fine…"

"I can't infiltrate the gangs to bring down the supply network completely because I'm too well known. And I need a job that actually pays me. I don't have any special skills relating to rehab except locking addicts in a locked room until the symptoms stop. That was part of my training."

"Your father or the League..?"

"Does it matter?

I look down at the remains of my lunch. "I suppose not."

"I can't start a business because I only really know how to do one thing and I don't think my probation worker would really want me passing those skills on."

"Offering.. self.. defence training is an option. I know a couple of people in the Gotham Police Department..?"

"I don't think Detective Bullock really has the build to use my style." She raises her eyebrows expectantly. "Isn't this where you offer me a power ring again?"

I shake my head. "You don't want a power ring. You know you don't want a power ring."

"I thought you were supposed to be good at this."

"Talking to women?" I shake my head. "No." She snorts. "Okay, look: you can afford to take time out of employment to do training. But, I don't think you'll be satisfied with something that doesn't involve fighting. You don't want to work as an assassin, you don't want to join the military and joining the police would be tricky. Have you considered looking further afield?"

She looks away to her right. "Every country I'd seriously consider working in would check my background."

"I was thinking more 'another planet'." That gets raised eyebrows, but she doesn't say no. "The Orange Lantern Corps is one of a number of Maltusian-run military organisations. I doubt that the fleet or marines would interest you, but the Darkstars do infiltration, sabotage and reconnaissance. And they mostly do it against the Reach, who are super evil. What they do broadly matches your skill set. And they're down on operatives because a number of them just transferred to the Orange Lantern Corps."

"I don't speak any alien languages."

"Most people don't. They provide translation devices, or you can get lessons."

"That… Could be interesting."

"I can create Darkstar-style armour to your specifications if you want to try it out. And I.. happen to know where some Kobra cultists are hanging out…"

She relaxes her shoulders slightly, resting her hands on the table. "I suppose giving it a try wouldn't hurt."

 

5th October
09:27 GMT -6

"…investigation for his Court Martial."

Arnus' 'Augustus Freeman' personality is as different from his 'Icon' personality as Clark Kent is from Superman. Gone is his taciturnity and growly delivery, farewell his static posture. Mr Freeman is all smiles and animation and I'm forced to wonder which -if either- is Arnus' real personality.

"I will testify without hesitation."

Lantern Xor on the other hand is still barely animate. Outside of combat, he doesn't let his emotions show all that much. Graak has left his former client's shoulder in order to peruse Arnus' office, clearly rather enamoured with the comforts which our civilisation allows a successful lawyer.

"I wouldn't be quite that eager. Exactly how much reading have you done on America's legal system?"

"I sleep. I eat. I read and study. Last time I stood before magistrates I lost my freedom, my name and my voice. I will not enter a fight unprepared again."

"I don't recommend thinking of it as a fight. Particularly given how we're having to fight the image of you being an 'alien invader'. I'll go over-."

"Image?"

Lantern Xor's hand have formed fists, and Graak looks around from the leather-bound book he was reading with a look of alarm.

"Do they care more about appearances than truth? Am I simply to go from one travesty of justice to another?"

But he doesn't smash anything, which is definite progress.

"Not.. exactly. The problem is that in a lot of these cases, the penalty that gets levelled depends on things that can't be determined by a study of the physical evidence. A jury or a panel of officers have to be persuaded to… Let's say, correctly understand a person's motivations. And while they're supposed to limit themselves to evidence and testimony, it's unavoidable that they're going to interpret the way a person giving evidence behaves when they try and decide whether they're a credible witness or not."

Lantern Xor calms down a little.

"And since you're from a totally different culture and species, that's obviously a little awkward for you."

"I will not lie."

"I wasn't going to ask you to lie. I'm going to teach you how to present yourself so they believe you when you tell the truth."

Lantern Xor doesn't look entirely happy, but his anger is subsiding.

"What will happen to the General?"

"That's up to the Court Martial. If I were the one defending him, I'd probably try and make out that he had to make a decision based on incomplete information, that as far as he knew based on the police reports you were a belligerent attacker and needed to be taken down as quickly as possible to prevent things escalating further. That fact that he's written any number of reports on the potential for using military force in policing metahuman criminals shows he might have his own biases, but it'll be hard for the prosecutors to prove that he acted purely for that reason."

"You will not be able make them punish him?"

Arnus shakes his head. "I won't be prosecuting the case. The military has appointed a prosecutor, and General Hardcastle will select his own defence attorney. I'll be in court, but I'll just be there to advise you."

Lantern Xor snorts. "The American military tries an American general. My expectations are low."

"Even if some of them agree with him on using military power against superpowered criminals, General Hardcastle didn't make any friends amongst his peers when he shot up an American town. To say nothing of how his blatant disregard for the lives of the American civilians in the area is playing on Capitol Hill and in the news. Taking time to heal them was an extremely intelligent move."

"They were not military, not attacking me."

"Even so, it's strong evidence that you weren't planning on attacking Thayer's Notch when the police started shooting you." He looks at me. "Did you have anything to do with that?"

"I suggested that it couldn't hurt. But he's using an orange power ring."

He nods. "He had to want to do it in order to make it work. Okay, that's good to know. But… I do need to know why you didn't just leave town as soon as you got attacked. The police didn't have anything that could have hurt you, and even if you couldn't get away from the military the collateral damage from fighting them outside of town would be far less than fighting them inside it."

"I will not flee from an attacker. Especially one in uniform."

"I understand the attitude, but that's a problem in Massachusetts. A civilian who comes under attack is obligated to retreat rather than attacking unless that's.. clearly impossible. In your case, you could reasonably be considered to have known that the police issue firearms couldn't hurt you after the first few shots bounced off your skin. The prosecutor in your case will almost certainly make the argument that you had an obligation under law to leave the area. Did you..? Think they had heavier weapons available?"

"I did not think about it."

"Do you have a..? Lot of military experience?"

"I have been a soldier for two thirds of my life. I was a Warhound of the First Array."

"Okay, so… Would you say that you responded in the same way you would have on a battlefield?"

Lantern Xor frowns. "If I were on a battlefield I would have attacked them first."

"Alright, but if you suddenly found yourself confronted by.. enemy soldiers you weren't expecting..?"

"I would have recognised their weapons, so I would have prioritised them differently. But I would have attacked in the same way."

"Alright, that's something. Do your people have any enemies in this part of the universe?"

Lantenr Xor considers the question, then calls up a galaxy map and studies it intently for several moments. "Not that I have fought before."

"The reason I ask is that if you might reasonably have believed that you were attacking people allied to your species' enemies, it becomes a lot easier to justify your reaction."

"We might. I had little interest in high politics. I had not even thought to find out our location until you asked me."

"You didn't know where Earth is?" Lantern Xor shakes his head. "How did you get here?"

"Something went wrong on the prison transport. They didn't tell the prisoners what it was, but the containment system failed when main power did, and by the time I had freed the other prisoners the crew had already evacuated. The automatic navigation system locked onto Earth as the closest survivable destination. I expected there to be other survivors here."

"You broke the other prisoners out?"

"They would have died in their cells if I had not."

"And the crew didn't have time to open the doors?"

Lantern Xor shrugs. "I do not know why they did what they did. I am not responsible for their behaviour."

"No, of course not. Okay, we're going to need to go over a lot of details about your personal history and species' legal system. And we've got another police interview in a couple of hours. Now, I know-" He glances at me. "-that you've been living on Paul's Ice Fortress, but it would help me manage your case if you could start living inside US territory. Is that something you're prepared to do?"

Lantern Xor nods, grudgingly.

"Thank you. I'll-".

"I can move the Fortress back-."

Arnus holds up his right hand. "I don't think that's such a good idea. I'll have my assistant sort something out, somewhere secure and large enough for you. Why don't you.. tell me about your full military record?"

 

8th October
13:47 GMT -5

"You do not want to raise any more people from the dead?"

Euanthe and I are sitting in the grove at the top of Mount Justice, enjoying the autumn sun. She doesn't really look confused, but by now she knows that Humans do things that don't make sense to her and I'm pleased that she's learned to check.

"Not at the moment."

"Does Jade not want you to return the people she killed to life? Does she still hate them, or fear their vengeance?"

"No, she doesn't hate or fear them. I mean, she doesn't like being reminded of her guilt-."

"But if she feels guilty because they are dead, and now they are not dead, why does she still feel guilty?"

"Because people don't feel based on rationality. It's… It's mostly that she doesn't like having been the person that killed people in those circumstances. Jade was lukewarm on doing it anyway, and I was mostly doing it to assuage her guilt."

Euanthe nods. "And you cannot travel to the past to prevent her from having killed them."

"Not easily, and that would change a load of other things as well... Plus, Satanus knows what I'm doing and will almost certainly be trying to find her other victims, and as we can't be completely sure where their souls ended up, it also isn't a good idea for that reason." Euanthe frowns as she tries to adjust to a meat people mindset. "How did you feel about confronting Demons again?"

She grins, the soft bark of her faux-mini dress darkening and thickening and growing curved thorns until she's doing a decent Demon impression herself. "It felt good. It was wrong and should not be in the world and I made it leave and die."

"I'm not totally sure whether or not what you did resulted in Mister Okereke ceasing to exist. More likely, a little bit of him returned to Hell and will regenerate eventually."

"I do not mind. I am happy to kill him again and again." Her armour dress is accessorised with bramble knuckledusters as she clenches her fists. "I think it was a shame that I did not travel to their home with you. There would have been so many more of them to kill."

"And you might have had trouble accessing the green to empower yourself. And their magics might have been more effective, and the place itself might have been toxic to you."

"Perhaps. And I do not think that eating more of the Great Warrior's flesh would help with that." She crawls across the ground between us and leans forwards until her bark-cowled face is centimetres from mine. "How do I learn to kill Demons better?"

"Um. There probably… Are ways, but I'm afraid that with most of my magic-using contacts occupied with other projects, and given that what happened last time I didn't have thaumaturgists studying what I was doing was that I got sucked into Hell…"

"What are they doing?"

"Studying how to.. make a high-powered anti-Demon magic user. Once they've done that, we can look into it. And until then, I'll call on you whenever I'm planning on fighting Demons so you can get more experience."

"Will that be soon?"

"Um. Pppprobably not. I.. can ask Diana to notify you of Demon-related Justice League cases? To be honest, I'm not planning on going after Satanus for a while, so…"

She slumps back dejectedly, bark coverings thinning.

"You could always try looking for Demons yourself? I wouldn't recommend confronting them on your own in case something goes wrong and you need backup, but Demons are persona non grata in most places. I doubt anyone would mind about you attacking them."

Notification: Kal-El has completed his press conference.

"Ah." I try to get up, then realise that I've been undergrowthed again. "Euanthe, would you mind letting me get up?"

She tilts her head to the side as the creepers retract. "Was it right to make that forest near the first pit?"

"It would have been better to discuss it first, but-" I rise to my feet. "-on balance, yes."

"Would I be able to fight more Demons if I made more forests?"

Ah..? "I don't.. quite see the link. I imagine that there being a stronger green presence would strengthen you slightly and weaken them… Maybe you could find sites of demonic magic and plant forests over them?" She smiles and-. "But check with the local Humans first!"

She smiles and waves as she drops into the soil of the grove floor.

…

Oh, she's managed this long. Now, Metropolis. I fly upwards far enough that the presence of the green isn't quite so overwhelming, then I step out. Kal-El's barely-noticeable and classically small town American set of desires doesn't exactly leap out at me, but it's visible enough that finding it doesn't represent much of a problem.

I appear on the roof of the Daily Planet-

"Orange Lantern. Didn't realise you could teleport."

-building, nodding politely at Ms Lane as I do so. "I learned all sorts of things while away from Earth. Kal-El? Are you ready to go?"

He nods, but opens his mouth to respond slightly slower than Ms Lane does. "'Kal-El'? What's wrong with 'Superman'?"

"It's not his name."

She folds her arms across her chest, shifting her weight to her right hip. "Sounds like you're throwing stones from a glass house there, 'Orange Lantern'."

"Ms Lane, you are welcome to call me by name. Or you may address me by my rank; it's Illustres. But I grew up in a world without superheroes and I can't help but find some of the naming conventions daft."

Kal-El nods. "He used to call me 'sir' the whole time."

"What stopped him?"

"I stopped working for the League. Are you ready to leave?"

She nods, then looks to Kal-El. He nods as well. "Kon's going to meet us at the Fortress. Kara's.. not.. ready to go out in public quite yet."

I frown slightly, then glance at Lois. She shakes her head. "Don't worry, I'm not going to try interviewing her. Getting a first hand look at Krypton is plenty to keep me busy."

I nod. "Very well, then." Orange filaments connect me to both of them. "Transition in three, two, one, transition."

Metropolis disappears and is replaced by the arctic wilderness, Ms Lane shivering for a second before I extend an environmental shield around her. Ahead of us Kal-El flies over to the front door and opens it.

"Welcome to my home away from home."

 

8th October
20:27 GMT

Ms Lane stares out through the faceplate of her helmet at the slowly drifting continent-sized chunk of Krypton. "I'm seeing it, and I still can't quite get my head around it."

I don't bother nodding. It wouldn't be visible in this armour. "I can't either." I hold out my right hand, generating a construct of an exploded -hah- view of the late planet. "This bit here."

She studies the image, her eyes moving from it to the floating rock as she tries to reconcile the two in her mind. A moment later she gives up. "Think I could use that for an infographic?"

"Sure."

"I.. went there once." Kara drifts in our direction. "Krypton's first spaceport was.. built outside Erkol, I visited it with my class."

"I thought space travel was officially disapproved of?"

"We aren't-." She sighs. "We weren't a monoculture any more than humans are. A lot of science council-associated families wanted to preserve places like that: where our species took great strides forward in our development. It's just-." Kal-El floats up behind her and lays his right hand on her left shoulder. "I just wish there'd been more ships available. No one was allowed faster than light ships. If they'd had-."

I hear her sob for a moment, then she turns her communicator off.

Kon snorts. "Guess you were right about Zod."

Kal-El looks my way. "What was that about General Zod?"

"Oh, I just… I thought that if his coup had been successful, he'd have built more ships. So.. this…"

"He'd have built warships. He'd probably have invaded Earth by now."

I don't know enough about the psychology of Dru-Zod the Younger to properly evaluate his likely behaviour. It's been.. what, forty years? Conquering and settling his neighbours might well have taken up all of that time, particularly if someone made a decent counterattack. And he wasn't widely popular; it's quite possible that he'd have faced internal resistance, even from the rest of the military council.

"Possibly. We'll probably never know for certain."

From the look on Kal-El's face, he's strongly considering saying something else on the subject. Then he turns away to stare in-system. Ms Lane gives up trying to appreciate the size of the colossal rock and follows his gaze. "Is all that kryptonite safe?"

"I-" I was thinking of saying 'I wouldn't recommend breathing it', but.. perhaps not. "-would think so. Your space suit is rated against that level of radiation and your force field makes sure of it. If either fail I'll shield you with an environmental shield, but outside of the strongest concentrations kryptonite radiation isn't rapidly fatal to humans."

Communication system shows the Kryptonians have a discussion between themselves. Probably trying to comfort Kara. I did.. say this might not be the best idea for her.

"So, what, as long as I don't wanna have kids it's nothing to worry about?"

"No-." Huh. "The chance is low that your reproductive health would suffer, and if that happened I could get hold of a purple healing ray or Atlantean biomancer fairly easily, so… Don't worry about it."

"Mm." She reaches for her suit's controls and awkwardly turns herself around. "Still can't get over kryptonite not being a problem any more."

"It's still not safe. It could kill them if they swallowed it or breathed it in, and a kryptonite laser or plasma weapon would still be fairly lethal."

"First time I interviewed Superman, he bent some steel bars to show how strong he was. Once he'd been working in Metropolis for a while I started to think he was indestructible. Then, someone found the first piece of kryptonite and suddenly… He could get taken down by some thug with a glowing rock."

"Has Metropolis really not had superheroes before?"

"No one on Superman's level."

"No one's on Superman's level. He's the strongest and most durable superhero I'm aware of, to say nothing of him being the fastest natural flyer. But.. most of the difference is by degrees; I could find you a dozen people who could bend steel bars in their hands."

"My point is, have you seen Metropolis' crime figures lately?"

"No? Why, what's happening?"

"Way down. First time he just ignored someone waving a kryptonite crystal at him, all the gangs who'd been depending on the stuff booked it."

"And the figures in neighbouring regions went up?"

"Not all the way. Small amounts of kryptonite aren't expensive or hard to get hold of. Other weapons that can hurt Superman aren't anything like as common. I think they're having to lay low."

"Good show." I switch over to broadcast. "Are we ready to move on?"

Kal-El turns to my direction. "Yeah, I think so."

"Plotting course to Har-Zod's redoubt." I warp space, bending the universe around us to give us a view of the Rao system as we travel. The three Kryptonians and I start flying in the direction warped, but Ms Lane appears to be having a little trouble with her thrust controls. I attach a filament tether to her instead, pulling her with me as we head inwards.

"So why are you doing this?"

"Kon's my friend, and Kal-El's done enough for the world that I don't mind doing him the odd favour."

"I mean, specifically: why are you taking a Kryptonian moon base?"

"That's…" Hm. "I have been meaning to ask you something as well. I'm sort of feeling like… Did you ever watch Friends?"

"I've heard of it."

"The episode where Phoebe and Rachel work out that Monica and Chandler are dating? And they try and get them to admit it by having Phoebe hit on Chandler?"

"Ahhh…"

"And then Monica and Chandler work out that they know, and I don't even remember why, but they decide to try and make them admit that they know? And Joey's privy to both sets of revelations-."

"Are you going somewhere with this?"

"What do you know? Because for me it's confusing what I'm allowed to say around you."

"What do I know about Superman?"

"Yes, and the League in general? I mean, I haven't wanted to pry, but I also don't want to give away anything I'm not supposed to."

I hear a quiet laugh from Kal-El. "I think what Orange Lantern's trying to ask is whether you know who I am when I put my glasses back on."

"Could be awkward if she didn't."

That gets a chuckle from Ms Lane as well. "Yes, I know about his amazing double life as a mild-mannered reporter."

"And… What do you think happens in the Hall of Justice?"

"Tours for sightseers?"

Ah. "Well then, quite aside from its value as an archive of Kryptonian society, I noticed that Earth has barely any orbital defences. So I thought that we might stick it somewhere near Earth and then expand it."

"You want the Justice League to have a space station?"

Ooh. Someone's going to be in for an unfun conversation when his girlfriend finds out about the Watchtower. "I was thinking more along the lines of 'orbital battle fortress', actually. But I leave that up to the Kryptonian contingent."

 

8th October
20:42 GMT

"…a military dictator."

Ms Lane has her hands on her hips as she interrogates the neural imprint. Har-Zod doesn't appear to be particularly troubled by her hostility.

"I'm afraid that I don't have files on your planet's government. As such, I wouldn't know how to characterise the precise differences between them. I would not describe myself as a dictator. I was head of the military council during a time when the military council was pre-eminent, but the council as a whole was elected to that pre-eminence by the population as a whole. And that pre-eminence itself was hardly an unusual state of affairs. Krypton's first contact with alien races came when we were invaded by the Vrangs. After their occupation force was destroyed, it became quite normal for the military to set policy with regard to our interactions with other species."

"The.. Vrangs?"

"An alien species which occupied Krypton during our industrial age." His head shrinks, and an image of the military council's organisation chart appears next to him. "The military council was comprised of senior officers retired from active service, the Field Commander of Kryptonian Military Forces and the heads of each branch of the services. Depending on election results, additional individuals from areas not directly associated with Krypton's fighting force might also act in an advisory role."

"So if it got popular enough, the military could take control of whatever it wanted."

"In theory, the military council could take control of anything the people of Krypton wanted it to. In practice, that should not have ever happened. What I meant to imply was that at times it made sense to coordinate closely with the science council in the design of new ships or with the labour council in planning ship building projects. The results of elections would determine exactly how forceful that 'coordination' would be. Likewise, when the military council was not pre-eminent we would follow the policy direction set by whatever council was."

"I should also point out that it was the science council who thought that isolationism was a good idea."

"Hm." Ms Lane steps away from the display as I come closer.

"Har-Zod, do you have any particular problem with us moving this base?"

"I would have liked to remain here, in case any other surviving Kryptonians manage to make the return journey. But I suppose the chance of that isn't particularly high."

"I'm happy to leave beacons in place to relay any message you wish to send. And I think we can give them Earth's location. It will just take them a little longer to reach you."

Ms Lane raises her left eyebrow. "You're giving Earth's location to potentially hostile aliens?"

"I'm not doing anything which the Voyager probe isn't doing. Besides, anyone who can track Kryptonian FTL could follow Kal-El's wake and find us eventually. This is just a slightly more polite way of doing it."

Har-Zod's head nods. "That's acceptable. Do you intend to try to move the whole moon?"

Hm. Not sure. Putting Xenon at a Lagrange point would work, but it might also cause the governments of Earth to throw a bit of a fit. On the other hand, digging this place out is… Well, it's doable, if not exactly quick. And it can grow more space if we need it to by consuming some of Luna. Someone might spot it if we put it on the light side, but if we put it on the dark side we could keep it secret…

Of course, while I sort of have the final say since.. I'm the one moving it, it would be impolitic to ignore what the Kryptonians think of the situation.

I raise my right hand to my right ear. "Orange Lantern to Superman."

"Go ahead."

"Har-Zod's given the go-ahead. Have the three of you talked things through?"

Ms Lane stares at me for a moment. "You were serious about the League having an orbital battle station?"

"As both a non-signatory and as a non-state actor, the League is exempt from the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty. The UN has de jure accepted that, otherwise they couldn't allow space-capable League members into space. The League is presently the Earth's only way of stopping space-borne aggressors reaching Earth and their capacity to actually do that isn't anything like as good as you might think."

She opens her mouth to respond, but Kal-El gets there first. "And this has nothing to do with you constantly installing new weapon systems in.. your own facility."

Subtle. I know that he means the Mountain, but Ms Lane might think he's talking about the Ice Fortress. "The reason I do that is the same as the reason why I'm arguing for this. Either the League has military responsibilities, or it doesn't. Since none of you told me that I was mistaken during my performance review when I assessed you on it-."

Ms Lane blinks. "You gave the League a performance review?"

"Yes, and if you want a copy you can ask them for it. Anyway, if you actually want to do that job, you need deep space sensors which the Guardians can't turn off on a whim, you need weapon platforms and.. preferably ships. And I don't mean Batman's space plane."

From the lack of response I'm going to guess that he's still mulling it over. Either that or I was excessively frank again.

"Or if you want to um and ah about this a bit more I can drop Xenon off outside the Sol system while you discuss it amongst yourselves and clear it with the Security Council."

"That does sound a little more sensible."

"No, it sounds more reasonable. In fact, it forces you to take people out of their comfort zones without giving you the advantages that a space-based facility would provide, and thus is less sensible."

"Kal, I… I know Earth is less advanced than Krypton was, but Paul's right. It isn't safe to not have some sort of defence system. And if there was some kind of natural disaster-."

"Earth doesn't have the same structural problem Krypton had."

"We…" I can hear the reluctance in Kon's voice. "Do… Have super volcanoes and crazy supervillains… I'm not saying we need this, but it.. could be useful. Y'know. Just in case."

And I'm getting Joeyed again. Kon and Kal-El both know that the League has a space station, giant floating target that it is. Lois apparently doesn't. I imagine that the arguments I'm advancing in favour are similar to the ones raised when the League discussed whether or not to use the Watchtower. I still don't agree with the decision to keep its existence a secret. The number of supervillains who could even try to reach it is tiny compared to the ones who could reach the Hall of Justice, located conveniently as it is in the middle of a major city. Carrying on using the Mountain would have made more sense, seeing as it's a reasonable distance from Happy Harbour and Happy Harbour has a low population anyway.

Of course, what I really want is for the team to start using this place. But that's probably a stretch too far.

I hear Kal-El sigh. "Alright. We'll move the moon, but I don't want you taking it close to Earth. Could you put it in orbit around Jupiter?"

Ring? "Yes, though if that's the route you want to take my personal preference would be putting it in a off-plane orbit around our sun."

Ms Lane looks at me askance. "Isn't that a little dangerous?"

"I've already asked another member of my Corps to visit us to help me with another project I'm working on. I doubt that she'd mind babysitting it."

Kal-El thinks about it for a moment. "Okay, whatever you think best. Will the rest of us be able to meet her? I'll be interested to see what sort of people you've been recruiting."

"That shouldn't be a problem." I step away from Har-Zod. "Shall we start back now? Even with all three of you pushing, I imagine that it will take us a while to get up to speed."

 

8th October
21:14 GMT

"I've heard people joke about Superman being strong enough to push a planet, but this is something else."

The universe sails past us in a cylinder of orange and white as the Kryptonians put their backs into it. Obviously, just having them shove Xenon wouldn't do very much, so I've got a construct spreading the force out over the.. west..? The western side. The effort involved in sustaining that along with the warp itself is preventing me from helping with the thrust, but it looks like they've got it covered.

"Second time on a faster than light planetoid for me. Though I should point out that without anything to push from, their strength is basically useless. It's really more their resilience combined with the power of their flight that lets them push it."

"Any reason you couldn't just teleport it back?"

"I teleport to people. Teleporting to someone I know on Earth while towing a moon didn't sound sensible. Plus, I'm not sure what happens when I try to bring very large objects with me. Besides…" I spread my arms out to the sides. "Look. Look."

"You enjoyed it so much the first time that you just had to try it again?"

"You're now part of a very exclusive club. I doubt that more than a handful of people in the universe have done this." Skrk. No, a mile high club joke would not be appropriate. "The stars are all the more beautiful without an atmosphere, but like this you've got a horizon so your brain-."

"Yeah, I'm… Trying not to look at it. I don't usually get air sick, but-."

"Oh." Ah. "I can give you some travel sickness pills?"

"I can cope." She turns to face me, carefully focusing her eyes on my face and not the breathtaking -or in her case stomach churning- panorama behind me. "So is this what you spend your time doing?"

"How do you mean?"

"Superman… Clark, splits his time between his work for the Daily Planet and being Superman. He patrols Metropolis, he helps the emergency services, things like that."

"I.. suppose you could say it's the sort of thing I do? I like locating useful technology and knowledge and putting it to better use. Even if nothing else comes of this, at the very least Kon will have access to a record of Kryptonian history."

"And he couldn't get that from Clark?"

"Um? I suppose he could, now. I started.. planning this before their.. recent rapprochement…"

"I thought you didn't want that to happen."

"Is this about what I said to Kal-El last New Year?" She nods. "Kal-El.. avoiding Kon didn't really give me the best impression. Then I… Then Diana agreed to adopt him after taking him on as a student… And then Kal-El decides that now was the time to reach out to him. A month earlier or later and I'd probably have been friendlier about it. But that really wasn't the time. Now? Sure, no problem. If Kon's happy, I'm happy."

Kon was.. a bit vague when I asked him how it went. I suppose that Lex wouldn't have bothered giving him any farming-related programming, and Themysciran farming techniques are a little more primitive than what farms in Kansas employ. Still, he seemed pretty upbeat afterwards. Not sure what I'll do if he asks about Lex's side of the family. Lori's about his apparent age, but Kon's genetic heritage is public knowledge. And Kon hasn't spent a good chunk of his life idolising Lex.

"So what have you got going on at the moment?"

"Batman asked me to locate…" And another Joey; she almost certainly doesn't know about Nabu. "A couple of magic users who have the potential for League membership, as that's an area of weakness in their current line-up. I've so far got one, and a second who needs a little work. And there were some.. magic field experiments I ran… Got some useful data-."

"Experiments you were running with the North Rhelasians? Experiments that created a forest out of thin air which the military cordoned off from the locals?"

"A series of experiments of which I performed one in North Rhelasia. The forest was a result of an oversight on my part; I didn't explain to a dryad friend of mine why making an enchanted forest wasn't a good idea."

"Because the locals will just cut it down for firewood?"

"Because the locals might try to cut it down for firewood and be brutally slaughtered by spriggans."

"That explains the military build-up."

"Yes, and I've explained why it wasn't a good idea and she won't do it again."

She nods. "These wizards. Who are they?"

"I doubt that you'd have heard of Doctor Mist. The other… I suspect that you'd know her actual name and she hasn't selected a nom de guerre as yet. Doctor Mist is a multi-millennial African magic user of considerable ability. Beyond that, I suggest asking him yourself."

"Any comment on the recently appeared Blue Lantern?"

"He used to be a member of the Justice Society, and he's a good friend of mine."

"And the resemblance between him and retired television executive Alan Scott?"

"He's just got that sort of face."

"Rrrright. So what else do you do?"

"Else?"

"You know, like other teenagers do? Do you have any hobbies? What sports teams do you like? Do you have a girlfriend.. or boyfriend?"

Ah. "In order? As little as possible. I didn't become a superhero because I wanted a normal life. Uplift is my hobby, and everything else has rather fallen by the wayside. I have no interest in sports beyond a small feeling of residually nationalistic pride when England wins something. I do have a girlfriend, and she's coping admirably with.. me. And that's all I'm saying about her."

"Alright, so why did you become a superhero?"

"Kal-El became a superhero due to noblesse oblige, Batman due to a drive for revenge. With me, it was an act of desperation to preserve my own life. As I told Ms Dearden, by the standards of Earth Prime this world is mad and has all too many novel and horrifying ways to die. Heck, your population is a billion less than my own Earth. I needed to keep my ring going and I needed training."

"So you dived straight into a bunch of dangerous situations to keep yourself safe?"

"It's not the ones you see coming that get-"

"Approaching destination."

"-you. Orange Lantern to push team, we're nearly there. Feel free to stop pushing once the universe reappears."

"Thanks for the notice."

"Ms Lane, if you watch-" I point upwards and to my left. "-there, you'll see something truly remarkable. But it might also make you quite ill. Up to you."

"Great."

"Three, two, one, end-"

The universe reappears, our view mostly consisting of the surface of Ater Clementia.

"-warp."

"WRAAAGH!"

 

8th October
21:21 GMT

"…GOD DAMNED LUNATIC!"

"Ms Lane-."

"WHY WERE YOU FLYING US AT A PLANET?"

"Our relative velocity-."

"YOU HAD AN ENTIRE UNIVERSE NOT FILLED WITH PLANETS TO AIM AT!"

"The universe is filled with all the planets, Ms Lane. Look, we're safely orbiting around-."

"And how could you be sure the Lantern down there could catch us!?"

"Lantern Mother of Mercy is a planet. Catching moons is what planets do. See those big spine-?"

"I'm trying not to look at it."

"Basically, those are Mother of Mercy's gravity sensing organs. She could feel-."

Kal-El flies over Xenon's horizon at some speed, barely sparing Ater Clementia a glance. "Lois, are you okay?"

"Just..! Super."

He looks at me. "I take it this was intentional?"

"Yes, of course it-."

"Then I'd appreciate it if you could give the rest of us a little more warning in the future. And no, telling us that we're going to see another Orange Lantern isn’t the same as warning us that we're about to run into a planet."

"We were never going to hit the planet." I hold out my left hand. "Mother of Mercy, back me up."

A projection of her central nexus appears next to me. "I felt the Illustres' spatial distortion as soon as you left the Rao system. Catching you was simple. I have already put Xenon into a stable orbit around me."

"And the lack of warning?"

"I thought that it was a better visual spectacle like this. The planet just appearing like this. But, I will certainly take your concern onboard and avoid doing this again."

"Thank you." He turns, looking at the sky. "We're in the Sol system, and… From the position of the planets we're near Mars' orbit."

"We're at right angles to Mars' orbit."

"And did it occur to you to make sure that the Martians didn't object?"

"Yes. I popped by for a quiet chat with Prince J'emm a couple of days ago. You see, the biggest barrier to Martians repopulating the surface of their world is their weak magnetic field. So I thought that I'd bring in the Orange Lantern Corps' greatest expert in geophysics to see if she could sort that out for them. Don't worry, she'll check with them before she starts manipulating their planet's core."

Ms Lane seems to have regained a degree of composure. "I know that putting another planet in the star system won't significantly affect the orbit of anything already there, but if she's planning on getting close to Mars, won't that cause earthquakes?"

"I used gravity to fly through space before I became an Orange Lantern. I am perfectly capable of preventing the gravity distortion created by my mass from affecting anything else."

"You see? No-" I raise my right hand to wave as Kon and Kara fly towards us. "-problem. Do you-?"

"Is that…" Kara stares at Ater Clementia. "Planet.. supposed to be there?"

"Yes, that's an Orange Lantern."

"The-? The whole planet is a Lantern?"

"No, but I cover its entire surface. The Illustres has rendered my name as 'Mother of Mercy'."

"What are you?"

"I am unique. I cannot be readily compared to any life form with which you are familiar. Parts of my body function like plant material, others like animal tissue and the rest is organic technology. I understand how to create and use it instinctively. Now that I have a power ring and personal lantern, my few restrictions have been lifted."

"I…" Kara shakes her head. "Huh."

"We're close enough to Earth here that I can zeta tube everyone back. Or you can mount the first ever tourist expedition to Ater Clementia-."

Lois definitively shakes her head. "Perry's gunna want a piece on why there's a new planet in the system on his desk tonight."

"He needs to work on his work-life balance."

She gives me an odd look. "Yeah. He's the weird one."

"No, he's fairly normal. But I don't have high blood pressure and too much cholesterol and hence am at a far lower risk of heart attack." I wave my right hand and a zeta tube construct appears. "After you."

"Recognised, Lois Lane, A four six."

"Kal-El? Kara? Heading back to-?"

"Actually? I was talking to Kon, and…" She glances at him and he nods reassuringly. "I think I'd.. like to meet your friends."

"Oh? Great. They're lovely people-" I set my communicator to 'just Kon'. "Are Canis or Blaze-?"

"Canis is out with his Aunt, and Blaze is at KordTech."

Back to 'all'. "-and I'm sure they'd be delighted to meet you."

Kal-El nods, smiling. "I'm glad you're feeling up to it. I'll just tag along in case-."

"Actually? I think.. this is something I need to be able to do by myself."

Kal-El regards her carefully for a moment. "If you're sure. Call me at the Planet if you need anything."

"Recognised, Superman, zero one."

Kara takes a deep breath, then floats towards the zeta tube. "Okay. Here I go."

"Recognised, Kara Zor-El, A four five, Superboy, B zero four."

I turn to Mother of Mercy's projection. "I hope you enjoy your time in our little system."

"I have found that I enjoy meeting new people."

"Contact me if you need anything."

I float through the zeta tube.

8th October
16:24 GMT -5

"Recognised, Orange Lantern, B zero six. Identification confirmed."

Looks like just about everyone's here, and Kara's working through her initial nervousness. Roy waves, his modified light armour moving more easily than it used to. M'gann's talking nineteen to the dozen to Kara already, and-.

"Hey, Oh El." Wallace blurs to a stop just in front of me. "You sticking around today, or-."

Kara spins, her eyes metaphorically blazing. "You're Kryptonian too?! Why didn't you-?"

"No, I'm sorry, I'm not. Wallace, I told you that would happen eventually."

He looks at her, then looks at me. "What?"

 

8th October
17:34 GMT -5

"Plato?" Raquel looks more curious than surprised. "I thought you liked Theory of Justice?"

I slide the next batch of chopped celery into the cauldron-like saucepan. I'd rather gotten out of the habit of cooking for this many people. But given the amount of time I've been spending in the mountain since my return to Earth I can't really complain about getting kitchen duty every so often.

"Sure, as a work of political philosophy. It just occurred to me that the only work of philosophy that covered superheroes was Republic."

That gets a frown. "What you talking about? You were the one saying that Truggs was right about superheroes being a bit crazy but not crazy enough. Doesn't that match what Nietzschie-"

"Nietzsche."

"-said about creating new moralities? That it was confusing, uncomfortable and most people wouldn't do it."

I nod as I start adding the stock. "Yeah. Yeah, fair point. It's just that from what I remember of Nietzsche, he thought that once someone did it-. "

"They'd stick with it 'cause they'd already decided their old moral code was stupid. Whereas what you and Truggs think the League is doing is trying to stay within their old moral code while doing something that.. sometimes can't fit inside it."

"I'm not sure that Nylor and I see it in quite the same way. But broadly…"

She squints slightly. "Anyone ever tell you you've got a nasty mind?"

"Not that specifically, no. But what I took away from Nietzsche was that having a morality you don't believe in is self destructive. So if none of us feel like joining the police force but insist on saying that police are important to law enforcement…"

"That's a contradiction 'cause we don't act like we do. We fight crime, hunt down criminals and none of us really care what the police think about it 'cept when they actually try an' make an issue of us being vigilantes."

"But if we don't actually believe in law and order, what do we believe? Or what should we? I mean, to my mind that's at least as important as hand-to-hand combat training. We're not just going to have to hit things in the field, we're going to have to make decisions with massive legal and political ramifications."

"More you than me."

"Really? Have you ever been to Arnus' homeworld?"

"No. But… Huh."

"Right. If he ever does decide to visit home, he'd probably-."

She shakes her head. "I asked, and he told me he thinks of Earth as home."

"Oh. Okay, well, his former home. You'd be the first Human to visit there. Not.. a government or UN appointed diplomat. You. And they'd probably form policy relating to us based on what you said. Remember how you felt when I said I'd started making more kinetic belts? Not doing that was a decision you made."

"And you think I was wrong."

"I think you were wrong. I don't know you were wrong. And I don't know what metric you were using to make that decision."

"I didn't even think about it." Her eyes unfocus slightly as she sits back in her chair. "If you wanna make the world a better place…"

"Take a look at yourself, and then make a change."

"Which is how you got to Plato. Because of how he said guardians should be educated to be guardians, which is kinda what's happening to us."

"The guardians weren't supposed to own property. Superheroes don't get paid. The difference is that the Guardians' upkeep was paid for by the state, while we're volunteers doing it pro bono publico. I still find it amusing that the most avowedly capitalist nation on Earth idolised Kal-El, a man who has never been paid for the work he does as Superman."

"Do you think he should? Hell, do you think I should get Icon to release more Terminus technology?"

"I don't know. What metric do you think you should use to decide?"

She glances aside. "Whether Icon'll let me or not."

"Heh. Well yeah, that's… Important. Given that he hasn't for.. two hundred years? I think we can guess what he thinks. But if we're talking about cultivating virtues in ourselves-."

I look around as the door opens and Kon wanders in, followed by Roy and Kara. "Didn't Plato say that guardians shouldn't marry and people shouldn't know who their biological parents are?"

"There's a logic to that. If-."

A look of distaste passes over Kara's face. "If they don't know who their family are, they can't show them any preference."

Raquel shakes her head. "No, they'd still identify with other guardians more than anyone else. And I'm pretty sure that anyone with a calendar could make a pretty good guess about which kid was whose."

"Which leads us onto the problem of groupthink, and Mill and Taylor's insistence that free discussion on all topics was essential-."

"When are we eating?"

We all look at Roy. He shrugs.

"Sorry to bring down the tone, but…"

"About two hours." Chicken legs, bay leaf and turn up the heat a little… "You getting hungry already?"

"Just wanna know if I've got time to rebuild my armour's targeting system before dinner."

Kara sags. "I'm really sorry-."

"Hey, it's not a problem."

"What happened?"

"She-." / "I-."

They look at each other and Roy shrugs. She sighs. "Earth technology is… It's so much more primitive than what I had on Krypton. I keep thinking that I should be able to use what I know to improve things. Except it's so much less advanced and.. just.. alien that nothing I know applies to it. And I got frustrated and I.. kind of forgot I had super strength, and…"

Ooh. I look at Roy. "Can you fix it, or do you want me to-?"

"Really, it's not a problem. I like working on my armour." He turns away, smiling as he does so. "I'll be finished before dinner."

Maybe Red Arrow gave me a rather slanted impression, but he's surprisingly easy-going.

Raquel sits back so she can look at Kara without straining her neck. "If you're having trouble with your flying, you could try out the ring course."

"I'm.. not sure that it's a good idea for me to fly inside a mountain. I can fly through mountains."

Kon shakes his head. "It's not a problem. After I bounced off the walls and ceiling a few times we added in kinetic barriers. If you miss your turn now you just stop."

"Okay…" She nods, perking up slightly. "Yeah, that sounds like fun. But… Do the barriers cover the floor as well?"

 

9th October
11:12 GMT -5

"So… What you're saying is, it's impossible."

"No! No." Sephtian shakes his head. "It clearly is possible, in.. the same way that.. your people understood how a fission bomb could be created well before they had the means to actually build one. We understand how the arcane structures in Blaze function. If we wanted to create another like her it is quite possible that we could manage it. And we understand what she needs to look like after the transition has occurred."

Ted's made a real effort to help the Atlanteans feel at home here. Moving weather control system production away from KordTech's main research centre made a lot of sense, and he's having the building which used to house it converted into an Atlantean style arcane laboratory. And given the subject of the project they're currently doing for me, one of the really high security ones. Unfortunately there isn't a high security way to move Blaze from the mountain to here… Well, not yet.

"But you can't actually make the transition."

"The Demon you fought in Guyana was able to maintain a link using the remains of the soul of the man it once was, combined with the magics of the Lazarus Pit. That kept the Earth end of the gate open."

"Yes, I realised that."

"The Human soul naturally combined the elements. Blaze does not have a Human soul. She has a structure of Hell magic which behaves somewhat like one. There is no attachment point where we could begin to replace the energies."

"Is there any way around that?"

He makes a sinuous wiggling gesture. Yes but no. "If we had an object or creature who could combine those energies, we could use them. Have you located the First?"

"No. And if we haven't at this point then I don't expect to." The Greek police were grateful -even if they weren't sure they could believe me- when I explained who 'Theo' was, and since he killed at least eight people during his stay in Greece they're as alert as they can be.

"I am aware of no other source of such magic. Are you?"

"No, I'm afraid-." Huh. "Maybe."

"If you are referring to a mythological artefact, I would not expect.. complete certainty. But without one we are forced to start from first principles."

"And how long will that take?"

"Perhaps three decades? We will of course learn a great deal… But I suspect that you would like results sooner." He watches me for a moment. "If.. I may ask..?"

"What do you know about Christian mythology?"

"We have all been doing some reading. But a faith two thousand years old -not counting the Hebraic tradition which preceded it- will create a great deal of literature. If you could be more precise..?"

"The Garden of Eden. More precisely, the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge."

"The most empirically-based interpretation I could imagine is that it was a reference to the transition from hunter-gatherer society to settled farming. Knowledge in that instance representing early Humans taking control of the land and causing it to conform to their desires. Since that is usually accompanied by an increase in disease and decrease in general health, that might explain the 'curses' Jehovah bestowed upon the people for defying his will. And the difference in his treatment of Cain and Abel-."

"And the less empirical interpretation?"

"There is literally a tree somewhere which grants people the ability to comprehend ideas which are considerably more complex than those their social world contains within it. Perhaps which even creates sophoncy itself. Though that idea does rather fly in the face of the fossil record. On the other hand, it is very hard to observe evolution, While the orthodox view is that greater brain size amongst hominids is a result of random mutations in favourable conditions, it is not impossible that it was the result of externally applied magic. But not on two people; the gene pool would have been too small, even if they were prepared to mate with more mentally simple hominids."

"But the specific description; the God-like ability to know good from evil and choose between them?"

"There are any number of evils which cannot exist in the most simple societies. Professional thieves cannot work their trade if they must follow the herds. There is little to steal, and all of the other members of their tribe would see them. It is nearly as hard in small farming communities, particularly before currency was invented-."

"This is a little outside your normal area, isn't it?"

"I had to study surface society in order to understand what I was reading." His head fronds ripple. "But what you want me to say is that the fruit is a magic banana which will enable us to perform the arcane transfiguration you require."

"Banana?"

"Banana or mushroom or apple or tomato or pomegranate or perhaps something else entirely. If you actually get to the Garden of Eden, I recommend taking samples of everything. Several, perhaps."

"But does it.. sound like something that could work?"

"Based on the limited information available to me… Yes? Perhaps? It would.. prove an interesting object of study in its own right, regardless of how helpful it would be to our current project."

"One miscellaneous fruit from the Tree of Knowledge coming up. If I'm not back in an hour, watch for a crater."

"Might.. it be prudent to wait until.. one of your allies can accompany you? Your.. last fight with monotheistic elementals did not go as well as it might."

True. I doubt that Euanthe would be much help, my team mates are either at school or… They'd want Batman to sign off on it. And… Helpful as getting access to Eden would be, I am.. basically planning on directly defying the Lord of Hosts here. I mean, I'm working on the assumption that the Silver City is going to have a collective aneurysm when we finish Blaze, but I might have been able to talk myself out of it. This is straight up breaking, entering and theft. And if the Cherub with the flaming sword is still on station, assault with a deadly weapon as well.

Am I..? Really doing the right thing here? I mean I.. think I am. If we can get this to work, it doesn't just get Blaze into the field, it might let us teach morality to all sorts of beings not inclined to learn it through conventional methods. And… Angels don't have free will. This isn't like dealing with a Human where I could try trading something… And if I try, then any help my tattoos would give me in avoiding attention will be gone.

It's like Nabu, but with lower stakes.

I don't think I'd be bothered all that much by it afterwards, but… Is that a sign something's wrong in itself?

 

9th October
11:22 GMT -5

I float over New York while the phone of the Zatara residence rings. No cheating; heads I get Zatanna who will most likely support whatever I want to do, tails I get Mister Zatara who will almost certainly try and talk me out of it. In either case, arguing against their position will give me at least a reasonable outline of both sides of the argument. Assuming that one of them does answer, otherwise I'm going to have to give Father Mattias a b-.

"Yes?"

Tails it is, then. "Mister Zatara, do you have a few minutes?"

"Of course. If only because I am worried about what you might do if I say 'no'."

I'd say 'thanks', but he does have a point. "Right. You know I'm working on turning Blaze into.. something other than a Demon?"

"Zatanna may have mentioned it once or twice."

"I may have found a way to do it in a few weeks, rather than a few decades. Unfortunately, it involves stealing an item or.. items."

"And you do not believe that you could simply purchase the items in question?"

"I'm happy to try, but the.. prospective seller has traditionally been rather against that sort of thing."

"The Justice League can get a court order to legally confiscate magic artefacts in a number of countries."

Hm. "Including Iran?"

"Hm. No, I don't believe so. But the Justice League might be able to persuade them to confiscate one for the purpose of improving our ability to fight Demons. What exactly is it you are looking for?"

"A fruit from the Tree of Knowledge."

There's a few moments of silence.

"You wish to go to the Garden of Eden,-

"Is that Paul?"

"-and steal one of the fruit which God specifically instructed Adam and Eve not to eat?"

"It is! Nioj ni enohp llac!"

"Yes, but they did, and -philosophically speaking- I rather like have the capacity to know right from wrong." Huh. "Though since I come from a parallel universe and therefore aren't descended from Adam and Eve, I suppose that I.. don't."

Bananas are smaller than my head, but I think I'll wait until we see what it does to Blaze before I try eating it.

"You're finally going!"

"Good morning, Zatanna. And, maybe. I wanted to run it past your father first."

"Can I come?"

"Um. If I actually go-" I hear Mister Zatara taking a breath. "-and it's reasonably safe, certainly."

"You believe that you can sneak past the guardians set in place by God?"

"I snuck up on the First of the Fallen. The Book of Truth isn't exactly clear on relative angelic power levels, but he's about as powerful as they come and he didn't detect me until I started stabbing him."

"You will not face just one Angel in the Garden. Genesis states that God placed many Cherubim in the Garden, as well as a flaming sword."

"Actually, it says that the Cherubim were placed in the east of the Garden, so as long as you stay away from the east they shouldn't be a problem. And the flaming sword guards the way to the Tree of Life, not the Tree of Knowledge."

"Zatanna!"

"I didn't write the Bible, Dad."

He takes a deep breath. "Be that as it may, you are talking about stealing from God. That is not something to take lightly."

"And that's why I'm talking to you about it first. Now, I could say… Since I'm not descended from Adam and Eve, the ban on entry doesn't apply to me and it was clearly a public space before that. But I'm mostly planning on doing it because with Satanus becoming more active we need better anti-Demon weapons."

"Can I assume that you have developed a way to fight the Cherubim should they detect you?"

I glance at the case I'm using to carry the kaahuite-enhanced Ace-type rifle I had built for that exact purpose. I call it the 'Hellblazer', because, why not?

"Yes, though I'd rather disengage and flee. I'm not sure that Angels are moral agents, but if Genesis is even remotely accurate then I doubt that they'll pursue beyond the borders."

"If you have already decided to do it then why did you bother to contact me?"

"Because sometimes… Things that seem perfectly rational to me don't seem rational to other people. And I think that I may be missing things. Given how non-interventionist Jehovah is these days and how he's apparently fine with people injecting themselves with Essence of Demon, I'm struggling to see how what I'm planning is worse. But that might be me. Is taking fruit from a tree a bigger deal than I think it is? Would it kill the Tree and condemn everyone to ignorance?"

"Possibly. The translation 'knowledge of good and evil' is not necessarily entirely accurate. The phrase could also mean 'knowledge of all things'."

"So Adam and Eve were forced to live out their days as simple farmers, never able to build any of the amazing machines they could now envisage or go to any of the fantastic places they now knew existed? That might be worse than the 'pain in childbirth' thing."

"Pain and death. Death in childbirth hasn't gone away."

"Zatanna, I'm happy to make exo-wombs my next project, but they're not exactly easy for other people to build."

"The point I am trying to make is that it might not give you what you are looking for."

"Knowledge of all things would work nearly as well. Even if it actually only gives accelerated learning or something, that would still speed up the research." Ooh. "Unless it turns out to actually be more along the lines of a Two Thousand AD obelisk or something… No, that could still be helpful."

"And if you are wrong, and the Cherubim do follow you, for having trespassed against God's garden and stolen from it?"

"They're free to press charges in an Iranian court. Having my hand cut off really isn't a problem for me. Otherwise, I will beat them down using escalating levels of force, starting from the lowest amount that has an effect and then increasing until I use the Sword of the Fallen. Which -as previously stated- works on anything. The immediate area around the entrance is inhabited, but there's a lot of desert once you get past that and it's as good a place for a super fight as anywhere."

"I see that you have given this some thought."

"On and off since last year. Any other problems?"

"Does the idea of enduring God's personal wrath not bother you?"

"Not my god. And there are plenty worse than me. So… No. Not really."

"Then I have nothing else to say, and I pray that you are right."

"Great! Og ot s'luaP noitacol!"

There's a puff of violet mist next to me as Zatanna appears and immediately starts falling.

"Aagh! Ylf!"

Recovering, she rises through the air until she pulls level with me.

"Do I need to change before we go to Iran?"

 

9th October
19:31 GMT +3

"That's it?"

We look down from high above the mid-sized oasis town built in what looks like the middle of nowhere.

"Welcome to Enoch. Population… About twelve hundred. Primary industries: textiles, goat herding, moisture farming and smuggling."

"Wohs em regnad." Her eyes flare violet.

"I thought I was."

Her eyes dim. "Automatic rifles and rocket propelled grenades."

"And possibly a few theurgists."

"Wohs em cigam." Another flash. "A few low-level artifacts and practitioners. I don't think they're much of a threat."

"And if I told you the number of people who used to say that about John Constantine..."

She turns her head to look at me. "Have you heard from him? I've tried getting in touch a few times, but he isn't answering."

"No. He told me not to get in touch for a while and it's only been a few months. Is there a spell that could send him a message without requiring him to reply?"

"There's a spell that does just about everything."

"I'll write him a letter." The area next to the plateau matches John's description. Since Angela somehow wasn't detected going in or out, they haven't increased the guard at all. Detection appears limited to three men and a couple of wires stretched over the stone pillars marking the entrance. "Ready?"

"Do you really think it's not safe for me to go in?"

"Unless Jehovah has personally let you off original sin… Maybe. I don't know. After getting sucked into Hell I'm feeling a bit more cautious. You don't have my tattoos-."

"Dad won't let me get tattoos until I'm eighteen."

"I don't think they'd work unless you rewrote your soul at the same time. And don't do that."

"John didn't have the best magic education. I can't do it permanently, but I'm pretty sure I could make tattoos that work like Kaldur's. I'd just have to charge them every time I used them."

"Or you could put it on armour."

"No, it has to be something living."

"Okay, this… I'm having all kinds of ideas, but we should get this done first." I need more magic researchers… "I'm going to be phased, and I'm not going to risk communicating with you just in case the giant wheels with eyes can detect it."

"Oh no, that's the Ophanim. The Cherubim are the ones with the four faces: Human, Eagle, Ox and Lion."

"Fewer eyes." I take my armour out of subspace, and check my weapons. "Sounds good. Keep an eye out, and use your best judgement." She nods, and I phase out.

Dox briefly tried to explain how -despite not being able to interact with the world- I could still perceive it. I'm mildly pleased that I made it into his second sentence before he lost me, but I still don't really understand it. I remember the issue of Planetary where the Four's Invisible Woman expy couldn't see without a special visor. It made sense, but… I mean, the visor was invisible too, wasn't it? I thought maybe it was sensitive to light that was slightly forward or backwards in time or something, but when I said that Dox just groaned…

I make it to just above street level without any noticeable reaction from the locals. Huh. Guns and.. a couple of rugged off-road vehicles aside, this place is pretty much as I imagine it was when they built it. No good transportation links… So most things they can't make here don't get here. No electricity, outhouses for toilets… No refined sugar. Must be good for their dental health.

Zatanna didn't mention the gate area being enchanted, but I carefully float around the guards and wires just in case. Through… No warning from my spell eater, so I haven't been sent somewhere. It literally is a magic wormhole. That would be fascinating to study in its own right, but I don't think that the locals would be onboard.

Angela had to scrabble up the side of the plateau when she came this way, but my armour's flight system can manage it far more easily. Up and over…

Huh.

Okay, yes, to desert-dwelling nomads I can see how this would be paradise, but it doesn't really look… Special. The waterfalls are pretty enough, especially with the rainbows which the light creates as it refracts through them, but…

Waterfalls from two sides feeding into a lake. Cheat. Still, as Samuel Vimes remarked: two types laugh at the law, those who break it and those who make it.

Plenty of woodland for fuel, food and shelter. I rise a little further, getting above the canopy and looking out across the Garden. A long way in and on both my left and right I see two flecks of white/gold which I'm going to tentatively assume are Cherubim. Much as there are creatures who can hear it when you speak their name, there are some who can tell when they're under observation. So my interest will have to wait.

Now, how to find two trees in a forest? Working from Genesis, it should be one with precisely one fruit missing. Except that was thousands of years ago, and trees generally fruit every year. And we're currently out of season. Unless it's a mushroom after all… And a mushroom tree would certainly stand out…

Okay, where's the centre?

Map available. Please note that 'Garden of Eden' has irregular topology.

Show me.

An image appears in my mind. Hah! East indeed. The place is large, far larger than it could have been if the local terrain matched what I saw around Enoch, but it isn't as infinite as it looks. Things repeat. It loops back on itself. You can keep walking in one direction forever but you'll start seeing your own footprints after a while. Gravity is the same as on Earth proper, and light is behaving as if a straight line was a straight line… There's no horizon. I didn't spot it at once because-

I momentarily fight down a wave of nausea.

-the trees cover up where it should be. Ugh.

I lower myself until the panorama is a little less offensive to my stomach.

Okay, so there's dust or moisture or something in the air, so you can't see forever. I can see birds and insects… Which must be eating something. So… Look for a clearing where they aren't eating? Because if they were then there would be intelligent immortal animals around the place.

I pick a direction at random and start flying a search pattern. I may have underestimated how difficult this part would be. Though I suppose that if I'm being forced to spend time somewhere, an idyllic oasis isn't a bad place for it. Hm. There are dead twigs on the ground. Do I risk scooping one up? I'd have to dephase something… No, that can wait until I've got the fruit. I can come back for it or get it on my way out.

I wonder if there are any extinct species here?

 

9th October
19:53 GMT +3

Well…

There's a grove. And it's got two trees in it. And they're big. Looks like it was pomegranates after all. I guess someone's going to have to repaint a whole lot of old masters.

And there's an Angel floating just above them with a burning sword in hand. I guess Jehovah hasn't heard of metaphor. I was sort of hoping that the local Angels would be appropriately weird-looking, but this chap… I say chap, I know that medieval Angels were depicted as androgynous and I'm not scanning him to check. This chap is very nearly as generically Warrior Angel as it's possible to be. Porcelain white skin covered in black and gold markings I can't readily identify, and a black tabard with what looks like a science fiction warrior villain's faceplate design painted on in white. His eyes are white voids and aside from the tabard he isn't wearing any other clothes. If he turns around a bit quick the question of his sex will be resolved very quickly.

His helmet is gold in colour and looks like it was designed to look a little like a Hawk's head.

It's just an emblem. No four-headed mutant Angels. I am disappointed.

And no wheel of eyes or self-guided flaming sword. Just a bloke. Okay, he isn't flapping his wings to remain in one place, but Thanagarians can manage that. And if he's noticed me, he isn't showing it. All in all, underwhelming. Not that I'm going to take any unnecessary chances…

I wonder if this is actually Zauriel 16, or if the look is just generic?

I drift down towards ground level, coming closer to the trees. And I wonder how I tell which is which? Or if… They're actually different at all. I seem to remember Eve, Cain, Abel and Seth still existing in the Dream, so it's quite possible that the Tree of Life is some sort of metaphysical power booster… No, that doesn't help me. The obvious thing to do is take a sample of both, but there's an Angel of unknown capabilities hanging just over my head. Let's see… Pomegranates are fertilised by insects and Hummingbirds… But I doubt that any animal that fed from one wouldn't feed from the other as well, so I can't try looking for big-brained Bees.

I float right up to one of the pomegranates, trying to discern its arcane effects from the appearance of its skin. I dunno, it's red. Dad's the family gardener; I've never even eaten one of these. Ring, can we use visual data to perform some sort of chemical analysis?

Affirmative. However, the data which can be generated is limited, and makes numerous assumptions which may prove unreliable in relation to arcane fruit.

The data appears in my mind, and my ring wasn't joking. No fungal or parasitic infections, no disease, good soil nutrition -which is worth noting if this is actually the tree Adam and Eve consumed fruit from, as there's no obvious source for soil enrichment other than Angel shit- and the fruit's fully ripe. And so are all of the others. I drift over to the other tree and try taking a look at those fruit. No, same thing. Nothing that would let me work out which type was which. Assuming that there even was a difference.

Ugh.

Okay, so, what are my options? Asking the Angel is viable, even if 'asking' just involves phasing in and asking for a fruit from one of the trees. If he responds 'You would presume to take a fruit from the Tree of X' then I'll know which tree is which. Taking a fruit in the first place was an act of avarice, so I could meditate on my bond with the Ophidian and try and see it from her point of view… Maybe. Or… There's no mention of anyone else eating a fruit from the Tree. Given the lack of decay, or even difference in levels of ripeness…

No. It can't be that simple. Can it? Okay, Eve supposedly picked the fruit, so if I assume she was about five feet tall…

I drop to ground level and make a circuit, carefully studying for any hilum. Or helpful snake skin. No snake skin but… That's a hilum. Not seeing any others… And my other options aren't all that appealing. Okay then, time to snatch, grab and run. That fruit looks as good as any of the others. Stealth system ready. Angel… Not looking this way, as much as that's likely to matter. Put the trees between us as well. X-ionised knife at the ready. Sword of the Fallen there, but… That's Plan Q in this situation.

Aaaand phase in knife grab fruit deploy lure out move move move!

1:1 "Halt and make yourself known!"

The Angel is clearly looking around for me, white-gold flames flaring along the edge of his sword. Yes, let's.. not do that.

1:2 "No evildoer can escape the sight of Heaven's servants!"

I turn away as I accelerate back towards the waterfalls. I wonder how broadly he's phrasing 'evil'? I'm not sure that the theft of a single fruit really qualifies as 'evil' under normal circumstances, and I have a very definite righteous mission here. Right, he's… Spotting where I removed the fruit, where I appeared… He's making a prayer gesture with white light flickering over the palms of his hands… Shouldn't be able to find me like that.

Spell eater temperature increasing.

Increasing a lot, or increasing a little?

Temperature increase is not immediately threatening.

Awesome. If only Demons were this easy to-. He's heading this way. No, wait… He's heading towards the exit. Which makes sense. he wouldn't have detected any sort of portal opening, so the exit is the only place I could have come from. Okay, drop a kaahuite nail and accelerate-

1:3 "Brothers! I feel the taint of the Fallen Ones!"

-away. That should hold his attention. Now that I'm not bothering to slow down and look around, I'm covering the distance far faster than I did on the way in. I was careful not to touch the kaahuite directly, and the orange light is sufficiently universal that if anything of it remained attached it won't necessarily lead to me. Accelerate more-.

There's a roar of white-gold flame behind me as Might-Be-Zauriel points his sword at the nail and lets rip. The flames pass neatly around.. or.. possibly through the foliage and strike the ground where the nail fell. Mm, doesn't look any stronger than the reaction I was getting from my Angel feather rounds, but I suppose that they're weaker than Gabriel was. On the other hand, the sheet of flame is continuous. I wonder if it comes purely from the sword or if the sword is just an aid?

Not far to go now, looking good. Now, is he intelligent enough to realise what it was that he just incinerated? Or was that a shoot first sort of thing? Shoot first would be more convenient… He's looking around and doing that praying spell thing again… Lure activating in two, one, now.

His head jerks around and he spreads his wings and lunges through the air towards the tree. Hm. Certainly sensitive to damage to the Tree. Looks like I made it. Down the slope, through the exit… And out into the Iranian sky with my pomegranate. Up, up, up…

And phase in.

"Orange Lantern to Zatanna. Scenario beta."

"They spotted you? Are they coming?"

"I don't think so, but let's head towards Bialya before we try exotic transportation just in case."

"Did the Cherubim actually have four heads, or was Ezekiel using artistic license?"

"One head, Eagle themed helmet. I'll show you a picture once we get back to KordTech. Whereabouts are you?"

"Hiding in their… Do they call them mosques?"

"I.. ttttthink they call it a temple, but don't quote me on that. See anything interesting?"

"Some of the paintings were nice. I'm heading out now."

"Holding position."

"Soo? What fruit is it?"

"Pomegranate. I'm almost glad that I'm not going to be the one eating it."

 

9th October
12:36 GMT -5

"Euanthe?"

Zatanna raises her left eyebrow. "Did you think she was hiding?"

"No, but she might be non-corporeal or something." I hold out the small section of branch I cut from the Tree of Hopefully Knowledge. "Euanthe?! I've got some pre-lapsarian wood for you!"

"Where is she, anyway?"

"After the.. Demon incident in Guyana, she expressed enthusiasm about fighting more Demons. I suggested that she limit herself to creating more spirit forests over sites that had been used by Demons to break into the world. I.. assume that's what she's doing."

"Want me to try summoning her?"

"No." I tentatively reach towards a nearby elm with my right hand. "I think I can manage that."

Plant desires… They're too simple to be called desires, really. But while I haven't really had much practice since I used this technique to disable Kilowog, touching what they have with a light press of orange light…

The vines behind me burst as a bark-covered Euanthe leaps forth! "Who dares-!" She spots myself and Zatanna and staggers to a stop. "Pavlos? Was.. that.. you..?"

"Yes, I learned from a Green Lantern from-."

She comes right up to me and pats my left cheek with her right hand. "Pavlos, I am extremely fond of you. But never ever do that again."

"Sorry." I show her the piece of pomegranate wood. "Does this make up for it?"

She gives it her full attention, frowning. "That is… Is it wood?"

Zatanna smiles, her arms folded across her chest. "Are you sure you're a Dryad?"

"It looks like wood. But it does.. not…" She plucks it out of my hand and then turns away, holding it right up to her face so that she can study it more closely. "Feel..? Like wood? But it is wood? I do not understand."

"I took it from a place called The Garden of Eden. The god that made it really doesn't like Demons. If you're able to integrate it, integrate its magics-."

She looks around, beaming with joy. "I can kill Demons better! Thank you Pavlos!"

"You're welc-"

I blink, and her right arm has snaked around the back of my head, pulling me down onto her waiting lips.

"-mrrum?"

"Is she supposed to do that?"

My mouth -and.. now tongue apparently- otherwise engaged, I raise my right hand and wave my forefinger back and forth. "Ooath-."

Euanthe steps back, still grinning as a thorn-covered vine cuts into her left forearm. Sap drips freely from her plant-like flesh as the gash becomes wide enough for her-. She pushes the twig into herself with a gasp of pain.

"Euanthe, we've talked about this. Humans tend to be monogamous-."

"But I am not Human." She clenches her left hand into a fist and then relaxes it, her wound being covered by a bark-like scab. "Does a holly tree care whose pollen fertilises its flowers?"

"I… Don't know..?"

She shakes her head. "It doesn't."

Zatanna's trying not to laugh. "Humans are rather different to holly trees. Are you-" I point at her scab. "-alright?"

"Incorporating its magics will take some time. And I am mindful of your warnings; I will not seek out more Demons until I have finished doing so."

I nod. "Good show. Zatanna and I.. are about to head inside. Do you want to come?"

"Into the mountain with the Demon? When I have just told you that I will not seek out Demons until I am ready to destroy them with wooden armour proof against their foul kind?" She sits, then leans forward to lay the palms of her hands on the ground, sighing with satisfaction as the plants reach up to envelop them. "Pavlos, that doesn't make sense."

"You are completely right." I float into the air and start to move away from the top of Mount Justice. "I feel silly for even suggesting it."

And she's stopped paying any attention to me.

"So she wants you to.. fertilise her.. holly bush, huh?" Zatanna's following me, and apparently she's given up on not showing how amusing she finds it. "Could be prickly."

"I'm not fertilising anyone's holly bush." I frown. "And since when do you make.. that sort of joke?"

"Since I stopped going to a Catholic high school." She takes a breath, then stops smiling quite so much. "How's Jade taking the 'Hell' thing?"

"Not… Great…" I stop in the air and look down at Happy Harbour. "Fighting hordes of Demons isn't really part of her skill set. And.. she isn't really sure what she wants to do with her life other than 'not murder people for money'. Dropping her in the deep end by accident put her well outside of her comfort zone…"

"I guess without superpowers there are some things you just can't handle."

"Yeah, but I already said that I wouldn't give her superpowers until she'd been out of prison for a year. I'm trying to sell her on power armour. Need to ask.. Roy if he'd mind giving her some pointers." I extend my right hand and generate a zeta tube construct. "Ladies first."

"Recognised, Zatanna Zatara, A zero six, Orange Lantern, B zero six."

The lights dim and the internal security takes a look at us.

"When did you go back to being 'A'?"

"Identification confirmed."

"When you left Earth. After the League abandoned my dad I didn't feel like joining in any more."

The shield parts and we walk inside the hangar. Sephtian should be waiting in Ms Blaze's… I hesitate to think 'holding area', but since the League heard about her mini-Hell her freedom has been somewhat more restricted than when she first arrived.

"Orange Lantern to Sephtian. We're on our way up."

"I strongly suggest that you hurry. Ms Blaze is having some sort of fit."

My eyes widen, and I transition Zatanna and myself into the lift.

 

9th October
12:40 GMT -5

Canis steps away from Ms Blaze as she writhes against the suppression chains binding her arms, legs and neck. "Done. It does not appear to be helping."

"Sephtian, what happened?"

"I am not.. sure." He holds out his hands towards the glowing network of sigils floating in the air at the behest of his two colleagues -a spiritualist and an arcanist if I remember correctly- and his eyes shimmer as he connects his senses to the output glyph. "It seems that her inherent magics are being disrupted. Attacked in some way."

Zatanna frowns. "The mountain's still warded though, right?"

"Yes. Yes, this isn't a directed attack. I doubt that it is even-"

"Said I was safe… Bastard, oath-breaking Lantern!"

"-technically an attack."

"A conventional sympathetic resonance wouldn't be enough to reach her here. How is this working?"

"If I knew that, then I would be counteracting-." His eyes clear and he leans to his right to peer at Ms Blaze through the glyphs. "Ms Blaze, are you drawing on external power resources?"

"Of course I am, fool!"

"That would be the source of the problem." Sephtian's eyes stop glowing. "The wards here would not stop the sympathetic resonance you yourself created. If someone was able to-"

"There's no way-"

"-access the other-."

"-he has the power to dooouaaagh!"

"-end of the binding..." Sephtian looks down with concern as Ms Blaze spasms uncontrollably. "Given that your brother is increasingly becoming a power in Hell, it does not seem too implausible that he has found a way to interfere with your interface."

"Blaze, if he's back-hacked that mini-Hell of yours, the game's up. There's nothing you can do to maintain access to it and keep him out."

"You did this!"

"I gain nothing from harming you like this. Shut down the Hell, and we can-."

"You're.. trying to.. force me! You know you can't fulfil your end of the bargain and-!"

I hold up the pomegranate so that she can see it.

"Fresh from Eden."

"Give it to me!"

"Release your captives first. I'm not sure what would happen if you ate this, but I'm sure it would be worse with Satanus sticking his oar in. I want to have Sephtian's team examine it first-."

The spiritualist turns his head towards me. "We have names, you know."

"-because we still don't really know what it does. It could make the situation worse, but the only avenue of attack we can think of-."

"Fine!"

"Okay. Zatanna, get ready."

She takes a grip on her staff and holds it up slightly. "Decnahne sexelfer, etarucca taerht noitasiretcarahc…"

I generate manacle constructs binding Ms Blaze. "Canis, please remove the manacles."

He cautiously begins by removing the clamp from her neck.

"Ms Blaze, I would very much appreciate it if you could do anything within your power to avoid sending them to actual-Hell. Even if you care nothing for their suffering, I would remind you that your brother would most likely make use of them if that happened."

"…gnisselb fo evol…"

Canis finishes removing the binding chains from Ms Blaze's legs and steps back. Given her physiological symptoms I suppose I should be impressed that she's remained aware of her environment.

"…and last of all, s'rotaderp htarw."

Zatanna now has glowing violet construct armour which looks a little like a xenomorph made of crystal to complement her glowing violet eyes. Violet light radiates from all corners of the room and I'm sure there's a lot of magic-related things going on there that I'm not perceiving.

"Ms Blaze, we've removed the restrictions-."

Sephtian's assistants dive for the floor in what I'm sure is part of a carefully crafted contingency plan rather than a panicked reflex as hellfire blasts from Ms Blaze's eyes and mouth. The purple-red flames flare about a metre and a half into the air before fading into nothingness. I'm.. tentatively going to assume that she's venting the magics keeping her mini-Hell going, and from the way Sephtian's eyes have gotten brighter I'd guess that he's finding the process fascinating. I wonder how long she's had it for? I rather doubt that it's a recent invention, and-.

The flames cut out, and Blaze's skin.. fades from its previous red to a pale and more Human-like flesh tone. Her horns similarly become first translucent and then transparent before vanishing almost completely. All that is left are small nubs on her forehead… And if I'm honest, aesthetically it looks much better.

"Mmruughh." She shakily opens her eyes, blinking at me. "There. Powerless. Happy now?"

"I won't be happy until you've burned your brother to nothing with golden fire. Sephtian?"

"The attack has… I can't tell whether it is stopped or not, but there are no observable effects on Ms Blaze."

"If we're really lucky, Satanus won't realise and will keep wasting his time on that."

Canis is regarding Ms Blaze curiously. She snarls at him as she sits up. "What are you looking at?"

"You have given up your God-Name in the hope of acquiring a stronger one. I understand the rationale, but there is no true equivalent on Apokolips." Fascinating.

"Lunatic." She moves her attention first to me and then to Sephtian. "Well? When do I get my new wings?"

"Your spiritual energies are still fundamentally demonic, portable demi-plane or not. We will still need some time to study the fruit which Orange Lantern recovered from Eden before we can formulate an attachment ritual."

"Or if you think I'm holding out and you want to take the risk, you're free to eat it now?"

Sephtian's eyes fade as he turns to look at me, his colleagues cautiously picking themselves off the floor. "That would.. be unwise to say the least."

"Give me the fruit."

"Ms Blaze-."

"Give it to me."

I hold it out and she takes it from my hand, studying it carefully.

"You weren't lying. I can feel the Hosts' magic…" She hands it over to Sephtian. "Get back to work."

 

9th October
19:27 +1 GMT

"…pleased with our current rate of progress." Queen Clea smiles as the magically created ice sculpture sitting in the middle of the table shifts shape to demonstrate the current state of the Wirbata, the island the Spanish keep trying to convince people is called Ilha do Pico. "Not only is there already a simple runway for light aircraft, but Lord Cyprian informs me that Luthor's people have all sorts of interesting ideas about the island's commercial exploitation."

Mister Swift leans back in his chair. "Certainly, sitting sunning on the sands is sure to suit some."

Queen Clea nods. "That option was raised, though I prefer farming and arcane industry. Security concerns become much less of a problem if visitors are isolated in one part of our territory. I have also been… Well, my equerry has been exchanging polite messages with High King Orin's equerry. You know how these things go."

Adam, Circe and I nod, while Mr Swift just smirks.

"But it's progress. Your embassy was most successful, Lord Grayven."

I smile politely at her compliment. "King Orin is a surprisingly reasonable man. He's also far more interested in improving relations between Poseidonis and Venturia and between Atlantis and the surface than he is in doubling down on a point of law he only recently found out about. Do you have any idea when a.. face to face meeting might occur?"

"We're… Indirectly negotiating a form of words. I'm not so proud as to let the currents impale me on the reef, but I do want some sort of acknowledgement that I've been rather hard done by." I believe that phrase is the Atlantean equivalent of 'cut off my nose to spite my face'. She considers my question. "Perhaps… A further two months? Assuming that no new problems arise."

I nod again. "Glad to hear it. Anything else to report?"

"I'm already noticing the improvement in my own health from your.. 'soul stretching' procedure. My thaumaturgists tell me that they've never seen anything quite like it, and sadly they can't replicate it. Yet. The mana siphon on the other hand is replicable and we're moving into full production. To whom do we pay the royalties?"

"Sunset Shimmer and Zatanna Zatara, but I can put your bursar in contact directly."

She nods. "Remarkably talented young women." She waves her right hand and the ice structure evaporates. "Nothing further to report. I yield the floor."

Mister Swift sits up. "Not much to report on my end. Had a few friendly chats with Jay and a quick team up with the new fellow. An actual endorsement might be a little much to hope for, but I think that hatchet's thoroughly buried. Kobra's missing a bevy of second tier leaders and cannon fodder and I'm confident that I'm closing in on Messer Burr's second in command." His expression looks a little strained. "Canny woman."

Luthor's screen tilts slightly. "Forgive me, but I am a little surprised that anyone is able to hide from you."

"Oh, there are ways. I've encountered one or two before." He smiles. "The trick is finding them before I find you. Still, I'm sure that I will have the matter firmly in hand come New Year."

I nod. "Glad to hear-."

"Oh! And-" He raises his left hand and pulls off the glove covering it, revealing his engagement ring. "-on a more personal note, Captain O'Dare has most graciously accepted my suit, and you will of course all be invited to the wedding just as soon as she tells me when it will be."

Adom nods. "Congratulations."

"Double glad to hear it, then."

Circe seems more amused than anything. "Brave woman."

Mister Swift nods. "She really is. I wouldn't recommend buying new hats just yet though; I got the impression that she was planning on a lengthy engagement." He glances aside for a moment. "I think that's… Ah, aside from my personal thanks for aiding in the realisation of Theodore Knight's dream of mass space flight, naturally."

"I'll be sure to let Lex know, though I'm afraid that it will be a while before the first generation of new ships enters production."

"I'll look forward to seeing it. Have you been up to anything else?"

"If you're yielding the floor..?" He nods. "The first and most basic stage of creating a stellar self defence force is actually having ships. Initially, we'll be limited to prototypes built in workshops as test beds for new systems, but once they start flying about we'll be able to start training crews and generating PR. Our-" I half-turn towards Lex's monitor. "-televisual colleague has been monitoring the responses of various governments and security agencies, and while they're not exactly thrilled about a private citizen having that sort of power it appears that my oversight is giving them some measure of confidence."

Cranius perks up slightly. "You are not sharing, Mister Grayven?"

"Cosmic converter technology isn't particularly expensive. If the plans got out, everyone and their Dog would start making warships. Far better to have a unified structure that nations can buy into, rather than allow that sort of anarchy. We might have to release the designs in a decade or two, but at the moment we're keeping core technologies black boxed and using telepathic commands to prevent those in the know talking about it."

Adom frowns. "'Buy' into?"

"The plan is to set up a unified stellar navy and recruit from all around the world. Naturally, individual countries will try and get as many of their own people in as possible. We can use telepaths to screen out people there purely for spying or sabotage, but recruiting trained military people rather than having to train them from scratch provides too large a benefit for us to not employ it. Once we've had them for a while, I'm confident that they'll come to identify with the goals of the organisation and -at least somewhat- rise above national rivalries. If only because we'll make it clear that we're perfectly happy to blacklist countries not playing along. In the longer term the navy will have its own training schools, and national loyalties will be even less of a problem."

"Work on stabilising the Vega Systems continues apace. Not a lot really new to report there, aside from the first retrofitted Citadelian ships starting their space trials. Once the crews have a slightly better idea what they're doing, I'll schedule some joint exercises with the Crown Imperium."

"Oh, and I'm going to overthrow the government of Britain."

Three sets of eyes blink in puzzlement. Cranius frowns for a moment, then appears to get it. Mister Swift looks more curious.

"You zhink zhat is necessary?" / "A novel concept, but I'm curious as to why."

I wave my right hand and a series of dossiers appears before my colleagues while Lex receives a heavily encrypted file. "Feel free to take a read. In short, the country functions basically fine but the top level of a number of institutions is astonishingly vile. Unlike in Kahndaq where the entire country would have to be reorganised from top to bottom, Britain will be fine with a change of officers."

Mister Swift begins leafing through the dossier at speed, his face becoming inhumanly still as he does so.

"'Necessary', Doctor Cranius?" Queen Clea looks at him with a hint of suspicion in her eyes. "Were you aware of this in advance?"

"I… Made a certain request. Not.. zhis exactly, but... I assume zhat zhis is Mister Grayven's preferred way of fulfilling it."

"It combined well with a guarantee I'd already given to several of my retainers. And frankly it needs to happen. If -upon reviewing the documentation- any of you feel able to participate directly, I would greatly appreciate it. If not, I understand completely. I did not originally envisage this as a group exercise. I merely seek to keep you informed of developments."

Lex inclines his screen slightly. "This does raise a point which I feel is worth addressing. Grayven's records indicate that the 'Light' used a senior field officer to enact their collective designs and assist them in preserving anonymity. Are we at the point where it is worth pooling our resources in that way?"

Adom nods. "If we are casting down corrupt rulers, it would seem to be wise. Though I care little for criticisms of my personal conduct, once I am pharaoh I will be one with my nation. For my people's sake it may be that there are things it is best that I am not seen to be involved with."

Queen Clea shrugs. "It makes a degree of sense. Personally, I'm rather indifferent to this.. 'regime change' business. Not hostile to it, it just doesn't have anything very much to do with my core interests." Another shrug. "Still, if it is to be done, it is best that it is done well."

Mister Swift finishes his reading, shadows curling around his dossier. "I assume that you and the screen have someone in mind?"

"Several people. We can forward you the details after the meeting, for discussion at our next monthly meeting." I look around the table. "Any other business?"

 

10th October
14:59 GMT

Three hours.

I hear the beeping of his heart monitor before I even enter his room. Viewed objectively, I suppose that the Sundown Nursing Home isn't such a bad place to end your days. Good staffing levels, most of them speak English reasonably well, well maintained facilities and grounds, good equipment for those residents whose bodies aren't quite as functional as they once were… I used to find places like this an uncomfortable reminder of where I would eventually end up myself, but since I don't age any more I feel a more… A detached curiosity.

Three hours, though.

I give the nurse checking the target of my visit a nod as he leaves the room, having finished his hourly checks. Since I gave the place advance warning of my visit he doesn't look totally shocked, but suddenly encountering someone like me at close quarters is never going to be a relaxing experience. He steps back to allow me access and I nod and smile in thanks before ducking slightly to pass through the doorway.

Three-. Three hours.

I pause just inside the door to visually inspect my target. 'Death warmed up' would be a generous description. His face and hands are shrivelled, due to the fact that he can barely eat and struggles to keep food down when he does. There are drips in each arm, an oxygen mask over his face and a catheter plugged into his penis. He's got some hair left, but it's a far cry from the thick black locks he had during his prime. That said, I can still see glimpses of his distinguished former self; his Roman nose is as distinct as ever, as are his strangely pointed ears.

No one is really sure how old he is now; the best guesses I was able to dig up suggest somewhere between seventy and eighty. Ring scans say that he's mostly European, most likely with a single Middle Eastern grandparent. The rest of his genes come from all sorts of places. One of his lungs isn't original; British Secret Service legend has it that not only did he insist on remaining awake during the operation but he also strapped an explosive collar to the necks of the chirurgeon's family to detonate if anything went wrong.

And then there's the rest of the damage. Scars from bullet wounds, shrapnel wounds and chemical and fire burns litter his skin. But the really nasty stuff is underneath all of that. Neurotoxin build-ups in his synapses make him shake whenever he tries to move, and their effect on his brain has made speech almost impossible for him. It also -and a ring scan confirms what medical staff only suspected- leaves him in constant pain. It's amazing that he's still alive, really.

And I'd feel more sympathetic if I hadn't just spent three hours-!

I walk around to the side of his bed, take a solidly-built chair out of subspace and sit down, facing him. He'd been watching me from behind lidded eyes since I opened the door, but now he abandons the pretence and opens them a little wider.

"Three fucking hours." He keeps watching me. "Three hours, just… Staring at it, written on a piece of paper. I knew there was a joke there somewhere. I've studied Batman's files on the Riddler, the Joker, Catwoman… Even Cluemaster. I'm not unused to people using thematic false names. Film characters…" I narrow my eyes. "Bad puns."

I think he's trying to smile. Git.

"So this is where you ended up, Mister Near." I make a show of looking around. "Not bad, I suppose. The SIS still think you died during your retirement job in Qurac… Those who don't think you're living in a mansion somewhere, laughing at them. They never came anywhere near here, and I'll freely admit that I had to cheat to find you."

"Hruuuuh."

It comes out as a pained wheeze, the intent behind it too indistinct for my rings to identify a clear meaning.

"I doubt that you've heard of me. My name's Grayven. I'm an alien from planet Apokolips." I wave my hands and shake my head. "I know what it sounds like in your language, I didn't pick it."

"Hruh."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Dreadfully rude of me. Here." Two orange cables extend from my ring and attach themselves to the back of his neck. "There. That should make speaking to me a little easier."

"Well done."

The voice is based on one of the few surviving recordings of his natural voice. One of the many ways he used to vex people was subtly changing his own accent, apparently at random. Combined with his compulsive lying, it made it impossible to even guess at his point of origin.

"You covered your tracks expertly-" Three hours! "-but I.. had access to technology that you simply didn't have the means to counteract."

"Employer?"

"Why does that matter?"

"Credit. Curiosity. Dying."

"I work for myself, for the most part. And, hm." I make a point of looking him over, then generate a transparent construct image of the injuries afflicting his body. "Yes, I do believe that you are." I frown. I know that he's going to lie to me, but I have to ask. "Why here?"

"Planned retirement after Qurac. Wanted time to write memoir. Too injured."

"Ah, yes. I thought that the last few assassinations lacked your usual precision. So you already had.. some sort of evacuation plan, ended up back here and…" I look him over again. "I suppose the life takes a toll."

"Your intention?"

"I understand that you made a point of targeting criminals because you found that fighting police and.. mid-tier superheroes was too easy. Having seen the weakness of some of the secret identities they use, I suppose that I can see where you were coming from." I sit back. "I am.. engaged in certain work that could use a man of your talents. The pay is good, the opportunities manifold and the work… I think that you'll find it fascinating. The world has only gotten madder since your retirement."

"Hruurh."

Nearly a laugh, and the less damaged left side of his mouth curves upwards a little.

"And medical technology has come on such a way. For those with the right connections." His eyes narrow a little. "Patching your failing corpus up would be the work of a few moments. If you're interested. Alternatively, you may elect to remain here… And die in considerable pain in perhaps two years. Or if you consider your life's work to be over, I am willing to kill you. It would be quick and painless."

"Now, I realise that working for other people isn't really your thing. But I do hope that you'll consider it anyway. You would be working mostly under your own direction and with considerable freedom in how you pursue your objectives. I will consider your obligation to me for healing you repaid in full for two years of your time, for which you would also be compensated conventionally as well. If you were planning on parting company with me in the not too distant future, having access to my intelligence resources would be a considerable advantage."

"Any initial thoughts? Questions? Queries?"

"Targets?"

"Your first target will be the government of Kahndaq. We want the current lot gone, replaced with people a little less… Self-absorbed. For much of your first year I imagine that you'll be doing the same sort of thing: removing governments and reorganising failing states. Obviously I don't expect you to rely purely on the application of force. You'll have other levers of power to pull, we're trying to create stable states, not chaos. Once that's taken care of, we're also building a space fleet…"

"Space fleet?"

"I'm afraid that I can't give all the gossip to someone on the outside. Now, I know that you're easily quixotic enough to turn me down just to see if I come back, but I've got a rather fun signing-on bonus if you give me an affirmative answer now." I take a dossier out of subspace. "Some truly disturbing information on the British elite. I should warn you: this has a pretty short shelf life."

He tilts his head back a tiny bit, considering.

"Accepted."

"Glad to hear it, Harold." I raise my left hand. "Welcome to the team."

 

13th October
15:03 GMT -5

I push open the door to Sephtian's New York workshop. "Professor? Any-"

The Pomegranate of Good and Evil is sitting in a large and.. slightly frightening resonance array, and those parts of the computer screens and electronic blackboards around it that I can see through the crowds of Atlanteans are covered in what looks like… Alright, it looks like total scrawl to me, but I'm sure that it's all very clever.

"-progress?"

Sephtian worms through the crowd of his colleagues, right hand raised to draw my attention. Last time something like this happened I transitioned him out, and got a thorough telling off for using pseudo-arcane devices in a controlled laboratory. This time I just wait patiently until he has managed to free himself.

"Some."

"Can you.. be more precise?"

"Yes. Essentially-" He turns towards the centre of the.. Device. "-that is not a normal fruit."

I smile uncertainly. "Yes?"

"In.. point of fact I am uncertain that it is a fruit at all. Are you familiar with the use of…" He trails off, looking me over and weighing up my probable knowledge base. "Concept reinforcement?"

"Yes, I sometimes eat at a vodun restaurant where they enhance the food with the idea of the food. Is that what you-?"

"Ah! Yes, just so. I will have to try-." He closes his eyes for a moment, and glowing lines appear over his scalp. Some of those I actually recognise. "It is far easier to-."

"Sephtian, that was an alertness and mental acuity spell. How much sleep have you been getting?"

"My king and country are threatened by Demons. I will sleep once Ms Blaze is ready to defend them." I'm not sure that's.. sensible, but I'm hardly one to talk. "It is far easier to reinforce the strongest characteristics of the thing, and hard to act against those characteristics without destroying the object. For example, I could make an.. iron sword that was far harder and more resilient than an iron sword could normally be, but it would be difficult to make one that was bendy or capable of changing colour. Iron does not bend well, and has a narrow range of colours."

"With you so far. So was.. this pomegranate reinforced with the essence of fruit? Super-antioxidants?"

"No, no. That was my original thought, but… No. I do not believe that the tree this fruit grew from began as a seed. The Christians believe that it was created by their god directly?"

"Something like that." I blink. "Wait; was it?"

Half a dozen Atlanteans pull their attention away from what they're working on. "No!"

Sephtian makes a dismissive gesture. "Perhaps. It is impossible to rule out that sort of intervention somewhere, but we are beginning to grasp the process by which it could have happened. Do you know how old the Earth is?"

"Somewhere between four and five billion years, based on isotope decay in rocks."

"I am told that following the chronology of monotheist holy books, the age of the Earth is revealed to be something in the order of seven thousand years. How would you account for the difference?"

"I wouldn't. I would assume that the chronology was bunk, a mismatch of patently false legend and half-remembered history."

"And yet you have been to the Garden of Eden. Do you not now wish to reconsider?"

"No. I saw a forest and a magic bloke with wings. The fact that it matches a creation myth doesn't prove anything. I've met Hera and I don't believe that the Titans created the universe."

"So where did the Garden come from? And why could you still see where the fruit Adam and Eve ate came from? Any normal tree would have either continued to grow or died, and in either case there would have been nothing left to see."

He walks towards the centre of the room, gazing at the fruit.

"I assumed that parts of the garden were in some sort of magic.. suspended animation, only changing if acted on externally. Or maybe just the trees. Why? What do you think was going on?"

"Understand… Any evidence we could collect in the face of a truly omnipotent being could simply be fabricated. And any evidence gathered in the face of an immensely powerful and skilful being is at least suspect."

"Okay..? What's that got to do with concept reinforcement?"

"This fruit is a fruit. Every magic I use upon it to directly understand its nature shows it to be a fruit. But as I look deeper… It does not have certain associations which a normal fruit would. And there are associations which are strange to see in a fruit."

"Like what?"

"Soul-impacting traits which we.. think would have the desired effect on Ms Blaze. Fruit have little to do with moral development in conventional situations. But more than that, there is a faint trace of the Dreaming upon it."

"Seven thousand years' worth of stories and three major world religions, centred around an inherently arcane location. I'd be surprised if there wasn't some-."

"That… That could cause it. But our calculations show that other possibilities are far more likely."

"Does the doorway I passed through lead to the Dreaming? Is that where the Garden actually is? There's a portal in Erebos, but I didn't have any reason to look at it."

"Possibly. Or perhaps it was brought into the world from the Dreaming. A manifestation of the idea of Eden becoming the reality of Eden."

"Is that just your favourite theory, or is it actually the most likely one?"

"My favourite. Are you certain they will not let us study it directly?"

"They wouldn't agree to it. Is there a great need to force the issue?"

"Perhaps-? No. Truly, no. Not so far as this task is concerned. It is just that it is possible, and it is such a fascinating application of Dreaming magic. With the Dreaming itself becoming more stable in the last few decades, this fruit may open an entirely new field of study."

"But back to the matter at hand..?"

"The Dreaming magic is too poorly studied in cases like this for us to attempt the transformation synthetically. The only thing for Ms Blaze to do is to decide whether or not she wishes to eat the fruit."

"Will it kill her?"

"I do not think so, but I have not studied her for long enough to say for certain. If she agrees, I will prepare the wings for chirurgery."

"You're sure you know how to do that?"

"Attaching the wings is simple. I do not know enough about theurgy to know how attaching wings to a humanoid body could allow them to fly, but I assume that it is an innate magic that I would need to study directly to understand. The Angel blood has some interesting alchemical and biological properties, but I do not believe that it will present a problem."

"I'll let her know. How long will you need to prepare?"

 

14th October
10:27 GMT -5

"I'm not taking it personally or anything, but how come you didn't talk to me earlier?" Mr Cassidy looks away from the enchanted transparent aluminium between us and where Ms Blaze is preparing to eat the pomegranate. The fruit itself has already been opened and the seeds are sitting in a bowl next to the operating table. "I mean, I'm not an expert on magic or anything, but I sure wouldn't have any problem with these Atlantean guys studying me."

"Because I thought you were a guy in demon-themed power armour."

"Oh." I think he's frowning, but the horns do rather restrict the movement of the skin covering his forehead. "Sure, I started like that, but I've been a real Demon for years."

"Right. I looked at your file, read that your confrontation with Nebiros resulted in your armour getting infused with demonic magic and sealing you inside. I didn't realise that you'd… Actually changed into a demon. I didn't think that was even possible."

"Guess Neron doesn't care about what you think is possible." He turns back to the window. "Or what I think is possible."

And given what you had to do to make it happen, I doubt that you'll give me an honest answer if I ask you about it. "You're welcome to stick around and have them study you after we've-"

The door to the observation room opens and I turn to face my other guest. Given the sharp economic downturn Aberrance has undergone since several major stakeholders realised that the possibility of giant rampaging monsters had been factored into their low rental pricing, I thought that sending Cranius a few invitations to things within his field of study might be a way of smoothing things over. This is the first one he's actually responded to in any way more positive than giving me a short lecture on authentic Transylvanian swearing.

"-finished here. Doctor von Schadel, thank you for coming."

"Yes. Be grateful." He turns his head -himself, I suppose- away from me as he walks towards Mr Cassidy. "Unt who might you be?"

"I'm Blue Devil."

"Are you.. naturally like zhis?"

"'Naturally' might be pushing it, but this is my actual body, if that's what you mean."

"Hm." Cranius looks through the window. "So, vhat is zhe plan here? She eats zhe fruit unt zhey plug in zhe wings?"

"Err…" Mr Cassidy half-shrugs and looks at me.

"Essentially, yes. The fruit forms a bridge between-."

"As zhe uncreation process forms a functioning biological bridge between zhe incompatible tissues, so zhe magics of zhe fruit will allow zhe demon to use ozher magics."

"Yeah." Mr Cassidy looks at me. "You wouldn't happen to have more of those fruit, would you? Be nice to be able to go to church without catching fire."

"If the Bible's anything to go by, she only needs to eat a small part of the fruit. You're welcome to a mouthful of whatever's left."

He bows his head slightly. "You seriously think that a demon is going to leave part of a magic fruit?"

"If she starts convulsing uncontrollably before she can finish it, then yes."

He shakes his head. "Won't happen. Unless it actually kills her, she'll eat the whole thing. You put a source of power in front of a demon… They just can't say 'no'."

"I'll have to look into getting a whole lot of enchanted artefacts with 'Acme TNT' printed on the side."

"Hah! Ah, they're not quite that dumb, but it does make them predictable. She's gonna eat the whole thing. Just watch."

"In that case, I think Sephtian took a few samples. You can have those."

He nods. "Thanks."

Dr Balewa joins Sephtian in the test chamber, the runic network inscribed on every available surface shimmering as he does so. Sephtian himself waves his right hand in a circle, casting the spell which will allow us to hear them. "Ms Blaze, if you would kindly lie down."

She complies, taking position face down on the operating table next to the protective case containing the wings. The biomancer performing the attachment is outside the room and will stay there until they're sure that the alterations to Ms Blaze's arcane structure have stabilised.

"Feh. Before you and Kobra came to Aberrance, zhis would heff been a simple process for me. I would not need zhese… Atlanteans."

"Doctor, if we hadn't come to Aberrance there wouldn't be an Aberrance any longer. I'm sorry that we weren't able to prevent the attack but we weren't the ones who initiated it."

He turns his head-body around without bothering to turn the torso he's riding on along with it. Mr Cassidy's eyes widen somewhat. "I have only recently finished attaching zhe replacement xenografts for all of zhose who were maimed. Wizh no Kane flesh I must do it manually, linking every nerve unt vein unt artery. I had to invent new anti-rejection treatments just to make zhe process work at all!"

"Oh, well done. Do you need help marketing them or distributing them? Because that's something that-."

"You guys mind taking that outside? Some of us are trying to watch a hot demoness eat a pomegranate."

Cranius swivels back, and I walk closer to watch Ms Blaze chomp her way through the pomegranate seeds. As Mr Cassidy said, she's going at it with gusto. Mr Cassidy is.. smiling-. No, that's a leer as Ms Blaze's enthusiasm results in pomegranate juice running down her chin and onto her chirurgical gown.

Huh.

"Human.. women not do anything for you-?"

"When I wore Blue Devil armour… I was stuck inside, and it wasn't anatomically accurate." Ooh. "Now… Being a Demon comes with instincts… Demons don't see humans as people. I can talk to people, but… Trying anything physical would.. just be weird."

"I sssee."

Ms Blaze sets the bowl down, frowning to herself. Still a few seeds left, so I guess Sephtian can keep his samples.

Then she starts shaking.

Sephtian cautiously steps closer. "Ms Blaze, can you understand me?"

Her face is a rictus of misery, tears streaming down her face, finger claws tearing through her cheeks and into the palms of her hands and she presses them to her face.

"Wait, what's happening to her?"

"I'm not certain, but I'd guess that she just gained the capacity for guilt."

"And she's how old?"

"At least seven thousand, and she's spent a decent proportion of that sending souls to a demiplane Hell she used to power her magics."

"Is-? Can she go ahead?"

"We knew this could happen. She gave consent in advance, so-" Dr Balewa steps forward and places his right palm against her forehead. Her eyes roll back as she loses consciousness. "-we have a plan in place. The chirurgery doesn't require her conscious involvement."

Dr Balewa lays her down as Sephtian starts checking on the status of her metaphysique.

"Still, as I told her at the start: if this does all go tits up…" I shrug. "Then we've killed a seven thousand year old monster, and learned a great deal about how Demon magic works. We still come out ahead."

Mr Cassidy glances at me sidelong. "Think maybe you wanna eat some of those seeds as well?"

 

14th October
11:03 GMT -5

"…sure what's happening to her blood."

The biomancer has finished making the attachment. They're keeping Ms Blaze unconscious for now, because the absolute last thing they need is for her to try using magic of any kind. Mr Cassidy was somewhat interested when they made the initial attachment, but as they moved on to the parts that were less visible he started reading the research notes Sephtian provided. Cranius on the other hand appears to have found the whole thing absolutely enthralling.

Sephtian gently touches the flesh of the left wing with his right hand. "The wings appear to produce the blood ex nihilo. No test we performed showed it having an adverse effect on any living creature. Do you have some reason for believing that something has changed?"

"The blood moving back into the wings isn't having the vitalising effect that it should."

"Risk to the patient?"

"Negligible in the short term, but she'll be carrying vestigial wings on back and have dangerously high blood pressure. Pure thaumaturgy isn't my field… There probably are non-biomantic fixes, but-."

"Fueh!" Cranius swivels to look at me. "Lantern. Let me speak mit zhem."

"Doctor, with the greatest-."

"I heff already build an Angel. I know how to do zhis."

"Assembling Ms Parish was considerably more simple than this-."

"Unt not everyzhing I learned from my former master has made it into my work in Aberrance."

I lift my right hand to my right ear. "Professor, Cranius would like a word."

Sephtian turns to look at the window. "By all means, Doctor."

Cranius clears his throat. "I assume zhat you are not able to directly mould zhe angelic tissues?"

"Normal speaking voice is fine-."

The biomancer nods. "They accept being grafted to foreign tissue without any sign of rejection, but it resists direct manipulation. If I had more samples it would be a fascinating subject to study."

"Yah, okay. I suggest taking small-"

Mr Cassidy's phone vibrates and he gets it out of his pocket to take a look at the screen.

"-samples of the tissue…"

"Ah, Lantern? I think you should take a look at this."

I turn away from the window and look at his oh… Darn it. "Is that live?"

"Yes."

A somewhat distant picture of the Angel I evaded in Eden -or a look-alike- stares back at me from Mr Cassidy's phone. And from the look of the surrounding buildings… About four hundred metres away. KordTech New York has good wards, and we added extra spells before attempting this, but…

"Do you actually have anything to do with Angels?"

"Haven't yet. And I can't say that I'm all that eager to start right now."

"Good Catholic like you?" He raises his left hand and pokes his left horn. "If that's a problem, you may want to consider the practical benefits of converting to Hellenism."

"Why? Would I stop being a Demon?"

"I suppose not."

"…should serve to convince-."

"Sorry, Doctor, Professor. Something's come up and I need to deal with it. Do you have everything you need?"

"No, of course not. We're going to have to work out whether Dr von Sch-."

"Is there anything you need from me?"

"Oh. No."

"Right." I raise my right hand to my forehead and focus on the groundskeeper working on flowerbeds outside, appearing alongside him for a moment before heading up into the air.

He doesn't bother looking around.

Since I'm not hiding my precise location now, I scan the Angel with a bit more effort than I dared while in the Garden. And… Yeah, alright, in the case of an Angel I've got no reason to be annoyed about him having wards that good. Or… Angels don't have free will, right? Would I..? Even be able to scan something that had no connection to the orange light? No, no, I should be able to… I mean, most forms of scan…

The Angel looks in my direction, despite the buildings in the way, and flies upwards on an intercept course. Flaming sword still in sheath, though I suppose that might change once it confirms who I am. Well, though I'd rather avoid a fight like this over a city, attacking me with a burning sword without openly violent provocation would clearly be grounds for self defence… But I don't really want New York to become the next Gomorrah. Heh, which is ironic, because the wings of the Angel who was responsible for that obscene slaughter are being attached to a Demon right now.

I stop about a mile from the surface and wait for the Angel to catch up with me. He appears to be flapping a little more than the Thanagarians do, probably due to using sympathetic magic to fly rather than Nth metal. When he reaches my height he stops about ten metres away with his wings raised and unmoving, his expressionless face studying me.

"Good morning. I'm the Illustres of the Orange Lantern Corps. Whom am I addressing?"

2:1 "I am Zauriel of the Host of Eagles, Messenger of the Most High."

"And are you here for business or pleasure?"

2:2 "I am here upon the Lord's business. There was a theft from the Garden of Eden, from which the children of Adam and Eve are-."

"Let's not draw this out. It was me."

2:3 "You admit your guilt freely?"

"Yes. I needed the fruit, and I wouldn't ask anyone to do anything I wouldn't do-. Unless I wasn't capable of it, obviously."

Zauriel nods. 2:4 "That is good. The most concerning possibility was that an agent of Hell had penetrated the Garden. Still, I felt the presence of the demonic most clearly. Do you have an explanation for that?"

"I just used a small amount of kaahuite as a distraction. And I certainly don't work for any Demon. I slew the First of the Fallen earlier this year, and Satanus is working really hard at getting on my bad side."

2:5 "I am pleased. That means that what comes next will be simple."

"It's my hand, right?" I pluck the power ring from my right ring finger and transfer it to my left index finger. Then I create a construct blade. "The penalty for theft?"

2:6 "I would not deprive a starving man of his means of obtaining sustenance. You simply-."

"Do I look like I'm starving to you?"

2:7 "Did you take the Fruit in ignorance of its nature?"

"Does scry proof, phasing power armour suggest ignorance to you?" I tilt my head to the side for a moment. "Some ignorance. I didn't know exactly how it worked. But I had a fair idea."

2:8 "You have not consumed it yourself. Do you intend to work some feat of magic with it? Or did you seek to use its properties for the benefit of another?"

"Yes? Look, really; I'm fine with the hand thing. Can we just-?"

2:9 "You are not required to maim yourself."

"Then what do you want? What am I supposed to do?"

2:10 "You simply have to repent of your sin and ask the Lord's forgiveness. And he shall be merciful and grant it, and your sin will be wiped away."

I stare, the corners of my mouth turning downwards. "Well that's not going to happen."

 

14th October
11:08 GMT -5

3:1 "I do not understand."

And here's where things get frustrating. "Which part of 'no' eludes your comprehension?"

3:2 "You are willing to mutilate yourself, but not ask the pardon of one who loves you and will forgive you anything. It is senseless."

"Okay. For a start, he isn't my god. I haven't gone to church since Zatanna wanted to stop in at one last year and I harangued the choir for making a mess of Good King Wenceslas. I haven't gone into one for devotional purposes for… I don't even know how long. I worship Eris, Hellenistic Goddess of Chaos. When I die, my soul will be judged by Hades, as advised by Aeacus."

3:3 "The Lord Most High takes no offence. He merely asks that you live a moral life, and strive always to turn away from vice."

"What happened to 'I am the Lord your God'?"

3:4 "Jesus Christ."

Okay, that's.. actually a reasonable answer. "Is there some sort of compensation I could pay instead?"

3:5 "Forgiveness cannot be bought or sold. It is not for the harm done to God that you must repent, for He is beyond all harm. It is for the harm done to you, in turning from the path of righteousness."

"I think that you and I have mutually incompatible ideas about what righteousness is. And anyway, I don't feel bad about it; I could say the words, but I'd be lying and I doubt that counts."

3:6 "I commend you for your honesty. Do you understand why theft is wrong?"

"Generally speaking, depriving people of the products of their labour without compensation discourages them from labouring in future and makes the person doing the stealing unproductive, since they merely parasitise on another."

3:7 "Do you feel then that the Lord of Hosts not personally labouring in the gardens undermines his claim to its fruit?"

"No." Heh. "Though that is an amusing image. I didn't know that Angels could joke."

He doesn't smile and he doesn't blink. 3:8 "It was not a joke. I am trying to understand your mindset, that I may better escort you back to the side of righteousness."

"No." Uh… "Maybe, a bit? A farmer labours because they need the food to eat and to trade for other necessities and luxuries. If the story of Genesis is remotely accurate then God has no need for the Trees at all. They're literally just there, doing no one any good."

3:9 "And you believe that your need was greater than God's commandment?"

"God's commandment doesn't apply to me. I'm not descended from Adam and Eve. Or.. any Human from this world. And, actually, yes. If Satanus wasn't reaching out to strike at Earth with all of the forces of Hell then I wouldn't be looking for better anti-Demon weapons. Why haven't Duma and Remiel stopped him?"

3:10 "I do not question the methods of the Most High. And while I understand that the beliefs of the pre-Christian Greeks made no mention of the Garden of Eden, you yourself have travelled it. Surely you now realise-."

"I don't know whether the Humans around here are all descended from them or not, though I rather doubt it. But I'm not." He doesn't immediately respond, though the compassionate gaze is starting to feel a little condescending. "Seriously. Parallel universe. Can you..? Tell when someone's lying to you?"

3:11 "Normally, I can weigh a being's spirit merely by looking at them. Though the magics you have woven about you are giving me difficulty."

"Fine." I move my spell eaters into subspace and float closer to him. "Come on. Hand on forehead, or.. whatever. Ignore the Snake."

He raises his right hand in benediction, then moves it towards me. His skin is utterly opaque; even this close I can't see veins or arteries under it, or any sign that he's not an animated marble statue. My environmental shield parts as he lightly presses against my forehead, letting me feel the wind for the first time since I flew up here. Chilly, but it shouldn't be a problem-.

Um. What's that?

Ring, scan-.

Zauriel lifts his hand away. 3:12 "You are telling the truth. Your nature is strange."

"I know." I drift back to my former position. "So, yes, trespassing and theft, but the aim was to create anti-Demon weaponry and I wasn't breaking any specific prohibition. Are we done now?"

3:13 "Not until you repent."

"But I was specifically trying to serve the greater good! I practice utilitarian ethics, not deontological ones! If you want me to repent, you'll have to demonstrate that there was a better way to achieve what I wanted to achieve which I might reasonably have known about. And if you do that? I will gladly repent and try and do that sort of thing in future. But I'm not going to ever repent for doing something that I couldn't have done any better!"

3:14 "I have been instructed to ensure that you repent, and I will not leave your side until you do."

Getting.. closer to dosing him with pomegranate seeds. As long as I take his heart out before his superiors find out that he knows how to evil he won't actually go to Hell when they cast him out…

No. No. I'm not doing that to someone whose only crime is to be slightly irritating. But having him following me around isn't acceptable. How do I get rid of him?

 

14th October
11:32 GMT -5

But how to do it… "Alright. I've told you that I don't intend to repent. What are you supposed to do now?"

4:1 "Remain by your side until I persuade you otherwise."

"And… That's it?"

4:2 "Should you attempt further evil, I would of course intervene to stop you. But my task is to ensure your repentance, not to punish you myself."

I.. might be able to work with this…

"Are you able to pursue courses of action which might make it more likely that I would repent? Or.. that might allow you to better understand why I was refusing?"

4:3 "To the first, of course. To the second, it would depend upon what you were to suggest."

"Have you spent the last few thousand years in the Garden of Eden, or was there some sort of rotation?"

4:4 "My assignment to the Garden was recent. For most of Human history it has been my task to watch over particular individuals and guard them against harm."

"Okay, that's a start. And.. why exactly did you get reassigned?"

He noticeably hesitates, as if mulling over his possible answers. 4:5 "I do not see how that is relevant to your repentance."

"You won't be able to persuade me to repent without understanding why I'm refusing. I want to explain that to you, but we are two very different people and I don't know you well enough to give you an explanation you can understand."

4:6 "I expressed a desire to resign from my post and become a mortal man."

"You can do that? I didn't think Angels had that sort of free will."

4:7 "It is unusual, but it is permitted. My duty involved me forming a spiritual bond with the one I was assigned to protect. That… Closeness has certain-."

"Who's the lucky woman? Assuming that Leviticus is canon."

4:8 "Her name is Shannon Coyne. In answer to your enquiry regarding free will, I will never refuse the orders of my superiors. I will not question the Divine Plan. And there may be certain concepts which are difficult for me to understand, such as your truculence on the matter of your redemption."

4:9 "On the other hand, I am uncertain as to whether my mind is truly more limited than that of a deeply devout Human. What do you believe that free will means? What is it that you think that I lack?"

"But if you don't lack anything, then what was that whole thing about Adam and Eve not eating the fruit about?"

4:10 "It may be that I do lack some capacity of intellect which you possess. But if that were so, how would I know of it?"

"The obvious way would be for you to try one of the fruit yourself, then see if there was any difference in the way you think. Of course, to make it a really fair test we'd need to have a variety of test subjects, which would require more fruit-."

4:11 "No."

"No to eating it yourself, or no to getting more?"

4:12 "No to returning to the Garden. I am willing to consider consuming the fruit, once I have seen for myself that you have not corrupted it in some way."

I nod. "Sounds like I was wrong about the 'free will' thing." I begin dropping back towards KordTech. "This way please."

Zauriel nods, folding his wings back slightly to follow me.

Ring, covert communication.

Compliance.

Mr Cassidy?

"Hey, Orange Lantern. You need a hand?"

No, but I do need to know whether or not you're… Allergic to Angels.

"He's coming here? Ahh… Haven't really had a.. whole lot of contact with that side of the fence. Should be okay so long as he doesn't sanctify the whole building."

Righty-oh. Please let Sephtian know we're coming.

"Will do. They've already moved Ms Blaze into recovery."

There's a definite crowd gathering around the periphery of the KordTech facility, and I can see camera phones raised towards us as we head for the laboratory. I make a point of landing outside of it and waiting for Zauriel to join me. He does so, looking around in a mildly curious way. I start towards the facility's entrance and he follows me as I push in through the door.

"Okay, one thing you need to know. One of my colleagues, Mister Cassidy, had a bit of a Demon.. incident-."

4:13 "I know of the Spawn of Nebiros. If you are concerned for his safety, be not afraid. My purpose is your rehabilitation, not his chastisement."

"Now, he genuinely wants to repent." I wave to the flabbergasted receptionist and then head down the corridor in the direction of the recovery room. "If you feel like dropping a few hints about how he could achieve that, I'm sure that he'd be very grateful."

4:14 "I regret to inform you that once one is as wedded to demonic power as he is, there is little hope for it. Mere moral reformation is not enough; it would take a feat of great magic to enable a Demon to enter the Kingdom of God."

Sounds like one for Thana, then. "If you tell him that, he'll at least know what he's got to aim for. And I assume that you have no objection to his Demon hunting?"

4:15 "None at all. Indeed, I would applaud it were it not for the fact that it has cost him his immortal soul."

We walk through the outer wards and Zauriel actually starts.

4:16 "I had no idea that you had sought Gabriel's assistance in this matter. If he has achieved redemption, why did he not simply request the use of the fruit? He had the authority."

I don't respond immediately, instead striding ahead and entering the recovery room. Ms Blaze is suspended in a harness which is designed to keep her upper body from pressing on anything while she sleeps. Mr Cassidy staggers slightly as he puts the bowl containing the remaining seeds down on a table, the exposed parts of his body closest to Zauriel visibly starting to smoulder. Sephtian and Cranius lean slightly to look around me as Zauriel follows me into the r-.

4:17 "What have you done?"

 

14th October
11:37 GMT -5

How to put-?

"A razher fascinating piece of bioengineering, no?" Cranius -who wasn't made by Jehovah and is probably the only dyed-in-the-wool atheist here- grins inhumanly as he says it. "We take zhe wings from your late colleague, unt wizh a little help from zhe fruit from zhe Garden of Eden, irreconcilable magics become reconciled."

5:1 "Those wings belonged to Gabriel."

"Yes? He was not using zhem. Zo zhe consent issue might be a little awkward."

"Didn't your superiors throw Gabriel from heaven after he had sex with a Succubus?"

5:2 "He was sent to a place of punishment to be chastised for his crimes."

"The First of the Fallen made him lick his shoes clean before killing him, and then gave him his special attention while he was in Hell. I assure you, not having his wings was the least of his concerns after your superiors kicked him out for what was, basically, an honest mistake."

5:3 "If you believe that his chastisement was excessive, why have you committed this.. horror?"

"If I wanted to free Gabriel, I would need to either sneak into Hell or force my way into Hell. I'm not usually very good at sneaking, and I'm not up to taking on all of the legions of Hell by myself. This means that I need allies and weapons. Gabriel's wings and-" I detach the Ace of Winchesters from my armour and work the lever. "-this gun were available. And because fighting Hell is something I need to do, I'm going to make use of them." I give the gun a shake. "How many Angels died for the metal in this?"

5:4 "Many. But she is not some device! She is a horrifying improvement on normal Arch-Fiends, able to walk the Earth with no need for external empowerment! And you have found a way to bestow upon her the power of Gabriel, perverting their holy nature!"

"No. I mean…" I glance at Sephtian, who seems more than content to let me deal with this. "We tried." I stow the Ace. "But it turns out that's impossible. The energies cannot be reconciled."

5:5 "Fallen Angels found a way to reconcile them quite well after the Fall."

"Well, Lucifer could not be reached for an explanation on how he pulled that one off. What we did was remove as much of Hell's power from her as we could, put her in a thaumically isolated location and then used the Fruit to add other energies. Of course, if you want to check…"

I step aside to allow him to get closer.

"Be my guest."

Zauriel takes a step closer to the bed, then opens his mouth and… Sings a note that somehow sounds like an entire choral symphony.

It's…

It's beautiful, the sound like the whole world singing in perfect unity…

I…

I reach up to my right cheek where my eye appears to have watered in response.

Ms Blaze's new wings flare slightly in response, but she doesn't otherwise react. Zauriel's eyes widen, but he maintains the song for another few seconds before closing his mouth.

5:6 "You speak the truth. The taint of Hell's magic has been entirely expunged."

"If I'd been lying, I wouldn't have brought you here."

He turns to face the rest of us. 5:7 "Do you understand what you have done? You have enabled a being inherently outside God's grace to come within it."

"I don't really care about your god's opinion on the matter, but that was.. broadly what we were trying to do."

5:8 "But this was not merely a vainglorious, hubristic claim. You managed it, and committed only minor sins in the commission."

"Do you understand now why I won't repent?"

5:9 "I should inform my king of this."

"I'm not stopping you."

He starts to turn and then stops. 5:10 "But.. I am under orders. I may not leave until you repent."

"Did the Source personally tell you that I need to repent? Or did someone else in the Silver City dispatch you?"

5:11 "We are all part of the Most High, agents of His divine will. But my particular orders did not come directly from the Mind of God."

"So… Would you say that this capacity was something they didn't know about, and would probably have altered their priorities if they had known about it? Does it invalidate your orders?"

5:12 "N-n-no. Orders are sacrosanct, our hierarchy put in place by the Most High. I cannot disobey. Please, I beg you, repent now. Then I can return to Heaven and inform them of what has occurred!"

"That doesn't make any sense. You can see this is a good thing, and you're still asking me to say that it wasn't."

His wings shudder. 5:13 "I just need you to repent of the theft. The use of the fruit as an act of charity is perfectly acceptable!"

"The theft was an intrinsic part of the process. I can't repent one part without repenting the whole process. And I won't repent the whole process."

But I might repent what I'm about to do now.

Maybe.

"Alternatively…" I take hold of the bowl of pomegranate seeds with a construct and hold them out to him. "You could gain the ability to disobey."

5:14 "You would ask me to fall…"

"I don't want you to fall. Falling's no good to me. You lose your theurgy, and if I wanted you to stay on Earth I'd have to cut your heart out of your chest or you'd just go to Hell like Gabriel did. And how angry would God actually be? He didn't unmake Adam and Eve, just threw them out of the Garden to live according to their own abilities. And from our conversation it sounded like you wanted that anyway."

"I don't want you to fall. I want you to take the freedom that Humans are born with: the freedom to disobey our nominal superiors when they're not in command of all pertinent facts. And once you have that, you will no longer be paralysed. You can tell your superiors what the fruit can do. Heck, you can take a break from nagging me every so often and go and talk to Ms Coyne. Or just accept that my theft was just and stop bothering me."

I walk towards him, smiling empathetically.

"Or you can stand there paralysed until I leave or you're given alternative orders. The choice is yours."

Zauriel's right hand shakes as he reaches for the bowl. 5:15 "That is no choice at all."

"It is. It's just a… Really obvious one."

Zauriel puts a single seed in his mouth, then swallows. He blinks, then staggers and I reach out to steady him. He looks at me with an expression of puzzlement, then strides from the room.

"That…" Mr Cassidy is staring at me. "That was… Nasty."

I nod. "Yes. But it's for the greater good. And my goddess is rather fond of that sort of thing."