Oa
Regardless of the time of day and the position of Sto-Oa, a red haze continues to cover the arid region in its desiccation. Across the horizon, all can be seen are humps of sand from one expanse of the friable plain to the next. It was nothing to marvel as it wasn't short with barren. Rocks and pebbles accompany the lifeless bodies of numerous Oans scattered across the terrain in collection. As there lie the corpses of the white haired and blue-skinned humanoids follow scraps of cloths from their maroon robes and white tabards withering in the sand.
Beyond them, the Guardian Citadel lies in ruins. All points of interests demolished and met with the obsolete Green Lanterns who valiantly fought to defend their headquarters. Crippled bodies securely entombed beneath the rubble concede only remnants of their limbs protruding from the debris. The lucky ones continue to preserve underneath the dancing particles migrating across those exanimated. Shattered fragments of the bearer's rings match the compost, depositing further in the dust.
The Central Power Battery remains quiescent from the attack, but drained of it's influential capacity and fractured toward the center of the lantern, pierced in it's core. Crumbled pockets permit fading glows of verdant gleaming from the aftermath.
The blood-thickened atmosphere didn't phase the lonesome scientist. His colossal and robust build overshadows the struggling mortal beneath his boot. The pair of cardinal pupils stay fixed on the elegant sunset before him, grimacing as his rugged cerulean hands collectively rest against his cloaked backside, ignoring the ceaseless groans murmuring from below. He'd almost forgotten the undervalued sensation of these experiences.
"I don't understand how one doesn't appreciate the simplest yet complex beauty in the earliest stages of a natural sunset." He speaks in admiration from his deep, gruff voice.
He extracts his foot, leaving sand markings and traces of his imprints on Conner's slit shirt and lacerated back. His large fingers close in a vise grip around the hero. The harmonious attention is his eyes while risen from the surface. Sprinkles of sand fleet as they scatter Conner's cheeks and jaw, revealing a swollen-shut eye supporting further bruising received in a short span. Blurred vision didn't hold him back from fighting intensively, digging his hands into the creatures blue skin, but his left grip was unyielding. The ache in his chest grew as he struggled to breathe, kicking his opponents steel abdomen repeatedly to push away. He didn't know if he was either desperate or frustrated.
"The solar glow...so majestic as it is amazing." He continued, completely unnerved by the continuous activity taken to resist. "Of course such thoughts are far too civilized for one such as yourself. And while you attempt to stop me you leave so many questions unanswered. The creation of life. It's what all commonalities should devote their souls to unmask the truth. Complete knowledge, but they once said it was our greatest taboo. However it was I who was a single glimpse away from witnessing the beginning of time." His sight evens on the skyline, reminiscing in consciousness on what once was. "One beautifully sinuous galaxy in the palm of the presence's hand. It was glorious, but one abrupt miscalculation ruined it all. The hand of creation, the first speck that ignited the entire cosmos...and it was gone."
"Krona..." A beaten and weary Green Lantern mutters several meters away from the goliath. Desperately catching his breath, Stewart's legs shivered violently. It was nearly impossible to pace himself straightforward as he faithfully shielded the right of his exposed shattered ribcage. "You...you were hellbent for knowledge. You...your arrogance...you shattered the entire universe."
The spectator never lost his temperament from the disturbance. While he carelessly dumped Conner to the sandy ground following a thud, he loomed toward the last surviving Lantern. Each step taken was more emphatic than the one before and his monstrous shadow grew larger until it completely sheltered Stewart. His jellied legs gave in to his knees to support him upright. John lacked anymore strength to fight. A thunderous backhand strike coerced Green Lantern on his back, nearly comatose.
"A universe worth fixing now that I've overwritten my banishment." Krona scoffed.
The same foot once bound on Conner's cranium now arranged sideways against John's neck, completely enveloping his throat and clamping down as his eyes proceeded to widened. He reemerged to sudden consciousness. The agonizing pain from his ribs went numb. His focus now shifting toward tightening his hands against Krona's boot, scrabbling to gain any hope of leverage for removal. The pressure increased compulsorily. John's pulse drummed against the arch of the gargantuan's footing. His head buried further into the sand from the overwhelming compactness. Countless particles from the embankment showered Stewart's dome, succeeding in filling his nostrils to erase any fortuity of inhaling. The fervor of drowning greeted panic at the door. His legs wail instinctively and despite the momentous thrill, strangely enough, he was pitied by Krona greatly overpowering him. John was deprived of oxygen for so long, excruciating seconds before his obscured eyelids closed. His inoperative arms plaster to the ground.
Their rival drew his breath to recollect himself firsthand. It wasn't until the fiery grunts and exchanged pounding from Conner's fists against the sand gained his undivided attention. The two met eyes once more. Krona smelled the rage cooking within the young man and there was no sign of remorse detectable from the alien himself. Conner nearly choked on the blood clinging in the back his throat. Beads of sweat moisten the shadowed sand. His will spoke yes, but his fatigued body rebuffed this.
"You're sick." He spat.
But his insult was nothing to his adversary to more as it brewed amusement. His chuckle was light, laced with a hum of entertainment. "Your slander's much similar to those who've fallen beneath me young Kryptonian." He grins in oversight as Conner was transfixed in shock. "You seem surprised on deducing your genealogy. I've seen Krypton. I saw the end during my time in exile. A stubborn, violent race of beings. Their remarkable intelligence climaxed at its peak, yet maintained little will to act and easily commenced with fear once their planet was exposed. Such a shame. What a waste of life."
"I'm only half Kryptonian, asshole."
Krona heavily chuckled, holding his poise. "I'm aware of the split genetics running in your veins. And like yourself I too am only half of what constitutes me."
The brute kneels beside the deceased body of John Stewart, ostensibly sullen while scanning the deeply imprinted tracks on the uncovered skin of his welted neck. There was no hesitation in removing the power ring from the listless hand of the Green Lantern's corpse. His red eyes brimmed with tears of mirth and the smile tugging his lips broke into a grin, completely enveloping his face. He dawns the weapon on his own, neighboring the red power ring on his middle finger. The vibrant colors glistening from his fist exhilarated his own self. The beauty that's divine in full bloom, warming and brighter than the morning sunshine. Such a strong refinement that took the world in his wings. He could almost taste the delicacy.
Despite managing to finally bring himself to his feet, Conner stood in a state of paralysis. "How can you wield two?'
Krona's seemingly everlasting grimace resurfaced. "One that is the true sole caretaker of the emotional entities wields all powers of the emotional spectrum. One favoring additive to these constructs are the memory banks installed within them. I know there are two more rings on Earth."
A vigorous barbaric howl of rage siren the two, followed by a spiked mace hailed from above smacking the cervical vertebrae of their enemy. The unexpected brunt from the Nth metaled club knocks the giant off balance proceeded by a pair of armored golden greaves and gauntlets almost instantly strapping around Krona's sturdy neck in a rush, tightening with immense force to execute a lethal headlock.
Hawkman's effort into choking out the monster was undeniable. His vicious growl could be heard for distances as his blood-rushing veins resonating from his biceps. The pair of giant angelic wings flutter hastily in attempt to lift the monster off his feet while his legs remain tied around his waist, but his opponent's weight denied every endeavor.
"Thanagarian..." He grunts while peeling the insect by his wing alone. "You're a long way from home."
Katar's nerves swim in a frenzy as he's unable to ignore the sensitivity to the stiffened grip from his oppressor. With ease he's swatted to the sand, ripped from his hawk logo and rich spaulders. No second alone was given to collect himself. One swift kick to his jawline ruptures his protective helmet, defacing half of his mildly bloodied nose and bruised cheekbone hiding behind concealment. The shattered pieces of his mask drizzle across the landscape, shimmering in rhythm with Katar's collapsed body.
It was that easy
He lay silent, rather sleep. Conner anxiously anticipated any sign of life, but no further movement was made. Only the thundering sky grumbled in commotion many miles away.
The juggernaut clears his throat, "You and your friends continue to waste your strength. There is no winning, no losing. There's only the will to act."
Conner was already on his feet when Krona reverted back to him. He wipes the blood seeping from the corner of his mouth with his torn sleeve, carefully inspecting Hawkman's mace nested several yards between the two. "The will to murder everyone on this planet? You've got your morals and values twisted."
"The will to do what needs to be done for the sake of the universe. My emergence isn't to invade and conquer. I have no desire nor do I find joy setting forth and slaughtering lives with no divine meaning. I only rise as your savior. I'm one vital quantity to the equation."
"Which is?" Conner asks, prolonging their exchange as he limps toward the weapon.
Life. All sentient beings are fueled by emotions of the spectrum." Krona responds in complete insight. "The red light signifies what you're is so hellbent on, rage. One would understand a similar feeling being banished by his own race. Green represents willpower. There was a time where the Multasians sought to make an orderly universe, but my brothers and sisters achieved the exact opposite. Their wrongs must be corrected."
Conner's movements toward the mace were always noticed, but he had everything to fight for. "By the gist of everything that's gone down, I'd say you don't look like someone who wants to save lives." He sneers, planting his hands on the weapon's stem. "You just want control and power."
Krona acknowledged his motive for further violence, but it was fear that was mirrored as nothing remaining on Oa phased him. More or so, the first phase of his mission was complete and fighting Superboy no longer interested him. He hands continue to rest on his backside, lightly grinning in admiration of the strength the Kryptonian mustered to contest. This sign of belittlement simply irritated Conner more. The sudden illumination of red aurora circumferences the helm of Krona as he gently levitates several inches above the sandy floor. No longer was there a single grain that fondled him. The phenomenon glistened Conner's pupils, gazing as he lowered the mace to his waist with little to no ambition to fight. It finally dawned on him that he stood no chance.
The beautiful radiance continued to fulfill him with enchantment, posing as a shrine with his arms resting openly to bask. "My compassion for stability and righteousness drives me to do what needs to be done for the sake of all lives. Not favoring one over another. A meager sacrifice will have to suffice for the time being" He forms his fists once more, advertising his acquired rings. "If you happen to be one of the last few standing, you'll eventually see the light."
And in the blink of an eye Krona was nothing more than a streak of light exiting Sto-Oa's atmosphere elsewhere, leaving Superboy behind in the depths of desolation.