Author's Note: Welcome all to the sequel to The Tides of Wrath. As my fellow coauthor mentioned in Toll of Sorcery, I am bogarting the update schedule we have for the foreseeable future. Catalystic Epoch will continue to be posted on Mondays and Thursdays while this story will be posted every Tuesday and Friday. This should be a very interesting ride here as we explore areas of our little universe that have gone unexplored until now. I hope you enjoy this latest installment and let us know what you think about it.
Disclaimer: We do not own Justice League
Clash on an Alien World
The air was hissing as green and yellow beams sliced through it, lighting up the sky with flashes of both explosive might and devastating clashing. The dark night that settled over the city below it, one that centered around a large structure in the shape of a lantern, was disturbed by the battle raging above it.
The brilliant green light from the structure could be seen even in the midst of the battle taking place above it. It reflected off the buildings that possessed nearly impossible curves, windows that were darkened from the lack of activity inside of them. The streets were empty, any and all who populated them seeking shelter.
The battle itself was airborne, damn near in the atmosphere itself. The warriors defending the city below wore an identical uniform and color scheme, primarily green and black. Green auras coated them, a declaration of the power they wielded. On their chest was a prominent white circle and in its center was a hollowed green circle with two bars on its top and bottom.
They were the Green Lantern Corps, a police force that patrolled the universe itself, meting justice and righting injustice, protecting those who could not protect themselves, and fighting any force of evil they may come across. Their power came from a ring that each one wore on their person. For those with hands and fingers, a finger on the dominant hand bore this small yet powerful weapon. For others, it was any appendage in which the ring could be born.
Taking the form of whatever their minds could imagine, green constructs took shape and form. They held the same properties of their real world counterparts with perhaps more durability behind them. This was the power behind these green-colored rings; to make the immaterial material and to maintain them with sheer will alone.
As powerful as they were, they were not alone in their might. Opposing them was the invading army, one that had come from the stars themselves with ill intent. Like the fighting Green Lanterns, they too bore a uniform similar if not identical in design to the defenders. Unlike them, while retaining black as a signature color, yellow replaced green.
Their physical features could be described as monstrous and fear-invoking. Not all claimed such horrific looks; there were many that did possess beauty and grace, but that could only be described as a facade, a cold and harshness mirrored only in the eyes giving their true nature away.
Like their green-glowing adversaries, a yellow aura encompassed their bodies, allowing them flight and protection from the various elements, such as atmospheric entry. Whether they had hands or limbs, each one bore a yellow ring, emitters of yellow light and yellow constructs that countered and struck at the green defenders.
They took their name after their commander and founder, the Sinestro Corps.
Yellow clashed with green, pushing back and breaking through. Green would regroup and lash back, stopping and reversing the yellow advance only to repeat the same actions as yellow redoubled their efforts.
In the midst of it, a Bolovaxian, a proud member of the Green Lantern Corps spearheaded a counterstrike. "Don't give them an iota, you Poozers!" Kilowog roared as he charged, unleashing a green, ram-shaped construct to batter at the Sinestro Corps advance. The construct crashed through the yellow ranks, breaking apart the formation and giving a chance for his fellow Green Lanterns at his side to try and dismantle the rest of them one on one.
Yellow-colored coils wrapped around his construct, squeezing until it was torn apart. A Yellow Lantern gave a shriek of a war cry as he or she or it went after the Bolovaxian. Kilowog did not flinch, even when yellow winged constructs and serpentine creations were blasted in his direction. He formed a shield around himself, bearing the brunt of the attack and grimacing when his barrier began cracking.
Yellow had an advantage over green. Why wouldn't it? It was empowered by fear, and nothing could rob a creature of its will better than fear itself. Fortunately, Kilowog was not so easily cowed. What was able to resist fear? As it turned out, will could.
Letting his shield get torn apart, Kilowog struck back, firing a blast that quickly took the shape of a wall. With as much space as it took up, the attacking Yellow Lantern was unable to dodge it, being rammed and thrown away by it.
There was no time to cheer on the win. Another Yellow Lantern was incoming and so Kilowog changed his attention to that. As he did so, another Green Lantern blazed past him. A Dryadian known as Brik, she was merciless in the defense of her fellow Lantern, lashing out at his would-be attacker who brought up yellow shield after yellow shield. Her fist-shaped construct was slowly losing its integrity, but the Dryadian chose to form a new construct, two large cubes that formed on either side of the Yellow Lantern and swung towards one another. Both collided with the spherical shield that the Yellow Lantern used to defend themselves, though the pressure exerted on the barrier caused it to bulge both upwards and down.
Her lips parting widely into a wild grin, Brik pulled one of the cube constructs back only to swing it against into the barrier, causing the other cube to leave only to return with a crushing hit. The Yellow Lantern's shield could not take it, and when the green cubes broke through, the Yellow Lantern allowed themselves to drop instead of being crushed between the green constructs. This gave Brik the chance to rush in and push her advantage.
Rushing nearby, leaving a streak behind in her wake, Katma Tui offered support where she could, shields for her green comrades and offensive constructs to distract Yellow Lanterns so they could be on the receiving end of a counterattack. The Korugarian would find an opponent of her own, though, a Graxosian who was a prominent member of the Sinestro Corps itself.
Katma Tui broke her support from her fellow Lanterns to deal with this threat. Karu-Sil was not someone you could ignore mostly due to the fact she would not let you ignore her. The Yellow Lantern gave a hiss, exposing sharpened teeth as she did so, while unleashing several yellow constructs that took the shape of a pack of beasts.
Katma Tui responded with a long blade construct and used it to cut into and slash at the yellow constructs. There was initial resistance to her attack, but focusing on her will allowed her to divert the first of the beast constructs, twisting her body out of the way of a second, and then using her blade construct to block a third. Yellow teeth clamped down on her construct, holding it tightly. Behind her, the two other yellow constructs rushed at her.
The Green Lantern let her own construct dispel, shooting herself upwards to avoid the impending attack. The yellow constructs gave chase, closing their ranks which gave the Korugarian a unique opportunity. She seized it, creating a much wider blade not unlike what a human would call a guillotine and with her will pushed it, charging it at the three approaching constructs. Happening too quickly, the beasts were sliced into and destroyed, but their creator was hot on her heels, avoiding the green construct while giving a snarl at Katma.
With sharpened nails tipping her fingers, Karu-Sil lashed out with a swipe, engaging hand-to-hand combat with the Green Lantern. Karma had to fight back in a similar manner until she could break away and use the power of her ring to buy her time.
Nearby, an Okaaran Green Lantern noted the struggle and began making his way over to help his fellow Lantern. He was intercepted, but took it in stride. Dal Tornan had undergone the rigors of combat training with the Warlords of his home world, and a battlefield was the last place he would lose his head both figuratively and literally. The fear the Yellow Lanterns wielded meant nothing to him, his indomitable will allowing him to break through the onslaught.
His constructs took the shape of staffs, ones that swung lightning quick around him, both blocking and attacking those who would attack him. One Yellow Lantern found out how strong his control was as his body was battered by an attacking staff. A second Yellow Lantern was quick to bring up a shield of their own, Dal Tornan readjusting his offense in kind to test out the limits of this shield.
Occupied, this would leave Katma Tui to face off alone against the feral Karu-Sil. Her status was one that was shared with another Green Lantern. This Lantern was Larvox, a native of the planet Sputa whose species did not have a name. It had more in common genetically with bacteria than it did any mammalian, avian, or reptilian species, but its will was undeniable as it wielded a Green Lantern ring on a tendril.
Its opponent was the right hand man of the Sinestro Corps itself, a cannibalistic Vornian known over the galaxy as Arkillo. Savagely, Arkillo was laying heavy pressure on the Sputa native, forming monstrous creations whose shapes were not unlike viruses. Larvox was forced on the defensive, pushing back against all attacks but giving ground all the same.
"It would be nice to have some help," the Green Lantern called out, barely shielding itself from a yellow construct that nearly impaled it.
The call for help was answered by Salaak, a Slyggian veteran of the Corps who had seen more than his fair share of conflict and had to be ordered to remain on Oa in more recent times. Nevertheless, the Slyggian Green Lantern would not hold back to save a comrade, and he charged in to relieve the pressured Larvox. Arkillo was quick to evade the vice-like green construct that Salaak unleashed, turning his savage attention onto the interloper.
From his current position after decking a Yellow Lantern Poozer in the face, Kilowog demanded, "Anyone know where Mogo is? We could use some backup here."
A nearby Green Lantern responded, "You know how slow that oversized asteroid is." This Lantern yelled as they attempted to relieve another fellow Lantern.
From above, a sudden surge of yellow descended on the aerial battlefield. Another regimen of Yellow Lanterns had entered the fray, reinforcing those on the front lines. A majority of the barraging assault were beams of yellow, and while many were evaded, these beams continued down to Oa's surface, hitting a multitude of buildings in the city below.
A Ranxian known as Enkafos was responsible for this. With a command, the Yellow Lantern ordered, "Sown their souls with fear, do not let them know a moment's reprieve!"
Brix grimaced. "Even he's here?"
She had a point and Kilowog narrowed his eyes. The Yellow Lantern's head torturer tended to remain behind the lines, usually in a place of safety. This wasn't some random attack on the Corps, and he had a feeling he knew what its purpose was.
So far, the big man himself, the traitor, hadn't shown his face, but it would only be a matter of time. Time was something they did not have in abundance and they were going to need to hold strong against these Poozer's until the Guardians came up with a plan to repel them.
Catching sight of Arkillo holding off Larvox and Salaak, he knew where he was needed next. It had been a while since he had last traded punches with the Yellow Lantern trainer, and the Bolovaxian could use the exercise. Keep your attention on the here and now and let those leading you figure out how to fix this problem.
Preferably they would do so before they were all killed.
The most vulnerable side of an assault was usually the rear. The Yellow Lanterns there never saw it coming.
That something was a large green beam that blasted them right out of the air.
Heads whipped around in time to see a speck of green light closing in on them.
"Sorry I'm late," John Stewart said over his ring. "I had to pick up some friends."
As he closed on the Yellow Lanterns that began to rush towards him, John held his ring hand out and unleashed a bright light. On either side of him a number of green-tinged men appeared, all dressed as marines with machine guns. The marine constructs shouted before firing their guns.
The rapid-fire blasts struck the charging Yellow Lanterns, shooting them right out of the air. A few only needed a few shots before they dropped while others took on quite a bit of fire power before falling. The more experienced ones created yellow, barbaric-looking shields and weathered the onslaught. The thing about a construct though was that they weren't limited by the number of ammo. There was no need to reload their weapons.
A red-and-blue blur suddenly came rushing in and slammed into the side of the shielding Yellow Lanterns. It just crashed through each and every one of them, ending their constructs in the blink of an eye. They fell as well.
Heh, and here were his friends.
"Haaaaaaa!"
Swooping in from above, Shayera attacked a giant of a Yellow Lantern. He was massive and bulky, easily ten feet tall and every bit of four hundred pounds. Her mace cackled with electricity, which she used to bash the man on his face. Over and over, back and forth, she swung her mace, just pummeling the fear-based lantern.
For a moment, John felt concern. It was mostly due to the redhead's change in costume. Gone was her Thanagarian armor and helm. She no longer wore them. Instead, she was wearing what was best described as gym workout clothes. Tight spandex pants, a top that was perhaps an oversized sports bra, and that was pretty much it. No armor to speak of. While she kept her colors of yellow, outlining it with black, that was the only callback to her old uniform. However, now he could see her face twisted with concentration and fury, which was normal when she was in battle. For once, her face looked harder than the hawk helm she had worn previously.
John made sure to keep an eye on her, mostly due to how unprotected she was. His other eye caught sight of the red-and-blue blur, which slowed down to reveal Superman. The moment he came to a stop, he fired a couple quick bursts of his heat vision, knocking back a couple of Yellow Lanterns that were rushing at him. Neither one went very far as Wonder Woman dropped down on them.
With her legs pressed together, the Amazonian warrior rammed her feet down on one stunned Lantern, immediately sending them downward. She then whipped out an arm, which sent her golden lasso flying through the air. Its coils wrapped around one leg of the other stunned Yellow Lantern. Stopping midair, the dark-haired woman began spinning around in a circle, pulling on her lasso, which in turn yanked its captive with it. Around and around she spun, adjusting her grip on her lasso so that more and more it stretched out, which swung her captive Lantern in a wide circle. Eventually, she began hitting other Yellow Lanterns with their own comrade. Each one cried out as they were struck by Yellow Lantern turned bludgeon.
John couldn't help but smirk at that. Still, there was a job to be done, so he couldn't gloat in satisfaction. Allowing his marine constructs to fade away, he then raised his ring hand above his head, creating another construct, this time a large sledgehammer. As one Yellow Lantern was struck by Diana's captive one, he moved in, swinging his hammer down, and smashing it on top of the stunned invader. The force he hit them dropped them down hard and fast.
He did this to another two Yellow Lanterns that were knocked in his direction. As much as mindless action was fun, this was a battle and they needed a strategy. "I think we have their attention," John announced over his JL communicator. "Now it's time to play this smart. Superman and Wonder Woman, I want you to try flanking them. Shayera, just keep doing what you're doing."
There was a short pause before he received a response, "So kicking ass and kicking more ass?" Shayera replied.
"Yep," came his response.
"Starting the flanking maneuver," Superman then said, once more flying off as a blur. A few Yellow Lanterns tried to get in his way, but that was the equivalent of a bird getting in the way of a speeding train—meaning they never stood a chance as they basically bounced right off of the Kryptonian.
As for Diana, she finally released her weaponized Yellow Lantern, sending them flying away. The coils of her lasso returned to her and she placed it on her hip. "Flanking maneuver," she repeated over the line before flying off in the opposite direction as Superman.
That just left John to his own devices. Casually swinging his arm out to his side, he struck another Yellow Lantern with his giant sledgehammer construct. He was fully intent on keeping an eye on Shayera in the event she needed back up. In the meantime, he would keep working his way to the rest of the Green Lanterns on Oa's surface.
Now which construct should he use?
Superman was never one to turn down a friend, and when Green Lantern had asked for it, he had readily accepted it. The Kryptonian hadn't anticipated that it would take him into the recesses of space and to an alien world, but he wasn't about to leave the people here to their aggressors.
It wasn't his first misadventure in space and he knew it wouldn't be the last.
This time, he was inserting himself into a battle between two Lantern Corps. Green were friendly, and yellow was the offending side. There had never been a reason for him to fight against a member of a Corps, so his knowledge in fighting them was limited. Then again, with everything he fought you could say the same thing, and so he used the one strategy that was almost second nature to him.
As he was fulfilling his part of the flanking maneuver, two Yellow Lanterns tried to get in his way, yellow constructs in the shape of bizarre yet frightening-looking weapons lashing out at him. Those weapons must have meant something on their home worlds, but to Superman, they were a mere obstacle.
He collided with the first construct, throwing a powerful punch that stopped the yellow weapon in its tracks. There was a shuddering fluctuation within it, a sign that the Yellow Lantern wielding it had almost lost his concentration. Without pause, he twisted around and stopped the second construct, giving this one a one-two punch combo to force it back.
There was an opening, and he easily flew through it. He arced his trajectory, flying around the two aggressive Yellow Lanterns until he flew into the side of one, forcing that Lantern into his comrade. At this point, the Kryptonian reached out and snagged the side of the second Yellow Lantern's head and with little effort brought the limb crashing into the head of the first Yellow Lantern.
Tossing both aside, he resumed the flanking maneuver, heading towards where the Yellow Lanterns were at their thickest. Some of them had spotted him, but several Green Lanterns took advantage of their distraction. With them preoccupied, the Man of Steel slammed into their flank, using both a combination of his speed and indomitability.
One Yellow Lantern was sent spinning around and soon caged—literally—by an opportunistic Green Lantern. Another was clipped and left dazed. A third, a behemoth of a…creature, bore the full brunt of Superman's charged, his size and bulk suddenly becoming both shield and ram for him. Yellow Lanterns were being knocked aside like bowling pins, and it would have continued this way had the massive Yellow Lantern not recovered.
Yellow coils tipped with viscous-looking heads, each side bisected into four flaps of what might have been flesh and exposing teeth and twisting tongue, wrapped around him, attempted to restrain. The Yellow Lantern brought both of his arms on either side of the Kryptonian and clamped down. A nasty looking face shoved its way into his, a snarl spitting flecks of saliva and phlegm out.
Superman merely clapped both of his hands on either side of the Yellow Lantern's head and threw his own forward, head-butting the alien without a second thought.
The coiling constructs were torn through, the Man of Steel continuing to press his advance all the while pushing his opponent ahead him. The Yellow Lantern front line was being disturbed more and more the further he pressed on.
Recovering, the enemy Lantern began fighting back against him, attempting to form constructs to force the Kyptonian away, but their speed kept them out of the way of any attempt to do so. One hand balled into a fist and began slamming into Superman again and again, and after maybe the seventh hit, he began to feel it and grunt.
But he didn't need to endure for much longer. From behind the Yellow Lantern, Wonder Woman completed her end of the flanking maneuver and sped her way like a speeding bulling right into the back of the adversarial Lantern.
With two mighty warriors colliding together from the front in back, it took all the fight out of the Lantern, its head with its monstrous face pulled back and facing upwards, air forced out of its body and choking as internal organs bore the bodily trauma within.
Pulling apart, the two heroes from Earth watched as the Yellow Lantern plummeted to the planet below only for several green hands to catch and cage the finished combatant.
Wonder Woman nodded at him and returned to the fray. Superman gave one in return though the Amazon had already turned away from him. He could see several Yellow Lanterns were heading his way, already creating new constructs in which to fight him with.
One thing you couldn't say was that going into space was boring.
Diana was not unfamiliar with war. It was something she had been raised with, trained in, and had experienced firsthand. When leading an army, one needed to adjust to the changes that occurred throughout the battle.
In this case, as she circled around the fighting, she found a vulnerable area in the Green Lantern defense. The Yellow Lanterns had noticed this and were trying to blast their way through.
Changing course, the Amazonian princess charged headfirst into the onslaught of yellow beams being fired on the Green Lanterns. Dropping down into it, she held her arms up and immediately began deflecting beams, her arms speeding up to block them. Each beam struck her bracer, and bounced off. At first she did this defensively, only to begin learning the pattern.
That's when she began bouncing the beams back at the Yellow Lanterns. With the adjustment of her arms, she ricocheted one beam right into the face of one foe, a small denotation causing them to cry out in pain. She knocked another one into another and then another. The number of beams noticeably decreased as Yellow Lanterns were either struck by their own firepower, or were becoming gun shy.
Breaking from her defensive stance, Diana launched herself towards one, a blue-skinned alien with large incisors jutting out of its mouth. He was a big one, but he stood no chance as she rammed a fist into his abdomen, knocking the wind right out of him. Raising up into the air, she then lashed out with a kick, one that nailed the Lantern across the face, and the force of which sent him flying into another Yellow Lantern. That one was a green-skinned female, and she had a comically surprised look on her face before her comrade slammed into her, carrying her away.
There was a war cry then, which drew the dark-haired woman's attention. She spotted an incoming Yellow Lantern, one that must have been struck by one of the beams she had deflected earlier if the burn marks on their face was any indication. The Lantern looked very much like a werewolf if the old legends on Earth were any indication. Snarling, the wolf-like Yellow Lantern formed a cruel-looking sword construct, holding it high as he clearly meant to slash her with it.
Diana just held her ground, holding her arms up defensively. The moment the wolfish Yellow Lantern swung his sword, she immediately blocked it with one of her bracers. There was some substance to the construct as she felt it push against her bracer.
Then she countered. Pushing the sword back with her forearm, she then shot her other hand up and latched onto the wolfman's wrist, squeezing down on it tightly before she twisted it. This caused the Yellow Lantern to howl in pain, his fingers spasming and releasing his grip on the sword.
Quickly, Diana snatched the sword out of midair with the hand that had been formerly blocking the blade. That it hadn't lost its tangibility meant the Yellow Lantern hadn't lost his focus just yet, which would prove costly to him. Releasing her hold on her foe, she then spun herself in a circle, moving around the wolfman. The moment she was facing her opponent, she slashed with the sword construct, slicing into his side.
Immediately, blood erupted from the gash she made, causing the Yellow Lantern to scream. That must have finally broken his focus as the sword construct faded away. Not perturbed by this, Diana just rose higher into the air, clasping both hands above her head. She then swung a jackhammer blow down on top of the wolfman's head, the blow sending him flying straight down to the ground, where he crashed down hard.
By then, the Green Lanterns had regrouped. With their enemy no longer paying as much attention to them, they took on a new formation and began firing green beams, ones that blasted into the attacking Yellow Lantern line. Many were shot out of the air, leaving them to fall limply to the ground far down.
It seemed her intervention had turned the tide here for the moment. It also seemed the Green Lanterns were considering her an ally as none of them had shot at her directly. Either she recognized her as a friend or considered her the enemy of their enemy, which made her a friend for the time being. She rather preferred the former as they had assisted in helping Earth not too long ago.
With their retaliation though, this allowed Diana to press further into the Yellow Lantern line. Rushing forward, she looked for her next foe.
So there was the big, ugly guy. He practically had a bull's eye on him. It drew Shayera to him and she went right for him.
Gone was the Hawkgirl persona she had taken on upon arriving on Earth. Those were her Thanagarian colors and she was pretty much exiled. There was no point in wearing those colors anymore.
So she had put something together and this sportswear outfit was the best she could come up with. It would serve until she came up with something else. For now, she had a Yellow Lantern to wail on.
And attack him she did. Over and over, she swungher mace back and forth, sparks of electricity erupting from each hit.
Big, Giant, and Ugly just grunted after each hit. He held up both of his massive arms, glowing with a yellow aura. It was just like the one that surrounded the Green Lanterns, which made sense since this was someone of a different Lantern Corp.
However, this was going nowhere. Aside from pushing the brute back, she wasn't any closer to taking him down seeing as she wasn't seeing much progress. Something had to change.
Before she could, the Thanagarian saw a flash of yellow light. Yellow armor appeared on the Lantern's arms, which extended over his shoulders and body. Immediately, the redhead pulled back, keeping her mace low and in front of her.
The Yellow Lantern swung his arms out them, yelling a loud roar as wind battered at the winged woman's body. He then lunged at her, throwing a fist at her.
Immediately, Shayera shot up into the air, avoiding the punch. Swinging her mace up over her head, she let out a war cry before she swung it down, hitting the Lantern on top of his head. This time she got results as the Yellow Lantern dropped down a few feet in the air. Hmm, seemed his weak spot was his head.
Unfortunately, the Yellow Lantern spread his armor construct , forming a helmet around his head. So much for continuing to exploit that weakness. There was another roar from the brute, one that created an echo within the helmet construct to make him sound scarier, she supposed.
Again, he rushed at her, trying to punch her again. This time, Shayera just flew to her left, avoiding the attack once more. She kept flying, circling around her foe, who began to spin around, trying to keep her in sight. She kept flying in a circle, which only caused the Lantern to keep spinning around after her.
So she sped up. She kept flying in a circle, her opponent following after her. It took several revolutions before she noticed a wobble in the Lantern's posture. It was small at first, but then became more and more noticeable.
Shayera flared her wings, stopping herself right then and there. The Yellow Lantern kept spinning around, however. Immediately, Shayera threw herself to the giant, ugly alien, swinging her mace as she did so. By the time the Lantern had turned back to face her, her mace struck the side of his armored head.
Incredibly, the construct shattered upon impact, not something she expected, but she wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. She had been hoping that with the alien spinning, the moment her mace struck him, she might cause a concussion from stopping its head in place. Perhaps she did do that as the shattering of the construct indicated a loss in focus on the Yellow Lantern's part.
That's what she was assuming anyways; she didn't really know how Yellow Lantern rings worked, assuming they were similar enough to the green ones.
Pulling her mace back, Shayera then thrust it right into the alien's face, sending a constant feed of Nth metal electricity right into its skull. The sound of crackling mixed with screaming, along with the smell of charring flesh. Then, as abruptly as it started, Shayera ended it. The Yellow Lantern just floated there for a moment before he lost the construct and even his aura. He then dropped down towards Oa.
Shayera followed its descent with her eyes before she turned to look for other Yellow Lanterns. She noticed a couple nearby, fear in their eyes and body language was anything to go by. Apparently they hadn't expected Big, Tall, and Ugly to go down like that.
Hardening her features, Shayera then launched herself towards the Yellow Lanterns. Their hesitation following their comrade's defeat would be their undoing. Clearly they weren't experienced warriors as there shouldn't have been any hesitation.
She'd show them what a warrior born through battle could do.
Green Lantern grimaced as his shield was struck again and again by a yellow construct, one that took the shape of a demonic-looking goat. It battered against his shield, weakening it with each hit. It wasn't surprising; the power from yellow rings had a corrosive effect on the constructs he could make.
There was no other way than to power through it. Any noticeable cracks in his construct began to seal themselves shut, more will was added to increase its size, and as the Yellow Lantern he was fighting away, about to swing away again, the Lantern forced his construct forward, making it more like a moving wall. It slammed into the opposing Yellow Lantern, but such a blow like that wouldn't be enough.
He let his shield go and replaced the dispelled construct with a ball and chain, one that shackled itself on a vulnerable ankle. With his will behind it, the ball part was heavy, very heavy, enough that it brought the Yellow Lantern down several feet, both alarming and distracting the alien warrior.
Good. With the Yellow Lantern distracted, Green Lantern took this chance to knock him down. In this case, it would be with a good ol' fashion pickup truck, one reinforced with a grill guard. The vehicular construct drove through the air, only giving a loud honk when it was way too close for the struggling Yellow Lantern to dodge.
Green Lantern almost felt sorry for him. Almost. The power of the Yellow Lantern's ring would have shielded some of the damage, but the force of the hit was enough to send that one falling down to Oa itself where he would be caught and apprehended.
Right. Now to the next one.
As he began to survey, see where his help could matter more, the Green Lantern of Sector 2812 found himself coming to a quick stop as a yellow, circular saw nearly sliced right through him. Reflexes were the only thing that saved him.
Immediately, he searched for who tried to cut him down, and then formed a spherical shield around himself just in time for three more saw blades to strike and penetrate through it. They didn't reach him, his barrier acting to hold onto them, but through the messy volley, he was able to get a good look at who was using them.
Time itself seemed to slow. All of the dark-skinned Lantern's attention was drawn to this one Yellow Lantern. Clad in the same yellow and black as the rest, there were shoulder guards that were added to the uniform, a yellow cape draped down from them and the Yellow Lantern's back. Red skin, a shade close to magenta, stretched along a thin head, one that came complete with black hair that could have been gelled back.
The face was wrinkled with indifference, as if Green Lantern was below this red-skinned man. The pencil-thin mustache only seemed to accentuate haughtiness. That forehead seemed to stretch up and up and up. Much like how Green Lantern's eyes were colored green by his ring, this man's was yellow and for a similar reason.
"Your reflexes leave much to be desired," the Yellow Lantern taunted dismissively.
"Sinestro," Green Lantern growled.
There he was, the big man himself. The leader of the Yellow Lantern Corps, or because his ego demanded it, the Sinestro Corps. Where had the bastard been hiding all of this time? For a man that preferred to lead from the front, he had been largely absent until now. A bit of a change, but not one that he could afford to think about.
Whether leading from the front or from behind, Sinestro was easily the most dangerous man here.
Sinestro's lips quirked as his arm extended in front of him lightning quick. From the bright yellow lights that flared from his hand—his ring—a writhing bundle of snakes swarmed out and towards the Lantern. In response, Green Lantern fired several short bursts, more to buy him more time as he sought some distance. With his cape flapping behind him, Sinestro followed.
Glaring at the Korugaran, Green Lantern formed several Marines who took shots at his pursuer. Sinestro easily formed a spherical barrier around himself, taking the shots before ramping up his speed and crashing through each construct, shattering each one.
Before Green Lantern could try another approach, Sinestro altered his shield, making it change shape into a creature that was a cross between a bull and a ram. The alien construct charged at him, but he finally found the imagination to whip out a construct in the shape of a wrecking ball, one he swung until it slammed into the side of the yellow construct.
A curved blade was nearly at his throat, the Lantern's eyes widening as he realized that he had fallen for a feint. That beast construct hadn't been meant to reach him. It took nearly bending himself backwards to avoid that sharp edge of that incoming blade. The yellow construct whipped about and reversed its course, the tip of its edge now swinging right for his chest.
Around his hands, he formed a very basic construct, one that did not have a solid form to it just yet, but that was all the time he had as he then brought them together, catching the yellow construct below it impaled his body.
With great effort, he shoved it to a side, spinning his body about as he tried to right himself. Sinestro was waiting for him, letting his construct go on to disintegrate while forming another one. This time, it was a large bird, one with a serrated beak and spiky feathers. The details led him to believe that it might have been based on a species native to Korugar.
No time to reflect on it. He needed some heavy artillery, and he happened to have an idea about that. From his ring, green tanks took shape, multiple ones, and each had their turrets aimed at Sinestro's large avian. As the yellow nightmare descended on them, his tank constructs fired. At first, the bird weathered the hits until finally one of its wings jerked back before a piece was torn off.
Disrupted, the yellow construct was blasted apart, but once more, Sinestro was no longer in sight. Another damn distraction.
A yellow flare drew his attention to his left, and once he had his bearings, he saw the largest construct on the battlefield. It was a battleship, spacefaring, and with the design belonging to the freaking Citadel. Of course, Sinestro was the one responsible for making it.
Like its real life counterpart, the ship construct fired a devastating beam that decimated the Lantern's tanks, along with anything and anyone in its path. Green Lantern was lucky that he managed to fly out of the way. Everyone else wasn't so lucky. He could hear the cries and screams from his fellow Green Lanterns, could see some were falling down to Oa and the city below.
Meanwhile, the ship construct faded away. Even someone as powerful as Sinestro wasn't able to keep up something like that for very long. Naturally, floating amidst the chaos, the Korugaran bastard had his arms crossed, looking pleased with himself.
Green Lantern had the incredible urge to fire back something of equal power. His mind ran through every weapon he knew, most of them Earth-based. For a moment, he thought about creating a MOAB, Mother of all Bombs…except, to try and recreate something with the explosive power of that…he might not possess that power.
The ring could make anything, but it was only limited by its wielder. He knew this, and Sinestro sure as hell knew it. Also, a MOAB wasn't his style to begin with. He wasn't the Yellow Lantern leader, and he couldn't afford to try to.
There was a dystopian future where he was, and he did not want to make it a reality.
"Paralyzed with fear. Typical," Sinestro chided. "John Stewart, you bring such shame to your predecessors."
He knew a goad when he heard one. As much as he wanted to respond to it, the dark-skinned Lantern knew better.
Still, it didn't stop him from retaliating all the same, forming several drill constructs that he launched at the Korugaran. Sinestro merely smirked, creating hammer-based constructs that swung and knocked aside each and every drill.
Changing tact, he made several swords. Sinestro created one large morning star, its ball end covered in spikes and shaft intricately decorated. The swords stood no chance against the yellow construct, the morning star's head cleaving through them. When the green constructs were dealt with, the yellow morning star swung again but with the Green Lantern as its target.
Green Lantern faced it, not about to back off. As it turned out, he didn't need to. The yellow construct stopped in its tracks, the cause for that being blue and red and with an S on the chest. Superman used his might to keep it in place, barely budging against it.
Even from here, he could see Sinestro frowning. However, the show wasn't finished. Holding the yellow morning star with one hand, the Man of Steel drew his fist back and then punched the yellow construct with enough force that the energies that gave it form shuddered and trembled until it broke apart, fading out of existence.
Nodding at his fellow Leaguer, Green Lantern crossed his arms as he stared down the Sinestro Corps leader. "Maybe I'm not the best there ever was, but I have friends who help me with my shortcomings. What do you have?"
The Korugaran studied the two Leaguers, then looked off to the side to regard the battle. While the power granted to his Corps made the Yellow Lanterns formidable, it was becoming clear that the tides of the battle were turning against him. The green light emitted from every Green Lantern out there was beginning to dominate the aerial field, yellow was waning.
If it kept up, especially with the reinforcements from Earth lending their aid, the Green Lantern Corps would win this one. It didn't matter if it took another hour, or the rest of the day.
"You can't hold out forever," Sinestro stated. "I have time. The Guardians don't. With every incursion, more of you and your weak, pathetic Corps fall, dead or injured. Wills shattered. The Guardians are slow to replenish their ranks, unlike myself. There will always be more fear than will."
"We'll see about that," Green Lantern retorted as he uncrossed his arms.
Snorting, Sinestro quipped, "We shall," while raising his arm above his head. From his yellow ring, an intense light flared, and both he and Superman had to look away. The bastard was trying to escape!
To try and combat the yellow light, Green Lantern held out his ring-bearing arm and fired back, green easily overpowering the yellow due to concentration of energy and the fact that Sinestro's choice of action was more a smokescreen. He didn't want eyes on him while he fled; without any direction to go, giving chase would be difficult if not impossible.
Green Lantern's attack was quick in that it cut the smokescreen short, but it was becoming more apparent that there was more to the flash of light than merely blinding anyone who looked at it. It had been brilliant in its intensity, so much so it caught anyone and everyone's attention. With focus on something else, the other Yellow Lanterns took the chance to make good their own escapes.
The slipstreams of yellow some left in their wake was the only clue to this, and they were fading quickly. A few Green Lanterns made to give chase, but only went as far as the atmosphere. They were tired, and sometimes not even the ring could make something as simple as extra energy or a second wind possible.
As he found himself staring up into the sky, he felt a hand on his shoulder, followed by reassuring words from Superman. "We'll get him next time."
Right. Next time. Because there was going to be a next time. A man like Sinestro didn't give up easily, and when he did, that was when you needed to be on your guard. It had been a tough fight, and rest was needed.
After that, there were some questions he was going to be needing the Guardians to answer. There was a part of him that doubted he would get those answers; the Guardians were rarely forthcoming with anything unless it was very bad.
Once more, he had a feeling this wasn't the beginning of something big. This was smack dab in the middle of it.