With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Story Only)

[Mr Zoat]

1st October
18:21 GMT -5

Mister Zatara looks us over for a moment, then turns his head to look at Batman. "Well Batman, I trust that you are correct."

"I trust you can locate the enemy."

If it was Wotan who warded Mister Luthor's research centre, then he's almost certainly warded his own base in the same way. I don't want to underestimate Mister Zatara's abilities, but if he doesn't struggle at least a little then the lentils have gone and blackness is all that remains.

"Indeed. Wotan's involvement suggests sorcery is a part of how the plants are controlled. Robin, if you would provide a holomap."

More frantic tapping. I can't help but feel that perhaps a custom keyboard layout would be better for him. A pale blue translucent globe about four metres pole to pole appears in front of us, rotating slowly.

"I'll search for signs of concentrated sorcerous activity." He walks forwards, his shoes clicking on the floor. When he gets to optimal distance he raises his hands. "Etacol retnecipe fo yrecros!"

Hundreds of red dots appear on the globe, blinking out and reappearing elsewhere moments later. The globe itself shudders and fritzes.

Zatara frowns. "Laever!"

The globe stabilises, the number of red dots is reduced by about a third and their movement slows.

Wallace cocks his head to the side. "Some kinda magic proxy server?" Artemis scowls at him suspiciously. He raises his hands. "I'm serious, that could happen."

"Laever!"

I make momentary eye contact with Captain Marvel, who nods. I raise my hand again.

"Sir, would it help if you had something to focus on?"

Mister Zatara lowers his hands with a frustrated sigh. "Yes, but a few pieces of the Ultra-Humanite's body fur will not suffice. I am sorry, but there are wards in place that are far more complex than anything I have previously encountered."

Robin tilts his head slightly to the side. "Maybe Wally's right about proxy servers. Oh El, you said that you saw Wotan when Brain used a magic portal to escape in India, right? Maybe they've been comparing notes?"

"I wasn't thinking about body fur, sir. I have a fragment of Teth Adam's bone. It's had about five thousand years' contact with his magics..."

And everyone's staring at me.

Kaldur voices the question. "How did you get a piece of Black Adam's bone?"

"Captain Marvel-" I point over my shoulder to him with my right thumb. "-and I were investigating his background, found his tomb in Kahndaq."

"Ah, Oh El?" Wallace points at the screen. "He isn't dead."

"Dih? He sort of is, it's... a bit complicated."

Batman's eyes narrow. "I don't remember seeing a report."

"I haven't finished it yet. Um, look, I'll get the ring,-" I point in the direction of my room. "-hand Zatara the bone, and stick what I've written up so far on the system."

Batman looks at Mister Zatara, who nods thoughtfully. "A piece of bone certainly should work."

Batman nods at me. "Go."

I step around Kaldur. "Excuse me. Thank you."

Once I'm out of the huddle I run towards my room. I knew this sort of thing might happen if I stopped wearing it full time! Uhh. Right, from now on just an hour. And my room's still furthest away from the training room! I might need to move-.

I turn a corner and skid to a halt to prevent myself running into Teekl, who is sitting on the floor licking her right forepaw.

"Bloody cat! What are you-?"

She looks up, and the ring's in her mouth. I kneel down in front of her, and rub her head just in front of her ears with my right hand.

"Sorry Teekl. Good choice, well done. Are you going to give it to me?"

She rubs her head against my hand, looking me in the eye. Just as I'm about to ask again, she opens her mouth and drops it to the floor.

"Thank you."

The ring glows faintly, and flies onto my left ring finger, sigil inwards. A wave of orange later and I'm dressed for work. I look at Teekl and pat my left shoulder with my ring hand.

"Coming?"

She looks at me with her head tilted to the side until just before I get up to leave without her.

"Teekl come."

She floats around me, then I feel her pressure next to my head and then her weight on my shoulder. I stand up and transition, taking the padded case containing the bone fragment out of subspace the moment I rematerialise. I step forwards and hold it out to Mister Zatara.

"Careful, it's very fragile."

He takes it, and opens the lid. "Do I detect the hand of John Constantine in this?"

"Erm. Yes. Sorry."

He sighs as I step back into the huddle. "Taolf enob."

The dull yellowy brown bone shard floats up out the case, which he closes and slips into his jacket pocket. With the bone hovering between them, he holds out his hands towards the blue globe once more.

"Enob, raeh rouy s'renwo llac! Laever Kcalb Mada!"

Shouldn't that be Teth... huhtet? Thet? I've no idea how it would sound. Works anyway. The bone floats, rotating slowly on its axis, and begins glowing gold tinted white. Then it leaps towards the globe, anchoring itself somewhere on the southern US coastline. More tapping from Robin.

"Coordinates locked in. The Louisiana Bayou."

Kaldur nods. "We are on our way."

 

[Mr Zoat]

1st October
18:25 GMT -5

Zatara waves his right index finger at the bone and it floats down as he delicately returns it to the case. My team mates turn as one for the exit as I pluck the case from Mister Zatara's unresisting hands and return it to subspace. I turn to start towards the hangar. Artemis, Robin, Wallace and Kaldur will be heading to the changing rooms and then to the armoury. Kon's pre-changed, and M'gann shifts from her casuals to her field costume as I watch. I start walking too. There's really no hurry for me, it'll take at least-.

Why is Captain Marvel going with them?

"Captain Marvel." Batman speaks, he halts. Batman's chairman of the League at the moment, which I think makes him Marvel's superior. Possibly? I'm not completely sure how that whole thing works. "For this plan to succeed, the entire Justice League must be seen fighting the plant creature."

Oh. This is the first time we've had contact with Black Adam since finding out exactly what happened to the Batsons. Marvel's face isn't showing disappointment, he's actually angry.

"You, Zatara and I are needed elsewhere."

I wonder..? Batman almost certainly knows who Marvel is. Heck, he had to step in to stop him joining us on the mission to Africa. But he doesn't know exactly how Marvel's parents were killed, he won't understand why his normal approach might not work. Is Marvel wearing his communicator? No? Darn. Directional amplification, please.

"William, I'll get him for you."

He turns his head in my direction and I meet it with a slight smile. Come on, you told me Shazam picked you because you overcame the Enemies of Man. Beat Hatred again. I can literally see him force down his anger as he swallows and forces his face to relax. Another moment to put his normal friendly smile back in place. I get a nod, and then he walks over to his two team mates.

"Okay, Batman, where are we heading?"

I transition to the lift, appearing next to Kon and M'gann. Any preparation I need to do?

Ring, charge?

Ninety six percent remaining.

That's fine. Haven't really done much with it today. Hm. London attack might be a good time for Robert to show-.

"Louisiana? Giant plants? Didn't we spend a whole day looking for a plant guy down there back in July?"

I look at Kon, and start feeling stupid. "Yes, yes we did."

And I still have Abigail Holland's phone number. Not that it'll help if she's out in the swamps somewhere. Would Batman have already phoned her? Won't hurt to check. I generate a phone construct next to my right ear as the lift opens.

"I'll try and get hold of Missus Holland now."

We walk into the lift.

"Is Teekl coming with us again?"

I feel her ears brush against my cheek as she turns her head to look at him, and he takes a step away. She showed no interest in joining us in Africa, but I hadn't actually asked.

"Teekl come? Where come?"

M'gann smiles and leans over to scratch Teekl's head.

"There are some very bad people in Louisiana, and we're going to stop them."

"Hunt?"

"Well, we don't know exactly where they are so.. yes, we'll need to hunt them."

"Teekl come hunt."

Kon doesn't seem to be impressed. "Maybe we can use her as bait."

"Ooooreeeeorhh."

Ring, dial.

Compliance.

"It's ringing now."

Of course, going by past experience she's either not there or she's just not going to-.

"Hello?"

"Missus Holland, Orange Lantern two eight one four. We spoke back in-."

"I remember. What do you want?"

"I don't know if you're watching the news, but some rather large plants controlled by a group calling-."

"I saw the broadcast. Alec isn't helping them."

"Of course not, I wasn't about to accuse him." The lift doors open, and Kon leads the way to the bioship. "It's just that it would be really convenient if a guy who can control plants would turn up and deal with this supervillain engineered death vine thing before hundreds of people died. I mean, that is sort of his job, isn't it?"

"I don't know. Recently, he's been... Alright, look, I'll see if I can get hold of him. I don't know how long it'll take though."

"Thank you Missus Holland, that's all I can ask."

I drop the phone construct. Not what I was hoping for. I do remember something about her and Swamp Thing becoming estranged in later comics, but that only happened after the nameless thing killed about a third of my species, and I think someone would have mentioned if that had happened. Right, next job.

Ring, dial Robert Marrack.

Compliance.

The rear hatch of the bioship goops into being and Kon and M'gann board. I know I could make this phone call just as well from inside, but I feel like pacing a little. I hear the ringing as the ring makes contact.

Still ringing. Then:

"If this is another bloody insurance call-!"

"Rob, it's me."

"Oh! Orange Lantern -shut up, Dad, shut up!- what is it?"

"Am I interrupting something?"

"You know there's a bloody great plant attacking... Yeah, course you do."

"That's what I was phoning about. Any chance you and your Dad could put in an appearance?"

"Dad can teleport us between standing stones, but some complete... Some complete nobbler has only gone and killed every stone circle anywhere near London. It'd take hours by car and Dad... Dad's not keen on us trying to get a plane."

There isn't a zeta tube in Truro. London, Edinburgh and for some reason Brighton.

"Okay, keep your hair on, I'll see if I can pick you up."

"Aw, thanks mate!"

"I said I'll see, I'm going to be occupied myself. You know anything about fighting giant plants?"

"N..no..."

"Alright, I'll see if I can get you a weapon as well. Don't go anywhere."

I hang up.

...

Apophenia! That was it!

 

[Mr Zoat]

1st October
18:30 GMT -5

First thing that comes to mind when it comes to weapons for mystically enhanced melee fighters is swords. Diana's got a few enchanted weapons in the embassy. Her actual combat sword was a gift from Queen Hippolyta after she returned to Themyscira post World War 2. It's got all sorts of nasty enchantments on it, but her training swords are just charmed not to break when she hits things with them at full strength. Could be just what the Cornwalls need.

The other thing that's tickling the back of my mind is Lantern Medphyll. In theory, getting hold of him by ring is easy, and he's certainly demonstrated plant control abilities with his ring that would make him invaluable in a situation like this. Or at least he did in the comics. I don't know his sector number so I can't get hold of him myself. Have to see if I can get hold of Guy.

Ring, locations of Guy Gardner and Diana.

Agh! A incomprehensible blur of images of Leaguers and giant vines. Right, one at a time, please.

I see Guy holding a huge creeper away from a tall building with a tall barrier while the people inside evacuate. His head turns back for a moment, watching them go. As the stream trails off he smiles slightly before turning back to the plant. His face tightens, his ring pulses and giant vegetable knives appear, attached to him by filaments projected from his back. I taught him that. The knives swing forwards and the vine is cut into slices. The crowd cheers and Guy turns to say something to them. This seems like a good time.

Ring, contact Green two eight one four B.

Compliance.

Guy's head snaps around to his ring, and the picture in my mind is replaced by the picture projecting from the ring. "Little busy here, Orange. What is it?"

"Have one of you Greenies tried to get hold of Lantern Medphyll yet?"

"Who?"

"Lantern Medphyll. The plant guy? Yellow skin, one eye, leaves growing out of his head?"

"Never met him."

"He can use his ring to control lesser forms of plant life. If he can-." The image jerks and dissolves for a moment. "Er, Guy? You alright?"

"R-. Really busy, Orange!"

"Just give me his sector number, I'll call him myself!"

Silence for a moment. "He's five eight six A. Now y'mind if I-?"

"Thankyou."

Ring, end.

Compliance.

Alright, so I can now get hold of the Lantern I consider to be the model of Lantern comportment. Maybe the first properly alien alien I've met since getting here. I mean, M'gann looks human most of the time, Kon and Kal-El look human all the time. I remember the snapshot that issue of Swamp Thing gave of his home planet. Giant sentient trees for buildings, plant forms replacing animal forms throughout the ecosystem and a Lantern who can manipulate plant life by controlling his own spiritual resonance.

I haven't tried randomly contacting Green Lanterns, though I suppose I could have done. Don't want to antagonise them unnecessarily, after all. I have no idea at all where five eight six is in relation to two eight one four, but it shouldn't take too long for a Lantern to travel from one to the other wherever they are.

Next thing, the Cornwalls. I'll have to leave the mountain to pick them up, which means speaking to Kaldur first. And Diana. I don't have unrestricted access to the Embassy's armoury. In fact, I have 'don't ever touch these unless I'm here' access, though that order was given in one of my early training sessions. Maybe I could talk to Sephtian about getting her an-.

"Hey, Paul, you coming?"

I turn to the bioship and see Kon sticking his head out of the hatch. M'gann's probably ensconced in the pilot seat, running a check on the ship's systems. There isn't a pre-flight checklist exactly, but M'gann likes to make sure that everything is in full working order. In a normal commercial aircraft the journey to southern Louisiana would take us about five hours, pretty much the same time as it took the bioship to get to northern India. Should take us about an hour and twenty minutes.

"Just doing some plotting, Kon. Ring, where's Diana?"

In my mind's eye I see her airborne, hacking smaller tendrils from a central vine... in? London. Convenient.

"Orange Lantern to Wonder Woman."

"Go ahead."

"Got some local help for you, but they're stranded in Truro. Also, any chance you could lend them a couple of your training swords? I don't think their skills are optimised for anti-plant work."

In the corner of my eye I see the lift doors open and the rest of the team enters the hangar.

"Captain Cornwall? I remember his grandfather. If they offer their aid-" One tendril severed, and a gouge cut out of the main trunk. Immediately, Hades' bound spell goes to work on the living plant matter, causing it to necrotise and fester. There's a reason Diana usually leaves that sword behind. "-I will gratefully accept. I also give you my.. permission-" She swoops lower, slicing at the vine as she does so. "-to use the swords."

"Thank you sir."

I hang up as my team mates file past me and what is Kaldur wearing!

"Kaldur.. what..?"

He stops in front of me. I think it's him, anyway, the familiar full helm with its glowing red eyes is obscuring everything but his mouth.

"P-. Orm's trial begins later this week. My Queen thought it would be best if Ocean Master's armor was removed from Atlantis for the duration. Given the power at our foe's command, this seemed.. prudent."

His normal red vest and navy blue leggings have been replaced by a black body suit with pale purple armoured plates around the shoulders, forearms and boots. I wince slightly as I see his bare hands. Better than what he normally wears, I suppose. His Water-Bearers are attached somehow to his waist, but he's carrying the trident in his right hand.

"I would have liked more time to grow accustomed to wearing it, but we do not have that luxury."

Everyone else has boarded, and he walks after them.

"Aqualad, can you spare me for two minutes?"

He swings his head in my direction. Huh, good articulation. "We cannot wait. The attack-."

I hold up my hands. "It'll take the bioship over an hour to get to Louisiana, and I can catch you up in the air. Two minutes. It'll really help the League in London."

"Hey, are we going or what?!"

Hurry up and wait, Wallace.

Kaldur's head turns to the ship, then back to me. Is his field of vision getting restricted?

"Very well. Two minutes. Do not take longer."

"Ring, embassy."

 

[Mr Zoat]

1st October
18:35 GMT -5

I materialise at the front door, the ring already feeding in my entry code. A click as it unlocks and I push forward, raising my right hand in greeting to the woman on the reception desk.

"HiMsCandysorrycan'tstop."

Transition.

The entrance to the armoury is in an out of the way part of the embassy. Two security doors bar the way, which is why I had to be ordered not to go there without explicit permission as neither of them slow me for more than the four seconds it takes for them to open a crack. The short corridor between is warded, but they're far more passive than the ones in Poseidonis and with the Spell Eater I don't even feel them. First time I came through here I was giggling drunkenly by the time I got to the far end, but not anymore! Last transition and I'm woow! I bend back limbo style as the spear passes over my nose and transition to the far side of the room as the hulking kithotaur wielding it moves to a guard position.

"Ferdinand, what the hell, man?"

"Oh! Uh, sorry. You surprised me."

He looks as sheepish as a man with the head of a bull can, and turns away to return the spear to the rack.

"Have the kitchen's knives got so blunt you need a spear for chopping vegetables?"

"No, no, I just thought... Oh, doesn't matter."

I head over to pick up two of Diana's training swords. They're still in their scabbards, and I put the straps over my right shoulder.

"Right, sorry, in a rush now, but tomorrow we're going to talk about what's bothering you. Ring, location of Cornwall Boy."

I feel him in a field just south of Truro.

"Transition."

A flicker and I'm standing just behind them. Trevor and Robert Marrack are both crouched down in full costume looking at something at the base of one of the standing stones. Looks like Robert took my advice and ditched the cape.

"…vandals! They've done it bloody intentionally, I'll have-!"

Captain Cornwall seems most irate about something.

"Excuse me?"

Two red-masked faces twist in my direction. Robert's on his feet first. "Orange Lantern, you made it!"

"Yes I did."

He stares at Teekl as I slide both of the swords off my back and hold one out to him. "Is that the cat you..?"

"Yes. These are on loan from Wonder Woman, don't lose them, try not to get them destroyed."

He gingerly takes it by the hilt, then puts his left hand on the scabbard and pulls the blade free. The forward facing kopis blade slides out easily. Diana herself primarily uses a somewhat more conventional bastard sword, but I thought a kopis might be better for anti-plant work.

"Wonder... Wonder Woman?!"

"Yeah, she knew your great grandfather. Are we going? I'm in a hurry."

Mister Marrack senior pulls himself to his feet. "A copper stake. Geomantic energy patterns are going to be all over the bloody shop. It's a miracle-"

Ring, extend environment shield around them and transition to London.

Another flicker.

"-that we haven't had an earthquake."

We're in the middle of an abandoned road. At this point everyone's legged it. There are cars left by their owners in the traffic jam. I can't hear screams, but over the tops of the buildings I can see the ludicrous vine towering high into the sky.

"Uh!" / "Oh!"

Both Cornwalls cringe. Oh, come on, I thought I'd got the hang of transporting people!

"Dad, what's that? It feels weird."

"You saw the broadcast, Rob. Wotan's involved. Right." He sticks out his right hand and I pass him the other sword. He weighs it for a moment, then slides it out and passes the scabbard back to me. "Cheers, Orange Lantern." He closes his eyes for a moment, muttering under his breath. I see the air bend around him and when he taps his son on the chest the effect spreads to him as well. "Don't want to have to leave this one to the bloody yanks."

"Actually, Wonder Woman's-" There's a rush of displaced air as they zoom away. "-Greek."

Not super speed but a sort of rapid series of bounding leaps. Unlike Kon they don't hit the ground with great force at the end of the arch. Interesting. But, my part done Map. I haven't asked John about Map. Would he be shaman of the spirit of London yet? Would London care about this attack? Should I stay here and look for him myself? No. Running around trying to sort out this city is John's job. Where is he? Right.

Transition.

"…any sense, I'd have already left!"

A small pub, empty but for John and a loud and decidedly uncomfortable looking Mister Chandler sitting at the bar. Lucky for me a window was open.

"Sorry to bother-."

"Shit!" Mister Chandler twists violently around, knocking his pint off the bar and into his lap. He stares at me, then at his trousers and then at me again. He deflates. "Aw, shit."

Cleaning.

"John, hate to be a pest, but it looks-."

"Theo Adam, gotcha. Here." He reaches into his coat and pulls out a packet of stuff that I really wouldn't want Batman to find on me. "Remember, he's got to breathe it in and it won't work on its own. You'll need to do something to loosen Teth Adam's spirit."

He tosses it to me and I catch it. "Getting him angry shouldn't be too hard. Shouldn't you be winkling out Map about now?"

He hasn't mentioned Map to me and I haven't previously mentioned knowing about him, but John takes it in his stride. "Bloody vine came from the underground, didn't it? He can't not know it's here."

"Jooohn."

He sighs, and slides off the barstool. "Come on Chas, looks like the tights brigade needs John and Cabbie Boy." He finishes the dregs of his pint. "Gimme a ride to King's Cross-."

"I'm not going anywhere while that thing's smashing up the place! Renee'd kill me!"

"Mister Chandler, I realise that exposure to John might have left you somewhat cynical where these matters are concerned but I am inclined to pay people who do work for me. Here." A small bag of unmarked gold coins appear from subspace and lands on his lap. "That should square things with your good lady wife. Now, if you'll excuse me?"

Transition.

 

[Mr Zoat]

1st October
18:37 GMT -5

And I'm knocking on the rear door of the bioship with a good ten seconds to spare. We're airborne, just entering Connecticut airspace. The door slouches open the narrowest crack and I transition inside. Aaaand Kon was in my seat. Kon was in my seat. I pat him on the shoulder and get up off his lap, trying to ignore the sniggering from Wallace and Robin. And M'gann. Kon just looks puzzled. Right, free seat on the far side. Going over there now.

"I trust you were able to resolve matters in London?"

Can't get used to seeing Kaldur wearing that.

"The Cornwalls are assisting Wonder Woman, and Constantine's gone to dig Map out from whatever hole he's fallen into. And you have no idea who those people are, do you?"

"Nnnnnooo."

Wallace looks blankest, but those names don't seem to ring many bells with anyone. Kaldur read my report on Robert, but I can't read his expressions with that mask on. Right. Images. Static three dimensional pictures of the Cornwalls and John appear.

"Captain Cornwall and Cornwall Boy. Magic assisted brawlers I ferried in from south west England. And this.. is John Constantine, magician. Not particularly powerful, but cunning, resourceful and ruthless. He also gave me a.. well, a little something that should disrupt the magics empowering Theodore Adam. Don't have a picture of Map, but he's the favourite shaman of the spirit of London."

I dismiss the images. Teekl hops down from my shoulder and struts over to M'gann. Treacherous moggy.

"Also relevant, once Superboy reminded me about him I tried getting in contact with Swamp Thing, elemental champion of earthly plant life. He actually doesn't live all that far away from where we're going, and if he puts in an appearance it'll be a very short fight. On that principle I also contacted Lantern Gardner about Lantern Medphyll, who has similar plant control abilities. Haven't got in touch with him yet."

I take a breath.

"So what have you all been doing?"

Five glorious seconds of silence.

"We were about to begin reviewing the files on our opponents."

"The Black Adam one's out of date, I'll just update it... There we go."

"You said that you wished to.. 'bagsy?' Black Adam?"

"I said that I wanted to bagsy Theodore Adam. I've been studying him with a view to combating him since just after I came to this world. I'd have probably been hunting him down in a few weeks even if this wasn't happening."

Robin has his computer out, hungry for data. "This file doesn't look complete."

"It isn't. I hadn't finished writing it, and.. I.. excluded information which might reveal Captain Marvel's secret identity."

"You know Captain Marvel's secret identity?

"W-? Kid Flash, I have a power ring. I know everyone's secret identity."

"For how long?"

"Since just after I got here and realised this wasn't all-year-Halloween planet."

"You didn't know my name when we first met."

"Yes I did. I just thought it would be impolite to use it."

"Bu-! Bu-!"

"We need to focus on the Injustice League."

Right, right. Sorry Kaldur. An hour and sixteen minutes until important mission. Less if we get intercepted, and Theo Adam is certainly capable of that.

"Robin, go through what we know about each of its members so far."

"Right."

He presses a button and the hologram generator on his computer projects an image of Atomic Skull. "Atomic Skull-."

"Doctor Albert Michaels."

He gives me a look.

"Atomic Skull. He can project powerful energy beams from his eyes. Effective range against a moving target is about thirty feet. A direct hit will vaporize a normal person, but it takes a second or two to power it up. He hasn't shown any real physical enhancements or combat skills."

Wallace leans back in his chair, arms behind his head. "Sounds easy enough."

"Black Adam. Oh El, you wanna do this one since you know so much about him?"

"Black Adam, real name Doctor Theodore Adam. Archaeologist, and expert in Kahndaqi history. Used the grave goods of Captain Marvel's predecessor to gain access to his powers. In theory, the gods of Kahndaq have blessed him with stamina, speed, strength, wisdom, power -including the power to fly- and courage. In practice, don't expect much wisdom. He usually just does the beginner thing of flying at the target and punching them really hard. Footage of him doing just that when Marvel stopped him wrecking the Fawcett City bridge is available upon request. I have a counter strategy prepared based on undermining the spell binding the power to him, but he'll walk off most physical attacks that can actually hurt him and I'm sorry to say that telepathy will not harm him at all."

"Were you really going to go after him on your own?"

"Ah, no, I was going to probably take Captain Marvel with me." Kon sags. "He's not a ninja, Superboy."

"Count Vertigo. He can cause intense vertigo to anyone in his line of sight. It doesn't start working instantly, but it incapacitates the target almost completely. He's also a highly skilled unarmed combat fighter."

M'gann looks round for a moment. "Is he a telepath?"

"We don't know. His ability could be telepathic, or he could be projecting infrasound."

I nod my head to the side. "Either way, I can probably block it."

I did rate him as a nonthreat for a reason.

"Poison Ivy-."

"Doctor Pamela Isley."

"-expert botanist, and probably most responsible for the plants attacking world cities. She can control plants, and can also throw out clouds of intense pheromones that.. well, they can be pretty distracting."

"I've got gas masks for anyone who wants them. Also, Artemis? M'gann? Anything you want to tell us before you might have to fight a woman who uses pheromone based mind control?"

Artemis crosses her arms. "No."

"Like what?"

"Like do you think you might be affected by human pheromones?"

"Ah, I don't think so? I mean, I do find humans attractive. Some humans, I mean. But I don't think it's because of how they smell."

"Wotan." Robin looks at me challengingly.

I shrug. "Far as I know that's his actual name."

"Powerful magic user. Probably capable of just about anything, but his recorded abilities include energy projection, barriers, flight and teleportation."

"Sounds familiar. My Spell Eater amulet should let me handle his attacks for a little while."

"Hey, when do the rest of us get those?"

I make eye contact with Wallace. "Christmas."

 

[Mr Zoat]

1st October
18:40 GMT -5

"If we are going to fight Wotan, would it not be better to share them now?"

I shrug again. "Sorry Aqualad, but the rest aren't finished yet. Each one needs several thousand tiny enchantments. Heck, the one I'm using is just an inefficient prototype."

"That is unfortunate." He regards Wotan's image. "At the Conservatory we were taught that the best way to combat powerful magic users is to attack them constantly in order to keep them too distracted to use their more complex abilities."

"Think you could pretend to be Ocean Master, try and confuse them?"

My eyes respond to Wallace's question by going straight to Kaldur's mouth. Um, no, there's no way Orm's had that much sun. Could we shoot a transmission so that the camera just focused on the armour-covered part of his face?

"At a distance, perhaps, but I am both shorter and broader than Orm and it is quite possible that they have already heard of his fate from other criminals. This.. armor-" He holds out his right arm and looks at it, flexing the armour on the back of the hand. "-should protect against all but his most powerful arcane attacks."

"And when do the rest of us get armor like that?"

"The materials employed in its construction are transmuted. They do not occur in nature, and the difficulty of their creation..." He trails off, looking at me.

I jazz hands. "It's on the slate, but it isn't a priority and to be honest we'll probably skip straight to orichalcum rather than mess around with impure mithril derivatives."

Mithril's lighter, and the pattern of the external plates on Ocean Master's armour is designed to improve the protection it offers without interfering with the user's agility. Makes sense if you're forced to work the material in a more or less conventional way, but with a power ring Sephtian and I should be able to transmute any size of loop for chainmail, down to far below what would be possible with mere steel.

"Mister Nelson said that Fate needed to use him as an anchor. Does this Wotan guy use something like that?"

"Not as far as we know."

Having Kon battering away at his shields probably wouldn't be a bad way to go about it, but I'd rather have him attacking the facility. Kon's really good at unrestrained destruction, and destroying the vines is the main point of this after all. And on that note...

"I've been wondering. Wouldn't it make more sense for us to just spot wherever the vines are coming from, and then call in a cruise missile strike? I mean, I don't think any of the Injustice.. whatevers.. could block that sort of attack."

Robin squints at me. "The nearest place a cruise missile might be is the Navy Reserve base in Belle Chasse. Even assuming they had one available and were prepared to fire it on a target inside the US, it would take far too long to prepare it. And it might not even work!"

"Alright, so how about we find it, I fly up into low orbit, and fire kinetic harpoons at it, until the whole area looks like the surface of the moon."

"Don't think the State of Louisiana would appreciate you doing that."

"It is an option, but I would like a better idea of the situation on the ground before I authorize it."

"You're the boss. Who's next?"

"The Joker. Bet you don't know-."

"Jack Napier."

He gawps, but covers it quickly. "Right. He's very dangerous, he-."

I roll my eyes. "He's a baseline human with poisons, a knife and maybe a gun. Again, gas masks are available."

"You've never fought him."

"And wouldn't that be the most thrilling two minutes ever. Look, he causes trouble for Batman because he's unpredictable and intelligent enough to prepare well. And not to come into the open until he's ready. We already know where he is and what he's doing. Unless he's got hostages there -aaaand local missing person reports suggest that's unlikely- then at this point he's the least threatening of the group."

"He's done more, killed far more people, than any other members of the Injustice League!"

"Oh, don't I know it. On my world, someone like him would have fallen down some stairs by now. Probably assisted by other prisoners. He's entirely without redeeming qualities and the strongest argument in favour of the death penalty I've ever seen."

My lips curl in disgust as I remember the crime scene photos on the files I read. Morbid curiosity? A little, but it was more that I fully expect to see more things like that if I keep the superhero thing up, and I need to make sure that I can keep functioning. Napier might be.. inventive.. with a knife, but sadism isn't a weapon that can compete with a power ring.

Kaldur's glowing eyes pass from me to Robin.

"The Ultra-Humanite."

"Gerard Shugel."

A moment of silence.

"The Ultra-Humanite was a woman."

"Not his first brain transplant. The body we saw was that of a Dolores Winters, a film actress listed as a missing person back in nineteen sixty three."

Wallace gags. "Oh, that is messed up."

"He was terminally ill. No idea how he made a brain transplant work though."

Artemis looks sickened as well. "What happened to Dolores? Her brain, I mean?"

"No idea."

Robin deactivates his computer. "Being a gorilla makes him as strong as one. Judging by the footage we found in Gorilla City, as strong as a normal gorilla, rather than an enhanced one. He's also smart, and carries a big gun."

Kon think about that last statement. "Why don't Isley and Vertigo carry guns?"

Robin hesitates for a moment. "Well, Poison Ivy has to concentrate to control her plants. Vertigo.. I don't really know. It would make sense."

I roll my eyes. "Because he's a supervillain, and therefore an idiot."

"What weaknesses do they have that we can exploit?" Kaldur's actually kind of scary in that armour.

Robin's eyes flick down for a moment. "Ivy seems to get some sort of psychic feedback from her plants. I packed some ultra strength defoliant gas to use on her pets. It should distract her long enough for one of us to get close enough to knock her out."

"Theo Adam draws power via the bound soul of a hero. I plan to loosen his grip. I'm sorry, but it's not really something anyone else can put into action. Not unless you speak ancient Kahndaqi, anyway."

"And the others?" Robin and I look at each other, then shake our heads. Kaldur nods. "Then we will simply have to be creative."

 

[Mr Zoat]

1st October
18:47 GMT -6

We're about as ready as we're going to get. We've brainstormed approaches, past behaviour and tactics. I've fabricated anti-plant arrows for Artemis and handed inhibitor collars over to Wallace. The configuration needed to suppress Isley was already on file, but for the rest we'll just have to settle for 'lots of electricity'. The place is warded, naturally, so I can't do long distance scans other than to narrow down the approximate location based on where I can't scan.

Really need to talk to someone about getting a thaumaturgist on the team.

We've had reports from the League. Approximately seven hundred believed dead so far, though the death rate has dropped off now that the target areas have been evacuated. Could end up being ten times that once they finish going through the rubble, of course. To make matters worse the vines give off Smilex if burnt. Not sure if it's a response to heat or to flame. Either way I can't risk a radiological attack. Not that I was really planning to. The fights are ongoing in all six cities, though new growths in London seem to go inert about a minute after emerging from the ground. The League's actually transferred personnel away from there. I wonder, could Papa Midnight protect New York in that way? Would it be worth training a network of city-shamans for situations like this?

"So, you gonna call him or what?"

I'm holding my left hand out, palm upwards, ring gleaming invitingly. Wallace and I are both staring at it.

"This will be the first time I've spoken to a Greenie who isn't local. I'm not even sure I'm really allowed to do this."

"Didn't you say Medphyll was one of the Lanterns you actually admired? For his.. what was it..?"

"His comportment, yes. I don't think he'll have a problem with... Ah, hell." I straighten up in my seat. "Ring, contact Green five eight six A."

"Compliance."

The ring flashes as it makes contact. He might just decide not to answer.

"Five eight six? That's not anywhere around here, is it?"

"I don't think so, but I really couldn't-."

Lantern Medphyll's broccoli stalk head appears above the ring. "Lantern Medphyll of Sector five eight six reporting."

My team mates stare at him. The image is orange, but his face is a short cylinder with a single eye and a cross between a small bush and an afro sticking out of the top.

"Er. Hello. Sector two eight one four here."

His eye refocuses. Shouldn't his depth perception be really bad? Maybe his eye uses multiple photosensitive layers or something? Have to ask Guy if he can give me xenophysiology files. The Guardians can't object to me having medical information, can they?

"I'm sorry to hear of your predecessor's death. May I ask which of them was it?"

"No ssssir, they're all fine. I'm new."

"By the Great O, how many Lanterns does your sector need?"

More, probably.

"Reason I got in touch, sir, was that a group of local criminals have created some sort of giant world spanning vine, and are using it to hold several cities to ransom. As I understand it, you are able to control plant life-."

"Commune with, not control. It would be a violation of a sacred trust to force my designs on other plant forms."

"Ah. Right, sorry. It's just that at the moment our options are pretty much pay up or kill it. I'd really like to have an alternative. I've no idea how intelligent it is, but it's... Magnificent, really. And unique. I hate destroying unique things."

"Your compassion does you credit." He looks away from his ring for a moment. "I'm sorry, my sector's other Lantern is a new recruit still undergoing basic training and I can't leave here until they return."

"Is it a technique you are able to teach?"

"Not within a short span of time. Are there truly no beings on your world who could make such a communion?"

"I know of only two. One's out of touch, we're trying to get hold of him. The other is responsible for the attack."

His fronds rustle. That would probably mean something to me if I understood his species' body language. "I regret that I cannot be of more help."

"I don't suppose you know of any other Green Lanterns with equivalent abilities?"

"I don't believe there are any. Sophisticated plant forms are surprisingly rare across Lantern patrolled space."

Sounds like Mother of Mercy hasn't been recruited yet then. Score one for my future Corps, though it's rather inconvenient now.

"Ah. It's a shame, but I suppose we can't do much about it now. Thank you for your time."

I close my left hand, then lower it to my side. Wallace stares, wide eyed.

"That, was awesome."

"Why? It didn't help-."

"You just phoned a guy on the other side of the universe!"

"Yes? It's a basic ring function."

"We're approaching the target."

All heads turn to M'gann for a moment, then to Kaldur. He nods at me, and I rise and walk to the rear hatch. If we do get intercepted, I need to be ready to respond immediately. We need M'gann at the pilot station as she's far better at it than the rest of us, and none of the other team members can fly. A gloop, and a tiny opening appears in the back of the passenger compartment. I can't risk active scans in case they've got something that can detect them. They must know that someone's coming, but-.

"Ouh." M'gann's left hand goes to her forehead.

"Miss Martian, are you well?"

That doesn't work with the helmet at all.

"I feel.. dizzy."

"Vertigo. Ring, active scan."

An image of Count Vertigo and Theodore Adam standing on a rocky promontory overlooking a pond. I couldn't have asked for a better opportunity.

"Aqualad, with your permission?"

He nods. "Go."

Armour, HUD, transition.

I appear above the pond, directly in front of the green clad Count.

Infrasonic attack detected.

He lowers his head from scanning the sky to focus on me. From behind the glowing orange plates of my armour I raise my left eyebrow. "Infrasonic against a power ring? Really?"

His eyes narrow. "Ad-." An orange line connects us as the inhibitor collar materialises around his neck -explosive armed- and the ring subspaces his headband weapon. Might be worth developing myself. "GAAAAAAAGHHH!"

The electrical discharge function activates and he collapses bonelessly to the ground, rolling down the slope to Theo Adam's feet. The explosive won't go off unless someone tries to remove the collar, though Wotan could probably magic it off without too much risk. Next target.

"Theodore Adam, I understand that you're a scum sucking murd-."

His right fist slams into my faceplate.

 

[Mr Zoat]

1st October
18:50 GMT -6

I'm sent flying backwards at tremendous speed, a jagged crack running down the centre of the faceplate. As expected, Theo doesn't follow up, contenting himself with hovering in the air and watching me go. Would he know much about Lantern capabilities? I don't think he's fought any of them before, though it's not completely impossible he -or rather, his predecessor- fought one back in the old days. No idea who the local Greenies were back then. Would his threat level have been high enough to warrant their intervention? No, focus. Right. Need to keep his attention.

Repair armour construct, then railgun.

The faceplate reknits and a large railgun appears to my right side. It won't hurt him significantly -not at levels of force I could conscionably use in a landscape we are trying to preserve- but I need to prevent him from trying to spot the bioship. The heads up display shows me his face. Smug bastard's just watching. Not sure how much he can see from that range.

Fire.

The gentle hum of the gun as it launches an iron slug at his left eye. Then another. Then-. He's moving.

Automate FTL dodge.

Scenery skips, and the HUD notifies me that Theo just lunged through the space I had been occupying at near the speed of sound. I'm now.. above? Alright. I turn in the air, aim and fire the railgun at his right ear. He jerks his right hand up to cover it. Probably felt like an insect bite to him. His head snaps around, we make momentary eye contact and he's mov-.

My view skips and I set the gun to automatic. He's already looking for me, but at this point I'm schmuck bait. Another shot to his right eye before another transition. I need to make sure that he isn't going to try anything clever, and it looks like I'm in luck. Next step. Another shot, another lunge and another miss but this time I appear directly behind him and as he turns his head a lumen cannon materialises directly in front of his eyes.

The world around me darkens as my armour construct begins reflecting more light. Theo's too quick and too strong for me to form a seal around his face and I don't want to risk blinding myself. All I see is a white flicker lasting less than a second, but the lumen cannon just put about two hundred million lumens' worth of light energy directly into his eyes.

"JJJJEEEYYYAAAAGGGHHH!"

He flies away from me, clutching his eyes. I doubt that did much lasting physical damage, but it should take him a while to regain his sight.

Earpiece, ancient Kahndaqi translation only.

Compliance.

I don't risk keeping right up close to him, but I follow at a distance as the filament connects me to his ear.

"Mighty One, why do you allow this-"

He swats at the earpiece with his left hand, still holding his right over his eyes. It disintegrates, then reforms.

"-this villain to use your powers? He is unworthy-"

Another swat.

"-of the gods' blessings. He does nought but-"

Theo accelerates straight up, and I follow.

"-cause misery, chaos and death. He lacks even the wisdom to-"

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP!"

He lashes out in all directions. I don't actually make any noise when flying and no scent can escape my environmental shield. He's got no idea where I am.

"-command-."

"DO YOU THINK I CAN'T UNDERSTAND ANCIENT KAHNDAQI!?"

Oh. Huh. I suppose he would have some knowledge, but I'm surprised it's of conversational quality. He risks blinking his eyes open, but closes them with another wince.

"Mighty One, your people languish beneath the heel of a new tyrant."

"HE CAN'T HEAR YOU! HIS SOUL IS BOUND TO THE SCARAB! EVEN I CAN'T HEAR HIS WHINING ANYMORE!"

Scarab, right. That must be the focal point of the spell. The phantasms John summoned in Kahndaq showed him using some sort of ritual object, but we couldn't see clearly what it was. Ring, is he wearing a scarab?

No scarab detected.

Must be attached in his unenhanced form. Turning him back would be difficult to say the least. My back up plan involves seizing control of his vocal cords and forcing him to say 'Shazam', and I already know that isn't a good plan. John was pretty convinced that it should be possible for Teth Adam to fight the bonds loose if not free himself completely, but at some point I'm going to have to determine whether it's really working or not.

Ophidian's Eyes.

Oh, he wants to hurt me. Beyond that into the core of his being, I feel a need to dominate and crush opposition and rule his people wisely and...

Wait, what? Oh. Oh, that is interesting. I see the network of desires I recognise as belonging to Theodore Adam, but behind.. beneath that, another set of drives. Unless I concentrate they blur together but Teth Adam's still in there, and seems to be at least basically coherent.

"Mighty One, if you do not strain with all your might to break his hold, you will prove that the wizard was right. That you are slothful-"

I see Shazam's face for a moment, and oh the hate, the need to hurt him. There's more, other faces, but no one I recognise. A woman? And two boys?

"-in the performance of your duties. Would you have your legacy be this criminal's actions? For him to be the only 'Adam' anyone remembers?"

"HE WON'T HEAR YOU!"

We're high enough up that I can see the curve of the Earth in the distance. He's facing away from me. I've got no real way to judge exactly how 'free' Teth needs to get before moving onto the next stage.

Aaaaghfuck! Theo's arms are around my waist in a bear hug. Too fast for the ring!? He smiles at me, happy as a psychopath with a fresh puppy to torture.

"Not so smart now. I can hear the wind, boy, and you change how it flows."

!Armour!

I'm not in pain because the armour's holding. If it wasn't, I'd be dead. His grin is pulled back against his skull in a grimace as he exerts more pressure and cracks start to appear.

Twin-linked sonic cannon.

One cannon appears on each side of his head, facing inwards. I'm not worried about rupturing his eardrums, but at this range even a short burst risks affecting me as well.

Ultrasound pulse.

His face shudders, but his eyes burn with determination and the cracks are getting longer. How can I-? Vertigo.

Infrasound, continuous.

The pressure loosens slightly and Theo looks like he's struggling to stay on target.

"Mighty One, if we work together we can bring this monster down. Do not let the legacy of your virtue be forever-"

"ShUt..! ShUt Up! He's never getting free, and your STUPID tricks can't stop me!"

He's given up on flight now, focusing on his hold on me to the exclusion of everything else.

"-obscured by his vice."

My armour is still weakening. Kon never managed this, but then he wasn't actually trying to kill me.

"Let us prove the wizard wrong together."

Theo snarls. "You want the wizard?! Here! Shazam!"

 

[Mr Zoat]

1st October
18:53 GMT -6

He suddenly twists us in the air and AUOOGAAAAGH!

Wholeness Rightly Assumed!

I just took the hit from Aton's lightning. Went through my construct armour like it wasn't there. My amulet soaked up the residual magic energy and my first coherent thought was to repair my body. I don't think there's any-.

"Not so much fun, is it? Shazam!"

He drops, grabbing hold of my right leg and swinging me arAUOOGAAAAGH!.

Ohow that hurts.

Wholeness Rightly Assumed.

Don't think it's doing much lasting damage, but the Spell-Eater's starting to feel warm against my chest. That indicates that it's filled to at least half capacity and I really don't want to find out what happens to a normal person with no protection hit by arcane lightning. How do I-?

"Shazam!"

GGGEEEGGGHHHH!

Wholeness.. Rightly.. Assumed...

"Nothing to say, boy? I've never heard someone beg for mercy in Ancient Kahndaqi before!"

The lightning transforms him. I need it to hit him. How how how how? FTL transfer? No, I don't know where it's coming from. But maybe to free myself?

Transition.

Unable to comply. Dimensional anchor in close proximity.

Stay calm. What else? Conduction! Ring, when he says it again generate conductive constructs around us both.

Compliance.

"You'll beg for death before I've finished with you. Shazam!"

Accelerated Perception. He swings me again in slow motion and in the distance I see a point of light. Orange cables materialise around us and bind us both together as the lightning AAAAOOOOWWWFFFUUUUUUUCCKK!

Pressure vanishes from my leg.

Wholeness Rightly Assumed.

"Wwwwwwwwwwwhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaattttttttttt????????"

No point in looking around at this speed. Show me.

Theo's back, falling through the sky towards the Earth. Unlike the image I showed Captain Marvel, he's wearing jeans and a plain white shirt, with a beetle amulet on a leather thong around his neck.

"Ssssssshhhhhhhhhaaaaaaa-"

Score. Railgun.

Orange light crawls into the mould over my shoulder.

"-azzzzzzzzzzaaaaaaaaaaammmmmmm!"

Fire.

A point of light in the sky, but this time the lightning isn't coming for me. The hum of the railgun charging. Go faster!

A flash of light and a puff of smoke as the lightning hits him. Did I hit in time? Normal perception, John's surprise, repair armour. Uuuugghhhh. Should I back off? No, if it did work, I'll need to be close for the next stage.

"You think I still need the amulet?"

Oh well.

"It's been years! The bindings will hold even without a focus!" He stands in the air, facing me. "This is my power now! Not the wizard's, not the gods' and certainly not yours!"

"True. It's Teth Adam's. And without the scarab-" Please say I hit it please say I hit it. "-he isn't bound to you anymore."

He squints, confused. "No, that can't aaaaaaaggghh!"

His eyes go wide, staring. His hands clasp the sides of his head and I feel the need to cast down this monster radiating out with almost overwhelming strength as Teth Adam's soul makes a play for their shared body. That'll probably take him out of the fight, but I want more than that. Kahndaq needs Teth Adam functional.

Really hope we don't get blood tests after this.

Transition.

My face is inches from his own paralysed horror filled rictus as I bring up John's little bag and burst it. White powder blasts out and I drop my faceplate and breathe deeply, forming a small set of fan constructs to blow -hah!- as much of the rest as possible into Theo's nose and mouth. This is supposed to create a shared mystical state of consciousness, but I didn't get a chance to experiment and it's not as if I've ever experimented with psychedelics before myself.

And then-



-things start to get-



-a bit-



-odd.



Umm. Oooooohhh.... Enchanted LSD, it's a hell of a drug. Heh. Hehh. Hopefully not literally. Everything's a blur of everything. I'm seeing Theo Adam. I'm seeing colour, shape, nonsense patterns that I can't... I'm tasting textures and touching smells. Carpetty.

What was the next step?

"You need to take control of your conceptual space, mate."

"John?"

He leans in front on me and clicks his fingers.

"Yeah. What you've got to do is find a way of comprehending what you're experiencing. No one can cope with seeing all of everything."

"John? It's all weird, John."

"Oh, bleeding hell, you really are a first timer. Listen."

I feel the sound of blackcurrant as he shakes my shoulder.

"What did you come here to do? What do you want?"

And then he bursts into a cloud of tiny orange snakes.

 

[Mr Zoat]

Time
and spaaaaaace

The snakes writhe and coat my arms and feet like damp toadstools as I contemplate my next course of being. What do I want? What do I want? I took the drug to enter the spiritual conflict between Theodore and Teth Adam, but I don't... See... Them..? Or maybe I do, and just don't recognise them?



wOOOOOOooooOOooo.

John said that I should take control of my conceptual space. I have to assume that they're here, and force them into a form I can recognise. How would this contest even work? Wait. I remember in the comics that Shazam selected Teth Adam for his virtues, and Marvel told me that Shazam selected him because he overcame the Enemies of Man. If the virtues are represented by the Egyp-. By the Kahndaqi gods' blessings, wouldn't they get to decide the winner? I mean, at this point Teth has to be their last living worshipper. Makes sense to me. So, what would that sort of conflict look like?

The Enemies of Man had those statue things in the Rock of Eternity, right? What were their names again? Pride, Envy, Greed, Hatred, Laziness, Selfishness, and... Um... Can't remember. Teth will, right? They're not quite the Catholic Seven Deadly Sins, though I think most of them correspond. Not Lust? Hmm. Well, Shazam did knock up a demon, so lucky escape for him. And of course Kahndaqi gods had big statues at major temples.

Take control.

A glowing orange lantern sigil appears in the chaos and confusion all around me. As I stretch out my texture towards it, the circle in the centre shrinks inwards and then expands out to the edge, revealing blackness beyond. I try to float towards it, but don't appear to be making any progress. Tch, of course I'm not! Get over here!

Obediently, the sigil comes in my direction, growing to fill my field of vision as it does so. As I reach the aperture it turns, dropping the opening over my head and disappearing. Or did it never exist on this side? Not sure. I am now standing in a blackened room. Beneath my feet is a curved stone hemisphere, and I sit down atop it, cross legged.

Ah! There they are!

In the centre of the room are two balances. Each is hanging from a cord held in the hand of a vast statue. The style is Ancient Egyptian and made of unpainted stone. Her hair is cut short at the front and long at the back and sides, and decorated by a headband with a feather sticking out. There appear to be decorative bands at the wrists and upper arms and... are those wings? Attached to each arm. The rest of her body that I can see is covered by a long plain dress.

On each balance one side is dramatically higher than the other. On my left, held up by her right arm, the left plate contains Theodore Adam in full Black Adam mode. He is alone on the plate, which is higher than the other part of the balance. Pushing his side up on the other side of his balance are six statues in the Ancient Kahndaqi style. A muscular man kneeling in rocks while supporting a cloud with his arms and back. A ram-headed man with a complicated headdress. A man standing between two lions facing left and right. A man with the head of an ibis. A plain-looking man kneeling, one hand cupped with water draining out and the other hand shaping his own left leg from a rough mass into a limb. A man with the head of a falcon. Those statues whose hands are not otherwise occupied hold staves and ankhs.

On the other balance the upper plate on the right is empty. The left plate contains an athletic Arab man in a plain white kilt with an elaborate decorative collar containing a lightning bolt emblem around his neck. Chains are clamped onto his arms and legs, forcing him into a kneeling position. The other ends of the chains are pulled behind him and wrapped around the arms of a bizarre looking statue, quite unlike the artistic Egyptian-style ones counterbalancing Theodore. It has no legs, just a torso that appears to rise out of the plate. The torso itself is a simple cylinder with no visible features, widening slightly at the shoulders. Two thin arms project from that point, terminating on the base of the plate in disproportionately huge fists. The head looks like something from a Warhammer 40,000 Ork, all pointy fangs and snarl.

The man is Teth Adam.

Around this centrepiece I see huge statues in the same style as the one binding the soul I came here to rescue. Far around to my right, a fat statue, thin arms folded across its chest, mouth downturned, eyes shut. On my immediate right, a thin, nervous looking statue, both arms held to its left as if warding off something. On my left a gap - perhaps where the statue holding Teth Adam would go?-, then a tall and very thin statue, arms held limply in front of it. Next, a short statue, indolently smiling face supported by both its arms. On the far side, a scowling statue, arms folded and head pointy. That's five, plus the one binding Teth Adam. Where's the seventh?

I look down. Oh. Okay. So, which one am I sitting on? I try to look closer at the statues I can see. Aren't they supposed to have names written on them? Ah! I see them now!

Teth Adam is bound to Hatred. The others are Pride, Envy, Selfishness, Laziness and... Injustice? Really? Alright, whatever. Which one does that l-.

Hah! I'm sitting on Greed! Oh, very good. I take another quick look around. Nothing up above us but down below, looking up at us, is a rather odd looking statue-creature. The head appears to be that of a crocodile or alligator -not sure how to tell the difference- while the body is split. The front half appears to have fur carved onto it, and the forepaws are those of a large cat. The rear seems to be a different animal, being far bulkier and smoother and the feet having heavy toenails rather than claws.

Do I remember something about Egyptians believing that the souls of the unworthy dead were eaten by a hippopotamus? Am I misremembering, and it is actually supposed to be that creature?

Okay, looks like a simple test of worth. Theodore has the support of the gods at the moment, while Teth is bound to his hatred. What does he hate? Shazam, presumably. Don't think I'm going to be able to persuade him to give that up easily.

"Ruuuuuah!"

Theodore tries to fly off the side of the plate at his rival, but as soon as he reaches the lip he reappears on the other side and stops in confusion. Teth fixes a rage-filled stare on his enemy and tries to struggle against the chains to no avail. Did this sort of test exist in his day? I cup my hands at my mouth.

"That's not how it works!"

Both faces turn to me. Theodore snarls and tries flying in my direction. This time he keeps trying, giving me a minor headache as he keeps flickering from the front to the back to the front and back again. Teth stops struggling as he tries to work out what's going on.

"Do not waste your breath trying to reason with him. He is an animal."

I shake my head and waggle my right forefinger.

"Umm, don't be so quick to judge. He's actually an expert on Kahndaqi history and, well, he worked out how to access your power."

"Then he chooses to be a savage. That is all the more contemptible." His eyes narrow. "I.. know you. I heard your voice..."

"Yes Mighty One, and I would very much like to see you win this little-" I spread my arms wide. "-thing. Unfortunately it looks like you're going to have to do the hard work yourself."

Theodore stops his pointless breakout attempt, hovering just above the surface of his plate.

"I have the power of the gods while my spell has him chained to a statue!"

"Actually, it doesn't. Your spell stopped working when I destroyed your scarab amulet back in the real world."

"Then why am I-" Teth Adam pulls at the chains again. "-still-" He pulls harder, focusing his attention on his right arm. "-bound!?" He falls onto his face before rising to a crouch.

"Don't you recognise the statue, Mighty One? Surely you visited Shazam's home at least once?"

He stops pulling, and twists around as best he can to get a look at it. "That is... Hatred. One of the Enemies of Man the wizard spoke of."

"Yep. Your soul is literally bound by chains of hatred. And the only one who can free you from that.. is you."

 

[Mr Zoat]

Who are you?
What do you want?

"Hah!" Teth throws back his head to laugh bitterly, then shakes his head, his eyes dropping to the plate he kneels on. "I know not whether you are some demon or a projection of the wizard's. You want me to give up my hate? You have no idea, no idea..."

"I have some idea Mighty One, but if you'd like to explain the rest?"

He looks at me. "I recognise that statue too. Are you Greed, then? Do you hunger for my pain? Does my suffering bring you such delight?"

"No, Mighty One, just a man. One-" I raise my left hand. The ring isn't there, but my forearm shimmers as it switches between flesh and orange light. "-gifted, with power. Not quite as you were, but..." I spread my hands out to the sides. "I can't force you to listen to me, but we can reason together. This place does not literally exist. I destroyed the scarab Theodore over there-" I flick my left hand at him and he sneers back at me. "-used to bind your soul. Then I dosed us both with... Um, a magic powder, to let us share this experience, this hallucination. The two of you both know far more about Kahndaqi religion than I do, so where are we?"

Teth takes a look around. "We are surrounded by the Enemies of Man. The Heralds of Isfet, as my people would have called them. And-."

"And we're standing on scales being held up by Ma'at, with Ammut below to consume our souls if we are found wanting. Yes, it's obvious and clichéd."

Theodore looks upwards, and with less aggression than before tries flying straight up. Once he reaches a certain height things bend and he is returned to the surface of the plate with a snort of frustration.

Teth Adam appears to consider. "So, our souls are to be weighed. I cannot even hope that mine is lighter than a feather, but I prayed that my gods would not side with him over me."

"I'm not sure they have. The whole point of the spell he used was to convince them that he is you. Otherwise he could just have petitioned them directly."

"You say they will hear me now?"

"No, they won't hear you now! You're dead, and I don't see Anubis!" Theodore walks over to the edge of his plate and looks down at the god statues. "Shu, Horus, Amun, Thoth, Aten and Mehen. The sources of Black Adam's power and I am Black Adam. Me!" He thumps his chest with his right fist. "If you ever want to achieve anything in a world that thinks of you only as objects of historical curiosity, it is through me you will do it! You need me!"

The large statue of Pride around to my right disappears, and a smaller version appears next to him on his plate. He starts as the increased weight on his side causes the plate to drop slightly.

"What? No! Get off!"

He lunges at the statue, right shoulder first, and tries to shove it off the platform. It stands resolute, indolent grin taunting him. Teth Adam watches, curious. "You are supposed to be an expert on Kahndaq? You could not even properly name the gods who you have tricked into blessing you."

Was that the list Captain Marvel gave me? I... I can't clearly remember. But even if it wasn't, Kahndaq worshipped them for over three thousand years. Maybe the names changed?

"Spirit. Man. Whatever you are. How long has it been? How many years was my spirit bound to my bones in the tomb of my father?"

"Mighty One, I'm not sure it's really a good idea to-."

"I know it has been many years. Many.. ages, perhaps. Sometimes I was able to see through his eyes and such sights I saw confounded me, but I must know!"

"Alright. Difficult to be sure, but my best... The best estimates I was able to see before I set this up said that you died about five thousand years ago.

"Five thousand..?" I see the pain on his face. "And the wizard still lives, and has anointed a new champion. It is some cruel joke. Does anything of Kahndaq remain?"

"Oh, yes, there's definitely a Kahndaq. Not sure exactly how the borders map on to the ones it had in your day."

"Kahndaq had no borders. It was the Nile, and such land as we could cultivate around it. What of its people? Its gods?"

"Population's a bit more varied, ethnically. About two and a half thousand years after your death it was conquered by the Hellenes, from over the sea to the north, then later by the Romans. But you'd still recognise the faces of the people."

"But the gods. Was what he-" He gestures with his chin in the direction of Theodore, who has given up on getting rid of Pride and is now prowling his plate. "-said true? Do they no longer pray to our... To my gods?"

"No. They keep the surviving temples because touris-. Um, because travellers pay to see them. But the dominant religion in Kahndaq these days is Sunni Islam. It's a monotheistic religion which worships a benevolent omnipotent creator god."

"Omnipotent? Hah! My people had a creator god." He looks at the now slightly higher plate containing their statues. "Atum, who by his power forced matter into being from the primordial waters of chaos. But all powerful? No, it is too much. How could anyone relate to such a being? How may a man strive to become like a being that is all things?"

"Don't ask me. I'm an atheist."

"You.. do not believe.. at all?"

"Just because they exist, that's no reason to start believing in them."

He looks at me, his mouth slightly open. "You, are a strange man."

"Yes, but this isn't about me. It is -to quote the Vorlons and the Shadows- about who you are, and what you want."

"I? I want the wizard dead by my hand. I want the people of Kahndaq -my people- safe, prosperous and happy. I want to see my wife and my sons again. I want that beast-" He glares at Theodore, who sneers back. "-gone."

"Why? He's probably going to get to Shazam eventually, if only to protect himself. Or get killed. Either way, doesn't look like you really lose anything."

"The wizard... Shazam, deserves death for what he did to me. But as pharaoh I had... No, have.. a duty to my people. Everything I did, what the wizard condemned me for, was in the service of that duty. He knows nothing of duty, nothing of honour. He has no cause greater than his own fulfilment."

"And you do?"

"Yes. I know my homeland has changed, but my duty still gives me purpose."

"And yet you are still bound to Hate. Tell me, Mighty One: if you had to choose between your duty and your Hate, which would you choose?"

 

[Mr Zoat]

What we're here for.

"And I say 'duty', and I am free? Fine! Duty! Duty is more important than hate."

"No, Mighty One. You can lie to the world, but you can't lie to Ma'at. Not in a meaningful way."

"Do you understand what you are asking of me?"

I take another look at the Eater of Souls below us. Is it getting bigger?

"All that time. Five thousand years, the only thing that kept me sane was the desire to take revenge. And now you expect me to just toss it away?!"

"It would probably be for the best, but Theodore over there isn't chained up to Pride. Maybe you just need to re-evaluate your priorities." I make small circling motions with my hands. "Put it this way. If there was some great catastrophe about to befall Kahndaq that would destroy it entirely and you knew for certain there was no other way, could you swallow your hatred and ask Shazam for aid?"

"Of course he couldn't! I don't really care about the wizard, but him? Didn't you read the hieroglyphs in his tomb?"

"I know that I should..."

"Kahndaq needs you, Mighty One. Its current ruler is a tyrant on a scale earlier generations could only dream of."

He looks at me in disbelief. "Does he take the penises of his defeated enemies as trophies in battle?"

"He did have five hundred people tortured to death last year, not counting executions or torture survivors. He likes to watch, sometimes. As I recall Kahndaqi armies generally only took penises as trophies from the dead. You see, that's why I'm doing this. You are the only one I can think of who is both powerful enough to sort it out, and committed enough to actually stick at it. And if your love for your people, your commitment to your duty, isn't strong enough-."

"DO NOT PRESUME TO LECTURE ME ON DUTY!" He tries lunging forwards and is brought up short by the chains. His eyes are filled with rage. "Everything I did was for my people, before I was chosen by the gods and after. I-."

"You murdered your own father to take his throne!" Theodore seems to find this amusing. "It doesn't seem that we're quite so dif-."

"You think I liked doing that? My father was a bloody-handed tyrant who demanded that our people worship him as a living god! And when he-."

"Impudent, wasn't he? Proclaiming his divinity while standing next to you. I understand completely. I would not have acted any other way myself."

Teth Adam surges to his feet, striding to the edge of his platform.

"What I did, I did without choice. In the name of peace and sanity. My sense of duty is what separates me from him and from you and while I will never let my hatred go I will always rise above it."

That worked, sort of. Chains are gone, but Hate's still there and the plates haven't moved. No. Movement? Both platforms shift as the Ibis headed statue vanishes from Theodore's counterweight platform and appears on Teth's, causing his balance to balance. Teth looks around and drops to his knees.

"I thank you for your faith, Lord Zehuti. I swear that I will prove worthy of it."

"Oh come on! Really? That was all it took!? Fine." He turns to look at Teth and the god statues, his arms held open and low. "Toth. Zehuti. Whatever you're called. I am part of a group that has combined magic, biotechnology and cybernetics in a way that has never before occurred on Earth! The ritual I used when I killed the Batsons? I invented that, by combining the blood magics of the Aztecs with the binding rites of the Diablo Islanders! And you know what I learned about myself doing it? I don't want to rule, I don't want to conquer. I certainly don't want to murder my own father. I don't want to be troubled by the affairs of ants at all!" He locks his eyes on the back of Teth Adam's head. "What I want is power, inherent in myself. What I want is to associate only with those whose capacities match my own. What I want are challenges worthy of me. You." He shifts his attention to me. "Do you think I care about the ransom money?"

"Mister Napier rather gave me the impression it was more about having fun causing devastation. You've killed at least a thousand people, by the way."

He smiles. "And not one of them matters at all. No. Vertigo wants the money. Joker just wants to hurt people. I? I did this as a challenge to people like you. People worth fighting. And as soon as the drug you gave me wears off and this pointless psychodrama fades into memory I will tear your head from your shoulders and take your power ring for myself as the next stage of my ascendancy. But, when I do that, I will not hate you. In fact, I thank you for providing me with such a challenge."

Envy and Selfishness disappear from the perimeter and reappear on his plate.

"Bah! As if it matters while I have the gods' favour."

"You murdered people to steal my power?"

"Yes. Yes, I did. Clarence and Marilyn Batson. They had a son and a daughter, I think. They weren't Kahndaqi if that's what's bothering you."

Teth turns to me.

"You! You have heard him. You can give testimony-."

"As if it matters! I've killed hundreds since becoming Black Adam, and the greatest thing any of them achieved in their entire lives was to provide me with some temporary amusement. I will never face a trial. I will never be taken to court. At absolute worst, I will die at the hands of one of my peers in this fight or some other. And I think that.. would be a good death."

Injustice appears next to him. He looks at it for a moment, unconcerned.

"Hm. So what now, Orange Lantern? Neither the primitive nor I are prone to Laziness and you yourself are sitting on Greed. I win, four sins and five gods to his one sin and one god. I am Black Adam!"

Teth shifts his position so that he is now kneeling facing the other god statues. "You are indeed an unclean and impious man. I am Adom, prince and pharaoh of Kahndaq, hailed by the people of Kahndaq as Mighty Adom for my successes in war with the Nubians. While I cannot swear that my every decision was pleasing to Ma'at I strove always to rule justly and if my people are now oppressed by some foul tyrant I will cast them down."

The goat-headed god with the head dress vanishes from Theodore's counterweight and appears on Teth Adam... Adom's side. The balances move once more.

"No!"

"I thank you for your favour, Lord Heryshaf. I will use your gift of strength ever to defend your people."

Theodore looks desperately at the remaining god statues. "Shu... Two lions... Aker? But the scrolls didn't say-. Fine. Atum, yes, and Montu. So I was told wrong. Gods and styles of art and worship change over millennia. I still have the favour of more of them than you do."

"Not for long."

 

[Mr Zoat]

Shouldn't be too long now.

"Lord Shu, for five thousand years my spirit has endured being bound to my corpse by my enemy, the wizard Shazam. My mind and my purpose remain intact. I humbly ask-."

"Lord Shu! I have… I can..."

Yeah, he's got nothing. To be honest, I'm impressed with how on the ball Teth Ad- Teth Adom is. Five thousand years with no stimulation. Maybe his gods kept him company? Not like they've had much to do lately.

"Lord Shu, I have repeatedly fought against beings who were my physical equal! It is my greatest pleasure, a contest of skill, strength, speed and endurance. Without-."

The statue of the kneeling man supporting the cloud disappears from his counterweight, and reappears on Teth Adom's. The balances shift once more. Ammut's head is now facing upward, his mouth open. I didn't see him move. And is he getting bigger?

"No! Why! I am more worthy!"

"Apart from murder, what deeds have you performed without the gods' gifts? When have you fought for your life from necessity and not ego? When I fought the Nubians I stood on the front line knowing that the sling of the least skilled peasant among them could end my life with a lucky shot. What have you ever done that required courage?"

"What have you ever done that mattered! One tiny skirmish that didn't even alter your own border and that is what you lay before Montu? I have used the gods' power to fight the mightiest living beings on Earth! I didn't even know the extent of my power when I challenged the might of the Wisconsin National Guard!"

"Pppfffffffffffhahahahahah!" He whips his head around to glare at me. "What, was Maine a bit of a trek? Hawaii too hot for you? Or are you just really lactose intolerant? You're seriously boasting about fighting Wisconsin?"

"They were aided by Captain Marvel, the wizard's new champion!"

"I seem to remember reading that you ran away from him."

"I distracted him by destroying one of the supports on the Fawcett City Bridge and he elected to help the ants rather than continue to fight me!"

"Which allowed you the time to run away. Oh look, there goes Lord Montu."

"No! Damn it! Atum! My research into magic formed a core component of the plant weapon that is even now ravaging major cities across the world!"

"While I was pharaoh I commissioned a series of defensive fortifications and temples. I also created a standardised code of law, courts and made a policy of transferring the population of conquered areas away from their homelands and allowing them to settle elsewhere rather than slaughtering or enslaving them. That was one of the causes of strife between myself and my father. I do not know if that custom survived..."

"Either it did, or it was reinvented. I remember hearing that the Babylonians did something similar to a city in Israel."

"That is good to know, though I do not recognise either of those nations. War is sometimes necessary, but wanton slaughter should be avoided where possible."

Looks like Atum agrees. Just Aker to go.

...

I don't know anything about Aker. What might Teth Adom have done to demonstrate his speed?

"Strength, Endurance, Power, Wisdom, Courage... Aker is god of horizons and boundaries. What does that have to do with speed?!"

"The lions at his side represent the passage of time, yesterday and tomorrow. Aker also stands at the gate to the underworld and removes the death wounds on the souls of those who pass by. If you had ever stood vigil by the side of a dying comrade you would know just how swift the change from life to death can be. And who but Aker could control the rate at which time passes and grant more of it to his favoured servant?"

"I had to work with great speed to conceal what I had done when I killed the Batsons. The authorities still believe the story that it was the work of bandits!"

"You know, I really don't think you're helping yourself by saying stuff like that."

"I doubt that there is anything that quite compares with five thousand years locked in a single room to grant an appreciation for the passage of time. By the sounds of it, I would have much work waiting for me if I were to return to the world of the living."

The statue of Aker joins the others. Theodore looks incensed, the scales lowering him to their lowest point yet. Ammut's jaws are wide open below us.

Nothing happens.

Teth Adom and I share a slightly confused look.

"Should something not have happened?"

"I was expecting something. I didn't want to bring this up before, but I really don't know what's happening to our bodies in the real world, and I've got a nasty suspicion that they're falling to Earth at considerable speed."

"Hah heh heh heh."

Come on, what comes next?

"You've done all this work and it still comes to nothing. The gods' power still protects me, but you have to concentrate to use your ring, don't you? I'll be bruised, you'll die, and you-" He squints up at Teth Adom. "You can go back to being a little voice in the back of my head. I can always make a new binding. Perhaps I will track down the Batsons' son to make the required sacrifice."

"No, you will not. Now that I have the gods' support I may once more call upon their power by speaking the wizard's name!"

"No!"

"Shu, Heryshaf, Aker, Zehuti, Atum and Montu. I pray to you, grant me your power that I may once more serve as your champion. Shazam!"

A bolt of orange lightning flies from me and strikes him in the chest. He throws back his head in a silent shout as the energy crackles around him. He grows a little, his musculature increasing in size though still nothing like Theodore's transformed form. An athlete rather than a body builder. Next, the black with gold trim uniform I am most familiar with replaces his kilt and necklace. He floats into the air, marvelling at his newfound vitality.

"It's not happening it's not happening it's not happening..."

Theodore is curled up in a ball on his plate, shrivelled back to his true form. For some reason he's still wearing his costume but it hasn't shrunk with him and it just emphasises how much smaller he has become.

"Thank you, oh gods of Kahndaq. May I prove myself worthy of the blessing you have bestowed upon me."

He looks at me.

"How do we return to-?"

"No! I will not be weak again!"

"The gods have turned from you, criminal. You have no-."

"There is more than one source of power here! I call upon the Lords of Hell! Enemies of Man, grant me your powers! Sabbac!"

Ma'at releases her grip on his scales, and it drops into Ammut's waiting jaws.

"NNNNNNOOOOOOAAAAAAGGGGHHHHHH!"

Teth Adom and I look down as his screams are cut off. Ammut doesn't seem to have gone anywhere. Alright, up to me. Another conceptual gate?

Portal.

An orange lantern sigil appears at my feet and another appears on Teth Adom's platform. They twist, rotate and move upwards and I open my eyes to the stinging wind and ground!

 

[Mr Zoat]

1st October
19:01 GMT -6

Tree mud water fly!

Unable to comply. Low pow-.

"Armour!"

The construct flashes into being an instant before I slam into the mud, the shockwave from my terminal velocity impact sending dirty water flying in all directions before I strike the more solid ground beneath and get sent into a tumbling bounce.

"Gyouygh!"

I pull in my arms and legs as I hit a tree, smashing through the trunk and into the ground behind. Another bounce and a row of bushes are torn asunder before I make final splashdown in a small pond. The splash made by my impact sends a wave shooting to the muddy banks even as I sink below the murky green waters.

Fffffeeeeeeuuuuuwwww. What a relief.

In the light of the armour construct I can see the cracks from damage it took protecting me. I'm not sure exactly how much energy a terminal velocity drop into mud puts into the droppee but I imagine that it's a lot. Good work, armour. Now I just have to hope that stuff with Teth Adom actually happened. If it didn't then John owes me a refund, but from the way Theodore was acting beforehand something happened when I destroyed the scarab. Right, next step.

Ring, charge?

Ten percent remaining.

Not sure what that power got spent on, but I suppose that can be a concern for later. Can't fly out, so start walking. Wading. Ring, map. Thank you. Need to contact the rest of the team. Not sure if the plasma pistol is completely water proof, so I'll recover that from subspace after I get out.

**Orange Lantern to team. Provisional mission-kill on Black Adam. Count Vertigo-**

Ring? Ah, good.

**-collared and wandering the swamp in a daze.**

I think I remember something about him having a problem with his inner ear which his device -now mine- corrected. Certainly looks that way from how he's behaving. The bank of the pond is steep and a little diffuse, but I find some exposed roots and start hauling myself out.

**Could I please have an update?**

**Good work. The plant control network is down but we are -ah!- sorely pressed.**

**Be with you as soon as I can, Aqualad.**

Hm. If the vine is destroyed then with a little luck...

Ring, location of team.

The ring adds the distance and direction to the armour's HUD as I break the surface and pull myself fully out, water and gunk running off my armour. Behind me, seventy metres. I pull myself to my feet. Alright, shouldn't take.. too...

I'm looking at a golden boot, hovering over the pond. Its partner is next to it, toes pointing downwards slightly. Coming out of the boots are black leggings. I take a breath. Time to find out whether I'm boned or not. Gold sash, lightning bolt cape, athletic build and I throw my arms in the air in triumph!

"Yes!"

"I am glad that you find my appearance so pleasing."

"Gotta be honest with you Mighty One, I was not sure that would work."

Unlike Theodore, he doesn't scowl by default. His expression is blank, or stern, perhaps. He unfolds his arms from the front of his chest and raises his right hand to examine it.

"It is.. strange, to be flesh again after so long. And in this place. I have never seen a.. a bayou before."

Ophidian's Eyes.

Yep, I can only see one set of desires. Should probably get Mister J'onzz to make sure at some point, just in case. I blink them away as he recrosses his arms.

"I wondered, while we were in the dream, if perhaps you were the wizard, projecting yourself into my soul as some strange sort of test. Or maybe even the embodiment of Lord Atum himself."

"Sorry to disappoint."

"Oh, I am very far from disappointed." He cocks his head to the side, listening to something. "But perhaps we should leave this for later. Now, I think I should remonstrate with Theodore's former comrades."

His face twists as he names his predecessor. Or should that be successor?

"I'll catch you up."

He nods, and is gone in a roar of displaced air. Right.

**Orange Lantern to team. I have turned Black Adam. Repeat, I have turned Black Adam. He's inbound now.**

**You what?**

**Turned to our side, Kid Flash. He shou-.**

**He's here. Oh. Oh, God... **

Through his eyes I see Teth Adom holds Wotan's collar in one hand and Wotan's severed right arm in the other before he hurls him to the ground. Maaaaybe I should have thought this bit through better.

**He's five thousand years old, you need to explain our rules of engagement!**

Oh dear, is Teth Adom going to understand English? I've only got five percent power left until we're reduced to charades unless Zehuti's Wisdom portfolio includes modern linguistics. Would M'gann be able to communicate telepathically?

**Miss Martian.**

**On it, Aqualad.**

It seems Kaldur had the same thought. That should save the Injustice Gang's lives, assuming that Wotan doesn't bleed out. He should know some healing spells, right? More importantly, it won't stop Teth Adom from making friendly contact with the Justice League which would be pretty much off the table if any of these mass murdering criminals died. Will this be tried in Louisiana? Do they have the death penalty? I certainly hope so, but supervillains seemed to be able to duck that sort of thing in the comics with little difficulty. I look around, trying to find the best route through the swamp before the ring plots it for me. Running's a nonstarter, but with the ring improving my awareness of my immediate environment I can manage a decent jogging pace. Is it normal for there to be this many flowers around at this time of year?

I hold out my right hand.

Ring, gun.

One of the red plasma pistols appears in my hand. Not that I think Teth Adom is going to leave anyone standing, but don't places like this have alligators? Low power and short range.

"Well look who tried to skip the party."

I stop. Napier? Gun to ready position.

"Good evening Mister Napier. If you could please come out with your hands raised?"

Ring, locate him.

Compliance.

He's standing eleven metres away, behind a bush. Not sure his brain would respond in the normal way to a StunCrown. Weapons? Two knives and some odd looking gloves. Some dangerous chemicals, but not in a significant quantity and I might just be reading him. I'm having a bit of a flashback to my 'fight' with Mister Crock.

"Can't do that. I'm trying to be a responsible dog owner."

Dog?

"We'll see what we can do about getting you visitation rights." I raise the pistol in his direction.

"Aren't you a swell guy? Thank the man, Rover."

Rover?

"Grrrrrrrr!"

I swing to my right as the white mass of fur leaps out of the undergrowth!

 

[Mr Zoat]

1st October
19:04 GMT -6

In the moments before the supersized canine hits me I get a clear view of its fur. White, but for a patch around its head which someone -presumably Napier- has dyed green. I don't think that anyone but him would have put the crimson lipstick on either. I line up the gun and fire as it leaps. Fur is burnt along its chest but it still has enough momentum to barrel into me.

Brace.

My pistol is knocked aside. It's aiming for my throat, but is wrong-footed when its considerable mass doesn't push me over. It takes half a second to recover before it locks its jaws around my head. The view of the inside of its mouth as it chomps on my armour is a little disturbing, but not really any worse than the rats in India. Looks like another Venom Buster case.

Ring, purge.

Unable to comply. Scan protection in effect.

Of course it is. Luckily I didn't land on my head after my return to Earth so the dog? Wolf? Is biting the strongest part of my armour. Maybe I should do what I did to Mister Huang, but I'm at ten percent power and about to get into a fight with a group of supervillains. I manipulate my pistol to a better angle, dial the power up to medium and fire point blank into its side. It falls sideways with a whimpering yelp.

That is one freaky looking wolf. Alright, Napier next, then-.

"Raaaar!"

The wolf leaps back to its feet and hurls itself at my left leg, biting the construct armour and shaking its head from side to side.

Infrasonic.

"Do you like him? When the big gorilla told me about them I knew I just had to get one of my own. Maybe I'm getting broody? Ha ah ah."

The wolf doesn't seem to be noticing the infrasonic waves and continues to worry my leg as the armour starts to crack in earnest. Dogs. That was why Doctor Munro hesitated. They weren't working on dogs, they were working on wolves. Okay, still shouldn't be-.

"Couldn't just take them off the peg, so I added a little Gotham fever. Wotan did something to give the little guy a little extra pep as well. Who'da thought teamwork could be so much fun?"

I bring the pistol up, switch it to high power and shoot the wolf in the head. Flesh melts away from the right side of its face and its right eye bursts. Then the flesh regrows and the eye reforms and it keeps at me. A normal wolf could tear apart a man's leg and I've no doubt that the moment my armour construct fails this thing will do that to me.

"I did the lipstick myself. He was having trouble applying it. You just can't get it in paw-friendly sticks out here."

**I'm at low power and being attacked by an augmented wolf. I could really use some help if anyone's free!**

Warning; low power. Eight percent remaining.

Reknit armour.

Compliance.

The cracks disappear from everywhere but the leg that the wolf is attacking. There they flicker from repaired to damaged as the wolf cracks it anew.

Warning; low power. Seven percent remaining.

The inside of its mouth might be more vulnerable, but I'm not sure I can hit it from here. Can I shoot off its jaw? Not sure. I dial the pistol down to shortest range, hold it near the side of its face and pull the trigger. A flash of red light and it loses its grip. I end the brace effect and take a few hurried steps backwards. High power shots tend to deplete the pistol's power cell quickly and I don't have a solution to the wolf yet.

"Aaaaaaggrrrrrrrrrr."

The wolf can't growl properly with its jaw hanging off, but the muscles begin reattaching even as I watch. Assimilate it? Try to hope it can't heal back brain damage? A second pistol might-.

An orange shape rushes through the undergrowth and catches the wolf in the side, bowling it over. It's feline and.. Teekl? Teekl's grown to the size of an adult lion and is currently sinking her teeth and claws into the wolf. With a wet snapping noise she tears her muzzle free, taking a wodge of its back with it. The wolf tries to return the favour but is pinned to the ground by her extended claws and can't get its head around to bite her. Tossing the meat aside, she attacks again before the flesh can regrow. This time there's a crunch and the wolf shudders and goes still as she breaks its spine. I quickly run forwards, put the barrel of the pistol up to its eye and pull the trigger. In a flash its skull is hollowed out, baked from the inside.

I step back, gun ready in case it is still able to regenerate. Doesn't look like it. Ring?

No regenerative activity detected. Addendum, this ring cannot identify certain forms of magic effect.

Reassuring. I walk up to Teekl. "Good cat."

"Teekl top hunter."

She expands her jaws too far beyond their natural proportion, clamps them around the dead wolf's neck and bites down. Its head is separated from the body and she holds it up as a trophy.

"Teekl rule. Dog drool."

"Not anymore it doesn't. I didn't know you could grow like that, Teekl."

"Teekl awesome. Teekl beat whole dog group."

"How many-?"

There's a woosh of displaced air behind me as Teth Adom flies into the clearing, Napier held in his hands by his lapels. He takes in the scene.

"You are uninjured?"

"Yes. Any casualties?"

"The battle is won, and won well. The youth in yellow was somewhat mauled, but the wound did not seem mortal and the archer was tending to him. I saw no other serious injuries."

I nod. I can heal Wallace-.

"Well you're about to see one reeeeeeal close." The Joker's right hand goes to his left lapel, and a spray of dark green gas squirts out of his buttonhole flower!

Environmental shield!

An orange line connects me to Teth Adom. Would Smilex affect him? Don't know, don't want to find out, don't know if I was fast enough.

"Good, ain't it?" The Jok-. Napier turns his head to look at me. "You don't know if it worked. I don't know if it worked. We're all just on-."

Teth Adom releases the lapels and transfers his hold to Napier's face, thumbs just under his eyes. Then he rises slightly into the air, his face emerging from the vapour cloud.

"That was your 'Joker Toxin', was it not? I possess Theodore's memories of its effects."

"Hate to break it to you big guy, but I don't have the slightest idea what you're saying."

"You kill people with euphoria while polluting the air with your demented cackling." He begins exerting pressure, twisting Napier's head back. "No more silly faces."

"Adom! Stop!"

"Why?!" He sounds more startled than angry. "So he can go on to kill more people? How heavily do Ma'at's scales weigh against him already?"

"Very heavily, I imagine."

"The green woman told me that you do not kill your foes, but this.. animal... Why? Why should he be spared the fate he has inflicted on so many others?"

What answer would he accept?

"He shouldn't. He thoroughly deserves to die."

"Heh! New at this.. hero thing.. are ya? I'll admit... Interesting.. change of.. pace..."

StunCrown.

An orange line connects me to Napier and he goes still. Adom checks him for life and then looks at me with confusion on his face. "Why? If you agree he deserves it..."

"Because we, we are not the rightful authorities. This country has laws and honest judges and it is to them we leave these decisions. Would you have accepted people enacting justice in your kingdom, save by your leave?"

His face stills as he thinks about it. "I would not." He nods. "Very well, I shall stay my hand. At least until I understand this land better." He moves Napier's recumbent body to underneath his right arm, before turning to give Teekl a look over. "The cat is yours? You show excellent judgement in your choice of companion."

 

[Mr Zoat]

1st October
19:13 GMT -6

"This is weirding me out."

Wallace stares as Adom drops the bewildered Count Vertigo into the mud outside of his former base, his collared companions looking on. Wotan's just finished healing himself, and Kaldur lowers the trident he had pointed at the back of the man's head while Artemis snaps magic suppression bracers around his arms. They're usually used by Atlanteans for imprisoning dangerous mages. I only found out they existed when Kaldur mentioned them on the bioship journey in, though I should have realised that logically they'd have to have something like that.

Would this place be worth leaving as a tourist attraction, or will whoever's in charge of this place want it destroyed? I mean, aside from the hole in the roof where the vine got weedkillered it's pretty intact. The League at least will want to go over everything left looking for clues. The surrounding plant life certainly looks vigorous enough to recolonise the area.

"I mean, that's Black Adam, grade A bad guy."

The wolf that attacked me had eight pack mates, and one of them got a grip on Wallace's right arm before Kon was able to pull its jaws apart. Bone's fractured and blood is continuing to soak through the bandage Artemis applied. Teekl joined the others when they disembarked from the bioship but she only grew after the Injustice Mob unleashed the hounds. Those that survived Teekl and Adom either succumbed to their wounds or to whatever crap Napier put in their systems.

"And he's helping?"

I lay my right hand on his chest. "Wholeness Rightly Assumed." A wave of orange passes through him and I see the small cuts on his face disappear. "Feel better?"

"Yeah, I..." He flexes his right arm a couple of times. "Huh. Thanks, Oh El."

"At the risk of repeating myself, not Black Adam. Teth Adom."

"Meaning..?"

"Uhh... Literally, it would be something like 'the gods have made him mighty'. I told you that Theodore was using the soul of a dead hero as a power source?"

"And that's him? Well, how did he get out? And where did normal Black Adam go?"

"Theodore bound his soul to an amulet which I destroyed during our fight. I used a magic powder to enter their shared psyche and helped Adom prove his worth to his gods."

"And Theo Adam?"

"Ma'at fed his soul to Ammut."

He squints. "His soul.. got eaten.. by a dog."

"No, not ay mutt, ah mutt. It's a sort of crocodile-lion-hippopotamus thing that ancient E... That ancient Kahndaqis believed ate the souls of those judged unworthy after their deaths. I guess accepting power from their gods meant that he also accepted their right to judge him."

"Whow. Harsh. So he just takes over Theo's body?"

"Yes. Pretty much, anyway. I think what they transform into depends on how they want to look. Theodore looked like a power lifter because that's how he sees strength. But Adom's better adjusted so he looks pretty much like he did in life."

I watch as Adom descends to speak to Kaldur, though he stays a little way off the ground. M'gann and Artemis stand nearby, forming a perimeter around the captured criminals.

"Where'd Robin and Kon get to?"

"They went inside to try and secure evidence. You know, apart from my arm this mission went really smoothly."

I tense, but nothing happens. And if it wasn't going to happen then, we must really be in the clear. I take a moment to look at the villains. Mass murderers all, the only one with skills which could be useful enough to excuse her continued existence is Isley. Do I try talking to her? I exhale as I consider it. I probably should. Even if nothing comes of it, I'll at least know that I tried. Nodding to Wallace, I walk in their direction.

Napier's propped up against an exposed tree trunk, still immobile. Vertigo's lying on the ground, shaking and whimpering. Should I give him his balance control thingy back? No, I don't think so. Wotan's whispering something to the Ultra-Humanite, but quietens himself as I approach. Atomic Skull pretty much collapsed when the collar found the setting to block him and has just been staring into space since. None of them are worth my time. Isley's standing a little way away from the others, examining a vine that appears to have gone into unseasonal fruit.

"Pamela Isley."

No immediate response.

"Doctor Is-."

"There is no Isley." She hisses the name, not bothering to turn around. "I was Poison Ivy, and once this collar comes off I will be again."

This isn't going to work, is it?

"Have you ever considered that.. just perhaps, killing hundreds of people isn't the best way to communicate an ecological message? Have you ever considered-?"

She turns around, snarling, and I see Artemis notch an arrow.

"No. I will not deal with meat. I am Gaia's champion-."

"But you're not, are you? If you mean Gaia as in the Titan, that's Wonder Woman. If you mean Gaia as in the embodiment of Earthly plant life, that's Alec Holland."

A pause, then a moment of recognition. "Alec Holland is dead."

"He didn't seem very dead last time I went to visit him."

She frowns in confusion. I think she knew his work. She might even respect him. Then she shakes her head. "No. You're lying."

"Come on. You've been here for weeks and you didn't feel anything? About seventy kilometres in that direction?"

I point in the approximate direction of Houma. She looks like she's thinking about it. Would she have felt him? Could he get her back onto the straight and narrow, or at least sane enough for a trial? Would he bother? I did try talking to Abigail about more intelligent uses for his abilities, but all that did was give her the impression I was trying to own him. John must have left a very bad impression.

Then a thick vine bursts forth from the swamp. It's identical to the ones that have been ravaging the world's cities and is swiftly followed by others. Five, six, seven, oh not good. Armour.

"Rise, my babies! Scour these impudent mammals from the swamps!"

Yeah, lost cause there. The vines continue to rise and thicken, reaching out and twisting around each other for support. Two main trunks emerge, fusing together about ten meters up and continuing to grow. Isley's blocked and Napier's control gloves are sitting in subspace. What's doing this? The main trunk sprouts two clusters of the grab flower things that the vines in the cities have been using to smash cars. About thirty metres up they bud on opposite sides and the vines they're on extend downwards. At the top I see some sort of mound forming as the growth spurt comes to an end. Smaller spore pods packed with Smilex dot the epidermis.

"Yes! Yes!"

Isley's ecstatic, though the other villains are less sanguine.

Wait.

Two 'arms', two 'legs' and a mound at the top. Oooooooh.

Swamp Thing bends at the waist to have a better look at us, far below him. He doesn't look very impressed.

 

[Mr Zoat]

1st October
19:17 GMT -6

The colossus turns its torso around slowly, taking all of us in with glowing red eyes. It... he, doesn't seem to have a neck, and his torso seems somewhat stiff. None of us move, perhaps not wanting to attract his attention. Isley's staring up with what I imagine is religious awe. Two things are running through my mind. The first is that this is the first potential opponent I've seen here against whom I have literally no chance. Destroy one avatar and he creates a new one. Or a dozen new ones. He can control the Smilex bearing vines and the microscopic plants inside our bodies. None of us have any weapon that can directly attack his true energy based self. I really hope Adom doesn't jump the gun on this one.

**Orange Lantern, is that..?**

**Yes, Aqualad. That's Swamp Thing.**

The second? Bog god bog god bog god bog god bog god bog god bog god bog god bog god bog god bog god bog god bog god bog god bog god. I hope someone else says something first, because I don't want to say that. Not only is it a bit rude but it would also associate me in his mind with John, and their relationship was rocky at best.

Still staring upwards, Isley walks away from the group to a point directly in front of Swamp Thing. I don't remember them ever meeting in the comics and I've got no idea what his response to her is going to be. She shouldn't be able to control him, especially with the collar on. Out of the corner of my eye I see Robin and Kon emerge from the top of the Dome. Robin keeps his head down. Kon looks like he's carrying something.

"Oh. Oh, mighty..."

Swamp Thing's head reorientates on Isley immediately and she trails off.

"You."

The tangle of vines making up his head moves a little, becoming a bit more face-like. She starts to look a little nervous.

"Y-yes? I am Poison Ivy, and I-."

His right arm raises a little, then shoots down and grabs her before hauling her up to the level of his face. The arm itself is thin and bends in an inverted U shape to do this and I've got no idea how it's got any strength to it.

"Your.. voice. Always… On the edge of hearing. Whining, screeching, demanding voice! Be… Silenced."

The flowers start to wrap around her.

"No! Wait! What have I done?! I only wanted-!"

"The Green is... Not your playground. We care not for your causes, your pettiness."

He brings his left arm around and clasps his second flower cluster around the first. Oh heck, he isn't going to kill her, is he?

"By command of the... Parliament of Trees... I cast you out."

He retracts his left arm and lowers his right to the ground, dropping Isley into the mud. Alright, what was that ab-.

Oh.

Isley's hair is now brown. Her skin, which had been pale green, is now a more normal Caucasian flesh tone. She lies in the mud, her knees drawn up to her chest with her arms around them. She's shaking, staring blankly in front of her.

She's been cut off.

**You know Oh El, when you described Swamp Thing I was really thinking more along the lines of Floronic Man. Are we going to need to fight that?**

**Sorry Robin, but there wouldn't be much point. Aqualad, do you mind if I try talking to him?**

Swamp Thing continues to watch Isley. I don't remember him ever being slow about killing people from the comics, so I can only assume that he doesn't particularly want her to die.

**Go ahead.**

Me and my big... I start walking towards Isley.

"Excuse me! Doctor Holland!"

The face and two deep red eyes swing in my direction. Oh heck, I could stand at the bottom of one of those eyes and my head wouldn't reach the top.

"No. Not... Holland."

"Alright. Um. Swamp Thing. I did try and get in touch with you earlier."

"I have been... Here. I felt... A disturbance, but when I arrived the wards on this place confused... Me."

"Quite understandable. We couldn't-."

"Wait. You are the one... Who spoke to Abigail."

"It's not as if you have a phone number."

His right arm comes around, flower head stopping three metres away. It's... sniffing me?

"You reek of Constantine's magic."

Ooh.

"Yes, I've been working with him."

"You will not contact my wife again."

Oh no you don't.

"Why not? Do you realise how easy it would have been for us to clear this up if we'd been able to contact you from the start? How many lives could have been saved?"

He looms over me, kneeling in the mud. Gosh that's a lot of Smilex pods.

"The Green is not at your beck and call."

"Never said it was. You don't want Abigail involved, fine. Give us a way to contact you directly -in situations like this only- and she'll never hear from us again. You know we can't force you to do anything, but you got involved here anyway. Wouldn't it be better to coordinate with us?"

His eyes narrow slightly, then his right arm twitches. The flower hand withers and dies as the seedpod behind it expands and ripens into a pale orange vein covered tuber.

"Take it. Plant it. If you... Wish to speak with me, consume one of... The fruits."

I walk over to it, form a blade construct and support it from underneath as I cut it off. It's a rough sphere with a diameter of about twenty centimetres. The outer surface is softer than I would have expected.

"Do not seek... Me out otherwise. AND DO NOT SHARE IT WITH CONSTANTINE."

I nod, meeting his eyes once more.

"Thank you. You see how easy-."

His eyes go dim and soft green growth goes brown and woody. I get ready to dash to the side as it creaks and tilts, but it settles and remains stable. Guess he's abandoned avatar. Don't think I should risk subspacing the fruit, just in case that has some effect on the magic. Need to test that. M'gann helps the traumatised Isley to her feet and back to the other villains. I feel a brief twinge of sympathy, but suppress it by reminding myself what she did to deserve it. Once Isley's settled, I'll ask M'gann to take the fruit to the bioship for safekeeping.

Adom floats around to stare at Swamp Thing's now vacant head. I should probably explain this whole thing to him. Robin and Artemis lower their weapons, and Kon makes his way down the outer surface of the dome.

Is that a puppy?

**That was nicely handled.**

**Thank you Aqualad.** I think for a moment. It's a bit of a long shot, but... **Think we could build an arboretum in the mountain?**

 

[Mr Zoat]

1st October
19:21 GMT -6

"No, my people never literally believed that our gods had the heads of beasts."

I'm not sure whether Robin overcame his concerns about Teth Adom's presence, or just asked an impertinent question to mask it. He's sitting on the shoulder of Swamp Thing's former Avatar, and Adom is floating just in front of him with his arms crossed. Fortunately, Adom has decided to treat it as a serious question and just as fortunately I've got just enough power to translate for them.

"It was an artistic shorthand. Just as certain beasts were ascribed certain traits or were associated with particular territories, so a god who possessed those traits or whose cult was centred in that area might be shown as having a head of that animal."

Kon's got the wolf pup wrapped in a blanket taken from the Dome. Once the Ultra-Humanite realised that it was still alive he started volunteering information in an attempt to preserve what he terms 'an invaluable experimental subject'. According to him, Brain was going to use the wolves for perimeter defence until he realised that one of the females was pregnant. That pup got a shot of Danner Formula and if the poor little mite lives, she'll be nearly as strong as her newly adopted father. At the moment, her eyes are still shut and she whines constantly for her mother. Turns out that telling your ring not to translate dog doesn't automatically mean that it won't translate wolf.

"In public places the animal headed depiction was more common, but in other places they might be shown as fully human or in more abstract ways. I suppose it is unlikely that much of our artwork has survived this long."

"Well, the pyramids are still there."

Synthesising wolf milk shouldn't be a problem for the ring, but we're going to need to contact some sort of expert on canine behaviour when she gets a little older. She has the same white fur as Napier's ex-pet, which I suppose might mean that she's his daughter. Not going to waste what little charge I have left checking. Teekl's still in Battlecat mode, circling Kon and sniffing at the small furry bundle. I certainly hope she finds it less offensive than a full sized one.

"The what..?"

I put my right hand to the side of my mouth. "Pyramids were after his death, Robin."

"Oh, ch, right. Here, I'll show you."

He generates a holographic screen with his computer, brings up an image and holds out his arm. Adom floats a little to the side for a better look as Kaldur walks up to me.

**Members of the League will be here shortly.** I nod. He looks over at Teth Adom. **In light of the presence of our new friend, I feel I should warn you that Captain Marvel will be among them.**

**I discussed my plan with him beforehand. It won't come as a complete surprise.** I frown, and look at our prisoners. **How are we going to move them out of the swamp?**

**Your friend Lantern Gardner will be handling prisoner transport. Arrangements have been made for them to be held in Belle Reve pending a final decision on where they will stand trial.**

**They're sending Napier to Belle Reve?**

**Temporarily. It is the closest facility secure enough to house him. I do not believe that he will be mixing with the general population.**

I nod.

"Alright, I got a question."

Adom stops squinting at the screen and looks over to Wallace, who dashed up Swamp Thing and is now hovering at Robin's shoulder.

"You may ask."

"What's with the ears?"

Adom's right hand twitches up for a moment, as if reaching up to touch them. "Ah. That."

"Yeah. I mean, if it's really personal or something-."

"No, no. A little.. embarrassing, perhaps." **May we continue this mentally?**

Wallace nods.

**My father wished to be seen as a living god. Part of his method for that was to make himself physically distinct from the common people. He would wear makeup in complex patterns, affect certain strange manners of behaviour. He also had the royal chirurgeon.. trim.. his ears. And, since I was the son and heir of this new god, when I was very young he ordered mine trimmed as well. It was the gods' own mercy that I did not die of some infection as a result.**

**He did that just so you would look different?**

**Otherworldly, yes. And it worked, to an extent.**

**So why did.. you know... The other guy have the same thing?**

**I assume that he saw my picture on the wall of my tomb and assumed that it was caused by transformation. A sign of power. He-.**

His head snaps around. What has he..? Ah. Hawkman, Hawkwoman and Guy Gardner fly into the clearing carrying Mister Zatara, Batman, Green Arrow and Black Canary on a glowing green platform. Adom has eyes only for Captain Marvel. Marvels slows as he sees Adom but continues to head towards him, coming to a full stop about four metres away and slightly above, arms bent at his sides as if preparing to receive a charge. Guy lands the others, nods at me and then creates a glowing green birdcage around our prisoners while Marvel and Adom take each other in.

"So, you are the wizard's new champion."

"Yeah. And you're the spirit of his last one."

"Spirit and flesh, now."

"What'd you do to Theo Adam?"

"The gods fed his soul to Ammut."

"Meaning what, exactly?"

"It is destroyed. Utterly unmade. Nothing of him survives."

"Huh." He looks away for a moment. "Guess that's okay."

Adom rises up to his level. "You are called Captain Marvel, correct? I remember that this land does not have hereditary nobility. Were you a member of your nation's military before the... The wizard recruited you?"

"Ah, not exactly."

The bioship uncloaks and flies in to land. The other members of my team begin to walk towards it, but I want to stay on hand in case something goes wrong with Adom and Marvel.

"You know, when I told the wizard what Orange Lantern was planning to do, he said that you'd probably attack me on sight anyway."

"I had... Considered it, but now that I am once more counselled by Lord Zehuti I realise that you were not a party to the wizard's crimes against me. I have no more reason to assume that you are worthy of my wrath than I would have done a younger version of myself."

"And the wizard?"

Adom's face hardens. "He can wait."

Sounds like they'll be okay. Guy takes off, escorted by the Hawks. Adom watches them go, a puzzled frown furrowing his face. The other League members have headed to the Dome, I assume to start gathering evidence. Or maybe just to make the place safe. I don't see Batman OH FUCK HE'S STANDING RIGHT BEHIND ME! I theatrically put my right hand over my heart as he regards me.

"Orange Lantern. A word."

 

[Mr Zoat]

Inhumanity

3rd October
08:07 GMT -5

"…tells me that in this age a skirt is not an appropriate item of clothing for a man, but I am still not completely comfortable with thisss."

He spreads his arms and gestures at his bodysuit. Adom and I are in the staff dining room of the Themysciran embassy, eating breakfast. He's staying here until the League can think of somewhere more permanent for him to go. Batman seemed to be alright about what I did to make this happen, but he was right when he pointed out that I hadn't really planned for the next bit. I would have done, given a little more time, but in the meantime we've got a man who doesn't speak any modern languages and who's never seen iron before to introduce to this country.

Maybe the costume is a bad idea. I mean, he doesn't look all that much like Theodore Adam's transformed state, but if I've learned one thing during my time in this crazy world it's that people tend to see the costume and ignore everything else.

"I'm sure that if you wanted to wear something else a tailor could be found, Mighty One."

He shakes his head. "No, it is a trivial matter. Learning English and Kahndaqi Arabic is a far more urgent concern."

"How's that going?"

"Your princess has arranged for a tutor from a local school... No, they are called..." He frowns. "Universities? I teach them of Kahndaq-. Ancient Kahndaqi, I should say, and they teach me English in exchange. It is slow, but I can hardly require that you or one of the Martians escort me at all times." He smiles faintly. "Martians. To think that there are other worlds like ours..."

"And Arabic?"

"No. I am lucky enough to have a teacher who can understand Kahndaqi at all. Arabic will have to wait." He slices through a piece of bacon with his knife and holds it up on his fork. "They tell me that this is forbidden in Kahndaq, now. That the animal it is taken from is considered unclean. Do you know why that is?"

"It's a religious prohibition, but the underlying reason? No. I didn't think it was favoured in your time either."

He shakes his head. "Another change that occurred after my death. In my time we did not have the luxury of rejecting perfectly good food. It seems wasteful... but perhaps I should make an effort to conform?"

"Planning to convert to Islam?"

"Of course not, but it would not hurt to observe some of the traditions..." He lowers the fork and pushes the plate aside. "And what of you?"

"Today? The wizard who helped me with... you has finished designing an enchantment I wanted and I'm getting it tattooed onto my skin. Given how magic affects me I doubt I'll be much use for anything else for the rest of the day after that."

"When you said that you had no soul I had thought that you were using a metaphor. You must trust this wizard a great deal."

Um...

"On certain matters, yes. I trust him not to stab me in the back. I'll be taking Kaldur -Aqualad- with me even so."

And I asked Queen Mera to review his designs. According to her they should work as described, though she couldn't be certain. Nothing quite like this has ever been done before.

"At some point I should probably take the time to thank him for his efforts on my behalf."

Errrr...

"If you like, Mighty One. But John Constantine is a somewhat... Idiosyncratic man. Not always easy to get along with."

Adom waves my concern aside. "I used to run a country. I am certain that I can hold my temper around one irritating wizard, particularly when I am in his debt. Now, I shall take my leave."

He rises, and walks out of the room in the direction of the residential section. Ferdinand got the job of explaining modern plumbing to him and he got the hang of it immediately. Mostly. I saw him watching in horror at one of the charity workers taking a glass of water directly from a tap and had to do a quick off the cuff presentation of modern water treatment processes, but he's intelligent enough to realise that if we're doing something there is probably a reasonable reason for it.

Now for the other reason I'm here. I pick up the glasses, his plate and my bowl and head towards the kitchen. Ferdinand usually has the place to himself, though they hire people in during large events. As I push through the doors I see him putting the finishing touches to a leafy salad. I clean the crockery and return it to the correct cupboards. Ferdinand and I are both very particular about that sort of thing.

"Was something wrong with the bacon?"

Ferdinand's holding up the salad bowl and looking at it critically. His eyes are a bit further towards the front of his head than those of an actual bull would be, but he told me that his snout can still get in the way.

"No, but bacon's banned in Kahndaq. He doesn't want to do something which might offend his countrymen."

"Fair enough."

I lean back against the work surface and hold my arms across my chest. "So... The spear thing..."

"Yeah, look, I... I was a bit angry about some stuff, thought I'd take it out on a training dummy."

Ah, personal conversations. With someone I don't really know all that well. I mean, we've spent some time in each other's company -mostly him watching me like a hawk-bull when I wanted to use the kitchens here- but I wouldn't say that we're close.

"Do you want to... talk about it? If not, I can probably create better sparring opponents than training dummies..?"

"Uhh." He sighs and tosses his head. "Leslie... We were talking about Christmas, and she wants me to spend it with her at her parents' place."

"That's great, isn't it?" Why wouldn't it..? Oh. "She has told them you're a... y'know..." I mime having horns.

He lowers his muzzle so that he can stare at me with both eyes. "Of course she has. It's not even them I'm really bothered by." He walks over to look out of the window onto the busy New York street below. "When I first came to New York with Diana, I got stared at a lot. I didn't like it but, fair enough, they hadn't seen anything like me before. Eventually, people here got used to me. I still get the occasional tourist wanting a picture but apart from that..."

He slumps a bit, putting his weight on his arms. There isn't a tribe of cow-headed people anywhere. The original Minotaur is still around somewhere and I found out that the two of them share a great grandfather, but apart from that he's never mentioned other family. Given that the mythological version of how the Minotaur came to be appears to be true, I haven't wanted to ask.

"I don't like getting stared at, and if we spend a week in Seattle I'm going to get nothing but people staring at me."

"Have you considered a disguise?"

He turns his head just enough to give me an incredulous look with his right eye.

"I mean, like, an illusion spell or something."

"Diana would just tell me that they'll get used to it."

"Well, luckily for you I'm not her. I know a guy who does good work, and.. I'm.. due to meet him in about two hours, if you want to come along?"

 

[Mr Zoat]

3rd October
13:07 GMT -5

"Recognised, Aqualad B, zero two, Orange Lantern B, zero six."

Uuuuhhhhggghghhh....

I'm leaning on Kaldur as the lights fade and the zeta tube deposits us in the mountain. Tattoos are on, feeding tiny amounts of power into the whole body binding seals. I should start to feel better as the spill over from the inscribing process starts to be drawn away, but right now I feel rough as vulture sick. On the plus side: with a little luck I've started slowly growing a soul. John may have done the design work, but a woman named Clarice Sackville did the actual tattooing. Obviously I had to have the ring and my Spell Eater off. I think Kaldur started talking to me about when he got his own tattoos done, but it's all a bit of a blur. We're both in civilian clothes, and I've added a leather jacket to my usual vest since I wasn't wearing the ring for most of my trip.

"…can't call her.... That!"

"Why not?"

Teekl's in big cat mode with the wolf pup on her head. I'm honestly finding it a bit freaky how cooperative she's being about our new resident. She's never been this friendly with the sphere. Puppy's eyes might not open for another week, but she's already getting used to the new smells. Kon and Artemis -both in uniform- seem to be arguing about something. Wallace looks like he's trying to keep out of it, plate of something in his left hand.

"What would you do if she ran off in a park?"

"Call her back."

"You'd shout that in a park!?"

"What seems to be the problem?"

Both look at Kaldur.

"Kon wants to call the puppy... Bitch."

…

I lose it.

"HHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!"

I fall to the ground, trying to suck down more air between guffaws.

"hErE bItCh. GoOd BiTcH. wHo'S a CuTe LiTtLe BiTcH? Hahahahahahaha!"

"If you don't like it you can just say that."

"Aaaw, I'm sorry man, I'm sorry. Haaheheha."

"How about Krypto?"

Wallace, did those tortilla crisps come from a packet? Was that cookery lesson I did entirely wasted? I thought you said you'd use it?

"I think it's taken. Fine." Kon kneels down in front of Teekl and rubs the puppy's head. She moans. "Guess we'll just have to call you 'Wolf' then."

She raises her right forepaw a little and places it on Kon's hand. Soooo cute. Ring, picture.

Compliance.

I roll into a sitting position. "Where have Robin and M'gann got to?"

"'ob 'anned-." Wallace swallows. "Rob wanted to do some probing stuff with the sphere in the med bay. He took M'gann with him 'cause he didn't want to risk hurting it by accident. How was London?"

I push myself up onto my feet, staggering a few paces as I come upright. "I don't really-."

"Recognised, Zatara, one one."

I know he's supposed to be overseeing us, but I know the others appreciated not having him hovering every moment. He materialises, leaving the tube at a jog and looking a little panicked. What happened? He locks onto me, eyes wide.

"What in God's name possessed you to let John Constantine try to give you a soul!?"

This again...

"Professional experience? Did you know he once cut his own soul in half to dodge out of a demonic pact?"

"It does not surprise me in the least."

No, no. "It wasn't a pact he made, it-."

"Queen Mera checked his calculations herself, and I was at his side for the entire process. It was as safe as it could be."

"And I don't fancy going through life without a soul. I mean, does that sound like a good idea to you?"

And guess who's 'eighteen' and legally capable of making that sort of decision for himself? I watch as the wind leaves Mister Zatara's sails.

"Sir, if you don't mind me asking: what exactly is your problem with him?"

As far as I can remember, he didn't like him in the comics due to his relationship with Zatanna, and she's far too young for any of that to have happened here. Right?

"That is not your concern. If you wanted assistance in matters of magic, you could have come to me."

"No disrespect intended sir, but it isn't your specialist area and -as far as I know- you're not a tattooist."

"Neither is Constantine."

"No, but he knows-."

He raises his right hand, palm outward. "Laever tfarclleps."

Rude. Oh, um, 'laever' is 'reveal' and-. Ow! Burning sensation! Need to get the Spell Eater back. He lowers his hand and I put my left hand into the pocket of my jeans and slip the ring on my ring finger.

Spell Eater.

"The spell is leaking energy. Whoever did this-."

"Sir, it's supposed to be leaking, that's the whole point of it. I don't attract spiritual energy on my own, so the tattoo has to do the whole thing. Look, how about I give you a copy of John's notes? You can read through them, and if you find any actual problems we can talk about it."

Alert: person of interest attempting to access zeta tube.

Oh yes? Who's the lucky victim?

Zatanna Zatara is attempting to access the San Francisco zeta tube.

"That's... Reasonable."

Notes. And grant Zatanna access as A zero six. We're on six now, right?

A copy of John's work appears in the air just in front of Mister Zatara and he takes hold of it.

Affirmative. Access to cave granted.

"I don't imagine-."

"Recognised, Zatanna Zatara, A zero six, authorisation, error not found."

"What!"

He turns around as his daughter appears in the zeta tube. She's wearing white trousers and a lilac strap top thing and is facing the side of the machine's tunnel. She turns her head in our direction in surprise.

"Ahh. I'm not in Potrero Hill anymore, am I?"

 

[Mr Zoat]

3rd October
13:11 GMT -5

"…going straight home! Whatever did you think you were doing?"

"You got a phone call and ran down an alleyway. When I got to the end of the alley you weren't there. I wanted to know where you'd gone; I haven't seen you all week!"

Perhaps I should redefine what the ring counts as 'attempting to access'? I wonder if insatiable curiosity is a wizard thing, or just a Constantine thing? Ooh, that's an idea, would Gemma prefer to go to an Atlantean school rather than wherever she's going to in Liverpool at the moment? Anyway, sounds like Mister Zatara had a freak out when he heard about what I'd done and cut short a father-daughter visit to San Francisco. I was surprised when I learned that they didn't live there, but maybe I'm just misremembering the comics.

"You know my work with the Justice League can call me away at short notice!"

My team mates are waiting for Black Canary to arrive. She hasn't actually arranged a training session, but there'll probably be one for anyone who's interested. I know Robin and Wallace have been looking forward to it. This is presumably why they haven't left the room while the father/daughter conflab takes place, loudly. Reacting to the social discomfort they've retreated across the room. I'm signed off from practice on a no-heavy-lifting-or-heavy-thinking order, but... I have been agitating for a team thaumaturgist for a while now and Zatanna was near the top of my list of preferred candidates. Might be tricky now that I see how protective Mister Zatara's being.

Time to break them up, I think.

"Excuse me sir?"

They both look around. Mister Zatara's face is a picture of controlled irritation. "Orange Lantern, this is a private conversation."

"Not at that volume it isn't, sir. Look, I think we all-" I gesture with both arms to my team mates who are checking the ceiling and floor for cracks. "-all know that you aren't happy about Miss Zatara -hello! I'm Orange Lantern, pleased to meet you- being here, but since she is here I'd like to point out that inside a mountain surrounded by superheroes is a lot safer than, for example, all of New York."

M'gann, Robin and the sphere enter from the direction of the lifts. Robin's in casual clothing.

"No attacks by evil wizards since... Ooh, last Tuesday, wasn't it?"

Mister Zatara schools his features. "That was contained extremely quickly."

"What I'm saying is, now she's here, where's the harm in introducing her to everyone?"

I can virtually see him counting to five. He breathes out.

"I suppose you're right." He half turns back to her. "Go and say hello. I need to look into how you were even able to get through the zeta tube."

"Miss Zatara? If you'd care to accompany me?" I hold out my right arm.

"Um. Thank you." She looks a little puzzled, but smiles and comes alongside me. We link arms as we start to walk in the direction of my team mates.

"Sorry if I'm interrupting your practice."

"Eh, I'm skipping anyway."

Apparently having learned from what happened when Artemis first got here, Kaldur steps forwards first.

"Miss Zatara, welcome to the cave. I am-."

"Wally. I'm Wally. He's not, he's Kaldur, that's Artemis, Kon, over there's Rob, M'gann and The Sphere, you've already met Paul, that's Teekl and that is Wolf. Hi!"

Wallace holds out his hand. For a moment she's taken aback. Then she gets a better look at the puppy.

"Aw, he's so cute!"

Zatanna pulls free of me and walks past Wallace over to Teekl. She bends slightly to stroke Wolf's head. Wallace sags. Kon steps protectively towards his pet.

"Wolf's a girl."

"How long have you had her? How old is she? And.. why is this cat orange?" She pulls her hand back and gives Teekl the eye.

"Ah, two days, 'bout a week. Paul turned her into a construct."

"Teekl talk for Teekl. Who you?"

She blinks. "Did your cat just talk?"

I waggle my right forefinger left and right. "That won't even be the strangest thing you see today. But yes, Teekl has near human intelligence."

She scans my face to check I'm being serious, then looks back at Teekl. "Um, well, I'm Zatanna Zatara, I'm a magician-."

"I'm something of a student of the mystic arts myself." Artemis gives Wallace a sceptical look. "No, really. I've been studying Atlantean alchemy."

"Uh huh."

He reaches into his shirt pocket and pulls out a small bottle. "Prepare to be amazed, nonbelievers."

He unscrews the pipette lid, holds it over his head and allows five drops of the clear liquid within to drop onto him. He then puts the lid back onto the bottle and returns it to his pocket.

"A little activation energy..."

He puts both hands in his hair and ruffles it at super speed for a couple of seconds. When he takes his hands away...

His hair is now blue. Completely blue. Brilliant blue, actually. There's no blue colour on his hands or the skin around his hair... If that's simple alchemy he could put hair dye manufacturers out of business in a few years. Or blackmail them into paying him not to.

"What d'ya think? Not bad for a guy who didn't even believe in magic until a couple of months ago. No chemical basis for the blue coloration at all."

I think Zatanna is trying not to laugh.

Artemis doesn't have her subtlety. "You look ridiculous."

"For obvious reasons liquid dyes are not common in Atlantis. I am impressed you were able to produce this simply from book study."

"Took like fifty tries... Hey Zatanna, you joining us for training?"

"Um, I don't know. What sort of training?"

"This week? Unarmed combat. Black Canary's taking over from your dad as our supervisor."

"Hooray for punching week. This is why I got the tattoos done now."

"They let you off practice… To get a tattoo."

"No, they let me off practice because I'm currently experiencing arcane overload. Magic makes me drunk, basically."

She frowns. "Why would tattoos..?"

I make a vague 'wave forwards' gesture at my team leader. "Kaldur, you wanna..?"

"It is common practice in Atlantis for mages to have energy channels inscribed on their skin to aid in their spell casting." He holds out his right arm and slowly twists it, showing off his design. From a distance it looks like a thick black line, but close up there are a lot of slight differences in tone and pattern across the tattooed area. They glow for a moment, and electricity dances around his hand.

"Oh, I see. Well, what do your tattoos do?"

"I'll show you."

Ring, remove my jacket and vest.

 

[Mr Zoat]

3rd October
13:15 GMT -5

"And now no one's looking at my magic hair."

Zatanna's jaw goes slack and her cheeks colour slightly.

"I don't really understand exactly what's involved, but this bit over my heart-" I point. "-stands for the core of my being. The one-" I turn around and bend back slightly. Ah, Artemis is paying attention as well. Good to know. "-at the base of my neck, does something to spread the effect throughout my body using my nervous system as a conduit. This one-" I straighten and pull my trousers down a little at the back, revealing the symbol at the base of my spine. "-is the focus of the system binding the power generated to my body."

I pull the trousers back up and turn back to the gang.

"On my arms -see here?- there's the marks for drawing power from local mana flows. Or something, I was a bit out of it when they started talking about that part. Plan is, if this all works like it's supposed to then I can go on to get some other stuff done. I'm thinking passive buffs rather than active stuff like Kaldur has."

Zatanna seems a little distracted. "Buff... Yes..."

The sphere reaches Teekl and warbles at her. Teekl responds by ignoring it, sitting down and licking her left forepaw while being careful to keep Wolf balanced in place. Artemis shifts her weight to her left hip, left arm across her hip, right elbow on left hand and right fingers at her mouth.

"Hey, um, Kaldur. Can we have a look at your tattoos too? You know, for comparative purposes."

He thinks for a moment. "You would have to undergo several years of study before you would be able to make use of tattoos like mine. If you are interested, you are welcome to look at my school books-."

"Can you... Just, put your shirt back on?"

"Sure, Wallace. Ring?"

"Compliance."

I roll my shoulders as the vest and jacket reappear.

"So, um, what do those tattoos do?"

"Ah, there's a story there. I come from a parallel universe entirely without magic and as a consequence, I don't have a soul."

She blinks. Artemis suddenly loses interest. She leans over to whisper something to M'gann who starts, then blushes. Has she heard this story before? I think I-?

"That's not possible. Everyone has a soul."

"Different parallel, different set of physical laws. It isn't possible for someone here to survive more than a few days without a soul, but Humans where I'm from evolved under different conditions. The tattoos are designed to pull tiny amounts of magic to me and lock it in place."

"You're trying to build yourself a soul?"

"Exactly. Fighting Klarion without one was not fun. No driving, no operating heavy machinery and no fighting superheroes hand-to-hand until I'm back to full... Um, what's the word?"

Artemis smiles. "Coherency?"

I frown. "No, that's not it..."

Robin grins at Zatanna. "Are you joining the team?"

"I hadn't even... I didn't know there was a team until just now."

"Do you have a costume?"

"Um, well…"

I flap my right hand back and forth. "Ah, come on, it can't be any worse than Superman's. I don't think anyone's noticed, but-" I raise my eyebrows. "-he wears his underwear on the outside! And a cape. I mean, really?"

"I didn't exactly plan to come here today. Buuuut…" She closes her eyes for a moment, and takes a deep breath. "Emit ot yrt tuo eht wen kool!"

A puff of smoke and she strikes a pose. "How do I look?"

Oh dear. White blouse and bowtie, pale yellow waistcoat, black jacket with tails, black… Hot pants? Tights and high heeled calf length boots. I guess you can get sillier than Superman's costume. That's her costume from the comics -more or less- but if she tries getting into a fight like that...

"It looks great!" M'gann? "It's so elegant!"

Yes, it looks nice, but... Oh, I need to sit down for this. I walk across to Teekl and turn around.

Teekl, backrest.

I sit, lean back, and fall over because the bloody cat's moved. She tilts her head slightly to stare down at me.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, it's the magic Kon, don't worry. Just going to stay down here for a bit."

"So, what else can you do?"

The only member of the team I showed my 'potential recruit' files to is Kaldur, so Artemis doesn't know how Zatanna's abilities work. I don't know how they work, but I do have a rough idea of the limits of the backwards talking thing.

"In theory? Just about anything, but all magic requires energy and it usually has to come from within. Plus, I need to know the incantation cold, or else have time to prep it. I can't just make the impossible happen at will."

Guess the energy thing is why demons are so popular. Map uses London, Adom and Marvel use their gods. Papa Midnight -would Mister Zatara know about him?- uses his club. John uses the tiny amount he's got really well and Atlanteans start magic exercising their metaphysiques in primary school. But if long incantations are a problem...

"Couldn't you get pretty far with just... I don't know... Erif?"

"It's a bit more complicated than that. If I didn't say what I wanted the fire to do it would probably just set light to my hand."

Artemis considers. "So you can do nearly anything, but you've only got so much power and you have to consciously activate it?"

"Yes..? That's right."

Artemis' head looms over me and she nudges me in the ribs with one of her feet. "Sound familiar, Paul?"

 

[Mr Zoat]

3rd October
13:18 GMT -5

"Well, fun as this was 'till someone decided to pull a Chippendale routine I need to get changed for Black Canary's lesson. Rob?"

"Right with you, Wally."

Kaldur considers. "I think it would be wise for me to gain more practice fighting in Ocean Master's armour."

The three of them head off in the direction of the armoury, Robin sparing a wave and a smile for the new girl. I need to do something about her costume.

"Zatanna, about that costume..."

"What about it?"

"It's... It's a great costume for a stage magician. It's just that, well, even if a show goes really badly, the audience generally doesn't try and shoot you."

She blinks. "Dad wears his stage costume when he's out on League missions."

I push myself up to a sitting position, wincing slightly. "Mister Zatara uses a shield spell. Is your gear enchanted?"

"M... No? You're wearing a leather jacket, how much protection does that give you?"

"Oh this isn't my uniform. I just stick Lantern sigils on it 'cause it's a theme. This is my actual armour."

I've thought about trying to upgrade, but Batman gave this armour his seal of approval and I haven't been able to find anything better. Yet.

"Someone could fire an Uzi at my chest from five metres away, and I'd barely feel it, even without the ring generating a shield."

Ah... Need to avoid this turning into another me versus Artemis. Not.. sure.. how to do that...

"Doesn't Wonder Woman go around in a swim suit?"

"Okay, leaving aside the fact that Wonder Woman could tank anti-tank rounds naked, she can get away with that due to her bustier having been made by Hephaestus, Olympian God of Smiths. It's orichalcum plate held together with mithril chain, and loaded with more defensive spells than you've ever cast. You're suggesting wearing a silk shirt and tails which -while classy, and may I say quite flattering- do not protect against bullets. Or knives. Or blunt instrument trauma."

Agh, too much. Her head's bowed and she's not meeting my eyes. Lighten the mood.

"I mean, I'd wear her gear if it fit me."

"Huh?"

My jacket and trousers vanish into subspace as I jump to my feet, and a glowing orange construct bustier forms around my torso in their place.

"What d'you think? Good look for me?"

The construct is opaque, but I'm pretty sure I don't look good in drag. Zatanna's giggles and Artemis' bark of laughter suggest they share the opinion. Kon's watching me blankly.

Think maybe someone needs to have a talk with him.

Clothes.

"Robin and Wallace both wear armour. M'gann vetoed my idea of stealing something from the Martian military for her, Kaldur's got that natty suit we took off Ocean Master... Armour's just sensible in our line of work. Artemis, back me up here."

"Ah, actually, you wear more armor than I do."

My eyes and hers drop to her exposed midriff. We both hold for a few seconds.

"Well, now I feel stupid."

"Yeah. Me too."

We contemplate her navel for a moment.

"Not even a bit armoured?"

"... Stab resistant."

Oh Artemis... I'm reminded of a post I read years ago now about some sort of superhero RPG. The guy who wrote it played as an archer, but found that his character kept getting defeated. One of the other players suggested that he give the character body armour, which in that particular system was highly effective. As a result, a baseline Human armed with a pointy stick launcher was basically ignoring small arms and the guy playing him found it unsatisfactory. He went away and read some Green Arrow comics and found that when Green Arrow got shot he generally folded like wet tissue paper, then decided that he would remove the armour from his character's inventory in order to stay true to the source material.

I do this as a memorial to your pointless suffering, nameless RPG archer guy.

"Alright, I'm dragging you both out shopping. There's a guy in Metropolis, made my armour, does great work."

Zatanna looks scandalised. "I can't just go to Metropolis!"

"Yeah you can. Watch. Mister Zatara! Is it alright if we take Zatanna home?!"

He looks up for a moment from the main holo console before returning to trying to trace the power ring's undetectable alterations. "Yes, that is fine. Zatanna, I will be home by seven."

"There. Now we've got.. five hours?"

"Doesn't the zeta tube log where everyone who uses it goes?"

"Power rings are awesome. Are we doing this? We can always visit some of Metropolis' other shops while we're there. They're open on Sunday, right?"

"Um, can I come?" M'gann's posture suggests nervous exuberance.

"Peter Gambi doesn't do shape shifting armour I'm afraid, but, sure?"

The girls make eye contact with each other and start grinning. And I'm starting to think that maybe I should just have measured the two of them with the ring and sent Mister Gambi their measurements. Artemis leading the way, they start walking over to the zeta tube.

"Um..."

Kon looks a little despondent. It's not like any conventional armour could survive him wearing it, but perhaps another approach?

"Kon, do you remember when M'gann took you shopping for shirts?"

His eyes glaze. He did not have fun that afternoon. "Yeah?"

"Like that, but for five hours, and there's three of them."

I keep my face passive as the horror dawns on him. "Oh. Okay." He reaches forward with his right hand and pats me on my left shoulder.

I nod, and reach across to lay my right hand on his for a moment. "Thank you."

Ring, wolf milk.

The bottle materialises in my left hand and I pass it to him. He takes it with his left and releases my shoulder. Taking a deep breath I turn and follow the girls to the zeta tube. Oh, what the heck. I need some winter clothes anyway.

Ah, they were waiting for me. That was nice of them. M'gann shifts into Megan and-

"Egnahc kcab ot ym dlo kool."

-Zatanna changes back into her normal outfit. Artemis looks at me and I nod.

"Normal clothes, please."

I felt like I was walking on eggshells when I asked Artemis if she wanted me to keep hold of a change of clothes for her, but she took the suggestion at face value without being offended by the apparent impropriety.

"Recognised, Artemis, B zero eight, Zatanna Zatara, A zero six, Miss Martian, B zero five, Orange Lantern, B zero six."

 

[Mr Zoat]

3rd October
15:38 GMT -5

"And then Superman says, 'Oh, no, I don't use it for body protection."

It takes Zatanna a moment to get it, then her eyes go wide, her cheeks go red and she covers her mouth with both hands. Artemis is just behind, spluttering in incoherent disgust. M'gann…

"I don't get the joke."

The visit to Mister Gambi went off without incident. I told him when I bought my own armour that I would do what I could to find him other clients. Feel a bit bad about taking this long, but I swiftly redirected the intrapsychic arousal into irritation with Green Arrow for letting his new student run around the place with a 'shoot me' sign on her stomach. Black Canary too. Wasn't she supposed to be the responsible one? Really, what were they thinking?

We're taking a break at a cafe in the Collyer Center, sitting at a table overlooking the third floor balcony. Since we're here in civilian mode I haven't put my bags in subspace. I think this is more clothes than I've ever bought in one session before.

"The implication is that Superman is so strong that-."

"Pots gniklat!"

I wait a moment, looking at Zatanna with a smirk. Then:

"Doesn't work." I pull the thong with the Spell Eater on it out of my vest. "Knowing that attack by magic was both possible and very dangerous to me, I upgraded my defensive equipment. Spell Eater Ward."

Upon realising that I had virtually unlimited funds, Artemis decided that it would be fun to treat me like a Human dress up doll. When I turned out to be better at hiding my discomfort than Kon, M'- Megan joined in. Zatanna still seemed a bit uncertain about the whole thing. I say that I was hiding my discomfort, but actually, having other people pick out clothes made the whole thing a good deal less stressful than I usually find clothes shopping. Plus, I should really have realised that Artemis wouldn't have much -if any- disposable income. Not like superheroing leaves time for a part time job.

"Where did you find something like that?"

Interesting. Doesn't look like she felt the usual discomfort. "I didn't find it, I know the man who invented it. An Atlantean artificer by the name of Sephtian."

Artemis takes a closer look at it. "Were you serious about getting all of us one for Christmas?"

"Well, I'm not sure exactly what would happen if an actual magic user tried wearing one, have to try that out with Kaldur, but yes."

"How much do they cost?"

"They don't." I shrug. "I traded Sephtian about three hundred dollars' worth of science textbooks for this one, but that was more because I wanted to improve his knowledge of surface world science than because I thought that was a fair trade. For the ones I'm getting you for Christmas he just wanted me to fabricate a few extras. About two minutes' work each."

I put the straw of my mango milkshake in my mouth and take a slurp in an attempt to forestall further questions along this line. Would she consider competition archery? Find a tournament offering reasonable prize money? Is there any money in competitive archery? If there is I can bypass all of the transportation costs. She's in a pretty bad position, really. More expenditure per encounter than the rest of us, no power for me to work out how to monetise and no conveniently huge multinational company backing her.

Megan catches Zatanna's eye. "So, how long have you been studying magic?"

Zatanna bought some sort of strong coffee, and has been delicately sipping it. So classy.

"Dad says that the first time he saw me cast a spell was when I was six, but I don't really remember it. He started giving me formal lessons when I turned twelve. It's a nice way for us to spend time together. How.. long have you been on Earth?"

"Five months, and I love it here!"

"How did you learn English?"

"From Earth TV. Oh, and I used telepathy for a few weeks when I first got here. Hello Megan, they're not going to put everything on TV."

"You can telepathically translate any language?"

"Yes. Well, any humanoid language. It sometimes doesn't work on species who are really different, like robots."

Worth finding out about. "Were you able to feel anything from Swamp Thing?"

She shakes her head. "I was too busy just staring at him to even try."

Zatana raises her left eyebrow. "Swamp... Thing..?"

I look at Artemis with my straw in my mouth. She picks up on it. "Yeah, he's this giant.. plant elemental.. thing.. we met two days ago in Louisiana."

"Was he helping the Injustice League?"

"No. He was so mad about them using plants like that that he took away Poison-."

"Can we not call her that?"

"Everyone calls her that, except for you."

Zatanna's looking confused. "Um... What.. do you want to call her?"

"Pamela Isley. Her name, in other words. I think calling them by their 'supervillain name' encourages them."

"Whatever. He took away her powers."

"Wait. Were you fighting the Injustice League?"

The three of us share a smug look. Is that inappropriate? A lot of people died, but I don't think anyone else could have dealt with the situation any better than we did. Guy's been working overtime clearing rubble ahead of his evaluation thingy. Not sure it'll help with that, but it's getting good publicity on Earth. He should be a shoo-in for the League now.

Artemis nods. "Batman sent us after them while the League dealt with the vine attacks."

"And a jolly good job we did of it, too. I'm particularly proud of what I managed to do with Teth Adom."

Artemis thinks for a moment, then narrows her eyes at me. "What exactly was in that 'magic powder' you gave him?"

"Oh, some herbs, some powdered bone to represent the link to his former self..." I tense the corners of my mouth. "Some.. lysergic acid diethylamide..."

It takes a second for her to work it out, then her eyes widen.

"You took LS-!"

Stop her!

A tiny ray gun like construct appears next to my right hand, and Artemis suddenly goes silent. She angrily shouts in silence for a few moments before sitting back in her seat, arms crossed and looking to the side.

"How about not shouting it out in the middle of a shopping centre?"

"I can't believe you."

"Actually, mind altering substances have been used in magic rituals since time immemorial."

Megan and Artemis turn to Zatanna in surprise.

She blinks at them. "What?"

"Heh. Always the ones you least expect, isn't it?"

 

[Mr Zoat]

3rd October
18:07 GMT -5

"You really can't say your own name?"

We're sitting in the living room of her home in New York. M'gann was meeting up with her uncle in Middletown -apparently that's a real place, and in a country with a place called Smallville I suppose I shouldn't be surprised- and Artemis was due out on patrol with Green Arrow.

"Can't even think it. Not without collapsing. Of course, I haven't tried using magic to reveal it yet."

"I could probably help with that."

Ring, remove Spell Eater.

"Be my guest."

"Kaeps ruoy eurt eman."

And I'm on the floor.

Zatanna looks stricken. "Are you okay?"

"Yep. Fine. How long have I been down here?"

"Ten seconds."

"Well there you go, you see: could be much worse. Feel like trying again?"

"I-is that a good idea?"

"Probably not, but I am rather tired of this whole situation. Do you know a spell for revealing the name of a person by looking at them?"

"I.. could.. probably... Ekat-."

"Wait, wait!" I lie fully on the floor. Sure, my environmental shield would probably stay active if I blacked out again, but no sense taking unnecessary risks. "Okay, go."

"Ekat sih eman morf eht Koob fo Ynitsed!"

I wait for something to happen. I don't think I've moved...

"Paul?"

"Still with you. Get anything?"

"No. I don't think I can have done it right."

"Ah well." I sit up and push myself back onto the settee. "If you think of something else to try feel free to let me know."

"That's really strange. You said that Dad couldn't detect any magic doing that to you?"

"Yep. I don't suppose you know any... Name eating spirits, or whatever?"

"There are things like that, but being attacked by one of them has other effects as well, and you aren't suffering from any of those."

I nod. Still bugging me.

"I've been thinking..?"

"What about?"

"Don't you normally have to tell a zeta tube where you want to go?"

"Yes?"

"Because I didn't. Even if someone had created a user profile for me I should have had to activate the relay, and I didn't touch anything. There was what looked like an old cupboard someone had dumped in the alleyway, which I suppose must have been the zeta tube entrance. I opened the door to see if Dad was hiding or something and the next thing I know I'm inside the mountain."

"Yes, bit odd that. It's almost as if someone with a xenotech hypercomputer was maintaining a constant connection to all zeta tube monitoring equipment, then used that access to undetectably create a new user profile and initiate transportation when someone they wanted to talk to stepped into a booth."

Understanding dawns.

"That's.. oddly specific."

"Yes, it is. Did I mention that I think our team really needs a magic user?"

"Are you going to get in trouble for doing that?"

"Maybe, a bit, but Batman's actually surprisingly reasonable. I mean, I don't think I'd get away with doing this for someone who wasn't already, y'know, part of the community, but about a month ago I gave him a file on potential future recruits and he didn't mention there being a problem."

After my visit to the Batcave he asked for everything I'd put together. I had to spend a couple of hours rushing around to get it into a sensible format, and delete a couple where I couldn't reasonably explain how I heard about them. I officially heard about Red Star from 'an old Russian military server, now physically destroyed'.

"So, you recommended me?"

"Sort of. There were a few names sharing the magic skill set. You're a bit more accessible than the other good candidates."

"Exactly how far down the list was I?"

"Your name starts with zed."

She folds her arms.

I wince. "Joint second."

"How many magicians our age do you know?"

"A few."

"Who was your first choice?"

"A guy called Timothy Hunter."

"Who?"

"Yeah, exactly. I couldn't find him."

Which means that either he doesn't exist here at all, he will exist but hasn't been born, he has been born but is five years old and hasn't left a trail or he's already studying at the White School and so is beyond my reach. John got rather evasive when I tried asking about him, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything.

"What makes him better than me?"

"Broader magic education. We already have people who can make ranged attacks -you're better than him at that-, but what we're really lacking is someone who knows how magic works."

"I thought Aqualad used magic."

"He does, but he's only studied Atlantean style, and he stopped studying everything outside of combat magic when King Orin took him on."

At some point I'm going to need to return to the Conservatory and scan everything onto the ring. If they'll let me, anyway. I may never be able to cast spells myself but being able to identify components with a quick scan would be an invaluable ability.

"And, joint second?"

"Rachel Roth, aka Raven. Couldn't find her either. Much less range of ability but with a bit more combat focus. I.. have a bit of a problem detecting magic users who don't want to be detected."

"So you want me on the team... because I'm the only one you could find?"

"Not- Well, sort of. Top three in the world isn't bad. You know, I... Used to read a lot of comics, before coming here. Heh, bit pointless now. Seemed to me there were two things a team had to have if it didn't want to get completely blindsided by certain types of opponent. Firstly, you have to have a telepath. Telepathic illusions and psychic shut down commands are an easy way to defeat anyone without the right defences. That's pretty much what happened to us in Bialya. Not so much a problem now, I've learned telepathic defence constructs and M'gann's had extra tuition from Mister J'onzz. Secondly, you've got to have a magic user. Someone who knows how magic works. Like, we're walking down a corridor and there's some runes on the ceiling. Is it just writing? A trap of some kind? What? I wouldn't know, and I don't think that anyone else on the team would either. I don't expect you to fight directly without appropriate training, but we do need someone with your skill set. Do you think that getting that training is something you would be interested in?"

She's not looking at me, weighing up her options.

"I..." She looks back at me with a small smile. "I think I would."