2.7

11:15 AM, 3rd of April, 1989.

Location: Secure military facility.

Around us we have the heads of several security bureaus, the second-in-command of another two and a curious General.

The room itself holds a small handful of volunteers, five special agents and a female Major.

"This is a demonstration, for those of you who think magic isn't a concern." I gestured to Louise. "This is Archivist, our newest addition. She is a traditional, self taught magic user. Her disciplines are conjuration and enchantment. You saw her being searched with every sensor available and by your own men. With only five years of study under her belt she can do things as dangerous as..."

With a flicker of fingers and a few breathed words she created a curved, elegant dagger from a brief burst of pale yellow light. She placed it on the table. She followed this by producing a revolver, then one by one bullets for it to use.

"Imagine an assassin with those skills. Able to bypass any search by making their weapons in situ." I tossed the empty pistol to one of them to hand around, a bullet to another. "Her ability is limited by mass, but she is literally making material from her personal supply of magic energy. She must also understand the object and how to assemble it. Hence the revolver, one of the most simple, but effective firearms available. These objects are permanent creations. As accurate as she can imagine the thing itself. So as you might expect focus and memory for her is key."

I looked at her and she nodded.

A small box was created.

"Gentlemen, and the lady Major from the Airforce… this box contains weapons grade plutonium." The room became very quiet.

"Now, as you might expect this particular talent is currently classified top secret. You have all signed your Accord de Confidentialite (Non Disclosure Agreement for the American audience). Magic is equally a massive boon and something we desperately need to understand and control, like any weapon. Especially because it possesses nuclear equivalents of it's own. Demons."

I threw a selection of photos onto the table.

"Demons exist and they hunger for the suffering of all humanity." I pointed at the photos. "This, this and this one are all minor demonic creatures, dumb and animalistic. All rage and violence. This creature however is mid-ranking demon. Name unknown. A lust demon, an incubus. That means that it lures women and men into coitus and then drains the life out of them. It was responsible for fifty three deaths last year in Toulouse." I placed a photo down. "This was it's appearance before the police armed squad gunned it down, found in the middle of killing their decoy. See how it looks like a particularly striking human."

I placed down a medical examination on the table. "It took at least thirty rounds to put it down and it still managed to savage one of the shooters, crossing the room under constant fire. It's body is so alien the doctor was unable to identify the killing bullet. However Archivist pointed out that Incubi are weakest when attacked around the… genitals. Thus we can determine that the killing bullet was in fact an accident since the majority were centre torso. Please note it lives on in Hell, diminished from the setback of death."

I drew a final photo, blurry black and white. "This is a greater demon. It is known as Beelzebub. A lord amongst it's kind. Only caught on camera briefly, in the wake of it's appearance we observed the massacre of over five and a half thousand civilians in French Guinea in 1955 by revolutionaries and a major famine. From past appearances in historical myth this was not an isolated incident, but merely the demon's pastime." I spat angrily. "Suffering is their art."

"This… is one of the demons mentioned in the bible?" The General asked.

"Yes. The very one. I have it on good authority that the infamous demons, with the exception of Lucifer Morningstar are mostly unchanged from antiquity. Lucifer… is odd. He is apparently rebelling against his earlier placement as ruler of Hell and currently running a popular bar in Los Angeles. He has in his own words: 'Quit Hell' and is 'Retired'. In case any of you have ideas… he is beyond powerful. Godlike. Leave him alone, nothing in this world can save you from a pissed off devil. A nuke to the face would merely slow him down."

"Revelation aside, what else can your pet witch do?" One of the directors asked. I took note of him, DST. The same as that agent from before.

Louise placed five objects on the table. A ring, a bracelet, a necklace, a pin and an earring.

"Each of these holds a magic spell of defence. Except one. Please, could the volunteers each take one?" The five walked over and looked at each other.

The Major looked annoyed. "I'm going to have to take the earring, aren't I. Damn girly thing, too." She grumbled.

"It's a clip on." Louise helpfully added.

"Good, otherwise one of these guys was going to get a piercing." The Major growled.

"So the ring? It makes a zone of air that can't be contaminated by poisonous gases." I pointed. "The bracelet, makes any clothing resistant to damage… it equates to low bullet and stab resistant armour with none of the weight. Used in conjunction with real armour it's quite effective." I grinned. "You'll get to test these at length later gentlemen."

I pointed to the necklace. "A mental effect is emitted from this one that forces hostiles to prefer to focus on other targets. The pin makes the user inhumanly stable: they won't have issues with inertia shifts on boats or planes and are nearly impossible to push off balance by a human in a scuffle. The final, the earring is a two stage enchantment. The defensive boost is heat resistance, however if you focus you should be able to summon and hurl a ball of fire. All of these were made by Archivist, who is considerably less experienced in this art than conjuration."

The Major's eyes widened at the description and then her eyes closed, before snapping open to find herself holding a blazing ball of blue fire. "Nice… it doesn't even hurt..." She said, juggling the flame from hand to hand.

"While we haven't tested how long the enchantment lasts, current deterioration suggests that these will need to be maintained once every six months to a year. The effect is finite, however longer term effects or even permanent ones may be possible with the aid of several enchanters working as a team to support the charging process." I finished my spiel. "So, who wants to stand on the roof of a speeding car without falling? Who wants to be shot with pepperspray and be impervious? Who gets to throw balls of fire around? Who is going to be involved in a paintball match and emerge clean and who gets to test out the defensive effect?"

Huh… no takers on the clothing defence boost, sorry agent you'll be our dummy. Also the Major needed a direct order to remove the earring…

All in all, a great success. But the DST director's behaviour has me a little concerned. Louise is thrilled how well her demonstration went.

So far we have a small group of hand picked agents and that particular Major being placed in her care as students. Fun times ahead. Just as well Louise has moved to Paris with her father, to be near him as he is treated. Her prototype healing ring is having some effect as best we can tell.

It's time for News around the World! (new segment)

In Gotham, it seems a madman has been attacking people with hallucinogens! A strange light has been seen in the sky at night.

In Metropolis criminals have been seen using unbelievably advanced weapons and devices. Lex Luthor claims this is a natural escalation in response to the menace of Superman.

A man armed with boomerangs has apparently robbed a bank in Central City. Police competence questioned.

A strange, friendly heroic figure calling himself Captain Marvel has been seen randomly flying around helping people with problems big and small in Fawcett City.

Perhaps equally strange: a pair of beings have been seen, a man dressed like a moth and his pursuer: a flying man with green skin at Star City.

Disaster in Kandaq as mass destruction unfolds.

Prince of Wales arrested for treason!

Royal couple of Vlatava dead in tragic plane crash, survived by only child!