[ Superboy vs The Justice League, II ]
KRA-KROOOM!!
The power struggle between the Boy of Steel and the Man with Unmatchable Will Power ends with an eruption of critically charged energy. Kon-EL is sent flipping uncontrollably toward the Earth's atmosphere, while Hal goes propelling toward the city street. The lantern landed with enough force to create a crater that nearly reached both ends of the block, and left him groaning briefly before drifting off into unconsciousness.
"Guaaagh! Come on, come on..." Though his momentum was great, he promptly ceased movement by using his tactile-telekinesis to come to a hard stop. He takes a moment to study the aftermath, and finds it favorable. Mostly. He knows very well that thunderous explosion will undoubtedly attract more undesirable attention. More space cops. He pulls back, retreating just above cloud-level.
It's then he hears Green Arrow's voice again.
[ "Superboy. Superboy!" ]
[ "I'm here, I'm here. No worries." ]
[ "Phew, thought you might've heroically bit the dust. Are you okay?" ]
[ "Oh, definitely! Superboy doesn't go down so easily, you know. Anyway, what about you? Do you need help?" ]
[ "Me? No, not at all. I made a clean getaway. Heard AND felt that explosion, though. Almost decided to turn back to see what happened." ]
[ "Ah, nothing much. Just put the lanterns down for naptime. Putting some between myself and the mess left behind." ]
[ "Smart! Would be doing the same in your shoes. More of them will come swarming in before you know it." ] Upon Ollie's words, Connor's telescope-vision picks up on a large unit of lanterns moving in on their unconscious companions. The kryptonian turns and takes off, flying in a straight line at mild speed.
[ "Yeah, no kidding… What's going on with this place, anyway? Where's Superman?" ]
[ "Well, to keep it sweet simple, the Green Lantern Corp. is what happened. Lost their base of operations and decided to settle here on Earth. Many of us have fought the good fight against them, but there's been heavy losses. Superman was one of them. He fought long and with heart, but… Even he could fight off so many Lanterns for so long. We fought with him, but the greens have amassed an unstoppable army. We just couldn't win with a direct approach." ]
[ "...Is… he dead?" ]
[ "Doomsday." ]
[ "What?" ]
[ "I think those rings are capable of manipulating the wearer. Doomsday was wearing one when they sent him out…" ]
[ "The Green Lanterns got Doomsday to… to.." ]
[ "Yeah. . . the fodder softened him up more than enough." ] After those words, silence bled in. Superbly was processing what he was told, and not digesting it well at all. A sickening feeling hits the depth of his stomach, while his eyes emit a tiny smoldering glow of red.
[ "Superboy? ]
[ "Where?" ]
[ "Huh, where wha--" ]
[ "Where do they operate? Where is the Green Lantern Corp battery?" ]
[ "In Metropolis City. Don't tell me you're about to do something crazy, kid. It's not worth it." ]
[ "That's for me to decide, Green Arrow. It was good meeting you. Take care." ]
[ "Superboy, hol--" ] And just like that, Superboy severs the mental link. With a location and goal in mind, he makes a speedy course for Metropolis. Within his capabilities, it takes but seconds to reach the city.
"What the hell?" Easing into a halt, Connor thoroughly drinks in what's in his field of vision. Bright neon green sitting at the literal center of the large town. The power core is at the heart, surrounded by a mixture of refined metal structures and buildings with practical construct attachments. It reminds him of a casino. It's isolated from the rest of the town by a tall, square-ish wall around its perimeter. Heavily infested with Green Lanterns, as well. As expected. Even so, he was prepared to follow through with his scheme. He does.
He begins moving again, gradually accelerating as he gets into a pattern of flying in a consistent giant circle. Moments in, a breeze forms. That breeze then escalates to a strong flow of wind. That strong wind then ascends into a powerful vacuum suction -- a formidable tornado takes form over the entire Lantern base, pulling at everyone and every object that wasn't properly nailed down. Startled screams and yelling could be heard. Yet, this wasn't even the worse of it. The aura of Kon-EL's telekinesis forms around him again, granting an incredible boost in speed. A red tint bleeds into the tornado as it triples in size and strength. Every lantern in the area was inevitably dragged in. By then, Superboy slips out of his pattern, out of the current of his own creation, and dives toward the base of it. It takes great effort to get his boots to the ground. The tactile aspect of his unique power allows him to stick without issue. With a skyward swipe of his hand, he orchestrates the mass tornado to 'leap' and shoot all within its relentless hold straight up and into space.
"Nowin for the fun part." That same aura intensifies around him and drowns his eyes in pools of illuminating red again. He takes off, repeating his initial process, but on a world-sized scale. With no time to waste, the kryptonian puts every bit of effort into his flight. Lips peeling as his pearly whites clench shut. His fists outstretched before him while making his first loop around in nearly ten seconds. The next shaves off two more seconds. The third cuts down to four seconds. Then he reaches max speed by his fourth lap, dropping to a sheer 0.9 seconds. Once he's got that pace consistent, he moves a mere ten feet over to his right, then--
SSSKKRRSSSHHH!!!
Like the world's deadliest neon red bullet, Kon-EL penetrates through the giant Lantern Battery. Large broken fragments go flying and tumbling onto the ground, sounding as if lightning itself was striking the earth. He rams through another spot, then another, and another in his many go-arounds of the world. Each lap trims away at the core structure and buildings surrounding it. He keeps going until it's far too unstable to remain standing, and finally collapses into itself. With a satisfactory job well done, Superboy brings himself to a stop above the city's ocean, a viewpoint that provides an excellent sight of a base of operations brought to ruin.
"Hell yeah!" Kon-EL exclaims, his arms lifting in unity to fold across his torso.
"You're IN for a world of hell, you little punk! This is the last thing you'll ever do!!" The one and only Hal Jordan of this nightmare world promises with evident rage. Turning to look the Lantern's way, it's there he sees the massive and imposing collection of ring bearers behind the older Hal Jordan. They looked to be in the hundreds, possibly even over a thousand of them. Usually, his better judgement would insist on a strategic retreat, but it was clouded by emotion. Anger. Resentment. Confusion.
He didn't have a desire to slaughter them, just a strong want to know why they would resort to such behavior. To beat some sense into half of them for what they put this world's Kal-EL through.
Was this a winnable fight? That wasn't a concern.
"You want another piece of me, old timer!? Bring it! I'll take on every last one of you, chumps!" Superboy barks, turning toward them completely with body language that made it very clear he was ready… Itching for another fight.
With naught but an agitated growl, Hal doesn't bother with another word. He charges right for Superboy with absolute malice on his face. In turn, Kon-EL breaks the sound barrier as he takes off and charges right for the bold Lantern in kind. Just as the two were about to meet a middle point, Superboy's entirety vanishes into thin air. For the kryptonian, the scenery of a night sky filled with glowing and pissed-off Green Lanterns returns to the Hall of Justice's briefing room.
"Who, what, where!?!?" Nearly jumping out of his seat, looks around in high alert. His adrenaline still pumping. The Father Box rings at him, informing that he's been sitting motionless for five minutes
"What? No I wasn't.. I was away for at least twenty minutes! I was also just about to deck that guy in the face! Wha… what happened?" He asks. The Father Box rings again.
"Huh…?" The young man reaches to touch his face again, noting the truth behind what the Father Box told him. Laying neatly folded in front of him were the golden glasses.
"It levitated off my face on its own?" Another ring from the box.
"Screw that! I wanna' talk, but mostly beat some sense into that Hal Jordan!" He enthuses, hastily reaching to unfold, lift, and place the Specs of the Truth Seeker back onto his face. However, instead of a starry night, he's greeted by the brilliant ray of sunlight and plummeting toward a city street and the six individuals standing below.
"Oh crap!" He yelps, just catching himself just before landing on someone. He carefully adjusts himself and levitates onto solid ground. There, six pairs of eyes shift onto him. Women in armor -- Amazons to his left, and US military officials to his right. Further examination gives more context. One that wasn't too promising at all. Armies were gathered behind those in the center. Massive, yet at a great distance.
"This.. This isn't what I think it is, is it?" Superboy asks with a sheepish look.
"Son, what the HELL do you think you're doing at a crucial time like this!?" One of the general-esque men to his right barks.
"Oh? You're familiar with this one, then? Men's world is…. Awfully full of odd surprises. If you were hoping to ambush me, I think you should've put your hopes into someone more competent, General Lane." A familiar feminine voice snags Superboy's attention.
"Diana?"
"This wasn't an attempt at your life. He's not one of ours at all." The man explains to Amazon who was presently setting her helmet onto her head again
"Easy, alright? No harm was done."
"Yet. Should you keep delaying the inevitable, your precious land will run red with the blood of your army, leaders, and even loved ones. Test the patience of my kindness at your own peril, General Lane." Diana explains calmly, though the air of certainty emits off her person like an invisible aura. Her sharp eyes then turn to the newcomer.
"And that's Princess Diana to YOU, boy. I don't know where you came from, but it is obvious you're different. Nonetheless, I advise you to trust in the general's leadership and make yourself scarce."
"...Are you trying to intimidate America? You expect these people to bow and be subject to your will?"
"Son…." The general softly calls out.
"Yes, that is exactly why I am here. I came to conquer Man's world, and no amount of negotiation will change that. However, it is up to your kind to decide if it'll be peaceful, or by a blood bath. Your decision makes little difference to me."