Dead End 2: Deathly Di-Di-Doo Ch.7 (Patreon)

[Peers of the Emotional Spectrum]

— Kara Zor-El —

“Oh, bother. Oh, dear. Oh, d-dangit… Where am I even supposed to start…?” She asked herself under her breath.

Kara felt like she was out of her element. Oh, she’d seen many things in her relatively young life, from a failing Krypton to Earth in all its eventful chaos. She’d come to know Sean F-Frickin’ Caine, too, and there was really no surpassing his… everything.

But still, a party at the center of the universe wasn’t something she could easily dismiss as ‘normal’. Not least of all because of what had preceded it.

Krypton knew of the Guardians of the Universe and their Green Lantern Corps, even in their most isolationist era. Green Lanterns were already larger-than-life figures, rare and always accompanied by ‘interesting times’. The Guardians, on top of that, were… well, on a whole other level.

Every civilization that reached into the stars knew of the Guardians, but few, if any, had actually seen them for themselves. The Guardians were secretive and powerful, ‘guarding the universe’ with immortal wisdom (supposedly)…

And then, Sean came in and wrecked everything they knew and held dear.

He punished the little blue beings at the center of it all like they were nothing more than a Tuesday for him. He’d gathered a significant crew to do so, all noteworthy figures who would’ve shaken the world on any world but Earth — Earth was, as always, the exception to that rule.

And even there, he went above and beyond, including Aspects of Existence in his ‘little project’.

Kara was used to Didi. She’d even met Delirium, Lucifer, and Hecate. But that was four out of the now nine Aspected beings Sean had roped into his project — the Archangel Michael, his daughter Elaine, Lucifer’s… something (wife?) Mazikeen, another Endless Sibling in Destruction, and the now-youngest Avatar of Magic, Starheart, rounding out the rest.

Of course, to Sean, that gathering of Aspected beings wasn’t anything special. The rest of them, meanwhile, were swept along in Sean Caine’s tidal wave of personality and action.

As was his usual methodology, he utterly shifted the flow of events around him. Kara had seen it before, but it was always something to watch Sean F-Frickin’ Caine at work. He tended to make her feel like she was just trying to keep up.

Where Sean went, Change followed. Here, after leaving the Guardians powerless, bound, and Heartful, that Change took the form of a party at the center of the universe. He turned a tumultuous moment of punishment into good times so rehabilitation and rebuilding could take root.

Sean was the tide crashing against the proverbial shore, and then, once everything had been swept down to its foundation, he receded back to Didi’s side to simply watch. He left everyone else to wander the Changed shore and make of it what they would.

Everyone else Sean had gathered for his ‘little project’ at least knew how to tread water around his usual Changing antics, but those who didn’t know him were getting a crash course in ‘Sean F-Frickin’ Caine’ firsthand.

Kara didn’t envy the leaders of the other Lantern Corps as they were thrown into the deep end. She didn’t envy the Guardians, either, but they’d brought Sean’s attention onto themselves. Even Kara had frowned when she heard how they’d left 666-shaped scars on Didi.

She’d wanted to help. How could she not? Didi had been so good to her, and so had Sean, in his usual ‘interesting’ way-…

Kara blushed to herself as she remembered her dates with Sean: mischief in the Watchtower, a rooftop picnic at dawn, and he’d even met Ma and Pa Kent!

 …-But how was a lone Kryptonian city-turned-farmgirl supposed to help Death on such a level? Sean seemed to think she and the others would play some role in his project, but Kara struggled to see what hers was supposed to be.

His Aspected allies had it well in hand, didn’t they? Sean, Didi, Delirium, Destruction, and Hecate had done the initial work of confronting the Guardians, working with power that left Kara in awe and feeling more than a little useless.

‘Power brokers’. Sean had dubbed them power brokers, mediators, negotiators, and ambassadors. Kara felt the others were more suited to that role than her.

The first few minutes of the party confirmed that feeling.

Zatanna was charismatic enough to get along anywhere. Doctor Fate was dignified, wise, and powerful enough to stand on the same stage as the Guardians (before Sean) in his own right. Constantine was used to dealing with such powerful personalities, though his experience tended towards magical beings rather than interstellar powers. Martian Manhunter was too stoned to even feel the anxiety and uncertainty that Kara was struggling with.

The four experienced heroes (well, three and whatever Constantine called himself) had already formed a bloc of power brokers, orbiting around Earth’s Green Lanterns.

Kara could’ve joined them; she was a member of the Justice League, too. But… it was petty — she didn’t want to be sidelined.

Those Green Lanterns, except the first, were completely in their element. This was their territory, after all, even if Sean had flipped the board out from beneath them. And for his part, the first Green Lantern, Alan Scott, had been a hero for three times as long as Kara had been alive (not counting her flight from Krypton in stasis).

Most of the Green Lanterns didn’t seem all that worried about the politics the party would play host to. They didn’t see the blank slate or, as Sean had called it, ‘open market’. Hal and Guy must’ve thought there was no way the Guardians would leave them for other-colored pastures, while John, less cocky or stubborn, must’ve been betting on the logic he knew the Guardians for. Only Kyle seemed to have realized how much Sean had changed the game.

Kori could make friends and get people talking wherever she went, and her sister, Blackfire, was already a queen used to interstellar politics. Kori was already bouncing around between the different Lantern Corps and doing just that. Blackfire practically slithered after her sister — a snake selling her power-broking services.

A boisterous laugh and the cutting comment that followed drew Kara’s attention to another power-broking bloc that had sprung up: Savage, Klarion, Raven, and Delirium. It was an odd group, but certainly one that gathered attention and made Guardians and Lantern leaders alike look their way for third-party influence.

Savage was a force of personality to rival Sean; Kara didn’t think he knew the meaning of the word ‘anxious’. Klarion, similarly, wasn’t one to worry about such petty things as anxiety — he would do what he wanted to do and carefreely avoid the consequences for as long as he could. Raven was as stoic as ever. She was playing the straight man to Savage’s shenanigans at the moment, while Delirium was playing the opposite.

Even Alice and Elaine had found company with each other. They were currently sitting on the sidelines of the party, snarking to each other as they watched.

Sean and Didi had ventured out onto the dance floor that had been formed in the center of the Guardians’ central chamber. They swayed and enjoyed each other’s company, as peaceful and content as Death and her Hand, without missing a moment of the change Sean had wrought.

That left Kara… somewhat lost and alone, just watching as the party played out around her. She wasn’t left that way for long.

“Mew!” Sean’s little pink partner from a past life flitted into her view, circling and circling before grabbing Kara’s hand and pulling her to follow it. “Mew, mew mew mew.”

Kara blinked. She understood the creature instinctively. Mew was… tutting at her…?

“I-I wasn’t avoiding-! Wha-?! Hey, careful!” She sputtered.

Somehow, the tiny pink creature had pulled her entirely off her feet. Kara, a Kryptonian. She might not have been as powered up by Earth as her cousin was, but-

Kara’s eyes spun as she was lifted to dangle from the creature’s little paw. Awawawawa~… Mew was scary.

“Sorry about Mew,” Destruction — Destruction…! — Chuckled. “It doesn’t want anyone to feel left out.”

Mew had bodily dragged her right over to him, the Endless Sibling she hadn’t met. Kara was so, so ready to be afraid of him. He was Destruction, after all. But… with just one sheepish apology on Mew’s behalf, she found she just couldn’t.

His voice was gentle and kind, grounded in a way Kara couldn’t readily describe — somehow more real than Creation. Destruction was a massive man, and Kara had to look up and up to meet his eyes. Still, he didn’t loom. He just… existed like that, a steady pillar of all reality.

“I-It’s fine,” Kara said, finding a genuine smile for Destruction — she really shouldn’t have expected anything else from Didi’s brother. “I, uh, kinda was feeling left out.”

Mew didn’t stop dragging her after returning to Destruction’s side, though. It kept going with some other destination already in mind. The Endless Sibling was just a pit stop.

Destruction easily kept pace with Kara and Mew, “I know the feeling. I’m somewhat out of practice with polite company.”

The massive, Endless man rubbed the back of his neck, “Just me and Barnabas for the past century or so. Then Mew came along to pull me back into the rest of the world.”

“Like this?” Kara giggled.

Destruction laughed, “Yeah, just like this. It’s been good to me. A good friend. I don’t think I would’ve reunited with Didi for another half millennium without it.”

Kara let out a playful gasp, “That’s way too long without Didi!”

“Oh, definitely. I’m glad Mew ‘mewed’ some sense into me,” Destruction smiled.

“Mew,” Mew nodded proudly, almost arrogantly.

Destruction nodded back, “Yes, you do good work, my friend.”

Mew zipped, zigging and zagging through the party as it got into full swing. It took Kara and Destruction right past the dancing Sean and Didi, earning a laugh from Sean and a wave from Didi. Having new friends to include her in everything, Kara found herself responding with a bright grin.

Agent Orange blocked their path for just a moment, Greed shining in his eyes, before Mew distracted him with a single pink coin. Larfleeze dove after it. When he caught it, he stared with enraptured awe as the coin shifted forms — a trophy statue of Mew, a spool of pink thread, a champion wrestling belt.

“That… could’ve been bad,” Kara winced.

“Maybe,” Destruction shrugged. “Larfleeze isn’t malicious, though. More just a product of his own nature. And he’s single-minded, not stupid. I’d bet he just wanted an ally in his Greed, one all for himself.”

“Mew mew,” Mew shook its head.

“Not who you had in mind for me?” Kara repeated, cocking her head. “Then, who…?”

“Mew!”

Mew swept them past another Lantern Corps as it wound its circuitous path. The Violet Lanterns were too distracted to notice their passage. The first, an alien queen on par with any of the Guardians’ former power, was wholly focused on Sean and Didi’s dance. She was quite literally drooling as she watched them, and her thighs were rubbing against each other as if trying to start a fire.

The other Violet Lantern was a human woman — Kara vaguely recognized her as Carol Ferris, Hal’s recurring flame. She was rambling on and on to her… preoccupied Violet queen.

“God, that should be a conversation and a half,” Carol muttered. “‘Hey, Hal, it’s been a while. No, I don’t want to get back toge-… well, I don’t hate the idea-… wait, this isn’t the time-‘ See? I get distracted just imagining it! Stupid, sexy, cocky Hal…”

“Okay, let’s try that again. ‘Hey, Hal. What the hell is going on-? No, no, don’t make the pun! I can practically see it on your tongue-! That damned tongue-!’ Fuck!” Her second attempt at imagining a conversation with Hal ended the same as the first.

The Violet queen, Aga’po, hushed her, “Shhh! I am preoccupied, dear. Give your queen a-a… a moment, please…! Yes, just o-o-one~!”

Kara frowned as they passed the Violet pair, “… She better not try to get in the way of Sean and Didi. One alien paramour — well, two if Kori… — is already more than enough for them, even if I’m not a queen-! I-I mean-!”

Destruction, thankfully, definitely didn’t notice Kara putting her foot in her mouth, “Hmm? Did you say something? No, no, it must’ve been the wind and not something about my sister and her Prince Consort’s love life that is not at all my business to hear.”

Relieved, Kara chuckled, “H-Heh, yeah, darn wind.”

“… Mew,” Deadpan, Mew gestured with its free hand at the illusion of space that made up the Guardians’ central chamber.

“It-! It could’ve been solar wind!”

“Mew,” Mew did a flying figure-eight without letting go of her hand, somehow rolling its whole body as if rolling its eyes.

“Not important! S-So, who are you actually taking me to, anyway?” Kara asked.

“Mew!” Mew laughed… and dropped her as it did.

Kara caught herself with flight easily enough and was about to ask Mew what that was all about when a few voices in front of her spoke first.

“Oh my… That’s not one of ours, is it?”

“Must it be? She wears it like she was born to it.”

“Yes, even better than I did at first! What a Hopeful portent!”

Kara looked away from Mew and saw Blue. A Light of Blue from her own finger answered the Blue she saw, resonating so closely. It was a choir of Heart.

She thumbed the ring on her finger — Kryptonian, not from any Lantern, but seemingly just as Hopeful still. Sean had given it to her on one of their dates. She never took it off.

Honestly, she’d almost-… well, not forgotten, but she didn’t even notice it anymore. The Kryptonian Hope ring was… content to just be, there on her finger, as if that was where it had always belonged. It didn’t beg to be used, or interfere with her life, or even really make itself known; it was simply part of her. Hope didn’t need to be anything more.

“Uhm, hi,” Kara said, smiling at the leaders of the Blue Lantern Corps. “I hope I’m not stepping on any toes with this…?”

“Perish the thought!” The Blue Lantern leader, Saint Walker, laughed out loud.

The two not-quite-Guardians with him agreed, Ganthet shaking his head, “You wear the ring well, Kara Zor-El.”

Sayd hummed, “I am curious as to where it came from, though.”

“Sean, uh, liberated it from a Kryptonian sci-superstition collection Larfleeze had in his hoard,” Kara explained. “It has the El shield on it, see? I think, at some point… it belonged to one of my ancestors.”

“And it’s been hidden away in Agent Orange’s collection all this time?” Saint Walker asked.

“It’s certainly unique enough to attract the attention of his Greed,” Sayd nodded.

Ganthet sighed; it was a sigh of immortal age, having seen so much come and go, “The Kryptonians boasted many truly impressive achievements. This Ring of Hope predates ours. It is a terrible thing to know the one who created it is now lost to time.”

“Not entirely,” Destruction said. “Kara now proudly wears her ancestor’s creation. And thus, her memory lives on.”

“Her?” Kara asked, perking up in interest.

Destruction smiled softly, “I remember this ring. The one who forged it was named Prostia-El. She lived 522 years before you, Kara — your many-times great-grand-aunt.”

“A daughter of the main line, then?”

“Indeed, though her own line died with her. The true legacy she created, as you now hold dear, was in invention. She poured her Heart and all of her Hope into that ring. For a time, she put it to good use. Nothing fuels invention so well as Hope for a brighter tomorrow.”

“She will be immortalized further still!” Saint Walker declared. “Ganthet, Sayd! I petition that we sign good Prostia-El’s name into the Book of Hope!”

“Consider it done,” Ganthet chuckled. “And, Miss Zor-El, if you find yourself in need of guidance for the use of your ring, you will always find it in the Blue Lantern Corps.”

“I-…” Kara hesitated. “I actually think I’m happy with it as it is. It… Hope doesn’t need to be used — just held close, no?”

“Mew! Mew mew!”

Mew zipped between them, grabbing Kara’s ring hand and Saint Walker’s. It pressed the two rings together. There was a blue flash, and a ringing of two bells — past and present. Some transfer happened; Kara could feel it. Official approval, from her ring to theirs. When they separated, the Blue of both rings seemed to shine brighter in camaraderie.

“This approval,” Saint Walker nodded seriously. “I shall never let it down. You may not be a Blue Lantern, Kara Zor-El, but I see clearly that you are a champion of Hope.”

Sheepishly, Kara rubbed the back of her neck, “I-… I try, I suppose…?”

“Then, try forevermore! Succeed forevermore!” Saint Walker laughed.

From there, with acceptance reigning among Blue rings of disparate origin but shared function — shared Hope — the conversation turned to more… current events.

“How are you feeling now, Ganthet, Sayd?” Destruction asked. “I realize that we’ve taken much from you today. There is an argument to be made that you didn’t deserve the same punishment as the rest of the Guardians.”

“And I will not hear it,” Ganthet said firmly. “Sayd and I were present for the crimes that were punished. So early in our vigil over the universe, I even agreed to the Manhunter project and the Starheart’s imprisonment. Just because I’ve changed tack now does not mean I am any less guilty of those past crimes.”

“It is… unfortunate,” Sayd furrowed her lips. “But I can see the necessity. In the strangest way, this punishment is almost refreshing.”

Ganthet chuckled in agreement, “Mostly in seeing our kin flounder without their usual power and authority, yes. And in Hoping for true change to set in after all of this. The status quo will be… better this way, I believe. Many of the others aren’t likely to agree just yet, but whether they do or don’t, our hands are being forced.”

“How do you plan to proceed now?” Kara asked curiously.

“If we can, I would look to recruit those who Hope,” Ganthet said. “This new system of peers, with every Guardian on equally powerless footing… If we wish to do anything now, we will need to do so through influence and diplomacy, not long-established brute force authority.”

Sayd nodded, “And there, it will be unfortunate if Ganthet and I are made to go into this new system alone.”

“Mew,” Mew pointed out — literally pointing around the party.

The rest of them followed its paw. It was gesturing at all of the other Guardians spread around the chamber. There were 22 of them (24 including Ganthet and Sayd), and already, the reality of Sean’s change was beginning to set in.

The unified ‘Guardians of the Universe’ were, essentially, no more thanks to Sean’s project. As he’d intended, the monolith was shattering.

Kara was honestly surprised. She would’ve thought the Guardians would cling to the old system for at least a little while longer.

“Heart makes all the difference; Del’s renewal of it changed the most in those punishments,” Destruction explained. “Will is as powerful as it is neutral. But with renewed Heart, that desire for neutrality, for cold balance, fades. Truly, what Heart can call itself fully neutral? This is Del’s domain, but as I understand it, inevitably emotion will lean one way or another. Del’s gift has thrown all of the Guardians onto the wider Spectrum, and now, we are seeing where they land.”

Two Guardians seemed to lean toward Compassion. They sought out the lone Indigo Lantern present. She sat still, simply waiting for them to come to her. Compassion must’ve been… convincing, Kara thought.

“Iroque is confident. She should be. Her position is already assured,” Ganthet said. “She may not win the recruiting, but Compassion has always been the best Light for binding. The moment they empathized with her methods, her goals, her Heart, they were already colored Indigo.”

Two more Guardians, from opposite sides of the room, were watching the Orange in the center. They saw each other’s interest in Larfleeze, and with a certain covetous viciousness in their eyes, glared and dared the other to make the first move. Kara… honestly wished both of them luck. She didn’t think Greed would share so easily.

“Hmm, the Orange may very well split three ways,” Sayd observed. “They would have a stronger foundation if they stuck together, sharing, but…”

“Yes, that does seem unlikely,” Saint Walker chuckled, finishing for her.

The Violet Queen and her Violet Lantern that Kara had seen earlier weren’t so distracted anymore. Queen Aga’po was kin to the Guardians, distantly, and that showed in how many potential recruits she’d already gathered. Four Guardians approached her with a united front, seeking to find strength in influence through numbers.

“That reconciliation has been a long time coming,” Ganthet said, smiling just a bit.

“How many of them are truly taken by Love, and how many are looking to circumvent their punishment?” Sayd asked. “Aga’po and her Zamarons escaped being rendered so powerless, after all. Some of those ‘recruits’ are undoubtedly going to her to cling to the past. They’re raising our long-lost kin onto a pedestal rather than listening to their renewed Hearts.”

“Isn’t there a certain twisted Love in that?” Saint Walker asked.

“Greed, unwilling to let go, or Rage, when they realize how futile holding on is, more like,” Destruction shook his head.

“So… Two of those four might end up breaking off when they don’t get what they’re after?” Kara asked.

“Mew,” Mew nodded seriously.

“Rage does seem to be a strong contender,” Destruction agreed. “More so than it seems now. Some are undoubtedly hesitant to admit to their Rage, but I think every Guardian has some tint of it or another now.”

“Sean certainly didn’t make any friends,” Kara chuckled awkwardly. “Will that… be a problem?”

“Mew,” Mew deadpanned.

Kara knocked a fist against her forehead, “Bleh~ Right, it’s Sean. Forget I asked.”

“The Red is just as much a Light of the Spectrum as any other,” Ganthet added. “Though, for those who look to actually join that Corps, there is the additional complication of Atrocitus…”

Kara glanced toward the Red representatives. Three Guardians had chosen to openly feel out that Corps. They did so by approaching the Red Lantern second-in-command, though. The Red leader, Atrocitus, was quite literally foaming blood at the mouth, snapping at any Guardian who got too close.

“He is the only survivor of Sector 666’s massacre,” Ganthet explained. “Even if we have been punished for that crime, he isn’t the type to leave it at that.”

“The Guardians leaning toward the Red must truly Rage if they are willing to throw in their lot with a leader who will see them dead if he gets the chance,” Saint Walker mused.

“That, I believe, is where Bleez comes in. Her Rage is different from Atrocitus’, but no less fierce. If they secure her protection, we could be looking at a very different shade of Red than we are used to,” Sayd pointed out.

The remaining 11 Guardians had thrown themselves into the ‘hotspot’ of the party — the competing orbits of Yellow and Green. To Kara’s eyes, the historic foes seemed strangely alike in their approach to the Guardian open market, and it truly looked like the Guardians they were competing for — arguing over, even — could go either way.

Sayd laughed as she saw the Guardians stuck between Yellow and Green, a harsh and scornful sound, “They are finally being forced to admit how much Yellow and Green have in common.”

“Truly?” Saint Walker asked. “I had thought Will and Fear were polar opposites on the Spectrum, just as Love and Rage.”

Ganthet shook his head, “Hope is the opposite of Fear; Will lies firmly upon the center line. The sworn animosity between Yellow and Green comes from the leaders on either side. Sinestro pushes for his method of control, and the Guardians push for theirs — in that, they come into opposition. But for both, the aim is the same: they seek to impose their vision of Order upon the universe.”

“Then… It’s not so much a black-and-white choice between Will and Fear, is it?” Kara asked. “It’s, like, more a debate of means. 

“There is a reason Yellow and Green have attracted the most potential recruits. Whichever way they end up going, those Guardians will find a certain degree of familiarity as everything changes. We may even see a tenuous understanding between enemies come of this,” Destruction added.

“One can only Hope,” Ganthet sighed. “Even if I don’t agree with the means or ends of either Corps. Understanding across the Spectrum is, however, a goal worth working toward.”

“… A note, good Ganthet and Sayd,” Saint Walker said, gesturing around the chamber. “We are being left with nothing.”

The two Guardians looked around and realized that for themselves.

Sayd swore, “Damned Hopeless fools…! Even now?!”

Ganthet smiled serenely, “This is fine. Hope has never been something you can force upon others; it must be realized for oneself.”

“You’re just fine with being left behind like this?” Kara asked, somewhat confused by his non-reaction compared to Sayd.

Ganthet chuckled, “Oh, no, I am cursing my foolish peers as well. They’ve long held a grudge against our efforts of Hope, and I would expect that has only worsened now with Heart.”

“I hope you make d-dang sure they regret dismissing you like this,” Kara frowned; she didn’t like how Ganthet and Sayd were being isolated one bit. They were good people!

Ganthet’s smile returned, just as serene, “Whichever Guardians side with Yellow and Green will have only their immediate allies. Both Corps are rather good at burning bridges with all the others. Hope is much more agreeable than Will or Fear. I expect we’ll find common cause with Love and Compassion, at least, just for the willingness to open our eyes to other ends than Order.”

Destruction smiled and shook his head, “Sean’s system of peers is already doing what it’s intended to, then.”

“Mew!”

“Yeah, it’ll definitely be a ‘Light show’,” Kara giggled at Mew’s pun before noticing an interesting development barging in between Yellow and Green. “Speaking of show…”

“Enough of this BICKERING! I challenge thee: put thine ORDER where thine MOUTH is, HAHA!” Savage declared.

Raven’s dry, deadpan voice followed, “At the very least, start biting and pulling hair. Make this a proper cat fight. C’mon. I know you wanna.”

“Indubitably! The quicker one does the fighting, the sooner one can do the friending!” Kori exclaimed, swooping in from another angle.

Delirium came roaring in last — literally, “Yeah, and put some HEART into it!”

The whole party turned to watch as several wrecking balls of personality barged straight through all of the well-laid arguments of Yellow and Green.

IIIII

— Vandal Savage —

Savage grinned; he’d honestly been feeling a little left out until now.

Sean had gotten to shatter the Guardians all on his lonesome! Well now, it was Savage’s turn to make change at the center of the universe!

He did not have his reincarnating friend’s Aspected might; this was true, objectively. But it was no true obstacle! Savage would make up for it with audacity, daring, and sheer gusto! Chutzpah! Moxie; yes, no one had more moxie than Vandal Savage! The center of the universe would never forget his name! SAVAGE!

With his new sharp-witted sidekick — Daughter of Trigon! — The Witch-Boy, and Lady Delirium, he would wreak change upon these unprepared, all-too-comfortable (even now!) fools!

Sean had had the honor of retribution — his justice for Lady Didi and Magic itself — and now, Savage would take on the task of rehabilitation. A worthy task, indeed, for, in his immortal experience, there was no title more prestigious than ‘Builder’.

The newly changed Guardians he set his sights on first were caught orbiting between Yellow and Green — the Corps of Fear and the Corps of Will. They made up half of the Guardians, 11 shining points of potential influence to be won by any Corps.

Savage saw the point of this ‘open market’ clearly. The Guardians may have been rendered powerless, their title at the center of the universe all but extinct already, but there was history and pedigree behind each of them, and as Sean had said, legitimacy to be had, too. Each of the Corps would have their slice of the Guardian pie. With such legitimacy spread around, they would find each other as peers.

That said, two Corps looked to have the upper hand in the recruiting. Green was a strong contender for holding the line and maintaining course, and Yellow was an equally strong contender for shaking things up just enough to satisfy the Guardians’ renewed Heart.

Savage hadn’t rushed into wreaking his change. For the opening act of the party at the center of the universe, he’d stayed back with his new aides and simply watched the debate between Yellow and Green play out.

“There is no point staying as you were, Guardians,” Sinestro had proclaimed.

A counterpoint came immediately, John Stewart arguing, “On the eve of such change, should we not attempt to cling to what has worked in the past?”

“The methods of the past are being left behind exactly because they didn’t work as they should have.”

“There were flaws, yes, but not everything the Guardians accomplished with the Green Lantern Corps has been for the worse.”

“Not all of it was good enough, either. That much has been made clear by Caine’s interference, has it not? My Corps offers the Guardians the chance to move past their crimes and start anew.”

“They can do that just as well right where they already are.”

“Don’t think you can slip in like a snake and sink your fangs into Will, Sinestro!” Guy Gardner shouted.

“Do not denigrate snakes, you stubborn ass. They are worthy totems of Fear,” Lyssa Drak, the Yellow Bookkeeper, snapped back at him. “And they do not operate in malice. Sometimes, one must slither rather than crawl if any progress is going to be made.”

“Soranik, are you… arguing for this as well?” Kyle Rayner asked, his voice pained and regretful.

Soranik Sinestro shook her head sadly in reply, “I’m sorry, Kyle, but we must. I… I would hope we don’t need to be enemies, but I’m finding it hard to see our Corps being friendly with each other.”

“We could,” Kyle insisted. “Everything’s changed now. Isn’t there cause enough to say it may be time to start over elsewhere, too?”

“If you could make that dream a reality…” Soranik sighed. “It’s a long shot, Kyle. But if anyone could…”

“I won’t give up,” Kyle declared. “You shouldn’t, either. We can go into this new era with open minds… can’t we?”

Savage watched the two sides collide with keen and canny eyes. Raven, Klarion, and Lady Delirium watched as well, from his side.

“They’ll be stuck in a stalemate for years at this rate,” Klarion tutted.

“And nothing in the universe will actually change,” Raven deadpanned.

“Oh, pooh…” Delirium pouted. “After the work we put in?”

“It will not be!” Savage declared. “Follow my lead, good fellows! We will set them straight! We will force their hands!”

He barged into the middle of the debate with great fanfare after that, crashing through the tension, “Enough of this bickering! I challenge thee: put thine PURPOSE where thine MOUTH is, HAHA! Push and pull no more; simply act and rebuild!”

Both sides turned on their interloping interruption. Savage grinned as he saw them, strangely enough, work together to try and deny him a foothold.

“And who are you to challenge us so?” Sinestro asked, raising a brow.

“Yeah, Savage, this ain’t your place,” Hal Jordan scoffed.

“Exactly!” Savage declared. “It is not my place — it is not ours! And thus, we are perfect to cut through all the petty bickering bullshit you surround yourselves with!”

Raven put on a show of sniffing the air, “It kinda does stink over here.”

“We do not have to be doing all of the arguing over nothing. Yes, yes!” Kori — the royal sister to Savage’s paramour, Blackfire — clapped. “Let us be of the greatest helping!”

“How do you intend to mediate this?” John asked. “It’s a matter of Lantern philosophy, really. Neutrality may help in some cases, but I don’t think this is one of them.”

“Philosophy is the entire issue! It has its place, but only after a foundation has been established. What you need now is a return to the basics!” Savage laughed. “Is that not where the Guardians you are arguing over are now, anyway? They have been brought back to their foundation, and it is hardly fair for you to debate their own choices on a level so much higher than them!”

A Guardian scoffed at his point, “Caine may have punished us, but we haven’t forgotten anything. We have presided over the universe for longer than you can fathom, boy.”

“Yet now, you do not. You will not, never in the same way again,” Savage calmly refuted. “You may retain your wisdom, but are you truly wise if you don’t take this chance to start over when it is presented to you? Matters of philosophy can only come after you take the first step!”

The Scarred Guardian shook her head, “It isn’t that simple-…”

“Isn’t it? Forget the airs, all that pride,” Delirium implored. “You have nothing now. Isn’t it… just that simple? Can’t you see that you can be anything you wish to be? Half of your number already has. Look around you.”

Lady Delirium was a hard one to refuse, especially when she spoke so lucidly. The Guardians around Yellow and Green looked outward at the rest of the party. They saw their kin reestablishing themselves, having had the humility to start anew as Savage advocated.

Those Guardians outright abandoned both Green and Yellow for new roles in the universe. They sought out Compassion, or Greed, or Love, or Rage. And almost all of them (Greed being the exception) had already been accepted into those new roles.

Peer Corps had emerged from the party already; Yellow and Green were the Lights that were lagging behind.

“I call on thee, Lights of the Emotional Spectrum!” Savage projected his voice all across the party. “Come and state your purpose, your role for the universe! Fear and Will have much to learn! Show them that the practices and philosophies of the past are meaningless without a new base to build upon!”

Raven deadpanned under her breath. “I somehow doubt they’re capable of looking past themselves to see that.”

“Now, now, Friend Raven, they should still be given one of the chances to be doing so,” Kori gently chided.

“Heart is the motivation, the new base. See it,” Delirium whispered, her voice still clearly heard. “Only then do I wish to see what all of you will do with it. Yellow and Green, so shaken, aren’t there yet, but the others…?”

Violet was the first to step forward, their Queen declaring, “Love inspires, Lady Delirium. We will teach our new Guardians to inspire just as the Zamarons always have.”

Red stepped forward next, Atrocitus snarling, “Rage… Rage until it is done; rip, rip, rip and tear…!”

His second, Bleez, interrupted him to properly declare the purpose of the Red Light, “Rage… I would think we incite, Lady Delirium. There is a certain commonality with Love there.”

Queen Aga’po smiled at Bleez, “Action can be sparked in many ways. Some are inspired by Love, and some are incited by Rage. As odd of company as it would be, I think we could spark great flames together.”

“Better Love than Fear,” Bleez agreed, glaring at the Yellow Corps.

“Look at that!” Savage laughed, turning back to Yellow and Green. “They already have more than mere philosophy in mind. While you bicker fruitlessly with each other, they will be out there in the universe sparking ACTION!”

The next Light to step forward was Orange, but the one Orange Lantern wasn’t the one to speak for Greed. A pair of Guardians took that role, and even if they were visibly unaligned, they proclaimed the same purpose.

“Greed will catalog.”

“And in that, we will check each other’s work.”

“My records of the universe will be unimpeachable, Absul.”

“As will mine, Panopica. They will be mine, and better than yours.”

“No, they will be mine, and better than yours!”

“Fools, Greed is MINE!” Larfleeze roared.

“Conflicting as they are, they at least have plans in mind,” Klarion observed.

“I approve of the pride in their Greed,” Savage nodded. “For they are decisive! They have already realized that their Light will never be unified, and instead of insisting on futile reconciliation, they look to what they can do on their own. Greed’s Guardians have chosen their course!”

Indigo stepped forward next, Iroque saying, “Compassion will leave the other Lights to their conflict. At once, we will take no sides and all sides. Compassion will bind the Emotional Spectrum to itself, a throughline of Heart.”

A Guardian at her side nodded, “For all our claimed differences, how much do we have in common with each other? How much do we share?”

The other newly Indigo Guardian answered, “We’ve all be given the gift of Heart again. In that, we are the same. It may take differing forms, but only on the same spectrum. None of us are truly alien to any other.”

“Hope feels much the same,” Ganthet stepped forward to speak for the Blue. “But if Compassion is the throughline, Hope is the beacon ahead. We will gladly ally with any Light that acts for a purpose greater than itself.”

“Oh, man, they actually sound sensible, like they actually intend to be productive for the health of the whole Emotional Spectrum,” Klarion chuckled, humming sarcastically. “Hmm, it kinda makes you wonder if there even is a choice between Will and Fear, doesn’t it?”

“Of course there is,” Sinestro scowled. “Only Fear can bring the universe into line.”

“And that’s your purpose?” Savage asked, pressing Sinestro to lay his cards on the table.

Sinestro’s eyes narrowed suspiciously, but he complied, “… Yes, it is. Order achieved in a different, more direct manner than the foolish indirectness of Will. Fear will steward the universe, acting for its own good as only we can truly see it.”

“And Will, as we have always done, will guard the universe so it may decide that Order for itself,” John said.

“Good!” Savage exclaimed. “Realize that! Verbalize it! State purpose with your FUCKING CHEST!”

He turned his gaze over the undecided Guardians, all of them looking at the various Lights of the Emotional Spectrum with new eyes now that every purpose had been stated so plainly. His eyes met Sean’s, and the serial reincarnator gave him a thumbs-up of approval. Sean had done his part, and now he was taking a backseat beside Lady Death, leaving Change to develop in his wake. He had no issue with Savage cutting through the bullshit that had been marring that Change.

Firmly nodding — to Sean and to himself — Savage said, “In the end, it is on the Guardians to choose the Light that fits their renewed Hearts best. Your debate was meaningless, and it would only have tinted the choice ahead of them.

“Let your purpose speak for you. Then, with whatever you gain today, be true to it. That is the only way forward for you now, Guardians, Lanterns: an earnest, unashamed, dogged commitment to Heart, whichever way yours takes you.

“The universe is waiting for you to take that step forward into a new era, and it will not wait for long. The impetus of renewed Heart is yours. So choose Will, or Fear, or Hope, or Greed, or Compassion, or Love, or Rage, and give that choice nothing less than your all, everything you are.

“Your tenure as Guardians of the Universe is Ended, by the ruling Lady Death’s Hand… but your time as Peers of the Emotional Spectrum has only just begun. Embrace it, wholly, or be left to rot in Black.”

IIIII

[AN: We’ll be back in the Dead End next chapter after/during a short Lantern POV (Kyle; he’s the only Green Lantern that seems chill instead of cocky/stubborn/too serious) to see how big this arc’s changes actually are from an ‘in-context’ perspective.

Most of it will be a bar story, though; right back to the good stuff. Then, we’ll be sticking to the bar for at least two consecutive stories. The first one will be a fun space adventure romp in Mass Effect to keep with this arc’s sci-fi themes, and just kinda wind down. And the second one will be a more in-depth revisit to a past story with a long-anticipated guest star to help Sean tell it. 

This Guardian Arc didn’t really turn out how I was envisioning it. The Green Lanterns/Guardians offer an interesting setting, but I kept running into the problem that we don’t care about any of the characters in that setting. So once Didi had her justice, sticking around as I initially intended was never going to work without much more time invested in getting to know the new side characters. Best to just call it here. We might check back in on the butterflies later, but for now, this is good enough for what Sean would consider a ‘day trip/side project’ lol.

There’s a good lesson here, at least. I know future DC plotlines have to be set much closer to home. And I do think DC plotlines are an important part of this story — it is ultimately set in the DC ‘verse, after all. They’re also kinda tricky, though, ‘cause Sean is pretty content where he is in this life. He doesn’t have, like, a hero’s journey to go on or even any ambitious goals, really. His current retirement is an important aspect of his character.

The main rule I’m going to be keeping in mind for DC plotlines is that motivation/impetus/plot needs to stay true to Sean’s priorities (Didi and the Dead End) if he’s going to initiate it — like here — or it needs to be brought to him from outside sources. Slice-of-life plotlines are the exception to that rule, I suppose; they can just happen as life happens (that is kinda the whole point of ‘em lol). As a general rule, though, that should keep Sean and any future DC plotlines consistent/in-character (unless I decide to shake up that consistency on purpose), but I’m just rambling now.

Stay tuned for more :]