"Yes."
John Quinn is in full Dr. Fate regalia, something which still gets a twitch out of me when I see it.
To be fair, depending on the style, that could just as easily be down to the 'underpants on the outside' look as the memories of Nabu riding Zatara. Even the most modern version of the union suit (from the New 52 'Earth 2' series) had a lot of 'classical' junk about the trunk...
Angelica nods.
"You are a demon lord and an accomplished magician. You will stay in the chains until we have determined what to do with you."
Plus, the whole making a (admittedly
innocent) demonic pact with a teenage girl. That probably hits some hot buttons for her.
Angelica on the other hand is wearing a business suit, but that's probably because she was doing a normal working day before getting called in. With Satanus out of the picture and his cultists in prison on a variety of charges, she's… Not Bruce Wayne rich, but certainly comfortable.
"Though, naturally, the more helpful you are, the more likely we are to reach an agreement that suits you as well."
Heh, nothing like a classy suit combined with wings to make a lady look damn
good. Assuming she's not doing the Warren Worthington thing of tucking her wings away to hide them.
"I already told you where all the ritual sites are. I'll take you to the ones in cyberspace if you want, just… Please don't let them take me back."
Dr. Balewa is simply dressed as is his wont, but he's in full Dr. Mist mode and my eyes are having a little difficulty in focusing properly on his physical body. It's like his flesh is… Simplified, while his body paint stands out more and is more… More alive. His outline wavers slightly as his body returns to normal, and he nods.
And I'm picturing him looking like a living cartoon character wrapped in realistic CG tattoos...Quite the image... Though now I wonder how Simpson set up ritual spaces in cyberspace. Websites with a particularly
demonic layout?
"It is as he says. It will take several days to render them inert, but it is well within our abilities."
"And what will the practical effects of that be?"
We can but hope it hasn't induced a premature awakening of the Machine. Last thing you want is a
miscarriage.
Dr. Balewa closes his eyes as he considers.
"It.. is. hard to say. It may be thet we will find thet the God of Technology is now much closer to coming awake, but it may well be thet the forced exposure in fact pushes it further from the world. In either case, these manifestations should cease once the spells are dissolved."
Though I don't doubt Ted will still have people studying the assembly plant automata to see if they can replicate the effects...
"Until they start again." Angelica wing-shrugs. "All Richard's efforts achieved is to bring forward the point at which they start."
Dr. Balewa shakes his head. "I am not convinced. If the mind is not prepared, the shock of exposure would naturally be far worse."
So, sooner than hoped for, but not in a premature sense. The Machine will simply be a little less fully formed at
worst. It'll just be a matter of keeping anyone from trying this again...
"If it's a problem, I should be able to feed it to the Ophidian."
John's helmet jerks in my direction. "No."
He's right. For all you know, that could see the Ophidian consume Earth's ability to comprehend technology.
Dr. Balewa nods, raising his right hand in a pacifying gesture. "Thet would.. not be wise. A god like this emerging into the world is traumatic enough without it being one with the concept of avarice. I will dive deeply into the Dream, and learn what I can of it. Then we can discuss the matter further."
Angelica nods. "Agreed. We'll need to brief the rest of the League as well. How we deal with emergent gods is a policy question."
To be fair, while the Machine isn't likely to be the only god emerging from modern culture, some of them might well be less dangerous. A trickster god of Internet Trolls, for example. Or a goddess of.. Uh, let's call it 'Unconventional Romantic Fiction.'
She's a bit of a
shut-in.
"It seems more like a political decision rather than dealing with a threat or providing aid. Given the breadth of its influence, do you think it's worth referring the matter to the Security Council?"
Dr. Balewa waves his right hand. "Perhaps, when we have a better idea of what is happening and can… Eh…"
Avoid the blank glances and confused stares? The whole 'this is really a thing' disbelief?
Angelica smiles. "Dumb it down for them."
"Explain it in terms they can understand without a lifetime of study."
Trust the man who understands Life to be more diplomatic about the idea.
Richard's face falls.
"Yes, I'm sure that's great, but how does it help me?"
"I know where your remains are. It shouldn't be hard for me to clone a copy of your body."
Body, yes. Make a Hollow Man, that'll work out well. If you do that, I'd probably also add spiritual bindings to prevent him slipping his leash...
He frowns.
"I can't possess something without a soul."
"How about an android body? We already know how to incorporate thaumic elements into the design."
You can be a test subject for the proof of concept! And who
wouldn't want a cool super robotic body? I mean, it's not like you can't give it some bells and whistles to beat out the old body.
"If I'm just hiding, the wards would have to be really good."
Angelica frowns. "Why not just create a giant demonic robot and tell everyone that you're leaving it in charge while you pursue a scheme on Earth? It could take centuries before it occurs to anyone to question it."
Honestly, that could work. Demons
are real dumb like that. Just look at how Satannus got on.
"If it's clever enough to run things then it's clever enough to want to be in charge for real. And clever enough to find me."
"Then build one that's just clever enough to be a stalking horse. Anyone who wants to overthrow you will have to attack the obvious target first, which will give you plenty of warning."
Just as long as you make it strong enough to defend itself, but leave some well-hidden hooks to make it easier to stop if it
does get ideas.
"He can stay here." John gestures at the Tower's interior with his left hand. "The Tower is proof against demons, and it can keep an eye on him when I'm not here."
Mr. Simpson doesn't look thrilled at the prospect. "I do want to actually have a life."
Maybe once you've proved you're not going to pull any more
demonically dumb plans.
"I have a workshop you can occupy. It's disconnected from the Earth, so I don't have to worry about you transferring yourself out."
"I think I prefer the robot option."
It will still take time to build. Where did you think you were going to stay, a Hilton?
"If Orange Lantern wants to be your parole officer and monitor you all day every day, then he can build a robot body for you."
I look into Richard Simpson with empathic vision. He's a tricky one. He never went through Hell's inefficient conversion process. He's being honest about his motives, but… He's been in Hell on survival mode for a long time. I can't trust him not to do the demon thing of seeking power regardless of consequences.
Good plan. After all, he pulled
this shit. Presumably what little good sense he
had got left behind when his body died...
"That's… Not practical. I go off-planet for extended periods, and you know how that messes magic up. How about just asking Mammon for help?"
"No no no no no." Richard shakes his head emphatically. "That's a terrible idea. He's had a downsizing obsession since the eighties! He'll have me broken up for parts! Or just broken up and stuck back together with the bits he doesn't like missing!"
...Kind of like what OL did to Mammon? Good to see him paying it forwards.
Angelica nods. "He probably would."
"Alright, compromise. We build a basic robot body for you but you stay here. Doctor Fate serves as your parole officer. If he judges that granting you more freedom is worth the risk, if you make yourself useful, then you get more freedom."
But be very clear that you'll have multiple kill-switches, just in case of any backsliding. And don't let him know about
all of them.
"I don't understand why you're being so hostile. I died fighting a doomsday cult!"
Through the Helmet's eye holes I see John's eyes narrow.
"If you wanted forbearance then you shouldn't have attacked the Justice League. You're being given a chance because no one was seriously hurt."
Well,
this time around. After all, if this didn't work, you know he'd have kept trying stupid plan after stupid plan.
And because the League isn't especially eager for the existence of the Watchtower to become common knowledge. For some reason. If it was me I'd probably find its existence reassuring.
Richard sighs. "I suppose it's better than Hell." He rattles his chains weakly. "Can you do something about this now?"
And, to be honest, I doubt it has quite the same level of 'Sword of Damocles' threat inherent to its having significant firepower, given that it's a repurposed Green Lantern Corp Watch-house, rather than a human-built satellite. After all, people know that the Green Lanterns have
rules about that sort of thing, I would hope.
John holds out his right hand, a glowing golden ankh appearing in the air next to it. The binding chains vanish, appearing in a coil by my feet. A far simpler binding collar with an ankh decoration appears around Richard's neck. He takes hold of it with his right hand and tugs it up to look at it, then drops it with a shrug.
Oh, don't look so glum. I'm sure it's rather fetching...
Even if it might kind of make you look like Fate's BDSM pet...
"I'll need to go back to Earth to build the robot. Do you want one that looks like you, or one that doesn't?"
"If I'm staying in here, it doesn't really matter."
Hmm, what synthetic humanoid aesthetic to go for, then? Personally, I'd go for the
Sorayama pin-up-style chrome. That's a
fun kind of cool.
I nod. "Alright, I'll get on with that. But while we're all here… No one's heard anything about what John Constantine's been doing with himself?"
Angelica and Dr. Balewa shakes their heads.
"Huh. Okay. Could you please send out some feelers? I'm starting to get a little concerned."
Gods,
finally he asks for help on it. Seriously, who
knows what kind of trouble John's been getting into while he's been out of sight? I know neither of them know Constantine well enough to
worry, but Quinn at least should be able to emphasize the importance of knowing where his namesake is...
