Our Darkest Hour
Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to DC or Marvel. I own Farrah/Persiana and Leon/Crisis.
Chapter 7: Avarice Reborn!
Alex Luthor was once a hero in his native Anti-Matter universe. There, he was the only hero left in a war against the Crime Syndikate, evil versions of the Justice League. It was through traveling to an alternative universe and trying to amass an army that Alex fell prey to his evil counterpart Lex. Killed, the scientist was now brought back to life, twisted by the Black Lantern ring. As he felt his revival, he activated his portal technology and disappeared from the universe that he had come to.
Only, this time, instead of returning to the Anti-Matter universe, he would land in another universe, and play a role in, a sort of irony behind it, the downfall of the Black Lantern Corps.
Marvel Earth, 616.01, Castle Doom, Latveria…
Alex Luthor looked down at the monitor on his wrist computer and said,
"This is not the anti-matter universe."
A voice that cut like metal bellowed
"Who dares invade the castle of Doom?!"
As Alex turned, he was leveled with a blast of energy. The undead scientist was laid flat out against a wall, falling off of a hovering disc that he had used to connect to other universes. A tall man, clad in armor, with a green hood and cape, hovered in front of him. His arms were folded and, though one could not see it, he wore an aggressive scowl. He was Victor von Doom, the insidious Doctor Doom. A master of arcane magic, as well as a brilliant scientist, Dr. Doom craved power and the defeat of his rival, Reed Richards, the Illuminati member Mr. Fantastic.
Doom glared,
"Who are you?"
Alex Luthor stood up and did a quick scan,
"Your armor and weapons are unlike anything I have seen."
Doom was also scanning the technology that the undead Alex Luthor had and noticed the interdimensional transporter,
"You are not of this plane, but I do recognize you from those Black Lanterns that came to this world a while back." (1)
He then scanned the ring, and noticed it was emitting a weak, but consistent, energy pulse. It was as if the source of the signal was so far away, that it was making it difficult for the ring to maintain contact. Doom thought,
Whatever this power is, if it can revive the dead, what other secrets does it hold?
He then said,
"Fool, give me your ring."
Alex looked back and replied,
"Take it from my cold dead hands then."
He fired a beam at Doom. The armored scientist quickly cast a ward, shrugging off the attack. Then, Doom unleashed an energy drain attack, starving Alex of any sort of power for his weapons and technology. A powerless Alex fell to the ground and Doom came to him, ripped the ring right off of his finger. The ring tried to reattach to its master, but it alas burnt out and Alex Luthor laid a rotting corpse once more. Doom quickly scanned the ring's frequency and, using Alex Luthor's technology, he activated the dimensional portal.
Once he arrived, he discovered the coordinates were out in deep space. Doom did a quick scan of the area, and noticed a similar, but different energy signature, was nearby. It was actually moving towards him and, as Doom looked up, he saw an orange light move across the vastness of space. Doom chased after it, moving with both spell and propulsion of his armor.
The dictator came closer and closer to the frequency and saw that it was a ring much like the Black Lantern's ring, but orange. Doom snatched the ring and then shouted, as if receiving a jolt of electricity right to his very soul. He yelled out,
"ALL WILL BELONG TO DOOM!"
Meanwhile…
John Stewart and Fatality were flying at the speed of light, trying to figure out how to beat this new Corps. They were flying through the stars and the galaxy as fast as they could, pushing themselves to the limit. Fatality still could not believe that her planet Xanshi was now part of this Black Lantern Corps. Her family and friends, as well as her people, were now twisted undead abominations; her once great planet a haven of undead intent on destroying all life in the universe. Was death so truly powerful that it could do this?
Green Lantern looked at Fatality. She was not living up to the Violet Lantern's image of love. John had a feeling on what it was; a mix of pain, anger, and despair. He too was feeling some of that; it was his actions that destroyed the planet in the first place. If he was not so reckless, then, maybe this would not be happening.
The two were going to keep going when, suddenly, Fatality was struck by a blinding blur. John stopped and looked on in surprise.
Robert Reynolds, the former Avenger Sentry, was now part of the Black Lantern Corps. He held Fatality in a painful backbend, his head sitting on his shoulder in a twisted fashion. His vacant, skeletal stare told it all. He said,
"Hello, Lantern."
John aimed and fired his ring at Sentry. Sentry was hit, releasing Fatality from her confinement. She then joined the fight, unleashing her violet energy at Sentry. The martial artist asked,
"Who is this?"
John answered,
"He used to be an ally."
Sentry hovered and flew right back, shouting,
"I'll feast on you both!"
He grabbed John and shouted,
"That ring cannot save you from me, Lantern!"
It was then that a sharp voice seemed to pierce the vastness of space, and a force separated the two of them. Black Lantern Sentry turned and saw a bald, purple-skinned woman, wearing what appeared to be primitive tribal clothing and clutching a staff. The staff contained a symbol that looked to be part of another Corps.
Fatality was surprised,
"The Indigo Tribe."
John looked at her,
"You know who they are?"
Yrra nodded,
"Yes, my people have heard of hermits that live on a small planet, bound by a strange energy on that planet. They are compassionate, albeit weary of strangers."
The bald woman stared icily at Sentry as the undead former Avenger turned and charged the mysterious woman,
"You shall be the first!"
The woman raised her staff and shouted in an alien tongue, one John did not seem to understand, but Fatality seemed to pick up on. The staff glowed mysteriously, as a beam of indigo light shot from it. The light made contact with the undead Lantern and instantly vaporized him.
Then, the woman turned and, bowing before the two other Lanterns, began to speak in the same mysterious alien tongue. Yrra replied back, and, from John's guess, it was to explain that he did not understand the language. The woman raised her staff again and, this time, the Green Lantern ring activated and a small energy pulse was sent into the staff. The woman from the Indigo Tribe said,
"Is that better, John Stewart of Earth?"
John looked at her and was about to ask how she knew that, but the woman said,
"We have heard much of your adventures, Green Lantern. This new Black Lantern Corps must be stopped at all costs. Their intention is to perverse life as we know it."
She then added,
"As you are unaware of who we are, you may call me Indigo-1. I lead the Indigo Tribe, and I offer all the assistance we can muster to fight this new threat."
John stared at her for a moment, trying to get a read on her. His instincts as a soldier were conflicted; though they could use more people to fight, he was still leery of trusting her with what he knew.
That changed when the ring delivered a report,
"Numerous ring spectrums have been activated. Several are on route to Earth."
Yrra asked,
"Numerous? The battle will take place on Earth?"
Indigo-1 nodded,
"Yes, it would appear so. My people have heard of the planet, and have told stories that it is a focal point of all the events that are to come in this universe."
The ring continued,
"Alert; Orange Ring has been activated. Repeat; Orange Ring has been activated and is currently bound to a being of immense power. Being is on route to Earth."
John said,
"We have to get to Earth right now. There's no telling what will happen if that new Orange Lantern reaches Earth."
Next Chapter:
The battle rages on as the Justice League takes on numerous Black Lantern Corps cells! Stay tuned, fellow readers!
This happened in Black and White