Yue

 11th January

16:44 GMT +2

Kaldur leads the way through the museum, talking quietly to the detective who met us at the entrance. Amon is following just behind them while Leonid has gone to look for Canis. Zatanna is walking with me while-.

Zatanna is walking arm in arm with me, apparently, while I run scans of the building. No oddities I can detect. The break in was near-flawless. No damage I can see to any part of the building, including the security systems. Museum records indicate that camera and sensor coverage went uninterrupted throughout the period when the theft is believed to have taken place, and I can't detect any signs of technology-based teleportation. I do see why Canis is worried about this being the work of Philistines, though: the thief or thieves made a perfect entry to a museum filled with valuable paintings, furniture and rugs, but for some reason all they took was precious metal. That suggests someone only interested in the value of the materials, rather than the market value or artistic significance of the piece.

"What did Kaldur want to talk to you about?"

"One of the Atlantean city states I've had dealings with wants to leave Atlantis."

She frowns. "Can they do that?"

"Can Texas leave the Union?"

"Not according to General Grant. Is it actually going to come to that?"

"I don't know. It's unprecedented in recent times." Hm. "Texas was in the Union for fifteen years before the civil war, right?"

"Mm-hm."

"Do you think it would have come to war if they'd just decided to leave, but the Confederacy wasn't forming at the same time?"

"Probably. The Confederacy happened for a bunch of reasons, but the divide between slave states and free states had been there for a while. The federal government wouldn't want to set the precedent that states could leave."

"True, I suppose. But Atlantis… For most of its history, individual city states paid tribute to the ruler of Poseidonis as pre-eminent, but from the sinking to… Relatively recently, they have in effect been independent in most regards. Cities have gone to war with each other before, including Poseidonis. Or remained neutral while other cities did. Under Queen Clea, Venturia bitterly resisted any move towards a federal system, and they weren't the only city that felt that way."

"And now they've decided to leave the country, because they don't want to give up their independence."

"Something like that. Queen Atlanna wanted her heir to be raised on the surface so that he could bring Atlantis back into contact with the rest of the world." I shrug. "Unfortunately, that upbringing appears to have left King Orin with American assumptions that just aren't true about Atlantis. His attempt to force cities to select their senators by popular ballot was voted down pretty heavily."

"How are they selected, then?"

"It varies from city to city. Aside from Poseidonis, there are..? Two..? Other cities which make the selection by popular vote. Usually it's an appointment by the city's governing body or ruler, which was how Venturia was handling it. Now I.. suppose they'll either recall them or leave them as ambassadors."

"Are you and Kaldur okay?"

"I don't think he's happy about it. I wouldn't be if Scotland voted itself independent-."

Zatanna smiles. "I thought you were Themysciran."

"Themyscira's not big enough to have a breakaway region. If it broke away, it would be Themyscira. Also, Themyscira's been united for about three thousand years. It's only been about three hundred years since Atlantis's last big internal bust up."

"Only three hundred years, huh?"

I roll my eyes. "Pff, colonial." She chuckles politely as we approach the crime scene, Kaldur and the detective moving to speak with the museum director. "Are you picking up anything?"

She releases my arm, moving the Staff of Love in an arc while her eyes glow violet. "Yes. It's.. subtle, but…" She holds the staff up, violet light radiating away from the Star Sapphire at the head. Markings show up on the display cabinets, up the nearby walls and across the ceiling.

I watch as one of the police starts taking photographs of the marks. "What happened to talking backwards?"

"I started learning real magic, without inherited cheating. The power I get from the Star Sapphire makes it much easier."

Kaldur turns in our direction. "Can you tell what it was that made those marks?"

Zatanna takes a few steps closer, eyes still glowing. "Doesn't feel Atlantean… Not demonic, obviously…" She blinks, her eyes returning to normal. "I don't recognise the spell." She turns to the museum director. "Do you know where I could find a local witch?"

"Ah… The gypsies?"

Zatanna… Doesn't look enthusiastic. And I know where she's coming from. For every 'traditional magic' practitioner who actually practises magic, there are about a hundred who either think they do but don't or are flat out frauds. I learned that when Ted and I tried recruiting people.

"Ah, sir?" One of the police on guard duty gestures to the detective. "If they need to talk to a witch..?"

The detective thinks for a moment, then looks at Kaldur. "Please come this way?"

The four of us follow him down a corridor and into a nearby unoccupied room, and he takes a moment to check that no one is standing behind the exits before turning back to us.

"There is… A person… Who may be able to help you. If the problem is magic."

Zatanna sets the butt of the staff on the floor. "The problem is theft. I just need someone who knows what sort of magic gets used around here."

The detective looks decidedly uncomfortable. "We can… Arrange that."

Kaldur looks at him impassively. "Is there a problem?"

"The person… Has contacts which make going to her… Awkward. Not all of her connections are good ones for police officers to have, but…" He shrugs. "We have few superheroes in this country. Sometimes it is necessary to… Have arrangements…"

Kaldur and I nod.

I'm sure that Dracula exists in the DC universe, but I don't really remember him being a focus as he was in Marvel. All of the vampires I've met had been Americans, grateful recipients of KordTech's vitalised cloned blood. Still, I'm mindful of the country I'm in.

"Is the individual in question… Not trying to play to stereotypes or anything-."

"Not a vampire, no." He reaches into his shirt and pulls out an Orthodox Christian crucifix. "She just laughs at it. And after she found out I was wearing it, she… Ate some garlic in front of me."

I suppose that if she knows what a crucifix is well enough to laugh, then she knows well enough to be affected by vampire theophobia. The garlic thing is a bit dodgier. Traditionally, it was sweet smelling flowers that warded off 'evil spirits', which included vampires. There is some evidence that allicin is at least somewhat toxic to vampires, but a vampire who knew what they were doing would be able to work through it for at least long enough to purge themselves.

Zatanna nods. "She sounds like the sort of person I need to speak to."

He looks at Kaldur. "All of you would be too many."

Kaldur nods. "Zatanna, Orange Lantern, go with Inspector Gherea. I will have Canis transport us to the site of another theft."

Zatanna pulls a small stone out of one of her pockets, violet runes glowing on its surface for a moment. "This will let you know whether the magic there is the same as the magic here."

Kaldur takes it, then Zatanna and I follow Inspector Gherea out of the building.