Hell
Well, ancient enemy, what are you thinking now? The Lord of Lies reclined on his throne. Of all the sentient creatures in creation, only your kind has no souls. You are a cruel imitation of life: your maker must be proud. He pouted. I can’t believe the depths I’ve sunk to. I’d risk my darkest souls just to slow you down.
The Imperium, K’Tar - Homeworld of the J’Dinn
Emperor Kahnis woke with a start. He climbed out from under several females of his kind. He opened the window. The violet sun of Darcis sent out the first rays of dawn over the snow-covered mountains. Cruel irony for our kind: almost any other species is super powered on this world. He smirked. On the other hand, that gives us a life force so minimal even the Kayzik choose not to take it. I suspect that once the Kayzik suck this universe dry, we’ll still be here. We’ll outlast even the Kayzik themselves.
He walked towards the sleeping women. Not bad for an old lecher like me! I enjoy every day as if it was my last – it might really be! Unlike our fellow species, we have no souls to traverse Heaven or Hell. He thought of his eternal enemies – the personifications of good and evil. Even with the Shantar to fight your battles, you’re still losing. He walked to the bathroom and prepared for his day.
Battle Command, Imperium
“What have you discovered?” Kahnis walked into the command center with his guards. “I still disagree with the Kayzik. Something substantial is out there. Something is ripping us apart when we least suspect it.”
“Emperor, our assessment does not disagree with you.” Lieutenant Sazak affirmed. “We had our heads handed to us on New Oa.” (Elf Note: Terra’s Revenge – Chapter 5). “Something ate our troops on Phillik 5.” (Elf note: Terra’s Revenge – Chapter 7). “It ‘s become much more bold. It destroyed the Kayzik ground stations on the surface of Zanik 4.” (Elf note: Terra’s Revenge – Chapter 9.) “It will take months for the Kayzik to rebuild those ground stations. In the meantime, the natives have revolted.”
The Lieutenant walked to a star map.
“These incidents seem not to be tied to one area of the Empire. We’re seeing them increase in frequency. At the same time, we’ve seen continuing minor losses on other planets, but nothing as severe as those. We do not think it is the Shantar. Something else is acting. Something that does not face the same Hyperspace restrictions as we and the Shantar do.”
“Emperor,” Major Tazan took over, “we suspect the remaining Green Lanterns are involved, but they certainly don’t have the raw power we’ve seen. We’ve heard tales of a Red and Blue humanoid who destroys the Kayzik at will. We’ve also heard the tales of Green Lanterns who are unaffected by the color yellow.”
“There was one of those once.” Kahnis recalled. “He was betrayed by one of his own kind. Even he had a weakness. The supposed gods of his world sold him out just before we destroyed them.”
“Yes sir. Even in this universe, the dead do not return to life.” Tazan smirked. “Our people saw his body. They saw his instruments of power disintegrate. That much we do know. What we didn’t know is the true source of his power. The Shantar had a legend about something called the Starheart and its champion. I think he was called the Champion of the Green Flame, or something similar. There was no allowance for a second champion.”
“Perhaps, but time has taught us never to underestimate the Shantar.” Emperor Kahnis grabbed a read-out. “Perhaps they are simulating that legend to distract us. It would make sense. What disturbs me far more is the super-powered humanoid. It almost appears to be a Daxamite.”
“Yes sir. There was one report of something like that on the planet Earth. Our operative got himself killed defeating it, but the humanoid did not survive the battle either. A necromancer confirmed the kill.” (Elf note: Terra’s Revenge – Chapter 3). “Earth is an odd place. There is a high degree of mutation among the populace, but those mutants are somewhat limited in power. At least they have been so far.”
The emperor growled.
“I’d insist that the Kayzik destroy the world, but it’s too much a potential source of power for them. Most mutants are not very powerful, but they have a strong life force: choice pickings for our friends. I distrust that planet, though.” He looked up. “Pity that none of our kind are psychic. That and other mutant gifts appear to be reserved for our enemies. All we can do is shape-shift.” He walked out of the command center. He turned around.
“Emperor?”
“Are our pilots ready to add their skills to the invasion fleets?”
“Yes sir. Our pilots are fully checked out on both hyperspace attack craft and intra-system destroyers.”
“Very good, Major. Contact our liaison groups on Konifer. Our adversaries are in for some nasty surprises.”
Konifer, the Alterverse Kayzik homeworld
Gasdar, the J’Dinn counselor, walked the halls of the Kayzik hive. I will never fully understand these creatures. Their hive mentality is even beyond me. The individual creatures run completely on instinct unless they are connected to other members of the hive. Necromancers seem to be capable of some independent thought, but the warriors are barely sentient at all. How they manage to fly spacecraft amazes me. Both the Shantar and we depend on strategy; the Kayzik rely on numbers. He sighed. I have to admit, for the Kayzik that strategy has worked well. We’ve captured ¾ of this universe. The Shantar are losing. All that’s left is to drive the nails in the coffin. Adding our pilots and ships to the mix will drive them in that much more quickly.
“Greetings, Gasdar!” Junior Counselor Thelix walked towards him.“How goes the planning for our next campaign?”
“Thelix, I think it goes well. The forces of life are in for some nasty surprises. We can drain the remaining Guardians without killing them.” He chuckled. “An ugly blue renewable resource. It also solves our problems with the Green Lantern Corps.”
“Not that we had much of a problem with the Corps to begin with, Gasdar. Most of the Corps followed behind the Guardians like obedient puppies. I’ve always felt sorry for all those life forms without immunity to the glamour, but not too sorry. Elbow room for our kind, you know??”
“Sure. The Kayzik can only exist so long without life forces to drive their conquests. We’ll inherit the whole kit and caboodle once they’ve destroyed all the opposition. I feel sorry for the other life forms, but our own comes first.”
They walked to a junction.
“Gasdar, is it just me? I always feel like I’m dealing with a machine. When I request something from the Kayzik, I never know if I’ll get it.”
“It’s not just you. We have no idea what their thought process is. Only the queen has full independence and we will never see her. Everything else seems to be a collective thought process.”
“Maybe once I’ve done this as long as you have, I’ll feel more confident.”
“Thelix, I never have felt confident guessing what they would do. You just become more accustomed to the lack of sense to it all. Let us get outside. I’ve become claustrophobic.” That was their signal to talk where they would be less monitored.
The Konifer Cave Entrances
“Thelix, they’ve become very agitated. Something is hitting them where they don’t expect it. They don’t think the attacks are organized, but they are still almost anxious.”
“I’m surprised that any emotion would survive in the hive. They’ve always known that universal conquest would take time.”
“I know, Thelix. But this time, some portion of the resistance seems to be more than the typical fool with a ray gun. We’re hearing more and more stories of unstoppable metas. The phantom Daxamite scares them the most, but there are many others who appear from time to time”
“I’ve heard of the Daxamite, Gasdar. Have you heard any more about the Green Lanterns that flew the skies over New Oa?”
“That one is also a mystery. There is also talk of a formless shadow that may appear anywhere in creation. We need to increase monitoring of the technologically advanced worlds. I’m just not sure how to do that. We’re not picking up energy signatures. Something knows what it’s doing.”
The Planet Nylad, Shantar High Command
High Warlord Zalar grew increasingly frustrated. I feel like all we’re doing is gathering forces. We’ve gotten so little information about our adversaries. We don’t know where the Guardians have been taken. All we’ve been able to do is draw a line in the sand. We’re cutting off their agents and they are cutting off ours.
I need a break. My long lost Grandchild, I hope you never discover what you truly are, or what binds you to the Scott family.
She brought up the information she had on Earth’s defenders. I would once have laughed at people like these: the freaks of creation. I hope I’ve grown beyond that. She tossed a picture of Supergirl on her desk. Her aide, Commander Jonar brought in an update.
“Ma’am, the Metas all impress me. But Batgirl seems to be just as dangerous without any super human powers at all.”
“I know, Jonar. The Terrans seem to trust her, so I respect their judgment. I believe she fights with us. She simply observes the things that no one else does. Of course, that is her value.”
“Yes Ma’am.”
“I still wonder about Supergirl. I’d really like to know what happened to the missing matrix.” (Elf note: Terra’s Revenge – Chapter 9).
“I wonder about the Sentinel. How does he stay sane? He’s only been in this universe a couple of months, yet he’s in the thick of almost everything.”
Zalar smiled.
“His roots in this universe run much more deeply than they appear. The entire Scott/Batson family seems to be grounded in something else. I don’t think they could be ordinary if they tried. I just can’t see Alan Scott as a farmer. Of course, it’s hard for me to imagine Supergirl as a martial arts instructor.” She laughed.
“Jonar?”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“Go home and lock my door on your way out.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
She heard him leave. She opened a line to Communications Command.
“Secure comms. Private audience, Commander Zoldar at the Sentinel’s Lair.”
She waited for a few minutes. I’ve denied myself this for so long. No more. I don’t know how much longer I’ll have the opportunity.
“Ma’am, your conference is ready.”
She walked over to an open chair. I’ve missed her, so!
“Activate!” She saw the hologram of the smaller woman face her.
“Grandmother?”
“My dear grandchild. Have you a few minutes to spend with your Grandmother?”
Hell
My dear J’Dinn, the Lord of Lies laughed, you’ve seen the universe’s spin on Supergirl. Wait until you see mine! I wonder if anyone will realize what I’ve done? He howled with delight.