16th September 2012
19:21 GMT
"…access their world."
So this is where the machine the Sivanas built to send us to Witch World ended up.
Dr. Balewa gestures to the inscriptions drawn onto a portion of the device controlling the start and end points. Further runes link that to the chair Mike's sitting on, Nabu's skull-helmet still on his head. Looks like… Steering and anchoring.
Not sure how I'll feel if it turns out that Dr. Balewa only needed an hour or so to bypass the whole 'need a host to use magic' restriction.
Overman is taking a closer look at the helmet.
"This came from their world?"
"Yes. That's one of the functions of the orange light; I can turn people into constructs. Then they become my slaves."
He looks understandably concerned. "Slaves-?"
"Do not be so confident. I have overcome domination spells before."
"I only use it in cases where the target is irredeemable and there's an operational reason to keep them around. In this case, we need access to his Earth and… You don't have to talk to him for long to realise that he's a lost cause."
"I had assumed that you would not use such methods."
Superman gives me a mildly disappointed look.
"We don't. The Justice League don't."
"But sometimes it's really convenient if someone who isn't a member does something and shares what they learned. Superman, I would honestly be happy to debate the efficacy of lethal force with you-. Oh."
I frown.
"Something wrong?"
"If the angels hadn't destroyed the Sword of the Fallen I might have been able to use it to turn him back. One of… Larfleeze's Construct-Lanterns is a Guardian. Even if he ended up back as… They used to be before bonding with their symbiotes, it would still have been a big help for the Green Lantern Corps." I shrug. "Missed opportunity. Sorry. Carry on."
"I would have bound him in ways just as unpleasant and far less reliable. With evil spirits, a magician's options are limited."
Superman looks at Nabu. "What happened to you?"
"I realised how worthless everything I'd ever done and every belief I'd ever had was."
"And so you decided to lash out at everyone around you?"
"You were most persuasive."
Superman blinks, then I see his eyes flick towards Overman for an instant.
"What happened?"
"No. You'll need me to pass undetected through their wards. I want to see your face when you-."
"You're not a free agent, Nabu. Tell him what he wants to know."
"You did."
Superman nods. "I thought that was what you meant. Was I-. Was there something wrong with me from the start?"
"No. You were a virtuous hero. Until you weren't. Or perhaps you were feigning virtue all along. That seems more likely. I certainly wouldn't have tolerated Lois Lane for as long as you did. How many times can a woman fall from a building before it becomes obvious that the problem is her? I wasn't there to witness the change myself, and by the time I returned to the material universe it seemed unimportant."
"So Demon Superman rules over the Earth."
"If you can call it ruling. He mostly just sits there and listens to the misery of the surviving population. I imagine that his super hearing allows him to hear all of it. I wonder how it will make you feel."
"Sick to my stomach, probably. But I'll sleep better at night knowing that I did something than knowing that I did nothing."
"I doubt that. But far be it for me to stop you."
Overman looks thoughtful.
"What is your Superman trying to achieve?"
"Little to nothing. Whatever the netherfiends whispering in his head tell him. I have no particular insight."
"And the other heroes?"
"They are his creatures now, ruined in mind and soul. Monstrous beasts without the intellect he himself maintains."
"And the mark thing?"
"Ritual humiliation. He breaks their will as he breaks their world."
"That doesn't sound like me. If anything, it sounds like Darkseid."
"Darkseid is hardly the only great evil in the universe. In time, you will be just as bad."
"I don't believe that for a moment. I just met a Nazi version of myself and even he's trying to be a better man." Superman looks over to Overman. "How old did you say you were?"
"I arrived on Earth in nineteen thirty nine. If that is when I was born, then I am seventy three."
"Then it sounds like I've got a little while. Doctor Mist, can you get us there?"
Dr. Balewa nods. "I can open a portal to their Earth. But if I went through myself, I may have difficulty adapting to a world saturated with demon magic."
"Angelica?"
"Yes?"
"Ah, no, Angelica Blaze. Her or Zauriel. Theurgy should still work, shouldn't it?"
He nods. "I believe so. But it would also draw the attention of the entire world."
"We can't fight everyone on the planet, not if we want to save them." Superman nods. "Call them in, but have them on stand by. What do you say, Overman?"
"You want to save them?"
"If an evil version of us has taken over and corrupted the place, I'd say it's our job to fix it."
Overman watches his face for a moment and then looks away, smiling.
"Yes. Let us save these poor huddled masses. I assume that you will not countenance the use of lethal force?"
Superman looks at me for a moment.
"If there-. If there are situations where you can't avoid it without innocent people dying… But try not to."
Overman nods, and Superman flies towards the portal.
"Doctor, send us through."
