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

[Mr Zoat]

21st October 2012
20:35 GMT

'Gaudy' is the word that comes to mind when I look around Mammon's summoning chamber. The main body of the room is marble once again, only this time it's black with grey veins running through it. The actual summoning glyphs are poured gold which remains molten in the grooves carved for it in the floor in the centre of the room. Gold braziers burning with golden fire illuminate the room, and wards made of more gold cover the walls.

"I've been meaning to redecorate, but this has sentimental value."

"Really?"

"No. Every atom of gold here is associated with a grave sin, making it a perfect conduit for my magic. And I really like gold." Mammon takes his place at the head of the room. "I delight in shallowness. Out there, I have to appear to have entirely converted to the creed of enlightened self-interest. In my private spaces I can go back to being my true self."

"A giant demonic magpie?"

"Crudely stated, but not untrue. Now we must simply wait for-."

A woman walks in unescorted, dressed in a kimono-inspired dress covered in a cloak made of the same cloth. Which knowing demonic aristocracy is probably something far fouler. Her skin is tan and her hair jet black and if I saw her on Themyscira I wouldn't look at most of her twice. The exception is the left side of her head, where a… Mask? Prosthetic? Cybernetic? An artificial eye, and the side of her jaw is… Rebuilt? Reinforced?

She stares at me with piercing intensity the moment she has line of sight, something in her cybernetic eye refocusing itself and flickering as it does… Something.

"My Lady Mazikeen. Thank you for joining us. I felt that given the nature of the artifice involved it would be appropriate for you to-."

Her organic eye blinks at me. "Father."

Without turning his head, Mammon eyes me for a second and then takes a step away.

"Um. I'm.. reasonably confident that I'm not-."

"You call it the Ophidian, a great elemental being so bound into you that I cannot tell where it begins and you end. You may as well be its human face."

"I've… Always perceived the Ophidian's presence as feminine. Though since she-. It's not biological, that's an honourific."

"The Ophidian granted my mother a small portion of its power to quicken me, so I call it my father. And since you are the Ophidian made flesh, I may as well address you in that fashion."

"Ah… I'm going to need a little while to explain that logic to my girlfriend. And I suppose that I'm going to need to know when your birthday is. Um."

I approach her and slightly awkwardly open my arms for a hug, waiting for some sort of indication that she's actually interested in-.

"You offer your affection freely?"

"Familial relationships are reciprocal. I offer to start such a relationship freely." I shrug. "I can't deny that I sometimes forget that the Ophidian and I are separate beings, and I accept that for better or worse. And if you're on board with Mammon's plans then you can't be all that bad."

She looks up at Mammon. "I believe that we can rule out him being the Morningstar. Though he does sound like someone the Morningstar may have left in my path."

"So is..? Is that a 'no' on the hug..?"

Ignoring me, she walks around the ritual space until she's standing on the opposite side of the summoning pit. I lower my arms, shrugging. I've got no idea how old she is but she's clearly an adult. I'll ask Angelica about her background later.

Lady Mazikeen's eye shifts again as she reviews the summoning grid.

"Accurate. And since The Odium has accepted my suzerainty we won't need to trouble ourselves with true names. By the power of Hell: guns, appear."

For a fraction of a second I see a.. forge? A gun smithy? And some people in classical evil cultist gear. Honestly, I was half-expecting to see John Constantine, but I suppose that the twenties were a bit before his time. And Johanna Constantine was too far back for that style of gun.

And then there's a sort of spark and the guns I remember all too well appear in the centre of the ritual space, about two metres off the ground. The… Flecks of blood and brain that ended up on them after Ms. Carlyle turned them on herself are still visible on the barrel.

"Mistress?"

"Guns." Mammon leans on his podium, as if attending to a tiresome duty. "Explain to me what you were doing with that Jill Carlyle human."

"Nothing, lord."

"It sounds like someone wants to do this the easy way."

Lady Mazikeen's eye clicks and strobes as I connect to the Ophidian, though her posture remains unaltered.

"Nothing! We delight in spurring mortals to murder, but in her there is a great pit. She could not hear us at all! Our voices went… Somewhere, somewhere cold and pressing. And a dull echo came back. Until the blue light blinded and burned it, we could not speak to her at all!"

"Lady and gentleman? Is that claim credib-?"

The glyphs below the guns glow blue and their firing pins glow red with heat! The blood encrusting them blackens and burns, foul smoke rising off them.

"Mistress!"

"Do not think to sneak a lie past my eyes by concealing it within truth. Answer honestly and in full."

"We could speak to her at the beginning! She fought us! Then the darkness came!"

The firing pins dim slightly.

"Who put the darkness in her?"

"Mistress, we were not made with eyes! We can see only dimly!"

"What did you see, then?"

"A god! Cold, forceful! Alpha-Predator! Rock of unyielding will!"

That narrows it down nicely. An evil, strong-willed god. But it does let us know that neither Jill Carlyle nor… The demons, were responsible for all of the deaths.

Mammon frowns. "What about the other sinners?"

"It cared not for sin, and so there was none. It cared only for obedience, and so obedience is all there was!"

Mammon nods. "Illustres, is that at all helpful?"

"It clears a few things up. And gives the investigation a new direction. Thank you, thank you both."

"Do you want the guns?"

"Not particularly. Do you?"

Mammon considers the idea.

"You suggested that I consider sponsoring a vigilante. Having seen what can be achieved by someone acting contrary to Hell's interests, I think that I may just do that."

"Anyone I know?"

"Oh, no, Lantern." He shakes his head. "That'll be my little Secret."

 

[Mr Zoat]

21st October 2012
16:56 GMT -5

"…which is why I'm here. Because when I think 'evil god walking around', Darkseid is the first person who comes to mind."

Barda nods. Mr. Free would probably nod if he could move.

"I mean, rescuing the Forever Children from Apokolips must have irritated him a bit."

Barda's face hardens. "I doubt it."

"Powerful aliens attacking Apokolips and taking his stuff wouldn't irritate him?"

"Not unless it somehow made him know less about the Anti-Life. He'd already destroyed Infinity Man. Beyond that, all they had to offer him was another lesson in how to break a New God's spirit. Letting them go and learn to hope again will just make it more educational when he finally gets them."

"So you don't think it was him?"

"If-" And Mr. Free is now out of his restraints, glancing at the timer with an air of mild disappointment. "-he were on Earth, we'd all know about it."

"You sure? I'm sure that Apokolips has hush tubes, and… We wouldn't necessarily spot them if he came through somewhere remote. We didn't know about Desaad for months."

Mr. Free shakes his head. "Darkseid's telos won't allow it. When he moves, there's nothing subtle about it. Desaad can sneak around. Darkseid… Can't."

"Okay, what about someone taking… Ms. Carlyle to Apokolips for an anti-lifing?"

"I… It's not impossible. But the demons didn't say anything about going to Apokolips, did they?"

"No. They didn't. But I didn't specifically ask, and they are demons." Barda and Mr. Free share a glance. "No? Not something that could happen?"

Barda shakes her head. "Darkseid has captured magic creatures before. If he had broken these demons, they would not have recovered so easily."

"But the demons said-."

"Demons can be broken." Another nod from Barda. "I have seen demons afflicted by the Anti-Life."

"The demons said that their voices went somewhere, and a dull echo came back."

Mr. Free frowns. "Yeah, that… Sounds a little like Anti-Life, but… Anti-Life is a memetic hazard. You can't touch a mind infected with it without getting infected as well." He considers me for a moment. "Usually. You remember our fight with The Key?"

"Yes. So, someone else acting as a relay, like he was? None of the survivors described him the way the demons described whoever this was."

He shrugs. "It might not even have been that at all. There are other ways to control someone's mind. Did you get someone to do a telepathic scan or make a detailed thaumic map?"

"No."

Barda nods. "I have seen legions of Justified soldiers. This woman did not behave like them. She had no helmet to keep her connected to the broadcast or give her orders. No New God of Apokolips was giving her commands. We have seen no sign of other New Gods on Earth. I don't think this was Anti-Life."

"Of course, this is Earth. If anywhere could find some new way to administer an Anti-Life infection, this would be the place."

I nod. "Yes, but… I suppose you're right. Thank you for seeing me at short notice."

Mr. Free smiles as Barda picks him up, turns him upside down and puts him back into the harness. "Thank you for putting up with Canis."

I nod, raise my right hand in a farewell wave and

step out, appearing

in the Mountain. Most of the team are out on their assignments, but Richard and Beryl are using the cave's main computer to… Render all of our data in three dimensional space to allow them to take all of it in.

Richard doesn't look around. "Anything new?"

"The Frees don't think it was Anti-Life. But they can't rule it out."

"Oh?" Beryl looks around with a smile. "We not important enough for Darkseid?"

"We're an utterly insignificant little blue green planet in-."

"In the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy, yes, we've all read Douglas Adams."

Richard looks slightly awkward for a moment. "Ah..?"

"I'll get you a copy later. But he's got a point. We're probably not important enough for Darkseid."

"Apparently there's something about Darkseid that means he won't ever be personally subtle."

Richard smirks. "Guess you can relate, huh Oh El?"

…

I mean…

"So we know that the guns are out of circulation, and that something really mystically suspicious is happening. Have you learned anything?"

Richard shakes his head. "We're trying to find points of commonality between all of the victims. At the moment, all we've got is that they're slightly more likely than average to drink orange juice with their breakfast."

"And that could just be because they have a more active lifestyle than average."

"No, we took that into account."

I throw up my right hand. "I guess I'll go and interrogate the head of PepsiCo, then."

"I might have got something." Beryl doesn't sound particular certain, but she's standing in the middle of a lot of holographic screens. "It's not exactly solid-."

"Putting things together like that is your super power. What have you got?"

"The lists the Alliance gave us cover everyone who's signed up with them. But it doesn't cover people who just went to a couple of meetings. Because superheroes don't like people keeping track of their movements. But that means that there are some pretty big spaces in their timelines. And every one of them has a gap big enough to have gone to an Alliance seminar. Like…" She pulls up a file. "Wrench Wench."

I don't say anything about the name. She was shot seven times.

"Back in September, there's a gap where she was supposed to be visiting her aunt. But we know she wasn't. I didn't think much about it the first time we went through the files; superheroes make stuff up about where they're going all the time. But there was an Alliance conference not all that far away that matches. See?"

Richard nods. "And that's the same for all of them?"

"Yes it is."

"Do we have the full guest list for those meetings?"

She shakes her head. "Only for the people who actually signed up."

"Might as well check it anyway. Not as if we've got any other leads."

 

[Mr Zoat]

21st year of the reign of King Randor I
Season of Chill
307th day, 18th bell

"…far too delicate for you to perform."

"Yes, I-. I see that. I'm sorry."

I continue hurrying towards Adora's current location, feeling like a dunce. Eternian magicians need a fetish in order to use virtually all of their magic. When Teela Na made me Sorcerer, she lost hers. Which means that right now all she can do is turn into a bird. She literally can't restore Adora's memories herself without an unclaimed fetish, which Eternos doesn't have.

And she can't use mine, because I've futzed around with it so that it will power the ring.

And while she could fly back to Castle Grayskull and get Evelyn to tag her in, as of right now Evelyn has the power and if she's found a way around her geas… We'd swiftly found ourselves down one Sorceress.

Why is Adora in the Masters' sparring arena? Since Teela Na warded the castle I've lost the ability to scan inside it. I only know that she's there because Sir Duncan's an anal retentive who couldn't quite stop working and got an automatic notification when someone accessed it.

I jog into-.

"Oh. Orange Lantern." Orko spots me from the observation platform. "I was just watching Prince Adam and the new girl." He rises up slightly to float over to me.

"Prince Adam and the new girl? New blonde girl about Adam's height, same hair colour, same eye colour?"

"That's her."

Oh… Dear.

I start moving again. "And are they doing the sensible thing and using blunted training weapons, or is Adam just using his normal sword?"

"Ah… Is that bad?" Orko floats after me, his right hand on his hat. "I mean, it's the sword he always uses..?"

Filaments erupt from the ring and try to latch onto the access panel, only to evaporate because Sir Duncan implemented my defence review suggestions really thoroughly. Which is nice, but-. Damn it! I physically reach it a few seconds later and start typing in my code.

"Orko, how good are you with memory spells?"

"Uh, I've got a spell for mixing different people's memories around? That's great fun at parties."

"No, I mean-" Come on, come on, open already! "-do you have a spell-" The entryway begins scanning me to confirm my identity. "-for restoring memories?"

"Restoring, restoring..?" Orko starts nervously rubbing his hands together as he tries to remember. "Uh, oh! I've got a spell that makes memories play outside your head. Is that any good?"

"Actually? Yes." The door slides back and I see-.

"Lantern. Orko."

A slightly bored-sounded Teela standing next to the exit with her staff in hand. A little way ahead, Adam and Adora are using the floating platforms mode of the arena. Adora is very much on the offensive, swinging her swords one after the other at any weak point she sees in Adam's defence. He's being forced to use his sword more like a shield than a bladed weapon; he's probably stronger than her but it doesn't take a lot of force to cut human flesh with a bladed weapon and he isn't getting the time to attack.

"I thought you were spending the festival at the Castle? Which is why my father is spending it with the Sorceress."

Okay, they're fighting, but it looks like a spar. Adam doesn't look worried, and Teela clearly isn't worried. Actually-

"Hey, nice try!"

-he doesn't look worried at ohnononono.

"She turned up and I had to deal with her."

Teela raises her left eyebrow. "What, was she supposed to be your date?"

"Ah, no."

"Adam's been trying to hit on her since they ran into each other. How did we get a Prince so pathetic that he can't find his own date on the one day a year when even my father has a date?"

Air hisses between my teeth as I inhale. "Okay, Orko, I need you to make her relive a really early memory. Her kidnapping as a small child."

"Relive a kidnapping? Um. I can do-"

The head of Teela's staff leaps past Orko's face and ends up under my nose.

"-that?"

"Lantern, what's going on?"

Before us, Adam jumps backwards, catches his foot against the side of a platform and kicks off. Adora is taken by surprise by his change of direction and just manages to swing at him while he's upside down.

Adam lands a short distance away and finally manages to get the Sword of Power into an offensive position. "Hah! Good one! I think you gave me a haircut! A few more and it'll be as short as yours!"

"That's Princess Adora, Adam's sister."

Teela frowns. "Adam doesn't have-."

"She was kidnapped when she was an infant by Hordak's soldiers, and was raised by her abductor. I'm hoping that Orko can trigger some memory of Eternos, otherwise-."

"Oh, that's easy! I've got a spell for recreating past events that's almost completely reliable! I love having a stabiliser again!"

Teela lowers her staff, staring at Adora and Adam as she redirects his strike into the arena wall with her swords. "He's hitting on his sister. Somehow, I'm not surprised."

I raise my eyebrows. "You couldn't find a date either?"

"Someone had to keep an eye on Adam."

"Ac-tually, no." I shake my head. "No one has to look after Adam. Protocol allows for him to be left on his own inside Eternos."

Adam goes for the double jump again, but this time he misjudges it and slams into a wall. Adora strikes down and he's-

"Yah!"

-forced to roll aside to avoid being struck.

"Okay!" Teela and I look at the glowing purple orb in Orko's hands. "Spell's ready!"

Teela blinks. "I still can't quite get used to you being able to use useful magic. What exactly does this do?"

"Oh, it's really clever! It recreates what happened in the minds of everyone affected using a sort of transtemporal arcanometry!" He makes a pushing motion and the spell orb flies towards Adora. "She'll see the whole thing, and-"

As the spell reaches her she turns, slamming both swords into the spell and rending red and purple light in all directions! I blink and the mist sinks into me and Teela, staring at my arms-.

Adora watches it do the same to her, then stalks in our direction.

"What did you just do?!"

Orko's eyes widen. "Ahhh…"

The wall at the far side of the arena explodes, heavily armoured soldiers led by some guy with a jetpack storming in!

"Into the castle! Hordak will tolerate no failure!"

 

[Mr Zoat]

21st year of the reign of King Randor I
Season of Chill
307th day, 18th bell

Oh fuck all kinds of-.

I throw up a tower shield construct as the first few plasma shots come our way, and I can immediately feel that Hordak's technology is a wee bit better than what modern Eternia can scrounge together.

Adora just stands there. "Soldiers, explain your-!"

I step in front of her to block their shots while Teela dodges, throwing herself back into the arena antechamber. While Sir Duncan has been assiduous in implementing my suggestions, Teela hasn't, as she didn't feel the need to augment her staff with any sort of ranged weapon. And her normal clothing isn't up to taking hits from a rapid fire plasma weapon.

"Orko!"

Orko looks around nervously. "What?"

Teela glances out of cover. "Did you just time travel a bunch of Hordak's soldiers here!?"

"What? No! I can't see what you're reacting to! It's just a memory!"

"Does that mean it can't hurt us?!"

"Ah, well? Normally, yes? But the spell's only supposed to be used on one person, so... I'm not sure."

Adora raises one of her swords to the side of my neck. "Lantern, I demand an explanation!"

"Those soldiers work for some guy called 'Hordak', and Orko cast a spell to make your sparring match more exciting. Unfortunately, it may have gone a little wrong."

Orko points both hands at Adora. "She hit it with a sword!"

"Focus!" Teela leans out of cover again as the Horde soldiers begin advancing towards the courtyard wall. "Are they actually here or not?"

"No! Probably!"

"Can they hurt us?"

"Um."

"Or anyone else?"

Orko cringes for a moment, then pantomimes rolling up his sleeves. "Orange Lantern? Can you show me where one of them is?"

"Certainly."

The closest Horde soldier glows with orange light. He-. It? Pauses for a moment to try and work out where the light is coming from, then lumbers my way, spraying my construct shield with plasma fire. It's getting uncomfortably abraded now, but I've learned that even though Eternian technology has regressed since Hordak's invasion there are a surprising number of highly functional anti-air guns around the place.

"There? Okay." Orko flies directly in front of the oncoming Horde soldier, arms spread out to the sides. "Stop!"

The image barrels right through him, Orko just hanging in the air for a moment.

"Is it through?"

"Yes." I generate a construct maser and point it at the Horde trooper's helmet. "It is."

I fire, the beam of invisible light punching through the trooper's visor. The trooper staggers, but recovers after a moment and continues their charge. Meanwhile the jetpack guy plants… Something against the wall.

"Despara? How is he still up?"

"Cybereugenics. The best of machinery and-."

I fire again, the shot blasting through the other eye hole. But while the trooper staggers to a halt, he doesn't fall, and I'm left wondering what sort of head they've got under there.

Somewhere behind the floating platforms, lightning hits the ground from a cloudless sky. Ah yes, it turns out that Adam doesn't actually shout 'By the Power of Grayskull! I have the power!' when he transforms, and can actually whisper it if necessary. Which means-.

BOOM!

The man with the jetpack waves his left arm. "Squad five, rearguard! Everyone else, into the castle!"

"Not so fast!"

He-Man charges out, torso twisted so that his armoured shoulder is there to absorb any incoming fire. The jetpack guy turns and fires with predictable results, but the regular troopers don't appear to be that agile and can't reposition. The jetpack guy boosts away from He-Man but the first trooper gets the strongest man on the planet slamming into them and they go flying into the far wall.

"Enough of this."

With the troopers' attention off us, Adora dodges around my shield and charges the chap I shot in the eyes, He… Appears to hear her coming and levels his plasma gun in her direction. He fires at her centre of mass but she ducks under his shots and lunges past him, her swords coming around and biting into the cabling at the back of his left knee! There's a sort of gurgle from his helmet as his leg collapses, then Adora back flips over him, jamming the points of her swords through his eye holes and crossing her arms so that the parts penetrating the helmet slice vertically through the interior.

The trooper slumps, the armour not allowing them to fully collapse but the person inside clearly dead. He-Man now has the rearguard's full attention so Adora sprints forward to assist him.

Teela uses the break in incoming fire to dart out of cover and approach me, gesturing with her staff towards where the Horde soldiers are piling into the castle.

"Orko, do you see that hole in the wall?"

"Yes. How did that get there?"

"Because the illusions used explosives!"

"Oh." He scratches his hat with an extended right forefinger. "That's not supposed to happen."

Oh dear. "Where in the castle is the nursery located?"

Teela thinks for a moment. "Near the grand balcony."

"The grand balcony where the king and queen will be giving their speech in a little while? The king and queen who would have been targets in the original raid?"

Teela stares at me for a second.

"Orko, stop the spell!"

"Ah…"

"Orko!"

"I could stop it if it was doing what it was supposed to do!"

He-Man hits the last horde trooper on the outside of the castle over the head with the pommel of his sword, then looks over to me and Teela. "What's going on here?"

I transition to his side. "We're not sure, but we need to stop those soldiers just in case it's something bad."

"There's got to be dozens of soldiers between here and anything-."

I wince. "We seem to be the only ones who can see them."

"We need to go." Teela sprints past me and into the castle, staff at the ready. "Now!"

"Right." He-Man takes off after her, running as fast as he can without wrecking the place with his enormous strength.

Orko sags in the air. "Oh no."

"No." I shake my head. "This one was me. I-."

Jetpack man leaps from an upper balcony, spraying us with plasma bolts!

 

[Mr Zoat]

21st year of the reign of King Randor I
Season of Chill
307th day, 18th bell

Adora darts away, jumping off the wall and then off a floating platform to swing at him, but the jetpack man just jinks out of the way,-

"Hah!"

-laughing contemptuously.

Orko watches her in bewilderment. "Is there someone up there?"

Right. Okay. The jetpack appears to only allow him short bursts of thrust, so that-.

Adora dashes at his landing spot and he responds by diving under her swing and… Landing on his chest… There's a wheel through his chest, and he can use the thruster to-. Drive along the.. gr-ground? On his chest with his arms and legs-.

I mean, I understand the principles involved, but what possible advantage-?

"Orko, it's a man with a jetpack and a wheel through his chest."

Orko nods as Adora takes a defensive stance. "Oh, Dragstor."

I try not to wince. "Dragstor?"

Orko nods. "Yeah, I heard one of the janitors complaining about how long to took them to get the wheel marks out of the floor."

Dragstor turns, rolls onto his side and then spins onto his feet, some sort of… Crossbow-looking-.

Heck with this. I create a giant orange hammer and smack him over the head, driving him to the ground! For a moment he just lays there, pinned beneath the head, his crossbow knocked from his hand by the surprise. Then he twists and punches, knocking the hammer up far enough for him to fire his booster, zooming across the floor towards the entrance to the castle.

Adora darts over to pick up the crossbow. "Where are they going?"

I nod, my environmental shield expanding around my body. I've learned the hard way that trying to tank hits from Eternians is a fool's errand, but that their dexterity isn't enhanced by anything like as much.

"The old nursery. Ring, evasive program."

"Pro-gram load-ed."

"Let's g-" She's already running into the castle, following the sounds of fighting. "-o." I fly after her, slaloming as the ring moves me through the corridors. She slows slightly as she sees me, then accelerates to a run as I pass her. "How will the troopers act in a situation like this?"

"Given how strong He-Man is, they'll split up and attack targets of opportunity to draw him away from their objective. I've got no idea what Dragstor is doing."

I attach a grabber construct to Adora and fly us up onto a landing, bypassing a ruined staircase.

"Do you know him?"

"Good roads are rare on Etheria. He mostly pilots a helicopter."

CRUNCH!

He-Man comes through the wall to our left, three horde troopers having charged him and all of them being stronger than the stone is tough. They let go as he hits the banister, letting him go flying into empty space before crashing back down. He lands on his-

"Oof."

-back with a wince. But while these mooks are a novelty to him, they're still just mooks. He grabs a nearby table and throws it, the solid wood smashing into the chest of the middle horde soldier and knocking him off his feet with enough force to splinter the table. Were he a normal human I'd say that would have killed him, but with these things who knows.

And if Orko were here I'd ask how much of what I just saw actually happened.

A pneumatic ram construct from me and a wall jump drop kick from-

"Yagh!"

-Adora sends the other two troopers down to He-Man as we speed past.

"Why are we doing this?"

"I'm sorry? Left ahead."

We take the turn together.

"Whether these phantom soldiers kill the king and queen or not, why do we care?"

I was hoping she wouldn't ask that.

"There aren't enough troopers here to take the country. Adam vanished and Sir Duncan's miles away, which means that the line of succession is still intact and a widely respected regent is available to keep things running. And if the king and queen are killed by horde troopers, the first thing he'll do is fortify the country and ramp up rearmament."

She nods, then jinks around a volley of plasma fire from a trooper crouched down at the end of the corridor. I raise my left hand and send a magnetic bottle construct over his gun, disrupting the plasma containment module and causing it to-

BOOM!

-explode, slamming the trooper against the wall!

Adora charges, knocking aside the left arm the trooper awkwardly raises to shield himself with her left sword before angling her right sword to stab downwards inside the neck ring, slicing into his neck. She leaves it there for a second, presumably to make sure that he's really dead. Then I catch up and it's time to resume the pursuit.

"So what do we tell them?"

"What's to tell? We're concerned citizens who were hit by one of Orko's spells and then responded to a situation that evolved. There won't be bodies when this is done because they're an unusually dangerous hallucination."

"I see."

She does? I thought that was pretty weak, myself, but if she's buying it then I'm not going to complain.

"…need to move."

Not far now. The balcony is that way, and I can feel the breeze where the castle doors have been left open. Which means that the royal quarters are that way. My own rooms are pretty much on the other side of the castle so I… Came here during my defence review once. Can't help but think it a little odd that Randor and Marlena never had any other children.

"…concern, Teela, but I…"

I hear the squealing of rubber against stone as Dragstor accelerates… Somewhere. Queen Marlena would obviously have been around during the original attack, so they might attack her.

Sonic scan.

Scan com-plet-ed.

Noise there, two noises there, transition and shield!

An energy crossbow bolt blasts against my construct as I take a stance in front of the queen, Teela brandishing her staff as she reacts to Dragstor's sudden appearance. Adora throws herself around the bend a moment later, her earlier imprint of Dragstor's crossbow firing and hitting him directly in the backpack! The fuel explodes, sending him careening through a nearby door which gives way with a crack!

Marlena's eyes widen as she sees the damage being inflicted by an enemy she can't see.

"Teela, I've got the queen. You-."

She charges the wheeled lunatic, staff spinning and Adora just behind her.

 

[Mr Zoat]

21st year of the reign of King Randor I
Season of Chill
307th day, 18th bell

Every so often, I hear a thud somewhere in the distance as He-Man chases down another trooper.

Every few seconds, I hear a 'clunk' as the head of Teela's staff hits somewhere on Dragstor's cybernetically reinforced body. It seems that he's neither immune to blunt force nor easily disabled by it. Adora takes a few moments to study him, and then-.

Then she lunges, swords piercing his chest near the gap made for his wheel. He shudders, a mixture of blood and oil splattering on the floor as she withdraws her blades. As he falls, purple and red mist rises from our bodies and dissipates into the air around us.

I think that's it.

I relax slightly from my crouch, a sign Queen Marlena picks up on immediately, striding through the broken door to-.

Oh. To a… Child's nursery, now somewhat damaged. The ring lights up immediately, tendrils reaching out to right the crib, mend the dresser and remove the tears from the carpet. I… Guess that this is where the kidnapping happened, then.

"Thank you, Teela. And who are..?"

Queen Marlena's eyes widen as she gets a clear look at Adora's face. She doesn't look the same as her father or her mother or her brother, but even beyond the hair and eyes there are features she clearly shares with them.

"You..?"

Adora for her part is trying to look at Queen Marlena, but her eyes are constantly jerking to some point of interest in the room she was taken from. Does she actually remember, or did Orko's spell actually shake something loose? Or is she just-? Unused to a room for children this different from the whelping chambers of Etheria and unused to duplicity.

Okay, how do I work out-?

The world glows orange as my point of view suddenly changes, and I see that Adora just lunged at the place where I was. Why-what-?

Construct shield and traverse towards the queen in case-.

Adora's eyes widen! "Mother, watch out!"

She throws herself at me again, swords slamming rhythmically into my construct as she tries to punch her way through!

"He works for Skeletor!"

"What? A-ador-?" Queen Marlena looks somewhat bewildered, and I-.

She knows. She's been playing along. That wasn't a 'I distantly remember this person', that was a 'this is my mother' reaction. And while I don't think she's strong enough to put a regular sword through my shield, I don't want to find out that she can draw on the Power of Grayskull under extreme stress without her Sword of Power.

"You work for Hordak."

"That was before I remembered-." Her eyes go to her mother again, before she forces herself to keep her eyes on me. "My memories started coming back. Shadow Weaver did something to my memories, but coming here-. I started to remember again. You told me that you serve Skeletor!"

"I told Despara, Force Captain of Hordak, that I work for Skeletor."

She pulls her swords back a little. "We have been lying to each other?"

"I'm afraid that it looks like that."

"Who are you?"

"Orange Lantern. Member of the Masters of the Universe… At least, until Sir Duncan gets here."

"Evil-Lyn?"

"Used to work for Skeletor, is currently on probation. I-I think-" I raise my right hand and point to the shocked Queen Marlena. "-that the Queen wants your att-."

Queen Marlena grabs her daughter, swords awkwardly forced out to the side. Adora appears to not know what to do. She either can't or doesn't want to move her arms to sheathe her swords. But she doesn't appear to be trying to hug back. But this is clearly a highly emotional moment for both of them so I move to step out of the ro-.

Ah, hello Teela's staff.

"Now Orko's spell has stopped working, I want an-."

"Marlena?" King Randor enters the room, right hand on the hilt of his sword. "I heard-."

He stares at the sword-bearing young woman his wife is embracing.

"Who is this?"

I gently nudge Teela's staff aside as I perform a shallow bow. "Princess Adora, your majesty. Teela and I will leave you to reacquaint yourselves."

"A-?" He blinks, then his eyes widen as he takes her in. "Dor… A?"

I attach a strand of orange to Teela and then transition us out of the room.

Teela scowls. "Warn me before you do that."

"Sorry. And… Sorry about this whole thing. I'm pretty sure that I've made a series of sub-par decisions-."

"I'm glad that you recognise that." I clench as Sir Duncan strolls down the corridor towards us, Teela Na close at hand. "But right now I'm most concerned about Evil-Lyn."

"I'll deal with that right away, sir, and recluse myself to the castle until tomorrow."

Sir Duncan thinks for a moment. "You should take someone with you, just in case. I know Adam doesn't have a date-"

Teela and I share a cringe.

"-so-." He notices our response, then looks uncertain. "Did he find a date?"

"He was-. He was flirting with Adora without knowing who she was." Sir Duncan winces. "And I think… After a certain point, you sort of have to trust people. I don't think that.. coming back mob-handed is.. going to help her recovery."

He nods slowly. "That's taking a risk, but alright. Send a message to the Sorceress when you find out what she's been doing. And I'll expect a full debrief from you tomorrow."

"Thank you, sir. Excuse me."

The world shudders, and I'm in front of Castle Grayskull. Whose drawbridge is down. Okay..? I walk forward, looking around just in case-. Something triggers the moment I cross the threshold, and-.

And an instant later the Sorcerer's staff appears in front of me. Taking hold of it, I feel it as I reconnect to the Power of Grayskull, and focus to dispatch an impression of success and safety to Teela Na.

"Surprised?"

Evelyn is still carrying her own staff, but makes no aggressive move towards me as the Castle finishes connecting to me.

"No. Pleased, certainly."

"Oh? Did you bring no one with you?"

"No."

"I think I should be insulted. I had a speech prepared, on the subject of how foolish I would have to be to throw away this opportunity. And now I won't get to give it."

I shrug as I walk past her into the Castle.

"You can give it to me, if you like. And tell me what you've learned about the Sword of Power."

 

[Mr Zoat]

21st October 2012
19:13 GMT -5

"…remember any of them?"

Death-Doll shrugs, and I try not to look at the way the stitching holding her epidermis together pulls her 'skin'. It looks painful, and under other circumstances I'd offer to fix… Fix her. But some people like looking that different and I don't know her well enough to know how she feels about it.

"Nah. I mean, I think I remember some of them, but I didn't talk to any of 'em." Her attention shifts from me to Canis, who is openly staring at her clearly-altered physiology. She smiles, her head tilting to the left and her hair -which is either artificial or held together with something that's not so much hairspray as hairglue- just sort of holds its shape rather than flowing with gravity. "See something you like, kid?"

"Your body is a walking sculpture; a meditation on the disposable and transitory nature of human flesh. Every inch of it thrills me."

She… Stares at him for a moment.

"I would like very much to paint you, if you would allow it."

"That's not something I expected to hear today." She stares as if not sure what to make of him. "Um. Sure, I guess."

"Hah!" Canis shakes his head, then turns to face me. "My art professor tried to tell me that humans disliked posing for paintings. As if nudity was something to be ashamed of."

"Wait, I didn't say anything about 'naked'. I'm married."

Canis looks puzzled. "I have no libidinous intent. I wish to depict the glory of your stitched together flesh on canvas."

And this is why Canis is extremely useful for interviews like this. I know that Death-Doll used to operate under the name Liberty-Lass, until a covert operation she undertook for the CIA went badly wrong. I know that the resulting 'experimental medical procedure' -read: we're handing your barely living body over to mad scientists and told them they could do whatever they like, no loss to us either way- left her a little unhinged. And a lot more violent.

In a normal confrontation with a League-affiliated superhero she'd posture about how dark and edgy she is. Canis wrong-foots her and I've got a larger body count and neither of us are bothered about talking about it. Which improves the chance that she'll cooperate, if only out of confusion.

She looks to me for a rational response. Which was probably a mistake.

"Is he for real?"

"He's the Apokoliptian God of Art, so, yes. Though in other circumstances he would probably call sex 'performance art'."

"I-. I mean-. Would anyone else be there?"

Canis nods. "How many people do you want?" A sight for all eyes?

"If we could return to the matter at hand? Canis?"

He nods a little sheepishly.

"What did you think of the meeting?"

"Meeting-? Oh. Ah. Guess they were well-meaning, but… I've been doing this a while. I know how to work with police, levels of force…" She shrugs. "There wasn't really anything there that I wanted."

"What do you think of the organisation as a whole?"

"Seem like good people. Probably real useful for people starting out. I don't do well in…" She raises her right hand and runs it over her neck seam. "Organizations."

"Did anyone approach you during or after the meeting?"

"It was a mixer. Plenty of people approached me. Only one that stuck out was a little girl."

"In what way?"

She frowns incredulously. "Because she was a little girl in a room full of roided out men. You've seen the guest list, right?"

I shrug. "They don't keep one, only a sign-up sheet."

"Right. Anyway, yeah, you know the statistics on the sort of people who put on masks, right?"

"What, that they're overwhelmingly male, particularly when they don't have superpowers?"

"Teenage girls who do it are usually part of a group. She was there on her own, but I think she'd already joined."

"What makes you say that?"

"The officials paid attention to her. Nothing obvious, just looking at her a bit more."

"To the teenaged girl in the room with the 'roided out men'? That doesn't seem too unreasonable."

"No, they weren't looking out for her. People look at people they know differently. Trust me."

While she's far from the strangest looking person I've met, I can't help but take in her raggy doll appearance when she asks me to take something on faith. We know the procedures altered her thought processes-.

"Yeah, I know. But trust me, all that spy craft stuff stayed. They'd have cut me up-. Left me in parts if it didn't. No one wants an incompetent assassin."

I nod. "Thank you. We'll be in touch if we need to ask any follow up questions."

"You got any idea why I'm still alive? I'm not exactly shy about maiming or killing."

"No idea at all." I smile. "It is not by eliminating the impossible that crimes are solved, but by the much harder job of eliminating the possible. Orchid wasn't violent. She breaks the pattern, so that can't be it. Maybe it's because you didn't cross… Whatever line there was. I don't know. Though if you're curious, I'll get in touch once we do solve it."

"I'd appreciate it."

I stand, stepping away-. Canis isn't following. I give him an interrogative frown.

"This was our last interview for today. I have no further business with you, and Death-Doll and I haven't agreed a time for her to pose for me."

"I haven't said I'm going to pose for you."

"You can read the intentions of a room by where people look and do not look? I know when someone will work with me."

She shakes her head. "I.. can't believe I'm considering this."

"I'll leave you two to it." I

step out

and reappear in the Mountain.

Richard glance around. "Same thing?"

"An out of place teenaged girl. I think we need to find her." I nod at the facial recognition system they've got running. "Find her yet?"

The Alliance genuinely made sure that the cameras of their venues weren't active, because not everyone turning up had the hang of the whole 'secret identity' thing. But there wasn't any rule about the people attending having their own cameras. They took pictures, and uploaded them to their masked identity's social media accounts. So there are hundreds of images for us to find this girl.

Beryl calls up a picture.

"I think we have."

 

[Mr Zoat]

21st October 2012
19:17 GMT -5

Richard presses a few buttons.

"Or… No. We don't."

"We don't?"

He brings up… A missing persons report for someone called 'Anita Fite'-.

"Is that her real name?"

"Her dad's name is Donald Fite, so I guess so. She went missing… Sometime after the last of these meetings happened. Looks like we're too late."

Beryl calls up the file and starts flashing through it. "Her dad's an FBI agent. Someone kidnapped an FBI agent's daughter?"

"Did he know she was a superhero?"

"Probably not." Richard's looking at Batman's intelligence records. "Apparently, he… Really doesn't like superheroes. I don't think he'd let her out of the house if he found out what she was doing."

I connect my ring to the League database and extract the relevant files, blinking as my ring's AI orders them for my mental consumption. "A natural talent for vodun-style magic."

Beryl raises her eyes from her screen for a moment. "Do you think she was turning people into zombies? I read the report on Papa Midnite."

"Ah… I wouldn't have thought so. She's in her early teens. Unless one of the more powerful spirits took a real shine to her for some reason, that's not going to happen."

"She's a voodoo witch who can't make zombies? I feel cheated."

"She could probably animate corpses somehow. Sticking a weak demon in a corpse isn't hard. But creating vodun zombies requires some complex soul manipulation that I don't think a teenager with little access to tuition could manage."

I sigh.

"I can't think of a vodun spell or ritual that would produce the results we've seen. And I can't imagine anything that a teenager could cast that Doctor Balewa couldn't detect."

"So…" Beryl slumps slightly. "That's it?"

Richards nods, once, slowly. "We can send a report to Batman, which he'll send to the FBI. But at this point… There isn't a whole lot more we can do. If she's on her own, then… She'll show up on camera eventually. But she could be… Anywhere. And if she's getting help…"

Beryl brings up her psychological profile. "But why would she do it?"

"There's her crime lord grandfather. But I can't see why he'd care about low level American superheroes either."

"And there's no record of her having any contact with him, and her mother came to America specifically to get away from him."

Richard shrugs. "It's another lead, but I'm not sure we really want to tip him off that she's disappeared in case he finds her."

"Then that's it. We've got a suspect we can't find and…" I look at Beryl. "No motive?"

She shakes her head. "Nothing I can see. Maybe Batman will have better luck."

"Then, yeah."

Richard nods. "I'm gunna go through these files some more. See if I can learn anything."

"Yeah." Beryl nods. "It's only five hours ago in England."

"Okay. I've got a few things to do before I head off. Let me know if you need me for anything."

I get a couple of absent-minded nods as they give their screens their full attention before I

step out

and reappear a short distance away from… Blitzen, in civilian clothing. A suit, feminine cut, complete with a trilby. I'm sure she's trying to communicate something with that, but I've got no idea what.

"Hay!" She frowns at me. "Vhat if I had been on the toilet?"

"It would have to be a very large toilet."

We're in… A motorway service station, with attached fast food restaurant. Not particularly busy at this time of day, and in civilian clothing and with a minimal environmental shield glow I don't attract that much attention. Since my particular form of teleportation doesn't cause a lightshow or any noise, people who see it generally just assume that they just happened to not notice me approaching.

I sit down opposite her.

"Any news?"

She shrugs.

"I vent to their little get-together, said hallo, told them about vhere I'm from. If they are going to do something, they have marked me in their books."

"I have a little news on that score. We've taken the guns out of commission and the person we think was marking the targets has vanished."

She moues, nodding.

"Vell, it got me out of the house. Anything else?"

"That doesn't mean that you won't be targeted. Or that we aren't interested in how the Alliance works from an insider. But it's less likely than it was."

I fabricate a data stick and slide it across the table to her.

"That's a summary of our discoveries to date, and this-"

I take a spell eater out of subspace.

"-is an anti-magic ward. Not one hundred percent reliable, but better than nothing. Please destroy the datastick after reading."

She nods, both items disappearing as her right hand blurs.

"Not vorried about me passing the vard to the people at home?"

"Your world doesn't have the arcane infrastructure to make more, and you'd need wizards to make anything like it." I lean forward slightly. "You can't just crib off the kryptonians for this one."

"You mean the superior men from the future?"

I narrow my eyes slightly. "You don't actually believe that version, do you?"

She rolls her eyes. "I don't inhale everything that comes from the Führer's arsehole, no. Did you know they're going to publish a history book that calls the whole period of the First Great Var through to the end of the Second Great Var a single conflict?"

"Um. Why?"

"So ve can pretend ve didn't lose anything. Just a temporary setback. Ve conquer the whole vorld and our ego is so fragile. Stupid."

"Supermen don't need to tell themselves that they're super. They just are."

"Yah, but vhen your Führer is balding and asthmatic it doesn't pay to say things like that out loud. Anything else?"

"No, that's it. Thank you for your help. Have a pleasant evening."

 

[Mr Zoat]

22nd October 2012
21:17 GMT +3

I take a moment to look down at the celebration taking part in the room below us. Luna is in equiform and attracting quite a lot of attention. Not people engaging her in conversation, that would be far too civilised. No, just people staring and needing some time to mentally adapt to the presence of a sophont quadruped who looks sort of like a horse. And that attitude is precisely why I brought Sunset along; next to her she's coping far better than she would have been otherwise.

The… Seven, I think? G-goblins are fitting in rather better. No Ixy, but Dubbilex and… Six other pun-named telepaths accompanied by a g-goblin bodyguard or two. They're human sized and human shaped and most of the politicians here have become accustomed to genomorphs operating in their countries over the course of the year. Representatives of just about every African nation are either down there or attending one of the other events we're running across the continent to celebrate.
This Feels So Right.
A year without war. Technically. If you fudge the definitions slightly. No African nation taking up arms against another or against its own people, at least. And with stability has come a degree of prosperity. Africa now has a larger economy than… Okay, than Australasia, but that's for the first time in recorded history and it's a start, damn it! Life expectancy is already increasing. Time children spend in school is definitely increasing, legitimate employment is increasing as corruption vanishes and Lex finds out what running a responsible megacorporation is actually like.

We're even fixing the rivers! And roads, but Africa's so huge and air travel by low-flying space-capable craft is so cheap that -much like wired phone lines- it'll probably be easier to skip that step.

I raise my glass tankard in a silent toast to the people below, then turn back to my fellow members of The Light. Lex has progressed to a telepresence robot, a machine that reminds me a little of Mike the TV or KOMPLEX's robot body.

I frown mildly as I consider the direction of my thoughts on the issue. Maybe I should talk to him about reconsidering his image? Wasn't there a… Cartoon where the robots had screens for faces? Never been able to remember what that was called…

Adom floats over, looking past me to the people below.

"Pleasing."

"I'll say." I glance at him. "But I don't think you quite feel it in the same way that I do."

"I have some idea of the tumult this continent endured before we took control."

"Come on, Adom, we've talked about this. It's not 'took control', it's 'lent aid'. 'Exerted persuasive influence'. 'Appealed to the better angels of their nature'."

"We gave them no choice, and their lives are better for it."

"Yes, and you know that and I know that and, honestly, I'm sure they do too. It's the illusion of choice that we need to appear to give, not choice itself. People who know that they're being compelled to move in a particular direction will often fight against it, and we don't want people fighting us."

"They would lose. But you will tell me that is not the point."

"We didn't conquer… Well, okay, you conquered Kahndaq and I got Sudan, but we didn't bring in an army of foreigners and force them to bend their knees and expect them to thank us for it. We set limits for people and grant them opportunities, we should never use a whip hand to drive them."

"Then you are correct." He gives me a sidelong glance, and I know that I'm about to hear the closest thing to a joke he's capable of saying. "I do not feel it in quite the same way that you do."

"Oh, that wasn't what I meant. I'm the New God of Conquest, remember. Africa's been an itch in my soul ever since I reclaimed my power. Every time I came here, just…" I raise my left hand to my chest and clench my fist. "But no longer. It's working, it's all working."

I close my eyes for a moment and just feel the connectivity of the whole land. It's not done yet, it's nowhere near done, but it's functioning now.

Adom shakes his head. "You are still correct. I do not feel any great change from when we began. Improvement, yes, but that is to be expected when laws are enforced on highly-placed criminals."

"You wanna feel it?"

"I feel that I am sufficiently blessed, thank you."

"No, no, I don't mean-. You wouldn't end up with the same nature as me, anyway. I mean, you should be able to use the Power of Atum to listen in on my god-sense. Right?"

He frowns thoughtfully. "I do not know. It would make sense to a degree if I were to overpower you-."

"No no no. No overpowering, I'm letting you in willingly." I turn my head back towards the other members of The Light. "Circe, that should work, shouldn't it?"

Circe looks around from where she was deeply in conversation with Cranius.

"Using the Power of Atum to connect to another form of arcane power? That should be within his purview. Have you never experimented before?"

"No." Adom looks a little curious. "I have always used it to attack."

"Well then!" I crouch slightly and crane my neck towards him, gesturing to my forehead with my left hand. "Hands on. Let's see if this works."

Richard uses shadows to support his own drink as he drifts closer, passing through the table apparently without noticing. "This could prove informative." He turns his head to Queen Clea. "Do you suppose that something like that would work on me?"

Clea is looking much better… Much younger, than she did when we first met. I'd say that she's at 'forty year old with an expert beautician who takes good care of herself'. She should get a little younger, but I doubt that she really needs it.

"I doubt it. The Shadowlands aren't like the Earth's thaumosphere. Though if you wish to experiment, the Arcane Institute of Venturia has heavily warded laboratories where you could do so safely. It could prove quite enlightening."

"If that's the case…" Richard hesitates. "Not to be a Dicky Downer here, but is it a good idea to do this in a densely populated city?"

Circe waves her left hand dismissively. "Grayven uses the same thaumosphere as Adom. I'm not certain that their systems can be made to interact in a way that would allow either of them to understand what the other is experiencing, but any blowback would be limited to them. And they're both big boys."

Adom drifts a little closer. "I will admit to a degree of curiosity. To see the world as a god does, even one as…"

We don't all live in the thaumosphere, Adom. "It's okay, you can say it."

"As New as you. Have you tried this before?"

"Luna saw what I see when she intruded on my dreams. It works. Come on."

"Very well." Adom comes close enough that his chest obscures my vision, and I feel him firmly grasp my forehead with both hands. "Prepare yourself."

I relax, letting the corporeal universe flow away and immersing myself instead in the conceptual aspect of my nature.

"Lord Atum, show me my ally's power."

The meeting below is mildly discordant as People Are Out Of Their Place, but I clearly divine Control and Loyalty and Structure and Obligation. The tickling cough of Dysfunction that I feel all around is receding, the satisfying pump of Effort and Direction and Effectiveness, my metaphysical skin humming with a growing Health and Power. Ahead of me I feel the Greater Power that I reach toward, growing closer and more magnificent for it. And close about me I feel Directing Minds, my partners and allies without whose efforts I would not be so strong.

"I.. feel it."

As genomorph police hunt down terrorist weapons caches I am there.

"It is…"

As a student who hates me studies law under a grant I sponsor in a school I had built, I am there and I am approving.

"To be…"

As those who didn't recognise that their time was up break rocks in a prison, they do so under my watchful eyes.

Adom removes his hands, and I refocus my awareness. "Remarkable. And some day you will attain greater power?"

"Yes. But that's true of all of us. And if it isn't now, then I will make it so."

 

[Mr Zoat]

Coup Data

27th October 2012
01:23 GMT

Jade glances at me as I pull myself out of bed after her.

"You don't have to get up. I know you came to bed a while after me."

"No, that's not the point. I moved in-"

She tosses her pyjama shirt to me and I catch it as she heads towards her quarters' sonic shower.

"-because I want to spend more time with you, and if that means getting up out of sequence and taking a nap later, then so be it. " I walk towards her the wardrobe. "Ah, uniform or exercise clothes?"

"I already laid-" There's a burst of sound distortion as the sonic shower activates, effectively limiting the pitch of sound that can escape the shower unit. "-it out in here last night."

"Oh, okay." I hold out my hands, calling my rings to me from the dressing table. A flicker of orange and I'm clean of the night's dead skin and sweat and dressed in my own light armour. Then I clean, iron and fold her shirt and lay it down on her pyjama trousers. "Breakfast?"

"Something that doesn't make me need to spend an extra hour working out."

I walk towards the kitchenette.

"I'm hearing pancakes and golden syrup!"

"No you're not!"

The distortion cuts out, and as I pull out the… Foil… Alien oats packet? I hear the quiet rustle of her donning her clothes. With sonic showers not actually involving water they can double as a changing room, because there isn't any need for them to dry after they share in the cleaning process.

Okay, alien probably-milk, or-? Oh, right, lactose intolerant. I'm sure it says something about Jade that she was happy to change the structure of her own brain in order to improve her emotional awareness but it didn't occur to her to gain the ability to digest milk properly. Heck, that means that this isn't actually milk, it's-.

Well, she's clearly fine with drinking it or it wouldn't be in here. I'm having the actual milk that my majority Anglo Saxon digestive tract is evolved to process instead of...

I'm not going to scan it.

Okay, two bowls of porridge and under the smart microwave cooker they go. And fire. It's essentially the same as a microwave on Earth, only lacking the whole box element and the turntable. It's also quieter than the models I'm used to, leaving me to watch the countdown.

Fruit juice is chemically synthesised, but given how I've been agitating for the return of Still Tango I'm hardly in a position to complain about that. Darkstar food processors are able to adapt to produce food that's nutritious and palatable to just about any carbon-based species, though… Obviously the components aren't going to be recognisable due to not occurring in nature. For obvious reasons most Darkstars prefer to bring in food from home rather than subject themselves to the synthesiser.

Though I will admit that the green lumps it came up with yesterday were actually quite nice.

Jade strolls in wearing her uniform, picking up her juice cup and taking a small sip.

"Briefings today, then?"

"I think we're nearly getting to the point where we can leave them to take care of themselves."

"Oh? Where are we off to next?"

"I don't know for sure, but I'm due a rotation on one of the liberated worlds. Investigation, counter-insurgency, that kind of thing."

"Still got room for a plus one?"

She smiles faintly. "They're not going to say 'no' to you even if we don't."

"I don't want to take advantage of my status."

A quiet non-beep tone as the microwave cooker finishes its work, and I offer Jade her bowl.

"I have real fruit and nuts-."

"It's been so long, I don't know if I can handle real food. Why is mine a different color?"

"Because I can handle real milk." I frown. "I know I offered it to Artemis but I don't remember ever offering it to you; are you at all interested in improved milk digestion?"

"Why?"

"Because it would let you ingest milk-based products without ill-effects?"

"Considering what happened last time I modified myself with a power ring, I-"

I frown and look at her breasts. They look like they've gone back to normal size to me, but-.

"-think-." She follows my gaze, then averts her eyes with an expression of amused embarrassment. "No, my brain, not.. that."

"Oh. Ah, while the lactase gene might have a knock-on effect, it would be a very minor one. Humans all produce lactase at some point during their lives."

"Did you give yourself that gene?"

"No, I was born with it. Like your-." Oops. "Un-cle."

"I'll.. stay with the nut-milk, thanks."

"As you will. I -on the other hand- am trying different fruit combinations, and today is…"

"Apricot."

"Apricot, apparently."

"Don't you like apricot?"

"Last time I ate apricots, it was with a pork chop."

"For breakfast?"

"No."

"Do you like pork chops?"

"No. Honestly, I just want to try everything once. I don't have high hopes, but I've been wrong before."

Seven apricot halves appear in my-. And there's the eighth half so that I won't be thinking about the missing half all day. Thank you, ring. I generate a construct spoon and dig in.

"What are you doing today?"

"Quick check up on my students, then I'm in the Themysciran forum all morning. Elections are coming up and I'm hoping that we can finally get Clyemne out of office."

"Are you standing?"

"Hah! Ah, no, I don't think that Themyscira is ready for a male senator. Maybe when the war's over."

I take a spoonful of-.

Uh.

"Not good?"

"It's… Interesting."

 

[Mr Zoat]

27th October 2012
06:08 GMT +3

I wave at the fishing boats as I pass over the fleet at sail-height, getting a few waves back from those women who have a free arm. Others are already unloading their catch at the docks, or laying them out at the morning market. I smile as I see one of the night fishers shaking a bucket of ice out over their catch to preserve it.

I did that. They're using ice created using a machine I put into commercial service on Themyscira, and no one acts like it's anything strange. No one's shying away. I mean, it'll be a while before we get to the stage where there are fridges or freezers in every home, and I've… Really got to see about sorting out some way for my fellow Themyscirans to get formal magic tuition-.

After I've found John Constantine. No new projects until that one is done. So far I've only got as far as tracking down every dodgy street magician on the planet and asking if they've seen him. If I'd known there were this many of them I'd have tried to start an actual Trench Coat Regiment.

Huh. Usually, Diana makes a point of being around when it's one of my days in the forum. I'm not sure what she thinks is going to happen; I'm not persuasive enough to convince them to do anything too crazy just by speaking. Maybe she's there as a calming influence. Or maybe she actually finds it funny?

No. No, I don't think it's that.

"Orange Lantern to Wonder Woman. Diana, are you actually giving me a-?"

"Wonder Woman not found."

Oh. Well, that explains it. If she's not on the planet then she can't lurk on the outskirts of the forum, covering her eyes with her right hand and slowly shaking her head.

For example.

I'm not seeing Kon or Mitchell either. Maybe they went with her? Seems… Unlikely though. Mitchell's been trying to catch up on Kon's superior social skills so I doubt that he'd want to miss a weekend like that. Ring-?

Kon and Mitchell are in Mount Justice.

I'm actually a little touched at her faith in m-. No, there's Alkyone. Interesting choice, given that Alkyone likes me more than anyone other than Hippolyta and her three circlemates, but a logical one. She has pretty conservative instincts while still being willing to give me a fair hearing. I should check in with her first.

I cross the lower city forum low enough and slow enough for my passage to be clearly visible to everyone. I see a few regulars -some of whom will be seeking office or trying to keep it- shuffling through their notes in preparation for the morning disputation. Some are recorded on vellum, but it looks like Man's World paper is also making inroads.

Alkyone comes to alert as she sees me heading towards her, and I slow and land a not too close distance in front of her.

"Good morning."

A shallow inclination of the head. "Illustres."

"Did Princess Diana leave a message for me?"

She visibly hesitates, which isn't something I'm used to from her. "Queen Hippolyta requests your presence in the palace."

"Um, okay, I'm at her disposal. Can you give me a clue what this is about?"

"I am sorry." And now there's no doubt, which means that this is something that Queen Hippolyta has ordered her to do or told her is right. "But the Queen wants to tell you herself."

Then that's the most I'm going to get out of her. I look around, but none of the other Amazons appear to be acting strangely. Alright, I.. suppose. It's not as if Hippolyta is unpleasant company.

"Rightoh. Do you want a lift back?"

"The Queen has tasked me with overseeing the debates to make sure that things don't get out of hand."

"Out of hand? Should I leave a camera?"

"Cameras have been forbidden during elections since we first learned of them." She makes a very small smile. "If people wish to see politicians make fools of themselves, they may stir themselves and come to the forum to see it in person."

"Fair enough. Have you given any consideration to how you'll be voting?"

"That will be a matter for consideration once I have heard-." She considers me for a moment. "Yooou are not standing yourself, are you?"

I grin and hold her gaze. Then I raise my arms, holding them out to the sides as if to embrace the world.

"No. Much as it would delight Eris, you would be conducting yourself differently if you were. You are simply playing on my expectations and prejudices."

"You're pretty insightful for a woman who spent ninety years in a box."

"You are fairly insightful also. Do you inhale fumes, as oracles do, or does it come naturally?"

I reduce my smile to slightly more normal proportions, give her a mock-salute with my right hand and then transition to the palace plaza.

Ooh. Demeter's temple is looking a little more overgrown than normal. Has Euanthe been visiting? Hera's temple has… A satellite dish, which is… Okay. The rest looks much as it has for the last two thousand years or so. One of the guards-.

She's running into the palace. That's unusual. I'm not normally a 'panic stations'-. Something's up.

I trade my light armour for my heavy armour and generate construct armour to go along with it. That sends a wave of uncertainty through the remaining guards, but unusually none of them say anything. They've all been ordered to leave this to Hippolyta. Why? I like Hippolyta well enough but we're not super-close. Certainly not 'we need someone to talk Orange Lantern down' close.

What's going on?

And… Here comes Hippolyta. And Captain Philippus and… Menalippe. Has Eris done something? Why the heck is-?

"Paul, that…" Queen Hippolyta looks over my preparations. "Won't be necessary."

"Your majesty, something about this situation makes me think that you might -and I say this with all due respect- be mistaken."

"Diana has received a mission of great importance from Lord Zeus, King of Olympus."

Oh. Is that all? Not exactly a frequent occurrence, but Diana's been clued in on supernatural threats by him about… Three times before? And while the lightning hurt, I'm prepared to take the occasional cheap shot in the name of maintaining the peace.

"What sort of mission?"

"Lord Zeus is concerned about the circumstances of Donna Troy's creation, and has charged my daughter with ensuring that Tartarus remains an inviolate prison."

"How? I'm fairly sure that Diana doesn't have anything like the knowledge of thaumaturgy that would require."

"By attending to its security in person."

"Al.. right? How long is that going to take?"

"Lord Zeus did not specify a time limit. I assume that she will visit each of those imprisoned within and ensure that they are not attempting to escape or otherwise violate their bounds."

I frown. This does sound like something that a demigod might be asked to do, but where Zeus is concerned… "She's going to Tartarus indefinitely?"

"Yes, but-."

"Not a problem." I rise off the ground. "I'll pop down and help her. We'll be back this afternoon."

 

[Mr Zoat]

27th October 2012
06:21 GMT +3

"Zagreus?" I frown at the hunt-god. "That's a little… Heavily armed for you, isn't it? Are you hunting dragons or something?"

His normal hunting gear has been replaced by a mixture of orichalcum plate and… Scaly leather? I'm assuming that the donor was some sort of mythological creature, probably the same one that donated his cloak. A bandoleer of knives, two short swords-. Gladiuses, a Colt single-action army revolver and an AK-47. That's not 'today we're hunting wabbits', that's 'I could totally take Kratos'.

"Just… In case Diana finds anything concerning. I've never hunted a titan before, and I wouldn't dare to be less than fully equipped should she call for aid."

I look away for a moment, down towards the queue of souls still awaiting judgement, then over to the new settlement built not too far from the palace. The 'foreign quarter', for souls who have other afterlives they'd rather go to but are staying here until some sort of transfer can be arranged. It's an interesting mix of architectural styles, though they've clearly compromised in some areas due to not having access to some types of more advanced materials.

"Is that likely? I mean, Cronus has been down there for a very long time and hasn't really achieved all that much."

"True, but Zeus was there when they were bound and has wisdom that we lack."

"Zeus's 'wisdom' doesn't even remind him to put a condom on while playing away after Hera put him in the last chance saloon."

"Ahhhh…" Zagreus awkwardly looks up towards Erebos's false sky. "Perhaps you could avoid insulting the King of Olympus when in the domains of Greek myth. It's usually not conducive to health and long life."

"He shot me with lightning, Zagreus. I'm not planning on doing anything about it, but I haven't forgotten it. If he wants my respect then he can pull his finger out, do something with his life and stop sending my friends and mentors off on pointless busywork quests."

Zagreus takes a deep breath.

"Are you familiar with the concept of nemesis?"

"Colloquially, a person's greatest enemy. Traditionally, it was the source of destruction the hero of a story created by their actions. Anger the gods and you make enemies. Eventually, one of them bests you. It exists to remind even the powerful that they can be brought low and that they should remember the virtues even if they can maintain their position without needing to."

"Quite. So-."

"You think I'm Zeus's nemesis? The natural consequence of his bad behaviour?" I shake my head. "I'm not sure that follows, and real life is seldom like the plays."

Zagreus looks at me despondently for a moment, then nods with a sigh.

"You are of course free to travel into Tartarus. I don't know exactly where Diana is, but I'm sure you can get directions from the Hekatonkheires. Or perhaps the other inmates."

"Thank you. All the best to Melinoë."

He nods as I rise into the air, heading 'east north east' towards the gateway into Tartarus. Not sure what the weapons were really in aid of. I've been… Assuming that efforts to fight a titan in purely material space were more or less doomed to failure, but I suppose that he might be able to do a little better with godly magic than I managed against Oceanus.

Despite the enlarged population, Erebos looks much the same as normal. I wave down at the orchards as I pass over them, though I doubt that anyone at ground level can see me. The rivers, the blasted plain, the… New road going up to the Fields of Punishment. And the people walking it don't exactly look unhappy. Walking in either direction, I should say. I suppose that knowing their punishment has a definite end helps? Or maybe they're masochists who pled guilty or something, I don't know.

No trouble getting the door open, and there's the inky void that I remember from my last visit. However, my increased familiarity with the Ophidian's empathic abilities means that while conventional light is denied to me, I can navigate using the wisps of feeling… Is that Tartarus itself, or left over from the inmates? Diana's trail stands out, and while I can't see where my navigational feeler filaments are I can still feel them. She's not going particularly fast, which makes sense as while her senses are acute, they're not supernatural. She's stuck with normal sound and light like the rest of us. Not that I think that, say, a kryptonian's vision would provide much benefit in here.

"Who goes there?"

"Hail, Wonder Woman!"

A burst of sonic energy gets me a 'look' at her. Looks like she's in her standard Wonder Woman corset, and holding… A dense hand, which is pointing in the direction she was travelling. As she turns towards my voice the hand moves so that the pointing finger remains extended in the same direction.

Useful.

"Paul. Why are you here?"

"Thought we could get this done faster if I helped. Can I offer you a lift?"

Sonic scans show her bow her head slightly.

"This is not about speed."

"Right, it's about thoroughness. But you can't see in here. I can-" I fabricate an echolocation headset. "-help with that, even if I don't know what this place is supposed to look like."

"Paul, do you-?" I nudge her in the shoulder with the headset and she takes it, feeling around it to work out what it's for before putting it over her head. She takes a moment to look around before focusing on me. "Thank you. Paul, do you understand what is meant by religious faith?"

Ah…

"Compliance with the will of what the believer believes to be a higher power?"

"Lord Zeus has given this task to me. I appreciate that you want to help, but I am the person it was given to."

"But-."

"Your mercenary approach to religion isn't normal. Do you understand that?"

"Yes, but-! It's Zeus! He's not exactly inscrutable."

"Even if he does not choose to live in accordance with the highest virtues at all times, Lord Zeus is a god. He is aware of the universe in ways that neither of us can comprehend."

"I'm not sure that's true for either of us." I sigh, looking away and shaking my head. "You really think you've got to do this on your own?"

"I do."

"Okay. Okay, fine. Have fun, or religious enlightenment or whatever."

I shake my head and I back away from her, then turn and fly at speed towards the gates. I mean… It's not impossible that Zeus is… I don't know, doing this to help her train her god-senses or something. I would be surprised, given Diana's lack of enthusiasm for that aspect of her power and him waiting this long to do something he could just have well done seventy years ago, but this sort of situation might do something like that. Not sure why it's suddenly become so urgent…

I pass through the gates and close them behind me. Okay. While I'm here-.

"Lantern?"

Akhlys walks towards me, looking pretty miserable but not as miserable as she used to. Her arms and legs clatter from the bracelets, armlets and other rune-inscribed charms I've had made for her, spells for promoting health and wellbeing and others that are designed to absorb sickness. The result is no better than a draw, but it's where we are now and Sephtian said that making them taught him a lot.

"Akhlys. Any worse?"

"No. Thank you for asking. I am very sorry about Diana."

"She's managing."

"Still. It is disgraceful that Zeus could not simply accept his rejection with good grace."

…

"I beg your pardon?"

 

[Mr Zoat]

27th October 2012
06:25 GMT +3

"Pau-?"

"Diana."

"Wha-?"

"I have been informed that your description of the event that led you to your tour of Tartarus was less than entirely complete. Would you care to expand upon it?"

Diana considers that carefully.

"Since… Hera has separated from him, Lord Zeus expressed an interest in remarrying. He asked if I would like to be considered for the position and I replied that I did not feel ready to undergo apotheosis."

"And then you were sent here."

"We discussed the possibilities, but ultimately I declined."

"And then you were sent here."

"Being asked to become Queen of the Gods is no insult." I actually see the stygian blackness around us turn orange for a moment. "A few days later, Lord Zeus asked me to undertake this mission. The two are not necessarily related, though I acknowledge that if I had undergone apotheosis I would not be here now."

"Understood."

"Somehow, I doubt that. Paul, I want you to promise me that you will not fight Zeus. The lightning bolt with which he struck you was but a small fraction of his strength."

"Diana, he's using your morals in order to twist your arm on the issue of marrying him, whereupon he'd be a devoted husband for maybe three months before reverting to type and treating you like he did Hera."

"Yes, that is why I said no. I still want you to promise me."

Breathe in, breathe out.

"I promise that I will not fight Zeus. Anything else?"

"Paul, please take this seriously. Any outcome of you fighting Zeus, even with the Ophidian's full support, would-."

"I am aware of the likely disruptions to the thaumosphere that would come from an entity like Zeus being consumed. I promise that I will not attempt to consume Zeus. I will be making vigorous representations concerning my disquiet at his actions to various parties."

Her right hand twitches slightly, and I extend my right hand towards her.

"If you want to check that I'm being honest, I am happy to be bound by the lasso."

She lowers her hand.

"Thank you. Please, be safe."

"Excuse me."

And I'm outside of Tartarus, and up the stairs and into the air.

That explains why they were speaking carefully around me.

To the Mountain. I think.

26th October 2012
22:27 GMT -5

"…if Olympian could-."

Richard goes silent, and the rest of the assembled team turn to stare at me.

Wallace is the first to look away, glancing left and right to see the response of the other team members.

"He's he-re."

I nod. I am indeed here.

"What have we got so far?"

Kon smiles at me. "How'd you find out?"

"Come now, Prince Kon-El. It's election season. Naturally, I visited Themyscira."

"Yeah, but Grandma said they weren't gunna tell you."

"But no one told Akhlys that she wasn't supposed to tell me. I'm not happy about certain people trying to keep me from finding out-"

I make eye contact with Ghia'ta, who has a power ring. She gulps.

"-but I think it's more important that we focus our efforts on liberating Diana."

"Ah." Wallace hesitantly points to me with his right hand. "Could you stop talking like that? And… Maybe stop glowing? It's creeping me out."

"I would be happy to do that, but I'm going to need a moment. Why don't you bring me up to speed while I do that?"

I walk into the huddle, Leonid and Tula backing away slightly. Mitchell on the other hand just nods as I try to let some of my rage bleed off. I know why I'm angry; Zeus is acting against Diana and… No. The whole team was here and on top of this. She wasn't being abandoned. This was being dealt with.

I hear Wallace exhale in relief as the orange lights die down a little.

"So… Yeah." Richard expands a hologram of Aristides Demetrios, Creeper on Argonauts and Embarrassment to Greece. "If we need extra superhuman power to fight a titan, he's on the list."

"A question."

"Go ahead?"

"How are we characterising the problem?"

"Wonder Woman's stuck in Tartarus until we're sure that the Titans aren't trying to escape."

"No." I smile as I hear Zatanna speak up. "This isn't about the Titans. This is about Zeus. This is about Zeus sending Superboy's mother into Tartarus."

Mitchell shifts slightly at his exclusion, but he clearly agrees with the sentiment.

Richard appears not to. "She didn't have to go, Zatanna."

"My dad didn't have to put the helmet on."

Kaldur steps towards the hologram. "I fear that we are being distracted. I believe that it is worth considering techniques which could be used to stop Titans-"

"Because they'll probably work on Olympians, too."

"-because such techniques could be used at any point in the future, not merely in relation to this incident. Orange Lantern, since you are clearly deeply emotionally affected by what has occurred, would you like to share your thoughts?"

"Yes."

 

[Mr Zoat]

26th October 2012
22:29 GMT -5

Richard edges away as I move to stand at the front of the team's semicircle huddle. My environmental shield is still expanded, but it's not quite the roaring house fire that it was a few moments ago.

"This is Zeus."

I connect my ring to the hologram projector and bring up an image of the avatar Zeus used when he met Helena Sandsmark. Between her photographs of the trip and the ship's security cameras I had more than enough to create a three dimensional model.

"He's King of the Olympians, a pantheon of gods worshipped by the inhabitants of one small and insignificant island in the Aegean Sea, and a handful of weirdoes in other places. When encountered like this, he's fairly weak."

Noriel frowns. "Weak?"

"To be precise, mildly superhuman strength and endurance, and some ability to manipulate electricity. Everyone here with their normal equipment could take him down. That is because gods can't maintain strong avatars in the material world for long without a great deal of effort and assistance, and Zeus doesn't have enough worshippers to pull it off."

I pause.

"It occurs to me just now that while most of you know about why I-." I make eye contact with Zatanna and not Robert. "Why we went after Nabu, we never really discussed the methodology. How we went about working out how to fight a high-end arcane life form. The first stage isn't much different to a more mundane target: find out everything you can about them. Find people who know things about them, and have reason to do them harm. Find people with relevant skills and work out how to bind them to your cause. When we had our first meeting about dealing with Nabu, I asked if we were willing to make common cause with Klarion."

That gets a quiet-

"Dude."

-from Wallace.

"We decided that it wasn't even worth considering. And we decided it that evening. Who are Zeus's enemies?"

Raquel straightens slightly. "The Titans, right? Cronus, and… Whoever."

"I doubt that anyone in Tartarus likes him very much. Or Tartarus itself. Several Titans, gods and demigods ended up down there at the end of the Titanomachy. And I don't know of enough reliably unbiased sources to want to base my decisions on them. Oceanus was wrecking the Atlantic rim because Orm did something to him. Helios has-" I glance at Kon's dull glow. "-been nothing but helpful. Did the Olympians serve anyone else by defeating Cronus, or did they just want to avoid being consumed? Don't know."

Kaldur nods. "We will need to find out."

Donna nods. "I'll go. Cronus is more likely to speak with me than with anyone else."

"Would Lord Hades let you in?"

"I'll just tell him that I want to speak to Diana."

"Which is a problem. Diana's not stupid enough to believe that my reaction to this situation will be anything less than total apoplexy. If any of us start walking up to the prisoners in Tartarus for a chat, she's not going to be happy."

"Um!" New Kara raises her right hand. "We should just ask Zeus to stop being a poopy head!"

"We did that to Nabu just before the fight started. And though I agree that Zeus should be given a chance to stand down before direct violent action is taken, asking him before we've finished planning our attack just abandons any sort of element of surprise."

Garth nods. "Would it shame him into allowing Wonder Woman to leave Tartarus if we conclusively demonstrated that the Titans don't have any sort of escape plan?"

"They've been down there for about seven thousand years. I'd be amazed if they think about anything other than escaping. I did learn from Hades that Zeus is the one stopping them from being considered for parole, so there's that."

"Are we..?" Artemis looks around. "Are we talking about killing a god?"

"Killing a god is perfectly possible. Killing an avatar isn't hard, and the core consciousness is just a mass of magical energy. I'd rather avoid it though; tearing something like that apart would radiate huge amounts of raw magic out into the Earth's thaumosphere. The issue is that if you don't have a way to kill someone you want to apprehend, then you probably don't have any way to threaten them."

"I'm gunna need bigger arrows."

"You'd need arcane batteries like the ones we used to drain Nabu, but that probably wouldn't be an efficient approach. With Nabu, we only had to drain what was in his helmet at any one time to erase his mind. With Zeus, you'd have to drain the entire being." I shake my head. "It wouldn't be my choice, though it wouldn't hurt to look into it."

M'gann looks unhappy about the direction of things. "Are we really going to have to fight him?"

"Defeating him, whether that means killing him or just wounding him until he submits, removes his authority. As King, his right to issue orders to his followers is absolute and backed by force."

"Okay, but what if he wasn't king?"

"It's not an elected position. A god or demigod from the Hellenic mythos would have to beat him in a fight, and convince the other gods to accept them. Of the ones I know, Lord Hades is happy where he is and Hephaestus is physically crippled from last time Zeus took issue with him. And Ploutos wouldn't want to unmask his avatar."

Ghia'ta perks up. "What about Hera?"

"If she hasn't gelded him in his sleep already, I doubt that she's up for a fight now."

"Could she not prevail upon him to change his mind? Perhaps find him someone else to grant his attention?"

"You can certainly ask her. As for other goddesses, I doubt it. Zeus has a bad track record for infidelity and while the Hellenic pantheon has seen a minor resurgence lately, he isn't one of the movers. The status isn't there and he isn't that appealing on a personal level."

Something occurs to Kon. "What about Athena? She's Mom's patron goddess."

"We should certainly talk to her. And to your grandmother; since her dodge failed I'd like the whole story. And I need to get hold of Eris. Tempest, Aquagirl, Zatanna: any ideas what would actually happen if Zeus died?"

Three shaking heads, and Canis is smiling in expectation. Probably a bad sign.

"Worth finding out in advance to see what we could do to mitigate it. Just in case."

"Paul…" Richard shakes his head. "Zeus hasn't killed anyone and he's not threatening to kill anyone. I think we should investigate what's going on, but-."

"Zeus might not be able to make a strong avatar, but he can create a storm ten miles across centred on Themyscira and fire lightning bolts until the bedrock melts without leaving his throne. People with superpowers are a threat, and that's true for gods as well."

"Would he?"

"I don't think so, but I've never spoken to him directly and I'm not prepared to risk their lives on my beliefs. Now. Individual assignments."

 

[Mr Zoat]

27th October 2012
06:43 GMT +3

"Lord Hades, King of Erebos."

I make a point of bowing to ninety degrees, a formal display of respect and deference. I'm also in formal robes, and my aura hasn't died down to anything like normal resting levels. Hades read my mood rather well, and the petitioner was politely but firmly escorted out by his guards when I arrived.

Zagreus was already here, along with his sister Macaria. I haven't had anything to do with her, though I suppose that technically I've achieved the aim that she sets for her followers on two occasions. Or was the first time too selfish? Honestly, training her up as a judge makes more sense to me than getting Zagreus or Melinoë more involved in running Erebos.

Canis doesn't bow, instead just looking around. He doesn't have that near-manic expression he gets when he sees something really interesting, but he is taking the opportunity to have a look around the last resting place of the dead of Greece and anyone who couldn't find anywhere better. Zagreus gives him the occasional look, but otherwise there's little reaction by the gods to a New God.

"Paul, Illustres of the Orange Lantern Corps. Rise, rise." I straighten up but otherwise remain fairly rigid. "It does not require the judgement of a god to know why you are here."

"Lord Zeus."

"My brother's treatment of Diana is… A feeble smokescreen to disguise his intention."

"Nearly as feeble as the attempts by those involved to prevent me from finding out."

"If you do not want a reputation for highly aggressive responses to those who wrong your allies, then I suggest killing fewer order-lords. And if you want your other allies to have concerns about what you will do should they fail to react in a way they find pleasing, you may want to consider threatening them less."

"This isn't as bad as the Nabu situation, and they've had less time to think things through. What I wish to know is what you intend to do."

"I have explained to my brother why he should not behave in this way. He in return made certain observations concerning my own marriage and suggested that-. That was why he was disinclined to seek my advice on the subject."

"Did you intend to do anything else?"

"Not at this stage."

"Do you believe Lord Zeus for a moment when he claims that the inmates of Tartarus are at a heightened risk of escape?"

"I know of no corroborating evidence, and quite a detailed survey was made after the incidents with Donna Troy and Deva."

"What is the mechanism to talk Lord Zeus out of making a poor decision?"

"We talk to him about it until either he decides not to… Or it's too late. Princess Diana is a powerful demigoddess dealing with beings who have been imprisoned for longer than human civilisation has existed. She is in no danger, and I see little harm in her checking my work."

"You are not insulted by Lord Zeus ordering someone to check your work?"

"If the actual reason for him sending her wasn't completely transparent, then I might be." He leans forward slightly. "I will be clear now, Illustres. Much as I disagree with what my brother has done, distasteful as I find it, I will not support the sort of aggressive action with which you have become associated. I will certainly not undertake it myself."

"And if someone else did?"

He contemplates me for a few moments.

"What are you planning, Lantern?"

"A dozen or so things. But at the moment I am simply gathering information. Amongst…" I fan my hands out to either side. "Mortals, dropping waste material in a public street is a criminal act. It's not a serious act, if the quantity of waste is small. Usually a person would just get told to pick whatever it was up." I shrug. "They might get a small fine. It's not a big deal. But.. it.. is a criminal act. And a person can be taken to court over it with all the expenses that involves, and if they don't pay there are interest charges and ultimately debt recovery charges. Someone can be arrested, have their property seized… I think a person can even end up in prison for Contempt of Court if they're really intransigent about it. It's against the law, and that needs to be enforced."

"I think that I understand, but perhaps you could clarify."

"A prideful god sending a devotee on a snipe hunt isn't that big a deal. Not really. But it is a misdeed and it is likely that her friends will pursue the matter. However far they must."

"My brother does not usually respond well to efforts at compulsion."

I smile. "Neither do order-lords. In my experience."

"Do you?"

I shrug. "Diana asked me to promise not to attack Lord Zeus. I did. To an extent my hands are bound." I see Zagreus sigh with relief. "But there are ways to make a person's life awkward which do not require direct violence. And I am to my knowledge the only one so bound."

"I hear what you say."

I bow again, this time not quite so far.

"Thank you for your time, Lord Hades."

He waves his right hand in dismissal, and I turn and walk out of the throne room.

"An interesting experience." Canis pulls himself up onto Brut's back. "A less powerful figure than Darkseid."

"True. I much prefer it this way."

"I also." We head towards the exit at some speed, Brut loping along beside me as I fly. "I can scarce imagine a universe containing two Darkseids. I would be filled with a most profound confusion."

We exit the palace grounds and head 'west', towards our next interviewee.

"I was a little surprised that Melinoë wasn't there."

"Your ally, the Goddess of Nightmares and Madness?" I nod. "Truly a shame. I hoped to consult with her."

"You want to paint madness and nightmares?"

"I wish for her to unleash the full gamut of her wrath upon me, that I might make art while my mind is so afflicted. Or perhaps her efforts might be in vain; having quailed before Darkseid, other sources of fear are far less concerning."

"Maybe later."

"The witch-goddess we are visiting. I do not recall her appearing in your records."

"I've never met her before, though she has blessed Donna a few times."

"A risk, then. What knowledge do you seek that you cannot find elsewhere?"

"Hades is far more powerful than most Olympians due to his bond with Erebos. But he accepted Zeus becoming the ruler of the gods."

"He has a similar bond to some being."

"That would be my guess. But it's not mentioned in Themyscira's holy texts, and neither Hades nor Melinoë nor any of the others have mentioned it. I need to know what and I need to know how, because once I do, then I have all the leverage I need."

 

[Mr Zoat]

27th October 2012
06:49 GMT +3

As we travel, Canis looks northward, staring at the area of verdant growth and the near-blinding glow at the centre.

"What is that?"

"Hades's wife is a goddess called Persephone. She's the daughter of Demeter and loves living greenery."

"Is she related to your plant goddess?"

"Euanthe would be her aunt. And I don't think that Euanthe is technically a goddess. It's not just a measure of power, it's about how their metaphysique is structured." I frown thoughtfully. "Unless you're telling me otherwise?"

"If a god can be new and not be a New God, I can accept that power does not make a thing a god."

"Can they?"

"Can-?" He jerks his head around, frowning. "Yes, of course they can. A New God joins to an aspect of Darkseid's divinity. Old Gods arise directly from the Dream, and their spawn gain their power from much the same place."

"So there's no link?"

"There are some… Vague similarities, but no more so than there would be with some ancient sorcerers. Do you not know her?"

"No. For plant life, I'd either go to Euanthe, Swamp Thing or Gaea herself. Do you need to speak with her?"

"I find inspiration in all places. But I have no special need to speak with her. Unless she has some relationship with Zeus we can avoid the place entirely."

"She's Zeus's daughter. But… Ah, I don't think they're on good terms."

"Is that not good for us?"

"I also don't think she's powerful or influential enough to affect matters one way or the other."

He nods. "Glory to the weak, for in having no strength of their own they shall not be tempted to act aught but the will of Darkseid."

…

"Yes."

I remember the typical version of the myth from Earth Prime, but Hades doesn't seem like the sort to slip a few pomegranate seed roofies in someone's drink. The Amazon version mentions the seeds, but dwells more on Hades's wickedness in not consulting with or appeasing Demeter. I still don't see how Demeter's response of 'starve the world' could be considered anything other than completely deranged, but I… Don't know if the mythological version is what actually happened. Hades admitted that he's changed a lot since the old days, but I imagine that it's a sore point with him and I haven't wanted to push it.

Before us, there's a village coming up. Or possibly a town? Order of service gets a bit confused in situations where the locals don't need to eat and a temple would be redundant. Hecate used to live in a relatively modest home tended by bound shades of those who joined her cult in life. Now… Now they're all bound to Erebos and like its other denizens they aren't 'shades' in the traditional mindless dead sense any longer.

Given Hecate's threat potential and the fact that most Atlanteans are hostile to the idea of gods, I haven't felt the need to make contact with her. I wonder-.

…

Is that a water park?

I watch as a woman -an Amazon by the look of her hair and skin- grins with delight as she shoots out of the end of a water slide to the laughter of those already in the plunge pool below.

Okay…

Well, I… I imagine that it's all their own work. Erebos is actually well-served with rivers, it's just that the titan's magic tends to give them unpleasant arcane effects. I… Assume that the witches have learned to filter them. Which does leave the question of what's powering the pumps. The slides are made of wood, smooth polished, with metal scaffolding. Nothing plastic or synthetic. I guess that the wood comes from Persephone's woodland, and they… Mine the metal themselves?

There are swimming pools, some for training and some for more casual swimming. Seven slides of various designs… No rubber rings-. Because no rubber. Wrong continent. A possible avenue for trade? They are wearing swimming costumes, which makes me somewhat more comfortable, styles varying between Victorian to modern. Ages range from-. Another Themyscira flashback, newly adult to mature adult with no children or old people.

"Hey!" A woman in a lifeguard chair points at us as we get closer. "Who ordered concubines?!"

Or men.

"I'm sorry, we're not concubines." She moues in pantomimed disappointment, but I see the purple glow-dust that gathers around her left hand. "Could you please point us in the direction of Lady Hecate? It's a bit urgent."

We've attracted the attention of quite a few women, though we're only being watched because we're marginally interesting rather than with any real hostility. When you're already dead, personal safety is much less of a concern. Or maybe they're dog people.

"So you're not concubines, or you've already been hired?"

"So we're not concubines-"

Canis shrugs his shoulders. "I have no objection to being a concubine, if it aids the mission."

"-and I need to speak with Lady Hecate on the subject of thaumaturgy and Olympian politics."

We reach her lifeguard chair, Brut taking a sniff at a puddle of water splashed onto the side of the pool. The woman on guard duty straightens up slightly now that's it's apparent that we're here for a serious purpose.

"Do you have an offering?"

I raise my left hand and fabricate an inflatable obstacle course, depositing it in the middle of the fun pool.

"Yes. Arcane knowledge, artefacts, and-."

"Hey Paul!" Eris waves as she heads in our direction, wearing a sarong. And nothing else. I bet she was wearing a swimming suit, saw me and then chucked it in the-.

Yes, there it is.

"Eris, good to see you. This will save me time."

"Oh?" She raises her eyebrows. "I don't get a 'Lady' Eris?"

"You're not a lady."

"Eh." She looks at Canis for a moment, then appears to dismiss him. "Are you up to something?"

"At the moment we're just gathering information."

"So 'yes'. You know, I don't think I really committed last time."

"Your help may well be quite useful. Or we might end up resolving things peacefully and-."

"Bghhahaha!" Eris hunches as she splurts with laughs, the action clearly taking her by surprise. She then reaches up with her right hand and half pat and half slaps me around the face. "'Peacef-. Have you met you?"

"Are you going to take us to Lady Hecate or should I just ignore you?"

"Oh, I'll take you. This feels like something interesting and I wanna get in at the ground level." She lowers her hand, grabbing hold of my robe in a surprisingly strong grip as she turns and pulls me towards the path. "And bring the art student and his poodle. I think this is the start of something funny."

 

[Mr Zoat]

27th October 2012
06:55 GMT +3

"So Zeus is totally doomed, right?"

"Given that entropy exists and will probably be impractical to fight on a universal scale, I'd say that we're all doomed."

Canis nods. "All are doomed before the omnipotent malevolence of Darkseid. We are caught in a trap we cannot perceive."

Eris looks at him curiously. "Darkwho?"

I shake my head more as I see Canis's eyes twitch. "Don't get him started."

"Okay. Fine." She cranes her neck towards me. "But he's doomed, yeah?"

"I have no plans to kill Zeus."

"So is it Ice Giants?" She squints. "Or is that too obvious? Too obvious. Fire G-? No, stupid-."

"I have-."

"Giant-! Lightning rod-! And a magic pokéball!"

"Too obvious, too direct, and I already promised Diana that I wouldn't fight Zeus."

Canis gives her a mild frown. "I would have guessed that a chaos goddess would be more appreciative of surprise."

"It's nervous energy. Zeus screwed the centaur and this time it's metaphorical! A-. What'd you call it? Dysfunctional order that would have been overturned centuries ago if anyone cared about it is about to get flipped."

"Can I assume that you're interested in taking a swing at him?"

She frowns, clearly baffled. "No! Taking crazy risks is what humans are for! I'm just gunna watch. 'cause… This is gunna be hilarious."

And breathe in. And hold. And breathe-.

Eris has taken several steps away from us. "Okay, what was that?"

"You. You want chaos? You want disorder? You want things to change? Get involved. Put something on the line. Be true to your stated beliefs. Because if you don't, that's it. I'm finding a new god. I'll see what Discordia is doing. Or-."

"Hey! No, it's not-! Look, it's Zeus, okay? If I had a good idea how to get rid of him I'd already have done it! I don't know how to fight him, and I'm not powerful enough to just… Pick him up and throw him in the pig pen!"

"This isn't going to be a direct fight. I'm not asking you to beat Zeus for me, I'm just asking you to actively participate in the plotting. Like you did when we went after Klarion."

"Oh, this is not the same-."

"Is the idea of changing making you uncomfortable? Do you want to go and hide in your comfort zone?"

She glares, something about her eyes… I think I'm dimly perceiving the goddess pretending to be a normal woman. For a moment I feel like the hard pavement I'm walking on is moving or… About to move, like one of my feet could just drop through the hard surface, or… Slide away, all my certainties undone.

"The whole point is overseeing chaos created by mortals. I didn't think you wanted gods controlling your lives."

"If there was a god trying to control my life I'd deal with that god. I want you involved."

Her face goes slightly blank, then she smiles, pleased, and the floor is solid once more. Or at least it's disguising that it's not. "Really?"

"You're as much a part of my project as Hephaestus or Ploutos, and you're the one I chose as my patron. This is the same as getting Hephaestus to work with arcane engineering or Ploutos to review my economic plans. You're my first choice adviser."

Her eyes narrow, but this time it's more playful. "Prove it."

I bow, then lunge forward and lift her up onto my right shoulder before chasing after Canis towards… Towards a grim and foreboding tower reaching up towards the faux sky.

"I thought you were gunna grab my boobs! That would have demonstrated you'd overcome your hang-ups about sexuality and the human form! And that you didn't care what that assassin girl thinks about it!"

"Grab your own boobs."

"You're bouncing me up and down and I tossed my bra! You think I'm not?"

"I've overcome my hang-ups to the point where I don't feel the need to prove it. It's emotional intimacy that I crave. Any advice on handling Hecate?"

"You've got two shoulders. Ooh, try pulling her hair! She loves that!"

Canis dismounts and walks into the tower through the open front door. I leave Eris hanging where she is as I follow him. The interior is… An alchemist shop? Jar-covered shelves containing a variety of parts of plants and animals, and tables with various primitive pieces of chemistry equipment. Does she just want her supplies on-hand?

"Lady Hecate?" I look around. "Might I request an audience?"

Canis peers at one of the shelves, clearly not impressed. "This is far more archaic than I expected. Is this not your people's Goddess of Magic? Is she as backwards as the women of Themyscira?"

"No." I look around as… A woman in a purple dress in the medieval European style shuts the door behind us. Her hair is grey and done up in… I don't know what the name is; both flowing and having a pony tail. The skin of her face is a little darker than the Amazon average, and wrinkled as if she's lived a long life under the sun. She looks mature but not really old; it's a look many Amazons have. "But this is only the first floor."

I bow, both arms by my sides. Naturally this causes Eris to land on the floor on her bottom.

"Lady Hecate." I straighten, and… She's younger, her skin more taut and her hair longer. Her dress likewise has changed, the style closer to the beginning of the 20th century. "I would like to barter for knowledge."

"Lord Illustres. An ironic name for one so difficult to see."

Still the same woman. Or goddess, or titan. Of course if she's a titan, then what I'm seeing-.

"I believe that the maiden is next. Should I blink or look away?"

She laughs quietly, raising her right hand and dipping her head as she pushes her hair back over her right ear. "Are you sure that this is not my maidenly aspect?"

"I have essentially no interest in mysticism. I just want to make it a little easier for you to do whatever it is you feel the need to do."

"The form you see is drawn from your own expectations, so it is really more of a question of what you feel the need to do."

"I feel the need for information. What titan does Zeus use to boost himself?"

"And what do you offer in exchange?"

"What do you want? I can give you anything from thaumaturgy texts to more rubber beach toys."

"And if I want to see the titans liberated?"

Ah.

"I think I'd need to know more about the titanomachy than I do now to make that decision."

 

[Mr Zoat]

27th October 2012
06:59 GMT +3

"Would you be prepared to accept 'considered for parole, based on their behaviour'?"

Eris half-grins. "That sounds interesting."

Hecate tilts her head to the right, gazing at me with an expression of curiosity. "And how could you even make such an offer?"

"Any reasonably probable favourable outcome will result in a reduction in Zeus's power, and he's the one giving a hard no to ever releasing them. Hades prefers to allow freedom to the redeemed, and has granted it to all long-term residents of the Fields of Punishment."

"All of the titans."

Oh.

Including Tartarus and Erebos.

Freeing Tartarus wouldn't… Be an insurmountable problem. The few beings inside there could be relocated. The titans could be released to the Dream, and the Hekatonkheires to… Wherever they felt like living from now on.

That isn't true for Erebos. Erebos is where the souls of dead Hellenes exist. And less-importantly-but-still-somewhat-importantly, it's the power source for Hades and Family. Melinoë told me that Erebos hates them. It's a The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas problem and then some. Great afterlife at the cost of chaining up a primordial being that may not have done anything particularly wrong.

I mean, Hades could suck it up, but we need the afterlife. The power for the sophoncy of the souls here has to come from somewhere.

"I don't know. I have no principled objection, but there are obvious practical costs. I don't know enough about how titans function to offer a solution."

"You can't give me what I want for my information until you have my information."

"I can't promise anything anyway. I don't have an aim beyond 'twist Zeus's arm as hard as I need to in order to get Diana out'."

"Diana." Hecate smiles. "Zeus has sent her to Tartarus? That is awkward."

"For.. you?"

"Circe can hardly kill her if she's in Tartarus, can she?" I don't.. know what she's talking about. "Oh, you didn't know about that?"

"Know about what?"

"I'm Circe's patron. I'm the reason why she's not a shrivelled up wisp of a woman writhing in perpetual agony. The reason why she's murdered so many women who might cause that liberty to be rescinded."

I nod, smiling. "Great." Hecate raises her eyebrows. "If she's focused on Diana, then she's not going to target anyone else. And Diana's proven that she can take the attention. I'm not worried about Circe killing her now, when Diana's got so much more experience than when they first fought while Circe's basically the same. And Circe's unpleasant enough that I'm not going to be massively broken up about her suffering. So whatever… Historical evil you've been a party to, there's nothing happening now that requires my attention."

"What a marvellously self-serving viewpoint."

"Now, are you going to tell me about the titans, or do you want something else?"

"Very well. The very basics. Titans are primordial powers born of the first fumbling attempts of the minds of mortal creatures to comprehend the universe around them. They emerge in the depths of the Dream, connected only weakly to those who first conceived of them."

"What did that mean for the material universe?"

"A great deal. Humans struggled to conceive of the animated minds of natural forces. They dreamt things therefore that were at least a little human. Things that could be bargained with. Things that could love or hate. It was a great benefit for the earliest sorcerers, to have stable systems in the thaumosphere connected to those vast beings with which they could commune. Even if their core intelligences were alien to their human devotees."

"Helios isn't alien. Kon has spoken with him on several occasions."

"They're perfectly capable of learning. Most of them, at any rate. But to them, humans are small and distant unless they make a great deal of effort." She turns her head to Eris, staring at her for several seconds. "You call these efforts 'gods'."

"Because gods dwell within the thaumosphere, one step closer to the material universe. And are generally more human-like and can manifest here. Can titans do that?"

"No, not directly. You saw Oceanus create a body, but he did that by manipulating the Dream of Water. He wasn't in the material world's ocean. The Atlanteans' toy merely alters his narrow window on the world; their ancient forebears simply could not tolerate the idea that another being could know their waters more deeply than they."

"So where do gods come from?"

"The story of the world being created by parts of the bodies of the titans is true, though less literal than some scholars assumed."

"What about the cats?"

"The c-?"

Her neck cranes towards me, her eyes narrowing.

"How do you know about that?"

"I've got all of Venturia's spare researchers studying the Dream's connection to the material world. And I've had multiple encounters with time travellers. It wasn't hard to notice that something was off. And then there's all the internet cat videos."

"Then you should know that I can't know where the cats come in. Perhaps there was a cat with my name and nature who existed at some point or perhaps there was not." She shakes her heads, glaring at the universe. "It vexes me that I will likely never know how it was done."

Eris looks confused.

"Cats. What-? Why do you both know what that is?"

"Make yourself useful and I'll tell you. So gods are supposed to be… What, the titans' emissaries into the material universe?"

"Something like that. For most of them it wasn't a deliberate, purposive decision; it was more an… Interaction between the Dream and the material universe. Heat thrown up by the friction of two surfaces rubbing against each other."

"And that's where you come from."

"More human-like, and less primal. Weaker, but with more direct influence on the material universe. And able to commune with our titanic forebear."

"And the war?"

"We are human enough to hate being under the thumb of another. As we are closer to the Dream than the humans in the material universe, so the Dream is closer to us. Our power was not our own."

Eris sneers. "And some of the chaos-primordials had no sense of self-control."

"If you were different classes of being, how did the war work?"

"A flash of brilliance from Zeus, believe it or not. We were bound to the titans by the magic that made us. But could we not learn to manipulate that link, even reverse it?"

"It sounds like you could."

"And so fell Aether, and so rose Zeus."

 

[Mr Zoat]

27th October 2012
07:03 GMT +3

"His power comes from the titan Aether? Where is it?" I mean, the only place-. "Is it in Olympus itself? Because the realm of the gods isn't at the literal peak of the mountain."

"No. That was at the start of the war. Zeus had nothing like the power to bind a titan like Aether." She looks thoughtful. "How much contact have you had with gods not of Olympus?"

"Little to none."

"Mm. Pity. The gods of India found a fascinating way to deal with their titans, though I doubt that you'd appreciate it."

"Why not?"

"Since they could not take the titans' power into themselves, they broke them down gradually to create a system. At one end, it is tethered by the titans. At the other, by the souls of mortal creatures, undergoing a constant cycle of life, death and rebirth. The gods would then draw power from the system, something far easier than taking power from the Dream. And less likely to render the one doing it malleable."

"Erebos allows reincarnation."

"It pales in comparison. How many shades do you think had the wherewithal to actually choose reincarnation? Besides, Erebos doesn't make value judgements about the moral quality of a person's life. Any shade being reincarnated would be reborn as a human, and the Waters of Lethe expunge all memory. It isn't part of the system and it wasn't planned."

"Okay, so..?"

She rolls her eyes dismissively. "Zeus was able to steal tiny amounts of Aether's power for himself, growing steadily stronger and stronger as Aether weakened. In the end, the conscious mind that was Aether collapsed back into the raw magic of the Dream, with Zeus having captured only a tiny fragment of him. But that was enough for him to rise in power and prominence."

"How did he work out how to do that? Zeus never struck me-"

She gives me an unimpressed look.

"-as-. You did it."

"There are limits to what the spell I devised can achieve. And I felt that having Zeus risk himself was better than taking the risk myself. He had the drive…"

I turn to Eris.

"So..?"

She slumps. "No. I wasn't born until after it was all over, remember? Or I'd totally have mainlined a chaos titan."

"Who got the chaos titans? Or chaos titan?"

"Chaos, duh. Punched a hole between parallel universes and made it their own thing."

I frown, curiously. "Why didn't you ever become a Lord of Chaos?"

She shrugs awkwardly. "If you're not all about raw power, it's not all that great a deal. You have to give up a lot, and there're a tonne of responsibilities…"

"You couldn't be bothered to put the work in."

"It didn't offer me anything I wanted! I actually kinda like being a goddess, and there wasn't anything I wanted to do that needed more power."

"'Kinda' like?"

"It's a lot less fun without worshippers, but that's fixed now." She grins, reaching up to pat me on the head. "Good work, Chaos Prophet."

"Didn't you have no worshippers for about two thousand years? And assuming that you're about as old as Hephaestus, you're only four thousand years old."

Eris fidgets awkwardly. "Three and a… Half. But I had other worshippers. There's always someone who wants to buck the system."

"Okay, so-" I look back at Hecate and-. She's ancient, paper-thin skin stretched across fragile bones, hair thin and dress just a sheet bound with a brooch. "-that was your maiden form."

"N-o, yo-u're assuming-"

I sigh, put my hands over my eyes and then turn in a circle. When I get back I'm looking at a child.

"-that I'm limited to a trinity of forms, when really I can look like anything I want."

"Lady Hecate, you can look like whoever you want. But if we return to the issue, Zeus… Doesn't have a currently alive titan he's drawing power from in the way Hades does Erebos?"

"No. He's got Metis stuck in his head. In theory she should give him wisdom."

"Is he just not listening, or..?"

The tiny child-goddess rolls her eyes. "I don't know. I was already down here by the time that happened."

"I see. That's why he's keeping the ones in Tartarus there, isn't it? So he can use their power in full."

"Not quite. He can't take power from Tartarus quite as easily as Hades can Erebos. But that is almost certainly why they're there." She sniffs. "Not that he can use all that power as things are."

I nod. "So that's quite a lot of power."

"Quite a lot of power and quite a lot of different abilities he can use if he puts his mind to it." She sniffs. "Not that I expect that he would. Still, I'm not sure where you'll find anyone who can fight him."

"No one comes to mind?"

She makes an amused noise. "If I had to select the person with the greatest chance of defeating him in the entire Hellenic mythos…"

I wait a moment.

"Yes?"

"I'd bet on you. But not with very much money."

"I assume that you still know the spell for stealing from or binding a titan?"

"It's more complex than just casting a spell. They tend to fight back. But yes, I do know it. Why?"

"Nothing yet. I'm just gathering information. Would you be willing to share it?"

"It's an interesting spell to cast. If you could find a situation for it, I would cast it for a trivial price."

"I appreciate that, thank you. And there's no one in the mythos who could fight Zeus?"

"Not presently. And if you're thinking about using the Tartarian prisoners to boost Hades or Melinoë, I will tell you now that Zeus will feel it and stop you."

"I expected, but thank you for confirming. Can-"

I turn around, and-. Canis has taken jars, their contents and their shelving and arranged them to form the image of himself and Brut mid-leap.

"-is-?"

"This is art attack!"

 

[Mr Zoat]

27th October 2012
07:38 GMT +3

"No, Canis, 'the mood took me' is not an acceptable reason to wreck a potential ally's place of business."

"I understand, but you cannot perceive the textures!" Unappreciated Artist Bemoanment.

I deposit the construct-barrow of fresh heather down on the ground, where Hecate's shop assistants are ready to receive it.

"I know that you experience sensory… Tessellation, differently to the rest of us. I'm not saying that you were wrong to create it. I'm saying that the way you went about it was wrong. I also know that you're perfectly capable of buying stuff. Hecate's a goddess; she'll understand domain-based impulses."

"That is… True."

"Then would you mind telling me why you just-?"

"Because it was there!"

"Canis, could you make art with a person's internal organs?"

He shakes his head dismissively. "I've rather exhausted the medium. Human livers are bland in colouration. Though I have wondered about incorporating rot and carrion-eaters into a design, that it could change over time and so change in the mind of the observers."

"And do you feel so overwhelmed by your desire to produce art that you're about to try to steal the organs from my body?"

Canis stares at my torso for a moment or two as I dismiss my construct.

"No? There are no insects in this place, and likely none of the proper microbes in your body. I would have to culture them. I would not be able to achieve the proper effect before the textures of your organs were changed by their death." He frowns. "Do the dead here have organs?"

A few of the witch-women below make gestures I associate with certain styles of spell casting.

"You're free to ask them, and they're free to put thousands of years of spell casting experience to use against you."

"Then perhaps a mortuary?"

"We can just synthesise-."

"The soul-feel would be wrong."

"We're getting off the point. I-." No, no, he's Apokoliptian, I'm going about this wrong. "Canis, do not do that again."

He nods, apparently untroubled by my gross violation of proper etiquette.

"As you command."

Okay, feathers smoothed here and useful intelligence gained. And I've got some idea of what I'd need to do in order to beat Zeus. One obvious place where I could get a titan no one else is using, but I…

I have some fairly significant reservations about making Richard Simpson powerful enough to fight Zeus.

And if he's getting powered by a lot of titans, it probably wouldn't be enough anyway.

Can the connection be disrupted? Not easily or quickly. Can it be redirected? No. Could a god learn to use their new power quickly? No.

"Hey!" Eris waves her raised right arm as she walks towards us, and I drop down to ground level. "You staying for the pool party?"

"No, I'm afraid not. I have leads to purs-." Hm. "While you're here, have you seen John Constantine recently?"

"No? Why, did you lose him or-?" She blinks. "You lost him?"

"He's his own man."

"How do you lose a Constantine?! Especially now."

"I'm fairly hard to find myself. And he can use magic."

"You've checked with his friends?"

"Friends and a good few of his enemies. No one's seen him. And since you haven't heard anything, I'll have to look elsewhere."

"Is this a threat? I know Constantine's beat powerful things before, but this is Zeus. He doesn't have the weaknesses of demons or the sense of duty and order that angels have."

"I'm not threatening Zeus with John and asking you to pass it on. I've lost him, and I was wondering if -since you've got other worshippers now- you could ask them to keep an eye out? I really just want to make sure that he's alright."

"Uh-huh."

"It's entirely separate from the Zeus-Diana situation. Unless I find him. Then I'd probably ask for his advice."

"Yeah. Howsabout we sort this thing out before we find John Constantine?"

"Sounds good. Any further divine insight you'd like to share with me?"

"Eygh… Make sure you've got a plan for what happens afterwards?"

"What does Zeus actually do? He doesn't run the world's weather, he doesn't adjudicate disputes and he doesn't guide mortal rulers."

"Him just being there stops some… Things. Fights with other pantheons. Stuff like that could spill into the material universe."

"And I do actually like some Olympians. So if he does get overthrown, someone as powerful needs to be ready to step up. And… Even then, certain parties might try and test things. Right." I nod. "I'll get back in touch when we make some actual progress. Canis, you can find your way back up to the surface on your own?"

"Of course!"

I nod, then transition over to the gates to Tartarus where Donna is waiting. She looks a little out of sorts.

"Get anything?"

"Cronus was pleased to see me."

"He gave you the Darth Vader spe-"

"Hah!"

"-ech, didn't he?"

"Yeah. Yeah, he did. And he didn't ask about Deva, which gives me an idea how paternal he was really feeling."

"Vader didn't ask about Leia, either." … "Oh."

"What is it?"

"I've just realised that Vader never knew that Leia was his daughter." Donna frowns at me. "It's a big deal in the story-." She's not convinced. Move on. "Ah, according to Hecate, Zeus draws power from the titans in Tartarus in the same way that Hades gets power from Erebos, which is why he's never going to release them. And why he's as powerful as he is."

"Oh."

"Hecate and Eris are willing to help, but I don't have a silver bullet quite yet. Let's go and see if Kon and Mitchell have done any better."

 

[Mr Zoat]

27th October 2012
07:47 GMT +3

Queen Hippolyta glances my way as I'm granted access to her private receiving room, where Kon and Mitchell are already ensconced.

"I will admit, I was unsure that you would be able to restrain yourself. I apologise for misjudging you."

"Think nothing of it. You weren't that far off. Incidentally, would you be willing to become Queen of Olympus?"

"Lord Zeus did not ask me."

"I wasn't talking about marrying him."

Mitchell doesn't seem to react, though Kon looks a little perturbed.

"I…" Queen Hippolyta makes brief eye contact with Menalippe, who does her best not to react either. "I know that as a demigoddess myself I could undergo apotheosis more easily than a mortal. I know that Diana is perfectly capable of taking my place as Queen of Themyscira. But I have no desire to disrupt the divine order, or put myself above the king of the gods."

"But if by some mysterious happenstance there was an opening..?"

Hippolyta swallows, eyes not quite focusing on me. "I don't know. I have never seriously considered the possibility. Do I need to?"

"I don't know yet. This is just the 'sounding out' phase."

"Paul…" Kon gives me a concerned look. "We're finding things out for the League. I know you're angry, but we really shouldn't do anything without talking to Batman and Doctor Mist first."

I nod. "I agree."

"Yeah, but… You're treating this like the thing with Zatara. I'm pretty sure that you were already assuming that the League weren't gunna do anything."

"No, I trusted that they would. I just wasn't sure how quickly they were going to be moving on this."

He doesn't look entirely convinced. "You sure?"

"Alright, there's a-. I'm sure the League got the message last time and they wouldn't let this lie, but I got used to them not doing anything so I'm inclined to act like they're doing nothing until I actually hear something from them."

"Maybe you should go talk to him."

I go to nod, then look suspiciously at him and Queen Hippolyta. Orange Lantern handling stage 2. But… Yes. Okay. He's still right, and it might help get me out of this mindset if I do speak to Mr. Wayne.

"Yes, I think you're right. Excuse me."

I get a nod from Hippolyta as Donna walks over to take a seat with the three of them. Then

I vanish from their sight and

appear on the Watchtower.

27th October 2012
04:49 GMT

Mr. O'Brien's eyes bulge out of his face, then he ducks down and morphs his body into the shape of a television, his face pushing 'through' the screen.

"Heeee's he-."

"Kid Flash already did that joke."

A hand extrudes from the side of the screen and scratches the top of his head.

"Okay, well, what else is there?" He morphs into… Darth Batman? "The Lantern is not so forgiving as I am."

"Did you know he never realised Leia was his daughter?"

"Huh?" Mr. O'Brien snaps back into his default shape. "Sure he did. Right at the end, he says 'Tell your sister, you were right'."

"Yes, because he knows that Luke has a sister. But he never specifically identifies her by name."

He thinks for a moment, then his jaw bungee drops down to the deck.

"Is Batman here?"

"Ah, yeah, but…" He takes a deep breath. "Okay, promise you're not going to go crazy?"

"I promise that I will not become crazier than I am now."

"That's… The least reassuring thing you could possibly have said, but okay! See… What Zeus did is wrong, and we're obviously going to get-" I nod. "Diana back-."

"But she's not in immediate danger, so the League doesn't need to get on top of this immediately. There are plenty of more urgent and important things going on in the world and that's why you passed it on to the team in the first place."

"You're being a whole lot more reasonable about this than I thought you'd be." He narrows his eyes. "And you skipped immigration."

"If I was an attacker, it would be too late. So what problems do the League have that prevent them from prioritising Zeus?"

"Some guy in Brazil started up Venom production-"

Wouldn't be in Euanthe's areas, which leaves the coast. Probably no magic defence, because the Accala shamen would show an interest in that. Mr. Dorrance Junior may be dead but there were plenty of people who worked for him at some stage who might still be around…

Coast. Look for increased number of venom users, any familiar faces… Users there, but the production-.

I step out, reappearing

in a factory, constructs snatching guns and knives and chaining up and stunning their owners. Two guards have already injected, but that doesn't make them construct proof. Once the place is recumbent I

return

to the Watchtower and upload the coordinates to the League's computer.

"-but Batman-. Uh. You just went there, didn't you?"

"Yes."

"Okay, we'll cross that off the list. I'm guessing you're gunna keep doing that until Wonder Woman's at the top of the list, ain't cha?"

"Yes."

"So I need to call Batman right now in case he wants some of these to not get solved."

"That might be an idea, thank you. Tell him that if he's in Brazil I can help with the pick up."

"Okay. So, stand there, don't move, and I'll get a hold of him as fast as I can."

"Thank you."

 

[Mr Zoat]

27th October 2012
04:57 GMT

"Recognized, Batman, zero two."

Batman appears in the zeta tube, pausing a moment for his identity to be confirmed before striding into the room.

"Batman."

"Orange Lantern. Good work with the Venom plant."

I shrug, though I'm moderately pleased that his costume is better warded than previous versions. It's not impossible that he delayed in order to swap to a heavily warded version just for this meeting. Empathic vision is out, and I suspect that any attempt to attach filaments to him directly would fail. I'm not going to try to scan for crumbler-based weapons, but I hope I'd find some.

I doubt that he's actually pleased, but since it was a perfect attack and saying something nice about it will put me in a more receptive frame of mind, it makes sense for him to say that.

"Thank you. I'm happy to take on any part of the League's workload if it means getting Wonder Woman back faster."

"Do you have a plan?"

"Nothing definite-" His stance changes slightly. Did he just relax? "-yet. I've learned things, and there's a route I could go down, but I'm… I'm not sure that it would work."

"From what Robin told me, there are avenues you haven't considered."

"Probably. But Zeus's action with Diana is a symptom of a problem: Zeus in a position of power and authority. Finding him a new wife doesn't help with that, and almost certainly won't stop him being the arrogant libidinist that he's always been."

I pause.

"I am glad that you're working on this, though. I am aware that I favour extremely aggressive responses in situations like this."

"I'm glad. Have you heard from Athena yet?"

"No, not yet. I realise that she's probably making strong representations herself… Or she will be if Zeus keeps it up. But I haven't had any contact with her and this isn't-. I'm not in a good mindset for dealing with new people."

"She's Diana's patron and Goddess of Strategy."

"If I wanted to negotiate with her before this, I'd have gone to Diana first. As it-."

Atlanteans aren't big on religious observances. Hecate… Probably doesn't know about the Dream research I've been having done in Venturia. Or if she knows that it's happening… It's cutting edge research. They might well have learned things that they didn't know last time I got an update. Or they might not have learned anything.

"As it is, you'd be a far better person to speak with her. Your mindset is more aligned with what she wants from her worshippers."

"Considering it from all angles, rather than just working out how to defeat Zeus with violence."

"Yes, that. It's a limitation of my mindset. Zeus has acted against one of mine."

"You are aware of the possible consequences of removing-."

"I've already promised Diana that I will not attack Zeus."

"And since you did that, you've been making plans to have someone else do it for you."

"A bit surprised that she didn't spot that one. So if you could put together a list of things I can deal with for the League, I can get that done and people with better diplomatic skills than me can start bargaining to get Diana freed."

"That shouldn't take too long. Keep me apprised of any developments."

I nod, then-.

"One last thing. I'd like King Orin's permission to study the artefact locking Oceanus away from the material world. It's relevant."

"I will speak with him."

I nod, then

step out, reappearing

in the Mount Etna foundry. Early morning here, but while the Amazons are asleep the forges never cool.

"…miss you being around, but it's a good offer."

"If I can live there. I'm not exactly eager to get stuck in a weak avatar body."

"They wouldn't leave you like that. You wouldn't be able to work for them."

A short flight takes me to the draft room, where Hephaestus and Vulcan are having a brew. They both look around, Hephaestus nodding politely while Vulcan is more appraising.

"My Lords."

"Ah." Hephaestus nods, glancing at Vulcan. "He wants something."

"I always want things."

Vulcan shakes his head. "No. You want something special."

"How do either of you feel about the idea of dethroning Zeus?"

They both keep looking at me for several seconds.

Then they turn to each other, Hephaestus holding out his right hand. "Have fun on Thanagar."

Vulcan clasps the offered hand. "Have fun in Erebos. Or Tartarus."

"It's been a while since I visited my mother."

"It's the last place Zeus will look, that's for certain."

"Alright Statler and Waldorf. I'm just investigating opportunities."

"An opportunity-" Hephaestus levers himself out of his chair, posing so that I can see his leg brace. "-to get my other leg busted?"

"An opportunity to build a divine cybernetic. An opportunity to build a god-killing weapon. An opportunity for me to help enhance you in the way I enhanced Euanthe, who now rules a sizable portion of South America."

"What has the King of Olympus done to so enrage you?"

"Sent Diana on a fool's errand. To Tartarus. For refusing to marry him."

"Oh." Hephaestus thinks for a moment. "I'm pretty sure he'll realise that he's being a fool before too long. He must know that giving Diana an order like that will alienate everyone."

"Unless he digs his heels in for that very reason. But you're missing an opportunity here. Whether you end up helping me overthrow him or not, your leg would be fixed."

Vulcan snorts. "Not offering to fix my face?"

"What was that about Thanagar?"

 

[Mr Zoat]

27th October 2012
05:02 GMT

"Hawkman and Hawkwoman visited. Their world is having some sort of metal supply shortage."

"They can't produce enough Nth metal to meet their needs."

Vulcan might be frowning. His face makes it a little hard to tell. "You already knew about that?"

"I didn't know that it was bad enough that they were considering asking alien gods for help, but I knew enough about their utilisation and expenditure to know that something was up. They want to keep expanding their territory, but their fleet needs huge amounts of Nth metal."

"I suppose it's worth hearing about the situation from you as well. Are they a religious people?"

"No. Self-reliant authoritarian nationalists. The only organised religion I saw were people who worshipped a group of gods called the Seven Devils. They were fairly unpleasant. Actually, they were the dominant power on Thanagar until a popular revolt cast them and their churches down. If you mean, 'will they keep a bargain they freely make', then… Maybe? Certainly until the first wave of students are able to transmute metal without your assistance. Assuming that they can learn."

"No priests?"

"Only demon priests. And to their credit, the current government isn't interested in working with those."

"So they've got enough magic that it's possible."

"I'm not sure exactly what's going on. You might be able to crack it easily enough, or it might be literally impossible."

"Hm."

"Are you thinking of leaving us?"

"It's been a long time since I had a real challenge. Something that I wasn't setting myself for the sake of it. I've been drifting along, because what else could I do? Given the option…"

"You don't like working on cars?"

"The modern age doesn't have a great deal of need for smiths. I don't hate the work; this is the most focused I've been in centuries. But it's made me confront the fact that I've not been living up to my potential for a long time."

"The crown princess of one of their colonies is a friend of mine. If you want me to fly you over there for a visit, so you can get a better idea of what their culture is like, I'm happy to do that."

"That sounds like it would be the wise thing to do. I'll-" He finishes his tea in a gulp, then rises to his feet. "-finish off my current batch of projects first. Is a week good for you?"

"Yes, I'll speak to Bleez and arrange things."

He nods and then trudges off, scooping up his face mask and hammer as he goes. Hephaestus looks up from the notes he was scribbling about his leg.

"The frame I use isn't great, but it's as far as my domain takes me. Anything else and I'll be working on pure skill."

"What if that wasn't true?"

"Do you know someone who can make one without me?"

"No. It's… More complicated. You know how Hades draws power from Erebos?"

"Of course."

"Did you know that Zeus does the same?"

"With Metis?" He shrugs, sitting back down as he does so. "I didn't know he got any power out of it, but I'm not particularly surprised."

"No. With everyone imprisoned in Tartarus."

"That explains why they're still down there. Are you going to try to convince me to break their chains? Because I like you, but…"

"Do you know what it takes for new primordial life to form in the Dream?"

"Belief, life, magic. It's not really my area. You should talk to Hecate if you want to talk shop about pure magic."

"Already done. I also spoke to a demon who was trying to make himself into something… Big, by merging with a newly emergent titan."

"That-." He frowns, his eyes growing distant. "Titan of what?"

"Technology."

He regards me impassively for a moment. I regard him right back for a moment, then raise my eyebrows. He looks down and shakes his head.

"Is this that… God of Technology you were talking about? Because-."

"Merging would risk you losing your personality. We're talking about drawing power into your current framework."

"If that could work… I could… Hoh-hoh-hoo, you… You know how to tempt a man." He considers it for a moment, then shakes his head. "It wouldn't be enough."

"Wouldn't it?"

"To beat Zeus. I don't have anywhere that could store a titan. I don't have the knowledge-."

"Hecate does."

"You went there first. Of course you did. I didn't like Simpson's plan because I would stop being me. Just drawing power…" He shakes his head. "But it still wouldn't give me enough power. Not one versus a dozen."

"Not using Hecate's leaching method. But like I said, the demon was planning on binding it to him fully."

"Could that work?" I shrug. "What did Hecate say?"

"I didn't mention that particular innovation to her. She might have decided to sell the information on, or use it herself."

He looks intensely thoughtful.

"How powerful is it?"

"It's a titan." I shrug again. "You've seen how human civilisation has changed since the industrial revolution. How much it's become a part of what we are. Heck, just in your lifetime it's changed to the point that your domain doesn't extend to things we had for a couple of centuries. There are more humans alive now than there's been at any other point in history. How powerful do you think it is?"

"Powerful." He thinks a little more, then shakes his head. "But not necessarily enough to fight Zeus."

"And if it was?"

"If it was? Have you seen my leg? Do you know what he said when I dragged Ares and Aphrodite before him in a net?"

"I've only ever heard an outline."

"'We weren't actually expecting her to be faithful to you. I made her marry you so no one else would fight over her.'" Something occurs to him. "And if I was strong enough to beat Zeus, I'd be strong enough to beat Ares, wouldn't I?"

"I imagine so."

"Still, that's a lot of ifs."

"But are you interested?"

He leans forward, his face extremely serious.

"You know I am."

 

[Mr Zoat]

27th October 2012
09:35 GMT +3

"Halt, dem-!"

Zagreus spots me, and lowers his bow.

"Lantern, I realise that you are frequently a stranger to reason, but we try to keep demons out of Erebos."

Richard Simpson tries to make himself look smaller. The thaumically active and anatomically accurate android body he's currently in doesn't have any sort of size-changing ability, and the warding chains that prevent him accessing his more exotic abilities are in place to prevent him adding such an ability. As a result, he's limited to cringing. It's a bit odd; he's not any physically weaker than Nergal was, and all that will happen if his body gets damaged is a few minutes of inconvenience for me.

"Mister Simpson has information vital to a project I'm pursuing, and I need to get him and Hecate together in one place."

Zagreus doesn't look impressed.

"I was coming to the palace to get permission from Lord Hades; you just intercepted us before we arrived."

"Really."

"I respect Lord Hades."

His right hand goes to his forehead. "Then in my father's name, tell me what you are planning."

"Are you sure that you want me to?"

He regards me for a moment.

"No. No I am not. But I have a duty."

"Are you familiar with the term 'plausible deniability'?"

"Yes. I assume that you're going to do something I might want to deny having known about."

"I say no such thing. But you could see how something like that could be-."

"Go. Go. Just-. Go."

"Thank you!"

I pick up Mr. Simpson with a construct and fly at speed in the direction of Hecate's Pool Party.

"You didn't tell Hecate I was coming either, did you?"

"No. But I'm confident that she'll be interested to meet you."

"How come?"

"Wouldn't you rather live in a universe where she is than a universe where she isn't?"

"Shiiiiiiiit."

A couple of probably-Amazons are mock-wrestling on the inflatable, while there's a greater current of action amongst the others. Eris-

"Hey!"

-is holding court, but pushes through the swimwear-clad courtiers to get closer to me the moment we make eye contact. At least she's wearing clothes now.

"Lady Eris. This is-."

"Does Hades know you've got a demon?"

"He will once Zagreus tells him. This is Mister Richard Simpson."

Eris looks at him, an expression of amused curiosity on her face.

"A demon lord hiding in a robot body. Did you do that?"

"I did most of the robot. The rest was him. Is Lady Hecate still around?"

"A demon, a goddess and a giant snake walk into a pool party." She smiles. "I've got to know the punch line."

Mr. Simpson looks around a little awkwardly as Eris leads the way back towards the tower. "I wasn't expecting a pool."

"It's a reward for working out how to purify the river Lethe. They've been working on that for a while."

"Purify as in..?"

"Turn it into normal water, with the residue being a nasty mind wipe magic."

She shoves the door open and marches inside.

"He-cat-ay! My guy's doing his thing again!"

The shop from before is gone, replaced by a slightly old school arcane workshop. Hecate in teenager mode is standing at a lectern, reading through a modern book on Atlantean thaumaturgy.

She looks at Mr. Simpson, who raises his right hand to wave awkwardly.

"What is this? A demon golem?"

"No." Mr. Simpson shakes his head. "I was a human studying how to use altered states of consciousness to allow the human mind to directly interface with electronic systems. A bloke called John Constantine asked me to have a look at this weird cult called the Resurrection Crusade. I got him the info, but they-. I got too focused. Didn't spot their defence spells. My body got burned to ash while I was still inside."

"But you're a demon golem."

"Getting to that. John got into a fight with Nergal, and since he's a fifty a day smoker he wasn't going to outrun him. Instead, he did what I did: put his soul into a computer system. So I took his body and ended up face to face with Nergal. Bloody lucky he realised I wasn't John-. Then I showed Nergal how to go after John, and John got him to chase him into Heaven's data network. Angels burned Nergal to death, but I still had John's cancer-ridden body. Which for some reason, John wanted back. So John convinced me to take Nergal's body instead. I managed to integrate with it -which wasn't much fun- and got to enjoy it for a whole five seconds before Agony and Ecstasy dragged me to hell."

Hecate considers this.

"They burned his spirit, while the physical form remained. And you were able to interface with it?"

"Well, yeah. I'd been living in a computer, dodging technomantic defences and dealing with a reality the human mind isn't designed for. Compared to that, a thing made of human vice was easy."

"What an adaptable consciousness you must have. And why are you in a golem?"

"I did okay in hell. Even took over the Odium. But it was still hell. I wanted out, and the best way looked like using the dream of machines to bootstrap myself into full godhood. Only this-. Lantern, stopped me. Made me this body so I don't have to worry about the other demons finding me, but that's not a permanent solution."

"The dream of machines? What do you-?" Her eyes widen slightly. "Oh."

I nod. "Modern machines are like nothing in nature. They have their own nature that doesn't shade into anything else in the Dream. Mister Simpson found something emerging. I want the two of you to put your heads together to see if it can be used to empower a god enough that they'll be able to fight Zeus."

"That is interesting." Hecate looks at Eris with a smile. "I see why you like this one."

 

[Mr Zoat]

27th October 2012
09:58 GMT -5

"…Lex Luthor a space fleet, Grayven." General Sam Lane looks quite unimpressed, but knowing him he'll at least hear me out. "When we signed off on putting him on probation, that isn't exactly what I had in mind."

"My aim was always to encourage Lex to direct his energies more effectively for the good of mankind. If you thought I meant 'run LexCorp and nothing else', then… I can only apologise for the miscommunication. Earth needs a fleet, and is nowhere near politically unified enough to run one via government bodies or international institutions. This way, the fleet has a clear directing mind free of political interference."

"And the United States loses military primacy. Are you planning on moving to Sudan or something?"

"No, I've just got Challenger Mountain working the way I like it. And it will be a while before Africa has the infrastructure to be… Somewhere I'm comfortable living. Besides, Lex is hardly likely to act against America, is he?"

"Do you mean 'again'?"

"I mean in an existential way. He makes money by selling electricity, and the US is the largest consumer of electricity. Particularly now that President Horne is going full-bore for electrification of the car market. Lex's expansion into Africa requires huge amounts of money that the US energy market happily provides. Don't you like being energy independent?"

"Sure, but I don't see how being Lex Luthor dependent is any better."

I shrug. "What do you think he's going to demand that he can't just buy?"

I take a moment to look around this gathering of leading lights in the US defence… Industry? Is 'industry' the term when it includes senior officers and civil servants-?

I have to stop myself smirking.

The presidential election is in a couple of months. Knight got the Republican nomination because… I guess it's because they didn't have anyone better. The whole… Caucusing thing didn't really mean much to me; that's not how we do things in Britain. Or on Apokolips. He's making an effort, and his public approval rating is in advance of what it was at the start of the campaign, but all he's really got to offer is nationalistic rhetoric and a promise to increase in public spending.

His main target appears to be Lex Luthor's Earth Defence Force. Good luck scraping together the technology for starships from our leavings, Mr. Trying-To-Be President.

Somehow, someone talked Horne into doing this get-together as a not-campaign event. Since defence and law and order are his strongest categories in the public imagination, he really only has to do the occasional photo opportunity to remind people what he's managed to achieve in the field. Me being here… Well, America was sort of split on my actions in Africa between 'alien invader shows his true colours' and 'about time someone sorted that place out', with the second group coming out ahead now that they can see something of my end game. I'm not quite the unalloyed benefit that I used to be: Americans who would back a lethal enforcer are a little more wary about someone like that having political authority. But I'm still a big enough deal to warrant an invitation.

Of course, I do appreciate Sam's position. He's put a lot of work into this area, and I decided to go with Lex instead. Not too surprising that he's taking it a little personally.

I wave my right hand around in a circle. "I mean, he's certainly not going to demand that you… Oh, I don't know, ignore an active slave trade or women being banned from public life and driving like some US allies I could mention."

"But we are supposed to forget about the cities he gassed and the children he murdered?"

I raise an eyebrow at that.

"Do you really think I'd have left him alive if I hadn't confirmed that he wasn't the directing mind in either of those incidents?" I take a sip from my glass, relieved that the White House has a range of non-alcoholic beverages. "But if you want some advice on how you should respond..?"

"Yeah?"

"Put together a colonisation proposal. Africa is seeing a major improvement in its standard of living, so there's not a lot of drive for people to leave."

He raises his eyebrows.

"But America's falling apart, right?"

"I wouldn't say 'falling apart', but there are demographic issues relating to former industrial cities from which jobs have been 'outsourced'. And then you've got to consider what version of human culture you want spread amongst the stars. Lex will be establishing meritocratic corporations. If you want democracy and constitutional rights to be the face of humanity the rest of the universe sees, you need a population that believes in those things out there settling new worlds."

He nods.

"Are you saying the same thing to China and Russia?"

"I don't really have an 'in' with Russia. With China…" I shrug. "I pointed out that the politburo wouldn't be able to exercise effective control of a settlement on another planet without their own fleet. That rather put them off the idea."

"Neither would we. But I guess that's not so big a deal for freedom-loving Americans as it is for China."

"That's my point. Colonies wouldn't want to be ruled from another world anyway, not once they're basically self-sufficient. Colonies are expensive to set up and don't provide much in the way of economic advantage. Founding one is a profoundly idealistic endeavour."

Sam takes a sip from his own drink.

"Idealistic? We couldn't supply it or defend it."

"This region of space is fairly safe. And that's Lex's job."

He glowers faintly. "No, it's my job."

"Best get building a starship or two, then. I'm not stopping you. Maybe you could scrap the nuclear silo rebuilding program to pay for it?"

"Those things are sixty years old."

"Yes. Sixty years ago it wouldn't have been practical to put them in space. But let's not muck about: nuclear missiles in space are far more practical than putting them in a hardened bunker on the ground. No need to rise against gravity, no being stationary and risking being wiped out by a supersonic missile strike from your enemies, and you can fire them at attacking aliens as well."

"Decommissioning them wouldn't be much cheaper."

"Sell them as-is, then. I mean, take out the nukes-"

"Yeah Grayven, I worked that one out."

"-first, but I'm sure there are survivalists and eccentrics who could raise the money for it. And it's not like the systems in there are classified any more, right?"

"Some of them are, but that's mostly because they're still in use. If we transferred over, we could declassify it. But unless Lex is suddenly sharing, I don't see where this US Space Force is going to suddenly come from."

"Well…" I fan my hands out. "One hears things."

His face hardens. "And what exactly has one heard?"

"That certain parties have been rather eager to discuss Sunset Shimmer's hellship idea. You know she still lives in my mountain, don't you?"

He nods, his face relaxing very slightly. America's relations with Atlantis in general and Venturia in particular are good enough that they could probably bargain for the magicians they'd need to build the ships, but it's going to be five to ten years before they could handle the realm transitions themselves.

"We're doing some exploratory work with our Atlantean friends. Just assessing the practicality. As I'm sure that Miss Shimmer has told you, we don't have the infrastructure for something like that."

True, but it's not their main focus. They're researching the creature that inspired the experiments that created Captain Atom, only with a better educated and less evil research team. That should result in them getting some sort of modern spacecraft off the ground in three to four years. I'm not aware of any other races in the universe that use dilustel, so that will be an interesting development. And one that I can't talk about, because it would reveal exactly how closely I've been monitoring their work.

"Worth planning ahead. We're the only ones you're behind-."

"Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States of America, Jonathan Horne."

 

[Mr Zoat]

27th October 2012
07:16 GMT +3

"Paul!" Hera smiles broadly, looking me over for… Reasons I'm not entirely certain about. "I understand that my ex-husband has a rapidly shortening life-expectancy. Will it hurt a lot?"

I drop onto her patio, then walk over to her breakfast table. She's wearing a 'conservative with an edge' nightdress with an open dressing gown, and without wanting to be crude-

"It's okay. You can think it."

-I've started playing 'Stacy's Mom' in my head.

"Sit." She points to the chair opposite. "Sit!"

"Thank you." I pull out the wooden chair and sit down opposite her. "Things have not yet reached that stage. How did..? You know-"

She's rolling her eyes.

"-what I was thinking? Because I'm warded and I'm trained to resist telepathic intrusion."

She looks at me like a mildly disappointed primary school reception teacher, and shakes her head.

"You should have thought of that before you started worshipping Olympians. You've moved in with your lover, haven't you?"

…whose domain is marriage and the family.

"I thought so. The other thing was obvious; I know perfectly well what effect I have on men who like women. So?"

"So.. Jade or so Zeus?"

"Both, of course."

"Yes, we're co-habiting, and it's… We're not on the same schedule and it's a bit awkward, but I-" I nod. "-prefer it. Prefer her being there and… Being there myself."

"And how does she feel about it?"

"A bit like she's intruding in her own house sometimes. And other times she just sort of relaxes-. I guess it's like a cat, where you know it's decided that it likes you when it jumps on your lap and goes to sleep. Jade's the sleep-with-one-eye-open type, and sometimes she'll do this whole… Alert-and-check-for-threats thing, but she instinctively doesn't include me, which is-. I know how big a deal that is for her."

"A little unusual, but promising, considering the circumstances. And the other thing?"

"Zeus 'asked' Diana to go to Tartarus 'coincidentally' after she turned down his offer of marriage-."

"Hah!"

"I imagine it's less funny for me."

"Come now! He's gone from being able to seduce princesses while in the form of a swan-" She pulls a face. "-of all things, to having this princess refuse his offer to become queen!"

"Oh, I'd be fine with laughing at Zeus if it wasn't for the fact that I'm going to have to deal with it. Look… You don't have any leverage with-?"

"No. Not. One. Bit. He has no shame, so there are no stories, foibles or failings that I can threaten to share. Everyone already knows his true nature, so I can't threaten to reveal it. And I'm sure that an enterprising young man like yourself has already worked out the thing with the titans."

"Yes. Can-?"

"Why didn't I mention it when you first raised the matter with Hephaestus? Well, I didn't see how it was relevant. And Zeus hadn't gotten around to cutting me off then."

"And he has now."

"And he has now. Of course he has. Oh, don't look like that. I had no idea he was going to try to spread his slime all over Diana. I have no use for the extra power, so why would I mention it?"

"But you're familiar with power transfers from titan to god, having used it yourself for quite a while."

"It's not really that interesting."

"It is to me."

She fixes her eyes on me, mouth grinning. "Young man, are you doing something duplicitous?"

"Duplicitous? No. I'm fairly open and direct. Apropos of nothing, might I suggest that now is a good time to visit Hecate?"

"Why?"

"She's having a pool party with a few interested parties. Could be fun."

"A pool party in the Styx?"

"They've found a way to purify it and extract some sort of horrifying poison from the now-safe water."

Hera frowns. "And you think I should pay her a visit?"

"Indeed."

"Alright then. We're between filming sessions so I can spare the time. Let me just go and-" She pushes her chair back and stands up. "-throw something on."

"Do you require transportation?"

"No, I can find my way quite well, thank you. Off you go. I'm sure that you're busy working on this whole situation."

I stand, and give her a shallow bow. "Thank you. Oh, and in the event that something unfortunate happened to Zeus, would you be interested in returning to your former station?"

She opens her mouth to respond, then suddenly a thoughtful look comes over her face and she closes it again, frowning.

"Do you know, I don't think I am. Even with everything that's happened lately, it's a fairly empty title. And I'd have to give up this." She looks around at her house, a little distractedly. "And that nice Mister Blake would hardly be able to interact with me at all."

"Glad to hear that you're getting on so well."

"It's nice to spend time with a man who is so emotionally mature. Now, be off with you."

I nod,

disappearing from her garden and

27th October 2012
12:20 GMT +8

reappearing in a workshop in China, a disturbingly short distance from their prison for uncooperative metahumans. Sensor dampening equipment covers the interior wall while war robot production facilities fill the rest of the space. All automated, and… Minimal warding.

Back on Earth Prime, the idea that 'Nationalist China' could ever take back the rest of the country is ludicrous. I'm not sure who didn't get the message in Taiwan Sixteen, but once I've shut this place down quietly then Batman can take as long as he needs to find out. Without starting World War Three.

 

[Mr Zoat]

27th October 2012
18:11 GMT +3

"So are you saying it isn't possible, or..?"

"No." / "It…" / "Yes, but…"

I hold up my hands to try and bring order to the proceedings, and the Gods of Olympus carry on as if I did nothing.

"…network stability, so…" / "…viable solution to…" / "…fun, so you could…"

Hephaestus is not impressed with the work so far. As far as I could gather, the fact that the embryonic titan isn't cohesive means that the normal spells for draining it risk funnelling the whole thing into him, causing the same overwrite issues that were the reason that he turned this down the first time I brought it up.

"…fundamental problem…" / "…study each of…" / "…leap sometimes and I think…"

Which means that the whole system needs to be reworked in order to do what it's supposed to and not dissolve him. Hecate thinks the plan is basically fine and is getting increasingly frustrated that no one has the level of thaumaturgy education that would allow them to see that. Neither Eris or Hera have really studied the subject and Hephaestus knows enough to be extremely cautious.

"…use it yourself if you…" / "…weak level, and then…" / "…need it on for anyway, I..."

She also wants to plug him in and study the result. He's understandably not keen, and honestly I'm not either. That sounds like something that Zeus could detect, and I… Even if it didn't hurt him, doing that sort of study carefully could take a long time and Diana's in Tartarus now. Eris on the other hand-

"…basic scientific method…" / "…warding would easily…" / "…kinda boring right now."

-just wants oh dear.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, is this a problem in which your most humble servant might aid you?"

Eris frowns. "My most humble servant's this guy in Denmark, and he's…" She shakes her head. "Yeah, he's humble for a reason. You could get him, but I don't think he'd be able to actually help at all."

Hephaestus takes that in his stride. "Paul was offering to help. I suppose that if you could get a few Atlantean-"

Hecate looks put out. "That is not necessary, because-"

"-experts, so they could go over Oceanus's prison before we do anything else, that would be helpful."

"I really meant-."

"-they don't understand the Dream and none in living memory have studied titans."

"Is there anything I could get you that would make the current system more reliable? Reliable to the point where you could use it as-is?"

Eris and Hera raise their eyebrows, though with Eris it's expectation that something interesting is going to happen while with Hera it's increasing frustration at these unruly Olympians.

"No." / "I doubt it."

"If you could describe what you need? No offence intended here, but I do get out and about rather more than both of you."

"An energy regulator." / "Something that could maintain an arcane connection with everything feeding the nascent titan."

Neither of those sound particularly difficult.

"Hephaestus first. Could you please explain exactly what you mean?"

"Manually controlling arcane power is as complex or as simple as you make it. A normal magician will have a feel for what they can handle directly, and if they lose control then bad things happen to them. As gods, we can handle a lot more power than all but the greatest archmages-"

Hecate- "Hmpf." -disagrees.

"-and in our domains even more than that. But we're talking about a titan whose existence is defined by the entire modern era. That's far more than I can handle."

"I thought you'd just be drawing the power as needed."

"No, I would be drawing more as needed. I would be drawing at least some power constantly as soon as the connection was made."

"Okay. So you need something that can help you… Internalise it?"

"No, if I internalise it then we're back to me dissolving myself in a font of primal energy. I would need something that can precisely control how much energy comes through. Not just limit to a small proportion of the total. Something that can say 'this amount and no more'."

Hm.

"Okay, I think I can find one. Give me a few minutes."

I raise my right hand to-.

"Everyone knows you're putting it on!" Eris points to me with her right forefinger. "Dragon Ball Z is shit!"

I lower my right hand, give her a slightly hurt look, then

step out and

reappear in… The containment centre on Maltus, Hinon's eyes moving to me for a fraction of a second as she does something with the machinery around the recumbent form of Larfleeze, which then regains her full attention.

"Yes? What is it?"

"Do you still have Meadlux's old power ring prototype?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Could I please have it?"

"I meant 'what do you want it for'."

"I'm trying to drain energy from a titan to upgrade one of my favourite gods after-."

"No. Stop. Earth. Yes. Is whatever you're doing likely to cause a problem for the rest of the universe?"

"No?"

"Oh, take the blasted thing." The ring floats out of her robes and over to me. "And keep notes."

"Thank you." I-.

You know what? Fuck Eris! I raise my right hand to my forehead

and

return to Hecate's home, holding the ring out to Hephaestus.

"Is this any good?"

Eris notices where my hand was and looks away, rolling her eyes and shaking her head. I raise my index and middle fingers at her. Hephaestus on the other hand takes the ring and stares at it hard.

"I'm.. not sure. Hecate?"

Space around the ring warps and glows as she applies arcane power to the ring. Which seems completely unaffected.

"It… Might? What is it? Where did you get it?"

"From a friend. What else do you need?"

 

[Mr Zoat]

27th October 2012
18:15 GMT +3

Hecate glares at me.

"What sort of friend could you have that has a device like this? If you've been talking to Kamrušepa behind my back, then-."

"Psh." Eris scoffs. "It's a ring. He's a Lantern."

"Goo goo g'joob."

She grins and holds out her right hand for a high five. I give her a high five.

Hecate glares at her. "This is exactly why it's been eight hundred years since we last spoke. What are you talking about?"

"Lanterns. They use-." Eris regards her curiously. "Wait, you don't know what a Lantern is?"

"I've heard the term used for this mortal. What else does it mean?"

Because she's been in Erebos for… Since the end of the Greek Classical era, and so not only hasn't met any Lanterns other than me, but hasn't even heard of the Green Lantern Corps.

"The Green Lantern Corps is an interstellar policing organisation. Maltus is the name of the homeworld of the species who run it. That ring was made by one of them. The Orange Lantern Corps is an organisation to help egotists make themselves useful, and it's run by members of the same species. Members of both organisations are commonly referred to as 'Lanterns'."

"I see." She goes back to looking at it. "Do they have experience with titans?"

"Probably. They're pretty old."

Hera lets out a short burst of laughter and then covers her mouth with her right fist, and I remind myself that just because she's been out and about in the world doesn't mean that she has Justice League type access to information.

"Paul, I'm something like fifteen thousand years old."

"I apologise. They're extremely old. A million plus years each. They use rings like that to help their children learn to control their exotic abilities. It's like stabilisers on a child's first bicycle for them."

The assembled divines look at each other a little awkwardly.

"So going back to my question, you wanted something that connected to the collective unconscious of the human species?"

Given the direct question, Hecate recovers first. "Yes, though a powerful relic of the Dream may suffice. I doubt that such a thing-."

"Excuse me again."

I

27th October 2012
13:17 GMT -2

appear in.. Queen Mera's office. Young Artur is playing with some sort of carousel nearby. She spots me at once, looking at me with an air of confused curiosity.

"That's not supposed to be possible."

"And are we happy about that or-?"

The water around me freezes, because while the spell couldn't detect me directly it could detect the sound I was making. Clever.

Queen Mera rises from her seat, her right hand wreathed in a turquoise glow as she waves it. The ice melts at once and I nod politely.

"I assume you're here to get access to the Oceanus relics? We decided that it was best to base the research team on Santa Porto rather than bring the items back here, but I am happy to introduce you to the team working on the problem."

"No, that's not necessary at the moment, thank you. I'm here for the Spear of Destiny."

"I…" She appears to hesitate, but I can just about make out her activating a dozen or so minor spells. Not entirely sure what they do, but I'm more… I don't know, disappointed? That she didn't cast them the moment I arrived. "I can release it to you, but given what it does, I would like an explanation."

"Oh, I'm not handing it over to Venturia, if that's what you're worried about."

"Actually, I find Venturia's research quite interesting. I've known King Cyprian on and off for years. I don't think we have anything to worry about militarily from that quarter."

"Well, no, and I'm glad to hear it."

"Though I would like to know what you will use it for. The Spear of Destiny is an arcane tool of incredible power."

"Are you aware of what's happening with Diana?"

"Yes, Orin told me when he passed on the message from Batman regarding Santa Porto."

"The goddess Hecate thinks that the Spear could be used to more easily bind Hephaestus to the… Dream of Technology, empowering him to the point where he may be able to force Zeus to behave himself. I'm afraid that the thaumaturgy is a little beyond-."

"It would act to stabilise the connection. And it would force the minds of all humans on Earth towards more technological lines of thinking. Orange Lantern, that is why we have avoided using it."

"Humans are using the same brain structure now as we used when our ancestors were hunter gatherers. Biological evolution hasn't kept up with social evolution, and it causes a plethora of problems in the modern world. But that's not the problem I'm trying to correct today."

"There is no way to isolate the Spear's effect."

"True, but given that we're not all National Socialists, I don't believe that its power is overwhelming. Besides, we only need it to set the ritual up. Once it's running… Or completed, we can put the Spear back in isolation."

"I want to see the ritual you are describing."

"No problem. We're working on it in Lady Hecate's home in Erebos. I can get you there in a couple of minutes. Though I will warn you in advance that Lady Hecate has been making less than enthusiastic noises about having anyone check her work. Also, they haven't finished working out how to actually do it yet."

Queen Mera considers it for a moment.

"Are you certain that this is necessary to free Diana?"

"Maybe, maybe not. But I'm not the proportional response guy. I'm the brutal retribution guy. We'll keep working on this with or without the Spear. The Spear will just make it easier."

She nods. "Very well. I must inform my husband first, but I can release the Spear to you."

"Thank you. Will Artur be joining us, or do you need to arrange a babysitter?"

She considers that for a moment. "Would he be safe in the Greek underworld?"

"In Erebos, amongst a horde of Hecate-worshipping shades at least some of whom are Amazons, as a guest of their goddess? I should think so. Certainly wouldn't have to worry about Purist assassins or alien invaders."

"I will speak with my husband first." She swims over to scoop up Artur, who babbles excitedly to her. "Come with me."

 

[Mr Zoat]

27th October 2012
18:39 GMT +3

While Queen Mera could probably convey herself through the waters of the underworld in greater comfort than she feels in my construct-grip, that would mean enduring the effects of the water. As a result, she's looking around with a considerable degree of curiosity while seated in a construct aircraft chair.

Artur stayed behind with his father. I really think it was a bit much for Orin to call this 'an insane scheme', and I did notice him biting down the rest of that sentence. What's insane about using a titan to empower a crippled god to overthrow the head of the pantheon to free a woman from a place she doesn't want to leave?

"I've been meaning to ask. Why does every Atlantean I've spoken to get uncomfortable when I mention Queen Gamemnae? Sephtian told me that he didn't know exactly what she did…"

"I doubt that anyone alive does. With the return of Mighty Adom to Kahndaq I have taken the opportunity to study that period of our history, and it was an unpleasant time and long ago. Our records are far from perfect, and much that is commonly believed has come from myth and legend."

I mentally shrug. We live in a world where people who believe that the Roman Empire didn't exist are allowed out in public. I can hardly expect the Atlanteans to keep perfect records for five thousand years.

"As you know, she was a sorceress of incredible skill and power. She was sent into exile from Poseidonis as a child, and returned as a powerful sorceress. Supposedly, she returned the entire continent of Atlantis to the surface and turned the entire population into who they were before Ahri'ahn altered their ancestors."

"Removing the Purebloods' superior strength and endurance would make it easier to maintain control. I mean I… Doubt that she inherited the title."

"Perhaps. She is also supposed to have allowed any who would not serve under her rule to drown in waters that they had easily have breathed before she worked her magic."

"I wonder how she got that powerful. I can't think of any other magic traditions in the area that were the equal of the Atlantean one."

"If it happened like that at all, I would guess that she was educated by the descendants of Atlantean exiles. It was the trauma of so much upheaval and death that left her name as a curse in our culture. If you want an accurate record of her history, Adom would be a better person to speak with."

"Yes, but I don't want to mess about with his memory of his old friends. His positive attitude to Atlantis is at least partially based on it."

"It is a pleasant change to have a nation in the Middle East open to the use of magic."

"Sephtian mentioned that her body.. was..?"

Mera smiles and shakes her head. "A myth. The Temple of Orcus holds no body that could come from so powerful a sorceress. I believe that it was later addition to the story. Older versions of the myth mention the bodies of her victims piled to the roof or the bodies of the royal family drowned by her spells."

"I didn't think undoing the spells altering Atlanteans was possible."

"All things are possible. But I do not know how she might have done it. It should be beyond any mortal." Her eye is caught by Persephone's forest. "This place is not what I expected."

"Nothing like Orcus's domain?"

"No. The domain of Orcus is supposedly a far drearier place."

"It's not too late to change lanes. Shop around a little for superior afterlife services."

"It would be politically unwise. Orin is a Christian, and while Atlantis is not a deeply religious country it would not look well for both monarchs to bow to foreign gods."

"Then send Orcus our way and we'll see about bringing him up to our level."

"I have never spoken to him directly. According to our priests, our gods speak even to them only extremely infrequently and indirectly."

"There's your problem! How can they possibly provide a good service if they don't know what the customer base want?"

I bring us into land, noting the absence of dead witches and spotting my own patron- "Hey, Eris!" -taking a smoke outside Hecate's home.

"Hey hay, I'm Eris." She lowers her cigarette and looks Mera over. "I think Hecate needs a bigger house."

"What do I want out of life and death?"

She frowns. "You know what you-. Are you seriously testing me?" I nod. "If you hadn't just won me a bet with that spear I'd nearly be annoyed. You want people to stop being stupid and to take the opportunities presented to them. You want the Reach gone so you can build a new civilisation I'd say from its ashes, but you'd probably say something about people being unified by shared adversity. You like helping people but aren't prepared to completely baby them -which I appreciate- because if you have to do everything then what's the point of anyone else even existing."

"That's life."

"I don't believe you'll stay dead next time any more than you did the last two."

"Good answer. And that's why she's better than Discordia."

Eris smiles at me fondly, making eye contact with Mera. "See, that's what's great about him. I think I'm about to have to thump an uppity mortal, then he comes up with something like that and it means more because I know he means it. Now gimme that spear."

Mera hesitates for a moment, but while she's an archmage Eris is a goddess and her decision was effectively made the moment she agreed to come down here. Dismissing the protective spells she placed upon it, she cautiously hands it-.

Eris grabs it from her and stares at it as if transfixed.

"I don't even know what this is."

"Technically, we don't either. It's usually referred to as the Spear of Destiny, but its precise origin is lost in the mists of time. And you can tell what it does."

Eris skips back into Hecate's house. "Hec-a-tay! My guy wiiii-iiins!"

"Shall we?"

Mera and I enter the… Huh. It's expanded again, and the empty pool-area outside is explained by the fact that they're all hard at work in here. Since their knowledge of thaumaturgy is 'poor' by modern standards they're forced to brute force spells guided by their long experience, casting and reacting and judging by feel whether it works or not. The Maltusian power ring is on a plinth in the centre of the ritual space, and Eris has marches over to Hecate to wave the spear at her. We follow after her as Hecate stares at it, then tries to get it off the boasting chaos goddess.

"Eris, not the time."

Eris pantomimes sighing, then offers it to Hecate.

"This…" I feel Hecate running power into it and notice Mera shuddering faintly next to me.

Hephaestus looks it over, before turning to the fascinated Hecate. "Will it work?"

"'Will it'-? Is that all that occurs to you?" Hecate keeps working, beckoning to some of her devotees with her spare hand. "This, and more besides. We will need to rework the spell to take this… This thing into account."

Mera takes a step closer. "Might I enquire-?"

Hecate looks at her for about half a second. "If you want to help, grab a bench. We're going to break history here!"

"Do you mean-?"

"I know what I said!"

 

[Mr Zoat]

27th October 2012
18:58 GMT

"And yet, you're still sane."

Diataria Lysis regards Prime Minister Lantern Geoffrey Talbot with… I'm not sure. Between the cybernetic eyes and lack of eyebrows I'm having a little trouble parsing her expression. Fascination? Bewilderment? Raw animal lust?

"So it seems." Geoffrey steps out of the upright scanning module, picking up his shirt from the nearby bench. He may be in his late fifties, but he's definitely made an effort to get back into the sort of physical shape that would allow him to meet the Metropolitan Police Force's requirements. And I know his ring doesn't help with that. "Is there anything else?"

"How? How are you doing this?"

"Tell me, Weaponer Lysis." He slides his shirt over his arms and starts buttoning it up. "Have you ever loved anyone?"

"No."

"Anything? Anything at all? Your.. homeworld, your culture, perhaps?"

"Love? No."

"Spend all of your time working in a place like this?" Geoffrey closes the top button and tucks the bottom of the shirt into his trousers. "I understand what it's like, making the job your life. But if you never value anything outside yourself… You'll never know the rage that you feel when someone maliciously takes it away from you from nothing more than spite. The rage you feel at yourself for not… Realising what was happening while you could still have done something about it. Or the certainty that as… Satisfying as it might be to try to beat the bastards to death with your bare hands, that would let a great many of those responsible escape."

"So it must be directed inwardly and outwardly and once."

"Grayven, what do the seven colours correspond to?"

"Hate and anger, avarice, fear, will, hope, compassion and love."

"Have you ever felt hope, Weaponer Lysis? Or made someone else feel it?"

"I hope not."

"Compassion, perhaps. Have you ever been guided by compassion?"

"I'm a Weaponer!"

"Seven emotions, Weaponer Lysis. I've felt them all in their turns, and I think I've inspired them, too. You haven't. Power rings require an understanding of emotion that you don't have. This technology?" He looks around at her workshop. "It can only get you so far. The problem is you."

Her breath hisses in through her teeth, then back out again in a sharp huff. Then a hiss. Then a huff.

"If I did not think that you were right, I would slay you where you stand."

"If you weren't making yourself useful I would kill you to bring peace to your past victims." He puts on his jacket. "Unless there's anything else, I have a country to run."

"Go."

I let him lead the way out of the laboratory. The complex has grown quite a bit since he first visited, and while I know that Weaponer Lysis prizes her intellect I'm not totally convinced that she'll make it to the firing range before she starts throwing the qwa-bolts around. Best that my body is between my ally and enough hard radiation to incinerate a man.

Geoffrey doesn't say anything as he marches out, and I'm content to carry on at amble-speed. And I know that he's always angry, but I also know that certain types of encounter leave him more stressed than others. Weaponer Lysis would definitely be on his kill list if she appeared back on Earth, and he's not entirely happy about me keeping her on.

Ground level outside of the headquarters of the Orange Lantern Corps (Tamaran Branch) has been nicely landscaped, a row of bushes wrapping around the walkway leading to a garden, though the view into the distance isn't as… Pastoral as it once was. With a few hundred Lanterns working the problem, Tamaran has skipped several stages of industrial development and gone straight onto post-industrial wonderland. I can see half a dozen space elevators from here with my unaided eyes, and if I turned around-

I mean, if I turned around and could see through the building.

-then I'd see the other half. All necessary to police Other Grayven's followers when they realise exactly what happened. And to keep some ships on station in case Diana needs the support.

"Why do you keep her here?"

"Because I don't trust the Controllers and can't make rings myself."

"Is there really no one else?"

"There's a planet full of Maltusians but I don't know any of them. And I can't think of any reason why they'd accept a subordinate position to work with me. This is all a big deal for me -and the people of Tamaran- but if the Maltusians were interested in empire-building then they'd have an actual empire."

Probably best to take his mind off it.

"How are things in Britain?"

"Everything's on track. If I'm lucky, I won't have to stand for re-election. Certainly not more than one more term."

Purging an entire civil service isn't something that happens over night. And it's not just the cannibal rapists; there were more than a few who… I believe that the term is 'Deep State'? People who joined a supposedly apolitical agency with the intent of controlling policy. Relatively petty stuff but they were in violation of their oaths and the law, so they had to go. Which in turn has made it quite a lot harder to actually run things, because joking aside middle managers do actually do things.

I like the genomorphs, but I'm… A little uncomfortable to see them effectively soft couping my old country. Fortunately, events have energised the population to the point that there are plenty of people applying for the positions, but there are only so many people you can bring into an organisation at a time.

"Economy's picking up, and we're back in the UN. As much good as that does us."

As a bit of a reward for the total purge and corruption levels unknown to human societies outside of Africa -and wouldn't that have been a joke a year ago- Lex and I decided that energy costs in Britain would be noticeably lower than in other countries with equivalent economic development. Combine that with the income from ship production, the only reason the British economy wasn't picking up more is fear; both of what the former ruling class had been up to or the methods used to remove them.

"Do you still need to be there ramming things through?"

"Not quite so much, but I'd rather keep at it. I'd rather get it done faster and knock off quicker."

"And then off to the Lords? I understand that they've acquired a few vacancies."

"Hah. I'd rather not. But I do have unique experience to bring to the role. I'll see-"

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

"-how I-."

We both generate construct armour as the boom tubes open.

"What the devil? Grayven?"

"I'm not expecting anyone. Who-?"

A scintillating ray of light strikes me in the chest as some arsehole in white pyjamas flies through the closest aperture at high speed. Exposure to Misa allows me to sidestep, though not counter as he-

"Hah!"

-laughs and flies into the air.

"What the hell are-?"

The bush in front of us leaps up and attacks me!