Chapter 68: The Fall of Oa

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Ganthet:

"Grab out of my way," Superman yells as he blasts me with his yellow ring. I scream as the power of the yellow ring forces me back. Struggling to regain my footing as I flip uncontrollably through space, I'm only saved from another blast because of Mogo.

Mogo must have noticed Superman and me. He turns away from the invading beta fliers and fires at Superman. Hearing the green energy building up and then shooting out, Superman swings his hand and summons a shield to protect himself. He disappears into a massive green beam.

I pray Superman would have been knocked lightyears away with that blast. I pray that when he is gone, so will his beta armies and the yellow lanterns. I pray that with all of them gone, I could use this time to catch my breath. It didn't work.

There, covered in a dark-yellow glow is Superman. Despite Mogo's mighty blast, it seems pointless against Superman and his yellow shield. His shield appears untouched. It only breaks after Superman flies through it and grabs me by the throat.

"Either grab out of my way," he shouts, tightening his grip. "Or die."

I didn't even have to think about it.

"That earthling," I struggle to say while looking Superman in his eyes. "That man in the glasses is the green lanterns' best hope. He is, he is our best hope in stopping you and your armies. I will not, I will not get out of the way."

I raise a shaking hand and hit Superman with my power. All I manage to do is turn his head slightly. He returns his head back and stares at me. He crushes my throat and I feel my breath leaves me. Superman's face starts to glow, signaling Mogo is getting ready to fire again.

Superman looks at Mogo before looking at me. He then pushes me in front of me and flies.

"What are you doing," I scream as the two of us fly through space.

"Ending this fight," Superman replies as he flies even faster. As we fly, I notice the green glow on Superman's face getting brighter and brighter. I only now realize what Superman is doing and turn away.

"Mogo," I say as I close my eyes, "I am sorry."

The Man:

"Ganthet," I shout as I watch Superman slams Ganthet right into the surface of Mogo. Even from all the way down here, I can hear the impact as if I was standing right there.

About to fly up to help Ganthet, Kara grabs my arm and pulls me down.

"No," she shouts.

"What," I scream, turning back. "What is it? What are you holding me down?"

"Look," Kara answers. She lets go of me and points to the building where the central battery is being held. There, crawling in through the hole in the roof, are little slivers of yellow energy. They climb and fall through the hole only seconds before there's a bright-green flicking.

"Parallax," I say, "He reached the battery!"

"But how," Kara asks, "We just destroyed him!"

"We destroyed him," I say, "Yes, but we didn't defeat him. Let's go!"

Together, Kara and I fly to the top of the building. Using our rings, we destroy all the remaining bits of Parallax we could find but it's too late. Enough of him had dripped onto the battery and had infected it.

"My ring," Kilowog says as the shield around him and the other Guardians starts to fade.

As Kara and I enter the building, I see the yellow sparks appear all over the front of the battery. The sparks start off small before escalating. They soon travel all along the battery, covering it. The green battery flickers even more, before turning off.

"Watch out," I shout, stomping on my hoverboard and breaking it. Dropping in between the battery and Kilowog and the Guardians, I rise my ring and form a shield.

The green battery then explodes, engulfing the whole room and everyone in it.

Laria:

While Dinah is carrying Oliver up the barrier, I hold out my both hands and summon a green staff. Yellow lanterns and beta fliers heading toward me, I swing my staff and knock them all down. While dodging to the side to avoid an incoming beam, I swing my staff and break it against a flier.

About to summon another staff, I stop when I hear an explosion. Turning around, I see smoke coming from where the battery is.

"No," I cry. It's less than a second later before the power from my ring disappears, and everything with it. My glow vanishes, I lose flight and fall to the ground.

Arisia:

I slowly open my eyes when I keep hearing a strange series of sounds. Seeing blinks of Harleen at first, I fully open after a minute.

"Harleen," I say while fighting a headache. "Harleen, what are you saying? I can't understand a word of it. Wait, why can't I understand a word you're saying?"

I push myself up and look at my hands and arms.

"No," I say, looking at my ring. It's not glowing. It's not flashing or flickering. "My ring is dead. The battery!"

I look to see smoke rising from the building. I push myself up as fast as I can and run toward the building.

Kilowog:

I couldn't believe my eyes. I still can't believe them. After everything we did, everything we said, after everything he said and done, the earthling with the red lantern ring saved me and the Guardians. He used the power of the red ring to shield us from the battery's explosion. However, because the green battery exploded, it means all the green rings are dead. I look down at my green ring. My dead, powerless, green ring.

"It's over," I say, looking at the dark, lifeless green central battery. "It's all over."

"Not yet," the man says.

"Wait," I say, stepping forth. "You speak my language. How is that possible?"

"Because before its destruction, I've been to Bolovax Vik. I lived among the Bolovaxians for years."

"Impossible," I say.

"And yet, how we stand, speaking a forgotten language."

Our conversation is interrupted by the ground shaking. No, worst, the planet. All of Oa is shaking.

"Stay here," The Man says. He summons a flying board to jump on and flies away, with the female Kryptonian by his side.

Supergirl:

"What's going on," I ask, flying beside The Man as he flies out through the hole and back outside.

"Something bad," The Man answers. "Looks familiar."

The Man points somewhere, and I follow his finger.

"Oh no," I say, looking at an all too familiar sight. Looming over Oa, exactly like Krypton, is Brainiac's ship. Only now, it's not Brainiac but Kal-El.

"He can't," I say, looking between the ship and The Man. "He can't do it. He just can't. No matter how far he goes or how much he wants to control, he wouldn't do it. He wouldn't! He would-"

A single, massive white beam shoots out from the bottom of the ship. It cuts Kara off and hits the surface. As the beam hits, it causes even stronger earthquakes. Buildings shake and fall. They crumble into each other, disappearing into dust clouds.

"We need to go," The Man shouts. "We need to go now! Before Oa, and we, are destroyed!"

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