Unusual Suspicions

23rd December
07:35 GMT -5

I take one last look at the construct cables running from my lantern to the Ice Fortress' power distribution network. Everything looks set and I know this should work in theory but I'm still a little nervous.

"Alright in there, Ophidian?"

A pulse of orange. {orange}"Fear not, my Agent. We were one when this scheme was conceived. We will see it through to its conclusion. The people of New York will bear witness to the magnificence of our palace and marvel at our generosity."

"{/}Thank you. Ring, contact Green Lanterns two eight one four B and C."

I was a little surprised that Lantern Stewart offered to help. He'll be very useful if something goes wrong. I hope that Guy didn't twist his arm too much. With two out of three of this Sector's serving Green Lanterns helping me I'm certainly not going to complain about Lantern Jordan absenting himself. I'm sure the rest of the Sector doesn't stop for Christmas.

The busts of Guy and Stewart appear just above the ring. "Ready in Switzerland?"

Guy nods. "Cake's outta the ground. Think we gave some cows a nasty shock. Hadn't realized you frosted it."

"What sort of Christmas cake designed by a Lantern hopped up on the light of avarice doesn't have a scale model of the North Pole on top?"

Stewart takes a quick look around. "Air space is clear and the cake weighs next to nothing. Orange Lantern, I was contacted by a guy from the Swiss Federal Department of Home Affairs. They want to know what you intend to do with the chamber you were storing this thing in."

"Hadn't really thought about it, to be honest. Do they want it, or do they want me to fill it in?"

"I think he was more trying to feel us out about it."

"I don't really have any strong feelings about it? I realise that I shouldn't have dug it, wasn't compos mentis at the time. Far as I'm concerned it belongs to Switzerland."

"I'll pass that on. Ready at your end?"

"The Ophidian's ready and willing." Guy winces as I reach over to press the intercom. "Captain Zatara, you about ready?"

The ring shows me an image of her sitting in the central command chair with a thick coat on and Teekl curled up on her lap. I've had several heaters up there trying to raise the temperature for a couple of days but we are in the arctic circle. She could use magic to warm up but we want to keep her fully fuelled in case we run into difficulty later. "I will be as soon as I get some power up here."

I nod. "Main power live in three, two, one, now." There's no outward sign that my construct is now converting the lantern's output to electrical power from the lantern itself, but the lights in the engine room immediately come on at full intensity and -quick check- so does the heating. "Captain?"

"Heat systems check, computers… Check. Closing external doors and hatches. There doesn't appear to be any new damage since yesterday. Shall I take us up?"

"Orange Lantern to all points, we are go for take off. Engage anti-gravity at your convenience."

In the command centre I see her smile, her right hand on the control pad and her left idly stroking Teekl. "You are so loving this."

"Yes, I so am."

"Taking us up."

There's a very slight shudder, probably caused by an unevenness in the shape of the ice attached to the bottom of the hull. I checked the bracing around what we think to be the bit generating the anti-gravity effect at the same time as I checked the computers and it all looked solid. Can't be one hundred percent sure without a better understanding of the system. I close my eyes for a moment and focus on the sense of hunger I know to be Fatty.

Fatty, start eating the ice off the hull. Don't eat the hull.

{orange}Eating! Yay!{/}

He's been weirdly upbeat since the Truggs thing. I can't really ask what that was like for him. Well, I can, he just can't give an answer that makes any sense to me. He's much less use as a scout than Teekl for much the same reason; even though he is more obedient he can't articulate or comprehend what he sees as well. I get a vague impression that he's eating something and so until Zatanna reports otherwise I'll assume that it's what he's supposed to be eating.

"Everything looks good up here."

"Right. Ophidian? {orange}"

"This is a mere fraction of my full power as well you know."

"{/}Just checking. Okay Captain, I'm on my way up." I need to stay connected to the transfer constructs to keep them active but I can do that with a filament. In fact, since I'm not actually doing much ring work here I've got filaments trailing throughout the structure. With one last look at my lantern I turn around and start the trek back to the bridge.

"Hey, Paul." I look at the image of Guy. "You know none of the rest of us can hear what the Snake's saying when you do that, right?"

"No, I.. I didn't. Really?" Lantern Stewart nods. "Huh. Um, I'm not crazy."

"We know she's real, it's just kinda weird seein' you talk to thin air."

"I'll bear that in mind. See you when we get to Switzerland." I close the connection and start climbing the ladder up to the next level.

"Internal communications are up and running as well. I'll do a check on the snow generators."

I pull myself up onto the next floor and fly through the corridors at speed. "Operation: White Christmas is still on?"

"I think so. The vents are still covered in ice. We won't really know until Fatty's finished clearing it off." I land next to the bridge door and press the control panel. Zatanna looks up at me as the door slides open. "We're at cruising height and I'm setting course for Switzerland."

"Good show. Estimated time of arrival?"

"At the moment? About five days." She presses a few buttons. "Once the vents are clear and you add your engine constructs, about six hours."

I nod. "Zatanna, I want to apologise again-."

She jerks her head away. "No, it's… I talked it over with John. Really, I'm okay with it."

I nod. "I'm glad, because the next six hours would have been really awkward otherwise. But I was thinking I should do something to.. you know.. make up for it."

"What did you.. have in mind?"

"How would you like a trip to Eden?"

She blinks at me. "Eden? Oh! Rob told me about that place. That's the botanical park, where they use giant domes to create different habitats from all over the world, isn't it? I'd love to go there."

I blink. Eden..? Eden Project. "Yes, that's exactly what I meant! I.. wasn't sure you'd heard of it."

She sighs slightly. "You meant the other Eden, didn't you."

"Yes. Sorry."

"Look, I.. don't really-."

"It's as near to the biblical version as it could possibly be. But we can go to the Eden Project instead. Less risk of flaming sword. I'm… I'm happy to take you anywhere."

"Oh." She thinks for a moment. "Well, then, yes. Thank you." She looks straight at me. "The other one. Not the biblical one."

"Other one it is. They're closed Christmas Day… Do you have any plans for Boxing Day?"

"No. Boxing Day's.. {blue}good{/}."

23rd December
15:31 GMT -5

"…in New York today with the re-appearance of an Ice Fortress. But don't worry, this time it's firmly under the control of the Justice League."

Ms Grant looks up and the camera tilts to follow her gaze, giving me an excellent view of my Fortress’ exterior. Looks like we're pulling in a decent crowd. Even at this distance the shining green from Guy and Stewart is clearly visible, on station should it be necessary to balance the load. The giant cake sits proudly on the platform which now extends outwards from the top of the command tower. The bracing I built should be able to hold it up but just in case Zatanna hit it with a 'ekac ecuder ni thgiew'.

I sneer at the television. "My foot it's under the control of the Justice League! Everyone saw me making the cake and Diana told them I was raising the Fortress!"

"Just be glad they're not running and screaming." Zatanna smiles. "You know, you could always-."

"I'm not singing it again. It's not happening."

"..following through on his promise two months ago, and while I have no idea what that will taste like New Yorkers have turned out in their thousands to find out."

"How are you actually going to get it down there?"

"I'm not. I'm going to slice it up up here and hand the boxes out. Your spell will stop affecting the pieces cut off the main cake, right?"

She looks aside for a moment. "It should. It might cut out altogether when more than half of the cake's gone though."

"Won't be a problem, the platform's easily strong enough to hold that." I look back at the screen. "Hey, watch this."

Reaching out to one of the filaments on the Fortress’ exterior I cut a smallish piece out of the cake. I then take a patisserie box out of subspace around the cake piece and start floating it swiftly ahead of the Fortress. The picture jerks slightly as Ms Grant directs the cameraman to focus on it. Write a quick message on the interior, draw an orange sigil on the top of the box and write her name… And Ms Grant takes a step back as the box floats down in front of her.

"Well, this… Um." She turns back to the camera as the crowd turns to look. "It looks like Orange Lantern wants me to try it first." She's holding a microphone so I extend a filament and tug it out of her hand while keeping it pointed at her. She gulps, then reaches out to take the box and flip open the lid. Her eyes widen slightly at the message 'Is this live?' but she doesn't let her surprise disrupt the performance. Holding the box with her left arm she reaches in to pick up the cake with her right. "Looks like a.. normal frosted fruitcake to me." Thankfully, Ophidian me realised that just scaling up the thickness of the icing wouldn't work so Ms Grant's bit has a completely normal layer of icing and marzipan on the part which was on the Cake's outer surface. "Clearly it hasn't suffered from being stored under Switzerland for two months, or from being transported over the Atlantic today." She appears to take a breath to steady herself. "Here I go!" Keeping the box underneath to catch any crumbs she raises the cake to her mouth and takes.. the tiniest bite she could possibly manage! Oh, come on! What did she think I was going to do? Her face goes stiff for a moment as she chews, clearly bracing herself for the worst. "It's.. moist… The texture's good and you can taste the fruit flavors." She nods to the camera and takes a larger bite. Result! "Wooks wike…" She chews a bit more and then swallows. "Looks like New York's in for a delicious pre-Christmas treat. This is Cat Grant, eating cake, for GBS News."

"Glad it tastes nice. I was worried for a minute."

Zatanna presses a few buttons on the control pad. I got rid of the engine constructs once we got to the Lower Bay and we've been gradually decelerating since. "Aaaand… Full stop, Battery Park dead ahead."

"Thank you captain." I point at the door. "Do you want to come out and watch, or stay in here?"

"At this time of year? I think I'll stay where it's warm." Teekl opens her eyes, stretches out her forepaws and then rehuddles to indicate her agreement.

"Okay. You can watch us on the external cameras-."

"Or on the news, I know." I nod and then turn to leave. "Paul..?"

"Yes?"

"Who do you think they're going to get?" I turn back to her, looking blank. "The League, I mean. They don't have a magic user now…"

"I don't know. Um, Jason Blood, maybe? David Sargent? I doubt it'll be John and it could well end up being some Atlantean battle mage neither of us have ever heard of. Why'd you ask?"

"We'd be working with them, wouldn't we? To free Dad."

"I assume so. I mean, we'll need to talk to them in private at some point and see how they want to handle things…"

"It's just…" Her eyes dip. "It's probably stupid…"

"What is it?"

She looks up. "You don't think they'll {yellow}offer Nabu a place{/}, do you?"

I blink, stunned. "No, of course not! They're M-. Your father's friends! They're not going to let some Lich stroll in, steal his body and then pick up the keys to the place as a bonus! There's no way they'd do that."

She nods. "I know, it's just… I can't stop thinking about it. I mean, Wonder Woman and Red Tornado worked with him-."

"And that's exactly why they won't. They know what he's like. Zatanna, you're being ridiculous. You know that, right?"

She nods. "I guess."

"Okay, long as we're clear?"

Another nod, a little more confidently this time. I wave to her with my right hand before heading out of the door. The closest exit is the one Guy and I came in through the first time and I've repaired the doors since then. Flight door flight airlock, and I'm out into the air over New York. Sun's going down but aside from the Fortress the air looks clear. I'm glad about that; having to create an umbrella construct over the whole cake would have been annoying. We're never going to get finished before sunset, but then I didn't really expect that we would. Short PR thing here while people can still see, then Guy, Stewart and I can carve the Cake up and box it. Should have finished handing Cake out by seven at the latest then we can strip the Cake stand off the Fortress and Zatanna and I can take the Fortress back to the Arctic Circle. No real reason why I can't just transfer it back, so depending on whether the Mayor has decided on whether he wants the city to get a snow dusting first we should be finished by half past seven at the latest. Red Arrow's supposed to be cooking tonight. He seems to have thawed out a little bit but I'm still half expecting my drink to be spiked with sodium pentothal or something.

Ring, does sodium pentothal actually..? No, I suppose that was a bit silly.

I drift outwards and up over the rim of the upper platform, up the side of the Cake decorated to look like the rimfall and over the top to where Guy and Stewart are waiting. I made a cake five hundred metres tall. I chuckle as I think about it. It's ridiculous, really.

Stewart spots me first and rises to meet me. "How d'you wanna do this?"

I generate an illustrative construct. "Pieces of approximately even size. We should probably start with the side facing away from land and serve everyone on the shore before boxing up and delivering. Remember to keep your lists synchronised so no one gets second helpings."

"Yeah, but-."

Guy taps Stewart on the chest with the knuckles of his right hand. "Who gets the frosting is what he means."

I shrug. "Doesn't really matter. I iced the interior boreholes I used for the heating elements so they'll get some icing wherever the piece comes from. And the decoration is far more flattened than the real North Pole. Even at its thickest it isn't all that thick."

John looks up into the sky. "And the news helicopters?"

"If they come from New York, they can have a bit. Otherwise, just chase them off if they try to land."

Guy grins then starts to open his mouth. "You could always try-."

"I'm not singing it."

23rd December
15:59 GMT -5

Guy stops cutting for a moment while I float cake pieces over to the waiting boxes. John's delivering to homes in Queens and if I strain my eyes a little I can see the green glow from the stack of boxes he's put down on the top of one of the high rise apartment buildings. We've pretty much finished feeding the crowds on the waterfront and it's thinned out a little bit. I'm beginning to think that my decision to work on the side facing away from them was in error; from their point of view the cake isn't changing and they can't see us for most of the time. The helicopters have been joined by three ferries and.. sixteen? Smaller boats. The people in charge must be minting it.

"Hey, Paul… I've been wondering…"

"What about?"

"Did you an' the Snake put any liquor in this?"

I frown slightly as I try to remember. "Um… Yes, several gallons of cherry brandy. Why d'you ask?"

Huh. Never seen Guy look nervous before. "You know we've been giving this to kids, right?"

"Guy, a few gallons across a cake this size results in less alcohol per piece than you get if you leave a carton of fruit juice out in the sun."

He nods. "That's okay then."

"This from the man who asked if he could get a beer in the junior team's training area. M'gann, Roy and me are over the age limit, but the rest aren't."

He makes a dismissive gesture with his right hand. "Eh, I was drinkin' at their age."

"Guy, you were a nasty little tearaway at their age."

"Yeah, well, there's a difference from havin' one beer in your own home when you're a teenager and us givin' liquored up cake to a bunch a' kindergarteners."

"Guy, if I'd put that much in it would have drowned out all the other flavours."

He looks at the hole we've cut in the side of the Cake. "Never eaten a good fruitcake before."

"Dad was… Is a big fan of my mum's fruitcake. I don't really like fruit in cake myself, but I know how it's supposed to go. Um, feel free to take a chunk home with you for Christmas to share with the family…" I'm wincing even as I finish the word.

Guy sags slightly. "Gloria's spendin' Christmas with her husband's family. Mom's still goin', but…" He curls the left edge of his lip into a small sneer.

I hesitantly put my right hand on his left shoulder. "If you don't have any other plans, you're welcome to spend Christmas in the mountain."

He doesn't shake the hand off, but he does turn so it drops away naturally. "You sure? I don't wanna mess up any a' yer plans…"

"I'm going to have to do two turkeys anyway. All you coming means is that there's a small chance we'll be eating something other than turkey by Easter. Seriously, it's no problem."

"Zatanna gunna be there?"

"No, she's spending it with her grandparents in Italy." I take a quick look at the Fortress' bridge. "She's actually got a phrasebook out right now trying to swot up on her Italian."

"Who else is commin', then?"

"Alan, Mister J'onzz, Danni-."

"'Danni'?"

"Danette Reilly." Blank. "Red Tornado's sister?"

"Oh! Right, the robot chick."

"Um… Yes. Red Tornado himself… Think M'gann said something about inviting Marie and Garfield Logan. They run an animal sanctuary in the middle of nowhere in Qurac, we met them on a mission there. Diana's busy for most of the day but she said that she'll come for dinner. Artemis and her mum still haven't decided; her mum didn't grow up in a Christian country…" A dreadful idea occurs to me. "Guy, what were you doing for Thanksgiving?" He shrugs. "Oh, shit, Guy! Now I feel like a complete arsehole! Why didn't you say something?"

"I'm not really.. good.. at the whole 'Happy Families' thing…"

"I'm not related to anyone in this entire universe, that's no reason to spend a major national holiday on your own. Alan's always up for company, and he'd probably appreciate having someone around who likes that rugby in body armour thing you people call 'football'."

He perks up and stabs at me with his right forefinger. "Oh, you do not get to talk smack about football!"

"The guys with the measuring tape do more work than most of the players!"

"I do hope that I'm not interrupting?"

Our heads snap around as Diana politely waits for us to stop, arms folded across her chest. Her left hand is holding some sort of cardboard tube. She's in full armour with the lasso at her hip and looks slightly amused.

"Heck, Wondy, you can interrupt me whenever you want."

"I'll bear that in mind." She looks at me for a moment, then turns her attention back to Guy. "Lantern Gardner, may I speak with my student alone for a moment?"

"Oh, sure." He looks at me. "I'll go make some deliveries." He leans forwards and shields his mouth with his left hand. "She's totally into me." I shudder theatrically as he extends his aura around the now cake filled boxes. "See you in a few!"

Diana watches him go for a moment as he heads off in the direction of Brooklyn. "This seems to be going well."

"We're on schedule. Um, want a bit?"

"Not at the moment, thank you." She looks down at the iced surface for a moment. "I'm.. sorry that I'm not going to be there on Christmas Day, and that I'm taking Kon away from you."

"No, no, I completely understand that he's got embassy related stuff you two need to do together. I'm just going to be in the kitchen for most of the day anyway."

She nods. "Be that as it may, I wanted to give you your present a little early." She holds out the tube and I take it from her with my right hand.

"Thank you. Am I supposed to open this now?"

"That would probably be best."

I nod. "Okay. Usually I'm pretty strict about opening stuff on the day, but seeing as it's you..." I run a small construct blade around the wax stopper and flip it off the tube's interior before reaching in and pulling out the parchment within with my right hand. Anything else in there? Quick shake. No. With a mental shrug I send the tube to subspace and unroll the parchment. I wonder what..?

I blink rapidly. Oh. That, I did not expect.

"You said you'd only accept a nationality you wanted, and you haven't made any effort to claim British nationality. I know Kon would feel better knowing that you were around when we visit in the new year."

"And… Is this..? Queen Hippolyta was alright with this?"

"I didn't forge Mother's signature, Paul. Though I did have to explain why you needed it. Themyscira hasn't had to worry about this sort of nationality identification paperwork before." She studies my face for a moment. "Are you alright with this?"

"Yes! Oh, goodness me yes. I didn't this is whaw." I shake my head and chuckle. "I'd be delighted to become a citizen of Themyscira. This should be a very interesting experience. Um, I suppose I should…" Two small packages appear from subspace. One is an ovoid wrapped in paper decorated with kittens playing with string. The other is a flattened cuboid wrapped in shiny black paper decorated with gold stars.

She looks at both of them before reaching for the ovoid. "Is this what I think it is?"

"Probably. We added a clip at the back so you can attach it to your belt."

She gently unsticks the sellotape at the top before reaching in and taking out the Spell Eater. "Exactly how effective are they?"

"Its predecessor let me tank shots from Klarion. That one's a lot more effective." I point at the other package. "The other one's more personal."

She opens it with the same care and smiles as she sees the book inside. "I hadn't got around to reading this."

"That copy's edited by me. Only one in the world with Harriet Taylor's name on the cover."

24th December
16:35 GMT -6

"Why are we in Wisconsin?"

We're walking down Newbury Street in Ripon, south eastern Wisconsin. It's cold up here, and as I glance at Artemis she rubs her hands against her arms in an effort to keep warm. Not that I'm feeling it. "This is revenge. You see, a certain pair of archers decided that it would be amusing to program the mountain's computers to play the British National Anthem every single time I sat down. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, toilet… And it took me all day to work out how they managed to rig it so that I couldn't just erase the program with the ring."

Her pantomimed expression of complete innocence would be more believable if I hadn't just seen her smirking. "I.. don't know what makes you think it was us. Red Arrow barely talks to me."

"You may have erased the cameras and cleaned your finger prints off the data stick and the mechanism which physically removed it from the network after every upload, but fortunately for me you both left hairs at the scene. Unless there was some other reason for you getting into a tightly enclosed space with Mister Harper?"

She wrinkles her nose. "Okay, you found us out. Why isn't he here?"

"I already got him with the mole thing." Which house was it again? Ah, yes, there it is. "How come the two of you are getting on now?"

"I told him. You know, about my Dad."

"How'd he take it?"

"Actually…" She nods to herself. "Surprisingly well. I guess once he found out what was making him so suspicious it stopped bothering him. It's just.. I thought it would be this huge deal, you know? Something I'd have to cover up forever, except.. you found out and didn't care, and I told him and he didn't either."

"Thinking about telling everyone else? You'll probably feel better."

"Maybe…" She frowns. "You still haven't told me why we're here."

"Since I was such a good sport about jumping to my feet whenever the anthem played -something I don't normally do, by the way- I think you're obliged to play along with my prank."

"Dooon't think it works like that."

I glance around in the general direction of New England. "Do you feel like walking home?"

She huffs. "Doesn't this mean I'm basically pranking myself?"

"No, this prank is epic." I stop opposite a modest two storey green house. Most importantly, it lacks one of those odd personal post box things suburban American houses are usually shown having on television. "Okay, this is it. All you have to do is walk up to the front door with this-" I take a brown A4 envelope out of subspace and hold it out. "-hand it to whoever answers and wait for a response."

She stares at me for a good three seconds. "And that's it."

"That's it."

Her left eye narrows ever so slightly, but she takes the envelope from me with her right hand. Then she holds it up to her right ear and shakes it. "Sounds like paper."

"It is paper."

"And it's nothing.. y'know, illegal, is it?"

"Artemis, I wouldn't do that to you." I shake my head. "That's not fun."

Both eyes narrow, but she doesn't have any more ready excuses. Turning away from me she walks slowly up the path to the front door, I assume trying to work out where the surprise is coming from. She'll never manage it. No way. She stops right as she gets to the front step, half turns in my direction and gives me another stare. I hold my face in a picture of cherubic innocence and after a moment she shakes her head and finishes her walk to the door. I get a camera out of subspace and hold it behind my back as she takes hold of the door knocker and bangs it three times on the door before standing back to wait.

The elderly woman who opens the door is wearing blue jeans and a thick woolly jumper. Her hair's grey but I can still just see a little of its original blonde colour peaking through and a quick scan reveals her to be in basically good health. She blinks at Artemis in puzzlement. "Can I help you?"

"I'm.. supposed to give you this and then wait for a response."

A slight frown. "O..kay..?" She takes the envelope, opens the unsealed flap and takes out the first sheet of paper. She reads it for a moment then her head jerks back very slightly. She puts the sheet back into the envelope and takes out another, slightly smaller piece of paper. This too is swiftly read and returned. Then she takes out a photograph. And another. And another. She turns her head back towards the interior of the house. "Lawrence!"

"Ah… Is there some sort of problem?"

She returns her attention to Artemis, eyes slightly wide. "Didn't… Don't you know what's in here?"

Artemis turns her head back towards me and the old woman follows her gaze. I wave. "No, because someone decided it would be more fun this way."

"Then he's either very kind or very mean." A similarly aged man emerges from the interior of the house and she passes the envelope over to him. The resemblance is obvious really; he's basically an older and more weathered version of his son.

I think Artemis has spotted it too. "Look, who are you?"

The woman favours her with a gentle smile. "My name is Cynthia Crock, dear, and according to this I'm your grandmother."

Camera up! Artemis boggles for a moment and then angrily turns in my direction and points viciously with her right hand. I keep the camera pointed at her with my left, point back with my right and pantomime sniggering at her confusion. She gives me a full on scowl and then turns back to the senior Crocks. "But.. Dad always said…"

Lawrence Crock Senior's face isn't particularly expressive. There's a very slight tightening of the jaw muscle but I only notice because the ring's pointing it out. "Junior hasn't spoken to us since I made my feelings on him leaving the army for.. private work clear to him. I'd like to say I'm surprised he didn't mention us to his daughter, but that would be a lie."

Artemis puts her right hand on her forehead. "Oooh my God."

"Can I assume that you're not here as a result of him coming to his senses?"

"Oooh my God."

"Honey? Would you and your friend like to come inside? Your Uncle Warren's family are coming over later and I'm sure they'd-."

"Oh my God!"

"Young lady, compose yourself." The old man's expression still hasn't changed. He used to be a Sergeant in the US Army and apparently his son takes after him in more than just looks. I mentally mark him down as 'Sportsmaster, but less malevolent'. "This is just as much of a shock to us as it is to you."

"Ah, yeah, sorry. It's just… Whaw. I.. haven't met anyone from Dad's side of the family before."

Cynthia glances at her husband. "How is Junior?"

"He's serving about fifteen life sentences in Belle Reve."

"Oh."

"I think they're trying to make it longer, actually."

"Well… That's…" She gives up. "How is your mother?"

"Mom's good. Divorce got finalized about a month ago."

Lawrence Senior nods. "Smart woman. Junior's never going to change. He's stubborn, just like me. Only shame is none of my other virtues rubbing off."

Cynthia fishes out a recent photograph of Paula and Artemis together. "Does he have..? Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"Yeah, Jade. She's… Actually, can we talk about this inside?"

"Of course we can, honey."

"Thanks." She turns around. "Paul, get over here right now!"

Good job I brought some Christmas Cake.

{red}25th December
17:52 GMT -5{/}

I use the ring to transfer some of the fat which has run into the bottom of the roasting tin back onto the top of the Goose without opening the oven door. A must buy accessory for any kitchen: the power ring.

"Are you sure you don't need to get the other vegetables yet?"

I nod at M'gann. "Completely, Your Highness. They're-."

She giggles. "Will you stop calling me that."

"Mmmmmmmm..? No."

"You really shouldn't."

"Feels nice though, doesn't it?"

She tosses her head. "I'm not even sure I count. I mean, I haven't inherited it…"

"No, you have. All Martians have. And once we've got a little more evidence of that fact no Martian will suffer from the ridiculous colour-based stigma again."

She looks off into the distance for a moment. "You're really planning to.. do this to everyone?"

"Maybe not everyone, that could get a bit tedious. I'm hoping that once they've had a chance to study the process Martian doctors or sorcerers will be able to replicate it." I frown. "Didn't you say something about having a White brother? I don't mind bumping him up the queue if you think it would help?"

She frowns. "He wouldn't be able to keep it secret."

"And?"

"Wouldn't that cause total chaos on Mars?"

I smirk. "Again: and?"

"No." My smile broadens. "No!" She comes a little closer and waves her right forefinger at me. "I'm serious Grayven, don't do it. We need to come up with a plan for how this is going to work."

I fan my hands. "Alright. You're the expert on Martian culture." She steps back, apparently mollified. "Soo, how have you been getting on with Match?"

"Well, the rest of his programming's fully integrated. He doesn't…" She purses her lips. "You remember how Conner snapped at me the first time I spoke to him telepathically?" I nod. "Match doesn't have that problem. Actually, he seems to find it reassuring."

"No, I meant socially." Kon and I have been debating whether or not to introduce him to Karsta. She used the hush tube to take a trip to Australia and left a note saying that she'd be back in February but it's not as if it would be difficult to track her down.

M'gann nods. "Conner's been spending a lot of time with him, but I don't mind. I can't imagine what it would be like not having brothers or sisters."

"Your boyfriend, his near identical brother…"

A slight frown, then she rolls her eyes. "Wally told you."

"It was pretty funny. I thought you were supposed to be telepathic?" I've been trying to work out how to bring up the incident where M'gann plonked herself down in the wrong brother's lap and kissed him before noticing his eyes ever since Wallace mentioned it to me. Shame I missed seeing it myself.

"I don't scan everyone all the time! And the G-Gnomes made their minds feel similar anyway!"

"It's nothing to feel embarrassed about. You're young. Curious. Passionate. And I don't know enough about Martian social customs-."

Her eyes widen. "We're monogamous! It was just a mistake!"

"And now you're thinking about it, aren't you?" Her cheeks darken very slightly. "Are you blushing?" I wave at my cheek with my right hand. "I-I can't tell anymore. Hey, maybe we could compare notes on the use of constructs and shapeshifting in intimate-."

"Stop!" Her hands go to her ears. "Stop! I'm not listening!"

"Hehehahah-!"

"Not listening to what?"

We both look around as Match and Kon walk into the kitchen from the hangar. "Nothing!" / "Oh, nothing."

Match appears to shrug it off but Kon knows us better. "Right…" His hearing's good, but that doesn't mean that he hears everything in the mountain without focusing on it. "Grayven, Diana wants to talk to you about something."

Diana, I note. Not Wonder Woman. I know his relationship with her is much better than mine is with her but it still makes me a little uneasy, trusting her with him. I know, my decision originally… "About what?"

He shrugs. "She wouldn't tell me."

That gets a frown from me. What the heck would she want to talk to me about that she wouldn't say to him? "Alright, I'll go and see what she wants. Is she still in the hangar?" He nods. "Right then. You two have fun with M'gann while I'm gone."

**!**

I feel M'gann's mental exclamation through my customary mental shields as I leave. Bit much, maybe? Oh, she's forty eight, if she can't take a little ribbing about her cradle robbing habits… Through the door and a short walk down the corridor brings me out at the top of the steps leading down to the lower floor area of the hangar where Wonder Woman's waiting for me. The left Zeta Tube is still disassembled from where I started installing the hush tube before realising -somewhat belatedly- that the base's power plant didn't generate enough power to run that and the base's other systems. Hardly an insurmountable problem were it not for the fact that replacing or adding to the existing power plant requires Batman's sign off and he's actually taking Christmas off. I suppose I can't really complain about that but it has left a bit of a mess.

I give her a shallow bow as I reach her level. "What can I do for you, sir?"

"How is the food coming?"

I shrug. "Well enough."

She looks at me for a moment as if expecting me to continue. When I don't her eyes dip for a moment and I think I hear a very faint sigh. What was she expecting?

"Grayven, I want to speak to you about something.. personal." 'Why?' is the first thought that comes into my head, but I hold my peace. "It's about Kon. And, Match as well, I suppose."

"Thank you for taking him on as well, sir. I know he's been getting a lot out of your lessons." It took a while, after Roanoke, for being polite to her not to be an effort. But.. it's Christmas. I don't even look like I'm made of stone anymore.

"I've enjoyed being their teacher as well." She risks a small smile. "When I used to think back to my own childhood I sometimes wondered how my mothers put up with me. Now, I think I can see why they found it so rewarding." She pauses. "Since you and M'gann are the people who know Kon and Match best, I wanted to ask you something before I ask them."

"You can ask. I'll answer as honestly as I can."

She nods. "I've been considering offering to adopt them."

…

"You what?"

"Adopt them. Become their mother. I think we already have an emotional bond and I'd like to take that further."

This isn't fitting in my head so I shake it in the hope that will help. "You what?"

Her expression hardens slightly. "If you disapprove then I want to hear your reasons."

This is actually happening! I'm… I'm… {orange}Don't fuck this up for him{/}. What do I say? "When we first met, I didn't really know much about you. I had.. given your status, I had fairly high expectations, perhaps unreasonably high. For the most part you've lived up to them, aside from Roanoke-."

"Grayven-."

"This is the first time you've surpassed them. Yes. Yes, that is…" I shake my head in bewilderment. "That is the absolute best thing you could do. He'd love it. I'm not sure about Match, but…" I shake my head again. "I wasn't expecting this. I wasn't.. expecting this." I stumble back, instinctively opening a Boom Tube back to my room. "I need… I need to think about this."

28th December
18:43 GMT -5

I stretch my neck to the left and then to the right. My new armour still doesn't feel quite right yet, but I'm sure I'll adapt. The additional weight and mass of the flight belt is the most noticeable change. Rather than wearing it over the top it is now fully integrated and programmed to activate automatically if the ring cuts out unexpectedly. One telepathic shock when I'm airborne would have been an unfortunate way to die, but now all that will happen is I'll fall and land softly. The other significant change is the headgear. I'm not sure I'll wear it on an actual mission but the head padding has been invaluable for this testing.

"Test number one hundred and twenty two, orange light chaff generator. You ready in there Oh El?"

I nod to Robin through the glass to the control room of the hazardous testing lab and bring my shields up. Guy decided that the Guardians’ existing permissions covered him teaching me the telepathic blocking techniques he knew when he started teaching me. They're good -M'gann can just about get past them but she has to work for it and Mister King can't at all- but these chaff generators are designed to bypass them. As I understand it, it does that by generating white psychic noise rather than trying to access a precise part of the brain and that's far more difficult to stop.

"Activating in three, two, one…" He presses a button and-.

{orange}Warning: telepathic attack in progress.{/}

My environmental shield visibly contracts as I focus my mind on my desire for mental wellbeing. I still feel… I don't know, slightly wrong, but on the first thirty nine attempts I fell over at this point.

"Looking good Oh El. Now try creating a barrier."

A simple hemisphere appears in front of me.

"One of your railguns?"

It forms, though far more slowly than I've become accustomed to. I point it at the target at the far end of the room and after a brief hum a tungsten round strikes the bull's-eye.

"Particle beam?"

The railgun shudders, collapses and reforms, sending a beam of purple after the metal slug.

"Energy pulse?"

The particle beam projector dissipates as I raise my left hand and fire off a packet of orange energy.

"Think you've got it, Oh El."

"Looks like. How many that time?"

"Seven, and Lantern Gardner said that Truggs only had one."

I nod. Fortunately for me the chaff generators are designed to shock and then burn out, not remain continuously active. We're having to burn through them in sequence to simulate a determined attack. I can build more with the ring -though it isn't exactly fast as they're bloody complicated- but manufacturing them by mundane means would be an expensive and time consuming process. I hope, anyway.

The door in the control room opens and Wallace enters. "Hey Rob, what-? Is he still hiding in there?"

I wave at him and start heading towards the exit. Quite aside from my need to protect myself from a repeat of the Gotham Curbstomp -I don't think Bane has any more fathers he doesn't know about- I'm not exactly in a hurry to meet our newest team mate. Or her mentor. Though apparently she mentored him, or something? I suppose I should be happy that we're getting a bit more notice this time, but Icon and Rocket arriving in the mountain is going to create a massively awkward moment for me.

I turn the wheel, pull the door open and step into the decontamination chamber. A moment while the inner door locks and the computer scans me. Finding nothing more hazardous than normal the outer door clunks open and I stroll out. I know from my own research that Augustus Freeman and Raquel Ervin operate out of Dakota City. I know that she's sixteen and that he's at least a hundred and thirty and that they've been active for a little over seven months. Batman had been Batman for four years when the Appellaxians invaded seven years ago. For our team that's fine as we're all in training. Seems a bit… I don't know, not all that long for someone who's joining the League. Maybe they're going to get him to prosecute the people the League arrest or something?

Wallace and Robin are already in the corridor when I leave the decontamination chamber. Wallace looks at me sceptically. "You really think it's a good idea to keep blasting your brain with those things?"

"Compared to what?"

"Didn't Thinker end up in a psych ward?"

I nod my head to the side as we start walking towards the living area where the victims of my theft are waiting. "Well, it didn't get noted down in the official files, but according to Alan? They weren't exactly gentle when they disconnected Mister DeVoe the first time. He'd wired the thing directly into his brain…" Wallace and Robin grimace. "His later versions could just be detached from the graft points, but given where it connected his behavioural changes might just have mostly resulted from the damage caused by having the wires yanked out." I make a dismissive gesture with my right hand. "Besides, unless it wrecks my brain completely the ring will fix any damage."

"Yeah, 'cause you've got such a good record with mental stability."

Robin smiles. "He just wants to put off meeting the people he stole the flight belt designs from."

"Ooh." Wallace nods. "Thought that looked familiar. Do they know you-."

"I'm not sure but I'm fairly confident they'll spot it."

Round the corner and one straight corridor to go. Don't normally come in from this direction. How do I want to handle this? Stating my case right away is probably the best approach but I don't want to be too aggressive. After all I am going to be working with Miss Ervin for at least six months. Possibly longer, depending on how the thing with the Controllers goes. What else do I know? The belt's kinetic absorption systems don't stop energy weapons so I can offer her armour if she wants it. She's physically a baseline Human so Dannering is an option. What else? Mm, frankly we could all use lessons in how to use the flight belts better and she's had far more practice than we've had. I only even tried the force field projection system once and it's... It's not a power ring. I intentionally trained myself not to point at things but the belt requires it. Presumably there's a proper military version which-.

"So you finally left the lab?"

Who's she-? Oh, Robin went in ahead of me. Right, no dithering. I walk forwards into the living area. No Icon, I notice. Red Arrow is similarly absent while M'gann and Kon are in the kitchen putting the finishing touches to dinner. Rob's been here as much as he could manage this week, more than happy to duck out of spending time with his aunts over Christmas. He, Kaldur, Rocket and Artemis are on the large settee facing the currently off television while Robin perches on one arm. Zatanna makes eye contact with me and shuffles along the settee to make room for me to sit between her and Wallace on the settee at the far side.

We're going to need another settee soon. And possibly a larger living room.

"Hey." Miss Ervin gets up and approaches me. "Orange Lantern, right?"

"Indeed I am." I extend my right hand and she gives it a quick and slightly puzzled shake. "Welcome to the team, Rocket. Now, I'm afraid that I've got something rather unfortunate I feel obliged to tell you."

"What is it?"

I pull the ring off my finger and drop it to the floor. Then I trigger the belt and rise off the floor. "A few months ago-."

"Where'd you get that!?"

"I copied yours. Actually, I copied it thirty three times and gave my team mates one each."

"You mean-" She half turns. "-all of you can do your thing and my thing together."

Kaldur looks like he might answer so I jump in ahead of him. "No. As a result of not being able to focus on it we're all much worse with it than you."

Back at me and starting to get angry. "Then why-?"

"Because it's bloody useful. Kinetic impacts -punches, knives and bullets- become a non-issue and it lets the user fly. Those are very useful abilities. Similarly, I enhanced Robin, Artemis and Kon with something called the Danner Formula, granting them enhanced strength, endurance and healing. My job -as I see it- is to ensure that my team mates are equipped as best they can be to do the job and stay alive, and if that means that one team mate doesn't get to be a special snowflake with unique equipment that no one else is allowed to use, then so be it. It is not worth one of my friends dying over."

"Oh." She thinks for a moment, then shrugs. "Yeah… Okay. That's a good point."

"Is that it? I was expecting more than that."

"No, you're right. It's just equipment. As long as everyone's playing by the same rules." She looks at Robin and Artemis. "What exactly does that Danner stuff do?"

30th December
09:10 GMT -5

"Sure you don't wanna come, Oh El?"

I shake my head. "Robin, it makes no difference whether I watch it on TV here or there. Unless someone actually attacks the ceremony -which is just about the dumbest thing a person could do short of invading Russia- all that's going to happen is you'll stand in the Hall's library for ten minutes and then come back."

"It's exciting for me." Rob shrugs in response to my puzzled look. "I've never been to the Hall of Justice before. I mean, the headquarters of the Justice League! How does that get boring?"

I share a slightly awkward moment with Robin and Wallace. He doesn't.. know about the Watchtower. No, I suppose.. there's no reason why he would. Robin smirks while Wallace looks around for a distraction. "And.. Zatanna's not coming either?"

"No, she's staying here."

He nods. "Guess Donna owes me ten dollars then."

I tilt my head to the side. "Why?"

"Oh, no reason." I raise my eyebrows in an interrogative manner. "Hey, come on 'Cornwall Boy',-" He grabs Rob's arm and pulls him in the direction of the hangar's Zeta Tube. "-we can give you the nickel tour before they start."

"Oh, cheers mate!"

"Recognised, Robin, B zero one, Kid Flash, B zero three, Cornwall Boy, B one zero."

M'gann, Kaldur, Artemis and Kon will be accompanying their respective mentors. Roy… I don't know what he's doing. With him being an arse for most of his stay here I haven't made social enquiries, though I think the fact that he was referring to Mister Queen as 'Ollie' rather than as Green Arrow was probably a good sign. The League have a party planned for their new members up on the Watchtower after the ceremony but none of us got invited. Zatanna and I will probably use the time to help John try contacting Chantinelle again and I need to see if Miss Greaves has given Nyssa's offer any thought. I shrug and transition back to the settee opposite the television, leaning back against the cushions.

"Have they gone?"

I glance at Zatanna where she's sitting cross legged on my left. She's wearing a red cardigan with a yellow turtleneck and black leggings. "Yes. I still don't understand why. Do they think they'll get better reception there or something?"

"I don't know. I think it's nice they want to be there." She shifts around so that her legs are splayed out to her left, an action which results in her pressing against my left side. "If Dad was still on the League I'd have gone."

"It's not like they're even going to be on camera. The whole Hall is closed for the announcement. No one's going to see them."

"That's not… Oh, wait, I think they're starting."

I make an upwards gesture with my right hand and Miss Grant stops miming. "-short minutes the Justice League will start the…" She sees something out of shot and turns her head in the direction of the Hall of Justice's doors just as Kal-El pushes them open. "They're coming out now. Superman,-" He walks up to the podium and smiles at the assembled press. "-Batman,-" He exits the building and stands a little way to Kal-El's right. "-Wonder Woman,-" A slight uptick in camera flashes as she takes her place to Batman's right. Are they really going to line up in order of- "-Flash, Green Lantern,-" -yes, yes they are. They're lining up in order of designation number. "-Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Hawkman, Hawkwoman, Captain Atom, Black Canary, the second Green Lantern,-" Ooh, did Guy hear that? Are the news people going to try to call them all Green Lantern? Maybe Guy could go with Lantern Gardner. I mean, Jordan and John's names are secretish but his isn't. "-Red Tornado and Captain Marvel." Hm. Those last two aren't in designation order. I wonder why? "The only League member absent is Giovanni Zatara, who took a leave of absence earlier this year." Zatanna shuffles and I put my left arm around her shoulders.

"Shouldn't be for much longer."

Kal-El looks back at the door and -with the biggest shit eating grin that will physically fit plastered across his face- Guy strides out and falls into something approximating parade rest on Kal-El's left. "The first of the League's new members appears to be Baltimore native Guy Gardner, another member of the Green Lantern Corps." Guess the news crews have biographies of all the likely inductees ready to go. "The second new member is Dakota City hero Icon." Obviously no surprise there, though I still don't know who else is joining. Next through the door is-. "Red Arrow, former student of Justice League member Green Arrow. Viewers may remember him from the attack on the Rhelasian peace conference in September."

"That explains why his attitude improved so much."

"The next new member is…" She trails off as Yao Fei comes through the door. "Um."

"Ring, grab her autocue.{orange}"

"Compliance."{/}

"… Accomplished Perfect Physician, a Chinese national who has been active with China's state superhero team the Great Ten."

I wrote superfunctionary. I'll assume she didn't think the viewers would understand.

"Next out is-."

Her voice fades, replaced by a sort of buzzing. My mouth opens slightly and my eyes widen but other than that I'm paralysed by the horror of what I'm seeing as Nabu, dressed in blue and gold and Giovanni Zatara's body steps out of the Hall of Justice. Dimly I think I hear Zatanna gasp but my mind is empty. I just stare at his helmet as he takes his place in the line up.

"{yellow}How{/}..? {yellow}How could they do this{/}..?"

I think some other people are coming out after him. Miss Grant's mouth is moving. That's probably important? There's probably… There might be someone..? The camera angle changes to give a wider image and I find my eyes shifting over to Diana.

How could you? How.. how could you? Why..?

The world snaps back into focus as I hear Zatanna whimper. She shakily gets to her feet and I can see the tracks of the tears that are already running down her cheeks and I'm on my feet and putting my arms around her and resting my head on hers as she cries into my shoulder. Without the Justice League's help -and I think I have to assume that we're not getting any now- freeing Mister Zatara... I'd hoped someone else would have had new ideas, someone who knew something… No. I don't know less than I did before. I was keeping the League out of the loop anyway. "This is still winnable."

"{yellow}How{/}?"

"Come with me." I transition us to the door of my bedroom and pull away from her slightly. I'm never really sure what to say in this sort of situation but I can be practical. I pull a tissue out of my pocket and hand it to her. "The methods we've been investigating are still valid. League help-" I realise that underneath the shock I'm not feeling any doubt about the right course of action. The course of action I want to take. "-would have been nice, but it isn't essential."

She weakly blows her nose. "You think we can fight {yellow}Nabu{/} without the League?"

"Yes." I push open my door and guide her inside. "Unocclude." My lantern appears, bright as ever. "After we got back from Roanoke Island I swore my oath for the first time. Lantern Oaths are very personal things… You say what it is that makes you so committed to your cause, what that cause is. And when I did it I wasn't thinking about Klarion. I was thinking about Nabu." I hold out my left palm.

"This is my cause, this is my fight,
Shine through the void with orange light,
I've claimed all within my sight,
To keep what is mine, that is my right."

The brilliant orange beam connects my lantern to the ring and doesn't cut off. "You, are mine. Anything that hurts you is utterly unacceptable, either to me, or to the being I swore my oath to. Ophidian, show yourself."

Light pours forth from my lantern in all directions, pooling like liquid jelly in a mould in the shape of a snake. Not the colossal form she had in the mindscape when she ate Doctor Jones. Not even the fills-the-room form I vaguely remember from when we were merged. She's not much bigger than Zatanna at this point and she bends her body so that her head is slightly lower than Zatanna's so as not to give the impression of aggression.

{orange}"Zatanna."{/}

Zatanna blinks in surprise. "Um? H-hello?"

{orange}"I agreed with my Agent's decision and wholeheartedly support this undertaking."{/} She stretches forwards and appears to nuzzle the side of Zatanna's face. Is that an actual snake gesture or something she learned from me? {orange}"I understand 'to keep' now. You are ours. Harm to you is harm to us. I stay my fangs only through concern for your father's wellbeing. I care not for your faithless League. Any knowledge, any power you require from me is yours for the asking. Your father will be liberated."{/}

{red}30th December
09:19 GMT -5{/}

My smile grows as Kal-El keeps pontificating. "What complete and utter twaddle!"

Richard raises his right eyebrow. "Not a fan of truth, liberty and justice then Grayven?"

"I'm fine with justice, so-so on truth and I know too much about Human psychology to put much faith in liberty. But that's not even my point!"

The whole team's sitting in the library of the Hall of Justice. We were standing as an act of solidarity motivated by the fact that there weren't enough chairs for everyone until I got annoyed and fabricated some more. Outside on the steps three second stringers and a former sidekick with a pointy stick launcher are getting sworn in as members of the Justice League. Okay, Atom I get. Doctor Palmer is by all accounts a brilliant physicist and his ability to shrink down inside someone and inflict internal injuries at minimal risk to himself makes him horrifying to fight -unless you've got a power ring- but I'm really not clear what Mr Freeman brings to a team that already contains Kal-El and Wonder Woman or what Mister O'Brian brings to anything. And Moody Arrow? Forget about it.

"Well what is your point?"

"Okay,-" I sit back and hold up my right index finger. "-first off, the Justice League wasn't formed 'as an acknowledgement that no single person can solve the world's problems'. You know who picked the League's initial line up? The Appellaxians. The initial League members were either targeted for assassination or drawn to an ongoing attack. If the Appellaxians had come down anywhere other than the United States, would the League have come together?" I shake my head. "Probably not. And if that was the reason, why haven't they diversified their skills more? They've still only got one magic user-" I gesture to Zatanna. "-one lawyer-" At Miss Ervin. "-one physicist and a whole team of flying bricks. How can you cope with a greater range of challenges if you keep selecting the exact same characteristics? And don't even get me started on this whole the-Justice-League-can-deal-with-all-the-world's-problems nonsense."

"How is it nonsense?"

"Okay, ignore the ideology for a moment. What does the Justice League actually do?"

"The Justice League protects the world!"

"Yes. Well, no, but nearly right. The Justice League is a paramilitary organisation which protects the world from threats to the whole of the world, and from iconoclasts and lunatics -supervillains- within our society. When was the last time the League -as a whole- stopped a war? Or policed a demonstration that was in danger of becoming violent? Or -and we're getting on to the truth, liberty and justice thing now- broke someone out of prison who was wrongly convicted or was convicted of something that shouldn't be a crime. Heck, if you want culprits you only need to look at the United Nations Security Council. Britain's libel laws can easily beggar a person who has done nothing but speak the truth, the United States’ entire legal system seems to run on financial exhaustion and plea bargains and that's before we get onto the really serious offenders. Tao, what do you know about Falun Gong?"

All eyes on me now. Tao gives his head a little shake. "I do not know who that is."

"Chinese spiritual movement. Started in nineteen ninety two, became a bit too popular and then got cracked down on in ninety nine. All mention eradicated from the internet -if you're in China, anyway- members arrested and imprisoned without trial, forced labour, torture, that sort of thing. No liberty, no justice and the truth is that the Justice League will never intervene. I mean, the Gobi Desert prison camp I kind of get, it's a lot cheaper to run than Belle Reve. But a bunch of people who practice exercise routines?"

"Well-."

"Another example then. Tao, who was responsible for the Tiananmen Square Massacre?"

He hesitates. "I.. was told it was the Shaolin Robots.. but, if you are asking…"

"I've seen all of the original reports. The Robots probably trampled a few people to death but the majority of fatalities were caused by the indiscriminate fire of your former team mate, Gu Lao."

"That…" He shakes his head. "No, that cannot be true. I know he is.. uncompromising-."

"He's a nutter! Captain Fang's own report claims that he had to destroy Socialist Red Guardsman's plasma cannon himself to stop him firing. No justice; the Guardsman will never be punished. No truth; the reports are sealed and the few people who tried to speak out were 'disappeared'. Including a Red Army Lieutenant with more courage than sense who'd just seen his platoon incinerated by his alleged ally. Liberty? Only if you don't make trouble. No, the Justice League is extremely hesitant to take action against governments." I look around. "I mean, remember Vertigo?" Wallace and Richard look away. Tao looks like he really wants to say something in his country's defence but is no longer certain enough of his footing to do so.

Miss Ervin looks around the group. "Vertigo? You're not talking about the Hitchcock film, are you?"

"No, Werner Vertigo, the leader of the Injustice League who despite thousands of deaths walked out of court a free man after waving his diplomatic passport."

"I think I saw something on TV about that."

"Yes, I ran an ad campaign to try and get the people involved in that act of craven cowardice tarred and feathered. I originally wanted to go for hanged, drawn and quartered but the director negotiated me down." Only one suicide so far, but I'll keep working at it. "Fortunately, Wallace managed to get his immunity revoked so with a little luck, in a few years, once all of his avenues of appeals have been exhausted he'll finally be executed. I've already donated half a million dollars to the 'Kill Werner Vertigo' fund and that wasn't even a hundredth of their total donations."

Wallace looks a little pale. Really? Did he not realise that was going to happen? Even leaving aside the international pressure from places perfectly happy to kill him it was fricking Louisiana, the twelfth most death-friendly state in the country.

Kaldur uses the pause in my diatribe to try to assemble a counterargument. "Forcibly trying to change the policy of the Chinese government -or any government- is unlikely to produce useful results."

I nod. "I know. What I mean is: the League probably shouldn't claim these things as their highest values and then not follow through on any of them. On a practical level I understand where they're coming from. My other problem is that Kal-El seems to want to reduce all of Earth's problems to things which can be dealt with by brute force. The Justice League is exceptionally good at hitting things, fairly good at criminal investigations and a bit rubbish at, for example, environmental management or economic management. They have a space station but when was the last time anyone sent an Earth built spacecraft to another planetoid?"

Kaldur shakes his head. "That is not the Justice League's role."

"Quite true. So, if Kal-El was being honest what he'd have said would be something along the lines of… I don't know… 'The Justice League was formed in the aftermath of the Appellaxian attack because that made us painfully aware that some problems couldn't be dealt with by just simply punching them in the face. No, sometimes you need to punch them several times, maybe even from different directions. Even though we won't tell you our real names we're all big fans of truth here, and even though until recently we were all vigilantes we're admirers of justice as well. Investigation and arrest anyway, we don't really care what happens next. I mean, remember Count Vertigo? Liberty's great, along with little league baseball, puppies, kittens and apple pie. Just don't expect us to actually intervene to protect your right to it, because the Illuminati wouldn't like it and that's far more important. So let's have a big hand for Righteous Face Punchers seventeen through twenty. Hooray!'"

Painful silence. Miss Ervin in particular looks rather shocked. "Are you sure you're not a supervillain?"

I sigh and shake my head. "If I were a supervillain it wouldn't bother me so much."

"Well… Icon and me did search and rescue. We didn't punch anyone in the face for that."

"Search and rescue. That must be why you've mass produced copies of your belt and handed them out to Dakota City's emergency services."

"I don't see you producing power rings!"

"I can't. Quite aside from the fact that orange rings have a tendency to drive people mad, making them is an incredibly involved and time consuming process. I have, however, reproduced Apokoliptian armour and weaponry and offered to make any baseline Human whom I trust a god, a list that includes all of my team mates and the entire Justice League. I could equip others but I don't want to risk such powerful technology falling into the wrong hands, by which I mean not only supervillains but also national militaries. There are Fire Pits where people used Apokoliptian technology unwisely."

"Diana does charity work. Lots of it, actually."

"Yes Kon, she certainly does. And Batman funds education scholarships and the Atom is an inspiring physics teacher and Icon takes any number of court cases pro bono and.. so on. In their private lives they are actually quite creative in finding other causes to champion. But they don't do any of that through the League."

Richard's phone goes off and Wallace breathes a sigh of relief. "Oh thank God."

30th December
09:29 GMT -5

"I probably look awful."

I lay my right hand on top of Zatanna's where they rest on the kitchen table. I transferred us back here after the Ophidian decided that Zatanna was as reassured as she was going to get by a giant glowing orange snake and vanished back into my lantern. "It's not that… I can.. um, fix that? If you want?"

She looks up a little and gives me a slight nod. I don't know makeup but I know what she normally looks like so a quick splash of orange is all it takes to tidy her up. "Thanks." She takes a deep breath in and then out. "So.. what.. do we do now?"

"Anything we tell the Justice League might get back to Nabu. Anything we tell our team mates.. might get back to their mentors."

"But we're going after Klarion, aren't we? Kilderkin said he'd make Nabu let my dad go if we.. if we…"

"Killed him, yes." I take a moment to think back on the conversation. Having eidetic memory is a massive boon. "I'm not sure a Manifestation of Order can lie but.. that isn't what he said. He just said that he'd be 'more amenable to negotiation'. If we don't have a firm offer I wouldn't want to-. {red}Oh that complete shit{/}!"

Zatanna looks up fully. "What?"

"'I believe that you have incorrectly predicted the actions of your superiors'! He knew, he {red}bloody{/} knew! He knew the League were going to-." I clamp down on my growing anger. That isn't helping Zatanna.

"Do you know.. why the League..?"

"I can only assume it's because they want to keep him where they can see him." I exhale heavily. "At least I hope that's what it is. Have.. you and John had any luck contacting-."

She shakes her head. "He thinks she's avoiding him. He says he doesn't know why, but…" She shrugs.

I shake my head. "I don't think he'd lie to you. Not about this." I lean forwards a little. "Okay, so the Sword's out. I've already got Sephtian's magic suppression manacles. They've tested their copy on Wotan and it held up, but he's far less powerful than Klarion. John said that the Lord of Chaos he knows doesn't spend any time on Earth and I think he'd rather get the wrong idea if we asked if he minded us chaining him up."

"And even if we chained Nabu up there's no guarantee he'd be willing to leave Dad."

"True, but I think binding him and dumping him somewhere out of the way would make him far more amenable to-." I pause as I hear the noise of the zeta tube activating. "They're back. Ugh, super hearing. We need to talk about something else."

"Um… Could we.. go back to the Eden Project in the summer? It was nice but I don't think we really saw it at its best."

"Yeah, no problem. I'm happy to take you wherever you want to go, you know that. Heck, we're not limited to Earth. If you ever want to see the bits of the moon I haven't-."

There's a rush of displaced air behind us and we both look round to see Wallace come to a stop. "Hey guys. Catch much of the ceremony?"

I remove my hand from Zatanna's then shake my head and shrug. "Kind of.. stopped paying attention once I saw who was getting inducted."

Zatanna nods. "Me too. I mean, that's the important bit."

Wallace grins. "Suuure is. Plenty of better things to be doing than watching some old ceremony. Oh, ah, Rob's got a lead on Onyx…" He pauses and rubs his chin with his right hand. "Rob as in Robin, not Rob as in Robert. Cornwall. Y'know. We were gonna head out, but if you two're busy..?"

Zatanna and I stand and my armour appears in a pulse of orange light. Zatanna points both hands at her chest. "Romra tcetorp em." Dust -which I know our kitchen doesn't contain- swirls around her as her armour appears. It now incorporates the flight belt in the same way mine does. She's even been down to the West Side Pistol and Rifle Range with me a couple of times, enough that I decided to risk Batman glaring at me and include a revolver. It's a bit smaller than mine to compensate for her smaller size and reduced strength and she has to load the bullets the normal way.

"Are we taking the Bio-Ship?"

"Yeah, the plane she was on crashed-" We transition to the landing pad. "-in the middle of no.. where... Little warning, Oh El?"

"Sorry. Go on."

"Rob..bin had some kinda hack going on airport security cameras. He got an alert when Onyx got on a plane at some airport in North Carolina. She was carrying the same package as she had in New Orleans."

"Was he really hacking security cameras in every airport in the country?"

He nods. "Guy's an over-achiever. Comes of spending too much time with Batman. Her plane went down in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, so that's where we're headed."

Ring? Images of snow covered mountains and evergreens flash through my mind. "I can't see the plane, but I can see what looks like an impact crater and some loose debris."

"They got unscryable planes now?"

"Planes that are immune to the ring's basic scans, anyway."

Wallace nods and then turns to walk up the Bio-Ship's boarding ramp. "Might as well get on board. Everyone except M'gann and Artemis needed to make a trip to the armory."

Zatanna looks at me. "Has Artemis actually let go of that bow since you gave it to her?"

"It's a very nice bow. After you?"

I follow her inside. All Io wanted in return was some metal samples and information on modern metallurgy. A bit like Sephtian, actually. I'll have to make a point of talking to her when we visit next month. Now I know we're not going to be getting Justice League resources every contact I can make is doubly valuable. I can't remember anything at all about her from the comics but it shouldn't be too hard to build some sort of improved forge for her.

Artemis looks up as I come in. She's still in the civilian garb she wore to the ceremony. I raise my eyebrows and lift my left hand slightly in her direction. She inclines her head slightly and an orange pulse replaces her clothes with her armour and the spare quiver I keep for her. "Thanks." She pulls out a glue arrow and experiments with her new bow's draw. The bow itself looks like a short bow. Certainly it's smaller than what she's used to and it wouldn't work as an ersatz staff like her old one. Not that she'd really need it to at her current strength level. Maybe I could get her some sort of melee weapon for her birthday? The bow's made largely of metal, though I think the magic involved in its creation is throwing off the ring's attempts to scan it. It can't actually be made of lead, silver and titanium, can it? I mean, where would Io even get titanium? I recognise a couple of the symbols picked out in gold thread on the outside but a number of the others are new to me. I'll have to show them to Sephtian during my next visit.

I take a seat on the left side of the ship while Zatanna takes a quick look around. "Oib-Pihs, esaelp ekam a taes txen ot Egnaro Nretnal." Another chair rises from the floor next to mine and she sits down, flashing me a smile. Um, Bio-Ship please… Oh, heh.

M'gann looks around from the pilot's seat, a sly grin on her face. "Anything 'interesting' happen while we were gone?"

"No, not really." / "No."

Zatanna and I look at each other for a moment.

"Oh really? Then why can't I hear what you're thinking?"

Because I can't let what we're planning get back to Mister J'onzz. "Well, I'm practising telepathic defences. I need to keep it up pretty much all the time for it to be effective and I'm.. used to not…" Bit of a departure for me, that. Usually I quite like her listening in on my surface thoughts, a reassuring presence on the edge of my awareness. I'm going to have to stop that completely now. "I'll drop it when the mission starts."

Artemis looks up at me, then at Zatanna, then rolls her eyes and returns her attention to her bow.

What?

30th December
09:38 GMT -5

"...with Green Arrow and I haven't had any problems with it."

"I worked out that you liked it from the way you haven't put it down once."

"That's..!" She looks aside and thinks for a moment. "Not.. true…"

Wallace nods. "Totally is."

Zatanna nods as well. "You've been carrying it every time I've seen you."

Artemis looks to the pilot's station to make a final appeal. "M'gann..?" M'gann thinks for a moment, then nods. "Ugh."

"I'll let Io know when I see her."

Artemis runs her right hand over the upper arm of the bow. "Do you think..? I know Kon meeting his people for the first time's a big deal and all, but I'd kinda like to say 'thank you' myself. Do you think I could.. y'know.. visit Themyscira some time?"

"I'll ask, but I don't know if I'm allowed to bring guests. Um, if I can.. I should probably warn you-."

I hear Kon's metallic footsteps on the hangar floor before the rest of our team walk up the Bio-Ship's steps. Kon and Kaldur are both in full armour and Kaldur's brought the Trident as well as his Water-Bearers. Robin's wearing his standard equipment and Rob has the Sword of Beowulf strapped to his back. Miss Ervin enters last, fidgeting as she tries to get her new body armour comfortable.

"Warn me what?"

Huh. With Roy getting upped this is the full team, and this will be the first time we've all been on a mission together. M'gann has the Bio-Ship ooze a few more seats for our extra complement.

"Um, you know how.. there aren't any men on Themyscira?"

"What?" She smirks. "You think you're gunna be too busy to show me around?"

"No, but, um… You might be. Their society's… Homonormative?"

Wallace blinks. "Their society's what?"

Robin grins. "Homonormative, KF. It means they, ah, 'enjoy the company of other women'."

Artemis just about manages to control her expression but can't stop her right hand leaving the bow to partially cover her blush.

"There's a bit more to it than that… But basically, yes. A quick in and out's fine-" Robin bites his lip. "-but if you want to look around… They don't see many blondes… I'm going to stop talking now."

Miss Ervin looks around. "Why are we still on the ground? We want to get there today, don't we?"

Kaldur takes a moment to check that I'm not going to answer before responding. "Orange Lantern is able to use his ring to convey the Bio-Ship to our destination almost immediately. As such, the normal need to get into the air as swiftly as possible does not exist. It is more important that everyone is fully briefed."

Robin plugs his personal computer into the Bio-Ship and we get an image of a lightly disguised Onyx Adams, wearing loose fitting black and white clothing and a truly awful wig of black curly hair. Either that or she's had access to some sort of mad science hair restorer; she was bald when the others fought her in New Orleans. She's carrying a heavy looking grey briefcase and walks up a set of moveable steps onto a medium-sized aircraft before pausing at the top to look around. Curiously I don't see any other passengers and the plane looks a bit big for a single person flight, even if someone was willing to pay for luxury travel. "This is the security footage from the Asheville Regional Airport." The image freezes as Robin taps another button and a mug shot appears next to it for comparison.

Kon nods. "Looks like her to me."

Kaldur leans forwards slightly in his seat. "Agreed. But focus on what she carries." The focus of the still image drifts down, magnifying the briefcase. It isn't just heavy, it's made of metal and looks like something that might at the touch of a button turn into a ground to air missile launcher. Or a robot. There's a yellow biohazard symbol on the bottom left corner and some sort of glowing blue light in the centre. Kaldur looks at Wallace, Robin and Rob in turn. "Is that the briefcase you saw in New Orleans? The one that got away."

Wallace nods while Rob is less committal. "It looks the same, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's the same one."

Robin tilts his head to the side. "Occam's Razor says 'probably'. And Onyx is wanted by US and Taiwanese police."

Miss Ervin looks at the image on the screen and then at the rest of us. "How dangerous is this Onyx girl?"

"Baseline Human with intense martial arts training. So far, primitive weapons only. I'd bet on any of us against her one on one. All of us together would be embarrassingly one sided." I look at Robin. "Where was the plane heading?"

"It was supposedly going to Gotham City, but the Watchtower's tracking showed it heading over the Smoky Mountains, too low to be picked up by radar."

Rob shakes his head. "Can't believe no one told me the Justice League had a space station."

Miss Ervin isn't quite up to speed yet. "What's so important about that case?"

Robin changes the picture of Onyx for one taken from the Injustice League's initial public announcement. "Remember the Injustice League?"

"And their giant evil plants? Uh, yeah?"

Kaldur sits back a little. "The team and the League put them in prison."

"Except Vertigo, who walked, Theodore Adam, whose soul got eaten and-" I look to Robin for conformation. "-didn't Isley get transferred to a normal psychiatric institution after Swamp Thing yanked her powers?"

He nods. "She's doing well, actually. In a.. catatonic sort of way."

Miss Ervine looks a little unnerved. "His soul got eaten? I though Black Adam was a good guy now?"

"Different person, same power set. And please don't call him Black Adam, he really doesn't like it."

"Since then-" Kaldur decides to interject to keep us on topic. "-evidence has come to light that they may have been acting in concert with others. And whatever is in that containment case seems to be important to their plans."

"We had a chance to grab it in New Orleans, but Oh El's friend Nylor Truggs had been busy arming Bane and his thugs with next gen weaponry."

I glare at Wallace. "Really, not my friend."

Kaldur bows his head slightly. "By the time we had fought our way free of Bane, Onyx had already rendezvoused with Doctor Ivo, the Brain and Klarion."

Wallace raises his right index finger. "And Mon-sieur Mal-lah." That's.. the worst attempt at a French accent I've ever heard. "Can't forget the Gorilla with the machine gun."

Rob nods. "Klarion did something to teleport the lot of them away. I didn't think we'd see them again."

Ring, grab a satellite and show me the plane's current location.

{orange}Compliance.{/}

Aah. "Interesting news. I've found the plane." I send a filament to connect to the Bio-Ship's screen and put up the image. "Looks like the plane's crashed. In a canyon. Miles from anywhere. And yet doesn't appear to have suffered that much structural damage, isn't on fire and I can't see any bodies."

Robin smiles. "Someone knows we're watching."

Artemis looks the lay of the land over as I switch in a relief map. "And they're trying to ambush us. I think they're in for a surprise."

{red}30th December
09:38 GMT -5{/}

Cold air blows in through the boom tube as we look out at the crash site from the comfort of the League's library. Match takes a step forwards only for Kon to put a restraining hand on his arm. Match gives him an interrogative frown and Kon shakes his head. I scan the wreck. The lack of bodies or burning material is suspicious, but not nearly as suspicious as the cuboid inside the intact section of fuselage that I can't scan. I know full well that there are ways to interfere with the ring's scans -the basic ones anyway- but I've never encountered one in a mission critical situation before.

Kaldur look at me. "Are either Cheshire or the case on board?"

"Not that I can see from here. There's an area inside the wreck which the ring can't scan. If she survived-" And I'm not worried about that. "-I doubt that she'd have stayed on board. The weather isn't going to get any better." Hint hint. I may be confident that Jade has survived but I'm less confident that she isn't injured. I've already armed, armoured and goggled everyone except Kaldur and Tao, who both use arcane weapons I can't easily store. They had to nip back to the mountain's armoury via boom tube and, yes, a briefing was useful for those of us who skipped the New Orleans mission but we've been ready to go for a good five minutes now.

He nods. Looks like he agrees. "Superboy, Match, Rocket, Miss Martian. Take up position over the crash site." Match is through the tube first, closely followed by the other three. "Grayven, Robin, Zatanna, investigate the wreck. Kid Flash and Celestial Archer-" His name really doesn't abbreviate well. "-stand guard at the cockpit. Artemis, you and I will take the tail end." Wallace speeds through first, with Tao just behind him already putting arrow to string. Kaldur draws his Water Bearers and takes a steadier pace through the tube, constantly scanning his surroundings. One ranged fighter and one melee fighter at each location with a criminologist, xenotechnologist and magician doing the investigating. Sometimes I wonder why I take orders from a sixteen year old youth. Most of the time it works like it did just now: I get told to do what I'd have done anyway and everyone else gets told to do what I'd have told them to do, and this way I don't have to argue with them to get them to do it.

Richard heads through after Artemis but Zatanna waits for me. I bow slightly and hold my right arm in the direction of the tube. "Ladies first."

She shakes her head with a smile and goes through at a jog. I'm glad our relationship is back to normal, or at least how I thought it normally was. Once she got over the embarrassment of her initial mistake it was easy enough to talk matters through with her and she was completely on board with idea that a fourteen year old having that sort of relationship with a thirty year old was completely inappropriate. If she'd kept some sort of torch going for me things might have got awkward but thankfully that doesn't look like it's going to happen.

I stroll through the tube into the cold Smoky Mountain air and start towards the gaping hole in the right side of the fuselage, snow crunching softly under my feet. Still a little curious as to where Jade's got to. We've been out of touch since the New Orleans thing and I'm missing her. I'm not worried, though. She's a big girl and is perfectly capable of looking out for herself, though I'll admit that I'd have appreciated some notice that Ra's was putting her back on active duty. Couldn't see her when I scanned the surrounding area but I wasn't really going all out in case I needed to cover for her with my team mates.

Zatanna and Richard are already inside the plane as I gently pull myself through the hole. I'm a little concerned about the wreck being able to take my weight but it seems to be stable enough. Richard's crouching next to what appears to be a large metal box, playing with his computer. The box is easily a metre and a half on each side. He looks around as he hears me. "Look familiar, Grayven?"

Yes, it rather does. The material appears to match that of the armour I've made for us, glowing segments aside. And now that I look closer I can see that what I had assumed to be imperfections in the surface instead follow distinctively Apokoliptian patterns. There were a few of this style in Bialya with The Lump. I nod. "Queen Beatrice, do you think? It's quite possible that she decided to ignore my warnings, even after she saw how bad things could go. Or Intergang?"

"Haven't been handing out Apokoliptian tech to anyone yourself?"

"Aside from my team mates, no." I take a step towards it and hold out my right arm. "Father Box should be able to open it."

"What if it came from Darkseid?"

I lower my arm. "Then we should hurl it from this star system and pray that it never returns."

Zatanna's eyes blaze with golden light. "Neila xob, llet em ruoy sterces!"

The three overlapping ovals which make the triquetra appear in the air in front of her in the same glowing gold as Nabu's ankh used to. I think I'd find her actually using the ankh a bit disturbing. Not sure how I feel about her getting into order magic. Obviously that's what Nabu and Mister Zatara are best placed to teach but I can't help but worry that perhaps Nabu's colleagues might not be best pleased with me.

Richard looks at her. "Got something?"

Her eyes stay glowing as she takes a closer look. "It's not trapped. The case is inside, as is Cheshire." Interesting. "And.. one other person. It was brought here by boom tube." The symbol fades and so does the light in her eyes. "I couldn't see anything more than that."

"If it's not trapped…" **Kaldur, we have located Cheshire and the case. They are held within a storage unit of Apokoliptian design. We can open it here or move it somewhere else first.**

**This location is free of civilians, and she may need medical attention. Open it, but be on your guard.**

I shrug and {orange}cover myself in construct armour{/}. I doubt that Jade would do anything silly in a situation like this but whoever else is in there might have an attack of the stupids. I'll just have to arrange for her to escape later.

"Stirips fo Redro, sselb ym romra." Zatanna's Apokoliptian derived armour glows in the same gold as her spellcraft, with the same order symbol becoming the focal point of the Tron lines. Her spiritual force isn't much less than mine now. It could just be a reaction to her magic use but I've got a sneaking suspicion that she's done everything she can to increase the growth of her divine attributes without directly disobeying my instructions or frightening her father. I'll have to find out whether or not she can hear the God Speech later.

Richard stands up. He looks at us and we look at him. "What?"

"Are you sure you wouldn't feel better with Apokoliptian armour? If you prefer it I can make a lightweight version without the hard plates?"

"Hey, Zatanna said there wasn't a trap."

I shrug. "Your funeral." I step forwards and place my hand on the crate's surface. {trans}"Father Box, open sesame."{/}

"Ploong."

The crate shudders and then the top surface slides back. A slight pause and then the four sides slide down in segments with the top folding down on the far side, revealing…

Richard tilts his head to the side. "Riddler?"

The two of them are bound back to back in a kneeling position, facing away from each other with the case next to them. Their forearms are tied behind their backs and their ankles are both tied together and to each other's necks. Even if they had somewhere to go standing up would choke the other party. They're both bruised but have no serious injuries. There is what looks like an Apokoliptian sensory deprivation helmet over each of their heads so they can't see or hear us but they can clearly feel the change in the texture of the air around them. The same helmet also covers their mouths but I think Mister Nigma is trying to {yellow}whimper{/} something through his. Jade is remaining completely still. {violet}Reminds me a little of that one time we{/}… No. {green}Stay focused{/}.

"That sure looks like the case."

I attach a filament and float it up to me. "Yes. Something rather curious inside, though." I {orange}create a shield{/} around it before opening it up. On some sort of black packing material there are nineteen red.. thingies. T shaped with a fattened junction. Father Box identifies them as techno-organic but they aren't Apokoliptian. Biological elements matching.. Star Conquerors? Starro? I haven't seen any report of those things having been on Earth.

"Laever rieht esoprup." Zatanna's eyes glow for a moment and she staggers backwards. I reach out to steady her but she brushes me off. "They're mind control technology, part biology, part technology and part sorcery. And they're also a-"

BOOM!

Her head jerks around. "-distraction."

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

We look out of the hole in the fuselage as more boom tubes open in the air above us. I get a glimpse of the Apokoliptian skyline before Parademons start flying through. They're far more muscular than a normal Human, but not the humanoid beasts they were shown as being in Superman Animated so that the writers could have Superman kill them without it being 'proper' killing. Sentient but not sapient; constant exposure to the Anti-Life Equation during their maturation process means that they simply aren't capable of the sort of mental flexibility that a normal person is. They are created as living weapons, killing machines that exist to inflict death and terror. Which means that if they haven't attacked immediately, someone bigger than them must have told them not to.

They land along the top of the small canyon and some half heartedly aim their blasters at us. They might fire once or twice before getting into melee range but if they got a hit even Kon or Match would feel it. The baselines Humans amongst us would just be vaporised. Keeping an eye on them I slowly leave the plane and walk over to Kaldur, the case in my right hand.

His eyes flick to me for a moment. "What are they?"

"You remember that I listed the weapons of Apokolips I didn't think they'd give Queen Bee?" He nods. "Those are Parademons. Think of them as well trained flying attack monkeys."

Hot on their heels come two flights of four Aero-Troopers, elite among the more mundane soldiers of Darkseid's armies. Born as Lowlies and hardened by their experiences in Granny Goodness' training centres they'll have fought their way up the ranks of Steppenwolf's army in order to wear that uniform. They'll have the sense to keep their distance and wear us down.

"Aero-Troopers. Fast, manoeuvrable and intelligent. Far more dangerous."

BOOM!

A new boom tube opens up at ground level and two hulking red-skinned Gravi-Guard stride through.

"Gravi-Guard. They can alter gravity around them but their range is only a few metres. Extremely dangerous, but what really worries me is whoever's in charge of-."

BOOM!

Parademons shrink back from the latest portal, far larger than the rest. Behind me I hear Richard and Zatanna come out onto the snow but my eyes remain transfixed on the colossal figure in dark purple armour who strides forth.

Oh dear.

{red}30th December
09:43 GMT -5{/}

My goodness me he's huge. His proportions are correct for a normal man but if I include the helmet he appears to have stolen from Galactus he's about twelve metres tall. Rather than the black and grey palette I usually work with his armour is purple with red reinforcements and decoration. His spear is even taller than he is and I know from Father Box that it doesn't merely serve as a melee weapon. In addition to that he can use it to fire energy blasts and open boom tubes. {orange}No Father Box in evidence{/}… Am I seriously thinking about that?

**Who is that?**

**That, Aqualad, is Devilance the Pursuer, Apokoliptian God of the Hunt. An elite warrior, and one of two people Darkseid sics on those who've antagonised him.**

**Do you know why he is here?**

**No. If Darkseid's angry he doesn't wait for months, not when he knows where the target of his wrath is.** Devilance comes to the edge of the ridge and looks down at us. **Do you have any objection to me handling this?**

**You know more of Apokolips than I do. Do you believe this can be resolved peacefully?**

**Seems unlikely, but I'll give it a go.** What would give the right impression to these people? I hold up my right hand, palm forwards. **Everyone, back off a little.** The fliers move inwards to hover over the wreck while our archers lower their bows. I fold my arms behind my back and {orange}make my eyes shine{/}. Now, on the off-chance they don't know I have a power ring, {orange}lift{/}. A tiny construct appears beneath the soles of my feet and the base of the case, lifting us upwards. I gaze into Devilance's eyes with what I hope is lazy contempt. "Ah, Devilance the Peruser. Finally finished polishing your spear, I see. What do you want?" {trans}"These are my lands. Hunt elsewhere."{/}

There's a booming sound as he rests the butt of his spear on the ground. "Hail Prince Grayven, God of Conquest and son of Darkseid. I bear a message from your father." {trans}"My master bids me hunt here. I am obedient to his commands."{/}

He sounds a bit like the guy who played Heimdall in the Thor films. His normal voice anyway, trying to find a spoken word equivalent to a god-voice is… Just impossible. "You may speak." {trans}"What does Darkseid want?"{/}

He raises his spear in his right hand and aims the point in my direction. "Twice you have vexed his purpose on this world. Twice you have defeated his agents and worse, placed your own mark upon his most favoured servant." {trans}"To test your worth."{/}

"I overstepped the mark with Desaad. I appreciate that. Please, pass on my apology." {trans}"To what end?"{/}

"Your apology is empty and insufficient. A more physical chastisement is due, both to you and to your entourage." {trans}"Should you be victorious, my master will acknowledge you as this world's suzerain and his vassal."{/}

Ooooh. That's not too shabby, though I'm a little surprised that I've fooled Darkseid of all people. Maybe he hasn't bothered looking at me too closely? Or maybe he took a quick look at Kalibak and decided that I was close enough? No more New God tech turning up in the hands of supervillains. I turn away from him, taking in the rest of his force. Thirty two, not counting Devilance himself. Could we take them? I beat the Forever Children easily enough but this is a veteran warrior, to say nothing of the fire the Parademons can throw out. One or more of my friends could die here. I keep turning until I face him once more. "And if we simply escape your trap?" {trans}"And if I don't care for my father's opinion?"{/}

The corners of his lips turn upwards in a narrow smile. He holds out his left hand, palm upwards. The area in the centre shimmers for a moment and then a large black egg shaped object appears. Around the pointed end are oval patches where the surface has been cut away, letting the brilliant orange-white light from the interior mechanisms shine out. A Hellspore. One on its own probably wouldn't destroy the planet but the tectonic activity and nuclear winter would cause catastrophic damage to Human civilisation. I nod. First things first then. I take hold of the case and fire a faux Omega Beam from my eyes to drop it into subspace. His smile disappears. "Were they important?" {trans}"I'll need a moment to confer with my retinue."{/}

"They mattered to the mortal queen of Bialya. To me they are simply a lure." {trans}"Of course."{/}

I nod and turn away before floating back down to where the others have gathered around Kaldur. "We may have a slight problem."

Artemis glares at me. "Really?!"

Wallace looks confused. "Wait, so are you really Grayven, or is it just-?"

I hold out a hand to silence him. "Do not doubt for a second that I am. It is the only reason we have a degree of accommodation rather than simply being annihilated."

He blinks and then nods in understanding. "Right."

Kaldur frowns. "I am not clear from your conversation why they have not destroyed us anyway."

Zatanna's eyes pass over the group. "Didn't you hear him? Devilance said that Darkseid wants him to prove his worth."

Richard shakes his head. "No, he didn't."

I nod. "He did." Richard raises an eyebrow. "When two New Gods talk, there is the speech component and another.. level of communication as their fundamental natures interact. I've been able to use it for a while and apparently Zatanna can as well."

Tao nods. "I also heard it. A strange experience."

"Short version for the rest of you, if we beat them no more Apokoliptians will come to Earth without my permission. No more super advanced technology in the hands of our enemies. If we leave, he'll detonate that Hellspore."

Kon's eyes widen slightly. "Weren't they the bombs you said could-?"

"Blast a hole down to the mantle, yes."

Kaldur's eyes dip for a moment. "We must fight, then. Can you tell us anything further about their abilities?"

"The guns are energy weapons." Miss Ervin gets a bit more nervous. "I would advise against blocking their shots and don't even think about trying to tank them. If you close the range they'll probably stop firing at you. Don't stand your ground. Movement is your friend, getting pinned in place is not. I'll try and provide cover but I haven't tested my shields against a sustained bombardment yet. I don't know the full extent of Devilance's abilities but I intend to engage him myself."

Match shrugs. "We can take 'em."

"I think you're right. I just want all of you with me to enjoy the spoils of victory." I take a deep breath. "If any of you who have not been Awakened wish to undergo the process now is an excellent time to speak up." Richard evades my eyes, shaking his head. After a moment's hesitation {blue}Wallace and Kaldur both nod{/}. I reach out and {orange}tap{/} each of them on the forehead. "I don't know how much it will help but it certainly won't hurt."

"Aaawa-kened what?" Miss Ervin looks around as if she has no idea what just happened. Which she probably doesn't. I hadn't got around to talking to her about it yet.

"Spiritual augmentation. Improving your theoretical peak capacities. If you're interested no one who's gone through the process has reported any adverse side effects but it really only produces rapid effects when combined with magic use."

"I think I'll pass."

"Very well. One other matter: I think it would be worth seeking Cheshire's assistance." Not a popular idea, I can see it in their faces. Even Artemis doesn't look entirely happy with the idea. "She has useful skills and they'll kill her just as readily as us. At worst she can provide a distraction." Do the Apokoliptians know that {violet}she's mine{/}? It wouldn't be hard for them to find out but I doubt they'd care enough to bother.

Kaldur's eyes drop as he considers it. "And if she escapes?"

"Then she escapes. Where's she going to go out here? What's more dangerous, one young woman armed with swords or a Hellspore?"

He considers a moment longer and then nods. "What of the Riddler?"

I scoff. "What's he going to do in a fight?"

30th December
09:46 GMT -5

Kaldur looks at me again. "Have you found anything?"

I stare down through the Bio-Ship's hull to the crash site. "Nothing on standard scans. Ultrasound scans of the ground showed a rather large explosive buried under the wreck. I've taken the liberty of disarming it."

"And the case?"

I shake my head. "I can't see it. Honestly, if I hadn't checked myself I'd guess this was a distraction and the real plane was somewhere else."

Robin rubs his chin with his right hand. "There's gotta be something else going on."

"Laever ruo neddih seimene!"

Miss Ervin's head jerks back. "What'd she say?"

Ah… "Reveal our hidden enemies." I raise my eyebrows at her. "Get anything?"

She slowly shakes her head. "There's.. something… Some things deep under the ground. I can't get a clear reading on them. Either they're warded or.. they're just not very hostile."

M'gann's eyes dim "I can't hear any thoughts. I.. think it's really clear."

Kaldur nods. "Orange Lantern, transfer Superboy and Rocket one kilometer away from the crash site. The three of you will approach by air." I nod as Kon and Miss Ervin climb to their feet. "This incident is 'suspicious', to put it mildly. Treat the whole area as highly dangerous." He puts his right hand on my left shoulder. "A repeat of what happened in Gotham would be most unfortunate. Leave your telepathic shields up." M'gann gives him a worried look. "We will simply have to compensate."

I nod and the three of us walk to the area just behind the pilot station where M'gann has opened a small hole for my filaments. Miss Ervin looks at Kon then at me. "So what does this 'transfer' thing-"

Transition.

"-feel li-ke." She looks around as we float in the air over the mountainside. "Oh."

Kon shrugs. "It doesn't really feel like anything. Used to, though. There was this one time in Bialya-."

"Thank you Superboy. Shall we?" I start flying in the direction of the wreck at running pace. Rather than risk giving away the Bio-Ship's location I actually made the filament look like it came from New York. It was a simple matter of using my ultra-fine one during our exit and firing a slightly thicker one off as we reappeared. The small stone which made the journey is even now sitting in the Themysciran Embassy's inner courtyard. Not perfect but the best I can do… Or..? No. Zeta tubing us back and transitioning us here wouldn't have been better. Zeta tubes are even easier to detect.

Kon and Miss Ervin keep pace easily enough. Kon used to try copying my upright flying posture but just found it too counterintuitive. Diana had a similar problem the one time I was able to persuade her to give it a go. Miss Ervin's giving me a funny look. "You really fly like that?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I? Don't you find that the swimmer pose strains your neck?"

"Not really." We crest the ridge and start the descent towards the wreck. "What did Aqualad mean about a 'repeat of Gotham'?"

I idly rub the signet with my left thumb. "I got taken down by a telepathic weapon and a.. person called Nylor Truggs made off with this ring. How are you-?" Their eyes unfocus slightly for a moment.

I raise my eyebrows. Kon notices first. "Ah, sorry. M'gann just linked us in."

"Right." We move into a triangular formation over the plane with me taking the far point. Need to talk to Mister J'onzz and Mister King, see if there's a way to improve telepathic network security. Getting excluded on a regular basis is going to get really grating.

I strobe filaments around the area of the crash site. There probably are forms of invisibility I can't detect but if there are invisible targets here they're phased as well. Empathic vision.. still shows nothing. I shake my head. "There's nothing unusual here."

Silence from the other two for a moment, then Kon turns to me. "Aqualad wants us to land." I generate construct forms of each member of the team and lower them to the ground before having them jump up and down a couple of times. Kon just shrugs. "Can't hurt to make sure."

"Alright."

I drop the constructs and start to lower myself but Kon lunges forwards and puts his right hand on my left arm. "Let me go first."

I look at him for a moment, then shrug. Not sure why it matters, but if it makes him happy… "Oh-kay?"

He nods and descends to ground level. Construct armour? No, don't see the point. There's nothing here and he might see it as me being over protective. He lands just next to what's left of the cockpit. It's bent downwards into the ground and there's a large hole on the right hand side of the fuselage. Not sure what caused it. The rim of the hole is flat rather than being bent inwards or outwards in the way I'd expect from an explosion. The edge is too ragged to have been cut. Broken on impact? Torn open by super strength? Not sure. In any case Kon's intrusion doesn't appear to have offended our nonexistent observers.

"Aah, Orange Lantern?" I look at Miss Ervin. "Aqualad says they're coming down. He wants us to stay airborne."

"Right." I look up as the underside of the Bio-Ship opens and our team mates drop down to the ground, slowed to safe velocities by M'gann's telekinesis. They touch down next to the engine on the left side. Miss Ervin follows me as I drift upwards. If Onyx was on this plane -let's assume she was flying it herself- and she survived the crash, where would she go? I'm sure that the League of Shadows teaches wilderness survival and she'd almost certainly have had a map to hand. Atlanta's too far for her to have reached yet and I doubt she'd go that far as a first choice. Where else..? Sevierville? Depends. Would she have just tried hitchhiking..? Even if I can't scan her directly I can look through security cameras-.

"What's 'geomancy'?"

"Earth magic. Usually, it means someone feeling local natural magic flows. Why d'you ask?"

"Cornwall.. Boy.. says something doesn't feel right." She looks puzzled. "Is he talkin' about the situation or-?"

I bring up two railgun constructs and generate construct armour around myself. "Ready in sixty four directions stance."

Her eyes widen slightly and she starts staring at the lip of the canyon. "Oh-kay then."

"Lla fo ruo s'ymene scigam lliw wohs sevlesmeht!"

{orange}"Subspace vacuoles detected."{/}

Show me.

The rim of the depression positively glows with tiny access points to someone's pocket planes. It looks like the same system Kadabra used which means that someone with some very advanced kit is hiding out. Hiding behind magic as well, otherwise I'd have picked these up. So what-?

{orange}"Alert! Vacuole evacuation in progress."{/}

My railguns are reorientating even as the Brain's travel machine materialises. Whether that's real-Brain or weaponised-brain-Brain I already know exactly where to hit it to stop it being a threat. My rounds punch cleanly through primary power and sensoria, crippling and blinding him as I reach out with filaments to probe him past his scry wards. Genetics match Edgar Cizko, though from the brain damage and unusual patterns of neural activity I'm not sure how much there is left of him. I hesitate a moment and then send electrified spikes through his brain to finish him off, withdrawing them only when I'm certain that he's dead.

{orange}"Alert! Vacuole evacuation in progress."{/}

Filaments leap in the direction of all of my team mates to give them construct armour as well. With no vacuoles in the air around me I drop my telepathic barriers and share an image of what I'm seeing. Numerous humanoids in light power armour and carrying what look like cold guns materialise from subspace and… Come on, where is he?

"Orange Lantern! Hello!"

I know it won't work but I fire a railgun round through his face anyway. As expected it passes through with no resistance. Onyx takes a slightly nervous step away from him as he gives us all a jaunty wave.

And then something else steps out of subspace next to him.

{red}30th December
09:47 GMT -5{/}

I head into the wreck at a walk. Perhaps I should make this quick… Then again, Devilance doesn't seem to be in any sort of hurry.

Ploong.

Father Box is trying to provide me with information about Devilance and his accomplices. Unfortunately knowing their capabilities doesn't really help me. At no point in their history have they fought anything like us. Kon, Match, Zatanna and I should be able to survive an energy weapon blast or two through the combination of armour, endurance and divine resilience. The rest? No. The armour I made for them will take a physical beating but it won't stop a solid blaster bolt impact. I know Devilance himself is much faster than he looks like he should be and exactly as strong as he looks like he should be, but he isn't really built for duelling. In fact, he might shrink himself down in order not to be at a disadvantage against me. His spear will cut me in two if it hits with the blade and while I'm not sure the energy blasts it can emit would one-hit me I really wouldn't want to find out.

Flipping it around, none of them are magic users. Devilance might be a bit resistant -it comes with the godhood- but the Parademons, Aero-Troopers and Gravi-Guards are completely open. X-Ionised weapons will go straight through them… Probably through Devilance as well. Parademons are somewhat ungainly in the air and those flight pack things they wear make them much less agile than any of our fliers. Aero-Troopers not so much. Equipment… I'm going to need to offer X-Ionised weapons to everyone, Wallace especially. Miss Ervin already has Apokoliptian armour and goggles. I could make them energy shields. They'd burn out pretty fast and wouldn't be all that tough… And we haven't practised with them…

I look down at Jade for a moment, then {orange}create{/} a screen around us before gently taking hold of the sensory deprivation helmet and sending it to subspace. She immediately jerks her head around, takes me in and frantically scans the rest of the wreck. "Grayven, it's an ambush." I wince slightly and nod. She looks down at the floor. "Damn it."

"Queen Beatrice, I assume?"

She shakes her head. "No. Ra's said you'd convinced her to avoid them. It was Savage. This was planned in advance but they haven't found anyone to replace Bane yet and someone from Apokolips offered to help." She looks at where the case was. "Did you get the case?" I nod. "It was supposed to be the bait. Those.. things were supposed to ambush your team once Riddler sent a signal but they were already here waiting for us." She looks up at me. "What's going on?"

"Father sent them. A test of might for me. If we fail he's going to detonate a bomb that will leave a nasty crater where once there was the northern hemisphere. We'd appreciate your help."

"Father as in..?"

"Darkseid. The ultimate boss of the people your employers have been dealing with."

She looks away again. "They took my weapons. And even if they hadn't-."

Two X-Ionised swords of the same dimensions as her collapsible ones appear in the air in front of her. They have a faint green glow in the same way as my meat cleaver wannabe glows orange. "These were going to be part of your Christmas present. They'll cut them just fine."

A faint smile. {violet}Good{/}. "Am I going to fight them from here?" I {orange}cut away{/} her bindings while reattaching Mister Nigma's collar to his own feet. Jade takes a moment to stand up and {orange}stretch out{/}, then glances at him. "Not letting him go?"

"I've seen recordings of him fighting. I don't think he'll be much use. Oh, here." I add carefully sheathed X-Ionised sais and kunai to the places I know she usually keeps them. Not seeing her mask I take the one I've been working on out of subspace. "I also created an upgraded mask if you want it. Now it has a Velocity Ten inhaler built in."

"Mmm. Went a bit overboard, didn't you?"

I reach forward, putting my right hand under her chin and gently pulling it in my direction so that I can gaze into her eyes. "{violet}I missed you this Christmas{/}."

Her smile grows a little more. "{violet}Maybe I should stay away for longer and see what you come up with{/}."

I lean forwards. "{violet}Maybe I should tie you back up again so you can't{/}."

She mirrors my action, thrusting her face forwards so that only a few centimetres separates us, {violet}a wicked grin on her face{/}. "{violet}Maybe you should{/}."

"Hey! You done in there yet?" I look over my shoulder to see Artemis banging on the shield. While I'm looking away Jade slips free of my grasp and lifts the mask from my grip. I drop the barrier and Artemis stomps forwards. "What were you thinking!"

Jade straightens her mask and double checks her weapons. "{violet}Grayven{/} was just making sure I'd behave myself. I can be a naughty girl when there's no one to keep an eye on me."

I nod. "{violet}She really can{/}."

Artemis doesn't know whether to gag or to shout at us. In a less mortal situation I'd take the time to make fun of her some more, but alas, battle beckons. Jade takes a moment to tug her kimono back into place then we head out. Looks like everyone's spread out and… Ooh. From the glares Jade's getting it looks like some people still aren't happy about New Orleans. If she weren't about to start cutting people up at the speed of light I'd suggest pairing her with Tao and Miss Ervin. That will also serve to justify 'letting' her get away. Wasn't that a sticky minute before the New Orleans mission. I've got no idea how I'd have ducked out of it if not for Green Arrow suggesting it be a sidekicks only thing. Certainly saved Jade from getting repeatedly run through by Tao's arrows.

Kaldur steps forwards. "Cheshire. Grayven thinks you might be able to help us in this fight, but if you-."

"Big, isn't he?" She's looking up at Devilance. He's.. pretty much ignoring us, actually. She turns back to Kaldur. "Don't worry, fish boy. Tall, dark and overcompensating up there broke his deal with the League of Shadows when his… What are they called?"

I smile. "Parademons."

"Parademons, attacked us. Plus, I like the northern hemisphere."

Kaldur nods. "Very well then. Grayven, is there some sort of signal..?"

"I don't know, I've never done this before. I'll go and ask." {orange}Eyes glow and lift{/}.

Devilance returns his attention to me as I rise back up to his level. "Are you prepared for your death?" {trans}"Are you prepared for battle?"{/}

"As prepared as I'm likely to get." {trans}"I've been away from home a while. Remind me how this works."{/}

His glowing yellow eyes turn down to look over my team mates. "Not content with opposing our plans, you share our weaponry with these aliens." {trans}"I can feel their nascent divinity. Who among them is your huntsman?"{/}

"Of course I did. They're {orange}mine{/}." {trans}"Why do you want to know?"{/}

"Equipment is not what makes a warrior, as I will shortly show you." {trans}"I had thought to simply have the Parademons hem them in before destroying them all with my spear. But if I have an opposite number then I will duel them to their death instead."{/}

"Am I counting down from five?" {trans}"I had assumed that you and I would be fighting one another."{/}

"You will be in no doubt as to when to begin." {trans}"I am unworthy of such an honour. My master had something special prepared for you."{/}

That's.. not ominous at all. He raises his left hand once more and a new object appears next to the Hellspore. A turquoise and grey cube shaped device I immediately recognise as a techno-seed. Those can be used to generate plasma-servitors of various kinds. They're useful for hazardous environment work but I'm not sure where he's going to get a power source big enough to make it a threat Hellspore. I'm looking at a Hellspore. That'll make a Brimstone class servitor at least. Shit, how big will that be?

Ploong.

Not actually helping. Alright, I'll have to cope. Who's got the best chance of killing Devilance? "I thought you said equipment isn't what makes warriors." {trans}"I have two. Brothers. Tank bred like the Parademons, but far more capable."{/}

"This doesn't make warriors. It just makes weapons." {trans}"Acceptable."{/}

"If you're going to use it, use it."

Devilance lowers his left arm and then hurls the two objects upwards. A little over two miles up there's a burst of light as the Hellspore detonates. Rather than scour the land clean of life all of its burning fury is sucked into the Techno-seed. For a moment I wonder if perhaps something's gone wrong with it, but then the hissing roar reaches my ears and I notice that the sky has started to fade around it. Looking to the side I can see a clear cut off point, but that's… Oh my goodness. It's filling from the outer edge inwards. That thing.. it's going to be forty metres across at the shoulders.

I'm not sure I can beat it.

30th December
09:50 GMT -5

Humanoid, glowing orange and slightly translucent. For a moment I wonder if Larfleeze's Constructs have found me already, then I recognise the man's face.

"A brilliant mind would be a terrible thing to waste, wouldn't you say?" Truggs takes a step sideways and puts his arm around Construct Lantern Doctor Thomas Oscar Morrow's shoulder. Morrow's still wearing the prison jumpsuit he was assimilated in, though he now has a lantern sigil under his name tag. He looks up at me with a somewhat vacant expression on his face and stumbles forwards a half pace as Truggs slaps him on the back. "You know… I was worried he might revert to your control when you took the ring back. Sure, I didn't get the cat or the dwarf.. thing. What actually is that? No, no." He shakes his head and waves his right hand. "Getting distracted. I-I do that sometimes."

Ring, access team radio. "Aqualad, can I take a shot at him?{orange}"
{/}
"If you must, but it would be better if you were to keep him talking. We still do not know the location of the briefcase."

Ring, load Crumbler round.

{orange}Compliance.{/}

"And because I like to monologue, I have to take precautions against someone jumping the gun."

{orange}Alert! Vacuole evacuation in progress.{/}

Oooh my. I can't clearly see the thing which gets spat out of subspace, but it's big. The size of a small lorry, certainly. There's a sort of black misty haze around it but from the occasional glimpse at the creature beneath I'd say probably looks something like a cross between a Gorilla and a Warthog. It leans forwards on long and extremely muscular forelimbs which terminate… I can't see clearly but I think it's knuckle walking. I also can't get a clear view of its face but I can see what I think are horns and five glowing red dots that might be eyes.

"I got this little fellah off your friend from Liverpool. After I heard about how that In.. vul.. nukey?" He frowns for a second and then shakes his head. "Whatever it was called, cut through your shields." He stops and looks directly at me. "It did right? Because if it didn't and he was lying to me I kind of have to-" He holds up right hand, mimicking the position a phone would take. "-make a call."

"It did. He made it by torturing a baby to death."

"No need to worry about that here! This fine fellow was ready to go straight out of the box. Apparently he's an 'Enemy Of All'. Comes from somewhere called the…" He jazz hands. "'The Shadowlands'. The Shadowlands. That's a great name, isn't it? Sounds sinister without actually telling you anything use-."

"The former resting place of the Great Darkness and the power source for -among others- The Shade and Nightshade."

"Oh. Ruin all my fun, why don't you." He puffs up his cheeks and exhales. "Alright, how about this? It can move as fast as your friend Kid Flash over there and if you don't let me finish my monologue without interrupting, I'll send it to the nearest population centre instead of setting it on you."

I look in Kaldur's direction and get a nod.

{black}"Grhgrhrrrugugug."{/}

Truggs goes to pat the thing, then thinks better of it. "Whow! Ea-sy boy." He turns back to me. "The control spells on this thing aren't the best. Fire and forget's all we could do. I'd rather have had Bane's people here but he seems to have up and vanished. Hey, I knew you'd talk your way out of it! I just wanted to find out how much you knew, then I'm sitting at the rendezvous point waiting for my ride for three whole days and he doesn't show. What'd you say to him?"

I don't say anything as he waits expectantly. After a few moments he gives up.

"Be like that, then. I wasn't expecting the ring recall thing you pulled off… Something to do with the lantern it's paired to? Automatic, or… Hardly matters. And, hey, keep the finger." He holds up his left hand and wiggles the finger stump at me. "Great thing about coming from the future? These grow back." I'm going to be checking the finger's genetics over very carefully when we get back then. "And given where I got this from-" He holds up a metal gauntlet. Right handed. No, wait, not a gauntlet, that's a cybernetic. He stole someone's cybernetic hand? "-I can't really point fingers." He wiggles the gauntlet at me. "Point fingers. Eh? Eh?"

I make a show of wincing.

"Guy I took it from wasn't a collector. He actually used it, so I left him alive. Still, he never had another one made so it'll be a while before he gets out of hospital. Me?" He gestures to his henchmen. "Mass production. Morrow android derived armour combined with an upscaled version of Leonard Snart's Cold Gun. All these supervillains just have to be special snowflakes, but now they're in prison or, ah..." He pats Morrow on the shoulder with the cybernetic. "Welcome to the nineteenth century! Got a whole factory putting this stuff together. We get a decent AI prototype, we might even make it into the twentieth."

"Bozo was twentieth century."

"And didn't he turn out well. Dumber than the Chinese superwhatever Shaolin Robot who's twenty two hundred years old!"

"Still seems a little wasteful, throwing a unique robot away against me."

He smirks. "Yeah, unique. Alright. I'm done. Morrow, {orange}look after Onyx{/}. I don't want to have to dig through every snowflake to find the hole she hid the case in." She takes a step away as Morrow slowly turns in her direction, his gaze as vacant as a zombie. "Everyone else?" He takes what looks like a tazer in his left hand and applies it to the cybernetic.

And promptly disappears. What. The metal hand gives another wave before being thrown aside. Ring, find him.

{orange}Unable to comply. Unable to scan. Unable to detect physical presence. Unable to detect subject radiation.{/}

Shit. Has he actually found a way to get around all power ring based detection?

And then a soldier disappears. And another. Then a whole group. Then all the rest. Mass.. production. Optic scans still show part of their armour -presumably the part which emits the invisibility effect- and they still have mass -I can see the depressions in the snow beneath their feet- so he doesn't have phase generators for everyone…

"Where'd they go?"

"They're still there. Invisibility. He's managed to-." I stick a dome shield over the entire crash site just as the first Cold Rifle opens up. Constructs don't really have a temperature so the dome can't be frozen, but whatever it is the guns have that makes thermodynamics their bitch also allows them to start building a hard layer of ice over the top. I've no idea where the ice comes from, given that there isn't that much water vapour in the air. The weight isn't really a problem and we can just disengage with a Zeta Tube construct if we-.

"Get 'em, chuckles."

Through the ice I see the head.. area of the Enemy jerk up, sighting me. {black}"Hkh! Hkh!"{/} It takes a few not particularly quick bounds in the direction of the orange barrier ahead of it. If its claws work like the Invunche's it'll be able to penetrate… I point the railgun in its direction. I checked after last time and the League are fine with me killing quasi-demonic monstrosities. The shadows cloaking the Enemy blur as it approaches and.. it's.. not there anymore. Where did-?

The ring jerks me to the side as the Enemy reappears two metres ahead of me, its claws narrowly missing taking my head off. New railgun constructs form to try and draw a bead on it but it vanishes again before I can bring them to bear. It flashes into being next to one of the railguns searching for it and envelopes it in darkness before cutting through it with its claws. The particle beam I use to replace it meets the same fate. Another near miss from above and I'm forced to evade with a small transfer. That makes me stop projecting the dome, but with so much ice coating it we should already be covered from that direction. I re-establish my team mates' armour and-.

"Ymene fo Lla dloh llits!"

{black}"Grhgrhrkk!"{/} It freezes in the air half in one location and half in another. Some sort of wormhole thing? I create a new railgun and start firing Crumbler and Spell Eater rounds. Partial impacts, I think, but it's hard to judge and from the way its shadows are spasming around its entire body I don't think-. {black}"Hkkrh!"{/} It disappears again. The ring's still searching, still ready to shift me out of the way, but I'm not seeing anything. Lost control, maybe? Some types of creature-.

A fountain of snow erupts from the ground close to M'gann! I see what looks like a hand stretch forth and then flame everywhere! **Aaahh!** The construct armour should prevent her from being burned but it won't do anything about the psychological effects. Kaldur goes to help but another eruption takes place to his left and the water from his Water Bearers is suddenly sucked away. A second later it returns in the form of an ice bullet directly to his construct faceplate which knocks him flying! The rocky ground under the rear of the plane fractures and explodes, hurling my ground bound team mates aside. Kon flies at the source of the flame only to be met by a blast of hurricane force wind which slams him into the canyon wall.

Another wind blast which sounds more like.. what Red Tornado uses to fly. Wait, fire, water, earth and air? Oh, he has Morrow as a Construct, of course he'd-. I fight to remain stable as another air blast pushes everything towards the ground, revealing… Mass production.

The Air Bozo spins its head through three hundred and sixty degrees as its brethren pick their targets. "Hello little birds! We're going to squish all of you!"

{red}30th December
09:51 GMT -5{/}

Devilance smiles at me condescendingly. "Have you lost your confidence? Do not worry. You are hardly the first that Brimstone has unmanned." {trans}"Our combat will begin at Brimstone's direction. If you wish to tutor your pantheon, now is the time."{/}

My eyes remain fixed on the space Brimstone is starting to occupy. I can now pick out its arms and head. For some reason the system mimics organic musculature. When complete its body will be superheated hydrogen plasma, powered by the energy given off by the Hellspore. The Hellspore is already inside its spawn's outer edge, though I can still see it. Will it keep feeding the monstrosity during the fight or be consumed by its body? I have no idea. What could I do to beat it?

**Aqualad, that thing forming in the sky is called Brimstone. It's what I'll have to fight.**

**What can it do?**

**Generate massive amounts of heat and electromagnetic radiation. Since it's basically a humanoid sun surrounded by a force field it's immune to physical attack against its surface. The techno-seed is the weak spot but I'll have a devil of a time hitting it, let alone damaging it. It could probably incinerate everyone here by accident if it misses me so I'll have to make sure I keep its attention.**

**How long do we have?**

The sky behind it is nearly completely obscured now. The final step in its activation will see it go from dull red to brilliant orange. And start shouting, of course.

**Maybe two minutes. On to our other opponents. Devilance wanted to fight my 'huntsmen' himself. Since the alternative was him frying everyone with his spear I named Superboy and Match.**

**You should have consulted me.**

**We can take him.**

I smile slightly at Match's enthusiasm. **I know, and I'm sorry for undermining you like that, but I need to look like I'm in charge or they'll smell a rat. Devilance can alter his size and density at will, within certain parameters. The spear lets him fly but he's awkward in the air. As far as I know he doesn't know what species you are but he's probably heard of Kryptonians. He will go for Kryptonite blasts once he works it out.** I pause for a moment. **Given the nature of our opponents I'm going to recommend lethal force against the Parademons at least, and don't be afraid to cause crippling injuries against the rest.**

**I'm not.**

**Thank you Cheshire, but that was really more directed at my team mates.**

**Maybe you missed that lesson Grayven, but superheroes don't kill people!**

**I'll be happy to argue the merits of lethal force with you later Robin, but Parademons aren't people. Feel free to have Her Highness scan them if you want proof. And the others… I would be astonished if they weren't killed upon their return anyway, but if it really matters to you I'll heal them. After we win.**

Brimstone has legs now. Can it fly? I don't remember it being able to fly but Father Box doesn't have any record of one being fuelled by a Hellspore before. Father Box also doesn't have any record of how easy it is to hit the techno-seed with a power ring construct. I really.. haven't prepared for this sort of opponent.

**Miss Martian confirms what you have said. Given the odds we face…**

**Aqualad?**

Wallace sounds surprised. I seem to remember that Mister Allen killed Mister Thawne in the comics but that most certainly hasn't happened yet here. I suppose there's not much point giving him a sword if he won't use it.

I hear Kaldur sigh through the link. **What of the other two types of Apokoliptians?**

**Aero-Troopers are a match for you in terms of strength and endurance. The aero-discs on their feet let them fly and they're carrying blasters. Possibly other weapons as well. The body armour I made for you should allow you to survive taking a hit if you have to but I recommend evasion as the preferred option. They'll probably prioritise enemy fliers. Mass produced Apokoliptian weapons aren't gene locked so disarming them and using their guns is a viable option. Their goggles will let them see through Miss Martian's invisibility but her telekinesis should be strong enough to mess around with their flight paths.**

**Blasters. I don't suppose those are explosive and not energy weapons?**

**I'm afraid not, Rocket. Your personal shield might absorb a small amount of the attack but the strength reduction wouldn't be significant. I recommend speeding directly for them as fast as possible, jinking as much as you can. You're faster but based on what I've seen so far less manoeuvrable.**

**Will my force shield projector work?**

**It might be able to take a hit but don't stop moving in order to use it.**

Brimstone's nearly completely filled in now, even down to the black markings around his head, shoulders and forearms. Not much longer.

**The two brutes with red skin are Gravi-Guard. They're sophonts but not particularly intelligent. They can sense gravity and manipulate it within an area of about three metres…** I remember who I'm talking to. **Ten feet, from their bodies. That said, the ability is much stronger if they make physical contact. In a grapple they'll crush anyone here.**

**Any advice for Devilance?**

**Yes, Superboy. Strike and evade. If you can take out his knees, do so. If you can disarm him, do it then destroy the spear. He's resilient but far from invulnerable to a level of force you can generate. Grappling isn't practical given the size difference. You're probably better off getting close-.** Brilliant golden light radiates outwards from Brimstone. I narrow my eyes slightly and have to {green}suppress{/} the urge to shield my face. **This is it then. If by some miracle I finish before you do I'll return to assist. Good luck, my friends.**

I look back at them and see Kaldur nod to me. **And to you.**

Keeping my face still I float upwards. Getting level with Brimstone's head should make getting his attention easier. I'm leaving the canyon behind but there isn't really any other option as Brimstone's nearest foot is a good hundred metres away from the rim. The area of brightest light is contracting now with its extremities dulling to its standard red/orange colour. Once it reaches the face area-.

The face darkens and the light flares once more around its eyes and mouth. Colossal arms rise up and hands the size of bungalows clench into fists above its head. Here we go then.

"Behold the fallen angel known as Brimstone!" Why do they do this? Why do they build a walking sun and then make it think-. "Gaze into my eyes, ye mighty, and despair!"

My construct armour darkens slightly as the electromagnetic blast from its eyes passes through me. Nothing.. too worrying yet. It reorientates its head slightly. I think it's looking at me but without actual pupils it's rather hard to te-.

"My dark master has cast me out! My redemption lies in cleansing this world of false gods and graven idols." That… That's not funny. "You are the false one who claims to be my master's son!"

"Can't you see the family resemblance?"

The fires around its head intensify. "Impudent wretch! I will harvest your soul and present it to my lord for him to torture and consume!"

I risk a half second glance at the canyon. A green blur has slaughtered most of the Parademons but the rest have escaped into the air. Shots are being exchanged and Kon and Match appear to be heat visioning Devilance directly in the eyes. Not sure that'll work. His eyes don't work like-.

"Now BURN! Burn for Darkseid!"

I don't wait for the plasma wave to hit. Instead I {orange}transition{/} directly behind him and fire an x-ionised javelin directly at the location of the techno-seed. Ring, {orange}track it{/}.

{orange}By your command.{/}

No, no good. It didn't pierce the epidermal force field. Laser, perhaps? Light is clearly getting through. Brimstone shifts around to face me, ground turning to magma beneath his feet. It might not be able to fly but it can certainly move quickly. Air shimmers around me as it opts to superheat the environment in lieu of a targeted attack. Bearable, temporarily, but all that heat will put my team mates at risk. I {orange}transition{/} again and form a laser construct only for a bolt of plasma to leap from its shoulder directly into my chest! Of course it doesn't need to see me to shoot, it's a walking sun! It doesn't even have eyes! I {orange}transition{/} once more and fire the laser to no noticeable effect.

Think, damn it!

30th December
09:54 GMT -5

Snow explodes from all directions, enveloping the area under the ice dome in white. I can still see the location of my team mates by the orange glow of their construct armour and the ring would mark them out for me anyway. Robin and Wallace have visors but I don't.. think.. anyone else does.

{orange}**{/}Putting heads up displays on your construct armour now. Aqualad, you up?{orange}**{/}

**Yes. Miss Martian-**

"Bozo Rock Smash!"

The ring shows a section of canyon wall pull free and sail through the air towards Zatanna's position! Three Crumbler projectiles eliminate most of it but she still gets pelted with rubble.

**-are you hurt?**

**Got it, Aqualad! Their element powers are magic, so they're mine!**

"Bozo wants to burn! Why won't you burn! … Buuuuuuuurn!"

**I'm okay. I'm okay.**

**Try to stay away from the fire robot.**

**No need to tell me twice.**

**Zatanna, can you show us where the robots are?**

Getting rid of the snowstorm would make things easier for us as well. Ring, use observations of Red Tornado and Mister Twister and attempt to calculate the location of the Air Bozo.

{orange}Compliance.{/}

**Um.** "Ozob stobor.. wolg ylthgirb!"

I can barely hear her over the howling of the wind but the effect of her spell is immediately apparent as four glowing humanoid figures appear.

{orange}Air Bozo located.{/}

My railgun comes around and fires three Crumbler rounds at maximum power at the torso of the glowing robot near the top of the dome. Just before they reach the target the snow vapourises and condenses into an ice wall. Come on! No! The wall is dense enough to trigger them. It gets annihilated and the unaffected Air Bozo behind it raises its hand in my direction, only for a series of arrows to pierce its arm. Most just fly through but two manage to strike something it had to leave solid. Wait, they haven't read-! {orange}**{/}The Bozo robots are phased! You need to use-.{orange}**{/}

The wind drops off for a moment as the Air Bozo brings its arm back in front of it and shakes it. The arrows fall out, presumably due to it rephasing.

**Crumbler arrows, got it.**

{orange}**{/}Now!{orange}**{/} I fire a volley of regular slugs which smash through the newly reformed ice barrier just quick enough to get it out of the way of Artemis' arrow. Air Bozo tries to climb higher, which causes the arrow to strike the edge of its torso rather than the centre. Nearly half the crumble effect is wasted on thin air but Air Bozo shudders as a chunk of his chest vaporises. Doesn't look like it hit anything load bearing, sadly.

"More air for Bozo!"

**Good news, Nth Metal armor lets me punch them. Bad news, the rock robot's gone underground again.**

**Fire robot's just trying to punch-. Thanks Robin!**

"Bozo doesn't burn! He makes things burn! … Buuuuurn!"

**Agh!** / **Wahh!** / **Gah!**

The lights being emitted by the robots go out and I can see the ground shaking from here. It's near liquefying! I strengthen the tethers to pull my team mates up and-.

{black}"Hkhcccckcckch!"{/}

The ring yanks me sideways as the Enemy makes another drive-by. Rather than disappear this time it latches on to the canyon wall and scrabbles around the edge, flowing like a wraith over the surface.

{orange}**{/}Watch out! The Enemy of All's back! Rocket, move!{orange}**{/}

I form a particle beam and fire it even as the Enemy leaps at her. She points, generating a force barrier, and the Enemy strikes it and seems to flow around it. My purple beam pierces it through the side just before it leaps off the far side, cutting a momentary hole through its dark aura and into what I assume to be the flesh beneath.

{black}"Hhhgh!"{/}

It seems to slip, start to fall towards the ground and then vanishes again.

"Bozo hate water! Bozo hate water!"

**Aghhh! I've got nothing to run on! The ground isn't solid enough!**

**Fire robot's down, I'll try draining the earth one. Um, soon as I know where it is.**

{orange}**{/}Zatanna, we could really-.{orange}**{/}

"Ozob stobor peek gniwolg ylthgirb!"

The space in front of me lights up {yellow}OH SHIT{/}! The armour around my head cracks as one of the Bozos smashes it from alternate sides in a frenzy. "You have water!" Bang! "Bozo hate water!" Bang! "You have water!" Bang! "Bozo-!" It lurches to the side as an Unmaking Arrow hits it on the left shoulder, causing the arm to hang limply. "-hate-" I generate a blender construct around it and whir the blades. Water Bozo's flight beanie comes apart and he starts to fall. "-water!" I think I felt something else get hit as well, but from the blast of ice covering most of my front I'm going to assume it wasn't anything critical. No railgun this time, I just send a filament down, take Crumbler micro-missiles out of subspace at point blank range and activate them. Water Bozo jerks as his torso is torn apart. "Critical misson failu-." I stab another through what looks like his computer core in the centre of his chest. He shudders and then goes still before hitting the ground and sinking into it.

{orange}**{/}Water Bozo down and out. Just two more and wherever the Enemy-.{orange}**{/}

The blue beam of a cold gun strikes the side of my construct armour faceplate, covering it with ice. Another strikes lower down, then two more hit me in the back. What are they-!

{orange}Warning: telepathic attack in progress.{/}

Guuhhh! I don't see the chaff grenade but that definitely felt like one! I get my telepathic shield in place fast enough to prevent me from being knocked out again but I lose telepathic contact with the rest of the team. More importantly, they lose their construct armour and my filaments fade out of existence as my entire exterior is coated in ice. Ugh. Ring, detect shots and respond with branding. Let's friendly fire those bastards!

{orange}Unable to reliably locate-.{/}

Best guess until you get a hit!

{orange}Compliance.{/}

Another cold beam strikes, this time hitting me in the chest. The ice is now thick enough that I'm having trouble seeing out and it's dense enough that it actually takes me effort to punch a hole out and fire a volley of ring-guided filaments in the direction the shot came from. Four miss but the fifth strikes something that I can't see. The humanoid figure is briefly outlined in orange-

"Gyuaaah!"

-before his head jerks back and he fades into invisibility with just the arm mounted stealth generator and glowing orange forehead brand showing.

My puppet, you really want to shoot the floating stealth generators around you.

"Ah!" / "Shit!" / "What the fuck?!" / "Two-three's lost it!" / "AH FUCK!" / "Where is he?!"

{black}"Hssuh!"{/}

The Enemy appears on top of my ice bubble. For a moment I see the red of its eyes refracted through the water crystal then it jams its claws forwards and rips away at the ice!

{red}30th December
09:55 GMT -5{/}

"Ploong."

Right, it's not just heat. Brimstone is throwing out an impressive amount of electromagnetic radiation as well. I could take it -briefly- as could Kon or Match, but the rest of my team mates won't last long this close. Neither will the surviving Parademons, though they won't care. Sensibly, the Aero-Troopers appear to be falling back. Devilance is even more resistant to this sort of thing than I am and the Gravi-Guard will laugh it off. Create a shield myself or call on Zatanna?

{orange}Damn it{/}, can't delay.

A large orange barrier appears between us and the canyon. Obviously it won't stop the escaped heat but it will stop my friends getting turned into cancer-ridden mush puddles by ionising radiation. Orange filaments {orange}spread throughout the combat area{/} will allow me to maintain it without completely losing my FTL capacity, though I'll have to drop it if my construct armour breaks and I need to leave to re-establish it.

"No true son of the God-Tyrant would be so merciful!"

He swings for me with his right fist while vomiting a wave of chromosphere-temperature plasma. I {orange}swiftly evade{/} both with simple flight. Don't want to burn too much power. Wait, vomit? Brimstone doesn't have a digestive system. It must have intentionally breached its own force field to do that and let its vast internal pressure cause the spray. A burst of gamma from its eyes is {orange}intercepted{/} by an Apokoliptian gamma collector construct and fired into space. No point firing it back after all, Brimstone would probably just feed on it. Right, I can assimilate, but do I need to hit the techno-seed or will it work with a hit anywhere? Normally during a confrontation with an Apokoliptian I'd fire it from my eyes but I don't want to do that in a situation where there's a good chance of it not working. I descend to the glutinous molten ground and {orange}fire a filament{/} down into it and then up towards my target.

{orange}Assimilate.{/}

{orange}Unable to establish connection.{/}

I'm forced to {orange}transfer{/} as a brilliant beam of white light sears through the air. Try again.

{orange}Brand.{/}

{orange}Unable to establish connection.{/}

Settles that.

**Aagh!**

I flick my eyes in the direction of the canyon at Kon's mental scream. Devilance swings his spear around and green beams fly in Match's direction as he dives to catch his brother. {orange}Ring{/}?

{orange}Radiation pattern matches substance 'Kryptonite'.{/}

"Rejoice sinner! For soon you will be cleansed!"

{orange}Un{/}. {orange}Ac{/}. {orange}Ceptable.{/}

{orange}Warning: significant power consumption in progress. Seventy six percent remaining.{/}

{orange}I need to pierce its epidermis and get at the techno-seed{/}. {orange}How does one bend a sun to one's will{/}? {orange}With immense magnets{/}. I go high, {orange}creating{/} a tower shield as Brimstone uses scintillating beams of light once more. The shield isn't so much cracking as evaporating at the edges as Brimstone hits it with temperatures normally only found in the cores of fusion reactors.

{orange}But I can do better{/}. {orange}Ring, star singer{/}.

{orange}Such a simple device, really{/}. {orange}Just intense electromagnetic fields projected from what look like long metal v-shapes arranged in a circle with the points of the v's facing inwards{/}. Don't remember the name of the book where I first heard of the technique but I can't say I was surprised to find mention of it in Father Box's files. It was listed as 'spectacular but inefficient'.

{orange}Brimstone's shoulders ripple as the magnetic field hits and the colossus staggers forwards slightly{/}. In the book a race of AIs use it to bend the surface of a star in such a way that the core is exposed, causing massive amounts of radiation to scourge all life from a nearby planet. In this case Brimstone doesn't have a core but it does have a techno-seed that I need to access. Brimstone staggers around in a circle to try and get its shoulder facing in my direction but I {orange}shift position{/} to remain behind him. There's a definite distortion but it's too slow. Brimstone even manages to rally enough to fire another beam of plasma at me. The magnetic fields bend the whole blast harmlessly around me but by the time it's gone Brimstone has more or less regained its normal shape.

{orange}Warning: significant power consumption in progress. Sixty nine percent remaining.{/}

{orange}This isn't good enough{/}. {orange}I need more{/}!

My eyes blaze orange.

"{orange}This is my power, this is my might{/}!
{orange}I stand alone in darkest night{/}!"

Two additional star singer constructs appear besides me, the air itself hums and wavers with the force of the magnetic fields and Brimstone is driven to its knees.

"{orange}With this ring my foes I smite{/}!
{orange}I conquer all with orange light{/}!"

"GRAAAAHH! {yellow}No{/}! {yellow}Father, aid your loyal servant{/}!"

A hemisphere of material has been displaced from what would be the top of its spine. Its head twists and slides forwards and its arms shake at random as it loses control of the magnetic fields it uses to control them. Still I can't get a clear shot at the bloody {orange}techno-seed{/}.

{orange}Warning: significant power consumption in progress. Fifty four percent remaining.{/}

What else could I..? I bring the star singers closer, pushing Brimstone onto all fours. I {orange}jam{/} a plasma siphon into the focal point, piercing his epidermal shield and causing plasma to blast out, fountaining high into the upper atmosphere. I'm going to need to do something about that when this fight is over but I'm so close now! Ring, {orange}find that fucking techno-seed{/}!

I send two orange lines out from my eyes, zigzagging them towards the hole in Brimstone's shield. Just before they enter -and out of line of sight of any observers- they {orange}merge together and form a solar probe construct{/} which dives into the stream. Really annoying thing is I can't simply kill Brimstone. If I do that he'll just go nova and kill my team mates. I {orange}need{/} to shut it down.

{orange}Warning: significant power consumption in progress. Forty one percent remaining.{/}

"{orange}Aaaaaagh{/}!" {trans}"Bend to my will!"{/}

{orange}Warning: significant power consumption in progress. Twenty nine percent remaining.{/}

"{orange}Find the fucking-{/}!"

{orange}Connection established.{/}

{orange}Father Box, take control{/}.

"Ploong."

{orange}Shut down all its attacks{/}. I feel the pressure on my armour fade. Not completely -a sun can't choose to not be hot after all- but enough that I can drop the radiation barrier and extend an orange aura across Brimstone's entire surface. {orange}Ring, transition{/}.

We reappear in space, as near to the edge of the system as I dare risk without provoking Gaea. There's nothing out here but me and it can't fly fast enough to make any difference. For a moment I consider just leaving it out here as some sort of long term storage.

"Master, I live to serve you! Do not abandon your servant to the dark and the cold!"

No. That's just asking for trouble. Father Box, set its containment systems to deactivate in five seconds.

Ploong.

Now, drop the armour construct and {orange}take me back to Earth{/}.

30th December
09:58 GMT -5

For a moment I think the ice might actually help. I mean, if the chaff grenade had worked I'd be dead or crippled right now but as it is I've got a layer of frozen whatever this stuff is about two metres thick between me and the Enemy. No such luck. It more or less surges through the ice in fits and starts, red glowing eyes staring madly at me. It's not destroying the ice, not after it appeared and got a grip. It's somehow occupying the same space.

Ring, do you detect black light?

{orange}Black light not detected.{/}

Don't have enough space for a railgun or particle beam. Timing my shot to meet it just as it completes its next surge I let loose with an orange light blast. It recoils -slightly- then stops to take a closer look at me. Next, it moves its head to look at me down the narrow hole my attack just made. It's only about two centimetres across and virtually the entire creature is still in the ice. It shouldn't mean-.

{black}"Hhkhkhhkhgh."{/}

The Enemy twists slightly, bringing its right forelimb around to the hole. Then the limb seems to twist… Bend? Almost flow down the hole block it block it block it! It pulls back from the construct. Okay, so it doesn't have the black light claw things that the Invunche had. Wait, is..? Its dark aura is moving through the ice, spreading out from the Enemy like rapid-spreading hoarfrost. That doesn't look good. Okay, I can still get away by making a filament hole and transitioning, but we need to win here. The pulse didn't seem to actually hurt it, just alarm it. I send filaments out from the bung construct and thrust them in the approximate direction of the Enemy. Several just vanish but a couple make a solid contact. Got you. Brand.

{orange}Unable to comply. Creature… Substance… Not found. Unable to identify.{/}

The Enemy writhes within the ice and the shadow pulls back through the ice. {black}"Hhrngungng!"{/}

{orange}Cannot cannot cannot cannot-.{/}

Stop trying. That seemed to sort of work a bit but I can't risk damaging the ring. An Atlantean rune stone appears from subspace within the bung and I wave it at the recovering Enemy. No response, which means that if the thing is innately magical then the amount of magic it uses is utterly trivial. The stone goes back into subspace. Not magic, not emotional spectrum energy… Just how many weird types of power are there? And why is it coming after me? Wait. Dark Druid does use magic and I've already hit it with a Spell Eater. That probably would have destroyed any spell on it. Fire and forget. Enemy of All. No more control spell.

The Enemy jerks through the ice, circling around behind me. Basic predator behaviour though it's easy enough for me to track. I send a filament through the ice away from it, pan the end around-.

{orange}Avarice detected.{/}

Hello Doctor Morrow. Even as the last of the light dripping in from outside is obscured by the shadows under the ice I start accelerating in the direction indicated. I should be able to beat a simple Construct-Lantern but that isn't what I want to do. If I can convince this thing to go after Truggs' people instead of me we can deal with those robots properly… Can't risk opening myself to telepathic communication with those grenades around and I can't hear a bloody thing through this ice. Just hope I haven't run M'gann over or anything like-.

BWUH! I jerk forwards as we hit the ice dome at speed and then slam into the ground! The environmental shield prevents my internals getting shaken too much and keeps 'down' toward my feet as the internal compass indicates that we've flipped over twice. I take a moment and then surge the orange light outwards, exploding the ice away and turfing the Enemy out onto the snow.

{black}"Hhkhgh?"{/}

It scrabbles to get its feet back under it as I create a grabber arm construct above it and then drop it down, hauling it into the air. It goes berserk but can't get any leverage. Next, a railgun appears in front of its face and two Crumbler rounds slam into its face at full force.

{black}"Ghguuhguh!"{/}

Its body jerks but it's still alive. What does it take to finish this thing off?

{orange}"I can't let you be here."{/}

I glance around at Morrow and Onyx. He's floating just off the ground while she's standing at a crouch with her sword drawn a little way behind him.

"Lantern Morrow, I don't know how much of your reasoning capacities remain intact, but do you think I'm the main threat here, or the Enemy of All?{orange}"

"The Enemy isn't threatening Onyx."

"{/}Neither am I.{orange}"

"Then I guess I'll just ignore you both."{/}

Ugh, what happens to Construct-Lanterns that get destroyed? Fatty reappears at the ring but I didn't assimilate Morrow. Him turning up at the Orange Central Power Battery would be a very bad thing for all concer-. Ah! A cold beam hits my faceplate and the ice begins to build up again. Fine, I'm not getting anywhere with the Enemy anyway. I let it go next to the floating invisibility generator.

"Aagh!"

I can't tell exactly where the mercenary is but from the way the generator is flailing around I'll guess that he's trying frantically to get away from the Enemy as the Enemy shakes its.. probably head. I wave Lantern Morrow goodbye as I float into the air. Right, no grenades around now so I can…

A glint of metal discarded on the snow catches my eye.

…pick up that cybernetic hand and stick it in subspace right now. Then get back in contact. I cautiously lower my barriers.

**…stand on the ground now?**

Robin's in one piece then, good.

{orange}**{/}Sorry for dropping out like that. Truggs' mercenaries-.{orange}**{/}

**Are inside the dome. We are aware. What is the status of the Enemy of All?**

Lantern Morrow fires an orange beam from his right hand, knocking the Enemy aside as it dives for Onyx.

{orange}**{/}I nullified the binding spell. It's fighting Onyx and Morrow at the moment, looks like it's going after whoever's closest. I'm having real trouble doing anything to it and I can't risk it killing anyone.{orange}**{/}

**Not all of Truggs' minions are alive. Zatanna!**

Nothing. Is she hurt, or..? She had to speak spells and I would hear-.

A section of the dome near the top explodes outwards as the Air Bozo comes spinning through. On the ground the Enemy slashes a claw at Morrow, cutting cleanly through his chest. Morrow doesn't seem concerned about this damage and thrusts his hands through the shadows near its head to blast it again. Snow swirls around us as the Air Bozo tries to correct its trajectory. Nope, not happening. I transition behind it, create a solid construct barrier and shove it forwards. It goes part way through the robot's back before encountering something that isn't phased out and catching on it. Bozo can't cope with Zatanna's spell and the force I'm adding. A slight correction and it slams into the Enemy of All.

**Orange Lantern, we will cope with the mercenaries. Try to find a way to destroy that monster.**

{orange}**{/}On it.{orange}**{/} Think think think. I watch as the Enemy flows around Bozo's air blast and pounces only to fly right through the robot. Anti-magic attacks do nothing. Orange light and Crumblers do next to nothing. I don't have any other esoteric attacks. Who do I know who could help?

Would The Shade take my call? Can't hurt to try. I raise the ring to my ear. "Ring, contact Richard Swift, Opal City.{orange}"

"Compliance."{/}

I hear a dial tone. Richard Swift is -nominally- Opal City's superhero in residence these days. Theodore Knight's been dead for decades and Jack Knight -the one I know of as Starman- hung up his goggles years ago. From the little information I got on him it looks like he is the eldritch abomination-mode version rather than the man with the magic stick from the earlier comics. I tried scanning him at long range once and he turned to look in my direction and wagged his right index finger. I took the hint.

"This is Richard Swift." English voice, well spoken in a BBC voice artist from the fifties way.

"Mister Swift, sorry to both-."

"I'm afraid that I'm not available at present. If you'd like to leave a message after the beep, I'll try to work out how to make this infernal contraption play it to me just as soon as I can."

Damn it.

{red}30th December
09:59 GMT -5{/}

The boom tube opens on the less melted side of the canyon, just in time for me to clothesline an Aero-Trooper.

"Bwgf!"

She spins on her axis and I take the liberty of {orange}relieving her of her aero-discs{/}, sending her plummeting towards the ground. She manages to land legs first and then tumble, striking the rocky hillside face first. She struggles to rise for a moment and then slumps back down. {orange}Quick scan{/}, nothing mortal. Father Box, program the aero-discs for my use.

Ploong.

Parademon body parts and vital fluids litter the surrounding-.

"You just going to stand there all day!?" Miss Ervin flies past me at speed, dodging blaster fire from the pair of aero-troopers who are in hot pursuit while shield-checking a third. That one goes down hard. One of her pursuers notices me -stationary target that I am- and changes direction to intercept. Two blaster bolts are {orange}blocked{/} at the last moment by small ring-generated barriers that would be invisible from his position, any side splash being easily handled by my body armour. That gives him pause.

I tilt my head slightly to the side as my eyes {orange}flicker with orange light{/}. "How does it go again? Ah, yes. Die for Grayven." Orange beams flare forwards, striking each in the centre of their chests. They shake as their central nervous systems get a massive shot of pain and then follow their comrade in tumbling to the ground. Fascinating as the technology behind the agony matrix is, I don't particularly want to force them to remain conscious. Or to have to explain to Batman why I own such a device. The aim here is to fit into the Darkseid-shaped space in their heads, because Devilance's word aside there's absolutely nothing to stop them just sending in more soldiers in if I don't fit the bill. Darkseid might be scrupulous about keeping his word -though I don't know that for sure of this version and Father Box refuses to be drawn on the subject- but the others in the Apokoliptian Elite have never let that sort of thing trouble them.

To my far right Tao dodges between the burning trees in pursuit of the last few Parademons. A short distance away M'gann has an Aero-Trooper pinned and from the way her eyes are glowing I'm going to guess that she's pumping him for information. I smile as on my left-

"GraaaAAAHH!" {trans}"Inconceivable!"{/}

-Match repeatedly flies at Devilance's face fists first while Kon- oohw that looked nasty- grapples his right hand, snapping back the fingers he's using to grip his lance. Three are pointing at truly awkward angles when it finally slips from Devilance's grasp and falls to the ground.

{orange}Hello new power source for the cave{/}.

His objective achieved Kon disentangles himself and stands off, with Match coming up alongside him. I {orange}scan them both{/}. A few burns and they're going to need a thorough decontamination before they go anywhere but nothing serious. Wait. Brimstone. Walking sun and two Krypt- HAHAHA! He couldn't have known in advance! I don't bother suppressing my enjoyment as they both fly at Devilance's head at full speed in the punch-through-not-at manoeuvre Wonder Woman drilled into them. Devilance goes down hard, then tries to push himself up on his broken fingers. Another thing Wonder Woman taught them is that the fight isn't over until the other fellow stops moving. That's probably why they drop full speed feet first onto his chest just below his diaphragm.

"Hugk!"

Devilance's upper torso is jerked upwards by the force of the impact just in time to be double punched back down again. Is he going to take the hint, I wonder? I don't know his particular physiology well enough to assess the particularities of his injuries, aside from the obvious. Looks like they have that fight well in hand. How's everyone else doing?

I gain altitude and look down at the canyon. It's surprisingly intact. The side I'd been fighting on is somewhat melted but nothing like to the extent I'd expected. More Parademon remains and one of the Gravi-Guard is very down, cuts from x-ionised swords covering his body along with the protruding fletchings of several arrows still sticking out of it. Looks like x-ionised weapons trump density increases. The other one's hammering futilely on a golden triquetra-decorated shield dome while Kaldur directs in meltwater in what is presumably an attempt to drown it. It grunts and gestures downwards, trying to force the water down. I suppose… Apokolips doesn't really have any surface water. There's no reason for him to know oooh there we go, boiling water. I can't hear his screams from outside the shield but Kaldur's changed the way he's waving his Water Bearers in response and a second later the water condenses. I do note with some satisfaction that Zatanna doesn't drop the shield as the Gravi-Guard drops to the ground. Actually, {orange}where is Zat{/}-?

A green-glowing sword appears by my throat the moment I appear inside the wreck of the plane. I instinctively {orange}shield{/} and raise my hand to counter the thrusting arm before meeting Artemis' eyes. We both relax slightly and she moves the sword away.

"Can you help-?"

I'm already brushing past her to get to our injured team mates. And Jade… {yellow}Jade{/}. Her legs are a mess, though the other injuries are what initially draw the eye. Richard nods at me. "One of those Gravity Guard things got her when she tried to hit him with her swords. Zatanna's been trying to-."

{orange}I kneel down next to her and hold my hands out as a thousand tiny orange filaments radiate out from them{/}. {orange}Fix this{/}. Across her body there are a thousand tiny flares of orange light as repairs get underway. None of these look life threatening but without me her legs would have to be amputated. From the golden glow around her and Wallace I'm going to guess that Zatanna's been trying to effect repairs.

{orange}!Not allowed to happen!

She needs to be tougher{/}. {orange}Damn being found out, I could Awaken{/}-. {violet}No{/}. {violet}She wouldn't want that{/}. If I.. if I {orange}make armour for her{/} while I mend her flesh, {orange}and mend her clothing{/}… Yes. That will do for now. I didn't give her armour before the fight as it would have affected her balance and that's a very bad idea at superspeed. {yellow}Should have made her try it on earlier{/}. I know… I've become stronger as Father Box has built up my spiritual strength to true New God levels, and Father Box explained to me that my true godly self would be in part based on the characteristics I had as a mortal. Awakening Jade now would deny her the ability to further improve herself first. Given the way she's taken to super speed I'm fairly confident that she'd want to use the Garrick Formula first at the very least.

"Hey ah, can the rest of us get some attention?"

I give Wallace a quick {orange}scan{/}. "You have got minor electrical burns where a glancing shot from a blaster breached your armour. I'll get to you once Cheshire's not crippled."

"Oh, sure, just because I'm your team mate and not a supervillain doesn't mean-."

"She nearly died, Wally." Artemis is glaring at him in a way that would raise a red flag with me. "I think she qualifies for priority treatment."

Fortunately, Wallace isn't quite so attentive. "How'd she run so fast, anyway?"

"Velocity Nine, or a variant of it." Major work done, {orange}newly added Apokoliptian armour{/} concealed by a slight modification of her kimono. Probably best I don't give her her weapons back but I do stick a small dose of Velocity Ten in an inner pocket where she'll be able to feel it.

Wallace and Robin start, but Wallace looks most concerned. "Velocity Nine? Isn't that stuff fatal after a couple of doses? Premature ageing, exhaustion." A particular personal horror creeps in. "People's bodies digesting themselves 'cause they burned up all their fat reserves."

"They might have fixed the bugs-" {violet}As if I'd give Jade something that had bugs{/}. "-or maybe they have a fix to undo the damage back at Shadow HQ." I shrug. "You know Ra's is an expert alchemist. There, done." I stand, taking the time to nod to Zatanna. That's odd, why has the box been reclosed? I extend filaments towards Wallace, {orange}subspacing{/} his armour and {orange}working on his burns{/}. "What's in the box?"

Richard glances at it. "Letting Riddler go would have been a bad idea, but so was leaving him tied up in the middle of a firefight. I figured that since the box was made of the same stuff as your armour it might keep him safe. Safer than he would have been without it at least."

"True. Plus, it'll stop him escaping again." I neither know nor care how he got out of Belle Reve. Comic book prisons, right? If it had been someone I actually rated as a threat, maybe I'd have bothered to look into it.

The patients healed, Zatanna waves her hands around to disperse the golden glow. "How did you beat that.. giant..?"

"Brimstone Class Plasma Servitor." Quick scan of the three I haven't healed yet. Grazes, mild burns and a little too much ionising radiation exposure. A {orange}quick sweep{/} will fix that right up. "Very strong magnets and then a very tough probe so I could interface with the control system. Dumped it on the edge of the star system before letting it explode. How come there's still snow on the ground down here?"

Zatanna shrugs. "I put up a shield to keep them from shooting us. Kept the heat off as well." She raises her right hand and a swarm of golden triquetra dance around it. "It didn't even feel hard."

Wallace stretches his shoulder where the burns were situated. "You think maybe you could get your dad to teach you some healing spells as well?"

Robin winces. "KF!"

Zatanna nods, downcast. "No, he's.. got a point. If you'd been more seriously injured-."

She's cut off as a crash from outside marks the arrival of the unconscious Devilance. Kon and Match follow him down in a more controlled fashion, Match carefully holding his spear like a caber for tossing.

I turn to Zatanna. "They're worth knowing, but at the moment I think the best thing you could do would be to work on restoring this area to its pre-Brimstone state. I doubt the League will look kindly on us causing major ecological damage. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to send the surviving Apokoliptians home and collect my winnings."

30th December
10:02 GMT -5

"Beeeep."

"Mister Swift, sorry to bother you but I'm in the middle of a fight that could really benefit from your input." Wait, why am I-? Ring, show me Richard Swift.

I see a man in his prime, black hair oiled back in a style that reminds me slightly of David Tennant. He's wearing a shirt with loose sleeves and an embroidered waistcoat, flicking through a broadsheet newspaper while lounging on a chaise longue. Next to the chaise longue is a small table on which sit a tea service and his fucking mobile which I can see vibrating. Ring, phone him again. A new burst of vibrations and no response. Ring, cut off and do it again.

He closes the newspaper, folds it in half and then lays it down next to him before looking directly at my point of view and gesturing at the phone with his right hand and raising his eyebrows. Yes, but I can't talk to you before you pick the bloody thing up, can I? I could transition there but I don't know how long persuading him would take and I don't think just grabbing him and pulling him here would be conducive to my continued existence.

"Blown away! All blown away!"

Air Bozo's landed and is projecting a tornado directly at the Enemy. It's battered back and then somehow seems to flow around the edge of the wind funnel before Morrow hits it with another orange bolt. Interesting, it looks like he can't make constructs. Onyx is heading around to the other side of the increasingly punctured ice dome. I could shockcrown her but it seems like a wasted effort at this-.

"This is The Shade. I would appreciate an explanation for this intrusion."

He's still looking at me, phone to his ear. Right. "Mister Swift, I apologise for disturbing you but I rather need your help. We've got-."

"Are you in Opal City?"

"Um, no?"

"Is your family name Ludlow?"

"Nnnno?"

He leans back. "Then I'm afraid I'm rather losing interest."

"It's called an Enemy of All. The man controlling it said that it came from-."

"The Shadowlands. Hm. I suppose that merits my involvement. Where are you?"

"The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, about seventy kilometres south south east of Knoxville."

He pauses for a moment. "Really? I can't see you."

"I'm unscryable."

The Enemy teleports directly behind the Air Bozo and swipes at its right side. Bozo shakes as the Enemy manages to find something corporeal inside and tear it out. Half of Bozo's air blast immediately cuts out and Bozo is sent shooting backwards in an arc. "Weeeeeeee!"

"If this is some sort of trap, be warned that I am notoriously vengeful and ill-tempered."

"Hate to be a nag Mister Swift, but-."

"Oh, there you are." He's.. under some trees? I look around until I spot him emerging from a snow-covered copse, cane in hand. His clothes seem to melt into the shadows around him. No, the other way around, like the tar-coloured shadows around him have flowed upwards and only gradually got the hang of becoming clothing. The pool of darkness flows ahead of him as he strides out across the snow-covered mountainside, wisps of the same stuff moving through the air in the way I now recognise from the Enemy. He looks me over before returning his attention to the Enemy. "Now I see you I'm certain that I recognise you from somewhere. I just can't put my finger-."

"The Cake Man. I'm the Cake Man."

"Oh, of course." I see a thin smile form on his lips. "Rum business, that."

"Mister Swift, if you could please-?"

"Yes, yes." He stops and extends the head of his cane in the direction of the Enemy.

It looks up from its attempt to ingest Lantern Morrow, who's become a little corroded by the contact. A chunk of the right side of his head is gone along with most of his right arm. Its concealing darkness seems to cease its movements for a moment. {black}"Mmmrut?"{/}

"Here boy! Come here!" Its head jerks twice and then it vanishes, reappearing a good thirty metres directly away from Mister Swift and running. Mister Swift lowers his cane and shakes his head. "No, no, that won't do at all." The snow before him darkens as if some great sea creature was swimming underneath the surface, heading in the direction of his target. With its assailant gone Air Bozo points its remaining arm at Mister Swift but before it can attack I shove two Crumbler missiles into the tear in its side, violently unmaking its internals.

Now that the Enemy has space to run I begin to see that Truggs wasn't exaggerating about its top speed. Clearly it can't accelerate as fast as Wallace but it's getting to his-. And it just fell into Mister Swift's elongated shadow. Ring, do you have any idea how he did that?

{orange}"Unable to analyse."{/}

Probably the most powerful man on Earth and he hardly ever leaves Opal these days. I actually put him on my Justice League long list but from Batman's response I'm going to guess that isn't going to happen.

{orange}"I believe that constitutes a threat."{/}

A beam of orange light flares from Morrow's remaining arm towards Mister Swift only to be smothered and absorbed by his protean darkness. "Orange Lantern, I brought my pet to heel. Would you mind disciplining yours?"

I transition directly behind Lantern Morrow and put my left hand on his shoulder. Never tried this on someone else's construct before but I suppose there's no reason why it wouldn't work. And it's not killing. I'm not doing anything to him that hasn't been done already. "Ring, assimilate."

The ring flares for a second. {orange}"No resistance detected."{/} Orange light flows from the ring into Lantern Morrow and the obvious damage begins repairing itself. {orange}"Doctor Thomas Oscar Morrow of Earth, you belong to Agent Orange."

"Yes, I… I do."{/} He lowers his left arm and turns his head to look at his right as it reappears.

"Morrow?" Mister Swift vanishes into his puddle of darkness before reappearing a few metres away. He peers at the Construct-Lantern's face, recognising it. "Thomas, do you remember me? We worked together briefly during the fifties."

{orange}"Shade."{/} Morrow nods as I release his shoulder. {orange}"Yes, I.. know you."

**{/}Orange Lantern to team, the Enemy of All is gone… Um, dealt with. The Morrow Construct-Lantern now works for me.{orange}**{/} Ring, optical scan for those invisibility generator things. Just one, the one I tried getting the Enemy on earlier. I send in a filament to remove the invisibility generator and shockcrown him. {orange}**{/}No functional mercenaries out here that I can see, though Onyx-.{orange}**{/}

"You, Lantern! What in God's name have you done to him!?"

**I got her.** A purple glow breaks through the dome on the far side before dipping down hard.

I hold my hands up to placate Mister Swift. "I didn't do anything. I don't do that to sentients. A man called Nylor Truggs stole the ring from me a couple of weeks ago, broke into Belle Reve and did that to him. And no, as far as I know there's no way to reverse it."

His frown deepens. "Where is this man 'Truggs' now?"

"Somewhere around here, invisible and.. probably carrying other weird devices. You do know that Morrow was trying to kill every living thing on Earth, right? I mean, I wouldn't wish that-" I nod at the Construct-Lantern. "-on anyone, but if it had to happen to some-."

CRACK CRACK CRACK!

I look back towards the dome as a jagged crack connects Bozo's exit hole to the one the mercenaries used, and from the sounds of it others as well. "Excuse me!" I lunge for the nearest hole, ring shining, just as the centre of the dome collapses.

30th December
10:06 GMT -5

"Eci t'nod tih enoyna!"

I catch the largest parts of the top of the dome but the whole thing's going down! Over on the west side I see an exhausted looking M'gann throw her arms up to stop a slab in mid air but I know she finds it harder to block lots of medium sized objects. Kon flies up to hammer lumps away and Miss Ervin creates a force field around a pile of bound, unconscious and frostbitten prisoners. Robin is smashed to the ground by a lump the size of a beach ball! And then pushes the frozen boulder off himself and dusts himself off. Oh, right, I suppose this isn't much of a threat to him or Artemis. In fact, with phasing, armour and strength, Zatanna and Wallace are probably the only ones… Filaments strike both of them and form construct armour around them while I start shifting the ice I'm already holding to the rim of the canyon. M'gann sets what she's holding down on the ground next to her.

**Is that it?** Wallace is pressed up against a crevice in the canyon wall and looks around hopefully.

Kaldur waves his trident and the ice crystals piled up around Miss Ervin and the prisoners shift away. He looks for a moment. **Before the fight started I counted eighteen mercenaries in addition to Onyx. We have only seventeen here.**

{orange}**{/}I got one at the top. He's not going anywhere.{orange}**{/}

**I presume that you accounted for the air robot as well?**

I nod, then realise that he can't see me. {orange}**{/}Yes.{orange}**{/}

Kon floats upwards in my direction, looking pleased with himself. **That's all four of them. Who got Truggs?**

No one says anything. Oh shit, are you really telling me-.

"Rolyn Sggurt laever flesruoy yletaidemmi!"

There's a flicker just behind Artemis as Truggs’ invisibility shuts down. Immediately he grabs her around the neck and holds a gun to her temple. "Oh-kay then. Now, I seem to have suffered an unfortunate reversal of fort-." Artemis swings her bow back over her shoulder, striking him directly in the right eye. He fires instinctively as he staggers back, free hand shielding his ruined eye. "AH FUCKING BITCH!" The cold beam hits her in the head and encrusts it in ice!

**"Artemis!"**

Wallace speeds forwards while Kaldur fires electricity and I try and get him with a shockcrown. Between that, an explosive from Robin and what looks like a telekinetic surge from M'gann Truggs isn't getting up again any time soon. Is that..? Artemis is still upright as I transition over to her. I know she's tough but it's not like I've tested-.

Her hands slam into the sides of the ice encasing her head. Once, twice, three and it shatters and she starts coughing to clear her airways. Ring, help her out and do a full medical scan while you're at it. She takes a gulp of air as the ring clears out the remaining blockage and puts her left hand on my right shoulder to steady herself. Looks like the cold guns his people use freeze material to the target rather than just lowering its temperature. It still gets pretty cold but I suppose that would get around the problem of sufficiently well insulated targets ignoring the freeze ray variety.

{orange}**{/}You alright?{orange}**{/}

She nods, panting. "Yeah, I-." **Yeah, I'm okay.** She stands back and holds up her bow. **Eww, is that..?**

{orange}**{/}His eye.{orange}**{/}

She turns to look at Truggs as Wallace pushes him into a sitting position to handcuff him before searching him for other weapons. His right eye socket is just a bleeding hole with the mashed remains of his eyeball that aren't on Artemis' bow stuck to his cheek. **I was aiming for his forehead. I-I haven't got used to how short this bow is yet.**

I glance back as Kaldur approaches. **Artemis, no one blames you for his injury. He brought it on himself when he tried to take you hostage.**

Wallace looks up, nodding. **Yeah Artemis, and it's not like Oh El can't just grow it back.**

{orange}**{/}Um…{orange}**{/}

He looks at me. **You can, right?**

{orange}**{/}No. He's killed two people that I know about and he stole this ring. I don't care how injured he gets.{orange}**{/} I shrug. {orange}**{/}Sorry, I'm just not that good a person. Of course, he might just heal it back on his own like he said he would his finger.{orange}**{/} I use the ring to remove the eye mush from Artemis' bow and then look up at the rim of the canyon. Mister Swift looks down at me and then at Truggs, narrows his eyes slightly and then disappears in a puff of blackness. Not sure what's going on there though I doubt he's exactly impressed. I look around. {orange}**{/}Anyone need their injuries healed?{orange}**{/}

There's a general shaking of heads, but I run a quick check anyway. Minor cuts and plenty of bruises but it looks like the damage on our end was fairly light. M'gann, Robin and Rob are over with Miss Ervin by the prisoner huddle. Her eyes glow as Onyx is yanked off her feet. "Where is the case?" Wait, didn't she get hit by Fire Bozo? Looks like the construct armour held.

"I don't know! You probably buried it somewhere."

{orange}**{/}Cornwall, did Miss Martian get hit by the Fire Bozo?{orange}**{/}

**Only a bit, and I fixed it. Simple healing magic was the first thing Dad taught me.**

{orange}**{/}Oh. Um, well done. I didn't know you could do that.{orange}**{/}

M'gann lets Onyx collapse back the snow covered ground. **She really doesn't know.**

Kon lands to pick up Truggs while Robin looks around the canyon. **This is ridiculous. It's here somewhere. Zatanna, could you detect it?**

She shakes her head as she carefully sits down on an exposed part of the plane. **Sorry, I'm… I don't have enough power left.**

Kaldur's head snaps around. **Are you injured?**

**No, I've just exhausted my magic reserves.**

{orange}**{/}Cornwall, can you transfer power to her?{orange}**{/}

**Maybe, I… I don't have much myself.**

But you've still got the sword. {orange}**{/}Have you tried using the sword yet?{orange}**{/}

**… No?** He pulls the scabbard around to his front, looking at it nervously. **Do I.. need to?**

Kaldur puts his right hand on Rob's right shoulder. **If you think it too dangerous then we will simply have to wait. That said, we do not know how or when the villains intend to use whatever is contained with the case. If we delay-.**

**Yeah, yeah, okay. Orange, you better stick me back together if this doesn't work.** I nod and attach a filament to him to be ready. "Here I go." He takes a deep breath. "Abannan afol Beowulf." Nothing happens. Rob looks at the sword. "Did I say it r-?" Lightning blasts from the scabbard, knocking him down onto his back! "Afh!"

Kaldur knees down next to him. "Cornwall, are you injured?"

"No. I'm okay, I'm okay." He pushes himself into a sitting position. "Oh, whaw, it's like someone injecting Red Bull right into your brain. Think I soaked it all." He stands, crouches and leaps, landing next to Zatanna in a spray of ice crystals. "I'm feeling a bit shaky, so it's probably best you take it."

She nods, standing and putting her hands on his shoulders. "Leuf ym lleps htiw Llawnroc S'yob cigam, esac fo ruo seimene, laever flesruoy!"

The normal gust of air that accompanies her spell casting swirls from Rob to her before flowing out across the ground. Near where the cockpit's buried a column of snow and ice erupts upwards, spraying out across the ground. I flick a filament in the direction of the hole and haul up the case.

Rob staggers back, looking pleased. "Job done. Um. Where do we take all these guys?"

{red}30th December
10:16 GMT -5{/}

Wallace gazes around the empty hangar, then walks over to the edge of the landing pad to see if our superiors are hiding in its shadow. No one there. "Where is everyone?"

Richard smirks. "Ah, KF? We didn't tell them exactly where we'd be appearing."

"No, but it's Batman. He just.. knows stuff."

Kaldur looks back at the boom tube as Match and Kon carefully fly Devilance's spear through. "Batman is a skilled detective but he is not omniscient. Perhaps we should have announced our return." Devilance will probably be a little upset about that when he wakes up. I dropped him off in the barracks near to the Tower of Rage along with the Gravi-Guard, Aero-Troopers and the few surviving Parademons. It seemed polite not to make 'father' wait to hear how the fight went. A trip back to the edge of the system confirmed the destruction of Brimstone along with the Hellspore and the techno-seed. Might have been interesting to have a closer look but I don't have much use for that sort of servitor at present, let alone a planet killer weapon.

Miss Ervin grimaces. "We gotta do that before we take a shower?"

I nod. "We probably should. One moment, I'll find out where they are." {orange}Ring{/}?

I see an image of Batman in the training area speaking to Scott and Barda Free. Wonder Woman is also in attendance, along with Icon, Canary, Red Tornado, Mister Zatanna and.. Captain Fang? Interesting. The Captain's standing a little away from the others, League members forming a rough arc around the Apokoliptians. Ring, {orange}what are they saying{/}?

"…older than me and he didn't have to grow up in Granny Goodness' Happiness Home. I think I saw him a few times at a distance but I couldn't tell you whether that was him or not." Scott turns to the side a little. "It's certainly possible, though. He feels.. Apokoliptian."

Batman inclines his head slightly. "Could that just be his ring, or as a result of his use of the Father Box?"

"I don't know. Having seen the pictures… Yes, it could be."

They both look at his wife. Barda shakes her head. "I didn't know him well either. Grayven left Apokolips a long time ago. This Grayven looks right but it's been too long for me to be certain."

I tap the ring to cut the feed. Makes sense that he'd want to know, I suppose. "Kaldur, our superiors are having a quick chat with my brother and sister in law in the training area. Would you like me to boom tube us there?"

"Hey, can we take this?" Match rests the haft of the spear on his right shoulder and points to it with his left hand. "I wanna show it to.. Mom."

M'gann raises her right hand to her mouth to cover her giggle while Kaldur looks it over. "I am not sure that it would fit."

I point my left hand at the side wall of the hangar and {orange}alter the structure and composition of the rock{/}, creating a long straight shelf with a stand for the spear. "You can show it to her later." He and Kon look at the shelf, glance at each other and then fly over to deposit the spear. Despite my uncertainty they were both delighted by Wonder Woman's offer. Looking back at my own behaviour I've come to realise exactly how strongly I'd begun to believe that I was the sole agent for positive change around here. Obviously that was nonsense, and when I realised exactly how I'd been thinking about the situation the correct course of action became clear.

"Is this..?" Tao was fine during the fight and in the immediate aftermath but he's been looking progressively more and more uncomfortable since. "I am unused to flagrantly ignoring the instructions of my superiors in this way. How angry will Batman be?"

Richard shrugs. "Riddler's back in Belle Reve and we got the case and the Star-oh…" He looks at me for conformation and I nod. "Starro-tech. Cheshire got away but none of us could have seen that coming." Wallace's expression tightens for a moment. "I think he'd be okay with that. Kinda hard to know how he feels about Grayven's friends crashing the party."

"No crust buster, no foul. Kaldur?"

He nods. "I do not believe that Batman will judge our actions too harshly. Open a tube."

There's the usual booming noise as the portal opens. I've set it to appear in the corridor leading to the training room so that our superiors can draw their conversation to a close without it being obvious that they're reacting to us. Nonetheless I catch a snip of sound. "…concerned with his conduct than his nature. So far I have heard no reason-." Captain Fang's voice. He cuts off as Kaldur walks through the tube followed by Miss Ervin, Richard and Wallace, Kon, Match and M'gann and then Zatanna. Tao hesitates as he recognises the voice then gets a nudge from Artemis before metaphorically girding up his loins and heading through.

Just me to go. How do I want to play this? Do I try to claim that I'm actually Grayven or tell the truth? The joke's gone far too far now. If it got back to Darkseid that he'd been tricked… Assuming he doesn't know anyway… Wonder Woman can detect lies and she and Batman can both simply order me to tell the truth. I can't lie, telling the truth is risky and I can't give her cause to lasso me.

{orange}Time for sophism, I think{/}.

I walk through and collapse the boom tube behind me. Ahead, Match goes to greet Wonder Woman only to be restrained by his brother. Naturally he's excited after his first mission but while he might 'know' how things work now he hasn't experienced much about the way we work. The team forms a rough line facing their superiors, Batman standing slightly forwards. Captain Fang looks at me briefly before his eyes drill into Tao, who cringes slightly in response. I take my place just behind him and place a hand on his shoulder where Kon's body prevents Captain Fang from seeing it. Tao's eyes flick to it and I feel him calm down slightly. Scott's looking at me with curiosity while Barda can barely conceal her hostility.

Batman looks us over before exhaling softly. "You've all had an eventful morning. The most important matter first: Grayven, do you believe that there will be any follow up from the Apokoliptians?"

"No sir. No Apokoliptian would dare claim Darkseid's authority without actually having it, or break Darkseid's word on his behalf." {trans}"Hello brother, sister in law."{/}

Neither Scott nor Barda visibly react to the name or to the god speech.

"Do you believe that Darkseid expects you to conquer Earth for him?"

"Based on the demands he usually places on his suzerains, no. As far as he's concerned, as long as I don't raise banners against him the Earth and its people are mine to use or not as I choose."

"Protocol in the event of an alien attack is that all League members should be notified. Why did you decide not to follow this protocol?"

"Because I had no idea what qualified as a breach of the Apokoliptian duelling code and no way to stop Devilance bringing over more Hellspores if he felt that I had breached it. Earth's safety rested on us playing by a set of rules I didn't and still don't know. He appeared to accept my team mates as members of my retinue. Anyone else… I couldn't risk it."

"Are you Grayven, son of Darkseid?"

That's the biggy. "If I am, then Earth-" I nod at Scott and Barda "-its New God residents included, is safe from Apokoliptian intervention for the foreseeable future. If I'm not and Darkseid finds out, then he will feel that I've made a fool of him and things will go rather badly for us all. Do you really want an answer?"

Batman's eyes narrow slightly. Not the most helpful answer I suppose but it's the best one I could think to give. There's a grating noise as Captain Fang folds his arms across his chest. "I do not believe that one is required. Your devotion to the defence of the Earth has been noted, Grayven."

And he wouldn't be saying that without the Standing Committee's approval. "Thank you, Captain." I {orange}take{/} the case out of subspace and offer it to Batman. "This was what we recovered from the crash. The objects inside are partially created from the body tissues of a species called 'Star Conquerors'. I believe that the Green Lanterns can furnish you with more information on them than I. The technological and sorcerous components are unfamiliar to me."

Batman passes the case to Icon, who carefully opens it. "I have never heard of these 'Star Conquerors'."

"Telepathic starfish. They don't have much use for lawyers."

{red}30th December
10:28 GMT -5{/}

That was a lot less painful than I was expecting.

Batman was happy… Well, less grumpy, about getting Mister Nigma back in custody. I got a moment's eye contact when Kaldur reported Jade's escape at light speed but he didn't comment on it. He knows that Jade's my source in and point of contact with the Light. Since I was subtle enough that the others didn't spot it I don't think he'll pursue it further. I need to, though. That was some epic level stupid they just pulled, inviting Apokoliptians here. I hope that Jade will make very clear in her report to Ra's exactly how fucked the Earth nearly was.

Richard and Kaldur have stuck around while Batman and the other League members review Father Box's recordings of the fight but everyone else has left to find a shower. Kon finally managed to pull Match away from his excited recounting of the fight to Wonder Woman. I haven't quite adjusted to exactly how much less broody than his brother he is. Is it because he had a stable home environment and adult caregiver right from the start? Something to do with the differences in programming? Or was it all down to the neurochemical imbalance? I would have assumed the latter, but Kon's personality hasn't changed that much since I fixed it. Curious.

I turn to my left where Barda is still staring at me while Scott is fiddling with the scanner form of his multi-cube. Hmm. Not really sure how to handle her and my new brother. On the 'avoid' side of the scales, she's best placed to notice if my behaviour is wrong for the person I am becom-. Pretending to be. On the 'charm' side, interaction is most likely the best way of reducing her hostility, making her see me as an individual and not simply as a potential Darkseid-lite. I imagine that Scott will have a more neutral position… I glance at Wonder Woman. I have no doubt that she'd prefer me to be nice about it, and I do want to give her a somewhat more positive image of me than she has at present…

Smile in place I walk over to say hello to my new family. Barda's face hardens and her right hand reaches to the hilt of her mega rod. Scott manages a narrow smile of his own as he surreptitiously returns the multi-cube to its default form and then to his belt. "Scott Free. Big Barda." I hold out my right hand in their direction. "I realise my presence here is.. likely more than a little disconcerting. I assure you, had it been my choice I would have cut every link to Apokolips and I have encouraged those here who have such links to abandon them at every-."

For a moment it looks as if Scott is going to take my hand. I think Barda sees it too. She shoves her husband aside and steps right up close to me, glaring directly into my eyes and jabbing at my face with her right index finger. "If you have led Darkseid to us then the last thing you will see is my fist erupting through your eye sockets on the last stage of its journey from the back of your skull!"

I lower my right hand. Not a lot of people are tall enough to do that these days. Aggressive though the action is it actually makes me hopeful. If she still thought I was an immediate threat she wouldn't have taken her hand from her weapon. "Dear sister in law, I-."

"We aren't actually related." Scott approaches, though he stays out of Barda's easy shoving range. "Even if you really are Grayven. Which I'm still not convinced about."

"You were technically adopted by Darkseid,-" Again, I notice that neither of them wince. Is it age? Power? Prior exposure? "-it's close enough. I'm the nearest thing you have to a relative who isn't also a total arsehole."

Scott fold his arms. "Are you calling Highfather a 'total arsehole'?"

"Yes. He handed you over to Granny Goodness, didn't he?"

His eyes narrow slightly. "And Orion?"

"Without his Mother Box he'd be a berserker in seconds. Don't let my grey skin deceive you, I'm far further than either of my natural brothers from our father's nature. And as for your question dear Barda: no, I did not lead him here. He already knew where you were, he simply doesn't care enough to do anything about it."

The corners of her mouth turn down further. "That's impossible. The transportation device we use can't be tracked." {trans}"Scott, he's lying. I'll beat the truth out of him."{/}

"You underestimate Darkseid. You don't ambush your prey by watching where it goes and then chasing after it. You only give it one place where it can go and you lie in wait for it." {trans}"I'd rather keep things civil."{/} "Scott, he wanted Granny Goodness to break you. When she couldn't, he went with plan B and put you in a position where you would either die or escape. When you did escape the treaty which was bound by the exchange of sons became invalid." {trans}"And I'm not convinced you could."{/}

Scott looks away. "I realized that he'd use that as an excuse. I didn't know that he'd cared about the treaty though."

"I don't pretend to understand why he does things, though if I had to guess I'd say that invalidating Highfather's 'noble sacrifice' was reason enough. Scott, Barda, I am not Darkseid. My designs for this world are wholly dissimilar to his and I bear you no ill will." I move my hands to the sides. "If in your eyes I have committed some misdeed then I apologise for it. Is it truly so unthinkable that I could be a friend, or at least an ally?"

Barda pulls back a little and shares a glance with her husband. "I.. suppose I don't need to kill you immediately. But I'll be watching y-." I step forwards with a grin, my arms going around their chests to pull them into a hug. For a fraction of a second I feel the surface friction on Scott's costume completely disappear as he prepares to slip away, only for him to decide not to. Barda is a little slower on the uptake. {trans}"W-? Get off me!"{/} As her left arm is pinned against her husband's body she gets her right up and pushes against my head.

I take the shove in good humour and release the two of them. Barda looks distinctly disgruntled while Scott looks more amused. "I.. think we're about done here. If Darkseid keeps his word-"

Barda's still staring at me. "Hmpf."

"-then we're more likely to be left alone now than ever. Grayven, ah… Nice to meet you." He turns away to walk towards the zeta tube then stops when he realises that Barda hasn't followed him.

She points at my chest. "You. Crossfit Relentless gymnasium, Hartford, tomorrow at seven thirty. I've got a lot of anger to work out and you look a lot like the guy who inspired it."

"Barda, he doesn't-."

I hold up my right hand to cut him off. "It's fine Scott. I'll be there. We can get to know one another better." Scott puts his left hand on her right arm to lead her away. She makes to go with him then turns her head to look at me once more, pointing her left middle and forefingers at her eyes and then at me. I make a catching gesture with my right hand and pull it towards my heart before smiling at her. With a grunt she turns away and stomps towards the Zeta Tube.

"Recognised, Mister Miracle A zero seven, Big Barda A zero eight."

"I thought you handled that well." I turn to see Wonder Woman a short way behind me. "Though if she's as good as she's supposed to be you might wish you'd worked harder in your unarmed combat lessons."

"A few bruises are a small price to pay." Ugh, hard bit. "Sir, I wanted… Your adoption of Kon and Match. I…" I give up and {orange}extract{/} a large gift wrapped box out of subspace. "I realise that it's a little late, but I also know that Amazons don't have a tradition of midwinter gift giving."

She looks it over cautiously. "What is it?"

"Apokoliptian body armour. I… I tried to use colours from your preferred palette. It's surprisingly hard to make Apokoliptian equipment in gold, blue and red but I.. kept at it. Unlike what you're currently wearing it'll cover your arms and legs, and there's a helmet… It's loose enough that you could wear it over your-" I gesture at her armoured bustier with both hand. "-current armour if you want. I also made moderate donations to a couple of charities in your name."

She nods, slightly puzzled. "I had wondered why they sent me thank you notes. Grayven, why are you doing this?"

"A peace offering. I want to… I think I'd.. got it into my head that the only way anything would change for the better was ifff… I was the one making it change. And then you… You did that. I was wrong." I nod to myself. "I was wrong. You've demonstrated that you are a person in whom I.. I think I can have faith. I don't know if it means anything now but.. I'm prepared to follow your direction. If you'll have me."

She nods once and then goes quiet for a moment, thinking about it. "Very well. If you're prepared to give me another try as your teacher, I'm prepared to give you another chance as my student."

"Thank you."

"I was planning to take Kon and Match to Themyscira at the end of next week. In light of.. this, I think it would be good if you were to join us. I know that they would enjoy your presence and I think that it could be.. beneficial to you."

"{blue}I would like that{/}. {blue}Thank you{/}."

30th December
10:44 GMT -5

Miss Ervin watches as the Charlotte City Police Department's Special Response Unit shove the last of Truggs' mercenaries into an armoured van. Since we obviously couldn't let them keep their armour we took that off them, along with the undersuit. As a result the fifteen guys who don't need more serious medical attention are going straight to the local maximum security prison's cells in their underwear while the other three are going to its medical wing. Apparently police forces have learned not to take chances with people involved in super crime, even at the mook level.

Since none of the injuries are crippling or life threatening I haven't even tried healing them and Rob hasn't offered. Not sure whether that was because he was too drained or because he didn't care either. Kaldur, Kon, Artemis and M'gann went on to Belle Reve via Bio-Ship with Truggs and Onyx while I sent Robin, Wallace, Zatanna and Rob back to the cave via Zeta Tube with the case and the strange red things inside.

"Is it always like this?"

I think for a moment. "Depends how you mean. That was my first sprawling melee with multiple super powered participants on either side, and because of how our team operates we're usually the ones on the offensive." I briefly remember being pinned to the wall in our own base. "On the other hand, nothing we encountered there was really new. We've all fought elemental robots before, most of us have fought freeze rays… Quasi-demonic beasties are new but we've fought fast melee fighters before."

She gives me a dubious look. "You said some guy just turned up to take that thing away?"

I nod. "Mister Swift has a very particular skill set. I've tried to create a record of just about everyone active with superpowers in the world in case something like that happened. It came from the Shadowlands, he's powered by the Shadowlands… It made sense."

"Aqualad to Orange Lantern and Rocket."

Miss Ervin puts her right hand to her ear piece while I raise the ring to my right ear. "We're here, Aqualad."

"Warden Strange has agreed to take receipt of our prisoners, pending an agreement being reached on where they should be tried for their crimes."

"I know the Gotham Police would like a word with Mister Truggs. And the Kawasaki police. I haven't even got around to telling the British police about Steel Claw yet."

"Have the Charlotte City Police finished taking their mercenaries into their custody?"

"They're on their way to prison now. I was going to hang around just in case but… They.. don't look like there's much fight left in them."

"If there is nothing else that requires your attention, come to Belle Reve to pick us up. We will return to the mountain to face our mentors." There's a slight beep as he hangs up.

"How mad are they gunna be?"

I shrug. "Hard to tell. I mean, we should have told them what we were planning, but the mission itself was a near-complete success. Aside from Truggs losing an eye, but Batman himself told me that that sort of thing can happen no matter how well you prepare. I don't think I'll be getting a ticking off from Diana. Robin might get his knuckles rapped for fiddling with League systems… How d'you think Icon'll take it?"

She crosses her arms. "We don't have that kinda relationship. I'm his partner, not his sidekick."

I nod. "Transition alright last time? No sickness or anything?"

"No? Why, was I supposed to feel sick?"

"When I first started doing it to other people, I didn't realise that I needed to put an environmental shield around them first. Miss Martian was quite ill." Miss Ervin grimaces appropriately. "Ready to go?" She nods. I affix a filament to her and the scenery flickers as we appear next to the Bio-Ship at the side of Belle Reve Penitentiary. Miss Ervin's eyes widen just a little as she takes in the fortress' outer walls. "Belle Reve Penitentiary. Name's a bit of a joke really; I certainly wouldn't call this place a beautiful dream and few of the people inside are particularly penitent."

"Those walls really Superman-proof?"

"Million dollar question. I'd say not. I think he'd get through eventually. Might take him a while though, and none of the people inside are Superman-strong."

The armoured door closest to us opens to reveal a guard and our team mates. The guard's one of the new ones, I note. I've looked into Waller's concerns and I still haven't found anything concrete. People.. move jobs, and according to Strange's personnel record he prefers to avoid direct confrontation. If he wanted people to go it seems in character for him to try increasing pull factors rather than push ones. Only other cause for concern was that he persuaded Doctor Harleen Quinzel to transfer here from Arkham to take his old job as prison psychiatrist. She doesn't have the experience that a post like this would normally require.. but again, they used to work together in Arkham, metahuman clinical psychology isn't a popular specialisation -not the criminal sort at least- and a background check didn't reveal anything particularly worrying about her. I don't think she's even met Mister Napier yet. It's a little odd -given my outside knowledge anyway- but not a red flag of the sort I need to bring the matter to League attention.

Kon and M'gann amble over while Kaldur and Artemis hang back to speak to the guard. Kon waves his right hand in greeting. "Hey. Everything go okay?"

I nod. "Yep. I'm all ready to get our bollocking out of the way so I can get started on adapting this armour."

M'gann looks uncertain. "Are you really sure that's a good idea?"

"Some of us can't go invisible under our own power. And the armour's much better than what we're…" I look at Kon's dull grey plate. "What most of us have got now."

Miss Ervin raps her right knuckle against her breastplate. "Armor you made last time worked out okay." The Bio-Ship's entrance ramp oozes down and Kon and M'gann lead the way onboard. Miss Ervin holds back and gives me a slightly puzzled look. "I thought the League handed stuff like that over to STAR Labs?"

"They usually do, but when Truggs took the ring from me he wrecked their secure storage site and I don't really want to hand invisible scry-resistant body armour over to somewhere it could go walkabouts from. Besides, I'm faster than they are."

She nods and I follow her up the ramp, pausing a moment at the top to check that Artemis and Kaldur are following before going inside and taking my seat.

"Hey, Paul?" I look over at Kon. He's sitting on the front right side with his seat swivelled around to face me. "Could you put a Zeta Tube in Belle Reve?"

"If we got permission for it from the League and from Strange, yes. Why do you ask?"

"Be a lot easier to drop people off if they had one."

"It would also be a possible point of access to any League facility for someone inside America's leading supervillain prison. Besides, the Atlanteans are pretty close to having their own Dolmen Gate prototype ready. We might all be changing over before too long."

"Why? Zeta Tubes work fine."

M'gann shakes her head. "They didn't work when the Ice Fortresses created that blizzard."

"Right, and a Dolmen Gate wouldn't have been affected by that. Of course, we don't know what it would be affected by yet…"

I trail off as Kaldur and Artemis enter. Kaldur nods to M'gann. "Miss Martian, please take us out of Belle Reve airspace. Orange Lantern, once we are outside the exclusion zone return us to the mountain. Robin has relayed the message that Batman wishes to.. speak with us, concerning the events of this morning."

M'gann lifts her hands over the controls and the Bio-Ship rises into the air. I don't really think that Batman will have a problem with this any more than he did Santa Prisca. Nonetheless, the sombre look on Kaldur's face brings a certain song to mind.

"There may be trouble ahead…"

30th December
10:52 GMT -5

"Tell me if this sounds familiar."

As tallest member of our group I've taken position near the back of our huddle. For some reason Robin is front and centre rather than Kaldur and the rest of us spread out around him in the order we left the Bio-Ship. Opposite us is Batman, with Black Canary, Diana and Icon just behind him. Red Tornado was here but he's taken Doctor Morrow up to his room. Morrow's place in his Belle Reve hospital bed had been occupied by a lifelike robot and Kaldur said that Warden Strange claimed to have no idea that he wasn't who he appeared to be. That's a bit fishy but I suppose he wasn't exactly the most active of inmates. Which means every other incident of someone not being in Belle Reve when they should be might also be the result of robot duplicates. Strange could really be innocent.

"You hacked League systems, disobeyed protocol-"

Batman's start-with-an-intimidation thing doesn't really work on me any more. With empathic vision I can clearly see what he's feeling so I know full well that he's not angry. Oh, the colours don't tell me exactly what he's feeling by themselves -there's no colour for happiness, satisfaction or pride for example- but by looking at his usual green and yellow psyche I can catch glimpses of memories and associations that are being brought to the surface. My eyes unfocus slightly as I take a closer look. Oh, shouldn't have done that. There's a.. lot of learning to contain his emotions in there. I hadn't realised that he and Mister Pennyworth didn't-.

"-and does something about this amuse you, Orange Lantern?"

My eyes snap back into focus on his material body and I awkwardly take note of the smile that's already taken up residence on my lips. "Sorry sir, empathic vision. I already know how you feel about the situation and the relief's kicked in before you actually.. said it. Um. Sorry."

Batman continues to glare at me for a moment as Kon and M'gann struggle to suppress any manifestation of their own relief. I think Diana's suppressing her amusement as well but she's a good deal better at it than they are. "Despite that, and the reckless way you endangered your own lives your initiative resulted in the capture of a number of wanted felons, including one who has claimed to be the operations manager for the alliance of supervillains that we believe has been behind a number of recent missions for both the League and the team." Then he actually smiles. "Well done."

Even knowing that he was going to say it, it wasn't until he actually does that I feel the last dregs of my fear drain away. Pfew. There's a general relieved shuffling from my team mates as well. Canary still doesn't look best pleased and Icon… Does he do facial expression? I know that he isn't Human but surely he's been on Earth long enough to mimic us?

"And then there's this." Batman and Icon step over to the table upon which rests the open case containing the Starro-tech thingies. "Biotechnology integrated with some form of nanocircuitry."

Icon reaches forward to why is he doing that shield! He takes in the shield and then turns his head to look at me. "Sir, I really don't recommend touching those with bare skin. The biological component comes from a Star Conqueror, the whole thing screams mind control technology."

He nods. "A justified concern." His voice is even deeper than Batman at his growliest. "My own people had barely discovered farming during the Star Conquerors' last expansion." He turns his head slightly towards Batman. "Perhaps the Green Lanterns could tell us more?"

"We'll take it to the Watchtower." I remove the shield and Batman closes the case before picking it up and walking towards the Zeta Tube. Hm. Nothing about Truggs' eye? I though it might at least warrant a mention. I plan to visit him in Belle Reve at some point next week. Don't know how productive it will be. I mean, he certainly hasn't sounded like the sort of person who might be redeemable through reasoned discussion but I can't just pass up future knowledge.

Icon and Canary follow Batman while Diana's heading towards me. "I'm curious, Paul: what made you decide to ask The Shade for help?"

Rocket flies over to talk to Icon while I consider my response. I know that she fought him several times as part of the Justice Society. I think she might have first met him during the Second World War, him being one of the few empowered individuals who could operate in Axis territory due to 'not being a superhero'. I've never asked how she feels about him now. "He was the first person I thought of with any knowledge of the Shadowlands. I was really hoping for advice."

"I'm a little surprised that he was prepared to take the risk. If that Enemy of All creature had charged him and destroyed his cane..." I squeeze my eyes shut and grit my teeth in order to stop myself laughing. "What is it?"

She doesn't know about… Okay. "Diana, when you fought him before, he was… Um… Jobbing."

She looks blank. "'Jobbing'?"

"It's a stage wrestling term. Basically it means being the guy whose job it is to lose convincingly. For Mister Swift… Well, he was bored, decided that fighting the Justice Society looked entertaining and, um… Pretended to need his cane to use his powers."

She pauses for a moment as she takes that in. "Why?"

"Recognised, Batman, zero two."

"So that you'd have a hope in hell of stopping him. Richard Swift is an eldritch abomination whom it -mostly- suits to look Human. He doesn't need the cane, he doesn't even need to manifest a Human looking body if he doesn't want to. A fight he couldn't lose would have been boring so he.. lowered the bar."

"I.. find that.. hard to believe."

"Ring, access main screen." The screen comes to life, displaying what I saw from the moment Mister Swift first appeared. The image glitches a little around the man himself. The ring really struggles to cope with the Shadow stuff.

"Black Canary, one three, Icon one eight."

The rest of the team gathers to watch as well. I've already described what happened to them but this is the first chance they've had to see it for themselves. We watch as Mister Swift appears, speaks to me and then causes the Enemy to flee before consuming it. I couldn't see exactly what happened when it was happening live but with the ring providing a close up… Yes, it definitely looks like there was some sort of shadowy mouth structure which the Enemy fell into.

Wallace looks at the screen wide-eyed. "Whow. Jay didn't mention him doing that before."

Mister Swift then effortlessly parries Lantern Morrow's attack. Oddly, that is the bit that Diana reacts most to. Because it didn't involve him gesturing with his cane, perhaps? "That doesn't necessarily prove that he doesn't need the cane. You said yourself that Morrow isn't as powerful as you are, and The Shade's still holding onto it."

"You could try asking him for proof, or just phone Mister Knight and ask him about it." Odd. For the first time since receiving the ability I can see tiny slivers of red light within her. Why would this set her off? Looks like… Pride? She feels insulted by his behaviour?

"I see. I may just do that." She tears her eyes away from the screen and puts her right arm around her son's shoulders. Kon looks surprised for a moment and then leans into it. "Kon, I'm proud of your performance today. I know how counterintuitive it feels to save your foe in the middle of a fight but your quick actions prevented those soldiers from suffocating."

Yes, maybe making that chap want to coat everyone on his side in ice wasn't the best thing I could have done. Very lucky that Kon was on the ball enough to break them out. "Um." He looks a little embarrassed at the attention. "No problem."

"I'll look forward to reading your full report." She kisses him on the forehead, then lets go and flies over to the Zeta Tube.

"Recognised, Wonder Woman, zero three."

Miss Ervin frowns at the tube and then at Kon. "What was that about?"

"That's what moms do." Kon shrugs. "Isn't it? I'm still a bit new at this."

She boggles. "Wonder Woman's your Mom?!"

Robin smirks. "Think maybe we need to make some kinda info leaflet for the new guys?"

"How did-? I mean, she didn't-?" Miss Ervin makes a round gesture over her abdomen.

"I'm adopted."

"Oh. 'Cause that explains it."

Kaldur presses some buttons and gets a view of the crash site as it was when we first arrived. "I am still concerned about how our enemy knew that we were watching them."

Artemis looks at him, then at a suddenly thoughtful Robin. Then she sags. "Not the mole thing again!"

Rob and Miss Ervin both look blank. Robin turns to them. "We had intel that-."

"We had an unsubstantiated claim from a criminal that there was… You know what I think? I think Truggs just sets up ambushes everywhere he goes on the off chance that someone wanders into them. We did the mole hunt. There was no one." I'm so not doing that whole thing again, and from the looks of Kon, Artemis and M'gann I'm not the only one fed up with the idea. "The fact that the League has access to airport security systems isn't much of a secret and neither was the fact that we were after Onyx. That's all there is to it. That's it. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got modified cold guns to take apart."

{red}30th December
14:57 GMT -5{/}

"It's not going to look any different, is it?"

I look away from Devilance's spear to where Match floats just to my side. I can just about remember wanting to present things to my parents in my own childhood. Wonder Woman was appropriately attentive while Kon and Match recounted details of their fight with the God of the Hunt but it isn't as if they can actually use a weapon like this.

"Match, if you don't want me to do this, then I won't. This spear belongs to you and Kon."

"You said you needed it."

"The power cell would be very helpful, certainly, but if you don't want to give it to me, that's the end of the matter. I'm fully capable of reattaching the outer casing without leaving a mark."

He thinks it over for a moment. "Noooo, it's okay. Just kinda wish I'd taken his gauntlet too." An idea occurs to him. "Not the one Kon broke. The other one."

"Maybe next time you see him." Right. The spear doesn't have an obvious access panel or opening, and the weapon is too unique for Father Box to have records on it. I don't want to start cutting if I don't have to. I lay the palms of my hands on the area on the haft where the power generation unit lies. There's a capacitor near the head which feeds into the energy discharge system but the actual generator is much lower down. "Open sesame." {trans}"Open."{/}

Nothing happens. Hm. I {orange}project{/} twenty filaments out from my hands and attach them around the circumference of the spear. "Looking forward to starting school next week?" Father Box, attempt connection.

Ploong.

Not getting anything. Does the spear classify as a Box? I couldn't hack a Father Box but I could probably talk one into accepting my authority.

"I guess. I mean, it'll be nice to get out of the mountain more, meet people. Will they find my eyes weird?"

"Probably, but you shouldn't worry about it. That's just an initial response. They'll get over it once they get to know you." I {orange}spread an orange aura{/} outwards from my hands to envelop the section I'm working on. I think I can feel the mechanism. "What have you worked out for your cover story?"

"I'll say I was getting home schooled but that Mom wanted me to spend more time with people my own age. Can I..? Ask you something?"

"You can ask me anything, Match. You know that." {orange}Spear, answer your prince{/}. There's something, some sort of impulse back. Father Box, communicate with it.

Ploong.

"I get that I need to go to school so I have qualifications and so I learn how to deal with, you know, normal people. That's a year and a half. What do I do then?"

"Whatever you want. You're intelligent, handsome and you have super powers. The world is your oyster." No, it isn't a Father Box, it's just connected to Devilance's aura strongly enough that-. Ah! There we go! The surface of the spear seems to melt away from the area over the generator. The generator itself is a little conventional. Simple enough to dis.. con.. nect… There we are! "Match, you've only been out of the pod for a month. No one's expecting you to make major life decisions yet. Kon's been out six times as long and I know he's made no such plans. Try things, learn about the world and if nothing really appeals… Well, with a bit of luck I'll have founded my Corps by then. I'm sure we can find something to keep you busy." I {orange}extend{/} manipulator appendage constructs and float backwards, lifting the generator free. "Excellent. Oh, have you had a look at the Kryptonian database I gave Kon?"

"Yeah. Didn't really mean much to me. I think Kon still thinks of Kal-El as being our father, but… He doesn't really mean anything to me either. I mean, I was made on Earth. Everything I know is about Earth. Why should I care about a planet that doesn't even exist anymore?"

"Fair point." I {orange}drift{/} back down towards the hangar's lower floor and Match trails along behind me. "How about your mother's books on Amazon culture?"

"The language is kinda hard. And it's all primary sources, there's nothing to say how accurate any of it is. I think…" He trails off as we land.

"Yes?"

"Maybe I'd... like to write about it? If they don't mind. Share information about how they live with people in the rest of the world."

"I think that's a rather nice idea. I'm sure Wonder Woman will approve of it at least." Since I'm not going to do what I originally thought I was and install a secondary power source directly into the hush tube I can finish building it and site the generator elsewhere. I'll still need to upgrade the mountain's power transmission systems before activating the generator-.

{orange}Alert! Incoming transmission.{/}

"Excuse me, someone's trying to get hold of me." I raise the ring to my left ear. I had to stick a little Apokoliptian doohickey in the exchange to make this work, but now anyone phoning Rhode Island seven eight one hash hash will be directed to the ring. Not many people have this number to say the least. "Ring, {orange}answer{/}." I don't say anything.

"Grayven, it's me." Jade? Why is she..? "This better not be your answer machine."

"Jade, hello." I give Match a smile. He won't be able to hear her end of the conversation but it would look a little suspicious if I excluded him from mine. "What can I do for you?"

Match looks curious. "Who's 'Jade'?"

"They want to talk to you."

I hold up my right index finger in a 'one moment' gesture to Match. "Who do?"

"Ra's and the others. It sounded like they've had some sort of argument."

"You weren't invited? Rather rude of them."

"Why would-? Is there someone there?"

I nod. "Yes, of course."

"Fine. They weren't expecting the Apokoliptians to do that and now they've been cut off."

"I don't mind paying them a visit. What sort of time do they have in mind?"

"I don't know yet, they're still setting it up."

"Is everyone going to be there?"

"I don't know, I don't even know who they all are."

"Well, I'd be delighted to meet everyone… Assuming none of them had an existing axe to grind. My.. schedule's fairly empty. Are they thinking sooner..?"

"Today. It'll be today."

I take a look at the hush tube. "I should be able to finish off here by then. Should I bring anything..?"

"You should bring every weapon you can carry. If Ra's offers you safe passage he'll keep to his word. The rest aren't like that."

"Of course. I'll look forward to it. How about {violet}you{/}? {violet}How have you been{/}?"

"My legs are fine. Thanks to {violet}you{/}. Armor's good too. No one work out how I got away?"

"No, of course not."

She exhales. "I've never been in a fight like that. It was.. incredible. And, painful, when those Gravi-Guard hit me. I guess superspeed doesn't make you invulnerable."

"I'm afraid not. Look, phone me back when you've had a chance to confirm things with your friends, we can have a proper talk when we see each other in person. {violet}And I really want to see you{/}."

"I'll let them know."

She hangs up and I lower the ring. That was convenient, though if I have to put up with Ra's' drivel again I'll probably kill them all and hide the bodies. Of course, if they've brought Klarion…

"Who was it?"

I focus on Match again. "My girlfriend, Jade. She wants to introduce me to some of her friends."

"Are they nice?"

"Bit early to say, really."

{red}31st December
01:55 GMT +4{/}

"I really didn't have you pegged as a {violet}walks-along-the-beach sort of woman{/}."

She looks up at me with a smirk. "You don't know everything about me. A few secrets keep a relationship interesting."

"I'm so very glad you think that." We're on the island of Masirah just off the coast of Oman, waiting for her employer to get in touch. She's still wearing the armour I gave her and so despite the heat I've left mine on as well. Normally I'd {violet}happily take advantage of any opportunity to spend time with her{/}, but in this case… "Jade." I pull my right hand up to my chest, keeping hold of hers. "My skin isn't armour plated anymore. I can feel how tense you are without asking the ring."

The smile vanishes and she looks out to sea for a moment. She's annoyed that I caught her out. I didn't used to be that good at interpreting facial expression or body language but I've {violet}got to know all of hers intimately over the past few months{/}. "You can't do anything about it."

"That sounds like a challenge."

"You know they're probably going to ask you to join, right? They're some of the most powerful people on the planet, and they're going to ask you to join them."

"Then we'll just have to see what sort of offer they make. I still don't really know what they're trying to achieve."

"Ra's told you."

"I thought he was being a little vague. I'd need a great deal more detail before I commit to anything, and frankly I very much doubt that I'll end up saying 'yes'."

She moves in front of me, staring up at me. "Don't start a fight with these people, Grayven."

"I won't. I'll listen with as open a mind as reason will allow but they don't have the best reputation. Look, neither of us know what they're going to say. We're as prepared as we can get. There's no sense worrying about it. How about I relax you?"

She blinks. "We don't have time for.. that. They could send a message any time now!"

"I wasn't talking about sex, Jade, though, given how long we've been waiting we probably could. I've been taking massage classes."

"Oh? Since when?"

"Since you mentioned that my hand eye coordination wasn't all that it could be." I {orange}generate{/} a massage table construct. "Take the armour off and I'll show you what I've learned."

"What.. sort of massage classes?"

"Both relaxing massages and sports massages." The grin which appears on her face is pure filth and I smile along with it. "I.. may possibly have watched a few videos about that kind as well."

She sighs and rests her forehead against my chest. "No. We shouldn't. We might get distracted."

I eliminate the construct. "How about we talk about something else, then?"

"What did you have in mind?"

"You seem to like superspeed. Would you -ideally- like to have the ability permanently?" She lifts her head up to look at me. "I thought about… When you were injured, I thought about… You know what I've done to Artemis, Zatanna and Green Arrow, and now Kaldur and Kid Flash?"

"Altered their souls to make them gods."

"It's more like.. granting them the potential to become gods, inasmuch as Apokoliptians and New Genosians are. If you were able to move at superspeed before undergoing that, you'd probably get faster. If you underwent that process first, you might not be able to use it at all. Seeing you injured like that, I was {yellow}this close{/}-" I hold up my left hand with thumb and index finger nearly touching. "-to doing it anyway, whether I'd get found out or not."

"I don't need you looking after me the whole time."

"I know." I put my left arm around her back. "And that's part of why I love you. But… If you didn't have some tool that you needed.. because I didn't think to give it to you, that is a failure on my part."

"Hm." She thinks for a moment. "So if I want a superpower as well as godhood, I have to get the superpower first."

"It would be best. So, superspeed?"

"I do like superspeed.. buuut I'm kind of interested in teleportation too."

"I haven't really looked into teleportation. I think there's a young woman in Central City who can teleport, and Rocket mentioned another who'd been operating in Dakota City. Not sure their abilities can be adapted as easily as the Garrick Formula… But if you want me to find out then I can do that."

She smirks. "Why can't I have both?"

"Metahumans who manifest different abilities usually do so from a single source. A Lantern can fly and travel faster than light not as the result as separate abilities but as functions of a power ring. Unless we found someone who was naturally capable of several different things I wouldn't recommend trying to blend them."

"I suppose being a goddess with one super power's not too bad. I'd just like to try a few more out, that's all."

"I'll see what I can do."

"Did you offer that to Artemis?"

"She has an established preference for pointy sticks. Though, I suppose… She's still in the early stages…" I frown. "Might be able to find something for her. I'll talk to her about it. Anything other than teleportation you're interested in?"

"How about a power ring?"

"That would make it completely obvious where you got it from. Annnd, orange rings can have adverse affects on the minds of their users. I'd really want an expert on hand before offering one to you. On the more positive side power rings can be used perfectly safely by New Gods, so there's no need to hold off on godhood in order to get the maximum advantage." I pause for a moment. I had been meaning to bring it up at some point, but is now the time? "Though, speaking of rings, what sort of wedding did you want?"

She pulls away a little in surprise. "Huh?"

"I ask because you haven't shown any particular religious belief. I usually associate Vietnam with Buddhism, but as I understand it the native religion is a lot more like Shinto in its reverence-."

"Are you..? Asking me..? Because that's got to be the worst-."

"No. I mean, not right now. I just want to make sure you've thought about it. I don't really care about the sort of ceremony… As long as Father isn't officiating. That would be very uncomfortable for everyone."

"What's he like?"

"What's Darkseid like? I'm really not sure how to describe him. Physically, he's a large grey skinned man much like myself. A little larger, I think. But he's bald, so there's that. His eyes glow red with the power of the Omega Force that he bound to himself upon his ascension. In terms of his character… He desires to see all things -not merely people, but all life, all matter, the very fundamental forces of the universe- in tune with his will. He can be civil, if he wants to be and it doesn't cost him anything. Equally, he can decide to be monstrous and raze an entire world to the ground just so the few survivors will speak of him with dread. I suppose… Imagine if your father was a Kryptonian. Something like that."

I think she gets it. "Let's not invite him. What about your mother?" {yellow}Ah-h{/}. I have no idea who Grayven's mother is. Father Box has quite a lot of information about Grayven but nothing on her. I could just say that she's dead, but-. Jade's head jerks up. "It's the League of Shadows. They're ready for us. I have the co-ordinates."

"Then we'd best not keep them waiting."

{red}31st December
00:02 GMT +2{/}

We step out of the boom tube into the designated spot in Queen Beatrice's palace in Al-Qawiya. There's a guard detail -Bialyans, I note- but their weapons are lowered and only a few of them are facing inwards. Armaments look conventional, that's a good sign. They haven't tried to hold onto anything Apokoliptian they shouldn't have done but it wouldn't astonish me if there were some plasma weapons around here. We're actually in the palace gardens, close to the palace itself. I'm not sure whether it's part of her faux piety, a reminder of historical greatness or she just really likes gardens but the grounds attached to the palace are really quite beautiful… Provided that one is prepared to overlook the anti-aircraft emplacements and -even on the best days- the small horde of plainclothes security operatives.

Two figures step forwards as the boom tube back to Masirah collapses behind us. The one on my left is a lieutenant in the Palace Guard. He's in field dress and carries the same rifle as his subordinates. Regular Bialyan soldiers come equipped with locally produced AK-47s but elite units like this apparently.. get… A little something from LexCorp's approved for export list. Goodness me, it's going to be like supervillain bingo in here, isn't it? He stays back a little as the civilian woman- {orange}ring{/}?- Rayyah bint Khalid al-Saliba, Queen Beatrice's Principal Private Secretary. Interesting choice of greeter, given what happened last time we met.

I take a step forwards and extend my right hand. "Ms al-Saliba, pleased to meet you."

She keeps coming and {yellow}takes my hand in the absolutely lightest grip she can and still qualify as actually holding onto it{/}. "Prince Grayven. Her majesty Queen Bee has requested that you join her in the banquet hall."

"Oh, there's no need to call me 'prince', I'm illegitimate." I move my hand slightly away from hers and {yellow}she moves hers back to her side as fast as she can{/}. "Apokoliptian law on the subject is fairly flexible but by local standards only my half brother Crown Prince Kalibak would qualify. Please, lead the way."

She turns away and scurries down the path as fast as her dress will allow. I offer Jade my right arm. She hesitates and gives me a look of confusion. I wiggle my elbow and raise my eyebrows. She takes another quick look at the guards around us and then takes it with her left hand. I wait a moment and then we follow on behind Ms al-Saliba at a slow walk, the guards falling in behind us.

"Interesting point of law: did you know that Bialya is remarkably accepting of homosexuals? And I don't just mean by the appalling standards of the region; even by western standards." Jade glances at me while trying to simultaneously keep watch on our surroundings. "You're getting tense again. They're not going to shoot us before we get there and they can't stop us getting away."

She takes a breath and thinks about it. "Is.. Queen Bee..?"

"Not as far as I know. In fact, I haven't found any records of her having liaisons of any kind."

"What does she get out of it then?"

"Loyalty. Queen Bee can control lesbians just as well as she can straight men. Most of her female attendants -including our usher- are lesbians. Must be a very frustrating job, actually. And any homosexual men in her employ know that there are opportunities here they wouldn't be able to get anywhere else. Queen Bee may be an autocrat but she isn't arbitrary in her dealings. There is a secret police in Bialya but the quality of their investigations is actually quite high, they don't just grab people off the streets and torture them for fun. Corruption is stamped on fairly hard for much the same reason."

"She has your approval?"

"I think she's someone I could do business with. If she knocked her silly obsession with her neighbour to the west on the head. And if Ra's is here and.. the guns do rather imply that Mister Luthor will be joining us. Hm. I'm feeling surprisingly optimistic."

We walk up onto a tiled veranda and then into the palace proper. Considering that her Justice League file all but screams megalomaniac the palace isn't actually that big. Most of the civil service buildings are located in Al-Qawiya proper for security reasons. Military and police headquarters similarly located off-site, though the Palace Guard garrison is on-site. Parliamentarians might need a nod from their monarch before they even think about running for office but she has offloaded a fair bit of work onto them. I suppose that if one must spend the money to keep up appearances it behoves one to ensure that it isn't entirely wasted. There are civil service offices, meeting rooms and the Queen's personal residence and those of her attendants, but most of the space is essentially a big art gallery cum museum for entertaining the occasional dignitary or school party. The corridor we're passing down is decorated with paintings of various historical scenes; historical accuracy not guaranteed.

"Ms al-Saliba?" She glances back over her shoulder. "I feel I should apologise for the way we met."

"Oh no, there's really no need-."

"I rather think there is. I was more concerned with creating a lasting impression on Queen Bee and, to be frank, my own entertainment. I should have taken the effect it would have on other people into consideration, so, I'm sorry."

"Oh. Then, you are forgiven." She looks at me for a moment longer and then continues on her way.

"What did you do?"

"I drove the super cycle through the wall of Queen Beatrice's private dining room during breakfast."

She pulls her arm free. "If anyone asks, I'm not with you."

"We parted on reasonable terms. And I think events have proven me right in my views on contact with Apokolips." A left turn and at the end of the corridor I see the double doors leading to the banquet hall. I wonder if they're laying food on?

"Why did you tell her you weren't a prince?"

"Because it puts me in the same boat as Queen Beatrice, and she ascended to the throne anyway."

"She was the daughter of the previous king."

"True -probably- but she wasn't the daughter of his wife. As far as I was able to tell she used her pheromone control ability on him to get adopted into the royal household and eventually became heir designate after the former queen had a bit of an attack of the undetectable poisons. Probably with the assistance of one of your co-workers. Her heir is her half sister Princess Adilah, currently attending an excellent university in Singapore and kept under the eyes of no fewer than four armed security agents at any one time. Incidentally, Queen Beatrice's official history puts a rather different spin on it and no one in earshot will dare repeat what I just told you." We share a glance at the lieutenant who pointedly keeps staring dead ahead.

"Did we 'help' her with her father as well?"

"No, I don't think so. Everything I've seen suggests that his natural causes really were natural. No point in killing someone you already control."

"What about her mother?"

"Currently living the life of Riley in Monaco."

Ms al-Saliba waits for us in front of the doors as we approach before nodding to the uniformed functionaries standing next to them. They simultaneously take hold of the handles, turn them and open the doors outwards. Ms al-Saliba enters and quickly moves off to the left as Jade and I stroll forwards.

"Presenting Grayven of Apokolips and Operative Jade Nguyen of the League of Shadows."

The room inside looks a little deserted with only the high table set up, its occupants facing the doorway we just entered through. Queen Bee has the central seat and Ms al-Saliba quickly walks around to stand behind her mistress. On her left, Mister Luthor sits in a relaxed but formal pose, Miss Graves just behind and to his left. The next seat along holds Ra's al Ghul in full costume. Behind him, Ubu and a young looking Caucasian man with floppy black hair. Looks a bit like a male model but I'm sure that if Ra's has bothered bringing him along he's quite deadly to most people.

The man on Queen Beatrice's left on the other hand… I give him a quick {orange}scan{/} to check, though I can't think of many people who would belong in this setting and have three diagonal scars across their face. Vandal Savage. Him, I'm not sure I can do business with. Wouldn't mind dissecting him to see if I can work out how his immortality works. Next to him is a computer screen showing a blurred head shape. Someone who doesn't want me to know that they're part of the group? If Mister Luthor is confident enough to show his face… Sivana, maybe? A politician, or some sort of infiltrator? Red Arrow's mole?

I come to a halt about five metres away from the table and look down at them. "Your Majesty, gentlemen. I am here as you requested. What can I do for you?"

{red}31st December
00:09 GMT +2{/}

Queen Bee leans forwards slightly. "No Tiger or flying motorcycle this time, Grayven?"

I give her a small smile. "No, not this time. I felt that it would be impolite, given that I had an invitation and you weren't doing anything liable to cause an Apokoliptian invasion this time."

"No. This time you were."

"I'm given to understand that they were invited by-" I look over to my left. "-Mister Savage." He doesn't react. "And my team mates and I were perfectly capable of dealing with them ourselves."

"Yes. You were. Please,-" She gestures with her right hand at the empty chair opposite her. "-take a seat."

As I walk forwards the television screen reorientates itself on me. "It is a shame that you did not bring the Tiger with you, Mister Grayven. I would have been most interested to study its development. He really was a most promising specimen."

The sound comes from the speakers next to the screen. I'm hearing a translation so his usual smattering of French is being omitted but that's unmistakably the Brain's voice. Of course, he uses a speech synthesiser these days anyway. I assume that he keeps his original voice out of pride. "I don't think that would have been a good idea, Brain. While I agree with your assessment of his intelligence his temperament is somewhat uncertain and I don't believe that he remembers you fondly." I do a quick {orange}check{/} that the chair's strong enough to take me and then sit, Jade taking up station behind me. "So? What is this about?"

"We.. want to-" Ring, {orange}gag him{/} "-mpf." Ra's glares at me, though the effect is totally ruined by the glowing orange band over his mouth.

I look along the row of other panel members. "Someone else, please. I don't want to be waffled at for two hours this time."

Queen Bee parts her lips slightly and then turns slightly to her left. Mister Luthor gives me his patented press conference slash used car salesman smile. "We believe that we have certain interests in common which might more profitably be pursued through cooperation than competition."

I {orange}remove{/} the gag. "You see? Six seconds." I look down the row again. I could use the soul gaze I suppose, but I think it would be more polite to let them explain themselves and politeness does seem to be the order of the day. "What precisely do you believe those interests to be?"

Ra's takes a moment to compose himself. "When you tracked Cheshire to the League's safe house, you said something rather interesting. You claimed that you were trying to alter the world for the better, and that you were not afraid to get your hands dirty to do it. We,-" He indicates the Most Wanted with his right hand. "- share a similar philosophy."

"Yes, I've heard about your vision of the future of the Human race."

Spotting dissonance Mister Luther makes a subtle 'stop' gesture in Ra's direction and -interesting- he heeds it. "Without giving away the details of ongoing projects-"

I wave his caveat away. "Of course."

"-the exploitation of advanced technology, preternatural biology and magic to improve the state of Human existence and eventually to advance the position of Humanity in the universe. We began our dealings with Apokolips with that goal in mind, though…" He looks to his right. "It seems they were a more dangerous business partner than we initially believed."

"Were you aware that they were also dealing with Intergang?" An amusing thought occurs. "And at a higher level than you were?"

"Not.. at the time. And in every problem lies an opportunity. I understand that you have a monopoly on trade between Apokolips and Earth."

"I control contact between Apokolips and Earth, it isn't quite the same thing. What I can actually get for you would be somewhat limited."

"We weren't planning to ask you to hand us the keys to the place. In fact, that would be contrary to our ideals."

Supervillains who don't want giant alien weapons? Mind equals blown. "How so?"

A quiet whir from the television. "The use of alien technology to cover for humanity's inadequacies merely compounds the problem we are seeking to correct."

Ra's appears to have regenerated his ego. "The natural abilities of certain gifted individuals -most notably the Justice League- give certain people an almost unbeatable advantage in their chosen field. The result over the past few decades is that a certain.. passivity has entered into the Human spirit. Though we are threatened by alien invaders and violent criminals-."

"Like yourself."

His eyes narrow slightly, but he considers and nods. "If you like. Despite those things, mankind trusts in the League to keep them safe rather than looking to their own defences, a problem which will only worsen as the League expands. I myself am no stranger to feudal social order but for all their acclaim, the League seem content merely to be…" A ghost of a smile. "'Righteous Face Punchers'?"

Ah, the old Kingdom Come problem. "I should probably have known better than to say that in a room with a publicly accessible gallery. Alright then, yes. I see the problem. And I admit that it would be easier to fix as part of a group set up to do research and development rather than front line combat."

Queen Beatrice raises her right eyebrow. "Altruism? From an Apokoliptian?"

"To paraphrase the author Sir Terrance Pratchett, sometimes it's better to make the pie bigger than it is to try to make your slice bigger. Especially when the other diners have knives. I intend to use Earth as a power base and that will be far more productive if Earth is more powerful. Does this august assemblage have a name, or is this an ad hoc thing?"

"We are called The Light."

Vandal Savage speaks for the first time. I never really rated him as a threat, but he must offer something if he's here. I wonder what it is? "Does it have any other members? I note a few conspicuous absences; no.. Circe, no Thaddeus Sivana?"

Mister Luthor shakes his head. "Neither of those are members. Circe is notoriously reclusive and.. I'm afraid that Doctor Sivana appears unable to play nicely with others. Ocean Master was a member until his death at the hands of the Atlantean security services-."

"Yes, about that. Word of advice? If you've managed to develop armour that can block Lantern constructs? Make sure it covers your whole body."

"Ah. That is…" He looks along the line and I don't know the others well enough to judge their responses as well as he apparently can. "Not necessarily an impediment. He wasn't engaged in Light business at the time, after all. And we weren't in formal contact with you. One of the reasons that The Light exists is to prevent just that sort of.. crossing of wires.. getting in the way of us achieving our shared goals."

"Big of you."

"An excess of ego is so often detrimental to our work. Speaking of which, do you believe that you would have difficulty in working with any of us?"

Ra's. "Maybe." Luthor. "No." Queen Bee. "No." Savage. "Maybe." Brain. "No."

Ra's raises his eyebrows. "Though Doctor Roquette's survival was a little irritating I was not aware of any fundamental dispute between us."

"It's the whole primitivist utopia through mass slaughter thing."

He nods. "That should not be a problem. While I still hold to the same ideals I.. no longer believe that such methods are necessary to ensure mankind's survival."

"No problem, then. I'll even volunteer to help with your preservation work." He looks a little interested. "Wouldn't be too hard for me to set up an artificial habitat off world. If you can get me the DNA samples I can even clone extinct or endangered species back into existence."

"A most generous offer."

Savage's face is implacable as ever. "And your objection to me?"

"I feel that the chaotic genius of unencumbered humanity would be somewhat oppressed if we ended up being obliged to make you God Emperor of mankind."

"I have learned to enjoy more subtle applications of power. I have no more desire to force the Human race to calcify under my governance than I do under the League's."

"Then we have no fundamental dispute either. So, what needs to happen for me to sign up?"

Ra's steeples his fingers. "To begin, we need to make sure that you are not reporting everything we say to the Detective. A period of.. observation, while you demonstrate your usefulness and loyalty to our ideals."

"A reasonable precaution. {orange}Dorrance, Crock{/}." The two Construct-Lanterns appear by my side. "I'll even stop killin' yer doodz. Anything else?"

Mister Luthor makes eye contact with their late field commanders and briefly dips his eyes. "One other matter. The last member of our group has something of a personal vendetta against you and.. we.. don't feel that the two of you would be able to function together."

Who could..? Oh. "Magic user. Powerful and surprisingly well connected. You're working with the Witch Boy, aren't you? That.. is going.. to be.. a problem."

{red}31st December
00:13 GMT +2{/}

"Dare I enquire as to why..?"

"The Witch Boy's involvement became rather.. impossible to avoid, Mister Grayven."

I frown at the monitor. "How so?"

"Are you familiar with the joke about what to do when there is an eight hundred pound Gorilla asleep in your bed?"

In your case, tell him to stop hogging the duvet? I really don't want to know if that part of his relationship with Mallah is true here as it was in the comics. "So, what? He just turned up to a meeting and you couldn't get rid of him?"

Mister Luthor seems reluctant to meet my gaze. "It was.. a little more complicated than that. He has power, certainly, and a disinclination to accept the status quo. He seemed like a good fit."

"What exactly were you expecting to gain from the Roanoke Island incident? I'm hardly a squeamish man but if you're going to slaughter hundreds of thousands of children I'd expect the reward to be proportionate. I can't imagine what that would have been."

Ra's gaze goes a little distant. "Klarion offered to provide a distraction while we acquired a certain object. He chose not to inform us of precisely what forms this distraction would take, merely that it would be highly effective. I personally found his methods.. distasteful."

"Ra's, a few months ago you tried to fire a satellite mounted solar reflector at the world's greatest cities. I hardly think you're in a position-."

His face hardens. "The heat generated in that attack would have killed those in the affected area almost immediately and given the size of the area it would have encompassed it would most likely have incinerated whole families together. I regarded the deaths involved as a regrettable necessity for the good of the world, not as worthwhile ends in themselves. I did not laugh at the prospect. I did not cavort with glee at the death of so many children."

He sounds serious. I give myself a {orange}momentary flicker{/} of orange vision. Hmm. His conversion appears to be genuine. "So, like many people with no actual morals Ra's al Ghul does have standards. Do you all feel the same way?"

A nod from Mister Luthor. I'm not sure how credible it is. He doesn't have a young family and I doubt the incident cost him much money. A few sick days for grieving relatives but his competitors would be in the same position, wouldn't they? Maybe he just doesn't like chaos. Queen Beatrice also nods. It would have been the middle of the night here when it happened… An issue of control, perhaps? She doesn't want there to be threats to her citizens that she can't use organs of the state to fight against, it undermines her position. Savage… His facial expression changes a little. A little tightening around the eyes, a flattening of the lips. It's subtle, but I get the impression he isn't entirely on board with this hanging out to dry of his malevolent colleague. Reminds me of what Mister Luthor said to Cheetah in the comics about her objection to Doctor Light joining their society: 'if we limit our membership to men of good character...'. Is it loyalty? Does he prefer a known power to an unknown one, even if the known one is one Red Bull from deciding that up should be down? Or onion? Savage doesn't directly answer, but for the first time since I sat down he turns his face a little away from me. And for Brain?

"I have little concern for the lives of others, my grey friend. Still, I find the disregard Mister Klarion has for the physical laws of the universe disconcerting. With Ocean Master dead we have room to spare for both you and another magic user who may be a little more.. predictable. Perhaps Madam Circe, no? But alas, the eight hundred pound Gorilla remains."

Did he just..? "You want me to kill Klarion?"

Mister Savage recurls his lips. "If you can. Treat it as a job interview. Klarion's greatest asset is his power. If yours is greater then his passing is of no concern."

Killing Klarion… Not the easiest of tasks, if our last meeting is anything to go by. I dodged his dust trap easily enough but was stuck with only brute force options against him and his new familiar cum power source. Plus, killing him is both in-character for Grayven and is.. let's face it, is a boon I would be {orange}more than happy{/} to grant the world. "That's.. not something I'm going to rush into."

"If you feel unequal to the task…"

"I'm not fool enough to underestimate a Lord of Chaos. Killing Klarion wouldn't simply be a matter of physical force. It requires careful thought, preparation and study." Mister Zatara would be the obvious place to start, or perhaps… What was that sword John Constantine used on the First of the Fallen? Of course, from their point of view Klarion killing me because I rushed things is a perfectly acceptable result as well. "I'll take it on… How quickly do you expect results?"

"There is no cut off point. Still, the longer you delay, the more time he has to enjoy himself."

"Quoting the Clown, Mister Savage? Really?" In the corner of my eye I catch a split second of smile from Mister Luthor. "So, don't tell Batman, look for ways to help humanity escape both the crab bucket and the emergent superhero dominated feudal order and kill an immortal sorcerer of godlike power. Anything else?"

Queen Beatrice smile. "I believe that you have a grasp of the situation. Obviously the rest of us will not be offering you any assistance. Klarion is difficult enough to deal with as it is without him actively opposing us."

"I wasn't expecting you to."

"One other matter. How attached are you to the Justice League's sidekicks?"

Cold and calculating or protecting my own patch? Easy choice. "Extremely attached."

"And if anything were to happen to them?"

"I would hunt the perpetrator or perpetrators to the ends of the universe and subject them to every agony available to an Apokoliptian God. They're mine. To cause lasting harm to what is mine is to will yourself to die in the midst of unimaginable suffering."

"You left Devilance alive."

"He failed. And in any case, Father will take care of that for me."

She looks at and nods at someone towards the back of the hall behind me. I turn to look as the rear doors are pulled open and…

I blink, then have the ring {orange}run a check{/} before swiftly dismissing Crock and Dorrance. No, that's really Artemis and M'gann walking in under armed escort. They're not bound and the weapons aren't being pointed at them. They're here voluntarily? They both try to avoid looking at our hosts and M'gann notices me first, a startled gasp escaping her lips. Artemis tears her eyes away from Jade to see what so alarmed our team mate. Her eyes widen and then narrow to a scowl.

How to play this? I stand and walk slowly towards them. "Artemis! You told me you didn't play for the other team!" I turn to the side. "Jade, are you being a bad influence on your sister?"

Jade grins a cruel grin. "She couldn't stand the idea of your team mates finding out who her family were."

I feel a slight nudge on my mental defences, a polite request rather than an attack. I relax the barrier slightly.

**Grayven, what did they threaten you with?**

**Nothing. Nothing at all. I came here for a job interview. Why, what are they holding over you?**

**Queen Bee threatened to kill Marie Logan if I didn't do what they said. How..? Why are you..?**

"Because I found out what they're actually trying to achieve. And I agree with it." I turn back to our hosts. "You might have given me the chance to try talking them around."

"I can't believe..! You! You're the mole!"

Back to Artemis. "No. This is the first time I've met with this august body and I haven't given them any information about our group. If there even is an informant, it's someone else." Back to the Light. Who's actually in charge? I want to assume Lex Luthor but Queen Beatrice has centre stage in her own country. "Why are they here?"

"They can keep track of your progress while you work on the task we've set you. After all-" The Queen's smile widens slightly. "-you didn't think that you were the only member of your team we were trying to enlighten, did you?"

{red}30th December
22:21 GMT{/}

I {orange}send{/} orange lights up into the four corners of the stone-built room as the boom tube closes behind us. In their dim light I can just about make out the decorations on the walls of the small antechamber to the main tomb. Will M'gann notice it before the shouting starts, I wonder?

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't shoot you right now!"

Looks like 'no'. I {green}take a moment to compose myself{/} before turning around. Artemis already has an arrow on string and M'gann doesn't look much happier. "Because in the unlikely event you managed to kill me you'd suffocate in short order. The air around us is almost entirely carbon dioxide." Her eyes widen slightly but her hands stay steady. "We need to talk about-."

"We're on… You brought us to Mars!?" M'gann looks around for a moment and then raises her hands to her forehead and blinks heavily. "I can.. hear…" Her eyes widen fully. "We're in one of the sacred pyramids! We can't be here! It's the most-!"

"Actually, you can. Perfectly legally, your Highness. Visiting one of your blessed ancestors with a.. small retinue. In this case…" I have a closer look at the engravings on the walls. "Imperator Bar'soom, notable for his love of theatre and skill in long ranged telepathic communication, if I'm reading this right."

"{red}Why{/} did you {red}bring us{/} to {red}Mars{/}?"

Artemis sounds like she's on the verge of loosing on me anyway. "Because I very much doubt that the Light have contacts on Mars." I lay one hand on the wall, feeling the power within the structure. "Martian pyramids of this era were heavily warded, alien magic that should serve to defeat Earth based magicians. Klarion or someone of his tier could brute force it but the effects would be very noticeable." I nod to myself. "Combined with Father Box and the ring, this is probably the safest place to talk in the entire star system. And we do rather need to talk about-."

"You selling us all out to the Light!"

"The final stage of an undercover investigation I am carrying out at Batman's behest." That makes her think. "Could you please lower the arrow now?"

She keeps staring at me for a moment longer before reluctantly turning the bow towards the floor. "Really?"

"It was after the fight in Happy Harbor when I confronted the Shadows who were after Doctor Roquette. I let Cheshire -Jade- run so I could watch where she ran to."

"You said you didn't know where she went!"

"I lied. I barely knew you back then, certainly not enough to trust you when Green Arrow was already lying to cover for you. Secrets don't stay secret if you tell people. Anyway, my intent was to develop her as an intelligence asset, offer her a chance to get away from the League of Shadows in exchange for information leading to the organisation being wound up. Then, the Injustice League thing happened. Afterwards…" I pause, remembering the meeting. "Batman came to have a word. He was concerned about the prospect of supervillains working together and wanted more information. Ra's al Ghul is extremely well connected and I already had an 'in'."

Artemis tries to take that on board. "So.. the whole thing with.. you and her..?"

I shake my head. "{violet}Completely genuine{/}. I haven't told her that I'm acting on Batman's behalf, but she knows my final objective. {violet}Falling in love with Jade{/}.. wasn't…" I pause. "Wait. Why aren't you freaking out about M'gann hearing this?"

"I told her. I told everyone. After you left Jade called me and threatened to tell everyone about our father."

"So you walked in there why?"

"To get intel."

I raise my right hand to my forehead. "Months of patient undercover work and you walk in on a full board meeting, just like that. How'd our team mates take hearing about Sportsmaster?"

"They-."

"No one on the team cares about who Artemis' father is, but Queen Bee will still kill Marie if we don't do what they want!"

"Which is what, report on me? I need to keep up appearances anyway until Batman decides what he wants to do with the information."

"What if they kidnap her?!"

I don't.. think Queen Beatrice would do that. On the other hand, no harm in making sure. "Father Box."

"Ploong."

"Activate the hush tube and dispatch drone squadron six to the Logan Animal Sanctuary, perimeter patrol. Have them shoot anything Bialyan-looking."

"Ploong."

"There, no more problem. Those drones could stop an armoured company or a bombing raid by the entire Bialyan air force and their camouflage systems will stop the Logans noticing anything out of the ordinary."

M'gann nods, calming down a bit. Artemis still doesn't look happy. "What were you talking to them about before we walked in?"

Ah. Haven't really had a chance to sort out my own feelings on that subject yet. "With their source of Apokoliptian technology cut off, they were interested in allying with me. Offered me a position in their group. There are certain requirements…"

"You're not going to take it, right?"

"The main requirement was killing Klarion, so I don't think I'm in a rush to decide."

She and M'gann look at each other. Artemis appears to be lost for words while M'gann looks at me in puzzlement. "Why would you want to join a group of supervillains?"

"You remember that whole.. speech I did after Superman finished talking during the swearing in of the new League members?" She nods. Only this morning but it feels like a lot longer. "I wasn't just saying that to be contrary. I believe every word. The Light… They see the problem. They don't like Earth becoming dependent on the good will of the Justice League. They want… They want a lot of the same things I want, and I think I could live with the rest."

"But… They're evil. And.. you're not. Everything you've done for us, for Kon and Match especially…"

I sigh. "I don't know, M'gann. Sometimes I feel like a supervillain who accidentally walked into the wrong lobby… And only stayed because the restaurant was better than the one the Legion of Doom had. When the four of us confronted Ocean Master I didn't hesitate to kill him. You did, Kon did, even Kaldur did and he had far better cause than I. I'm ruthless and hard in ways you're just not. The League.. just doesn't do stuff that I think.. we need to. And if the Light do…"

Artemis gesticulates. "Queen Bee's a tyrant!"

"Her citizens have higher standards of living-."

"Vandal Savage is a murderer! Ra's runs a League of assassins and tried killing almost everyone on the planet with satellite lasers!"

"I looked into his soul. He told me that he doesn't intend to do that sort of thing anymore, and I believe him. And as for being a murderer? So is your mother." She freezes, shocked. "Paula may have only gone to prison for armed robbery but I think we both know that wasn't the full extent of her crimes. Do you intend to investigate those? Demand that she return to prison for the rest of her life?" Artemis can't meet my gaze. "No, because it would serve no useful purpose. The League of Shadows won't stop murdering, but there's a point… There's a point where the benefit outweighs the cost."

M'gann shakes her head. "Nothing could justify that."

"Certainly it could. Simple example: plasma weapons exist on Earth, yet even in America which could afford them, outside a few areas Special Response Units aren't routinely issued with them. Why? Because they know there'll always be a superhero on hand. Police are shoved aside for unaccountable people in silly costumes. Arrange a few attacks when the League are occupied, then press for a nationwide equipment upgrade. Dozens die, but hundreds don't die in the future because the police have the equipment they need to deal with high end metahumans."

"The Shadows don't-."

"I know. But their intelligence network might save more than the murders they use to fund it kill. Or at least enough to justify…" Me putting up with the murder of innocent people because I've never met them. I should feel worse about that. "If I don't have a better solution-."

"{green}The League will{/}." M'gann walks up to me and confidently puts her right hand on mine. "We can talk to Batman about what they said. He and Uncle J'onn and Wonder Woman and the rest of the League will know what to do. I don't care what you say, you're not like a dictator who mind controlled an eight year old boy and threatened him to make me obey her. You're {green}not{/}. Now open a boom tube back to Earth so we can sort this mess out."

…

Well.

…

That's me told.

{red}30th December
18:39 GMT -5{/}

"So.. you're a mole.. for Batman?"

Kon seems to be having a little trouble getting his head around the idea. "Not yet. More like.. double agent." I nod my head to the side. "Would-be double agent. I haven't actually got in yet."

Kaldur's kept up though. "Then why are you so concerned?"

We're in the kitchen area, my team mates either sitting or leaning against the surfaces. I suggested reconvening in one of the actual meeting rooms but that was voted down.

"I have an orange power ring. Mood ring jokes aside, what I can do is a fairly strong indicator of how I feel about the situation. I can't fake it. I would have been of limited use if I didn't really…"

He nods. "If your outspoken concerns about the limitations of the League were not genuine."

"Quite. Down side of that is, their offer has genuine appeal to me. I don't want to limit my role in Earth society to doing what the League do. I mean, I don't want Earth to look like Apokolips but.. Rann, maybe? That has appeal."

Richard's eyes narrow. "If this is true, why didn't Batman tell me about it?"

"Your acting is good and your integrity unimpeachable. But you aren't telepath proof."

"I'm still not. What changed?"

"I.. started genuinely doubting that I was on the correct side. Needed M'gann to talk some sense into me. So. The loyal opposition." I wave my right hand and {orange}create constructs{/} in the centre of our group. "The Brain, Vandal Savage, Queen Beatrice-."

"Beena."

I frown at Richard. "Her school records say Beatrice."

"Her birth certificate says 'Beena'. She anglicized when she started college."

"How the heck did you find..? No, fine, Beena. Alexander Luthor and Ra's al Ghul. Prince Orm was a member until I killed him. What do we notice about this motley crew?"

Match looks them over. "Most of them are guys?" More than a few of us stare at him. "What? It's what Mom says about the Justice League."

"I was really going for the fact that none of them are fighters. Ra's and Savage can brawl but neither of them are top tier metabrawlers. They're controllers, planners. Except for the Brain they have large resource bases. They can hire muscle, these people are the ones-."

Kaldur nods. "Doing everything else."

"Ra's has a vast intelligence network. Brain can handle research and development of whatever useful artefacts and technologies they come across. Luthor can fence technology as an exciting LexCorp development and-" I manage a crooked smile. "-Beena can site anything which needs to be completely hidden in Bialya. No risk of investigation when you legitimately control the police. The League selects for power, they selected for intelligence. Of all League members only Batman is capable of the sort of organisation all of these people are."

"Ocean Master had his people serving in all parts of the Atlantean government. If he had not underestimated you…"

"He'd have been in a position to share every arcanotechnological development Atlantis made."

"Egami fo Noiralk raeppa." A full colour illusion of my target appears in the centre and sneers at us. "So where does Klarion fit in?"

"The impression I got was that he didn't. The Brain told me that they aren't any more able to get rid of him than we are and as such they're stuck with him. The task they set me to complete if I want to join the Light's management is to kill him."

Richard looks at me for a moment. "You're thinking about doing it, aren't you?"

"I've already got a method in mind. Frankly, I'd be on board with killing him even if I didn't have this offer on the table."

"We don't kill people, Grayven. Not deliberately, at least."

{orange}A filament pierces{/} the Orm-construct's left arm and burrows through his flesh up into his brain. The construct jerks in a re-enactment of his death. "I do. I did, and Klarion deserves to die far more than Orm did."

"That isn't how it works! Ocean Master was in the middle of killing Queen Mera! What you're talking about is coldly sitting down and planning out how to kill someone."

"What, so accurate utilitarian judgements are worse than bestial rages?" I suppose it's time, then. "Richard, suppose there was a person… For the sake of argument let's call him Joseph Kerr. Let's further say that this person has killed an average of seventy people a year for the last ten years, though he really outdid himself with his last group effort. That he's been arrested on several occasions but each time has been sent to a notoriously escape-friendly asylum and managed to get out. Sometimes by stealth, sometimes by force and sometimes by blackmailing or bribing the staff. Now let us examine this problem from a utilitarian point of view. A person arresting Mister Kerr does so in the knowledge that he will most likely escape, and that if he escapes that he will kill again. If this utilitarian agent killed him then in the first year there are sixty nine fewer deaths than there would otherwise have been. The next year, seventy. Then seventy again, and again, and again. You can't legally execute an insane person, the evidence suggests that he can't be contained… What is a person to do?"

He scowls, working out where I'm going with this. "Crush his arms and legs so he can't use them anymore. Like you did to.. 'Joseph Kerr'."

"So the doctors couldn't repair them? Oh, that is good news. I'd rather have killed him outright but I don't imagine that Batman would have been very impressed. As it was, I was on low power, the control system for the plants was on his hands and I needed to stop him moving. Crush. I killed Ocean Master not just because he was threatening Queen Mera, but because I could and it would solve the problem."

Wallace's face drops. "That's... Stone cold."

"Kaldur, if I hadn't, what would have been his punishment?"

"He would have been tried and then executed."

"And?"

"I am not sure what-?"

"What method would have been used? Remember, the crime is 'royal treason'."

His eyes widen for a moment, then he sags and stares at the floor. "The punishment for treason by a member of the royal household… The condemned is impaled on Traitor's Reef and then left to die. A guard is posted to make sure that they are neither fed nor given any other aid until they do. When they finally expire their body is fed to the Barracuda."

"The most fun part is that the guards don't have to stop the Barracuda getting stuck in before the condemned expires. And the only moderation that can be offered by the monarch of the day? King Orin could personally open Orm's jugular vein-" I gesture at my own throat. "-with a knife before they stuck him on there, so he'd be unconscious when the barbs pierced him and die soon after." General looks of horror from my team mates. "And King Orin's too good a man not to do that, if it came to it. I could have cut off Orm's hands to disable him. I chose not to at least in part so that King Orin wouldn't have to kill his own brother." I take a moment to imagine what that would do to the man. "Funny thing is, King Orin actually changed the law so that regular treason wasn't punished like that. Too inhumane. He didn't bother the senate with changing the royal treason version of the law because he didn't think it was worth their time for the handful of people it applied to."

"In circumstances.. where it is not practical to take a metahuman into custody…" Tao doesn't exactly look happy about speaking up. "Members of the Great Ten are authorised to carry out summary executions. I have not.. been called upon to do so myself, but… Klarion killed hundreds of thousands of children. I do not believe that I would have any difficulty in justifying killing him either to myself or to my superiors."

Zatanna nods, though she doesn't look any happier about it. "Nabu's been telling Dad things about Klarion. He doesn't think he can be contained. If Klarion decided to do a repeat of Roanoke Island… I don't think we'd have a better chance of stopping him than we did last time. Most of the deaths happened in the first few hours and it might take me that long to find him. I… I don't like it, but I can't think of another way."

"It's academic, anyway." I shake my head. "I'm not going to take any concrete action until I've had a chance to talk to Batman about it tomorrow."

Richard shakes his head. "He'll never agree to it."

"Then that'll buy him six months to come up with a better solution."