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

[Mr Zoat]

26th March
15:19 GMT -5

Matthew nods over to where his grandfather and Jade's grandmother are poring over a map of Vietnam. "I don't know whether to be surprised or not."

"At least they've found something they've got in common." Lawrence Crock Senior did surprise me by still retaining a little of the Vietnamese he picked up during the war. Not a great range, but he appeared to retain the grammar. Missus Nguyen appeared to appreciate the effort at least.

Artemis looks thoughtful. "I don't think Grandma's ever met someone from the American side of the war before."

"Not to talk to, anyway." Matthew hesitates for a moment. "Did.. Uncle Lawrence meet your mom in Vietnam?"

"Probably? I've never really asked her about it. I know Grandma was the one who taught Mom how to fight."

"Are you allowed to say the 'L' word?"

Matthew shrugs. "I'm not exactly thrilled to find out I'm related to a professional supervillain, but I can't just pretend he's not there."

Artemis looks away for a moment. "Did you..? Know about him..?"

"I… I knew I had a uncle who was a mercenary. I didn't know exactly who he was until you showed up and Grandma told Dad to talk to me about it."

"Is it a problem? For.. the army, I mean?"

He shrugs again. "I don't think so. I mean, no one's said anything and I'm sure my superiors know. I've…" He looks at the ground for a moment. "I've been thinking about… I don't know, not visiting him-."

Artemis shakes her head. "No."

"Yeah, I know he's a bad guy, but he's still family. And it's not like he's going to break out of Belle Reve."

"Again."

"Huh?"

"There was that break out just after New Year."

"Yeah, but that Strange guy was working the inside. Waller would never let something like that happen."

Oh, I know she wouldn't. I've seen the upgrades she's made to the place. She wasn't quite able to get the okay on the collar dead man's switch which would turn the inhibitor collars into decapitation bombs if something happened to the controls, but her political overseers have approved increases in security, personnel and funding in order to get the place sorted out. Having Justice League members speak publically in support of the place probably didn't hurt.

"It's your phone bill-." / "You don't know what he's li-."

Artemis and I look at each other for a moment. Yes, I get why she doesn't want Matthew to have anything to do with Casey Jones. Artemis turns away first. "He's not worth it."

"Yeah, realistically, by the time someone's completed their first few assassinations and started introducing themselves as 'Sportsmaster'-."

"Which is funny, because Dad actually is a sports master."

"He's.. not changing. And I doubt you'll get anything out of talking to him, except possibly getting your phone bugged by the FBI."

Artemis lets out a frustrated exhalation. "Can we talk about something else?"

"Ahhh… Okay?" He looks at me. "How did.. you and Jade meet up?"

"That's an interesting story, actually."

"You did mention poisoned lipstick. Did you.. run into her when she was on a job, or something?"

"I'm not supposed to talk about.. exactly what happened-."

"Oh, come on. I'm not going to report her to the police."

Artemis shuffles awkwardly for a moment, then turns away. "I'm gonna go.. check on.. Mom."

"Right. Um…" How to put this? "I.. was the person who arrested her. I encountered her with two known members of the League of Shadows and detained her pending a full investigation."

"You beat her in a fight? Heh heh." He shakes his head. "Glad I didn't spar with you, then."

Okay, time to ask. "I realise that this is going to make me sound massively arrogant, but do you seriously not recognise who I am? When people say things like that I'm never sure whether they're serious or just humouring me."

He looks me over again, then shakes his head. "What, are you.. some kinda English rock star or something?"

"I did have a Billboard Top One Hundred hit with my rendition of 'New York New York'…" Probably cemented the whole 'Cake Man' thing. I fan out my hands, palms upwards so that the ring sigils are clearly on display. "But as you pointed out, I don't usually do merchandising."

His eyes go to the rings, then back to my face, then to the rings blinking before he takes a step back and looks all of me over again. "I-! They're real?"

"Yes. Orange Lantern Two Eight One Four. Pleased to meet you."

"Ah, whaw. Aaaah, look, the whole 'Cake Man' thing-."

"I'm used to it, don't worry."

"So you mean you met Jade-."

"While she was in the company of two League of Shadow operatives. I mean, she's good at what she does, but I have power rings."

"Poisoned lipstick?"

"She said she wanted to thank me for arresting your uncle."

"You kissed..? Oh man, that wasn't smart." I squeeze my eyes shut and nod. "But you still visited her in prison?"

"Not much point arresting her if I just have to do it again in a couple of years."

"So… Do Aunt Paula and Artemis know?"

"Of course they do. I'm shocked that you didn't."

"Are you.. and Jade.. dating?" I frown. How does he think-? "Or.. going to date?"

"At this point, putting that sort of pressure on her is more likely to make her react negatively than do anything good. I'm going to let her sort her life out a bit before I-."

"Paul! Could you come in here please!"

Matthew and I both look in the direction the shout came from, then look at each other for a moment before we decide to heed Paula's request. I lead the way through into the living room. Cynthia, Paula, Warren and Marilyn are alternating between staring at the television, at me and at Jade, who appears to be trying to disappear into her armchair. Artemis just rolls her eyes at me and shakes her head. What's-?

On the screen there's an image of the night sky, which is suddenly illuminated by a surge of orange light.

"…from Vietnam, where it appears that Orange Lantern has picked up a new sidekick."

The image then changes to one of myself and Jade in conference with the Internal Affairs people.

"Initial reports say that everyone at the hospital -many of whom had crippling congenital disabilities- is now fully healthy."

Huh. That was quick.

 

[Mr Zoat]

27th March
12:33 GMT -5

"What the fuck do you want?"

Leonard Snart doesn't actually sound annoyed as he says it. I hear surprise and curiosity instead, like he can't quite believe what he's seeing.

"I thought it was about time we had a chat, Mister Snart."

He looks at the guard escorting him for a moment, then sits down opposite me. We're in an interview room rather than the normal visitor booths, Waller's opinion of me being good enough to get the occasional favour.

"What, you think you can talk me around like you did Kadabra and the Terror kids?" He leans back slightly in his chair. "Better than you have tried."

"Oh, I don't think we're quite there yet, Mister Snart." The prison diet has taken quite a bit of weight off him, and without access to bleaching agent his hair's gone back to its natural brown. "This is just a trust building exercise, I'm going to try and convince you that cooperating with me is in your best interests."

"Got me out of cleaning the john. Take a shot. Try asking me about my childhood or something, like Doc Quinzel does."

"Mister Snart, I already know about your childhood." No reaction. I didn't ask to see Doctor Quinzel's notes on their sessions together but I have done a fair amount of background reading on the fellow. "Abusive father, absentee mother, your grandfather the only decent adult in your young life.. until his heart attack." No real reaction. He's well aware of his own damage. "Thing is, all that stuff… It's too late for me to do anything about it, or for you to become the person you might be if it hadn't happened. You're.. Captain Cold now, and if you knew me you'd know how much I hate calling people by their code names."

Mister Snart looks at me for a moment. "Good meeting, champ." He gets up and turns towards the door.

"You designed the ice fortresses, didn't you?" He stops. "When we stopped them, I was able to keep one more or less in one piece. Had to drop it in the Arctic Ocean until I could get a new power source… But when I went through the systems… That was your design… I mean, the air freezing systems, wasn't it?"

He turns his head upwards slightly. "I was in here the whole time."

"While Belle Reve was being run by Warden Strange, a known Light stooge."

"That's an interesting opinion you've got there. You planning to charge me with something?"

"No. Doubt I could prove anything. You want to sit down?"

He turns and looks at me for a moment. I hold his gaze. Five seconds pass, then he nods. "Can't hurt." He pulls the chair back, turns it through one hundred and eighty degrees and sits down.

"See, I'm actually a big fan of your work. I've used freeze rays and ice guns based-" There's a momentary flicker of something as I make that distinction. "-on your designs since I started. Did you really come up with the design during your first stint at Iron Heights?"

"Had a few ideas. Needed to steal some parts…"

"Because I read some of your school reports, and there's nothing that suggests that sort of scientific ability."

He shrugs. "I wanted to beat the Flash." He's not lying about that. "First time in my life I got properly motivated to learn something. The first Cold Gun I built was just supposed to slow him down so I could fight him. The ice was mostly a side effect. To start with. Then I realized that freezing people in place-."

"Without killing them."

"Killing people's not my thing. Usually."

He's never been convicted of murder.

"I've seen several iterations of your gun. Seen how you changed the design. It's really brilliant work. But I've got to ask; did you never consider monetising the invention and not fighting the Flash?"

"After the first time I got arrested as Captain Cold, the designs got confiscated. The gun got given to the people I stole the parts from and they're the ones who own the patent."

"That could be fought, you know. You're clearly the inventor."

"What judge would rule in my favor?"

"Okay, not a judge then. I was talking to some people at the Central City University's physics department. They'd quite like you to write up your notes and submit them for peer review."

He makes a sort of hiss-laugh. "I'm surrounded by my peers here."

"It's called 'peer review', the people doing it aren't necessarily-."

"I know what peer review is. What's in it for me?"

"A doctorate, and probably a few lectures if you want to give them."

"Fuck off."

"Mister Snart, you've found a way to make thermodynamics your bitch." That gets a smile. "That's amazing, especially given how spotty your formal education was. The department of physics is completely serious about the doctorate."

He sets his jaw slightly to the side. "Police got my notes."

"Yes, but the great thing about working for the Justice League is that I can ask to see that sort of thing. I couldn't take the originals, but I did make a perfect copy of everything they had. Waller's got hold of the whole lot now. If you're interested, she's prepared to alter your work schedule to give you the time you'd need. Obviously you wouldn't be allowed anywhere near anything you could use to build a working device…" I raise my eyebrows. "Interested?"

"Heh. Doctor Snart." He nods. "Sure. No reason not to."

"I'm glad you see it that way. There was one other matter. I've been using the Ice Fortress to reglaciate the North Pole."

He frowns. "I.. thought it just made blizzards."

"I had to change some of the systems, stick more of your freeze rays on, take out the air blowers. Point is, I'm being awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize for the work. And when they talked to me about it, I said that I wouldn't feel right about accepting if I didn't share it with the person who invented the core technologies. The freeze ray. Now, obviously you can't attend the award ceremony in person, but there's a plaque and a cash prize. If you're interested."

"How much?"

"A hundred and seventy five thousand dollars, split two ways. And I can probably persuade Waller to set up a video link so you can.. sort of join in with the ceremony. Um, I didn't refer to you as 'Captain Cold' when I spoke to them and it's possible that the people I spoke to didn't actually know who you are."

"Eighty seven and a half thousand dollars. For no extra work."

"Yes."

"Think I can see why Kadabra likes you."

"They might want to make you wait until you finish your sentence before you get hold of it, though."

"That's fine. Not like there's anything to spend it on in here."

"Oh, and as an added bonus… For when you finish writing up your thesis?"

He chuckles. "Don't let me stop you now. At this rate, you're going to tell me you snuck a couple of hookers-."

"I've got your mother's current address and phone number. I understand that you haven't spoken to her since-."

"FFfffffffuck!" His shock is clearly evident on his face. "You…" He slides off the chair onto his feet, taking a step away but staying facing me.

"Me. Still interested, or do you want to think about it for a -?"

He glowers. "Just give me my fucking notes."

 

[Mr Zoat]

27th March
20:04 GMT -4

"…kinda took a while-" Doctor Quinzel pokes at her noodles with her chopsticks. "-but I finally think Waller's stawtin' t' like me."

I widen my eyes for comedic effect. "Really?"

"Y'know." She deftly lifts a string of noodles into her mouth and chews for a moment before swallowing. "She don't glare at me so much no mowah."

I've never really got the hang of chopsticks. Fortunately for me, this restaurant lays out conventional western utensils for people like me. Certainly, I could just use the rings to hold the food in place but I'm trying not to draw attention. I use a fork to scoop up some rice and then skewer a piece of peanut-flavoured chicken. Fruit and meat may not work for me but this is quite nice.

"The guards are alright with you, aren't they?"

"Mmm, couple weren't. But the new guys weren't heeya during the Time of Strange an' most everyone else is giving me the benefit o' the doubt."

I spear a couple of French beans. "Do you want me to ask Bendemann to have a quiet word?"

"Fuhgeddaboudit. The prison shrink ain't nevah gonna be populah." She somehow manages to grip a piece of beef at the same time as a broccoli floret and put them into her mouth. She's wearing tight-fitting black jeans with a red roll neck jumper. I invited her out to dinner to talk about the progress we're making with some of the inmates and we stopped off at her apartment in Houma before I transitioned us on to New York. "How'd you even know about this place, anyways?"

"Zatanna Zatara recommended it to me originally. I've been here a couple of times."

She raises her eyebrows. "You live in Noo Yawk?"

"No, Rhode Island, but Diana, the Zataras and one of the Green Lanterns live around here so I've spent quite a lot of time in the area."

"I thawt you had that flying fowtress thing?"

"Yes, but it's a bit isolated. Superman has a fortress, but he doesn't live there. Can I take it you've eaten here before?"

"Yeah, a buncha times. I grew up in Brooklyn."

"Oh."

"What?"

"I just.. always associated you with Gotham."

"Oh, I didn't move t' Gotham 'til I stawted college. Went to Gotham U on a gymnastics scholarship. The Arkham Trust paid for my doctorate. They got grants for anyone who agrees t' work there when they finish." Her face falls slightly. "Seemed like a good deal at the time. Course, now I know Strange approved my application because…" She waves her chopsticks.

I nod. "Would you say Arkham was a better or worse place to work than Belle Reve?"

"Belle Reve's definitely sayfuh. While I was theyah I tink we had, like, fowar or five guys fired fowar takin' gang money. And, y'know, Gotham,-"

"Gotham."

"-so there was probably a bunch more. Belle Reve's so fa away from their usual stompin' grounds they can't get the leverage."

"Plus all those security measures Waller's put in."

"Them too. I dunno. Maybe if Arkham gawt as much money as Belle Reve does they could do bettah as well. And it's not really the same sorta thing. T' get int' Arkham ya have t' be legally insane. We get the medication roight and keep them away from othah drugs and some of them might be able t' live in normal society. Maybe. In Belle Reve, they've all decided not to."

"But at the same time, there's a rational mind to relate to. We can persuade them."

"I wasn't shewah bringing up Lenny's mom was such a great idea, but you pulled it owof."

"It's the contrast. At that point he thought I was basically bribing him to behave himself. That doesn't really work by itself. I mean, he'd probably have done the dissertation without much nudging because he didn't have anything better to do-."

"But unless he confronts his underlying issues-."

"Right. And I wasn't going to give him his dad's address."

"How'd you find out alla that stuff?"

I shrug. "Central City Police, the Flash. Finding her address was a little harder but I had a scan of Mister Snart's DNA… Both Mister Snarts."

"I dunno what the Central City social woykers were thinkin', leaving him someplace like that."

"Taking a child into care is a last resort thing. Once his grandfather died there wasn't really anywhere else they could put him. And that's if they even knew about it."

She takes another stickful of noodle, then hesitates. "Do you know things abowt other people?"

"You mean, do I know that your mother is effectively raising your niece and nephew due to your brother being a deadbeat? Yes, I know that. And so does Waller, it was part of your background check."

"Huh." She looks away. "How 'bout that."

"I generally know the worst and best about everyone. I wasn't joking when I said that I can see into people's souls. I generally know why people do things-."

She looks back at me, comprehension dawning. "And… When you know why they do it-."

"You can't help but sympathise. Up to a point."

She nods. "Strange was roight about me, yah'know. Dad bein' inside when I was growin' up… That's why I hooked ont' him like I did. Wasn't even the first time I did something like thayat. There was a teacher at Gotham U…"

"What happened?"

"Oh… Nothin' I didn't sign up fowah." She sighs. "I'm jus' kickin' myself for not realisin' soownah."

I reach across the table and put my right hand on her left. "Hey. Knowing is.. half the battle."

She grins. "Oh, you did not just say that."

"So the trick is.. to never spend any time with a man ever again."

"Hey!"

"I know this great island-."

"Jus-. No. I ain't gunna give up an awl guys just causa that. Jus' gotta-" She smiles. "-find somebody who ain't a jerk."

"A sensible aim. My only concern.. is that there are quite a few people in Belle Reve who fit your 'absent father figure' category."

"Oh, I'm so ovah that." She looks away for a moment. "Um, hey, I hewd abowt what you and Jade did in Vietnam. Looks like she's really turned a cowner."

"Whitemail."

She thinks for a moment. "You tricked her into doin' it so she couldn't go crooked again?"

"That was part of it. Assassins need all sorts of support infrastructure to operate-."

"And now she can't get it. So the two of you aren't…" She waves the forefinger of her free hand back and forth.

"No, that… We're friends, but that wouldn't be appropriate."

"Huh. How 'bout that."

 

[Mr Zoat]

28th March
06:41 GMT -5

"..so that's fifty eggs, twenty bell peppers and sixteen rashers of bacon." I look over the interior of the shopping trolley once more, phone construct held against my right ear. "Are you sure you wouldn't rather try chorizo sausage instead? Because I've got to be honest: I'm not completely convinced of the quality of this bacon."

"I am grateful for your concern, Mister Grayven, but I think it best if we keep with the familiar for the time being."

Jean is the newly created G-Goblin whom Dubbilex assigned to handle the Challenger Mountain operations as my majordomo. She's not only taller than both of them but possesses a much more adult frame than Ixy. Same suggestion-of-breasts and horn studs on her jaw that Ixy has but with Dubbilex's more upright posture. Her voice is clearly female and she speaks with a received pronunciation English accent. I'm not sure if that was due to them wanting to copy my manner of speech or not.

She can also taste and enjoy complex flavours, a facility which it appears the G-Prometheans share and one which I am more than happy to indulge. I'd kind of… Been feeling a bit lonely, moving from a populated mountain to one where Doctor Robbins, Mister Tawny and I were the only people who could talk so I'm glad for her presence. I've even made a point of easing off on my mental barriers when she's around, though I'm not sure if she appreciated the significance of the act.

"Okay." I take a look around the supermarket and smile at the few other early morning shoppers. I've been getting more than a few stares and several have taken pictures of me with their phones. With Challengerville an abandoned pile of rubble this place -Rifle, Colorado- is the closest settlement to my new home. Yes, I could boom tube to just about anywhere but if I'm making an effort to win the American public over I really think I should tie myself to a place. If the shopping is really bad I suppose I could just order still and have it deliv-.

"Hey. Are you Prince Grayven of Apokolips?"

"I'll see you shortly. Should be home in about ten minutes." I delete the phone construct before turning to face the woman addressing me. Ooooh bother. She's a little over six feet tall and has a muscular build. An unruly mass of vibrant red hair flows from her head and she's wearing green body armour with gold decoration and gold boots. And a gold cape? Odd. I was really hoping that I'd have more time than this. And that it would be somewhere private. "Miss Knockout, while I appreciate you doing me the courtesy-."

Dagh! Doof! Aghjik!

Bwah!

I gingerly pick myself up from the ruined wreck of a car I just slammed into.

Eight out of ten on the landing, Corpsman.

She just hit me through several shelving units and the outer wall. No weapon, I note. On the positive side I'm not injured and… I check around. When I hit this car I did so with enough force to shove it backwards into the middle of the road. Fortunately, there weren't any cars in the way. I hear screams as the other shoppers and staff flee, one of them shouting at the others to phone the police. No, that would just get them killed.

"Alright." My casual clothing is replaced with my Apokoliptian body armour and I activate the purple ray drones I left on a nearby roof top. "You can probably still protect Father with one arm."

Knockout walks confidently forwards through the settling dust. "At least you can take hits."

"Knockout, I thought that Father and I had an understanding." Leave. Now.

"While your flattery pleases me, I'm here for my own purposes."

The Sword of Second and Third costs too much ring power for me to store it in subspace so I don't have it with me, but I take my x-ionised sword out of subspace. "And what might that be?"

"I'm looking for a mate. You're powerful and reasonably intelligent, so you're it."

…

Huh?

Knockout reaches the pavement, then.. rises.. off the ground? I'm not seeing any aero discs… Then a yellow corona surrounds her head.

Father Box, I realise that I should have asked this about thirty seconds ago, but-.

Ploong.

Ah. Not Knockout.

"I am Maxima, Empress of Almerac. Defend yourself!"

I transition to the opposite side of the road as she fires what I think is some sort of telekinetic bolt at my previous location. "Sorry, thought you were someone else."

She immediately orientates herself on my new location. "Who could you possibly have mistaken me for?"

She gestures imperiously with her right hand and the wrecked car rises off the ground and then flies at me fast. I use the fear of the bystanders to brace myself before catching it with both hands and setting it down beside me.

"A woman called Knockout. She's got the same hair and fashion sense as you, but she's actually about an inch shorter and her musculature is more pronounced." I wave my right hand. "My ba-."

And she's on me ow. She punches my head in a left-right combination then rises slightly to strike me with her right knee. Before it hits home I grab her right lower leg and -check the building's empty, good- turn rapidly, slamming her into and through the wall behind me. Sinestro? Anything helpful about Almerac?

I never had cause to go there. The people have a wide range of unusual mental abilities-

I raise my right hand up and then slam her face first into the tarmac.

-and a highly martial culture. The system of government is an-

Ghh! My right hand spasms as she uses some sort of telepathic feedback attack on my peripheral nervous system. Haven't.. quite got the hang of adapting the yellow ring to blocking that sort of thing yet, though as she backs away she looks a little surprised by how much effort it's taking her.

-autocratic monarchy and they set great store in personal psychic power.

She shoots forwards, air rippling around her as she aims for my head again.

It is the only part of you which is unarmo-.

Yes, thank you, Sinestro. One fist finds my forehead before I can transition away again. "I'm sorry, but I'm not on the market! I already have a mate and I'm very happy with her!"

She doesn't even turn as the yellow corona around her head hits me… Okay, looks like I owe Chester a box of Roses. It hurts, but it's far from being overwhelming.

"Metropolis is on the East Coast! Why can't you go and bother Kal-El?"

"Kal-El didn't kill a lord of Chaos." She keeps the beam up as she drifts towards me. "Giving up yet? You'll have far more fun if you yield."

"Hardly." Drones, shoot her.

Purple beams lance towards her from four separate directions. There's a slight distortion around her skin as she creates a telekinetic barrier, but as expected the beams go right through it. Her blast cuts out as she shudders and falls to the ground as the negalife works its magic.

Drones, stop. As soon as the beams stop she rises to a crouch, ready to lunge at me again. "Look, I'm very serious about not being available. Jade and I are in love. But I'm willing to offer my services as a matchmaker?"

"Explain."

"What characteristics are you looking for in a mate?"

"Strength. Power. They need to be a warrior with abilities that complement mine."

"Really? That surprises me."

"I'm not interested in a weak mate."

"But they'll share your throne. Wouldn't experience in positions of command or leadership be more useful?"

She thinks for a moment. "Possibly. As a secondary consideration."

"Look, I have a database full of information on all sorts of people. Why don't you let me see if I can't find someone more suitable for you?"

 

[Mr Zoat]

28th March
11:57 GMT -5

"Right." I lower the lights in what will soon once more be Challenger Mountain's briefing room and activate the holographic projector. "Sorry if this is all a bit simple, I'm mostly using Human technology. And my files are really more about threat assessment than datability."

Maxima sits up attentively, her eyes fixed on the display. "You may begin."

Jean stands behind her, tray in hand. I assigned her to look after Maxima while I did the research she wanted. Maxima more or less ignored her unless she wanted something, treating her as part of the furniture despite there being little difference in their psychic abilities. Someone didn't do their research. Mister Tawny was likewise dismissed as a mere animal, though from what I know of his untigerly body language he's actually finding this fascinating.

I think Doctor Robbins is off joyriding the Sphere again.

"Okay. So, I assessed potential mates based on physical power and political experience as you directed. There's no perfect candidate, but the best match I could find was-" I press a button to display the optimal potential spouse. "-Queen Hippolyta of Themyscira."

Maxima blinks. "What."

"She has over three thousand years of experience as head of state in both times of war and times of peace and is a skilled warrior and commander. In addition, her status as a demigoddess means that she has considerable innate arcane power resulting in more than Human strength and endurance."

"She's a queen."

"Small island nation. She could rule it in her sleep at this point, or hand it off to one of her more sensible senators. I doubt that spending most of her time on Almerac would really be a problem. Only one offspring, a now adult daughter who is a capable warrior in her own right. And she's single, so there'll be no problem over conflict with an existing mate. Possible drawbacks include the fact that she's a little behind the times, technologically speaking, and… The fact that she hasn't taken a mate in three thousand years might indicate a reluctance to involve herself with others in that way. But all told, she's your best bet by a considerable margin."

"She's a woman."

"Yes? Yes she is. Virtually all romantic relationships in her culture are between two women, so there won't be a problem there." I look back at Maxima. "What do you think?"

"Next."

I frown. "What's the problem?"

She rolls her eyes. "Show me one who's male."

I frown. "You didn't say that was part of the criteria." I look down at the datapad containing my list. "I mean, several of these-."

"Grayven, I need a mate. Someone with whom I can have children."

"Okay?"

She gestures angrily at me with her right arm. "Are you being deliberately obtuse?! How can I have children with another woman?!"

"How were you planning to have children with me?"

She lowers her hand and looks me over carefully. "You are male, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"And.. conventionally humanoid?" She looks directly at my groin. "You have a penis and testicles under there, right?"

I shake my head. "Yes, but it's not that simple. Humanoid or not, we're biologically very different creatures. And I'm God of Conquest, fecundity and proliferation aren't part of my domain. I can't just ignore interspecies biochemical barriers at will."

"Oh." She averts her eyes slightly.

"I was assuming that you realised that any children we had would have to be produced in a laboratory. And since you'd have to have known that, logically you wouldn't have a problem applying those techniques to the genetic material of other potential mates." I think for a moment. Actually… "Given Queen Hippolyta's relationship with her people's gods, it might be possible for her to get around that particular problem if you really want to carry the child yourself." I shrug. "Seems like it might get in the way of the whole 'Warrior Queen' thing."

She appears somewhat ruffled. "Is Kal-El on there?"

"No. Existing relationship and little leadership experience. I mean, I can give you the run down if you want, but would you really be interested in a man who so easily turned from his mate?"

Her mouth curves downwards as if she just bit unsuspectingly into a lemon. "I suppose not."

"Look, if you're not happy with the criteria, we can just come up with new ones."

She sighs. "I just thought this would be simple. Find someone who was my physical equal, fight them to establish dominance and then drag them back to Almerac for the ceremony and honeymoon."

"A most romantic vision, to be sure. May I ask a question?" She waves her right hand in a circle. "I assume that you would be sharing power with your consort?"

"Of course. They would become…" She glances at the image of Queen Hippolyta. "King."

"Then… Rather than choose a mate whose virtues match your own, would it not be wiser to select one whose virtues complement them? I mean to say… Surely there are some duties which you prefer to others?"

"Couldn't you just find me a big, strong telepathic male?"

"Yeeeeess…" I press a button. "This is Chester Black." The picture is one I took during one of our training sessions. He's more than a little drunk and quite dishevelled. "A powerful telepath and telekine with a vicious temperament balanced by surprisingly strong underlying moral fibre. His drawbacks include a complete lack of leadership experience-"

"That hair."

"-and according to his sister he dislikes children."

"Still. I could have someone to bathe and dress him…"

"I've got to be honest here, Maxima: I think you're reaching."

She slumps. "Is there no one else?"

"Dubbilex is a powerful telepath and a reasonable telekine, but while male-identifying he has no reproductive organs. Henry King Junior is a capable telepath but physically past his prime." I press another button and the hologram changes. "Doctor Cizko-."

"No."

"Okay, um… J'onn J'onzz is a capable telepath as well as a shapeshifter-"

She perks up. "Oh?"

"-but he doesn't really have any leadership experience, doesn't find standard pattern humanoids attractive and has a crippling pyrophobia."

"Oh."

"To be honest, given how large the families of his species usually are, I'm not sure he has a sex drive at all."

"He's a telepath, can't he just borrow mine?"

"I don't think it works like that."

She snorts. "Fine. What was that you were saying about complementary virtues?"

"You're a warrior. You're psychically powerful and I imagine a capable commander."

"Extremely so."

"But there's more to ruling than that. Would it not be more advantageous to take someone with administrative or political skills as your mate? Armies don't just need strong soldiers, they need food, weapons, transportation. A strong economy to support that, a research base to ensure that your weapons keep pace with those of your enemies."

Maxima blinks. "The boring stuff."

"I.. find it quite fulfilling myself, but if you like… Yes. Marry someone who is good at that and they'll have the authority to deal with it without having to refer every little decision to you."

She slowly nods. "That's not a bad idea."

"If that's your selection criteria, I have a few-" I switch the image to Lex Luthor. "-possible-."

"No, no." Maxima rises imperiously from her seat. "They'd have to learn everything about Almerac from scratch. It makes far more sense to just marry the person who does all that stuff now."

"If they do a good job, yes."

She slowly walks to a clear area of the room before turning back to face me. "Prince Grayven, once you turned me down, I thought this whole thing would be a big waste of time. But I was wrong. This has helped me a great deal."

I smile. "Pleased to be of service. Do stop by again if you're ever in the area."

Her yellow halo reappears as the space around her ripples and distorts. "Sazu, congratulate me."

"Congratulations, mistress. But what for?"

"We're getting married."

 

[Mr Zoat]

28th March
23:13 GMT +3

"…a third time, and the young man's arse fell off."

Immediately I finish the line, I stand up and walk away from my attentive listeners.

"What?" / "Hey, that doesn't-!" / "His.. his arse..?" / "Why..?"

Don't ask a Discordian for a joke and then expect something that makes conventional sense. Honestly, they should know better by now.

I stride across the forum in search of further entertainment. The whole theatre troupe have returned to the island now and stories of my performance have spread. I've recounted the whole thing five times already this evening, three of those with interjections from the actresses. My suggestion that we do a play of the events was met with bemusement as the idea of doing a play within a play appears to be something that has never occurred in the Themysciran literary canon.

My suggestions that we start performing immediately before we forget didn't meet with more favour.

I wave back as someone -ah, it's Galene- waves at me in greeting from across the forum. Themyscira doesn't have a seven day cycle but the spring Dionysia nonetheless started on Saturday. Diana did see if I wanted to attend the opening festivities, but I had things to do and I sort of wanted Kon and M'gann to have some time to themselves. But during the week -with them needing to attend school the next day- I don't feel that I'm taking attention away from them by being here. I've feasted, toasted Eris and even danced a little. At the moment I'm making sure that I'm seen. Acantha was pretty definite that I should start spending some time each week in the forum. Amazons expect people like me -people who want to persuade others to change their ways- to be available to be questioned, and me not living here has been making that a little difficult.

But this really isn't the time for serious philosophical debate. I've had a bout of good PR, and apparently the Amazons consider me mouthing off about the gods while under the influence more amusing than offensive. And I'm not really here to work. In fact, the only choice is whether to limit myself purely to enjoying myself or to try to undo the three thousand year old mutual friendzone that is the Hippolyta/Philippus relationship. Mmmmm… Maybe if I see an opening…

I transition myself back up to the upper level of the cit-.

"Ho! Bard!"

I look around as Zosime hails me, then take a bow towards her and her friends. "Is there some service this humble member of the masculine gender may render to his honourable sisters?"

Next to her, Antimache blinks heavily in the darkness. "That sentence is so ridiculous that I do not even know where to begin. And do not think it escaped my notice that the smith with whom you were so taken spent the first day of the festival in-."

Zosime elbows her to silence. "A song! Something from the outside world!"

"As milady wishes. But what sort of song would be most pleasing to her ears?"

"This is the Dionysia! A love song!"

"Something bawdy!"

"He doesn't sing those. Remember the baths?"

Oh, the baths. The baths. I spent a half hour last month cleaning out Themyscira City's old male public baths for my and Kon's use. Only.. the locals took one look at the place and thought 'ah, someone's put the old baths back into service' and started using it themselves. A few weeks later I walked right in on… Well. I walked right back out again.

Antimache appears to grudgingly accept that this is going to happen. "Why not a song of mourning and heartbreak?" One of the other guards hugs her from behind and nuzzles her neck.

I grin as the crowd of tipsy guards turns to arguing amongst themselves for a moment. I somehow don't think that modern love songs are really the thing to go with here. Too instrumental for the most part. I can play a variety of instruments with ring assistance, but I really enjoy singing more. Let's see… What fits the ah!

"I think I have something! I think I have something." I give them a moment to quieten down. "A song with love as the subject, though not necessarily the object." I take a moment to get myself into the requisite headspace. It's not a very happy song, after all.

"As I was out a'riding.. one evening last July,"

The ring has enhanced my voice and my lung capacity, but I don't use it to continually ensure that I sound exactly as I want to.

"I heard a maiden singing and bitter she did cry."

If I do that I may just as well play them a recording.

"I quietly dismounted to get a closer view,
and see if there.. was 'ought a man.. of honour could yet do."

The original line is 'could pursue', but I thought that sounded a bit too 'she's alone and abandoned, I'm in' for me. My modification hopefully makes it clearer that he intends to offer aid.

"She stood all in the clearing and no one else was there.
Her eyes with salt tears shone within the shadows of her hair.
Her dance was wrought in anger and her voice was tight with pain."

There's a slight gasp from my audience and I notice that a little way away one of their number is performing an interpretative dance to my song.

"As she sang her song of undying love for some far-wandering man."

Her movements are slow and elegant, arm sweeping and-. She's not wearing very much. I raise the pitch of my voice for the female part as I slowly approach her.

"Oh, you deny the magic and you deny the love.
But I swear an oath by all that's bright in the darkening sky above-
That we have shared a magic and the love flowed strong and true!
You can close your ears to my heart's song and still it sings for you."

And then I realise why they gasped.

"So you want to be my friend and use a friendly voice to me-"

It's Euanthe.

"Oh, I swear an oath by all that lives on land, in air and sea!"

Our eyes meet for an instant as she twists and bends to my words.

"That I do not leave the friendship when my heart's led by romance."

I'm inches away now. She's.. healthier now, her 'clothing' a smooth bodice and pair of shorts made of bark. I lower my voice to draw the audience in as I stand within touching distance.

"You can close your eyes on the swirl and sway, but you cannot stop the dance."

She turns away to continue her dance as I step back.

"So you say you fear to hurt me or to cause me some new pain.
Oh, I swear an oath by mist and fog, by sleet and snow and rain!
That the finest treasure's worthless if its beauty is not seen
And you pierced my heart like cold hard steel by denying what had been."

"Well, I pity all your ladies for your memory's so short.
And your eyes that speak of romance when you're only wanting sport.
Oh, I swear an oath by all I hold in this world to be true,
That as deep a grief as I feel now, 'tis a greater loss for you."

Dryads don't ordinarily enter the city. Is she alright?

"She swore that final oath and then she danced into the ground."

Euanthe drops to a crouch, her arms raised and in constant motion.

"The birds and beasts, the mist and rain, all heard that final sound."

I turn back to my now-shared audience, my face a picture of sorrow.

"And I'm the only witness as can tell the tale to you-
Of the sorrow learned.. by those who find.. that love.. can be half-true."

A moment of silence as I bow, then as I straighten I feel a hand on my right arm. I turn my head to the right to see Euanthe's face an inch from my own. She stares for a moment before reaching down and taking my right hand in her left. "Come with me." She tugs, and I gladly go with her. She's pulling me in the direction of Demeter's templ-.

"Just not on the altar, Pavloow!"

I look back with a smile as Antimache rubs her head and glowers at her comrades in arms before returning my attention to the Dryad. "Euanthe?"

"I was watching from Eldest Sister's temple, but I heard your singing. I had to-." She stops talking for a moment, tensing slightly. "It is hard… With stone…"

"Out of your element. I appreciate your effort."

She turns her head back towards me as we cross the plaza and there's a small and slightly awkward-looking smile on her lips. "I wanted to see you again but you are seldom here."

"Here I am."

She smiles a little more, head slightly tilted downwards. "Yes." Then she turns her head back to the path and increases her pace, pulling me along behind her in earnest. The temple is empty at this time of the evening and doesn't see all that much use over the Dionysia as a whole. Looking up, I can see that the roof is another vine-covered lattice, designed to let both water and light into the similarly plant-decorated interior.

Euanthe releases her grip on my hand and walks further in, onto the patch of grass beneath a larger hole in the roof lattice. She closes her eyes, clearly enjoying the reunion with her element, then drops into a sitting position facing me, her right arm extended towards me, inviting me to join her.

I slowly approach, extending my left hand to lightly take hold of hers as I sit down just in front of her. "I suppose we're not really seeing the temple at its best at this time of night."

"I could cause the plants to flower, but I cannot make sunlight."

I nod, then extend a filament up into the air behind me before releasing a light globe designed to replicate the wavelengths of natural light. Euanthe stares up at it for a moment before smiling at me once again. Then she turns her attention to the walls and oh. Flower buds form and blossom as I watch, covering the plants in a verdant shock of off-season colour. Artistic creativity isn't.. something I'm used to people using their power for. This is… Impressive.

"You have… Nice.. meat."

I look away from the blooming walls and back to Euanthe. "Um, thank you?"

"I did not say that right, did I? I am not used to dealing with Humans." Her body language is odd. No, literally inhuman. Constant motion but none of the automatic actions that a Human would make. Her eyes don't drop, her head doesn't turn away. "This.. festival, I remember it of old. It is about becoming closer to people, rejoicing in their presence, their.. physicality. I wish to.. become closer to you." She moves her left hand to her bodice. "Should I remove this bark? My body is not quite that of a Human woman, but it is very close. Close enough for your.. meat."

Not on the first date. Not even during the Dionysia. Not with someone who went through what she did. "Dryads don't reproduce in the way Humans do, do they?"

"There are different kinds of Dryad. But, no, I do not. Is that important to you?"

"No, I just…" That might work. My eyes unfocus slightly as I swiftly review the ring's database of alien plant life. "The symbolism is different. Perhaps-" Yes, that one would work. It should be able to survive in Earth's soil. I fabricate a Tartary seed in my right hand and hold it out to her. "-we could do something with-" Her eyes focus on it with laser intensity. "-this instead. Can you work with it?"

"I do not recognise it. And I know all plant life."

"All plant life on Earth. This is alien."

"Its spirit is weak. But.. if I nurture it…" She cautiously reaches out with her left hand and plucks it from my grasp. "And feed it on the Green…" I see a tiny sprout appear from the base of the seed and another from the tip. Euanthe looks down and pushes the seed into the soil next to us. "It will be the work of a moment." The sprout pushes upwards and a quick ring scan shows the roots pushing down and outwards. Leaves follow within a minute, flowers within two, and the lumpy blue Tartary fruit within three. Euanthe looks up at the spindly fruit tree with a look of pure innocent joy.

Well, the fruit match my database image for ripe Tartary fruit… I send wide filaments upwards, pluck one from the branch and bring it down to us before slicing it in half and holding one half out to her. She cautiously examines it for a moment before putting the end into her mouth and biting down. Hm. The skin is edible, but in the places where it's eaten it's more common just to consume the flesh. Oh, never mind. I bite into mine and.. it's a bit like a blackcurrant with the texture of an apple. Maybe a bit sweeter?

Euanthe has already finished her half. "Do you have more?"

"Yes, but we've got all evening. What have you been doing since I saw you last?"

"Existing. Forgetting. Remembering. Having seen what I saw, I find I cannot simply cavort with my sisters as I once did. I fear that what I experienced has forever marked me as a thing apart."

I nod. "I think I know the feeling. I.. don't know if the idea appeals to you, but… The mountain I live in. On top, there is a grove of trees grown from a fruit like the one I fed you under London."

"From the flesh of the Great Warrior?"

"Yes. It's a major site of Green power, the magic energies of the whole region now focus on it. I was.. wondering if you would like to move there? I can take you there as easily as I brought you here from London. And if you can't be as you were, perhaps you could become something else instead?"

"I think that I would like that."

 

[Mr Zoat]

30th March
15:27 GMT +4:30

"This is… Weird."

Zatanna looks up from her kebab as we walk away from the street food vendor. "What is?"

I look around the busy and mildly chaotic streets of Kabul. "I couldn't walk around Kabul like this back home. Well, no, I could with a power ring, but otherwise it would be too dangerous."

"How is Kabul dangerous?"

"The history of the country is… Somewhat different. Um, what do you know about Afghani history?"

"Not much. They.. joined the Warsaw Pact during the seventies… And I think I remember something about Soviet bases in the south being attacked by the local tribes…"

Our guide snorts, then catches himself and looks nervously at us.

I wave it off with my right hand. "I'm sure you know it better than we do."

He nods. "It was a cruel thing to do to those conscripts who were stationed there, but President Daoud knew what he was doing. Put all the bases near Pakistan so the crazy tribes start fights with the Russians and not the rest of us. And it was no bad thing to have all of the Russian soldiers away from the centres of government. The communists weren't as integrated into the PDPA as they are now and they might have started something."

"And he could honestly tell the Soviets that Pakistan was a member of CENTO and SEATO, so there was a good reason for them to be there."

"It was that or put them next to Turkey. But we had to trade with someone."

Zatanna looks at me inquisitively. "Is that not what happened on your Earth?"

"No."

"Ah… If you don't mind me asking, sir..?"

"I come from a parallel universe, and.. one of the differences is that Afghanistan is a bit of a war zone. I.. never really studied exactly what started it off, but the Soviet Union actually invaded the country at one point… Then, Britain and America started funnelling weapons and money to the most theologically vicious tribes and Wahhabi madrassas they could find with the aim of making their life miserable. Of course… In the end, that meant that when the Soviets gave up on the whole thing as a waste of life and money-."

His eyes widen. "Merciful Allah. You mean they took over the country?"

"The Taliban ruled Afghanistan from just after the Soviets left to two thousand and one when the United States invaded the country and they've been fighting a continuous guerrilla war across the country ever since, allied to every radical lunatic they can find. Westerners don't dare-" I watch as a group of tourists stroll past us down the street. "-walk around in the open like this. You'd get shot, kidnapped or blown up by a suicide bomber."

"Suicid-." He shudders in horror. "I think I am glad that I live in this Afghanistan."

We walk up to the security gate surrounding the conference centre being used for the conference in which the leaders of the region are meeting Adom officially for the first time. Bialya isn't being represented, though about three different groups who claim to represent it are in Kabul at the moment. It was interesting to see how different the region's history is to back home. No war with the Soviet Union means that while there are Islamic fundamentalists around -though like back home the word 'fundamentalist' doesn't have the negative connotations in Arabic that it does in English so they just call them crazy- they don't have anything like the political or military power that I'm used to. Plenty of countries hate Israel, but in an almost agnostic pan-Arab nationalist way rather than a religious way. It's a political problem rather than Satan's holiday home.

And of course, no al-Qaeda means no attack on the World Trade Centre on the eleventh of September.

Our guide -his name is Mister Farid- leads us inside the building. "I just wish I knew exactly what caused the difference."

"Did the Anglo-Afghan Wars still occur?"

"Yes, there was.. a bit of a joke about us not learning the lessons of history when we followed the Americans in for the.. fourth time, was it?"

"If that happened, it would have been the fourth time, yes."

"How do you.. handle the border with Pakistan these days?"

"We have the military guard the main roads, and otherwise do what any sensible person should do: avoid it." He holds open a door and ushers us inside. "His Excellency Teth Adom will be with you shortly."

"Thank you." Zatanna leads the way into the lounge area as Mister Farid closes the door behind us. She sits down on one of the settees and takes a deep breath. "Are you sure this is the right thing to do?"

"His help would be very useful and.. he.. definitely won't talk to Nabu."

"I know he's your friend, but I saw pictures of what he did to those people in-."

A door in the far side of the room opens and Adom walks through. He stops in the threshold, nods to Zatanna and myself and then partially turns his head to the people behind him. "Wait here."

"Yes, Mighty One."

He walks in and the aide closes the door behind me. Zatanna gets to her feet. "How is the conference going?"

"It is strange to have so many leaders meeting in one place. Recognition of my government will occur, subject to them sending 'monitors' to the capital to make sure that I do not make slaughtering my political enemies a habit."

"Are you alright about that?"

"They would have sent spies regardless. At least this way I will know where some of them are." He looks curiously at Zatanna. I suppose he... He hasn't met her before, has he? "I was informed that you wish to speak with me."

I cover the walls in orange sound baffles and deposit ward stones along the walls. "Yes, Adom. In point of fact we would like to ask for your help. Well, provisionally. We.. still.. hope it won't actually come to a fight."

"You have done a great deal for Kahndaq and for me personally. Tell me what you need, and if it is in my power I will grant it."

I look at Zatanna. This will almost certainly sound better coming from her. She takes a breath to steady herself. "Five months ago a Lord of Order called Nabu possessed my father. His.. spirit is bound to the Helmet of Fate; whenever someone puts it on he takes control of their body and uses it to interact with the world. Once he's in control there's no way for them to take it off or resist him. We're trying to work out a way to get rid of him, and if it.. turns out that we need to use force, we would appreciate it if you would agree to help us."

There's a very slight frown on his forehead. "Fate? Lord Fate is a member of the Justice League as your father was. Are they unaware of this?"

"No. They're not. And before you ask, I have no idea what they're thinking. And I can't talk to them about it because I can't risk Nabu finding out that we're planning something."

"His control is constant?"

"Yes. When you're wearing the Helmet, it's like you're standing in a black void. Nabu can talk to you and show you what's going on outside, but that's it."

"I find it unlikely that a woman such as Princess Diana would countenance the presence of such a being."

"Justice League nominations need the approval of every current member. If she wasn't happy about it she didn't speak out about it."

"This is.. concerning. What does it want with your father?"

"It wants a powerful magic user as its host. He was the strongest available."

Adom nods slowly. "I have no great love for Lords of Order, but they are extremely powerful. I will aid you, but you know that strength alone will not carry the day."

I nod. "We know. We're working on the rest, and it may even be possible to reach a peaceful settlement. This is just in case it's not. Our current plan is to confront him on the seventh of July and attempt to negotiate Mister Zatara's release. The fight would start the moment we fail."

"I will keep my calendar clear. You will brief me more fully when you have a firm plan?" I nod. "Then we have an accord. If there is nothing else, I will take my leave. I need to speak to the Libyan agriculture minister before the end of the recess."

"Ad-. Teth Adom, I… Thank you. For agreeing to help me with this."

"You are welcome, Miss Zatara. After all of this politicking, I will find it pleasant to have a simple fight of good versus evil once more."

 

[Mr Zoat]

30th March
10:57 GMT -3

Sephtian makes eye contact with me from the outside of the air chamber. "We can begin the attempt, if you are ready."

I look over the obsidian head once more. I created it in perfect accordance with his directions. The spells bound to the strands of metal running throughout the structure should cause anything possessing it to have a full range of Human senses and be able to speak. I'm a little ashamed that I didn't realise the potential it has as an alternate residency for Nabu until well after the project was underway, but really that just motivates me to press this project ahead all the more. It's not quite as good as we can make it, but when you're waking up an elemental of uncertain temperament it's wisest not to presume its good will. That's also why it isn't connected to the rest of the golem body we built.

I nod. "Okay. Plug it in."

Sephtian moves his hand over the arcane control system and -though I can't see it- the spells keeping Michael Siskin bound within the containment vessel develop a single breach, one leading directly into the golem head, granting him access to the outside world for the first time since the start of the month.

Him or the Terror Thing.

The head is surrounded by spells of binding and containment. Finding time to research them is what caused the largest part of the delay. Atlanteans may not use automata to any significant degree but they know how they're supposed to work. We have no idea how long this part of the process is going to take. Depending on exactly how he's come to terms with his situation he might not even want to come out. Or he might still be fighting the Terror Thing and desperately try to keep it away from the breach. If something along those lines is happening we've got a replacement -and substantially improved- storage vessel on hand…

"Can you see anything?"

I shake my head. "No." I've got my empathic vision amped up and all I can see inside is yellow. Not that that necessarily means much. Unlike me, Siskin doesn't have an organic body to assist in keeping his other emotions functioning. Would it help if we cloned-.

"Orange Lantern, something is-"

There's a pulse of brilliant yellow in my empathic vision.

"-coming out!"

There's a dull glow from the wires in the golem head and a very mild shimmer from the inner circle of wards. Whatever we've got in there isn't actively trying to get out, at least.

"Are the bindings in the head strong enough?"

"I… Yes, yes they are. At the current levels of stress-."

"Where am I?"

Siskin's voice, or something close to it. There's a definite change, I can hear the yellow… It's threaded through every word, not crowding out all other concepts but still omnipresent. He sounds different to how he was last time we spoke.

"Mister Siskin?"

"Orange Lantern. Where am I? How long has it been?"

"You're in a hazardous materials laboratory in Poseidonis, the capital of Atlantis. It's been a little under a month since you entered the containment vessel before Nabu could destroy the Terror Thing."

He should be able to animate the head easily enough. I can only assume that he doesn't particularly want to at the moment.

"Are you.. you?"

"I am… Something. I took all that was left of the Terror Thing into me. Though that may well mean that I'm more it than me now. There was so little of me left anyway…"

"I remember speaking to the Terror Thing. It wasn't exactly philosophically inclined."

There's a slight.. glow in the golem head's eyeballs. "So. What happens now?"

"Now, we ask you some questions, then… Then we connect you up to a golem body. That will allow you to interact-."

"Do you expect me to be grateful?"

I consider his situation for a moment. "I suppose not."

"I exist. I should continue to do so, I suppose. And I don't want to keep staring at that wall for the rest of time."

"Are you..? Are you in pain? Or.. suffering some other-?"

"No. That's the thing. I was… When I lived through all of the fears that made up the Terror Thing, I did suffer. Horribly. To start with. And then… Each time, the horror got a little less. And I became more inhuman. I'm not suffering, and I think that's the worst part. I should be, but I'm not. It just feels… Right, now."

"That doesn't sound bad, considering how you were living."

"You said you'd been through this yourself. Do you not.. miss things? Your humanity?"

I shake my head. "I know I'm different, but I don't feel.. inhuman. Maybe it's because the Ophidian and I cooperated, rather than trying to tear each other apart as you and the Terror Thing did." I contemplate the head for a moment. "Is there..? Someone you want us to contact..?"

"My family. Are they still alive?"

"Your parents, sister and brother are all in good health. Once we get you.. ambulatory, you could say hello-."

"Why did you do this? At best, I'm a slightly more controlled monster than the Terror Thing. I see everything in terms of fear. You know the people I used to work for, if they found out that I existed like this-."

"If they ever came out of hiding you'd probably kill them yourself."

"Create a monster, get killed by the monster."

"They've got no way to manipulate you any more. No way to control you. You're a psychic weapon far more powerful than the one Geotroniks built; your golem body will be far more resilient than your old flesh one and even if it got destroyed you could still maintain your integrity-."

"No." There's a pause. "The idea amuses me, but there's no emotional connection to the idea. I don't intend to seek vengeance. What does.. this.. golem body look like?"

"At the moment, black stone in a roughly humanoid shape. I didn't want to get anything complicated done until I'd had a chance to speak to you about it."

"Black.. stone…"

"We can put an illusion on it if you want to look like your old self, one you can power yourself."

"No. I'm not the old me any longer. Pretending would be… It would be wrong."

"Okay, well, we still want to check you over,-" I nod to Sephtian who begins gathering his test wands. "-but once that's done we can attach this head to the rest of the body, and.. you can think about what you want the rest of you to look like."

"Mister Siskin?"

"Who is that?"

"My name is.. Sephtian. I will be your artificer. I was wondering… I was not able to properly assess how powerful you are while you were fully contained. How much of you.. are you able to fit into the head?"

"Hardly anything. Maybe a hundredth of my full power. Most of me is still in the storage vessel."

Sephtian freezes in the water.

"Is that a lot?"

"Oooooh yes. Less than the.. binding chains can contain, but… More than I should have put here without conferring with the Queen." Sephtian begins moving again. "Let.. us.. hurry."

 

[Mr Zoat]

30th March
16:36 GMT

"What did the government tell them?" Mister Siskin doesn't bother turning his head as we stand on the pavement outside his parents' house in Becontree, East London. The fully constructed golem looks a little like the Flamekin from Magic: the Gathering and he's wearing loose-fitting jogging trousers and a sweatshirt to disguise his form. Only slightly, mind. If anyone took a closer look they'd realise that something was up. They're discouraged from doing so by the fact that the golem is six and a half feet tall and quite.. solid looking. He's probably also radiating a little of the fear-flavoured magic that now makes up his true self inside the stone case.

"I'm not completely sure. I can only easily access electronic records, and as you can imagine there aren't many of those left. 'Accident at work, full investigation to follow', probably."

Huh. I suppose that he's a little like Red Tornado was in the comics now: crack the casing and you haven't won, you've just made life even harder for yourself.

"If you don't want to try talking to them right away-."

"If not now, when? When would be a good time to find out that I have become this?"

"When we've found an illusion that isn't disrupted by.. you? Or when you've gotten more used to it? There were probably things other than fear in those memories if you look hard enough. I know someone-."

The pale yellow corona under his hood intensifies for a moment. "I'm not going to drag this out. Either they accept that I'm who I say I am, or they don't."

"Alright, I'll… Come out and get you if they want to talk to you."

He inclines his head slightly and I start up the path to their front door. A little surprising that this was the first thing he wanted to do, given how much he was banging on about his inhumanity. He wasn't particularly interested in assessing how strong his new body is or what his arcane abilities are now. As far as I can tell he was strictly a low level parapsychic before this, now we've got no idea.

I press the doorbell and wait. Police notifying people that their loved ones have been horribly injured or killed is a feature of most crime dramas I've seen but for various reasons isn't something superheroes are generally called upon to do. Gareth and Maeve Siskin, seventy one and seventy five respectively. He used to be a postman and she worked in a chemist's. No significant ill health, other than the gradual wear and tear that comes with ageing. They shhhould recognise me, though I'm not in uniform at the moment. Given the situation I didn't think talking to the British government before paying them a visit was a sensible idea.

There's a motion behind the door and I hear the chain go on before it opens slightly and Mister Siskin Senior peers up at me. "Yes?"

"Mister Siskin." I hold up my left hand palm facing him and generate an orange sigil. "May I speak with you-"

"Bloomin' nora."

"-for a moment?"

"You're that.. cake-" I wince. "-Lantern, aren't you?"

"One cake, one time."

"None of the others do cakes."

"Hah, that's where you're wrong. Guy never got further than barbeque and the other two live off take away food, but the fellow from the Justice Society is a perfectly capable baker."

"Never made a bloody cake the size of a city though, did he?"

"I'm also orange. Bright orange! I glow and everything! None of the others glow orange!"

We stand in silence for a moment.

"Do you want to come in?"

"Yes, thank you." He closes the door slightly and removes the chain before opening the door fully. "I do actually have something serious I need to talk to you about. Is your wife in?"

"No, she's at her reading group at the moment. Come in, come in." He moves to the side and I walk inside, him closing the door behind me. "That big chap not coming in with you?"

"Not just yet, no."

He heads inwards, towards the living room. "You want a cuppa? I was about to put the kettle on."

"Thank you, but no. Um, you.. might want to sit down and.. not have any hot liquids in your hands."

Immediately he turns back, his face grey and sombre. "Oh no, what's happened now?"

"No no, no one's.. died or been seriously injured or anything like that. I wouldn't be talking to you if it was something that.. simple. Mister Siskin, you really should sit down."

"Alright then." He walks over to an arm chair and cautiously lowers himself into it. "What's the news?"

"At the beginning of this month, I was on a mission in Cornwall… Aaaaand it turned out that it was involved in the whole Geotroniks business."

"I hoped I'd never have to hear that bloody name again. I thought they were finished years ago?"

"How aware are you of the work they were doing?"

He shakes his head. "All top secret. Never even really told us what killed our Michael."

"Essentially, they were creating a magic weapon. When active, it projected fear at a target. Michael was employed as a parapsychic during the early stages of development, and.. they didn't know enough about what they were doing to make sure nothing went wrong."

"Oh." He frowns. "How did he end up in a coma, then?"

"That wasn't exactly a coma. His job was to pull the fears out of the volunteers and put them inside a storage vessel. He… His body went into a coma because his.. soul got stuck there during the transfer. One of the things-."

"What? Are you trying to tell me-!"

"We found the storage container they used. Michael was still mentally coherent-."

"He wasn't dead?!" He's starting to tear up. "We saw the body!"

"There was no way you could have known, Mister Siskin. And given what happened at Geotroniks it wasn't likely that those in the know would have told you of the possibility. We were able to transfer him into an artificial body and he… Obviously he looks very different. I think he's still mostly him."

"Where is he!?"

"Just outside."

"Whu-? That..? That was never-?"

"Prosthetic body. We should be able to make one more lifelike later, but he wanted to come and see you as soon-" Mister Siskin gets up and strides over to the front window in order to look out at his son. "-as we had him up and running. I'll just go and get him for you."

 

[Mr Zoat]

30th March
21:49 GMT -5

"Bullshit."

I lean back slightly, my shoulders pressing against the settee. "No, totally true."

Jade rolls her eyes. "Your cards. I've got two fours and Karon has the other two."

"Hey!" Karon leans away from her and turns her hand so that the backs face directly towards Jade.

I make an appeal to the heavens, then pick up the pile. "Am I the only one here who can't count cards?"

Holly nods. "Looks like. One five."

Karon hesitates for a moment, then pulls out two cards. "Two sixes."

"Bullshit."

Karon mock-glares at Jade. "Did you look at my hand?"

"No, it's your body language."

"Yeah, I was about half a second from calling that one."

Karon reaches forwards and turns over.. a Queen and a Jack, before picking up the three cards.

Holly smiles at me. "So what happened next?"

"Well, his voice was the same, so that helped. His dad was still a bit shocked when he saw his face, of course. I ducked out once the initial introductions were over." I shrug. "Thought it was all a bit personal for me to be sticking my nose in."

"Three sevens."

I turn to look at Jade fully and lean forwards, staring intently at her face. She stares back with an expression of complete composure, betraying absolutely no emotion. I put my own cards on the carpet face down and lean further forwards, supporting myself on my right hand as she's forced to lean back to avoid our faces bumping into each other.

Two inches from her face I narrow my eyes slightly and her expression goes from composed to slightly vacant.

Then I pull away and sit back down. "Nope, no idea."

Holly and Karon are both looking at me with their eyebrows raised.

"Oh, sorry, um…" I look at my hand. "One eight." I turn to Jade. "Settling in alright?"

Her eyes flick to her landladies for a second before returning to me. "Mom wasn't too happy about it."

"Not what I ah-asked."

"I'm fine."

"City changed much?"

"Four nines."

She thinks for a moment. "It's less.. tense. People don't avoid the police as much. The criminals don't just walk around in the open like they used to. And the streets are cleaner."

I nod. "The arrest rate has increased quite a bit."

She gives me a small smile and shakes her head. "No. Literally. Street cleaning used to be a mob contract. Now it gets put out to competitive tender so they have to actually clean them."

"I think between Gordon, Batman and Dent the old mobs are nearly extinct."

"And the supervillains. Don't forget all the good work they did."

"Oneten. Jade."

"Batman had only been around for a few years when I left." Jade makes an exhalation-laugh. "Gotham's nearly turned into a normal city." She returns her attention to her hand and selects two cards from different parts. "Two-."

"Wait!" Karon takes a closer look at Holly's face, which entirely lacks Jade's comportment. She leans into her girlfriend who frantically tries to get her expression under control, then kisses her on the lips and pushes her back and down. Holly sort of falls to the side with Karon on top of her, the taller woman pushing herself off for a second to say "Bullshit." before returning to the clinch.

I turn back to Jade, shaking my head. "And Ra's said this place was irredeemable."

Hah! Jade's averting her eyes. "Yeah. Uh, two Jacks."

Karon pushes herself off to resume her place, while Holly limits herself to rolling onto her side as she takes her cards.

"Three Queens."

Holly smiles as she organises her cards. "Got that right. Oh, hey, how'd it go with Selina?"

"Dinner was.. nice, but she made it clear that she thinks I'm too young for her."

"Aww…"

Jade raises her right eyebrow. "You went on a date?"

"Yes. You know, some women find me quite attractive."

"I'm just surprised. Artemis told me she thought you were gay." Holly nudges Karon with her right foot. "Either that, or asexual."

"Really? Because one time she caught me checking out-." I stop, silently praying to Eris that she won't-. No wrong goddess!

"And who exactly did my little sister catch you checking out?"

…

"Your mother."

Jade's eyes widen and her mouth falls open slightly.

Holly nods. "Your mom is kinda hot. Toned, y'know? Think I'm gunna start hitting her gym now."

"I don't think she's interested in girls."

"No! Just, y'know, exercise. Now I'm eating better I don't wanna start putting on weight. And I think Selina goes there."

"My mother?"

"Well… You know, I… Rejuvenated her back to peak physical fitness-"

Karon looks away. "Awk-ward."

"-and her.. Huntress costume is.. quite tight around the… Everything, actually."

My phones rings. Guy's number.

"Excuse me a moment." I pick it up.

"My.. mother…"

"Good evening, Guy."

"Hey, Orange. You got any plans for tomorrow?"

"Nothing I can't postpone. Why?"

"Tora wants to bring some friend of hers on our date, so I need someone to keep her entertained."

"And you thought of me?"

"Eh, the guy I had lined up dropped out. Turns out Hal and Carol are 'on' again."

"Okay… When and where?"

"Some place called 'Bakken'. It's in Denmark. Be there 'bout.. six in the evening, local time?"

"Alright, see you there."

"Right. Uh. Okay, I gotta get goin'. I'll see ya tomorrow."

He hangs up and I lower the phone. Holly smiles at me. "Who was it?"

"That was Green Lantern Guy Gardner asking me out on a date."