16th September 2012
18:14 GMT -4
"There was no sign that I could see. One day the greatest, most noble man I knew simply… Took leave of his reason."
Diana hesitates for a moment, then presses on. Egeria appears to have cleared her schedule, because this meeting of the government of Themyscira assembled very quickly once I made it known that Diana wanted to meet them. In addition to the Archon herself there's the local Wonder Woman, Philippus, leading priestesses, senators and even Magala lurking in the background.
"He tore apart his home city, killing many of those who were his friends. Then he rose into the sky and laid waste to the entire world. Themyscira was… Burned. There were no survivors."
"No idea why, at all?"
"From the overwhelming power of the demonic magic that now blankets the world, I think that he was somehow possessed." She shakes her head. "The few magic users who weren't driven mad by the sudden change in Earth's magic systems… He killed them during our counterattack."
"I'm sorry to press you like this, but if there was any indication of which demon, or who might have conjured it, or anything that would help banish it…"
She gives her head a small shake.
"Zatanna tried to discover its name. She could not find a match in any of her tomes. Jason Blood conjured demons to interrogate, and none of them knew either. Perhaps… Perhaps it was not a demon, but some combination of telepathic control and mutagen?"
"How did you end up with the crown?"
"I don't clearly remember. I remember being defeated by Superman, and then everything is a blur of fury and madness."
"Can you stomach working with the local Nazis in order to defeat him?"
"I will have to. A reckoning for them will come eventually."
"Could we not have a reckoning and instead use the fact that they're having peaceful contact with other cultures who don't share their viewpoint to encourage a gradual social reform process?" She looks mildly puzzled. "We're going to be working with their version of Superman, and while he's fully aware of how bad Nazi society is he isn't quite ready to sign off on burning the whole system down."
Philippus frowns. "One man devastated a world? I'm sorry, Princess,-"
That title gets her a few looks.
"-but I don't see how that's possible."
"Superman's strength puts Herakles to shame. His endurance would put Atlas to shame, and his swiftness…"
Diana pushes her chair back, stands, and then floats into the air. About half the audience check her feet, presumably looking for the Demon Earth version of the Sandals. And then she's gone, reappearing on the other side of the room to the stares of the crowd.
"The Five blessed me with abilities far greater than those of mortal women. I can move with supernatural speed when I must. Superman usually holds himself back to avoid causing unnecessary harm." She lands and walks slowly back, making eye contact with each member of the audience as she does. "He did not hold back during our fight."
I nod, generating a small stone tower construct. "Unlike Herakles, Superman has natural flight. If Herakles wants to destroy a building and he punches it-"
I make a construct Herakles and have him punch the tower.
"-he goes flying because he can't grip the ground well enough to keep his feet."
The tower cracks slightly and Herakles goes flying backwards. Artemis and Philippus nod, both being familiar with the Gauntlets. Most of the others look to them for confirmation.
"Superman can fly faster than sound. If he wants to destroy a building-"
An orange blur strikes the tower, which collapses to rubble.
"-that happens. Now imagine that rather than a building, he flew into the ground hard enough to make the ground shake."
I pull the image out and show a city of towers falling.
"Or punches straight through it to the magma beneath."
I pull the image out further and show the likely outcome of Kal-El punching through the planet's crust. Dust and rock fly into the atmosphere, magma vomits free and the land is levelled for miles around.
"And then you've got the knock-on effect on the atmosphere. Civilisation is only ever two meals from collapse, and enough dust in the upper atmosphere and you can go years without sun."
"He was more inclined to use heat vision or throw things." Diana retakes her seat. "But the point is well-made."
Egeria nods. "That is frightful power to be in any man's hands. What aid do you want?"
"There would be little point in bringing an army. But if-" Diana makes eye contact with Wonder Woman 10, who nods. "-your Wonder Woman will accompany me, it will greatly improve our ability to fight through the corrupted warriors who will oppose our attacks."
"And Superman himself?"
"Basically, prepare banishment effects before we go in, then let Superman Sixteen and Overman pin him in place while we use them. I've also got weapons that he's weak against, but I'm a little reluctant to just kill someone that full of demon magic in case the result is worse than leaving him there. We haven't planned in any detail yet because we still don't know what resources we're going to have available."
Hm.
"Speaking of that, can I borrow your smiths for a few hours? I've learned a lot about armour transmutation, but I can't do that part of the forging process myself. I-" I look at Diana. "-doubt that you really want to go into a fight wearing demonic armour."
"Have you made armor for the version of me from your world?"
"It was a team effort with Io, Ted Kord and an Atlantean thaumaturgist named Sephtian. The armour will still be good without Sephtian, it just won't have some extra magic effects." I shrug. "I can also make you a sword, but… It depends on what sort of proportion of the possessed people you think can be saved."
She nods solemnly. "It is a hard decision, but I believe that saving what is left of my world must come before saving my friends and comrades."
I nod. "Rightoh. Sword and shield then?" She nods, and I turn to the other Artemis. "And for you?"
"I am content with the weapons which I already have."
Egeria nods. "Io will be able to work with you on creating your armour. Is that all?"
"It would be really helpful if Magala could help with opening the portal. We've got one guy recovering in hospital who knows how they work, and the Reich doesn't encourage magic study."
Egeria looks back and Magala, who nods reluctantly. Diana smiles at her.
"Then we are ready to begin."
I wonder which alternate was the first-time playthrough?
