Yue

 28th January

11:58 GMT -5

Midday Saturday doesn't appear to be a very busy time for 'massages'.

"What sort of ward is that?"

Water trailing from her armour, Tula considers it for a moment. "A weak one. I would guess that they copied images from a book without any understanding."

I nod to the police officers setting up a barricade across the road. I get a… Not entirely friendly look back. Why is-? Oh, come on. Angels mark you for death one time and suddenly you're the bad guy! Should have negotiated for a general announcement…

" I'm starting to take that sort of thing a little personally. " I blink, the world before me changing colour. " Good job it only blocks my empathic vision. Three… Probably clients, getting an actual massage. One masseuse each, receptionist and two others. "

Hm. Perhaps it's a massage parlour and a 'massage parlour'?

"Are you picking up any active magic use?"

"No, none." Her eyes unfocus slightly as she takes another reading of the ambient magics. "I don't think we're going to find a leader or magician here."

" Probably not. But now that we're here, we may as well take a look. It's difficult to use demon magic in America without breaking the law, and at the very least we might be able to scare them off doing anything more with it. " She nods. " Please stay here and maintain the ward. " I raise my left hand to my ear. " Artemis, are you in position? "

"Yeah, all set up here."

Artemis is perfectly capable of covering the rear exit with glue arrows. I was going to have Raquel in reserve above the building, but that seems… Unnecessary. On the other hand, asking her where she'd prefer to be isn't how things are done.

"Rocket, how much reading have you done on magic use?"

"Ah, some? I don't know as much as you or Tula. DMN never caught on in Dakota."

So I can't really justify her taking the lead here. Maybe next time, then. I mean, given Dakota I imagined that drug trafficking would be right up her street.

"Okay, keep an eye and an ear out. I'm going in. I'll shout if I need you."

"Right."

"Chief Clayborne?"

At the other end of the street I see him raise his right hand. "All set up here."

"Orange Lantern moving into suspect premises."

Out of ingrained habit I look both ways before crossing the road. This mission doesn't call for power armour. Light armour with a ward and a personal kinetic barrier is more than enough. If any crimes are happening in there, the presence of police is going to be more than scary enough without me crashing around.

I push open the door and look around. They've gone for a kind of… Doctor's waiting room aesthetic. The receptionist -a strikingly attractive-.

Hah.

Warning: spell eater temperature increasing.

I head over to the desk as she smiles welcomingly-. No, invitingly at me. The desk and the seating behind it are set up to draw the eye to the receptionist's spectacular cleavage. When her eyes meet mine I surreptitiously fish my rune stone out of its pouch and glance down at it. Weakly demonic. Probably a minor infusion of essence of succubus for a cheap instant makeover and instinctive glamour, which thanks to the spell eater is doing nothing to me. Are people cutting DMN with things now? The version Satanus was handing out when we first encountered it gave far stronger effects than this. Or maybe they don't think that they need it?

"Good morning."

She smiles winsomely. "I don't believe that I have anyone down for a mid-day appointment, sir. If you'd like to book-."

I pull out my Justice League documentation and hold it out. For a second her face falls, then she brightens up and-

Warning: spell eater temperature increasing.

-I'm going to assume that she's trying to turn up her glamour.

"Please don't do that. Justice League operatives aren't susceptible to weak magic. I'd like the arrests here to be as peaceful as possible."

Her eyes water as-

Warning: spell eater temperature increasing.

-she tries turning it up again, her right hand going for her desk telephone. I tag the phone with a filament and move it into my left hand, then take a mage slayer round out of subspace, lean forward and tap the tip of it against her forehead. The tiny runes on the round shimmer for an instant, then her chest deflates, minor instances of discolouration appear on her skin and the structure of her face becomes just a little more asymmetrical.

"When I say 'please don't do that', I'm not actually offering you a free choice, I'm just being British." I put the rune stone and round into an equipment pouch, because the round is now evidence. "Would you care to explain to me how you got access to demonic magic?"

"I-. N-not without talking to a lawyer."

"You do of course have that right. However, if as a result of you withholding information a demonic attack occurs I will encourage the judge to impose the maximum sentence possible. Police officers are waiting outside to arrest you."

I scan her, but I'm not seeing any weapons or vials of DMN and a quick burst of empathic vision doesn't show anything relating to fighting.

I point to the door. "Go now."

With a minor false start she rises, cowed, and walks out of the front door.

"Receptionist disempowered and coming out. Please arrest her."

"Will do. They're definitely using Devil Ji-. Using DMN, then?"

I smile at the Chief's slip. "She was, or something very much like it."

"Okay, I see her." There's a momentary pause as I consider whether I should walk in on the massages in progress or head towards the other people. "You got any idea who came up with that God damned name for it?"

"Me, actually. I wanted something that would put people off the stuff."

He huffs into his radio. "I suppose I can't fault your logic, but have you got any idea what it's like to write that on official reports?"

"Yes, actually, and mine go to Batman." Massage rooms are closer, so I walk towards the nearest. "Heading to the massage rooms."

"The receptionist is asking for a lawyer."

"I'm not supposed to mind control people into spilling their guts unless I have 'clear and direct evidence that they are a party to an imminent or ongoing attack', so I'm afraid that she's entitled."

"Huh. Guess I assumed that you guys could do whatever."

"I couldn't be punished for it, but it would undermine the prosecution. And probably terminate your career if you asked me to without good cause. I would action your request as you're the ranking police officer, but I would strongly advise-."

"Yeah, no. By the book unless there's a smoking gun."

"Understood."

I knock, then push open the door. Another improbably attractive woman, this time with her hands wrapped around a middle-aged man's shoulders. Her patient looks up, frowning in my direction.

"I'm.. sorry sir-."

"Orange Lantern. I work for the Justice League and I'm afraid that you're under arrest." Another mage slayer taps her on the forehead, to much the same effect as it had on the receptionist. "Please leave the building at once and surrender yourself to the police. Sir, you aren't under arrest, but I'm afraid that I'm going to have to ask you to answer a few questions. Please dress and then make your way outside."

"What? I was just getting a massage?"

"And that's perfectly legal sir, but unfortunately this parlour uses demonic magic and we feel it would be best-."

His face falls, and he turns his head to look at his masseuse and then double-takes and scrambles off the massage table, sans towel.

"Dress in your own good time, sir. Madam, I'm afraid that I'm going to have to insist."