03-01-2016, 07:14 PM
The sweat clung at the loose layers of fabric that lay draped over the man’s red brow, the power of the sun beating down upon him with neither mercy or relent. The heat of the cobblestone below bent the light, forcing everything behind it to warp and twist. Still, he simply sat. He sat and watched as the merchants and beggars of Nippur wandered all around him, going about trying to rebuild their humble lives. Wrapped in the garb of a leper, he went uncared for and unnoticed.
How unafraid they were to whisper in the alley beside him, their voices collected and amplified by his ring. How bravely they collected themselves into cults dedicated to vengeance. How willfully they marched towards their own destruction.
It was hardly enough to trust the murmured promises and lies of street urchins, however. He had to push deeper.
Smoke rolled from the entrance of the hideout, the smoldering corpses of New Babylon’s supporters littered about the room. It hadn’t been so long ago that it had been filled with Nippur Freedom fighters. Sinestro sneered and stepped into the burnt crater of a room.
“Pitiful…” he muttered to himself, shaking his head at the frankly juvenile attempt to gather resources for a coup. His eyes fell upon the only thing that he might find useful: a computer terminal. He held his ring up to the screen and data began rolling down it, absorbed by the terabyte.
Images of their fearless leader during some strange, televised event, manuscripts of his involvement in activities surrounding Nippur. Much of it was second or third-hand information, but every lead carried the ring to another trove of data.
It seemed that the man was well recognized for his efforts in the city, and for his compelling run in Dante’s Abyss. It would be enough at least to know his face, if not where to find him. It would only be a matter of time.
The stranger narrowed his eyes as he scanned over the collected group, and yellow flared behind his pupils.
The tall, alabaster mage threw himself into his summoned thrown and rested his hand on his cheek. He twirled his drink in his hand, the cool liquid rolling in lazy circles as he glared out at the motley collection of primes. His red eyes seemed to stab at everyone and everything around him, prying deeper than any of them wished they would.
There was an aura about the man, menacing and confident. He commanded attention when he desired it, and commanded respect with a glance. Fear blossomed from every heart he looked upon, the golden light of terror snaking in his path.
A similar power flowed from the stiff, stern man who he had come to know as Mr. Smith. It was more subdued, more tranquil, but the odor of fear rolled from his perfectly tailored suit jacket and dripped down from behind his glasses. He was a man who knew terror so well that he scarcely recognized it anymore. He came from a world of terror, and anything else must have seemed alien.
This was nothing to say of the rot-boned monstrosity that loomed over them all, his rotting flesh permeating every sensation with horrible fullness. To even gaze upon the being which called itself “Paleblood” wrung a man’s heart, squeezing from it all but the most staunch and stubborn will to live.
Amid the others, these three commanded the stranger’s attention. They reminded him the most of his own Corps, in that long-forgotten galaxy that he once called home. Yes, there was fear here. Certainly enough fear to use for his own purposes… but he could have more. Always more.
A golden glow illuminated the stranger behind the Fountain, and several heads turned to look upon him. Before any could speak, he gently lifted from the ground and took to bleached-white sky. He couldn’t help but sneer as several weapons flared to life below him, readying themselves against him. The rich yellow beacon grew around him until he gleamed like a star, reflections gleaming from him at every angle. His hands gently rose from his side, and a fist was formed beneath the ring.
Thrusting his ring towards the sky, a beam of yellow carved into the empty air above them before erupting into a massive symbol, the symbol of the Sinestro Corps. After another moment of silence, he gazed down upon his audience and glowered.
“If any here plan to stand against myself or those gathered, think again. Those who try to stop what is right will burn under our power until you are nothing but a half-thought memory.”
As if to prove his point, the skyline was once again devoured by yellow light, a nova surrounding the seeming beggar. As the blinding image slowly died, the silhouette within it changed. Instead of tattered rags, a slim bodysuit covered the Lantern, his yellow ring seething with untold energy.
“It is good to see so many have come!” he boomed, his voice amplified ten times over. “I am Thaal Sinestro, and I too have come to bring… order to this struggling universe.”
He drifted down from the sky, and he landed at the center of the congregation. His thin mustache curled as he smiled, and he folded his hands behind his back. “Sasuke is a dangerous man, from everything I’ve learned. The recordings that are available of him show quite an impressive collection of baubles, if nothing else,” he smirked and nodded to the lounging warlock, “but I saw nothing that warranted much of my respect.”
Once again holding his hand out, a transparent, yellow hologram of Sasuke’s participation flickered into view. Beside him, Gilgamesh stood, the two working together. “I have already dealt with his accomplice, seen here, but I am sure that the other backstabbing rodents that he acquainted himself with will be joining his side.”
The image flickered away, and was replaced with another. This one of the city of Nippur under siege. “Here is their base of operations, where they oppressed their vassals by the thousands. When myself and a strike team invaded the area, he was nowhere to be found. Perhaps he did not wish to lose control of their weapons.” He quirked his eyebrow, clearly unimpressed. “Or perhaps he’s just a coward.”
The moving pictures of war fluttered away, and were replced with a shimmering cube. “This is a collection of all available data on Sasuke that I’ve been able to gather from his people and that is available on the dataverse. Feel free to peruse it with any data device so that we may begin to plan our attack accordingly.”
How unafraid they were to whisper in the alley beside him, their voices collected and amplified by his ring. How bravely they collected themselves into cults dedicated to vengeance. How willfully they marched towards their own destruction.
It was hardly enough to trust the murmured promises and lies of street urchins, however. He had to push deeper.
Smoke rolled from the entrance of the hideout, the smoldering corpses of New Babylon’s supporters littered about the room. It hadn’t been so long ago that it had been filled with Nippur Freedom fighters. Sinestro sneered and stepped into the burnt crater of a room.
“Pitiful…” he muttered to himself, shaking his head at the frankly juvenile attempt to gather resources for a coup. His eyes fell upon the only thing that he might find useful: a computer terminal. He held his ring up to the screen and data began rolling down it, absorbed by the terabyte.
Images of their fearless leader during some strange, televised event, manuscripts of his involvement in activities surrounding Nippur. Much of it was second or third-hand information, but every lead carried the ring to another trove of data.
It seemed that the man was well recognized for his efforts in the city, and for his compelling run in Dante’s Abyss. It would be enough at least to know his face, if not where to find him. It would only be a matter of time.
-----
The stranger narrowed his eyes as he scanned over the collected group, and yellow flared behind his pupils.
The tall, alabaster mage threw himself into his summoned thrown and rested his hand on his cheek. He twirled his drink in his hand, the cool liquid rolling in lazy circles as he glared out at the motley collection of primes. His red eyes seemed to stab at everyone and everything around him, prying deeper than any of them wished they would.
There was an aura about the man, menacing and confident. He commanded attention when he desired it, and commanded respect with a glance. Fear blossomed from every heart he looked upon, the golden light of terror snaking in his path.
A similar power flowed from the stiff, stern man who he had come to know as Mr. Smith. It was more subdued, more tranquil, but the odor of fear rolled from his perfectly tailored suit jacket and dripped down from behind his glasses. He was a man who knew terror so well that he scarcely recognized it anymore. He came from a world of terror, and anything else must have seemed alien.
This was nothing to say of the rot-boned monstrosity that loomed over them all, his rotting flesh permeating every sensation with horrible fullness. To even gaze upon the being which called itself “Paleblood” wrung a man’s heart, squeezing from it all but the most staunch and stubborn will to live.
Amid the others, these three commanded the stranger’s attention. They reminded him the most of his own Corps, in that long-forgotten galaxy that he once called home. Yes, there was fear here. Certainly enough fear to use for his own purposes… but he could have more. Always more.
A golden glow illuminated the stranger behind the Fountain, and several heads turned to look upon him. Before any could speak, he gently lifted from the ground and took to bleached-white sky. He couldn’t help but sneer as several weapons flared to life below him, readying themselves against him. The rich yellow beacon grew around him until he gleamed like a star, reflections gleaming from him at every angle. His hands gently rose from his side, and a fist was formed beneath the ring.
Thrusting his ring towards the sky, a beam of yellow carved into the empty air above them before erupting into a massive symbol, the symbol of the Sinestro Corps. After another moment of silence, he gazed down upon his audience and glowered.
“If any here plan to stand against myself or those gathered, think again. Those who try to stop what is right will burn under our power until you are nothing but a half-thought memory.”
As if to prove his point, the skyline was once again devoured by yellow light, a nova surrounding the seeming beggar. As the blinding image slowly died, the silhouette within it changed. Instead of tattered rags, a slim bodysuit covered the Lantern, his yellow ring seething with untold energy.
“It is good to see so many have come!” he boomed, his voice amplified ten times over. “I am Thaal Sinestro, and I too have come to bring… order to this struggling universe.”
He drifted down from the sky, and he landed at the center of the congregation. His thin mustache curled as he smiled, and he folded his hands behind his back. “Sasuke is a dangerous man, from everything I’ve learned. The recordings that are available of him show quite an impressive collection of baubles, if nothing else,” he smirked and nodded to the lounging warlock, “but I saw nothing that warranted much of my respect.”
Once again holding his hand out, a transparent, yellow hologram of Sasuke’s participation flickered into view. Beside him, Gilgamesh stood, the two working together. “I have already dealt with his accomplice, seen here, but I am sure that the other backstabbing rodents that he acquainted himself with will be joining his side.”
The image flickered away, and was replaced with another. This one of the city of Nippur under siege. “Here is their base of operations, where they oppressed their vassals by the thousands. When myself and a strike team invaded the area, he was nowhere to be found. Perhaps he did not wish to lose control of their weapons.” He quirked his eyebrow, clearly unimpressed. “Or perhaps he’s just a coward.”
The moving pictures of war fluttered away, and were replced with a shimmering cube. “This is a collection of all available data on Sasuke that I’ve been able to gather from his people and that is available on the dataverse. Feel free to peruse it with any data device so that we may begin to plan our attack accordingly.”
![[Image: sig2.jpg]](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v288/KrimTheUnsettler/sig2.jpg)