Our Darkest Hour
Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to DC or Marvel. I own my OCs.
Chapter 8: The Front
Black Lantern Crisis dove in from above, attempting to turn his girlfriend into one of the undead Black Lantern. Troia stepped in front of him and landed a powerful blow, sending him flying across the sky. Farrah shouted,
"Donna, don't hurt him!"
The remaining Black Lanterns moved in to engage the League in Metropolis. Guy Gardner shook his head,
"Sorry about this, Fire."
He unleashed a powerful emerald beam from his ring. It was a direct hit, sending the now undead Fire through a building. Bea's normally green flames were jet black and extinguished. Black Lantern War Machine attempted to fire his weapon systems, but Superman barreled in and, grabbing War Machine, hurtled him into the undead Arsenal and Satana.
Deadpool looked around and shrugged,
"Huh? Are you serious? Well, I guess it's up to me!"
He swung his swords and charged at Wonder Woman. Diana deflected the sword strikes with her bracelets; each hit a clanging of metals. Deadpool grinned,
"Now, this is what I'm talking about! I'm actually going to win this!"
Diana grabbed him and said,
"You talk too much."
She picked him up and threw him to the ground. Deadpool looked up from the crater and groaned,
"Owie. That hurt."
Batman fired a grappling line, attempting to bait Arsenal when he noticed something. While many of the undead Black Lanterns had the appearance of decay and rot, several members of the Howling Commandos had not appeared that way at all. Only their clothes and skin had taken darker and paler complexions, and he thought of an idea. What if the more wholesome members of the Black Lantern Corps were being controlled rather than resurrected?
Arsenal had recovered and was laying his sights on the Dark Knight, an aura of will, hope and fear springing to life. As the archer was about to fire, however, Flash grabbed his bow and broke it. Roy lunged for Flash, but surprisingly, it was Sinestro to the rescue when he fire his yellow beam at Arsenal, instantly vaporizing him and his ring.
Barry turned, but Sinestro had his arms already folded, with an expression on his face that read he could not be bothered with gratitude. Instead, the focus became on stopping the remaining members of the Black Lantern Corps.
And, the battle in Metropolis was not the only battle being waged in the war on the Black Lantern Corps. The Teen Titans had their encounter with Black Lanterns, and Dove was being put on the front line. (1)
Another battle that was brewing was in the Sahara desert. All the different people that took the mantle of Cheetah were waging a war with Captain America, Wonder Man, Tigra, Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, Ice, Hippolyta, Artemis, Arlington, and the newest Cheetah, Marie. Bast, now a member of the Black Lantern Corps, was leading this front, as well as Princess Audrey, now in command of undead soldiers that had been resurrected as well.
It was here that the Grim Reaper made his appearance, after shortly conferring with Scar. The former Lethal Legion leader appeared suddenly right behind Wonder Man and grinned maliciously,
"Hello, brother."
Simon turned and was stunned at what he saw,
"Eric, is that-?"
Before another syllable could be uttered, Grim Reaper unleashed his scythe on his brother. The scythe attacked missed, but barely, as Wonder Man dodged it and tried to reason with his undead brother,
"Stop this, Eric. The Black Lantern is controlling you."
Eric still had that haunted glow about him,
"I know, and you and the feline bitch will be joining us."
His mouth widened inhumanly as two more black rings escaped his maw. One went onto Tigra's hand, while the other went onto Wonder Man's. The two began to change into Black Lantern Corps members.
Booster Gold caught this and said,
"Uh, Ted; I hate to break this to you, but your wife just joined their side."
Ted looked back and Tigra, now a Black Lantern, could see Ted's emotional spectrum; a mix of love and fear, as well as compassion, appearing. Tigra purred a haunting tone,
"Don't worry, Teddy. Join me, and we'll be together beyond death."
She made a leap at the stunned Blue Beetle, but Captain America slammed his shield at the tigress. Bast saw this and, charging Captain America, roared in ghastly fury,
"Mortal, you shall die for that!"
A thunderous shout came next, and Captain America, as well as the others, had thought Thor was joining the battle. He was not.
It was Black Adam.
The once proud ruler of Khandaq was now a man consumed with rage. He had been hunting for Hecate, the dragon that destroyed his nation. Having not found her, he turned his bloody rage onto the Black Lantern Corps. The Black Lanterns could see his rage light up bright red when they sensed his emotional aura, and it was very evident from the living members of the Justice League.
Marie winced,
"He's pissed."
Arlington asked sarcastically,
"Whatever gave you that idea?"
Meanwhile…
Above the Earth, hidden from view, Scar could see John Stewart and Fatality returning to Earth. It would not be long before the being that activated the Orange Lantern would be here as well. She seemed to talk to no one in particular as she said,
"They are all coming to Earth. You know what that means."
A disembodied voice said,
"They will be consumed in the void of death and darkness, as it was written."
The faint outline of a creature that Scar was speaking to seemed to appear, but, given the darkness of space, it was hard to tell. Scar continued,
"Perhaps, but will you be consumed by the light?"
The creature chuckled,
"No, for I am Void, creature of darkness, and forever unleashed upon the Earth now that Sentry is dead!"
Next Chapter:
The effort to stop the Black Lanterns continue, as some members of the Justice League gain rings in their quest! Stay tuned, fellow readers!
Please Read Our Darkest Hour: Titans for more info.