"Attempt to woo Venus. He relaxed his empathic shielding enough for me to confirm that his desires were genuine."
"Do you think that he could have fooled your abilities?"
It's Doctor Thaddeus Sivana. He's ranked high amongst the smartest people on Earth. If he couldn't fool empathic senses that easily, it's only because he's not interested in
trying.
I nod. "It's quite possible. Certainly, if anyone could, it would be him. However, based on what I've observed of his behaviour, this offer fits. If nothing else, his total lack of remorse combined with his ability to elude law enforcement for this long means that I don't see a more likely reason for him to ask for a pardon. And… His… Mental processes are… Disturbing. It wasn't the obvious choice to reassure me."
I now know that Dr. Sivana would make an excellent Orange Lantern. I also know that I'll never give him a ring to prove it. I think I remember feeling a little like that for a few moments prior to achieving enlightenment. And he's been like that for nearly two decades, if not longer.
Dear gods. Can you imagine what Sivana could
do with a power ring, especially Orange? Instant analysis of just about anything he wants, instant prototyping of any tech he can imagine... It's a terrifying thought. Because of
what he would do with that power, especially if he were still criminally-minded...
"I am concerned that his own manias will lead to him returning to his criminal habits."
"He has faster than light travel. It really wouldn't be that hard for him to go somewhere else in the galaxy if the mood took him, and Venus originally divorced him due to his criminal activity on Earth."
I could honestly see him pulling an exact words gag like that. "I said I wouldn't commit any more crimes on
Earth, no..."
"And the aliens he targeted, they would not seek revenge here?"
"Humans aren't all that well known, and he's managed to evade human law enforcement when they only had a single planet to search rather than the entire universe."
To be fair, he'd probably be happiest finding an out-of-the-way, uninhabited solar system and converting it into a giant laboratory complex. Anything he wants in the name of
SCIENCE! and no people to get in his way...
"You do not have your colleague's reservations on the use of lethal force. Is your relationship with his elder daughter the only reason why you have not killed him?"
"No. Killing him seemed wasteful, and I knew that the Sheeda were coming at some point."
And his declared intent to fight the Sheeda helped confirm the value of that choice. He just needed that extra push to actually help everyone else.
"Sivana has committed few crimes in the Russian Federation. While we do not know precisely how many Russian citizens the Sheeda have killed, it is large. Only the President can authorised the pardon which Doctor Sivana wants. I will recommend that he sign it, and I will recommend that he request that Russia's allies also comply. They should not be difficult to convince; they are far more vulnerable than the Russian Federation to Sheeda raids."
"Than-."
Hold on, OL, there's bound to be a 'but...' Though at least the Russians are being sensible about things.
"I will also recommend that an open death warrant be issued should Sivana return to criminality after the Sheeda are defeated, and he will never be granted a visa to visit Russia under any circumstances. Please pass on to the relevant American officials that we expect the United States to ensure that its super criminal population either controlled or contained."
"I… Don't have much sway with the American government, but I will pass that along. Thank you for your cooperation, Director."
In other words, the Director has had enough of America's shit landing in his yard. I doubt the threat of a kill order hanging over his head will stop Thaddeus Senior if the mood should take him, though.
26th June 2012
01:46 GMT +8
In stark contrast to the Director's ever-flawless appearance, Chairman Jiang looks severely sleep-deprived. China's wonky development means that they're even worse defended than Russia is and his team is intended to deal with small area high intensity combat, not widespread raids where they can't prevent their enemies from disengaging. I haven't checked -because he might have someone who can detect it and that would make things worse- but I rather imagine that his phone is ringing off the hook with requests for aid that he literally can't provide. And I'm sure that after this is over he's going to be removed from office for not doing the impossible.
Gee,
who'd have thought keeping the yokels in the countryside at near-medieval levels would bite them in the ass? Pity about the Party's sour grapes, though. Hopefully he can at least avoid a firing squad...
"The People's Republic of China is not aware of the American Doctor Thaddeus Bodog Sivana committing any criminal acts within our territory. As such, I cannot issue him a pardon, even with these…"
He picks up the Chinese part of Sivana's confession and slaps it against his desk.
No doubt itemised down to the last
fēn. Sivana is nothing if not meticulous.
"Claims. I can announce that as chairman of the committee responsible for oversight of such… Activities, that we are not seeking to arrest or extradite either Thaddeus Sivana Senior, Georgia Sivana or Thaddeus Sivana Junior. Will that be sufficient?"
So, "If we can't see them, we won't arrest them." I doubt you could ask for better from the champions of obnoxious bureaucracy.
These 'activities' include killing the board of a prominent Chinese investment corporation who turned down his initial business proposal. While he's never actually bee convicted and I.. don't.. think he publically boasted about it, I think that's only because he immediately left, Thundermind was out of the city at the time and Sivana doesn't speak Chinese. Does Jiang see this as a way of avoiding the circular firing squad after the crisis is over? It wouldn't surprise me, but I am glad that I'm not having to burn my favour to get this approved. If that would even be enough.
I have the feeling that'd be pushing it. Bringing them Klarion would only go
so far...
"I don't know for sure, but I suspect so. I'll pass it on and report back to you if the answer is 'no'." I perform a short bow. "Thank you for your time."
26th June 2012
15:24 GMT -3
A whirlwind stop of familiar territories, eh? No doubt he's gotten the hard ones out of the way first? Adom probably went "Anything that helps bring these scum down."
I look down at… What's left of Brasília. The Sheeda like high population density targets, and places like Brazil… Have a combination of being advanced enough to suppose high-density housing and being insufficiently good at fighting Sheeda forces to attract them. There was a Harvest Dreadnought parked over the city for… Probably a month, with a terrified population cowering in their homes and never knowing when they would be stolen away by people they couldn't see.
The Favelas
would be a smorgasbord for the bastards, wouldn't they? And the upper classes wouldn't lift a finger, as long as they weren't being targetted...
Hooray.
That Harvest Dreadnought is still here, impaled on colossal thorn which erupted from out of Lake Paranoá when the counterattack started. Guess they weren't paranoid enough.
Ha! Nice pun. I see Euanthe took a hand in matters. Or rather, a
vine?
A squad of Accala warriors wait for me as I descend, and given the way two of them are drawing a response from the local plant life I suspect that they're shamen. Certainly, the armour of antediluvian wood they're all wearing is a marked contract to the relative state of undress they seemed to prefer when I visited one of their villages. Unlike most places that have managed a victory over the Sheeda, they aren't bothering to loot their weapons at all.
Hugo Danner waves his right hand in greeting. He's dressed in the same armour as his escort, though his armour has brightly coloured fronds extending from the helmet as an organic headdress.
Not the best idea, given I doubt that even their superhuman durability would help against entropic weaponry. Marking the ones in charge would be a fine way to get their living god killed, much as it helps with their morale...
"Orange Lantern. You wanted to talk to me?"
"I… Understand that you've been made Paramount Chief?"
So, leader of all the Tribes gathered under the Accala banner? Quite a step up.
"It's a ceremonial thing." He looks around as a tower block's cladding crumbles away, a forest of vines growing through the buildings skeleton. "We're going to have a proper tribal council once the war's over. The power's mostly in the hands of the chiefs, anyway."
More cracks, and more trees erupt through tarmac and concrete and unrealistic speeds. Perhaps I should be more surprised, but both the Accala and Euanthe have been open in their distaste for technocratic civilisation.
They're taking Brazil back to basics, eh? That'll be ruffling some feathers in the government, won't it? On the other hand, what
can they do to stop them, outside of War Crime-worthy tactics? They've basically abandoned the slums to the Sheeda, so most of the locals would be rooting for the Accala...
"Do you have the authority to pardon criminals?"
"Probably? Why?"
Huh... I mean, Doctor Sivana knows the Accala and Hugo danner exist. He used a variation of the formula to empower his older children, after all. But I don't see him caring about a pardon from them...
"An American mad scientist thinks he can defeat the Sheeda, but he wants a pardon for his old crimes first. He said 'from every nation', but I suspect that as long as I get most of them he'll accept it. And… With the collapse of the Brazilian state, it looks like you're in charge around here."
"What's he done?"
Ah... So the upper classes won't have any objection to things anyway. Makes sense. I hope the characters we know about survived.
"Quite a lot of murder, though only three of his victims were Brazilian citizens."
"As long you're sure that he's on the up-and-up, that should be fine." His eyes shift to the fallen Harvest Dreadnought for a moment. "I've got a… Shipment of Sheeda equipment you can take, if you want it. We don't really have much in the way of research and development here but I imagine that the US or the Justice League could use it."
Handy. A good gift to help cement their reputation. Establish themselves as considerate, but firm.
I nod. "Thanks. Where's Euanthe?"
"She's… Everywhere. If it wasn't for her, we wouldn't have done much better than the army did. A lot of the Accala… Well, I suppose I should be glad that they're not worshipping me any more."
Haha. A step up for the lady Dryad. And while the sudden worship won't have much effect on her mystical oomph, I'm sure it'll have an effect on her standing amongst her sisters...
"And what are you planning on doing once the war is over?"
"We'll… See."
Dun-dun-DUN... Yes, Hugo, that isn't ominous at all. Hope you don't plan to go grabbing the villain ball again. Remember how well that worked back in the fifties?
