Ft Knight: ... So I am going to assume He's foreplayed her into submission... as his (girl)friends would have stopped him if things were going as far as you teased us... you evil evil tease.
Re: Yeah pretty much~
Also; Yes~ I~ am~
LoamyCoffee: What a wonderful chapter and before Christmas~ Yeah...Cyborg needs to learn when to allow people to look at his tech, maintenance is important. Hell, most spacefaring races are rather advanced so you'd think that he'd jump for joy at the chance to study and see if their tech would be compatible.
Hmm, I don't think the protocols for bringing alien plantlife or materials is shown very often. Usually, doing that would be implied. I mean it's common sense.
Of course she'd do that, such a naughty girl~ Another talent for Vent, and I actually thought Robin had figured that out already.
I like the outfit and the way Star reacted to Robin is very welcome.
Re: Yeah, well, with the Election Year, COVID Scare, and Holidays… I've had more time than usual to dedicate to writing. As for Cyborg, if he isn't even comfortable letting someone else drive his "baby", there's no way he'd let someone else under the hood unless it was a pressing matter. And between letting someone else help fix the T-Ship, or letting Ventus ferry everyone home on the T-Javelin, he just concluded that the prior hurts his pride less. Remember, he's a very prideful guy who, before losing his body had a thing for fast "muscly" cars, so he needs to cling to as much of what makes him "human" even though he's a cyborg and can't do ALL the stuff he loves. I mean, he can still play football, but he can't do it professionally anymore, because once powered prostheses start making their way into the game, it's just a matter of time until you have an NFL version of Real Steel out there since un-auged Humans can't compete with literal football robots.
Wow that went off on a tangent! Anyway… I noticed that in-series, Starfire had a Zorka Berry plant in her room but didn't bring it through any kind of customs, so I just figured, why not do a little world building?
Having Blackfire take Ventus as her hostage only to get a bit of "turnabout" was strangely ALWAYS going to be the plan. She seemed exactly the sort to use her sexuality as leverage, if you'll recall her first appearance in the series, so writing that scene out flowed very naturally since it didn't feel "forced" or "shoehorned". Plus, Tamaraneans are a very "intimate" species by and large, owed to their Feline ancestry.
Blackfire's new outfit is a mix of her old costume and Donna Troy's "Black Costume", combined with Superman's "Recovery Suit" from the movie (a way of binding more of Earth-12 together) since Blackfire canonically can't absorb solar radiation on her own; part of why she was reviled by her own people and passed up for the throne, actually. As for Starfire, now that the cat's out of the bag, she can act in a regal fashion, which includes but isn't limited to, putting her foot down on issues she feels passionate about, and it was really, really fun writing that bit in. Whether that comes back to bite her in the ass… we'll see~
skinnydude911: Ngl but I'm picturing the Watch Tower having a sort of Men in Black style of customs for coming to earth in there, and this chapter helps add to that idea now.
It was nice to see that reminder of Beastboy having a crush on Terra be brought up again as she is thinking about how to let him down gently instead of destroying his heart, figuratively speaking.
Wasn't expecting Blackfire so soon and damn did she go quickly into Vent's bed, who apparently has the magic fingers that can leave a girl in... orgasmic pleasure. There is no other way of saying it considering how he left Blackfire a sweaty, happy and I think drooling mess from just his hands... and in front of the girls who love him too.
Seems like he might need to lock the door to his bedroom every night of he doesn't want a surprise visit from one of four women looking for what they watched.
So Killer Moth is up for early parole too, wow good for him. He's really stepping up his game to try and be a good father to Kitten. Wonder how he would react to his baby girl living with the Titans, being a Star Sapphire, and going into space on a school night (lol that was a bad joke on the school night part).
Re: No, that'd be the DEO/Department of Extraterrestrial Affairs; like in the live-action Supergirl. I imagine Terra's the sort to sleep in her undies since a set of pajamas is just another article of clothing she'd have to carry around, and Terra saying she had to put some pants on… Too good an opportunity for Beast Boy to pass up on, and yeah, Beast Boy's still crushing on her.
Sexsomnia is a very real thing! People have been accused of Rape over it, and thankfully that can be properly Diagnosed to get people out of legal trouble. As for why Ventus has Sexsomnia, or maybe "Foreplaysomnia", it's because he's bottling up all his libidinous urges. Terra and Kitten seeing it was just a happy bonus, and Raven could always read the others' thoughts on that matter. And yeah, Ventus will be locking his door at night, but not for them, more because he's scared of himself. If he can "Foreplaysomnia" a girl adjacent to him into a drooling mess on the floor, what's stopping him from sleepwalking and having a fit of "Sexsomnia" on some "unsuspecting" girl?
Killer Moth might be a giant scary bug-man worthy of a 90s horror movie, but before that he's a man trying to be a good father, who unfortunately hasn't served the best example for his daughter, which makes his job only harder, creating a negative feedback loop of bad fathering. Him being a good prisoner is because she's fallen hardcore for a Hero and is likely to follow the same career path, and he doesn't want to fight her on it. As for her living with the Titans, he did ask Ventus to protect her, and there isn't anywhere safer in Jump; her living at home alone is exactly what got her kidnapped in the first place.
The "on a school night" joke was pretty funny too.
Pa7adox (: So vents got super powers...and magic hands. That aside I feel that he probably should of gotten that ***whistle would of made a amazing side joke where he loses it during a battle and some random kid picks it up and starts blowing into it all over jump making superman drop whatever his doing to help a clueless vent.
Re: Superman would hone in on the whistle, acting on the assumption that the intended recipient is using it. There's no reason to not do that. Does he look for Jimmy Olsen anywhere but the source of his Signal Watch?
Kalbario: I just had a funny thought. With Blackfire being all 'affectionate' with Vent, I just remembered that Tamaranians are FELINE descended. The image I had on my head was Raven carrying around a spray bottle and not being afraid to use it when -and there is a when- Blackfire gets a bit... Cozy with Vent.
On the topic of being Feline in ancestry, would that mean Tamaranians MIGHT be affected by catnip?
On Vent's SKILLZ, *POP* Noice.
Re: Totally going to use that joke, thanks for the idea~
As for Catnip affecting them… Possibly. It'd definitely be like a recreational drug, but they do have the higher brain processes to shrug that off.
Raidentensho: Holy crap! you are making Ventus a shoen protagonist via harem here. though, are you sure he can't be named 'Yuno 2.0' from the "Black Clover" series with what is going on so far. cuz i'm pretty sure merging or interacting with a spirit no matter how brief would indeed make one sensitive to the supernatural. still, are you going to stop with the number of lovers he's going to get anytime soon? looking forward to more. until then, later!
Re: Well, it's funny because this is Western Animation, not Eastern, and because they have anime fiction-within-the-fiction, that can actually be pointed out. Don't know enough about Black Clover to make any references, but the Emotional Spectrum is a different flavor from the supernatural; think of it like the Morphing Grid from Power Rangers, more technology and the utilization of an energy source than outright magic. And yes I know there are magical Power Rangers, but by and large their powers are still tech-based. As for the number of lovers… Pretty sure I'm going to stop here. Any more than this, and it'd start getting ridiculous even by Harem Protag standards.
Unless a really compelling argument is made saying otherwise!
frostyjayce101202: I Like It. If you're confused I'm talking about the whole canon deviation and slight fluff mixed in there. Man, I really want more fluff. Please add more floofy scenes that will heal my dark and corrupted heart, I beg of you. Anyway, I like what you did there. I agree with what Starfire said. A hero fights to stop violence, not propagate it. People nowadays are too focused on the flashy fights and epic bloodshed (not that they're bad, they rock) and ignore the wholesome efforts of unkown heroes working tirelessly in the background...and I'm rambling now. Point is, I want more fluff, add more fluff, please, and I beg you to update soon. Thanks for the chap!
Re: Yeah, I think it's something that most Heroes tend to overlook, and Starfire's the sort to realize that. As for the Fluff… Yes~
*TEEN TITANS*
The creation of Blackfire's costume was an excellent start to her budding hero career now that she'd been banished from her homeworld. However, one work outfit, a Hero did not make.
Not only did she have to fabricate more costumes to make up for her genetic shortcoming, and not only did she have to see how the Recovery Suit fabric held up compared to her old armor, but she had to literally learn the lay of the land. There was a big difference between being a space renegade and ruler of your own planet, and being an Earth hero. Culturally, crime on Tamaran was handled much differently than on Earth, something she had to learn if she was going to avoid a PR Disaster by putting some poor sap in the hospital for the rest of their life with plasma burns covering half their body.
So, with Blackfire otherwise preoccupied by the necessary prep-work that needed to be done, it was time for another prospective superheroine to step up to the plate.
Speaking of which…
*Knock*Knock* "Kitten! You ready to head out?" a voice asked through the door.
"Just a minute!" Kitten called back from in front of a full-body mirror, Star Sapphire ring on her middle finger as she tweaked her outfit with a thought for what must've been the hundredth time that morning.
The supervillain Star Sapphire, by merit of being a woman, wasn't as well-known as the big-time male villains. However, she was still a well-known villain, and if she didn't want to be branded as a villain right off the bat for wearing the same sort of Power Ring as her, she had to make her "look" distinctive enough that they wouldn't immediately be lumped together as literal partners-in-crime. While she'd been able to cover up the giant cleavage-to-navel window she'd gotten by default with black costume material, that was only really important for the sake of modesty in the short-term.
On top of that, Kathryn "Kitten" Walker was still the daughter of a known Batman villain who had been a very real and present danger to Jump City. Everyone at school knew that, which meant everyone in town knew that, and if she was going to get a clean break after her ex Fang made it for her, she needed to re-invent herself in a very tangible way.
" . . . Hey Venty? Can you come in here for a second?"
"You decent?"
"O-Of course I'm decent!" she blushed. "Not that I wouldn't mind if you saw…" she said as her door opened.
"What was that?"
"Nothing!" she squeaked. "Anyway… What do you think?"
*TEEN TITANS*
As the weeks went on, crime rose in Jump City, but on a very slow incline, and very little of it was of the super variety. If anything, the rise in crime was more a result of everyone returning than any genuine malice. It wouldn't stay that way forever, but the police were thankful that the Titans' continued presence deterred crime while they bolstered their numbers. There were only so-many people willing to transfer in from surrounding cities, even temporarily, and it wasn't like the nearby police academy could rush a fresh batch of graduates their way. In recent years with the influx of super-criminals, whole weeks actually had to be added to the curriculum to compensate for the advent of "Mystery Men" predating McCarthyism.
That's why it surprised no-one that the police Jump did have were overwhelmed by a trio of jewelry store robbers roided up on Venom, delivered via dermal patches. Whatever was in this batch gave them resistance to small arms, and it was more-important to keep the people safe than try to "be heroes".
Which was ironic since most of those "heroes" were kids half their age, sans Cyborg who was apparently college-aged when he had his… accident.
"I was going to retire next week!" one officer wailed as a robber roided up on Venom bore down on him.
"DYNAMIC ENTRY!" a shock of white hair roared as a sandaled foot struck the robber in the side of the knee, the now-massive leg buckling and dropping the criminal like a brick house.
"I have got you!" Starfire said swooping in and taking the portly man up in her arms before flying off.
"We'll handle the civilians! You get the bad guys!" Ventus shouted up into the sky. Those on the run looking up spotted a violet-colored contrail making its way through the air before suddenly taking a nosedive and imposing itself before two of the robbers.
It was a mere slip of a girl, petite with feminine curves and long blond hair. Apart from the fact that she was flying, and the violet radiance cloaking her like a shroud, and it was her outfit that drew the most looks.
The base of her attire was a jet-black body sock that conformed to her every curve, covering everything from the neck down with a silver circlet at her neck. Around her waist stopping mid-thigh was a violet skirt with silver trim and a circular belt around her slender waist, boots to match stopping below her knees with starburst patterns at the tips of her feet, the flats lifting her heels ever-so-slightly. Her wrists bore silver bracers with violet-colored gemstones, a tiara to match upon her head with an eight-pointed starburst pattern, and similar starburst earrings matching violet-colored eyeliner. Placed upon slender shoulders were round silver pauldrons, a violet mini-cape stopping at the small of her back and fluttering like it were in water. Held in her right hand was a black baton with a silver ring at the end, a similar starburst held within it, shimmering brilliantly like the light of a far-off star, a ring to match upon her middle finger.
In summary, she looked like a princess from a far-off star who'd gotten into Magical Girl anime while on Earth.
"Dammit! Not another one!" one of the robbers swore, drawing his arm back for a titanic punch.
"I don't think so!" the violet-clad girl shouted pointing the starburst on her wand at his shoulder. A like-colored beam lancing out of it and striking him in the arm, the light crystallized from light to matter, locking his drawn-back limb into place and massively upsetting his balance. The second robber tried to grab her tiny frame with his massive meat-hooks, but a sweeping ray of light shot out like a serpent and crystalized into shackles around his wrists, binding them together. The girl in violet then swooped under his reaching arms and knocked out one of his ankles with a sweep of her leg, dropping him flat on his face in a trip that shook the ground.
"The third one is getting up!" Starfire cried as she set the soon-to-be-retired officer down.
"Don't worry! I've got him!" the girl in violet said levelling her wand at his face and firing a blast right between his eyes. The light proceeded to crystalize into the shape of an inverted crystal chandelier, forming a cylindrical hat that encompassed the upper half of his head, leaving his mouth exposed.
"How many of you brats are there?!" the first robber growled as he flexed his arm with everything he had, breaking the crystal around his shoulder before making another lunge.
Before he could strike however, his compatriot, the one with the "crystal hat", suddenly lunged toward him and wrapped his meaty arms around him.
"The hell're you doing?! Let me go!" the robber said trying to fight off his cohort.
"Yoink!" Ventus whooped as he leapt onto the man's back and peeled the dermal patches from the two, before flipping away.
"Agh! No!" the robber cried as his muscles began to deflate, horrific pain ravaging his body before he fell to his knees, the one with the "crystal hat" even now holding onto him, pinning an arm to his side.
"And then there was one!" the violet-clad girl proclaimed as the second robber, wrists bound, managed to twist his way free. Before he could act on it further however, the violet-clad girl whipped out her wand, a tendril of violet energy slithering out and smacking the dermal patch off his exposed bicep, the crook stumbling mid-stride and landing flat on his face. "Evil, apprehended!" the violet-clad girl declared with one hand on her hip, the other in a sideways peace sign by her eye.
*TEEN TITANS*
With the police on-site, the robbers' arrest was immediate once they'd been frisked and any other "Slappers" on their personage had been confiscated. Because crime was at a current scarcity and the Titans had bolstered their numbers, they were able to divide their forces without spreading themselves too thin.
It was for this reason that the Teen Titans' newest member had received such a robust media greeting after her debut, a number of reporters wheeling out to catch the story since any up-and-coming Hero could be "the next Superman"; and thus, a source of Pulitzers for whichever reporter could cultivate a working relationship with aforementioned Hero.
"So… who are you?" the reporter at the front asked extending a microphone.
"I am the newest member of the Teen Titans… STARGIRL!" Kitten said striking a cute pose.
"Name's already taken," Ventus whispered into her ear.
"And make sure you put a hyphen in there since 'Stargirl' without the hyphen is already taken!" Kitten was quick to amend, the reporters jotting the info down on their notepads.
*TEEN TITANS*
"Ohmygod, that was so! Much! Fun!" Kitten squealed happily a while later as she, Ventus, and Starfire sat together eating pizza at the Titans' favorite haunt, the Pizza Corner. With all the business they'd gotten from them in the past, the Titans actually had the most prime table on permanent reserve; the one at the very tip of the pizza slice overlooking the street below with clear views of sight in all directions.
"Nice to know you're a fan of the work," Ventus hummed as he ate. "You were a natural out there."
"Yes, well, I've been watching magical girl anime since I was a little girl, sooo…"
"Really? You didn't seem the type when I met you," he admitted.
"I didn't want anyone at school to think I was a 'nerd'," the blond replied. "So uh… What's with the mustard?" she asked watching Starfire drink.
"The taste and mouthfeel is close to a foodstuff on her homeworld-"
"Say no more," Kitten waved off. "Sooo… How did I do?" she asked her other peer.
"You were quite splendiferous, and your battle garments are most glorious!" Starfire beamed between gulps of mustard. Curious children at the nearby tables tried to emulate her behavior… to mixed results. "So… What now?"
"I guess we just… wait around until some big-bad picks a fight with us?" Kitten groused before a lance of green energy struck her in the chest, flinging her from her seat and into the street below. "I WAS FUCKING JOKING!" she cried as she got up, a violet-colored barrier surrounding her as she lifted her head from the indent she made in a mailbox.
"ALRIGHT! WHO'S GOT THE BALLS!" Ventus roared into the heavens while Starfire swooped down to help Kitten to her feet.
"At ease, citizen. This is a private matter," a sure-sounding voice replied casually as a man sheathed in a green aura alighted down to eye level with the casually-dressed Hero.
"Holy crap! That's Green Lantern!" someone off to the side gawped.
"Wait, I thought Green Lantern was black," his friend answered.
"No, no, there's three Green Lanterns. Or maybe it's four?" a third replied.
"Green Lantern… Why are you here?" Ventus asked as he looked up into the masked face of Hal Jordan, Ferris Air pilot; not that he knew the specifics, just that he was looking up at one of the white Green Lanterns. John Stewart's identity was public knowledge, but it was impossible to mistake him for any of the other Green Lanterns since they were all Caucasian.
"I picked up a Star Sapphire energy signature and came to investigate," he said training his Power Ring on the downed Titan, who was still groggy from the hit. "You can gussy yourself up all you like, but I'll be taking that ring."
Green Lantern dropping down to street level and confidently striding forward, before he could close the distance, Ventus interposed himself between the two, a swelling wind causing his clothes to ripple.
"And why, pray tell, do you think I'd let you confiscate my friend's Power Ring?" the wind-wielder asked, a hard edge in his voice.
"Because the Star Sapphire rings are evil," Hal argued as though it were blatantly obvious. "The Star Sapphire I have to put up with is part of the Injustice League, so I figured it'd be prudent to take that one before she turns. I admit, the Magical Girl wand is good camouflage, but you're not fooling me," he said projecting a hand-shaped construct to reach over for the ring, only for Ventus to grab onto it and tie it to a nearby fire extinguisher.
"You do realize that by that logic, I should confiscate your Power Ring," the wind-wielder returned. "After all, Sinestro wielded a green Power Ring, and he turned~"
"Kid, I get that being put in the League's junior division is a pretty big deal, but don't get too big for your britches," Hal chastised as he made a new energy construct. "Don't think that putting the smackdown on Slade puts you on my level, I save the universe on a daily basis; now step aside before you get hurt," he waved off dismissively as if the whole thing was beneath him.
"Fine…" he said stepping aside and around Green Lantern, Kitten's eyes going wide in betrayal before that look changed to shock as the teen drew something from a cord around his neck, behind the oblivious Green Lantern's back. "If that's the way you want to play it, I'll take your green ring, and raise you one indigo," he said slipping the ring-shaped instrument onto his finger, Green Lantern whirling around in time to be blinded by a brilliant flash of indigo.
"Vincent Valentine. On-Line," the ring spoke in a hushed tone, responding to his will.
"The hell-" Green Lantern gawped before a coral-like staff batted him across the street. Blinking the lights from his eyes while Starfire helped Kitten to her feet, Green Lantern saw that the casually-dressed teen from before had suddenly donned black and indigo-colored loose-fitting monk's robes, a coral-like staff with a lantern in the head in his hands, the chains connecting the manacles on his forearms and neck together appearing to be cracked. "Another Power Ring wielder?!"
"Nok," the teen replied in a monotone, his eyes shining with indigo sigils like the one on his forehead before he leveled his ring at the downed Lantern and fired an indigo-colored energy beam.
"Ha! Sorry, kid! But I've been at this way longer than you!" Hal spoke as he released a beam of his own, getting to his feet before amping the power up and pushing back in the beam struggle.
"Will," the teen's ring spoke, the Indigo Tribe emblem on his forehead suddenly overlaid by the Green Lantern insignia, the light spilling from his ring changing from indigo to green.
"Wait, what?!" Hal gawped as the beam of green perfectly matched his own. "Rrrgh! Come on…! COME ON!" he shouted as he poured it on, pushing back the beam of Willpower contesting his own. "Sorry, but I'm afraid-"
"Fear."
The next moment the energy beam of green pushing against his own shifted to yellow, transforming into a drill that ripped his own into scattering ribbons of light before a branch shot out the side of it and transformed into a spiked boxing glove, catching him in the side before sending him flying off into the distance. "Indigo Wind" as the others jokingly called him in the debrief followed after, pressing himself back-to-back with the stunned Lantern before Hal found a coral-like staff pinning his neck, the pilot finding himself pushed toward an indigo-colored portal a moment later.
"Titans! Respond!" Robin's voice sounded from the T-Comm. at Starfire's side. "What's going on down there?" he asked as the alien girl opened up to answer, only for Kitten to butt in.
"Some green jumpsuit douchebag from the Justice League tried to cop my ring!" Kitten screeched. "Next moment, Venty put on his own Power Ring and took him… somewhere."
"Yeah, I noticed. The fight's exploding across social media. They're in the city park now. You two move ahead and keep civilians out of the way, I'll get Raven and back you up with the others."
*TEEN TITANS*
Elsewhile, an indigo portal opening up above the city park, Green Lantern was unceremoniously deposited into a small lake, the pilot quick to surface as the staff-wielding monk alighted upon the water's surface, a serene expression on his face as the water rippled ever-so-slightly at his feet like a certain messianic figure.
"Walking on water? Really?" he asked incredulously.
"Nok."
"Dammit you, take this seriously!" the Green Lantern raged as he fired an energy blast, only for the monk-clad teen to suddenly spin on one heel, a leaf on the wind as he performed a beautiful dance atop the water's surface, his ropes rippling around him as he became nigh untouchable by the more-experienced ring slinger.
This was the sight the Titans gathered to meet, the veteran Green Lantern growing more and more irate as everything he sent the teen's way was avoided, all with that completely blank expression on hisface.
"Kid! You're really starting to piss me off!" Hal Growled.
"Rage."
The next moment an unknown sigil appeared on Ventus' forehead, a pair of vertical lines running down the circle wider at the top vaguely like a bull skull, an absolutely livid look taking over his once-serene features, the white-haired teen practically frothing at the mouth.
"Ooh! What do you think red does?!" Beast Boy asked excitedly. Social media did a great job of covering how the wielder of an Indigo Ring could use other colors.
"Ten bucks says it's laser eyes," Cyborg bet.
"Has to be super-strength," Terra said pulling a bill from her pocket.
"BLAAUGH!"
"Well… Didn't see that coming…" Raven said as Ventus suddenly projectile vomited crimson napalm at Green Lantern. Hal easily pulled up an energy shield to block it, but much to his and the others' shock, the crimson napalm actually ate through his shield, melting holes in it and causing droplets of fiery blood to melt holes in his clothes, the Green Lantern yowling in pain before he swiftly shot away, the lake water bubbling where the energized napalm fell.
"My biscuits are burning!" Hal cried as he ran, the seat of his pants literally on fire.
"Oh, I am so glad I'm recording this," Cyborg grinned as he trained his cybernetic eye on the action as Hal stopped, dropped, and rolled, a heated expression on his face as Ventus floated toward him, the red bull-like sigil vanishing from his forehead.
"Okay tough guy… If that's the way you wanna play it…!" Hal growled as his ring came alight.
"VENTY! DODGE!" Kitten cried as Hal willed a dozen fighter jets into existence above him, the fleet unloading their entire payload into the indigo-garbed teen kicking up a massive cloud of dust, the civilians that were once rubber-necking fleeing for their lives as the barrage continued for more than a solid minute, the barrage of weapons fire forcing the Titans back.
"VEN!" Terra cried, her eyes glowing a brilliant gold before she threw up an earthen wall between the two sides; not that Hal could see it in his tunnel vision.
It took another minute or two for the dust to settle, a process that was expedited by Hal creating a giant oscillating fan construct and blowing the debris away. The Titans in turn gasped upon the sight of their comrade laying side-down in a crater, curled in on himself like a certain anime-character who'd been killed by a certain vegetable-based lifeform when it'd self-destructed, his attire a complete and utter wreck.
"Whew…!" Green Lantern panted wiping a bead of sweat from his brow. "Did I get him?" Hal asked hopefully.
"Hope."
A blue sigil alighting upon the teen's forehead as he rolled over to get his limbs underneath him, to everyone's shock, all the burn wounds on his flesh vanished, his clothes repairing themselves.
"You can heal too? That's such bullshit!" Hal shrieked, not noticing the momentary strengthening of his own aura as Ventus got to his feet. "Well… At least you're running out of steam," he said, taking note of his own reserves.
The next moment, Ventus raised his ring and pressed it to the glowing face of his coral-like staff, a brilliant flash of light ensuing.
"Charge complete."
" . . . Okay, you know what?" Hal asked exasperatedly. "Two can play at that game."
Willing an energy shield to surround him, Hal pulled his Personal Lantern out of subspace before grabbing onto it and pressed his ring to the face, reciting the Green Lantern Oath.
Right as Hal got halfway through however, the chains binding Ventus' manacles together suddenly shattered, the indigo sigils in his eyes vanishing before he whipped out his hand, a smaller indigo portal appearing in the space before him.
"Yoink!" the teen whooped as a like portal appeared within Hal's bubble, a ring-clad hand reaching through and actually pinching Hal's lantern from his grasp before he could finish.
"Wait… What?!" Hal gawped incredulously as the lantern was pulled out of the indigo-colored portal. The teen setting his own lantern-staff aside and holding the Green Lantern in his off hand, the next his indigo ring manifested a giant pinball plunger, complete with a giant hand pulling the handle back.
" . . . You wouldn't dare-"
"Let's play ball!" Ventus whooped, suddenly in control of his processes as the giant hand released the knob, the tip striking Hal's barrier and sending him careening across the park, launching off the hill at his back and into the wild blue yonder.
"Did… Did he just beat one of the Justice League's heavy-hitters?!" Robin gawped incredulously.
"Well, I recorded it, so it had to have happened," Cyborg said as he made backups. The rest he could cobble together from security camera footage and social media.
It only took an instant for Green Lantern to return. He looked well-and-truly pissed, but the flickering of the energy shield around him and his lantern in someone else's hands told him discretion was the better part of valor.
"So…" Ventus said as he rubbed at his eyes, an earthen table and opposing seats appearing before him at the unspoken urging, the Green Lantern placed on it. "Are we going to sit down and talk like adults, or do I have to smack you around with a giant Rockem Sockem Robot?"
As if to prove his point, a pair of giant energy constructs shaped like Rockem Sockem Robots appeared at his back, banging their knuckles together.
Hal for his part could only bite back his words. Sure, he had a Power Ring and was in the same league as John Stewart, and he was more-experience, but not only was he outnumbered, the Teen Titans had a magic user, Batman's wayward protégé, a "flying brick", and two Ring Slingers on their side.
"Fine… Let's talk…" he said taking a seat, a hand reaching out to reclaim his lantern before an indigo-colored portal snapped open before his palm, Hal poking himself in the eye causing him to reel back.
"Talk first. You'll get your lantern when we're done," Ventus replied cooly, Beast Boy muttering- "Aperture Science, eat your heart out." -in the background.
*TEEN TITANS*
"So blondie over there didn't go crazy…" Hal hummed once the explanation had concluded.
"Like your crazy stalker? No, not in the slightest," Ventus said as he pushed Hal's lantern back toward him, referring to the other Star Sapphire who'd gone up against the Justice League in the past.
"And there's another Lantern Corps. out there?" Hal asked pointing to the indigo ring on the teen's finger.
"Yeah. This one's Compassion," Ventus answered.
"Then how the hell'd it use Fear, and Will, and those other colors?"
"No clue. Didn't exactly come with an instruction manual."
"Tell me about it…" Hal groaned to himself. "So, uh… Sorry about shooting first and asking questions later."
"Yeah, you really stepped in it this time."
"This time?!"
"Yeah. Its obvious Star Sapphire is one of your jilted lovers. I've seen your kind before. Never calls, never writes, makes relationship promises he can't keep," Ventus waved off. "You should really do something about that."
"Yeah, I'll get right on that," Hal waved off. "Anyway… I think I've overstayed my welcome here," he said as the Titans leveled glares at him.
"You never had it in the first place~"
"Don't get cheeky with me, brat."
"You want I should bitch-slap you again~?" Ventus asked as he manifested a violet-colored hand construct.
" . . . I should go," Hal said depositing his Lantern back into its subspace pocket before flying off.
"Well… That could've gone worse," Raven hummed.
As an empath, she could plainly tell that Green Lantern's ring was poisoning him. Maybe not as much as the Indigo and Violet rings were their users, but Hal was pig-headed to the extreme and set in his ways; something that wasn't helped by the Power Ring at the center of the Emotional Spectrum making his emotions rigid and dare she say, stagnant?
Then again, who was she to cast stones, living in her glass monastery? Sure, Star Sapphire had gone power-mad with her love-fueled Power Ring, but Kitten held enough self-determination not to lose herself to the power, and if the breaking of those indigo chains meant anything, than Ventus had "overcome" the "poison" of the Indigo Ring and wrested back his sense of self. At least if the fact that he could speak English again and not just "Nokian" meant anything.
"Sooo… Guess you're pretty good with that thing…" Kitten hummed looking at the ring on Ventus' hand, and then up to his costume. As far as superhero costumes went palette-swapped Air Nomad robes weren't a bad choice.
"Yeah… But I don't think this look is really 'me'," he said pulling off his ring, much to the others' shock.
"What? Why?!" Kitten gasped. "That thing let you go toe-to-toe with Green Lantern!"
"Other than this ring making everything too easy," Ventus answered as he thought back to the constructs, and the energy shields, and the wormholes, and the near-effortless flight. "One Power Ring-wielder is bad enough, no offense, but two of these things and we'll start drawing out the heavy-hitters, and I doubt the tax payers would appreciate that," he said inclining his head toward the crater-marked ground where Hal Jordan had laid into him. "At the very least, they'll assume your wand is the source of your power, and that the ring is just an accessory."
"That's… strangely insightful," Raven hummed, a little relieved to see the Indigo Ring off his finger, even if he had grounded himself from its influence. At least if the shattering of the literal chains upon him meant anything.
It was rather terrifying, those Indigo Lanterns whom had once been murderers and sociopaths, pale shadows of her father's evil but evil-still, all "rewritten" to the whim of a deity-like existence of an entity representing the emotion of Compassion. Sure, the Indigo Light made them "better people", but emotionally, they'd all basically been lobotomized and forced into indentured servitude if the chained manacles on their necks and limbs were anything to go by.
Sure, Raven suppressed her emotions by choice, but to be forced…? She wouldn't wish that on anyone; not when others had what she couldn't hold.
"That and using a super-powered ring is already Kitten's thing. I don't want her in my shadow because of, you know… glass ceilings."
"Awww, that's so sweet~" Kitten purred as she skipped up to him, planting a long kiss on his cheek.
"Sooo… What now?" Beast Boy asked.
"Now…" Ventus said grabbing a spare cord from his pocket, placing the ring upon it, before tying the ends in a knot and stashing it away. "Now we go home, I guess."
"Sooo… We're just not going to talk about him becoming all-powerful?" Robin queried.
"Nope," Raven, Terra, and Kitten replied simultaneously.
*TEEN TITANS*
AN:
Betcha didn't see that coming, didja?
Hal in the Earth-12 DCAU might've only appeared in a few times and thus come across as the model Green Lantern, but in the comics… He's just all of a hot mess. And that's even when you don't include Parallax "because 90s". Without that alien fear bug up his ass, and if you really pay attention, you can see a lot of the "Emotional Poisoning" that comes with using a [Power Ring]. Even if those in the "center" of the Emotional Spectrum are altered "the least", they're still altered, and it shows.
Rage – Avarice – Fear – Will – Hope – Compassion – Love. The farther away from the "center" of the Emotional Spectrum you draw power from, the more-radically it alters you. Sure, [Willpower] doesn't "change" you, but it makes what is there "more set in its ways"; something interesting I learned from DC Universe (now Infinite) after reading into the post-Parallax Green Lantern comic book line.
Anyway, hope you liked this "colorful" smackdown, and that you'll give your feedback on this chapter.
Up-next is Chronicle of Zhu, and I hope to see you there!