With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Story Only)

[Mr Zoat]

21st November
10:38 GMT -5

"I find myself talking in rhyme
Compelled to do it all the time.
Whatever I might think or feel
It is all really quite surreal."

FUCK! Even when I know it's happening, I can't stop it! All that's happening is that I'm getting funny looks from the demon soldiers I'm hurrying past as I dash after William Hayes who is a psychotic monster and not hot at all except literally due to Beelzebub's fire manipulation powers.

Demon me, you can do better.

And now I'm thinking about my relationship with Jade. Really? Really? But I am-? I mean, am I just thinking about it because of the demon magic, or is that just giving me an excuse? Look, whatever doubt she's having -and she's having more than I am- she was still willing to come to Hell for me. That's loyalty you don't get from demons.

Okay, Zatanna would probably be more loyal-.

Shitshitshitshit.

I actually… Felt that. What it would be like to accept slavish devotion without guilt or hesitation. I accepted that part of my desires before I achieved enlightenment, but since then I've been aware of exactly why it was a minority view. For a moment there it wasn't.

I haven't lived long enough to become the villain yet!

At times like this I am painfully aware of how irrational and relative my particular values are. I'm not sure if that's a weakness of me or of Orange Lanterns in general, but I double down on my attachments because I have attachments.

And Jade finding new strength through me makes her a better mate. Zatanna's still going to be on-side whatever the particulars of our relationship.

…

That's… True, but don't think I didn't hear the difference there.

H-urh. I'm.. tempted to hit the 'Call John' button. Not being myself is one of my major fears. But I'm so close to Mr Blood, and the locals are providing me with an escort! And if the fellow in charge can't stop one abomination, letting a few out should provide enough of a distraction.

The guard parts to allow me out onto a walkway which appears to.. run around the entire interior of the tower around a pit. Mr Hayes is already standing at the edge and gazing downwards, the other guards sensibly giving him his space.

"It thinks to outrun Harm. Harm will teach It that this is quite impossible."

I approach somewhat carefully.

"Your pardon, sir, but my knowledge is incomplete,
Who ruled this place before their rightful defeat?"

"Its name was Abaddon. It felt a surprising degree of loyalty to the First of the Fallen, and would not accept the change of things."

"Of the First's fall I'm sure I'd heard,
But who defeated the loyal bird?"

He slowly turns his head my way, a relaxed smile on his lips. "Harm had that pleasure. And now that Ran Va Daath has returned, the prohibitions against Harm slaying her son have lapsed. You will bear witness to Harm slaying Etrigan. Come."

I frown, as best my horns allow.

"You might well be perfectly alright
But Mammites were not designed for flight.
I'd love to watch you slay that clown
But I've no idea how to get-."

He picks me up in one hand and throws me over the balcony.

Ah. I'm falling quite fast. Not as afraid as I thought I'd be, but that's probably due to all the experience I have of being safe while airborne. Try angling for the walls? I think they're too far away, but a frame this strong might be able to maintain a grip at terminal velocity. What else? Using my rings to fly is an option, but a giveaway if anyone is paying attention.

Aaaaahh… Super strong organic wing design. Eidetic memory, don't fail me now. That'll do. Ring, go.

OWOWFUCKINGFUCK! IF I EVER DECIDE TO BECOME A DEMON AGAIN, I'M HAVING WINGS FROM THE START!

I don't open them wide. Rather, I use them to gradually turn downward momentum into lateral movement, spiralling in increasingly flat circles around the pit. Little bit wider, little bit wider… And I.. still don't know where I'm supposed to be heading-.

"It will follow Harm."

Mister Hayes flies past me, clearly under his own control and entirely unaffected by gravity. I.. close my wings a little, diving after him. For a demon and a murderer he's making surprising allowances for my apparent weakness. Which is somewhat suspicious. Harm always worked alone, and didn't appear to have any particular need for an audience.

"We're diving rather deeply into this well,
You are aware I don't have a scrying spell?"

"Harm does not see how that is a problem. It merely needs to follow Harm's lead."

"And not record your valorous deeds?
Demon Lords usually have certain needs."

"Harm does not care for the opinion of the 'Its'. It is simply convenient for Harm to send a messenger rather than go himself. You will bear witness to Harm and inform Harm's ally."

"To hear is to obey,
By your side I will stay.
But if I may ask and you aren't getting bored,
Who, pray tell, is this illustrious Lord?"

"Lord Satanus of Limbo. Here."

He stops suddenly, and I'm forced to spread my wings suddenly to turn my dive into upward motion. No, not enough simply to glide. I'm going to have to flap as well. Mr Hayes has already landed on a lower balcony and very pointedly isn't waiting for me. Flap, flap, oh this is.. not fun. If I do this again I'm going to be sure to work some Nth metal into the mix. No, not working. But the wall looks like regular rock, so if I grab on… Yep, got a grip, now I can claw my way up.

"Harm will inform It that this level is inhabited by Scabbies. They may eat you. It would displease Harm were that to occur."

Shield and sword at the ready, then.

"It's been a while since I've seen these climes.
Who -or what- are these Scabbies of thine?"

"Prisoners captured during the War in Heaven and now broken. They are beneath Harm's contempt but may be dangerous to lesser 'Its'."

"While I will endeavour to keep myself alive,
If they're using theurgy I'm not going to thrive."

"We are beyond God here. His miracles do not function."

Explains what might have happened to Remiel and Duma. How hard would it be to convince them to check in on their former comrades?

"A dangerous place,
For those denied grace."

"Harm finds it… Restful. Ah. They come." He stops walking and gestures for me to keep going. "Amuse Harm."

 

[Mr Zoat]

21st November
10:41 GMT -5

I see the first one, and I'm suddenly less worried about the overwhelming power of the Silver City. The first one I see is emaciated, trembling and is quietly mumbling to itself. It reminds me a little of that poor creature from that.. horror program. How physically strong are they? Not sure, and-.

It looks up, and… Yeah. It's making-

"Tch-tch-tch-tch-tch…"

-a sort of clicking, sucking noise, its eyes blank and staring. The wings are there, but the one on the left looks like someone's been gnawing on it.

"Pathetic creature, gaunt and weak,
Is it truly the end you-?"

"HAEHHH!"

It pulls in its arms and snarls, sharp rotting teeth on display.

"Or mayhap that's too great a boon?
To help you leave here so soon."

No recoverable parts I'd want. I mean, look at it. Even Cranius would hesitate before sticking bits of this thing in his lab. Really, the question is what helps me get into a useful position with regard to Satanus. I mean, there's no mind left here and if the Silver City wanted it back then Remiel and Duma would have done something about it. Since there's no mind there to suffer, I'm not going to worry about what it thinks.

That's what the Silver City would want, right?

I sheathe my sword and reach out for it. It lunges for me, but those arms are about as strong as they look. Holding it presents no real challenge. But what would Harm find funny? The investigation into his murders showed that he wasn't particularly sadistic. He'd kill someone -including his sister- when there was a material benefit from doing so, but he didn't go out of his way to make them suffer. I don't remember anything about his sense of humour…

Broken angel in hand, I turn around and walk past Harm back onto the balcony. Careful not to let it look down, I turn its head upwards. The light here is.. okay. You can't see details for any distance, but it's certainly possible to see that there are other balconies from down here.

"You know, not all that long ago, Lucifer quit Hell. The Silver City sent Remiel and Duma to rule here in his place. Now, they probably couldn't hear you all the way down here… But maybe if you got a little higher. Yes?"

Something… A dim forgotten longing appears on its confused countenance. Nothing beyond the level of a mangy dog not immediately biting someone it remembers having fed it, but it's certainly a change. I walk over to the left extremity of the balcony, where it meets the wall of the shaft. Carefully, I lift the angel so that it can grip the rock face.

"Best of luck."

I step back as its eyes widen, and it takes its left hand away to reach upward to the next handhold.

And loses its grip and plummets downward.

I watch it fall for a moment, then shrug and turn back towards the entrance. Harm frowns beautifully. "That was not quite what Harm had in mind. Nonetheless, Harm appreciates its effort."

"Oh, come now. What's not funny about that? The first remotely positive thing it's felt since it got stuck down here, and it results directly in its death. It will feel despair that it thought it had become accustomed to with new bitterness as the last thing it ever feels."

"And then it will feel nothing. One of the few truly free creatures in the universe will eat its remains, and it will cease to be."

"Your pardon, my lord. I didn't bring my custard pies with me." Still, that's an interesting point of view. I stroll back towards the entrance, keeping a cautious watch on him at all times. "Free in what sense?"

"Almost everything that is, is created by God. Even this place, the souls in it and the capacity for the suffering they experience. Evil itself is defined by God. Harm always sought freedom from the chains of morality, and is now close to Its who cannot exist within that framework. Who can scarce understand it. Harm cannot help but feel jealous."

I lead the way back inside, keeping an eye out for any stronger inmates.

"There must be some way to graft that capacity onto a demon. Ran va Daath claimed to have dammed Etrigan, after all."

"That is why Harm has learned to tolerate lesser Its."

Tunnels, the layout… Deliberately confusing. And the width is such that a single being couldn't block it and that an army couldn't bring its full strength to bear. A few rags, a few well-gnawed bones… It seems a bit of a waste, leaving them here.

"Is there a Missus Harm?"

"Yes. She did not come here upon her death. At the time, Harm did not know the appropriate rituals."

I nod. "It's sad when families are broken up like that."

Somewhere in the distance I hear a whimpering.

"Harm notes that It has stopped compulsively rhyming."

"So it has. So either I've bored Lucifer's spell or… What, my power growth has halted?"

"Harm is surprised that It is not more familiar with the process."

"I didn't fancy paying Mammon's fees. I've gained a lot of power lately, but as I said, I've been away from Hell."

Hm-? He hangs back sl-.

I'm already crouched as the first Scabbie throws itself at me from the side passage. This one is notably stronger, only the skin visibly worried while the muscle beneath remains strong. One wing's shorn away at the shoulder, but the other seems reasonably healthy.

"Hellspawn."

I feint at his head with my sword but he doesn't seem concerned. I edge forward, feinting again while just close enough that inactivity could see it turn into a stab-. He slaps the flat of my blade aside with more strength than any human of his proportions would have, nearly knocking it from my hand! I step back and raise my shield as he steps forward, whipping his wing out in a feint of his own-.

Why am I wasting time with this scum? I've trained with Kon often enough to know what super strength feels like.

I push forward, grinning at the sting from his wing strike and from his attempt to reverse his advance to avoid my sword. I cut a shallow slash across his chest and narrowly miss chomping down on the tip of his wing with my fangs. The fact he's backing up is a fairly clear indication that he knows he's not strong enough to do much to me. It's a front.

Bringing my shield back up I push rapidly forward. One punch is blocked by my shield, my sword getting a decent cut on his arm in retaliation. He's still backing up so I charge, smacking into him and using my bulk to pin him against a wall. He punches me in the face with his left fist but I barely feel it. Harm-honey wanted amusing?

I bite, his fingers crunching as I mutilate his hand. Another bite gets me a chunk of palm and now my sword's in position. Slicing a wing off would be hard but for the unyielding stone behind us. I drop the sword and grab it by the bleeding end, pulling back just far enough to shove it into his mouth. The impact knocks his head back into the stone, stunning him, and I let the ridiculous failure of an angel fall to the ground.

"I remember something about the worst torture in Hell being one that gave the victims a view of Heaven, so that they would always know what they had failed to achieve. I don't know how to do that to this one, but perhaps propping him up on the balcony sans arms and legs would achieve a similar result? Mm?"

Harm smiles.

 

[Mr Zoat]

21st November
10:47 GMT -5

"…Harm is not merely a capable warrior." Harm generously condescends to allow me to open the door for him. "Harm has been blessed with knowledge and intellectual ferocity to match Harm's physical abilities."

I nod. "The Evil Wisdom of Belial and the Evil Courage of Asmodeus."

"The Evil Wisdom and Courage of Harm." He walks down the corridor a short way, then turns back to indicate a cell door. "Harm's curiosity is most aroused by the interactions of contradictory and conflicting magics. Observe one of the Its Harm has studied."

I walk up to the door and move the slide away from the viewing slot. Can't see all that much on the far side. A trio of dull braziers take the other cardinal points of the room, and a double layer magic circle surrounds the man in its centre. He's suspended in the air by chains wrapped around his wrists and fixed to the ground by chains wrapped around his ankles. His head is tilted down and ragged blonde hair obscures his face…

But not the ragged ends of his wing stumps where someone took a chainsaw to them. Or the ragged hole in his chest from which someone tore his heart.

"They gave you Gabriel."

"Harm has observed that It tries to face away from the door." Harm's.. right next to me. I can feel his breath on my neck as he speaks. "It finds the existence of other Its shameful."

Former colleagues, reduced to feral beasts. Who wouldn't? But I always assumed that he was supposed to be allowed to repent. Was getting tricked into having sex with one succubus really that big a deal?

"I suppose that freshly fallen angels are somewhat thin on the ground. But wouldn't Remiel and Duma have been in control when he first arrived?"

"Harm has been informed that They oversaw Its initial punishment themselves." Oh, why did I give this body a penis? Things could get awkward if he looks down. "If It was not supposed to be punished, It would not be down here."

What could I say that would ingratiate myself with the Harmness further?

I lean a little closer to the hatch. "Hey, ponce. You may be pleased to know that John Constantine is alive and well. Actually… A little birdie told me that he's more powerful than ever, and Chantinelle has become an elemental of love."

There's a quiet groan from the fallen angel. Ah well, they can't all be winners.

And if the existence of Hell doesn't prove that…

…M.. n.. yeehh… Might be worth trying to get him out. Maybe? He was kind of a dick. But having him and the Silver City owe me a favour… Would they even want him back? Or maybe..? If his wings grant theurgy, what would his other organs do? Can't really tell Harm about that, not until I know more about what he's learned-.

Satanus is partially human. Able to move back and forth between Hell and Earth at will, without the huge expenditure of power it usually takes Demon Lords. I doubt that he's supplying Harm with research materials without the expectation of some sort of return. I.. don't know if Etrigan finds moving between Earth and Hell similarly easy thanks to Blood, though their pairing is demonstrably superior to most instances of possession. And Etrigan hasn't ever been banished…

"I would be fascinated to watch you work, and to discover what you have learned. But there is a rather large snake abomination heading this way."

"She will have to go to Harm's holding pen if she wishes to recover Harm's prisoner. Her mass will not allow her to use the central shaft. While Harm does not expect the Its who defend this place to stop her, her lack of self control will cause her to slow to fight them."

He moves away and -quick readjust of the loincloth- and I head after him.

"Are we trying to kill her, contain her… What?"

"Harm's experience suggests that the abominations cannot be killed by conventional means. Harm means to enjoy himself. When Harm kills Etrigan before her eyes, Harm is confident that she will focus her attention on Harm."

"Have you learned all you can from him? It would be unfortunate if you were to lose your only subject with his particular characteristics."

"Harm has performed as much research upon the demon as he can. Despite Its considerable suffering It refused to return to Its human form. As such, it has no ongoing value other than to instigate Harm's next fight."

The walk is somewhat circuitous, the corridors winding down and around. Glancing down side passages I occasionally catch glances of more Scabbies, though they shrink back as they meet my gaze. Plenty of potential bargaining chips here.

"You hold Etrigan deeper than Gabriel?"

"The angel lost its capacity for theurgy when it fell. It has little to teach Harm. The demon was more useful, and far more capable-" He pushes open a reinforced door. "-of escape."

"Weak mortal soul, stolen-power clad
Oh how your return, it makes me glad!"

Naked Etrigan chained to a rack, his muscles straining against his bonds. There are burns and cuts all over his body, but they're fading even as the small demonic creatures surrounding him cut and stab and brand.

"And you've got a new friend, too!
Both your guts will make my stew!"

"Harm has heard It before. Harm is no more impressed now than he was then." Harm walks closer, the imps scrambling back as he does so. "But Harm must inform It that our time is at an end. Its mother is returning and Harm no longer cares to be distracted."

"Mother would eat ten of you for lunch!
You'll not even land a single punch!"

"Forgive me for interrupting Lord Harm, but would you have an easy way to access Limbo?"

"Given Its inability to fly effectively, Harm intends to teleport It."

"Flee for your life, feeble boy!
Lest you become my mother's toy!"

"Could you send two?"

"Harm is aware that It has become attached, but Harm has work to do."

Shame. "I wouldn't expect you to blow off work for a first date, but have you really extracted all of the value from Etrigan here that you could?"

"Without the ability to study Its better half, Its utility is not great."

"Naturally." I walk past him and crouch slightly near the still rhyme-cursing demon. "Fall, fall, O Etrigan
And rise once more in form of man."

And he doesn't even have time to gasp, his body shrinking in on itself and naked demon being replaced by naked and.. bleeding man. Because Jason Blood doesn't have enhanced regeneration. Ugh. I take a vial of healing potion from my belt, remove the seal and pour about half of it onto one of the larger wounds on his chest. The rest I shove down his throat.

I look up to see Harm staring at me. "Harm is curious. How did It know the trigger phrase?"

"'It' knows all manner of things. Including that it is unwise to reduce Its value. Harm does have something of a-"

There's a tremendous crash, and the room shakes.

"-reputation. I can remove Mister Blood here to Limbo, and you can study him again once this prison is secure. And if you need a lab assistant… My calendar's looking reasonably empty."

His eyes narrow and his face hardens. "Harm dislikes It concealing information. Harm also dislikes his hand being forced." He raises his hands, purple fire flickering from his fingertips. "It will be disciplined later."

The fire roars, and engulfs both me and Mister Blood.

 

[Mr Zoat]

21st November
10:47 GMT -5

Ow! Ow!

No… No, I mean, it hurts, but that fact isn't bothering me as much as it should. It's not as if I have a power ring available to use at the moment. Injuries will stick with me until I heal, and while this body heals quickly it does so using biological processes. Maybe… Having a ring available for so long has just altered the way I think about becoming damaged?

A.. nd the flame's gone and.. we're standing on a stone platform in a… A stone gazebo. Mr Blood drops the metre or so from where his bench was to the new floor level, cracking his head-.

I crouch down next to him, pull him into a sitting position and pour my last potion between his lips. "Try to stay alive, Mister Blood. Batman wants your counsel."

He splutters weakly for a moment, as if trying not to breathe the potion in. I toss the vial and then hold his mouth closed with my right hand until I feel him swallow, then remove my hand and pull him upright.

"Can you stand unaided?"

"What-?" He weakly pulls away from me, and I cautiously allow him. Seems… Fairly stable… "What do you want? Who are you?"

"Remind me: do you and Etrigan share memories, or do you not know where you are?"

"Some.. some things. Are you a friend of his?"

"He wants to make stew with my guts."

"That's a lot of stew. You've got-."

"Huge guts, yes yes."

"What did you-" He sways slightly. "-give me?"

"Etrigan was being tortured by Harm, new Demon Lord of Labyrinth. It seems that you retained his injuries, so I gave you a healing unguent."

"Why? You said.. Batman…"

"Did I? Oh, silly me. I mean Harm wanted a look at you, but Etrigan's mother took priority. Anyway, you dropping dead because you're not as tough as a demonic abomination would be awkward, so I'm keeping you alive." I take a moment to look around. "Though I should warn you: we're in Limbo at the moment, and there's a demon around here by the name of Sterocax who just can't help himself when it comes to eating living humans, so… Maybe try and look less alive?"

"If you wanted me to look less alive, then you probably shouldn't have given me a healing potion."

"Then I'd have to carry you. But, just so we're clear? If you start chanting 'fall, fall, the form of man', I'm pretty sure I can kill you before you can finish."

"Yes, I… Imagine that you can. I'm not.. entirely clear why it's in my interest to help you on that front."

"You're in Hell. If you want to get out, you have to stay alive. I'm not sure what happens if you die here, but I'm not liking your chances of actually getting away. There was this priest John Constantine used to know who shot himself right before the First of the Fallen got to him…" I shrug. "Guess how well that worked."

"Alright. My.. options for escape are.. almost nonexistent. What are we doing now?"

What indeed? Following the original plan would involve getting information on what Satanus is doing here… Ah. Yes, there's nice stonework and some vines climbing up it, but I'm not hearing birds or insects. And the stonework is free of moss and lichen. It's new, designed to look old. "Any thoughts on how Satanus could have transformed Limbo to look like this?"

"Are you going to tear my head off if I use magic to investigate?"

"Probably not."

"I.. suppose that's the best I can hope for." He walks over to the closest pillar and lays both hands on it, closing his eyes as he does so. "It's… Not Satanus' own power. It feels like… Creation, the Earth."

"Are you saying he opened a portal and brought stuff in?"

"No." He steps back. "The depth, the.. connection to the Dream, it isn't there. It's simplified, but… It's like someone has tried to.. mimic the material universe..?"

"An improvement on what was here before?"

"That would depend on what you mean by 'improvement'. For those who existed here, quite possibly. But I'm concerned about the level of power it would take."

"Didn't I hear about Hades doing something similar with Erebos?"

"I-. You may have done. Who.. are you?"

"'Mammite' will do, I think. But if it's similar to that, where is Satanus getting the power from?"

"I have no idea."

"We'd best try and find out, then." I wave my right hand in the direction of one of the paths away from here. "After you."

He looks at me, looks around for a moment and then with a sigh starts walking slowly in the direction indicated. "Why do you care?"

"That's a rather curious question. In theory, I should want to depose Satanus, but looking around at everything he's achieved… I'm not sure that it's wise."

"Because you don't think you could win. If you're going to try and persuade Etrigan to team up with you-."

"Hah! No. I mean, this looks like the best thing to happen to Hell since God told the First to 'get out of my sight'. This is the sort of thing more death gods should do. Even if it's just an attempt to build up support -and it almost certainly is- it looks like the sort of thing that all right-thinking people should encourage. Even if he's being a shit on Earth."

"Satanus is active on Earth? But he's a Demon Lord. The energy it would take for him to move between Earth and Hell is colossal."

"Satanus is only as demon as he is human. I'm a.. little surprised that you didn't know that."

"For some reason I'm not on Orange Lantern's mailing list. Ah, Orange Lantern is a human superhero who's been organising a lot of work in the field of arcane research on Earth."

"I know who Orange Lantern is. But I thought that you had a working relationship with Batman? Surely he would be able to provide you with information?"

"Batman only comes to me when he needs information. I don't think he's once shared something that might interest me."

"You might want to talk to him about that."

He glances back with a frown. "What.. are you?"

I suppose he might be able to help, there. "I'm a big believer in enlightened self interest. I don't make people miserable for fun or for misery's own sake. I do it because I profit from it. If Satanus has squared the hellish circle, then I may need to… Reconsider things. But, returning to Hell, I find that how I'm.. thinking about certain things has… Altered. I'm no longer sure that my conclusions… My desires, are my own."

"Had you been on Earth for long?"

"Yes, quite some time."

"That would explain it. Demons are essentially a highly specialised form of elemental. If you were drawing on magic from Earth for a prolonged period of time, that may well alter the way you think about things."

I nod. "And the Scabbies are the result when the inverse happens. Has Etrigan been so affected?"

"No, but he's got me to filter for him." His eyes widen. "If this is Satanus' doing, he could alter the nature of demons all across Hell."

"To say the least. I need to be at my best, but I can't trust my own intuition-."

Two grey-armoured soldiers step out from behind a buttress, guns levelled at us.

"Halt and identify yourselves."

 

[Mr Zoat]

21st November
10:59 GMT -5

Satanus looks down at the two of us from his… Contrary to my expectations it's actually not a throne. In fact, this whole room puts me more in mind of Themyscira's throne room than anything else. Hippolyta's seat is made of wood and cloth, and it isn't decorated to any great degree because having ruled for three thousand years she has absolutely no need to remind anyone who's in charge.

His seat is made of the same grey-blue stone as the rest of the room, and the cloth supporting his arse is rougher than anything the Amazons produce these days. But I can see what he's going for: trying to move as far from the damaging demonic 'brand' as possible. Rather than doing the Disney thing of making Hades like Satan, Satan is trying to become Hades.

Which is a positive step. Still doesn't explain the drugs…

"Ran Va Daath escaping the arena is.. unfortunate. You have no idea how it occurred?"

"The ground rippled, and we were away. I don't think that it was anything that I did. I lost sight of my summoner during the combat… It's not impossible that he disrupted whatever spells were being used."

"Spells which both of you had no prior knowledge of?"

I shrug magnanimously. "Creation is the work of a lifetime. Destruction, a few minutes. And… The warlock in question is not entirely unskilled."

"Indeed." He leans back, fingers steepled. "Still, Harm has the matter in hand… And I'm prepared to accept that it wasn't intentional on your part."

"I'll certainly tell my summoner to avoid Ament for the foreseeable future. If I may ask, where..? Were we supposed to arrive?"

"That would depend upon your summoner. If you can fetch him, I'll give him the runes needed to come here instead."

"I'm sure that he would appreciate that. And when I see him next, I will be certain to bring him here." I make a point of looking around. "The place does look somewhat different now to how I remember it."

"The glory of a realm is the glory of its ruler. My people's strength, my strength."

"I… Suppose."

"You disagree?"

"I think.. Mammon would disagree. For myself, I suppose it would depend on what result I was aiming for."

"To increase your power and strength further."

"I… Am of the opinion that unlimited growth is a rather slippery pole to climb. But I suppose… In Limbo… Not all that many demons around…"

"Once you understand the ecology of Hell, it makes perfect sense. The First of the Fallen was cast out into literal nothingness, his thoughts and power turned to pure malevolence. That malevolence in turn defined its nature. A human dies in the realm above, and unless they have made alternate arrangements their own nature draws their soul here. And like bottom feeding crustaceans, we draw our sustenance from them. We break them down to empower ourselves, our magics and to build our great edifices."

"Yes..?"

"In a state of total dependency. We spend so much of our time attempting to manipulate the Earth. Why? Because without it we descend into a deadly entropic spiral. Everything we need ultimately comes from there. And what can we trade in return?"

"Magic, usually. Sexual favours or other forms of physical labour as well."

He raises his right hand and counts off fingers with his left forefinger. "Magic? They can learn to do that themselves, and theirs is more versatile than ours. Sex? They can engage in sexual congress with one another, or find a nymph or she-satyr if they have broader interests. Labor? They can do such work themselves or in the modern era build mechanical devices to do it for them. They only come to us if it is easier to bargain for our services than to do it themselves."

"Isn't that the way of all trades? And we hardly need to buy all of the souls which come here."

"Don't you find it… Insulting?" I don't immediately respond, and he leans back again. "How old are you?"

"I'd.. find it hard to say."

"I'm thousands of years old. These humans are lucky to live a single century. But they hew resources from their environment while we scavenge for what if they could deny to us, they would."

"Ah, the issue of long term supply."

"The issue of long term dignity, but yes. If you care nothing for that, this issue of supply. Why did you make the pact you did with the warlock who bound you?"

"It was a low-stakes investment. I wanted a better look at the condition of the market than I could get from here. He wanted an assistant who wouldn't feel the need to stab him in the back at the first opportunity. I mean, I can scarcely credit that Triskele still gets custom. Five years' freedom after making the pact? They may as well start a heroin habit."

"Hnm." A quiet cough of amusement. "What do you think of what I've done with Limbo?"

"It's less boring than before. And the guards-" I glance at our escort. "-are better dressed."

"Nothing about it troubles you?"

"Only the total blank I'm drawing on where you got the power from. The best I've come up with is that you've assembled a cabal of cultist-astronauts, sent them to a distant moon, opened a portal and shipped it back in pieces. But that wouldn't explain how the damned are so invigorated. I mean no.. slight upon your power, but…" I shake my head. "This is an order of.. magnitude…"

"My sister used a miniature model of Hell she created with her own magics to create a sympathetic link with Hell itself. Thus, she siphoned power already claimed by the Lords of Hell for her own use. If I told you that I was familiar with the technique, what would that suggest to you?"

I take another moment to look at the damned soldiers. "Siphoning from the Earth by creating a functioning society here? No, chicken and the egg." I look down for a moment. "Using the barely conscious minds of Limbo's inhabitants to connect to the Dream and gain power as the Earth does?"

"I considered it, and may do so in the future. But, no: they did not dream, and those sinners who died in dreams did not continue to dream."

"Then… Some other realm? Olympus? You seem to have a theme…"

"No. Not Olympus."

"Then wh-?" My eyes widen. "No."

He smiles, rising from his chair and walking down his dais. "Yes."

"I had wondered where Remiel and-."

"No, you do me too much credit there. They were simply recalled. We found another way. And I would show it to you; both of you. You, Jason Blood. Your cooperation could do much to aid the cause of the damned."

"I.. haven't understood what I'm seeing. I suppose there's no harm in seeing more."

"Good. And you." He turns to face me. "I think you will learn much as well, Orange Lantern."

 

[Mr Zoat]

21st November
11:06 GMT -5

"'Orange Lantern'." Mr Blood sidles up to me as we are marched through the lower corridors of Satanus' palace. "I seem to remember you not being a demon."

"'We do not fall suddenly on Hell, but advance towards it by slight degrees; we damn every day.'"

"A misquote of Seneca that doesn't actually explain anything."

"I don't believe that Satanus has become deaf since he addressed us in his throne room-."

Satanus glances back. "Orange Lantern-. Can I call you 'Paul?"

"Stopping you would require an escalation which I am presently avoiding."

"Paul, then. Paul has a set of rather interesting tattoos, designed to make it impossible to divine his location with magic. Which means -at the simplest level- unless he actually walks into one of my traps, I'd have to confront him directly in order to attack him."

"You managed to retreat in good order the first time."

"You were quicker than I expected. And you managed to retreat in good order last time. No lasting injuries at all amongst your people, and Agony was severely injured. To say nothing of the defense battalion the Exegesis Guild sent after you. You've been most helpful to me."

"Not that I'm surprised, but are you going to tell me how you profited from that?"

"Agony was getting bolshie, and now he's doing what he's told. Your fight demonstrated that regular combat battalions aren't enough when it comes to fighting high level foes, and as a result every hellish faction of any significance is buying augmentations and combat golems supplied by my allies. You also demonstrated that Lazarus Pits could be transformed into portals."

"And that's not even mentioning Fawcett City. How much of that did you actually plan?"

He chuckles quietly to himself. "The actual outcome was a low probability event, but one for which I had accounted. I would have been a fool not to find a potential way to remove five rivals in a single stroke, and John Constantine's relationship with the First is common knowledge. I even made certain that mother's sword was in Ishmael Gregor's hands so that one of you could deal with him."

"Bit of a risk there."

"There were other contingencies. I wasn't certain how long it would take for one of you to strike him with it, but with people as fast as Father's acolytes available it was quite likely that someone would."

Of course.

"You're using Theo."

Mr Blood huffs in irritation. "Would you mind explaining?"

"The First of the Fallen had an ongoing dispute with John Constantine. John prepared to deal with him in a number of ways, one of which involved having Chan-." Ah. "Satanus' mother telling the First how to kill the two immensely powerful demons the Silver City created purely to keep him distracted. She then used their remains to create a sword capable of... Removing his power. He got stabbed, experienced physical death and woke up in Greece as an adult male human. He pretended he didn't know who he was, and the people who found him started calling him 'Theo'."

"Then a demon called Buer picked a fight with Constantine in an attempt to get the First his power back. He was successful, though the First ended up punishing him for getting outmanoeuvred."

"Mother got the Sword back afterwards, then traded it to me for protection. I then passed it on to Ishmael as a -hah!- 'sign of my favor'."

"The League was on the lookout for Theo reappearing after I cut down the First. When we couldn't find him… We don't have eyes everywhere."

"The First stated out loud where he appeared as a mortal man. I had a few employees standing by in case I got very lucky."

Mr Blood nods. "And whatever the First is, he still represents a powerful connection with God, and through Him to the Silver City. And in his weakened state, he can't do anything to resist."

"He's actually quite pathetic." I can hear the amusement in Satanus' voice as he says it. "He has no tolerance for pain at all. We barely even need to threaten him to ensure his obedience."

"And the Silver City hasn't taken any action?"

"Everything I've done here requires less power than what the First used on a day to day basis. I was a little worried when Remiel and Duma disappeared, but nothing's come of it. Now all that remains is to develop weapons that can reliably defeat the hosts of the Silver City-"

"By studying the abominations, and their link to normal demons."

"-and we'll finally be free to define our own future."

Satanus raises his right hand, and two guards ahead of us pull open a large door. On the other side is… It looks like an exploded view of an apartment. Settee, television, bed, bookcase… There's even a desk with a computer.

The muscular form of Theo, dressed only in boxer shorts and a dressing gown, glowers at us from an arm chair. "What? You're giving tours now? Etrigan's ball and chain and some.. fat fuck."

I raise my right arm, middle finger extended. "This fat fuck sliced you to ribbons in Fawcett City. Up yours, Theo." His face falls as he recognises the gesture. "Lord Satanus has been very clever. I think he's earned the right to show off a little."

"Close the door." The guards comply, and Satanus turns away to lead us further down the corridor. "The First was never the cleverest entity in Hell. Outsmarting you on the other hand was far more difficult."

"I'm still not sure how you knew who Jade had killed. Unless Ra's is actually down here."

"No, but several of the League of Shadows' senior people preferred death to dishonor. And repentance. I didn't know everyone Jade murdered… But I strongly suspected that you'd get to one of the ones I'd tracked down sooner or later. And I wasn't talking about that. Have you felt… A strange inclination to rhyme lately?"

…

"That was from you?"

"Indirectly. I suspected that you might be coming here, eventually. Most likely to kill me, or otherwise to be a massive inconvenience. But then I heard about your tattoos, the ones which draw power from your surroundings."

"I haven't exactly kept that fact a secret."

"But I had to know exactly how they worked."

"Bollocks you know that. The only person who knows that is John, and he wouldn't stab a friend in the back like that."

"No… But his demonic alter ego thinks just like him and knows as much as he does. You wouldn't have drawn enough power during a short visit to affect your behaviour, but if I picked up a sufficiently powerful avarice demon and… Made their essence generally available, then it was simply a matter of waiting for something to drain it."

We reach another door, and the guards open it as we approach.

"Why don't you say hello to the actual Mammon?"

 

[Mr Zoat]

21st November
11:12 GMT -5

Mammon is a… Big fellow. His current morbidly obese but heavily muscled body is about fifteen metres tall, and is limply hanging from the kaahuite chains holding him upright. The room appears to have been constructed with him in mind; our platform stops a third of the way across the room, and the upper part of his stomach is level with us. Mammon's dull eyes focus on us slightly as Satanus leads us inside. I get a.. slight twitch, but he doesn't otherwise react.

"How much am I draining him?"

"Nothing he can't spare. In fact…" He reaches up and shoves the nails of his right hand into Mammon's left tit, causing demonic ichor to flow from the wound. "From the feel of it you're barely draining him at all. How did you enjoy the rhyming?"

"I didn't even realise I was doing it."

"I honestly thought that you'd absorb more than that. Still, I suppose that I can't draw firm conclusions on such a small sample size." He pulls his hand out and flicks the blood away. "How do you like it?"

"It was a clever way to bypass my defences. And I've noticed… A few slight changes to my outlook. Mister Hayes didn't disgust me in the way he did during our previous meeting. I didn't even register the suffering of the demons Mister Hayes threw at Ran Va Daath, I was instinctively more physically violent. Crueller, less empathic. And I haven't noticed any real advantages."

"Have you tried to use magic yet?"

Mr Blood looks at me with a degree of concern. "No." Why does he..? "Ah. The structure of my soul was too inhuman to use earthly magic, but if I become a demon…"

"You can use demonic magic just as well as any demon. Perhaps better. Given what you've absorbed from Mammon I'm forced to conclude that you aren't top tier… Yet. But you're certainly carrying more power than most, even before I take your rings into consideration."

"Are you..? Really offering me a job?"

"Oh, not just you." He turns to Mr Blood. "Jason Blood, your willing cooperation would be preferable. And once we have everything we need from you, I would be happy to return you to Earth -with or without Etrigan-, or employ you here."

"'Once you have everything you need'?"

"Defending my realm from the Silver City must take priority. But I firmly believe that it will be easier to get what we need with your help. And so I am prepared to be quite generous."

"When… You say… Without Etrigan..?"

"He's powerful, but hardly indestructible. Once we understand exactly what Merlin did to the two of you, I'm confident that we'll be able to unbind the spell."

"Etrigan's wanted that for as long as we've been together. And I don't think he has a mind to benefit you."

"Etrigan is a brute. As the Second of the Fallen and the Third of the Fallen demonstrated well, even the most powerful demon can be bound -or destroyed- by one with the right tools."

He appears to be considering that rather seriously. Surprises me, actually. Not that I know him well, but I'd have thought that after however many centuries of having an adversarial relationship with demons, he'd be a little slower to risk it.

"Would you be prepared to make a binding oath that you would keep to any deal we struck?"

"I'm willing to be bound in some matters. But I have no obvious successor. My work dies with me if I misstep. I will require some room to maneuver."

Oh. No, Mr Blood is not taking it seriously. He's just looking for an exit. Looking a little closer I see that much as he complains about some aspects of Etrigan's behaviour, he's actually grown rather accustomed to his dark passenger. I wonder if Etrigan will keep behaving in the manner to which Blood has become accustomed now that he's had a taste of Hell. And defeat. I do not believe that Etrigan is one to let his grudges go easily.

Satanus returns his attention to me. "And you, Paul?"

"It's… Tricky. I knew that I was being influenced, and you'd admitted to being the one behind it. This should make me sceptical, but… The magic is integrated into me now."

"A child would make different decisions to a man."

"I wouldn't be that blunt, but my thoughts weren't too far away. Who is your truer self? Who you were? No. I'm not the same man I was before coming to this universe. That was true after I lived through my first fight, let alone my bond with the Ophidian. Who I am? Today has been a change, yes, but how I now think and feel is less of a change than other changes I've undergone. I could learn to use magic now, opening any number of new options. Who I will become? I've never had a clear end state in mind. True, I didn't imagine… This-." I frown and look at him. "I can still change my physical form, yes?"

"I can think of no reason why not. Mammon might prove an influence in the short term, but if you stop drawing directly from him and instead draw from the same well as him then that should cease to be a problem."

"I laud your objectives… I dislike the Silver City on principle… What are your plans for DMN. The drug?"

"A bribe to gain support, and an outgrowth of my other research. Humans require a slower path to damnation, and it grants me demonic functionaries who are more human in mindset and possess more arcane power. Would you like to meet the caterpillar who assisted Harm during your first meeting? She has adapted rather well."

Do I? No, not really. "Then what does Rosacarnis get out of it?"

"They don't all manage to make the transition. And… Human sensoria can be just as addictive to demons as demonic power can be to humans."

Hm. Doesn't… Particularly bother me. Someone who plays a shell game should know what they're getting into. Actually finding the shell should be a pleasant surprise, not something you expect. "Beyond shoring up your power base, what else do you intend? I can't imagine that your allies will be entirely happy if you pave over their domains as you do your own."

"Once we connect this realm to the Dream, anything is possible. Imagine: being able to define the arcane mechanisms of a blank slate world. Free arcane energy without the restrictions that come with magic use on Earth. And not limited to demonic magic; if it exists in the Dream it can exist here."

"Again, your allies-."

"Will learn to live with it or become obsolete, just as they are obsoleting their competition now. I bear them no ill-will, but they are attempting to apply new techniques to the old paradigm. On a practical level, Richie came up with a fascinating idea for using great arcane arks to travel from one world's Hell to another when he was on his last bender. Bypassing physical space entirely to travel hundreds of light years in an instant."

I nod. "That could work. Only.. between inhabited regions, but there's certainly potential there. Your friends in the Light?"

"Will join us here, in the fullness of time. I maintain ties to them as much to ensure that they don't disrupt my operations here as any other reason. Earth has things I need… But that's not going to be the case forever."

"I'm…" Huh. Carte blanche to do what I want, without having to work around regulators or -frankly- the League. And if something misfires… It's hell. In utilitarian terms, I can undoubtedly do more good here. And Satanus did this without me prompting him at all. Who on Earth does anything like that? "I think-."

Brambles slice outwards from the 'Y' shaped cut on Mammon's stomach as Euanthe bursts free, the rest of my team behind her!

 

[Mr Zoat]

21st November
11:16 GMT -5

I hold up my hands as Euanthe's stake-on-a-vine punches through Satanus' hastily raised shield spell and slices through the flesh on the left side of his neck.

"Guys, I don't-"

Ambrose sticks out his right arm, grabbing something inside Mammon. The Demon Lord's mouth twitches, and a glop of bile shoots out and hits one member of Satanus' cybernetically enhanced bodyguard right in the visor!

"-think this is-"

A small, magically enhanced EMP grenade hits the other soldier as he brings his gun up to face them, causing him to spasm and drop his weapon!

"-really worth-"

Euanthe's vine twists around Satanus' neck. He responds by grabbing it with his right hand and conjuring hellfire… Which does nothing. He realises after a second and tenses, pulling it apart with brute force instead.

"-doing, because it-"

Euanthe rushes Satanus, thick-barked plates covering her body as her right fist comes around to punch him!

"-turns out that-"

Jade raises the Ace of Winchesters, putting a round through… Something Satanus was trying to summon. It explodes in a short-lived burst of gold-white fire!

"-our objectives-"

Ambrose flicks bile from his right hand, then gestures to the door even as the guard outside point their guns at him. It slams shut.

"-aren't as incompatible-"

Demonic runes flare for a fraction of a second over Euanthe's bark before decaying to nothing. Perhaps I should have mentioned-?

"-as we thought-"

Euanthe's right fist strikes Satanus in the stomach and sends him hurtling across the room and into the far wall!

"-during our planning."

"Euanthe, I can't-" Jade tries to draw a bead on Satanus as Euanthe leaps after him. "-get a clean shot."

I take a step closer, making what I hope is a peaceful gesture. "How about you put the gun down-" Behind me, Mr Blood picks up Euanthe's stake. "-and we discuss matters like civilised-" The damned guard who got hit by the EMP grenade reaches for his gun with his right hand. Jade points the Ace at him and fires, hitting the seam where her gauntlet protects his middle proximal interphalangeal joint and severing the end of the finger. "-people."

"You do not need one." Euanthe uses vines to anchor herself to the wall as she drives vicious wooden spikes through Satanus and into the brick behind him. "I can kill this demon myself."

"We don't need to kill the demon ourselves! Satanus just told me that he's basically on the same page as me!"

"Uh-huh." Jade walks around me, stowing the Ace and taking a shaped charge out of her equipment harness as she heads for the door.

"Listen." Ambrose takes a quick look around the room and then walks up to me. "I had a look at the spells he had set up on Mammon, and-."

"He was funnelling Mammon's essence into me. Yes, I know."

Ambrose nods. "Yes, that might have been what it was. Or he might have been trying to have Mammon possess you."

I fr-. No, I don't frown, but I do try. "I'm sceptical that he would chain a Demon Lord up like this, then let him possess someone. He would have to be able to rely on Mammon doing what he wanted."

Ambrose frowns. "Are you.. serious about this? I thought you were just humoring him to get information."

"Human souls have to go somewhere. Satanus had observably improved the liv-. The existences of more conscious minds than most superheroes by doing this. And his plans for the future-."

Mr Blood gestures, and the stake extends into a staff. "They aren't feasible, I'm afraid. Even if reformatting Limbo was possible -and I'm not convinced that-

"Mister Blood, we walked through it."

"-it can be to more than a limited degree- demons like being demons. All Satanus will do is unite them against him. And that assumes that the Silver City doesn't also like demons being demons."

"A counsel of despair. Euanthe, let him down."

She grows a head in her back. "I came here to kill demons. He is a demon."

"Becoming a demon myself has really given me a new perspective on that. There are any number of demons we could kill; focusing on the one who is actually making himself useful is foolish and wasteful."

Satanus himself stops trying to snap the wooden beams impaling him. "How are you.. immune to..?"

"If it helps, Nergal's brother is around here somewhere, and we certainly don't need him."

Euanthe grudgingly removes her spikes, causing Satanus to fall to the-.

He vanishes before he can reach it. Ah… Darn it.

Ambrose grins. "That went well. He'll walk right into the trap, and then-."

"Will you shut up! " He frowns in confusion. "This is a disaster! What if these spells are tied to him? And he's got an army outside, and don't think for a moment-!"

Ow!

I stumble back as an arcane barrier appears before me. I look down-. A circle, Mr Blood drew a circle on the brick. Now I know how the Second of the Fallen felt.

Ambrose nods to Mr Blood, then stands in front of me with his hands in his pockets. "Can't help but notice that you've been a bit off, buddy."

"It's a change of perspective, certainly." I sigh. "We'll just have to stay here until we can work out how to enable me to control Limbo."

"And your friends back on Earth?"

"I'll visit once things have stabilised. The utilitarian requirement to keep this project going is overwhelming."

"And since when are you a utilitarian?"

"Since I got some perspective."

Jade steps back from the heavily mined door. The guards haven't tried to break in yet, but that's sensible on their part. If we could beat Satanus they'd need far more force than they have available locally.

"And what about me?"

"I'm afraid that I'm going to have to end our relationship. I gave it some thought, and my prediction is that there's almost no chance of a reasonable return on my investment in time and resources. I'm a demon Lantern and you're a baseline human. No hard feelings, but-."

She raises the Ace of Winchesters, points it at my chest and fires.

 

[Mr Zoat]

21st November
11:21 GMT -5

UUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHGHHHHHHHHH…

When I was in Primary School, I had a verruca. Actually, I had several, but one in particular stubbornly refused to die. No matter how much cream I applied or how I savaged it with a pumice stone, it stayed attached to my foot. In the end, Mum took me to the doctor to have it frozen off.

That hurt a lot. But just on my foot.

THIS! HURTS! EVERYWHERE!

I think I fell over, but I didn't put all that many nerves in this body and I think Jade shooting me with a weapon designed to burn demons to annihilation has killed off a lot of them. Eyes are gone, along with the parts of my ear responsible for balance. Honestly, I'm a little surprised that my brain is still working.

AAAAAAGHHH!

Right… First step…

I think something is happening when I try moving my arms, but I've got no way to tell for certain. Okay… Need for subterfuge past. Call my rings, fix myself up…

Or… The guards would have heard Satanus trying to talk me around. Would it be better to try and stay-.

Ow. What? No, of course it would… N't…

Oh. I was… I said…

Rings now.

I don't feel anything with my skin, but eyes are back. Jade's standing over me with the Ace pointed at where my centre of mass should be. Mr Blood is crouching down next to her, right hand on his circle. Can't see any of the others. Jade's mouth is moving, but… No ears yet.

Okay rings, bit of a test for you. How fast can you restore my body when I really really want-.

Task complete.

"…listening now?"

And that pain's gone.

"Up up up." I use the rings' flight function to yank myself upright and-. Ah, clothes. And basic armour-.

Mr Blood grimaces. "And you couldn't offer me any-?" An orange beam leaves him… I think I bought that in Vietnam. It more or less fits. "Thank you."

"What-?" Jade sights along the barrel of the Ace at my head. "Ah. You can shoot me again if you want… "

"Think she's mostly-" Ambrose strolls back around. "-wondering if you're you again."

"I… Think so? Satanus was pumping Mammon into me. I worked it out just as I got to Masak Mavdil, but at that point I'd... Got far enough along that it didn't bother me." I take a half-step forward and push my right arm through the air above the magic circle. No response. Next, I hold out my left hand and float up my personal lantern. "Any other tests that you want to run?"

Mr Blood stands back. "You're certainly not a demon any longer. I'm not entirely sure what you are-."

"Constantine."

"Say no more."

Jade lowers the Ace, then looks pointedly at me with her head tilted slightly to the left. "And is there something you'd like to say to-?"

"Oh goodness me, I tried hitting on Harm." Uruhggh.

"-me?"

I grimace. "What was I thinking?"

Jade frowns. "You hit on Harm? Being a demon… Made you gay."

"No, I'm bisexual all the time. I just… As I became more demonic, certain things… Seemed less significant."

"Like people who can't provide 'a reasonable return on your investment in time and resources'?"

I step forward, delicately place my hands on her sides and gently kiss her on the lips. "Jade, you are not an investment vehicle. I do not do things for you in the expectation that you will do things for me in return, and I do not love you in order to demand that you love me back with equal fervour. I simply do, as a product of me being me and you-."

Her face switches back to neutral. "Okay. He's back."

"-being you. Did Satanus go home?"

A golden ankh appears in the air in front of Mammon, John stepping through a moment later. "He did. Right back to his office in the Newstime building, right in front of two members of the Justice League and five members of the Metropolis police department. Investigating a 'mysterious display of brilliant lights'. Given how you were acting up, I'm a little bit surprised that you didn't warn him."

"I nearly did. And the Congregationalists?"

"Long gone by the time anyone arrived. That part went fine, but there's a small army of Satanus's soldiers coming this way and I don't think they're going to be impressed with their employer vanishing."

Mr Blood shrugs. "I'm sure that Etrigan will enjoy tearing them apart."

"No, no, no, look-." Jade raises the Ace and I neatly turn it aside. "Not demon-me talking, but I'm not going to destroy someone's soul because they don't want to live in a place like Limbo used to be. We just need to offer them someone who can run the spells Satanus used to hijack the First's link to the Silver City. I can't do it." I look at the three magicians. "Any of you feel like volunteering?"

"I don't think that's a good-." / "Fuck no." / "One demon is quite enou-."

"Great. Chantinelle and Blaze can't do it… Mr Cassidy doesn't have the arcane knowledge the post would require… I'm not letting the First go free and Sterocax is a moron." I look up at Mammohgreat. "Is he alive?"

Ambrose shrugs. "Drained to the point that he can't remain conscious. He'll probably recover."

"Jade, can I borrow the Sword please?"

She stows the Ace, then pulls the Sword from its sheath and holds it out to me.

"Thank you."

I float upwards, heading for the chains holding Mammon up. The chains part easily enough, and I create a harness construct to hold his near-carcass up as he slumps forward.

"Wakey wakey." I deposit him against one wall and remove the harness. "Rise and shine." I pass the Sword back to Jade, and hover just in front of Mammon's face. "I've got a deal to offer you."

"HHhhhhhhhrrrrrruuhhhh."

He blinks, and his eyes slowly focus on me.

"Then speak, mortal."

 

[Mr Zoat]

21st November
11:24 GMT -5

"We need someone to run Limbo, preferably while pretending to be Satanus. And when we say 'run', we mean-."

"Be your puppet."

"Not.. puppet, no. Like a normal demonic contract, we will agree to certain terms, and nudge each other every so often to make sure that the other party isn't cheating."

"Your soul would be an interesting-."

"Hah!" I shake my head. "You could try fighting the Ophidian for my soul… But I don't think you'd win."

"The Ophid-? Hrh. No. You may be right there."

"And in any case, that's not what I'm offering. You will take the form of Satanus, and appear to drive us off. You will then continue his reforms: remaking Limbo-."

"I know what he was doing. He enjoyed taunting me with the concept."

"And?"

"I prefer high-volume low-risk investments. Trying to take over Hell is high-risk single-unit. I use avarice. I'm not blinded by it myself."

Jade raises the Ace again. "The other option is we destroy you with the Ace of Winchesters."

"Do so. I've made arrangements. It will take time and pain, but I will eventually recover at a remote location far from here."

Jade glances at Ambrose for confirmation and gets a shallow nod. "It's possible. A lot of demons aren't cautious enough to bother. Or they can't spare the power it would take."

Mammon manages a semi-grin. "But I'm the patient sort."

"Nergal has a similar arrangement. A small part of the body left in a remote or concealed location."

"Nergal? Oh, I'll look forward to seeing him again, then. It's always nice when the competition aren't quite as clever as you are."

"I'm not seeing the risk here. Satanus already has everything set up."

"And he was working with allies who know his character and will probably notice if I replace him. And then there's the chance of him coming back. I already lost to him head to head once."

"Our holding facilities are quite good. And we'll certainly be able to warn you in advance of him returning."

"The anticipation won't make me any less fucked."

"It's in our interest that you remain in position. We won't just leave you flapping in the wind; we'd come to assist you."

"And? If he comes back even for a moment I'd lose control of his followers."

"Which would make it an unpleasant fight, but wouldn't stop you carrying on the work after we win. And I doubt that their personal loyalty is particularly strong."

"So I have to take risks to do something you want me to do in order to get something I don't want. Sounds like a bum deal to me." He's.. actually smirking. "Unless you can sweeten the pot."

"Yes, let me think about that for a moment." I stretch out my arms towards him. "No. Last chance."

"Yes, please kill me with something other than the Ace. That will cut down my regeneration time con-"

"Brand."

"-sideraaaaagh!"

Thirty interwoven orange cords erupt from each of my rings, leaping for every part of his body. About a third wind their way into his mutilated chest cavity, plugging themselves into exposed veins, arteries and broken organs. Others connect to the holes Satanus made in his arms and legs, while a couple more thrust themselves into his eyes, ears and mouth.

A couple, I… Try to ignore where they're going.

Jade glances at me. "Do we have time for this?"

As a demon, I don't really have to worry about making alterations. I read about Mammon in the Grimoire Verum and he's certainly no innocent. Really, the best thing you can say about him is that his deals are more or less honest and open and he'll occasionally let the client off if he can use them to trade up.

"John, how long would evacuating us take?"

"I can get myself home in about five seconds. Transporting the rest of you? That would take a few minutes."

"Ambrose, Mister Blood. Do you have anything to contribute at this point?"

"Not a lot." / "Not unless you want to risk asking Etrigan's help."

Orange lights are flickering under Mammon's skin. "John, take them back right away, then return for the rest of us."

"That will reduce the time per journey, but the total time-."

"I know. Go."

A glowing ankh flares behind me as a glowing brand begins to appear on Mammon's forehead. Now, let's see here… Self interest is fine, but I need to alter some of the surroundings so that he's not just interested in… Sticking souls in jars to expand his collection? Really? Yes, switch that out almost entirely in favour of the gradual and safe acquisition of political power, with a side order of believing that a broad base of popular support is the best way to achieve that.

Desire to defy the Silver City… Hm, he barely thinks about them at all. But there are a few memories I can link to create a desire for political defiance. Shame, really: if I hadn't committed to my course Satanus really would have been better for this. Acquisition… Switch away from 'special' souls and towards equipment and technology… Mm, I can't make him trust us, but a few more tweaks and I can… Make the project sufficiently important that he'll usually be prepared to risk asking us for help if things become really unmanageable. Make sure that the whole network isn't so strongly reinforced that it clouds out his rationality.

There. That should do it.

Jade stares as the brand evaporates and the orange tendrils connecting me to Mammon fade. "What have you.. done to him?"

"Reconfigured his desires so that he'll see things our way."

"How long does it last?"

"He's technically capable of reconsidering them, but it would take a massive life-changing experience. So Mammon?! How about it? Interested in ruling Limbo now?"

"Hm. I suppose asking for further concessions would be unrealistic." He tries to rise, and stumbles as he tries to move. "I'm going to need you to patch me up."

"Can do." I knit what's still there back together, and make reasonable guesses about what's been removed. Mmmm… He's probably more than a little drained by his experiences. Ring, transfuse ten percent power into him.

Compliance.

The door rattles and deforms as the soldiers outside begin their assault.

"Alright. Jade, Euanthe, we need to make this look good."

 

[Mr Zoat]

21st November
16:18 GMT -6

Oh… Fucking fucking fuck.

"And when did you find out?"

Warden Waller is taking the disappearance of The Demon Constantine surprisingly well, all things considered.

"About two hours ago, when Metropolis called us about taking in another demon. Doctor Mist is trying to work out how he managed it, given how one of the few things we know for certain is that his suppression chains were working properly."

"How do you know that?"

"Because one of the guards was wearing them in his cell." She growls quietly under her breath. "Thinking he was Constantine."

"Please tell me that he's still being held in the suppression chains, because if he actually is Constantine-."

"Yeah, we checked that. And Doctor Mist double checked it. He's not. And now we're supposed to house a demon here who's even more powerful."

My eyes momentarily dip. "I really only did half the equation with the Sophont Recognition Act, didn't I?"

"What?"

"Most laws are designed for humans. This prison exists because people with high-end superpowers need to be handled differently. Demons need to be handled differently from either, but I didn't want to slow down the process of genomorphs becoming legally people to put the knowledge in place."

She frowns. "Do you know how he got out?"

I look over to the cell's toilet. "Were you disposing of his waste properly?"

"Yes."

"All of it?"

"We would have spotted him urinating out of bounds."

"If I was him, and I wanted to get out… It would be a long shot, but every part of his body is far more magical than a normal human body. If he cut the tip of his finger and drew a very basic summoning circle, or-. No, not a summoning, that wouldn't work here. A rune of calling."

"The chains were supposed to stop him doing magic."

"No, they stop him shaping magic or drawing on external power. His blood would have its own magic. The effect would be really weak, but… It would be pretty much unstoppable unless you regularly scoured every single object he had access to."

"And then another demon would sneak in here and bust him out."

"No… I don't know that's what he did, and given the wards Belle Reve has these days and how weak the effect would be -if that's even what he did- it would take a long time and the demon who arrived wouldn't be obliged to help him. But if he could cut a deal… I don't know, it's possible, and the only thing I can come up with… Until just then."

"What's your new security nighmare?"

"John Constantine isn't just a street magician, he's a street magician. He can do sleight of hand, psychological manipulation, escapology and probably other things that don't require the manipulation of eldritch energies. Plus, his body doesn't work exactly like a human body, so there are… Probably things he could do with that."

"You don't know."

"No, I don't know. Sometimes I'm not failing to tell people things because I'm keeping secrets, I'm doing it because I don't know."

She frowns, more confused than annoyed. "What? Where'd that come from?"

"Last mission.. didn't go as well as I'd hoped. And… A.. bit of an ongoing disagreement I have with the Justice League. Ah… Okay, helpful stuff… What are the rules on adding buildings to Belle Reve?"

"I need to draw up plans, cost it out and explain why the most expensive prison in the country still isn't complete."

"And if it was free, and could guarantee containment on high end magic using inmates?"

"What's the downside?"

"The building in question isn't a prison. It's the Tower of Fate. You'd be transitioning from a normal prison with extras to an extraplanar facility you couldn't own or really control. Honestly, the prison system just needs to be able to directly employ magic users."

"The prison system needs a lot of things." She nods her head at the cell door and I walk out. She takes another moment, ducking her head slightly as she backs up in order to check the underside of the toilet for blood-inscribed runes. "But if we can inspect the Tower we might be able to swing it."

"I'll let John know."

She walks out of the cell and one of the guards locks the door behind her. "'John' as in 'John Constantine'? Because I've heard things about him."

"No, different John. The man who owns the Tower of Fate. I don't know how to persuade him but I also don't know a better way to contain an unusually cunning or powerful demon that complies with current US law than asking him to let you use his basement."

"And killing him isn't an option?"

"Sure, killing him is an option. Just get the relevant laws passed by the House, the Senate, signed by President Horne-"

Her face turns down and she exhales in frustration.

"-and not declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court for treating one subset of people different from another, then get a jury to actually convict him, get the jury hearing the appeal to convict him again… And so on, and I'll happily kill him. And I already said that the Act could have used more work."

"Alright. You get hold of this 'John' guy, I'll put the paperwork together and we can-."

"Ah…" I shake my head. "Sorry, no. Telling him is going to be the last thing I do before I go off duty for several days. My last mission involved me going literally to Hell and turning literally into a demon. I'm getting checked out by specialist magic users and doctors and not doing anything involving the demonic for a little while. So I'm afraid that you'll have to use regular contractors or talk to the Justice League."

"If he says yes. And if Metropolis agree to send him here after our only demon prisoner escaped."

"He might still be here, actually. I imagine that Doctor Balewa is checking that, but you should probably have at least two guards with you at all times."

"For a demon?"

"He isn't actually much stronger than a normal man. A couple of burly guards should be able to take him. Alternatively, phone the Atlantean embassy and offer some green cards." I raise my right hand to my forehead. "Good day, Warden."

21st November
17:22 GMT -5

"Hey."

I look around to see Jade sitting on her settee. She sounds a little.. out of sorts.

"The Demon Constantine escaped, so Satanus's intelligence might well have been more recent than I was assuming."

"I was surprised it held him this long." She looks down for a moment, then appears to come to a decision. "Tell me about the Darkstars."

 

[Mr Zoat]

Gods and Mortals

22nd November
09:16 GMT -5

Sephtian waves his hands over the control unit for his thaumic imaging array, and some of the glowing eases off. I don't sit up -because it's actually quite hard to move when you're this far under water and aren't wearing a power ring- but I do turn my head his way.

"So? How am I?"

Sephtian blinks. "How would I know?"

I try pushing myself upright. And fail. "Professor-."

"Your spiritual structure is unique. I can.. compare it to what you had upon the few occasions when I examined you previously." His head fronds wave. "You have changed. Given the nature of your life, this is expected. But I have nothing to compare you to."

"Magic users experience soul growth as they grow in power."

"Yes, that is true. And I have tried to compare the data we have on that with the data I have collected from you. And if there is a link I cannot find it." He floats back slightly. "I.. think that you should speak to a Controller."

"Controllers don't use magic."

"Perhaps not in their recent history, but historically-."

"No, they got these… Symbiotic super bacteria that made it really easy for them to manipulate the universe around them. It happened so early in their history that they never learned to do… Magic, and skipped anything remotely approaching a normal technological development. As a result, they don't really have good data on arcane phenomena. I mean, regarding them. And no other Orange Lantern has… Had the work done that I've had done."

This isn't really what I wanted to hear, but at least he can't find any obvious points of concern.

"Can I put my rings back on?"

"Yes, yes."

I put my hands out to the side and call my rings onto my ring fingers as Sephtian gestures again and the sensor bars slide aside. As they touch my skin my environmental shield flares back into life and suddenly moving becomes a good deal easier. I float upward in the water and assume an upright posture.

"Are my scry wards still working?"

"Yes, though I believe that I could replicate the technique which Satanus used to bypass them. The theoretical aspect is simple, even with our limited knowledge of demon magic."

"Great. Am I.. safe outside of Hell, or is that a wider concern?"

"Technically? Yes." He makes a sweeping motion with both arms. "Your soul is a stable construct of earthly magics. As Satanus said, it has been stable for some time. But, when exposed to magic that is not part of the Earth's arcane networks… It appears that you can continue to absorb other forms of arcane energy as well."

"And does that damage the earthly structure?"

"I don't know. Perhaps if you went back to Hell for a few weeks and then came back, I could tell you."

"The Ace..?"

"Worked. Your spiritual makeup no longer contains anything I cannot recognise as earthly. It has changed, perhaps as a result of half of the synthesis being destroyed. But it appears healthy, if atypical."

"And the fragment which the g-oni removed?"

"Were you able to confirm that Satanus was the one who sponsored them?"

"No. He didn't boast about it to me, and now he's not talking to anyone other than his legal team."

"If I understand what you saw correctly, what they removed was a formatted packet of arcane energy. You would have experienced a brief period of relative arcane weakness… Which would matter little as you are not a magic user yourself and were not fighting a conventional magic user. And then your tattoos would repair the damage. They might have been able to use it to remotely affect you through the sympathy principle, but given your recent travail I would be surprised if it was still similar enough to your soul as it is now for that to work."

I smile. "Do you think it could be useful for everyone to get reformatted every so often?"

"It… Is a known treatment for certain forms of remote arcane attack. But… The methods we have developed so far are usually as deadly as any attack. I am aware of only two successful cases out of a little under a hundred attempts that are documented."

"So..? Don't worry about it?"

"It may be of use to someone studying the orange light, but I do not believe that it is presently a significant threat to you."

"With a grand total of two Orange Lanterns this side of Vega, I'm not going to worry about that. Anything else you think I need to check?"

"Your.. rings. You have a powerful bond to them, and a sufficiently clever sorcerer could spread their magic through you into them."

"Shouldn't any spell be shredded when I recharge them?"

"Paul, I… Am grateful for the projects that you have brought to me. To Atlantis. But please do not give me any more. I have not attempted to study the arcane mechanisms of personal lantern recharging and I do not think that it would be a profitable use of my time."

"Sorry."

"So my answer is 'maybe'. I would wager that the Ophidian involving herself directly would have that effect, but I would not so wager for a normal recharge. Though that is not a certainty. I have no specific knowledge of power rings. I merely know that some arcane artefacts can retain tracing charms when being recharged."

"Okay." I hold out my hands towards him. "Please put a tracer spell on these."

He stares for a moment, and the rings sort of… Glisten? Alright, I've suspected that this is possible for a while…

Rings, there is a foreign energy attached to you. Consume it.

Unable to precisely identify energy form. Initiate general purpose consumption?

… Yes?

"In progress."

The water around my hands turns to ice-. No, turns to frozen oxygen and hydrogen before melting and turning into a cloud of bubbles.

"Did that get it?"

"No, it did not. Perhaps-."

"Rings, try harder. Not heat, not electromagnetism, not matter. Magic. Think more like the orange light itself. Like what you do when you turn someone into an orange construct."

"Attempting."

And I-. Feel something.

Sephtian gasps as a faint orange sheen shimmers over his skin.

"Consumption complete."

"Did I get it?"

"Yes. Yes you did. And please do not ask me to ensorce your rings ever again. I think you may have found a way to save on your frequent spell eater consumption, and I assure you that the experience is no more pleasant for the caster."

 

[Mr Zoat]

23rd November
11:06 GMT -5

"Mammon. How are you doing?"

On the other side of the blood stained mirror, the Demon Lord waves his right hand negligently. "They accept me. Though how convinced they are remains to be seen." He's currently wearing Satanus's form, and even I can tell that his body language isn't quite right. Though he might just be relaxing away from the minions. "The hard test will come during my next face to face meeting with Ritchie Simpson."

"Angelica has offered to tutor you."

"I suppose that I should take every opportunity to learn how to ape the man I have replaced." His eyes narrow slightly as he leans forward. "What exactly did you do to me in order to make me accept this?"

I glance sideways at John, who shrugs diffidently. "People strive to seize the things they want. I altered your priorities a little, caused you to reweigh certain things."

"That does still worry me, so I assume that I'm not completely under your power. Can you do it again?"

"Only by coming down there and binding you again. And I'm fairly sure that I caught you at your lowest ebb. I doubt that doing it again would be that easy."

"Then again, avarice is one of my core traits. I can't imagine that makes me resistant."

"And mine. That's why what Satanus did worked. And hey: if you're still worried, completing Satanus' modernisation project should make it far harder for me to affect you. This isn't about one of us getting one over on the other. Ultimately, both our lives will be easier if we cooperate… Or at least respect one another's boundaries. I wouldn't have bothered keeping you around if I didn't want you doing what you want to."

"What you made me want to do."

"How much of a problem is that going to be for you?"

"That's the strange thing: it's not. I should be enraged. You altered my mind. If another demon did something like that -and I somehow survived- they would have earned my undying enmity. And yet, you've brought me closer to attaining the thing I now most want. I feel…"

"Grateful?"

"Indebted."

"My favourite author once wrote that if you want to make a witch really angry at you, do her a favour she can't repay. Because the obligation will just keep nagging."

"I'm a Duke. If that were all it was I could stand it in the certain knowledge that you would ask me for something eventually. As it is I have a strange impulse to build a… 'Working relationship'. How long will you live?"

"I don't age, but I'm in a dangerous profession."

"Aren't we all." He leans back. "What would you like? Partner."

"If the Light get in contact, I'd like their current roster. I'm not sure whether your witness testimony is admissible in court, but it would be very useful to know."

"Bah! Organisational intelligence sharing. What do you want? What can Hell do for you?"

"I… Don't suppose you know where Amon Tomaz is, do you?"

"I don't know who that is. He's not in Limbo, I'd know if he were. Should he be down here somewhere?"

"I don't know. Someone has found a very reliable way to disguise people and places from my rings. He could be dead and he could be alive. If he's in Hell, I'll pay his soul's ransom. If he's on Earth, I want to know where."

Mammon smiles. "Why do I get the feeling that the latter answer will result in us gaining a substantial number of new guests?"

"Because you're actually quite intelligent."

"You know, I once did consider commissioning a mortal to hunt down sinners and kill them before they could repent. A little demon magic to toughen them up, the odd favour paid for in advance…"

"Sounds like a good idea to me. And after the initial investment it would be self-funding. Why didn't you go for it?"

"While the return for Hell would have been good, when I worked out what my personal slice of it would have been… And now I.. see that that is the problem with the whole system." His shoulders droop a little. "Huh."

"So..?"

"I'll make enquiries."

"Thank you. Anything else?"

"What do I have to do to get a power ring?"

John makes a coughing/spluttering noise.

"Weirdly, you're a pretty good fit for the sort of person I'm trying to recruit. But I think I'm going to want to give it a few decades before I'm ready to trust you with something like that. And I'll want my Corps to gain a lot more expertise with magic. Besides, there's no way I'd give one to Satanus."

"I suppose. Well, best be getting back to it. Some old friends of the First's are coming around to piss on him, and I could use a good chuckle."

"I'll caution you against that sort of thing. We still don't know quite how he was re-empowered last time. It could happen again."

He shrugs. "I'd be fucked either way, and I'd give him your name to get out of the line of fire either way. As I see it, I might as well milk him for all he's worth." He smiles. "And you really can't dictate policy to me, can you?"

"I really can't. Good day."

The mirror clouds over until the image vanishes completely. Then John steps around the side and throws a rune woven cloth over the top of it.

"That went about as well as we could have hoped."

"I thought so too. Any guess on his long term behaviour?"

"None at all. I'll keep an eye on him." He checks the mirror over, then stands well back. "Now, what's this I hear about the Tower becoming part of Belle Reve?"

"The Demon Constantine somehow got away. This is the best magic containment site I know of. Heck, as far as I know Mister Zard and Mister Faust are still in here somewhere."

"Yeah. They are."

"If we're going to have any hope of keeping Satanus in one place, they need the best, and an expert who can afford to spend lots of time on site."

"Glad you value my time so highly."

"It was the best idea I had. If you can do better, please do."

"What about that place under the Tower of London?"

"No one knows how John Dee made it, and the British government is highly resistant to the idea of anyone interfering with it. Atlanteans have great magic prisons, but they aren't prepared to take demons for any purpose other than destruction. And we can't replicate what they have because America doesn't have the magic users."

John stares into space for a moment, then sighs.

"Fine. I'll have a chat with Waller."

 

[Mr Zoat]

29th November
19:33 GMT -6

"Not that I am in any sense complaining-" Admiral Oswin gives me a look of mild curiosity. "-but is there any particular reason for this change of heart?"

I lean back in the 'important visitor' chair on the balcony overlooking his flagship's bridge. I wonder if this is just how big this sort of chair always is, or if he had it upgraded just for this occasion? Can't see any wear…

"I was distracted by home affairs." I shrug. "With the psions bottled up, the situation on Karna and the anti-pirate crusade, it didn't seem urgent… But I had a chat with Princess Komand'r and she made it clear that she -and Tamaran- want this campaign completed." He nods. "I do hope that I haven't thrown your own plans into any sort of turmoil."

"I.. would probably have sought to tie you down to a date before New Year, Karaltine time. We have laws about leaving Fleet Admirals out in the field for too long."

"They think you need a break? I'm sure that Tamaran would be happy to offer you hospitality and shore leave."

"I'm sure they would, but no." He smiles. "The law is in place to prevent Admirals building up an independent base of support with which to threaten the Crown. It wouldn't be an actual problem, but there's a…" He makes a circling motion with his right hand. "A certain poetry to being finished at that point."

"You have plans?"

"A.. gradual transition from war admiral to administrative admiral… And then hopefully dominion over one of our new colonies. With a.. title to match, naturally."

"No desire to stay in harness?"

"And do what? There aren't any other foes in this region to win acclaim against, not at the level of Fleet Admiral. And I certainly don't want Her Majesty to have time to forget about me."

"You're not concerned about the Spider Guild?"

"If they could bring a fleet to bear now, certainly. But given the amount of time our analysts believe it will take them, I'm perfectly happy to take a back seat and let some other young buck lead the defence. I assume that we can rely on Tamaranian cooperation in that fight?"

I nod. "Barring something truly bizarre happening. We should.. probably talk to the Queen and her Cabinet about future cooperation at some point… Get a few things down on paper."

"As long as you don't mind it being after New Year. That sort of discussion is best conducted when the celebratory hangovers have had a chance to wear off."

"Whenever you think best. I'm perfectly-."

The small hologram generator in front of us activates, the bust of the ship's flag captain appearing. "Admiral? My Lord Lantern? All ships report ready."

Oswin smirks, bowing his head slightly. "Think they're expecting us?"

I nod. "At this point I suspect that us turning up will be more of a relief than anything." I stand, nodding to the image. "Thank you, Captain. I'll get started right away. We should be finished by the time you arrive."

He nods formally. "Good hunting."

"Mother Box, hush tube."

"Ping."

I step through the portal, appearing at the very edge of the Wombworld's defence zone. The psions haven't exactly been lazy as their few remaining allies were hunted down and exterminated like the vermin they are, but they appear not to have wanted to be too overt in case that's what sets us off. I can see new weapon platforms, interdiction field and a.. defence fleet. Such as it is. The psions were never ones for risking their own necks if they could get someone else to do it for them, but they were never stupid enough to have no power projection.

Interestingly, no one else who used to be on the Citadelian side retreated here. Can't imagine why not.

I raise my left fist to my mouth. "First Lantern Grayven to the Orange Lantern Corps. One last obstacle lies between us and the liberation of Vega. Our job is to ensure that the combined fleet can bombard the place unopposed. Resistance will be stiffer than what the Citadel was able to provide, but you're all a good deal more skilled than you were back then. I have every confidence in your abilities."

I generate a singularity beam construct.

"Attack on my signal."

I aim at the nearest defence station, remembering everything I've learned about psion history and culture from Vegan and Crown Imperium archives. I can't really castigate them in absolute terms -compared to Apokolips they're positively small potatoes- but they have done enough to the people I now call mine to justify everything we're about to do to them.

Fire.

Immediately an area of space twenty centimetres across and millions of miles long gains a gravitational attractiveness equal to the event horizon of a black hole. The platform I targeted shudders and snaps as its gravitational control system is effortlessly overloaded, falling into two parts as I turn my weapon towards the planet.

Alert. Enemy countermeasures detected.

Graviton manipulation isn't a psion speciality, but when someone starts pointing a weapon like this at you, you learn to solve the equation very quickly. I've barely gone more than a couple of degrees before the beam fades out, but that's fine.

Ping.

Throughout the system my Lanterns are flying through hush tubes into and around psion defence systems. Already I can see flashes of orange, both from their constructs and from the burning atmospheres of those platforms which until a few moments ago had living crew.

"Gravyen to psion Wombworld. I request contact with whoever down there is authorised to issue a general surrender."

"You will be neither the first nor the last Lantern we have killed."

"I thought you might say that. So I'm not going to bullshit you by saying that when we win we'll leave a significant proportion of you alive or anything dishonest like that."

Ping.

"But we don't have to render you entirely extinct. We're prepared to accept any of your neonates who are no more than halfway through your indoctrination process. They will be apprenticed to the Controllers, who will take responsibility for teaching them not to be heartless blights upon the universe like you were. And who knows? Given enough time they might even learn to access the emotional spectrum. And you people were basically the maltusians' pets anyway."

Lantern deceased.

No, don't bother notifying me unless the fatalities reach ten percent. I knew there'd be deaths here, but… It's got to be done.

"Deranged alien, you will never take the Wombworld."

"As you will." Ring, cut communication with their command, and open a link to their crèche.

By your command.

Play them that exchange.

By your command.

In near-Wombworld space, the psions' last line is collapsing. But I won't say they're not giving it their all. Construct-defying shields flare into being, protecting spaceborne citadels for a few moments before hush tubes open to their interiors. That tactic is immediately abandoned throughout the battle zone in favour of using those shields to hem Lanterns in so they can be shot. That works a little better, but it swiftly becomes apparent that whatever their intellectual abilities they have no good counter to widespread hush tube use.

Exchange replayed.

I nod to myself. "Hello, lads. Remember me?"

"Y-yeah..?"

Space shudders as the Crown Imperium's fleet jumps in, swiftly followed by the few Tamaranian and Karnan ships that were available to take part.

"How would you like to be the last adults of your species left alive?"

 

[Mr Zoat]

30th November
17:04 GMT -5

"…something I ever thought I'd have to worry about." Professor Palmer shrugs. "I read Batman's report, but-" I'm nodding. "-that interpretation didn't occur to me."

"And I don't imagine you've dealt with a lot of magic users."

"No, but… That wasn't it. I know there are biologists who've transplanted their brain into a new body and physicists who've uploaded themselves into robots or AI mainframes. The idea of one intelligence being transferred to another form isn't new to me. I didn't even consider the idea that Giovanni wasn't getting any time to himself." He bows his head slightly. "Though I don't imagine the fact that no one in the League did is improving your opinion of us."

I shake my head. "Actually… I don't know. When Batman told me to do this, I thought that it was going to be a waste of time, but… Surprisingly, I'm feeling a lot less hostile now that I can… Put fallible human faces to your judgement errors."

"Oh, thanks."

"Actually, Professor: your name is public knowledge. Why does your costume have a mask?"

"It's a combination of hair net and part of the system which defines the 'shrink area'. When I go really small I don't want to leave hairs behind inside something expensive or fragile, like a quantum chip or someone's brain." I nod. "Plus, I… Wanted to look like a superhero. It's not as uncomfortable as you'd think."

"Well, ah… Thank you for your time." I start to rise from my chair, then stop myself. "Is there anything you wanted to ask me about the situation?"

"About the..? Nabu?" I nod my head and he gives his a quick shake. "No, I think you made your point very clearly. If I had known how you felt about it, I don't think I'd have done what you did, but I don't know whether I'd have been more successful or not. You didn't do anything illegal… But…" He exhales. "What would I need to say to convince you to talk to-. I don't know, not me, but maybe Diana next time?"

I chuckle darkly. "You won't have to worry about that. I fully intend to make my feelings known as loudly and directly as possible."

"Good. Good." He smiles, and we both stand. "You said you were doing the whole Justice League. Who have you got left to go?"

"King Orin, Captain Marvel and Red Tornado."

He frowns. "I know Red is working on his secret identity, but what's the hold up with the other two?"

"Given the situation with his son, I'm a bit-."

"Oh yeah." He chuckles. "Guy said I should ask you if you had any dirt on me."

"On you?" I shake my head. "No."

"That's a.. rather specific reply."

"If I had information on someone else -naming no names- I wouldn't consider it appropriate to share it, even if it tangentially involved you."

"That's… Not worrying at all. But I guess I understand where you're coming from. How about Captain Marvel?"

"Captain Marvel works for a Lord of Order. And I don't think there's any way he'd be okay with my ruthlessness."

Professor Palmer nods. "True, but if you want to get back on the team and you have to talk to everyone…"

"Yeah, got to bite the bullet some time." He holds out his right hand to me, and I shake it before heading out of his office.

He's not wrong, but who should I start with? I can get in touch with William via Beautia and Red Tornado via Danni. Getting a message to King Orin would be similarly simple-.

"Hey, you're Orange Lantern, right?" I look up as a student walks towards me, pointing a little hesitantly with his right forefinger.

"That's me. Anything I can do for you?"

"Nah man, but my boss wanted me to pass a message on."

I wince internally. "If this 'boss' is involved in any sort of criminal enterprise-."

"No, dude." He shakes his head. "Gimme a sec." He takes an inhaler out of his jacket pocket and takes a puff.

Ah. Is that-?

The student shudders, and his face twists slightly. "Orange Lantern."

"Mammon." Because of course Mammon has his own cultists. And his own Devil Jizz variant. "What can I do for you?"

"I have the location you requested. Multiple damned souls tell the same story, and there's a taste on their souls that I can't readily identify. My own scrying attempts failed and I don't have any… 'Operatives' in the area."

"Tell me."

"What do I get out of it?"

"That taste on their souls. Does it improve the flavour?"

"I'm a collector, not a renderer. It gives them a certain uniqueness. But… I wouldn't like it to become wider spread."

"I suspect that it's Anti-Life. And as I understand it, the enemy believe that it would allow them to control demons just as well as everything else. I intend to attack their holdings on Earth with a view to expunging them from the universe entirely."

"That's not exactly a direct benefit."

"Superheroes are a long term investment. Insurance against apocalyptic problems that you don't ever want to have to deal with yourself. Trying to negotiate a better deal in situations like this is ultimately self-defeating."

"I… Suppose. It's in Saudi Arabia. Here." His host reaches into his jacket pocket again and pulls out a slip of paper. "Directions. The souls I interrogated weren't sure, but you could reasonably expect a degree of government collusion. Someone has been turning a blind eye for too long for it to be chance."

I take the note and look over the writing. Not somewhere I've been before, but I'm familiar with it. "Any idea of defences?"

"Strange guns. They guessed 'alien', but the people I've been interrogating weren't much more than gang masters. Some foreign mercenaries too. Nothing that should give you any difficulty."

"Thank you, Mammon. I will act on this at once."

"Happy to be of service. For a given value of 'happy'."

The student's face twitches again, then resumes its normal dimensions. "Ugh." He takes a moment to steady himself. "You get everything you needed?"

"Yes. Thank you." He smiles, nods, and starts to turn away. "And you're under arrest."

"What? What for?"

"You just used a controlled substance right in front of me. What do you think I'm arresting you for?"

 

[Mr Zoat]

1st December
09:04 GMT +3

"…surprised that this country signed the League's charter."

I frown mockingly. "Alan. If the workers are getting paid a pittance then it's technically not slavery. And there's no international ban on serfdom."

"Ah…" William looks from me to Alan and then back again. "Isn't there?"

"Sorry, Captain. Black humour. It's officially discouraged, but not outright banned as chattel slavery is and it hasn't reached a level of cruelty in Saudi Arabia which outweighs their use as a US air base. And when a permanent member of the Security Council has your back, you can get away with an awful lot."

He watches me for a moment. "You're.. not just annoyed about Doctor Fate, are you?"

"The Justice League does good work. But I would advise against you being unaware of some-"

"Batman to Justice League."

"-of the limits of what it does."

"Doctor Mist has completed his preparations. Lanterns, on my signal."

Inside my armour I nod, take a deep breath and close my eyes. Feel the orange light around me. William's light is weak and diffuse, his strongest desires relating to the familial and comradely bonds he was denied in early childhood. Adom hasn't done much more than grunt since we arrived and his desires are strong and sharp. His soon-to-be brother-in-law is down there and he refused to give Batman any guarantees about his conduct. As a consequence, he's technically here on his own and not part of the group.

Major Adams's strongest desires relate to preserving his honour and reputation, which given what happened when he lost it isn't really surprising. Mr Yao has a burning need to serve his fellow man so intense that it's bordering on self-destructive. Or maybe self destructive. Barda wants to smash people, which is a desire that is sure to be realised soon.

And Alan? Well, I know his desires well enough but right now I can't see a gosh darn thing. He's gotten very good at channelling his hopes, even in abstract ways like this.

We strongly suspect that there's Anti-Life technology down there, and while Adom, William and Barda should be able to protect themselves, we don't intend to take chances we can avoid.

"Now."

Enkindle avarice.

Orange light flashes through the metaphysiques of the assault team, almost immediately mirrored by equivalent blue. That should keep out the Anti-Life, though sadly we don't have other colours of Lantern trained in this technique. Zatanna is going nowhere near this, no one thought that calling Sinestro was a good idea and what sort of lunatic would make a red ring?

"Done."

A moment passes.

"Done here as well."

"Assault team, confirm readiness status."

"Woophf. Captain Marvel, ready." He looks at Adom and gets a curt nod.

"Captain Atom, ready."

"Physician ready."

"Barda, ready."

"Begin the attack as soon as you can access the facility. Report all enemy contacts. Doctor Mist."

How do you destroy a stealth system when you can't even detect enough of it to know that there's a system there to disrupt? Simple. Simpleish. We know that the internal section is still metaphysically part of the Earth; if it wasn't, the souls of those who die inside couldn't pass into Hell. So getting in roughly the right area and supercharging that link with the most capable non-evil magic user on the planet-.

The landscape below us shudders and ripples, the small number of disused shorefront industrial buildings bending and then separating as new and far more technologically sophisticated buildings appear in between.

"Apokolips."

There's a certain similarity between the buildings and those I've seen in the images the League took while they were on Apokolips, but it looks like they mostly took existing buildings and added things. Four stationary gun points, positioned-

Adom and William dive, Adom pulling ahead and annihilating the gun he dove towards-. Through. William pulls up early and punches, the force field protecting it failing as the gunner tries to bring it to bear on him. His jaw tight, William pulls the man from his seat with his right hand and slaps the gun with his left, sending it flying from the roof.

-that they can -could- cover both the sky and any obvious approaches. A series of… Poles? Antennae or aerials? Are positioned at intervals in two rough circles around the buildings. Not generating a force field so I'm not sure what they're about, but Barda's prioritising them over the stationary guns as she dives down on her aero-discs. Two light jeeps that were on the far side of the complex accelerate around the side, rear-mounted blasters being brought to bear by the men standing in the back. One note from Mr Yao and the sand underneath them behaves like liquid for two seconds, solidifying once the jeeps are sunk up to their windscreens. And second note, and the men crewing it slump over, unconscious.

More or less by pure luck one of the fixed guns is pointing at Adom as he looks for a new target. The gunner fires, a beam of luminous purple something striking him in the chest. Adom grimaces and then flies into it, wisps of purple… Stuff decaying into mist as it washes over him.
Purpose=Failure

Barda misses a swing as… The aerials sort of shimmer for a moment. "It's started."
Purpose=Failure

William flits under a shot from the fourth gun and smashes through the roof before coming up underneath it and hurling it into the sky! The gunner is strapped in, and from the look on William's face he didn't take that into account. As Adom tanks the incoming fire a brilliant beam of energy from Captain Atom's forearms breaks the shield and reduces the front portion of the gun to mist.
Purpose=Failure

William hurries after his turret and catches it. The shield activates in response, and he breathes a sigh of relief before hurling it into the river. The shield triggers on impact but doesn't do anything to make the gun buoyant, the weapon and crew sinking under the water.
Purpose=Failure

Barda draws her sidearm and shoots out three more aerials. "It will only get stronger."
Purpose=Failure

"Doctor Mist to assault team. The device they used to exist outside of the world is still active. I must remain here to counteract it."
Purpose=Failure

William floats towards Mr Yao. "Doc?"
Purpose=Failure

A piercing note, and one aerial sparks and collapses. The rest don't.
Purpose=Failure

"I cannot counter it, Captain."
Purpose=Failure

Adom blurs, force fields failing and aerials breaking in his wake. The perimeter cleared, he floats to a halt next to William. "I see no difficulty."

Barda holsters her pistol and hefts her mega rod, stomping towards the front doors. "Thanks."

She swings the rod, the door snapping into seven pieces as the weapon's discharge radiates out from the point of impact!

"Let's find whoever's in charge of this place, and do the same to them."

 

[Mr Zoat]

1st December
09:08 GMT +3

Beneath us, Batman drives toward the facility on a motorcycle. The men who had been on the turret William threw into the river swim to shore, just in time to be hit by a shot from Batman's bike-mounted bolas launcher. Not sure that he'll get anything useful out of them, but every little helps. While Mr J'onzz was available, Batman felt that including a natural telepath against a known memetic hazard was a bad idea.

Adom's already charged inside, Barda and William just behind. Mr Yao enters next at a slower pace. His job is to heal any prisoners with physical injuries… And any militants Adom doesn't flat out kill. Who even are these people?

"Lanterns, report."

"No problem here sir. Felt… Something when those aerials activated, but I'm not being hard pressed."

"I'd find it a darn sight easier to keep my hopes up if Black Adam was a little less eager to kill people who clearly weren't a threat to him. But I'm managing."

Purpose=Failure

"No it doesn't!"

"Orange Lantern, report."

"Didn't you hear that? The.. creepy voice saying 'purpose equals failure'?"

"I did not. Assault team, be advised-."

"It's the Anti-Life." I hear a crashing noise through Barda's communicator. "I've been hearing it since we got here."

"What does it do?"

"It tries to convince you that everything you've valued-"

"Captain Atom to Batman."

"-and tried to achieve was inherently pointless."

"The locals are wearing Apokoliptian armor matching the description of the people who attacked Shiruta. I think we've found the group responsible."

So much for getting Adom to leave any of them alive, then.

"But they are. No purpose has intrinsic value. It's all extrinsic. 'Why' never finds an answer. We -ultimately- value things because we value them."

"Not sure I agree with that."

"And that's why you've got a blue ring and I've got an orange one."

"Physician to Batman. I have found a.. holding pen. The people within are malnourished and unresponsive, but do not appear dangerous."

"If they're not in any danger, leave them where they are. The trucks carrying aid supplies will be here in an hour."

"I am moving on."

Purpose=Failure

"Okay, explain to me why people who get exposed to the Anti-Life want to fight or.. do anything? I can see why getting magically convinced that your convictions are facile-."

"It doesn't convince. It proves. It runs in your brain and shows you the meaninglessness in your own life. Most people break from that. Some don't. Some New Gods make it a part of them, and when that happens they see it as good. Natural."

"I.. still don't see-."

"Be thankful." I hear another grunt and a thud. "I can't answer the questions you want to ask. I was a warrior, not a researcher."

"Captain Atom to Batman. I'm… I think I'm hearing voices. Not 'purpose equals failure', some kind of telepathic noise. Running my anti-telepathy training."

And… None of them took psi-shock grenades, did they? Batman should have one or two on him.

"Understood. Teth Adom and Captain Marvel are innately resistant. If you need to pull back, do so."

"Understood."

"Captain Marvel to Batman. I'm in a drugs lab. They were making something here. I think it's some sort of hallucinogen, but I don't recognise the formula."

"I'll investigate once the facility is clear."

"Okay. Moving on."


"Adom to Barda. Does this mean that a God of Apokolips is here?"

"I hope so."

**Yes, it does.**
Purpose=Failure
I blink, and… About a third of the building is… Gone. It's not broken into rubble and I'm not even sure that it's dust. Where there was a building there is now a 'U' shape of cut off building and perfectly flat ground.
Purpose=Failure
Adom and William are struggling to rise, and I can see blood leaking through minor wounds on Adom's costume. Barda is off to one side slightly, her armour battered but unbroken.
Purpose=Failure
Major Adams is flat on his back at the far end of the blasted area, moving weakly. Mr Yao stands opposite Barda, staring in horror at the room cut in half by the effect-. Yes. Those are bodies, dead and maimed.
Purpose=Failure
The man in grey armour takes a few easy steps forward. His eyes glow dark red and his skin is a very pale grey which barely contrasts with the white of his hair.
**I am The Key.** He raises an Apokoliptian-looking firearm, pointing it at Adom. **Welcome to my laboratory.**
Purpose=Failure
Adom growls before launching himself forward. The Key can't get his gun on target in time-.
**No.**
Adom convulses in mid-air and then drops to the smoothed rock below, hands gripping the sides of his head.
**The Power of Atum and the Courage of Montu. A hard target.** The Key takes a step forward, raising his gun once more. **A closed mind, with a door soon to be opened to His Truth.**
Purpose=Failure
**But why aren't you listening?** He looks up, eyes pointing directly at Alan and me. **Ah.**
Purpose=Failure
Purpose=Failure Purpose=Failure Purpose=Failure
Purpose=Failure
"You-?" Alan pants. "You feeling that?"
Purpose=Failure
"Just more lies, Alan. Even when I was a nihilist, I didn't resent people for valuing things."
Purpose=Failure
A beautiful note, one which reminds me of Zauriel's singing, and The Key staggers drunkenly for a moment before switching his attention to Mr Yao.
Purpose=Failure

**One singer. I have a choir.**
Purpose=Failure

More militants emerge from the structure. Some carry blasters and wear all-enveloping body armour of the sort I remember from Shiruta. Others forgo the guns and have wires plugged into points all over their skulls. Their eyes are vacant, but they're looking at the downed superheroes.
Purpose=Failure

**Hear His voice through us.**
Purpose=Failure
Purpose=Failure

 

[Mr Zoat]

1st December
09:11 GMT +3
Purpose=Failure
The Key strolls forward with a grin as his followers open fire! Barda activates her aero-discs, and manages to make it about ten metres into the air before they get shot repeatedly. They come apart, but she has enough momentum to go sailing out of the depression and out of the line of fire.
Purpose=Failure
Anti-riot mortars mounted on Batman's bike fire, launching two gas canisters in an arc into the oncoming militia. The Key smirks as exactly two of his followers aim their guns upwards and fire once each, effortlessly annihilating them.
Purpose=Failure
William doesn't bother standing. He just flies at The Key from his prone position, his eyes narrowing as he takes multiple hits from the blasters. Then-. He lurches in the air and all the shots hit him, his face taking on a decidedly burnt appearance and his uniform disintegrating.
Purpose=Failure
Mr Yao sings a harsh note, the air between him and the force following The Key rippling as he generates a shockwave! Three are knocked to the ground, while twenty or so others are forced to brace. Given the amount of force that particular song generates… That's some good armour. Mr Yao's song changes a moment later as fire gets redirected his way, the air just in front of him rippling as he does something to make it absorb the shots.
Purpose=Failure
"Batman to Lanterns, are you able to offer support?"
Purpose=Failure
I might be able to, but one glance at Alan… "I'll try, but… Too much Anti-Life exposure. If we split our focus-."
Purpose=Failure
"Do what you can." He accelerates, keeping away from the depression as he drives around toward the far side of the building.
Purpose=Failure
The Key raises his gun and points it at William, a grey glow emanating from lines on his armour. **You'll do, then.**
Purpose=Failure
He raises his gun, jerking forward-
Purpose=Failure
-and takes a blast of energy to the chest from Major Adams. The Key is knocked off his feet and onto the ground, though he keeps hold of his gun.
Purpose=Failure

And suddenly it's a bit more bearable. Alan rallies, and I send a filament after The Key, who is pushing himself up as a squad of his soldiers dash forward to shield him. Major Adams isn't up, and he's visibly shaking from the effects of whatever that initial explosion was. A rushed and not entirely accurate spray of shots causes him to-
Purpose=Failure

"Uoough."
Purpose=Failure

-go limp, his beam cutting out entirely.
Purpose=Failure

My filament nears The Key.. and.. fizzles out before it can touch him. Fine, brute force it is, then. I generate a railgun and load a crumbler round.
Purpose=Failure

Adom recovers, rising slightly before diving into the ground and forcing it apart as the Key gets back onto his feet. I track and fire, my round striking him directly in.. the.. chest and he just takes it. Ah..?
Purpose=Failure
A volley of shots fly at Alan and me and I'm forced to focus on our defence. Though the blaster shots destroy individual barriers easily enough, the technique of using multiple small overlapping barriers which Guy and I developed during our spars appears to be holding them off. Of course, it's consuming ring power at a not-inconsiderable rate-.
Purpose=Failure
Barda leaps over the rim of the flattened area, passing over The Key and landing amongst his retinue! She swings her mega rod, armour fracturing and bones breaking with every swing.
Purpose=Failure
**Fine.**
Purpose=Failure
The Key turns her way, shoving aside his retinue as he tries to get a clear shot that doesn't result in him getting smashed apart by her mega-.
Purpose=Failure
The Key is already turning away and jabbing his gun forward as Adom erupts through the ground!
Purpose=Failure
**I'm a telepath.**
Purpose=Failure
The gun strikes Adom on the forehead and briefly glows the same colour as The Key's armour.
Purpose=Failure
**A sneak attack?**
Purpose=Failure
Purpose=Failure
Purpose=Failure
Gah!
Purpose=Failure
"A-ah!"
Purpose=Failure
I send my helmet back into subspace and make deliberate eye contact with Alan. "Kind of loud. You'd almost think he had something important to say."
Purpose=Failure
Purpose=Failure
Purpose=Failure
"I'm… I'm not sure I can-."
Purpose=Failure
"The people being held down there have been exposed to the Anti-Life equation for weeks, months… And now the League is here. And that means they're going to be freed, because that's what we do. We're superheroes. We beat the bad guys. And the fact that the Anti-Life is as bad as it gets just means that he's going to go down harder because these people do not get to win."
Purpose=Failure
He doesn't exactly look at ease, but he nods and his environmental shield strengthens. "And I ain't dead yet."
Purpose=Failure
I nod, and he manages a weak smile. "What was that thing you said? 'When I am confronted by the greatest evils of the universe, I will rejoice'."
Purpose=Failure
Down below us, Adom strains to reach for the gun-device being pressed against his head.
Purpose=Failure
"'For when I am done, there will be. One. Less'."
Purpose=Failure
"SHAZAM!"
Purpose=Failure
From a clear sky, a lightning bolt hits The Key's gun and disintegrates it. Adom flashes as he transforms, but he's still super strong and The Key is decidedly off balance.
Purpose=Failure

A blue pulse radiates outward from Alan, and I-. He usually looks like a well-preserved fifty, but I… For a moment, he looks like he's in his prime again.
Purpose=Failure

As the wave passes over the soldiers they shudder. Some drop their weapons, others fall to the ground. One of the ones with wires coming out of her head blinks, suddenly cognisant of her surroundings.
Purpose=Failure

"YAAAAGH!"
Purpose=Failure

Wires in the head. Some sort of control-? No, he's using Anti-Life, and we knew that telepaths were a risk.
Purpose=Failure

First, finish what Alan started. All Things Strive.
Purpose=Failure

Orange light radiates out from me, and this time none of the soldiers without the head-wires manage to stay upright. The Key himself appears unaffected, grabbing Adom's hands and forcing him back.
Purpose=Failure

**You're still too weak-**

Yao stops his shielding song and fires off quick bursts of sonic energy, cutting neatly through the wires attached to the brains of the still-upright soldiers. And then collapses as The Key glances his way.

**-to stop-.**

Barda brings her mega rod down on his head.

 

[Mr Zoat]

1st December
09:19 GMT +3

There's a flash of yellow light as Barda reappears, mega rod held aloft.

"So? Who was he?"

The head dress makes it a little hard to tell, but I think that she's frowning. "He was not of Apokolips."

"What?"

Her hand tightens on her rod's grip. "He was biologically human. Someone had somehow turned him into one of us."

"I'm not sure what that means."

She shakes her head. "Where is Scott?"

"Over at the triage centre with Physician and Blue Lantern, trying to work out how to fix The Key's victims."

She nods, and starts marching in that direction. I tag along behind her. "What did Highfather say about-?"

"Darkseid can give his comprehension of parts of the Anti-Life equation to anyone he wants, at the cost of losing the ability to use it himself. But The Key was just a relay. There's someone else using it."

"Damn. Ah, yeah, Batman checked what was left of their laboratory. The Key had developed some sort of LSD-like telepathy booster. It turns out that while there aren't many human telepaths with significant power, low level telepathy is much more common. We think that the implants were doing something similar, but we just don't have good enough data on New God technology."

"He and a handful of infected humans were able to dominate your most powerful heroes."

"Most powerful? But I was fine."

She stops, turns her head towards me and raises her eyebrows.

"What? I was. I'm not sure how practical using Lanterns to shield their allies would usually be on a wider scale, but I think we've demonstrated the efficacy of the technique."

She starts walking again. "How many other Blue Lanterns are there?"

"None that I know of. I ordered Alan's ring as a custom job."

"If the Green Lanterns haven't learned the technique yet then they probably can't. What other Corps are there?"

"The only one I've encountered so far is the Indigo Lantern Corps, and they didn't give me contact details." She snorts in frustration. "What happens with The Key?"

"Highfather will purge him of the Anti-Life, then he will be imprisoned until we're sure he isn't a threat."

"Is Highfather likely to do anything about the rest of the Anti-Life problems we're encountering?"

"He wants Scott and me to monitor the situation. If there are actual Apokoliptians here, he'll probably send more troops."

"And if it's just humans whom Darkseid is sponsoring, we're on our own?"

"Are you saying you can't manage?"

"No, but there's a difference-" Barda pushes open the door to the room we're using as a triage area. "-between 'managing' and-."

"This boy. Where is he?" Adom is holding up a picture of Amon -not a recent one, but the most recent Adrianna had- and pointing to it, while the few people who have been purged so far are trying to avoid meeting his eyes. "His name is Amon Tomaz, and he was recently here. Tell me."

Barda's eyes narrow as they shrink back. "Does he not realise that-?"

"I know, he's just worried. I'll.. get this."

She nods, and I jog over to Adom. "Mighty-."

"I know him." On a nearby bed a bald woman with plasters covering the holes in her head weakly turns her face Adom's way. "He was brought in with the same group as me."

Immediately Adom crouches down next to her. "And where is he now?"

She turns her head away, unwilling or unable to meet his eyes. "He wouldn't hear His voice. He wouldn't bend."

Adom nods. "The Key could not break his will."

"No. Everyone breaks. But The Key wasn't trying to break us. Just turn us. Amon kept resisting, right up until... I don't know if he is still alive, but I saw where they put him."

Adom stands. "Show me. Orange Lantern, please fetch Adrianna."

I'd ask him if he's sure… But it's Adom. I step out, and the tight bundle of focused desires that are Adrianna is easy enough to locate as I step back out into.. the road as the relief trucks drive past me. I rise off the ground and accelerate after the one she's riding in.

"Adrianna!"

She carefully rises from her seat and comes to the back of the lorry. "Orange Lantern. Have you found him?"

"We know where he is. We don't know what state he's in or if he's alive. Adom thought that you'd want to-." She jumps out of the back of the lorry and I'm so surprised that it takes me at least a quarter of a second to extend a flight aura around her. "Right." Can't step out with passengers, and I'm not transitioning until all of the Apokoliptian technology in that place has been thoroughly dismantled. Instead, I rise into the air, generate booster constructs and accelerate back towards the facility.

"What.. can I expect?"

"Lots of people with psychological and spiritual injuries. Some of the recent intake are in a bad physical state, and the man running the place created some kind of disintegration effect which killed and maimed more people. The longer term residents are physically healthy but we're still trying to remove the Anti-Life infection from them."

"And from Amon?"

"He wouldn't bend, apparently." The facility appears, and I decelerate and aim for the entrance closest to the triage area. "So I doubt anything good." I set her down and lead the way-.

"Then my choice is clear." She reaches into her pocket and pulls out the Amulet of Isis.

"We don't.. actually know that's necessary. One of those lorries has a purple healing ray, and the Physician-."

"I have berated Adom for not doing what is best for his people often enough that I do not wish for him to have cause to call me a hypocrite." She smiles faintly. "Perhaps it is a good thing that I did not receive any religious indoctrination."

"Perhaps?"

Without ceremony, she pulls the thong carrying the amulet over her head. "I am Isis."

 

[Mr Zoat]

1st December
09:23 GMT +3

Dirt explodes upward before being blown away by wind that swirls from nowhere, sparks flying from the short lived dust storm. As it calms, the.. newly transformed Adrianna freezes for a moment, then moves her left hand to keep her tiny skirt down while her right moves across her barely-covered and significantly larger breasts.

…

Yes, I see why the normally conservatively dressing Adrianna might be a little disturbed to find herself wearing a... That. I mean, that golden belt is only a little bit smaller than the skirt and… That's not even a bra. It's providing no support at all. I can see it providing no support at all. And that necklace and those sandals can't be comfortable.

On the positive side, she's about six inches taller and a good deal healthier-looking. Added muscles… Which I can see. I wonder who designed this costume, because if it was Shazam-.

"Paul, do you have any clothing I could-?"

While she's not quite as buff as Diana, the change of clothing I have in subspace for her more or less fits. Adrianna nods in gratitude before heading inside the building.

Just missing Dr Balewa shimmering into existence, his eyes darting around as he tries to see what just happened. "What was thet?"

"Adrianna putting on the Amulet of Isis, and becoming a living avatar of the goddess. Which should at least make tidying up here a little-"

"Oh."

"-easier. Which way did-?"

My ring gleams, then Alan's face appears. Paul, get down here right now.

Ring, location? And go.

The somewhat dilapidated brick and mortar of the old parts of the facility and the more recent grey Apokoliptian synthetic stone zip past in an instant and-

Purpose=Failure

-agagakh!

A sarcophagus… Medical table open casket thing. Very Apokoliptian. Devices my rings can't identify cover a young man's face and chest, his emaciated frame-

"Ragh!"

-suddenly more visible after Adom tears the front off the device. Bruises, cuts, visible ribs whose positioning suggests that they broke and healed without being set… Burns, three fingers missing from his right hand and none of the rest still have nails. Missing nails from his big toes. Emasculated. Left eye removed and nose… Flattened.

Genetic match. Amon Tomaz.

I remember the comic… He was injured, Adrianna couldn't fix his spinal injuries-.

"Paul, he's been Anti-Lifed."

I dart forward, stepping around the manfully horrified Adom and the stunned Adrianna. Enkindle avarice? Shit, there's nothing there to enkindle. I let the orange light join the blue which Alan is already trying to use…

Stifling a sob, Adrianna gestures at Amon. Bruises vanish, nails regrow and scars fade, but… Yeah, accelerated natural healing. Some things the human body just can't fix by itself. I can do better on behalf of someone I'm invested in like Adom… Restore the eye, the testicles and the fingers, reset the ribs-.

Adrianna gasps and looks at me, but I swiftly shake my head. He's… His soul is filled with Anti-Life, but… I see what she meant. He hasn't accepted it as part of himself. He's just suffered so much that he's switched off. The Anti-Life can't grab him because he's not there anymore. Which doesn't help us. Reminds me of that thing in Sword of Truth…

Adom glances back at the telepathic woman who directed him here, but he immediately controls himself. Not her fault. Heck, even if she was involved, which is well within the realms of possibility. "Can you help him?"

"Not… Readily. There are things I could try…"

"Can you tell what ails him?"

"As far as I can tell, his mind has withdrawn from his body. With time and care, I'd normally be reasonably confident that he would eventually recover. However, there's still Anti-Life in there and it… I think it's preventing that. And because he's not there, Blue Lantern and I can't -at our current skill level- remove it for him. Highfather might be able to do something for him… I don't know."

Telepathy? No, no, too dangerous to risk Anti-Life exposure. A perfect circle of Lanterns is my strongest chance, but how to get people like that working together? Sinestro would obviously have to g-.

"Can he hear me?"

"Ah… There's nothing physically wrong with his ears or auditory cortex. Maybe? The sound's going in, but I'm not sure that it's reaching him."

Adom nods. "Please, step aside."

I frown, but I step back to allow him closer. He approaches to within a metre then stops, bending slightly to bring his face closer to Amon's left ear. "Amon? My name is Teth Adom. I am a super hero, and the ruler of Kahndaq. But, more relevant to you, I am your sister's fiancé. She has refused to wed me until you are recovered, and so I must correct your current state myself."

"A very long time ago, a.. wizard, granted me a portion of my gods' powers to serve as his warrior. In modern times, he did the same to a man who calls himself Captain Marvel. Perhaps you have heard of him? And in turn, Captain Marvel shared that power with his two closest friends, knowing that he would be all the stronger for having them fight beside him. When I was.. the wizard's champion, I could have done the same." He shakes his head. "I chose not to. I could not have.. imagined sharing the burden in that way. I told myself that I could not let someone that close to me, that I could not encourage someone I valued to share that danger." He shakes his head. "I was mistaken. I was simply trying to protect myself from further loss, as if every wound I took was one from which another was spared."

"You are my love's brother, and you have survived tortures that would have killed a lesser man. I believe that you have a great deal to offer the world. And to rise from your bed, you must push these lies from your head, this Anti-Life. But you are barely alive. How can you do this?"

"I could always have shared my power as Captain Marvel does, but I did not have a.. family with which to share it. And now I do." He lays his right hand on Amon's forehead. "Say my name."

"T-th…"

What?

"Teth… Adom..!"

I raise a construct barrier as lightning arcs from Adom into Amon! The black and gold body suit forms immediately, his muscles swell and his eyes focus! He staggers forward, then swings his right arm back and destroys the machines that had been holding him.

"We could have… Studied that…"

"Amon." Adom smiles broadly and grasps the bewildered youth by his right shoulder as Adrianna dashes forward to embrace him. "Do you understand me?"

"Yes. Yes… My brother?"

Adom bows his head slightly. "Not yet. But..? Soon?"

Adrianna pulls her teary face away from her brother's head. "Yes. Soon. Very soon."

Hm. Looks like I need to buy a new hat.

 

[Mr Zoat]

2nd December
06:08 GMT -5

I watch as my porridge turns in the microwave. I've got a wedding invitation, but… What do you get the man who has everything? No, no, there are plenty of things Adom doesn't have, but while not without his vices he certainly doesn't include acquisitiveness amongst them. What do you get a man who already has everything he wants?

My eyes drift sideways to a black and white picture of Alan with the rest of the Justice Society. Huh. Well… Sure, but I don't think necromancy's really on.

Although…

"Something on your mind, or have microwave ovens started picking up TV signals?"

"Hm? Oh." I take a half-step back, then turn to face Alan. "No, I was just.. thinking."

He pushes a couple of slices of toast into the toaster, then glances my way with a wry smile on his lips. "Should I warn the Justice League?"

"No, no, that won't-"

"It's only fair to give them a running start."

"-be necessary. I was just wondering… Hawkman, Mister Carter Hall. Did he.. talk about his past lives much?"

"You mean, in detail?" Alan tilts his head back as he thinks about it. "No, not that I recall. At the time, I wasn't sure he wasn't just.. a little…" He taps his forehead with his right forefinger and I nod. "He mentioned having been to a few places… I think we were in Frankfurt, after the war, and he mentioned having lived not too far from there a couple of centuries ago. You might be better off asking-." He cuts himself off.

"Asking..?"

"I was going to say 'Ted Knight'. Aside from Shiera, Ted was the guy in the Society he was closest to." He sighs, then shrugs. "I guess.. in any group, you're going to have people you're closer to than others. If you were asking me anything about Ted Grant or Jay or Diana, I could tell you no problem." He frowns curiously. "What brought this on?"

"Carter Hall was the reincarnation of Prince Khufu, right?"

Alan nods. "That's what he said."

"And he died… What, twenty nine years ago?"

Alan nods again. "Sounds.. about right."

"So his new incarnation would be twenty eight now."

"Ahh…" Alan looks decidedly nonplussed. "Could be, I guess. Like I said, I wasn't all that sure the reincarnation thing wasn't just.. some sort of crackpot idea he somehow got into his head. I.. suppose… Well, it depends on how long he had to wait between reincarnations."

"Did he or Mrs Hall say anything about how long that normally took?"

"No, not that I-." He blinks. "Oh, hang on. There was one time… We got to talking about the transcontinental railroad, and he told me that he worked as a secure courier for the Pinkerton Agency in… Ah… Nineteen oh three? Or thereabouts? I wouldn't want to swear to the exact date, but it was definitely early twentieth century."

"So even if he dropped dead the next day, it can't take more than a decade, because he joined the Justice Society as Carter Hall in the Forties."

"Huh." His toast slices pop out of the toaster, and he carefully transfers them to his plate and starts to butter them. "I hadn't really thought about it, but you're probably right. What brought this on?"

"Adom knew Khufu. And they were friends and colleagues, two things he's not exactly overflowing with at the moment."

"He did tear a woman apart on worldwide television with his bare hands." Alan puts the lid back on the butter and sticks his knife in the peanut butter jar. "That kind of thing can put people off."

"He's also a demigod ruling a country of people who revere him. Another friend or two would help prevent further.. ripping incidents."

Alan chuckles quietly. "It's the way you say it."

I take my porridge out of the microwave and squirt in a small amount of golden syrup. "Did he tell you whether or not he-"

"Orange juice?" Alan shakes the carton at me.

"-got-? Ah, yes, thank you. Whether he got all of his memories back from birth, or they gradually came through as he got older, or… What?"

Alan pours two glasses of orange juice, puts the lid back on the peanut butter and then floats the glasses and his plate over to the dining table. I pick up my bowl and join him.

"No, ah… He used to collect antique weapons. One of the ones he bought was…" He frowns and takes a small bite of his toast, taking his time to chew before swallowing. "It was the dagger that the man who murdered Khufu used. That was what made him remember. It was made of Nth metal, so it kinda stood out." He points in the general direction of the stairs with his toast. "I've still got it upstairs, actually."

"You..?" I stop, porridge-laden spoon half way to my mouth. "Did everyone in the Justice Society just… Dump their old stuff on you? I mean, you had Diana's old clothes, Mister Nelson's books, Hugo Danner's research records and now I find out you've got Mister Hall's Nth metal dagger. I once bought a spaceship's central computer with one of those."

Alan shrugs. "I.. guess I just had the loft space. You want it for something?"

"If seeing it caused Mister Hall to get his past life memories back, it should have the same effect on whoever the current incarnation is."

"Huh." Alan thinks as he chews on his toast. "You sure about that?"

"No. Reincarnation is usually an iffy business because souls don't encode memories well. But if he could clearly remember multiple past lives well enough to hold conversations about things they'd seen, that's clearly not an issue here. The dagger.. should have the same significance to whoever he is now that it had to Mister Hall. Unless the trigger was a one-time thing which happened as a result of the shock of seeing it for the first time in thousands of years. I suppose that the only way to know for certain would be to try it."

"And what if.. whoever it is doesn't want to get their past life memories back?"

"Then I stick it back in the loft. After making the same offer to the current Shiera Saunders, of course."

"How would you find them?"

"Scrying. If we used the dagger as the focus, even a fairly weak magic user should be able to find them."

"I suppose the association would be pretty strong, huh." He thinks for a moment, then slowly nods. "I can dig the knife out after breakfast. One other thing I do remember, though."

I nod, my mouth full of porridge.

"It isn't just the two of them who reincarnate. The guy who killed them -Hath-Set- is supposed to get reincarnated too."

I nod again, then swallow. "Alright, manageable. I can stick him in stasis or.. on a planet on the other side of the universe or something."

"If this works… Have you thought about what you're going to tell Hector?"

"I'd be astonished if he actually complained about his parents reincarnating, but I'm sure we'll be able to come to terms if he does."

 

[Mr Zoat]

2nd December
11:37 GMT -6

"Of course, Queen Adilah. And I'm very pleased to know that your efforts are being met with such success."

Amazing how quickly people can get a clue when they're totally dependent on you. Lex could supply Bialya's current ruler with more of the synthetic pheromone, but I strongly recommended that he not. It would be easy enough for -for example- the CIA to find out about and then he's broken the terms of his parole and I look like a fool for not spotting it. She was decidedly on edge after I vanished from the face of the Earth, and I've made it clear that I expect her to toe the party line if she wants me to keep helping her.

And if I could find as much as a toenail clipping from her sister, I'd use a Lazarus Pit and dispense with her services entirely.

"What freedom you allow me."

It was moderately pleasing to find out that my assessment of her political abilities was about right. Things weren't getting to the 'open rebellion' stage when I got back in touch, but government officials found her 'more difficult to work with' than her predecessor. Which without the pheromone would probably have resulted in her getting formally sidelined and reduced to a purely ceremonial role at best.

"If you were capable of exercising power sensibly without me then you wouldn't need me. But take heart; I've just the solution."

"I am not expecting to like it."

"I have in my employ a woman with significant experience in leadership roles. Her name is Miss Savage. She's been working as my PA for a little while, and it's a waste of her talents. Obviously, she's going to be representing my interests, but I've made it clear that she is otherwise there to help you."

"Is she a deviant as well?"

"Actually, yes." Oh, today is a good day to be me. "But you won't have to worry about the pheromone affecting her. We've been making marvellous strides in atmosphere filtration lately."

Also, she has so far demonstrated better taste. Nothing happening with her and Knockout. I suppose that she hasn't had the opportunity to demonstrate any of the traits an Apokoliptian would find attractive. And Knockout hasn't spent anything like as much time on Earth as her comic counterpart had. Ah well. They can't all be winners.

"I will endure her presence to the precise degree I am forced to."

I sigh loudly enough that she can hear it. "Look… Queen Adilah… I know you hate both the situation and me. And I know you'll cut contact with me just as soon as you can survive doing so. That's fine: I admire the drive humans have to improve their situations… But I'm not seeing what your exit plan is. Ignoring Miss Savage would be completely in keeping with your behaviour to date, but all that means is that you're cutting yourself off from a capable teacher. Are you getting tuition from somewhere else? Because if not, you're acting hard against your own interests."

"And why would you care?"

"It's a New God thing." I lean back in my chair. "I get this itch when realms are being administered inefficiently. But, it's true, in the short term you continuing to shoot yourself in the foot is in my interests. So, fine, your next dose will be with you in a couple of minutes and Miss Savage will be presenting herself tomorrow. Have a nice day!"

I dismiss the phone construct, before looking over to Miss Savage and Jean. "Alright, what's next on the agenda?"

Miss Savage gives me a mild frown. "I don't think I've been sufficiently briefed on Queen Adilah."

"I.. don't think I missed anything in my initial brief..? Incompetent, homophobic, play your cards right you'll basically be running the country..?" Especially since you'll have the pheromone as well.

"Her background. What she likes, who she was friends with at school, what she does for fun. My job will be easier if I can become her friend."

"Yeah…" I shake my head. "Not going to happen. When I say 'homophobe', I don't mean the occasional obscene barb." I smile. "Being around you will literally make her ill."

"Then why did you tell her?"

I… Huh. She.. has a point. It probably wasn't productive… "I don't respect her enough to want to make her happy with the situation. Honestly, it was a tossup between this and giving you a disguise ward so you could replace her entirely." I frown. "And hey; Bialya's the one country in the Middle East where-. No, you know what? I'm not happy with any member of my Elite being in the closet. Screw everyone else. Be resplendent."

She doesn't appear to be quite sure what to make of that.

"But if you really want to know anything else about the bitch, I've got the CIA's file and everything the g-gnomes have been taking from her brain since I prevented her assassination." I take the data stick out of subspace and pass it to her. "Yours to read -or not- as you choose."

She gives me a slightly odd look as she takes it. To misquote Abaddon in Do The Daemon Primarchs Still Hang Out?, I wouldn't have made you one of my Chosen if I didn't value your opinion. Or a New God, in her case.

"So as I was saying, anything else?"

Jean nods. "Mister Near reports that the situation in Britain is as stable as it could reasonably be. I have also received requests from a number of bodies that they be given access to the prisoners."

"Pick a handful of the least stupid and give them a tour of the facilities. No direct contact due to the prisoners being ritual magicians." Jean nods. "That it?"

"I believe those are all the matters that require your immediate attention, Mister Grayven."

"Good show." I get to my feet and step away from the table. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to go and talk the Chinese government into helping Lex with his space program."

Mother Box, boom tube.

Ping.

I walk through and-. "Oh, not again." The boom tube behind me closes as I look around the… Workshop? Foundry? Sinestro, still working this time?

Yes, Lantern Grayven.

"Alright, I'll give whoever hacked my boom tube until the count of five, and then I'm going to start-" I slowly turn around. "-getting irritable."

"How much do you think I still care?"

I narrow my eyes slightly at the small, goblin like man in the lab coat sitting opposite me. "Doctor Sivana. And here I'd thought that Captain Marvel finally killed you."

"No. No, he didn't."

"Something I can do for you? Or can I go back-?"

He raises a small pistol. A radion blaster. I was somehow expecting be-.

"You told Vandal Savage that something like this would only work when your ring-based defences were compromised."

"Yes? That's true? What of it?"

"I'm something of a perfectionist when it comes to technology. It occurred to me that if a sufficiently large weapon could knock down your energy shields, there was no real reason not to make that weapon itself radion-based."

"I suppo-?"

"Turn your head to the left."

I turohhh. That's a big radion blaster, the end of the barrel just poking through the entrance of a subspace pocket. "Doctor Sivana, I'm not aware of any particular enmity existing between-."

"Do you know who the Sheeda are?"

I curl my lip. "The end result of a dying time line. Humanity's destiny if I fail."

He nods slowly. "That was where the portal sent me. To their future. When they found out, they opened a portal back."

I nod. "So we should expect a Harrowing. Worrying, but manag-."

"No. When they realised I was coming back to now, they sent an operative back to wait for me. It arrived during my family's annual meeting on Venus. My facility was destroyed. My wife is dead, along with three of my children."

"I'm so sorry, Doctor. If there are any parts left-."

"Do you think I didn't think of that? It was on Venus. Once the walls went down, there was nothing." I nod. "I want to exterminate the Sheeda. I want to kill every last one of them. And you are going to make that happen."

I nod again. "Yes, I am. Would you mind dispensing with the gun so we can discuss how?"

 

[Mr Zoat]

2nd December
10:01 GMT -7

I rise from my seat in the reception area of the University of Arizona's School of Anthropology as Mr Cantrell strolls in and looks around. He spots me and does a bit of a double take.

"Mr Cantrell?"

"Sorry, I was-" He crosses the room and holds out his right hand. "-expecting you to be wearing…" We shake hands. "Your armour."

"I didn't really think I'd need it. I really only wear that when I'm expecting actual combat…"

"And I imagine it isn't all that comfortable." He half turns and gestures towards the door he came in through, and I follow him as he leads the way into the building. "Ah, you said you wanted me to take a look at something?"

"Well, yes. I want you to check the provenance of a knife for me." I lift the padded box in my left hand. "I believe that it's Ancient Kahndaqi."

"I am an expert, but… Why not ask Teth Adom? I thought the two of you were pretty close."

I bow my head slightly. "He said that the style was about right, but he isn't an expert in ancient metallurgy. But… I'm afraid that the knife is only my.. secondary reason for being here."

He looks mildly interested. "If there's anything else I can help with..?"

"Tell me about your dreams."

He stops, blinking in surprise. "Ah..? Excuse me?"

"Let's see… It would be ancient Kahndaq, fifth century Britain-."

"How-? What-?" He takes a moment. "Yes, I do-. How do you know about that?"

"Do you believe in reincarnation?"

His eyes grow a little distant. "I knew… I mean, I watched your interviews. I know there's more to the afterlife than Heaven and Hell. And I can-." He focuses on me again. "I have given lectures on different cultures' beliefs concerning religious and funeral practices. You think..? The reason I have these dreams is because they're..? Past life memories?"

"Yes."

"That still doesn't explain how you know about them. Am I on some kinda watch list or something?"

"Technically, yes. Given the number of arcane artefacts which seem to get unearthed during digs, the NSA maintains a database of people who are 'at risk' or whom they might need to consult at short notice. But in my case it was a combination of your age and a short scrying ritual performed with the aid of some of your previous incarnation's-" I lift the box containing the dagger. "-property."

He blinks, his mouth falling slightly open. "My God." He sort of huffs with amusement. "That's-. I mean, what does that mean about me, my character-. I mean, I'm a semi-practicing Christian. Reincarnation's never been part of the Christian religious tradition."

"Obviously, not all of your forebears were Christian. And there was magic involved. Now, the reason why I'm bringing this up-."

"Ah, would you mind if we did this in my office? You're kinda blowing my mind here."

"Under the circumstances, I think that's entirely reasonable."

Mr Cantrell leads the way through the Anthropology Department's corridors until we come to a small office on the second floor, walking in and dropping onto a soft chair held together by duct tape. "I'm just… Trying to get my head around it."

I generate a construct chair and sit down opposite him. "Quite understandable."

"So… Who am I?"

"You are Frederick Cantrell, PhD student at the University of Arizona."

He looks up. "Am I? Because I don't always remember the dreams clearly, but they always call me by other names. I mean…"

"Those people are dead. You have the same soul, true, but you are as much a product of your era as they are theirs. You have your own memories, you're living your own life. Nothing about the fact that you reincarnate takes away from that. You aren't doomed to mindlessly repeat the actions of your predecessors; in point of fact none of them were archaeologists."

He sits still for a moment. "The knife is the key. To.. fully… I don't know what the word is. Bring.. him… Them… Back."

"It was what restored your predecessor's memories, certainly." His eyes flick up at me. "Though whether you look at it or not is entirely up to you. If you like, I can leave and… In eighty years or so I'll have this conversation with your successor."

"I'm already dreaming their memories. Who's to say I won't just.. wake up as someone else one of these days?"

I sit back slightly. "What did you have for lunch nine days ago?"

He hesitates, then shakes his head. "I don't remember. I could.. guess."

"Right. Very few people remember things like that for any length of time. And if we went through your diary, you ran through the day in your mind and you remembered?"

"Okay, I'm not defined by my memories. But people in different eras think about things in very different ways, and those behaviors have their roots in their formative experiences."

"A friend of mine spoke to your predecessor's friends and family about how he changed after getting his memories back. There was some change, but he was still the same man. He just.. remembered some things that he'd forgotten."

He nods slowly. "It's tempting. Being able to remember what it was like living in an ancient culture rather than just guessing or working from fragmented records… Can I ask who my.. predecessor was?"

"Telling you would involve violating a superhero's secret identity. If you got your memories back you'd know anyway. But if you don't…"

He nods again. "Can I sleep on it? And I should probably talk things through with Sharon as well-. That's my girlfriend, S-."

"Sharon Parker. I was planning on contacting her myself, but if you'd-."

"She's-?"

"The two of you… As I understand it, something about the magic involved in your first death means that the two of you tend to find one another."

"So much for free will."

"Do you regret meeting her?"

"No. No." He chuckles a little nervously. "Even when we first met, it was like we'd known…" His face falls slightly. "Known each other for years. And we have. It's-. Her. All those women, all one woman."

"All those men, one man. Or many men with a few memories in common." I shrug. "As I said, it's entirely up to you."

"Let me just.. call her real quick."

 

[Mr Zoat]

2nd December
22:18 GMT +8

"..if I could. Everyone else thinks I'm crazy."

Roy's entirely too proud to shiver. He's also too proud to slow down, despite the depth of snow we're walking through. He's been fairly uncommunicative since we arrived here, but this is going to be boring if I don't have someone to talk to.

"So, ah… How come it took you this long to ask me?"

"You don't exactly have the best reputation."

"On the contrary: I've got an excellent reputation. Ask anyone."

"Like the British government?"

I grin. "Actually, yes. You think they'd dare say anything bad about me?"

"Why didn't you tell me you knew where he was?"

Oh. Yeah, it has been nearly a year. "Pretty much the same reason why I didn't know you were a clone before you told us."

"And what was that?"

I shrug. "You didn't matter to me. I keep medical records of people I like so I can heal them. I don't think we'd exchanged two words. I had absolutely no motive to do anything with you or for you and I still think a bow's a stupid weapon." I stop and bend down, wiping snow from a nearby rock pile with my right hand. Runic wards, but weak ones. Enough to fool a power ring… Until I reinforced it with the power of my own divinity.

Just finding out that was even possible is making this trek worthwhile.

Roy snorts. "I think the Celestial Archer club would argue that with you."

"And how much better would they be as Celestial Gunmen? I could even make a purple healing pistol for them."

He comes to a halt just in front of me, staring at the fortress monastery thing up ahead. "You sure he's in there?"

"A lot of meat with his DNA is, yeah. I don't know whether he's alive or not. I wouldn't have left him alive. But there're quite a lot of things about this that I wouldn't have done."

Construct Ra's was at least able to confirm that Original Roy was in cryogenic suspension when he last updated himself. Unfortunately for me, he didn't keep himself informed of exactly where he was being housed beyond the fact that it was somewhere in China. And then the Chinese killed everyone on their League of Shadows membership list, rather than capturing and interrogating any of them. I can only assume that they transported it here first, though whether the suspension unit is still working is anyone's guess.

I stride forwards-.

"What are you doing? We can climb the-."

"It's not like they're a threat to me."

"League of Shadows killer monks are definitely a threat to me. If-."

"You picked that bow." Still, him coming back dead wouldn't exactly win me points with the League. "Fine, hush tube." The texture of the space in front of us changes slightly. "Just remember I don't have anything in the way of forward intelligence, and that you're much squishier than I am."

"I'll manage."

"Fine."

I stride through the tube and into a.. red walled hallway just in front of two rather surprised spear-armed monks. I.. guess this isn't that Monastery of Alien Evil where Prometheus got his cosmic key, then. I reach forward, spears glancing off my hands and I grab their heads and smash them together.

"The Chinese government okay about you having a body count?"

"They insisted. Everyone here's dead." I stroll towards the end of the corridor. "There's a xeno-team a couple of miles away to finish off anyone who survives us."

Lightly-stepping, arrow on string, he keeps pace with me. A point arrow, I notice. "The cryo unit's big. And heavy. There can't be too many places in here they can have brought him in."

I stop and turn to face the wall. "Right." I trigger my aero-discs and punch, wood exploding outwards into the Tibetan night. Huh, hadn't really considered that aspect of things before. The Chinese love getting excuses to rough up-.

"What the hell did you do that for?"

I shrug and I float out and downwards. Yes, a helicopter could-

An arrow hits me on the gorget. I raise my left hand and disintegrate the archer.

-land there, which means that Roy I would have gone through that courtyard, then through…

Ah.

I let myself drop, the roof under my feet collapsing and falling onto… Could be a dojo? A couple more monks, these ones with.. staves…

Oh… Fucking…

Jade takes a half-step back, mopping her brow. "Grayven."

"…" Um. "Jade." I take a step forward, and the closest monk charges me with a… Metal club thing? I swing my right arm and backhand him in half. "So, ah… This is where you've been?"

"… Yes."

Roy drops down through the roof hole and puts an arrow through the right leg of one of the monks. Out of the corner of my eye I see three others run at him.

"Roy, you got-. You got this, right?"

"Yeah, you handle Cheshire."

Jade and I watch each other for a moment.

I take her pardon out of subspace. "Look, I-."

"You took your time tracking me down."

"I haven't tracked you down. We're looking for the original Speedy. I didn't even know you were here." And what the heck do I do about that? I can't.. just.. let the Chinese kill her. If Roy hadn't seen her I'd just tube her somewhere…

"So finishing the job of killing everyone I know is incidental, is it?"

"I told you I was going to do that! The first time we had a conversation! Did you just forget!?"

She thinks for a second. "That was months before you-!"

"And? Infiltrating, finding out everything I needed to know, took time. And don't try and tell me you've never infiltrated anywhere before!"

"Not by telling them I was infiltrating them!"

"It worked!"

Someone -a monk- stumbles back into me. I grab her, twist her head 180 degrees and then toss the corpse aside. Jade and I just stare at each other for a moment, and I'm… I'm breathing rather quickly. Close your eyes. Slow your breathing. Calm, calm blue water.

"Why didn't you tell me at the time?"

"Because I didn't know how closely Ra's was monitoring you. I didn't want anyone without a vital role to play to know what was going on before we started. Telling you to make yourself scarce was the best I could do."

"And you didn't try and get in contact afterwards."

"My father visited me."

"Your f-?" I nods. "What did he want?"

"To say what a great job I was doing, and whisper a part of the Anti-Life Equation into my ear. I spent a week raving in agony, mostly reliving the moment where you tried to stab me."

"A knife wouldn't have hurt y-."

"It HURT me! I loved you! I don't care about the knife, I care about the fact that you tried to use it! RRREHHR." Calm… Calm blue waters. Oh… Marvellous, now I've relearned how to cry. "Fuck, it doesn't… Look, just take this." I throw the pardon to her, and she catches it. "From President Horne."

She opens it and looks it over. "So when the Chinese government kill me the US won't be able to prosecute my dead body."

"Just…" A somewhat battered-looking Roy stumbles into my line of sight. "Show us where the real Roy is, and Grayven can drop you off somewhere." He turns his head toward me. "Right?"

I nod. "Actually, I…" She would be a good fit for Mr Near's team, but I don't… I don't think me being around her will be sensible for a while. "Yes. Yes, I can do that."

Jade's eyes move from me to him and then back again. "I.. haven't seen him, but I know where they're keeping him. This way."

 

[Mr Zoat]

3rd December
06:22 GMT +5:30

So while Mr Cantrell and Ms Parker are thinking things over… Who do we have left?

No record of Manitou Raven or Dawn survives to the present day. With their base of operations sinking and the passage of five thousand years… And the fact that their people didn't go in for written records, that's hardly surprising. They might still be alive, they might have died centuries ago… If they didn't pass the magic power threshold for automatic life extensions, that would be my guess.

There's a giant crater where Tezumak's people used to live, and good riddance. Power armour powered by the sacrifice of children is something the world can do without. If I found a surviving suit of armour in a cave somewhere I'm honestly not sure whether I'd hand it over for study or destroy it outright. I'd certainly kill Tezumak himself. Fortunately, I don't think that will be necessary.

Sela? No idea. Whaler? No idea. The Anointed One? I don't even know what species he was, let alone where he ended up. I did find out what happened to Gamemnae, and now I know why Atlanteans look uncomfortable whenever I mention her. According to Sephtian she was an exile who got very good at magic, conquered most of Atlantis by force majeure and set about reversing the sinking. Massive social upheaval, many many people dead… Her body is actually kept in the Temple of Orcus in the fervent hope that he keeps her in his domain permanently.

On a more positive note, Hindu mythology has plenty of references to Jarhanpur. The location where it's supposed to be used to be a place of pilgrimage, selling cheap gimcrackery to tourists. Then Partition happened. There are still people in the region, but they reach for their guns when strangers arrive.

One on a very long list…

Anyway, there should be an entrance to Jarhanpur somewhere around here. So I'm just waving my upgraded rune stones around until I-.

"Doctor Mist to Orange Lantern."

"Orange Lantern here. What can I do for you?"

"Batman.. did not send you?"

"No? Should he?"

The air just to my right shimmers and Dr Balewa appears, floating without apparent support. "After our confrontation in Saudi Arabia, Batman requested that I seek out other such sites. Places that are part of the world and yet apart from it. There is one here."

"Jarhanpur."

"If we are fortunate, yes. If we are not…"

"If we are not, shouldn't there be a few more League members on hand than just you?"

"The Flash and Lantern Stewart can be here in moments. But I hope, as you say, that what I feel is Jarhanpur."

"How much 'hope' are we talking about, here?"

"If it is not, then there is an Apokoliptian factory the size of a small country sitting in the second most populous country on the planet."

I nod. "I'm feeling lucky. But they might not be all that happy about you forcibly reintegrating them into the world."

"Your message regarding the first such location afforded me little time to study the phenomenon. I believe that I can act with greater subtlety on this occasion."

I nod, trying not to sigh. Then I call my armour out of subspace, add construct armour and a couple of railguns and expand my awareness outward. "If we encounter anything Anti-Life related, I would strongly suggest that you fall back."

"The lies of the Anti-Life affect me no more then they do you." He descends slowly through the air, landing lightly on the ground. "Now, I will make my final preparations."

"Go right ahead."

He raises his hands, faint gusts of wind swirling around him. The only other outward indication I have that anything much is happening is the brilliant blaze that my rune stones are suddenly emitting.

"Tell me: if you are not here to face the warriors of Apokolips, why are you here? What reason do you have for seeking Jarhanpur?"

"Adom used to know its ruler, before they either got destroyed or went into supernatural isolation. I'm hoping that either he or his successor are still around." I frown. "Actually, wouldn't you have been around back then?"

"I was alive, yes. It is hard to recall, but I think I spent the entirety of Teth Adom's reign in what is now Angola. I was not invited to join."

"Did you.. know of him?"

"I knew that some gods had blessed a mortal champion. Little more." I nod. "Ah. Yes, I have it."

A point in the air just in front of us shimmers a white-yellow before expanding, swirling as it widens and parts in the centre. The space between the rim of the coloured ring shows a foreign landscape, one far removed from the sun beaten scrubland around us. I see woodlands in the distance, while close up there's a stone-paved road cutting through a meadow full of lush grass and wild flowers.

Probably not Apokolips, then.

The last good record of Jarhanpur comes from well before the rise of Islam or Sikhism. Heh. An outpost of India from when it was the most powerful nation on Earth, with none of the religious strife that exists in the modern day country. I'm assuming that we're going to see a medieval idyll rather than anything that suggests they've kept up to date… But one of these places might surprise me one day.

"Are we going through?"

Dr Balewa holds his right hand out towards the portal. "I feel nothing of the Anti-Life. And I have other sites to investigate."

"Okay." Pretty reasonable, really. "Can you leave the portal open for me?"

"Eh-h." He glances at me, then makes a circular gesture with his right hand. "It will remain open for one hour. If I do not hear from you, I will return tomorrow and reopen it."

I let my construct armour evaporate and switch out my heavy combat armour for a far lighter version which leaves my face exposed. "Thank you. That should be plenty of time." I nod at the portal. "I just.. walk through?"

"The magic does not transport you anywhere. What you see is what should be here, if it had not been taken ehway. Your tattoos, your wards? They will not affect it."

I nod at him. "Right then. I'll report back in half an hour."

He shimmers out of corporeality once more, and I fly through the portal.