Inhumanity

3rd October
08:07 GMT -5

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

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

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

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

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

“How's that going?”

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

“And Arabic?”

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

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

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

“Planning to convert to Islam?”

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

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

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

Um...

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

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

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

Errrr...

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

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

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

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

“Was something wrong with the bacon?”

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

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

“Fair enough.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Have you considered a disguise?”

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

“I mean, like, an illusion spell or something.”

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

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

3rd October
13:07 GMT -5

“Recognised, Aqualad B, zero two, Orange Lantern B, zero six.”

Uuuuhhhhggghghhh....

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

“…can't call her.... That!”

“Why not?”

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

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

“Call her back.”

“You'd shout that in a park!?”

“What seems to be the problem?”

Both look at Kaldur.

“Kon wants to call the puppy... Bitch.”

…

I lose it.

“HHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!”

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

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

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

“Aaaw, I'm sorry man, I'm sorry. Haaheheha.”

“How about Krypto?”

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

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

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

{orange}Compliance.{/}

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

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

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

“Recognised, Zatara, one one.”

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

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

This again...

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

“It does not surprise me in the least.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Neither is Constantine.”

“No, but he knows-."

He raises his right hand, palm outward. “Laever tfarclleps.”

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

{orange}Spell Eater{/}.

“The spell is {yellow}leaking{/} energy. Whoever did this-."

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

{orange}Alert: person of interest attempting to access zeta tube.

Oh yes{/}? {orange}Who's the lucky victim{/}?

{orange}Zatanna Zatara is attempting to access the San Francisco zeta tube.{/}

“That's... Reasonable.”

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

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

{orange}Affirmative. Access to cave granted.{/}

“I don't imagine-."

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

“What!”

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

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

3rd October
13:11 GMT -5

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

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

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

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

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

Time to break them up, I think.

“Excuse me sir?”

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

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

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

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

Mister Zatara schools his features. “That was contained extremely quickly.”

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

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

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

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

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

“Sorry if I'm interrupting your practice.”

“Eh, I'm skipping anyway.”

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

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

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

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

“Aw, he's so cute!”

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

“Wolf's a girl.”

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

“Ah, two days, ‘bout a week. Paul turned her into a construct.”

{orange}"Teekl talk for Teekl. Who you?”{/}

She blinks. “Did your cat just talk?”

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

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

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

“Uh huh.”

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

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

“A little activation energy...”

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

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

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

I think Zatanna is trying not to laugh.

Artemis doesn't have her subtlety. “You look ridiculous.”

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

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

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

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

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

“They let you off practice… To get a tattoo.”

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

She frowns. “Why would tattoos..?”

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

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

“Oh, I see. Well, what do your tattoos do?”

“I'll show you.”

{orange}Ring, remove my jacket and vest{/}.

3rd October
13:15 GMT -5

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

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

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

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

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

Zatanna seems a little distracted. “Buff... Yes...”

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

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

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

“Can you... Just, put your shirt back on?”

“Sure, Wallace. {orange}Ring{/}?”

{orange}“Compliance.”{/}

I roll my shoulders as the vest and jacket reappear.

“So, um, what do those tattoos do?”

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

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

“That's not possible. Everyone has a soul.”

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

“You're trying to build yourself a soul?”

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

Artemis smiles. “Coherency?”

I frown. “No, that's not it...”

Robin grins at Zatanna. “Are you joining the team?”

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

“Do you have a costume?”

“Um, well…”

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

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

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

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

“It looks great!” M'gann? “It's so elegant!”

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

{orange}Teekl, backrest{/}.

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

“Are you okay?”

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

“So, what else can you do?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Yes..? That's right.”

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

3rd October
13:18 GMT -5

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

“Right with you, Wally.”

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

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

“Zatanna, about that costume...”

“What about it?”

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

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

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

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

“Oh this isn't my uniform. I just stick Lantern sigils on it ‘cause it's a theme. {orange}This{/} is my actual armour.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Huh?”

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

“What d'you think? Good look for me?”

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

Think maybe someone needs to have a talk with him.

{orange}Clothes{/}.

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

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

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

“Well, now I feel stupid.”

"Yeah. Me too.”

We contemplate her navel for a moment.

“Not even a bit armoured?”

“... Stab resistant.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

“There. Now we've got.. five hours?”

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

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

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

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

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

“Um...”

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

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

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

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

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

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

{orange}Ring, wolf milk{/}.

The bottle materialises in my left hand and I pass it to him. He takes it with his left and releases my shoulder. Taking a deep breath I turn and follow the girls to the zeta tube. Oh, what the heck. I need some winter clothes anyway.

Ah, they were waiting for me. That was nice of them. M'gann shifts into Megan and-

“Egnahc kcab ot ym dlo kool.”

-Zatanna changes back into her normal outfit. Artemis looks at me and I nod.

“{orange}Normal clothes, please{/}.”

I felt like I was walking on eggshells when I asked Artemis if she wanted me to keep hold of a change of clothes for her, but she took the suggestion at face value without being offended by the apparent impropriety.

“Recognised, Artemis, B zero eight, Zatanna Zatara, A zero six, Miss Martian, B zero five, Orange Lantern, B zero six.”

3rd October
15:38 GMT -5

"And then Superman says, 'Oh, no, I don't use it for body protection."

It takes Zatanna a moment to get it, then her eyes go wide, her cheeks go red and she covers her mouth with both hands. Artemis is just behind, spluttering in incoherent disgust. M'gann…

"I don't get the joke."

The visit to Mister Gambi went off without incident. I told him when I bought my own armour that I would do what I could to find him other clients. Feel a bit bad about taking this long, but I swiftly redirected the intrapsychic arousal into irritation with Green Arrow for letting his new student run around the place with a ‘shoot me’ sign on her stomach. Black Canary too. Wasn't she supposed to be the responsible one? Really, what were they thinking?

We're taking a break at a cafe in the Collyer Center, sitting at a table overlooking the third floor balcony. Since we're here in civilian mode I haven't put my bags in subspace. I think this is more clothes than I've ever bought in one session before.

"The implication is that Superman is so strong that-."

"Pots gniklat!"

I wait a moment, looking at Zatanna with a smirk. Then:

"Doesn't work." I pull the thong with the Spell Eater on it out of my vest. "Knowing that attack by magic was both possible and very dangerous to me, I upgraded my defensive equipment. Spell Eater Ward."

Upon realising that I had virtually unlimited funds, Artemis decided that it would be fun to treat me like a Human dress up doll. When I turned out to be better at hiding my discomfort than Kon, M’- Megan joined in. Zatanna still seemed a bit uncertain about the whole thing. I say that I was hiding my discomfort, but actually, having other people pick out clothes made the whole thing a good deal less stressful than I usually find clothes shopping. Plus, I should really have realised that Artemis wouldn't have much -if any- disposable income. Not like superheroing leaves time for a part time job.

"Where did you find something like that?"

Interesting. Doesn't look like she felt the usual discomfort. "I didn't find it, I know the man who invented it. An Atlantean artificer by the name of Sephtian."

Artemis takes a closer look at it. "Were you serious about getting all of us one for Christmas?"

"Well, I'm not sure exactly what would happen if an actual magic user tried wearing one, have to try that out with Kaldur, but yes."

"How much do they cost?"

"They don't." I shrug. "I traded Sephtian about three hundred dollars' worth of science textbooks for this one, but that was more because I wanted to improve his knowledge of surface world science than because I thought that was a fair trade. For the ones I'm getting you for Christmas he just wanted me to fabricate a few extras. About two minutes' work each."

I put the straw of my mango milkshake in my mouth and take a slurp in an attempt to forestall further questions along this line. Would she consider competition archery? Find a tournament offering reasonable prize money? Is there any money in competitive archery? If there is I can bypass all of the transportation costs. She's in a pretty bad position, really. More expenditure per encounter than the rest of us, no power for me to work out how to monetise and no conveniently huge multinational company backing her.

Megan catches Zatanna's eye. "So, how long have you been studying magic?"

Zatanna bought some sort of strong coffee, and has been delicately sipping it. So classy.

"Dad says that the first time he saw me cast a spell was when I was six, but I don't really remember it. He started giving me formal lessons when I turned twelve. It's a nice way for us to spend time together. How.. long have you been on Earth?"

"Five months, and I love it here!"

"How did you learn English?"

"From Earth TV. Oh, and I used telepathy for a few weeks when I first got here. Hello Megan, they're not going to put everything on TV."

"You can telepathically translate any language?"

"Yes. Well, any humanoid language. It sometimes doesn't work on species who are really different, like robots."

Worth finding out about. "Were you able to feel anything from Swamp Thing?"

She shakes her head. "I was too busy just staring at him to even try."

Zatana raises her left eyebrow. "Swamp... Thing..?"

I look at Artemis with my straw in my mouth. She picks up on it. "Yeah, he's this giant.. plant elemental.. thing.. we met two days ago in Louisiana."

"Was he helping the Injustice League?"

"No. He was so mad about them using plants like that that he took away Poison-."

"Can we not call her that?"

"Everyone calls her that, except for you."

Zatanna's looking confused. "Um... What.. do you want to call her?"

"Pamela Isley. Her name, in other words. I think calling them by their ‘supervillain name’ encourages them."

"Whatever. He took away her powers."

"Wait. Were you fighting the Injustice League?"

The three of us share a smug look. Is that inappropriate? A lot of people died, but I don't think anyone else could have dealt with the situation any better than we did. Guy's been working overtime clearing rubble ahead of his evaluation thingy. Not sure it'll help with that, but it's getting good publicity on Earth. He should be a shoo-in for the League now.

Artemis nods. "Batman sent us after them while the League dealt with the vine attacks."

"And a jolly good job we did of it, too. I'm particularly proud of what I managed to do with Teth Adom."

Artemis thinks for a moment, then narrows her eyes at me. "What exactly was in that ‘magic powder’ you gave him?"

"Oh, some herbs, some powdered bone to represent the link to his former self..." I tense the corners of my mouth. "Some.. lysergic acid diethylamide..."

It takes a second for her to work it out, then her eyes widen.

"You took LS-!"

{orange}Stop her{/}!

A tiny ray gun like construct appears next to my right hand, and Artemis suddenly goes silent. She angrily shouts in silence for a few moments before sitting back in her seat, arms crossed and looking to the side.

"How about not shouting it out in the middle of a shopping centre?"

"I can't believe you."

"Actually, mind altering substances have been used in magic rituals since time immemorial."

Megan and Artemis turn to Zatanna in surprise.

She blinks at them. "What?"

"Heh. Always the ones you least expect, isn't it?"

3rd October
18:07 GMT -5

"You really can't say your own name?"

We're sitting in the living room of her home in New York. M'gann was meeting up with her uncle in Middletown -apparently that's a real place, and in a country with a place called Smallville I suppose I shouldn't be surprised- and Artemis was due out on patrol with Green Arrow.

"Can't even think it. Not without collapsing. Of course, I haven't tried using magic to reveal it yet."

"I could probably help with that."

{orange}Ring, remove Spell Eater{/}.

"Be my guest."

"Kaeps ruoy eurt eman."

And I'm on the floor.

Zatanna looks stricken. "Are you okay?"

"Yep. Fine. How long have I been down here?"

"Ten seconds."

"Well there you go, you see: could be much worse. Feel like trying again?"

"I-is that a good idea?"

"Probably not, but I am rather tired of this whole situation. Do you know a spell for revealing the name of a person by looking at them?"

"I.. could.. probably... Ekat-."

"Wait, wait!" I lie fully on the floor. Sure, my environmental shield would probably stay active if I blacked out again, but no sense taking unnecessary risks. "Okay, go."

"Ekat sih eman morf eht Koob fo Ynitsed!"

I wait for something to happen. I don't think I've moved...

"Paul?"

"Still with you. Get anything?"

"No. I don't think I can have done it right."

"Ah well." I sit up and push myself back onto the settee. "If you think of something else to try feel free to let me know."

"That's really strange. You said that Dad couldn't detect any magic doing that to you?"

"Yep. I don't suppose you know any... Name eating spirits, or whatever?"

"There are things like that, but being attacked by one of them has other effects as well, and you aren't suffering from any of those."

I nod. Still bugging me.

"I've been thinking..?"

"What about?"

"Don't you normally have to tell a zeta tube where you want to go?"

"Yes?"

"Because I didn't. Even if someone had created a user profile for me I should have had to activate the relay, and I didn't touch anything. There was what looked like an old cupboard someone had dumped in the alleyway, which I suppose must have been the zeta tube entrance. I opened the door to see if Dad was hiding or something and the next thing I know I'm inside the mountain."

"Yes, bit odd that. It's almost as if someone with a xenotech hypercomputer was maintaining a constant connection to all zeta tube monitoring equipment, then used that access to undetectably create a new user profile and initiate transportation when someone they wanted to talk to stepped into a booth."

Understanding dawns.

"That's.. oddly specific."

"Yes, it is. Did I mention that I think our team really needs a magic user?"

"Are you going to get in trouble for doing that?"

"Maybe, a bit, but Batman's actually surprisingly reasonable. I mean, I don't think I'd get away with doing this for someone who wasn't already, y'know, part of the community, but about a month ago I gave him a file on potential future recruits and he didn't mention there being a problem."

After my visit to the Batcave he asked for everything I'd put together. I had to spend a couple of hours rushing around to get it into a sensible format, and delete a couple where I couldn't reasonably explain how I heard about them. I officially heard about Red Star from ‘an old Russian military server, now physically destroyed’.

"So, you recommended me?"

"Sort of. There were a few names sharing the magic skill set. You're a bit more accessible than the other good candidates."

"Exactly how far down the list was I?"

"Your name starts with zed."

She folds her arms.

I wince. "Joint second."

"How many magicians our age do you know?"

"A few."

"Who was your first choice?"

"A guy called Timothy Hunter."

"Who?"

"Yeah, exactly. I couldn't find him."

Which means that either he doesn't exist here at all, he will exist but hasn't been born, he has been born but is five years old and hasn't left a trail or he's already studying at the White School and so is beyond my reach. John got rather evasive when I tried asking about him, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything.

"What makes him better than me?"

"Broader magic education. We already have people who can make ranged attacks -you're better than him at that-, but what we're really lacking is someone who knows how magic works."

"I thought Aqualad used magic."

"He does, but he's only studied Atlantean style, and he stopped studying everything outside of combat magic when King Orin took him on."

At some point I'm going to need to return to the Conservatory and scan everything onto the ring. If they'll let me, anyway. I may never be able to cast spells myself but being able to identify components with a quick scan would be an invaluable ability.

"And, joint second?"

"Rachel Roth, aka Raven. Couldn't find her either. Much less range of ability but with a bit more combat focus. I.. have a bit of a problem detecting magic users who don't want to be detected."

"So you want me on the team... because I'm the only one you could find?"

"Not- Well, sort of. Top three in the world isn't bad. You know, I... Used to read a lot of comics, before coming here. Heh, bit pointless now. Seemed to me there were two things a team had to have if it didn't want to get completely blindsided by certain types of opponent. Firstly, you have to have a telepath. Telepathic illusions and psychic shut down commands are an easy way to defeat anyone without the right defences. That's pretty much what happened to us in Bialya. Not so much a problem now, I've learned telepathic defence constructs and M'gann's had extra tuition from Mister J'onzz. Secondly, you've got to have a magic user. Someone who knows how magic works. Like, we're walking down a corridor and there's some runes on the ceiling. Is it just writing? A trap of some kind? What? I wouldn't know, and I don't think that anyone else on the team would either. I don't expect you to fight directly without appropriate training, but we do need someone with your skill set. Do you think that getting that training is something you would be interested in?"

She's not looking at me, weighing up her options.

"I..." She looks back at me with a small smile. "I think I would."

10th October
16:58 GMT -5

I hate punching week.

I {orange}drop{/} and {orange}lunge{/} forward under Kon's swing, driving him back a little before {orange}rolling{/} aside as he swings his arms down in a hammering motion.

Robin and Artemis are too good for me. Zatanna's too bad, and I'm not good enough to teach her safely. Kon's too strong for me to fight without the ring. But Kon's too strong for anyone else to fight with their other powers unavailable. Diana can't be here all the time, Donna's busy and while Adom's English is coming along really well I doubt the League will authorise him as an instructor anytime soon. Kon needs to practise too. For me, Guy's on Oa, and I don't want to risk messing things up for him by ringing -hah!- him.

Kon pushes off with his right leg to surge forwards, swinging his right arm around. I've learned all too well that a full strength Kryptonian can get away with clumsy blows. With my armour up it wouldn't hurt, but it would knock me into a poor position. I sidestep, but he turns fast and goes for a grapple anyway. I {orange}strain{/} to keep his arms apart while attempting to knee him in the diaphragm. He turns aside and his arms tighten, closing in on me.

No constructs and no flight. I'm being taught to respond in a stupid way. Yes, I know I need to learn how to do this, but I don't want to develop these instincts.

Foot stomp foot stomp foot stomp. He grimaces in pain, but as when I fight Diana he can just take it and keep going. Agh! Arms are pinned against my sides! I try kicking again, but I can't hit hard enough! {orange}Head butt{/}!

Ow! Not clever!

"Good work everyone." Black Canary walks into the sparring area, and the floor lights dim. Kon loosens his grip on me. "In fact, it's been a very productive week."

For some people. I'm going to get Guy some flowers or something when he gets back. Black Canary's direct oversight resulted in a much bigger structured tuition element than Marvel's or Mister Zatara's, and it's all stuff I don't need. Not flat out useless, but still...

Artemis and Wallace step apart. Mister Gambi's had to order in some parts for her and Zatanna's armours and so they haven't been completed yet. He said that teenage girls don't really make up a big part of the market and so he generally doesn't find it worth stocking equipment for them. Artemis’ design is quite a bit lighter than mine, as she isn't as strong as me and is trained as an acrobatic style fighter. No point adding to her protection if she just gets hit a lot more to make up for it.

M'gann bulked out her humanoid body to spar with Ocean Master armoured Kaldur. As I watch her muscle mass deflates and she grows slightly taller, Wallace grimacing as he watches. Kaldur takes off the helmet and turns it around in his hands so he can look into the eyepieces. Apparently there's some sort of bound spell on them which means that they don't interfere with vision. Actually, from how he described it, it sounds like it improves his ability to see in low visibility situations.

Robin helps Zatanna up. He's mostly been showing her things in this session. She's in black jogging bottoms and a white... {orange}What's that called{/}? Really? Alright, white muscle vest. Mister Zatara allowed her to join us only very reluctantly, and has made it very clear that he doesn't want her participating on missions any time soon or having anything to do with ‘that man’ at all.

"Martian Manhunter should be here in a couple of hours to start his shift. I've really enjoyed being your, ah, ‘den mother’ this week."

I don't see any point in going directly against Mister Zatara's prohibition, but I have been working with John to get her a complete copy of the Grimoire Verum; everything you wanted to know about demons but lost all your SAN points before you could ask. He had two partial copies, one he was left by his old friend Benjamin Cox after his death and another he said he took from a demon worshipping cult. Since all known copies of the Grimoire come from a single print run it was simple-ish for me to scan most of Europe for segments of text until I had enough to assemble a complete version. And to remove some of the extant copies from inappropriate hands. Add in Ben Cox's research notes -and John's, once I finish persuading him we need them- and we should be able to deal with any demon we encounter.

"Recognised, Zatara, one one."

Zatanna walks over to the zeta tube as her father materialises.

{orange}Ring, clean me and my armour, then change to civilian clothing{/}.

{orange}Compliance.{/}

Teekl stalks over. Wolf opened her eyes for the first time yesterday, but is still perfectly content to spend most of her time on the head of her feline steed.

"How was training today?"

Zatanna rubs her left shoulder with the right hand. "It was a.. learning experience. If this is what training is like then Paul was definitely right about the body armour."

Since it's easier to get forgiveness than permission, we agreed that we wouldn't tell Mister Zatara about our trip to see Mister Gambi until he agrees that armour is a good idea. Then I can just ‘get hold’ of it. According to her she will be able to call it to her from any distance without loading it into any sort of subspace pocket equivalent. Downside being that it isn't protected, I suppose.

"Well..." Mister Zatara glances at me for a moment. "We'll see."

The rest of us move into a team huddle. Haven't been able to persuade the others to take advantage of the ring's cleaning function yet.

**Do the rest of you get the impression we're still on probation with Zatara?**

**M'gann, he's concerned about his daughter. It's hardly unreasonable.**

Robin raises his eyebrows at me. Oh come on, it's not the same thing... You were a professional acrobat, Zatanna's a glass cannon!

**But he's been here every day!**

**Yeah, he totally needs to be worried about someone who can turn your blood into fire with a sentence.**

It appears Wallace has decided to take advantage of the fact that with telepathy he can eat and talk at the same time.

**It almost makes one nostalgic for Red Tornado's tenure as our supervisor.**

I'm a little surprised. I honestly thought that if anyone would appreciate the stricter schedule it would be Kaldur. Mister Zatara walks over to speak to Black Canary. Zatanna's frowning.

**Yeah, at least he trusted us.**

"Dluow uoy esaelp kaeps tuo duol."

"If you ignore the fact we shouldn't have trusted him! It took them five seconds to turn him against us! That machine almost got us killed!"

Whoops.

Black Canary and Zatara jerk their heads around. Kon looks stunned for a moment, then scowls at Zatanna, who crosses her arms.

"You were doing it again."

Thing about training to fight together as a group? That's where the mental ingroup is, and Zatanna isn't fully part of that yet. M'gann explained it on Thursday the first time it happened, when the rest of us started laughing at something Wallace thought at us and Zatanna didn't know why we were doing it. Her exclusion from the conversation wasn't even intentional, she just isn't an automatic include yet. Black Canary steps away from Zatara and towards us.

"Is there a problem?"

I look at Kaldur, but it's Kon who responds. "Yes! It's been weeks since Tornado's attack, and the League hasn't told us anything."

"The League is searching for Tornado, as well as the other androids that invaded the cave and their creator T.O. Morrow. Batman's made tracking them down our highest priority."

Robin steps forward. "But you've found none of the above."

"Not yet. But Tornado is Justice League. The team is not to pursue this."

10th October
17:06 GMT -5

Well, that was completely predictable.

We're in the bioship, heading away from the mountain at a reasonable pace, freshly recharged ring on my finger. I had to hack my own security system to get us out without notifying Black Canary and Mister Zatara. I'm not sure whether I should be glad I can do that or worried that someone like me could do that.

Artemis taps me on my shoulder. "Shouldn't it be really easy to find Tornado or Morrow with a power ring?"

"Finding Morrow would be easy enough if they had a genetic sample or a recent photograph, which.. I.. don't.. think they do. And photographs generate a lot of false positives anyway. Tornado... Maybe? Most of his components aren't unique. If whoever took him disassembled him a bit..." I shrug. "We also don't have any hard evidence it even was Morrow. He's a hundred years old, if he's even still alive."

Wallace frowns. "Who else could it be?"

"If I knew that, I'd have suggested it already."

That does it for Robin. "Where are we going!? Batman is the world's greatest detective, and he's searched for Tornado and Morrow in every logical location. If we're gunna do better, we need an illogical solution."

Eh? He turns in his chair and looks at Wallace.

"A truly dumb idea."

How is that..? Why is everyone looking at Wallace? And why is he smiling about it?

"As a matter of fact... I juuust might. Morrow's a mad scientist, right? So who else do we know who's a mad scientist?"

Kon smiles. "Do super strong mutant rats count?"

"No, Ivo! He's Morrow's biggest competitor at building androids. He'd need to keep track of what he was doing so he didn't fall behind."

"He's also been on the run for years and in prison for a month. I don't see how he'd..." Now everyone's looking at me. I throw my arms up. "But if it's a dumb idea we're looking for..."

"Changing course for Belle Reve Penitentiary now."

Oooooh. Actually...

"If no one minds, I've been meaning to practise moving larger objects at FTL speeds for a while now. I could, you know..."

M'gann winces. "Is this going to be like when you moved me in Bialya?"

Now Wallace and Artemis look uncomfortable.

"No no no. Well, probably not. I can move individual people perfectly well now and I think the technique can work on-" I gesture at the bioship's interior. "-vehicles. This mission isn't time sensitive, so, could be useful to be able to do it and if I mess it up it doesn't matter that much. I mean, if we'd got to Louisiana an hour earlier last week..."

"Your point is understood. Make the attempt. I will contact Interim Warden Strange and let him know that we are coming."

I nod.

{orange}Ring, environmental shield around the ship and plot FTL transfer for a mile outside the Belle Reve exclusion zone{/}.

{orange}Compliance.{/}

Orange light spreads out from where I sit, covering every surface and everyone inside the ship. Zatanna holds out her right hand and examines it.

"Is this supposed to happen?"

Erm.

"Prrrobably."

The view on the front screen skips, and the orange light disappears.

10th October
16:09 GMT -6

{orange}Transfer complete.{/}

Wallace peers out at the new terrain. "That's it? Not that I'm complaining."

"Usually, yeah, that's all that happens. Um, we're pretty near the edge of the prison's no-fly zone here."

Kaldur presses something on the control panel in front of him. There's a short delay as he listens to something. "Aqualad, with the Justice League. Please put me through to Interim Warden Strange. Yes, I will hold."

"Um, hey." I swivel my chair right around to face Artemis. "Mom wanted to know if you had any plans next Friday."

She's speaking a little quietly.

"No, not really. Sort of depends on what Mister J'onzz has lined up for us and when Guy comes back from Oa. Why d'you ask?"

She squints a little with her eye and tilts her head a little to the side.

Oh!

"Right, dinner, sorry. Slipped my mind. Um yes, I should be free. Um. What sort of time..?"

"About seven?

I nod. "I'll be there. Um, I don't know how it works in America, am I supposed to bring something..?"

A moment of incredulity and she shakes her head. "You don't need to bring anything. She also wanted to know if there was anything you particularly wanted to eat."

Hmm. "How about something Vietnamese? I've been there a couple of times, but I've never had the courage to try the local food."

She raises her right eyebrow. "You sure about that? ‘Cause when Mom cooks Vietnamese, she cooks properly Vietnamese."

"Funny story about that. I'm in my last year of secondary school, just the exams left to go. Now, Willingdon used to rent its building out to foreign schools during the summer holidays, so I was in for a revision class at the same time as a group of Chinese students were there. They were using the cookery rooms, and one of them noticed I was watching and offered me this little foil packet. I couldn't read it, but I opened it, and inside was a duck's foot. I had no idea how to go about eating it or even which bits were edible, but she's given it to me."

I put my hands together on my right and then bring them to the centre of my chest.

"And I know the Chinese eat that sort of thing so I'm not going to insult her by refusing it, right? So I gingerly-" I mime bringing something up to my mouth. "-gingerly take a tiny little bite out of what looks like a meaty bit, then pull it away to see if there's a clue yet. Nope, still no idea, so another little nibble. And another. The taste isn't very strong but I'm finding the texture really weird. And there's a couple of them watching me by now, and the one who gave it to me says ‘You don't have to eat it if you don't like it’."

I shrug.

"But that just means that as well as risking insulting her, it's a challenge, so I keep going. Must have taken me about ten minutes, but all that's left is bone and webbing and I think I can safely put that in the bin. And then she's got this puzzled look on her face and she says ‘Do you like it?’ and I nod and say: ‘It was very interesting, thank you’."

Artemis turns her face to the floor and sniggers for a moment.

"Now, it may be, that I won't like it. But it won't kill me, and it'll be an interesting new experience. So yes, I'm sure."

10th October
16:12 GMT -6

The bioship touches down just outside the main prison complex. At Strange's request M'gann deactivated the stealth system so we're fully visible to their anti-aircraft weapons. Not sure exactly how tough this thing is, but we're here invited after all. Bit of a change of pace to be welcomed here; no matter how many times I made myself as unobtrusive as possible Waller always took the time to appear and scowl at me. She certainly wouldn't have tolerated me flying this close to the prison.

I don't remember Strange much from the comics. The only thing I remember him from was... Batman and the Monster Men..? Don't remember exactly what it was called. He was a bad guy in Arkham City as well, but here his time in charge of Arkham is notable only for the fact that he didn't go insane, get killed or kill himself. Unlike every single one of his predecessors. Apart from that one guy in the twenties who just disappeared. Maybe he just transferred away too soon for it to work its foul magic on him? Should I suggest getting the place exorcised? I vaguely remember something from Shadowpact about Gotham being the home of some sort of eldritch abomination. Couldn't hurt to check...

We're a bit around the side of the building from the place I (and the rest of the visitors) usually come in. I think this is the entry point for guards and official visitors, but I've never been in this part of the prison before. Doctor Strange and a guard I don't recognise are standing next to our designated landing area. Kaldur leads the way out of the bioship, closely followed by Robin and Wallace.

"Interim Warden Strange, thank you for agreeing to our request."

"Oh, no trouble at all Aqualad. I am only too pleased to help the Justice League in whatever way I can. I'm having Professor Ivo brought up to one of the interview rooms now." He turns to lead the way inside the prison. "A fascinating case. Did you know that he..."

I tune him out, hanging back a bit. The gun towers aren't tracking us. They don't need to, but that never stopped them under Waller. Hm, what does it say about my life at the moment that I notice when guns aren't pointing at me? I shake my head and start after the others, bringing up the rear... Oh. No I'm not. I didn't see Artemis..? I turn my head and see her lagging behind me.

"Artemis?"

"Maybe I should stay here. Don't really wanna risk running into, y'know..."

Hm. This isn't exactly hostile territory, but this is a personal conversation. {orange}Access her communicator{/}.

"Cheshire isn't here anymore. She transferred to Gloria McDonald Prison last week. I thought you knew?"

She relaxes slightly, and joins me in walking towards the entrance while a new guard glowers at us. Ah, that's more like it. "I knew she was getting moved. Didn't know it had already happened."

"You.. could visit her, you know? It isn't that far-" I smile at the guard as we walk past him. Not going to risk saying 'from our base', even at whisper volume. "-or I could take you?"

She grimaces, and starts hurrying to catch up with the others. "We really don't have that sort of relationship."

I pick up the pace to keep up with her. "It's not about what you have. It's about what you {orange}want{/}."

She raises her right hand to wave me off. I slow to normal walking pace and she leaves me in her wake. Right. Hang on, did we just pass a security door? I check the corridor wall. We did. Like the one I went through with Bendemann the first time I visited Jade. But.. the doors weren't closed at either end. Did Strange arrange that for us, or is there a policy change regarding security procedures during normal operation? Hmm. Not sure I approve, but I suppose I'm not the one running the place.

Kon stops for a moment as Artemis catches up with Kaldur. He looks puzzled. As I reach him he puts out his right arm to stop me.

"Yes? What is it?"

"Are you dating Artemis?"

I blink. "No? Why do you ask?"

"You're having dinner with her."

"I have dinner with you and M'gann most evenings."

"She kissed you in front of everyone."

Right. I'd sort of forgotten about that one. "She also slapped me."

"She hits Wally all the time." He frowns for a moment. "I think she might have issues."

"Superhero teams are not a good place to avoid people with issues. Look, shall we?"

We resume walking through the prison.

"Kon, I'm trying to learn to be a gregarious person, trying to use this ring to help people. I find it easier to help people I'm already invested in; you, Kid Flash, Robin and, yes, Artemis. But, dating? Even ignoring the age difference I think it would be a bit creepy to exchange.. y'know, ring favours for dates, or something like that."

That's.. one of the things which has prevented me talking to Kon about... Well. I've seen the adoration with which he looks at Diana these days, but she only started tutoring him because I asked her to. I can't... I'd hate to somehow give the impression that I was holding that over him. Even subconsciously. The power inequality is just-.

"So you're not dating anyone?"

"Not at present, no."

"Oh. Okay."

The corridor comes out on a square room with resilient-looking doors leading off from it and another corridor leading to a security door which I assume leads to the area of the prison inhabited by the prisoners. That one is sealed tight. Each of the doors has a number over it as well as an 'In Use' sign. Only one sign is illuminated. As well as Strange's escort two other guards are here. They're wearing standard prison officer uniform rather than the heavier armour they sometimes wear, and are carrying conventional looking firearms. I suppose heavier weapons aren't really needed with Ivo. Or was Waller putting on a show for my benefit?

Strange clasps his hands in front of his chest and addresses Kaldur.

"Professor Ivo is being held in room three. I'll leave you to it, shall I? Just ask Corrections Officer Cooper when you're ready to leave."

Cooper I do recognise. Usually he's fairly stern, but he makes eye contact with me after passing his gaze over my team mates and I'm treated to a minute nod and the ghost of a smile. I smile back. He was one of the guards escorting Freeze when the break out attempt started, and I saved him from a lengthy stay in hospital.

Kaldur nods in acknowledgement. "Thank you Doctor Strange. You have been most helpful."

Strange smiles and walks past us, back down the corridor. We begin to form a huddle around Kaldur. He nods at M'gann and her eyes glow for a moment as the telepathic link is established.

**I will ask Ivo for the information, but it is unlikely that he will be prepared to volunteer it. Miss Martian, if he does not cooperate I want you to take the location from him.**

**Right.**

Zatanna looks at me. **Can P-. Can Orange Lantern use his ring to read Ivo's mind?**

I shake my head. **No. The ring can only read a person's brain, not their mind. I could probably identify a complete fiction or total honesty based on which parts of the brain were most active, but that's about it. Randomly shouting out coordinates and see if anything triggers isn't a good option.**

And neither's turning him into a construct. Only if the fate of the planet is on the line would I even consider doing that. No one's actually asked exactly what the limits are. I assume that Batman's already realised, but I haven't wanted to make a point of pointing it out. 'I can kill you all and make you my slaves forever' doesn't seem like a sensible thing to say to anyone ever.

Kaldur considers her. **Zatanna, do you know a spell that could force him to reveal the information we require?**

She thinks for a moment. **I think so. I haven't tried it before, but it should be simple enough.**

He nods, and leads the way to the interview room door.

**In the Conservatory of Sorcery in Poseidonis we were taught to be extremely careful of mental manipulation magics. Let Miss Martian try first. If she is unsuccessful then attempt to compel him to speak.**

10th October
16:21 GMT -6

Smug git. ‘As if I'd never faced a telepath before’. Hah! Reminds me, actually, I need to find out what happened to Henry King Junior. I remember reading his name on his father's League profile but I never followed up on it. But seriously, Henry King was the earliest telepath on record and Ivo prepared for that and not arcane compulsion?

I {orange}brace{/} myself against the roof of the bioship as we climb into the air. In a marked departure from his predecessor's attitude -though I suppose she's not technically pre yet- Doctor Strange was perfectly happy for us to land in the prison grounds. And to grant us access to Professor Ivo without kicking up the sort of fuss that Warden Waller did during my first visit. Funny, I was expecting him to be a minor supervillain and her to be a major part of America's government metahuman program. Wrong on both counts.

"Orange Lantern to Aqualad. Do you want me to drop us right on top of him, or do you want to come in from further away?"

"Can you detect any surface activity at Yellowstone?"

{orange}Ring, grab a satellite and show me{/}.

{orange}Compliance.{/}

Images flick through my mind's eye. "Yes, but nothing that looks mad sciencey. If you could be a bit more specific I could do a more detailed scan?"

"Is there anything in the specific area Professor Ivo mentioned?"

The bioship reaches cruising height and accelerates in the direction of Wyoming.

"There's a... jogger..."

Wait a second.

"You remember that little robot inside Mister Twister?"

"Yes. It self destructed before we could take it into custody."

"There's a guy just to the west of Ivo's coordinates who looks just like it. One moment."

{orange}Ring{/}? {orange}Does it blend{/}?

{orange}Individual is Human.

Get me a name{/}.

{orange}Probable match found: Brom Stikk. No known address. Degrees in robotics and mechanical engineering. Prior convictio-.

That's fine{/}. {orange}Weapons{/}?

{orange}Presently unarmed.{/}

"The ring says his name's Brom Stikk. He's a robotics engineer. This whole thing might well be him."

"Ivo was certain that Morrow was involved."

"Zatanna? Correct me if I'm wrong, but that spell would only cause him to give what he believes to be the correct answer, right? If he believed something that wasn't true he'd still say it?"

"Well, yes. Do.. we need to go back?"

There's a pause while Kaldur thinks about it.

"No. Either way, interrogating Stikk is our next course of action."

How long would it take the Justice League to reach Yellowstone? Depends on whether the Greenies are on the ball. If they are, seconds. If they're not, they have to fly in from Cheyenne. Except the Flash, obviously.

"Orange Lantern, when I give the command bring us down right on top of him. Robin, Superboy, prepare to deploy."

I smile, and {orange}focus{/} on the target.

"Roger roger."

If the androids and gynoid are there, we should be able to beat them. Even with the geysers providing water ammunition I don't think they can breach my armour constructs. Would Stikk have access to those really annoying scry jammers? Probably not, because I can detect him. Another robot? Maybe, but if anything I'd say that Twister was stronger than the other two. If the other two were built afterwards... And why would Stikk care about Red Tornado? Yeah, definitely don't have the full picture here.

"Miss Martian, lock out all external communications. Soon Black Canary and Zatara -Batman too I imagine- will know of our ‘visit’ to Professor Ivo. We haven't much time."

I half listen to Kaldur while I consider the situation. Do I need to message the League? I probably should. If Guy were on Earth I'd just tell him everything and ask him to wait ten minutes before passing it on. He'd be okay with that. Alan? No guarantee he's even wearing his ring.

"Then let's go! I'm way past ready to stuff Red Tornado into a trash compactor!"

Clearly Kon's still angry about the whole thing. I'm not, curiously enough. I don't even feel fear at the idea of confronting Red Bonfire again. Stuff Marshal Law, confidence comes with a power ring. Red Tornado wasn't willing to share much information on his internal systems but I know that his armour will break if I hit it with railgun rounds and that I can now manoeuvre well enough to dodge his air currents. Without a scry ward I can track him through any cover he's likely to be able to get. Where's the threat?

"Are you so certain he cannot be redeemed?"

Diana? Maybe. I'm a bit... I don't think she'd exactly be okay with this. Make the message vague?

"Are you so sure he can?!"

"Perhaps, perhaps not. But even so, that makes him but the victim of his creator's programming. Certainly he deserves the chance to prove that he is more than the weapon others designed him to be."

Knew there was a reason he was in charge. {orange}Ring, charge{/}?

{orange}Ninety percent remaining.{/}

Hmm. Looks like transporting the bioship doesn't cost much more than transporting just me. Ugh, alright, I'll worry about informing the League later. If they had something strong enough to one shot an alert Lantern they wouldn't be hiding.

"Still ready up here. Stikk's in open ground at the moment."

"If everyone is prepared?"

A brief silence. Presumably they're nodding to him.

"Orange Lantern, go."

{orange}Transition{/}.

10th October
15:23 GMT -7

As the scenery skips I dive off the side of the hull, {orange}chaining{/} the astonished Mister Stikk off the ground. Kon and Robin hit the ground next to him as I come in to land.

"I'm not a robot I'm not a robot I'm not a robot this time!"

Kon grabs hold of the front of his blue overalls. "Maybe we should check!"

Robin pushes him aside. "Where's Morrow?"

Bit of a risk, telling him we don't know. Over my shoulder I {orange}see{/} the still cloaked bioship moving away to a better landing zone.

"W-? W-? W-? M-? Morrow? He's nowhere near here, it's the other one. I mean, I didn't really know what that crazy android was planning. {yellow}You gotta stop him{/}!"

Crazy android sounds bad, but Robin isn't letting himself get turned aside.

"Where. Is. Morrow?"

{orange}Get over here, then muzzle{/}.

The lines linking me to the chains pull taut and pull our prisoner in front of me.

"Mister Stikk, you are panicking. That's annoying, so in a moment I am going to suppress your fear response and you are going to clearly and concisely explain what is happening. Are we clear? Just nod."

"Ummm!"

He nods.

"Glad to hear it. {orange}Ring, demuzzle and becalm{/}."

10th October
15:25 GMT -7

"Morrow made an android of himself and it built a new super android that's going to kill all life on Earth."

"You see, that wasn't so hard. Now, what sort of opposition are we looking at?"

"Aaaah, Red Torpedo and Red Inferno are still down there."

Those sound so much better than what I guessed they were called. Kon steps over and yanks Stikk around to face him.

"What about Tornado?"

"He's still in pieces. The Morrow Android didn't have time to put him back together yet, but he's already transferred all his memories of the Justice League to Red Volcano."

Volcano. I remember seeing a documentary on the probable damage that will be caused when Yellowstone finally erupts. Plus: air, fire, water and earth. Robin's got his computer out to run a simulation.

"How much earth can Red Volcano move?"

"Well I don't know exactly, we only just turned him on. But, in theory? If everything works out it should easily be enough-."

"-to trigger an extinction level volcanic eruption!"

"Why were you working for him!"

Think Kon's a couple of seconds away from ripping his head off. Stikk looks like the fear's coming back.

"It was too good an opportunity to pass up. I mean, Thomas Morrow, the greatest robotics engineer of all time! And he wanted my help! Obviously he wasn't in any position to tell me anything, but he said that if I reactivated his android duplicate it could teach me everything he'd ever learned! And then the android wanted my help recovering some other robots, bring them back into working condition. I didn't think it was gunna kill everyone!"

Robin's eyes narrow. "Just the Justice League."

"Well-." Stikk realises a little late that that wasn't the most intelligent thing to say. "It's less than everyone."

I speak up before someone hits him. "Orange Lantern to team. Opposition located in underground base."

{orange}Ring, scan and transfer results to Robin's personal computer and the bioship{/}.

{orange}Compliance.{/}

Also, {orange}construct armour{/}.

"Opposition is believed to be comprised of four androids: Red Torpedo and Red Inferno who carried out the attack on our home last month, an android replica of Doctor Morrow and Red Volcano. Mister Stikk, exactly how super is Red Volcano?"

"The other two Morrow built seventy years ago."

Whow. I need to scan them. And Android Morrow's memory if at all possible.

"Volcano's top of the line modern, next generation processor, better armour, stronger, faster. There was some other stuff, but Morrow didn't let me see what it was."

"Red Volcano, highly dangerous, full powers beyond earth control as yet undefined."

I'd like to think that there isn't any form of man portable armour I can't break. I certainly think it's true, but Morrow was so far ahead of all others in his field...

**Link is up.**

I turn and see the others jogging across the grassland. The sun won't be setting for another couple of hours, so there's no point in stealth mode. And frankly, I don't think it would do much good anyway.

**Aqualad, anything you want to ask him, or can I turn him loose?**

Angry stare from Kon. **Why should we let him go?**

**Because if we win we can pick him up later, and if we lose he'll die anyway.**

**Only one question.** Kaldur walks up to Stikk, his face tranquil. "Why did Red Tornado help you? Did one of the other androids program him with a virus?"

"Wu-? No. They just had an authentication code. One that could only come from Morrow. Or an android replica of him. I wanted to use a virus, but Morrow said it would have taken too long and we didn't know if Tornado had upgraded his own antivirus systems."

Kon looks at Kaldur, but he doesn't look happy at his vindication.

**We will enquire further once we have disabled his brethren.**

"Oh, one last question from me. How mentally complex are the other androids?"

"They'd.. pass a Turing Test. Torpedo and Inferno passed themselves off as human for years."

Torpedo. James Lockhart. I only just made the connection. Alan called him ‘the only one of us who had the sense to quit’. Said he became a doctor.

"Who was Red Inferno!"

"{yellow}Danette Reilly{/}! Firebrand! She-."

I drop the construct in shock. "Nice woman. Took a.. bullet.. for Jay, in forty five."

"Well, more of a plasma beam, but yeah. Guess you'd know all about her."

How the hell. How. How the.

Alan must've known, wouldn't he? Should I-? I share a bewildered look with Wallace. No, worry about this later.

"Get out of my sight."

"Rrrright."

He sidesteps our group and flees as fast as he can as Kaldur starts to lead the way to the target coordinates. As I numbly watch Stikk go I notice that Zatanna's joined us. In her silks. Well, I can do better than that.

**Zatanna, might I suggest that's not the most sensible choice of clothing-.**

"I-." **I know, but the armour isn't ready yet.**

**You're welcome to my older set. I can easily alter it to your size.**

**Can it protect me from killer androids?**

**No, but it'll help with shrapnel and glancing blows.**

**Ah, alright then. What exactly..?**

{orange}Ring, alter my light armour to Zatanna's dimensions{/}.

{orange}Compliance.{/}

Tough biker trousers appear over her tights and a tough biker jacket appears over her jacket. It's still got my sigil and preferred colouration.

**Huh. Okaaay. Didn't realize you were into motorcycles.**

**I'm not, but it was the only place in New York open when I arrived on this planet in my pyjamas. Nice people.**

**Oh? Where was it?**

**Bluebeards Bikes.**

She frowns. **I think I've heard of it. Didn't everyone there get arrested for gun running and drug trafficking about two months ago?**

...

**They did? But they were so helpful.**

10th October
15:29 GMT -7

The hologram covering the entrance is obvious, now I'm here and {orange}looking{/} for it. I haven't detected any unusual seismic activity yet. Two ways we could get in.

**So, Aqualad. Do we go in through the door or should I smash our way down?**

Kaldur's standing next to Robin, reviewing the map on his computer. **The interior of the complex does not seem to be particularly large. With no exterior sensors it is unlikely they are aware of our approach.**

I've located Torpedo and Inferno, standing against the wall in what appears to be the main workshop. A larger android -whom I presume to be Volcano- is standing next to a console, but I can't see Morrow and Tornado is still disassembled. How the heck did they build this place? Tonnes of rock must have been excavated without anyone noticing. I don't care if it was recent or back when Morrow was first active, someone should have noticed. Isn't this area full of seismic monitoring equipment?

For the benefit of my team mates, I {orange}generate{/} life sized images of our opponents. Looks like Morrow was able to rebuild Torpedo's arm since our last encounter. Volcano is a big bastard. Don't want to risk a more intrusive scan in case he can detect it.

Wind's picking up a bit. I haven't really bothered looking at a weather forecast since coming to this world, as I can ignore virtually all of it. No idea if this is typical weather for this time of year, but since Tornado is very definitely down I think I can ignore it.

Kaldur looks over at our newest recruit. **Zatanna, are you able to make yourself invisible?**

**No. I've got a spell which makes it hard for people to notice me, but it doesn't work on cameras and I've never tried using it on robots before. I could.. try and come up with something.**

**No, it is too risky. Robin, Miss Martian, enter the base covertly and attempt to access the central com-.**

In an instant the winds go from gusty to hurricane force. Soil particles and small stones are sucked into the air around us and normal visibility drops away to the point where without the ring I wouldn't be able to see my hand in front of my face.

**Gaah!**

**Agh!**

Even as I hear M'gann and Robin cry out I'm {orange}stabilising{/} myself. {orange}Ring, armour everyone, HUD and orangevision{/}.

Orange lines radiate outwards from me to each of my team mates, but one flickers out almost immediately.

{orange}Unable to fully comply. Aqualad's armour resists-{/}

Doof! A boulder smacks into my faceplate and I stagger back before {orange}bracing{/}. Not hard enough to do noticeable damage, but it's basically impossible to track individual rocks in this condition.

{orange}-construct attachment.{/}

**Aqualad to team. Report!**

**Orange Lantern, I'm fine. Armoured constructs are up and they should be able to take this. How's the visual enhancement working?**

**Miss Martian, I'm okay. I can't see who's doing this.**

**Zatanna, definitely talking to dad about armour when we get back.**

As the others report in I take a {orange}look{/} around. Typhoon and Inferno are still where they were. Where's Volcano? Does he do something other than earth control? {orange}Is this a pyroclastic flow{/}? No, temperature's too low, though the fast moving dust is starting to build up an electrical charge. {orange}Ring, identify the source of the wind{/}.

{orange}No obvious meteorological source detected. Pattern matches wind generation technologies utilised by Red Tornado.{/}

Another larger rock slams down onto my head.

{orange}Addendum: mass of airborne debris exceeds that which could be held aloft by air currents alone.{/}

I {orange}check{/} again, and I can see Red Tornado's head on a workbench.

{orange}Ring, find Red Volcano{/}!

An indicator flashes up on my HUD as the ring complies with my instruction. Red Volcano is very clearly of a different generation to Red Tornado. For a start, his silhouette is far more human. He's built like a weight lifter and has abdominal tron lines. Tron abs. Jesus. There's a glowing triangle with a dot in the middle between his pecs. There's another smaller one on his forehead and I can't work out whether it's supposed to be a Masonic symbol or just decoration. Apparently next generation equals glowy.

"Your destruction is inevitable, humans."

Volcano's voice? He sounds almost bored. Despite the roaring winds I can hear him clearly.

{orange}Ring, relay to team mates{/}. {orange}Also, railgun, anti-tank size{/}.

{orange}Compliance.{/}

The three metre long barrel appears next to me.

**Aqualad, I have a shot.**

**As do I. Zatanna, are you able to remove the dust from the air?**

**Um, yes? I think. But that won't stop Volcano just putting it back the next second.**

**I do not intend to give him a second. Robin, Kid Flash, when Zatanna removes the dust move to flank him. Superboy, frontal assault. Miss Martian, go above him and then go invisible. Orange Lantern, when Miss Martian tells you she's clear remove the armor construct. Artemis, Orange Lantern, fire the moment you have a clear shot.**

A chorus of acknowledgements.

{orange}Charge gun, prepare to fire{/}.

It starts to hum, but the iron jacketed tungsten projectiles are still in subspace.

**Zatanna. Now.**

"Dniw llits, dna pord lla tsud!"

I can barely hear her over the roar of the wind, but as soon as she finishes the roar drops away to nothing and the dust falls to the ground as if sucked by a vacuum cleaner. As it drops there's a flash as static electricity jumps from every part of the dust cloud into Kaldur's trident, which begins glowing brilliant white.

He jabs the trident in the direction of the now visible Red Volcano and a scintillating bolt of white flickers out at the android. Volcano's standing on a rectangular pillar of stone, presumably pulled earth bender style from the ground beneath him. He staggers slightly as the lightning strikes him in the chest, but the winds are already returning and boulders are pulled from the ground to shield him from any follow up attack.

Rightyho then.

{orange}Automatic fire{/}.

I can't make out the hum over the sound of the wind but I do see the flare of colour as the dirt on the projectile's flight path is converted to plasma. Even as his shielding rocks obscure line of sight my HUD reveals him, and the rocks are nowhere near dense enough to stop the slugs hitting him in the chest. The next second the shielding rocks are just gone as an Arrow of Unmaking hits them dead centre. Penetrating power isn't something I designed those for, though an actual hit will mess him up.

And now I can see him tanking my shots like a peashooter.

"Inadequate. Red Tornado's mem-."

Then Kon hits him in the chest and knocks him off his ledge. The wind disappears almost immediately.

"Grrrraaaaaww!"

Kon is hurled to the side. I might have made him stronger than he was, but he doesn't weigh any more. There's a yellow blur and Wallace dashes in with the EMP mines and I try to {orange}reacquire{/} the target.

Got him. {orange}Target{/}-.

Rock and soil explode away from his location, forming a triple layered star of rock. He rises into the air, a wind funnel full of medium sized rocks protecting him.

"Red Tornado's memories and my next-gen processor make outthinking you children child's play."

**Good thing we haven't learned anything since he left. Artemis, I can take out his barrier.**

**I'll use one of your arrows. Do it.**

I hold out my left hand, palm extended.

{orange}Destruction{/}.

10th October
15:33 GMT -7

I find it hard to get into the right frame of mind for orange light energy pulses. I'd rather take an object apart, understand and try to learn from it. Against an unprotected living opponent it's just too powerful to risk. A normal human would be obliterated by a glancing blow, and it's hard to judge precisely when an energy shield will fail. But, from what Tornado was willing to share about his schematics he can survive on emergency power with just his head and I can't think of a reason why Volcano would be any different.

The pulse of orange light from the ring doesn't look like all that much. Bit like a really small photon torpedo. It takes longer to hit the target than a round from my sidearm would. The rail gun and the gamma cannon and the particle cannon, there's an obvious gun thing right there. This looks like it should be the real life equivalent of a pistol in Doom or a Chitin Short Bow from Morrowind. The weakest ranged attack of all.

Nope.

Orange light flares as it batters a metre wide hole through the three layers of rock protecting him and detonates inside the inner tornado. Rock? Gone. Dust? Gone. Wind? All of the energy he put into it just isn't there any more. If I knew more about physics, that would probably upset me.

"Emoceb desufnoc dna deredliweb!"

Volcano falls out of the air, slamming into the inside of his rear fortification as Artemis lets fly. The arrow moves in a perfect arc through the hole, striking Volcano in the right shoulder as he tries to stagger upright. There's a sort of swooshing noise, and his right upper arm and a chunk of the right of his torso crumble to nothing. He must be made of something very dense for it to destroy that little. His elemental control systems are probably located in the centre of his chest, so she'll need to hit it again. Don't want to waste this chance.

{orange}Ring, scan him in detail{/}.

{orange}Processing.{/}

"Grrraaaagghhh!"

The air shimmers as a wave of superheated air roars from Volcano! Magma fountains up from the ground around him and the outer ring of rocks glows red before liquefying and flying outwards, filling the air with molten rock. I see droplets land on my armour and on those of my team mates. Okay, still not enough to-.

The ground disappears beneath me! I lose track of my surroundings as I'm enveloped on all sides by molten rock. My armour holds... it should keep holding, but I've never tested it with magma before. How much energy..? I can't see out! Come on, {orange}why isn't the HUD{/}..?

{orange}Depth increasing. Connection to external armour constructs lost.

Depth{/}?

{orange}Current depth is three hundred thirteen metres below sea level and falling.

Display depth and rise{/}!

Numbers appear on my HUD. I {orange}focus{/} on trying to fly through the superheated rock, but my only guide is the compass and distance indicator. It's going down, but far more slowly than I would like.

**Still alive. Should be with you momentarily.**

I hear nothing in response. Oh goodness, can they survive that sort of attack without my armour? Kaldur and Kon should be able to take small amounts of molten rock...

{orange}Warning: magma pressure increasing.{/}

The compass spins as something pushes me to the side. {orange}Keep going{/}! Is this... Is he setting off the volcano?

{orange}Warning: armour integrity decreasing.

Reknit.

Warning: armour integrity decreasing. Armour will fail before surface is reached.{/}

Um {yellow}um um um um{/}...

He can't have caused the eruption already...

{orange}Ring, width of the lava tube{/}?

{orange}Boundary imprecise, approximately twenty metres.

Display closest edge{/}!

{orange}Compliance.{/}

I don't appear to be falling any further, but this is the slowest twenty metres I've ever flown. Does the fact that I'm not being pulled down further mean that Volcano's been killed or just distracted? {orange}Come on, move{/}! Finally, my surroundings start to dim as I pass the boundary until the only light is coming from my own armour. Fine, {orange}drill, get me back to the surface{/}. And -ugh- {orange}message to Green two eight one four A and B: assistance requested in Yellowstone Park{/}. {orange}Supervolcano erupting{/}. {orange}You're allowed to help with that, right{/}?

Guhh!

{orange}Warning: rock pressure increasing.{/}

Yes, I'd noticed. Right. Errr... Volcanoes generate extremely hard rock. Now that the bit I'm in is relatively solid there's nowhere for it to get moved to when I tunnel. And if Volcano keeps moving it around... {orange}Anyone above me{/}? No? Right. {orange}I need to get back to my team mates{/}. {orange}Destroy{/}!

The pulse of orange light disintegrates a clean hole through the rock above me, and I {orange}rocket{/} out after it. The place Volcano was standing is a volcano now, solid rock partially melted and forced upward by the pressure of magma Volcano is pulling. Nooooot good.

{orange}Status of team{/}? A few burns, nothing immediately life threatening. {orange}Where's Volcano{/}? Standing up to his waist in molten rock, being covered in flame.. by.. Red Inferno..? What? Volcano tries creating a magma tornado around himself only for Red Torpedo to quench it, causing it to collapse under its own weight. Volcano tries raising himself out of the lava with a solid rock platform only for Kon to leap across the molten pool to punch through it, shattering it and making our adversary fall. Might need to rethink his armour situation; his clothes have burned off and the skin beneath is reddening. Kryptonians might project a force field a few millimetres around their skin but Danner Formula enhanciles don't.

Inferno... Danette... Whatever, she drops on Volcano feet first, driving him under. Then.. she.. follows him down? Volcano tries to struggle free only for Torpedo to dive in and grapple his remaining arm.

{orange}No{/}.

{orange}!Mine!

Transition{/}.

Kon snaps his head around as I dive past him back into the magma. {orange}OrangeVision{/} shows me the robots' positions. I {orange}force{/} myself after them, throwing up a fountain of liquid rock behind me. The two older robots are visibly melting, and Volcano's disintegrating around the hole Artemis made.

{orange}For Alan{/}.

The orange beams strike Inferno and Torpedo, forcing the magma away from their skin and holding their chassis together as best it can.

{orange}Mine{/}.

Volcano jerks and dims as something critical gets melted. Right. {orange}We're out of here{/}. Volcano's remains drop away as I pull Inferno and Torpedo with me out of the superheated morass.

{orange}Alert! Critical system damage to attendant robots.{/}

Yikes, they look it. Don't have full scans of their systems... Improvise! I've got Volcano's scan... {orange}Do it{/}. The ring starts repairs based on that template as we come in to land at the edge of the combat zone. {orange}Core systems only, cognition and main power{/}. They're not going to be pretty, but I'll {orange}be bringing two of Alan's old colleagues back from the dead{/}. Inferno collapses onto her front when we touch down, melted joints locking her limbs in place. Torpedo's legs are completely melted, leaving him as a torso propped up on his solidifying stumps.

And then a giant cloud of ash and dust shoots up into the air as the eruption begins in earnest.

10th October
15:36 GMT -7

Well, fiddlesticks.

"Paul!" Kon bounds over to us.

Um.

{orange}Clothes{/}.

"Hello Superboy. Know anything about volcanoes?"

"You're alive!"

"No, I'm just pretending." He blinks. I sag inwardly. "Yes, I'm alive. My construct armour can take being submerged in molten rock. Just about. But seriously, volcanoes?"

He shakes his head. "Yeah, plenty, but not how to stop an erupting supervolcano."

**Oh El, that you?**

**Yes Kid Flash, I'm here.**

**Alright. Everyone! We're on the edge of a stage three supervolcano eruption. There's no turning back from that! We need to vent pressure fast, then we have to deal with an ash cloud big enough to cause a nuclear winter.**

I look up into the sky. Shiiiiit.

**Oh El, can you do something to contain the cloud?**

**I.. don't know... Constructs that big... I'll just have to try.**

{orange}Core system repair complete.{/}

Maybe...

{orange}Use my memory of their voice and scans of Volcano to restore their vocal systems, and let them hear me{/}.

{orange}Compliance.{/}

I see explosions on the body of the volcanic protuberance. It stops growing, but begins vomiting forth even more ash.

"Doctor Lockhart, Ms Reilly. Got a bit of a volcanic eruption going on. Anything you can do to help?"

Inferno shakes for a moment, trying and failing to move her burned out limbs. "I do not believe there is anything I can do. I.. am sorry."

Freeze gun? I have the schematics of one of Captain Cold's older models on file. I somehow don't think it would be up to the task.

"I may be able to help."

Torpedo's head shudders slightly to the right in an attempt to look at me. The left side of his face is slag, while his red right eye flickers and flashes.

"With assistance, I should be able to manipulate atmospheric water to precipitate the ash from the air. Father showed us your fight with Mister Twister. Is Aqualad with you?"

**Aqualad, Zatanna, Red Torpedo thinks that we could clear the ash by making it rain. Could the three of you get enough water into the air to make that happen?**

**It is possible, but we need to move quickly. Can-?**

I {orange}extend{/} the environmental shield around the robots and Kon. {orange}Transition{/}.

We appear next to Kaldur. Wallace and Robin are trying to work something out on the latter's computer. Kaldur looks at me, then at what's left of Torpedo.

**Is he..?**

**His brain and water control system are fine.**

"Very well. Zatanna, we should be able to get the necessary quantities of water airborne but have no experience in creating rain."

"Um, neither do I. I'll try.. Okay! I think I've got it."

Kaldur raises his trident, and I {orange}shift{/} Torpedo's torso around to be facing the same direction.

"Red Torpedo, on the count of three."

"I am prepared."

"One, two, three."

I've seen Kaldur move large volumes of water around with the trident before, during practice. Torpedo managed to raise the water level of the entire hangar. Now, I watch as a wall of water fifty metres across blasts into the air as if thrown by a high pressure hose. Where is that even coming from? There shouldn't be liquid water this close to an erupting volcano, surely?

"Retaw, esir otni eht yks dna niar no lla eht hsa!"

Right, okay, I need to {orange}get up there{/}. {orange}Transition{/}.

I reappear in what I think is low orbit. Looking towards the planet I see the tiny mushroom cloud of the Yellowstone eruption. I remember the scene in Supreme Power where a young Hyperion flies high into the air then holds out his hand to block his view of Earth. The ash cloud looks so tiny, so insignificant, yet I know that Wallace was correct in his assessment.

{orange}Closer{/}.

The sky darkens as I reappear level with the top of the plume. A cloud isn't a solid body, and though I'm not in the main body of the ash particles are impacting on my armour construct. Looking down I can see the colossal amounts of water being thrown up, cutting into the mushroom stem. {orange}Magnify{/}. Yep, that's working.

**Good work, the lower part of the ash cloud is falling to earth. If you increase pressure a little...**

**That.. would prove difficult. I am.. -ah!- struggling to maintain the current level of water flow.**

**Okay, er, how about I come down and pick up Torpedo? You could pass it up to him?**

**I do not believe that I would be able to relay sufficient water.**

**Right, right. Okay, I'll try something.**

The ash is being thrown aloft by hot air, right? I just need to drop it down to the level of the clouds Zatanna is creating. {orange}Ring, cold gun, wide beam{/}.

{orange}Compliance.{/}

The rifle-sized construct appears off to my left. There isn't enough water up here for the signature frost beam to appear, but a gouge is cut in the mushroom head as the air freezes and loses the ability to support the mass of detritus. Not fast enough. I'm only affecting a tiny part of it. {orange}Ring, remaining charge{/}?

{orange}Sixty five percent remaining.{/}

Plenty. {orange}Multiple cold guns{/}. {orange}Break the cloud up{/}.

I'm having an effect, but I have no idea how to tell whether this is working fast en-.

A giant green turbofan {green}appears{/} over the main body of the ash, blasting it down into the clouds.

"{green}Yes, Orange Lantern, we are allowed to help with that{/}."

I look around. Turbofan, of course it's Jordan. With most of the ash being forced down by the higher pressure air I focus the cold guns on the periphery. Once the high altitude is clear I move on to the rain clouds below. Don't want to cause a nuclear winter with steam clouds after all. Right, think that's about done. Atmosphere clearing, Jordan floats over to my position, keeping himself slightly higher in the air.

"You wanna explain what this is about?"

Should I leave that to Kaldur? Oh, it can't hurt to give him a summary.

"We found Thomas Morrow. Well, a Thomas Morrow android replica actually. He has-."

I look down. Hmm.

"Probably had, now. Had a base under Yellowstone where he was building another android, with the aim of activating the supervolcano and destroying all nonrobotic life on Earth. We beat the new android with the help of the two other androids who attacked the cave last month, not sure why but we can ask them later. The Morrow android had a human assistant who I was about to go and pick up. Team's basically in good condition and there were no civilian casualties but I regret to report that the new android got reduced to slag."

His eyes narrow slightly. "And Red Tornado?"

Um?

11th October
10:18 GMT -6

"So what happened to Tornado?"

"Hm? Oh, Robin ran into Morrow's base once the fight started. Grabbed his head, downloaded some files. It was Tornado giving the other two a speech that got them to join in on our side. The League's building him a new body, apparently this isn't the first time he's been damaged like this."

Thomas sits back in his chair on the other side of the divide. After the thing with Ivo I thought I'd make an effort to come during normal visiting hours today. Several of the guards took time out from their busy schedule of scowling at people to greet me when I came in, mostly people I'd healed after the break out attempt. That felt good, actually.

"You saved the whole darn planet, just like that."

"What, you mean by dumb luck? Yes, pretty much. I mean, no one knew Morrow was going to try something like that. All too often, that's what it comes down to."

"And y'all kicked his ass anyways."

"His ass got ground into scrap by Red Volcano, but yes, basically. Even with earth, wind and fire manipulation we were able to bring enough force to bear that his new robot couldn't cope."

"Lemme make shure ah'm hearin' y'right. Wahl ah've been coolin' mah heels inside a' heeyah, you gots t'fight two super robots-"

"I didn't really fight them much myself."

"-super monkeys, super rats an' super gorillas-"

"Team effort, but yes."

"-an' some kinda crazy plant monstah."

The League appears to have decided that telling people that we'd been sent to fight the Injustice League would push even the relaxed child endangerment laws of this version of the United States. Diana said that I could mention my involvement -being over eighteen- but I decided not to in a show of solidarity.

"A lot of people fought that thing."

"Guess you were righaht abaht getting bettah fights thun me."

"And don't forget the company. I mean, I'm sure Tuppence is a peach once you get to know her, but that's it, right?"

"She stiw not talkin' t'you?"

"No, no she's not."

He shifts a little in his chair. "Ah told her she should. Not lahk our Mama or Daddy gonna be visitin' any tahm soon."

I understand about his mother but I don't see why his father wouldn't visit, even if it was just to give them a hard time about it. Perhaps a new subject?

"Ooh, I've been meaning to ask actually. There's this guy.. urp, sorry, skipping ahead. You said you'd always been as strong as you are?"

"Hehw mahn, with this here collar own, ahm as weak as a puppy."

"You know what I mean."

"Yeah. So?"

"Have you ever thought about why?"

He frowns. He's not stupid, but he is unused to self reflection. "Ahm a metuhhuman. Same as Tuppy."

"That's really more of a category than a... Look, I'll cut to the chase. As far as I can work out, before you and your sister were born you were dosed with something called the Danner Formula."

His eyes narrow a little and he frowns. "How'd that happen?"

"No idea. Shouldn't have happened, there's a handful of places it could have come from. No idea how your mother got hold of it."

"This Dannah stuff do anythang else?"

"You heal faster than most people and you'll probably live a bit longer. There may be other effects, we haven't really studied it enough. Reason I bring this up, other than yourself and your sister I know of one other Danner Formula enhanced human in the world and he told me that he wants to meet you."

"Who?"

"His name's Doctor Arnold Munro. His grandfather was the man who created the Formula."

"An' he's strong as me an' Tuppy?"

"Roughly. He's probably a little past his prime."

"Is he related to us or somein'?"

"No. Well, I don't think so, I didn't really... Oh, no, everything I've read on the subject says that the Formula doesn't run in families. He's just interested in meeting someone else like him."

Thomas shrugs. "Sure. Not lahk I got someplace else t'be. You kin send him raht along."

"Oh, he will be pleased."

I take a moment to absorb the sounds of the room. Ms Snart's back speaking to her brother, who both recognised me and found the time to sneer at me as I walked over to Thomas' booth. Don't recognise the rest. Mostly mothers and a few wives. A couple of what even the most ardent campaigner against racial profiling will excuse me for calling gang members.

I mean, damn. Living the stereotype.

"One last thing-."

He rolls his eyes. "Yeah, they do GED courses."

He tries moving the chair closer to the screen, which doesn't work due to being bolted to the floor. Recognising this, he shuffles to the edge of the chair and leans over.

"Be abaht tha only guy doin' it. Whuts it gonna do fer me, anyway?"

"Probably nothing. That isn't the point. You do it, it shows that you're doing something productive with your time. Show that someone who might want to give you a job can trust you to do it and not just go on another rampage. You give that any thought?"

"Whut was that thang you said? Ship breakin'? Hows that wurk?"

"Companies have old ships they need breaking up for scrap. Usually they sail the big ones over to India and pay the locals peanuts to take them apart slowly with power tools. But, given how strong you are, you could rip one up in a couple of hours."

"Pays peanuts?"

"For a couple of hundred guys working for weeks, yes. For one man working for a few hours? If they paid you a tenth of what they'd have to pay their entire workforce it would still be worth their while, and you'd still make thousands of dollars."

"Fer real?"

"Sure! Look, are you looking for something that pays really well, something that's fun, or something that's kind of a mix?"

"Think ah'd always enjoy getten that much moneh."

"Thomas, I've got to be honest with you: I think you'd love getting paid to smash up a ship. You'd probably quite like getting paid to smash up three or four. But by the end of the second month, when it's just another day at work? I don't think you'd like it so much."

"Maybe. Whut else?"

"I know LexCorp is doing research on the Danner Formula. That's who Doctor Munro is working for. Probably be better talking to him if you want to get involved with that. There's quite good money in being a celebrity bodyguard, but you'll need to learn a lot of things to make a go of that. I imagine some rap musicians would love having a metahuman ex-con bodyguard, but they'll need to know that you'll stick at it."

"Fight'n off rival rappers? You think that'll be fun?"

"Oh, no. It'd be boring as Helheim."

"As whut?"

"Its like… Viking hell, but more boring. By the time a record company big enough to make it worth your time gets hold of them they're well tamed. All mouth and trousers. But if you need an outlet, if that's what it takes, I know a few people in your weight class you could spar with."

"Lahk who?"

I smile. "You enjoyed fighting Wonder Woman, didn't you?"

{red}11th October
13:07 GMT -5{/}

Mister Kord holds the data stick up like a banknote of uncertain providence.

"Not that I wanna sound ungrateful, but doesn't the League usually give this sorta thing to STAR Labs?"

The visitor chair in his office was clearly inadequate for a man of my dimensions, to say nothing of my weight. He didn't appear to have thought of that in advance and was a little self conscious about it until I simply lifted it aside and {orange}created{/} a construct chair instead.

"STAR Labs has a copy as well, but I was able to convince Wonder Woman that it would be advantageous to make use of this information sometime before the next millennium."

"Okay, but why me?"

"WayneTech doesn't have a cybernetics division."

"LexCorp does. North American Robotics would kill for something like this."

Because I know a trap when I smell one. I don't intend to unproductively provoke my superiors in the League by suggesting something like that. They didn't appear to care about me killing a sophont android and the furore over me killing Ocean Master seems to have died down, but I'm on best behaviour for the foreseeable future.

"The League is reluctant to work with Mister Luthor, in part due to the ongoing dispute between him and Superman."

"Mm, well, given all the practical work Doctor Morrow did it shouldn't be too hard to get something into production. Red Torpedo's synthetic skin was really that good?"

"No one noticed anything wrong for seventy years. Appearance, temperature and texture all pass all but the closest examination."

"I've seen some experimental designs that actually use living tissue..?"

"No, all synthetic. The body is hairless and the eyebrows and eyelashes don't grow. We're still not sure how his hairstyle changed."

"Maybe the Morrow android visited him every few years?"

"Perhaps. I believe that Batman is following up on the matter today."

"What happened to Torpedo anyway?"

Ah.

"A little embarrassing, that. When he and Red Inferno attacked our base he caught me with my trousers down. Literally. I was forced to fight him without this ring."

I hold it up. I hadn't really given it any thought before, but it is a little interesting how it resized itself when I grew to my current stature.

"Since I didn't know precisely how he was controlling the water I couldn't risk leaving much intact."

Mister Kord puts down the stick and pokes the mechanical arm lying on the desk before him.

"So..?"

"That used to be his, yes. Once he was out of commission it was a trivial matter to collect the ring, and after that..."

"Wasn't.. wouldn't Red Inferno be as powerful as Red Tornado?"

"Perhaps." I shrug. "She was built a little earlier and has a smaller chassis. From what I observed, she was able to generate flame without reference to an external heat source, while in the absence of air Red Tornado would be unable to create his signature twisters. Her, I was able to bring down whole."

"And she led you to Morrow?"

"It would be more true to say that our invasive probing of her brain led us to Morrow. Impressive cryptography, I'm told."

"And Tornado was okay with you doing that to his.. sister..?"

"He wanted to access her mental network himself. Fortunately I was able to convince the League that such an attempt would create unnecessary risk."

"I saw a piece on the news this morning about the League's attack on Morrow's base at Yellowstone."

"The Morrow android and his assistant are in custody, and their improved android was destroyed in the attack. With my assistance-"

And that of my team mates, but Theodore Kord isn't cleared to know about us quite yet.

"-it was possible to take the base whole and undamaged. They haven't decided what to do with the Morrow android yet. According to Wonder Woman it behaves exactly as he did when he fought the Justice Society."

"Any luck finding the man himself?"

"Tornado tracked him to a hospice in Milwaukee. He isn't much of a threat to anyone anymore, and won't be one at all before too long." I make a shrugging gesture with my right arm.
"Given how old he is… Not much point in attempting to bring him to trial, really. Tornado wanted to spend some time with him before he finally dies."

"What are they doing with Red Inferno?"

"I'm not sure. Morrow did something to her when he removed her from her grave to reactivate her. She retains her memories of being Danette Reilly, but as if they were lived by someone else. Without her 'father' to give direction she is somewhat aimless, but it's a League matter now."

Perhaps the greatest cause for concern, I can't see her desires in the same way I can see her younger brother's. Perhaps it was not some action of Morrow's, but the fact of her death causing her soul to be cast adrift? Could Constantine or Papa Midnite find and reattach it? Something to ponder.

"What exactly.. does the League.. want?"

"That you use this information for the greater good. In terms of civil uses, I imagine you could find a market for improved cybernetics and robotics. Personally, I would be interested in acquiring armour based on the epidermis of the final android. It proved immensely resilient."

But not power ring or magic sword proof. Even Morrow can't build quite that sophisticated just yet. Probably won't get the chance now. I know it's necessary but I can't help but feel that it's an unfortunate loss to the species.

"I can get our robotics people working on this right away, but if there's as much information here as you're saying it's gonna take a while to sift through it all."

"Then don't. I arranged the contents by category, just find something with commercial potential and bring it to market as fast as is practical. You aren't on an overall time limit here."

He thinks for a moment. "Does it include information on Morrow's element control technology?"

I give a shallow nod and faint smile. "Yes."

"Oh God." He puts his right hand over his mouth. "There's so many civilian applications for that I don't even know where to... We could shut down tornadoes before they form. Control flood waters, stop fires, halt earthquakes."

"I knew I came to the right place."

"Blue Beetle, power armoured master of the elements!"

And there goes my confidence.