{red}Aberration

10th January
11:16 GMT{/}

I do my best not to slump in my chair as the Right Honourable Member for Croydon North drones ever onwards and upwards. Any residual good feeling I had about augmenting Orana has long since faded away under the assault of mundanity from the Parliamentary Preternatural Scrutiny Select Committee and its incredibly dull chairwoman Jasmine Abbott. I knew that the British government would want to talk about what happened on Friday. I had dared hope it would be a one to one chat with.. Sir Cyril.. or someone like him. Someone who knew what they were talking about.

Diana gave me the bad news Sunday afternoon so I can't say I didn't know this was coming. Kaldur took the stand yesterday but since I was so clearly taking a lead on that operation it isn't inherently unreasonable that they want to hear from me. I'm supposed to be meeting with the Great Ten this afternoon and if this drags on-.

"Mister Grayven, are you paying attention?"

I take a calming breath. But I don't waste a smile on her. "Madam Chairwoman, you have yet to say anything that requires my comment."

"Mister Grayven, you have committed some highly irregular activities on British sovereign soil. While we accept that there may be extenuating circumstances a man is dead. We would appreciate it if you could behave with the solemnity the situation demands."

"Madam Chairwoman, I remained with the train until the police arrived. I gave a verbal statement at that time and submitted a full written account -one which you appear to be reading back to me word for word- a few hours later. That written statement is my version of events. If you wish to question it I will respond. If you would like additional details I am happy to provide them." I pick up the jug on my table and pour a small glass of water.

"Very well." She pushes the statement printout aside as I take a sip. "The Justice League is obliged to notify governments prior to acting within their jurisdiction. Why did you not notify the Home Office when you decided to intervene?"

I put down the glass and make a show of considering the question. "Firstly, because I am not a member of the Justice League. I am aware of their rules of engagement and endeavour to follow them where reasonably practical but they do not -strictly speaking- apply to me. Secondly, because I was concerned that any delay would result in the situation deteriorating in a way contrary to the wellbeing of your species. As you can see from the timeline the gap between us having a concrete location to move on and the situation being resolved was.. perhaps five minutes. Certainly not enough time for anyone in the Home Office to actually do anything about such a missive."

"Why did you not simply pass the matter on to the Justice League? You said yourself that you alerted Green Arrow and that Giovanni Zatara became aware during his daughter's scrying attempt."

"Again, because of the delay that would have been involved. The five of us-."

"Five.. of you?"

"Aqualad, Celestial Archer, Zatanna, Mister Tawny and myself."

"Oh. The Cat."

Who at this very moment is either picking a fight with a Thanagarian Snare Beast or picking the remains of one out of his teeth. "The five of us have worked together before. Zatanna aside we haven't worked with Mister Zatara. Adding a new person to the group and disrupting the established chain of command would have been a very bad idea had we encountered significant resistance."

"What measures did you take to ensure the safety of the train's other passengers?"

"After the event I scanned them all. There were no significant injuries but we alerted the ambulance service anyway."

"And beforehand?"

"Nothing."

"Mister Grayven-."

"Unless you count dealing with the civilisation ending abomination. There simply-."

"Wasn't time. Yes." She gives me what she probably thinks is a stern look. "I'm seeing a pattern in your activity."

"Since we're talking about the same event that merely indicates that I'm not perjuring myself." I take another sip of water. By the fire pits, this is annoying. Am I going to have to blackmail her? Seems a little petty-

{orange}!Establish dominance!{/}

-but she is being really stupid about this. See how it goes. "Had it been necessary I would have accepted the deaths of everyone on the carriage in order to stop the Beast." There's a slight intake of breath from the gallery.

"That is a remarkably cavalier attitude to take."

"Ruthlessly pragmatic, perhaps. Not cavalier. The fact is that if the Beast had succeeded in killing its guardian they -and every other Human- would have died anyway."

"So you say."

"No, not just 'I say'. Mister Zatara confirmed the presence and power of the being we exorcised. If you had any experts of your own they would be telling you the same thing. Have you managed to track down Mister Constantine yet?"

"John Constantine does not work for the British governm-"

"I'll take that as a no."

"-ent. The matter will be investigated by Captain Cornwall, who does retain our confidence." I take another sip of water. She's really getting close to what I'll-. "Now, your treatment of Miss Angela Spatchcock. Would you like to say anything on the matter?"

I put the glass down. "Not particularly."

"You did kill her brother, however necessary it was." She studies me for a moment. "Perhaps some words of sympathy?" I use my right arm to unishrug. "Mister Grayven, you are a remarkably callous individual."

"The Beast killed Jason Spatchcock. If you want to rake the head of the Stone Cross psychiatric hospital over the coals for not preventing that then feel free to do so."

"He's dead."

"As for being callous… A hundred and fifty thousand people die every day. One scan from this ring-" I raise my left hand. "-and I can show you malnutrition, civil unrest… {orange}In fact{/}-" I generate an image of a small part of the Gulf of Mexico, complete with drowned corpses. {yellow}I smile at the gasps{/}. "-a family of five who failed to make the crossing from Haiti to Florida."

"You let them d-."

"No. I don't make your immigration rules. I don't run your economy, your.. transport infrastructure. I do not rule the Earth. My only responsibility as a free individual -as I see it- is to stop you all doing something stupid enough to wipe yourselves out. If I were a member of the Justice League I would have a different job. I am not. If I were a police officer I would have a different job. I am not. Could I have stopped.. that?" I point to the orange recreation of Mister Anel Dabrezil's remains. "Yes. And so could about a billion other people by living slightly differently. Why didn't you?" I dismiss the construct. "Your species has a right to self determination, to live as you want to live. I respect that. What you do not have is a right to expect others -people like me- to step in every time one of your decisions has unpleasant consequences, to patch over holes in the fabric of your society that you know full well are there." I hope the Light are going to see this. "And on that note I'd like to request a brief recess."

She looks down at me with evident distaste. "Yes, I think that might be for the best. Ten minutes."

I wait for the bench to rise before getting up myself and heading for the exit. The people around me give me plenty of space. Where's.. she.. {orange}going to go{/}? Ah yes. I {orange}transition{/} into the private part of The House, materialising next to Mrs Abbott as she feeds change into a vending machine and {orange}stick a barrier around us{/}. "Madam Chairwoman."

She jumps. "Mister.. Grayven, this is completely inappropriate!"

"I know, but I'm getting bored and annoyed so I thought I'd have a word."

"If you're.. trying to threaten-."

"No. Blackmail."

She frowns. "I haven't done anything-."

"{yellow}I have CCTV footage of Prince William murdering people and eating their remains{/}." She goes pale. Ah, she knows what I'm talking about! That will make this easier. "{yellow}Did you ever go to the Caligula Club yourself{/}? {yellow}Before it burned down{/}?"

"Yes. {yellow}Once{/}, as a junior minister."

"{yellow}Enjoy yourself{/}?"

"{red}No{/}! {red}It was disgusting{/}! {red}I never went back{/}!"

"Well, aren't you the Pollyanna?" I give her a lazy smile. "I understand that that prince doesn't need adult nappies anymore and it's amazing what they can do with artificial knees these days. You can barely see the scar-."

"What do you want?"

"You have a job. Do it. Stop deliberately provoking me. Establish the facts and make recommendations for whatever changes in policy you think are necessary." I lean closer. "{yellow}I have lists{/}. {yellow}Names{/}. {yellow}Faces{/}. {yellow}Times{/}. {yellow}Dates{/}. {yellow}Photographs and camera footage{/}. {yellow}Step out of line again and I will make this country a republic, {yellow}French style{/}, am I clear{/}?"

"{yellow}Yes{/}. {yellow}Yes, you're clear{/}."

I lean back. "Good. Enjoy your sandwich, Madam Chairwoman."

10th January
10:04 GMT -2

The Triton civil servant bows his head to Diana apologetically. "I'm sorry, Your Highness, but His Excellency has been somewhat delayed."

"What seems to be the problem?"

"Saremites require special equipment to travel at this depth.. and… Well, someone appears to have stolen Prince Or-" Though the effect is rather lost underwater, I flop face first into the surface of the table. "-m's body. The security services are…" He looks past her at me. "Is he alright?"

"Fiiiine."

"Um. Right. Once the theft was discovered and.. you reported that Saremites had been involved in the attack on Themyscira, King Orin ordered us to check all of their equipment and it's.. taken a while."

"Thank you for letting us know. Do you know how much longer the delay will be?"

He shrugs helplessly. "I'll.. see if I can find out for you."

He backs out of the room and with a wave of his hand activates the door mechanism, causing the portal to be blocked by a wall of solid water. Hm, that's new. Diana turns around a little awkwardly in the water, a dim orange glow around her from the environmental shield. "I wonder why someone would-?"

"I thought you told me that resurrection was hard here!"

She blinks in surprise. "It is. I very much doubt-."

"He was in a team with two guys who can resurrect themselves! Orm was an expert battle mage! He probably understands the magics involved in Lazarus Pits better than Ra's did!"

"It's not that simple." I give her a look of utter incredulity. "It may be disturbing to think about, but magic suffused corpses have a number of uses in necromancy."

My face goes back into the table. "This is Atlantis. They'd have more trouble finding a corpse that wasn't suffused with magic."

"That…" She dips her head slightly. "I suppose you could be right. I'll ask Batman to create a list of potential Lazarus Pit locations."

"Does Talia even know whether or not Pits can be created underwater?"

"I doubt it."

"Okay, well, we've got all his equipment, his supporters are either dead or in prison and we know what he looks like. Even if he does come back it shouldn't be that hard to deal with.. him…"

I trail off as I see movement on the other side of the water membrane. Three figures, two large and one smaller, are lurking outside the room. I sit up. Can't hear what they're saying-. The barrier drops and the civil servant waves the other three in.

"Presenting Ambassador Lycorax and... Retinue."

A Saremite with a strong physical resemblance to the warriors who attacked Themyscira shoulders his way through the water into our room, takes a quick look around and then steps aside. There's a slight distortion in the water around his body, presumably both allowing him to exist at this pressure -Sareme is at the bottom of an ocean trench- and move around more easily with a form that looks poorly adapted to aquatic life. Unlike our attackers yesterday he's wearing armour, serious looking armour at that.

The Saremite behind him is much smaller and albino, his large eyes covered with goggles and his skin white and cream. There are what look like ribbons tied around his upper arms, streamers trailing along behind him. He isn't wearing any armour but there is some sort of neck brace looking thing clamped around his neck, covering the area where I would expect his gills to be. He reminds me a little of Abe Sapiens from Hellboy, actually. Another large bodyguard comes in behind and waves the portal closed behind him.

Diana approaches him and bows her head. "Ambassador."

He locks eyes on her face. "Princess. I will be clear from the outset: the ruling council of Sareme had no foreknowledge of the actions of those who attacked your home. So far as we are concerned you are free to dispose of any survivors as you wish. Their fate is of no concern to us."

"We.. had intended to send them back to you once we had some sort of explanation as to why they attacked us."

"If you wish. We will dissect their brains for information and then kill them. Should we learn anything pertinent we will inform you."

Diana recoils slightly. "That seems rather severe."

"They are criminals and outcasts. We don't make a point of hunting such people down but we will not protect them from the consequences of their actions."

Diana moves away slightly, coming around to my side of the table. "Please, take a seat." The first bodyguard moves over and pulls one out for him. I note that none of them are really swimming as such, being content to walk along the lower surface. Lycorax lowers himself delicately into the chair and Diana sits down next to me. "Would you have any objection to us keeping hold of them?"

"If you wish, do so. Their lives have no value to us."

"Why do you say that?"

"They are Oceanus worshippers. Water breathers. They have made-" Wait a second, water breathers? Ring, scan. "-themselves anathema to us."

"Ooh." He turns his head to look at me. "I'm.. sorry, I'd rather got the impression that you were altered Humans."

He leans back in his chair, his chin jutting forwards for a moment. "A common enough misconception."

Diana frowns. "The people who attacked Themyscira had gills."

"With the gas mix and density we use in Sareme it is far easier to breathe with gills. Our distant forebears were amphibious, the gene surgery required was slight. The.. Trench Cultists replace them with Atlantean style gills."

"Do you have any idea where they might have gone?"

"No. As I said, we do not concern ourselves with them. The.. oceans, are vast."

"Do you know of them having any previous contact with Circe or Scylla?"

"We have little engagement with Atlantis and none with the shallows. They may have done. Certainly, we have no knowledge of it if they did."

"Do you recognise-" I create an image of the object Mister Sorrow took. "-this?"

He studies the image for a moment. "It looks a little like a vault key. Did you check for neutrino circuitry?"

"Ahh… No. What's a vault key?"

"My people's civilisation once controlled the surface of the world. The vaults were where we stored our equivalent of schizotech. If that is what it is I have no idea how it came into your hands."

"Do you know what might be in the vault?"

"None. Given the time that has passed I would be surprised if it still existed. Even more so if whatever was inside still functioned."

"Events do rather suggest that the trench people know something we don't."

"Perhaps. Is there anything else? I am needed to deal with more of King Orin's baseless accusations concerning the theft of his treacherous brother's remains."

"You said your people ruled the surface, but I have never heard of you." Diana pauses for a moment. "When was this?"

"Something in the region of nine hundred thousand years ago. Sareme was the deepest of our aquatic settlements. One day my distant forebears received emergency orders from our capital to shut down all operations and enter suspended animation. They did so and awaited reactivation. When the first of them were finally awoken, millennia had passed and the suspension system was undergoing mechanical failure. They restored it as best they could and -since the standard wait period had already elapsed- attempted to make contact. They could not. Eventually they sent probes to one of the shallow colonies only to find it had been destroyed. From what remained they were able to determine that the rest of our civilisation had suffered a similar fate."

"Was there a violent conflict?"

"With whom? We were supreme on this world, and unified in ourselves. The possibility of alien visitors was considered but really we have no useful evidence. In an attempt to avoid contact with whatever power destroyed us we remained isolated until comparatively recently, when the Atlanteans made contact with us."

"Nine hundred thousand..?"

"At the time Sareme was only a small research settlement, not designed to sustain itself without resupply. The first generation were forced to spend a significant proportion of the time in stasis to preserve resources and to avoid the possibility of attracting whoever killed the rest of our species. They could not even try to contact other survivors in case that doomed all those who remained. Later… After adapting ourselves… We were no longer the people who had left the surface." He rises to his feet. "If there is nothing else?"

Diana shakes her head. "No, thank you."

He turns to leave, his bodyguard once again taking station fore and aft.

Something destroyed a world spanning civilisation and now the bad guys have one of their keys. That isn't ominous at all.

10th January
19:54 GMT

I take another sip from my glass and take another look around the pub. I -very vaguely- remember there being a pub in Hellblazer that was destroyed by arsonists. Being Hellblazer, the result was the ghosts of the proprietress and her late husband taking revenge on those responsible until John talked them out of it. Did they rebuild it afterwards? Place looks fairly new, though I haven't seen any poltergeist activity as yet.

"You wanna go easy on that stuff, mate."

I raise my glass to the grinning barman. "Don't worry, I know my limits."

"Yeah mate." He grins at me for a moment longer and then heads towards the other end of the bar to serve another customer. Friendly enough chap, though in the old days I'd probably have found his tattoos and piercings a bit unnerving. I'm wearing a vest and the tattoos on my own arms are on display so.. maybe he thinks that we're part of the same tribe or something?

"Hitting the hard stuff, are we?"

I turn to my left. John's sporting a bandage over his nose but otherwise doesn't look too much the worse for wear. Ribs.. cracked rather than broken. "They don't serve milk here." He starts to smirk as he moves his eyes from my first empty orange juice glass to the second and then the one I'm holding. "Plus, I didn't know exactly when you were turning up. Can I assume that if I can't detect you any more Nabu didn't have any better luck?"

He takes a moment to look around the interior of the pub. "Nah. Givin' people like Nabu the run around's part of my job, isn't it?"

"No, it's… A bit of a shame, really." He frowns for a moment, then turns his expression to one of amused incredulity. "I mean, I assume Mister Zatara's a bit more up to speed with your tricks." His face relaxes and he nods. "Alright, where do you want-. Oh, sorry, what are you drinking?"

"Oi, Keith! Pint of Carling." Keith the barman looks around from the young woman he's chatting to and gives John a wave. "In your own time, then." Keith nods, then turns back to his conversational partner. "Friggin… Come on, let's grab a booth."

I get up off my stool and follow him over to a booth in the far corner. John gets friendly waves and salutations from the other patrons. I suppose this must be his local and I wouldn't be surprised to learn that he spends quite a bit of time in here. He takes the seat on the far side, the one that gives him a view of the whole room and affords him an unobstructed dive to the fire exit. I sit down opposite and set down my glass. "Don't I.. remember something about this place burning down?"

He nods, looking past me towards the bar. "Yeah. Got the bastard who paid the thugs who did it to pay to have it rebuilt. Course, the sodding ponce couldn't resist tarting it up a bit…" He looks around the whole of the room, studying it in detail. "Did an alright job I suppose. Old place could probably have done with a bit of paint."

"And the ghosts of the former..?"

He wrinkles his nose. "They tend to stay quiet unless someone gets a bit rowdy. Best way, really." I nod. "What'd you get up to on Themyscira, then?"

"Pledged my allegiance to Eris, persuaded Hera to divorce Zeus, fought a load of fishmen led by a former silent film star who's merged with an eldritch abomination,-" He's starting to look torn between incredulity and amusement. "-found out that the Amazons can mass produce mithril and orichalcum and have a room temperature super conductor, nearly got the shit scared out of me by you-" That does get a chuckle. "-and impregnated-."

"Bullshit."

"No, really." I hold out the left ring. "It's a simple-."

"No. You and Eris, sure. Oh-" Keith puts a pint down in front of him. "-cheers, mate."

"You wanna watch this one, John. Bet he's a mean drunk."

"Actually, I'm a sleepy drunk."

"Just don't leave your glass unattended, John. Bloke like you can't be too careful."

John rolls his eyes. "Push off back to the bar, you nonce." Keith has another chuckle at my expense before leaving us in peace. John takes a careful sip from his pint and then puts it back down. "You and Eris? Yeah. Bit surprised about you picking any god, but no sense turning down help."

"I actually met her. You know, in person."

"Explains the divorce thing. Hera's got more cause than most to tell her man to sling his hook. Weird fights? Sure. I was there for the Nazis and Vikings. The magic metals are a bit of a stretch-." I drop small disc shaped samples of each onto the table in front of him. He looks at them for a moment before sweeping them into his coat pocket with his right hand. "What do they do?"

"I don't really know. I'm going to drop off some samples to Sephtian tomorrow and try and get an appointment with Ted Kord next week."

"Who?"

"Head of Kord Tech. Super conductors are a technology thing rather than a magic thing. Probably… I don't think it has anything to do with our project."

He nods. No need to spell it out. "But that last one. You're not a bad looking bloke and they haven't seen a man for hundreds of years. I could see some of them bein' interested, I just don't see you jumping into bed with them."

"Never said I made them pregnant by me. A power ring can merge genetic material-."

He grins. "Yeah, that sounds more like it. How many went for it?"

"Just one couple, but I'm going back later this week and there might be more people who are interested."

He leans forward. "I got t' ask, on behalf of men everywhere: are they all just into girls, or…"

I shake my head. "I didn't ask. There are a lot of married women on the island and no men. They don't actually have a tradition of heterosexual marriage… Though they do have polygamy."

He takes another gulp as he works out how to respond. "Blimey." He pauses for a moment. Is he trying to imagine..? "Right, on to more serious stuff. How long have you known about the Beast for?"

"Years." He looks decidedly unimpressed. "If I'd known it was happening-."

"Let's just not worry about that." He pauses again. "If.. I hadn't talked to you..?"

"The Beast would have killed the Shadow Dog and transferred itself into the collective unconscious of humanity, gaining the ability to take control of anyone. It then started killing people for fun. You killed yourself so it couldn't read your mind and used the wood you took from Eden to give Swamp Thing the ability-."

"How bad?"

"The worst general outcome of anything you've ever done."

He nods solemnly. "Anything else coming up?"

"Chas's granddaughter gets her soul yoinked by a demon who holds it hostage to manipulate you into killing its competition."

"Geraldine's nine."

"It may not happen. I did say." He nods. "Plus I gave the whole family wards for Christmas. I remember her having a daughter inadvisably young… May want to give Mister Chandler a nudge about that."

"I best not. Anything more near by?"

"Dark Druid might have something to do with Nekron and the Black Lanterns. Those are.. super zombies armed with power rings." I sigh. "And I found out this morning that the fishmen I fought on Saturday are descended from a civilisation that was probably wiped out by the Sheeda."

"Fairies?"

"No, the inhabitants of Earth in the far future. Some of them look a bit like fairies and they can use magic… They loot past civilisations to keep their own going." I think for a moment. "There are other things, but those are the ones I've had warning signs about. Do you want more detail on those, or shall I just keep talking about stuff like that in general?"

He shakes his head. "No rush mate. Best not to miss anything out."

{red}12th January
15:26 GMT -6{/}

"Can't believe they made two of them." Ms Wor-Ul leans back against her kitchen table watching Kon and Match get to work on dinner. Match is chopping some sort of Kryptonian tuber and Kon is pressing a nut like fruit for its oil. "Are you sure there aren't any more?"

"I'm sure there aren't any more in Cadmus."

"Hm." She glances at me and then goes back to watching the lads. "After your first visit I started actually paying attention to the news. There's that guy in Fawcett City-."

"Captain Marvel. Empowered by a magician. No heat vision."

"Icon."

"Terminian. His original form wasn't even humanoid."

"Anyone else?"

"Phantom Zone prisoners." She curls the left side of her lip. "Maybe a few like yourself, though if they exist I don't know where they are. Perhaps Kara Zor-El…"

She shifts her weight slightly and rolls her eyes. "More El's. Great. Just what we need."

Match looks up. "Hey!"

The Sub Commander straightens slightly, glaring at him. "{green}Back to work, soldier{/}." Match gets a truculent look, then makes eye contact with Kon for a moment before returning his attention to deseeding. I've noticed that he appears to be far less into the whole 'Kryptonian' thing than his brother. Certainly he point blank refuses to be called Match-El.

"Ever regret not having your own.. soldiers?"

She snorts. "Hardly."

"Because it wouldn't take too much effort for me to create a Kryptonian sperm-."

"Stop talking if you want to live." Match smirks, glances at her and then straightens his face.

"Hush tube working out alright for you?" She grunts. "And the new armour?"

"It doesn't move quite right. I feel the resistance whenever I move my arms over my head." She pauses. "Tough though. And I think it's faster in the air than my old gear."

Hmm. I had been trying to create something that would mesh with Kryptonian nuclear force control in the same way Apokoliptian armour does with a god's divine resistance. Seems that I'm not quite there yet. The Sub Commander grudgingly allowed me to access her database in return for first dibs and having her available to Guinea Pig is no bad thing. "I'll work on the articulation system some more. No problem with the altered sunstones?" She shakes her head. "I should have something for you next week." She nods. "You really think you need it?"

"I'm still alive because I never assumed that I didn't." She looks pensive for a moment. "If you do find any-." She suddenly winces, an action mirrored by Kon and Match. "Oh, not again! Can't you people get phones!?"

{orange}Ring, what does Luthor want this time{/}?

{orange}"-the mechanism, Brothers, but I must ask for your assistance."{/} That's not Luthor. That's Dubbilex. I know he has undetectable access to telecommunications, I installed the system myself. Oh, right, Kon and Match left their phones behind to avoid having them tracked. {orange}"There is someone in Project Cadmus who would like to meet you. Please pay us a visit when you have the time."{/}

There's a slight ring as the message ends. Kon and Match both look at me. Ring, {orange}where's Kal-El{/}?

{orange}Kal-El is presently located in the offices of the Daily Planet newspaper.{/}

So he heard that. I suppose they don't have Luthor's monitoring system. Either that or this is really urgent. "I can go and see what that was about. You can stay here."

Match puts his knife down. "I'll come with." He looks to Kon for approval. "He did ask for us."

"You go on. I'll stay."

"Imagine that, an El wandering off rather than sticking at the job he's got." Match looks at her with self conscious awkwardness. Ms Wor-Ul has developed a bit of a thing about him being a full blooded El, hasn't she? She waves her right hand. "Go. Just don't lead anyone back here."

Match comes out from behind the work surface as I {orange}signal{/} the Hush Tube below us to open a portal to Titan and {orange}extend{/} an environmental shield around him. We stride through, {orange}shut the portal down{/} and then {orange}transition{/} back to the middle of the Australian bush before opening a Boom Tube to the Mountain's hangar.

{red}12th January
16:29 GMT -5{/}

We've completely replaced both Zeta Tubes in here with Hush Tube generators, though the upstairs Zeta Tubes are still in place. I wanted to modify the system further, to make one tube that could fit the Bio-Ship. So far Batman's not convinced. I tried to sweeten the deal by offering to install one in the Watchtower but if anything that seemed to make him even more cautious. Oh well, his loss.

"Hey, um…" I look at Match. "Did you get in any trouble with Mom about that British Parliament thing?"

"Oh, don't worry about it. Having to deal with the committee was supposed to be the punishment but.. you just have to know how to talk to these people. It was actually quite a productive meeting." Denied the ability to score points off me, Missus Abbott decided to sound off about vigilante accountability and organisation in general. Not that she dared while I was in the interviewee chair but I don't think that Sir Cyril had a particularly fun time of it later. I wonder if she knows about Chester and company? "And Diana knows that what we did was necessary. Hush Tube, take us to Genomorph City!"

A distortion appears in the air, then stabilises into a portal into the cavern's embarkation area. I see Dubbilex, a couple of G-Elves and a Genomorph type I don't recognise. What would it be I wonder? A G-Dryad for gardening? A G-Naiad for environmental regulation? He had spoken admiringly of M'gann's multifaceted abilities, so perhaps a phasing G-Wraith? A shapeshifting G-Doppleganger? A telepathic illusion casting G-Shee? I snort with amusement at the idea as I wave Match forwards, then stride through the Tube myself.

"Brother. Grayven."

"Hey Dubbilex." Match nods at the new Genomorph. "Who's this?"

Now I get a closer look at it I see a marked resemblance to Dubbilex himself. The new Genomorph is a little shorter and her… Not strictly her, Genomorphs don't have reproductive organs, but the general appearance is more rounded and feminine than most Genomorphs. Her horns are thinner and curved rather than thick and kinked as his are. Her ears point up slightly more than his do and where he has long dangling protrusions from the rear of his jaw she has tiny horn stubs. There's also a bit more flesh to her as opposed to Dubbilex's lanky body shape. I think her eye orbits are a little larger as well. She's wearing the same type of white overalls as Dubbilex, but cut in a slightly more feminine shape. As I study her, her right ear flicks nervously.

Dubbilex gestures to her. "This is Ixy, one of our new generation G-Goblins."

Match smiles at her. "Hey Ixy. Wait, Ixy as in X Y?"

She smiles at him. Ah, flexible facial features! Good move. **Yes, Brother. I have been engineered with improved empathic understanding and my physical features have been redesigned with the intent of provoking a less hostile response from any Humans I may encounter.** Her mental voice certainly sounds feminine to me. She takes a step forwards. **What do you think?**

**I'm not really much of a judge. Grayven? What do you think?**

"Masterful." I look at Dubbilex, grin on my face. "You've bred a PR specialist."

"In a manner of speaking."

"You've even made her cute." She doesn't manage to blush, but she looks down slightly and wiggles her tail. Oh, the Japanese are going to love you. Perhaps even in a way that isn't eighteen rated.

"There is more to.. her than that, but it is our hope that when the time is right Ixy and those like her will be able to serve as ambassadors to the outside world."

Match nods. **Okay, so what do you need help with?**

**To fully develop my abilities I have to spend time around Humans.** She blinks. **And people who are like Humans. We were hoping I could spend some time in your Mountain with you and your friends.**

**Um, I don't know. I mean, I think it sounds like a good idea but I'm not sure Batman would be okay with it.**

"Oh, come now. The Genomorphs already know where it is and who lives there. And who would they tell?"

**I know, but…** He turns back to Dubbilex. **I'll ask our superiors. I should be able to get you an answer by Sunday, one way or another.**

**Thank you, Brother. Your help will be invaluable.**

I {orange}reopen{/} the Hush Tube behind us as Dubbilex and his escort turn to leave. Ixy hesitates for a moment and then darts forwards to hug Match around the chest before scurrying after them.

"Huh."

I look at the departing G-Goblins with a frown. "Let me get this straight: they called the male seeming one Double X... And her.. X Y. Do you think that maybe they aren't as good at genetics as we thought?"

{red}13th January
21:13 GMT -5{/}

I watch from across the training area as Match explains the situation with the Genomorphs to Batman. I get a brief glare when Batman hears how much technology I've been supplying them with but he can't complain too much about that, not after he was complicit in their continued enslavement. Kon and Diana are standing with Match for moral support but this is very much his.. thing. I hadn't appreciated quite how strongly he feels about the Genomorph situation, not until he asked me to help him go over the arguments he'd need to make to convince Batman to let Ixy join us. I really don't know how Batman will respond to the idea.

How do I want him to respond? Hmm. A second telepath would be useful, certainly more useful than another brawler. I doubt that she'd be a security risk; the only people she would be in communication with would be the other Genomorphs and I'm struggling to come up with a situation where they'd be at odds with us. No. Orange light. How do I {orange}want{/} the Genomorphs to respond to me? Direct access to Ixy would allow me to shape their relationship with Humans far better than my occasional visits to their city. As far as I know my telepathic shields are good enough to keep her out so there's little risk of her hearing something inopportune. If they're not, what might she hear? I've already told the Genomorphs that I'm not helping them out of the goodness of my heart. I don't have any plans to misuse them. I am interested in whether they are compatible with the Terrors' Formula or not but that's hardly anything to be afraid of. Infiltration risk? Hardly. The Hush Tube they've already got would allow them access to the Mountain. If they tried using it like that it would alert me but so far they haven't. Improved relations with Humans in general might end up reducing my influence a little… No. I don't need to control every little thing they do. I'm not like Fath-.

I squeeze my eyes shut and rub my brow with my right hand. No. My father is a college biology teacher from Ipswich. Colin John Flockton Surname-I-Can't-Think. My mother's name is Linda Barbara Surname-I-Can't-Think. I come from a parallel Earth, Earth Prime. This is getting tiresome. I can barely believe that I didn't notice until that rant on Themyscira! That shouldn't have happened, I shouldn't… Ugh, it's like when I started out with the ring. I have to watch every little thing I think… I'm not sure that the little mental slip I just had was Father Box's fault, or if so whether it was deliberate or a simple consequence of my desire for Grayven's -actual Grayven's- more beneficial characteristics. Pretending to be him is no great burden but I don't want to start remembering his life as my own! I concentrate for a moment on some of my older memories: playing Off The Wall at my Primary School, that time I took the schmuck bait and guessed my Secondary School art teacher's age in her hearing. My Granny's d-. Agh, no, not Heggra. My Granny's Chihuahua, Fang.

I turn away from my team mates and elders and walk down the corridor towards the kitchen. I'm going to have to incorporate some technique for reminding myself who I really am into my meditations. And I'm going to {green}have{/} to come up with some way to tell {violet}Jade{/}. She must have noticed the inconsistencies in my story: a bastard son of an alien tyrant whose parents had been married for thirty three years after a seven year courtship! Lying to her, that's just.. {violet}wrong{/}. Like-. Like Darkseid's relationship with Suli, one person with whom you can just be yourself and {violet}not worry about it coming back at you{/}. She told me that she'd be on some sort of mission until next weekend at least, but perhaps I can create or locate some sort of observation proof zone in the mean-.

"Grayven." Tao slows, walking down the corridor towards me.

I give him a polite smile. "Tao. What can I do for you?"

"I wondered..?" He frowns slightly and takes a deep breath. "I have been spending a great deal of my time in this mountain of late. Now that I have finished my reading material…" He looks down and shakes his head slightly. "Is there..?" Another pause. "Would you please tell me how to apply for field assignments?"

I face shrug. "Field assignments? Do you mean missions?"

"No. I understand that it is Batman who determines the parameters of our missions as a team. But, Kid Flash frequently accompanies the Flash, Robin is mentored by Batman and.. most of our other team mates have similar arrangements. You do not appear to work with Wonder Woman but nonetheless you have official tasks to perform. Is there a list I should put my name on?"

"No, there's no list. I.. don't think the things I do are official. I just decide to do things and then do them."

He frowns in puzzlement, tilting his head slightly to the side. "Then how do you know they are the things you are supposed to be doing?"

We stare at each other for a moment. "Tao, I think this is part of a larger discussion we should have had some time ago." I walk up to him and put my right arm around his shoulders, leading him back towards the kitchen. "Do you mean to tell me that you're not getting missions from the Great Ten?"

"No. I stopped receiving work assignments once my transfer was complete. I can be recalled, but unless I am I will receive no routine tasks from China."

"I hadn't realised."

"My superiors want for me to be the first Chinese member of the Justice League. It was felt necessary to show the existing members that I would cooperate with them above short term nationalistic calls on my loyalties."

I nod and gesture for him to take a seat at the dining area table. He does so, looking at me expectantly. "Okay. I'm just going to throw stuff out here. If anything confuses you, ask, okay?" He nods. "In America, if you wear a funny costume and don't actually kill anyone, you can pretty much walk into any city and start beating up criminals.. and no one will mind." His mouth opens slightly in shock. I wave my right hand at him. "I know. I know. Sounds ridiculous, but there it is. Most members of the Justice League started out like that, it's a tradition going back to Hugo Danner in nineteen ten. It's just how things work here. If you're going to spend significant time in any one city it's worth setting up a line of communication with local authorities but you're not actually obliged to do what they say." His mouth is still open and now he's leaning forwards slightly. I think his eyes are glazed over. "Tao, it can hardly be a surprise that the Chinese Government is rather controlling. America prides itself on granting its citizens great personal freedom-."

"But that is absolute anarchy!" He looks physically pained. "Why does the government not.. not at least organise things?"

"Habit. Plus, the current system is quite popular with the public at large. And it's cheap. Never underestimate the American public's unwillingness to pay taxes. It's this sort of 'can do' attitude which is why the Justice League is largely American. Don't wait for the police; put on your pyjamas and a tiny mask and bring the ne'er-do-wells down yourself!"

"I see." He looks aside as he considers the situation. "I am.. unused to working in that way." He looks up at me hopefully. "Is there some guidance on which city would be an appropriate choice?"

"Think you may be missing the point a bit there."

"I cannot just.. turn up somewhere! That would be a completely irresponsible way to behave!"

{orange}"Incoming transmission."{/}

A phone construct appears in my left hand. "I'm really sorry, Tao, but I need to take this."

He gets up out of his chair a little unsteadily. "I will.. think on what you have said."

I nod and smile before raising the construct to my ear and creating a sound deadening field around my head. "This is Grayven."

"You bin bein' a naughty boy?"

I smile. "Chester, me ol' mucker. Whatever gave you that idea?"

"Some fancy lad from the Home Office came down here. They want me to come up with a way to top yeh. Is there something you want to tell me, mate?"

"I might have let the British government know that I had some truly class A blackmail material on.. pretty much everyone in high public office."

"How good we talking here?"

I {orange}look around{/} to ensure that no one is close enough to hear me. "Want to see a video of Danielle Goldsmith fisting a donkey?"

"Augh. I didn't need that in me head." There's a slight pause and I imagine him blinking heavily, unable to prevent himself imagining it. "I don't think they call me in over a few dirty magazines. They've got that Cyril twit fer that."

"Oh, there's more serious stuff. The highlights include kidnapping, paedophilia, foul magics, murder and cannibalism."

"Fook.. me. Don't do things by half, do yer?"

"I just used the threat to get an edge… To be honest I'm probably going to end up releasing it anyway once I'm sure it'll stick." I think for a moment. Chester does -in his own imprecise and rather bloodthirsty way- try and focus on targets who more or less deserve it. How does he weigh things? Do I count? He knows exactly what sort of person I am from our early sessions. On the other hand… "So. Are you actually going to have a go?"

"You're just scared because you know I'm not like those pansies you usually hang around with."

"True. I'm not completely sure I could beat you." I'm really not. Given his visible frustration when he lost the ability to make me soil myself I'm going to assume that he wasn't faking, but that took everything I could. His telekinetic power is incredible. In a fight, even if he didn't get the drop on me? Dodgy one. "On the other hand, iff.. some of the people on this list suffered.. unexpected strokes…"

He pauses a moment before responding. "Wouldn't want anything like that to happen, would we? Best you send everything you've got over to me so I can keep an eye on the wankers."

{red}14th January
16:57 GMT -5{/}

Kaldur smiles down at our new mountainmate. "Now that you have been fully introduced-."

"We need to find you something else to wear." M'gann looks over Ixy's overalls with barely concealed distaste.

Ixy turns slightly to meet M'gann's eyes, blinking twice. Her tail swings from side to side. It functions almost perfectly as an indicator of her mood, a trait I can only assume is designed to enhance her earnest appearance. Slow swings indicate uncertainty or nervousness. Straight with tremors indicates excitement, curling up around her own legs or torso indicates genuine fear. Batman didn't warrant that when he interviewed her in person. She seemed to find him fascinating, though I'm going to assume from the fact that she's here that she managed to restrain her impulse to probe him telepathically. Red Tornado on the other hand had her hiding behind Match. Probably the first time she met someone whose mind she couldn't feel.

**Are my clothes wrong? If they are I am very sorry but we do not have any Genomorph tailors yet.** Ixy pulls the bottom of her t-shirt out to take a look at it. **These are a spare set that were issued to Dubbilex and then altered to my dimensions by a G-Dwarf.**

Artemis nods. "Yeah, we could tell."

Zatanna looks thoughtful. "The clothing stores in Happy Harbor should still be open. I could put a disguise spell on you-."

Ixy's eyes widen and she shakes her head. And her upper body as well. Articulation problem, perhaps? Or maybe she just wants to be extremely vehement. **Oh no, I am not ready for that level of societal immersion yet. Could I not just take them off?** For a moment no one says anything. **Most Genomorphs do not wear clothes and-** She goes to pull the shirt up higher. **-my epidermis is nearly as resilient as that of the G-Elves.**

**No.** M'gann steps right up to her and pushes her arms down in a friendly but firm manner. **Clothes… With Humans, clothes are kind of mandatory.**

**{blue}Thank you{/}.** I notice Ixy's tail snake around M'gann's leg. **I hope you do not mind helping me not to make silly mistakes.**

**Of course not. I still remember what it was like being around Humans for the first time.**

**You mimic them very well. I want to learn as well as you have.** Ixy sounds earnest while M'gann suddenly looks a little less certain. She has long since internalised Human body language and facial expression. Is Ixy implying that she thinks M'gann merely pretends..? Or that Ixy would merely be pretending?

"Why don't you come to my house?" Ixy and M'gann look at Zatanna. "It's just me and my dad, and I've got a ton of clothes I've grown out of but never got around to throwing out. I'm sure we can find something that fits you."

Ixy beams. **Thank you. I would like that very much!**

Miss Ervin raises her right eyebrow. "Don't you live in a haunted house?"

"Shadowcrest isn't haunted." A sly smile appears on Zatanna's face. "We keep all our ghosts carefully contained in clearly marked rooms. You can all read Enochian, right?"

**I am not afraid of ghosts.** Ixy blinks, then looks down as she thinks for a moment. Once she has a conclusion she looks straight at Zatanna. **What are ghosts?**

"We can show you when we get there. Hsuh Ebut emoh."

The shimmering portal appears and Wallace looks around the group. "'kay, so, we all relocating to-?"

Artemis pokes him in the stomach as the female members of the team head through the Tube. "Girls only, Wally."

Ixy smiles winsomely at her escort as she is carried along. **Strictly speaking, Genomorphs do not have gender. We reproduce using-.** Her mental voice cuts out as the Tube closes.

Tao watches the space where the Tube disappeared. "She seemed friendly. Will she be joining us on missions?"

Kaldur glances at Robin for a moment. "That has yet to be determined." He transfers his attention to Match. "Match, what else can you tell us about her?"

"She's a telepath and a telekinetic. Actually, I don't think I've heard her speak with her mouth yet." He looks at me. "She can, can't she?"

I tilt my head to the right slightly. "So far as I can determine, yes. She has vocal cords and the nerves that would be required to use them."

Richard frowns. "You said you told Dubbilex that he should make more G-Goblins back in December, right?"

"Yes." I think back for a moment. "I think I also suggested that we could host her here."

Wallace spots the implication. "They grew her in a month?"

Match nods. "Genomorphs can grow pretty quickly, and since they learn telepathically they don't need to spend a whole lot of time growing up. I know-" He glances at Kon. "-we didn't."

Kaldur looks unconvinced. "I realize that you and Kon were capable fighters immediately after you left your pods, but she seems far less robust than you."

Kon shrugs. "She's got the same strength and agility as G-Elves, and Dubbilex told Match that they used the G-Gnomes to give her their skills as well. She's not as tough as we are but she can still fight."

"Perhaps we can use this weekend to put her through her paces."

Richard shakes his head. "I don't think we'll have the chance. Batman said something about wanting us to spend this weekend helping him investigate some new meta drug Kobra's been using."

Wallace punches the air. "First real mission of the year!"

I rub my chin with my right hand. "We might be able to bring her along anyway. Her telepathy has a decent range to it. As long as she avoids direct combat…"

Kaldur nods. "Perhaps. I will wait until Batman informs us of the nature of our part in the investigation before deciding."

Richard looks at me suspiciously. "How come you're being so nice about her?"

"I'm not sure what you mean."

Kon frowns, then nods. "He's got a point. You were pretty rude to people on Themyscira."

"I didn't sugar coat what I told them, if that's what you mean."

"Zeus shot you with lightning." That gets a few stares. Thanks, Match.

"The Genomorphs are a fascinating species. Biologically task adapted bodies with a gestalt consciousness? Themyscira's done basically nothing but rest on its laurels for two thousand years. The Genomorphs build their own city -and developed the ability to live independently- in a few months." I pause for a moment, wondering how to continue. "Though.. I'll confess… I do have another motive."

Richard snorts. "Big surprise."

I look directly at him. "Did you ever wonder where the Genomorphs came from?"

Wallace looks around the group. "Ahh, Gray? It's called Cadmus?"

I shake my head. "Everything I know about Human technology tells me that you aren't anywhere near advanced enough to create an entirely original species, let alone one with the abilities which the Genomorphs possess. At first I thought that perhaps they were heavily modified Humans.. or metahumans. But that's not it. I've checked. Your two species share some organic chemistry but you're not related. Not in any significant respect, anyway."

Kaldur frowns. "Atlantean biomancers are capable of performing significant alterations to existing species. My friend Blubber does not look Human."

"I can always tell. To a power ring Atlanteans scan as Human. In the case of plexed lifeforms I can pick out the DNA of the constituent parts. No, Genomorphs are new. Original." I sigh. "But… Morrow built A.I.s in the forties. The fact that it doesn't fit the curve doesn't mean that some sufficiently brilliant scientists couldn't have done it. But if so, where are they? I've investigated the people who worked on the Genomorphs in great detail. Intelligent, yes. Leaders in their fields, some. But Morrow was building servo arms in his father's garage when he was nine, none of them show that precocious level of ability. Especially not Doctor Desmond. Maybe they're just better at hiding than I am at finding, but it's far more likely that they got a start from somewhere else. And I'd be {orange}very interested to know where{/}."

{red}15th January
06:58 GMT -5{/}

"I was thinking.. perhaps… Star City?" Tao and I walk towards the training area for the scheduled seven o'clock briefing by Batman. "I believe that I would feel better about the situation if I had.. a degree of oversight."

"Green Arrow can be a bit competitive and.. Star City actually has a fairly low crime rate."

"It would also be an opportunity for me to gain experience in working alongside Artemis."

I flash him a grin. "Is that what the kids are calling it these days?"

He frowns slightly. "Calling.. what?"

I snort and shake my head. "Tao, if you want to go to Star City, do it. Green Arrow will probably be fine with that. He may even offer to show you around himself."

"I think I would prefer that."

"And he can chaperone the two of you so her mother doesn't get worried."

"Um. That… I… Ahh..."

I pat him on the back with my right arm. "I had access to the Watchtower's internal monitoring at New Year. Quick work."

"Oh. I.. was.. not sure it was appropriate."

"No rule against it. And -come on- you've seen M'gann and Kon together."

He nods, managing a small smile. Ahead, I see Rocket emerge from a Hush Tube and walk over to join our other teammates. Looks like it'll be a full line up. Richard will be arriving with Batman and we're including the Sphere and Mister Tawny. Oh, no, silly me. Nearly full; and I haven't seen Red Arrow since New Year. Not that I think for a moment that we'll miss having a mundane pointy stick launcher guy on the team.

Interesting to see that William's coming along on this one. He was a little concerned when he discovered that the Apokoliptian armour I made for him was capable of making the transition from William Batson to Captain Marvel mode. He seems to think it makes him look a bit too grim, plus it creates an obvious visual link between William the boy and Marvel the superhero. Maybe I could try making him a suit with the main colour being red rather than grey? No, the visual link would still be there.

"Hey Tao."

"Artemis." Tao walks past me as I slow and takes up position next to her. Nearly next to her at least, he's left a respectful and proper space between them. She looks at him, then at it, then grins a grin I know well from Jade before closing the gap herself, intentionally bumping into him. For a moment the superfunctionary who's killed fifteen men that I know about is replaced by a chess club nerd working up courage to ask out a cheerleader. Oh, she's going to have fun with him.

Mister Tawny looks around as I take a position on the near side, next to Match and Kon and slightly behind Ixy. With twelve of us on the team -thirteen if Ixy joins the mission, fifteen if we count the Sphere and Mister Tawny- we're starting to get to the point where we become a little unwieldy. Alternate team leader tryouts are scheduled… Had been scheduled for today, though they'll have to be moved to next weekend now. Still not sure if I want to go for it or not. I like my team mates but I'm not sure that I see a place for myself as part of a training team going forwards, to say nothing of the time I intend to spend away from Earth. On the other hand, would me not taking part turn it into a sham? I have the skills these days, as well as the strength of personality. Making the team's token evil teammate the overall leader would be unthinkable, but as second in command? That could work. Have to ask the others-.

"Recognised, Batman, zero two, Robin, B zero one."

Tao and William come to attention and the rest of us straighten a little as well. Even Mister Tawny adopts a more alert posture. Richard walks over to take up position on the opposite end of the line to me while Batman strides to the fore, summoning a holoscreen of police -Gotham police by the looks of things- escorting some people in Kobra Cult robes into a police van.

"Earlier this week I located a Kobra cell setting up in one of the Joker's former chemical plants in Gotham City. They appeared to be working on production of both Kobra Buster and a new substance."

An image of a labelled vial of the stuff and another of its chemical structure flash up. {orange}Ring, analyse{/}.

{orange}By your command.{/}

In my mind's eye the ring shows me-. Oh, that's a little worrying.

"The substance appeared to grant its users enhanced endurance and healing abilities. Fortunately Robin and I were able to intervene before they could try combining it with Kobra Buster."

Wallace is staring intently at the molecular structure. "Do we know where they got it from?"

"The substance shares a number of similarities with a commonly used anti-miscarriage drug treatment which retails under the name 'Unception'. It's widely used across North America, Central America and in Europe."

I shake my head. "With respect sir, the drug you encountered sounds far more like Argonate."

Wallace's eyes widen as he recognises the name. "The explosive cancer drug? I thought that got banned!"

Batman gazes at me levelly for a moment before moving his eyes over the rest of the team. "It was, and the few remaining stocks are kept in secure locations." The drug actually worked extremely well at its intended role, stabilising and healing mortally injured recipients. Even after General Sunderland's research project crashed and burned and they lost the ability to manufacture more of it the stuff remained in use until one of the recipients suffered a very public adverse reaction. The fact that he'd have died months before anyway without it was rather ignored. "The only group of people who might retain the ability to produce the substance operate out of here." The other images disappear, to be replaced with one of the entrances to-. "Aberrance, Nevada." Haaaaaaaaaaaaaah. {blue}Are we actually{/}-? "It's about sixty miles north west of Las Vegas."

Wallace tilts his head to the side slightly. "Isn't that near the Nevada Test Site?"

Oh, I wouldn't say near exactly.

Batman dips his head slightly. "Aberrance was founded in nineteen ninety five in the grounds of the former Nevada National Security Site and is now home to-."

I can't help myself. "A motley collection of circus freaks, tourists, hangers on and the Uncorporation." I grin. "{blue}Are we really getting sent there{/}?"

Batman pauses for a moment as he regards me. "I take it that you're familiar with the place."

"I'm familiar with everything about it. Including the personal history of the management. I'd be surprised to find that they were working with Kobra though. Doctor.. von Schadel is known for being extremely possessive of his proprietary technologies." Hardly surprising when they are usually extracted from the living bodies of his brethren.

"I agree. It's more likely that Kobra has infiltrated Aberrance, possibly with the assistance of a local contact in Uncorporation itself. The team will travel to Aberrance this morning and attempt to locate the source of the leak while I investigate the possibility that Sunderland or someone associated with his research project is responsible."

"The team is capable of handling that as well." Kaldur looks down the line up. "We easily have sufficient manpower to cover both parts of the mission."

"American authorities are obliged to cooperate with the Justice League on matters of international terrorism. We have protocols in place to allow League members to see classified material. However, those protocols do not cover the team." We avoid looking at William as a minute smile appears under Batman's mask. "Sometimes, acting openly produces the best results. Aberrance opens its front gates to the public at eleven hundred, Mountain Time. You have four hours to plan your mission. Data on the town and on local notables has been added to your database but-" He looks at me again. "-it seems that Grayven may well be a better source."

"Batman?" I look around to where M'gann stands. "Are we able to get access to the prisoners? I could probably get information from them using telepathy."

Richard turns his head aside as Batman calls up a new holoscreen. What is tha-? Oh. Oh dear. It seems that they haven't quite worked out the bugs in their formula. "Unfortunately, none of the prisoners are in a fit state to speak with anyone, and I would not recommend attempting to contact them telepathically."

M'gann nods, visibly shaken.

Miss Ervine's mouth is open. "What.. happened to them?"

"When Robin and I fought them they all injected themselves with the new substance. A few hours later they looked-" Like Un-men. Curious. "-like this. {green}Find{/} the people responsible for this." He makes eye contact with us each once more and then strides away towards the Zeta Tube, leaving us with the image of a sad and broken monster that was once a man.

{red}15th January
07:06 GMT -5{/}

"Recognised, Batman, zero two."

**I do not think Humans are meant to look like that.**

"That man is.. no longer precisely Human." I step around Ixy and look at Kaldur with raised eyebrows. "May I?"

He raises his right hand towards the lecture space. "Please."

Wallace looks at me with concern. "What do you mean, 'no longer precisely Human'?"

I move out in front and {orange}interface{/} the ring with the display. "Where to start. Ah! Kaldur, to the best of your knowledge, who is the greatest biomancer in Human history?"

He thinks for a moment, his eyes unfocusing slightly. "If I were asked in any other circumstances I would have said Ahri'ahn. Presumably you disagree?"

"For those of you who haven't heard of him, Ahri'ahn is the Atlantean magic user who devised -among other things- the biomantic spell which created the first of those who are now called 'Pure Bloods', Atlanteans who are physically identical to surface dwelling Humans but can breathe water and possess enhanced strength and endurance. But he isn't the greatest biomancer ever. He does have a decent claim to be the greatest all round magic user in Human history: he never bartered with any sort of god or spirit for more power, everything he achieved was with the might of his own spirit and that set the tone for Atlantean magic use even to the current day. But though it is biomancy which has become his lasting legacy, it was never really his focus." I bring up a recording I took from a newsreel dating from nineteen thirty seven. A surprise visit to the Hadamar 'clinic' by the man running the Nazi eugenics program. It's the only news footage I've been able to find of-.

Richard frowns. "That's Philipp Bouhler, the Nazi war criminal."

"Yes. Dreadful man." I pause the footage and expand one of the doors behind the area the meet and greet is happening in. A moment later the door is pushed open and an elderly man in a lab coat walks through before realising what is happening and starting to turn around. I freeze the image. "That.. is as far as I can tell the only surviving image of the late and entirely unlamented Doctor Anton Arcane. He was seventy four when this was taken."

Miss Ervine studies the image. "Was he a Nazi?"

"He wore the armband, but the intelligence files I read seemed to indicate a very low political commitment. The NKVD noted after the war that he was authorised to remove the bodies of those who were murdered there so that he could use their organs for research into transplantation. He was actually doing something rather more interesting. Creating life forms." I bring up a new image, showing a few of the first generation Un-Men. "Early Un-Men appear to have simply been sewn together cadavers. Additional joints-" I point one out. "-elongated limbs, novel limb placement… He later moved on to more creative works."

Kaldur is visibly disquieted. "That is.. disturbing, but I do not think it causes him to qualify as the greatest biomancer ever."

"Kaldur, he wasn't working within an existing tradition. Every work of science or magic he used in their creation he had to invent himself from scratch." Though there are similarities between his work and that of Victor Frankenstein. Might be worth further investigation.

"Undead creatures-."

"Ah, but they're not undead. Creatures that are genuinely alive created from the remains of the dead. They breathe, they eat, they excrete… Some of them can even have children."

Miss Ervine is visibly repulsed. "Oh, ew."

"At some point during the seventies Arcane lost a fight with Swamp Thing-" His image from back in the 'shambling moss man' days was easy enough to find. "-and died, leaving his creations directionless. Those who had accompanied him to Louisiana either went into hiding or were picked up by the American military. Perhaps the name 'David Manguy' sounds familiar?" A glimmer of recognition from Richard. Everyone else looks blank. "General Avery Sunderland?" Who was lucky to be allowed to retire. Right up until Swamp Thing planted a rose garden in his chest. "Damien Kane?"

Miss Ervine nods. "I remember hearing about him from Icon. Wasn't there some sort of messed up military experiment that made him mutate into a…" She looks back at the screen, realisation dawning. "One of those."

"Quite the reverse. Damien Kane-" I bring up the before and after images. "-was a second generation Un-Man. Both of his parents were creations of Anton Arcane. Sunderland's people forced them to breed entire batches for them to use as experimental subjects. The researchers were told that they were attempting to find a way to prevent the expression of genetic flaws in developing foetuses. 'Unception' -or at least one of its early forebears- was the result."

Match's face appears to have frozen. "What happened to the others?"

"The attempts of the scientists working on them to halt their mutation failed. They were destroyed in infancy. Damien Kane -not that he had a name until later- received what later became the release version of the drug and remained asymptomatic until he was twenty three."

I shift the image of the first generation Un-Men upwards and create one of all other known second generation Un-Men. Scylla, the vaguely dog-headed Brontes, shockingly tall and thin Daedalus -he had a minor acting career playing Grey type aliens before his death-, the woman with four arms… Never could find out what her name was. And the rest that I'm sure about. Early Aberrance had a fairly good registration process but unlike Aberrance now they didn't particularly care whether a person with deformities was an Un-Man or not.

**What happened when he was twenty three?**

"His body started mutating in earnest, the drugs no longer effective. They never found out why. His handler reported that he was experiencing signs of ill health, he returned to the laboratory where he was created… Doctor Manguy explained his circumstances, then he just.. disappears. He next turns up in Romania, as part of a freak show. He appears to have incited a riot which resulted in the death of the proprietor and most of the guests-" I put some newspaper cuttings up on the holoscreen. "-then returned to the United States with several other second generation Un-Men. Their next action was to attempt to free the first generation Un-Men still in captivity. It.. didn't go particularly well, but the deaths and the publicity the situation attracted were enough to both ensure that the program was shut down and ensure their safety." The simultaneous containment failure from the other part of the research project was rather more dangerous. Arcane created combat 'insectoid' Un-Men as well as simple servitors and the US military had been far more interested in those. Right up until they ate two platoons and demonstrated the ability to convert the fallen into more of themselves.

I add a video clip of one of the television interviews the survivors gave to the holoscreen. "The survivors were given a disused nuclear test site to live on." There's a small intake of breath from my audience. "Not quite as bad as it sounds. Un-Men are far more resistant to being mutated by external forces than baseline Humans. Anyway, Damien Kane became the nominal community leader until…" I add the image of Doctor Otto von Schadel and his.. escort. "A small group of first generation Un-Men who'd avoided detection by the military arrived. They had a rather.. different view of their circumstances. Von Schadel was convinced that Arcane's techniques could be harnessed for the greater good without the monstrosity of the earlier attempts. That might have gone nowhere but for this man. His name is Rupert Jameson, but these days-" I rotate the image so my teammates get a look at his back. "-they go by Janus and Janus Junior."

Wallace gags. "I think I'm going to be sick."

"Janus had money and connections. He turned Aberrance into a circus freak themed theme park while lobbying for all the results of the US military's studies to be signed over to the Un-Men. He's been successful in both endeavours and has been enthusiastically backing Doctor von Schadel's work with Uncorporation ever since."

**Is he an Un-Man? Is that why there is a small man sticking out of his back?**

I bring up an old photograph of Janus with his late wife. "That isn't entirely clear. He certainly used to be Human, but von Schadel's surgical creation of 'third generation' Un-Men suggests that they can integrate Un components into baseline Humans without too much difficulty."

Kaldur shudders. "What has become of Damien Kane?"

"He's dead. Natural causes… Or what passes for natural causes in Un-Men. His mutations broke his body down almost completely. These days Aberrance is a company town firmly under Uncorporation's control and they strongly resent all outside interference. If we want any sort of cooperation, we'll need to convince them that we're people they should want to work with."

"Do you have a way to achieve that?"

I smile, radiating confidence. "Of course I do."

"And what is that?"

I grin. "{orange}Bribery{/}."

{red}15th January
15:16 GMT +3{/}

I stride confidently through the Hush Tube and into the great hall. "Welcome to Castle Arcane."

Zatanna and Richard follow me through as I take a look around. The ceiling has long since caved in and from the looks of it the people from the village below have been looting the tiles employed in its construction. Drifts of snow have built up in places not sheltered by the remaining walls, illuminated by the weak fragments of sunlight able to pierce the stony grey sky. Off to my right the stone is blackened where someone once made a bonfire of wooden furniture. It must have been some time ago; water has gotten to it since and left a trail of black ash across the brickwork where it drained away.

Richard comes up besides me. "You really think we'll find anything here? It's been forty years."

"After his encounter with Swamp Thing, the surviving Un-Men recovered his head and attached it to a new body before using his own techniques to restore him to life. He then took virtually all of them off in pursuit, taking only the equipment they could carry. It was.. months after that when the villagers dared come up here." I take a look around and match what I'm seeing to the description I received. "This way, I think."

I lead the way up some stone steps towards the inner keep, Richard and Zatanna following cautiously behind me. "Htmraw. Dna, eltsac? T'nod espalloc no su." I feel a gust of warm air blow in from behind us. "What makes you think there's anything left here?"

"After that business with The Beast I had a chat with one of Mister Constantine's colleagues, one Nathan Arcane. He's Anton's.. great great nephew. Or something like that. According to him, any really valuable materials would have been disguised by magic. Now, there's a chance we've missed it anyway; this place has been looted three times over."

Richard pokes at a doorframe, which crumbles away at his touch. "I'm surprised there's anything left at all."

"Too much effort to cart the stone down the mountain. But don't let the state of this part of the castle fool you; Arcane's laboratory, workshop, his library and his personal chambers are a good deal further in. When the villagers started looting the place they left those well alone after one of their number stole a silver coloured ring from a cabinet and rotted to death over a period of a week. General Sunderland managed to get an agent up here in the seventies but he could only grab a few of Arcane's books. Nothing that he found particularly helpful. Cooperating with the communist authorities was an impossibility and his project was shut down well before the end of the Cold War."

"And the third time?" I note that he's keeping his voice down slightly, rather than using his slightly raised 'arguing with Grayven' tone.

"Janus led an Uncorporation expedition here in ninety eight. They hired some villagers and carted away the rest of the library. Literally, actually. They couldn't hire a lorry which could handle the load and the mountain track."

"Weren't they a bit freaked out by the little guy?"

"The power of the almighty dollar at work." We come out into another room with a missing roof. From the broken glass underfoot and the iron skeleton above I'm going to assume that it was a glass dome. They probably constructed it up here in the castle's long forgotten heyday. "Janus was more interested in seeing if there were any surviving Un-Men here. He appears to have gone home disappointed."

"After thirty years?"

"Unlikely, I agree, but there were second generation Un-Men in the area when Damien Kane visited. It wasn't impossible that there were others as well. Reuniting the 'Arcanian Diaspora' is one of Uncorporation's goals."

"How many of them are there?"

"No one really knows. Visually, they can look near normal, or like a person with conventional disabilities." I pause, making a show of looking at my own right arm. "Or a metahuman. Or an alien." I look around before starting towards an exit. "The library's through here. Zatanna, feeling anything?"

Her eyes glow faintly gold as she stares through the walls. "There's magic here, but no spells have been cast recently. Are you sure there aren't any booby traps left?"

I push open the door. Wood and iron, it's survived the decades surprisingly well. "Not at all. You'll need to thoroughly study anything we want to take away before we do so." The library's gutted, as expected. Empty bookshelves and cobwebs, the intact roof giving shelter to spiders as it once did scholars. The library used to be on two levels but the upper balcony has crumbled to nothing I'd want to put weight on. All of the desks but one have been shoved to the sides of the room, and that one has two charred skeletons with their hands clamped onto each end. I note that there's also a ring around it into which dust has not intruded.

Richard nods at the remains as I {orange}scan{/} them. "Who were they?"

"Genetics say 'local'. Romanian, at least. Probably from Janus' expedition." Wouldn't hurt… "Zatanna, could you please try removing whatever spell is on that desk?"

She looks at me a little sceptically. "One that was put there by the greatest biomancer ever?"

"I doubt the spell is biomantic. It looks like fire damage." I give her a little smile. "Besides, you shouldn't underestimate your abilities. Not when he's been dead for fifty years."

She carefully approaches the desk, stopping just this side of the line on the floor. "Wohs em siht suoredrum lleps!" The blast of air created by her magecraft pushes the dust away from her as well and a golden triquetra forms as she pushes her right hand towards the invisible barrier. I can just about see the dim outline of the dome around the desk. "Eb edamnu!" Her eyes and armour glow gold as Zatanna pushes her triquetra forwards. The dome wobbles, then shudders and disintegrates, releasing a burnt smell into the air. Zatanna lowers her hand with a satisfied smirk, the golden glow of her armour dropping back to its resting level.

Richard looks over the bodies once more. "We should probably see about getting those to their next of kin."

I shake my head. "A nice idea, but they won't take them. Too much risk to touch anything that's been affected by Arcane's magic." He looks like he wants to protest. "We can bury them ourselves instead." I {orange}delicately pick them up{/} with a construct and move them aside, rearranging them into a resting pose.

He looks uncomfortable for a moment, then nods in acquiescence. "So. Where do we look that no one else has?"

"None of those groups had a magic user with them."

"Seriously?"

"Reliable magic users are hard to come by. Zatanna?"

"Wohs em eht sdaerht fo eht cigam fo Notna Enacra!" Her eyes shine even brighter for a moment and she blinks heavily. "Whow."

Richard walks around in front of her. "Zatanna. You alright?"

"Yes, it's just…" She gazes around the room. "I think I'm.. seeing every spell he ever cast. I don't.. understand it all…"

Worth bringing her back here later? I'm sure there's a wealth of useful knowledge to be gained here. On the other hand, I have no interest in creating Un-Men myself. I mean, what would be the point? "Can you see anything that looks like-."

"A hidden book of spells?"

"It would be nice."

She flashes me a lopsided smile before floating into the air in the direction of the far window. Its small size and thick glass appear to have allowed it to survive where its brethren have fallen, though one of the smaller panes near the top has been broken. Zatanna comes to a halt just before it and holds out her right hand. "Gnikcehc eno meti tuo, esaelp."

The space around her hand glows gold as it warps and breaks, then comes together again in the shape of a black, leather bound book. {orange}Ring{/}? Ugh, Human skin. I hope that's just the binding and not the pages, Human skin makes a rubbish writing medium.

The book continues to float just over her hand as she peers at it. "Evomer lla ytsan slleps." A puff of air erupts from the book, then she takes hold of it and floats back down to us. "There we go. Think this is something they want?"

I look at the gold lettering on the cover. 'AA' in stylised lettering. "I rather think so. Nice work."

Richard takes in the book as well. "So, you're sure Doctor von Schadel will cooperate if we give this to him?"

"Sure? No. But delivered by the right hand this should earn a great deal of good will."

"Would that 'right hand' be yours?"

I smile at him. "What do you think?"

{red}15th January
07:26 GMT -5{/}

"…there a reason we couldn't just open a tube directly to where we wanted to go?"

I nod as the three of us stroll back into the cave. "Yes, R-Robin. I haven't studied the effect of defensive magics on Tube physics. I already knew that there wasn't a ward over the whole of the castle but I didn't want to take the risk on us getting flambéed." I shoot him a sidelong look as we walk into the meeting room we've turned into a planning area. Three settees flank a central table with a holographic projector in the centre and there's a boss chair for team leader Kaldur at the end with the Sphere and Mister Tawny on either side. Match, M'gann and Kon sit to his right, Artemis, Miss Ervine and William to his left and Ixy, Tao and Wallace are opposite him. "Though I rather suspect that Zatanna and I could take it. I don't suppose you've reconsidered-?"

"No. Thanks."

Wallace looks around as we enter the room. "Hey guys. Find anything?"

Zatanna holds up the book and shakes it. "One book of evil magic."

Miss Ervine grimaces. "How evil are we talking here?" She looks around our other teammates for support. "'Cause.. we've been reading up on these guys-."

I shake my head. "I don't believe any magic is innately evil. Anton Arcane used his abilities to ruthlessly serve his own desires. Doctor von Schadel is a.. somewhat.. idiosyncratic man-."

Artemis waves her pad at me. "Who hates disabled people and doesn't like normal people much either."

"Hands up everyone who's normal." For a moment no one moves. "Wallace, you replicated the Garrick Formula when you were twelve. Kaldur, your father's body was altered to give him gills when he gained Atlantean citizenship, a trait you inherited from both him and your mother."

"Ah…" William goes to raise his hand.

"William, you were blessed by the wizard Shazam with the ability to turn into a superpowered version of your father. But even that wasn't sufficient for you. Like Prince Adam in He-Man you wanted to adventure as yourself, so? You took up the Sword of Beowulf."

Richard crosses his arms. "And what about me? Or Rocket?"

"I'd hardly call your circumstances 'normal', but yes, you are physically an extreme example of baseline Human athleticism. Look, I'm not trying to say that von Schadel is a nice man. But look at what he's done with the parts of Arcane's knowledge he currently possesses: mass produced drugs which allow women who could not hope to reproduce to do so and which accelerate the healing of people with crippling or mortal injuries. He already has the ability to perform mass augmentations and desires to do so. If he's a bit of an arse as well? I can live with that."

Kaldur rises from his seat. "Zatanna, have you reviewed the contents of the book?"

She shakes her head, then takes a seat next to Artemis. "No, not yet. And since I'm not really all that familiar with either biomancy or whatever notation Arcane used, I'm not sure I'll be able to tell for certain exactly how dangerous this is."

Richard takes a seat next to Wallace opposite Kaldur and I sit down next to Match, on the opposite side from Zatanna. Match looks over to the book. "If Arcane's dead, shouldn't the Un-Men get it anyway? That's pretty much what the US government decided to do with everything from Sunderland's research project."

Kaldur nods. "The idea is not inherently unreasonable, and Uncorporation's willing cooperation would make our investigation much easier. Grayven, how did you plan to approach him?"

I shrug. "More or less walk up to him and hand him the book. Naturally, he'd be curious about where I got it from and my.. obvious physical differences from the Human norm mean that he wouldn't reject my output out of hand." My eyes drift to his bare neck. "Originally, I'd.. assumed that you would be just as capable of performing that role, but with your gills gone…"

"I am still not a 'baseline' Human."

"No, but you look like one. That counts with the Un-Men. As we are now… If I were to take M'gann and Match with me, that would be a credible 'investigation'."

He nods. "You could investigate from within while the rest of us blended in with the tourists."

Kon flicks through pages on his pad before coming to the one he wants. "Looks like these 'gaffs' have reason enough to hate Uncorp. Think maybe Kobra have set up a recruiting station?"

Kaldur shakes his head. "I do not want to prejudge them. The fact that they have a justified grievance does not mean they would seek to remedy it by joining Kobra. M'gann, what is the longest range over which you can maintain telepathic contact?"

"It depends. Over open ground it's about eighteen miles but that gets reduced a lot if you go underground." She looks at me. "And I can't contact Grayven at all beyond about thirty feet."

"Nothing personal."

**Eighteen miles? Oh, that is amazing!** Ixy leans so far in M'gann's direction that I'm a little concerned that she'll fall off her seat. **Have you always been able to do that?**

**Not-** "-that far, no." M'gann looks at Kaldur. "If Ixy came along I could probably maintain contact over a longer distance."

**We could bring some G-Gnomes! I can maintain contact with them over almost any distance!**

Tao looks at her, shaking his head. "I am sorry Miss Ixy, but G-Gnomes would stand out too much for a covert investigation."

Kaldur makes eye contact with me. "Do you believe that the Un-Men would be as accepting of Ixy as they would of M'gann?" Would they? Probably. She's physically unique, looks nothing like a baseline Human… Created in a laboratory… I nod. "Ixy, you can accompany Grayven and Match when they speak to Doctor von Schadel. Grayven, in the event of hostilities you are to send her somewhere safe immediately." I nod again. "Try to find out if there is any Uncorporation involvement in Kobra getting access to Uncorporation materials. Robin, Artemis, Kid Flash: I want you to try to talk to 'Bertoldt the Gill Man'." He triggers the holographic display in the middle of the table, showing a middle aged man with flippers instead of arms or legs. No gills in evidence. "He's a community leader among Aberrance's deformed residents. I believe the task will be best handled in your civilian identities. Saying that you want to write an essay on the situation in Aberrance should be enough to make him open up about their grievances." Nods from the three of them. "Rocket, Superboy. You and I will attempt to speak with Mister Inkabod, a tattooed man known for his outspoken opposition to Uncorporation activity in Aberrance. Celestial Archer, Zatanna, Miss Martian: attempt to infiltrate the Uncorporation's production facilities. If anyone working there is assisting Kobra we need to know about it."

William looks around at the group as if expecting something. Oh, he didn't-. "What do you want me to do?"

"We.. need someone to stay with the Bio-Ship. I understand that your piloting skills are quite good." William crosses his arms.

I sigh. "Be honest with yourself, William. Do you have the training for an undercover mission? Without Solomon's Wisdom guiding you?"

"But Celestial Archer only just joined up too!"

Tao inclines his head slightly. "Covert operations were the focus of my training with the Great Ten. I am confident of my ability to provide Miss Martian and Miss Zatara with the support which they require."

"Fine."

I look over to where Mister Tawny lurks next to Kon. "I'll take Mister Tawny along as well. There are such things as Un-Animals so he should be acceptable. I suggest that Tao and M'gann have the Sphere with them in case they need close fire support or rapid extraction."

Tao raises his left eyebrow. "I am unclear how a large metal ball will aid us in a stealth mission."

I fan out my hands. "We can't keep leaving her here. It isn't fair to her."

Kon looks around. "She could come with us." His eyes stop on Kaldur. "We're going in costume, right?"

Kaldur nods. "Given Inkabod's psychological profile I think that he would respond best to a direct approach."

"Right. So the Sphere won't be a problem."

Kaldur nods again. "Does anyone have any further observations before we get into the detail?"

{red}15th January
10:43 GMT -5{/}

I hold the Purple Healing Ray up to the roof of the Bio-Ship and M'gann's eyes glow as she directs it to begin the interfacing process. It oozes out a pseudopod and starts making a connection. "This can really heal.. anything?"

"Any unhealed injury. It does nothing if the damage is already healed, even if the bone healed crooked or the hand healed with the finger missing. It can't remove viruses or bacteria, can't remove cancer…" I think for a moment. "And it's only been tested on Earth native life forms."

Her eyes dim and she looks at me with outraged astonishment. "But.. this should be in every ambulance on the planet! Why were the Amazons keeping it to themselves?"

"They weren't really using it either." I gingerly remove my hands and the Ship's connection to the gun holds it in place. "I don't think sharing it occurred to them. Their understanding of modern technology is almost nonexistent. To them, it's a magic ray devised by a great sorceress, and since she had no apprentice it would remain one of a kind."

She smiles at me. "Two of a kind."

"Now, yes, but to be fair I'm not sure anyone in America could have replicated it either. Arcanotechnology has been allowed to become a forgotten discipline since the fall of the Third Reich. There's maybe a handful of people across the world who could have made another."

"You have.. told her you've done this, right?" Um. "Grayven."

"She was the one who brought the Baroness to Themyscira! She knew what the Purple Ray could do, was the only woman there with any contact in the outside world and she did nothing to bring-."

"Have you talked to her about it?"

…

"Noo."

"What would Lantern Gardner say?"

I lower my gaze and shuffle my feet. "He'd say I.. need to discuss my feelings of frustration with the people involved or they can't possibly answer my concerns." She keeps staring at me expectantly. "Okay, I'll.. talk to her about it after the mission."

She smiles at her recalcitrant student. "There. That wasn't so hard, was it?"

I walk past her towards the ramp. "It will be if she finds out what else I've done with it."

"What do you mean?"

She follows me out as I {orange}take{/} a somewhat larger gun shaped object out of subspace. The metal of the casing is a silvery grey colour and it emits a purple glow from inside. "The Purple Ray works by temporarily supercharging the vital force.. chi, if you like, of the target. When I saw the design I realised that it would only take a modest adjustment to create something which suppressed it instead."

She puts her hands on her hips and sighs at me. "You made a Purple Death Ray."

"I made a yes." When she puts it like that it does sound a bit… "It has a narrow beam mode. You can shoot to maim. And it's not like the plasma cannons we've already installed make a person any less dead."

She turns to look at the location of the Bio-Ship's weapon mounts. "I suppose… Can you make a version which doesn't work on organic tissue?"

"No, that's… It affects a target's vitality. Unliving things don't have vital force." I raise my right hand to my chin. "It.. might be.. possible.. to make some sort of chi based targeting system…"

"We can.. worry about it later. For now, put that back in subspace?"

{orange}I do{/}. "You know, it's a shame you're not taking part in my section of the operation. I was planning to ask you to walk around in full Martian mode."

"In that case it's definitely a good idea-." She cuts off as the lift opens and Richard, Wallace, Artemis, Kon and Match walk out. Wallace made some comment earlier about replacing the lifts with Tubes but we're either going to need a much better generator than I can currently build or build a lot of lesser generators and a truly huge capacitor.

Wallace waves to us. "Hey guys. The others not ready yet?"

M'gann shakes her head. "Ixy and Tao are already onboard and Mister Tawny-" The Tiger in question erupts from the water and hauls himself onto the land. He takes a look around and then starts shaking himself dry. "-went for a swim."

I look down at him as he begins padding in our direction. "I'll dry him off before he gets in the Ship."

M'gann nods. "Thank you. Zatanna was still trying to work out what Arcane's book was about, and Rocket and Bi-Beowulf don't keep clothes here."

Match walks up to me. "So, you going for it, then?"

"I'm sorry? Going for what?"

"The.. second in command thing?"

I glance at Richard and Wallace. "Yes. I feel the contest would be a rather empty one if I did not. Whoever wins should be able to command my respect, as Kaldur does. Otherwise they're just another nuisance for me to ignore." I smile at him. "How about you? Throwing your metaphorical hat into the ring?"

"Ah, I don't think so. I don't really think I've been here long enough."

"I will be." Richard stares at me in what I assume is the most confrontational manner he can muster. Aww. Sweet. "No way am I letting you get it."

"Not the best of motives, really. But I'm glad. I'd hate to walk in unopposed. M'gann?"

She shrugs. "My name's already down. I don't know if it's.. becoming Red, but I feel ready to handle the authority. Conner? How about you?"

He shuffles awkwardly. "I don't know… All my programming was to teach me how to fight by myself."

M'gann walks up to him and puts her right hand on his left arm. "No one expects you to be as good as Kaldur right away. It's more about assessing how good you can be."

"Okay." He smiles down at her and puts his free arm around her. "If it makes you happy."

I pat him on the back as Mister Tawny reaches us. "Good show. Wallace? Artemis?"

Artemis shakes her head. "I don't.. think so. I've got zero experience leading teams. Maybe next time."

"Yeah…" Wallace looks uncomfortable. "Having seen Kaldur in action, I'm.. really not sure I'd be able to measure up. You know if the others are?"

"Tao is, because he doesn't think they'd ever let him back in China if he didn't. Zatanna isn't. Don't know about Miss Ervine. {orange}Dry{/}." Mister Tawny sniffs at me as his coat not only dries but goes all the way into fluffy. M'gann giggles and Artemis snorts in amusement. He tosses his head and walks up the ramp and into the Bio-Ship. Richard and Kon follow him. Artemis starts to board as well, but I stick out my left hand to stop her. She gives me a puzzled look and I hold up my right forefinger in a 'one moment' sign. "Ah, Wallace?" He looks in my direction. "There's some.. chocolate cake left in the cupboard. We were going to have it this evening, but this sounds like it's going to be an all day thing. If you want it, you may as well eat it."

"Aah…" He thinks for a moment. "No, I'm good, thanks. Ate before I came out."

"Right ho." He carries on into the Bio-Ship, oblivious to the stare from Artemis and the smug grin from me.

"Did he just-?" Artemis' gaze flicks from his retreating back to me and then back again. "Did Wally just turn down food?"

"I had wondered if that would happen."

Kon frowns at me. "Why? Did you do something?"

"The Awakening. After the Shadow Dog gave us all that nightmare-" Artemis shivers at the recollection. "-Kaldur's gills disappeared. I realised that Wallace might experience a similar result, with the process 'correcting' the flawed alchemy he used to give himself super speed. He's gotten slightly faster than he was in my tests before the incident, but according to his own reports the largest change is in his calorie intake. It's noticeably down. Mostly because he's cut out snacking rather than cutting down on what he consumes during meals… I don't actually think he's noticed the change yet."

Artemis hits me in the left arm. "You haven't told him?"

"No, of course not. You know how much his diet bothers him. I don't want to say anything until I'm sure." She pauses, then nods her head to the side in reluctant approval. I think for a moment. "Tell you what: keep an eye on what he eats today. If it's down to Human normal I'll say something when we finish the mission." She nods. "How about you? Noticed anything odd you haven't thought to mention?"

She thinks for a moment, then her eyes widen and her cheeks colour slightly. "No. Nothing at all." Straight backed she strides past me into the Bio-Ship.

I frown at her retreating back. What was that about?

{red}15th January
10:51 GMT -5{/}

I {orange}generate{/} a phone construct and hold it to my ear as Kaldur and the Sphere take their places. As the lead 'face' for this mission I get the job of convincing Uncorporation to tolerate our intrusion. Shouldn't be too difficult; the last thing they want is anything associating Aberrance with that sort of malfeasance. The Sphere warbles at me before rolling to the front of the Bio-Ship. Hm. Wonder if I could use her to jump start Barda and Scott's Mother Box? She's had a little bit of difficulty adapting to there suddenly being a whole group of New Gods around the place. So far only Zatanna and Tao have shown the same ability to understand her that I have-.

"Niko here, what is it?"

I find myself involuntarily smiling. "Miss Parish, good morning. My name-."

"How did-?" Her voice is replaced by a buzz as she hangs up. Hmm. I watch through the front screen as M'gann takes us up and out. {orange}Redial{/}. "Niko."

"My name is Grayven-."

"I've already got security people going to the exchange. Uncorporation takes its security very seriously, Mister..?"

"Grayven. And they won't find anything, I'm accessing your phone systems remotely. I wanted to have a word with you."

She exhales sharply. "I'm a busy woman. Make it quick."

"Evidence has come to light which suggests that someone is using Argonate again." Silence from the other end. "Curious?"

"Argonate? It's certainly not us. Given the adverse publicity Uncorporation shelved the whole project."

"Do you have any stocks remaining?" I know they do, but it should be interesting to hear-.

"Yes, in the vaults. What is this 'evidence'?"

I take in the view through the windows as we fly over Happy Harbour. My Boom Tubes can take us directly to Aberrance but they aren't exactly quiet. If we keep using them around Happy Harbour someone might get curious so we usually make sure to go a little way inland first. "Batman bumped into a Kobra nest in Gotham last Tuesday. The cultists injected themselves with something and a few minutes later started mutating. They're still alive at the moment but they looked like… Did you ever see pictures of what happened to Damien Kane's unsuccessful siblings?"

"Yes, I.. did." Ring, {orange}send her the pictures{/}. "But there are other mutagenic agents that can produce the same results."

"I'm sure that your people can recognise the effects of uncontrolled Un-Men type mutations better than I can. The pictures should be in your inbox now."

"One moment." I hear a very quiet clicking as she opens the files. "No, that's… I see the physical resemblance, but Argonate never produced those sorts of results. If it had it would never have been approved for Human trials."

"I have a sample-" I hold out my right hand towards Richard and make a beckoning motion. After a moment's reluctance he hands over a vial. "-of the substance they used. Took a while to analyse it, which is why I'm talking to you now and not four days ago. Chemically, it's similar but not quite the same as Argonate. My working assumption is that it reacted poorly to something else they were using."

"Uncorporation isn't supplying Kobra, if that's what you're implying."

"No, I don't believe for a moment that you are. Certainly, you wouldn't risk it this close to the first broadcast of American Freak. But we have to che-."

"Who's 'we'?"

I smile at Richard. "Batman's little helpers." He scowls at me.

"You'll forgive me if I'm a little sceptical."

"Naturally. If you go to W W W dot supersidekicks-" Two winces and a sigh. "-dot com slash Justice League… You there?"

"Yes, but it's just a fan site."

"They put in links to video footage. For some reason I'm listed as assisting Green Lantern rather than Wonder Woman. Look for where it says Orange Lantern."

"Okay, I'm… Oh."

"Most of that was taken after Roanoke Island, during the clean up. I can present my official documentation when I arrive."

"While I.. can understand your concern, the Justice League has no authority to investigate anything in Aberrance. If you send me the chemical I can have our internal security people-."

"Miss Parish. Batman has been able to persuade Commissioner Gordon to sit on what he has for a little while, but there are limits here. If Uncorporation is implicated he'll have to refer the matter upwards to the Federal Authorities."

"Uncorporation is happy to open its doors to our partners in the Department of Energy. We don't like vigilantes here, Mister Grayven."

"Miss Parish, please. I'm not trying to strong arm anyone."

"I'm glad to hear it. I'm still not sure why you expect us to cooperate with you, though."

"Miss Parish, after Roanoke and the attempted Belle Reve break out -which may I remind you resulted in the head of Kobra absconding from US custody- politicians of all stripes are looking to look tough on paramilitaries and supervillains both. Given the existing relationship between Uncorporation and the DoE, how long do you think it will take for Senators and Representatives -maybe even Nevada State officials- to demand that someone else investigate you? How long before the news channels pick up on the possibility of a link between your people and Kobra? Gotham police are notorious for their bribability-" Though not for serious stuff, not these days. "-and I would presume that the only reason this hasn't leaked already is that they don't know where they should be looking for the pay off. And when the investigation does happen, when you're up to your eyeballs in the FBI and the CIA and the NSA and whoever else… What's that going to do for business?"

"Are you threatening us?"

"No. I'm nearly as excited about Uncorporation's work as you are. You can see my picture; do I strike you as a man who's precious about Human modification?"

"I suppose not."

"No, I want to give you the opportunity to avoid all that. Let me and a few of my associates come in, have a look around and talk to some of your staff. If we can't find anything by the end of the weekend? We can tell Batman and the Gotham police that the problem isn't at the Uncorporation end." I pause for a moment. "And, naturally, we would share any information relating to.. someone else using Uncorporation's proprietary technologies.. with their rightful owners. If it isn't you it is someone, probably with an advanced laboratory."

"We.. would.. appreciate that."

"And just because it isn't the Uncorporation as a body, that doesn't mean that someone in your employ isn't leaking." Unlikely though. Everyone directly employed in the medical research side of Uncorporation is an Un-Man. Anyone prepared to go through that… "I'm given to understand that you've had a degree of civil unrest of late."

"There have been some protests. We don't stop the… Aberrance's unmodified-."

"I call them 'baseline' myself."

"Most of them aren't really that. We don't break up peaceful demonstrations. People have the right to protest, within certain bounds of course. Uncorporation is a powerful force in people's lives here. It shouldn't be a surprise that some.. people feel resentment towards us. Though I'd be surprised if any of them would go so far as to join Kobra."

"So? Am I allowed in, or do I have to try and sneak in with the tourists at opening time?"

"How... How big a team are you looking to bring in?"

"Oh, not that big." {orange}Ring, book tickets for my teammates{/}. {orange}Make it look like they were booked weeks ago, but not at the same time{/}. "I'll be coming in with three associates. Minimal disruption."

"I'll need to talk to Janus, but… Looking at these pictures… How quickly can you get here?"

{orange}By your command.{/}

"I can be with you in five minutes."

"Come to the heavy goods vehicle entrance to the Uncorporation compound. I'll have someone meet you."

"Thank you, Miss Parish. I appreciate your cooperation."

{red}15th January
07:58 GMT -8{/}

M'gann sets the Bio-Ship down near the Nevada town of Mercury. Route 95 is well served with busses and that's how my plain clothed team mates will make their arrival. We've already dropped Miss Ervine, Kon and Kaldur near somewhere called Beatty and Richard, Artemis and Wallace will be heading in from the opposite direction.

Wallace stands and picks up his backpack. "Good thing we're not doing this in August. I don't think we'd make it to the bus stop." He looks at me. "We clear?"

{orange}Ring{/}? "Clear vistas all round."

The rear door oozes down and Team Bertoldt disembark. They have their basic costumes and equipment in their bags, though Artemis had to leave her bow behind in favour of a crossbow pistol. Their usual gear -including their Apokolips tech armour- will be kept on the Bio-Ship in case they need to arm up. I can't imagine that we will, but I suppose that contingencies are for things you didn't anticipate. Richard looks back at me for a moment as he reaches the ground before following Artemis and Wallace into the town. You know, I can't help but think that he's taking his self-appointed role of 'guy-who-keeps-an-eye-on-Grayven' a bit far. I don't actually have a subversive motive here.

Match rises from his seat and walks towards the exit. He is in his Apokoliptian armour with blue 'S'. He knows that I'm working on Kryptonian armour for him but he said that he'd rather use the suit he was used to on this mission. Need to talk to him about the colour scheme. It won't be as hard to make in blue, red and gold as Diana's was -if that's what he wants- but I'd like to know what sort of pattern he wants before I waste time on it.

I give the Sphere a last pat on the.. top, then get out of my chair, making eye contact with Ixy as I do so. She shoots out of her seat and hurries after Match. She's wearing an old and slightly too large t-shirt of Zatanna's. It's pink and has a print of a classical grey alien on the chest with the legend 'Believe' underneath. The girls quickly decided that she didn't really have the figure for skirts or the right leg-shape for trousers so most of her leg wear is made up of long shorts or culottes. She's in tight fitting white denim shorts at the moment and opted to leave her feet bare.

Haven't got around to designing armour for her yet, and since she's under very clear instructions not to get into any fights anyway it shouldn't matter too much. I stroll forwards as I think about the problem. Given that she's an agility fighter it couldn't be anything heavy or confining… Perhaps an energy shield? Projected by multiple devices spread out across a tough fabric?

What? I stagger forwards a pace as Mister Tawny nudges me in the back of the legs in an attempt to make me go faster, prompting William to let loose a burst of laughter and Zatanna and M'gann to hurry to conceal their smiles. Hmpf. I stride the rest of the way onto the stony but surprisingly well enshrubbed ground. "Alright, just to reiterate: ask questions, be polite, don't push too hard."

Match gives me a puzzled frown. "Why are you so sure it isn't Uncorporation? You said Kobra often recruits the disenfranchised and.. the Un-Men are about as disenfranchised as people get."

"Simple, really. Life is -currently- good for the Uncorporation. Virtually all of those who lived through General Sunderland's project are dead and the third generation Un-Men who make up the majority of their workforce have no reason to bear a grudge. Uncorp's Un-Men believe that their modifications make them superior, they don't resent their outsider status at all. If they did, the corporation is working hard to improve their lot so there is already a channel for those feelings. And Doctor von Schadel is far too arrogant to work for an organisation like Kobra."

Match nods. "I suppose that makes sense. Do you think he could be using them as guinea pigs?"

Possibly… No. "People have gone to him to have perfectly functional Human arms replaced by crab claws. He might be prepared to use cultists as test subjects, but why bother when people are willingly coming to him? No. I think he'd rather test things in places where he can have complete control, as well as the ability to conceal it if things go drastically wrong."

Match smiles at me. "Should I be worried about how much thought you've put into working out how a mad scientist thinks?"

"In the sciences, madness and brilliance are separated only by success. Ixy? Any last minute questions?" She shakes her head. I notice that she's standing slightly hunched forwards, as if ready to dive or lunge. She was standing straight perfectly well back in the mountain. Part of her G-Elf programming, perhaps? "Mister Tawny?" He just looks at me. "Right ho then. Father Box, Boom Tube if you please." With a loud 'bang' the portal appears, our end pointing away from the Bio-Ship. The other end opens out on the empty plaza at the rear of the Uncorporation headquarters. {orange}Any unpleasant surprises waiting for us{/}? Apparently not, though there are a couple of Un-Men in guard uniforms hanging around near the still locked delivery entrance.

The female guard with snakes for hair notices the hole in space with a start. Much like superheroes and New Gods, Un-Men like to pick new names when they join the community. Hers is Petra, presumably either an abbreviation of petrify or at least a reference to it. She doesn't actually have a petrifying gaze though; her eyes are unaltered and a rather brilliant shade of blue. Her partner is a bald man with dull red skin and two small upwards curving horns sticking out either side of the rear of his head. For some reason he changed the perfectly serviceable name 'Gareth Evans' to 'Muzuk'. Both are dressed in pale brown Uncorporation guard uniforms and caps and carry automatic weapons.

I note the 'NO GAFFS' sign on the fence behind them.

I stride forth to meet them, Match close behind with Ixy and Mister Tawny bringing up the rear. Muzuk looks at us with an expression of mild disbelief, then turns his head slightly to Petra. "Is that.. Superman?"

"Not unless he shrank in the wash. And look at his eyes."

I raise my right hand in greeting as we cross the paved surface. "Good morning! I assume that the two of you are our guides?"

Petra takes a step forwards. "Mister Grayven?" I nod. "If we could please see your identification?" I nod and {orange}extract{/} my Justice League identification card from subspace. Petra takes it from me and gives it a quick look over before nodding. "This seems to be in order." She hands it back before holding out her right hand to Match.

Interesting. Her snakes don't face the same direction as she's looking in. Rather they shift slightly but at least one is facing in every direction at all times. {orange}I wonder how her brain processes the input{/}..?

"Oh. It's right-" He flips open the pouch on his right thigh- "-ah…" -and fiddles around a bit before pulling his own card out. "Here."

Petra looks him over again before taking the card. Of course; he sounds like Kal-El as well. Still a little bit shorter but I imagine he'll make up the difference over the next few years. Petra frowns as she looks from the card to his face. "'Match'?"

Match nods. "Superman's match."

"Really?" She raises her eyebrows as she hands the card back.

"Well, I'm his clone, so, yeah. I'm almost exactly his match." Her eyes linger a little on… Really? Match, she's the sort of woman your mother would warn you against. "Have you.. finished with-?"

"Yes! Yes, it's fine." She hands the card back before turning to Ixy and Mister Tawny.

Ixy smiles at her. **Hello.**

Her expression stills slightly. "Do you have-?"

I shake my head. "Could we vouch for them? Ixy's only joined us recently and Mister Tawny is an augmented Tiger."

"Yeah, that'll be fine." Mister Tawny pads forward to give her an exploratory sniff. "We'll escort you up to Ms Parish."

No, no good. "I'm sorry, could you just hold still for a minute." I {orange}light up{/} the tip of my right forefinger and move it around the side of her head. The Snakes track it so clearly they can respond to external stimulus. I stop the finger with a slight frown. There's no way that the human brain could put together that much-. They've lost interest! I jerk my finger sideways a bit and three snake heads reorientate. "They track motion! Of course!"

Petra smiles at me. Something I realised about Aberrance early on: Un-Man or 'gaff', everyone here likes to talk about their abnormality. "Yeah, the Doc had to grow them special then connect them up to my perirhinal cortex." Now that I'm looking closer I realise that beneath the Snakes her head is actually thicker between her skull and the scales, presumably to cope with the extra blood flow. "Four hour operation. Now I'll never need a haircut again."

Muzuk points towards the gate with his left thumb. "We going or what?"

Petra turns and begins slowly walking towards the entrance. I follow on behind, only for her to drop back slightly so as to be next to Match. "So, what's with the eyes?"

Oh, of course she'd ask that. Match shrugs. "The people who cloned me didn't get it quite right. When Grayven fixed me he left my eyes the same. They don't hurt or anything."

"Why'd he do that?"

"So I'd look different from my brother. And from Superman, I guess. Being so much like Superman was a big deal for my brother and I.. don't really want that baggage."

She nods. "I totally get that. Five siblings, and now I'm the only one with snakes coming out of her head."

For a moment Match isn't quite sure how to respond. "That must be a.. pretty hard act for them to follow."

{red}15th January
08:05 GMT -8{/}

I know my way around the Uncorporation building from the scans which I've already taken-

**Why are you red?**

-but I make a point of letting our escorts lead the way.

"Miss, could you.. please not.. do that?"

**Not do what?**

The building itself is.. fairly bland, really. Doctor von Schadel's Mad Science Dungeon is well below ground level but the rest of the place is straight out of Bland Corporate Decoration Monthly. At the moment we're on white floor tiles with sandy yellow walls and white ceiling tiles. Since this appears to be the employee section they haven't bothered with corporate art-

"Talk in my head."

-though the air conditioning systems appear to be 'Nevada Safe'.

**Oh! I am sorry, I had not realized-.**

"Ah, Ixy?" Match gets her attention, then shakes his head.

She tilts her head to the side in puzzlement, then her eyes widen. She turns back to Muzuk, straightens her posture slightly and takes a deep breath. "I. Am. Sorry." She exhales the rest of her breath and then breathes in again. "I. Do. Not. Use." Breath. "Audit. Ory. Commun." Breath. "Ication. Often."

Match gives Petra a puzzled look. "Why is her telepathy a problem?"

"Doctor von Schadel gives everyone who wants to 'join the company'-" Her snakes writhe. "-a telepathic interview before operating. It's not a lot of fun."

He's telepathic? I didn't know that.

Another deep breath from Ixy. "All. Genomorphs. Use."

Muzuk raises his arms in surrender. "Okay, okay! Just.. whatever."

**Thank you!** She drops back to her half crouch. **I am sorry that I have not learned to speak well yet but it is a skill I will get better at.**

"Seriously? You don't know how to speak? How old are you?"

**Now I am two weeks old! How old are you?**

"I'm-. Wait, what?"

"How. Old. Are-."

"No, I mean, you're two weeks old?"

**I have been growing for longer than that in my birth tank but two weeks ago in…** She appears to think for a moment. **Four hours, I was taken out of the tank for the first time.**

Petra's eyes widen. "Really? Wait." She looks at Match. "You said you were cloned. How old are you?"

"I got out of my pod on the 4th of December last year, so.. forty two days old." Petra pulls away from him, looking slightly embarrassed. Hah hah.

**We were physically nearly mature when we were taken out of the pods and the G-Gnomes implanted as much knowledge as they could in our heads and that's why I like using telepathy.** She blinks twice. **You still haven't told me why-.**

"Because the Doc hadn't been watching the National Geographic Channel when he 'Unvolved' me. No operation for me, just a couple of injections and a 'Call me ven somsink interesting heppens'." He reaches back and runs his forefingers along his lower horns. "You would not believe how much these itched coming through." He takes another look at her. "Or, maybe you would."

**I don't remember my horns emerging because I was still in the pod.** She brightens up as we come to a lift. **But you can show me the memory if you like.**

"I'll pass." Muzuk scans a keycard and then presses the 'call lift' button.

I give him a {orange}scan{/}. "Aside from turning you red and giving you horns, what else does it do?"

He shrugs. "Not all that much. My skin's tougher than it used to be and I haven't lost any sensitivity. Think I'm stronger too, but only by a little." The doors open and we step inside. I'm not sure if it does double duty as a goods lift or if it was just designed to be able to carry 'huge' Un-Men but I can get in without difficulty. "Who did you? Or did you grow up in a tank too?"

"I'm a self made man-"

"Ploong."

"-with a little help from a power ring and a mouthy AI." Muzuk presses a button near the top of the panel. "Baseline Human to New God in a little over four months."

"Tchss." Petra gives me a look of incredulity. "God? Really?"

"Certainly. There are levels of divine power. A Human mage may achieve the lower ones, a young god like me is a little further on, an established god like Zeus or Ahriman further on still… With the Source sitting comfortably behind its great Wall at the top."

It takes her a moment to realise that I'm being serious. "If you're a god, what can you do? Can you throw lightning?"

"Any fool with a taser can throw lightning." Suck it, Zeus. "So far, I've got agelessness, disease and poison immunity, I've become strong enough to arm wrestle Match,-" Match nods. "-tough enough not to get pasted brawling with him and I'm pretty resistant to magic these days." {trans}"And, of course, I know the God Speech."{/}

"Can you.. fly?" I tilt my feet slightly to activate the aero-discs built into my boots, lifting myself off the lift floor slightly. "Hm. Still not seeing anything a Kryptonian couldn't do."

"In my defence, there isn't much a Kryptonian can't do. Stupid strong nuclear forces." Though she's sort of -in a vaguely insulting way- got a point. Tao can use his divine might to send an arrow around the world. Compared to that, I do seem to have got the short end of the stick. Maybe I should test myself, just in case. If Kaldur and Wallace developed noticeable changes after the Beast… Ah, Barney the Dinosaur incident, might not something similar have happened to me? I haven't been keeping track of my precise strength since Father Box debouldered me, mostly because I can't. I'm just too strong. I don't think that my appearance has changed, not noticeably at any rate. I suppose I could find a small army somewhere and try blessing them in the name of conquest… Except that I'm not God of Conquest, real Grayven is. Would I be becoming New God of Avarice? How the heck would I be able to tell?

My growing theological disquiet is interrupted by the lift door opening. Muzuk leads the way out. This part of the building is far better decorated than 'below stairs', blue carpet on the floor and framed Picasso prints alternating with the framed Uncorporation 'U and arrow in a circle' logo on the walls. They really like that logo. At the end of the corridor there's a waiting area. The exterior wall is made of glass -bullet resistant by the looks of things- and offers a superb view out over Aberrance. I walk closer to get a better look.

"I'll tell Ms Parish that you're here." I nod absentmindedly to Petra as she heads towards the door on our left before {orange}waving{/} my right arm from left to right and covering the window in orange light.

"A great many biotech research companies have set up shop here in recent years." I {orange}grant{/} each of them coronas. "For obvious reasons local laws relating to research are somewhat more relaxed than just about anywhere else in the US. Aberrance is also quite a good place to be registered for tax purposes."

Match and Mister Tawny come up alongside me. "Yeah, you said."

"Those companies are also our primary suspects." I {orange}flash{/} a corona. "LexCorp Pharmaceuticals." {orange}Another flash{/}. "Triple Helix. Doctor Thaddeus Sivana Senior used this one as a front company at least twice. Nothing proved in court, mind you." {orange}Two more flashes{/}. "And these have some quite fascinating accountancy irregularities." I try to glance at the spy camera in the ceiling without it being obvious what I'm doing. "Yes, we're going to be well occupied during our time here."

{red}15th January
08:10 GMT -8{/}

The door opens and the four of us look around as Petra walks out. "Ms Parish and Mister Janus.. and Mister Janus, will see you now."

I smile at her and give her a nod. "Thank you. Gentlemen and lady?" Mister Tawny rises from where he was lying on the floor and he, Ixy and Match fall in behind me as I walk into the office. Same wood panelling as in the building's other executive offices and the same brown painted walls. I know from the plans that the office which the Januses occupy is huge. Penis extension huge, which shouldn't be too surprising given that they have to share one between them. From the look of this office Miss Parish apparently doesn't feel the need for that. Given what I remember about the Magna Mater I suppose I should probably feel glad about that. The wall behind us is the same glass as the waiting area with curtains at either side tucked behind wooden guards.

Miss Parish is sitting on a low backed chair behind her desk. Two of the other industries that thrive here are the manufacturers of custom furniture and clothing. Miss Parish needs clothing that will accommodate her wings and that can easily be put on and taken off with one hand. I'm not sure whether her right was always her primary hand or if Doctor von Schadel had to reassign the nerves as part of her Unvolving process. I mean, if I was in her position when she stabbed her sexually abusive father to death I'd want to use my primary hand… Probably both hands, actually. She's wearing a blue jacket with a white blouse and gold ear studs.

Next to her stand the Januses, Janus Senior facing us. He's wearing a suit of dull green and a expression of considerable irritation. In their own office they have a chair with a section of the back cut out and a small desk attached to what remains so that Janus Junior can carry out his work as Head of Security while Janus Senior performs his functions as Chief Executive Officer. Despite his small size Janus Junior is actually in his early fifties and his father is pushing ninety. You wouldn't know it to look at him, though. I wonder how much they could make if they bottled that?

"Mister Grayven." Miss Parish rises to her feet and holds out her hand towards me. A remarkably well endowed woman, though the cut of her jacket plays it down. Too much office work resulting in her gaining 'padding' or the effect of her flight muscles? Or perhaps she's naturally well endowed. In the few pictures of her I was able to find of her before she came here she was either malnourished or using heroin. Aberrance has been good to her. Her eyes are a striking violet colour that can't be natural.

I stride forwards and take it. "Miss Parish. A pleasure to meet you in person."

Janus Senior curls his upper lip. "I would hardly call this a pleasure."

Miss Parish's face stills for a moment before she gestures to his. "This is Janus Senior, our Chief Executive Officer." I offer him my right hand and he gives it a brief and business like shake.

"Don't forget about me, toots."

She really does have good control of her facial features. "And Janus Junior, Head of Security."

The Januses turn around, revealing the midget torso of Janus Junior. He poses for a moment, probably hoping to extract some sort of shocked response from the 'norm' visitors. Since we've all seen his picture the effect is rather muted. I'm not sure that Match or Ixy would react anyway; their upbringing is easily weird enough to allow them to take most of Aberrance in their strides. For me, I find his existence fascinating. He most certainly shares his father's nose and eyes but the rest is.. shrunken, compacted. The outstanding veins on his receding hairline remind me rather of the Doctor rather than his father. Overall he looks a little like a shaved monkey, or those disturbing Indian rat children. Certainly he is fully intelligent, if not exactly pleasant company.

"Mister Janus Junior." I offer him my hand, which utterly envelops his.

"Was the Doc' makin' giants today or somethin'?"

"No, but I will be happy to provide him with samples of the chemicals I used." I pull back and point to my team mates. "These are my colleagues Match,-" He raises his right hand in a wave of greeting. "-Ixy,-" She blinks heavily and smiles at our hosts. "-and Mister Tawny." He curls up next to the window, ignoring them. Must be nice to be a Cat sometimes.

"Hey, Pops? Reckon we could carpet our office with that thing?" Mister Tawny repositions his head and gazes at the bite sized torso through narrow eyes.

"Now, Junior-" Janus turns back around. "-that's no way to speak about a guest. Mister Grayven, I apologize. Please, take a seat."

"Thank you." They were thoughtful enough to put four seats out, high backed well padded leather numbers. I take a moment to {orange}check{/} that they're large and resilient enough to survive me sitting on them before taking my place. Match takes his place on my right and Ixy occupies the one next to him.

"Now…" He takes a moment to gather his thoughts. "This.. incident in Gotham…"

I {orange}extract{/} a data stick from subspace and put in on the desk in front of Miss Parish. "A copy of all reports, tests and interviews conducted as of.. first thing this morning."

Janus nods. "We will need to send our own people to Gotham to confirm all of this. Whether these.. cultist people have truly become Un-Men. Distasteful as the idea is, we don't turn our backs-"

"Ah..?"

"-on our own family."

Miss Parish nods. "Of course, the other possibility is that they already were. Though we've tried, we've never been able to track down every first generation Un-Man who Doctor Arcane brought to America, to say nothing of the first and second generation Un-Men who ended up in other parts of the world."

I nod. "The initial physical examinations performed on them before they began changing didn't reveal any physiological oddities, but I suppose that it's worth investigating if they may have done a Damien Kane."

"I wanna read that." Janus Junior has a mirror out to let him look at us, and he uses it to point at the data stick. "If there's bin some kinda security breach I'm gettin' all up in that."

I {orange}create{/} another three copies. "Be my guest." Janus Senior picks one up and slides it into his jacket pocket. "Though may I respectfully request that you attempt to keep any investigation quiet? Having the perpetrator go into hiding would make things unnecessarily difficult."

"Hey, I don't come on your pitch an' tell you how to do your job, cowboy. Howsabout-."

"He does have a point, J.J. All of our enhanced employees are thoroughly vetted of course, but the checks we do on our mundane workers are far more cursory."

I nod. "To say nothing of those not in Uncorporation's employ. Oh, I meant to ask: third generation Un-Men. Do all of those the Doctor has Uncreated still work for Uncorporation?"

Miss Parish thinks for a moment. "We've had.. occasional disciplinary issues. We're very reluctant to let someone go completely once they've been through Doctor von Schadel's Unvolve process." She shakes her head. "A few people have been reassigned, but I don't think we've ever had to fire anyone."

"And second generation?"

She shrugs. "They aren't forced to work with us, though we do try to stay in contact. Some of them have unique medical problems and we're often the only people with the knowledge to help them. Why do you ask?"

"Because it occurs to me that Kobra wouldn't be above experimenting on them in the same way General Sunderland did. It may be worth having your personnel department try and make contact in case there have been any disappearances." I know there haven't, but I feel that I should give Uncorporation something to do.

Miss Parish nods. "We'll get on that. Will you want to set up an office here while you work?"

"No. Thank you, but that won't be necessary. I'd rather talk to people in situ if at all possible. And if you could notify your tenants..?"

"We can do that."

"I will also need to speak to Doctor von Schadel at some point."

"Good luck with that."

Janus Senior narrows his eyes. "The doctor does not give interviews and is extremely busy with the preparation for our new television series. If you would rather speak to one of our laboratory team leaders-."

"I'm sorry, but that won't be sufficient. The records which Uncorporation submitted to the FDA indicated that Doctor von Schadel was head of the team here working on modifying Argonate before development was abandoned. I will need to undertake an inventory of all remaining stocks as part of my investigation, something I can't very well do without his assistance. Furthermore, I understand that anyone visiting the Omega Vault is obliged to be escorted by him for reasons of safety."

"Hrm." Janus Senior looks down for a moment. "I suppose you have a point. I'll see what can be arranged. In return, I must ask you to play down any-."

I raise my hands. "I understand how sensitive this is. I have no desire to harm Uncorporation, but the damage that could be caused by Kobra using-."

"And that is the sole reason why we are allowing this." Janus Senior takes a deep breath. "We've arranged for an escort for you, someone who can show you around."

I nod. "I'm sure that Petra and Muzuk will be…"

He shakes his head. "Someone more in your weight class." Miss Parish covers her eyes with her hand as he presses a button on the intercom. "Face, my boy, why don't you come in?"

{red}15th January
08:15 GMT -8{/}

The door on the other side of the room is pushed open and-.

…

What the fuck is that?

"Alwight, bitches!"

…

What the fuck is that?

"Face, buddy!"

What the actual fuck is that?

"J.J., my man!"

Alright, Grayven, {green}get it together{/}. I'm looking at what I can only assume was once a man, because I really hope it wasn't a woman. Two well muscled arms on either side, two muscular legs inside loose fitting jeans. The lack of a head in the conventional location doesn't trouble me. Plenty of species don't like to put all of their metaphorical eggs in one body location. What's freaking me out right now is that his face is on his chest! Not, like, stuck in the middle or something. No, that would be too simple for the heir of Arcane! His huge eye orbits are where his pectoral muscles should be, the eyes themselves each being at least three inches across. In the centre of his chest sits a nose in proportion to the eyes, and a little lower than that a colossal mouth.

What the fuck am I-?

He tosses back his torso and belches a fireball into the air.

What! The! FU-!

"Grayven, I'd like to introduce you to The Face, our own home grown superhero." I look at Janus Senior. He appears to be completely serious. I should.. say something.

"I wasn't aware that Doctor von Schadel was able to induce metahuman traits. Or is.. the.. fire belching.. chemical..?"

"Nah, man!" The.. Face.. sits down in the free chair, crosses his legs and folds his arms behind his.. back. "I was born meta!"

"Hey!" Janus Junior holds a cigar out to the side. Face squints, purses his lips, inhales, then gets shot in the mouth by Miss Parish's fire extinguisher.

"Not In My Office."

Face wipes the water away, coughs- "Frigid bitch." -and then coughs again before looking Ixy over. "How you doing?"

**I am fine. How are you?**

"I'm on f-." Miss Parish raises the extinguisher again. "I'm real good, yeah."

{green}Focus.{/} "Mister The Face, I'm-."

"Nah, man. Call me 'Faceman'! 'Cause we're like the A-Team!"

So much wrong with that… "I'd.. rather not. Do you have any experience with criminal investigations?"

"Nah. Way I see it, I'm here for my brawn-" Kryptonian and New God here. "-and my stunning good looks." Oh bugger me sideways. He squints at Ixy. "So are you actually a girl..?"

**For a Genomorph matters of gender are-.**

"Ookay. Okay." I catch Miss Parish's eye. Sympathy and.. amusement. Thanks. I had hoped they'd assign us a plant but it looks like… They aren't going to try and use this fellow for good publicity, are they? "Glad to have you with us, The Face." How can I get out of this? No one can override Janus Senior… I need to talk to von Schadel first. Maybe he can get this sorted out. I rise from my chair. "Miss Parish, Mister Janus, Mister Janus? If there's nothing else, I'll get started right away."

Janus Senior nods. "Make sure you-." He looks at his watch. "Damn it, my son and I have to go and baby sit that Toddson person. Niko, I want you to liaise with Grayven on this one. Junior, have our security people do random checks on incoming and outgoing vehicles with sniffer dogs, and start doing searches of empty lots, storage warehouses-."

"Got it, Pop."

"Very good. Mister Grayven? Good luck and Godspeed." He strides out from behind the desk and heads to the door we entered through. I watch Janus Junior pull out a mobile phone and start pressing numbers as the door closes behind them.

I really really hope Doctor von Schadel likes that book. I can deal with regular Un-Men, but Meta-Un-Men are where I draw the line. "Miss Parish-."

She stands and gives me what looks like a genuinely warm smile. "Please, call me Niko." The Face rolls his eyes. "Do you have a first name, Mister Grayven?" The smile turns a little predatory. "Or does your girlfriend just shout 'Mister'?"

"She doesn't really shout." I think back for a moment. Sitting position, facing one another, her face pressed into my chest, sweat coating... Ah, good memory. "It's more sort of a moaning grunt." Her eyebrows go up as I gesture to my body. "It's all in proportion. Frankly, it's quite impressive that she can-."

She holds up her hand. "That's.. more than I need to know."

"You can keep talkin' far as I'm concerned!"

I ignore him. "Shall we meet up for lunch? I doubt I'll have much for you…"

"That sounds like a good idea." I nod to her and then start towards the door through which we entered. "Where do you intend to start?"

"With von Schadel, of course. The Omega Vaults are the only place where you store Argonate."

"Agg, about.. von Schadel…"

"Don't worry, I'll be polite." I open the door and step aside. "Come, Mister Tawny." He makes a rumbling noise as he rises to his feet and pads-.

"Hey!" The Face back flips over his chair and lands next to Mister Tawny. "Is he trained? Can I ride him?"

Mister Tawny looks at me and.. I think he's raising his eyebrows. I didn't know he could do that. "I'm afraid that would be unwise. He isn't.. good with-" Total morons. "-new people. Also, the feline spine isn't really-."

"Didn't ask for the National Geographic low down, buddy." He strides past me into the waiting room. "Follow me, cake eaters. I'll get you to the Doc, nooo trouble."

Mister Tawny stalks after him as Match taps me on the shoulder. "Is this guy-?"

"Just-. Put up with him.. for now." I pat him on the back and he follows after The Face.

**Why did he want to know whether or not I was female?**

Niko puts her hand on Ixy's shoulder. "Because he's an oversexed Jackass."

**My physiology does not lend itself to copulation. I think he would be disappointed by my naked form and it is quite likely he would be repulsed as well.**

Niko makes a wry smile. "Turnabout is fair play."

**I am not certain that I understand-.**

"Ixy."

She looks at me, eyes wide. **Oh. Yes. Goodbye, Miss Parish.** She hurries past me and I walk through the door, shutting it behind me.

The Face is already halfway down the corridor. Doctor von Schadel is probably in his rooms below us and I know I can't reliably scan it. A {orange}flicker{/} and I catch up with The Face. "So, what exactly do you do around here?"

"Me? I'm a superhero. Can't you tell!?" He strikes a pose, fists pressed against his sides. When I don't react he sags slightly. "Doesn't really work without the cape, does it?"

I shake my head sympathetically. "It doesn't work, no."

{red}15th January
08:22 GMT -8{/}

"…about Wonder Woman? You know her?"

The one mercy provided by The Face's physiology is that he can't make eye contact while he talks if you aren't directly in front of him and facing him. Match nods in response anyway. "Yeah? We know all the League members."

"Ever see her in the shower? Or getting changed or something? See, the way I figure it-."

"She's my Mom."

The Face stops dead and then turns to face us, a look of utter incredulity on his chest. "You're shitting me? Some guy was putting it to the Wonder Pussy and kept quiet about it? Who the fuck was it, The Question?"

I think Match may be losing his patience. "No, I'm adopted. Why would you think The Question-?"

The Face waves his right hand at his mouth. "No mouth, right? Only thing I could think of that'd stop-."

I squeeze my eyes shut. "Mister The Face, are we anywhere near to-."

At the end of the corridor a large man with an oversized torso and arms that would reach to the floor knuckle-walks across our path. Clasped to his right shoulder by his free arm is an emaciated looking man wearing a pair of grey jogging bottoms and no other clothing. A faint moaning noise is coming from his mouth and he struggles to turn his head to look at us before he disappears down the adjacent corridor.

Stalking along behind the Ape-like Un-Man is another example of Doctor von Schadel's art, and one with far more commercial potential. The blonde shoulder length hair is all her own but the Tiger-pattern body fur, razor edged extendable claws and catlike ears and tail are the product of Doctor von Schadel's tissue cultures. Human endurance mated to feline burst power! Much as Petra lacks her likeness' petrifying gaze Miss Peterson lacks Doctor Minerva's arcane celerity but who cares about that when I have the Garrick Formula? This is mass producible biotechnology!

{orange}I need to find out if there are other side effects{/}. Oh, and I should.. probably ask about that man as well. "Excuse me-?"

"Hey! If it isn't the best pussy in Aberrance!"

And The Fucking Face goes and ruins it again. The Cat Un-Woman turns in our direction with a barely audible hiss. "{red}Face{/}. Get the fu-." Her slit pupils flick between us. "I don't know you. Are you.. new?"

"Miss-" Ah, what does she call herself these days? Oh, right. "-Tigira-" No Marvel Comics on the parallel, thankfully. "-my name is Grayven and I'm here to see Doctor von Schadel."

"Do you have... Like... An appointment?"

The Face puts his hands on his hips and thrusts his groin confidently in her direction. "Since when do I need an appointment?"

"Since he told you he'd break you down for parts if you interrupted him again while he was working."

"Nah, nah, straight up! The Januses… Heh. Anuses. They wanted me to show him around while he does some sort of investigation thing."

Match points down the corridor in the direction the Un-Ape walked off in. "What was going on with that man?"

She looks from Match to me and then briefly to The Face. I think that in other circumstances she'd like to ask the Uncorporation employee she recognised what was going on, except it's The Face. And our grey, furry and weirdly-eyed faces fit. Ingroup-outgroup -or should that be ungroup- identification is very strong amongst Un-Men. "Some homeless guy who volunteered to be the Doctor's new playmate."

"If he's a volunteer, why are you dragging him back here?"

"He went out looking to get a fix." She snarls for a moment, lips pulled back revealing sharp teeth. The felinisation of her face is relatively subtle, but the internal changes appear to be somewhat more significant. "Dumb fuck. He's supposed to be getting Unvolved this week and he wants to stick that crap in his system now? Ugh."

"Are narcotics a major problem in Aberrance?"

"Ask someone whose job it is to care." She turns away, her tail twitching, hair standing up slightly. "The Doctor said he didn't want to be disturbed."

The Face starts to go after her. "Ah, come on! The Doc's gunna wanna hear this. And while he's talkin' to big and grey over there maybe you and I could hit the broom closet. Uh? Uh?" He come up alongside her and his hand-. I see her tail suddenly straighten in shock. She turns around in a blur and jams her claws directly into him. "AGHMOTHERFUCKAH!" He jumps back and raises his hands into a defensive stance. "You wanna try that again, bitch? Imma-!"

Oh for fuck's sake. I step forwards and place my left hand on his right shoulder, sigil downwards. {orange}Ring, brand{/}.

{orange}By your command.{/}

The orange light flares brilliantly, causing Tigira to jump back. The Face himself just stiffens. "What is this shuuuuoooomm{orange}."{/}

"Mister The Face, {orange}you want to shut up and you want to behave yourself{/}."

{orange}"Mpf."{/}

Tigira looks him over. "Nice job. You charge by the hour?"

"I feel I should apologise, but I don't think that his appalling manners are actually my fault." I step around The Face and hold out my right hand. "Perhaps we could start again. I'm Grayven. I work for the Justice League and I'm here to investigate a possible theft of Uncorporation technology by a rather unpleasant paramilitary group."

She looks at me carefully for a moment before taking hold of my hand. "Tigira, Uncorp Security. The Doctor's down this way, but he ain't going to want to talk to you."

"Nil desperandum, Miss Tigira. If he won't talk, he won't talk." I shrug. "But given what I know about his character I'd be astonished if he didn't take personal affront at what has been done with his technology."

"Yeah, he would, 'cept he's not going to listen for long enough to find that out. Tell you what: I'll show you to his lab.. if you wait outside for a few minutes before coming in and don't tell him I'm the one who brought you."

"Deal. The Face gets the blame." We start walking in the direction her partner disappeared in. "The Face? {orange}Follow{/}."

{orange}"Mpf."{/}

Ixy scampers forwards and looks back at The Face. **What is that? Why is he quiet and not annoying and why does he have a glowing orange shape on his…** She blinks. **I do not know what the word is for the top of someone's torso when there isn't a head there.**

Neither do I, actually. "One of my abilities is branding. Currently, Mister The Face wants to do exactly what I want him to want." I lean towards Miss Tigira. "I could.. leave a thing or two in there when I take it off. If you liked."

"Tempting, but the Doctor might find out."

We follow her along the corridor for a few moments, as the blandly decorated corridor gradually gives way to bare brick and then stone. It actually.. looks like he was trying to copy the décor of the castle. I suppose that he… I don't actually know how old he is, but if I assume that he was created after the Second World War… Perhaps twenty years in the Castle? Another thirty traipsing around the US before reaching Aberrance? And even then, it would have been some considerable time before he could start on his work.

"Tigira! I heff need of you! Where are you?!"

"Ooh, great." Tigira hurries towards the end of the corridor and the slightly open wooden double doors that would look right at home in the old castle. As she reaches them she looks back at me with her eyes wide and holds up her right index finger in a 'one' sign. I come to a full stop and nod then she disappears inside, pulling the door closed behind her.

{red}15th January
08:28 GMT -8{/}

"…ungrateful wretch!"

For a man with a very limited lung capacity, the Doctor could certainly shout for Romania.

"Ah-I'm sorry, Doc.. Doctor von Schadel. I just can't help-."

Funny, I thought that it was entirely possible that the Doctor would have had this part of the building constructed of stone. He hasn't. He's just had plastic moulded to look like stone. It's pretty realistic, but when you touch it-.

"Does your drug addled brain even begin to comprehend what could heff happened if you het found zhe poison you sought!"

I make eye contact with Match, Ixy and Mister Tawny. That should be long enough. I step up to the door -which is actual wood- and knock twice, hard. Then I step back and motion The Face forwards.

"Eh?"

I step back from the door. Straining my ears I hear a faint pad-tap, pad-tap, pad-tap noise, as if someone were crossing the floor towards the door with the aid of a crutch. Odd. I know the door isn't locked. If he wanted me to come in he could just have shouted 'enter'. The noise stops just on the other side of the door and a moment later the wrought iron handle slowly starts to turn. The door is pulled inwards slightly and a face… No, two faces, peer out at us with dull and lifeless eyes. Ah, this is one of the first generation Un-Men. I don't think he… It? Has a name. Its hair on both heads is a pale grey and very greasy while its skin is an unhealthy green-grey colour. Its arms, shoulders and the upper head have the normal Human proportions while the trunk of the body is unusually short, though not beyond the realms of Human morphology. The right leg is stunted -though well muscled- and the left… In place of the left a second head looks up at me. Under its right arm is the crutch it uses to get around and with one hand on the door it is forced to put more weight on it.

I struggle to imagine why Arcane would have created such a creature.

"Face! Zhis is not zhe time to be bringing in your friends for a visit."

{orange}Speak{/}.

{orange}"These ain't tourists, Doc! They're from the Justice League! Someone's been stealin' your stuff and they-."{/}

"Feh! Leave! I am working!"

I take another moment to look at the dull-witted servitor before directing my attention to the little of the lab I can see through the opening in the door. "Doctor von Schadel, it really is quite important-"

The Un-Man before me starts to close the door. I stick my right foot in it. It keeps pushing for a moment before the lower head spots what I've done. Then the upper head meets my eyes. "Uuuurrrrhhh."

"-that I speak with you."

"Janus Junior is responsible for security! Deal with him if you must-" {orange}Transition{/}. "-talk to someone."

The Doctor stands next to a wooden gurney straight out of Hammer Horror. The emaciated man is strapped down at the ankles, wrists, across the chest and around the forehead. The Doctor himself is dressed in surgical whites with a cap, surgical mask and goggles covering most of his face. All I can see of his flesh is a narrow band between cap and mask. He appears to have the skin tone of a Caucasian who's spent a good deal of time in the sun, only the uneven texture and prominent veins in places normal people don't have veins hinting at his unusual origin. The Ape Man and Tigira are on the other side of the room tending to a horse that is being housed in a small stall.

The Doctor turns suddenly to face me, waggling a syringe at me. "You heff invaded my laboratory now?! I will heff you arrested!"

"Doctor, please! I am a great admirer of your work-" There's a.. pressure against my mental defences. He's a telepath. Interesting. Not a particularly strong one though, not compared with Chester or M'gann. "-in the field of xenografts, and I wished to {orange}present you{/} with a small token of my esteem."

The book appears in my right hand and I proffer it towards him. For a moment he's too focused on trying to scowl me to death to pick up on it, then I notice him glance down before returning his attention to me. Then his eyes widen and he looks back to the book. His hands come up suddenly and grasp it by either side, snatching it from my unresisting grip. He pulls it to his chest before carefully -almost nervously- opening the first page. He lets out a small gasp as he sees the writing. "Zhis… {blue}Zhis was Arcane's{/}." His eyes come back up for a second. "How did you come by it?"

I smile at him. "I.. may have held Nathan Arcane upside down by his ankles and shaken him a few times. A short sojourn in Castle Arcane…"

"Bah, zhet boy was always…" He scans another page. "Zhet fool Janus." He doesn't stop turning pages as he talks to me. "I knew I should heff accompanied zhe expedition."

"The book was disguised by magic. It would have been near impossible for him to find it."

"Meh.." He flicks through a few more pages to authenticate it before snapping it shut. "Why..? Why heff you given zhis zhing to me?"

"I'm a fan, Doctor.. von Schadel. Your work is simply revolutionary. May I assume that-" I gesture to the book with my right hand. "-will assist you in it?"

"Yes, yes. Wunce I heff had time to.. properly study Arcane's writings." He looks me over briefly. "You are not my work, or zhet of Arcane…"

I {orange}take{/} a vial of Venom Buster out of subspace and pass it to him. He examines it with a critical eye. "Last year's combat stimulant. We call it Venom Buster. That, and a great deal of perfective maintenance since."

"H-mmm." He puts the vial into his coat pocket, then lifts his goggles away from his eyes. They're a pleasant shade of blue, though slightly mismatched. Grave robbers can't be choosers. "So, my new friend. What is your name?"

"Grayven, Doctor."

"And what was zhet half whit Face babbling about?"

"Are you familiar with the Kobra Cult?" He gives the shallowest of nods. I suppose he can't really nod normally. "They appear to have gotten their hands on an Un-Man derived drug from somewhere. I knew that if the source was here in Aberrance and the matter were brought to your attention-."

"Ak, it is sheer folly! I heff zhe greatest knowledge of zhe physiology of zhe Un-Men of anyone alive! You cannot simply plug bits of us in to a natural man wizhout-." He cuts himself off, hard in thought. "God in heaven, tell me zhey haven't got an insectoid?"

"It doesn't look like it. What they used appears to be closer to Argonate, though there were some alterations. From the fact that they were discovered in a chemical plant it seems likely that they were going to try to produce more."

"We cannot have zhet, not zhis close to our television debut. Zhe negative publicity from being associated wizh a terrorist organisation alone might cause zhe network to pull out."

"Just so. Can I assume therefore that you are prepared to give this your attention?"

"Though I am loath to put down zhis tome of zhe former master's knowledge for even a moment, I will curb my enthusiasm for now. An inventory check should not take too long; given zhe FDA's ruling we've hett little reason to keep working on it." The twitch of his facemask suggests that he's smiling. "Mine own 'Compound K' is far superior for my purposes."

I glance at the man on the gurney. "Are you able to spare the time now? I don't wish to be rude, but if Kobra are dissecting a-" I gesture to him with my right hand. "-brother or cousin of yours…"

Doctor von Schadel looks towards the door and the grey skinned Un-Man hobbles aside. Whoops, {orange}cancel brand{/}. The Face barges in a half second later, giant grin back in place. "What's up,-?"

"Silence, cretin." Doctor von Schadel looks past him as Match, Mister Tawny and Ixy follow The Face in. "And zhese are your friends?"

"A cloned Kryptonian, an augmented Tiger and a G-Goblin type Genomorph." He looks at me and raises an eyebrow. "A synthetic species produced by Cadmus Labs."

"I see…" He takes a moment to study each of them carefully. "Perhaps, Mister Grayven, you could tell me of your own work while I begin my search?"

{red}15th January
08:37 GMT -8{/}

"…seldom zhet I get to work on zhose with.. ah… Pre-existing enhancements. I could hardly turn him away."

We're following the Doctor into the main laboratory area of the Uncorporation building. He told The Face to stay behind and babysit the new inductee -a down on his luck drifter, apparently- while the rest of us get down to work.

Match frowns. "You mean he's a metahuman?"

"Nature is zo careless upon whom she bestows her gifts." I note that the Doctor doesn't shrug, nod or turn his head beyond a very small amount. Though if I wasn't looking for it I'm not sure that I would notice.

"So… Why did..?" Match trails off uncomfortably, not sure how to voice the question.

"Why did I remove his head unt create a new face on his torso?" Match nods. "His original head was somewhat damaged when he was brought to my attention. An accident with a shotgun, I understand. Quite a few of my third generation Uncreations come to us as crippled or mortally injured."

"Couldn't you just.. put them back how they were?"

Doctor von Schadel's right hand touches his chin. "Perhaps. But zhet is not a service I offer. I have devoted my life to enhancing zhe Human condition, not to resetting it to its current banal level."

I nod. "I was impressed by your ability with xenografts. I assume that they're cultured?"

"Naturally." He smiles. "Or Un-naturally, if you prefer. In zhe case of Zhe Face I had to almost completely redesign his internal organs. His mouth now doubles as his stomach, parts of his spine as his skull… His eyes have no eyeballs but instead use a type of organic plastic barrier…"

"Why is he such an ass?"

"Akkh. Mister Match, I like to think of the Un-Men as my family. And, every family throws up a complete idiot or two eventually. His personality is.. simply.. his personality, and I am reliably informed zhet he was exactly zhe same before he came here."

I narrow my eyes slightly. "You do have other family, you know."

"The wider metahuman community, you mean? I suppose-."

"No. The ring shows me genetic material taken from thirty seven different people in your body-."

"Bah. The donors of zhe source material are of no consequence."

**Why does his brain not overheat?**

The Doctor's smile goes from broad to positively manic. "Ah, my little Goblin! It has been so long since I heff heard someone else's voice in my head! Let me see if I can-" His face strains. **-return zhe favour.**

Ixy gives him an odd look. **Your mind voice sounds strange.**

Von Schadel waves his right hand in a dismissive motion. **I may be a little out of practice. But to answer your question! The Face has a natural ability to manipulate heat. I could not understand zhe underlying organic mechanism, but, I could clone unt implant more of zhe little nodules which appeared to control it. By attaching them around his brain I was able to not merely allow him to control his body heat, but enhance his natural abilities!**

We come up to a secure door and he leans forwards to allow his retina to be scanned. I note that he bends his knees so as to keep his head and shoulders upright, rather than simply sticking his neck out. There's a beep as the magnetic door unlocks and the Doctor pushes it open. **Come, come.** He pauses, giving Mister Tawny a hard look. "Tiger, as one freak of science to anozher I am trusting you to behave. Do we have an understanding?" Mister Tawny gives him a throaty rumble in response. The Doctor frowns. "Not.. having studied Tiger communication, I will choose to believe zhet was a 'yes'. Zhis way, please."

He leads us into the laboratory. There's a raised observation area around the edge of the room while below us Un-Man scientists are hard at work on.. something. I count off their adaptations: one has enlarged eye orbits for larger eyes, another has four arms, a third has an enlarged cranium and a fourth has an additional joint in each of her long arms. Four arms are actually quite common around here, I assume because it was simple enough to copy the physiology of.. whatever her name was. The second generation who was born like that.

The Doctor stares imperiously down at his subordinates until they look up at him and give him a deferential nod. Then he leads us in the direction of a glass walled office in the corner. If I remember correctly this part of the building is devoted to more mundane applications of Un-Man derived biotechnology. It struck me when I first began finding out what the Un-Men were up to that while Doctor von Schadel appeared perfectly happy to let his subordinates do basic checks on the cultured tissue he intended to use for Unvolve procedures, he did the majority of the work himself. Does he not like delegating or does it require a much higher level of expertise than any of those working here possess? No retinal scan here, a simple keycard swipe is enough to gain entry.

He walks over to his desk. "Now, if I can call up-."

"Doctor?" I look pointedly at the odd stand positioned near the computer monitor. It has a small set of steps leading up to it. "Despite what I've told you… Do you think that I'm some sort of tourist?"

"No, why..? Aaaaah." The shallowest of nods and a sly smile. "Your companions, are zhey..?"

"I thought it more amusing not to tell them."

"Tell us.. what?"

"Zhe simple truth of my physical state." He sits down a convenient distance from the stand. "It is no secret from my brozhers and sisters but.. Janus tells me zhet zhe world is not yet ready for truly revolutionary transformation."

Match frowns. "You don't look all that different to me."

"My boy, Doctor von Schadel is an illusion. My true self?" His scarf twitches aside as his head leaps from his shoulders and lands on the platform. "I am Cranius!" Match actually recoils. Ixy's eyes widen slightly and Mister Tawny looks thoroughly bewildered. "This is my assistant Otto." The headless body waves at us. "Otto as in 'Ottoman'. Otto man?" We don't react. "Egh."

**How does your head work?**

"Very well, actually." He turns so that he can get a view of the screen. "Zhe former master created me as his personal assistant unt.. gave me zhe ability to direct other Un-Men with my thoughts. My brain is custom built, parts I wouldn't need excised and zhose I do need improved."

"How do you eat? Or.. breathe?"

"Zhere is a small aperture in my palm through which I may ingest liquefied food. In former times Arcane would simply drop me in a bucket of rotting fish heads…" His face momentarily assumes an expression of distaste. "Well. I have little sense of taste. For breathing…" He flexes his head muscles, causing his skin to undulate in a surprisingly unsettling way. "My whole head can act as a diaphragm, constantly moving air through zhe small slits at zhe back of my head."

"And… Otto..?"

"Oh, he's always been like zhet." Otto's busy typing an enquiry into Uncorporation's database. "Ah, Argonate. It showed such promise. Our stocks were last inspected a little over four months ago. I will send someone down to check again momentarily. You have zhe formula used by our unfortunate new kinsmen?"

I {orange}take{/} another data stick out of subspace and hold it out to Otto, who takes it without… Not looking around, obviously. Without turning around. I suppose he doesn't have his own sensory organs… He slides it into a drive on the desktop.

"Examining what you have gathered for me will mostly likely take zhe remainder of zhe day. You are welcome to wait here, but I zink you would do better to continue your investigation elsewhere until I have somezhing for you."

"Thank you, Doctor. We'll do just that. Oh, but before I forget…" I {orange}take{/} a primer on Atlantean biomantic techniques out of subspace and set it down on the desk. "I'm sure that in the fullness of time you'll develop your own techniques, fully removed from those of your creator. But perhaps you'll find this interesting as well."

{red}15th January
13:06 GMT -8{/}

Niko puts her tray down on the edge of the table before walking to the chair the unaugmented counter peon fetched for her, picking it up and bringing it back. The seating here is arranged in benches and there's no way she could fit her wings around it comfortably. Muto Burger isn't the most salubrious of eating establishments but I can't deny that it does lend the meal the genuine Aberrance touch. Right down to the wall-mounted pictures of smiling burgers with tentacles fighting to get out from the meat layer. Take something as normal as a fast food restaurant and add a bit of extra weirdness.

I watch as a small girl a few tables over opens up her bun and starts demanding that her father explain why there aren't actually tentacles in it.

"Place looks a bit empty." I'm eating chic-. Sorry, Freaky Fowl nuggets. I actually quite like American gourmet beef burgers but there's no way I'm risking one from a place like this.

"We're off season." She unboxes her burger and shakes out a few fries. "Once the Holiday period is over things get quieter until March."

Huh. Turns out her father actually did order a Tentacle Burger. From a small Octopus by the looks of things. She's now loudly demanding that they swap.

"I have to ask… The constant references to the 'creepy mutant' aesthetic..?"

She chews for a moment before swallowing. "Janus sets Aberrance policy on matters of branding."

"Which.. Janus?"

"The one who's worth listening to." I nod and we both smile. "I think that maybe the commercial implying that Tentacle Burgers feed on tourists who wander away from the main park was a bit much." She puts a couple of fries into her mouth.

"I suppose that if a person doesn't like weird then they've little reason to come here in the first place."

"We all hate the idea of pretending to be someone else. Our uniqueness is something we value."

"This from the woman with the world's greatest Hawkwoman Halloween costume."

Her mouth falls open for a moment, then she exhales with laughter. "It seemed appropriate. I mean-" She stretches her wings out to the side slightly. More than a few of the restaurant's other patrons stare and a couple of camera phones get held up. "-who else can pull off the winged look quite like me?"

"Oh, hardly anyone."

"How does..?" She hesitates, stops and then takes another bite of burger.

"How does what?"

She weighs up continuing with the subject while she chews. "How does she.. fly? I can glide.. a bit, but there's no way for me to get enough lift to fly properly."

"Tiny amounts of Nth metal throughout her nervous system. It lets her fiddle around with gravity and mass…" She nods, and I get {orange} a clear view of{/} how incomplete it makes her feel. "Sorry, but I'm not sure I could replicate the effect even if I had Nth metal to spare. Which I don't." Though Awakening might do it. Have to think about that. I put two nuggets into my mouth. Ah, a slight crunch and then chicken flavoured probably-meat. Everything I was expecting.

She nods, her face tilted slightly downwards. Her mask is back in place a moment later as she looks up. "Where's the rest of your team?"

"Taking in the sights." Checking in with Kaldur, actually. Since Cranius is telepathic the risks involved in wide area broadcasts are simply too great to keep us all patched in. I have a list of the physical changes wrought upon the third generation but I don't know whether any of them share his mental abilities. "Ixy hasn't interacted with more than a handful of people her entire life. I thought she might feel at home here."

"Turned up anything yet?"

"No, not really. Oh, Triple Helix is keeping a close eye on the Doctor's work for potential commercial applications, but none of them are actively intriguing against Uncorporation on the company level."

"How can you be sure?"

"Oh, you know. I go in, stomp about, get everyone thinking about everything they've done wrong… Then Ixy has a good listen and reports back. Nothing admissible in court, but we could easily just 'happen' across physical evidence later."

"Are you sure that's reliable? The Doctor said that he couldn't read you."

"I've had quite a bit of specialist telepathy resistance training, and while the Doctor may not be able to read my thoughts I couldn't hide the fact that there was a mind there. If anyone was blocking Ixy we'd have marked them for further study. No one did. Has the Doctor finished his inventory yet?"

"All of Uncorporation's Argonate samples are exactly where they're supposed to be."

"And potential living sources?"

"We haven't been able to reach everyone by telephone yet. We'll keep trying, but it's hardly a surprise that they wouldn't respond immediately. There haven't been any disappearances reported." She shrugs. "It looks like the problem isn't here."

"I hope you're right. We will need to speak to everyone who could have accessed the samples, buuuut hopefully we can be out of your hair by the end of the day."

"How did you get Doctor von Schadel to cooperate with you?"

"I had a notebook written by Doctor Arcane." Her eyes widen, her head juts forwards in astonishment and her tightening hand squeezes a slice of gherkin out of her burger and into the burger box. "Once I handed it over he became much friendlier."

"Where did you find that? We've been offering-!"

"Castle Arcane. Janus should have taken a wizard with him when he intruded on another wizard's sanctum."

"That… I.. don't even know what that will do for our development program."

"Help it along, I hope."

"Yes. Unless we just lose the Doctor for a few months while he experiments with it. Why.. did you..?"

"Hand it over?" She nods. "As opposed to what? Sell it? I have all the money I will ever need. Destroy it? Would that bring back those Arcane killed? No. I gave it to the people who will use it to the benefit of humanity." While she absorbs what I've told her I take the opportunity to {orange}take a look{/} at her own altered physiology. It's fascinating how Cranius was able to do this with such primitive equipment.

"Thank you. Uncorporation is… I am…" She moves her burger to the side then gives me a wry smile. "My face is up here."

"Yes, and your wings plug into your spine just…" Wait. {orange}Cancel{/}. "I wasn't staring at your-. Well, alright, momentarily, but I was really interested in how your flight muscles interact with your.. bones, your other muscles…"

She sits back, her right eyebrow arched. "The girls and I will try not to be too offended."

"I see he repurposed the nerves from your missing arm."

"Yes, though he had to add a little something to my brain so that I could handle the input."

"Did it take you long to learn? I mean, how to use them?"

"Um, simple movements only took a few hours. It was about a month and a half before I could use them precisely while under stress." I've finished my meal and use the ring to {orange}clean off{/} my hands. "You're.. really into this stuff, aren't you?"

"Let me show you something." I {orange}take{/} a small hologram projector out of subspace and put it on the table. "Seven months ago I looked like {orange}this{/}." An image of my pre-earth.. whatever-number-this-is self appears. "{orange}Six{/} months ago." My post arrival self, Human looking and buff as someone who actually takes serious exercise. "{orange}Five{/} months ago." Boulder the Rock Monster. Seeing it next to my other incarnations really brings home just how big I was.

"How..?"

"That was a drug called Venom Buster. I gave the Doctor a sample. And then, as I am {orange}now{/}." The last image joins the other three.

"That's a remarkable transformation."

"Yes, it is. But I'm no scientist. I did it by using other people's work and I can't.. innovate with it. My uniqueness is not the uniqueness of everyone else. I {orange}want{/} the Uncorporation to succeed in bringing physical augmentations to the masses." I lean forwards slightly. Touching her hand now -entering her personal space with her disposition this favourable- would help persuade her to accept me, buuut it would also imply a degree of interest that I don't have. Since I want to work with the Un-Men in the long term.. that's a no. "You may see Uncreation as the next great step in Human development, but the things I've seen… Uncreation is as the first primitive petrol driven engine. An improvement on what came before, a necessary step, but very very far from what may ultimately be achieved. I don't want you, the Doctor or anyone else to be limited by their own physical restrictions. Why shouldn't {orange}everyone enjoy the advantages I have{/}?"

She smiles at me. "No reason at all."

15th January
13:26 GMT -8

Zatanna frowns at me. "I didn't know tattooed men were still a thing."

I take a moment to look around the 'Livin' Lot'. Cheap, prefabricated housing that looks like it would come apart in a strong wind. Low rent housing, Aberrance style. I realise now that I don't really know how unemployment benefits work in America, let alone in somewhere as divorced from normal civil government as Aberrance.

"From the looks of the place, I'd say they're not."

Raquel nods. "Leading a civil liberties campaign against the main local employer doesn't usually pay all that well. Is this 'Inkabod' guy inside?"

Not like a few millimetres of cheap wood does anything to stop my empathic vision. "Yes. Think I may be over egging his 'consultation fee', though." Mister Dylan 'Inkabod' Williams' desires revolve around his hate of the Uncorporation -including but not limited to its first and third generation Un-Men- and his own drive for self aggrandisement. I honestly think the three of us showing up in uniform would be enough for him. Not that I think he'd turn down a gourmet meal but it took time to put this together.

From the comics I remember him becoming pregnant after having sex with the Magna Mater and needing Cranius' help to survive delivery. I'm regretting not looking for the comics before that now, the ones that might actually have some relevance to our situation. I was able to advise Kaldur that he, M'gann and Kon were most likely to get a polite reception from Uncorporation itself but I don't have any other insight here. A quick scan of the town didn't show me any obvious Kobra-related desires though the civil unrest was obvious. The Un-Men hate the Gaffs and the Gaffs hate the Un-Men. It's American as apple pie.

And we can't fix it. And it isn't our job to try.

"May as well get on with this." I walk up the four steps onto the porch and knock on his door. Looking through the wall I see him jerk up from where he's slouched on his sofa and stare at the door. I.. don't.. think he's got x-ray vision. No, there's no way he wouldn't boast about it if he did.

Looking at the door as if it might burst down at any moment he sidles across the interior of his house and takes a heavy looking mug… A mug designed to look like a breast, down off the top shelf of his bookcase. Then -making as little noise as possible- he creeps towards the door, stopping right next to it with the mug raised. "Who is it?"

That wasn't his normal speaking voice. What little information I was able to find on the man did suggest a carnival background, presumably he picked up a few skills. "Mister Inkabod, I am Orange Lantern two eight one four. I'd like to speak with you about the Uncorporation-." He hides the mug behind his back while undoing various locks and yanking the door open with his free hand.

I raise my left hand to give him a small wave and he responds with a maniacal grin, tossing the mug away before spreading his arms wide in celebration. "Finally! Someone's taking an interest! The foul and malevolent criminals of the Uncorporation-!"

"Mister Inkabod." I lay my right hand on his left shoulder. "I wouldn't want to put you at risk by talking to you in public. May my colleagues and I speak to you inside?"

"Colleagues?" He leans around me, looks blankly at Raquel but lights up when he sees Zatanna. "Hey, you're Giovanni Zatara's daughter, right?"

"Ah, yes?"

"Worked as a back yard boy at his Vegas show back in…" He thinks for a moment. "Hmm, must be eleven years ago now. Or maybe twelve. Great guy, great guy. What's he up to these days?"

"He's.. taking a leave of absence. Superhero work.. takes a lot out of you."

"Sure it does. So you guys here for that evil-?" I put my arm around his chest and pull him inside his house. "Oh. Right. You want an inside talker."

Raquel and Zatanna come up the steps and follow us inside, Zatanna pulling the door shut behind her. "Mister Inkabod, we find ourselves in need of information about the Uncorporation and Aberrance in general, and I understand that you're the man to ask."

"You here to clean house, right?"

"We're here to investigate a specific criminal activity. Uncorporation may be involved. If other crimes should come to light during our investigation we can either take action ourselves or refer it to the relevant authorities."

"Eenyh." The wind leaves his sails somewhat. "If you're not going to stick it to them, what's my percentage on this?"

"Dinner's on me." A plate of beautifully cooked lamb ribs with… No. Not going to think about it. I close my eyes for a moment as I take a knife and fork out of subspace. He grabs the plate and heads back to his sofa. I'm trying to get his attention by sending the cutlery along in front of him but it looks like he prefers to use his hands.

"Sorry I don't have any other chairs. Maybe we could do this Indian style?" I take three chairs out of subspace and deposit them near to him. He's picked up a rib with his left hand and is chewing on it, but his reaction to the chairs appearing is to take on an expression of disgruntlement. "You know-" He points at the chairs with the rib. "-I reckon it was things like that that killed travelling shows. When you can see guys flying through the sky in just about any big city sideshow freaks are much less of a draw." Zatanna sits down opposite him and I occupy the chair to her left. Raquel remains on guard by the door. "That was why I pitched up in Aberrance soon as the place started up, before von Schadel got here. Way I saw it, if enough freaks and weirdos got together in one place? A whole town midway? People would come from far and wide to see it! Hell, people weren't shy about coming to look around when it was just a few Un-Man freaks living in old bomb test buildings. And with Uncle Sam picking up the bill for the construction, it was a fix! When I first moved here, this was all basically wasteland. I got in good with Damien… I was basically his talker, especially when his voice started to go."

Zatanna nods. "Did something go wrong?"

"That… Those Janus freaks. They drove in here one day, started talking to Damien's… You know, his people."

"Second generation Un-Men."

"Yeah, that's it. Janus Senior… He's got the talk, knows about Arcane and the Romania connection. He's got the money to invest and the connections to make it happen. And he's got the anatomical wonder on his back." Mister Inkabod shrugs. "I figure, he's a guy we need. Damien wasn't keen, but it wasn't like the town as was was any sort of place to live long term." His face curls with distaste as he chews the asparagus tart. "I was the guy who talked him into going along with it. I mean, everyone respected him but it wasn't like he knew anything about plumbing or electrics or how to run a business."

"And Janus used that to take over?"

"He knew how to organize stuff. I've seen lot managers at work before, but he was something else. Roads, sewage, even a couple of cake eater companies started setting up. Life was pretty good. Even Damien cheered up a bit…" He trails off, looking a little less pleased about it. "Though, that may have been the medication. He was in a lot of pain towards the end, and Janus wanted to keep him on-side. Anyway, everything was coming together. Then von Schadel and the others got here. At first, I figured he was just another T an' K medicine show. He even had his own wagon. Janus.. recognized him, or something. They had a private chat, and after that? Things started changing. Old school carnival folk getting frozen out of {red}our own town{/}."

"Was that when he started making new Un-Men?"

"No, he didn't start doing that until after Damien died. Maybe he knew Damien wouldn't stand for it. That was what Janus wanted, though. More 'improved' freaks. Now, the rest of us are {red}ghettoized inside a place that was set up as a ghetto{/}! {red}We can't use the rail, can't use the amenities and if we want a job with Uncorporation we have to go under the Doctor's knife{/}!"

"I'm guessing you're not too happy about that." Raquel has her arms folded across her chest. I don't need empathic vision to know that she's going to be referring this to Mister Arnus.

"You bet I'm not." He brightens slightly. "But in just a little while it's not going to matter."

"Oh? Some sort of.. class action lawsuit?"

"Lawyers? Nah. My buddy Bertoldt tried that and the DoE had them on the ropes before the bell stopped ringing." He puts the empty plate down on the cushion next to him and leans forwards, grinning in a manner most sinister. "Von Schadel came to Aberrance with five others like him. Only one left now. The others had.. ahh… 'Unexplained accidents', all in the last few months. He's keeping the last one close by him. That won't save him."

"Accidents? Is someone going after them?"

He sits back. "No idea. But, ah, if you want to talk to some folks about what Uncorporation's been doing… Come back here this evening. Might be you'll see something interesting."

{red}15th January
13:33 GMT -8{/}

"…give you Nth metal, but there's no reason why I couldn't create something else for you. Some sort of gravity reduction system?"

Niko smiles at me as we walk down the pavement on the edge of one of Aberrance's main thoroughfares, and tucks a loose strand of hair behind one ear. "That would be extremely generous of you."

"And perhaps a few more tomes on Atlantean biomancy for the good doctor?"

"I'm.. not.. sure. He's always been a bit.. snippy about Atlantean techniques."

I drop back slightly to get a better look at her wings. I know perfectly well how they came into being, but it's always worth giving Un-Men the opportunity to talk about themselves. "How did he make these? They're too big to be swan. You didn't cut up an actual Angel, did you?"

She chuckles. "I-I don't believe in Angels, Grayven. These were grown in our labs. Synthetic flesh crafting. I think the feathers are mostly Swan and the wing structure was taken from an Albatross."

"You have the ability to just.. put stuff together like that?"

She shakes her head. "It's not easy. A lot of the time something goes wrong and whatever the Doctor was trying to grow comes out wrong. I've floated the idea of offering to grow replacement body parts for people before."

"I would have thought that the market for that-."

"Uncorporation isn't hurting for cash flow. Given what we're trying to achieve, tying the Doctor to a single project that doesn't teach us anything for an extended period of time just isn't worth the opportunity cost."

{orange}!Touch her wings!{/}

No, no good. I can't resist. I gently run the very tips of the fingers of my right hand along the edge of her left wing while {orange}taking a closer look{/} at their internal structures. Hollow avian bones of course, as well as the tiny glands which keep the feathers coated in oil-. The wing I'm touching shivers and Niko draws it in more closely, slowing so that I come up alongside her.

"Could you, um, not do that?"

"I'm… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause you any discomfort."

She looks a little oh. Whoops. "It's.. not uncomfortable."

"I'm.. really-."

"It's fine. Don't.. mention it." She clears her throat and I move forwards to walk alongside her with a clear gap between us. "I'm, ah, I'm a little surprised how delicate you are. Given your size…"

"Trained masseur." She raises her eyebrows. "Jade -my girlfriend Jade- mentioned that my spatial coordination could be better. That was back when I was in my third form."

"The giant rock man form?" I nod. "I can see how that might have been a problem."

"She's one of the reasons why my current form is smaller."

"Is she altered as well?"

"No, not yet. She's interested, but she hasn't picked out what she wants done yet."

"If she came here I'm sure the Doctor would be happy to see her."

"I'm sure he would as well, but… One of the problems with the Doctor's inspiration based method is that the subject never quite knows what they're going to get. Plus, unless the Doctor has mastered biotechnological teleportation what he can offer is almost certainly worse than what I could give her." Teleporters can be rather tricky to track down. That Baez woman is useless for Jade's purposes due to the explosions it tends to generate and I've made little progress in tracking down other viable sources.

"You can give people the ability to teleport?"

"No, but she was torn between that and super speed and I can give super speed."

"Super speed? Like.. the Flash?" I nod and her eyes widen for a moment. "I see what you mean about combustion engines."

A couple of tourists come to a halt as we approach and bring up their cameras. Niko stops, smiles at them and spreads her wings out while they take pictures. Hmm. I slide my sword out of its sheath. Ring, {orange}subspace my armour and give me glowing horns{/}.

{orange}By your command.{/}

I strike a pose, clenching the muscles in my chest while setting my eyes to full glow. All around tourists take the opportunity to capture the moment while Niko gives me a sidelong glance. "Hey. Stop calling my marks."

"I was wondering why you came out to eat. Is this part of your job?"

She pulls her wings in and gives the tourists a cheerful wave as I {orange}re-equip{/} my armour and sheathe my sword. "Not exactly, but I know that I'm one of the more photogenic Un-Men. We want people to accept our work, and sometimes the best way to do that is to entertain the crowds."

We start back towards the Uncorporation building. "You know, it strikes me that if this television thing takes off, the Doctor would find it very difficult to find the time to both entertain the audience and carry out the Unvolve process on all of the new volunteers."

"I don't think that the increase in interest will be all that much. They'd have to come here and.. society.. hasn't quite adapted to people with our sorts of abnormalities living in other places yet."

"I find it hard to believe that you'd have trouble anywhere."

She makes a sort of chuckle-cough noise. "Perhaps. But the Doctor doesn't like to repeat himself."

"Has he considered training up one of your third generation employees? I doubt they'd share his reservations about following an already trodden path." She looks uncertain. "He can't keep doing everything himself indefinitely. There will come a point where he needs to teach someone. And… What if something happened to him? I'm not unaware of the level of civil unres-."

Her mobile rings. "Excuse me." She pulls it out of her pocket and answers it. "Niko here." Her face goes still and grim. "No. That's… Has someone told von Schadel?" A short pause. "Okay, I'll be back in a few minutes." She ends the call and reholsters the phone and strides in the direction of the Uncorporation building. "We need to.. to hurry."

"Why? What happened?"

"Someone killed Tomas."

"Who?"

"The first generation Un-Man with the head where his left leg should be?"

"Ah. Where precisely are we heading?"

"Back to the Uncorp-."

"No, precisely."

She stops. "He was in the Doctor's private lab."

"Right. Ring, {orange}scan{/}. Father Box, Boom Tube."

The glowing hole in the air opens to the faux stone clad room and after a moment's hesitancy Niko strides through. Tigira and the Ape-Man are standing over the broken body parts of the late Tomas, brown and grey fluid oozing slowly from the severed ends. The Face is slumped unconscious in one corner of the room and the horse is struggling to escape its enclosure. Niko hurries over to Tomas' heads. Someone.. actually shoved his crutch through both skulls. That must have taken considerable amounts of both strength and hatred. He'd already have to have been dead at that point. Sure, the Un-Men aren't popular at the moment but Tomas was barely sentient. And if it happened inside the building…

Niko looks up from the remains, tears and fury in her eyes. "{red}Get internal security to seal the building{/}. {red}We're not letting whoever did this get away again{/}."

{red}15th January
13:38 GMT -8{/}

Ah, a locked building mystery. I'm actually.. trained for those. Ring, {orange}scan the building{/}. Anyone here who shouldn't be?

{orange}M'gann detected.

Anyone else{/}?

{orange}No further unauthorised presences detected.{/}

"{red}Find Janus Junior{/}!"

Hmm. If they can hide from a power ring I'm a bit stuck. Ring, {orange}scan this room for unauthorised genetic material{/}.

{orange}No recent residues detected.{/}

I {orange}attach{/} orange threads to each of the body parts and float them up-

"What are you doing!?"

-into their original shape. "I am performing an investigation." Curious. The splits between parts are slightly ragged. Not clean enough for a sword or saw but not messy as a straightforward ripping would be. But the bone was snapped..? "Tigira, may I see your claws for a moment?"

"W-what? Why?"

"I'm curious as to what made these cuts." I point to the one that went through his upper arm. "See?"

"I didn't-" {orange}Ophidian's Gaze{/}. As expected. "-attack Tomas."

"Humour me." Niko turns her angry gaze on her employee and the Ape fellow looms behind her.

Clearly alarmed, Tigira holds out her hands and extends her claws. A clever biological mechanism, quite unlike those of an actual cat. Hers are more like Human nails that have been reinforced, though her rear claws have the more realistic curved blade version.

I walk over to take a closer look. "Riddle me this: how do you betray a secret you don't know?" Yes, it's hard to see but there is a little Tomas goo under the nails.

"I… I don't know {yellow}but I didn't{/}-."

"Miss Tigira, I know that you had no desire to harm Mister Tomas. Unfortunately, we live in a world with telepaths, ghosts and magicians, all of whom can compel others to act as they would want them. Tell me, what were you doing when you discovered his remains?"

"I was.. on guard outside. Doctor von Schadel didn't want-."

"And then?"

"There was.. some sort of noise…" She looks back to the Ape Man for confirmation. "And then I… I.. {yellow}I can't remember{/}."

"Niko, could you call Doctor von Schadel down here. We'll need to see if we can get a trace from her mind."

"The.. Doctor can't read the minds of people he's Unvolved. Are you saying someone's been controlling the murderers?"

I frown. "There have been others?" Her eyes widen slightly. She wasn't meant to tell me that. "I can't help if you won't give me information. And I want to {orange}help{/}."

She hesitates for a moment, then nods. "Several other members of the first generation, all in places they should have been safe. But… Why? They were all Arcane's earliest work, barely intelligent. They meant no harm to anyone."

"Swamp Thing might argue that point with you."

"The early ones only attacked when someone directed them to."

"Such as?"

"Cranius, or Arcane himself." I nod. "Cranius would never endanger his brothers and Arcane is dead. Unless you think he survived being ripped apart."

"Reanimation is possible, though not particularly likely. Spiritual possession…" I place my hands on either side of Tigira's head. {orange}Analysis{/}. Hmm. "Your neurotransmitter levels are slightly off. I'm not an expert, but-."

The door flies open and Otto storms in, Cranius mounted on his left shoulder. He makes it three paces before seeing the remains of his brother- "Tomas? No." -and stumbling to a halt. Otto makes a sharp right turn, driving his fist through the plastic fake stone and into the wood beneath. Cranius himself flicks his eyes back and forth between the rest of us before alighting on Niko. "{red}How{/}..? {red}How has zhis happened{/}?"

"Cranius, I believe that someone is using a form of remote control on your employees-."

"Zhen {red}I will dissect zhem and learn zhis person's secrets directly from zheir brain{/}!"

"Doctor, I understand that you're distressed, but-."

I get a fraction of a second's warning as The Face opens his eyes and mouth, his expression malicious in a way quite alien to his nature. I {orange}erect a barrier{/} between him and Cranius just in time to prevent the scientist becoming char grilled. The Face pushes off the ground with his legs, flame cutting out only as he brings his fist around to strike it. He's strong for a Human but I've blocked hits from Kon and Diana. Ring, {orange}brand{/}.

{orange}Unable to comply. Subject is already being remote controlled.{/}

He crouches on the ground, braces and huffs out a stream of blue plasma. I {orange}send construct cables around and behind, grabbing his arms and legs and pulling him against the far wall{/}. {orange}Physiology scan{/}… "Doctor, I can't tell what I can safely do to stop him."

"Save zhe brain. I can rebuild zhe rest."

The plasma stream cuts out abruptly. Concern for the host? Is he being used as some sort of base station? The Face's eyes focus on Cranius, his right hand spasmodically opening and closing. "You."

"{red}Who are you{/}?!" Otto walks right up to my barrier. "{red}Why have you murdered my brozhers{/}!?"

"To hurt you. You stole this place, this sanctuary, from the very people who built it."

I lean closer to Niko. "I can call in telepaths and magic users both. Just give me the word."

She turns to look at me, irises red and the veins in her eyes clearly visible. "Why would I want you to do that?"

The voice isn't hers. Quick check and yep, the other two are like that as well. {orange}New constructs{/} press them into the walls across from The Face. Ring, charge remaining?

{orange}Ninety one percent power remaining.{/}

"Doctor! He's got the others! I'll need to call in additional help to-."

"{red}Why{/}? {red}Aberrance was built on zhe suffering of my people{/}! {red}Zhese.. Gaffs.. cling on our coat tails{/}! {red}Heff you any idea how many brozhers and sisters I lost to Sunderland{/}?!"

I cover the space between us in two strides, pick him up off Otto and forcibly turn him to face me. "Doctor. I need to call in extra help to remove whatever is possessing them. Do I have your permission?"

The back of his head pulses… Gasping for breath I suppose. Then he snaps out of his rage fit sufficiently to notice the condition of Niko. "No, not {violet}my Angel as well{/}." He refocuses on me. "Yes, Grayven, summon your allies. Purge this foul presence from their minds!"

I nod. Ring, {orange}connect to the mountain's Hush Tube, then have it portal Ixy directly here{/}.

{orange}Connection established.{/}

{red}15th January
13:42 GMT -8{/}

"Ixy, get in here!"

Through the opening I see to the Freaks Rest, the slightly more middle class leaning part of Aberrance containing housing for the slightly better off locals. Either those gaffs with successful shows or people who have found better paid employment in one of the local businesses. Not necessarily up market businesses, mind; Aberrance is home to a successful chain of oddity brothels run by a pair of conjoined twins. The Flosse family live there and my assistants were supposed to be making contact with Richard's group. With luck they were able to catch them either before the performances started or between showings. Either way, I hope they've already had time to link up because I need to know if there's something else going on.

Ixy scampers through the Tube and stares straight at me. She looks agitated. **Grayven, something bad is happening to the Un-Men. It seems that they are attempting to sabotage-.** She freezes as something behind me-.

{orange}No{/}! {orange}Stop{/}! Additional clamps form around Tigira's wrists as I yank her claws away from her eyes. Ahh shit.

"{red}Zhis is madness{/}! {red}I don't know who you are, but{/}-!"

"Have you forgotten that quickly?" / "Have you forgotten that quickly?" / "Have you forgotten that quickly?" / "Have you forgotten that quickly?"

And this is why I don't like telepathy. Their voices aren't quite synchronised but that -and Tigira's bloody face just make it more disturbing. Ring, {orange}access all files relating to the structure of Tigira's eyes and heal{/}.

{orange}By your command.{/}

**Ixy, if the control mechanism is telepathic I {orange}need{/} you to block it. Can you do that for me?** {trans}**You will succeed.**{/}

**I don't know. I… Usually we would do this with G-Gnomes.**

**Do your best.** "Doctor, I need to bring in outsiders. Do I have your-?"

He turns back to me. "Yes. Do it. And when my children are free-" He turns back to whatever's possessing The Face. "-{red}I will take your reason from your still living brain{/}!"

"Better than you have-." Ixy's horns glow. "G-ghuhgh." He starts to froth at the mouth, glaring at Ixy with insane fury.

**I can't keep him out! All I can do is hold him off a little! It is like he is already inside Mister The Face's brain!**

Ring, {orange}transfer the Hush Tube terminus to Genomorph City{/}.

{orange}By your command.{/}

The portal shifts and for a fraction of a second I see a flash of something incomprehensible in Ixy's mind. I'll assume that was her accessing the Genomorph Entire.

"Grayven." I wince slightly as Kaldur's voice comes from my earpiece. "The third generation Un-Men are on the rampage. We are trying to stop them but they are -ugg- quite able fighters."

Ring, {orange}interface{/}.

{orange}By your command.

I know{/}. {orange}I've got Ixy and{/}-

Four G-Elves run through the portal carrying a G-Gnome each. They set them down in front of each controlled Un-Man and the horns of the smaller G-Gnomes start to glow. Niko, Tigira and the Ape bloke shudder.

-{orange}some G-Gnomes trying to block whatever's controlling them{/}. {orange}If you can spare Zatanna{/}..?

"Yes, if you can send in some of your drones."

Ring, {orange}access Hush Tube two and send drone squadron{/}-. Most of my drones have only high-lethality weapons. Ahh, {orange}drone squadron four{/}. They'll feel the shock discs in the morning but it's better than being exploded by a plasma beam or putrefied by a Purple Death Ray.

{orange}By your command.

It's done, Kaldur{/}. {orange}They'll be with you in a moment{/}. {orange}You can issue voice commands on channel three{/}.

"Thank you. M'gann, contact Zatanna."

Cranius appears to have been distracted by the portal to Genomorph City. He takes a step towards it before one of the G-Elves interposes itself. He stops and looks over the G-Elf instead. "Remarkable."

The flare of golden light heralding Zatanna's arrival triggers another frightened whinny from the horse but we've got more important things to worry about. Zatanna's already at full glow, tiny triquetra dancing around her fingers.

"Zatanna, someone or something is connecting to the third generation Un-Men-."

"Ytitcnas fo dnim!"

The tiny golden motes fly from her hands and connect to the foreheads of Niko, Tigira and… This is getting silly. Ring, {orange}what's his name{/}? Oswald? Really? Fine. There's a flash of gold from their eyes and mouths as the foreign presence is banished. Must be a relatively weak spell if that was all it took. That's the thing, the reason why every team needs a magic user and a telepath: it's too easy for an enemy to score a Total Party Kill if they have an attack you have no way to counter. Zatanna quickly checks each Un-Man then nods at me to release them. Just The Face left to go.

**Grayven, I think we can…** Ixy takes a few shuffling steps towards The Face. **With five of us working together we can try to feel where else the pattern of thoughts which feel like the attacker are.**

**Oh, I have a better idea.** Otto leans down and Cranius touches his forefinger to Ixy's neck. **Show me what you are doing, child.**

"Zatanna, try to keep the connection open."

The Face's right hand is spasming harder now as the G-Gnomes creep towards him, horns still glowing.

"Er'uoy gniog erehwon."

I drop my construct around The Face as a large triquetra forms underneath him, threads of golden light flowing up his limbs to tie him down.

"Grayven, report."

{orange}Zatanna's freed three of the possessed Un-Men here and she, Ixy and Cranius are working to trace the attacker{/}.

Niko stumbles slightly and I reach out with my right arm to steady her, earning me a small smile.

"Okay." Ah, it sounds like M'gann joined in the defence effort. "But what are you doing?"

My eyes fall to the ring. Um.

{orange}I'm holding together a dead Un-Man{/}. {orange}Give me a moment{/}.

They were able to restore Arcane to sort-of life, right? Maybe they can do something for poor old Tomas. Ring, {orange}make physical repairs{/}. Orange light flashes along the cuts, sealing them. I gently lay the body down on the experimental slab. At least he'll feel at home if he wakes.

{orange}Okay, I'm free{/}. {orange}Where do you want me{/}?

"They're trying to set fire to a theater tent near the hotels."

Ring, {orange}summon a Hush Tube{/}.

{red}15th January
13:47 GMT -8{/}

The Metamorphodrome. Future site of the filming of American Freak, the Un-Men's chosen route to wider acceptance of their techniques from an audience in search of something a little more visceral than Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Is that even still on? {orange}Toddson{/}… Oh, he was the mind behind 'Models on Fire'. I'm not sure what that series involves and I actually don't want to find out.

The building itself is a huge structure with a decorative red and yellow big top style canvas covering. The entrance way is marked by two thirty-metre tall scaffold towers between which is supported a sign with 'Metamorphodrome' painted proudly on it. A little lower down is a twenty six metre tall split painting of Cranius in full Doctor von Schadel dress. Attached about a third of the way up from ground level is another sign, this one bearing the legend 'DR VON SCHADEL THEATER OF OPERATION'. It's a short distance from the main tourist areas but still in good real estate.

And whoever is controlling the third generation Un-Men appears to have taken particular exception to it. The big top style decorative canvas is already on fire. Given the nature of some of the biotech work done here it isn't too surprising that Uncorp security are well equipped with flamethrowers, though I am surprised that they were able to put them to use so quickly. An Un-Man with what appears to be a floating brain sticking out of his arse is making a tour, firing spurts of flames upwards until the flame resistant canvas finally catches light.

At least he's not self harming. {orange}Suppress flame{/}. Weak orange light plays over the canvas and his weapon, causing the fires to gutter and go out. He looks around to find the source of the extingui… Extinguishing? Extinguation? I need to spend less time around Richard. My follow up {orange}squirts{/} a knock out gas into his mouth and nose. Not quite sure about the dose for-. No, that worked. I lower myself to near ground level and I {orange}attach manacles{/} to his arms and legs. Not quite sure what to do about the floating brain thing but since it doesn't appear to have any offensive potential I think I'll leave it. The flamethrower goes {orange}into{/} subspace.

**While I'm here, any chance of an update?**

I {orange}transition{/} into the film studio. The head of Aberrance's SWAT unit -an Un-Man with eyes in a band around his head who these days goes by the self explanatory name of Panoptes- and an Un-Man with prehensile tentacles replacing his right arm are setting explosives on one of the interior walls. Does that means that their controller keeps their skills intact while puppeting them? That does suggest that their minds may be recoverable, which should make Cranius happier.

**We caught up with Bertoldt Flosse at his show. He said a bunch of stuff about Uncorporation, but he couldn't think of anyone who'd work with Kobra.**

Think I can trust Richard to have been thorough in his questioning, though given Mister Flosse's psychological profile it was a long shot that he'd have been involved. Panoptes spots me and brings a submachine gun to bear while his colleague starts pressing buttons on the detonator. A {orange}solid orange beam{/} hits the explosives and {orange}shifts{/} them to subspace while I ignore the bullets which patter uselessly off my armour and face. {orange}Yank and gas{/}, then {orange}manacles{/}.

**Mister Inkabod made a great show of knowing more than he was willing to divulge. But his interests seemed limited to opposing Uncorporation activities within Aberrance. An attack on a city on the other side of the country would be of little immediate benefit to him, and he is in no position to gain access to the Uncorporation's laboratories.**

Nothing from either of them? I'm running out of suspects. Ring, {orange}any further targets{/}?

{orange}Explosive devices detected. Marking.{/}

Three other walls. Together they may have been enough to bring down the whole structure. {orange}Transition, subspace, transition, subspace, transition, subspace{/}. Good job it isn't Richard or Artemis trying to do this.

**Metamorphodrome clear. Where do you need me?**

**Archer, lotta heat coming your way.**

**I see them.** Tao breaks off for a moment. **I am on top of the Uncorporation building. I believe that I can hold here, though their medical facilities will be hard pressed later.**

**I've got panicking tourists by the main entrance. I'm trying to calm them down telepathically, but it's not-.**

{orange}Transition{/}.

The crowd is pushing and shoving in an attempt to reach the already clogged turnstiles.

"Listen to me! If you don't-" **-calm down now-** "-all you are going to do is injure yourselves!"

Looks a bit like that scene in Resident Evil 2, right before the security people shoot everyone trying to get out of Raccoon City. M'gann's floating directly over the exit while the panicky animals beneath us trample one another to get away from… {orange}Ring{/}? No, no Un-Men in the immediate vicinity. If this really only affects third generation Un-Men the Insectoids should be safe…

**Archer, be aware that Un-Men inside the building may try to release the Insectoids. If that happens-.**

M'gann looks at me, her eyes glowing. **I've already sent Superboy and Match in via Hush Tube to guard the vault. Can you do anything about this crowd?**

Ripping out the turnstiles and part of the fence would probably deal with the crush issue.

But these people are being such morons.

**Why don't you just put a little more power into your persuasion?** Her eyes dim as she gives me a look of frustration. **I can't-** Easily or confidently. **-stop them crushing each other. You can do the job far better.**

She considers for a moment, then tilts her head slightly downwards. She closes her eyes for a moment and then opens them again, blazing white.

**Calm down at once!**

The noise of the crowd below us drops to near nothing, aside from the whimpering of someone underneath their feet and the droning of the Damien Kane animatronic. I lower myself towards the now calm but somewhat confused mass and {orange}extend{/} an orange cord down to them. {orange}Expand{/} an environmental shield around them and gently {orange}lift{/} them up. A teenaged boy, cuts and bruises and torn clothing and more than a few broken bones in his right hand where someone stamped on it. The lesson will be more effective if I {orange}heal{/} him up while they watch. There we go. A gap opens in the crowd as I deposit him with a group who appear to be his friends.

"The situation is under control." M'gann looks relieved that that worked. "Please, leave the park in an orderly manner."

Thanks to a combination of her mind control and my demonstration of the results of their thoughtlessness, her suggestion is heeded. Things progress a little more quickly once I {orange}detach{/} the barrier parts of the turnstiles.

**Aqualad to Miss Martian. How are things at the gate?**

**The evacuation is going smoothly.**

I tighten the left corner of my mouth. **The panicking sheep are fleeing in a more orderly fashion. Were the Un-Men actually going after tourists?**

I'm not good at getting feedback from telepathy. Kon tells me that he can get flashes of what M'gann's thinking when she communicates with him, sometimes even an idea of where she is in relation to him. I just get words. There might be some sort of tonal conversation going on in our shared headspace right now but if there is I'm not getting any of it.

**They were not.** I'm fairly sure that if Kaldur were physically present I'd be getting a glower for referring to civilians as sheep. Hooray for telepathic insensitivity!

**They did go after that Janus guy, though.** I wait for a moment to see if Wallace has any further explanation to offer. **Or should that be 'those Janus guys? Him and some security guards tried picking up Mister Flosse when we were talking to him.**

**They're just targeting Uncorporation!** I'm rather fond of Artemis, but I don't think she'll be challenging Batman for the 'World's Greatest Detective' title any time soon.

**Is that..? Err, Rocket to team. We get all the security guys?**

{orange}Ring{/}? **Ring says yes, though most Un-Men work in the Uncorporation building itself.**

**Grayven, open a Hush Tube for me.** I do a quick {orange}scan{/} for Kaldur's location. **I believe it is time I spoke to Doctor von Schadel myself.**

{red}15th January
13:53 GMT -8{/}

I take a moment to do a quick check of the crowds around the exit. No other injuries, though from the slightly confused looks I think M'gann may have slightly overdone the telepathic shout. Unfortunately it's not an area Mister King can help her with; though an expert on sensory manipulation his ability to simply command the minds of others is quite limited. In the back of my mind I'm trying to weigh up the utility of introducing her to Chester. He really is a better match to her abilities but a far worse match to her character. On the other hand, he hasn't gone full 'Superman versus The Elite' arrogant arsehole yet, something I largely attribute to Vera's stabilising influence. With a moderate amount of effort I could probably nudge him into the anti end of the superhero category. How does that impact his usefulness to me? Certainly I don't want him picking a fight with Superman but hatchet men can be exceedingly useful if properly guided.

But a more pressing concern is whatever mind controlled all of the third generation Un-Men. I look around to where M'gann is crouched down comforting a small boy who appears to have been separated from his parents. "Do you have things under control here? I should probably get back to von Schadel." She glances in my direction and nods, her eyes glowing. Then she stands and leads the boy off.. towards.. a worried looking couple. Telepathic parent-child matching. Better than a tannoy announcement I suppose.

Ring, {orange}Hush Tube to Cranius{/}.

{orange}By your command.{/}

"…coincidence that the only ones affected-" I step through and the tube evaporates behind me. "-were your third generation Un-Men."

Kaldur is standing just inside what would normally be Doctor von Schadel's personal space, a Batman taught technique for applying pressure to reluctant witnesses. Not sure that it would work on a person like Cranius, though he does appear to be slightly perturbed.

"No, I don't zhink it was a coincidence at all."

I look around the rest of the room. The Face is sitting up inside a glowing golden barrier, rubbing his… Cheeks? And.. forehead? Zatanna's slightly turned away so that she can keep an eye both on his and the Cranius/Kaldur situation. Ixy's crouched on the gurney next to Tomas' body, watching the dispute with curiosity with the G-Gnomes on the ground near to her. The G-Elves are guarding the doors and Tigira and Oswald appear to have left. Niko is slightly behind Cranius, {green}loyalty{/} competing with her {yellow}fear and uncertainty{/}.

Kaldur turns to our other teammates. "Zatanna? Ixy?"

Zatanna shakes her head. "Whoever it was, they cut the connection at their end as soon as I started probing seriously. Their spell was very low power. I'm not.. sure I could trace it."

**Their mind was like lots of bits and all of it hates us. I did not like it.**

Cranius spots me. "Ah, Grayven, my boy! How is the situation outside?"

"Under control, Doctor. Minimal injuries amongst your guests, though I'm afraid that the security force's rampage-."

He frowns. "Zhey were targeting civilians? Zhet is not-."

"No, their attention was solely focused on Uncorporation property."

Kaldur narrows his eyes at Cranius. "If you do not tell me what you know-."

Otto waves his right arm dismissively. "Grayven, can you do somezhing with this one?"

I give him a slightly apologetic smile. "Not really, he's my boss." His eyebrows rise slightly. "Though if it makes you feel better he is augmented. Atlantean. He looks fairly baseline, but if you used an ultrasound scan you'd see considerable differences."

"My nature is hardly relevant-."

"Doctor." Niko puts her hand on Otto's left shoulder in such a way that her fingers touch Cranius'. "His team just stopped someone using our own people to tear Aberrance apart. That would have ruined everything for us."

Cranius looks like for the first time in his life he's tasted the fish heads. "I do not.. know who has done zhis. But I must suspect… My own mental abilities work partially due to zhe structures of my brain and the bio-alchemies which granted me life. Amongst my people such characteristics are very rare. Of Arcane's original creations, only myself and my late sister Ophidian possessed such zhings. And hers were far more limited."

Kaldur stares at him unflinchingly. "Who?"

"'Who' is.. impossible." Otto steps around Kaldur and heads for the far door. Cranius turns around on his shoulder so that he continues to face us. "But I will show you who it cannot be."

I look expectantly at Kaldur. We've had to take down nearly the entirety of Uncorporation's security and I actually don't know what is in this part of the Omega Vault. Things could get awkward for me if he decides to order me to become physically aggressive. I mean, I'd do it and try to find a way to apologise to Cranius later, but it would really be better to let Cranius explain things at his own pace.

After a moment's thought Kaldur follows him. **Grayven, Ixy, come with me. Zatanna, try to create a spell to permanently block the possession we have just witnessed.**

I nod and fall in behind him. Niko comes through the door behind me and hurries for a few steps in order to draw level. A moment later I hear Ixy jump off the gurney and scamper to follow me. I look down at Niko. "Any idea where we're going?"

She keeps looking ahead. "No. I've never been down here."

"Not even for your.. procedure..?"

She shakes her head. "No, there's a surgical suite for the Unvolve process itself in the main part of the building."

"So what's with that..?" I point to the room behind us with my right thumb.

"If a candidate can't take a little theatre they'll never be able to adapt to the way we live." Along the sides of the corridor are some very heavily reinforced doors. Niko notices my interest. "This is where we keep Un-Men who… Who either can't adapt to their alterations or who we can't keep controlled." I try to look through the door immediately to our left and see a grey skinned Un-Man with three heads staring blankly back at me.

"Your recent work hasn't added-?"

"No, we're very careful to avoid Arcane's mistakes. I.. don't know exactly-."

"Zhis one." Cranius has stopped before a large round vault door. He turns a combination lock in the centre of the wheel and I take note of the combination. Just in case. Then he puts Otto to the task of turning the wheel. I idly note that Cranius' need to hold on limits his range of movement.

"{orange}Allow me{/}." He pulls his hands off as the wheel glows orange and starts turning in earnest. Once I release the ring's grip he takes hold once more and pulls the door open before ushering Kaldur through. He follows closely behind, followed by myself, Niko and Ixy. Inside… The room is in the same style as the other cells, though a little larger. The only object inside is a large and complex piece of machinery. The main component is a metal sphere about two metres in diameter with a glass viewing window on the front. Numerous pipes and tubes of varying thicknesses connect to the top, sides and back. In front of it is an old looking control panel, a little like an old science fiction computer console. Aside from the path between the control panel and the door the room is quite dusty.

Kaldur is already at the panel and looking up at the viewing portal. The substance inside appears to be a lumpy pale grey mass, something like the hide of a toad. "What.. is it?"

Otto walks around the panel to stand directly next to the window. Cranius glances at the substance inside and then turns his full attention to his audience. "Technically? A cell culture."

"What kind of cell could look like that?"

"Cancerous growths, of course. I did not know Damien Kane well before his death… But I have got to know him very well since." That's… Cranius smiles and Otto raises his left arm to knock on the window.

The flesh inside opens and a giant eye stares out at us.

{red}15th January
13:58 GMT -8{/}

I.. did.. not know that was there.

Kaldur looks aghast. "It's alive?!"

"Zhet depends on your definition of-" Kaldur {red}hurdles{/} the control panel and {red}shoves{/} him hard against the machinery. "-alive."

Ring, {orange}scan whatever that is{/}.

{orange}By your command.{/}

"It's looking at us!"

"It is a purely reflexive reaction! Zhere is no mind. Cancerous tissues can-."

"Ixy, scan.. it. Is it aware of its environment?"

She stares at it for a moment, horns glowing. **I do not know. No Genomorph has ever encountered anything like this before. I do not think… I cannot feel a mind. There are no coherent thoughts, not even like the ones animals have.**

Kaldur slightly loosens his grip on Otto as Cranius smugly smiles up at him. "Zhank you, Ixy. As I was saying, zhe cancerous cell culture within zhe containment sphere does occasionally create complex organ structures. But-" He stares directly at Kaldur. "-zhere is no directing consciousness. If zhere was, it would be too much of a risk." Kaldur's expression hardens. "Oh, ah… And it would be quite wrong to contain it in zhese conditions. Of course."

Kaldur releases him and takes a step back. He's trying not to look at the bloodshot and unblinking eye but his gaze is constantly being drawn back to it. "What is it?"

"Zhe late Damien Kane left his body to medical science, perhaps in zhe hope zhet its study could show us new ways to aid zhe ozher members of zhe second generation. I have no great irrational love for zhe traditional Human form but.. ahh… Unrestricted random mutation is seldom useful to zhe individual."

"This is.. Damien Kane? He is a hero to the people of Aberrance. If they knew what you had done-!"

"Yes, unt zhet is why we do not boast about it." Otto crouches down next to the window. "Unt.. we heff fulfilled his wish. As he wanted, I performed corrective procedures on zhe members of zhe second generation who had.. developmental issues. Not as satisfying as my own creations of course-" He turns back to us, fingers scrabbling at Otto's shoulder. "-but we are family."

Kaldur shakes his head. "What possible purpose does this serve?"

"Damien's body tissues have a most fascinating property. How much do you know of normal Human stem cells?"

"Little."

No, I don't suppose Atlantean military school would have been big on conventional biology. I know quite a bit -deliciously pre-Grayven knowledge- but it isn't polite to interrupt a mad scientist mid-monologue.

Otto stands and starts to slowly pace in a short circuit while Cranius stands on his fingers to keep himself pointed at us. "Zhe Human body is largely comprised of cells, yes? Each one in its place, processing chemicals in its own particular way. Perhaps zhey are liver cells? Or bone cells? Perhaps zhey are heart tissue, pulsing to pump zhe blood around your body." Otto's arms are in full lecture emphasis mode, which is a little off because he isn't correcting for the direction he's pointing in. "But, every naturally born person begins zheir existence as one single cell. How do we get from one cell of one type to many cells of many types?" Otto stops for a moment to give Cranius the chance to stare at us. "Emergent specialisation. As zhe cell divides it begins to exchange some of its plasticity for specialised characteristics. A totipotent cell which can become anyzhing becomes a pluripotent cell which can become most zhings which becomes multipotent cell… And so on. Zhis is why you cannot simply put a skin cell in a Petri dish unt grow a whole person, zhe cell no longer retains the capacity to become anyzhing else."

"What does that have to do with…" Kaldur looks at the eye again.

"Anton Arcane -our creator- used a vast number of strange alchemical solutions in his experiments, but none of his creations mutated quite as Damien Kane did." He looks down at the ground for a moment. "I did not know his parents well. If zhey had survived.. or if zhe military had not incinerated zheir remains quite zo thoroughly…" He sighs dejectedly but recovers a moment later. "Zhe cells of his body are pluripotent at least. Constantly zhey change unt divide, occasionally forming whole organs with zheir neighbours. Unt they have ozher properties. My Compound K uses heavily modified cells taken from here to enable my xenografts to meld with zhe host bodies. In zhe case of Niko, zhey were used to create zhe very wings which adorn her back."

Niko's hand {yellow}covers her mouth as she tries to contain her horror{/}.

Fascinating. Truly controlled application of pluripotent stem cells? "What other applications have you found for him?"

"Eh? Oh. Zhe laboratories are developing a spray to enable rapid healing of injuries. Unfortunately we haven't quite got zhe carcinogenic effects under control yet. When we culture organs it is not a problem, but on a living person…"

Kaldur looks thoughtful. "The insectoid Un-Men did not try to escape. Are the third generation Un-Men the only ones to have been exposed to this-" He makes an expression of distaste. "-product."

"Hm. Some animals in zhe lab, I zhink."

"Is.. that all that is left of Damien Kane's body?"

"I believe zo." Otto stops pacing and Cranius reorientates him before settling back down. "Zhet is why I said zhet it could not-."

"Are you certain?"

"Well… We did not check for toenail clippings. Does it matter?"

"I believe what my colleague is implying, Doctor, is that a magic user might be using the sympathetic link between a part of Damien Kane's body and your compound to enable their control."

Cranius' face goes slack. "{yellow}God in Heaven{/}." He glances at the sphere, then looks back at Kaldur. "{yellow}Zhe entire{/}… How can zhis be stopped?"

Hunting down whoever's doing it and burning their equipment is the only thing I can think of. And even then, they'd just have to capture a third generation Un-Man-.

"There are magics which can be used to break the connection between objects, as well as defensive spells which would make it harder to influence your people." Hm. Rather thought Kaldur was going to refuse to help, there.

Looks rather like Cranius did too. "Zhank you. Are you.. willing to assist us in capturing whoever-?"

"In Atlantis anyone using this form of magic would be killed on sight. It is a {red}foul misuse of sorcery{/}. But I am {red}very far{/} from happy with what you have done here." **Aqualad to Zatanna. We believe that our enemy was using a tissue sample to form a sympathetic link. If we provide you with a sample, will you be able to trace them?**

**I.. should be able to. It depends on how sophisticated their defenses are.**

Otto turns around and moves to the side of the sphere. There's what looks like a… Oh, ew. He just.. took a core sample. Fortunately the cells in it appear to have failed to form any sort of structure I recognise. He picks up a pair of tweezers to transfer it to a test tube.

**I do not think that we are dealing with high level adepts.**

**Hey, Kaldur?** I was wondering where Wallace had gotten to. **Where do you want that Janus.. guys..?**

**Return him and any third generation Un-Men you are able to Uncorporation headquarters. We believe-** Otto walks out of the room and starts back towards Zatanna. **-that we have a way to locate our attackers. And -if we are fortunate- Kobra as well.**

He and Ixy follow Cranius out of the room. Niko stays, staring at the eye in the window as if waiting for it all to start making sense. I should probably get on with the mission and let her work through her stepfather trust issues on her own.

I step closer and put my left hand on her shoulder. "Niko-."

"I didn't know. I-I didn't know this was where it came from." She finally pulls her eyes away from the abomination, looking up into my face. "You have to believe me, I didn't-."

"I do, I believe you."

"The whole.. project..." She wipes her eyes with her hand. "I-I don't know what to do."

Gently, I put my arms around her back and pull her into my chest. "Niko. You've had a nasty shock and a quite horrendous experience. Now is not the time for making important decisions. Let us handle your attacker and make Aberrance safe. Later, when you feel up to it, talk things over with Cranius. Then you can decide what you want to do."

She stays there for a moment before pulling away. "Yes, that's… Thank you. You're right."

{red}15th January
14:17 GMT -8{/}

ABANDON ALL HOPE ALL YE WHO ENTER HERE…

"Poetic." I look over at Cranius, who in turn is studying the designs Kaldur is drawing around the shaft to the abandoned tunnel network. "Please don't tell me that you were ever planning to use this as an attraction?"

"It is not zhet radioactive, not in most places. For zhe sort of people who would heff been interested, zhe radiation monitors and lead lined suits would heff added to zhe appeal." He looks around at me. "We had a structural survey done. In zhe end Janus and I decided zhet it would be better to focus on zhe amusement park aspect. Nuclear radiation has no real role in zhe Unvolve process and Janus was concerned about.. brand confusion." He inclines his head slightly at the device in front of me. "Is it ready?"

"Seventeen different forms of teleportation and twenty two forms of faster than light travel are blocked." I nod my head to the side. "For the next half hour or so anyway. Power rings will be unaffected but I doubt very much that anyone down there will have one of those."

"I had wondered how you were planning to get down zhere. And zhe bindings, zhey are reliable?"

"Certainly. Kobra has magicians of their own, but the spell they used to control the third generation Un-Men was weak and rather simple. It's more likely that they've either fled already or that the magic user is an amateur rather than one of their Bestowed." I wave my right hand at Kaldur as he stands back and the symbols start to glow gold. "This whole thing should be overkill. If it is Kobra down there this should all be over in a few minutes."

"I admire your confidence." I go back to watching Kaldur as he telepathically checks in with the teams at the other entrances. Given that we know the enemy is a capable telepath I've dialled my defences all the way up. I couldn't hear M'gann if she were right next to me. "I believe General Sunderland once said zhe same zhing of Swamp Zhing."

Zing. From where she stands on the entrance platform Artemis glances back at me with a smirk. I shrug at her. "Speaking of Doctor Holland, you are aware that Abigail Arcane lives near Houma in Louisiana. Do you have any contact?"

"I-." He looks a little confused, then he reaches a decision. "She is family. She suffered under Anton Arcane just as we did. Did you know zhet he provoked a mob to murder her mozher? Heh, for witchcraft of all zhings." I shake my head. "If she chose to visit we would make her welcome, but I do not zhink it would be good for her. We would be but a ghoulish reminder of zhe life she has struggled to escape." He hesitates for a moment. "I believe she.. has a daughter now. If zhey are fortunate-."

"Doctor Cranius." Kaldur walks over to us. "We are ready. Are you certain that you wish to accompany us?"

"Yes." Otto fiddles with the Uncorporation security flak jacket he's wearing. "I know zhet I am not a front line fighter, not by your standards, but Otto and I heff been in a few fights togezher. Unt you may need my expertise on Uncreation. If we get close enough I should be able to sense zhe piece of Kane zhey are using."

"Very well. The other groups are in position. Grayven, take point." I nod. "Doctor, stay with Artemis. I will guard our rear."

I {orange}float{/} Cranius and myself up onto the platform next to the concrete shaft down into Aberrance's underbelly. Ring, {orange}scan{/}. Ugh, I'm still not getting good returns beyond about twenty metres. This is something I'm going to need to try and work out how to get around. Instead of the standard scan I {orange}extend{/} a sonic probe down to the bottom of the shaft and fire off an ultrasound pulse. Concrete corridor with a large open space at the far end. Better, but I'll need to repeat the process as we go.

I nod to Kaldur. "Ready."

His and Artemis' eyes go slightly vacant for a moment, then he nods. "Go."

{orange}Transition{/}. I look around. The corridor is about five metres wide by four tall and there's a large blue '3' painted on one wall. Looks like there's been some water down here. Not surprising given the lack of covering on the shaft. I activate my radio. "Clear."

I take a few steps away from the shaft and look out towards the large open area. Hard to tell around the shaft itself but from the dirt on the floor people have definitely been down here recently. Could just be rough sleepers of course. There's a soft thud as Artemis lands at the bottom of the shaft. I glance at her with my right eyebrow raised. She just looks smug as she puts an arrow to her bowstring. That was a good fifteen metre drop. If Kon had jumped down that he'd have cracked the concrete and made enough noise to wake the dead. Guess not all of the changes my new New Gods received after Barney's defeat are visible.

She moves away from the shaft and I hear Otto start down at a slightly more normal pace. "So, where are all of your drones?"

"Doing security duty in Aberrance. With the normal security disabled…"

She frowns slightly. "I thought you had.. hundreds..?"

"I do, but most of them are the lethal variety. And their minds are uncomplicated. They are ill suited to situations requiring complicated decision making." I purse my lips. "I was meaning to ask: before we came out, you implied that there was some change you had experienced since Barney's banish-."

Another smirk. "Are you actually calling him that?"

"Of course. Zatanna didn't go through all the trouble of branding the Beast 'Barney the Dinosaur' for me not to mention it at every opportunity. Anyway, you became uncomfortable when I asked-."

"Isthisreallythetime?"

"Artemis, I don't want your mother to string me up. This is your health-."

"Okay! Look, I'll-." She looks around as Otto's legs appear at the bottom of the shaft. "I'll tell you when we've cleared out the tunnels."

I give her a level look and she tries a jerky nod to reassure me. Ring, {orange}quick scan{/}. Anything obviously wrong?

{orange}No obvious malfunctions detected.{/}

"O-kaay. If you're sure."

Otto reaches the ground and Cranius takes in his environment. "Hmm." Otto steps away from the shaft as Kaldur uses his Water Bearers to descend rapidly, their water pseudopods increasing their viscosity to hold onto the inner surface, slowing his descent until he reaches the bottom and then forming a non-Newtonian cushion beneath him.

Nifty.

He flicks his wrists towards his body and the water flows over him before hardening into ice plates over his Apokoliptian armour. Magic ice, presumably. Our test sessions together have shown a noticeable improvement in the ease with which he can use the magics he knows. We've planned to do some more exploratory work next week. Once he's got it sorted to his satisfaction he gives me a nod.

I nod back and rise off the ground on my aero discs, glow to minimum. Next, I {orange}send{/} another tiny construct probe to the end of the corridor and take a pulse reading. Clear. Slowly, I float after it, careful to keep myself out of the field of view of anyone I wouldn't be able to see. No, no one home. The room is about sixteen metres across and easily thirty long. Various guide markings are still painted onto the floor and a track has been laid down the middle, disappearing into a tunnel at the far end. I'm standing on a platform running down most of this side of the room eight metres off ground level. Nothing much else to see. I float up above the guard rail, turning around to look back the way I came. On the side of the platform someone has painted 'KANE LIVES!' in bold red letters.

I activate my radio again. "Room clear."

Artemis emerges from the tunnel, carefully checking the corners of the room. Otto and Cranius come out next, though they don't show the same tactical awareness. Actually, Cranius looks puzzled by something. Artemis takes up position on the steps leading down from the platform and then signals Kaldur as I head down the tunnel. {orange}Standard scans{/} are still being blocked by something, but I can't see anything that could be doing-.

What was..? I raise my right hand to my right cheek. Feels like.. concrete dust? But this place looks pretty solid. I look upwards as more flakes of the hard grey material rain down. Hmm. I start floating back to the large room. Should probably-.

And then brown flesh tentacles explode from everywhere.

{red}15th January
14:22 GMT -8{/}

I {orange}bring up orange barriers{/} to ward off the spray of concrete as a tooth-covered tentacle lunges down from the roof hole at me. I meet it with a {orange}swarm of razor edges{/}, cutting it to shreds. Now, {orange}transition{/}-.

{orange}Unable to plot path.{/}

Oh, well… I fly backwards into the large room as more tentacles erupt from the walls, floor and ceiling. Artemis meets a cluster with a plasma arrow as Kaldur leaps into action, creating water machetes and slicing the ends off any tendrils that get too close. As I watch, several pieces that were cut loose begin twitching and growing, thin filaments of flesh reaching out to the nearest other pieces before connecting and expanding, forming veins and muscles and what look like miniature hearts, pumping their strange ichor through the cancerous structure.

I guess there is more to Damien Kane than we realised.

Ring, {orange}reactive barriers{/}. And give me a {orange}fusion lance{/}.

Orange barriers form in the air around my team mates. A barrage of flesh hooks directed at Kaldur's back get blocked for a moment before he turns to slice them apart. Artemis puts another plasma arrow into the disturbingly mouth-like barrier forming around the tunnel to our fallback point, incinerating it and.. it isn't growing back. Good to know.

I aim my fusion lance at the dense concentration of mass forming at the far end of the room- "Danger close!" -and {orange}pull the trigger{/} as Artemis grabs Otto and covers Cranius' eyes. Corrupted flesh {orange}evaporates{/}-

"uuuuUUUHHHGGGhh!"

-around the brilliant beam, my team's Apokoliptian goggles preventing us from being blinded by it. A slab of concrete falls from the ceiling above us, revealing the undulating mass of flesh and dozens of red irised eyes on stalks which extend to peer down at us. Some of the large tentacles abandon their attack, linking floor to ceiling and forming more eyes and sharp-toothed mouths.

"Cran-i-us!"

The area I shot has already been covered over by new growth as a large tentacle erupts from the mass, heading straight for me. I {orange}interpose an orange barrier{/} only for it to fracture and melt as pustules on the tentacle break and leak -{orange}What is that{/}?- some sort of.. presumably alchemical substance over it. I fire the fusion lance again, incinerating it and beating the expansion back.

"Tunnel's completely blocked! I can't see the exit!" Artemis switches to incendiaries and looses at a perimeter around our position.

"Kaldur, heat based attacks-."

"On it." His armour's icy coating shatters, tiny particles of ice whirling about him and crackling with electricity. "Keep them back while I prepare."

I dismiss the fusion lance and {orange}switch to maser turrets{/}, firing at anything that moves around the flames Artemis' arrows created and heads in our direction. I'm not… We should be alright even if they manage to grab us. Apokoliptian armour is tough stuff. I could.. probably blast through the ceiling… No, too many unknown factors to-.

"MmmmmMMmghhrrrrrahhhhh!"

"Hah!" All of the tentacles momentarily recoil as I try and work out why Artemis is so happy. She catches my eye. "Archer says that there are brain.. things.. just underneath some of the big tentacles. He just shot one."

So the other teams are under attack too? {orange}Masers to 'wide beam'{/}. "Can you do his 'shooting through solid objects' trick?"

"Not without time to concentrate."

The lights from Kaldur's ice crystal aura reach incandescent intensity. "Grayven, get behind me."

I drop down to the base of the steps, grab hold of Otto and Cranius and {orange}erect a bubble barrier{/} around us as Kaldur lets rip. The air turns white as tiny ice crystals fly outwards, strike cancerous flesh and discharge.

"aaaoooaAAAAghhrrrpp."

The room is flash fried, the blackened lumps of dead flesh collapsing from the ceiling in charred piles. Kaldur flicks his Water Bearers and a new coating of ice begins to form on him. I turn to Artemis. "How are the others doing?"

"The Super Brothers are fine but Robin's group had to fall back. What is this thing?"

"Cranius? Something else you want to tell us?"

Otto rubs Cranius' eyes as he tries to focus on me. "No, zhis… From where is it getting zhe food to be zhis big?"

"Yeah, I've learned not to ask that sort of question. Kaldur, alright if I call in some of my killy drones now?"

He nods without looking around. "Consider yourself authori-."

"No! Zhese tunnels go all under Aberrance! If you kill it zhere is no telling what would happen!"

Kaldur glares at Cranius. "The park is largely evacuated-."

"Unt if zhis zhing has spread to zhe Uncorporation building itself? If it breached zhe Omega Vault zhen zhe Insectoids and my less well socialised brezhren would be released, to say nozhing of zhe people still inside."

"{red}Cran-i-us{/}!"

The voice echoes out from the far tunnel. Tendrils of flesh have grown to cover its walls but are hesitating to regrow into this room. Loose soil falls from the large hole that it created in the ceiling.

"I do not know what zhis zhing wants wizh me-" Otto straightens up, dusts himself off and starts walking towards the tunnel. "-but it seems zhet we must find out."

Ring, {orange}Hush Tube{/}. {orange}I want{/}-.

{orange}Unable to establish connection.{/}

Fine. Father Box, Boom Tube to the-.

Ploong.

It isn't our device doing that, is it?

Ploong.

Fine, {orange}open subspace{/}. {orange}Give me my Purple Death Ray drones{/}.

I don't know what it is about Apokoliptian technology that absolutely needs to look as sinister as possible, but I'll admit that a gun that shoots negalife probably deserves it. Their eel-shape allows them to shift their gravity repulsion plates around and control their direction in all dimensions noticeably better than my plain ovoid designs. The mouth shape around the Death Ray is more of an artistic touch. I only have three at present as I was holding off on creating more until I had a chance to run comparative trials. They take up position above us as we slowly follow on behind Cranius and Otto.

"Well?" Cranius stares down the tunnel and Otto holds his arms out to the side. "Here we are. Do you have somezhing you wish to say?"

"{red}I hate you{/}."

"Yes, I noticed zhet. What I am curious about-" Cranius looks up as he passes through the tunnel mouth. More eyes on stalks turn to watch his passage. Only a few bother with the rest of us. Curious. "-is what precisely I heff done to earn zhis enmity."

"{red}You tried to kill me{/}."

Cranius recoils slightly, though Otto keeps going. "No I.. didn't."

"{red}LIAR{/}!"

"I assure you Mister Kane: if I had wanted you dead you would heff died and no one would heff been any zhe wiser. No, you died of-."

"Hrkhrkrhkhkrhkrh."

A grotesque parody of laughter bubbles forth from the cankerous mouths covering the fleshy walls surrounding us.

Cranius looks a little puzzled. "You find my denial amusing? Mister Kane, we may not have agreed about zhe.. way to zhe future for our people, but I do not hurt my brozhers."

"{red}You're lying again{/}!" Two tentacles explode from the walls and lash out at Cranius only to be intercepted by purple beams from my drones and rot to nothing. "{red}You pushed me out of a plane{/}!"

Cranius frowns. "What are you talking about? I hate flying. I did not even meet-." His eyes widen in realisation. "No. No, {yellow}not you{/}."

"{red}Remember now, brother{/}?"

Kaldur takes another look around. Not as if our situation has become more secure. "Doctor, I grow tired of you keeping things from us."

Cranius isn't listening. In fact.. are those tears?

"Crassus?"

{red}15th January
14:26 GMT -8{/}

Who?

"All zhis time… How are you still alive?"

"{red}Arcane{/} made sure I could heal myself. My landing attracted Alligators. Weak minded creatures. I forced them to pull me to safety and I ate their young for food."

There's a.. noise. Somewhere in the distance, two quiet clicks, a pause, then two clicks again.

"But… But…"

Kaldur's had enough again. He strides past me and grips Otto's left shoulder with his right hand. "{green}Doctor{/}. Who is this 'Crassus'?"

"He-he was… He is a creation of Anton Arcane, a first generation Un-Man as I am. Younger zhen me. Crassus, where have you been? How did you come to be.. zhis?"

"{red}Pain{/}. {red}And suffering{/}."

I drop back to walk alongside Artemis. "How are the others doing now?"

"It… The tentacle things have all pulled back. No one got seriously hurt."

"William alright?"

"I think everyone's a bit freaked out. How come you didn't say anything about.. this-" She indicates the walls with her right fist. "-thing in your briefing."

"I had no idea."

"Kinda a big thing to miss, don't you think?"

"Yes, it was, and I'm sorry." I take a moment to look around. I think we're nearing one of the underground test detonation chambers. "Though in my defence, this is quite a bit beyond anything-."

"Crassus, I searched for our brothers and sisters. If you had-."

"{red}You put them in cages{/}. {red}Like he did{/}."

"Zhey are insensible! Zhey cannot be reasoned with! Last time I tried to release zhem zhey nearly-!"

"I know. I see through the eyes of all of those you mutilated."

"I {green}do not 'mutilate'{/} zhem. Zhey volunteer for-."

I can see Kaldur wince at Cranius trying to argue with the megafauna.

"Cranius. Did you push him from an aircraft?"

He glances at Kaldur before dropping his gaze to the meat covered ground. "Yes. Yes, I did. And it is zhe only zhing I heff done in my whole life zhet I feel guilty for."

"Then why did you do it?"

Cranius suddenly jerks around to look at him. "{yellow}Because I was afraid{/}! You do not.. understand.. zhe control {yellow}he{/} had over us!" He takes a moment to try and collect himself as we round a corner and get a clear view of our goal. "Anton Arcane created us as tools. Slaves. His earliest creations were simple, bestial things but I! He created me to be capable of managing zhe ozhers, made me… Made me so zhet I would want to serve him. Designed me zo I could not zhink but to do his will. He owned my soul! I served as his majordomo and as his laboratory assistant. Everything I know about biology and alchemy I learned by watching over his shoulder, trying to learn how to predict what he would want next. His zhanks were zhe only zhings zhet gave me any pleasure."

"And zhen he created {yellow}my replacement{/}."

The clicking again. Sounds like… Dice? "Come closer. I want to see you with my own eyes."

Artemis' face hardens. "You pushed him out of a plane because you thought he was going to replace you?!"

"Yes! Zhet was my life! Once he had no more need of me Arcane would heff broken me down for parts! Or just ignored me until I starved to death! I knew zhet, unt I still.. wanted.. to serve him. Can you imagine what zhet was like? To.. to want zhe love a-a-and respect of a man who cares nozhing for you?"

She blinks, then with visible reluctance nods. "Yeah. I think I can."

We emerge into a large room, smaller than the last though still industrial in scale. The glasses show me pipes against where the real ceiling is but the whole of the interior surface is covered in fleshy growths. The floor is hard under our feet, but it yields slightly to our weight. Plates of bone? I know some Un-Men have horns. Damien Kane didn't but I have no idea what this Crassus can do. The only visible piece of machinery is the reinforced entry point to the test chamber itself. It looks a little like the end of a gas cylinder stuck through the far wall. It's five metres tall and there are a few openings which it looks like used to be hatches near ground level.

Otto takes a few more steps forwards as the rest of us come to a halt. "Well? I am here."

There's a grinding, creaking noise as new growth emerges from the portals in the cylinder and then contracts, crumpling the reinforced metal inwards. Next, a larger and paler tentacle projects outwards. This one has a passenger.

In general body shape Crassus is somewhat similar to a potato. He has no neck and his nostrils are set flat into the curve of his face. He has no lips but there is a slit for a mouth through which I can see a small number of sharp, widely spaced teeth. His legs are short and thin, so thin in fact that they look like they shouldn't be able to support his weight. His right arm is unusually long. If he were standing his hand would be lower than his knees, though that might be an illusion generated by the shortness of his legs. On his left, his limb is short and thin as if to counterbalance his right. His skin is rough and grey and though naked he has no visible genitals. The upper part of his body is twisted slightly to the left, though whether that's the result of an injury or the hunched back that appears to be connected in some way to the tentacle holding him aloft I couldn't say.

He stares at us one by one, his gaze returning to Cranius each time and his right hand constantly shaking back and forth. The tentacle gently lowers him to the floor and he makes a bow legged landing. It stays connected though. Alright, so if I target that-.

Kaldur strides forwards, shoving Otto aside. "Crassus. What do you want?"

"I want an end."

I nod and my drones target him. "We can do that." Kaldur scowls at me. "Orrr not."

"You!" He waddles in the direction of Cranius, stopping two metres away. "Where is he?"

"I… I don't know who you are talking about."

"{red}Arcane{/}."

"Arcane has been dead for-."

"{red}You keep lying to me{/}! {red}You're doing his work{/}! {red}Making more of us{/}! {red}Where are you hiding him{/}!?"

"{red}I am not hiding him{/}!"

"{red}What other possible reason could you have{/}? You were his favorite. You nearly killed me because you thought I was a threat to your position. Ugh!" He swings his right arm out to the side and throws a pair of dice across the room. They make a quiet clicking sound as they strike the ground, bounce once, twice and come to rest. Four and a five.

"Crassus, he is dead."

Potato features blinks, or at least tries. He doesn't seem to be able to shut his right eye all the way. "What?"

"He died. During our zhird fight with zhe Swamp Zhing we were freed from his control. We all turned on him-."

"{red}Stop lying{/}-!"

"I'm not lying!" Cranius appears to be feeling the pressure, his head undulating as he tries to get more oxygen. "Let me tell you exactly what happened."

{red}15th January
14:30 GMT -8{/}

"After we restored zhe m-." Otto brings up his hands to massage Cranius' brow as he tries to compose himself. "After we restored Arcane to life following his fall into zhe gorge, he became obsessed with recapturing Swamp Zhing. Having experienced zhet power for himself, he would accept nozhing ozher zhen-."

"{red}I was there{/}." Crassus' right hand twitches and -carefully keeping his eyes on Cranius as much as possible- he shuffles over to his dice and bends to pick them up. "{red}You were the one who reassembled{/}-."

"I did not have zhe capacity to disobey! I threw myself off a cliff to try to get to him faster! If not for our more physically able brothers making zhe leap before me I would have died zhere!"

A pseudopod emerges from the ground covering next to Crassus. He shakes his fist and rolls the dice onto it. For a moment he gives them his full attention. Three and a two.

Cranius continues talking as I edge closer to Kaldur. "Aqualad, what exactly-?"

"If he is connected to this.. thing, then he could very easily destroy the whole town and everyone in it." I {orange}form{/} the ghost of a fusion cannon on my left arm and give him an interrogative look. "No. Celestial Archer said that there were neural nodes throughout the mass. Kill him and they may simply lash out. Our best hope is that Cranius can talk him down."

Well, we're fucked.

"…Scotland, and zhen on to America. Arcane knew zhat he would be returning to Alec Holland's home in zhe swamps of Louisiana. After…"

"After you pushed me out of the plane."

"Yes, after I pushed you out of zhe plane." Crassus, Kaldur and Artemis all jerk slightly. Some sort of telepathic attack? I can't feel it if it was. Ring, {orange}scan for concentrations of neurological ma{/}-.

{orange}Unable to-{/}

Unable to comply, yes.

{orange}-comply.{/}

"…deep into the swamps. Eventually, we were able to track him down and overpower him."

Ring, {orange}connect ultrasound sensors to the ground as subtly as you can{/}. Try detecting them that way.

Tiny, barely visible threads of orange light flow out of my feet, every so often branching off and creating the concentric circles of the ultrasound generators. Some of the eyes are tracking what I'm doing, but Crassus appears to have his attention solely focused on Cranius.

"…mesmerised, bound and dragged back to where Arcane waited in an old slave graveyard attached to a ruined plantation where he had made his base of operations. I still do not know precisely what happened. I zhink.. some of zhe foul magic he had raised in order to transfer his mind and soul into Swamp Zhing's body had escaped into zhe graves. Or perhaps zhe souls of zhe dead had been bound to zhet place in some way by the memory of zheir own suffering. Zhe spirits arose and tried to stop zhe ritual, but Arcane had laid his protections around him. Zhey could not reach him."

Ohhh kaaaay, I think that's a brain. And that. And that. And those are just the bits I can see. Perhaps if I forced a connection by cutting down to them and either assimilated or branded?

"…no longer concerned with our fates. He assumed zhet zhe spirits were trying to kill us. When zhey first touched my mind.. I was horrified. Zhe strange and alien ideas. We were all well used to pain, but not zhe idea of pain, zhe zhought zhet zhis was not zhe natural state of being. Unt we had no more concept of slavery zhen a fish does of water! For a moment I knew.. a life zhet was so different from zhe one I had been made to live. I knew.. what it was to play." He looks around to Artemis and Kaldur. "Can you imagine heffing to explain such a zhing? You just.. run around with other people.. aaand you laughed? I had never laughed before. Tw-twenty years. And I had never laughed. Heh. Heheh."

Another pause as he composes himself. "And I knew what slavery was. And I knew zhet zhe appropriate response was not to do whatever my master wanted. No. No. No, zhe right zhing to do was to {red}hate{/}." Otto's fists come up. "It was to {red}rage{/}! And with zhis new knowledge my brozhers unt sisters unt I rose up against our creator! We tore him to pieces! We scattered him across zhe swamp for zhe scavengers to {red}consume{/}!" For a moment he looks contemplative. "I zhink some of us even ate bits of him ourselves. Not me. I didn't have zhe stomach." He looks back at the three of us and Otto points to his neck. "Stomach, eh?"

Crassus flinches and rolls the dice again. Six and a two. He snatches them up almost immediately. "He's dead?"

"Yes, he's dead. Zhe pieces were too small and too melted to reassemble. I made sure of it."

"He's dead." Another roll. Four and a one.

"Unt you are here! My brozher! I am zo happy to-."

"{red}Then why are you doing what he did{/}? {red}Why are you making more of us{/}?!"

"Wizh Arcane dead I needed a new reason to live. I wanted community, I wanted.. zhe smiling faces. I wanted to know {orange}honest joy{/}, to be happy because I was happy, not because someone was pressing zhe buttons in my brain! Zhe only people like me in zhe whole of the world were my brozhers unt sisters. We knew next to nozhing of zhe modern world. Some wanted to hide, some to.. try unt return to zhe Castle. Zhose zhet came wizh me, we spent near forty years wandering around America. Zhen we heard about zhis place. A new {blue}home{/}, one where-."

"Kane did not make this place for you." Another roll. "He wanted to make a sanctuary." Five and a six.

"Did you know him? He died not long after I arrived. I only had.. two conversations wizh him, but I razher got zhe impression zhet he detested violence."

"I got him away from the army. I took him to Romania, to those in our family who were slaves and being paraded for entertainment."

"Zhet cannot happen now. Wherever our people are abused unt I hear about it, Uncorporation intervenes! And we are not sideshow freaks! We are biotechnological progress!"

Another roll, two and a two. "You treat the people here like {red}he treated us{/}."

"Zhe Gaff-?" Crassus scowls. I think. His facial structure or lack thereof makes it hard to tell. "Ah, zhe naturally deformed? Zhey are useless, a distraction from zhe work. As if a little hair or a.. twist of zhe spine make a person special." Crassus squeezes his dice harder and rolls them again. One and a three. "If.. it really bozhers you, you could {blue}aid zhem yourself{/}. Arcane designed you as a chirurgeon. If you will unplug yourself from zhe remains of Kane I could {blue}teach you{/}, {blue}show you how to alter{/}-."

"What about the 'Gaffs'?"

"We could…" Cranius winces. "Perhaps.. make an accommodation…"

Crassus looks confused. I suppose that if someone tries to murder you and you don't see them for forty years and you've built up a picture in your mind of them being completely evil, having them apologise and try to reach out to you probably isn't what you expect. He tilts his head a little to the side and rolls the dice again. Double six. His eyes widen slightly and he nods. "I-. I don't know…"

The crisis apparently past, Kaldur steps forwards. "Crassus, we came here to discover how Kobra were able to access Uncorporation biotechnology."

"The snakes? Yes. I got it for them. I took control of the new ones, handed the material over."

"Why?"

"I don't…" He looks down at the floor. "I didn't want people to make more of us. I thought that if it went wrong where everyone could see it, the work would stop. And if that didn't happen…" He describes an arc around us with his right arm. "I had this, and could stop it myself."

"Unt how did you get it out of zhe town? We would heff noticed if any of zhem had left."

"Inkabod. I felt his hate when Damien Kane died. I spoke in his mind. He thought I was Damien." He brings his shrivelled left hand to his mouth. "I shouldn't have done that. Shouldn't have lied using Damien's name."

Artemis looks back and forth between the two Un-Men. "So… Are we good?"

"Brozher, where did you learn the magics to do all zhis?"

"From the snake man. He wa-."

The tentacle supporting Crassus coils up and slams him hard into the side wall!

And the pupils on the eyes watching us turn into serpentine slits.

{red}15th January
14:34 GMT -8{/}

Oh who fucking now?

"Crassus!" Otto lunges across the room, nimbly ducking around the tentacle as our new opponent tries to squash him flat with Cranius' prodigal brother. "{yellow}No{/}!"

Kaldur's Water Bearers come forwards, streams of water wrapping themselves around the tentacle before flash freezing. Ice surges along the tentacle from that point, locking it in place. I'd {indigo}like to help{/} but -{orange}scan{/}- I haven't the slightest idea how his body works. Those nerves seem… I settle for {orange}severing him{/} from the tentacle at what looks like a safe point, {orange}taking hold of him{/} and {orange}lowering him to the ground{/}. As Cranius frantically assesses Crassus for injury I {orange}raise a barrier{/} around our group.

I turn to stare into the largest cluster of eyes. Not making an immediate attack? Curious. From the rather forceful looks Kaldur and Artemis are sharing I'm going to assume that there's some sort of mental conversation going on. Should probably try and keep whatever-this-is' attention on me. "Alright. Who is it this time?" Obvious answers are 'Kobra', 'some sort of mental copy of Crassus', 'Anton Arcane' and 'Damien Kane'.

"We are the many servants of he who-."

"Kobra, right, got it." A few of the eyes blink. "You must be one of their Bestowed. Or.. several. I doubt that any normal man could control a lifeform like this." The scans I did of Cranius suggest that he can multiprocess, and if I'm understanding the results of my last scan properly-

Ploong.

-and it seems that I am, he shares the ability. "Is Jeff there?"

I think I can actually hear the thing around us trying to breathe. "Our sublime master-."

"Jeff Jeff Jeff Jeff Jeff! Here Jeffy Jeffy Jeff-Jeff!" I pause for a moment. "I'm not having a conversation with an underling. I am a god. I have standards. Get someone important to talk to me or get on with your 'evil plan'."

No response. In the corner of my eye I see Kaldur give me a slight nod while Cranius sprays something onto Crassus' injuries. The Kobra people must know what his name is, mustn't they? I don't mind someone pretending to be a god but he is so far below the power level at which anyone should believe it…

"Grayven. Your arrogance truly knows no bounds."

I smile. Since I'm on 'delaying' duty I won't try winding him up directly. "Kobra! I'll treat that as a challenge. Been keeping yourself busy since you broke out of prison?"

"Maintaining contact with my people while.. constrained by Belle Reve was no great challenge. How do you like my newest weapon?"

"Not exactly a walking sun." I frown. "And it's not exactly new. Three careless owners?"

"No matter. I have already taken the materials I wanted from it. Arcane really was a brilliant man. But getting your little team as well? That was an unexpected bonus." I risk a glance at Kaldur. Hope they're ready to go with whatever they were working on. "Oh, and Grayven? Savage says you took too long."

…

"Two weeks!?" I mean, come on! I told them it would take… Wait. Did me beating up distraction-escapees at the prison really irritate them that much? Not.. that I.. really want to {orange}become a member{/} or anything…

The flesh coating our exit tunnel contracts, blocking our retreat for a few seconds as more pustules begin to form on the inner surfaces all around us. Crassus manages to lift himself up a little and look around, his right arm scrabbling around until Otto picks up his dice and hands them to him.

"Kaldur, do you-?"

"Target the neural clusters! Now!"

"{orange}On it{/}." My drones {orange}fire{/} beams of black wreathed in purple at the site my sonic probes marked and Kaldur strikes the wall in an attempt to freeze the pustules solid. A few burst prematurely but most of the ones likely to cause immediate problems are well hit. Artemis looses at a wall, her arrow disappearing as it reaches the surface. Wonder where she's getting her targeting information from? I {orange}form{/} a fusion lance construct once more -consider and {orange}add a light baffle{/}- then fire at a more distant target, the furious beam blasting through flesh, concrete and soil before incinerating a large cluster near our entry point.

Artemis fires another three arrows before the fifth strikes the floor and cuts into it without disappearing. "Damn it! Kaldur, we-!"

A three fingered arm bursts forth from the ice surrounding us and flails at {orange}my shield{/} before growing so that its elongated fingers can wrap around it. Its outer surface is covered in bone plates with what look like runes cut into them. A shot from my fusion lance barely chars the outer plating as it starts to squeeze. Father Box, {orange}Boom Tube{/}.

{orange}Unable to comply.{/}

Eh, time to do this Warhammer Forty Thousand style then. I draw my sword as Kaldur lunges forwards and stabs at the edge of one of the plates protecting the wrist before pouring electricity down his watery blade. The limb convulses as Artemis looses again, this time with her arrow flashing out as intended.

Whoompf! Air rushes past us from the test chamber. {orange}Ring{/}? Exceedingly hot air, apparently. The flesh around the opening blackens and carbonises as I watch but whatever's happening there isn't slowing the arm down. I {orange}generate{/} a personal shield around each of us before dropping the bubble shield and hacking at the arm's finger joints. As I reach the bone it tries to clamp around me and I'm forced to push at the claw end with my left arm while bracing myself against the floor! I'm stronger, but I can see it healing around the cut my sword is making. Gah, defence alone won't-.

The limb shudders and slumps. I pull my sword out and stand ready for the next attack. Nothing.. appears to be happening. The frozen eyes are sightless. Ring, {orange}charge{/}?

{orange}Sixty three percent remaining.{/}

"Did that do it?"

Artemis stands a little straighter, tension leaving her bowstring. Ring, {orange}using any and all methods, scan the local{/}-.

{orange}Full scan available.{/}

Huh?

A cloud of ash puffs out of the test chamber and someone-. As Match and Kon struggle out, blackened and panting. I quickly {orange}extend{/} an environmental shield around them and {orange}dust{/} them off. Match slumps, sucking down ring cooled air while Kon floats unsteadily over to land in front of Kaldur. "Main cluster.." He takes a couple of breaths. "Taken care of."

Kaldur gives him a faint smile. "Well done. Grayven, is the life form still active?"

Ring, {orange}any further biological activity{/}?

{orange}Cell division is now occurring at conventional rates.{/}

"Not in a coherently aggressive way." I look around my teammates. "Would you please tell me what just happened?"

Match looks up. "We… We melted our way through the far… Far side of the test chamber. Miss Martian detected…" He waves in the direction of the passageway. "She detected most of the mental activity coming from there." He squeezes his eyes shut. "I don't wanna use heat vision ever again."

Cranius makes a last check on Crassus before looking at Kaldur. "If zhe creature is dead, we must take care in how we make our escape. Its mass is likely supporting zhis whole area."

Father Box, do we have Boom Tube capacity back yet?

Ploong.

Good to know. "Boom Tubes are available. Does Miss Martian need a lift?"

Kon shakes his head. "No, she phased out. We're good to go."

I nod. "Father Box, take us back to the Uncorporation building."

{red}15th January
14:46 GMT -8{/}

"…if I wanted to put the scare on some Gaff?"

Kaldur leads the way through the Boom Tube into the Uncorporation's boardroom. I {orange}float{/} the injured Crassus through next, escorted closely by Cranius and Otto. I'm a little surprised by how forgiving he's being. Aberrance will struggle to recover its reputation from this. I suppose that their biotech work won't be much affected. Perhaps getting another bioengineer outweighs the harm to tourism the attractions in the rest of the town will suffer?

Robin's team must have taken a Tube back here. Richard appears to be engaged in a staring competition with Janus Junior. Janus Senior.. appears to be unconscious, his lolling head supported by a neck brace. That's one way to get privacy. Wallace is slouched in one of the boardroom chairs with his feet up on the transparent table. The Sphere warbles a greeting which prompts Zatanna to look up from the golden wire frame map of the tunnels which floats in front of her. Miss Ervine raises her right hand slightly in a minimalistic wave.

"If you really thought he was involved, the smart thing to do would have been to have him watched. It would have been impossible for a man with no arms to kill-."

William flashes us a smile. "Hey guys. How'd it go?"

Janus Junior looks around. "Hey doc. How's tricks?" He frowns. "And who's the potato? That one of ours?"

Cranius gazes at him imperiously. "Zhis is Crassus, our brozher. I do not believe zhet you ever had zhe opportunity to meet him in Castle Arcane."

"Hey Crass. Greetings from the Old Country or whatever." He wiggles his right thumb at Richard. "Can I get this rube out of my face now?"

"This rube saved your life when your bodyguards got possessed!"

"Yeah, well now I'm tossing your whole crew off the lot, capisce?"

"Be silent, fool. But for zheir intervention zhis entire building would have collapsed unt our possessed third generation cohort would surely heff killed us both."

Richard half turns to look at him. "Why is this guy in charge of your security?"

Cranius rolls his eyes. "Do not be ridiculous. Why would I put Janus Junior in charge of security?"

"Say what?"

"Sergeant Panoptes is in charge of Uncorporation security while Captain Alatrasca is in charge of Aberrance's conventional policing." Janus gapes. "Janus Junior's deficiencies became apparent zhe first time I met him. His.. nature as a member of zhe first generation required a highly placed position within zhe company so I gave him an empty title."

"Wha'?"

Richard smirks as Otto walks over to Janus and pulls a square green sticker decorated with the Uncorporation logo off Janus Senior's cheek, then another from his forehead. Cranius turns to look at Kaldur. "He should awake momentarily. I zhink we had best.. discuss matters. Grayven, would you be so good as to summon anozher of your portals zo zhet Crassus can get medical attention?"

Ring, {orange}Hush Tube to medical{/}.

{orange}By your command.{/}

A new portal opens next to the recumbent Crassus. He doesn't look all that bad… Or rather, not much worse than normal. Still, that was a pretty nasty whack he took, to say nothing of possible neurological damage caused by the feedback from the rest of us attacking his cancer body. In the small medical wing of the Uncorporation building I see a four armed woman in a nurse's uniform hurriedly put down some files on a desk before hurrying to the rim of the tube.

Crassus manages to look up slightly as I {orange}send him through{/}. "Cranius. You promised-."

"Yes. I know. I will keep my word."

"Doc, you're not..? You're not serious, right?"

"I had hoped zhet perhaps you would grow into your role." Otto pulls out a chair and sits down as another hush tube opens. M'gann, Mister Tawny and Tao walk out. "Will Miss Ixy not be joining us?"

Kaldur shakes his head. "Ixy was never supposed to be part of our combat operations."

"Mm. Well, to make sure zhet we are all on zhe same page: The zhing beneath Aberrance was created using tissues taken from zhe remains of Damien Kane, much as my own Compound K is cultured from his flesh. At some point my brozher Crassus came into contact both wizh it and wizh Kobra. With zheir aid he converted it into zhe obscene zhing below us unt used the symapzhetic connection to zhe third generation Un-Men to steal more of our property. Zhis was zhen smuggled out of Aberrance by zhe idiot Inkabod and delivered into zhe hands of Kobra in some sort of misguided attempt to blacken our names and wrest control of Aberrance back to the G-." He works his jaw for a moment. "Carnival folk."

"Oooohfh." Janus Senior turns and half collapses into the chair next to Cranius'. "Is it… Is the matter resolved?"

"It is not." Kaldur stands opposite them and leans forwards, looming over them. "While your company does not appear to have been complicit in providing Kobra with the materials they used in Gotham, the fact that they still possess them means that almost every member of your organization is vulnerable to being controlled."

"Zhe second generation.. like Nurse Hemangi, were unaffected. Miss Zatanna, have you..?"

"I should be able to protect all of the third generation Un-Men you have at the moment, but I'm not going to come back here every time you make a new one."

"No new-!" Janus Senior's eyes widen. "{yellow}That could set us back{/}-."

Otto reach out and puts a hand on his shoulder. "Zhe alternative is letting zhem be controlled by terrorists. We accept."

Janus flashes him a pained look. "Cranius…"

"I heff Arcane's book. Given time, I should be able to develop a new technique." He pauses. "Now, to proceed against Kobra…"

"Your 'brother' Crassus was directly involved in providing them with highly restricted drugs, as well as mind controlling people and attacking us."

"Crassus genuinely believed zhet I was still under Arcane's control. Unt you cannot tell me zhet he is fit to stand trial. No, if we say zhet Kobra was controlling zhe creature below.. unt follow up wizh Inkabod…"

I shake my head. "Doctor Cranius, we cannot simply conceal what has happened here from our superiors. Unless there is something else you can offer..?"

He thinks for a moment. "My.. expertise in zhe physiology of zhe Un-Men. Whatever.. bastardised version of our drugs Kobra are using, I am zhe leading auzhority on zhe processes involved. I assume zhet zhe Justice League would find zhet useful?"

Kaldur leans back slightly. "It seems an inadequate reason-."

"I read zhe toxicology reports from Gotham. Zhere are certain stabilising agents in zhe bodies of Un-Men.. first, second or zhird generation.. which do not exist in ozhers. What Kobra heff cannot compete wizh Venom Buster as a combat drug, but it would make an excellent slow acting poison. Unt.. given zhe effects.. a weapon of terror. I imagine zhet zhe Justice League would want a mezhod of reversing zhe effects ready sooner razher zhen later? Hm?" Kaldur's face hardens and M'gann folds her arms. "My brozher will spend zhe rest of his life here in Aberrance. Zhere will always be one of us close to him."

Richard narrows his eyes. "And what about your other brothers? The ones he killed?"

"Now zhet zhe assailant has been dealt with… Zheir bodies are mostly intact. If we could resurrect Arcane, perhaps zhey may rise again. And even if zhey cannot, our shared torment is such zhet I cannot remain angry with Crassus for his actions."

Kaldur looks around, trying to take in the mood of the team. Personally, I don't see the point in hounding Crassus. Perhaps him working with Cranius will improve the lab's output. After a moment Kaldur bows his head slightly. "Our new objective is to locate the network of Kobra agents working with Inkabod. Miss Martian, for the remainder of this weekend you are to be his shadow. If we are fortunate, Gotham was the only site developing Uncorporation products. As for the question of whether or not to show leniency to Crassus, I will need to consult with the Justice League."

16th January
16:06 GMT -8

I frantically pull the knife from my belt and slice at the weird flesh bubble around me. This stuff might be doing a number on my constructs but it looks like x-ionised knives work perfectly well. The gel.. stuff around me gloops out onto the stone effect floor of Cranius' secret room in the Omega Vault. {orange}**{/}M'gann! Are you alright?{orange}**{/}

M'gann fades into visibility, clutching her head. **I think so. What was that?**

I sheathe my knife, put a hand on either side of the cut and pull myself free. {orange}**{/}I think it was Damien Kane.{orange}**{/} I look around the room as I step onto the floor. The mound of flesh which was containing me grows out of the wall like unusually aggressive lichen. There's still some organic activity there but I'm not seeing either thoughts or desires and it isn't connected to anything else. The metal sphere I opened is torn apart, exploded outward by the strength of the escaping.. thing.

**Inkabod was telling the truth?**

Ring, sample. {orange}**{/}The tissue sample doesn't match, but Doctor Manguy's notes showed that Kane's genetics were in constant flux even while he still looked Human.{orange}**{/} Still, his obvious rage surprised me. I went through everything Kane wrote or said in interviews in preparation for this mission. He had a Zen like quality about him… Well, maybe not Zen. I doubt many Buddhists experience life-as-suffering in quite the same literal way that a malfunctioning second generation Un-Man can. {orange}**{/}Aqualad, Kane's out and on the rampage. Can you..?{orange}**{/} I can't hear him.

I {yellow}look up at M'gann{/} as her eyes glow brighter. **Something's preventing me from reaching them. We need to get back!**

I nod and attach a filament to her. Ring, Transition.

{orange}Transition function not available. Local conditions are preventing target acquisition.{/}

Fine. {orange}**{/}Transition's out.{orange}**{/} I rise off the ground and shoot out through the vault door, M'gann only a short distance behind me. A volley of Crumbler rounds destroys the wall between us and the Doctor's rumpus room, then the far wall, then the wall at the end of the corridor and we're out into the air and oooh shit.

A colossal arm completes its throw, hurling one of the Muto-Rail trains into the eastern face of the Uncorporation building. Glass shatters, metal and concrete crumple and cracks spread across the entire surface. I only realise that I'd stopped breathing after checking that no one had been in the train.

"Keep your stinking trains, Schadel!"

A fleshy titan stands over Aberrance. Its malformed body is a red-brown colour, its surface speckled with pale, vein covered nodules. It's vaguely humanoid, if a Human were made of wax and then repeatedly melted and allowed to harden. Actually, it… It looks like a giant Damien Kane, as he was shortly before his death. M'gann and I just stop in the air and stare at it.

"Just as was promised! I will cast the Un-Human, Un-Godly usurpers from our paradise! In the name of Kane!"

Kane.. lives in death. Wait, that's not Kane's voice. Ring, correct for size and distortion.

{orange}"Just as was promised!"{/}

Inkabod? Guess he's fulfilling his own prophecy.

**Up there! On its chest!**

Ring, magnify. More pustules like the one that held me. Near the centre of its chest I can see Kaldur trying and failing to get his Water Bearers to come to life. Two explosions flare out from the middle finger of its left hand as Robin leaps from its left forearm towards the severely beaten Western Mutagenics building, only to be caught by a barrage of tentacles and pulled back into the arm. He struggles and tears several of them off, but they regrow too quickly for him to fully break free. As soon as he touches the skin of the forearm a new pustule grows around him and his movements grow sluggish.

Artemis stands on a nearby hotel, shooting upwards towards its head. Its left arm swings down and she's forced to leap aside as it caves in the hotel's roof. I experience a moment of pride when I realise that without super strength that would almost certainly have captured her, if not killed her outright. Another plume of flame, this time from its left shoulder. Rob's borrowed x-ionised sword is plunged in to near the guard and he uses it to keep himself anchored while shooting bolts of fire from his left hand at the tentacles trying to reach him.

Kon and Wallace are stuck in another couple of pustules near the right hip while Raquel fires a force bolt at its head.

"I am the Chosen Warrior of the God of Cancer! You think you can stop me?! Ah ha ha ha!"

White lines poke out of his titan's skin and a volley of bone shards fly-

-straight into my construct barrier. Rob looks up at me as he pours more heat into the arm. "Cheers mate. Wondering where you'd gone."

Kane's face above us is expressionless, and on the top of his neck hump… Inkabod grins like a loon as clouds of a noxious looking gas blow out of slits in the holes around him, forcing Raquel to back off. Her belt might protect her from kinetic impacts but it doesn't do much against acid or poison. Inkabod is sunk into the titan's flesh up to his waist, his hands sunk into smaller pustules on either side. Right, this should only take a moment. I fire a filament up at him-.

{orange}Connection lost.{/}

How the hell did he ward something this big? "Where's Troia?"

"Pulling people out of rubble." He glances up at the head. "There's some sort of magic barrier keeping him safe."

The right arm swings around to swat us. Quick check of the ground -yep, clear- and I form a particle beam construct. A thick beam of purple light slices neatly through its wrist, sending the hand plummeting to the ground.

"Stop queering my pitch, man! Wait, who's-? Gruhhhhhhh…"

The titan shakes and stumbles backwards as M'gann assaults its weak-minded princeps. With him distracted Rob pulls his sword free and we both fly up to assist M'gann. Looks like he got the air manipulation spell working then, though when I told him why I called it Swift Wind he didn't seem too enthusiastic. Right, up over the face. Ew, the eyes aren't actually eyes. They're just plates of bone and flesh and the rest isn't all that nice to look at either, constantly moving and flexing as new flesh is created and consumed. I replace the particle beam with my usual railgun and load a Mageslayer round, a heads up display forming around the right of my head. Sephtian's still working on my next batch of these so I don't have a lot of them. Shouldn't be a problem. Aim to skim him? No, big boy's rules. As long as it doesn't kill him…

The gun tracks as his eyes go red.

"{red}No{/}!"

M'gann shakes, goes visible and starts to fall out of the air. I grab her with a construct as the gun fires, skimming his left side and leaving a line which is rapidly filled in with red. No more shield, now I-.

He jerks downward. For a second his eyes return to normal. "Wait, what?" Then they go red again and he's pulled in up to his head. "Help!"

Oh for goodness… I form maser constructs and burn holes in the flesh around him. A moment later Rob makes it up and unleashes a circle of flame which extends downwards into the hump. Right, he can do that better than me. I connect a filament to the top of Inkabod's head and try extending an environmental shield around him. No luck. M'gann has recovered sufficiently to fly under her own power and comes up alongside me. She extends her arms, gestures and begins pulling Inkabod free.

I hear something snap and the titan starts to tilt.

Shit! Okay, they've got that.

{orange}**{/}Rocket, slow down its fall. Troia, get over here.{orange}**{/}

**On it.** / **On my way.**

I throw a construct lasso over the titan and attach a filament to my knife. The titan's tipping faster to the right and there are still people in that building. Bloody Aberrance building codes and bloody rubberneckers! I pull, but construct resistance and massive weight don't make it easy. I replace the construct with steel cables from subspace as Raquel gets into position and the black blur of Troia at full speed flies into view. {orange}**{/}Troia, support it while I get the hostages free.{orange}**{/}

The pressure on my cables is suddenly reduced and I focus on slicing open the pustules on the likely impact zone. Not just my friends, it's been grabbing every Un-Man within reach and-. Oh no. It's removed their alterations. I free Sergeant Panoptes and get a view of his empty eye sockets. Petra and her exposed skull. Tripes with his war wounds reopened and his arms and legs gone. It's recalled the things made with Kane's tissue. I abandon my cables and start frantically trying to heal those I can while still freeing the other captives.

**Got him!** I glance up to see M'gann floating free with Inkabod besides her. I'm not sure if it's just his gunge coating but his skin has a decidedly grey cast to it.

{orange}**{/}Impact area clear. Let it down.{orange}**{/}

I keep cutting as the titan lands on the Uncorporation plaza. A full thirty nine mutilated Un-Men lie in construct beds to my left, while a few others -second generation and Janus himself- appear to have been unaltered. My team mates who had been captives wander in a daze away from their prison, surveying the catastrophic damage it wrought on the research centre of Aberrance.

Damn.

16th January
17:22 GMT -5

"What. Happened."

Batman isn't messing us about this time, and I can well understand where he's coming from. Cranius was incensed, millions of dollars in property damage, people fleeing in terror, Un-Men crippled… Well, by their standards. I pretty much fixed them up to normal people standards. To top it all off Inkabod has become the heir of Kane in a way he hadn't expected: his legs were already beginning to mutate when we left. He'll be dead in a few years from the same thing that killed Damien. If Cranius isn't already dissecting him to find out how he did it, anyway.

And our team working together in public view.

While Rob, Zatanna and I focused on healing people our super strong colleagues shifted rubble, digging out the survivors and the dead. Objectively, the recovery operation went fairly well. I don't think anyone who survived the building collapses died of their injuries; the Praexis Demons were great at finding people. And afterwards, when Cranius had threatened us with everything he could think of, M'gann probed Inkabod's mind, allowing us to pick up the Las Vegas Kobra cell.

Twenty seven dead, including a third generation Un-Man whose brain modifications were forcibly extracted by the Un-Titan. None of us are feeling particularly good after this.

Kaldur looks like Rob's drained him again. "We… I did not anticipate such a direct move."

I nod. "Inkabod gave no sign that he had access to those sort of resources. As far as.. anyone other than Inkabod knew, the only part of Damien Kane left was in Uncorporation's control."

He looks directly at me. "Why did you think it was a good idea to release the part of Damien Kane which the Uncorporation had in its custody?"

"Damien Kane's records, his history after moving to Aberrance… There was nothing there which suggested a violent temperament. If he was aware enough to influence the third generation Un-Men, it made sense that there was a conscious mind there. If there wasn't, it wouldn't have taken long to repair the containment equipment."

Robin shakes his head. "From the timelines, Inkabod had already created the Un-Titan by the time he did that. It wouldn't have made much difference."

"Your initial efforts to fight the.. 'Un-Titan' met with little success."

Kaldur gives his head a very small shake. "It rapidly healed piercing injuries, physical attacks, freezing and electrical shocks. Our attempt to utilize the Sphere's onboard weapons merely resulted in Inkabod firing indiscriminately into the air. Given the risk that posed to civilians I ordered it to stop." He pauses. "Eventually we discovered that burning its flesh was more effective, but it could still regrow from the living tissue beneath."

"The-." Zatanna cuts herself off, not sure if she's supposed to speak. No one else says anything. "The stuff Aqualad and Superboy were trapped in was an alchemical solution designed to drain people's strength. Cornwall Boy could just drain it to stop it working, but no one else would be able to get out without help."

M'gann's head is bowed. "The extra.. brains he was using to control it made it hard for me to stop him telepathically."

"Why was it -despite scouting out the location where the Un-Titan was being created in advance- that you failed to realize it was there?"

"The tunnels had wards on them. Subtle ones. They didn't just stop me scanning, they made it look like nothing was happening."

Robin nods. "Same with sonic mapping. Nothing showed up as out of the ordinary!"

M'gann shrinks a little further. "I didn't feel anything either. I.. don't think Inkabod even planned doing that in advance."

"But he did know that he had a piece of Damien Kane."

"I… He wasn't actively thinking about it. I'd have to have done a deep scan-."

Kon scowls. "And there wasn't any reason to. He was just some carnival huckster!"

Batman {yellow}stares{/} at him until he gets a hold of himself. "Clearly, there was a reason to scan more deeply. Or -failing that- continue to monitor him once he revealed that he was the organizer of an anti-Uncorporation group. Aqualad, what prevented you from establishing a working relationship with Uncorporation?"

"Doctor von Schadel… Cranius, made it clear that he had no interest in working with outsiders. Once Kid Flash was forced to prevent Janus torturing Mister Bertoldt, we lost the cooperation of the rest of the organization."

Wallace scowls. "Don't suppose there's any chance he's going to be punished for trying to murder a man with no arms or legs."

"The Department of Energy will be sending an agent to Aberrance to investigate events. Those of you not attending school next week will be offering your full cooperation." That's just.. Kaldur and me, isn't it? We glance at each other, then we both nod. "The.. scope, of events in Aberrance was far greater than I had anticipated. I want your mission reports written up tonight and in my hands no later than twenty three thirty." My team mate and I nod. "Dismissed."

We fall out, most of my team mates heading towards the showers. Kaldur hangs back to watch as Batman leaves the mountain.

"Recognised, Batman, zero two."

"That mission was a disaster."

"No, that mission was a sub-optimal success. We completed our objectives-."

"And twenty seven people paid for our 'sub-optimal' mission with their lives."

"Spree killing rampages happen, and there usually isn't any obvious warning. Robin and I were with you every step of the way. None of us spotted anything."

He takes a moment to compose himself. "Do you think Inkabod would have started his rampage if we had not spoken to him?"

"No idea. No… Yes, I do. He already hated Uncorporation, I.. sincerely doubt that he could have made the Un-Titan in one day… He or.. whoever, must have been working on it for a while. Us being there might have prompted him to do it today rather than.. next week… Except that doesn't make any sense either. Why do it when you know there's a team of superheroes on site?"

Kaldur thinks for a moment. "There were points in the fight where he did not seem to be in full control of himself."

I rub my forehead with my right hand. "Kobra… Eve… Someone who we haven't met yet who knows something about Un-Men..." Constance Sunderland is not currently involved in Aberrance to any degree and I would be very surprised if Cranius tolerated her as he did in the comic. I can't think of anyone else who could have done something like that. "The one thing Kobra does better than the League of Shadows used to is magic. Or it might just have been the effect of plugging himself into the Un-Titan itself."

"Or Damien Kane."

"Not very likely, but if you want to check I know a sneaky necromancer."

"I do not think that will be necessary." He turns to leave.

"Did you hear if Garth and Tula got their request approved yet?"

He stops. "Yes. They will be joining us from this Friday."

"How long does their placement last?"

He turns back, looking… Not cheerful, but at least a bit less miserable. "Service with the team counts as active military service. Unless Atlantis goes to war it is possible for them to spend their entire careers here."

"Probably best if they spend some time with actual army units."

"Yes, and they still have several years yet to complete in the Conservatory. The field posting will last six months." He realises something. "I suppose… They will leave us shortly after you will."

I suppose they will.