With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)

[Mr Zoat]

1st September 2013
19:43 GMT -5

Artemis looks mildly confused. "Bournville is an actual place?"

"Yes. It was the top of the line Victorian town built by the Cadbury brothers for their workers. It's also the place the dark chocolate brand I resurrected is named after."

Wallace arranges more of the names Edward Mackensen provided us with on the hologram display. Faces, employment history, and… I'm not sure whether I should be worried or relieved that we've got this much information on known associates. And when they're all in place, he looks decidedly unsatisfied. "We've got a problem."

"Someone's been making drugs in a company town when I'm the one who owns the company."

"Not that." He gestures at the display. "Why would any of these guys know anything about alchemy?"

He's got a point. A few drivers, a depot manager, a welder… Yes, some of them have something obvious to add to the enterprise, while others…

"This chap." I point. "Charles Andrews."

Artemis frowns, calling up his expanded history. "The… Homeless guy?"

"'No fixed address' doesn't mean homeless. Did I ever tell you about The Tate Club?"

"The place in London where the wizards hang out?"

I nod. "Criminal record. A couple of speeding tickets, both in London. And he didn't have the same hair style, but I'm pretty sure that I remember seeing him in the club on one of my visits."

Wallace raises his eyebrows. "What happened to perfect memory?"

"Wizards. There are plenty of ways for them to disguise themselves. Altering my memory would be difficult, but changing their own face a little would be easy. What else do you notice about his record?"

"He's been unemployed… His whole life."

"Good suit for an unemployed man. Unemployment benefits in Britain aren't that good."

Wallace nods. "Street magician?"

"That's my guess." I have my ring quickly review Cadbury's records. "Never applied for a job with Cadbury or KordTech."

Artemis nods. "Guess he's not a joiner."

"Could be that. Or it could be that he's not good enough."

Wallace looks sceptical. "I don't know, Oh El. This isn't something a guy who knows nothing could have come up with."

I call up the mass spectrometry results.

"Look, each of the patches contains basically the same thing. The only difference is the… Tiny amount that can't be properly analysed with conventional equipment. That looks to me like he found a potion recipe somewhere and adapted it."

Wallace nods. "So he can follow a recipe but doesn't know enough to create things outside of that."

"It's a thing in Britain. We've actually got lots of magicians, technically, but they're usually weak and ignorant. They get by on cunning and the greater ignorance of the people around them. One or two good tricks they parlay into wider significance."

Alright, London's the most surveilled city in the world… And we have access to all of their records. Again, not… Totally comfortable with that, but… Facial recognition-. Ring, that query's going to take too long. Do the processing yourself.

Compliance. Results available.

And suddenly I know nearly everywhere he's gone in central London for the last twenty years. Any one particular place-.

"Here." The Grand Hotel, of course. "I think he's been living here."

Artemis frowns. "Do magicians earn enough to live full-time in fancy hotels?"

"Not usually, but it's easy to nudge a few minds so that they think you're a guest. Put up a glamour so that they're only selectively aware that the room you're occupying actually exists. There are all sorts of ways to manipulate people with magic if they can't defend themselves at all." There's a reason why the Metropolitan Police put up with John Constantine, and it's not just because of that Watford mess. They needed someone with his skills. "I'll get in touch with my old friends at The Tate Club and see if they're prepared to talk to me."

Wallace calls up a London street map. "Think it's safe for me and Arte to check out his hotel?"

"Probably. I suspect that it's booby trapped… If he's planning on ever coming back, which given that he's moved to Bournville, he may well not be."

Artemis nods. "Like, an explosive..?"

"Probably not. Probably some sort of curse, or maybe a minor demon. If it's the first, your spell eaters should be able to take it… Unless it's indirect. But again, I don't get the impression that he's particularly powerful. It would probably be bound to an object-. You've got your-?"

Artemis and Wallace both pull out their rune stones.

"Good, good. I've got silver-plated iron daggers if you want them, but honestly you should be able to handle a minor demon without special measures."

Artemis holds out her hand, so I fabricate a knife with a sheath that will fit on her harness.

Wallace frowns thoughtfully. "How smart would a demon be?"

"Uh… This is a pile of assumptions we're making here, but I'd guess that if it attacks you then it's probably as intelligent as a feral animal, and if it holds off and waits then it's probably as intelligent as… My old praexis demons."

"Could we bargain with-" Artemis glares at him and slaps his upper right arm. "-with-. I don't mean like that."

"You necessarily do. It's a demon. Even just freeing it from bondage would just free it to inflict misery on other people. If you want to try and get information from it, give it a choice of having its physical form destroyed by either physical trauma or Essence of Vitriol. Your super acid will cause lasting harm. If there's a demon there at all, which I emphasise we don't know."

Artemis nods. "We sweep the place, find where he's been hiding, and go through his stuff and see if there's anything magical there."

"You and Wallace will."

"Okay." Wallace raises an eyebrow. "And where are you going?"

"Bournville. It's not strange for me to visit; I own the company. I'll walk around, monitor our suspects remotely and see if I see any problems. If you turn out to need me I can be back in London in a few seconds, but I'm still hopeful that we can end this without a violent confrontation."

Artemis frowns. "Did you miss the part where they tried to kill a guy to keep him quiet?"

"Frankly, I don't think a magician like this is skilled enough to pull that off. I'm not sure why it happened, but that's why I'm going to go in softly. Anything else?"

They shake their heads.

"Alright." I generate a zeta tube construct. "Let's go."

 

[Mr Zoat]

September 1st, 2013
14:49 UK Time

Okay.

Okay.

No rush. Just remember-

"Recognized, Artemis, B zero eight."

-what Dad and Uncle Barry and Jay told you. Apologise, talk about what you're going to do like rational people, and then let her talk herself out while making sympathetic noises because that's something women need even if they've agreed with you about what you're going to do next.

Arte looks around the abandoned lot where London's zeta tube is stationed these days.

This whole idea was a lot less scary when I thought they were joking. And when it wasn't Artemis.

Okay, Wally, time to man-

"So, this way?"

-up-?

"Huh?" She's pointing-. The hotel, right. "Oh, yeah. Ah, you want me to carry you?"

She taps her belt and.. floats into the air-. Because she's got an inertia belt. "You want me to carry you?"

Hm. It's mid-afternoon here, so there shouldn't be all that many people on the street. None of the people in Britain with superspeed live in London, so unless Lord Malvolio is still around-. Should have checked that. I start tapping on my arm computer. There's no reason not to run except that Artemis can't keep up, and she'll be flying directly anyway-.

Oh, that's not why-.

"You know what?" I shrug, smiling my most winning smile. "Sure."

"Really?" Hah! Didn't expect that, did you?

"Yeah. I've never gone flying with you before-" Let's not mention what happens when I try using superspeed with an inertia belt. Should have learned my lesson from trying to vibrate through a wall. "-and it's not like a hotel room's going anywhere."

Okay, she knows this is some sort of game, but she never backs down, so-.

"And up we go!"

I… Should have seen this coming. She just put me over her shoulder, because she's got superstrength and I'm not that heavy. We're flying at about ten stories up, and I'm getting a great view of London's streets-

And her ass.

-but we can't really have a conversation…

Ah, it can wait.

"You okay back there?"

"Just taking the time to appreciate how great your ass looks in these pants."

She tightens her grip around my waist just a little. "Well, you-."

I feel her turn her head towards me, but that's just putting her face in my hip, so…

"Would you prefer a bridal carry?"

"Nah babe, I'm good."

My wrist computer beeps-. No, looks like Lord Malvolio only comes back for a few days each month. Still think it's kinda weird how he looks like a juiced-up Alan Scott… I wonder if they're related or something-.

And I'm not on Arte's shoulder any more! She dropped-. No, she tosses me and I'm starting to come down-! Okay, I should be able to run down that wall-.

She catches me under the arms. "How about this?"

Okay, breathe, breathe, try and ignore the fact that your feet are hanging ten stories up-.

Wait, what's that against the back of my h-?

Oh.

Okay, not complaining any more.

"Fine, babe."

"Didn't look like you were f-." She pauses, then shifts position so she's not cushioning my head any more and I'm just dangling. "How about now?"

"Less fine. Ah, look, babe, I know you're pissed about the whole dropping-out-of-college thing, but it was just an idea."

"An idea."

"Yeah. Y'know, getting feedback-."

"That you brought up with Paul, and not with me."

"He-."

"Paul. The cake guy."

"He's also the richest guy in the world right now."

"He is?"

"Kinda. Rob explained it. Basically, rich people don't have a lot of cash just sitting around, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Right, so between dollars not being worth much and most shares not being worth much, Paul just flat out owning a huge logistics company with magic portals… And the only chocolate company still trading internationally, and having a whole load of gold in a vault somewhere… I mean, once the economy starts working again then whoever got shares in the companies that are still working will probably be richer on paper, but… Yeah."

"Do you think he knows?"

"Ah… Could go either way."

"Do you think he did it on purpose?"

"Again, could go either way. I mean, he was trying to keep vital infrastructure working, and right now that's just about the most vital thing there is, so…"

But we're talking around the problem.

"Look, I've kinda been thinking about it for a while, and he was just there, so I thought I'd ask. Obviously, I'd have talked it over with you before deciding anything."

"So?"

"So we haven't talked it over yet. And… Okay, they're not making me redo the first semester, so I've got a couple of months to put a business plan together. We already know there's a market for healing potions, and I can come up with something to extend their shelf life." Which honestly isn't great right now. "And there's a bunch of other potions I've tested that are just like things that are already on the market but better, cheaper, and without the side effects. Ted says he's fine with helping with marketing and Paul already said he can handle shipping."

"So..?"

"So… What do you think?"

She breathes out slowly, my head cushion deflating even further. "Do you really wanna do this?"

"I don't know..? I think… Yeah? I think putting stuff together and making stuff happen is kinda why I got into chemistry in the first place, and… Uncle Barry's great and all, but ninety percent of his actual job is running the same couple of tests about a million times a week."

"Okay. Work on that business plan, and… Show me when it's done, I guess."

"Okay."

"Okay."

Huh. That wasn't so-.

"But you understand how I felt when you talked about it with Paul instead of me, right?"

"Oh, totally!"

"Because…"

 

[Mr Zoat]

1st September 2013
14:45 GMT

There's something about being here that I find extremely relaxing.

Britain isn't any better defended than other European countries. Decades of spending cuts on the armed forces and a high level of restrictions on citizen weapon ownership combined with a dense population and plentiful processed resources should have made it a good target for the sheeda. In fact, the high number of low level magicians made disrupting sheeda invisibility spells relatively easy, and allowed both the military and the few civilian weapon owners to fight regular sheeda soldiers. Combine that with a sizeable small arms industry which switched to supplying local militias immediately, it… Was bad, but not as bad as it was in a lot of places.

"Orange Lantern!"

I wave back with a smile.

Which means that the physical and psychological scars the Harvest caused in most places… Aren't quite as bad here. Especially in places like Bournville, which with a little light industry and a relatively dispersed population didn't have anything to draw sheeda attention. One chocoholic highborn was about it, and they dealt with that by just handing him chocolate until enough force could be brought to bear to kill him.

I see a young woman communicate to her nervous daughter that it's perfectly acceptable to wave at me, which causes her to wiggle her windmill in my general direction. I give her a little wave back.

And with the anti-life… Good community networks did a lot to keep people alive all over the world. There was a sweet spot between high density faceless neighbours and low density isolationism where there's a measurable drop off in the death count, and Bournville's right in the middle of it. No Justifiers and no Finality Man ever visited here, because… Why would they? Heck, the nearest anti-life broadcaster was in London. The biggest problem they had was in maintaining food supplies, but a lot of places in the Birmingham area were already creating new allotments and bringing land back into agricultural use, so it was more a matter of restricted diets rather than actual starvation like in some places.

Oh, and there's the fact that the rate of employment is very high, thanks largely to me vanquishing the fake cheese merchants of Kraft, and I can feel justifiably proud of that bit.

Well. Nothing looks like it's on fire. And scans don't show anyone using the emotion drugs here. It does look like some enterprising individual is growing a few plant troughs worth of cannabis, but… Eh, fine. It's probably less dangerous than moonshine. I'd be more worried about the electricity consumption if I hadn't given Cadbury a bleed torsion generator to lower their fuel costs, which resulted in them selling the considerable excess to the national grid.

Anyway, someone's learned not to shit where they eat. Or make drugs, in this case. Scans aren't coming back with anything helpful. C.C.T.V. isn't anything like as all-encompassing here as it is in London, so I can't meaningfully use the same technique. Tracking shipments of the raw materials isn't really possible because either they're bringing in low quantities in the driver compartments of their lorries or the official manifest is otherwise being altered. Wallace thought that some of the raw materials are probably being acquired locally, but… Looking at power consumption only really returns the cannabis grower as using significantly more power than is otherwise explicable.

I take out a rune stone, but… No. Far too large an area to cover. Unless I'm right over where they're doing the magic part of the work, that's not going to show anything. It's not good at picking up alchemical products at the best of times.

Empathic vision…

Huh. Nothing useful. In fact, everything's a little blurry. That… Shouldn't-.

Ah. Probably deliberate. I wouldn't notice from a distance or if I was visiting headquarters, but now that I'm here… Yeah. Alright, there are only so many places in Bournville -or even wider Birmingham- that an alchemical laboratory could be hidden, but me being here and floating menacingly is probably enough to stop anyone doing anything foolish, and it's probably best if I wait until Wallace and Artemis can back me up before making an attack. Mostly for the intimidation factor. With three of us they're much less likely to say 'I can take 'em'.

And in the meantime…

The universe flickers as I appear over the main portal park and depot. Eighty large-sized portals positioned around a tarmacked area about the size of ten football fields, lorries coming in and out, men in high visibility vests checking identities and directing drivers to the appropriate warehouses, crews loading and unloading pallets… And the lorries being directed away from the complex and towards the Cadbury factory directly.

What was the series called-? The Commonwealth Saga, that was it. Mass transit was undertaken not by spacecraft but by a massive network of giant railways connected by wormhole portals, all based on planets owned by a megacorp founded by the portal technology's inventors. I don't know, I should probably get someone to assess whether moving to a system like that would actually be better. I wasn't planning for this to be permanent-.

I wasn't really planning for this at all.

No, no, it wouldn't work for how we're using it. We've been moving the portals around, and it's not practical to lay tracks like that. But once things go back to normal, then… Maybe?

Trying not to get further distracted, I descend towards the management offices and phase through the wall. Once inside, I head towards the logistics office and knock on the door.

"Yeah!"

I push it open and stroll inside, prompting eyes to widen and mouths to drop. "Good afternoon. Need access to your computers for a moment."

"I mean… They're your computers?"

"Yes, but just grabbing them-" I connect to the closest with a construct cable. "-would be rude."

Due to the magical nature of our logistics train, our computer systems are warded, so no remote access for me. Plugged in, however, I can access transportation logs…

Ah. Mr. Mannheim is here… Somewhere. Not sure why, what he's learned… Patterns of lorry movement-. Shipments from source locations-. Good.

I disconnect. "Thank you. All yours again."

"Is there something-?"

I

step out, returning

to the depot. Where is-? Ah, there. Transition down, because even if there's been a network shutdown it would take a while for everyone to be notified.

"Davidson-"

The man flinches, turns around to see me, and flinches more.

"-Oyebe. I can't see your desires. Why would that be?"

"What-? What you mean, man?"

"It means that you're under arrest under suspicion of smuggling and such other offences as may be discovered by a full investigation. You may find me more-." He turns and sprints away from me. "Where are you going?"

Other people working in the depot turn and stare as I fly after a man attempting to flee from me. Why would-?

Oh gosh darn it. I grab him with a construct just as he simultaneously has a stroke and a heart attack, and this time I take out the planar jammer immediately. Remove the patches -and if one of these isn't fear then it's certainly stupid- and repair the physical damage. Ongoing symptoms..? None, good.

"Mister Oyebe."

He doesn't move for a moment, then focuses on me. "He just-. Crazy fucking wizard. I should have known this was going to happen."

"You really should. But I may be lenient with you if you tell me where he is. Now."

 

[Mr Zoat]

September 1st, 2013
14:56 UK Time

Why did Artemis just stab the wall with an arrow?

"Artemis, why'd you do that?"

She shrugs and walks a little further down the corridor. "Because I was paying attention? Spell eaters don't work on everything, but so long as I-" She stabs the wall again. "-keep stabbing at the same interval, my anti-magic arrow will mess up the spell even if I don't know it's there."

"That… Makes sense. Except that if it's a glamour, we'll both walk past it and not even realise that you've taken more steps than normal, because glamours mess with all your perceptions."

"Oh." She looks disappointed. "You sure?"

"I mean…" I shrug. "If it's just an illusion then your idea would work fine. Or if the guy's actually using optical camouflage-"

She snorts.

"-then you'd poke a hole in it, but fairy-stuff's supposed to be popular with the street magicians who don't just use demons."

"And what if it's a demon?"

"If it was demon magic..? Demon magic doesn't just make you think something's true when it isn't, it messes with everything. If there was something like that on a hotel there'd be records of the guests and staff going crazy. And there isn't, I checked."

She lowers her arrow. "So what do we do?"

"Well, I already checked the plans and nothing stood out to me."

"But it wouldn't."

"Right. Buuuut, this guy's supposed to be pretty weak. Right?"

"If you've done something clever-"

"Ah, yeah."

She puts her hands on her hips. "-then just tell me what it is."

I pull two vials out of my potion pouch. I mean, it's more of a bandoleer, but that's three syllables. "See, normal wizards could just brute force something like this if they were powerful enough, so I was wondering… Can I make anyone that powerful?"

"You've got a potion that makes people wizards?"

"No, but it kind of makes the magic around you treat you as if you are."

"And it's safe?"

"Thanks for having confidence in me, babe."

"Is it-?"

"I already tested it!"

"On humans?"

"Yes. And… Okay, according to Zatanna it only made me about twenty percent harder to affect, but she's a lot more powerful than most street magicians."

"Uh." She takes the vial I offer her, staring at the dull green contents. "What does it taste like?"

I wince a little. It's a pain, but that's alchemy. You can't just stick it in a clay tablet and then coat it in sugar, it messes everything up. "Maybe just… Swallow it fast."

Cap off, bottom up-. Ouh, yeah, that's it. It's not bad exactly, because… The human sense of taste and smell are there to tell you what's good to eat and what isn't, so it doesn't really react to things that aren't food. You just get left with an impression that you just put something in your body that really wasn't meant to be there.

Artemis makes a face, then puts the stopper back on and hands me back the vial. "Does it do anything to how fast you go?"

"No, that's not based on raw magical strength or anything. Maybe if I was using chi-based speed or something…"

"So is it going to do anything to how strong I am?"

Uh.

"It shouldn't, the Danner Formula alters your body tissue, it doesn't have-"

She's scowling. "You didn't test it."

"-an ongoing effect." I raise my hands slightly. "But if you feel anything weird happening, tell me, because I've got another potion that should stop it."

"Did you test that?"

"Yes."

I look around the corridor. Nothing looks different, but I won't know-.

"So what now?"

"Okay, so we might be able to see through it right away, or it might kind of shimmer..?" I look towards the stairs. "If I run through the place-."

"Where's the penthouse?"

"Ah." I look at my arm computer. "The largest rooms I can see are… Top two floors?"

"No one's gunna do all this for a box room." She thinks for a moment. "And Paul said it's all about presentation, right? He's not gunna take anything but the best."

"Okay." I nod. "Makes sense." And then I grin-

"Wait."

-and pick her up in a bridal carry and run down the corridor, into the stairwell, up the stairs and up to the second-to-top floor.

She pushes me back as she gets back on her feet. "Ass."

"Okay. Look for-."

Artemis walks… Down the corridor. "Does this place have a history of fire alarms going off?"

"I have no idea. Do you want me to ask?"

"Just thinking he might use the fire exit to go in and out, but-" She shakes her head. "-that wouldn't fit. Elevator this way?"

"Yeah? You don't think doing this right next to the elevator might be a little difficult?"

"If he were smart he'd hide out in a janitor's closet and make everyone forget about it. He's gunna be living here like he's meant to live here, like being able to do a little magic makes him the greatest thing since sliced bread. I thought he might use the fire escape, but that's too much effort."

"Makes sense." I nod as we round the corner. "Okay, there's the elevator, and-."

Artemis walks along the corridor, left hand trailing along the opposite wall. I dash past her, reaching the other end of the corridor before turning around and walking back-.

She stops, smiling. "There's something under my hand, but I can't see it."

I look-. "Yeah, the wallpaper looks wrong. Like the pattern's turned clockwise ten degrees."

"You wanna try vibrating through it?"

I take out the skeleton keycard the receptionist gave us. "He won't have rewired it. So the panel should be…" I swipe the keycard against nothing, and there's a faint click. "Here." I grip the handle I can't see and push the door open, stepping through the wall…

"Huh."

Artemis steps through after, then stops just behind me. "Weird poster. You take his workshop, I'll check in here."

 

[Mr Zoat]

1st September 2013
14:58 GMT

"…whatever they're doing, I just move stuff for them."

I look out of the side window of his lorry towards the aging industrial unit, the sort of light industrial rental property designed to house a number of small businesses. From the signs on the walls and on the entrance to the courtyard car park I'd have assumed that it still did, but… Apparently not.

Infrared scans can't tell whether there's anyone inside or not, and empathic vision isn't doing much better.

"Thank you, Mister Oyebe. Assuming that you're telling the truth, you've been most helpful."

"So, can I go?"

I glance back at him. "Mister Oyebe."

"So, no."

"No, but I will let the judge know that you cooperated with my enquiries. If I may ask, why 'fear'?"

"Works better than coffee for keeping me awake. Keeps me alert." He flops back into his seat. "I can't believe that piece of shit tried to kill me."

"You're surprised that a drug dealer tried to kill you before you could talk to the authorities?"

"Yeah-. Yeah, I guess I am."

I raise my left eyebrow. "W-why?"

"'cause… We weren't hurting nobody. Weren't competing with nobody. Fuck, this stuff isn't even illegal."

"Not specifically, no."

"Huh?"

"While it's true that narcotics have to be specifically prohibited in law in order to be illegal, there are a number of other lesser offences which a person who deals in them may be charged with. Poisoning, for example. Illegal monitoring, if the spell components track the user."

"I am not a wizard!"

"And? Are you not familiar with British joint enterprise laws? If nothing else, you should realise that involvement in a group willing to kill you was unwi-"

The skylight of one of the buildings opens up, and someone-. Bruno Mannheim pulls himself out, pausing to kick someone's hand off him-.

"-se-. Excuse me."

I transition into the space next to him as he pulls out his telephone and starts hammering the buttons.

"Problem?"

He jerks his head around, then pointedly steps away from the skylight. "Shit that was fast. I didn' think I even pressed the buttons!"

"You didn't. More than one way to skin a cat."

A pale skinned blonde man pulls himself out of the skylight, sees me and then freezes.

"F-uck."

"I appreciate the offer, but I'm taken. I would strongly recommend-"

"Yeah-yeah." He pulls himself onto the roof, and then turns around with his hands behind his back. "I'm not a fucking idiot, mate."

"Congratulations." I form manacles around his wrists and ankles before giving Mr. Mannheim my attention. "Situation?"

"This is where they're mak'n the stuff, but it's more than that. One of the ingredients, they're suck'n it out of a guy. Got a bunch o' toobs in'm."

"Oh dear. That won't do. Did you recognise him?" He shakes his head. "You were spotted?"

"Yeah." He shrugs awkwardly. "It's not a big place. Not a lotta room for hid'n."

"Not to worry. Any guns?"

He shakes his head. "I did'n see none."

"Right." I place my right hand on his left shoulder, fly us both up until the fuzziness is no longer blocking my view of him, and then transition us to his lorry. "Thank you for your assistance. If you wish, you may remain employed with Cadbury Logistics, or you may return to your previous work with my thanks."

"Gotta finish up my shift. I'll let yah know."

I nod, then transition back into the air above the drug manufacturing centre, and then fly down.

"I thought you left."

I shrug. "Just needed to drop my friend off in case some of your colleagues are less enlightened than you are. Please do not attempt to leave."

He glances down at his anklets. "…yeah, I wasn't gunna."

"Good man!"

I float down the hole in the roof and-

"Gary?"

"Gentlemen."

-wreath the colleagues of 'Gary' in chains, causing them to collapse to the floor.

"You're under arrest and you're fired, do not resist."

It's never entirely wise to blunder around somewhere a wizard has had time to prepare, so I release my thrall constructs and send them down the corridor ahead of me. Naturally the building doesn't have an intercom system, so I can't just announce that I want them to surrender. Oh, I'm sure that they'll work it out. But just in case I release three hydra heads and send them to patrol the perimeter.

Useful things, soul bound slaves.

Okay, scans are being disrupted… How about sonics? Ah, good, I can see where someone's added in denser material than a… Cloth printing business would need-. They also wouldn't need a reinforced door with a broken lock. I pull it open.

"Did you find-?" The woman in the lab coat on the other side blinks at me. I give her a little wave. "Ah, fuck."

"Is there something about me which suggests that I cheat on my girlfriend?"

"… What?"

"Hands behind your back, and the only reason I'm not binding your legs is because I want you to take me to whoever-."

"Yep! Yep." She puts her hands behind her back and I cuff them. "No problem. This way."

"Thank you. You know, you don't get this level of politeness from American drug dealers."

"Ah, you're welcome?"

"You see? Just-."

I see the clean room in the next room, partitioned off by plastic drapes. And I see the man strapped to a bench within, shuddering against his bonds, eyes unfocused.

"Roger Hayden. I wondered where you'd gotten to."

 

[Mr Zoat]

September 1st, 2013
15:11 UK Time

I finish going through the last of the Andrews guy's drawers and turn around to look at the mess we've made of his room. Just regular guy-stuff, as far as I can tell. Okay, a guy who's more worried about his appearance than most guys, but there's no… I don't know. Magic drugs or whatever. Guess he doesn't try his own supply. Or maybe he moved to Bournville before that all started? There isn't really any dust, but… If the room's sealed-.

Is there some sort of magical house-cleaning spell?

Wally's looking through his herb collection and typing things on his computer. I step over the perfectly regular clothes I've thrown on the floor and head over to the workroom. Huh. Just realised that people having supervillain names makes it a lot easier to talk about them. 'Charles Andrews' is kind of… Not that memorable. And it's like two first names, so are you talking about some guy called 'Andrews'-. Paul would probably call him 'Mister Andrews', but that makes it sound like I'm respecting him.

I look over Wally's shoulder and… Yeah, that's dried… Dirt? "Find anything?"

"Ah, maybe?" He moves the pot of dirt over to one side and takes out a packet of dried leaves. "Most of this is stuff any alchemist would have. Just about all the stuff he'd need to make… Like, a prototype potion is here… But not everything."

"Okay, is-." What the-? "Does this guy have one of those posters in every room in this place?"

It's a yellow smiley face on a white background. There was one in the living room, in the kitchen, in his bedroom and there's one behind his chemistry bench. This one has 'Smile! You're my number one guy!' written on it.

"Yeah. There's even one in the bathroom."

"Is it a magic thing?"

He frowns at me-. What?

"What?"

"Putting up weird motivational posters?" He shakes his head. "No, that's not a magic thing." He goes back to sorting through the bench compartments. "Except… Ah, Jay told me about this one magic poster that kinda did a reverse Picture of Dorian Grey, where a wizard stuck it to a wall and a demon came out and killed people."

"I don't remember that. Was it recent?"

"No, it was about twenty years ago in Opal. Starman… Ah… Four? He destroyed the poster. The wizard got a life extension for everyone the demon killed. He'd already been doing it for over a hundred years. No one really picked up on it."

"Think this guy gets a life extension every time someone sends a text message?"

Wally pushes the… Leaves aside and pulls a book off a stand.

"Shouldn't think so. He'd have to go to wherever the main servers are, do a bunch of stuff and hope that Hephaestaean didn't notice. And he'd have to stay there, or bind some kinda demon to the system-."

I raise my left eyebrow.

"Oh, joke, right." He sighs as he opens the book. "Sorry. It's just, we kinda have to think about this stuff now. You find anything?"

"A lotta clothes that looked like they got worn, like, once." Huh. I fold my arms across my chest. "Does this kinda thing happen a lot?"

"What kinda thing?"

"This guy isn't that powerful, right?"

"Seeing how we're here? Wouldn't think so."

"And he's been living in this hotel for years."

"Oh. Yeah. Ah, maybe? I mean… How would we know?"

Huh. He's got a… Point. I try reading the book over his shoulder, but… I don't understand… Whatever language that is. Something on my chest itches and I scratch it without looking away.

"Can you actually read that?"

"Uhh, not all of it. I'm just-" He turns the page. "-looking for names. Ingredients. Or if he's been making some kind of deal with a demon or something."

"You haven't… Done that, right?"

"No? For me, this is, like, chemistry with extras. The reason why I like it is because I'm… Working out how the world really works. By myself, not just doing what some demon's telling me. And, y'know, those kinda deals are always messed up anyway." He scratches his chest. "Uh. Babe?"

"What?"

"Are you using a new detergent or something? 'cause we're both scratching ourselves, and if we're both alergic…"

"Uh, no? Same old-."

There's something… On my chest. I can feel it. But I can't remember what it is. It feels warm, whatever it is. And it wasn't warm earlier.

Something's stopping me thinking about it. Magic-.

I grab Wally and throw myself towards the closest window, smashing through it and falling towards the parking lot at the back of the hotel! Wally's eyes widen as we slam into the ground, and I bend my legs a little to absorb the energy.

Huh, the asphalt only cracked a little bit.

"Ah, babe? What.. the heck..?"

It's-. A spell eater. And it's warm, because it's been absorbing something. I put Wally down, take hold of my spell eater and wave it at him.

"I was wearing it, but I couldn't think about it. How 'bout you?"

"I-." His eyes widen. "No! I forgot I even had it."

"There wasn't anyone up there, right?"

"No." He shakes his head. "If we were that distracted, whoever it was would have attacked us."

"And the freakiest thing up there was those posters, right?"

He nods. "Yeah. Definitely."

"Okay." I hold out my right hand. "Gimme your spell eater and all the magic acid you got."

"Artemis… That would melt the hotel."

Huh? "How much do you carry?"

"Not… That much. It's powerful."

"You got something to neutralise it?"

"Kinda defeats the point of 'super acid'. But if they're magical..?" He thinks for a moment. "Alright, just… Throw me up there. I can pull 'em off the walls…" He looks around. "Yeah, it shouldn't matter too much if this parking lot gets a bit melted." He carefully passes me one capsule, and I stick it in a pouch very carefully. "Use this on the first one and put it on the ground. That'll make a hole for you to put the rest in."

"Right. And that'll do it?"

"If they're where it's coming from, sure. If not, eh, we destroyed some weird posters."

"Right." I bend down and make a stirrup with my hands.

He… Hesitates. "Is that the best way to do this?"

I glare at him. "Do you wanna practice or do you wanna get the evil posters?"

"Okay-" He climbs on, and thanks to the Danner Formula I barely feel his weight. "-then, Ar-"

Check the sight line and throw!

"-teeeee-!"

 

[Mr Zoat]

1st September 2013
15:04 GMT

I pull out my rune stone-. And it shines like a sparkler. High level ambient magic, constantly active. In fact… It's more than that. I didn't think Charles Andrews was powerful enough to make something like this using his own efforts, which… Means that he's made a deal. A deal with something powerful.

"Madam, I would appreciate an explanation."

"I-I don't know who he is."

"His name is Roger-."

"Yeah, you said, I meant… Before you said it. Uh."

"Put it this way. You are a party at the very least to kidnapping and false imprisonment, just based on what I've seen so far. You are already going to prison for a long time. However, I have some familiarity with Mister Andrews' social circle, and the only way I can see him creating a spell this powerful is by having a demon do the heavy lifting."

"So he sold his soul?"

"Probably not. Tell me, have any of your co-workers just… Not come back to work without an explanation? Did you maybe sign a contract when you started working here and maybe not read the details too closely?"

"He said it was-. Oh shit!"

"Oh shit indeed." She looks at me in horror as I grin. "Fascinating case in London a few decades ago. Stockbroker made a deal with a demon called Triskele. He got success in all his financial dealings, and she got his soul. Except the deal only lasted five years, didn't it? Then he got dragged off bodily to Hell… Unless he found some innocent soul -he used his own baby daughter- and gave them to Triskele instead. One baby, another five years. Do you think for a moment that your employer isn't someone who would happily sacrifice the rest of you?"

"A-ah-! A-ah-!"

"Fortunately for you, I'm here to wipe your arse for you. Tell me what's going on."

"And-? Ahgdhuh, ah, whoever he-? The thing-."

Ah, a little too much.

"I've beaten every demon I've fought so far."

"He-. He was here, like this, when I started working here. He hasn't moved or said anything-. We have cameras!" She points upwards-. Ah, I see. "I never saw Charles do any magic or anything on him. I just-. I'm a nurse. I basically just make sure that he stays healthy."

I check-. Catheter, colostomy bag…

"Does Mister Andrews need to do anything to make it safe for you to approach Mister Hayden?"

"No? I mean, he didn't. Did-did he need to?"

Check the bed, check the floor, check the equipment…

"I can't see anything binding a spell to this location, which means that crossing into the space probably wouldn't create a problem. However, I'll ask an actual magician to check you over before handing you off to the police. No drugs in these tubes?"

"I mean… Some paink-. Mild painkillers and anti-inflammatories. I'm not drugging him unconscious. He just-. Hasn't woken up."

"Not.. seeing anything to monitor his brain activity."

"No?"

I nod. "I suppose you weren't trying to help him get better. Were there any visible injuries on him?"

"No. Some bruising around the cannulae… Nothing else."

"Hm." While there are a whole range of stimulants I could inject him with, I don't want to do anything too radical while he's under the influence of a powerful spell. And while he should be pretty powerless without the Medusa Mask, he started his criminal career before he made it. And he made it; he didn't find it or get given it. "Alright. Is Mister Andrews in today?"

"Yeah, he-. He's down in Production."

I release Gary from my ring.

"You, guard them both, and don't kill anyone."

"Yes, Master."

"Is that a demon?"

"Ah… Technically, no."

"Then what is it?"

"It used to be a rot elemental. Now it's technically a minor avarice elemental."

"What's the difference?"

"It won't eat your soul unless I specifically instruct it to. Excuse me."

I phase through the wall, drifting out of the building and over the car park, where my Construct Lanterns have corralled the employees. No Charles Andrews so far, but brainwashed thralls and giant lizard heads aren't really the best at conducting searches.

"Excuse me!"

Everyone looks up.

"The first one to tell me where Charles Andrews is gets me telling the judge at their trial that they were cooperative."

There's a brief delay, and a quick 'what's-everyone'else-doing' look around, and then almost as one they point towards… A laboratory with no one in it.

"If he's supposed to be in there, I can't see him."

An hairy overweight man shrugs. "That's where he went. Didn't see him when your… Things chased us all out."

Right. No reason why he'd just hide his hotel room.

Ring, call local police.

Compliance.

And in I go, through the wall-

Warning! Spell Eater temperature increasing!

-and into… A fairly standard series of chemistry workstations. I've seen drug labs, and this place isn't so different. Nothing sticks out as magical, and-.

The western wall shimmers, and a locked door appears.

Temperature stabilising.

Right. I'm all out of patience. I stride over to the door, form a crumbler gauntlet around my right fist and punch first the lock and then the hinges. The door falls… Looks like some stairs leading down to a basement.

"…me my master! Orange Lantern's here, and I'm fucked! I know it! I-."

I transition down, form a construct gauntlet around Mister Andrews and gag the fool.

"You should thank me for that. Demons always screw you on desperate pacts."

"Mrhh!"

Which demons was he trying to-?

I look at his shrine.

And the crudely drawn yellow face in the centre.

Which looks back at me with a smile.