CLVIII
The Flowers of Oa
The hard deed that Raven was tasked to perform as the Champion of Magic couldn't be done in front of Barbara… not now. She loved her new sister far too much for such bitter truths to be revealed. So instead, Raven had taken the easy way out and teleported Barbara to Themyscira with Clark and Diana - if only to spare her from this. Barbara would be upset with her... but still blissfully ignorant of the true crimes of the Oans, for now.
"In time, Barbara…"
And now, in the morning sun of Kahndaq, one lone Champion faced the remaining thirty-two members of the Green Lantern Corps - as the sudden chill in the air set against her bright, amber eyes. The sky behind her changed, as a storm gathered to her purpose.
Thunder clouds formed in the north, congregating like a furious, grey night behind Raven, while her face grew grim - staring across the sky at twelve blue Guardians. This was a day of reckoning for them as a cold wind now whipped the dust, smoke and sand across her cloak of lightning.
The mood had changed.
It was Ganthet who cautiously floated forward.
"There is a curious turn in the atmosphere just now, Mrs. Wayne. It has caused my Oan brothers to feel… some concern. Our thoughts buzz like frightened schoolchildren when we regard this new and powerful thing you have become."
"I know."
Every single thought and emotion of all the Lanterns and Guardians were continually revealed like a live performance to Raven. With her own empathy and the twin Goddesses of the Seen and Unseen lending their power to her, the souls before Raven were fully revealed … and Ganthet's use of the word 'concern' was vastly understated.
In reality, they were all terrified of her…
Raven knew that Ganthet would try to reason with her. The Guardians had continued this charade for eons, why stop now? She also knew that Ganthet was beginning to suspect that she knew, but the Oan couldn't allow himself to admit that fact. He had no idea just how powerful she had become and would attempt to determine it.
He did not know his fate had already been sealed.
"… Then perhaps you share our power of telepathy, Mrs. Wayne?... Interesting… We Oans did not gain the power of thought projection until after the Paix Arcana. We believe it was the acquisition of the twin Goddesses which granted us this ability."
"And how is that the Guardians gained these abilities from the captive Gods of Maltus, Ganthet? None of you wear Rings…"
"No, but we Guardians may use the power of the Green Lanterns, even without a Power Ring. We are connected with the Central Power Battery."
"This power… flows through you then?"
"I suppose you could say it does. Over the centuries, our bodies have adapted to store and use this unique power. You could say that our bodies have become our Rings."
"Yes… that could be said. Was it necessary to affix two newborn Goddesses with Needles of Fate to the crucifixes of Maltus?"
"The Paix Arcana was necessary to protect…"
"You bartered with the lives of Gods for your own needs, Guardian… and Darkseid played you all for fools because of it... He used your fear and your greed against you to gain the power he needed. Even that long ago, I believe he may have even suspected your true natures."
Twenty Green Lanterns nervously flexed their Rings as they watched this primal force of arcane power coldly address the Guardians. None of them would ever forget how easily Raven had brought a million Manhunters crashing down to Earth, or how she had stood against omnipotent Darkseid. Ganthet remained calm.
"Our true nature is simply to survive. Our once glorious world of Maltus was reduced to barren rubble when the Gods of magic railed against us. Look around you Raven, the atrocities which happened to your world this day by Darkseid pale to those suffered by my people. Maltus perished that day - by a power we could have never dreamt possible… Yes, the Paix Arcana was necessary."
"How strange that both our sad tales begin with an army of Manhunters, Ganthet. Your obedient Manhunters who slew the Gods of Old and a God's Manhunters who then slew the Maltusians.
The Guardians always explained that it was an accident… an error in their programming, that your machines would attack Gods in this way.
But it wasn't an error, Ganthet… In truth, the Maltusians couldn't bear the existence of Gods. It was contrary to your reason… your precious logic. During Ragnarok, the leaders of Maltus saw their chance - and sent the Manhunters to actively destroy the Old Gods."
"… It is true. What are the Gods if not criminals? If not abominations of creation? No living thing should be above the laws of a rational Universe. Sentient life was meant to transgress the primitive belief of the divine… and yet the divine existed!"
"And even though you sought their extinction, it was still a deity who saved you… Who showed you how even Gods could be subdued. Wise Metron… And how was it that you repaid him for this service when all seemed lost, Ganthet? Is there an altar upon Oa to his merciful name?"
Ganthet looked at Raven strangely. She knew far too much…
"Since you are so well versed, you know that there are no altars on Oa, Raven... But do we ask that altars be built on the planets now protected by the Green Lantern Corps? Do we ask for compensation, for reverence, for reward, for temples?
We simply serve Order and Life. We are not beings of Faith, we simply are. Do not be so rash to judge us for the perceived mistakes of our past… that account has now been settled by Darkseid's bitter treachery upon us…
Indeed, look before you, Champion… But for a few of our brethren who fell under the dark God's spell on Oa, this is the very last of the Green Lantern Corps you see before you. The ones who survived… As for those who did not, you may find them lying upon the surface of this alien world and more upon bloodied Oa.
You may have paid the price of immortality, but realize that my fallen brothers have paid more. And now, it is with heavy hearts that we must return to Oa, knowing that we persecute our own kind as traitors in this noble cause. Our battle here is done, but out trials are far from over…"
Raven smiled as she lifted her white cloak - the first streak of lightning creased the sky behind her, hiding her face in shadows against that pure white light - with only the whites of her grinning teeth still visible. From across the Sea, Raven heard Barbara trying to convince Clark to return here.
To return and prevent her from being the condemning Voice of the Gods.
"Your trials are indeed very far from over. Let us depart for Oa."
Using the Omega Effect, Raven teleported all twenty Green Lanterns and twelve Guardians to Oa, with nothing more than her will and a thought. They had meant to depart without her, but justice had yet to be served.
While not on the level of her deceased father - who had been able to teleport an entire nation with nothing more than the wave of his hand – Raven had still become so much stronger as the Champion. Teleporting this small group across the Universe was now child's play. Oa was the appropriate place to pronounce their sentence.
Twenty-three seconds later on Earth, as Clark flew overhead, he would see these words being scrawled into a lifeless desert by an invisible hand. While Raven and the Green Lantern Corps had already travelled light-years away, Raven would use the power of Selene to leave him a message in the sand…
'I will explain it all to Barbara soon. Do not worry. Take care of her, Kal-El. - Raven'
Clark knew that there was nothing that he – or anyone else – could ever do to stop Raven now.
On Oa, Raven had been prepared for the horror that awaited them…
But the Guardians were now caught completely unaware of what had occurred when they had been forced to flee for their lives.
The carnage the Manhunters had wrought was now only a bloody backdrop to the ironic vengeance of six angry Gods.
As they appeared in the Council Chambers of their home world, the surviving Oans gasped in disbelief – to now witness the terrible and final fate of Khamett and his traitorous co-conspirators. To witness the Guardians who had bowed before Darkseid and met divine retribution… a final look of terror frozen upon their faces.
The same look that now reflected upon their living companions.
"They… They have been… petrified!"
The last thirty-two members of the once-mighty Green Lantern Corps gazed upon the strange scene before them – hundreds of bodies of the dead Guardians that had been cut down by vicious Manhunter beams were laid across the Council Chambers - while Khamett and his corrupt engineers stood as eternal witnesses to this genocide.
They had been turned to stone.
A Guardian named Herupa Hando Hu suddenly issued a psionic command to the shocked Lanterns, his mind now teetering upon the edge of sanity at the sight before him.
Stop her! She means to kill us!
Although she too had heard the command, Raven had no need to move – as she calmly stood on the rubble-strewn floor of the Council Chambers amidst the statues as twenty Green Lanterns above suddenly pointed their Power Rings down at her – their eyes filled with narrowing fear.
But not a single green spark could be seen before twelve Guardians and twenty Green Lanterns suddenly plummeted through the air - as the Champion of Magic removed all their stolen emerald power and held it within her grasp, her hand glowing with green energy.
Raven watched their vain attempts to make their rings work as they fell… only to be suddenly spared from crashing into the polished stone by mere inches. With telekinesis, she then allowed the blue-skinned Guardians to slip the last few inches to the stone, while she gently brought the twenty still-floating Lanterns before her.
"Green Lanterns… I am Raven Wayne, Champion of Magic. No harm will come to you. You are to bear witness to the judgement rendered against these Guardians, but shall not be held accountable for their deeds. You have acted with pure hearts and noble cause, even though your sworn brethren was so easily discarded by these callous masters.
For too long the Guardians have sent emerald soldiers into the jaws of death, against enemies they knew they could never defeat. Thousands of your brothers and sisters have been sacrificed needlessly to a cause the Council hasn't cared about since the forgotten days of Maltus.
It will not be allowed to continue any longer. From this moment onwards, you will never again heed the commands of the Guardians. It is time that you took the seats of the Council while you finally hear the truth."
Raven sent the remaining twenty Guardians floating to the seats of power along the Council Chambers - while hundreds of Oan corpses also floated upwards through the Council Chamber. The dead bodies rose, and gently disappeared through the hole in the ceiling that Darkseid had formed when he had attacked the hapless Guardians.
Raven would not conduct this trial within a morgue. She stood before the Green Lanterns and once again faced the standing Guardians.
"You will tend to your dead."
Ganthet brushed off his red robe from the dust of the floor where he had landed.
"Yes, but shall we be among them, Raven?"
"I do not seek to harm you… I am here solely as the Voice of the Gods, Ganthet. But you will answer for your crimes."
The Guardian Herupa once again lashed out in protest - only this time verbally.
"Crimes?! Does this girl presume the right to judge us?! Us… the oldest race of sentient life in the Universe? To condemn our actions while our eternal brethren lay dead upon the soil of her world, having paid the final price for its salvation from a mad God…"
"No, Herupa Hando Hu. I will not judge you. It is the six Gods who have judged you. I am simply their Messenger."
"Gods…" Herupa spat the word like profanity. "We've had enough of the Gods… Which Gods condemn us now?"
"The very Gods you condemned upon Maltus, Herupa Hando Hu… Selene, Hecate, Ananke, Zareah, Abraxas and Metron."
A moment of utter silence passed as Raven let the answer sink in… Until each of the twelve Guardians came to the final realization that the Gods they had imprisoned upon Maltus had now been freed.
And had already taken stony vengeance upon Khamett and his followers.
"The Guardians of Oa have profaned and assaulted these Gods… Each of you are nothing more than parasites spouting righteous doctrine while you have fed upon divine blood. Those who had accepted Darkseid's hand in fealty have already been judged… And now they may share in Darkseid's final reward."
Ganthet went pale as hope itself drained from him.
"Raven… how could you allow this?! We only sought to live, yet you have permitted these murders!"
"Permitted?... My powers are not so vast as to prevent what happened here. My sight may extend across the Universe so that I bore witness this final sentence Ganthet, but my opinion of it mattered little to the six supreme judges… And my ability to affect that outcome mattered even less..."
Ganthet had yet to realize that the Fate of the remaining Guardians had already been set by the hands of Fate.
"Then… to them we must enter our pleas. I answer with what we have done for the cause of Life and Order in this shared Universe. As you see, our ranks have been decimated, our future placed into disastrous jeopardy. And yet, we shall continue our noble cause if allowed."
Raven quickly glanced at the handful of twenty Green Lanterns behind her, the last twenty (save for one) that remained in existence.
"The Guardians callously sacrificed a thousand of your own at Trigon's altar with little hesitation… and less afterthought. Was this your noble cause? To Darkseid, you Guardians were nothing more than unsuspecting accomplices, easily fooled…"
"Yes, yes we are not without fault or failure… but our successes now lie incarcerated beneath your feet, Raven Wayne. Even your Gods must realize that the Corps fought and detained many of the greatest threats the Universe has ever faced…
Do your Gods comprehend how we safeguarded existence before they were even created? Can your Gods truly understand our eternal endeavours?"
"The Gods understand your endeavours very well, Ganthet. When last we spoke, you told me that the end justifies the means."
"Exactly... In the end, we have performed our sworn duty, even if our means were questionable from certain… viewpoints."
"Yet… there was no end for the Guardians. There was only the means. As immortals, you denied death at any cost."
"Has this become a discussion of ethics, Champion? We are creatures of logic…"
"…You are vampires. You feed upon divine blood. Your hearts perished long ago, when the third Goddess was added to the crucifix. The only thing that has kept the Guardians alive these countless years was the stolen energy of imprisoned Gods…"
"…All living things require energy, Raven."
"But no living thing requires only energy, Ganthet. Only the Undead exist solely on magic. You plead that the colour of our banner was once similar, but endless time has faded its dye. Those same values that the Guardians declared to justify their stolen immortality have been only cheapened by their own lust for life and power."
A scene that the Oans had not witnessed for eons now played in the air before them.
It was an optical illusion of the Guardians' discovery of immortality… analyzed from the first two Goddesses fixed to the cross with Metron's Needles. The Maltusians had established that Gods were alive, yet they could live forever. But how?...
And then they discovered how to utilize this emerald energy that had once been only called "magic" to make themselves immortal.
They had discovered the relationship of Fate and their own mortality. The Maltusian race had been fatally wounded after they had attacked the Gods in the greatest Hubris…
And as a result, Maltus, and its people, now faced extinction within one generation.
But to live forever?
To feed off the lifeblood of the Gods?
To live magically?
They would need an army… Protectors.
So the Green Lantern Corps was born.
Raven snapped her fingers to end the scene - which had allowed the Lanterns behind her to understand their true purpose of their Masters.
"Ananke had to be added to the third cross in order to prevent your own deaths as prescribed by Fate. With this stolen power, and Mother Fate tangled in her own threads, each of you achieved immortality. This is the greatest of your crimes."
Ganthet became indignant.
"You would condemn us for our own survival?! We did this… because we had to. Where would we bear and raise children? Maltus was barren… and so too were we. Cursed by those same Gods who took our world. We could no longer reproduce…"
"You should have become extinct."
"Is it to be death, then Raven? Shall you murder us in cold blood by taking back the stolen power of your vengeful Gods? Will you rip the emerald blood from our ancient veins and then watch us crumble to blue dust?...
And then what of the Sciencells? What is to become of the criminals detained upon Oa if the Guardians cease to be? Shall the Gods murder them as well? Because we dared to live?!"
"You do not understand… The prisoners of Oa are dead, Ganthet. Did you truly believe that ambitious Darkseid ever cared for their lives? No… Every ounce of their power was drained into his Manhunters, leaving your Sciencells nothing more than tombs. The lives of their occupants were nothing more than a power source for the God of Tyranny… just as they had become nothing more than a power source to the Guardians of Oa. You had embarked upon a path that Darkseid knew well."
She watched as they all stood in shocked silence. They had never fully realized Darkseid's deadly ambitions. Not only had the Lord of Apokolips taken Oa from them… He had ripped out its very heart.
"Then… we are lost. We have failed in our duty. This very world shall become our grave as well."
"As it shall become the resting place of your fallen comrades, Ganthet... But you must provide them with a proper burial. It is the Gods' will. For your service against Darkseid, the Guardians shall be left with the remainder of their natural lives. But never again will they be able to draw energy from the Gods…"
"Even so… You have condemned us to die."
"As we are all condemned to die… As it was meant to be."
Raven raised her hand to the skies as a massive bolt of lightning struck the stone floor, shaking the very building in a thunderous roar. Dust clouded the entire room as all of the Guardians had been tossed to their feet… expecting sudden death.
But instead, they had received their sentence.
Scribed by the magical bolt of lightning into the stone floor beneath them was an oath much like their own.
On barren Oa, lifeless and worn,
Life from death will finally be born,
The blue Flowers of Oa, new sorrows grown,
When the final twelve dutifully bury their own.
After reading the inscription upon the floor, Ganthet stared quizzically at Raven.
"…Oa is a barren world. We may bury our dead, but no flowers shall grow here."
"They shall. The Flowers of Oa are magical. Each year, a new flower will indeed grow above the heartfelt graves of the fallen Guardians and the deceased captives of your Sciencells. These flowers will create an atmosphere for this world, for even more plant life to bloom. By burying your dead, you will create life upon this world."
"But we are only twelve old men… Our dead number in the thousands. How are we to perform such a monumental task? Are we to be the Gods' folly?"
"No. The Gods have left each of the remaining Guardians with enough energy in your Central Power Battery to allow you to see the rest of your natural lives… should you use it for that purpose. You could easily create graves with such power, although to do so would bring you closer to your own. Decide among yourselves, but each of you may only draw power equal to your remaining days."
"But… How long is that? How are we to calculate?"
"Only Fate knows the answer… I do not. Each day is a gift."
"Perhaps that is something that we had forgotten. Strange… but even when we possessed the power to do so, we Guardians never even considered transforming Oa into a living world… And yet, now we must."
"This is your penance. No Guardian will leave Oa and no Green Lantern will return until the Flowers of Oa have once again brought life back to this tragic world. Remember the fallen well and reflect upon what you have done."
Raven then turned to face the twenty Green Lanterns still seated behind her. She held up her hand which still held the glowing green energy she had removed from their Rings and released her grip – allowing the mystical energy to flow back into their Rings.
"As for the soldiers of Order… All Lanterns shall now return to their home worlds. To you, I bequeath the legacy of the Green Lantern Corps. For in time, there are those among you who will become the leaders of the Corps.
But remember well the lesson you have just witnessed, and always remember where your power comes from… it is the sacred lifeblood of Gods. Use it well, Champions, else you be judged by those Gods. Let those who worship evil's might beware your power and your light. Farewell, brave ones…"
As she smiled compassionately, realizing the trials and tribulations each of these brave souls would face, Raven teleported each of the Green Lanterns back to their individual homes.
Oa would not welcome them back until the Guardians had buried their dead.
Until then, the Guardians would have time to reflect upon life, death and their memories over the five thousand funerals that now awaited them…
"Bury your dead, Guardians… Honour and remember them. Farewell."
And with that, Raven was gone.
Author's Note:
Hardest… Chapter… Ever.
Technically, this chapter was a bastard to write… It had one of the most difficult and original characters I've ever had to deal with. And yet, I've been writing about this lovely character since Chapter Eight, one-hundred-and-fifty chapters ago…
Of course, the character is Raven.
Oh, I have a pretty good handle on Raven Wayne, the human wife of Bruce Wayne and the last survivor of Azarath.
What was confounding was Raven the Goddess who becomes Champion.
She literally is the Deus ex Machina (God from the Machine) plot device and frightening in her scope.
When the Raven we all know (and love) says "Shazam!", she doesn't just become a "superhero"… She trades in her humanity to become a Goddess. To be specific, Raven becomes a crimson New God. Let's put that in perspective, shall we? Even the creampuffs of the New Gods are physically on par with your average Amazon.
And then it gets even more frightening.
Besides being physically strong and tough, the crimson Champion has also inherited the Omega Effect from her father Trigon - which gives her full control over all matter and explains how she can teleport.
But combined with the magic of Hecate, Raven's Omega Effect has now begun to approach Trigon and Darkseid levels. And that's pretty scary. She could literally scatter the atoms of someone across the entire Universe… if she wanted to.
And then there's the power of Selene, which is basically gravitational manipulation and telekinesis… on a previously unimagined scale. This was how she easily pulled a million Psionic Control Interfaces from the Manhunters' heads, rendering them suddenly inoperative. She could even pull Superman's heart through his pores or level twenty city blocks without breaking a sweat…. if she wanted to.
And then we come to the Magic of Hecate... Not only is Raven the direct conduit of Hecate on the mortal plane, she also possesses the Wisdom of Metron… Which means that she has the equivalent of about a million years of magical study. As for powers, it was Hecate that made every Maltusian impotent before she was finally put to the Cross and then turned the traitorous Guardians to stone once freed.
Which means that Raven could do that... If she wanted to.
Having the powers of Zareah and Abraxas may not seem like much in comparison, until you look at that from a God's perspective. As a Goddess, Raven literally has the potential to become omniscient. She could literally be all-knowing. Due to our brain limitations, this would be impossible for humans of course.
But Raven is not human while she is Champion.
She's a Goddess.
Which means that she knows what you're thinking.
I just don't mean the generic "you" that seems so prevalent these days, I mean you. Each and every one of you reading this right now. She would even know how you felt about that bit of knowledge. If a child in Tanzania spoke a hopeful prayer with heartfelt conviction, Raven would know about it and could even answer it… right away… because she can teleport.
A crimson-skinned Goddess with glowing yellow eyes would probably scare that child...
But not to worry! Raven can also control what you can (or can't) see. She could appear as she wanted to be seen, whether as an angel, an aunt, or even as her own human self. She could even be invisible if she wanted, nothing more than a comforting presence.
Through Zareah, Raven can create illusions on a global scale, or simply enjoy watching a polar bear walk across the white snow of the Arctic… as she peered across the Universe while standing upon New Genesis. Those glowing, amber eyes are the all-seeing Eyes of Providence.
Last but not least is Metron… A God who had traveled time and space collecting knowledge since the dawn of Time. He is the greatest encyclopaedia that ever existed. With that knowledge, Raven could turn the Earth into a technological Paradise… if she wanted to.
Worst of all, as a Champion she has to remain steadfast upon the path of the righteous with all this power (or risk winding up like Teth Adam). That's why it's important to remember that it wasn't really Raven who decided the punishment of the Guardians…
She was simply acting as an avatar of her Gods, to announce their divine judgement upon the Guardians.
I have a sad image in my head of those little blue guys digging graves on faraway Oa as they contemplate their own mortality… Eternally tempted to use the magic that keeps them alive to ease their burden, yet perhaps suddenly end their own measured life by doing so.
An ironic and fitting punishment from a God's perspective and another chapter closed.
Let's get to those happy endings!