Yue

28th  January

12:43 GMT -5

John Quinn as Doctor Fate floats a short way off the ground, levitating the book Ms Bowen handed over at head-. Or rather, at helmet height as he looks through it. Tula has entered the building with the forensics team, in order to keep them away from anything thaumically active rather than to do any sort of examination herself. Demon magic is the one area where the surface world is actually more sophisticated than Atlantis.

The small crowd on the other side of the police barricades grew once the news got around that a member of the Justice League who hasn't been seen in public in over six months had put in an appearance, but it's dropping off now that it's clear that he isn't going to do anything interesting. A few of the police are taking the time to stare at him, but I can't really begrudge them that. There isn't a lot happening, and expecting them to remain fully alert at all times is simply unrealistic.

"Rocket, check in?"

"Rocket here. We're about halfway through the list."

"Any trouble?"

"How do you mean 'trouble'?"

"Are they cooperating?"

"You mean, are they cooperating with the police officers arresting them for soliciting and substance abuse?"

"Yes. Though I believe that the arrest warrant also includes mind control."

"Some of them have kids. One had a boyfriend who didn't know what her job was."

"And I'm sure that they'll be very glad that she's not going to get dragged into Hell." I take a breath. "Rocket, I don't think that laws against prostitution are sensible, saving in that they make profiting from people trafficking slightly more difficult. I have two friends who are former prostitutes. If it wasn't for the demon magic I'd probably turn a blind eye to the whole situation but they're using demon magic so I can't. Also, they were deliberately altering the minds of their clients in order to secure repeat custom."

"Yeah, I get it." She sighs. "Those friends of yours. Who are they?"

"Holly Robinson and Selina Kyle."

"How did they.. get into it?"

"Gotham City Child Services."

"They were running a pedo ring?"

"No, they were just really bad at their jobs. It's not exactly a well-funded department in most cities, and with Gotham's economic decay and graft they never really had a chance. Low educational attainment, no home support, poor diet, no safety…" I frown. "No offence intended to Dakota, but is this sort of thing really novel for you?"

"Icon doesn't think prostitution should be illegal, either. He doesn't think government should have social policy. His 'grandfather' fought prohibition and internment."

"And you?"

"It's not like I don't get that banning it doesn't suddenly give the women doing it new jobs, I just…"

"Okay, you don’t like it. How would you fix it? What do you want?"

"To suddenly give every woman working in the sex-."

"Just the women?"

"Most-. Yeah, okay, everyone working in the sex trade a better education. High school graduate level. And-."

"Do you have good data on what proportion lack that level of education? As opposed to taking it up due to a lack of employment opportunities and sticking with it due to the relatively high tax free pay?"

"No, but I can't fix the whole economy."

"If not you, then who?" I shrug. "Education is an easy enough fix. The genomorphs are looking for volunteers for their telepathic education experiments. If you can get me their contact details I'll put their names down. No charge."

"I don't really know them personally. I'll definitely put out some fliers, though."

"Might be worth asking them what they're paid per hour, so you can work out what sort of employment you'll need to create to replace it."

"And how am I supposed to do that?"

"I don't know. Wasn't Hardware moaning about Edwin Alva owning his inventions? Get him to make something with civilian applications and site the factory in Datoka. Look at it as homework."

"Ah… Yeah, okay. I'll look into it. Anything else?"

"No. I'll check in with you in another half hour. Let me know if you run into any difficulty."

"Got it. Rocket out."

John turns a page. He clearly still has a way to go, but if he isn't shouting anything yet I'm going to assume that there isn't an immediate need to panic. Since there's nothing I can really add to his investigation, I turn away and walk over to where Artemis is talking to Chief Clayborne. She notices me approaching and hurries in my direction to intercept me.

"Yes? Something the matter?"

She makes eye contact with me, then pointedly glances at John. "Did you ever… Check him out?"

"Magicians have ways of confusing their trails. At least some people who'd been where he claimed to be remembered interacting with someone fitting his description. And he's helped me out."

She gives a slight shrug with her right shoulder. "Right. So what's our next-?"

The street explodes in white flame! I throw up a construct bubble around Artemis and myself as white hot fire pours from the heavens! Artemis crouches as the torrent of fire envelops us, anti-magic arrow already on string. I hear explosions as car petrol tanks cook off all around us, and the crash of glass as windows explode!

"Artemis, moving to the police line. Ring, what's happening?"

Artemis nods and we start jogging towards where I hope the police cordon is. Damn it, we haven't evacuated the prisoners yet!

"Incendiary attack launched from above. No prior chemical alteration in local air. Fire otherwise performing as conventional fire. Supposition: fire is conjured."

"Possible, but this would take stupid amounts of power."

A pact with the Parliament of Flames is a possibility, but a magic generalist who could conjure this amount of fire on their own recognisance would have far better ways to kill a few people. It isn't pure elemental fire because that has anomalous behaviours my ring can spot. It isn't divine fire because it's the wrong colou-.

We break through the curtain of flame, the burning wrecks of the police cars in front of us. I can see where the police and civilians have fallen back, convection making the area almost unbearably hot. Several are sporting burns, and a few have been laid down and are being tended to by medical personnel.

"There!"

Artemis points upwards and I follow her finger. Yes, there's someone up there, throwing flame down at us. Magnif-.

There's what looks like an explosion from the figure's location, and the spray of fire ends. Immediately I turn, cold gun constructs forming and shooting the still-burning buildings on either side of the street.

"Aquagirl, status!"

Artemis switches to flame-retardant arrows and joins my cold guns. The street still radiates heat, the air too hot to breathe.

"One severely burned. I'm administering a healing potion. I got a water shield up before anyone else could get hurt."

"Good reactions. Fate?"

A golden ankh appears in the air, John appearing in the air a moment later.

"Fate is well, though I am afraid that the book was entirely destroyed."

Darn it. Temperatures normalised, I cease fire with my cold guns.

"What the hell just happened?"