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"Who are you?"

Kyle Rayner's throat struggled in the grip of a mysterious man with orange eyes. They flared energy as his anger increased, angry over something Kyle had no idea of. He, Access and a mysterious man named Kevin had been caught in a trans-dimensional storm that deposited them in this universe. The trio were rescued by a space-faring anthropomorphic mouse named Captain Flammox and his aide Zannix. No sooner had they arrived when they were beset by this strange man.a man who was capable of shutting down Kyle's Green Lantern power ring.

"Let him go!" yelled Access as he aimed his own power ring at the intruder. The ring flashed dimly, then nothing.

"My name is Danik," said the stranger. "I haven't time to coddle you.so I'll just find out the answers myself." His orange eyes flared again.

.and everything in Kyle's world went white.

He found himself lying on the floor of a room. It was tastefully decorated and it took Kyle a few seconds to realize that it was his mother's living room. He was in his childhood home.

"Kyle, is that you?" came a voice from the kitchen.

"Mom?" replied Kyle warily. This had to be mind trick.but what had brought him here? Why was he here?

Moira Rayner walked out of the kitchen, wiping flour from her face. "Kyle! Answer me when I call you."

"Um," he said, "Sorry, Mom." He couldn't think of anything else to say. That's when he noticed he was not dressed in his Green Lantern uniform anymore. In fact, he wasn't an adult anymore. He was the way he was as a boy, maybe seven or eight years old.

"Come into the kitchen, Kyle," said Moira. "There's someone I want you to meet."

Kyle slowly walked towards the kitchen and pushed open the door. He stepped in.

And there was a man, dressed in dark colors wearing a cloak. His eyes burned orange.

"Kyle Rayner," said Danik, "Tell me.everything."

 

DC Infinity Presents

#6

NEGATION WAR - PART TWO

BY Mike Hintze

 

"Where the hell did they go?" asked Axel Asher, aka Access. "They just disappeared!"

"I have no idea," said Captain Flammox. "I have never met that man in my life."

Axel took a deep breath. His power ring was not responding. Kyle was gone. And Kevin.what the hell was Kevin, anyway? When they had met him, he had been a musclebound superhuman with amnesia. Now, his body seemed to have.molted.and left a young boy who was far from superhuman. His old body had turned into viscous goo, one of the most disgusting sights Axel had ever seen. Still, now Kevin was breathing normally and sleeping in Flammox's ship medical bay. The Presario was a small craft, but still roomy enough for Flammox and his guests.

"Where's your buddy?" asked Axel. "Whatsisname.Zannix?"

"Odd," said Flammox, "Zannix should be here monitoring the boy. He's my medical officer. " Flammox hit a badge on is chest. "Flammox to Zannix, please come to the medical bay."

The ship's onboard systems responded. "ZANNIX IS NO LONGER ONBOARD THE PRESARIO."

"What??" said Flammox. "That's impossible!"

Axel was even more confused than ever. This confusion increased when Flammox drew and stared him down.

"I don't know what you all have brought to my ship," said Flammox, "But until this is all straightened out, I think it best you stay in the brig."

Axel looked down at the little mouse-man. "Hey, shorty," he said, "No offense, but little old you might have a little trouble taking on me."

"Not as much of a problem as you might think," said Flammox. The yin/yang symbol on Flammox's chest began to glow. Axel's mind heard a loud 'snap'.then he fell to the floor of the ship. He was still conscious.but couldn't move, not even to blink. Thankfully he was still able to breathe.

"Nope," said Flammox, "When you can control biological energy impulses.not really a problem at all."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"That.was.exhilarating!"

The dark god Charon had his arms extended out wide, basking in his newfound victory. The blue starfield that made up his body flashed as he smiled, echoing the feelings he felt. Around him, scattered like children's toys, were dozens of garishly clad beings. Some were mutilated, limbs lying about the battlefield. Others seemed unharmed physically, but had stark expressions of terror forever etched on their faces. Even more were turned to stone or crystal, then shattered. All were dead.

These beings, called the First, were effectively the gods of this universe. Created ages ago by another god-like being, they had believed they were the ultimate power in the universe. They watched over the worlds of this reality from their marble tower, the planet called Elysia, like a child looked at various toys. Arrogant and uncaring for the most part, these beings were not prepared for the coming of the mad god. Charon had been brought to Elysia by his new royal consort.

Evinlea was also one of the First, but knew a winner when she saw one. She had been kidnapped to Charon's universe, home to his Negation Empire, along with one hundred other beings from her home reality. They were experimented on and tortured as Charon's forces sought to unlock the nature of the various powers they might face in what they called 'The Bright Universe'. Foremost in this experimentation was their attempt to understand the nature of the powers of the Sigils, symbols branded onto certain individuals that endowed them with great power, power that might threaten the Negation's impending invasion. Some of the prisoners escaped and began to start a resistance against the Negation. The rest died. Evinlea desired something else entirely. She offered her knowledge to Charon in exchange for becoming his consort, standing at his side as he invaded the Bright Universe. One of the first tasks Charon had set before himself was the elimination of the First. Their power might have posed a threat to him, so he had dispatched Evinlea with his Lawbringers, Negation equivalents of the First, to destroy the arrogant gods.

The Lawbringers had made short work of the First, catching them unawares. By the time they had time to react, many of their number were dead or dying. Their leader, Altwaal, and his student Pyrem fought valiantly, and had actually taken down one of the Lawbringers, when Charon himself arrived. Now, Charon stood victorious over this now dead race of gods.and he exulted in it.

He looked down at his feet, where silver haired Altwaal lay broken and bleeding. "A true feeling as this I had nearly forgotten," said Charon. "For a creature that was created essentially as a plaything, you fought quite well. I cannot say that of your people, however."

"You.will.not.succeed," said Altwaal through shattered teeth. "There is.one.who has.engineered.your demise.since long ago."

"Does this person have orange eyes?" said Charon amusingly. "If so, I have something special prepared for him.or her."

"You.have no concept.of what is in.store for you," said Altwaal. "To that end.I bid you.a speedy voyage.to your doom." His body began to glow brighter and brighter, then detonated.

From space, above the planet Elysia, a bloom of light could be seen on the world's surface. That bloom expanded, coruscating outward, until it covered the surface of planet. Everything the light touched was destroyed, disintegrated. The world was not shattered, but it was rendered lifeless and barren.

On the surface, Charon stood surrounded by a shimmering field of energy. Several Lawbringers, dressed in leather with spikes and chains, stood by him.

"Nicely played, Altwaal," said Charon. "But the First and you were dead before you did this."

Charon looked at the ground several yards away from where he stood. A charred skeleton lay there, its arms reaching out to Charon. The burned lips of Evinlea spoke, but no words came out.

"Master," said the Lawbringer named Qztr, "Your.consort? She still lives."

"Leave her," said Charon. "She has served her purpose. She brought us to Elysia. The First are no more. Kill her."

Qztr gave out a moan of pleasure, "As you wish, milord."

Charon turned and walked away as Qztr went to Evinlea. A final scream left her throat, then everything was silent again.

"Ready my flagship," said Charon. "The invasion progresses."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kyle Rayner found himself flipping through memory after memory, unable to fight the review of his life that Danik was going through. It was almost enough to drive him insane, but he could feel Danik willing his psyche to remain intact as Kyle's life was replayed. Finally, everything went blank, and Kyle found himself lying on a rocky asteroid, floating through space. Danik was standing off to the side, looking at Kyle with a pondering look.

"You.you are not a threat," said Danik. "I see that now. Still, your presence here could turn the tide against Charon and the Negation. Your power.this harnessed willpower that you generate on a genetic level.it is very similar to the Sigil-Bearers' power."

Kyle stood up, slightly dizzy from his experience. "Look," he said, "You know what and where I am, and in that.exchange.I know what threat you face as well. I know others, far more powerful than I am, that we could contact and get to help. Charon and his forces wouldn't know what hit them!"

"If it were that easy," said Danik, "I would have done so. This reality is.not an easy one to leave. Your voyage here, and its harsh nature, should tell you that. I do not know if you will be able to leave. I have been unable to leave, and I have tried for over a hundred thousand years."

Kyle's face blanched. His mission, his and Axel's, was to hunt the Keepers of the Cluster and stop their plans of destroying Prime Realities. If they were trapped in this one, a reality that Axel sensed was not a Prime one, then all was lost. Their fight was over before it had really begun.

Still, there was this Charon, that needed to be stopped. There was that. He had never been one to ignore those in need, and his power, if it could tip the scales in this fight. It was a pretty clearcut battle. Charon was the bad guy, the Negation an enemy. They needed to be stopped.

"Ok," said Kyle, "We'll try and help you in this fight. After we've won, you work with me to get me away from this reality. You know my mission. You know I need to continue it. Do you agree?"

Danik crossed his arms, seemingly deep in thought. "I agree," he said. An instant later, they were back in the Presario.

"My word!" said Captain Flammox, "You're back!"

"We are, my friend," said Danik.

"I don't think I know you," said Flammox.

Danik's appearance changed to that of the Presario's medical officer, Zannix. "I beg to differ, Captain."

"Wh-What is this?" said Flammox, "Z-Zannix?"

Zannix/Danik stepped towards Flammox and rested a hand on his head. "I have no time for this," he said. "REMEMBER."

Flammox's eyes fluttered, then settled. He staggered briefly before speaking. "By the Lords of Luck," he said, "What you have shown me.it is.the end of everything."

"No," said Zannix as he shifted back to his Danik-form. "Not if we all group together. You are a Sigil-Bearer, Flammox. You are needed.as are these new arrivals." He looked around. "Where are the others?"

Flammox looked embarrassed. "They are.in the medical bay. I had to.incapacitate them."

"Axel?" yelled Kyle, "Axel!" He ran for the medical bay in the rear of the small ship.

When he arrived, he saw Axel lying on a bed, unconscious. He willed his power ring to scan him.and for a wonder, it worked. " Medical scan detects no abnormalities ," said the ring.

Kyle breathed a sigh of relief. "What about Kevin?" he asked. The next bed, where Kevin had been lying prior to Kyle's departure with Danik, was empty.

"Your friend.has had an interesting turn of events," said Flammox. "Most interesting indeed." He pointed to a room off to the side. A door opened, and Kevin walked out. He was no longer the scrawny boy he had been when he had shed his 'skin', changing from a musclebound man to a young teenage boy. Now, he was as he was before, except his skin was a shimmering metallic silver and his face was entirely covered in the same material.

"Hi," said Kevin, "Just needed to use the facilities." His voice had a reverberating quality now. "My memory is coming back.slowly. I remembered.growing a body for space travel. Pretty impressive, huh?"

"Yeah," said Kyle, "Sure." What the hell is he ?

"Enough talk," said Danik. "We have to leave." He waved his hand, and everyone disappeared.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"People, please," said Samandahl Rey, "Please listen. We have to organize a plan of attack here."

The dozens of Sigil-Bearers quieted down, each of them sporting their own sigil of circling comets linked together. They were all together now, assembled from numerous worlds and cultures, all for one purpose.

A flash of light erupted beside Sam, leaving Danik, Kyle, Axel, Kevin, and Flammox standing in its wake.

"Sam," said Danik, "We're all here.and I have some unexpected extra help as well." He pointed to his entourage. Axel was blinking confusedly, having been revived in transit. "Have they been briefed?"

"Yeah," said Sam. "We were just beginning a plan of attack."

"We need to discuss this plan," said Danik. "Bring the Sigil-Bearers Ethan, Giselle, Sephie, Ilahn, Mordath, Brath & Obo-San to me. For them, a decisive strike is in order." He walked away, then added, "Bring the newcomers as well."

"I may be your military leader, Danik," said Sam, "But don't treat me like a soldier. Got that?"

Danik gave a small smile. "Gotten," he said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amongst the crowd of Sigil-Bearers, one man watched with a skeptical eye. Obregon Kaine was not a Sigil-Bearer, but he had been one of those kidnapped along with Evinlea to be experimented on in the Negation Universe in an effort to find out more about the Sigil-Bearers. Now that he and his allies were safely on this strange world that was acting as a base for the Sigil-Bearer' strike against Charon, he felt his time involved here was nearly done. He was powerless compared to the rest of them, but he had faced Charon before and lived. He couldn't help but feel that-

"That your experience could be an asset here?" asked Zamida, a young woman that was part of Obregon's allies. She was also an aspect of Danik. "I agree," she said. "Come with me, Obregon. Your assistance will be of great value."

Obregon was taken aback. "Well then," he said, "Let's go."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

General Jkzzzn stood on the bridge of his flagship, unsure what to make of the scan results he had received. Upon arrival to the Bright Universe, they had scanned for traces of the Sigil-Bearers. The scans had detected a faint Sigil signature.and one other. The results were inconclusive, but showed aspects of both the Sigil-Power and Charon's own abilities.

What truly intrigued Jkzzzn was the nature of this newfound energy signature.it was not of this reality, yet it was also not of the Negation Universe. As far as the Negation culture knew, there were no other universes.

"Contact Lord Charon's flagship," said Jkzzzn to his crew, "Priority One! Prepare for the Emperor to board!"

Yes, Lord Charon was most definitely going to be interested in this..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Next Issue: Negation War continues, as Kyle comes face to face with pure evil.