2nd March
16:08 GMT
"I was the first one to die, wasn't I?"
I nod sympathetically as Mr Queen sits up on the bier.
"Yes. But I'd like to say that thanks to your valiant sacrifice none of the police or ambulance personnel were exposed, and most of the Consolidated Applied Sciences who were also exposed survived.
"
His expression brightens up very slightly, then the brightness dies.
"But you can't, because they all died anyway, along with all the robot gang bangers, because I got exposed
after all of them."
I nod again.
"Was it a.. poison, or a disease?"
"What knocked you out was a poison, an extremely safe one I had Euanthe develop to stand in for something nastier. I'm afraid that I won't be telling you what it was in-game until today's activities are concluded.
"
He gives his muscles a slight stretch, the last of the lingering effects vanishing. Things like this make me
very glad that Euanthe isn't a supervillain.
"So what was I supposed to do? Not get close enough to get infected?"
"I was going to include that as part of my feedback at the end, but… If you really want to know now?
" He nods.
"Everyone in the League now uses the wards Sephtian and I developed to protect them from magic attack, but… Most of you haven't followed up.
I don't use them, but there are wards against poison and disease.
"
"U-h
h."
"Failing that, sealed armour like Roy wears or certain types of environmental energy shield or certain types of physical enhancement would have rendered you immune.
"
He-. He's trying to put a brave face on it, but I can see he's sagging.
"I can put you in touch with my supplier if you want.
"
"I've never-. I mean, I know it's a fair test. Joker does stuff like that all the time, and I think Barry had a guy-"
I nod.
"Doctor Amar.
"
"-who-. Right." He hesitates. "What-?"
"Murmur.
"
"Yeah, that's it. I've never had a bio-weapon bad guy." He slides off the bier and onto his feet. "Think I've just gotten lucky?"
"I think it's the heavy industry. Star City never had all that much compared to Gotham in its heyday or Keystone City today. Chemicals get into the water, the air… Plus, heavy industry has suffered from relatively cheap imports, resulting in higher unemployment in primarily low and semi-skilled manual labour jobs. And, yes, a bit.
"
"So… You're not… I mean, all the guys the League are gunna be fighting-."
"I'm not trying to push you out of the League, if that's what you're working up to asking.
"
He hesitates again, then nods. "Yeah, it kinda is."
"Alright, to be totally blunt, based on the criteria I came up with for League membership, I wouldn't have recruited you. You're not alone in that category, and it doesn't mean that you're doing a bad job or that you're a bad person. If we were reforming the League to have a far broader base I'd be happy putting you in charge of a city or a region. Your skills and comportment are good. But several of the League's core functions call for a level of raw power or extraordinary skill which you don't have and don't appear to be inclined to get.
"
"Huh." He nods again. "So who
else is on the list?"
"The initial seven members joined up due to fighting the appellaxians together, so skipping
them-.
"
He shrugs. "Why skip them?"
"Alright. King Orin is borderline. I'd rather have had Queen Mera. He can contribute an
army and the resources of a state, but he can do that without occupying a front line position. I wouldn't have recruited the Hawks when they
were recruited.
" The same year as they started operating on Earth. The only justification I can think of is that Batman wanted them where he could keep an eye on them. There's no
way they showed a level of ability and dedication in that period which justified their recruitment. Mr Freeman's dodgy for similar reasons. Not enough time active, Superman's 'I thought he was kryptonian' excuse notwithstanding.
"Ms Lance, Mister Harper, Doctor Palmer, Mister O'Brian-.
"
He frowns. "Plas?"
"It's not a 'superpowers only' thing. I
recommended Dmitri and I'd recruit Batman. Mister O'Brian's abilities just aren't useful enough to justify his inclusion compared to plenty of other people on Earth.
" I shrug.
"Of course, all that only matters if we're talking about a 'small League' like we have now. If we switch to a broad based organisation, they're all fine.
"
"Okay, so, how about
your team?"
"For Justice League membership?
" He nods.
"Kon, M'gann-.
"
"You don't think Superboy belongs on the League?"
"No, he
does. I'm skipping the rest. Zatanna, if she wanted to join. Roy. That's it at the moment.
"
"Not you?"
"Gods, no. The lack of clear direction would drive me insane. I'm more effective left to my own devices.
"
"And everyone else?"
"Same sort of problem. Insufficient power, skill, experience or poor comportment.
"
"You.. told them you think that?" I shake my head. "'cause Arte-."
"Doesn't want to join the League. Oh, she wants to fight the good fight, partially to distance herself from her father and partially because she actually likes helping people. But the best way to utilise her would be to deploy her off in somewhere like Hub City. Somewhere with a high level of both street crime and official corruption. A long term medium intensity job.
"
"You told
her that?"
"No. I might once she finishes college, if she decides to get back into it.
" I pause briefly.
"Do you have any other questions? Because the wargame is still running-.
"
"Those wards. Orin can hook me up?" I nod. "And… Enhancements?"
"I'll include a few options in my report. Excuse me.
"
Under the circumstances I decide
not to raise my right hand to my forehead, but instead just
step out
and reappear in the Watchtower's main room, Batman giving a summary to the rest of the League.
"-biological agent. Take extreme caution in dealing with anyone. If you notice yourself sweating or an increased heart rate, call for Doctor Mist, Accomplished Perfect Physician or Angelica
immediately."
The heads on the monitor all nod. It appears that Mr Queen has been the only fatality so far. Ms Lance's eyes alight on me for a moment, then her face vanishes with the rest.
GM system, how are things going?
Surface-world lack of knowledge in the field of applied magic strikes again!
