The new goal: To finish POTJ by Christmas. Only a few more chapters to go!
Okay, so this chapter does get into at least one in particular description of violence and gore. The Black Lanterns increase their power levels much like they do in the comics: by removing the hearts of their victims to use as fuel. I will mark that part for those who want to skip over that.
A stick-thin hand emerged from the dry ground, yanking on Beast Boy's twitching tail. Noticing it before anyone else, Jessica screamed and blasted it. It disappeared, only for a tar-like substance for pull itself back together, forming itself around a black ring. Gar leaped onto Superboy's shoulders for protection, even as Conner himself hopped from foot to foot to escape the reach of the brand-new Black Lanterns.
"How do we stop them?" Wonder Woman demanded of the Solos and Skywalkers. She lashed out with her golden lasso, but the Black Lanterns cast it aside with no regard whatsoever.
"You run?" Han drawled, shooting the Lantern that tried to drag him into the ground as well.
As the Black Lanterns trudged towards Allana, held tightly in Tenel Ka's arms, Leia spewed red-hot napalm at them, melting away the already decomposing bodies.
"Only a Lantern ring can have any effect on the Black Lanterns, and only by working together!" Jaina said, trying to remember how it had gone last time.
"Someone get me a ring! And make it red! I need to set something on fire!" Artemis screamed, continuing to shoot arrows at a Black Lantern that now resembled a porcupine.
Atrocitus grinned, "That can be arranged," He snapped his fingers, and the ring on Bleez's finger split in two, darting in Artemis's direction.
"No!" Jaina screamed in protest too late, as the ring bonded with Artemis's nervous system. As the archeress became slave to the rage in her heart, she tossed aside her crossbow and leaped on the Black Lanterns themselves.
"Sinestro!" Kaldur shouted, pausing his fight only to catch the attention of the Yellow Lantern's commander.
"Give me a yellow ring, now!"
Sinestro sighed, entirely bored with the whole thing as another yellow ring formed in the palm of his hand, "Normally, I would request you say please, but as we are in the middle of a firefight..." He flicked the ring in Aqualad's direction with a casual air.
"Kaldur'ahm, you have the ability to inspire great fear. Welcome to the Sinestro Corps."
Jaina fought back tears. "Larfleeze, Indigo-1, Princess Aga'po! Lend me your rings!"
Though Larfleeze loudly complained, his ring obeyed Jaina's request, as did the ring of Princess Aga'po and the staff of the Indigo tribe.
M'gann received the Orange ring this time, the Indigo staff almost impaled Conner before forcing its way into his fists, and with Violet ring disregarded Zekk's grip on his finger to replace his black robes with pink.
Because of the increase in ranks, they were able to drive the growing numbers of Black Lanterns back from the excavation site, but they knew that behind the clouds could only be millions more Black Lanterns barely kept at bay by the rest of the Corps.
"Hal to Guy, What's your situation?" Hal shouted into his ring before decapitating another black lantern.
"Well what do you think it is, Poozer?" Guy snapped, "We're barely keepin' from gettin' killed up here! What's the next step in Jaina's plan, anyway? Just get the White Lantern and leave it for 'em to take?"
The Lantern.
"We still have to finish uncovering it, and then we have to bond with it!" She said, running through what Padme had said.
"Only a chosen few may bond with the White Lantern, Jaina Solo," Ganthet reminded her, blasting back another wave of Black Lanterns with a burst of green energy.
"Only the most powerful," Sinestro elaborated, a scheming sneer on his lips.
"Oh, and you're supposed to be one of them? "Carol snapped. She lead a few Black Lanterns on a wild nerf chase, looping in and out of others and into the maw of one of Jessica's neon green monsters.
"Incoming!" Guy and several other Lanterns from above shouted over the ring system.
Several bodies plummeted through the clouds, many of them glowing, landing along the plain in the dust, and some even in the city.
"All over the world, the dead have been awakened," The voice seemed to come from the ground itself, each speck of dirt vibrating beneath their feet. Uncle Luke's face became pale as the light from his blue ring flickered.
"The dead have been awakened, and they will rule the universe."
The newer crop of Black Lanterns that had just been created paused in their fighting, stepping back as other Black Lanterns appeared above, flying in from the atmosphere and from all parts of the world, chased by random streaks of colored lights that often seemed to be snuffed out in mid-air.
"Han, get Ben and Allana out of here," Luke whispered.
"How?" Han snapped, already holding his granddaughter so that Tenel Ka and Leia could fight, "There's nowhere to run."
The ground shook as a Black Lantern landed just behind Han. Allana would have screamed again, but if she screamed, she would have let go of her grandpa's jacket, the last bit of safety there seemed to be in the universe.
Their matted curls hung down in front of their face, a dark cloak billowing in a nonexistent wind to reveal a black-bladed lightsaber.
"Brakiss?" Jaina's voice shook as she stepped towards the newcomer, hoping, praying that was who this creature was.
The Black Lantern lifted it's head, showing off a yellowed, lopsided grin as it stepped towards Han and Allana. Han knew he should move, but his feet were rooted to the ground like the tar that held the body of a Black Lantern together.
"Really, Jaya, I'm offended you don't recognize me."
(WARNING: )
Allana broke the silence as more and more Black Lanterns landed, surrounding the crater of the White Lantern.
"Daddy?" She whispered.
The carcass of Jacen Solo drove its blade into Han Solo's chest, and when it withdrew, his heart was impaled on the tip, glowing bright yellow, with tinges of pink. It tapped the sword to the ring wrapped around its hand, and the heart turned to ash, sucked inside the ring.
"Power levels: forty-seven point nine percent," The black ring said in the same voice that had shaken the Earth.
"Grandpa?" Allana whispered.
Han Solo fell to the ground, Allana cast to the side.
"Grandpa!" Allana screamed.
No one else dared to move but Jaina.
"Dad!" She cried, shaking him as Allana was. He wasn't bleeding, the blade hadn't even left an impact. If she hadn't seen his heart removed like that, she would have thought he had just fainted for no reason at all.
No. He wasn't died. That was just a Black Lantern-anxiety-stress-induced hallucination. He was still alive. He just wasn't breathing.
"Daddy, please!" Jaina begged. She turned him over, pulling his head into her lap. "Don't leave me!"
Her pleas were interrupted as another ring whisked by, cutting off a few of Jaina's split ends.
"Fleshhhhhhhh," It hissed, bonding to Han Solo's ring finger.
"Jaina, Allana, get away!" Luke shouted. His blue ring was aimed at the figure of Jacen, the only thing keeping it from attacking Jacen's sister and his daughter.
Han's body twitched, suddenly overcome with a pale gray pallor. Allana rapidly backed away, running once more to her mother's arm.
"Daddy?" Jaina leaned forward, her hand on her father's cheek.
"Jaina!" Nightwing used his baton to bat away the thin gray hand reaching for Jaina's chest and seized her by the arm, dragging her away as fast as he could.
"Let me go! Let me go!" She screamed against his grip, trying to run back to her dad as he slowly began to stand up. He was alive, he had to be-
"I can't do that," Richard said quietly.
"That is my dad!" She screamed, desperate to yank her arm from his hold.
"Jaina," Richard's voice became stern, "I know. There's nothing you can do for him anymore."
Jaina stopped. Nightwing knew what she was going through. Hadn't he also watched helplessly as his parents fell to a terrible death all for the sake of a madman's revenge?
Too late, a warning came to Jaina's mind. Before she could turn to stop it, a black hand, burnt to a crisp with large chunks bitten from what remained of the flesh, protruded from his chest. The heart clutched in that hand faded from bright blue to ash, feeding the ring.
"Power levels: forty-eight percent."
Nightwing's body fell to the ground, and behind him stood a short man with limp, almost white hair, and piercing eyes.
"You let him die," It whispered, voice harsh and raw, "Just like you let me die."
(Okay, should be good from here on out)
"Jaina!" Zekk called her name once more. Using the force and the power of his unfamiliar Violet ring, he leaped to Jaina, pulling her away from the corpse of Baby Anakin.
"I knew I would be fighting them, why do they scare me?" She whispered, scarcely louder than the hiss of "flesssssh" that claimed Richard for the Black Lanterns.
"It's normal to be scared," Zekk said, "If you're not scared, you're not alive. It means we've still got a fighting chance against these guys," He waved his arm towards the slowly encroaching army of Black Lanterns, chasing the remains of League and Lantern forces into the crater. Jaina and Zekk followed them.
"Now what?" Conner asked, his staff planted firmly in front of him. Jaina clung to Zekk as she looked around. Nightwing and her father had joined the ranks of Black Lanterns backing everyone else to the edge of the crater, slowly making their way to the White Lantern.
Standing with Jaina were Tenel Ka, a Green Lantern with enough willpower to power Coruscaunt for years.
Kaldur, now a member of the Sinestro Corps, feeding on the fear of those who'd seen him undercover.
Artemis, a Red Lantern with rage for the loss of her love and the threat against her world.
Uncle Luke, a Blue Lantern, who had inspired an entire galaxy.
M'gann, who had thrived on the power she took from others.
Conner, who pushed past the limits of his Cadmus programming to protect and care for others.
Zekk, her greatest friend, fueled by the love he had learned to accept from others, and learned to give after losing so much.
Jessica, who in spite of her fear was still here, still fighting. Who knew that life was worth so much more than death.
Her mother, her last bit of family, livid and more than ready to fight for peace, for her last child.
And Hal and Carol, John and Guy, all her teachers, all the friends she had made. They stood with her, ready to do whatever they could.
"Now," Jaina exhaled breathlessly, "Now, we fight.
M'gann growled, "Now we take back what is ours."
"I don't think so," A voice cackled.
Jaina glared up at the swirling void, as Brakiss descended, his silver cape as pristine as ever, especially for a Black Lantern. Flanked by Tamith Kai and Vonda Ra, they preceded one more figure, shrouded in a black cloak and seething with darkness and death. They landed at the edge of the crater, the Black Lanterns parting to make way for their leaders.
"I am afraid, my children, your power is nothing compared to the power of the dark side," the voice echoed from beneath the cloaked figure's hood. Luke Skywalker's mechanical grip on his lightsaber tightened, and Brakiss stepped forward, gesturing elaborately with his cloak.
"Allow me to present his majesty, downfall of the Jedi, Master of death, Supreme Ruler of the Galaxy, Emperor Palpatine!"
Jaina swallowed, but her throat was already dry.
Darth Sidious.
Taylor Swift: AND I'M DYING TO KNOW IS IT KILLING YOUUUUU LIKE IT'S KILLING MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE