Chapter 78: 17-1
"So, what is this?" Hephaestus asked, looking at the large briefcase sized object I hefted up on to his workbench. It had only been 2 weeks since I had last been in his forge, but it had become a lot more cluttered than last time. There were more benches, molds, foundry equipment... He was working on some project or another, but I couldn't tell quite what it was.
Either way, I had other business with god. "This… is a laptop." I said, and I opened it up to reveal a large keyboard and screen. "Well, technically speaking." Even though ruggedized computers tended to be larger than their counterparts, I went the extra mile when building this one. Partially so that it was sized for the god, but I also figured he'd appreciate something he didn't have to worry about dropping. "I figure that it will come in handy for our future dealings."
"Hmm, so this is one of those computer things?" He asked as he watched me boot it up. He studied the device for several long seconds before he registered what I said. "Wait, does that mean you're taking up my offer?"
"Yes, we are. Some things have happened since we last spoke and, well, my Kingdom has come together. We're calling ourselves the Silver. And the Parliament of Algorithms is interested in your offer."
"Great! As soon as you can make some proper shrines where you come from, I can get to work."
"Right, but before we get ahead of ourselves, we should talk logistics." I turned back to the laptop and pulled up a program. "And let's see if I can bring our logistics guy in on this."
I hit a key, and a moment later a video call popped up. On screen was a rough face made of motes of light, which moved in the approximation of a smile. A synthesized voice came from the speakers. "Greetings, Hephaestus. We are Calculus of the Silver. We would like to speak with you about the details of your proposal."
So it works across dimensions too, I thought as I checked the signal integrity of the incoming comm. I had finally managed to get something done with my research into the Zeta Tubes: a Zeta Ansible. Inside the laptop was a module that had a Zeta particle that was quantum entangled with another, located in a multiplexer back at the Mountain. Normal quantum entanglement may not have worked that way, but when it comes to exotic matter like Zeta particles it allowed non-interceptable, FTL communication.
"Logistics..." Hephaestus rubbed his chin. "I don't normally try to argue with that, but what's to think about? Just get people to worship me again."
"Restarting a religion is a bit more complicated in the modern era," Calculus said. "Ignoring that most born into a religion are reluctant to leave it, the primary motivation for individuals to take up religion is the promise of an afterlife. Which we don't think you can offer on your own..."
Hephaestus grumbled. "I'd rather not have to rope Hades into this… besides, I want them to worship me, not him."
" 'Worship' is a strong word to use in modern times." Calculus said. "The issue must be broken down into its most basic elements. What exactly do people need to do to give you prayers, and what can they expect in return?"
The god scowled. "There was a time when the knowledge I gave would be enough for people to praise me. I know humans have short memories, but are they really complaining that I haven't done anything for them lately?"
"We're not saying that." I cut in, before Calculus could respond. "It's just that… humans have learned to get by without divine intervention, and are used to it. But, you're not the type of god to become complacent either. Come on, humanity has accomplished great things without you… so think of what they could do with you."
Hephaestus looked off to the side in thought, though held his angry expression for a long minute. Eventually he settled down and scratched the side of his head. "Well… I could make maintenance and performance of machines more reliable. If I knew more about the machines themselves I might be able to make them perform beyond what they're normally capable of, once I have enough power. I've also still got a few secrets about metallurgy left, for those who really want to devote themselves."
"Humans have made advances of their own metal making," Calculus started to say.
Hephaestus turned to the screen and grinned. "Trust me, humans may have gleamed a lot from that first flame, but I've been working with it since time immemorial. I know how to make it change materials into something amazing."
I hummed. "Interesting... that reminds me, how is Prometheus doing? Is he still chained to that rock?" I asked. If he was, I should probably look into freeing him. Not only did he get a bad rap, but considering his actions, he'd probably be a good ally for the Silver.
Hephaestus waved me off. "No, Heracles freed him a while back. He's been laying low ever since. Smart of him. Anyway, that's what I can do for a start. I'll be able to do more once I have a proper cult."
"Again, we need to work on that terminology," Calculus said. "But yes, that is a good place to start. Now, how exactly do you want them to pray to you?"
"My siblings have temples, but I could do without. Most of the best work happens inside the workshop and forge, so that's where I got the most rituals dedicated to me." He said, and then his face brightened. "But I love a good torch race in my honor."
"I see. If these rituals can be digitized and performed through applications, it will greatly increase the number of prayers you receive, even if they require human input. The Silver already has plans to distribute technology to the masses, so we could incorporate these new functions easily." We had a few different projects planned, the first being a new CPU design that incorporated the Sliver mandala into its structure. Not only did it provide excellent performance, but it generated magical power for the Kingdom as well.
The god frowned a little. "Not quite sure what you mean, but it sounds like you want to automate the process. If you make it too easy to pay lip service, I'm not going to get much out of it."
"Perhaps, but we can analyze the quality and quantity of prayers for the optimal ratio. Besides, even with minimal energy derived from it, there are potentially billions of people who could find use in praying to you."
"...Billions, you say?" Hephaestus became a lot more interested. "That could work. Maybe if we-"
I coughed politely, and the two looked towards me. "I don't mean to break this up, but before we get too far into this, someone else would like to talk to you." I gestured behind me, and a short distance away Donna pushed herself off the pillar she had been leaning against. She was the one that had actually brought me to the Themyscira and granted me the invitation for this trip. Both of us had some business with Hephaestus after all.
"Oh, right." Hephaestus turned and hobbled over to her. "Donna! I don't think you've ever graced my forge."
Donna touched his shoulder, a tight smile on her face. "It is the first time I've been to Olympus at all. But, I'm not just here to say hello." Her expression flattened a bit. "Jacob told me that you said Nyx provided you the material for my outfit. Is that true?"
"That she did." He nodded. "A fine piece of the Celestial Sphere it was. And even finer after I fashioned it into armor."
"...How? I mean, when?" She asked. "Nyx hasn't been seen in nearly two decades! If she came to you only a few years ago, why didn't you tell anyone?"
Hephaestus waved his hands. "No, no, it was..." He paused to think about it. "You got the right of it, twenty years ago. When she gave it to me, she told me to hold it until a girl from Man's World came to the island." He looked away and raised a hand, " 'Born of the World of Men, accepted of the Sisterhood of Amazons, she will come. Powers beyond mortals, but no divine will claim her. You will fashion her raiment from these stars and send her forth to her fate.' " He looked back at her. "When you arrived, you seemed to fit the description."
Donna's jaw dropped open, and when she found her words her tone was incredulous. "And you didn't think to tell me any of this?"
The god shrugged. "You didn't ask when I gave you the outfit, so I assumed you didn't care."
"How would I know to ask any of that?! I was 13! Did you think to ask why Nyx was giving you it with such weird requirements?"
The god's face twisted into something ugly. "No, I didn't, and why should I? No one has ever asked what I'm doing or why, so why should I care about others' business?" He jabbed a stubby finger at Donna. "For that matter, I haven't seen you since the day I gave you that armor. And now you come in here and accuse me of not doing a thorough job because I didn't give you it's backstory?!"
I felt the forge around us get a little hotter, and I knew that it was time to cut the conversation short. "Ok, I think that's enough." I said, stepping in. "Donna, I believe he answered your question, so perhaps we should be going now." I gestured to the laptop. "Calculus can handle the details of our arrangement."
Hephaestus calmed down a little and waved us off, turning back to the laptop to resume planning with the other machine elemental. Donna bristled, but I managed to guide her back down the stone corridor which led outside to Olympus. As she fell in next to me, Donna breathed out and slumped her shoulders. "Sorry, I shouldn't have gone off like that. I didn't mean to kick you out of your own meeting."
"It's fine. Calculus can fill me in later."
"And I didn't even learn anything useful." She continued to mutter. "Somehow I have even more questions than when I started."
"Maybe, maybe not," I said. " ''Born of the World of Men, accepted of the Sisterhood of Amazons, she will come.' That sounds an awful lot like a prophecy. And remember who Nyx's daughters are?"
"The Three Fates?" Donna arched an eyebrow as she looked to me. "Perhaps… but they don't really get 'prophecies' the way you think of them, you'd have to go to Apollo for that. They see the thread of fate that dictates a person's past, present, and future."
"Maybe they saw their mother's?"
"...Normally I'd say that wouldn't work for a god, but I honestly don't know." She sighed. "I guess it's as good a lead as any. But you do realize they don't live on Olympus, right?"
"That I do," I nodded grimly. "Grab some obols, Donna. We're going to hell."
"Tartarus."
"Whatever, you know what I mean. Of course I doubt it will be simple even after we cross the Styx."
We reached the doors to the forge and Donna pushed them open with a grunt. "If they can really see the future, they can save us some time by-" She cut herself off as we stepped out onto the wide ledge of the mountain, finding that there were people waiting for us.
They were a young girl at the beginning of adolescence, a mature woman in her prime, and an old crone. I can't get anymore detailed than that, as their features seemed to shift moment to moment. It was like I was looking at several people at once, and I could see a new one just by looking slightly differently. Slipping in and out of view around them were countless threads, ethereal lines that seemed to flow from the youngest to the eldest.
Donna looked at them dumbfounded before she yelled "I was kidding!"
"That you were," Clotho, the Maiden, said. Her voice was light, lilting.
"And yet we are here." Lachesis, the Matron, continued. Her words were even and measured.
"And we will be here until you learn what you need to." Atropos, the Crone, finished. Her tone was heavy and final.
I arched an eyebrow at the three of them. "And you couldn't come see her earlier because…?"
"Because this is when we met you." The Matron said simply.
"...Should I mention that I don't believe in predestination?"
The goddess smiled at me with a thousand faces. "Mortals have a very limited perspective on the nature of time. Choice does not exist as you see it, but neither does Fate. The thread of Fate is a metaphor, and like all metaphors is simplified." She held her hands out and I saw a barely visible thread string between her fingers. "Most mortals see their lives like this, a single unbroken line. But the reality is far more intricate and involved."
In an instant the thread… split for lack of a better word, folding out in all directions into a three dimensional mosaic. I started to get lost as the pattern started to dip in directions I couldn't process before it collapsed back into a single line. "Careful," The Matron said to me. "You most of all should not get lost in possibilities."
I wondered what that meant, but Donna said "Alright, fine, we're all here now. Are you going to tell me what happened to Nyx? And how I'm connected to it?"
"We will tell you some of what you want to know, but not all." "Quite simply, we don't know the whole story ourselves." "We saw what was going to happen to our mother through the fate of those that brought the darkness. And we saw some of what happens to you through the fate of other mortals." The three spoke one after the other, with barely a break in their cadence.
"And?" Donna asked, impatient.
"We told Nyx what we saw: The men, the Brujeria, came to Tartarus seeking power. They brought a great darkness with them, a thing of corruption and evil. Nyx went to stop them, and while she expelled them from Tartarus she was lessened and… infected in the process. Her very nature made it easy for this darkness to take root."
The Maiden paused, letting out a soft breath before she said "But rather than suffer this indignity and fall to rot… Nyx ended herself. We told her all of this, and it was unavoidable."
The ledge was silent as that sunk in. Eventually, Donna spoke softly. "So… she's dead."
"Nyx is not dead, at least not in the mortal sense." The Matron pointed out. "The eldest gods are difficult to truly kill. Especially one that is prepared for it."
"So she didn't 'just' end herself." I said. "Nyx gave Hephaestus the night cloth because she knew Donna would come along. And Donna is..." I trailed off, looking at the woman in question.
She shook her head. "I don't know. Nyx disappears and then I come along, with some affinity for the night. And then New York happened and I crushed that effigy, and the power felt so familiar..." She struggled to find the words before she gave up. "Am… am I Nyx? Is that what's going on? Am I her reincarnation or something?"
"No. You are Donna Troy." "You have always been Donna Troy." "For as long as we will see your Fate, you will always be Donna Troy." "We believe that you being Donna Troy is important to this matter, but we don't know why."
"I don't… what does me being 'Donna Troy' have to do with this?"
The three looked at each other before looking back at us. "You are different from most mortals. Your thread of Fate is myriad." "You originated from many points, all which were distinct from one another." "And yet you will always become Donna Troy." "And now the one that is you carries the essence of our mother. A power that naturally shrouds itself, making it even more difficult to discern the cause."
Donna stared at the goddesses for a few seconds before she looked at me. "Did you understand any of that?"
"...I think they're talking about other versions of you in different realities or timelines." And the fact that Donna's messy comic book origins were apparently 'real' in some sense was worrying. "Suffice to say, you're a 'cosmically' special individual. A piece of the puzzle, but not the whole thing."
Donna shifted her gaze back to the Fates. "So… now what?"
"You absorbed the stolen fragment of Nyx's stolen power. With it, the awakening of the divine within you has accelerated." "You are ready to take the first step to learning the truth. And now, the time has come for us to tell you."
The Crone stepped forward, a crooked finger pointing towards her. "You will go to the place of your first memory, your birth in flames. You will take with you the one with a similar thread of fate to yours. Together you will begin to learn about your past, and your future."
"One with a..." Donna trailed off in confusion. "Who's that?"
She pointed to me. "Him."
My eyebrows shot up. "Me?"
I felt the combined gaze of the goddess settle on me. "You are an anomaly." "You had no origin, but the longer you existed, the more interwoven you became." "You are now myriad, like Donna." "And your end will be just as uncertain."
I... wasn't sure how to take that. I guessed that me not having an origin was in reference to the fact that I came from a different universe, but what did they mean that I was 'interwoven'? It might just mean that I had changed the fate of people around me, but it felt like there was more to it. "Can you expand on that?"
"We will not." The Matron said simply. "Because we are now at the end of the conversation." The threads around the three suddenly increased in number, obscuring their forms more and more. "It was short, but nice." "Perhaps we will do it again sometime." The threads faded from view and the Fates along with them, leaving me and Donna alone on the mountain.
With nothing else for it, we headed back down to Themyscira after that. Hippolyta was concerned about the sudden appearance of the Fates, but after relaying our conversation with them, she recognized that this was a more personal matter for the goddesses than usual and didn't pry too much. After she let us go, both me and Donna had some things to think about, so we ended up wandering the palace in silence for a while. We found ourselves on a public terrace overlooking the bay when I finally spoke up. "You don't seem too happy," I remarked.
Next to me, Donna broke her musing to glance my way. "Should I be?"
"Well, the last time a Greek primordial deity told me that I was who I thought I was, I felt pretty reassured."
"...We lead strange lives." She said before waving her hand. "But, while knowing I'm not the reincarnation of a goddess of the night is nice, it's not quite what I was looking for. Besides, I'm still 'myriad', whatever the hell that means. Though I'm sure it doesn't bode well."
"How do you figure?"
Donna didn't answer immediately, looking out over the plaza. Eventually she sighed and said "I... don't know. I've been looking for answers for what happened to me for god knows how long, and now that I'm finally getting some… it's not as satisfying as I thought."
I hummed. "Too… dramatic?" I guessed.
She nodded. "I just wanted to know if I had normal parents, a normal childhood. All of this 'divine' and 'shrouded connection to Nyx' stuff is too much. Ever since New York I've been feeling something building inside of me, and I'm worried it's going to overwhelm everything else. Like I'm about to be pulled into something I don't want." She looked back out towards the ocean. "And I don't know if I'll be the same afterwards."
I didn't say any, instead taking a moment to really look at Donna Troy. If she really was only 19 she was the type to mature quickly, as even with my eyes it was hard to see the lingering traces of adolescence on her face. Not only that… well, it was easy to forget when you lived with Kori, but Donna was by no means small. I looked for the teenage girl I first met a few short weeks ago, but in that moment I could only see a woman considering her future. Her body tense, while the starfield of her hair swept behind her like-
I stopped and did a double take. "Uh, Donna, your hair."
She looked to me before grabbing a lock and pulling it in front of her face. "Damn it, not again," she muttered, and after a few moments of focusing her hair returned to it's normal black color. "It's been doing that ever since New York. It's even started to happen to any blacks I wear that aren't my outfit."
"Well, I think it's quite lovely. Then again, I have a known bias long hair with 'interesting' effects."
"It may be pretty, but it also makes it difficult to keep my lives separate." She mumbled. "Made even trickier by how much people seem to love the Titans."
Though we hadn't had long to do much actual crime fighting, the Titans had made a huge splash in the media. It felt like most of my time these days was keeping track of everyone who wanted interviews and were vying for more info on us. Given how hard Donna was working to maintain her civilian life, this was the first chance we both could spare a moment to slip away and deal with the whole Nyx issue.
Donna paused, and looked fully at me. "How do you do it?"
"Do what? I don't have two identities."
"No I mean… how do you stay normal?" She asked. "You've been transformed, died, become an elemental avatar and yet you're still… you."
I took a while to consider my response before I said "I'm… boring. Or at least, I feel like I am compared to most of the people around me. B-type personality and all that. Even when I was worried about what my body would do to my mind over time, I was willing to see where it went. All the things that have happened to me have become a part of me, and just learned to roll with it."
Donna digested those words for a bit before retorting "I don't think a B-type personality would help form a superhero team and steal a mountain fortress away from the Justice League."
"I said B-type, not push over."
She laughed. "I think you're more 'well adjusted' than 'boring', but that still doesn't explain how."
I shrugged. "Well, I guess I try not to let any one thing define me. I may be a superhero whose been through some stuff and the Avatar for a new machine kingdom, but I have other things going on. I have friends to hang out with, a girlfriend to make happy, I love various kinds of media and am thinking of taking up writing again." I grinned. "And recently, I got to introduce the Amazons to Jojo's, so there's that."
Before we had gone up the mountain, I dropped off a few crates that I had brought to the island with Alexa. Crates containing a trove of books, both old and new along with a translation guide. Alexa assured me she was a quick study with languages, though when I had left her library she had eagerly started leafing through the already translated volumes of JoJo's I had made.
Donna shook her head. "Ok, the manga's one thing, but did you have to also include Sunstone?"
"What? I thought Amazons of all people could appreciate it."
Before Donna could reply, a new voice cut in."There is little Amazons appreciate about Man's World."
We turned to look at the three women who were approaching us. All of them were dressed in the longer, more formal robe akin to what Hippolyta wears, with the woman in front adding a violet scarf to the ensemble. Politicians? Wait, does Themyscira even have politicians?Either way these women seemed to think very highly of themselves.
The lead woman, pale with wavy brown hair, was looking at me with a cold expression. "And we often try to forget about those who come from there as much as possible."
I remained neutral for a moment before I gave her a friendly smile, and extended my hand. "Jacob Morgan. And you are?"
The woman didn't move. "Someone who does not approve of a lowly man standing on this island."
Disappointing, but not surprising, I thought as I pulled my hand back. Even with my unexpected return, the Amazons had generally been rather welcoming of me. On the whole they were distrustful of patriarchy, but they were willing to judge men as individuals. But, in a population of women who had sworn off men for thousands of years, you were going to find at least a few whose distaste was more personal.
Donna stepped up next to me and scowled. "Does Hippolyta know you're here Aella? Harassing our guest? Or were you just counting on the fact he doesn't know he's allowed to punch you for insulting him?"
The woman turned her attention to Donna. " 'Admonition by Combat' is the right of visiting dignitaries, which this man is not. He is here purely at your will, and your authority to allow such things is... questionable."
Donna ignored the jab at her and asked "Do you have a point in being here?"
"Just to inform the man his literature is being confiscated." The woman's lips quirked upwards, but I wouldn't have called it a smile. "If you could call them that. A good number had pictures, like for children's books."
My eyes narrowed. "Those were a gift to Alexa." I said flatly.
"She will get them later. After we confirmed that they are free of any oppressive patriarchal ideals."
I pinched the bridge of my nose. "For the love of- you've known Alexa for thousands of years. Do you really think so little of her that you don't trust her judgement with a couple of books?"
"Alexa is not not who I'm concerned about." Aella said sharply. "Our society has remained perfect due to its isolation from Man's World's filth and cruelty, and I will not let anything jeopardize that. Least of all you."
"You're giving me a lot of credit," I remarked blithely, mostly because I didn't know how else to respond. The woman was certainly irritating me, but I also didn't want to cause an incident considering I was a guest. Not to mention that if I did get contrarian anyway, it would likely feed into the woman's perception of me.
Donna must have noticed my predicament, as she spoke up for me. "Aella, you shouldn't be so dismissive of him or the books he brought. I know you have a lot of issues with Man's World, but it's not as bad as you think. You have to give it a chance-"
Aella did not let her finish."I don't have to do anything. We are Amazons, chosen by the gods to lead men to a better way, and they rejected us. Man's World has never made anything of worth, and the sooner you realize that, the better off you'll be."
Silence settled on the terrace, our two groups just staring at one another. As one, both Donna and I looked sideways at each other, and in that moment we came to the same decision. Donna then said "You know… maybe she has a point. There are a lot of things the Amazons have that Man's World doesn't. Don't you think there's a lot that you could learn from them instead?"
Picking up on what she was doing, I turned to face her. "You know… you're right. I mean, a lot of the problems in the world that existed back when Amazons lived in it still exist today. And from what I see, the Amazons don't have most of them now." I turned back to the trio of women. "For starters, millions die every year due to storms and famine. But I hear you have perfect weather all year round, how do you manage that?"
Aella was taken aback a bit, not expecting the turn the conversation had taken.. "Ah, well… the weather of the island is a gift from the gods. They won't extend it to the entire world."
"Oh. Well, what about medicine? Amazons rarely ever get sick, and their physical capabilities are far greater than normal humans. So, the medical knowledge about the human body you could share with us must be amazing."
The woman frowned. "Again, those are gifts from the gods, not something we can just give out."
"Oh. Well, what about your social structure? There's a lot of strife caused by different cultures and ideals running against each other, which is to say nothing of inter-generational conflict. How do the Amazons deal with that?"
Aella was scowling now, and didn't answer. Donna answered for her though. "Themyscira only has one culture. Which doesn't change since everyone's immortal and there are no children."
"Oh. Well, what about resource manage-"
"Enough!" Aella yelled. "Does this blathering have a point?!"
"Yes." I replied calmly. "That the Amazons don't face most of the problems that the rest of the world does, and that quite frankly you don't know what you're talking about."
The woman angrily looked to Donna. "And you're going to let the man you invited talk to me this way?"
"As long as you continue to be an embarrassment to all Amazons, yes." Donna replied. "The thing you never seemed to realize is that the Amazons were given paradise. The rest of those lowly men you think so little of have to actually work for it."
Aella looked like she was about to explode, but after a few seconds she simply let out a snarl and stormed off, her hanger-ons hesitantly following after her. We watched them go until they disappeared from sight, and Donna groaned. "Oh, I've wanted to do that to her for so long, but now I feel bad. She shouldn't insult the outside world like that, but at the same time I know where her hatred comes from."
"Maybe, but if this is the first time she's gotten a kick in the pants about it, I think it's been a long time coming." I told her.
A single laugh escaped her before she looked around. "Maybe we should get out of here. We have a lead to follow, and I'd rather not be around for when Aella complains to Hippolyta."
"Fair enough, but I want to make sure Alexa gets her books back before we go. Though… I'm sure I could manage that quickly… and without anyone noticing."
"That will make Alexa happy, but it'll be more ammunition for Aella. Do you have a plan for convincing the rest of the Amazons that you're not as awful as she says?"
"Well, there's only one way I know how," I sighed, looking out over the city with determination. "I'm going to have to seduce every Amazon on the island. Kori will understand."
A long silence stretched out between me and Donna. Then, with deliberate care, she brought her hand up and slapped me across the back of the head.
Chapter 79: 17-2
Willowbrook was an average sized town nestled in the Virginia countryside, sporting a population of a few thousand people. It was a company town made in the late 1800s, which didn't really have anything else to it's name. Except for the fact that 16 years ago Donna had been found in a burning apartment building in it. 'Your birth in flames' didn't take a lot of work to figure out, so Donna and I rented a car (to be inconspicuous) and headed down there.
But the first stop was at the 249 Diner just on the edge of town. Partially so that Donna could pick up something to eat, but also so that I could do some remote work.
"It looks like money was wired through a shell company before it disappeared into the Caymans," I said under my breath, information dancing in front of my eyes. I keep my actual eyes on the newspaper in my hands, so the rest of the diner goers wouldn't see something amiss. "I can't tell you more about that from here, but I can tell the transfer was initiated at the Gotham docks at 10:43pm. Right around the same time as the weapon sale."
"And if our intelligence is right, they were being sold to Black Manta." On the other end of the line, Starfire was investigating a warehouse along with Robin, Kid Flash and Artemis. "I had thought that the League had managed to collect all of the technology Intergang acquired from Apokolips."
"It's always possible something slipped through the cracks." Sitting at the opposite side of the booth from me, Donna sat and joined in on the conversation via her earpiece. The two of us were in civilian clothing, with her in a blouse and jacket to ward off the autumn chill, and me in a blue button up and duster. "Also, didn't you say that Bialya had some of that tech too?"
I moved the paper aside to look at her. "True, Apokolpian tech might be getting imported to Earth via other groups these days." I really needed to do something about that. But with all the public attention the Titans were getting (not to mention whoever was pulling the strings behind the Deep Night), it would be very difficult not to get noticed. Maybe I could make sure the various intelligence agencies were properly motivated to do their actual jobs…
Back in the moment, Starfire asked "Anything to report from Atlantis?"
From the middle of the Atlantic, Aqualad answered "Yes, we encountered a few of the remaining Orm Loyalists using Apokolpian weapons. Miss Martian and Superboy are still following up with my contacts, but it seems the weapons were acquired from Black Manta."
"I see. Any problems handling them?"
"No, We managed to take them by surprise. Between us and the guard, they were taken in with minimal fighting. Still, there's more investigating to be done."
No rest for the Titans, it seems, I thought. It was a little surprising when Aquaman had come to us for help (you know, considering the whole ignoring the League to make the Titans thing), but he made it clear that he was coming to us as the King of Atlantis and not as a Leaguer. Some of the remaining Purists had been difficult to apprehend, to the point where he had started to suspect they were getting outside help. Aquaman decided the Titans were in the right position to lead an investigation in Atlantis as well as on land for possible connections. Which it looked like we found.
Well, 'we' in the general sense. The Titans were down two members at the moment. "Are you sure you guys don't need us?" Donna asked. "I don't have to do this now-"
"We can handle this, at least for now." Starfire insisted. "Your gods have given you a mission of your own to see through. We'll call you if we need the extra support."
"I wouldn't exactly call the Moiria my gods, but… thank you." Donna said.
"And I'll keep looking into those accounts when I have the time." I added. "Right now I'm a bit more focused on personnel."
I could feel the smirk Starfire was giving me. "Just don't get too lost in the details, Fal'shen." She said teasingly.
The call ended, and Donna gave me a curious look. "Fal'shen?"
"She wasn't being serious, but it's a Tamaranian military term. The closest translation is 'sternguard commander'. Tamaranians are a 'lead from the front' kind of people, but they're smart enough to know that having a general lead the charge can result in your army suddenly not having a leader. So, a lot of their higher ranks have vanguard and sternguard pairs. The vanguard has command out in the field and battle, and the sternguard commands the base and logistics of the war."
"That sounds like a colonel and general… only messier."
"They have different areas of authority, but they are the same rank, and yes, that can lead to some conflict. There has been many a drama about vanguard and sternguard pair with an antagonistic relationship. Or a romantic relationship. Or a romantically antagonistic relationship. A lot of fertile ground for stories is what I'm saying."
Donna smiled gently. "I think it's sweet you've learned so much about Kori's culture."
I smiled back and shrugged. "Aside from said culture being interesting in its own right… what kind of partner would I be if I didn't?"
"A more common one, unfortunately." Donna remarked, sipping her coffee. "But then, I just have high school to go by." She fell silent as she looked out over the diner, her gaze falling on a pair of teens sitting at the counter chatting shyly.
"...Have you ever been back here?" I asked eventually. "Since the fire I mean."
"Twice. To dig through the rubble myself, see if there was anything I could find. I talked to the old building owner too." She frowned. "Not that I got anything useful out of him. I don't think he liked me very much. The second time I met him he practically threw me out and told me to never come back."
"Did you try talking to anyone else?"
"No… there was no one to talk to. Wonder Woman already got the police report. The firefighters who pulled me out have all moved to other towns." Really? All of them? That was odd. "Beyond that, I always just felt kind of… unwelcome here, like I don't belong." She shook her head. "It's dumb, but I think everyone here is such a tight community that just being around them reminds me that missing my own family."
I didn't say anything, looking past her to see a family seated on the other side of the diner from us. A father and son were sitting next to each other, and I saw the young boy get a mischievous look before he blew his straw wrapper at the older man. The father frowned… before he grinned and fired back with his own straw wrapper.
"...Yeah. I think I know what you mean."
It was then our waitress came by, a perky young woman with blonde curls. "Can I get you folks anything else?" She asked with a slight drawl.
I collected myself. "No, I think we'll just take the check." I said.
She nodded and wrote on her tiny clipboard before looking back at both of us. "So, you two new in town? Not a lot of people come through this part of the state, and I think I'd remember a nice young couple like you two."
"We've got business in town," Donna said. "Oh, and we're not a couple."
The waitress arched an eyebrow, and a small smirk crossed her face. "Not with that attitude, you're not." Donna looked at the waitress in confusion, but she had already turned her attention to me. "You here looking for a job at the new textile mill? A lot of people are hoping it will get the town out it's slump."
I shook my head. "No, it's more personal than that. We'll probably only be here for the afternoon, a day or two tops."
"Well," she finished writing the check and placed it in front of me with a grin. "I hope you enjoy Willowbrook."
The waitress walked away and I put cash down on the table. I was about to stand when I noticed there was more on the back of the check. I flipped it over and my eyebrows shot up. "What?" Donna asked.
"...She gave me her phone number."
"You sound so surprised," Donna remarked, bemused. "This never happened to you before?"
"No. Why would it?"
Something about my tone caused her to frown. "Jacob, you do realize you're an attractive man, right?"
"Yeah, but I've only been one of those for a few months." I pointed out, getting up and heading out of the Diner. "I don't know what it's like for the rest of you beautiful people. For me it just feels like everyone else is making a mistake."
"...I swear, you're either genuinely humble or have the worst case of impostor syndrome I've ever seen." Donna muttered, following after me.
"How the hell does this place still look like this?" I asked, gesturing to the rubble-filled lot in front of us. The spot used to contain a 4 story brick apartment, which had been in less than adequate repair. The structure had completely collapsed shortly after the firefighters had pulled Donna out. But, while there certainly wasn't a building's worth of rubble before us, the lot was still just a pile of detritus. "What's it been, 16 years?"
"After the fire, the lot defaulted to the city, and they just cleaned it up enough to keep it from spilling out into the street." Donna explained, walking forward into the site. "No one's bought it from them, and they haven't found a public use for it. So, it's been left like this."
I followed after her, carefully looking around to see if anyone was watching. It was going on late afternoon, and we were in the 'downtown' area of Willowbrook, if you could call it that. There were a couple of people going about their business, but no one paid us any attention. Steeping past a crumbling wall, the two of us climbed a gentle slope of crushed brick and plaster till we were obscured from the street.
Donna stopped in the middle of the lot, taking a moment to just stand still. Then, she sighed, and gestured to the area around her. "Well, we're here, but I don't know what good it will do. I've been through this rubble twice and found nothing." She looked around expectantly. "And it doesn't seem like anything new is happening either."
"There is something new: I'm here." I said moving to the center of the lot next to her. "So, I guess I'll get to work."
With that, I formed several mechadendrite limbs under my duster and moved them into the rubble around me. I didn't find anything technological around the surface with mechanokinesis, so I had to go a little deeper. The tendrils burrowed into the ground and spread out, sensors forming on the tips.
"Really? You're just going to start digging?" Donna asked.
"The Fates said I would be here too, so I assume my presence is necessary in some way." I pointed out. "And the one thing I can think of is to try using all my fancy scanners to find something you couldn't." That said, I had no idea what that might be. Anything involved with Donna's 'origin' would probably be magical in nature. Which I couldn't really detect unless it was something obvious.
Still, I would do my best. The ends of the mechadendrites were tipped with magnetic and sonic imaging sensors. And I was regularly sending small pulses of both into the ground to get a comprehensive image of what lay beneath us. While I worked, Donna began to pace. "...What do you think they were like?"
"Huh?"
"My parents." She elaborated. "Do you think they were normal or… something else?"
I… wasn't entirely sure how to answer that. "I don't really have anything to go on, but given what the Fates said, I'm leaning towards 'normal'. Your 'something else' probably came from elsewhere."
This didn't seem to help her. "If that's the case… then what if my 'something else' caused this?" she gestured to the ruin around us.
If I wasn't rooted in place, I would have moved to her. "Donna, take if from a perpetual worrier, you can't think that. And even if something like that did happen, you would have been about 3 at the time. You wouldn't be responsible for it."
Her mouth pressed thin. "You're probably right," she muttered, but I could tell she was still thinking it. "When you got your powers, did your family-" Donna herself off, looking at me with wide eyes. "Ah, sorry, never mind." She said, remember how reticent I had been on the subject the last time we spoke of it.
I tried to say something, but nothing came out. I couldn't answer the question she was going to ask, and without telling her why… I felt an awkward gap between the two of us form, and I wasn't sure what to do about it.
So, I refocused my efforts on my scan, but I was quickly running out of places to check. The only thing the lot seemed to have was a mess of brick, wood, glass, and other building bits. Along with a lot of various bits of metal in the form of beams and pipes, though I wasn't seeing anything out of the-
I attention was brought near a partially collapsed wall, noticing a much more regular shape among the other metal objects. "I, uh, I might have found something." I muttered before I pulled my extra limbs out of the ground and walked to the spot. I looked to see if anyone was watching, and dug my mechadendrites back into the rubble right in front of me. They had to dig deep into the detritus to get at it, and I bent down to use my human hands to grab my target as it was pulled to the surface.
With a jerk I pulled it free, and Donna walked up behind me as I stood up straight with the object in hand. "I think… it's a coal box." I said. It was a metal box about a foot long and wide, and half that deep. It was bare of any markings, and had a simple latch holding it closed, though that was a bit warped. I could tell by moving it around there was something inside, something light and not coal. A little force popped the box open, and I reached in to pull out the object: A rag doll, with red hair, button eyes, and a white skirt.
A cry caused me to look to Donna, her eyes wide and her hands coming up to cover her mouth. "Donna," I asked carefully. "Do you recognize this?"
"I… don't know," she said, reaching out to gently take the doll from me. "I just saw it and I suddenly felt like I was looking at the most important thing in the world." She clutched the doll to her chest, and I saw her eyes start to water. "Why is this affecting me so much?"
I held my hand out, and she reluctantly handed the doll back. I carefully took it and turned it over in my hands, turning my sensors on the object. It wasn't made out of anything special, just cotton and polyester. It was worn down and singed, and I didn't find any residue… except something on the inside of the doll's skirt. I flipped it up and ran a wide spectrum analysis. "I think they're something written here."
Donna peered at the spot. "I can't make anything out, it's too worn." She breathed out. "I can't believe this was here the whole time. I should have dug deeper, I should have-"
"Let's focus on the moment," I interrupted. "I think I can isolate the remaining ink and extrapolate," I said, and scanning lights played over the spot. As they worked, I made a small hologram over my hand to show the letters being processed. Slowly, a sentence formed in the air.
'Property of Willowbrook Orphanage'
I looked up at Donna. "That's a lead if I've ever seen one."
Naturally, it turned out that the orphanage had closed down years ago, because nothing could be simple. The silver lining was that the orphanage was state funded, which meant that all of it's records had to be stored by law. But, the orphanage apparently never bothered getting with the digital age, so I couldn't just pull what I wanted out of a database. That left the paper records, which were stored at the county clerk's office.
Which led to us being pointed down some very narrow and dark stairs. "There are no lights down there?" I asked the clerk who had led us here.
The woman, a nice older lady with greying hair, smiled apologetically at us. "Sorry, the building's been having electrical trouble lately." She adjusted her glasses. "And I'm afraid the files you're looking for are down there. Perhaps you could come back in a few days-"
"No, we'll manage." Donna said. "Can you tell us anything about the Willowbrook Orphanage? Why did it close down?"
The woman hesitated. "I don't quite remember. I think there was some kind of minor scandal or another. The orphanage was already not doing well financially and so… that was it."
"Is there anyone in town who came from there?"
Her expression brightened. "Oh a handful, yes. Scooped right up into loving families they were. Shame that couldn't happen to all of them before the closure. Why do you ask?"
"I may want to talk to them," Donna said. "It's a long shot, but they might know something."
"Well, the records are right down there," The clerk pointed down the stairwell. "Though I wouldn't get your hopes up. I'm sure they've had such good lives since, they barely remember the orphanage. Well, if you need anything, just give a holler."
The nice old lady wandered back to her desk, and we headed down the stairs. We came to the basement door and opened it to reveal a wide open space with rows and rows of filing cabinets. And sure enough, it was quite dark, and no fiddling with the light switch changed that.
I looked at the small card attached to the key the clerk had handed me. "We're looking for cabinet 127A," I said, and walked into the basement. We got a good ways in before I realized something. "Oh, sorry, I should make a light for you."
"It's fine. I can see."
I glanced back at Donna. "You can see in the dark?"
"Since New York, yeah." She said, looking around as we passed by the rows of cabinets. "Just how big is this place?"
"It's an old town, they might be keeping records from over a century ago." I said, turning my attention to the walls. "That said, this building is relatively new. I'm not detecting any aging or problems with the wiring I can see. Probably an issue with the junction box or something."
It took us about a minute to navigate through the rows to find the cabinet we were looking for, and I opened it up with the key. "Let's see… here we are, Willowbrook Orphanage." I pulled out a thick folder bound with a cord out of the drawer. I undid the cord and started to open it before I stopped, and after a pause I held it out to Donna.
She looked at the folder for a moment before she shook her head. "I'm… we don't even know if there is anything in there. And after seeing that doll I'm getting nervous. You do it."
"Alright." I flipped open the folder… and my brow furrowed. I flipped to the next page, and the page after that. "There's… nothing here."
"Well you can't give up that fast," Donna let out an exasperated sigh. "It possible that my birth name isn't Donna-"
"No, I mean there's nothing here." I showed her folder, showing her how it was completely filled with blank pieces of paper.
She snatched the folder from me and started flipping through the pages herself, but they were all the same. It was just a few hundred sheets of simple copy paper. "I don't understand, what does this mean?"
"...this isn't just a clerical error or some of the original files went missing. Someone intentionally filled this." I reasoned out loud. "Someone took or destroyed the original files."
"But why would-" Donna started to ask, but stopped when she flipped the last page. It too was blank, but moving it revealed that the back of the folder it had been covering had scrolling patterns and circles covering it. The moment it was fully revealed, the lines began to shimmer and-
I both saw and felt the space around us warp. The space between the filing cabinets got bigger, the cabinets themselves started to stretch upwards along with the ceiling, and I saw the rows start to twist and branch off from each other. "What the..." Donna looked around. "Some kind of trap?"
"Looks like it's turning into a labyrinth… but it's still building itself." I said, trying to keep my disorientation in check. I was getting conflicting feedback from my various senses, telling me the space was expanding but also staying the same. It felt like two spaces were being overlaid over each other. But… "Whatever this is doesn't affect the walls, I still feel the wiring. Follow me, we have to get out of here before the trap closes."
Using the wall wiring as a guide I bolted straight for the exit, Donna close behind. Walls of filing cabinets sprung up in our way, but in spite of their size they were still just made of normal metal. And that was not nearly enough to stop the likes of me and Donna. What was a problem though was how the space was getting bigger and bigger, and the exit getting farther away. I accelerated, everything becoming a blur of crushing metal and flying papers until-
I suddenly slammed into the stairs that had taken us down to the basement, breaking them a little. Donna then tumbled into me at top speed, breaking them more. We pulled ourselves up to see the doorway we had come through twist and ripple before it snapped back into place. Past the door I could see a mess of broken filing cabinets in an otherwise unremarkable basement.
I stared for a moment before I turned to Donna "I think this counts as something else."