IN BRIGHTEST DAY - Mod Plot [LOG POST | 2 | IN BLACKEST NIGHT]

[wieldtherainbow]

Who| Everyone involved in the plot
What| A space battle
Where| In the space sector around Cargg
When| If relevant, like if you want to note it's after an event.
Warnings/Notes| Things may get violent/gory!

Unfortunately, even the last Green Lanterns didn't know where the yellows or reds had hidden their central power batteries. Their long lost bases were still lost to the universe. That meant the only way to find them was to wait for them to attack.

In the space sector around the planet Cargg, reports of an asteroid mining freighter getting attacked clued the Legion and their allies into where the yellows were. By the time they got there, the red Lanterns had also joined in -- attacking all comers, including the yellows themselves. As the different groups of Lanterns collided in combat, the deaths started almost instantly. New rings started seeking owners, including those of the reds and yellows.

By now, they'd all received at least enough basic training with their rings to function in battle, and they all still had use of their normal powers.

A squad of Green Lanterns led by Kilowog gathered around the freighter, trying to shield it from attack.

"Listen up, poozers!" Kilowog called out to his greens, leading them into the fight and setting up a perimeter. "We need to give this ship time to evac. Hold the line! If it's yellow or red, it's not getting through!"

Kid Quantum, wielding a blue ring, called out to the Legionnaires, "We need to protect that freighter! Everyone move in to support the greens. Hit and run tactics! Hit 'em fast and hit 'em hard. Let's go, Legion!"

Comments

[captainbuzzkill]

Dipper was shaking violently, terrified in a way he'd never been terrified before. Not even Bill had inspired this kind of fear in him. At least with Bill there'd been ways to eventually fight back -- there's always been hope. At his most beaten and broken, Dipper hadn't been ready to give up. With this, he was utterly powerless and it wasn't just his own life on the line. If he fought, Sam died. It was as simple as that.

"Sam, I can't, I can't --"

He couldn't do something that got Sam killed. Dipper was just a kid. Maybe he was a smart kid and maybe he was a brave kid, but he was still just a kid. He still wasn't ready to have to make decisions like this. Especially when it was another kid's life on the line -- someone not much older than him, someone probably just as afraid.

"I can't." Tears filled his eyes. "I'm not even supposed to be here. I lied. I'm only thirteen. I'm not even suppose to be on the team; I can't get you killed, I --"

His words broke off into a shrill scream as the Lantern dragged his little sparking tool over Dipper's thigh, cutting through his transuit and uniform, scalding his skin. Around the room, detritus levitated in the air, because Dipper didn't have that much control over his telekinesis, but they all shifted away, slamming into the wall behind him. He couldn't stop his powers from lashing out -- all he could do was not use them in ways that would make the yellow kill Sam.

"I'm not attacking!" he cried out. "I can't stop my powers from doing that, don't kill him, don't kill him, please, please--"

[wieldtherainbow]

"If you want him to live then scream."

[headinjuries]

Sam gritted his teeth as Dipper screamed, straining against the yellow light. "Stop!"

Knowing that Dipper had lied about his age didn't make this any better. If anything, it made it worse.

Sam was the one who was already a superhero. Sam was the one who'd already flown into near-certain death to protect other people, because that was what being a Nova was. Sam was older, even if only by a couple of years.

Sam wasn't the one who Dipper should be trying to protect, not like this.

And then Romat-ru told Dipper to scream, and all Sam could see was red.

[SAMUEL ALEXANDER, OF EARTH. YOU HAVE GREAT RAGE IN YOUR HEART.]

The red was not figurative.

None of them had noticed the red ring hovering among the debris, searching for a new master. Sam didn't notice it even after it started speaking, after it flew to him and slipped itself onto his finger. He couldn't think about anything else. All he wanted was to tear that guy limb from limb -

He opened his mouth, but this time what came out wasn't a desperate yell. Flaming blood spewed forth, the arc hitting Romat-ru in the side of the head.

[YOU BELONG TO THE RED LANTERN CORPS.]

[wieldtherainbow]

Romat-ru howled in pain as the red light burned him, burning through his yellow aura. The fire clung to him, still burning as it did, and the construct around Sam disappeared because of how he was distracted by the pain.

Sam was now free.

[captainbuzzkill]

And so was Dipper. The construct pinning him faded and as the little bubble holding their violet and green rings faded, too, Dipper lunged for them, catching them both, and quickly slipped the green ring back on his finger.

A protective aura of green sprung up around him, and he clutched Sam's violet ring in his hand.

He didn't attack the howling yellow Lantern. Instead Dipper stared at Sam in horror.

"Sam?"

[headinjuries]

Sam didn't respond. He didn't even seem to hear; the moment the construct faded, he was lunging forward at Romat-ru with an inhuman howl, a torrent of blood erupting from his mouth.

[wieldtherainbow]

Romat-ru screamed, trying to shield himself from the ragespew but he was no Blue Lantern. The red light seeped through his protective yellow aura, burning through it, then burning through his skin.

He dropped to the floor, burning, screaming louder, his flesh sizzling, until eventually the screaming stopped, and all that was left was a still-sizzling, blackened husk.

The butcher of thousands of children would butcher no more.

[captainbuzzkill]

That left Dipper and Sam alone. Dipper layered green ring energy and his own blue telekinetic aura around himself protectively, but he had a feeling that it wouldn't quite be enough in the face of the burning red light.

Still, he couldn't just leave Sam like this, trapped in this horrible state.

"Sam. It's over now," he said slowly, his voice trembling. "I'm safe. You're safe. ...Kind of."

He slowly held out his hand.

"You need to come with me now, okay? To the others."

There had to be some way to fix him.

[headinjuries]

He stared at Dipper for a moment, but there was no recognition in his eyes, no understanding. He might as well have been staring through him.

Because there was something louder than Dipper in the back of his mind, something telling him to kill rend slaughter tear him apart -

There was a crash from outside, and the ship shook from an impact. Sam looked up with a jolt, and then, in a streak of red, took off for the hole they'd come in through.

[captainbuzzkill]

"Sam!" Dipper tore after him, but quickly lost him as he disappeared into the battlefield. "No no no no!"

If he was one of the reds, he wouldn't be able to think for himself. If they left, they'd take him with them.

Dipper flew towards where many of the other Legionnaires were fighting. He had to tell Kid Quantum. There had to be some way to fix this.