Post by HoM on Jan 17, 2017 11:20:35 GMT -5
Previously, in GREEN LANTERN CORPS…
After Earth-3’s POWER RING stole the Green Lantern ring off his finger, JOHN STEWART-- along with his partner HANK HENSHAW-- chased the villain back to his home dimension, only to learn that in the seconds it took to follow, an entire month had passed-- and in that time POWER RING had formed the deadly VOLTHOOM CORPS!
Not only must the duo face off against over three thousand ring-slinging monsters, but they inadvertently triggered the creation of a brand-new villain, a cybernetic horror claiming to be the CYBORG ULTRAMAN, who wants to make the Green Lanterns his first victims!
Back home, during their search for weapons that might give them an edge on the deadly PARALLAX and his horde of EFFIGIES, GUY GARDNER and THAAL SINESTRO were snatched into a mysterious void, where a long-thought lost civilisation had existed since they too vanished! Now they must come together to figure out a way to escape, but it’s not looking good…
Finally, SALAAK betrayed his principles in his negotiations with Daxam and blackmailed their Elite Council into allowing the traumatised colonists who had been experimented upon by a mad Kryptonian scientist known as XA-DU to return home. After insinuating that the Corps would withdraw their interstellar protection from Daxam’s solar system, the Council had no choice but to agree with SALAAK’s terms, but the consequences cannot be anticipated…
Welcome back to the ongoing adventures of the GREEN LANTERN CORPS!
Hank Henshaw threw his arms up as the Cyborg Ultraman unleashed a torrent of energy cannon fire that riddled his energy shield. The creature’s body morphed and shifted, tendrils of its crystalline / metallic hide slipping into the body of the planet and causing rifts to form across the surface, to what end, the Green Lantern couldn’t guess.
John Stewart tried to flank but the cybernetic entity twisted, it’s body nearly splitting in two, but instead of diminishing its capability, the net result were more diabolical weapons unloading volleys at the Green Lantern’s shields.
As the attack continued, a third form emerged from the Cyborg Ultraman’s torso, looking at the fusion of cybernetics and flesh that composed its body, hands out and open in horror. Its voice was distorted, static underlining each word, with an alien language barely audible from somewhere inside its being.
{Why does this form hurt so much? My base code dictates I destroy whomever activates me, I hear the voices of the Kryptonian’s scientists whispering in my ear, telling me what I was designed for-- creating an ultra man. And I did that. I found an astronaut near death and elevated him. But the ultra man twisted me. Made me a weapon. I was creation. But now I am death?}
“You sound like you’re going through a midlife crisis, kiddo,” said John.
“Bit early for that, don’t you think? You’re, like, two minutes old,” said Hank.
Stewart shot a look at Henshaw, unsure of what his partner meant, but instead of questioning it the two Green Lanterns struggled to hold the shield together, their minds racing to come up with a counter to the attack.
{Hank Henshaw, I know you inside and out. The electrical impulses in your head are in mine too. And I am sorry. I can already see there is more to this existence that a mindless vendetta. I will kill you. I must kill you. But after that, there is an entire universe, an entire multiverse, of opportunity for me. }
“Yeah, you’re not going anywhere unless it’s in a trash compactor,” growled Henshaw.
{You are the basis for my genetic imprint, Hank Henshaw. I utilised your uniqueness to construct this body. You are almost my father, but what does that matter? In this existence, the only inevitably is death. So, that is what I grant you. Close your eyes and welcome this.}
“I’m gonna’ try not to.”
John doubled back so he was side-by-side with Hank, and reinforced his partner’s shield with his own. “What the hell is this thing talking about?”
“That boobytrap from earlier took a chunk out of me, I thought it’s attack had failed, but it must have been looking to harvest some DNA instead. Why does this crap always happen to me?”
Cyborg Ultraman’s onslaught intensified and the two Lanterns felt themselves be driven back by the force of the attack. Power pulsated through the thing’s body, but they kept their willpower on defence, rather than attacking without mindlessly a plan.
“That old Henshaw luck, Hank. I think I know how we take this thing down though. Look--”
Above the Altar of Volthoom floated the dimensional tear that Power Ring had created to hop realities. Cosmic winds were pulling debris into the bloody gash in space, like the tides receding back, and the sight of it gave Stewart an idea that Henshaw immediately clocked onto.
“You always were smart, John. Okay, let’s take this thing out the game. We’ve got enough on our plate without another monster giving us a headache. Let’s do this--!”
Sinestro cleared his throat as he addressed the Grand-Militant and Historian of the Qylh, the race of peoples who they located in the void Guy Gardner and himself had been stranded inside. “Here’s what we knew on the outside. Your entire solar system vanished, we assumed it destroyed, in the wake of a technological advancement your people made that seemingly went wrong.”
Qoyhr, the Grand-Militant, answered. “The quantum manifold bridge, yes. Our ancestors’ greatest invention, and our greatest curse. That is what sent us to the void.”
Sinestro nodded, taking it in. “You’ve been here for generations you say. And in that time, your efforts to escape have not succeeded?”
“That is correct, Lantern Sinestro. There is no end to the void. The bridge was created as an energy source, a self-perpetuating provider of fuel, but upon activation it proved unstable, and folded in on itself, taking the entire solar system with it,” replied Historian Nolphr.
Gardner leaned beside one of the windows, watching the still, starless sky and considering their options. They’d been here for hours, but the Qylh had been here for thousands of years. If they’d focused all their time on surviving, what good could these two lost Lanterns do?
“And you’ve spent all that time since trying to escape, but to no avail. But we have something you did not. Our power rings are the most powerful tools in this universe. If we can imagine your escape, we can make it real. We just need to figure out how best to proceed.”
Nolphr shook her head. “If you leave this world your rings will drain, just like our ancestor’s original energy sources. We had to invent whole new fields of science to survive in the void, because everything that was known before died.”
“Yeah, we experienced that on our way here. But we’re protected here?”
Qoyhr nodded. “Correct. The defence net keeps our energy contained. We have been unable to settle on the worlds due to the drain. Our ships do not last long in the void.”
“Then how do you know the void is endless?” asked Guy.
“Our sensors…” started Qoyhr.
“Yeah, yeah, but if you’ve never been out that far and touched the edge, if you’ve not felt it under your fingertips, how can you know?”
Nolphr contemplated the statement, and had to concede. “Green Lantern Guy is correct; we do not know. We can only trust our sensors, but when we do not truly know what it is we’re searching for, perhaps there is an edge, and the manifold tricks us once again.”
“Ring, how long will your charge last if we head out there again?” asked Guy.
<Power drain has stabilised since your arrival on this world. Current power levels estimated to last for eleven and a half hours.>
“Excuse us, my colleague and I need to discuss something in private. Would you mind giving us the room for a few minutes?”
Qoyhr nodded and motioned for Nolphr to join him as they exited the large chamber. Sinestro walked over to Gardner and shook his head, concern spreading across his features. “It took us six and a half hours to travel from where we arrived to this place. Gardner, do you think any attempts at finding the edge will garner results? If we only have such a finite amount of time, do you not think it best to wait until we’ve had time to think of a solution? We don’t have our power batteries, we can’t access the dimensional locks we keep them in, if we waste our energy output on half-cocked plans, we’ll be trapped here.”
“I think we need to find the edge of this place. This thing is a fold in space, isn’t it? That’s what they’re saying at least. That means there must be some seam, some crease, that we can take advantage of. I can feel it in my gut.”
“Your gut is what lost you Honour Lantern status, Gardner*.”
Guy shook his head, his frustration showing. “But I was proven right, wasn’t I? The cure Xa-Du left behind worked, we didn’t need to quarantine the colony’s survivors in the Phantom Zone and wait weeks to try it out. We could have done it there and then. And yeah, I might have been messed up by the torture, but I’m here, I’m fine, and I was right.”
Sinestro was silent. He opened his mouth to say something, but found that his argument would be lacking. “It would have been reckless…”
“No, listen to me: It would have been the right decision. We’re chosen for our ability to imagine, weren’t we? And isn’t that this… ethereal, impossible to measure thing? So even if I say it’s the right decision, I can’t prove it, because I can feel it in my gut, I can feel it in my… my instinct. So, let me try this!”
“Even if you think we can find the edge, we don’t know which direction to travel, we don’t know if we’ll make it in time before our rings die, there are so many variables.”
“Yeah, I’m with you on that. So, we talk this out, but we do it fast. They’ve got a defence net that allows them protection from the energy draining properties of the void? Let’s see how they do it.”
“And our rings…” started Sinestro, his mind beginning to click into place.
“…Our rings can copy their schematics.”
Sinestro clicked his fingers. “We could generate our own defence nets!”
“Let’s get to work, shall we?” said Guy, rubbing his hands together.
Communication between the two Green Lanterns was instantaneous, the ring on Hank’s finger connected to the energy bands he’d conjured for John, their thoughts interlinked like they were operating from the same brain.
John grit his teeth as debris kicked up at their feet, their shield being driven down and back as Cyborg Ultraman continued to his onslaught. “He looks like Superman, so we have to assume he has the same power set. Ultraman? Probably his doppelgänger from this universe.”
“Mixed in with a little bit of my DNA. Great. Plus, whatever else was swimming in that… Kryptonian crystal matrix. This is a whole new life form and of course it was born to hate us.”
“You’re handling this well, considering.”
John almost regretted saying it, but he knew a situation like this was enough to trigger Henshaw. He’d been worn like an old costume by the Predator entity and used to unleash horror. John had been the one to send him to a place to get help a few months back, and it looked like his partner was back at full speed. But if this thing had come from him, then was that enough for him to backslide?
“Considering yet another evil monster is using some aspect of me to try and kill? Yeah. It’s not me. That’s what I know. That’s enough. But look at it. Look at the way it moves.”
John analysed the clunky movements, as the entity took heavy, dragging steps towards them. Its limbs moved awkwardly, like it had never used them before, and the tendrils it had sent into the surface of the world were doing a good job of anchoring it in place. Did it know what the duo had planned?
“Like a god damn zombie. Romero classic, not that god awful Snyder redux. What are you thinking?”
“It’s just been born. It’s trying to figure out what that means. It’s not used to its body yet. I’m betting that boobytrap never anticipated facing off against something like us before.”
“Are you ready for the push?”
Hank roared as his ring flared, and razor sharp constructs shot out under their feet, heading straight for the tendrils the Cyborg Ultraman had sent out. Up above, John sent an energy barrage out of their shield with all the will he could muster, and the thing nearly fell on its back as it’s tie to the ground was severed by their double team.
{What do you resist this? To die would be a gift. I am both man and ultra man. I will never die.}
The two Green Lanterns scooped their enemy up and hoisted it toward the dimensional tear. Immediately, the being began to fragment, large chunks of its crystal metal body screaming off itself as the other-dimensional tides took a hold on it, dragging the Cyborg Ultraman’s body into the void.
{This-- is-- not-- the-- end--}
With all the power it could muster, the creature managed to reach out and grip onto the severed tendrils it had sent into the ground on Oa, but Hank was having none of it. He sent a pulse down after the tendrils and then surrounded them completely.
With one immense push he managed to drag every anchor point out from the ground so that there was nothing holding it to the surface. Every tendril had found something under the surface. Immense, technological marvels, things that were blatantly weapons, and more. They flapped about wildly above their heads, as the entity held fast onto the last tendril it had managed to dig into the world.
The Cyborg Ultraman had been searching under the surface of this cross-dimensional Oa for weapons, and the two Green Lanterns were instantly reminded of something the evil Sinestro had told them earlier-- that there were weapon caches beneath this world, just waiting to be exploited!
{I am only doing what I was designed to do. You are-- are-- preventing me-- from completing-- my function--}
“Shut up and die already,” said Hank.
Cyborg Ultraman laughed, a tinny, echo-ey sound that shook the two Green Lanterns to the core. It leaned forward, grit its teeth, and began to rant. {Or I could go and wait for you on the other side. I know where you live, Hank Henshaw. I know where your Earth resides in the multiverse. Goodbye, father. See you soon.}
Henshaw screamed and unleashed all his will into a barrage of energy blasts, but it was too late. The Cyborg Ultraman released its hold on the surface of Oa and shot through the dimensional tear, taking all the weapons it had found along with it. The dimensional hole crackled, but a split second later there was silence, their enemy, one they’d inadvertently created, escaped into the gap between dimensions.
“It’s going back to Earth-1,” said John.
Hank knelt on the floor and pounded the dirt with his ring-wielding fist. “God. God dammit. Another damn mess to clean up when we get home. But… but I think we have something else to be concerned about right now, John.”
Stewart followed Hank’s gaze and saw an entire section of the night sky above their heads light up with an emerald fury.
“Look who’s come home,” whispered John.
Power Ring and the Volthoom Corps had finally arrived back in Sector 0.
Daxam’s security force were waiting for the convoy as the first lander arrived. Armed to the teeth-- for all the good it would do them-- they hadn’t been told the details of the Elite Council’s deal with the Green Lantern Corps, so like any good Daxamite, they were wary of any aliens that might come to their world.
“Lower your weapons, these people are our own, or, however temporarily, our guests,” said Councillor Diro Yat, as he arrived on the landing platform, flanked by their people’s best doctors.
Lantern Yat, Diro’s estranged son, disembarked from the first lander and cupped his hand over his eyes, the red sun that shone so bright negating his extra-human powers. On this world, he was just another man, albeit one wielding a power ring. Out there, in the light of yellow suns and beyond, he was a superman.
“Councillor, I’m glad to see you showed some flexibility when it came to your peoples’ safe return,” said Sodam.
“Don’t get smart with me, boy,” said Diro, before catching himself. He loudly cleared his throat to calm his nerves. He didn’t like being manipulated, and the Green Lanterns Corps had done just that. “Decontamination has been waived, but our doctors will want to make sure our expats are--”
Sodam shook his head. “Let me save you the trouble.”
He waved his hand and emerald light flooded out, filling that platform and causing the security forces to raise their weapons in alarm. The Green Lantern laughed, knowing full well the weapons couldn’t harm him, but he finished his light show and then allowed his ring to dim.
“You’ll be pleased to hear that these people have a clean bill of health, courtesy of the Green Lantern Corps. In addition, and you might like this, father… they no longer have our genetic weakness to the element colloquially known as ‘lead’. I had the Science Division on Oa duplicate the serum. It was hard work, but if you want to free our people from this debilitating weakness… the choice is yours.”
Tamping down the excitement in his chest, Diro shook his head. “Your light-show proves nothing, our doctors will still…”
“I didn’t explain what I just did. If there was anything wrong with these guys, my ring would have just transferred the malady to you. Not fair, I know. I hate the idea of inflicting my beliefs onto you, but I know you wouldn’t hesitate to do the same to me. So, there we go. The colonists are home, as per their wishes. I will monitor all transmissions from this world, in addition to having their full genetic profiles tethered to my ring. If it senses something is amiss… I’ll be back. And Honour Lantern Salaak’s word stands.”
Diro said nothing. He shook his head, disappointed in his son for not seeing things his way, the way of the Daxamite people, and left the platform. “Get these people home,” he ordered, and the military moved in, ready to do as they were told as Green Lantern Sodam Yat made his exit.
As the young Daxamite broke orbit and headed toward the convoy the Corps had utilised to transfer the colony survivors, Salaak’s voice swam in over the communication channels they shared. “Lantern Yat, we have received a communication from Sector Lantern Nek that requires our urgent attention. Prepare to enter subluminal and meet us there.”
Yat watched as the ships blinked out of sight, then followed soon after, giving one last glance back to the world that made him the man he was today.
On the other side of Daxam’s capitol, wearing a suit that simulated the solar output of a yellow sun, an older man sat on the balcony of one of Daxamite’s hotels. He’d stolen the identity of a doctor from the other side of the planet, changed the data records so no one would spot the difference unless they saw him face-to-face. The man took a sip from a serum he’d engineered in part thanks to the colonists he’d tortured for weeks, all those months ago. The serum changed something in him, tweaked his genetic structure so a weakness was removed.
“Thank you for your assistance, Green Lantern Corps,” intoned Doctor Xa-Du.
The doctor, one of a handful of survivors of once great Krypton, smiled, comfortable in the fact that not only was he now immune to the Kryptonite weakness that riddled his fellow Kryptonians, but also that the lead immunity he had designed was about to spread, imperceptibly, across Daxam. Because that meant not only would they become immune to their only weakness, but also that the secret, second function in the serum would infect every single Daxamite on this world. And when he was ready, and prepared, the next stage in his plans would begin…
“You know it’s us or them, right?” said Hank.
Henshaw rubbed his wrist as the emerald lights blinked into view at the edge of the space sector. They had a bit of time before their arrival, before they were physically face-to-face with them, but any prep time they had hoped to utilise in preparation for said face-off had been lost thanks to the appearance of the Cyborg Ultraman.
John nodded. “No problem with that. We’re in the mirror universe. They reap what they sow.”
“So, what’s the play?”
“I need to get my hands back on my power ring. Volthoom’s crony has his mitts on it now, but I can change that up.”
“John… the bastard beat you near to death the first time.”
“I was blind-sided and he had a super charge going for him. Now I see him coming, now I know what I have to do. Have a little faith, brother.” John generated a sniper rifle then looked over his shoulder at Hank. “You ever been a spotter?”
Hank rolled his eyes and plucked a pair of emerald binoculars from thin air. “7.25 billion kilometres out and closing fast…”
Power Ring’s shit-eating grin was spread across his face as the two rings on his fingers propelled him forward through the vacuum of space.
The first ring was his own, containing the pure essence of the otherworldly entity known as Volthoom, while the second was from another reality, stolen off the hand of his Earth-1 duplicate. It currently contained a thin slither of Volthoom’s immense, alien consciousness, but the intricate hyper-circuitry inside the ring was fighting back constantly. It didn’t matter. With the death of the Green Lanterns on their Oa, the entirety of the universe would sooon be his to control.
<Yours and Volthoom’s.>
Ignoring his patron’s words, the John Stewart of Earth-3 glanced around at those nearest to him, and began to speak. “There are two of them and thousands of us. I like those odds.”
Kilowog snorted, snot dribbling from his flared nostrils. “Been waitin’ all month for a fight. Nothin’ seems to compare to our ring’s, boss.”
<Power Ring… they don’t know but we do… to sustain this Volthoom Corps… has stretched my own energy web so thin… we need to end this quickly…>
“I know, I know,” said Stewart.
Tomar Re chirped up. “The fight is down there, dear boy. A real challenge. Mister Stewart, could I perhaps have one of their bodies when we’re done with them? I wouldn’t mind which.”
“You can have the silver fox, Re. I’m gonna’ blast the face off my double down there. There’s only room for one ring-slinging John Stewart in this multiverse, and it’s gonna’ be me.”
Something fluttered by Power Ring’s head and he swatted at it ineffectually. It might have been one of the new recruits to his Volthoom Corps, so he should have probably been more careful, but he just didn’t give a damn.
<Our Volthoom Corps.>
“Shaddap!” barked John.
“What’s wrong, boss?” asked Kilowog.
Apparently, the voices in Power Ring’s head didn’t get passed onto his Corpsmen, which was probably a relief… but not for him. He tried to locate the thing that flitted around his head but the burly ring-wielder next to him caught the shape in a sphere, and grinned at his good work.
“What is that thing?”
Power Ring drew Kilowog’s sphere close and peered inside. There was an emerald shape in there that resembled a drone, but he didn’t recognise much else about it. Why would there be a drone so deep into space?
“Hey-- hey, boss, what’s that?” asked Kilowog. He gestured at his barrel chest, then at Power Ring’s.
Looking down at his chest insignia, a single bead of jade light floated above his heart, projected all the way from the ruins of Oa. He watched it float up, toward his head.
“Oh, shiiiii--”
Instinctually, at the last moment Stewart yanked Tomar Re in front of him, just as a hard-light construct struck the bird-like humanoid in the head. The construct bounced right off the now-concussed alien, then wrapped itself around the ring on his finger, slipping it off with ease before returning to the surface of Oa, followed by the drone they had captured seconds before-- they had been scouted!.
Power Ring dropped the unconscious Corpsman’s body and was amazed to see him floating in the void, surrounded by an energy aura.
“I’ll be damned, he doesn’t want to kill anybody,” murmured Power Ring. When he looked past Re’s unconscious form, his eyes opened wide when he saw what was coming their way. He put his ring to his lips and screamed a warning across the shared channel all the members of his Volthoom Corps’ shared. “SCATTER!”
The first volley was just a precursor. With distance and location calculated, a second volley was unleashed, a massive burst of Green Lantern energy flying toward the swarming masses of the Volthoom Corps, distributed in rounded slabs of light. A large portion of the ring-wielders were knocked out immediately by the impact of the constructs against their auras, and their rings were snatched from their fingers immediately after, before heading straight for Oa.
“Where the frak are they going?” bellowed Kilowog.
Zipping between the bodies of his defeated Corpsmen while trying to avoid any further attacks, Power Ring barked back at his comrade. “I don’t know, you dumb animal! Volthoom, how many bodies did we just lose?”
<My essence was expunged from two thousand, one hundred and seventeen of the power rings we created, John.>
Stewart tapped the stolen Green Lantern ring that sat on his finger. “I still have the original, we’re good. Let’s kill this bastard and get back home. I wanna’ break Owlman’s knees!”
“Hoooooly crap.”
Guy looked at the massive installation beneath the skin of the world and his mind could barely comprehend all the moving parts that went into constructing it.
“This is going to be difficult,” said Sinestro.
Guy looked down at his ring. “Ring, do you think you could copy that?”
<Warning / unable to access higher level functionality due to unknown energy signature / warning>
“Yeah, yeah, heard you the first time… damn.”
“Any other ideas?” asked Sinestro.
Guy rubbed his chin, looked down at his ring then away again. He repeated the movement a few times before clicking his fingers. “Do you want to blow me up?”
Sinestro’s eyebrow cocked up in surprise. “Right now? Unsurprisingly…”
“You throw all your charge into blasting me out into the void. Everything. I focus my aura so it’s rock solid and imagine my ring multiplying the momentum. I become a bullet, you’re the gun. If I think hard enough, and you throw all you’ve got into it, that should send me flying across the void to the edge.”
“If there is an edge,” said Sinestro.
Guy shook his head. “In my gut I know there’ll be an edge!”
“Or we could wait, Guy. The Corps will recognise that we’re missing, and they’ll figure out a way in from the outside.”
“And then they’ll be trapped too! We passed hundreds, maybe thousands of dead vessels on the way to this planet, so many lives lost already. You said it yourself, we need to prevent any more dying in here, and I think this is our best bet.”
“And I would unleash my whole charge in one blast, potentially killing you, and then if you fail, you’ll be dead, and I’ll be trapped here. You’re suggesting I add you to the body count.”
“I won’t die. You won’t be trapped here. Believe that. And that’s how we’ll win. How we always win.”
Sinestro shook his head and laughed quietly, then in silent agreement headed to the surface of the world.
Qoyhr and Nolphr, along with a large crowd of their people-- kept at bay by the military-- swarmed over, wondering what the two newcomers were about to do.
Qoyhr was the first to speak. “Do you have a plan?”
“Yup,” said Guy. He pulled the hard-light goggles he generated from the top of his head so that they covered his eyes, then patted Sinestro on the shoulder.
“You all may want to cover your eyes,” said Sinestro.
The crowd took a massive step back and did as they were told, but Nolphr took a step forward in wonder. She’d been here for so long, that the promise that they might soon be free of the void amazed her. She was the one who kept a record of their entire history, she knew what it was like to be outside the dark, and tears began to fill her eyes.
“Any preference in direction?” asked Sinestro.
Guy licked his finger and held it up, testing the wind direction. Theatrically, he decided on a direction, and levelled his ring finger in that direction. “Up.”
Sinestro smiled then began to whisper to himself. When Guy realised what he was saying, he couldn’t help but join in. “…Beware our power…”
Sinestro wound up his fist and energy blazed as he swung his ring at Guy-- their rings impacted, and Guy shot out of the planet’s atmosphere in a split second, an emerald comet hurtling across the sky. Sinestro’s ring smoked, which the Korugarian had never witnessed before, and when he queried how much charge was left he was answered by silence. It was dead, and shooting across the void was their last hope.
As soon as Guy was out of sight, the only marker of his direction being the green trail he left, Qoyhr turned to his people. “Begin tracking! I want to know--”
Every glass window on the planet shattered as the black sky warped-- the emerald blur that was Gardner impacted with something on the far side of the void and bounced off, and Sinestro cursed under his breath as he realised how powerless he was in the face of this.
Meanwhile, Guy was nursing one hell of a headache as he spun head over ass after striking the edge of the void. He levelled off and saw cracks in the surface of the wall he’d landed against. Beyond the cracks, he saw something twinkle-- he saw stars!
“Oh, you mother--”
<10% charge remaining.>
“Yeah, yeah, don’t interrupt me,” said Guy.
The wall began to reconstitute itself, the cracks fading, but Guy wasn’t having any of it. He shot toward the hole he’d made gripped two edges, then yanked himself toward the stars. There was a membrane between the void and outside, something thick and liquid, and he found himself gasping as the immense pressures began to wear away at his ring’s aura. He clawed and he clawed, even as the stars began to fade, and with all his might reached out, even as the wound closed--
--Only for a hand to grasp his own. He looked up and saw Lantern Dek, the Sector’s protector, her thin fingers wrapping around his hand, and then down at the hole that sealed behind him. From her perspective, there was a tear in space, the size of a person, but as Guy was wrenched through it began to shiver and she could clearly see the frayed edges of the bloody cosmic wound.
“Blast it! Give it everything! Everything!”
Dek did as she was told, and holding Guy in one hand, she unleashed a torrent of energy back the way he came. On Qylh, they saw the void bleed green, energy spurting out of the bloody wound caused by Guy’s impact, and the people began to pray.
Guy turned himself around and joined in, the joint power of the two Green Lanterns causing the crack to widen, but not by much. There was a pop behind them, but neither looked back. Guy felt his nose begin to run with blood, but he had to ignore it. He had to push, push, push, even as his ring began to run dry.
<0.5% charge remaining. Isolating life support and deactivating energy flow-->
“No, you god damn don’t! Everything! Give it--”
More light thrashed past Nek and Gardner, and it became obvious what the popping sound had been-- reinforcements had turned up, and Katma Tui, Salaak and Sodam Yat were on the scene, pouring on the attack.
Back on Qylh, Sinestro shook his head. “It’s not enough.”
“W-what do you mean?” asked Nolphr.
“The gap isn’t big enough, it’s adapting. We need to do more.” He reached his hand out in mid-air and thanked his stars when he was able to access the dimensional lock where he kept his battery. “We’re still in the void, but there’s a hole now, and we need to tear that hole to shreds if we have a hope of getting out of here.”
Sinestro recharged his ring and then turned to Qoyhr. “The defence net. Target the cracks around the gap. Keep targeting away from the hole itself, or you’ll hit my people.”
Qoyhr shook his head. “You may have been able to blast your colleague across the void, but our batteries won’t hold their charge in time to make any difference, Lantern! The energy sapping will get to them first!”
“Leave that to me!”
On Qoyhr’s order, all batteries began to fire, and every load was immediately surrounded by an emerald casing. If Guy could increase his own momentum, then Sinestro could do it for the weapons, and within seconds the armaments hit their target. The cracks shook and flexed even harder than before, and the void was beginning to fall apart at the edges.
“We need to get those people out!” shouted Guy.
Katma yanked Dek and Gardner out of the crack and handed the latter a power battery. He grimaced as he charged his ring up, then tried to think up a solution.
“What is this thing?” asked Tui.
“A fold. It’s a fold in space. So… so… so…” Gardner clicked his fingers. “We unfold it! Yat, with me! Nek, you and Tui head that way. Hooks into the meat of that tear then pull on my mark! Salaak-- keep on the pressure! Keep firing! We need that hole open until we get the job done!”
Yat and Gardner went in one way, Guy sending energy hooks into the gap and digging them into the skin of the void. Seeing this, Tui did the same thing, and then the two pairs of Lanterns flew in opposite directions, tearing the fold open at the gap. There was a weird shiver as the void began to quake, and then the planet Qylh began to follow suit.
“What’s happening, Lantern Sinestro?” asked Qoyhr.
The two pairs of Lanterns strained-- their energy hooks were pulling, they were throwing all their power into it, but the gap wasn’t getting any wider, until suddenly space shredded and the void vomited out it’s insides, replacing the Obliteration Zone with the solar system it had stolen centuries ago, along with the dead ships that had been sucked in at one time or another since its creation.
The void shrank to the size of an elephant, a stringy, tentacle-ridden black mess that look like it had been shoved in a washing machine. Guy surrounded the thing in an energy bubble and then shrunk it down even further, until it was a compact sphere, completely black and sealed away. With nothing to feed on, the sphere shuddered as it began to eat itself, then blinked out of existence, devouring the only thing that kept it whole-- itself.
Guy exhaled, relieved, and then turned to the assorted Green Lanterns on the scene. “What… what… what took you so long?”
Hank was astonished at the sight of dozen power rings descending from the sky after Stewart's initial sniper assault. “What are you doing?”
“Getting the rings back,” replied John.
“I thought you were going to kill them-- us or them.”
John shook his head. “I’ve seen war, Hank. Same as you. We’ve been through hell. I don’t want any more blood on my hands than there is already. If there’s a solution that keeps my hands clean and those rings off theirs, I’ll settle for it. Plus, we need as many rings as possible after we lost so many when the suns went out*.”
“And the monsters that had its hooks in the rings?” asked Hank.
“Not figured that part out yet. Let’s just get my--”
Lances of emerald energy showered down on the duo as the surviving members of the Volthoom Corps began their attack. Hank managed to get a shield over their heads a split second before impact, but it was like the sky had fallen, and the attack lasted an agonisingly long thirty seconds.
When Hank dropped the barrier, the first wave of Volthoom Corpsmen broke atmosphere, with Power Ring nowhere to be seen.
Hank communicated with John instantly through the ring-telepathic link provided by their status as Green Lanterns. “I’ll keep these guys busy. You get your ring back.”
John looked back at Hank. “Right. Right. Think green thoughts.” He slipped through the ground-- better to phase out of the way and double bac then fly through the horde of Volthoomers.
Hank grinned and his aura flexed; it reinforced, layers upon layers of micro-thin, ultra-hard energy folding together until he was wearing a suit of battle armour. One man against an army? The odds didn’t matter-- the only thing that mattered was winning!
What Henshaw counted on was the fact that he’d been a Green Lantern for years. Ever since he was chosen as Hal Jordan’s Sector Lantern partner* he’d fought to be the very best of the Corps, because the bar set by Jordan himself was so damn high.
After he returned to the Green Lantern Corps from his short… leave of absence… he’d pushed himself even harder, and yes, it led to him losing his ring once*, but he got it back, didn’t he**?
“A legion of corrupt ring-bearers with zero training and a tendency toward evil. And me.”
Hank looked up, saw his enemies bearing down, prepared for impact and-- there was an explosion, louder than anything the villains had heard before. They’d never been in an involved ring-battle before, but Henshaw had. He’d faced monsters. He’d faced demons. He’d faced gods and these poseurs were nothing compared to that.
What horrors were worse than the ones he’d battled in his own head?
When the smoke cleared-- a thick, emerald smog-- dozens of Volthoom Corps members lay strewn across the fields of Oa, with Henshaw standing tall above them all. He sent trails of energy out and followed John’s example, snatching the perverted Green Lantern Corps power rings off the Volthoomers’ fingers, adding them to the pile they’d already built.
The next wave of attackers hung in the upper atmosphere, their fear at ending up like their brethren more powerful than anything else. The Volthoom entity screamed in their minds-- <Attack attack attack kill kill kill!> but they’d just witnessed a massacre-- what hope did they have?
“Who’s next?” asked Hank.
He smiled, but knew that was just for show. A bead of blood dribbled from his ear, but no one would notice that. He’d just thrown his entire willpower into what was effectively a barrier that his opponents ran head first into it. A power ring was capable of wonders, fuelled by willpower, shaped by imagination. He’d psychically instructed his ring to increase the momentum of those approaching him, using their own speed against them, and now he was ready for the rest.
“What are you all waiting for? Get him!” screamed Power Ring.
“He just took our like… nearly a hundred of us, boss…” said Kilowog.
“And there are thousands more of you--” started Power Ring
“Yeah, about that,” said John Stewart, as he drew up behind his double and raised his fist.
“Wha--? Naaaoo--!” yelped Power Ring.
The first punch staggered Power Ring, but the second one was blocked by a construct. He laughed and shook his head. “You think you’re so-- so damn smart-- but you shouldn’t have given me a warning! Shoulda knocked my block off! Now I’m gonna kill you with your own-- “
John Stewart smiled. “With this?” He opened his hand to reveal his power ring.
The villain was taken aback. “You have it back?! How--?”
Stewart knew the truth-- it was a construct, not the real thing-- but if Power Ring doubted for just a second-- if he mentally checked out for a moment on the fact that the ring was in his possession-- then maybe-- just maybe--
<No, Stewart! Don’t doubt! Don’t--> screamed Volthoom.
Power Ring felt a surge of electricity rattle his bones as the Green Lantern ring on his finger slipped off and flew over to John Stewart. He accepted it gratefully, returned the borrowed energy back to Hank, then flexed, feeling like he had a missing limb returned to him.
“Okay, wanna try this again?” asked the Green Lantern.
Power Ring shook his head. “Tricky bastard! I beat you the first time, I’ll beat you--” before he could finish his train of thought, the Volthoom Corpsmen yelled out in agony as their own power rings knocked them out painfully. They were then sent hurtling toward Hank Henshaw, who awaited with open arms.
“You need to focus, you bastard. It’s gonna slip through your fingers,” said John.
“I beat you the first time!” screamed Power Ring.
Green Lantern unleashed a barrage of diamond hard constructs against Power Ring’s aura, driving him backwards, toward Oa with the rest. “You-- had-- help--!”
Power Ring hit atmosphere and cried out as he felt fire nipping at his aura.
<I don’t have… the super charge… available for… us to dominate… this do-gooder,> said Volthoom.
“And now it’s our John who has the helping hand,” said Henshaw, blasting Power Ring in the back.
Power Ring keeled forward, into a devastating right delivered by Stewart. “No-- no-- no-- I was supposed to win! This is my world my reality!”
Hank grinned, enjoying the change of fortunes they were experiencing. “Yeah, well you’re getting your ass kicked, so take the hint!”
<We need… to withdraw… John. We need… to run,> begged Volthoom.
“I don’t run! Not when I’m this close!” said Power Ring, dodging blasts, deflecting energy beams, fighting back with all his might against the two Green Lanterns that were sapping him of all his resources.
“You don’t run? Then stand and fall. There’s a cell waiting for you on our Oa,” said John.
<If… you don’t run… then you’re clearly… not the man… I thought… you were,> said Volthoom.
The power ring on the finger of Earth-3’s John Stewart slipped off and the Green Lanterns watched as the Volthoom Corps’ rings lurched upwards-- the main Volthoom ring was re-absorbing every minor bit of energy it had passed out, and killing thousands as it went!
The rings went dead, the owners had their lives stolen as a battery charge, and when Hank and John tried to seal the main Volthoom ring up, it burst through their sphere construct, zipped around Earth-3 John’s body, and caused him to vanish in a blur!
The Green Lanterns looked at each other-- had they won? Thousands were dead. Thousands of evil-doers, sure, but they wore familiar faces, and they’d been through so much in such a short amount of time…
“The tear is beginning to seal up,” said Hank, looking back over their shoulders.
“Where did they go?” asked John.
“Who knows. If it’s back to our dimension, we need to be there. C’mon,” said Hank.
“Wait.” John summoned all the power rings that Volthoom had created from his original and crated them up in immense storage containers made of emerald energy, then the duo slipped through the crack in space and time, the vicious tear closing behind them… they left Reality-3, they left Oa, and finally headed on home…
Guy wiped the blood from his nose, his ring’s aura immediately cleaning the crimson stain off his white glove. He watched as numerous other Green Lanterns who had answered Dek’s distress call began to clear up the clutter of the asteroid field, allowing the newly returned planetary system the space it needed to exist like it used to. He was surprised to see so many faces, but his mind was boggled by what had occurred in the quantum manifold they’d been eaten up by.
Sinestro flitted toward Guy and patted his friend on the shoulder. “Your gut was right.”
“Couldn’t have made it without these guys though.”
Meanwhile, floating nearby, Salaak was incredulous. “You located a long-lost species that we thought were dead. You defused a cosmic weapon that had made this place a black spot in the universe. Lantern Gardner, yet again, you saved billions.”
“I had help.” Guy motioned to Sinestro, but his comrade waved him off.
Salaak shook his head. “I rescinded your Honour Lantern status in the aftermath of the Phantom Zone incident. I had hoped you would take the time to recuperate from the trauma, to… enjoy… reduced duty back in your home sector, but you can’t help yourself, can you?”
“He really can’t,” said Sinestro.
“And while I do not know why you were in Sector 0003 to begin with, you have done good work. You Earth Lanterns are all the same. Sticking your noses into situations you don’t understand and emerging victorious. Gardner… Guy… I wish to reinstate your status as Honour Lantern, so you can continue the good work without giving me a headache every five minutes. Do you accept?”
“I mean, I’m not gonna say no. And you know I was never going to relax being shelved, right?”
It was Salaak’s time to shrug. “We all make mistakes, Honour Lantern. Now, let's get you both checked out back on Oa.”
John Stewart looked around desperately, the scorched stump on his wrist screaming with pain as the shadows closed in. There was a godawful stench in the chamber, like rotting meat, that stung his nostrils. He’d already taken a beating, lost a hand to his doppelgänger and his ring to the cosmos, whatever was next for him?
“You don’t understand! It gets in your head! He got in mine! I didn’t mean any of it! I didn’t!”
Superwoman took a step forward and shook her head, tutting all the way. “Johnny, please. Just because you didn’t mean it doesn’t take away from the fact you still did it.”
“You don’t know what it’s like! You don’t know! Volthoom-- he-- it-- “
Ultraman stormed forward and punched Stewart so hard in the jaw that it shattered, teeth and debris flying from his mouth as his mandible hung loose and ugly from his face. “You hurt me, you piece of shit! Now I get to hurt you!”
“Clark, please. Can’t you see our friend here is hurting?” Owlman placed both his hands onto Stewart’s shoulders and rubbed them gently. “I understand, John. I do! An entity like Volthoom is a horror show, and what it must have done to the inside of your head must have been terrible. Absolutely terrible. And it abandoned you here, didn’t it? Teleported you back home then left you stranded. You can’t blame Clark for taking your hand… it might have been loaded… but we’re here now… we’ll make it right…”
Stewart gibbered and wept, tears streaming from his eyes. This was worse. The pain was agonising, but he knew what Thomas Wayne Jr had done to become Owlman. He knew every story, be it proven true or just rumour. Ultraman could hurt him, but Owlman could break him. “pleeeessh dunnnnnnt”
Owlman leaned forward so he could whisper in Power Ring’s ear. “Volthoom left you hanging, and that means it’s looking for a new Power Ring, somewhere out there-- and whoever it is will be waiting to meet his dearest friends in the Crime Syndicate. When he-- or Satan forbid she-- comes a-knocking, we’ll be sure to show them the same courtesy we always showed you.”
Superwoman purred. “I’ll give you one thing, you piece of shit. You were hung. That means a lot in my business.”
Ultraman did a double take and Owlman rolled his eyes. Why did she insist on baiting her husband so much? Isn’t that what always led them to these messes in the first place?
“Focus, people. Johnny Quick’s kid nephew is already shooting up with speed juice. He’s desperate to put the costume on. That’s one gap filled.”
“What about him, Tommy?” asked Superwoman, gesturing to Stewart.
Owlman smirked. “Clark?”
Ultraman nodded, trudged into the shadows. There was a rustling sound, and then the corpse of the original Johnny Quick was flung into the room, in front of Stewart. Ultraman shoved his foot in Power Ring’s back, driving him face first into the already rotting corpse of their old teammate.
“Yuuuuuuhhhh-- yuuuuhh caaannnt doooo thussssss” drawled Stewart.
The unholy trinity of the Crime Syndicate of Amerika filed out, one-by-one, with Owlman being the last to address their teammate. “You overstepped, John. Tried to take more than what was yours. This is a lesson. Learn it. Then die screaming.”
Owlman left the room, sealed the door shut, and then the entire chamber shook as, outside, Ultraman dropped a mountain on top of the reinforced prison cell, then punched two Ultra Vision holes through the immense land mass so there would be channels for air to get in.
John Stewart, once known as Power Ring, was buried alive, with only the corpse of the man he killed during his treasonous turn against the Crime Syndicate for company.
He screamed until his lungs bled.
A scene was unfolding before the Central Power Battery, and the Green Lanterns assembled on their planetary base of operations were standing in stark amazement. A tear in time and space had opened up above the planet so the Corps had assembled-- they were under attack!-- but within seconds it was clear that the cause behind the tear was friendly, as John Stewart and Hank Henshaw emerged from inside! They weren’t alone… a large, opaque container followed them. When they had successfully exited the dimensional tear, it vanished completely, leaving everyone confused as to what happened.
"Johnny? Where the hell have you been, man? Last time I saw you--" started Guy, fresh from the medical bay. "--Actually, you know what, tell your damn story, yeah?"
John explained, and once he was done, he revealed the thousands of empty power rings they’d carried back from Reality-3. "So, yeah. Busy day."
“By the Guardians,” whispered Salaak. He examined one of the rings and shook his head. “We lost so many Green Lanterns when the stars went out… thousands of brave beings, their power rings losing their charge in the void of space… we haven’t been able to reconstitute the entirety of the Corps… and without the Guardians, mass production of rings has been difficult… but with these…”
Sinestro joined his comrades and patted John on the back. “We’ll have to test them thoroughly. They were home to an otherdimensional consciousness. We know the rings overcome that*, but these knew nothing else. I have some ideas. We can begin immediately.”
Salaak considered the ring then nodded in slow agreement. “Tomorrow. First, we celebrate. This is a great day for the Green Lantern Corps! This could very well be a new beginning for us all!”
Daxam’s crimson sun set and night arrived, leaving Diro Yat, member of the world’s Elite Council, to contemplate what had unfolded hours previously, now that the Green Lantern Corps had left. He took a sip from a chalice of ale brewed down in waterfall district, and shook his head. They had been humbled. And that made him seethe with anger.
“Good evening, Councillor Yat.”
Diro turned at the greeting, and was surprised to see two figures emerge from the darkness of his chambers. His wife had long since gone home and the security net had not been triggered, so how had these strangers entered his offices?
“Who are you?”
“We come in peace, unlike the Green Lantern Corps,” said the first figure.
The second figure nodded. “We understand that they threatened to remove their protection from your solar system if you did not acquiesce to their demands. Those are not the actions of a peace keeping force. Those are the actions of a fascist regime.”
“You need not tell me what I already know. But I demand to know-- who are you?”
Pink skinned, with bulbous heads and elongated bodies, the two figures were dressed in resplendent, ornate robes of cerulean and scarlet that curved up at the shoulders like wings. There was a familiarity about them that Yat could not place, but his growing unease prevented him from searching his mind further.
“I am One, this is Two. We represent a group that seek to remove all evil from the universe. You might have heard of us by the title given to us by our brothers?”
“You’re… you’re the Controllers,” realised Yat.
One nodded, a mischievous smile forming on his lips. “That we are. You made an enemy of the Green Lantern Corps today. Would you care to make an ally?”
“What could you possibly offer us?” asked Diro.
Two laughed, but One shot him a look, quietening him immediately. “An alternative, Councillor. Because every challenge deserves and adequate and equal response…”
NEXT ISSUE: Black Hand has been roaming the back roads of America for months now, his search for Hal Jordan resulting in nothing but disappointment. But what happens when he changes his tactics? The Green Lanterns of Earth are about to face a brand-new horror as they face the culmination of Black Hand’s campaign of terror… his Legion of the Damned…
After Earth-3’s POWER RING stole the Green Lantern ring off his finger, JOHN STEWART-- along with his partner HANK HENSHAW-- chased the villain back to his home dimension, only to learn that in the seconds it took to follow, an entire month had passed-- and in that time POWER RING had formed the deadly VOLTHOOM CORPS!
Not only must the duo face off against over three thousand ring-slinging monsters, but they inadvertently triggered the creation of a brand-new villain, a cybernetic horror claiming to be the CYBORG ULTRAMAN, who wants to make the Green Lanterns his first victims!
Back home, during their search for weapons that might give them an edge on the deadly PARALLAX and his horde of EFFIGIES, GUY GARDNER and THAAL SINESTRO were snatched into a mysterious void, where a long-thought lost civilisation had existed since they too vanished! Now they must come together to figure out a way to escape, but it’s not looking good…
Finally, SALAAK betrayed his principles in his negotiations with Daxam and blackmailed their Elite Council into allowing the traumatised colonists who had been experimented upon by a mad Kryptonian scientist known as XA-DU to return home. After insinuating that the Corps would withdraw their interstellar protection from Daxam’s solar system, the Council had no choice but to agree with SALAAK’s terms, but the consequences cannot be anticipated…
Welcome back to the ongoing adventures of the GREEN LANTERN CORPS!
Hank Henshaw threw his arms up as the Cyborg Ultraman unleashed a torrent of energy cannon fire that riddled his energy shield. The creature’s body morphed and shifted, tendrils of its crystalline / metallic hide slipping into the body of the planet and causing rifts to form across the surface, to what end, the Green Lantern couldn’t guess.
John Stewart tried to flank but the cybernetic entity twisted, it’s body nearly splitting in two, but instead of diminishing its capability, the net result were more diabolical weapons unloading volleys at the Green Lantern’s shields.
As the attack continued, a third form emerged from the Cyborg Ultraman’s torso, looking at the fusion of cybernetics and flesh that composed its body, hands out and open in horror. Its voice was distorted, static underlining each word, with an alien language barely audible from somewhere inside its being.
{Why does this form hurt so much? My base code dictates I destroy whomever activates me, I hear the voices of the Kryptonian’s scientists whispering in my ear, telling me what I was designed for-- creating an ultra man. And I did that. I found an astronaut near death and elevated him. But the ultra man twisted me. Made me a weapon. I was creation. But now I am death?}
“You sound like you’re going through a midlife crisis, kiddo,” said John.
“Bit early for that, don’t you think? You’re, like, two minutes old,” said Hank.
Stewart shot a look at Henshaw, unsure of what his partner meant, but instead of questioning it the two Green Lanterns struggled to hold the shield together, their minds racing to come up with a counter to the attack.
{Hank Henshaw, I know you inside and out. The electrical impulses in your head are in mine too. And I am sorry. I can already see there is more to this existence that a mindless vendetta. I will kill you. I must kill you. But after that, there is an entire universe, an entire multiverse, of opportunity for me. }
“Yeah, you’re not going anywhere unless it’s in a trash compactor,” growled Henshaw.
{You are the basis for my genetic imprint, Hank Henshaw. I utilised your uniqueness to construct this body. You are almost my father, but what does that matter? In this existence, the only inevitably is death. So, that is what I grant you. Close your eyes and welcome this.}
“I’m gonna’ try not to.”
John doubled back so he was side-by-side with Hank, and reinforced his partner’s shield with his own. “What the hell is this thing talking about?”
“That boobytrap from earlier took a chunk out of me, I thought it’s attack had failed, but it must have been looking to harvest some DNA instead. Why does this crap always happen to me?”
Cyborg Ultraman’s onslaught intensified and the two Lanterns felt themselves be driven back by the force of the attack. Power pulsated through the thing’s body, but they kept their willpower on defence, rather than attacking without mindlessly a plan.
“That old Henshaw luck, Hank. I think I know how we take this thing down though. Look--”
Above the Altar of Volthoom floated the dimensional tear that Power Ring had created to hop realities. Cosmic winds were pulling debris into the bloody gash in space, like the tides receding back, and the sight of it gave Stewart an idea that Henshaw immediately clocked onto.
“You always were smart, John. Okay, let’s take this thing out the game. We’ve got enough on our plate without another monster giving us a headache. Let’s do this--!”
Issue Sixty-NINE: “Rise of the Cyborg Ultraman”
HoM / ARTTEACH
REALITY-1:
<LOCATION UNKNOWN>
Sinestro cleared his throat as he addressed the Grand-Militant and Historian of the Qylh, the race of peoples who they located in the void Guy Gardner and himself had been stranded inside. “Here’s what we knew on the outside. Your entire solar system vanished, we assumed it destroyed, in the wake of a technological advancement your people made that seemingly went wrong.”
Qoyhr, the Grand-Militant, answered. “The quantum manifold bridge, yes. Our ancestors’ greatest invention, and our greatest curse. That is what sent us to the void.”
Sinestro nodded, taking it in. “You’ve been here for generations you say. And in that time, your efforts to escape have not succeeded?”
“That is correct, Lantern Sinestro. There is no end to the void. The bridge was created as an energy source, a self-perpetuating provider of fuel, but upon activation it proved unstable, and folded in on itself, taking the entire solar system with it,” replied Historian Nolphr.
Gardner leaned beside one of the windows, watching the still, starless sky and considering their options. They’d been here for hours, but the Qylh had been here for thousands of years. If they’d focused all their time on surviving, what good could these two lost Lanterns do?
“And you’ve spent all that time since trying to escape, but to no avail. But we have something you did not. Our power rings are the most powerful tools in this universe. If we can imagine your escape, we can make it real. We just need to figure out how best to proceed.”
Nolphr shook her head. “If you leave this world your rings will drain, just like our ancestor’s original energy sources. We had to invent whole new fields of science to survive in the void, because everything that was known before died.”
“Yeah, we experienced that on our way here. But we’re protected here?”
Qoyhr nodded. “Correct. The defence net keeps our energy contained. We have been unable to settle on the worlds due to the drain. Our ships do not last long in the void.”
“Then how do you know the void is endless?” asked Guy.
“Our sensors…” started Qoyhr.
“Yeah, yeah, but if you’ve never been out that far and touched the edge, if you’ve not felt it under your fingertips, how can you know?”
Nolphr contemplated the statement, and had to concede. “Green Lantern Guy is correct; we do not know. We can only trust our sensors, but when we do not truly know what it is we’re searching for, perhaps there is an edge, and the manifold tricks us once again.”
“Ring, how long will your charge last if we head out there again?” asked Guy.
<Power drain has stabilised since your arrival on this world. Current power levels estimated to last for eleven and a half hours.>
“Excuse us, my colleague and I need to discuss something in private. Would you mind giving us the room for a few minutes?”
Qoyhr nodded and motioned for Nolphr to join him as they exited the large chamber. Sinestro walked over to Gardner and shook his head, concern spreading across his features. “It took us six and a half hours to travel from where we arrived to this place. Gardner, do you think any attempts at finding the edge will garner results? If we only have such a finite amount of time, do you not think it best to wait until we’ve had time to think of a solution? We don’t have our power batteries, we can’t access the dimensional locks we keep them in, if we waste our energy output on half-cocked plans, we’ll be trapped here.”
“I think we need to find the edge of this place. This thing is a fold in space, isn’t it? That’s what they’re saying at least. That means there must be some seam, some crease, that we can take advantage of. I can feel it in my gut.”
“Your gut is what lost you Honour Lantern status, Gardner*.”
*Check out Green Lantern Corps #57-59
Guy shook his head, his frustration showing. “But I was proven right, wasn’t I? The cure Xa-Du left behind worked, we didn’t need to quarantine the colony’s survivors in the Phantom Zone and wait weeks to try it out. We could have done it there and then. And yeah, I might have been messed up by the torture, but I’m here, I’m fine, and I was right.”
Sinestro was silent. He opened his mouth to say something, but found that his argument would be lacking. “It would have been reckless…”
“No, listen to me: It would have been the right decision. We’re chosen for our ability to imagine, weren’t we? And isn’t that this… ethereal, impossible to measure thing? So even if I say it’s the right decision, I can’t prove it, because I can feel it in my gut, I can feel it in my… my instinct. So, let me try this!”
“Even if you think we can find the edge, we don’t know which direction to travel, we don’t know if we’ll make it in time before our rings die, there are so many variables.”
“Yeah, I’m with you on that. So, we talk this out, but we do it fast. They’ve got a defence net that allows them protection from the energy draining properties of the void? Let’s see how they do it.”
“And our rings…” started Sinestro, his mind beginning to click into place.
“…Our rings can copy their schematics.”
Sinestro clicked his fingers. “We could generate our own defence nets!”
“Let’s get to work, shall we?” said Guy, rubbing his hands together.
REALITY-3:
OA:
Communication between the two Green Lanterns was instantaneous, the ring on Hank’s finger connected to the energy bands he’d conjured for John, their thoughts interlinked like they were operating from the same brain.
John grit his teeth as debris kicked up at their feet, their shield being driven down and back as Cyborg Ultraman continued to his onslaught. “He looks like Superman, so we have to assume he has the same power set. Ultraman? Probably his doppelgänger from this universe.”
“Mixed in with a little bit of my DNA. Great. Plus, whatever else was swimming in that… Kryptonian crystal matrix. This is a whole new life form and of course it was born to hate us.”
“You’re handling this well, considering.”
John almost regretted saying it, but he knew a situation like this was enough to trigger Henshaw. He’d been worn like an old costume by the Predator entity and used to unleash horror. John had been the one to send him to a place to get help a few months back, and it looked like his partner was back at full speed. But if this thing had come from him, then was that enough for him to backslide?
“Considering yet another evil monster is using some aspect of me to try and kill? Yeah. It’s not me. That’s what I know. That’s enough. But look at it. Look at the way it moves.”
John analysed the clunky movements, as the entity took heavy, dragging steps towards them. Its limbs moved awkwardly, like it had never used them before, and the tendrils it had sent into the surface of the world were doing a good job of anchoring it in place. Did it know what the duo had planned?
“Like a god damn zombie. Romero classic, not that god awful Snyder redux. What are you thinking?”
“It’s just been born. It’s trying to figure out what that means. It’s not used to its body yet. I’m betting that boobytrap never anticipated facing off against something like us before.”
“Are you ready for the push?”
Hank roared as his ring flared, and razor sharp constructs shot out under their feet, heading straight for the tendrils the Cyborg Ultraman had sent out. Up above, John sent an energy barrage out of their shield with all the will he could muster, and the thing nearly fell on its back as it’s tie to the ground was severed by their double team.
{What do you resist this? To die would be a gift. I am both man and ultra man. I will never die.}
The two Green Lanterns scooped their enemy up and hoisted it toward the dimensional tear. Immediately, the being began to fragment, large chunks of its crystal metal body screaming off itself as the other-dimensional tides took a hold on it, dragging the Cyborg Ultraman’s body into the void.
{This-- is-- not-- the-- end--}
With all the power it could muster, the creature managed to reach out and grip onto the severed tendrils it had sent into the ground on Oa, but Hank was having none of it. He sent a pulse down after the tendrils and then surrounded them completely.
With one immense push he managed to drag every anchor point out from the ground so that there was nothing holding it to the surface. Every tendril had found something under the surface. Immense, technological marvels, things that were blatantly weapons, and more. They flapped about wildly above their heads, as the entity held fast onto the last tendril it had managed to dig into the world.
The Cyborg Ultraman had been searching under the surface of this cross-dimensional Oa for weapons, and the two Green Lanterns were instantly reminded of something the evil Sinestro had told them earlier-- that there were weapon caches beneath this world, just waiting to be exploited!
{I am only doing what I was designed to do. You are-- are-- preventing me-- from completing-- my function--}
“Shut up and die already,” said Hank.
Cyborg Ultraman laughed, a tinny, echo-ey sound that shook the two Green Lanterns to the core. It leaned forward, grit its teeth, and began to rant. {Or I could go and wait for you on the other side. I know where you live, Hank Henshaw. I know where your Earth resides in the multiverse. Goodbye, father. See you soon.}
Henshaw screamed and unleashed all his will into a barrage of energy blasts, but it was too late. The Cyborg Ultraman released its hold on the surface of Oa and shot through the dimensional tear, taking all the weapons it had found along with it. The dimensional hole crackled, but a split second later there was silence, their enemy, one they’d inadvertently created, escaped into the gap between dimensions.
“It’s going back to Earth-1,” said John.
Hank knelt on the floor and pounded the dirt with his ring-wielding fist. “God. God dammit. Another damn mess to clean up when we get home. But… but I think we have something else to be concerned about right now, John.”
Stewart followed Hank’s gaze and saw an entire section of the night sky above their heads light up with an emerald fury.
“Look who’s come home,” whispered John.
Power Ring and the Volthoom Corps had finally arrived back in Sector 0.
REALITY-1:
DAXAM:
Daxam’s security force were waiting for the convoy as the first lander arrived. Armed to the teeth-- for all the good it would do them-- they hadn’t been told the details of the Elite Council’s deal with the Green Lantern Corps, so like any good Daxamite, they were wary of any aliens that might come to their world.
“Lower your weapons, these people are our own, or, however temporarily, our guests,” said Councillor Diro Yat, as he arrived on the landing platform, flanked by their people’s best doctors.
Lantern Yat, Diro’s estranged son, disembarked from the first lander and cupped his hand over his eyes, the red sun that shone so bright negating his extra-human powers. On this world, he was just another man, albeit one wielding a power ring. Out there, in the light of yellow suns and beyond, he was a superman.
“Councillor, I’m glad to see you showed some flexibility when it came to your peoples’ safe return,” said Sodam.
“Don’t get smart with me, boy,” said Diro, before catching himself. He loudly cleared his throat to calm his nerves. He didn’t like being manipulated, and the Green Lanterns Corps had done just that. “Decontamination has been waived, but our doctors will want to make sure our expats are--”
Sodam shook his head. “Let me save you the trouble.”
He waved his hand and emerald light flooded out, filling that platform and causing the security forces to raise their weapons in alarm. The Green Lantern laughed, knowing full well the weapons couldn’t harm him, but he finished his light show and then allowed his ring to dim.
“You’ll be pleased to hear that these people have a clean bill of health, courtesy of the Green Lantern Corps. In addition, and you might like this, father… they no longer have our genetic weakness to the element colloquially known as ‘lead’. I had the Science Division on Oa duplicate the serum. It was hard work, but if you want to free our people from this debilitating weakness… the choice is yours.”
Tamping down the excitement in his chest, Diro shook his head. “Your light-show proves nothing, our doctors will still…”
“I didn’t explain what I just did. If there was anything wrong with these guys, my ring would have just transferred the malady to you. Not fair, I know. I hate the idea of inflicting my beliefs onto you, but I know you wouldn’t hesitate to do the same to me. So, there we go. The colonists are home, as per their wishes. I will monitor all transmissions from this world, in addition to having their full genetic profiles tethered to my ring. If it senses something is amiss… I’ll be back. And Honour Lantern Salaak’s word stands.”
Diro said nothing. He shook his head, disappointed in his son for not seeing things his way, the way of the Daxamite people, and left the platform. “Get these people home,” he ordered, and the military moved in, ready to do as they were told as Green Lantern Sodam Yat made his exit.
As the young Daxamite broke orbit and headed toward the convoy the Corps had utilised to transfer the colony survivors, Salaak’s voice swam in over the communication channels they shared. “Lantern Yat, we have received a communication from Sector Lantern Nek that requires our urgent attention. Prepare to enter subluminal and meet us there.”
Yat watched as the ships blinked out of sight, then followed soon after, giving one last glance back to the world that made him the man he was today.
On the other side of Daxam’s capitol, wearing a suit that simulated the solar output of a yellow sun, an older man sat on the balcony of one of Daxamite’s hotels. He’d stolen the identity of a doctor from the other side of the planet, changed the data records so no one would spot the difference unless they saw him face-to-face. The man took a sip from a serum he’d engineered in part thanks to the colonists he’d tortured for weeks, all those months ago. The serum changed something in him, tweaked his genetic structure so a weakness was removed.
“Thank you for your assistance, Green Lantern Corps,” intoned Doctor Xa-Du.
The doctor, one of a handful of survivors of once great Krypton, smiled, comfortable in the fact that not only was he now immune to the Kryptonite weakness that riddled his fellow Kryptonians, but also that the lead immunity he had designed was about to spread, imperceptibly, across Daxam. Because that meant not only would they become immune to their only weakness, but also that the secret, second function in the serum would infect every single Daxamite on this world. And when he was ready, and prepared, the next stage in his plans would begin…
REALITY-3:
OA:
“You know it’s us or them, right?” said Hank.
Henshaw rubbed his wrist as the emerald lights blinked into view at the edge of the space sector. They had a bit of time before their arrival, before they were physically face-to-face with them, but any prep time they had hoped to utilise in preparation for said face-off had been lost thanks to the appearance of the Cyborg Ultraman.
John nodded. “No problem with that. We’re in the mirror universe. They reap what they sow.”
“So, what’s the play?”
“I need to get my hands back on my power ring. Volthoom’s crony has his mitts on it now, but I can change that up.”
“John… the bastard beat you near to death the first time.”
“I was blind-sided and he had a super charge going for him. Now I see him coming, now I know what I have to do. Have a little faith, brother.” John generated a sniper rifle then looked over his shoulder at Hank. “You ever been a spotter?”
Hank rolled his eyes and plucked a pair of emerald binoculars from thin air. “7.25 billion kilometres out and closing fast…”
REALITY-3:
THE EDGE OF SECTOR 0:
Power Ring’s shit-eating grin was spread across his face as the two rings on his fingers propelled him forward through the vacuum of space.
The first ring was his own, containing the pure essence of the otherworldly entity known as Volthoom, while the second was from another reality, stolen off the hand of his Earth-1 duplicate. It currently contained a thin slither of Volthoom’s immense, alien consciousness, but the intricate hyper-circuitry inside the ring was fighting back constantly. It didn’t matter. With the death of the Green Lanterns on their Oa, the entirety of the universe would sooon be his to control.
<Yours and Volthoom’s.>
Ignoring his patron’s words, the John Stewart of Earth-3 glanced around at those nearest to him, and began to speak. “There are two of them and thousands of us. I like those odds.”
Kilowog snorted, snot dribbling from his flared nostrils. “Been waitin’ all month for a fight. Nothin’ seems to compare to our ring’s, boss.”
<Power Ring… they don’t know but we do… to sustain this Volthoom Corps… has stretched my own energy web so thin… we need to end this quickly…>
“I know, I know,” said Stewart.
Tomar Re chirped up. “The fight is down there, dear boy. A real challenge. Mister Stewart, could I perhaps have one of their bodies when we’re done with them? I wouldn’t mind which.”
“You can have the silver fox, Re. I’m gonna’ blast the face off my double down there. There’s only room for one ring-slinging John Stewart in this multiverse, and it’s gonna’ be me.”
Something fluttered by Power Ring’s head and he swatted at it ineffectually. It might have been one of the new recruits to his Volthoom Corps, so he should have probably been more careful, but he just didn’t give a damn.
<Our Volthoom Corps.>
“Shaddap!” barked John.
“What’s wrong, boss?” asked Kilowog.
Apparently, the voices in Power Ring’s head didn’t get passed onto his Corpsmen, which was probably a relief… but not for him. He tried to locate the thing that flitted around his head but the burly ring-wielder next to him caught the shape in a sphere, and grinned at his good work.
“What is that thing?”
Power Ring drew Kilowog’s sphere close and peered inside. There was an emerald shape in there that resembled a drone, but he didn’t recognise much else about it. Why would there be a drone so deep into space?
“Hey-- hey, boss, what’s that?” asked Kilowog. He gestured at his barrel chest, then at Power Ring’s.
Looking down at his chest insignia, a single bead of jade light floated above his heart, projected all the way from the ruins of Oa. He watched it float up, toward his head.
“Oh, shiiiii--”
Instinctually, at the last moment Stewart yanked Tomar Re in front of him, just as a hard-light construct struck the bird-like humanoid in the head. The construct bounced right off the now-concussed alien, then wrapped itself around the ring on his finger, slipping it off with ease before returning to the surface of Oa, followed by the drone they had captured seconds before-- they had been scouted!.
Power Ring dropped the unconscious Corpsman’s body and was amazed to see him floating in the void, surrounded by an energy aura.
“I’ll be damned, he doesn’t want to kill anybody,” murmured Power Ring. When he looked past Re’s unconscious form, his eyes opened wide when he saw what was coming their way. He put his ring to his lips and screamed a warning across the shared channel all the members of his Volthoom Corps’ shared. “SCATTER!”
The first volley was just a precursor. With distance and location calculated, a second volley was unleashed, a massive burst of Green Lantern energy flying toward the swarming masses of the Volthoom Corps, distributed in rounded slabs of light. A large portion of the ring-wielders were knocked out immediately by the impact of the constructs against their auras, and their rings were snatched from their fingers immediately after, before heading straight for Oa.
“Where the frak are they going?” bellowed Kilowog.
Zipping between the bodies of his defeated Corpsmen while trying to avoid any further attacks, Power Ring barked back at his comrade. “I don’t know, you dumb animal! Volthoom, how many bodies did we just lose?”
<My essence was expunged from two thousand, one hundred and seventeen of the power rings we created, John.>
Stewart tapped the stolen Green Lantern ring that sat on his finger. “I still have the original, we’re good. Let’s kill this bastard and get back home. I wanna’ break Owlman’s knees!”
REALITY-1:
<LOCATION UNKNOWN>
“Hoooooly crap.”
Guy looked at the massive installation beneath the skin of the world and his mind could barely comprehend all the moving parts that went into constructing it.
“This is going to be difficult,” said Sinestro.
Guy looked down at his ring. “Ring, do you think you could copy that?”
<Warning / unable to access higher level functionality due to unknown energy signature / warning>
“Yeah, yeah, heard you the first time… damn.”
“Any other ideas?” asked Sinestro.
Guy rubbed his chin, looked down at his ring then away again. He repeated the movement a few times before clicking his fingers. “Do you want to blow me up?”
Sinestro’s eyebrow cocked up in surprise. “Right now? Unsurprisingly…”
“You throw all your charge into blasting me out into the void. Everything. I focus my aura so it’s rock solid and imagine my ring multiplying the momentum. I become a bullet, you’re the gun. If I think hard enough, and you throw all you’ve got into it, that should send me flying across the void to the edge.”
“If there is an edge,” said Sinestro.
Guy shook his head. “In my gut I know there’ll be an edge!”
“Or we could wait, Guy. The Corps will recognise that we’re missing, and they’ll figure out a way in from the outside.”
“And then they’ll be trapped too! We passed hundreds, maybe thousands of dead vessels on the way to this planet, so many lives lost already. You said it yourself, we need to prevent any more dying in here, and I think this is our best bet.”
“And I would unleash my whole charge in one blast, potentially killing you, and then if you fail, you’ll be dead, and I’ll be trapped here. You’re suggesting I add you to the body count.”
“I won’t die. You won’t be trapped here. Believe that. And that’s how we’ll win. How we always win.”
Sinestro shook his head and laughed quietly, then in silent agreement headed to the surface of the world.
Qoyhr and Nolphr, along with a large crowd of their people-- kept at bay by the military-- swarmed over, wondering what the two newcomers were about to do.
Qoyhr was the first to speak. “Do you have a plan?”
“Yup,” said Guy. He pulled the hard-light goggles he generated from the top of his head so that they covered his eyes, then patted Sinestro on the shoulder.
“You all may want to cover your eyes,” said Sinestro.
The crowd took a massive step back and did as they were told, but Nolphr took a step forward in wonder. She’d been here for so long, that the promise that they might soon be free of the void amazed her. She was the one who kept a record of their entire history, she knew what it was like to be outside the dark, and tears began to fill her eyes.
“Any preference in direction?” asked Sinestro.
Guy licked his finger and held it up, testing the wind direction. Theatrically, he decided on a direction, and levelled his ring finger in that direction. “Up.”
Sinestro smiled then began to whisper to himself. When Guy realised what he was saying, he couldn’t help but join in. “…Beware our power…”
Sinestro wound up his fist and energy blazed as he swung his ring at Guy-- their rings impacted, and Guy shot out of the planet’s atmosphere in a split second, an emerald comet hurtling across the sky. Sinestro’s ring smoked, which the Korugarian had never witnessed before, and when he queried how much charge was left he was answered by silence. It was dead, and shooting across the void was their last hope.
As soon as Guy was out of sight, the only marker of his direction being the green trail he left, Qoyhr turned to his people. “Begin tracking! I want to know--”
Every glass window on the planet shattered as the black sky warped-- the emerald blur that was Gardner impacted with something on the far side of the void and bounced off, and Sinestro cursed under his breath as he realised how powerless he was in the face of this.
Meanwhile, Guy was nursing one hell of a headache as he spun head over ass after striking the edge of the void. He levelled off and saw cracks in the surface of the wall he’d landed against. Beyond the cracks, he saw something twinkle-- he saw stars!
“Oh, you mother--”
<10% charge remaining.>
“Yeah, yeah, don’t interrupt me,” said Guy.
The wall began to reconstitute itself, the cracks fading, but Guy wasn’t having any of it. He shot toward the hole he’d made gripped two edges, then yanked himself toward the stars. There was a membrane between the void and outside, something thick and liquid, and he found himself gasping as the immense pressures began to wear away at his ring’s aura. He clawed and he clawed, even as the stars began to fade, and with all his might reached out, even as the wound closed--
--Only for a hand to grasp his own. He looked up and saw Lantern Dek, the Sector’s protector, her thin fingers wrapping around his hand, and then down at the hole that sealed behind him. From her perspective, there was a tear in space, the size of a person, but as Guy was wrenched through it began to shiver and she could clearly see the frayed edges of the bloody cosmic wound.
“Blast it! Give it everything! Everything!”
Dek did as she was told, and holding Guy in one hand, she unleashed a torrent of energy back the way he came. On Qylh, they saw the void bleed green, energy spurting out of the bloody wound caused by Guy’s impact, and the people began to pray.
Guy turned himself around and joined in, the joint power of the two Green Lanterns causing the crack to widen, but not by much. There was a pop behind them, but neither looked back. Guy felt his nose begin to run with blood, but he had to ignore it. He had to push, push, push, even as his ring began to run dry.
<0.5% charge remaining. Isolating life support and deactivating energy flow-->
“No, you god damn don’t! Everything! Give it--”
More light thrashed past Nek and Gardner, and it became obvious what the popping sound had been-- reinforcements had turned up, and Katma Tui, Salaak and Sodam Yat were on the scene, pouring on the attack.
Back on Qylh, Sinestro shook his head. “It’s not enough.”
“W-what do you mean?” asked Nolphr.
“The gap isn’t big enough, it’s adapting. We need to do more.” He reached his hand out in mid-air and thanked his stars when he was able to access the dimensional lock where he kept his battery. “We’re still in the void, but there’s a hole now, and we need to tear that hole to shreds if we have a hope of getting out of here.”
Sinestro recharged his ring and then turned to Qoyhr. “The defence net. Target the cracks around the gap. Keep targeting away from the hole itself, or you’ll hit my people.”
Qoyhr shook his head. “You may have been able to blast your colleague across the void, but our batteries won’t hold their charge in time to make any difference, Lantern! The energy sapping will get to them first!”
“Leave that to me!”
On Qoyhr’s order, all batteries began to fire, and every load was immediately surrounded by an emerald casing. If Guy could increase his own momentum, then Sinestro could do it for the weapons, and within seconds the armaments hit their target. The cracks shook and flexed even harder than before, and the void was beginning to fall apart at the edges.
“We need to get those people out!” shouted Guy.
Katma yanked Dek and Gardner out of the crack and handed the latter a power battery. He grimaced as he charged his ring up, then tried to think up a solution.
“What is this thing?” asked Tui.
“A fold. It’s a fold in space. So… so… so…” Gardner clicked his fingers. “We unfold it! Yat, with me! Nek, you and Tui head that way. Hooks into the meat of that tear then pull on my mark! Salaak-- keep on the pressure! Keep firing! We need that hole open until we get the job done!”
Yat and Gardner went in one way, Guy sending energy hooks into the gap and digging them into the skin of the void. Seeing this, Tui did the same thing, and then the two pairs of Lanterns flew in opposite directions, tearing the fold open at the gap. There was a weird shiver as the void began to quake, and then the planet Qylh began to follow suit.
“What’s happening, Lantern Sinestro?” asked Qoyhr.
The two pairs of Lanterns strained-- their energy hooks were pulling, they were throwing all their power into it, but the gap wasn’t getting any wider, until suddenly space shredded and the void vomited out it’s insides, replacing the Obliteration Zone with the solar system it had stolen centuries ago, along with the dead ships that had been sucked in at one time or another since its creation.
The void shrank to the size of an elephant, a stringy, tentacle-ridden black mess that look like it had been shoved in a washing machine. Guy surrounded the thing in an energy bubble and then shrunk it down even further, until it was a compact sphere, completely black and sealed away. With nothing to feed on, the sphere shuddered as it began to eat itself, then blinked out of existence, devouring the only thing that kept it whole-- itself.
Guy exhaled, relieved, and then turned to the assorted Green Lanterns on the scene. “What… what… what took you so long?”
REALITY-3:
OA:
Hank was astonished at the sight of dozen power rings descending from the sky after Stewart's initial sniper assault. “What are you doing?”
“Getting the rings back,” replied John.
“I thought you were going to kill them-- us or them.”
John shook his head. “I’ve seen war, Hank. Same as you. We’ve been through hell. I don’t want any more blood on my hands than there is already. If there’s a solution that keeps my hands clean and those rings off theirs, I’ll settle for it. Plus, we need as many rings as possible after we lost so many when the suns went out*.”
*Back in Green Lantern #47
“And the monsters that had its hooks in the rings?” asked Hank.
“Not figured that part out yet. Let’s just get my--”
Lances of emerald energy showered down on the duo as the surviving members of the Volthoom Corps began their attack. Hank managed to get a shield over their heads a split second before impact, but it was like the sky had fallen, and the attack lasted an agonisingly long thirty seconds.
When Hank dropped the barrier, the first wave of Volthoom Corpsmen broke atmosphere, with Power Ring nowhere to be seen.
Hank communicated with John instantly through the ring-telepathic link provided by their status as Green Lanterns. “I’ll keep these guys busy. You get your ring back.”
John looked back at Hank. “Right. Right. Think green thoughts.” He slipped through the ground-- better to phase out of the way and double bac then fly through the horde of Volthoomers.
Hank grinned and his aura flexed; it reinforced, layers upon layers of micro-thin, ultra-hard energy folding together until he was wearing a suit of battle armour. One man against an army? The odds didn’t matter-- the only thing that mattered was winning!
What Henshaw counted on was the fact that he’d been a Green Lantern for years. Ever since he was chosen as Hal Jordan’s Sector Lantern partner* he’d fought to be the very best of the Corps, because the bar set by Jordan himself was so damn high.
*Green Lantern #27
After he returned to the Green Lantern Corps from his short… leave of absence… he’d pushed himself even harder, and yes, it led to him losing his ring once*, but he got it back, didn’t he**?
*Green Lantern Corps #59
**Green Lantern Corps #66
“A legion of corrupt ring-bearers with zero training and a tendency toward evil. And me.”
Hank looked up, saw his enemies bearing down, prepared for impact and-- there was an explosion, louder than anything the villains had heard before. They’d never been in an involved ring-battle before, but Henshaw had. He’d faced monsters. He’d faced demons. He’d faced gods and these poseurs were nothing compared to that.
What horrors were worse than the ones he’d battled in his own head?
When the smoke cleared-- a thick, emerald smog-- dozens of Volthoom Corps members lay strewn across the fields of Oa, with Henshaw standing tall above them all. He sent trails of energy out and followed John’s example, snatching the perverted Green Lantern Corps power rings off the Volthoomers’ fingers, adding them to the pile they’d already built.
The next wave of attackers hung in the upper atmosphere, their fear at ending up like their brethren more powerful than anything else. The Volthoom entity screamed in their minds-- <Attack attack attack kill kill kill!> but they’d just witnessed a massacre-- what hope did they have?
“Who’s next?” asked Hank.
He smiled, but knew that was just for show. A bead of blood dribbled from his ear, but no one would notice that. He’d just thrown his entire willpower into what was effectively a barrier that his opponents ran head first into it. A power ring was capable of wonders, fuelled by willpower, shaped by imagination. He’d psychically instructed his ring to increase the momentum of those approaching him, using their own speed against them, and now he was ready for the rest.
“What are you all waiting for? Get him!” screamed Power Ring.
“He just took our like… nearly a hundred of us, boss…” said Kilowog.
“And there are thousands more of you--” started Power Ring
“Yeah, about that,” said John Stewart, as he drew up behind his double and raised his fist.
“Wha--? Naaaoo--!” yelped Power Ring.
The first punch staggered Power Ring, but the second one was blocked by a construct. He laughed and shook his head. “You think you’re so-- so damn smart-- but you shouldn’t have given me a warning! Shoulda knocked my block off! Now I’m gonna kill you with your own-- “
John Stewart smiled. “With this?” He opened his hand to reveal his power ring.
The villain was taken aback. “You have it back?! How--?”
Stewart knew the truth-- it was a construct, not the real thing-- but if Power Ring doubted for just a second-- if he mentally checked out for a moment on the fact that the ring was in his possession-- then maybe-- just maybe--
<No, Stewart! Don’t doubt! Don’t--> screamed Volthoom.
Power Ring felt a surge of electricity rattle his bones as the Green Lantern ring on his finger slipped off and flew over to John Stewart. He accepted it gratefully, returned the borrowed energy back to Hank, then flexed, feeling like he had a missing limb returned to him.
“Okay, wanna try this again?” asked the Green Lantern.
Power Ring shook his head. “Tricky bastard! I beat you the first time, I’ll beat you--” before he could finish his train of thought, the Volthoom Corpsmen yelled out in agony as their own power rings knocked them out painfully. They were then sent hurtling toward Hank Henshaw, who awaited with open arms.
“You need to focus, you bastard. It’s gonna slip through your fingers,” said John.
“I beat you the first time!” screamed Power Ring.
Green Lantern unleashed a barrage of diamond hard constructs against Power Ring’s aura, driving him backwards, toward Oa with the rest. “You-- had-- help--!”
Power Ring hit atmosphere and cried out as he felt fire nipping at his aura.
<I don’t have… the super charge… available for… us to dominate… this do-gooder,> said Volthoom.
“And now it’s our John who has the helping hand,” said Henshaw, blasting Power Ring in the back.
Power Ring keeled forward, into a devastating right delivered by Stewart. “No-- no-- no-- I was supposed to win! This is my world my reality!”
Hank grinned, enjoying the change of fortunes they were experiencing. “Yeah, well you’re getting your ass kicked, so take the hint!”
<We need… to withdraw… John. We need… to run,> begged Volthoom.
“I don’t run! Not when I’m this close!” said Power Ring, dodging blasts, deflecting energy beams, fighting back with all his might against the two Green Lanterns that were sapping him of all his resources.
“You don’t run? Then stand and fall. There’s a cell waiting for you on our Oa,” said John.
<If… you don’t run… then you’re clearly… not the man… I thought… you were,> said Volthoom.
The power ring on the finger of Earth-3’s John Stewart slipped off and the Green Lanterns watched as the Volthoom Corps’ rings lurched upwards-- the main Volthoom ring was re-absorbing every minor bit of energy it had passed out, and killing thousands as it went!
The rings went dead, the owners had their lives stolen as a battery charge, and when Hank and John tried to seal the main Volthoom ring up, it burst through their sphere construct, zipped around Earth-3 John’s body, and caused him to vanish in a blur!
The Green Lanterns looked at each other-- had they won? Thousands were dead. Thousands of evil-doers, sure, but they wore familiar faces, and they’d been through so much in such a short amount of time…
“The tear is beginning to seal up,” said Hank, looking back over their shoulders.
“Where did they go?” asked John.
“Who knows. If it’s back to our dimension, we need to be there. C’mon,” said Hank.
“Wait.” John summoned all the power rings that Volthoom had created from his original and crated them up in immense storage containers made of emerald energy, then the duo slipped through the crack in space and time, the vicious tear closing behind them… they left Reality-3, they left Oa, and finally headed on home…
REALITY-1:
SECTOR 0003:
Guy wiped the blood from his nose, his ring’s aura immediately cleaning the crimson stain off his white glove. He watched as numerous other Green Lanterns who had answered Dek’s distress call began to clear up the clutter of the asteroid field, allowing the newly returned planetary system the space it needed to exist like it used to. He was surprised to see so many faces, but his mind was boggled by what had occurred in the quantum manifold they’d been eaten up by.
Sinestro flitted toward Guy and patted his friend on the shoulder. “Your gut was right.”
“Couldn’t have made it without these guys though.”
Meanwhile, floating nearby, Salaak was incredulous. “You located a long-lost species that we thought were dead. You defused a cosmic weapon that had made this place a black spot in the universe. Lantern Gardner, yet again, you saved billions.”
“I had help.” Guy motioned to Sinestro, but his comrade waved him off.
Salaak shook his head. “I rescinded your Honour Lantern status in the aftermath of the Phantom Zone incident. I had hoped you would take the time to recuperate from the trauma, to… enjoy… reduced duty back in your home sector, but you can’t help yourself, can you?”
“He really can’t,” said Sinestro.
“And while I do not know why you were in Sector 0003 to begin with, you have done good work. You Earth Lanterns are all the same. Sticking your noses into situations you don’t understand and emerging victorious. Gardner… Guy… I wish to reinstate your status as Honour Lantern, so you can continue the good work without giving me a headache every five minutes. Do you accept?”
“I mean, I’m not gonna say no. And you know I was never going to relax being shelved, right?”
It was Salaak’s time to shrug. “We all make mistakes, Honour Lantern. Now, let's get you both checked out back on Oa.”
REALITY-3:
EARTH:
John Stewart looked around desperately, the scorched stump on his wrist screaming with pain as the shadows closed in. There was a godawful stench in the chamber, like rotting meat, that stung his nostrils. He’d already taken a beating, lost a hand to his doppelgänger and his ring to the cosmos, whatever was next for him?
“You don’t understand! It gets in your head! He got in mine! I didn’t mean any of it! I didn’t!”
Superwoman took a step forward and shook her head, tutting all the way. “Johnny, please. Just because you didn’t mean it doesn’t take away from the fact you still did it.”
“You don’t know what it’s like! You don’t know! Volthoom-- he-- it-- “
Ultraman stormed forward and punched Stewart so hard in the jaw that it shattered, teeth and debris flying from his mouth as his mandible hung loose and ugly from his face. “You hurt me, you piece of shit! Now I get to hurt you!”
“Clark, please. Can’t you see our friend here is hurting?” Owlman placed both his hands onto Stewart’s shoulders and rubbed them gently. “I understand, John. I do! An entity like Volthoom is a horror show, and what it must have done to the inside of your head must have been terrible. Absolutely terrible. And it abandoned you here, didn’t it? Teleported you back home then left you stranded. You can’t blame Clark for taking your hand… it might have been loaded… but we’re here now… we’ll make it right…”
Stewart gibbered and wept, tears streaming from his eyes. This was worse. The pain was agonising, but he knew what Thomas Wayne Jr had done to become Owlman. He knew every story, be it proven true or just rumour. Ultraman could hurt him, but Owlman could break him. “pleeeessh dunnnnnnt”
Owlman leaned forward so he could whisper in Power Ring’s ear. “Volthoom left you hanging, and that means it’s looking for a new Power Ring, somewhere out there-- and whoever it is will be waiting to meet his dearest friends in the Crime Syndicate. When he-- or Satan forbid she-- comes a-knocking, we’ll be sure to show them the same courtesy we always showed you.”
Superwoman purred. “I’ll give you one thing, you piece of shit. You were hung. That means a lot in my business.”
Ultraman did a double take and Owlman rolled his eyes. Why did she insist on baiting her husband so much? Isn’t that what always led them to these messes in the first place?
“Focus, people. Johnny Quick’s kid nephew is already shooting up with speed juice. He’s desperate to put the costume on. That’s one gap filled.”
“What about him, Tommy?” asked Superwoman, gesturing to Stewart.
Owlman smirked. “Clark?”
Ultraman nodded, trudged into the shadows. There was a rustling sound, and then the corpse of the original Johnny Quick was flung into the room, in front of Stewart. Ultraman shoved his foot in Power Ring’s back, driving him face first into the already rotting corpse of their old teammate.
“Yuuuuuuhhhh-- yuuuuhh caaannnt doooo thussssss” drawled Stewart.
The unholy trinity of the Crime Syndicate of Amerika filed out, one-by-one, with Owlman being the last to address their teammate. “You overstepped, John. Tried to take more than what was yours. This is a lesson. Learn it. Then die screaming.”
Owlman left the room, sealed the door shut, and then the entire chamber shook as, outside, Ultraman dropped a mountain on top of the reinforced prison cell, then punched two Ultra Vision holes through the immense land mass so there would be channels for air to get in.
John Stewart, once known as Power Ring, was buried alive, with only the corpse of the man he killed during his treasonous turn against the Crime Syndicate for company.
He screamed until his lungs bled.
REALITY-1:
OA:
A scene was unfolding before the Central Power Battery, and the Green Lanterns assembled on their planetary base of operations were standing in stark amazement. A tear in time and space had opened up above the planet so the Corps had assembled-- they were under attack!-- but within seconds it was clear that the cause behind the tear was friendly, as John Stewart and Hank Henshaw emerged from inside! They weren’t alone… a large, opaque container followed them. When they had successfully exited the dimensional tear, it vanished completely, leaving everyone confused as to what happened.
"Johnny? Where the hell have you been, man? Last time I saw you--" started Guy, fresh from the medical bay. "--Actually, you know what, tell your damn story, yeah?"
John explained, and once he was done, he revealed the thousands of empty power rings they’d carried back from Reality-3. "So, yeah. Busy day."
“By the Guardians,” whispered Salaak. He examined one of the rings and shook his head. “We lost so many Green Lanterns when the stars went out… thousands of brave beings, their power rings losing their charge in the void of space… we haven’t been able to reconstitute the entirety of the Corps… and without the Guardians, mass production of rings has been difficult… but with these…”
Sinestro joined his comrades and patted John on the back. “We’ll have to test them thoroughly. They were home to an otherdimensional consciousness. We know the rings overcome that*, but these knew nothing else. I have some ideas. We can begin immediately.”
*Most recently in Justice League #55-58!
Salaak considered the ring then nodded in slow agreement. “Tomorrow. First, we celebrate. This is a great day for the Green Lantern Corps! This could very well be a new beginning for us all!”
REALITY-1:
DAXAM:
Daxam’s crimson sun set and night arrived, leaving Diro Yat, member of the world’s Elite Council, to contemplate what had unfolded hours previously, now that the Green Lantern Corps had left. He took a sip from a chalice of ale brewed down in waterfall district, and shook his head. They had been humbled. And that made him seethe with anger.
“Good evening, Councillor Yat.”
Diro turned at the greeting, and was surprised to see two figures emerge from the darkness of his chambers. His wife had long since gone home and the security net had not been triggered, so how had these strangers entered his offices?
“Who are you?”
“We come in peace, unlike the Green Lantern Corps,” said the first figure.
The second figure nodded. “We understand that they threatened to remove their protection from your solar system if you did not acquiesce to their demands. Those are not the actions of a peace keeping force. Those are the actions of a fascist regime.”
“You need not tell me what I already know. But I demand to know-- who are you?”
Pink skinned, with bulbous heads and elongated bodies, the two figures were dressed in resplendent, ornate robes of cerulean and scarlet that curved up at the shoulders like wings. There was a familiarity about them that Yat could not place, but his growing unease prevented him from searching his mind further.
“I am One, this is Two. We represent a group that seek to remove all evil from the universe. You might have heard of us by the title given to us by our brothers?”
“You’re… you’re the Controllers,” realised Yat.
One nodded, a mischievous smile forming on his lips. “That we are. You made an enemy of the Green Lantern Corps today. Would you care to make an ally?”
“What could you possibly offer us?” asked Diro.
Two laughed, but One shot him a look, quietening him immediately. “An alternative, Councillor. Because every challenge deserves and adequate and equal response…”
NEXT ISSUE: Black Hand has been roaming the back roads of America for months now, his search for Hal Jordan resulting in nothing but disappointment. But what happens when he changes his tactics? The Green Lanterns of Earth are about to face a brand-new horror as they face the culmination of Black Hand’s campaign of terror… his Legion of the Damned…