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

[Mr Zoat]

31st May
18:39 GMT

Ow. Really ow.

"What in the name of unlubricated buggery was that?"

"Ow." Feels like a chunk of my soul just got torn off. What the fuck was that?

"I can't feel the castle! Grayven, get up! Or die!"

"Eh." I plant my right palm on the floor and push myself into a slumping position. "What do you mean 'or die'? How would that help?"

"I could probably survive for weeks if I had your body to eat." I hear him get back to his feet and dust himself off. "Longer if I freed Derek and cut the Right Eye of Zoltec out of his chest with your short sword. Or I could just free him and ask him if he has any way to return the castle to normal space."

My right hand trembles as I attempt to come up to all fours. "That would seem to involve less risk."

"What happened to you?"

"He trifled with things that would not stand to be trifled with."

I don't recognise the voice. Male. Sounds… Older. Upper class, in a BBC Radio 4 continuity announcer sort of way. I orientate my head in his direction, seeing a black blob with a pale strip running from the top down to the middle. "I generally find that trifling is all a matter of who has the bigger spoon. And elbow power."

"Curious. Though I think that I will prove that owning the kitchen comes with the greater advantage."

I don't have time for this. "Mister Kipling, who is-?"

"Doom?" He sounds confused. "Cursitor Doom? But you're… Dead."

"No, merely taking an extended leave of absence. And what, pray tell, are you?"

I frown. Thinking is… Hard. "He's a wizard, given name of Mister Willoughby Kipling. And who are you?"

"As Mister Kipling surmised, I am Cursitor Doom. And you are intruding."

"Not my idea. I was heading… To a house in Berkshire. My portal was interrupted." Wait, why did I just-?

"And your presence here was enough to justify casting it loose from its moorings in the material world and setting it adrift in the subtle realms? What manner of man are you?"

"I'm one who doesn't usually-" I stagger to my feet, right fist swinging in the blob's direction. "-answer questions this readily."

My fist stops dead against thin air. I didn't feel any pressure, nothing to indicate that I'd encountered a barrier. My arm.. just.. doesn't.. move. Eh? Oh, I am not having good luck today.

"Violence. The first refuge of the brute. That does not speak well for-."

"Excuse me, I was kidnapped and had my eyes gouged out while allies of the one who did it attack my friends and family and why am I volunteering information like this?"

"You flooded the mystic energies of my castle with your essence. But you failed to take into account that I -as the owner of the castle- had a superior connection to it. And the castle was more than willing to hand over to me every mote of the power which you impressed upon it."

…

Oh shit.

"You're holding a chunk of my soul." Not an insurmountable problem. A soul is.. after all, basically a magic energy construct. I've still got more than enough energy to keep me going and an hour or two in the mana infuser should top me up to functional levels. But in the short term it's going to leave me weak and…

Oh.

A magic user has a chunk of my soul. That means that he can do pretty much whatever he likes to me, limited only by his own knowledge. Again, there are ways around it, but they mostly involve sitting in a magic circle while your allies hunt down and off the blighter responsible. In a situation like this…

"What do you want?"

"I left the leasehold on my home to an ally of mine, a Mister Crandell. I knew that he in turn had passed it on to a group of specialists in the employ of the British government. I see by the expression on your face that you know what I have it in my power to do to you. I have never been one for senseless violence, but I will have an answer, creature. Who and what are you?"

"My name is Grayven. I am an…" I briefly try to stop myself and my jaw starts spasming as the words try to escape. "A-p-p-pokkkkoliptian New God."

"New God? And what do you mean by that?"

"A god is a purposive arcane energy life form. A New God is flesh and energy both. I am man and god both."

"You came close to subverting the protections I placed upon this castle with brute force. I suppose that there may be something to your claim. What set you at odds with your hosts?"

"They discovered my plan to-" I can't stop but can I steer? "-detain and punish certain criminals in the British government." It seems that I can. Useful to know. "These criminals are well placed within the establishment, and were able to prevail upon Major Kelly to act against me."

"You have evidence?"

"Yes. Lots. Not all of it of flawless providence, but yes."

"And they have no other concerns about you?"

"Apparently the fact that I'm an alien is an issue for some."

"And, ah… If I may, sir?"

"Yes, Mister Kipling? You have something to add?"

"He also became a close associate of the President of America and amassed a group of exceedingly powerful henchmen. He's also a close associate of several known supervillains. There was concern that his influence might not be entirely legitimate, or natural. Aaaand he threatened to guillotine the entire royal family."

"No, just those in the immediate line of succession. Also, what happened to teamwork?"

"I no longer need you in order to escape." I feel him pat me on the right shoulder. "Good team up, chum."

Motherfu-.

"Mister Grayven?"

"My medium term objectives coincide rather well with the President's concerns. I also have a great deal of knowledge he lacks, and that makes me useful. Yes, I give people superpowers. That hardly makes me unique, and I'm giving those under my command direction, guidance and instruction in their use with the aim of serving the greater good of… Everyone, really. I'm trying to persuade the supervillains in question to use their fantastic abilities in more productive ways than simply lashing out at those who attract their ire. It's a work in progress. I don't use mind control as a long term thing; it's an uncomfortable reminder of Apokolips and I don't think that the advantages outweigh the costs. A lot of the royal family are implicated in the misdeeds I spoke of and… It was really more of a threat than a firm plan."

"What did you intend to do with these… People, whom you say have committed grave crimes?"

"Kill the worst, try and sentence the rest as soon as the judiciary has been cleansed of those involved."

"I assume that you don't have this evidence you spoke of on you?"

"I have some. Unfortunately, I keep it stored on my ring and your anti-weapon charms have disabled it. Mister.. Doom. I would be happy to share everything I have with you, but I need to return as soon as possible. My people are fighting for their lives, and with my soul in your hands you have all the leverage against me you need. Please."

"What aren't you telling me?"

"That the very moment the attack against them is over I will attempt to block your power over me."

"And?"

"And then take such actions as to ensure that it can't be used against me."

"And that is all?"

"There are thousands of things I haven't told you, but nothing immediately applicable."

"Very well then, Mister Grayven. We will return to the material world. You will be under my close supervision. I would advise that you not disappoint me."

 

[Mr Zoat]

31st May
18:43 GMT

There's a sharp intake of breath from Mister Kipling. Was that it? My magic sense vanished with my spiritual force and I certainly can't see worth a damn. Father Box?

…

"Mister Doom, I'm going to need my weapons back. We need to get to Metropolis, and unless you can teleport us a boom tube would be-."

There's a sort of fizzing noise from my right side. OHSHITAMULET! I twist around, falling back to the ground as I try and grab it with my right hand. My fingers brush the surface and I flick it away just as quickly as I can.

There's a flickering from the far side of the room where I threw it, then a new blob appears.

"Mister Doom, I would very much like it if-"

"Nice try, alien. But whatever magic makes that knife of Sabbac's work on me, it doesn't stay worked."

"-we could leave now. Please!"

"Major Kelly."

"Cursitor Doom. Thank you for detaining the prisoner. I'll handle it from here."

"Major Kelly, I am afraid that I must question you concerning accusations made in my presence concerning the moral probity of the British government."

He's not…

"No formal accusations have been made, but investigations are continuing. This alien is sheltering a known murderer. Now, get out of my way and let me do my job. What is it, Kipling?"

"I'm not sure that it's the best idea to challenge a wizard in his own castle, Kelly."

"Major Kelly, I am not unfamiliar with the concept of a government conspiracy. Well intentioned as you may be, I am afraid that I cannot simply ignore testimony given to me under truth compulsion. Particularly when the one requesting the handover may well be implicated."

G-uh! "I have no specific evidence which suggests that Major Kelly is personally involved in the crimes which I am investigating. Though Chester's reports do strongly suggest that he has violated various national and international laws at the direction of the Home Secretary in the performance of his duties."

"Did you become a member of a British police or security service when I wasn't looking?"

"I'm afraid to say that I did not."

"Then I'm not going to concern myself with your opinion. Move or be moved."

I hear a series of rapid steps from the direction of Mister Kipling. Then a sort of woosh.

"Regrettable, but he will of course survive the fall. Mister Kipling, do you intend to join us or remain here?"

"Difficult question. I think on balance I'd rather stay. But if you could keep me appraised..?"

"That will depend on the result of my investigation. Mister Grayven? Your… Devices should-"

Ploong.

Corpsman, what just happened?

"-resume their function momentarily."

Ploong.

I know!

Plooong.

Yes, Yes. "Mister Doom, I… I can barely stand. Your magics only require the smallest part of my essence to cripple me completely. Could I please have at least a little back?"

"Very well, but I would caution you against the abuse of my generosity."

I wait for oh, that's better. I push myself up on all fours, then cautiously get my right foot under me and gently push upwards. There's a moment of dizziness and I hold my hands out to the sides to try and improve my balance. It passes, and I'm able to stand once again.

U-uhhh.

Right, quick check. Sword of the Fallen, check. Daiklave… Sticking out of the floor next to a gaping chasm. A gaping chasm whose bottom I can't see. Extra motivation -if any were needed- to be polite to Mister Doom. I pull the daiklave free and attach it to my back. Anything I'm forgetting? The illusion amulet, but that was broken and I don't think I'm in any position to make demands here. Any biological material I left down in the cell should have been destroyed by the fire…

I'm waiting for an answer, Corpsman!

Weapon nullification spell. Father Box, boom tube to the Centre for Paranormal Research in Metropolis. And see if you can do something about my eyes.

Ploong.

Alright. Sinestro?

Even now, your physiology resists me. A three dimensional map appears in my head. Better?

Yes, thank you. Father Box?

Boom!

Cursitor Doom regards the portal without much expression. "A curious technology."

I use Sinestrovision to check myself over. Bit of a mess. One quick wave of yellow and I'm presentable again, my eyes excepted. Doing my best to remain confident-looking I stride through the portal-

31st May
13:46 GMT -5

-and raise my ring to my right ear. "Grayven to everyone status re-"

"Master!"

"-port."

Miss Amane appears in front of me, looking somewhat dishevelled. "Master, where were you!? I was dreadfully worried!"

"Iname, where's Lynne?"

"Daddy!"

I turn, Sinestrovision showing me Lynne dashing down the corridor towards me, with…

Is that Mister Tawny? Yes, must be. The hulking Tiger-Man walks lightly down the corridor after her, his fur glowing faintly golden as it ripples in a nonexistent breeze. I kneel down and spread out my arms just in time for Lynne to run into my chest. We embrace.

And I breathe out.

A few seconds pass like that. I hate not being… Able to react to things.

"Grayven."

I tilt my head upwards in the direction of Mister Tawny's face. "Mister Tawny. That's a new look for you."

"I've been spending some time in the mana infuser." He holds out his right paw-hand, razor sharp claws extended. "A curious sensation. I think bipedalism could grow on me."

"Casualties?"

"We took a few hits, nothing to create a scene about. Tri-Man is being transported to Stryker's Island and the central cognition unit of the giant robot is being held by the Special Crimes Unit."

"What about the bystanders?"

"A few broken bones here and there. And various minor injuries. No deaths."

I frown. "No Superman?"

"Busy with something or other."

"The rest of the League?"

"Hawkman got in contact but Doctor Robbins told him that we had things in hand. Apparently there's been a bit of a spate of attacks today."

Behind me, Cursitor Doom walks through the boom tube, which shuts down behind him. Mister Tawny turns his head to look at him, then returns his attention to me. "Why don't we pop back to the mountain for a bit of a note-comparing session?"

 

[Mr Zoat]

31st May
18:58 GMT

"Oh, come in, come in!"

Mayor Johnson waves at me from where he stands next to some kind of mobile notice board. Pinned to it is what appears to be a line drawing of London, with roads and railway lines clearly marked out. There are also fourteen coloured pins stuck in various places. Apparently satisfied, he turns away and ambles back towards the table.

"Thank you, Mister Mayor." I push the door open the rest of the way and walk into the meeting room. "Not the Assembly meeting room this time?"

He stops dead mid paper shuffle. "Oh gosh. Did you want to?"

"No. Um, probably? You.. may need to run my proposal by a few people, but I can't think of any problem with presenting it to you first." He nods, looking a little relieved. "Do you mind if I ask-" I point towards the board. "-what that's about?"

He grins. "Finally got the RMT b-." He cuts himself off and has a quick check around the room. "Blighters on the back foot. It's your doing, you know. You and that Sephtian fellow and your wonderful portals."

I pull out the chair opposite him and sit down. "I haven't kept up to date. Is it still going down well?"

"What, you mean the ones in Battersea?" He finishes getting his papers together and puts the pile on one side before pulling out his chair and sitting down on it. "They aren't attracting quite so many visitors as they did when they were first installed, but they're on the itinerary of every tourist who comes here. You know, I was thinking." He brushes his hair back slightly with his right hand. "Do you think the Battersea Power Plant would work as a sort of… Hub, for them?"

"I was rather assuming that you'd want to follow the existing underground route." I think for a moment. "Maybe? A hub-based system could work, but it would get pretty darn crowded at peak time with everyone going through the same area."

"Oh, no no no. I don't mean for the final system. But I was talking to the Atlantean UN Ambassador chappie about the delivery timelines, and their best guess is that it's going to take years to make as many as we need to replace the tube network." He waves his left arm at the board. "This is just supposed to be a temporary thing. You know, take some pressure off the network-."

I smile. "And put some on the RMT."

He leans forward slightly, inclining his head. "You didn't hear that from me."

I nod, taking a look at the board. "In that case, yes, depending on your predicted footfall. I'd be happy to put them in place when you're ready to go… Um, assuming that I'm on the planet at the time." I turn back to him. "No problem getting approval for the system?"

"Oh, you know, normal union hot air. Nothing substantive. PM's fine with it, our lawyers say that there's no legal challenge that could be mounted that would stand much chance of success. Once we're ready to go we're ready to go."

I nod, smiling. "I'm glad to hear it."

"So, um." He rubs his hands together in front of his chest. "What was it you wanted to talk about? Terrorists? Supervillains? Some sort of demonic portal opening up under the streets of London?" He grins jovially.

I shake my head. "No, I shut the portal down months ago. It's really more-."

"Wait, what? You did?" His eyes widen. "There actually was a portal?"

"Yes sir. But it's closed, sealed, and everything that came through was destroyed."

"Ah." He relaxes slightly. "That's a relief. So what was it?"

"I need a favour. It's a fairly big one, and I'm perfectly happy to compensate the City of London for any costs incurred."

"Alright. What do you want?"

"I want to fight a supervillain here. To be precise, I wish to lure them here in order to fight them here."

"Um." Boris frowns, tiling his head slightly to the right. "Why?"

"The supervillain in question is a Lich. An.. undead magic user of considerable power. Among the various feats of magic it can perform is teleportation. Now, I can.. jam most forms of technology based teleportation… But.. I.. can't reliably block magic teleportation. Fortunately, the chief shaman of London can."

"Chief… Shaman..?" He clicks his fingers. "Oh, don't tell it, it's that chap… What'shisname… Met him once…"

"His name is Ken Ondaate and since he works for Transport for London you might have met him on a picket line at some point. Otherwise, I rather doubt it."

"Oh." He frowns. "No, I was going completely in the wrong direction with that one."

"Mister Ondaate is an extremely powerful magic user, but his influence only extends as far as the city does. That's why-."

Boris holds up his right hand. "Sorry, just… Transport for London employs a wizard?"

W-? Oh. "Not in his capacity as a wizard. He does cleaning and basic maintenance. He just.. likes walking around under his city."

"Mpf." Boris shrugs with both hands. "Who am I to judge? I suppose he may as well do it here as in Tibet or somewhere." He puffs out his cheeks, then exhales. "And he can stop this Lich escaping?"

"Testing it.. is.. somewhat tricky, but we believe so."

"And then you can take it in a fight?"

"Again, I can't give a complete guarantee, but…" I nod. "Yes. My team and I believe that we can."

He nods. "And the risk of collateral damage?"

"The best information we have is that it will attempt to leave, and if unable to do so will focus on its attackers. If we're all dead, it should simply leave. The main problem will be from… Missed attacks. A directed energy attack or a projectile weapon keeps going until it hits something. That's why I want to sort the whole thing out in advance."

"There are a lot of people in London. If you're talking about evacuating a large area, that's…" He shakes his head.

"My current plan is to have the fight take place as much as possible in Hyde Park. That way, clearing out the immediate area shouldn't be too difficult."

"What about Richmond Park? It's far larger. If you could keep the combat zone down to the middle we might not have to evacuate anyone."

"Mister Ondaate's magic is stronger the closer towards the city centre he is. Richmond Park is sufficiently far away that he's not sure that he could maintain the spell." Boris nods. "I can provide mobile force field generators for the periphery of the park and I can set up all kinds of wards in advance, but I would advise that the buildings on the edge of the park be evacuated before the fight starts."

"Right. And how long do we have?"

"I'm aiming for the seventh of July."

"Oh." He smiles for a second. "I thought this was going to be a bit more imminent."

"This sort of thing needs a lot of planning."

"I'm glad you appreciate that."

"Beyond the evacuation, we'd need a police cordon keeping people away, road blocks and… I'd certainly appreciate it if there were paramedics on standby. Again, I'm obviously prepared to pay for all of it."

"That will help. What happens if you don't?"

"Don't… Fight him here?" Boris nods. "Then I'll have to fight him somewhere else. London is the best place I've been able to find, but we could do it somewhere else. The trap would be far less reliable though… I.. wouldn't like our chances of keeping the Lich contained. If it helps..?" He raises his eyebrows. "I realise that this has the capacity to go very badly wrong. I am willing not merely to cover the costs, but to compensate for the risk."

"In what way?"

"One week of my time. With a power ring, I can…"

"Chase down criminals?"

"Yes. I can also remove industrial contamination from brown field sites that no one is prepared to build on. Or I can skip the middleman and build cheap housing myself. Just give me the plans. If you're having trouble with the tunnels for HS Two, I can do that. And I understand that you had plans to build an island in the Thames Estuary to build an airport on? Just give me the plans and I'll do it. I don't usually do… Industrial things, but I'm willing to make an exception here. This is very important to me."

"Right." He nods again. "Is it alright if I discuss this with people?"

"I'd rather you kept the need-to-know down, but if you need to talk to someone, yes, that's completely fine."

"Okay then. Let me think about this, and we'll meet up again… Same time next week?"

I nod. "Thank you, Boris."

 

[Mr Zoat]

31st May
13:17 GMT -6

I frown at the replay of the fight which took place in the Metropolis streets a few hours ago. "Something's not right here."

"I dunno, cock." Chester is leaning back in his chair, hands folded behind his head. "Feelin' pretty good about it meself."

His sister frowns slightly. "What d'you mean?"

Chester prevailed upon Doctor Robbins to open another tube for her once the fight got started. Apparently I had Mister Kipling sufficiently distracted that their attempt was successful. Miss Amane, Miss Selton, Mister Tawny and Doctor Robbins are also at the table. Miss Shimmer spent the whole incident in her laboratory. She didn't even realise that the mountain was in lockdown. Lynne is currently sitting on my lap and she isn't going to be moving for some time.

"Alright." I reach around my daughter to activate the holographic display. My people have monitoring equipment on them constantly, so reconstructing Chester's movements wasn't too difficult. "I stepped through the portal at twelve forty five-."

Doctor Robbins nods, narrowing her eyes slightly. "Without sending a drone through first. Or establishing contact by radio and asking Vera to come through."

Miss Amane scowls at her, but I nod. I'd like to have been able to spend some time in the mana infuser, but getting my eyes very nearly back in working condition has rather improved my outlook. "A valuable point, and one which you can work into the next SOP update. If I may continue?"

She gives me a curious look, then nods.

"A minute and a half later, Chester plonks himself down next to the man observing Iname and Miss Selton." Who is sitting at the far end of the table and trying not to look too intimidated. "Nothing on telepathy, so he tried conversation and managed to give away his own identity almost immediately. That prompted an immediate attack." The holographic image of Chester throws himself backwards as the other man lunges across the table, a pneumatic spike sprouting from his right hand and stabbing at my colleague. Chester finds his feet, spreads his arms wide and stares, his eyes glowing. His opponent crumbles into a mechanical heap. "Chester, for future reference, if you're not certain it's a robot, try leaving it in a shape which allows it to answer questions."

"It were one of Penny's, weren't it?"

"Probably, but you didn't know that."

"Fooker tries t'kill me, I'll kill him right back."

"Chester, I'm not saying 'don't cripple them', I'm just saying 'don't kill them before we can interrogate them if you can possibly avoid it'. If we don't know who we're fighting, we don't know who to strike back against."

"Dolmann's stuff is all remote operated. There wouldn't be anything t'salvage anyway."

"Lots of people build robots. The more intact they are, the better our chance of identifying them. Anyway." Chester looks for a moment like he wants to keep arguing the point, but he shrugs it off. "Moments later someone later identified as Jonathan Small -aka Tri-Man- flies through the front window of the shop containing Iname and Miss Selton."

We have surprisingly good footage of this part as well. Apparently, Metropolis is so well known for its superfights that shops invest in high quality cameras in the hope of getting sellable footage. I'm not sure whether to find that impressive or depressing. I am genuinely impressed by the speed at which Miss Amane reacts to their attacker, beaning him in the head with her handbag before grabbing a display stand to use as a weapon and signalling Doctor Robbins. The impact doesn't appear to hurt him, but being momentarily blinded causes him to veer off. Miss Selton reacts with wide-eyed astonishment before bringing her hands together in front of her and throwing a sheet of flame in Tri-Man's direction.

"A word of advice, Miss Selton? Creating broad swaths of fire in a room full of easily flammable objects should be avoided where at all possible."

"Um. Yeah. Okay."

"Short and precise ultra-hot bursts are the way to go when fighting for your life. Or running away."

"Ah." She glances at Chester. "You just told… Mister Black..?"

"Chester's a veteran professional. You're a teenaged civilian. I don't hold you to the same standards that I hold him." She nods. "Now, when Doctor Robbins gets the signal, she sends Mister Tawny and a group of G-Elves to the Centre for Paranormal Research-."

"Actually, I just meant to send the G-Elves." She glances at our newly-ascended Nishoba. "I didn't even realise that Mister Tawny could understand English."

"I am a fine example of a modern Tigris Sapien,
I'm combination Tiger, Man, and perhaps a little alien-."

"You don't need to prove it." Mister Tawny flicks his ears at her interruption. "I also sent a few drones, the ones with the advanced sensors. Those are what spotted the robot."

I nod. "I didn't see it pre-crushing. How big was it?"

Mister Tawny scratches his chin with the claw of his right index… Finger? "About eight metres, sole to scalp, and humanoid. I imagine that Ms Dolmann created it."

Vera nods. "The AI pilotin' it was The Brain. We used t' use it fer data analysis."

Chester exhales through his teeth. "Creepy fookin' thing."

"And the robot was flown into position by aerial drones -likewise invisible- which explains why no one crashed into it walking down busy Metropolis roads. And if we put the three images together-" I press a button on the holodisplay so that all three locations are showing, then play them from Chester sitting down. "-it looks like The Brain landed at the same time that Tri-Man launched his attack."

Vera nods. "So they both got their orders from Dolmann."

"While at the same time in Castle Doom I was busy pretending to be a child psychologist. So here's the question. Why? We knew that SHADE were interested in Miss Selton, but as far as anyone in…" I look at Vera. "Did your lot have a collective name?"

"Not realih."

"Kelly's Heroes knows, she's just one of many students at the Centre for Paranormal Research. Yes, one I've spoken to, but I've spoken to several and our first in-depth conversation was yesterday. That's not anything like enough time to build a giant robot, and I doubt that it's enough time to get one from the UK to the US either. Trying to snatch Lynne makes sense if they're trying to counter me, but why her?"

Doctor Robbins nods. "An informant? Do you think there's someone watching the Centre who tipped them off that you might be interested in her?"

"More likely a drone that removed itself once Dolmann realised that we could see through the invisibility, but it's possible. Except… I heard Kelly mention a 'Father T-' before Mister Kipling cut him off. And he mentioned 'friends'. The friends could be his superiors, but-."

"They could also be SHADE." Doctor Robbins turns to our tame Mancunians. "Either of you hear anything about your employers having anything to do with them?" A pair of shaking heads. "Okay, but so what? You think they made a deal with SHADE, trading information for Claire?"

"Could be. The other thing that bothers me is this." I shove the images of the ongoing fights between my people and Kelly's aside and open up a series of other pictures. "Kal-El doesn't respond to a fight in his own city because he's already dealing with a forest fire in California. Batman's been spending the day chasing around after someone called 'The Cluemaster' and apparently Doctor Poison has planted various toxic gasses in a number of cities and had the rest of the League rushing around to discover and defuse them. None of these cities-" I bring up a map. "-has a zeta tube, but each is within an hour's travelling distance of one that does. The League has zeta tubes in many major cities, and while their presence isn't exactly a secret, it isn't widely known. All that means that the Justice League has been fully occupied. We've been fully occupied and I strongly suspect that if I asked I'd find that my youthful former team mates were getting sent after Doctor Poison." I tap another button. "And there have been other crimes, keeping the attention of superheroes who aren't part of any larger groups. There isn't anything about today which suggests there's any reason for it to be a particularly high crime day, and the attackers don't have any known links."

"I was about to ask what's happening that no one with superpowers is around to see. But now I'm wondering who's looking after President Horne."

 

[Mr Zoat]

31st May
13:25 GMT -6

I frown into the middle distance as the White House Chief of Staff gives me the bad news over the construct-phone. "Adrian, are you seriously telling me that you don't know where the President of the United States of America is?"

"I had a meeting with the House Minority Leader, he had a security briefing. I… I mean, he can't just have disappeared. What's got you so worried?"

"All of the members of the Justice League are currently occupied and a group associated with SHADE has had a go at killing me. Plus, as I told you, they've got form."

"In a parallel universe. That doesn't mean-. Oh, hang on. Yeah? Okay, that's great. Panic over, we've found him."

"'Found' as in 'spoken to in person', or 'found' as in 'heard a voice over a telephone."

"Over a skype set. She saw his face, and Julie's known him for years. I'm not going to bust in on him because you're having an attack of the paranoids. There are things I'm not authorised to hear."

"Ah. In that case, I'm sorry to have troubled you."

"It's fine. I mean, I'm glad you're concerned, but in this case there's… Really no problem."

I look at the drone images in front of me, showing me the White House where a frenetic Adrian Myer is shouting at members of the Secret Service and is very definitely not on the phone to me. The voice is perfect, the manner of speech… Whoever's doing this is very good.

Not only are they good, Corpsman, they are not feeling even the slightest trace of fear.

I raise my eyebrows at the other people in the room, Miss Shimmer and my domitor. I couldn't begin to understand the inscriptions they've scrawled upon the floor but there's a definite sense of something or other going on. Mister Doom is holding a pendulum over a map and I can see a slight tugging.

"Okay. Would you mind seeing if you can find room for me in the diary? Nothing too urgent, but there are a few things the President needs to be apprised of."

"Can it wait for your next weekly meeting? The next few days are going to be kind of busy for us here."

Mister Doom looks my way and gives me a single sharp nod.

"Ah… Yes, I suppose. I'll send a written report through normal channels, give you a chance to read up on it."

"I'll look forward to getting that. Goodbye, Mister Grayven."

My construct-phone beeps as he hangs up. "Mister Doom?"

"They are in Washington DC, but I am afraid that your belief that they would be ignorant of the arcane may have been excessively optimistic. The map gives their location as the Washington Monument, which is clearly impossible. If you have your drones perform a thorough search, you may still find a trace of him."

Father Box, boom tube.

Ploong.

A portal opens, and I hear a few gasps as passers by hurry to get out of the way. "Mister Doom, would you please accompany me?"

He takes hold of his pendulum and nods again. "Of course. If I were to get closer it would be far easier for me to locate him."

Miss Shimmer looks a little nervous. "Do you need me as well?"

I shake my head. "Not unless you've become an expert battlemage in the last few months. Thank you for your assistance."

"You're welcome." For a moment she looks like she wants to say something else, but then slightly lowers her head.

I raise my right hand to my ear as Mister Doom heads through the tube and looks around him. "Chester, Vera, Iname, immediate deployment. We're heading to the Washington Monument. Tawny, Jean, secondary targets." Then I stride through the tube myself, closing it behind me.

31st May
14:28 GMT -5

Surprisingly, my presence seems to calm the crowd somewhat. Sinestro, find him. I've invested too much-.

Corpsman.

Sorry. The people who tried to abduct my daughter are currently winning.

Better. I can't find him, but there does appear to be a chamber below us.

Right. "Mister Doom? Anything new?"

"I am very much afraid-" My three colleagues step out of thin air. "-not."

"Manchester Black, scan everything." He hesitates for a second, then nods, his eyes glowing a ghastly black-tinted green colour. And I focus. This was far easier with the orange ring, but I can still use my yellow ring to see fear. I know from looking in a mirror that it turns my eyes into glowing points of bright yellow light surrounded by darkness. Like Parallax itself were staring out of my face. A quick check that it's working -Chester fears powerlessness most strongly, Vera fears for him and Miss Amane fears failing me- and I look downwards.

Got you.

"No idea who grabbed the President, but I can feel the man himself clear as day." Chester's eyes normalise. "Right below us."

I look his way again, prompting him to frown as he sees my eyes. I blink them back to normal before nodding. "I agree."

Vera raises her eyebrows very slightly, shifting her forearms into their weapon configurations. "We going in by hush tube?"

Are we? Yes, of course. Tempting as making a giant yellow boring machine and burrowing through the ground is, whoever deposited him down there might just spot that and either kill him or-. Sinestro, teleport jam.

I was wondering when that would occur to you.

I've had a rough day. Father Box, open a hush tube close as you can to those coordinates and send in.. drone squadron two.

Ploong.

The reason I have subordinates is because they're useful. Yes, it's not exactly dramatic, but I'm standing next to a Human magician who is keeping a nontrivial amount of my soul in a small box. I'm feeling unusually cautious today.

Ploong.

Same to you. Alright, getting feedback from the drones. One President Horne, one… Muscular looking guy with a goatee. Looks familiar from somewhere. Sinestro, who is that man?

Doctor Joel Baines Cochin, Corpsman. I see that SHADE has high standards for its agents. He's a three-time Nobel Prize winner.

I've yet to see a man outthink my fists. I send the drones further in, moving around the subterranean workshop. Computers and.. a part-built robo-president. Excellent.

"One target, an unarmed scientist." I generate a construct of the room. "No real reason not to take him alive, but since he's probably going to be executed anyway don't strain yourselves. Ready?" I get nods. Father Box, hush tube.

I toss a flashbang through first, let it detonate, then step through myself.

 

[Mr Zoat]

31st May
14:30 GMT -5

I form a fusion cannon on my right forearm and point it at Doctor Cochin, who blinks to clear his eyes. "Hands where I can see them, Doctor."

"Gra-." President Horne looks somewhat the worse for wear. His suit is scuffed and torn, his face is cut and a magnetic sensor balaclava has been put over his head. "Grayven?"

"I apologise for the delay, Mister President. These bastards had someone take a shot at my daughter. You alright?"

"I'll... I'll mend."

Chester and Vera appear behind Doctor Cochin at the far end of the workshop. The Doctor himself doesn't seem unduly troubled by this. Oh, he looks over his shoulders one after the other to confirm their relative position, but he doesn't move otherwise. If anything, he looks a little bored.

Hmm.

"Chester, crush his robot, would you?"

"Sure thing, cock." He raises his right hand melodramatically, eyes glowing. Then he makes a sort of slapping motion, the partially complete president-bot coming apart at the seams.

I keep staring at Doctor Cochin. I think he might have just sighed a little, but that's about it. "Doctor Joel Cochin, you're-."

"Baines."

"Excuse me?"

"Professionally. Baines Cochin. I long ago decided that 'Joel' was too plebeian for someone of my abilities."

"Alright. B-Man, you're under arrest, dawg." Still no real reaction. Not hopelessness… Something's off here. "Though I think it unlikely, you may find the courts more merciful if you-."

"Why do you insist on doing that?"

Never pass up an opportunity to learn something of your opponent. "Doing what?"

"You aren't a well-educated brute. You don't even really like playing up to it all that much. And yet, you insist on doing it. I can only assume that you do so to be tiresome. If we could perhaps skip ahead a little? I am perfectly capable of writing and memorising the computer code my automaton requires in my head. You are not distracting me significantly."

"Yeah… And what were you planning on running that code on?"

"The robot I build after I either kill you or detach your arms and legs and blind you. I haven't decided which as of yet." He raises his left hand to his shoulder, pointing at Vera. "Miss Black I will kill. Mister Black I will almost certainly leave alive. I think that his abilities will remain useful to me."

"Think I might not be all that keen on werkin' for yeh if yeh killed me sister."

Doctor Cochin ignores him. "Do you know what the worst thing about telepathy is, Mister Grayven?"

"Finding out how boring people really are?"

"Close, but I already knew that the Human race was -by and large- insipid. No, it's finding out what sort of people telepathy itself is wasted on. Chester Black is a telepath and telekinetic almost without-."

"Telekine."

For the first time I see something other than boredom in his expression. "Excuse me?"

"Telekine. A telekine is someone with telekinetic abilities who can perform feats of telekinesis. It's one of those irregular-."

The workbench hits me in the face too fast for me to create a construct barrier. I'm knocked back a half-step as a combination of environmental shield and divine resistance absorbs what has to be five hundred pounds of metal travelling at about ten metres per second. My vision is momentarily obscured but I clearly hear a fizz as Vera opens fire and Chester's grunt as he struggles to apply telekinetic force.

"You see, I doubt that I've spent more than-" I shove the workbench aside and raise my right arm, fusion cannon glowing. "-a few hours with 'telekinetic abilities'-" Doctor Cochin is standing in the middle of a whirling bubble of green-black power. What's Chester doing? "-in my life, and I can already use the ability better-" The shield buckles slightly where Chester points, Vera rapidly deciding to abandon her coilguns for plasma. "-than the infamous Chester Black."

Doctor Cochin's eyes glow green-black, and Chester grabs his head with both hands.

"Gah!"

"I wasn't expecting you to win, but this is weak." His eyes glow again, and I feel a slight pressure around my mental shields. "Ah, that's a little better." Vera's plasma fails to breach his telekinetic barrier, so with a snarl she switches to purple death rays. "Perhaps I should reintroduce myself, Mister Grayven. I am-." His face twitches as Vera's beams strike his side, passing through his telekinetic barrier as if it weren't there. "Excuse me." He turns away from me towards Vera, a wave of green-black energy connecting them briefly as she goes flying backwards with her forearms crumpled. "There." He turns back around. "I am Agent Paragon of SHADE. 'Paragon' as in, better than everyone else. I'm stronger than you. I'm a better telepath than Chester Black and-" His body blurs and Miss Amane pinwheels out of the air next to him. I generate a grav-chute construct to catch her. "-faster than Amane Misa. I'm also more intelligent than President Horne, but let's be frank: that's no great challenge."

"So, what?" Sinestro, status of Vera and Chester? "You're SHADE's supersoldier? I'll admit to being impressed with your abilities, but I can't see why you're working for them."

"You just had your power ring check the health of your subordinates."

O-kay, that's a little worrying. My mental shields are… Still there. Is he just good at reading people?

"And no. SHADE didn't make me. Fortuitous genetics made me the fine specimen of metahumanity you see here today."

Vera will need her arms replaced and Chester might well have concussion.

Beside me Miss Amane brings her warscythe to a guard position. Okay, Doctor Cochin is clearly the talkative sort. I need more information. Does he just happen to have speed and telepathy? I had been considering experimenting to see whether a cloned copy of Chester's brain would survive the Garrick Formula…

"So what can you do, exactly?"

"I combine all of the abilities of everyone within a radius of about five miles. Not robots, but everyone else goes into making me me. I was a little surprised that my abilities work on you… But becoming a god is only my due, really."

Hm. If he's using the intelligence of everyone within five miles it's probably far easier for him to learn telepathy than it is for Chester. And add to that my own divine aura of conquest boosting it…

I fire my fusion cannon while simultaneously firing cold fields at the air around him. "Iname, flee."

"Master, I-!"

"Now. Ten miles."

There's a crackle in the air as Doctor Cochin hits a cold field. "Ow!" If he's using my toughness as well-.

Ah fuck.

"Mister Doom, drain as much from me as you can without killing-" There's a wave of displaced air as Miss Amane runs. "-me."

There's another series of crackles as the cold fields are remotely triggered in a wave of green-black guh.

This time I'm ready. This time my environmental shield keeps me upright. But that doesn't seem to have slowed down Doctor Cochin anything like as much as I'd hoped that it would.

"Yes, yes. Remove my sources of power. Even yourself. But you see Mister Grayven, there are still hundreds of thousands of people within my range providing me with str-."

I take my radion blaster out of subspace and shoot him in the face.

 

[Mr Zoat]

31st May
14:34 GMT -5

I drop the radion blaster to the floor to recharge and lunge forward as he staggers back from the shot. Radion blasters aren't just deadly poisonous to us New Gods, they hit every bit as hard as normal blasters as well. I pull my daiklave to my hand as he begins to recover. The flesh has been burnt from his face, his eyes are destroyed -hah!- and the bone of his jaw is clearly visible around his mouth. Something around here is making him very tough and it certainly isn't me at the moment.

Yellow filaments flick out ahead of me, triggering the last two cold fields between us and clearing the way for my melee assault. As I begin my swing his empty eye sockets flare the familiar green-black and a wave of that same light expands outwards from him in all directions, passing over my environmental shield with no noticeable effect. My daiklave comes around towards his neck and his head turns towards it, the glare from his eye holes intensifying as he tries to push it away.

Normally I'd just… Power through, but… Agh…

I plant my feet and generate construct armour around myself as I try to wrestle my daiklave forwards. I can feel him scrabbling around the outside of my mental shields, and while they're good, with my divine aura's reinforcement basically gone they aren't inviolable. Sinestro, psi-baffle.

Added. The pressure doesn't vanish, but it does fall away somewhat. Though I would warn you-.

That he still isn't even slightly afraid and the only good source of fear is President Horne. I know. But now that I've got-

I make a little progress forwards.

-his full-

My right hand goes to the pommel and I shove the point of the daiklave towards his green-black glowing face.

-attention…

"Drones, fire."

Five drones drop stealth around the room, their blasters and purple death rays orientating on Doctor Cochin. His wide-spread telekinetic field lets him feel them almost immediately, the small wavering of his concentration allowing me to get the point of my blade to within a centimetre of his chest. I held the drones back because he could destroy them easily with Chester's abilities. But now? Now he can't afford to divert his efforts from stopping my sword.

"Gggguuuuraaaaaahhh!"

Beams and bolts strike his back and his sides. Automatic targeting is much less accurate than shots made with my spiritual guidance but that's offline until Mister Doom re-empowers me. The punishment he's taken makes his concentration waver again, and I start to feel the first trickle of fear.

Then the tip of my daiklave strikes his chest, biting into the left side of his chest between the second and third rib and cutting neatly through the flesh. I don't know exactly how far his toughness is boosted by his powers but it isn't anything like tough enough to stop an x-ionised sword.

"RAAAAAGH!"

His jaw falls open, his partially destroyed tongue flaps and his flesh evaporates as his telekinetic field collapses and the shots from my drones strike home unimpeded. My daiklave shoots forwards and I'm forced to use my armour's strength to hold it back.

Then I smile, and slice left.

His head and shoulders fall to the floor while his body remains upright for a moment. The continued fire from the purple death rays means that the blood doesn't spurt but it does pump and flow at a considerable rate.

"Drones, cease fire and resume cloak."

The fire cuts out immediately and the drones vanish.

I look down at Doctor Cochin's head, then pull the radion blaster back into my right hand and obliterate it completely with a single shot.

"Drones, heal my companions." Revitalising purple light plays over Chester and Vera. Chester stirs to life while Vera raises her ruined arms slightly and curses under her breath. "Don't move. Some of the cold fields are still active." I dismiss my construct armour and raise my right hand to my ear. "Sterling work, Mister Doom. Now, please restore me."

"Is the President well?"

I turn to where President Horne is perking up slightly under the influence of the purple healing ray. "He's been better, but nothing that a little rest won't cure."

"Very well. I should warn you that the loss in transition-."

"Don't worry about it. I'm already planning to spend tomorrow sitting on the mana infuser and doing as little as possible."

"As you wish."

I wait a moment and oh that's better. Now to-.

"Bit slow off the mark, weren't you?"

I half turn, making momentary eye contact with Vera. "I'm afraid that I'm the thinky type. We can go over what you want with your replacement prosthesis tomorrow."

"Oh, aye." She maintains eye contact for a moment, then turns to her recumbent brother. She takes two steps towards Chester and then nudges him with her right boot. "Oop you get, lazybones."

"Fukof."

I walk over to President Horne, stowing my daiklave on my back and my radion blaster in subspace as I do so. "Feeling better, sir?"

"Much." He nods. "Thank you."

I reach around his head, pull his balaclava up over his head and take a careful look at him. Sinestro?

No implants that I can detect. No bacterial, viral or nanotech agents. Some drug residue but the purple healing ray has dealt with it.

Good show. I reach down to the clamps holding his arms in place and pull them apart. "Soon have you out, sir."

"My family, are my family safe?"

"Their Secret Service bodyguard is presently being augmented by my people. Little gets past the G-Gnomes." I kneel and rip the clamps off his legs. "Can you walk?"

"Yeah, ah…" He staggers free, stretching his legs and trying to bring them back to life. "What about the Republicans?"

Huh? "I.. doubt they were involved, sir. He clearly said-."

"No, they… He said, they only bothered picking me up because they were starting to think I could win the election next year. Which means they're probably going to target the potential Republican nominees. And if they're ready to grab me out of the White House I can't think of a reason for them to wait."

"Mister President, I have finite resources. I need to see you safe first." But he's got a point. Trying to arrest and dissect political opponents is awkward at the best of times. I stand, raising my right hand to my ear. "Doctor Robbins, send Miss Iname and groups of Genomorphs to the locations of the top… Three? People most likely to be the Republican candidates for the White House next year. Senator Knight and… What'stheirnames…"

"Already on it."

"Good." I lower my hand. "Father Box, boom tube to the Oval Office."

"Ploong."

President Horne looks puzzled. "What's a 'boom-'?"

BANG!

He jerks back, shielding his face with his right hand. "Aren't those usually quieter?"

"The President got kidnapped. Now is not the time to take the Secret Service by surprise."

"I suppose not. Well?"

I put construct armour around him before stepping through the portal. Six agents point their side arms at me. "Chill out, guys. Just me."

"Grayven!" Mister Myer emerges from behind the huddle. "Have you found-?"

"I'm okay, Adrian." President Horne walks through the boom tube. "Everyone, stand down." The guns are lowered, though the agents look decidedly unhappy with the situation. "Patrick." He looks at one of the agents. "The room where I was being held is on the other side of-" He glances back. "-that thing, along with the remains of my captor. Secure it."

"Yes sir."

Mister Myer hurries up to him as the Secret Service personnel dash past. "Jon, let me get you a doctor. You should-."

President Horne holds up his right hand to ward him off. "I'm fine, Adrian. I'm fine. What I want you to do for me is get a press conference assembled. I need to address the American people."

Myer looks at him sceptically. "Are you.. sure you-?"

"Never surer. Get it done."

 

[Mr Zoat]

31st May
15:04 GMT -5

I lean down slightly-. I check our immediate surroundings and crouch, bringing my mouth down to roughly the level of Mister Myer's ear. "Mister Myer, are you sure this is… Really a good idea?"

He watches as members of President Horne's media relations team scurry around to get things ready for his speech. His Press Secretary -a woman named Susan Elseth- appears to have given up on trying to dissuade him and is alternating between pacing and biting her right thumbnail. "Maybe. Maybe not." He tilts his head to the left for a moment. "And call me Adrian."

"Okay… Adrian… I ask because I know Humans-."

He look at me with his eyebrows slightly raised. "I know you don't quite get Human social mores, but that's usually the point where you'd tell me your first name."

I'm pretty sure that this isn't how press conferences are supposed to be organised. Horne himself is off in an office somewhere with Adrian's deputy.

"Apokoliptians don't go in for the personal name/family name name structure. Grayven is the entirety of my name." I don't know what's going to happen. That.. bothers me. "My sister in law took the second part of my brother's name as a family name when they moved to Earth, but that was just to help with fitting in."

"Oh, I hadn't realised. So your daughter is..?"

"Lynne Wayland. She kept her original name after I adopted her. Look, what exactly is the President planning?"

He looks away, nodding to himself. "You, ah… You actually study Jon's campaign? Any of his elections?"

"No. But I've invested quite a lot of time in-."

"You don't hear me complaining about you not giving us any idea what you were planning on saying when you got your Presidential Medal of Freedom. That whole 'trials in absentia' thing gave me a lot of work."

"Yes, I get that. And… I'm very nearly sorry. But I'm asking you-."

He chuckles under his breath. "Sorry. Oh… Jon… Jon's a good friend of mine. We've know each other for decades. He's a good man, a good administrator. But I'll admit that I don't think anyone's ever accused him of having the sort of presence or charisma a really great statesman has." He nods to himself. "Just occasionally, though-."

He cuts himself off as President Horne marches towards us down the corridor, Secret Service detail hurrying along behind him. "Adrian, they ready for me?"

"Yes sir."

The President looks up at me. "How are the loyal opposition?"

"Knight wants to talk to you now. The others are accepting my protection at face value."

He nods. "Bring Knight here, I'll talk to him right after this."

"Yes, Mister President. May I ask-?"

He smiles. "Keep watching. I'll think you'll like what I have to say."

"Yes, but-." I hesitantly raise my right hand as he brushes me off and walks past me, members of the press corps jumping to their feet as he comes into view and heads to the podium.

Oh, I am off my game. I should have been able to encourage him to at least give me a clue with my spiritual force… No. I need to settle things with Doom before I try that again.

President Horne takes his place and looks around the room at the press corps, making eye contact with a few and giving the occasional nod. "Ladies and Gentlemen of the press, everyone tuned in at home… Thank you for getting together on such short notice. There are a few things I'd like to talk to you about today, but I think the first item I need to tell you about is that a little over three hours ago I was kidnapped in broad daylight from this very building by a super powered criminal."

There are a few gasps, but it isn't the first time a President has been targeted by a supervillain.

"As best as the Secret Service and my associate Mister Grayven have been able to determine, his intent was to copy my brain and then replace me with a robot duplicate. The separation of powers means that taking control of the Oval Office wouldn't be quite enough to suborn the government of America, but it would have allowed his sponsors to advance their agenda contrary to the interests and the democratically expressed will of the American people."

"And perhaps the worst part of what happened is that this wasn't a costumed lunatic. No, this was something far worse. This action to circumvent our democracy was organised and funded by a federal agency." Eyes widen. "I don't know how many of you remember the All Star Squadron. It was the government run superhero organization set up during World War Two to try and make a capable but disparate group of men and women into something we could use to beat the Nazis and the Japanese. To that end, the War Office brought together not just superheroes but intelligence people and experts in unconventional warfare, people whose job it was to make sure our people were where they needed to be and knew what they needed to know in order to get the job done. After the war, that part of the organisation became a federal agency called SHADE, the Super Human Advanced Defence Executive. Even today, they train and educate people throughout federal and state law enforcement in how to handle metahumans and supervillains."

"And it's those sons of bitches that just tried to have me killed."

President Horne takes a moment to gather his thoughts, his eyes drifting over the assembled news crews. "You know... I always figured that if something like this happened, it would be the NSA. Guess I owe those guys an apology."

I raise my right hand to my ear. "Grayven to Doctor Robbins. Hush tube Senator Knight to my position at your discretion."

"Will do, Gray. I'll be happy to stop listening to him moaning at the Genomorphs."

"…imagine what they hoped to gain by doing this, but the best I've been able to guess is that they think that there's something lacking in my response to recent superhuman attacks. Hesitancy is something I've been accused of on more than one occasion, and it's an accusation that I think it's time I addressed."

"Some members of the Republican party… Even some members of my own party, accused me of doing nothing in the aftermath of the Roanoke Island incident. And more than a few took the opportunity to run their mouths off about what they would have done, or what I was doing wrong. And it's true, I did not come up with any new policy initiative in the immediate aftermath. You want to know why? The truth is, not only did I not know the first thing about magic but hardly anyone in the US federal government knows anything about it. There was a truly astonishing gap in our knowledge and therefore in our ability to defend ourselves. What I was doing -rather than blowing a whole lot of hot air- was reaching out to our allies in Atlantis and to those Americans who do know something about the subject so that I could form informed policy."

"While I was doing that, Senator Knight brought forward a Bill that would have criminalized the few people in this country capable of helping us prevent anything like that happening again without doing a single thing to impede our enemies. And I seem to recall that he got an awful lot of good press out of it." Senator Knight walks out of a hush tube just in front of me, quickly orientating himself towards the stage. "A Bill which was brought up by King Orin during our discussions as a matter of considerable concern to his people, because virtually every Atlantean is a magic user. And as far as American citizens go… For God's sake, you don't close the nuclear missile gap by arresting nuclear physicists or rocket scientists. You close it by putting them to work for you."

Senator Knight's eyes widen. "Oh, you God damned…"

"And as for Senator Cray's idea of conscripting US superheroes… Senator, you're welcome to try serving Superman draft papers if you like, but this administration will have no part in it."

"What this administration will do is hunt down those criminals lurking in our government institutions. What this administration will do is bring forward laws that will allow law enforcement officials to use greater degrees of force in apprehending or if necessary killing super powered criminals. What this administration will do is create a new federal agency with a remit to study and where appropriate act against super powered threats to the citizens of this country. And in all these things this administration will be guided by evidence, not by rumor or fear-mongering."

"As of right now, SHADE no longer exists. Every federal agent acting under SHADE's authority now has a warrant out for their arrest. I will say to all those agents not involved in the conspiracy to replace me: hand yourselves in. You will be interviewed and then most likely released immediately. And to SHADE's senior employees, those who intentionally evaded congressional oversight for decades and just tried to kill their Commander-in-Chief… We're coming for you. And there isn't going to be any place where you can hide."

 

[Mr Zoat]

31st May
17:15 GMT -5

Mister Doom sets down the datapad he was reading from, his mouth turned down in distaste. "To think that they have fallen so far."

I take a moment to regard him across the table. "Are you satisfied as to the authenticity of the information?"

He looks directly at me. "Are you?"

"Yes, for the most-." Grh. "Could you… Not do that, please?"

"Hm." He picks up the pad again. "I see that a good deal of this was acquired from the League of Shadows."

"Yes."

"I have -upon occasion- had dealings with them myself. How would you characterise your relationship with them?"

I pause for a half-moment. No compulsion effect. "Thank you." A slight dip of his eyes. "I have a good working relationship with Ra's al Ghul and I am romantically involved with a serving Shadow. We're trying to-."

His eyes narrow. "You have a good… Working… I would like an explanation for that."

I briefly consider answering 'she needed the training and stayed on because she likes the work environment', but decide against it. "Ra's al Ghul makes money through murder, extortion and the selling of intelligence. So -more or less- do most nation states. More to the point, he has a longer term view than most rulers. He and I are part of an alliance which aims to improve the lot of Human civilisation. Part of our work requires the sorts of operatives that he commands. Not an ideal situation, obviously, but I hope to gradually encourage him to redirect his energies towards the less malevolent part of his work."

"The League of Shadows has been a pestilence on this world for over two hundred years."

"So I kill Ra's, and every League of Shadows cell on the planet goes underground. Someone grabs one of his hair follicles and sticks it in a Lazarus Pit. I lose him as a source and interrupt League operations hardly at all. Ra's voluntarily signed up with an organisation that is finally kick-starting the schizo tech revolution this planet has been crying out for for seventy years. I've even got plans for America's first magic school, and after today I think I can count on President Horne's support. I can't reliably stop him, but by establishing a rapport I can channel him."

"…had enough thinking time." The door to the meeting room is shoved open and Chester storms through. "Well?" He stares at me, throwing up his hands. "We goin' and getting' the bastards or what?"

I meet his stare calmly. "Or what."

"Are you serious? After everythin' that happened today, you're just gonna let them get away with it?"

"Chester, we weren't acting because we lack the information necessary to create a replacement government. Has anything that happened today-"

"The fook is your-"

"-changed that?"

"-problem!" He takes a right turn and starts pacing. "They try killin' me? Fine, just another rosy day at the office." He swivels sharply, facing me again. "But they went aftah Lynne! A school fulla kids! In America, which I'm shower is gunna go down great with your pal Jon Horne. What-?"

"Chester." I point to the far side of the room.

"What?" He frowns, looking around. "You playin' with dolls now?"

"Those are the original robots used by Eric Dolmann. I acquired them from Penny Dolmann's home half an hour ago. In their place, I left a robotic representation of her. Turn the key in the back and it bleeds from every orifice before exploding."

"'s start." He turns back around. "But what else?"

"Chester, I am completely furious about what happened. But fundamentally, nothing has changed except that the opposition have lost some resources. And before too long they will lose their allies in SHADE as well."

Most SHADE-certified agents responded to President Horne's edict almost immediately. Might take a while to process them, but as General Lane told me: most of them didn't know that SHADE was an actual organisation. Those who did and tried going to ground will be brought in presently.

Those conversations will be less polite.

"I am simply not prepared to send a civilised country collapsing into anarchy because one particular offence was personal. The timetable remains in effect. Continue your work. Once I have completed Vera's new arms I will send her to join you once more. Once you have completed your task, then we will move against our adversaries directly."

He tilts his head noticeably to the left, continuing to stare at me. "Are y-? Fine. Fine." He waves his right arm dismissively in my general direction and then he trudges back out of the door. He slams it behind him as he leaves.

I watch the door for a moment before during back to Mister Doom. "Is there anything else you would like to ask?"

"No, I don't believe so." He rises, pushing back his chair as he does so. "I do not trust you, Mister Grayven. But I find that I struggle to strongly disagree with those things that you have done to date. And I doubt that anyone else is engaged in the work of restoring the government of Britain to moral probity as you intend to. I will continue to watch you, however. If I detect any sign that your associates are converting you to their methods more than you are converting them to yours… You may well imagine what I will do."

"No."

His eyebrows rise very slightly. "Excuse me?"

"I am not prepared to be brought into line with threats. You just told me that you agree with what I'm doing. Do you make a habit of threatening your allies?"

"I would hardly describe us as that."

"Why ever not? In fact, why are you not volunteering to provide me with information yourself? The more I learn, the faster and more precisely I can act. The lower the quantity of collateral damage."

"Because I have been absent from this world for some time. Before I take such a risk, I would learn more about you and those whom you describe as your friends. I have no desire to unseat one corrupt establishment merely to replace it with another."

"Then join in. You can keep a better watch on me standing next to me than you can from a castle that is even now being occupied by armed police. And once you have assured yourself that I am genuine, you would be better placed to shape policy to something that is… Appropriately non-villainous."

"That is…" He bows his head and narrows his eyes as he considers the suggestion. "Not something I will reject out of hand, but… No, not yet." He looks up again. "But in the spirit of future cooperation, would you be so good as to open a portal that would return me to my customary abode? I believe that I have uninvited guests to evict."

"Certainly. Just as soon as you return the rest of my soul." His face tightens slightly. "I know perfectly well that knowing its shape gives you very nearly as many options for acting against me as holding it. But you having it diminishes me, makes me less capable. Apokoliptian technology works on the spiritual strength of the one wielding it. You taking a tough line on this could get me and mine killed. Not to mention the fact that it's damn rude."

He regards me passively for a moment. "I.. suppose that you may have a point. Very well." He raises his right hand and ah! Back in business! "But I will warn you: having granted you this reprieve I will now take any backsliding on your part as a personal insult."

I smile. "Then I will avoid giving you cause. Father Box, if you would?"

"Ploong."

The hole in space opens and Cursitor Doom sweeps majestically through it before it closes down.

I wait for a moment, then slip my new goggles over my eyes and check the area. Nothing that I can see. Sinestro?

So far as I can determine, Corpsman, the area is clear.

Good good. I rise and head for the door, gently pushing it open and walking out.

 

[Mr Zoat]

31st May
17:22 GMT -5

Chester falls in behind me as I walk in the direction of my secure communications room. "You all back in full werkin' order, then?"

"More or less. I didn't get back everything, but the reduction in power isn't anything significant."

He doesn't say anything for a moment. "Well?"

"Thank you, Chester. Very well done." I smile what I suspect is a moderately sinister smile. "Completely in line with your established character. I'm not sure how critical it was in convincing him that my actions were rational and sagacious, but I'm sure it played a part."

"Now that's somethin' I didn't get in me last job."

"What?"

"People sayin' 'thank you'. I mean, I'm still not exactly jumpin' fer joy about not going in and toppin' the wankers right now, but I get what you were sayin'."

"Good man."

"Still wanna know what took you so long with that Paragon prat."

I place my hand against the palm scanner leading to the Light's internal communication chamber. "I didn't know the full extent of his abilities and as far as I could tell your lives weren't immediately in danger. While it was generous of him to volunteer information about his capabilities, I couldn't just assume that he was telling the truth. Incidentally-" I turn my head to look at him. "-you should be certain to never do that."

"No fookin' fear, cock."

"In addition, my normal… Instincts, were absent due to what Mister Doom had done to me. If I left you hanging as a result, I apologise."

"To tell the truth, I'm more pissed off about him beatin' me at me own game. You wouldn't know any way t' help with that, by any chance?"

"I am happy to make the Awakening available to you. You may wish to train with the G-Gnomes. If so, consult Jean. There are… Amplification devices I could build for you, but most of the best utilise Apokoliptian technology. Files are on the database. Work out exactly what you want and I'll be only too happy to put it together for you."

"Eh, I'll take a gandeh." He nods at the door. "What you need to talk to the old Secret Society a' Super Villains about?"

"It's not easy to organise the infamously fractious supervillain fraternity to act in concert. Even just making the contacts you'd need to pay them to do it is a task fraught with difficulty. Now, SHADE might have done it using salvaged equipment, Doctor Cochin's power duplication and their own contacts… But the other group who could..?"

Chester frowns. "Your pals? What for?"

"Damned if I know, but I've been burned before for not checking what they were up to and I'm not about to do it again. Do you want anything else?"

"Nah. I'll go an' see how Vera's doin'."

I nod, then return my attention to the door. A quick tap and the force fields disengage and the bars unbar, allowing the door to fold away into subspace. I slowly walk into the room, the system already acknowledging my presence. Lights go from 'off' to 'conspiratorially dim' and the monitors which will show the faces of my fellow Light members activate.

"Mister Grayven. It is good to see you again."

Brain's already here then. I wonder if he ever leaves? Certainly, he could just leave his connection live at all times. His chassis isn't really designed for moving around a lot. "Brain. Hope you're keeping well." Wonder if he named himself after the other one? The Brain was built in nineteen sixty six, and when I finally got access to his university records I found that he was born in seventy eight, so… Might have done.

"Oh, like this, like that. I had until recently been involved in untangling the geometry of a parallel universe somewhat unlike this one. That it defied my analysis was a source of some frustration, given the timeline… But, I believe that I am making progress."

"Alien geometries aren't really my thing, but if there's anything I can help with..?"

"Perhaps I should say no more until we are all-" Savage's monitor comes on, followed a moment later by the one belonging to Ra's. "-fully assembled."

"Savage. Ra's. I apologise for the short notice."

"That is quite alright, Grayven." Savage looks… Happy. Hopefully that just means that someone's delivered him a new truckload of underage baboons, but I'm always a little nervous when Captain Caveman looks pleased about something. "With matters advancing, it is important to ensure that all members of the Light are on the same page."

Ra's' face appears to be in neutral at the moment. I give him a nod as the screen for Lex comes on and his eyes flick in the direction of each screen as he confirms who's already here. I nod to him as well -getting one in return- then focus my attention on the screen for Mordru.

I give him twelve seconds. "Our.. Noble Friend does know how to work-?" Mordru's face appears, though he doesn't appear to have actually turned the thing on. Some sort of communication spell using the technological link as an arcane one. Sort of impressive that he can do it while also showing a degree of laziness that he hasn't bothered to learn to use the same technology as the rest of us. A possible weakness?

"Now then, Grayven." Savage leans forwards slightly. "What is it that you wish to discuss?"

"Today's attacks across America. SHADE's being blamed, but I wanted to make sure that it wasn't us before I perjured myself." Lex chuckles quietly, bowing his head. "So, was it?"

Savage nods. "I felt that it would be useful if the Justice League were fully engaged while I saw to certain matters."

I nod. I would like it if someday he managed to surpass my expectations in a good way. "Business or pleasure?"

"Both."

Of course it was. I don't roll my eyes. "I misspoke. Light business or personal business?"

"The final destruction of the Justice League."

…

I fan out my hands. "Did I miss a meeting?"

"No, Gra-."

"Because I understood that becoming a member of the Light meant that I got told what was happening. I don't remember us discussing killing the Justice League in concrete terms. I certainly don't remember voting on it. So what happened?"

At least Savage isn't smiling any longer. "The matter was decided upon before you joined us. Your being here does grant a certain… Flexibility that did not exist before."

"For future reference, Savage, I expect to be notified of plans I'm involved in."

"The original version did not involve you. The League would simply be drawn to the battleground of our choosing and eliminated. Without the protection of the Earth's premier super heroes, the nations of mankind would be forced to look to their own protections. Now, an alternative has presented itself."

Eliminated? A nuclear weapon of sufficient yield would probably do it, but the League don't habitually gather in the same place on Earth. "And what would that be?"

"That we may have our cake and eat it, Mister Grayven." I switch my attention to Brain. "Your argument that at the Earth's current level of technology certain threats are best met by superheroes was most convincing. In the original plan, we would have simply… Taken the risk. But… You have excellent relations with the governments of both China and the United States. Worldwide, you are a very popular man."

Lex nods. "We have one or two other operatives in mind, but the ideal outcome for us is for the entire League to die. You would then replace them with a new team, working in accordance with guidelines set by the Light."

"And how exactly are we planning on killing the Justice League?"

"Grayven."

I don't like the way Mordru is grinning.

"Have you ever heard of the King of Tears?"