Lots of crazy stuff happens in this chapter. Khan finally meets his inner counterpart, Sinestro wishes to make it up with one Hal Jordan, and Spock muses over what had happened back in the Bryant. Please keep in mind that in this story, I consider DC's Anti-Matter Universe and Trek's Mirror Universe the same thing.
Also, one more thing—in DC canon, the blue light of hope is described as the most powerful emotion in the universe, but in my stories, that title is given to the violet light of love since love conquers everything in Leyenarville. Don't lose hope, blues, 'cuz your emotion is still the second most powerful!
Hindi Translation:
Dhoom=a word meaning "blast" or "bang"
Ek minat rukie="just a minute"
Numero Four!
He was perfect.
Underneath that sleek and elegant exterior there had to be something truly lethal and dangerous. That was what Admiral Marcus had ordered him to do, and, believe it or not, Khan actually wanted to do it. He was now on a mission. He was here to make a statement. A statement that came to into its own, out of the head of a hated one and into the real world.
A statement the entirety of Section 31 called the USS Vengeance.
When he was finished, he just sat there, tall and proud, more real than Khan could ever believe. Painted black, with a wide thin saucer and bold and powerful nacelles. Lying within him were deadly phasers and photon torpedoes. A real warrior. He radiated chaos just waiting to happen. The USS Vengeance was more than perfect.
He was Khan's, the very embodiment of the man's jaded past. The Vengeance was energy, was defiance and righteousness in the only proper way Khan knew how—through revolution. Break the rules, the arbitrary restrictions that existed because someone said they had to.
Although it would take a little time for them to break through, it was but a minor inconvenience for the sense of the two of feeling whole and together. Everything felt right when they were together, in their own little world which ironically had enough room for an 1459-meter-long warship to fit in. Whenever Khan was in bed, he would have dreams of himself as the supreme ruler of the known universe and the Vengeance as the crown jewel of his empire. Of planets painted in shades of disarray, the mayhem left in the Vengeance's wake peeling back the paint on the orderly functions of the galaxy. It was beautiful to witness, seeing life, energy of a different sort breathing through the solar systems. At the end of their escapades, the aftereffects of their conquests would still linger, like graffiti that had been painted over.
Those days, those glorious days—they seemed like they would never end. Like the summers that don't come fast enough and leave too soon, the Vengeance was gone as well. It had been a group effort, spearheaded by...by some pointy-eared bastard who stabbed Khan in the back, deceived him, and then deemed his love for the ship "illogical" when it had been the purest and truest form of love any being in the universe can ever experience.
The wholeness that Khan had felt before was gone now. There was a void in the universe where his Vengeance used to be. On the day of his court martial, sun shone brightly and the clouds were far and few. The world had never felt colder to Khan. Every fiber of Khan's being, the very core of his soul grieved for the USS Vengeance. His lovingly crafted weapon of mass destruction, the ship he'd poured so much of himself into….hopes and dreams, fears and ideals…they were gone like every life he snuffed out, gone with the wind.
It's been five years, and the tears won't stop coming. Khan wanted more than anything to be back in the cold embrace of his beautiful ship, and he would be once vengeance for said ship was complete. The Red Lanterns? Hopefully they would be left in good hands. For now, he needed guilty blood for his Central Power Battery.
"You, Malik, will seek out crimes of oppression and resentment." ordered the Dawnbreaker. "Kati will have crimes of passion and depravity. Joaquin, fear and madness. And Otto..."
"Excuse me, sir? Dawnbreaker?" asked Suzette, in a broad Louisiana accent. "What of you?"
"Before I cracked her open, the ring told me to hunt down and have...vengeance...on the guilty one who first enraged you. Until a Red Lantern does this, they cannot be a true Red Lantern." Khan said.
"If that's the case, then I'm with you." Suzette announced in that drawl that never failed to surprise those who judged her solely by her Asian appearance. It was a trait that the two of them shared. If people judged Khan solely by his pale skin and light eyes, they would assume that he was Anglo, not Desi.
"So am I, my liege." added Malik.
"Count me in." Joaquin declared.
"We are all Red Lanterns, after all. Let us help." said Kati.
"I swore to be your shield until the day of my death." Otto said. "Let me make good on that vow."
In no time, all the 72 reds present began crying out their desire to follow their leader, but Khan just waved them off and told them "I am truly grateful for your loyalty, but I'm afraid my task is slightly different from yours. It must be carried out by me, and me alone. Worry not, once I am finished, Starfleet will be yours to eradicate."
"Really?" asked Joaquin.
"Really." Khan confirmed. "But for now, I will just be satisfied with the guilty blood you offer." His corrupted red ring seemed to bleed, in resonance with his aching heart and all of a sudden, he was in his deep subconscious where he was above the Earth's orbit in space.
He opened his eyes as he found himself floating above the Earth's atmosphere. He looked in front of him to see the giant red sun alongside the four sacred doors. Two of them were open and the other two were still locked.
"Huh? Where am I?" Khan asked as he looked around and confirmed that he was indeed back inside his subconscious where light and darkness mingled to become one and where the four doors were. The First Sacred Door, now wide open, had shadows pouring out of it and the Second Sacred Door, which was also wide open, let out a belch of crimson flame every second. The other two were locked and held something unknown behind them which Khan wanted to know.
Khan floated to where the Red Sun was located which represented the whirlwind of emotions within him. It had a dark tint to it, as if it was shrouded in darkness and read "VENGEANCE" although he was unsure whether it meant his Vengeance or actual vengeance. Maybe it could mean both!
But something about it felt different to Khan. It looked a lot bigger to him. And also it felt…hotter and he felt a lot more power and energy emanating from the humongous Red Sun. Maybe it was just him, but something did feel a lot more different than last time around. And then suddenly, he heard a voice very similar to his.
Welcome, Dawnbreaker.
The Red Lantern looked behind him to see who it was and then he had one of the biggest shocks of his life.
Floating there, was…himself. He was staring at an exact copy of Khan Noonien Singh. Everything was exactly the same. From the hair, to the eyes, the height, weight, arms, legs, and even the same intimidating aura he wore around him. The only difference was that this new Khan was wearing a regal-looking black sherwani, while the Dawnbreaker himself was wearing his Lantern Uniform in full battle gear.
"Holy unanticipated occurrences!" Khan cried out. "W-W-What?! W-Who are you?! Why do you look so much like me?" he asked as he was absolutely baffled at the fact there was a literal clone of himself floating in space with him.
Inner Khan smiled as he replied to Khan's question, Oh, that's easy! I am you! And you are me!
Khan's mouth hung open as he thought he was hearing things.
"Okay, you lost me. You just said that you are me and I am you. Ummmm….Can you please explain what you mean by that?" Khan asked as he scratched his head in even more confusion.
The other Khan sighed as he knew that it wasn't going to be that easy for Khan to understand. Alright, so here's the rundown. So there's you, Khan Noonien Singh. You know, your regular self. But inside of you, there's a special place called your subconscious. Think of it as like your own little inner world where you are completely cut off from the outside world. Nobody can see nor hear us right now as we speak to each other in the subconscious. You know, sometimes, you start to lose awareness of the outside world and focus more on your own self and your inner thinking. But when you enter the subconscious, that's when you fully go into your inner world. Get it, so far?
Khan nodded, "Yeah, it does make sense."
Yes, that is true. Now, let me explain to you what exactly I am. When I said that I am you and you are me, I meant it. You see, I am the "Inner Khan". Basically, I am the manifestation of what you truly are inside. All inner thoughts that you have ever had or things that you keep tucked away, I am all of it. I was created for the sole purpose of assisting you on your journey to bringing justice to this universe and whatever you decide to do in life. Inner Khan said as he finished his explanation.
"Wowzers! that's a lot to take in!" Khan said as he held his chin and began thinking. Then a light bulb lit up in his head. "O-o-h, NOW I get it! So I can think of you like the twin brother I never had!" the Dawnbreaker said, excited at the prospect of having a sibling like version of himself.
I guess you can think of me like that. The only difference being that twins are 100% alike. However me and you are technically the same person, just in different forms. Inner Khan replied as he honestly kind of liked the idea of having a twin brother. He then pointed at the four doors and explained My purpose is to help you UNLOCK these doors and to guide you in your journey. I open the doors when you are both physically and mentally ready for the gargantuan amount of powers that these doors hold. They are locked right now because you are still not ready, and door number one opened when you filled the red ring with the void in your soul, overcharging it with your twisted rage. Remember what you did to Kirk and the Green Lanterns? That was...a real dhoom, to speak.
"You observed it all..." Khan muttered.
Indeed I did, replied Inner Khan. And that's only a taste of your true potential. What you did to the greens will be child's play compared to the power that you will have access to in the future.
"You can't be serious…What could possibly be more powerful than that?!" Khan asked in disbelief. There can't possibly be anything stronger than what he did against the Green Lanterns…right?
Inner Khan just snickered. You'll find out in due time. Right now, just focus on door number two, it opened when you stepped into the Red Power Battery, supercharging yourself with a mixture of darkness and red energy. And you should go back to your reds, they need you more than ever. So talk to you later, alright!
Khan began waving his hands around. "Ek minat rukie! I still have a lot more questions..."
Inner Khan snapped his fingers and Khan vanished from the subconscious as he was now going back to the real world.
Don't worry, friend. All of your questions will be answered in time. You just have to be patient…
In the Anti-Matter Universe, Sinestro was staying at the planet Qward as he was lining up his new recruits. Most of them were soldiers of the Terran Empire, a nation of intergalactic conquerors he'd discovered upon coming to this world. And at the epicenter of them all were Captains Kirk and Spock, co-captains of a super-starship called the Narada, once Captain Spock and First Officer Kirk of the ISS Enterprise. They had a feud in the past—a feud that reminded the Korugarian greatly of his own feud with Jordan, with only one difference:Anti-Matter Spock(who was bearded, by the way) actually made efforts to make up with Anti-Matter Kirk and succeeded where Sinestro had failed. But he wouldn't fail again. This time around Sinestro avoided the sadists and murderers—these were civilized fearmongers, more like a police force made up of Batmen than its predecessor.
Another change had been made, this time in name. He didn't call it the Sinestro Corps, but rather the Yellow Lantern Corps. He hoped Jordan would like it. That kiss at Oa had brought back memories—ones he were actually very fond of, ones that went waaaay back. Ever since the being known as Harold Jordan was introduced to his life, he hated him. Sinestro wanted him gone. He took over Abin Sur's ring...and that stung him. He gave "the human", as he refered him to others, a hard time to see if he was capable of being great.
When Hal would talk back to his mentor, Sinestro would hate him even more. So much so that he would threaten him. Hal laughed in his face, unable to fear a pink-skinned man who donned a clean cut mustache. Unable to contain himself, he started following Hal and physically harming him. At first it started with a push here, or a shove there. Then he started forcing himself on him, even kissing him at one point.
Sinestro didn't want to admit he wanted the human. He wanted the feeling to go away. Vanish. But it stayed, in fact, it flourished. Whenever he would have an opportunity to take a glance of the very handsome being before him, he would. He was always on his mind. No matter how much he hated him, he wanted Hal. No matter where he was, his thoughts were always of Hal. Thaal Sinestro was in love with Hal Jordan.
~FLASHBACK~
Green Lantern Sinestro wandered around the pristine Oan hallways, and tried to shake his (((feelings))) away by praying to an ancient Korugarian deity that he had little to no faith in. (Sorry, had to come up with a decent replacement for the Virgin Mary.)
Hellfire-Mark Strong
Beata Sarea,
You know I am a righteous man,
Of my virtue I am justly proud.
(Et tibit Lumina)
Beata Sarea,
You know I'm so much purer than,
The common, vulgar, weak, licentious crowd!
(Quia peccavi nimis)
Then tell me, Sarea,
Why I see him fighting there,
Why his smold'ring eyes still scorch my soul,
(Cogitatione)
I feel him, I see him,
The stars caught in his earthly hair,
Is blazing in me out of all control!
(Verbo et opere)
Like fire,
Hellfire,
This fire in my skin,
This burning,
Desire,
Is turning me to sin!
It's not my fault!
(Mea culpa)
I'm not to blame!
(Mea culpa)
It is the human boy,
The witch who sent this flame!
(Mea maxima culpa)
It's not my fault!
(Mea culpa)
If in God's plan,
(Mea culpa)
They made the devil so much stronger than a man!
(Mea maxima culpa)
Protect me, Sarea,
Don't let the siren cast his spell,
Don't let his fire sear my flesh and bone!
Destroy Jordan,
And let him taste the fires of Hell!
Or else let him be mine and mine alone!
Hellfire,
Dark fire,
Now, human, it's your turn,
Choose me or,
Your pyre,
Be mine or you will burn!
(Kyrie Eleison)
Gods have mercy on him,
(Kyrie Eleison)
Gods have mercy on me,
(Kyrie Eleison)
But he will be mine,
Or he will burn!
As he finished his singing, Thaal fell to his knees, arms wrapped around himself. "Omigosh! I think...I really do love him!" he gasped out in realization.
~END FLASHBACK~
And after a confessing session full of tears and a particularly passionate night, they had made it official as soon as possible—humans would call their relationship a "May-December romance", an instance of the romantic involvement of two parties between whom there is a considerable age difference. Hell, some would say they went too far—Thaal was already making a big name for himself as a Green Lantern when Hal wasn't even born! Even after the falling out on Korugar and the creation of the First Yellow Corps back in the dead universe, the old flame burned on still, and what happened on Oa only confirmed it. He wanted Hal Jordan still, and wanted to make it all up to him, this time with no indigo ring to induce those emotions. The thing that drove Thaal to create a new-and-improved army of fear was something his love told him shortly before their home universe was destroyed:
If a building is falling down, fix it. Don't tear it down and rebuild. If someone is in danger, help them. Don't rearrange the entire society so they'll never be in danger again. It's where you keep going wrong, honestly.
Indeed, love was the most powerful emotion in the whole entire universe, and the Yellow Lantern could feel Parallax chirping in agreement from inside him. If only some very logical somebody knew that...
The Enterprise had been towed to Starbase Yorktown for repairment. Commodore Paris, the superintendent of the starbase, had decided to aid the heroic crew in locating Khan, and rescuing the missing crewmembers. Uhura and John were still trying to wrap their heads around the disaster that occurred, while Guy, McCoy and Kilowog were drinking it all away at the local bar. Ferris looked mad-mad, the looks on her face indicated that she just wanted to fly off to wherever Khan was and beat the living daylights out of him, and Scotty was struggling to calm her down. Sulu had been reunited with his husband Ben and daughter Demora, and they were comforting him right now, considering how important Chekov was to Sulu.
Right now, Sulu was distraught. He had realized that he truly loved Pavel Chekov after losing him. Oh, how he loved his Pavel. Ever since that day he first saw him at the Academy. Sweet, sweet Pavel. Sulu swore that when he found Khan, he will never forgive him. He just hoped his Pavel was alive.
Meanwhile, Spock cast a glance at Hal and Kirk, who were having a little conversation and felt a surge of jealousy. He tried his best to repress the emotion to no avail. The truth was, Spock had been in love with Kirk for quite some time now, and recently, he had to rethink his sexual preferences, to put it in human terms, he had realized that he was gay and he wondered if his relationship with Uhura was to hide the fact that he was gay. The whole thing reminded him of that time on the Bryant, when he was about to die and his captain was pleading for his life. Could it be love? If so...
His mind flashed back to one year ago, to the moment where Kirk had taken him out to watch an 21st Century Earth movie, shortly after Krall's defeat.
~FLASHBACK~
The movie was highly controversial by 21st Century standards, yet pretty bold for even those of the 23rd Century. It was about a young woman with an electronic brain who fell in love with a giant alien robot, directed by none other than the legendary Leyenar Oh herself. After a lot of action and debate, they finally reached the end.
"Mawwiage. Mawwiage is wot bwings us togedew today. Mawwiage, that bwessed awwangement, that dweam wifin a dweam..."
"Jim, this movie is illogical." said Spock. "Though there are some things that hold the slightest bit realism technologically speaking, all of this movie is terribly false. How can a human possibly love a machine, which clearly cannot reciprocate her feelings towards it? How can it possibly act as her companion, her lover?"
"The dweam of wuv wapped wiffin the gweatew dweam of evewasting west. Etewnity is ouw fwiend, wemembew dat, and wuv, twu wuv, wiww fowwow you fowevah..."
"C'mon, Spock." said Kirk. "What happened to infinite diversity in infinite combinations? Leyenar Oh believed that love came in all shapes and sizes. Hell, she was married to a fictional character herself!" Spock understood; the love story of Leyenar Oh and Grand Admiral Thrawn was recognized as something groundbreaking and show-stopping while the Vulcan had found it illogical.
"So tweasuwe youw wuv..."
Kirk held Spock's hand gently, not knowing a bit that hand-holding was like kissing to Vulcans. "Love will always triumph over logic. That was the message she wished to deliver."
And as he finished speaking, he saw that his half-Vulcan friend was flushed a lovely green shade.
~END FLASHBACK~
Suddenly, he heard Yorktown's defense systems whirr to life. Everyone rushed over to the superintendent's office to see what was happening, and it was none other than a Klingon warbird with her forward weapons powered up. Commodore Paris got a transmission and put it on, and the image of a Klingon in full battle gear appeared on the vid screen.
"This is Commodore Paris, superintendent of Starbase Yorktown. You have entered restricted space. Why are you here?" she asked, and the Klingon began speaking in Klingon. "Oh, no, this is bad." she said.
"What's the matter?" asked Hal.
"Lantern Jordan, I believe he's after...you." replied Commodore Paris.
Already the Yorktown defense systems were doing their work and Kirk said "Permission to engage that Klingon ship."
"Permission granted. Make sure that you capture the commanding officers and bring them aboard." replied Commodore Paris, and in no time at all, Kirk was outside in full Lantern gear.
"You are in violation of the Klingon/Federation treaty. You will remove yourself from Federation Space or we will fire upon you and view this as an act of war." said Kirk, but the Klingon refused to listen and the warbird began firing at the intrepid captain.
Kirk retaliated by sending an energy blade that split the ship in half, but left the commanding officers unharmed and brought them back alive as Commodore Paris had ordered him. As soon as they were in, Uhura interrogated them and turns out the commanding officers, Captain Tirrok and his daughter First Officer Shenara, were still loyal to Sinestro and wanted to prove their worth by killing their emperor's biggest enemy, Hal Jordan.
"Lock them up." Commodore Paris ordered. "Maybe we could use them in case that...Sinestro...returns."
"Hal, are you alright?" asked Kirk.
"I'm fine, Jim." replied Hal. "I'm just curious what Sinestro will think when he hears of the whole deal."