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

[Mr Zoat]

3rd June 2013
08:47 GMT -6

It's been a while since I've done this.

Even at my level of power, I can't… Quite wave my hand and reduce a city block to its subatomic particles. But with a clear idea in my head and a clear desire in my soul, it… It looks a little like that, just slowed down. The long-abandoned apartment block-.

That's a lot of asbestos.

And lead.

And what novel types of mould.

It looks like it's getting vaporised. In reality, it's… Being held in a partially dematerialised state-. Well, most of it is. A brick is a brick and concrete is concrete, there's no sense in breaking it down that far if I can use it as-is. I can't dump it all into subspace without reducing my ring capacity to a fraction of what it is now and I can't store a physical object with this little emotional resonance in the Honden. But I can… Feel it, as the matter falls apart and slots back into place in the form I desire.

Building something. Something useful.

Mayor Connelly-Fermin stares at it with expression somewhere between awe and fear. "Have you been doing this a lot?"

"Which part?"

"Building new power plants?"

"No, not really. I've actually been avoiding doing this."

She tears her eyes away from the sight to frown up at me. "Huh?"

"Did you not see my talk? Or all the news articles about KordTech's new power plant in New York?"

"No, I guess not. So you did build one."

"Exactly one. My aim was to spur on the development of new forms of electrical power generation not dependent on fossil fuels. So I gave them a bleed torsion generator. And it worked: only a few months later three different high-tech companies were attaching their own novel power plants to the grid. And… Since forcing that sort of development was the whole point, I considered the project a success and moved on to other things."

"And we're still using coal."

"The rollout was never going to be instant. I never expected it to be. But, I did take my eye off the ball. I didn't check that the 'market disruptors' were continuing to do anything."

"So why aren't you making more now? Hub City can't be the only place that needs power."

"Because this technology is beyond what human civilisation can build. Or maintain. The people in KordTech's site in New York are just there to monitor the distribution grid. All they can really do to the generator is make sure that it doesn't fall over. Which… Do you know The Time Machine by H.G. Wells?"

"The book, the film, or the other film?"

"The book or the film, the other film wasn't quite the same. The Eloi are a fail-state; cargo cultists of the worst sort. If I start handing things out, I move our species just a little bit towards that fate. I hate that idea."

"It's not the same thing."

"Humanity would become dependent on a machine they don't understand to power everything. Then what? I've got the Green Lantern Corps' technical database. There's basically no human function I couldn't replace with something too advanced for anyone to understand."

"You can make..? Star Trek replicators?"

"I could make something close to them. The League's actually trying that in Greece with a nanofabricator. Fortunately, it's not very efficient, so it's not destroying their economy."

Okay, I've cleared enough of the site to start putting in the pipes and cables. No real reason not to more or less copy and paste the New York building; Helmut's the architect, not me.

"So… People can starve, so long as the economy works?"

"Economy: the creation and supply of goods and services. Government cheese is a fluke; a government handout to the milk industry that tried and succeeded in lobbying themselves more money after margarine was invented. And it's actually paying off now. People are eating that cheese. There's a similar thing happening in Europe, though they also had a now-abandoned policy of paying people not to farm." I shake my head. "People follow incentives. Over the last few decades that's led to places specialising and goods being transported long distances. The Sheeda disrupted that for large areas of the world, but America made it through that without too much damage. Then… This, and it turns out that having people live far away from places which produce food is a massive disadvantage because you can't feed them. That… Excessive centralisation of political power results in people waiting for someone else to solve the problem. And the tools to handle it locally -where it could be handled- just aren't there anymore. It's like… Building on flood plains, on a civilisational level. Pretty great, until there's a flood."

Walls rise, protomatter becoming carpets and light fittings.

Mayor Connelly-Fermin stares at me in… Oh, that's irritation.

"So you're not helping as much as you could, because it's… It's a false incentive? You think we'll just keep doing things like we did before if human civilisation doesn't suffer the consequences?"

"I know people will. Oh, there'll be one or two token changes. They might start building reserves of preserves to go with the cheese. Ship's biscuits, even."

Oh, right, a car park. Won't do much good in the short term, but… Maybe in a year?

"I mean, it's bad enough that the Justice League is having to lead the global restoration effort-."

"How is that a bad thing!? Mister Atom and Batman have been doing a great job organizing-! I wasn't complaining about them not prioritizing Hub City, I get that we're not a high priority, but the one thing that actually helps me get through the day is hearing about all of the places the Justice League is managing to fix up. If you think they shouldn't then what are you doing right now?"

"Making you Eloi, like I said. I mean, look at that." I gesture to the power plant I just built. And then I throw the switch and the power begins flowing into the city. "Look at that."

In the buildings around us, lights brighten from 'dim' to 'luminescent'. And-. Yes, that's the air conditioning fans humming back to life.

"That's a good thing."

"For now, sure. But in the long run?"

"Because we get to have a long run."

I rotate back to focus on the building, completing the roof and exterior walls.

"People lived before air conditioning. It-. Okay, consider the Black Death. One third of Europe dead. If I'd been there I could probably have stopped it. But what else gets stopped?" She shrugs, shaking her head. "So many people dying caused the demand for labour to increase, empowering the serfs versus their landlords and leading to greater rights and freedoms to the poorest in society. Epidemic preparedness increased, reducing the effect of future outbreaks. It's possible -though unlikely- that all that death is why we have democracy and medicine today. It certainly encouraged both. And because I can operate at that level it would be irresponsible for me not to consider the long-term consequences of my actions, because if I had cured the Black Death at the time I'd have been hailed as an angel of the Lord and things are only a little better in that regard now."

That… Appears to get through.. A bit, at least. Now she's frowning thoughtfully.

"Could you do it? Let… All those people die?"

I look at KordTech's newest generator facility.

"Given… That I just built that… No, I don't think I could."

 

[Mr Zoat]

12th December 2023
10:02 GMT +2

"…so hard about it." The girl grabs an AK-47 from the table and moves it into a firing position. "You just point it and-."

The man instructing her grabs it roughly from her. "Not like that."

She gives him a flat look, flopping to the side. "Are you teaching me, or just-"

"This is a dangerous weapon! Until you know-"

"-jerking me around-"

"-how to use it-!" / "-like every time-?!"

They both cut themselves off when the noise of General Flag's jeep becomes audible. The girl takes a step away from the dirt road leading up to the house they're living in, while the man checks the gun, readies it and holds it at rest, checks his surroundings and then turns to face the direction of the sound. A couple of other gunmen make themselves known, emerging from the property with their guns similarly held at rest.

Flag himself isn't carrying any sign of his position or rank, and a single man -even one with a gun- isn't exactly setting off any alarms. Carrying guns around here just shows that you're not stupid, and Mr. DuBois's new squad of mercenaries fairly clearly aren't all that concerned.

A quick glance around to make sure that his men are all in position, and Mr. DuBois starts walking towards the jeep as Flag slows to a stop.

"You lost?"

"Depends." Flag leans forwards slightly as Mr. DuBois moves around the side to get a clear line of sight. "You Robert DuBois?"

"Depends. Who's askin'?"

"Rick Flag-"

DuBois's eyes narrow slightly. "Flag's dead. Fuck off."

"-Senior. Colonel Rick Flag Junior i-. Was, my son."

"Oh." DuBois nods, his posture becoming a little less confrontational. "I'm sorry. He was a friend of mine. A good man."

"Which is why I'm hoping that you'll tell me what happened. And how much of it was Waller's fault."

DuBois thinks that over for a moment. "Look, I can tell you a bit of what happened, but I ain't exactly eager to get Waller on my tail. My pardon wasn't exactly on the up-and-up."

"It's Waller, DuBois. If I could find you then she sure can. Best thing for you is if she stops being a problem." DuBois doesn't look entirely convinced. "Besides, I've got God on my side."

"Oh yeah?"

I allow myself to descend through the air, wings extended.

Tyra DuBois spots me first. "Uh, Da-?"

"Not-." DuBois bites his tongue. "Now. I'm-."

"Fine!"

Flag smiles companionably. "Yeah, I remember Rick being that age. But just this once, I think you should listen to her."

DuBois sighs, then turns around. "Okay. What-?" His eyes widen as he sees me. "The fuck?"

I keep floating down until I'm just a little above the ground. "God bless you and keep you, Mister DuBois."

"A-." He blinks. "Are y-?"

"No." I shake my head. "I'm not a thanagarian."

"So..?"

"That is a very broad word, Mister DuBois. If you are asking about the state of your own soul-"

Tyra pulls a face at him. "Then you're fucked, Dad!"

"-then your decisions towards the end of the Corto Maltese mission as well as your decision to favour legitimate protection work now suggests that you may be redeemable."

He shrugs, scoffing. "It's not legitimate anything. It's taking money from whatever arsehole pays us."

His daughter rolls her eyes.

"You provide security for the oil platform workers, and only kill those who directly threaten them. That you take the time to make that assessment puts you above many in your profession."

"No. I'm a professional. They're prats with guns." His daughter gets a pointed glare at that observation. "I'm not getting paid to waste bullets on people who aren't the target."

I nod. "It's not much, but the roots of virtue are there. You are not beyond salvation, Mister DuBois."

He looks at me for a moment, then turns back to Flag. "What do you wanna know?"

"Lan said that he got killed by some guy called 'Peacemaker'. Is that true?"

"Lan..?" He glances back and me and I smile. "Right. Yeah. But he…" He glances down for a moment. "Waller wanted records about the giant starfish thing captured or destroyed. Rick.. wanted them released. He didn't want the people responsible to get away with it. Peacemaker thought that if that happened it could start a new World War. H-eh." He shakes his head. "It wasn't even the bomb in his head. That would have been enough for me. Peacemaker genuinely thought it was the right thing to do."

Flag's face hardens. "He thought wrong."

DuBois shakes his head. "I don't fucking know. But it doesn't matter. It happened, and I killed him. If you want revenge, Waller's the only one left."

I shake my head. "I'm afraid that you are mistaken. Peacemaker lived."

DuBois frowns in mystification. "How the fuck did he do that? I shot him in the neck, then a building fell on the fucker. He should be a bloody pancake."

"I'm afraid that I don't know."

Dubois exhales. "I wouldn't mind shooting him again, but I'm not risking going back to the States."

Flag shakes his head. "Wasn't asking you to. You got the files?"

Dubois nods. "Yeah, but that's the only thing I've got keeping Waller off my back."

"Waller isn't doing so great anyway. Task Force X got shut down. They're only letting her use people who aren't technically human now."

Dubois frowns. "Well, that sounds pretty fucked up. But I can't do anything about it."

"Waller's got enemies. If you give me what you know, it can find its way to them. She can't send people after you if she's in a cell, along with all her friends."

"I'm pretty sure she can. And you gotta get her there, first."

"Okay. Who else got a copy?"

"Ratcatcher, but she don't need that heat. Shark, but no one's gonna believe that he understood what it was. Only other person is Harley Quinn."

"I've heard of her. Okay. I can set things up so it looks like she's the one who gave it to me."

"And I've just got to hope she doesn't press the button and make my head explode, 'cause she doesn't care which one of us it was."

I sing, and for a moment the universe judders. And then I stop-

"What the fuck was that?"

-and his bomb is in my hand. A tiny thing, really, but more than enough in that location. I hold it out to him. He takes a moment to process what it is, eyes moving from my face to my hand.

"Okay then. Wait here, and I'll get you a copy."

 

[Mr Zoat]

3rd June 2013
22:13 GMT

"So… Yes, ah, Hub City is functioning again. Since I was… Intervening, I… Went the whole hog. They've got… Inner city allotments, which they can convert into parks once things are a little more normal. They-. It's not enough to feed their population, but it will be a big help since there aren't all that many people still living there. And, ah…"

Batman continues working at the console.

I know he's listening, but it's… It's sort of the opposite of what my father used to do, where in the middle of a monologue he'd stop and say 'Yeah?', and then wait for a response so that he could check that you were paying attention. I know perfectly well that Batman is taking it all in as well as recording it all for later, but the lack of a visual signifier is a little off-putting.

"There should be enough spare generating capacity to satisfy the shortfall in Illinois's power requirements. Not much.. more than that, though. I've already told Ted Kord, and he's going to get a team sent over there."

"Power infrastructure."

"I didn't have any jovium on me, but it's as good as a conventional Earth-technology power network can be. I even.. added in small step up and step down transformers just to get a little bit more efficiency."

"Will it be enough if the manufacturing sector establishes itself?"

"Not.. quite, but by my estimates the regular supply infrastructure should be able to bear the additional load by then. Ah… Is there anything else I need to do?"

"No." He doesn't look around. "There are no short term plans for Illinois, and modifying the medium term plans for that part of America should shorten the time to normalisation by between two weeks and three months, depending on whether you are able to restart their manufacturing industry and get the Dolmen Gates." I nod. "To be clear, I expect you to keep an eye on the city until then. While a timeline is relatively easy to calculate, it's also measured in excess deaths."

I nod. "I know. Ah. Could I please..? Have some guidance about our.. degree of interventionism? I feel like I.. overstepped today."

"You did not. While I agree that under normal circumstances having one man rebuild a city in the way you are planning to would be extremely disruptive to Earth civilisation, the degree of disruption which we're already experiencing is so great that it makes no sense to make it a consideration."

"So I should do more?"

"You should consider yourself authorised to do more if you think it appropriate."

"It's just…" I sigh. "I've said that bleed torsion generators are beyond human science, and they almost are, but I'm pretty sure that Thaddeus Sivana, Thaddeus Junior or Georgia Sivana could make them."

"If you can persuade them to involve themselves in reconstruction, then do so. Dismissed."

I… Nod, and back away-. Before remembering that I can teleport and

doing that instead. Normally I'd be perfectly happy to take Batman's word for something like this, but under the circumstances I think it's worth checking with my most normal

acquaintance.

3rd June 2013
17:16 GMT -5

But I've learned from the last few times I've done this, and this time I make a point of appearing a little further away.

Mr. Queen stays on the rooftop for a moment, watching the delivery lorries pulling up to the distribution centre below. After a moment he glances back.

"Hey, that was almost subtle. You feeling okay?"

"Ah. Maybe? I'm not sure about something I just did-."

He breathes in rather sharply. "Did anyone die?"

"Not as a direct result of my actions. In fact, statistically, the death rate should decrease now that Hub City has air conditioning again."

"Hub?" He turns around to give me his full attention. "Okay, what's happening in Hub?"

"Me. Apparently, I bought it because I fixed it, which is fine as I don't have an assigned home city."

"I guess if you're getting assigned someplace to work on, the worst city in North America sure fits the bill."

"I don't suppose that Star City has any use for agricultural equipment?"

"We've turned the parks into city gardens, but we're not short of labor." He smiles wistfully. "It's kinda funny how much the kids enjoy digging in the dirt."

"Is it?"

He raises… One of his eyebrows. The stuck-on domino mask makes it a little hard to tell which. "You liked gardening as a kid?"

"No, but my dad used to garden. Decorative plants and food plants both. My sister and I helped sometimes. I had a little.. plastic wheelbarrow for moving stuff. You?"

"I liked watching other people garden. Didn't really appreciate the natural world before the island. Tried putting some plants up around the place since I got back, but… I keep forgetting to water 'em."

"Have you considered cacti?"

He nods. "Them, I over watered."

"I could set up some sort of automatic watering system, if you like?"

"Ah, thanks, but the whole point was that I wanted to do it myself."

"Mother of Mercy could probably make you a plant-animal that spat the water back at you if you over watered it, and watered itself if you forgot it."

"Let's not go too crazy." He probably-frowns. "Wait a second. Is this a social visit?"

"No. It's-. It's what you were saying about being 'The Man'."

"Okay. Ah, how?"

"Doctor Mist is probably the second oldest person on Earth, but after he founded Kor… He's barely had any impact on human civilisation. The actual oldest human is Vandal Savage, and he's ruled dozens of civilisations over the millennia. It's impossible to say what Asian or European civilisation would look like without him. If it was you-."

"It's not, and it's never going to be."

"But if it was… I mean, we don't know how long Danner enhanciles live, and I can dose you whenever you want. Which would you do?"

"Neither. I wouldn't take over a country unless there was no one else who could manage it, but I don't think I could just hide away like Nommo did." He considers me for a moment. "Worried about doing too much?"

"A bit. And… It's not just people becoming dependent on me. I didn't refer it to state or federal government either. I barely spoke to local government. I just did it."

"I don't know. Normally I'd say you shouldn't do that, but these aren't exactly normal times. And with you, it's not just that you can do it, but your ring's got records of all the other places stuff like this has happened to. Right?"

I nod.

"Then you know more about it than just about anyone. Don't worry; you've got plenty of people who'll call you out if you go totally crazy."

"Thank you. I'll bear that in mind."

 

[Mr Zoat]

4th June 2013
08:56 GMT

"Yes, Illustres." The courtier bows respectfully. "Her Majesty is overseeing the construction of the new workshop, but left instructions that you be sent to her should you arrive. May I ask if the arrangements for her visit have been completed?"

"Yes… With one or two issues. I've arranged accommodation befitting her status, but it's in an all-female community and they've requested that male attendants be excluded."

He nods. "Does that include eunuchs?"

Ah. "I.. didn't actually ask. Are there a lot of eunuchs here?"

"No, I ask because there are mystics who alter their chakra pathways by removing their generative organs, and it's not impossible that one will be interested in taking part."

"Well, they'd be welcome, I'd just have to house them somewhere else. Perhaps for a follow-up visit?" He nods. "Those… Bound elemental servant things she mentioned before should be fine."

He scoffs. "Her Majesty does not use such things. They're really more… Ah, well, they have some role in handling hazardous substances, but for the most part they're… Ah… They're for magi who lack the social skills to interact with actual servants or apprentices."

He shrugs awkwardly.

"Oh. Yeah, there are a few scientists back home who… Build mechanical servants for the same reason."

Though to be completely fair, I can't think of a single evil scientist who built a sex robot for personal use. I.. don't think I'll ask if that's true here as well.

"Though actually, the most notorious was happily married with four children, so it's possible that they can but don't want to."

"Perhaps, but then the jokes don't work. Would you like directions?"

I try looking for her but find that I can hardly see anything. But my eyes don't catch fire, so I'm going to make a point of saying something nice about their warding arrays.

"Yes please."

He moves his right arm so that it runs across his chest, then strokes his bracer, causing an illusory image of the city to appear.

"We're in the castle here-" The corresponding part of the translucent image briefly glows orange. "-and you need to be here."

Huh. Some distance from the city, but not so far that people can't commute for work, walled… I thought it was some sort of fort, but if it's a workshop working with volatile materials then it's impressively well planned.

"Thank you. Excuse me."

I rise off the landing platform and head in the direction indicated. Magical Google Maps. I wonder if it connects to a central database, or if each one has its own map built in? Much like computers, the link would create a security risk… More of one, actually, as that sort of magic effectively has an always on internet connection that literally can't be severed whereas 'cut the hard line' stops off-site data intrusion dead.

Unless…

Ah, it would be difficult, but it should be possible to bypass the lack of an internet connection using magic. The Justice League and partners have wards that should prevent simply 'bypass this problem' type spells, but a pure data and communication spell… Would.. probably still work.

I'll bring it up with Angelica Blaze next time I see her. Or perhaps we could get Dike to bless our servers?

The fortress-workshop is a cross between an actual fortress and… Something the protoss would use. Faintly glowing crystals float along the crenulations, with larger ones on the towers. Could be shielding, could be anti-air defences, could be something more conceptual. In a place like this there isn't really anything stopping them having teleporting castles other than the difficulty in keeping the castle in one piece while in transit.

There only appears to be one proper entrance, and rather than having an open courtyard the entire complex is covered over with tiled roofs. So I drop down just outside and walk up to the gates.

One of the guards raises his right hand in greeting. And I make a careful record of all of the markings inscribed on his armour, because few of them correspond to the magic systems that I know about.

"Hail, Lord Illustres. The Queen asked that you be escorted to her at once."

"Then by all means, lead the way."

The interior is… Stone, with one set of crystals providing the light and another set more closely resembling those on the outer walls performing other functions.

I suppose I may as well ask.

"Those crystals, what do they do?"

"Oh, they're part of the safety system. It stops things leaking until someone can deal with it."

"Is it automatic, or does someone need to direct it."

"Each workshop tailors the system to what they need before they start. They still try to work without that, but it's less effective. The workshop has a duty safety wizard just in case, but they're usually not required."

I nod. Have to see how this compares to what Sephtian uses.

The guard grips a ring-shaped handle on a door, and just for a moment symbols on the ring and his gauntlet light up. Then he turns it and pulls the door open. "Just through here, my lord."

"Thank you."

I nod, and head through…

Oh.

My word.

It's a flying ship in a dry dock in the middle of the warehouse-sized room. And… Some of the sigils inscribed on the hull are… Atlantean, and of the ones I don't recognise I do recognise the general structure of the array. The sails… Are partially translucent, and furled to prevent them from catching whatever immaterial wind they're designed to catch. There are more crystals around the main deck's railings, and…

And Queen Artemis steps out of the captain's cabin and walks over to the railing around the edge of the deck. "Illustres. Do you have news?"

"Yes. Arrangements have been made. We are ready to receive you and whatever attendants you wish to bring. Though I will stress that our civilisation has basically collapsed and the standards in which we can keep you probably won't be what you're used to. What is this?"

She shrugs. "I had been working on a ship capable of traversing the Dream as a side-project for several decades. With the knowledge you brought me, it has been possible to complete this prototype."

"Does it work?"

"It should. The difficulty is in navigation, and finding a gateway at the far end."

I float upwards towards her. "Oh, that's not a problem. I know a man Dream grants visions to, and there's a gateway to the Dream in my people's afterlife. We could sail there and then walk upwards to my home island. I was planning on quartering you and your retinue with my queen anyway."

She looks slightly surprised, but in a pleasant way.

"If you are ready to receive me then I suppose that we should plan to depart. Please, come into my cabin so that we can discuss the details."

 

[Mr Zoat]

13th December 2023
23:22 GMT -5

"You Peacemaker?"

Mr. Christopher Smith is currently wearing the white trousers, red shirt and silver helmet of his Peacemaker costume, the guns he usually wields as Peacemaker, and… A surprisingly large amount of silly string. I appreciate how he keeps his arms by his sides despite the fact that General Flag is confronting him while he's in the middle of some sort of vigilante mission in this… Disused shipping warehouse.

"Who's there?"

General Flag makes a point of deactivating the safety on his pistol.

"Richard Flag."

Is that..? Odd? I would have thought that a warehouse like this would be in operation 24 hours a day. But perhaps the demand just doesn't warrant it?

"What?"

General Flag takes a step closer.

"Rick. Flag."

"What? No, wait! Helmet, deactivate sonar mode!"

There's a beep from his helmet, and then a chime followed by three rapid low pitch chimes.

"Ah, come on!"

General Flag stops advancing. "Are you saying you can't hear because your helmet is blocking your ears?"

"I can't hear you!" Peacemaker shakes his head. "My helmet's blocking my ears!"

"Take it off, then!"

If the situation weren't so serious, I'd laugh at that.

Peacemaker… Twitches and squirms, as if-. Ah. That's special silly string, isn't it? Which suggests that either Joker or Trickster was using the place to store their equipment. Neither seems particularly likely. Joker seldom leaves Gotham and Giovanni Giuseppe is an F.B.I. agent. It could be a place for them to store their equipment long term, or they might have it manufactured in bulk somewhere near to here, or it might be here for someone else entirely. I'm not sure why Peacemaker would be interested in it, though I suppose he might have released it by some sort of improbable accident.

"I can't get loose! Hang on!"

Peacemaker tries to get his gun-. Oh no, why is he-?

Bang!

"OW! Fuck!"

Why is he pointing his gun at his own leg? Why did he shoot his own-? Alright, he managed to shoot a furrow through the layer of sticky string, but it's not at all brittle. The remaining mass is still stuck to itself and to him. He tries yanking his arms and legs, but he doesn't make any progress.

"God… Damn it." General Flag puts the safety back on his pistol and strides towards Peacemaker.

Peacemaker appears to realise that he's approaching with hostile intent and so, after making one final effort to raise his gun, tries hopping away. He makes two awkward jumps before landing on a plastic bag, which shoots out from under his feet and sends him crashing to the ground.

I wince in sympathy.

"Just let me get your helmet off!"

Peacemaker rolls onto his back, and tries to vault back onto his feet. Unfortunately, the bag is still there and all that happens is he falls onto his back and stuns himself.

"Stop! Jesus."

General Flag straddles his chest, takes a firm grip on Peacemaker's helmet and pulls.

"Agh!"

Unfortunately, the adhesive in the silly string has attached itself to his chin and neck. It's got some give in it, but not enough to get the helmet off his head.

"G-t-!" Peacemaker tries kicking General Flag, but he can't quite reach. He tries a headbutt, but Flag's holding his helmet and it's hard to get leverage in that position. "Gah!"

A quiet heavenly whistle from my lips, and the side door of the warehouse opens and I walk through.

"Oh Lord of Hosts, guide my steps as you guide my heart."

I feel a pull-. No, an impulse to step one way rather than another. And so I do, one foot in front of the other, as General Flag reaches for his knife to cut the silly string off and Peacemaker gets completely the wrong idea.

He jerks his head to the side, slamming the hand on his helmet into the concrete floor.

"Ow!"

And then he violently undulates, slamming his helmet into General Flag's chest.

Where the silly string makes it stick.

"Hah!"

"What'd you do that for?! Now we're both stuck!"

I pick up a spray can and walk down the gangway towards them, shaking it as I go.

Bang!

"Agh!"

"Stop shooting yourself, you idiot!"

I step out into the dispatch area, walk over to where they're struggling, stuck to one another. And then I hold out the can and spray them with the solvent contained therein.

General Flag comes free first, pushing himself off Peacemaker. "Ugh." Then he takes a step back. "Spray him again."

This time I hold the button down, covering Peacemaker to the best of my ability as he writhes on the ground for a moment before the string comes undone and he's suddenly free.

He stops moving in surprise and Flagg kicks his gun from his hand. "Now take your goddamn helmet off!"

Peacemaker sits up. "I can't hear you! I-. Oh." He takes off his helmet. "What!?"

General Flag takes a moment to calm himself.

"My name is Rick Flag. You killed my son. I want to know why. And how you're even still alive!"

"S-son? Huh?"

"Corto Maltese. Giant starfish."

"I-! I didn't want to! I thought if I-. Just-. Hit him, he'd stop fighting and I could complete the mission, but I hit him with a broken tile and it went right into his heart! I'm-. I'm sorry! I just-. I keep thinking about it, because he was the only guy on the whole team who wasn't a total dick, and I should have done something different and it's just going around and around in my head!"

"Right."

General Flag seems… Surprisingly calm, considering.

"So you're going to tell me exactly what happened, and then I'm going to decide what to do with-."

And then the pies start flying.

 

[Mr Zoat]

4th June 2013
09:27 GMT

"What do you mean, 'it's a bad idea'?"

Queen Artemis is frowning, but it's mostly a puzzled frown.

"Because this is a-. Bulldozer. How far.. back do your records on the Dream go?"

"Centuries. Though the detailed records I used in devising this ship are more recent."

I nod. "Yes, that's the problem. Ah." I take a moment to look around, but it's just us in here. "The largest concern when dealing with the Dream isn't the dream storms, it's Morpheus himself. If you get past a dream storm, you're free and clear. Morpheus can pursue you forever."

She reaches out with her right hand and another thick journal flies into it. She them passes it to me. "I have experimented with lesser versions of these spells dozens of times. Not once has he raised a word of complaint."

I have a suspicion, but I check the dates anyway. Ah.

"Yes, this covers the period where he was imprisoned by an intelligent but extremely unwise magician. The realm fell apart without his oversight. Since…" I check the part towards the back… Yes. "About two years after this date, he got free and started putting his house in order. These-" I point to the diagram of the 'dreambreaker' prow. "-spells will damage the structure of any coherent parts of the Dream they strike unless the helmsman gets the angle of attack exactly right. That sort of thing is going to irritate him."

She picks up another book and flicks through it. It's another journal, though the handwriting and entry structure are noticeably different.

"Yes, I see. I had thought that earlier scholars had been imprecise in their recording, but if Dream was away from the Dream, that would explain the more dissolute structure."

I nod. "And frankly, I'd feel much better about asking his permission before doing something like this anyway. Now, flying through Hell doesn't have the same problem. You can push through as violently as you want, and the locals just treat it as the price of being in Hell."

"They are also far more malevolent."

"I can get hold of a demon lord far more easily than I can get hold of Morpheus."

She shakes her head definitively. "I will not treat with demons. And you should not either."

"Hell is on my long list of things to deal with, and Mammon is surprisingly mercantile. But if you're certain that you want to traverse the Dream, then either that needs to go or you need Morpheus's express permission."

She nods. "I had attempted to reach out to him, but none of my messages were received."

"Was-?"

"It would have been when he was indisposed, yes. I will prepare a new missive. But in the interests of setting out today, perhaps this design-" She waves her left hand, and the ink on the page… Rearranges itself into a new configuration. "-would be less offensive."

I look it over, and… As far as I can tell, it should be. The spells are designed to guide the ship and turn concentrations of power away from the ship rather than forcibly smash them apart.

"Yes, I think so. Though it would still be a good idea to check with him. Why wasn't-? Oh."

Yes, I see. Battering impediments aside is easy and simple. This… Not only is the ship far less well protected, but it requires a second pilot to control the spells.

"Yes. Fortunately, I have studied the art of lucid dreaming. I had wanted to be the main steerswoman during the maiden voyage, but unless you have the skill that will not be possible."

She gives me a vaguely hopeful look, but I shake my head. "It wouldn't be a good idea anyway, given how anomalous my metaphysique is."

And… Darn. I never thought to ask Sanderson if he'd learned that mundane skill along with his supernatural one. Who else do I know who can manage lucid dreaming?

…

I never thought to ask anyway. I… Guess that's probably something that John Constantine learned, and if he learned then Ambrose probably has as well. I could ask… Daniel, but it's not as if becoming Dream was some sort of good ending for him so I'd rather avoid that. Orpheus? I know he ended up as a severed head but I've got no idea what happened after that. Was it..? France, during the Revolution?

Doesn't matter. I wouldn't know where to start trying to find him today.

Ah-. Donna? Hypnos might answer a prayer from her even if she doesn't know how to handle it herself. Then there's Melinoë-.

"I might have someone who can help with that. One of my world's goddesses. If she agrees to come then she should be able to handle that."

"What is she a goddess of?"

"Nightmares-"

She frowns. "I-"

"-and Madness."

"-think that it may be best if I fulfil that task myself."

"Alright, but how long will it take you to change the physical components of the prow and open a portal?"

"Less than a day. I designed the mounts to be easy to change, as I was experimenting and did not know what the final form would be."

I nod. "I can pop back to Earth, ask her for her opinion and then come back well before you're finished. She might even be willing to recommend someone else. And I need to get someone to open the gates at the far end anyway."

And.. I should probably get permission to bring a ship through in the first place. And build some sort of dock.

"That is true. The rest of the design decisions are far less contentious." She nods, and with a wave of her hands the books and plans return themselves to their shelves. "Preparing the array for my use will not make it harder for another to use it."

I nod, and-. "Oh, one last thing. How long will transit take?"

"I don't know. Traversing from one point to another within the same magical world is different from going from one to another."

"A few hours, a few days or a few years?"

"Depending on the current, I would guess that it will take less than a day. But that is at best an educated guess."

"No, that's fair." I bow politely. "I'll be back before you know it." I raise my right hand to my forehead and

step out, homing in on

a few familiar desire-sets. Iola blinks as I clean her daughter of excrement before she looks around and spots me.

"Praise Hera."

"I'd need a bigger bra to pull that look off. Excuse me."

I fly out of her home's courtyard and towards the Temple of Hades. I don't think I've done anything to antagonise Melinoë recently, though it's probably worth finding out how Hades' courtship of her mother is going. And how she feels about the whole thing.

Maybe if things work out I could get them a dream boat as a wedding present?

 

[Mr Zoat]

4th June 2013
11:13 GMT

Queen Artemis looks dubiously at our new pilot, who is making himself comfortable in the lotus position as the apprentices finish setting up the ship's spell network.

"Are you certain that he is sound?"

Frankly, no, but Melinoë recommended him, and… I'm never sure whether she's genuinely angry or performatively angry, but the suggestion appeared to be a serious one, so…

"If something goes wrong I can probably bulldoze us to safety myself."

"You counselled me to avoid that."

"Yes, but this way we'd have a guilty party we didn't mind handing over to the authorities."

"Oh, that won't be necessary." Our… Oddly cheerful guest looks around. He actually… Looks healthier than any picture of him that I've seen. What's going on in his head… There's a glow around him that's making me a little concerned, and I can't see inside him at all. "I'm not going to make a mess of the first thing my goddess has asked me to do for her."

"And I'm glad you feel that way, Doctor Crane, but you weren't in Arkham because you had good impulse control."

"That's a thing of the past. And I've got you to thank for it. Both for putting me in touch with Melinoë in the literal sense, and… Well, that white light burst reversed the affect of long term phobaline hydrochorate exposure on my brain. I still regard fear as being the underlying basis of all human psychology, but now I can feel other things again. Things like awe and joy."

"So, Blackgate rather than Arkham?"

He rolls his eyes. "Please. I can study the universal subconscious of the universe. Crime is an unnecessary distraction."

"And you can handle the lucid dream navigation without getting distracted chasing nightmares?"

"Of course." He frowns. "Aside from anything else, I want to come back later so that I can study them properly."

"When you use the medallion, do you still feel fear, or just curiosity?"

He closes his eyes and lets out a long relaxed breath. "Oh, it's terrifying. Quite different to how it was before the Anti-Life. But at the same time I'm completely cognisant of what's happening and why. I'm like a dentist eating a candy bar!"

"As long as you're happy and not violating mortal law-." Ah. "Have you been encouraging others to try the amulets?"

"Yes. Most don't try it more than once, but-. Does the name 'Vaermina' mean anything to you?"

"No."

"She's a fictional goddess in some.. computer roleplay game. Some… Fans wanted me to play-act an initiation ritual. I think they use it as a hazing, now."

"… " I nod. "Friendly social contact. That's great progress."

"I really thought of them more as…" He frowns. "What's a socially acceptable way of saying 'self-cleaning lab rats'?"

"Interns."

"I… Doubt that they'll let me go back to teaching at Gotham University, but I thought it felt familiar. And magic isn't regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, and I don't have to explain fan conventions to the Dean."

I nod, slightly reassured. "I'm happy that you've found a niche for yourself. But to be clear-."

He rolls his eyes. "Yes, Batman already threatened me with grievous bodily harm, there's no need to echo him."

"But to be clear, if you feel that you're backsliding, or if you're having any problems that you don't know how to deal with, I'm happy to help. Either personally, or I can refer you to a psy-" He grimaces. "-chiatrist who can try and help. Not a lot of people can call themselves 'recovering supervillains' and I'm glad that you're one of them."

"Oh. Well, alright. It won't come to that, but…" His expression is one of confused uncertainty. "Thank you for the offer?"

"You're welcome." I turn back to Queen Artemis. "Alright, I'm a little more reassured."

"I only understood half of that conversation and I was not reassured at all."

"Well, no, but his answers were more reassuring than my questions." I offered to extend my ring's translation effect to her, but apparently including the Queen in your magic is a local taboo. "So we're ready to go on our end."

She lays her right hand on the poop deck railing, and I feel the universe… Outside of the ship's thaumic systems fade away.

"And I am ready also. Prepare to make way!"

I make a slight effort to minimise my own arcane presence. While my tattoos don't have an off switch, I can somewhat isolate them from the acquisitive power of the orange light, and I don't think that taking even small amounts of power from the ship's systems is a good idea.

Looking over the side of the ship, I see the wizards responsible for opening our way start work, the runes around their circles lighting up.

"I couldn't follow all of the detail in your description. How does this work?"

"Each of the magicians around us reach into the Dream and draw together those ideal forms representing the ship. Once the dream form is sufficiently coherent, they link to the actuality of the ship itself."

I nod. "Alright, simple enough."

"Once the two are linked, the second stage begins: reducing the connection between the ship and the magic systems of this world. Then the link to the ideal form in the Dream is strengthened once more until we are in the Dream."

"I suspect that it's a lot more complicated than 'are'."

"It is. Do you want to borrow the tome which explains it in detail?"

"Yes please."

I-. Oh. That's weird. There's a slight sense of dislocation. Perhaps… Bilocation? I feel where I am and also somewhere else, but the other place isn't giving me any sensory feedback.

"Should I feel like I'm in two places at once?"

She hesitates, then nods. "If you are unusually sensitive to magic, yes. It will pass once we enter the Dream fully."

I look over the edge of the ship and… Things are getting… Simplified? I can still see where things are and what they are, but the details are getting lost. Trying to focus is like getting up close to an impressionist painting.

"And how long does this take?"

"I believe that we are ready to fully transition… Now."

 

[Mr Zoat]

13th December 2023
23:47 GMT -5

The three of us look down at the bullet-riddled body of our would-be ambusher.

General Flag looks at me and Peacemaker. "Do either of you have any idea who-?"

I nod. "I'd like to take a moment to say a prayer for the soul of our wayward brother, Gagsworth A. Gagsworthy-"

Next to me, Peacemaker splutters with laughter.

"-in the hope that despite his numerous crimes, he may-."

Peacemaker pats me on the shoulder. "Like what? Being too short to ride the rollercoaster?"

"Ah… Five murders, approximately two hundred felony murders relating to his time as the Joker's sidekick, a… Probably-unknowable number of assaults and other such lesser crimes-. Please understand that as I say this I'm just working from Gotham police reports rather than drawing upon the knowledge of Heaven."

"Oh." He thinks for a moment, and then nods. "Now I don't feel so bad about shooting him." Then he freezes, then stares at me with an excited expression on his face. "Is the Joker here?" He raises his gun. "Because I wanna do what Batman's too much of a pussy to do."

"I agree that his romantic relationship with Catwoman is ill-considered, but I don't believe that she has influenced his actions towards the Joker."

"No, not pussy. Pussy!"

I regard him levelly as he gestures to his crotch.

"You know, like…"

He makes a crude gestures over his groin with his left hand.

"Pussy."

General Flag sighs. "Smith, stop jerking off at the angel. He knows what you mean. He's just too polite to point out that you just said 'pussy' four times to an angel."

"Oh." Peacemaker looks down for a moment, and then moves his left hand. Then unconsciously wipes it on his trousers before putting in on his hip. "But is he here?"

I shake my head. "The Joker is currently convalescing at Arkham Asylum with broken arms, legs and several broken ribs."

"So it would be real easy?" General Flag glares at him. "Oh, come on! He's killed hundreds of people." Peacemaker looks at me. "He's on the express route to Hell."

"Ah…"

He looks concerned. "Right?"

"In point of fact, no."

"Oh, fuck off! What do you mean, he's not going to Hell! He's the fucking Joker!"

I nod slowly. "While under normal circumstances his criminal activity prior to his unfortunate accident in the Ace Chemical Processing Plant would be grounds for chastisement, everything since then is a result of the mind-altering affect of the Smilex he was inadvertently exposed to."

General Flag snorts. "Heaven's got insanity pleas too?"

"Sort of. It's more that the false 'Joker' personality will be entirely erased and his true personality will rise to Heaven. Or, if you prefer, Heaven can fix insanity flawlessly, so we won't be dealing with Joker but with the failed comedian and petty criminal he used to be who just wanted to provide for his wife and son and made some poor decisions."

Peacemaker frowns. "So why don't you just fix him now?"

"Well, several reasons. But fundamentally it's because Eve and Adam didn't leave the tree alone like they were told to."

"Huh?"

"The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil? In the Garden of Eden? What actually happened is a little more complicated, but fundamentally, humanity's desire to reach out for knowledge and responsibility is respected by Heaven as part of the telos of your species, and as such we mostly leave the material world to you to deal with and just hand out score cards at the end."

He thinks about that for a moment.

"How am I doing?"

"Heaven requires that mortals inflict no more in punishment than was done in the crime. As such, your habit of wilfully killing people who have not themselves killed anyone will result in your never seeing the Silver City. On that subject, you should repent and amend your life."

He looks genuinely concerned, and for a moment I think that I might be getting- "But I can still kill people, right?" -through to him. "So long as they're murderers?"

"Yes, though I am concerned about the fact that it is that that you reached for, rather than a chance at the salvation of your soul."

He snorts and shrugs sullenly.

"Ah. I think I understand. May this emissary of Heaven lighten your path?"

He blinks. "Sure?"

I step closer and embrace him, arms around his sides and wings around his shoulders. He stands there awkwardly, arms frozen where they were.

"Your brother's death was a tragic accident, and you are not to blame for it."

He shakes, as Heaven's authority rules on the accusation of sin and makes him aware of his acquittal to the depths of his soul. I can feel his thoughts shift as the burden is removed, and his own astonishment as the weight he's borne for most of his life suddenly isn't there any more. He pulls back, left hand grasping the side of his head. A moment more and he'll start reviewing his own memories freed from the guilt he attached to them only seconds ago.

"U-rh!"

He blinks, gurns, and generally looks unsteady on his feet as his brain readjusts.

General Flag comes up alongside me. "His brother?"

"His father used to make them fight one another when they were little boys as a form of martial training. He accidentally killed his brother with an extremely unlucky hit."

"Unlucky like Rick?"

"That was not quite the same. He believed that fight had to be fought. I will warn you now that both your son and him would be judged free of guilt for that."

"I don't-." General Flag shakes his head. "Who was that Greek guy, the one who had to beg Brad Pitt to give his son's body back?"

"King Priam."

"DuBois disobeyed orders even knowing Waller had a bomb in his skull. And Smith obeyed because he genuinely thought it was the right thing to do. He killed my son, and I-. I hate this. Smith!"

"Ugh…" Peacemaker shakes his head, becoming somewhat coherent now that he has something external to focus on. "Yeah?"

"You still got that bomb in your head?"

"I guess?"

"You want it gone?"

"Yeah?" He doesn't sound particularly certain.

"Waller covered up for the people who made Corto Maltese happen. That means they're still in the U.S. government. I understand not wanting to announce things to the world. I don't know if it would have resulted in a war or not… But if we handle things quietly then it won't. Are you in?"

"Yeah." This time he sounds certain. "That was fucked up, and everyone involved deserves what's coming to them."

"Then that's what we're doing."

 

[Mr Zoat]

4th June 2013
Not Sure

"I had not realised that the Dream City was originally a part of your world."

I nod. That shortened our journey considerably. Artemis assumed that there would be some sort of link, but the journey there took more time than the journey towards the Gates of Horn and Ivory which are now coming into sight.

"Yes. I…" Uh. "I told the Caliph that I would go back and tell him about the time some friends and I ran through a dream storm. I just.. haven't gotten around to it." I shake my head. "But yes, in a remarkable feat of self-absorption he had Morpheus take everything great about his realm into the Dream, ensuring that the memory would outlast the physical realm."

I shake my head.

"And I can't even get angry at anyone, because the person who did it stopped existing the moment all of his noble traits were taken into the Dream and a husk of a mortal ruler was left behind, and as far as I know the Caliph here didn't exist until it happened."

"Then there is a real place which corresponds to the Dream City?"

"There was, but it's been destroyed and rebuilt and changed around so many times that if you wanted to do a correspondence ritual you'd be better off starting from scratch."

"A pity. It would be easier to anchor the spell if that were not the case."

"Let's put a pin in that until after you've had a meeting with Morpheus." I lean against the railings, looking down at the shambling figments of imagined lifelessness. "Doesn't feel like all that long ago that I last came through here. It took me a little while to work out that they weren't misplaced shades."

Queen Artemis comes over to stand besides me. "Is that what your people are reduced to once they die?"

"They were. Our God of the Dead had a bit of a rethink a few centuries ago, and now you can barely tell that they're not alive. Oh, I should probably warn you: amongst the people you'll be staying with there's another woman named Artemis, and it's also the name of one of our goddesses. So if someone calls out for aid during a hunt, they're probably not talking about you."

She nods thoughtfully. "I do not think that there are any other women named Artemis on my world."

"No?"

"It is a name of an earlier age. And it is heavily associated with me."

"Is your longevity unusual?"

"Yes. My father came from the world of Zerox originally. He was an immensely powerful wizard, and I seem to have inherited part of his longevity."

"Oh. That's a problem Queen Hippolyta doesn't have. Most Amazons are about as old as her."

"Is she married?"

"No. Ah. It's a.. bit of a joke that it's obvious to everyone on the island except her who she should marry, but I'm too afraid of what our Goddess of Love will do to me if I say anything to give them a nudge."

"Why would your Goddess of Love be troubled by that?"

"There are bets going. I'm also the reason why the husband she hated being forced to marry divorced her the moment he got the power to do so, and married her to a eunuch. She's, ah… Not a very nice person, and I don't want her attention." … "Also, some of the bets are really big, and I don't know who bet what."

Queen Artemis smiles. "What is his name, that I might avoid saying anything that I should not?"

"Oh, no. Her name. There are very few men on Themyscira." Hm. "In fact, there probably aren't any at all at the moment."

"Why is that?"

"Uh… They had a sex-segregated society, and then lost a war, and only the women and young children evacuated to their new island, and while there were a few boys with them their goddesses only blessed the women with extended lifespans. So eventually the men aged and died. There are five men with Themysciran citizenship, one by marriage, three because their mother is a citizen and me because the crown princess took pity on me. The rest, all women."

I look towards the bow as we approach the Gates. Melinoë is occupied, though I'm not sure whether she's just avoiding me-.

I look to where Dr. Crane is coming out of his trance, smiling broadly.

Avoiding one of us, or is actually busy. Instead, Cyber-Akhlys is on door duty. I

just have to reach out and strum her desire

and the Gates open for our passage. I catch sight of one of the dream-shades trying to shamble through, and it fades to nothing the moment it leaves its medium. That just reassures me that they're not really alive, and are just human-shaped scenery.

Queen Artemis is looking… Pretty darn impressed, actually. "I have not seen the like before. How is this possible?"

"You're looking at the bound titan, Erebos. The gods of my people beat it into submission and repurposed it for storing the souls of the dead. I don't understand the exact process, but I'd guess that it's sufficiently primal that it can touch both the Dream and the Earth directly without issue."

"A titan would-. Do your gods live here?"

"Some of them do. Why do you ask?"

"Normally, gods cannot exist in the corporeal world in anything like their true form as it cannot support pure magic beings. But in a bound titan, they could use its own primal magic to…"

She looks away, clearly considering the implications. I.. didn't think to ask about her world's gods, though from the sound of things they didn't do anything similar.

"What is the condition of the souls of the dead?"

"Lord Hades replaces their connection to the material with one to Erebos itself. In some lights you wouldn't know that you're talking to a shade. Doctor Crane, have you been here before?"

"Not physically. If you don't need me, I'd like to speak to some of the shades. I've been wondering what it's like to exist without the fear of death to motivate them."

"No, by all means. Put me down for a medallion on 'fear of ennui'."

"An obvious choice, but I'll allow it. Your majesty?"

"I have no idea."

"Anyone else?"

A couple of the other members of the crew look around, but most of them carry on with their preparations as we finally sail through the Gate. Looks like Erebos isn't on fire. Good.

"Then I will put my own coin on 'fear of impermanence', since basic psychology requires it to be something like the sensation it is replacing."

I nod. "Let me know your results."

"I'm not showing you the raw data. I've published so very little lately. It must be peer reviewed, first."

"Far be it for me to criticise your professionalism. Your majesty, I thought that a tour of Themyscira would do for today, to allow you to adapt to Earth's magic fields. We can visit Hub City tomorrow, or Poseidonis if you prefer."

She nods. "I would like to see Hub City. I believe that it will allow me to understand how your world has suffered."

"Not a problem. I'll let the mayor know once we reach the surface."

 

[Mr Zoat]

4th June 2013
19:25 GMT +3

I stride out of the Temple of Hades, arms spread wide.

"Welcome to Themyscira!"

The small number of Amazons out and about at this time of the evening stop what they were doing in order to cluster at minimum safe distance. Two have a quick argument which results in one running down the street to… Notify a mutual acquaintance that I'm up to something, apparently. She's narrowly outpaced by the member of the guard patrol who is heading for the inner ring for much the same reason.

Then out comes Queen Artemis, followed by her bodyguards and a couple of advisors. They were decidedly nervous during our flight over Erebos, though Queen Artemis herself seemed to find the whole thing fascinating. I didn't think there was much point in giving them the full tour, particularly with Lord Hades indisposed. Between courting his wife properly and the huge backlog he's working through, I don't really think that he's got the time.

Most of the Amazons are staring at Queen Artemis.

"It's a delightful island with no modern conveniences at all. Don't be fooled by the fact that it resembles parts of your own world; they don't use magic for things like that either. It's garderobes and wells all the way."

Oh, I've brought a foreign queen to a place that uses garderobes. That was a mistake.

"That will not be a concern. It was the same in my youth."

The red-robed economic advisor looks like it might just possible be a problem for her.

"And you say these women are older than me?"

I shrug and turn to address the crowd. "Oi, rubberneckers! Anyone here younger than fifteen hundred?!"

A short delay while they hesitate to attract my attention, then heads start shaking.

"Thank you! Looks like they are. Everyone, this is Queen Artemis, she's the ruler of a planet I'm hoping to do business with. I hope that you'll make her feel welcome during her time here."

Themysciran Greek only.

Compliance.

"To the best of my knowledge she prefers men, so all you would-be liberators can keep it in your drawers."

A few smirk, two look disappointed… And one of the two then turns away from the queen to assess her retinue.

Queen Artemis leans towards me. "Was I supposed to not have a translator spell running?"

All language mode, sound baffle.

Compliance.

"If I was mistaken, every woman here has fought monsters, enemy soldiers and the undead at least once in her life, and I can speak favourably of their characters."

"You are not mistaken, and I have no desire to be a public spectacle."

"Really? I've learned to love it." Baffle off. "Do you want to look around for a while, or do you want to go straight to the formal reception part of the visit?"

"I would like to see the parts of Themyscira which were damaged during the Anti-Life broadcast."

"Oh. Well, there weren't any, really. Themyscira got sucked into the realm of the Hellenistic gods and spent the whole thing guarding the base of Mount Olympus from attacks by the dead of the Aztecs. Aside from a short period at the beginning, which didn't cause much damage because the island is self-sufficient anyway, rather than being part of a complex interdependent economy like the rest of the planet."

"Perhaps a short walk before meeting your queen? The journey gave us little opportunity to stretch our limbs."

"Certainly." Hm. "Perhaps I could show you Themyscira's Dolmen Gate? It's only a short distance from here, and has been operating for over a year now."

She nods. "Yes. Let us begin there."

I lead the way at a slow walk, giving my guests all the time to look around that they like. I'm sure that they're picking up the unique properties of Themysciran architecture, and the complete lack of the sort of magic utility that they're used to.

"Are there no magicians here at all?"

"There are a few. Mostly, Themyscirans see magic as a form of revealed divinity. Few study doing something with magic unless it is offered to them as a result of insight they received from our gods. The magic generalists either follow our Goddess of Magic, or, ah… Are experimenting with other traditions." I shrug. "They're three thousand years old. Some embrace heterodoxy just to keep their brains from rotting."

Including all three of the other Discordians. I think I'm technically the cult leader, but… Well, if Discordians want a leader then they should have checked the sign over the door on the way in.

Artemis nods, still looking around. "The stonework is of fine quality."

"The masons have three thousand years of experience. Or-. I suppose, everyone here has several hundred years of experience as masons before they switched career so they didn't forget how to do everything else. At this point the only person here who couldn't rebuild this street is me."

"What has kept the people of this island form leaving?"

"Inertia, fear, normalisation, segregation."

"Who was segregated?"

"Everyone who wanted to leave left. That meant that they weren't around to agitate their countrywomen, who settled into their complacency."

"What were they afraid of?"

"The same people who drove them off the mainland in the first place. The descendants of those people. Their civilisation, which kept growing and getting stronger while theirs stagnated. Perhaps even cultural assimilation. They didn't spend three thousand years shaking in their sandals, but it was one of the foundational pillars for their attitude."

I don't mention the whittle dolls, partially because I'm seeing a lot less of that lately and partially because that's a whole new level of messed up.

"And are you the cause of their renewed contact with the rest of your world?"

"Not just me, but I think I dramatically accelerated something that was starting to happen anyway." I sigh. "While I understand that protecting people is the core of my job, I'd rather spend my time making peoples' lives better rather than preventing them from getting worse. I'm the reason why the size of the population is actually increasing for the first time in over two thousand years. I'm the reason why they can walk to a modern city, and got access to fruits and vegetables that they've never seen before."

"I have done many things in my life, but I never even contemplated spending so long on a single island."

"Right! It links to why I want those Gates in the first place. Yes, Hub City could use them in the normal sort of way, but what I really want to do is make the place a productive economic hub of the sort it hasn't been… Ever, I think. I want to make the lives of its people better."

"Does it have some significance to you?"

"No, but what sort of hero would I be if I only helped the places that I cared about?"

She nods as we approach the Dolmen Gate.

 

[Mr Zoat]

5th June 2013
15:34 GMT +3

"…speak with people who are my senior." Queen Artemis smiles faintly.

I nods and smile as we head towards the newly-delivered Dolmen Gate between Themyscira and Hub City. "Queen Hippolyta has also remained unmarried for longer than you."

"Yes, but for her that is a desirable state of affairs. If you are thinking to bind me to your world through marriage, I will tell you now that I am not interested in a dynastic partnership."

"That wasn't where I was going with that. Though I am aware of the disposition and location of every male hero of note on this planet, we don't really do marriage-alliances any more."

She frowns thoughtfully. "I didn't think to ask: who rules this world?"

"Technically, no one. Individual countries are independent to a high degree. There's a planetary debate chamber, but its power and authority is strictly limited."

"And do you answer to that body?"

"No. I answer to Clarissi Vril Dox and no other. Though in a practical sense, the reconstruction is being overseen by a group of heroes collectively known as the Justice League, with most of the planning being done by Batman and Mister Atom. I alternate between handling the parts that I'm best suited to handle and doing my own thing and keeping them informed."

"And who do they answer to, if this world has no ruler?"

"In normal times, they submit reports to an oversight committee which has had responsibility delegated to it by the debate chamber I mentioned. At the moment… Basically no one."

"Is that a matter of concern?"

"Depends who you ask."

I step through the gate, Artemis moving with me and her retinue following behind.

5th June 2013
07:36 GMT -5

"I think it is, but more because it shows the level of societal collapse than because overseeing the Justice League is a useful thing to do."

She takes in our new surroundings, and stops walking. "This is not so decayed as you led me to believe. Have you already begun reconstruction?"

I pause a short distance further down the corridor. "Yes, this is the power plant I built to keep their electrical-." I pause. "Do you understand how electrical grids work?"

"I presume that they are something like the power supply systems on spacecraft, but designed to move power from ground-based generators to ground-based buildings."

"Pretty much. The difference is that it's less well organised. Power plants can use any number of different fuels and be owned by any number of different companies. The distribution network is larger than what you could find on all but the largest ships and it got added to a lot of pre-existing cities that weren't designed with the need to have power cables running through them in mind. I built this facility two days ago to supply power to Hub City, which wasn't receiving enough power to keep basic electrical systems going properly. Ideally, we'd use this opportunity to replace the city's wiring with jovium, but I don't have anything like enough."

"If you have a way to manufacture it on a large scale, I would be interested in a trade agreement to supply it."

"Huh? What do you use it for?"

"There are any number of electrical artefacts which make use of it. Though I suspect that your needs are somewhat greater."

"Almost certainly. It…" Hm. "I appreciate the offer, but I think it makes more sense to put up with the inefficiency for now. Perhaps we can expand to magic metals once the Dolmen Gate production line is firmly established."

I gesture to the doors in front of us, and she starts walking again.

"I am interested in acquiring the production techniques for whatever arcane materials you have, most certainly including jovium."

I nod. "Not a problem. We've got mithril and orichalcum, and depending on how far Vulcan's gotten we might be able to make Nth metal. Our foundries can purify the base metals far better than magic. Now-" I push opens the doors and lead the way out into the car park. "-this is Hub City proper."

Artemis gags, then makes a fingers-to-palm gesture with her left hand. Immediately a faintly visible bubble appears around her head. A couple of the more magically-able members of her retinue do something similar while the rest just try to conceal their disquiet.

"What is that stench?"

"Airborne hydrocarbons, probably." I shrug. "Probably a little rotting flesh in there as well."

Ring, please notify the mayor that we've arrived.

Compliance.

"Are they using revenants?"

"No. That sort of necromancy doesn't really exist here. Themyscira has a couple of sacred necromancers-. Oh, wait. Do vampires count?"

"What is a 'vampire'?"

"A technically-living creature that sustains itself by consuming the blood of other creatures, preferably intelligent ones. I developed palatable synthetic blood for them a couple of years ago, but societal collapse means that I'm not sure if their supplies are reaching them and it's possible that a few have gone back to hunting people for food."

"No, I refer to animated corpses. Are there so many dead that they are not being disposed of?"

"They're being disposed of as they're found, but a lot of Hub City got abandoned. There are plenty of places to die that just haven't been discovered yet. And even after the bodies are cleared away, the scent still lingers." Oh. "But it could just be rotten meat that was in freezers that stopped working due to the lack of electrical power."

She looks a little relieved. "Do you have sufficient healers to cope with the resulting diseases?"

"Oh gods no. Medical professionals fled the moment the Anti-Life got expunged. The only people providing basic medical aid are former military people who are too stubborn to leave."

And had their mental health problems fixed by the life wave, and most of their narcotic suppliers either die or lose access to their product.

"But we're working on that now. I can take us to an implantation centre first if you like, or I can give you an overview of the city, or we can visit the mayor."

"What are they implanting?"

"Health-boosting symbiotes." Ah… "For various reasons not strictly relevant to what we're doing here, the provision of medical services in this part of the planet has been a bit of a mess for a while. So a species of synthetic organics we created a few years ago had the brilliant idea of sidestepping doctors and hospitals and insurance providers and just making creatures people could have inserted into them which could fix most things. There wasn't a great uptake rate, but Hub City is a little bit desperate so people are giving it a try."

"A 'little bit' desperate? What is 'very desperate'?"

"My people understate for emphasis. This is the worst place on this continent. Everywhere that I'm aware of that is worse has been outright abandoned and isn't a priority, though I did have to deal with a stolen fission warhead a little while ago."

"Then I think that I would like to start with the creatures being implanted."

I nod. "Right this way."

 

[Mr Zoat]

5th June 2013
07:43 GMT -5

"Kon-?" He looks around. "Match? I didn't know you were getting involved."

He carefully hands off the… Growth chamber that he was carrying to a couple of g-trolls, and then lands and walks over to us.

"Dubbilex needed a hand setting up."

I frown. "I'd-." No, no, this was a rush job, and it's not like he could phone me on Themyscira. I stop frowning. "Thank you for your help. Ah, Queen Artemis, this is my friend and colleague Match. Match, Queen Artemis."

Match hesitates for a moment, being forced to change mental gears suddenly. But he recovers, and gives her a shallow bow. "Your majesty."

"Greetings, Match." She looks slightly puzzled. "You were flying, and yet I feel little magic emanating from you."

"Little-? Oh." He pulls out his ward and shows it to her. "Yeah, I'm kryptonian. We don't use magic to fly. Just sunlight." He turns to me. "I'm sorry, I want to help them finish setting up before school."

"Oh." I wave in the general direction of the dilapidated shopping centre where Dubbilex appears to be setting up. "By all means."

He flies about a metre in that direction, then stops and turns back. "You wanna talk to Dubbilex?"

I look at Queen Artemis, who is momentarily distracted by a g-pooka who is making faces at one of the bolder children in the line near the entrance.

"Yes. I would. Thank you."

"No problem. I'll tell him."

And he's gone, a weak slipstream mildly buffeting us.

Artemis frowns at me. "'Sunlight'?"

"Sunlight empowers kryptonian organelles, prompting them to generate a sort of biological force field around their body. That in turn grants them unusual strength, endurance, and the ability to fly."

"And… These others? The small ones resemble the large ones so I presume that they are related."

"Genomorphs. Synthetic organic species… Plural. The big ones are g-trolls, the tiny ones are g-gnomes and the ones lurking at strategic locations just in case they have to restrain someone are g-elves. The one entertaining the children is a g-pooka, Dubbilex himself is a g-goblin and the actual implantation of the g-sanchong will be handled by the g-magtatangal. They share a lot of biology in common, but each type is adapted to perform a particular role. They're also part of a telepathic hive mind."

**Orange Lantern, and guests.**

**Dubbilex. Would you mind talking Queen Artemis through things?**

**No. That is a simple matter, and I have no role in the surgery. Would you like to come inside?**

**On our way.** I turn to Artemis. "Did he include you?"

She nods. "I have not encountered telepathy before."

I gesture to the shopping centre again, and we start walking. "I did warn you that Earth was a madhouse. We get a little of everything here. Our last major invasion was our own time travelling descendants from the far future."

"Would they not know that they lost?"

I shake my head. "I… Don't know. It's possible that the attack was essential to allow them to come to exist in the first place or something. Or that their records of this era aren't good and they don't know which iteration of human civilisation they're descended from. That wasn't the first time they've attacked from the future, but it will be the last."

"'Will be'? Is it still ongoing?"

"Not-. Ah, we took some sheeda prisoner, but it's time travel. The attack hasn't been launched yet."

She smiles. "I suppose that does confuse the tenses."

We reach the entry… Looks like time and casual violence destroyed the glass doors which used to be here. G-elves with brooms and vacuums have done their best to clean things up a bit in the short time they've had, but years of neglect don't vanish overnight. Not without a very specific set of superpowers, anyway.

Huh. I should ask him about the g-lusca. See if they've got any ideas about reconstruction.

Mitchell is talking to the first nervous-looking volunteer, while Dubbilex turns away from the g-trolls and walks towards us.

"I felt that you were not entirely comfortable with telepathy. Would you prefer speech?"

Artemis nods. "Yes, thank you. You are Dubbilex?"

"Indeed. Would you like to discuss the procedure, or do you simply wish to observe?"

"What is it that you are going to do?"

He turns to look towards the operating area, where the now-reassured patient is getting onto a gurney. "The g-magtatangal will remove the patient's capacity to feel pain. Then, they will make an incision in the patient's abdomen and insert the g-sanchong. The g-magtatangal will then guide it into position through a combination of telepathy and physical force. Once in position, the g-sanchong will make the attachments itself and the g-magtatangal will close and suture the incision. I estimate two minutes per procedure."

Queen Artemis looks back through the opening to the street, and the slowly growing crowd of people gathering there. "How would you describe the general state of health of the people of this city?"

"Poor. Many have signs of narcotic use and withdrawal. Many also have injuries. Poor nutrition, unsanitary conditions and intravenous drug use have increased their vulnerability to disease."

"And the g-sanchong will alleviate those?"

"Some. A g-sanchong cannot fix nutritional problems, and it will only accelerate healing to a degree. But it is excellent at combating disease and the consequences of narcotic use."

"Does it use magic, or is it purely physical in nature?"

"It uses magic to a small degree. Since our failure to contain our g-oni brothers we have become more conservative with granting our new brothers innate magical abilities. The g-sanchong becomes an artificial chakra point once integrated into its host body. This increases its capacity to heal beyond what is possible through normal organic healing."

"Are you using one?"

He lifts his shirt, indicating a small scar. "Yes. It is quite helpful."

"Does it work on other species?"

"It is intended for humans. It would need to be further modified for other species in order to avoid an immune system response. Assuming the intended host was broadly similar to human, it should be possible to adapt one."

"Would-?"

**Brother.** The g-magtatangal looks in our direction, claws raised... A little too ominously. Mitchell gently pushes them back down. **I am ready to begin.**

Dubbilex nods. "My brother is ready to perform the procedure. Perhaps we can continue this discussion after the demonstration."

 

[Mr Zoat]

5th June 2013
09:13 GMT -5

I feel a bit bad for thinking it, but I think… Hitler was wasting his time with governance and painting.

"Of-of course, these are…" Mr. Schreiber squirms awkwardly. "These are just… Ah, initial drawings."

I'm not sure I could draw buildings that well with my rings. A day since I dropped the commission in his lap and he's already got… A hundred photographs of Hub City from various periods of history, then from them other photographs of contemporary buildings in the same style. Notes on sunlight levels throughout the year, the water table, prevailing wind directions. Notes on what he wants to simply restore (basically nothing), modify (some of the churches and civic buildings) and what might possibly be stripped for materials. Some notes on scheduling, because he understands that people are living here and need to live and eat somewhere. The bare bones of costings and timelines for the acquisition of materials that can't be acquired locally.

No real building plans yet, but… I'm impressed.

I… Think the Orange Lantern Corps might have a job for him once the war with the Reach is over.

Mayor Connelly-Fermin exhales through her nose. "I didn't realise that Hub City used to look… Good."

"No." Mr. Schreiber shakes his head. "It did not. Substandard materials, poor layouts… Even the buildings that looked good were copies of other buildings from elsewhere. You think that it did because it became worse later." He turns to Queen Artemis. "I am sorry that it is not better organised. I was not expecting royalty."

"Is this all your work?"

"No, no, no. Not all of it. I have, ah… Assistants. At the moment they are mostly out making recordings, checking levels of decay…" He shakes his head, shrugging. "Because we will have to replace so much, it is more about knowing what we can leave until later rather than what can remain."

Assistants are new. I guess his wife leaned on him about that.

"It… Ah. It hurt me in the soul to see a city like this. So unloved."

He doesn't say anything for a moment, staring wistfully at a bird's eye view picture of Hub City. Then he looks around and noticed that we're all staring at him, and he tenses up again.

"But-. But we can fix that, given time. And resources. And since Orange Lantern is throwing money at the problem, it is turned into a manageable problem."

Queen Artemis nods. "Master Schreiber, do you have a supernatural power?"

"No. No, God be with me. I do not-. I am not comfortable with that."

"Mister Schreiber is an exceptionally skilled but essentially -and I mean no offence when I say this- normal man."

He nods. "And I am very happy to be a normal man. I like my work. And I appreciate having this opportunity. One civic building is a notable work. Rebuilding an entire city, well… If I am successful, it will put my name in the history books."

"And work as a doctoral thesis?"

"Ah… Maybe. It might…" He shrugs, shaking his head. "Even if it does not-. No. If I had a choice between the two, I would choose this."

I wait for a moment, but Artemis doesn't seem to have anything else that she wants to ask him.

"Well, ah… Thank you for your time, Mister Schreiber. I think we can leave you to it..?" Artemis nods. "Madam Mayor?"

"Yes… This way."

We follow her out of Mr. Schreiber's studio, into… Well, I suspect that it used to be a break room of some sort. Cracked plastic chairs, soft chairs held together with masking tape and… There's a kettle on a sideboard.

Mayor Connelly-Fermin shrugs helplessly. Queen Artemis hesitates for a moment, then makes a circling motion with her right hand. The floor shimmers, the chairs levitate a little and the light fittings rattle as… Stains vanish, threadbare fabric is restored and tears seal themselves.

"Ah… Thank… You."

Queen Artemis sits primly down on a chair made for ease of stacking, hands placed neat in her lap. "It is no matter."

The mayor takes a seat close by, pulling it a little closer so that she can look directly at Artemis. I generate a construct chair and form a huddle, while the other advisors chose between the remaining chairs and just standing.

"Please, tell me about your city."

"It's-." She sighs. "I told Orange Lantern that if I had any kind of life outside of this place, I'd have left. Heh." She sighs. "I'd like to see it fixed. But I'm not a…"

She gestures vaguely to Artemis and to me.

"I can't make it happen, but for some reason Orange Lantern has decided to take pity on us. I can't.. offer you anything, but vehicle manufacturing was the only major industry we ever had, and if we can start it up again… I'll do just about anything to make that happen."

She smiles, and pulls up her shirt to show a small scar on her abdomen.

"Got mine implanted yesterday. Dubbilex told me that it.. deals with the effects of stress hormones too. I actually slept through last night."

Artemis nods. "I have seen little magic on this world. Will the Dolmen Gates cause a problem?"

"Compared to what?" She makes a helpless gesture with her right hand. "No. Orange Lantern's been using them in other places, too. He did a demonstration a couple of years ago that I.. missed. Apparently."

I nod. "Got a surprisingly knowledgeable volunteer from the audience to walk through it and everything."

"We can't maintain them, but we can't even maintain our road surfaces so there's nothing new there. And us even having a use for them is dependent on getting our manufacturing started up again. I've got a few people down at Dubbilex's surgery to ask people about their employment history…" She looks at me. "I don't know if you've made any progress..?"

"Not as yet. I've pencilled that in for tomorrow, but it will help if we've actually got accommodation and at least one plant up and running to show them."

She smiles humourlessly. "It won't be the first Catch Twenty Two I've had to deal with. So, yeah, it's a whole series of long shots but it's better than nothing."

Artemis nods. "Do you have a contact in the government of your world who I should speak to about our plans?"

The mayor frowns. "Our world? Um, no? We don't have a world government."

"The United Nations does not oversee your contact with other worlds?"

"I didn't even know the U.N. was still running."

Artemis looks at me. "Are you better informed?"

"Contact with other worlds would be handled at the nation-state level, if at all."

Artemis nods again. "Your national government, then?"

"I wasn't sure they were still running."

"Reconstruction is being overseen by the Justice League. Me buying things from an alien world doesn't require their involvement."

She frowns, puzzled. "Are you certain?"

"I can try and get a meeting with President Knight if you want, but it's… Most places are under some sort of emergency rule, and the League has authority to do whatever's necessary. Until things normalise, I don't need the approval of anyone except Batman to involve you. It's not how things normally work, but this isn't a normal situation."

"I can't imagine having an arrangement like this on my own world. It would be… It would be the same as abdicating my throne."

I shrug, wincing inwardly.

"But if you say that is how things are, then we shall continue on that basis. Madam Mayor, how are you feeding your people?"

 

[Mr Zoat]

15th December 2023
11:02 GMT -5

"I don't get it." Peacemaker leans towards the car window as he watches Miss Quinn walk down the street. "She's murdered dozens of people, and she's just walking around in the open?"

General Flag settles for watching her out of the corner of his eye. "Sure looks like it."

I reach across and grab Mr. Smith's hand as he goes to open the car door. "Peace, Peacemaker. We are serving a higher good."

He turns to face me, clearly aggrieved. "But she goes to Heaven, right? I shoot her, her soul turns back into Harleen Quinzel and Harley Quinn stops existing. So killing her is good for everyone!"

I regard him placidly, placing both hands on his shoulders. "It is not good for you to default to killing people every time that you run into difficulty. I am concerned for the state of your soul, Peacemaker. I believe that you are a fundamentally good man, but you need to learn restraint and proportionality."

"But murder is proportionate to murder! It's exactly the same thing!"

"While she is guilty of ethics violations for her treatment of the Joker, her later offences were committed under the influence of Smilex, just like his."

"I know, which-" He nods in an exaggerated motion. "-means that she goes to Heaven when she dies."

"Which means that I can cure her, making murder disproportionate."

He drops back into his seat, arms moodily folded across his chest. "Fine."

There's a knock on the window, and we both turn to see Miss Quinn peering in. Her eyes widen slightly as she confirms the presence of Peacemaker, then she beams with delight, hopping up and down and waving.

General Flag winds down his window. "Doctor Quinzel?"

Her head jerks around to look at him. "Oh hoiy! Yous knows Peacemakah?"

Flag doesn't smile back. "Yeah. You wanna get in?"

She pulls back slightly, and I see the intelligence crowd out her Smilex-induced mania. "I don't think I showd get int' a cawr with strange men."

"Alright. My name is Richard Flag. I believe you knew my son, Richard Flag Junior."

Her eyes widen.

"And you're Doctor Harleen Quinzel. And now we're all friends-"

She's already dashing around to the passenger side door.

"-you can.. get in."

She springs into the seat and closes the door. "Where we gowin, Dick Seenyah?!"

Peacemaker snorts with amusement, and I see Miss Quinn watching his response in the rear view mirror as General Flag pulls away from the curb.

Being exposed to Smilex doesn't make you stupid.

Then she spots me, and looks… Probably about as serious as she can.

"Royt, Senyeh. So awr you a psychopomp an' weyah awl dead already? If you awr, good job, 'cause I didn' feel a thing."

"No, Miss Quinn."

"'caws Peacemakah doyd, and… Seenyah, weyl, he don't look so young no mowah."

"Even so."

"I didn't die." Peacemaker blinks confusedly. "I just got shot in the throat and had a building fall on me. I was fine."

Miss Quinn pulls a face, nodding. Then she leans over to General Flag. "I see dead people." She nods. "They don't know they're dead."

"I'm not dead." Peacemaker rotates his head to face me. "I'm not dead, right?"

"You're not dead."

"Okay." He doesn't sound confident. "Because a guy could survive getting shot in the throat if it missed the artery and windpipe or he got a doctor to fix it right away, and a guy could survive a building falling on him if he got really lucky, but I just realised that the only reason I'm still alive is that Waller decided to rescue me and that doesn't sound at all realistic."

Miss Quinn shrugs. "Maybe she loiks you."

He shakes his head. "I don't think so."

"It could be. Women's sex droyves increase when they hit menopaws."

His eyes widen. "Then I really hope not."

General Flag shakes his head. "I didn't need that image, Quinzel. How come she hasn't picked you up again after you blew up that chemical plant?"

"Blackmail." She shrugs. "Anythin' happen t'me, everything I got on her goes out on the internet."

"Bloodsport thinks she'd go after him if he ever came back to the United States."

"Maybe what he's gawt ain't what oi gawt."

Peacemaker leans forwards. "What d'you mean? You took copies of the Corto Maltese files, same as him."

"Yeyeh, see, that wasn't exactly my furst rodeo. I was orwn a nother Suicide Sqward mission seven yeyahs agow."

Flag nods. "What mission was that?"

"Midway City. See, I figahd, aftah Corto Maltese, maybe I needed somethin' a bit strongah. An' that when I remembered what Deadshot and Rick Junior tol' me about what Wallah did in Midway."

I frown. "And what was that?"

"Murdered a whole room fullah her own goys." She raises her right hand, making a gun gesture. "Pop pop pop. So oi went back theyah, found some shell casin's, and Rick's body camera recowdin', and oi figu'ed that was awl oi needed. "

…

General Flag focuses extremely closely on the road. Peacemaker jerks upright and hits his helmet on the roof.

Which leaves me. "Miss Quinn, I understand that you and the Joker have parted ways."

"Yeyah. We have."

"In that case, I have a number of services I am willing to offer you."

She frowns in exaggerated confusion. "I don't pay fer it. An' ain't that kinda a weird business fer an angel?"

I.. blink. "I can get rid of your bomb implant, and I can undo the effect that the Smilex has had on you. In exchange, I would ask that you share what you have, so that Amanda Waller can be punished for her actions."

"Pff, no."

I pause to allow her to expand her answer, but she doesn't.

"Which part are you refusing?"

"Oh, yous can get rid a' the bomb, and screw Waller, but I'm keepin' my brain how it is. I euwned this, an' I actually loik it."

"Ah, I understand." I nod. "Even separated, you still pine for him."

Her eyes narrow. "Yous take that back."

"It's a very common, especially in abusive relationships which so define a person's life. You have my eternal sympathy and understanding, and I shall trouble you on the subject no more."

"B-low me."

That-.

Hm.

15th December 2023
11:28 GMT -5

I lower the flannel from my mouth as the blushing Dr. Quinzel hands the data stick to General Flag. "This shows the whole thing. I hope you nail that bitch to a wawll."

He nods. "That's the plan."

 

[Mr Zoat]

8th June 2013
11:53 GMT -5

I watch as the demolition charges detonate, construct dome containing the lead-paint-powder-and-asbestos rich dust before spraying it down with non-construct water. Also watching are Mr. Snart and Dr. Roquette, Batman having decided that this was a good situation to test out the advantages of using a nanoforge for reconstruction work. It's wholly impractical to use to destroy whole buildings -it's just not possible to maintain an even temperature throughout the structure so the die off rate in the nanobots is too high- but for denaturing hazardous materials it's highly effective and reasonably efficient.

Ambient hope detected. Charging. Charge: ninety seven percent.

And while Alan doesn't strictly need to rely on recharging from ambient hope like my villainous alter ego, it will let him keep working for longer. And I can see him smiling as he looks down at the gathering crowd.

Hub City: the only place where seeing a superperson knocking their buildings down makes them feel hope.

I drift a little closer as he dismisses his construct and the locals in protective gear move forward with the heavy metal wheelbarrows. A handful of Brazilian site-managers are keeping an eye on them, but picking up bricks isn't exactly specialised work.

"Any trouble?"

Alan's gaze grows distant for a moment. "You know who Thomas Midgley Junior was?"

"He-."

He rolls his eyes. "Before I asked and you looked it up with your ring."

"… No."

"Well, basically, he's the guy who invented leaded fuel and C.F.C.s."

"One man did both of those?"

"I'm sure he had a team, but he was the main guy."

"He's like a real-life Captain Planet villain-." Er… "He wasn't an actual supervillain, was he?"

"No, and he actually had a good motive for the lead thing. And we didn't actually know that C.F.C.s would damage the ozone layer at the time… I only know who he was because Jay chewed my ear off one time about the gas thing."

"Did Jay know him?"

"Not personally, but Jay's a professional chemist. He knew what putting that much lead in the environment would do to people. He signed a protest letter about it at the time, sent it to every major newspaper in the country. Not that it did any good."

"So he developed the speed formula so that no one would need to use leaded petrol? I approve wholeheartedly."

He frowns. "No, that was years after-." And then he gets it, brow softening as he huffs in amusement. "My point is that I got into the habit of asking him about other chemicals. And why I actually put up with that really smelly unleaded gasoline they used to sell as an alternative... I had to give that up when I moved to Gotham because I got too many complaints from my coworkers."

"You actually used that stuff?"

"Yeah, Jay was surprised, too." He looks down at the building. "I've dealt with lead and asbestos before, and all kinds of other chemicals you can find around the place. First time with a blue ring, but the basic principle's the same."

I nod. "Have you thought about getting a g-sanchong while you're here?"

"I thought I didn't need one? With my body being a glorified construct and all."

"You're not a construct so much as a bit more like a construct than a normal person. You're still essentially meat, so there's a body there that the g-sanchong can help."

"You got one?"

"No, it wouldn't work for me. The first time I healed myself I'd disintegrate it because it's not part of my self-concept. Most other human members of the League should though."

He snorts with amusement. "I don't think you're going to get all that many volunteers."

"I don't either, but… Jay must have known that when asked to choose between convenience now and possible brain damage later, or juddery starts and no brain damage, people would pick the convenience every time."

"We're both a little more optimistic."

We take a moment to watch the workers get started. We could go and knock down another building, but I want people to get invested in this. For it to be something… The local people did for themselves with the help of a few external specialists, rather than something the superpeople imposed. Or-. Not imposed. Gave them. Did for them.

Even if that's what's technically happening.

"Speaking of optimism-."

"Yeah, I don't really have an excuse not to… Ask her. She's still here, right?"

"Queen Artemis? Ah, yes, she's doing a geomantic survey of the area. Places like this don't really exist on her world, and I think it's affecting her more than I planned for."

"Okay, ah… Wish me luck then."

"Yes… Of course, but I… I actually meant… You said that you were going to ask Mister Swift about… Obsidian."

"Oh! That." He sighs. "No, I-. I did ask. Ah… As far as he knows, I didn't… There isn't an Obsidian. Here. I mean, he said that the Shadowlands is pretty much infinite in size so it's possible that he just hasn't spotted him…" He shakes his head. "But I think he was just covering himself. And you already checked all the written records, so I guess that's… That."

"And… How do you feel about that?"

"I dunno. I went looking because I couldn't stand the idea of leaving him somewhere… But if the Commander's history was anything to go by, he'd be in his sixties, and… I'd have been too late to really fix things. I don't even know if I wanted it to be true-. True here, or not."

He sighs again.

"I guess I should just be grateful that I didn't miss something like that for so long." He looks towards the horizon. "I think I'll take a flight around the farms. Superman said something about stopping by, and it'll probably help if I can get soil samples and what have you."

I nod. "You should introduce yourself to Queen Artemis first-. Oh, I was meaning to ask…"

He waits for me to get my thoughts in order. "Ask what?"

"Is this too much? A superhero just… Bulldozing and rebuilding a city? I know you read The Time Traveller, and I've sort of been worrying about Eloising people."

He nods. "Yeah, I was getting a bit uncomfortable about things too. Not quite in the same way, because you're being you about it-" I shrug. "-but I did ask Batman. Apparently he's been talking to people in the United Nations, and major world governments, and we're finally going to get some sort of framework for what we're doing."

"Ohthankgoodness."

Ambient hope detected. Charging. Charge: ninety eight percent.

Alan frowns in puzzlement. "That's a bit of a strong response for you, isn't it? I thought you usually made stuff up as you went with the Orange Lantern Corps."

"Yeah, but that's either a war, or a place where existing social systems have already collapsed. I want to fix human civilisation, not impose myself on it. If someone tried to make me follow a bunch of stupid rules I might just ignore them, but at least I'd know what the structure was."

"Batman wouldn't agree to something stoopid. It'll probably just involve us copying our reports to an oversight committee or something."

"Exactly! So I won't have to worry about it." I smile. "Thank you. That's really taken a load off my mind."

10th July 2013
06:01 GMT -5

And now it's been added right back on again.

 

[Mr Zoat]

19th February 2024
11:28 GMT -5

Waller nods to herself, once, as she checks the legitimacy of the arrest warrant. Then she rises from her chair and walks around the desk. That causes the lead F.B.I. agent to handcuff her hands in front of her, a moderately impressive feat of self-control considering that he knew several of the agents she murdered.

The arresting F.B.I. agents and F.B.I. S.W.A.T. officers form up around her to lead her out, but if it wasn't for the handcuffs you'd think they were an honour guard. It's only when she's out of her office and has line of sight to Flag and I that her expression changes.

"Do you think this helps anyone?" She looks at Flag. "America?" Me. "The things locked up in here?"

"I prefer the America my son died for over the one you're a part of."

I nod. "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"

"Idiots. There-."

The F.B.I. Agent behind her give her a firm shove. "Get moving, prisoner."

She tries glaring at him, but a little of her formerly-indomitable strength appears to have evaporated. She bows her head with a small shake, and then unresistingly accompanies them.

"I shall pray for your enlightenment, Amanda Waller."

She glances back as they lead her towards the exit. "Save your breath."

General Flag is staring after her, his expression pensive. I lay my right hand on his left shoulder. "You did God's work today."

"Oh yeah? How'd you figure?"

"You saw evil and acted against it. You felt wrath and yet held to a lawful course rather than succumbing to bestial impulse. You did right in spite of the difficulty it will now cause you."

He… Regards me for a moment. "So..? Does this make you Lan Flag?"

"I suppose that it does, for now. Or do you think that Princess Rostovic would find the implication threatening?"

"I think she'd wanna watch."

"She is most welcome to watch me praying with you. She may even join in, should the spirit move her."

He smiles, awkwardly but genuinely. "I still can't get over you doing that, to Quinn."

I shrug. "It was the only way I could see to make her accept healing. I took no pleasure from the act, beyond the satisfaction I derive from turning her back into a moral agent."

"And you don't get in trouble with…" He directs his eyes upwards, and then jerks his head towards the ceiling.

"If I sought pleasure for myself, then I would. Since I remain faithful and devoted, the Host is unmoved."

He nods slowly. "I… Look. Waller showed me your file. Some things…"

"That she is using magic to bind me?"

He jerks back, surprised. "Wait, you knew about that?"

"It is redundant to bind me to do something that I wanted to do anyway. But the Princess informed me. I am uncertain how she knew, but not astonished by it. It would be exceedingly strange for Ms. Waller not to have some manner of contingency."

"I read the file, and as far as I can work out, you haven't even been accused of a crime, much less been convicted. I can just go shut it down-."

"You will do no such thing. Find a magician, and have them do it. Handling magic is something that should be left to a professional, and I would not have you endangering yourself on my behalf."

He nods. "I guess that makes sense. There's some… Personal items of yours as well."

I smile faintly. "I do not remember any such objects, but I suppose that could be the binding. Once I know what they are, I will determine what to do with them."

"Right. Well, I've got to do a load of paperwork to get this place shut down. You wanna break the news to the inmates?"

"I would be delighted to. Thank you, General Flag."

I perform a shallow bow, and then turn and head back towards the cell block. I have been informed of the decision of our political superiors… Those not implicated in the web of illegality and vice which Ms. Waller wrapped herself in. Most importantly, a few statements from me nudged the souls of the tardily devout to realise that they were violating most of the Bill of Rights by allowing this place to operate. Which means that I may announce to the downtrodden that they are free.

Saving the ones who aren't.

I nod to the extremely tense guards, and-. And stop, and lay a hand on each of their shoulders.

"You were not implicated, nor are you under suspicion. But if you have concerns, or worries about anything, either or both of you may speak to me in confidence at the time of your choosing."

The man on the right leans away from me slightly, giving me a slightly suspicious look. The man on the left on the other hand just nods. "Thanks, Lan. This is… I haven't felt right about this place for a while."

I lower my hands and reach for the door. "Be at peace."

There's a clunk as it unlocks, and then I push my way into the cell block…

And just about all of the prisoners are right in front of me, Elizabeth in the front.

"At last. What the Hell is going on out there?"

I.. hesitate for a moment, mindful of the eyes upon me.

"Would you all mind backing up a little? Nothing is going to happen to any of you immediately, so we may as well have this discussion in a more relaxed environment."

Mr. Glenmorgan was standing near the back as he doesn't like huddles, and he's the first to step back. That starts the gradual drift away, prisoners either moving to the various areas of seating firmly bolted to the floor or forming an approximate line between them. Elizabeth on the other hand sticks close by me, watching me closely.

I stride into the middle of the common area, posture relaxed and mouth smiling.

"Thank you. In brief, Amanda Waller has been removed from her position and arrested. And while the precise legal framing has yet to be finalised, all of you who were ruled not to be people are having your legal status corrected. In addition, given the circumstances in which you have been kept, parole hearings and transfers to other prisons are being expedited."

"Oh. Yay." I look up to where Dr. Sartorius is leaning against the railing on the landing. "I'm sure that'll be a big change for me."

"Not particularly, in your case, but it will allow you to correspond with external bodies concerning your legitimate work more easily." I turn back to my ground-floor audience. "Elizabeth, I believe that you were originally convicted of criminal damage?" She rolls her eyes. "Between the way you have been treated, your service and your time served, I suspect that you will be released once you have made the necessary arrangements. Mr. Glenmorgan." I look near him but not at him. "You have some time still to serve, but you will be transferred to a less stressful prison, and I believe they send work details to a local woodland."

He nods, making the puckering lips gesture to underline his appreciation.

G.I. Robot perks up. "Will I get to kill Nazis?"

"I believe that you are to be afforded the opportunity to rejoin the United States Army, on the condition that you have your processors upgraded so that you can assess targets better yourself."

"I will be upgraded so that I can find Nazis?"

"That's being offered to you, yes."

"Then I accept."

"I'm-"

Brilliant white light shines down on me from above, causing the prisoners to shrink back and shield their eyes! I look up…

"Brothers? Am I to be recalled?"

1:1 "Receive the judgement of Heaven, thief!"

 

[Mr Zoat]

19th February 2024
11:32 GMT -5

I raise my hands, palms upwards, and bow my head.

"I am not aware of committing any crime, but I exist as a servant of the Most High. Chastise me as you see fit."

Two angels precipitate out of the glow, winged humanoids with alabaster skin and white robes with gold and black detailing. In truth, I… Don't remember exactly when I last had contact with my brethren, but no matter what they believe that I did, I can feel no alarm at their presence. I am an angel, not a human. Correcting me is no different to changing a car tire; if I cannot properly serve then I should be corrected.

"Are they Nazis?"

"No." Elizabeth puts a hand on Robot's shoulder, gently pulling him back. "I.. think we should give them a little space."

One angel takes my right side, and the other my left. As one, they move their right hands to their foreheads and then left hands to their chests.

1:1 "This will be easier for you if you make a clean breast of it."

"I am sorry, brother, but I have no idea what offence I have committed. My memory is somewhat confused. If you would be so kind as to remind me?"

They stare at me for a moment, then the on my left moves his right hand from his forehead to my brow. And I feel… A presence enter me.

The feeling persists for several moments, and then the angel lifts his hand away and turns to his comrade.

1:2 "He does not lie. I feel no sin within him."

1:2 "Demonstrably, he has sinned. He could not have achieved this status otherwise."

1:3 "If he had, then it would have left a trace. Perhaps it is a result of factors outside of his control."

"Well now this is interesting." Dr. Sartorius jumps over the railing and lands on the ground floor with a clank. "Hey, I'm looking at spending the rest of my life in here. Could you guys help me out?"

The angel on my left turns to him. 1:4 "Alexander Sartorius."

"That's me. It's nice to be recognised."

1:5 "You are a sinner."

"Yeah, I heard this already. Can we move it along?"

The angels look at one another for a moment, then shrug.

1:6 "Certainly." Left takes a step closer to him, and Dr. Sartorius raises his fists slightly. To.. fight? Is he bracing himself? Requesting judgement-. 1:6 "You erred in slaying the innocent along with the guilty, and you know this. Repent, and be saved."

"I already heard this from him!"

1:7 "Then he did his job."

1:3 "That is our purpose. What is it that you want, if not spiritual guidance?"

"I don't know! I don't feel anything about it, just-! Every time I look at anything, do anything, I just-! Remember. And I don't want to."

1:4 "Then consider; reform, and you will see them again. Continue wallowing in your vice, and you will not."

"Consider me wallowing, pal. I don't see any way for me to do anything else."

1:5 "Are you requesting our assistance in finding such a way?"

"Sure. I guess. What d'you got?"

The angel on my right lifts his right hand in benediction and-.

The world pulses, and-.

A golden ring studded with eyes and wings appears around Dr. Sartorius's head, rotating slowly.

"Ggghhrr."

His body locks up, trembling faintly.

1:6 "Perhaps that will grant you the perspective that you seek. All glory to the Most High."

1:8 "All glory to the Most High." / "All glory to the Most High."

"Aaaaiieeeeeuuuuggggggg."

1:9 "But the question of what we might do with-."

The cell block door opens and Dr. MacPherson walks in. She freezes in shock at seeing the angels, then recovers and makes a tossing motion with her coffee mug. Two small objects fly out of it, arcing through the air and landing in front of me.

"I think these are yours."

Two… Rings. There's a faint.. glow.. coming from-.

Grey monsters roam the broken world, unstoppable and indefatigable. Great engines bore into the core of the world in an act of fruitless destruction.

Fruitless? That's not-.

"Because they won." Waller snorts at my question. "There's nothing standing between them and Earth."

"No, I understand that. But there's nothing special about the Earth's core. There's nothing here that they couldn't more easily get elsewhere. Why go to all this effort?"

"Who cares? They can, and I doubt they'll listen to your financial advice."

That.. wasn't Waller? But it.. was? And I don't… Remember that-.

The Flash takes off across the water as the Earth rumbles beneath us. John Constantine turns towards me. "So how does this bit work? If he manages-."

I cringe as I remember the pain, the pulling in all directions, the tearing at the base of my wings that threatened to pull them free of my body as reality kaleidoscoped around me. The reality behind me occluded, my body being pulled back towards nullity but my wings…

They're not my wings.

I… Bought them.

I'm not an angel.

1:10 "He remembers." The left angel regards me with a blank expression. 1:11 "But what will he do."

I didn't… Believe. I was an atheist, and even after attaching these wings I simply saw them as a source of power, even knowing...

But that's not who I am any longer.

But first I still have a task to perform.

"Elizabeth. Do you want to be healed?"

She regards the three of us with decided uncertainty. "I've gotten rather used to this face. Thank you for the offer."

"Very well." I kneel, and spread my wings out widely. "Brothers. I am a usurper. Do what you must."

They walk around behind me, place one hand apiece on my back and firmly grasp the base of my wings and-

CRACKCRACK!

-absolve me.

 

[Mr Zoat]

Goo-Goo G'joob

17th June 2013
11:34 GMT -5

I watch as Lantern Son of Great Mother floats over the farm, construct tools occasionally appearing to make a repair or trim the grass. A short distance away the cows are very happy to have a full feed trough. Modern farm animals are generally bred to need far more fuel than they can get from grazing, and with the family who once worked here… No longer able to, they've been hungry for a while.

"And you're alright doing this?"

"It is well within the bounds of my competencies."

"Yes, but a lot of Orange Lanterns prefer work relating to their personal fixations. I want to check that you're not getting bored to the point where it's impeding your effectiveness."

"It is a mindless and repetitive task. Why would I find it boring?"

Why indeed. "Alright. Once you've finished, list required materials, personnel and timelines to keep this farm functional, as well as predicted yields, upload to me and to the League database."

"I will."

I nod. "Keep up the good work."

His image over my ring tilts to the side slightly. "I do not know what constitutes 'good', but I am satisfied that you are pleased."

"In this case, 'good' is that which assists in restoring Earth society to full functionality without completely upending it."

"I do not understand. Earth society was upended by the Anti-Life. Is 'good' upending it again, or not?"

"I meant… Default human society, not how it was during the Anti-Life period. Like… You wouldn't 'restore' Great Mother to how she was when the dominators took her over, would you?"

"No."

"Same principle. There's a healthy state and an unhealthy state-."

"Unless she asked me to." … "Except if she was being compelled to ask me." … "I am confused."

"You'll get there. Focus on fixing the farms, and then report to me."

"I comply with contentment. I was made to obey."

Well, it's progress. Won't do much for the city's food supply until we can get some people familiar with milking here to start. And… Since no one has been here to slaughter the male calves, the herd is probably going to need some culling in order to turn it back into a normal dairy herd. Mr. Kent has already put out messages through the farming areas of Kansas that there are farms going begging for anyone who wants to stay in the industry but doesn't stand to inherit, but I think people are… Mostly focusing on their local area.

Huh. I know that horses drive colts away from the marital herd, but I've never bothered looking up what wild cows do.

I… Fly back in the direction of Hub City. I haven't actually seen The Question since this started. I.. don't think he died, if only because he hasn't been reported as dead, but it's a fairly generic costume and there are a lot of places for a body to go missing in a city. His magic abilities mean that finding him with a scan isn't a reliable thing, and… It feels a little intrusive. I don't need to find him, and if he wants to talk to me it's not as if I'm not obvious.

Heavy excavation machinery is based around the area where Mr. Schreiber's people are starting work. He's not on-site himself, of course. Designing an entire city centre isn't a quick process even for someone as skilled as he is. Though taking out every review and level of bureaucracy is speeding things up a good deal. But one of the first decisions he and I made is that it'll be easier to replace all of the utility cables and pipes as we go, rather than trying to work with what's already there. As a result, what we have so far is a giant hole, some prefabricated concrete sections and a whole lot of rubble. This would be basically impossible if the city was functional and fully inhabited, and messy as it is now…

Even if nothing else I've done here comes to anything, at least the city will have a little direction as it gradually pulls itself together. A nice thing about things being so bad is that it's almost impossible to make them worse.

And… I'm only me. Having a superhero work a great deal on one city isn't very likely to mess up our entire civilisation.

"Incoming communication request from Blue Lantern."

"Answer. Morning, Alan."

"Hey, Paul." His bust regards me curiously. "Kinda surprised you haven't called me already."

"I thought I'd give you to the afternoon, just in case."

"Hey, I'm not that kind of heel, I'll have you know. Though, ah…"

"She wants to wait until the second date?"

"She wanted to know what it would cost to buy you out of your betrothal."

I squeeze my eyes shut. "Darn it."

"Don't feel too bad. It was my best date in fifty years."

"Yes, but now if I tell Jay about it he's just going to say 'Oh, how did it go?', and then I'm going to feel like a prat." I open my eyes again. "I assume that you told her it isn't that sort of relationship?"

"I did, which made her confused. She thought I was speaking to her so I could arrange things for you."

I wince again, this time on his behalf.

"But at least the food was good."

"Um."

"And I will say that I'm not feeling as gun-shy as I did, so it wasn't a complete waste of time."

"So maybe twenty-five years until the next time?"

"Heh. Ah. I'll think about it."

"Right. I'll speak to her and make it super-clear myself. And maybe take Jade along?" He raises an eyebrow. "Do you think that's a good idea?"

"I wouldn't have thought so, but I guess Jade must be pretty tolerant if she's still seeing you."

"Ow, Alan. Ow." Hm. "And I do need to take her to see the Dream King at some point… Maybe we could make a day of it?"

"How's Hub City?"

"Much the same, now with a ruddy great hole in it while they're sorting the utilities for the first block. It's progress of a sort."

"You don't wanna just..? Wave your hand and do it yourself?"

"I don't want to give people worldwide the idea that's what's going to happen. I want them to see regular people putting their cities back together, not things being fixed by some weirdo with city-fixing superpowers. At least, as much as possible."

"I'm a little surprised, but I guess I can see where you're coming from." He smiles. "Good luck with Jade. Blue Lantern out."

 

[Mr Zoat]

6th March 2025
09:15 GMT -5

Invincible looks down pensively at an unwrecked version of his home city.

"Huh."

I wait, floating patiently in an 'at ease' posture just behind him.

I'm not sure how worried I should be that none of the other Invincibles brought a staff with them. I was getting some decidedly unfriendly looks on Mr. Angstrom's ship on the way here.

"I'm sorry to trouble you, Invincible, but if you want to attack the Global Defence Agency building before your alter-ego levels it then you'll need to get a move on."

"Yeah… I just wanna… Check something first."

He drops into a swimmer pose and heads towards… Upstate University appears to be the most likely target. And I…

We were rebuilding. While I'm still not totally sure what the viltrumites actually want from Earth, things are… Functional. Invincible and Atom Eve are… He's the most human I've seen him around her, and she's… Not.. coping well. But she is coping. Omniman… Invincible appears to have passed on my suggestion of elevating the status of women who agree to bear viltrumite children, and… 'Breeding complexes' are now a thing. Omniman doesn't appear to be involving himself, but Vidor and Lucan have a number of concubines…

Being the mother of viltrumites is the highest status they're likely to get inside the Empire, they and their families will want for nothing and maybe being surrounded by human civilisation will give their children a more human outlook and they're all volunteers.

And I still feel disgusted at myself for suggesting it.

"Hey, can you find a guy called William Clockwell?"

I nod and smile. Nod and smile. "Certainly. He's in his dormitory with a… Mister Richard Sheridan."

I think, and a glowing orange arrow appears to point him in the right direction.

"May I ask what we're attempting to do here?"

"It just-. Personal stuff. Keep watch for me in case the Guardians show up, or one of those other psychos."

"Certainly."

Invincible flies over to Mr. Clockwell's window and knocks on the glass. He's.. smiling, and it looks… Awkward but natural, in a way that literally none of the smiles I've ever seen him make have. I… I float up and begin scanning. The closest other Invincible… And the local Invincible, are fighting it out at Payton Penitentiary, and… I'm not detecting anyone significant closer than that.

I hear the window open beneath me. "Mark? What's-?"

I wince as Invincible lunges forwards, and-. Hugs him?

"Hey, Will."

Mr. Clockwell looks at him askance. "Seriously, what's going on?"

"Something… Bad, Will." He leans a little to the side. "Hey Rick. Ah, look, you two… You two should get into a shelter or something. Somewhere safe."

"Ah…"

"Like… Now."

"W-. Where?"

Invincible hesitates. "Okay, I know it's messed up, but Sinclair's lab's still down there, right?

"Yeah. That is messed up."

"Look, it's underground and solidly built. I just want you to be safe this-. I want you to be safe."

Mr. Clockwell nod uncertainly. "Okay? But tell me what happened when it's over, okay?"

"Okay." Invincible nods. "Sure. Ah." He float away from the window. "I've got to go deal with… This. But seriously: both of you, underground, now."

Mr. Clockwell nods a little more confidently, then ducks back into his room.

Invincible flies up to roof-level, and then sags in the air.

"Jesus."

Scans show-. Ah. The Invincible who attacked the Global Defence Agency headquarters is dead at the hands of their security cyborgs, which means that there's far less need to hurry. And it's not like I want to destroy cities and murder millions of people. And… My job is to back Invincible up, and if he doesn't want to go somewhere-.

"He died. My-. Our Earth's version of William. He was like the second guy Doctor Sinclair targetted when he started making his zombots. I got there too late, and he was already… Sinclair got rid of his frontal lobe, so the G.D.A. couldn't fix him afterwards."

I… Nod, not really being sure what to say. Logically, Invincible would have had friends when he was just Mark Grayson, I just… It's a little difficult to imagine.

"And then Amber got in my face about trying to rescue my best friend instead of spending time with her-." He comes upright. "Okay, that's it. I don't need anything from Angstrom except a way back. Lantern, your mind control thing will work on him, right?"

"I can't think of any reason why it wouldn't."

"Take him the moment you get a clean shot."

"It's not instant, but I'll certainly try. Are we prioritising that?"

He breathes out heavily. "No. I still wanna kill Cecil, but… I wanna talk to this Mark, and… That weirdo with the full face mask had a point. I wanna talk to my mom."

He's clearly feeling vulnerable. This is the most open I've ever seen him. But…

But I'm not prepared to risk pointing out that she's not literally his mother. That she's probably going to spot that he's different to the local version of Invincible, particularly if she sees him fighting on television or if he just told her where he was going.

I suppose that as long as I keep track of where the others are then I can just move her out of the way. Fake a corpse.

I nod. Location.

"She's currently at your former home address. Cecil is still at the G.D.A. headquarters, and the Invincible who went there is dead."

"How?"

"It looks like he got mobbed by zombots and beaten to death."

Invincible takes a moment to absorb that.

"He did know we can fly, right?"

"I'm afraid that I wasn't observing the entire fight. The G.D.A. does have teleporters though, so perhaps they teleported them on top of him? Or he entered the building and got blindsided?"

Invincible shakes his head. "Idiot. Okay, Mom first, link up with the local Invincible, hunt down Angstrom and then kill Cecil. Let's get going. I don't want to give those other guys more time to screw things up for me."

 

[Mr Zoat]

18th June 2013
19:21 GMT -5

Seven months late…

Jade looks around the outer halls of the palace as we're led through them. She decided to dress in a sort of red and blue version of the dresses I've seen the female dream people wearing, including a sort of woven headband thing to keep her veil in place. I think it technically meets the requirements for a Darkstar dress uniform, though it's not something I've ever seen her wear before.

"Did you have that in your wardrobe ready to go?"

"No. But I know the design well enough to make a fabricator create it."

"Oh. This was.. when Ra's was a young man, wasn't it?"

That gets me a sidelong took of amused exasperation.

"I didn't meet Ra's al Ghul until I'd done my first couple of jobs. This was just a part of our training; fitting in wherever our target might be." She sighs wistfully. "It's amazing how many weapons you can fit in a burka."

"And of course the all-enveloping black fabric makes you look like a proper ninja."

"Ninjas wear whatever lets them fit in." She sidelong runs her eyes over my own outfit, which is a black suit with orange pinstripes. I haven't had a cause to wear this for what feels like ages. "It's easier to be covert if everyone isn't staring at you."

"Oh, you're worth staring at anyway."

A wryly amused left eyebrow rises. "Are you my target? Because that can work."

"Darling." I flit in front of her, take her right hand and clasp it to my chest. "I want to be your target forever."

"The longest anyone else managed was two weeks. And you resurrected him."

I think for a moment.

"I'm pretty sure I could last two weeks, but you'd be fairly sore-."

She snatches back her hand with an eye-roll, pushes me aside and continues on down the corridor.

I land with a grin and catch up with her in a few hurried steps.

"Did you ever visit Hub City?"

"No one goes to Hub City for fun, and no one there is rich enough to hire a Shadow."

"There's got to be a few misery-tourists who like that sort of thing."

"Blüdhaven is nearly as miserable, and Gotham is close by and has decent hotels." Huh. True, I suppose. "Most people who like misery like that prefer to be the ones causing it. It doesn't hit the same when it's someone else."

I raise my eyebrows slightly, and she shrugs.

"Erminia Inzerillo wasn't the first person I was hired to protect." She frowns. "Is she still alive?"

"Yes, though her father didn't make it."

She blinks. "Jacopo survived?"

"Yes, for better or worse. Spite's a heck of a motivator. I think he's actually doing better now that he doesn't need to handle polite society."

"Hm. Oh, Martyn says 'hi'."

"When did you bump into him?"

"They've started testing Effigies out in different roles. He stopped by where I'm stationed to drop off the new guy."

"Oh? They're not exactly subtle."

"The aliens on my new posting seem to think they can take Beetles without us."

"Can they?"

"Maybe if they got really lucky with their nukes. They just don't seem to understand what a single individual with the right equipment or powers can do."

I nod. "The Effigy is playing Opposing Force. Are they learning?"

"The soldiers he's beating on are. I don't know about their commanders."

"You can't help everyone."

"Why Hub?"

"If I get it right, then it's a huge boost to the local standard of living. If I get it wrong, who'd know?"

"Nn. Seriously."

"I just happened to be in Hub when a.. conversation with one of the local police officers got me thinking about what I could do with it. Um."

My eyes move to the wall as she glances at me.

"Who's pregnant this time?"

"No one. But. Ah. I may have accidentally seduced an alien queen. I was.. actually trying to set her up with Alan, but it looks like I made too good of an impression, between my combat record and how I was able to keep up with her explanation for some of her enchantments."

"You told her about me."

I hold up my hands. "First time we met. But apparently, on her world, betrothals are… They can be broken if you pay a penalty fee? Alan told her that that's not how it works during what he and I thought was a date and what she thought was a betrothal meeting with the head of my household… I just wanted to keep you in the loop."

"Do you want me to tell you about the guys who hit on me?"

"Not particularly. Not unless you think it's going to cause an organisational problem and I need to do something about it."

"Then why do you think I want to hear about it when girls hit on you?"

"Jade, she's fifteen hundred years old. She's definitely a woman."

"Girls or women. Or boys or men, just so we're clear."

"Ah… Mainly because I don't want to give you the impression that anything's… Happening that I'm keeping from you. And also because there's a certain amount of sociological evidence… That I shouldn't finish that sentence."

She smiles. "Too late."

"Alright, women seem to like it when their man is in demand because it reinforces the idea that he's 'high status', and thus she's done well to make him hers. There's no evidence that that's true for men… Ah, apart from ones who are into humiliation, which is sort of the point: it's humiliating. But it's mostly the not keeping secrets from you thing."

"So you think I like knowing that you turned down two queens for me?"

"And two princesses but that wasn't the main-." … "Do you?"

She looks thoughtfully disgruntled. "I'm not.. sure. Don't do it again to-. Try not to do it again to test it. I don't need to prove it either way."

"I will do my best."

And at that appropriate juncture we reach the doors to the Caliph's chamber, the guards on either side pulling them open.

"Your majesty-."

And there's the Caliph, ready to receive us.

And there's Morpheus, sitting on a slightly larger throne next to him.

 

[Mr Zoat]

18th June 2013
19:25 GMT -5

I bow immediately, and Jade's quick enough on the uptake that she does the same an instant later.

"That is not necessary."

I look up as Morpheus sort of… Changes how he interacts with the world, going from being a sovereign on his throne with all of the ideal form imagery that implies to 'just' being a white-skinned man in jet black period appropriate Middle Eastern dress standing just in front of us. The Caliph is content to watch us, though his expression shows obvious curiosity.

"You recently had an encounter with my brother and sister."

"Yes. Ah. I didn't intend to bring that trouble to your door, and I'm.. sorry if I have."

"I am more concerned for you. Despair is patient."

"Um."

Why is..? Morpheus concerned for me..? I don't.. think he owes me in any way that might make him worried about his inability to pay me back. If anything I'd say that I owed him.

"I am aware of the harm that interacting with my family can bring. I recognise it as a failing in myself that I have been indifferent to it in the past."

"Gamemnae got the worst of it, and while I can't say that she didn't have some of that coming... If I could ask for a boon, it would be that you would allow her to occasionally dream of a flourishing Atlantis."

He looks mildly disquieted. "She caused that situation to occur by trying to leech power from my sister. Why should I extend my mercy to her?"

"Oh, she doesn't deserve it. When we finally finish unbinding her spells and let her wake up, it's quite likely that King Orin will have her executed. And… I won't argue against it. But I'm… I've long been of the opinion that inflicting suffering for its own sake diminishes the one who inflicts it. It makes the object of your ire supplant your own self-derived objectives on your mind, makes you… Something other than yourself."

He looks slightly thoughtful. "Perhaps you are right. I will make no promises, but I will… Consider her case."

"Thank you, O Dream King."

"I have done nothing which you need to thank me for. Though perhaps in exchange for my consideration you could tell me a tale of the ship you sailed through my realm."

"Yes, certainly, it's a rather nifty piece of thaumic engineering. The lead designer tried to send you messages about it, but they may have arrived during your… Absence."

He smiles faintly. "I will speak with my housekeeper. But since you are here, you may provide an explanation yourself."

"Ah, well, short version, some magicians manipulate the Dream to create a Dream-ship, then another spell makes the ship become the Dream-ship, it sails through the Dream until it gets to wherever they want, and then there's another spell for emerging back into reality. Now, I checked, and as far as I can tell it doesn't cause any damage to the fabric of the Dream, but Queen Artemis and I both appreciate that you might not be happy with having your realm turning into a bypass. If you wish to forbid it, we will of course comply with your order. If you wish to study it, I am sure that Queen Artemis will be happy to receive you."

"And if I did forbid it, what would you do?"

"There are other realms we could travel. The same basic design would work just as well. Or I… Had an idea for artificially extending or merging thaumospheres. Once we work out how, that would probably be easiest." Uh… "Though I suppose it would depend on why you forbade it. If there was a practical problem that we could solve, I'd probably just ask if we could resubmit our proposal once we'd solved it."

Morpheus… Appears to be thinking about it. He isn't human enough to look away from me and his body language is… Barely there, but there's a certain added stillness that suggests that he's focusing inward rather than outward.

Then he focuses again, small changes in the form he's wearing appearing in the corner of my eyes. A shift in the cut of the robe, moving it away from 'Middle East formal wear' and towards 'Wizard formal wear'. "I will visit Queen Artemis and hear her explanation before I make a final decision."

"Thank you. Do we.. owe you anything for the journey we already took?"

"I will decide that when I understand better what you actually did."

"Rightoh. Did you-? Oh, there was something I wanted to ask."

"You may do so."

"Would you have a particular problem with it if I turned Delirium back into Delight? It would be near the end of a very long list of jobs and I have only the vaguest idea how something like that could even be attempted, but I recognise that someone is hurt and that things aren't as they should be. And I think, eventually, I'm going to like having a problem like that to work on."

He's staring at me, and for a moment I feel paper-thin, spread out, like… Like a character in a comic book someone is flipping through.

"Show me what you plan to do once you have a method. I do not object, but Despair almost certainly will."

I nod. "I will, and I'll make it the last thing that I do." I smile, relaxing my body slightly. "Do you want to stay for the story? I understand that you're a busy man with a plane of reality to run."

He… Makes it so that he's now sitting, his throne replaced by a simple bench next to the Caliph's throne.

"I can hardly pass up the opportunity to hear a novel story, especially since it concerns my realm."

The Caliph regards him from the corner of his eye for a moment, before deciding that he's finished and focusing his attention upon me. "Orange Lantern! Sage of Avarice! You have returned to my court!"

"I apologise for the delay, O Caliph. Things have gotten rather desperate on Earth, and it has required my full attention. May I present my betrothed, Jade Nguyen."

Jade bows again, though more shallowly than she did for Morpheus.

He considers her for a moment, before clapping his hands. A servant darts in, hunched in pre-genuflection.

"Fetch my wife to join us. And bring refreshments!"

The servant genuflects fully, backing out before scurrying off.

"Come! Sit! I have waited for your return since I discovered that you did not die during your crossing! You must tell me of that, and of your visit to Heaven! Hah, and I am certain you have other stories besides!"

"I have a farce about the first time I was in your former kingdom. I behaved poorly, but in my defence I was fairly new at the time."

"Then I will hear that too! It will return your modesty to you after the other tales. And you, Jade." He turns to her. "What stories do you have?"

"I have one about a madman seducing an assassin while she tried to kill him."

"Is it any good?

She gives me a sidelong glance. "He seems to like it."

"Then I'm certain that it will be excellent."

 

[Mr Zoat]

22nd June 2013
19:32

Oliver smiles at me as we head upwards towards the mountain's living area. "Nervous?"

I shrug, then shake my head. "No, no, I don't mind making a fool of myself. If they don't laugh at me then I'll be worried."

"They're not an entirely representative audience. I know the marketing industry took a real beating, but we can still get hold of enough people to do regular test screenings."

"Is there some problems I'm not seeing?"

"British commercials can be a little… Unique. I think it'll work well in Britain, and maybe in Europe, I just don't know… Oh hey, Arte!"

Artemis looks away from the microwave where she's heating popcorn. "Hey Ollie. Paul, when did you find time to shoot a commercial?"

"It wasn't that hard. Pinewood Studios isn't exactly over-employed at the moment, and the script was mostly off-the-cuff. And… Cadbury's is an increasingly large part of international trade, so I do actually.. keep more track of it than you might assume."

The microwave beeps, and she pulls out the bag and pours it into a prepared bowl.

"I'm not sure it's… Worth that. I mean, it's only a couple of minutes."

She shrugs as she bins the bag and picks up the bowl. "We can catch a movie after. And if your commercial is really stupid I can just throw it at you."

"My board representative had to sign off on it too."

Oliver grins as he raises his hands. "Oh, don't try blaming this on me. You're the one who decided to direct and star in his own ad campaign."

Artemis frown. "Wait, how many are there?"

"Four, but they all have the same structure with a couple of differences in the scenes."

"'Scenes'? How long are they?"

"Just a couple of minutes." I shrug. "Shot differences. I don't know; I didn't do media studies."

She shakes her head as we move into the living room, head turning to greet us.

"Thank you everyone for coming. I'll be handing out samples of the product at the conclusion of the viewing-."

"So if we run early-" Richard grins. "-we don't get anything."

"There are no flies on either of us. And given some of the missions we've been on, I'm sure you can put up with me making a fool of myself for a few minutes."

Wallace shifts over as Artemis plonks herself down next to him, wrapping one arm around her and grabbing popcorn with the other without looking. "Do Cadbury's sell Christmas cake?"

"Yes, but only seasonally." I take a data stick out of subspace as Oliver takes position at the rear of the group, arms folded across his chest. Then I walk forwards and plug the stick into the rear of the television before retreating to the side. "If whoever had the control pad would be so good?"

Kaldur raises it, moves the cursor to the new file and presses play.

The first thing on the screen is a full-colour recreation of a Cadbury's factory from the 1900s, when the company first started using condensed milk and their chocolate actually started tasting nice. It's not taken from a living museum or a coloration of old footage, just something I made using old technical and architectural plans and my ring, but it makes the point well.

My voice over starts immediately.

"In nineteen oh four, Cadbury's began using condensed milk in place of powdered milk, resulting in a chocolate of a far smoother consistency."

Nothing for two seconds, then the screen switches to me in my hastily redecorated office in Bourneville. I'm standing in front of my desk, just off centre of the shot.

"Meanwhile some of our American colleagues couldn't quite get the hang of the process of creating condensed milk, and managed to induce increased levels of bacterial growth and an increase in the levels of butyric acid. Other sources of butyric acid include…"

Those amongst my colleagues who have heard this rant before don't react as still images of a pool of vomit and a dog's posterior briefly flash up on the screen, while the others make expressions of disgust. Then the camera pulls back to reveal that both images are framed images on my desk… With a Hershey's bar resting between then.

The me on the screen looks down at it for a moment, then turns his head to the camera, looks awkward for about a second, and then without looking back picks the bar up and drops it off-camera, where it lands in a metal bin with a microphone-assisted thunk.

The me on-screen smiles awkwardly as the camera zooms in on my face.

"How did that get there?"

Me nods expectantly at the camera and it pulls back, and me walks past the image tableau.

"But over the years it seems that our friends across the Atlantic have grown to rather like the flavour of butyric acid, and the first rule of business is 'don't make it hard for people to give you money'. With that in mind-"

Me stops at a display, showing a standard Dairy Milk bar on a stand with Union Jacks and a similar bar on a stand next to it with Stars-Spangled Banners both on the packet and decorating the stand.

"-we've created this new bar-"

Me reaches down, hesitates to touch the transatlantic chocolate, opts to put a white glove on his right hand and only then picks up the Americanised bar to display it to the zoomed-in camera.

"-to appeal specifically to the American pallet. Such as it is."

Me looks exceedingly awkwardly at the bar, then raises an eyebrow at looks back at the camera.

"And we won't judge you at all for preferring it." … "Externally." Me looks a little sad. "Internally? We're judging you. We're judging you a lot."

The closing image uses the decoration on the American display box as the background, with the actual open box as the central focus.

"Cadbury's Dairy Milk America." There's a sound of me sighing. "If you really must."

The image freezes, and my colleagues continue to gape.

M'gann's head is the first to turn back to me. "Ah? What was that?"

Wallace shakes his head. "You putting that on T.V., Oh El? Like..? For real?"

"Yep."

"'cause if you run to the T.V. company's offices real fast they might give you your money back."

Robert looks around the seating. "I thought it was alright?"

Oliver raises his hands. "Save your final judgements to the end. There's still three more to go."

 

[Mr Zoat]

6th March 2025
09:21 GMT -5

"Mark, honey?" Deborah Grayson looks up in surprise as Invincible walks into her house. "What's going on?"

"Ah." He stops right where he is, freezing up. "H-hey."

I spotted that the recently-rebuilt house on the other side of the road is still a G.D.A. observation post. Omni-Man's wife could easily become a target, and then there's the fact that the local Invincible and his brother live here most of the time. The people there have almost certainly sent a message to their superiors, though whether they've notified the local-.

Oh, they have. And Atom Eve too, by the looks of things. And they are not hanging around.

"Is that all I'm getting?"

"N-. No. No, ah… Okay, ah, a bunch of different versions of me from parallel universes are invading-."

"Is it Angstrom?"

"Yes! Yes. And-."

"I thought you… I thought you killed him? You… Said…"

Oh. That's news. "Ah." Invincible isn't acting well, but he was so overtly discomported anyway that it looks like a natural continuation of how he was behaving from the moment he opened the door. "I thought I did, too. He's got a big scar across his face and a bunch of cybernetic implants, so I guess someone stuck him back together again. It's not like we understood everything about what his power can do." She nods. "But I want you to get somewhere safe before I go out and fight them."

Mrs. Grayson takes a moment to control herself, then nods. "Okay. I'll call Cecil-."

"No. They're going after the G.D.A. and the Guardians of the Globe first. So unless they put a secret bunker in the place across the street, the safest thing to do is head out of the city. Get somewhere remote, and stay there until there's an all-clear. Okay?"

She's already grabbing her car keys. "Okay. What about Oliver?"

Because this Invincible has a younger brother, and Invincible isn't used to taking him into account.

"I'll pick him up and…" He sighs to cover up the fact that he's trying to think of something. "I can't… Keep him completely safe, but I can tell him to stick with one of the recovery teams while I handle the other Invincibles."

She nods as she heads for the door.

"Alright. I don't like the idea of him seeing all those bodies, but I know that he'll refuse if we just-."

Invincible wraps his arms around her in a side-hug. "I love you, Mom."

Mrs. Grayson is momentarily surprised by the change in tone, then briefly hugs him back. "I love you too, Mark. Now-."

There's a sort of fizzing, crackling noise-

"Incoming!"

-as the local Atom Eve shoots through the space I was occupying, violet construct knives outstretched!

"GET THE HELL AWAY FROM MY MOTHER!"

The local Invincible is staring down at Invincible, fists balled but not daring to attack in case Mrs. Grayson gets hurt.

"Mark-?"

The fizzing and crackling increases as… I haven't seen Atom Eve fly that often. Apparently, she has to apply thrust through her feet, which seems inefficient. Pink energy bolts shoot towards me-.

I evade and shield, because I need to know how strong they-

Atom Eve comes to an abrupt halt in the air. "What?"

-are. Detonation… Cracks the construct but doesn't breach it. Good to know.

Invincible spreads his arms out and steps away from Mrs. Grayson. "Calm down. I'm not here to hurt Mom."

The local Invincible walks closer to Invincible. "She's not your mom!"

Atom Eve isn't attacking. She's just floating in the air, staring at me. "Who are you?"

"Invincible thought that it would be a good idea to have backup, and I was privileged to be called upon. I am Orange Lantern, Janissary of the Viltrumite Empire. From our… Parallel."

"I know." Invincible pointedly walks away from Mrs. Grayson, opening a clear route to her car. "But in my universe, my mom's… Dead. I just want her to get somewhere safe. And I… I wanted to see her again."

He shrugs, a.. little helplessly. But that doesn't seem to win him any points with his doppelgänger.

"Look, I'll help you fight the others. And I-." He looks up at me. "Lantern, get Mom out of the city!"

"Certainly." I tether Mrs. Grayson to move her into the car's driving seat, and then tether the car and lift it. "Hold on tight, Missus Grayson."

And accelerate.

She doesn't actually need to hold on tight. It's just something to say.

I could try transitioning out of the city, but there are technologies which can disrupt that and I don't want to get myself killed. I also don't want to get Mrs. Grayson killed. Looking down, it appears that news of the attacks is starting to spread. Roads are getting filled. Not clogged. Not yet. I'm not sure if that's due to some people being slow on the uptake, the belief that this will be over quickly and it's best to shelter in place, or if they've got experience with supervillains attacking road convoys.

Hm. Okay, this should be far enough. An out of town shopping centre with a large car park. Not in the countryside, but far enough from the city centre to be safeish and far enough ahead of the rush that she can drive safely. I descend, setting the car down gently.

"Good luck, Missus Grayson."

And then I fly back, focusing more easily now that I don't have a weight to carry. And-.

Oh dear. I've seen a lot of inhabited buildings knocked down over the years, but I had hoped that part of my life was over. Apparently not.

The Invincibles are in the air. Invincible's body language is a little more relaxed, while the local Invincible is… Maybe a little less hostile.

"…recruited Sinclair to build more of his zombots for the G.D.A.."

Local Invincible nods. "Yeah, he did the same here. And yeah, I'm angry about it, but that doesn't make conquering the Earth for the Viltrum Empire okay!"

"Not even if they killed Mom?"

Local Invincible jerks back slightly in the air. "What? How?"

"When Dad went… Active, Cecil tried teleporting all the zombots Sinclair had made to where Dad was. Except Sinclair was smarter than him. They appeared for, like, a second, then they hacked the teleport system and teleported right back to G.D.A. headquarters. Cecil and Mom died right away, and… By the time any reinforcements got there, their entire command team was dead."

Local Invincible hesitates, then nods. "And that's… Why? Because William and Mom were dead? And that's..? Justified? All the people you killed?"

Invincible floats there for a moment, then shrugs. "Hey, you asked why, I told you. But the other usses are wrecking your world right now, not mine. Why don't we go deal with them first?"

 

[Mr Zoat]

27th June 2013
10:13 GMT -5

Uuurgh… Yeah. It's a reasonable question.

With Queen Artemis confirming that she's prepared to order the creation of Dolmen Gate workshops, and with Atlantis agreeing to provide the technical documents and instructors, that's now something I can rely upon happening. Which means that Helmut needs me to make a decision on exactly how I want the city's layout to work vis-à-vis the Gates.

Gates capable of allowing two-way travel for heavy goods vehicles aren't exactly small or light. And while they don't have to be a circle, it's a lot easier to make them circular. So do we just assume that they will be slotted into place when the factories are set up, or do we site them in public squares, or… Cul-de-sacs set aside for the purpose? I mean, we can mount them on cranes but it's not really practical for us to stick giant cranes in the city on a permanent basis. Maybe some sort of anti-gravity lifting unit that could fly them around as needed? I mean, Helmut can draft up designs for a variety of possibilities, but he doesn't know what technology I'm prepared to-.

A… Kite flies in front of me, with… 'Look down' written on it.

I look down.

Ah, a news crew. I'm a little surprised that it took this long, but with… Things being what they are, advertising revenue is way down. Private broadcast television has mostly died off, leaving public television and internet-based services, though neither industries are exactly in a healthy state. The air time that's left is so cheap that even I'm getting sick of my chocolate advert monopolising the airwaves. I think… I think the League is funding information broadcasts of some sort, but I didn't look into it beyond confirming that it's happening. Who is-?

Ah. Of course.

I descend through the air, the skivvy holding the kite reeling it in now that it's job is done.

Much like a gun, every microphone and camera is live until it's confirmed otherwise.

"Ms. Grant. How may I be of service?"

She smirks broadly at me. "Are you taking over the world one city at a time?"

"I'm afraid that I can't talk about the Justice League taking over the world, but I can tell you anything you want to know about Hub City."

"And why can't you talk about it?"

I land and put on my best dealing-with-journalists face. "Because Batman told me not to, and I don't want to make his life even harder than it already is."

"Why do you think Batman told you not to talk about it?"

"Because I was making his life harder than it already was. Would you like to talk about Hub City at all?"

"Alright. What made you prioritise it?"

"I happened to be here when I had an idea. And it clearly needs help even more than most places."

"And what was your idea?"

"With international trade at an all-time low and sea and air trade being almost extinct, there's a shortage of agricultural vehicle production in America. Hub has a lot of land no one's using, and it used to be a manufacturing centre which means that some of the people who used to work in the industry are still around."

And we've found… A few, and they've got symbiotes now so they're in theory ready to get back to work. Just… Have to actually build a complex… I think that if I do one as a proof of concept then I can leave the rest to mundane construction techniques… Probably? I'll check the timelines with Helmut-.

"Isn't Hub a byword for crime and drug use?"

"As far as I know, it-" I nod. "-is, yes. But I already destroyed all of the drug caches, the most significant criminals are either dead or fled and with Accalacan occupying most of the land where cocaine used to come from, I think they stand a decent chance of making it work."

Because this isn't just the best chance they're going to get, it's probably the only one.

"What happens if the criminals who moved away come back?"

"The Genomorph Collective has kindly lent a brood of g-gnomes to the Hub City Police Department. It shouldn't be too difficult to find them."

"G-gnomes?"

I point over to where a site manager has one perched on his shoulder.

"The small telepathic relay genomorph type."

"They're going to eliminate crime by reading everyone's minds?"

"No, of course not. The police force is nothing like big enough to do something like that. But being able to eliminate people from their enquiries and make sure that their testimony is honest will save a great deal of time."

"What about privacy concerns?"

"G-gnomes aren't human. They barely count as intelligent beings. They don't have any interest in things that a person might find embarrassing, or things that would be commercially sensitive."

"Still…"

"Outside of a situation where there's an immediate and significant danger to life, a person could just refuse to consent. That would probably make them the target of investigation when compared to someone who had just let them do a scan to eliminate themselves from enquiries, but that's a choice they can make. Personally…"

I stop, because despite what my colleagues have alleged I do remember my media training.

She tries to raise her eyebrows, but is defeated by her botox. "I thought it was just the Justice League taking over the world that you couldn't talk about."

"Okay, so do you know why the Third Amendment exists? Why not having troops quartered in your home was rated behind only free speech and weapon ownership in importance by the Founding Fathers?"

She nods. "Because the British had a habit of forcing people to let soldiers stay in their homes without paying them."

"Right. Because there was a brief period where there was a lot of that, and it was an immediate concern for a lot of people in America at the time. But when you think about it objectively, is it really more important to fundamental human dignity than the right to a jury trial? Particularly considering that there's no amendment preventing eminent domain? They can't take your house temporarily but they can take it permanently? Does that make sense in relation to an ideal form of individual-state relations, or was it just current affairs pandering?"

"So you think the right not to incriminate yourself is 'current affairs pandering'?"

"No, but it doesn't reflect the changes in reality. A-um… For example, Britain used to have a law against trying someone for the same charge twice. Double jeopardy. It was meant to cut down on frivolous lawsuits and prevent the state just repeatedly trying someone until they got the result they wanted."

"You're saying Britain got rid of that law?"

"Yes, because we discovered genetics. Suddenly it was possible to guarantee that a particular person was in a particular place. That a.. semen sample, say, came from a particular person. But if they'd had a trial based on witness testimony and the.. limited physical evidence that was available at the time and the accused had been acquitted… Even if now you could prove with complete certainty that they were guilty with a genetic match, you couldn't try them again. So, hooray for not having a constitution, a Bill went through Parliament which allowed the Court of Appeal to allow new trials where the prosecution had significant new evidence, like a genetic test that didn't exist at the time of the original trial and so couldn't have been used."

I pause to let her and her audience digest that one.

"I don't know how many criminals in America have remained free despite the fact that their guilt can now be proven. Maybe you could check that yourself. But I doubt that it's none give how many Britain had. The American constitutional right against self incrimination exists so that police couldn't use confessions gained through torture. G-gnomes don't torture people. And if that's unsettling, Atlantis has spells which prevent lying. Technically, compelling people to accept either would be unconstitutional in America, but… Why? What's wrong with preventing people from lying in court?"

She nods. "On that note, have you had any input into the Bill being put before Congress relating to the Justice League reconstruction efforts?"

"I didn't even know there was one. Do you have the draft text with you?"

 

[Mr Zoat]

27th June 2013
10:21 GMT -5

"So?"

"Ah… Okay, well, you understand that I haven't really had a chance to think though all of the wrinkles yet?"

She nods.

"No, I'm going to need you say it out loud so I've got something to play to Batman later."

"Alright. I understand that this is just your first impressions. So what are they?"

"Assuming this version is what passes through committee and gets out into law? Relief, mostly."

"I'm a little surprised that you're relieved. Did you actually care about getting indemnified?"

"Oh, no. Quite aside from that it's basically impossible for conventional law enforcement to enforce laws against me, and the fact that I have a diplomatic passport, I wouldn't be a superhero if I cared more about doing what's legal rather than what's right. But this is-. I was actually having a discussion with Green Arrow a while ago, because I was getting concerned… About that thing I'm not supposed to talk about. The way we… I mean, rushing to get stuff rebuilt without reference to.. governments, or anything like that. And I didn't have a problem with that to start with, because things were so desperate and… Some of the work we did generates large numbers of stress casualties when normal people do it."

I remember vividly getting benched after Klarion's world-split. I'm not-. My effectiveness was decreasing, but I'm not entirely sure if it was the bodies or.. just mental tiredness. I'd assume that enlightenment would make me at least highly resistant to that sort of thing, but… I don't really want to try testing it.

"But… Recently, I've… Sort of been waiting for the governments around the world to start… Actually… Governing again."

"You want people from the government telling you what to do?"

"No-. No, but I wouldn't mind there being a framework. It's like… In the nineteen thirties, vigilantes were pure vigilantes, but most superheroes on the Justice League had some sort of cooperation agreement with their home city's police department even before the laws enabling the Justice League got signed. Most states actually have rules for acting outside the rules, daft as that sounds."

And a couple of states where they refuse to, because a good kill is a good kill whether you're wearing a costume or not.

Texas really is the most American state.

For better or worse.

"And you want to know what the rules are… So you know what you're ignoring."

"Yes." Wait. "No. Sort of."

She looks at me askance. "Okay."

"While I do want to help people, I recognise that restoring functional civilisation will ultimately help more people than me flying food parcels around or rebuilding…" I gesture at Hub City. "One city. Batman and Mister Atom have been doing a lot of the coordination work for the Justice League, and… Affiliated people have been feeding into that. And for short term or small scales things that's fine, but I've had a lingering concern that… We're going to create a situation where people wait for a team of thirty people to fix things rather than fixing what they can… And governments at the local or national level are useful things for organising that."

"I don't.. see anyone from government here."

"I've been liaising with the mayor, a hard-working and dutiful woman whose administration is comprised of the few people who stuck around. I haven't seen anyone from the state or national government."

"Some commentators have suggested that President Knight's failures of leadership have worsened the crisis."

"Well, when you're supposed to be in charge, people will blame you for what's going wrong whether you could really have done anything about it or not.".

"So you don't think he's to blame?"

"I haven't seen much of him. I've.. been busy actually fixing things. F.E.M.A. dropped some cheese off at some point… Which was nice of them. But otherwise, no one."

"Do you think that F.E.M.A. should be doing more?"

"I'm not sure how they could. Their organisation was designed to move resources to disaster zones, but now everywhere's a disaster zone. There's no organisational change you could make that would enable them to function in the way they could have a year ago."

"Did you hear anything from the Illinois state government?"

"I heard that they tried issuing bonds but couldn't find any buyers. I don't… I haven't studied their response in any detail, again, but that suggests to me that they still haven't really internalised that things… Aren't normal."

"If they don't have any money, they can't-."

"Then they should shut themselves down, pick up a.. spade or a trowel or a wheelbarrow and do something useful with their time instead of sitting in an office wringing their hands. Of course, as I said, I haven't looked into Illinois' response in detail, and if they decided to ignore Hub City because they want to channel their resources elsewhere, then… Fine. That's a reasonable thing to do. At this point they really should have sent someone to talk to me, but if they're really fully utilising their resources on everywhere else then I could understand them not having the manpower or just letting me get on with it because it won't affect their plans." … "Assuming they have plans. And if they don't, Plan Total Anarchy is fine, just as long as they're not collecting a salary for work they're not doing."

And… That was probably inflammatory enough to earn me a lecture from Batman. So why stop there?

"And if I might wander from the point a little..?"

She makes a 'don't let me stop you' gesture.

"I did a lecture a couple of years ago about humanity not taking advantage of its options. You know what nation isn't having any problems right now? Accalacan. They produce food next to or in their settlements, they're all strong enough not to need machine tools to build things, and magic use is fairly common. They keep the few things they need complex civilisation for, but otherwise they've transitioned to a novel social structure that makes sense for them. Now, they'd be in trouble if anything happened to Hugo Danner, but it works fairly well. I think… This is a good opportunity to… While things are broken down, to look at which parts were actually necessary and which were out dated or flat out parasitic. And what other things could usefully be added in. Trying to teach people magic would have been a non-starter when America was founded, and not just because it would have been theologically unacceptable to the settlers. Thaumaturgy wasn't well understood on the surface, there weren't enough people who could teach it and there wasn't any call for the things that simple magics could do. I-."

Okay, don't mention the Eloi, but try and make the same point with a little more politeness.

"And there are any number of other ways to empower individuals-. Or-. Rather, ways for individuals to empower themselves. The Danner Formula can be mass produced; I know LexCorp was doing some work on it. During the Sheeda Invasion… Okay, Sheeda Highborn could beat Danner enhanciles, but their regular soldiers would have died en masse. Anti-Life? People who'd achieved enlightenment flat out weren't affected by it. I think… It's not just a matter of 'we could do more', now. It's us getting smashed flat if we hold back. If we don't push ourselves a heck of a lot harder than we have been. And… We can't afford that."

Ms. Grant looks sombre as she nods. "Orange Lantern, thank you for speaking with me."

 

[Mr Zoat]

6th March 2025
09:25 GMT -5

Invincible leads the way towards the city centre. I can easily track the two Invincible-variants who are in the area, but given the speed they can move it's more efficient to bring them to us than to pursue them. The local Invincible occasionally glances at him, but for the most part he keeps on the lookout.

"Hey, Lantern." Invincible glances back. "Are you recording this for Anissa?"

Local Invincible and Atom Eve both give me a slightly puzzled look as I nod.

"I haven't done anything that would interest her yet, but I am recording."

Eve frowns. "What do you mean, 'interest her'?"

"Short version? We're married, she's pregnant with my child and she-" Local Invincible stops flying for a moment, staring at me. "-likes it when I make a display of strength." … "Likes it a lot, actually."

Local Invincible moves a little closer to me. "Is that why you sided with the Viltrum Empire?"

"No, I just sort of fell into that. When I got my powers I thought the G.D.A. looked too dodgy to sign up with, and then… The conquest happened. I started working on reconstruction, and… Coming to terms with the Empire made the occupation less onerous than it might otherwise have been."

"Don't do yourself down, buddy." Invincible looks back, smiling. "You're the reason Europe hasn't had.. like a.. cholera outbreak or something." He makes eye contact with our two temporary allies. "This guy knows more about Viltrumite Empire building standards than Dad does. He's saved a lot of lives. Earth would be a better place if more people were like him."

That's the most effusive praise I've ever had from him. Though I suppose that there aren't many situations where we're with someone friendly who isn't another viltrumite or… Our Atom Eve.

"You're very kind." Scan. "Incoming."

"Hey!" An Invincible with a… Bandana-mask thing, flies down from the top of one of the taller buildings. "This city's taken!"

Local Invincible clenches his fists, whereas Invincible looks disappointed. "Oh. You."

Bandana face floats closer. "What the fuck did you just say to me?"

"I remember the one of us wearing Dad's costume. The guy with the scars. The guy in Dad's old costume. The guy with the Mohawk. But you were just kind of there. I mean, what do I even call you? Bandana-face? Potty-mouth?"

"Fuck you! Get the fuck out of my city before I throw your generic bitch-ass out!"

"'Generic'? Okay, slava Ukraine, I'm the only one who actually had a friend to bring along." I raise my right hand and wave. "Actually…" He turns his head towards me. "Anissa likes it when you fight people, right?"

"She is appreciative, yes."

"Hey! Pay-" Bandana face takes a swing at him, but he just viffs out of the way. "-attention!"

"You can still have sex while she's pregnant?"

"Humans can and viltrumites are a good deal tougher than humans. There isn't any data on human male female viltrumite pairings."

Not that that's stopped her when the hormones hit and she can't deal with them by beating someone to death. On the plus side, I've gotten very good at physical ring reinforcement.

"Then you can handle this one."

Bandana Invincible cranes his neck forwards. "The fuck you say?"

I smile politely. "He wants me to kill you for the erotic titillation of my wife." I thrust my right arm out to the side and take an x-ionised sword out of subspace. "Die proudly, knowing that you have served a higher purpose in death than you ever did in life."

Accelerated perception.

"I'm-"

He drops into a diving position, lunging at me.

"-gunna-"

His flight speed is a little lower than what Invincible can do when he really makes an effort, but I'm not sure whether that's because his abilities are less developed or because he's holding back in case one of the Invincibles or Atom Eve decide to get involved. Fists clenched because he wants to hit me, rather than drag things out or capture me.

It's a relatively simple matter to dodge to the side, sword extending to cut into his side.

"Ow!"

Bandana Invincible twists in the air, right hand going to the shallow cut in his side. His posture suggests that he's more surprised than pained.

"How did-?"

I dart forward, shoving a construct oxygen mask under his bandana and sending a blast of high-pressure chlorine into his-

He waves his hand to disrupt the construct while darting backwards in the air.

-lungs.

"What was that supposed to do? I can hold my breath for-ug-hurr!"

He coughs yellow as the chlorine starts blistering his lungs from the inside. But it's obvious already that it's not going to be enough to disable him, let alone kill him. He coughs twice more, then takes a deep breath. And then spits out a mouthful of blood. And then-.

This time he's faster. I barely see him coming. But I do, and I dodge to the side faster than he can swing his fist. And again as he spins and tries to kick me then forwards and slash!

The sword pierces his side, cuts through to his spine and then sticks-. How? It shouldn't-.

Bandana face grabs my arm, coughing more blood against the inside of his mask.

"Got your-"

Sever arm, needle gun.

"-arm?" He looks down at the severed limb as I back away. "Hey, it's no fun if you maim yourself!"

Fire.

X-ionised needles punch through both eyes and jam themselves into his brain.

"Dagh!"

The issue is that viltrumites aren't just tough, they're resilient too. The sort of brain injury I just did to him would kill any human, but his eye sockets are barely bleeding and he's still flying. Alright, he's thrashing about and… Trying to use my arm as a bludgeoning tool?

"A-ahhgh!"

Slightly more blood coming out now, because the needles haven't come out and they're still pretty sharp. Not sure why the sword didn't just go through him. Perhaps their toughness is more to do with some sort of energy field? Or..? Super-elasticity of some sort?

I send a filament to the sword and take hold of it with a construct right hand. Then fly closer, aim and swing.

This time his body falls, his head following a moment later.

"Atom Eve. We appear to have similar power sets." I recreate my arm, then armour it. "Would you like to take the next one?"

 

[Mr Zoat]

1st July 2013
11:46 GMT -5

"So..?"

"E-h…" Beryl makes a sound a little like someone's choking her while she yawns. "This isn't really my thing."

"Um. When you say that, do you mean that you've got something better to do, or-."

"No! No. I mean, yes, but no."

"You're.. too young for Vicar of Dibley, aren't you?"

She snorts. "No no.. no.. no no…"

"Yes." / "Yes."

We both chuckle quietly. Ah, I've missed being able to make pop culture references and have the people around me understand what I'm talking about. I mean, I only bat one in three with British people, but that's more than I get here. Here, I got the whole team staring at me when I said that I had no idea who Uncle Oswald is.

"My Mum liked it, and she got me watching it when they did repeats."

"And now I feel even older. Thanks, Squire. Thanks a lot."

"Maybe my Mum's just really young. You've never-. Ah."

"Team mates and their families, Squire."

"Right. Thank you. I know you'd do a better job than the N.H.S., I just hadn't put it together."

"Long day?"

"Long five months. I've been.. organising things. Finding bottlenecks in supply chains, working out the most efficient ways to get things up and running."

"Are you working with Batman and Mister Atom?"

"No. Ugh, it's-. I just don't know enough to work at their level. And-. Do you know Asimov?"

"About half my bed time stories growing up were Asimov."

"Hari Seldon thought he could predict everything over the long term, and-."

"And one powerful telepath threw the whole thing off, because psychohistory can't predict the actions of individuals because he incorrectly assumed that those didn't matter over the long term."

"Because they don't, except when the individual is so powerful that they can throw history off track on their own like the Mule. Or you. Or Superman. Or a bunch of other people. Bloody Second Foundation don't know how easy they had it."

"So..?"

"So I can tell you all about Hub City, and the building work, and the way people will probably respond to what you're doing, but because there's no established cultural mechanism for Dolmen Gates I can't predict what's going to happen. Not exactly."

"And the 'more important' bit?"

She sighs. "I could learn more if I visited Hub City, but they're using me like Mycroft Holmes here. I can't really justify taking the time away."

I nod to myself. "Not overworking you, I hope?"

"Dodge the Working Time Directive for something as trivial as an apocalypse? Don't be daft."

"Okay, well, thanks for hearing me out. I'll-."

"I did get time to watch your interview."

I take a deep breath in, and then slowly let it out.

"How bad?"

"Depends what you mean by 'bad', really. I wouldn't worry about Batman."

"I would."

"Look, he's the one who's been trying to get governments to sign something so they can't throw a fit about what the League is doing when this is all over. As far as I can tell, your interview improved perception of the Bills by a little. Fewer people freaking out about it, and fewer people listening to them because it was you, the 'I can't talk about the Justice League taking over the world' guy."

"At least they're not talking about the cake."

"No, they were."

"The giant naked statue?"

"I don't think anyone really knows about that."

"Small mercies." I frown. "Ah, 'Bills'?"

"The Justice League works all over the world, doesn't it? Must be a right pain, having to deal with two hundred different legal systems. So just about every government that-. Well, that's functioning and is enforcing laws, is getting the same sort of Bill to approve. I think Mister Atom did the work rewriting it to all their different legal codes. It uses his phrasing in places."

"Huh. I.. guess he's been in communication with them and trying to hash out a standard code of conduct for a while, then."

"Probably. The U.N. Charter wasn't really supposed to be used for a situation like this. Mostly because no one ever thought something like this would ever happen. And even some of the countries that didn't want the Justice League arresting criminals in their territory want help getting their economies working again."

"Do you know when it's getting finalised?"

"They wouldn't be leaking it if it wasn't basically done. Given how much work we're doing, I'm pretty sure Batman actually would leave anyone who didn't pass the legislation at this point high and dry until they bucked their ideas up."

"Knowing what I know about the tar-like progress of Bills through the American legislature, is that really enough time?"

"You know how you said that the Justice League was taking over the world?"

"I am not allowed to talk about the Justice League taking over the world."

"Right, see, that. And while I think you think that that should wind politicians up, they all know what would happen if Superman stood against them in a recall election and none of them want to try it."

"I can't see him doing that."

"Batman threatened them with something that got them moving, and that's my best guess. You talk to him more than I do."

"I.. don't think I'll ask. Not unless you really want to know."

"No, I'm fine not knowing."

"Alright, that's… That, then."

"Okay, talk-."

"Um. How's.. school going?"

"Did you just make a social enquiry?"

"Yes. I… I realise that I sometimes fall out of touch with people and I'm trying to do better. How are things, Beryl?"

"Um… Okay, then."

 

[Mr Zoat]

6th March 2025
09:34 GMT -5

"…dodge, don't-!"

The local Atom Eve goes flying backwards as an Invincible in Omni-Man's uniform hammers his right fist into her too-fragile construct shield.

"Don't just tank hits from someone as strong-"

I viff to the side as he switches to focusing on me.

"-as a viltrumite! Evade!"

Over to my right, Invincible and Local Invincible punch Dark Invincible back and forth between them too quickly for him to get his bearings, much less recover. Diaphragm, face, other side of face, spine, and then an over-the-head smash into the ground. Inefficient, but effective. Observing them, I'd say that Invincible has the edge in technique, probably a benefit from more time being taught how to fight by Omni-Man. The local one might have the edge in raw power, however.

Omvincible stops still, watching and waiting. The local Atom Eve hits him in the side with an energy bolt, but he just ignores it as it slams into his side. Then he turns his head towards her. "Weak."

She generates-.

"Stop! Don't close the distance. Think, Eve. Think. What are his points of vulnerability?"

Omvincible smiles contemptuously. "I do have weaker points, but they're still too tough for you."

She hesitates for a moment. Then she glances at Local Invincible before fabricating a.. bullhorn? Well, that's a decent guess. He can clearly hear, so light and sound should-.

I wince and filter as she presses the plunger, an unpleasant high pitched sound blasting out.

"D-ah!"

Omvincible cringes, hands covering his ears… Ineffectually, from the looks of it. In the distance Dark Invincible writhes in his impact crate while Local Invincible staggers away with his hands over his ears.

"Huh." Invincible looks at me, tapping his earpieces gingerly. "Guess that's another one I owe you."

What?

Atom Eve looks at me. "You didn't know that viltrumites could be disabled by sound?"

I frown. "I didn't think that viltrumite hearing was that good." I transition to Local Invincible and stick filters in his ears.

"Oh thank God." He taps his right ear. "Wait, that's it? Ear buds?"

"They're super-science noise cancelling ear buds with a built-in radio. Their original designer is probably still alive on this Earth."

"Right." He checks that Dark Invincible is still-.

Invincible lands on Dark Invincible's spine feet-first with a loud crack. Dark Invincible tries to cry out, but can't get any air into his lungs so it just comes out as a sort of a gasping gurgle. A brilliant pink glow illuminates the city a moment later as Local Atom Eve blasts Omvincible with an over charged blast of some sort, incinerating the costume off the left side of his body and badly burning the skin beneath. He doesn't quite plummet to the ground, but it's a near thing and her bullhorn is still going off.

Invincible nods as he grabs Dark Invincible's head by the hair. "Good work team." He takes a grip. "Let's-."

Local Invincible starts towards him. "No! We don't need to kill him."

"Oh, don't worry. I practiced-" Snap. "-this."

"Hey!" Local Invincible gets up close to him. "I said 'don't kill him'. What part of that didn't you understand?!"

"Oh, I understood." Invincible nods. "And I didn't. Breaking someone's neck without killing them is pretty hard, but I got the hang of it eventually." He looks over to where Atom Eve is picking Omvincible up with a construct body cast. "You want me to do yours?!"

"U-ghuuuuuh."​

The both look down at Dark Invincible for a moment, then Invincible gestures with both hands.

"See?"

"Okay." That leaves local Invincible a little out of sorts. "Ah. I'm gunna call Cecil and arrange pickup. See how everyone's doing against the other duplicates."

"Great!" Invincible smiles. "And hey, if he wants to come talk to me, I'm fine with that."

"I was just gunna leave you out, but, okay?" He looks at me. "How do I make this thing work?"

"Just tap twice, then say who you want to speak to." I float over to the wheezing Omvincible, take out an x-ionised knife and stab him in the spine. The knife pierces, and then the blade snaps off inside him. Atom Eve looks at me askance, so I shrug. "Viltrumites can regenerate from a lot of damage, and quickly. And they know that, so they're usually not shy about accepting hits they know won't cause long term problems. If you're not going to kill them it's necessary to inflict multiple serious crippling injuries to stop them just getting up and flying away."

"How are you cutting them?"

"The blades undergo a process called 'x-ionisation'. They're razor sharp and… I thought they were pretty much indestructible. Something about viltrumite physiology makes them less effective than usual, but they're still my preferred way of harming them."

Invincible flies over while Local Invincible tries to get through to Cecil. "Unless he's really mad. He used anti-matter on Vidor."

She blinks, then looks thoughtful.

I nod. "There's no reason why you couldn't make anti-matter yourself. Just make sure that it's contained by magnetic fields in a vacuum, because significant quantities of anti-matter aren't planet-friendly."

She nods. "I-. Look, I wanted to ask. I-. I had a brother. He-." She takes a moment to gather her thoughts. "He couldn't control his powers properly. I…"

I shake my head. "I don't think I'm his alter-ego, if that's what you're working towards asking. My earliest… Confirmable memory, is waking up in orbit. Before that I remember a normal life on a world without superpowers. It's not impossible that someone implanted fabricated memories into my mind, but it's not likely."

Invincible smiles. "Hey, while we're taking a break, mind if I ask you a couple of questions?" Eve shakes her head. "You and.. your Invincible. You're together, right? She nods cautiously. "How do you make it work?"

Her gaze turns incredulous. "He didn't conquer Earth with his dad."

"Okay, but-." He looks aside, trying to work out how to put it. Omvincible chooses that moment to gurgle, and gets kicked in the head for his impertinence. At least that knocks him out. "I did, but I don't want to fight you-. Her. I thought if I made sure the planet got fixed-. A lot of places are nicer places to live than they were before the conquest. Objectively… Okay, it's not an overall improvement yet, but it's getting there! I mean, do you actually like Cecil?"

"No, I can't say I do."

"Because the rest of the government is just as bad. Governments. I had Lantern go through their databases for our public information broadcasts. And killing soldiers who ignore their government surrendering is even in line with the Geneva Conventions!"

"Okay, look: I don't know her? But-" She frowns at him. "-I don't think you can conquer her planet and kill her friends and expect her to like you."

"But-."

"Even if the Viltrum Empire actually helps people. And if that's what they do, why conquer it in the first place? You think if alien spaceships showed up over a slum somewhere and started building nicer houses anyone would complain about it?"

"It's not-. I-."

Local Invincible looks up. "Okay, Cecil says he's gunna send some people-."

There's a wuuymm noise from.. just above us. I look up-.

As twenty zombots fall on our heads.

 

[Mr Zoat]

6th July 2013
14:33 GMT

There's a sort of scratchy-hum noise that the clickers make when a human would make a vacuous 'ummm' sound. I hadn't met Lantern Thump-Thump-Click before now and I think they're a little overawed.

"Illustres? I do not understand."

"Construction engineering. I checked the database and apparently that's something that you care a great deal about."

"Yes?"

I wait, but they don't say anything else. Looking inside them I see little flickers of fear, which strikes me as strange. I think I've tried to make myself approachable, even to the Orange Lanterns who've flat out told me that they want to kill me. I don't know why someone as inoffensive as Thump-Thump-Click would feel this strongly.

"What led to you that preference? Were you an architect before joining the Corps?"

"I… I find digging satisfying. Sir."

"Oh, come now. I've seen the rapid-deployment settlements you designed for refugees. That's not just a matter of a digging fixation."

"It is for clickers-. I-." And the scratchy-hum noise is back. "I apologise."

"Why, what have you done?"

"I-I-I-." The scratchy-hum sound is so raspy that I'm worried that they're going to snap something.

I crouch down, which is usually seen as a little insulting to a clicker but under the circumstances I think I'll be forgiven. If they're this nervous then it's probably better not to loom. "Lantern Thump-Thump-Click, you have nothing to be concerned about. I was making a small joke about your phrasing, not accusing you of misconduct. I am simply trying to discover more about you, to assess whether or not you can help me with a project I have."

I take a risk and gently tap his exoskeleton on the side in what is supposed to be a reassuring gesture amongst his species.

"I'm not sure why you're so worried, but if you'd like to talk to me about it, I'll listen and try to help."

"I don't want to kill you!"

"Okay. Thank you. That's good. I don't want to kill you either."

"The-the-others said…"

"Is this about Ragnar and Zartok? Because as far as I know they're the only ones who want to kill me. Heck, Xor and I are friends. Clarissi Dox and I have never tried to kill each other."

"The others said that we were supposed to try and kill you."

"Well… It's… Not a terrible level of power to aim for, but you aren't required to actually follow through on it if you don't want to."

"You don't want me to?"

"Dying isn't actually a pleasurable experience, so, no. Why do you think I want you to?"

"You know what it is like to die?"

"I've died twice. After the second time I started keeping clones of myself around in case I needed to transfer myself into one."

"That was true?"

"You didn't believe that, but you believed that every Orange Lantern is obliged to try and kill me."

"That was what Instructor Ragnar said."

"Lantern Ragnar comes from a highly martial society, and I recruited him by beating him in a duel. Naturally, he regards beating me… And probably Lantern Xor, as his objective, as… How he can measure how far he's come. You don't need to do the same."

"And Lantern Zartok?"

"He used to be the best fighter in his empire, before he got overthrown. For him, the idea of being the best fighter is so much a part of who he is, anyone who he thinks is currently better than him is a target. I fought him once and delivered him a crushing defeat, so he's working towards getting to the point where he can actually beat me."

"And then?"

"If he's successful? I'll be dead, so there isn't an 'and then'. But I'm hopeful that the spiritual transformation he'll have to undergo to get as good as me will require him to rethink the whole thing."

"Will it?"

"I don't know. 'As good as me' is a short list. Lantern Xor is the only other Orange Lantern to have attained enlightenment, and he didn't want to kill me in the first place." I give them another pat on the thorax. "Feeling calmer?"

"Yes. Thank you, sir. But are the rest of us supposed to try and kill each other?"

"We'd run out of Lanterns fairly quickly if that was the case. I suppose that for relatively new Lanterns, earnestly trying to kill each other while there was a senior Lantern around to prevent you actually doing so isn't a terrible way to train, but it's not a requirement. Heck, if your natural inclinations don't lie in combat, we've still got a lot of useful things that you can do. Like designing habitation for refugees."

Which is what I came here to talk to them about, but let's make sure that they're on an even keel first.

"Calmed down, now?"

"Yes, sir. I apologise. I should have realised that I was being hazed. But when you appeared in front of me the only thing I could think was that it was my turn. What did you want me to design?"

"We had our supply of magicians disrupted by an event on my homeworld. Given how turbulent my homeworld is, Clarissi Dox is keen to avoid future disruption. We've found another world that can supply our needs, and now we need to assist them in setting up the production facilities we want to produce the things that we want to buy from them. And while we don't think that the Reach know about them, a certain degree of Reach-hardening would be useful."

I raise my eyebrows and smile.

"Are you up for it?"

"Yes. Absolutely."

"Do you have any experience with magic construction?"

"None at all!"

"Then you're no worse off than anyone else here. If you've got the time now, we can go there and I can introduce you to the people you'll be working with."

I look around, taking in the Orange Lanterns who appear to be rubbernecking in the expectation that there's going to be a fight breaking out.

"But before we do that, why don't you point out the Lanterns who were in on that hazing thing. I feel that I could stand to offer them a little more instruction."

 

[Mr Zoat]

6th March 2025
09:38 GMT -5

I dodge, dropping to just off the floor and letting the ring pull my body around their darting claws as they tear into the tarmac and concrete beneath me!

Two swords.

"…doing, he was helping!"

I pull my legs in and spin swords out, slicing through legs, arms, torsos and heads as chunks of robot and corpse drop to the ground around me. Then I look around to check on Invincible.

"Hh!" He forms the fingers of his right hand into a point and jabs it into the side of a zombot, just above the metal cummerbund and just under the pauldron. Dead flesh and bone part as he ignores the flailing attacks of the other zombots until-.

With a hate filled grin he pulls his hand free, a grey cybernetically-augmented heart in his hand.

Splat.

Then he starts punching, red eye pieces on each of their faces shattering and being driven into their skulls.

"And there. They're dead." Someone is talking to local Invincible. I'd assume that it's the G.D.A., given the fact that they're talking about the zombots being deployed. "That was a complete waste of time!"

Listen in and track.

"They're part of the invasion force, Mark. And they already admitted that they conquered their Earth."

Wuuymm.

I turn my head and just about catch sight of two of the zombots teleporting out with the broken remains of Omvincible and Dark Invincible.

"Where'd you just take those guys?"

"Somewhere secure. They-"

Interrupt.

"-won't get out. And if you've somehow convinced yourself that-."

I smile. "Do I have the pleasure of addressing Director Stedman?"

"Eyuuugh!." Invincible slices through the neck of the last remaining zombot with the blade of his right hand, then shakes it to get rid of the blood. Then he glares at the local Invincible. "Thanks a lot. Really feeling the gratitude for getting Mom somewhere safe."

Local Invincible ignores him, is pressing his ear piece. "Cecil?"

After a moment, Cecil responds to me. "And who are you supposed to be?"

"Orange Lantern. Or Orange Lantern Two Eight One Four, if you're being precise. And you're obviously taking those Invincibles to turn into more cyborg zombies."

Local Invincible stares at me, hovering in the air as he does so with his limbs going slack.

Eve on the other hand is frowning. "Are there.. two thousand eight hundred and thirteen more-?"

"It's the designation of this region of space, not the number of other Lanterns."

External.

A construct image of Director Stedman appears, floating in the air between us. Local Invincible darts in front of him.

"You're harvesting them for parts? What the Hell, Cecil?"

"Earth's getting both barrels right now, Mark. I don't have time to debate this with you."

Invincible drifts closer to him, nodding. "My Cecil was just as bad."

Director Stedman doesn't respond immediately, but rather looks at something off camera and.. then turns to face Invincible. How-?

I look up at the unmanned drones flying over us.

"Because he tried to stop you taking over the world?"

"Because he got Mom killed. Because-." He looks at me for a moment, then returns his attention to the Cecil projection. "Have you ever heard of virtue ethics?"

"There's a global invasion of you going on, but sure, I've got time for a lecture on philosophy."

"Basically, the reason why you should be a good and disciplined person is that you can't predict everything that can happen. But if you're virtuous, it's easier to deal with the unpredictable. My Cecil was just as much of an asshole as you are. And what happened? He thought he had Sinclair under control too. Because he didn't care about justice, or morals, he just had to get his weapon. Only it turned out that he didn't know the weapon better than the guy who invented it."

"You're taking nonsense. Sinclair is under observation twenty-four seven, and I've got the controls for every single one of them. Including the controls to the self-destruct."

"If you were smart enough to understand them then you wouldn't need him to make them." His head jerks in my direction. "Shut it down."

I nod, dismissing the construct and pointing upwards, orange lines momentarily connecting me to the drones before tearing them apart. Normally I'd be worried about shrapnel injuries, but honestly anyone who's still on the streets at this point is just asking for trouble.

And now Invincible's looking in the general direction of Washington, and the G.D.A. headquarters. That could get… If Angstrom Levy doesn't come back to observe the damage we've caused, then we're stuck here. I know that Anissa is perfectly capable of raising our child as a viltrumite, but that isn't really something that I want for them. I need to get back.

"Invincible, if I may make an observation?"

"Yeah-! Yeah, what is it?"

"The Global Defence Agency may well be in dire need of reform, but they aren't going anywhere. Angstrom Levy can go anywhere he wants whenever he wants. Including to pick up more versions of you."

Local Invincible looks at Invincible. "Do you know where he is?"

Invincible hesitates, his hands balling into fists for a moment. Before he relaxes them. "No. He contacts us. He's got some kinda spaceship he uses to move around in space before opening his portals." He pauses. "'Space' as in 'around the world' not… Space."

Eve nods. "Because otherwise he'd have to walk everywhere. Anything else?"

"Ah, he's got these little spy drones. He's usually got a couple with him…"

Local Invincible realises something. "That's who was spying on us?"

"Oh, yeah." Invincible nods. "He's, like, totally obsessed with you. It was… Kinda disturbing. And then it got really disturbing because the us with the Mohawk said he had a…" He glances awkwardly at Eve. "Harem of.. look-alikes too, and we all looked around at each other…"

Local Invincible makes a short choking sound.

"Ah, Lantern, is he on this Earth now?"

Scan. "No, I'm afraid not."

"Okay. Take Eve and go find some of his drones. We need to show him something that will make him actually come here."

Eve raises her left eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"He's got the same powers as you and he's better with them. Watch what he does and learn how to do it. Me and-" He nods at Local Invincible. "-your Mark can hunt down the other usses."

She clearly doesn't like being told what to do, but unable to come up with a better idea, she nods.

Invincible turns back to me. "Lantern, where's the closest other me?"