Transparency

23rd October
21:21 GMT -5

Guy and I stare at the wall of paper blocking the corridor to my room.

"Did you have all your files on paper in there? Y'know rings can do data storage, right?"

"I'm not.. completely sure." We both walk up to the blockade and pull out a few pages. It's actually stacked fairly neatly but it's continuous. We're about.. um.. eighty metres from my room. Corridor's about a metre and a half wide and two metres tall, the paper's A4...

"This some kinda alien?"

Guy turns his page towards me, revealing... A picture of a Carnifex. My page has what appear to be mathematical formulae, but after a moment my eyes unfocus and it starts to make sense. Did I really do that..? Clearly, yes.

"Sort of. There's this wargame I used to play called Warhammer Forty Thousand. That's a picture of one of the units. It's called a Carnifex. I think.. when the Ophidian and I were.. you know, together.. we sort of decided to rework all of the rules. See, the company which makes it is really bad about balancing stuff, and a load of rules just don't work or don't do what they're supposed to and they got a bit of a randomness obsession in the last version of the main rulebook..." Not that 6th edition's been released here yet.

"You're sayin' all this is..?"

"My attempts to do better. Well, the Ophidian's and mine, there's no way I could have done this sort of calculation by myself." Hm. A summary of fixes for Slugga Boyz. Choppas with AP 4 or shred or rending, run and assault, pursue into new combat... Huh, and looks like changing vehicle firing rules to only restrict heavy or ordnance weapons works just fine.

"The rulebook's supposed to be this big?"

"No, but this includes records of all of my testing. All of my alterations, and the results of thousands of simulated games based on those alterations. I'm.. not really sure why we put it on paper, mind."

"Why not?"

"Nooot with you."

He frowns. "What'd'ya mean?"

"Oh, um Britishism. I don't understand what you mean."

"Why don't you understand why you did it?"

I take a moment to look through what appears to be an attempt to model the effect of imposing 2nd edition choosing a target rules on 6th edition. "I don't remember everything we did together. It's like.. you remember what I told you about accelerating your brain using a power ring, why I don't do it routinely?"

"'Cause the bits o'your brain that were in the ring bits would vanish when y'took the ring off."

"Right. The Ophidian is this.. ancient elemental.. thing. I don't know if I can explain it properly. I don't even know if I can comprehend it as I am now. I'm.. not Green Lantern material. I don't stick with a thing until it's done, I stick with it until I get bored with it. This was created by a being who couldn't comprehend stopping until it got exactly what it wanted."

"Which was what, exactly?"

"The perfect wargame. I might also have a complete redesign of Dungeons and Dragons in there somewhere. And.. possibly the Human digestive system. Got a bit.. strange, towards the end."

"You redes-. You know what? I ain't even gonna ask." He tries to slide his page back into the piles, but can't tip the pile back far enough to get it the full way in. "What'd'ya wanna do with all o'this?"

"I'd quite like to send it all to Games Workshop headquarters in Nottingham. I mean, I've basically written the next edition for them, and it's far better than anything they'd have put out."

"If only y'hadn't given Wondy your power ring."

"Yeah... I.. couldn't persuade you to stick it in yours, could I?"

"All of it?"

"When I headed to the moon.. I don't even really remember dumping everything. I've got no idea where the important parts are. And the rest is the proof that the change is the correct thing to do. Without it, it's just one man's opinion."

He rubs his chin with his right hand. "Eh, not like we can just set fire to it in here. You want it in any particular order?"

"Nooo. I'm just hoping there's a record on the ring where it's all supposed to go."

He raises his right hand, and his ring highlights the first pile of paper with green light. A second later it disappears into his subspace pocket. This could take a while.

"There gunna be anything interestin' through here?"

I shrug. "I'm not sure. I was working on improved water armour for Kaldur, but I pretty much stopped that once he started using Ocean Master's gear. There's some plasma pistols, my clothes..."

"A cake the size o'New York?"

I wince. "No. That's in a safe place under some mountains in Switzerland."

"How were you plannin' on..?"

"The Ophidian could phase. I haven't.. is that a thing power rings can actually do?"

"Yeah, I known guys who can do that. I can't, Jordan couldn't last time we talked about it. Don't know about Stewart or Alan. So, what, the Ophidian could phase but you couldn't?"

"No, it doesn't... When we were together, we shared our understanding of the orange light and its applications. Now... I can sort of remember how to do some things, like those tiny filaments I used on the eyeballs-."

"Freakiest fuckin' thing I've ever saw, by tha way."

"Yeah. Well, you don't have to worry about me doing it again. When we were together, I knew how to phase. I don't even remember it taking that much focus or power. Now? No idea. That part's just.. not in my head."

"You remember everything you saw with those eyes?"

"No. I was only paying attention to the bits which looked like ninjas. A normal Human brain can't hold all of the data. I might get flashes when I see a place or meet a person, but I don't really know any more than before I did it."

"Hm. Oh, good work fixin' up Red Inferno. I know Tornado really appreciated it."

"Was that me?"

"You don't remember?"

I shake my head. "No."

"Sounds like you mighta lost a lot."

"I think you're right."

"You okay with that?"

"Okay?" I wrinkle my nose. "It sucks. Losing memories takes away not just that knowledge, but it also changes my behaviour. Who I am. Except.. I really want me... I don't know. I've never done something like that before, and it doesn't suck enough to make me want to rebond with the Ophidian."

"Glad t'hear it."

"But losing phasing does create a problem. As I am now, I can't get the cake out. I'm going to have to relearn within the next two months or I'll miss Christmas."

Another stack of paper disappears. I think I can see a doorway.

"Been meaning to ask: what'd you do with the Star Sapphire?"

"Ah. What?"

"Glowin' pink rock, 'bout yay big." He makes a circle with his hands.

"I don't.. did I..? Did I leave it on the moon?"

"Didn't see it."

"Then I'm sorry, I just don't know."

24th October
07:49 GMT -5

I stand across the road from St Patrick's Cathedral in New York, watching the door as parishioners attending the early morning mass stream out. Going back to travelling without a ring was a bit of a shock to the system, though fortunately I still have zeta tube access. Changed my 'official' name back to Orange Lantern while I was at it. Fortunately I'm not attracting much attention, despite the cake incident last week. The black with orange lining suit I'm wearing does have orange sigils in a couple of places, but they're fairly subtle and I don't think anyone's noticed them.

After Guy and I finally reached my room I realised that I've been using the ring for so much basic stuff that I don't actually own some fairly basic stuff. No toothbrush, for example. No toothpaste. I have a towel but no flannel, no brush, no comb and no nail clippers. I was lucky that the local supermarket stays open late and I was able to get most things. Even more luckily my money stayed here. Hm. Thinking about it I suppose that I could handle normal money now that I'm not wearing the ring. Wouldn't be worth getting much normal cash -all being well this will only be for a week- but it would certainly speed up small exchanges with people who don't know me. My wardrobe is okay, but if the temperature drops I'm going to need warmer jumpers before too long.

I'm a bit embarrassed by how long it took me to realise why we never had training sessions scheduled on Sunday mornings. I honestly thought it was because Saturday nights were busy for those of us with patrol routes and everyone wanted a lie in the next day. Ah, there they are. I see Father Mattias first. Not many people wear red dog collars. Mister Zatara and Zatanna are dressed in a slightly more normal fashion. Come to think of it, this is probably the first time I've seen Mister Zatara in normal clothes. A dark blue suit, rather than his stage slash superhero costume. Zatanna's wearing a black calf length skirt, white blouse and blue jacket. Mattias is the one I'm here to see, but I should say hello to the others as well.

She can't really be grounded for life.

Can she?

Right. They're standing outside talking to some people I don't recognise. I'm still not completely certain of my ability to cross American roads without assistance, but there are plenty of people trying to use the zebra crossing here and I can just follow their lead. If I get hit by something Guy will never let me live it down. Zatanna looks a little bored. There don't seem to be that many people her age around. In Britain that would be because her peers aren't going to church, but in America I imagine that they just go to a later service. She's looking around and so is the first to catch sight of me. She double takes, then waves to me. I raise my ringless left hand to wave back, and finish navigating my way through the crowd.

She comes part way to greet me. "Paul! What are you doing here? You're not.. still possessed, are you?"

"Good morning Zatanna. No, the Ophidian's being stored in my personal lantern. And, to be faaaair, I wouldn't really call what it was doing to me 'possessing' in the normal.. demonic sense. I wanted to thank Father Mattias for the work he put into separating us, and this was the one place I knew he'd be. How's the.. being grounded for life thing going?"

"Oh, I'm sure Dad will let me out." She sags a little. "Eventually."

"Couldn't you teleport or.. some sort of magic duplicate?"

"I used to do that, but Dad's warded all the doorways and windows. There's no escape."

"Ordinarily I'd suggest consulting with the most cunning magic user on the planet, buuuut..."

"That's that Constantine guy, right?"

"Yes. I've been meaning to ask; you don't know why your Dad-."

"Orange Lantern." Spotted. Mister Zatara walks over, Father Mattias just behind him. "This is unexpected. Are you planning on attending a service?"

"No sir, still an atheist. Though.. I suppose that if I do end up getting a soul, it does make sense to think about what sort of afterlife I'd want to end up in. You know, consider offers from different religions. I hear Yahweh's kind of needy."

"Perhaps. But he's very dependable." Father Mattias meets my provocation with a smile. "Unlike the entities which your mentor Wonder Woman worships."

"Oh, no fear. I'm not going anywhere near them." Think I'll avoid mentioning the First of the Fallen or the Resurrection Crusade. He's a good man, it's not his fault that he's wrong about everything. "Look, I wanted to thank you for helping getting me... Separating me from the Ophidian."

"It was a pleasure. I was rather hoping that you would be willing to explain to me exactly how you were able to make the resolution that you did. Elemental possession isn't a well understood area."

"Ah, that. Lantern Gardner was diplomatically not asking me about that."

"If.. it's too painful..?"

"No, no. It's... It's just a bit weird, really. The Ophidian showed me everything I'd ever wanted. Not the big stuff, just.. momentary impulses. Usually violent and always uncivilised. And it showed me me acting on them without regret or hesitation and feeling great about it."

"And you resisted, and so were able to free yourself?"

"No. Just the opposite, really. I accepted that I am a person who wants many different things. Some of my impulses are not very nice, and quite a lot I'm never going to act on. But, trying to pretend that those desires don't exist..."

"If you let them in then you can let them out?"

"Yes, exactly."

Father Mattias looks a little taken aback. "I don't think that's something I would have suggested. And I really don't recommend ever trying that with a Demon."

I shake my head. "I wouldn't dream of it."

"And there were no other side effects?"

"Err... Yes. There are." I wasn't planning on keeping them secret, exactly, but I had wanted to investigate a little on my own. I suppose there's no real reason not to tell him...

"Can you tell me about them?"

"Alright. Two main ones. Firstly, I'm constantly aware of everything I want, and why I want it. It's kind of like what the Ophidian can do and what the ring let me do a little to other people."

"What is that like?"

"I always thought... Well, not always, but... I could understand not really knowing what you want. The world's a complicated and often bewildering place. What I couldn't understand is knowing what you want and not trying to get it. Or at least trying to stop wanting, if you didn't think it was an appropriate thing to want. I don't have that excuse anymore, and if it's stayed for a day.. this might be permanent. I know where my desires come from, and how they inform my behaviour. You can't make a free choice if you don't have information to base it on, and I always know, now."

"You make it sound liberating."

"It sort of is. Um. Anyway, the second thing is that I can see people like the Ophidian does. The most intense emotions they feel, that they're.. made of. It's not on all the time-" A flicker of colour in.. around.. whatever.. Mattias. Indigo and just a little white. Interesting. I haven't seen white before. "-and I can't control it yet. Haven't.. asked the other Lanterns. For all I know this is perfectly normal."

"Hmm. I don't recall other instances of possession mentioning anything quite like you're describing. Would you mind if I.. ah... If I included what you've told me in my report?"

"No, go right ahead. I know I got off very lightly. There were a lot of ways that could have gone a great deal worse, and if what you've learned can help others..."

Mister Zatara looks thoughtful for a moment. "Orange-. Paul. We were going to have breakfast. Would.. you.. like to join us?"

Unexpected. I've already eaten and I can't rely on the ring to get around the finite stomach capacity problem. But since coming to this world I've been trying to make an effort to socialise more, and it's been paying off. I've felt.. happier around people. "Thank you, yes. I'd like that. Lead the way."

24th October
07:54 GMT -5

Zatanna and I fall in behind Mister Zatara and Father Mattias as we cross the road and start down 5th Avenue.

"Soo... Where are we heading?"

"The Great American Pancake Parlor on Fourteenth Street."

"Don't think we have those in my parallel."

"You don't have pancakes?"

"Heh, no, we have pancakes. I mean the restaurant chain. I think it's probably the equivalent of our International House of Pancakes. Though now I think about it, I've never been in one of those either. This might end up being like that time I tried ordering gravy in Houma." I don't shudder, but the memory is distasteful.

Zatanna frowns. "What's wrong with ordering gravy in Houma?"

I shrug. "I should have remembered that in the US 'gravy' doesn't necessarily mean meat based sauce, but when confronted with a menu I just went into automatic. Just to check, a 'pancake' is made from flour, eggs and milk, right?"

"Aaand baking powder."

"What? Why would you put baking powder..? Oh." I shake my head. "Sure I'll manage."

"They.. probably do crêpes as well. I've never asked."

"Doesn't really matter. I've been trying to try new stuff. Is this a regular thing with you and your dad?"

"No. We usually get breakfast before going to mass."

"I read about the 'no-eating-before-going-to-mass' thing in 'The Godfather'. I didn't realise it was something people still did."

"You're kind of supposed to. I think Dad's being strict about it because Father Mattias is staying with us." She leans her head around and looks at my hands. "You really gave up your ring?"

"Just for a week."

"What's it like, going back to... You know, not having it?"

"Bit inconvenient. Aside from the fact that I can't go on missions or train properly.. makes shopping harder."

"I'm not sure I could manage going without magic for a week. I use it for.. ugh. Sthgil egnahc!" The lights at the crossing change and the cars come to a stop. Mister Zatara looks back at her with a raised eyebrow, but says nothing. "Just about everything. How does it make shopping harder?"

"I was buying raw milk from this place in Suffolk, and I can't do that now."

"Raw.. milk..?"

"Unpasteurised. It's illegal to sell it in Rhode Island, and the amount I drink, it's just not practical to get it any other way."

"Is that.. safe?"

"These days, if you want to sell unpasteurised milk your milking parlour has to be clean to clean room standards. With the ring that didn't really matter anyway, but I'd still feel fine about drinking it now." I frown. "How does having... Being able to use magic work.. at school? I mean, there can't be all that many magic using teenagers around here."

"There aren't. Most of my classmates think it's kind of cool. That, and having a dad who's a superhero."

"And the teachers? I mean, I was talking to Kaldur about it, and he said that an Atlantean your age would struggle to do a fraction of what you can do."

"They don't have a problem with it, as long as I don't disrupt lessons. Why would they?"

"On my parallel I'd have expected it to be more of an issue."

"That doesn't make sense, you said magic doesn't exist on your parallel."

"It doesn't, but neither do gods and we still have religion."

"How can you know they don't exist?"

"It's not like.. here. If you want categorical evidence of the existence of supernatural beings you can just stick up a summoning circle. Elementals, Demons, spirits.. there's even ways to call up an Angel if you want. Faith comes from deciding that you agree with their position. Back home, you can't do that, either because there's nothing to summon or no way to summon it. No evidential basis for religion at all."

"What about the Bible?"

"What about it? If you're talking about the New Testament, we don't know who wrote most of it, we don't really know when it was written with any degree of certainty and most of it is hard to corroborate with contemporary sources. An objective look at this world reveals any number of life forms a person could choose to worship. A look around mine.. doesn't. And if I understand the mechanism correctly, even if there was a Heaven.. or whatever... Without souls we couldn't go there."

"Are your.. tattoos.. working?"

"No idea. I was hoping to ask your dad to take a look."

We walk in silence for a few moments.

"How did the big cake turn out?"

"Ooooh. Were you here for that?"

"I do live here."

"Fairly well... I think. I don't remember everything from when I was joined to the Ophidian. How badly was everyone freaking out?"

"Quite a lot to start with, then nothing really happened for hours. People just started ignoring it until one of the news helicopters went up to see what was happening. Do you remember that?"

"Nnnnnnooooooooooo?"

"You made a landing pad for them and did a short interview."

I cringe inwardly. "On a scale of one to ten, how crazy-?"

"About a six. My favorite bit was when you started singing 'New York New York'. And the dancing."

"I don't remember that bit. And I think I'm glad I don't."

"Where are you keeping it?"

"Switzerland."

"Is Switzerland big enough?"

"I'm storing it under the Alps in a chamber I built. I phased it through the rock to put it there and -without the Ophidian- I'm not sure I can get it out."

She blinks. "I'd offer to help, but I think that's a bit beyond me. If it's any consolation I think the eyes scared people more."

I wince. "Not really, no."

24th October
08:01 GMT -5

The insides of GAPP reminds me a little of last time I went inside a Little Chef, but one that someone's put effort into maintaining. I get the innermost window seat, opposite Zatanna and next to Father Mattias. I remember having known his real name, but I'll be jiggered if I can remember it now. Not sure when it's appropriate to use it anyway. Last time I had any significant contact with a cleric was back in primary school, where Reverend Gino used to turn up during assemblies and deliver the occasional sermon. He was a nice man -as far as I remember- but I never found the theology convincing. He retired while I was in secondary school.

I pick up one of the plastic coated menus and spread it out between myself and Father Mattias. Mentally I begin categorising them as 'normalish', 'interesting' and 'Why would you do that to a pancake?'. There are other things on the menu, but this is a Pancake Parlour. Presumably if you're here, you're here for pancakes, right? I usually get a little worried when confronted with a situation like this, being confronted with a new thing and not knowing what the 'right' answer is. This time? Nothing. Nothing like that, at least. Curiosity, yes, and anticipation too. I almost feel like picking something...

Oh, those are omelettes! Yes, that makes far more sense.

There's not really a problem with me skipping lunch today. Some of the others have more sessions with Black Canary lined up and Diana said that she wanted to schedule some sort of training session later. She told me that so that she could let me know as politely as possible that she was expecting me not to be in attendance. I know that I don't need time to 'decompress' or whatever fancy word the Americans have for getting over yourself. I mean, if I hadn't already done that then separating from the Ophidian wouldn't have gone nearly as well as it did, but I do see the point of taking the actions which others expect of me. Anything that I can do to show that I haven't been driven crazy by the experience can only serve to help my standing.

On the other side of the table Zatanna's grabbed the other menu and is holding it up to review in detail. Mister Zatara leans back a little to read it over her shoulder. Swiftly eliminating anything that looks very heavy, I try looking for my preferred variety: unleavened with lemon juice and granulated sugar. Sugar there is, in the little sachet box next to the salt and pepper. Lemon? Looks like I could be out of luck. They appear to offer only blueberry or cinnamon flavoured apple compote. There is a crêpes list...

"A little bewildering, isn't it?"

"I just want to make sure that I know exactly what's available before I make a choice." Ah! There it is, on the back of Zatanna's menu! British style pancakes with lemon juice and sugar. I reach into my pocket, pull out a $100 platinum coin and lay it on the table.

"Grain and nut pancakes for me, I think. With.. blueberries? Paul?"

"British style with lemon juice."

Zatanna lowers her menu. "Lemon juice?"

"It was that or golden syrup, and you would not believe how hard it is to find that in the United States."

Mister Zatara reaches out to take the menu from her, checks it and then folds it up. "I will be having the strawberry. Zatanna?"

A waitress approaches our table, notepad at the ready.

"Ham and mushroom omelette, please."

He nods again and turns to the waitress. "Grain and nut with blueberry, British crêpes with lemon, regular with strawberries and a ham and mushroom omelette. Coffee for everyone?"

Father Mattias and Zatanna nod. Ordinarily I'd just go with the group and transmute it. Not an option at the moment. I take a quick look at the drinks section of the menu. No milk? How can a pancake restaurant not have milk? They're not just taking them out of a packet and heating them up back there, right? Ugh. "Orange Juice for me, please." Mister Zatara nods and the waitress notes it down before heading back to the counter.

"I don't recognise the coin?" Father Mattias nods at the platinum piece I put on the table.

"Not many people.. well, not many people outside of Happy Harbour would." Can't believe I repainted all of the signs. "It's a one hundred dollar platinum coin. Since I can't handle normal money..."

"Why can't you handle normal money?"

"Short answer, because the ring destroys it, burns notes and melts coins. I technically committed a federal offence during my first week here after I tried selling some gold and ended up destroying several hundred dollar notes. Oh, don't worry-" Mister Zatara is giving me a concerned look. "-I came to terms with the US Treasury Department. They get a cut of any precious metal I bring to Earth, and in return they mint these for me." I pick up the coin and pass it to Father Mattias.

He briefly looks over both faces before reading the motto. "All.. others.. pay cash. I'm not sure-." He cuts himself off and then nods. "Ah, I see. Most amusing. And this is legal tender?"

Zatanna snorts with laughter and Mister Zatara looks mildly scandalised. "That's what they tell me. It's a special issue, so it doesn't need to have 'In God we trust' written on it. Most people who notice just find it funny."

"If your ring is powered by avarice, why does it destroy money?"

"A few years before I left my home parallel we had a fairly major economic collapse, caused by... Well, caused by a lot of things, buuuut one of the underlying causes was a financial system which treated debt as if it were actual money. I ended up learning a lot about how money really works. I mean, obviously the materials in a dollar note aren't worth a dollar, and most people realise that modern money isn't backed by precious metal... According to the ring, my contempt for fiat currency is now so strong that I can't touch it without feeling... Sullied." I shrug. "There's so little real value there that I find it an insult to the idea of value. The metal in that is worth slightly more than the face value, so it's valuable enough that I don't feel the same way."

Zatanna looks amused as the waitress returns with our drinks. "That's.. weird."

"I've become somewhat desensitised to weird since coming here."

I take a sip of orange juice while Zatanna adds fake milk to her coffee and Father Mattias pours two sachets of sugar into his. He then passes the coin back. "Are you planning to pay for breakfast?"

Mister Zatara lowers his cup. "Paul, there's no need. I invited you-."

I wave my right hand around to cut him off. "It's not... American tipping customs are different to what I'm used to. Since I'm never sure exactly what I should be offering I've got into the habit of overpaying. It isn't as if I'm ever likely to be short of money."

Father Mattias' mouth twitches. "Generous of you."

I shrug. "To me, it's just metal."

"Ah, yes." He waves his right index finger. "I should like to pass on my sister's thanks." I give him a blank look. "You and the.. er.. snake creature, healed her back." He raises his eyebrows. "You don't remember?" I shake my head. I need to go through the internal monitoring system records of me at some point. But while I'm here, with these people...

"About that.. possession thing. I didn't have a soul before being possessed, but I did have a network of enchanted tattoos-"

"Yes. Zatanna mentioned them." Mister Zatara raises his right eyebrow and glances at his daughter, who blushes slightly and looks away from him.

"...which were supposed to fix that. I don't know exactly what the possession did to them, and you're... Well, you know who I normally ask about that sort of thing."

"Do you want me to check that they are still working?"

"I'm hoping that having had the Ophidian in my body means that they're already at full charge, but yes. I'd like to know whether I need to get them redone."

He thinks for a moment, then nods. "It shouldn't be difficult." He raises his right hand.

"One moment sir." I pull the Spell Eater out from under my jacket, lift the thong over my neck and put it down on the table. He looks at it for a moment, then points his hand at me once more.

"Wohs skrowten fo lautirips ygrene."

His eyes unfocus. Zatanna looks at him, fascinated. After a few seconds he seems to come out of it. He looks a little concerned.

"Well?"

"There's.. something, certainly. You exist in an arcane sense where you did not before. It is not.. quite like a normal soul, however."

I fan out my hands. "Beggars can't be choosers, sir. I'm just happy to have anything at all."

24th October
10:22 GMT -5

I walk through the gardens attached to the Gloria McDonald Prison towards where Jade and another inmate are weeding the vegetable patch. Looks like.. potatoes? Some sort of root vegetable anyway. Dad was a big fan of gardening but neither myself nor my sister share his enthusiasm. They're wearing denim trousers and Jade's colleague also has a denim jacket. Jade's jacket is folded up on a nearby bench, showing a plain blue t-shirt. Both of them have their hair tied back in a simple ponytail. Jade's colleague happens to look around as I approach, recognises me and then elbows Jade.

"Your boyfriend's here." Jade stops weeding, but doesn't look around. "I'll go take this to the incinerator, shall I?" She stands, put the weeds she was holding into a wheelbarrow and with a toothy grin in my direction pushes it away down the path. Jade sits back on her haunches and stabs her gardening fork into the bare soil.

"Are you allowed back here?"

"The Governor seemed to think so."

"I'd be careful: some of the women here haven't seen a man in years."

"Then I'll have to rely on you to protect my virtue, won't I?"

She turns her head to her right so she can look at me. "So, you're a virrr.. tuous man, are you?"

"I like to think so."

She stands up and walks over to pick up her jacket. I think I like her hair better like this than how she had it when we first met. "Really? So why was the shower block full of glowing orange eyes last Thursday?"

I wince. "Um, look, about that-."

"Artemis already explained." I relax a little as she puts her jacket back on. "Is there a reason why you're visiting today? You usually hate 'abusing your position'."

I pull the two folded letters out of my pocket and hold them out to her, one in each hand. She looks at me through narrowed eyes before taking hold of the left one with her right hand and opening it. "Well?"

"March twenty sixth."

"That's good, isn't it?"

"It's about what I was expecting." She refolds it and slips it into her jacket pocket. "But..." She looks to the side for a moment. "Thanks. Y'know."

I smile at her. "You're most welcome." I wiggle the other letter. Again, she takes it and opens it.

"Oh, it's about time. I can't believe it took them this long."

"I still can't believe you had less high school than Tuppence flipping Terror."

"I left home at fourteen, Paul. The League-." I take a step forwards to give her a hug but she puts her left hand on my chest, holding me away. "Would you stop doing that?"

"N-no?"

"I'm not so broken up about it that I need a hug from you every time I mention it, okay?!" She crosses her arms. "The League of Shadows has an education program but it's not exactly Department of Education approved. I'm already fluent in seven languages. I only went to classes here so I could help the other students. Passing the GED exam was just a matter of turning up on time." She looks me over. "Where's your ring?"

"Wherever Wonder Woman put it. After what happened last week I thought I'd hand it over as a show of good faith."

She frowns. "You never take it off."

"I do now."

She adds the GED results slip to her pocket and then walks back to the bench to sit down. Usually in a situation like this I'd make an orange bench opposite her, but that isn't an option at the moment. She isn't.. completely comfortable with me being inside her personal space, so I don't want to push. On the other hand, standing up could give the impression of delivering a lecture... Just as I'm about to sit on the ground in front of her and cause myself to have to send these trousers to a dry cleaner she looks up, meets my eyes and then flicks them down to the empty seat next to her. I walk forwards and take the indicated space.

"Artemis came to visit?"

Jade puts her hands in her lap and leans forwards slightly. "Yeah. Just after you nearly dropped a giant asteroid on her."

"There was never actually any chance that the asteroid-."

"What was it like, being that powerful?"

I think for a moment. "Frustrating."

"Really?"

"I lost my capacity for empathy. I couldn't understand why everyone was so worried, so it didn't matter how powerful I was..." I shrug. "I couldn't make them happy, and I couldn't understand why."

"So do I have to live in New York to get a piece of cake, or-."

I snort. "I'll make sure you get a bit. Assuming I can.. get it out.. you know… From Switzerland."

We sit in silence for a moment. I watch a bird of some kind -starting to miss the ring's database- land on the vegetable patch and peck at the freshly tilled soil.

"When do I get super powers?"

"When you've been out of prison for a year without reoffending."

She looks at me, her right eyebrow raised. "Really?"

"Sure. Why not? I'd like to augment everyone, and I like you a lot more than a random person off the street. And Lex Luthor's already got the formula I used on Artemis anyway."

"Lex Luthor's not Ra's al Ghul. If he knew you'd use it on me after a year he'd probably order me to go inactive."

Oooooh. "He's.. not.. really a problem at the moment."

"What do you mean?"

"Wh..? Really? I sort of assumed... Didn't I tell you..?"

"Tell me what, exactly?"

"The League of Shadows sort of.. doesn't exist any more."

She rolls her eyes. "The League doesn't just disappear because you caught one cell, Paul."

"Yeeees, I know that. I... The Justice League and I hit Infinity Island. I took copies of all of their files before they could delete them. The Ecuadorian military's occupying the place now. We've shut every front company, frozen or confiscated every bank account and arrested something like twenty thousand people across the globe. Agents, informants, allies, people who were being blackmailed over serious crimes... Ra's and the Sensei escaped, but we caught the Sensei in Nepal... That's what the eye constructs were for. Ra's is still at large but he's got next to no staff and only the clothes on his back for resources. The League's.. dead."

"Oh." She shuffles in her seat. "I was wondering why they hadn't sent someone to give me the 'we haven't forgotten about you but talk and we'll kill you' speech."

"Don't think they've got anyone they can send." They weren't a good influence on her, but the Shadows were still a big part of her life. I should move the conversation on. "How's that Tai Chi class you were running doing?"

"You can't just dump something like that on me and then..!" She shakes her head.

"Jade, the League of Shadows was a major criminal organisation. I wasn't pumping you for information but I wasn't just going to leave them there."

She kicks her right foot against the ground. "I just thought our security was better than that."

I shrug. "Power rings are awesome."

25th October
01:43 GMT -5

"Yes, I'll hold." I allow the phone construct to dissipate before returning my attention to the two men hanging upside down from my binding chain constructs. "Can you believe that?" The Gotham police don't seem to be taking me seriously. The ring will notify me if a Human picks up the phone again, but... They've hung up!

"Mmmmrmmm!" The gag constructs makes it impossible for them to respond properly. The one on my right shakes himself in an attempt to look at his colleague, who has pretty much shut down, staring at me in horror. The bomb making components they were attempting to attach to support column three of Gotham City's Metro-Narrows Bridge lay disassembled beneath them. I remember reading a short piece of fiction which treated the film 'The Dark Knight' as a role play game. With the players in revolt the GM has to explain exactly how -given that Batman was supposed to be such an inspirational figure, Gordon has passed every leadership and loyalty check and Dent had the mobs on the back foot- the Joker had been able to set up his games in the first place with no one reporting anything to the police. I'd sort of wondered that about the Riddler in Batman Animated.

Mister Nigma himself was the only man to successfully escape from Belle Reve during that little uprising Kon and M'gann worked so hard to prevent. Someone has been leaving clues for the Gotham Police to pick up. It might not be him, I suppose. Didn't Spoiler's father have a similar trademark until Arkham cured him of it? Whatever. The pattern is one of escalation, and while I have no head for riddles I can scan for bombs easily enough. To ensure that I would have evidence of criminal intent I altered the chemical structure of the explosives from well overhead and let them set up before dropping down onto them. Baseline Humans armed with pistols. I wonder if I've inadvertently entered a 'starting zone'? I suppose the stories about Gotham being insanely dangerous are written from the point of view of normal people.

They were also carrying small amount of what the ring tells me is a combination of high purity ecstasy mixed with just a dash of Smilex, a combination known locally as 'Chuckles'. That does go some way to explain how people are recruited to do work like this. These gentlemen will be going to prison for some time, if I'm any judge. The only question is; do I brand them and see where they run, or just hand them...

"Ploong."

I look down at where the Father Box sits at my waist. "Thank you." I shift it to subspace. It seems that the decision is being taken out of my hands. Ring, show me. Narrowing my eyes to prevent distraction, I watch as Batman and Richard land on the bridge above me. I shouldn't be surprised. He's Batman, not Second-With-The-News Guy. "Oh, what the heck." I hold up the ring to my ear. "Orange Lantern to Batman."

Batman's posture doesn't change. "Go ahead."

"I have apprehended two men who appear to have been trying to plant a bomb on the Metro-Narrows Bridge. The bomb is disarmed, and the suspects are available for questioning. I'm not entirely sure what the protocol is... Are you nearby? Would you like to take over, or should I just transport them to the nearest police station?"

"I'm not far from your position now. I'll be with you shortly." Richard flashes him a look. Well, he didn't lie. I doubt that he intercepted my phone call to the police. I'm not bugged myself, I check every time I go anywhere near Richard. On the other hand, people on the bridge probably saw the flash of orange as I descended. Not completely clear how that would have gotten back to him, mind. Does he have some system monitoring all communications in-city, CIA style? Or maybe he was just looking in the right direction when I flashed down.

I need to come up with a more subtle form of flight, don't I?

Batman and Richard attach lines to the edge of the bridge before stepping off. Batman lands silently to my left while Robin touches down in the only nearby cover: the boat the criminals used to get here. Harsh.

"Orange Lantern." I open my eyes fully and pantomime surprise. "I wasn't aware you were investigating this case."

"I wasn't. I just had some spare time and found myself thinking: 'bombs in Gotham, those are bad, aren't they?'. I found the Chuckle Brothers here with a ring scan." Said ne'er-do-wells notice Batman and... Oh, come on. He's scarier than me?! How does..? Oh, fine.

"Let them down."

"Sir." I extend the chains, causing them to drop to the ground without becoming free.

"Have you found any evidence as to who was behind this?"

"A small amount of Chuckles. Personal use, it looks like. I scanned for other examples of that precise mix but there are so many slight variations..." I shrug. "I've tried tracing the bomb components but that was either impossible or led nowhere. Boat's stolen and both suspects have numerous prior convictions. No known associations with any criminals who might be inclined to blow up bridges, however."

He takes a step towards my prisoners, who try squirming out of the way. "Have you interrogated them?"

"No. I thought I'd try to do things by the book while I was in your city."

"Robin and I will take it from here."

I make a shallow bow. "Of course, sir. I'll leave you to it."

"Before you go, I need to talk to you about your encounter with the aliens from New Genesis."

I put sensory deprivation helmets over the heads of the suspects. "I rather thought that you might."

"Robin feels that you needlessly antagonised the Forever People."

"I admit, it was unnecessary. I could have been polite to them. The result would have been more or less the same as far as apprehending Intergang is concerned. I posed as Grayven because I wanted more out of the situation than a group of criminals in prison."

"The Apokoliptian weaponry."

"I wanted the Mother Box far more. What we could have learned from it..."

"Stealing technology from alien civilisations is not appropriate behaviour."

"I'll be sure to remember that next time we encounter Apokolips technology in the hands of Earth criminals."

"You said in your report that 'Desaad' would be unlikely to return."

"Everything I know about him says that's true, but he's hardly the only member of Darkseid's inner circle. And we still haven't uncovered a link between Bialya and Intergang. Look, about Robin..."

"Yes?"

"I feel that some of the problems we encountered could have been prevented if our... Our interpersonal relationship had been better. My fault, really. I'm not very.. clubbable, but this is the first time it's actually had an adverse effect on a mission." I don't think Richard's told him about the outing him thing. Batman would have mentioned it if he had, surely? "If I'd confided in him previously, or if he'd trusted me more... Not that I've really given him cause to." That's nearly true. Much as I hate to admit it, him doing that blindsided me. I can't afford for my relationships with my team mates to decay to that level. And.. perhaps I really did go too far this time. It would be useful to have someone of a different disposition who was prepared to call me on it without blowing up the objective. Ring, show me Richard's face.

By your command.

"That's part of why I'm in Gotham, actually. I was wondering, would it be possible for me to work with him outside of team hours?" The ring shows me Richard involuntarily straighten up, his mask hiding a look of horror. "I cooperate acceptably well with everyone else, I'd really hate-."

"To destroy any more aircraft hangars."

"I went back this morning and offered to rebuild it, the police wanted to preserve the crime scene. But yes, essentially."

He thinks for a moment. "That may be possible." The ring shows me Richard shaking his head at Batman's back and repeatedly mouthing the word 'no'. I work to keep my amusement contained. "Now, your recommendation that M'gann receive tuition from someone other than Martian Manhunter."

"I meant every word of it. He failed all of us, but her most of all."

"He.. agrees." I blink in surprise. "I will make contact with Brainwave this week, with a view to adding him to the team's training staff. The British government denies all knowledge of a 'Chester Black'."

"I would too, if I'd been more clear headed when I mentioned him to Robin. Thank you, sir. It's nice to see that my concerns are being taken seriously."

25th October
08:05 GMT -5

"Okay, but it seems to me that given how many Justice Leaguers live in America that you'd be better off-" Diana and I step into the Zeta Tube.

"Recognised, Wonder Woman, zero three, Orange Lantern, B zero six."

25th October
12:05 GMT -1

"-using a US time zone. " The lights fade and I get my first look at the interior of the Watchtower. "Huh. That's... " Big. Oh. I frown. "Not an efficient use of space."

We just exited the left Zeta Tube of the three which lead directly into what appears to be the main room of the Watchtower. I haven't been in here before but I have seen pictures. League meetings are held in the middle of this room. Don't see a chair, so I guess they just bring them in for sit down meetings and take briefings standing up? It's easily fifty metres across, flat floor made of a material I can't identify and a view to open space on my right.

"That.. does not look safe."

"Originally it had a permeable green light barrier so that Green Lanterns could fly through it without the station losing pressure. When the Guardians gave it to us they removed it and replaced it with a much simpler force field."

"Wouldn't blocking it over have made more sense?"

"There are shutters in the event of attack, but the Watchtower's main defence is its stealth systems. I find the view rather relaxing."

Okay Ms Amazon Crazy Woman. "Shouldn't there be more defensive systems here?"

"The Watchtower isn't armed, Paul."

"Really? Does it have thrusters?"

"It has a gravity impeller…" She blinks. "Thing. You'd have to ask Batman or one of the Green Lanterns if you wanted technical details."

"If it can move, then it's armed. But, I mean, force fields linked to an independent security system? Or those paralysis generator things we have in the cave now? I once took a Zeta Tube to the Batcave and ended up in a featureless white room. It just seems like such a sensible precaution."

"The Watchtower isn't designed to be a fortress, and we can't design weapons more powerful than we are. There's always someone on duty and they can call in reinforcements from any League member or from the Atlantean army in Poseidonis. If all else fails they can put the Watchtower into total lockdown and then evacuate until we can better prepare to face the threat." She stops at the far side of the main room. "Medical is up there." I follow her gaze up the wall to an opening about fifteen metres up.

"Why is it..?"

"This used to be manned by Green Lanterns. Since they could all fly, it wasn't a problem."

"Is there a lift?"

"Yes, just through there." She smiles. "Or I can carry you up."

"Oooor I could just fly up myself."

She raises her left eyebrow. "Oh? How were you planning to do that without your ring?"

I lift the bottom of my jacket aside, revealing the belt the Ophidian and I made based on the one worn by the superhero Rocket. We actually made thirty three of them, though why that precise number I've no idea. Guy's holding on to the rest. I haven't practised using it much. I know Kon's going to get dejected if it takes him a while to get the hang of flying in the Nth metal armour I made for him, and I want to be able to go through the learning process with him so we both look silly. My version has an orange sigil at the buckle instead of the blank circle the original version has, but otherwise is identical. Right. One tap for low power, jump and bounce wooohw! I'm rising in the air towards the opening but really slowly. This is a very strange feeling. Since there's nothing visibly holding me up I keep waiting for gravity to realise that I'm tricking it and to make me fall back down again.

Okay, entrance coming up and... And I'm slowing down further. I'm going to come up short. Can I reach..? I stretch out my arms but it's no use. Can't reach. And down I go. Looking down I see Diana covering her mouth with her right hand. She's trying not to look me in the eye. Oh yes, I'm sure this looks hilarious. I can't just deactivate it and fall to the floor, but if I deactivate and then reactivate before I hit... Okay, and on again. Yikes! Too much too much! I massively overshoot and end up scrabbling against the wall in an attempt to avoid falling back down!

"Perhaps..." Diana clears her throat just behind me. "Perhaps I should.. should carry you there after all?"

"Think that's probably a good idea."

She puts an arm around my waist and I deactivate the belt. Being carried by a flyer is nothing like in Superman. I'm hanging off her, being supported by her chest and arm. I still have all of my weight. It's a bit strange; she doesn't look strong enough to support me like this. I know that she is, I've seen her carry weights far heavier than me. It's just.. I'm not used to being that weight. She brings us in easily, depositing me on the floor of the tunnel to the medical section before landing herself, leaning against the wall and... Giggling?

"Wasn't that funny, sir."

She recovers herself, and leads the way down the corridor. "You couldn't see your face."

True, I suppose. Anyway. Back to business. "Is Mister J'onzz here on his own, or did he bring a Guardian with him?"

"The Guardians appear to be reluctant to come anywhere near you."

"I feel happier about that than I think I should."

She turns her head to look at me for a moment. "Developing an adversarial relationship with the Guardians won't help you."

"I know, I know, but they nearly got this Sector's Lanterns killed. And did you know that Alan's on a Do Not Recruit list?"

"I.. didn't."

"Guy told me." The caduceus-inscribed door slides open as we approach. "Apparently they think he'd be 'disruptive to established Corps working practices'."

We walk into medical. The basic design is near identical to the one we have in the cave, though the walls aren't bare rock here. Mister J'onzz is lying on a bed in full uniform, reading from a small book. I don't recognise the language on the cover. I can just see the glowing main circle of the brand through his clothing. He looks up as we enter and closes the book, laying it on the bed next to him. I didn't think I used the ring's auto translator function much, but it's amazing how you miss it when it isn't there. Speaking of which, the ring and my lantern are sitting on a table next to him, along with the box I usually keep them in.

"Okay, that needs to be kept somewhere more secure."

"I've been keeping hold of it. It only left my sight when I left to bring you here."

"Sir, it contains the Ophidian. Please keep it with you."

"Do you think it could interact with the brand?"

I make an exaggerated shrugging gesture. "No idea, don't.. really want to take the risk."

She nods. "J'onn, how do you feel?"

"Much the same. If it were not for the glowing symbol on my chest I would not think anything was wrong."

Diana picks up the ring by its outer edge and holds it out to me. I shake my head. "Hasn't been a week yet. And I thiink I can do this without it."

25th October
12:12 GMT -1

Diana crosses her arms. "I thought you said you don't know how the branding process works?"

I shrug. "I don't. On the other hand..." I look at the ring and it lifts off the table and performs an elliptical circuit of the room before returning to its resting place. "I can move the ring without touching it, but I can't access its other functions. Trying to remove the brand without it is less risky."

She nods, and I step up to the bed, reaching over the brand with my left hand. "Sir, would you mind..?" His uniform flows away from the area over the brand, revealing green Human-seeming muscles and orange glowing sigil. It looks like it should cut into his flesh, but when I lay my hand upon it I realise that it's flat to his skin. His skin feels a little cold. That could be a Martian thing, there's nothing special in biological terms about Human body temperature. Haven't noticed that from M'gann, but she puts more effort into her Human appearance anyway.

I close my eyes and try to feel the brand. I'm not sure.. yes! It's a bit like the time Guy got me to try to assimilate one of his constructs, but more familiar. I get a momentary flicker of Ophidivision, showing me Mister J'onzz' spiritual structure. Bits and pieces of everything held together with green, with the orange intrusion shoved into the side. Right. Doesn't look that complicated. A verbal instruction doesn't feel appropriate. There's no ring AI to activate. How else to remove an orange construct? I pull back my hand a little and smile faintly.

The idea of the cessation of need.

The brand rises off his skin a little before dissolving into what seems to be orange dust and flowing into my hand. I frown as I clench and relax it. No, that didn't really feel of anything. Odd, but probably not something to worry about. "Feeling better now sir?"

"I did not precisely feel unwell before." I step back as he sits up and then swings his legs around to stand on the floor. "Let us see if I am recovered." He pauses for a moment, then shifts into his 'John Jones' form, looking himself over to make sure that the transformation is complete. Next, he adopts Diana's form and then mine before returning to his normal green shape. "It appears that you were successful. Thank you."

I close my eyes and try reaching out to him through the orange light, but the beacon of the brand is gone. "I can't feel it anymore. Let me know if you... What?" He's staring at my face.

"Your irises are orange. I.. was under the impression that your eyes only changed color while you were wearing your ring."

I turn to Diana. "Sir? Have they been like this since I passed the ring to you?"

"No, they were green a minute ago. Do you feel any different?"

I shake my head. Would be weird, but... I hold out my left hand and try creating a construct. And again. No, nothing. Ah well. "The orange light doesn't seem to be causing me the same problems that it used to." I look to Mister J'onzz. "Sir, you were on Oa. Exactly how badly are the Guardians freaking out?"

"I am not sure I would describe what they are doing as 'freaking out'. They were certainly concerned about the Ophidian's apparent liberation. I do not believe that the Green Lanterns have yet reported on your current state."

"Are you worried about what they'll do?"

I nod my head to the side. "A bit, yes. Mm, for the next six days, anyway."

Diana puts her left hand on my right shoulder. "Whatever we end up deciding to do about you and the Ophidian, we're not just going to hand you over."

Yeah. I don't know that the Corpse exists here, but if they do I must be fairly near the top of their hit list right now. Me or Larfleeze. Exactly how much power has this cost him? "Thank you sir. Sirs."

Mister J'onzz nods at me. "I should return to Chicago. Explaining my absence-."

"Sir, before you do that... I think we need to talk about the training session."

His head droops a little. "You.. are.. most likely correct. Black Canary shared what the Ophidian.. and you, I suppose, think of my abilities."

"I thought those sessions were supposed to be private."

He and Diana look at each other, and she replies. "We weren't sure what we were talking to. If the Ophidian was holding you captive..."

"It's okay, I'm not angry about it. But, I remember what I said and.. having had time to think about it, I think I still agree with it all. Sir, what were you thinking?"

"I realize that I badly underestimated the dangers. The Ophidian-."

"No sir, not the Ophidian. I don't blame you for the Ophidian. There really wasn't any way you could have anticipated that. I didn't even know it was possible. Bloody good job it was, though."

He frowns. "I realize it is little comfort, but had your last resort measure failed it may have been possible to end the scenario more swiftly."

"Sir, the Ophidian wasn't my last resort measure. The ring contains a complete copy of the Grimorium Verum." Blank looks from both Mister J'onzz and Diana. "Greater Demons, a spotter's guide. I only got it so that I'd know how to fight them but if I really saw no alternative I could have summoned a real Demon, one of the big ones. I didn't have a soul to trade, but if one had been summoned into the false reality of the scenario I have no idea what would have happened." But all three of us can guess. I can see it on their faces. "Why were we even doing a scenario like that without any prior experience of that sort of training? And not knowing how strong M'gann was... That was-." Can't think of another way to describe it. "That was dumb, sir."

We stand in silence for a moment. I think.. should I feel bad about doing this after he's only just recovered? I think I would have done, but now? I don't, not really. I see my own resistance to the idea, the little voice telling me to keep my head down. I also see my far stronger need to ensure that M'gann gets the tuition she needs. There's no conflict between the desires, rather the two streams flow through me and merge. Certainly the stronger stream determines more of the course, but all my drives run into a single sea. Or something. That rather got away from me.

"You recommended that someone else take over."

"Yes. Look, you couldn't force her to stop. Could you train her? Safely, I mean? You know more about this than I do."

"There are some matters in which I could instruct her with little danger, but I take your point. The stresses that would be involved in combat or the more realistic training sessions... No. In all honesty I do not believe that I could."

I nod. "Is it possible to hire another Martian, one with stronger mental abilities?"

"There are those amongst our people who could tutor her, but I do not know of any who would be willing to leave Mars. They would most likely expect M'gann to return home..."

"And that's probably not something she would want to do." And I wouldn't want her to either. I don't think any of the team would consider that acceptable. "Alright, how do the Human telepaths you've met compare?"

"Doctor Psycho and Psimon are both highly telepathic by Martian standards. I have never met Chester Black, and I only met Henry King Junior for a short time several years ago. I don't know that either of them would be up to the job." I raise my eyebrows. I don't say 'And you are?'. At this point it's rather implied. He looks down at the ground. "I will speak with Mister King. If he is capable and willing, I will suggest to M'gann that it may be advantageous for her to take additional lessons."

"Thank you sir. That's all I can ask."

25th October
12:23 GMT -1

"So these.. 'Ethereals' attack the Earth because they wanted to see if Humans had the capacity to learn how to fight them?"

Turns out that Black Canary shared our interview session with everyone. I may have just got the world's premier superhero team interested in XCOM.

"Partially. They also wanted us to develop psychic abilities. They actually get quite excited when one of your soldiers is able to interface with their psychic network just before the end."

Mister J'onzz left the Watchtower and Diana offered to give me the tour. Unlike in Justice League Unlimited, this version of Mister J'onzz isn't a.. what's the term Commander Vimes used? Ah, that was it. A persistent floater. He has a life outside of the League and so doesn't spend all of his time on the Watchtower. The man we're going to see, however...

"What did they want to get out of it?"

"That's not really clear. They considered themselves to be failures, and wanted to find something that could do better than them. Whether they wanted to use what they learned to overcome their own limitations, or just guide us as XCOM spread psychic abilities across the species, I don't know. There's no way in the game to find out."

"Why would they think that anyone on Earth would follow them after what they'd done?"

Through the windows to my right I can see the garden -more of a jungle really- which supplies the Watchtower with both oxygen and somewhere to go to relax a bit. We're approaching the xenotech laboratories now. That's where they ended up putting the armour the Ophidian and I made for Kon.

"Because they're aliens? Some species just think differently. The Ethereals value the life of XCOM's psychics much more than billions of ungifted Humans, and they were still happy to kill them to make sure they're strong enough. Or maybe it was just bad writing, I don't know. The Ophidian and I only brought it up because w-. Because the two of us wanted to make a point about how essential research and development is to an organisation like the XCOM, or like the League."

"I see your point."

"You know.. you could play the game yourself. It's pretty much the same here as it was back home."

She glances at me as we come up to the heavily reinforced door. "I.. don't really..."

The door slides open, revealing a room with a floor space of perhaps fifteen metres squared and a lot of analytical equipment I don't recognise. Lying on a work bench under what looks a bit like a magnifying lens but is probably a good deal more sophisticated are the pieces which make up Kon's Nth metal armour. Hawkman -Katar Hol- is examining it closely, facing away from us. He isn't wearing his helmet and I have to say that his head looks remarkably Human. His hair is short, black and curly and without the wings and armour I don't think I'd look twice if I passed him in the street.

There's a flicker, and I notice that there's some sort of force field around the armour. Not sure why he thought-.

Mister Hol looks up, still facing away from us, and says something incomprehensible. A Thanagarian language, I suppose. Maybe I should get hold of one of the translator things the League uses? I didn't think it would really matter for a week. He stiffens slightly when no one replies and half turns.

Diana smiles. "Magpie, Katar?"

"Wonder Woman." He straightens and turns to face us fully. "And you. Where did you get the Nth metal to make this?"

"I... The Ophidian and I transmuted it."

"Of course, but the base material?"

I shrug. "We used lead."

His eyes widen slightly. "Lead?"

"You saw the records of the gravity distortions it caused, right? I mean, the Ophidian's basically a mid-tier god."

"How did you even learn of Nth metal's structure?"

"I found a fragment from a Thanagarian spacecraft which crash landed in North Africa. Only a tiny little flake-" I hold out my right thumb and forefinger to indicate the size. "-but it was enough to learn its subatomic structures. More or less. We had to brute force the complete structure."

His eyes flick to Diana. "I was not informed of a crashed spacecraft."

"It crashed about five thousand years ago. If you want any details you'd have to ask Teth Adom. Or Vandal Savage, I suppose. I think he was in the area at the time."

He shakes his head. "Thanagar may be more technologically advanced than Earth, but we did not have interstellar spacecraft with that sort of range five thousand years ago."

"Maybe they were time travellers? That can happen, right?"

"In.. theory. It's a little far fetched though." He folds his arms across his chest. "Where is the craft now?"

"No idea. It wasn't where Adom last saw it, though given how long it's been..."

"And the crew?"

"Crew of three, one of whom survived the crash. She ended up marrying the local ruler, chap by the name of Prince Khufu. As I said, Adom's really the person to ask about it."

"What was her name?"

"Adom pronounced it 'Chay-Ara', but he was probably Kahndaqising something that didn't match the phonemes he was used to. Is it a common Thanagarian name?"

He rubs his chin with his right hand. "Common enough to be plausible, I suppose." He gestures at the work bench with his left hand. "Why did you make this armour?"

"We were hoping that we could give Kon-El the ability to fly. The gravity distorting ability of Nth metal, combined with Kryptonian strong nuclear force manipulation... Would that work? I wasn't thinking entirely clearly at the time."

"Perhaps, if it was attuned perfectly. I'm afraid it's more likely that what you've got here is 'merely' exceptional body armour."

"It's a bit of a blur, but I'm pretty sure I remember us attuning it properly."

"That's.. somewhat improbable." He turns back to the bench and presses a few buttons on the viewer. "It takes years of training in metallurgy to make equipment a Thanagarian can use, and we're able to use it almost instinctively."

"You did hear me say 'mid-tier god', right?"

"Do you remember what you did?"

"Not..." I shake my head. "Only in approximate terms."

"Do you think you could do it again?"

"Not without the Ophidian. And I don't intend to rebond with her."

"Mmm." He takes a closer look. "I had thought you'd simply misforged it, but if it is supposed to be attuned to a Kryptonian-."

"Kryptonian-Human-Genomorph hybrid."

"How is that pos..? No, never mind. Wonder Woman, as far as I can see there are no irregularities in its forging. We may as well let Superboy use it. I would be very interested to see if it works as advertised."

25th October
16:14 GMT -5

I reach Happy Harbour High School just after the end of the school day. There's a chill in the air, and without the ring's environmental shield I've taken to adding a grey leather jacket to my usual vest and jeans. Not the one I bought when I first got here, Zatanna still has that. Think I remember making it last week. Groups of teenagers are still cluttering up the pavements in the surrounding area, meandering back to their homes or to whatever hang outs they spend their time in. Clubs like M'gann's pranc-. Nooo. Like M'gann's cheerleading generally go on to four or five.

"You know, I'm sure that didn't used to have a 'u' in it."

"That's how the Canadians spell it, isn't it? Wonder why they changed it?"

I wince inwardly as I walk past the main entrance and the students looking at the sign the Ophidian and I repainted. Looks like we even made the sign itself a bit longer so that it still has the even border around the lettering. Probably should fix that once I get the ring back. Kon never told me where his chess club meets, so I'm heading towards the fields where the cheerleaders practice. This might be easier if we wore secure communicators all the time or something, but those are a bit hard to explain to anyone who might see them by chance. Or I could just get a mobile. That might make more sense.

I hadn't really thought about it before, but neither Kon nor M'gann have been spending all that much time out of the cave. They usually come back after their extracurriculars, then we've all got our other extracurriculars... Given that the whole point of them even going to school is to give them social development and a plausible 'normal' background... Should I be encouraging them to get out more? It feels a little odd to be in that position, given my own introverted behaviour at Secondary School, but...

I see two young women carrying large kit bags across the playing field. Both are wearing.. what were they called again? Honeybees? Another thing I'd forgotten was this annoying: forgetting things. My memory is still much better than it was, but without the ring chipping in I'm relearning normal levels of recall. And they're rubbish. Anyway, probably Honeybees uniforms, yellow 'H', black sleeveless jumper with yellow rims over a white blouse and black and yellow pleated skirt. One on my left is pale skinned with short black hair and the one on my right is dark skinned with some sort of strange Mickey Mouse ears hairdo. I raise my right hand in greeting.

"Good afternoon! Can I give you a hand with those?"

They stop and look at me. Black girl tilts her head to the side. "Uh, no, we're fine. Thanks."

White girl blinks in recognition and points at me with her right hand. "I know you! You're Conner's b-friend, Paul, right?"

I perform a shallow bow. "Kon and Megan's friend, yes. They're not around, are they? I was hoping to say hello before class starts."

Black gir-. No, come on, M'gann showed me a picture... Karen! That was it! Karen and probably Wendy! Karen relaxes a little now that I'm a bit more of a known quantity. "Conner's probably still at Chess Club. Megan went to see him after our practice session."

"My friend Marvin goes there! I can show you where it is after we've dumped these bags."

"Much obliged." I hold out my right hand with a smile, and after a second's hesitation she passes me the kit bag. These are some surprisingly heavy pompoms. I sling the bag under my right arm and follow them in the direction of what I expect is the equipment shed.

"How long have you been living in Happy Harbor?"

Her eyes are a really quite intense shade of blue. "Coming up to four months now. Moved in.. would have been the eighth of July."

"How do you like it so far?"

"Oh, everyone's been very friendly. In fact, they've even repainted all the signs for me, which I thought was jolly nice."

"That was for you?" I squint my left eye at her, uncertain if she's being serious. Karen elbows her in the ribs. "Huh? Oh! Heh heh." She simpers. Karen rolls her eyes. "Um, how long have you known Conner? A-and Megan?"

"I met them shortly after I moved here." Not a small problem, actually. Without an actual secret identity it's a bit tricky to explain how I know them if I'm recognised. There are excuses I could employ but I'd rather run them past Kon and M'gann first. "So, Chess Club?"

Wendy slides open the equipment shed door and I follow Karen inside, putting the bags down on a shelf to the side. "I was a bit surprised when Marvin said Conner was going. I thought he'd be into something more, y'know, jock related."

"He's got, um, many hidden talents." There's a spluttering noise from behind me and I look around to see Karen covering her mouth with her right fist. I bow my head slightly as I smile. Chess was actually the first non-combat thing Kon took real pleasure in. I think it surprised everyone, him included. It certainly surprised Robin, who'd offered to give him a practice game.

Completely. Owned.

"Ah, this way." Karen shuts the external door behind us as I follow Wendy into the school proper. "You said you had a class?"

"Yes. A local physiotherapist is hiring one of the school's rooms to do a sports massage class. That's.. something I've been wanting to learn to do for a while, and I've got the spare time at the moment..." **M'gann, you about?**

**Hey Paul! How'd it go with Uncle J'onn?**

**Brand removed, no lingering problems that I could detect.**

I follow Wendy as she turns a corner deeper into the school.

**That's great news!**

**Yeah. Um, we're also going to have a look at-.**

"So, why is Conner so into chess?"

"There'sssss... It's kind of personal to him." I don't think 'his Human dad had the scientists who made him program it into his brain' is an answer conducive to maintaining cover.

Karen spots the oddity. "How can chess be personal?"

Ah... "One of his parents is a big fan of the game, and he doesn't get on with them very well."

"Oh. That's.. kinda sad."

"Yes, so I'd be grateful if-."

Wendy pushes open a door and... That's a lot more chess players than my Secondary School had. There must be at least twelve of them. A young man -Marvin, presumably- looks up from yikes that's a bad position to wave dejectedly at Wendy. Kon's a little further in with his back towards me, playing against an Asian girl who looks about twelve, M'gann hovering next to him. Sneaky sneaky. Trying to make as little noise as possible I walk around behind him.

"Hey Paul."

M'gann looks around as I make a fist and swing it sideways across my chest. Rats, super hearing.

"Hi Kon. How's the game going?" I nod at his opponent, who ignores me. I have no idea who's winning. Pieces removed look to be about even, but I haven't played at anything like the level he's on.

"S'okay." He glances around. "Did you talk to.. ah.. Diana. About the thing?"

"She's bringing it here after school tomorrow." I step forwards and put my right hand on his shoulder. **You know we can just talk telepathically if you want to discuss 'official' business.**

**Oh. Yeah.** He picks up a bishop and moves it into a flanking position. **And you think it'll let me fly?**

**I was in full super intelligent Ophidian mode when I made it. I can't comprehend my own thoughts, but I remember being fairly sure it would.**

**How long do you think it will take me to learn?**

**Should be fairly instinctive.**

**Is everyone else going to be there?**

**On a week night? Shouldn't think so.**

26th October
14:06 GMT

I hold out the small piece of marmalade laden toast to Jade. She raises her right eyebrow, realises that I'm being serious, rolls her eyes and leans forwards allowing me to put it delicately into her mouth. She then rather ruins the effect by masticating loudly before swallowing.

"Well? Does it meet with your approval?"

"You know, when you said you wanted to show me your body, this isn't what I thought you meant."

I take a moment to examine my exquisite new arms. Father Box might not be particularly forthcoming on every subject but it was quite eager to assist me in getting a physical form 'appropriate to my station'. Now, rather than looking like Ben Grimm's granite-faced cousin I might actually pass as Human in low light. True, I'm still noticeably larger and broader than I was in my original natural form, my skin is still grey, and my face is halfway between my original face and the one the Venom Buster gave me. But -wonder of wonders!- once more I can feel with my unaided skin, taste with my unaided tongue! And, though I out-mass every one of the League's standing members, I am now merely the size of an unusually large man and not the hulking colossus I was before.

Jade and I are sitting on a picnic blanket on a hill with truly magnificent views of the New Forest National Park in Hampshire, England. Even this late in the season I can still smell the heather flowers and beneath that the scent of damp earth. When I scouted this location out I was also able to smell a nontrivial amount of animal dung, but I removed that before bringing Jade here.

"I will be more than happy for you to study my revised body in further detail later, but... I've had a rather good week at work, and I could think of no one I would rather share my celebration with than you."

"I'm glad your week went so well. I've been tailing a senator's 'second family'. It's so boring, and she's so stupid I think she still thinks that he'll actually leave his wife for her."

"Too invested in the false belief to question it. It happens. I think I feel a little sorry for her."

"It's her own fault. If she wants to live like that-."

"No, not about the situation. That she's clearly too weak to forge her own path." I shrug. "I always think that's such a waste."

She opens the picnic basket. "Hope I'm not making Superboy jealous by monopolising you like this."

"Superboy's at school." I look up at the sky for a moment. "And, fond though I am of him, there are things that I can share with you that I just can't talk to him about."

She reaches into the basket and pulls out a tub of foie gras. "You really went all out. I'm guessing that's more than a fancy iPod."

"Ploong."

I take Father Box off my belt and hold it out to her. "Father Box is a highly sophisticated techno-organic artificial intelligence. And, unlike the power ring, he has a complete xenotechnological database."

She looks at me and then at Father Box before carefully taking him from me with her right hand.

"Ploong."

She jerks, nearly dropping him. "I... I understood that. Why did I understand that?"

"Mother Boxes and Father Boxes speak directly through your soul. The noise is just part of the carrier system."

"You said you don't have a soul."

"I don't, but the ring lets me fake it. For some purposes, anyway." That reminds me, I got into a conversation with Kaldur this morning about Atlantean trade with the surface world. I hadn't really thought about it, but I suppose it should be obvious that they would struggle to generate high purity metals by themselves. Might be an opportunity there... "What did he ask you?"

"'He'?"

"He self-identifies as masculine. I haven't asked about how they reproduce."

"I'm not.. it wasn't clear. Something about our relationship."

"Hmm. Apokolips isn't really the place for soft emotions." She passes Father Box back.

"Soft.. emotions?"

"It's... It's why I wanted to come here." I look away, taking in the panorama once more. "When I was a child I came here several times with my parents, sister and my maternal grandparents. I wanted to share this with you as well." I turn back, looking her directly in the eyes. "I love you, and I want us to have an actual relationship, not just the occasional hook up when our work schedules allow, or when we need to convince our employers that our meetings serve their interests. I don't know what.. what you had in mind..."

"Oh." Jade blinks and drops her eyes down. I don't say anything for a moment. I really... I'm really regretting scaring her as much as I did when we first met. And when we second met. I think that's the first time I've felt bad about my behaviour since coming to this insane world. The parallels between my behaviour and her father's are all too apparent. I've tried to make up for it since...

Jade rises to her hands and knees and crawls across to me, then turns to sit leaning against my left side, facing away from me. I put my left arm around her waist. "You know I'm wanted in twelve different countries, right?"

"Three." She turns her head up to look at me. "Nine might have had.. mysterious computer failures. I mean, don't walk in front of one of the investigating officers or anything..."

"Thiss... I don't even know your name."

"No one here does. I decided that not being able to say my own name was idiotic, so I've chosen a new one."

"Oh. What is it?"

"Grayven."

"That's a bit unusual."

"I think 'normalcy' pretty much passed us both by."

She shuffles a bit closer. "Yeah."

We sit in silence for a moment. I suppose what I want for us would be a big change for her. My best approach is probably to make her aware of the possibility and then not to bring it up again. "Oh, I got you a present, actually."

"Does it explode?"

"Only if you shake it just right. Here." I pull the vial forth from subspace into my right hand as I hold it out in front of her.

"I think you're supposed to put that in my drink when I'm not looking."

"Please. Like I'd need that. This, is Velocity Nine. Essentially, it's a Soviet era knock off of the formula which gave Jay Garrick his supernatural celerity. The original version had a variety of horrendous side effects, but with the ring and the aid of Father Box I've created a generation that has side effects no worse than strong coffee."

"Couldn't get the real stuff?"

"Of course I have the real stuff. If they're going to leave it in a fortified vault where just anyone might happen across it..." I chuckle. "I just can't think of a deniable way to leak it to you. Besides, would you really feel comfortable permanently altering your body like that?"

"No, I wouldn't." She takes the vial from me and looks at it. "Ra's would love to get his hands on this."

"Nnoooo. This is a gift for you. It decays quickly outside an organic body, and defies analysis within one. I'm happy to supply you with as much as you want, but you alone."

"No side effects?"

"Father Box has an extensive knowledge of alchemy, and I've trialled it on Eastern European orphans." She elbows me. "No, really. Once I was reasonably confident it would be safe I paid them to run tests. Minimal dose only. The children thought it was awesome, and the orphanage is now better funded than it's been at any point in its history. There's a second present, but it's in your maternal grandmother's house."

She frowns. "Grandma? My grandma lives in Vietnam."

"I know." I shake the vial. "Race you?"

26th October
20:11 GMT +6

"You totally cheated."

Jade's vibrating on the spot, air currents churning around her with the occasional crackle of electricity. I put the picnic basket into my subspace pocket and she took that as the signal to go.

"Ddnt."

"Did too."

I barely notice as she vanishes then cold, right in the face! I blink and brush off the snow as she watches.

"Most amusing."

"Hw?" She closes her eyes and concentrates until the vibrations cease, then opens them again. "How long does it last?"

"That depends on the dose. The amount you took gives you about four minutes at full speed, with a warm up and wind down period of about thirty seconds each. Obviously I would warn against attempting to vibrate through solid objects near the end of the time allowance. Also, don't rely on your sense of time. The accelerated perception-."

"Slows everything down. I did spot that."

I nod. "Do you like it?"

"I ran around the world three times in under a second after getting here and I'm not even tired. I watched that orange strand thing your faster than light travel uses move through the air in front of me!"

I smirk. "Is that a 'yes'?" I feel her hands at the back of my head pulling my face down before I see her, her lips pressing hard against mine. I open my mouth as the tip of her tongue rubs along my lips before pushing in. We haven't kissed like this before; quite aside from any risk with my former body there wasn't much point. I fold my arms around her back and bend forwards a little. She's still quite a bit shorter than me, and I don't want her breaking off because she lost balance. "Mm." Moments like this are what enhanced senses are made for. I can feel her heartbeat in the arteries in her lips through my own, I can smell her sweat and her preferred brand of soap, I can taste-.

"Jade, is that you?"

She jerks back, her eyes wide in shock. I remove my hands as she dashes over to face the elderly Vietnamese woman in front of whose somewhat upgraded house we have been clinching.

"Grandma?"

Missus Nguyen Thi Nhung spreads her arms wide and embraces her granddaughter, who surprises me a little by returning it immediately. Vietnam isn't a country where she's ever been wanted -in the criminal sense-, and I don't think Missus Nguyen is completely clear on her daughter's, late son-in-law's or elder granddaughter's employment. No, wait, Jade has an older cousin... Bah, I know what I mean.

"My little doe, it is so good to see you again. Your boyfriend said that you might be coming by." She pulls back a little. "He looks a bit strange, but he has a good heart, I think."

"It is good to see you too, Grandmother. Are you well?" She must be in a good mood if she didn't complain about the diminutive.

Missus Nguyen makes a face of mock disappointment. "Oh, you have not been practising your Vietnamese, have you?"

"I.. haven't been back here, not since-."

"Your grandfather's funeral, yes. Good. I would be dreadfully offended if you had been back and had just chosen not to visit me." Fixing Missus Nguyen up was a worthwhile investment in time. In terms of effort it barely cost a thing. Improving her house took a little more effort but was well within my abilities. I went for a 'prosperous Vietnamese peasant' aesthetic, rather than anything obviously western. Still stuck a geothermal power plant under the floor to power the new oven and the lights. I mean, there's trying to fit in and then there's being silly about it. "Oh, what am I keeping you both out here for? Come in, come in!" She makes a beckoning gesture at me before turning around and walking back up the steps to her front door.

I walk up behind Jade and put my arms around her once more. I hear her exhale. "I think I'm more a fox than a doe."

"I've.. certainly.. always thought of you as a bitch." She stamps on my right foot and I rub my face into her hair as I chuckle. "Still too tough for that."

She pulls free and moves to follow her grandmother up the steps. "Don't you have to go play tag with Robin, or something?"

"Not for another five hours at least." I follow after her.

"Is this my present? I mean, seeing her again is nice-."

"No, that's inside."

"Are you going to give me a clue?"

"No."

"The house looks.. different, from last time I was here." She pushes open the door and I follow her inside. "Did you do that?"

"Maybe."

"Is that it?"

"No."

Ahead of us Missus Nguyen walks through the opening to from the living area to the kitchen. "Both of you, sit down. I will put the tea on."

"Thank you Missus Nguyen."

Jade scans the room in detail. Seeing nothing of note, she sits down on a cushion on the settee. I designed it to look as if it were made largely from bamboo. It's actually entirely synthetic, though you'd need to dissect it to find that out. Similarly, the cushions look like they could have been made of leftover fabric but are water and flame resistant and unusually comfortable. I cross the room to join her.

"Still not seeing it."

"That's because-."

She blurs for a moment. "Nothing obvious in the house."

"Subspace pocket. Ring, reveal."

"By your command."

The eye piece appears on the table in front of us. I haven't gotten around to showing my team mates my new Apokolips-derived armour yet. After scrapping the disc-launcher I was able to get a grey with orange highlights suit that matched my style requirements. I can now fight clad in what is far and away the toughest armour on Earth at the moment. Can't really justify giving a suit of the stuff to Jade, sadly. I made one but it occurs to me that encouraging the League of Shadows to pick up the Apokolips contract would be a very bad idea. The visor derived eye piece, on the other hand, is just as impossible to replicate and is far less easy to identify as Apokoliptian. Especially as it doesn't have to be built in red. The one I now use is orange and Jade's comes in the same shade of green as her kimono.

"What is it, night vision?"

"Among its other modes. It also pierces magic disguises, registers and informs the user of the target's unusual abilities... I've started using one myself."

"You're.. new at giving girls presents, aren't you?"

"Um. Maybe? I can.. I mean, if you'd rather have-."

"No, I like it... How does it attach?"

"I couldn't understand the explanation. 'Very well', basically. Just hold it against-." She holds it over her right eye and presses the thin support strip to the side of her face. "That's not going to.. hold..." She pulls her hands away. Yep. I suspected, but there's a definite Dragonball Z Scouter look going on. I'd do the line but the series doesn't exist here.

Missus Nguyen walks back in with a tray supporting a teapot and three cups with saucers. She puts it down on the table before taking the seat opposite.

"So! When are the two of you getting married?"

!!!

26th October
13:06 GMT -5

"...don't see why people can't accept that they were reasonably well written but entirely of their time! They're not even that good!"

Diana and I are sitting outside a restaurant in Happy Harbour, having just finished lunch. I was interested to discover that while she prefers traditional Greek fare as far as she knows she can't put on weight. Apparently someone asked her to put her name to a diet book once. Don't think most people could copy her exercise regime.

"Alright, but I don't understand why it bothers you so much."

"It's ridiculous to give that much emphasis to one playwright! Shakespeare was the reason-" Why I didn't take English A-Level, but I can't tell her that. "-why I wasn't going to take English A-Level. Two plays for GCSE, and nothing modern. I mean, if we were going to use the qualification we'd be writing for modern audiences, not Elizabethans."

"Perhaps the British Department of Education disagrees with you about their quality. If they are still being performed after this long..."

"If longevity was the deciding factor then we should have been studying Sappho! Her work stayed on the Greek curriculum for over a thousand years, more than twice what Shakespeare's managed. "

"She didn't write in English."

"Shakespeare didn't write in modern English! The versions of the text we studied had to be annotated for us to have the slightest idea what anyone was talking about."

"Sappho is still studied on Themiscyra." No shit. "I had rather got the impression that her work hadn't survived in the rest of the world."

"Wait, you've got her complete..." She nods. "Have you ever considered doing a revival? Bringing a Themiscyran theatre troupe over and doing a few readings? I'd have thought that the notion that the greatest Greek poet in history was being forgotten -especially given that she was a woman- would be something Amazons would be a little more exercised over."

"She was a playwright as well, actually." She rests her right elbow on the table and her chin on her palm. "There.. might be interest on Themiscyra in doing something like that." She nods. "I think it would be worthwhile sharing her unknown work with the world. I'll speak to Mother about it."

"If they need someone to show them around I'd be happy to volunteer myself."

"They'll certainly need a translator. Few other Amazons speak any English, and only a handful have been to America before."

I take a sip from my milk glass. Across the road, a man sees Diana, stares, and walks into a lamp post. One of his friends offers him a hand up as passersby try to smother their amusement. I've never actually seen that happen in real life before. It's true that even in casual clothing she's a strikingly beautiful woman, but after spending this much time around her I am somewhat less stunned by her appearance than I was when we first met. I suppose a person can adjust to almost anything, given time. I nod in his direction. "Does that sort of thing happen a lot?"

"I've learned to tune it out. I seem to remember that you were somewhat distracted when we first met."

I shrug. "I'd never met a woman as muscular as you before. And I was still new to superhero costumes."

She raises her eyebrows and gives me a knowing smile. I take another drink. "Giovanni told me that your time with the Ophidian resulted in you getting a soul."

I look down at the case on the ground next to her seat. "We don't actually know it was the Ophidian. It might just have been the tattoos. Or the combination."

"Did Father Mattias try to convert you?"

"Not really. Though he did say I'd be better off with his god than with yours."

"Oh really? What's wrong with my gods?"

"Um... How accurate are the myths, exactly?"

"It varies. Which one do you have in mind?"

"Medusa. The thing with Poseidon-?"

"That was..." She exhales. "Athena did not turn Medusa into a serpent-woman as a punishment. She did so in the hope that Poseidon would lose interest."

"And did she turn her back afterwards?"

"Poseidon is more powerful. If turning her back had been possible he would have done it."

"Alright. Did it work?"

"No."

"So Poseidon goes on the-" I look out to sea for a moment. "-dick list. How about Ares?"

A wry smile. "As far as most Amazons are concerned Ares is the very definition of dick."

"Why bother with him then?"

"The gods represent all parts of both the world and Human nature. Though we may wish it otherwise, we are a warlike species and it is a habit we must strive constantly to overcome. Pretending otherwise would be foolish."

"So.. why don't you just replace him?"

"It.. isn't really up to us."

"Why not? I mean, the Amazons are basically the only people who worship the Olympians anymore, and there's plenty of decent war gods out there. How about Tyr? He's alright."

"He isn't.. part of the same family."

"That isn't a reason not to bring him in. And if it's really a problem.. well, Athena's still single, right?"

Her mouth drops open. "I'm not going to try-." She suppresses a chuckle. "To try and persuade the goddess of wisdom to.. to 'hook up' with a Viking god to satisfy your desire to play musical pantheons!"

"Persuade? Wait. Aphrodite or someone has had a chat with her, right? She does know people don't normally spring fully formed from their fathers' foreheads."

She bows her head slightly, unable to trust herself to respond. "I don't-. I don't think-."

"Ooh. Right. Amazons. Got it. I think Sekhmet's single." A splutter. "You know, if gods aren't her thing. She's got a bit of a temper, but get some beer in her and she's a real pussycat."

"Haahahahaha!"

"Athena's an adult, she can make her own choices. Or maybe Hera."

"H-Hera isn't single."

"She's married to the god of adultery. She doesn't really get anything out of being queen at this point so-."

"He... Lord Zeus doesn't behave like that anymore. One of the advantages of not having so many worshippers. Not that I'm excusing him, but their marriage is now one of genuine love and respect."

Eh? "Sir, did you read that file on potential future recruits I handed to Batman?"

She frowns. "I'm not... Just the records of those eligible now. Why do you ask?"

"Cassandra Sandsmark, aged eight. Natural daughter of Doctor Helena Sandsmark and Zeus, King of Olympus."

"That's impossible."

"She has super strength, fortitude and can fly a bit. Genetic comparison to a sample of Ares' blood left on one of your spears suggests a close genetic relationship and there's a picture of what I believe to be Zeus' Human-seeming form stored on the computer. I took it from surveillance footage on the cruise ship where they met. In Greek waters, if you're wondering."

All trace of humour is gone from her face. She stands up suddenly, lantern-case in hand. "I'm going to confirm this for myself."

26th October
13:27 GMT -8

There wasn't a zeta tube close to Gateway City, so Diana elected for us to travel there in her jet. We sat in silence the whole way. I'm not.. sure exactly how big a deal this is, either to her or in general. I'm sitting on a bench on the other side of the road from Cassandra's school. Through the window I can see her, and every so often I get a flicker of her white light core. It looks a bit like an Australian aboriginal painting, with everything else hung off it. I think. It's been a while since Dot and the Kangaroo.

Diana went to talk to Doctor Sandsmark over an hour ago. I think I should be feeling bad about it. No. I think this is something I would have felt bad about, and I certainly empathise with her, but the self blame I expected isn't there. I certainly didn't intend to seriously undermine her faith in her gods. At this point all of their personal failures are sort of out there. Zeus' habitual infidelity isn't something they weren't aware of…

I hear someone sit down at the other end of the bench. "You were right."

I turn my head in Diana's direction, noting that the box is still with her. "I know. Um. Sorry about that."

She shakes her head. She looks.. tired? Not sure. "You have nothing to be sorry for. You were not the one who betrayed your wife."

"I'm not sorry for doing it. I'm sorry for the outcome. I mean, I don't know exactly what it will be..."

"Either Lady Hera will leave him, or..."

"Or based on past form, simply accept it." She grimaces. "What do you intend to do now?"

"One of the charities I am a patron of works with young metahumans to hone their abilities. If Cassandra is as strong as I was at her age then she will need guidance and training. I offered to work with her myself. Doctor Sandsmark was.. less than keen."

"Is that going to be a problem?"

"Doctor Sandsmark was the student of an old friend of mine, and they're still in touch. I think I can talk her around, once she's had time to get used to the idea."

"Did she know it was Zeus..?"

"When they met?" I nod. "He told her who he was. She said she thought he was joking."

"That was probably more likely."

She finally turns her head to look me in the eyes. "How did you find her?"

I see a flicker of white. Yep, same basic look as Cassandra, though more... bass. There's more depth to it. "I didn't know Zeus was supposed to have sworn off.. well... I looked for reports of metahuman abilities, followed up on them. In her case there weren't any obvious metahuman genetic markers, her mother is an expert in Greek archaeology and I had Ares' genetic code on file."

She nods, and goes back to staring straight ahead. "I had meant to spend this afternoon asking you about your time with the Ophidian."

"I imagine that you remember it better than I do."

"You mentioned to Giovanni and Father Mattias that you think you are different now. Given how you responded to J'onn not being aware of his student's abilities..."

"Good point. Alright. I find prioritising easier. Rather than having to spend an hour a day going through all of my desires I'm constantly aware of all of them all of the time. The intrapsychic conflict that.. used to mess me up just isn't there anymore."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Oh, I'll do the meditation thing once I get the ring back. Assuming I'm getting it back, of course."

"And if you don't?"

I shrug. "The lantern's mine after a year. I don't want to have to sue the Justice League to get hold of it, but I would. Then, I'd forge myself a new ring."

"I thought you said that you didn't think you'd be able to do that."

"Forge a ring?" She nods. "It's hard, but as I said, I don't think focus will be a problem for me anymore. Isss.. that likely to be necessary?"

"I don't think so. You wouldn't be the first person associated with the Justice League to have their mind altered by an external influence. We've never held it against the people involved before. Giovanni offered to try to communicate with the Ophidian to be able to make a better assessment but J'onn and the Green Lanterns thought that would be unwise to say the least."

"I'm not... They might be right. I don't completely understand why the Ophidian's being this relaxed about the situation. Sir, about Larfleeze..."

"The Guardian embargo will remain in place until we can confirm that you are safe with your ring and that the Ophidian is indeed where we believe it to be. Once it's lifted, I know Hal intends to press them quite strongly for information. From what you were saying about Larfleeze I'm not sure there is much we could do to prepare."

"Could actually end up being really inconvenient for me, if the Guardians make a grab for the Orange Central Power Battery. Not as bad as Larfleeze going on a rampage, of course."

"From what I know of the Guardians they are unlikely to break their agreement with him, even if the reason for making it no longer applies. I imagine that they'll be monitoring the region far more closely just in case." She looks at me quizzically. "Before you bonded with the Ophidian, were you really planning to fight Larfleeze in the name of your Controllers?"

"Yes. I mean, I wasn't just going to charge in there. There are exploitable weaknesses in any system, and since beating him is in the Controllers' interests I expected them to be both helpful and well motivated. Speaking of exploitable weaknesses... What are the Watchtower's defences against magic like?" I remember during the Justice League comic with the League of Ancients that Jason Blood was called in to serve on the League while the main members were sent backwards in time. He was disturbed to learn that there weren't any and so put some in place himself. He's on the list of League possibles I gave Batman but he seems to be completely into his cover identity and I haven't seen any recent record of Morgana le Fay being active in the recent past.

"Giovanni put in a ward against scrying-" Ahah! "-but your Spell Eater is much more potent."

"That needs to be fixed. I'll pencil it in for next week, shall I?"

She smiles faintly. "We'll see. Are your own thought processes the only thing to have been affected?"

"No. Other things have changed too. You know I could sense the desires of others?"

"Yes."

"It's not just desire now. That's still most precise, but if I look at someone and make a little effort, I can see all the colours of the emotional spectrum, like coloured lines in their skin."

"What colors do you see when you look at me?"

"A mix of green, blue, indigo and violet. So, you know, HEY!"

That got a chuckle. "Will, hope, compassion and love. Kind of you to say so."

"It's not that you can't feel other things, it's that they aren't a fundamental part of your nature." I check my watch. "We should probably start back if we want to be in time for Kon's training session. Kaldur's volunteered to try out the flying belt thing as well."

She nods and rises to her feet. "Before we go, I received a letter for you at the embassy."

"Do you want me to start going through my fan mail again?"

"This wasn't fan mail. It was an invitation to dinner."

"Well, some of them-."

"From Lex Luthor."

26th October
19:43 GMT -5

"Okay, so I was wrong about no one else turning up."

"Y'think?"

Kon and I are lumbering through the air above the training area. Doing this outside wasn't really an option, and trying it in a room with a large body of water covering the floor didn't seem like a good idea. Kon got the hang of flying in a straight line fairly quickly and can hover just fine, but turning, manoeuvring and going slowly are still eluding him. I remember the comic in which Superman fought Preus; you tend to go where you're looking. For my own part, I'm finding this WAAGH! Okay, okay. Stable again. I'm finding it a lot harder than power ring flight. The controls are meant to be instinctive but the lack of AI support means you have to do everything manually. When I get the ring back I'm going to give it a thank you polish. I can fly forwards and turn, but trying to hover is an exercise in sea sickness. And forget flying backwards.

"I find the solution is not to fight the controls." Which Kaldur is managing just fine. No, better than that. He's taken to it like a fish to water. Ugh, I feel bad for even thinking that. He floats past us and comes to a gentle stop. "Kon, how are you finding the armor?"

"It's great! I just need-." He shoots up into the ceiling, hits his head hard "OW!" on the entrance to Red Tornado's quarters and spins away before getting himself back under control. "Did you make a helmet for this?"

"Sorry."

I hear gentle feminine laughter from below. We all look down to see M'gann cover her mouth with her right hand. She isn't participating in this exercise, saying that she was perfectly content with autolevitation. Wallace is standing next to her, holding an ice pack to his head. Turns out that kinetic energy manipulation belts don't mix with super speed. He got a little cocky when he got the hang of medium speed while Kon and I were still taking it slowly, tried going flat out and bounced off three walls at the speed of sound before crashing into the ground.

Zatanna seems to be enjoying herself, though she lost control of her yaw axis when she tried going above jogging pace. Thing is, I can't be sure that all of these belts are really identical. It's quite possible that the Ophidian and I decided to try slight variations and I just no longer remember what they are. That's the only thing I can think of to explain why Artemis is still upside down. I did start asking if she had the belt the right way up but she growled at me so I decided to back off. She should be having some sort of circulation problem about now, but she's not wearing the collar and I think the formula is keeping her going.

Diana is watching over us with fascination, Guy with amusement and Hawkman and Hawkwoman are watching Kon like.. a...

You know what? I'm not going to finish that.

Just Teekl, Wolf and Robin missing. Teekl's been avoiding me since I split from the Ophidian, though M'gann says that she's still around. Wolf's probably curled up in her basket in Kon's room. She's a lot less mobile without her feline bearer. Robin... I haven't seen him since I Dannered him. I was sort of hoping that he'd come to this...

Alright, another go. Nice easy arc around.. yes.. do a loop... Oh, these things don't maintain relative down. You need to get a bit of speed going or the pull of natural gravity feels really weird. Maybe the problem is my own expectations? I've gone soft training with the easy mode ring? I've got to say, I'm starting to really respect what Ms Ervin has been able to accomplish with this thing. Okay. Accelerate, yep, there's the purple aura. You tend to go where you're looking but OW! Foot! You need to bear in mind where the rest of your body is. Ow.

"Alright, playtime's over kids!" Guy starts to raise his right hand, makes eye contact with me and stops, clasping it to his left behind his back. Six tiny green filaments rise from the floor before terminating in a series of glowing green rings. A circuit. None are too close together, but they're all at different heights and angles. With the ring I could go through them in seconds. Faster if I was allowed to just FTL plot the whole thing. This is not going to be quite so easy. "Who's goin' first!?"

Artemis pushes herself upright by grabbing onto a rocky outcrop on the wall. "I think Wally should have first try, since he's sooo fast."

"Oh, hah hah."

"Well, Kaldur is our.. team leader." Oh, I shouldn't have said that. That just means-.

"But you designed the belts." Kaldur doesn't smile when he says it, but I think that's just because he's got better self control than me. I'd be smiling.

"I didn't actually design... Fine." Where's the first..? I spot it, high up near the ceiling. High speed surge aaaaand bubble. Dowh! Okay, using the force field bubble functions to stop suddenly works, but it doesn't kill off all of your momentum. I'll remember that. I take a mid air bow as my team mates laugh at my expense.

"You ready up there?!"

I don't usually fly in the swimmer pose, but I haven't managed to make anything else work with this belt yet. I take a moment to plot the route. Down hard and shallow right turn to ring two, forwards and upturn to ring three then immediate loop down to ring four. Back up high and right turn to ring five then down and angle for the finish. Deep breath. "As ready as I'm likely to get!"

"I'll start the clock when you go through the first ring!"

Face the direction of travel. Face the direction of travel. Deep breath. Aaand dive through the ring, face the floor and accelerate down, turn my face slightly early don't look at the ring don't look at the ring yes! It worked! Turn towards the ceiling again and through the next turn turn turn agh! Damn it! Right, not working, to the ceiling, kick off, better, down through four, land -this is costing me so much time- aim and up to ring five, simple enough, then dive down again, turn a little, and through! I twist in the air to convince the belt to deal with my momentum.

"How did I do?"

"Twenty three point seven two seconds. 'Part from the flip over you didn't do too bad." Not exactly high praise, but I'll take it. "Okay, who's next?"

"Ooh! I'll have a try!" Zatanna smiles broadly before aiming herself at the first ring. "Tleb og retsaf! Ah! Pots! Pots!" She slams to a halt what looks like inches from the rocky ceiling, arms and legs splayed. Maybe I should look into getting it padded? "Heh. Heh." Turning her head, she slowly edges away and back towards the ring. "So I just.. go?"

"Whenever you're ready!"

She flies through the first ring, loops up slightly, sights the second and spirals anticlockwise down towards it, goes past before completing an anticlockwise circle and going through it, leisurely turns up through three, stops dead, then drops down through four. Then up- "A elttil tib retsaf!" -accelerates, fails to make the turn and bounces off the ceiling before passing through the ring the wrong way, realises what she's done, goes back through it and then down to the ground and jogs through the finish. "How did I do?"

"Forty one point five four." She seems happy with that. Wait. Are they all assuming I know how to use this because I normally fly? "Next!"

"Superboy." Hawkwoman gets his attention. "Why don't you give that armor a try?"

"Uhh. Okay." He sights the first ring, crouches slightly in the air and he's there. "You all might want to get back a bit." I catch Zatanna's eye and we take refuge next to the zeta tubes.

"I wasn't really watching what he was doing. Is he really..?"

"Like an American sports car. Great in a straight line, crap at corners. Should be fun to watch though."

Kon blurs through the first ring, blurs down, stops hard, blurs through ring two, stops dead under ring three, shoots up diagonally through it, stops again, down through four, blurs up and straight into the roof, rock and dust raining down. Zatanna and I wince, but he's still going, wobbling a little as he passes through ring five before dropping like a stone to just above floor level, reorienting, and shooting through ring six and slamming to a halt just ahead of us. I take a half step back just in case. He looks a little shocked himself.

"Fifteen point eight five. New course record to the Kryptonian." Kon smiles and nods his head in satisfaction. "And you can fix the roof when we're done." He lands with a grimace. "Next!" Kaldur and Artemis look at each other. She aims herself at the first ring, pushes off the wall and promptly flips over.

"Stupid belt!"

"Aqualad, looks like you're up!"

He nods and flies up to ring one under perfect control.

The git.

"Recognised, Robin, B zero one."

Huh?

26th October
19:49 GMT -5

The interior of the left zeta tube glows brilliantly for a moment then dims, revealing Robin in casual clothing. He starts to walk out, trademarked grin in place, then makes eye contact with me and stops.

"Zatanna, could you give us a moment?"

"Um. Sure. I'll just go and.. um.." She points to the other side of the training area and starts walking away. I take a few paces back myself and Robin comes fully into the room.

"Nineteen point oh nine! Artemis, you joining in?"

"Yes! Just... Aaaaaagh!"

"Simetra nrut revo!"

"Wohw! Ah, thanks Zatanna!"

Robin looks around the room, then back at me. "Um."

"Robin, I want to apologise for what I did, altering your body like that. And also for anything else I've forgotten about while the Ophidian-."

"I thought that wasn't you you."

"It sort of was, sort of wasn't. The impetus came from me, the Ophidian wouldn't care about you enough to do anything like that. Uh. Ordinarily I'd offer to make you a power suppression collar like I made Artemis-"

"Thirty six point two three!"

"I'm going again!"

"-but I don't have access to the ring until Saturday at least..."

He holds out his right arm and pulls back his sleeve, revealing a suppression manacle. "I spent a few days putting these together. Figured they'd be less noticeable than a collar."

"Might be right. I just thought..." I shake my head. Yes, they occupy a larger area and feel more awkward but they'd be easier to cover with clothes. Especially if you didn't want people knowing that you were a metahuman. "How are you coping? With the.. augmentation."

He sighs and looks over to our supervisors. "Killer Croc punched me in the face and broke three fingers." Oh.. kay..? "I hate that you changed me without even asking how I felt about it, but the reality of having these powers? It's great. The more I think about it, the less I can deny it." He shuffles his feet. "When I was trying to get inside the alien space ship in the training scenario, I didn't even stop to think about it shooting me. Not really. Then, zap. No more me. It just really brought home how dangerous what we do is."

Shit. "I assumed.. you'd been injured before. I mean, Gotham isn't exactly..."

"Bruises, scrapes. A couple of knife wounds and I broke my leg once. I've never been disintegrated. I get into a fight now and I don't think there's anyone in Gotham who can hurt me."

"Well, at the point where that happened we all still knew it was just a training session."

"That's not the point. Batman always says to treat training sessions as if they're the real thing, and I do." He looks at the ground. "And... I'm sorry, but it's not just the enemy. You and.. and the Ophidian, you changed my whole body in a second. You didn't even have to try hard. I used to just laugh when I heard someone asking how a guy with no powers like Batman made it on the Justice League. Now I.. I can sort of see where they're coming from. It's just.. there wasn't anything I could have done to stop you."

"Twenty nine point six two! Gettin' better! Hey, Paul, you-!? Uh. Superboy, you goin' again?!"

"Robin, if I could take it back, I would. If... About the power level thing... You're not going to match the DPS I can put out, or that Kon can. We're not like Wallace where you can keep up by being more intelligent. Batman can't speed blitz with the Flash or Superman either. His skills.. his utility, and yours, lie in a different area. And it's not like anyone else could have stopped me when I was with the Ophidian either."

"I thought the Green Lanterns..."

"Is that what they're saying?" I glance over at Guy. "They got the drop on me and still only managed ten seconds before I had their rings off their fingers. They 'won' by rejecting their own desires and so making it impossible for the Ophidian to help them."

"How's Artemis handling it?"

"Reasonably well. I think she still believes that the divide between normal me and the Ophidian was.. more than it actually was, but... I think I'd pretty much sold her on the augmentation thing anyway, and my relationship with her was... I mean, you and me got on okay, but..." He nods. "Look, if there's anything I can do to make up for it..."

"Thirteen point eight four! Easy when you don't crash, huh, Superboy!"

"I don't... I don't think there's anything. I don't think this is something you can just make up."

I exhale. "You and me, are we going to be able to work together? I have no intention of repeating that.. whole thing, but I'll understand-."

"No, that's..." He shakes his head. "I know you thought it was helping, but you wouldn't have waited as long as you did with Artemis if you'd have considered forcing it on us without the Ophidian messing with your priorities. The other stuff... That's just something I'm going to have to work out."

"I'll owe you then." He nods, and starts to walk slowly in the direction of Wallace. I follow. "Diana said that she was going to offer you and Artemis lessons in how to fight at your new strength level."

"Yeah, Batman said. I tried doing a circuit in the gym back home, and all of my instincts were off. It's gunna be a while before I can really use my new strength."

"Are you here for that now?"

"Pff, no. Wally phoned me about the flying belts. No way I'm missing this."

Guy half turns, and a belt appears in the air just in front of Robin, who catches it. "You up next?"

"You bet!" Wallace trudges in our direction. "Hey, Wally, why're you down here?"

"Don't ask."

"Ooookay." Robin looks over the belt, then puts it around his waist and fastens it. This one has an 'R' belt buckle. Did I make it for him? No idea.

"Tap the buckle three times for normal activation. Oh, and if the rest of us are anything to go by you might want to turn your suppressors off."

He gives me a characteristic insolent smile. "Turned them off before I got here." He crouches then uncoils, leaping high into the air and not coming down as the belt activates.

"Glad Rob's enjoying himself. You two talked things out?"

"As much as we can, I suppose."

"Good, that's.. good. Um. Hey, Oh El?" Wallace has sidled right up to me, and is making a point of looking across the room. Okay..?

"Yyyess?"

"Sorta been meaning to ask. When you fixed my arm, did you.. you know, do anything else?”

I frown. "I didn't intend to. I don't have to precisely tell the ring what I want it to do, just a rough impulse... Why, is there some sort of problem? If you tell me what it is I'm sure I can fix-."

"Aaaah.” His eyes flick down to the ground, and he fidgets slightly. "Nnnoo. It's fine. I think I'll just go, um, talk to M'gann."

"Oh.. kay?" I watch him wander off, ice pack still held against his forehead. Wonder what that was about. Not being able to come up with anything I walk over to where the Leaguers are standing.

"Kon seems to be adapting well to the armor."

I flash Diana a quick smile. "Good thing too. Not like I can modify it."

"Did you plan to make armor for everyone?"

"No. M'gann wouldn't be able to shapeshift, Wallace wouldn't be able to run... I think you were probably next on my list."

"I already have armor."

"Sir... How can I put this? I understand that your armour is made of orichalcum. I know that it has so many protective spells on it that a mortal magician would get a migraine trying to make sense of them, and I know that wearing it allows you to take an anti-tank rocket to the chest and barely feel it. But you have to accept that it looks like a leotard and even I don't understand why it doesn't cover your arms or legs."

"Hey!" Guy turns from my airborne team mates to point at me with his right index finger. "Wondy's armor's fine the way it is."

She gives him a slightly surprised smile. "Why, thank you, Lantern Gardner."

"You convince her to cover up some and you'll earn the hate of every red blooded man on the planet." He thinks for a moment. "An' I reckon more than a few o'the women. There's a place for fancy armor and there's a place for leotards. And that place is on Wonder Woman, capisce?"

26th October
21:49 GMT -5

I lean against the end of the row of lockers as I take off my socks, leaving me naked. Everyone else is still practising their flying in the training area so I've got time to have my shower before the others get down here. Another thing I miss about the ring, not having the automatic cleaning function. Guy left about half an hour ago, saying he was a couple of hours ahead and needed his beauty sleep. I still can't fly anything like as well with the belt as I can with the ring, but I can fly competently with it now and that's really all I need. Kaldur's still a little better, Robin and Zatanna about as good and Artemis is still a little worse. I wonder how practical it is for Kaldur to add the belt to the Ocean Master armour. It would work easily with his original gear... Wait. How water resistant is it? Okay, I'll have to suggest not wearing it under water until I can check.

Kon was flying circles around the rest of us at the end. Not sure whether his top speed is higher than ours or he was just less afraid of ramming into the walls. Since it went so well Diana wants to take him out for a 'real' flight tomorrow evening. I was a bit concerned that the Hawks might try and claim the armour in the name of Thanagar or something, but they seemed more interested in the techniques I used to make it than in the suit itself. I suppose that makes sense; one suit of armour isn't that big a deal but a non-Thanagarian supplier would threaten their monopoly. I explained what I could remember about making it to them, which wasn't much. Don't think I ever read any comic where the Hawks were the focus, except a bit of a Justice Society storyline where Hawkwoman reincarnated without her past life memories and became romantically involved with someone other than her predecessor's still-living husband. Don't think that applies here. Hawkwoman doesn't seem to be much like the Hawkgirl from Justice League Animated either.

I walk into the shower area and pick the shower to the left of the door. Seems simple enough, one knob for hot and another for cold. Huh. Hadn't really thought about it before, but this room's really big. Even allowing for a reasonable amount of personal space you could probably fit an extra row of showers down the middle without it being crowded. The shower spacing along the walls is about what I'd expect, so... Why'd they make it this big? And.. why were there that many lockers? Three banks on each side, two lots of eight per bank... Ninety six lockers? And that's just the men. How much recruiting are they planning on doing?

Right. First rule of using an unfamiliar shower: stand to the side when you turn the hot water on, and let it run for a bit before adjusting the temperature. I make sure I'm out of spray range and turn the hot knob three wrist twists anticlockwise. I'm not sure why the League went for a central boiler system when they originally built these; giving each shower its own heating element would be far more efficient. Didn't occur to me to ask Lantern Stewart when we rebuilt the place, but now I'm actually having to use it... Okay, constant and rather hot temperature achieved, now the cold... And I forgot the soap. Too used to just being able to make things appear. Right. Leave that running, nip back to the lockers, pick up the soap and shampoo... There's no soap dish. Right. Second thing I'm doing once I get the ring back is fixing this stuff. Under the water, rub up a lather, step slightly out so the water doesn't wash away the soap, put the soap down and soap my arms.

Doesn't look like the ring not maintaining my physique has produced noticeable decay yet. I joined Kaldur in the gym this morning but I'm not in the habit and I don't think I could keep up the sort of regimen he does. I mean, if I found exercise interesting or pleasurable I wouldn't have needed the ring to rebuild me in the first place, would I? Arms done, rinse them off... Hm, nothing like flying around a room lined with metal and rock at high speed with a xenotech flight belt you barely understand to make you sweat. Torso next. Good thing about having short hair is that I don't have to do what I used to do and sort of stick it in a lump on the top of my head with shampoo to keep it out of the way. Right, rinse the front-.

"Oh, hey Paul." I drop the soap. I'm facing the wall, and Kon just walked in the shower room. He's probably naked right now. "Didn't think you used these showers."

"No ring. Um. Have to clean myself the normal way."

"Oh, right." I hear his footsteps on the damp floor. He's.. oh. He walks around behind me then turns and takes the shower next to me. I keep staring at the wall, moving my soapy hands over my back as I try to work out what to do next. Naked anyone else would just be a little awkward. This is...

The squirting noise causes me to instinctively turn to my right as Kon drops his shower gel bottle to the floor and begins.. rubbing.. himself. Definitely larger pectoral muscles than me. I turn back to the wall, and then turn further to let the water rinse my back off. Turns out, perfect awareness of my own desires doesn't cover either unfamiliar social dynamics or other emotions. Normally after my torso I clean my genitals but he's right there. I don't know what the protocol for this sort of situation is. I feel my desire to avoid giving offence, but I don't know what might make that happen. For the lack of something else to do I crouch down and pick up the shampoo bottle. Of course, he's probably well used to this sort of thing by now.

"You have any plans for the rest of your week off?"

"Tomorrow, I'm having Mister Constantine do a check up on my soul, maybe modify the tattoos a bit." Super strength scry ward please. If it was good enough for the Shadows it's good enough for me. I put a blob of shampoo on my right hand and rub it in as I duck back down to return it to the floor. Huh. I can feel the heat from Kon's shower from here. I suppose turning just one knob is slightly quicker and his augmented toughness means that the hot water doesn't hurt him. "You know how magic messes me up, so that's probably Thursday occupied as well. Then on Friday, Lex Luthor's invited me for dinner."

"Luthor! You're not going to go, are you?"

"Don't see why not." Both hands in my hair now. "He's not going to have me killed when everyone knows where I am."

"What do you think he wants?"

"No idea. I mean, he'll probably start by thanking me for Taipei again then.. I don't know.. try and sound me out about some sort of cooperative venture?" Diana was having kittens about it but couldn't be more precise than 'he's up to something'. I mean of course he's up to something, he's Lex Luthor, but just because it serves his interests doesn't mean that it doesn't also serve mine.

"But.. if he did try something, you haven't got your ring. Shouldn't you.. I don't know.. try and reschedule or something?"

"I've got the belt." I tilt my head back into the water stream and use my fingers to assist in removing the lather. "If it really comes to it I can just fly through the window, but I don't seriously think it will. Look-." I turn my head left to meet his eyes.. and he's facing me. Completely facing me. Meeting his eyes takes a moment. Looks like Cadmus didn't cir-. No. Stopping that right there. "Um. I really don't think there's any need to worry about it." A flash of Ophidivision shows me the violet of his feelings for me. Fluffy violet, rather than the more spiky kind I've come to associate with romantic relationships after seeing it in the Hawks. The underlying yellow of his fear of rejection and isolation has almost completely been displaced by blue. That's good, but the violet thing makes me realise that building a romantic relationship with him would be a very long term endeavour. On the other hand, if a full frontal didn't put me off then I don't think I have to worry about any lingering heterocentrism. "So, um, what's up with you?"

"I took Wolf to play outside for the first time this afternoon. She seemed to like it, but she got tired out kind of quick. Oh, um... You know when you were.. possessed..?"

"I'm not likely to forget it, Kon." I bend and start soaping my right leg.

"Well.. M'gann took it really hard. I.. tried to make her feel better. You know, like you did for me..."

"Good for you."

"And we're... Well, we're kinda dating."

I freeze for a moment. Looks like someone didn't have my reservatio-. No, that's not fair. I remember her being in a right old state last week. "How do you mean 'kind of' dating?"

"We haven't actually gone anywhere yet. I mean, we've kissed and stuff..."

I'm.. happy for him. Them. I really am. In desire terms.. no, I really don't have any problem with my team mates being together. That just makes them both more appeal-. Oh dear. Another look at his face. Kon looks a little uncertain. Normally when he's this like this I give him a hug, but that doesn't seem quite as appropriate when we're both naked and soapy.

"Well. Good for you." He perks up as I smile. "Both of you. I'd try offering advice but.. I.. don't really have any..."

"Really?" He raises his left arm and rubs gel along his left side. "I thought.. you and Artemis..."

"I did say it wasn't a date."

"Okay. What about that assassin girl you keep visiting?"

"No. I mean, on that basis you could try and make out that I was dating Thomas Beresford." I pause in soaping my left leg. "I'm not, by the way. Um, suppose you could try reading up on Martian culture, so you'll know what she's expecting?" She'll have shown him her natural form, right? Agh, maybe I need to talk to her about this as well.

Now, to crotch or not to crotch?

27th October
10:22 GMT

Ugh... Too... Early...

I'm just about keeping myself awake in the back of Mister Chandler's cab. This is the first time I've actually felt jet lag and it's rubbish. My team mates left or went to bed at a sensible time but I decided not to. No. Diana said that she'd appreciate it if I could sort through the League's various trophies and artefacts to prioritise them for further study. She said to do it 'if I had time' and that there was 'really no rush'. So I stay up until half past midnight reading up on what they have, completely forgetting that a half past ten meeting in the UK is five hours earlier in the US.

"...apart from that one time when Sir Cyril ran over Mickey D's bonnet, but that doesn't really count..."

Fortunately the seat is hard, the suspension is stiff and Mister Chandler hasn't stopped talking since he picked me up. Not sure whether it's professional pride or he's covering nerves. I got the zeta tube from the mountain to London, walked about a hundred metres through a run down industrial estate and phoned him. We should get to the Tate Club early, not that I really think anyone there will mind. I suppose I could have flown but I didn't really want to draw that amount of attention without the ring on for protection. Sure, I have the belt, but part of last night's binge involved me acquainting myself with its weakness. Only stops kinetic force. Heat, light and electricity go straight through it. And magic, presumably. Even if I have some sort of spiritual presence now I'm sure that Mister Zatara would have said something if it looked strong enough to just tank arcane effects. I'll get John to check just in case, but I'm probably only as 'magical' as the average person here.

"...are you seeing those Tate weirdos for anyway?"

"Hmm? S-sorry, drifted a bit there. What did you say?"

"I mean, John's a mate, but I wouldn't trust the rest of them further than I can spit. Don't you lot have that Zatara guy handling your magic stuff for you?"

"Not really his field of expertise, I'm afraid. I asked in Atlantis but it turns out that it isn't really theirs, either. Besides, John's already done what I want done to me at least once. Easier getting him to do it again than trying to get someone else to work out how."

I watch the rear view mirror and spot him taking a look at me and giving an amused smile. "Hey, late night mate?"

"Uuhm. US time." I shake my head. "And if Helen of Troy's face launched a thousand ships Diana of Themiscyra's could easily make a man forget he had a meeting tomorrow."

"Wait. You telling me you and Wonder Woman..?"

"Uh? No." I shake my head. "She's my mentor. She asked me to do some research when I got a moment, unnn..."

"Thought you were gunna be a bigger bullshitter than John for a mo'. Anyway-" We pull up to the pavement and stop. We'd been slowing down but I'd sort of just assumed that was London traffic. "-we're here. Call it thirty quid."

I take a gold coin from my jacket pocket, reach forwards between the front seats and hold it out. It's one of the US ones, so he can easily change it to pounds sterling. He looks back and takes it from me.

"Renee said she wouldn't mind me doing more work for you in future." He turns the coin around in his hand. "Do.. y'know.. Justice League people usually tip like this?"

"Well, they're mostly Americans so it's.. fifteen percent pretty much the whole time. Batman tips big and on the few occasions Red Tornado actually orders something he writes out a full report and does an itemised tip based on how good he thought the experience was." Didn't see it myself, but Diana shared a story from the Justice Society days when they all went to a Chinese restaurant, and apparently he still does it. "Actually, if you're not prebooked or anything..?"

"You want me to pick you up when you're done?"

"No. Magic.. messes me up. I'm probably going to be fairly out of it when we finish here. I've booked a hotel room but I'm going to need someone to take me there, stick me in bed and hang around just in case I need anything." I shrug. "Bit rubbish, but if you're up for it I'll pay you well for your trouble."

He thinks for a moment. "When you say 'messes you up'..?"

"A bit like I'm drunk or high."

"You gonna throw up or something?"

"Haven't before, but maybe. Um. Sorry."

"Wouldn't be the first time. Mind if I stick some sheets down?"

"Makes no difference to me. If it happens I'm going to be too out of it to remember."

"Err. You're not going to get, like, supervillains attacking you or anything?"

"Don't think so, but just in case..." I take a card out from my inner jacket pocket. "This's got Green Lantern two eight one four B's mobile number."

He takes it lightly between right forefinger and thumb, looking a little lost. "Right..."

"He should be available all day, and he's just about the only one who could get here quick enough. Look, it probably won't come to that, but I like to prepare just in case. Unlike... You know..."

"John."

"Well. … Yes."

He thinks for a moment. "And how much..?"

The small bag chinks down on the seat next to him. He looks at it and purses his lips. "Right. You hop out now, I'll be back in about half an hour. You won't be finished by then, will you?"

"Doubt it. I'm expecting this to be an all day thing." I shuffle over to the left side of the seat and open the door. The outside of the club doesn't look like much. Same dull grey stone as the rest of the street with a frankly cheap looking sign over what I assume is a recent addition: a sort of shelter over the steps leading up to the main entrance. "See you in half an hour. John'll be in there if you can't get hold of me." I step out of the car and slam the door behind me. Mister Chandler pulls away as I contemplate the building some more. Bars over the first, second and third floor windows, and a general feeling that it could do with a bit of a clean. According to John London's got the most magic users per head of population of any city in Europe. Or North America. And this is where they hang out. You'd never know to look at it.

I'm still a little early, but there isn't anything else for me to do. I walk across the narrow pavement, up the steps and push open the door.

"Yes?" The uniformed concierge just inside the door isn't the same man as last time I was here. John told me that the owners are magic users but the other staff generally aren't.

"Good morning. Orange Lantern two eight one four to see Ms Clarice Sackville-" He nods and begins to point to the tearoom. "-and Mister John Constantine." He scowls for a second before mastering his appearance.

"Right you are, sir. Ms Sackville is taking tea at present." On her third gin most likely. I've no idea where she puts it; she's skinny as a rake. "Do you know the way?"

"Yes, thank you." I nod to him and walk across the foyer. Most of the ground and first floor of the Club form a single large room. The area around the edge forms a veranda overlooking the main floor from one floor up. It also serves to make it a bit dingier than it might otherwise be. Street magic is supposed to drive people a bit weird after a while, and looking at the architecture here I can well believe it. Ritual spaces, meeting rooms, libraries and whatever else this sort of club has are second or third floor, floor space being at something of a premium.

Turning the corner I look up another shallow set of steps to the various tables laid out, presumably for lunch. Only the one being used by Ms Sackville is occupied and as I predicted she is nursing a gin while speaking to her... Actually, I'm not sure what her precise relationship to Albert Case is. I suppose anyone who survives long enough around here just sort of drifts together. He was hanging around when I got my original tattoos done but I don't think I heard him say anything. I wave in their direction as I slowly walk up the steps. Mister Case notices me first and nods in my direction. She frowns for a moment before turning to look at me, stretching her wrinkled face into a smile.

"Dear boy! Come and sit down and tell me what exciting things you've been up to!"

27th October
10:33 GMT

"Well. Haven't you had an interesting week." Ms Sackville moves her cigarette holder to take another drag, only to find that it's burned down. Mr Case moved an ash tray under it while she was listening to me, and reaches into his jacket to take out a replacement for her. She slots it in and holds it out for him to light before taking a puff. I have no idea how she lived to her present age of two hundred and forty seven but it can't have been through clean living. She isn't undead, I checked that last time I was here and her body is organically functional. I'm sitting on a chair with her to my right and Mister Case across from me. "Albert, you remember Giovanni Zatara, don't you? He did a couple of seasons in the West End in the early nineties." Albert's face looks fairly blank. "Italian man. Wore a top hat. Used to be friends with John before that business with the Brujería. He was seeing that blonde woman.. oh, what was her name." There's a vague glimmer of recognition in Albert's eyes, but it doesn't look like he'd want to rely on it. Ms Sackville's eyes drop as she tries to remember. "Cinde-. No, wasn't Cinderella, but it always made me think of.. Sindella! That was it." She turns back to me. "How is she?"

"Dead, I'm afraid."

"Oh, that's a shame. I liked her. Added a bit of class to the proceedings. Unlike John sodding Constantine, who's late again." She looks over to the door and then -John not immediately appearing- snorts quietly. "Honestly. We'll just have to start without him. You told me Giovanni said that you've got a spiritual presence but it isn't like a normal Human soul."

"Essentially yes."

"And what exactly do you want me to do about it?"

"I'd like you to give me a second opinion, please. You understand better than he does what the tattoos should do if they work properly. And..." I reach into my right inner pocket and draw out a vial of Danner Formula. "I'd like your opinion on this."

Mister Case takes it from my outstretched hand, unscrews the lid and gives it a sniff, shrugs, puts the lid back on and hands it to Ms Sackville who looks at it carefully. "And what might this be when it's at home?"

"A small sample of something called the Danner Formula."

"Never heard of it. What is it supposed to do?"

"Assuming you're not pregnant, noth-."

Ms Sackville lets out a peal of surprisingly raucous laughter, ending in two dry coughs. "I think that's rather passed me by, dear boy."

"Um, I meant 'you' in the collective... Um." I shake my head. "Assuming the person taking it isn't pregnant, nothing. If they are, the child gets born with supernatural strength and stamina."

"And what else?"

"Nothing, as far as I know. Aside from the consequences of the strength itself there's basically no down side."

"Bloody hellfire."

"I'm showing it to you because I know it doesn't work through chemistry or nanotechnology, which basically just leaves magic. I don't know any alchemists, you've got connections to all of London's magic users..."

"Why? Do you want more of it?"

"No, I can make as much as I want. I want to understand the principles by which it operates. From what John was saying this is far more advanced than any alchemical formula currently in circulation. If we can unlock the mechanism for giving people supernatural powers safely..."

She purses her lips and leans back in her chair, shaking the vial slightly. "John told me he thought you got an avarice ring because you have so little avarice that you wouldn't be taken over by it." She stares directly into my eyes, and for a moment she very much doesn't seem like a jovial old woman. "He was wrong, wasn't he? You're just better at focusing it. Most people around here would give their eyeteeth for something like this. More than a few have sold their souls for something less than half as good, but for you it's just another stepping stone."

"I don't see a reason why I should be privileged like this when everyone could be."

She shakes her head. "There's always a price."

"Then I need to know what it is before the bill's due, don't I?"

She thinks, then nods, cautiously. "I.. can talk to some people for you. That Greaves girl... Albert, you know where she lives?" He nods. "Invite her for tea tomorrow. We'll have a chat."

"Thank you."

"We'll need to show her the Atlantean books."

"If she can read Atlantean Greek, sure. I can't do another translation until Saturday night at the earliest. Is John keeping the last one?"

"No, it's up in the secure library and he's put a very nasty spell on it in case anyone sneaks a look when he's not here." She clenches and unclenches her right hand. "Oh! Speak of the devil!"

I turn in my seat to see John walking up the steps to the main area. "Good morning John."

"Rather not speak of him, Clarrie. We've got a bit of a history."

"You're late, you scallywag."

"Someone nabbed me ride, didn't they?" Whoops. John pulls out the seat to my left and slumps in it. "Right, so why are we four gathered together?"

"He wants us to check his soul's working." Clarice holds out her left hand to me, and I remove the Spell Eater from around my neck before taking hold of it with my right. Her skin feels cold and saggy. Reminds me of my Nan's. Realising what's going on I offer John my left and he takes it. He shuts his eyes and Ms Sackville's gaze goes vacant. I don't.. feel anything. That's a good sign, usually this would be really uncomfortable. A flicker of Ophidivision -I need to come up with a better name for that- shows me that Ms Sackville and Mister Case are almost empty with just a tiny dynamo of white and black light in their souls, mixed around and... Harmonious? What? For a moment I'm too stunned to notice Ms Sackville and John release my hands. I haven't even seen black before. How was..? John pushes me in the left shoulder.

"Hm? Sorry?"

"Looks.. sort of... Clarrie?"

"The power you got off of the snake spirit got stuck, but it hasn't imprinted you yet. And when did you achieve enlightenment, you sneaky devil?"

"I'm not sure. I think it was just before the Ophidian left. What does that mean for me?"

John leans forward, putting his weight on the table. "You can resist magic as well.. probably a bit better than a normal person, but it won't sustain your consciousness. Not yet, anyway. It.. should mould itself to you..." He makes a dismissive gesture with his right hand. "Like I said when we did it, this is all new to me. Anything could happen, really."

"So I don't have the normal bits a person's soul would have?"

"'Fraid not mate."

No alchemically induced super powers for me yet then. "Alright. Can you.. sort of.. force it to mould to me in certain shapes? Like, cutting runes in a person's soul, but making it permanent?"

Ms Sackville blinks in confusion. "The binding tattoos.. sort of do that. I'm not sure it would actually be permanent, and there isn't a wizard alive who can cut runes onto someone's soul." John coughs. Ms Sackville gives him a sour look. "John? Something you want to share with the rest of us?"

John winces. "You remember Harry Cooper?"

"Oh, that mess was you, was it? I should have known."

"He was going to kill Cheryl, what was I supposed-?"

"No, I wasn't referring to that whole Fuckpig thing. I was talking about when that Succubus got knocked up by that Angel and you had to-."

He stares at me in shock. "How the fuck-!"

"I read it in a comic book from a parallel universe." He stops talking. Given that one of his friends was once abducted by fictional characters he isn't really in a position to dismiss the idea. "Scrying wards so strong the First of the Fallen himself can't see past them. A man in my position could use something like that. Is it doable?"

He stares at me, as if trying to discern some great truth from my face. After what feels like a minute he looks away. "Maybe. Probably. There's a cost to it, mind."

"I'm reliably informed-" I look at Ms Sackville, whose irritation has been replaced by curiosity. "-there always is."

Uuuuuuuuuuuunnnnghghnnngh

"Oi, mate."

Ughuhuhuuh. Something's...

"Lantern... owh. Should have got John to tell me what your bleeding name is."

I think..? Something soft? I curl up slightly.

"Alright, get it together Chas." Pressure, something, a hand! On my... Thing. Shoulder! "Oi!" I'm being shaken. "Orange Lantern! Wake up!"

My eyes snap open and I shudder violently. Peach sheets and a peach pillowcase immediately in front of my eyes and a duvet pulled tight around me. I'm lying on my front, and I hurt. "Uguh?"

The hand is immediately withdrawn. "Mate, your phone was ringing." That's.. Chas. Right. Right. So.. I don't really... He was going to get me to my room at the Lanesborough Hotel if I.. overloaded. "You told me I should answer it, so I did. Um. She says she's Wonder Woman?"

I roll over slightly and put pressure on something I shouldn't! OW! I jerk slightly, instinctively trying to get into a more upright position. Thanks to the ring I didn't really experience any soreness when I got my original tattoos done but that wasn't the case this time around. Plus the ritual wounding and burning. Branding. It didn't.. hurt... No, it did, but the pain didn't feel important at the time. I look blearily at Chas, who's holding the phone out to me as if it might catch fire at any moment and he wants to be able to drop it quickly when it does. He's still in the white t-shirt, and blue jeans he was in yesterday... it was yesterday, wasn't it? I shakily reach my right hand out from under the covers and he hands me the phone before retreating across the room to sit down heavily in an armchair and pick up a newspaper.

I drag it closer to my head across the surface of the pillow. "Hello?"

"Paul, where are you?" Diana. She sounds.. angry? Worried?

"London. I told you I was... I did, didn't I?"

"Are you alright?"

"Sort of?" I try moving my legs so that I can sit up properly, but they stick to the sheets. That isn't a good thing. Please tell me I'm not stuck to the bedclothes by my own excrement... I manage to shuffle up a bit with a pulling sensation on the aching skin of my legs and push the bedclothes back to get a look at the mess. "Oh dear."

"What is it?"

Looks like the wounds on my legs weren't fully scabbed over when I got in here. Either that or me moving around dislodged the bandages. I'm not bleeding heavily but it looks like I've seeped a bit. Most of it has already dried brown on the sheets. "Oh, nothing.. much. I wasn't.. really sure what the ritual involved... I don't appear to be seriously hurt."

"What ritual?"

"Well, I heard that John did this.. thing.. to a Succubus who needed to get away from her superiors. Made her impossible to detect through scrying. Thought it could be useful."

"I thought you said that you wanted them to check that your soul was developing properly."

"Yeah." I push the bed clothes off the rest of the way. What did Dan say about stuff like this? Take the sheets off the bed, bundle them up and leave a generous tip. I can do that. Shame I don't have the ring with me... "Apparently I've got a sort of orange light magic aura, but the tattoos are only gradually working it into soul shape. I wanted the other thing done before it.. set, sort of."

"And that's all that happened?"

"Well, my memory is still a bit fuzzy. You know how I get around magic."

Silence on the phone for several seconds. It's like that time I stayed out all night without letting my mum know in advance and when I phoned the next morning to let my parents know where I was she told me that she'd phoned the police and the hospital to try and find out if my body had been handed in. The only reason I hadn't phoned the previous evening was because by the time I'd decided to spend the night at a friend's house it was late enough that I thought they'd already have gone to bed. My desire to give them a good night's sleep resulted in them not getting one. A valuable lesson.

"Who was the man I spoke to earlier?"

She sounds calmer. Really not sure what she was so worried about. "His name's Frank Chandler. He's a friend of John's." Chas looks around at the mention of his name.

"Another wizard?"

"No, he's a cab driver." Chas is starting to look a bit concerned.

"He was guarding you?"

"No, more making sure I didn't do anything stupid while I was intoxicated."

"If you knew something like this might happen you could have come to me."

"Sir, the people I was dealing with? You'd probably have put them right off."

"And if you'd been attacked?"

"Then Guy was a phone call away. Sir, has something happened? I don't understand why you're-."

"M'gann felt it. Whatever they were doing to you."

Oh no. "I'm so sorry, I had no idea that would happen."

"I'm… Oh! No, she felt that they were doing it to you, not as if they were doing it to her."

I breathe a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank goodness. Is she alright?"

"A little shaken up." I hear her exhale. "I phoned you and you didn't reply. I tried the number you gave me for Constantine but I didn't get an answer from him either. Giovanni tried scrying for you, but couldn't find anything." Working then, at the moment at least. Good to know. "I've been worried sick." Yes, just like the time with Mum.

"Really sorry, didn't mean to worry anyone but I was never really in any significant danger. I can be back at the cave in-." What time is it? The bedside clock is analogue and doesn't have a date display, but it says nine minutes past one. I'm going to assume Thursday. "Um, say ten o'clock, your time?" I'd like to have a shower and something to eat as well as checking my injuries over, but Chas can just dump me in his cab and drive me to the zeta tube if we really need to.

"If you're really alright, then you don't need to hurry back." Oh good. "When you do get back, let me know. You and I are going to have a long talk about your insalubrious contacts." Darn.

"I'll see you in a few hours then. Um. I do appreciate the concern, sir."

"We'll talk about it later."

I nod as she hangs up and then put the phone down on the bedside table. "Okay. Um, Chas, please phone room service. Fried bread, bacon, fruit, milk and orange juice for me, and whatever you want for yourself. Er, and probably some fresh bandages. Realise that bit wasn't exactly what you were expecting, and really appreciate you sticking around like this."

He nods, apparently taking it in his stride. "You want a hand getting up?"

"No, I can-" I swing my battered looking legs over the side of the bed and gingerly lower them to the floor. Still wearing my underwear and a few bandages but my other clothes are absent. He probably just put them in a drawer or something and there'll be a robe in the toilet. "-manage, thanks. Which way to the shower?"

29th October
18:52 GMT -5

The LexCorp Tower isn't exactly hard to spot. Its curved central tower is visible from across Metropolis and the few buildings tall enough to block sight of it from the street don't obscure the view from the air. Even Lex Luthor can't monitor everything, but he does have most places in Metropolis likely to house a zeta tube under surveillance. That was probably why Diana agreed with me that flying in from New York under belt power was a sensible decision. Initially I flew in at my preferred cruising height but I swiftly reached the conclusion that doing so was a bad idea. The kinetic energy absorption system prevents you getting sandblasted by the wind but does nothing to protect against the cold or to prevent you swallowing an insect.

Mister Luthor's apartment is comprised of the top two levels of the central tower. I gave it a scan when I first started researching potential threats and despite the obvious wealth of the man it isn't all that big. As far as I can tell this is due to the fact that when LexCorp Tower was constructed he had just a fraction of his current purchasing power. Heck, when it first opened about two thirds of the place was rented out to other companies, though many of them were subsequently bought out and added to the LexCorp brand. The Lex we see now as the wealthy businessman isn't how he always was. In one of his recent interviews he claimed to keep the apartment 'for the view' but I think he keeps it out of pride, occupying the first visible sign of the position of power he'd earned.

I make a steadyish landing on the concourse in front of the building. The trick I've found is that rather than doing a controlled drop as I would with the ring you have to swoop down so that you're laying parallel to the ground and then fold your legs down. Intentionally touching the ground tells the belt that you want to stop flying and you can straighten yourself up without having to worry about taking off again. Not the most dignified way of going about things but then I only have to put up with it for another day or so. Diana said that Batman had been meaning to speak to me about it but something had come up in Gotham and he couldn't spare the time until tomorrow. Not sure what that was. I checked the news and there wasn't any mention of supervillain activity there. Maybe it hasn't been leaked... Right. Gotham. That's not going to have happened. They leak to the flipping mob, they're going to leak to the press.

Oh well. If he's not prioritising me then I'm probably going to get let off with a brief lecture. Anyway, quick look around. There's a few people on the street but my aerial arrival in a suit doesn't appear to be arousing any significant interest. The main entrance to the LexCorp Tower is a long row of doors at the top of a flight of shallow steps. I start towards it as I fish my invitation out of my jacket pocket. There are card readers by the door but to my surprise the door opens without me having to use it. Perhaps business hours here are somewhat later than I'm used to? Or maybe I was detected on radar and a security guard opens the door remotely. If I had the ring finding out would be easy. As it is... I suppose it probably doesn't matter.

The lobby is a broad area with the LexCorp logo displayed in granite on the floor. The large reception desk is still manned by uniformed staff, a couple of whom look up as I enter the building. I know the way up but I should probably-.

"Orange Lantern." Ms Graves steps forwards from the side of the desk. She's in her customary black jacket and skirt with white blouse and red tie. "If you'll come with me I'll escort you to Mister Luthor."

I walk in her direction. "Thank you Ms Graves. Oh, and um." I take out my name card and hold it out to her. She raises her right eyebrow as she takes it. "My name isn't a secret, I'm just physically incapable of saying it. Please, feel free to call me that." She nods and slides the card into her breast pocket before turning away to lead me deeper into the building. I follow after her. "I've been meaning to say... If you wanted, I could probably replace that cybernetic limb with an organic one. No offence intended to my host, but even advanced synthetic skin can't offer anything like the same level of sensory feedback that a natural limb can."

"Thank you for the offer, but I am quite satisfied with the limb I have."

"Why? I mean, if you want to keep the gun I could probably upgrade it. Maybe build the projector into the palm so you can keep use of the hand in combat?" She turns her head to give me a look. It's strangely impassive. The offer's genuine and I was expecting it to provoke some sort of response. Instead, nothing. "Okay. Don't worry about it."

We pass a bank of lift entrances and head to a separate lift within its own security glass enclosure protected by a group of three security guards. Mister Luthor's private lift. Ms Graves stands aside as she reaches the entrance and I hold my invitation card against the reader for a moment before the door unlocks and allows me entrance to an antechamber to the lift room.

One of the guards taps some buttons on a computer console. "Please stand by for a moment, sir. We're just going to scan you for weapons."

I roll my eyes. "Of course I'm armed, I'm a superhero coming to meet Lex Luthor." And it's just occurred to me that I'm not sure whether or not the belt shield would stop Ms Graves' arm gun. It would stop plasma and particle beams. Won't stop light or electricity... I wasn't planning on starting anything but I really should have considered that.

"Ahh, right." He peers at the screen. "I'm not picking anything up."

"Oh good, shouldn't be a problem then." I point at the door to the lift room. "May I?"

He glances at Ms Graves as if for instructions and gets a very shallow nod in return. I suppose that the belt just looks like a belt? If they don't know Cooperative technology it probably just registers at a metal belt, especially while it's inactive. Then the guard opens the door in front of me and I walk up to the elevator. Still haven't quite got used to security guards having guns like this. Before coming to this world I'd only seen real firearms in the hand of railway police, and then only a few times. I turn back to see if Ms Graves is coming the rest of the way and watch as she gets a perfunctory scan before coming into the room with me.

"This way please." She walks past me to the lift and places the palm of her organic hand against the palm reader plate. A moment passes and the door opens with a chime and she walks inside, taking up station to the immediate left of the door. I walk into the middle of the lift and turn around to face the door as it closes.

"So, is it just you, me and Mister Luthor?"

She doesn't turn to look at me as she responds. "Mister Luthor has invited a small number of other guests but wishes to speak with you privately before they arrive."

I just about feel the lift start its upwards journey. I usually enjoy running up the stairs, but I think that in a building this tall that could get a bit dull. "Think I can probably manage that. Anyone I know?"

"Mister Luthor wishes for that to remain a surprise."

"Okay." I smile at the back of her head. "Long as it's not Ra's al Ghul, huh?" No response. "Though actually, if it was, it would save me a lot of time." Nothing again. Oh well. As the lift continues to rise I take a closer look at its interior. Someone who knew something about design could probably name the style but to me it just says 'elegant simplicity' without any of the labels. Carpet's a pretty nice deep blue, and makes me feel a little self conscious about the fact that my shoes aren't 'ring clean' at the moment. "Did Red Arrow get an invite?"

"Mister Luthor wishes-."

"You said. Probably would be a bad idea." I try humming a few notes quietly, but stop when I realise that it might annoy her. How long is this going to-?

"The.. data stick you gave Mister Luthor in Taipei."

"Yes?"

"What was on it?"

"A novel called 'How to Succeed in Evil'. I can get you a copy on Monday if you want, but it's available online for free. Why do you ask?"

"Mister Luthor was.. laughing, when he listened to it. He doesn't laugh very often."

"I'm glad he liked it. I gave it to him because there's a certain similarity between him and the main character. And between Superman and one of the others, though the relationship is rather different."

She inclines her head slightly. "I.. might like-." The lift door opens and she cuts herself off. "Mister Luthor's penthouse. Please follow me." She steps out of the elevator and I follow into Lex Luthor's home.

29th October
18:58 GMT -5

We step out into a small wood floored antechamber. The walls are decorated with pictures, though without the ring I've no idea whether they're chosen to demonstrate the owner's wealth or because he actually likes them. Pastoral scenes for the most part, though there's also a framed photograph of Mister Luthor with.. some.. guy in a suit. He looks vaguely familiar. My instincts say 'President' but I could easily be mistaken. I haven't really studied recent American history in depth. Come to think of it, I'm not sure I could name the guy before George Bush I back home.

"I can take your jacket." Ms Graves holds out her organic arm, standing next to a door set into the wall.

Hm. Losing the jacket makes the belt a bit obvious, but the existence of the belt technology is hardly a secret. Icon's origin is publicly available information even if his identity isn't. I unbutton it and slide it off my right shoulder before taking hold of it with my right hand and extracting my left arm. I shake it to settle out any creases before passing it to her. "Thank you."

She opens the door and steps inside. Over her shoulder I see a variety of overcoats and jackets as well as a few scarves. She takes a wooden hanger off the rail and slides the jacket over it before pausing and turning to me. "I believe that Mister Luthor is aiming for a casual atmosphere. If you'd rather take off the tie..?"

"I spent an hour watching 'how to tie your tie' website videos today and a good fifteen minutes actually doing the thing before I got it right."

"If you'd rather ke-."

My fingers are already in motion. "No, I hate the blooming thing. Take it with my blessing." Silk, dark grey with orange sigil. It glows when I'm wearing the ring. She winds it around the hanger, hooks the hanger back over the rack and then steps out, glancing only briefly at my now revealed belt with the glowing circles front, sides and back. In the inactive state the glow isn't all that bright. Maybe she just thinks it's a fashion statement?

She leads the way through the inner door to the living quarters proper. It's two.. maybe three levels tall, the glass front probably providing a great view of Metropolis during the day. The room itself is probably about forty square metres, a size that would make the rent cripplingly expensive in this part of the city. Unless you own the building I suppose. I recognise one of the hologram television projectors at the base of the window. The seating area is slightly lower than the walkway around the edge of the room, with black leather settees forming a U shape around a wooden table. The room is decorated not with more pictures but with tall potted plants and abstract metal sculptures. I really hope he's not going to want to talk about them because my art knowledge really isn't up to it.

There's a door to my right at the end of the room and a spiral staircase near the middle of the right wall but Ms Graves leads me to the left. The next room is a large dining room where three members of the waiting staff are laying out places. Fortunately for me Diana gave me a lesson in formal dining so that part I should be able to cope with. None of them look up as we pass, but I suppose they're just that professional. I don't quite see how many places are being laid out. Six or fewer, I think. We pass what I assume are the double doors leading to the kitchen on the left and on to a smaller and lower-ceilinged room. Mister Luthor is standing at the far end staring at a picture. The room has several others of varying sizes as well as other objects of interest. Relics, they look like. He's wearing black trousers and a pale blue shirt. Seems a bit strange, seeing him without full 'business armour'. I stop just in from the door while Ms Graves approaches him. She whispers something and holds out the card I gave her. I see his head turn slightly towards it before he turns around completely and slowly walks towards me.

"Good evening Orange Lantern. Or may I call you Paul?"

"Be my guest, Mister Luthor. My name isn't a secret."

"And neither is mine. Please, call me Lex." He extends his right hand to me and I shake it. "I'm glad that your colleagues weren't able to warn you off."

"They.. expressed some reservations, certainly." Only time I've been glad that Superman tries not to have anything to do with us. Diana at least thought that my assessment of the risks was accurate.

"Mercy, would you mind..?" She nods and walks out of the room, closing the door behind her.

"I have to say, I'm a little curious as to why you've invited me here."

"Really? Quite aside from saving my life during the missile attack, your assistance in promoting peace in Rhelasia has already earned LexCorp in excess of twenty million dollars as part of the peace dividend." He stops for a moment and looks at me expectantly.

"I'm.. glad that's working out so well. LexCorp is certainly well placed to provide..." He dips his head with a chuckle. "What?"

"The reaction your associate Red Arrow had during the conference was more in line with what I've come to expect. Sometimes it seems that LexCorp can't operate anywhere without a superhero taking exception to it."

"I rather thought it was just Superman you had.. poor relations with."

"No, he's just the most notable. And the Justice League's UN mandate makes stopping him through legal mechanisms a little more problematic than most. Tell me, do you aim to join that august body yourself?"

"Oh, not any time soon. I'm only.. four months through a year long probation, and given what happened last week..."

His eyes narrow slightly. "Yes, I wanted to ask about that. Did you really.. spin the moon..." He raises his right hand, index finger extended, and makes a circling motion.

"Yes, that was me. I put it back."

"I wasn't aware that power rings had that sort of raw power."

"As a rule, they don't."

"Do you simply have a.. knack, for it?"

Hm. Giving information away is usually a bad idea, buuut... I do want to work with him in future. And it wouldn't be that hard for him to notice that I won't be utilising the same levels of power in future that I did last week. "You remember what I said about not swallowing an energy field larger than your head?"

A small frown. "That it tends to make a person... Ah. Was there a reason for you to disregard your own -quite sound- advice?"

"There is always some special case,
time or place,
to forget,
etiquette."

"Precisely how large an energy field..?"

"About the size of the universe. Fortunately it was fairly diffuse. And not hostile."

"I suppose that explains the New York.. event. Congratulations on your entry into the Billboard Top One Hundred by the way."

I blink stupidly. "Nnno."

"You hadn't heard? You may want to ask Ms Colbert to phone the relevant record company, I'm sure you're due some royalties."

"I'd.. really rather not."

"Can I assume that the 'eye constructs' were also your doing?"

"Yes, but those were actually useful. I was able to use them to find Ra's al Ghul, and what was left of his command structure is currently being held in a very secure location awaiting trial."

"This, following on from the League's attack on that place in Ecuador. There can't be much of the League of Shadows left."

"Not as far as I know, no. We missed the man himself, and I'm not sure what happened to his daughter Talia, but I think the League of Shadows can pretty much be written off as a functioning organisation."

"We'll just have to hope that you are right. And I wouldn't worry about Ra's. When criminals like him experience a turn around in fortunes such as he has, it's remarkable how often former allies turn on them in their moment of weakness. Add to that all of the politicians he was blackmailing who will now want him permanently silenced, and I fully expect that problem will be taken care of presently." He pauses for a moment. "The energy you mentioned, you seem to be functioning normally to me. Were you able to expel it?"

"It would be more true to say that we came to terms. Not sure I'd want to go through that again, though."

"That sounds like a wise decision. Before my other guests arrive-" His arm goes around my shoulders and I allow him to lead me over to the picture he had been studying. "-I wanted to find out what you made of this."

29th October
19:07 GMT -5

"I'm not really an art person." And I'm really not. I'm looking at a watercolour of a street scene. Looks... I don't know, could be anywhere in Europe and any when in the first part the twentieth century. I say that due to the style of the car and the fact that there's only one of them. A couple of open topped horse drawn carriages. The art style... Pass. Qualitywise it looks okay, far better than I could do but not something I'd expect to find in Lex Luthor's home.

"First impression?"

"Frankly? I'm not sure why it's here. If I saw it in a hotel I'd walk straight past it."

"I'll admit, the artist wasn't nearly as talented as he believed himself to be."

Lex wouldn't be showing me this for no reason. I peer a little closer. "I think... Are the people less detailed than the background? I'd expect it to be the other way around." No, more than that. I was sort of assuming that it was a stylistic convention, but they actually look misshapen.

"Art critics have tended to agree with you on that score, though they're usually less polite about it."

"Is this.. some sort of investment? Is the artist about to become really popular, and this is going to shoot up in value?"

"I rather hope not. It has a certain.. rarity value -perhaps surprisingly so given how prolific the artist was- but I don't think I'd ever sell it."

"Were the rest better than this?" Oh. That might... "Some sort of personal connection? It's not one of yours is it. Or-?"

He seems to find that idea amusing. "No, no. I have been known to sketch upon occasion but I've never had any real interest in creating art myself. Perhaps if you had a closer look?"

I'll- Oh. The street sign's in.. German? Or it could just be a German sounding name. "Central or Eastern Europe. Can't tell much from the clothes, the detail's not there. Car's got a curved roof rather than a square Model T style roof or a soft top... Between twenties and sixties? Later than that there'd be more cars. No obvious communist symbology..." I shake my head. Whatever the lesson is supposed to be, it's getting lost on me. Did the artist sign it? I take a look at the bottom. It's a bit worn but I can just take a step back in shock! I mean, I knew he painted but I never thought I'd see...

"For some reason the Defense Department keeps every one of his paintings they ever got hold of in a warehouse in Delaware. Given what else he did with his life, I'd understand if they had them destroyed. I'd understand if they sold them, or exhibited them. But, instead, all they do is accrue dust and consume taxpayer money. No one wants to make the decision. Bureaucratic inertia at its most depressing."

"This... This... It's a bit of a risk, isn't it? I mean, if the Jewish Anti-Defamation League ever found out you were showing one of these..."

"An embarrassing oversight. The painting was acquired as part of a job lot and.. I leave the task of decorating the interior of the LexCorp Tower to an external company."

A rehearsed excuse, but there's no way he'd take a risk like that without a better reason. "Why do you... I mean, I can't believe for a second you share his politics..."

"Of course not." He's standing besides me now, examining the picture again. "Have you ever thought about how history might have been changed if he'd met with more success in his preferred field?"

"Not really, I've played Red Alert. Without a strong leader Germany struggles through the thirties and forties while the Soviet Union reorganises, most likely invading the west sometime before nineteen fifty."

"You don't think someone else could have managed the situation just as well?"

"They didn't need a manager, they needed a unifying ideology and a charismatic leader. If there'd been someone else who could do the job as well as him, they'd have done it."

"I'm not so sure. There were a few people on the far right who might have been able to assume the role. If not.. things would certainly have been a good deal more dicey during the thirties, but Hindenburg or Papen might well have been able to pull things together without concerted Nazi opposition."

"It-. Maybe. I don't-. Why do you have an Adolf Hitler in your gallery?"

"Mostly, because I was curious. What sort of imagery would be produced by such a clearly depraved individual?"

"Low quality water colours. I guess evil really is banal."

"You know, when Superman first became.. active in Metropolis, I did find it somewhat aggravating. Not his power precisely, there'd been people who could fly since before the Second World War, and people with super strength earlier still. It was the way people responded to him. On the day he stopped his first armed robbery a full two thirds of the city went to work for me, directly or indirectly." He pauses for a moment. "And what made the news? Our work on fullerene tube circuitry? The bacterial strains we're creating which eat industrial pollution? The restoration work on the Museum of Natural History, made possible due to a LexCorp endowment? No." His head is tilted down slightly, his eyes a little unfocused. "Some guy in a cape, with his underwear outside of his tights."

"He doesn't do that anymore."

Lex turns his head and raises an eyebrow. "Stop robberies?"

"Wear his pants outside his leggings. They had a bit of an accident.. last week." He gives me a curious look. "I always thought they looked stupid too."

"I'm sure your medal for services to fashion is in the mail. Anyway, off the back of that frustration I ended up sinking a wasteful amount of money into armaments intended to allow the Metropolis Police Department to keep up with him. The press had a field day with that." Phillip Karnowsky, aka 'Barrage'. Lex Luthor's first totally-not-an-assassination-attempt on Superman. "They still use my equipment, but do you see that in the papers?"

"You know that the Daily Planet is basically a tabloid, right? In the British sense of the word? Superheroes are flashy, high impact, and this was happening in their city. Rational perspective didn't really come into it."

He looks at the painting again. "Hitler had relatively few strengths and many weaknesses, but he was living in a time and a place where he could make those strengths count and where the weaknesses didn't matter. At least, not in the short term. It was this painting which made me realize that the problem wasn't Superman, not really. Bread and circuses have always drawn the crowds, and I can't deny that he makes the more appealing clown." Petty. "When people see a figure like that, one who seems to stand up above the common man, their very evolutionary history encourages them to follow and obey. That story you gave me, 'How to Succeed in Evil'. Do you remember the part where Edwin wonders why people aren't more horrified by the actions of the Cromoglodon, only to listen to an interview where a local man empathises with his rage and experienced vicarious satisfaction through the destruction he caused?"

I nod.

"I laughed out loud when I heard that. It's so obvious. Superman didn't earn his abilities, he was born with them. And if an accident of birth is all that separates the man on the street from the demigod floating overhead.. then it's just too bad, isn't it? You can't compete with it because Destiny simply didn't choose you. Regularise it, as you and I are seeking to, and.. what was it the narrator said at Excelsior's press conference? They don't want you to bring their heroes down to their level. I can't be that shining, empty symbol, I'm just all too Human. In a world where even a man like the Joker has a fan club, I came to see that I shouldn't take it so personally. It wasn't as if we were directly competing with one another. Superman can fight the good fight all he wants, but he doesn't appear to be inclined to clean up refuse, run industry or balance the national budget. When the Appellaxians' attack was dealt with by the nascent Justice League, it occurred to me that if it hadn't been Superman, it would have been someone else. Some other super.. powered individual. And, upon reflection, I think it's far better for the world that it was Superman rather than..." He waves his right hand.

"Socialist Red Guardsman?"

"Among others. We've been quite fortunate with our super powered defenders over the years."

I've heard that idea before. "Plekhanov's idea of the beginner in history."

He glances at me before returning his attention to the picture. "Yes. Working patiently for the common good each day just isn't exciting."

"So.. you.. don't have a problem with Superman anymore?"

"I wouldn't go that far. When I.. got over the personal aspect of it and started to think about it more dispassionately, I realized that many of my concerns were still valid. Particularly when the budget for the Metropolis Special Crimes Unit was slashed in response to his activities." I hadn't known that had happened. I'll have to check that claim tomorrow. "I am simply not comfortable relying for our defense on a small number of apparently irreplaceable individuals. Or with the idea that mere 'normal' people could not hope to play a role in our planet's defense. That was why I was so glad that you brought the Danner Formula to my attention. If a man like Hugo Danner had come to me, instead of trying to take over Brazil... Well. Who knows what might have happened."

29th October
19:11 GMT -5

"I think I can guess. I did see your research centre in India."

"Yes. You'll no doubt be pleased to know that we've improved security substantially since your visit."

"I'd blooming hope so. I mean, I'm glad you're doing the research but I don't really want to have to fight uberrats again."

"Uberra-? Oh, I see. No, as I understand it Doctor Munro is no longer performing tests on rats." That's not as reassuring as I think he means it to be.

"I'm interested in how the Danner Formula works myself. I hope you don't mind, but I handed a sample of it over to an alchemist for analysis."

"An alchemist?" He chuckles. "I think I'll survive."

"Lex, I have a power ring. I've analysed the Formula completely. There is nothing in its chemistry which explains the effect it has on foetal development. This is something that hasn't made sense to me since I got here; you know magic works. Everyone knows magic works. And yet-" I spread my arms. "-hardly anyone uses it."

"I took your point about power generation, but convincing investors or shareholders-."

"Biotechnology, then. Atlanteans have the ability to regrow entire organs now, and as far as I know artificial organs are still years off."

"I have tried making overtures towards Atlantis. Unfortunately, my point of contact was Prince Orm..." Ah. Would he have known..? No way to be sure. As Garth pointed out, lots of people dealt with Orm. "Getting researchers from elsewhere is proving to be somewhat problematic."

"Do you know what the name of the city with the highest concentration of magic users in the western world is?"

"No. Somewhere in Australia, perhaps?"

"London. If you like I could talk to some people for you."

"That would be helpful. I hadn't realised you moved in those sorts of circles."

"It's a recent development."

He frowns. "You only started interacting with London dwelling magic users since moving to the United States?"

"Um, sort of? That wasn't.. really..."

"You said 'since you got here'. I assumed that you were referring to the US."

"Oh, no. I realise it sounds a little strange, but I arrived on this planet from a parallel Earth about four months ago, and I've been scurrying to catch up ever since."

Another glance. "I've heard stranger tales. What distinguishing characteristics..?"

"No magic, no superpowers. There's a load of minor differences spiralling from that, but they're the main ones."

"Gracious. You must have found our Earth a little strange."

I shrug. "I had popular fiction to work off. It's not the fact that things like that are possible, it's the logical inconsistencies in their use. I mean, so Superman gets born with the ability to fly, punch through steel plate and whatever. Captain Marvel can do nearly the same thing, and it's public knowledge that his powers are magic based. And yet, Cadmus clones Superman and no one researches the magic which might allow them to replicate Marvel's abilities. Biotechnology firms spend millions trying to work out how to give people the metahuman ability to create fire when any competent student of elemental magic would learn how to conjure fire within months, if they applied themselves. I thought it might have been religion, but apparently the Catholic Church doesn't have a problem with it..."

"American Protestant denominations have traditionally been less understanding and all major versions of Islam feel the same way. I can see that it would seem odd to an outsider.. and now that I hear you describe it, I'm a little puzzled myself. Are you.. sure.. that the formula is alchemical?"

"Sure? I can't be sure until the analysis is complete, but I can't think of anything else it could be."

"These.. London magic users. Are they of the robe and hat variety, or..?"

"I think there's.. some ritual clothing, but for the most part they dress sensibly. I mean, it's not like they could completely isolate themselves from the modern world, after all."

"It does produce a rather amusing mental image, doesn't it? I'll give you a phone number to pass on before you leave. Speaking of Cadmus, I had a rather strange conversation with Batman about that earlier this month. I say conversation, he mostly limited himself to vague threats and insinuations. As it is indeed 'PR poison' I haven't become directly involved in its operations but I have promoted James Harper to the position of Operations Manager and I don't intend to try to second guess him. I hope that -unlike me- the League feel that he can be trusted."

I'm not sure that anyone who was involved in Cadmus should still be there, whatever the courts said on the matter. A security chief who can't spot mind control isn't much better than one who is actively criminal, to my mind. And that's saying nothing of the enslavement of the Genomorphs. But if American law doesn't recognise AIs I can't imagine that getting recognition for a novel organic intelligence would be a quick process. "I can't speak for the League, but if the alternative was you..."

"Quite. Now, about the-. About.. my son."

I clench. "What about him?"

"Batman appeared to think I intended to... I do appreciate that the boy's life to date has not been anything close to normal. Please reassure the League that I have no intention of trying to snatch him away from whatever stability he's been able to find, but-."

The door opens and we both turn around. Ms Graves walks in, followed by a woman in a long, conservatively cut pale green dress. She has short black artfully tussled hair and I'd guess... Arabic appearance? It's subtle.. mixed parentage, perhaps? She looks familiar, but I can't quite place her.

"So good to see you, my dear." Lex walks over to her, takes her right hand and kisses it.

"Lex." Her eyes move to me. "And this is..?" I take a few steps closer.

"Orange Lantern two eight one four. Pleased to meet you." I extend my right hand.

There's a slightly awkward pause as she stares into my eyes. "You don't recognise me, do you?"

I shake my head. "I'm sorry, I see a lot of faces. You look familiar, but..."

"Since you are the man responsible for uniting me with my sister I will forgive you. I am-."

I blink. "Nyssa Raatko."

She smiles at me and takes my hand. "You do remember. When she knocked on my door I was quite astonished. She really did not want to believe I was who you said I was."

Her great grandson -a man named Vasily Arketov- is still alive at present, and in the comics it was his death which switched her into full crazy mode. As far as I know she's fairly rational at the moment, though she isn't usually particularly sociable.

Ms Graves whispers something to Lex, who nods and then looks at us. "Would you please excuse me? The head chef needs to talk to me about something."

I tear my eyes from Ms Raatko. "Oh yes, of course." He nods at me, nods more deeply to Ms Raatko, then follows Ms Graves out. "Were you able to convince her?"

"Yes. I still keep a few relics from the old days in my home."

I checked, and Talia wasn't part of the most recent round of League of Shadow arrests. "Do you know where she is now?"

"I believe that she intended to return to the house of her lover, the Batman."

...

"Well he's been keeping that blooming quiet!"

29th October
19:15 GMT -5

"I'm going to have to talk to Robin about his stepmother vetting procedures. They clearly need improving."

She raises her eyebrows. "Are you implying that my sister is unworthy?"

"She has a.. certain amount of baggage. Did she say why they broke up the first time?"

"Yes, because the Batman refused to join our father. Since he is no longer an issue, I fail to see why there should be a problem."

"She did quite a lot of stuff while she was working for your father that.. some people might find concerning."

"So did I, unless you think the fact that they happened a long time ago means that they count for nothing."

"You left him under your own power. Plus, the Justice League didn't actually get Ra's, so he's still out there somewhere."

"My sister did not leave our father simply because the League of Shadows was being destroyed. If she had still believed in his cause she would have stood beside him to the last. Your.. diatribe against him when you encountered her in Paris affected her more than you appear to have appreciated."

"Really? I.. sort of assumed that I was wasting my time."

"I particularly liked the bit where you called Ra's al Ghul, seven-hundred-year-old master of the League of Shadows, a 'nutter'."

"Yeah." I wrinkle my nose. "Probably not the most sensible thing I could have said, but the situation was really winding me up. How'd you feel about the bit where I shot him in the head?"

Astonishment, but happy astonishment. "She didn't mention that!"

Ah. If we're going to talk about this in Lex Luthor's home... I pick one of John's most recent gifts out of my right trouser pocket and hold it out to her. "If we're going to talk shop, would you mind holding one of these?"

She takes the small dark-grey stone from me, and for half a second there's a slight distortion in the air. I tested them before coming here and they certainly appeared to work. "I don't recognise the runes."

"I got it from a magician friend of mine. He described it as 'sort of like a scrying ward, but for sound'. It should prevent eavesdropping, lip reading or sound recording."

"Useful. But I'm more interested in hearing about how you shot my contemptible dog of a father in the head."

"It was just before the League hit Infinity Island, the League of Shadows ex-headquarters. I wanted to know where his Lazarus Pit was and it seemed to be the most expedient way to find out." Oh, that's right, she can make them, can't she?

"You shot him in the head and... Why did you need to know where his Lazarus Pit was if you did not intend to prevent him from using it?"

"So I could steal it." She lets out a peal of laughter, covering her mouth with her hands. "Well, technically, it's an arcane artefact used by a supervillain to enable criminality so the Justice League has the authority to confiscate it.. but basically steal it."

"And you did that.. before the Flash..?"

"The Flash didn't get there until after I shot the place up. " I shrug. "The Justice League didn't know about it."

"Then how did you find it?"

"Finding stuff is something power rings are really good at." Out of habit I start to raise my left hand, then remember myself and lower it. "Once I had Talia's DNA.. I was pretty well motivated. Scanning for Ra's wasn't that hard."

"What had he done to so enrage you?"

"He sent a man made of clay to attack Gotham City. I'd had to.. well, I thought at the time that I'd killed him. He's.. he pretty much survived, as it happened..."

"You had never killed someone before?"

"No. Far as I know, I still haven't. I don't have a.. the same level of resistance to the idea that some of my contemporaries do, but I think that if you're going to kill someone you should be sure that they deserve it. On an individual level, I mean. Besides, if you've got a power ring it's usually just as easy to take a person down without killing them." She nods, and takes another look at the stone. "If you don't mind me asking, what brings you here? I mean, laughing at Ra's' misfortune is fun, but we're quite a way from your home here."

"Lex.. wants me to work for him, at his research centre in India. My father shared his knowledge of alchemy with me before we parted company, and I have studied further on my own since. I wanted to ask you if you thought-."

"The cheeky bastard!" She recoils slightly at my outburst, then turns her right palm upwards and shakes her head, looking for an explanation. "He was telling me how hard it was to study magic, and he'd already made you an offer! Have you any idea how hard it is to find good alchemists?"

"Do you think he's untrustworthy, then?"

"That's... This was probably just a joke at my expense. Generally? I don't trust him to do what I'd like him to. I trust him to serve his own interests in a reasonably rational manner. If you come to an agreement with him he'll probably stick with it, but don't make assumptions about anything not covered by it."

"Does he have no principles at all?"

"Um. His desire to bring augmentation to the masses appears to be genuine. Beyond that, I couldn't say with any certainty. Does it make him money, bring him power? Can he get away with it?"

"He had given me the impression that your working relationship was rather better than that."

"But did he tell you it was?" She thinks for a moment, then shakes her head. "Classic Luthor. Still, if you just want to spit in Ra's' eye, he did try and kill Lex last month. It's not a bad place to start from."

"I was hoping for a simple 'yes' or 'no'."

"Sorry. I mean, if it's this or keep sitting in your lighthouse, I'd definitely take it. I'd offer you something myself but I just don't have the infrastructure that Lex does, and despite my urging the Justice League hasn't got itself into research and development yet. Unless you feel like working in Atlantis..?"

She smiles. "I don't think the water would be good for my complexion." Then the smile disappears. "Also, I am dependent on Lazarus Pits in the same way that my father is, and I do not believe that I could create one underwater."

Maybe I should talk to Batman about it when he comes up for air? I'm sure that Talia would enjoy spending some more time with her sister. Speaking of family... "How is Captain Arketov doing?"

"I suppose it would be too much to hope that I could keep any secrets from you. He is well." She sighs. "Since I age little I have to be somewhat remote so as not to invite suspicion among his peers. He knows who I truly am, but the only pictures he has of me are from when I allowed myself to visibly age."

If he stays alive, no kryptonite bullet. "If you'd like to tell me where he is, I'd be happy to aug-."

"Captain Arketov has agreed to join LexCorp as head of security of our Gdańsk facility." Lex closes the door quietly behind him. I hadn't even heard him come in. "A good deal safer than the Moscow City Police Department, and noticeably better paid."

Darn it. Giving him supernatural fortitude and regeneration would make him more likely to survive, but Luthor's done more or less the same thing just by giving him a cushy job. I nod, more to myself than to him. "I can see that a man would have to get up fairly early in the morning to catch you napping."

"My dear Orange Lantern, I would advise that man to abstain from sleep entirely."

29th October
19:19 GMT -5

"My final guest has arrived, and the chef has informed me that he's ready to begin serving. If you'll accompany me?" Lex waits a second for us both to turn to face him before half turning to open the door for us, bowing slightly as he does so. My eyes flick to the grey stone just visible in Ms Raatko's right hand. I doubt that Lex will listen to the recording -and there undoubtedly is one- until after we've left but when he does he will see the stone and I'd rather have it back. I pass through the door immediately after her and step to her right side as she turns towards the table, tapping her right hand with my left as I do so. I breathe a sigh of relief as she gets the message and drops the stone into my palm, our bodies blocking Lex's view. Back into my pocket it goes.

Two waiters stand behind two free chairs at the sides of the table, while Ms Graves stands behind the larger seat at the head of the table which I presume to be reserved for Lex. The seat at the foot of the table is already occupied by Doctor Munro, who is in the process of rising from it. "Orange Lantern. I hadn't realised Lex had invited you as well. And who is your lovely companion?"

He stood because he was being joined by a lady. I suppose he might be about old enough for that to be correct formal behaviour. "Doctor Arnold Munro, Ms Nyssa Raatko. Ms Raatko, Doctor Munro."

Ms Raatko walks towards him as he steps out from the table to greet her. She offers her right hand and he takes it and kisses it delicately on the knuckles. Wait, was I supposed to do that? "Tell me Doctor, what is your field of study?"

"Well, biochemistry, though lately..."

Lex walks up besides me, and I turn to him. "Doctor Munro isn't really comfortable in large groups, but he can be quite charming in a one to one conversation. Old world manners."

"And since you want them to work together, you want them to get on. It might be awkward if you just flew her out to India. And me being here helps put Ms Raatko in a more receptive frame of mind."

"That's.. part of the reason. You also made quite a good impression on Arnold. Of course, I wouldn't want you to believe that my gratitude wasn't genuine. I am rather fond of my life."

"But there's no reason not to have this meeting serve other ends as well. I take my hat off to you. I'm kicking myself for not approaching Ms Raatko earlier myself."

"No sour grapes, I hope?"

"Of course not. I want alchemy to be part of mainstream Human science as much as you do, and if the League can't be bothered with it, why not?"

This earns me a sidelong smile. "Oh, if only your colleagues shared your attitude. Nyssa, Arnold, shall we take our seats?" He walks around to his as Ms Graves pulls it out from under the table. Doctor Munro returns to his and the waiter pulls out the chair on the near side for Ms Raatko. I walk around behind Doctor Munro to take the far chair which the other waiter pulls out for me. I have literally never had someone do that for me before. Do I just sort of squat in midair and wait for them to bring it forwards? Or would it make more sense to just perch on the edge and then shuffle it in myself once they've left? I compromise, sitting down after a short delay and getting enough of it under me that it's comfortable.

Right, next step: serviette. It's there, folded into a fan just past the forks. I suppose Lex's idea of informal is somewhat different to mine. Diana was quite clear that it wasn't to be used as a bib, and that I should only use it as a lap cover if Lex did and it doesn't look like he is. The serving staff who were in the room retreat into the kitchen. It looks like Ms Graves is sticking around, though not joining in. Alright, commencing operation 'don't make an arse of myself'.

Lex turns his head in my direction. "Paul, I couldn't help but notice your rather eye-catching belt. I believe it's.. the same design as the young heroine from Dakota City.. Rocket, I think her name is.. generally wears. Are the two of you acquainted?"

"Not as yet, though I imagine that we will be before too long."

"Do you share a tailor?"

"No, it's a piece of xenotechnology her mentor gave her. Which I proceeded to copy. Much harder to use than a power ring, and much less flexible."

"Which I noticed you aren't wearing. I do understand that your colleagues have concerns about your safety. I wouldn't have demanded that you leave it behind."

"After the craziness last week I thought it best to demonstrate to my mentor that I could be relied upon not to routinely alter the movement of planetary bodies because I wanted everyone to be able to look at them from another angle."

"Wait." Doctor Munro looks thoughtful for a moment. "I remember hearing something on the radio about Jupiter's Great Red Spot disappearing almost overnight. You don't mean to say..?"

"Yess, that was me."

"The only Lantern I'd ever met before was a member of the Justice Society. I think I've been operating under a false idea of what those rings are capable of."

"Almost anything, given sufficient power and focus. Last week I had an encounter with an elemental which resulted in me getting near unlimited amounts of both."

Ms Raatko frowns. "You truly had unlimited power?"

"Not far off. Why so puzzled?"

"I'm not sure what I would expect from a person in that position, but..."

Lex jumps in. "Wouldn't you say that making a giant cake was a waste of an opportunity?"

"Getting power like that altered my perspective. Rational application of that power didn't really come into it. Orange power rings work on avarice, and what I really wanted was for my friends to get whatever they wanted. Of course, they were too busy freaking out about the changes in my behaviour to present me with an itemised list."

The waiting staff return bearing four silver trays covered by silver lids. They take up station next to each of us before removing the lids and placing the soup bowls before us. It's tomato orange with visible pieces of vegetable artfully arranged in the centre, topped by a sprig of something or other. It's not giving off any heat.. Gazpacho! "Hah!" I quickly check the cutlery and find the soup spoon in the expected location.

Lex raises an eyebrow. "Something amusing?"

"There was a.. television comedy series I used to watch. 'Gazpacho soup' were the last words of one of the characters. He was remembering an incident when he was invited to dine with his employers and didn't realise that gazpacho soup was supposed to be served cold. He felt that instructing the staff to send it back to be warmed up had put a permanent black mark on his record." Lex 'hmms' in a slightly amused tone as I pick up the spoon and take a small amount of the soup onto it. "So, Doctor Munro, had any more trouble with escaped rats?"

He swallows. "Oh no, we've stopped using rats for testing. It clearly works, after all, though I'd never considered combining it with other augmentative chemicals as the Brain did. I also wanted to thank you for putting me in touch with Tommy and Tuppence."

I'm glad that went as well as it did. Thomas I expected would be interested to meet him, but why Tuppence was alright about talking to him but not me I have no idea. "Have you had any luck in working out where their mother got the Danner Formula sample from?"

He shakes his head. "Hasn't, um, hasn't really been a priority. I think, err, I think Lex..." He looks over to his employer.

"I have some people looking into it, though, frankly, I doubt they'll find anything. It's infuriating, really; there can't be that many samples of the Danner Formula left that aren't owned by either Paul or LexCorp, and someone delivers a dose to a woman apparently at random and doesn't bother keeping track of them."

"I'm sorry." Ms Raatko holds her spoon just below her lips. "What is this 'Danner Formula'?"

"It's what I want you to work on with Doctor Munro. Doctor?"

"The Danner Formula is the work of my grandfather. Without wanting to go into too much detail, if injected into a pregnant woman it will result in her child being born with supernatural strength and endurance, approximately on a par with Princess Diana of Themiscyra. I... I would like to see it distributed as widely as possible, and Mis-. And Lex has offered to fund the research." She looks very interested. "More than just the formula itself, it might hold the secrets to unlocking all manner of supernatural abilities if we had someone who knew how to study the alchemical aspects that have been stymieing our efforts so far. Getting approval when we don't understand the basic mechanism..."

She nods, eyes down. "I think, Doctor, that I should take a look at your research."

30th October
08:57 GMT -5

"So as you can imagine, I was pretty glad to see him." Mister King looks a lot like Captain Metropolis from Watchmen. The older version. He's not fat, but he's definitely put on weight since Infinity Incorporated broke up. The suit he's wearing is designed to conceal it somewhat, and he has kept up his exercise regime. Too much rich food, I suppose.

"I can't believe they put you in an asylum for being telepathic!" He, M'gann and I are lurking by the zeta tubes in the training room while Kon, Donna, Artemis and Robin warm up for their first combined super strength combat lesson with Diana.

"They didn't know I was telepathic, they just knew I was hearing voices in my head. Statistically, in a Human that's far more likely to indicate some sort of mental disorder than it is to indicate that they can really hear what other people are thinking. And once they got some drugs in my system... Well, I became symptomatic."

"But why did your parents let them do that?"

I'm only half listening to their conversation. Batman's coming to talk to me. I stare at the zeta tube at parade rest. I'm in my armour, which isn't particularly comfortable to wear without the ring at the best of times.

"Mom thought I was ill and she wanted me to get help. Dad came to get me out as soon as he heard, but he was a career criminal and him and Mom weren't in touch anymore. So, anyway, he created a telepathic illusion of a fire, -" M'gann cringes slightly, but I don't think he noticed it. "-waited until they evacuated everyone and basically just walked away with me. Spent the rest of the week nursing me back to health."

The ring and my lantern are still in the box over with Diana, over on the other side of the room. She said that Batman would have a decision for me today. I want to stay here. If he's got conditions, I'll accept them. Heck.. yes, I even want it more than I want to maintain secrecy about my age and the whole DCU thing. If he asks for a full explanation, I'll provide him with one. I'd rather not have to, of course...

"Was that the first time you'd met him?"

"Yeah. I'd seen his pictures in the newspapers a couple of times when I was growing up, but I hadn't really thought anything of it. We were together about a month, him teaching me and us getting to know each other. Finally learned how to shut all the voices out."

"Had you always heard what everyone around you was thinking?"

"No, started kicking in when I was about nine or ten." He squints as he tries to remember. "Only heard a few whispers at first. Didn't get really bad until I was fourteen."

She nods. "Martians don't usually worry about that, but after what happened Wednesday I think maybe I should learn how to do that too."

I apologised to her once I got back from London. She said it didn't matter, but I could feel the echo of her fear when she spoke telepathically and I could see the yellow that still clung to her.

"Look, ah... Do you have a living area or something? I remember what it was like when Nuklon and Fury used to spar together and I don't think this room is going to stay a safe place for us fragile people for much longer."

"Yes, of course. Right this way. Paul? Paul?"

"Mm?"

"It'll be okay." **[Reassurance]** I nod. She's probably right. If he were planning on doing anything punitive the box wouldn't be here, but that doesn't stop me worrying. "Do you.. want me to wait around?"

"No, no. I'll be fine." I don't think she believes me. "Go on. Enjoy your lesson." She nods uncertainly and leads Mister King towards the lifts.

"Recognised, Batman, zero two."

Here we go then. I come to attention as he steps into the room proper.

"Orange Lantern. Do you have anything to report from your meeting with Lex Luthor?"

"I believe he was able to convince Nyssa Raatko to enter his service. From what was said I don't think he's pursuing other forms of arcane research."

"That would be Talia al Ghul's sister, correct?"

"Yes sir. She claimed to be an accomplished alchemist, and if she's still alive after this much time she at least knows how to make Lazarus Pits."

"Did anything else of note occur?"

"He showed me a painting by Adolf Hitler." Batman pulls his head back a little in surprise. "I think he was trying to make a point about the folly of mindlessly following heroic figures, but it was rather lost on me."

He thinks for a moment. "Owning paintings by Hitler is not itself a crime, even if it is a little disturbing. It seems unlikely to me that he has those sort of far right leanings." I nod. "Who else was in attendance?"

"Ms Raatko and Doctor Munro. Ms Graves was there, but she wasn't eating and didn't say much. I'll have the recording transcribed for you before the end of the day." Lex might not have been recording everything but I certainly was.

"Good." He looks across the room, where Diana is demonstrating the ineffectiveness of striking unanchored super tough opponents by punching Kon in the stomach, sending him flying across the room into the far wall. He gets up, brushes himself off and leaps back. "We also need to discuss your ring."

"Yes sir."

"Martian Manhunter reports no lingering ill effects from being branded. Are you still able to make use of the ability?"

"I assume so, I don't know. That was the first time I'd used it."

"Can you call your ring from here?"

"Probably."

"Do so."

"Sir, it.. hasn't been a week yet."

"Orange Lantern, almost the first thing you did after regaining your senses was give up your ring. I am not concerned about you repeating last week's behavior of your own volition. What I am concerned about is you being overwhelmed by the Ophidian again. I want to be sure that you retain your usual level of self control when you make contact with it."

"You do realise that you're right next to me if I can't, sir?"

"Your views on unaugmented Humans aside I am quite capable of looking after myself, and if there really is a problem then Wonder Woman and Superboy are just across the room."

I nod. I don't need to close my eyes or gesture, the ring just rises into the air and carries the box and lantern with it. I float it around the edge of the room until it arrives in the air next to me, then take hold of it with my hands and lower it to the floor. I open it. The lantern inside is glowing even brighter than it used to while storing two charges, but it doesn't seem to have decayed since I handed it over to Diana. The ring.. it's fully charged, but it doesn't look unusual in any way. I pluck it from its resting place with my right hand and then straighten up, holding it a short distance from my left ring finger to give Batman a chance to change his mind. He doesn't say anything. Okay then... It flies from my right hand into its accustomed place on my left ring finger, face inwards. The sigils on my armour light up immediately, I feel cooler and the stickiness of my sweat disappears, but I don't otherwise feel any different. I turn my left hand palm up and generate a sigil construct. No, it's still working.

"Do you feel any different?"

"Yes. I used to get a rush when I put it back on or recharged it. This time, nothing."

"What is your current charge?"

Ring?

Charge is currently at one hundred percent.

"One hundred percent."

"Try recharging anyway. If nothing untoward happens you can consider yourself reinstated."

"Thank you sir." I hold out my left hand towards the lantern. "Recharge." A thin beam of orange light projected from the lantern's core strikes the ring. It doesn't feel of

I can hear you again.

anything, though I note the beam is much more focused than what it was before I used Guy's lantern's template to repair it. I shake my head at Batman. "Nothing again."

He nods, and offers me his right hand to shake. "Then welcome back to the team."

30th October
19:34 GMT -5

"Give me back my pants!"

Artemis' cheeks flush red as she tries to hold down the ridiculously short skirt, though whether it's from rage or embarrassment I can't tell.

"It's part of her costume. It doesn't come with trousers."

"Looks good to me, babe. Aaarrrroooooo!"

"Uuugh!"

Artemis appears to be regretting accepting my offer to help with her Halloween costume. Wallace has gone with a wolfman headpiece. It's quite an impressive piece, actually. Kon is wearing ring-crafted bandages and pseudo-Egyp... Pseudo-Kahndaqi ornamentation. I even made it so that the bandages would have the same smell as actual mummification wraps. Wolf doesn't seem to think much of it.

"How about tights?" Okay, it was rage. I raise my hands in surrender as she stalks towards me. That costume doesn't come with a collar. "Cycle shorts?"

"Now!"

Ringmakeitso.

There's a brief orange glow around her.. her hips, and a pair of non-canonical white hot pants materialise, just visible under the hem of the skirt. She takes a quick look. "That's barely any better!"

"I'm sorry. Thigh socks would probably go with it, but... Would you rather I just tried something else?"

She tries tugging the skirt down, then gives up with a huff. "It's fine. What are you going as?"

"I'm not."

"What!? Why not?"

"It's an American holiday. I'm British. I don't do Halloween any more than I do Thanksgiving or Independence Day."

"It's just a party, Paul. What are you going to do instead?"

"Batman wants a chat with Kaldur and me, and I really need to get around to reclaiming the rest of my stuff from Guy."

"You could get your stuff from Guy any time. If the meeting with Batman finishes quickly you can still go."

Quite aside from the risk of being recognised, I really don't want to go to a party populated by teenagers. "I'll tell you what: if-."

"Recognised, Zatanna Zatara, A zero six."

M'gann looks around from admiring Kon's costume. "Hey Zatanna. Great costume!" A witch costume, really? Is she trying to reclaim the stereotype or something?

"Thanks! Are you.. going as a Martian?"

"Nooot exactly." M'gann takes a few steps away from the rest of us, holds out her arms and spreads her legs as her clothing and skin transform. First, her short skirt changes into a tattered floor length grey dress, t-shirt and jumper merging to form the bodice. Next, gloves in the same style appear on her hands and forearms as her skin changes to pale grey with heavy black eyeliner and lipstick. Lastly, a torn veil appears on her head, pulled back out of her face. "Grraaaaww!" She makes a grabbing monster gesture with her arms before resting them on her hips, satisfied with her transformation. Sort of a.. Corpse Bride thing?

"If what?"

I return my attention to Artemis. "If you'll celebrate Guy Fawkes Night with me next week."

Kon looks over to me. "Is that some sort of English holiday?"

"Yes. It commemorates a failed attempt four hundred years ago to blow up the Houses of Parliament during the State Opening. If it had succeeded they'd have killed the king, most members of the House of Lords and a lot of members of the House of Commons. The country would have been decapitated."

"What do you do?"

"Traditionally, in the evening, there's a firework display and bonfire. Toffee covered apples are consumed. The highlight of the celebration is the burning in effigy of the leader of the plot, a man named Guy Fawkes, and the Pope." Stares. "The Pope of the day, obviously. I can't say his name, it's the same as mine. If you're interested in the background I studied the Reformation at school and I'd be happy to talk you through it."

Artemis' face looks a little pained. "I.. think I'll give it a miss, thanks."

"Rightyho. I'm not much of a party animal anyway."

There's a degree of awkward shuffling, which is brought to an end by Captain Marvel emerging from one of the side tunnels. I think he's started occupying a room here. Wallace waves at him. "Ah, hey Cap. Any plans for Halloween?"

"I thought I'd take Adom for a look around Fawcett City. Y'know, since this is the one night of the year when he won't get attacked on sight for, y'know, looking like the other guy."

M'gann looks puzzled. "Couldn't he just wear something else?"

"He doesn't seem to like the idea." He really doesn't. Once we convinced him that distinctive costumes were de rigueur for people in our profession he point blank refused to wear anything else. He appears to consider it beneath him. I thought he was being unexpectedly easy going, but he's now familiar enough with the modern world to start expressing informed opinions. I honestly don't see him accepting Diana's hospitality for much longer. One bad news story from Kahndaq is all it would-.

"Recognised, Artemis, B zero eight, Zatanna Zatara, A zero six."

The zeta tubes flare as they disappear. Huh. Guess they didn't want to go to the dance thing either. I suppose not really knowing anyone there would take the fun out of it.

"Well, we should probably be going too." M'gann puts her right arm through Kon's left and I reach out and take Wolf from his right. "Have fun with your meeting."

"I'll try. Enjoy the party." M'gann, Wallace and Kon head towards the seldom used ground exit as Wolf realises that she's been moved and wakes up enough to try burrowing against my body. In a normal puppy that would be cute but I have to reinforce my environmental shield to stop her ripping the outer layer of my armour. I shift her so that she's lying up my chest, and she turns her head to the side in order to lick my face. I stroke her head in an attempt to get her to go back to sleep. The licking doesn't bother me as the ring can easily deal with it. No, she doesn't seem to be feeling tired. Is Batman a dog person? I don't remember seeing one in Wayne Manor. It would probably be best if I persuaded her to stay somewhere out of the way for the meeting. I'll go and find her basket and put her in it with a hot water bottle, that usually works.

I start walking, then remember that the ring is back on my finger. A flicker and I'm at the cupboard where we keep the hot water bottles, another and I'm in the kitchen, turning the tap on to fill it. A quick blast from a heating element construct later and it's up to temperature. Right, basket... I look across to the living area and see Teekl cowering below the basket's rim.

"Teekl? I've been looking for you." There's fear in her eyes. She's shaking. "Teekl, I'm not going to hurt you, you daft cat."

"Not like big orange snake!"

"The Ophidian is inside my lantern. It isn't possessing me anymore. You're perfectly safe." My cat behavioural awareness tells me that approaching will just cause her to bolt so I stay right where I am.

"Not like big orange snake!"

"You don't like the Ophidian, I understand. It isn't here. Sniff me. Your orange light sense should tell you that I'm me again."

My Agent is correct. We are no longer joined.

Teekl suddenly calms down, blinking at me. She must have taken a look. I'd thought that it would take longer than that. Not that I'm complaining. I walk over to her and rub her head. After a slight hesitation she leans into it. Good. Everything back to normal.

30th October
20:16 GMT -5

I'm squatting in the air at chair height in one of the mountain's side rooms. Oh, I missed this. Hanging here, legs bent like I'm sitting on Mum's old kneeling chair but with the ring's flight system taking all of the weight. My back's slightly hunched and my hands are in my lap as I wait for Batman to start.

"Computer, secure the room."

There's a hiss as armoured blast doors close at the exits of the room and a clunk as the air vents close.

"Secured."

"Ooh, sir, before we start?" I float a grey stone each over to Kaldur and Robin on my left and Batman, Red Arrow and Red Tornado on the other side of the room. Shooould work on Tornado, but I'll use the ring to plant a listening device on an external wall just to check. They certainly covered my conversation with Nyssa. I remotely accessed his internal monitoring and the recording of our chat cuts out at the moment she touched the stone. Batman takes hold of his stone between his right thumb and forefinger, studies it for a moment and then looks at me for an explanation. "Scrying wards prevent remote viewing. These prevent remote listening. No one who can't see the speaker with their own eyes will be able to hear what they're saying."

"Was this created by your Atlantean contact?"

"No, by John Constantine. I'll show it to Sephtian next week and I should have an improved and.. smaller version available for League members-" I incline my head towards Red Arrow. "-and associates, within a fortnight."

Batman nods. "Useful." Then the thieving git slips it into his utility belt. It doesn't need skin contact to work but he could at least have asked. "I'll cut to it; do we believe there's a mole within the team?" I narrowly manage to avoid rolling my eyes.

Kaldur takes a step towards him. "I am convinced there is none. When Onyx claimed she had an inside source she was merely sowing dissent."

Robin sits up slightly in his chair. This room has plenty of chairs and I've got no idea why everyone else is standing up. "Her intel could easily have come from comparing notes with the other villains working for the 'Injustice League'." I glance left and, yes, he did the air quotes gesture.

"Kaldur and I did background checks on everyone after we first heard the accusation." I shake my head and shrug. "No evidence of malfeasance. There are other things we could do, but they're invasive and frankly.. paranoid."

"And think about it." Robin leans back with his hands behind his head. "If anyone was working with those creepoids..."

Kaldur inclines his head slightly. "...he or she would have betrayed us during our fight against them."

"I'm not convinced." Well of course mopey arrow isn't convinced. "Sure Robin, Aqualad and Kid Flash are above suspicion-"

"Thanks."

"-but I know Artemis isn't shooting straight." Isn't the only advantage of a bow over a gun that you don't have to shoot straight? "For starters, she's not Green Arrow's niece."

No shit Sherlock. Kaldur jerks his head around to stare at me. I shrug. "She has a secret identity. You said to just share information you needed, and you didn't need it."

"Your decision was correct." Batman nods slightly. "Though Artemis' relations may make her suspect, in the absence of specific evidence we have no reason to share her true identity without her consent."

"And what about you?" Red Arrow narrows his eyes at me. "We have no way of verifying anything you've told us about where you come from. And you've been getting friendly with Lex Luthor."

"Two points to consider in my defence. Firstly, I spent the week before last as a physical god. Assuming that I'd stayed true to whatever cause I was betraying you to, there was absolutely no reason for me not to off the lot of you. Believe me, it was well within our abilities. Secondly, Kaldur used the Lasso of Truth on me during our initial investigation. I don't remember exactly what I said-" I look at him for confirmation. "-but apparently it was quite convincing."

Kaldur thinks for a moment. "You said that you would only think it correct to betray the team in a situation where to do so would serve the greater good in a way that massively outstripped the harm done, and that you were aware of no such situation currently existing." Huh. Not exactly the declaration of camaraderie I was hoping for. "You also said that you were not capable of betraying Superboy, regardless of the situation." Orange light for the win. "Then you tried to explain some point of moral philosophy. Something about 'believing in the ideal and not the idol'? I'm afraid that by that stage you had become fairly incoherent."

I look at the others. "Well, I'm convinced."

"Then what about Miss Martian?" Red Arrow's really got the bit in his teeth at the moment. "She is Manhunter's niece, but he told Black Canary he has a few hundred nieces and nephews. And the first time he met M'gann was five months ago, when she stowed away on his last trip from Mars to Earth."

Hah! I grin. I didn't know that she'd done that. Kaldur remains impassive. "This changes nothing." He folds his arms across his chest. "I have fought side by side with these people. None, are traitors."

"Though.. there are techniques for bypassing agency. Kon was nearly the victim of one. Might be worth getting M'gann and Mister King to have a look at all of our brains." I think for a moment. "Actually, it wouldn't be a bad idea to make that a regular thing for all of us."

Kaldur thinks for a moment. "Members of the League of Shadows were routinely being issued with wards to block scrying. Might enemies with the capacity to use magic be gathering information that way?"

I look at Batman. "Please tell me this mountain's warded." A small shake of the head. Ah, poop. "Well, I could get someone in to fix that, but you might be happier if Mister Zatara did it instead. Scrying wards for League members -including when they're in their civilian identities- might also be a good idea. Aside from magic and telepathy... The greenies and I can scan for implants or nanotechnology. I suppose... Parallel universe duplicates? Are they a thing?"

Batman considers. "Though I haven't ever encountered one, your presence here suggests that they could be."

"Could the problem be on the League end?"

"I performed thorough background checks on every League member. All of them are loyal to the organization."

"A robotic engineer who had studied either myself or my brother or sister could duplicate our bodies, and we are not susceptible to telepathic interrogation." It's weird how someone Red Tornado's size can fade into the background just by being silent and stationary. "I have upgraded our security protocols to ensure that the technique our father used to ensure my siblings' obedience will no longer function."

"I don't suppose we managed to get Onyx during the last round of arrests?"

Batman shakes his head again. "Both she and Bane are still at large. We're monitoring his factory on Santa Prisca, but it doesn't appear to be in operation."

Robin leans forwards. "How about Brain? We know he had contact with both Wotan and the Ultra-Humanite."

"Gerard Shu-gel." He scowls at me.

"Nothing as yet, though all League members are on the alert for any information on their whereabouts." Silence descends. I can't think of anything to add to the discussion. After a moment Batman raises his head. "On the basis that we have no hard evidence, I think it would be best to proceed on the assumption that there is no mole. I'll ask Zatara to contact you with regards to the cave's arcane defenses. Dismissed."