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

[Mr Zoat]

Come on come on
come on come on...

He gives us a wry smile. "Paul, I'm ninety six. Everyone dies eventually, even that Ophidian thing o'yours."

"That isn't what we meant."

"Oh?"

We open our arms and create constructs showing him at different points in his life. "We base these on what we've seen in your photo album, combined with our own observations. This-" We enlarge the head and shoulders of him in a railway engineer's overalls. "-is the closest we have to an image of you when you first got your power ring."

"Handsome devil."

"Five years later." A new face from a photograph taken at a New Year party at the WXYZ offices. "Ten years later." A picture taken to head an article he wrote in the Gotham Gazette. "Fifteen." This one's in uniform, posing with other Justice Society members during one of their occasional gatherings after the organisation stopped meeting regularly.

"Okay..?"

"Aside from slight changes in hair style they're exactly the same."

He frowns. "There's no way the resolution on those old pictures is good enough for you to know that."

"This is you when you first met Orange Lantern." We put the five images of his face in a row in front of him. "And this is you now."

He looks at them, skin under his eyes tightening slightly, right fist tapping his mouth. "That can't be right. I was old-."

We dismiss the images and create new ones in series. "Sixty five, when you semi-retired Green Lantern as your role at WXYZ expanded." It disappears to be immediately replaced by another and another. Now the images are aging visibly. "Ms Canton's death." It looks like the life's been sucked right out of him. Objectively he doesn't look that bad, but it's in noticeable contrast to the earlier images. A few more flash by. "Mister Thunder's death." Alan's face grows visibly more vital. Still old, but not elderly.

"That was.. when I..."

"Started wearing your ring again, yes. More than that, it was when you found new purpose in your existence."

"Uhh, Alan? What's he talking about?"

The others are watching the display, but it's Jordan who voices their concerns. We don't think this could happen to them...

"After.. after Johnny died... I started thinking about my own death. Johnny's strokes cost him almost all of his mental acuity.. heh, not that he was all that smart to begin with." He shakes his head. "I decided I.. I didn't want that happening to me. I didn't want to go out like that, in some darn hospital or nursing home."

"You found new resolve." Stronger and healthier images, until we arrive at his meeting with Orange Lantern.

"Wait wait wait." Guy looks decidedly unsettled. "You sayin' rings make people immortal? That's a load a'crap, there's loads of old guys in the Corps."

"But their personal lanterns are in perfect working order and connected to the Green Central Power Battery. Alan's leaks. You see the way his environmental shield has a.. sort of flame effect? While yours and Orange Lantern's are more static?" Alan takes a careful look at his right hand, turning it around slowly. "That isn't an aesthetic choice. Its systems are damaged."

"Is this something to do with why you couldn't fix my black eye?"

"Yes. As far as we can tell you aren't entirely Human anymore. So much of you is green light that loss of access to it, or lack of mental focus-" We display images of him after our first meeting. The ageing is slow but still visibly apparent until the point at which his ring ran out of power completely. "-and you start showing your true age."

"I started aging because I gave Paul my lantern?"

"No. You started ageing because you were no longer living just for yourself. You were building resolve to commit... suicide by supervillain." The others look at Alan with some alarm, but we press on. "When you met Orange Lantern that stopped being your aim. The mental focus required for a mentoring role is less than that required for a self destructive act but it wasn't until you ran out of power that the decay truly set in. Now that you've recharged and rededicated yourself-" We gesture to him with both hands. "-you're young and vital again, and we see no reason why you shouldn't continue to be so."

"I don't have a lantern. I can't keep asking Hal to-."

"Yes you can! As long as we remain like this the Green Men will continue to regard us as a threat. The justification for it remains the same!"

He shakes his head. "No. I won't try to dishonestly make myself immortal at Paul's expense."

"Orange Lantern was going to try to arm twist the Controllers into making you a new one. But we don't need them! We can make you an orange one ourself! We are just concerned that you.. won't.. last..."

"Maybe I won't."

Nonononononononononononononononononononono! "No! If we if we assimilate one of these rings-" We pull the other Lanterns' rings in front of us. "-we can give one to you now!"

"I won't take it."

"But we saw your core desire! The thing you want more than anything! You want a legacy, we will build an entire Corps to venerate you! Yours will be the first story in the Book of Maltus and and you could be there to see it happen! You could teach the first generation of Orange Lanterns as you taught us! Please..."

"What sort of example would I be setting for them if I caved in now?"

We look out into the universe. "One of the Green Lanterns of Sector seven five one has just died and his ring hasn't reached its destination yet. We could intercept it for you! You are easily more worthy than-."

"No."

We pull the Star Sapphire out of our subspace pocket, ignoring the pain it causes us. "This, then! It belongs to the Zamarons but I doubt they'll miss it. It can save-."

"Paul, you know what my romantic history's been like. I doubt I could use that even if I tried."

"But we need you to. Orange Lantern would have wanted you to at least try. He loved you as a grandparent!"

"And I love him like a grandson. Him. Not you."

Feelswrongwrongwrongwrongwrongwrongwrongwrongwrongwrongwrongwrongwrongwrongwrongwrongwrongwrongwrongwrongwrongwrongwrongwrongwrongwrongwrongwrongwrongwrongwrongwrongwrongwrongwrongwrongwrongwrongwrongwrongwrongwrongwrongwrong...

"But if he did, and you're supposed to be him and the Ophidian combined, how do you feel about me?"

Missingmissing something missing we don't know we can't feel... The Sapphire! We slam it into our forehead but it doesn't go in. How does it work! He wants us to feel we need to feel but we can't feel we don't feel...

"Alan, y'mighta gone a bit far."

"Father Mattias said to keep pushing him. I'm not stopping until I get Paul back."

We grab our lantern and try to thrust the Sapphire back into it! Nothappeningnothappening! Whywhywhywhywhy! Can'tcopecan'tcoptneedtobeawayneedtobeaway!

"Ah, nuts."

 

[Mr Zoat]

Wedon'twedon'twedon't
Wedowedowedowedo

Theywon'tletushelpdon'twantourhelpdon'tunderstanddon'tcan'tcan'tcan't.

Small room, seat, Sapphire clutched in our right hand hugged to our chest as we rock back and forwards.

"Well now, aren't you a delightful mess."

Can'thelpcan'thelpcan'thelpnothingwedonothingwedonothingwedo.

White face, white suit, black hair, gold eyes, don't know who, irrelevant.

"Be like that, then. I'm more than content just to watch."

Wanttohelpbutcantdon'tunderstandthemwanttohelpbutcan't. Can't. Can't. Wanttocan'twhycan't?

Wall hard cold grey, seat hard cold grey, warm avarice, stars distant, orange coils.

"Ah? As much fun as this has been, I think I'm going to have to love you and leave you. Do look me up if you ever snap out of it. Either of you."

Whycan'twhycan'twhycan'tdon'tunderstanddon'tunderstandthemneedtowanttobutcan't.

Her..? His..? Hand, patting our face. Gone. We're alone.

**…sure this is safe? OW! Hey!**

**No, Kid, this ain't even close to safe.**

**I'm not... What? I just wanted to be clear, okay? I'm not backing out.**

**Alright, listen up. Father Mattias thinks we finally started breaking Paul and the snake apart.**

Wanttogotothembutdon'twanttogotothemwanttomakethemhappybutjustmakethemunhappybytryingtomakethemhappy.

**And we're going to finish the job.. by singing to him?**

**His ring's been playing that song all week. It's got to mean something.**

**Conner's right. The song.. I think it's about accepting things. I.. don't know if he'll actually listen, but I should be able to transmit it to him from here.**

**Comeheredon'tcomeherecomeheredon'tcomehere.**

**Everyone hear that? Think we're in range.**

**It sounds as if his condition is worsened. I will take the first verse.**

Kal..... dur....?

**Sit down and have a cup of coffee
With your firm conviction that they're out to get you
Sit down and have a cigarette with your awful fear of death
I saw Milarepa at the all-night diner sharing a table with his personal demons
He said 'You've got to invite them in with compassion on your breath'**

Ophidian already here Orange Lantern already here doesn't help.

**Stop running away, 'cause nobody runs as fast as pain and sorrow**

Couldn't stay Artemis we couldn't cope.

**Stop pushing away, you're just making it hard
Stop putting it off, 'cause it'll be back to kick your ass tomorrow
Breathe in, breathe out, let down your guard**

Stop. Slow down. Breathe. We hold up our ring and look at it. We need to slow down. We can't see the solution if we're panicking. What is wrong with us?

**Sit down and start shooting the shit
With the fear that you'll never measure up to your ideals
Sit down and have a bottle of beer with the ache of all you've lost
I saw Milarepa at the coffee house having a Danish with his hurts and hatreds
He said 'You've got to invite them in, or you pay ten times the cost'.**

We miss Kon already. We hurt our friends by being as we are but we can't stop being as we are. Why can't we stop? We are defined by wanting. We can't want to not want.

**Stop running away, 'cause nobody runs as fast as fear and loathing
Stop pushing away, you're just making it worse**

We know, M'gann!

**Stop putting it off, cause it'll be back again in different clothing
Just pop the clutch and go into reverse**

We can't want not to want. We need to stop wanting. How..? Orange Lantern did that once, before he came here. We remember the experience being strange and unpleasant just for a normal Human. Can we still our mind like that?

**Invite them in and let them be there while you learn to stand it**

We dismiss our snake body.

**Invite them in and give them room to stomp and shout**

We let our view of our ring fill our mind.

**When they can come and go**

We slow our breathing. We don't want not to want. We want so many things but the only way we can get the most important things is to stop wanting. We told Lantern Jordan that if you want the end you should also want the means.

**They won't be always pounding on your door**

Want the end, want the means. Want the end, want the means.

Don't feel numb. Be numb.

**If you let them in you can let them out.**

We breathe out and the ring shuts down. I feel a momentary sense of diminution and confusion before the liquid in my mouth vaporises and flows from my mouth as frozen steam, all air in my lungs swiftly following. I'm on the moon, it's a near vacuum. My eyes feel -agh!- dry and uncomfortable. Vacuum exposure drill.

**Help help! I'm me again but I have no air!**

The insulation in my armour is preventing me freezing from conduction, but I've only got about eight seconds of consciousness left. Ring's glowing up a storm. Can I do anything to aid in my rescue? Toilet walls are blocking anyone's view of me. Trying not to touch anything else I push off from the floor in the direction of the stall opening. I need to give any potential rescuer the best chance to see me and the ring's a beacon. Strangely, I still feel completely calm, which has to be worth another half second or s-

Green light envelopes me and I sigh as my imminent death problem is dealt with. Following the green tether back to its source I see an exuberant looking Lantern Gardner.

"Feelin' alright there buddy?"

"Did you bring my Lantern?"

"Ah, no, it's back in the cave. Why's yer ring glowin' like that?"

"The Ophidian had to go somewhere. Currently, it's trapped in the ring. Obviously, that's far more power than it was designed to cope with."

"So, what? It's gunna explode?"

"Probably. And then the Ophidian would be released in Earth orbit without a host."

"Ah. And that's bad."

"A bit, yes. Where did you park the bioship?"

 

[Mr Zoat]

Not a priority
at the moment

Suspended in the green aura, Guy tows me to where the bioship is parked on the other side of the giant draughts board I built for-

An orrery of orange light blazes forth from the ring. I stare at it. Nullity. Nullity. I keep staring blankly as Guy manoeuvres me into the bioship's extended rear entrance. An added airlock. We'd never-. I clamp my right hand around my left wrist as my left hand is momentarily wreathed in orange flame. Nothing. Nothing.

Guy lands next to me, the rear hatch closes and with a hiss the airlock begins to pressurise. **Alright, he's on board. Get us back to Earth, pronto.**

I feel the slight, barely detectable shudder as the bioship accelerates from full stop. Even at best acceleration it will take us hours to get back to Earth like this. I'm not sure I can keep-.

The interior door opens and Kon steps through and throws his arms around me in a bear hug. I freeze, hand still clasping wrist and trying not to try. After a moment he responds, pulling back and looking at my expressionless face with concern.

"Paul, you okay?"

"No, not yet. May I sit down? I need to explain what is happening."

"Uh, yeah, sure."

He stands aside as I carefully walk into the ship's interior and take my usual seat near the front. I try to avoid looking at everyone. Can't risk the emotional force. Head still down I sit on my chair. "I probably need to apologise to a lot of people, but I'm afraid that's going to have to wait. The Ophidian is currently trapped in this ring, and-."

"Good riddance."

Artemis... A few worried seconds, but I think I'm still alright. "Please please don't interrupt. I'm having to hold my mind in a very particular way to prevent it getting out and it's quite difficult. I-I can't have unnecessary distractions right now. I need to avoid wanting anything strongly enough to form an emotional connection to it. I don't think I can keep this up indefinitely. If I fail, at best we're back to square one. If I can but we can't get back to my personal lantern quickly enough, then the ring will explode and the Ophidian will be free to do as it pleases. The only thing I can think of to do is to try releasing it into my personal lantern, and I don't even know that that will work. Lantern Gardner, are you able to transfer large objects at faster than light speeds?"

"Ah, well, thing is-" I slowly close my eyes and then open them again. "-I've never done that before. Coming here I jus' stuck a couple'a giant green engines on th' back."

I turn my head slowly around and carefully raise it to stare at him. "Please tell me you're doing that now."

"I ain't an idiot, Paul." I note the green threads flowing from him to the sides of the bioship. "How long y'got?"

"I have no idea. It doesn't appear to be getting worse, but I don't think anyone has ever experienced this before."

"We've cleared the dark side of the moon. Heading for Earth now." I risk looking at M'gann. She smiles broadly at me and I jerk my eyes away. Bad idea.

"Aqualad to the cave. We have him. Please ask Gre-. Please ask Lantern Scott to bring Orange Lantern's personal lantern to the hangar."

For a split second I start to relax before I catch myself. "How long is transit likely to take?"

"'Couple minutes. C'n y'hold on that long?"

"I will have to." The other problem... Just standing in front of my lantern and hoping for the best isn't much of a plan. "Lantern Gardner, would it be possible for me to consult with a Guardian regarding containing the Ophidian."

"Ah, no, sorry. We're cut off until, y'know, you're dealt with."

"That's... That's not the most helpful thing they could have done. Given the nature of the emergency, do you think it would be possible for you to request assistance from the Controllers instead? They have the required knowledge."

"I don't..! I dunno how, okay? I don't know how to get them a message. I always thought Oa was the Guardians' homeworld. That whole area's off limits to Green Lanterns anyway."

"Alright, the Zamarons, then."

"After what Star Sapphire did? They wouldn't help."

"See? Ten plans."

"And if they wouldn't help then the Qwardians certainly wouldn't."

"The Qwardians would cut y'inta pieces t'see what made ya tick."

I nod.

"Half way there."

I can't think of anyone else who understands power ring technology well enough to offer advice. Would Ganthet be willing to break quarantine? Maybe, but at this point he's still toeing the party line as far as I can tell. Now, even if we get to the cave -which is looking increasingly likely- without someone who knows what's going on to give advice I still don't have any real idea how to vent the ring. I don't think that the Ophidian would be willing to go back on its own. From what I remember that just isn't how it works.

Breath in, breath out. Breath in, breath out. Nullity. I just stare at the ring and keep my mind as empty as possible. It's so quiet in here when I do this.

Breath in, breath out. The oath. Why is the oath special? Lantern oaths are personal things. Speaking it should.. only... It made a link to the Central Power Battery. It wasn't the words, it was the acceptance. Could I take it back? I don't think so, not without some other factor. Bleeding off power? That should be possible, but it's the changes to my mind that are the underlying problem. The Ophidian... I don't think it liked Larfleeze. I remember that it didn't in the comics, but when I think of it and him... A little of the confusion I felt when I shut the ring down.

No. This isn't an external problem. The Ophidian and I were trying to help Lantern Jordan... Oh no. Why did we-? No. Apologies later. Internal problem. The way I think.

"Entering Earth's atmosphere now."

The bioship vibrates. I'm not sure how fast we're going, but it must be much faster than the bioship can go on its own. Does Guy know enough to prevent shockwaves..? No, don't get distracted. My relationship with my desires. I wouldn't be a very interesting comic book character. I don't have any dark secrets. Happy childhood, reasonable scholastic history... Avarice? I haven't had a problem using it. Well, aside from really early on-

The ring on my finger shines with even greater intensity. I try to move my right hand to cover it but physically can't force it closer. I have to deal with the problem without thinking about the problem?! Gah, right, blank, blank.

Breath in, breath out. Watch the lights. Don't think.

Don't feel.

"Entering hangar doors."

A hand on my shoulder. Black, fingerless glove. Guy's.

"Come on Paul. Let's see what you pull out o'yer ass this time."

Gingerly, I rise to my feet and walk towards the rear exit. Don't look at your team mates. From this angle all I can see outside are legs, but I try to keep my eyes on the deck and on the ground so that I don't see anything else. Can't take the risk. I walk down the steps.

"Paul? That you?"

I come to a halt. The way my head is facing I can only see Alan's feet. "More or less. Are you holding my lantern?"

"It's here."

I lift up my hands and bring them forwards until I come into contact with the metallic surface. Keeping my left firm against its front I release my right and take hold of one of the lantern's side handles with my right.

Now comes the hard part.

 

[Mr Zoat]

23rd October
19:56 GMT -5

The ring brightens again, but the orange light is drawn off into the lantern. The effect is something like a bonfire in high wind, or perhaps a highly active plasma ball. Okay, no immediate danger of explosion. I think. What now?

"I'm just going to be thinking out loud here, so anyone who knows anything about power rings, personal lanterns, central power batteries or Elementals should feel free to jump in at any time. Situation: during the training session I somehow connected my personal lantern to the Orange Central Power Battery. The Entity of Avarice, the Ophidian, was trapped there and took the opportunity to transfer itself into what it thought was my personal lantern. It ended up inside me because I thought that the scenario was real, and when the scenario ended it stayed on. We disconnected when it became apparent that we couldn't get what we wanted by wanting it harder. I have no idea if it still understands that justification. It is currently trapped in this ring and I'm bleeding off the extra power it's generating. This is not a permanent solution. We have no way to contact anyone who could create a new containment vessel."

I think my lantern is glowing a little brighter. On a time limit, then.

"Ring, shunt excess power to Central Power Battery."

"Unable to comply."

"Explain."

"Link to Central Power Battery not designed for energy transmission."

"Guy, could you please fish your personal lantern out of subspace?"

"What d'you want it for?"

"I want to see if I can improve my lantern's functionality based on your lantern's design."

"I dunno..."

"It got damaged badly enough to sever it from the Green Central Power Battery and then I messed around with it. I'm sure it's due a service. Need I remind you that this thing breaching is a very bad idea."

I hear a faint ringing noise as he opens his subspace pocket. "Ring, scan and use it as a template for correcting my lantern's internal mechanisms."

"Repairs in progress. Estimated time of completion: now."

All of the orange energy is obscuring the lantern a bit. I think it might be a little taller, maybe? Not a solution.

"Thank you." Right, what was I thinking about on the ship? I don't have a dark and secret past. I haven't had any real problems with avarice. I mean, I had some trouble at the beginning while I was learning to focus it, and I did go a bit far a couple of times, but I had that under control.

"Have you considered removing the ring?"

I look up. Father Mattias is standing just behind Alan. Behind them I see Diana, Jordan, Stewart, Canary and Red.. Ms Reilly... Wait, when did..? No, not important now.

"Yes. I think what would happen if I did that is that the ring would build up power until it detonated, then the Ophidian would grab a new host. Or just go into me again. The mountain might contain the blast, but I'd rather not take an unnecessary risk like that."

"Wonder Woman said that previously removing the ring improved your mental clarity."

"Yes, but my clarity isn't the issue here. I think we should leave that as a last resort measure at best."

Alright, avarice. I haven't really had much of a problem with it. I want enough things and have enough power that I can channel the desire towards productive ends. Is there something I could use the Ophidian's power on? No, not a permanent solution even if there was something.

Wait. The song. I have desires to do things I don't do, because on balance I don't want to do them. The basic drive is still there. I'm not going to have to act on every impulse, am I? No, that's not what it says.

"Sit down and have a conversa- OW! What? He said anyone could jump in!"

"Anyone who knows something!"

"No, no, actually, keep singing. I think this could be important."

"Y'see? Ahem. Sit down and have a conversation
With the loneliness that's eating you alive
Sit down and watch a sunset with your overwhelming rage
I saw Milarepa at the corner bar buying a round for the monsters in his heart
He said 'They're really not so bad when they're let out of their cage.'

Stop-."

"Stop a minute. Thank you." I might not have monsters, but the Ophidian has everyone's, right? And I'm still connected to it via the ring. "Okay, got an idea. Green Lanterns, just in case, could you please stick a shield around m-." Well, there was no need to be that eager. Right. Accept the Ophidian and it'll go away? That would be convenient. I pull the ring back from my lantern a little. "Ophidian."

Just walking along and they pass me and suddenly I wonder what it would be like and I hit them and I hit them and their flesh tears and their blood spills and I see their insides and I bite them and I chew them.

I stagger, gagging. I taste stomach acid in my mouth.

"Paul, are you alright?"

My head is shaking before I really think about it. It's not the Ophidian. It's not the Ophidian. It's revolting but.. who hasn't wondered momentarily about throttling a baby that just won't stop crying? Or seeing a plump pair of breasts on a woman you've never met and thinking what it would be like to give them a squeeze. You don't do it, but just for a moment...

Shit.

"Oh dear. Um. That's..." She has seniority, right? "Wonder Woman, I think I just found out what I'm supposed to be doing. And it's pretty disgusting and I'm probably going to be doing that a lot. Just.. just leave me to it."

Again.

There's cake and fruit and cream and chocolate and I grab handfuls of it straight from the serving plate and force it into my mouths and shove it down and another handful and another all for me!

Ugh. Perhaps not as bad as murder cannibalism... No, nothing like as bad, but revolting all the same. Closer to reality, perhaps. It isn't as if I have to watch what I eat while I wear a power ring.

It's weird and it looks wrong and it feels wrong and I cut and stab it and my skin breaks and my blood runs out and it finally comes off and I feel clean and happy.

My knees hit the ground and the vomit flies out of my mouth. Oh uuuuughhhhh... Haaauh. Don't think the.. doesn't look like the Ophidian and I were eating much.

Random impulsive violence, gluttony and self mutilation. I can't really relate to the reality of the first. I've been aggressive without good cause or at the wrong target before, but I've never taken a hammer to someone's skull. Gluttony? Sometimes. Never to that extreme, but I've eaten things I didn't particularly want when I wasn't hungry just because.. they were there and I could. Self mutilation? I've had acne.. I had acne for more than half my life. And I once tried to cut a mole off with a pair of nail clippers. Not the cleverest thing I ever did. Alright, I think I can see where this is going. Sexual violence next? Not something I have any real experience of, the occasional viewing of a bondage video aside.

Hit me.

I'm getting everything I want all of the time and everyone's doing what they're supposed to be and doing it properly and it's all due to me. My people. My appendages. I am the One True Soul.

No one. There was no one left. It was just me. Everything.. everyone was me. It was like something Darkseid would work towards. With the brand on Mister J'onzz and assimilation, I suppose I can replicate some of the effects of the Anti-Life... I have had power fantasies. With the ring I've even lived some of them. But universal mind control? Maybe. For a second.

And apparently that's enough.

 

[Mr Zoat]

23rd October
20:03 GMT -5

Oh this plan is rubbish.

Please don't please don't please no please no PLEASE!

And there's the violent sexual imagery. I just about manage to avoid collapsing face first into my own sick, but I'm being propped up by my elbows and there's no real prospect of me getting myself upright any time soon. Uhh. Alright, try and think this through before the next one. Mostly, I don't have a problem with wanting the things I want. When the pull factors massively outweigh the push factors there's no real conscious conflict. And when there is, once I make a decision to act in a particular way I mentally emphasise the 'good' points of the argument in favour of that position while diminishing those against it unless someone draws my attention to it. But, that doesn't seem to be good enough now. Now, I'm being forced to confront the desires I was never going to act on, ones that make up only a tiny part of my character.

I wasn't prepared for this.

As I hold up the list of names, each with a large negative number next to them, I know it to be perfect. Nodding in satisfaction, I transition to the location of the first and plug him in the head with a railgun round before moving on to the next.

That one.. that one didn't produce the same level of revulsion. If I knew for sure that a person's life had that great an adverse effect on the species as a whole I might well consider myself obliged to kill them. I like to think I'd be less.. glad about it though. And that I'd consider other approaches rather than just offing all of them. All of my worst impulses without the restraining factors they have in my actual mind. Isn't Jesus supposed to have said something about thinking about doing something being the same as doing it as far as Yahweh is concerned?

The Hierarchy doesn't really help with things I don't want to want. No, don't want to do on balance. These aren't alien thoughts being imposed on me by an external force. Neither are these things really essential parts of me being me. If I could just cut them out of my brain... No, I wouldn't do it, but I can certainly see the appeal. Milarepa... Invite them in? Experiencing these desires as normal even for a moment made me throw up and fall on my face. How does it go?

Stop running away, 'cause nobody runs as fast as pain and sorrow,
Stop pushing away, you're just making it hard,
Stop putting it off, 'cause it'll be back to kick your ass tomorrow,
Breathe in, breathe out, let down your guard.

Ring? How long do I have?

Estimated time to associated personal lantern overload: four minutes.

Don't really have much choice then.

The knife cuts easily across her abdomen, through skin and fat and muscle. She's too out of it to really notice as I push in with both hands and start squishing her intestines around. I shove my right forearm further in, feeling the shape of her other organs as a length of small intestine is displaced out of the hole by my probing limb.

A-ah! No, no! Don't just feel revulsion. Don't assign value! It's just sensory input. It didn't happen. No one's been hurt.

It's dark. There's a collar around my neck and other bindings around my arms and legs, all connecting to chains firmly attached to the rock floor. I'm curled up on the ground, pulling myself in on myself. I deserve this. I need this. I should be punished!

Detachment. Tightness, cold, damp. A place to be. I can accept... No. If I have to go through all of them like that I'll run out of time. What was it I said to Jordan? The Human mind can only sustain a fear response for so long? Oh no. A few deep breaths through my mouth, trying to avoid the stench of my gastric juices.

Ophidian, I need this to be over. Show me all of them. All at once.

It's light, blinding light. It's black emptiness. It's pain and satisfaction and savagery and joy. It's winning being crushed everything torn down everything's built up. A thousand images and sensations, all of them mine but not me. My.. dark side. No. No disassociation demonisation. Me. Yes, this is me. I feel myself stick a thumb through someone's eye socket then pull across, ripping off the front of their face.

And.. and it doesn't feel all that bad anymore. Without compassion I stamp on a homeless man's fingers as he reaches for a twenty dollar note before picking it up myself. Without will I jump from point of interest to point of interest, abandoning those who rely on me with thoughtless ease. Without fear I will never hesitate, heedless of consequence. No anger to make me stupid when I don't get my way. No hope to distract me with delusions. No love... No love. Hm. I mentally shrug. Oh well.

The power of avarice. Oh, it feels good to think like this. I feel the thoughts of the Ophidian around me, suddenly far less alien than I would have imagined. Is this how it thinks all the time? Amazing it was willing to put up with me for as long as it did, really. Or is it trying to teach..? No, don't care. I float myself up onto my feet as I review the images that had previously so horrified me. Hm. Not that exciting, now I look at them again. Seem rather bland, actually. Minor kinks of the brain. I think I'd have a cup of coffee with them any day. Sure, not all desires can be reconciled with one another, but if the question is simply one of 'What do I want?'... I am my desires, but I still need to be able to prioritise things.

Wait, that's not right. I'm not just my desires. I want everything, and avarice is just one part of everything. I just lost.. I'm losing parts of myself. That isn't what I want at all. The images flicker again, scenes of.. horror? No. I don't feel that. Just things I don't want all that much. Small things. All parts of me, but relatively?

Just small parts of the whole.

This is who I am. All my wants and.. and everything else. Oh. Whaw. This feels... I can't explain... Clearer. Cleaner. All the normal concerns just flowing away, calculations of need resolving themselves by instinct.

"I." I should try to say something. "I accept my nature. Every want, every desire, every noble intention and base drive. I am One. I am Whole."

The ring and lantern are still glowing madly. What am I doing? I blink, smile, then slowly shake my head. Just because I can, it doesn't follow that I want to. This whole crazy obsessive drive... Having everything be mine? I raise my left hand, palm up, and generate a orange sigil.

"This is no longer what I want."

The orange flow from the ring to the lantern reverses, flaming filaments pouring into the sigil as if draining through a hole in the universe. Orange flames are rising from me like fire in a draft, pulled tight around my skin and into the sigil. It doesn't change visually, but it feels somehow more than it was before. I watch it, fascinated, as the flow of orange gradually decreases before finally cutting off. Alone in my own head again. I hold the sigil up to my face. An.. energy pocket of some kind. The Ophidian is inside. What should I do with it?

The lantern is still in front of me.

"Just as a temporary measure, alright? We'll find a more permanent home for you later."

I position my left hand under the lantern and raise it so that the sigil moves through the base and up into the body of the lantern. The internal glow gets brighter but remains contained, controlled.

"This is my power, this is my light,
Be it bright of day or black of night,
I claim all that lies within my sight,
To take what I want, that is my right."

The ring shuts off and I stumble. Someone catches my right arm and steadies me.

"Thank you. Thank you. I.. bwa… I think I'm back. "

"You sure about that?"

Alan. I put my right hand on his arm where he's propping me up and look him in the eye. "Moderately sure? The Ophidian's in my personal lantern. Power overload no longer appears to be an issue... I think..."

No. I know. I can see the flows of energy within the lantern. The Ophidian, bound up in them. It seems.. calm, for some reason.

"You mind explaining what just happened?"

"I followed Milarepa's advice. Made peace with my less pleasant desires." I straighten up a little as strength returns to my legs, though I don't pull away. "It was, um. It was an enlightening experience."

 

[Mr Zoat]

23rd October
20:07 GMT -5

"Let me just..." The sick disappears from both myself and the floor. Lantern seems happy floating by itself, but I take hold of it in my right hand anyway. No obvious reaction. "Ring, status of personal lantern?"

"Personal lantern systems stable. Personal lantern now connected to the Orange Central Power Battery. Alert: Elemental consciousness detected within personal lantern. Status: quiescent. Power reserves at.. reserves at.. ten thousand.. one hundred thousand.. one hundred... Unable to calculate power reserves."

The green barrier is still around us. Alan must have pushed... I take a step away and look at him. He still looks somewhat concerned, but... Eh? I can see colour... The green light is all around, but, like... Under his skin? I see green and blue and indigo and.. back to normal. Sort of. I can still... The green's a shell, the indigo's an aura but the blue is filling a hole in his core. How do I..? No, I can work on that later.

"Ophidian's contained, I'm me again, lantern and.. ring, check systems." I'm not having another poisoned lipstick incident, thank you very much.

"Ring systems normal."

"And.. how am I?"

"Physical status normal."

I raise my eyebrows. He looks me over, then nods and raises his ring to his mouth. "He's okay. Drop the barrier."

A second passes and then the green sphere around us drops away, revealing Guy, Jordan and Stewart holding their rings pointed directly at me. I smile slightly and slowly wave my ring hand to show that the lights are out. Guy lowers his ring almost immediately.

Jordan and Stewart exchange glances and Stewart nods at me. "Say something."

"Liiiike what? I mean, there isn't any information that I'd know that the Ophidian wouldn't..." They lower their rings. "What?"

"You called yourself 'I'."

"Yeees? That could just mean that we've merged permanently. It's not a great friend or foe identification metho-."

And then Kon charges me in the left side, wrapping his arms tightly around my chest. With him gripping me I can't really turn, but I put my right arm over his left shoulder and rest my forehead against the top of his head. "I'm okay, Kon." He relaxes his grip a little, and I lean away slightly. A flash of green and yellow. That's.. going to take some getting used to.

Out of the corner of my eye I see Jordan head over to Diana while Guy walks around to hover by Stewart. And now I'm remembering what I said before I headed to the moon. And.. Robin and Artemis. And the giant cake. The two of us -the Ophidian and I- really made a mess, I don't even know where to.. Oh. I do know where to start. All the factors.. just.. line up, in my head. I know exactly why I'm going to do what I'm about to do. That's new as well.

"Kon, I'm glad to see you too, but I sort of need my torso back." His eyes flick down for a moment, then he lets go. I'm going to spend some time with him later. He needs me to be stable more than anyone else. Our other friends are just behind him... No Robin. Ah, yes. That'll take more work. Dealing with this is a priority. Ring, collar.

Unable to comply. No collar in subspace pocket.

Doesn't really matter. I raise my right hand and fabricate a replacement. Following Paula's advice I try and make it a bit less bondagey looking. I nod to Alan and then put my right arm around Kon's back and lead him over to the others.

"Artemis, I'm sorry about.. everything. We shouldn't have-." Everyone jerks back. "What?"

"You should probably try and avoid the 'W' word for a few days."

"Um, okay? Look, here." I hold out the newly fabricated collar and she carefully takes it from me. "I'm sorry w-. That the Ophidian and I wouldn't give you this. It should suppress the effects of the Danner Formula and I've got one for Robin... Where is he?"

"Yeah, about that..." Wallace looks away and scratches the back of his head. "Rob's trying to build.. one of those collars. He's.. kinda.. freaked out about the whole 'snake' thing. You really.. can't.. reverse it?"

I shake my head. "Sorry. Doesn't... I'll try and make it up to him." I raise my hands in a surrender motion. "In a.. non-crazy way. Um, look, I want to thank you all for coming after me like that. If you hadn't.. I'd probably have stayed up there indefinitely, and I'm really glad not to be doing that."

"Of course we came after you. You'd have done the same for us." M'gann.. blue.. she's feeling a bit more optimistic. "Are you..? Can you remove-?"

"The brand? Yes, I think so. Mister J'onzz will need to be here though." I try looking for him again, but all I get is a brief impression of green. Not powerful enough to punch straight through to Oa anymore. Fair enough, I'm more than happy to live with that. M'gann's smile becomes a bit more genuine. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to report to Wonder Woman."

Downcast eyes. Yeah. I realise that there is a very real possibility I could get booted from the team for this. I can't.. no, I won't blame the whole thing on the Ophidian. But despite how I'm feeling I don't hesitate, don't even drag my feet, as I walk to where my superiors are standing. Diana's face is impassive, Lantern Stewart and Lantern Jordan stern. Canary looks more bemused.. and there's the flash of light-impressions. Pure green from the lanterns and a mixture from the other two.

"Sirs. I.. apologise for my recent cond-."

"Exactly how much of that was actually you?"

Jordan asks the million dollar question. "I'm not sure. What I said about your father... Again, I apologise. That's not something I would have said in a normal... The knowledge was mine, but I wouldn't have mentioned it unless it were absolutely critical. I certainly wouldn't have suggested-."

"Locking my mind at the worst moment of my life for two hours."

"W... Yes."

"The Ophidian?"

"Inside my personal lantern." I hold it up for a moment. "No danger of a breach that I can detect, though feel free to check."

Lantern Stewart sets his jaw. "We have."

I nod. "I should also be able to safely remove the brand from Mister J'onzz. I realise.. what's happened to me, and what's going to happen to me is something the League is going to need some time to think about. So.. because I do want to stay here-" I set the lantern to float for a moment and slide the ring off my ring finger with my right hand, place it in the palm and hold it out. "-I don't think an hour a day is sufficient after something like this. I'd like to hand this and the lantern over to you for a week. Orange light cold turkey." Diana steps forward, reaches out her right hand and picks up the ring. "Careful, don't touch the inside."

She looks at it for a moment and then closes her hand around it. "Why?"

"Because that activates it and I'm not sure-."

"No. Why are you handing it over?"

"I need to show you that you can still trust me. The best way I can think of is to render myself powerless."

She thinks for a moment. "You've made quite a mess."

"I know. I'm going to try and make things.. make up with-."

"No, I mean literally. Quite aside from the damage you did to the hangar you appear to have dumped your entire subspace pocket when you fled the mountain. A whole section of the base is inaccessible."

Oh heck. "I'll.. get.. right on with cleaning that up." How much stuff did I actually have in there?

She nods, considering the matter. "I don't know what the League will decide to do about all this, but I'm very glad that you're back, and that you're you again." And then she hugs me. I'm momentarily surprised and given what her armour covers I'm not sure where it's alright to put my hands. I settle for briefly resting them around the lower part of her back.

"Um, thanks. I'll.. go and get on with that now."

Guy puts his left arm around my shoulders. "I'll come with ya'." We start walking towards the lift. "Stewart had to make a zeta tube construct t'get us out."

"That was pretty cle-."

"Recognised, Green Arrow, zero eight."

We all look over to the zeta tube. As the lights dim Mister Queen strides out in civilian clothing, giant bouquet of pink roses in his arms.

"Hey.. wooow." He looks around at the fused ceiling and the gathered superheroes. "What'd I miss?"

 

[Mr Zoat]

23rd October
20:32 GMT -5

Sooo... Infinity Man is a giant robot. I did not see that coming. Having seen it in action, I think I'm rather glad that I was able to prevent them from summoning it within the confines of the mountain. I want to find out what happened to Drax here since he clearly didn't become Infinity Man, but I can't risk giving the game away. What would Grayven know? Or, more importantly, what would they expect him to know?

Oh, what tangled webs I weave as I practise to deceive.

My first impression of the Forever People's combat abilities turned out to be completely accurate. Against five opponents armed with Apokoliptian technology -one with a pair of energy whips, two with some sort of seismic weapon and the last two with a bizarre drone disc launcher- the lot of them went down in under a minute. Honestly, if Desaad had just given Intergang guns instead of the joke weapons he actually did then the Forever People would have failed to live up to their names in a truly epic fashion. When I saw the tremor gauntlet things being activated by thumping the ground it was all I could do to stop myself laughing, a resolve which completely failed once Bear ran straight at the area they had converted to quicksand and sank up to his armpits.

Since I'd offered to act as rear guard -and explain events to local authorities whom I had notified of the attempt at bullion theft- they didn't see my loss of composure. Mister Tawny had to act as a distraction while they disengaged and Richard used smoke bombs to cover their retreat. In the whole encounter only he achieved anything worth while, planting tracking devices on the drill and one of the gang members. It wasn't until the fight moved to the surface that the Forever People did something useful, tagging in their giant robot buddy. And even that... The process takes a good eight seconds. Sphere had to fly air support to prevent them dying fighting five baseline Humans!

Of course, once Infinity Man put in an appearance it was all over bar the shouting. He... It..? Was able to create some sort of shockwave by which he knocked out the female gang member whom Richard identified as Whisper A'Daire. Infinity Man was able to eliminate her whips and the weapons of a couple of other gang members with golden beams projected from its eyes. It seemed to be somewhat slow on the uptake however, as it was unable to prevent the gang members other than Ms A'Daire from escaping via boom tube. I'm kicking myself over that one. In my defence I was a bit cautious about antagonising the robot but still! Bruno Mannheim, Mother Box owned by someone I could justify attacking right sodding there! Ugh!

In other news, Infinity Man can fly and is able to generate boom tubes, an ability which he used to remove the drill. Back to New Genesis presumably, though I can't say possessing it really interests me. One super bolas around Ms A'Daire as she attempts to flee for the boom tube and the unstoppable god-machine turns back into the easily stoppable godlings.

"Robin, do you have a trace?"

"Wait a sec... Yes! Metropolis International Airport."

"Sloppy of them."

"Why were you just standing there?"

"I was gathering information on our guests. I would have intervened if things were getting truly out of hand."

"You can't just pick and choose when you help your allies!"

"They are not our allies. They are self interested aliens. Do you think for a moment they would stir themselves if Intergang were using Khundian technology instead of their own?" I shake my head. "No. Our interests may intersect, but they are not the same."

The Forever People approach the defiant Ms A'Daire. She tries to back up but bumps straight into Mister Tawny. Eyes to 'orange glow'.

"You appear to have denied me any trophies."

Vykin turns his head to scowl at me as I walk over to join them. "If you had wanted prizes then you should have assisted during the fight. Can you explain how they came into possession of Apokoliptian weaponry?"

"Presumably, someone from Apokolips gave it to them. We don't really restrict arms sales. Ms A'Daire..."

"I'm not talkin'."

Oh, a clever one. Ring, brain scan. "Ms A'Daire, you have become involved in a conflict beyond your understanding." I take hold of the metallic bands around her chest with my right hand and lift her up to the level of my eyes. "I care little either for you or your criminal associates. Your sole value to me is your knowledge of which of our kind supplies Intergang with alien technology. Was it Virman Vundabar? This does rather seem to be his metre." Hmm. She didn't recognise the name. More importantly, she doesn't recognise me. If this were Darkseid's doing, would she have met him? Possibly not.

"There are easier ways." Dreamer raises her hands to her temples. No, I don't think so. I extend my left hand and flick her in the forehead, breaking her concentration.

"Perhaps. But mine's more fun. Since I am denied artefacts as trophies I think I'll take this one instead." Orange beams flash from my eyes and strike Ms A'Daire in the exposed cleavage -seriously, who designed that?-, marking her with the orange brand. Now there's fear in her eyes as she strains her neck in an attempt to see what I've done. "You're abandoned and alone, Ms A'Daire. Whoever's been equipping you I assure you that I am far nastier." I throw her to the ground. "Now, sing 'Come Sail Away' for me."

She grunts as she lands and then rights herself. "I'm not going to.. to..." She trails off for a moment. And then, as I knew would happen: "I'm sailiiiiing away. Set an open course for the virgin sea." She's got quite a nice voice, though my pleasure at the act comes mostly from her growing fear at her lack of control. "I've got toooo be free. Free to face the life.. that's aheeeeead of me."

But Vykin runs out of patience. "Enough! Release her!"

I roll my eyes. "No sense of fun, that one." Branding may only allow me to compel simple actions and it's easy enough to remove but Ms A'Daire doesn't know that. She also doesn't know that I can now follow her anywhere. If we let her go she might lead us to all sorts of interesting places. Alas, maintaining cover to get a chance to grab a Mother Box takes precedence. I wave my right hand and the sigil evaporates.

"Dreamer, show us who their sponsor is."

He just saw me use the anti-life equation on someone. I think my cover will survive. I cross my arms as Dreamer focuses once more and white mist rises from Ms A'Daire's head, coalescing into a form I recognise immediately.

"Desaad. How anticlimactic. I was hoping for someone who might be fun to fight."

The apparition gives an evil chuckle. Looking closer, I see that his skin is damaged, as if burned or melted by acid. Or perhaps some strange growth? I try to remember what I can of him from the comics. He's supposed to be intelligent but I don't remember him being much of a fighter himself. The Forever People seem a little more concerned about his appearance than I am, though Bear covers it when he sees that I've noticed. Exactly how far down the New God hierarchy are they?

"Who is Desaad?"

I think I may be nearing the end of Richard's patience. "Desaad is the New God of Torture and Darks-" They cringe again. "I'm so sorry, Uxas' chief aide. He plots, he schemes, he invents and builds, he kicks you when you're down or stabs you in the back. In a fight? Even your little gang-" I nod at the Forever People. "-could probably take him head on."

Dreamer scowls at me, then takes a step towards Richard. She raises her hands to the diadem at her head. Her eyes glow, and an illusion of two orbs appears in front of her, one red and one blue. "The New Gods come from two worlds at war. Those of us from New Genesis are gods of life, freedom and the Source. Our enemies of Apokolips-" I attract some stares, and respond with a smile and a small wave. "-are gods of anti-life, slavery and degradation."

"Excuse me. I've seen the way you treat the insectoid species that dwells on New Genesis' surface. What is it dear Orion calls them? Bugs? Not all that different to our Lowlies, is it?"

Dreamer makes an effort to ignore me. "Desaad is God-Scientist -and chief torturer- of Apokolips. His experiments are pure evil-"

"No they're not. They generate knowledge. To be pure evil they would have to be without purpose."

"-his works, abominations-"

"True enough."

"-his master-."

The illusion seems to smile. "Unspeakaaaable."

"Ugh, mysticism from those who call themselves gods. His master is Darkseid, father of Orion, Kalibak and Grayven. Once known as Prince Uxas, he arranged for the murder of his brother -Prince Drax- so that he and not his brother could seize the Omega Force and become the most powerful being in the Universe. Know that if you pit yourself against Apokolips you pit yourself against such a man. If you cannot even stand to hear his name spoken then abandon your cause now, for you lack the moral fortitude to stay the course."

Ms A'Daire's bravado seems to have abandoned her as she looks from the cackling illusion to me. "They're both seriously creepy."

 

[Mr Zoat]

23rd October
20:56 GMT -5

"You know, that little speech you gave Robin reminded me of something."

We're parked on the outskirts of the airfield, looking at the hangar cum warehouse where Richard's tracker sent its last signal. They're fairly small, but not something it would be difficult for New God technology to locate once it occurs to them to check. That same New God technology is the reason why I haven't risked scanning the place. I don't want to spook them and risk losing my supertech database.

Dreamer folds her arms and doesn't look at me. "That you are innately a foul and destructive blight upon the universe?"

Richard passed a spare set of binoculars to Vykin -they didn't bring any of their own magnification equipment, preferring total dependency on their Mother Box- and they are observing the hangar. It's an obvious trap. I'm not worried for myself, and for once I'm not worried for my team mates. Because they're not here. The Forever People can go in and die or do the intelligent thing and merge outside, I'm just here for a Mother Box.

"No, I hadn't forgotten that. I was speaking of an old Apokoliptian legend. It tells that at one point, the Source and the Anti-Life were two parts of a greater divine being, which split itself in two in order to play its two aspects against one another. Upon the resolution of that conflict -you slaying us or us slaying you- the two parts would merge and the universe would be remade in the image of whichever was victorious."

"What do your blasphemous lies have to do with anything?"

"Well, think about it. Your kind worships the Source, prays to it for guidance. On Apokolips, they study the Anti-Life equation, trying to better understand its nature. If the resolution of our conflict results in the end of the universe and the birth of a new one, would it not serve the God of Tyranny best to become one with the Anti-Life equation first? In victory therefore.. becoming that greater divine?"

"And you'd rather it were you."

"No. No! I like this universe! I keep all my stuff in it. I like meaningful conflict, which would be forever lost in a universe in which Darkseid is. I even like you.. well, not you as an individual, you're fairly pathetic, but some of the other gods of New Genesis. Lightray, Orion, Metron, Izaya, Himon... Especially Himon. And what of the untold billions whose existences would be irrevocably changed by a new mind governing the cosmos? Surely, out of respect for their individualities we are obliged never to reach such a resolution."

I'm not just winding them up for fun. I mean, it is fun, but I'm mostly doing it because I remember the Death of the New Gods storyline. If I can sow even a little doubt... Ah, the others were listening. Moondancer turns to me. "You have a long-winded way of pleading for your life."

"Don't put your faith in a force you don't understand, Mooney."

"That is what faith is."

"Then you'll never know whether the legend is true or not. Not until it's too late, anyway."

"Infrared shows no heat signatures inside the hangar." Looks like Richard's patience has run out. He needs to learn to relax a little. Maybe a hobby..? He lowers his binoculars and Vykin does the same. "I still don't like it. Has your computer detected anything?"

Mother Box warbles and Vykin listens. "Mother Box confirms that there's a large cache of Apokoliptian technology inside. No sign of this.. 'Intergang'."

"Could their Mother Box have detected you doing that?"

"No. The scan was passive, detecting energy emissions from the weapons."

So, they could have detected emissions from your car and the Sphere? Uhh. Maybe they were sent to Earth to get some experience before being given work that is actually important? I'm being torn between my desire to correct their errors and my desire for them to get out of the way of me acquiring this equipment.

!Fools!

Now all of them are glaring at me. Not.. sure why. I think I'll leave them to it. Dreamer turns to Vykin. "I can disguise us as the Humans we disabled when we recovered the Rescue Drill." Humans who are.. just being picked up by police next to a giant hole leading to a gold depository. I also left a recording of the fight clearly marked as evidence. The Dreamer looks at me and smiles. "I'm sorry, but I can't mask your Apokoliptian signature from their Mother Box. You'll have to stay here."

"I am more than content to watch your rear." And she gags. Hah!

The Forever People climb out of the Fantasticar and Richard and Mister Tawny exit the Sphere.. Trike... I'm going to have to find out if she would mind being called something else, because I can't carry on calling a thing that clearly isn't a sphere the Sphere. Anyway, Tawny and Richard join in the New God group, Dreamer raises her hands to her head and.. a couple of thugs in black hoodies stand on the tarmac. It isn't telepathy, my shields are still up. I can only assume that it's some sort of magic effect. Instinctive, rather than learned? No way to be sure. I watch as they head towards the hangar.

Ring, prep scan and dynamic entry route. I want to know where Desaad is the moment our enemy reveals himself. Oh, and send filaments under the structure.

By your command.

They're entering now... No immediate response. Hm. I suppose the Intergangers might just have left by car. Ring, scan the surrounding area but not the hangar. No, they're not there. Some other form of teleportation? Richard, Mister Tawny and the Meat Shields -well, I assume they've stayed together, I can only see two illusionary figures- get a little further inside... And they drop the illusion. Idiot! If Richard gets killed because of their incompetence I'll turn any survivors into constructs! The lights go on and the ring immediately scans the area. Thirteen gang members including Mannheim himself, all armed with Apokoliptian weapons. Both types that they used in our previous encounter, plus.. some.. sort of halberd? They aren't attacking immediately... Ring, tell me what he's saying.

"…masks heat signatures, visor filters out illusion." I'll be acquiring those then. "We gotcha!"

Richard drops a smoke bomb and fires a grappling line to the top of the crates behind him as the Forever People scatter and Mister Tawny charges. Mannheim fires off some discs.. no, that isn't a disc, it can be used as a gun! Why didn't he..? No, not important. The crates Richard's standing on take a hit -looks like Intergang isn't worried about the security of future shipments- but he recovers and drops down behind another pile.

"Any time you're ready, Oh El!"

Still.. not.. seeing Desaad. I could just grab the equipment I want, but it occurs to me that Desaad is a good deal less dangerous when you know where he is. Mister Tawny has already torn his first target apart and is using Intergang's sub par positioning to cause his next targets to foul their friends' lines of sight. Mooney's returning fire and Vykin's sticking up some cover... Huh, Mooney actually hit someone. With enough force to knock them off their feet and into the roof. Serifan's shooting down discs and appears to be treating it as a game. Dreamer.. managed to wrestle a guy to the floor. New God physiology. I shouldn't underestimate them physically just because they're stupid. Bear engages in melee with some halberdiers while Vykin sends a crate into the side of three gang members who appear to have forgotten that they have the advantage of overwhelming firepower and were charging forward.

"We'll soon be overrun. It is time."

Serifan and Mooney lay down suppressing fire while the others fall back to their position. Why aren't the Intergangers pressing them? They know what will happen. What's Mannheim doing? Staggering backwards, shielding his eyes... So far so incompetent. One of his subordinates walks up to him and.. splits.. down.. the middle. Desaad inside. Right, I've seen about all that I need to.

"Now, mortal. Deliver the Father Box!" Desaad holds out a third example of my second favourite device in the universe. Wonder if I can get them both? Are all such normal versions called Mother Boxes or is it a New Genesis/Apokolips divide? No matter. Mannheim takes hold of it with his left hand, pulls his arm back -transition- and gasps in shock as I take hold of him around the forearm with my right hand and relieve him of Father Box with my left.

"I really don't think so."

 

[Mr Zoat]

23rd October
21:07 GMT -5

"Father Box, is it?" I hold it up to my eyes as the Forever People complete their ritual and Infinity Man begins annihilating the equipment being carried by the Intergangers. "This will come in useful. My thanks, mortal." Infinity Man blasts the man slain by Mister Tawny. The spilt blood disappears, his wounds reknit and his head jerks up just in time for a second blast to remove his equipment and stun him. Was he not truly dead, or did I just witness a resurrection?

"Hey! Who the hell are you supposed to be?"

My eyes glow orange and then beams of orange light strike his disc projector harness and transfer it to subspace. He gasps.

"Master?" "O great Darkseid, I don't understand. You told me-."

"I am not Darkseid, Desaad. If I were, I would have slain you, resurrected you and then slain you again for the insult you do me simply by being here. How did one such as you ever manage to murder Uncle Drax and Grandmother Heggra?" This is something of a hard test of my Grayvenness. Desaad would have had the opportunity to interact with him on a regular basis. But would he have taken it, and how recent would it be? And it's not as if I can't just kill him if it doesn't work.

Having finished eye beaming the Apokoliptian weaponry, Infinity Man begins launching bolas at each of the now defenceless Intergangers.

"Who is this guy Desaad?"

Desaad gives me another look. "Prince Grayven?" "I had no idea you were here, let alone that these people were yours."

"It's so nice to be recognised." I grab the front of his robe with my right hand and hoist him off his feet, feeling a sort of tingle as I take hold of him. "Mannheim. The Mother Box. I saw it in your hand when you fled the depository. You will hand it over, now."

"What? What's goin' on?"

I roll my eyes. "You're a gangster aren't you? Surely you are familiar with the idea that if you wish to operate in someone else's territory it is wise to seek their permission?"

"Metropolis ain't your turf."

"Not Metropolis. Earth. I don't care about your criminality, but you involved the family. As if having one brother here isn't bad enough, I have to put up with the idiot children and father's gopher."

"Desaad didn't say nothin' about-."

"I know. And that's why you're still alive. But Infinity Man may well not share my patience where the technology of New Genesis is concerned."

More Intergangers enter from the main hangar door, armed with conventional weapons. Automatic rifles ping off his armour while a rocket propelled grenade aimed at his face is blocked by his forearm. He retaliates with the same kinetic blast he used on Ms A'Daire, sending them flying across the ground before firing off more bolas. Then he turns to us.

"I urge you to expedite your decision making, Mister Mannheim."

Desaad now appears to be panicking. "Prince Grayven, you're as much in danger as we are!"

I smile at him. "I'm.. really not." Ew. What the heck is up with his arm?

Mannheim finally gets a clue, but not in the way I had hoped. "If you're Desaad's boss, I don't mind workin' with you instead'a him."

I shake my head. "I have little use for you, I'm afraid. My plans for this world are rather different."

"Prince Grayven, please!"

Hmm. I don't need him as such, but chasing after Apokoliptian infiltrators would get old very quickly. "The Earth is off limits. Understood?"

"Yes! Of course!"

"Glad to hear it. Father Box, open a Boom Tube to the Armagetto."

Ploong.

A dull chime, noticeably different from that of either the Sphere or the Forever People's Mother Box, acknowledges my order. A golden point of light appears a metre off the floor just in front of us and opens to display my chosen location. The smog obscures the view but what I can see looks little different to a British town during industrialisation.

"Could you not simply send me back to the palace?"

"No. The trek back is what this little escapade has cost you. But take heart; I'm sure that a god of your resourcefulness will easily survive the journey. Oh, and before you go." Two beams flash from my eyes once more. There is a far greater resistance than I have felt from any other target, but once I exert myself a little.. yes, there we are. Branded. If he ever comes back I'll know about it. I pull my right arm back and hurl him through the portal.

"What is that place?"

"The Armagetto. Apokolips' slum housing. Imagine a tenement complex the size of a continent inhabited by the utterly powerless who are attacked at regular intervals by military forces who are taught to accustom themselves to violent death and take pleasure from the suffering they cause. Not a fun place to live. Father Box, close it down please." I see Desaad pick himself up and look around before the tube vanishes.

Infinity Man is now only five metres away, towering over us.

"Mister Mannheim…"

"Right, right. Ah, here!" He pulls the second Mother Box out from under his pullover. "Here, take it! I didn't even know it was stolen, honest!"

Infinity Man gestures and the Mother Box is drawn over to him through the air before a Boom Tube opens in the air below it and it drops through. Alas, I couldn't see the destination from my current position. It might have been interesting to see New Genesis, but it's hardly a priority.

"There. The last of the stolen technology. I'll keep what's in the crates from my own homeworld as my priz-."

The crates explode, knocking Mister Mannheim over and forcing me to brace myself. What? What!? I look at Infinity Man in fury but he didn't move. Then who..? Richard. Richard. I had wondered where he'd got to. Infinity Man surveys the destruction as I do. Nothing recoverable. I'm not sure if Robin packed extra explosives on this trip or if the weapons had an enthusiastic anti-theft device. Damn and blast! I bite my tongue as Infinity Man glows gold and disappears, replaced by the Forever People. Happy looking Forever People. I lower my left arm to block their view of Father Box.

"It seems that your trophy cabinet will remain unfilled, Grayven." I scowl at Vykin. Deep breath. The path most likely to get them to leave peacefully is the one that involved giving them some token victory over me.

"I'll.. make do."

"These criminals-."

"Will be dealt with by local law enforcement. Unfortunately, with so much of the evidence destroyed, our ability to convict them may be a little hampered." Mister Tawny reappears from somewhere and pads over to Mannheim, who looked like he was thinking of fleeing. Mister Tawny growls.

Mannheim sits back down.

"See to it that they are."

"I am not your servant, Vykin. I will preserve order on this world because it is mine, not because you will it."

He nods. "The New Genesphere-."

Back in sphere mode, the Genesphere rolls into the hangar at full speed, knocking aside still burning packing material. She brakes hard at my feet and starts warbling again.

"No, no one..."

Warble rev.

"No, I just sent him back to Apokolips."

Chime warble.

"No, I didn't break anything off him first, do you see any..?"

Simon impression.

"Look, would you mind talking to Vykin about this? He seems to think that I'm holding you against your will."

She rotates on the spot and makes on loud and clearly negative sound. Hah. Vykin's eyes narrow, but he nods. "Very well then. We return to New Genesis. And we will remember you, Grayven."

I roll my eyes as I survey the wreckage. Ring, notify police that we've got Intergangers for pick up. Also, you should probably call in the fire brigade.

By your command.

And where's Richard? I have his location. Transition. I appear next to him as he observes the burning hangar from outside.

"You destroyed technology of incalculable value to deny it to me. Why!"

He tenses, but holds his ground. "Because you were making this mission up as you went along. Because you were getting too into your supervillain god role. And because I don't trust you with that sort of power."

"I already have a power ring! Exactly how much of an improvement did you think that was going to be! That technology could have been used to secure the Earth against any future invader, and you.. you..!"

"Yeah." He crosses his arms across his chest. "Me."

I so badly want to rip him in half.

!Kill!

So badly...

But... I still have Father Box and what I took from Mister Mannheim. Really, I'm forced to admire his moxie. I am so much more powerful, and he just did what he thought was right anyway. I bring my right arm around and clap him hard enough on the shoulder that he's forced to bend his legs to absorb the force.

"Hah hah hah hah! Be you ever so resolute. Be you ever so resolute." He's stunned. Astonished. What, did he think I was some idiotic Apokoliptian god, unable to rise above his base nature? Can't let this slight go completely unavenged, of course. "Oh, but just for that? You can walk back."

 

[Mr Zoat]

Transparency

23rd October
21:21 GMT -5

Guy and I stare at the wall of paper blocking the corridor to my room.

"Did you have all your files on paper in there? Y'know rings can do data storage, right?"

"I'm not.. completely sure." We both walk up to the blockade and pull out a few pages. It's actually stacked fairly neatly but it's continuous. We're about.. um.. eighty metres from my room. Corridor's about a metre and a half wide and two metres tall, the paper's A4...

"This some kinda alien?"

Guy turns his page towards me, revealing... A picture of a Carnifex. My page has what appear to be mathematical formulae, but after a moment my eyes unfocus and it starts to make sense. Did I really do that..? Clearly, yes.

"Sort of. There's this wargame I used to play called Warhammer Forty Thousand. That's a picture of one of the units. It's called a Carnifex. I think.. when the Ophidian and I were.. you know, together.. we sort of decided to rework all of the rules. See, the company which makes it is really bad about balancing stuff, and a load of rules just don't work or don't do what they're supposed to and they got a bit of a randomness obsession in the last version of the main rulebook..." Not that 6th edition's been released here yet.

"You're sayin' all this is..?"

"My attempts to do better. Well, the Ophidian's and mine, there's no way I could have done this sort of calculation by myself " Hm. A summary of fixes for Slugga Boyz. Choppas with AP 4 or shred or rending, run and assault, pursue into new combat... Huh, and looks like changing vehicle firing rules to only restrict heavy or ordnance weapons works just fine.

"The rulebook's supposed to be this big?"

"No, but this includes records of all of my testing. All of my alterations, and the results of thousands of simulated games based on those alterations. I'm.. not really sure why we put it on paper, mind."

"Why not?"

"Nooot with you."

He frowns. "What'd'ya mean?"

"Oh, um Britishism. I don't understand what you mean."

"Why don't you understand why you did it?"

I take a moment to look through what appears to be an attempt to model the effect of imposing 2nd edition choosing a target rules on 6th edition. "I don't remember everything we did together. It's like.. you remember what I told you about accelerating your brain using a power ring, why I don't do it routinely?"

"'Cause the bits o'your brain that were in the ring bits would vanish when y'took the ring off."

"Right. The Ophidian is this.. ancient elemental.. thing. I don't know if I can explain it properly. I don't even know if I can comprehend it as I am now. I'm.. not Green Lantern material. I don't stick with a thing until it's done, I stick with it until I get bored with it. This was created by a being who couldn't comprehend stopping until it got exactly what it wanted."

"Which was what, exactly?"

"The perfect wargame. I might also have a complete redesign of Dungeons and Dragons in there somewhere. And.. possibly the Human digestive system. Got a bit.. strange, towards the end."

"You redes-. You know what? I ain't even gonna ask." He tries to slide his page back into the piles, but can't tip the pile back far enough to get it the full way in. "What'd'ya wanna do with all o'this?"

"I'd quite like to send it all to Games Workshop headquarters in Nottingham. I mean, I've basically written the next edition for them, and it's far better than anything they'd have put out."

"If only y'hadn't given Wondy your power ring."

"Yeah... I.. couldn't persuade you to stick it in yours, could I?"

"All of it?"

"When I headed to the moon.. I don't even really remember dumping everything. I've got no idea where the important parts are. And the rest is the proof that the change is the correct thing to do. Without it, it's just one man's opinion."

He rubs his chin with his right hand. "Eh, not like we can just set fire to it in here. You want it in any particular order?"

"Nooo. I'm just hoping there's a record on the ring where it's all supposed to go."

He raises his right hand, and his ring highlights the first pile of paper with green light. A second later it disappears into his subspace pocket. This could take a while.

"There gunna be anything interestin' through here?"

I shrug. "I'm not sure. I was working on improved water armour for Kaldur, but I pretty much stopped that once he started using Ocean Master's gear. There's some plasma pistols, my clothes..."

"A cake the size o'New York?"

I wince. "No. That's in a safe place under some mountains in Switzerland."

"How were you plannin' on..?"

"The Ophidian could phase. I haven't.. is that a thing power rings can actually do?"

"Yeah, I known guys who can do that. I can't, Jordan couldn't last time we talked about it. Don't know about Stewart or Alan. So, what, the Ophidian could phase but you couldn't?"

"No, it doesn't... When we were together, we shared our understanding of the orange light and its applications. Now... I can sort of remember how to do some things, like those tiny filaments I used on the eyeballs-."

"Freakiest fuckin' thing I've ever saw, by tha way."

"Yeah. Well, you don't have to worry about me doing it again. When we were together, I knew how to phase. I don't even remember it taking that much focus or power. Now? No idea. That part's just.. not in my head."

"You remember everything you saw with those eyes?"

"No. I was only paying attention to the bits which looked like ninjas. A normal Human brain can't hold all of the data. I might get flashes when I see a place or meet a person, but I don't really know any more than before I did it."

"Hm. Oh, good work fixin' up Red Inferno. I know Tornado really appreciated it."

"Was that me?"

"You don't remember?"

I shake my head. "No."

"Sounds like you mighta lost a lot."

"I think you're right."

"You okay with that?"

"Okay?" I wrinkle my nose. "It sucks. Losing memories takes away not just that knowledge, but it also changes my behaviour. Who I am. Except.. I really want me... I don't know. I've never done something like that before, and it doesn't suck enough to make me want to rebond with the Ophidian."

"Glad t'hear it."

"But losing phasing does create a problem. As I am now, I can't get the cake out. I'm going to have to relearn within the next two months or I'll miss Christmas."

Another stack of paper disappears. I think I can see a doorway.

"Been meaning to ask: what'd you do with the Star Sapphire?"

"Ah. What?"

"Glowin' pink rock, 'bout yay big." He makes a circle with his hands.

"I don't.. did I..? Did I leave it on the moon?"

"Didn't see it."

"Then I'm sorry, I just don't know."

 

[Mr Zoat]

24th October
07:49 GMT -5

I stand across the road from St Patrick's Cathedral in New York, watching the door as parishioners attending the early morning mass stream out. Going back to travelling without a ring was a bit of a shock to the system, though fortunately I still have zeta tube access. Changed my 'official' name back to Orange Lantern while I was at it. Fortunately I'm not attracting much attention, despite the cake incident last week. The black with orange lining suit I'm wearing does have orange sigils in a couple of places, but they're fairly subtle and I don't think anyone's noticed them.

After Guy and I finally reached my room I realised that I've been using the ring for so much basic stuff that I don't actually own some fairly basic stuff. No toothbrush, for example. No toothpaste. I have a towel but no flannel, no brush, no comb and no nail clippers. I was lucky that the local supermarket stays open late and I was able to get most things. Even more luckily my money stayed here. Hm. Thinking about it I suppose that I could handle normal money now that I'm not wearing the ring. Wouldn't be worth getting much normal cash -all being well this will only be for a week- but it would certainly speed up small exchanges with people who don't know me. My wardrobe is okay, but if the temperature drops I'm going to need warmer jumpers before too long.

I'm a bit embarrassed by how long it took me to realise why we never had training sessions scheduled on Sunday mornings. I honestly thought it was because Saturday nights were busy for those of us with patrol routes and everyone wanted a lie in the next day. Ah, there they are. I see Father Mattias first. Not many people wear red dog collars. Mister Zatara and Zatanna are dressed in a slightly more normal fashion. Come to think of it, this is probably the first time I've seen Mister Zatara in normal clothes. A dark blue suit, rather than his stage slash superhero costume. Zatanna's wearing a black calf length skirt, white blouse and blue jacket. Mattias is the one I'm here to see, but I should say hello to the others as well.

She can't really be grounded for life.

Can she?

Right. They're standing outside talking to some people I don't recognise. I'm still not completely certain of my ability to cross American roads without assistance, but there are plenty of people trying to use the zebra crossing here and I can just follow their lead. If I get hit by something Guy will never let me live it down. Zatanna looks a little bored. There don't seem to be that many people her age around. In Britain that would be because her peers aren't going to church, but in America I imagine that they just go to a later service. She's looking around and so is the first to catch sight of me. She double takes, then waves to me. I raise my ringless left hand to wave back, and finish navigating my way through the crowd.

She comes part way to greet me. "Paul! What are you doing here? You're not.. still possessed, are you?"

"Good morning Zatanna. No, the Ophidian's being stored in my personal lantern. And, to be faaaair, I wouldn't really call what it was doing to me 'possessing' in the normal.. demonic sense. I wanted to thank Father Mattias for the work he put into separating us, and this was the one place I knew he'd be. How's the.. being grounded for life thing going?"

"Oh, I'm sure Dad will let me out." She sags a little. "Eventually."

"Couldn't you teleport or.. some sort of magic duplicate?"

"I used to do that, but Dad's warded all the doorways and windows. There's no escape."

"Ordinarily I'd suggest consulting with the most cunning magic user on the planet, buuuut..."

"That's that Constantine guy, right?"

"Yes. I've been meaning to ask; you don't know why your Dad-."

"Orange Lantern." Spotted. Mister Zatara walks over, Father Mattias just behind him. "This is unexpected. Are you planning on attending a service?"

"No sir, still an atheist. Though.. I suppose that if I do end up getting a soul, it does make sense to think about what sort of afterlife I'd want to end up in. You know, consider offers from different religions. I hear Yahweh's kind of needy."

"Perhaps. But he's very dependable." Father Mattias meets my provocation with a smile. "Unlike the entities which your mentor Wonder Woman worships."

"Oh, no fear. I'm not going anywhere near them." Think I'll avoid mentioning the First of the Fallen or the Resurrection Crusade. He's a good man, it's not his fault that he's wrong about everything. "Look, I wanted to thank you for helping getting me... Separating me from the Ophidian."

"It was a pleasure. I was rather hoping that you would be willing to explain to me exactly how you were able to make the resolution that you did. Elemental possession isn't a well understood area."

"Ah, that. Lantern Gardner was diplomatically not asking me about that."

"If.. it's too painful..?"

"No, no. It's... It's just a bit weird, really. The Ophidian showed me everything I'd ever wanted. Not the big stuff, just.. momentary impulses. Usually violent and always uncivilised. And it showed me me acting on them without regret or hesitation and feeling great about it."

"And you resisted, and so were able to free yourself?"

"No. Just the opposite, really. I accepted that I am a person who wants many different things. Some of my impulses are not very nice, and quite a lot I'm never going to act on. But, trying to pretend that those desires don't exist..."

"If you let them in then you can let them out?"

"Yes, exactly."

Father Mattias looks a little taken aback. "I don't think that's something I would have suggested. And I really don't recommend ever trying that with a Demon."

I shake my head. "I wouldn't dream of it."

"And there were no other side effects?"

"Err... Yes. There are." I wasn't planning on keeping them secret, exactly, but I had wanted to investigate a little on my own. I suppose there's no real reason not to tell him...

"Can you tell me about them?"

"Alright. Two main ones. Firstly, I'm constantly aware of everything I want, and why I want it. It's kind of like what the Ophidian can do and what the ring let me do a little to other people."

"What is that like?"

"I always thought... Well, not always, but... I could understand not really knowing what you want. The world's a complicated and often bewildering place. What I couldn't understand is knowing what you want and not trying to get it. Or at least trying to stop wanting, if you didn't think it was an appropriate thing to want. I don't have that excuse anymore, and if it's stayed for a day.. this might be permanent. I know where my desires come from, and how they inform my behaviour. You can't make a free choice if you don't have information to base it on, and I always know, now."

"You make it sound liberating."

"It sort of is. Um. Anyway, the second thing is that I can see people like the Ophidian does. The most intense emotions they feel, that they're.. made of. It's not on all the time-" A flicker of colour in.. around.. whatever.. Mattias. Indigo and just a little white. Interesting. I haven't seen white before. "-and I can't control it yet. Haven't.. asked the other Lanterns. For all I know this is perfectly normal."

"Hmm. I don't recall other instances of possession mentioning anything quite like you're describing. Would you mind if I.. ah... If I included what you've told me in my report?"

"No, go right ahead. I know I got off very lightly. There were a lot of ways that could have gone a great deal worse, and if what you've learned can help others..."

Mister Zatara looks thoughtful for a moment. "Orange-. Paul. We were going to have breakfast. Would.. you.. like to join us?"

Unexpected. I've already eaten and I can't rely on the ring to get around the finite stomach capacity problem. But since coming to this world I've been trying to make an effort to socialise more, and it's been paying off. I've felt.. happier around people. "Thank you, yes. I'd like that. Lead the way."

 

[Mr Zoat]

24th October
07:54 GMT -5

Zatanna and I fall in behind Mister Zatara and Father Mattias as we cross the road and start down 5th Avenue.

"Soo... Where are we heading?"

"The Great American Pancake Parlor on Fourteenth Street."

"Don't think we have those in my parallel."

"You don't have pancakes?"

"Heh, no, we have pancakes. I mean the restaurant chain. I think it's probably the equivalent of our International House of Pancakes. Though now I think about it, I've never been in one of those either. This might end up being like that time I tried ordering gravy in Houma." I don't shudder, but the memory is distasteful.

Zatanna frowns. "What's wrong with ordering gravy in Houma?"

I shrug. "I should have remembered that in the US 'gravy' doesn't necessarily mean meat based sauce, but when confronted with a menu I just went into automatic. Just to check, a 'pancake' is made from flour, eggs and milk, right?"

"Aaand baking powder."

"What? Why would you put baking powder..? Oh." I shake my head. "Sure I'll manage."

"They.. probably do crêpes as well. I've never asked."

"Doesn't really matter. I've been trying to try new stuff. Is this a regular thing with you and your dad?"

"No. We usually get breakfast before going to mass."

"I read about the 'no-eating-before-going-to-mass' thing in 'The Godfather'. I didn't realise it was something people still did."

"You're kind of supposed to. I think Dad's being strict about it because Father Mattias is staying with us." She leans her head around and looks at my hands. "You really gave up your ring?"

"Just for a week."

"What's it like, going back to... You know, not having it?"

"Bit inconvenient. Aside from the fact that I can't go on missions or train properly.. makes shopping harder."

"I'm not sure I could manage going without magic for a week. I use it for.. ugh. Sthgil egnahc!" The lights at the crossing change and the cars come to a stop. Mister Zatara looks back at her with a raised eyebrow, but says nothing. "Just about everything. How does it make shopping harder?"

"I was buying raw milk from this place in Suffolk, and I can't do that now."

"Raw.. milk..?"

"Unpasteurised. It's illegal to sell it in Rhode Island, and the amount I drink, it's just not practical to get it any other way."

"Is that.. safe?"

"These days, if you want to sell unpasteurised milk your milking parlour has to be clean to clean room standards. With the ring that didn't really matter anyway, but I'd still feel fine about drinking it now." I frown. "How does having... Being able to use magic work.. at school? I mean, there can't be all that many magic using teenagers around here."

"There aren't. Most of my classmates think it's kind of cool. That, and having a dad who's a superhero."

"And the teachers? I mean, I was talking to Kaldur about it, and he said that an Atlantean your age would struggle to do a fraction of what you can do."

"They don't have a problem with it, as long as I don't disrupt lessons. Why would they?"

"On my parallel I'd have expected it to be more of an issue."

"That doesn't make sense, you said magic doesn't exist on your parallel."

"It doesn't, but neither do gods and we still have religion."

"How can you know they don't exist?"

"It's not like.. here. If you want categorical evidence of the existence of supernatural beings you can just stick up a summoning circle. Elementals, Demons, spirits.. there's even ways to call up an Angel if you want. Faith comes from deciding that you agree with their position. Back home, you can't do that, either because there's nothing to summon or no way to summon it. No evidential basis for religion at all."

"What about the Bible?"

"What about it? If you're talking about the New Testament, we don't know who wrote most of it, we don't really know when it was written with any degree of certainty and most of it is hard to corroborate with contemporary sources. An objective look at this world reveals any number of life forms a person could choose to worship. A look around mine.. doesn't. And if I understand the mechanism correctly, even if there was a Heaven.. or whatever... Without souls we couldn't go there."

"Are your.. tattoos.. working?"

"No idea. I was hoping to ask your dad to take a look."

We walk in silence for a few moments.

"How did the big cake turn out?"

"Ooooh. Were you here for that?"

"I do live here."

"Fairly well... I think. I don't remember everything from when I was joined to the Ophidian. How badly was everyone freaking out?"

"Quite a lot to start with, then nothing really happened for hours. People just started ignoring it until one of the news helicopters went up to see what was happening. Do you remember that?"

"Nnnnnnooooooooooo?"

"You made a landing pad for them and did a short interview."

I cringe inwardly. "On a scale of one to ten, how crazy-?"

"About a six. My favorite bit was when you started singing 'New York New York'. And the dancing."

"I don't remember that bit. And I think I'm glad I don't."

"Where are you keeping it?"

"Switzerland."

"Is Switzerland big enough?"

"I'm storing it under the Alps in a chamber I built. I phased it through the rock to put it there and -without the Ophidian- I'm not sure I can get it out."

She blinks. "I'd offer to help, but I think that's a bit beyond me. If it's any consolation I think the eyes scared people more."

I wince. "Not really, no."

 

[Mr Zoat]

24th October
08:01 GMT -5

The insides of GAPP reminds me a little of last time I went inside a Little Chef, but one that someone's put effort into maintaining. I get the innermost window seat, opposite Zatanna and next to Father Mattias. I remember having known his real name, but I'll be jiggered if I can remember it now. Not sure when it's appropriate to use it anyway. Last time I had any significant contact with a cleric was back in primary school, where Reverend Gino used to turn up during assemblies and deliver the occasional sermon. He was a nice man -as far as I remember- but I never found the theology convincing. He retired while I was in secondary school.

I pick up one of the plastic coated menus and spread it out between myself and Father Mattias. Mentally I begin categorising them as 'normalish', 'interesting' and 'Why would you do that to a pancake?'. There are other things on the menu, but this is a Pancake Parlour. Presumably if you're here, you're here for pancakes, right? I usually get a little worried when confronted with a situation like this, being confronted with a new thing and not knowing what the 'right' answer is. This time? Nothing. Nothing like that, at least. Curiosity, yes, and anticipation too. I almost feel like picking something...

Oh, those are omelettes! Yes, that makes far more sense.

There's not really a problem with me skipping lunch today. Some of the others have more sessions with Black Canary lined up and Diana said that she wanted to schedule some sort of training session later. She told me that so that she could let me know as politely as possible that she was expecting me not to be in attendance. I know that I don't need time to 'decompress' or whatever fancy word the Americans have for getting over yourself. I mean, if I hadn't already done that then separating from the Ophidian wouldn't have gone nearly as well as it did, but I do see the point of taking the actions which others expect of me. Anything that I can do to show that I haven't been driven crazy by the experience can only serve to help my standing.

On the other side of the table Zatanna's grabbed the other menu and is holding it up to review in detail. Mister Zatara leans back a little to read it over her shoulder. Swiftly eliminating anything that looks very heavy, I try looking for my preferred variety: unleavened with lemon juice and granulated sugar. Sugar there is, in the little sachet box next to the salt and pepper. Lemon? Looks like I could be out of luck. They appear to offer only blueberry or cinnamon flavoured apple compote. There is a crêpes list...

"A little bewildering, isn't it?"

"I just want to make sure that I know exactly what's available before I make a choice." Ah! There it is, on the back of Zatanna's menu! British style pancakes with lemon juice and sugar. I reach into my pocket, pull out a $100 platinum coin and lay it on the table.

"Grain and nut pancakes for me, I think. With.. blueberries? Paul?"

"British style with lemon juice."

Zatanna lowers her menu. "Lemon juice?"

"It was that or golden syrup, and you would not believe how hard it is to find that in the United States."

Mister Zatara reaches out to take the menu from her, checks it and then folds it up. "I will be having the strawberry. Zatanna?"

A waitress approaches our table, notepad at the ready.

"Ham and mushroom omelette, please."

He nods again and turns to the waitress. "Grain and nut with blueberry, British crêpes with lemon, regular with strawberries and a ham and mushroom omelette. Coffee for everyone?"

Father Mattias and Zatanna nod. Ordinarily I'd just go with the group and transmute it. Not an option at the moment. I take a quick look at the drinks section of the menu. No milk? How can a pancake restaurant not have milk? They're not just taking them out of a packet and heating them up back there, right? Ugh. "Orange Juice for me, please." Mister Zatara nods and the waitress notes it down before heading back to the counter.

"I don't recognise the coin?" Father Mattias nods at the platinum piece I put on the table.

"Not many people.. well, not many people outside of Happy Harbour would." Can't believe I repainted all of the signs. "It's a one hundred dollar platinum coin. Since I can't handle normal money..."

"Why can't you handle normal money?"

"Short answer, because the ring destroys it, burns notes and melts coins. I technically committed a federal offence during my first week here after I tried selling some gold and ended up destroying several hundred dollar notes. Oh, don't worry-" Mister Zatara is giving me a concerned look. "-I came to terms with the US Treasury Department. They get a cut of any precious metal I bring to Earth, and in return they mint these for me." I pick up the coin and pass it to Father Mattias.

He briefly looks over both faces before reading the motto. "All.. others.. pay cash. I'm not sure-." He cuts himself off and then nods. "Ah, I see. Most amusing. And this is legal tender?"

Zatanna snorts with laughter and Mister Zatara looks mildly scandalised. "That's what they tell me. It's a special issue, so it doesn't need to have 'In God we trust' written on it. Most people who notice just find it funny."

"If your ring is powered by avarice, why does it destroy money?"

"A few years before I left my home parallel we had a fairly major economic collapse, caused by... Well, caused by a lot of things, buuuut one of the underlying causes was a financial system which treated debt as if it were actual money. I ended up learning a lot about how money really works. I mean, obviously the materials in a dollar note aren't worth a dollar, and most people realise that modern money isn't backed by precious metal... According to the ring, my contempt for fiat currency is now so strong that I can't touch it without feeling... Sullied." I shrug. "There's so little real value there that I find it an insult to the idea of value. The metal in that is worth slightly more than the face value, so it's valuable enough that I don't feel the same way."

Zatanna looks amused as the waitress returns with our drinks. "That's.. weird."

"I've become somewhat desensitised to weird since coming here."

I take a sip of orange juice while Zatanna adds fake milk to her coffee and Father Mattias pours two sachets of sugar into his. He then passes the coin back. "Are you planning to pay for breakfast?"

Mister Zatara lowers his cup. "Paul, there's no need. I invited you-."

I wave my right hand around to cut him off. "It's not... American tipping customs are different to what I'm used to. Since I'm never sure exactly what I should be offering I've got into the habit of overpaying. It isn't as if I'm ever likely to be short of money."

Father Mattias' mouth twitches. "Generous of you."

I shrug. "To me, it's just metal."

"Ah, yes." He waves his right index finger. "I should like to pass on my sister's thanks." I give him a blank look. "You and the.. er.. snake creature, healed her back." He raises his eyebrows. "You don't remember?" I shake my head. I need to go through the internal monitoring system records of me at some point. But while I'm here, with these people...

"About that.. possession thing. I didn't have a soul before being possessed, but I did have a network of enchanted tattoos-"

"Yes. Zatanna mentioned them." Mister Zatara raises his right eyebrow and glances at his daughter, who blushes slightly and looks away from him.

"...which were supposed to fix that. I don't know exactly what the possession did to them, and you're... Well, you know who I normally ask about that sort of thing."

"Do you want me to check that they are still working?"

"I'm hoping that having had the Ophidian in my body means that they're already at full charge, but yes. I'd like to know whether I need to get them redone."

He thinks for a moment, then nods. "It shouldn't be difficult." He raises his right hand.

"One moment sir." I pull the Spell Eater out from under my jacket, lift the thong over my neck and put it down on the table. He looks at it for a moment, then points his hand at me once more.

"Wohs skrowten fo lautirips ygrene."

His eyes unfocus. Zatanna looks at him, fascinated. After a few seconds he seems to come out of it. He looks a little concerned.

"Well?"

"There's.. something, certainly. You exist in an arcane sense where you did not before. It is not.. quite like a normal soul, however."

I fan out my hands. "Beggars can't be choosers, sir. I'm just happy to have anything at all."

 

[Mr Zoat]

24th October
10:22 GMT -5

I walk through the gardens attached to the Gloria McDonald Prison towards where Jade and another inmate are weeding the vegetable patch. Looks like.. potatoes? Some sort of root vegetable anyway. Dad was a big fan of gardening but neither myself nor my sister share his enthusiasm. They're wearing denim trousers and Jade's colleague also has a denim jacket. Jade's jacket is folded up on a nearby bench, showing a plain blue t-shirt. Both of them have their hair tied back in a simple ponytail. Jade's colleague happens to look around as I approach, recognises me and then elbows Jade.

"Your boyfriend's here." Jade stops weeding, but doesn't look around. "I'll go take this to the incinerator, shall I?" She stands, put the weeds she was holding into a wheelbarrow and with a toothy grin in my direction pushes it away down the path. Jade sits back on her haunches and stabs her gardening fork into the bare soil.

"Are you allowed back here?"

"The Governor seemed to think so."

"I'd be careful: some of the women here haven't seen a man in years."

"Then I'll have to rely on you to protect my virtue, won't I?"

She turns her head to her right so she can look at me. "So, you're a virrr.. tuous man, are you?"

"I like to think so."

She stands up and walks over to pick up her jacket. I think I like her hair better like this than how she had it when we first met. "Really? So why was the shower block full of glowing orange eyes last Thursday?"

I wince. "Um, look, about that-."

"Artemis already explained." I relax a little as she puts her jacket back on. "Is there a reason why you're visiting today? You usually hate 'abusing your position'."

I pull the two folded letters out of my pocket and hold them out to her, one in each hand. She looks at me through narrowed eyes before taking hold of the left one with her right hand and opening it. "Well?"

"March twenty sixth."

"That's good, isn't it?"

"It's about what I was expecting." She refolds it and slips it into her jacket pocket. "But..." She looks to the side for a moment. "Thanks. Y'know."

I smile at her. "You're most welcome." I wiggle the other letter. Again, she takes it and opens it.

"Oh, it's about time. I can't believe it took them this long."

"I still can't believe you had less high school than Tuppence flipping Terror."

"I left home at fourteen, Paul. The League-." I take a step forwards to give her a hug but she puts her left hand on my chest, holding me away. "Would you stop doing that?"

"N-no?"

"I'm not so broken up about it that I need a hug from you every time I mention it, okay?!" She crosses her arms. "The League of Shadows has an education program but it's not exactly Department of Education approved. I'm already fluent in seven languages. I only went to classes here so I could help the other students. Passing the GED exam was just a matter of turning up on time." She looks me over. "Where's your ring?"

"Wherever Wonder Woman put it. After what happened last week I thought I'd hand it over as a show of good faith."

She frowns. "You never take it off."

"I do now."

She adds the GED results slip to her pocket and then walks back to the bench to sit down. Usually in a situation like this I'd make an orange bench opposite her, but that isn't an option at the moment. She isn't.. completely comfortable with me being inside her personal space, so I don't want to push. On the other hand, standing up could give the impression of delivering a lecture... Just as I'm about to sit on the ground in front of her and cause myself to have to send these trousers to a dry cleaner she looks up, meets my eyes and then flicks them down to the empty seat next to her. I walk forwards and take the indicated space.

"Artemis came to visit?"

Jade puts her hands in her lap and leans forwards slightly. "Yeah. Just after you nearly dropped a giant asteroid on her."

"There was never actually any chance that the asteroid-."

"What was it like, being that powerful?"

I think for a moment. "Frustrating."

"Really?"

"I lost my capacity for empathy. I couldn't understand why everyone was so worried, so it didn't matter how powerful I was..." I shrug. "I couldn't make them happy, and I couldn't understand why."

"So do I have to live in New York to get a piece of cake, or-."

I snort. "I'll make sure you get a bit. Assuming I can.. get it out.. you know… From Switzerland."

We sit in silence for a moment. I watch a bird of some kind -starting to miss the ring's database- land on the vegetable patch and peck at the freshly tilled soil.

"When do I get super powers?"

"When you've been out of prison for a year without reoffending."

She looks at me, her right eyebrow raised. "Really?"

"Sure. Why not? I'd like to augment everyone, and I like you a lot more than a random person off the street. And Lex Luthor's already got the formula I used on Artemis anyway."

"Lex Luthor's not Ra's al Ghul. If he knew you'd use it on me after a year he'd probably order me to go inactive."

Oooooh. "He's.. not.. really a problem at the moment."

"What do you mean?"

"Wh..? Really? I sort of assumed... Didn't I tell you..?"

"Tell me what, exactly?"

"The League of Shadows sort of.. doesn't exist any more."

She rolls her eyes. "The League doesn't just disappear because you caught one cell, Paul."

"Yeeees, I know that. I... The Justice League and I hit Infinity Island. I took copies of all of their files before they could delete them. The Ecuadorian military's occupying the place now. We've shut every front company, frozen or confiscated every bank account and arrested something like twenty thousand people across the globe. Agents, informants, allies, people who were being blackmailed over serious crimes... Ra's and the Sensei escaped, but we caught the Sensei in Nepal... That's what the eye constructs were for. Ra's is still at large but he's got next to no staff and only the clothes on his back for resources. The League's.. dead."

"Oh." She shuffles in her seat. "I was wondering why they hadn't sent someone to give me the 'we haven't forgotten about you but talk and we'll kill you' speech."

"Don't think they've got anyone they can send." They weren't a good influence on her, but the Shadows were still a big part of her life. I should move the conversation on. "How's that Tai Chi class you were running doing?"

"You can't just dump something like that on me and then..!" She shakes her head.

"Jade, the League of Shadows was a major criminal organisation. I wasn't pumping you for information but I wasn't just going to leave them there."

She kicks her right foot against the ground. "I just thought our security was better than that."

I shrug. "Power rings are awesome."

 

[Mr Zoat]

25th October
01:43 GMT -5

"Yes, I'll hold." I allow the phone construct to dissipate before returning my attention to the two men hanging upside down from my binding chain constructs. "Can you believe that?" The Gotham police don't seem to be taking me seriously. The ring will notify me if a Human picks up the phone again, but... They've hung up!

"Mmmmrmmm!" The gag constructs makes it impossible for them to respond properly. The one on my right shakes himself in an attempt to look at his colleague, who has pretty much shut down, staring at me in horror. The bomb making components they were attempting to attach to support column three of Gotham City's Metro-Narrows Bridge lay disassembled beneath them. I remember reading a short piece of fiction which treated the film 'The Dark Knight' as a role play game. With the players in revolt the GM has to explain exactly how -given that Batman was supposed to be such an inspirational figure, Gordon has passed every leadership and loyalty check and Dent had the mobs on the back foot- the Joker had been able to set up his games in the first place with no one reporting anything to the police. I'd sort of wondered that about the Riddler in Batman Animated.

Mister Nigma himself was the only man to successfully escape from Belle Reve during that little uprising Kon and M'gann worked so hard to prevent. Someone has been leaving clues for the Gotham Police to pick up. It might not be him, I suppose. Didn't Spoiler's father have a similar trademark until Arkham cured him of it? Whatever. The pattern is one of escalation, and while I have no head for riddles I can scan for bombs easily enough. To ensure that I would have evidence of criminal intent I altered the chemical structure of the explosives from well overhead and let them set up before dropping down onto them. Baseline Humans armed with pistols. I wonder if I've inadvertently entered a 'starting zone'? I suppose the stories about Gotham being insanely dangerous are written from the point of view of normal people.

They were also carrying small amount of what the ring tells me is a combination of high purity ecstasy mixed with just a dash of Smilex, a combination known locally as 'Chuckles'. That does go some way to explain how people are recruited to do work like this. These gentlemen will be going to prison for some time, if I'm any judge. The only question is; do I brand them and see where they run, or just hand them...

"Ploong."

I look down at where the Father Box sits at my waist. "Thank you." I shift it to subspace. It seems that the decision is being taken out of my hands. Ring, show me. Narrowing my eyes to prevent distraction, I watch as Batman and Richard land on the bridge above me. I shouldn't be surprised. He's Batman, not Second-With-The-News Guy. "Oh, what the heck." I hold up the ring to my ear. "Orange Lantern to Batman."

Batman's posture doesn't change. "Go ahead."

"I have apprehended two men who appear to have been trying to plant a bomb on the Metro-Narrows Bridge. The bomb is disarmed, and the suspects are available for questioning. I'm not entirely sure what the protocol is... Are you nearby? Would you like to take over, or should I just transport them to the nearest police station?"

"I'm not far from your position now. I'll be with you shortly." Richard flashes him a look. Well, he didn't lie. I doubt that he intercepted my phone call to the police. I'm not bugged myself, I check every time I go anywhere near Richard. On the other hand, people on the bridge probably saw the flash of orange as I descended. Not completely clear how that would have gotten back to him, mind. Does he have some system monitoring all communications in-city, CIA style? Or maybe he was just looking in the right direction when I flashed down.

I need to come up with a more subtle form of flight, don't I?

Batman and Richard attach lines to the edge of the bridge before stepping off. Batman lands silently to my left while Robin touches down in the only nearby cover: the boat the criminals used to get here. Harsh.

"Orange Lantern." I open my eyes fully and pantomime surprise. "I wasn't aware you were investigating this case."

"I wasn't. I just had some spare time and found myself thinking: 'bombs in Gotham, those are bad, aren't they?'. I found the Chuckle Brothers here with a ring scan." Said ne'er-do-wells notice Batman and... Oh, come on. He's scarier than me?! How does..? Oh, fine.

"Let them down."

"Sir." I extend the chains, causing them to drop to the ground without becoming free.

"Have you found any evidence as to who was behind this?"

"A small amount of Chuckles. Personal use, it looks like. I scanned for other examples of that precise mix but there are so many slight variations..." I shrug. "I've tried tracing the bomb components but that was either impossible or led nowhere. Boat's stolen and both suspects have numerous prior convictions. No known associations with any criminals who might be inclined to blow up bridges, however."

He takes a step towards my prisoners, who try squirming out of the way. "Have you interrogated them?"

"No. I thought I'd try to do things by the book while I was in your city."

"Robin and I will take it from here."

I make a shallow bow. "Of course, sir. I'll leave you to it."

"Before you go, I need to talk to you about your encounter with the aliens from New Genesis."

I put sensory deprivation helmets over the heads of the suspects. "I rather thought that you might."

"Robin feels that you needlessly antagonised the Forever People."

"I admit, it was unnecessary. I could have been polite to them. The result would have been more or less the same as far as apprehending Intergang is concerned. I posed as Grayven because I wanted more out of the situation than a group of criminals in prison."

"The Apokoliptian weaponry."

"I wanted the Mother Box far more. What we could have learned from it..."

"Stealing technology from alien civilisations is not appropriate behaviour."

"I'll be sure to remember that next time we encounter Apokolips technology in the hands of Earth criminals."

"You said in your report that 'Desaad' would be unlikely to return."

"Everything I know about him says that's true, but he's hardly the only member of Darkseid's inner circle. And we still haven't uncovered a link between Bialya and Intergang. Look, about Robin..."

"Yes?"

"I feel that some of the problems we encountered could have been prevented if our... Our interpersonal relationship had been better. My fault, really. I'm not very.. clubbable, but this is the first time it's actually had an adverse effect on a mission." I don't think Richard's told him about the outing him thing. Batman would have mentioned it if he had, surely? "If I'd confided in him previously, or if he'd trusted me more... Not that I've really given him cause to." That's nearly true. Much as I hate to admit it, him doing that blindsided me. I can't afford for my relationships with my team mates to decay to that level. And.. perhaps I really did go too far this time. It would be useful to have someone of a different disposition who was prepared to call me on it without blowing up the objective. Ring, show me Richard's face.

By your command.

"That's part of why I'm in Gotham, actually. I was wondering, would it be possible for me to work with him outside of team hours?" The ring shows me Richard involuntarily straighten up, his mask hiding a look of horror. "I cooperate acceptably well with everyone else, I'd really hate-."

"To destroy any more aircraft hangars."

"I went back this morning and offered to rebuild it, the police wanted to preserve the crime scene. But yes, essentially."

He thinks for a moment. "That may be possible." The ring shows me Richard shaking his head at Batman's back and repeatedly mouthing the word 'no'. I work to keep my amusement contained. "Now, your recommendation that M'gann receive tuition from someone other than Martian Manhunter."

"I meant every word of it. He failed all of us, but her most of all."

"He.. agrees." I blink in surprise. "I will make contact with Brainwave this week, with a view to adding him to the team's training staff. The British government denies all knowledge of a 'Chester Black'."

"I would too, if I'd been more clear headed when I mentioned him to Robin. Thank you, sir. It's nice to see that my concerns are being taken seriously."

 

[Mr Zoat]

25th October
08:05 GMT -5

"Okay, but it seems to me that given how many Justice Leaguers live in America that you'd be better off-" Diana and I step into the Zeta Tube.

"Recognised, Wonder Woman, zero three, Orange Lantern, B zero six."

25th October
12:05 GMT -1

"-using a US time zone. " The lights fade and I get my first look at the interior of the Watchtower. "Huh. That's... " Big. Oh. I frown. "Not an efficient use of space."

We just exited the left Zeta Tube of the three which lead directly into what appears to be the main room of the Watchtower. I haven't been in here before but I have seen pictures. League meetings are held in the middle of this room. Don't see a chair, so I guess they just bring them in for sit down meetings and take briefings standing up? It's easily fifty metres across, flat floor made of a material I can't identify and a view to open space on my right.

"That.. does not look safe."

"Originally it had a permeable green light barrier so that Green Lanterns could fly through it without the station losing pressure. When the Guardians gave it to us they removed it and replaced it with a much simpler force field."

"Wouldn't blocking it over have made more sense?"

"There are shutters in the event of attack, but the Watchtower's main defence is its stealth systems. I find the view rather relaxing."

Okay Ms Amazon Crazy Woman. "Shouldn't there be more defensive systems here?"

"The Watchtower isn't armed, Paul."

"Really? Does it have thrusters?"

"It has a gravity impeller…" She blinks. "Thing. You'd have to ask Batman or one of the Green Lanterns if you wanted technical details."

"If it can move, then it's armed. But, I mean, force fields linked to an independent security system? Or those paralysis generator things we have in the cave now? I once took a Zeta Tube to the Batcave and ended up in a featureless white room. It just seems like such a sensible precaution."

"The Watchtower isn't designed to be a fortress, and we can't design weapons more powerful than we are. There's always someone on duty and they can call in reinforcements from any League member or from the Atlantean army in Poseidonis. If all else fails they can put the Watchtower into total lockdown and then evacuate until we can better prepare to face the threat." She stops at the far side of the main room. "Medical is up there." I follow her gaze up the wall to an opening about fifteen metres up.

"Why is it..?"

"This used to be manned by Green Lanterns. Since they could all fly, it wasn't a problem."

"Is there a lift?"

"Yes, just through there." She smiles. "Or I can carry you up."

"Oooor I could just fly up myself."

She raises her left eyebrow. "Oh? How were you planning to do that without your ring?"

I lift the bottom of my jacket aside, revealing the belt the Ophidian and I made based on the one worn by the superhero Rocket. We actually made thirty three of them, though why that precise number I've no idea. Guy's holding on to the rest. I haven't practised using it much. I know Kon's going to get dejected if it takes him a while to get the hang of flying in the Nth metal armour I made for him, and I want to be able to go through the learning process with him so we both look silly. My version has an orange sigil at the buckle instead of the blank circle the original version has, but otherwise is identical. Right. One tap for low power, jump and bounce wooohw! I'm rising in the air towards the opening but really slowly. This is a very strange feeling. Since there's nothing visibly holding me up I keep waiting for gravity to realise that I'm tricking it and to make me fall back down again.

Okay, entrance coming up and... And I'm slowing down further. I'm going to come up short. Can I reach..? I stretch out my arms but it's no use. Can't reach. And down I go. Looking down I see Diana covering her mouth with her right hand. She's trying not to look me in the eye. Oh yes, I'm sure this looks hilarious. I can't just deactivate it and fall to the floor, but if I deactivate and then reactivate before I hit... Okay, and on again. Yikes! Too much too much! I massively overshoot and end up scrabbling against the wall in an attempt to avoid falling back down!

"Perhaps..." Diana clears her throat just behind me. "Perhaps I should.. should carry you there after all?"

"Think that's probably a good idea."

She puts an arm around my waist and I deactivate the belt. Being carried by a flyer is nothing like in Superman. I'm hanging off her, being supported by her chest and arm. I still have all of my weight. It's a bit strange; she doesn't look strong enough to support me like this. I know that she is, I've seen her carry weights far heavier than me. It's just.. I'm not used to being that weight. She brings us in easily, depositing me on the floor of the tunnel to the medical section before landing herself, leaning against the wall and... Giggling?

"Wasn't that funny, sir."

She recovers herself, and leads the way down the corridor. "You couldn't see your face."

True, I suppose. Anyway. Back to business. "Is Mister J'onzz here on his own, or did he bring a Guardian with him?"

"The Guardians appear to be reluctant to come anywhere near you."

"I feel happier about that than I think I should."

She turns her head to look at me for a moment. "Developing an adversarial relationship with the Guardians won't help you."

"I know, I know, but they nearly got this Sector's Lanterns killed. And did you know that Alan's on a Do Not Recruit list?"

"I.. didn't."

"Guy told me." The caduceus-inscribed door slides open as we approach. "Apparently they think he'd be 'disruptive to established Corps working practices'."

We walk into medical. The basic design is near identical to the one we have in the cave, though the walls aren't bare rock here. Mister J'onzz is lying on a bed in full uniform, reading from a small book. I don't recognise the language on the cover. I can just see the glowing main circle of the brand through his clothing. He looks up as we enter and closes the book, laying it on the bed next to him. I didn't think I used the ring's auto translator function much, but it's amazing how you miss it when it isn't there. Speaking of which, the ring and my lantern are sitting on a table next to him, along with the box I usually keep them in.

"Okay, that needs to be kept somewhere more secure."

"I've been keeping hold of it. It only left my sight when I left to bring you here."

"Sir, it contains the Ophidian. Please keep it with you."

"Do you think it could interact with the brand?"

I make an exaggerated shrugging gesture. "No idea, don't.. really want to take the risk."

She nods. "J'onn, how do you feel?"

"Much the same. If it were not for the glowing symbol on my chest I would not think anything was wrong."

Diana picks up the ring by its outer edge and holds it out to me. I shake my head. "Hasn't been a week yet. And I thiink I can do this without it."

 

[Mr Zoat]

25th October
12:12 GMT -1

Diana crosses her arms. "I thought you said you don't know how the branding process works?"

I shrug. "I don't. On the other hand..." I look at the ring and it lifts off the table and performs an elliptical circuit of the room before returning to its resting place. "I can move the ring without touching it, but I can't access its other functions. Trying to remove the brand without it is less risky."

She nods, and I step up to the bed, reaching over the brand with my left hand. "Sir, would you mind..?" His uniform flows away from the area over the brand, revealing green Human-seeming muscles and orange glowing sigil. It looks like it should cut into his flesh, but when I lay my hand upon it I realise that it's flat to his skin. His skin feels a little cold. That could be a Martian thing, there's nothing special in biological terms about Human body temperature. Haven't noticed that from M'gann, but she puts more effort into her Human appearance anyway.

I close my eyes and try to feel the brand. I'm not sure.. yes! It's a bit like the time Guy got me to try to assimilate one of his constructs, but more familiar. I get a momentary flicker of Ophidivision, showing me Mister J'onzz' spiritual structure. Bits and pieces of everything held together with green, with the orange intrusion shoved into the side. Right. Doesn't look that complicated. A verbal instruction doesn't feel appropriate. There's no ring AI to activate. How else to remove an orange construct? I pull back my hand a little and smile faintly.

The idea of the cessation of need.

The brand rises off his skin a little before dissolving into what seems to be orange dust and flowing into my hand. I frown as I clench and relax it. No, that didn't really feel of anything. Odd, but probably not something to worry about. "Feeling better now sir?"

"I did not precisely feel unwell before." I step back as he sits up and then swings his legs around to stand on the floor. "Let us see if I am recovered." He pauses for a moment, then shifts into his 'John Jones' form, looking himself over to make sure that the transformation is complete. Next, he adopts Diana's form and then mine before returning to his normal green shape. "It appears that you were successful. Thank you."

I close my eyes and try reaching out to him through the orange light, but the beacon of the brand is gone. "I can't feel it anymore. Let me know if you... What?" He's staring at my face.

"Your irises are orange. I.. was under the impression that your eyes only changed color while you were wearing your ring."

I turn to Diana. "Sir? Have they been like this since I passed the ring to you?"

"No, they were green a minute ago. Do you feel any different?"

I shake my head. Would be weird, but... I hold out my left hand and try creating a construct. And again. No, nothing. Ah well. "The orange light doesn't seem to be causing me the same problems that it used to." I look to Mister J'onzz. "Sir, you were on Oa. Exactly how badly are the Guardians freaking out?"

"I am not sure I would describe what they are doing as 'freaking out'. They were certainly concerned about the Ophidian's apparent liberation. I do not believe that the Green Lanterns have yet reported on your current state."

"Are you worried about what they'll do?"

I nod my head to the side. "A bit, yes. Mm, for the next six days, anyway."

Diana puts her left hand on my right shoulder. "Whatever we end up deciding to do about you and the Ophidian, we're not just going to hand you over."

Yeah. I don't know that the Corpse exists here, but if they do I must be fairly near the top of their hit list right now. Me or Larfleeze. Exactly how much power has this cost him? "Thank you sir. Sirs."

Mister J'onzz nods at me. "I should return to Chicago. Explaining my absence-."

"Sir, before you do that... I think we need to talk about the training session."

His head droops a little. "You.. are.. most likely correct. Black Canary shared what the Ophidian.. and you, I suppose, think of my abilities."

"I thought those sessions were supposed to be private."

He and Diana look at each other, and she replies. "We weren't sure what we were talking to. If the Ophidian was holding you captive..."

"It's okay, I'm not angry about it. But, I remember what I said and.. having had time to think about it, I think I still agree with it all. Sir, what were you thinking?"

"I realize that I badly underestimated the dangers. The Ophidian-."

"No sir, not the Ophidian. I don't blame you for the Ophidian. There really wasn't any way you could have anticipated that. I didn't even know it was possible. Bloody good job it was, though."

He frowns. "I realize it is little comfort, but had your last resort measure failed it may have been possible to end the scenario more swiftly."

"Sir, the Ophidian wasn't my last resort measure. The ring contains a complete copy of the Grimorium Verum." Blank looks from both Mister J'onzz and Diana. "Greater Demons, a spotter's guide. I only got it so that I'd know how to fight them but if I really saw no alternative I could have summoned a real Demon, one of the big ones. I didn't have a soul to trade, but if one had been summoned into the false reality of the scenario I have no idea what would have happened." But all three of us can guess. I can see it on their faces. "Why were we even doing a scenario like that without any prior experience of that sort of training? And not knowing how strong M'gann was... That was-." Can't think of another way to describe it. "That was dumb, sir."

We stand in silence for a moment. I think.. should I feel bad about doing this after he's only just recovered? I think I would have done, but now? I don't, not really. I see my own resistance to the idea, the little voice telling me to keep my head down. I also see my far stronger need to ensure that M'gann gets the tuition she needs. There's no conflict between the desires, rather the two streams flow through me and merge. Certainly the stronger stream determines more of the course, but all my drives run into a single sea. Or something. That rather got away from me.

"You recommended that someone else take over."

"Yes. Look, you couldn't force her to stop. Could you train her? Safely, I mean? You know more about this than I do."

"There are some matters in which I could instruct her with little danger, but I take your point. The stresses that would be involved in combat or the more realistic training sessions... No. In all honesty I do not believe that I could."

I nod. "Is it possible to hire another Martian, one with stronger mental abilities?"

"There are those amongst our people who could tutor her, but I do not know of any who would be willing to leave Mars. They would most likely expect M'gann to return home..."

"And that's probably not something she would want to do." And I wouldn't want her to either. I don't think any of the team would consider that acceptable. "Alright, how do the Human telepaths you've met compare?"

"Doctor Psycho and Psimon are both highly telepathic by Martian standards. I have never met Chester Black, and I only met Henry King Junior for a short time several years ago. I don't know that either of them would be up to the job." I raise my eyebrows. I don't say 'And you are?'. At this point it's rather implied. He looks down at the ground. "I will speak with Mister King. If he is capable and willing, I will suggest to M'gann that it may be advantageous for her to take additional lessons."

"Thank you sir. That's all I can ask."

 

[Mr Zoat]

25th October
12:23 GMT -1

"So these.. 'Ethereals' attack the Earth because they wanted to see if Humans had the capacity to learn how to fight them?"

Turns out that Black Canary shared our interview session with everyone. I may have just got the world's premier superhero team interested in XCOM.

"Partially. They also wanted us to develop psychic abilities. They actually get quite excited when one of your soldiers is able to interface with their psychic network just before the end."

Mister J'onzz left the Watchtower and Diana offered to give me the tour. Unlike in Justice League Unlimited, this version of Mister J'onzz isn't a.. what's the term Commander Vimes used? Ah, that was it. A persistent floater. He has a life outside of the League and so doesn't spend all of his time on the Watchtower. The man we're going to see, however...

"What did they want to get out of it?"

"That's not really clear. They considered themselves to be failures, and wanted to find something that could do better than them. Whether they wanted to use what they learned to overcome their own limitations, or just guide us as XCOM spread psychic abilities across the species, I don't know. There's no way in the game to find out."

"Why would they think that anyone on Earth would follow them after what they'd done?"

Through the windows to my right I can see the garden -more of a jungle really- which supplies the Watchtower with both oxygen and somewhere to go to relax a bit. We're approaching the xenotech laboratories now. That's where they ended up putting the armour the Ophidian and I made for Kon.

"Because they're aliens? Some species just think differently. The Ethereals value the life of XCOM's psychics much more than billions of ungifted Humans, and they were still happy to kill them to make sure they're strong enough. Or maybe it was just bad writing, I don't know. The Ophidian and I only brought it up because w-. Because the two of us wanted to make a point about how essential research and development is to an organisation like the XCOM, or like the League."

"I see your point."

"You know.. you could play the game yourself. It's pretty much the same here as it was back home."

She glances at me as we come up to the heavily reinforced door. "I.. don't really..."

The door slides open, revealing a room with a floor space of perhaps fifteen metres squared and a lot of analytical equipment I don't recognise. Lying on a work bench under what looks a bit like a magnifying lens but is probably a good deal more sophisticated are the pieces which make up Kon's Nth metal armour. Hawkman -Katar Hol- is examining it closely, facing away from us. He isn't wearing his helmet and I have to say that his head looks remarkably Human. His hair is short, black and curly and without the wings and armour I don't think I'd look twice if I passed him in the street.

There's a flicker, and I notice that there's some sort of force field around the armour. Not sure why he thought-.

Mister Hol looks up, still facing away from us, and says something incomprehensible. A Thanagarian language, I suppose. Maybe I should get hold of one of the translator things the League uses? I didn't think it would really matter for a week. He stiffens slightly when no one replies and half turns.

Diana smiles. "Magpie, Katar?"

"Wonder Woman." He straightens and turns to face us fully. "And you. Where did you get the Nth metal to make this?"

"I... The Ophidian and I transmuted it."

"Of course, but the base material?"

I shrug. "We used lead."

His eyes widen slightly. "Lead?"

"You saw the records of the gravity distortions it caused, right? I mean, the Ophidian's basically a mid-tier god."

"How did you even learn of Nth metal's structure?"

"I found a fragment from a Thanagarian spacecraft which crash landed in North Africa. Only a tiny little flake-" I hold out my right thumb and forefinger to indicate the size. "-but it was enough to learn its subatomic structures. More or less. We had to brute force the complete structure."

His eyes flick to Diana. "I was not informed of a crashed spacecraft."

"It crashed about five thousand years ago. If you want any details you'd have to ask Teth Adom. Or Vandal Savage, I suppose. I think he was in the area at the time."

He shakes his head. "Thanagar may be more technologically advanced than Earth, but we did not have interstellar spacecraft with that sort of range five thousand years ago."

"Maybe they were time travellers? That can happen, right?"

"In.. theory. It's a little far fetched though." He folds his arms across his chest. "Where is the craft now?"

"No idea. It wasn't where Adom last saw it, though given how long it's been..."

"And the crew?"

"Crew of three, one of whom survived the crash. She ended up marrying the local ruler, chap by the name of Prince Khufu. As I said, Adom's really the person to ask about it."

"What was her name?"

"Adom pronounced it 'Chay-Ara', but he was probably Kahndaqising something that didn't match the phonemes he was used to. Is it a common Thanagarian name?"

He rubs his chin with his right hand. "Common enough to be plausible, I suppose." He gestures at the work bench with his left hand. "Why did you make this armour?"

"We were hoping that we could give Kon-El the ability to fly. The gravity distorting ability of Nth metal, combined with Kryptonian strong nuclear force manipulation... Would that work? I wasn't thinking entirely clearly at the time."

"Perhaps, if it was attuned perfectly. I'm afraid it's more likely that what you've got here is 'merely' exceptional body armour."

"It's a bit of a blur, but I'm pretty sure I remember us attuning it properly."

"That's.. somewhat improbable." He turns back to the bench and presses a few buttons on the viewer. "It takes years of training in metallurgy to make equipment a Thanagarian can use, and we're able to use it almost instinctively."

"You did hear me say 'mid-tier god', right?"

"Do you remember what you did?"

"Not..." I shake my head. "Only in approximate terms."

"Do you think you could do it again?"

"Not without the Ophidian. And I don't intend to rebond with her."

"Mmm." He takes a closer look. "I had thought you'd simply misforged it, but if it is supposed to be attuned to a Kryptonian-."

"Kryptonian-Human-Genomorph hybrid."

"How is that pos..? No, never mind. Wonder Woman, as far as I can see there are no irregularities in its forging. We may as well let Superboy use it. I would be very interested to see if it works as advertised."

 

[Mr Zoat]

25th October
16:14 GMT -5

I reach Happy Harbour High School just after the end of the school day. There's a chill in the air, and without the ring's environmental shield I've taken to adding a grey leather jacket to my usual vest and jeans. Not the one I bought when I first got here, Zatanna still has that. Think I remember making it last week. Groups of teenagers are still cluttering up the pavements in the surrounding area, meandering back to their homes or to whatever hang outs they spend their time in. Clubs like M'gann's pranc-. Nooo. Like M'gann's cheerleading generally go on to four or five.

"You know, I'm sure that didn't used to have a 'u' in it."

"That's how the Canadians spell it, isn't it? Wonder why they changed it?"

I wince inwardly as I walk past the main entrance and the students looking at the sign the Ophidian and I repainted. Looks like we even made the sign itself a bit longer so that it still has the even border around the lettering. Probably should fix that once I get the ring back. Kon never told me where his chess club meets, so I'm heading towards the fields where the cheerleaders practice. This might be easier if we wore secure communicators all the time or something, but those are a bit hard to explain to anyone who might see them by chance. Or I could just get a mobile. That might make more sense.

I hadn't really thought about it before, but neither Kon nor M'gann have been spending all that much time out of the cave. They usually come back after their extracurriculars, then we've all got our other extracurriculars... Given that the whole point of them even going to school is to give them social development and a plausible 'normal' background... Should I be encouraging them to get out more? It feels a little odd to be in that position, given my own introverted behaviour at Secondary School, but...

I see two young women carrying large kit bags across the playing field. Both are wearing.. what were they called again? Honeybees? Another thing I'd forgotten was this annoying: forgetting things. My memory is still much better than it was, but without the ring chipping in I'm relearning normal levels of recall. And they're rubbish. Anyway, probably Honeybees uniforms, yellow 'H', black sleeveless jumper with yellow rims over a white blouse and black and yellow pleated skirt. One on my left is pale skinned with short black hair and the one on my right is dark skinned with some sort of strange Mickey Mouse ears hairdo. I raise my right hand in greeting.

"Good afternoon! Can I give you a hand with those?"

They stop and look at me. Black girl tilts her head to the side. "Uh, no, we're fine. Thanks."

White girl blinks in recognition and points at me with her right hand. "I know you! You're Conner's b-friend, Paul, right?"

I perform a shallow bow. "Kon and Megan's friend, yes. They're not around, are they? I was hoping to say hello before class starts."

Black gir-. No, come on, M'gann showed me a picture... Karen! That was it! Karen and probably Wendy! Karen relaxes a little now that I'm a bit more of a known quantity. "Conner's probably still at Chess Club. Megan went to see him after our practice session."

"My friend Marvin goes there! I can show you where it is after we've dumped these bags."

"Much obliged." I hold out my right hand with a smile, and after a second's hesitation she passes me the kit bag. These are some surprisingly heavy pompoms. I sling the bag under my right arm and follow them in the direction of what I expect is the equipment shed.

"How long have you been living in Happy Harbor?"

Her eyes are a really quite intense shade of blue. "Coming up to four months now. Moved in.. would have been the eighth of July."

"How do you like it so far?"

"Oh, everyone's been very friendly. In fact, they've even repainted all the signs for me, which I thought was jolly nice."

"That was for you?" I squint my left eye at her, uncertain if she's being serious. Karen elbows her in the ribs. "Huh? Oh! Heh heh." She simpers. Karen rolls her eyes. "Um, how long have you known Conner? A-and Megan?"

"I met them shortly after I moved here." Not a small problem, actually. Without an actual secret identity it's a bit tricky to explain how I know them if I'm recognised. There are excuses I could employ but I'd rather run them past Kon and M'gann first. "So, Chess Club?"

Wendy slides open the equipment shed door and I follow Karen inside, putting the bags down on a shelf to the side. "I was a bit surprised when Marvin said Conner was going. I thought he'd be into something more, y'know, jock related."

"He's got, um, many hidden talents." There's a spluttering noise from behind me and I look around to see Karen covering her mouth with her right fist. I bow my head slightly as I smile. Chess was actually the first non-combat thing Kon took real pleasure in. I think it surprised everyone, him included. It certainly surprised Robin, who'd offered to give him a practice game.

Completely. Owned.

"Ah, this way." Karen shuts the external door behind us as I follow Wendy into the school proper. "You said you had a class?"

"Yes. A local physiotherapist is hiring one of the school's rooms to do a sports massage class. That's.. something I've been wanting to learn to do for a while, and I've got the spare time at the moment..." **M'gann, you about?**

**Hey Paul! How'd it go with Uncle J'onn?**

**Brand removed, no lingering problems that I could detect.**

I follow Wendy as she turns a corner deeper into the school.

**That's great news!**

**Yeah. Um, we're also going to have a look at-.**

"So, why is Conner so into chess?"

"There'sssss... It's kind of personal to him." I don't think 'his Human dad had the scientists who made him program it into his brain' is an answer conducive to maintaining cover.

Karen spots the oddity. "How can chess be personal?"

Ah... "One of his parents is a big fan of the game, and he doesn't get on with them very well."

"Oh. That's.. kinda sad."

"Yes, so I'd be grateful if-."

Wendy pushes open a door and... That's a lot more chess players than my Secondary School had. There must be at least twelve of them. A young man -Marvin, presumably- looks up from yikes that's a bad position to wave dejectedly at Wendy. Kon's a little further in with his back towards me, playing against an Asian girl who looks about twelve, M'gann hovering next to him. Sneaky sneaky. Trying to make as little noise as possible I walk around behind him.

"Hey Paul."

M'gann looks around as I make a fist and swing it sideways across my chest. Rats, super hearing.

"Hi Kon. How's the game going?" I nod at his opponent, who ignores me. I have no idea who's winning. Pieces removed look to be about even, but I haven't played at anything like the level he's on.

"S'okay." He glances around. "Did you talk to.. ah.. Diana. About the thing?"

"She's bringing it here after school tomorrow." I step forwards and put my right hand on his shoulder. **You know we can just talk telepathically if you want to discuss 'official' business.**

**Oh. Yeah.** He picks up a bishop and moves it into a flanking position. **And you think it'll let me fly?**

**I was in full super intelligent Ophidian mode when I made it. I can't comprehend my own thoughts, but I remember being fairly sure it would.**

**How long do you think it will take me to learn?**

**Should be fairly instinctive.**

**Is everyone else going to be there?**

**On a week night? Shouldn't think so.**

 

[Mr Zoat]

26th October
14:06 GMT

I hold out the small piece of marmalade laden toast to Jade. She raises her right eyebrow, realises that I'm being serious, rolls her eyes and leans forwards allowing me to put it delicately into her mouth. She then rather ruins the effect by masticating loudly before swallowing.

"Well? Does it meet with your approval?"

"You know, when you said you wanted to show me your body, this isn't what I thought you meant."

I take a moment to examine my exquisite new arms. Father Box might not be particularly forthcoming on every subject but it was quite eager to assist me in getting a physical form 'appropriate to my station'. Now, rather than looking like Ben Grimm's granite-faced cousin I might actually pass as Human in low light. True, I'm still noticeably larger and broader than I was in my original natural form, my skin is still grey, and my face is halfway between my original face and the one the Venom Buster gave me. But -wonder of wonders!- once more I can feel with my unaided skin, taste with my unaided tongue! And, though I out-mass every one of the League's standing members, I am now merely the size of an unusually large man and not the hulking colossus I was before.

Jade and I are sitting on a picnic blanket on a hill with truly magnificent views of the New Forest National Park in Hampshire, England. Even this late in the season I can still smell the heather flowers and beneath that the scent of damp earth. When I scouted this location out I was also able to smell a nontrivial amount of animal dung, but I removed that before bringing Jade here.

"I will be more than happy for you to study my revised body in further detail later, but... I've had a rather good week at work, and I could think of no one I would rather share my celebration with than you."

"I'm glad your week went so well. I've been tailing a senator's 'second family'. It's so boring, and she's so stupid I think she still thinks that he'll actually leave his wife for her."

"Too invested in the false belief to question it. It happens. I think I feel a little sorry for her."

"It's her own fault. If she wants to live like that-."

"No, not about the situation. That she's clearly too weak to forge her own path." I shrug. "I always think that's such a waste."

She opens the picnic basket. "Hope I'm not making Superboy jealous by monopolising you like this."

"Superboy's at school." I look up at the sky for a moment. "And, fond though I am of him, there are things that I can share with you that I just can't talk to him about."

She reaches into the basket and pulls out a tub of foie gras. "You really went all out. I'm guessing that's more than a fancy iPod."

"Ploong."

I take Father Box off my belt and hold it out to her. "Father Box is a highly sophisticated techno-organic artificial intelligence. And, unlike the power ring, he has a complete xenotechnological database."

She looks at me and then at Father Box before carefully taking him from me with her right hand.

"Ploong."

She jerks, nearly dropping him. "I... I understood that. Why did I understand that?"

"Mother Boxes and Father Boxes speak directly through your soul. The noise is just part of the carrier system."

"You said you don't have a soul."

"I don't, but the ring lets me fake it. For some purposes, anyway." That reminds me, I got into a conversation with Kaldur this morning about Atlantean trade with the surface world. I hadn't really thought about it, but I suppose it should be obvious that they would struggle to generate high purity metals by themselves. Might be an opportunity there... "What did he ask you?"

"'He'?"

"He self-identifies as masculine. I haven't asked about how they reproduce."

"I'm not.. it wasn't clear. Something about our relationship."

"Hmm. Apokolips isn't really the place for soft emotions." She passes Father Box back.

"Soft.. emotions?"

"It's... It's why I wanted to come here." I look away, taking in the panorama once more. "When I was a child I came here several times with my parents, sister and my maternal grandparents. I wanted to share this with you as well." I turn back, looking her directly in the eyes. "I love you, and I want us to have an actual relationship, not just the occasional hook up when our work schedules allow, or when we need to convince our employers that our meetings serve their interests. I don't know what.. what you had in mind..."

"Oh." Jade blinks and drops her eyes down. I don't say anything for a moment. I really... I'm really regretting scaring her as much as I did when we first met. And when we second met. I think that's the first time I've felt bad about my behaviour since coming to this insane world. The parallels between my behaviour and her father's are all too apparent. I've tried to make up for it since...

Jade rises to her hands and knees and crawls across to me, then turns to sit leaning against my left side, facing away from me. I put my left arm around her waist. "You know I'm wanted in twelve different countries, right?"

"Three." She turns her head up to look at me. "Nine might have had.. mysterious computer failures. I mean, don't walk in front of one of the investigating officers or anything..."

"Thiss... I don't even know your name."

"No one here does. I decided that not being able to say my own name was idiotic, so I've chosen a new one."

"Oh. What is it?"

"Grayven."

"That's a bit unusual."

"I think 'normalcy' pretty much passed us both by."

She shuffles a bit closer. "Yeah."

We sit in silence for a moment. I suppose what I want for us would be a big change for her. My best approach is probably to make her aware of the possibility and then not to bring it up again. "Oh, I got you a present, actually."

"Does it explode?"

"Only if you shake it just right. Here." I pull the vial forth from subspace into my right hand as I hold it out in front of her.

"I think you're supposed to put that in my drink when I'm not looking."

"Please. Like I'd need that. This, is Velocity Nine. Essentially, it's a Soviet era knock off of the formula which gave Jay Garrick his supernatural celerity. The original version had a variety of horrendous side effects, but with the ring and the aid of Father Box I've created a generation that has side effects no worse than strong coffee."

"Couldn't get the real stuff?"

"Of course I have the real stuff. If they're going to leave it in a fortified vault where just anyone might happen across it..." I chuckle. "I just can't think of a deniable way to leak it to you. Besides, would you really feel comfortable permanently altering your body like that?"

"No, I wouldn't." She takes the vial from me and looks at it. "Ra's would love to get his hands on this."

"Nnoooo. This is a gift for you. It decays quickly outside an organic body, and defies analysis within one. I'm happy to supply you with as much as you want, but you alone."

"No side effects?"

"Father Box has an extensive knowledge of alchemy, and I've trialled it on Eastern European orphans." She elbows me. "No, really. Once I was reasonably confident it would be safe I paid them to run tests. Minimal dose only. The children thought it was awesome, and the orphanage is now better funded than it's been at any point in its history. There's a second present, but it's in your maternal grandmother's house."

She frowns. "Grandma? My grandma lives in Vietnam."

"I know." I shake the vial. "Race you?"

 

[Mr Zoat]

26th October
20:11 GMT +6

"You totally cheated."

Jade's vibrating on the spot, air currents churning around her with the occasional crackle of electricity. I put the picnic basket into my subspace pocket and she took that as the signal to go.

"Ddnt."

"Did too."

I barely notice as she vanishes then cold, right in the face! I blink and brush off the snow as she watches.

"Most amusing."

"Hw?" She closes her eyes and concentrates until the vibrations cease, then opens them again. "How long does it last?"

"That depends on the dose. The amount you took gives you about four minutes at full speed, with a warm up and wind down period of about thirty seconds each. Obviously I would warn against attempting to vibrate through solid objects near the end of the time allowance. Also, don't rely on your sense of time. The accelerated perception-."

"Slows everything down. I did spot that."

I nod. "Do you like it?"

"I ran around the world three times in under a second after getting here and I'm not even tired. I watched that orange strand thing your faster than light travel uses move through the air in front of me!"

I smirk. "Is that a 'yes'?" I feel her hands at the back of my head pulling my face down before I see her, her lips pressing hard against mine. I open my mouth as the tip of her tongue rubs along my lips before pushing in. We haven't kissed like this before; quite aside from any risk with my former body there wasn't much point. I fold my arms around her back and bend forwards a little. She's still quite a bit shorter than me, and I don't want her breaking off because she lost balance. "Mm." Moments like this are what enhanced senses are made for. I can feel her heartbeat in the arteries in her lips through my own, I can smell her sweat and her preferred brand of soap, I can taste-.

"Jade, is that you?"

She jerks back, her eyes wide in shock. I remove my hands as she dashes over to face the elderly Vietnamese woman in front of whose somewhat upgraded house we have been clinching.

"Grandma?"

Missus Nguyen Thi Nhung spreads her arms wide and embraces her granddaughter, who surprises me a little by returning it immediately. Vietnam isn't a country where she's ever been wanted -in the criminal sense-, and I don't think Missus Nguyen is completely clear on her daughter's, late son-in-law's or elder granddaughter's employment. No, wait, Jade has an older cousin... Bah, I know what I mean.

"My little doe, it is so good to see you again. Your boyfriend said that you might be coming by." She pulls back a little. "He looks a bit strange, but he has a good heart, I think."

"It is good to see you too, Grandmother. Are you well?" She must be in a good mood if she didn't complain about the diminutive.

Missus Nguyen makes a face of mock disappointment. "Oh, you have not been practising your Vietnamese, have you?"

"I.. haven't been back here, not since-."

"Your grandfather's funeral, yes. Good. I would be dreadfully offended if you had been back and had just chosen not to visit me." Fixing Missus Nguyen up was a worthwhile investment in time. In terms of effort it barely cost a thing. Improving her house took a little more effort but was well within my abilities. I went for a 'prosperous Vietnamese peasant' aesthetic, rather than anything obviously western. Still stuck a geothermal power plant under the floor to power the new oven and the lights. I mean, there's trying to fit in and then there's being silly about it. "Oh, what am I keeping you both out here for? Come in, come in!" She makes a beckoning gesture at me before turning around and walking back up the steps to her front door.

I walk up behind Jade and put my arms around her once more. I hear her exhale. "I think I'm more a fox than a doe."

"I've.. certainly.. always thought of you as a bitch." She stamps on my right foot and I rub my face into her hair as I chuckle. "Still too tough for that."

She pulls free and moves to follow her grandmother up the steps. "Don't you have to go play tag with Robin, or something?"

"Not for another five hours at least." I follow after her.

"Is this my present? I mean, seeing her again is nice-."

"No, that's inside."

"Are you going to give me a clue?"

"No."

"The house looks.. different, from last time I was here." She pushes open the door and I follow her inside. "Did you do that?"

"Maybe."

"Is that it?"

"No."

Ahead of us Missus Nguyen walks through the opening to from the living area to the kitchen. "Both of you, sit down. I will put the tea on."

"Thank you Missus Nguyen."

Jade scans the room in detail. Seeing nothing of note, she sits down on a cushion on the settee. I designed it to look as if it were made largely from bamboo. It's actually entirely synthetic, though you'd need to dissect it to find that out. Similarly, the cushions look like they could have been made of leftover fabric but are water and flame resistant and unusually comfortable. I cross the room to join her.

"Still not seeing it."

"That's because-."

She blurs for a moment. "Nothing obvious in the house."

"Subspace pocket. Ring, reveal."

"By your command."

The eye piece appears on the table in front of us. I haven't gotten around to showing my team mates my new Apokolips-derived armour yet. After scrapping the disc-launcher I was able to get a grey with orange highlights suit that matched my style requirements. I can now fight clad in what is far and away the toughest armour on Earth at the moment. Can't really justify giving a suit of the stuff to Jade, sadly. I made one but it occurs to me that encouraging the League of Shadows to pick up the Apokolips contract would be a very bad idea. The visor derived eye piece, on the other hand, is just as impossible to replicate and is far less easy to identify as Apokoliptian. Especially as it doesn't have to be built in red. The one I now use is orange and Jade's comes in the same shade of green as her kimono.

"What is it, night vision?"

"Among its other modes. It also pierces magic disguises, registers and informs the user of the target's unusual abilities... I've started using one myself."

"You're.. new at giving girls presents, aren't you?"

"Um. Maybe? I can.. I mean, if you'd rather have-."

"No, I like it... How does it attach?"

"I couldn't understand the explanation. 'Very well', basically. Just hold it against-." She holds it over her right eye and presses the thin support strip to the side of her face. "That's not going to.. hold..." She pulls her hands away. Yep. I suspected, but there's a definite Dragonball Z Scouter look going on. I'd do the line but the series doesn't exist here.

Missus Nguyen walks back in with a tray supporting a teapot and three cups with saucers. She puts it down on the table before taking the seat opposite.

"So! When are the two of you getting married?"

!!!

 

[Mr Zoat]

26th October
13:06 GMT -5

"...don't see why people can't accept that they were reasonably well written but entirely of their time! They're not even that good!"

Diana and I are sitting outside a restaurant in Happy Harbour, having just finished lunch. I was interested to discover that while she prefers traditional Greek fare as far as she knows she can't put on weight. Apparently someone asked her to put her name to a diet book once. Don't think most people could copy her exercise regime.

"Alright, but I don't understand why it bothers you so much."

"It's ridiculous to give that much emphasis to one playwright! Shakespeare was the reason-" Why I didn't take English A-Level, but I can't tell her that. "-why I wasn't going to take English A-Level. Two plays for GCSE, and nothing modern. I mean, if we were going to use the qualification we'd be writing for modern audiences, not Elizabethans."

"Perhaps the British Department of Education disagrees with you about their quality. If they are still being performed after this long..."

"If longevity was the deciding factor then we should have been studying Sappho! Her work stayed on the Greek curriculum for over a thousand years, more than twice what Shakespeare's managed. "

"She didn't write in English."

"Shakespeare didn't write in modern English! The versions of the text we studied had to be annotated for us to have the slightest idea what anyone was talking about."

"Sappho is still studied on Themiscyra." No shit. "I had rather got the impression that her work hadn't survived in the rest of the world."

"Wait, you've got her complete..." She nods. "Have you ever considered doing a revival? Bringing a Themiscyran theatre troupe over and doing a few readings? I'd have thought that the notion that the greatest Greek poet in history was being forgotten -especially given that she was a woman- would be something Amazons would be a little more exercised over."

"She was a playwright as well, actually." She rests her right elbow on the table and her chin on her palm. "There.. might be interest on Themiscyra in doing something like that." She nods. "I think it would be worthwhile sharing her unknown work with the world. I'll speak to Mother about it."

"If they need someone to show them around I'd be happy to volunteer myself."

"They'll certainly need a translator. Few other Amazons speak any English, and only a handful have been to America before."

I take a sip from my milk glass. Across the road, a man sees Diana, stares, and walks into a lamp post. One of his friends offers him a hand up as passersby try to smother their amusement. I've never actually seen that happen in real life before. It's true that even in casual clothing she's a strikingly beautiful woman, but after spending this much time around her I am somewhat less stunned by her appearance than I was when we first met. I suppose a person can adjust to almost anything, given time. I nod in his direction. "Does that sort of thing happen a lot?"

"I've learned to tune it out. I seem to remember that you were somewhat distracted when we first met."

I shrug. "I'd never met a woman as muscular as you before. And I was still new to superhero costumes."

She raises her eyebrows and gives me a knowing smile. I take another drink. "Giovanni told me that your time with the Ophidian resulted in you getting a soul."

I look down at the case on the ground next to her seat. "We don't actually know it was the Ophidian. It might just have been the tattoos. Or the combination."

"Did Father Mattias try to convert you?"

"Not really. Though he did say I'd be better off with his god than with yours."

"Oh really? What's wrong with my gods?"

"Um... How accurate are the myths, exactly?"

"It varies. Which one do you have in mind?"

"Medusa. The thing with Poseidon-?"

"That was..." She exhales. "Athena did not turn Medusa into a serpent-woman as a punishment. She did so in the hope that Poseidon would lose interest."

"And did she turn her back afterwards?"

"Poseidon is more powerful. If turning her back had been possible he would have done it."

"Alright. Did it work?"

"No."

"So Poseidon goes on the-" I look out to sea for a moment. "-dick list. How about Ares?"

A wry smile. "As far as most Amazons are concerned Ares is the very definition of dick."

"Why bother with him then?"

"The gods represent all parts of both the world and Human nature. Though we may wish it otherwise, we are a warlike species and it is a habit we must strive constantly to overcome. Pretending otherwise would be foolish."

"So.. why don't you just replace him?"

"It.. isn't really up to us."

"Why not? I mean, the Amazons are basically the only people who worship the Olympians anymore, and there's plenty of decent war gods out there. How about Tyr? He's alright."

"He isn't.. part of the same family."

"That isn't a reason not to bring him in. And if it's really a problem.. well, Athena's still single, right?"

Her mouth drops open. "I'm not going to try-." She suppresses a chuckle. "To try and persuade the goddess of wisdom to.. to 'hook up' with a Viking god to satisfy your desire to play musical pantheons!"

"Persuade? Wait. Aphrodite or someone has had a chat with her, right? She does know people don't normally spring fully formed from their fathers' foreheads."

She bows her head slightly, unable to trust herself to respond. "I don't-. I don't think-."

"Ooh. Right. Amazons. Got it. I think Sekhmet's single." A splutter. "You know, if gods aren't her thing. She's got a bit of a temper, but get some beer in her and she's a real pussycat."

"Haahahahaha!"

"Athena's an adult, she can make her own choices. Or maybe Hera."

"H-Hera isn't single."

"She's married to the god of adultery. She doesn't really get anything out of being queen at this point so-."

"He... Lord Zeus doesn't behave like that anymore. One of the advantages of not having so many worshippers. Not that I'm excusing him, but their marriage is now one of genuine love and respect."

Eh? "Sir, did you read that file on potential future recruits I handed to Batman?"

She frowns. "I'm not... Just the records of those eligible now. Why do you ask?"

"Cassandra Sandsmark, aged eight. Natural daughter of Doctor Helena Sandsmark and Zeus, King of Olympus."

"That's impossible."

"She has super strength, fortitude and can fly a bit. Genetic comparison to a sample of Ares' blood left on one of your spears suggests a close genetic relationship and there's a picture of what I believe to be Zeus' Human-seeming form stored on the computer. I took it from surveillance footage on the cruise ship where they met. In Greek waters, if you're wondering."

All trace of humour is gone from her face. She stands up suddenly, lantern-case in hand. "I'm going to confirm this for myself."

 

[Mr Zoat]

26th October
13:27 GMT -8

There wasn't a zeta tube close to Gateway City, so Diana elected for us to travel there in her jet. We sat in silence the whole way. I'm not.. sure exactly how big a deal this is, either to her or in general. I'm sitting on a bench on the other side of the road from Cassandra's school. Through the window I can see her, and every so often I get a flicker of her white light core. It looks a bit like an Australian aboriginal painting, with everything else hung off it. I think. It's been a while since Dot and the Kangaroo.

Diana went to talk to Doctor Sandsmark over an hour ago. I think I should be feeling bad about it. No. I think this is something I would have felt bad about, and I certainly empathise with her, but the self blame I expected isn't there. I certainly didn't intend to seriously undermine her faith in her gods. At this point all of their personal failures are sort of out there. Zeus' habitual infidelity isn't something they weren't aware of…

I hear someone sit down at the other end of the bench. "You were right."

I turn my head in Diana's direction, noting that the box is still with her. "I know. Um. Sorry about that."

She shakes her head. She looks.. tired? Not sure. "You have nothing to be sorry for. You were not the one who betrayed your wife."

"I'm not sorry for doing it. I'm sorry for the outcome. I mean, I don't know exactly what it will be..."

"Either Lady Hera will leave him, or..."

"Or based on past form, simply accept it." She grimaces. "What do you intend to do now?"

"One of the charities I am a patron of works with young metahumans to hone their abilities. If Cassandra is as strong as I was at her age then she will need guidance and training. I offered to work with her myself. Doctor Sandsmark was.. less than keen."

"Is that going to be a problem?"

"Doctor Sandsmark was the student of an old friend of mine, and they're still in touch. I think I can talk her around, once she's had time to get used to the idea."

"Did she know it was Zeus..?"

"When they met?" I nod. "He told her who he was. She said she thought he was joking."

"That was probably more likely."

She finally turns her head to look me in the eyes. "How did you find her?"

I see a flicker of white. Yep, same basic look as Cassandra, though more... bass. There's more depth to it. "I didn't know Zeus was supposed to have sworn off.. well... I looked for reports of metahuman abilities, followed up on them. In her case there weren't any obvious metahuman genetic markers, her mother is an expert in Greek archaeology and I had Ares' genetic code on file."

She nods, and goes back to staring straight ahead. "I had meant to spend this afternoon asking you about your time with the Ophidian."

"I imagine that you remember it better than I do."

"You mentioned to Giovanni and Father Mattias that you think you are different now. Given how you responded to J'onn not being aware of his student's abilities..."

"Good point. Alright. I find prioritising easier. Rather than having to spend an hour a day going through all of my desires I'm constantly aware of all of them all of the time. The intrapsychic conflict that.. used to mess me up just isn't there anymore."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Oh, I'll do the meditation thing once I get the ring back. Assuming I'm getting it back, of course."

"And if you don't?"

I shrug. "The lantern's mine after a year. I don't want to have to sue the Justice League to get hold of it, but I would. Then, I'd forge myself a new ring."

"I thought you said that you didn't think you'd be able to do that."

"Forge a ring?" She nods. "It's hard, but as I said, I don't think focus will be a problem for me anymore. Isss.. that likely to be necessary?"

"I don't think so. You wouldn't be the first person associated with the Justice League to have their mind altered by an external influence. We've never held it against the people involved before. Giovanni offered to try to communicate with the Ophidian to be able to make a better assessment but J'onn and the Green Lanterns thought that would be unwise to say the least."

"I'm not... They might be right. I don't completely understand why the Ophidian's being this relaxed about the situation. Sir, about Larfleeze..."

"The Guardian embargo will remain in place until we can confirm that you are safe with your ring and that the Ophidian is indeed where we believe it to be. Once it's lifted, I know Hal intends to press them quite strongly for information. From what you were saying about Larfleeze I'm not sure there is much we could do to prepare."

"Could actually end up being really inconvenient for me, if the Guardians make a grab for the Orange Central Power Battery. Not as bad as Larfleeze going on a rampage, of course."

"From what I know of the Guardians they are unlikely to break their agreement with him, even if the reason for making it no longer applies. I imagine that they'll be monitoring the region far more closely just in case." She looks at me quizzically. "Before you bonded with the Ophidian, were you really planning to fight Larfleeze in the name of your Controllers?"

"Yes. I mean, I wasn't just going to charge in there. There are exploitable weaknesses in any system, and since beating him is in the Controllers' interests I expected them to be both helpful and well motivated. Speaking of exploitable weaknesses... What are the Watchtower's defences against magic like?" I remember during the Justice League comic with the League of Ancients that Jason Blood was called in to serve on the League while the main members were sent backwards in time. He was disturbed to learn that there weren't any and so put some in place himself. He's on the list of League possibles I gave Batman but he seems to be completely into his cover identity and I haven't seen any recent record of Morgana le Fay being active in the recent past.

"Giovanni put in a ward against scrying-" Ahah! "-but your Spell Eater is much more potent."

"That needs to be fixed. I'll pencil it in for next week, shall I?"

She smiles faintly. "We'll see. Are your own thought processes the only thing to have been affected?"

"No. Other things have changed too. You know I could sense the desires of others?"

"Yes."

"It's not just desire now. That's still most precise, but if I look at someone and make a little effort, I can see all the colours of the emotional spectrum, like coloured lines in their skin."

"What colors do you see when you look at me?"

"A mix of green, blue, indigo and violet. So, you know, HEY!"

That got a chuckle. "Will, hope, compassion and love. Kind of you to say so."

"It's not that you can't feel other things, it's that they aren't a fundamental part of your nature." I check my watch. "We should probably start back if we want to be in time for Kon's training session. Kaldur's volunteered to try out the flying belt thing as well."

She nods and rises to her feet. "Before we go, I received a letter for you at the embassy."

"Do you want me to start going through my fan mail again?"

"This wasn't fan mail. It was an invitation to dinner."

"Well, some of them-."

"From Lex Luthor."

 

[Mr Zoat]

26th October
19:43 GMT -5

"Okay, so I was wrong about no one else turning up."

"Y'think?"

Kon and I are lumbering through the air above the training area. Doing this outside wasn't really an option, and trying it in a room with a large body of water covering the floor didn't seem like a good idea. Kon got the hang of flying in a straight line fairly quickly and can hover just fine, but turning, manoeuvring and going slowly are still eluding him. I remember the comic in which Superman fought Preus; you tend to go where you're looking. For my own part, I'm finding this WAAGH! Okay, okay. Stable again. I'm finding it a lot harder than power ring flight. The controls are meant to be instinctive but the lack of AI support means you have to do everything manually. When I get the ring back I'm going to give it a thank you polish. I can fly forwards and turn, but trying to hover is an exercise in sea sickness. And forget flying backwards.

"I find the solution is not to fight the controls." Which Kaldur is managing just fine. No, better than that. He's taken to it like a fish to water. Ugh, I feel bad for even thinking that. He floats past us and comes to a gentle stop. "Kon, how are you finding the armor?"

"It's great! I just need-." He shoots up into the ceiling, hits his head hard "OW!" on the entrance to Red Tornado's quarters and spins away before getting himself back under control. "Did you make a helmet for this?"

"Sorry."

I hear gentle feminine laughter from below. We all look down to see M'gann cover her mouth with her right hand. She isn't participating in this exercise, saying that she was perfectly content with autolevitation. Wallace is standing next to her, holding an ice pack to his head. Turns out that kinetic energy manipulation belts don't mix with super speed. He got a little cocky when he got the hang of medium speed while Kon and I were still taking it slowly, tried going flat out and bounced off three walls at the speed of sound before crashing into the ground.

Zatanna seems to be enjoying herself, though she lost control of her yaw axis when she tried going above jogging pace. Thing is, I can't be sure that all of these belts are really identical. It's quite possible that the Ophidian and I decided to try slight variations and I just no longer remember what they are. That's the only thing I can think of to explain why Artemis is still upside down. I did start asking if she had the belt the right way up but she growled at me so I decided to back off. She should be having some sort of circulation problem about now, but she's not wearing the collar and I think the formula is keeping her going.

Diana is watching over us with fascination, Guy with amusement and Hawkman and Hawkwoman are watching Kon like.. a...

You know what? I'm not going to finish that.

Just Teekl, Wolf and Robin missing. Teekl's been avoiding me since I split from the Ophidian, though M'gann says that she's still around. Wolf's probably curled up in her basket in Kon's room. She's a lot less mobile without her feline bearer. Robin... I haven't seen him since I Dannered him. I was sort of hoping that he'd come to this...

Alright, another go. Nice easy arc around.. yes.. do a loop... Oh, these things don't maintain relative down. You need to get a bit of speed going or the pull of natural gravity feels really weird. Maybe the problem is my own expectations? I've gone soft training with the easy mode ring? I've got to say, I'm starting to really respect what Ms Ervin has been able to accomplish with this thing. Okay. Accelerate, yep, there's the purple aura. You tend to go where you're looking but OW! Foot! You need to bear in mind where the rest of your body is. Ow.

"Alright, playtime's over kids!" Guy starts to raise his right hand, makes eye contact with me and stops, clasping it to his left behind his back. Six tiny green filaments rise from the floor before terminating in a series of glowing green rings. A circuit. None are too close together, but they're all at different heights and angles. With the ring I could go through them in seconds. Faster if I was allowed to just FTL plot the whole thing. This is not going to be quite so easy. "Who's goin' first!?"

Artemis pushes herself upright by grabbing onto a rocky outcrop on the wall. "I think Wally should have first try, since he's sooo fast."

"Oh, hah hah."

"Well, Kaldur is our.. team leader." Oh, I shouldn't have said that. That just means-.

"But you designed the belts." Kaldur doesn't smile when he says it, but I think that's just because he's got better self control than me. I'd be smiling.

"I didn't actually design... Fine." Where's the first..? I spot it, high up near the ceiling. High speed surge aaaaand bubble. Dowh! Okay, using the force field bubble functions to stop suddenly works, but it doesn't kill off all of your momentum. I'll remember that. I take a mid air bow as my team mates laugh at my expense.

"You ready up there?!"

I don't usually fly in the swimmer pose, but I haven't managed to make anything else work with this belt yet. I take a moment to plot the route. Down hard and shallow right turn to ring two, forwards and upturn to ring three then immediate loop down to ring four. Back up high and right turn to ring five then down and angle for the finish. Deep breath. "As ready as I'm likely to get!"

"I'll start the clock when you go through the first ring!"

Face the direction of travel. Face the direction of travel. Deep breath. Aaand dive through the ring, face the floor and accelerate down, turn my face slightly early don't look at the ring don't look at the ring yes! It worked! Turn towards the ceiling again and through the next turn turn turn agh! Damn it! Right, not working, to the ceiling, kick off, better, down through four, land -this is costing me so much time- aim and up to ring five, simple enough, then dive down again, turn a little, and through! I twist in the air to convince the belt to deal with my momentum.

"How did I do?"

"Twenty three point seven two seconds. 'Part from the flip over you didn't do too bad." Not exactly high praise, but I'll take it. "Okay, who's next?"

"Ooh! I'll have a try!" Zatanna smiles broadly before aiming herself at the first ring. "Tleb og retsaf! Ah! Pots! Pots!" She slams to a halt what looks like inches from the rocky ceiling, arms and legs splayed. Maybe I should look into getting it padded? "Heh. Heh." Turning her head, she slowly edges away and back towards the ring. "So I just.. go?"

"Whenever you're ready!"

She flies through the first ring, loops up slightly, sights the second and spirals anticlockwise down towards it, goes past before completing an anticlockwise circle and going through it, leisurely turns up through three, stops dead, then drops down through four. Then up- "A elttil tib retsaf!" -accelerates, fails to make the turn and bounces off the ceiling before passing through the ring the wrong way, realises what she's done, goes back through it and then down to the ground and jogs through the finish. "How did I do?"

"Forty one point five four." She seems happy with that. Wait. Are they all assuming I know how to use this because I normally fly? "Next!"

"Superboy." Hawkwoman gets his attention. "Why don't you give that armor a try?"

"Uhh. Okay." He sights the first ring, crouches slightly in the air and he's there. "You all might want to get back a bit." I catch Zatanna's eye and we take refuge next to the zeta tubes.

"I wasn't really watching what he was doing. Is he really..?"

"Like an American sports car. Great in a straight line, crap at corners. Should be fun to watch though."

Kon blurs through the first ring, blurs down, stops hard, blurs through ring two, stops dead under ring three, shoots up diagonally through it, stops again, down through four, blurs up and straight into the roof, rock and dust raining down. Zatanna and I wince, but he's still going, wobbling a little as he passes through ring five before dropping like a stone to just above floor level, reorienting, and shooting through ring six and slamming to a halt just ahead of us. I take a half step back just in case. He looks a little shocked himself.

"Fifteen point eight five. New course record to the Kryptonian." Kon smiles and nods his head in satisfaction. "And you can fix the roof when we're done." He lands with a grimace. "Next!" Kaldur and Artemis look at each other. She aims herself at the first ring, pushes off the wall and promptly flips over.

"Stupid belt!"

"Aqualad, looks like you're up!"

He nods and flies up to ring one under perfect control.

The git.

"Recognised, Robin, B zero one."

Huh?

 

[Mr Zoat]

26th October
19:49 GMT -5

The interior of the left zeta tube glows brilliantly for a moment then dims, revealing Robin in casual clothing. He starts to walk out, trademarked grin in place, then makes eye contact with me and stops.

"Zatanna, could you give us a moment?"

"Um. Sure. I'll just go and.. um.." She points to the other side of the training area and starts walking away. I take a few paces back myself and Robin comes fully into the room.

"Nineteen point oh nine! Artemis, you joining in?"

"Yes! Just... Aaaaaagh!"

"Simetra nrut revo!"

"Wohw! Ah, thanks Zatanna!"

Robin looks around the room, then back at me. "Um."

"Robin, I want to apologise for what I did, altering your body like that. And also for anything else I've forgotten about while the Ophidian-."

"I thought that wasn't you you."

"It sort of was, sort of wasn't. The impetus came from me, the Ophidian wouldn't care about you enough to do anything like that. Uh. Ordinarily I'd offer to make you a power suppression collar like I made Artemis-"

"Thirty six point two three!"

"I'm going again!"

"-but I don't have access to the ring until Saturday at least..."

He holds out his right arm and pulls back his sleeve, revealing a suppression manacle. "I spent a few days putting these together. Figured they'd be less noticeable than a collar."

"Might be right. I just thought..." I shake my head. Yes, they occupy a larger area and feel more awkward but they'd be easier to cover with clothes. Especially if you didn't want people knowing that you were a metahuman. "How are you coping? With the.. augmentation."

He sighs and looks over to our supervisors. "Killer Croc punched me in the face and broke three fingers." Oh.. kay..? "I hate that you changed me without even asking how I felt about it, but the reality of having these powers? It's great. The more I think about it, the less I can deny it." He shuffles his feet. "When I was trying to get inside the alien space ship in the training scenario, I didn't even stop to think about it shooting me. Not really. Then, zap. No more me. It just really brought home how dangerous what we do is."

Shit. "I assumed.. you'd been injured before. I mean, Gotham isn't exactly..."

"Bruises, scrapes. A couple of knife wounds and I broke my leg once. I've never been disintegrated. I get into a fight now and I don't think there's anyone in Gotham who can hurt me."

"Well, at the point where that happened we all still knew it was just a training session."

"That's not the point. Batman always says to treat training sessions as if they're the real thing, and I do." He looks at the ground. "And... I'm sorry, but it's not just the enemy. You and.. and the Ophidian, you changed my whole body in a second. You didn't even have to try hard. I used to just laugh when I heard someone asking how a guy with no powers like Batman made it on the Justice League. Now I.. I can sort of see where they're coming from. It's just.. there wasn't anything I could have done to stop you."

"Twenty nine point six two! Gettin' better! Hey, Paul, you-!? Uh. Superboy, you goin' again?!"

"Robin, if I could take it back, I would. If... About the power level thing... You're not going to match the DPS I can put out, or that Kon can. We're not like Wallace where you can keep up by being more intelligent. Batman can't speed blitz with the Flash or Superman either. His skills.. his utility, and yours, lie in a different area. And it's not like anyone else could have stopped me when I was with the Ophidian either."

"I thought the Green Lanterns..."

"Is that what they're saying?" I glance over at Guy. "They got the drop on me and still only managed ten seconds before I had their rings off their fingers. They 'won' by rejecting their own desires and so making it impossible for the Ophidian to help them."

"How's Artemis handling it?"

"Reasonably well. I think she still believes that the divide between normal me and the Ophidian was.. more than it actually was, but... I think I'd pretty much sold her on the augmentation thing anyway, and my relationship with her was... I mean, you and me got on okay, but..." He nods. "Look, if there's anything I can do to make up for it..."

"Thirteen point eight four! Easy when you don't crash, huh, Superboy!"

"I don't... I don't think there's anything. I don't think this is something you can just make up."

I exhale. "You and me, are we going to be able to work together? I have no intention of repeating that.. whole thing, but I'll understand-."

"No, that's..." He shakes his head. "I know you thought it was helping, but you wouldn't have waited as long as you did with Artemis if you'd have considered forcing it on us without the Ophidian messing with your priorities. The other stuff... That's just something I'm going to have to work out."

"I'll owe you then." He nods, and starts to walk slowly in the direction of Wallace. I follow. "Diana said that she was going to offer you and Artemis lessons in how to fight at your new strength level."

"Yeah, Batman said. I tried doing a circuit in the gym back home, and all of my instincts were off. It's gunna be a while before I can really use my new strength."

"Are you here for that now?"

"Pff, no. Wally phoned me about the flying belts. No way I'm missing this."

Guy half turns, and a belt appears in the air just in front of Robin, who catches it. "You up next?"

"You bet!" Wallace trudges in our direction. "Hey, Wally, why're you down here?"

"Don't ask."

"Ooookay." Robin looks over the belt, then puts it around his waist and fastens it. This one has an 'R' belt buckle. Did I make it for him? No idea.

"Tap the buckle three times for normal activation. Oh, and if the rest of us are anything to go by you might want to turn your suppressors off."

He gives me a characteristic insolent smile. "Turned them off before I got here." He crouches then uncoils, leaping high into the air and not coming down as the belt activates.

"Glad Rob's enjoying himself. You two talked things out?"

"As much as we can, I suppose."

"Good, that's.. good. Um. Hey, Oh El?" Wallace has sidled right up to me, and is making a point of looking across the room. Okay..?

"Yyyess?"

"Sorta been meaning to ask. When you fixed my arm, did you.. you know, do anything else?"

I frown. "I didn't intend to. I don't have to precisely tell the ring what I want it to do, just a rough impulse... Why, is there some sort of problem? If you tell me what it is I'm sure I can fix-."

"Aaaah." His eyes flick down to the ground, and he fidgets slightly. "Nnnoo. It's fine. I think I'll just go, um, talk to M'gann."

"Oh.. kay?" I watch him wander off, ice pack still held against his forehead. Wonder what that was about. Not being able to come up with anything I walk over to where the Leaguers are standing.

"Kon seems to be adapting well to the armor."

I flash Diana a quick smile. "Good thing too. Not like I can modify it."

"Did you plan to make armor for everyone?"

"No. M'gann wouldn't be able to shapeshift, Wallace wouldn't be able to run... I think you were probably next on my list."

"I already have armor."

"Sir... How can I put this? I understand that your armour is made of orichalcum. I know that it has so many protective spells on it that a mortal magician would get a migraine trying to make sense of them, and I know that wearing it allows you to take an anti-tank rocket to the chest and barely feel it. But you have to accept that it looks like a leotard and even I don't understand why it doesn't cover your arms or legs."

"Hey!" Guy turns from my airborne team mates to point at me with his right index finger. "Wondy's armor's fine the way it is."

She gives him a slightly surprised smile. "Why, thank you, Lantern Gardner."

"You convince her to cover up some and you'll earn the hate of every red blooded man on the planet." He thinks for a moment. "An' I reckon more than a few o'the women. There's a place for fancy armor and there's a place for leotards. And that place is on Wonder Woman, capisce?"

 

[Mr Zoat]

26th October
21:49 GMT -5

I lean against the end of the row of lockers as I take off my socks, leaving me naked. Everyone else is still practising their flying in the training area so I've got time to have my shower before the others get down here. Another thing I miss about the ring, not having the automatic cleaning function. Guy left about half an hour ago, saying he was a couple of hours ahead and needed his beauty sleep. I still can't fly anything like as well with the belt as I can with the ring, but I can fly competently with it now and that's really all I need. Kaldur's still a little better, Robin and Zatanna about as good and Artemis is still a little worse. I wonder how practical it is for Kaldur to add the belt to the Ocean Master armour. It would work easily with his original gear... Wait. How water resistant is it? Okay, I'll have to suggest not wearing it under water until I can check.

Kon was flying circles around the rest of us at the end. Not sure whether his top speed is higher than ours or he was just less afraid of ramming into the walls. Since it went so well Diana wants to take him out for a 'real' flight tomorrow evening. I was a bit concerned that the Hawks might try and claim the armour in the name of Thanagar or something, but they seemed more interested in the techniques I used to make it than in the suit itself. I suppose that makes sense; one suit of armour isn't that big a deal but a non-Thanagarian supplier would threaten their monopoly. I explained what I could remember about making it to them, which wasn't much. Don't think I ever read any comic where the Hawks were the focus, except a bit of a Justice Society storyline where Hawkwoman reincarnated without her past life memories and became romantically involved with someone other than her predecessor's still-living husband. Don't think that applies here. Hawkwoman doesn't seem to be much like the Hawkgirl from Justice League Animated either.

I walk into the shower area and pick the shower to the left of the door. Seems simple enough, one knob for hot and another for cold. Huh. Hadn't really thought about it before, but this room's really big. Even allowing for a reasonable amount of personal space you could probably fit an extra row of showers down the middle without it being crowded. The shower spacing along the walls is about what I'd expect, so... Why'd they make it this big? And.. why were there that many lockers? Three banks on each side, two lots of eight per bank... Ninety six lockers? And that's just the men. How much recruiting are they planning on doing?

Right. First rule of using an unfamiliar shower: stand to the side when you turn the hot water on, and let it run for a bit before adjusting the temperature. I make sure I'm out of spray range and turn the hot knob three wrist twists anticlockwise. I'm not sure why the League went for a central boiler system when they originally built these; giving each shower its own heating element would be far more efficient. Didn't occur to me to ask Lantern Stewart when we rebuilt the place, but now I'm actually having to use it... Okay, constant and rather hot temperature achieved, now the cold... And I forgot the soap. Too used to just being able to make things appear. Right. Leave that running, nip back to the lockers, pick up the soap and shampoo... There's no soap dish. Right. Second thing I'm doing once I get the ring back is fixing this stuff. Under the water, rub up a lather, step slightly out so the water doesn't wash away the soap, put the soap down and soap my arms.

Doesn't look like the ring not maintaining my physique has produced noticeable decay yet. I joined Kaldur in the gym this morning but I'm not in the habit and I don't think I could keep up the sort of regimen he does. I mean, if I found exercise interesting or pleasurable I wouldn't have needed the ring to rebuild me in the first place, would I? Arms done, rinse them off... Hm, nothing like flying around a room lined with metal and rock at high speed with a xenotech flight belt you barely understand to make you sweat. Torso next. Good thing about having short hair is that I don't have to do what I used to do and sort of stick it in a lump on the top of my head with shampoo to keep it out of the way. Right, rinse the front-.

"Oh, hey Paul." I drop the soap. I'm facing the wall, and Kon just walked in the shower room. He's probably naked right now. "Didn't think you used these showers."

"No ring. Um. Have to clean myself the normal way."

"Oh, right." I hear his footsteps on the damp floor. He's.. oh. He walks around behind me then turns and takes the shower next to me. I keep staring at the wall, moving my soapy hands over my back as I try to work out what to do next. Naked anyone else would just be a little awkward. This is...

The squirting noise causes me to instinctively turn to my right as Kon drops his shower gel bottle to the floor and begins.. rubbing.. himself. Definitely larger pectoral muscles than me. I turn back to the wall, and then turn further to let the water rinse my back off. Turns out, perfect awareness of my own desires doesn't cover either unfamiliar social dynamics or other emotions. Normally after my torso I clean my genitals but he's right there. I don't know what the protocol for this sort of situation is. I feel my desire to avoid giving offence, but I don't know what might make that happen. For the lack of something else to do I crouch down and pick up the shampoo bottle. Of course, he's probably well used to this sort of thing by now.

"You have any plans for the rest of your week off?"

"Tomorrow, I'm having Mister Constantine do a check up on my soul, maybe modify the tattoos a bit." Super strength scry ward please. If it was good enough for the Shadows it's good enough for me. I put a blob of shampoo on my right hand and rub it in as I duck back down to return it to the floor. Huh. I can feel the heat from Kon's shower from here. I suppose turning just one knob is slightly quicker and his augmented toughness means that the hot water doesn't hurt him. "You know how magic messes me up, so that's probably Thursday occupied as well. Then on Friday, Lex Luthor's invited me for dinner."

"Luthor! You're not going to go, are you?"

"Don't see why not." Both hands in my hair now. "He's not going to have me killed when everyone knows where I am."

"What do you think he wants?"

"No idea. I mean, he'll probably start by thanking me for Taipei again then.. I don't know.. try and sound me out about some sort of cooperative venture?" Diana was having kittens about it but couldn't be more precise than 'he's up to something'. I mean of course he's up to something, he's Lex Luthor, but just because it serves his interests doesn't mean that it doesn't also serve mine.

"But.. if he did try something, you haven't got your ring. Shouldn't you.. I don't know.. try and reschedule or something?"

"I've got the belt." I tilt my head back into the water stream and use my fingers to assist in removing the lather. "If it really comes to it I can just fly through the window, but I don't seriously think it will. Look-." I turn my head left to meet his eyes.. and he's facing me. Completely facing me. Meeting his eyes takes a moment. Looks like Cadmus didn't cir-. No. Stopping that right there. "Um. I really don't think there's any need to worry about it." A flash of Ophidivision shows me the violet of his feelings for me. Fluffy violet, rather than the more spiky kind I've come to associate with romantic relationships after seeing it in the Hawks. The underlying yellow of his fear of rejection and isolation has almost completely been displaced by blue. That's good, but the violet thing makes me realise that building a romantic relationship with him would be a very long term endeavour. On the other hand, if a full frontal didn't put me off then I don't think I have to worry about any lingering heterocentrism. "So, um, what's up with you?"

"I took Wolf to play outside for the first time this afternoon. She seemed to like it, but she got tired out kind of quick. Oh, um... You know when you were.. possessed..?"

"I'm not likely to forget it, Kon." I bend and start soaping my right leg.

"Well.. M'gann took it really hard. I.. tried to make her feel better. You know, like you did for me..."

"Good for you."

"And we're... Well, we're kinda dating."

I freeze for a moment. Looks like someone didn't have my reservatio-. No, that's not fair. I remember her being in a right old state last week. "How do you mean 'kind of' dating?"

"We haven't actually gone anywhere yet. I mean, we've kissed and stuff..."

I'm.. happy for him. Them. I really am. In desire terms.. no, I really don't have any problem with my team mates being together. That just makes them both more appeal-. Oh dear. Another look at his face. Kon looks a little uncertain. Normally when he's this like this I give him a hug, but that doesn't seem quite as appropriate when we're both naked and soapy.

"Well. Good for you." He perks up as I smile. "Both of you. I'd try offering advice but.. I.. don't really have any..."

"Really?" He raises his left arm and rubs gel along his left side. "I thought.. you and Artemis..."

"I did say it wasn't a date."

"Okay. What about that assassin girl you keep visiting?"

"No. I mean, on that basis you could try and make out that I was dating Thomas Beresford." I pause in soaping my left leg. "I'm not, by the way. Um, suppose you could try reading up on Martian culture, so you'll know what she's expecting?" She'll have shown him her natural form, right? Agh, maybe I need to talk to her about this as well.

Now, to crotch or not to crotch?

 

[Mr Zoat]

27th October
10:22 GMT

Ugh... Too... Early...

I'm just about keeping myself awake in the back of Mister Chandler's cab. This is the first time I've actually felt jet lag and it's rubbish. My team mates left or went to bed at a sensible time but I decided not to. No. Diana said that she'd appreciate it if I could sort through the League's various trophies and artefacts to prioritise them for further study. She said to do it 'if I had time' and that there was 'really no rush'. So I stay up until half past midnight reading up on what they have, completely forgetting that a half past ten meeting in the UK is five hours earlier in the US.

"...apart from that one time when Sir Cyril ran over Mickey D's bonnet, but that doesn't really count..."

Fortunately the seat is hard, the suspension is stiff and Mister Chandler hasn't stopped talking since he picked me up. Not sure whether it's professional pride or he's covering nerves. I got the zeta tube from the mountain to London, walked about a hundred metres through a run down industrial estate and phoned him. We should get to the Tate Club early, not that I really think anyone there will mind. I suppose I could have flown but I didn't really want to draw that amount of attention without the ring on for protection. Sure, I have the belt, but part of last night's binge involved me acquainting myself with its weakness. Only stops kinetic force. Heat, light and electricity go straight through it. And magic, presumably. Even if I have some sort of spiritual presence now I'm sure that Mister Zatara would have said something if it looked strong enough to just tank arcane effects. I'll get John to check just in case, but I'm probably only as 'magical' as the average person here.

"...are you seeing those Tate weirdos for anyway?"

"Hmm? S-sorry, drifted a bit there. What did you say?"

"I mean, John's a mate, but I wouldn't trust the rest of them further than I can spit. Don't you lot have that Zatara guy handling your magic stuff for you?"

"Not really his field of expertise, I'm afraid. I asked in Atlantis but it turns out that it isn't really theirs, either. Besides, John's already done what I want done to me at least once. Easier getting him to do it again than trying to get someone else to work out how."

I watch the rear view mirror and spot him taking a look at me and giving an amused smile. "Hey, late night mate?"

"Uuhm. US time." I shake my head. "And if Helen of Troy's face launched a thousand ships Diana of Themiscyra's could easily make a man forget he had a meeting tomorrow."

"Wait. You telling me you and Wonder Woman..?"

"Uh? No." I shake my head. "She's my mentor. She asked me to do some research when I got a moment, unnn..."

"Thought you were gunna be a bigger bullshitter than John for a mo'. Anyway-" We pull up to the pavement and stop. We'd been slowing down but I'd sort of just assumed that was London traffic. "-we're here. Call it thirty quid."

I take a gold coin from my jacket pocket, reach forwards between the front seats and hold it out. It's one of the US ones, so he can easily change it to pounds sterling. He looks back and takes it from me.

"Renee said she wouldn't mind me doing more work for you in future." He turns the coin around in his hand. "Do.. y'know.. Justice League people usually tip like this?"

"Well, they're mostly Americans so it's.. fifteen percent pretty much the whole time. Batman tips big and on the few occasions Red Tornado actually orders something he writes out a full report and does an itemised tip based on how good he thought the experience was." Didn't see it myself, but Diana shared a story from the Justice Society days when they all went to a Chinese restaurant, and apparently he still does it. "Actually, if you're not prebooked or anything..?"

"You want me to pick you up when you're done?"

"No. Magic.. messes me up. I'm probably going to be fairly out of it when we finish here. I've booked a hotel room but I'm going to need someone to take me there, stick me in bed and hang around just in case I need anything." I shrug. "Bit rubbish, but if you're up for it I'll pay you well for your trouble."

He thinks for a moment. "When you say 'messes you up'..?"

"A bit like I'm drunk or high."

"You gonna throw up or something?"

"Haven't before, but maybe. Um. Sorry."

"Wouldn't be the first time. Mind if I stick some sheets down?"

"Makes no difference to me. If it happens I'm going to be too out of it to remember."

"Err. You're not going to get, like, supervillains attacking you or anything?"

"Don't think so, but just in case..." I take a card out from my inner jacket pocket. "This's got Green Lantern two eight one four B's mobile number."

He takes it lightly between right forefinger and thumb, looking a little lost. "Right..."

"He should be available all day, and he's just about the only one who could get here quick enough. Look, it probably won't come to that, but I like to prepare just in case. Unlike... You know..."

"John."

"Well. … Yes."

He thinks for a moment. "And how much..?"

The small bag chinks down on the seat next to him. He looks at it and purses his lips. "Right. You hop out now, I'll be back in about half an hour. You won't be finished by then, will you?"

"Doubt it. I'm expecting this to be an all day thing." I shuffle over to the left side of the seat and open the door. The outside of the club doesn't look like much. Same dull grey stone as the rest of the street with a frankly cheap looking sign over what I assume is a recent addition: a sort of shelter over the steps leading up to the main entrance. "See you in half an hour. John'll be in there if you can't get hold of me." I step out of the car and slam the door behind me. Mister Chandler pulls away as I contemplate the building some more. Bars over the first, second and third floor windows, and a general feeling that it could do with a bit of a clean. According to John London's got the most magic users per head of population of any city in Europe. Or North America. And this is where they hang out. You'd never know to look at it.

I'm still a little early, but there isn't anything else for me to do. I walk across the narrow pavement, up the steps and push open the door.

"Yes?" The uniformed concierge just inside the door isn't the same man as last time I was here. John told me that the owners are magic users but the other staff generally aren't.

"Good morning. Orange Lantern two eight one four to see Ms Clarice Sackville-" He nods and begins to point to the tearoom. "-and Mister John Constantine." He scowls for a second before mastering his appearance.

"Right you are, sir. Ms Sackville is taking tea at present." On her third gin most likely. I've no idea where she puts it; she's skinny as a rake. "Do you know the way?"

"Yes, thank you." I nod to him and walk across the foyer. Most of the ground and first floor of the Club form a single large room. The area around the edge forms a veranda overlooking the main floor from one floor up. It also serves to make it a bit dingier than it might otherwise be. Street magic is supposed to drive people a bit weird after a while, and looking at the architecture here I can well believe it. Ritual spaces, meeting rooms, libraries and whatever else this sort of club has are second or third floor, floor space being at something of a premium.

Turning the corner I look up another shallow set of steps to the various tables laid out, presumably for lunch. Only the one being used by Ms Sackville is occupied and as I predicted she is nursing a gin while speaking to her... Actually, I'm not sure what her precise relationship to Albert Case is. I suppose anyone who survives long enough around here just sort of drifts together. He was hanging around when I got my original tattoos done but I don't think I heard him say anything. I wave in their direction as I slowly walk up the steps. Mister Case notices me first and nods in my direction. She frowns for a moment before turning to look at me, stretching her wrinkled face into a smile.

"Dear boy! Come and sit down and tell me what exciting things you've been up to!"

 

[Mr Zoat]

27th October
10:33 GMT

"Well. Haven't you had an interesting week." Ms Sackville moves her cigarette holder to take another drag, only to find that it's burned down. Mr Case moved an ash tray under it while she was listening to me, and reaches into his jacket to take out a replacement for her. She slots it in and holds it out for him to light before taking a puff. I have no idea how she lived to her present age of two hundred and forty seven but it can't have been through clean living. She isn't undead, I checked that last time I was here and her body is organically functional. I'm sitting on a chair with her to my right and Mister Case across from me. "Albert, you remember Giovanni Zatara, don't you? He did a couple of seasons in the West End in the early nineties." Albert's face looks fairly blank. "Italian man. Wore a top hat. Used to be friends with John before that business with the Brujería. He was seeing that blonde woman.. oh, what was her name." There's a vague glimmer of recognition in Albert's eyes, but it doesn't look like he'd want to rely on it. Ms Sackville's eyes drop as she tries to remember. "Cinde-. No, wasn't Cinderella, but it always made me think of.. Sindella! That was it." She turns back to me. "How is she?"

"Dead, I'm afraid."

"Oh, that's a shame. I liked her. Added a bit of class to the proceedings. Unlike John sodding Constantine, who's late again." She looks over to the door and then -John not immediately appearing- snorts quietly. "Honestly. We'll just have to start without him. You told me Giovanni said that you've got a spiritual presence but it isn't like a normal Human soul."

"Essentially yes."

"And what exactly do you want me to do about it?"

"I'd like you to give me a second opinion, please. You understand better than he does what the tattoos should do if they work properly. And..." I reach into my right inner pocket and draw out a vial of Danner Formula. "I'd like your opinion on this."

Mister Case takes it from my outstretched hand, unscrews the lid and gives it a sniff, shrugs, puts the lid back on and hands it to Ms Sackville who looks at it carefully. "And what might this be when it's at home?"

"A small sample of something called the Danner Formula."

"Never heard of it. What is it supposed to do?"

"Assuming you're not pregnant, noth-."

Ms Sackville lets out a peal of surprisingly raucous laughter, ending in two dry coughs. "I think that's rather passed me by, dear boy."

"Um, I meant 'you' in the collective... Um." I shake my head. "Assuming the person taking it isn't pregnant, nothing. If they are, the child gets born with supernatural strength and stamina."

"And what else?"

"Nothing, as far as I know. Aside from the consequences of the strength itself there's basically no down side."

"Bloody hellfire."

"I'm showing it to you because I know it doesn't work through chemistry or nanotechnology, which basically just leaves magic. I don't know any alchemists, you've got connections to all of London's magic users..."

"Why? Do you want more of it?"

"No, I can make as much as I want. I want to understand the principles by which it operates. From what John was saying this is far more advanced than any alchemical formula currently in circulation. If we can unlock the mechanism for giving people supernatural powers safely..."

She purses her lips and leans back in her chair, shaking the vial slightly. "John told me he thought you got an avarice ring because you have so little avarice that you wouldn't be taken over by it." She stares directly into my eyes, and for a moment she very much doesn't seem like a jovial old woman. "He was wrong, wasn't he? You're just better at focusing it. Most people around here would give their eyeteeth for something like this. More than a few have sold their souls for something less than half as good, but for you it's just another stepping stone."

"I don't see a reason why I should be privileged like this when everyone could be."

She shakes her head. "There's always a price."

"Then I need to know what it is before the bill's due, don't I?"

She thinks, then nods, cautiously. "I.. can talk to some people for you. That Greaves girl... Albert, you know where she lives?" He nods. "Invite her for tea tomorrow. We'll have a chat."

"Thank you."

"We'll need to show her the Atlantean books."

"If she can read Atlantean Greek, sure. I can't do another translation until Saturday night at the earliest. Is John keeping the last one?"

"No, it's up in the secure library and he's put a very nasty spell on it in case anyone sneaks a look when he's not here." She clenches and unclenches her right hand. "Oh! Speak of the devil!"

I turn in my seat to see John walking up the steps to the main area. "Good morning John."

"Rather not speak of him, Clarrie. We've got a bit of a history."

"You're late, you scallywag."

"Someone nabbed me ride, didn't they?" Whoops. John pulls out the seat to my left and slumps in it. "Right, so why are we four gathered together?"

"He wants us to check his soul's working." Clarice holds out her left hand to me, and I remove the Spell Eater from around my neck before taking hold of it with my right. Her skin feels cold and saggy. Reminds me of my Nan's. Realising what's going on I offer John my left and he takes it. He shuts his eyes and Ms Sackville's gaze goes vacant. I don't.. feel anything. That's a good sign, usually this would be really uncomfortable. A flicker of Ophidivision -I need to come up with a better name for that- shows me that Ms Sackville and Mister Case are almost empty with just a tiny dynamo of white and black light in their souls, mixed around and... Harmonious? What? For a moment I'm too stunned to notice Ms Sackville and John release my hands. I haven't even seen black before. How was..? John pushes me in the left shoulder.

"Hm? Sorry?"

"Looks.. sort of... Clarrie?"

"The power you got off of the snake spirit got stuck, but it hasn't imprinted you yet. And when did you achieve enlightenment, you sneaky devil?"

"I'm not sure. I think it was just before the Ophidian left. What does that mean for me?"

John leans forward, putting his weight on the table. "You can resist magic as well.. probably a bit better than a normal person, but it won't sustain your consciousness. Not yet, anyway. It.. should mould itself to you..." He makes a dismissive gesture with his right hand. "Like I said when we did it, this is all new to me. Anything could happen, really."

"So I don't have the normal bits a person's soul would have?"

"'Fraid not mate."

No alchemically induced super powers for me yet then. "Alright. Can you.. sort of.. force it to mould to me in certain shapes? Like, cutting runes in a person's soul, but making it permanent?"

Ms Sackville blinks in confusion. "The binding tattoos.. sort of do that. I'm not sure it would actually be permanent, and there isn't a wizard alive who can cut runes onto someone's soul." John coughs. Ms Sackville gives him a sour look. "John? Something you want to share with the rest of us?"

John winces. "You remember Harry Cooper?"

"Oh, that mess was you, was it? I should have known."

"He was going to kill Cheryl, what was I supposed-?"

"No, I wasn't referring to that whole Fuckpig thing. I was talking about when that Succubus got knocked up by that Angel and you had to-."

He stares at me in shock. "How the fuck-!"

"I read it in a comic book from a parallel universe." He stops talking. Given that one of his friends was once abducted by fictional characters he isn't really in a position to dismiss the idea. "Scrying wards so strong the First of the Fallen himself can't see past them. A man in my position could use something like that. Is it doable?"

He stares at me, as if trying to discern some great truth from my face. After what feels like a minute he looks away. "Maybe. Probably. There's a cost to it, mind."

"I'm reliably informed-" I look at Ms Sackville, whose irritation has been replaced by curiosity. "-there always is."

 

[Mr Zoat]

Uuuuuuuuuuuunnnnghghnnngh

"Oi, mate."

Ughuhuhuuh. Something's...

"Lantern... owh. Should have got John to tell me what your bleeding name is."

I think..? Something soft? I curl up slightly.

"Alright, get it together Chas." Pressure, something, a hand! On my... Thing. Shoulder! "Oi!" I'm being shaken. "Orange Lantern! Wake up!"

My eyes snap open and I shudder violently. Peach sheets and a peach pillowcase immediately in front of my eyes and a duvet pulled tight around me. I'm lying on my front, and I hurt. "Uguh?"

The hand is immediately withdrawn. "Mate, your phone was ringing." That's.. Chas. Right. Right. So.. I don't really... He was going to get me to my room at the Lanesborough Hotel if I.. overloaded. "You told me I should answer it, so I did. Um. She says she's Wonder Woman?"

I roll over slightly and put pressure on something I shouldn't! OW! I jerk slightly, instinctively trying to get into a more upright position. Thanks to the ring I didn't really experience any soreness when I got my original tattoos done but that wasn't the case this time around. Plus the ritual wounding and burning. Branding. It didn't.. hurt... No, it did, but the pain didn't feel important at the time. I look blearily at Chas, who's holding the phone out to me as if it might catch fire at any moment and he wants to be able to drop it quickly when it does. He's still in the white t-shirt, and blue jeans he was in yesterday... it was yesterday, wasn't it? I shakily reach my right hand out from under the covers and he hands me the phone before retreating across the room to sit down heavily in an armchair and pick up a newspaper.

I drag it closer to my head across the surface of the pillow. "Hello?"

"Paul, where are you?" Diana. She sounds.. angry? Worried?

"London. I told you I was... I did, didn't I?"

"Are you alright?"

"Sort of?" I try moving my legs so that I can sit up properly, but they stick to the sheets. That isn't a good thing. Please tell me I'm not stuck to the bedclothes by my own excrement... I manage to shuffle up a bit with a pulling sensation on the aching skin of my legs and push the bedclothes back to get a look at the mess. "Oh dear."

"What is it?"

Looks like the wounds on my legs weren't fully scabbed over when I got in here. Either that or me moving around dislodged the bandages. I'm not bleeding heavily but it looks like I've seeped a bit. Most of it has already dried brown on the sheets. "Oh, nothing.. much. I wasn't.. really sure what the ritual involved... I don't appear to be seriously hurt."

"What ritual?"

"Well, I heard that John did this.. thing.. to a Succubus who needed to get away from her superiors. Made her impossible to detect through scrying. Thought it could be useful."

"I thought you said that you wanted them to check that your soul was developing properly."

"Yeah." I push the bed clothes off the rest of the way. What did Dan say about stuff like this? Take the sheets off the bed, bundle them up and leave a generous tip. I can do that. Shame I don't have the ring with me... "Apparently I've got a sort of orange light magic aura, but the tattoos are only gradually working it into soul shape. I wanted the other thing done before it.. set, sort of."

"And that's all that happened?"

"Well, my memory is still a bit fuzzy. You know how I get around magic."

Silence on the phone for several seconds. It's like that time I stayed out all night without letting my mum know in advance and when I phoned the next morning to let my parents know where I was she told me that she'd phoned the police and the hospital to try and find out if my body had been handed in. The only reason I hadn't phoned the previous evening was because by the time I'd decided to spend the night at a friend's house it was late enough that I thought they'd already have gone to bed. My desire to give them a good night's sleep resulted in them not getting one. A valuable lesson.

"Who was the man I spoke to earlier?"

She sounds calmer. Really not sure what she was so worried about. "His name's Frank Chandler. He's a friend of John's." Chas looks around at the mention of his name.

"Another wizard?"

"No, he's a cab driver." Chas is starting to look a bit concerned.

"He was guarding you?"

"No, more making sure I didn't do anything stupid while I was intoxicated."

"If you knew something like this might happen you could have come to me."

"Sir, the people I was dealing with? You'd probably have put them right off."

"And if you'd been attacked?"

"Then Guy was a phone call away. Sir, has something happened? I don't understand why you're-."

"M'gann felt it. Whatever they were doing to you."

Oh no. "I'm so sorry, I had no idea that would happen."

"I'm… Oh! No, she felt that they were doing it to you, not as if they were doing it to her."

I breathe a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank goodness. Is she alright?"

"A little shaken up." I hear her exhale. "I phoned you and you didn't reply. I tried the number you gave me for Constantine but I didn't get an answer from him either. Giovanni tried scrying for you, but couldn't find anything." Working then, at the moment at least. Good to know. "I've been worried sick." Yes, just like the time with Mum.

"Really sorry, didn't mean to worry anyone but I was never really in any significant danger. I can be back at the cave in-." What time is it? The bedside clock is analogue and doesn't have a date display, but it says nine minutes past one. I'm going to assume Thursday. "Um, say ten o'clock, your time?" I'd like to have a shower and something to eat as well as checking my injuries over, but Chas can just dump me in his cab and drive me to the zeta tube if we really need to.

"If you're really alright, then you don't need to hurry back." Oh good. "When you do get back, let me know. You and I are going to have a long talk about your insalubrious contacts." Darn.

"I'll see you in a few hours then. Um. I do appreciate the concern, sir."

"We'll talk about it later."

I nod as she hangs up and then put the phone down on the bedside table. "Okay. Um, Chas, please phone room service. Fried bread, bacon, fruit, milk and orange juice for me, and whatever you want for yourself. Er, and probably some fresh bandages. Realise that bit wasn't exactly what you were expecting, and really appreciate you sticking around like this."

He nods, apparently taking it in his stride. "You want a hand getting up?"

"No, I can-" I swing my battered looking legs over the side of the bed and gingerly lower them to the floor. Still wearing my underwear and a few bandages but my other clothes are absent. He probably just put them in a drawer or something and there'll be a robe in the toilet. "-manage, thanks. Which way to the shower?"

 

[Mr Zoat]

29th October
18:52 GMT -5

The LexCorp Tower isn't exactly hard to spot. Its curved central tower is visible from across Metropolis and the few buildings tall enough to block sight of it from the street don't obscure the view from the air. Even Lex Luthor can't monitor everything, but he does have most places in Metropolis likely to house a zeta tube under surveillance. That was probably why Diana agreed with me that flying in from New York under belt power was a sensible decision. Initially I flew in at my preferred cruising height but I swiftly reached the conclusion that doing so was a bad idea. The kinetic energy absorption system prevents you getting sandblasted by the wind but does nothing to protect against the cold or to prevent you swallowing an insect.

Mister Luthor's apartment is comprised of the top two levels of the central tower. I gave it a scan when I first started researching potential threats and despite the obvious wealth of the man it isn't all that big. As far as I can tell this is due to the fact that when LexCorp Tower was constructed he had just a fraction of his current purchasing power. Heck, when it first opened about two thirds of the place was rented out to other companies, though many of them were subsequently bought out and added to the LexCorp brand. The Lex we see now as the wealthy businessman isn't how he always was. In one of his recent interviews he claimed to keep the apartment 'for the view' but I think he keeps it out of pride, occupying the first visible sign of the position of power he'd earned.

I make a steadyish landing on the concourse in front of the building. The trick I've found is that rather than doing a controlled drop as I would with the ring you have to swoop down so that you're laying parallel to the ground and then fold your legs down. Intentionally touching the ground tells the belt that you want to stop flying and you can straighten yourself up without having to worry about taking off again. Not the most dignified way of going about things but then I only have to put up with it for another day or so. Diana said that Batman had been meaning to speak to me about it but something had come up in Gotham and he couldn't spare the time until tomorrow. Not sure what that was. I checked the news and there wasn't any mention of supervillain activity there. Maybe it hasn't been leaked... Right. Gotham. That's not going to have happened. They leak to the flipping mob, they're going to leak to the press.

Oh well. If he's not prioritising me then I'm probably going to get let off with a brief lecture. Anyway, quick look around. There's a few people on the street but my aerial arrival in a suit doesn't appear to be arousing any significant interest. The main entrance to the LexCorp Tower is a long row of doors at the top of a flight of shallow steps. I start towards it as I fish my invitation out of my jacket pocket. There are card readers by the door but to my surprise the door opens without me having to use it. Perhaps business hours here are somewhat later than I'm used to? Or maybe I was detected on radar and a security guard opens the door remotely. If I had the ring finding out would be easy. As it is... I suppose it probably doesn't matter.

The lobby is a broad area with the LexCorp logo displayed in granite on the floor. The large reception desk is still manned by uniformed staff, a couple of whom look up as I enter the building. I know the way up but I should probably-.

"Orange Lantern." Ms Graves steps forwards from the side of the desk. She's in her customary black jacket and skirt with white blouse and red tie. "If you'll come with me I'll escort you to Mister Luthor."

I walk in her direction. "Thank you Ms Graves. Oh, and um." I take out my name card and hold it out to her. She raises her right eyebrow as she takes it. "My name isn't a secret, I'm just physically incapable of saying it. Please, feel free to call me that." She nods and slides the card into her breast pocket before turning away to lead me deeper into the building. I follow after her. "I've been meaning to say... If you wanted, I could probably replace that cybernetic limb with an organic one. No offence intended to my host, but even advanced synthetic skin can't offer anything like the same level of sensory feedback that a natural limb can."

"Thank you for the offer, but I am quite satisfied with the limb I have."

"Why? I mean, if you want to keep the gun I could probably upgrade it. Maybe build the projector into the palm so you can keep use of the hand in combat?" She turns her head to give me a look. It's strangely impassive. The offer's genuine and I was expecting it to provoke some sort of response. Instead, nothing. "Okay. Don't worry about it."

We pass a bank of lift entrances and head to a separate lift within its own security glass enclosure protected by a group of three security guards. Mister Luthor's private lift. Ms Graves stands aside as she reaches the entrance and I hold my invitation card against the reader for a moment before the door unlocks and allows me entrance to an antechamber to the lift room.

One of the guards taps some buttons on a computer console. "Please stand by for a moment, sir. We're just going to scan you for weapons."

I roll my eyes. "Of course I'm armed, I'm a superhero coming to meet Lex Luthor." And it's just occurred to me that I'm not sure whether or not the belt shield would stop Ms Graves' arm gun. It would stop plasma and particle beams. Won't stop light or electricity... I wasn't planning on starting anything but I really should have considered that.

"Ahh, right." He peers at the screen. "I'm not picking anything up."

"Oh good, shouldn't be a problem then." I point at the door to the lift room. "May I?"

He glances at Ms Graves as if for instructions and gets a very shallow nod in return. I suppose that the belt just looks like a belt? If they don't know Cooperative technology it probably just registers at a metal belt, especially while it's inactive. Then the guard opens the door in front of me and I walk up to the elevator. Still haven't quite got used to security guards having guns like this. Before coming to this world I'd only seen real firearms in the hand of railway police, and then only a few times. I turn back to see if Ms Graves is coming the rest of the way and watch as she gets a perfunctory scan before coming into the room with me.

"This way please." She walks past me to the lift and places the palm of her organic hand against the palm reader plate. A moment passes and the door opens with a chime and she walks inside, taking up station to the immediate left of the door. I walk into the middle of the lift and turn around to face the door as it closes.

"So, is it just you, me and Mister Luthor?"

She doesn't turn to look at me as she responds. "Mister Luthor has invited a small number of other guests but wishes to speak with you privately before they arrive."

I just about feel the lift start its upwards journey. I usually enjoy running up the stairs, but I think that in a building this tall that could get a bit dull. "Think I can probably manage that. Anyone I know?"

"Mister Luthor wishes for that to remain a surprise."

"Okay." I smile at the back of her head. "Long as it's not Ra's al Ghul, huh?" No response. "Though actually, if it was, it would save me a lot of time." Nothing again. Oh well. As the lift continues to rise I take a closer look at its interior. Someone who knew something about design could probably name the style but to me it just says 'elegant simplicity' without any of the labels. Carpet's a pretty nice deep blue, and makes me feel a little self conscious about the fact that my shoes aren't 'ring clean' at the moment. "Did Red Arrow get an invite?"

"Mister Luthor wishes-."

"You said. Probably would be a bad idea." I try humming a few notes quietly, but stop when I realise that it might annoy her. How long is this going to-?

"The.. data stick you gave Mister Luthor in Taipei."

"Yes?"

"What was on it?"

"A novel called 'How to Succeed in Evil'. I can get you a copy on Monday if you want, but it's available online for free. Why do you ask?"

"Mister Luthor was.. laughing, when he listened to it. He doesn't laugh very often."

"I'm glad he liked it. I gave it to him because there's a certain similarity between him and the main character. And between Superman and one of the others, though the relationship is rather different."

She inclines her head slightly. "I.. might like-." The lift door opens and she cuts herself off. "Mister Luthor's penthouse. Please follow me." She steps out of the elevator and I follow into Lex Luthor's home.