Willful Thinking (Invincible/DC | Green Lantern OC-Insert) - Chapter 19 (Patreon)

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Oscar Ward

We’re not in our space station. In fact, I’ve had the whole thing locked away safely in my ring since we touched down on Talescria. Though it’s also been two months since then. I lift the Infinity Ray to my face, scrutinising every sleek inch of it under the glaring overhead lights. Green light spills from my ring as I run it slowly along the weapon, taking in every little ridge and nook I can and can’t see. While that happens, I turn the Infinity Ray over once, narrowing my eyes before holding my other hand out.

An identical hard-light Infinity Ray takes shape in my grip. Across the ship lounge, Zoe and Princess Lin turn at the sudden flash of light. See, after our discussion with Thaedus, Zoe and I decided to head back to Gelderia and grab the proper diplomatic delegation, composed of Princess Lin, General Vasel, and the boy Veln. Things are pretty awesome over there. All the damage is essentially smoothed over, and His Majesty seemed considerably less stressed now, though we didn’t stay long.

Now we’re on our way back to Talescria ourselves, except instead of flying there like normal people, the three of us are aboard a Coalition ship that’s spent the better part of the last few days taking the scenic route through fucking nowhere. Of course, on the way back, we also spent plenty of time hopping around Coalition space tasting food and seeing different planets and people while we were at it.

It actually didn’t take much to convince Space Racer, contrary to my expectations. Though I guess spending who-knows-how-long in an asteroid field would leave a guy a tiny bit gluttonous. I don’t ever want to remember even half the stuff I ate. Let’s just say being capable of eating literally anything without worrying about getting poisoned is a superpower I have criminally underappreciated.

Veln leans closer. “...Fire it.”

“The Infinity Ray or my replica?” I ask. Given the fact we’re in a moving vehicle, I don’t think my gun’s lack of infinite OP firepower is going to stop it from damaging the ship. A set of heavy footsteps pads down the gangway behind us before Veln can answer my question.

…You know, I hope it’s General Vasel, but I just know it’s not when the Infinity Ray twitches in my hand.

“Fuck…”

I let go, because it’d be more painful to fight, watching the gun sail over my head and slap into its owner’s expectant alien hand. Space Racer catches it without breaking stride, returning the Infinity Ray to the holster at his side.

“You know, you could just ask,” I mutter petulantly.

“Like you did?” he says with dry amusement in his voice.

“I… see your point.”

Space Racer grunts and starts back down the gangway. I glance at Veln, who’s still staring after the Infinity Ray.

Laying a hand on his shoulder, I say, “We’ll get our chance.”

He nods solemnly.

“Coalition vessel, cut your engines.”

Space Racer stops in the middle of the gangway. The voice rings through my head clearly. It’s not the first time Space Racer’s communication chip has given me the pleasure… but in the dead of space? Frowning, I look towards the windows on instinct, right as three people drift into view beyond the glass in white uniforms emblazoned with grey insignias.

“...Huh.”

One of the men floats closer to the ship as it slows, hands clasped behind his back. Behind me, Veln and Princess Lin don their tech jackets.

“Surrender yourselves and the warrior-class tech jackets aboard your vessel to the Viltrumite Empire. In light of your… disobedience, you may consider this one very final mercy.”

“...Well,” I say, scratching my cheek. “Shit.”

The Viltrumite’s expression doesn’t change.

“You will exit the vessel with the technology.”

“Yeah, yeah. Give us a second.” Zoe pushes herself out of her seat while I head for the container. Princess Lin starts forward, only for me to raise a hand.

“We’ve got it,” I say.

Zoe grabs one end of the container, and I grab the other, lugging it towards the airlock. I can practically feel Space Racer watching us from the gangway, but he doesn’t move as the inner doors shut behind us. Our helmets slide into place, the air drains, and a few seconds later we float into open space.

The three Viltrumites spread apart as we emerge. The man who first spoke has dark balding hair and a moustache. The other man and the woman are both black, with greyish hair and slightly wrinkled faces. The guy who spoke to us hangs back while the other two approach, each carrying a pair of thick metal restraints.

“Release the container,” the woman says in my head.

I do.

It floats all the way to the first Viltrumite in the back. He catches it one-handed, looking down at the sealed lid. The other two keep coming with their cuffs. Zoe raises her hands towards them, and I do the same.

“Just so we’re clear, these aren’t going to explode or anything, right?”

The woman reaches for my wrist. “Silence.”

“...Rude.”

Something snaps out of the underside of my wrist, and at the same instant, Zoe’s forearm splits open as two little flashes cross the space between us. The woman jerks. The Viltrumite reaching for Zoe does the same. The woman looks down at the tiny black dart buried beneath her collarbone and pulls it free. Her brow furrows as she turns it between her fingers.

I hit her hard enough to fold her around my fist, feeling several things crunching even though I didn’t manage to hit her hard. Zoe’s Viltrumite barely gets his arms up before she crashes into him. Her shoulder drives into his chest, carrying him far away from the ship before she catches him by the head and changes direction so violently I hear his neck crack through the comms.

The one in the back flares his nostrils in rage. “What have you—”

A purple beam tears through the darkness to envelop him completely, including the box tucked beneath his arm. Space Racer shoots past the ship behind us with the Infinity Ray levelled in both hands, having atomised the guy. Fucking hell…

The woman recovers before I can admire it any longer, but barely. She stops herself a few hundred metres away and rockets back towards me, blood now pouring freely from her nose and fucked-up jaw. I slip sideways right as Zoe comes screaming back in to punch through her back.

“Eugh!” My armour’s spattered with blood, chunks of bone, and viscera.

“I didn’t expect to punch through her!” Zoe shrieks through my helmet.

“What did you think it was going to do? Thaedus explained how the darts work!”

The Viltrumite convulses around Zoe’s arm. I grab her by the face before she can recover, wrench her free, and swing. Zoe understands immediately. Her boot meets the woman’s skull on the opposite side to my fist and, well… there’s not much of a skull left afterwards.

I stare at the floating corpse for half a second.

“...Okay.”

“Behind you!”

His fist slams into a green shield inches from my face and cracks it straight down the middle. I stare through the fracture at him. He looks considerably worse than before. I thought he was dead, but his neck’s just very crooked. He punches again, and the shield breaks, forcing me to catch his fist.

“Oh, wow,” I mutter as I squeeze, feeling bones crunch and grind together inside my armoured hand.

He tries to wrench himself away, but Zoe grabs him from behind and drives both knees into his spine. His back bends around her legs while I pull in the opposite direction. The Viltrumite screams inside my head. I let go of his ruined hand, form Mjölnir, and swing it straight into his face.

His head bursts and the rest of him just… spins away.

Zoe looks down at herself. “...Holy shit.”

Space Racer glides towards us on his bike with the Infinity Ray still in hand. His eyes pass over the two bodies, then over Zoe and me.

“...Well done.”

I dismiss Mjölnir. “Thanks. Now, lemme clean myself.”

“Do not be long,” he says in my head. “The Viltrumite warship is likely not far behind. The slaves fight out of fear. You would be naive to presume killing these Viltrumites would prevent them from destroying our ship.”

I nod and glance past him towards the remains of the first Viltrumite—or lack thereof. I blast off with the aid of my armour, pushing myself to move even faster with the help of my lovely ring. As the blood peels off me, I focus and form a hard-light Infinity Ray in my hand, pointing it towards the two corpses.

…Ring, big beam. As close to what he just did as we can manage. And put both bodies in subspace the second the beam covers them.

Affirmative.

I fire.

Green light floods my vision as a beam wider than either corpse tears across the space in front of us. I keep it going for another second, mostly because I have an audience, before cutting the construct.

I stare at the empty space.

Space Racer stares at it too.

“Well?” I ask, dismissing my construct; his verdict is swift.

“No.”

“Oh, come on! That was pretty close!”

“It was green and did not possess a fraction of the Infinity Ray’s power.”

“Well, I’m working on it. You know what would help? Getting a better look at your Infinity Ray!”

…Turns out the cosmic weapon’s a little bit too complex for a cursory scan. But he’s so possessive of it that I haven’t been able to get longer than a handful of minutes with the thing in the past two months!

Two biological specimens secured in subspace.

“Anyway!” I clap my hands together. “We should probably go now.”

【—〄—】

“So?”

Thaedus leans back in his chair, fingers laced over his stomach. It’s really only me and Zoe in here. This time, the entire High Council’s in town, so General Vasel, Veln, and Lin are back at our accommodation, planning for their meeting tomorrow and otherwise settling in. Space Racer fucked off almost immediately after landing, leaving Zoe and me to report what happened.

“The information provided to your attackers was only known to one individual outside this room,” Thaedus says. “We confronted him shortly before your arrival, and he is neutralised.”

My fist shoots up, and Zoe meets it halfway with her own.

“The deception was your idea. You are entitled to celebrate its success.” Thaedus clears his throat, failing miserably to hide his amusement. “Though you may have another reason to celebrate. Allen and Nolan returned three days ago.”

I stop. “...What?”

“Both are currently in the eastern residential wing. Allen is with—”

“Thank you!” I’m out the door, beaming a map into my HUD to lead me exactly there. The doors aren’t even fully open before I squeeze through.

“ALLEN!”

A hulking orange figure at the other end of the corridor turns.

His single eye widens. “...Do I know you?”

I launch myself at him, and on account of my buffed strength barrel the both of us through the open door, letting my helmet retract. He catches me against his chest and immediately squeezes hard enough that something in my back pops.

“Ozzy, you’re alive!”

Allen laughs and lifts me completely off the floor. I haven’t even bothered putting my armour on, so I’m just dangling there.

“What happened? Your sort of just disappeared, man!” He puts me down just as Zoe enters and closes the door.

“I heard you got mauled by space dinosaurs,” I say.

“I don’t know what dinosaurs are, but if you mean the Rognarrs, then yes. We’ve got like eight of them in a cryogenic chamber.” He flexes against his skin-tight suit. “They sure did help me bulk up, though!”

I grin. “That’s fucking awesome!”

“I know!” He gives me an appraising look. “I don’t remember you being this strong. Your new Gelderian tech? Thaedus told me about it. This is your friend… Zee, right?”

“Zoe,” she says, smiling. “I know you just said it, but holy fuck you’re yoked.”

Allen laughs. “My girlfriend loves it. It’s pretty neat. …Ooh. How about I introduce you guys! She’s in the living room. Nolan’s in the kitchen, I think. Guys! We’ve got guests!”

“Uh…” Her face blanches.

“Sure,” I say, giving her shoulder a pat. “We’re fine.”

Zoe makes a face. “...Well, I can’t help it! I hear Omni-Man, and I immediately think of Chicago!”

“How’s he any different to Thaedus?”

“Thaedus didn’t fuck up Chicago!”

I frown as I think it over. “...You’re right. Hey, but like I told you when we first met him, Thaedus has 100% killed more people than Nolan.”

Allen laughs and leads us into the living room, where a humanoid, noseless blue woman is sprawled across one of the couches watching something on a screen.

She looks up. “Guests?”

“Telia, this is Ozzy and Zoe. Ozzy, Zoe, Telia.”

“Hi!” I raise a hand. “Nice to finally meet you. Allen really talked you up.”

“I… wasn’t there for that, but hey!” Zoe gives her a wave.

Telia looks me up and down. “I’m guessing you’re the Green Lantern who randomly disappeared. Allen couldn’t help going on about you.”

“For good reason! I think the guy’s gone back to do work only for Mark to tell me he’s chasing aliens! That’s worth going on about, no?”

…I’d say so, yeah. 

Telia laughs and gets to her feet, walking over to kiss Allen before offering us both a hand. A cupboard shuts in the kitchen, and Zoe’s smile immediately stiffens as I shake the offered limb.

Nolan stops when he sees me. His eyes move over my face, then down over my tech jacket before rising above the shoulder level.

“Oscar. Good to see you’re alive.”

That’s surprisingly nice of him considering everything. She goes rigid once his attention shifts to her.

“...ohmygod,” she whispers.

Nolan glances at me. “I take it she knows.”

“Everything relevant.” I wait for something else, but nothing else comes, leading to this weird, nervous-energy-infested Mexican standoff, at least on Zoe’s end.

“Well! I was about to go get lunch.” Telia claps her hands together.

Allen perks up immediately. “Oh! Yes. Barry’s? Would you like to come, guys? I’ll introduce you to my buddy Vorg after. He’s like your Earth cats, except he’s got one eye.”

“Absolutely,” I say, ignoring the slight fall in Telia’s expression.

Zoe looks away from Nolan with great effort. “...Y-Yeah. Sure.”

“Nolan?” Allen asks.

“No, thank you. I’ve a meeting with Thaedus.”

We say our goodbyes and head out, Allen and Telia taking the lead while Zoe and I follow them towards the lifts. We make it halfway across the front lobby before Allen stops. There’s a man sitting against the wall near the entrance, sort of collapsed there rather than sitting per se. His face is buried in his hands, shoulders shaking hard enough that I can see it from here.

Anyone who passes is giving him a wide berth.

“Aw, hell,” Allen whispers as we approach from a distance.

Telia sighs. “Just walk on. There’s nothing we can do.”

“Who’s that?” Zoe asks.

“One of the Data Twins. Or, well, the one data twin now. He and his brother oversee all our records. At least, they did.”

“Why…” My eyes fly open. “One of them was the mole!”

“Mhm.”

Allen speeds up, meanwhile, reaching down and saying something I only hear the tail end of as we arrive. “...up you go, sparky. Chin up, man. We’re all relying on you now.”

The Data Twin sniffs hard and lets Allen haul him to his feet. Whatever he’s been using to wipe his nose has given up the ghost a while ago.

“Thanks,” he manages.

“You gonna be okay?”

The Data Twin gives this awful little laugh and rubs his eyes. “No, but I have work to do.”

“...Yeah.” We watch him shuffle towards the lifts until the doors close behind him.

Allen glances at me. “Hey. Don’t.”

“Don’t what?” I ask.

“Whatever you’re doing right now. You’ve got the face, so fix it. It wasn’t your fault.”

“What face?”

“The guilty face.”

“I don’t have a guilty face.”

Zoe gives me a sidelong look. “You kind of do.”

“She’s right.” Allen puts a hand on my shoulder. “He made his own choices, Ozzy. You found him. That’s all.”

…Still feels like shit, though.

Telia watches me for a moment before slipping her arm through Allen’s. “Come on. Barry’s.”

Allen nods. “Barry’s.”

“Food,” I agree.

Turns out there are very few sombre moods that can’t at least be temporarily beaten into submission by the prospect of lunch. After a call from Zoe, Veln and Lin escape whatever diplomatic preparation General Vasel had them doing and meet us there. The place itself isn’t basically a diner, except futuristic. I’m pretty sure there’s a juke box in the corner of the room. And, of course, the denizens are eating things that would probably get a restaurant on Earth shut down by the government in a heartbeat.

But that’s just space for you.

“Guys?” Telia slides the first incoming dish towards the middle of our table. “You have to try this.”

Veln leans forward with considerably more interest than the rest of us. “There’s something resembling a brain in this animated pot, General Telia.”

“It is a brain… and that’s not a pot.”

“...What the fuck?” Zoe whispers.

I’m about as horrified as she is. Telia’s dish is this weird bowl-like alien who is very much alive, sitting there scalped while she picks at his brain. Now, I’ve extended a lot of grace for alien dishes, but I’m not sure I can with this one.

“And you sure he feels no pain?” Lin asks. “This feels a touch barbaric, no?”

Telia looks offended. “It’s good!”

“That’s a brain,” I say.

Allen snorts as he eats his still-alive worm gummies. …Ring, what did he call it again?

Kanzlok.

“It tastes better than kanzlok anyway,” Telia says. “Though it’s not as good as the other Brain Bowl at the Galactic Grill.”

Zoe snorts. “Somehow, I doubt it… but fuck it, gimme one.”

Allen tosses a wriggling kanzlok into her hand. She lifts it to her face—we’re not wearing our helmets anymore now that the mole is dealt with.

“If you stare any longer, you’ll lose your nerve,” I say. She squeezes her eyes shut and smacks her hand to her mouth, chewing rigidly.

“...Mmm!” Her eyes fly open.

Allen grins. “Right?!”

“Well, you’ll have to forgive me for passing, Telia, but I’m sure Veln’s curious enough to give the Brain Bowl a go.”

“Coward,” Zoe says.

“Hey, I’ve killed two Viltrumites. I’m not frightened. I just think this particular food doesn’t agree with me. I ate that eel thing on that one planet, right? Veln, try some non-Gelderian cuisine!”

“I-I’d be happy too… unless Her Majesty would like to—”

Lin covers her mouth, shoulders shaking. “No thanks, Veln. Feel free to partake alone on this one.”

I slide the pot towards him with an evil smile right as a sharp chime cuts across the restaurant. One of the screens above the counter changes, followed by every screen inside the building shifting to the same feed. The chatter around us drops noticeably as the same image appears across every display.

It’s a planet… or at least, the little that’s left of one. The entire thing is split open, great glowing cracks visible across the surface while a debris field spreads out into space.

“...Jesus,” Zoe mutters as my ring translates the writing scrolling along the bottom of the video.

BREAKING NEWS: PLANET TECHIA, COALITION MEMBER PLANET DESTROYED. VILTRUM CLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY.

Allen lowers his fork. “Wait. Isn’t that…”

“Isn’t that what?” Lin asks.

Telia drops her spoon as even the chirping Brain Bowl goes quiet, as if able to sense the heavy atmosphere.

“The Data Twins’ planet.”

【—〄—】

Zoe doesn’t come with me—I mean, she offers, but Lin and Veln are heading back to their accommodation anyway, and I’d rather speak to Thaedus alone if I’m being honest. So, the six of us split outside the diner, leaving me alone for the flight back to the Coalition. I essentially let my armour puppeteer me all the way there, weaving through air traffic without me so much as having to look up.

A few billion people are dead… which is a fucking sentence. All those people gathered below me in the masses still wouldn’t put a dent in a billion. Worse, I… don’t feel anything. Like, I understand every word individually, but put them together and my brain gives me nothing. Is it because I couldn’t see anything except a desolate planet, now people-less?

I don’t know if that makes me feel better or worse as I walk through the hallway to Thaedus’ office. Then I turn the corner and nearly walk straight into Nolan.

He stops before we collide. “Oscar.”

“Hey.”

His face looks... well, he looks fucking miserable.

“Everything alright?” I ask.

Nolan looks back towards the door behind him. “No.”

“...Right.”

He starts to walk past me before stopping. “I heard about Techia.”

“If you’re about to tell me it wasn’t my fault, Allen beat you to it,” I mutter.

Nolan is quiet for a moment. “The dead remain dead.”

He walks away, leaving me more than a bit bemused in the carpeted hallway. Was that his way of consoling me? I don’t feel any better, but I guess he wasn’t trying to console me. 

Thaedus watches me enter and take the seat opposite him in silence.

“The Viltrumites who intercepted you were expected to report the acquisition of Gelderian technology. When they failed to do so, and the information they acted upon was subsequently proven false...” Thaedus trails off. “There was little doubt their source had been compromised. And so they blew up his planet. The then-surviving Data Twin was—”

I blink. “Then-surviving?”

“He took his own life less than an hour ago.”

I sink back into the chair and stare at the ceiling. Can I even blame him given everything that’s happened? …See, I knew there would be consequences. That was the entire point. Feed the mole something irresistible, see if Viltrum bites, and trace the leak back to him. I knew the guy was fucked the second they did!

But blowing up the fucking planet?! The idea didn’t even occur to me. I guess Viltrum would need the mother of all threats to get a Coalition member to flip. Killing them wouldn’t cut it. Their entire planet, on the other hand, would be enough of a threat—and one that they could carry out, theoretically. Thing is, I underestimated Viltrum’s cruelty.

They blew up Techia without using a single Viltrumite to do it.

“...What if we’d known?”

“That they would destroy Techia?” Thaedus sighs. “I would still have authorised the operation. The Data Twins had access to information concerning Coalition fleets, supply routes, member worlds, and ongoing talks with prospective member worlds. Left undiscovered, that breach could have cost us far more than Techia one day. Even Earth—”

“I know.” He stops, and I rub both hands over my face.

And what the fuck am I even supposed to learn from this?! Don’t expose the next Viltrumite mole? If Thaedus told me beforehand that exposing the mole carried a chance of Viltrum retaliating against his entire species, what should I have done? Leaving him there means Viltrum gets an open window into the Coalition’s plans. Either way, people die, and all I get to decide is which pile to choose.

Nolan was right—the dead remain dead.

“I understand,” I say. “I understand why we did it. I’d do it again, too.” I push myself out of the chair. “It just doesn’t make Techia any less gone.”

“No,” Thaedus says quietly. “It does not.”

I stand there for another few seconds before turning towards the door.

“Where will you go now?” Thaedus asks.

I don’t even have to think about it.

“Home.”

“In that case the next shipment to Earth will include a bushel of Sinlak beetle darts, but the others, such as the Rognarr, we will understandably keep for the war effort.”

I nod tiredly. It’s been almost half a year, which is about as much time as I’d spent on Earth. God, I miss Eve. Until now, this space odyssey’s been a blast… but I want nothing more than to sit on that goddamn farm and listen to Jonathan complain about irrigation or whatever it is he and Martha do all day.

…Fuck space. I want to go home.

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