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

[Mr Zoat]

5th May
19:27 GMT +4

Roy's subversion arrows arc over the road and strike the security cameras with a dull clunk, sticking them on an unchanging loop of an empty street. Garth and Tula are walking down the pavement along the wall side of the street, dressed in Azerbaijani apparel. Great thing about a country like this as opposed to somewhere like Japan is that there are so many ethnicities in the mix that Atlantean features don't stand out at all. Tula's red hair and Garth's purple eyes might attract a glance or two, but they certainly don't look out of place. Just two young people out for a walk.

"Raaaoowwwwwww!"

"Get the fucking dogs back in the fucking kennel! And when I find the cum-drinking idiot who sent us these useless mongrels I will…"

I lean back, wincing slightly. Richard raises his right eyebrow.

"I still say urine would have worked better."

He taps his earpiece, carefully watching the image transmitted by my surveillance drone. "Guards are moving away. You should have space in five… Four… Three… Two…"

The wall is about three metres tall, topped with razor wire. Slightly offset from the lip on each side is a laser, which means that if a person climbed up they'd trigger an alert as soon as they grabbed onto the top. Someone trying to use a ladder would have a similar problem. For added fun the razor wire is electrified, so anyone who tried grabbing onto it would find themselves spasming and unable to let go. The walls are painted with anti-climbing paint, so an Atlantean's normal fallback of using patches of highly viscous water to let them stick to the surface is out.

None of these protections do anything as I interrupt the power to the street lights for a moment and Garth and Tula trigger their kinetic belts. They aren't as comfortable using them as some of our team mates, but a simple up, over and down is no real test of their abilities. As they go in to land in the cover of some trees I tense for a moment. We couldn't be completely certain that there wasn't something nasty hidden just behind the ward we could see. There are any number of curses available to people who don't mind treating with malevolent Spirits or Demons, and while I'm reasonably confident my Spell Eaters could cope with anything that's actually likely to be there it would completely blow their cover.

"We're in. No problems."

"Understood." I nod to Richard and Roy and they jog across the roof we're standing on, heading towards the alley side. Really, as far as finding Ms Molotova goes their part of the operation is far more important than what the rest of us are doing. We might have to spend a week tracking down every operation and holding the company possesses, but that's the place where we'll find that information. A moment later they're gone, dropping over the edge to join Kaldur in our hired van.

I return my attention to the footage from my drone. I've got the magic detector in position over them, just in case someone who thinks that they're invisible tries to approach my Atlantean colleagues. Mister Crandall's invisibility system works perfectly well against x-rays and infrared but it can't disguise the presence of a soul. I'm going to have to get some sort of visor with an arcane detection system built in created. It's just too useful. Not Sephtian, his industrial work is too important. Maybe I could find someone else familiar with his techniques and hire them instead?

There's an uptick in arcane energy as the Atlanteans get going with their ritual. Bit of a shame that Zatanna's not available, but she has school today.

"Orange Lantern to team, the Atlanteans are in."

"…and Johnny. We were both only just learning what our powers could really do-."

"Kid Flash?"

Jay's voice gets blocked out. "Sorry, Oh El. Rocket asked Jay about Max, and…"

"Okay, but unless it revealed some sort of deep-seated Communist tendencies, please leave it until after the mission."

"Right."

For a moment I consider asking Raquel to get airborne. It won't get properly dark for another hour or so, so she'd have to get pretty high… No. It wouldn't actually reduce her response time by all that much and would create a chance of her being spotted. People don't usually look up without some sort of audible cue, but just one would be enough.

"Orange Lantern to intrusion team. Any difficulty?"

"None so far."

I turn my attention from the drone monitoring the patrols to the monitors I've got tracking Max and General Kerimov. Max is getting a few odd looks, but the General is well into his glad-handing and they appear to be accepting his guest. In fact…

"Kid Flash, could you ask Jay if Max speaks Russian?"

"Yeah, one sec." There's a slight delay. "He says he doesn't think so. He spoke Spanish and French, but no Russian."

Curious. Lip reading at this resolution is an imperfect science, but the ring thinks he's speaking Russian. Again, doesn't mean that he couldn't have learned it, but I tend to assume that if you've been around for a hundred and sixty years and not done something then you've probably decided not to. There wasn't anything on his file about him being politically active outside of the Native American rights movement. Nothing about him even coming to Russia before.

I vaguely remember Edward Clariss from the comics, but he only showed up once as a ghost. I had no idea who this 'Rival'.. person…

Okay. The fact that he was called that in the comics and so was the person the Russians had as a source doesn't necessarily mean that they're the same person. It's just -based on what I've seen so far- a strong indicator. Given the level of security the Russians are operating under there's a good chance that only the Director knows who it was, if anyone else knows that there was a source at all.

Max is acting suspiciously, The Demon Constantine is around and there's a super speed comic character who was known to escape from Hell and possess people.

He's in Max, isn't he?

Ah heck. "Orange Lantern to Kid Flash. How fast is Max compared to you?"

"Ah… About as fast but a lot more experienced. I thought we weren't supposed to be fighting him?"

"We're not. I'm just a little worried that the reason The Demon Constantine is here is to possess him. Which means that we're about to ping two Demons who may -or may not- be aware when we do it."

Okay. From what little I remember, becoming a Demon is supposed to take a very long time. Would a shared super speed ability be enough to allow The Demon Constantine to bind Clariss' damned soul to Max Mercury's body? And what about the control spells they'd need in order for Clariss to control him outright? I can't see any tattoos or drawings on his skin.

"Rocket, when I say 'now', fly to where Tempest and Aquagirl are and stick a barrier around them."

"Got it."

"We're activating the spell."

The rings glow faintly as I prepare to create a railgun construct. I won't be able to obscure it. Anyone looking in this general direction will have their eyes drawn to it. And they'll immediately know who it is making it. Max doesn't appear to respond in any way. Not only does he not look around, there's not even the slightest twitch or saccade of his eyes.

"Two Demons and a major focus of Demon magic. Sending you their locations now."

I have the rings relay the data to my eyes. One Demon and the magic locus are in the mansion's cellar. Constantine, presumably. The other matches the current location of Max Mercury.

"Orange Lantern to team. Max Mercury is possessed. Rocket, change of plan. When I say 'now', get in there and put a barrier around Max."

"My kinetic barrier doesn't stop magic."

"No, but it will stop him punching his way out." My armour materialises around me and I trigger the invisibility system. "I'm going after Constantine."

 

[Mr Zoat]

5th May
19:35 GMT +4

Mister Crandall's invisibility doesn't do anything to cover up the orange glow of my environmental shield, so I have to remove the rings. As ever, this makes me feel slightly nervous. Playing Goldeneye taught me the distinct difference between invisibility and invincibility. Still, the kinetic belt, phasing and wards work just fine and I don't think there's anything around here that can easily get through them. Phased, I don't even cause a ripple in the air as I fly fast as I can through the manor wall, over the gardens at the edge of the party and through the wall of the house itself.

Roy's visit earlier gave us the chance to compare the actual structure of the house with the architect's plans. A few minor changes -a panic room and a small armoury- rather than anything that screams 'supervillain'. But then this is supposed to be his home. He owns fortified places elsewhere. This is where he comes to be 'normal'.

Says something about my life that I can consider ex-Soviet general politicians 'normal'.

I fly through a living room and a corridor before heading down. There's really only one place that The Demon Constantine could be without risking getting spotted by either guests or staff not in the know, and that's the storage cellar. Not sure what they usually keep in there. Not wine, there's a separate wine cellar and the two aren't connected so it can't be room to expand. Thought it was a bit odd when Roy mentioned it, but since it was empty he didn't bother bugging it. Rather than risk flying through a warded wall à la my fight with Kanto I emerge in the stone-walled corridor immediately in front of the door. No obvious security. Perhaps because he didn't want to risk any record being made. No matter.

I phase in and become visible, sliding my rings back onto my fingers. And this is where trusting my equipment becomes a thing. I'm not risking using a construct on the door, not after that Devil Jizz user managed to feed on my power, but this is still heavy power armour. I lumber at the door and smash it inwards.

Ethereally burning sand marks out an arcane circle on the floor and floats up in a rotating pattern above it. Looking through it I see… I'm assuming it's some part of Hell, because it certainly isn't the other side of the room. The flame around the grains is orange-violet and somehow insubstantial and if I knew more about demonology that would probably mean something to me. I have the rings take a picture of the design and then have them block my awareness of its specifics. Just in case.

"…mundus-." The Demon Constantine stops chanting and waving his arms the moment the door flies past. His head jerks around and spots me. There's a brief moment of disbelief, then his head tilts slightly to his left. "Oh, fuck right offaghh!"

I retarget my railgun at his other kneecap and fire again.

"GAH!"

The whirling vortex flares fractionally as he falls. If I had the Ace with me I'd put a round through that as well… But if I had the Ace with me then I'd shoot The Demon Constantine. I settle for shooting the edge of the design with a Mage Slayer round. In response the sand whirs faster and faster, gradually stripping the design from the floor.

The Demon's right hand is under his coat as I grip him with a series of construct clamps. "No." His coat is probably more projection than coat so I don't bother trying to put it into subspace. Disintegrate.

"Me fuckin' ciggies!"

I stride around the room and lean down, grabbing him with a filament and hauling him up. I then backhand him across the face, knocking his head to the side. "Shut up. Who have you got in Max Mercury?"

"I dunno what you're fuckin' talking about! I thought we were mates!"

"You didn't change your eyes back."

His face stills for a moment. "Oh." And then falls slightly. "Fuck."

Taking the binding chains out of subspace takes more power than I really want to spend, but the new generation sort of cuts out when not in contact with the Earth's arcane fields and so isn't quite as bad. Convenient thing about speedsters is that any fight with them is over one way or another before power requirements start to matter. Another flash of disintegration takes care of the rest of the Demon's faux clothing and then I apply the chain's clamps to his waist, neck, arms and legs.

"Bit much for a first date, innit?"

"I can get the Ace of Winchesters if you prefer. Last time of asking: who or what is in Max Mercury?"

"Nah, nah mate. You got it all wrong! This is just a-"

Brand.

"-bit a'-." There's a flare of orange and he throws his head back. "Aoh-ho-hoa!"

"I'm not sure how long this takes for a Demon like you. Or if you can recover afterwards like a Human would. But I do have a reasonable idea of how to come out ahead when dealing with a Constantine." I clench my right fist and the constructs around his naked body force his head back up. A glowing orange symbol is trying to form on his forehead, but just before it can fully come together there's a flicker of something and it fades again. "Protections bound to your body. Obviously not the Seal of Solomon that John has. Won't last indefinitely. Look, the game's up. Whatever you and Satanus-."

"He… SaYs It… SaTuRn… Us."

I take a Mage Slayer round out of subspace and shove it into the hole I shot in his right knee. He grits his teeth as it goes in. The damage hasn't exactly regenerated, but it's far less than a baseline Human would have received and is less than it was when I first fired. "I'm not sure if you actually feel pain, but that will continue to drain you of power. Whatever you had planned here isn't going to happen. The best result you can get is the one which irritates me least."

"Thought it was… Gah! Fucking… Blaze!"

I take another Mage Slayer out. "It wasn't. I normally don't go in for this whole… Jack Bauer thing. But you disgust me…" I nod. "Just enough, Demon."

"Oh, an' Demons aren't really people, is that it?"

"No, they're people. Very bad people. Take you for instance. The only decent Human quality John gave you was his love for Kit Ryan and I know you haven't tried contacting her. And since you have actually become a Demon rather than just being one damned soul among the multitudes you must have willingly bonded with the stuff of Hell-."

"You have no fucking idea what I've been through!" The skin on his face is starting to flake away like burning paper, revealing the canker beneath. "And another-!" I muzzle him. "Mmm!"

"I listen to bad guys in the hope that it might help them become better. You can't, and since you won't talk I'll just wait until the brand takes hold." I activate my armour's internal communications. "Orange Lantern to team. The Demon Constantine is secure. Rocket, are you able to put a kinetic bubble around Max Mercury and drag him into the sky?"

"Ye-ah, but it'll be kinda obvious."

Might be better just to wait until the party winds down a bit… General Kerimov isn't really our problem. Just dealing with the demonic side would be enough to call this part of the mission a success…

"Tempest, Aquagirl, could you exorcise Max Mercury?"

"Ah… How much time do we have?"

Garth doesn't sound anywhere near certain. "No idea."

"We can pick at the binding spells, but flat out exorcisms usually need the mage to channel massive amounts of power. We'd need him in a prepared environment-."

"Oh El, something's happening to Max!"

I change my visual mode back to the drone camera and see Max stagger and fall, his head elongating as horns sprout from his forehead.

"Rocket, go."

 

[Mr Zoat]

5th May
19:40 GMT +4

Unenchanted metal clamps attach themselves to rings on the binding chains and construct bindings attach themselves to them. Uh. I can't risk leaving The Demon Constantine in here on his own and I can't maintain the focus on branding him if I'm having to deal with Max Mercury. I don't want to take the risk that he has some way to drain my constructs that he can perform while bound. It doesn't seem too paranoid to assume that they've had some sort of feedback from the transformed Demons, or even from the Chaos Star Conquerors. Have to do that later.

I float in the direction of the door, him dangling at one remove from my construct bindings as the muzzle construct evaporates.

"Oh yeah, nice one! You've only gone an' let that nutter Eddie Clariss free!"

"I think you'll find that was you." I switch to internal. "Rocket, is it working?"

"I had 'im under control."

"Yes, I'm sure that you had the damned soul of a supervillain speedster possessing a superhero out of the goodness of your heart."

"At the moment, but he's.. mutating more. Is Max gunna be okay?"

Internal again as The Demon and I fly at speed up and out into the mansion's inhabited areas. "No, he's been possessed. He's going to be a mess. Aquagirl, Tempest, banishment as soon as possible."

"Right." / "Working on it."

"Kid Flash, do you have vertigo inducers?"

"Yeah. Look, Oh El, I don't think Max is much faster than me but Jay said he had a load of other tricks. Would the Demon know them?"

"It shouldn't. Unfortunately, The Demon Constantine says that's Edward Clariss inside him."

"Edward Clariss was Jay-fast, Oh El! There's no way I'll be able to keep up with him!"

"Lantern, the party guests flee into the streets! Do you wish for me to corral them?"

"No, let them go." I emerge out of a hallway into an open reception area in clear view of more than a few well-dressed partygoers. There are gasps, a few of which turn to shrieks as they see the naked and rotting Demon hanging in the air behind me.

"Oh, you've all fuckin' seen worse!"

They're not fleeing, though they are backing away. In fact, a stream of people are flowing into the mansion from the exterior. I fly out through a set of double doors and into the dining area, everyone giving me plenty of space. "Is the General still on-site?"

"Lantern, Max is doin'... Something?"

"With you in ten seconds, just keep him contained."

"Him, yeah, just not sure about all the rest."

Rest? "If the security guards-."

A shadowy shape slides through a wall next to me and leaps into one of the party guests. He staggers, shudders,-

"Team, we have Ghosts."

-then rights himself, looking at the people around him with malevolent and faintly glowing eyes.

Then I shock crown him and he collapses.

"Your Spell Eaters should protect you but the guests are vulnerable. Canis, Kid Flash, anyone gets a shadowy thing in them, knock them out and zip-tie them."

"At last!" / "You got it, Oh El."

Another shade appears through the wall. Right, assimilate. Strands of orange light leap from the rings and latch on to its ethereal form.

"Identity Theft in progress."

It writhes in distress as the orange light percolates through it.

The Demon Constantine looks on with fascination. "You know, that used to be someone."

"I know full well that people don't last long in Hell with their minds intact. I also know the death toll from when Lucifer ran off."

"Identity Theft complete. Identity partially corrupted. Nameless Hellshade, you belong to the Orange Lantern Corps."

"Assail your brethren wherever you find them."

"Yes, Master."

Oh wonderful, this one can talk.

It flies off, claw-like arms extended. Through the bay windows I watch the yellow blur that is all I can see of Wallace dash from point to point, slamming into the possessed and knocking them down. Brut lands in front of a pair of possessed guards who are aiming their guns at General Kerimov, putting Canis in position to take their first few shots on his armour before slamming his mace into their chests in a pair of rapid strikes.

Fuck it. Praexis horde.

More strands of orange flick outward, disgorging my von Neumann minions.

Fatty gets his bearings first, Chubbs floating just behind him. "Food time?"

"Eat the shadow things before they get into people."

"Okay!"

Glowing blobs of orange shoot off after the faint, dark Ghosts. I'm glad that they don't really have faces any more. It would be far more awkward explaining this to Batman afterwards if they did.

One of the guards panics and opens fire on my Praexis Demons, his assault rifle achieving nothing at all against their construct bodies. Immediately, his sergeant shoulders his way past the guard-huddle and grabs him around the shoulders. "Stop that, you fool! They belong to the Orange Lantern! You could hit someone!" The man instinctively obeys, though he isn't even slightly calmer.

Two Ghosts lunge for the guards, only for one of the Praexis to peel away from the main melee and chase after them. Its mouth clamps down on the closest, then the Construct Demon inhales and the Ghost is sucked into its maw. The other spots what just happened and frantically abandons its attack, going for height instead.

"Lantern!"

A surge of speed brings me up to the kinetic barrier in which Raquel has Max imprisoned. Considering some of the things John described to me the transformation is relatively mild. Horns, glowing red eyes and I think his legs have got a bit longer. I suppose that he hasn't really been down there long enough to become a powerful Demon. His hands are a blur as he repeatedly strikes at his prison, but his body remains still.

"Good work, Rocket. Now we can just get in touch with the local authorities-."

"Ah. That's how it works." His voice is normal. Given how his face has twisted that's a little surprising, but I suppose he hasn't altered his vocal cords. "But Max knows that we can do far more than adding kinetic energy to things."

His hands stop moving, and the barrier disappears.

 

[Mr Zoat]

5th May
19:43 GMT +4

FuckAccelerate!

In slow motion I see Raquel wiggle her fingers in confusion, trying to reactivate her kinetic barrier. My armour doesn't have a projection system but I try sending filaments towards Clariss. It's not going to get there fast enough, damn i-!

Wallace cannons into his back and knocks him flying!

"Gah!"

Together they slam into the grass-covered soil of the garden, skim across it like a pebble on water and then smash through some shrubbery. Raquel's force bubble goes back up immediately. Stopping it must require his focused attention. So.. is he not fast now, or-? No, either Wallace can handle his speed or he can't. Decelerate.

Raquel looks left and right, clearly confused.

"Clariss is borrowing Max Mercury's skill, including-."

She looks positively offended. "Turning off kinetic energy?"

"Yes. Wallace is going to be occupied."

A Ghost goes for a distracted guard only for Canis to smash through it with his mace. "Feel my godly rod, nethersprite!" Their.. numbers don't seem to be increasing, good.

"Ooooooof!"

Wallace comes flying back in our direction, several minor tears showing on the surface of his uniform. No blood, I'm pleased to note as he pushes himself up. I'll be sure to point out the clear advantages of decent armour during the debrief. "Okay, good news? He can go fast or make stuff slow."

I form vertigo inducer constructs and bombard the area he and Clariss flew off in.

Raquel glances at Wallace as he starts moving forwards again. "And the bad news?"

"What? You don't think the fact he can move at super speed is bad enough?"

"Tempest, any news on that banishment?"

"Are all monotheistic spirits this truculent?"

"Is that a 'no'?"

"It's a 'maybe'. They aren't responding to the normal bindings!"

Clariss emerges from the shrubbery, hands outstretched in front of him as he stops my sonic vibrations dead. "Is it likely to get better in the next minute?"

"I doubt it."

"Then give us what you've got."

"Just a moment!"

A Praexis Demon floats past Clariss and gets frozen in place. I really hope 'a moment' is shorter than the amount of time it takes Clariss to realise that he can stop all motion in the air and simultaneously freeze and suffocate everyone here. Clariss himself is taking the time to stare each of us down. Then his eyes widen for a second before his features twist into a snarl. "Constantine!"

"Ah, heh-."

Clariss jerks at super speed and for a moment I lose track of him. Fortunately the vertigo effect still works and there's a crash as he goes through the bay windows in the front of the mansion. "Kid-" He's already running. "-Flash."

Clariss gets his head up just in time for Wallace to punch him in it, the man's face bouncing off the glass-covered floor and bouncing upwards into the second punch.

Then Wallace freezes in place and Clariss punches upwards, striking him on the chin and sending him sailing backwards. I recreate my vertigo projectors but they don't meet with any more success this time around.

"YAAAAAGH!" Savage aggression!

Brut charges Clariss, Canis on his back. Not growling, just a sort of rumbling moan sound. Canis is nearly leaning off him, left hand on the pommel of his saddle and right holding onto his outstretched mace. Oh, come on, that's not going to-.

Clariss sneers, and Canis' and Brut's armour flickers for a moment. They don't stop. Clariss' eyes widen and he throws himself aside as they charge past. Canis' mace lashes out and catches him in the side, and I can see ribs give way. I think he can feel his host body's pain like this, and that's going to hurt.

"Here we go!"

About flipping time.

Brilliant white flames flecked with gold flare out from the Atlanteans' hiding place, roaring across the garden in all directions! The Demon Constantine's eyes widen as they pass over a group of recumbent guests, faint traces of smoke rising from them as the Ghosts within them are incinerated. Pretty much what John tricked the Angels into doing to Nergal. And I've got a worrying feeling that my Atlantean colleagues- The fire bypasses me like I'm not here and passes through Raquel with no effect. -just forcibly took something from the forces of the Silver City without asking nicely.

"AAAAOOOWWWWFUCKINGFUCKFUCK!"

The Demon Constantine is set on fire, writhing against his bindings. A moment later and the front of the flame wave has passed him by, my chains dealing with the residual magic. Even after it's passed by I can see shining light in the rents in his flesh. Not dead or destroyed, though. I'm not sure whether that's due to his origin or simply not being what the spell is designed to deal with.

Slightly dimmed, the flames continue towards where Edward Clariss is struggling to rise. He gets about half a second to see them coming before being totally enveloped. The flames don't envelop him; they cover and coat him in white fire.

"MMMRRRAAAAAAGGGGHHHHHHH!"

His horns are consumed in raging fire, his eyes go white and his head is thrown back as he collapses once more. Wallace gets up somewhat unsteadily and takes a couple of hurried steps towards him, breaking out his own suppression chains. He's forced to shield his face from the heat being generated. Oh dear, I hope we haven't just cooked a famous super hero. Bracing himself, Wallace darts forward and claps the manacles around Max's forearms. The fire isn't burning him, so he clamps shut the neck and leg manacles as well.

Okay.

The Demon Constantine is either unconscious or faking it passably well. Aside from that… General Kerimov is staring at the wreckage, but I suspect he's starting to get the idea that the fight is over. And once he's sure of that, he's going to start making a nuisance of himself. "Anyone injured?"

Canis shakes his head. "A little tired." He smiles. "Invigorating. And such novel adversaries!"

Raquel shakes her head. "I'm fine. So, that was a Demon, huh?"

I frown. "You were at STAR Labs when-."

"No, that was just… Magic-drugs or something. That was an actual Demon from actual Hell."

I point my right thumb at The Demon Constantine. "So's he."

"Eeeaaaaagghh…" Wallace staggers back from the unconscious Max Mercury. "Oh El? I could do with a-" A wide orange beam hits him, knitting his injuries back together. "-heal. Thanks. Ugh."

Tula and Garth pick their way towards our position, trying to peer at Max Mercury as they come. Tula frowns. "Is that it?"

"I think so. We'll check once Max Mercury wakes up-."

"Because I didn't… Feel a Demon being destroyed or sent anywhere."

"Oh. Well, if you're not familiar with the magic-."

Garth is knocked flying, slamming face first into the ground! Tula is picked up and hurled high into the air!

Mister Garrick stands where they had been moments before, his face red and his needle-toothed mouth now extending to underneath his ears.

"Now this is more like it."

 

[Mr Zoat]

5th May
19:46 GMT +4

Oh...

Not again...

Edward Clariss grins with Jay Garrick's mouth, revealing multiple rows of needle-like teeth. The wings of Mister Garrick's helmet have been replaced by the horns now extending from the top of his head and punching through the metal. Mister Garrick didn't even bring that with him. Where did he get it?

Oh, never mind. A man who murdered people in specific locations for no better reason than to spell out his own name is now a Demon and possessing Alan's closest friend. And he's just standing there and not attacking. Or gloating. I.. would have expected gloating, given his personality profile. Mister Garrick... Should be alright, at least in the short term. I talked to John about the subject when we tried to work out what sort of state Mister Zatara is likely to be in.

"Edward Clariss."

"Orange Lantern." Jay's voice, distorted slightly. I'm not sure whether that's due to the possession or the teeth.

"Back from Hell, I see. Congratulations on becoming a Demon. Always knew you had it in you."

"Jay said the same thing." There's a slight upturn in the corners of his gaping mouth. "Then he started screaming."

Brut growls. Canis is holding him back for a moment, probably because he knows that Clariss can just walk around his attacks if he's not distracted by something. Raquel is bracing herself and Wallace is... He has his ear over Max Mercury's mouth. Listening for his breath, perhaps?

"What do you want?"

"I thought that I wanted to kill Jay. That's one thought that kept rolling around in my head while I was down there. But now it occurs to me that he'd just go to Heaven if I did that, and he's an old man anyway. So really... What would be the point?"

"If it makes you feel any better, I don't think that Heaven is all that it's cracked up to be."

"He thinks that you know about this sort of thing. There is a Heaven, right? Not everyone goes to Hell?"

"No, there certainly is a Heaven. For the faithful and devout. If you.. wish to avoid going back to Hell, I'm prepared to assist with that?"

"You did pick up on the fact that I'm a-" He raises his hands to run them along his horns. "-Demon, right?"

"Just another species as far as I'm concerned. The last Demon I spoke to said that they found Hell aesthetically appealing, but I imagine that it isn't quite the same for immigrants like yourself."

"On my first day they shoved rusty iron spikes though my legs and made me run on a treadmill."

"That certainly sounds cruel and unusual to me."

"Then they flayed off my skin and made me run though a desert. Then they broke my bones, one at a-."

"Mister Clariss. Hell is an utterly horrible place. I fully appreciate that you have suffered greatly. But since you've acknowledged that there's no point in killing him, I'd really quite like to know what you want in exchange for letting Mister Garrick go."

"Let him go? Why would I do that? Hell, son, how do you think I became a Demon?"

"I don't know."

"I tried to replicate Jay's formula for fame, power and money. But you can't take it all with you. Then, somewhere in all the suffering, I.. realised how much fun those Demons looked like they were having. And I remembered how good I felt whenever I hit someone at super speed, someone with no way to fight back. Just beat them bloody." Oh dear. "And it didn't hurt less, but it started to bother me less. And then less.. and less… Until one day I just ran through the sandstorm and ripped those bastards torturing me apart. And that felt even better. Heady stuff." He refocuses on me. "Jay's going to Heaven? Let's see if I can't tarnish his halo a bit."

He sticks his arms out to the side, vibrating them at super speed. I project infrasound in his direction as Raquel projects a maximum area kinetic barrier around him. And... He's not there.

"Awraaaaagh!"

"I mean, if I eat this woman's face." He's holding one of the recently depossessed partygoers off the ground. "That's got to hurt his chances, right?" He unhinges his lower jaw, horribly distending it as he inches closer.

I send a mental instruction to every Praexis Demon and to the Hellshade to swarm him. I know that I've got no reason to assume that they'll be anything like fast enough but it can't hurt to try.

"Waaaaaaaghh!" His teeth get close to his chosen victim, who struggles against his grip to no avail. Possession must be making him stronger, because given his current age and general state of health Mister Garrick wouldn't be strong enough to hold her like that. But he's not looking at her. He's looking at us. It reminds me a little of a chap in my secondary school by the name of Alex Harrison. Once during a PE lesson he ran a ball over the goal line during a rugby session and didn't put it down, instead challenging weedy little me to tackle him. No point, I'd just have bounced off. And he knew it. Clariss is challenging us because he doesn't believe that there's anything we can do to stop him.

Two Praexis Demons come at him and he blurs away, grabbing a replacement hostage.

"Aagh!" / "Oh, Allah!"

Another Demon comes at him and his right arm blurs into it then vibrates, ripping it apart. I switch my communications to internal.

"Anyone got a clever idea?"

"Yeah, I do." I don't look around as Wallace speaks. "Make him move again."

With Clariss watching me, his teeth already drawing blood from the jaw of the terrified member of the Azerbaijan Worker's Party, I form a railgun while extending filaments under the ground in his direction. "I'd hate to kill Mister Garrick, but better that than let you continue."

"Give it your best-."

I form an infrasound projector in the ground under his feet and trigger it. Clariss staggers, teeth slicing through the flesh of his victim –no critical wounds- as he spasms and falls. His hostage similarly collapses, clutching at his injury. "Rocket!"

A kinetic bubble appears around him, not interfering with the infrasound due to its dome shape. Is that-? The dome disappears and Clariss stands up before lunging-.

Wallace blurs past me, accelerating as... Is Clariss getting slower? I just see two blurs moving, even as the ring accelerates my perception to try and allow me to meaningfully contribute. I transition the Praexis Demons into an approximate circle around the fighters in an attempt to corral them, but... The yellow blur is definitely faster than the red one. Wallace isn't as fast as Mister Garrick, but it looks like demonic resilience is all that's keeping Clariss in contention. Weird, but.. okay. Suddenly they stop, coming back to normal speed as Wallace gets Clariss into a sleeper hold. I've got my railgun up but Canis reacts faster, speeding forwards and smashing Clariss' legs with his mace. There's a resounding crack as the bones break.

...

It's okay, it's okay, I can heal him afterwards. I fire a subsonic Angel feather tipped round into his chest, wincing as I do it. Shining sand –like that in the portal site downstairs- begins sloughing off him as my new Construct-Lantern Hellwraith finally gets back to the combat zone.

"You, get in there and eat that Demon!"

"Yes, master." It flows over the ground and then leaps into Mister Garrick's body.

Okay, can't do anything else there for the moment. Tula, Garth and Max Mercury get quick healing beams, my Atlantean team mates getting up and Max finally being pain free enough to lose consciousness. More sand falls away from Mister Garrick, evaporating where it hits the ground as his demonic features recede.

A moment later the Hellwraith emerges. "Gone, master. Returned to Hell."

Immediately, Wallace lets go of him and I fire healing beams at Mister Garrick, making sure that his heart and lungs keep going and getting the remains of the railgun round out so they can't impede his speed-enhanced recovery. As an afterthought I recall all of my Construct-Lanterns.

I take a moment to look around at the stunned, bound and panicking partygoers.

Oh, what a mess.

 

[Mr Zoat]

5th May
19:50 GMT +4

Wallace checks Mister Garrick's pulse and breathing, but I already know that he's... 'Fine' would be pushing it, but he's physically whole and unlikely to expire immediately. I turn to the Atlanteans. "Tempest, check Flash Senior for lingering influence. Aquagirl, same for Max Mercury."

"Right." Garth jogs over to kneel next to Wallace, his tattoos lighting up. Tula just nods before heading towards Max.

"Well, that went alright." Being mildly burned by holy fire doesn't seem to have overly diminished The Demon Constantine's spirits. "Guess you'll be sendin' me back to Hell now."

"No. That didn't work last time and I'm not inclined to-."

General Kerimov shoulders his way out of his guard huddle and marches in my direction. "You! Lantern! Is this your doing?!"

He's clearly well past his physical prime. I'd guess that he weighs two stone less than me when I'm not wearing the power armour which I'm currently wearing. And yet he's storming up to me in what is very clearly a fighting mood. We've probably missed our chance to get anything useful from him personally as far as this investigation goes. If we can't tie him to the demonic element we'll be relying on Kaldur to get something useful from their offices. Still...

Internal communication only. "Tempest, if you can do it without looking obvious, put a truth compulsion effect on the General, would you? Don't activate it until I say."

His eyes flick up towards my faceplate and he nods. Good man.

I send my armour's helmet section into subspace and smile at our target. "Good evening, General Kerimov."

"Stick your evening up your arse!" His face has reddened, but empathic vision shows that he isn't anything like as angry as he's pretending to be. His gaze slips to the side for a moment. "Why have you got some sort of bondage faggot behind you?"

"I'm afraid that Mister Constantine is under arrest and will be facing some rather serious charges." I'm not seeing anything that would indicate recognition, but.. then I wouldn't, necessarily.

"What, and that's how you treat people you arrest?"

"When arresting supervillains I find that it's generally best to remove anything they could use as a weapon. If he'd had tattoos I would have had to remove his skin."

Cold hard eyes narrow slightly, but I think I see... Approval? "Who is this... Constantine?"

Again, no indication of deceit. My goodness, someone with a possible supernatural connection who hasn't heard of John. I'll have to tell him. "I'm afraid that's a bit complicated, sir. And I'm afraid that I'm going to have to ask you a few questions before-."

"Fuck off. You can talk to my lawyer."

"General, are you fully aware of how the Azerbaijani legal system treats people who may be under the influence of demonic magics?"

"Demonic?" He frowns fiercely, trying to indicate by his posture that he isn't going to let something that trivial stop him getting the result that he wants. "Bah! Nonsense. Some sort of metahuman terrorist. Yes." He nods. "You can-."

"I'm afraid I can't, sir. I have two Atlantean mages with me who will confirm my findings. The standard Azerbaijani reaction to suspected diabolic influence is a month's solitary confinement minimum for each person at risk. Which means you and all of your guests." His pupils dilate slightly, but his expression remains controlled. "Alternatively, if you'll answer a few questions for me, I'll have my Atlantean colleagues check everyone over and report to the local police that they're all clear." He narrows his eyes slightly. "I'm sure that both they and you would find that more convenient."

On the other side of the garden a few guests try edging toward the front gate. Brut interposes himself and very slightly bares his teeth. They stop.

"Mpf. What do you want to know?"

Hm. Max 'Mercury' Crandall doesn't have a secret identity... Well, he used to, but you don't stay active for two hundred years without people noticing a thing or two. I think that these days most people just assume that 'Mercury' is his real surname. I half turn to see Tula helping him into a sitting position. He looks pretty out of it, but he's conscious and at least somewhat aware of his surroundings. And he's physically Human. A lot of possession victims don't get all of those things back.

"When did you first meet that man?"

Fairly innocuous question to begin. He certainly can't deny that they know each other. Whatever answer he gives, I'll have to check it. Doubt that Mister Crandall will be able to remember with any certainty.

"Mercury? A few months ago. He wanted me to find him work."

"Is that sort of thing a frequent occurrence?"

"People will pay a lot for metahuman security. Usually I just deal with kids who can make a few sparks, but someone who fought the Nazis? He could name his price. That was why I invited him here."

Hmm. I don't know what Mister Crandall's financial situation is like. His preferred way of life doesn't lend itself to building up a financial reserve. Or investments, given what inflation's been like for the past half century. It's not impossible that he'd genuinely have been interested in a job.

I make eye contact with Garth once more. "And what did you hope to get out of it?"

The great thing about most truth compulsion effects is that you often don't realise that what you're going to say is 'off' until after the words leave your mouth.

"I wanted to reverse engineer super speed and use it to create a generation of Soviet super soldiers, like that fuck who runs the Russian super power program is too cowardly to do."

"Do you have any sources other than Max Mercury?"

"Not ones that are worth a damn." He stops, looking perfectly content with his answer. Then the faintest trace of a frown appears, closely followed by the oh fuck, what did I just say?

"And the Demons?"

"You can't trust them to do anything. You-." He actually grabs hold of his own mouth to stop himself talking, glaring at me ferociously for a moment before turning and stalking away.

Hm. Suspicious, but if he already had Mister Crandall's willing participation...

Garth gets up and walks towards me. Mister Garrick is still out of it, but it looks like he's clear. "Was that helpful?"

"I'm not sure. Oh, The Demon Constantine had some sort of ritual going in the basement. I think I disrupted it, but take Aquagirl with you and go and make sure that it's shut down properly."

He nods and heads towards his girlfriend. I attach filaments to the senior speedsters and float them off the ground and towards me. I can get Canis to boom tube them to the mountain's medical bay in a few minutes.

Wallace follows Mister Garrick's recumbent body. "They gunna be okay?"

"Can't say for sure. The possession was brief, we've got magic users available to check on them... So, hopefully." He nods, slightly reassured. "Couldn't help but notice that you seemed faster there..?"

"Jay always said that he was faster than Max, but Max always had more tricks. One of those is how to... Kinda... Borrow speed from other super fast guys."

"And you just.. picked it up?"

"I've been doin' a lot of research into this stuff. I guess I already kinda knew how it should work. And I still wasn't as fast as the Flash. Ah, the current one. But it was just enough to let me keep up with Jay." He opens his arm pouch and fishes out a nutrient bar and a healing potion. "Hasn't done anything for my eating habits, but..." He nods to himself. "Probably worth looking into. Once Max is back on his feet."

 

[Mr Zoat]

5th May
14:22 GMT -5

Tula, Garth, Raquel and I look up as Kaldur, Roy and Richard walk into our meeting room. "Please tell me you've got some good news?"

Kaldur looks very slightly downcast. Richard shakes his head. "Nothing to do with the kidnapping. We did get solid proof that General Kerimov has been breaking dozens of minor laws, but nothing about kidnapping Miss Molotova or hiding her."

Roy slumps into a seat at the far end, next to Raquel. "We checked dozens of places they owned or worked or rented. If they've got her somewhere, then it's totally off the books."

Richard sits down opposite Canis while Kaldur takes his place at the head of the table. He looks at me. "Were you able to apprehend The Demon Constantine?"

I nod. "Bound in magic suppression chains and handed over to Belle Reve." Ms Waller was fairly upbeat about the prospect of having definitive proof that the upgrades she's made to the place for the purpose of containing magic-based offenders actually work. The chains are designed to be highly resistant to damage but they're keeping him in solitary confinement just in case. "Max Mercury was being possessed by Edward Clariss under his direction. The General was planning to recreate the Soviet Union through super speed operatives by reverse engineering whatever potion it was that gave Max his speed. From what he said before he clammed up, he probably didn't have Miss Molotova kidnapped." I shake my head. "I'm not even sure that he knew about the Demons."

Roy frowns faintly. "Don't you have to be a Demon to possess someone?"

"Um." How to explain to someone with the limited knowledge of magic that Roy has? "The Exorcist-style spontaneous mutation and added super powers type? Yes. But... It's possible for a damned soul to become a Demon."

His eyes widen slightly. "Seriously?"

"We don't... Understand the process... It's unusual and slow and they usually aren't all that powerful. Of course, if someone like Satanus thought that Clariss would be useful he might have helped the process along a little."

"Oh, good. At least we don't have to worry about every dead criminal in history coming back."

Kaldur leans forward slightly. "Was Max Mercury able to give you any useful-?"

There's a rush of displaced air as Wallace comes to a sudden halt in the doorway. "Hey, guys."

"How are they doing?"

"Well... Jay's gunna get an earful from Joan when he's... Y'know... Okay enough to take it in." He crosses to the table and takes his usual place next to Richard. "She only let me off lightly 'cause she was really worried." He fidgets uncomfortably for a moment. "They.. are gunna be okay, right?"

Kaldur blinks, eyes directly on Wallace. "Did something happen to Mister Garrick?"

Wallace's eyes flick to me. "Oh. You guys only just started?" I nod. "Tempest and Aquagirl used some sort of magic to get Clariss out of Max, but rather than getting sent back to Hell or just destroyed he ended up inside Jay."

"Did Mister Garrick take to the field?"

"No." Wallace shakes his head. "He was still back in our room. Far as we can tell Clariss ran straight over to the mansion as soon as he took control." He looks over at the team's Atlantean members. "How did he do that?"

Tula shakes her head regretfully. "We are not really sure. There are a number of possibilities. The fact that all three of them have super speed might create enough of a link to enable Clariss to transfer himself. He might have taken power from the ritual in the basement to make it work, or they might have prepared a spell in advance."

"I thought-. Ah, don't take this the wrong way, but I thought you guys were experts on magic?"

Garth's eyes dip for a moment. "In the Conservatory of Sorcery, Demons are not a popular field of study. We simply do not know enough about how they use magic to determine what they did without a great deal of study of the site, and I do not think that General Kerimov is likely to invite us back." He turns his head my way. "Orange Lantern, do you think that the original John Constantine would have any useful insights?"

"He might. I'll certainly be asking him."

Richard presses a couple of buttons and an image of a man in a grey waistcoat appears. His hair is auburn, aside from his distinctive shock of white running along the right side of his head. Jason Blood. "Might be easier to call in someone they won't recognize as a Demon."

Kaldur stares at the image for a moment-. No, he's staring through it as he thinks. "I do not think that the precise mechanism will be of much significance. It would be more useful to have Jason Blood available when The Demon Constantine is interrogated."

I raise my eyebrows slightly. "Not Constantine mark one?" From the looks they give me I'm going to assume that the answer is 'no'.

"Ah..?" Wallace raises his right hand, index finger extended. "That spaced out thing Jay and Max are doing. They're not going to be like that permanently, are they? I mean... I don't know what being possessed by a Demon does to you. When Nabu did it to me I was just standing in an empty room, but I guess... With a Demon..."

The Atlanteans make brief eye contact with each other and with me. Why would-? Oh, right. I nod, and Kaldur turns to Wallace. "Do you remember how -before he got his current tattoos- Orange Lantern could become overwhelmed by magic, so that it would seem as if he was intoxicated?"

"Yeah? But, they're not acting like they're drunk, just... It's kinda like they've got... Like they've got dementia or something."

Kaldur nods. "For sudden or intense exposure, that is how it usually manifests. They should be fully recovered within two days. If they are not, then there are other treatments which can be used to improve their recovery."

"Okay." He nods, looking quite relieved. "Thanks."

"Okay, I need to bring this up. Whatever we managed to achieve today, we don't have any current leads on what happened to Miss Molotova. Is this mission effectively over?"

Instinctive responses range from denial to downcast. Kaldur mirrors me in taking a look around before responding. "We will need to speak to The Demon Constantine, and it is possible that the Director may have further information for us. But in the event that neither meeting results in us gaining new leads, I fear that you may be right."

Raquel frowns. "Ah still don't understand why you can't just use your ring to scan for her."

I smile ruefully, then connect the ring to the table's holographic display. "When I first arrived on Earth, I could scan pretty much anything I wanted to. After the League of Shadows was destroyed, that started to change."

"Yeah, 'scry wards', you said. But they can't be everywhere."

"These are corporate logos from companies owned by LexCorp before the League of Shadows... And after." I give them a moment to take the images in. "Please note the change in emphasis here and here..."

Garth gets it first. "Those are runic wards."

"Yep. But it gets better. LexCorp has a paper production business. And guess what shapes are now included in the structure of the paper? And guess who are adding it to their computer security product line?"

Richard's eyes narrow slightly. "That's kind of a lot just for you, isn't it?"

"Lex had LexCorp Metropolis warded by an actual wizard. If Satanus actually has joined the Light he's most likely got a few competent cultists around to work on that sort of thing. The protections won't be powerful, but they'll keep me and the Greenies out. Perhaps more importantly, if everything's warded, then magic users on our side can't tell what's important and what isn't, so looking for blind spots isn't really going to help." I look around the room. "Our enemies are intelligent people. In the same way that I've tried to persuade League members to cover their weaknesses, the Light are doing the same, and in the most inconvenient of ways."

 

[Mr Zoat]

7th May
09:01 GMT +12

Mister Gort glowers down at me as I step into the Director's office. I suppose that I shouldn't, but I'm peeved enough about the whole situation that I open my empathic sense up beyond my normal levels. Follow the red strands... No, he doesn't bear any kind of personal animosity towards me. I'm not Russian, I'm in a secure site and -a little yellow here- he's not completely sure that he could take me. I'm not seeing any real fear for his own safety, he's just worried that me attacking here could seriously compromise Russia's interests. Quick detail scan... Yep, another Danner enhancile. Born sometime in the twenties...

But again, it doesn't make sense. The Russians had both the Danner Formula and a working -if imperfect- version of the Garrick Formula. And while I'm sure that some people in the upper levels of the Soviet Union would believe in the inevitability of the overthrow of world capitalism strongly enough not to want to risk deploying novel weapons I'm having a hard time picturing Stalin having much in the way of reservations about it.

I walk past Mister Gort and towards the Director's desk. He looks up but doesn't otherwise react until I reach the other side, then indicates the chair next to me with a small motion of his right hand. I pull it out and sit down as he marks his place in the report he was reading and files it away, then rests his forearms on his desk and looks me directly in the eyes.

"I understand that you have captured The Demon Constantine. You and your team are to be commended."

"Thank you, Director."

"What is it that you intend to do with him?"

"We had intended to use the Lasso of Truth on him and have him inform us of his master's activities on Earth. Unfortunately, recent legislative changes in the United States have granted non-Humans the same legal protections as Humans. This includes the right not to incriminate himself."

"You yourself led that campaign with Mister Luthor."

"Yes. And.. now I'm really wishing we could have held off for a month or two."

He's not frowning... Not more than normal anyway. "So the American government intends to treat him like a normal prisoner. How confident are you of the continued integrity of the Belle Reve facility?"

"They've had Atlantean assistance in improving it to hold magic users. There's no such thing as complete certainty, but... If we're going to hold him, it's-" Probably worse than the Tower of Fate. On the other hand, if anyone can sneak their way out of the Tower it would be a Constantine. "-as good a place as anywhere."

"Are the Atlanteans selling such technology to other nations?"

"They're not especially eager to propagate anti-magic arcana, but you could probably come to terms."

He nods, a very slight inclination of his head followed by an equally short rising of it. "It was unfortunate that you could not uncover any evidence of a link to Molotova."

My eyes deaden. "Did you really think there would be?"

The skin around his eyes tightens slightly. "I did not think that chance was particularly high. I did not lie to you. It was indeed the best lead that we had on a possible culprit. But as I am certain that you realised for yourself: if General Kerimov already had people capable of super speed movement under his command, why would he take the risk of abducting her?"

"So... What? You heard about his political gathering and took the opportunity to have us break it up? Did you know about The Demon Constantine?"

"There is a modest advantage in having his involvement with Demons revealed by a party who is not directly involved in Russian politics. But in your place I could have brought more pressure to bear to ensure that the government of Azerbaijan dealt with him more harshly. And I prefer to deal with situations like this without involving people not under my command."

"That isn't what I asked. Did you know?"

"I knew that Maxwell Crandall was associating with him, contrary to his usual character. I suspected that his mind had been altered in some way. I did not know that he had been possessed. I trust that he has recovered?"

I give him a small nod. John tells me that people don't ever completely recover from demonic possession, but both Max and Jay appear to have recovered their facilities and not be in too great a mental distress.

"So who actually did it? Who actually took Miss Molotova?"

"Some other enemy of the state. We are still attempting to identify them. Should we learn anything of note, we will inform the Justice League."

"You're willing to share secure Russian intelligence with the Justice League?"

"Of course. Quite aside from the fact that I suspect Batman will be investigating anyway, ensuring support for American superhero teams is a major Russian foreign policy goal."

I didn't know that. "Why is that?"

"It is far better for us that people such as Superman exercise their powers for the greater good in an independent manner. Far worse for us if they join the American military or otherwise work directly for the American government. And with the Justice League held up as the highest embodiment of the superheroic ideal, they encourage up and coming American superheroes to follow a similar independent career path. So long as that continues to be the case I have the freedom to ignore the calls from people similar to General Kerimov to pursue a more confrontational approach."

"Alright then, tell me. Why didn't Russia develop the speed formulae further? Or-" I gesture back with my left thumb. "-the Danner Formula."

"The decision not to further develop Professor Danner's formula was taken by Comrade Premier Stalin. The decision not to continue with the Garrick Formula was taken by me, for the same reason. Steel Wolf has been a paragon of loyalty, but the way the Danner Formula must be applied means that there is no way to select the candidates for loyalty to the Motherland. The Russian Civil War began in nineteen seventeen and Russia was not fully unified under the Communist government until nineteen thirty four. In such an environment, the chance of politically unreliable people gaining such power and possibly overthrowing the Socialist government and setting themselves up as a new ruling elite was intolerable."

Makes sense, I suppose. I know Khrushchev had Mister Gort sent to a gulag as part of the de-Stalinisation program, and he was one of the loyal ones. "And the Garrick Formula?"

"I could not guarantee continued political control. There was an attempt to use their ill health as a control mechanism, but Red Trinity's defection demonstrated the weakness of that strategy. Super speed is far more dangerous than super strength."

"You..? Gave them an imperfect formula intentionally?"

"No. But I was prepared to take advantage of the situation that had developed." He looks past me to Mister Gort, who strides over and places a data stick down on the desk in front of me. "That contains the results of our investigation to date, as well as records from our medical staff and copies of the paperwork you were reviewing before your investigation was curtailed."

I frown. "You.. had this-?"

"No, Orange Lantern. You were engaged in work on our behalf, so I had our staff collate it for you. I have no interest in alienating the Justice League or in seeing Kid Flash come to further harm. And I am genuinely grateful. Your actions against the former General Kerimov will -along with our other work- go a long way to ensuring Russian political unity."

"I don't think you needed our help with that."

And for the first time his eyes waver. "There is no such thing as too much unity. My predecessor lived through the breakup of the Russian Empire. I lived through both Stalin and de-Stalinisation, through the occupation of Eastern Europe and the privatisation of national industries. Where there is disunity, there is weakness. And that is not to be tolerated."

"I didn't realise that you-" I open up my empathic vision again. "-were that old. Are you another Danner enhancile?"

I manage to control my reaction well enough not to frown. The colours I saw before are still there, but now that I take a closer look I start to notice the things that aren't. I can't follow threads to formative memories or experiences, they just sort of... Trail off to nowhere. I mean, the most intense green is associated with... I think that's a gulag. But the rest...

His face remains impassive. "My personal history is of no relevance. I act on behalf of the Russian people at the direction of their leader, the President. So far as you may be concerned, I am the face of the Russian state. One functionary among many, and completely replaceable. Good day, Orange Lantern."

 

[Mr Zoat]

Bindings

11th May
13:58 GMT

"Recognised, Wonder Woman, zero three, Orange Lantern, B zero six."

Guy looks around from his place on the far side of the Justice League's meeting table as Diana and I walk towards it. "Hey Orange. Welcome t'the club."

I.. slow slightly, but continue my approach as Diana walks over to her place near the table's head. "Club?"

Superman nods. "I suppose you could put it like that."

Batman's here, as are the other Lanterns, Major Adams, William Batson, Mister Freeman, Mister Yao, King Orin and.. Nabu. If Mister Allen and Mister J'onzz were here I'd make a comment about this being the League's top tier. For a moment I worry that my talk last month resulted in half of the League getting fired.

Batman looks up from his datapad for a moment. "Take a seat."

That makes me stop. On the near side the occupied seat furthest from the head of the table is occupied by Nabu. Fortunately, there are more empty places on the far side. Giving Nabu a wide berth, I walk around the open end of the 'U' and pull out the seat next to Guy before looking into the League members' faces and trying to work out what's going on. Diana orders me somewhere, I go there, but a little more information would have been helpful.

"Orange Lantern." Batman presses a button and a blue holographic globe appears in the middle of the 'U', rotating slowly on its axis. There are a large number of markers on it, some green, some yellow and a few red. "Do you know what these represent?"

Ring? Hm. Some are military bases, some I can't scan... Those could be secure government sites of some kind. Countries marked are the United States, Russia, China, India, Pakistan, France, Britain...

"Are they nuclear weapon launch sites?"

Batman inclines his head slightly. "This is a list of the locations of every launch-capable nuclear warhead on Earth which we have been able to discover."

"Do their owners know that you know this?"

Superman tilts his head to his left for a moment. "We haven't told them, but that doesn't mean that they don't suspect that we know."

Diana smiles faintly as she looks at me. "The reason I asked you here today-."

And it clicks into place. "Is that in the event of a nuclear war it's our job to stop them."

This time Batman nods. "Essentially, yes. Intercepting-" The globe moves and various military vehicles and missiles appear. "-aircraft and missiles requires a very particular power set, including but not limited to supersonic flight and the ability to absorb and inflict significant damage." I glance across at King Orin, then back at Batman. "The Atlantean military monitors all sea-based nuclear launch platforms."

"It's a little more than that, Batman." Orin turns to me. "We also have battle mages on hand who could disable or sink them at short notice." A wry smiles plays over his lips. "A job which the recent popularity of anti-scrying wards hasn't made any easier."

"Sorry, sir."

"It's not your fault. Something like this was inevitable, eventually. I won't really start to worry until they start using wards strong enough to actually keep us out."

Superman nods. "I can sympathise. It surprised me quite how quickly the army took advantage of the fact that I can't see through lead."

I remember that in the comic which featured Fernus the Burning they had to intercept a group of nuclear missiles launched by the American military. They missed one, but that was with a seven person League and zero notice. I turn to my left. "I thought you Greenies weren't allowed-?"

Jordan scowls. "What, you really think we prioritize being in the Corps over all life on Earth?"

John nods. "We checked, and we think we'd have about half an hour before our rings were deactivated. Short range nuclear miss'les only take minutes to reach their targets. Even Salaak can't revoke our status that fast."

Guy rolls his eyes. "Oh, good job, now you said it out loud."

Then... I can't help but look over at Major Adams. I'm not sure exactly what rules he's acting under these days, but to my inexpert ears this is starting to sound a bit.. treasony.

He notices. "I'm not about to see millions of Americans die if I can prevent it. And they can only arrest me if there's still a government left."

"Ah, alright, well, I'm in. Haven't really... Thought about this much. Do we.. each have a.. sector, or..?"

Batman shakes his head. "Given how quickly we predict that events would occur, that just isn't practical. Since most League members are based in the US-" The globe stops rotating and icons showing the 'home locations' of the League members present appear. "-we would most likely be relying on Doctor Fate and the Lanterns to cover the rest of the world. Realistically, I doubt that even under favorable conditions we would be able to stop all of the missiles, but every one destroyed en route or prevented from launching will spare the lives of tens of thousands of people."

I nod. "Have you discussed more... Aggressive action against launch sites? It would be... Far faster to destroy them than to disable them."

William takes a steadying breath. He really doesn't look comfortable. "Have you ever seen the film 'War Games'?"

"Not all the way through, but.. I'm... Assuming you're referring to the opening scene where the launch operator wasn't prepared to fire despite receiving valid orders."

"So..." He shrugs. "How do you know the guy who's been ordered to fire is actually gunna do it? And if we don't stop all of them, well... We're gunna have to do a lot of work... Afterwards. People probably expect us to try and stop the missiles, but if we actually attack someplace then people might start seeing us as the enemy."

He does have a point. I could probably tell whether or not the people in a particular silo or onboard a particular plane would actually do it, but not from a great distance and not quickly enough to go from place to place for each of the thousands of sites worldwide. Personally, I think it would be more sensible to just do it, but... No, if this happens we'd have to start immediately. A limited exchange wouldn't necessarily result in all out war. Unless someone started destroying their launch sites. And by the time everywhere got their go-codes...

Batman nods again. "In the event of all out war, if even one percent of the nuclear powers' devices reached their targets-"

The world hologram changes, showing arcs representing nuclear weapons flying from their points of origin. First strike weapons like ICBMs and fighter-mounted missiles streak ahead. Ninety nine in every hundred wink out... A hundred and fifty are left. I remember that belligerent powers generally don't target population centres. The UK does because Trident's got poor accuracy, but the US and Russia generally point theirs at military and government targets. Of course, those are usually located in cities. Looks like the League think that India and Pakistan have the same lack of precision.

"-the immediate death toll might well be in the region of one billion people. In the aftermath, as the only active Lantern on Earth we would be relying on you to do what you could to minimise the effects of the dust clouds. A nuclear winter which destroyed that year's harvest would kill even more people than the initial nuclear exchange."

"You know, if... " I glance left. "If you'd be out of the Corps anyway... There's really no reason not to let Alan recharge himself. I mean, I could do the whole planet eventually but this is something that needs to be done as quickly as possible."

Guy and Jordan nod. Stewart glances at Jordan first, then nods as well. Jordan leans forwards to make eye contact with me. "Not sure how much time we'd have, but sure. We can try doing that." His jaw moves slightly to the left and his eyes drop to the table for a moment. "Look, I've never been 'okay' with the way that the Guardians insisted on freezing Alan out. It just wasn't my call to make."

I shake my head. "Never thought it was."

Batman waits a moment to see if we want to say anything else, then presses on. "You will be required to memorize the locations displayed on the screen, though given that you have eidetic memory that shouldn't prove too difficult. We meet here once a month to go over any changes in our target locations. Since we started these meetings the world hasn't come close to a nuclear exchange. In the event that it did, we would meet more frequently. It should go without saying that you are not to tell anyone about this."

"Thank you for not phrasing it as an order, sir, but yes. I realised." Do I ask? "Sir, there are things I could do to make it easier to stop an exchange. Laser drones placed along likely flight paths, that sort of thing? Do you want me to look into it?"

"No. I do not believe that a nuclear exchange is likely to occur in the immediate future, and the damage that would be caused to both the League and to international relations if your efforts were discovered makes it too much of a risk."

Major Adams nods. "He's right. Remember how the Russians acted when President Phillips tried restarting the Strategic Defense Initiative?"

I nod. Not 'Phillips' of course, but I do. "Very well, sir. Thank you for trusting me with this. If the worst happens, you won't find me wanting."

 

[Mr Zoat]

12th May
11:47 GMT -6

My maternal grandparents lived in a house in the village of Leonard Stanley in Gloucestershire. They ate most of their meals on the kitchen table, but during periods when they had guests in the house they ate in the actual dining room, which would otherwise remain closed and unused. I suppose that the table was a bit big for the two of them, but... I'd never seen that particular arrangement anywhere else. Until now.

I look out through the hush tube into the home of retired Detective Chief-Inspector Geoffrey Talbot. His wife killed herself twelve years ago and his daughter and her family live in Australia. I suppose that he doesn't think it's worth keeping the dining room open just for himself. In fact, from the look of the kitchen area I'm going to assume that he usually eats out. There aren't any food stains but there's a small amount of dust in places which suggests that he hasn't thought to include them in his cleaning rituals.

I am mildly annoyed that Chester and Vera want me to meet him without actually telling me why. I suppose a degree of interpersonal difficulty is inevitable if I want to continue working with Chester. And I can't claim to be above creating unnecessary difficulty for my own amusement so it would be hypocritical for me to complain when he does it. I did a little research on the man and it seems that he retired under somewhat confusing circumstances. Twenty nine years on the force, then he was carrying out a corruption investigation into officers in the Avon and Somerset Constabulary. He was at it for a couple of months and then was suspended himself. I've checked the newspapers of the period and I can't find mention of a specific allegation, then... He took retirement and whatever case was going to be brought was dropped. I know that happens sometimes. I generally regard it as unfortunate, but probably more cash-efficient in complex cases than taking it to trial. Still, Chester will have had a look around his mind by now and given how seriously he's taking this I doubt that he'd involve me if it was going to be a waste of my time.

Miss Amane is sitting in his living room in full costume, war scythe propped up against the side of his chair. Chester is standing just behind her and Vera is lurking invisibly on the pavement outside. Miss Amane was delighted to take an assignment in Britain, though I suspect that she's been happy to take an assignment from me to just about anywhere. She'll be learning spycraft from my two more experienced employees, plus her natural face and body language aren't known to anyone. When we actually move into the active phase-.

There's a clatter as Mister Talbot opens his front door and steps inside, pushing it closed behind him. He takes his coat off and hangs it up on the coat stand. It's not raining in London at the moment but there's a chill in the air. There's a good deal more grey in his hair these days than there was in the older pictures. His hairline has receded a little further and I think he's lost a little weight. As he turns towards his shoe rack he hesitates for a moment, as if something just occurred to him. Then he appears to shrug it off, removing his shoes and donning his slippers. Next, he picks up his briefcase in his right hand and ambles in the direction of his living room.

He pushes the door open with his left hand and takes a moment to look at his uninvited guests. He doesn't look worried or angry. A little annoyed, perhaps. As if he now has a minor chore to attend to that he'd rather he didn't have to.

"Wondered how long it would take you bastards." He stays standing in the doorway for a moment. "Well? Here I am. What's the bloody holdup?"

Chester grins. "Got us all wrong, dibbler. Not 'ere t'shiv yeh."

"Chester Black. I didn't realise that I warranted your personal attention." Miss Amane gets a small frown and then a mental dismissal. I suppose that if he knows who Chester is then he's got no reason to suppose that anyone else with him is more dangerous than he is. "I don't intend to cooperate with you taking me somewhere else, so you'd best do it here."

"Like I said, all wrong, cock. I'm a private agent these days."

Mister Talbot frowns slightly. "Is that so?"

"Yeah, it is so. Reckon my new boss 'd be dead keen on meeting you. If yer up for it."

"And if I say 'no'?"

Chester shrugs. "Sod yeh, then."

Mister Talbot's frown deepens. "Alright. I'll need my briefcase."

"Jest a sec. Vera love, you got the windows?" The living room window shimmers as Vera activates the hologram projector. "Magic."

I step through the hush tube, closing it behind me.

12th May
17:50 GMT

"Mister Talbot. Chester has convinced me that meeting you is worth my time."

Mister Talbot looks up at my face, puffs out his cheeks slightly and slowly exhales. "You're that Grayven chap who killed that little shit Klarion. Hmm. Well, since you're here I suppose we might as well talk about it. Put the kettle on, would you, Black?"

Chester narrows his right eye, preparing for a 'y'wot?' I give him a level gaze as Mister Talbot sits down and he acquiesces, heading out the door towards the kitchen.

"So. What exactly is it that you want with me?"

"Me and mine have run smack into evidence suggesting that the British establishment is corrupt and 'evil' to an almost farcical degree." He hunches down slightly, eyes narrowing as if to bore into my soul. "We're starting doing the work which will eventually lead to us dealing with the problem."

"What do you mean by 'dealing with'?"

"Killing the worst offenders, trying and imprisoning the rest."

"Need a bloody big prison."

"I have a bloody big prison." Well. I've started building one. It'll be ready by the time we need it. "I take it that you ran into.. some of the same things that we have."

"Something like that. One moment. Don't think I'll be needing this." He tightens his right hand and... Presses a button on his briefcase.

What exactly-? It's a bomb. "Why do you have a briefcase bomb?"

"Last time the bastards got me, they bundled me into the back of a van with four other blokes. They got slaughtered like pigs. I only made it out because our gaolers went mad and the armed response unit that got sent in after them recognised me."

Ah. I approve. "You decided that if they came for you again you'd take a few of them with you. Admirable. How exactly did this come about?"

He shakes his head. "Never really got to the bottom of it. When I was investigating the Avon and Somerset mob, I nearly ran into one of their Masonic death squads. That was enough to provoke them into trumping up charges and leaning on my superiors until they suspended me. Kept poking around, of course. Didn't find a bloody thing until I ran into John Constantine."

"Oh. Hard luck."

"Not his fault." He smiles, and there's no joy in it. "Though I've thought about walking up to him and giving a good thumping on many an occasion since. No, that death squad had been sending me hate mail since I was taken off the investigation. Didn't matter to me, but they were posting them through the door when Joanie was there on her own..." He sighs. "Silly cow."

I nod. Never really understood why that sort of thing could drive someone to kill themselves. I mean, why not just bin the things after reading the first few lines?

"So, she killed herself, I joined up with Constantine, a journalist called Hughes and a Russian FIS agent agent named Sergei. Only the death squad got a kill order and rounded the lot of us up almost immediately. Except Constantine, who was out at the shops at the time. We all got hauled off to a place called Geotroniks. The bloody Masons were using it for some sort of.. magic research. Still not sure how seriously to take that part of it."

"Oh, fairly seriously."

"I am well aware that magic exists, I just didn't expect to run into it in a place like that." He rubs his chin with his right hand. "Part of the ritual involved killing us. They got most of us. Throttled a few of their people myself. Armed response shot the rest. Constantine walked away from it all, of course. Apparently, he does that a lot."

"Then what?"

"Police took my statement, wrote it off as gibberish and let me go. Sat around the house for a couple of days feeling sorry for myself, then gave myself a stern talking to and got up off my arse. I started volunteering at the local citizen's advice so there would be something to keep my brain ticking over. Then one of my old chums from the force paid me a visit. Seems that all the pressure they'd had on them to get rid of me had suddenly disappeared."

"They weren't seriously asking you back, were they?"

"No, but they'd give me early retirement with no fuss. I said that I'd think about it. None of the Geotroniks employees could have had the authority to order Scotland Yard to get rid of me, and that meant that the ones ultimately responsible were still at large. People died, and they were just going to walk away from the whole thing. As I hope you can appreciate, that made me rather angry."

"Is that when you bought the bomb?"

"Not quite, but it wasn't much later. No, I knew that if I was going to get them, the people who were really behind things, I'd have to do it intelligently. Gather evidence until I knew exactly who did what. I need to get all of them in one fell swoop. So I started making contacts. Poked around a bit, kept my ear to the ground. Learned a thing or two you might be interested in."

"You might well be right there."

"But there's a price." I raise my eyebrows. "I want to be there when you take them. I want to see them when you drag them off to wherever you're planning on taking them. If it's the last thing I do, I want to see it happen. I want to see my country cleansed of this filth."

I smile, nodding. "Mister Talbot, I do believe that we can come to terms."