The cold sand under my right hand shifts slightly as I push myself into a kneeling position.
What?
Dark, I was expecting. Sand, not so…
"Oh!"
Right, dream. Chu.
I push backwards, onto my bare feet.
I've never been able to get this lucid dreaming thing to work for me before, but let's try…
"{orange}Clean{/}!"
Sand sprays off me in all directions, nearly causing me to lose my lips as the sand in my mouth leaves by the nearest available exit.
Alright, that worked. Now, what do I… Whaw.
Looking down, I'm not standing on the ground anymore. I'm floating just above it. There's a small indentation where I was standing, and my feet are surrounded by a corona of orange light.
Flying dream. I {orange}love{/} flying dreams. Even that one time I was riding on a dragon's back to do it.
I grin, and look at the sky.
{orange}Go go go{/}!
Dust is blown away from me as I rocket into the sky. Within a few seconds I'm too high up to see the crater I made. I stop, and turn slowly around, taking everything in. A bit {orange}hard to see{/} in the dark…
Haha! I control this dream!
The clearly illuminated desert dunes stretch away in all directions. Kinda dull, actually. No, I'm {orange}not wasting this{/}!
I dive back for the desert floor, grinning like a loon. As I hit the ground I {orange}want{/} it to part before me, and then like Scrooge McDuck I dive through the densely packed silica grains in a subterranean 'U' before surfacing and hovering just above the ground.
The path of my passage is now shiny crystal, a bit like the passages used in Tok'ra installations. As I watch, a weak wind blows some of the sand around the entranceway down into it. I suppose it'll fill in completely before too long. A bit of a shame, that. I remember an episode of the Aladdin animated series where Mechanicles tried to turn the whole desert into glass. Crazy, yes, but pretty.
Wait a second. Why am I glowing orange?
I hold out my hands for a moment. There's a glowing orange ring on my left. I bring it closer to my face, and turn my hand so that the palm is facing me.
Orange power ring, of course! What better representation of a whim indulgence lucid dreaming than a device designed to make whatever the user wants to happen happen!
"Hello, ring!"
{orange}"Awaiting command."{/}
Hmm. The voice reminds me of the AI from Flight of the Navigator. Not sure what I was expecting. Was that my first exposure to the idea of artificial intelligence?
This desert's a bit boring. Go somewhere else? Wait, what am I wearing? My summer pyjamas? Oh, hello arm, aren't you muscular today?
I hold my right arm out to the side, upper arm horizontal and forearm straight up. I roll up the short sleeve of my pyjama top and rotate my hand one hundred and eighty degrees, watching the muscles move as I do so. I move my left arm over -yep, it's the same- and gently rub my right bicep, {orange}marvelling at it{/}.
My left hand traces the contours of my abdominal muscles as my right runs over my pectorals. Some sort of silver pendant sits between them on a chain. Ignoring it, I stretch, lean and flex, all the while taking in the {orange}GLORY{/} that is {orange}ME{/}. I run my hands over the unfamiliar muscles on my back. No body hair? Odd, but somehow appropriate, like a body builder but less deformed. I bend and tense the muscles in my legs, lightly massaging my thighs and calves. Also good.
Penis looks the same, with the slightly discoloured patch on the left side of the head still visible. Looks like I evened up my scrotal balance though.
God, this is great.
Okay, clothes. {orange}Something classy{/}. Oh yes, this is a nice suit.
I rub myself against it, taking a moment to relish the feel of the material against my smooth skin. Closing my eyes and stretching my arms out to the side. No glasses, but my vision is perfect. The feel of wind through the fingers is like nothing I've felt before. I can hear the faint sound of sand grains sliding past each other. I can smell the arid desert air.
I shake slightly at the overwhelming sensuality of it all.
Huhuhuhurrrr.
**Ohh, my head… Where am I? This can't be Mars…**
My eyes snap open.
What was that? Hello?
**One moon… white sand… Oxygen!**
Hello?
**Hello?**
I receive an impression of surprise.
**Who's there?**
**Ring, {orange}what's happening{/}?**
**What ring? Who is this?**
{orange}**You are engaged in telepathic communication.**{/}
Oh.
**Who was that?**
{orange}I want to go to wherever the person I'm talking to is{/}.
The scenery shifts. I'm now facing a large dune, and just in front of me standing on the ground is… A young woman with long red hair and green skin.
Wait a minute! That's M'gann! The Martian girl from the Teen Titans comics!
I lower myself to just above the ground, a short way in front of her.
"Are we..? Are we on Earth?"
I tilt my head to the side.
Are we? Probably. Earth is my default planet after all, and I haven't tried to change it. Even if I did, what I got would probably be similar to the environments I already know.
"Maybe? Do you want to be on Earth?"
She frowns. "How do you not know? You.. you're Human, aren't you?"
"Yes, yes I am."
She smiles. "I'm so glad. For a moment I thought one of my brothers was playing a trick on me again. 'Make M'gy dream she's on Earth then listen to her thoughts as she wakes up'. They can be so mean."
I wiggle my right index finger. "No no, you can't be dreaming. This is my dream."
She pulls her head back slightly, narrowing her eyes. "I.. don't.. think this is a dream."
"Well, obviously you'd say that."
She blinks. "I… I.. don't.. think-."
Something SLAMS into the base of the dune with tremendous force, sending up a plume of dust. M'gann struggles to keep her balance, so I {orange}float{/} her into the air as I drift down to see what it was that just crashed.
Things were getting a bit slow. Good work, brain!
A figure materialises out of the settling dust. He's crouched on all fours. Pale skin, blue eyes, black t-shirt with a Superman type 'S' logo. Blue cargo trousers.
That's Superboy. Am I going to get visited by that whole Teen Titans line-up?
Best subconscious ever!
"Um, I can fly by myself."
What? Oh, right. I release her and she floats right over to her team mate.
"I've seen that symbol. Is he..? Are you.. Superman?"
Huh?
Superboy stands, pulls his t-shirt up so he can see the 'S'. Uum, his chest isn't so bad either. "{red}Yyyyaaaaaagghhh{/}!" Then he rips the t-shirt apart with a bellow of rage!
What's up with him?
He lunges for M'gann, arms outstretched. She gasps and dodges, flying swiftly to the side and leaving him diving into the earth. Another surge from the Kryptonian, and this time he narrowly misses punching her as she goes for height. I can just about hear him growling as he watches her move away.
Why doesn't he fly after her? Superboy was always able to fly, right? And by this stage, since he isn't physically a child, shouldn't he have heat vision?
I drop down to his level, leaving me enough space to evade if needed. I've never felt pain in a dream before, but this dream has unusually high definition and I don't want to have to wake myself up because my arms got ripped off.
"Superboy?"
He orientates on me, crouching slightly, arms to the side.
"Kon-El? Conner Kent? What's up?"
"Aghaarh!"
Another lunge. Hah!
I {orange}skip{/} to the side as he slams into my {orange}giant spring construct{/}. Thank you, Sonic the Hedgehog Two. One priceless moment of confusion as he compresses it, and he's sent flying into the distance.
"And there goes the Id representation."
Something occurs to me. I haven't seen him in any television adaptation. I know him only from the comics, and then only really from Teen Titans. So:
"Why wasn't he wearing jeans? He always wears jeans."
M'gann drops back down to my level. "Was that..? Was that Superman?"
"No, that was Superboy."
"Superman has a son?"
"Kind of. He's basically a modified clone. Half Kryptonian, and half Human."
"Is that possible?"
"In a dream, yes. In a comic, certainly. In reality?" I shake my head. "Nnnnoo."
"This… This is reality."
I wiggle my index finger again. "No it isn't. In reality, you can't mix genes from two unrelated multicellular species together and get a functional life form. In reality, power rings don't exist." I open my left palm and point to the fat scowling boy symbol. "In reality, Mars is entirely uninhabited. I mean, what language are you hearing me speak?"
"… Ca'andran."
"Well, there you go. I don't speak Ca'andran. Watch my lips, I'm not making the right shapes for the words."
She peers at me.
I enunciate: "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog."
"That's… You're not. But, telepathy, maybe? I.. I can translate speech by connecting to the language centres of your brain."
"Telepathy's not real. Even in the DCU, there's maybe a handful of telepathic Humans in existence. Am I touching your brain?"
"W-? No."
"And you're not touching mine." I throw up my arms. "Dream logic! Narrative convenience!"
"Your power ring! The ring's translating!"
I stretch my neck out toward her. "Haooooow? Even if it had a database of the two languages, it wouldn't get the grammar in real time, would it? And there's no orange glow."
She sighs.
"This isn't helping. Do you know where we are?"
I'll play along. "Ring, {orange}where are we{/}?"
{orange}"You are presently located in the Bialyan Desert, in the country of Bialya. On Earth."{/}
"See!" I point at the ring again. "That's a made up country!"
14th April
Alone in a desert with an attractive alien woman.
It seems that M'gann's knowledge of Middle Eastern geography is not sufficiently advanced to argue the point. Come to think of it, I'm not sure that, given national outlines and a list of names, I'd get them all right. I mean, I'd get Syria and Saudi Arabia, the obvious ones, but I'm not sure I could point to Turkmenistan reliably.
But I know that I've heard of Bialya in the comics. Can't remember which one, or when, but I'm sure it was there. And I'm sure that I've heard all of the names of the real Middle Eastern countries at some point.
Agh, no, I'm not looking at this the right way. This is basically an argument with myself. And while precisely narrowing down a fictional fact is reasonably interesting to me, I can sort it out with a Wikipedia search tomorrow.
"Got any plans for the rest of the evening?"
M'gann's airborne, looking in the direction Superboy blasted off into. She turns around. "Huh?"
"We're young, we're attractive, we're in the middle of nowhere. What do you want to do?"
"Shouldn't.. we go after him?"
"He didn't look like he was in the mood for company."
She frowns, thinking. "How do you know him? Come to think of it, how do you know my name?"
"This is my dream. I know everyone here."
"This isn't..! Uh." She turns away again.
I {orange}make a lazy circuit{/} of her, slowly taking her in. She ignores me, talking to herself.
"If we're on Earth, I should try to contact Uncle J'onn. My parents will be worried. Well, once they realize I'm gone, anyway." She notices that I'm in front of her. "How did you get here?"
"Normally I get into a dream-."
She holds up her right hand. "Can you just, just pretend that it's not a dream. For now. Where were you before you came here?"
"Over that way." I point back the way I came.
"And before that?"
I shrug. "Nowhere. I woke… I became aware of my environment, lying on the sand. Flew around for a bit, heard you, came here."
She appears to consider this. I circle closer, dipping down behind her before rising from her left to her front. My face is level with hers, about forty centimetres away.
"You know, I didn't used to see the appeal of skin tight costumes. Too impractical. No armour. But that arse has converted me."
She starts, blushing. "W-what?"
"What?" I shrug. "I know DC Martians don't actually look like-" I make an upwards gesture with both hands, palms up. "-that. Clearly you gave Human aesthetics some thought before creating your current shape. Speaking as a Human, it's.. nice. Curvy without being flabby, you've resisted the temptation to make the proportions ridiculous. Hair's good for a species that's naturally bald… Face is cute rather than stunning, but-" I wave my right index finger at her. "-I think that works for you."
"Um." She floats back slightly, eyes down and off to the side. I follow at a slightly slower rate. "Thanks… I, I think."
I smile. "You're most welcome."
I suppose she wouldn't appreciate my own Lamian beauty. Martian aesthetic ideas must be rather different to Human ones, given their protean nature.
Hmm. If the dream is allowing me to hear her words from a distance, can I merge concepts? Can I transmit more complex ideas?
**[I run my right index finger up her throat to her chin, gently applying pressure to encourage her to look directly at me.]**
She starts again, looking at me. "I thought you said you aren't telepathic."
"I'm not. The idea that your ability can work that way just seemed… Obvious." I point my index fingers toward each other at my chest, moving them in circles without them touching. "Don't.. Martians…"
"Well, yes, but.. but not…" She's blushing up a storm now. Adorable. "That's something we only really do with, um people, who we're…" Her hands go to her mouth. "You don't think we're..?"
I raise my right index finger, and shake my head. "Mn. Question is; do you {orange}want{/} to be?"
**[My arms around her chest, under her breasts. My bare chest pressed against her naked back. My face nuzzling her neck. Her giggles like silver bells.]**
She thrusts her hands forward, her eyes white. I feel a strong pushing force at my chest. I allow it to propel me backwards.
"This is not that sort of dream!"
"Apparently." I frown. "I'm usually awake and changing my trousers by this stage." I face shrug. "Ahh, I suppose that would be a waste of an opportunity anyway. What would you like to do instead?"
"I'm pretty sure I'd remember coming to Earth, and joining a superhero team."
"But you're on Earth now and you don't remember it."
"I know. I don't know why."
We're flying over the desert with no particular direction in mind. Apparently, I've generated a version of M'gann from before she joined the Titans. Or I just don't know enough about her backstory to fill in the gaps. As far as I remember she just sort of turned up after that One Year Later thing, and the Titans met up with her while investigating… something. I remember them visiting her in Australia, but I don't remember much else.
Dawn was a while ago, and we both took time to marvel at the changing colours of the desert. Apart from that -and I'll admit, it was well worth seeing- things have been getting dull since Superboy learned to fly.
Oh, no, I do remember something else; I remember that she's a White Martian. But this version seems to have the ruthless aggression aspect thoroughly under control. She's actually pretty passive.
And then she's not there any more. I {orange}stop{/} in the air and look around. Oh, she stopped first.
"Perhaps if I concentrate, and can force myself to remember."
"Context reinstatement, that sort of thing?"
"Martian mental exercises are a bit more complicated than that, but, yeah."
"Sounds boring. Since I know who all your team mates are, why don't I just scan for them?"
"Uuhm…"
She actually puts her right index finger to her lips. I don't remember her being this cute in the comics. Don't remember her wearing a black costume either. I think I prefer this.
"I.. suppose… I mean, if they're here, they'll probably know what happened, right? And I can always meditate later if they aren't here."
Right. Who was in the team with M'gann? I think I can write off Superboy as a lost cause. If that's the version of him my mind spawned I doubt that I'll be able to get it to create another. Hmm. Robin? No. I think of Richard Grayson as Robin, and she was in the team with Tim Drake. The dissonance might wake me up.
"Ring, {orange}locate Wonder Girl{/}."
{orange}"Wonder Girl not found."{/}
Eh? I know that there's at least two of them, but why couldn't it find either? Maybe that's the problem? Right, who on M'gann's team was unique.
…
Mia… thingy? Harper? I know she was Speedy two, but maybe if I just ask for her by name?
"Ring, {orange}locate Mia Harper{/}."
{orange}"There are no individuals by that name in the local area."{/}
M'gann's starting to look uncertain. "Maybe I should-?"
"No. No, I'm gunna get this."
"Ring, {orange}locate Rose Wilson{/}."
{orange}"There are no individuals by that name in the local area."{/}
"Ring, {orange}locate Impulse{/}."
{orange}"Impulse not found."{/}
No, that's right, he changed his name after that thing with Deathstroke's son.
"Ring, {orange}locate Kid Flash{/}."
Bit of a chance, but-.
{orange}"Kid Flash located."{/}
"Hahah!"
Triumph. Oh, no, better not think about him, that sort of mess is the last thing I need.
"{orange}Where{/}?"
And I know. I'm getting feedback from my dream about the state of my dream? Weird. Maybe above a certain degree of complexity that's the only way to interact with it? It's not like I'm keeping track of every grain of sand.
"Okay!" I make an upwards waving motion with my left hand and an orange bubble {orange}forms around us{/}.
"Um..?"
"It'll be faster. Ring, {orange}take us there{/}."
The scenery shifts. Sand is replaced by rock. Empty desert by Bart Allen and… A blonde woman in a green costume, carrying a bow. No, not Mia Harper. Wrong costume for Arrowette. Um. Um?
I tilt my head to the side. "Who are you?"
"Oh C'eridyall."
M'gann's dropped to her knees at the bottom of the bubble. Her hands are over her mouth. Oh dear.
I drop her out of the bubble. She falls about a metre to the ground, and is heartily sick.
Bart looks at me, then at M'gann. "Aaaaaaahh. Could you explain who you are, and why Martian Manhunter's a girl now?"
"Does she look anything like Martian Manhunter?"
He looks at her. She's stopped puking, and is wiping her mouth and shakily rising to her feet. He looks back to me. "Martian Manhunter's a shapeshifter."
I'm pinned… No, hang on. I've made an impression in the cliff face. Something hit me from behind. My bubble shield is… yes? Gone.
Still doesn't hurt.
I push myself out of the rock, and fall down onto the ground on my back. "{orange}Ring, status report?{/}"
{orange}"You have no serious injuries. You are slightly dazed. Another tank shell would most likely be fatal."{/}
"{orange}Undaze, please{/}."
{orange}"Compliance."{/}
And everything's back in focus. I roll onto my front, rise to a sprinter's start, and try and work out {orange}what's going on{/}.
Rock formations form a sort of channel on either side, and at the far end? Tanks. Four of them, forming a 'U' shape. Second from the left has some sort of burns around the right side of its turret, but there's no serious damage. If Warhammer 40,000 second edition taught me anything it's that you should go for the tracks, not the turret. An immobilised tank in the middle of the desert would be no threat to anyone.
Bart and the girl with the bow are in cover behind a rock formation. No tanker with any sense is going to want to close to that sort of distance with infantry, but then they don't really need to. The tank on the far right fires, and gouges a chunk out of the cliff near them. M'gann's in the air, and as the tank second from the right fires she brings her arms together. The shell detonates in mid air, but the force of the detonation knocks her flying.
This isn't like…
…
I'm starting to get the feeling that this may be real.
"{orange}Ring, is this actually happening{/}?"
{orange}"Your senses and cognitive functions are unimpaired."{/}
The tank's pintle gunners try to hit M'gann as she swoops across their formation. Arrow girl breaks cover and launches an arrow in an arc high into the air. After it passes M'gann it explodes into a cloud of dense smoke.
But…
Think it through, think it through. If this is real, then I have a power ring. I should help. Heck, maybe I'm one of her team mates. If it isn't, then I don't lose anything, and if it is some sort of hallucination I can't imagine that anything I'm doing would help me get out of it.
So, how do I-
The tracks. Right.
{orange}Flight{/}.
Dust and sand blow away in my wake as I zoom along the ground, heading for the far right tank. The guy sticking out of the turret spots me and points, trying to get the attention of someone. The next guy in the line? The main gun begins to traverse.
{orange}Ring, calculate shell flight path and evade{/}.
I hug the deck, aileron roll, and then I'm pulled aside as the cannon fires and misses. The pintle gunner fires too, but the angle's bad and he's having trouble following my jinking movements.
Ow!
I spin out of control for a moment, bouncing off the ground and getting a face full of grit before resuming my forwards travel.
{orange}Ring, what{/}?
{orange}One hit to the back of left shoulder by Degtyaryov-Shpagin 12.7 by 108mm calibre machine gun. Impact absorbed by environmental shielding. Warning; at current avarice levels environmental shield is not capable of resisting sustained fire.
Arc barrier{/}.
An orange rectangular panel appears ahead of my head, just big enough to block all possible fire arcs from the only tank firing at me. The larger surface area means that I watch several bullets bounce off it while others throw up puffs of sand.
{orange}Faster{/}.
Then I'm past them and their rear armour's mine.
{orange}Circular saws{/}.
I flick my index fingers forwards and the spinning blades fly into the rear of the tracks. They cut, bounce, scream and flicker.
{orange}Cut, damn it{/}!
The noise drops as the blades slide through the steel, then on through the wheels at the side and then the track at the front.
O-kay then.
The tanks at the rear of the formation can't risk fratricide by firing their main guns, but they're reorientating their pintle weapons in my direction. The orange arc barrier extends.
{orange}Move{/}.
Who deploys tanks like this without infantry support?
The second tank is closer to me than the first one was. The barrier shield extends around my rear as the tank whose tracks I just sliced opens fire again with its machine gun, and then I'm behind target two.
{orange}Cut{/}!
This time I swing a single larger disc blade from left to right. It slices through the steel with little difficulty. There aren't even that many sparks.
I hear bullets of a different calibre hit my shield. Looking up, I see that the tank commander has clambered out of the turret and is shooting me with his sidearm.
{orange}Ring, knock him out{/}.
An orange line hits him in the forehead and for a second an orange circlet appears on his head. Then he collapses bonelessly to the armoured surface of the turret and then slides off onto the ground.
That's going to hurt.
Out of enemy line of sight? {orange}What's everyone else doing{/}?
The ring replays events in my mind. M'gann going high over the tanks, above their maximum elevation as whatsherface with the bow lays down more cover in the middle of the tank formation. She reaches her hands down, and the people manning the pintle weapons of the tanks on the left rise into the air and are sent flying into each other with a grunt. Straining, she makes an upward pulling gesture and the barrels of the main cannons bend into uselessness.
Not a bad idea, that.
I rise up behind my cover tank, my right index finger pointing at its barrel and my left targeting the barrel of the one I just left, now rotated to face me.
"{orange}BLAZING ORANGE BOLT{/}!"
Two beams of orange the width of my entire hands flare out from me. The barrel of the closest tank is cleaved clean through, and a groove gouged into the tank's front armour. The barrel of the further tank is severed at the base, with the beam carrying on through the turret armour and out the other side. The guy manning the machine gun takes cover and slams down the hatch.
The body of the enthusiastic tank commander breaks my fall. I decide that keeping my head down is a good idea, crouching down behind the tank.
"When you say low…"
{orange}"Ten percent power remaining. As per standing orders nonessential ring functions are now triggered by direct request only. High expenditure abilities not recommended."{/}
I check, but the tank guy's still breathing.
No high expenditure, right. I'm guessing big orange beams are high expenditure? Is soaking bullets high expenditure? Why'd I ask for a suit instead of armour? I don't even know where my lantern is.
I edge around the corner of the defeated tank to look at the rear one of the two that M'gann took on. Their turret traverses left and right a little. They're not going to try firing it, are they? No, it seems they're not; they and their wingman are bravely advancing to the rear instead. I hear a sort of clang from over to my left, and shuffle along to the other side of my cover just in time to watch my first victim try to retreat as well, and fail as their entire track system comes apart.
Then the one I'm leaning against starts to rumble.
Uh oh.
How far back can it go before the tracks come off? Half a revolution?
I {orange}grab{/} the tanker commander and {orange}lunge{/} out of the way just as the tank follows through on its rumbled threats and I get a ringside seat at watching it drive out of its own tracks and grind to a halt.
I drop the tanker.
I think we're done here.
**We won!**
M'gann's voice inside my head.
I take a look at the tanker's uniform. There's writing. It might be Arabic, but it looks like the ring's translator is 'nonessential' and I've got no idea what it says. There's a flag, but I can't identify it.
**Okay, this is weird.**
Oh, you have no idea.
Bart doesn't sound like I thought he would. Has he not used team telepathy before?
What can I contribute? **Should we be.. going somewhere, away from here? These tanks probably have radios.**
**Right. Everyone head back this way.**
Bart's probably got most experience at this point in his life so I'm inclined to let him take the lead. But best to check.
**M'gann? I'm on low power. Is there anything in the immediate area that looks like it might wurragh!**
She dropped down right next to me, silently. I look her over. "You're looking.. better."
She looks at the fallen soldier. "He's not… dead, is he?"
"No, I just told the ring to knock him out." Ooh. "We should loot him."
"What?"
"We're in a desert, and I'm on low power."
I kneel down and start going through his pouches. Compass, map, notebook, water bottle, some sort of foil pack of something… Yep, I'll take that.
Hey, looks like this suit has decent pockets.
"I.. suppose. Doesn't he need it?"
"There'll be more in the tank, and they'll probably get resupplied inside an hour." I wave the water bottle at M'gann. "This, could be the difference between life an-."
She looks at it, and it's yanked from my hand. She catches it, takes a swig, rolls the water around her mouth and then spits it out. Then she does it again.
Ah.
"Sorry about the… sick… thing. I really didn't know the instant transfer thing did that."
"Don't mention it." She grimaces. "I mean it; really don't."
I hear the hatch open at the top. I put my right hand to my mouth. "We're still here! Carry on hiding!"
The hatch clangs again, and I hear it lock.
I look over to the rocks where arrow girl has already rejoined Bart.
"Would you mind giving me a lift? I wasn't joking about low power, and I don't want to fly if I don't have to."
"I can probably manage you."
And I'm floating up into the air. Now I get why she wanted to fly herself when Superboy came visiting; it's pretty unnerving when someone else does this to you.
She leads the way, flying us both upwards and away from the tank, dragging me slightly behind her. I notice that the crew of my first target are starting to stick their heads out, and they duck back down as we pass. I also notice that whatever inertia control thing the ring was doing when I was flying earlier isn't happening now. I don't think I'm in danger of mirroring M'gann's performance, but the acceleration and heat are making me feel a little queasy.
Oh, the heat. Now I've got nothing else to focus on, I'm feeling it with a vengeance. Looks like my environmental shield's climate control is nonessential too, but I'm not going to risk overriding it until I know what's going on.
"So, this 'Kid Flash' is one of my team mates?"
"I think so. Look, I'm starting to think this, is actually happening."
She turns in the air, still moving toward our destination. Her hands go to her hips.
"Oh really?"
"Yes. Um, sorry. You're clearly not a dream. And since I've got a power ring, I'm starting to think that I might be a member of the team as well."
"Are you sure? I mean, you don't have a uniform."
"I woke up wearing pyjamas, then I switched to this suit. I think the ring stores my clothes, so.. if I have a costume it's probably in there."
"Shouldn't you put it on?"
"I think the suit makes me stand out enough. I don't want to waste ring power until I have a better idea about what's happening."
From here I've got a clear view of arrow girl and Bart. They're… What's the term? Talking animatedly. His body language suggests embarrassment.
Why is his uniform black? The only Flash I remember with a black uniform was Wally West during his brief tenure with the Elite. And that death embodiment thing.
M'gann drops us down just in front of them. Arrow girl crosses her arms across her chest. An exposed midriff case. Along with the bow, it's making me seriously doubt her usefulness. Though, I suppose Bart didn't do anything in the fight just now.
"So." I clasp my hands in front of me with a clap. "Anyone have any idea what's going on?"
Bart scratches the back of his head with his left hand.
"Beats me. Woke up in a shack at the end of the valley, waited for sleepy head here to wake up, been dodging those tanks since. Uh, you wouldn't have anything to eat, would you? My metabolism's really fast, and dodging tank shells isn't as easy as it sounds."
I fish the foil packet out of my pocket. There's a blur, and it's in his hand.
"Careful! Last time I opened one of those, it was a duck's… Foot…"
It wasn't a duck's foot. It was chocolate, and he inhaled it. Guess Bialyan tankers have better taste than Chinese university students.
"Thanks man. So, who are you guys?"
M'gann smiles, hands clasped in front of her. "My name's M'gann M'orzz and I'm very pleased to meet you."
I give a royal wave with my right hand. "And I'm-."
…
How'd I get down here?
The others have gathered around me.
Arrow girl crosses her arms again. "Oh great! A narcoleptic."
What?
"What?"
Ow…
I push myself up into a sitting position. "Right. Not.. sure what happened there. Um, hello, I'm-."
…
And I'm down again, apparently.
"Ow."
Arrow girl huffs. "Seriously?"
"Looks like I can't say my own name. That's.. weird."
Arrow girl looks at M'gann. "Who's this idiot?"
I answer. "Orange Lantern two eight one six. Or is it two eight one.. four. I can never remember. They must be close together, right?"
Bart looks sceptical. "Orange Lantern?"
I shift to a cross legged position, and open my left palm toward him. The ring is guttering.
"Power rings come in nine different colours. But since none of them erase memories I don't think it's really relevant."
M'gann looks pleased with herself. "So, you've given up on it being a dream then?"
I sag. "Yeah, that didn't really.. pan out."
Bart squints. "You thought this was a dream?"
"I woke up able to fly, met up with a gorgeous alien from a planet I know to be uninhabited, and then I fought main battle tanks with super heroes. Does that sound remotely realistic to you? Really?"
"Uh, yeah. That's, like, every week."
I cautiously rise to my feet. "Not where I'm from."
"How long have you had that ring?"
Oh, goodness, the heat.
"Gotta be five hours now. And I'm at ten percent power, so, y'know, don't expect much."
Arrow girl rolls her eyes. "I don't think anyone was."
"Two tanks to none, 16th century peasant girl. Sorry. Sorry, not peasant."
Defensive hands to pointing hands.
"Yeoman!"
Shrug hands.
"Yeowoman."
Pointing hands.
"Yeoperson? 16th century yeoperson girl!"
"Ugh!" She rage-grunts, then steps forwards towards me.
"O-kay." Bart steps between us, a hand toward each of our chests. "Not helping."
Right, right. Rational. Calm down.
I look down, and take a couple of deep breaths. Once I feel a little more steady, I make eye contact with the visibly fuming yeoperson.
"I'm sorry, that was uncalled for on my part. Orange Lantern is really the best I can do for a name." I hold out my right hand. "What's yours?"
I take her piercing gaze at full scowl for five very long seconds. Then, grudgingly, her eyes still fixed on mine, she takes my hand in hers. "Artemis."
"Oh! Are you an Amazon?"
Her hand is withdrawn, and her arms recross. "No."
There's an awkward moment of silence, before M'gann speaks up. "So, um, do you have memory loss as well?"
Bart nods. "Last thing I remember is doing chemistry homework. Then, boom, desert."
He looks at Artemis, who glares back, before realising that we're all looking at her for her answer. "I was.. shopping."
I answer next. "I was trying to get to sleep, but I think the important question is, when was this?"
A flicker of concern from Bart. "March third."
Artemis nods.
{yellow}Aaaaaaah{/}.
"Oh dear."
M'gann looks concerned. "What is it?"
"What year?"
"Two thousand ten."
{yellow}Aaaaaaah ah ah ah{/}…
My distress must be visible. M'gann puts a hand on my left shoulder.
Calm. I will remain calm.
"I.. thought that today was the fourteenth of April. Two thousand thirteen."
I put my right hand on top of M'gann's, trying to draw comfort from it. "I.. don't.. suppose any of us are wearing a watch?"
There's a moment of collective looking at each other.
Artemis' frustration causes her to speak first. "You can't tell the time with a power ring?!"
"Sure, easily, but that'll use battery power. How much do we really need to know right now?"
Bart shakes his head. "We can worry about what day it is later. Right now, we need to know why we're here."
"Um, I can.. help with that?" M'gann's actually raised her right hand a little. "If our memories are suppressed or damaged rather than totally gone, I might be able to reconstruct what happened to us. Together, our broken memories should be able to form a whole, if.. you open your minds to mine."
{orange}!Want!{/}
"{orange}I want my memories back{/}. And, Superboy looked like he doesn't remember-."
Bart holds up a hand. "Wait. Superwhatnow?"
"Superboy. The Superman clone?" Blank looks from Bart and Artemis. "If you only met him after.. err.. the third of March? You wouldn't remember."
"What happened to him?"
"M'gann and I tried talking to him, he went a bit berserk.. and.. then I.. fired him over the horizon with a giant orange spring."
Stares.
"I'll apologise next time I see him. Can we focus on getting our brains back?"
Bart smiles at M'gann. "My brain's all yours. Try not to let its brilliance overwhelm you."
Artemis does not look happy. "You're both okay with her just reading through our private thoughts?"
{orange}!Memories!{/}
"{yellow}Yes{/}! Very much okay! {orange}I want, my mind back{/}."
Too much? From the look Bart gives me, yes. Having my mind altered like this is freaking me out almost as much as the environment. I hope complete-me has a better handle on things.
M'gann releases my shoulder and takes a step towards Artemis, hands raised in a placatory gesture.
"I have no wish to intrude, but we've each clearly lost a substantial period of time, and the only way for us to get it back is to trust each other. I swear, I will only look at the parts of your memory that have been damaged."
She still doesn't look happy about it, but I think she wants to know what's happened nearly as much as I do.
Bart steps up alongside her. She starts for a moment, then gives a shallow nod.
M'gann's eyes go white.
I'm watching Batman stand in front of a relief map of the area we're currently standing in. The view flickers, both on and off and between four slightly different perspectives. I know one of the viewpoints is mine, and I assume that the others are those of my companions. At least we know that we're actually on a team now.
"The Watchtower detected an immense power surge in the Bialyan desert. Spectral analysis revealed elements non-terrestrial in origin."
I work for Batman?
"Find out what happened at that site, what landed there."
Superboy's standing at my left. Then, out of my field of vision. Then my right. Can telepathic visions make you motion sick? He's a lot better company when he's not berserking. In fact, I think I.. like him a great deal.
"Bialya is a rogue state, ruled by Queen Bee, and not a member of the League's UN charter. All communications are subject to interception. Maintain radio silence at all times. If it is absolutely essential to transmit a message, Orange Lantern can send it to one of the League's Green Lanterns."
I don't remember anything about Bialya from the comics, or from the reading I hope I did in preparation for this mission. I have missions? If this.. place, is real, I might need to share the 'this looks like a comic' thing with M'gann just to get my memories back.
The scene shifts. It's now night, and we're standing in the desert. No, they are. I'm in some sort of.. aircraft? The bioship. M'gann's alien spaceship thing. Superboy… No. Kon. I call him Kon. Kon is carrying some kind of machine on his back. A cuboid, perhaps 1.6 metres by 1.6 metres by 50 centimetres. Is that armour plating? Must weigh tonnes. And suddenly I can remember him lifting far heavier weights in the gym with me spotting for him. I walk down the ramp after him.
Another shift. I'm holding up a glowing orange image of the target area. Through the eyes of my team mates I see my costume. Looks like I had the sense to go for armour, and I think it's grey in colour. I'm deducting points from myself for the glowing insignia, however. On the diagram, circles flare around points of interest; guards and flak guns.
I see someone short… Robin! Our team has a Robin. That would be Tim Drake, wouldn't it? He leans forward to study the image.
"Looks like they're dug in."
"Set up here."
I don't see who says that, and the voice is unfamiliar. {yellow}I should know it{/}! No, remain calm. Just let it come, or accept that it'll take time.
Through someone else's eyes I see Kon set the machinery down, then turn a knob at one end. There's a hiss as two banks of computers extend from the side.
I think there's a significant timeskip, but it's hard to tell. I think the next image is from Bart's point of view, looking over Tim's shoulder as he works on one of the computer terminals.
"Jackpot! The site's lousy with zeta beam radiation."
The perspective shifts to… Artemis, I think. Robin turns from his work. "Detecting non-terrestrial trace elements from the tent."
M'gann steps forward. "I'll check it out in camouflage mode."
"Good idea. Go."
That voice again. I don't remember someone other than Tim being in charge of this Teen Titans line up. Who the heck is it?
A new perspective. M'gann herself, I think. She's looking at Kon, but I can hear something. Sounds like a jet engine, but I can't see anything that could make that noise and none of the people in the image are reacting-.
M'gann gasps, then hurls us all back into cover against the rock as shots come from above. I hit the canyon wall hard with my right shoulder. Artemis staggers before dropping into a crouch behind an outcrop. Bart goes flat on his back.
I look up and see M'gann go airborne. Bullets… Two sets of two parallel lines, moving along the canyon. Not infantry then, because we'd be doomed if it was. Not particularly good shots either, because we were very nearly sitting ducks.
Artemis puts a ridiculously unaerodynamic arrow on her bow and begins scanning for the target.
Right. I know I've {orange}got armour{/}. {orange}I want to know what day this is{/}. {orange}I want a backup weapon{/}. On the off chance I've done what John Stewart did in that episode of Static Shock, I want my personal lantern if the ring's storing it, or at least to know where it is. A personal force field generator would be a good consolation prize. I {orange}need{/} these things, and there won't be much point in preserving power if I'm shot dead.
"{orange}Ring, body armour{/}."
For a moment the ring lights up, and I feel a sensation of added weight as the grey armour I saw in the telepathic session appears on my body.
Bart scrambles up once it's clear that there isn't immediately going to be another volley, and double takes at my armour as it appears.
I hold out my hands, palms upwards. "{orange}Ring, give me a sidearm and state time and date{/}."
{orange}"It is eleven minutes past five p.m., local time. Today is the 4th of September, two thousand ten."{/}
Three years ago? {yellow}What{/}? {yellow}How{/}? No, wait.. I'm starting to remember things. I remember standing on the moon, staring at the Earth above me. I remember standing with my arms around Kon outside a school. I remember sitting on the roof of a restaurant, eating a burger wrapped in greaseproof paper while Guy Gardner floats in front of me, recounting some sort of story from his brief career as a professional American Football player. There's continuity here. I've been doing things here. {orange}I'm supposed to be here{/}. I haven't got everything back yet, but it's coming together.
A thing materialises in my hand. Looks a bit like a crossbow with.. bits? Stuck on.
Artemis looked round when the ring stated the time, and she's now staring at the crossbow. This is rather undermining my anti-bent-sticks-that-fire-pointy-sticks position.
"Ring, {orange}better gun{/}."
Another flare, and the crossbow is replaced by a pistol. It looks a bit like a neural shredder from Warhammer 40,000, except that the glowy bit is red rather than green.
Better indeed.
I crouch, hold the pistol with my right hand on the grip and my left supporting the barrel. I feel something.. ah, there's knobs on the side. Range and intensity? No idea. Lets try fifty metres and 'low'. I'm trying to make connections, but I really can't remember anything about using this gun. Still, the basic principles should be fairly straightforward, right? Point the barrel at the thing you want to shoot, pull the trigger.
High in the air over to the right, there's an explosion. M'gann's fighting, and the rest of us are as useful as soap made of poo. I strain my eyes looking in that direction, bringing my pistol up while I try to find a target. Artemis has also orientated in that direction while Bart is stuck spectating.
"Bart. Ug, Kid Flash?" He looks over. "I've probably got a spare pistol if you want it."
"Ah, no thanks. Not really a fan of guns."
Pff, superheroes. No, hang on. I can remember an episode of Justice League where the Flash was able to hurl rocks at super speed as a ranged attack. Maybe that's what he's planning to do?
I can hear the sound behind us, over to the left. I turn and try to orientate on it, but the rock walls block it. Sounds like.. something coming in very fast? And out of control.
THUMP.
I think it just hit the ground at the top of the canyon wall.
THUMP.
Again, closer.
THUMP THUMP THUMP.
A burning combat drone pinwheels over the lip of the valley, spinning around as it drops straight towards us!
I push away from the probable impact site with my legs, going down on my back.
Not good enough! The narrowness of this part of the valley works against me as the out of control drone spins, bounces off the wall on the opposite side and is deflected back directly {yellow}towards me{/}!
{orange}Ah{/}!
An orange barrier forms directly in front of me, affording me an excellent view of the crashing vehicle while not guaranteeing protection. As I watch it coming for me I have time to calculate exactly its path. Its left wing is going to crush the right side of my chest.
Its nose hits the barrier. It bounces, spinning. The shield breaks as it comes back down, its wing scything toward me.
It stops, centimetres from my ribcage.
I stare at it as it floats in the air. I can see the sand abrasions from where it hit the ground. Burns and distortions where something was ripped off the underside of the fuselage. I can see the writing along the seams, and a copy of the flag that the tanker was wearing.
Then I scramble backwards on my arse, pistol still clenched to my chest with both hands. When I hit the rock behind me I use it to slide myself upright.
"Are you alright?"
M'gann's floating just behind the drone, hands outstretched toward it. She gestures, and the drone moves aside and drops to the ground.
Oh, she was talking to me.
"{yellow}Yeah{/}. Yeah, I'm fine."
Breathe. Breathe.
Bart steps towards M'gann. "That all of them?"
"I think so."
She lowers herself to the ground.
Pistol. The pistol. You're holding it wrongly. How do I… Shooting gallery. I remember a shooting gallery. Happy to have something safe to think about it, I correct my stance, and switch the pistol to 'no power'.
Bart nods.
"Good job. We should probably get somewhere safe before trying that again. Everyone else remember why we're here?"
Artemis nods, relaxing her string. "Finding out what the Bialyans are up to."
Something. There's something…
{orange}!Kon!{/}
He's.. only been out of that pod for a couple of months. No wonder he went berserk. I make eye contact with M'gann.
"Kon. Superboy. We need to find him. His memory's going to be completely blank."
Her eyes go wide. "But he could be anywhere!"
{orange}Ring{/}.
A map appears in front of me, and the others congregate around it. "We're here." The map pulls out. "He's here."
Bart nods. "I'll get him. Back in a sec."
Bad idea.
"Wait! How exactly are you going to pick up a berserk Kryptonian?"
All eyes on Bart. "Ah…"
M'gann looks back at the map. "I'll get him. I can transfer what we've already remembered to his mind. Hopefully it'll be enough for him to recognize me."
I don't have a better idea, and I'm in no position to assist.
{orange}"Warning; low power. Nine percent remaining."{/}
What can I do?
As M'gann takes off I fish out the tanker's notebook. "Either of you read Arabic?"
M'gann's been gone a couple of minutes. Given that she can fly and be invisible, sending anyone with her would have been a bad idea. We've relocated further down the valley and hunkered down. Artemis is flipping through the notebook, and keeping an eye out for any Bialyan military units. I'm not sure why they used those drones for an attack run rather than just keeping us under observation. Seems like they'd be better served by knowing where we are, and organising an ambush with other units.
Maybe it was a misclick?
After a moment I realise that I should probably say something. I still don't remember exactly what my relationship with Bart is like, but I certainly don't feel any hostility toward him. "So, uh, how long have you been doing this?"
"About two years. Haven't been this far from Central City before, though. You remembered how long you've had your ring yet?"
"Not really. I seem to remember spending some time with Lantern Gardner, but exactly when I got it? No."
"Don't take this the wrong way, but you don't seem to have been in a lot of fights before."
"I haven't been in any. Well, no, I'm starting to remember that I have since joining this team, but before that? None, not with people who were seriously trying to injure me."
"What's with the gun?"
"I'm not sure, but I think it's there as a backup weapon in case something happens to the ring." I shrug. "Like.. running out of power while on a mission, I suppose. Thing is, I seem to remember practising with a projectile pistol, and not with this. Logically, you'd think that I'd practise with the thing I intended to use."
"Why don't you just, y'know, recharge?"
"Ring, {orange}state location{/} of personal lantern."
{orange}"Personal lantern is located at Mount Justice, Happy Harbor."{/}
"The Justice League's original headquarters! Think that's where our base is?"
"Maybe? There was a certain.. mountainy quality to the room in those memories."
He thinks for a moment. "Why don't you just bring it with you?"
I shrug. "I don't remember. Maybe it was because I was worried about it being destroyed? I don't know exactly how tough personal lanterns are, but I seem to remember that they explode very enthusiastically when they're damaged."
I only remember seeing it during Blackest Night, when an Alpha Lantern is killed by Black Lanterns.
"What about leaving it on that.. Martian ship-thing?"
"That would probably have been a good idea, but we don't know where that is at present."
"I think I remember it being on the Qurac border."
"Why did we leave it there? It's invisible, isn't it?"
"May..be.. they've got something that can detect it?"
"I seem to remember that power rings can prevent other forms of detection."
Did I really shoot Ra's al Ghul in the head? I mean, sure, there's plenty of supervillains who could profitably be shot in the head, but I don't think I'd get away with it. Particularly not if I'd bonded with people, and their disapproval would matter to me.
"Yeah, 'bout that. What'd you use all that power on?"
I just about stop myself from turning my head south east. I don't think you can see it from here…
{orange}!Lie!{/}
"I'm.. not completely sure. I think those beams I used on the tanks were a bit overpowered, and I may have used some to try to keep my memories in one piece. The only reason haven't tried to use the ring to reassemble them now is that I've no idea how much power that would take."
"Still seems like a lot of power. I remember the Flash telling me about when Green Lantern fought the Invincible Destroyer, hitting him, shielding civilians, that sorta thing. Lasted two hours, and he didn't need to recharge once."
"I might have been mucking about with it a bit. I did think I was dreaming at the time."
That's sort of true.
"Yeah, lots of people think they're dreaming when they meet me. Usually it's girls, though."
"You're not my type. And, um, actually? I come from a parallel universe. You don't exist there, and neither do power rings. That's why I thought it was a dream."
He looks a little puzzled. "Huh."
"Can I assume that visitors from parallel universes aren't common here?"
"J… No. They're not. Are they where you're from?"
"No."
He leans back against a rock, looking down the valley. It takes me a moment to realise that he's looking at Artemis. "You and M'gann seemed pretty close."
"Yes. I think we've been.. living together, in the mountain? Also, I tried hitting on her earlier, while I thought this was a dream."
"How'd that go?"
Oh dear. "I came on rather strongly. I mean, I thought she was literally my dream woman."
His eyes swing around. "How.. strongly are we talking here?"
"Oh no no. Not like that. I mean, once I realised that it wasn't just happening, I backed off. Still, I mean, she's a friend, and we work together. I like her, but if I was going to, you know, go after her, I'd handle it differently."
I remember her true form, resting my forehead against hers and trying to reassure her. Yes, very differently.
"If I was dreaming, I think I'd pick a better location."
I raise an eyebrow. "Desert at night? That's pretty romantic, isn't it?"
"I woke up in a hut next to Arrow Girl. She took one look at me, freaked, and said that her father probably sent her to kill me."
"Yeah, you wouldn't dream that, would you? If I'd met rampaging Superboy rather than Miss Martian, I'd probably have worked out what was going on faster."
I remember the school again, broken monkeys and breaking Kryptonian. I remember him smiling through his bruises after his first training session with Wonder Woman. I remember watching him lift weights…
"Or maybe not. I mean, heh, Orange Lantern Corps motto's 'I want it all'. If I was dreaming, maybe I wouldn't mind trying some {orange}Kryptonian beef with my greens{/}."
**Yes, he's here. He's dazed, but he should be okay. Are you in a safe place? Can I share what he remembers?**
**You've probably got better lines of sight than we have. Can you see anything?**
**There's vehicles at the other end of the valley. Nothing at your end. If they've called in reinforcements I guess they haven't got here yet.**
**Bart?**
No response.
**Kid Flash?**
Nothing from him.
**Kid Flash isn't called Bart.**
**He isn't?**
**No, he's called Wally. I think I must be out of range.**
**If you're out of range, how am I hearing you?**
**You seem to be very sensitive to telepathic communication. That's sort of why I, um…**
**[His forehead pressed against mine, his hands stroking my eye ridges. {blue}Reassurance{/}.]**
Her perspective? Was I meant to see that?
**Let's… Let's leave worrying about that sort of thing until we've got our full memories back. I'll let the others know that you're coming.**
Wally..? Wallace West. Not Bart Allen. If that's the case, then I know less about where I am than I thought I did. Wait. I remember him telling me that only his gran and his geography teacher call him Wallace. Getting my memories of the team back might not be that difficult after all. Getting back the rest..? Well, is anything particularly interesting likely to have happened back home? Probably not, and if it did then it's unlikely to be relevant to me anymore.
"M'gann's got Superboy, and she's on her way back."
Artemis arches an eyebrow. Which are black, I notice. The bits of the notebook which weren't in code weren't very helpful. "And you know this, how?"
"Telepathy. Apparently I'm really sensitive to it."
Wallace looks around. "Did she say anything about seeing Robin?"
"No. Should she have?"
"You saw the memories. He's gotta still be out here."
"Yeah, but he's Robin. I'm sure he can take care of himself for a few hours. Did either of you recognise the other voice?"
Wallace shakes his head. Artemis' head bows slightly.
"Alright. Who might it have been?"
Wallace perks up. "Speedy?"
I think about it. I think I've had something to do with him, but I'm not getting the flow of memories I do from my other team mates.
"I don't.. think so. Anyone else?"
Artemis looks up. "Doesn't Wonder Woman have a sidekick?"
I remember being over the Mediterranean Sea, trying to grapple her with chain constructs. We're training. She dodges, and punches them aside faster than I can react.
"Yes. Me, apparently. If you're talking about Wonder Girl, I don't remember her being with us."
"Yeah, I'm with Oh El on this one. Pretty sure I'd remember someone as hot as her." Artemis regards him levelly. "Not.. that.. she's anything compared to you."
I feel.. something, at the back of my mind. Looking up, I see M'gann fly over the ridge with a slumped Kon in tow.
What possibles haven't we eliminated?
"Do we..? Is there an Aqua.. lad..?"
Even as I say it, the memories come flooding back. Myself, Kon, M'gann and him sitting in front of a large television watching an action film about a man dressed as a giraffe. An underwater training session where I had to learn to block invisible attacks that could come from any angle. Him punching me in the face when I tell him to in order to demonstrate the strength of my armour.
**Did everyone..?**
"Yeah." Wallace nods.
Artemis shakes her head to clear it. "If Kaldur's out in this heat… That's not good for a guy with gills."
M'gann lands. Kon slumps into a sitting position next to her, head cradled in his hands. I walk over and crouch down next to him. "You alright?"
He slowly raises his head, and then smiles when he sees me. "A giant spring?"
"Sorry."
I stand and offer him my hand. He takes it, and I help him to his feet. As he comes upright, he staggers slightly and stumbles into me. I reach out to steady him and misjudge, my hands going around his waist.
Um.
His shirt's still not there.
"Um, sorry." / "Er, sorry."
We both step backwards at the same time.
{orange}Ring, do I have a shirt for him{/}?
A short pulse of orange light, and a new black t-shirt with a red 'S' covers his torso. He looks at it, then at me. I look at him.
Apparently, I have his clothes stored in the ring. What exactly..?
Artemis coughs.
Right. Right.
We turn to Wallace.
"We need to find Kaldur. Orange Lantern, can you scan for him?"
Even with an invisible telepathic flier on your side, negotiating a desert filled with enemy soldiers is not easy. Approaching the camp where Kaldur was being held simply wasn't an option until after nightfall. Making a virtue of necessity we used the time to return to the bioship, restock on arrows and food. Each of us also spent some time being ministered to by M'gann, trying to get our memories back. I think that I'm all here now, though of course the thing about memory loss is that you don't remember what you're missing. I still plan to get the ring to double check, later.
Anyway, that's how I remembered that the bastards have my cat.
I sent Teekl in with M'gann. She can fly, though she doesn't like doing it after that time she got distracted by a bird and fell off a cliff. That's also how I know they haven't killed her; she'd have respawned at the ring if they had. She'd threatened to go into Happy Harbour to find things to hunt unless I took her with us. I think that's what she was threatening; it was either that, or she was threatening to literally ingest the entire town, which I find unlikely. It's hard, but if I close my eyes and {orange}want{/} to know hard enough, I can just about feel her location. She's in the same tent as Kaldur, but I get the impression that her movement is restricted by something.
None of us remember what happened after M'gann went scouting, but it seems likely that whatever wiped our memories did so from in there. Maybe the memories further back from that point are more accessible? Whatever happened, that's where they're holding Kaldur. No sign of Robin. There was a chance that he would have fallen back this way, but I doubt that he remembers enough to do so. Other places he could be include the scanner unit, and somewhere overlooking the camp.
And captured, of course. I suggested that I scan for him, but Wallace pointed out that we couldn't really rescue him faster than we were going to anyway. Something else I wasn't expecting: with Kaldur absent… I'm sort of in charge. A strange experience for me, considering that I can't effectively direct or support the others with no ring power. And I haven't actually practised team direction.
I had a go at transferring myself back to base for a recharge, but apparently the minimum charge for that is fourteen percent. I hadn't even realised that it had a minimum. I also tried and failed to contact the League's Green Lanterns. Wallace was most irate when he realised what I was doing, but I wasn't able to make a connection with any ring but Alan's anyway, and he wasn't wearing it. I'm going to need to go over that with Guy during our next session. Maybe there's a form of words I need to use? Or maybe the Greenies are just on a different circuit, I don't know.
Now under cover of darkness, we're returning. I'm reluctant to completely blow the stealth aspect of the mission again, but with tanks destroyed, team mate captured and… And that thing I did south east of here, I think that it's a bit late to really worry about it. M'gann's scouting ahead. Kon's super eyes can see into the infra red, so I've put him on rearguard duty. I'm a little ahead, on the grounds that with my environmental shield and body armour I'm probably the second toughest, and the fact that I can get night vision if I really need it. Peter Gambi told me this armour could take assault rifle fire. I'm hoping I don't have to find out, but if it's a choice between that and seeing if Artemis had bullet proof abdominals…
At least with so little power I'm not glowing.
**Computer in sight. I can see Robin!**
**Glad to hear it. Any Bialyan military units?**
**I can't see any, but-. Yes! They're hidden under the sand!**
**Kid Flash, Superboy, go.**
A dark blur passes by my left side, and I hear Kon launch himself off behind me. Artemis and I accelerate to a jog, and I turn my pistol to low power.
**M'gann. How many?**
**Four immediately next to the computer. Another ten nearby. They're attacking!**
**Don't add Robin to the network, it'll just confuse him. Assist in whatever way you can. Artemis and I will join you as we get there.**
Trying to run faster will just get me bogged down in the sand. My ring granted athleticism means I can do this without getting totally knackered, and it doesn't look like Artemis is having any trouble keeping up. Really, we just need a good line of sight from the top of one of these dunes for her to loose her bolas arrows from. I could fire to disable with my pistol, but I never tested it against Human type targets and I'm not sure of the cut off point between agonising burns and cauterised limb stump.
We make it to the top, but we still can't see them from here and so we keep going. I {orange}blink{/} a moment of night vision, and can't see any obstacles. For a moment I consider trying to reach out to M'gann to see what's going on, but I don't want to risk distracting either of us. I can hear automatic rifle fire, along with harsh grunts and shouting in a language I assume to be Arabic. Artemis puts an arrow to string as we get to the bottom of that dune and start up the next. I'm glad deserts get so cold at night, otherwise I'd be sweating like a pig.
{orange}Move{/}!
I stumble as the sand gives more than I expect it to under my left foot, and she's past me and heading to the top. As I right myself and resume my ascent she crests the rise, aims, and looses. As I reach a level at which I can see beyond the dune, she lowers her bow.
Looking down, I see that all of the Bialyan soldiers are down. Robin and Wallace are walking towards each other at the bottom of the flat area in which we put the computer. Kon is picking up the downed soldiers -a {orange}flicker{/} of night vision doesn't show any serious injuries- and binding their wrists and ankles. M'gann's floating over…
**M'gann, in future, please remain invisible until the perimeter is confirmed as secure.**
Her right hand goes to her mouth. **Sorry. Um, I can't sense any more minds.**
**And they'd probably have activated robots if they had any. Okay, I think we're good.**
I follow Artemis down the slope.
"KF! Man it's good to see a familiar face."
Robin and Wallace clasp hands. With my memories back I realise that this is Richard Grayson. I wonder how that will affect the timeline relating to other events I'm familiar with? We've got an Aqualad, and Garth didn't want the job. Donna can't spare the time and Speedy thought the suggestion that he should join anything other than the League itself was insulting. I don't remember anyone else being on the Titans starting line up, but M'gann and Superboy should only be joining much later. No Cyborg, Raven, Starfire or Changeling at all.
"Hey Rob. Memory loss?"
"Six months! Let's finish hogtying these creeps and compare notes."
I halt at the bottom of the dune. "Good evening Robin. Everyone, if we could avoid clustering up? That would be great."
He turns his head to look at me. "And you are?"
"Orange Lantern two eight one four." I can feel him preparing to make a smart comment. "Whatever you're thinking, you've probably already said it and forgotten about it. Miss Martian has been able to restore our memories to the rest of us. Do you have any objection to her repeating the process on you?"
"Ah. Miss..?" I point upwards to M'gann. "Oh, tch, right." He smiles at her as she descends. "Go ahead."
I watch them long enough to make sure that there aren't any problems, then walk over to the computer. I don't remember mirroring its scanning with the ring, and we might not be able to take it with us when we go.
{orange}Our data{/}.
"{orange}Ring, copy of all data, then fry all sensitive components{/}."
The ring chimes, then an orange strobe flashes out and I hear a series of popping noises. Thin plumes of acrid black smoke drift out of the exposed components.
Artemis and Kon have finished with the prisoners. Queen Bee supposedly uses some sort of mind control on those who associate with her. Wasabi Islam is much less prevalent here than back home, but the area's still fairly patriarchal. And not just in a no-heads-of-state kind of way, thank you Wonder Woman. If she's used her ability on these soldiers, I might be able to read the physiological changes with the ring. I don't know how much power that would take, and it's quite possible none of them have met her personally. Or were important enough to be worth controlling.
"Artemis, which of these guys is in charge?"
She glances at me, then pulls out a torch and examines their uniforms. "They're Desert Lions. Elite unit. This guy-" She points at one. "-is a sergeant. The officer's probably at the base."
"Any chance he's met Queen Bee?"
She turns off the torch and shrugs. "Maybe. Depends how important this place is to her. Wouldn't count on it, though. Why?"
"Wondering if I can find out how she influences people. But, with this little power, it just isn't worth chancing it."
Robin's back to full functionality and we've moved up to a rock formation near the encampment. I've got an orange diagram of the place, and the others are clustered around. One main tent. No soldiers inside, though several are on guard outside. Through Teekl's eyes -once the bloody Moggie could be persuaded to open them- I see five scientists, some sort of machine with a spherical unit on top, and Kaldur strapped to a platform.
Every so often, they turn a dial, the sphere spins, and Kaldur gets electrocuted.
He's tough, and I think that his tattoos give him electrical resistance, but we need to get in there. When we realised what they were doing to him I had to physically restrain Kon from just leaping in there.
Another tent appears to be serving as the barracks. A third smaller one as a command tent. There doesn't appear to be a mess tent… Maybe they haven't got around to unpacking it yet. There are five large military transportation trucks on the side furthest away from us, three heavy Jeep type vehicles and two platform mounted anti-aircraft missile batteries with attendant flatbeds. I {orange}checked{/}, and neither contain anything I recognise as a gravity scanner. Maybe we could have brought the bioship in? No. Couldn't take the risk they could be switched to hit ground targets.
Twenty two soldiers in total. Artemis tells me that taking those we've already encountered into account, that's normal platoon strength for Desert Lions, and Robin agrees. The officer -a First Lieutenant according to Artemis- is in the command post, along with two other soldiers and some equipment. There doesn't seem to be any reaction to our fight with the group we fought earlier, but I haven't seen any armoured vehicles since those tanks. I don't know if they are all out on the search, or if there just aren't any more in the area. Troop movements near this border are considered to be of international concern, so maybe they didn't think they could risk it?
Also ensconced with the Lieutenant is Doctor Simon Jones, better known to my colleagues by his nom de félonie, Psimon. Guess that explains what happened to our memories. I still don't remember confronting him, so I've no idea how he got us or why we weren't all captured or killed. Information on exactly what he can do is somewhat sketchy, for obvious reasons. And the only thing I remember about him from the comics is that he died when the Joker shot him in the head during Salvation Run.
**Artemis, you and I will take the far side. I'll concentrate on destroying those vehicles to provide a distraction. I need you to watch my back, and watch out for Doctor Jones. He's wanted for violent offences everywhere he's ever been, so don't bother pulling your punches.**
**How are you planning on taking out the trucks with seven percent power?**
I look at her, hold up my pistol and turn the dial to 'high power'.
She nods.
**M'gann, once the guards move away, go invisible and head for Kaldur. Kon, you'll deal with the missile batteries. I don't want them firing. Try not to set them off.**
Two more nods.
**Wallace, you're our reserve. If you see something start to go wrong, intervene. Otherwise, just watch our backs. If anyone runs into Doctor Jones, do not mess about. He is very dangerous, and I don't think any of us want to lose another six months. Robin…**
Oh, for goodness sake.
Wallace winces. **Yeah, he does that.**
**Where's he gone this time? Robin!**
**Just providing a little extra distraction.** The ring shows his position, moving around the base in a clockwise direction.
**{red}Fuck's sake{/}… Artemis, with me.** I lead us anticlockwise at a jog. I'm not sure how important it is for me to avoid attracting attention at this point, so I err on the quiet side.
**M'gann, get up in the sky and relay any unexpected movements.**
**On it.**
I hit a level clear patch, and borrow her vision for a second. Everyone's still where we expected. Good. Ideally, a distraction should have the capacity to turn into a genuine attack, and in a situation like this destroying their trucks and communications would leave them stranded for a while. I was going to have Robin go after their comms and if possible their hard drives so we could find out what actually happened here, but he has to go and do his {red}own fucking{/} thing.
**Robin, if you can spare the time, could you possibly see your way clear to-.**
**Looks like I've broken radio silence!**
**Fifteen seconds. Explain.**
**I set up some smoke bombs to broadcast. They'll send a squad, then boom! Sleepytime.**
**You split the party. Again. Please do the rest of us the courtesy of discussing things like that in future. If you aren't too busy, your target is any and all intelligence sources.**
Artemis and I reach the end of our flank. There are two visible guards at the flattened end where the trucks presumably entered.
**Artemis, the far one, on three.**
I {orange}burrow{/} an orange filament under the sand toward the closer.
**One, two,-** She notches a gas arrow. **-three.**
The construct {orange}surges{/} up in front of my target and stuns him. Artemis' target takes the arrow in his chest, coughs twice, then falls. We're already in motion.
**Cross and go high. I'll stay on this side.**
As soon as I get far enough forward to get a clear shot, I activate {orange}OrangeVision{/} to check for passengers, drop to a crouch, and put a beam of red energy into the engine of the closest lorry.
The cab crumbles. The place the beam hits vaporises in a perfect circle, and for a moment I can see the interior of the vehicle as it ploughs through the chassis before the fuel tanks explode, obliterating what's left of the front half.
I blink twice, and resist the impulse to stare at the gun. Not bad. Good job I left the OrangeVision up, or the flash might have blinded me.
**M'gann, go when ready.**
**Right.**
I hear shouts as I line up the next shot. I don't have such a good angle on the cab, but I can see the external fuel tanks attached to the underside. The pistol has almost no recoil, and I find aiming it simplicity itself.
The beam and the fuel explosion cleave the truck in twain, sending the cab bouncing forward before toppling over and spinning the trailer section around. It tips then rolls, spilling boxes onto the desert sands.
**Do I have their attention?**
I hear engines starting. I sight a Jeep, and turn the pistol to medium range. Should narrow the beam. Don't want to kill the guys inside, after all.
**Two Hummers heading this way, and about eight soldiers.**
I fire, slicing a line through the underside of the Jeep as it turns, cutting through at least two wheels and causing it to flip, slamming into the rear of another lorry. Not sure what happened to the guys inside.
**One Hummer, and three more soldiers.**
**Superboy, go. Can anyone see Psimon?**
There's a moment's silence, and I hear a crash as Kon lands. I line up another shot at a supply lorry as the other Jeep tries to go hull down behind it.
I calculate the second Jeep's probable position, dial the pistol down to medium power and up to long range, and fire. The beam cuts through the lorry and the Jeep behind jerks to a halt. One of the soldiers jumps onto the back and swivels the roof mounted machine gun in my general direction. Two shots whiz past me.
**Artemis, roof gu-.** A bolas arrow takes out his legs, and he falls hard. **Thank you.**
**They're getting too close!**
**Understood. Flash arrow, then pull back.**
{orange}Ring, location of Doctor Jones{/}.
{orange}Teekl see Bad Head Man.{/}
**M'gann, Psimon's in-**
A sense of malevolent amusement. **Naughty naughty.**
Shit.
Artemis' flash arrow hits the camp entrance. Most of the guards are wearing night vision goggles. That must have hurt. I hear Artemis falling back, and rise to follow her. Bracing myself for the dash, I borrow Teekl's vision for a second.
{orange}Smug Bad Head Man stand in middle of room, staring into space. Strange Smell{/} -M'gann- {orange}is visible only to the orange light. Coat Men panic as wind blows through the tent. Fish Man tied up. Metal box breaking.{/}
I metaphorically cross my fingers, and follow Artemis at a dead run.
{orange}Teekl, assist M'gann{/}.
I activate the radio on my belt. "Telepathic communication compromised. Complete objectives as assigned, then return to evacuation point. No chatter."
I need to try and find a low lethality back up weapon.
My OrangeVision is unaffected by Artemis' flash. The soldiers who were hit went prone, and their colleagues are being more cautious. Artemis and I should be able to get away. I can't hear Kon, so I'm going to assume that he's taken out the missiles and fallen back. He should be heading toward the border and the bioship. Artemis and I will continue on our current heading until we're sure that we've evaded pursuit, then head for a pick up point over the border in the other direction. From there, we can signal for pick up.
Through our link, I feel Teekl press her fore claws against the barrier containing her. There's resistance, but now that she's actually motivated she's pushing through. Teekie hasn't really jelled with any of my team mates yet, though she does seem to find it amusing to stare at Kon while he's trying to concentrate on anything. He told me that he's considering adding cats to his list alongside monkeys.
I hear gunfire behind me, faster and light automatic rifles along with the heavier machine guns. I can't risk making contact at this point, but I should be able to get away with a ring scan. I wait while until I find myself running on a level patch of sand.
{orange}Ring, one second view{/}.
A flash in my mind, and I see everything. I found through experimentation that while my brain couldn't cope with processing everything continuously, with ring assistance I could cope with seeing everything for a brief time.
Kon's falling back at speed, his targets destroyed. Since he's our second best bioship pilot -just ahead of me- he can get it running if we need to change tack. Robin got too adventurous in the command post, but Wallace bailed him out and they're heading away as well. M'gann is floating in the centre of a miniature tornado along with Doctor Jones in the main tent. Teekl's draped herself over M'gann's shoulder, and appears to be nuzzling her. Kaldur's free, but seems to be stunned. The spherical unit on top of the machine appears to be broken, and the spherical object it contained is on the floor.
I hear the roar of an engine behind me. Are they guessing, or are they tracking us somehow? They can't be tracking radio. Can't be the ring. They wouldn't mess about if they had their own, and there's no way Earth technology can trace it. Heat is possible, but we're skirting the dunes. They shouldn't be getting a direct sight line to us. Is the pistol that hot? {orange}Subspace it, draw a new one{/}, low power, long range. Noise? We're louder than the background, but not that loud and the echoes should make that method unreliable.
Another engine roar, as what should be the last Jeep continues pursuit. The Jeep I can take. So could Artemis, if what she said earlier about her explosive arrow was true. But the calculation becomes too complicated when I try to factor in the infantry. If they loaded it up, and jumped off when I fired at their transport, I can't be sure that I could take them all down without lethal force and protect myself and Artemis. Even worse if they got a few shots off from the machine gun before the Jeep went down. Or if the second Jeep wasn't as badly damaged as I thought.
Could it be a drone? We're a bit stuck if it is. An orange or red beam would be an even better guide to our position, and I'd have to catch up with Artemis to get her to shoot it. Assuming it wasn't too high up, she's a good thirty metres ahead of me, and is mostly out of line of sight. A construct attack might work better, but that would light me up.
{orange}Ring, scan local area for aircraft{/}.
Yep, drone with thermal imager. Perfect top down view. I don't {orange}suppose an EMP burst{/}..? Hardened? Where'd they get the technology to do that to a drone? I could brute force it, but I don't want to spend the power. There must be a better way.
{orange}Warning; low power. Six percent remaining.{/}
Alright. Giving away my position only matters if I have to stay there. I can't outrun the Jeep. I can probably outrun the soldiers as the ring is fuelling my body in place of my insufficiently effective lungs, but I doubt that Artemis can and neither of us can outrun bullets. If the drone's gone, does the Jeep matter? Yes, but only until we clear the immediate area, then it's blind and finding us is guesswork.
I'm coming up to some sort of rise, sand giving way to stone. It isn't that high, and Artemis is already reaching the top.
Think.
I can destroy the drone with the pistol. It's moving, but not fast enough to avoid a light speed attack. Then what? The soldiers will most likely continue on our most likely trajectory, which is more or less the one we're taking.
Would they stop to check their surroundings? Perhaps, perhaps not. But if they're going for speed at the moment, and I was under the sand…
How to let Artemis know? No. Don't. I can't carry it out until I reach her, and she needs to look like she was still moving until they lost the drone.
An image of Kon leaping comes to mind. That could work.
{orange}Drone perception, continuous{/}.
I feel its location.
{orange}ArcJump to Artemis{/}.
I leave the ground. Rather than controlled flight, I'm hurtling into the air in the direction most likely to bring me into contact with Artemis. With the ring granting me extrasensory perception I can just about ignore the force of the wind and the sense of doom that comes from the certain knowledge that I will soon be falling. I close my water filled eyes, {orange}aim the pistol{/}, and fire. It takes a second shot for me to hit the target, but then it's falling from the air. I open my eyes as I begin my descent. Artemis is off the rock already.
{orange}Adjust path{/}.
A rough shove, and I'm aiming right for her.
The only useful thing to come out of my messing about earlier was learning exactly how easy burrowing through sand is with a power ring. You don't have to displace it, as transmuting it into a denser form is surprisingly easy.
I dial the pistol up to high power, and fire at the ground in the distance. Hopefully that will make them think we're over there.
{orange}Subspace it{/}.
Artemis fast approaching, and things start happening a bit quickly. A {orange}slow{/} command drops my speed from 'death-hurtle' to merely fast. I crash into her, grab on as she tenses to fight me off, {orange}extend{/} my environmental shield around us as we fall and {orange}burrow{/} before we hit the ground. A cocoon of dense crystal forms and is quickly covered by the surrounding sand.
"It's me. Stop stru-." She tries elbowing me, and strikes my armour. "They were using a drone to track us. I destroyed it. We're underground. They can't see us, and will probably drive right over us."
"And squash us!"
"I turned the sand to a dense crystal. It should be strong enough to take the weight."
"What about air!"
"We're both covered by my environmental shield. Oxygen provision costs very little power. My plan is, we wait here until they're well past us, then emerge and head to the border by a slightly different route."
She shifts slightly, becoming a little less tense. The small size of the space presses us together, and I'm somewhat relieved to note that my arm is across her abdomen and not elsewhere.
"Sorry I couldn't warn you, but radio and telepathy were compromised."
Artemis and I are sitting on a hill on the Saudi Arabian side of the Saudi/Bialya border. A few miles behind us the lights of the town of Ha'il are visible, and when the wind blows in the right direction I can hear the noise of cars and muffled voices. I reopened the crystal pod a few minutes after the Jeep had passed, and we proceeded cautiously towards our extraction point on a slightly different vector. I checked for pursuit at frequent intervals, but nothing appeared to supplement the Jeep and we were easily able to evade that.
I had thought Artemis' costume.. ill-considered, if not outright ridiculous. Once the ring's charge ran out with a sad {orange}'Charge depleted'{/} I began to envy it. I had Mister Gambi design my own armour on the principle that I'd be fighting with the ring active. I can walk in it fine and run short distances in it well enough, but it really isn't suitable for desert night hikes. Artemis' athletic physique and lighter gear meant that she had to make an effort not to outpace me.
Assuming the others made it out alright, we should be getting picked up before too long. To be honest, I'd sort of assumed that they'd be here by now. Another half hour and I'm going to suggest that we walk into town and try phoning for League assistance. What to do while we wait..?
"I've been wondering… What's with the bow?"
Her head turns to me. I'd just been staring into space. I think she was watching the border for lights which might indicate pursuit. I don't think that Bialya would risk attacking something across the Saudi border; they're not stupid, and Qurac just hasn't cosied up to America in the way their neighbours have.
"What'd'you mean?"
"Well, I know that you're not related to Green Arrow. He might have been teaching you, but, given the way Red Arrow's reacted to seeing you? Probably not for long. So, y'know, given all the weapons out there… Why a bent stick that fires pointy sticks?"
Her eyes narrow, but she decides to treat it as an actual enquiry and not an insult.
"It's a lot quieter than a gun or something, easier to own legally, easier to transport. Carbon fibre doesn't set off metal detectors, and if I got stopped by police while carrying point arrows I could claim that it was sporting equipment."
"And those.. special arrowheads you were using?"
Her eyes drop to the ground for a moment. "Those.. are a recent thing. Green Arrow's been sharing his stuff. He's… I think he's been missing Red Arrow? I don't know exactly how close they were-."
"Green Arrow adopted him three years ago, when he was fifteen, after the death of his natural parents." That earns me a look. I shrug. "Like I said, I looked up information on everyone before joining the team."
"Riiight. Well, normal arrows aren't always enough against armoured cars or people with super powers."
"How do you even get those to fly straight? They can't be aerodynamic."
"Looots a'practice."
"But the weight distribution-."
She squints at me. "Is entirely correct. The weight goes at the front. Basic aerodynamics."
Aerodynamics. That.. thing.. I don't have to bother with. "No, I mean, like-."
"You mean the drag."
"Um. Probably?"
"It's more difficult, but you just have to use more force."
I exhale through my lips. "Your arms must be made of-."
There's a blast of air and I see a slight distortion in the sky as the rear hatch of the bioship opens just in front of us.
Wallace waves at us from just inside. "We've been looking all over for you two!"
"Is everyone alright?"
"Kaldur's still pretty shaken up, but aside from that, fine."
Artemis is already walking towards the opening as I rise to my feet. Wallace points at my hand. "What's up with your ring?"
"Completely out of power. I'm glad the bioship's got air conditioning."
Wallace stands aside as Artemis walks in, then follows her into the cockpit. I stop at the threshold. I hear the door close and feel the slight pressure of acceleration.
"Why is there a giant metal ball in here?"
The ball rotates without assistance, rolls over to me, then swivels so that the small non-metallic area is… looking? At me. It's a slightly recessed circular patch of dark red, and has a lighted red line on it that resembles a slightly stretched omega. There are other, smaller lines and patches of purple. As I stare, I wonder if it's really dark red, or just that the lines get so thin that at this magnification it appears to be red.
After a moment, it beeps and warbles like a Simon game. What does that remind me of?
"Oh… New God technology. I'm assuming you're from New Genesis."
A duller beep. Kon looks at me. "You know what it is?"
"I've seen similar technology before. Nothing quite like this, though. Mother Boxes are usually-" I make a square with my hands "-about this big. Never seen a spherical one."
A warble, and it rolls over to where Kaldur is slumped in one of the rear seats. I walk past M'gann's pilot station and go to take the empty seat at the front right before I notice an orange glow. Turning, I see Teekl curled up on M'gann's lap. Her eyes open a little, notice me, then close again.
"Making friends are we, Teekl?"
M'gann looks down at the dozing cat, and takes her right hand off a steering column to rub her head.
"She was really helpful. When I fought Psimon inside my mind she bit him to distract him, and then she was able to enter our mindscape and attack him with me. I hadn't realized how complex her mind is."
"Ooo's a good diddle kitty den?"
That gets two open eyes and a sniff.
{orange}"Strange Smell Nice Smell."{/}
She stretches and resettles. I plant myself in the front right chair.
"So, Robin, get anything useful?" Robin has his arm computer plugged into a hard drive.
"Not sure. I've broken most of the encryption, but some of this? I've never seen anything like it. You said the sphere was from 'New Genesis'? Could they be dealing with Bialya?"
An angry beep from the sphere.
"Doubt it. Apokolips might, but this.. seems kind of small potatoes for them."
He smiles, and glances away from his work. "Thought you were an atheist."
"New Gods is the best translation of their name for themselves. Apokolips and New Genesis are planets, inhabited by beings who are part organic humanoid, and part Platonic ideal form. The ruler of Apokolips, for example, is both a physically powerful man and the manifestation of the concept of tyranny. His courtiers include embodiments of the concepts of torture and of child abuse."
Uneasy and slightly disgusted looks from the team.
"Yes, it's exactly as bad as it sounds. If Bialya is dealing with them somehow, the League need to get on this."
Silence. I turn to the view screen. The augmented ambient lighting it provides means that I can see the desert, which will eventually give way to the Mediterranean Sea. We'll actually be passing over central Europe en route back to New England. Thinking about it…
"If anyone wants to get a zeta tube home, we can just stop off in Berlin or something. No need for everyone to stay on board. I can pilot the ship back..?"
No one seems eager. Oh well. I offered.
Wallace seems to have something on his mind.
"I've been meaning to ask: why'd you think you were dreaming?"
I shrug. "Like I've said, my parallel doesn't have superheroes, or super powers. When I first got here I spent a.. spent a couple of hours just.. sitting on the moon." I hold up my right hand, and flick it forwards. "Staring into space, before I accepted it was really happening. And this was even more bizarre."
"You charged your ring before we left, right?" Robin has some sort of technical diagram up on his arm computer, and he's watching me through it.
"Yes?"
"What exactly did you do that used up all that power?"
{orange}!Lie!{/}
"Well,-."
M'gann giggles. Eyes move from me to her, and back again.
Darn it.
Artemis raises an eyebrow. "What.. happened, exactly?"
Rip the plaster off fast. "I.. made a statue, in the desert."
Artemis isn't buying it. "And that took all of your ring power?"
"Well-."
"He made a giant naked statue. Of himself."
I cringe. Jaws drop around the cabin.
Oh, just tell them. "First, I made a life size statue out of glass I transmuted from the sand, but I didn't think it would last long enough. So I broke it up, and made a bigger one out of transmuted diamond."
They're all staring except M'gann, who's progressed from giggling to chuckling. "I tried to get him to add trunks, but he wouldn't listen. I hadn't met anyone else apart from Superboy, so I couldn't just leave him. I didn't know where to look."
Wallace recovers fastest. "You mean there's a giant diamond statue of-."
M'gann waves her right hand. "No." She's gasping for breath now. "He wasn't happy with it, so he broke it down and made another one, even bigger."
I wince. "The third statue is made out of a super dense silicon based compound. It's about half a mile tall and the base goes about a mile underground, so there's no way anyone can remove it. Shaping and transmuting the material took most of the ring's power."
No one wants to be first to speak.
After about a minute passes, Kaldur raises the question. "This statue. It is still there?"
I close my eyes, and rub my brow with my right hand. I remember scanning every database in the world for the molecular structure I wanted; hard, tough and transparent. It seemed so sensible at the time.
"Almost certainly. I mean, it's not indestructible, but it's not far off."
That finally breaks Artemis' self control. "You made a giant naked statue of yourself in the middle of Bialya!?"
Robin chuckles too. "Can't wait 'till Batman hears about that."
"I had an excuse. Why exactly did you think it was a good idea to run off before our attack on the Bialyan encampment?"
"That went okay."
"It would have gone better if you'd coordinated with us."
"You mean coordinated with you."
"In that situation? Yes."
He leans back in his chair and folds his arms. I look out the front window again. We're over the ocean now, and I think I can see the lights of the Turkish coastline.
If we're going to have to deal with the New Gods, I'm going to need to try and track down Scott Free and Big Barda. If they exist here. I wonder how well Diana will get on with her? She was making noises about wanting more female League members, I've just had trouble remembering any who would be worth while. I seem to remember Barda and Scott not being keen on the whole superhero thing. Something about wanting a normal life? Good luck with that. I'm also going to need to sit down with M'gann and create a telepathic defence construct. I've been thinking about it for a while, but other stuff's just come up…
Anyway. Everyone's alright, and we got the intelligence Batman wanted. Con, we failed the stealth part again, and I left a giant statue…
Maybe he'll see the funny side?
Wallace jerks in his seat. "Auw! I just realized; I didn't get anything for the trophy room!"
Teekl uncoils from M'gann's lap, jumps to the floor and walks over to Wallace. She sits, makes eye contact, and then drops something at his feet from her mouth. He looks at it.
I {orange}scan{/} the area again. The Bialyan encampment is still exactly as it was. The drones I detected being launched from the airbase outside Rutba are still en route, on the exact same vector as last time I checked.
I can't help but feel I'm being underutilised here. Batman explained that power ring scans aren't admissible as evidence, but why would this ever come to court?
"Oh El was right! The site's lousy with zeta beam radiation."
And that's a surprise why, Wallace? He and Richard are fiddling with the sensor array. Kaldur's managing to find a way to stand around dynamically, and Kon's watching Richard and Wallace. I'm trying to look alert, but in the dark my grey skin means that I look like a pair of glowing orange eyes floating in the air. Artemis is standing at a slouch close to me, arms crossed.
"Definitely detecting non-terrestrial trace elements from the tent."
I'd already identified the alien sphere, and the probable entry site for whatever form of teleportation was utilised. I could easily tell that it wasn't a zeta beam; for a start, there's no receiver station. Not sure what it was, though. I don't have any records of similar radiation patterns. Most vexing.
M'gann steps forward. "I'll check it out in camouflage mode."
"Good idea. Go."
Kon looks around. "Careful."
Kaldur nods. "And maintain telepathic contact."
"I will, Aqualad."
I roll my eyes. "Might I humbly suggest that telepathic communication in close proximity to an individual like Doctor Jones is perhaps not the best course of action?"
Kaldur looks at M'gann, who thinks about it. "It.. should be alright. Intercepting focused telepathic transmissions is pretty difficult."
Kaldur makes eye contact with her. "If you are sure."
M'gann nods, and camouflages as she rises into the sky. My OrangeVision means that I can see her just fine as she flies directly into the Bialyan encampment. That isn't clever, but it shouldn't matter. Nothing in there is sophisticated enough to detect her.
What exactly are we going to learn from this? I check the watch on my bracer again.
Artemis notices. "What's the matter? You got a hot date lined up?"
"Yes, actually."
She curls her lip. "I guess the people of Aichi will just have to do without."
Once she got over the initial shock, she'd assumed that I was joking about that. She's learned better since. "No. The plan this evening is to have dinner with a single woman. Conversation, personal and professional. Little more than that."
She looks at me, frowning, puzzled. I shrug.
"I am a man of many divergent drives. I don't always want the same thing."
"Who is she?"
"Your sister, actually."
She splutters. Hm. I'm pretty sure that qualifies me for 'token evil team mate' status. I've certainly got the look down pat.
"What!"
Kaldur looks over. "Artemis, lower your voice."
I can see her fuming. Delicious. And none of the others even knew that she has a sister.
"We met quite by chance, hit it off. Exchanged contact information. I find Jade to be a most interesting young woman."
The Sensei actually believed her. Certainly, what I advised her to say was completely true, but I was expecting more suspicion considering the circumstances. Better yet, Ra's has ordered her to gain my trust and gather information about me. I haven't told her that I'm bugging Infinity Island -that name, seriously-, and she hasn't yet told me that this is anything other than a social engagement. It's all getting delightfully convoluted. And it certainly doesn't hurt that I do find her quite attractive.
**I'm in.** M'gann's arrived, then.
**Good, but tread carefully. Camouflage is not invisible.**
Apparently Kaldur can exchange images with M'gann like this, but I haven't learned how to do that yet. Maybe I shouldn't. I'm not keen on the others seeing some of the things I've been doing, and I don't want to risk seepage. That was why -despite the obvious accessibility advantages- I couldn't risk getting M'gann to tutor me in telepathic defences. Fortunately, Mister Black lacks her squeamishness, and was more than happy to educate me in her stead. He's still working for the British government at this point in his life, and appears to find it mostly fulfilling. When we met, he made a half-hearted attempt to recruit me, but it was clear that he didn't believe his own Queen-and-Country spiel and he admitted as much afterwards. I was surprised by how amiable he was. Maybe the beer was helping.
**They're doing something to the sphere. It's alive! In pain! Hello? Can you hear me?**
Did she just open broadcast..?
**I can. And an open mind is a dangerous thing.**
{orange}MindShield{/}.
The other members of the team are looking increasingly agitated. Unfortunately for them, I haven't worked out a way to use this form of construct on others yet. I'm not completely sure what will happen now, but I predict nosebleeds in M'gann's future.
She might need me to recover her. Batman won't like us failing the stealth aspect again, but I suspect that he'd like her getting dissected even less.
Ring, {orange}plot route{/} to M'gann and mark targets.
Then I feel it, a pressure against my shield. Mister Black told me that unfocused attacks like this were fairly easy to turn aside, but this is the first time I've tried my shield in combat and I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't a little concerned.
But no. The pressure is constant, but even as my team mates cry out in pain and double over clutching their heads I am unaffected. And here I thought Mister Black might just have been winding me up. Kon is the first to collapse, as the others groan and stagger aimlessly around. I walk over and put a hand on his shoulder, only for him to swipe me away. I pull back as he crouches and leaps into the sky. I'm a little stronger than Kaldur now, but Kon still overpowers me to a noticeable degree. Looking up into the sky I see M'gann shooting away from the science tent in a similar state of distress.
Hm.
What to do next? From the looks of things my team mates just got hit with a compulsion or a pain stimulation effect. Unlike how I thought things like that would work, Mister Black assured me that once the telepath puts them 'on', they don't require maintenance at all. Doctor Jones probably isn't continuing to do anything to them, so just killing him wouldn't really help. I'm not sure if he'd keep his abilities after assimilation, so that's not a certainty either.
I walk slowly towards the Bialyan encampment, making no effort to conceal myself. Quite the contrary, with my shield turned up and my MindShield active I'm lit up like a bonfire.
I was met by a group of guards outside the rim of the pit in which the base is being set up. I smiled pleasantly as they raised their weapons, and watched with interest as they collapsed. Their aggression triggered the ring to work its electromagnetic sufficiently-advanced-magic and slow their heart rates to below the level needed for them to remain conscious. A couple of them kept it together well enough to get shots off, but they're just using automatic rifles. Nothing that's actually a threat to me, and the shots will be heard from within the base, which will most likely work to my favour.
I broke their guns into pieces with my hands and {orange}neutralised{/} the explosives in their grenades. Even if they aren't a threat to me I don't want them getting up and stumbling across my disorientated team mates with their weapons in working order. My understanding is that an attack my friends can see coming will probably snap them out of it -for a while at least- but a few bullets from outside their line of sight could see me returning to a very empty cave tomorrow.
Now I'm walking at an easy pace over the rim of the pit in which the Bialyans have set up shop. Guards shout, point, muster, and then collapse. This isn't the most efficient use of power I've ever made: it doesn't cause immediate unconsciousness and will probably end up using about ten percent of my total charge. It's certainly funny, though. These are the elite of the Bialyan military, but to me? They're insects.
Machine guns rounds spend themselves against my conjured armour as one of the military Jeeps opens fire from outside the effect of the Presence. I {orange}look{/} in his direction and the effect takes hold, causing the gunner to fall from his perch.
And the best thing about this? None of them will be seriously hurt. And since none of them are getting a good look at me, the best description they'll be able to provide is 'big orange thing'. Now, {orange}where's Doctor Jones got to{/}? Still in the main tent, with five scientists and four guards. No one I particularly care about. I think that they're assuming that the lack of fire means that the attack has been beaten off.
{orange}Ring, take copies of all electronic and paper records{/}.
{orange}By your command.{/}
I slow to strolling pace. If my clothing had pockets, I'd put my hands in them. None of these soldiers will know what method was employed to neutralise them when they wake up. They saw me, then nothing. I find that {yellow}immensely satisfying{/}.
Reaching the main tent, I take a moment to {orange}turn off{/} the Presence. M'gann said something about the sphere being alive, so I should probably investigate in person. Besides, I haven't beaten anything into pulp since Klarion's cat, and it didn't put up much of a fight. I mean, if you're going to have one thing anchoring you to the material world you should at least make sure that it can survive being stamped on.
I calmly push the tent flap aside and walk inside.
"Have you found-?" Doctor Jones turns as he speaks, then cuts himself off as he sees me. He's wearing some sort of cloak and with the hood down I can clearly see through the transparent top of his head and into his metahuman brain. I {orange}scan{/} it, and can clearly identify the novel elements which grant his abilities. Mister Black's useful abnormalities were far better integrated, this looks like a cut and shut job by comparison. "Oh."
As the soldiers get over their shock and raise their weapons, I raise my right hand and lazily project {orange}ShockCrowns{/} into existence around their heads. Doctor Jones backs up as I give the panicking scientists the same treatment. He isn't scared, just cautious.
"I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised that at least one of you had the sense to disconnect. No matter." He raises his right hand toward me, fingers splayed. "Be. Still."
{orange}Shield to full{/}.
I feel the pressure again, but he can't breach me. Mister Black took an indecent degree of pleasure in teaching me exactly how much force my MindShield can take at this juncture, and it looks like Doctor Jones' peak output is significantly lower than his. But there's no sense taking unnecessary chances.
I {orange}FTL{/} to just in front of him. He barely comes up to my chest, and my sudden breach of his personal space causes him to jump back and trip. I catch his shirt in my left hand, pull him towards me and then take hold of his cranium with my right and raise him to my eye level.
"Was that supposed to be a telepathic attack? I've felt better. {orange}Pithing Needle{/}."
He jerks as the construct locks his body in place.
If the sphere is alive, I suppose the next order of business is freeing it. I {orange}slice{/} through the containment unit and {orange}pull{/} away the remains. The unveiled sphere within somehow swivels on his axis until a small non-metallic area is.. looking..? At me. It's a slightly recessed circular patch of dark red, and has a lighted red line on it that resembles a slightly stretched omega. There are other, smaller lines and patches of purple. It looks a bit like a Mother Box, a conclusion it confirms a moment later when it starts pinging and beeping at me. I don't get a translation, but… I think I can understand it. Ah.
"I agree. I do look a little like Him, don't I? But I assure you, sphere of New Genesis, I am no servant of the Anti-Life, nor of the Tyrant God."
Three beeps, and it rolls backwards a little before rolling forward off the remains of the podium on which it was being held. It comes toward me, and stops about two metres away, growling like a revving engine.
"I doubt that they had anything to do with that, and I'm afraid that I'm not in a position to arrest them. Would you accept an offer of sanctuary, at least until we can make contact with your homeworld?"
A slightly more positive warbling chirp. I don't want to try sending it the location of the bioship without a better understanding of its nature, but leading it there should be no chore.
"That… That thing is the property of the Bialyan government. You have no business interfering!"
I turn back to Doctor Jones, still dangling by his head. "I'm a little impressed you can still talk. But you're wrong; interstellar kidnapping is a crime which a Lantern is fully empowered to investigate. And New Gods are rather forward thinking on the subject of AI rights."
Now… What to do with Doctor Jones?
An idea begins to form. Sure, I can't get away with killing him, but, well, I remember how Superman dealt with Mister Black, don't I?
"But leaving legal niceties aside. Doctor Jones, I will show you that there is nothing you can possess which I cannot take away."
The hand holding his head {orange}glows orange{/} as I focus ultrasound scalpels on the graft points inside his head.
"No! What are you doing?!"
I {yellow}smile{/}, and {orange}increase{/} the glow of my eyes.
Agh fuck! I forgot he's a telekine! I can feel it as the meat is twisted and torn and fractures form along the bones in the arm holding him up. I nearly drop him before {orange}reinforcing{/} the arm's structures with the orange light.
"That's {yellow}it{/}? That's your {yellow}last ditch defence{/}?"
His records show that he can do more than this. I can only assume that not being able to move is impeding him. It isn't for show; with only the mechanisms of the Human brain to work with most telekines I've been able to study need to map certain activities onto their peripheral nervous system.
"Ghrgh!"
And then the ripping force is gone. I {orange}restore{/} my arm and {orange}check{/}. The surgery is complete. I {orange}remove{/} the Pithing Needle, and open my right hand. He falls onto his arse, and I turn away.
"Come Sphere, we have team mates to round up."
"I ca… You…"
{yellow}I smile{/}, as behind me his eyes widen and he grasps his head with both hands.
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