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

[Mr Zoat]

12th August 2013
12:43 GMT -5

"Hello, NNew friends!"

A g-pooka I don't recognise waves from its position behind the front desk. Cadmus has… Changed a great deal since the last time I was here. Now that they're not merely not hiding but openly advertising what they can do, the lobby is less 'secure laboratory' and more 'corporate showroom'. Bright colours, airy room, and a g-troll lifting a 5-tonne dumbbell without straining off to one side.

Amalak-.

Amalak stopped just inside the front door.

"Commodore?"

He doesn't immediately respond.

I turn back to the g-pooka. "Please, whatever you're doing to him-."

"No NNo! We are not playing GGames while we are working!" The g-troll gently sets down its dumbbell and lumbers towards the desk. "Our new FFriend is not human, yes? Is a telepathic conversation RRequired?"

Amalak-. He's gone back to the front door, and he's looking out at the Washington street. And then he turns back around.

"Problem?"

"The technology required to make a novel intelligent species is far in advance of what your world has on display. It that a security precaution?"

I raise my hands and then waggle them back and forth. "Human technology is all over the place. Don't try and compare us to anyone else because that way lies madness."

The g-pooka's horns glow for a moment. **Is this BBetter, sir?**

"Yes." He walks closer. "Thank you. Do you know what we're here for?"

**No, SSir. Basic telepathic ethics PPrevents us from prying too deeply.**

"And g-pooka aren't very good at it."

It-. She? **[Pouts]** at me. Telepathically, as her face isn't that flexible.

**I would NNot anyway.**

"Very.. well, then." He approaches the desk, looking up at the g-troll as it stands at the ready. "You and.. he are the same species?"

**We are genomorphs. Designed by CCadmus Laboratories, based upon alien genetic material recovered from SSouth America.**

He's frowning in bewilderment. "Were the multiple forms encoded in the original genetic material?"

**NNo! The original form were g-prometheans. They were larger than I am, though LLess intelligent. They are all dead now.**

"And you are modified based on their physiology?"

**Yes! [Smile!] TThat is what we are! I am a g-pooka, specialising in outgroup interaction!**

"The g-succubae not ready to replace you yet?"

**We do NNot interact in the same way.** She shudders, apparently involuntarily. **They cheat.**

"Succubae?"

"G-succubae are psychic erotic entertainers. Weird, but safe. Actual succubae are a type of demon, and you should avoid them."

"Very.. well. Do you have a name?"

**I am sometimes called Lisa.**

"That's not your name?"

**WWe have a group mind. We always know who other genomorphs are. Why would we have SSpoken names?**

"But you have a sense of self. You refer to yourself in the singular. And you are assigned to the task you were designed for, rather than acting through some sort of drone."

**II have more parts when there are other genomorphs within range. Further away, I am less.**

"Genomorphs share schema and capacities more than personalities. For example, having Lisa in range lets other genomorphs understand the behaviour of other species better."

Amalak nods, turning to the g-troll. "And this one?"

**G-trolls IImprove our spatial awareness.**

He continues to take the g-troll in. "Not your physical strength?"

Lisa blinks. **How WWould that work? We share minds, not bodies.**

"I'm sure they'd be happy to give you the full tour whenever you like, but since we're here on business..?"

"Yes, yes." Amalak turns back to Lisa. "I have concerns that someone who is about to be placed on trial for his life may have had his mind altered by an external force. Your people have been recommended to me as having the ability to determine whether or not that is true."

**YYes. We have yet to encounter a form of mental AAlteration that we cannot detect.**

"I was told that I would need g-gnomes and g-lusca?"

**And you will need a g-pooka.**

"What for?"

**G-Gnomes do not understand people. SSometimes they give false results. They follow the thoughts, NNot the logic.** Her horns glimmer. **AAlso, g-gnomes and g-lusca cannot talk.**

"They're telepaths, though. Why would they need to?"

"Because they'll be operating too far from the other genomorphs to draw on their knowledge, and you're not trained to share your mind with individuals whose minds are that different from yours."

"Are you?"

"I'm a party to the case. I could handle it, but… I'm trying to cut down on adopting inhuman mental states."

He nods. "Do you do a great deal of this work?"

**Yes-mhm. Many places are using genomorph mental interrogation to accelerate legal PProcesses. We have the approval of BBatman and Mister Atom.**

"Is that simply a matter of revealing lies, or is it more complex?"

**Humans constantly change what they RRemember about the past. Memories are reinterpreted and simplified and linked to OOther things. We have to learn how to undo those CChanges and recover the original memories, without damaging their minds.**

"Are you competent to work on species other than humans?"

**Machine-thoughts are difficult, but we are mentally flexible. We have AAdapted to every species we have encountered.**

I raise my eyebrows. "You can do A.I.s now?"

**Yes! G-gremlins can use their magic to bridge the gap. Martian Manhunter was QQuite impressed!**

Amalak nods thoughtfully. "Would you be willing to provide a demonstration?"

 

[Mr Zoat]

12th August 2013
12:57 GMT -5

"I didn't…"

Lisa gently directs Amalak over to a soft chair, where he lowers himself unsteadily down to the cushion. The four g-gnomes who were working on him stare at him blankly for a moment, and then return to a neutral position. The g-lusca doesn't seem to have any more interest in him than it ever did.

"That was.. surprising."

"What did you get?"

"I'd long since forgotten what it was like, being evacuated from Timaron. They brought it back. For a moment it was as if I was a small boy again, pressed into the corner so that more people could fit in-."

He recovers himself after a moment.

"I could not have remembered it on my own, and I can feel the.. intensity of the memory fading away again." He shakes his head. "And you could not have known the details well enough to create a false memory." He thinks for a moment. "Were there any incongruities?"

**There WWere parts that were completely gone. You-.**

"Skips in time, yes." He nods. "Is that natural?"

**It can be. At TThat age, it is more like that you were too scared to encode memories. But I would NNeed to know more about your species to be certain.**

"Ah." Amalak nods. "That sounds plausible. How long will it take for you to trawl through Dru-Zod and Ursa Dou-Ka's memories?"

**That depends on what we FFind. Maybe an hour?**

"Alright. Again." Lisa looks puzzled. "I've been in contact with telepaths before. If you identify-" The g-gnomes look around again, their horns glowing. "-when it-."

**The psions contracted you to move a shipment.** Amalak blinks, then his eyes unfocus as the memory is brought to the foreground. **They modified that one to remove your memories afterwards. We think their work was CCrude.**

"I.. remember. You're not making me relive it this time?"

**We can, but you did not ask us to.**

"Very well then. I accept the quality of your work. Will the six-" He glances at the g-lusca in its tank. It slowly closes the one eye facing us, then opens it again. "-of you accompany us?"

**Not Lisa. I am supposed to work the FFront desk. There will-**

The door opens and another g-pooka gambols into the demonstration area. The two of them are physically identical. Even my rings are struggling to find a way to distinguish between them. Hm, good quality control I suppose.

**-be another g-pooka going with YYou.**

The new g-pooka perks up brightly. **Hello, new FFriends!**

Amalak looks the new g-pooka over. "And you are..?"

**LLesley!**

"And you're..?" He moves his right forefinger from pointing at Lisa to Lesley. "Sisters?"

They look at each other, and then turn back to him.

**We are NNot related.** / **We are not RRelated.**

"You're genetically identical."

**But we are FFrom different batches.** / **But we are from different BBatches.**

"And since production is standardised you got the same nutrition in the tank. Literally the only difference is that Lisa has very slightly lighter skin on the side facing the front door."

Lesley turns to Lisa and leans closer, staring at her skin while her hands gently turns Lisa's head back and forth.

**HHe is right. We should move the desk.**

Through the window into the lobby I see the g-troll pick it up and carry it to the opposite side of the room. And I note that Amalak does as well.

He nods. "Then the only thing to do is agree upon a price. Do I need to speak with a manager..?"

They both look at him like he's a bit slow. **We are telepaths.** / **We are telepaths.**

"Ah. Yes."

"Has Dubbilex created some help for himself, or is he still handling the whole thing on his own?"

Lisa nods slowly. **After what HHappened with our not-brothers, we created two more g-goblins. In case.**

I nod, while Amalak looks curious. "'Not-brothers'? What do you mean by that?"

**WWe call each other brothers or SSisters. We cast the oni out of our FFamily.**

"The g-oni were part of their attempt to create genomorphs who could use magic. They were designed to use demon magic."

"Was the attempt unsuccessful?"

"No. Extremely successful. Which was rather the problem. It turns out that having your soul made of elemental evil encourages negative character traits. Last time I saw them, they were trying to eat an immortal kryptonian heretic. They-" I look pointedly at the g-pooka. "-were lucky that it didn't infect the rest of them."

They both nod.

"Be that as it may. The cost. What do you want in exchange for your services?"

Lesley makes a show of thinking about it. **Two hundred kilograms of platinum.**

Lisa nods. **Or payment in kind.**

"Expensive, but not impossible. What else do you want?"

Lisa straightens up slightly. **Psions and citadelians both use advanced cloning technology. This interests UUs.**

**And their medical technology in GGeneral.**

He looks at me. "Is importing that sort of technology a problem?"

"No, not at all. Earth has so much schizo technology that there's no point enforcing something like that."

"I'm afraid that very little of either has come up for sale. But I have been meaning to send scavenging teams to Wombworld for a while, and I believe that the citadelians had cloning systems on their larger ships. How does five tanks, the associated systems and the plans therefore sound?"

Lisa nods. **We are quite CContented.**

"Then I believe that we are ready to depart. Lantern?"

I nod, the g-gnomes clambering into their cubby-holes on the g-lusca's tank as I stand and extend my tendrils to it. Then I hold out my left hand to Lesley. "Lesley?"

Lesley blinks, and then saunters over and takes my hand. I extend my environmental shield over her, the tank and Commodore Amalak.

"We'll be back in a couple of days."

 

[Mr Zoat]

12th August 2013
21:11 GMT

Dru-Zod stares up at the g-lusca, an expression of mild distaste on his face.

"What is that?"

Arnus takes his position next to him, just outside of the containment area marked on the floor. "It is a synthetic creature called a 'g-lusca', Essentially, a living computer."

"And if it makes you feel any better, it's genetically kryptonian."

He shakes his head, eyes still fixed on it. "Krypton had no creatures like that."

"It turns out that rondor and thought-beasts are distantly related. A little genetic tweaking, and you can get something like that."

"Where did you get samples of either?"

"Nam-Ek. Well, I didn't. A team of researchers did. And they created-" The g-gnomes stick their heads out of their compartments. "-those, and a few other variants, who in turn created the g-lusca."

**And MMe.**

Lesley and Nallam enter from the opposite, along with a xudarian lawyer named Nowan-Lu who is acting for the prosecution. Amalak… Didn't trust himself to be in the same room as Dru-Zod.

Dru-Zod straightens up. "I've already given my testimony."

Nallam very carefully gets her face under control before explaining. "The defence has raised the possibility that your mental processes may have been externally altered."

He frowns. "By what?"

Arnus shakes his head. "That is irrelevant."

"Are you talking about narcotics?"

"No, but Kryptonian law -and the Timaronian law derived from it- make allowances for deliberate mental alterations."

"By who? We were isolationist."

"The daxamites had an Eradicator-derived A.I. that could alter kryptonian minds. I doubt that Kem-El was working both in isolation and without records."

He looks to Arnus, who nods, before turning back to Nallam.

"Very well, if it satisfies you. I regret nothing."

"Arnus, are you satisfied as to the qualifications of the telepaths?"

He nods. "I am familiar with the capabilities of the genomorphs. I am confident that they will act appropriately."

Nallam looks at Lesley. Lesley nods, and her horns and those of the g-gnomes begin glowing.

Nowan-Lu comes forwards, taking the prosecution position as Nallam occupies the 'court overseer' position. Not ideal, but she's probably the only one who can do it. Nowan-Lu is here mostly because in addition to her law degree she has an encyclopaedic knowledge of Timaronian courtroom dramas, but that still doesn't cover knowing the application of a foreign legal code. Nallam might be biased, the rules of evidentiary process aren't really something that can be weighted.

If she tried something like that then the defence can request that she be removed, but taking a look at her I don't think that's going to be a problem. She honestly wants to demonstrate that this was done justly.

Nowan-Lu briefly consults her notes. "Do you recall when you first became aware of Jor-El?"

"No."

"No?"

"I remember when I was first tasked with monitoring his political activity, but I also remember having a level of awareness of him before that. It may have been associated with his political activism, or it may have been something else. I was somewhat aware of a great many people."

Nowan-Lu looks at Lesley, who shrugs. **What do you want TTo know?**

"Is he telling the truth?"

**Yes.**

Nallam looks at Lesley. "Can you make him remember, or at least tell us yourself?"

Lesley cocks her head to the side. "WWhich do you prefer?"

Arnus draws himself up slightly. "My client has been entirely open and honest throughout-."

"Make him remember."

Lesley nods twice, and the horns of the genomorphs glow more brightly for a moment.

"Oh!" Dru-Zod blinks heavily, his right hand going to the side of his head. "That-. Yes, that was.. it. The first time I heard his name was when he was assigned as the operator of the phantom zone projector for Gra-Mo's banishment. I saw his name on the daily action summary, though I only saw him briefly during the actual event. We didn't speak or otherwise interact."

Nowan-Lu nods. "When did you first hear of Timaron?"

"Specifically?"

"What do you mean 'specifically'?"

"I heard of the possession worlds early in my education, but I didn't hear anything special about Timaron's geography or culture until far later." He frowns, glancing at Nallam. "I haven't actually been in a room with one of you before this."

Nowan-Lu glances nervously back at Nallam, but she gives no outward sign of being bothered by his statement. "Specifically, then."

"Shortly before I was promoted to Colonel. Part of my work involved the assessment of theoretical threats from outside of our system. That required me to understand how their technology was when we last had contact, and how it might have changed since them."

"And-. Summarise your conclusion."

"That our garrison had previously had a good rapport with them and that there was unlikely to be any hostility. That they would likely have increased the size of their fleet to make up for the absence of ours in policing the trade routes but that as their technology was little better than that of the vrang when we defeated them they would need to put a great deal more effort into it. Based on my study of their culture I felt it most likely that they would not build a deep space fleet but rather create a self-defence fleet which might get sent out if there was a report of raiding. Culturally, they weren't warlike enough to become an active threat without a significant external influence."

Nowan-Lu glances at Lesley, who once again nods twice.

"Then why did you select them as your target?"

"I didn't select them as a target because they were a threat. That would have been too great a risk. There were several worlds who regarded the guiding hand of the Kryptonian Empire as a grievous imposition; those had fleets that might have been able to fight off the handful of vessels still under my command. Timaron was a viable target because it lacked such defences, and it's formerly positive relationship with the Empire made my claim that someone had handed over something without authorisation credible."

Lesley tilts her head to the side. **That's NNot true.**

 

[Mr Zoat]

12th August 2013
21:15 GMT

Dru-Zod frowns. "It is. I have no reason to lie."

**MMaybe.** Her horns glow. **But SSomone does.**

Dru-Zod looks blank for a moment, then blink-splutters. "Hu-?"

**That was GGood. Very clever. If we had no g-lusca, I don't think I would have NNoticed it.**

Wait, there actually was something?

Nowan-Lu stares at Lesley. "What? What is it?"

**The memory is real but the AAssociations were fabricated. He made connections TThat he should not have made.**

Nallam glares. "Meaning what?"

**Mental networks are NNetworks of association. Ideas and memories are linked together in PPatterns. A telepath can add in links and CChange how thoughts interact.** She pauses, waiting to see if they understand. It looks like the answer is 'no', because if you're not used to psychic phenomena the concepts are a little out there. **Like water. Water flows down CChannels. If you dig a new channel between one stream AAnd another, some water will flow that way instead. And one PPool grows while another shrinks.**

"It-." Dru-Zod looks dazed. "It wasn't… Why did I choose Timaron? It-. There were better… Targets." He looks angrily at Lesley. "Who did this to me?"

Lesley shrugs. **I don't know. I CCould recognise mental alterations similar to that one, but they did not sign their name on your brain. It is Ssomething I could have done, but it does not feel like how Martians work. Human telepaths are TToo variable to say if one of them could have done it.**

"Did I meet someone? There-!" Dru-Zod's initial rage is getting replaced with confusion. "There weren't any aliens on Krypton, that was the whole point-."

Arnus makes a 'stop' gesture to his client. "General Dru-Zod. An impossible situation has just become survivable. That is better news than we could have expected."

"This is not good news. I knew that saving Krypton was a long shot. I missed, and I accepted that. Now I find that I might just have-! Just have been some mindworm's pawn?!"

**If it makes you FFeel better, the decision to destroy a world was entirely yours.**

He calms down a little. "Thank you. It does."

I see Arnus sigh a very shallow sigh. "Nowan-Lu? Do you have further questions?"

"I-." She thinks for a moment. "Why did you decide to destroy a world? Why not carry out a smaller strike?"

"I needed to ensure that there was no evidence to contradict my version of events. A limited strike might destroy evidence I claimed existed, but other records and witness testimonies might survive."

**True.**

"I needed the Science Council panicked and the population motivated."

**No.**

Dru-Zod doesn't make a noise this time, but he does flinch. "That's not what I remember deciding."

**I KKnow.**

"It-. It seems that I wanted them worried enough to follow my advice, but… Something made me think that I needed more than that. But that's-."

Arnus looks empathetic. "General?"

"I couldn't rely on-." Lesley's horns glow, and he twitches again. "I-. Something made me think I couldn't rely on them."

"And in reality?"

"I don't-. I don't know. Krypton under the Science Council was out of the habit of resisting their directives. If an order had come from them to build a larger fleet then it would have happened. My original plan was to manipulate them, not simply take over directly. I considered it, but then decided that the risk wasn't worth it. They would act to preserve their power as they did against Jor-El, whereas if I was merely an advisor advocating a course of action they… Would consider it based on the evidence available."

Right. Think. Someone was on Krypton, messing around with the minds of the people there. But Krypton was going to explode anyway. Jor-El's model wasn't based on mind control. I checked it myself. It accurately predicted the shape of Krypton post-explosion, the timeline, and there weren't any other residues that would suggest a planet busting weapon. So there wasn't any point in making things worse, because everyone was going to die anyway.

"How widespread was knowledge of what Jor-El thought was happening?"

"I don't know exactly. He mostly circulated it amongst people he knew, his intellectual peers. He told me that he hoped that with enough peer review it would either be accepted or someone would point out his errors. I doubt that it was more than one percent of our population, mostly around the capital and the younger scientists."

Nallam fixes me with a level glare. "Orange Lantern, you are here as a courtesy-."

"There are kryptonians in the Phantom Zone, and while I didn't detect any sign in the Rao system that anyone other than Kal-El and Kara Zor-El left during that period, there are ways around those scans. I need to follow up on that right away. Excuse me."

I raise my right index finger to my forehead

and

12th August 2013
21:18 GMT

home in on the desires which are exactly the same as Lesley's.

"Hello, old FFriend!"

"Lisa, I need to hire another g-lusca, a g-pooka and some g-gremlins."

"G-Gremlins are based on g-gnomes. If you wish to interrogate an A.I. then YYou-."

"Four is fine. Please arrange this quickly, I'll pick everyone up when I've gotten hold of the subjects."

**[Smile]** "I am HHappy to help!"

"Thank you." I

focus on Jor-El's synthetic desires and

appear in the Fortress of Solitude, and-. "Anyone here?"

"No." Jor-El appears nearby. "We are alone. How is the trial going?"

"You said that the original Jor-El didn't update you with anything relating to Lar-On."

"Yes. It was an oversight, but under the circumstances a fairly forgivable one."

"No it's not, because it doesn't make sense. He made you so that he'd have something that could share knowledge of Krypton with Kal-El. A way to vicariously participate in raising his son after he died. But when he apprehended Lar-On he was still doing research. And after that he was still trying to convince the Science Council to take action. He wouldn't have made you until after that. Now, I don't understand exactly how making neural clones works, but you are a clone, right? Not an intelligent system patterned after him?"

Jor-El frowns. "That is.. true. You believe that my programming was altered?"

"We have reason to believe that there was a telepathic alien on Krypton before it exploded. I'd like you to agree to let the genomorphs have a look at your mind to check."

"Someone-?" He frowns. "That makes no sense. We were isolationist and xenophobic. Why would an alien come to Krypton?"

"Perhaps they'd been there for a long time and couldn't get away. Please, this is important for the trial. Can-?"

"Yes, of course. We absolutely most find out what happened. I would not see Dru-Zod punished for something he did not do of his own volition."

 

[Mr Zoat]

12th August 2013
21:52 GMT

No g-lusca has travelled by zeta tube before, and in any case the part of the Fortress of Solitude with the zeta tube in it isn't big enough for the tank to fit inside. I'm not.. completely sure that transitioning would be entirely safe, so I'm just flying north at high speed with my cargo.

G-Lusca tanks are big, containing not just the gigabrained genomorph itself, but also the fluid purification machinery, feeding system and emergency backups. G-Lusca can hibernate, but on dry land they can't do much more than squirm weakly and they're not much more manoeuvrable in water.

Honestly, that whole thing makes me a little uncomfortable. It's like they deliberately created something that would spend its entire life in a tank, unable to care for itself. But looking at its desires it's perfectly content where it is. The usual positive associations with physical activity humans have just aren't there; it isn't human, and the genomorphs are good enough at bioengineering that they can create new genomorphs who have desire structures which relate to their function.

They're… Inhuman. Intentionally.

The g-gremlins have six small horn nubs, rather than the two horns that g-gnomes have. They also lack the mouth fronds and have slightly more powerful fingers. But it's clear that they're based on the same design. And they appear to be asleep.

"Are they alright?"

The new g-pooka who got assigned to this job blinks at me.

**Are YYou alright, big boy?**

Huh?

She… Wiggles her posterior, tail flicking from side to side to emphasise the motion.

"Yes, thank you? I was asking because-."

**Could you be MMore alright?**

I shake my head. "What are you doing?"

**I am a free human-equivalent BBeing. I can engage in intimate BBehaviour.**

"You literally can't. Your species is asexual."

**Genomorphs are GGestalt telepaths. G-Pooka like me are VVery empathic.**

"You can experience pleasure when your partner does?"

She blinks twice, then nods.

"And it's not external, because you're a gestalt telepath and so you experience that neural function as if it's your own." Another nod. "And you're definitely not a g-succubus who made an illusion to sneak out on this mission?"

**I cannot make the SSort of illusions that they can.**

"Do the other g-pooka do this-?" Ah. "This is a joke."

**[ROFL]**

I hiss quietly. "Don't, we're about three miles up and I'm not sure that I'd want to catch you."

She grips her perch with her toes and-. And slaps her scrawny hindquarters with her right hand.

"I thought that g-pooka were serious when on professional jobs?"

**YYou should not have made an emergency request. It takes time for g-pooka to CCalm down. I AAm too young to not joke.** I allow the environmental shield around her to flicker, briefly exposing her posterior to the arctic chill. **EE!**

"So am I. Orange Lantern to Jor-El. Please open the cargo door."

"Certainly."

I fly the tank inside and set it down on the crystalline floor. "Is this close enough?"

The g-gremlins wake up, twitching slightly as they shake off their lethargy. The g-pooka's horns shimmer for a moment, the g-gremlin's stubs glowing in response.

"They're not sure. NNew types of machine mind require time to adapt to."

The nearby plinth lights up with Jor-El's image. "Does this make it easier? You have almost my full attention."

Her horns glow again, and she nods. "They are WWorking on it. Please stand by."

"Did you ever knowingly encounter a telepath when you were alive?"

"Other than the thought-beasts, no. Though that may well just have meant that the telepath knew what they were doing."

"How confident are you that there were no aliens on Krypton during your life?"

"One human visited us. That is how I first heard of Earth." I generate a construct image of Jack Knight. "Yes, though he was younger at the time. Is he telepathic?"

"No. Anyone other than him?"

"No, but I believe that my father covered up his brief visit. And if he could do that, anyone on the Science Council could have done the same thing."

"Were there aliens on Krypton during the Kryptonian Empire?"

"A few, sometimes. Usually as part of a diplomatic visit where we would display our unrivalled supremacy in an attempt to persuade them to yield without armed conflict. None lived there."

"Did they get counted in and out?"

"I don't know. And I don't think that's an issue of my memory being altered. The history of that period wasn't my preferred reading."

I want to ask him what was. I want to prod him about allowing me to clone him a body again. I-. Don't.. have time. And I know that he doesn't care; that he expects to be treated as a useful object.

"Would there be any surviving records?"

"I doubt it, unless Har-Zod stored them on Xenon. I doubt they would help. There were no telepathic species within the bounds of the former Kryptonian Empire, and so far as I recall none in the area-."

"That's not TTrue."

The g-gremlins are staring at… The wall, in what I assume is the direction of Jor-El's core intelligence. The g-pooka on the other hand is looking at his holographic projection.

"You have found an edited file?"

"No. You have a MMind. It isn't hard to AArrange your thoughts so that you do not connect the ideas. I can restore IIt?"

"Do so."

The horn stubs of the g-gremlins flicker as they work, and then Jor-El's face grows grim in recognition.

"Ah. Yes. It seems that my memories had been edited. There was a telepathic species we encountered. They were called the empireth, but by the standards of the martians or the few telepaths your species has produced, their abilities were slight."

"Did the organic Jor-El know one?"

"No-." The g-pooka shakes her head again. "Yes. How did I forget-? Lyla, her name was Lyla. She was on Krypton when it exploded."

"You're sure?"

"There was no way off."

"Except the Phantom Zone."

 

[Mr Zoat]

12th August 2013
21:57 GMT

"Great."

I shrug at Lantern Jordan's face as it floats above my ring. "Better to know before it blows up in our faces."

"She didn't blow up the planet, did she?"

"I don't see how she could have done. The original borehole closed up centuries ago, and there's a limit to what telepathic intrusion can cover up. If she tried drilling down someone would have detected it."

"Wasn't Jor-El taking samples? What if she stuck something in the sampling robot?"

"Then…" Ring, run the numbers? "She could have made the planet she was standing on blow up about three years early, if she already knew what was going on and how to make it happen, which she probably didn't."

"Okay, so we need to find out if Zod or Ursa knew this 'Lyla' woman-. What did she look like?"

"Pale skinned humanoid female with purple hair and purple tattoos all over her shoulders and the outsides of her legs. But since she's capable of telepathic illusions, she could look like anyone at the moment."

"Does that include Zod and Ursa?"

"Ah… No. I don't think she could keep up with the g-gnomes or the g-lusca."

"But she could be anyone else."

"Not you. Green rings require too much mental focus. Even if she took one from a Green Lantern, she'd barely be able to use it."

"But she could be you?"

"Uh… Orange rings are very user friendly. She wouldn't be as good as me, but she'd probably be able to use it to a basic level. Don't… Know about violet rings."

"So she could be anywhere on Earth, or Tartarath, or Xudar. Could she be invisible?"

"I don't know."

"How about her people's government?"

"How about them? I mean, semi-seriously, when was the last time you submitted a tax assessment?"

He frowns. "Last year? Oh, Batman hooked me up. Officially, I'm a private security consultant. John got the same thing. But I get what you mean; they're not going to know what every single member of their species is doing. And it was forty years ago."

"Empireth society is usually pretty friendly. Maybe you could send Arisia to ask them?"

He doesn't seem too keen. "I don't really wanna risk her getting picked up by their version of the C.I.A. if Lyla was a spy." He jerks his head away… Listening to someone? "You are? How-? Oh, right, thanks." He turns back to me. "Superboy can go with her. Apparently he got Metis to bless an amulet or something?"

"You could all learn from his example."

"Hey, you got brain-blasted too."

I cause his camera angle to pull out a little, so that he can see more of my armour. "Yes, because my tattoos interfere with the amulets. I upgraded my light armour to include a telepath baffle instead." … "Of course, as far as you're concerned it could be a telepathic illusion, so… Don't put too much faith in it."

"Right." He looks away again. "Superboy, Arisia, you get that? Okay." He turns back to me. "So are you headed back?"

"No, because there's one more place she could be."

"In the Phantom Zone? Why? I mean, if she wanted out she could just have asked. You didn't even know she was there before you checked Zod's memories. I don't even think we've got anything to hold her on now."

"If she was an intelligence asset, she might be practicing professional paranoia. She might not even be exactly aware of how much time has passed. And… Depending on how much she was nudging Dru-Zod, she might be partially responsible for Timaron, which is a pretty good reason to hide."

"I guess. Was Har-Zod affected?"

"No, he's clear. He died a long time before this became an issue."

"Right. Any advice on tracking her down?"

"Don't you run exercises like this with Martian Manhunter? It's basically the same thing."

"Hey, you don't need to-. Okay, no, we don't."

"Oh. Um. Use your telepaths to confirm that someone isn't the infiltrator then keep at least two people watching them at all times. Two can vouch for the third. Redo it if anyone is out of contact."

"She could just walk off."

"Suspicious as this is, if she was just doing corporate espionage then it really isn't our problem. If Dru-Zod confirms that she wasn't controlling him… Like you said. If we don't have anything on her then we don't need to find her."

"Yeah, I… Guess…" He nods. "You got someone there in case things go wrong?"

"A g-pooka."

"Are they authorised-?"

"They can already see inside our brains, and I had to bring this one to the Fortress of Solitude to check up on Jor-El. What exactly are you afraid they'll find out?"

"I guess… Yeah. Okay, send me a message as soon as you're out."

"Will do. Orange Lantern out."

I lower my ring, and step slightly nervously into the danger zone of the Phantom Zone projector.

"II just turn the dial?"

The g-pooka has its tail wrapped around the dial and I back up-.

I narrow my eyes as the g-pooka giggles.

"I know how to turn the DDial and move the switch. How long SShould I leave you in there for?"

"Let's say fifteen minutes. Remember, the dial isn't perfect for locating the target. Make sure that it's me, and if you need help ask Jor-El or ask him to call someone in."

The g-pooka salutes with both hands and its tail.

"Alright. Send me-."

And then I'm nowhere.

 

[Mr Zoat]

12th August 2013
22:02 GMT

You know… Now that I think about it, film and animation have been somewhat sparse on detail on what it's actually like to be inside the Phantom Zone. I think Superman the Animated Series depicted it as a sort of glowly nothing. Supergirl had it as a desolate grey rocky wasteland, with one exit point reachable at great peril. I only saw it in the comics a couple of times, and I don't see a fake Krypton.

In fact, I don't really see anything.

There's grey… A pale sort of grey, with no texture, no obvious light source… And… That's about it.

Okay.

"Nam-Ek?! Are you around?!"

Okay, I remember what his desires look like,

so-.

So-.

Huh. Doesn't work here. I… Still retain awareness of my own desires, so I haven't lost my enlightenment. I just can't see desires. Which presumably means…

…

Yep, can't step out. I'm stuck here until the g-pooka opens it back up again. Or failing that, someone else comes to the Fortress and does it.

Alright, try moving.

…

I… Think I'm moving, but there's nothing to judge it against. I'm also not sure why my rings are working when empathic vision isn't. But at least I'm not getting attacked by zombified Superman clones, so that's nice.

"Anyone here?! Nam-Ek?! Lyla?!"

No? Honestly, this is starting to look like a wild goose chase. There's nothing and no one, and if I can't find some sort of-.

"I'm here, Orange Lantern."

Huh? Oh. There's a sort of… Humanoid shape that's a little darker grey than the background. The voice was kind of indistinct, like the sound wave is meeting with some sort of interference.

"Is this all we get? Just… Blurs..?"

"You learn to tell them apart. And at least no one can smell me."

"Alright, so where's everyone else?"

"They're here somewhere. If you don't stay together, finding one another is a matter of pure chance."

"Oh? I'd have thought that everyone would stay together in that case."

"Violent prisoners are not always the most rational people. But if you follow me, I'll see if someone feels like making themselves known."

He drifts… Away, and for want of anything else to try I follow him.

Hm.

"Is this place infinitely large?"

"Given that there appear to be finite spaces within, I do not believe that it can be. Perhaps the size changes with the number of people within it? Or perhaps it is merely very big. Without any sort of landmark to measure from there is no way to tell."

"Form a chain of grey blurs and see if you can see the edges?"

"I refer you to my comment about violent criminals."

"It's been forty years for the newest of them. I'd have thought that they'd get bored of being arseholes eventually."

"Perhaps they will, eventually. But it has not happened yet."

I nod. For a human, this sort of sensory deprivation would cause serious psychological damage. Perhaps something about this place allows you to… Sleep through it? Or perhaps kryptonians are different where sensory input is concerned?

"You mentioned someone called Lyla? I'm not familiar with a prisoner by that name. Is she a friend of yours?"

"No. She was a telepath who was using her abilities to conceal her presence on Krypton before it exploded. Since we're pretty sure that she wasn't hiding in Kal-El or Kara Zor-El's pods, this is the only place she could have come to escape."

"Telepathy is rare amongst kryptonians."

I raise my eyebrows. "I didn't realise it occurred at all."

"Our bodies respond to exotic energies strangely. My own mutation is proof of that. Speaking of which, I think that after this respite I'm ready to face the universe once more."

"You sure?"

"Jax-Ur was able to explain to me the advances in kryptonian medical science that have happened since my time. I was in shock before; I'm confident that I can learn what I need to cure myself."

"Hah!"

"Did I say something funny? I appreciate you putting me here, but now it is time for me to be released."

"You're not Nam-Ek. Your outline is wrong, your diction is wrong, and while you've made an effort to match his accent you haven't gotten it quite right. Which probably means that you're Jax-Ur, though if you can offer me evidence to the contrary I'll hear you out."

The grey blur stop moving and straightens up.

"When am I to be released?"

"You're not. You murdered five hundred people."

"They'd be dead now anyway!"

Huh. Superman was right. It's not funny.

"If you'd like to make a representation to Governor Karsta Wor-Ul then I can certainly pass it on. But unless someone else was actually responsible then I doubt that she'll be interested." I frown. "But I'm interested in what the plan was, here. Even if I let you out, I know what Jax-Ur looks like. All that would happen is I'd chuck you back inside."

"Our bodies respond to exotic energies strangely, Orange Lantern. I knew that when I arrived here. So I took steps to ensure that I was prepared for any opportunity. And do you know what I learned?"

"Do tell."

"This place is alive! It has a consciousness! I don't know if it existed before we started sending people here, or if it only gained form in response to our thoughts. But it knows that you're the reason why people have been leaving its domain, and it is not happy."

"How does telling it anything help you?"

"It doesn't. This is just-"

From nowhere a colossal purple hand appears around me, fingers gripping me as a pair of huge yellow eyes glow out of the grey mist!

"-spite."

 

[Mr Zoat]

12th August 2013
22:06 GMT

Kinetic barrier… Not working, which is fair enough given that the fingers just sort of materialised around me rather than coming in from outside of its detection radius. Armour… Not really designed for this. My heavy armour is, but given that everything I know about the Phantom Zone said that it would be impossible to physically interact with anything I don't think that was much of an oversight. I'm not making an armour construct because I hope that whatever this thing is-

"Aethyr."

-can be persuaded to…

Oh. Telepathic. That does make-.

"No." It's head… It looks sort of like the head of a dragon, but floating there without a neck. The other point of reference (given the hands and head combination) is the Andross boss fight from Starfox 64-

"I am not Andross! I am Aethyr!"

-but that's probably not what this is.

I smile politely. "Hello, Aethyr. What can I do for you?"

"Do you understand what you face, creature?"

"Not even slightly. Which is pretty unusual for me. Usually I've got at least some idea but in your case I'm drawing a blank."

"All this universe is Aethyr. I am its means to your comprehension. As the red sun was to the priests of Rao. As the burning bush was to Moses."

"So… You're the Metatron of the Phantom Zone." I nod. "Okay. That makes sense. And… Krypton was basically shoving their criminals into your brain."

"They entered the domain of the oversoul unbidden, and by so doing obliterated the distinction between its existence and their own."

"And me as well, I suppose."

"No." The eyes regard me curiously, though for all I know the gesture is my mind's interpretation of its general attitude rather than an actual expression. "It is."

Oh, this is going to get confusing.

"For you."

"Not me. What do you mean by that? And what does it mean for-" I glance at the grey blur that is probably Jax-Ur. "-them?"

"Something about you means that you both are and are not a part of me."

"Hey, my wards actually did something! I'd sort of gotten used to my preparations not working."

"Explain yourself."

"Okay, so you know how-" I gestures to Jax-Ur. "-kryptonian bodies respond to exotic energies strangely?"

"I know everything that they know."

"I had myself altered so that I absorb and internalise magic. And I guess that something about this place is similar enough that it's still working. Which would mean that I'm you, but you're also becoming me."

"What?"

"I don't know, and I'm going to suggest that it's not in either of our interests to find out. I'll be leaving shortly and I just need a few pieces of information before I go."

"I could take the spiritual force which defines you and merge it with the oversoul for all eternity!"

"I've never eaten an oversoul before, but I try to be open to new experiences."

Aethyr stares down at me.

"You hear my thoughts as your own. You know that I genuinely suspect that would happen. And no one here could explain it better than my mind."

"What do you want?"

"Was the empireth named Lyla here?"

"Yes. Can you imagine what that feels like? To have a part of your psyche torn away?"

"Do you want us to stop? To stop using Phantom Zone technology entirely, to remove the ones who are left here?"

"I want you to cease removing them."

"Ah… Can I talk to Nam-Ek really quickly?"

Another grey blur appears, and then-. Nam-Ek changes from a blur to a man. He looks around in surprise. "What?"

"There's a lot of that going around. Nam-Ek, Aethyr here is getting-"

Nam-Ek looks up and the giant purple dragon head. "Aargh!"

"-annoyed about us putting people in here in such a way that they become part of his mind and then removing them again. I know that you appreciated the respite, but I wanted to check whether you were alright with it becoming completely permanent or not."

"And become part of the new colony?"

"Or whatever you want. I'm pretty sure that we could reverse what happened to you. Or at least create a new unmutated body. I didn't say anything because we're a bit busy and I haven't had enough time to get everything ready, but it should be possible."

"And what about..?" He points at Aethyr's face.

"I will bear no more intruders. Leave, or become one with me."

Nam-Ek considers the issue for a moment. "Then I will choose to leave."

"Oh, good show. I was worried that you might… Not choose that. Ah. Bear no more intruders?"

"I will merge with any who remain."

Rats.

Uh.

Jax-Ur looks up at Aethyr. "But I warned you!"

"Do you think that means that I am obliged to you?"

"I-!" Jax-Ur turns back to me. "I am the greatest scientist Krypton has ever known! Take me with you!"

"While there's a theological argument in favour of letting you out and executing you, legally I'm not allowed to execute people on Earth and we can't try you for a crime that happened on Krypton and that you've already been sentenced for."

"The-!"

"But by that token, I have no right to remove you." I shake my head. "Much as I hate wasting knowledge, I have no intention of saving you." I sigh. "Give me everyone else, and I'll get out of your scales."

"NOOOOOO!"