Break the Siege
Despite what some media portrayals would have of him, Superman could not breathe in space. He highly doubted anything could; there was no air up here to breathe with. He needed specialized equipment to do that, and all of that equipment was back on Earth.
Fortunately, the Guardians had something to help with that. Sometimes, Lanterns needed to head out to the far reaches of space, and that meant maintaining a fleet of spacecraft. Included were breathing apparatuses, one of which he wore. The transparent surface over his face was so clear that he sometimes forgot it was right there. It was wide enough so that it did not obstruct his peripheral vision, and he could feel the back of it pressing against his head.
Thin hoses lead to the air supply, tucked under his cape. This would give an advantage because any Yellow Lantern would need to look for it in order to target it. Though, looking to Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl, theirs was more noticeable.
There were times when Green Lanterns had to work on hostile planets in which not even air could be trusted. Their rings could protect them, but there would be times when they would get too low in charge. It was safe to use the apparatuses at that point.
Speaking of, the rest of the Green Lanterns in his wake used none of these apparatuses. Their rings were supporting and maintaining them, making sure they were resistant to the harshness of space and its lack of air. All had recharged at the massive battery terminal in the center of the city, and before launch, they had sworn their oath to one another.
It had been a sight to behold, and then they were charging up into space to face off with the Sinestro Corps.
Oa grew small behind them, but not too small. Ahead was the asteroid that they had been told about, growing larger in size as they drew closer. He had expected to find a large rock in the middle of a void. He couldn't have been more wrong.
Yellow-colored constructs formed buildings, a small city that seemed to have latched onto the asteroid like a parasite. There was nothing that towered, but neither was it squat. Someone had taken time to put in architectural flourishes in the curves of some buildings, in how certain spires twisted—literally—and countless bridges connected each and every building together.
The Sinestro Corps hadn't just dragged a random asteroid across the galaxy, they had placed a small city on it to maintain their operations. These rings really did have power to them. No wonder there was such a mass of Yellow Lanterns in the holographic presentation. Like the Green Lanterns, the Yellow Lanterns were also recuperating and strategizing in a base that protected them from the hostile environment of space.
This might be harder than the Kryptonian anticipated, but they needed to stick with the plan.
As he flew closer, the front lines of the Sinestro Corps became visible. Of course the approach of the Green Lantern Corps would be noticed. Dots of yellow light grew in size, revealing they were the same auras that the Green Lanterns possessed, just another color. They were forming a wall in which to hinder their approach, a very dangerous and deadly wall.
The Corps behind him slowed to a stop while he and the League continued forward some distance. While not necessarily seeing the whites of their eyes, he could make out the individual bodies and forms of each enemy Lantern.
Right. It was just an army. An army of individuals who could create and shape any form they wanted through the use of a ring, but at the end of the day, they were another army. Every army had its commander.
He was expecting an assault of some kind. So far, the Yellow Lanterns had held back. That wouldn't last long, so he did the only thing he could think of. He called out, "We're here to speak with Sinestro! We just want to talk! This does not have to end with anymore fighting or dying. Let's negotiate and end this!"
What were the odds that this would succeed? According to Hawkgirl, there was no universe where it could even be conceived. They were trying to buy time as the Guardians wanted, so a trade of words could accomplish that much as well as buy time for the Green Lanterns. Less time fighting meant less time for anyone to die.
Nearby, he could hear Green Lantern mutter, "Let's see if this'll work." Another person who was optimistic.
The Yellow Lanterns zeroed their attention on him, shifting in place but not attacking yet. A good sign. Still, he needed to be ready for whatever came next.
What came next was a little bit of a surprise. While the Yellow Lanterns held their positions, someone had informed the leadership of the Man of Steel's proposal. Sinestro himself arrived on the scene, various Yellow Lanterns moving out of the way to let him through.
The yellow aura that surrounded this man was another reminder of the power he wielded. Narrow eyes gazed at the Kryptonian with disdain. He could feel his body tensing, but he did not act on it. He needed to relax and hear from the big man himself how this was going to go.
"So, the vaunted Green Lantern Corps choose to act from behind an intermediary," Sinestro said, derision coating every word. "I thought it was my Corps that wielded fear. Was I wrong?"
In space there was no way for sound to travel, yet Superman heard every word. The power of those power rings had to explain that. It also explained why he did not hear how Hawkgirl's wings ruffled.
"There has to be a compromise that we can reach," Superman tried, verbally reaching out to the Yellow Lantern commander. "There is no need to keep fighting. We can—"
"Save your breath. There was only one recourse, and this is it," Sinestro interrupted, folding his arms in front of himself. "The Green Lanterns protect a man responsible for numerous extinction level events. Who has sown more fear throughout the universe than has my Lantern Corps. You protect such a monster yourself, and deny justice. Why? What have your Oan masters promised you that you deny others their justice."
"Brainiac is responsible for the deaths of billions, if not hundreds of billions," Green Lantern spoke up. "He didn't kill them all. They all deserve a chance to be free of the prisons he put them in. He's the only one who knows where he harvested those cities. He's the only one who can tell us the exact conditions of each planet he raided."
Sinestro regarded Green Lantern and the contempt was obvious. "Is that what they told you? You don't need Brainiac for that, only another Coluan willing to work with you. I have a claim on that bastard's head and I mean to fulfill it. You come here leading an army and speak of peace. You want peace so badly, John Stewart, turn over Brainiac to my custody."
"And do what with him?" The words came out of his mouth, and Superman didn't understand why. No, he did. This wasn't the first he had been in a situation like this, told to hand someone over to another's custody. But this was Brainiac, the man who had destroyed Krypton. Why would he protect that alien's life from another's?
Sinestro tilted his head back, as if to look down his nose at the Kryptonian. "What part of his head did you not understand? His life is forfeit. I will have my satisfaction one way or another."
Execution. Death. As much as he understood, he could not step aside from what was little more than one man taking vengeance on another. The Kents had taught him to value life, even if it was a life like Brainiac's. Even if the temptation to act on his anger and grief had nearly prompted him to disregard those teachings, he couldn't throw those values away so easily.
Even if it was Brainiac, he had to stand up and defend the genocidal alien.
"I don't think it's justice you want. I think it's more revenge. No, what did you call it? Satisfaction," Superman challenged. "You're not fighting for your people, you're fighting for yourself."
Already narrow eyes narrowed further. "Is that what you think?" Sinestro retorted.
Wonder Woman spoke in response. "You know how Brainiac operates, do you not? He shrinks a city then destroys the planet. Did he arrive on your home world? That would be the only reason you would desire revenge, and if that is the case, there is one thing you haven't mentioned since we arrived here."
There was a pause, not even the enemy commander blustered to interrupt. Sinestro, by all appearances, seemed to be keeping calm, but maybe he really was looking for an opening, any opening, anything he could use to justify attacking.
Finally, Wonder Woman answered the question she had asked. "You have not mentioned your people once. If they were so dear to you, you would have mentioned them once by now. More than once depending on how deep your love is for them. Yet, you have not uttered anything about them. Not even once."
Superhearing was the only reason he was able to overhear Hawkgirl comment, "Shots fired."
Sinestro unfolded his arms, glaring at them. "I believe negotiations end here. If you will not give me the Coluan, then you will die here and I will take him by force."
With his Corps behind him, yellow light glowed with unholy intensity. It seemed the Yellow Lanterns were itching for a fight and about to go on the offense. It was too bad they couldn't drag this out longer.
Behind them, green light answered. The Green Lanterns weren't about to accept anything their yellow counterparts tried to throw at them. In some ways, it had always been a foregone conclusion. Fighting was inevitable.
As Superman got ready for the fight of his life, he rolled his shoulders to better loosen the muscles so he could better receive the incoming onslaught.
Shots were fired. The first volley came from the Sinestro Corp, a silent signal issued at some point. A multitude of green shield constructs were instantly made in response. Yellow blasts struck the shields, eating through them, splintering them, and finally destroying them.
And then the Green Lanterns fired back. Green beams raced into the enemy lines, striking many of the Yellow Lanterns at the front line. Some cried out as they were struck down; others were able to weather the storm by creating their own shield constructs.
Then the opposing lines surged forward. Green and yellow crashed into each other, flashes of green and yellow light erupting all over the battlefield.
Superman surged forward, plowing into and through a number of Yellow Lanterns. The manipulators of fear bounced off of him as he crashed through them. There was no sign of Sinestro, who he figured was the means to ending this conflict. Somehow he had vanished during the first volleys of energy beams.
That was when a giant, clawed hand construct wrapped around him, stopping the Kryptonian in mid-flight. Looking around, Superman caught sight of a Yellow Lantern using his ring on him. A few more joined him and all of them made similar hand constructs, which clapped down around the dark-haired man.
A look of concentration followed by strain appeared on his face. He began forcing his arms out and away from his body. He could feel the grip on him beginning to weaken.
And then a giant yellow weight construct slammed down on top of him. The force actually knocked him downwards, the hand constructs going along with him. Immediately they tightened around him as he stopped pushing against them.
"Superman!" Wonder Woman called out, but could not give chase as a number of Yellow Lanterns swarmed her. A number of chain constructs were thrown towards her, wrapping around her body, arms, and legs. Seeing what was about to happen, the Amazon rotated her arms and wrists so that she could grab onto the chains wrapped around her arms. Gritting her teeth, she pulled as hard as she could on the chains.
This caused the Yellow Lanterns creating them to be pulled towards her. In fact, they came flying towards her, looks of shock on their faces right before they reached her. Letting go of the chains, Wonder Woman got her hands back up and caught each Lantern with a hand, specifically right where the chest became the neck. The dark-haired woman pulled her arms out, which forced the Yellow Lanterns to either side of her, then she forced them back, slamming the two against each other. She did not hold back, and she could plainly hear the sound of bones cracking and snapping from the collision.
Meanwhile, Hawkgirl had taken evasive maneuvers, dodging yellow beams as she held her mace at the ready. This allowed her to close in on one Yellow Lantern and clock him across the head with her Nth metal weapon.
And all around them were Green Lanterns unleashing every possible construct they could conceive. Some attacked with swords and axes and shields; others opted for firing energy blasts over and over; others even formed cages and various restraints to capture the Yellow Lanterns.
In response, the Yellow Lanterns did much the same, though their swords and axes were wicked and cruel-looking; their beams were fired with just as much ferocity as the green ones; and they resisted the green restraint constructs by unleashing their yellow power.
War had been promised; war had finally come.
A yellow beam came racing towards Shayera. She held her mace up in front of her, using it as her shield. The beam struck the head of the mace and the Thanagarian felt herself being pushed back by it. She gritted her teeth as she maintained keeping her mace up.
The moment the blast ended, she saw a towering blue alien, large, bulky, and a mouth full of large, sharp teeth. He let out a war cry as he held a fist back, his ring hand to be specific. A number of yellow constructs emerged from the aura surrounding his arm. They looked like long, thin insect legs, but the ends of them formed razor sharp blades. The Yellow Lantern threw his fist towards the winged woman, the bladed insect legs stretching out towards her.
Shayera immediately darted to one side, avoiding the attack. She held her mace at the ready, fully intent on attacking. However, she noticed the blue alien held his other arm out, pointed right at her. From his palm, a number of yellow shackle constructs erupted, snaking towards her as chains were left in their wake.
Instantly, the Thanagarian backed away, swinging her mace back and forth. She struck one shackle, knocking it away, followed by a backswing that hit another. Swinging upwards, she hit another, which bounced off her mace and went high into the air. Strangely enough, none of the shackles made a second attempt at her after being struck.
And then the alien was on her. No longer did he have those insectoid legs growing out of his arm. Instead, he settled for a punch, one that slammed right into Shayera's face. Her head snapped to one side, spit flying out of her mouth.
Such a blow should have left her stunned, but somehow she wasn't. The redhead wasn't going to look that gift horse in the mouth though. Instead, she moved with the blow, spinning her body around so that she could lash out with a leg, landing a kick that struck the side of the Yellow Lantern's head. The surprise counter caused her opponent to back off.
Quickly ending her spin so that she could face him, it was then that Shayera recognized this Yellow Lantern as Arkillo. She had paid enough attention during the Green Lantern briefing to pick up on the lieutenants of the Sinestro Core and this was one of them.
That meant this guy wasn't going to be easy to beat. Good. She was up for the challenge.
Flaring her wings, Shayera took off upwards, arching to her right. This drew Arkillo's attention as he snarled. He then gave chase, holding up his ring hand so that he could fire an energy beam after her.
Because of her arcing trajectory, the beam missed her widely. This didn't deter the Yellow Lantern as he fired beam after beam after her. Flying by some random Yellow Lantern, she eyed that one long enough to see it get struck by one of Arkillo's beams, causing it to scream in pain. A nearby Green Lantern took advantage of this to finish off the stunned Yellow Lantern by blasting it with a green blast.
Then she changed her flight path, arcing downwards. This allowed her to face the chasing Arkillo as he closed in on her. Undeterred by her maneuver, he fired another blast at her, one the winged woman avoided as she twisted her body to one side, narrowly avoiding it.
And then they were on top of each other. With electricity dancing over her mace, Shayera swung it at Arkillo's head. Immediately, the blue alien jerked himself backwards avoiding the swing. In response, Shayera performed a backswing which Arkillo dodged by backing away again. She tried for another swing, only to miss again as well as her foe kept backpedaling.
With swiftness, Arkillo jerked his arm up, his ring glowing as he charged up yet another beam. This time, however, he intended on firing it point black at her.
The moment he fired, Shayera had ducked down, the attack flying just over her head. "Haaaaa!" she roared as she swung her mace upward, finally making contact as she struck the alien's ring hand.
Arkillo howled as he jerked his hand back from the pain, which stopped him from fueling his energy beam. Throwing herself upwards, Shayera held her mace above her head, even as she moved up above her opponent. She had one leg bent at the knee, which she used to ram underneath Arkillo's chin, causing his head to snap upwards. Continuing with her attack, she swung her mace down, landing a solid blow to his face.
Arkillo cried out as he immediately dropped down through space, stopping some distance away. Giving chase, Shayera held her mace at her hip, ready for another swing.
However, when she did so, a yellow shield construct formed between her and Arkillo. Her mace struck the construct, which weathered her blow.
Suddenly, sharp, jagged blades erupted around the edges of the shield construct. Arkillo swung his ring arm to one side before he swung it back, clearly trying to hit the Thanagarian with the side of the sharp blades of the shield. In response, Shayera held her mace up defensively and blocked the blow. Once again, she was pushed backwards from the blow.
"I'll kill you for striking me!" Arkillo snarled.
"You and every Gordanian I've ever faced," she shot back.
Arkillo roared as he pushed harder with his shield. Shayera could feel herself picking up speed as she was forced backwards. She wasn't certain where she was being pushed towards, but she couldn't help but think it wouldn't end well for her.
So she flared her wings upwards and immediately began dropping down. The shield construct moved over her head, along with the rest of Arkillo. Reaching out with a hand, Shayera grabbed onto one of her opponent's ankles. Pulling on the appendage, she swung herself upwards until she was viewing Arkillo upside down.
More importantly, she saw his broad, vulnerable back.
Pulling her mace back, she then thrust it forward, driving the Nth metal weapon right into the small of her blue aliens' back. Electricity immediately began crackling and shocked her foe. Arkillo screamed, jerking his body away from the blow.
Unfortunately, it didn't completely stop him. Pity. Perhaps there was a reason Arkillo was held in such high regard in the Yellow Lanterns—he was one tough son of a bitch. It looked as if she were going to have to keep chipping away at his endurance and pain tolerance until he finally gave in.
Like she mentioned earlier, she was up for the challenge.
This was insane. With the front lines of both Lantern Corps crashed together, chaos was the rule. The closer you were to the enemy line, the greater chance you had of being taken down. Green Lantern had found himself cut off from the League, and only his fellow Green Lanterns around him to provide support.
The Yellow Lanterns weren't holding back, but when did they ever? They were looking for a fight, found one, and were doing their best to kill as many as possible. There were bodies that were left to float, and the majority were Green Lanterns.
The Guardians had forbidden them from taking life with their rings. In war, that could be seen as a major handicap. That didn't mean accidents didn't happen and those Yellow Lanterns who fell were more victims of friendly fire as Sinestro didn't require any such handicap.
The best they could do was knock them out or chase them away. The latter group tended to come back at later points in the battle, far more refreshed compared to the green Corps.
At some point, Green Lantern found himself almost back to back with Kilowog. The Bolovaxian was primarily making some heavy-hitting constructs, which left Green Lantern to focus more on keeping the both of them safe. It wasn't that easy of a task as Kilowog's attacks were drawing a lot of attention from the Yellow Lanterns, and the dark-skinned Lantern's shields were being struck from multiple directions.
If nothing else, it ended up giving Kilowog a different direction to lash out at. Snarls of "Poozers!" were the most common insult coming from it.
He couldn't find any of the Leaguers. Where were they? Hopefully they wouldn't be in too much trouble, but then again he knew them. They'd be in the thick of it. He trusted them to make menaces of themselves until line of sight could be reestablished. Until then, it would be surviving.
Somewhere in this mess was Sinestro. Beat him, and that would be a significant blow to the Sinestro Corps. Where the hell was he?
"Any sign of Sinestro?" he called out to Kilowog. He strengthened his shield as a Yellow Lantern tried to take advantage of his distraction.
"Can't find the Poozer anywhere," Kilowog growled out. When there was a light source from above, the Bolovaxian growled as he aimed his arm up.
The mouth of a grotesque yellow construct tried to bite down on the both of them. It had teeth, it looked ugly, and must have come from someone's nightmare, but Green Lantern really didn't care about the details because he was expanding his shield to cover both himself and Kilowog. The pointed tips of the construct's teeth dug into the shield, and the Lantern found himself straining his concentration to keep it from breaking.
Kilowog was making use of his time by looking for a way out or a means to break up the construct. Between the sets of teeth, the crafter of this construct was visible, and Kilowog caught sight of him before giving a groan.
"Seriously, he's still here?" the Bolovaxian grumbled.
Green Lantern peeked and he understood Kilowog's exasperation. That was Enkafos. The twisted son of a bitch was taking part in the fighting.
"Hey, if I open up the shield, think you take this thing apart?" he grunted through clenched teeth.
Kilowog looked back at him. Then he looked upwards and down the yellow construct's throat. "Yeah, I think I can do that."
There was no need to ask for trust; it was a given between Green Lanterns. Allowing a hole in the top of his shield to spread open, Kilowog flew through while the light from his ring intensified. From it, a large drill formed and up it went. Green Lantern held on, and he could sense that the yellow construct's jaw was loosening. As Kilowog tore the construct from the inside out, the dark-skinned Lantern concentrated energy in his ring until he unleashed all of it at once.
The construct's jaws were torn apart, and the rest of it was shredded by Kilowog. However, Enkafos wasn't about to rest on his ass. The Sinestro Corps' torturer unleashed an enormous amount of shackles, all of which had something nastyembedded in them, from small spikes, small, toothy mouths, corkscrews, anything imaginable that would make those things clamping on you extremely uncomfortable, they had them.
A brick wall, tall and wide, that was the first thing Green Lantern had and that was the construct he made to block those nightmarish shackles. They struck the wall, some rebounding only to snake over and around. The dark-skinned Lantern flew back, trying to keep distance between himself and the pursuing yellow constructs.
Someone must have been trying to come up behind him, because there was a flare of green that flashed and Kilowog was bashing a Yellow Lantern in the head with a meaty fist. Why the fist? All the better for the Bolovaxian to use his ring to create a giant pair of sheers, ones that swung their sharpened edges down to cut the shackles' heads off.
Taking the chance, Green Lantern let his wall crumble so that he could fire a few blasts. They were aimed not at the constructs but at their creator who simply made a spherical shield of his own.
Kilowog used the distraction to make a vice and slid it up underneath Enkafos. The clamps slammed down on either side of the yellow shield and held the Lantern in place. This gave Green Lantern the option to try something else, which he did.
A jackhammer. Even if it couldn't get through that shield, it was going to make a lot of sound that would get through. If nothing else, it was going to give that sadistic bastard in there a headache, which was the least he deserved.
As the jackhammer construct went to work, Green Lantern called to Kilowog, "How long can you hold him?"
"We're going to find out,' Kilowog grunted back.
Not the best answer, but it was going to have to do. So long as they could keep Enkafos pinned, that meant no one else would have to deal with him. In the meantime, the Guardians' trump card would need to hurry up.
The Yellow Lanterns were people that controlled fear, acted on it, and did their best to instill it unto others. That is what made them powerful, or so they believed.
Diana did not find them frightening in the least.
With a flick of her wrist, she sent her lasso out, which found purchase around the ankle of one of these Yellow Lanterns. Yanking hard, she began spinning around in a circle, which subsequently caused her captured Lantern to spin around with her. This wasn't a new trick, just an effective one as she hit other Yellow Lanterns with the one entangled with her lasso. That they hadn't learned from the first time she had done this didn't speak well to their group's battle experience.
However, this time a Green Lantern joined in. Specifically, she caught sight of them powering up their ring, placing themselves in the path of the Yellow Lantern she swung. Diana continued her spin until she abruptly released her lasso's hold. This sent the Yellow Lantern flying right for the Green Lantern.
The Green Lantern then created a construct, a large wall. The Yellow Lantern slammed right into the construct, practically splatting against it. It was much like looking at a bug on a windshield.
Alarms went off in Diana's head then. Jerking her head around, she spotted a Yellow Lantern practically on top of her, a wicked blade extending out of his ring. Her reflexes were the only reason she was able to block the sharp construct. There were brief flickers of sparks of the construct against her bracer, but the vacuum of space quickly killed the sparks.
Looking past her arm, Diana then recognized the magenta colored skin, the thin moustache, and the disdain expression on her attacker's face. Sinestro. It seemed he had been trying to go for a killshot on her when she had her back to him.
Using her Gaia-blessed strength, she forced the Yellow Lantern leader back, the Amazon backing off so she could better assess her latest foe. Sinestro allowed his construct to fade away, the man moving both of his hands behind his back as he regarded her.
"You're faster than I thought you were," he finally said after a moment.
"Underestimating an opponent?" she remarked. "Not a wise decision."
"There is nothing to underestimate, nor overestimate. You are a woman," he sneered back. "You stand no chance."
Aside from being a dictator, he was a misogynist as well. "Says the 'man' that tried to attack said woman from behind," she pointed out. "Is your faith in your own power so small you would resort to such tactics on the onset?"
A scowl appeared on Sinestro's face. "Prepare yourself, woman. I will make you experience the depths of despair."
"Do your worst," she challenged him back.
In an instant, a number of long, mechanical-looking legs emerged from Sinestro's back, reaching around him to reveal a number of sharp claws at their ends. The legs then launched towards her, converging on her position.
Diana had two choices to avoid such an attack; she picked the offensive one over the defensive one, which would have been to back away. Using her speed, she launched herself towards Sinestro, his yellow leg constructs striking each other where she had been last. She moved so fast that she was instantly in front of her foe, whose eyes had widened when he realized where she was. Crossing her arms in front of her, the dark-haired woman rammed right into the Yellow Lantern leader, forearms pressed right onto his chest. The force she hit him with pushed him backwards, the two flying through the battlefield. Sinestro grunted every time they struck someone, be it a Green or Yellow Lantern.
Finally, Diana pushed back against Sinestro, grabbing onto him with one hand so that he didn't completely pull away from her. Drawing her other hand back, she then swung it forward, slamming a fist into the man's abdomen. In rapid succession, she pumped her arms back and forth, landing punch after punch into Sinestro's guts, repeatedly knocking the wind out of him, leaving him stunned.
Then with one final punch, she sent the man flying away, the Amazon coming to a stop herself to watch him go. It took several moments before Sinestro slowed himself to a stop, a hand clutching at his stomach. He glared at her across the distance between them.
Then a number of yellow blobs formed around the man. Clearly they were constructs, ones that began to form into more solid objects. It took her a moment to realize they looked like alien-versions of cannons. There were six in total, all hovering around Sinestro.
Then they all fired large yellow blasts at her. Immediately, Diana took evasive maneuvers, shooting downwards as the blasts flew over her head. However, that was merely just the first volley. The cannons continued firing at her, which caused her to keep flying to avoid them.
Eventually, she changed her trajectory, arching through space until she was flying upward. She used more speed, which allowed her to come up behind the formation of cannons. However, when she arrived, she noticed a lack of Sinestro present.
Where did he go?
Turning her head left and then right, Diana then spun around and spotted another Yellow Lantern charging at her. This one didn't try to use their ring, merely settling for a punch. The Amazonian warrior bided her time until she saw the punch thrown, which she blocked with a forearm.
Before she could parry or even counter, a yellow blade suddenly exploded out of the Yellow Lantern's chest. Blue eyes widening, Diana tried to jerk her way out of the blades path but wasn't completely successful. The sword bit down on the top of her shoulder, cutting through flesh and leaving a long red line that started at her collar bone and went over the top of her shoulder.
Regardless, the dark-haired woman pulled away, even as the sword faded. The Yellow Lantern had a shocked expression on their face, right until they were shoved to one side, revealing Sinestro, emotionless from what he had done.
"You would kill your own man?!" Diana demanded, both of her hands clenching tightly into fists.
"I would kill an entire planet if I must," Sinestro replied, not the least bit taken back. "So long as I emerge victorious."
An "ends justify the means" person. She could not help but feel infuriated by this. She lunged towards the man.
In response, Sinestro launched a number of constructs at her. Each one looked like an oversized beartrap, the rows of sharp teeth filling a metal framed mouth. The jaws snapped open and closed as they closed in on her.
Diana immediately stopped her flight, holding her arms up to defend herself. One set of jaws reached her first, looking to bite down on her shoulder. The Amazon dodged to one side while throwing a fist. Surprisingly, the construct shattered upon contact with her fist.
A second one was on her immediately, and she did the same, dodging away from its snapping teeth and shattering it with a punch. A third and fourth came and they ended the same way.
Suddenly, yellow coils wrapped around her legs, pining them together. Diana would have looked down, but a fifth set of jaws was heading right for her head. Shooting both of her hands up, she caught the construct with her hands, each unwisely inside of the mouth by gripping the teeth. Spreading her arms out, she ended up ripping the mouth in two.
And then she was yanked downwards. Falling through space, the dark-haired woman finally looked down and saw an even larger yellow construct, one that looked like a giant frog with—you guessed it—a mouth full of razor sharp teeth. The rope wrapped around her legs was in fact its tongue, and it was pulling her right into its mouth.
It was a frightening sight to behold, but something John had said to Diana had stuck with her. The counter to fear was an indomitable will—perhaps not his exact words, but it was close enough. Fear only controlled you if you allowed it to.
Diana was not afraid of this latest construct.
Steeling her resolve, she then leaned forward and immediately raced down towards the frog monster construct. Its tongue trailed behind her. She went right into the monster's mouth, passing unscathed by the teeth. Once she was past the mouth, the Amazon found herself in a hollow space. Clearly Sinestro hadn't bothered to make the insides of whatever creature this was.
She kept up with her speed though, and she eventually reached what could be considered the back end of the construct. She slammed into it with as much force as she could and the construct shattered upon impact. She exploded out the backside of the construct, sending pieces of it flying out into space.
The frog monster then faded away. Clearly Sinestro didn't see the point of keeping it. Again, the Amazon sought out the magenta-skinned man and finally spotted him taking aim with his ring.
A smirk appeared on her face. No doubt he was trying to come up with some construct that could frighten her and give him more power over her. He would find himself disappointed, however. There was nothing he could do that could scare her.
A fist slammed against yellow, and yellow attempted to hold its shape until it no longer could, disintegrating while giving some kind of backlash effect to the Yellow Lantern.
It wasn't often Superman felt he could let loose, but knowing that breaking these constructs would at most only stun those who could not hold the integrity behind their creations, it gave him the rare opportunity to not hold back. He wasn't, at least with his strength. Normally he'd be using his heat vision, but the breathing apparatus around his head couldn't be penetrated or damaged.
So might it was. These Yellow Lanterns channeled fear into the heart of whatever they made, but nothing they could make scared the Man of Steel more than the prospect of failing and allowing Kandor to remain in its prison. They had been trapped for far too long. His resolve to see them free at last only strengthened what he could throw.
The Yellow Lanterns, however, weren't about to let him take it easy. A number had noticed him and were on their way to stop him. They could try, the Kryptonian told himself and he flew his way towards them.
They threw everything at him. Everything that wasn't Ma's infamous meatloaf. Horrific and terror-inducing beasts, sharp-tipped weapons of every type and kind, torture restraints, and when those failed, generic blasts. Superman took all of them head on.
He punched what appeared to be a demonic goat, took hold of its expansive horns and swung it around and into a volley of sharp weaponry and scattering them, punched again to launch that goat construct like a massive projectile and forcing a few Yellow Lanterns to dodge, maneuvering out of the way of a few yellow beams, and tackling some kind of boar. This yellow, alien boar was used as a shield against some kind of rectangular object—that looked like an iron maiden, actually. Other alien species had come up with such a thing, who knew? Well, the yellow boar construct was slammed into this alien iron maiden, and he broke off from there to sideswipe a nearby Yellow Lantern, spinning the enemy Lantern about.
Blunt constructs tried to smash into him, and he dodged. Serpent-esque creatures tried to ensnare him, but were too slow as he tore through them. Two Yellow Lanterns tried to intercept, but he was faster than them, and dealt with both by knocking their heads against one another. Throwing them each to a side, he continued fighting everything that came his way. It didn't matter if he had to dodge, deflect, or even strike out at what the Yellow Lanterns tried to attack with, he didn't let up for a moment.
At one point, a yellow construct managed to wrap around his ankle. It held tight, enough to disrupt his flight path, and when he was distracted for only a second, he found other Yellow Lanterns encasing him in yellow-colored wrappings, ones that sought to mummify him. They resisted any strength he tried to exert, slowly limited movement, and squeezed tighter and tighter until his limbs could not move. Yet, he was not panicking, far from it. He still had some tricks.
One of them had him taking inspiration from Flash, and that was to begin spinning. As much as these wrappings tried to hold him still, the best they did was pin him, but not stop him entirely. He needed to build up enough speed, and then did that, the wrappings losing their grip yet none of their elasticity. Faster then, build up the centripetal forces, force these creations of the Yellow Lanterns to start operating on his rules instead of theirs, give himself more and more room so that he could maneuver his arms to where they needed to be and…
Sometimes you had to be a showman. A feat of strength had the habit of stunning those who witnessed it, especially when they were the opposition to it. Superman broke them, tatters of the yellow bindings flying about. Without stopping, he flew about, grabbing the frayed ends of the slowly disintegrating constructs, and once he had as many as he could, he began to spin again, only this time he brought along the Yellow Lanterns who weren't fast or smart enough to stop powering their constructs.
How many he was able to hold onto, the Man of Steel did not know, but he figured the answer was enough when he threw these Lanterns at the largest gathering of their comrades that he could find, and their flight paths had them colliding with other Yellow Lanterns.
Yellow hands suddenly clapped down on either side of him., hitting with such a force that the Kryptonian felt squeezed between them. He was easily enveloped by them, trapped between two palms, but it was going to take more than this. He pushed back with his strength, the yellow-colored constructs inching apart as Superman exerted himself. The large yellow hands continued to exert pressure, trying to close down on him again, but he wouldn't let that happen.
Not that he had the choice. Another Yellow Lantern was coming in to try and take advantage. From that particular yellow ring, a construct that took the shape of a heavily spiked ram was formed and thrown right at him. Superman watched its approach, resisting the might of the hand constructs on either side of him until when the ram was only a few feet away did he speed his way out of its path. The hand constructs slammed together and then were pieced by the ram construct.
Superman appeared in front of the Yellow Lantern that had tried to spear him. He could read the surprise in the alien's eyes, but before the Lantern could respond, the Man of Steel punched the ring-bearing hand before any other action could be taken. The Yellow Lantern cried out, yanking back a hand that now possessed multiple broken bones and appeared mangled.
Without missing a beat, Superman spun around and stopped an incoming yellow construct, what it was he had no idea, but the punch he leveled it with caused another backlash into its creator. The Yellow Lantern who's hand was crippled stared slack jawed at the sight, fear welling up in its eyes. The Kryptonian turned back to that Lantern and raised an eyebrow.
Needless to say, the injured Yellow Lantern took off, fleeing.
Alright. Who was next?
Before he could identify a part of the battle that he could assist, the Guardians' trump card arrived. Caught up in all the fighting and chaos, Superman didn't immediately spot it, which in hindsight he would slap his head about. In his defense, how was he suppose to know that the thing the Guardians were placing their hopes in was a planet?
The planet Oa had hidden its approach. The battle had indeed drawn Yellow Lanterns that had been positioned around the besieged planet and so thinned those ranks. Distracted as the Kryptonian was, as was everyone around them, the actual time of arrival had been missed, and those other Yellow Lantern positions had been dealt with.
This newly arrived planet glowed green, not unlike the auras that covered the Green Lanterns themselves. What gave away that this might not be a rogue planet of any sort was that dead in the middle was a glowing symbol, identical to that of the Green Lantern Corps themselves. The poles of the planet were coated black while a green stripe stretched along its equator. As it drew closer, it gained a lot of attention, cheers and excitement from the Green Lanterns and hesitation from the Yellow Lanterns.
Later, he would learn that this planet had a name. Mogo.
He did not know this at this time. All he would know was what happened next. There was a voice, one that impossibly traveled through the void of space. It echoed within the head, and would do so for a very long time. It might inspire fear in some, but for him, it soothed. The words were simple, but effective all the same.
"ALL WILL BE WELL."
From the heart of the Green Lantern symbol, a powerful green beam fired, streaking through outer space with incredible speed, ended only when it struck the asteroid that the Sinestro Corps had been using as a base. The destruction and devastation from the blast deafened the Man of Steel, stunning him for a change. The yellow constructs that had resisted green well enough were obliterated in an instant, a show of the might that will itself was capable of.
When vision returned, hearing ringing, and awareness regained, Superman was treated to the sight of a destroyed asteroid and to the army of Yellow Lanterns taking flight, abandoning the battle. They had put up a fight, no doubt, but even they seemed to realize any resistance they used against this green-glowing planet would be useless. Their fear had them break ranks and leave.
That didn't stop the Green Lanterns from trying to capture as many as they could. Anything to further weaken the Yellow Lanterns and their Corps, buying precious time until another attack was made on Oa. As the battlefield emptied, Superman was able to spot his fellow Leaguers, from Hawkgirl flying after one particularly ugly Yellow Lantern, to Earth's Green Lantern trying to help with the capture and apprehension actions, to finally Wonder Woman—
—and an infuriated Sinestro.
"Get back, you cowards!" the red-skinned alien roared, trying to shore up the discipline in his Corps. He wasn't leaving, not yet, and this was an opportunity, wasn't it?
Superman rushed over to join with Wonder Woman's efforts. "It's over, Sinestro!" he called out. "You can't win!"
Sinestro's eyes found the Kryptonian, then they broke off eye contact to form both a shield and defense against Wonder Woman taking advantage of his distraction. But in turning his attention to his fellow Leaguer, it gave Superman the chance to slam into that shield. The spherical barrier rippled, trying to hold up, but like with nearly every other yellow construct he faced, it also broke. Unlike other Yellow Lanterns, Sinestro did not experience the backlash effect, more than likely letting the construct be destroyed than try to continue to fuel it.
Sinestro fired off a blast, but its intention was to gain the alien some distance. Wonder Woman sought to not let that happen by throwing out her lasso. A yellow pipe constructwas captured by the golden loop, and Sinestro pushed the pipe towards the two Leaguers.
Something warned him that there was something else to this construct, and the Kryptonian raced his way to Wonder Woman, putting himself between her and the construct which abruptly blew apart, sending construct shrapnel at them. He could feel every little piece of the destroyed construct strike his back, but he was tough and could take a lot.
However, Sinestro had another purpose for this. While Superman was protecting Wonder Woman, the Yellow Lantern commander was following the example provided by those under his command and was attempting to escape.
"This is not over!" Sinestro called over his shoulder, holding his arm above his head where a bright yellow light flared, blinding anyone who happened to look at it. From within the flash, "I will not rest until I have that Coluan's head! Never rest!"
When the yellow light faded, the fleeing Yellow Lantern was nowhere in sight. As Superman turned away from Wonder Woman, he did his best to search for the Lantern. He had all sorts of visions to call upon, but with every passing second, Sinestro's escape would become more and more successful.
Even with the exhausted Green Lanterns that he had fought side by side with, apprehending Sinestro this day was not to be. His threat would remain, but it was not as immediate. As Green Lantern would later assure him, they'd have another chance.
Until then, the battle was won, the siege was broken, and tomorrow would offer so much promise.