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

[Mr Zoat]

15th February 2013
17:16 GMT -5

Tuppence looks distracted as we walk through the old headquarters of the All-Star Squadron. While the old Justice Society headquarters in New York is a museum these days, this place just got repurposed by some part of the labyrinthine mess of the United States's defence imbroglio. The meeting room where the greatest superheroes of their generation met up is now a lecture theatre, and the gymnasium is now a canteen.

"You doing alright?"

She recognises what she was doing and tries to cover it up. "What is this place?"

"This is where the superheroes involved in World War Two used to be based. Blue Lantern showed me around once."

He didn't think much of the place. The Trust running the Justice Society's museum makes sure to leave the structure pretty much as it was, just upgrading the lights and wiring. The Defense Department -or whoever runs this place- didn't do that, so there isn't really anything he could point to and say 'I remember when'. And I got the impression that he wasn't too keen on the War Department in general.

"So?"

"Just making conversation."

The place is empty now, unlike the Pentagon which is in full operation. Mannheim might have full control but he still needs a command structure and logistical management. I wonder if they evacuated, or followed orders that moved them somewhere else? Or if they were all killed. No obvious blood stains on the lino floor, and enough dust that I doubt that anyone is still coming in to clean it. The heating is still working but that's all automatic.

"Y'all think that mask thang is in heer?"

"No, almost certainly not. But this building is shielded enough that the people outside shouldn't be able to detect our teleportation. And I was sort of hoping that there might be a few holdouts."

"Dun look lahk it."

"I don't know. We haven't checked the entire building yet."

She rolls her eyes. "Jus' have Atom do it, so's we can do somethang else."

"Mister Atom's drones don't have the capacity of a power ring, so I'm sorry, but you'll have to put up with it for now." Because while my ring scans say that they're telling me everything, somewhere like this, I can't assume that's actually correct. "Though well done for adapting to the use of drones in warfare."

"Beats doin' ev'rythang mahself."

Management offices are a dead end. Rune stone doesn't glow, no 'unscannable' spaces or suspiciously effective automated defences. The safes that were still closed only contained normal secret documents. A couple looked like they'd had their contents burned, but that's no use to me. I take scans of the surviving documents and D.N.A. traces, just in case it turns out to be useful.

So down we go.

Tuppence is still frowning, but now she's frowning at her environment. "Where'd alla the people go?"

"I don't know. If I had to guess, they stayed at home. Or they were Anti-Lifed, and Mannheim had no interest in this place."

The next floor has offices, meeting rooms and the aforementioned lecture theatre. I can't detect anyone-.

Hm.

I float up to a ceiling-mounted camera and use a construct knife to remove the housing. Heh. There's a ward on the interior, and now I can scan it properly I can see the more advanced sensors that it has in addition to the simple digital camera. I don't recognise the design, but it's easily good enough to detect me using my ring. The camera feed is going to the server in the basement, but the other sensor-.

There's a puff of smoke as it burns itself out. Why did-?

Oh, I see. That part of the spell is designed to break down if the cowling is removed. That's some surprisingly sophisticated arcane technology for America.

"Someone spa'ing on us?"

"Since we're in their building, it's not really 'spying'."

That suggests LexCorp to me, but it doesn't prove it. And of course ninety five percent of LexCorp's work is perfectly legal and another four percent is legalish. Nothing strange about wanting a better security camera.

So much I don't know.

I restore the circuits as best I can and then replace the cowling. Probably won't work, but at least it should make it easier to replace the enchantments. Then a whole lot of fairly generic rooms that match with what I saw last time. Nothing registers as magical, nothing has the wrong internal dimensions and there aren't any people.

"This is borin'."

"That's life, I'm afraid."

I lead the way down the stairs to the ground floor. Garage, shooting range, gym and canteen. The range is our best bet for finding anything odd, and I've seen seven more cameras modified like the one I first identified. Most of them are normal. Not sure why only some are altered or why it's those ones in particular; none of them were in particularly significant locations. Maybe the aim was to get complete coverage of the building? That should be possible, but… It's not like this is a fortress or anything.

Or is it?

I stick a construct probe through an interior wall, then an exterior wall. And then a few more of each. I examine the samples while Tuppence ducks down so that she can look out through one of the exterior holes.

"Y'all not like windows?"

"I was wondering whether or not this building had been covertly fortified. If they'd lined the walls with armour panels of something exotic. Doesn't look like it. It's just normal brick."

I repair the walls, to Tuppence's disgruntlement. Then I enter the range, bypass the lock on the armoury door and take a look at some of the weapons. There are a few LexCorp pieces, but various parts of the US government have been putting contracts for next generation weapons out to tender so that isn't strange either. And there's a WayneTech version of the stun gun Guy's been using ever since he found out he was allowed a sidearm. High reliability, low lethality. Maybe that's what they were doing-

"Can ah jus' take these?"

-here.

"Actually, yes. This gun is very unlikely to kill-."

I turn and see the plasma cannon she's picked up.

"That gun is very likely to kill anything you hit with it, it's relatively fragile and we don't have any way to reload it. And we're supposed to be sneaking around, so-."

"Put it in youwer ring… Pocket.. thing."

"You really want it?"

She aims it in the general direction of the-.

"No, no." I tether it with a filament and send it into subspace. "Okay. I'll carry it." Ah… I grab the maintenance handbook and subspace that as well. "Maintaining it will be your job. I hope you enjoy reading technical documentation."

She shrugs. I hadn't realised that she acted up when she got bored, but in retrospect perhaps I should have considered that possibility. I also hadn't considered whether or not Danner enhanciles could get foetal alcohol syndrome, but as far as I know their mother didn't start drinking until after they were born.

"Alright, we just need to check the basement and then we can start canvassing-."

The intercom clicks.

"Orange Lantern. What are you doing here?"

 

[Mr Zoat]

15th February 2013
17:24 GMT -5

"Trying to find an artefact called the Medusa Mask." I try using empathic vision on the intercom, but it's warded. And I imagine that it would go up in smoke if I opened it to try and study it. "Who am I talking to?"

"Father Time. I'm the head of a US government organisation called S.H.A.D.E."

I nod. I remember them from the Seven Soldiers comic series, where they somehow managed to be the only superhuman intelligence agency to function against the Sheeda. Probably because they were so small no one remembered to close them down. I think Father Time got killed by Adom during his rampage, but I don't remember anything other than that.

"And you're still you. That's quite impressive."

"I've been through worse. Why do you think that it's here?"

"Its last recorded location was S.T.A.R. Philadelphia. It's probably not still there, but this is as good a place to start looking as any."

"The Justice League is a little late on doing housekeeping. This horse bolted a month ago."

"This isn't housekeeping. This is a way to win."

"With the Medusa Mask. A device that can alter people's emotions."

"I believe there's a little more to it than that."

"Like what?"

"Like that's need to know and I'm not telling someone whose identify I can't confirm over an open microphone."

"Heh. Fair enough. I'm not exactly shy, but everything here is set up so that if it gets interfered with, it stops working."

"Okay?"

"In the case of my little hidey-hole, it stops working explosively because I couldn't take the risk of getting contaminated."

"And I assume that there isn't a window..?"

"On our budget? I'm impressed there's a door."

"Do you know anything about what happened at S.T.A.R.?"

"I had a guy on the inside. He… Should have had devices on him that would make him able to resist mind influence effects, but we couldn't test it in situations like this. I haven't heard from him since just after it happened."

"And what did he say?"

"That a bunch of guys in bulky helmets were attacking the place, and some of them were wearing uniforms of superheroes from the Alliance of the Just."

"Yes, that was just a way for Mannheim to get as many superheroes in one place as he could so he could Anti-Life them at his convenience."

"So he's probably dead, but if he isn't, he's the best placed to help you out."

"What's his name?"

"Agent Abraham Carlyle." I access their database. "He looks-."

"Quite a lot like Uncle Sam. I'll take that as a good sign. Any idea where he might be if he's not at S.T.A.R.?"

"His apartment? We're not one of those agencies that has hidden bunkers all across America just so we can go to ground."

"No?"

"We've got a list of bunkers no one else is using, and the occasional fallout shelter that we picked up cheap when no one else wanted to buy it. There's one under the Philadelphia Museum of Art and another in the Philadelphia Water Department Field Office. Nothing else in state."

"Do you know who's in charge of the local Justified?"

"It's not me."

Tuppence snorts with amusement. "Y'all think maybe getting' stuck in a hole weren't such a great plan?"

"Sure. Just give me ten billion dollars and I'll make sure it never happens again. Who exactly is in charge now, anyway?"

"Effectively? Bruno Mannheim. Nathaniel Adams in nominally in charge of the parts of the US government that are free. The US Constitution wasn't really written with this in mind, something that I take as an insult to the country of my birth."

"Ah-heh."

"Batman and Mister Atom are splitting coordination duties, but I've only just got back to Earth. I don't know exactly how things are set up."

"More than I know."

"Do you have anything useful on hand that could help us?"

"Probably. But it all needs to be configured for the user and I'm a little short staffed right now. You're in the armoury? Help yourself, for all the good it will do."

"Y'all know who made the big laser gun?"

"If you mean the heavy plasma gun, it was made by Alva Industries. The engineer who worked on it here's a guy called Brian Thompson, but he hasn't been back since this all happened."

"See if ah kin fahnd him."

"Thank you for your help, Father Time. I'll let you know if we get anywhere."

"Not like I'm going anywhere."

Right. I send my power armour into subspace and switch over to shabby-looking street clothes. I've got lighter armour on underneath, though it's nothing that will take a serious hit. My force field generators join my armour in subspace because a random bloke on the street wouldn't have something like that. Tuppence is already ready to go.

"Okay. If anyone asks, we were here to plunder the kitchens."

She frowns. "Anyone ask, ah'm gunna punch 'em so they don't ask agin."

"That… May be situationally correct, but remember that we don't know who's in charge here. I'd rather maintain cover for as long as possible. And I don't think that you can fake being as weak as a woman of your size should be."

She grunts in acknowledgement, and I decide that that's as good as I'm going to get. Main door is that way, but I think it would make more sense to go out via the car park. Less chance of someone seeing us.

Not many cars in here. The security gate is locked down, but a few seconds with a power ring will fix-.

Tuppence has stopped.

"Tuppence?"

She's looking at a rather nice hatchback, which-.

"Ain't stealin' if it's an emergency."

"It would draw too much attention. Fuel deliveries haven't been happening and the power supply isn't regular."

She grunts in acceptance as the front gate opens and we advance into the city.

 

[Mr Zoat]

15th February 2013
17:48 GMT -5

The roof of the Philadelphia Museum of Art provides excellent views of the city. And the sight is…

Interesting.

The roads have been cleared, and there are lorries driving around on the city's roads. I can also see buses parked up next to warehouses and parks which are being converted into farmland, presumably to transport workers to and fro at the start and end of the working day. Over on the other side of the river the area around the Anti-Life broadcaster has been fortified with concrete bunkers and sniper nests, all of which are manned. I can see several helmeted Justifiers there, though I don't know if they're there in a leadership capacity or serving as elite fighters.

We're not far from Washington, here. This place is wired in to Mannheim's infrastructure.

"We gunna take that down?"

"No. That would attract too much attention."

Her face twitches, and she looks for another target for her aggravation.

"I'm sorry, but this really is a sneaking around sort of mission. If we need something broken, things have gone badly wrong."

"Fahn."

No one hanging about on the street, unlike Gotham. I suppose that's what happens when there's a broadcaster this close. There are guards wherever there are people, but the people being guarded don't look up or around.

A little slice of Apokolips.

The question is, how do we find someone to get basic information from? No one stopped us on the way over here, but the lowlies wouldn't stop someone and the guards… Not sure. Maybe they assume that we're going to get Anti-Lifed if they just leave us alone?

We need to either make contact with someone or find Agent Carlyle.

De-helmeting one of the Justifiers might work, but it would almost certainly alert all of the others. And… We're here now.

Alternately, we could go to S.T.A.R. and try and get their surveillance records. That would tell us who looted the place, and that might lead to where they're being held. But S.T.A.R. is at the other end of the city and I don't really want to try teleporting point to point.

Although…

"Okay, so we're looking for the Medusa Mask." I lead the way back to the roof access and inside the building. "How would you go about it?"

"Fahnd someone fancy-lookin', break bones 'till he squeals."

"What if he doesn't know?"

She shrugs moodily. "Fahnd someone else when yer done."

"And if he screams and all his friends come running?"

"Saves tahm."

We walk down through the public areas, heading towards the storage rooms in the basement. No effort has been made to loot or defile the place, and no effort has been made to preserve it either. It's mostly in reasonable shape, but there's a wet patch where a window has been propped open and rain has gotten in.

"Not really practical."

"I dunno. Why you askin' me?"

"Because someday, Tuppence, you're going to be in a position where you have to work out how to do something like this, and I won't be there to do it for you."

"Ain't mah thang."

"Well, we can have a deep and personal conversation instead if you like. You know, last I heard, your mother was three months sober, and-."

"Ahh! We could-. Blend in real good in those farms? Geht a Justifier helmet and take out the Anti-Life stuff, wear it around and ask who the local bowss is?"

"Good ideas, except that if the guards are awake they'll see that we're not under Anti-Life control. And I'm reasonably confident that the Justifiers can do the same."

"Y'all got that Anti-Life thing in yer rings, raht? Could that work?"

Hm. "I honestly don't know. It might, but it would be a risk that we couldn't assess in advance."

"Huh?"

"I'd have to put myself in that mindset, walk up to them and hope that they couldn't tell the difference. And that it wouldn't start working for real."

"Geht someone who can read their mahns?"

"Reading the minds of the workers could work. Anyone higher than that and you'd risk the telepath getting Anti-Lifed."

I generate a key card construct to get us into the staff area, swiping it through the card reader and pulling the door open.

"Cameras? They gaht cameras, raht? Watch 'em, follow where they go."

"That's a good idea. It wouldn't risk exposing us, my rings can analyse the pictures faster than someone reviewing them manually and it could give us an idea what else was going on in the area."

Staff entrance is that way, preservation work that way, staff canteen… Long term storage, that's what we want.

"Agent Carlyle, if you're in here, we're friendly!"

"Y'all already thawt a'that. Ain't that raht?"

"Yes, but I've been doing this a bit longer than you."

"If it's so smart, how come we ain't doin' it?"

"This was closer. And we do need to find him."

The entrance to long term storage-.

"Notice anything odd?"

Tuppence blinks at the forklift truck, the large workspace and the roller shutter door which would grant the forklift access. Then she notices what I noticed.

"There should be a card reader thang. It's gawn."

I look at the small rectangular hole in the wall next to the regular door.

"Yes indeed. Two obvious possibilities. They were having maintenance done and it didn't get finished-."

"Someone broke in. No dust 'round the door."

I smile at her, and she nearly smiles back.

"'No dust' means that they came in and out a lot. Otherwise there would be discrete footprints. Now, remember, if he's in here, he's probably going to be jumpy and certainly isn't expecting company." I extend filaments into the hole and trigger the mechanism to open the door. "So don't take it personally if he shoots us."

She shrugs as I pull the door open and-.

Oh dear.

 

[Mr Zoat]

15th February 2013
17:54 GMT -5

Smoke doesn't billow out, because the ash has long since settled. A small amount is kicked up by the increased airflow, causing a wave to waft from the doorway and pass over the floor. The remains of wooden packing crates are just about visible in places, as… Are human remains. No, in a place like this those should have been completely disintegrated-. Lack of oxygen? No, no, this room contains valuable and highly flammable material. The fire outpaced the sprinklers for a while. I can see patches where the soot was washed away from where it landed, but there's no drainage so it eventually just dried out again. Which suggests that the local water main has been turned off. Or… There's some other obstruction stopping it flowing into this building?

"So where's the bunker?"

Are there enough skull fragments or genetic residues for a reconstruction? Not one I'd want to depend on, but I don't think any of them are Agent Carlyle. Shame about the collection.

Hm.

Sprinklers aren't tied to a fire alarm that could be deactivated with the press of a button. It's a purely mechanical process. When the glass gets hot it breaks and then there's nothing to stop the water spraying out. The system isn't quick to trigger -unlike smoke alarms- but once it does it keeps going until the water pressure gets too low. A fire could burn in the face of that quantity of water, but only if it was very hot.

I scan the floor. Yes, chemical residue. Someone used incendiaries. The humans remains aren't good enough to tell me if they were shot first. Looks like a… Grenade? Though it could be some sort of custom mine. Not laser or plasma-.

Tuppence waves her right hand in front of my eyes.

"Just trying to work out what happened."

"Is he deyed?"

"Probably not."

She stares at me for a moment, then gestures ahead of us. I blink.

"Ev'rythang's burned up. Ain't gonna burn ahgeyan. They're deyed. There any more traps?"

"Not that I can detect. And this looks low tech."

Alright, I suppose that it doesn't exactly matter…

I walk inside, Tuppence just behind me. I.. step around the human remains, but beyond basic respect I don't think there's much point in preserving the scene of the crime. Actually…

I wave my right hand, a wave of orange gathering up the ash and melting the exterior of the mass into a container for the rest. I deposit that out of the way and then gather what I can of the human remains, laying them out off to the side.

And then I close my eyes and bow my head.

"I commend the souls of these poor unfortunates into the care of Lord Hades. I pray that he judges them generously, and that they find peace in his realm."

"… Oh."

I open my eyes to see Tuppence closing her eyes and bowing her head.

"You don't need to do that. You're not a Hellenist."

She raises her head to look at me. "No, but… I thawt we were…"

"Oh, sorry, you can say a prayer if you want. I… Just didn't think you were religious."

"Ah didn't think you were."

"I've been to Heaven and met the gods I worship. I say prayers to help the souls of the deceased reach their afterlife, and I've proven that it works. I have no 'faith' because I've never needed it. I made a deal and I'm sticking to it."

She frowns, not knowing what to make of that. "So how come you sent an angel to look aftah Mom?"

I shrug. "He was available, persuadable and capable. Ah."

"Whut?"

"I believe that I've found the 'bunker'."

I stride across the now-cleared storage room and over to a heavy metal door. There are actually several, and the rest look like they're vaults for holding the most valuable objects. This one on the other hand isn't wired up like the rest, and I can't scan the interior. Or rather, I'm getting… False but unconvincing readings, like there's a weak deception spell on the place but it doesn't know how to lie convincingly to a power ring scan. I could probably destroy it, but I'd rather not just go around destroying things when there's no need.

Tuppence grabs the door and-

"Tuppence-."

-rips it out of the frame with a screech of torn metal and a crack of fractured brickwork!

"For goodness-."

"Ah, you bothered looking for me."

A somewhat dishevelled man steps out of the darkness, a copy of the weapon I'm holding for Tuppence held unsteadily in his hands.

"And here I was looking forward to drinking my own urine again."

"That's a bit odd, Agent Carlyle. Can I offer you some actual water instead?"

His eyes narrow slightly. "No helmets, and you sound coherent. So either I'm hallucinating again, or-."

He shoots Tuppence in the centre of the chest, plasma beam blasting her across the room!

"Or you found another telepath!"

The recoil makes him stumble back, but he tries to bring his gun to bear on me as I form a railgun and load a crumbler round.

"No way would the real Orange Lantern-."

I shoot out the main electrical power cable to the primary capacitor, causing the hydrogen feed to shut down automatically.

"Read the manual? Because I did."

He looks at the gun as Tuppence picks herself up and checks the burns on her abdomen. Nothing too serious.

"Ah, nuts." He tosses his weapon aside and takes a step back. "I guess-"

He twists his lower jaw slightly to the side-.

"-I-."

I zip forward and clamp his head in a scold's bridle construct before he can bite down on his… Yes, cyanide tooth. A flash of orange and I've replaced it with a regular tooth. Check for other suicide devices… Nothing. Check his general health…

I dismiss the construct. "When was the last time you slept?"

"I can sleep…" He wobbles. "-when I'm dead. Or rather… I can't, because you can't sleep while wearing a behavioral regulator."

"That's what you're using to keep the Anti-Life out?"

"Something… Something like that."

"Okay." I raise my rings towards him. I can't replace sleep, but I can deal with some of the consequences of constant wakefulness.

He blinks hard twice as the effect hits him.

"Whoa. Okay. Shit, is she-?"

Tuppence prods her fully healed stomach, then scowls at him.

"Guess that thing needs to go back to the drawing board." He sighs. "Okay. What do you need?"

 

[Mr Zoat]

15th February 2013
17:59 GMT -5

"You got anything to eat that's not gift shop-?"

I deposit a nutritious bowl of stew on the tiny table in his 'bunker', along with a spoon. He grabs the bowl-.

"With the spoon. And eat slowly; you're not starving yet but your stomach probably isn't used to normal food."

"Right." He pushes the edge of the spoon through a piece of beef and scoops it up with a dash of gravy. "Yeah."

"So." He looks fairly alert as he chews, but he keeps it in his mouth longer than simple refuelling would require. "What happened at S.T.A.R. Philadelphia?"

"When the..? Anti-Life hit?" I nod. "Everyone freaked out. I kept-. I mean, we don't get trained for that exact thing, but I've been attacked telepathically before. I got to the senior researcher, snapped her out of it, and we started up lockdown procedures. I was… At the time, I assumed that it was a limited attack against S.T.A.R. Philadelphia rather than..."

He takes another small scoop and stares at it morosely for a moment.

"Guess we all got used to the Justice League just.. fixing stuff. I mean, right away."

"The Sheeda rather demonstrated that it doesn't just happen."

"We were still looking into how we needed to change after the Sheeda." He hiss-laughs with feigned humour. "In case you're wondering, 'increase organizational resources available to non-League superheroes' was on the list."

"And I'd have agreed with it. But please, I need to know-."

He shakes his head. "We didn't-. Nothing much happened for about… Three hours? Most of the staff were… Kind of functioning by then. I thought they were shaking off the attack. Heh."

"Were they?"

He stares into my eyes. "You know the Anti-Life doesn't work like that. You don't overcome it. You either learn to live with the feeling or you get-. Pulled under by it."

"And your… Regulator?"

"I can't get pulled under. That's all. It doesn't make it go away. And every time I nearly…" He shudders. "It's pretty obvious I got the beta test version."

"It's not common issue to S.H.A.D.E. agents?"

"I don't think I'm technically a S.H.A.D.E. agent… It says 'N.S.A.' on my badge.." He shakes his head and takes another scoop. "Doesn't matter. Anyway. Three hours. After the first hour I started making calls. Didn't get an intelligent response from anywhere. The next step was to arrange a transfer to a vault, but I didn't know how possible that was. With everything that was going on…"

I nod. "A reasonable decision, under the circumstances."

"Yeah. So, a couple of superheroes turned up. We were in lockdown, so even with them being on the authorised list they weren't allowed in. Shouldn't have been allowed in." He shakes his head again. "People inside opened the doors. Head of Research removed the lockdown."

"It didn't require your authorisation?"

"That's S.H.A.D.E. for you. We don't have a lot of official power, but people listen to us because we know what we're talking about. But my name wasn't on the list of required authorizations." He shakes his head. "You've seen what they're like. A word from someone… Higher up the Anti-Life chain, and they just do it. I don't-."

He takes another scoop of stew.

"Don't what?"

"America. Americans. I always figured that we'd do better if something like this happened. More independent, more independently minded than other people. Less prone to groupthink. So are we?"

"Not so you'd notice, though that might be because Mannheim is focusing on America. Thanks to Teth Adom, Kahndaq's probably doing the best. What happened after the researchers let the Justifiers in?"

"What do you think happened? Security was working for them. The scientists were working for them. My regulator kept me out of it… Don't know why they didn't kill me. I grabbed that gun and… Fled. Couldn't secure any of the artefacts. As… Far as I know they're all still there."

"Are they secure?"

He shakes his head. "They've got the run of the place. And that was more than a month ago. I don't… I've stuck my head out a few times, but the place is locked down by… Justifiers, you call them?"

"The ones with the helmets. It transmits Anti-Life signals right into their heads, like one-person transmitters. While it's on, you can't talk them around. The Justice League's been destroying the factories where they make them, but removing them in a fight isn't a simple matter."

He nods.

"So is the equipment still on-site?"

"As far as I know. But it's not like I can keep the place under constant watch. For all I know they've moved the equipment all around the country by now."

I nod. "We'll still have to check. Is there a secret way in?"

"The aim of a good security procedure is to stop people sneaking in. Best I can do…" He gets up and rummages around in a briefcase. "Here." He turns back with a couple of lanyards. "These are security passes. Assuming that they haven't gone through the whole system with a fine toothed comb they should still let you in. You'll still have to come up with something for human security yourself, but that'll handle the automated systems."

I take them from him and hand one to Tuppence.

"Thank you. Are they just carrying on their work?"

He shakes his head, picking up the stew again. "I don't know. They knew my face, so I couldn't risk getting back inside."

"Any particularly notable objects I should know about?"

"There were a couple of Sheeda weapons. This isn't the main site for Sheeda equipment, but there was so much that some things ended up here. Ah… Some samples of Scarecrow's fear toxins and… Drug-related things. Sorry, I only… I don't remember everything."

"That's fine, we'll make do. Do you need anything else?"

He shakes his head. "No. And there's nothing else I can do in Philadelphia anyway. If you're going to take care of S.T.A.R., then I think I'll try getting to Fawcett. Or away from the cities, anyway."

"That's probably a good plan. But don't risk yourself unnecessarily. I'm planning to have this resolved in a couple of weeks, and as long as you've got potable water you can survive that long in here."

"Yeah, I don't like the idea of hanging around and waiting for someone else to take care of things. It's un-American. Even if all I can actually do is get myself out of the way, I'll take that over sitting on my ass."

I nod. "I can respect that. Best of luck to you. Tuppence, we've got an infiltration to plan."

 

[Mr Zoat]

5th June 2000
18:12 GMT -6

It's strange, walking through Alliance headquarters like this. Most of the personnel are… I don't know if they're deliberately staying out of my way or if… Well, between Rinaker's betrayal and newly enthroned Director Walter Logan's new direction, they're 'considering their positions'. I doubt that he's looking at a palace coup; with Trueblood dead there isn't really anyone who might want to mount a direct challenge who has the internal support to be successful in doing so. But if enough people just quit, either because they think the organisation is illegitimate or because they don't want to reach an accommodation with aliens, then it will collapse and some branch of the American government will absorb its assets.

The two agents on guard duty outside of Director Logan's briefing room shift uncomfortably as I approach, but maintain their discipline. The left one nods.

"You can go right in. The Director and his other guest are waiting for you."

I'm not sure why Director Logan wanted to talk to me personally. Chauf's head of the Conduit, Mab rules the Banshee, Dorn leads the vampire… Contribution, and Jerich will be heading back to his people's homeworld just as soon as he can repair his hyperdrive. I don't have the authority to speak for anyone except myself. I don't even have the authority to speak for Percival.

Oh well.

I push the door open and step inside the meeting room. The Director smiles politely and nods at me from his position at the head of the table, while Dorn… Sits, on the far side of the table. He isn't using a disguise so his serpentine tail is awkwardly draped over his seat to avoid him towering over us. His face is expressionless, his eyes staring as if he were trying to pierce my faceplate.

The tip of his tail twitches slightly as my armour brightens slightly.

"Thank you for coming, Green Knight." The Director gestures to a chair opposite Dorn. "Please, take a seat."

Maintaining my robotic demeanour, I pull out the indicated chair and sit in it.

"As I said after we defeated the shadoen, I want to bring all of the alien inhabitants of the Earth under the Alliance's umbrella. And a part of that is… Resolving any outstanding disputes that might prevent people from working together. Mister Dorn has asked me to arbitrate a peace settlement between you and his Family."

I turn my head to look directly at Dorn, his face expressionless.

"You have been quite effective at attacking our operations. I want to know what it will cost me for that to stop."

I clasp my hands on the table before me, then remain motionless for a few moments. Then I move my right hand and reach down to pick up the text-to-speech machine one of the Alliance agents gave me as a replacement for my notepad when their sign language interpreter admitted that he didn't understand BSL.

My right hand glows green as I bypass the keyboard.

"Nothing."

Dorn's eyes flick to the Director for a moment.

"That could be interpreted in two different ways."

"We will never be friends. But your Family stepped up when you could have hid or fled. You have earned my forbearance."

"Oh." He doesn't really smile, but his posture relaxes a little. "That's-."

"But there are conditions."

He actually stays relaxed. "I had assumed. What are they?"

"Your Family stepped up. Intracom. Other unaligned vampire families remain targets."

Now he smiles. "When is the cut-off?"

"Two weeks."

The Director looks slightly puzzled. "Pardon me?"

Dorn turns to look at him. "The Green Knight has apparently decided that I'm the best person to lead not merely my family, but all vampires on Earth. I was planning on trying to pressure the others into accepting my leadership anyway, but being able to include protection from the Green Knight as part of the package will strengthen my negotiating position. He has built up quite a reputation." He turns back to me. "I assume you want something else as well."

"All thralls are to be released and compensated."

"That's a.. Hard sell."

"It is necessary. You are public now. Your technology will be in high demand."

The Director shakes his head. "Releasing advanced technology to national governments is risky. I haven't even briefed the President on what exactly it is that we have."

Dorn looks mildly pained for a moment, then waves his left hand. "We can withhold weapons technology if that's what bothers you. Intracom computer systems are still generations ahead of-."

"No. Weapons are necessary. We need to be ready for the next shadoen fleet."

The Director regards me levelly. "Do you have intelligence?"

"Analysis of shadoen computer systems. It will not come immediately, but they already know that their ships were destroyed. The next fleet will be assembled within a few years. The Alliance is not designed to manufacture advanced weapons in sufficient volume. Intracom could."

Dorn grins. "Just selling off our existing stock alone could-. We could easily cover the costs of liberating our thralls. And we can compensate the.. poor unfortunate souls so cruelly enslaved by my predecessor."

Director Logan is significantly less sanguine about the idea than Mr. Dorn, but cautiously nods. "Subject to normal arms trading laws."

"Everyone saw the fleet, Director Logan. The cat is out of the bag. The horse has bolted. Those laws will be changed if it means panicking countries get what they think they need. Let us not pretend that you are not using that panic as well."

He nods resignedly. "It might take a little pressure off the Alliance if the US army could buy from a private company."

Dorn eyes me curiously. "This isn't what I was expecting. I assumed that you'd want a pound of flesh."

"The Earth is more important. However, since you are now committed to legitimate business practices, I will expect anyone who breaks the law to face punishment under established law. This is clemency, not immunity. In exchange, I will hand over vampire criminals to established authorities rather than killing them myself."

Dorn nods. "I imagine that they would prefer that. Today does seem to be the day for intelligent men to be honest. And I have no use for the unenlightened."

"I will also require your support on one matter."

"Name it."

"If we are integrating resident aliens into human society, it follows that they should be allowed to participate in policing the agreements we are signing."

"I thought this was a treaty agreed between signatories. If I have a problem with something, I will speak to Director Logan directly."

"That is impractical. We must become one civilisation, otherwise the trust we require will not exist. If the nature of vampire civilisation on Earth comes to too wider attention, it is likely that our agreement will be superseded by the wrath of the masses. Ultimately, Intracom must become a business that happens to be vampire owned and managed, rather than an extra-territorial hanse. We must all be committed."

He thinks for a moment, his eyes growing distant.

"You want me to find vampires to train as Alliance agents? Director?"

Director Logan nods slowly. "I wasn't going to rush that, but I'm not against the idea. As Robert Peel said, 'the police are the public and the public are the police'. If we're integrating our societies, that means vampires taking part in government and civil society."

He tilts his head slightly to the left. "And the Conduit will be similarly committed?"

"Yes." I dismiss my helmet. "We are."

 

[Mr Zoat]

15th February 2013
18:32 GMT -5

A brief application of orange light gave Tuppence a military uniform, and she's got dour down without any added training. I've duplicated the dress and face of a researcher from the Gotham branch of S.T.A.R. Labs named Doctor Alistair for myself , and I can duplicate their knowledge base reasonably well through the use of my power rings database. None of it will pass detailed examination if S.T.A.R. Philadelphia can check a central database, but… Someone with a key card already inside the building and dressed correctly? It's unlikely that anyone would check in detail under normal circumstances. If they do and I can't talk my way out of it? Then it goes from a stealth mission to a combat mission.

"Cain't y'all jus' wipe their computers?"

"Not the usual easy way with my ring. I could build an electromagnetic pulse generator and activate it to fry every circuit for miles around… And leave it in active mode so that they couldn't just connect to an external database to double check."

"Raight. That."

"Except an E.M.P. going off just before we turn up is a really obvious sign that we're up to something, and S.T.A.R. Labs may well be shielded against electromagnetic radiation at levels that won't melt people too."

She frowns-.

"Oh, you'd be fine. You're tough enough and heal fast enough that you could take it. But my general feeling is that if we have to kill a million people then it would probably be better to just back off and have a rethink."

"Uh… Huh."

Okay, rings in my pocket, put the car in gear and pull out of the car park. I don't drive a lot and my car has a slightly different control setup but I can just about remember how these things work. Indicate, turn, ignore the instinctual feeling that I'm on the wrong side of the road and accelerate. The buses appear to be driving within normal safety parameters, so I do the same. It's interesting to have to look at my surroundings rather than using ring mapping. No other traffic around, but given the more limited number of traffic cameras in Philadelphia compared to London I don't think I need to worry about them checking my precise point of origin.

A few minutes of safe driving and we're pulling into the car park of S.T.A.R. Labs Philadelphia. We passed a few guards in the street but there doesn't appear to be anyone on duty here.

Tuppence goes to open her door and then hesitates, looking at me for guidance. I give a very shallow nod because there are cameras on the front of the building, and she exits the car before coming around and opening my door. I step out of the car and begin walking towards the front door of S.T.A.R. Labs Philadelphia without looking back, trying to emulate the odd facial expression of people who accept the Anti-Life. It's… Mostly blank, but there's a slight hint of both happiness and ferocity that… Doesn't naturally occur in sane people. People who don't particularly have anything going on in their heads but will happily throw themselves at anything that they're told to.

There's a 'clunk' behind me as Tuppence closes the door, and then she walks after me. Her pace is slightly faster than mine so that she'll catch up, but not fast enough to draw attention. I guess she's learned something since she got out of Belle Reve. Or she's just been watching spy films, I suppose.

The card reader is mounted on the side of the door, and there doesn't appear to be any other mechanism to check my identity. The card should be enough, and there's no reason for the person I'm pretending to be to put his other hand in his pocket, but this is a potential point of failure.

I swipe the card and push at the door.

The magnetic lock doesn't disengage and I reach up to swipe my card again-.

There's a buzz and a light changes from red to green as it opens.

Back to calm, I push it fully open as I stride inside, Tuppence following behind-.

"Halt."

A.. robot that puts me in mind of the ones Bialya…

It wasn't Bialya. It was Mannheim. That's why Queen Bee agreed to see-. Getting rid of competition? Or just.. trying to concentrate power in Adom? I'm not sure.. why-. Not relevant right now.

The robot is pointing some sort of Apokoliptian weapon at us. I could easily evade with my rings and Tuppence could either dodge it or tank it, but it makes more sense for our characters to comply.

"Present identification."

I hold up my card, face forward. I hear a slight rustle of fabric as Tuppence gets hers out and does the same. The robot deploys a sensor to scan each of them before returning it to its housing.

"Personnel authorised. Explain presence."

"I was ordered to come here."

"Inadequate."

"I do not ask questions. Mannheim is."

"Acceptable. State purpose."

"S.T.A.R. Philadelphia holds materials relevant to the Demonic Metamorphosis Nectar research program. I was dispatched to confirm its location and transfer it to S.T.A.R. Gotham."

"Logged. Continue your assigned task. All is one in Mannheim."

"All glory to Mannheim."

The robot doesn't retreat or lower its guns, but why would it? It's in the best place to do its job. Right, main storage is that way, but that's one of the places where other people are likely to be, and the more people we run into the higher the chance of getting identified. The research laboratories are next to it, and have the same problem. Even if I can just open the door with this key card.

But I can check the lists of objects in storage from anywhere inside that same section, including the hot desking office. It's probably in use; nothing I've seen suggests that the Anti-Lifed people don't value record keeping. But people won't be anything like as alert there.

So I lead the way away from the reception area as if I was heading for main storage, then take a turning just before I reach it and head toward the office block. A few people pass us by, but they only give us a dead-eyed glance before continuing with their own tasks.

I keep looking blank. Tuppence is giving them suspicious looks, but that works for her character.

Another swipe of the card, and we're in to the office. Let's see. Need a desk that's not immediately in anyone's direct view, but doesn't look like I'm trying to hide. And a view of the door, because if we're spotted they probably won't escalate to destroying the entire building before trying a squad of soldiers and a couple of robots first.

That one, that will do.

I sit down, slide my key card into the slot and then touch my ring to get access to Doctor Alistair's log-in details. Give it a moment… And I'm in. I can navigate the records easily enough because I've used this system when logging objects recovered from supervillains. They don't appear to have made any changes, but I wouldn't necessarily know if they've set up something to notify someone if anyone accesses a particular record. Would the Apokoliptians care about the Medusa Mask? I wouldn't have thought so, but I can't be certain.

So I check for objects that relate to my stated purpose first. No demonic tissue in storage at all. Drugs… Yes, quite a lot, and they're experimenting with more in a way that I'm sure is going to cause more problems later. Venom, Blockbuster, Fever, Tar, Smilex, Danner Formula, and a few things I'm not immediately familiar with.

Nothing relating to Devil Jizz, which is a mercy.

Now I switch to the relic archive. Medusa Mask… Listed as missing. As of… The date of the Anti-Life broadcaster activation.

But… Missing. They wouldn't list it as missing if they'd taken it themselves. Would they? That wouldn't make sense. Can I call up security footage from here? That would help cover the stuff that Agent Carlyle didn't-.

The door opens, and I navigate away from that page as a guard walks in. For a moment I think it might just be a patrol, but then he walks towards me with purpose.

"Doctor Alistair."

"Yes."

"The boss will speak with you. Follow me."

 

[Mr Zoat]

15th February 2013
18:42 GMT -5

We're not heading towards the Chief Administrator's office, or the Head of Research's office. If I remember the interior layout correctly we're heading toward… Aquatic research? Yes, that sign confirms it. I can't ask who the city boss is, because there's a good chance that that's something that I would instinctively know if I was who I'm pretending to be. I assume that the reason for an escort is… Because I wouldn't automatically know where they are? Or the layout of the building?

Can I ask the guard questions? No, no, that's probably not a good idea.

So what can I do? Both empathic vision and power ring scans are bad ideas in close proximity to Anti-Life sources, even if I could probably walk it off. Any reaction from me would be an outward sign that something was off with me.

"Cards."

We each scan our cards as we enter the aquatic research centre. The main pool which they use for depth testing is just down the corridor, and the cheap floor carpet has been replaced by water resistant floor tiles. The front desk isn't manned, and the guard leads us directly past it and towards the pool area.

I try listening for some sort of clue, but I can't hear-. No, there's a faint splashing sound. There's something in the water, but I can't tell what. Can't see in the door windows yet-.

"Wait here."

The guard doesn't point to anywhere in particular so I just stop where I'm standing. Tuppence does the same as he walks through the doors into the pool area, the awkward angle not giving us a good look inside before the doors close behind him.

Hm. Artificial lights make everything look a little orange. I'll take a small risk.

I reach into my pocket with my left hand, touching one of my rings while being careful to desire the absolute minimum of environmental shield. Then I send a filament into the floor looking for a computer cable. There should be-. Yes, there it is. Spoof a terminal, enter log-in details, request surveillance records for the period of the initial take-over… Available, good. Download.

Compliance.

Have to go through that later.

The doors open again, the guard coming as close as he needs to in order to trigger the mechanism.

"Come."

I walk forward obediently, entering the pool…

Room.

That's not Nanaue Sha'ark. The proportions are slightly out and his head's a little too large. And there's a faint striped pattern across the scales on his back, and… He's appreciably larger.

And I've never seen Nanaue bite someone's left leg off.

The poor woman he's holding in his right hand doesn't really react as her blood pours out of the wound. This shark-man doesn't chew… Most likely because he can't, but he gives the leg he just bit off several chomps to… Make it a little more digestible, I suppose?

Then he stops, meat hanging from his mouth as he stares up at her. She appears to have lost consciousness-.

**Bah.**

A ray of brilliant white energy erupts from his forehead, striking the bleeding stump of her thigh and cauterising it. Then he tosses her onto the poolside, where a couple of laboratory technicians await his direction

And now I know who this is. The Shark. Karshon, for the sake of avoiding being confused with the dozen or so villains who named themselves after sharks. And the entire city-state of Nanaue. Fought Lantern Jordan several times, mostly out of a desire to become the deadliest thing around.

**What's the point if they can't feel fear? It's like feeding on carrion.**

He mashes his teeth together a few more times, then raises his right hand to his mouth to push the remaining meat in as he swallows. The woman… Should survive. She lost consciousness from loss of blood, but the bleeding has now stopped. Except… Anti-Life exposure can increase the rate of shock fatalities, as the injured party doesn't have any motivation to keep living. And… It probably disrupts background magics as well.

Karshon isn't a particularly good telepath. He can project emotion well, but none of Jordan's reports made any mention of him using subtlety. I probably don't have to worry about him rooting around in my mind. But I keep my left hand near my power ring anyway.

**You.** He twists in the water, looking down at me and raising his right hand to wash the worst of the blood away from his mouth. **Do you have something for me?**

Wait a.. second. He doesn't feel Anti-Lifed.

"Lord?"

**Do you want to fight me?**

Yes. "No."

**Then address me as Karshon. You are human krill. Being acknowledged by you insults me.**

"Karshon. I was not ordered to bring anything to you."

I could ask what he was expecting, but that seems like a degree of initiative beyond what someone who is Anti-Lifed should show.

His mouth opens slightly, and I can see the blood and flesh that still coat his multi-rowed teeth. But with him, the bite isn't the most dangerous part. It's the telepathy, followed by the speed and strength. He's actually more likely to throw a punch in a fight than waste time biting, and he's more likely to force alien thoughts into your mind than either.

**Your potions are the only reason why I let any of you live, and they sent you here without one? I should kill you and then go to Gotham to eat your boss-krill.**

My instinct is to defend myself. If this were a normal criminal organisation, that's what Dr. Alistair would do. But we're supposed to have been Anti-Lifed. I wouldn't have the sense of self-preservation to do that.

"Yes, Karshon. We live for Mannheim, we-."

**Silence.**

Sharks don't have facial expression, so I don't get any feedback in that regard. He's not human and has no human ancestors, so I can't rely on any sort of body language analysis. Given how close he is, I'm… Not sure that I could raise an environmental shield strong enough to block his first attack. If he attacked physically.

He wants to fight strong and brave people and break their will. Fill them with fear. That was why he kept throwing himself at Jordan for as long as he did. As I'm presenting, he has no interest in me at all. As I actually am, he'd be very interested in fighting me, but I'm trained to turn telepathic probes aside and he hasn't had any formal training at all. Jordan's descriptions made him sound relatively clumsy, only having an advantage because green power rings are unusually susceptible to that sort of attack.

**You have nothing.**

I do actually have a small sample of Devil Jizz from a raid I carried out last year. I've got no idea what it would do to him, but if it gets me out of his presence…

I tap my ring and move the sample vial out of subspace and into my pocket. He doesn't appear to notice the brief glow, but I don't suppose that sharks have particularly good colour vision. I then take the vial out and hold it up to him.

"This was something that I was studying. But if you have need of it then it is yours, Karshon."

There's a grey blur and he's out of the pool and snatching it out of my hand, knocking me away painfully. Ow. I don't think anything's broken, and it wouldn't be in character for me to respond anyway.

**Better.** He turns away and gets back in his pool. **Go back to whatever you were doing.**

"Yes, Karshon."

Without much expression-.

"Karshon, do you want us to remove the woman?"

Tuppence's face isn't as blank as mine, but she's doing a respectable job, under the circumstances. Speaking up was a risk, but to be honest he doesn't seem all that concerned with exactly how we behave.

**Yes. Get that waste of time out of my sight.**

I give Tuppence a tiny smile and a tiny nod of approval as she walks around the edge of the pool to recover his victim. I can replace her leg just before we leave, but now we need to get somewhere out of sight and go over the video logs.

 

[Mr Zoat]

15th February 2013
18:50 GMT -5

The closest office is.. actually the Chief Administrator's office. No one else is in the area, so I open the door with a brief application of power ring and stride inside as if I own the place. Tuppence carries the woman in after me and after a brief look around deposits her on a chair in the corner.

"We-?"

She closes the door and then goes around closing the blinds. Then she does a quick manual check for anything she might have missed.

"We safe?"

I touch my ring and take a sound deadening field generator out of subspace. I could take a enchanted stone, but… Someone around here knows their way around magic, and while a S.T.A.R. researcher might have something to isolate sound, they wouldn't have a custom produced Atlantean magic tool.

There's a camera in the room, but it doesn't record sound.

"As safe as we're likely to get inside enemy territory."

"Who the fuck was that?"

"He's a mutant shark. A psychic. He fought Green Lantern a few times. Don't know how he got here, but it's not a huge shock."

I log in once more as Doctor Alistair and bring up security camera footage from the day of the take-over.

"An' what the fuck did-? You was jus' gunna leave her to geht et."

"If necessary. But he was pretty clear that he wasn't going to eat her."

"Kin y'all… Geht 'er a new leg?"

"Yes. But if I do that here and now it'll be a bit obvious."

My eyes move from the recordings playing on the screen to Tuppence and she stares at me.

"What? Surprised?"

She nods.

"Tuppence, there are superheroes like Superman who are genuinely lovely people. People who always try to see the best in people, always pull their punches… Outside of a completely apocalyptic situation at least. I am a good deal more ruthless. I helped you and Thomas because, one, you're not that bad a person and two, I had the time and resources. Here, we're trying to save the planet. If that means that I have to watch a few people get eaten then that's what I'll do, because the world's more important. Do you want to watch this?"

She hesitates, and then walks around the desk.

"Oh, and… It was a risk, but good work getting her away from him."

She shrugs, shaking her head. "Ah ain't gonna let her get eaten. What we lookin' at, anyhow?"

I point. "This is where the Mask was being stored. They weren't doing any tests on it that day, but we should be able to track where it goes."

"How come you ain't usin' yer ring?"

"I am, but purely analysing this with my ring would make detecting me a little easier. I'll just use it to-" I increase the playback speed until the figures on the screen blur. "-speed things up… And…"

We reach the point where the Anti-Life broadcast started, and people react in line with what we've seen. Some collapse, some just sort of rock back and forth and others keep doing what they were doing before, only… Without the focus they had only a moment before. It's all silent, so I can't hear any moaning…

Wait.

Ring, find Agent Carlyle.

Compliance.

The recording jumps… Forward, showing… Showing him enter the building with the key card he gave me.

"Stop. Was he in the building at any time before that?"

The images jump… A couple of days before. He's talking to… A member of the aquatic research team. Rewinding… Yes, he's meeting them in their office, checking over the facilities…

No meeting with the Head of Research. Or Chief Administrator.

I mean, I can only check what the cameras saw. They don't have full coverage. And if they spoke on the telephone…

Tuppence is frowning too.

Okay, okay, where did he go after he entered the building?

"He wuz lye'n."

"Yes indeed he was. But I don't know why."

I move the screen back to his point of entry, and then play at times five speed.

He walks in… Clearly knows where he's going, and isn't affected by the Anti-Life. That… Tracks. Unless-. No, no, if he were under the influence I'd have… Felt it.

I think.

But in any case I think I know where this is-.

He walks into storage with a trolley, and… The interior camera shows him loading stuff up. I see the Mask for half a second-. No, he's not just grabbing everything. He's going for specific things. He knows where things are.

So… Did he have this planned and was just waiting for an opportunity? Did he.. know in advance that it was going to happen-.

The shark. The first time Jordan fought him, he found a way to turn him back into a normal…

I enter the database, looking for records on aquatic creatures and… Mutagens. Jordan never found out exactly what it was that turned a normal tiger shark into Karshon, but-.

They had him. A tiger shark. He was here in normal animal mode.

Carlyle recovered the mutagen from the vault. He-.

The Head of Research appears to have regained some of his wits. He says something to Carlyle, who draws a gun and shoots him. Fatally.

"Asshole!"

"Depends why he did it. He's a baseline human: he can't just bulldoze past obstacles like we can."

It's a bad angle, but it looks like he's… Yes, that's Karshon, mutating from normal shark to his augmented form. He and Carlyle appear to have a short conversation. Which suggests that Karshon maintains his memories while in animal form.

And then Carlyle heads out of the building, shooting anyone who tries to stop him. I watch as Justifiers enter the building through the front doors. He spots them and recognises… Something about them, and he turns and runs. They pursue, but security cameras aren't good at getting the details in fights like this. He pulls out some sort of short staff and waves it and most of the Justifiers go down.

And then we lose them as he heads to the roof exit.

"He jus' robbed the place."

"Maybe. He didn't have that stuff on him when we met him. It's possible that someone else has it, but either way he's got some questions to answer. And we still need the Mask."

I log off the computer and stand up.

"Let's get out of-."

"'fussssssh'"

 

[Mr Zoat]

15th February 2013
18:54 GMT -5

Red blood sprays out of my.. neck-.

Going dark…

Get the… Ring-.

…

"-up!"

Hu-?

I'm-. I'm over Tuppence's shoulder, being held on my one-.

I glance up, see a scientist point some sort of ray gun at us and fire a construct filament to grab it out of her hand!

One arm. We're not far from the office and-. The alarm's going off.

"I'm good."

She tosses me aside and I fly next to-.

Her chest and neck are covered in blood, and her right hand joins her left in clamping her neck. I grab her with a flight aura and zoom down the corridor. Scan for… Great, just about everyone I can scan is heading this way. Can't detect Onomatopoeia and I can't pick up anything outside of the building.

"W-what was that?"

No storm drains near here, and I don't want to get trapped underground. Go out through a wall or head to the roof? Wall route… Can't get a clear scan of some places and I'll run into some people in any direction. Route to the roof looks relatively clear.

"Cover's blown and the Mask's not here. Time to leave."

I begin flying us towards the lift and she glares at me, her hands tightening their grip.

"Tell me-!"

"His name's Onomatopoeia, and he makes things happen by making the sounds they make."

Scan the office-. Yeah, he made my-. Our jugulars burst. Ring's on my finger-. I grab the other one and put it on as well, then form a construct compression bandage.

"Tuppence, it was a small cut and you heal fast. Let go. If it's still bleeding then I'll deal with it."

She takes a couple of breaths to steady herself and then pulls her hands away-

We're going more slowly than we should. Don't know why. Can't feel an Anti-Life infection… Don't know.

-and partially solidified blood oozes between her fingers and down her neck but the wound itself appears to have sealed itself. I generate a crumbler ram and slam it into the lift doors before flying us through the hole and up the shaft. A quick orange glow removes the worst of the blood from her neck and takes a mirror out of subspace so she can check it.

"See?" Her eyes lock onto her reflection and she stares at her neck for a good two seconds. "You'll need to eat more later, but the Danner Formula makes you heal fast."

She nods and I put the mirror back into subspace before slamming my crumbler ram into the top floor lift shaft door. "Ah ain't never been cut lahk that before."

"Me neither. You put my ring on my finger?"

"Yeah."

Interesting. "Didn't think about putting it on yourself?"

"Gawd no."

"'wup poof'"

I stop us in the air, looking out at the ladder up to the roof.

"What-? Y'all heard that, raht?"

"Yes." Construct armour and railgun. "Lethal force authorised."

"No she-yet."

I fly up the ladder, bulldozing the exit and looking for my target. Tuppence jumps up through what's left a moment later. He's-.

"'boof'"

I slam face first into a fucking mime force field! I take a sound suppression system out of subspace and throw it-

"'kssssh'"

-at him, only for its battery to explode and electrocute all of its delicate internal components.

Lasers.

They-

"'poof'"

-miss completely as he teleports away scrambler!

…

Don't know if I got him, but I rather doubt it. Even if I was in time, his teleportation is probably magic-based and I can't stop that.

Enhanced optical scan upwards… Yes, there are Mannheim-controlled jets within view but even if they turn this way they'll need time to reach us. I grab Tuppence again and fly up-

"'woom'"

-and straight into a faintly glowing barrier which… Appears to have covered the entire city. How is-

"'krack'"

"A-AGH!"

Tuppence's right shin is now… Bent at ninety degrees forwards. Mine is too, but a quick flash of orange fixes that. Onomatopoeia is… There, finally spotted him. Smoke grenades and lasers, and then drop down out of his line of sight and hope that he needs to see us to use his ability on us.

"You regenerate! Push it back into position!"

"Wha-?"

She's not doing it. I generate a leg support construct around the break.

"This will hurt. Ready?"

She nods, the pain making tears leak from her eyes. The Danner formula doesn't do anything about the pain if you actually get hurt, other than fix the injury faster. So I-

"Ah-!"

-force the bone back into position and then create a metal clamp to hold it in place while she regenerates.

Bullets fired from the ground hit my construct armour and her skin, doing nothing but remind me that there isn't a safe place in Philadelphia.

Where do we go now?

 

[Mr Zoat]

15th February 2013
18:57 GMT -5

Justifiers are heading this way from across the city. I'm manoeuvrable enough that I can avoid most of them, but I'm more worried about being hemmed in. Burrowing underground to escape the bubble over the city seems like the best bet, but we need the Mask and I still don't know where it is!

Alright, hologram generator. Stick one on the building there and another there, drop smoke and use a third to hide our location as I head… Towards the Philadelphia Water Department Field Office because we should still check it. Close to a wall because you can't perfectly disguise a sphere with holograms without cutting down the angles it can be viewed from. I have no idea how Onomatopoeia perceives the world, so… Just have to try avoiding him.

"Where we-?"

"Shh. Quietly."

"Where we goin'?"

"The Philadelphia Water Department Field Office. We can't really keep searching for the Mask while they're all riled up like this, so we're evading."

"How much trouble we eeyn?"

This part of the city is mostly two-storey buildings, so I change my flight pattern to float just over the roofs. That should limit the angles from which we're visible.

"Eh. I'm pretty sure I can get us out of the city by burrowing down and getting out from under the barrier that way. But…"

I try scanning for Agent Carlyle, and… Get nothing coherent. Infrared gets me more useful information, but only really shows that people are spreading out, both civilians and Justifiers. Searching for us. I see… Children, leave the nearby houses and blankly stare about in response to some impulse relayed through the Anti-Life.

"Without a lead, we might have to scrub the mission, which is going to make things… Difficult."

There's no reply as I land us on the Water Department roof.

"Tuppence?"

She looks like she's about to…. Throw up? Curl up in pain?

"Tuppence?"

"Get… Gettin' worse."

The Water Department is another two-floor building and has no roof access. There are a few people inside, but when you've got a mind control economy some things can be ignored.

Can't see Onomatopoeia anywhere…

"I'd never broken a bone before I became a superhero. I guess that was your first time as well?"

She nods, breathing hard and squeezing her eyes shut.

"It ain't… Tawkin' about that."

"What's it talking about, then?"

"Lahk… How we already lost, how all we c'n do is watch ev'ry one who already got taken over do what Mannheim wants."

"Oh, yeah, fixing human civilisation after this is going to be a lot of work." Though I'm kind of looking forward to it. There's so much room for improvement! "But Mannheim's making a rod for his own back here. Darkseid would be fine in a universe where he's the only thing that can think, but all Mannheim is doing is turning himself into an extension of Darkseid. He's already stopped existing in any meaningful way. You, on the other hand, are still here, so really you're doing better than him."

"Aha ain't-. Lahk… Ah did some stuff, but ah figured… Stuff lahk this happened, the Justice League would deal with iht."

"We are. Darkseid doesn't really care about this world; Mannheim won't get given anything that he doesn't already have." I shake my head. "Creation is harder than destruction. I could make everyone in this city… Except maybe the Justifiers… I could make them want anything I want them to want. But that wouldn't free them, just make them my puppets rather than Mannheim's. And then he'd almost certainly turn up in person, so even if it wasn't pointless it would.. be... Self destructive."

That doesn't seem to be working. I think I'm doing 'reassurance' wrong. When your emotions are overwhelming you, I doubt that a well-reasoned rational answer is really the answer.

So I hug her instead.

Not grabbing her hard, not… The way I hug Jade or anything like that. Don't want a repeat of Zatanna. Just friendly reassurance sort of thing, in the hope that my close presence will calm her down. From her heart rate it sounds like it's working a little.

Ah… Give it a moment..?

"Feeling better?"

She pulls away, nodding grudgingly. "Ah hate this. Ah hate feelin' this."

I nod. "Quite understandable. Ready to go in-"

Her head jerks up, blinking. "It's gawn."

"-side… Ah, did you have some sort of grand philosophical revelation? Because if so, congratulations."

"N-. No." She shakes her head, frowning. "Ah don't think ah did, anyhow. How would ah know?"

"Did certain things that confused and bothered you before not bother you anymore?"

"No? Ah ain't gaht a voice gowin' awn about it no more, but that awl still… Ah mean, it's a problem, ain't it?"

"Okay." I frown. "Just a second."

Keeping the hologram projector on me and projecting a random section of sky, I fly upward, looking towards the city centre. People… People have stopped moving. Some of them are sort of looking around like… Like they've just been freed. The Justified are still moving, but there's a bit more… Uncertainty. I… Don't know what could have done this. The broadcaster is still there-.

The force garrisoning it… Doesn't appear to be there any longer.

Magnify.

A lot of them left, presumably to look for me and Tuppence. The rest are very dead, Karshon standing blood-covered over their remains.

I guess he wasn't Anti-Lifed, then.

Someone… Agent Carlyle, is standing by the broadcasters with the Mask on his face. Is he using it to disrupt the broadcast? I didn't realise that it could be used to do that by itself. If he's freed the whole city with it-. I mean, it's got possibilities as a technique but it's probably just going to bring Finality Man down on our heads.

Looks like Karshon's saying something to-.

**All will fear me.**

A cry goes up from the city, a scream from the mouths of the people who had been ground under by the Anti-Life for so long. Below me Tuppence crouches down, arms wrapped around her knees. Others out across the city cower or try to hide while the Justified start running or jumping in vehicles to get back to the broadcaster as fast as they can.

And Karshon starts to grow.

 

[Mr Zoat]

15th February 2013
19:01 GMT -5

Karshon started at about two metres tall. He doubles that almost immediately and then keeps going. Two Justifiers who were in the immediate area step out from behind cover and open fire with automatic rifles. They don't do any damage that I can see. Karshon… Doesn't just blast them with a psybolt. Instead, he dashes over to them, grabs them in one oversized hand and-.

Ah.

I think he was trying to pull their helmets off. Unfortunately he took their heads off with them.

He drops the bodies, his head angling towards the direction which the largest concentration of Justifiers are coming from.

So he's definitely not the city boss. He was just… Openly infiltrating, because Team Anti-Life just assumes that if you're not attacking them then you'll fall to the Anti-Life eventually, and the people who do aren't good at questioning. So is Onomatopoeia in charge? I have no idea what the sound of a giant shark's bones breaking are.

Okay, majority of the city… The people aren't having a good time of it but only the Justifiers are immediately in danger. Tuppence first.

I drop down, quick-fabricating a spy drone and sending it towards the broadcaster. Tuppence is exactly where I left her, dropping into a foetal position. Fortunately, she doesn't pull away when I put my right hand on her left shoulder.

"Karshon has-."

"Ah-huh ah-huh ah-huh…"

Mentioning his name made it worse. Okay.

"He is on the other side of the city fighting Justifiers. He's not coming here and doesn't know where we are. You're relatively safe."

Okay, her eyes are focusing a little better, but it's clear that she's still nearly out of her mind. She can't fight like this, or even act as support. I could try flooding her with orange light, but that sounds like something that would leave her pretty messed up. What else-?

I use a quick burst of sonic energy to check that the Water Department building has the internal structure that the plans suggest. Mostly, one reinforced cellar isn't to official specifications. I drop down to look in a window and all of the staff are in the same position as Tuppence. They aren't in any position to report our presence and I can't see anyone wearing a Justifier helmet. Good.

I rapid-fly to the door, unlock it and rapid-fly inside, dodging around obstacles until I reach the well-locked door to the out-of-spec basement. The locking system is a bit more advanced than the one on the entrance door, but isn't particularly complicated. A quick application of ring and I'm through, into… A disused store room. Another scan… There, there's a hatch going down into the utility tunnels, but the room below it is far larger than it needs to be, and the floor here is reinforced. A moment's work with the ring and then fly down.

**Know absolute terror.**

Looks like a room an engineer might pull an overnight stay in. Open up the cupboard… Yes, there we go. A couple of devices marked as 'behavioral regulators'. Might be a good idea to give one to Batman for mass production, but-. There's a manual, good. Scan it, and then fly back to Tuppence.

Oh my. I don't need to magnify anymore. Karshon is clearly visible, his body now large enough that I can see him around the tallest buildings in the city. He fires a psybolt at something, but one of the Justifiers throws up a purple beam of their own at it and the psybolt veers off course.

Is he trying to bring Mannheim here?

Alright, connecting the regulator up. This part goes around the neck-.

"Tuppence, I'm putting something on you to try and block the effect."

She's just… Staring blankly ahead at the moment.

And this part goes along her spine… And on.

No obvious change in her behaviour. Check the manual… Oh. Her Danner-enhanced tissue is probably blocking the radio waves better than normal flesh. But I can fix that…

Tuppence sits up, suddenly aware!

"Back with me?"

"That-that-." She takes a couple of breaths. "What the fuck was theyat?"

"Agent Carlyle used the Medusa Mask on the Anti-Life broadcaster, creating mass fear. Karshon has-." I look past her, and he's-. I just point. "I knew that he liked fear, I didn't realise that it literally made him stronger."

"What now?"

"Um. Good question."

We still need that mask. The people under those Justifier helmets are probably mostly good people, and Karshon definitely isn't. On the other hand… Just killing Mannheim and/or Finality Man would represent a major victory. It would be like… Using the Elements of Harmony on King Sombra. You still need to actually have the Crystal Fair, but there's no longer any sort of hurry.

Do I think he can pull it off? Don't know. No way to know.

How would I fulfil my own objective? Fly over there, destroy the broadcaster and take the Mask by force. Then burrow out and leave Agent Carlyle and Karshon to their fates. That would temporarily free the local people from the constant Anti-Life broadcast, though the Justified would have it up and running again in a few days. And there are so many Anti-Life broadcasters on the east coast of America that it isn't really practical to evacuate them, which is why that isn't standard practice.

So what if I don't destroy the broadcaster and just nobble Agent Carlyle?

He'll almost certainly be killed if I don't evacuate him as well. Morally… He made a choice whereas the Justified thought they were signing up to be superheroes. Saving one of them is a better option. Karshon would probably shrink down, and… He'd have to choose between going down fighting and running for the shoreline. It's close by, and he could easily make the swim. The city would still be Anti-Lifed, but the only immediate threat appeared to be Karshon himself.

Someone fires a heavy plasma weapon at him from a building, and he responds with a psybolt that turns the entire building to rubble.

Or I ally myself with Karshon, defeat the Justified with a minimal number of casualties, remove their helmets and wait for a larger counterattack before deciding whether to leg it or not.

I don't think I can beat Finality Man… But can we? I don't know how tough Karshon is like this, but I don't feel any reservation about letting him tank its attacks and then falling back if he can't take it. The only wrinkle would be Onomatopoeia, but engaging him at range when he doesn't have a mob to set on me seems like a viable solution.

Small extra risk, much better optimal outcome. Assuming that Agent Carlyle and Karshon cooperate. I think it… Might even be WSWD.

"We're going to help the giant shark. Ready?"

"We..? You shuwer?"

"No, but it's the least bad option. I'll talk to Agent Carlyle, and if they're both hostile… Grab and de-helmet Justifiers while Karshon keeps them occupied."

She looks a bit sceptical, but nods. "Okay. Y'all think it's best."

I tether her with a flight aura and rise-.

"'poof'"

"Darn it."

 

[Mr Zoat]

15th February 2013
19:01 GMT -5

Laser turrets, infrared auto-targeting and sound suppressors.

Compliance.

Where is-? Standing in the middle of the road, ducking behind an abandoned car as the lasers begin burning through the chassis.

Construct grenade launcher with flashbang grenades.

Compliance.

And fire. He'll see the attack coming and almost certainly have something to block it, but he can only say one thing at a time. I point at his location.

"He's there. I'll keep him pinned."

Tuppence snarls. "Fahnally."

She crouches and then leaps, flying through the air and-. And cracking the roof we're standing on so that the roof of the room beneath us collapses, fix that. Tuppence herself lands in the road about half way to Onomatopoeia as the grenades-

"'tink'"

-land on and around him without detonating. I keep firing, because if it keeping his mouth occupied then it's doing its job. Tuppence-

"'blah-heeeeeeee'"

-grabs a motorcycle and throws it at him just as he sets off a flashbang before it leaves the barrel. An error on his part, as my construct armour has auto-sensors and dimmed my vision the moment it happened, and it didn't do anything to stop Tuppence. Her bike hits the roof of the car he's hiding behind, bounces and then clips him as he dives aside!

And into the path of my laser turrets.

One bores into his chest-. He's armoured, but it looks like its just steel rather than steel/ceramic and a laser will heat it up nicely. Another hits him in the leg and-. No armour there, it's just burning flesh. Another hits his shoulder and the last one doubles up with the first and hits his chest as well. Justifiers can usually cope with pain but that's quite a lot of burning.

At least it stopped him blocking my flashbangs.

'Blah-heeeee' indeed.

That makes him shake, spasming in a way that must be an automatic reaction because Justifiers who get hit with those don't usually react so strongly. Tuppence reaches him a moment later and I cut off the lasers just as she grabs his helmet in both hands and pulls it apart!

She's done that before. Fingers in the right spot to gain leverage, breaking the helmet in the right places to avoid stabbing the head underneath. She then grabs hold of the remains and crushes them, destroying anything that could be used to broadcast the Anti-Life.

Then she flicks him in the forehead, sending it back into the tarmac and stunning him.

She stands over him for a few seconds, breathing hard.

"This guy was jus' fah'n us 'cuz a' the Anti-Life, raht?"

I rise off the roof and fly over to them.

"Not sure. He helped out Klarion before the mass child murder thing, but I wasn't ever sure how much of that was him and how much whatever Klarion did to him. Simple solution."

I form a construct railgun, load a mageslayer round and fire it into his chest… At low velocity. I'm not trying to kill him here. I dimly… Feel something change as the round hits… Not sure if that was the whole of the enhancement spell-. Shoot him again.

This time he just jerks in response to the impact.

"No more sound effects."

And without the helmet he should be affected by the same fear projection that's paralysing everyone else. I take a careful record of his face just in case he becomes a problem later.

"Right, let's go."

Karshon doesn't appear to have gotten any bigger, but he certainly hasn't gotten any weaker.

**Hah!**

He appears to have decided to stop attacking, and…

I turn my empathic vision up a little.

Yes, it looks like he's trying to wake up the fear inside the Justifiers, pushing against the black shell of Anti-Life from the inside. Anti-Lifed people don't really fear-. Or rather, don't fear in a remotely normal way. Some of them are still attacking him, but they've lost coordination. His efforts are definitely doing something, though they aren't being freed by it. I don't think that can work but I don't know that it can't work.

**Hello, little orange light.** His left eye is taller than I am, and it's currently locked onto me and Tuppence. **Are you going to make this interesting?**

"I wasn't planning to. I'm actually here to pick up the artefact that Agent Carlyle is using."

**That would be a problem. For you.**

I shake my head. "No no. I'm happy to take it after this whole thing fails. Carry on with what you're doing. It's a valuable learning experience."

**I'm trying to break their minds with the most horrifying thought that they can comprehend.**

"Right, but they've already been Anti-Lifed. That's like trying to let the air out of a flat tire. You might get some, but it's not really going to change anything."

He eyes me for a moment, then points at one of the Justified staggering around near his feet. Ring, compare visible uniforms and anything you can scan with known superhumans,

Compliance. Files available.

**That one. Bring them up here.**

I dimly recognise the man, and my ring fills me in. Amazing Man Three, currently having his body mimic steel. That makes him strong and tough, just not giant shark strong and tough.

I send a construct harness down to grab him. And use the fact that Karshon's focusing on me and his chosen Justifier to covertly deliver Tuppence to ground level.

**The helmet. What does it do?**

"It's like an Anti-Life broadcaster, but for the wearer."

**Not part of the network. That is why they don't feel fear.**

"Yes. Most of them aren't even broken like some people are from regular exposure. A surprisingly large number become functional again after the helmets are removed."

Karshon turns his head so that he can get a better look at Mr. Clay.

**Disappointing. This one smells brave. Take the helmet off.**

I take x-ionised blades out of subspace and carefully cut it off him, though between the Anti-Life exposure and fear projection he's pretty out of it.

**Unfocused. Like this I would crush him easily.**

"True. But if I free all of them, that is likely to attract Mannheim's personal attention. He's… I think that he's got more personality than they do."

**Or I could fight you, Lantern.**

"You can do that afterwards. But you need me to remove the helmets."

**Perhaps.** His mental voice sounds pleased. *Do it, Lantern. Show me their master so that I can break him.**

"As you wish."

 

[Mr Zoat]

6th June 2000
07:32 GMT -6

I get more than a few strange looks as I walk through the Conduit's 'liberated' ship. It used to belong to Intracom, but Dorn has the sense not to try and demand its return. I'm not… Entirely sure what class it is; I haven't seen enough ships to really have an idea how space combat really works in this universe. But it has guns, shields and a stealth system and that means that it could wipe out, say, the entire Chinese air force unless they got a lucky near-miss with a nuclear explosion.

I wasn't ever able to find out exactly how many ships like this the vampires have. I don't think it's a great many. I'd guess that each major Family started with one, and… Intracom probably picked up an extra or two when they defeated their rivals. But that is just a guess. Vampires don't appear to be inclined to wage wars openly.

Be interesting to see how that changes now.

The bridge door opens for me and I walk inside. The trasgu manning the shield controls glances up instinctively at the motion and then returns his attention to his console. Then looks right back up, eyes wide. Conversations drop off around the bridge as everyone gradually shifts their attention from their tasks to me.

I give them a little wave, then make my way to the command dais where Chauf and Peisinoe are waiting for me. Chauf's arms are folded across his chest and his eyes are narrowed, while Peisinoe just looks stunned.

I smile at them. "I can talk, too."

The trasgu at the primary weapons console winces, makes a frustrated punching gesture and then passes a few coins to the faun on point defences.

I stop just before reaching the dais. Jerich and I were on the outside during the actual fight, but I was up there as a member of the command staff during the planning phase. But… I need to regain trust before I assume that position is still mine.

"The Director wanted to make sure that I wasn't about to go around slaughtering the vampires. We've come to terms. I assume-."

"He talked to me first." Chauf stares into my eyes. "Explain this. What you are."

"I don't believe that it's necessary to be personally affected by an injustice to find it unjust. And it's hardly the first time that humans have worked with the Conduit."

"You've gotten further than they did." He shifts position slightly. "If you're really the Green Knight, you're the oldest human there is."

"No. My mentor was the original Green Knight. He's retired now, but when I expressed an interest he was willing to share his power with me."

I completely let go of my construct armour, the whole suit evaporating around me. And then I hold up my right hand and display the glowing power ring.

"What species is your mentor?"

"I don't think they have a name for themselves. They come from a planet called Maltus. He… Ah. He told me that humans called him a leprechaun."

Chauf nods. "Is it just him on Earth?"

"As far as we know. According to him, the rest of his species wouldn't want to live somewhere this primitive."

"Why did you hide your face? We hide because we need to live on a human planet. That's not a problem for you."

"Right, because the Alliance would have left me alone after they confirmed my species. Half the people they're letting out of that Alliance prison black site are human. People who saw things or learned things they weren't supposed to, or got in the way. The ones who weren't buried in the desert with a hole in the back of their head like the original General Rinaker, anyway. Sure, I'd probably have been safe if I'd stayed out of it all, but I wasn't going to do that."

"Why now?"

"I don't want to pretend to be a faceless mute for my entire life. With Director Logan taking over, we're all a lot less likely to be targeted, so I thought that a show of faith was in order. Incidentally." I smile at Peisinoe. "You could totally seduce me."

Sirens can mimic human facial expression perfectly, but I've noticed on some occasions that she has to think about it. It's not automatic, and she tends to be a little too expressive when she makes the effort. She's not expressing now. "I'm not sure that I want to."

I clench my right fist and recreate my armour. After all this time holding the image in my mind is easy.

She doesn't look impressed. "It was a plasma construct all along."

"No. It's stranger than that. It's a manifestation of exotic energy formed into this shape by my will."

"Plasma's fairly exotic."

…

I mean, that's technically true. Matter is usually described as being either a solid, a liquid or a gas. How many people could name two more states of matter?

I turn back to Chauf. "What are we doing now?"

"We are waiting to see how Earth's governments react to any of this. You know how widely spread we are. Queen Mab already decided to communicate with the Irish government through Sh'lainn. But not everywhere is as friendly as Ireland."

I nod. "It might be worth us taking pre-emptive action."

"I thought you made a deal with Dorn."

"I did. The vampires are going to have an internal 'discussion', and you know how that usually goes."

He nods, smiling faintly. Dorn is going to be cleaning house, and he'll probably be doing it more thoroughly than I would be able to due to having better intelligence. Vampires being distracted with killing each other always makes life in the Conduit easier.

"I said I'd give them two weeks. But that leaves the oni."

Chauf nods. "I didn't see any oni when the shadoen invaded. Or lycanthropes from any pack other than Ruck's. The oni are usually our enemies, but lycanthrope packs just do their own thing."

"The packs might not be aware of what's happened here, and a lot of them only commit petty crimes anyway. The oni are a bigger problem."

"Why do you want to go after them? Conduit-aligned groups in Japan just avoid their cities."

"Because this whole.. thing. We know what groups are independent of each other and who works together, but most humans don't. If there are a major group of non-humans working in organised crime and eating humans, then that's going to make the rest of us look bad. Unless we're the ones who deal with it."

"You think we should invade Japan?"

"No, not invade. 'Freelance police'. I think that this ship can stay high up in the atmosphere while a few of us go in on the ground. I've wanted to try Jerich's approach to this sort of thing for a while."

Chauf finally lets his arms drop. "Pretend to be superheroes?"

"Actually be superheroes. You've got superhuman strength and toughness. You look sort of like Ben Grimm. Might need to.. work on a costume, but it would be great for public relations and the Japanese are culturally primed to accept that sort of thing." I look at Peisinoe. "How do you feel about maid costumes?"

"They're not easy to fight in. The skirts are too heavy." She blinks, slowly. "Or do you want me to dress like a Sailor Moon character?"

I nod. "It might help."

"What's wrong with a Power Ranger costume?"

"It's a bit generic, and prevents people watching from seeing… Your full charm. And Sailor Moon fights demons every week."

"That's ridiculous. I-." She noticed Chauf looking thoughtful. "No."

"I used to read Fantastic Four comics with my father. Green Knight is right. We could do that. If we're going to be able to integrate, it would be good to earn public trust in case we had to free our people from human governments."

I nod. "And the oni are perfectly manageable. The only reason I haven't gone after them before is that the vampires were more of a problem."

"Fine. But I pick my costume."

 

[Mr Zoat]

15th February 2013
19:18 GMT -5

**Where is the mute?**

I remove the helmet from the last Justifier… Don't recognise her. Not that that means much. Aside from the fact that even Batman doesn't have a completely comprehensive database of all metahumans in America, the Alliance had the effect of encouraging a lot of metahumans who hadn't got into the vigilante lifestyle to stick their toe in.

I prop her up next to the others. Since the fear broadcasts are still going on, none of them are remotely functional. I could start making behavioural regulators for them all, but I don't know any of these people and I doubt that any of them will be any use against Mannheim even as a distraction. Better to let Karshon use them as fuel and try evacuating them later.

"Do you mean Onomatopoeia? Because I'm pretty sure that he could talk."

**He makes noises and things happen.**

"Not any more. I removed his helmet before I spoke to you. Why?"

**He attacked me before. I wanted to fight him.**

"He attacked you here? After you got your body back in S.T.A.R. Labs?"

If he was the city boss… Did he take offence at Karshon hanging around? Was that his job? Between Klarion and Mannheim I doubt that his brain was in any fit state for rational thought.

**Yes. Where is the Green Lantern?**

"Ah, the one you used to fight? Not sure. His ability to move large numbers of other people around is too useful to keep him anchored in one place."

**He cannot defeat Mannheim?**

"The rest of-. Most people are adversely affected by the Anti-Life. I couldn't help but notice that you aren't. Is that due to your psychic-?"

**I'm a shark. Humans have emotions. Dreams. I'm a shark. I have targets. Prey. I don't have what it's attacking.**

"Oh."

I suppose that I shouldn't be surprised. His brain is 'shark plus', not 'ape in shark body'. Atlanteans who look like fish are still humans with fish bits stuck on.

**Why isn't Mannheim here now?**

"I don't know. There are a lot of possible reasons. He might have better things to do. He's more interested in testing the Anti-Life than in normal conquest, so it's possible that he actually finds this useful rather than threatening-. Actually, can Agent Carlyle extend the fear affect to other broadcasters?"

**We couldn't test it. We weren't sure that this would work.**

"Mm. Well, with all of the Justified down and everyone overwhelmed with fear, Mannheim should be able to feel it. If what we think we know about his abilities is true. Unless…"

The barrier Onomatopoeia set up over the city is still there. That's not too surprising; if his power survived Klarion's death then there's no reason why the manifestations of it wouldn't survive the power itself being destroyed. I'd be surprised if it was able to block Mannheim's senses… Or if it hadn't been doing that as soon as it was erected.

"Could you back up a bit?"

**No.**

"Most of your power is coming from Agent Carlyle and the Anti-Life broadcaster. If Mannheim shoots either of them with his omega beams, you'll be back down to normal size."

**Then you defend it. You're planning to flee from him anyway.**

"Ah, alright."

I drift up and over his colossal head, heading towards the broadcaster. Tuppence is lurking close to it, while Agent Carlyle appears to be completely focused on his work. I form a railgun construct and aim it upwards, loading a mageslayer.

"Three, two, one, firing."

I fire, the round blasting upwards and hitting the dome. A moment passes, then I see it start to thin.

Okay. If he couldn't feel us before, he certainly can now. But I still don't know-.

BOOM!

I instinctively form a graviton deflator construct, but in this instance the aim is to let it come through. I'm only going to use it to limit its tactical mobility. But a gradar construct detects the boom tube as it opens in the distance. I create a target reticle in front of Karshon so that he knows where to look.

That's Finality Man alright. It looks… It looks like they added a little more armour since we fought in Bergen, though that could just be added cowling for additional weapon systems. It just stands in the air, looking down at us imperiously as the boom tube aperture behind it closes.

**That is not Mannheim. Why send an automaton?**

In Bergen it used the Anti-Life directly, manifesting into the universe to neutralise my defences and heal itself. But there aren't any remaining Justifiers here, and the broadcaster is radiating fear. That… Might be why it's staying back. It's not stupid. Even the most dangerous thing on the planet can be destroyed if engaged properly. With me here, flooding the area with Justifiers to use isn't really an option. They don't have an unlimited supply of them, even if Mannheim doesn't care whether they live or die on an individual basis.

**I will make do.**

Karshon glares, a spatial distortion forming around his forehead. It builds for several seconds and then a colossal psybolt blasts from his forehead! It burns through the air towards-.

Finality Man raises its right hand and space warps, the psybolt bending around and shooting right back into Karshon! He takes the hit, staggering back a pace and tearing up the frontage of an office building.

Ring, message to Karshon: do that again.

Message sent.

Karshon's head half-turns so that he can give me the eye, but a new -slightly smaller - psybolt begins to build. Aim the graviton deflator-.

BOOM!

Fireitfireitfireit!

The new boom tube opening under Finality Man collapses an instant later, but a figure in bulky power armour has already flown through. The… Head-enveloping torso section appears to include an Anti-Life broadcaster, slightly larger than the usual Justifier helmets though far smaller than the broadcaster base stations.

And then a graser cannon deploys from the armour and I recognise Socialist Red Guardsman as he fires directly at Karshon, who takes the hit with a small wince before firing back. I activate my graviton deflator at the same time. Finality Man tries to bend the attack back once again and fails, the shot striking its torso armour and… Doing nothing that I can see.

Ah. Last time it was a matter of precisely disrupting its attacks so that the flashback damaged its internal mechanisms. We'll have to see-.

Karshon leaps into the air, straight towards Finality Man!

 

[Mr Zoat]

15th February 2013
19:21 GMT -5

I usually experience a degree of 'bullet time' in combat thanks to the rings accelerating my mental processes… If not completely transferring them from my brain to the orange light. But it's just a little extra thinking time, rather than anything truly radical. But now I focus. I need extra thinking time in a fight like this. I already know that I can't drain it. I already know that it can give random Justifiers the ability to hurt me with normal guns no matter what barrier-type defences I use to protect myself.

And I-.

It's Socialist Red Guardsman, a man who combines all the worst aspects of supervillain and state-sponsored superhero. A murderer dozens of times over, even if his total kill count isn't anything like mine at least the people I killed weren't on my side at the time! If I could justify killing anyone here it would be him and not the robot!

Railguns.

Compliance.

Tuppence could take hits from his graser before Mannheim upgraded him, based on its peak energy output and her observed resilience feats. Now, I don't know. The Chinese had trouble precisely focusing his energy output and I somehow doubt that Apokolips had the same problem.

The orange light for the railguns crawls into place as I'm reminded that Karshon can actually fly at high speed. Nothing like Superman or even Diana, but faster than we've recorded Finality Man moved.

Actually…

Ring, message to the Justice League. Finality Man is in Philadelphia. Initiate other operations at your convenience.

Compliance.

I watch as Socialist Red Guardsman flies closer, dropping down under Karshon's flight path. Unlike Finality Man -where I have to wait until he starts an attack and then disrupt it- the issue with Guardsman is that breaching his suit is actually pretty easy. It's just that I don't want Philadelphia irradiated and everyone here killed.

Bit curious that Mannheim cares about that, but maybe this is an automated response. We don't really know how intelligent Finality Man is-. No, no, he's always been in a position to carry out mass killings. It's a choice on his part. Perhaps he won't take hostages because that would mean acknowledging that we have power that he needs to guard against?

I'm drifting. This is a problem with this level of acceleration. I get… Disconnected. Reality is otherworldly. Things don't seem real, except they are.

My railguns have nearly fully formed.

Guardsman's gun starts to glow. Still nothing much from Finality Man. Was the intent to bring through more than that? I don't know.

But I do know how to deal with a graser. It has to deploy to fire, and his flight systems haven't improved all that much. Track and fire with crumbler-

"Anti-Life justifies their actions." Inalienable Truth.

-rounds and I remember that! I dodge down as Guardsman fires, the line of his gamma beam slashing across the city. His manoeuvring thrusters must be very good if he's moving at a-.

I'm at normal speed. I don't know why but-.

Railguns fire, crumbler rounds screaming towards his cannon as lasers aim for his canopy, not to pierce it but to ruin his vision. Karshon closes with Finality Man as the god-robot's eyes glow red-.

Retrain railgun, solid shot, fire.

Compliance.

"TT to Orange, ah need ta worry 'bout these guys?"

Scan-.

"No, the Seven Deadly-"

Karshon fires a psybolt's face-. Fire the graviton deflator just in case.

"-Brothers are just-"

A tiny red flicker is all the recognition I get that the Omega Effect has been disrupted, and some sort of shimmering energy field deploys around Guardsman's body. The crumbler rounds that were on target are destroyed in a puff of decaying matter.

"-human martial artists."

Okay, what did Guardsman do?

Gamma-irradiated particles detected.

How would-? Plasma. A diffuse plasma field charged by his body's radiation. He melted the crumbler mechanism before it could trigg-

He drops his shield to slash his ray across the sky again. I evade but Karshon takes a nasty burn across his side… Which heals almost immediately.

-er.

Karshon's psybolt hits Finality Man in the face a second before he rams him, biting down on the giant robot's right shoulder and frantically gnawing on it. Finality Man raises his left hand, pointing it at Karshon's right eye as it glows-

Cold beam.

The plasma charge winks out, Finality Man simply trying to punch Karshon in the eye instead and finding his hand parried by a psybolt.

"Slippery little-."

Behind me, Tuppence is having trouble getting to grips with the Brothers. Fortunately, they've decided to focus on her rather than charge the broadcaster. A little of their natural arrogance shining through despite their new helmets.

Guardsman flies up behind Karshon and points his gun directly at his back. Karshon's trying to tear through Finality Man's armour, but there's no visible progress yet. Giving him the yellow ring might help, but there's no way I'm risking it. Instead I stick a rocket booster construct on my back and blast myself towards Guardsman, grabbing him with a construct claw and turning him as he goes to fire.

He's got good trigger discipline though. Only about a tenth of a second's worth of gamma beam actually gets fired, hitting Finality Man on the left pauldron. And unfortunately, the boost he's getting from the Anti-Life doesn't appear to work on his ally. Guardsman lashes out, trying to destroy my claw-construct. I let the construct shatter and aim my railguns at his cannon. Solid shot and fire, full automatic!

Compliance.

His plasma field crackles, but the solid slugs don't have any delicate mechanisms to disrupt. They're on target, but the armoured cowling is resilient enough-. Got it! Hit the graser mechanism itself and snapped off the end part. Don't know if that's a mission kill, but from the way Guardsman is snarling through his faceplate I'd guess that it's out of commission.

He lunges through the air at me, and I retaliate with a kinetic amplification baton, swinging in down onto his faceplate and sending him careening towards the Philadelphia streets below us. I use the opportunity to check on Karshon-.

Finality Man has gotten his hands on Karshon's jaw and is gradually forcing them apart. They're already off his shoulder, and-. There's some damage, but it's nothing like enough to make me think this is a viable way to destroy the robot. Karshon chomps, his jaws pulling free of Finality Man's grip and a psybolt hitting the area damaged by his bite-.

Finality Man's eyes glow solid slug! Fly up, try to-!

The red lines zigzag and hit Karshon in the forehead, an energy field enveloping him.

Ah…

I gain more height to get a clearer shot and fire everything: cold beams, railgun rounds of all types, orange light energy pulses… Nothing does anything and Karshon is… Shrinking.

Alright then. You want to kill Mannheim.

Finality Man shudders, Karshon-. Who has somehow been returned to the form of a normal tiger shark, falls to the ground as Finality Man flies at me.

 

[Mr Zoat]

15th February 2013
19:24 GMT -5

I back off, upping the pressure. I reach out to the networks of desires across the Earth, feeling that small part of everyone who has even the slightest sense of self left, and I share it with Finality Man. This is what it feels like, knowing that if you had the power, you would kill him.

Finality Man slows, his eyes flickering, and something feels… Lighter. Immediately I throw out a construct fish tank to catch Karshon and pull him back to me. If there's anything left of his intellect then I can't detect it. I was vaguely aware that the Omega Effect could be used as more than a disintegration ray, but this is the first time I've seen it used like that.

"Tuppence, Karshon's down. We're pulling out."

"Busy!"

But it's not just Mannheim they want killed. It's you as well. Feel their desires as your own.

I fly back, keeping the trembling robot in view as I retreat to the Anti-Life broadcaster. Agent Carlyle is still standing next to it, the battered and broken forms of five of the Brothers lying around its fortifications. Tuppence is fighting-. Yeti. Hu Wei. With a mouth that's much bigger, claws that are much longer, and a berserk fury more intense than anything I've seen records of. He slashes at her wildly, forcing her to back up as she looks around for something to use as a projectile or lever. Her forearms are bleeding from where she's battered his attacks away. He's… Faster than her.

The control mechanism he usually wears around his neck is missing. No easy way to shut him down.

But he's not wearing a helmet.

I form a sonic cannon and fire a beam of ultrasound directly at his head. He cringes, aborting a leap that would have seen him tearing into Tuppence. She steps forward and punches, sending him flying into the river bereft of several broken fangs.

"He is superior." One True Existence.

Finality Man looks down at me and I can't even touch it any longer. His eyes glow and it raises its hands-.

I fire, solid slugs impacting its eyes as it tries to fire its Omega Effect. It might be possible to do something clever like lead the beam around so that it hits Finality Man, but there's already something around here that's messing with my top speed and that beam moves fast. The plasma fields get a neutron ray but… Something's different. That should have messed with the containment field. It doesn't. The plasma field dissipates harmlessly without any flashback into his internals.

"Get Carlyle."

Tuppence dashes right over to him. "Hey! We gotta get gone!"

"I… I can see…" He turns away from the broadcaster to face her. "Everything!"

Tuppence punches him in the face-. Then winces, nursing her fist.

"I can see you!"

Tuppence punches him in the diaphragm, causing him to fold up. She then hits him on the back of the head, rendering him unconscious.

Finality Man looms closer. He's keeping his Omega Effect ready but not manifested, so there's nothing for me to disrupt. Shooting him in the eyes… Crumblers, mage slayers, lasers, plasmas of various kinds… It's not doing anything.

Tuppence pulls the mask off Agent Carlyle's face.

Okay, that's available. I can't supercharge myself without risking the Ophidian. Given that Finality Man wasn't doubled over with fear I'm going to assume that he's immune, at least on the face of a neophyte user.

I need to leave.

I toss Construct-Lantern Colin Thornton out of my ring. "Destroy the robot."

"Yes, Master."

Orange-tinted hellfire surges around his hand and leaps at Finality Man, and… Actually manages to damage his armour. Finality Man waves his right hand and generates a massive wave of kinetic energy, but Thornton just teleports around it.

Right. That should keep him busy for a minute or two.

I fly down to Tuppence, wrap a construct claw around the broadcaster and crush it into fragments. Then I grab Amazing Man with a construct and pull him over. I.. can still read him. No more fear generation and no more Anti-Life… He's recovering, but not fast enough. I take a purple healing ray out of subspace and shoot him while at the same time using my rings to reset his physiology to normal resting standards.

"Amazing Man!"

His eyes focus for a moment, his arms batting away my constructs.

"What the..? Hell was..?"

"The Alliance of the Just was a front for Intergang. You were mind controlled by the Anti-Life Equation. Are you functional?"

"Yeah, I remember." He looks around, then makes the mistake of looking up. "Oh, God."

"So, I was wondering what the limits on your material replication are." I take a small bar of orichalcum out of subspace. "Can you copy this?"

He takes it from me and holds it for a moment.

"What is this, gold? I… Ugh." The steel-colour of his body turns into the shimmering gold of orichalcum. "It's a soft-. This isn't soft."

"No, it's just about the hardest thing there is. Except for-"

Thornton has opened portals to… Something, and tendrils glowing with purple light are stroking Finality Man in a way which is stripping away slivers of his armour.

"-his armour. Do you know if you can adapt to that?"

"I…" He reaches down and picks up a fragment of Justifier helmet. "No. My power doesn't even think this stuff is matter."

"Right. We're pulling out, then. I-."

"Wait, what about-" He looks around at the other former Justifiers who are just starting to stir. "-them?"

"The same thing as everyone else. They'll have to wait until we can destroy the network. We don't have the-."

"Embrace finality." Life Means Death.

Finality Man's eyes flash, the Omega Beam hitting Thornton, and-. Turning him back into a man. His eyes widen as he falls, arms waving as he tries to produce some sort of magic to halt his fall-.

I catch him first, extending filaments to Amazing Man, Agent Carlyle and Tuppence.

"Moving now."

I blast us into the air, heading for the edge of the atmosphere as Finality Man drifts to the wreckage of the Anti-Life broadcaster, considers it for a moment and then fires an Omega blast which… Repairs the broadcaster instantly as if it had never been destroyed. Then it looks up at us, watching from just over ground level before the clouds obscure its view.

Boom!

And then he leaves, and all I can do is head to the ships.

We got the Mask. But I'm not sure how we're going to be able to use it if we have to get past things like that.

 

[Mr Zoat]

8th June 2000
22:57 GMT +9

"Kill them! Kill the interlopers!"

The Japanese economy has had its ups and downs, and right now it's in a major down. I'm not exactly certain why it happened, but the summary I read in The Times made it sound like the Wall Street Crash of 1929: people put too much money in a class of investment that lacked the underlying strength to sustain it. But the collapse in demand and the desire of those banks which had repossessed property to sell them for desperately needed cash meant that a lot of property became available and a fraction of their original value.

"I want them all dead!"

And the oni invested.

They also had a line in buying slave labourers from North Korea and dosing them with watered down vampire venom to keep them compliant, which is-

Fire from yakuza security guards hits my shield and loses all of its kinetic energy as I advance on their position.

-how they've been able to make a huge profit on manual labour intensive work. They don't need to pay them and they won't ever complain. I think they paid for them in more watered down vampire venom, but we haven't really investigated that end of the trade.

Behind me, Peisinoe sings a hypnotic song to keep the workers entranced. It costs them what little sense of self-preservation they have left, but it's the only reason why they haven't tried swarming us when their boss ordered them to.

The thugs before me duck back to reload and I take the opportunity to storm forward, truncheon construct at the ready. One spots me and drops his gun in favour of drawing a knife, but my superior reach makes it child's play to smack his hand and force him to drop it. He backs off, but my second strike hits him in the diaphragm and adds electrocution to blunt force trauma.

The second has been reloading while backing away and aims his gun at my vision slit. Since I'm wearing construct armour rather than metal armour the 'slit' isn't actually either a hole or a weak point, but I'll give him marks for situational awareness. Slam the truncheon into the head of the one on the ground and then leap at the one shooting me. I don't try to evade; bullets missing me might hit someone else. He switches to one handed firing as I cross the intervening space, trying to open the door behind him without looking around.

It doesn't work, but does allow me to concuss him with a body slam.

"Useless ingrates. Shuten, get down there and deal with this!"

I tap my communicator. "Peisinoe, I've dealt with the last of the guards. Start bringing the prisoners up. The police should be here in a few minutes."

"You're supposed to call me 'Nure' when we're playing at being superheroes."

"None of us speak Japanese." Hm. I put construct restraints around the guards and open the door, striding out of the warehouse and onto the dock. Might as well carry-.

Dodge!

I throw myself towards a nearby mooring as the concrete around me explodes! I land on my face, scrambling back onto my feet and trying to see through the resulting concrete dust. There's a… Large shape, and… I need to keep its attention to stop it from going for Peisinoe and her charges.

An energy pulse hits its centre of mass, to no apparent effect as it strides out of the dust. A… Woman? Seven feet tall and made of solid muscle. And then her image inducer glitches out and I see an… Oni-like figure, but with red skin, a crest of five separate horns and… Eyes scattered apparently at random across her head, torso, arms and legs. She? The hologram blinks back in, showing a body that the greatest Viking-descended female bodybuilder in the world would envy. The actual body only wore a pair of tight denim shorts, any breasts that she might have merged into the oversized pectorals. The illusion wears a vest and denim trousers, as well as metal-studded leather bracers and quite a lot of piercings.

"Green Knight!" She points at me, grinning. "I will eat your brain!"

Hose.

I stick a green pipe into the ocean waters behind me, taking in as much as I can-.

She leaps at me, mouth open and grinning and right fist pulled back. I dart into the air and then expel the water at pressure, slashing the stream across her body!

She grimaces slightly as she lands, crushing the pier under her feet before jumping back onto the dock.

"My eyes are just as tough as the rest of me, foreigner. Which is a lot tougher than you!"

"Tough? Maybe, but can you fly?"

She puts her hands on her hips, and-.

Fzzzzap!

The hit knocks me into the water, down to the bottom of the bay and then deeper into the silt! My construct armour's cracked and leaking water, and I-.

"BLOOBBLOBLOBBB!"

A hand grabs me and throws me, and I'm back in the air and flying into-.

OOF!

The side of a warehouse hard enough to dent the metal. Armour!

"We're a space-age species, Knight!" Shuten pulls herself out onto the dock, still grinning as her image inducer glitches in and out. "You think we haven't put anything in orbit?"

"I had hoped."

"No such luck! But I've got an offer for you! Stay on the ground and I won't use it! They hardly ever let me have a good fight! And get your sword out!"

I pull myself out of the wall and drop to the ground, marking the location of the satellite weapon.

And as Shuten advances I tap my communicator twice.

"Hakai no jikanda!"

Our sub-orbital support falls from the heavens and slams into her, Chauf having left behind his plasma cannon because he didn't want to 'besmirch the name of Ben Grimm'. Which probably has something to do with why he's wearing a blue jumpsuit with a number 3 on it. The two of them roll along the dockside, wrestling for supremacy.

"Peisinoe, you might want to take the back door?

"Yes, I worked that out for myself."

I generate a palisade shield and a pair of rocket boosters and set off for space, a brilliant trail of superheated exhaust washing over the struggling pugilists as I head towards the orbital weap-.

It hits my shield and as it maintains the beam I'm painfully aware of what something like that could do if it was actually aimed at a city. I can't dodge it. I've got to tank the whole thing and hope that it melts or empties its capacitors before my construct finally breaks down.

My shield will not break down. It will endure. I will endure.

My shield does break as I leave the atmosphere, the… Particle beam? Trying to burn through my armour next. I can feel it giving, melting, cracking and failing but too bad for them because I can see the satellite! Energy pulse!

The shot slams into the gun, punching clean through and shutting down the beam. It also sends the satellite into a spin, giving me a clean shot at the power plant on the opposite side. The whole assemblage explodes in a viscerally satisfying way and I take a moment to appreciate it before heading back to the surface.

 

[Mr Zoat]

15th February 2013
19:46 GMT -5

Mr. Clay takes a look around the ship's prison hold.

"I didn't realise that the Justice League had space ships. Or are these yours?"

"Some aliens decided to take advantage of Earth's distress to kidnap some metahumans. We stopped them." I offer him the Mask. "Okay, try this?"

He takes it with a frown. "You know I don't get-."

His skin shifts to match the colour of the Mask. He opens and closes his left hand a couple of times.

"Is it-?"

"No. Sorry." He shakes his head and offers it back to me. "It's just bronze. Whatever makes that thing work, I don't get it when I copy the metal."

"Thanks for trying anyway."

And now our first prisoner. I walk down the gangway until I'm in front of his cell, then press the 'communicate' button.

"Mister Thornton. You appear to be alive again."

He's kneeling in the centre of the cell, hands on his lap and head bowed. He's muttering some sort of evocation, but from the lack of heat build-up in the cell's spell eater I'm going to guess that it's not working.

He appears to reach that conclusion a moment later, opening his eyes and glaring at me.

"I will end you for what you did to me."

"Or not. But can we agree that it would be best-."

"No. No. You fed me mind body and soul to your pet snake, and then spat me out as a slave. "

"And you're taking it personally despite having done far worse to far more people-."

"I make a paradise of Purgatory. Do you know what it was like before I got there?"

"We've spoken to your sister and corroborated the events she described-."

"You stopped me. Twisted me. I don't care about the cattle; you did it to me."

"Ah. Well, don't worry, we Orange Lanterns understand personal vendettas. But old-you would have blasted past that ward like it wasn't there. What seems to be the problem?"

He closes his eyes again and goes back to his chanting.

"You register as completely human to my scans. No real magic presence. The Omega Effect appears to have brought you back as human."

"It's temporary. Temporary. It-. I've been bound before."

"No need to worry there. Without your power as a demon lord, I don't have any need to assimilate you again. Enjoy your chanting."

I press the button again to end the dialogue, and step away from the cell. He's focused on his chanting to the exclusion of all else. If the Omega Effect did what I think it did, then he should have the same access to magic as a neophyte magician. Those are only dangerous with an artefact or access to sacrifices, and he has neither.

"Orange Lantern?" Mr. Clay looks mildly concerned. "Can you explain that? You..? Assimilated him?"

"I can turn people into constructs. It's usually irrevocable. When the League went to Belle Reve to make sure that the inmates stayed out of Mannheim's hands I decided that a Demon Lord was too dangerous to hold, so I used the ability on him."

"And the big robot undid it."

"Finality Man turned him into a human. He's never been a human, he just looked like one."

Agent Carlyle is sitting on his bench. His head is bowed as well, but it's more in defeat than focus. His head comes up as I approach and press the communication button.

"Agent Carlyle. Would you care to explain?"

"It's our job."

"I'm going to need a little more-."

"Cultivate exceptional assets and deploy them in exceptional situations. You got a power ring, I have a giant shark man."

"You lied to me about what happened."

"I haven't been briefed on you. I don't know how you'll react to whatever situation occurs. I needed you out of the way to have the best chance of success."

"And you didn't think to ask me for intelligence on Finality Man's abilities?"

"I.. can't say I was entirely firing on all cylinders at the end there." He looks away for a moment. "Where are we? I can barely hear the Anti-Life here. Some sort of Justice League safe house?"

"A starship. If we can't liberate Earth, it will be used to carry out an evacuation."

"Damn."

I wiggle the Medusa Mask at him. "Fortunately, with this, that might not be necessary. In a sense, what you did is a proof-of-concept."

"How?"

"We're going to use a wider range of emotions and more power. The aim is to force the Anti-Life out of peoples' minds entirely."

"Will that work on Mannheim? Or the robot?"

"Don't know. To be honest, I don't exactly understand what happened to Mannheim to make him the way he is. The robot I've got a plan for."

"And you couldn't have done that just now?"

"The people involved would need advanced warning and preparation time. I was just there to acquire the mask. Honestly, I was taking an unnecessary risk even letting you have your attempt."

"Then why did you?"

I shrug. "It might have worked. I'm not omniscient. And knowing that they Justified the Great Ten is useful."

He nods. "Am I getting out of here?"

I scan him and use empathic vision. Nothing stopping me and he looks fairly normal.

"Could you explain what you were shouting just before Tuppence knocked you out?"

"I…" He frowns for a moment. "I was a bit… Okay, this is… It was like… I could see things associated with their emotions."

"Okay. I can do that. But why were you shouting?"

"I don't know exactly, but since I hadn't gotten any sleep for a couple of weeks I'm going to say it was a bout of sleep-deprivation induced megalomania." He stiffly pulls his legs up onto the bench and lays down. "Put the shield in 'opaque' mode and leave me for a couple of days, will you?"

 

[Mr Zoat]

9th June 2000
08:23 GMT

The rune stone sits on a nearby table as Chauf stares at the screen, watching a report from Japan's leading news broadcaster.

"I don't know what they're saying, but they all look pretty happy."

There's a short clip of him dragging the semi-conscious Shuten over to a clearly bewildered police officer, the crowd behind him more interested in taking pictures than in the wider political considerations. Or personal safety considerations. I drop down a moment later and Peisinoe and the former slaves a few moments after that. That seems to get them moving, and we more or less back off and let the emergency services do their thing.

I nod. "They're basically playing the tropes to the hilt for amusement value. Probably because they have no idea how else to play it. The shadoen attack was only a few days ago. Director Logan might have informed world leaders, but that knowledge hasn't spread out to the general population yet. That's why this is so important."

Peisinoe doesn't look impressed. "But what about the oni?"

"Again, they're perfectly fine with the idea that some aliens are hostile. But superheroes fighting evil, winning and not causing too much property damage in the meantime is a far better angle than-."

An image of a government official from… The National Public Safety Commission, which is an ominous-sounding name. It's just a clip from a full interview that they're showing this evening, but…

"He's not offended by us showing up. He's saying that the government was briefed on-. Ah, 'the possibility' of aliens hiding in their country, and that they're satisfied that we're doing the right thing. I don't know whether that's what they're saying in private, but that's the official stated position of the Japanese government at the moment."

Chauf considers that for a moment.

"We should talk to them directly. Might help if we give them more information than the Alliance is." He presses a button, dismissing the news coverage as it goes onto economic matters and calling up our information files on vampire occupation. "Green Knight, do you know anything about vampires in Japan?"

"There aren't any, as far as I know. The oni were too entrenched. Might start being a problem now, but as far as I know even the vampires not aligned with Dorn are trying to avoid making any move that could be considered provocative." I shrug. "I've been occupied with vampires and the Alliance. Are there any major nexuses of non-human criminality? Because if this is a job we can get done in a month or so, I can focus on building up our intelligence on the state of things on other planets."

Chauf nods. "The lycanthropes, but that's just individual packs doing their own things. They're not organised like the vampires or oni."

"So we could just pop by the pack leader for a chat without coming in heavy?"

"That would be better. I've had dealings with a few packs, and a lot of them just want to avoid being noticed. Their short lifespan means that they can't hide in one place for long because it gets noticed. Can't cope with human school systems for the same reason."

I frown. "Yes, I was… Wondering about that? How the heck do lycanthropes maintain a technologically sophisticated society?"

"They're not just physical mimics. They copy skills as well. If a pup hangs around engineers or scientists for the first few months, they pick up everything a lot faster than anyone else. But they can't send them to school because human schools give general educations and specialise later."

I nod. "Okay. Anyone else?"

Chauf looks pointedly at Peisinoe.

…

She pointedly doesn't look at him.

"O… Kay. The other issue is human on alien crime. I expect there's going to be a spate of thefts because just about anything of alien origin is going to be highly valuable and there isn't a legitimate route to ownership yet."

"Yeah." Chauf nods, still looking at Peisinoe. "That sounds like it could be a problem."

She keeps it up for a few moments before finally turning fully towards us. "Fine. Some members of my species have used their mesmerising power to make stealing easier. There are only a few places on Earth where we live in any numbers. We should probably talk to some of the community leaders in India to make sure that things don't get out of hand."

"Okay, but… I.. feel like I'm missing something."

"In that part of the world, sirens used to be a bigger problem than lycanthropes."

"That was a long time ago. They gave it up when humans grew too numerous."

I nod. "But some of the cultural traditions might still hang on. It's a potential flashpoint if someone does something stupid. Do they have any advanced technology?"

She shakes her head. "No. The last time I visited, they were even more primitive than the Indian humans."

"You mean.. 'rural Indian humans', right? Because there's a fairly large split in India between-."

The stone shimmers and we switch our attention to it. I move it to a clear area on the floor and feed a little of the green light into it. A moment later space shimmers, then Queen Mab, her bodyguards Shateera and Sheenta and Princess Sh'rain appear from thin air. Banshees don't really do 'timekeeping', not having clocks or watches, so we've just been hanging around waiting for them.

Mab manages to only grimace slightly at being surrounded by metal, while the others… Sh'rain looks a little nervous, Shateera seems disinterested and… Sheenta is giving me the evils. Not too impressed about me concealing that I'm human, I imagine.

Chauf steps forwards. "Queen Mab. Welcome on board."

"Chauf." Fair enough. He doesn't have a title. The Conduit hasn't ever really been that formal. "Green Knight. Not hiding your face, I see."

"No, your majesty. At this point it would be counterproductive."

She returns her attention to Chauf. "I want to make a deal wid you. Sh'lainn tole me about what you've been up to in.. Japan. The Green Knight here tole me I should do the same last winter, but I didn't pay him much mind. And now his master is telling me the same t'ing."

That's honestly news to me. I didn't know that she and Percival were on direct conversation terms.

Chauf nods. "How can we help?"

"Sh'rain's been wanting to get out and about on her own for a while. And she needs more experience dealing peaceably with other peoples. I want her to join you."

"We could do that." Chauf looks down at Sh'rain. "Does she want to join us?"

"I do. Sh'lainn's learned a lot since she left home, and I want t'do the same. And what you're doing, I want t'make banshees look good as well."

Chauf nods again. "Alright. You won't know anything about ships or weapons, but can you fight?"

She raises her hands, glowing balls of plasma materialising as she floats off the ground and her hair goes in all directions. "Troy me."

Right hand behind my back, I generate a small energy pulse. Banshees tend to fight like flying artillery: no real armour and once they're in position they don't usually dodge. Sh'lainn's learned the value of mobility and cover, but a sharp introduction will help underline that this isn't a game and injury and death are real possibilities.

I bring my hand around and release, sending the energy pulse flying at her chest-.

Where it's blocked by a glowing green shield.

"Hey!" She glares at me, eyes still glowing. "What's the big idea!"

I look at Queen Mab. She looks away.

Well. I had wondered.

 

[Mr Zoat]

Wait Time

17th February 2013
06:46 GMT -5

I smile as the teleporter glow fades and… Richard, Kon, Mitchell and M'gann appear. I spot the clear relief that Richard feels at once, and while the other three are a little more subdued in their response I spot them relax a little as well.

"Paul!" Kon steps forwards, standing-.

Ah. I walk right up to him and hug him, and I feel him relax a little further as he hugs back. "Good to see you, Kon."

Mitchell gets a quick hug too, Richard gets a warm handshake and M'gann-.

I frown. "M'gann, is that a telepathy blocker?"

She nods. "I tried-. But I couldn't take feeling that all of the time."

I nod back twice in quick succession. "No, no, I understand."

"But I guess I can take it off up here." She looks around. "It is.. safe here, right?"

I nod again. "I've checked everyone. No one's feeling great and Luthor's people all have some sort of implant, but we're too far from Earth for the broadcasters to reach us."

Her blocker shapeshifts back into a collar, and she smiles with relief. **I don't think I really appreciated feeling other peoples' minds until I couldn't do it any more.**

**[An image from our day at the beach during our first few months on the team, juxtaposed with our current situation.]**

She blinks in surprise. **That was complex. Have you been practicing?**

"Lantern training. We have to be able to picture things clearly. Listen-."

"Batman said you had a way to fix this." Richard can't conceal his eagerness. "Please tell me it isn't anything too crazy."

I affect a sombre expression. "It isn't anything-."

"I don't believe you already."

"We're going to fire the concept of life itself into the Anti-Life broadcaster network, expunging the Anti-Life from the Earth."

He thinks that over for a moment. "Doctor Mist said he couldn't do that."

"I suspect that he could, if he didn't concern himself with the fact that doing so might end all life in the universe on a conceptual level. My technique has considerably less chance of doing that."

He smiles. "'Considerably less' huh, Oh El?"

I nod, smiling back. "Yes. It's far lower. And it would be very difficult to reverse engineer." I exhale. "It's hard enough to engineer, particularly now."

"I thought you got the Medusa Mask."

"I did. But I didn't know about Batman's change of heart regarding the utility of fear, and…" I take the yellow ring out of my pouch. "I don't have another user in mind for this."

Mitchell stares. "Did you kill Sinestro?"

"No. He's recruiting, and I stole a ring and extorted a spare personal lantern for it. I need someone to use it-."

Richard nods, staring at the ring. "But with Batman turning over a new leaf, he can't use it."

"Not well enough. Not without backsliding. Karshon the Shark could have used it, but it turns out that he's the only one who knows what the mutagen which turned him from a normal shark into himself looks like, and he can't communicate that while a normal shark."

M'gann frowns. "Who?"

**[An image of Karshon and the summary page of his Justice League file.]**

"Oh. I could try reading his mind."

Richard half-winces. "Yeah, but Oh El's planning on giving him a power ring. I'm not sure it's such a great idea to give it to a killer shark."

"Actually, he's a tiger shark."

"Still not a good idea."

I shrug. "Batman's turned over a new leaf. Karshon isn't reliable. The only-." I frown. "Michael Siskin.. is.. dead, but I never checked where his soul went."

Kon frowns for a moment, then his brow relaxes. "That's the guy who died helping you kill Nabu."

"Yeah. He'd actually be a good pick. I mean he's… Probably somewhere." I shake my head. "Anyway, I promised myself that I wouldn't even try Doctor Crane-"

Richard looks unimpressed. "Uh, yeah."

"-so I'm hoping you've got some ideas."

Kon thinks for a moment. "How about Luthor?"

He… I think Lex Luthor used a yellow ring in the comics once..? But I don't really see our version as being someone who focuses on manipulating people by fear. And anyway…

"I don't know where he is. According to Truggs, he-."

Eyes widen at his name, but it's Richard who asks.

"'Truggs' as in 'Nylor Truggs', the guy who's responsible for at least five murders and tried to kill us?"

"Yeah, but Jade tried to kill-." They don't look impressed. "Okay, yes, he's here, and he doesn't want the Earth Anti-Lifed. And neither does Luthor."

Mitchell nods. "How about Cheshire, then?"

"Ah… Doesn't really have a history of using fear as a tool. Not especially, anyway."

M'gann looks thoughtful. "Artemis's mom?"

"The mental technique she's using to cope with Anti-Life exposure precludes using a power ring. And again, she was more of a sneak thief and assassin, not someone who focused on fear. Batwoman would-"

Richard winces. "Please don't."

"-be a better option, but still not really good enough." I could ask him about his… Home situation, but I don't really think this is the time. "So, yeah, I need someone experienced in manipulating people with fear, and I don't have one. Getting someone compassionate would also be nice, but it's probably not essential."

Richard shakes his head. "When we're dealing with saving the whole Earth, I think we should try doing better than 'probably'."

"Okay, well, let's start researching. There's got to be someone on Earth who can do the job."

 

[Mr Zoat]

17th February 2013
06:59 GMT -5

Mitchell frowns at the computer screen. "The Joker had a… Tribute act?"

Richard looks at him over the top of his own screen. "A few people got affected by Smilex but didn't die. It still messed with their heads-."

"No, I mean-."

"Jarvis, yeah."

I feel a brief moment of embarrassment on behalf of my former country. Mitchell looks puzzled by my reaction.

"Do you know him?"

"No. Ah. " I try to make eye contact with Richard, but he's returned his attention to his monitor. "The Joker wasn't always focused on mass murder. Some of his earliest crimes… Were just normal crimes in costumes, and some of the ones after that were… They were things a normal person could almost find funny. The reason he could keep making insanity pleas is.. that.. Smilex makes it so the person affected by it is constantly driven to do more. There's never a point where they're.. comfortable at a… The cut-off point between 'exciting' and 'terrifying' isn't there any more. The more feedback they get, the more fun they have. The Joker escalated."

"You mean he was a fan on the Joker original work?"

"As I understand it, he… He didn't read the full article and just thought improvisational theatre clown in a purple suit was a pretty natty idea."

Kon looks up in surprise. "Seriously?"

"Ah… I'm getting that second hand, but-" I nod. "-more or less. He changed his makeup and outfit a bit when the Joker switched from 'comedy-themed crimes' to 'mass murder with occasional weak comedy reference'."

Richard gives me a small smile. "Can I tell him you said that?"

"If it ever becomes relevant I'd rather that you put a bullet in him."

"I'm.. not doing that."

"Robin, you've seen the same Smilex research that I have. He's not ever going to recover. He isn't ever going to stop. He won't respond to therapy in a meaningful way."

"What would a healing potion do to him?"

Ah…

Smilex exposure after that amount of time… In the brain…

Um…

"I don't think it would do a lot, but I can't be sure without some actual… Tests. The human body… And the potion, probably wouldn't react to the changes Smilex made to the brain as 'damage', not unless you dosed them with it immediately after their exposure. But I'm not an expert alchemist by any means and it's not beyond the realm of possibility that there might be some sort of super healing potion that we might learn to make in future that could work on cases like his."

"Then that's why."

"Do you really think that Jack Napier would want to come back at this point, remembering everything that the Joker's done? Heck, even if I did repair his brain, do you think that there's anything of Mister Napier left? We'd.. probably just get a slightly less extreme Joker."

"Er…"

We both turn to Mitchell, who's looking a little awkward.

"So… Not a good choice for a yellow power ring?"

"He is pretty good at judging the degree of fear he creates, but I don't think he's really…"

"Could we try him out?"

"If no one's got any better ideas?"

"What about Melinoë?"

"Maybe, but… There are three ways into Erebos. We can't get to the Themyscira gate with the island vanished, I don't want to risk dying at the moment to enter as a shade and I don't fancy our chances at finding a way in through the Dream."

M'gann's eyes glow for a moment. "You said the Omega Effect turned your construct into Colin Thornton. Do you think he knows any demons who could work?"

"Even if he does, he won't tell me. And…"

Could Mammon find someone? Probably, but they'd be dead. I don't know whether or not dead people can use power rings, but if we're invoking the white light it's probably best not to risk it. And a demon… No.

"I don't think that's a good idea."

She nods, going back to her screen. And now I'm thinking about Mr. Siskin again.

"Is Zauriel in the Tower of Fate?"

Richard shakes his head. "He's somewhere in South America right now. Mister Atom wanted to see if him being around people could stop the Anti-Life taking them over. There aren't as many broadcasters down there as there are in the US."

"Okay." I step back from the desks and generate a phone box construct around myself. I hesitate for a moment, then pick up the handset. We're in roughly the same time zone and as far as I know he doesn't sleep. "Orange Lantern to Zauriel."

A moment of delay, then-.

"Zauriel here. I am seated. You may begin."

"Can you tell me whether or not a particular person's soul went to Heaven?"

"It may be that I can do so. Whom do you wish to enquire after?"

"Michael Siskin. He died about a year and a half ago. Killed by Nabu."

"Was he a religious man?"

"I don't think so."

"Was he a good man?"

I've had ample opportunity to review his service record. He was a reasonably well disciplined soldier who was recruited to the dark side for his psychic abilities rather than any ideological inclination. What happened after that was a slippery slope I can all too easily understand. I didn't ask if he regretted it afterwards. I know that karma isn't a Christian concept; you can't pay off your sins and get into Heaven that way. So…

"He did me a solid."

"I fear that is not the recommendation that you want it to be."

"I didn't know him well enough to say. If you want my best answer, it would be that he was a reasonably moral man pressed into extreme circumstances." Hm. "Honestly, if he went to Hell that would be perfectly fine for my purposes-."

"Please, Orange Lantern, do not say things of that nature."

"Sorry. But we're trying to save the world here."

"I cannot check the lists of those permitted entry. If he is in purgatory and on the path to the City, I may not know it. But to my knowledge he has neither entered Heaven nor Hell."

"Thank you."

I go to-.

"Orange Lantern. It concerns me that even though you accept that this man Michael Siskin 'did you a solid', it is only now that you enquire after his soul."

"A lot of people have died, Zauriel. At the time I couldn't have done anything about it. You weren't on Earth. And if I had then I'd have run into the 'Mind of God', wouldn't I?"

"That is true. But please, consider your mindfulness during this conflict."

"Alright. I will. Thank you for the information. Goodbye."

"God be with you, Orange Lantern."

I dismiss the phone booth, shaking my head as the others look my way.

"He didn't know. Let's keep looking."

 

[Mr Zoat]

3rd Sigmarzeit 2512
Early Morning

The herald hesitates slightly as we reach the door to what appears to be a small dining room, then nods to the footmen manning the doors. The one on the left knocks sharply, then they grasp the handles and open the door. The herald marches in, straight-backed, and steps aside to half turn and face the doorway.

"Announcing Sir Paolo, Knight of the Orange Lantern."

I walk in behind him,-. Oh, for-.

I make eye contact with His Majesty Karl Franz I Holswig-Schliestein, and no one else because the only other occupants of the room are a couple of servants serving as waiters and the looming figures of his Reiksguard bodyguard up against the back wall. He smiles faintly and gives his eyes a small roll.

Well, at least he gets it.

I approach to what I judge to be a reasonable distance and then bow at the waist.

"Your Majesty."

"Rise, Sir Paolo." A small nod and the herald backs out of the room and the footmen close the doors behind him. The Emperor then motions to the seat a short way down the table from his own seat. "Please, join me."

"Thank you, your majesty."

I walk over to the-.

A servant pulls the chair out for me.

O… Kay..? I… Sit down, braced, but apparently we're allowed to organise our own napkins.

The Emperor's smile broadens. "Not the arrangement you have in your lands in Bretonnia?"

"Even with the recent expansion, it's not even a town yet. We don't have the people for me to have an arrangement like this, and using glowing daemons made people uncomfortable."

"And the beastwomen aren't house trained?"

"No, they… Are, with just a few false starts, but they kept making it a competition to serve whoever's in charge, and… It didn't work. And Hierarch Mael of the Cult of Taal isn't keen on the whole 'living inside buildings' thing and I'm trying to avoid having more gods angry with me."

He nods. "A sound avenue to take."

"Forgive me for asking, your majesty, but why am I.. here?"

He offers me a rueful smile. "It isn't usual for notable individuals such as yourself to give reports in open court. Once they've demonstrated a certain level of reliability and trustworthiness, I generally prefer a more informal environment."

I look around at the four plate-armoured knights and eight servants of other types, and the large oil paintings and wall hangings which decorate the walls. And then up at the currently unlit chandelier, and the frieze decorating the ceiling just beyond it.

He follows my gaze for a moment, then smiles again.

"Well. I am the Emperor."

"Can't argue with that. What did you want to hear about?"

"How are things going with the canal?"

"It is now sailable, so long as you only want to sail something the size of a punt."

"Already?"

I shrug. "The workforce is large and made up of skeletons and animated statues. They don't need rest, food or water. The real bottleneck was getting enough intelligent undead to coordinate them. Queen Khalida has dealt with that by making alliances with other Tomb Kings along the route, though that… Ah, leaves open the possibility that they may become 'confused' and do something regrettable later, but... We.. judged the extra speed was worth the risk."

"Have the elves raised any objection?"

Which is a diplomatic way of saying 'arrowed everyone to death'.

"No, but I'm not sure that they know about it. It's not easy to send spies into a lifeless desert, and there aren't really any merchants in Nehekharan cities to disguise the presence of nosy people."

"That will change."

"Yes, but it's not an especially popular posting, Ulthuan doesn't have the resources that would be required to invade and occupy the whole of Nehekhara to stop it, and… Quite a lot of Ulthuanian princes and princesses owe me for their newly conceived heirs. Not enough to actually thank me, but probably enough to abstain on a vote. Even if the garrison commander of the Fortress of Dawn would like to take aggressive action, they're not going to get any support."

"And on the other end?"

"The Pirate Princess didn't take the deal. I'm afraid that extreme measures will most likely be necessary."

"Assassination?"

"Throwing the island into an ocean trench. The only issue is that I'm not sure what that will do to the currents around the Tilean coast." I shake my head. "While it might be possible to put a lot of the sailors into service in more legitimate roles, I'm not happy about the… Easy transition between armed merchantmen and outright pirates. I've provisionally marked a few months in my diary after the expected completion date of the canal for eliminating all pirates in the region who attack ships using it, but frankly pre-empting it by destroying the island and everyone on it would probably be more efficient."

He shakes his head. "Scour the island if you must -the navy's pressgangs will have to look elsewhere for their men- but do not… 'Throw the island into an ocean trench'."

"As you command." I nod. "Prince Lorenzo might want to take possession of it as a naval dock once the current inhabitants have been culled. And there's little point in building the canal if I end up wrecking all the harbours on this side."

"And what will you do next? Concentrate on the road network?"

"No, after that comes the next stage of canal building: the Estalia bypass."

He hesitates, his eyes briefly moving aside as he considers my meaning. "A canal through the Irrana Mountains? It would save weeks of sailing at the very least, and avoid exposure to the storms coming off the Great Ocean. But the Black Marshes have their own inhabitants that may threaten your work."

"Yeah, Skavenblight. I'll probably end up destroying that. Depending on its elevation I might flood it, otherwise it'll be orbital bombardment. I'll need to speak with Princess Dolchellata of Miragliano before work starts, though given all the extra trade they'd be getting if I'm successful I doubt that she'll complain."

"That would be the diplomatic approach." He frowns faintly. "I believe that the Princess is widowed?"

I nod. "Yes. The late Prince Borgio died nine years ago, and she's ruling as their son's regent. I assume that her control is sufficiently good that she doesn't feel the need for an internal marriage, and that her city's position is secure enough that she hasn't made a marriage alliance."

Or more likely, no one felt like braving the wrath of her four-times-widowed sister.

"Anyway, once that's done I can focus on the roads. High Loremaster Teclis threatened to ask his brother to check my working on the logistics, and, um. I'd rather that didn't happen."

"Yes, I've met Prince Tyrion and I can well understand your reservation." He looks away for a moment, thinking about something. "I know that you've been travelling, but have you been able to keep up with news of the Empire?"

I shake my head. "Not really. I check for major invasions every few days but things looked relatively quiet. Is there a problem?"

"Some minor skirmishes between Ostland and Talabecland. I fear that I'm going to have to intervene before things escalate."

I nod. "Well, if you need my assistance with anything, I'm happy to help."

"I may. Tell me, Sir Paolo, you know of Princess Dolchellata's family but I know nothing of your own familial status. May we discuss the matter?"

 

[Mr Zoat]

3rd Sigmarzeit 2512
Early Morning

"Yes, I… Mostly try to keep busy so that I don't think about them."

But he's not talking about my family back on Earth. My eyes light up as I look around, staring through the walls and looking for-.

Ah.

"My sister had just gotten married. My father was approaching retirement… He taught biology in college, and-" I smile faintly "-you can get some pretty odd fixations growing up with a biology teacher for a father."

"I thought that the air smelled a little less pungent around you. I take it you were lectured extensively on the danger of bad airs?"

It's been a while since I read Genevieve Undead, but I seem to remember Karl-Franz's heir being his son. I don't specifically remember whether it was mentioned that Karl-Franz was married or not. Turns out that he isn't, but he's in a long term relationship with a woman with whom he's had two illegitimate children. I don't really know what's going on there. I mean, she lives in the palace, no one's going to take the idea that he's still on the marriage market seriously. His actual heir is his sister Isabella's son, Wolfgang Holswig-Abenauer.

Of course, he's hardly her only child.

"Really, the smell is more of a side-effect of the actual source of danger than a threat to health itself. I've hired a team of dwarf engineers to try and build a sewage system in my village, but it's actually quite hard that close to the sea."

Karl-Franz nods. "Townsmen here pay night soil collectors." He chuckles. "When they don't just chuck their chamber pots into the streets."

I wince.

"You have something better in your homeland?"

"After the late Queen Victoria's husband died of typhoid fever, she sponsored some major efforts in improving sanitation across the country. The dwarfs know far more about building underground tunnels than me, but they actually hadn't considered the U-bend or the flush. Please; once my village is finished, come and have a look at it. I'm trying to turn it into a model that other places can replicate, and… If you like it, I'd be happy to re-plumb this whole palace for you."

"Hah! That's the strangest bribe anyone's ever offered me. I see what you mean about your father. But… Your parents. Did they have a marriage arranged for you? I assume that your sister is your senior."

"No, two years younger. And no, we don't really do it like that. I mean, we used to, but these days even amongst the peerage, young people are mostly left to organise things themselves."

"And had you?"

The distraction didn't work. Not surprising given that his niece is in the next room. No idea why he's trying to match her with.. me.

"No. Which turns out to have been a sound judgement, given that I'm here. I hate to think that I could have been forced to abandon a wife or children."

One of the things that I keep missing is the low speed of information transfer on this planet. I see newspapers and I assume that I'm on a world that has the telegraph at least. But it's not. He doesn't know that I have a lover, or that I'm… I've got some sort of understanding with Queen Khalida. Why would he? I haven't told anyone in Altdorf, or spent significant time with either anywhere where someone reporting to him could spy on them. He only knows about the beastwomen because I had to get him to sign off on the Amber College assisting me.

There has just about been enough time for a ship to sail from Cathay with news about the diggings on the east coast of Nehekhara, so he might have confirmation about that. He had the report from High King Thorgrim Grudgebearer and multiple reports about the various daemons I've hunted down. So he knows that I'm capable from people whose word he trusts. But I have no significant connections. Raw power is all I bring to the table, and I've made it clear that I'll bring that anyway. The Old World road network is my second highest priority.

So.. he.. wants a threat? Bound to him by marriage? Does he not understand how little I want to rule places? If that was what I wanted I'd have gone to the Border Princes, not stayed in a small Bretonnian village.

"Sir Paolo? Are you well?"

"Ah, sorry." I shake my head. "I was just trying to work out why your niece is in the next room." A slight reaction from him, more curiosity than concern. "I'm not very good at this sort of thing."

He turns his head and nods at a servant, who bows and leaves the room in her direction.

"I wanted to introduce you over breakfast."

"With a view to..?"

"I have ambassadors in the courts of each of the Elector Counts. It is seldom possible to gather more than a few of us in any one place, so virtually all of our communications happen indirectly. You may be able to fly to any of our capitals when you like, but we cannot similarly contact you. Usually my ambassadors are distant cousins, but given your significance and the lack of existing ties, I felt that someone a little closer would be more appropriate."

"So she would be your ambassador to my little village?"

"The village is incidental; I want to be certain that I can reach the man who can face Greater Daemons in the field and vanquish them."

"Alright. Actually, I was thinking that a big get-together of rulers might be a good idea. Considering that the roads will be going through the territories of multiple countries."

"I think that you make for an excellent envoy. What could be accomplished by meeting directly that could not be achieved with a sealed letter?"

"That's fine for King Thorgrim and King Louen, but… I was thinking of spreading things a little more widely. You know that I am on good terms with Queen Khalida."

"An Undead."

"That's the point. Nehekharan rulers think of the Empire as it was in Sigmar's time. They don't really understand the improvements in magic, in artifice or in industry that your people have made. Entertaining her in person could change that as well as establishing a personal rapport."

"And who else?"

"Ah… King Erik Redaxe."

The Emperor sits up slightly. "He still lives? I heard the tale of how he traded the Duke of Marienburg to my great grandfather when I was a boy."

"He's not a young man any longer, but he still rules the land north of Kislev. Still favours the aesir over the Chaos Gods."

"He raided Ulthuan. The elves don't like you enough to forget that."

"I'm not asking them to like him. Just… Understand that it's in their interests to negotiate for him to unleash his reavers against the Dark Elves instead of them, or to hire them to fight orcs rather than fight them and the orcs." I shrug. "Heck, he may not even want to come. I didn't want to bother asking him if even you weren't prepared to talk to him."

"If he and Boris Bokha are in the same room, one of them will not leave it alive."

"It would need to be handled delicately."

"Delicately." He exhales. "I though you were against piracy."

"I am. But if he agrees to limit his peoples' actions in exchange for mercenary contracts, they won't be pirates any longer. If he doesn't, then he's had his chance. I could even explain the concept of shipping insurance to him."

"I think-."

The door opens, and a well-but-not-ostentatiously dressed young woman walks in, followed close behind by servants bearing trays of breakfast foods. Fruit, fresh rolls, bacon and sausages. Karl Franz stands, and I do as well.

"Sir Paolo, my niece, the lady Richilde Holswig-Abenauer."

I bow my head. "A pleasure to meet you, I'm sure."

She smiles-. I don't know. Maybe I've been spoiled between a elf and a woman with a custom-crafted face blessed by a goddess, but honestly? She looks kind of plain. Slightly short, shoulder length hair brown and straight… The only things that draws my attention is her genuine curiosity about me.

She curtsies. "Good morning, Sir Paolo." A servant pulls out her seat and she sits, prompting the Emperor and I to do so as well. "Uncle Karl has been telling me about your plans for a road network. Tell me, how do you intend to maintain it once it is built?"

I take a draft plan out of subspace and put it down next to my plate.

"A combination of road tolls and magic drawn from the network. In Tilea, it was the responsibility of the military to build and maintain roads, and I think…"

 

[Mr Zoat]

17th February 2013
08:23 GMT -5

Ned Bucksted the xeno-computation specialist shakes his head, the yellow ring awkwardly sitting on his right ring finger almost entirely dull. "I don't get it."

Richard waves a computer pad at the first crate. "We need to get a baseline for what someone normal can get the ring to do. Once we know that, we can work out how important it is for the user to have an instinct for it."

Mr. Bucksted points his right hand at the crate and.. waves his hand away as if he thinks that the motion itself is enough. "Ah, is there a button..?"

"No. You have to focus your mind on either causing fear, or how what you're doing relates to something that you're afraid of."

"It's a.. box, though."

I attach a filament to the box and yank, causing it to fly past his face with about two millimetres clearance.

"Y-ah!"

That made his environmental shield flare, but that's about it.

Richard doesn't look impressed.

"Did you feel what that was like?"

"Ah…" He looks down at his glowing body… As the glow fades. "I think so. God, that's weird. Do you do that every time?"

"At this point it's second nature for me."

"Okay, I got this."

A weak yellow glow surrounds a crate. He raises his right hand, but all the crate does is wobble slightly. And then he concentrates and the glow vanishes completely.

"This is surprisingly difficult. I-I gotta say, as an engineer, I'm not keen on technology that needs you to feel the right thing. That sort of thing's dangerous to the user."

"Usually we select people who have a natural inclination or learned ability in the field. The problem with fear is that there aren't a lot of people with that way of thinking that we could actually trust with it."

"I always found Mister Luthor pretty intimidating."

"Yes, but unless I very much miss my guess, you've been working for LexCorp on the sort of project where people who make mistakes or talk to the wrong people 'have an accident'."

"That-. No, that's-."

"Don't worry about it. Under the circumstances, I'm happy people like you exist. Goodness knows we need your expertise."

"Ah, okay, but I don't work anywhere like that."

"So places like that do exist, you just happen not to work there?" The ring glows a little brighter. "But if you could make it work, think about all the jobs Mister Luthor could have for you to do. Acquiring examples of alien technology? Decoding alien manuals and computer code? Performing repairs on components in storage? I dare say that with abilities like that, you'd be too valuable to ever let go of."

His environmental shield glows again and the crate hits the ceiling before crashing back down.

I smile. "Okay, well, we'll write it up as 'unable to maintain focus', shall-"

He's already taking the ring off his finger and handing it back to Richard.

"-we?"

"I need-. I need to-" He keeps watching me and he sidles towards the door. "-get back to work."

"Thank you for your time."

Richard waits for the door to close, staring at the ring in his hand.

"Was Lex keeping him prisoner?"

"No, but I imagine there were some fairly hefty golden handcuffs." He frowns questioningly. "Come on, there aren't that many alien computer systems on Earth, and governments claim most of them. Lex probably has to source his materials creatively. Either illegally or using off-world contacts. That man would have to know the relevant laws, but he works there anyway."

"Is that just a deduction, or have you actually been tracking them?"

"Deduction. But not exactly a difficult one. You want to have a go with that?"

"No." He shakes his head. "I never really got into the 'fear' part of Batman's training."

"He.. told me about his change of heart." I sigh. "He'd have been perfect for this."

"Sorry I got Anti-Lifed. I'll be sure to complain to Mannheim."

"Not what I meant. I just-. I was sort of hoping he'd be okay falling off the wagon for a day. Really…" I shake my head.

"No, I think this had been coming for a while."

"Since he married Talia? Because that wasn't the direction I thought she'd push him in."

"Since he adopted me. He couldn't be all doom and gloom the whole time in case it rubbed off on me."

"You were something to live for outside of the crusade."

"That's a…" He frowns. "Bit… Dark, but… Maybe?"

"And he wants to be there for you and any children he and Talia have in a way that his parents couldn't be for him. And that's all part of it so there's no chance of him going back."

He squints at me. "I think I should be offended, but I'm not sure which part I should be offended by."

"That Batman loves you more than fighting crime? I'd take it as a compliment."

"But he can't use the ring."

"Which would you prefer?"

He nods. "But we still need someone who can use the ring."

"What did you think about using Power Ring?"

"He's a supervillain who rules a world, Oh El. I don't want to give him more power. Or trust him. You sure there's not another way to get into Erebos? Didn't you send souls from your planet Lantern to Hades?"

"There's a shrine, but that just helps the souls of the dead enter Erebos. Souls naturally gravitate to an afterlife. Stopping them passing on is hard. So if I called Lantern Mother of Mercy back here and someone wanted to commit suicide-. And it would have to be me, because everyone else would be stuck at the back of the queue, then we could get a message in that way."

"So, no. How about..? Getting in through another afterlife?"

"Ah… Maybe? I…" I frown. "Hades did say that they had treaties with most other afterlives concerning necromancy… Why, do you have a way to get into another afterlife?"

"No. But Cornwall Boy does."

 

[Mr Zoat]

17th February 2013
13:42 GMT

Robert points to the Anti-Life broadcaster currently sitting in the middle of Stonehenge.

"There. One like it in just about every bloody one. Like the magic's drained right out of the place."

Richard frowns. "Permanently?"

"Bloody hope not." Robert shakes his head. "Shouldn't be, but anyone trying'na use magic in Britain right now's in fer a nasty shock."

"Opposition?"

"Dunno, mate. Most of the top level superheroes in Britain work for the government." He shakes his head. "Worked. A lot of the rest joined the Alliance, 'cos… Why not? They got helmets. Most of the villains got Anti-Lifed, but I haven't seen any they bothered helmetting. First Eleven are basically running the country right now and Stone Cold Luke's…" He tenses and relaxes his right arm. "He's been hunting down everyone who's still fighting. Killed seven that I know about, and my arm still isn't right."

I raise my left hand towards it and raise my eyebrows. He nods, and I connect a filament to it. There's… Some sort of poison in there, and it looks like it's resisting Robert's magic-based regeneration. I remove it and send it to subspace for future utilisation.

Richard nods. "And what happened to the government team?"

"For the first month or so they were smashing everything Mannheim sent. Then they all disappeared. Dunno if they're dead or what. They didn't try and coordinate with the rest of us."

"Do they use boom tubes?"

He shakes his head. "Not that I've heard. But they can teleport like me an' Dad do."

I nod. "Corrupt the ley lines with Anti-Life, then they can use them. Cornwall, do you have any access to Otherworld?"

"No, mate." He shakes his head. "Sorry." He sighs. "An' I could really use Great Granddad's advice."

"How about the standing stones that were sabotaged?"

"Most o' them are still there, but so what? We can't use them."

"They're on ley lines, right?"

"Yeah? But-."

"But it's the stones that were sabotaged, right? The ley lines under them aren't affected."

"So we..? Just replace them?" He thinks for a moment, then shakes his head. "It won't work quick, then you've got the whole system full of Anti-Life tryin'na stop it."

"How about an island?"

He looks away, exhaling slowly.

"Maybe. I.. dunno. Never went into that part of the theory."

"Okay, we can-." Hm. It's a long shot, but… "Have you heard of a hippy commune in Scotland called Pagan Nation?"

"No. What about them?"

"One of the people there is a powerful magician. Almost no training, but it would be interesting to see how she fared. If anyone could link up a stone circle-."

Except she said that stone circles were an attempt by the ancient patriarchy to bind the land's natural forces and generally gave me the impression that she'd like to get rid of them.

"She could do it. Whether she actually would or not…"

Richard frowns over his binoculars. "What happens if we just blow them all up?"

"Y'mean, the broadcasters, or the circles?"

"Broadcasters. Unless it helps."

"That shuts it down for a few days until they fix them all. The Anti-Life's already in the system. Might… Fade away eventually if they stop reinforcing it, but it doesn't happen quick enough. Blowing up the whole circle… Dunno. Nothing stopping them using ley lines anywhere, but they've built them in live stone circles for a reason, haven't they?"

"I'd rather not blow up Stonehenge."

"And I'd rather you didn't paint the Statue of Liberty brown, but we kinda need to save the world here Oh El."

"That wasn't-. It was a patina."

Oh, he clearly knew that.

Okay, I have atom-perfect scans of Stonehenge. I can just recreate it. I still think that it would lose something…

"I think it would be best to leave them intact. If we can."

Richard lowers his binoculars. "You been to this 'Pagan Nation' place before?"

"Yes. Just before the mission to Minions. The magician didn't like me because she was used to knowing everything about her immediate environment and my tattoos prevented that. But it's so out of the way that I doubt that Mannheim would have focused on it, and she's the sort of magician who'd be good at concealing their existence completely."

"So we go there, ask her about it, make a new opening and then call in the team."

Robert and I nod.

"And then what?"

"Then, hopefully, we'll be able to access Erebos, or at least be able to get a message to them. Melinoë is perfectly capable of accessing the material world under her own power, so we won't need to open a larger hole."

"Can she use a power ring?"

"I.. don't know for sure. The Green Lantern Corps has had exotic members before, but I… Can't immediately call to mind any gods who joined. But if she can't, she should be able to recommend someone. She's the Goddess of Nightmares and Madness, after all."

"And what happens if the Anti-Life is in Otherworld?"

"Depends how it manifests. Destroy it, ideally. Avoid it and complete our mission if we can't."

"And our line of retreat?"

"Our standing stone. Failing that… The Atlanteans working for the Orange Lantern Corps came up with a way for me to drag things through the Honden without driving them mad. Zatanna, Tula and Garth could probably replicate it."

"Okay. Cornwall?"

"I.. dunno?" He shrugs. "I've only gone into Otherworld a few times. I didn't even know there was a way into other places from there. We'll need Great-Granddad to show us around."

I nod. "Right then. Off to Pagan Nation."

 

[Mr Zoat]

17th February 2013
09:53 GMT -5

"Nrut s'miehnnaM ezag yawa."

A distortion briefly ripples in the air around us, and Zatanna wilts slightly as the effect peters out.

"That's the best I can do. He's so…" She shakes her head. "Everywhere that it's like I'm trying to help you hide from everything."

"Are you alright?"

She shrugs limply. "As long as Mercury doesn't want a magic show."

"I think she might actually quite like a sleight of hand performance. She'd immediately see how you did it, but I think she'd find it interesting enough to be entertained." I take a closer look. That's not eye shadow, and those stress hormones-. "Are you okay?"

She shakes her head, brushing her hair out of her face with her right hand. "I've been getting some sort of feedback when I use my magic. I can cope, but I'm… I'm not exactly at my best right now. Uh."

Richard steps in to support her as she staggers, and she smiles gratefully as she lowers herself into a chair.

"Do you need to be with the field team for it to work?"

She shakes her head. "No. You should be… Fine. I'm just going to.. sit here for a while."

I nod, then connect to the ship's internal communication system. "Mister Standing Bear, please report to the briefing room."

Richard considers that for a moment, then gives me a very small nod. Tuppence, Mahkent, Abra and Eiling are back on the Tower of Fate roster, and without me being here I'm not willing to leave Zatanna alone on a ship crewed by LexCorp employees. I don't think they'd do anything overt, but Lex is perfectly capable of subtlety.

"Okay, team composition. I-."

Richard shrugs. "Everyone who's available is here, Oh El. Unless you can call on someone from N.E.M.O., this is it."

"Do you think I should?"

"Is there a reason not to?"

"We're from a magic-rich world. My best guess is that that makes us more resistant to the Anti-Life. There are a… Couple of N.E.M.O. affiliated worlds that are thaumically active-"

Zatanna sort of slumps in her seat. I give her another scan, but as far as I can tell it's just tiredness.

"-but they are far less so than Earth. Grayven's started taking shots at our ships, so I can't ask for a whole fleet because they're either engaged or in reserve to respond to attacks, and Finality Man could probably destroy our ships with a bit of effort anyway. And…"

I give him an awkward look, and he nods.

"We're not part of N.E.M.O. and you can't risk this spreading. But if you're fighting Grayven, aren't you already fighting Apokolips?"

"Not as far as we can tell. One Apokoliptian ship and only one other Apokoliptian New God. We think he went after New Chronus to get people who could operate New God technology. If Darkseid was actually making an effort, he could easily supply him with officers."

"I guess that makes sense. But-."

The door opens and Mr Standing Bear walks in, helmet on head.

"We're heading down to Earth. Please look after Miss Zatara while we're gone."

He nods, approaching her chair and standing by it protectively with his arms folded.

"Thank you. Orange Lantern to squad, prepare for teleportation."

The ring shows me M'gann, Kon and Mitchell shutting down their terminals and then adopting the Star Trek transporter pose, which is slightly amusing. Down on Earth, Robert just steps back into concealment from the Mannheim-affiliates guarding Stonehenge.

"Two, one."

I trigger the teleportation system, and in a flash of light the ship disappears and is replaced by the backwaters of Scotland.

17th February 2013
14:56 GMT

Nothing much has changed since last time I was here. I even recognise the trees and the sign along the track leading to the hamlet. And I can just about see the aura Zatanna covered us with in a slight ripple as I look up at the stars.

Robert exhales. "Cor. Feels a lot lighter out here, doesn't it?"

Richard nods. "We're a lot further from any broadcasters."

M'gann looks unconvinced. "I…" Her eyes glow and she reaches out her right hand towards the settlement. "I think they're…"

I erect a telepath baffle at once.

"Huh? What?" She jerks her head around to look at me. "Why-?"

"Because they don't know that we're not with Mannheim, but Mercury could probably feel you doing that. And while she probably can't just blast us, she can do a whole lot of-"

A bird takes off from a nearby tree, calling out in alarm.

"-unpleasant things-"

My faceplate is covered in bird poo.

"-to us."

There are some… Choked coughs from my colleagues, who are probably being affected by some sort of asphyxiation weapon.

I clean the bird poo off with a construct.

"Cornwall, how well known are you?"

"Do they have T.V.?"

"I don't think so."

"Radio?"

"That's a bit more likely."

He thinks, then shakes his head. "Doubt they've heard of me."

"I guess I'm taking the diplomatic-"

Another bird uses me for target practice.

"-lead, then. Mercury, this is really petty."

Or it could be a genuine attempt to blind attackers. I send probes into the and that's a pit trap.

I create a construct bridge over it and start walking.

"They've prepared low-tech defences. No sudden movements, and keep your hands visible."

Mitchell frowns. "Would it be better to wait here? Then they could talk to us when they're ready."

"No. They're industrious but not very sensible. The more time that we're not talking to them directly, the more time they've got to do something stupid. I'm just hoping that Mercury doesn't do something stupid anyway."

 

[Mr Zoat]

17th February 2013
14:01 GMT

Why are they only hitting me?

…

There's an apocalypse on. The bird poo is annoying not because it impairs me but because of how incredibly petty it is. She clearly knows about what's going on in the world outside her little primitivist pocket paradise, but she's taking time out of her busy hiding schedule to literally shit on me.

We're approaching the wooden buildings that make up the hamlet, having walked through the non-marijuana crop fields. To be fair, in a place like this I could honestly believe that they were growing it for hemp rope-making, and a few Class B drugs never hurt anyone.

"Mercury, I know you know we're here. We're trying to save the world and we need your help. The faster you help us, the faster we're gone, and the faster things go back to normal."

No response.

Kon nods at the door of the dining hall. "I could knock?"

"No, because if Mercury's not here they might be hiding in there and then they'll panic. She either knows that we're here or…" I frown. "Cornwall, I don't suppose you've seen a young woman around the Anti-Life broadcasters, have you?"

"A few? What, you think they got her?"

"I'm aware that it's a possibility. She isn't a battle wizard, she's self-taught. She can't defeat a horde in the way that someone who can conjure elements can."

Richard looks around. "There aren't any signs of a fight, Oh El."

Mitchell frowns. "I can't hear anyone. I should be able to hear if there was anyone here. Are you.. sure-?"

Kon shakes his head. "Kryptonians and magic don't mix. If Mercury's got a spell to stop people hearing or to stop sound moving, it'll work just as well on us as on a human."

Mitchell frowns in frustration, and Kon smiles companionably.

"Yeah, it's annoying, but we're not unbeatable."

His brother shrugs. "I know, but I'd gotten used to being able to hear everything. It's weird when I can't do it."

M'gann nods. "I know."

"Mercury, I'm not trying to start a fight, but I'm going to look a little harder, alright? We do actually need to talk to you."

As gently as I can, I extend my awareness into the… Honden. Which I can't feel. Okay, try a scan. Oh, that's a really good ward. There aren't any blank spots. It's either very carefully excluding particular things, r-.

I try scanning the world outside of Pagan Nation territory and get nothing.

"Oh dear."

Robert looks puzzled. "What?"

"I think that we're currently in a pocket universe that triggered when we crossed the pit trap. Because that's probably the only way she could deal with a major attack. Superboy, Match, Cornwall, please fly that way, that way and that way while I go back to the entrance."

Robert looks a little spooked. "And then what?"

"We still try talking to her. If we can't do that, you and I throw as much raw power as we can at the problem until it stops being a problem."

The four of us rise off the ground and head towards our destinations. Was there any sign I missed..? I don't think so. My spell eater isn't any hotter than its default state and there weren't any visible sigils at the entrance. Makes me wonder… How exactly is she as strong as she is? Usually an Atlantean magician will exercise their metaphysique for decades to get as strong as she is, and they'll still use carefully standardised spell construction because it's more energy efficient. She doesn't. She hasn't had any magical education that she couldn't get from a bunch of hippies and her own psychometric abilities. John didn't say anything about her drawing power from something or having some sort of elemental giving her power, so…

Heritage? And given how she used magic… Fae? It's the only thing that comes immediately to…

I see the entrance.

Mind.

Yes, now I'm looking for it, the exit doesn't look quite right. I can see the way out, but there's a haze, and-.

I try flying 'out' and it looks like I'm making progress, until I turn around and I'm no further from the closest tree than I was when I started.

"Alright! You got us! Certainly can't save the world from in here! Well done! Very impressed!"

I slow-clap her mockingly.

"You know we're not here to threaten you. I don't even really need you to do any magic, just tell us how to do something and that's fine. Mannheim's people are going to come for you eventually whether you leave us here or not."

"Then what do you want?"

I turn to see Mercury… Mercury's translucent projection, sitting in a tree. She's visibly older than last time we spoke, though that isn't too surprising at her age. I'm going to assume that she's intelligent enough to make sure what whatever I'm talking to isn't something that I can influence with the orange light.

"Passage to Otherworld. While still alive, obviously. The Justifiers are infecting-."

"I know, I can feel it. It's disgusting."

"Glad you think so. Why have you done this to me?"

"Thought John might have sent you. He gets through a lot of friends in situations like this."

"Haven't seen him since this started. Last I heard he was on Reformation Island."

She scoffs. "Fat chance with that one."

"That doesn't matter. I'm not sure why you don't want to talk to us and it doesn't really matter. Can you send us to Otherworld? Just spin this around and connect it to there rather than the regular material world? Then I'll have no reason to seek you out."

"Until next time."

"What do you want me to say? You are literally the last person I want to ask for help, because I suspected that you'd act up like this. But all of my magic allies are occupied, and the independent contractors are out of reach. This should be simple for you, and every moment you don't do it is another moment you spend in my presence."

"It's because I can't tell."

"What is?"

"Why I don't like you. I usually know why everyone's doing everything. The twins were saying the same sort of thing."

"When this is over I'll build you a suppression collar so that you can learn how normal people interact. Will you send us on our way now?"

"… Fine. Then it's all your problem."

 

[Mr Zoat]

17th February 2013
14:06 GMT

Mercury jumps down from the tree as… Something happens to the entrance. I actually have to shut my eyes as… The universe distorts, patches of colour running into each other, but I'm seeing… A twisting of-. I assume that it's the thaumosphere, but there's hints of-. I don't know what it is but I don't like it.

"Oh. Can you see it too?"

I gird my loins and look at the mess. Some things are lines with the black I associate with the Anti-Life, and others… I don't even know.

"If you mean the black lines, yes. I have been exposed to the Anti-Life before." Ugh. "Is this going to take-"

The view stabilises, looking… Like a slightly different woodland.

"-long? Ah, thank you. Orange Lantern to team, we have arrived in Otherworld. Please join me at the entrance."

I get acknowledgement pings over the radio, and…

"Alright, thank you. We're where we need to be." Mercury shrugs. "You're free to leave? I don't imagine that you want to be around me any more than I want to be around you."

"Can't." She folds her arms across her chest.

"And why is that?"

"I'm not Mercury. I'm like a bit of her that she broke off-"

"Because that worked out so well for John."

"-so she didn't have to deal with you herself."

"So she created you just.. to hold a conversation she couldn't be bothered with?"

"Mm-hmm."

She smiles in a decidedly unimpressed way.

"Are you supposed to make your way back to her, or just-"

She turns away and dashes across the 'threshold', running up to a… A tree.

"Come on, wake up."

"-going to do your own thing-"

Mitchell lands next to me, frowning at her.

"-now?"

A single bloom extends itself from the branch she's looking at. Staring at. It blossoms into a flower which she pokes at before resuming her staring. The flower closes, dying as the fertilised plant grows fruit at rapid speed. Cherries by the looks of things.

"Thank you."

The moment they're fully grown she pulls them off and eats one, chewing in the manner of a wild child never taught table manners. Or of my granddad, but he had false teeth. She turns around, smiling sweetly.

"There!"

"You ate food in another world and now can't leave?"

"Don't wanna leave. Mercury didn't care what I did once I did my job, so I'm staying here."

"Okay, good luck with that!"

Richard lands with a thump as the rest of the team finish flying in, Mercury getting a few puzzled glances.

"Everyone, mini-Mercury. Mini-Mercury, everyone. Cornwall, where to now?"

"Errr… Dunno mate."

"Hah!"

Mercury 2 grins while the rest of us look a little uncertain.

"Great Granddad came with me each time, before. And this isn't where we came through."

"I can fly us south if that would help?"

"Topography here doesn't work like that."

I look at Mercury. She looks back at me, smirking. I avoid looking at her.

"We could just do the summoning ritual we used to get your Great Grandfather here."

"Wouldn't work here. This is, like, as close to living as death gets. It's… Well, it's for people who don't really want death to be a transformative experience. Just a break in the country until their next reincarnation. You can't summon people from one place to another. If we set up a ritual he might feel it, but then he's got to get here."

"Any dangers we should know about?"

Richard looks at me quizzically. "You didn't check, Oh El?"

"Briefly. This was supposed to be a quick stop-off. I didn't think we'd have to go orienteering."

"Elves. Fae-fairy type elves, not like in Lord of the Rings. And all sorts of other fae creatures. Goblins. Nasty spirit creatures. Fomorians, though them you can see coming a mile off."

He hesitates.

"Usually."

M'gann's eyes glow as she looks around. "What's a 'fomorian'?"

"Like a giant with elemental magic..? A.. sort of mini-titan with a body that's mostly flesh rather than just being magic." He shakes his head. "But like I said, we could see one coming a mile off, and none of them have any reason to come after us."

He looks around, uncertainly.

"I think."

I look at Mercury. She looks back at me, still smirking. I go back to avoiding looking at her.

To my mild relief, Richard tries it in my place.

"Mercury, can you get us to Cornwall Boy's grandfather?"

She puts another cherry in her mouth, masticating unpleasantly. "Myup."

He crouches slightly, putting his head on a level with hers. "What will it take for you do actually do it?"

"Um…" She makes a show of averting her eyes as she thinks it over. "The soul of your firstborn?"

"Ah, no. Try again?"

"You could give me your real name?"

"Ah. I.. guess I could-.

"No." / "No, don't-!"

Mercury glowers at Robert and I in a good-humoured way, while Richard frowns under his mask. "Why would-? Oh. Fae. Right."

"Yeah. Alright, we'll just follow the road until we reach a settlement and then ask for directions-."

"Do you have any food from the real world?"

I nod at Mercury. "Yes."

"Give me that, and I'll take you to him lickety split."

"Deal."

I take a single Brussels sprout out of subspace and hold it out to her.

 

[Mr Zoat]

3rd Sigmarzeit 2512
Mid Morning

"First time flying?"

The Lady Richilde has mastered her outward expression fairly well, but Aranei has been instructing me on the subject of unconscious tells, and… With a power ring to keep track, changes in heart rate, brain activity, posture… It's too easy, really.

"Yes, Sir.. Paolo." Head level, her eyes dip to take in Altdorf spread below us. "It.. is."

"Really? The Imperial Zoo's got a herd of pegasi. You didn't get to ride one at any point?"

"Those are.. trained for war, and tend to react poorly to… To unfamiliar riders."

"The Emperor didn't take you up on Deathclaw?"

"No. No. No, he did not." She makes an effort to master herself. "Is this.. flight… Flying, common, in your lands?"

"What, Bretonnia? I've flown with most members of my retinue at some point. Some… Take to it better than others. The village children find it thrilling, but their parents.. generally take to it about as well as you are."

She closes her eyes for a moment, wetting her lips and nodding.

"And some took to it well?"

I nod. "Sir Mallobaude was fine with it. That's… Why I was a bit surprised that you didn't have any experience with it. His uncle used to go pegasus-riding with him regularly when he was growing up."

"Sir Mallobaude? His family is from Parravon?"

"His mother's family, yes."

"And his father's family?"

"Couronne. Didn't spend a lot of time with his father."

"Are his parents estranged?"

"More like never tranged, really. She wasn't his wife or his official mistress."

"Then his absence from Sir Mallobaude's life may be no bad thing. He sounds like a man of low character."

"We both better hope not. He runs the country."

Her heads jerks around from taking in the sight below to stare at me. I smile slightly guiltily.

"His father is King Louen Leoncoeur."

"I thought that checking would be gauche-" And the magics in the Tabard of Kings blocks my scans. "-but that appears to be accepted fact."

"Check..?"

"Ah, you're aware that certain characteristics run in families?" She nods cautiously. "My people understand the mechanisms by which that occurs. We usually need a small blood sample from each person to compare their characteristics in detail, but I can do it by waving the ring at someone."

"I take it that your people can fly as well."

"Not as an act of will. And none of the flying creatures on my world could support an adult's weight. But we have machines for flying. Personal flying machines exist but they've never really caught on. Large flying machines for transporting large numbers of people are more common."

"Like the balloon-borne airships of the Dwarfs?"

"No, we gave up on balloon technology for air travel about a century ago. Then we moved onto something more like a gyrocopter but with lightweight engines and front-mounted propellers rather than-."

"I'm afraid that I was not educated as an engineer. Details such as that would be lost on me."

"Ah, sorry. Anyway, yes, the civilisation I come from can fly. But what do you think of the view?"

She considers the scene for a moment.

"I think that I like Altdorf more the less I can smell it."

Yeah, it… It doesn't look great. There's so much smoke from foundries and cooking fires that a constant pall of smoke hangs over the city. You could go cross-eyed trying to make sense of the streets, and they've taken on that particularly unsettling medieval architecture where the first floor overhangs the ground floor, blocking out the light to the road between them. The river comes in to the city looking reasonably fresh, and goes out a greyish brown that puts me well off the idea of drinking anything water-based while in the city. The streets are covered in excrement that I hope comes from horses and teams of boys with shovels take coins from town-dwellers to shovel a clean path through the fetid mess.

The only positive thing I can say about it is that it's actually pretty colourful. Richly pigmented paint appears to be both fashionable and within the budget of most people.

"Are the cities of your country different?"

"Less smoke. Wider streets. Taller buildings. And we make an effort to have some greenery in the mix. Trees improve air quality a lot, even when they're not in bloom."

"Then how do your fires work?"

"We use either mine gas or lightning. Gas doesn't make much smoke, and lightning only makes smoke where it's generated." Hm. "How badly do you think people would be terrified if I cleaned things up?"

"To what extent?"

"If I sent a giant wall of orange through the city, cleaning the air and removing the excrement."

Her face falls.

"I think they would stampede in a panic and many of them would die."

Yes, she's… Probably right. "Scratch that, then. Ready to see my village?"

"Should I not pack first?"

"We don't have any sort of embassy building. I can throw something together in half an hour or so, but it's probably better if you have a look around and tell me what you want for however many people you're going to bring with you."

"Then, yes, I am."

"Alright. When we move, it will be something like if you closed your eyes, turned around and then opened them again. What you can see will have changed, but you're still safe and sound. Do you understand?"

"No. But then, I didn't expect to. I am prepared."

"Alright." I plot a transition course to my village, harnessing my desire to return home and to show off what I've achieved. "Three, two, one, now."

The scenery skips just as I said, and her only real response is to blink in confusion at the new scenery.

"That is… It?"

"Yes."

"I.. thought that this part of Mousillon was swampland."

"When I got here, it was. I dug a few canals…" I point one out. "There, you see? To improve drainage, so we could use the land for planting. I went with apple trees so that their roots could stabilise the banks. Once I'm sure that I've got it right, we can add fields of annual crops between them."

"Is that something that you learned on your former world as well?"

"Ah. Sort of. The nation of Holland is largely below sea level and so has to use various drainage techniques to keep their land land, but I didn't study it in enough detail to implement that here."

"Then where did you learn?"

I wince slightly. "Well, since they've been cut off from the rest of the Empire… Marienburg has had to pioneer similar techniques to enable them to plant their hinterlands. They're sort of this world's Holland-equivalent. When they heard about the shipping canals I'm working on, they were happy to help."

"I see. That means that the Empire's maps of your land are out of date. Let us begin our tour there."