The Universe's Mixer

Maggie had never actually applied for a job in her life. She'd started off like most Fictionals had: posting for free on public sites until she felt confident enough with her own material and online presence to send an email with a few links out to paying blog sites. It was too casual to be called an application. And even After the End Times, which was the biggest site she'd worked for to date, had hired her solely on Buffy's recommendation. She hadn't even had to send in samples, since Buffy had been head of the Fictionals and they'd known each other for what felt like ages by then.

The actual process of applying for traditional media had been something new. And exciting at first, until she got bored with the process. She'd nearly thrown the damn thing away twice before finishing and sending it in. She didn't know how her Newsie friends had done it, since they had actual applications, with references and credentials and licenses to provide. And it was so dull.

But apparently both it and her mostly unverifiable job history were enough for the editors at the City Voice, who informed her of an opening in the Arts and Entertainment section, which she accepted. She showed up at their offices, still antsy about leaving her dogs at home alone.

Lois had received the necklace from Dr. Crane. It was gorgeous and she was flattered, but she also wasn't sure what to make of it. It was an awfully extravagant gift from someone that she wasn't dating.

She did pick up something for him as well-an intricately carved wooden chess set. She wasn't sure if he played, but what shrink didn't enjoy a game that was all about strategy, right?

She called Arkham ahead of time to make an appointment to drop in and give her thanks. The man in question was something of a puzzle to her, though that just made him all the more intriguing. Both Jonathan and Eddie were curious personalities. She sensed just a hint of danger from the two of them, though she couldn't put her finger on why. While some might run screaming from that, Lois was just the sort to want to dig a little deeper.

Dexter had plunged himself face first into the pile of work that he'd found to do. He'd sent off the things that Detective Crews had asked for the same day that he'd asked for them. He'd even found a few other things that the detective might find interesting, and sent those too. He took on extra shifts, and found himself accepting assignments before what he was currently doing was done.

When he wasn't at work, he felt a little lost. A little alone. There was no sign of George, or any of the other Reapers. No Selina. Nobody that he was familiar with. Nobody to take his mind off of things. Nobody to hold him back when it came to parts of his darker nature. It was dangerous. So dangerous. Dexter was free of responsibility to keep himself in check. He couldn't have that. He couldn't return to what he'd been right before he'd been sent back to Miami.

And thus Dexter found himself at a crime scene in the early morning. It wasn't a murder, he was sure of that. It looked to be an industrial accident. There was heavy machinery involved. A few shaken up workers. But they'd called him in to make sure that the deceased wasn't pushed. Or tripped on purpose. Dexter discovered himself disappointed that it wasn't more complicated. That would have taken time. He would have needed to collect samples to take back to the lab. As it was, he hadn't even cracked open his case.

Sometimes, blood talked too much.

"Morgan." An officer walked up behind him. "Can you go assure the press that this was an accident, please. We've already got too many murders happening in this city. We don't need another."

"Yeah." He said. He wanted to say that he didn't usually deal with press. But this was another thing that would keep him out of the apartment and solitude longer.

After weeks of practice and fine-tuning, the newest performance opened at the City Opera House. Unlike before, the star diva was Enigma, in the title role. Another bright point of the evening came from the inventive interpretation of the classical score from Dr. Hannibal Lecter, on piano.

Again, Opening Night came with its victory gala at the end of the performance. Again, the featured stars invited special guests, and again, the City Opera provided complimentary tickets to one Ms. Lois Lane and the City Mayor (plus 1, naturally). But the performance and gala were also open to all. And as the performance came to a close, the gala sprung to life downstairs in the Grand Foyer.

The dinner invitation from Lindsey had been unexpected but very welcome. With Ollie missing, Lois now had exactly one person in the City who didn't seem to mind her company. Considering that the holidays were coming up, this wasn't exactly a great feeling. Lois had tried and failed to be okay with being alone for most of her life. Being a military brat had meant moving around and not many long-term friendships and things with her dad had never been exactly warm. All the same, she still needed people. Her time in Smallville with the Kents and with Chloe so close by had been the start of a new chapter in her life-she had stopped feeling alone after that, which made this life in the City that much harder to take sometimes.

All the same, she was happy to have a destination on this particular day and even happier to have a really cute guy at said destination. She still wasn't sure what the nature of their friendship was, but she knew that things weren't exactly platonic on her end. And she didn't know many guys who offered to cook Thanksgiving dinner if... hey, when it came down to it, she'd never had a guy offer to cook her Thanksgiving dinner for any reason.

She showed up a few minutes late-there had been a little bit of a kitchen snafu-with a bottle of wine and a slightly blackened sweet potato casserole. Hey, she'd tried. A for effort, right?

One of the other rumors that Lois thought was worth looking into had to do with Arkham Asylum. The Asylum had an interesting history as far as the City was concerned. From what Lois could surmise, every one of the non-locals to the City had ended up in Arkham for a time. And then for quite awhile, it had been condemned and there had been some talk of it being controlled by a madman.

Now, it was somehow miraculously repaired and operational again. There were other rumors surrounding the asylum now. Those regarding patients who were checked in and dissolved further into madness instead of finding help and sanctuary inside the walls.

Lois had chosen to call ahead for an appointment with one of the newest doctors, a Dr. Jonathan Crane. Sometimes she extended that courtesy. One did sometimes catch more flies with honey. Not always, but it was worth giving the polite approach a try before she started in on the more discreet investigative reporting.

She arrived on time for the appointment and checked in with the secretary. She had a list of questions already scribbled in her notebook and was prepared for the interview, though perhaps not as prepared as she should have been for the man she was about to meet.

There were a lot of rumors around the City these days. Lois had a whole notebook worth of leads to check out. Most of them were simply wild goose chases, but Lois was still working her way down the list with the hopes that something would turn up her next headline.

After all, it was a reporter's job to wade through the false information and get to the truth.

She'd heard reports of some sort of disturbance a few nights back. The stories that she'd heard from people who had called it in had ranged from bizarre to completely unbelievable. Then again, Lois herself had been kidnapped by King Kong himself and saved by a team of superheroes, so she wasn't going to write off anything as impossible.

Armed with notes on an apparent monster that was gigantic and green and a vampire having some sort of throwdown, Lois set off to find the area that the fight had occurred. Sure, the buildings might have moved around, but she could only hope that the damage would still be there. She was fortunate enough to find one of the office buildings that had been reportedly in the line of fire and even more fortunate to find a spot on the side of the building where some bricks seemed to have been knocked off in an impact with something or other. Without bothering to worry if anyone was watching or would question her presence, Lois started to climb the fire escape to get a closer view.

Takes place just after this

The night had gone very well in Lois's opinion. She'd gotten some good quotes and just enough backstory to keep things interesting in regards to the opening of the opera house. The article was still leaning toward puff piece, but Lois supposed that every reporter had to pay their dues on that sometime.

And besides, she'd had a fantastic night. The opera truly had lived up to the expectations and it had been... nice to be out with someone when it wasn't strictly business. Sure, she was there in a professional capacity. But Lindsey had been there as her date-or escort, or whatever the proper term was. It had been nice to have that. Nice to have someone to dance with and talk to. So far during her time in the City, she hadn't exactly made any friends. That wasn't new to Lois-she could be a little bit abrasive and with her line of work, friends usually didn't come easy. All the same, she wasn't hating the time spent with Lindsey.

Then again, Lois did have a knack for finding men who could be trouble. She hadn't forgotten Lorne's warning, nor would she just ignore it. She just knew that she couldn't live her life in fear of things that might or might not happen. And maybe that was part of what was attracting her to Lindsey-that mystery. She definitely didn't know the whole story and she couldn't help but wonder-it was in her nature to wonder. Maybe spending time with him wouldn't get her answers and she valued the new friendship (or whatever else it might be) too much to press too hard. All the same, she couldn't help but want to solve the mystery surrounding the lawyer.

"This is my place," she said as Lindsey's truck turned down the street where her apartment was.

Opening night for Verdi's La Traviata ran as smoothly as the City Opera House manager designed it. He allotted a certain number of complimentary tickets to be distributed by high-performing members of his production. Those lucky enough to receive these tickets were placed on a special guest list and personally escorted by the house staff to their box seats. The manager himself claimed a seat in Box 5, which was otherwise empty.

Tonight, the crowd glittered and shone brightly under the warm glow of the opera house. Attending the opera was as much about high art as it was about being seen. With every playbill this night came an invitation to the opening night celebration following after the performance. There, all would get their fill of the glamor brought out by opening night.

When the lights in the auditorium dimmed, so too did the chatter. Then began the orchestra, casting its spell with rich, full-bodied music. The pianist, one Hannibal Lecter, would be remembered by musical types for his mastery. But there was limelight enough for others, as well. The production's Violetta, Ms. Christine Daeé, sang soprano with a curious and heady combination of seduction and fresh youth, while the Flora of the opera, Ms. Enigma, carried the darker mezzo-soprano with an expert's touch. And when the lights came up, it was to the roar of an audience recognizing the triumph it just witnessed.

Once the curtain calls were done, the crowd began filtering down the staircase and into the Grand Foyer, where the night was just beginning. The wine flowed; the violins hummed -- a triumph indeed.

Lois had been chasing down answers on what had happened to the people who had disappeared and suddenly reappeared not too long ago. At least, she'd been attempting to chase down answers but had gotten quite a lot of misdirection and 'no comment' from those who might or might not have been involved. Her editor was breathing down her neck and so she'd been pulling a few more all-nighters lately.

Hence the coffee. Lois was pretty sure that even the most unreasonable of editors wouldn't begrudge their reporters a coffee break. Or even a breakfast break.

Lois was starving and she would argue that any good reporter kept themselves well-fed and well-caffeinated. Which was why she'd stopped in at a little cafe that had fantastic lattes and a nice selection of doughnuts.

She was currently holed up in the corner chasing down leads on the internet via her phone, all the while juggling the jelly doughnut and extra grande latte that were currently her lifeblood.

The meeting with Dinah had been strange. Meeting her with Fred proved to be even stranger. They were people be knew, but he didn't. He'd be the first to admit he didn't know them well, yet it was strange seeing Dinah look at him that way sometimes, and then Fred without Sam? Sure, he'd seen her on her own, but it just felt like something was missing from her somehow.

He'd agreed to take on the small job, a little ghostbusting, for the brainy woman mainly because he felt damn awkward around her and Dinah. He took the opportunity to get out of their before things became worse. So, he was quickly walking down the street, no Baby was a little irritating, to the address he'd been given. The streets' refusal to work properly was even more irritating than the lack of his car...possibly.

The older Winchester, even if he was out of place, headed into a store to gather what he was sure he'd need. Salt, lighter fluid, disposable lighter, a crowbar, a small pack shovel. That was all he needed, wasn't it?

At Veronica's request, Lois had run the sketch of the murder suspect in the paper. She had also taken it upon herself to do a little bit of digging on her own. She had taken to showing the picture at some of the local establishments-coffee houses, bars, anywhere that a woman who looked to be in her early to mid 20s might frequent.

Someone had to know the girl, didn't they?

Was it a little bit dangerous to be on the trail of a suspected murderer? Perhaps. But Lois had certainly pulled similar stunts. And besides, it was an attempt to keep her mind off the fact that a lot of people were missing and she hadn't been able to get ahold of Ollie just yet to confirm that he was still in the City.

She was investigating the missing people as well, but that seemed to be hitting a lot more dead ends. In fact, there was... nothing to go on. The only thing that the victims had in common was that they were all imports from the City. Besides that, nothing tied them together and there was no way to know if they had simply been used up and sent back or what. Though previous history would indicate that people didn't get sent back in droves. Not like this.

Lois had her head full of both cases as she stopped in yet another coffee shop to show the sketch to the waitstaff. The murder that was so close to being solved that it felt like it was on the tip of her tongue and the disappearances that were maddeningly mysterious both tied up her thoughts enough that there was little room for anything else at the moment. This was always how she was when she was hot on the trail of a story or two. After all, there was a reason that she had been compared to a pitbull on a pantleg on more than one occasion.

Michael Deal, the executive assistant to the Opera House manager, walked smoothly out of the grand doors of the Opera House at 2:45 p.m. on the day he had confirmed the interview with Lois Lane. Although the interview wasn't scheduled to begin until 3 p.m. today, he expected that the woman would be early. She'd been persistent in her requests, and Mike had done enough research on her to know that she was what the industry termed a 'go-getter'. Those types almost always came early.

He should know. He was one of those types, too.

Mike lifted his wrist to check his watch one more time, then dropped his hands behind his back and stood at ease on the steps just in front of the entrance. Lois was a very pretty lady. He wouldn't have any problem picking her out. Not that there was a stampede of people to lead into the Opera House at 3 p.m. on a Tuesday afternoon.

While he waited, he reviewed the remainder of items on his list of things to accomplish today, planning his next moves in his head so that he was as efficient as possible. But he didn't have long to wait.

Jesse was still overclocking himself. Only taking the one day off for the dinner with Dinah and Dean, the time spent since then had been continuing his deeds. Even with the City streets back on their regular routine, he felt like he was needed. Maybe it was because he'd already been doing it for so long, now everything felt kind of natural. It certainly wasn't because he'd changed his mind about responsibility.

What it all came down to in the end was that he was tired. Exhausted, really. He was back to falling asleep on Zoe. But the sleep wasn't the best. He woke up at odd hours and never seemed to reach that state of deep slumber that assured a really good rest. He was thinking too much about things, and never felt like the work was finished.

It was a growing problem, and he knew that he had to find a way to stop, or at the very least, cut back. The City was providing again. He'd made sure of that. Sending the City back the way it was supposed to be had been easy. All of it was easy, really. Just a toll on his energy. He wasn't so sure it should be so simple, any of it. Just making a decision and going with it.

Jesse was sitting in the park, half watching a game of soccer and half just thinking about these things.

(Takes place right after this thread)

Lois let Lindsey lead her into Caritas, not quite sure what to expect. Whatever she might have been expecting, the array of colorful, horned demons was not it. She instinctively moved a little bit closer to Lindsey.

"You sure this is the right place?" she said in a low voice.

She was open minded enough that if he said that these people weren't going to eat them for dinner, then she'd trust that for now.

She was also still curious to hear the answer to her question about the owner of this place. She'd heard rumors that people could go in and sing and have their fortunes read, or something along those lines. Of course, the last fortune teller she'd gone to had told her that she was destined to end up with a guy who wore tights and liked to fly. She might have previously joked about waiting for her crossdressing pilot, but after seeing those comics, she had a feeling that that fortune teller hadn't simply been some hack making up a laughable story. Maybe.

Is the Mayor in Bed with the Justice League?
by Lois Lane

(below the headline is a picture of Jack and Zatanna kissing in the street)

Recently, Mayor Heart has spotted around town with a certain fishnet-sporting mystic who just happens to be a member of the Justice League. Previously, the mayor has been outspoken about his views in opposition of the Justice League operating in our fair City. With this latest development, one might wonder if the mayor is starting to change his tune? While it's possible that the mayor has been attempting to form some sort of allegiance or peace treaty with the League, the hero in question is not the official leader of the League. Moreover, sources say that he appears to have spent at least one entire night in her company.

The above picture also suggests a very different kind of allegiance between the mayor and Ms. Zatanna Zatara, the league's resident spellcaster.

So where does this leave the mayor's official position regarding the Justice League and other similar heroes? A spokesperson for the mayor declined a comment on this article. However, according to Ted Earley, who is in charge of finance for the City, it would seem that those in the Mayor's office may not agree with the official position on costumed heroes as well. According to Ted: "His position is his alone... I can't even say for sure that his official statement on the matter matches what he really believes."

Ted also goes on to say that "I think the superheroes do good. I was personally saved by Batman just recently. I don't think that they would hurt anybody on purpose, and from what I read about the King Kong thing, they made sure to have people on hand to help any bystanders who did get hurt."

It would seem that there might be a change of heart (no pun intended) in the works for the mayor and, one would hope, for City legislation regarding superheroes.

It felt odd to say that he had his job back when Errol felt as if he'd never left. The layout of the store had changed enough so that it didn't feel as seamless as returning to his apartment, but books were books and it was easy enough to turn on the coffee pot, make sure that the sign in the door said "Open," and he began to browse himself for a book to settle behind the counter with.

Or he would have, if curiosity hadn't gotten the better of him and he picked up one of the City newspapers left out near the coffeepot instead. Since arriving in the City Errol did his best to avoid the news. After Libria, he preferred to live in an insulated bubble. But a long absence meant that the City had possibly changed around him. That bubble could have changed without him knowing. It was safer for him to know than to exist in happy ignorance right now.

He sat back behind the counter, a paper unfolded in front of him, and soon began making notes of back issues to find in the library. Apparently things had been very interesting since he had been here last.

(Headline backdated to the day after the press conference)

City Answers Questions
by Lois Lane

The human embodiment of the City took the stage yesterday at a press conference in which all of us were promised answers to our questions regarding the City. While each attendee was only allowed to ask one question per person, there were several people who attended and were able to answer questions. Some believe that the answers given just led to more questions and more mysteries, while others polled after the conference stated that they would rather not have known some of the more disturbing questions.

When asked what there was to gain in bringing people in from other worlds, the City responded with "I need you. Each of you is special in your way. I need what you have. You don't feel it, and I don't touch you directly, but having you means having you in my arsenal. Combined, you help me defend myself." While it wasn’t explained exactly how the City draws protection from us, a follow-up question regarding what we’re helping the City to protect itself against, he explained that there are other beings like himself. "There aren't many left, but as I am sure you are aware of the theory of Survival of the Fittest, the remaining are strong. We have spent thousands and thousands of years in constant battle. To be the last one. It is random when we encounter one another, but when it happens, there is a fight. None of you has been aware of when it happens, so far I have defeated all I have come across. If I were to fail, we would all die."

Another question that was posed involved the people who are sent back to their worlds. The City explained: "Sometimes, they can't stay. Who and what they are upsets the balance. Sometimes, they become of no use any longer, they are used up, but not by me. By themselves. If they don't go back, they would wither." This would again raise questions about how exactly the City is using us all to protect himself and whether or not he’s drawing upon our life force to do so.

When asked where exactly we were located in space, the City explained that it is always moving and never staying in one place. For those who haven’t been outside the walls, the City seems to be an island floating in space and one would assume that we’re always moving through space. Whether or not the City is on some sort of orbit or the movement is random is up for debate, but it would seem that we’re moving more quickly than, say, the planet Earth rotates around the Sun.

When the questioning turned to the things that the City does to us-such as bringing in a living King Kong and setting it loose on downtown, he claimed that he doesn’t abuse us and that "I give you things. I do things because I think you will like them. I admit, it hasn't always gone so well. But I want to keep your lives exciting." On a related note, according to the City, "The streets move in synch with my thoughts." He claimed that the streets being still were a result of him not being connected with them at the moment and he claimed that it was doing great harm for the streets to be still. While there’s no evidence or further explanation to support or refute this claim, it’s hard to deny that it’s a lot easier to get to appointments on time when the streets stay in one place.


The City also claimed that he does things for us because, “I like you to be happy. I like to give you things so that your lives are easier. Not having to deal with garbage and rotting food, or hunger, or worrying about buying something you might need or want, those are things I can do to help with your lives being easier. I know there are many other things that go on that aren't easy, but if you don't have to think of the little things, it means you can put more effort into the more important things." While wanting our happiness doesn’t seem to coincide with shanghaiing some of us from our worlds, it does seem that he genuinely takes an interest in us. What sort of important things he wants us to put effort into is certainly up for debate.

When asked about the storm, the City claimed that it wasn’t his storm and “if I'd known it was going to happen, I would have stopped it." He seemed genuinely angry at whomever did cause the storm. There aren’t many known beings in the City with the power to do something like that, so who might have caused it is at this point unclear.

From one of the questions asked at the press conference, it would appear that a few of the people who had met Thomas before the conference didn’t quite believe what he was and understandably so. One young woman even blurted out “you weren’t high?” From the answer given, it would seem that the City is unaware of any sorts of drugs that might cause an altered state of consciousness. Given the fact that the streets move with his thoughts, this reporter finds a small relief in that revelation.

In spite of the promise to answer all questions, there was one question left unanswered. When asked how he came to be in that specific body, the City got very agitated and began to shout, ordering the audience not to ask him that question again.

The City Hall was chosen because it held a room within it that was big enough to accommodate the droves of people that were sure to come. Plus, being inside space, there were no worries over weather that couldn't be controlled. The people could sit and listen and not have to try to hear past traffic or wind.

Even with the late notice, everything was done well before the scheduled start time, which Thomas was proud of. He was glad that the ones who were born here weren't entirely useless without him around. They were keeping their heads together, doing what needed to be done. Of course, it also could have been the fact that they believed Thomas was who he claimed to be, and with his presence there with them, they felt better about the situation they were currently in.

Thomas looked at the stage. That's where he would be standing, talking to the people he had brought here. He had no doubts that they would be the ones with the questions, the ones who demanded answers. He was ready. He could do this.

He sat in a seat hidden by a curtain, where he could still see the stage and the rows of chairs beyond, and waited.

The City Calls a Press Conference
by Lois Lane

Today Mayor Heart announced that Thomas, the embodiment of the City has called a press conference. The conference is open to all residents of the City with the promise that "all of your questions will be answered."

Whether this means that the City plans to explain why he's brought so many of us here or not isn't clear, but it would seem that now is the time and place to ask any questions you may have.

The press conference will be held on Monday, April 23rd in the City Center. It's sure to be crowded so get there early!