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Going Native: Feeling of the Edge (ch. 59)
🕑 Added 2020-11-16 15:55:26 +0000 UTC“What would we have to talk about?” John Stewart questioned, the tension in the room ramping up despite Hal’s best attempts to break it. Avery sent a message to her through her scouter, telling Shayera to wait it out while sending a set of coordinates to Rocky. The bioandroid couldn’t hide from the likes of a Power Ring, but if they didn’t have reason to look for him then he could go unnoticed.
Bro’dee turned to give Hal his full attention, going as far as to turn his back to them. “I have heard of you, Hal Jordan -- Ganthet held you in high regard. He was saddened by your passing,” He offered, speaking of someone that Shayera didn’t know. That didn’t matter. She rolled her shoulders and waited for the pain in her gut to fade a bit, using the precious time just in case it did come to a fight.
Hal offered a lopsided smile, “Well, rumors of my demise have been exaggerated,” he said, gesturing to himself.
John’s eyes narrowed, “And that’s something we have to talk about. Last I heard, you were killed in action. What’s with the red get-up?” As he said that, Shayera’s gaze drifted to the green construct hand. It was like it was infecting his body, almost, fighting against the red. The green lines of circuitry traveled up his arm, over his shoulder, and seemed to be inching towards his heart. It looked like a bad thing, but given that green was will power, maybe it was a good thing?
At that, the smirk fell off of Hal’s lips. “I nearly did. I would have if it wasn’t for Kilowog,” There was quite anger in his voice. His hand made of flesh that wore the red ring clenched in anger. “But he made a last-ditch effort to save my sorry ass and a few others. There, I got picked up by Atrocitus .”
That’s a name and a half. “That’s a name and a half,” John remarked, echoing Shayera.
“Not his given name, from what I understand,” Hal returned with a shrug. “One that he chose a couple of billion years ago when the Guardian’s slaughtered his sector until only he and about four others survived.” Shayera flinched back at the news, blinking in shock and she saw that the others were trading questioning looks. “Before there were the Green Lanterns, there were the Manhunters. And the Guardians made that classic mistake of not installing a guideline of ‘don’t kill everyone in the sector to preserve the peace’ so hundreds of trillions of people died.”
There was an uneasy silence, even Gilguk seemed disturbed by the information. “Long story short, Atrocotious was imprisoned to sweep the thing under the rug, and he spent billions of years stewing in his resentment and rage. A couple of years ago, he created the Red Central Battery and rings fueled by rage.”
To demonstrate the point, he held up his hand, showing off the red ring on his finger. Bro’dee looked disturbed, "The Guardians wouldn't do such a thing." He said the words like they were fact. Then he shook his head, "But no matter -- we can help you Hal Jordan."
John seemed to have different priorities, "I'm guessing that the Red Lanterns aren't on our side." That was a promising point. Shayera didn't like their chances fighting three Lanterns. Fighting two with one on their side sounded a lot more reasonable.
"Depends," Hal hedged. "Me and Atrocitus had a few personal differences, so I split from the group. His faction is probably rushing to Prince Tarble for an alliance -- that guy would ally the devil himself if he thought it would give him a shot at the Guardians."
"And yourself?" Bro'dee questioned, sounding hopeful.
"I think the Guardians have a lot to answer for, good intentions or not. The Guardians are my enemy. Not the Green… or Blue Lanterns," Hal stated, giving both of them a sharp look.
"I don't think it works that way Hal," John responded quietly in a deadly serious tone. The ring on his finger glowed and he ignored a look from his blue partner.
Hal looked back, his expression flat. "I think it does. They sent us to die, Stewart. It was a massacre, and the Guardians swept us under the rug like they did with trillions of others that gathered over the years. They've murdered more people than everything that they claim to fight against twice over. And they've gotten away with it for too damn long. Even if they aren't evil, they need to be held accountable."
"So, you're going to join up with Frieza? Just let him win?" John questioned, his voice hard.
"If I have to pick between two evils, I won't choose at all. The Green Lanterns are needed. Necessary even, but not in the Guardians' hands. They go away, and we can protect the universe like we should have since the beginning. The Guardians fall, then Frieza, and everyone else who tries to murder innocent people for power. I'd say between the colors of Lanterns, we can manage that better than Green ever could."
An idealist, Shayera realized. In her brief memories of Hal, and the reports she had read about the newest Green Lantern at the time, he never struck her as an idealist.
"You're asking me to buy a whole lot on blind faith," John refused flatly. "I won't betray the Green Lanterns."
Hal frowned, "I'm not asking you to. Just the Guardians." Their gazes met for a long moment, a battle of wills. Surprisingly, it was Hal that gave up first with a sigh and a small shrug. "I guess I can't blame you. I wouldn't have believed me either," he admitted.
Shayera heard Avery prime his gun, and a target was sent to her through her scouter. Hal Jordan was marked as Low, John was High while Bro'dee was Mid. Hal seemed to take notice as he was the one looking at them. There was conflict in his eyes, torn between something.
"Prince Tarble isn't someone I can forgive," He told them. Meaning that he was an enemy as well. A three-way fight. "Surrender -- either to me or to these two." His gaze lingered on her, likely recognizing her. They had never fought side by side, but they knew of each other.
Avery spoke up, his voice firm as he took aim at Hal, "Can't do that. You heard the lady -- this entire sector surrenders if we put on a good show. That opens up the capital planet, and that's the shot Prince Tarble needs to win the war." Avery informed, and Shayera glanced at him, surprised by the information. Her gaze slid over to Gilguk to find that the information wasn't a surprise to her at all.
"I'm not restricted by the Guardian's rules. You push this too far, and you could die," Hal informed while Bro'dee blanched, his face scrunching up in distaste. Shayera frowned, but it was telling that he wasn't threatening to kill them either. Just because the restriction was used didn't mean he was eager to act on his new freedoms.
"Doesn't matter. I have a job to do, so it's going to get done." Avery retorted, his gun unwavering.
Bro'dee was the one that spoke up, "Death isn't something one should be eager to embrace," he stated solemnly.
"Some things are worth dying for," Avery returned, shifting his aim and John had just enough time to widen his eyes before Avery pulled the trigger. A deep green shield appeared, but it meant little to a Nth metal slug being launched at hypersonic speeds. It was a financial waste of epic proportions, but it was hard to hold that opinion when it punched through the construct and blew a hole in the Lantern's chest.
Shayera moved, knowing that was the cue for the battle to begin in earnest. Bro'dee turned to John, his ring flashing blue as she sailed towards them, Vas at her side. She thought he was going to attack, but instead, the flesh and bone that were shot out, leaving behind a gaping hole, replaced itself. Behind them, Hal moved in, his contract ring flashing, but John reacted too quickly. He saw Hal move and responded, considering him an enemy.
John and Bro'dee flew up, John formed a construct, a massive dark green fist that launched itself at Hal, who blocked it with a green shield tainted with a red. "I'm on your side," Hal snapped, the red in his shield glowing.
John didn't have time to answer before Vas unleashed a torrent of electricity at Bro'dee. The smell of burning ozone filled Shayera's nose as she flew towards John, blood at his lips but he seemed strong. His gaze darted to her, and she expected Bro'dee to respond but he didn't. The green fist faded to be replaced with a shield that sent the two flying back.
Their shield slammed into the wall behind them, forcing them outside. Shayera went to pursue, but she found herself blocked off by a red construct -- a grasping claw that nearly snagged her out of the air. Vas continued forward, chasing down the other two Lanterns, while Avery loaded up another shot. Hal glared at her, the action visible without his mask. "Been a while, Hawkwoman," he greeted, visibly struggling to contain his anger.
"It has," Shayera returned. Hal had looked better. There were bags under his eyes, a beard was starting to grow it… he looked tired, Shayera thought as she hefted her mace. "If only it could be under better circumstances."
Hal leveled a red ring at her, his gaze hard. "If only," he agreed before a red chain erupted from his ring that surged towards her. Avery and Canda began firing from below, fanning out and giving her covering fire while Shayera flew forward. Her mace slammed into the chain, knocking them away but not breaking them. In response to that, Hal fired off a green energy blast from his ring, deftly dodging the blasts from her comrades. Just in case Avery had another Nth metal slug.
Shayera broke off, falling back as she bashed one green-ray away, knowing that Vas couldn't handle two Lanterns on her own. As she fell back, Hal pursued, firing blasts at her while the red chains sought her out. Using the hole that Vas formed earlier, Shayera flew out into the courtyard and saw Vas flinging powerful bolts of lightning at the two Lanterns, only to be stopped by a dark green shield.
"The blue one is support only!" Vas shouted as Shayera neared. She looked to find that Bro'dee's ring flashed, but nothing emerged from it. Though, judging by his expression, it seemed that Vas was right.
In response to the proclamation, Bro'dees' target ranking was set to High. If Shayera had to guess, he was strengthening John's constructs, and since he proved that he could heal him as well…
That didn't sit right with Shayera. Attacking someone that couldn't defend themselves. In battle or not. Vas and Avery held no such reservations, Shayera quickly learned when Vas prepared a massive charge while Avery started firing at Bro'dee with his tail gun. The shot bounced harmlessly off of the dark green shield that surrounded them. Her gaze landed on John for a moment before she was forced to dodge a construct.
Nth metal was the only thing that they had that could deal with a construct. But what about another construct?
Shayera twisted in air, finding Hal in hot pursuit. The chains lashed out, trying to bind her. She bashed them away, her arms rattling from the force, but she couldn't afford to stop. With each failed attempt, the red seemed to darken and the scowl on Hal's face slowly became a snarl. The chains became more erratic, their blows falling harder and faster. His movement became reactive, lashing out at anything that attacked him.
The ring he wore was empowered by rage. The green with will. How he acted before compared to him now, it was easy to see that he was using the will to check the rage but that was a balance that was easily broken by frustration.
Shayera used that to her advantage. A chain struck out at her, only for her to counter it, sending it flying into the green shield of the Green Lantern. John's eyes narrowed, and Hal was too long in his growing anger to stop himself. He barely paid the action any mind, mindlessly attacking Shayera, only to be stopped when John took a shot at him.
"Stop! Hal, I believe I can help you!" Bro'dee exclaimed as the two Lanterns began to clash. Vas and Shayera backed off, taking a brief moment of respite. "I can purge you of the red taint within you!"
"Avery?" Shayera questioned while Hal snarled, his rings flashing dangerously. Avery didn't respond as he hovered nearby, but she saw him hold out his hand before a familiar metal slug appeared in his hand. A symbol marked on it. Magic. Teleportation, maybe? It would make sense. Otherwise, Avery was shooting away billions of credits.
"And let the Guardians take my ring?" Hal spat, his lips thinning as he tried to control his anger, even as he fought against John. "No. I should have told the Guardians to get fucked when they put me and a thousand others on probation for trying to save people. Now their strings on me have been cut, I won't let them be reattached." Their constructs clashed -- green enhanced with blue and red enhanced with green.
They watched the battle above the compound. Below them were Khund soldiers that seemed to be cheering and taking bets rather than shooting at them. That was comforting at least.
"Canda," Avery said, tossing the original the Nth metal slug. Her eyes widened as she caught it, the two clones of herself fading before being quickly replaced, only now each of them had a Nth metal slug. Two of them were fake, but if they could mimic the properties then it mattered little. "Rocky?"
They received a green light on their scouters. Rocky was ready. Avery looked at her and Vas -- Shayera nodded firmly while Vas had lightning crackled between her hands. Shayera turned her attention back to the two fighting lanterns to find John firing away with a gun while Hal defended with a red baseball mitt.
Bro'dee was focused on them as if he was trying to warn them off with his expression alone. Shayera didn't like it, but he was an enemy. She preferred it when her enemies were thoroughly terrible people so she could bash them with her mace without any feelings of guilt.
"Let's end a war," Avery said, taking aim, reminding them why they were here. Shayera gripped her mace tightly and flew forward to throw herself in the fray. The war… Shayera was beyond the point of caring about it. Prince Tarble seemed… fine, all things considered, but a victory for him was a victory for the Frieza-force. And the last year of war taught her that there were no good empires in the galaxy.
They all had fallen on the corpse of the Thanagarian Empire like scavengers and they fought each other for the scraps left behind.
Bro'dee took aim with his ring, his lips pressed together into a thin line before he started firing at them with blue rays of energy. So he could at least defend himself. That was better, Shayera thought as she flapped her wings and dodged the blue beams of light. Hal let out an enraged snarl that echoed through the air as he clashed against John. Shayera paid it no mind as she neared, gripping her mace with two hands before she smashed it against the enhanced green shield. It cracked, barely, under the blow but it was enough to distract John.
A red drill slammed into the bubble shield that protected Bro'dee and John, and it had much better luck tearing through the construct. Bro'dee was the one that reacted instantly, shoving John out of the way while placing himself in the path of the drill.
And Shayera's body moved on its own. A foot lashed out that caught Bro'dee in the ribs, probably breaking some of them since his guard was down, and the blow sent him flying out of the way. The red drill passed her by, Hal turning a murderous glare in her direction, turning acting towards her but before he could do anything, a massive bolt of lightning hit him in the chest.
"Shayera, now isn't the time for mercy," Avery rebuked her action coldly, and she knew that she was going to suffer for that later, but Shayera could bring herself to regret the action.
John and Bro'dee reacted in sync while John sent a construct at Vas when she attempted to hit them both with lightning. It sparked over a metal claw that raced towards her, intent on plucking her from the sky, but it was bashed away when Shayera hit it with her mace.
"We do not need to be enemies," Bro'dee pleaded as Hal flew back up, looking a bit scorched but was otherwise fine. "This violence is pointless and unnecessary," he exclaimed, sounding almost angry.
Vas answered with a bolt of lightning that slammed into the construct that John had, an arm-mounted gun. "Maybe not for you!" She shouted, flying forward in a blur to the naked eye. Bro'dee hesitated to fire off a shot to drive her away, his hand outstretched and steady, and it was because of that he lost his arm.
A Nth metal slug tore through flesh and bone, severing the arm that had the blue ring on it. Canda had taken her shot. John grabbed onto the alien, purple blood escaping the stump but Bro'dee simply clamped a hand on the wound to stem the bleeding. Shayera heard the sound of another gunshot, and she wondered if she was going to see a Lantern die.
It was Hal that saved Breo'dee's life. A red construct appeared between the slug and the Blue Lantern. The slug tore through the construct, but the trajectory changed enough that Breo'dee's life was spared. "Hal?" Bro'dee questioned and Shayera knew that Canda had one shot left. Or, that was until the sound of two more slugs being fired echoed in her ears and two holes punched through the constructs.
"I said I just wanted to talk, you couple of…" Hal snapped at Bro'dee, placing John and the Blue Lantern at his back. A temporary peace brokered between them? That was bad. Now it was three Lanterns on her squad again.
Shayera pressed the attack while Canda tried to make her shots count. Avery flanked wide, peppering Hal with shots from a rail gun. Hal wrapped a green shield around the other Lanterns and flew up, his mouth moving, but Shayera couldn't hear the words. She must have interrupted the conversation when her mace slammed into that shield.
His gaze narrowed dangerously, and a flash of red was all the warning that she had before a red blast nearly punched a hole in her gut. Shayera twisted to the side, narrowly dodging, but she wasn't able to dodge the green anvil that hit her in the face that came from John's ring. Her head snapped back, her nose flattening with a spray of blood.
"Wait!" Bro'dee shouted, "killing her is unnecessary. Shall we leave, Hal Jordan?"
Shayera flew back, recovering from the blow with ease. Hal met her glare, even as he dodged lightning and bullets. Then he looked away sharply, "We're leaving," he announced without warning.
In response to his words, a swirling ooze of green erupted behind him. The red constructs faded, showing that the three Lanterns stood together. Her lips thinned, noting that Bro'dee had a blue ring on his finger. And two arms again. He offered her a small smile that disappears when all three of them vanished into the swirling green ooze. And when it swirled into an imaginary drain, they were left alone.
"I'm counting that as a win," Vas decided, as she hovered nearby.
"Technically, we drove off three Lanterns," Canda remarked, a small smile in her voice. "I'm sure that's worth a special episode." The highest of prizes for the 501st -- an episode revolving around their exploits.
Avery didn't respond while Vas chuckled, "You'll get your chance to shine soon, Rocky," She consoled the final member of the team that hadn't been able to participate.
"Form up in the throne room," Avery ordered, flying off back into the building. Shayera shared a look with Vas, who simply nodded before they all flew back. When Shayera cleared the opening, she saw that Gilguk was smiling as she lounged on her throne. Her gaze roamed them, a finger tapping on the arm of the throne.
Then her smile grew. "This sector surrenders to the might of Prince Tarble."
…
I had no clue what my opponent was. I'm not even sure that it had a name. I floated above a city located on Thangar, one on the lower plate. Below me, sprinting in the streets were twisted monsteties. Things that had once been people, but something turned them into something else. Their entire bodies became weapons, their blood or the gas they released would spread the infection.
One lashed out with a claw, it's arm stretching to impossible lengths, and the twisted and blackened claws tore through a soldier like he wasn't even there. His squad fired, attempting to kill it, but they knew it was a pointless endeavor. I saw that their armor had been punctured, so they had breathed in the spores. They were dead.
The soldiers were not Thangarian. Or Frieza-force. Based on their species and build, I recognized them as one of the many empires, kingdoms, or pirates that were trying to invade Thangar. The planet became hotly contested as the largest source of Nth metal. When the Thanagarian Empire fell apart, the entire galaxy's eyes turned to Thangar because it was now up for grabs. So everyone tried to grab it using any means necessary.
Weapons of mass destruction. Chemical warfare. Now a biological plaque of some kind. Something that turned people into monsters that desired nothing but the death of others, to spread the plague and infect more. The more infected, the stronger it became.
“I take my eyes off of this planet for five minutes,” I remarked to myself as ki gathered in my hands. I stretched my awareness out, covering the city in search of any remaining life. There was a presence below, a massive sprawling presence that hinted that there was something inhabiting the sewers, so I would have to clean them out while I was here. But I did feel a few others.
Years of fine-tuning my ki sense let me sort through them a bit easier. To pick out familiar ones, and to not let a single massive presence blot out my ability to sense others. My scouter wasn’t able to pick up any friendlies, so they probably weren’t Frieza-force, but… I watched as a soldier was disemboweled in a gush of blood, screaming all the while.
I started flying towards the present, but not before a ki blast slammed into the position of the rest of the squad, killing them instantly. The lower plate of Thangar had been a sprawling slum that covered most of the city, so it had been in rough shape long before our raid. After it, after Elery armed every rebel group, extremist, and dissenter… things were in worse shape. Add about a year of near-constant war, and now some kind of plague that had black tendrils creeping up the walls and covering the roads?
Thangar looked like it had been to hell and back a couple of times before deciding to stay in hell.
It only took a few seconds for me to reach the other presences. It was a squad sprinting through a half-collapsed building, firing all the while at a creature that gave chase to them. It was pitch back, no skin or hide, only tendrils that made a mockery of muscle. The energy bolts slammed into it, doing little damage, and not enough to stop its pursuit. It ran on all fours, gray metallic claws digging into the ground, and let out a bellow that had physical force behind it. A hunting call, I'm guessing because I saw movement below me.
"Come and get some-" One of the aliens shouted, standing their ground while the others fell back. A Sayian-like alien woman with dark skin. She tossed a familiar piece of tech at the monstrosity, and a blue shield blocked off the hallway. Its claw slammed into the shield with a deafening crack, but the shield remained firm. The Cooperative tech. A federation of thousands of planets, most of which were highly advanced.
Still, it meant little because the creature went around. Tendrils uncoiled from its thick front arms, and it tore through the ground, going under the shield. It seemed to slide through the hold, several tons of muscle squeezing through a few holes the size of my fist, and it reformed on the other side of the shield. The woman threw a grenade, attempting to destroy it while it was half-formed, but the concussive blast did nothing to the creature.
She screamed a warcry, preparing herself for death, and I decided that she had proven her valor twice over. Raising a hand, I fired a blast of ki at the creature as it lunged at her. The blast faded in moments, but the creature was gone, reduced to nothing. Anything less than that, and it would find a way to come back.
"Wha-" the woman cut herself off as she scrambled to her feet, her squad taking aim at me. "You… talk about unlucky," the woman remarked, also taking aim at me. I met her gaze for a moment before a ki disk formed in my hand, a platform.
"Get on," I ordered them, knowing that more was on the way. The woman hesitated and I glared behind my visor. "Before I change my mind," I warned an edge to my tone.
They traded a look before the woman shook her head in disbelief as she lowered her gun, "A rescue from Prince Tarble himself. Never would have thought that would happen."
"That's because we're at war," one of them said, his gun still pointed at me. Even as he approached the platform. I didn't have time to play nice.
"Get on, or die when I destroy this infection. I couldn't care less," I told him as the others got on. Oddly, that got a crooked smile from him.
"That sounds like the Saiyans I've heard about," he stated before he joined the four others on the platform. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes before I started flying upward, one hand raised to the sky. A ki ball formed that grew larger and larger. A city buster that would reduce this place to a hole in the ground.
The ones on the platform awed over it, but that was nothing compared to when I dropped it on the city. The infected city was enveloped by blue light, an explosion that crawled forward and expanded block by block. Wind battered us, nearly blowing the squad that I rescued off the ki platform I made before I put them in a bubble.
"And that… is what I heard about a Saiyans strength," the guy commented, looking down at the hole in the ground with eyes filled with awe. A hole was all that was left of the city. My scouter searched for traces of the infection but found none. It hadn't managed to spread beyond it.
Good. I had enough problems as it was without some idiot trying to start a galactic plague.
"Why did you rescue us, if you don't mind me asking?" The woman questioned as I lowered the squad to the ground. I spared them a glance to find they looked at my with cautious expressions, clearly expecting another shoe to drop.
I doubt if I said that it was because I wanted to would satisfy. "To take a message to your leaders -- get off my planet," I answered curly as I flew up. "That is your only warning," with that serving as my parting words, I flew up and away, in search of the next battle.
There were no shortage of them, I found when movement caught my gaze. In the sky above was a near-constant battle between fleets. While mine was distracted fighting the tattered remnants of the Thangarian fleet, another empire moved in to hot drop armies. They streaked down from the sky, intent on landing on my planet.
Ki gathered in my hands, intent on taking them all out before they could, only for someone else to beat me to it. Countless green streaks of ki went to meet the armies halfway, destroying the drop ships mid-air so the army would only touch Thangar as a corpse. It was obvious who had done it, if not by the color of the ki, then by the power needed to manage that.
Broly was on the planet. He had to be. He was powerful enough to be worth a hundred armies, and I needed a thousand on the planet to keep my grip on it.
My gaze drifted to where the blasts had come from, then to the bodies falling to the ground. Making a split decision, I flew towards Broly and took in the battle raging around me. The planet was in chaos. My soldiers dug in as deeply as they could, supported by machine soldiers, but they were getting overwhelmed with sheer numbers. And the fact that the invaders were fighting each other as much as they were fighting us.
I saw battles raging in the streets between factions, urban warfare at its absolute worse. The battles raged across the planet, some more dug in than others, but everyone in the galaxy wanted Nth metal. And all those that I passed, if they lacked a friendly tag marker on my scouter, then I killed them. It was little more than a drop in a bucket, but eventually, with enough drop removed then the bucket would empty.
Something had to change. This couldn’t last. I couldn’t come back here every other week to reduce the progress our enemies made. The Supreme Commander was proving especially useless -- it was the fact that I kept having to come back to Thangar, stalling my progress, was why he refused to offer any aid since I clearly had the situation in hand.
Something had to change. Something had to give.
As I flew forward, I cleared a building and saw Broly. He stood surrounded by corpses of various aliens, blood on his hands, and his eyes seeing nothing even though he was looking in my direction. His skin was pale, like all of the blood had drained from his face…
Something had to give before Broly did.
