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

[Mr Zoat]

5th November
17:22 GMT -6

A rooftop in Central City, out of line of sight of any security cameras and within convenient travelling distance for a man who can run at light speed. He was supposed to be here twenty two minutes ago, but Wallace said that's pretty normal for hi-.

Then he's there, the coffee cup I put out already in his hand and at his lips.

"Thank you for taking the time to see me, Flash."

"Ignoring you didn't seem like a good idea." Mister Allen lowers his cup slightly as he looks at me. "Sorry I'm late." He shrugs. "You know how it goes."

"Only from Kid Flash. Though I imagine that if I had a secret identity to maintain I'd see the other side quickly enough." I gesture to the other chair with my left hand. "Would you like to sit down?"

He nods and takes his seat, putting his cup on the arm rest. "So. Bats has got you visiting everyone in the League."

"Batman suggested that it would help restore working relationships in the long term, yes."

"How far was I down the list?"

"Seventh. Diana, Batman, Mister Zatara, Green Arrow, Superman, Icon, you."

His face mask conceals his brows, but I think he's frowning slightly. "You meet up with the GLs all the time."

"Yes, and we.. talk about lanterning. Or the Russian space program." Having worked in administration, I appear to have the ability to appreciate Lantern Savenlovich's travails better than our other colleagues. "I mean, what do you think the chances of getting a heart to heart with-."

He nods. "Gardner."

"I was going to say 'Jordan', actually. Guy and I might have done, if we weren't mostly concerned with inter-Corps relations."

Another nod. "Alright. What did you want to say?"

I shrug. "What did you want to say? I was putting the whole thing behind me. The only reason I'm bringing this up at all is because Batman made me rejoining the team contingent on me doing so."

"You want to get back.. on the.. team? Aren't you.. eighteen?"

"Nineteen. And M'gann's forty nine and we're not sure how old Canis is. Do you think I've learned everything I-"

He inclines his head slightly. "No, I-."

"-need to?"

"-suppose I don't." He leans back a little. "You're saying this is for my benefit?"

"Flash, we can talk about baseball for half an hour if you want. I'm ticking a box, but I'll answer honestly any questions you have."

"Okay, ah… First off, I always thought Nabu would change his mind after a while."

"Okay."

He watches me for a moment. "You don't.. care..?"

"It's not impossible. I have not at any point claimed that I had access to all pertinent information. I don't understand his thought processes well enough to suggest if or when he might have relented, but it certainly wasn't impossible."

"No, I mean… Do you not care why I wasn't as gung ho about it as you were?"

"I-." I take a moment. "I don't consider eight months' careful investigation to be 'gung ho', Flash. I do consider eight months to have been a reasonable time period for him to have made alternate hosting arrangements on his own. Perhaps he would have after nine months. Or a year. It's an imponderable. I also don't think there's any point in me asking you how long you were going to wait. Though if you did have a figure in mind, feel free to share it?"

He tilts his head slightly to the right for a moment. "No. I can't say I did."

I shrug. "There you go. We can't discuss our different decision making processes because you didn't make a decision."

He leans back. "I suppose you're right as far as that's concerned. If he'd stayed on Kid Flash… I don't think I'd have killed him, but… Maybe."

I nod. "So… How 'bout them Stars?"

"We're not done yet. Kid Flash showed me your holiday report."

I do briefly consider a remark along the lines of 'One of you read my report?!', but I decide against it. "Fortunately, I very much doubt that such methods will be required anywhere near Earth."

"How many people did you kill?"

"I really don't know. Depending on how you assign the team efforts… Maybe a few million? Very few of whom will be missed by anyone. I take it you read the parts where I described Citadelian rules of engagement? And their behaviour in general?"

"Oh-" He nods in a very definite manner. "-yes. When I'm talking to you I want to make sure I know what's going on. And how did.. killing millions of people make you feel?"

"I didn't feel much. When you're not actually seeing the bodies, there's much less trauma, even for normal soldiers. Given how I detested their whole vile state, I didn't even feel bad intellectually."

"Did you feel..?" He looks at me with morbid curiosity. "Good..?"

"Mildly satisfied. One chore down, Vega made a bit less repugnant. I was happy about freeing Captain Comet and freeing their slaves, but… No, it didn't feel especially good."

"And when you killed the ones who helped you?"

"The ones I mind controlled into helping me. They weren't much different to the ones I'd killed. Literally, given that they were clones. Yes, I could have put them in prison, but that's really not how Vega works. No prisons exist for that sort of thing. I could have handed them over to the Tamaranian government, if they had the facilities. They would have killed them out of hand. The Crown Imperium would probably have had a show trial… Then killed them. Marooning was an option, but they didn't have wilderness survival skills and I didn't want to risk them rebuilding."

"Sure, it's all… Very logical. You do know that Robin's fourteen, right?"

"Yes. I'm also aware that he's seen quite a number of murders already."

"I'm not talking about his exposure to death-. Though you better believe I had a talk with Batman about that. I'm talking about their exposure to you."

"Um-." I blink. "Okay?"

"Kid Flash told you I never wanted him involved in this, didn't he?" I nod. "If he'd turned eighteen and he still wanted-." He shakes his head. "Maybe. You know how violent what we do can be. I try keeping him away from the worst of it, let him fight people like Snart who pull their punches. You're a soldier?" He shrugs. "Fine, so's Captain Atom. But I don't want kids learning to be soldiers. They've got to have normal lives outside of this, and.. frankly I hope they give it up. I sure don't want them regarding what you do as 'normal'."

Huh.

"I… Understand your concern. And while working for the Justice League I will follow Justice League rules of engagement. And I certainly won't glamorise what I do."

He picks up his cup again. "I guess that'll have to do."

 

[Mr Zoat]

5th November
19:47 GMT -6

Ms Thal drops a would-be mugger to the pavement, frustration visible in her expression. She hasn't even taken her mace out. Not really surprising; she's strong, tough and well-trained enough that a opportunistic assailant would have to be very lucky, even if she didn't just swoop down on him. And while operating in 'policing mode' she doesn't use her mace as it's rather too lethal.

Even for Louisiana.

I descend slowly as she waits for the police. "I appreciate there's-" Now the mace comes out. "-never a good time-"

"What do you want?"

"-for this sort of conversation, but I was wondering if you'd like to talk about Nabu?"

She beats her wings, shooting into the air to gain a slight height advantage. The mugger isn't sufficiently coherent to take advantage, but I take a moment to attach plastic ties to his ankles and wrists.

"You've got some nerve…"

She's staring at my face, her focus total and.. frankly a little disturbing. Ring, blur.

Compliance.

Thank you.

"This isn't a job for people who don't. And I'd lose respect for myself if I was afraid to face…" I shake my head. "What? My acc-."

"One of the people you accused of abandoning an ally to an enemy."

"Well… You… Did that." Her hand tightens around the mace's grip. "And maybe you did it in ignorance, maybe you.. were busy, the situation wasn't given your full attention… But the result was…" I look around. We're a bit low to be openly talking about this, really. "I think I made it clear what I thought of the results when last we spoke."

"And now you… What, you want to be friends?"

"I'm aiming to rejoin the team. Batman wants me to talk out the Nabu situation with each League member first. We don't have to reach an accord… In fact, you can tell me to get lost right now-"

"Get lost."

"-and I'll just have to hear that from your husband as well, and I can go."

She reaches up to activate her helmet's communicator. "Katar, come to my location. The Orange Lantern wants you to tell him to get lost."

"I get the impression that wasn't actually what Batman had in mind, but I'll be fulfilling my end of the bargain. Really, if there's anything you want to get off your chest at all-."

"You directly accused me of cowardice before witnesses. If you were Thanagarian, I would have challenged you to a duel."

"And how would that have changed anything? Realistically, I don't have any chance against you without my ring, and you don't have much chance against me with one. So why don't we just say we had a duel and toss a coin-?"

"Orange Lantern." I float back in the air, bringing Mr Hol into view as he glides past me to float beside his wife. "I may share your opinion that a duel is not appropriate in this situation, but do not trivialise it. Or the offence you have given to both my wife and myself."

"If I thought that was trivial, I'd have told Batman he was being ridiculous about this whole thing and that it would blow over. So?" I sit cross legged in the air. "'Get lost', it's two words."

"Do you understand why what you did was wrong?"

"I've heard several people's opinions on why it was wrong, certainly. That I should have talked to the League, that I should have indulged Nabu more, that I'm-. Actually, Flash made a good point about me being a PEGI category above what the team's supposed to be. And.. it costs me nothing to hear your version. So, go ahead. Tell me."

"You should have asked us to join you."

"Why?"

"Because as you pointed out, Giovanni Zatara was our team mate."

"And not because you had something useful to offer? Do you have some particular anti-magic technique I'm not aware of?" I shake my head. "Even if I thought I could trust you -which I didn't, given that you agreed to let Nabu join in the first place- I wouldn't have involved someone who wouldn't have been able to materially assist."

"Katar…"

He takes a deep breath. "Even if you thought that we had nothing to contribute to the planning, unless you believed that we would have sided with Nabu, you should have informed us and asked us to participate. We would both rather have fought Nabu -even if that meant dying- than let him continue to hold our comrade hostage. And we both feel that was regardless of how efficacious involving us would be. For a Thanagarian soldier, there are few things more shameful than leaving an ally in the hands of an enemy."

"Then why did you? How many meetings did you have, Hawkman, where you sat with him and heard his voice speak from a stolen larynx and saw him look at you with stolen eyes? If that was supposed to be the worst thing a Thanagarian can do-."

"I was gathering information. Preparing to act against an individual who would have been an extremely difficult foe."

"And the vote?"

"How would sending him away have helped?"

"I would still trust you if you'd done that."

"Should I value your trust more highly than Zatara's life?"

"Should you have valued the trust of the superhero closest to his daughter, who is unscryable, who started a revolution in arcane technology and has numerous magic contacts? Who literally chained Nabu up at New Year? Yes, probably. How were you planning to do anything against him without me?"

"I had not yet gathered-."

"Yeah, you and Batman both, apparently. So.. I've.. caused you great offence by not including you in my plan even though you weren't including me in yours."

Ms Hol's wings are fluttering, a sign of extreme agitation. Mr Hol merely grits his teeth before continuing. "Not including us in the planning is insulting, but we did the same to you and in any case it isn't a mortal insult. Not attempting to include us in the attack is."

"Right, I'll bear that in mind in future. I'd rather there not be a next time, but…" I shrug. "Anything else?"

"I still want to fight you."

"Fine. The next Lantern training session is on Wednesday. Show up bright and early, but don't expect any satisfaction. Good evening."

 

[Mr Zoat]

6th November
14:21 GMT

"You, er…" The police officer assigned to keep watch over me leans in a little bit. "You.. like… You know Batman then, do yuh?"

I'm sitting in a small office in Cardiff Central Police Station. With Alan making friends with a cross section of Alliance members and the team somewhere in southern Africa, I've been assigned to check John Fate's background.

"Ah… Yes? I wouldn't say we're social acquaintances at this point, but we've been colleagues for a little over a year now. I've been on a number of missions at his instruction."

"Could you.. like… Get his autograph fer me?"

"I can… I can certainly ask for you, but he.. hands those out only very occasionally. Usually for charity, after Superman has smiled at him for a couple of minutes."

She grins. "Ah, that'd be brilliant!"

"As I said, no promises, but-" A CID officer walks in, and the police officer moves away slightly. "-I'll certainly ask."

"Alright, Constable Williams. I think I can handle this one, thank you."

"Right you are, sir." She heads towards the door. "Shout if you need anything fetching."

"I will." The detective looks me over, apparently not very impressed. "What happened to the fancy armour, then?"

"I didn't think it appropriate to the situation. And it's not exactly chair-friendly." I open my hands, letting her get a good look at my power rings. She's a stout, middle aged woman with short brown hair. "If you want to phone the League and confirm my identity-."

"What do you think I just did?"

"Good, so you know who I am. Would it be possible for me to ask you some questions?"

"Just as soon as I'm shuwer we're not going to have some lunatic start knocking over buildings."

"No, no-. Ah, not as far as I know. I'm just checking the references of someone who might be working with the League at some point."

"Don't have a lot of costumed mental cases around here. I think we'd have spotted them."

"I don't think that the individual in question wore a costume." I take a picture out of subspace, showing John Fate's face attached to an approximately-correct body wearing a suit. "Does this man seem familiar at all?"

She frowns with mild irritation, then her brows unfurrow slightly in recognition. "He does a bit, though I'm jiggered if I know where from."

"He claimed that he offered to assist the Cardiff police during a series of ritualistic killings with a magic motive."

Her eyes widen. "That's never John Constantine. You send him on a body building course, did yuh?"

"You're right, that isn't John Constantine. Not unless something very strange is happening." Moderately strange. John's a common first name and Constantine is three thousand five hundred and sixtieth most common. My own is too rare to feature on any of the lists I saw. It might not even exist here. "But he claims he was around here at the same time."

"Might be." She reaches out for the picture and I hand it to her. "Several of the officers involved in that were moved off front line duties. Mental health." I nod sympathetically. That sort of thing doesn't bother me any longer, but mutilated bodies are a bit of a shock if you're not used to them. "I can show them the picture."

"I'd appreciate that. I just need to confirm that he was here and trying to be helpful."

"Alright. I'll get that done for you. Is there anything else?"

"I would appreciate a copy of the relevant case files. I'm not expecting a copycat or anything like that, I just want to make sure that I'm being thorough."

"The Justice League can request that. I'll have it scanned and sent via the proper channels."

A couple of days' wait, then. And it's mildly painful that it isn't all on computer. "Thank you."

I offer her my right hand, which she takes briefly before indicating the door. "Can you find your way out?"

"Yes, thank you. I'll look forward to hearing from you." I raise my right fore and middle fingers to my forehead in a mock salute,

-then step out and back-

6th November
09:25 GMT -5

into the city of Chicago for my next Justice League member meeting.

"Hey, ah, Nancy? I'll call you back. Looks like my nine thirty just arrived."

Mr O'Brian in civilian mode. He can't really hide what he is, but he makes an effort. His suit and shirt are red, material from that weird.. leotard.. thing he was for whatever reason wearing when he took the chemical bath which turned him into living rubber repurposed into office wear. His hair looks stranger still, a solid unmoving mass stuck on top of his head. He's not wearing his gog-. No, he is, the goggles have just merged with his eyebrows.

"Do you have a moment, Plastic Man?"

"Eh… Sure." He falls backward, morphing into an office chair as he does so. "Sit down, I'll get someone to make you coffee."

"Thank you, but I don't drink coffee. Also, I'm…" I shake my head. "Not sitting on you." I generate a construct chair and sit down opposite him. "I'm sure you know why I'm here."

"Because you need someone to sportscast your match with Hawkwoman?" He shifts back into humanoid form, his right hand now holding a microphone. "In the red corner, all the way from Thanagar, give it up for-!"

"No. Nabu."

The microphone merges with his hand, his whole body sagging. "Yeah, well, see, I didn't actually know-."

"Diana told me. You somehow managed to miss that he was possessed."

He shrugs. "It's not the first thing you think of. I mean, what was his name-?"

"Kent Nelson."

"Right! Kent Nelson was fine wearing the helmet for decades."

"And Nabu wanted to keep Kid Flash as his host-."

"Ah, hey." He holds his hands out in a placatory gesture, expanding them to three of four times normal size. "I wasn't even on the League when that happened. I didn't get access to the reports until New Year."

"And you didn't read through them."

"I read some. The ones about things we were actually doing. There are a lot of reports in there!" He returns his hands to normal size. "I don't even particularly think you were wrong, but… I thought if there was anything going wrong with Zatara then Batman or someone would have said something."

I could bear a grudge about this. Being on the Justice League should mean that you do the blasted reading. But I think this episode has already given him the kick he needed on that score.

"I.. suppose that's.. fair. Anything you want to ask me?" He shakes his head. "Then… Have a nice day."

I raise my fingers to my forehead again.

 

[Mr Zoat]

9th November
10:09 GMT -6

"Uuuuuuuuugh."

Ms Thal wheezes, her right hand grasping spasmodically for the Nth metal mace I've sensibly moved out of arm's reach. Since I regard this whole thing as stupid, I haven't been using the sort of high-lethality ordnance which Thanagarian duelling custom would allow me to. I've -I sigh as I think it- been using… Giant… Orange… Boxing gloves. Of course, at this point they're pretty powerful boxing gloves, because… While she isn't the only Justice League member to severely irritate me where Nabu is concerned, at least the others were prepared to discuss the matter without challenging me to a duel.

But… This is a bit much.

I look over towards Mr Hol. "Is that it? Can you call it now?"

He makes eye contact with me, then gives his head a small shake.

"Oh, for goodness-." Ms Thal staggers to her feet, using her wide spread wings to maintain her balance. "You're clearly in no condition to fight and I don't like you well enough to heal you. Why don't you stay down this time?"

"Nrgh."

She.. either weaves, or narrowly avoids collapsing, then begins a staggering run towards me. I shoot her in the face with a construct bean bag round, forcing her to stop, staggering back to maintain her balance. A construct circular saw cuts through her helmet's strap and a construct hand hurls her battered helmet aside. It appears to have protected her face reasonably well, but the lower part of her face is already swelling from bruises and I can see a dozen cuts from where I slammed her into the desert.

"Please. Give up."

Out of the corner of my eye I see Alan say something to Mr Hol, who waves him off.

Another stagger, then she squares up to me again.

"Okay, can I yield? I literally-" I create a flimsy boxing glove construct, then let it evaporate. "-don't want to hurt you sufficiently strongly to make a construct. You win, well done. Honour is uphel-."

"No." She takes a step closer. "Fight me."

I fall back slightly. "Alright, you've convinced me that you'd have fought against Nabu. I doubt it would have been much more one sided than this."

"Not… Not convincing you."

"Look, if you're willing to get your face beaten in pointlessly-" She takes three hurried steps closer and swings her right fist. I turn it aside with my right hand and punch her hard in the face. She takes it.. pretty well. Stupid extra tough skeletal structure. "-I'm sure-" She tries to hit me with her left wing, but I counter with a construct shield. "-that you'd do it where it-" I step right as she pulls her wing back and swing a fist at the unprotected underside. That gets a wince. "-it actually mattered."

"I'm not-" She manages a clumsy hit on my faceplate. "-doing this for you!"

"Fine." I create a construct covering her mouth and nose, then start replacing her air with Thanagarian-safe-ish knock out gas. Another pair of constructs bind her arms and wings. "I hope you've impressed yourself, then."

She struggles, but Thanagar knows its people and this stuff is designed to weaken them fast. As her eyes roll back I remove the construct feeding her the stuff and create a stretcher construct for her. Then I wheel toward Mr Hol. "Is that enough?! Or do I need to hit her a few more times?"

He flaps his wings once to leave the ground and a second time to enter the combat area, gliding towards his wife. I move the stretcher towards him as he lands, his helmet staring at her as he uses the sensors to check her condition. "She is unable to continue. You are victorious."

"Wooowh. Is she going to try this again when she gets up? Am I going to need to give her a power ring just so I don't feel so-?"

Alan follows Mr Hol, and I pass Ms Thal to him. There aren't any medical facilities around here… There isn't anything around here, that's why we started doing this here. The Hawks' ship has basic medical equipment… Ugh.

"Why did you offer to surrender?"

"Because it was pointless! She's going to be recovering for… Two weeks?"

"I doubt that I'll be able to make her stay still for that long."

"Which means that no one gains anything from this. If it meant I didn't have to beat her unconscious, why wouldn't I surrender?"

"Pride in your abilities as a warrior?"

"I'm not doing this to win a flipping contest! I wear this ring to make the universe a better place. That did nothing!" I grimace. "The last Thanagarians I met weren't this mental. At least I don't think they were, maybe they were just hiding it better."

"Some.. parts of the military take.. certain parts of Thanagar's military traditions more seriously than wider society. Were these Thanagarians civilians?"

"No. Mercenaries. Nice bunch. Met them in Vega. Had a few drinks, helped them with a riot and got them a job training the Tamaranian military up while they rebuild."

"I'm not aware of any Thanagarians being in that region of space. What is the company called?"

"The Blades of Alstair." Who-. Oh.

"I see." I can't tell whether Mr Hol's frowning or not, but I suspect that he is. "No. They wouldn't have adopted that tradition unless Hyathis ordered them to. Excuse me." A downbeat of his wings and he's flying back towards his ship.

Yeah, probably shouldn't have mentioned that I was on good terms with them to an agent of the Thanagarian government.

Lantern Jordan drifts down. "Well. That was a… Thing."

"And let's hope that really is it."

He looks mildly curious. "What, you never felt like challenging someone to a fight?"

"Not for honour-related reasons. But while we're all taking five, and you're actually on Earth, do you?"

"With Guy once or twice, sure."

"No, not-. Batman's got me talking to every League member about Nabu."

He shrugs. "Why? You got a way to bring him back you're not sharing?"

"No."

"Then what's the point? However I feel about it, you did it, it happened."

"That's what I said. But are you sure? Nothing you want to ask, nothing you want to get off your chest?"

"I still don't think you should have killed him."

"Okay, what should I have done?"

"Kept working at it until you had a way to take him down without killing him."

I shrug. "Diana took the chains off at New Year. Given how powerful and skilled Lords of Order are, I would have to have been very lucky to get another opening like that."

He raises his eyebrows. "You're saying you couldn't do it?"

"I'm saying I don't know how to do it and I don't know if it could be done."

"Because if Zatara was alive after eight months, he wasn't in danger of dying. Look, I wanted to fly for the US Air Force. And if.. things had gone differently, I'd probably have killed plenty of people by now. But I'm not. I'm a space cop with a fancy ring. Superheroes aren't military, they're police. The Justice League isn't a military."

"The Orange Lantern Corps is a military."

"Maybe that's the problem. The US military doesn't do policing outside of disaster zones, because that's not what it's for. The rules of engagement are different, for good reasons. I don't have a problem with you wanting to be a soldier. But if that's what you want?" He drifts back slightly. "Then this is the wrong organisation for you."

 

[Mr Zoat]

10th November
13:08 GMT -5

"No, I think I understand."

I watch Jade as she takes another bite of her sandwich, shaking my head slightly. "You do?"

She chews for a moment, then swallows. Then she carefully watches my face. "And you actually don't."

I shake my head again. "If I did, I wouldn't ask."

"It's about confidence. She needed to know that if she had to fight someone more powerful than her, she could do it."

"But.. she could. She actually does that several times a year. Everyone knows that."

"Did you?"

"I… Yes, I.. honestly assume that of everyone on the League. I didn't ask her because I didn't think the risk-reward made sense." I watch her take another bite, the news program playing in the background saying something about a series of earthquakes in Argentina. "Is that.. something you… Feel..?"

"Not… Exactly."

I lean forwards slightly. "Please don't ever pick a fight with a ludicrously out of your league superhero."

"If your enemies know that you're willing to fight them, it changes how they evaluate whether to attack you or not. They know beating you would cost them more."

"Oh no." I frown. "Thanagar's doing a John Byng."

"Or training their soldiers to think like Meiji Restoration era samurai. Who was John Byng?"

"A British naval officer executed for not 'doing his utmost against the enemy' in the eighteenth century. Voltaire put a joke about it in Candide, ah… 'In this country, it is good to kill an admiral from time to time, in order to encourage the others'." She.. nods. "The result.. was supposed to be that British officers became more aggressive, always attacking when in doubt."

"And they ended up controlling the largest empire in history."

"There was a bit more to it than that, but… It may have helped." I frown. "So that's what it looks like on the ground."

"What would have happened to her if she didn't challenge you?"

"Noth-." She raises her eyebrows. "Ah… Assuming that she included it in her report… I don't know. The most recent copy of Thanagar's Articles of War I've got predates the Equalisation Plague, two hundred years and a major social upheaval out of date."

"A dishonored samurai who didn't commit suicide after being dishonored would be reviled by other warriors and lords. And so would their family."

"I-." Can I.. say..? "Hawkwoman grew up in a military orphanage, so-."

"So her sense of identity is entirely tied up in being a loyal soldier and her entire 'family' would think the same way she does."

And who does that sound like? "Jade." I reach across the table and put my right hand on her left forearm. "If you want me to beat you unconscious as well-?"

She smiles, a slight hiss of air escaping from her lips. Then she rolls her eyes. "No, I'm-. It's been an adjustment, but the League of Shadows' disciplinary system didn't work like that. Experienced operatives were too valuable. And Ra's didn't want anyone thinking that a code was more important than him."

"So.. you.. don't feel-?"

She raises her eyebrows. "Can't you see?"

"I… Could. I choose not to."

She nods, turning her left arm slightly so her hand rests on my forearm. "I don't feel the need to.. lose a fight to maintain my identity because I've changed my identity. I chose not to be an assassin. She's still a soldier." I nod. "And I'm not really keen on losing fights or picking fights I can't win."

"But Hawkwoman was fine with it because anything else looked dishonourable to her." I shake my head. "I'd like to say it's crazy, but it's.. no."

"No." She pulls back her left arm slightly, so that our hands are clasped. "Challenging you to a fight without some sort of equaliser was crazy. Challenging you at all was just being true to her code."

She takes another bite of her sandwich, her eyes moving briefly to the people staring at us -me, really- from the other parts of the deli. I've got sound suppression on so they can't hear what we're actually saying, but at this point my visits and relationship with Jade are public knowledge.

"Thanagarians don't have equalisers to power rings. That was actually a factor in the formation of their policies towards aliens during their expansions; they knew that they couldn't risk pushing the Corps more than a certain degree."

"How close are they to Earth?"

"Pretty close in interstellar terms, not close at all in terms of absolute distance. They could send a fleet here, but unless we look like we're becoming an imminent threat it seems unlikely that they will." I shrug. "They don't have any rivals in this direction, but integrating other species into their empire… Well, settling their worlds over their objections, takes time and effort."

"Do you think the Hawks are sending information home, so-." I'm already nodding, and she narrows her eyes slightly. "You knew that?"

"It's obvious. But since we're not planning on picking a fight with Thanagar, there's no harm in it." Couldn't even if we wanted to. The one benefit of the Equalisation Plague was that in the aftermath internal disputes became unimportant, whereas Earth doesn't have a unified space program. When we finally get serious about space it probably will end up being a superhero-led effort. "In fact, reassuring them benefits us."

She takes another bite of her sandwich. I deliberately look past the gawkers -and the manageress who is making it clear that the seats are for patrons- and give the television my attention. Depending on the situation on the ground, an earthquake might-. No, it's moved on to covering a flare up of hostility in Kashmir. With that part of the world being a good deal more stable on Earth 16 than Earth Prime, I can probably leave that to local diplomats.

"How are your meetings with the Justice League going?"

"They're manageable. I'm getting a much better idea of where they think I went wrong."

A small smile. "Do you agree with any of them?"

"The Flash had a point, and I think… Green Lantern echoed it."

"Oh?"

"He's not happy about children being involved. And he's especially not happy about someone with my body count and modus operandi being involved with children."

"Children who can run at the speed of sound and break someone in half by talking backwards."

"Impressionable children who might decide to use those abilities in non-superheroic ways if I make a good enough case for it. And it is true that I'm a bit of an awkward fit." I shrug. "How are things in the mob? Any interesting assassination attempts?"

"One, by Two Face." She grimaces. "Or it might have been, but I get paid to protect the principal, not fight crazy people. I'm actually… Thinking about quitting. A corporate intelligence firm in San Francisco got in touch. They're interested in employing someone with my background."

"I imagine that's more up your street. And less likely to involve anything illegal. Want me to check them out for you?"

She looks at me sternly. "I'd like you to check them out as well. They look legitimate to me, but I don't have all of your resources."

"Not a problem. What are they called?"

 

[Mr Zoat]

10th November
16:49 GMT -5

The train of lawyers, politicians and bereaved family members walks past me down the hall, Adom and Mr Tuckman waiting until there's some clear space before following them out of the meeting room. The lawyers are muttering to their clients, none of whom look particularly happy about the outcome. I wait until they're all past me before rising from my chair to approach my colleagues.

"So? Result?"

Mr Tuckman manages a satisfied smile. "There's still room for individual challenges, but I think we've convinced most people that 'Theodore Adam' and 'Teth Adom' are two legally distinct people, and that Teth Adom bears no responsibility for Theodore Adam's actions."

Adom is still looking fairly sombre, though that might just be as a result of Mr Tuckman's strongly phrased advice that he wear a suit. "I have no wish to insult the families of his victims, but I refuse to believe that this is the best way for them to gain redress. There were more jurists present than relatives."

Mr Tuckman looks just a little bit smug at that. "Welcome to America."

"No." Adom shakes his head. "That could have been resolved in mere minutes if a single individual had the authority to make a determination, subject to learned advice. Instead, it has been months. It serves neither me nor them." His eyes narrow slightly. "When I rule Kahndaq once more I will ensure this cannot happen there."

Mr Tuckman raises his right eyebrow slightly. "The Kahndaqi people might have something to say about that."

"My people will see my wisdom. And they will learn not to question me."

Best head this off. "Any problems? Or was it all…"

Adom's jaw tenses for a moment. "They required that I return to my mortal form."

Mr Tuckman nods. "Yeah, that was a little uncomfortable. I didn't realise that he still looked like…"

I frown mildly at Adom. I hadn't either, but then William Batson still looks like William Batson when he turns back. Why should Adom be any different just because he and his host are both adult men?

"A problem I will solve by not turning back at any other time."

Obvious solution, but perhaps here isn't the place to bring it up. "Mr Tuckman, do you need us for anything else?"

He shakes his head. "No, not today." He turns to Adom. "I'll contact you with a copy of the written text for your approval once it's been drafted. Should be within a week."

Adom nods, and offers him his hand. "Thank you."

Mother Box, hush tube.

Ping.

10th November
15:52 GMT -6

Adom and I walk back into the Mountain, hush tube closing behind us. "You know, I've been meaning to ask: beyond the gods' blessings, have you considered..? Looking for other advantages? Better weaponry, or further augmentations?"

He glances at me suspiciously. "As I have said before, I am content with the power that I have."

"Hey." I shrug noncommittally. "If you say so. But you're the one who wants to fight Shazam. And -correct me if I'm wrong here- last time they weren't enough. Were they?" His jaw clenches. "Adom, I'm your ally. I'm offering you aid to make both our lives easier. You don't have to take it, but it's there."

He considers for a moment, then his face relaxes slightly. "Your pardon. Having been betrayed by the one I once considered my friend and mentor, I find that I am… Reluctant to put my faith in those who make similar offers."

"Think nothing of it."

"I do not believe that there is a power I could gain within a short span of time that would improve my ability to liberate Kahndaq. No, my time is better spent in study. But… In the fullness of time, I may consider such measures before confronting him once again."

I nod slowly. "Perhaps something more trivial, then?" He raises his eyebrows slightly. "William's transformation changes his face. I should have realised that you still look like Theodore Adam under-" I wave my right hand at his face. "-that.. before now, and I apologise for my lapse. If you like, I can change that, make your faces match. Cosmetic work is far less involved than alterations to your arcane architecture."

"I would need to.. change?" I nod, and he grimaces. "I am loath to speak the Wizard's name even once more." He considers for a moment. "But, I appreciate you making the offer. I have no great fondness for looking like a murderer. Perhaps I will-."

He cuts himself off as the door to one of our secure storage repositories opens and Circe walks out. "Oh." She frowns at Adom's choice of attire. "Did someone die?"

I nod. "Theodore Adam. Legally speaking. Not that anyone will miss him all that much."

"Oh, you finally got that sorted out. Well done."

"A minor trial of my patience. It was no great achievement." Adom hesitates for a moment. "How is your school progressing?"

"Plans are being finalised and the demolition is done." She looks at me. "I decided to bind the rat thing in a crystal and put it in storage."

I nod. "Fine, as long as Miss Shimmer checked the seals."

She rolls her eyes. "Yes, even though I've been sealing elementals since before the rise of Rome, I had Sunset check my work."

"I'm sorry if it's inconvenient, but it's a standard process and a second pair of eyes-."

"Yes…" She waves her right hand dismissively. "Yes. I understand. And I do enjoy talking to her. Did you know that her people dealt with a Lord of Chaos?"

I nod. "I think she mentioned it."

She smiles. "I'm constantly surprised by what even I can learn from talking to her. Particularly concerning beings like that."

Adom raises his eyebrows slightly. "You have encountered a Lord of Chaos yourself?"

"I… Misjudged a situation involving a Lord of Chaos named Oggar." She carefully watches his face. "You recognised the name, Teth Adom. Did you know of him?"

He nods. "I did. He was once a mighty ally of the Wizard, but broke with him due to his own egotism. He felt that his power meant that he should have been the leader of their alliance rather than the Wizard's subordinate. After that, he wandered the world, finding his amusements where he could. I encountered him only many years later, when he decided to attack my nation in an attempt to wound the Wizard by proxy."

She looks curious, her eyebrows rising slightly. "You survived his attention, then."

Adom nods. "I had learned to use the Power of Atum to increase my ability to resist baleful magic. But it would not have been enough to stand against a Lord of Chaos. The Wizard lent me a portion of his own might, the Power of Ribalvei, so that I could stand against Oggar's magic."

Circe looks distinctly impressed. "You mean to say that you.. won?"

"Once I closed the distance, I unleashed the full extent of Lord Montu's berserk rage. Oggar's physical form was strong, but not strong enough to withstand my attack."

"And?" She shrugs. "He is a Lord of Chaos. Could he really die from mere physical injury?"

"No." A thin smile. "But he could feel pain."

Circe's smile on the other hand isn't even slightly thin. "You hurt him so much that he fled?"

"In a manner of speaking. I broke his body, and then waited for his magic to repair it. And then I broke it again. And again. And again, until he abandoned this world and returned to the Realm of Chaos."

"How long did that take?"

"Perhaps twenty days of constant activity."

She smiles, this time one of genuine pleasure rather than social lubrication. "Really?" She steps forward, linking arms with him and pulling him in the direction of the nearest living room. "Oh, I am going to want more details than that, pharaoh."

 

[Mr Zoat]

New thread up.

 

[Mr Zoat]

New thread up.

Click to shrink...

In response to a request from @teamfireyleader, I'm posting this here in order to trigger people's alerts.

Anyone who hadn't read the below post yet, please update your notifications to the new thread.

Click to shrink...

Just in case anyone is still staring despondently at this thread and wondering when the next update is coming, please consider moving to the new thread in the link above.