11th July 2013
08:00 GMT
The door opens on the hour on the dot, and I walk… Through.
They've… Done some remodelling.
The array of monitors and computers which Mr. Atom was using to monitor things has been expanded and improved. Some screens do the same things that they used to in displaying points of interest. Others show complex patterns which-
Translation available.
-my rings don't translate because the human brain wasn't meant for that level of information processing but which I'm sure suits him just fine. Mr. Atom himself is pressing buttons on his customised keyboard and making noises like a dialup modem at three different pitches that I can hear simultaneously.
Maybe I should introduce him to Dox at some point? Or maybe that would remind Dox of his father too much.
Mr. Atom doesn't look around.
"Orange Lantern. You have been scheduled twenty minutes plus minus five minutes. Will that be sufficient?"
"I hope so. Sorry, I assumed that I would be talking to Batman.
"
"You have been scheduled thirty seconds plus minus fifteen seconds for this explanation."
"Understood. I'll be concise.
"
"Good."
There's no noise, but Batman just sort of appears. He wasn't invisible… Not unless he's found a way to defy literally every sensor type I have, which I suppose is just about possible. Instead, I think he just used some sort of novel teleportation with no residue that I can immediately detect. He's still wearing his power ring, but I didn't.. detect him using it just then.
"Orange Lantern. You have concerns."
"Yes, sir. I outlined them in my original message. I hoped that-.
"
He turns around. "Come with me."
He steps forwards and vanishes. Some sort of
invisible Dolmen Gate? I wave a rune stone at it but only detect background levels of magic.
Shrugging, I send the stone back to subspace and follow him.
And… It's dark. Scans aren't showing me anything… At all. From what little I can see in the reflected light of our environmental shields there are… Monoliths of some kind planted along some sort of upwards-sloping pathway, but that's about all that I'm getting. Atmosphere… Slightly increased levels of oxygen relative to Earth normal. Mildly invigorating, with a slightly increased fire risk. In the case of somewhere Batman built it's almost certainly intentional.
I stride after him, trying to learn something from the back of his head.
"Sir?
"
"I read your book."
I.. wasn't sure, but it seemed likely that he would. Particularly since getting a ring of his own, but I can see how having additional information on how I think would be invaluable to him.
"Unfortunately, it seems that in my case enlightenment will have to wait."
"I'm not sure that the world would survive you bonding with Parallax.
"
"I wouldn't bond with Parallax unless I was sure that I could control it."
Which wouldn't happen. My merging with the Ophidian was a best case scenario…
"The only lead I can think of-.
"
"
Diablo Island's binding tattoos are far too fragile for me to consider it."
I nod. He's right, as far as long-term bindings go. I looked into it before I got my own tattoos. But if he just wanted a temporary glimpse of how Parallax views fear and its place in the universe, then the same standards don't apply.
"I agree, but-.
"
"Zatara has the design. If it can be improved upon, he'll let me know."
I nod, my gaze lingering on where my feet tell me that the floor is. I just… I was going to suggest to Batman something that would mess up his mind even
more.
Don't do that.
"Sir? Where are we?
"
"Currently, the L Five Lagrange point. The facility has limited manoeuvring capacities, but it isn't a spaceship."
"That's a.. long way from anywhere.
"
"Not when you have a power ring. Or a galactic-range teleportation device."
I frown.
"The only form of teleportation device I know with that range and precision is a boom tube generator, and that wasn't a boom tube.
"
"A hush tube generator. Apokolips uses them for covert insertions." I vaguely see him reach… Something ahead of us. He turns and sits, and I just stop as his
eyes glow. "Canis and Angelica were able to secure one for me."
"Universal covert point to point portals will be a significant improvement on zeta tubes.
"
He leans forwards slightly. "
I agree. But this will be a supplemental system. Zeta tubes are a mature technology, whereas getting another hush tube generator would be difficult, and making more is currently beyond us."
Lights… Start coming up, a
faint yellow shining from the… Rectangular blocks around us. They put me in mind of old-style mainframe computers… Or at least the representation of mainframes that were in Goldeneye. The light is.. running in lines, but I can't tell if it's lines of runes, of circuitry, or… Something else. Otherwise they're matte dark grey… I don't think they're stone as the texture isn't right, but they don't look like metal either.
"You are concerned about the League taking on too much responsibility in the wake of civilization's collapse."
"Basically… Yes sir.
"
"I have reached the conclusion that we can't afford
not to. Human countries have become too interdependent to isolate shocks in one region."
"Is..? That why you were concerned with… Me saying that the League was taking over the planet? Because we..?
Are?
"
"We're being given more power. We're not taking over. I wanted to be able to put things in their proper context before
you put them in the wrong one."
"Okay? So… What form does that take?
"
"You've seen Big Barda working with the Congregation?" I nod. "That. League members will be provided with squads of enhanced soldiers, transported by boom tube or hush tube, to impose order in places where civilization is in danger of breaking down."
"Soldiers? I know.. the laws that.. you're putting through allows League members to call upon police assets, but-.
"
"No. I know that you've been aware of the potential for using the Danner formula to create a super powered army. Hugo Danner demonstrated that it's perfectly viable to use in that way. I spent some time identifying, recruiting and training individuals to form a standing military force for the Justice League."
"Enhanced?
"
"Yes, substantially. I believe that you have already met Mister Blank."
