[Archive] With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Story Only)

[Mr Zoat]

20th August 2013
12:39 GMT -7

Iname is still blushing as we finally reach the outskirts of the crater. Persuader hasn't quite worked out what Iname offered, and I don't think that she's even got an approximate idea. Probably because it's so contrary to our current relationship.

Huh. Occurs to me that Persuader never met Jade-.

"Persuader, have you worked in the same theatre of operation as Cheshire?"

"Ah. yeah, couple of times. Why?"

"Just occurs to me that you've got a lot in common. Stopped bleeding yet?"

"I dunno. It's sort of achy. I don't really wanna poke it."

I put her down and look at her thoughtfully. "Have you tried using your powers to heal yourself?"

"Can I..? Do that?"

I touch my own injury-. Yes, still hurts, but I'm still augmented by the venom buster I first took… Oh, so long ago now. And probably a little by what I absorbed in the Land of Summer's End. But let's see. Master of My Domain

I wait for a moment and… Ah, there we go. My injury knits itself back together as it should, and I… Feel myself regain my full strength. Good. That-.

Aaaand it's gone.

"Looks like we can heal using our God Names, but trying to maintain full power is a non-starter."

I gently lower Persuader to the ground, where she looks askance at Iname. "So how come she's still fast?"

"When I want to go fast, I constantly use my God Name. I am not using it now because we are going slowly."

"Okay… But mine's not really very heally."

I sigh quietly. "Persuader, Granny Goodness might have conditioned Knockout to be a resilient and ruthless warrior, but she also deliberately made her… Uncreative and disinclined to question."

"Meaning..?"

"Meaning that it literally wouldn't occur to her that you do more damage punching someone with a hand that isn't broken."

Persuader thinks about that for a moment.

"Shouldn't..? You..? Tell her that?"

"Uuuuh, no. Knockout is working for me because Granny Goodness told her to. She's still loyal to my father, she just doesn't bother considering the idea that I might not be. If I teach her how to be even a little creative, she'd probably notice that."

"Yeah…" She shifts awkwardly. "But…"

I raise my eyebrows. "You like her."

"She's.. my teacher."

Iname glances her way for a moment. "Will you stab her, too?"

"Maybe if I want an A. I'd… Like to help her?"

"Huh. Okay. Are we talking 'respected elder'-like, 'Amazon eromena'-like, or 'I'm trying to hook her up with my Dad'-like?"

"What's that middle one mean?"

"Given Apokoliptian attitudes towards carnality, it wouldn't be that unusual for two people in your position to be…"

"Ah, no, no."

"'Relieving tension'. And honestly, I don't think her and your Dad-."

Persuader nods. "She's out of Dad's league."

I nod back. "It would snap right off. Maybe if I augmented him?"

"Alright." Persuader turns away. "So I need a pouch for a water bottle, and a pouch for something to make me forget you said that."

"But getting back to the point, you should be able to heal yourself. Or at least turn your ability to heal back on."

"How?"

"Spiritual self-awareness. What are you? And how is it more appropriate to that thing that you be healthy than you be bleeding?"

"Isn't there something you can do..? 'cause we're your employees?"

"Yes, but that wouldn't have helped while you were miles away being shot dead by phantasmal policemen. I may have a vested interest in you not dying, but you have a bigger one."

"Uh… Okay. Um…"

"Though given that your opponent appears to be trying to kill us and appears to be limited in influence to this planet… And given that we're trying to kill them, it probably wouldn't hurt to invoke a dialectic… Did I ever explain how that worked?"

"Is that the thing where we play up how different we are to boost ourselves?"

"Just so. Well remembered."

"Right-. Ah, I got it." You Missed

"Interesting choice. Did it work?"

She hesitates for a moment, and then bends a little to the left. And then to the right. "I think so."

"Of course, that does risk your wounds reopening if our opponent hits you again."

"I don't think whoever it is is gunna use rifles or handguns again."

"Fair enough. Iname, this was where your house appeared?"

"Yes, Master."

I cup my hands around my mouth. "Alright, arsehole! Last chance to surrender!" Grant Due Process

"Master, is warning them a good idea?"

"It's not like they don't know that we're here, and it's possible that they've misunderstood our intent."

But I'm still wondering. What sort of being can alter reality like this but can't stop us… Using that part of us that is at one with the Source.

No.

But why would they-?

The mountainside around us shimmers-. No, not shimmers. Something is covering the surface-. Perspective. People. People just appeared. Thousands… Perhaps hundreds of thousands. At this distance I can't make out individuals, but… Yes, they're all around us.

About a kilometre away they halt, up the slope and down it.

I take a step forwards. "What?"

One figure steps forwards-. Ah.

"Do you know who I am?"

"Commodore Amalak. Looking well for a dead man."

"I've been given a chance at justice."

"I doubt it. I think that you're just another phantasm, like all the rest." Dismiss the Monkey

A large quadruped trots up next to him. "And do you think that I-?"

"Yes, Chrysalis, you're fake too. What's the point of this?"

"We're all people you killed unjustly."

"Oh?" I clench my fists. "I suppose I'll have to be more thorough this time." Magistrate's Authority

Death to the Dead

I Cut Things

 

[Mr Zoat]

20th August 2013
12:43 GMT -7
From Many, One Purpose
Amalak's personal force field lasts about as long this time as the first time, though this time the cause of death is my fist rather than a purple death ray. Chrysalis snarls and fires a green beam from her horn, but seeing as how I'm not Celestia I just sidestep to evade it before closing the distance and crushing her skull between my hands.
Certainty of Death
I can feel it as Iname effortlessly fights off the lassitude this place is inflicting on us. Her speed is a little slower than what I know she's capable of, but I assume that she's trying to ensure that she doesn't have a problem if it turns out that whoever's doing this is capable of more than we've seen so far. I can feel it as she calls upon the extended part of her divine nature, gradually drawing upon more and more power. Assuming that we win here, I'll have to see if Wallace is willing to try racing her again.
I Cut Things
Persuader on the other hand is just cutting a hole in space to somewhere the horde hasn't focused on yet, moving through, cutting them down and then stepping back through and closing her tear. Now that she's found a way to keep her divine empowerment running she's just focusing on using that rather than pushing herself further. Acceptable for now, but perhaps something we should go into in later training sessions.

A jagged bolt of purple lightning-
A Pale Reflection
-strikes my armour, but I've built up quite a mystical head of steam and… Ah, there he is. Klarion may well have been more powerful than whoever's doing this. Certainly he was better with chaos magic. I leap towards him, crushing three people I vaguely remember as thugs or henchmen I slew at some point before-

"WWWWRRRAAAAWRWWW!"

-Klarion's cat swells to the size of a liger and pounces at me! I sidestep, slap a reaching claw aside hard enough to snap bones and then draw the Sword of the Fallen and stab it in the head. It turns to ash immediately, while Klarion just goes for another shot. Golden fire, this time.
Glorious Purpose
The flame washes over me and does very little. A slight twinge, a little… Building heat, like I just swallowed a mouthful of chilli; thought I was alright and then here comes the pain. But a far poorer showing than real Klarion made before I killed him. I grab the fake's arms and redirect them towards the mob of… Gordanians and branx? Who are closing in around us, and he burns a swath through them before ceasing his own spell.

"Unrealistic."

I slam him to the ground with my right hand, grab the Sword with my left and then stab him through the face. Ash and dust again.

"What's this in aid of?!" Challenge the Coward

A purple-white ray hits me in the cuirass, and looking for the source-. A sheeda Highborn riding one of those ridiculous spider things. I-.

Ah. It's in the opposite direction to the centre of the impact crater. Klarion was perpendicular. Clever. But insufficient. "On me."

I take a flying leap towards the centre of the impact crater. Apparently I haven't killed a lot of flying creatures, because all that tries to intercept me are a couple of changeling guards and even when in fireball mode they're not exactly hard to punch out of the sky.

"What are you trying to tell me?!" Certainty of Purpose

I land, crushing a small swarm of zombies from the Land of Summer's End beneath my feet. Honestly, given the centuries I spent there I'm a little surprised that there aren't more sheeda things. A glowing green slash appears in the air next to me and Persuader steps through. Zombies I bypassed collapse into two halves as Iname precipitates out of the air.

"Heading for the centre of the crater, girls. Someone's trying to distract us."

"Yes, Master!" Death Comes to All.

"You know who this is?"

"Golden fire is pretty much angels only. So is playing around with creation and believing they have the right to judge and condemn the living. The problem is that we use Source-magic too, and they don't have an override."

"The fuck's an angel doing here?"

"No idea. Nor do I know why they're acting like this. I-." The area around us starts to glow. I look up-.

Oh no.

Luciphage the Starbreaker grins down at us. Probably the most powerful thing I've ever killed. Not sure how much like the original this copy is, but we only really killed the first one by completely blindsiding him.

"Revenge before the offence is even given. Poetic, wouldn't you say?"

"No." I shake my head, though I'm not really confident. "No way. This far back in time, you shouldn't even be alive."

"Oh, I am far weaker than the version you faced. I have only fed upon a hundred stars and not an entire universe. How glorious that will be!"

"So who brought you here?" "Girls, go."

"A whisper of power and opportunity. Solar energy is well enough, but the potent flavour of magic is a rare treat."

"Yeah, that's why I'm here too." I have a quick check left and right, and the girls are gone. Good. "But it's not like the sheeda's future is one I want to bring about. In the unlikely event that you are real, I'll have to thank whoever's doing this for bringing you here."

But looking behind him… There's still a horde, but it seems a little… Indistinct? Reduced? If I assume that the angel responsible has finite power to work with, they're… Focusing. And while I'm happy that the girls will be relatively unencumbered, that suggests that this thing might actually have a fraction of the real Star Vampire's stren-.

CRACK!

Okkkkrrruuughhhhhh?

And all of a sudden he's a long way away.

And I'm… I'm in a crater. The crack was… My armour. Okay. Did it's job-. Ow. Mostly did its job. Abdomen… Painful, but not ruptured. Everything else… Fine-ish. And since the summoner still isn't confronting me in person, I've still got most of my arcane momentum.

Up I get, and here floats the Star Vampire himself.

"A mere hundred stars' worth of strength. But still enough to deal with someone as weak as you."
Degenerate Opposition Strengthens Righteous Authority
I nod. "Probably would be. Except I'm one of the people who killed you when you'd glutted yourself on the entire universe."

"With the aid of an entire civilisation, and another of your kind with the skills to help you."

"Then take another swing and see what happens." Fight Test

He doesn't think that I've got anything. Or at least whoever's controlling this projection doesn't. But with a quick glance at the Sword of the Fallen he realises that I might be gambling on being fast enough to stab him as he hits me, and that that would end the fight. So he doesn't do that. Instead, his eyes glow purple, enough power to vaporise me building up-.
Master of My Domain
But I don't boost my physiology. I boost my connection to my orange power ring. And while I can't build the energy siphon we used in the Land of Summer's End, I can create a construct with the colour that's really good at stealing energy.

He fires, I thrust my construct forwards and he spots the problem immediately. Part of it, anyway. The other part is that this is a thaumically active world, which means that the sheeda runes which I used last time will work.

Which means that he can't break the connection he established.

"Guagh!"

"Good effort, whoever you are." Maintaining the construct I walk closer as his body begins to shrivel up. "I'll see you in person shortly."

And one quick stab with the Sword of the Fallen, and I'm on my way again.

 

[Mr Zoat]

20th August 2013
12:46 GMT -7

And in the centre of the crater is…

Not a lot. Iname is twitching, jerking from place to place as if what's here will have changed since the last time she looked. Persuader's kicking at the ground, oddly-shaped stones-.
Magistrate's Judgement
Ah. That's not a stone.

Iname looks around. "Master, there's nothing-."

I silence her by raising my right hand. Then I bend down next to one of the larger 'stones' displaced by Persuader's boot, pick it up and brush it off…

"Master, is that metal?"
Lawful Investigation
"Scan."

"Well spotted, Lantern Grayven. Metal composition matches alloy used in the hull armour of Knights of Passage capital ships. It's impossible to determine exactly what ship this came from, and advanced armour is highly resistant to corrosion."

Iname looks around. "A spaceship crashed here? Is that what killed everything?"

I shake my head. "Not unless they've started building super dreadnaughts." Or death stars. "But it is a little odd that they haven't recovered it."

And now that I look across the landscape, other erosion-resistant shapes start to stand out. Given how long ago it would have had to have been, and how extensive the damage appears to have been, I can't even tell how… Many ships there were.

Hah.

"New question, girls. We're at the bottom of a crater and it only stops raining when the opposition act against us. Where's all the water? This should be a sea."

"Um." Iname looks around with new eyes, but doesn't appear to have any idea.

"Err, evaporated?"

I shake my head, though it's nice that sending Persuader back to high school has produced a positive result. "No. Not enough sunlight or heat. Sinestro, what's happening beneath us?"
Lawful Investigation
"Your surmise is correct, Lantern Grayven. There is a large hollow beneath us, apparently held in place by a combination of rock and wreckage. The surrounding rock has enough fractures to allow a truly vast quantity of water to be stored there."

"Master? You said that the Knights fought your grandfather?"

"Yeah. I don't remember anything about them fighting in this system, but there was a lot of fighting going on all over the galaxy."

I consider Sinestro for a moment. Cutting our way down makes a degree of sense, but if our best way to remain empowered is to use our New God powers then it's probably best to use compatible technology.

Mother Box?
Direct the War
Ping.

BOOM!

Iname's through before I can say anything, while Persuader hangs back for a moment. "Is that safe?"

I step through, and she can come through or not. Dark down here, and there's a constant noise of water dripping down rock and running down the metal wreckage in rivulets. Where I'm standing isn't underwater, but by the echo…

Iname tosses a couple of glow sticks around, but that's not really doing much to light the place up. Really, all it's doing in emphasising the darkness.

"…thing!" Persuader comes through behind me, looking around. "Oh, hey, we didn't die."

"Did you bring any sort of lights?"

"My phone's got a light."

"Perhaps not."
I Am Above This
Ring, fabricate light globes.

By your command.

Ah, much better. Yes, this actually looks like… Like someone took the wreckage and deliberately shaped it. Or at least boarded the ships while they were still functional and smashed holes in convenient locations. Right, unless I'm very much misremembering, we're in a Deterrence class battleship… Or bits of it, at least. What I can see looks a little too even to be the result of a fortuitous crash.

Stranger and stranger.

"Iname?"

She appears in front of me. "Master?"

"Found anything?"

"Yyyyes, Master, but… You should take a look."

I nod. "Lead the way."

Whoever built this place at least wedged everything in solidly. Flying here would be awkward so I settle for picking my way across the wreckage carefully, gripping the solid-looking places above me with my hands, and gingerly testing the resilience of the floor beneath me. It doesn't even creak, and I'm not sure if that's the results of centuries of sediment and settling or the work of whoever built it.

Iname just dances across like it's Baby's First Parkour Course. An advantage she has from weighing about a hundredth of what I do.

"Here, Master." She stands on… I think that's an observation platform which an officer would use to oversee the Knights' marines. Someone's ripped it out and torn off one of the walls-.

"I.. see." And I carefully don't get closer to the Apokoliptian Transferral Node. Big model, far larger than anything I've used anywhere except the Absolute Dominion. Looks like it should be able to handle bigger applications of spiritual power than I'm capable of exerting-.

And there's another one over there.

"Well spotted, don't touch them with your hand or your soul."

"No, Master."

Persuader approaches from behind me. "How about my axe?"

"Not at this stage."

"So is there, like, a New God down here?"

"No, we'd all have felt that. My best guess is that there's someone trapped down here… And whoever put them here did something to prevent them ever leaving."

"A good guy, or a bad guy?"

"Apokolips and New Genesis use the same sort of technology, so it could go either way. And don't assume that the prisoner isn't bad just because they fought Apokolips. We don't like people diluting our trademarks."

Iname nods. "Should I look for them?"

"No. We don't know what whoever put that there did to this place. I've been assuming that they were interfering with our arcane abilities, but if someone really strong put that there, it might be them instead."

Persuader looks up. "And all the dead people?"

"No, that took active control. Whoever did that is on site." I stare at the supersized Transferral Node. "And what I'm really worried about-."

Iname's eyes widen. "Your grandfather."

"Yeah. Because I've never heard of someone on the Source Wall being aware of anything, but if I was trying to build a machine that could make that happen… It would involve things like that. Proceed carefully."

 

[Mr Zoat]

20th August 2013
12:51 GMT -7

Twenty four of the things, arranged in a rough globe. Why? Don't know, though I'm getting uncomfortable Salvation Run flashbacks. Apokolips does have worlds like that… Or just nominates some luckless planetoid at random, but I don't remember this one being on any lists, and I've got Original Grayven's memories. But if this is a New God then they should be stronger in here, and we haven't been attacked since we got down here.

I'm coming up blank, but there's really only one place to look. It looks like someone tore out the ship's bridge while leaving the exterior armour and bulkheads intact. With the Transferral Node around here, the armour could be reinforced all the way up to neutronium toughness.

Fortunately…

"Persuader, if you please."

She swings her axe downwards. I Cut Things

Four swings later, I gently shove the bulkhead and watch as it collapses inwards.

Ah. Someone was making a point.

Apokolips doesn't have a tradition of crucifixion per se, but there are only so many ways to bind someone upright. Clamps around the torso, neck and arms have kept the skeletal remains upright… Remain upright, and from the metal insignia resting on the bones or laying on the floor I assume that these were senior officers.

"Haaaaaaa…"

I step fully into the room, ready to lend assistance-.

Or-. Not.

The figure bound at the command station is barely alive. Adipose tissue is a distant memory, muscle tissue isn't much better, his eyes are sunken… I can't see any injuries, but… He's krendek. Socially responsible bunch. A lot of them join the Knights of Passage even though they're not fanatical about the religious aspect. But their skin is usually blue. His is white, and there's the ragged remains of a green cloak over his shoulders-.

No way. No fucking way.

Lantern Grayven, explain.

The near-corpse's eyes focus on me, blearily at first and then something snaps them into focus, glowing white holes-.

I swallow-.

I need a second attempt to fucking swallow.

"Who am I talking to?"

"Apokoliptian."

"Master?" I glance back and see that the girls have followed me in. "What's wrong?"

"It ah… Looks like I underestimated my grandfather."

"Justice... Will come to you. And all like you. I will deliver it… However long it takes."

"Are you keeping that poor bastard alive? By the Source, have some mercy-."

Right. He literally can't.

Persuader walks over with the atomic axe raised. "Boss, I can just kill-."

"Nononononono!"

"Him…" She stops, sounding confused. "No? Okay? You're paying me, I guess." She looks at the host body. "This guy fought your granddad?"

"We fought the fleets of Yuga Khan. Sinners and false deities slain without the weakness of doubt."

I look around. Yes, this is about what I'd expect as the fate of anyone who managed to achieve anything against grandfather.

"He did this to you?" He just glowers. "But why didn't he kill you?"

"God set me on this path. I cannot be stopped."

"Clearly, you can. I've heard about your rampages. What you hit us with just now is a fraction of what you used to be able to do."

I take a closer look at the machinery as Iname leans closer to him, head jerking between him and me. "Master, who is this?"

"I don't know who the host is. But the passenger is the Spectre."

"Who?"

"Damn." I look at her with a faintly impressed smile. "Cold."

"Master?"

"The Wrath of God. Source-God. The same place we get our powers from."

There's a click-.

"Persuader!"

She tries to look innocent, but the way her backing away from the control panel matched the timing of the sound makes it fairly unconvincing. "I didn't touch it!"

An image appears in the space before the Spectre's host. AUTOCRACY

"Master?"

It's not him. I know it's not him, but whatever he did to make this place work, to imprison the Spectre, has just enough of him about it that it's like I'm getting my soul sucked out through my skin. Because ultimately I consider that my power is bequeathed by those around me. He considers all power to come from him, granted by him and rescinded the moment that he wills it. And the Source backs him, made him like that. He's what Father struggles to convince everyone that he is, and just doing that has made Father so powerful-.

But it's not actually him. I push upright, noting as I do so that Iname is hovering next to me in case I need a hand. I smile her a quick smile before turning my attention to Grandfather's image. "Why don't you come here and say that?"

He doesn't respond, because… It's a recording. Alright-.

"Apokoliptian. If you are seeing this, then my investigations of the Source Wall have gone awry, and yet you have the strength to persevere against all that this spectre can do to you. For that at least you have my consideration. Slay it, and I shall reward you in person."

I wait until a fraction of a second after the image closes down, and then:

"NOBODY KILL THE SPECTRE!" BY MY COMMAND!

"No, Master!" / "Okay, boss..?"

Okay.

I make eye contact with the Wrath of God once more, but it doesn't look like he's got anything that he wants to say to me.

Okay.

So Yuga Khan fought the Spectre, won, and set him up as a test slash escape hatch from the Source Wall..? Or at least intended to. I can see the logic, and he infamously had the power to take power from others into himself.

"So I can't kill you. And leaving you here is a risk, too. So what am I to do with you?"

 

[Mr Zoat]

20th August 2013
12:55 GMT -7

"Could you put your host on for a minute?"

"He would die."

Ah, yeah. His species isn't really designed to live when they're that decayed. I take out my purple healing ray and begin fabricating a nutrient drip. Duties of the Domitor

"See this gun? It was designed by a woman from the most notoriously murderous political movement on Earth, after she quit and tried repenting. It fires a ray which invigorates living tissue, a 'healing ray' if you will. If you'd encountered her prior to her making it -whether she was still loyal or repentant- you'd have killed her, and it wouldn't exist. But, I can fire it at your host, and hook him up to-" I nod to the drip. "-that, and he'll probably survive."

"I will not release Yuga Khan."

"If he starts to die, take over. I just want to pay my respects to a man brave enough to fight my grandfather, and to ask what funerary rites he wants." Hm. "But I suppose you can pass that on. Let's not be unrealistic about your chance of getting out of this."

"I will escape eventually. And now that you are here, the Knights of Passage will have observed the changes on the surface and dispatched a patrol to investigate. My host had given up hope, but your folly has renewed it."

"You know… That's the sad thing. He deserves a chance to return to his people."

"You cannot harm me in a meaningful way. In our weakened state you could slay my host, but you fear Yuga Khan too greatly to risk it. If you free me, I will grant you a swift and painless death; it is the one leniency I afford to anyone."

"Mm, let me thinkno." I feel around my-. Ah, there it is. "Spectre, are you aware of Masak Mavdil?"

"It would not hold me."

"Sure, sure. Point is, while I was there, I picked up this." I pull out a tiny piece of kaahuite from my harness. "Nasty stuff, hm? Now, I'm not sure what would happen if I killed you with it-. Killed your host, I should say. But I'd give it an even chance of sticking. And my grandfather had no idea that this stuff existed. Which means that whatever Source-based thing is supposed to happen almost certainly won't."

"Almost."

"Yeah, but for me, you being free is actually worse than Grandfather getting free. I mean, I certainly don't want him free, but he'd probably just ignore me. He might even deal with Father for me. You, on the other hand, would send me to the Source at the first opportunity."

"Yes."

"At least you're honest. What was up with that Provider?"

"Your minions unleashed them upon thousands of worlds."

"No-." I frown. "No, you've got me confused for the other Grayven. The clone I got merged with. He's the one who recruited the Citizenry, I'm the one who rallied Vega to stop them."

"No. You're not."

…

"I had wondered. Still, I think I am, and that's the main thing. And the Source takes my soul either way, so… Distinction without a difference." I shrug. "Or perhaps not. Something tells me that you're the sort who would underestimate the power of friendship." I take hold of the drip's infusion pad. "May I? You've already acknowledged that I'm not going to kill your host with something so mundane as poison."

"I will make no accommodation with evil."

"Okay, fine. Other option is that I kill you with this." I draw the Sword of the Fallen with my left hand. "This has the interesting effect of causing you to incarnate as a mortal. No magic power, but you can work on your morals and maybe earn your way back into the Silver City. Which I… Vaguely recall is the whole point of this exercise."

"If I live, I will regain my power. If I regain my power, I will slay you."

"Unless you live and die as a mortal man. Most of those don't get as powerful as me. But I will respect your dedication if you try. So. Do you have a preference, or anything useful to say on the subject?"

"I will make. No accommodation. With evil."

I shrug, and look to my assistants. "Girls? Any thoughts?"

Persuader gestures to the ship's machinery. "Couldn't we just wreck this place, and then take him with us?"

"It would be a risk, but in theory, yes. The problem is that I don't know the systems that Grandfather would have used. Plus, there are all sorts of problems that could come about from having him as a prisoner. First and foremost, it leaves open the possibility of escape."

"Master, isn't Christianity all about encouraging people to be better?"

"Yes. Which is why the Spectre here literally stopped existing while Jesus Christ was alive."

Iname blinks. "King Jesus is real?"

"Sort of. I'm not exactly sure what he was. I had wondered if he was a human who turned himself into a New God unaided. That's why I delayed in Awakening Persuader; to see if it was possible. But after Knockout got a bit into things I thought it best not to wait."

"I'm not Jesus, boss."

I nod. "I realised that."

"And it was just grinding, it wasn't even-."

"I don't need to know that, Persuader." … "Though to be clear, Knockout's job is to teach you to fight. Consent customs are.. different on Apokolips, but in my home we use American norms."

"… Right."

That's going to be an awkward conversation for later.

"Master, um…"

I give Iname a mildly pained look. "You too?"

She blinks. "Me t-?" Her eyes widen as she works out what I just implied. "No!"

"Oh, ah-. It wouldn't be a problem exactly, I was more surprised-." Though given how we met, perhaps I shouldn't have been.

And now she's blushing. "I want to ask why the Spectre is trying to kill me. Persuader murdered her teacher and he thinks you are the Other Grayven, but what did I do?"

"Ignorant child, you have murdered thousands."

"But they were all really bad."

"By the law of Heaven, not all of those you slew deserved death."

She thinks for a moment, and then turns back to me. "Master, I don't like Heaven's laws."

"Then you're in the historical majority. Last words, Spectre?"

"Your evil will not stand."

"Neat."

I step forwards and stab his host in the heart with the Sword of the Fallen. He shudders for a moment, then his skin returns to its former blue hue and his cloak turns into the remains of a uniform. The second that happens I withdraw the Sword and repair his heart, sticking the infusion pad onto his chest to start the process of feeding him and shooting with the now fully functional purple healing ray.

Scans show...

Not dead. He hangs limply, eyes barely capable of tracking me. But they are tracking.

Let's hope that the Knights of Passage are so glad to see him that they don't ask too much about anything else.