13th September
10:13 GMT -5
"…reunion went
better than expected?"
I turn the phone handset away from my mouth a little as I sigh, and try to distract myself from the amused tone in Alan's voice by studying the burned out remains of 'Blaze's' on Van Lew Street in the New Troy borough of Metropolis. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised at the idea that a Demon would want to turn a former church into a nightclub, but I
am surprised that a church in a major American city could get so starved of funds that it would sell up like that. Far
less surprising was the fact that it got torn apart by people hopped up on Devil Jizz a little over a month ago. Kal-El dealt with the Jizzers before they could destroy much
else, but their presence nicely ties it to Satanus.
"It was… Yes. Sorry for not phoning you, but… By the time I knew I wouldn't be heading to-.
"
"That's
fine. I was young
once, y' know." A quiet chuckle. "So when do I get to meet her?"
I've got a small team of Praexis Demon constructs going over the site now while
Detectives Leocadio and Jase of the Special Crimes Units look on. The owner, 'Angelica Blaze', disappeared in the aftermath and as a result the police's first thought was fraud. Except no one ever claimed on it. Beyond
that, their investigation hit a dead end. Oh, they picked up a few conventional drug dealers and users while their investigation went on, but any actual cause for the place being targeted? Nothing. When Ms Blaze didn't reappear they actually upgraded it to a murder investigation, which I most sincerely hope it
isn't. The next highest magic user on my list is quite a step down from
her.
"Is it alright if I bring her around for dinner on Sunday? Her work schedule is pretty unsociable, but she has a day off and I
do want to introduce her to… You.
"
"I think I can manage one more guest. So do you actually
need my spare room, or what?"
"She's.. used to having her own
space, she works different hours to me and… I don't want to crowd her. So,
yes, please.
"
"Not a problem. I'll be cleaning up the place today."
"I can.. help with-.
"
"No, no. This'll give me a chance to learn to use my new ring for regular things. I want to make sure I don't make a fool of myself when we start training for
real. So, ah… How'd it go with Batman?"
"I'm doing a job for him
now. Once that's done, relations… Normalised. With him, anyway.
"
"Oh? What's that?"
"The League needs a replacement magic user. I found one
yesterday and now I'm trying to find a second.
"
"Anyone I'd know?"
"Maybe? Did you spend any time in Africa during the Second World War?
"
"I spent a couple of weeks in Palestine while they worked out whether they wanted to send me to Italy or Greece, but after what happened to
Al Fiske the All-Star Squadron were kind of nervous about sending us to places still being affected by the Spear of Destiny."
Ah, yes. Unlike we comic book readers, the Allies didn't know that the Nazis planned to counter their superheroes with magic. They knew that the Society of Thule
existed, but it was common knowledge in government circles at the time that magic was a real thing and the Thulists were only unusual in how well connected they were. And while the fact that people like
Captain Falcon,
Gougeman and White Eagle were quite happy to work with the Nazis was known, it certainly wasn't
unthinkable that they were ideological converts to fascism. Or at least considered Germany less bad than the Soviet Union.
The young Master Man's sudden conversion was what finally clued them in to the fact that something more extreme was going on after his brilliant 'why don't I just run up through Spain and deck Hitler in the snozz' plan came a cropper. Later, they found out that while Franco wasn't
quite prepared to declare war on the Allies, he had no objection to High Magister Krieger popping over to Madrid to extend the Spear's influence across Spain.
Baron Reiter held Master Man off just long enough for the effect to take hold, and
then…
Bloody good job that Rommel wouldn't have anything to do with Thule, otherwise they might have got Doctor Balewa as well. Now
there's a scary thought.
"Probably not, then. He's an African chap, about eleven thousand years old. He operates under the name 'Doctor Mist'. I've got no idea what Batman plans to do for an interview process, but he isn't really in a position to be picky.
"
"Eleven thousand..? However did he manage
that?"
"There
are ways to extend Human life a great deal. Just look at
Savage.
" Doctor Balewa had white light dancing around inside him in a way vaguely reminiscent of Clarice's strange black and white combination. Whether the Life Entity decided to grant him immortality or whether his own sorcerous abilities were sufficient I don't know.
"Well, sure, but eleven thousand years is a very long time. And Savage isn't a great example of how people should behave. I'd be impressed if someone that old could still get along with normal people."
"I suppose that in eleven thousand years you and I will find out what it's like ourselves.
"
The phone goes silent.
"Alan?
"
"Oh! Sorry, I was just… Two days ago I wasn't sure I was going to make it to the end of the week. Now you're saying I could still be here in eleven thousand years. I can't even imagine what that's going to be like."
"Good show. Novel experiences are supposed to get more infrequent as you get older, so you should be
glad that you can't imagine it.
"
"I'm not… I'm not sure that follows."
"It shows that you've already found something novel, and you've only known about it for a couple of minutes. You have a literal universe of possibilities; more, if we can get a planar portal to work. Don't worry about having something to do.
"
"Heh, I suppose you're right. Mala.. wanted me to visit Themyscira with her, see what they've done with the place since the prison shut down."
I consider coming back with a witticism along the lines of 'Sounds like I'm not the
only one whose reunion went better than expected', but I… I don't really think that's appropriate here. I mean, there's no reason for Alan
not to pursue a romantic relationship now, but I suppose that's an adjustment for another year.
"I got the impression that they thought pretty highly of you there. I'd appreciate it if you could persuade a few more Amazons to visit the US. I'm trying to encourage them to get more involved in the modern world. Oh, and you noticed that your ring has a universal translator now, right?
"
"I-. Huh. Well
that explains… So I can talk to them, the ones who don't speak English?"
"Yep.
" I note that the Praexis Demons have stopped sniffing around in a purposive way and appear to just be trying to look busy.
"Okay, time for me to get back to work, I'm afraid.
"
"Alright, I'll leave you to it. I'll see you this evening."
I close my left hand, dismissing the phone construct. Then I hold out my left arm in the direction of the building site and
pull the Praexis Demons back into my ring. A confusing mishmash of images flit through my mind as the memories of what they tasted become mine. Okay, that's what Blaze's magic tastes like.
"You get anything?"
Corporal Jase is noticeably less fazed by what I did than his partner, who's trying to hide her expression of disturbed surprise.
"Not much
yet.
" I rise slightly into the air.
"I'll let you know what I find.
"
