[18th November 2010]
[Scottish Highlands, Scotland, Earth]
"Hardly what I expected, it is strange to hear tell that such things as 'grand-scale magic' actually existed outside of tales. Perhaps that is why there are such a number of Lanterns from a world that would otherwise classify as primitive?" she mused to Lantern Ke'haan as they moved over the moonlit countryside of the world below clad in emerald light. So far it had been far less the terrible battle that had been expected when word of Starro the Star Conqueror's sudden reappearance and more 'here is more destruction and death it caused' mixed with 'Ancestors and Descendants these primitives somehow created a Power Battery by accident' felt from the Guardians orders.
"It would explain much as you say Laira. Though I had always thought the presence of three Lanterns for such an underdeveloped system was, in the interests of honesty, due to the fact one of those Lanterns was Lantern Gardner. A brave and strong fighter for the Corps he is..." Lantern Ke'haan chuckled back as the snow on the mountains below simmered back the pale moonlight, white on black, as more snowflakes fell lightly around them as they stayed below the heavy cloud cover. If the reports were any indications if the creature had survived then the cold would hopefully retard its breeding of control spores. Though the odds of any surviving...seemed low after the debriefing by Lantern Gardner on events; she hoped that opinion correct as she smiled faintly at her mentor's amusement, deciding to finish his statement for him.
"...but not one to think before he acts? Or doing something so insane and impossible as creating a Central Battery by accident"
Even now she could hardly believe what they'd come across, or the details of how it had come about...or that a world at this level of development had managed to not only resist a being of that Threat Level, but also purge it from existence. Or at least that was how it seemed; orders were to ensure that every trace of the creature had been purged from this world, and that was going to take some time as she and Ke'haan investigated the more rural regions while three other Lantern teams swept the largest battle zones.
Well over million humans had died at the hands of the Starro, with the numbers of dead still being counted and therefore rising, and ensuring all its breeding facilities had been destroyed and purged was only a starting point. For her and her mentor, the task had been around investigating regions that had seen 'mysterious' disappearances during the period the local planetary authorities believed the outbreak had started. So far...they had found little out of the usual, and once they completed those immediate investigations they'd have to move over to a grid search of the world in cooperation with the locals.
"Yes Laira, indeed so, now would..." Ke'haan replied with a nod of his horned head before jerking to a stop in mid-air and motioning to her to do likewise. His ring pulse brightly and he moved to wave it like a giant torch over the ground below "...there is some strange energy signatures here...my ring is picking up traces of what almost feels like lingering traces of phase shifting energies. Can you direct your own ring at that small settlement and aid me in the task Laira?"
"Of course Ke'haan" she answered directing the ring with thought and bringing her hand down in the general direction below. Not much more than some agri-community from the appearance; a cluster of buildings huddled amongst the misty mountain valley, with one or two larger structures away from the main cluster that she assumed to be storage facilities or animal rearing operations. Slowly they descended towards the land below as the rather...strange...indicators of the sensors; for one according to their rings there was no living sentient within the bounds of the village. Then there was in certain locations...before vanishing once again after barely a blip of Will on their sensors. She frowned.
"Yes, it is rather strange...almost like something is trying to use an Advanced Sensor Baffle. Such technology should be far beyond the grasp of such a world as this, even generations beyond those gifted with technological savancy that this world seems to have in surprising number. Perhaps...some of the creatures managed to survive here? Records indicated during previous outbreaks it had attempted such where it had achieved sufficient biomass? Or we are looking at natural energy deposits giving false readings from a distance like we have encountered thousands of times?"
Ke'hann gave a slow nod "Perhaps, perhaps. I think we should investigate and perhaps it is merely just an abandoned food production habitation as local maps and reports indicate. Still...we are not investigating this region for no reason...ensuring your environmental shields are at full strength, and I'd advise raising an extra barrier as we descend. It is most likely nothing as the creature showed no capacity to deploy such during the recent fighting...because if it could use such it would have overrun this world before they could react. Be remember..."
"Be ever vigilant and aware. Affirmative" she finished her partner and mentors warning by flaring shields into a construct imitation of good solid battle armour and helm from her homeworld. Lantern Ke'hann did likewise as they descended, though his seemed more a thickening of his environmental shields, and forming a weaker 'bubble' barrier that was barely visible around to her naked eye...but as strong, or perhaps stronger than, her own construct armour. Descending they moved their cones of green light over the area below as the buildings began closer and more distinct, a flash of Will here and there...then gone again...even when she focused her willpower on the location and concentrated.
"I'm not getting anything clearer Ke'hann...you?" she asked hovering above the centre of the village they moved in a clockwise back to back so as to avoid any danger of the creature or those under its control attacking them from behind. With their barriers strengthened and rings on full scanning mode that seemed unlikely, but that didn't mean it had not been attempted before in the past by criminal sapients of various worlds and sectors who sought to avoid justice for their crimes.
"No...but there is something rather off about this location. We shall scan it all in detail, and if required request the local authorities or our fellow Lanterns to ascertain what is causing this effect. So let us try and locate the epicentre of these strange emanations of energy"
She nodded as ordered her ring to aid Ke'hann in ascertaining a pattern to these strange blips of Will and Life that came and faded. Before her, an emerald map took shape of the small empty settlement and the area surrounding it. Then grid-lines and dots showing sensor readings as they continued to strobe the ground through the cold foggy night illuminated by the brilliantly silver moon in the sky above. Her hand moved and green light indicated a strange thick column of fog for a brief second...it was almost moving towards her and...
[Energy Drain Detected]
...out of nowhere, a human was in the air before her, fist flying towards her face...smashing into her construct armour with force enough to almost shatter it and sending her tumbling backwards...
Whoosh...the air screamed for a moment in her ears as she fell...then stopped as she flared her ring, stalling her flight so that she landed on her feet in a battle-ready crouch. Her eyes caught the thrown incendiary as it was thrown in her direction with surprising power and speed. Flicking her wrist she spun herself to the side then up into standing combat stance as a shield of brightest green appeared in the path of the small container filled with a fuel of some sort that someone had set ablaze. Even as the blast of flame briefly illuminated the figure that thrown the weapon at her she had formed a Spear-Blade of her people and attempted to locate her partner. Sounds of conflict indicated...several buildings over...
"Ring confirm the number of hostiles!"
[No life-forms detected]
'What?' she managed to thing as suddenly a giant black canine of some sort was charging at her from almost in her blindside but for her constantly flowing and moving in her defensive stance. There was no warning from her ring, there was no feeling of the creature being there...or where it had come from like the human that seemingly flown through the air to attack her...
Side-slash of the blade...dodged by enemy...firm position on left foot lash out with right...
...with sudden blurring the human male was in the place of the great black canine, sliding under her kick and arms moving to grab her legs and lift...
[Energy Drain Detected]
..grasping his intentions from years of training and hard-won battle experience she flipped her body backwards, shielded hands grabbing the hard artificial earth of the ground vehicle adjusted ground and slamming her foot up into the humans face and staggering backwards as she completed the backflip and landed a metre behind her. Discarding her 'bulky' and damaged construct and strengthening her environmental shield to the limit as she braced into an unarmed fighting stance. Across from her, the human hopped back, easily and with a laugh despite the force of the blow should easily broken bones on as unarmoured as he appeared. Indeed all he seemed to wear was what she had seen as 'casual wear' amongst the native population as two large canines strolled out of the thickening fog behind him...along with dozens of more human shapes...
"Ring?"
[No life-forms detected]
'Well that wasn't helpful' she mentally grated as the human chuckled in apparent amusement at her "Well a magic talking ring, isn't that interesting. And an...elf?" the language changed according to her ring "...are thee of the Eladrin fair maiden? Thy blood smells...exotic"
'Ring: Contact all other Lantern on this world and notify of the situation' he calmly starring the criminal down after mentally commanding her ring "I am not what you seem to think I am criminal, attacking Green Lanterns? Cease your attack and surrender before..."
[Unable to Establish Connection]
[Lantern Omoto: Disengage and attempt to establish contact with the others. I'm under attack]
"Heh heh heh, oh sweet child it is you who must surrender..." ignoring the obviously enhanced local she poured her willpower into the need to fly and flew upwards with all, up past the largest of the building and up to the tops of the mounta...
SLAM
"Whaaatt?" she managed to groan out as she desperately pushed herself from the impact crater that she had somehow created by slamming into the ground at full step. Shaking her head to clear it she reinforced her shields once again and stood up to see the human male clapping as the others behind him...some naked, some strangely misshapen for human averages, but all laughing ever so softly...
"Oh, sweet elf maiden...there is no escape from our home away from home. For you...or your angry demon friend...I can assure you our Noble Huntsman ensures the security against such threat as one of the infernal realm is rather...effective"
Laira fought back the growing headache seemingly caused by the impact. Some kind of teleportation or flight barrier field?
She stood up straight, pushing back against the discomfort as the pressure grew "What are you trying to do? Talk me to death?"
The human smiled as the sounds of battle across the little village fell silent "No. Just distract you my sweet, I am ever so handsome am I not Squidy?"
She staggered at the sudden paid, falling to her knees and clutching at her head...
...her ring she needed to...
[Such a strong mind, oh and so delectable...a shame I can't just feast on it now. Oh and trained too...my, my, my...but one doesn't need control to win this fight little morsel] a voice laughed into her mind alongside the pain as her ring began to gutter and die. Falling back on her training she rolled to her side, pushing away the pain and forming resolve...but as she tried to force a construct, or restore her shields the energy just seemed to slip away...
What was likely a non-native to this world stepped out of the fog and shadows on the on her left side as readied to fight even with her ring; while humanoid it was significantly taller than her at eight, maybe nine foot. Possibly aquatic based sapient species she nodded seeking for any weakness as it strode forward, staff tapping off the ground as the six tentacles on its face writhed down to its waist in what could be amusement. It's voice was burbling and hissing, though her ring at least translated the horrid tongue...
"A magical ring empowered by willpower, what a plane to land upon in my exile...and those big headed gnomes within your mind...take her alive would you please you undead monstrosity? I mean... Your Majesty" the creature hissed with a mocking bow in her direction...no the humans...
Suddenly, before she could even draw breath there was an ice-cold hand around her throat and another at her ring hand taking her Lantern Ring from...
...had to fight...Sleep Child...
...had to fi...shhh...
...had...shh...shhh...Sleep
..ha...ha...Sleep...
And there was darkness...
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