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

[Mr Zoat]

30th October
15:36 GMT -5

**No, just a rusted wheel-inner. Moving on.**

I turn away and trudge a little further up the Mississippi river bed. If this is what I've been missing…

**Aqualad to team. I have not yet discovered anything of note.**

**Color me surprised.** Wallace sounds about as enthusiastic as I feel. **Is this really the best thing we could be doing with our time?**

**Try to stay whelmed, KF. The people in this whole area are showing disrupted sleep patterns, and since that's just about the only symptom we know people carrying the new type of Star Conquerors show, somebody's got to check it out.**

I get a mental picture of him slumping slightly as he moves along the waterfront. **And we drew the short straw.**

And of course I can't scan the riverbed-. Or rather, I have, but that isn't reliable since the new type can use magic, can't they?

I see a shape in the water as M'gann swims by. **At least you're not having to breathe the water here. I don't even want to think about some of the things that I'm putting in my gills right now.**

I see a faint glow from Kaldur as I approach. He's using some sort of indirect water current detection spell in the hopes that it will speed things up a little. He's also using a water purification spell , but sadly for M'gann it only works on the caster. **Miss Martian, if you are putting your health at risk-.**

**No, no. It's just really… Ugh.**

**Your distaste is not misplaced.**

**So… What else have I been missing?**

**A couple of weeks ago we had to deal with a whole bunch of religious crazies.** I can hear the implication in Wallace's mental tone. *Can't imagine what got them all wound up.**

**I didn't make them crazy, Kid Flash.** Hm, another car. And oh so much mud. **What were they doing?**

**Kidnapping people they thought were being influenced by demons and 'exorcising' them with torture.** Richard sighs. **We got everyone out… Everyone who was still alive, anyway.**

**Which is really all you can do.**

**Hey.** Again, I get a mental impression with the words. In this case, Kon frowning. **Did you lose computer access or something?**

**Ah… Haven't tried it. And I.. do want to show an interest.**

**Alright.** I get a blurred impression of different images as Kon thinks. **Ah… And before that, there were a bunch of museum thefts Batman wanted us to look into.**

**Find anything?** A small sunken boat with a few brave plants growing off it. **Investigating a boat. Nothing suspicious on the exterior.**

**And I'm not hearing anything with my mind. You don't think they'd be able to hear us, do you?**

**Maybe? But they're not good swimmers unless they've got aquatic hosts, so while they might hide they can't really get away. And based on what Mister J'onzz said about Guy-.**

I get an image of her nodding. **It only takes a few days for the programming to break down.**

**Honestly, the team looking into people's houses has a better chance of finding something than we do.** I send a mental image of someone taking a Star Conqueror off their face and putting it in a cupboard. And then it jumping out at the next person to open it.

**Seriously, Oh El?**

**Don't worry, Kid. They don't actually hurt their hosts, remember?**

**Except for the beak wounds. Actually, yeah: how come a bunch of people haven't shown up at hospital with beak-wounds they don't remember getting? Or, y'know, just walking around with cuts in exactly the same pattern as everyone else?**

**It is possible that the Star Conquerors have learned to heal their hosts, or to attach themselves without the use of their beaks.**

I don't get any impression of Kaldur's thoughts, but I do get a rough sense of his location. Interior of the ship… Silted up. I generate a construct probe and start rooting through it. No bodies, at least.

**Maybe they just wear hats?**

**Heh-.** I get an impression of Wallace's surprise as none of the rest of us laugh at Kon's suggestion. **Really? No, those things were big. You couldn't get a baseball cap over one without it being obvious.** There's a pause as we all try and imagine it. **But-. I suppose a bigger hat might work.**

**I'll send a message to Artemis.** Richard doesn't sound too convinced either. **Hopefully she'll take it seriously.**

**What sort of hats do they usually wear in this part of the world? I mean, if-** No, just silt. **-we don't have a baseline, it would be hard to tell whether or not there's been any change. Oh, and boat clear. Moving on.**

**Houndstooth, maybe? I don't know if you could fit a Star Conqueror under one of those either. Aaand Artemis just replied with a question mark.**

The glow from Kaldur dims momentarily. **I can detect no inexplicable arcane presences in this part of the river. I will also point out that illusion would also explain the lack of alarms from hospitals. And the continuing lack of hats. Orange Lantern, how large could the Star Conquerors have grown in this time?**

**Green Lantern Corps records say they grow based on need rather than food or age. And they don't breed particularly quickly. Assuming the ones we found in April were all of them… One might have grown to Star Hunter size by now. Or at least be getting there. But we don't know enough about this type to know for certain.**

I drift over another section of riverbed. No, no points of interest here. **So how did the theft thing turn out?**

A slight sense of.. unease.. conveys itself over the link.

**Regrettably, those among the criminal group whom we were able to locate killed themselves to avoid capture.** Oh. **None of those we were able to identify had any prior history of criminality. Most of them also had no history of associating with one another, nor anything else linking them.**

**Any… Leads?**

**We have descriptions of most of the artefacts that are still missing. Sadly-. With Doctor Fate…**

**Yes, he can't identify them for you.** And Doctor Mist didn't seem like the book-collecting type. **I know a few people you could ask.**

**You…** And I know what Richard's going to ask even before he thinks it. **Wouldn't know a way to get into the Tower of Fate, would you?**

**Ah…**

 

[Mr Zoat]

30th October
18:36 GMT -5

"Look, when I said 'maybe', that's exactly what I meant."

We're standing on the plaza, just in front of where the Tower appeared last time. Most of the team's gone home, or at least back to base. They've got their own cities to protect and their own homework to complete. Kaldur's here, because he considers it his responsibility to investigate, Richard, because he doesn't want to let me out of his sight. Kon's here, because I'm here. Wallace I suspect came because he knows why I didn't trust Fate from the start, and Artemis is here because he is.

Really didn't think that would work.

The whole thing in Alabama turned out to be a total waste of time; some idiot playing around with subsonics. I could have given him a truly soundproof room. Richard could have upgraded his control program to something that would allow him to monitor what he was doing. But having spent the better portion of the day trudging along a riverbed I decided not to, and Richard had already notified the police.

It's basically just a noise complaint. He'll probably get off with a fine.

Wallace looks at me curiously. "Fate's dead, right? I mean… That was what that whole thing was about."

"Brain dead. We destroyed his personality, but we couldn't work out how to completely cut his connection to the plane of order. In theory, the Tower's intelligence should still be capable of detecting us. And since we've been here before…"

Kaldur swings his right hand through the place where the doorway appeared during our last visit. "It does not appear to want to recognise us."

Richard waves a sensor wand across the same place. "I'm not detecting anything either." He turns to look at me. "I'm not an expert on magic, but maybe having the guy who killed Fate here isn't the best way to convince it to let us in."

Kon frowns. "Hey."

"He's.. got a point." And I really don't know how long John had in mind when he said not to go looking for him for a while. It's been four months... "But… You can come back here without me whenever you like." I look upwards towards where the top of the tower was. Feels like a lifetime ago I was fighting Klarion up there… "Tower, Klarion the Witch Boy is dead. No replacement Lord of Chaos has been sighted. We're in the middle of a case, and we would benefit from having access to your library."

"Oh El?" Wallace doesn't look either pleased or displeased. "You're not exactly… 'We'." Kon's eyes narrow slightly. "I mean, you resigned." Kon keeps glaring. "He did."

"I did." I crank my empathic vision up all the way, until the lights on the far side of the plaza start to hurt. No, nothing. "But I don't have anything better to do today, so unless you're telling me to leave, 'we' are 'we'."

Kaldur raises his right hand in order to stop a discussion… They have most likely had already. "If the Tower will not grant us access, then we-."

The door appears, then opens wide. And…

What?

Out strides a man in flowing blue robes with golden thread decoration, the Helmet of Fate sat upon his head. Empathic vision's giving me nothing. Ring scan-

Don't do that.

-not doing that. And that wasn't John's voice. And that isn't John's build or John's walk. John sidles forward. And he's never had that sort of musculature. This man is… Built like a superhero. And he strides purposefully. And if that was his voice my ring just spoke in, then their accents are different as well. The same faint trace of scouse, but none of the Londoner. Sounds a little… Welsh, maybe?

I take a definite step back. I am not prepared for fighting a Lord of Order.

"Good evening. What brings you to my home?"

The ring on my left hand is fizzling and crackling and.. heeeee's got it already, hasn't he?

There's some decidedly confused looking at one another from my team mates. But Kaldur's leader.

"Lord.. Fate. We were told that you were dead."

"Did you come here to check?"

And breathe. No constant references to 'fate'. He's not back, he's not back. Which still leaves the possibility that it's some other Order spirit pulling the strings. Huh, I never really thought about it, but… Did he actually call himself 'Lord Fate', or did other people pick it up based on the references he made?

"No. I apologise. I was simply surprised to see you."

"It's quite alright… Aqualad, yes?"

"You are correct." Kaldur turns slightly to the side, gesturing to the rest of us with his right hand. "And this is my team. You.. have met them before, but-."

"No, Nabu met them before. This is the first time for me. Ah! Where are my manners?" He holds his right hand out to Kaldur. "Lord Fate. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Aqualad." Kaldur takes his hand and they shake… Companionably enough.

Kon looks to me for some sort of clue about what's going on, but all I can do is shrug. Okay, Larfleeze's old ring looks like it's still -yep, that's a small box-construct- working. Perhaps the lack of AI means that it's not orderly enough? My spell eater is still cold so that wasn't a direct att.. ack. But… Power rings draw power from somewhere else which means-.

And now he's looking at me.

"Orange Lantern."

"Lord Fate." I hold out my left hand. "Ah, if you're planning on using the name."

"I may as well." He takes my hand with his left and… Nothing untoward happens. "I understand that the Justice League still have me listed on the active roster."

Ahhhhhhhhaaaaa…

Right. And that's the thing about masked secret identities. Kon can't pretend to be Kal-El; he's not big enough. But if another martian pretended to be J'onn J'onzz, no one who wasn't another martian would know it. Heck, the Justice League that formed during the One Year Later thing happened because one Firestorm gave the next Firestorm all his old Justice League gear. If something happened to Diana, would the next Wonder Woman get an automatic placement?

I somehow doubt that any of them have ever talked about it.

"They have Nabu on the active roster. I imagine that they'll want to talk to you before confirming the succession."

I'm aware there have been other Fates in the comics, but the only one I can remember right at this moment is Hector Hall and this man doesn't sound American. And… Jared something? I think he was American too?

Of course… There's the other option…

He removes his hand and extends his right towards Wallace. "I understand that you had the displeasure of being locked in your body by my predecessor."

"Yeah… That-" His eyes shift to me before returning to… Oh great, now I'm going to have to call him 'Fate' too. He shakes his hand. "-happened. Do you not..?"

"No, but I see why you would be concerned. This is my own body. But it's no trouble at all to demonstrate." Without particular ceremony he reaches up and lifts off the Helmet of Fate, revealing…

Some bloke with long blonde hair. Not John. Maybe what John would look like after a century-long detox program and a body building course. He also doesn't have any of the weight holding him down that John has, the slight cringe that comes from having everyone around you die or be horribly injured again and again and knowing that you were to blame and that's it's going to happen again. This man is.. confident. Calm. Friendly. And there's enough difference in the structure of his face that I'm not worrying that John's done some sort of stupid bit of magic to reimagine himself.

"Ah! Forgive me. I shouldn't keep you all waiting out here, not if you're tracking down arcane artefacts which may have fallen into the hands of ne'er-do-well's. Please." He motions to the open door with his right arm while putting the Helmet under his left. "Come inside."

 

[Mr Zoat]

30th October
18:43 GMT -5

Artemis stares around the vast library. "What happened to all the stairs?"

"They're still around." Fate walks over to what looks like a broom cupboard and pulls open the door, revealing… Yes, there they are. "But I find them a little inconvenient for moving around. Since I can change the relationship between the interior elements of the Tower, I shuffled some of the more inconvenient ones out of the way."

He closes the door and leads the way towards a reading area. The shelves are arranged in such a way that I can't tell whether the place is very big, actually infinite or just repeating itself. Certainly, I can't see or detect more of us.

"If I may ask?" Fate turns to Kaldur with his eyebrows raised. "I have not heard of… A magician of your appearance before. Have you been a hero for long?"

"In my own small way." He walks around to the far side of the table and sits down, putting the Helmet of Fate down in front of him. "I've always been a minor magician. Human psychology, basic synchronicity… A little wart-charming. And then: Helmet. And the whole wonderful music of the universe opened itself to me."

Richard, Wallace, Artemis and Kaldur sit down opposite him. I stay back a little, and Kon folds his arms across his chest and stands nearer to me. Would John have given up and dumped it on some likely lad? He might, I suppose. If it was really getting to him. And I probably wasn't on the planet, so I can hardly fault him for-.

"You don't know who this guy is, do you?"

"Not the foggiest."

Fate says something to Wallace, who frowns but holds out his hands anyway. A moment later a book flies in from one of the shelves and lands in them.

"Do you think he's telling the truth? I mean, what did you do with the Helmet of Fate after you killed him?"

"I was in hospital, Kon. I had no input into what happened to it."

"But you know." My eyes dip slightly. "Paul."

"John had it. He's looked after that sort of thing before, he's the man I got Angelica's wings from."

"Mom said they'd put things like that in the reliquary on Themyscira."

"And I made my plans assuming that she wouldn't be involved."

He doesn't look impressed. Which is.. understandable, really. "So, is this a problem?"

"Don't know. Hope not. Having a powerful Order magician around would certainly be useful." He starts to open his mouth. "One who isn't a body-stealing parasite."

"If I'm not intruding?"

We both turn around to look at New Fate. The others are flicking through books, going from illustration to illustration and pulling out the 'possibles' for further study. I think about reaching for my rune stone, but this place is so full of magic that I doubt that I'd get a worthwhile reading.

Kon nods at him. "Who are you?"

"My first name is 'John', actually. But you'll excuse a magician for not wanting to give out his full name." He half turns, gesturing to the other four. "Now, why don't you.. join your friends. I'm sure they'd appreciate an extra pair of eyes. And I need a quick word in private with Orange Lantern."

And… Kon's muscles tense slightly. He knows I'm hiding something about this from him. Which I am, and will continue to do until I can find out what's going on from John and then he can decide. Kon walks over to the table and pulls out the chair next to Wallace, while 'John' puts his right arm around my shoulders and gently leads me away down one of the aisles.

He doesn't say anything right away, just leads me down a corner to an intersection. Two seats, a small table, a glass of milk and a tea set. The latter being for him, presumably.

"Please, take a seat."

No real reason not to. I pull away and take the seat to the left. He gently lowers himself into the chair to the right, Helmet on his lap.

"Now." He picks up the teapot and pours himself a cup. Teabags in a kettle, or is he just replacing the strainer with magic? "I'm sure that you're finding this whole situation extremely suspicious."

I reach for the milk glass, hold it up and take a good look at it. "I walked into here, didn't I?"

He sets the teapot down and shakes his head. "I don't follow."

"John Constantine could probably futz around with the magics of the tower, given enough time. But an Order-aligned magician? No, the tower's accepted you. Which means you could probably put me on a Möbius strip stairway or something and there'd be very little I could do about it."

"Except call the Ophidian, and I would really rather that you didn't." He looks around as he raises his cup to his lips and takes a small sip. "I've just got it looking the way I like it."

"Alright. How did you get that Helmet?"

"Ah… Where are you up to?"

"John visited me in hospital after the fight with Nabu. He had it with him then."

"And how did he seem to you?"

"Like it was doing his head in."

He nods, a slight smile on his lips. "Yes, that's… John… Wasn't the most orderly of people. I'm a bit surprised he didn't hand it over to someone else immediately."

"So how did you get it? And how do you know John?"

"Some British police officers believe in magic. I was in Cardiff when there were a series of… Apparently ritualistic murders. I offered to help, they accepted… Completely unnecessarily, as it turned out. John was already on the case. We traded phone numbers…"

"Just one case?" Though that might explain why John never bothered mentioning him to me.

"I phoned him for advice a few times, and we got together for a drink on the one occasion I visited London." He shrugs, taking another sip. "Having contacts in the know is vital in our line of work." I nod. "We weren't especially close, and all I could really offer him was an extra pair of hands."

"But he trusts you with the Helmet?"

He chuckles quietly to himself. "How many orderly people do you think John Constantine knows, oh Discordian Lantern?"

Fair point. 'Not many' would be my guess, which pretty much matches the contact list he shared with me. And while Mister Zatara might have been willing to take it up again… Okay, there wouldn't be a huge problem, now that Nabu isn't in it any longer. But Order might have issues with it, and if he were directly plugged into it…

But some bright-looking magician from Cardiff? I could sort of see that working. And it's not like John isn't known for dumping people in the deep end.

"Alright. The Justice League are doing a full cover up on what happened to Nabu, so…"

He nods. "Mum's the word. He's on holiday, or retired, or accepted a new posting."

"Have you had any contact from the Order side of things?"

"Not yet. It's possible that they don't even know that Nabu's dead. But that's my problem now."

I nod. "If you ever want any help, I'm happy to assist."

"Thank you." He drains his cup and puts it back down. "And… Since we're going to be colleagues in future… Why don't we get to know one another a little?"

 

[Mr Zoat]

30th October
20:05 GMT -5

"That guy seemed pretty normal." Artemis shrugs as I look at her. "As super powerful wizards go."

"I will try not to take offence on my queen's behalf."

Artemis winces very faintly. "Right. But is she powerful, like, Lord of Order powerful?"

Kaldur inclines his head slightly. "I do not believe so. But I am also not certain how skilled the new Fate will be without Nabu to guide him."

It's not far to the Salem zeta tube, and the locals walking along the pavements around us are giving us a degree of space. Fate aside, Salem doesn't have a significant superhero or supervillain population. And I know that Nabu didn't interact significantly with the locals.

Kon nudges me with his left elbow. "What did he want to talk to you about?"

"An expanded version of how he got the Helmet."

Kaldur nods. "And do you believe his tale to be credible?"

"Plausible, yes. I'll need to check it out before I say 'credible', of course."

Wallace.. appears to be getting a little annoyed with me. "Oh El, why don't you just tell us what you did with the Helmet?"

"Because I put it in the care of a person, and I want to discuss the matter with them before spreading that information."

Richard tilts his head slightly to the side. "You weren't expecting him, were you?" I nod. "Were you expecting there to be a Fate, or was that a surprise too?"

Ahh-hhh… "I wasn't expecting a Fate. I also wasn't expecting such a helpful attitude, so really that went better than I thought it would. What did you find out?"

"Each of the ar-."

"Ah, hold on, Supes." Wallace raises his right hand.

Kon frowns. "What?"

Wallace looks at me and I nod. "I'm not on the team. Which means that I don't automatically qualify for sharing sensitive information."

"Oh, come on!" Kon frowns at Kaldur and Wallace in turn. "We didn't even get in when we came here without Paul. And John.. Fate seemed pretty friendly. What's the point in keeping something secret if he can just go back and ask them?"

I hold up my hands slightly. "Look, if you want to handle this without me... That's fine. I was just.. trying to be helpful."

"Kid Flash does raise a point which several of us have been considering." Kaldur stops for a moment and stares me in the face. "Do you wish to rejoin the team?"

"Um. I… I'd.. assumed that after Hyde Park the League wouldn't want me to be quite so closely involved with their work. Particularly given how I've already rejected their rules of engagement. A young superhero who doesn't know their own strength is one thing, but everything I did was deliberate."

"I understand that there may be problems, but you did not answer my question. Do you wish to rejoin the team?"

"Yes." A little tension leaves him. And Kon, I notice. "Not that living with Alan isn't fascinating. I now have an encyclopaedic knowledge of forties and fifties superhero trivia, and it's been great-."

"Ah, Oh El?" Wallace looks around. No one in our immediate vicinity, but I can see people further away. "Secret identity?"

"Unfortunately, after the zombie attack… He doesn't exactly have one any more. It's not… Common knowledge, but it is out there. Look, Mister Garrick managed perfectly well for decades without-."

"No, he didn't. He got attacked, Joan got attacked and the companies they worked for got attacked a whole bunch of times because people knew where they'd be. Don't try and pretend it doesn't happen."

"Okay, I'll.. talk to him about improving his home security."

"And what about his family?"

"I don't think that any of Alan's old enemies are still active. Except Solomon Grundy, and he hasn't been seen for.. nearly two years? And anyway-" I shake my head. "-people don't go after the extended families of police officers."

Artemis winces. "They do in Gotham. Did, anyway. I don't think it happens so much these days, but it definitely happened." Richard nods.

"Alan's mostly been practising healing, but-" I raise my hands. "-okay, I'll mention it to him, see what he wants to do. But… Going back to the original question." I nod. "I would like to rejoin the team. I just didn't want to create ructions between you and the-" Kon gives my left shoulder a playful shove. "-League. So… What's the process?"

"It-." / "You need to talk to Batman."

Kaldur looks at Wallace in surprise. He makes a shrugging gesture with his hands. "What? Look, having Oh El back would be great. It's not like I want to try walking along a river bed for five hours. But he-."

He checks around us again, and I give it a quick ring scan as well. No listening devices I can detect, and at this point we're away from areas people usually go outside of work hours.

"Assassinated a member of the Justice League. He just said himself that the League might have a problem with him coming back."

Kon gives his head a small shake. "Batman was fine about him helping us fight Eliminations Inc."

Richard shakes his head. "Him coming back on the team means that he gets access to Justice League information. And authorisation. And it means that League members who aren't okay with him being back are expected to start teaching him again."

"Green.. Arrow…" Artemis looks uncomfortable as she says it. "Said he was fine with teaching him. I got the impression a lot of the League feel like that."

"I know Mom does."

Kaldur nods. "But in the League, decisions must be near-unanimous."

"Okay, I'll make an appointment with Batman. And not just appear in the Batcave this time. In the meantime, if there's anything you want me to help with… That's fine, no need for a full explanation."

Another nod from Kaldur, accompanied by a small smile. "Those of us who are not attending school tomorrow were going to follow up on some of these leads." Him, me, Canis, Roy, Garth, Tula and Zatanna… Maybe. "It would make things easier if you were with us."

"As long as it doesn't involve a fingertip search of the bottom of a major river again."

"No. Since we have a better idea of what the artefacts stolen can be used for, we are able to considerably narrow our search parameters. Though the search will still most likely be exhaustive."

I nod as Kon pulls open the door leading to the zeta tube.

"Sounds… More fun than today."

 

[Mr Zoat]

31st October
09:00 GMT -5

"Aqualad has informed me that you have an interest in rejoining the team."

I stand at parade rest in the Batcave. I'm mildly pleased with the situation, that this meeting was arranged so quickly, that there actually is a meeting, that I can't use basic scans to examine his equipment… And that Alan is going to have to stop making cracks about me 'getting a job'.

I pay rent.

"That is correct, Batman. None of my uplift projects require my continued input, I found you two magic users… At.. this point, it's that or found one of my own." Ah. "Another of my own, counting the Orange Lantern Corps."

"Doctor Mist has expressed a reluctance to work with the League in circumstances where we would be expected to intervene, and your handling of Angelica Blaze's reveal left a great deal to be desired."

"And yet, neither of them are parasites, and as such represent an improvement upon their predecessor."

Batman regards me impassively. "Doctor Mist has stated that if he saw a river surge and flood a populated area, he would leave the local people to drown rather than help them."

"Yes, I do appreciate that Doctor Mist's belief that natural disasters are 'natural' is a bit strange, but you needed someone who can fight the most powerful tier of magic using criminals and that's what you've got. He believes that it isn't his job to deal with problems that normal human society should be able to cope with, and… We know that building on flood plains results in homes being flooded, and yet.. it keeps happening."

"Do you agree with him?"

"No, because I believe that our objective should be to raise everyone else to our levels. I don't believe that we're 'apart' in the way that he does. On the other hand, I'm not as old as he is and it may be that once I've seen a few civilisations rise and fall I'll feel differently."

A slight inclination of his head. "How would you convince him otherwise?"

For a second I frown at the question, but alright. "Resocialise him. He has few friends and little investment in the particular lives around him. Change that, and he may be more open to interventionism. Or.. perhaps if you encouraged him to nurture those parts of modern civilisation which can resist threats of the tier you're recruiting him to fight, he would feel that it was acceptable until such time as those threats no longer exist."

"Plausible. Do you have similar plans for improving Angelica Blaze's public image?"

"No." I sigh. "A great many people have religious beliefs which are factually inaccurate. There is no way around it, no way to change their minds with mere evidence. The best I can think of is having her continue her mercy missions and to not have anything to do with me."

Batman nods. "While I still do not approve of your handling of Nabu, I have no objection in principle to you rejoining the team."

Great! "Thank you-."

"Other members of the Justice League may, however. I am aware that you have talked things through with Wonder Woman and Green Arrow, but as I understand it you have not spoken to most other members of the League."

"No, not… About that. I didn't think that restarting that argument was a productive use of my time."

"The team was founded to train the next generation of superheroes. I -and most other members of the League- have assumed that its members will eventually become members of the Justice League. While in the short term, it is likely that 'restarting the argument' would harm your working relationships, I also believe it is the best way to repair them in the longer term."

Oooooh great. I mean, I've spent time with Arnus due to Lantern Xor's upcoming trial and with the Lanterns during training, but we've never addressed the point directly.

"And if I do that..?"

"Then you will return to the team's active roster and be expected to take part in team activities. Including lessons."

"And I will endeavour to approach them with an open mind."

"In the intervening period, I do have a few tasks it would be helpful if you could perform."

"I've.. already offered to spend today helping the team."

"These do not need to be attended to immediately."

I nod. "Okay then. What can I do for you?"

He turns away, activating his computer terminal and bringing up an image. A group of superheroes; a man in light power armour and a youth in an ill-advised body stocking, flames churning around his hands. A woman in black and gold and a woman in gold and red.

And is that Flamebird?

"Superhero teams are far from being a new phenomenon. Even the Justice Society wasn't the first such alliance. But recently, large numbers of unconnected superheroes have been provided with improved equipment and training by an organisation called 'The Alliance of the Just'."

"Sensible. I did say the League should consider doing something like that."

"Given that the head of the Alliance is Vincent Edge, you may wish to reconsider your endorsement."

Ah. Vincent Edge, believed but never proven to be the founding father of Intergang. I suppose the skill set is somewhat familiar.

"I thought he was retired."

"He had a successful heart transplant early this year, and appears to be as physically sound as a man of his age can be. Despite your stated views on the matter, the Justice League is not an umbrella organisation for superheroes. If all that is happening is that he's had a Damascene conversion and wishes to redeem himself, then there is nothing about this which warrants League intervention. However, my concern is that this is a cover for an act of large scale criminality."

"Are all of these people..." I languidly wave my hand in the direction of the screens. "Known quantities with a history of heroism?"

"Most are, some are not." He takes a data stick out of the console and hands it to me. "While in other circumstances I might ask the team to investigate this, their increasingly public roles as partners of members of the Justice League make such an approach somewhat overt."

"I'm a known Justice League affiliate."

"You have also missed several missions undertaken by the team due to your resignation. I have also allowed controlled leaks to take place indicating that you have had a falling out with your mentors."

It is true.

"Any problem with me including Alan in this?"

"Since you have not yet rejoined the team, this is not an order. As such, you are free to proceed in any way you choose."

"Thank you. I'll-" I raise the data stick. "-get right on that."

 

[Mr Zoat]

31st October
18:58 GMT -5

Today was… Nice. Just Tula, Kaldur and I attempting and largely failing to find any further leads on the rash of thefts while Garth and Canis did little better.

Querying the families of the deceased produced… Nothing actionable. They reported that the people who disappeared had been mildly confused and a little distressed before their disappearances… Which could indicate a chemical compound being used to alter their thoughts, or a form of telepathic control that has brain damage as a side effect. I'm not aware of any currently active telepaths on Earth whose abilities work like that, and from what M'gann told me martian telepathy generally doesn't have that sort of effect.

Canis seemed to be enjoying himself, less from having me back and more from the sheer disregard for life shown by the perpetrators of the thefts. He and Garth were able to track one of the escaped thieves down, but sadly whatever kills them doesn't require them to be capable of moving. Whatever they stole had already been moved, and an analysis of the site yielded no clues about where it had gone.

And now I've got a meeting with-

"Hey! Orange Lantern!"

-Arnus, to talk about the Nabu situation. I wave with my right hand as Raquel flies over the Dakota City skyline and comes up alongside me. "Good evening, Rocket."

"You here to see Icon?"

"Yes, I.. phoned ahead. Batman wants me to talk about Nabu with everyone in the Justice League before he'll sign off on me rejoining the team."

She frowns. "Why do you want to come back on the team?"

"Because it's where my friends are? Why?"

"I'm only on the team until I can join the Justice League. That's what it's for, ain't it? I mean, you're already an official Lantern, you're in a Lantern Corps… What do you get out of it?"

"If you put it like that, what do I get out of joining the Justice League?"

She blinks. "The zeta tube network? Cooperation from police all over the world? You get to look like a legitimate hero, rather than some guy in glowing armor?"

"My abilities as a Lantern are at their strongest when I fight beside people whom I identify with most strongly. I'm better with the team than the League. And it's not like I can't do my own thing in my own time."

"It would make Mister Scott happy."

I nod. "That's the best reason, but I'm not in a rush on that front any longer."

"Why? Did he stop being old?"

"Yes, effectively." She blinks. "Oh, were you not in the loop on that? I got him a new lantern, and he's now elementally enough that as long as he wears his ring he won't decay."

"Huh. Okay then. How's the.. search thing going?"

"Since I haven't been told what we're looking for, I'm not completely sure. No significant further progress was made today…"

"It's statues. Weird little statues."

"I.. don't think you're supposed to-."

"Are you gunna tell anyone how you found out?"

"Nno."

"You can't look for something when you don't know what you're looking for, can you?"

"I suppose not. Are you continuing the investigation this evening, or doing-" Arnus flies out from behind a block of flats and we alter course to meet him. "-local patrolling?"

"Local. Icon doesn't like me being out late on a school night." The three of us slow as we get to within speaking distance. "Where do you want me tonight?"

"I believe that Sadler would benefit from your oversight this evening. There has been a small spike in rates of petty theft lately."

"I'm on it." She turns in the air and accelerates northwards with a wave.

Hm. Okay. While I know 'Augustus Freeman' reasonably well -at least on the professional level- I don't know Arnus at all. Not his.. distinguishing characteristics. I know the things which he's done from Justice League records and Raquel's mentor boasting contests with Wallace, but on a personal level? Almost nothing.

"Is it appropriate to call you 'Arnus'?"

"It is a name for which I no longer have any use. Since we are in costume, I believe that 'Icon' would be more appropriate."

"Alright. As I.. said in my message, Batman has made my return to the team contingent on me talking about the Nabu situation with all members of the League. Personally, I'd rather have drawn a veil over the whole thing. So if there's anything you want to ask me or.. volunteer, now's the time."

"Why did you request that Wonder Woman's lasso be used during your testimony?"

"Spite. Oh, and the reasons I stated at the time. I had roughly planned to storm out, and having to repeat myself might have interrupted that."

"Spite. Because the lasso symbolises not merely factual truth but divine truth. Because you wished to indicate that you would speak honestly even when totally in the League's power, telling us something we did not wish to hear."

I nod. "Pretty much."

"In the Cooperative, we learned to be cautious of primitive truth compulsion techniques. The evidence indicates that they often bias the answers given. Do you believe that the character of your own answers was influenced by the lasso's magic?"

"Once or twice, yes. Generally, not sure. But I had intended to be confrontational from the start and didn't say anything that I regret substantially."

He nods. "Is there anything which you would like to ask me?"

I have been wondering… "Why was slavery abolished in the US in eighteen sixty five?"

His eyebrows rise very slightly. "I was referring to my negligent treatment of Giovanni Zatara."

"That's between you and either your god or your conscience, as you prefer. You telling me now won't change anything. But if you want to…"

"Slavery was abolished in eighteen sixty five because that was the earliest point after the civil war at which the legislation could be passed in the House and the Senate, and then ratified by the States. Can I safely assume from your question that you are curious as to why I -who arrived in the United States in eighteen ten- had not taken action to end it sooner?"

"I'm curious as to your reasoning. Your life pod reconstructed you as a baby, and you didn't know anything about Earth society. On the other hand, by the time you were… Say, fifteen? You would have known enough, and you were powerful enough that I don't think anyone around at the time could have stopped you."

"Because I believe that Earth society needed to learn to deal with the evil of slavery itself. To struggle with its conscience and learn from that struggle, rather than have a solution imposed upon it by a single man. I take it that you disagree?"

"In cases where the provocation is sufficient, yes. Slavery, slaughter, mass mutilation and mass mind control would result in me intervening, more or less regardless of other factors."

"I cannot swear to you that the route I took was the best for Earth society. I am aware that in the short term many people suffered who could otherwise have been saved. Are you certain that your interventions have maximised utility?"

"Not certain. I don't think a person ever can be."

He looks away for a moment. "I did not intervene in the matter of Nabu's occupation of Giovanni Zatara because I believed at the time that the arrangement was truly voluntary. I did not know that their joining could function without the host's consent. When you.. confronted us and I became more fully informed, I was surprised that other League members had allowed that state of affairs to continue. I certainly do not approve of Nabu's actions."

"And mine?"

"I found them disquieting. But I cannot say with any confidence that you were in the wrong."

I nod, following his gaze. "Anything else, or shall we spend the rest of the evening on crime prevention?"

"I have no further questions at this time."

 

[Mr Zoat]

1st November
11:35 GMT -6

Miss Shimmer eyes me warily from just outside her laboratory door as I approach. "What are you doing here?"

I blink. "I live here."

She frowns. "No, I mean, why are you here at my lab?"

I smile. "I'm trying to show an interest in your work?"

She closes her eyes for a moment, shaking her head. "I haven't made any progress working out how to recreate the portal to Morgan le Fay's world-."

"No, no." I hold up my right hand. "Not with the work I set you. With your own studies."

She shakes her head again. "I'm not doing anything that's got anything to with-."

"Sunset." I tilt my head to the right. "I'm trying to show an interest in your work. Just… Being sociable, subletting landlord to tenant. I'm not demanding, I'm just aware that.. I haven't been paying as much attention to you as I have to some of the other residents except when I need you to do something."

"And you've got nothing going on right now."

"And-. Well." Ah… "I'm not exactly rushed off my feet at the moment, but when you're as powerful as me there's always something you can be doing. And let's be honest: you're a lot more independent than the children are. But." I lightly lay my right hand on her left shoulder. "I do want to make time for you. You're a valued part of the team, and that needs to work both ways."

She looks at me for a moment, then turns her head away. "Yeah. Okay, sorry, I-." She exhales. "I'm still not-." She looks uncertain.

"You're expecting me to do a Celestia?"

"No." She irritably brushes off my hand, then sags slightly. "Maybe? I don't know. I'm not good at… Social.. stuff."

"I used drugs to turn myself into a giant grey mutant and lied to everyone about it." I shrug. "None of us are perfect."

"Um. I guess."

"And I thought you and Iname were getting along well?"

"I-." She turns away and places her palm on the door's scanner. "Can we just talk about work?"

"We can talk about whatever you want to talk about."

The door slides open and I follow her inside. Hm. I remember a television series I watched back on Earth Prime where a wizard used lights to project a magic circle on the ground. Far easier to program it in and then press a button than to draw it out every time. Miss Shimmer has taken a more lego approach: metal parts designed to tessellate with one another are arranged in a warded enclosure or stacked neatly at the side of the main workshop. I don't recognise the particular configuration, but that's a decent opener.

I gesture towards it with my right hand. "What's that for?"

"Hm?" Miss Shimmer has responded to my intrusion into her territory by going right to her work station and metaphorically hovering. "Oh, ah, I was trying to…" She looks away awkwardly. "It didn't work, I just haven't needed the space, and I don't like the genomorphs being in here without me."

"What was it..? Supposed to be for?"

She hesitates, then shrugs. "I've been trying to use what I've learned about thaumaturgy to recreate unicorn magic. Wilson unicorn magic, not fae unicorn magic, however that works."

"Every failure is a chance to begin again more intelligently!" She gives me a black look. "How did it go?"

"I thought… Now I can use Earth magic, I thought I could build some sort of conversion device. Based on what I know about unicorn magic I came up with models for how it could work…"

"That's science for you. Come up with a theory, test it, and if it doesn't hold up then you know how the universe doesn't work."

She shakes her head. "I don't think I'm wrong exactly. But… I don't think magic on Wilson works like it does here. I-." She frowns at me. "Do you actually read the books you get for me?" I shake my head. "Ugh. Some of it matches up with what works here, but I think some of the… Not the operating principles exactly, but… Some of the constants are different?"

"So no wizard to unicorn converter?"

"It's theoretically possible, but…" She shakes her head. "It would take years to work out what the differences were." She shrugs. "I mean, without access to Equestria."

"Have you tried asking Zatanna for help? I got the impression that her talking backwards thing worked for just about anything."

Miss Shimmer's jaw tightens. "Yeah, that…" She huffs. "It just feels-. Stupid. Using a magic I don't understand to cheat. And.. talking backwards!"

"How are words more stupid than glowing keratin?"

"Because I grew up with one and not the other. And it's not like-." She throws her arms up a little and starts pacing. "It's not like I didn't know there were other ways of manipulating the environment using magic. When I was a little filly I used to nag the palace gardeners to show me how earth pony magic worked."

"Because you wanted to learn how to be an alicorn."

"No! I didn't even know that was possible until Celestia showed me myself in Starswirl's mirror as an alicorn. And then-." She looks like she's swallowed something unpleasant. "Celestia wouldn't tell me anything about becoming an alicorn. After a while I thought that maybe she just didn't know, or maybe it was symbolic or something. Then…"

"Then..?"

She shakes her head. "Some pegasus pony managed it. One moment wings, next moment wings, horn and about ten centimetres taller."

I nod. "Which.. means that Cel-."

"Yeah, which means she was lying to me the whole time. It's not like I was serious when I said I wanted to dissect her!"

I nod. "Dissections are for life, MRI scans are every six months."

"Exactly! I mean, we didn't have MRI scans, but I could have done something." She throws out her arms wide this time. "What was I supposed to do?"

"Follow Friend Computer's wise and benevolent guidance like a good meat robot."

"What? No, we don't have computers. I was supposed to mindlessly follow Celestia's orders!" Her pacing naturally turns her away from me as I briefly consider explaining 'Paranoia' to her and decide against it. "But yes! 'Meat robot'. That's exactly it!"

"But getting back to your work..?"

"The only example of Equestrian magic on Earth is this end of the portal. And I don't think I can build a laboratory in Filly-. In Philadelphia."

"Might be difficult. I could probably get a temporary one authorised…" I frown. "Is there any way to move it?"

"I don't-." She turns around, frowning. "I don't know. Celestia called it 'Starswirl's Mirror', but I couldn't check its provenance. And she wouldn't let me study it either."

"I didn't notice any particular object on this side. Is the anchor point in the air? Does it move… Actually, if there's been a portal there for who knows how long, is there a way to detect other examples of Wilsonian magic on Earth?"

She frowns again, this time in thought rather than frustration. "Actually, there… Should be. Let me just do some calculations."

 

[Mr Zoat]

1st November
23:20 GMT +6

Rain hammers into my construct umbrella as a construct riverbank springs into being, monsoon surge now being channelled away from the village and farmlands. In the dark my rings show me Kal-El going to work, grabbing people out of the water and lifting them to safety.

Ring, show me the whole of the river channel.

Compliance.

A couple more places are likely to breach. I extend the construct and lift its sides, increasingly replacing the channel of the river. I can't help but feel that this shouldn't be happening. Monsoon rains are an annual event. The fact that this river is the course the waters are taking shouldn't be a surprise. Why wasn't this area better prepared?

"Superman to Orange Lantern. Having any trouble?"

"No, sir. I'm directing the surge downstream now."

"Are you able to deepen the channel?"

Which is a sensible thing to ask. It would have been even more sensible to ask the local civil engineer six months ago, but this is an emergency response. We wouldn't be here if someone had asked that. Moving earth is of course well within my abilities…

A better question is: do I want to?

The people suffering the effects here are not individually at fault, but someone around here is, and they're living on a flood plain. Not far away from here, people make the entirely sensible decision to build their homes on stilts precisely because they've adapted to these conditions. This village hasn't.

No, I don't want to. Not strongly enough to do a full and proper fix. I can keep my current construct up all night, but beyond that…

"No, sir. I'm afraid not. I've got some building materials in subspace; I should be able to shore up this bank-."

"Can you dam the river for a few minutes?"

The area immediately adjacent to the river is uninhabited for tens of metres. I might not want to wipe the Bangladesh government's arse for it but I genuinely don't want these people to drown on my watch.

Agh, should have grabbed a Dolmen gate or two…

"Yes, sir. Say when."

My environmental shield wavers as he appears next to me. "When."

I expand my construct to the left and right of the bank at the same time as I block off the end. Water flow downstream cuts off immediately and Kal-El darts off in that direction. Of course, water doesn't stop coming. I'm building up a decent size reservoir here. Which is actually easier for me to manage than a small volume would be, as it being here is my fault and there aren't reasonable civil engineering solutions to this quantity of water being dumped on you.

And while I'm doing that, Kal-El-.

Oh. Goodness.

I assumed that he was going to improve the river channel himself. And it's not as if he was asking me to keep the water off for his benefit. He might need to breathe, but he can hold his breath for a significant period of time. I had thought that he might not want to risk sloshing the water out with the speed of his actions, but it's not that. He didn't want to scald the area with superheated steam.

I'm flying, so I don't feel the ground rumble as he hits it and forces his way through. I do see the glow as he melts the river bed and shoves it aside, the molten material cooling just enough to stay more or less where he puts it. And he's moving really fast; he's already further away from me than I could see with my unaided eyes in daylight. The channel will have about… Three times the volume when he's finished. More than enough for normal monsoons and certainly a start for the local people to improve upon if they so choose.

I suppose when all you've got is a hammer, you learn to get really good at fixing things with a hammer.

"Looks good from here, sir. How far are you planning on going?" I wait for a moment. "Sir?"

Of course, that's a problem with having communications gear that isn't Kryptonian-tough. Magma and molten glass aren't too healthy for portable radios. Okay, he's got that end covered, and once he's finished I'll be able to release the water faster than it's coming in. It'll be rather dull if he has to dash off, but if he can stick around then-.

"And done." Kal-El reappears next to me, easily catching his falling radio out of the air as he does so. He sees me looking at it. "Batman gave me a lecture after I destroyed the first one of these."

"That was impressively well timed, sir." He shrugs, apparently considering timing ploughing through molten rock precisely enough to catch an object he threw up before he started just a party trick anyone could learn. "Should I let the water go now, or leave it for a bit?"

"If you're managing okay, let's give it a minute or two." I nod. "You wanted to talk about something?"

"Yes, but-. This river shouldn't have overflown, right?"

"No, it shouldn't. And I think I know just the mild-mannered reporter to find out what happened to the levee maintenance budget."

"Is the Daily Planet interested in that sort of thing? We're a long way from Metropolis."

"The Planet has an international edition. And it's always worth knowing where your foreign aid money is being spent."

He knows Mr Mason better than I do. "What I wanted to talk to you about was Nabu." He raises his eyebrows very slightly, but doesn't interrupt. "Batman wants me to talk things out with the entire League before letting me rejoin the team."

"I.. see. I'm a.. little surprised that you want to keep learning from us, given how things were when you left."

"If I don't understand why you do what you do, I can't correct the thought processes that lead you to doing it. Either for you or for the next generation. And I really do find it easier to identify with the rest of the team."

"I'll admit, after what you did to Nabu I'll probably feel better having you where I can see you." He semi-smiles at his semi-joke. "I'll tell Batman that I don't have any objection to you returning to the team."

"Thank you, sir, but I think he rather wants us to talk about Nabu a bit first. I'd just as soon not, but…"

"In that case… You made your views and motives very clear, so I suppose you're finally ready to hear mine."

"I was ready to hear them any time you chose to volunteer them. I just didn't think it was a productive thing to spend time on."

"I -on the other hand- think it's an excellent use of my time to make sure you don't kill any more superheroes. And since you're rejoining the team, take this as my first lecture. If you're getting into a situation where you think you might end up having to use lethal force talk to your teacher first. You're a smart-" Don't. "-kid, but not even Batman sees all the angles."

"I gave Nabu a chance-."

"A chance to surrender, which you almost certainly knew he wouldn't take."

I look away for a moment. "Actually, I was hopeful that he would. I assumed that as a being of Order he'd be rational about it, put our personal enmity aside and do what makes logical sense." I look back at him. "So you believe that I should have taken a chance and raised the matter with Diana or Batman?"

"In your case, yes. You clearly brought other people in, so I take it that you had a way to avoid Fate's detection."

"Not one that would have been reliable for someone in frequent close proximity to him, but I could have risked it. But after you brought him into the League, I didn't think the risk was worth it."

"We can't teach you if you don't listen to us. And we can't answer your questions if you don't ask them."

"Alright. I can listen. But I should not have had to prompt you about something like that."

 

[Mr Zoat]

2nd November
12:56 GMT -5

"Hail, Lantern!" Marcus Aelius floats upwards as the Washington police deposit two people in suits into the back of a police car. "What brings you to Washington?"

"Lunch." I hold up a picnic basket. "If you're hungry?"

"I believe-" He glances down as the police pull away. "-that I can spare some time. But please tell me that you haven't brought dormice?"

"Ah… I haven't brought dor-." He bows his head slightly. "I thought Romans-."

"I spent ten years on Virmiron, and have spent a further three on modern Earth. And even in my youth, I thought that the fixation on dormouse-eating was a bizarre affectation of the idle rich. There is no time for faddish diets on campaign."

"I apologise for my assumption. All the.. more for me?"

"Hah!" He floats past me, heading in the general direction of Rock Creek Park. "I've eaten dormice before." I head after him, and we both accelerate as we go. "It is simply that when people discovered I was actually a Roman Centurion it was all anyone who hosted me put on. I have no wish to offend my hosts…"

"But I imagine that it got a bit tiring?"

"I come from Greater Germany! I visited Rome twice in my entire life!"

"So, for future reference, less dormice, more sausage?"

"If you're really trying to score points with me, bring something you've hunted and killed yourself with a bow or a spear." He lands on an area of open grass. "We could get a permit to roast it."

I take a couple of power armour safe seats out of subspace and deposit them next to him. "You know, I was going to ask why you stayed in America rather than going back to Italy. But if you're ethnically German-?"

"Bah. I went back to visit." He tests the seat before trusting it with his full weight. "The mountains are the mountains, and the Rhine is still mostly in the same place. But after nearly two thousand years there was nothing about the people that felt familiar."

I take the other seat, putting the picnic basket down between us and construct-lifting out tubs of salad, eggs, cheese and a small loaf of bread. "And Italy?"

"The Roman Empire was confident, proud, strong and aggressive." He pulls a plate out of the basket and uses a small energy blade to cut off a piece of bread. "Modern Italy… No people who worship their past could take its place. These United States are the closest I've found."

He watches with unconcealed amusement as I lift out the honey-glazed dormouse tub. Wolf.. seemed to like it. "If I may ask..?"

He chews a piece of bread, then swallows. "I doubt that you invited me to lunch for an autograph."

"Why did you become a superhero when you came back?"

"As opposed to a soldier?" I nod. "My alien tutors showed me examples of barbarity and harshness undreamt of by the most brutish barbarian or the cruellest tyrant. It all made.. political expansion seem… Trite. Trivial. I was told -and fully accepted- that I would serve Rome best by serving as a bulwark against such things. And then I returned…"

Yes. I imagine that was a shock. I've tried and failed to come up with a species that engages in interstellar travels using devices that can muck up time dilation so badly and would be inclined to train up local heroes.

"I had half-expected that upon my return I would found my own legion with which to defend the Earth, but in my absence…" He looks around. "The Earth was not inclined to wait for me." He adds a hard boiled egg to his plate, along with some carrots. "And you? What was your reason?"

"I originally said it was for self defence; I wanted to learn to protect myself in a clearly insane world. Having had a great deal of time to think about it…" He watches closely as I take a bite of dormouse. It's… Okay, though I'm still not sold on sweetened meats. "I think it was more about taking the opportunity to… Have a wider impact on the world in a way I just didn't before. Not that being an administrative assistant didn't have its own… Charms?"

Well. Sometimes.

"It is perfectly natural to want to make your mark. But is that really what you wanted to ask me?"

"Just trying to get a feel for your character. I usually-. I used to speed things up by using empathic vision, but… I got told that was creepy."

"So..?"

"Two things. The first and most simple is that Vulcan wants a look at your armour."

"Really? He didn't seem much interested when we met two weeks ago."

"He didn't-? Wait, you mean the superhero Vulcan."

"Yes. Naturally. Is there more than one of that name?"

Probably. "There's the forge-god."

He looks at me a little uneasily. "Normally, I would scoff. But after your turn in the theater, I believe that you may be serious."

"He and Hephaestus have been remodelling Mount Etna and-."

"I'm a Christian."

"What?"

"Certainly, the faith has changed from how it was practiced in my day, but surely you knew that-."

"Yes, I knew that the Roman empire converted, but-." I shake my head. "Didn't you used to swear by-?"

"Force of habit. Do you yourself not find yourself calling out to the Lord God when under stress, despite being a professed devotee of Discordia?"

"Not.. so much now, but I did. So… Shall I tell him 'no'?"

"It… Might be best. And the other question?"

"I wanted to ask about 'The Alliance of the Just'."

He nods. "Would you not be better off enquiring directly with its director?"

"Oh, I will be talking to him sometime soon. But I wanted to ask a member first."

He nods, and takes a bite of carrot while he considers his response. He certainly doesn't seem bothered by my asking. "I can stop muggers all day, but in order to maximise the utility of doing so I must also ensure that they are convicted and that their support infrastructure -fences and the like- are arrested too. And then… I'm not a police officer, and while I am tolerated here I do not automatically gain access to police information resources. The Alliance has their own database, which they share freely. All they ask in return is that I share my own case files so that other superheroes can benefit from them as well."

"Is that all?"

"I don't require training, either physically or in legal matters. Though I do see the value in them offering such to others. They also offer forms of insurance which people in our profession might otherwise find it hard to get, and attempt to negotiate working arrangements with police forces. I don't know if you keep track of superhero arrest rates..?"

"No. In fact I wasn't aware that a significant number did get arrested. America has traditionally been very tolerant of vigilantes."

"The ones who get arrested generally don't get called 'superheroes' by the newspapers." He jabs at me with a carrot. "If you're so interested, why don't I introduce you?"

 

[Mr Zoat]

2nd November
13:47 GMT -5

"…base themselves here, but the Justice League do virtually no policing within Washington DC itself. And intervening when the Hall of Justice is attacked feels… Strange."

I had rather assumed that a former Roman Centurion would be less sociable than this, but Marcus is actually quite pleasant company. And.. now I'm.. feeling mildly guilty for putting him on the 'low priority' Justice League membership list, more useful for the Pax Romana than for himself. His ship has FTL and some weaponry, but it's designed as a mobile infantry command post rather than as a ship of war. If it had been an actual warship, I'd have prioritised him a little higher.

"Trust me, their internal defences aren't that impressive."

We land in front of the office building which the Alliance are using as their head office. Budding superheroes aren't expected to come here in order to register, but apparently setting up an organisation dedicated to supporting pro-social law-breaking is easier from the capital city.

"So… How does the training work?"

"Some are online affairs, but I understand that they want to run on-site seminars as soon as they get enough interest." He leads the way through the revolving rooms and into the lobby. "I've told them that I'm willing to act as a tutor."

"For active superheroes or people thinking about starting out?"

"Either. Though personally, I'd wait until they'd been active for a few months before inviting anyone." He waves at the receptionist, who picks up his phone. "I think that too many journalists and other such rubberneckers would turn up otherwise."

"Maybe they could just give a discount. 'Five dollars off per scar'?"

"Would it not be better to reward those without-? No, that unfairly benefits those with superhuman resilience or regenerative abilities."

"So they do charge?"

He nods. "At cost. This organisation is a charity, but things must be paid for-" The lift doors open. "-somehow. Ah, Vincent!"

"Marcus! Always a pleasure." Mister Edge walks a little awkwardly out of the lift, visibly putting weight on his cane. "And Orange Lantern. What brings you here?"

"When the leader of a crime syndicate starts hiring superheroes, it sounds like a trend I should monitor."

"Ah." He nods. "Batman send you?"

"I'm not formally affiliated with the Justice League at present. However, if I had to guess how he felt about it…"

Another nod, then he turns towards the reception desk. "Patrick, hold my calls for an hour, will yah?"

"Sure thing, Mister Edge."

Mister Edge looks up at me. "We should probably have this discussion in private."

"As you wish."

Marcus and I follow him as he leads the way down a side corridor and into a small meeting room. He gestures to us to take a couple of seats, then closes the door and activates an instrument panel. Ring?

ECM field detected. Ring function not impaired.

"Can't be too careful." He makes his way over to the opposite side of the table and-. I push the chair out with a construct for him. "Mm, thanks." He sits down very carefully, putting his walking stick across his legs. "Welcome to my offices. Only moved in last month, so things aren't quite fully set up yet."

"I… Had understood that you were fully recovered. If you're not up to-."

He shakes his head, waving his right hand dismissively. "I'm probably better than I think I am. You have one heart attack, you never want to have another. And that's kinda why I'm doing this. I know it looks fishy as all get out, but..." I turn up my empathic vision. No, that would be too easy. "You met an angel, right?"

"I've had that… Happen."

"And you met a demon right outside the Hall of Justice. And I had a heart attack." He shrugs. "I know a man having apprehension about his own mortality isn't the best reason for… You know… Some of the things…"

"Some of the things you're alleged to have done."

"Yeah." He looks away for a moment, then shakes his head. "Ah, hell. No point lying about it now. I've done more than enough for God to damn me. And I don't think I've got all that long to make up for it. It's a-" He lightly taps the left side of his chest with his right hand. "-warning. A reminder. I've got money, my wife's dead and my son's companies are all legitimate. I want-. No. I need to give something back."

"Why superheroes?"

"I bought off dozens of police back in the day. Never bought off one guy crazy enough to come at me with his trunks on the outside. Someone crazy enough to fight like that could do anything."

Marcus smiles. "With proper organisation."

Mister Edge nods. "No one can say I don't know the law. Or how crime works, how it pays. This is my… My expertise. And you're all in favour of rehabilitation, right?"

He's probably talking about Thomas and Tuppence rather than alluding to Jade… "Of course. What's the point of putting people in prison if you're not going to try and straighten them out?"

"God…" He looks away for a moment. "God handled the 'straighten out' bit for you." He takes a deep breath before returning his gaze to me. "So." He manages a small smile. "You going to haul me off now, or is there something else you want to ask?"

"One thing. Could you please take off your ward?"

"What, this?" He takes a small metallic plate out of his jacket pocket and lays it on the table. "That any better?"

"Yes."

I'm seeing a genuine desire to redeem himself, and as he said it's built up around an imprint of a very Old Testament sort of God, glaring down at him while he lies weak and helpless. Not.. unusual in itself, but fairly unusual amongst violent career criminals. I'm not seeing anything else that would cause him to change his mind, it's literally just fear of Jehovah's retribution.

But I'll take what I can get.

"Thank you, you can put it back on now."

"Thanks." He slides it back into his pocket. "Do I want to know what you just did?"

"I used.. 'exotic' means to confirm your story. And I see that you were telling the truth."

He nods, managing a small smile. "Glad to hear it. You know, I'd ask for your input in all of this, except I already know what you'd say?"

"Really?"

"I don't think classified Justice League reports just 'happen' to get posted through our doors."

"It is not Justice League policy to comment on leaks."

It isn't, coincidentally.

Marcus' smile broadens. "I read it as well. You argued intelligently for the League to improve its command and control capacities. Has your view found any favor?"

"I don't believe so."

Mister Edge raises his eyebrows. "We could always use new trainers, if you can spare us the time? Or any information you've got on supervillains that you're allowed to share. I know.. normal crime. With super crime I can't tell what stuff online is true and what's nonsense."

I do need to check out the rest of the organisation as well…

"I can share my own records with you. Not Justice League records, but my own observations." Two nods. "And in return? I was wondering if you could help me track down some thieves."