11th April 2013
19:23 GMT +5:30
Bleez's ship ascends into the upper atmosphere on autopilot while its owner studies the ground beneath us. And the giant pile of restraint racks I've fabricated for the belligerents.
"Who are these people?"
"That's… How much of that cultural briefing material I sent you did you actually read?
"
"Most of it. I focused on the different political structures, because I… I'd like to find something that would work for
us. Thanagar."
"Oh. Good. I was halfway convinced that you were just handing it all over to the intelligence analysts.
"
"They got copies too, but I
did read it. I just didn't read about… These people."
"These people are part of a Hindu sect called 'thuggees'. Essentially, they believe that materialism diminishes the soul, so they destroy things that people value in order to liberate them from their own attachments.
Specifically, they're part of the Kobra denomination of the thuggees, which means that they don't just limit themselves to
individual spiritual liberation through destruction, but they believe that they can… Sort of flip the universe over into a… Higher, more glorious state if they destroy enough.
"
"What would that be like?"
"We poor creatures of the most diminished state of the universe could not comprehend it. But an improvement, of some sort.
"
"And is that true?"
"No, of course not. Reality inversions take far more effort than just destroying a load of stuff. Plus, the people involved have to be able to picture clearly what they're trying to achieve, which wouldn't be the case here. Definitionally
couldn't be the case, if you think about it.
"
Her eyes go wide as they
lock onto me, her wing posture-. She's not getting ready to lunge, she's getting ready to fly away.
"What do you mean by 'reality inversion'?"
"It's a bit like changing history through time travel, except you do it at one point in time and it changes everything into anything.
"
"Orange Lantern?
" Dr. Mist strolls over, having finished examining the wards defending this place.
"I think thet you should
stop talking.
"
"The point is that they're basically just nuts, but enough crazy people being crazy in the same way can do a lot of damage.
" I turn towards the sound of footsteps with a grin.
"And speaking of
crazy!
"
Lady Eve herself doesn't look anything special. The guards behind her are wearing the sort of clearly coloured uniforms that I'd honestly thought that minions had abandoned in the eighties, though it is armoured and the helmet does contain flash protection and an infrared mode. The tattoo-covered magician behind them is flashing the occasional nervous look at Dr. Balewa, because while Kobra magicians can strike above their weight class in Western countries due to the lack of opposition
none of them are world-class.
Is this
it?
I know that I wound up the much better resourced League of Shadows in an afternoon, but… Given that Jeff managed to make a decent fight of it back in Belle Reve, I sort of assumed that their home base would do better as well. Then again, if the infighting has been bad…
"The Life Wizard and the World Mender. What has brought you here?"
Dr. Balewa and I make eye contact with one another, and I bow my head a little. He is the Justice League member, even if there's… No real enforcement either way at the moment.
"You are Lady Eve? Head of Kobra?
"
"I am Lady Eve. But Kobra has splintered."
"I understood thet loyalty to Mister Burr was a little stronger in other parts of the world. I did not think thet you had trouble
here.
"
"They looked to me for answers, but I have none. Our prophesised saviour failed, and became just another power-hungry
bandit."
I vaguely remember a comic where they started over with his brother, but… I don't want to suggest that.
"Why would they attack you, then? Why not leaf?
"
"Sacred scripture is only shared with those who have proven their devotion. They think that I have some knowledge that I am keeping from them." She shakes her head. "I
do not."
"Then what was your plen?
"
"I planned to wait, observe, pray… I would hope that something revealed itself in time."
Dr. Balewa nods.
"Were you able to shield yourself from the Anti-Life Broadcast?
"
"No. And even if we could, we would not. It is cowardly to hide from suffering. We embrace it as we learn to reject temporal pleasure."
Kara perks up slightly. "Like Job!"
Lady Eve's eyes narrow slightly, but then she just sort of.. gives up on her sneer. "No, not like Job. The Book of Job is about the rightfulness of obedience to a higher power. We seek to elevate
ourselves by becoming more than this weak flesh."
"I belief you also wish to bring an end to the period you call Kali Yuga.
"
"For the betterment of all."
"And to do thet, you must make the world as bad as it can be.
"
"There is more to it than that. But in essence, yes."
Dr. Balewa affects a puzzled expression, shaking his head.
"And… What is it thet you imagine thet there is thet is worse than the Anti-Life?
"
Oh,
that's kind of clever. I'm not sure that she's on his wavelength. In organisations like Kobra, sometimes even the leaders have drunk the kool-aid. We've got no reason to assume that she ever went beyond 'suffering = good, follow the prophecy for maximum goodness'… But I suppose that if we're not just killing her right away…
"I have never experienced something worse."
"And, did you feel the energy as we ended the Anti-Life?
"
"Yes."
"Then… What do you imagine thet the transition from one age into another feels like?
"
"I-." She stares at him, and the other Kobra people are staring too. "I don't understand."
"Did you not picture what it would be like to live in the new age?
" He raises his right hand, a small
white sigil floating over it and even
I feel it, the essence of existence.
"Did you not feel the wave of spirit pass over the world?
"
She
gulps. "I.. did."
"You are a creature of the former, corrupted age. But for eh moment, you saw what it was like to be something else. Would you like to feel thet again?
"
Or the situation at hand, methinks.
