I never knew the pain of losing a world. I never experienced what the Autobots and the Decepticons felt when Cybertron fell. They've dealt with their pain in different ways and it ached at them. But they knew that one day, they could go back. They all had hope. But when I lost my world, I knew it could never be restored. The day my world was destroyed, I felt my hope and will to live be crushed. It was the day Jack Darby died and I was born. Born from his rage, caused by his sadness and their betrayal.
(Earth)
It was a sunny day in the newly rebuilt Jasper, Nevada. It was hot as always but nobody cared at the moment. The entire town was on fire. Buildings had toppled over, bodies everywhere, and it wasn't just Jasper that was under attack. All over the world, robots had came out of nowhere and attacked the planet.
From the ground, Jack had pushed off some debris off him and slowly stood up. The moment these robots attacked he knew they weren't Cybertronian. He had questions, but didn't stick around for answers. He saw people run down the street and he ran past them.
He then hid behind a wall as he heard the sound of metal. It got closer and closer, the light coming from their optics were upon him.
"Emotions Detected" he heard it say.
It raised the rod in its hands and prepared to fire, only to be shot at by American soilders. Three more of those robots came and moved toward the troops and fired yellow beams of energy. With them distracted, Jack got up and went full on sprint to his house, which was two blocks down.
He saw it in view and saw part of it collapsed. He opened the door, only to see a Manhunter. "No Man Escapes The Manhunters" it said. It raised its rod and fired. Jack moved out of the way and got some cover. He looked around for anything he could use as a weapon and saw a broken safe. He crawled over and saw a gun inside it. His mother was always big on safety.
He grabbed it and jumped out from his cover and fired, the bullet hitting it's optics. The Manhunter had dropped its rod from the hit, taking a few steps back. Jack quickly took the rod and fired at its head, exploding. With a new weapon in hand, Jack went and looked for his mother. He found her unconscious with a few scratches and bruises. He set the rod down and carried his mother to the back, where there was hidden bunker.
Once finished placing her on the bed, he locked it and went back into the house. He grabbed the rod and went outside the garage. His mothers car was, thankfully, undamaged. Suddenly, a large shadow loomed over him. In the sky, blocking the sun, was something that would haunt him for years.
It was a large skull-like ship, with metallic tentacles, ominously floating above.
He got in the car, placing the rod in the seat next to him, and drove off. He had to get to Unit E.
He encountered some Manhunters on the way, but he just ran over them. As he reached the base, his eyes widened in horror. The base was completely destroyed. He got out of the car and walked over the wreckage of tanks and helicopters. He went inside the hanger and saw blood splatter on the wall.
"RAF!? MIKO!? FOWLER!?" He shouted.
He walked up the stairs and went into Fowler's office. On the ground, Fowler laid in a pool of blood. Tears threatened to burst from his eyes. He knelt down and felt for a pulse. There was none.
He turned toward the corner of the room and saw both Miko and Raf, dead. He went toward them and sat next to them, hugging their bodies tightly. There blood stained his shirt, his tears fell on their heads.
He never felt such pain before. It was like someone stabbed him in the heart then twisted the knife. His ears picked up the sound of engines coming from outside. He gently laid his two friends down and walked out of the office and out of the hanger. Outside, he saw the Skull ship rising, with Manhunters returning to it. When he saw the last of them enter the ship, it fired a blue beam upon the town. Buildings, the very ground itself, were being broken apart, turning into what look like data. It was being absorbed into the ship, until there was nothing left but a small crater where Jasper used to be.
The ship suddenly sent a large metal cylinder to the ground before flying off into space. That was the last thing Jack saw before a flash of light took his vision. A bright red light.
Jack's eyes snapped open. He slowly stood up, as he found himself rather disorientated. He looked at his surroundings and gasped in horror. There was nothing but ash. Ash was everywhere, as far as he could see. There were no rocks, debris, or anything for miles. All that was there was the Unit E hanger. Everything else was just...gone.
"No..." he muttered. "No...no...no!"
He was angry. No, not angry. Not even furious. This feeling he felt was more raw, burning, and nearly uncontrollable. He never felt this...this...
"RAGE".
Jack could hear the whisper, but did nothing. He then let out an angry yell. "RRRRRAAAAAHHHHHGGGHHHHH!".
He punched the ground and kept punching it in his anger. All of a sudden, a red light glowed in front of him. He looked up and saw what looked like a red lantern, floating out their. "Greatings, Jackson Darby of Earth" a deep voice said.
"Who are you!?" Jack demanded.
"I am the entity of rage, the Butcher".
A red mist came from the lantern and took the form of a giant, red, alien bull. Jack couldn't help but be baffled. This thing claimed to be the embodiment of rage?
"Why are you here?" Jack asked.
"For years, I've waited for someone to call out in the universe to wield my power. Someone worthy to WIELD MY RAGE!" Exclaimed Butcher. "I find you worthy of it. I want you to be the champion of rage".
"And if I refuse?"
"Then you will never have your revenge".
Jack's eyes narrowed. What Butcher offered was oh so tempting. However, he knew that such power came with a price. "What's the catch?" He asked.
"If you accept my power, you can no longer live without it. Your very blood will become pure energy. You will spread your influence and create a corps of those who seek revenge on those that have been wronged like you. Do this and you will get your revenge" said Butcher.
Jack was in deep thought. Butcher's offer was very tempting. But he was wrong about one thing. Jack did not want revenge, he wanted vengeance. He wanted vengeance on the Manhunters. He also seeked vengeance on the Autobots. They have been gone for nearly a year, with no contact. Fowler callled for help and they let his world DIE!
Humanity let them call Earth home and THIS IS HOW THEY REPAID THEM!?
"They'll pay. THEY'LL ALL PAY!" Jack thought angrily.
He didn't know it then, but the two words that left his mouth would change the universe.
"I accept"
Butcher's image disappeared and a red ring came out of the lantern.
"Jackson Darby of Earth. You have great rage in your heart. You belong to the Red Lantern Corps"
The ring slipped into Jack's right middle finger and a red stream of energy came from his ring and into his mouth. His blood felt like acid, burning his insides. He collapsed and coughed up blood, as his eyes glowed red.
"AAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!" He screamed in agony. A red flame covered his body, his clothes morphed into red and black armor. His face covered by a helmet and an emblem appeared on his chest.
The pain stopped and the flames vanished. He panted heavily, trying to catch his breath. He looked at his hands and closed his eyes, relishing his new found power.
He stood back up and and walked back inside of what was left of Unit E. He had to do one thing before he left into the unknown.
Jack shot into the air like a comet. A crimson red comet. Never looking back at the three gravemarkers he put on the ground.
'HEAR LIES WILLIAM FOWLER'
'HEAR LIES RAFAEL ESQUIVEL'
'HEAR LIES MIKO NAKADAI'
Jack's Suit: Lantern Stel's helm of sector 3001. Beacon of purest hate armor. Intergalactic test pilot flight gauntlets. Thanagarian starfield greaves legs. Rage (alternative) shader. From Injustice 2.