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"Avert your eyes! Emperor boarding!"

The crew of the massive starship lowered their heads as a bright blue light coruscated on the bridge. General Jkzzzn knelt to one knee, the starfield that encompassed the top half of his face shifting in anticipation. Jkzzzn had been in the Negation Military his entire life, having been one of the human beings that followed Charon to the new universe of the Negation. Over the millennia the Negation Empire was carved out of the new and dangerous universe, with others like Jkzzzn assuming noted mantles of leadership beneath the all powerful Emperor Charon. He had been the most powerful of them all.and was also the architect behind the crossing over of the human race from their ancestral home of Earth. Few knew that Charon had been a human being himself, a man who used science to shunt the human race to a new dimension, a transition that endowed the humans with vast cosmic power. Now, Emperor Charon had discovered a way back to their original universe.and now the Negation invasion had begun.

Charon had found only one threat to his invasion. There were many beings that had been endowed with great power by the granting of a sigil on their bodies. The sigil-bearers were meant to be an army to fight back against the Negation onslaught, but the granter of that power was still unknown. Charon had indicated any sigil-bearers were to be killed on sight, but he was especially interested in orange-eyed beings who were acting as mentors to these sigil-bearers. A single mentor had been capable of destroying a planet in an attempt to kill Charon once.

The blue humanoid starfield that was Charon materialized on the bridge. "Rise, General Jkzzzn. Tell me of your discovery."

Jkzzzn stood and motioned to a holographic screen. "Milord, we have detected an energy signature that is.different than that of the Sigil-Bearers. It bears similarities to that of your own as well as the Sigils."

Charon stepped towards the holographic screen. His face was unreadable. "Another front in this war. The First have been dealt with. The Sigil-Bearers were all that I really had to worry about. But now this." Charon turned to face Jkzzzn. "Is there an energy signature trail? Where did this power come from? Where did it go?"

Jkzzzn keyed another display. "We are unable to discern exactly where it came from, Lord. Its vibrational frequency is odd.it matches neither this universe nor or our own. I know that's impossible, but-"

Charon motioned for silence. "Amazing." Charon had tried to pry between the universal barriers countless times, and each time he was faced with a barrier. He had concluded that that meant there were no other universes to travel to, that the sum total of existence was Earth's dimension and the Negation Universe. This new energy fascinated him.

"And where it went?" asked Charon.

"Not known exactly, sire," said Jkzzzn. "The teleport signature matches that of the Mentor you confronted and leads to a far sector.but specifically what planet, we cannot determine."

"Very well, Jkzzzn," said Charon. "Notify the fleet. All forces are to convene on the sector you just indicated."

"Everyone, sire?"

Charon smiled. "Everyone."

 

DC Infinity Presents

#7

'Negation War - Part Three'

By Mike Hintze

 

Kyle Rayner looked around the meeting room. He had seen a lot in his life, things he couldn't explain. Still, he had rarely seen such a varied group of people as what he saw now.

Arrayed around the table were ten other people. Seated beside Kyle was Axel Asher, aka Access, his partner on his mission to travel among universes and hunt down the Keepers, beings bent on destroying and remaking the multiverse. Behind Axel was a massively muscled man who couldn't fit in the seats at the table, a man they only knew as Kevin. His body was metallic and had a large 'P' on his chest. Kyle always thought of Kevin as a Superman on steroids. Recently they had seen Kevin shed his skin, revealing a young teenage boy within. Kevin had regrown his muscled body again, this time as a metallic sealed biosuit capable of surviving in space. His memory was still gone as to where he had come from, but his strength was a welcome asset as Kyle and Axel travelled the many worlds of the multiverse.

Beside Kevin was a beautiful dark haired woman that resembled Wonder Woman so much he could have thought her a sister. Giselle was dressed in a violet dress that revealed as much as it covered. Most of the Sigil-Bearers Kyle had met had colored ying/yang symbols branded on them. He saw no such symbol on Giselle.although it may be somewhere her revealing clothing still covered. Kyle gave a small grin at that thought.

Next was a bald man who looked like should have been dead. His skin was grey and mottled, as if it had been burned and decayed. The man's eyes were very much alive, however, burning with malevolence. Mordath had been a ruler on his world before he had been summoned here. His demeanor said he expected no less with this crowd. The top of his head had a large red sigil, stark against his grey skin. Mordath gave off heat that made sitting beside him nearly too much for Giselle. Kyle saw her make a fan appear from thin air.

Beside Mordath was an older man who also looked as if he expected servitude from the others. His name was Ilahn. His sigil was pronounced on his throat, blazing red like Mordath's. Kyle wouldn't be surprised if the two men ended up arguing over which of them was to lead this group.

Across the table sat a young blonde woman wearing armor. She watched everyone around her, but her eyes smoldered as they came across Ilahn. Her sigil was branded on her forehead. Kyle would have to have been blind not to see that there was definite history between Sephie & Ilahn.

Beside Sephie was a man with longer blonde hair. He wore chain mail and a cloak that seemed to indicate he was royalty of some kind. Ethan's arms were exposed, showing his sigil on his right bicep.

Next to Ethan was what Kyle could only call a barbarian. Brath was a massive man with long dark hair wearing a kilt and halberd. Despite his physical appearance, Brath gave off an air of command, different from Ilahn or Mordath. He looked like a man used to command, but was resigned to it more than embracing it. Like Giselle, he had no sigil visible, unless it was under his kilt.

Obo-San was beside Brath. An asian man, he was dressed in what Kyle would have called traditional samurai armor. He was bald and young, yet had a face that said he had been through much. His sigil was visible on his back through his armor. If the sigils were visible through clothing, that made Giselle and Brath's absence of one even stranger.

At the head of the table were the last of the assembled group. Samandahl Rey was grey haired and well muscled, if less so than Brath. He wore clothing that seemed more at home in a Star Wars movie than anything else. Still, Sam gave off a definite air of command and looked as if he had seen more fighting than any others in the room. His sigil was different from the others: it resembled what the rest wore, but it looked like two colored serpents or dragons chasing each other. Danik held Sam in higher regard than the others.perhaps the different sigil had something to do with that.

Danik was the last of the group and the key to why they were all together now. Danik was a human from ancient Atlantis. Thousands of years ago, most of the Atlanteans pooled their powerful mental abilities together to facilitate 'The Transition' to a higher plane of existence. The Transition worked, and the Atlanteans left the earthly plane. Danik and one other, Solusandra, stayed behind, watching events on Earth. Danik learned of the threat of the Negation to the universe and together with Solusandra marked many people with sigils of power to create an army to fight the coming invaders. Now, the invasion had begun. Danik had split himself into many aspects that acted as Mentors to the sigil-bearers. These aspects were now acting as sentries for the Negation incursion. One had given itself up already in an attempt to kill Charon, an attempt that failed.

"All right, everyone," said Sam. "You were all called together out of all the other Sigil-Bearers for a reason. Danik here tells me you all have experience in commanding troops of one sort or another. That command experience will come in handy here, although in an arena you may not be used to."

"The Negation are an empire that will not stop until everyone and everything are ruled by them," said Danik. "They exist to conquer. They exist to rule. As Sigil-Bearers, you are all that stands between them and total annihilation of everything you know and care about."

"Perhaps I am asking a useless question," said Obo-San. "But if you have known about this threat for so long, why then have you done nothing to stop this invasion? Surely with your power you could have done so?" The others seemed to agree, even Ilahn and Sephie, although their agreeing at a common theme seemed to aggravate them both.

"Their leader is named Charon, and he is more powerful than you can imagine," said Danik. "I have special plans for him, but they require the assistance of all the Sigil-Bearers."

"We're going to be dividing our troops into squads, each led by one of us," said Sam. "While some squads are going to be involved in direct combat, some will be acting more covertly."

"Has any of us actually faced these Negation other than Sam and Danik?" asked Ethan.

"Some," said Sam. "But we're all going to be facing a lot more very soon. Now, here's what I have come up with as far as a game plan, I-"

"Excuse me," said a voice from the doorway to the meeting room. Kyle looked over and saw a young woman standing there with an older man. His dark skin was a distinct contract with his light curled hair. If any of these assembled people had looked like they had assumed command before, this one exuded command. Command and respect. The young woman had spoken. "I think we had best listen to what Obregon Kaine has to say."

Danik stepped aside and allowed the two to enter the circle. Sam looked slightly perturbed at the interruption. Kyle then noticed the color of the woman's eyes. They were orange, like Danik's.

"Zamida," said Danik, "Is an aspect of myself. She has travelled to the Negation Universe and faced many of its threats."

"With Obregon Kaine," said Zamida. "He came as close as any to facilitating a resistance against the Negation. His tactical insight will be a boon to this assault."

Sam looked at Kaine. "Obregon Kaine.you were from Kazrath, Armored Air-Cav. You were imprisoned for killing your President. Death sentence."

"My reputation precedes me," said Obregon. "There was more to that than what you know."

"The past has no meaning here," said Danik. "All that matters now is stopping the Negation. Kaine has valuable tactical information. We should listen to him."

"When I was in Negation space," said Kaine, "My team and I met a man named Appolyon. He was almost as powerful as Charon.and he knew how to kill him."

"How?" asked Ilahn.

"A bomb," said Kaine. "Appolyon made a bomb that could kill Charon. Problem is, its in Negation Space, imprisoned with Appolyon. We'll need to get into Negation Space and then find Appolyon."

Kyle turned and spoke quietly to Axel. "How are you feeling?"

"All right," said Axel. He had been rendered unconscious by Captain Zannix, a sigil-bearer they had encountered upon first arriving to this universe. "A little stiff."

Danik's and Zamida's faces suddenly turned to alarm. "No," said Danik, "Not yet. Not here!"

The group ran outside, following Danik. They came out onto the common gardens, where dozens of Sigil-Bearers were looking up. The skies were darkened, the sun blotted out. Massive starships were entering the atmosphere.

Blue light appeared as a group of beings teleported in. They all wore black leather with spikes and chains. While reasonably humanoid, they were twisted and bloated in grotesque ways.

"Lawbringers!" yelled Obregon, "They're killers! Attack them!"

One of the Lawbringers snapped its chain out and snagged a Sigil-Bearer wearing a space suit. The creature reeled the Bearer and snapped its neck, tossing it aside.

"Die!" yelled Sam as he changed the ground itself into a tidal wave, crushing the Lawbringers. Silence followed. No one moved.

The ground erupted as the Lawbringers came out and attacked. The Sigil-Bearers rushed to face them, energy erupting as the battle was joined. Above, starships began raining down on the ground with particle beams across the planet.

Kyle erected an energy shield around the group closest to him as death rained down on them all. Sigil-Bearers were being vaporized, and those with powers that allowed them some physical protection were scattering in the attack. Danik had thought Kyle could have a part in this fight, a pivotal part. If this invasion was driven by Charon, then Kyle needed to find him.

Kyle sensed an energy collation behind him. He turned.and saw a man-shaped blue starfield.

"You," said the starfield, "You are the source of power that I have been seeking."

Danik turned to face Charon. "Die, monster!" His body turned to pure energy, glowing as he flew at Charon.

Kyle fired an energy beam at Charon. The battle was joined between Charon, Danik and Kyle. The energy discharge clouded the area, keeping everyone from seeing within the battle.

Axel activated his power ring and jumped into the conflagration. The energy cloud flared.and erupted.

Seconds later, they were all gone, leaving the Sigil-Bearers alone to face the Negation onslaught.

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Next Issue: Charon vs Danik & Kyle.and an ending no one will see coming, as Negation War concludes!