[18th November 2010]
[Travel Lodge, Glastonbury, United Kingdom]
I rested quietly in the bed, opening my eyes and noting the brightness as I blinked and moved to rub at my eyes with a yawn. Well, looked like I'd slept the whole way through the night...and the evening before it...after my alchemy boosted wakefulness finally started to give out. Around me I felt the faint thrum of my barebones protective wards along with the equally familiar magic I'd placed upon my current bodyguard/personal-assistant Paula Nyugen. Who was watching television I guessed from the sounds of it as closed my eyes again for a few moments after the brightness of the room on my eyes, rubbing at my face still somewhat sleepily. At least the absolute exhaustion was gone I found, though I badly needed some time to recover after all the crisises that had hit one after another since the start of this month.
'Oh, and let's not forget the misbegotten Red Lantern Central Battery that's sitting under Nabu's Veil's and army protection on the other side of town! Or the less than happy Guardians of the Universe right now probably debating how to fuck with that and the Earth' my mind informed me unhelpfully. Because it would be really nice to pretend that we hadn't saved by the world by blundering in Ascending a species-wide gestalt to God-tier...and then handing it a Red Lantern Ring and making it the Torchbearer. Before I finally collapsed into blissful sleep yesterday the image of rampaging Guardians, and/or the potential magic super-zombies of Blackest Night rising coming had filled my mind for a time. Because there was a bloody Red Lantern Central Battery across the goddamned town and humanity as a whole was touched by the Red Light...
"Can I...ask the time?" I asked, still sounding somewhat sleepily I admit, once again opening my eyes but refusing to rise up from the comfortable bed and blankets I was laying in. While I was rested, and my spells largely back in place within my mind, the fact was I was rather burned out from the constant activity and it was unlikely there'd be much downtime in handling the aftermath of...everything. Really with the massive expansion needed for SHIELD, setting up a magical training program, getting Nabu new hosts, Tropico's development, The Team, and now the Red Lantern Corps issue...I was going to be rather unhappy I suspected. World changing events tended to have that effect really...
"Ah, the sleeping beauty awakes from his slumber at long last..." Paula sounded amused at least "...I had feared it would be a few more hours before you woke up and I would have to go hungry. It is just after midday young master, almost one o'clock"
"Great...even later than I thought..." I muttered softly as I let out an unhappy sigh and pushing myself awkwardly up with my elbows to rest back against the pillows in a sitting position. Artemis's former assassin mother was sitting on the bed across from me, dressed in a tracksuit top and bottoms, and her blades and pistol resting within easy reach. Since I'd restored her legs only a few months ago she'd pushed herself to get herself back to what she considered her 'prime' as best I could tell. With my enchantments she really was superior to anyone the government could easily hire outside the Ranger Wing; probably more loyal too due to the geas contract between us.
"Has there been anything happening since I conked out yesterday? Or orders basically?"
She frowned faintly...which wasn't a good sign really "I'm sorry to say there has been an incident up in Scotland; two of the Green Lanterns searching for remnants of the creature have vanished..."
I started to throw the blankets off me and her voice rose up in irritation "...and you are to remain here for the moment young master from orders. Once have showered and eaten you are to contact for orders. A major search in-conjunction with the other Green Lanterns is being arranged to begin soon to sweep everything with a hundred miles on either side of the two's missing location with the British Army and members of the Justice League. So you will get a shower, then we will have dinner and a coffee below, and then you can consider rushing off. Those are actual orders too young man!"
Dammit, dammit, dammit...two missing Lanterns?
That was just bloody fantastic now wasn't it?
Starro shouldn't have survived that spell and the sheer destructive power of the Red Lantern Gestalt of Humanity...
I sighed as I paused in my stupidness...what good was me rushing off unprepared, without orders or plans, and on a stomach that was rumbling badly now that my movements and wakefulness reminded me of the lack of anything much over the course of all this insanity. Being ordered to rest for the moment as such made perfect sense for my superiors to as an order...so I waited a moment on the edge of the bed and rubbed at the back of my head a moment.
"Yeah...yeah...I'm being stupid. Nothing much I can add to the situation after all..." I admitted looking out the window at the sunny day beyond. I sighed again holding back the frustration and urge to start getting stressed out over the situation "...anyway...what about Artemis and the others?"
"My daughter is currently going for a jog around this area...as much as the guards allow...while the rest of your group returned with the Justice League; I expect the black haired girl is in a similar way as yourself judging from her, and her father's, condition when you left their company. Beyond that, fresh troops have been brought into secure the area and the Big Red Thing is being kept out of the news..." she answered motioning at the Sky News feed on the television. Reports on continued travel restrictions in Scotland, and the need to maintain vigilance till told otherwise. Oh, and seemed the United Nations was still locked in emergency session since I'd gone to bed. Not sure if that was good or bad "...so relax young master. You have done your duty, and it is time to leave others to do theirs while your recover your strength"
"Not bad advice..." I admitted taking my phone into hand and seeing the messages from the Team, and from bosses in SHIELD that essentially boiled down to 'Rest and Recuperate' despite being framed in a long-winded manner "...and your right. I'll just get cleaned up and then get food as you say..."
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[18th November 2010]
[Highlands, North of Fort William, United Kingdom]
She suspect...not knew with all honesty...that she had embarked upon this expedition, like all of the others, as a means to delay facing the hard questions of the debriefing that would come very soon. Or perhaps merely from the guilt and pain, they all felt from being unable to actively help people during this crisis. The death toll was expected to be around almost two million worldwide, at least once order had been restored and they could tally the cost...
...and they had could do nothing...nothing...during the crisis for fear that they would make the situation worse as all those people suffered and died under their watch. Helplessness was not a pleasant experience. Made even more painful now by the fact that they were only been included in this operation largely due to the fact two Green Lanterns could have been taken over by a surviving part of the Starro organism; the threat necessitated risking their presence in a fight now.
'Better here than before the United Nations like Bruce and Barry I suppose' she mused to herself as the column of soldiers in their armoured vehicles, with three Green Lanterns hovering nearby, moved slowly along the countryside scanning every inch of the suspected area of the disappearance. A worryingly large area considering they, and other groups, had spent the majority of the day slowly pressing forward as a powerful fighting force capable of overwhelming any Starro controlled Lanterns.
That, and allowing those Lanterns with each group to help maintain some sort of faster-than-light and teleportation prevention barrier. Yet despite having constant over-flights by aircraft, satellites, and scanning at range by the various assembled Lanterns, they'd found no trace of the missing duo. She almost chuckled bitterly, but resisted, at the thought that her customised armour for preventing any infestation for the creature had arrived too late to do anything. Instead, she got to see...feel...herself submerged beneath the great mass of humanity into one collective mass of focused rage and determination...
...it had been humbling...
...it had been wondrous...
...it had been utterly terrifying...
'And all upon Themsycira were affected so...you make hurray up and decide upon what to say to Mother...all the others...upon your return later this night, or on the morrow. What do we do next? For the Justice League as much as an Amazon?' she questioned herself as Hawkwoman approached clad in her bulky and full coverage Thanagarian armour. To Diana's eyes she almost looked like a flying armoured knight of Man's World than the familiar grace of her colleague, much like all the equally bulky and masked soldiers walking with them. Protections against the creature's control was in part behind the sluggish progress she could admit, but they couldn't rush in and take that risk with so many lives at stake.
"Hawkwoman? Trouble?" she greeted, pausing in her forward stride as her friend landed nearby. The armoured helm shook her head, the voice sounding slightly distorted through the mask.
"No, though Lantern Stewart and Lantern Kilowog thing there is something strange about the energy reading from the valley ahead. Since magic has been so common...at my suggestion they agreed it best to have a mage test the area ahead as well. It is why the local government attached them to our column, so best make use of the resource since Giovanni is unavailable"
Diana paused in thought a moment "Hmmm...aye, it would not hurt to investigate every avenue, do you wish to say or should I?"
Most magic users had been exhausted in the wake of the massive worldwide ritual, but those who had rested in the immediate aftermath were now available in some measure. Sadly none were those she herself placed much trust in like Kent, Giovanni and his daughter, or even the young Fortune, but of those only Doctor Fate was not exhausted and he was caught up in securing the strange artefact that the Great Ritual had accidentally given creation too while saving the world.
So when Shayera asked for a mage it was the more portly Irish mage from this SHIELD organisation, and another English mage hastily recruited to fill in the gaps till the other mages could be rested. In all truth, Princess Diana of Themsycira did not like the 'smell' of this Jason Blood, or his obvious involvement with the darker demonic aspects of the magical world. Still, she polite to him as the two came forward and the alien Green Lantern Kilowog descended pointing at the abandoned village down the valley from them and a gruff no-nonsense tone in his voice "Oi, ye lot are the local experts right? Sumthin weird up ahead an' willin' ta listen to options before takin' a look forward"
"Your artefact detects something I most presume?" the red-haired Englishman who smelled ever so faintly of wrongness to her own more magical side hummed thoughtfully to the bulkly looking alien. Who gave a curt nod in response and used the illumination with his power ring to highlight a portion of the valley ahead.
"Don't think there's anything...but getting some strange flickers on the sensors. Don't think we need bother checking there...and that's wat bothers me. We need ta check dat spot, but me mind keeps tryin' think ah reasons to go look elsewhere first"
Diana frowned...yes, now that the alien mentioned it her own thoughts on the matter had made light of exploring the area ahead. She had put that down to the nature of the mission, the regrets of the past few days, and perhaps tiredness dulling her minds in some manner. Both 'wizards' exchanged glances, before the red haired man extended his hand towards where Lantern Kilowog was indicating, while the chubby Irishman pullout out something like a box from his backpack and stated to chant. For a moment there was only the noise of the armoured vehicles engines mixed with the noise of soldiers marching and talking amongst themselves...
"There is...something there" the Englishman in the black trenchcoat opened his eyes after a few seconds, and they seemed to almost glow with fires as continued a brief pause "...some sort of barrier...a Veil perhaps? Do Not Look Here! There is Nothing to See!"
"Eyup...that feels like what its feckin sayin to me too, someone dun' want us lookin at what's down that valley mate" the Irishman agreed a moment later and the bulky green glowing alien turned in the direction of the valley with a glare.
"Right, that's wha' I thought. Okay you lot, focus all yer scans ahead at full power; bulldoze whatever bloomin' shield these poozers threw up!"
Diana assumed he was speaking over the ring to the other Lanterns, as suddenly the green glow around him and the others further up in the sky flared even more brightly before a green wave swept forward in unison from them. Swept forward up the valley and empty valley, as something shimmered as the wave passed over the area and the alien Green Lantern let out a growl of some sort "Now there we go...bit ah good old fashioned ringslingin and the truth..."
Loud thunder rumbled down the valley, and the sky began to grow dark above their heads as more rumbling roars reached her ears. Angry dark clouds, expanded in the sky down the valley, racing towards them...rumbling and roaring while what looked flashes of lightening erupted in the mass of blackness as a great shadow fell across the land. Another sound mixed amidst it though, and she voiced that opinion to the others "That almost sounds like horses..."
"Ah...shite...feckin shite...that were, is a..." the Irish wizard hissed staring forward at the strange phenomena, and likely defensive measure as Diana felt power an danger on the wind as it blew over them. She found herseld readying her weapon without a thought as the other wizard shouted out to them, and the soldiers.
"Ware the darkness! Steel yourselves for battle is upon us!"
A great hunting horning sounded off in the distance, and an undesired near shiver of fear ran through her before she slammed down upon it as the red haired Englishman began chanting loudly "Gone! Gone! The Form of Man..."
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