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

[Mr Zoat]

10th July
15:03 GMT

"Fifth of November, at around about twenty two hundred hours local time." I don't look at Mister J'onzz. [**Oh gods. This is actually going to happen, isn't it?**]

Mister J'onzz winces, his right hand going to his forehead.

"If the ring had been functional, I'd have grabbed the Helmet out of Mister Zatara's hands and dumped it on an asteroid somewhere. If my sidearm had any rounds left, I'd have shot it. I don't know what the rest of you who were there were thinking. I-."
Truth.
"But I've thought about it. And I haven't been able to come up with anything which suggests competence or moral probity. Not without being very charitable. A few seconds after he put it on, while my team mates were comforting Zatanna-."

Batman's head rises slightly. "You spoke to John Constantine."

"You remembered." I nod. "Yes. I arranged to meet up with him later. I needed to get the ring working again before trying anything else."

Superman frowns. "It was that simple? You decided to kill him right there and then?"

"No."
Truth.
"I decided that I needed to work out how to kill him right there and then. Without harming the host if at all possible. There's no such thing as a non-lethal weapon or a non-lethal attack. Anything we did that could harm him would have the potential to kill him."
Truth.
"Had I been in the position to use a lethal attack on him right then and there, I most likely would have done. I didn't, and I had not yet formed a considered opinion."

"Robin told me that you and Zatanna disappeared from the Mountain."

"We went to London. Our first attempt to resolve the problem of Nabu was to appeal to his superior. A life form that identified itself as Lord Kilderkin. It was of the opinion that since Nabu could do more good with Mister Zatara's body than Mister Zatara himself could there wasn't really a problem. He also -and I didn't realise this until much later- indicated that he knew that your response would not -as I had assumed- be to hound Nabu to the ends of the Earth, but rather to make him a member of the Justice League."

"We had made no such decision at that time."

"No, but he had a vote during the last recruitment cycle, didn't he? Usually, a new recruit wouldn't be able to vote themselves on board. Or argue their own case in person. In any case, Kilderkin clearly understood your behaviour far better than I do."

"Ah, but, Zatara still had a vote." William looks mildly pleased to have spotted a flaw in my argument. "And he said-."

"Did he, William? Did he take the Helmet off and tell you that?"

"Well… No-."

"So what you're saying is, Nabu said that his slave was cool with being a slave. And you took that at face value. Well done." William's face falls. "Oh, don't feel too bad, the 'world's greatest detective' did too."

If that bothered Batman, he doesn't show it. "Kilderkin was not prepared to come to terms?"

"He said that he would be far more amenable to negotiation if Klarion were dead. He made no indication that there was anything else we could do to gain his aid."

Batman nods. "And then?"

"A group of us got together and discussed the situation. We realised that we didn't know enough about what Lords of Order or Chaos were to make any firm plans for freeing Mister Zatara. So, that was our first order of business."

Diana's jaw sets. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I didn't have any concrete information and because I didn't know if you were proof against things that Nabu could do to compel you to reveal information. The fewer people who know, the smaller the risk of a leak."
Truth.
"Though my trust was a little shaken by your decision to lie about what happened, I still believed that you were planning some sort of offensive action."

Batman waits for a moment, but she doesn't say anything else. He returns his attention to me. "How long did it take you to discover anything of note?"

"On the thirteenth of November we reviewed Kent Nelson's diaries. While the one covering the period in which he and his father first encountered Nabu was absent, we-."

Diana's eyes widen slightly. "Alan has those diaries."

"Yes. He was shocked that you were lying as well."

She glares. "Was he involved in this?"

"Other than showing us the books? No."

Batman's eyes move to Diana for a moment, then return to me. "What did you discover?"

"A fascinating insight into the life of a superhero in the forties and fifties. Mister Nelson's description of Nabu's abilities -and character- was marginally useful, but the most useful part was notes on the planning of the expedition which led him to find Nabu's helmet in the first place. That gave us the approximate location of Nabu's tomb."

"What did you do next?"

"On the twenty fifth of November we had another talk with the other people researching the subject. John managed to make contact with a Lord of Chaos who was more insane than malevolent and got a much better idea of how they work from him. Essentially, they start as mortal magic users and connect themselves to another Plane of existence. That link replaces the one most people have to the universe around them, granting them far more raw power but also granting them signature weaknesses. Klarion's link was moderated through Teekl. When I stole her, he was forced to cut himself off from the Plane of Chaos in order to stay here. And find another source of magic power. That told us that Klarion was vulnerable to relatively conventional attack. It also told us how to replicate the process."

"On the sixth of November I began actively pursuing the Ace of Winchesters, with the aim of furthering my understanding of arcane weapons. On the tenth, I purchased it. I imagine that you've all read my report on the incident, so I won't go into it. On the eleventh, I recovered the Star Sapphire from the Moon."

"You what?" Jordan looks astonished.

"I recovered the Star Sapphire from the Moon. It seems that while merged with the Ophidian we decided to hide it in the toilet."

He turns to Guy. "And you didn't look there?"

"Yeah, I looked there. Probably had it in one of those ultra-secure subspace things."

"We used magic to gain access to it, so a simple power ring scan probably wouldn't have worked. Guy wasn't in the know."

"Yeah, no kiddin'."

"We were eventually able to come up with a system that would allow Zatanna to power her magic from the Sapphire rather than her own resources, thus removing her main arcane limitation. Though that only happened after Nabu was formally inducted into the Justice League. An eventuality of which you gave Zatanna no advanced notice at all. I had assured her that you would never dream of doing that a mere five days previous, that you'd never betray either her or her father or the ideals you claim to stand for by letting that Lich up here. And I was mistaken. Very mistaken."

 

[Mr Zoat]

10th July
15:07 GMT

Batman leans forwards. "You would have preferred it if we had no idea where he was or what he was doing?"
Truth.
"Yes. The only reason for keeping him close was if you were planning on taking action against him in the short term. On the basis of what I've seen, you weren't. It was unlikely that he intended to leave the Earth and you could have lured him into position for an ambush in the same way I did. Quite aside from that, recruiting him required you to lie extensively and act in a despicable manner. I had doubts about your recruitment practices before that but I never doubted that League members were good people. If you can't trust the Justice League to hold the moral high ground, who can you trust?"

William.. actually raises his left eyebrow, looking towards the head of the table. I'm not prepared to give him points for not being entirely onboard with Nabu joining up, but it was mildly gratifying to know that at least one of them said something. Superman notices, then awkwardly looks away for a moment.

I wonder how the original debate about the lie went? Doesn't really matter now, but I'd be interested. See how much of my respect the participants could salvage.

King Orin straightens suddenly, then stares at me. "Mera said that she couldn't make sense of the spell Constantine used at New Year. You tried to get rid of him then, didn't you?"
Truth.
"Yes. That particular spell required both Klarion and Nabu to be in the same place at the same time. It was designed to use their opposing energies to push them both from this plane. Unfortunately, Captain Nazi grabbed Klarion before it could complete. It would have been far better if he hadn't. Nabu would have survived banishment."

King Orin looks like he doesn't quite believe it. "You had a way to permanently remove a Lord of Order after two months' study?"

"I was hardly working on it on my own. But yes."

Diana's face hardens. "Did you intentionally leave Nabu chained up when it failed?"
Truth.
"Yes. I wanted to see if the chains could hold him when he put significant effort into escaping them. At some point, I planned to chain him up for real and I wanted to ensure that I could do so safely. Though.. once the Belle Reve fight started it genuinely slipped my mind."

"You left a man chained up because you wanted to see whether or not he could escape?"

"Yes. I didn't have another Lord of Order I could test it on, and I wasn't going to create a plan which was premised on our ability to restrain him if we did not in fact have that ability."
Truth.
"Zatanna also tried removing the Helmet conventionally while Nabu was sleeping off the effects of the cure-tech. Sadly, that didn't work."

Superman nods. "I knew about that. I just didn't realise that it was more than a momentary thing. I still don't understand why-?"

"If I dropped a Star Conqueror off in Kansas the next time I was there, would that help you understand?"

He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes for a moment, trying to control himself. "Clearly, you're… Very upset. How about you try calming down a little?"
Truth.
"Superman, I've been angry for eight months and I no longer have any reason to conceal it. I don't think-."

"Why didn't you tell us? Not.. everyone, but Wonder Woman or Batman?"
Truth.
"Because making Nabu a Justice League member required a unanimous vote. Which means that everyone approved it. Batman, who was the reason why Mister Zatara was on the League in the first place, voted to appoint his new owner to his post. Diana, who values truth so very highly that she signed off on lying to the world to cover for… So I couldn't trust any of you on this matter. I actually hoped that he was influencing your minds somehow." I shake my head. "It was better than… Believing…"

"What was the next step in your plan?"

Batman's voice is.. hollow, dead sounding. Either he's actually hearing the point I'm… Not so much making as bludgeoning him with, and it's matching up with doubts that he already had, or… Or he's trying to keep whatever he's feeling out of his voice.

"In the evening of the first of January I encountered Mister Charles Tong at Zatanna's home. That was when I told him that Mister Zatara had been possessed by a Lich and was being held in an Atlantean prison until it could be expunged. A little later that evening a group of us took a trip to the Harmony Grove Cemetery and summoned the spirit of Kent Nelson-."

"You did what?" Diana actually looks shocked.

"He was the best source of information on Nabu I had access to. He didn't object, if that's what you're worried about. The first thing he said was how relieved he was that Zatanna was free, as he didn't think that Nabu would have released her. When she explained what actually happened he told us the precise location of Nabu's tomb-."

"Nabu has a tomb?" Mister Allen's eyes have narrowed. I think he's frowning, but his mask makes it a little difficult to tell. "He didn't seem dead to me."

"According to the hieroglyphics, it was the resting place of his former hosts. I'm not sure how long the place had been undisturbed. Based on the style, I'd guess at least two thousand years. The last host was in some sort of suspended animation sarcophagus when they opened it. Something about the magic used killed Sven Nelson, and the last host died shortly afterwards. One of the sets of remains was alien. Cilian, to be precise. Given what the images decorating the walls showed they were either the host who brought Nabu to Earth, or Nabu's original pre-ascension body. We took the skull to use as a focus for our offensive magics."

King Orin scowls. "If you tried that in Atlantis this would be a very different sort of hearing."

"We built a sympathetic putrefaction system on the second and left it running behind some very strong scry wards. The aim was to see if we could weaken him to the point where lesser attacks could remove the helmet-."

Batman's jaw hardens. "And what if Fate's reduced capacities resulted in Zatara being injured or killed?"

"I saw no sign of him being impaired while on duty. I still don't know if we were having any effect at all. If I had, I would either have attacked him or stopped it, depending on how essential I felt that Nabu was. As for Mister Zatara being hurt… Yes, that was a possibility, but Nabu getting him injured was a possibility anyway. If it came to it, I could probably have carried out a medical resurrection on Mister Zatara once Nabu was off him. But… We never saw definitive evidence it was doing anything. If I had, it could have been deactivated with little notice. Something I had done when Oceanus appeared."

"And if Zatanna had been adversely affected by the Star Sapphire?"

"We designed a staff which contained the effect, channelling as much of its power as we could into her spells rather than into her. I or someone else was always around to monitor her use of it, and ensure that she took regular breaks. In addition, my empathic vision meant that I would have got an early warning if anything was going wrong."

"Oh yeah?" Jordan looks somewhat sceptical. "And just when did she start using this staff?"

"The fifth of February. It took her about half an hour to learn how to focus well enough to use it."

"The fifth?" Diana's eyes grow distant for a moment. "The week Fate was scheduled to spend in the Mountain."

"And Zatanna and I moved out."

"I could understand not wanting to be around him, but there was no way for us to know how strongly you felt about it if you didn't tell us."

"I didn't-?" My jaw tenses. "Twenty fifth of November, just before Thanksgiving dinner. We were talking about Justice League membership-" Her eyes widen slightly and her mouth tightens. I see that she's remembered the conversation. "-and you said: 'What about Nabu?' And I said: 'Well, if we can pick supervillains I'd probably have gone with Circe ahead of Nabu.' What exactly did you think I meant by that?"

 

[Mr Zoat]

10th July
15:19 GMT

"…had no idea that he'd react like that, but I could clearly see the advantage in pressing him on the issue. I really hoped that it might remind you what he was, but apparently I didn't have any luck." I stare at everyone around the horseshoe once more. "I mean, really? I offered him an alternative to a Human host, he rejects it out of hand… Did any of you even mention it to him?"

Mister Queen hesitantly raises his right hand slightly. "Ah, yeah, actually?"

"Well done. Anyone else?" No one says anything. "And somehow not surprised."

Batman glares at the back of Mister Queen's head until he feels it and lowers his hand. "I think we're getting off track. You say that Fate-."
Truth.
"Nabu."

"Don't interrupt. You're already-."

"Truth lasso. I'm being compelled to be open and honest. I think of him as Nabu and I see no reason not to use his name."

His head turns slightly towards Diana, who nods with apparent reluctance. It's a little interesting, the effect that my revelations and diatribe have had on the League members. Some have visibly slumped with shame as I put Nabu's actions into their proper context. Others -Ms Thal very much included- are becoming visibly angry, though I'm not studying their emotions deeply enough to tell whether it's from my actions or the insulting manner in which I'm delivering my defence. I did take a momentary look into Diana, and I know that though she's outwardly mastering her emotions she's distraught by my actions. I see old mistakes in flashes of yellow, some I recognise from her reports and others I don't. Superman's more impassive, a smattering of green and red visible but not in overwhelming intensity.

And then there's-.

"You said that Fate.. destroyed the golem. Did he give you any further indication as to why?"

Batman. He isn't thinking or feeling any one thing well enough for me to get a reading. I think he's been planning, working out how to bypass my ability. And -being Batman- hasn't shared his conclusions with anyone.

"No. My personal belief is that he found the very idea of accepting something from me repugnant."

Superman gives his head a small shake. "You had just told him that you were ambushing him. Are you really surprised he didn't accept your offer?"
Truth.
"No, though the source of my lack of surprise comes more from his prior rejection than the situation in Hyde Park. Though that certainly didn't help. Nabu had had months to investigate the possibilities of a golem body himself, and the opportunity to consult with Atlantean experts I'd never met or to study their notes himself. I believe that he didn't want one, that he simply preferred Mister Zatara regardless of other considerations."

"When he told you that he would accept alternate hosts, why did you not follow through on your offer?"

"I offered that as an attempt to peacefully resolve a hostage crisis. I did not consider it something I was obliged to do if he wouldn't relinquish his hostage until his demand was met. I also have only an approximate idea how long it would take to gather a group of magic users and no idea how acceptable he would find my volunteers."

Diana straightens slightly. "If you had, the situation would not have escalated-."

"No. I was not prepared to tolerate his continued presence. I would have kept my end of any agreement, but I was not prepared to continue to let him get away with that obscenity like you all were."

Diana's face tightens. "And Michael Siskin's death?"

"If I'd known in advance that would happen, I wouldn't have asked him to take part. However, he was killed by Nabu. Nabu's instinctive response to being subject to a fear magic based attack was to kill his attacker rather than push his attacker away or retreat. Batman has been exposed to Doctor Crane's fear gas on several occasions and hasn't killed anyone as a result. That particular lethal response was all Nabu."

Batman nods. "Was there a reason why you did not attempt to use fear gas yourself?"

"Nabu was essentially a sentient spell. He doesn't breathe or eat. As such, it was my judgement that gas, infrasonics and telepathic attacks would be a waste of time. Though, admittedly, I couldn't test that in advance."

William looks worried. "If he didn't eat.. for eight months..?"

"I believe that Nabu kept Mister Zatara's body alive with magic. He's in a weakened state, but his doctors believe that he will make a full recovery. No thanks to any of you."

Mister Freeman's face is still. But I can see John's jaw tense and his eyes narrow, Major Adams' right fist clench and Mister O'Brian's chest sag slightly. I know that I'm burning bridges here-



-but frankly I don't care. This wakeup call is long overdue.

Batman appears unfazed by my contempt. "If your primary mode of attack was to drain him of energy, why didn't you attempt to weaken him with your Praexis Demons?"

"I didn't expect things to escalate like that. The original plan involved us draining him until he was no longer able to resist. My control over the Praexis Demons is good, but they aren't precise enough to allow that sort of.. instant cut off. While I would not have been overly troubled by killing Nabu like that, it would also have risked Mister Zatara. And taking Nabu alive would have been better." My eyes dip for an instant. "And that's assuming that he couldn't have simply waved them away. My attempts at branding him met with no visible success."

"Other restraints-."

"I tried to get close enough to apply a suppression chain just after he killed Mister Siskin. I was knocked flying, the chain turned to molten slag. It doesn't suppress if it isn't on him. Sustained mage slayer rounds might have worked, and they might have killed Mister Zatara if I couldn't calculate the precise failure point of his defences. Which I couldn't. I used the mana battery system because it had the best chance of success."

"Of killing him."
Truth.
"I'm not completely sure in my own mind that I would have ordered him drained to death if he was clearly powerless. But I was not inclined to take a chance with it after he killed a member of my team. If Nabu had not done that, then I would have endeavoured to keep him alive if that could be achieved while freeing Mister Zatara."

"Did your original plan include killing Fate?"

"Of course it did. I planned as best I could for every set of circumstances. Though I didn't know enough about his range of abilities to plan for everything he might be able to do."

"I'm not questioning your ability to plan. I'm asking whether or not you committed premeditated murder."

"Under English law, Nabu was not a person. Under the 'Foul Witchcraft and Maleficent Practices Act' of fifteen ninety eight he would be defined as a 'baleful and malevolent spirit or spectre', and guilty of 'using unnatural magics to influence the minds of good Christian men to act contrary to their nature'. Not only can I not be prosecuted for killing him, the Church of England owes me either twenty crowns, or an acre of good grazing land and seven Sheep. And even if he were a person, he used lethal force to resist a legitimate arrest. I doubt that you would get a conviction, and that's if you were stupid enough to take it to trial."

Jordan's had enough. "Taking criminals to trial is kind of what we do around here, Orange Lantern. From where I'm sitting-"

"Did you sleep through my last-"

"-it looks like-"

"-lecture, Jordan? That is not the purpose-"

"-you've crossed the line to becoming one!"

"-of the Justice League! But okay! Let's say it did come to court. I would testify as to exactly what happened at Roanoke. There is no way that a British court will agree to keep that quiet. The world will know that the Justice League lied to the world for eight months about what happened to Mister Zatara. That you abandoned him to be a Lich's meat puppet. My team mates mean everything to me… Apparently that's not how it works up here. And they will know that you left a fourteen year old girl without a legal guardian. And they will know that you recruited the being responsible."

I shake my head. "Let's not kid ourselves here. If you weren't going to arrest Nabu then you're not going to arrest me. No, you're going to keep lying. Maintaining face. And while it took me a while to think it through… I'm going to let you. Although, of course…" I look around the horseshoe. "Coming clean is always an option. No?" I lift the unresisting noose from my right forearm. "Oh well."

I turn and walk towards the zeta tube, calling the rings to me as I go.

"I'll be on-planet for the rest of the day if you want me for anything."

 

[Mr Zoat]

10th July
17:47 GMT

I lift the last of the ramparts off the ground, a smattering of cheers rising from the crowd. Orange lights circle around it for a moment before my point to point zeta tube construct activates, transporting it to its twin on the Moon. Check that it's arrived… Good. I've still got to hand my report over to Sir Bernard and Boris, but I'm going to give the League a little longer before doing so. It maintains their preferred lie and there's still a chance -a small one- that they're going to want to admit their deceit and be honest. If they do that, then I hand over the other report, and… Whether the League want to press murder charges or not, the City of London have a number of things they could charge me with of which I am completely guilty. As a Justice League affiliate I didn't have to worry about lying to local authorities but as a Special Constable it's a much bigger concern.

I shake my head and take a look at Hyde Park. Nabu's ankhplosions aside, there wasn't actually all that much damage to our immediate environment during the fight. The plant life doesn't seem to have been harmed by the order magic… Then again, I don't imagine that it's all that easy to knock a plant out. Some surveyors from the Royal Parks have been around to look at it and rope off anything dangerous looking, but they've held off doing any work on the perfectly sensible grounds that it will be easier and cheaper to just have me do it.

Hm.

I drift over the area of the fight. The trees that lost bark or branches are easy enough to fix; just a matter of accessing the rings' records of the state they were in before the fight, then recreating and reattaching the missing material. Same with the pressure waves; just use the rings to gather up the loose soil and sod and return it to where it should…

That's a part of Mister Siskin's body.

I float it up towards me and look at it. I'm not exactly sure what Nabu did to the rock, but it's.. flaky and brittle now. His family… They'd already gotten over the shock of it when I visited them. They… Accepted my condolences… Sombrely. My lies, my… His-. Rescuing him from the Terror Thing was one of the things I was most proud of. Perhaps even more than my work rehabilitating the Beresfords, it was a life snatched back from the maw of ruination. He was alive, and if not happy then at least with the potential for future happiness. I'd found a life locked in constant torment and rescued it not just from that but from Nabu's callousness.

And Nabu killed him. Because I brought him here.

I mean, I told his parents that he was a vital part of the team, because of course I did, but that's bullshit. Nabu flared with yellow as they grappled and went pretty much back to normal after killing him. I could have achieved the same result by just keeping Nabu talking a little longer. I didn't know that at the time, and… Disabling him with fear and then chaining him involved far less risk of killing him than doing a full drain in a rush…

Is that what I should take away from this? That I should be more ruthless? Take their first refusal to surrender as definitive? I don't… I would prefer not to operate like that, but I… Whatever position I end up with in my Lantern Corps, I will have people die. People I'll have trained, people under my command. It's unavoidable. Did I..? Give Nabu extra chances because I hate him? Did I want to prove I was being fair? Give him enough rope to hang himself with? I don't think so…

Uh. Obvious downside of alienating the League: I can't talk to them about things like this. That leaves Adom and Alan, and I am planning on speaking to both of them before I leave.

Alan. That's a conversation that I'm looking forwards to almost as much as the one with the Siskins.

I return my attention to the park. Like it never happened. Okay, what next? Zatanna doesn't want to move her father until he's a little more recovered. I think that'll end up being the last thing I do on Earth.

Whaw, that sounded ominous. I take the report out of subspace for a moment and look at it. Should that be the next thing-?

**Paul?**

I look up from the report, and then around. With my accustomed barrier down, feeling out M'gann's location… Ah, there she is. She's in Megan Morse mode with Kon at her side.

**Yes?**

**'Yes'?** Kon frowns. **That's all you've got to say about it?**

**I'm not sure what there is to add. You know what I did and why. I can.. spare the time if you want to talk about it. Where do you want to do it?**

He and M'gann look at each other, and… I can't tell if they're whispering or excluding me mentally. Not that I'm going to probe the matter. A moment later Kon nods and turns back in my direction. **The roof over there.** He points in the direction of the Access Self Storage building. **Two minutes.**

**Of course. Though I should warn you that British buildings aren't built with rooftop superhero confrontations in mind. Try to go easy on it.**

He and M'gann turn away, moving through the crowd to look for a place to… Change, I suppose. In Kon's case that just means taking off his shirt and brushing his hair slightly differently. M'gann just needs somewhere out of line of sight so that she can shapeshift. I give the crowd below a half-hearted wave and then ascend at speed, swiftly getting too high for them to easily see. Not many clouds, and we've got hours of sunlight left. Not great for a private chat, but then I don't think that the building has roof access and London doesn't have any resident fliers.

Okay, that should do it. I transition downwards to the centre of the roof, as close to the surface of it as I can without touching it. Ring, check structural integrity.

Structure will bear both your weight and that of your companions.

Alright then. I land, dropping my aura down to next to nothing as I do so. I don't want to look like any aggression I feel is directed at them. O-kay, what do I do after this meeting? I think I'll go and speak to Adom. He kept things on track after the Ambush, and I need to thank him for that as well as for his participation. Might be worth pointing out that what Nabu did to him rather proves that picking a fight with Shazam would be a bad idea…

"Hey."

I turn to see Kon floating over the lip of the building's roof, M'gann just behind him.

"Good after-."

"Why didn't you tell me?" He comes in to land just in front of me, staring me in the eyes. "I get why you didn't tell the League, but why the hell didn't you tell m-us?"

"Several reasons. In order to maintain secrecy, I didn't want to include anyone I didn't absolutely need. Too much chance of a telepath overhearing something, or Wonder Woman talking to you and hearing a lie. Or Nabu doing.. something. You're strong, tough and a capable fighter, but you don't have any specific anti-Order Lord abilities. Any harm you did to him would have been felt by Mister Zatara more than Nabu, and that was exactly what I was trying to avoid if the confrontation turned violent." A little of the irritation fades from his face. "And then there's Wonder Woman."

He looks away for a moment. "Yeah. I don't know why she didn't… I mean, all the League-."

"No, I don't mean 'why did she accept Nabu'. I mean, the damage it would have done to your relationship with her when she found out that you'd been helping me with this behind her back. She's.. usually big on honesty and openness. And could you? Lie to her convincingly, with that lie detection ability she's got, for months?"

"No." He looks down, shaking his head. "No, I don't think I could. I don't even get how you did it. Do your.. tattoos block it or something?"

"Not as far as I know. But when I was studying her abilities, I noticed that it only triggers for direct lies. You can talk around a subject or say something misleading and as long as you're not too obvious about it nothing triggers."

"What about Teekl? Wolf hasn't come out of her basket since we got back to the Mountain."

I bow my head slightly. "I'm… That wasn't supposed to happen. I still don't.. really know why it did. Something about… Transferring the link, between Klarion and the Plane of Chaos." I shake my head. "But again, telling you wouldn't have-."

M'gann folds her arms across her chest. "And what about me?"

"M'gann, you're a terrible liar, and you're from a planet where sharing thoughts all the time is the norm. Can you imagine if you'd had to keep people out of your memories during our trip to Mars?"

"I-." She thinks about it for a moment. "Okay, but I'm not a terrible liar. None of you knew I was a White Martian-."

"I knew since the campfire."

"… You did?"

"You backtracked too hard, and the expression on your face made it pretty obvious. I don't know if anyone else noticed, but-" I point my right forefinger at my right eye. "-I've got pretty good night vision."

"Oh."

"Look… I'm not going to apologise, because it was the correct decision. I'm not even going to say that I regret it. Nabu killed Siskin, and he could well have ended up killing either of you. But I really don't want to-."

"Kon, M'gann." Diana flies out of the sky, hovering just above us. "Would you please give my student and I a moment?"

 

[Mr Zoat]

10th July
17:52 GMT

"Ah…" Kon glances at M'gann, then back at his mother. "Sure. Ah…"

I keep my attention on Diana. "I'll come and see you again before I leave Earth."

"O.. kay." Kon glances at me before walking over to M'gann. "Catch you later." He and M'gann take to the sky, heading in the general direction of the London Eye.

Diana watches them go, waiting until they're out of earshot before turning her full attention on me.

"Am I under arrest?"

She takes a breath. "No."

I nod. "Can I assume-." No, I've done that enough times. No ambiguity. "The League are standing by the official version of events, then?"

"Yes. We are."

I nod. "Thought as much. I recommend that the League attempt to recruit a replacement magic user as soon as possible. I'm sure that, between them, Batman and King Orin can-."

"Why did you do this? Why..? Why did you go about this in the most confrontational way that you could?"

"Because I've had eight months to.. build up my anger about it."

"And.. every interaction you had with your team, or with me… That was a lie, which you feel was justified by us allowing Doctor Fate-."

"No. It was more… Compartmentalisation, really. In every other regard you lived up to my expectations. You all.. just made this one… Weirdly out of character decision. I mostly just tried not to think about it, except when I was actually doing something about it." I regard her with curiosity. "How did you square that lie with yourself?"

"When I joined the Justice League, I agreed with the principle of collective decision making. The League unanimously agreed that including Doctor Fate was the best way to deal with-"

"Hm."

"-the situation. Once we had agreed upon that, the question was then how to explain that decision to the wider public."

"Knowing full well that they'd throw a fit if you told them what actually happened."

She looks away. "Yes."

"On the bright side, you get to preserve secrecy. Did Nabu die a valiant hero, or is he just taking a 'leave of absence' as well?"

"We have no plans to make an announcement. If Klarion were to discover-"

"Hahaha!"

"-Doctor Fate's-." Her eyes narrow slightly. "It is no laughing matter. If Klarion were to decide to attack again while the League is without-."

"Okay, stop. Firstly, Nabu wasn't much of a Klarion-counter anyway. Secondly, there are a great many other wizards. Thirdly, with everything that's going on today-" I take a datapad out of subspace. "-you clearly haven't had time to watch the news."

I set it to BBC News 24, then float it up to her.

"…story this evening. The Chinese state media are reporting the capture, trial and execution of the supervillain terrorist and mass murderer Klarion, by the Great Ten, China's government-sponsored superhero team. If confirmed, it will mark the death of someone hated by the entire world for the 'Roanoke Island Incident', in which hundreds of thousands of children all over the world were killed..."

Diana blinks, then returns her attention to me. "Your doing?"

I shrug. "I told them they could credit whoever they liked except Gu Lao, so I'm hardly going to claim credit. The point is, you don't have to worry about him. They were actually holding off releasing that information until I got out of hospital."

"You told us that Kilderkin was prepared to negotiate Zatara's freedom if Klarion was dead. Did you.. kill him in some fit of pique?"

"Negotiate with Nabu's boss? Why? Why should I make a deal with a body snatcher, or his employer? We have law and morals guiding our actions, we-" I shake my head. "-don't need to kowtow to energy based life forms just because they're powerful. Kilderkin didn't say that he'd free Mister Zatara, he said that he 'might be more amenable'. I'm not killing someone for an offer that mealy-mouthed."

"But you did kill Klarion. If you were going to kill him anyway, why did you not even try to negotiate?"

"I didn't want him to tip off Nabu if negotiations failed. And I didn't want to perform a summary execution and undermine Human law. China tried Klarion before executing him."

"And who tried Doctor Fate?"

"He did, when he resisted arrest and killed Mister Siskin."

"Are those the only reasons?"

I tilt my head slightly to the side. "Why does it matter?"

She exhales sharply, her eyes momentarily dropping to the rooftop. "I'm trying to give you the opportunity to demonstrate that you can still be trusted."

"And not demonstrate that you can still be trusted? Nabu, eight months, lying to the world. Was there some plan to get rid of him I wasn't privy to? That was an actual question, by the way. Was there? I mean… If there was, you were pretty quick to take the suppression chains off him after New Year. Heck, that would have been a perfect opportunity to take him down."

She looks at me, taking me in for several moments. "Did Eris advise you in this course of action?"

Bit of a non-sequitur there, but.. okay… "It wasn't her idea. I consulted with her and she helped a little, but she isn't my patron because I thought that I needed help learning how to bring chaos. Does that mean that there wasn't a plan? Did it not occur to you that keeping him chained up-."

"I do not keep allies bound against their will."

"Ally?" I raise my eyebrows. "Ally, is it? You think that thing was-?"

"Once he became a member of the Justice League, yes. Even if he was not all that I would have liked him to be, he had devoted-."

My aura flares. "Just stop, Wonder Woman. Stop trying to defend the indefensible. A simple 'yes, keeping him chained up would have been better, but he was urgently needed in Belle Reve' would have worked."

"I thought you didn't want me to lie? No, the idea of keeping him chained up did not even cross my mind, because I do not treat people like that-."

"But it's okay if other people do it? Like Nabu did to Mister Zatara? Once they're on the League, nothing else they do counts?" I huff, then rise off the ground. "I think it's best if we end this conversation here. I'm going to Kahndaq now, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't follow me."

 

[Mr Zoat]

10th July
Still on Zamaron
But definitely feeling better

"So you're telling me, you had what was basically a Central Power Battery… And you lost it?"

Queen Aga'po is being surprisingly patient with Jordan, really. I'm sure that if he tried this with the Guardians they'd have his ring off his finger before he reached the end of the first sentence of his diatribe. Or maybe I'm being unfair. Maybe Maltusians just don't care about mortal creatures mouthing off at them, regardless of their professional relationship?

"Our brothers and sisters would not share their research. The Star Sapphire was our attempt to recreate the technology from first principles."

"Okay, but… Then what? You just tossed it out at random?"

"We were curious to see whether, divergent as we are now, cooperation between our agents and those of the Guardians was possible. Your beloved appeared to be a good choice. Sad, that you neglected her so."

"Neglected-!"

"In your service to the Green Lantern Corps, and your frequent, unexplained absences. I have little time for the Guardians but they do have the virtue of honesty. If only because they cannot conceive that they are acting wrongly." Queen Aga'po holds up the Star Sapphire. "Love should bring people together, not send them at one another's throats. Now that it is once more in our possession, we will review the data it collected. We will discover what made this pairing fail, and improve our future efforts."

I turn my attention away from the ongoing confrontation and towards my current benefactor. "How do I look, Princess?"

Ghia'ta looks at me as if I were a fascinating but possibly rabid specimen. Not a completely unfair description, I suppose. "Your… Soul… It is like nothing I have ever seen before."

"Made it myself."

Her eyes narrow in sceptical puzzlement for a moment. "It is abominable."

"My brother Scott did some of the work. Most of it, in fact."

"Are you… Lying to me?"

She looks almost offended. Sweet. "Sort of. I designed the initial structure with substantial aid from my Father Box, and designed the original version of the device-" I point to the personal mana infuser with my right hand. "-for empowering it. The current structure is a result of Scott's effort to stop the Anti-Life Equation fragment erasing.. me, converting my soul from something that grew from the universal life force to something intrinsically opposed to it." My gaze grows slightly distant. "And speaking as the one who went through the process, I believe I can speak with authority on the subject: it is most certainly abominable. Love, used as a weapon to break my spirit."

She shudders. Oh, you'll learn.

"Queen Aga'po requires that I welcome you into my home until you can be sure that I am genuine. But that is hardly adequate repayment to the service you are doing to me… I take it that you have been successful?"

She nods. "Yes. The violet light of love is now bound to you in the same way as the lights of avarice and fear. I don't understand why you did not ask us to replace them."

"Because you don't know enough to be certain that your replacement could contain the Anti-Life safely. You really don't want Life-."

I slam my hands over my mouth at the same moment as I wrap shields around myself. It can… Get out if I speak it?

Ghia'ta has her hands jammed over her ears as well, and Queen Aga'po and her retinue have their hands raised with crackling shards of violet light dancing around their fingers. Jordan has his ring prepared to blast as well.

I endeavour to look harmless as I tentatively move my hands from my mouth.

…

That appears to be safe. Okay.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realise that could happen. I'll be careful not to refer to it directly in future."

"Yeah." Jordan lowers his ring. "You do that."

"What did you..? Experience?"

"It was like it was the worst moment of the worst day of my life. You had that for two weeks?" I nod. "Huh." He nods, then his eyes narrow slightly. "Nice armor."

What does he..? Ah. Orange construct chains are wrapped around my yellow straitjacket. I dismiss both with a shudder. "Ghia'ta, what you just heard is a small fraction of what Father can do to people at will. Just by speaking. What you felt is what the people subjected to him live. While I will hold up my end of our bargain, you must understand that I cannot protect you from him. I cannot even protect myself from him. If you are unwilling to take that risk, we can… Renegotiate-."

"No." She shakes herself. "If such a horrifying thing exists, then I must learn how to fight it." She holds out her right arm, her crystal staff flying to her hand. "And I cannot do that from here."

"Very well." I look over at Jordan and the Queen. She's lowered her hand, though I note that her retinue have not done so. "Jordan, are you ready?"

He floats in my direction, turning in the air to face Queen Aga'po as he does so. "I don't want that thing ever coming anywhere near Earth."

"We have a universe to choose from. I doubt that we will cross paths again."

He nods, then lands next to me. "Okay. Boom tube us back."

"Father-. Oh."

"What?"

"I… Usually have the ring connect to the Mountain's systems… Or use Father Box." Sinestro, how long would it take to fly back to Earth?

You would experience half an hour.

Oh. That's not too-.

The rest of the universe would experience between two days and a week, depending on your level of ring mastery. And you may be assured, Corpsman, that your recent travails have done nothing good for that.

Oh. Poop.

"Are we stuck?"

"No, just…" I raise my yellow ring to my mouth. "Contact green two eight one four B."

"'Calling for a ride' in progress, Corpsman."

Guy's face appears above the ring's sigil. "Yeah, what-? Grayven?"

"Guy, could you get someone to open a tube to my location? I need to get home."

"Hey, Jordan? You there?"

"Yeah, Gardner, he's okay. And I don't want to spend a week flying back to Earth."

"Alright. Gimme a sec."

The image disappears.

"Okay." I bow to Queen Aga'po. "Your majesty, thank you for your aid."

"Be sure not to renege on your part of our agreement."

"I wouldn't, even if I didn't have to. Ghia'ta, you'll be staying with us in Challenger Mountain. We're a fairly eclectic bunch, but I'm sure you'll-."

BOOM!

For goodness' sake, Guy.

The boom tube aperture surges open and Lynne dashes out of it. I fall to my knees and she attaches herself limpet-like to my chest.

This is… Better.

 

[Mr Zoat]

10th July
20:14 GMT +2

Great.

I probably shouldn't have blown Diana off like that, but I-. I just can't deal with the League at the moment. I hadn't even really realised that I hadn't told them that Klarion was dead. Worth forwarding a list of magic users to Batman? No, he's still got my last list, and with the exception of John it wouldn't have changed significantly. I wonder if Diana ever spoke to Ms Tolon? She probably would have…

I drop down through the Kahndaqi night sky in the direction of Adom's residency. Lights are off all over the government buildings, but his actual living quarters are still well lit. I know that I have an open invite, but given the security situation I think it would be best to avoid any potential for misunderstanding. I may be effectively immune to conventional weapons fire, but those bullets have to land somewhere.

I allow my aura to flare as I reach street level, the guards on duty bringing their weapons to bear with commendable swiftness. And lowering them again with the same alacrity.

"Good evening, gentlemen. Am I cleared for entry?"

The man closest to me -a corporal- nods. "Yes, of course sir. I will inform the garrison commander that you are here."

"Thank you."

He stands aside and I stride past the checkpoint. Not as good as the security the Chinese use, but then they're a superpower and Kahndaq is still putting itself back together after a civil war. Having said that, Kahndaq is actually pretty stable. I suppose that's the advantage of an internal revolution; you actually have support on the ground on help with things like civil enforcement. Compare the Kurdish areas of Iraq post-invasion to all of the rest of the country.

Oh and… The country being governed by a demigod who tore apart the former government with his bare hands. That probably helps. There's an awe that people like us… Superheroes, attract. Particularly those who aren't the personable sort. I don't want to say.. divine majesty, but it's probably the same thing, the same psychological mechanism. It says: this is a thing that is beyond normal people.

Of course, once you get to know them… No, they're still not quite like normal people, because that same.. thing has changed them as well. I'm certainly not the same person as I was when I first arrived on Earth 16. I'd like to think I'm better. I'm certainly less hesitant. And of course I'm much more in tune with my desires.

Hm.

I transition to just outside the start of the residential part of the building. There is always someone here… Guards, civil servants and politicians of various stripes working late, or working the hours they have to in order to deal with parts of the world that are in different time zones. When you work for a third world government, you often end up working to the convenience of others. The oil companies actually took the tax increase with no more than token complaints, relieved as they were that they weren't having their assets acquired by the state and understanding that it actually would be used for the good of the country and not another round of government mansions.

"Even here! Woman, will you give me no rest?"

And hey, with accepting a bribe while in public office now being a death penalty offence, maybe they'll still come out ahead. The banks were less impressed about being given those mansions as full payment for the loans used to build them, but I can't say that I'm sympathetic. Loan money to a dictator and my heart doesn't exactly bleed when it bites you in the arse.

"This just shows that you need to deal with this now!"

Ah, sounds like the pair of them are in fine form this evening. I nod to the guards as I walk up to what is effectively Adom's front door and then knock twice. I hear steps on the far side, and then Falil opens it. His eyes widen slightly, then a look of relief settles over his face. "Orange Lantern. Please, come in. I am sure that his Excellency will want to see you immediately."

"Thank you. Shouldn't you have… Gone home by now?"

He nods tiredly, then leads the way inside. "Please do not misunderstand. Serving his Excellency is a privilege, one which really belonged to someone with more experience than I have. But I think… Perhaps he has made it a job that cannot be done by just one man?"

"The entire point of an individual sovereign is to hold emergency powers, so that they may deal with situations which the laws do not account for!"

"I'll have a word. Have they been carrying on for long?"

"Even if you could do that, you are not immortal, Adom! What would Kahndaq do if you died, without any formal guide to the succession? Or even on how to handle a crisis without you telling them what to do?"

"Some time. I have stopped noticing." Falil stops before the door to the living area and clears his throat loudly.

"Come!"

Falil pushes the door open and walks inside. "Orange Lantern here to see you, your Excellency."

Adom nods to me as I enter… Gosh. He looks… Weathered. Certainly better than last time I saw him, thankfully. His skin has regained its usual lustre and his muscle mass has returned, but there are still lines on his face that weren't there before and his hair is shot through with grey. "Adom, how are you feeling?"

"Better, thank you. Between your alchemy and the gods' blessing, the foul sorcerer's magic has.. limited staying power."

"Thank you again for your aid-."

Ms Tomaz turns on me. "This is your fault?!"

"Ahh. Adom.. responded to my request for help-."

"He has a country to rebuild! Until he is finished, you cannot allow him to be so badly injured!"

"Ah.. I'm leaving the planet later today, so it's unlikely I'll be calling upon him again anytime soon." That appears to be.. adequate. "May.. I.. ask what you were.. discu-."

"Adom is not willing to approve the provisional constitution!"

"I am perfectly happy-" I notice that Falil has made good his escape. "-to approve the constitution. What I am not willing to do is precisely define the limits of my own authority."

"You… I'm sorry, but you didn't appear to have a problem exercising limited authority before..?"

"During normal times, there is no need. A sovereign can do more damage by…" He frowns for a split second. "Micromanaging, than by allowing flawed decisions to be carried out by lesser officials. More importantly, if I create a formal statement of the powers the sovereign possesses… Then in the event of my death, whoever succeeded me would most likely assume those same powers. And even amongst those loyal to me, there are none I would trust with such authority."

"Then even if you are too prideful to accept limits on yourself, you need to make some arrangement."

He looks at her for a moment, narrowing his eyes slightly. "Yes. I have put that off too long."

"Oh." Ms Tomaz blinks as her need to lambaste is undermined by his admission. She watches him carefully as he turns away and walks towards his desk. Then past it and to the bay windows leading to the balcony. "What exactly-?"

Adom opens the windows and then turns and walks back to her. "I should have done this a month ago."

"Done what? What are you-?" He moves, putting her over his right shoulder before standing. "What are you doing! Get off me!" She flails at his back for a moment, before grabbing his hair and pulling with all her might instead.

"Paul, please accompany me." He strides back towards the balcony before rising off the ground. "I will need you as a witness."

"Of course."

"Brute! Barbarian!"

"Whatever you.. want..?"

 

[Mr Zoat]

10th July
20:22 GMT +2

We're somewhere over the mountainous west bank of the Red Sea. I say 'somewhere', obviously I have longitude and latitude. There just isn't anything here that I can point to as a unique indicator of the location. We're not near any settlements or roads, the land below us is rock cut through with sandy gullies. Adom's reason for putting Ms Tomaz over his shoulder became obvious fairly quickly. Nothing like his top speed, but we've still flown far faster than would be comfortable for people without our resistances and it allowed him to shield her head from the winds with his body.

Understandably, she still isn't best impressed.

"Take me back right now you beast!"

I'm.. really not sure where he's going with this. Picking someone up and taking them out into the desert is more than a little out of character. I don't think that he's finally lost his temper; I wasn't seeing enough red. If I had to guess, I'd say that he was frustrated and irritated rather than experiencing the deep wrath or loathing that shows up as red. And he certainly doesn't kill casually. He kills readily when he thinks that he has just cause, but he's never made any effort to conceal it.

Save for Nabu, I suppose. But that was a favour to me, not part of running Kahndaq. And… It's not like he couldn't just kick her out if he really wanted.

Apparently still able to see what he's looking for despite the darkness and Ms Tomaz' best efforts to claw out his eyes, Adom begins his descent. Are there any..? No, no points of interest that the rings can detect around here. Just in case, I hang back a little as he lands and gently tries to remove Ms Tomaz from his person.

Curious how little red I'm seeing from her. Are her protestations a rhetorical technique, perhaps? Overstating a case in order to apply greater psychological pressure?

Back on her own feet, she takes a few slightly shaky steps away from his before looking around us. The night sky is quite lovely out here, but the only real source of illumination is me. "Where is this!?"

Adom looks around, perhaps trying to get his bearings. "This land was green, once. In my time, I could look down on what is now desert and see a land of plant life. It was hot, and it was dry for much of the year, but the rains could support forest where now there is only… Dust, and sand."

"And?"

He doesn't answer, turning to me instead. "Orange Lantern. There should be a chamber some distance below us. Please, carefully excavate a passageway downwards, through the rock. I had hoped that there would be a passageway still, but… No, after five thousand years that was unwarranted optimism."

"Very well." I extend filaments from the ring on my right hand. "I didn't detect anything when I scanned earlier."

"You have mentioned that sites protected by magic can resist your ring's detection?"

I nod as the filaments breaking through the rock report back, the patterns of vibrations returning through the rock suggesting that there is indeed a hollow space below us.

I sigh.

I suppose I should be proud that bronze age Humans could spoof power rings…

"Found it. Excavating now."

I take a grip on the plug of rock and begin pulsing a series of beams to cut it free without damaging the chamber beneath. I wonder how far down this would have been before five thousand years' worth of erosion went to work on the surrounding rock… Quick check on the stability of the surrounding material, and a quick flare of orange to fuse the loose material…

I don't raise my right hand in a lifting motion as the plug comes free, but it would probably be appropriate. The column comes out with barely a sound, and I lay it carefully on a level patch of ground a little way from us. I can stick it back in when we've done whatever it is we're here to do.

"All yours, Mighty One."

He nods. "Cleanly done. Miss Tomaz, would you accept me lifting you-?"

"No, I will not! I am not going anywhere until you explain why we are here!"

Adom bows his head slightly. "I wish to show you a part of my history, that you may better understand what motivates me. I do not.. share of myself readily, but I am.. increasingly reaching the conclusion that this may not be the correct way for me to behave. At least, with regard to you. Would you accept passage from Orange Lantern?" She gives a cautious nod, and he rises off the ground and descends through the hole.

"You." Me? "What is he playing at?"

"I'm not sure. I will say… That he does actually respect you… More than your arguing suggests. I don't think that he'd waste your time -or mine- with something trivial."

She nods, grudgingly. "Take me down. And make lights, I cannot see in this darkness."

"Your wish is my command." I attach a flight aura to her, then lift both of us off the ground and float us over the hole. "Going down."

We descend, the orange light I give off reflecting off the nearby walls. It's a ten metre drop into a chamber barely two tall. The stone was clearly dug out, and the thin layer of dust suggests that it's been sealed for some time. Keeping us both off the floor, I send light emitting constructs out into the room.

At the far end, it looks like there was a rock fall at some point, stone carved steps being covered in loose dirt and stones. The passage isn't visible from the surface any longer. If this room is enchanted in some way, then either the enchantment extends to the passage even in its state of decay, or further up it's so filled in that the ring didn't register it as significantly different from its surrounding environment. Curious. The room… There's pigment on the walls, faded from its application but so protected from the elements that it remains in far better condition than the hieroglyphs I'm used to seeing. The designs are simple, literal depictions rather than abstract representations of things. On the left, trees, a forest, a garden..? Not sure. On the right, a power figure… probably a goddess, raises a hand in benediction over a kneeling noblewoman.

And I know where we are.

Adom is knelt as if in prayer before a stone sarcophagus. There are two other, slightly smaller ones behind it. I recognise some of the symbols carved into the surface from Atlantean spell books. That.. shouldn't be enough to throw me off by itself. I did once ask Adom what he thought about archaeologists digging up long dead bodies. He said it didn't bother him, as none of them were people he knew. I think I'll be doing a very good job of covering this place u-.

"So? What are we here to-."

"Not-. Not the time."

"I will say-."

"As I am certain that Orange Lantern has deduced, this is the tomb of my wife and of my sons." He stands, walking around to the narrow end of the largest sarcophagus. "As High Priestess of Isis, she was a living link to her patron as I am to mine. When.. she was murdered… I had her mortal remains entombed here." He closes his eyes for a moment, then gently lifts the lid from the sarcophagus. There's no smell; the organic material that once covered the skeleton has long since rotted to nothing. The only thing of real note is an elaborate gold, jade and ruby amulet which I actually don't remember in detail from the comic but can clearly see now.

The Amulet of Isis.

Careful not to disturb the bones, Adom reaches into the sarcophagus and picks it up before walking back around to Ms Tomaz. I remove the aura around her, leaving her to stand on her own two feet.

Adom looks thoughtful. "Of late, I have found myself surrounded by men and women who revere me, who serve me through honest loyalty or simple sycophancy. But in all of that, you are the only one who speaks her mind to me. And no matter how vehemently I have disagreed with you, I find that in your absence I miss your sharp mind and.. even your tongue, a little."

He bows his head, holding out the Amulet to her.

"Will you accept this power, this authority, and stand beside me as my equal and as my wife?"

Ms Tomaz, eyes wide, looks at him, the amulet and then at him again.

Then she reaches a conclusion.

"No!"

 

[Mr Zoat]

10th July
20:47 GMT +2

Adom and I stare out across the Red Sea, the Amulet of Isis clasped in his left hand.

"Where.. do you think I went wrong?"

I turn my head towards him, my left eyebrow slightly raised. He keeps staring into the middle distance. "Ah…"

"I had thought… Becoming my equal, having political power through which she could exert change independent of me… That idea would appeal to her. Was it…" He holds up the Amulet slightly, looking it over. "Because it was I who was giving it to her?"

"That.. might be it. Also… You do realise that in the modern era, people usually spend time courting before marrying one another?"

He glances at me, then back out to sea. "We had spent a great deal of time together."

"Arguing about politics, yes. It's not-."

"Her parents were Terek and Amal Tomaz. She was eight when a local criminal gang stole her, her parents and her brother from their home and interned them in a labour camp. At first, the children were used as hostages. As they grew, those who were prepared to join with their captors were permitted to do so. Those who refused joined their parents in the labour pool. Her parents were murdered when she was twelve." His head bows slightly. "I promised her that I would find her brother. I have not forgotten that, but I cannot afford to take the time away from my duties as head of state."

"Okay… That's better. Why didn't you.. lead with that?"

He shakes his head weakly. "I have shown no one the tomb. I had thought… It would convey my respect most clearly to make the offer in the presence of the only people I had ever loved without reservation. That it would.. convey the value I place on her companionship."

"And not… I'm sorry to put it like this, but that you were literally drafting her in to replace your late wife."

He blinks, then turns his head to face me. "No, of course not. Do.. you.. think that she could have seen it that way?"

"It's a.. possibility. Tombs.. aren't generally considered romantic."

Adom shakes his head. "Adrianna and Shiruta are very different people. I did not mean to imply that she was in any way a stand-in. I would not treat someone whom I valued in that manner."

"Didn't you say that Shiruta gave you.. fairly direct counsel?"

"She would persuade me to change my position, yes. But she did so though persuasion and reason. It would be very unusual for her to raise her voice, even when she disagreed with me most vehemently. The spirited debates I have with Adrianna have a very different character."

"Adom, I…" How to put it? "You are aware that I can see emotions, right?"

"Of course."

"I'm not seeing.. significant violet. You don't love her."

Another small shake. "I did not love Shiruta when we first married. I respected her, I valued her, but… I did not come to love her until we had been married for some time. In Adrianna I see the traits of character that I admire, as I admired those I saw in Shiruta. But they are not the same.. virtues. Or.. perhaps they do not display them in the same way."

"Okay, now, that stuff you just said to me?"

"Yes?"

"That was what you should have said to her, instead of carrying her off to your family's tomb."

He exhales lightly. "Ah."

"Based on what I've seen within her-."

He holds up his left hand in my direction. "No. Do not tell me. If I am to court her, I must learn to understand her myself."

"That's probably best."

I can see a pattern of lights moving down the Red Sea towards the Gulf of Aden. A container ship. Even with a country which was recently on the verge of collapse and which still has no direct flights to the US… The spice must flow…

"I want to thank you for keeping things organised after the Hyde Park Ambush. And for speaking to Michael Siskin's parents."

He nods. "Your plan for the attack was good. Your plan for the aftermath was.. a little lacking."

"I didn't think it mattered so much. But, you're right, I should have put something together."

"Have you spoken to them yourself?"

"Yes, earlier today."

"I was not sure that it would occur to you."

"I was a little surprised that you did it. Did you do that sort of visit during your first life?"

"Not as Prince Adom. After a battle, there would be a ceremony of commemoration for any soldiers who died, but I would not have visited their next of kin in person. But, sometimes… When I fought as Teth Adom… If a hero I fought beside fell, or if a mortal performed a great feat of valour that drew my eye… Yes." We watch the waters for a few moments. "He was the first to die under your command?"

"Yes. But, he won't be the last. Even if I can't talk the Controllers around to founding a Corps in the way I hope to, I will be leading Lanterns in the future. And powerful as we are, we can still die. Scarab Warriors can kill Lanterns in single combat, Reach warships can kill them with weight of fire… And there are many other exotic weapons and warlike species. I feel bad about it now. I feel… That I brought him unnecessarily, to give Nabu an extra chance to survive that he didn't deserve."

"I do not believe that your decision was wrong. That is to say, it is not the one that I would have made. I am not a man much inclined to mercy. In your place, I doubt that I would have attempted to negotiate with Nabu at all. But, for all that, your decision was not wrong. Even the gods cannot predict all of the outcomes of the actions of every man and woman. You could not know what would happen, and…" He smiles. "I do not believe that either Shiruta or Adrianna would disagree with you on the subject of attempting to defeat your foes without killing them."

"And the people who will follow me in future?"

"It is the nature of the universe that some matters must be decided with violence. Death does not only take the deserving, and often good intentions are poorly repaid. To those who follow you, if you do not lie to them, if you stay true to the cause that you have proclaimed and lead them as best you can, then you do them no wrong."

I nod. "What do you plan to do about Ms Tomaz?"

"I think.. that I will attempt a more.. modern sort of courtship. Perhaps if we avoided political matters in conversation, that would allow us to remain civil."

"If I might make a further suggestion?"

"Of course."

"You know about her, where she comes from, why she is the way she is. Have you talked to her much about your history? Not just.. general things, but why you do things, what the world you grew up in was like…"

He nods. "A balance of knowledge. There may be wisdom in that." He stands. "When will you leave?"

"I've still got a few people to visit." I rise to my feet as well. "It will.. probably be early morning tomorrow, Kahndaq time."

"Then, since it is unlikely that I will see you again until your return." He holds out his right hand. I smile, and clasp it. "I will wish you good fortune in all your future adventures."

"Thank you, Adom. And I wish you good fortune in your romantic ones."

His eyes narrow slightly, and his smile takes on a more amused aspect. "Have you spoken to Ms Nguyen yet?"

 

[Mr Zoat]

10th July
14:02 GMT -6

Father Box sits on the table just in front of me. I tap it lightly on its uppermost surface with my right forefinger.

"Alright… Everyone…" I look around our meeting room. "First order of business."

Neither Chester nor Vera were in the Mountain during Darkseid's visit. It was Chester who found us first, and Vera who thought to contact Scott almost immediately. It's a bit of a shame that I can't promote them. Still, they've both had the divine awakening and now own a personal mana infuser, so they can hardly complain that I'm short changing them. They both cover it up pretty well, but I'm a Yellow Lantern. Finding me raving in agony has left a mark on both of them.

Ghia'ta appears to be slightly subdued, but that might just be from being surrounded by unfamiliar people in an unfamiliar place. Darkseid didn't bother going to the vault containing the Hybrids, so they're fine. And the Sphere is chirpy as ever.

The others are worse off. Lynne hasn't let go of me since grabbing hold on Zamaron. Miss Shimmer starts at every little sound and she's taking to hunching her shoulders, holding her arms folded across her chest. Mister Tawny's tail twitches constantly, and he struggles to stay still for any length of time. Jean appears to have been saddled with a similar communication problem to the one I had and stammers if she attempts more than one word in a row. The effect on the other Genomorphs is less noticeable, but they're clustering together more than they used to. Miss Amane has taken to trailing around after me, clearly afraid for my wellbeing. I'm not sure what she thinks that she could do against Darkseid… And I don't want her to die uselessly trying to protect me. And I haven't seen Doctor Robbins without a glass of whiskey in hand since I got back.

A pall of misery and fear has settled over Challenger Mountain. And they're not wrong to be afraid or miserable.

"Those of you.. who had the distinct displeasure of meeting my father… What you felt was the Anti-Life Equation. I realise that as a concept it's a little hard to grasp. That was the reality. Father has a number of fragments of the Equation bound to his soul. You are aware of how I can reinforce New God technology with my own soul? That is what happens when Father uses that ability on the Anti-Life within him. What I got is what happens when he transfers a fragment to someone."

"So..?" Chester is uncharacteristically lost for words. "How bad a guy is 'e?"

"In all of this universe, there are a handful as bad and none worse. His ultimate objective-" Doctor Robbins finishes her glass and then reaches for the decanter for a refill. "-is to do what he did to me to everyone, only more thoroughly. At present, he appears to be happy ruling only Apokolips, but there is nothing and no one who can stop him going wherever he chooses. Most people just aren't worth his time."

"But you are." Doctor Robbins gestures to me with the stem of the decanter before setting it down on the table. "How long do we have until the next family visit?"

"I have no way to tell."

"Do you think we're safe here? Do you think Lynne-?"

"No. I don't." I take a moment to gather my thoughts as she takes another sip, her right eyebrow raised. "As I see it, we have essentially two options. The first is run and hide." Chester looks away for a moment. "Much as I wish it otherwise, Father knows our names, faces and locations. I have the schematics which the Justice Lords used for their portal, and we can-."

Chester looks back at me, his eyes narrowed. "So, what? We just leg it?"

"Yes. Lynne is my highest priority, but the people in this room are my closest friends and allies. Getting as far as we can from Darkseid is an option available to us. I told you each of Darkseid's existence, but confronting the reality is a different kettle of fish. Many of you have been ill-served by me, and I apologise for that. I cannot make you safe, but I might be able to make finding you sufficiently difficult that Father doesn't go looking for you. Again, I can't guarantee that-."

"Well fook it then." Chester shrugs. "What's the point?"

"It's a probability judgement you have to make for yourself. My judgement is that staying here is far riskier, but I also didn't think that he'd bother coming here. If-."

"No, Master." Miss Amane shakes her head. "I will not run from him. He must be stopped." She looks at me with utter devotion. "You know how to do that, don't you, Master?"

"If I knew how to stop him, then I wouldn't have let him Anti-Life me. Father is stronger and tougher than me, but he's also more intelligent, better equipped and mystically far more potent. But before we carry on this discussion: Father Box."

"Ploong."

"You were passing information about my activity to Father, weren't you?"

"Ploong."

"Why?"

"Ploong."

I nod. "I suppose that makes sense." My right hand comes down hard on the table surface, Father Box's broken remains lying in fragments beneath it. That shocks everyone awake, Miss Shimmer nearly jumping out of her seat.

I move my hand back to my side. "That is not to say that he's unbeatable. No one is unkillable. But he is a very long way from where we are now." I look around the room at the uncharacteristically timorous faces. "That represents the other extreme. We can build up our resources… Increase our power… With a view to fighting him."

Vera raises her eyebrows. "And what happens if he spots us doin' that?"

"It depends. He might ignore it, or he might take action. I think it unlikely that he'd kill all of us, if only because he'd want to convince the survivors of their powerlessness. But if he decided to move against us, we would lose. And that fact will not change for a significant period of time."

She looks away. "Bloody marvellous."

Chester leans back, shrugging nonchalantly. "Fook it, I'm in. Always thought 'e sounded like a right bastard, and now 'e's picked a fight."

"I am with you, Master!"

"I'm touched, Iname. But I haven't decided that I'm staying myself."

Chester blinks. "Y'wot?"

I ignore him, looking down at my daughter. "Lynne?" She pulls her head off my chest and looks up at me. "The Anti-Life is a horror to all sane life, but I can only imagine the additional suffering that you have been subjected to due to my carelessness. I told you when I first took you in that my life was violent, that my home was no safe harbour. Now, you see that I meant exactly what I said. You are my daughter. I love you, but I cannot protect you from him."

She tenses.

"My instinct is that Father will come for me whatever happens, and my feeling is that he is my problem to deal with. But I should have prioritised your protection… Your wellbeing, more highly. If you want, we can step away from this universe. Spend six years -until your adulthood- doing nothing likely to draw his eye. Then I will return, and you can do what you will. Your childhood has already been blighted by-."

"No, Daddy." She pulls away, sitting up straighter. "You shouldn't do that. D-Darkseid is trying to do to everyone something worse than what SHADE did to me."

"Yes, but he's been working on it for a very long time. Six years is the very least I owe-."

"Everyone needs you to stop him. And the only thing I can think of that's worse than him doing that to us again is him doing it to everyone. We have to stop him."

"Alright. If you change your mind, let me know at once." She nods, then gets up off my lap and walks around to an empty seat next to Miss Shimmer. "Mister Tawny?"

"Michael."

"I beg your pardon?"

"American Humans have a personal name and a family name, do they not? After your brother freed me, I had time to reflect upon my life. And everything that the Anti-Life made me think. I am not a beast. I am a person." His muzzle twitches. "And I will eat the man who tries to tell me otherwise."

"Alright. Again, if you wish to step back-."

"I do not. Though… I think I will need to spend a little more time amongst people. Wash the Anti-Life from my fur."

I nod. "Of course. Miss Shimmer?"

"I-. I can't really go to the one place I'd want to. I… Celestia threw me out for trying to learn dark magic. That was it, wasn't it? That's what it feels like."

"I don't know enough about Wilson's dark magic to answer that. Though the Anti-Life is opposed to everything worthwhile about existence, so… It's certainly dark."

She nods, forcing her arms down by her sides. "I'll help."

"Doctor Robbins? Vera?"

Doctor Robbins waves her glass vaguely. "Sure. Why not? I've already had my brain turned off twice, what's one more time?"

Vera appears to be taking things a little more seriously. "What about the British government?"

"You can carry on your work there. The build up on this one is going to be very long, but making sure that the Earth is governed by good people will be one of the steps."

"Alright. I'm not one fer abandoning things part way through. But we're trusting you with a lot here, Grayven."

"I know. I will endeavour to be worthy of you all. But I'm afraid that I'm going to be too weak to do much about this for now. Carry on with your projects. If you need me, I'll-" I rise to my feet. "-be in the mana infusion chamber."