mattmanganon

Worlds Collide: A Merged Universe Superhero Roleplay

@Half Pint Well, that's what i meant, i am still currently considering the Flashpoint to be Limbo Canon due to me referencing it in this post. At the time it seemed logical to try and make the world seem larger by implying that what happened to Bailey was part of unforeseen consequences of the Flashpoint.

When the boy attempted to go for one last attack, suddenly... Lightning lanced through the entire world. Golden bolts, something was happening. "What in the Gods?!" He managed to yell, just before disappearing. Bailey watched as Shazam arrived back at the rock, approaching the statue of Solomon, he put his hand on it and his eyes glowed an intense white. "That damnable Speed Force, it's champions are reckless beyond imagining... No... No that's not possible... The boy was right there. No... No, he can't just be gone... From this timeline, from ALL timelines."

Wizard Shazam

Also, i've been planning out my next post. I was wondering if anyone who was in "Ultimate One Universe: Resistance" would mind me using a character of theirs from that RP for the upcoming post? I'll probably start writing on Sunday when the current heatwave that has been melting what little brains i have, along with my poor 5 year old computer's hard-drive. So, if i don't hear anything, i'll just use my own characters and make vague illusion to some others.

Worlds Collide: A Merged Universe Superhero Roleplay

@Half Pint Sorry, was just reading the spreadsheet. Any chance we can move the Flashpoint to "Limbo Canon" Being that, in Captain Marvel's opening, i made reference to the Flashpoint having something to do with Bailey's arrival and i plan to reference it in my next post.

Worlds Collide: A Merged Universe Superhero Roleplay

@Azure Bubbles

Worlds Collide: A Merged Universe Superhero Roleplay

@Half Pint of course, if you wanted to make him book accurate, you would have used pictures of David Niven, who Fleming famously envisioned Bond to look like.

Worlds Collide: A Merged Universe Superhero Roleplay

T H E L A N T E R N S / C A P T A I N M A R V E L
T H E L A N T E R N S / C A P T A I N M A R V E L

^{The Battle of General Techtronics Tower: Part 1}

Banjo had no idea he'd tripped the silent alarm at the tower. As such, already, police were beginning to cordon off the area, creating a perimeter and preparing for breach. However, they had received orders that a special team was being called in to deal with it. So, just for the moment, their job was to keep anyone getting themselves involved. By "Special Team" most of those on the ground were expecting some kind of Cape to show up. Hopefully Thor. Instead, a black van with no markings drove to the cordon barrier. The driver flashed their badge and was waved through. Backing the van up to the entrance to the tower, the back doors opened and 10 people, dressed head to toe in full tactical gear, masks with nightvision and all equipped with assault rifles, grenades and breaching gear. The leader held up a hand and waved for them to breach the building. Running to the front door, the leader inserted a card into the security system. A few sparks shot out, before the door opened and the 10 man team moved silently into the building.

Pushing into the building, they made their way up the stairs in a standard 5x5 cover formation. The leader was holding a device that seemed to grow increasingly more orange as they moved up the building. Through the headset, a voice from HQ came.

>"Team 41, please be advised, Captain Jordan's team has failed to secure the Silver ring and it is now heading your way. Prepare for the possibility of a multi-Ring encounter."

The leader put a finger to their ear. "Roger that. Expediting operation." They whispered. The leader waved their hand harder to indicate double-time. Moving to the floor with the highest concentration of Orange energy, the team continued to move. Before suddenly footsteps could be heard... Lots of footsteps. Immediately, the team took cover, preparing for a large force, they silently moved towards the most defensible position and hunkered down, preparing for the assault. A bright orange glow came from down the corridor. Raising their hand, the team leader silently ordered to hold fire for the moment. That's when they saw something they weren't entirely prepared for. Goose-stepping down the corridor to the banjo-filled sounds of "Erika" as what looked like a WW2 Panzergrenadier division made entirely of orange light. The Captain immediately closed their fist and the team opened fire. Bullets shredding through the glowing orange soldiers. S.W.O.R.D. had been preparing for this and, with Hal's assistance, had developed a special tungston coated round that seemed rather effective against Emotional Constructs. The leader pulled a grenade from their flakjacket and pulled the pin, before throwing it towards the advancing wave. An explosion shredded through the remaining soldiers. The leader pressed their comms again.

"Command, we've got... Nazi's..."
>"Repeat, Captain."
"We've got Nazi's. Captain Jordan's assistance is required. We are going to move to a more defensible position until reinforcements arrive. No casualties so far, but most likely a probing attack."

****

F.E.A.S.T. wasn't the richest establishment, so nobody had a bed, everyone was sleeping on Army style cots. Bailey lay in his cot, staring at the ceiling. Something was wrong. He could feel it. Not like his Spider-Senses, boy was he missing those at the moment. Just something... Hearing the sounds of sirens going past outside, that confirmed that something was wrong somewhere. But at the same time, this was New York. Something was ALWAYS happening somewhere. But, tonight, he had this sinking feeling in his stomach, that it was going to be bad. He also couldn't help but think about his old friends, still. Those in the other world... His mother... There was no guarantee that she existed in this world... But there was no guarantee that she didn't, either. He looked over at Mr and Mrs Xu. They had been good to him. Taken him in without a question, got him learning, showing him love and compassion as though he were theirs... But what if... What if his Mom existed here and felt the same way? Another police car went past, blues and two's flashing. He slowly got out of his cot, making sure not to wake Mr and Mrs Xu. Tip-toeing to the door, he slowly turned the handle- "Yo, Bail... Where you going?" The whispered voice of Christina called.

"Something feels wrong." Bailey whispered back. Christina threw off the covers to her light sheet to reveal she was already fully dressed, rolling silently out of her own cot, she grabbed her jacket with the chinese-style dragon on the back.

"Wait for me." She whispered. The pair of them silently made their way outside, while Christina checked her phone. As they got outside, Christina tapped Bailey on the shoulder. "Ummm, Bail, they've cordoned off the General Techtronics. Something's going down." She immediately dialed up Sims. The phone rang through to voice mail. The pair looked at each other, before Bailey set off at a run around the corner into the alleyway, followed by Christina.

"SHAZAM!!!"

Grabbing Christina, he rocketted into the sky and towards the roof of General Techtronics. Flying over the tower, they saw the police cordon, as well as the black van. "Cool, they called in SWAT." She said. "Whadya think? Terrorists? Techno-Gang looking to score?" Marvel's magical ears picked up a faint sound.

"Banjo music..." Captain Marvel replied. Descending to the roof, he put Christina down. "Stay here. He's either after the Staff or someone to use as emotional leverage on me. Just stay here and stay hidden." He ordered, before reaching down to the opening he usually used and pried it open with his bare hands. BANJO, IF YOU HURT A SINGLE ONE OF MY FRIENDS, I'M GONNA GONNA BEAT ON YOUR SKULL TILL I HIT TONGUE!" He roared into the hole, before dropping down.

The glowing yellow lightning bolt on his chest illuminated the room, as best it could. He heard the faint sound of banging on glass. He looked over at the isolation room to see Sims in his full costume, while Boyd simply cowared in his web cocoon. Looking around the room, Bailey was missing his Spider Senses more than ever. He then heard the sound of grinding metal. Looking behind himself, he saw a pair of bright orange chainsaws coming up through the floor, beneath the Staff of the Gods. He rushed towards it, only to be stopped by the energy field. He looked back at Sims, who was guesticulating wildly. In a flash he was over by the glass and pressed the button.

"BAILEY!"_"Averice...""BAILEY! IT'S BANJO, HE'S GOT A NEW WEAPON!"_{"Purest Averice..."}"LET ME OUT SO I CAN DEACTIVATE THE FIELD!"_{"Mixed with the purest of hatreds..."}"PRESS THE RELEASE!"_{"He has it..."}

Captain Marvel heard that last remark from Boyd as he turned around to realize Banjo had cut through the floor under the field and now had his hand with the Orange Ring on it wrapped around the staff, the Orange energies seeping into the staff, the crystal ontop created a field that resisted the orange energies.

"Oooh, it tickles." Filpot giggled, his teeth now sharp and jagged, his sclera having gone completely black as his iris glowed Orange.

"Banjo?" Captain Marvel asked, a little concerned by the creature he saw before him. "Banjo, buddy, you don't look so good."

"It ain't no thang, Big Cheese." He cooed, slowly floating up and rolling over in a floating cartwheel. "I just feel GOOOOOOOOOD! Like it can take on anything... Like i can just... Take eeeevveerryyyytthhiinngg He hissed as he coiled both arms and legs around the Staff of the Gods and ran his now elongated, jagged, snake-like tongue up it. Bailey winced hard.

"Great, now i'm gonna need to get that steam-cleaned." As he said that, a whisp of Orange energy lashed at the crystal and a bolt of golden lightning lashed back, striking Filpot on the head, he then suddenly had a look of purest revelation on his face.

"What about a little gas cleaning instead?" The tendrils of Orange energy pushed under the energy field and formed up into the form of a woman in a long trenchcoat, mouth pulled apart at the seams to reveal jagged teeth, as if a smile, but not quite, eyes wide open. "Your good buddy Solomon just gave me an idea. See, if i'm gonna make a new Reich, i'm gonna need some muscle... And the Old Reich definitely had some good muscle in its corner!" He giggled sadistically. The woman constructs mouth opened wide, as if a snake unhinging its jaw and orange smoke began pouring from it. Marvel took a step towards it and with an almight punch, shattered the contructs head. This turned out to be a mistake as a geyser of the orange smoke erupted from the neckhole, illuminating the room. Marvel flew back a few meters and covered his mouth with his hands. "MEET DOCTA POISON! A Lovely doctor who made sure that all those things like your little girlfriend were converted for the good of the world. Converted from living to dead. HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" He hollared a cruel laugh as the Doctor Poison constructs head re-established itself. It then lunged at Marvel, who, once again, threw a punch, shattering her, but releasing more straight into his face. It was very much like acid reflux, like someone had just poured an entire pot of pepper down his throat. The construct reconstituted again behind him.

Marvel turned, coughing and spluttering, desperately fighting for some air, as he summoned a lightning bolt into his hand and threw it straight at the contruct. This time as it shattered, the gas went up in flames, this triggered the sprinklers and a heavy rain from the ceiling fell upon them, dampening the remaining smoke. Filpot grabbed the staff and began shaking it furiously. "GOD DAMMIT, SOLOMON, STOP TELLING HIM THE ANSWERS!!!" he screeched in an unholy high pitch. The staff zapped him again "Oooh, i didn't know about him. You know what, stick, i think we're gonna get along like a house on fire!" He giggled. This time, the tendrils of Orange energy constituted into what looked like a Creature From The Black Lagoon, but with a Swastika on his belt. "Stick says this boy is from that same place as your lava golems you fought, but he had the sense to help the right side back in the day. What do you mean his time? Oh wait, you're not from here, is ya?" He giggled. He hit himself in the head with the stick and suddenly a revalation seemed to appear on his face. "Wait... No... Oh HELL YEAH!!! OH THAT'S THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THING IMAGINABLE!!!" He laughed again. "U-Man, we got some intruders on this level, go bring me their heads! Oh, and their gear, it looks cool!" He cartwheeled around inside the energy field again, sadistically giggling.

Launching forward, Marvel grabbed the U-Man construct as it began to leave, except the construct grabbed his throat back. It was actually MUCH stronger than Bailey had imagined. He was still spluttering from the gas attack, combined with the energy constructs fingers around his throat. What the hell was he even dealing with? As he wrestled the glowing fish-man, he could tell it was some kind of energy construct, made from the powers of Avarice. Legends said it was constructed by the Guardians of the Universe. With a name like that, clearly on par with the guardians of the Rock of Eternity. If they made this power, who knows what else they could create. Thanks Solomon. Punching the Fish-man across the jaw and sending him spinning for a sec, he grabbed him from behind and suplexed him straight into a wall, where the pieces shattered. As they did so, he saw Doctor Poison jumping to elbow him in the face while he was on the floor. He rolled out of the way, which was a good thing, as the elbow left a large dent in the floor. He then got to his feet, just in time to let out a holler of pain as he was hit in the back by a laser blast. Turning around, he saw an Orange Contruct with a nazi uniform and what looked like a skull for a head advancing on him with glowing eyes.

"STICKY HERE CAN SHOW ME ALL OF THE DIFFERENT GREAT HEROES OF THE CAUSE FROM ALL ACROSS THE TIMELINES! HOW DO YOU THINK THE WIZARD KNEW ABOUT YOU?" Filpot's voice was climbing higher and higher, more ear-splitting with each construct he manifested. Another one started to form. Looking almost like Captain Marvel, but with a Swastika where his own Lightning Bolt should be.

"COWARD!" Marvel yelled. The big, bad, aryan master-race has to hide behind its jackbooted bullyboys?" He called. He needed to provoke Filpot into coming out. But Banjo could see through this, even in his addled state.

"Fightin' fair is a suckers game. NOW HAND OVER THE..." He stopped and grabbed his head as he tried to actually think about what he wanted from Marvel. "No... NO I DON'T NEED ANYTHING FROM HIM. KILL HIM! SLO- NO, FAST! KILL HIM QUICK AND WE CAN MOVE ON!!!" He laughed maniacally. Filpot was clearly losing what little grip he still had on reality. As Captain Nazi dived for him, he grabbed him and threw him hard at the safety glass keeping Boyd and Sims locked up. Sims immediately jumped out and webbed Doctor Poison and the newly formed Baron Death together, before delivering a spine-shattering kick that broke both in half.

As Marvel and Sims faught the good fight against every increasing numbers of Nazi constructs, Boyd slowly poked his head out of his cocoon. He gulped, before looking at Marvel. Not a single shred of fear on his face. No, he WAS Bailey Briggs, he was the one and only Spider-Boy. He needed to fight too. Shredding his way from his cocoon, his over 4 arms grew from his back as his face became the man-spider again. Lunging out, he grabbed ahold of a construct of Iron Dictator and bit it's head clearn off with a single bite, the construct dissolving as he did so. Filpot screeched in rage as one of his new favourites he had just learned about was cut down.

"YOU AND YOUR WEB OF LIFE MAGICS! YOU AIN'T NOTHIN' COMPARED TO ME AND THIS RING!!!" as constructs of Ubermensch, Sea Wolf, Horned Owl, Gudra, Kamikaze and Usil all sprung to life and headed out of the door to hunt down those their master had called for the deaths of. Boyd set off at a run after them, all the while, Sims flipped over to the door.

"Captain, we need to fall back. He's making too many of them." He yelled over the din of the ring creating constructs and the sprinklers still raining on them. Setting off at a run, Marvel backed over to the door. Summoning another lightning bolt, he threw it straight at the Captain Nazi construct, the bolt getting jammed in its stomach, before Bailey launched himself into the air and double-axe-handle punched it straight towards the ground. As the bolt made contact with the soaking wet floor, the other constructs were all quickly electrocuted, exploding one by one. Marvel lanced in the water and saw the orange energies beginning to reform again.

"What do i have to do to make these guys stay down?" He sighed under his breath, before setting off at a run for the door and following Sims and Boyd.

****

As Team 41 made their way into a lab with only 1 door for an entrance, the team were quickly turning over desks and taking strong defensive positions. 2 of them by the door with mirrors were watching each corridor. One of them saw the glowing orange. "CONTACT!!!" He yelled, before everyone jumped for defensive positions. Ubermensch was the first at the door, gunfire ringing out and ricochetting off his chest, the construct smiling, before blasting one of the team with laser-vision, sending him to the floor. "GET DOWN!" The leader yelled, as everyone took cover. Sea-Wolf leapts straight through Ubermensch and into the room. At that point, Usil stumbled back across the hall behind Ubermensch with Boyd biting at him, with Usil firing off arrows wildly. Orange Construct shards that vaguely resembled Gudra shot past the door, along with Sims, who clearly was delivering a flying kick. Marvel finally arrived next with Kamikaze hanging off of his side. Marvel grabbed Ubermensch around the neck and flopping into his back as he curled up put his feet in the constructs spine and kick with such force that the drop ceiling tile shattered along with the orange construct. Looking in the lab, he saw 2 members of the team were down, while their team leader was wrestling with the Werewolf construct.

Pushing themselves off the wolf, their mask was caught and pulled off by its claws, they pulled their sidearm and emptied the entire clip into the wolf. At that point, the leader turned to look at Captain Marvel, just in time to see him grab Kamikaze off his side and hold him up as the rest of the team riddled the construct with bullets.

And then Marvel's heart seemed to stop.

The team leader staring at him was a face he knew all too well.

Far too well.

The one he kept seeing in his dreams.

_"M-" "MOM!!!" Boyd behind him yelled, just after biting Horned Owl's head off. Boyd launched himself straight at the team leader. Her short, crewcut ginger hair was new, but they both recognized the face anywhere. Several bullets found their mark in Boyd, but he landed on her in a big 6 armed hug, the other team members rushed over as Tabitha Briggs went for her side-arm.

"M-Miss!" Marvel yelled. "Hold you fire!" He launched himself to stand over the pair of them and prevent the team from shooting.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS, GET IT OFF OF ME!" She yelled, Marvel grabbed Boyd by the collar, all 6 arms and his legs curling up under him like a kitten as he picked him up with one hand, then offered Tabitha his free hand to offer her up. Inside, Bailey had gone all but catatonic, but luckily for him, the Courage of Achilles was keeping Marvel's mind in check and on the task at hand. Surrendering himself entirely to instinct.

"We have a large number of those things coming for us and not much time to plan our next move." He claimed. "Are you all that's coming?" He asked Tabitha. She stared at the spider-monster in his hand.

"No, we've got experts on that ring coming." She replied. "Frost, check on Apone." She ordered as one of the men moved to the downed team member. Sims moved in and pressed a few buttons to lock the door.

"So, you represent someone who knows about what's happened. We need information." He ordered. Tabitha looked at the strange allies they had found. Some kind of Superman, a Spider-Monster and a guy in a full body suit.

"We believe that someone has come into contact with a magic ring known as The Orange Lantern. It feeds on Averice and Greed. It has taken control of the being that is wearing it and is forcing them to act on these emotions." She replied, quickly patching up a scratch on her arm. "Our experts have similar rings that should be able to forcibly dislodge it." She replied.

"What's the ETA on your experts?" Sims asked. _"Sadness..." Tabitha put her finger to her ear.

"Base, we have made contact with Captain Marvel and other friendlies. ETA on Green, Red and Gold?" _"Sorrow..."

>"ETA is 5 minutes. However, the Silver ring has just entered the building. It's homing in on something there."

"CRAP!"_{"An emptiness..."} She looked at the others. "Everyone stop feeling sad this instant. Any sorrow that you might be feeling, push it down as hard as you can, i'm not losing a member of the team. _{"He knows what she can never..."} "And what the hell is your... Pet doing?" She asked, before grabbing her mask and nightvision. Marvel looked down at Boyd who looked back up at him and waved. Suddenly he noticed tears forming in the eyes of Boyd, he then looked around at Tabitha who wiped her own eyes from the tears leaking. He suddenly heard it.

"Bailey Briggs..." A voice came around. He shook his head as suddenly the tears began forming in his own eyes. "Bailey Briggs you know the greatest of sorrow..." He couldn't help himself. He dropped Boyd and slowly walked out of the door, before walking to a window across the hall from the lab and looking to see the glowing silver ring outside.

"CRAP IT'S HIM!!!" Tabitha growled, before raising the gun. Sims pushed it down.

"Are you crazy?" Suddenly every gun in the room was pointed at either Marvel or Sims.

"That Ring is about to take his body for a ride, we need to stop this or this is going to get SO much worse." She growled, tears now cascading down her cheek as a river. She raised the gun to Marvel, but... But... But she didn't... She couldn't shoot... Something was preventing her from doing it.

"Sir, Orders! Do we fire?" Tabitha's mouth opened, she couldn't say it, she couldn't bring herself... What the hell was going on.

"Bailey Briggs you know the greatest of sorrow... Take the ring and ease it..." The voice continued. Sims rushed over to him.

"Captain!" He shook Marvel's arm, before slapping him in the face, completely unphasing him. "CAPTAIN! WHO GAVE YOU YOUR POWER?!" As Marvel put his hand through the window, pushing through it like it was paper, the ring going for his finger. "CAPTAIN! WHO GAVE YOU YOUR POWER?!"

"Shazam..." As the lightning bolt hit Bailey, Sims was sent flying. As the team moved out into the hall and looked, they would see the young boy with his flowing red locks turn to them. His eyes were white and tears flowed from his cheeks. He wore a costume similar to Captain Marvel's, but with the symbol of the Sorrow Ring on his chest instead of the lightning bolt.

"You will know my sorrow..." Bailey wheezed.

Worlds Collide: A Merged Universe Superhero Roleplay

T H E L A N T E R N S / C A P T A I N M A R V E L
T H E L A N T E R N S / C A P T A I N M A R V E L

^{The Battle of General Techtronics Tower: Prologue.}

General Techtronics Lab, New York

Sims slowly paced around on the ceiling. Being upside down helped him think. He had run every test imaginable on that staff. He needed to find a way to quantify the unquantifiable. I mean, there was the old saying of "Magic is just science we don't understand" But he had literally witnessed magic... Wait, there was an idea... Maybe, instead of approaching this as a scientist, he approached it as a wizard... God his life really had gone utterly off the rails since Bailey came into his life. He looked over to the holding cell to see Boyd pacing around upside down as well, seemingly mimicing his actions. That thunder bolt really had fried that things mind well and truly. If there was a God or other divine being deciding on his fate... Oh wait, the kid had already told him The Fates were real. Well, in that case, if The Fates were benevolent in any sort of way, please for the love of god, make Christina not be right. That kid was already out of touch with reality as is, no need to add more gas to the fire. He shook his head and dropped down from the ceiling, before approaching the Staff. It floated, bolt upright, a minor hum eminating from it. Reaching out and grabbing it, he stood for a second. Well, he wasn't getting his brains turned to goo just yet... Or maybe it was an Asbestos type thing where his brains would randomly turn to jelly and leak onto the floor at some point 10 years from now... Well, in any case, he was fine for the moment. He thought for a second and then looked over at Boyd, who had his face pressed to the glass, watching with his beady little eyes "Sterces Ruoy Lla Laever" It worked for Bailey, why not him? A few seconds passed, but nothing happened.

Well, to be honest, he wasn't quite sure what to expect. Then again, Bailey said that this was part of a test for him. If all the test involved was saying 4 magical words and suddenly, boom, everything laid bare, then, honestly, it wouldn't have been much of a test to begin with. On the other hand, there was always the possibility that this Staff was somehow biometrically coded to only work for the Champion anyway. He'd need to get Bailey in to repeat the test. "?Sterces Ruoy Lla Laever Esaelp" He asked. Scientific method required variation and repetition... Eh, who was he kidding, he just wanted to make sure it wasn't as stupid as "Using the Magic Word." Because he would be kicking his own ass for days if it was that simple. He then heard a beeping from his watch. Time to feed Boyd again. He looked over at the cell, only to see a shivering silvery web cocoon in the corner of the room. He quickly walked over to look. Pressing the intercomm. "Boyd? Are you alright?"

"Averice..." a voice came from the cocoon. Averice and unending hatred..." The boy shivered and clearly felt fear. "They come for what's not theirs." At that point, Sims' Spider-Senses went off. Clearly, Boyd's senses were more powerful than his own. "To paint the world with his own colours." Sims immediately ran over to his security console. "The Orange is here..." Sims quickly activated the security grid, only to find most of it was down and all the camera's were just displaying a glowing orange colour.

"What in the god-damn?" He grunted, before pressing another button. As he did so, a small cove opened in the wall, before he rushed inside, before a few seconds later, emerging in a jet black body suit with red webbing patterns all over it. If what was coming was enough to scare Boyd, then he needed to make sure he was kitted up. This was actually somewhat special, because, although he had designed and made the suit and the changing mechanism over 20 years ago, this was the first time he actually had the opportunity to wear it. Looking down at the mask in his hand, he quickly pulled it over his head. "Containtment field, maximum. Lights off!" He ordered as the room went pitch black and the only source of light was emanating from the crystal atop the Staff of the Gods.

*Shhhhink. CRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRUUNCH!* rang out as the darkness was pierced by a glowly orange light. A large orange Car-Jack had forced the security doors open. "Woo-hoo-hooo! Baby, it's all mine, baby! And i may just have to keep this lovely tower too. Make a BEAUTIFUL Reichskanzlei for my GLORIOUS new Empire! The Empire of ME!" The flying fat man giggled as he floated lazily through the air, creating a glowing orange effect wherever he went. His pockets were clearly full of things he had picked up on the way through the defenses, suddenly he stopped and looked at the staff "OoOoOoOoOoH!" He cooed as his lips flapped from one end to the other, floating over to it, he was suddenly stopped by an energy field. "What in tarnation?" He poked and prodded it, before slamming his fist against it. "Oh well, no matter, it's just more stuff for me." He giggled, before spotting a computer console and floating towards it, casually strumming the banjo in his hand. Suddenly, the music from Filpot was slowly infiltrated by a pair of *FWIP* sounds, before a spear of black and red catapulted straight through Filpot and smashed onto the floor. Sims looked down at his feet to see no orange glowing bastard underneath his heels. "Oh, Pu-LEASE! You didn't think i was gonna assume nobody wasn't home?" The voice came from behind Sims, who immediately webbed back up into the shadows, but as soon as he started his ascent, his Spider-Senses screamed at him, quickly he changed direction and went to a different corner. Only to be met by the orange glow appearing next to him. "Oooh, i love the DIGS, son. Mind if i?" Sims immediately shot to another corner, but was followed by a pair of glowing, orange webs that grabbed his back and pulled him off the wall, he shot another set of webs to help him swing into a controlled landing, only to look back up and see Filpot now had a pair of glowing, Orange webshooters of his own on his wrists. "Oh, and that mask, i'm gonna need that too." The Orange web shot for his face, but with his instant reflexes, dodged around 4 strands. He flipped across the room and towards the console, banjo music reverberating off the walls. He needed Bailey's help now and he knew it. His spider-senses screaming at him as he went for the console. He knew, danger was in the room, so why was it...

Pressing the console button and landing, he suddenly realized he was in the same cell as Boyd, the door slamming shut behind him. The banjo music cut off as he looked to see Filpot outside the glass strumming himself a triumphant victory fanfare. Filpot pressed the intercom button. "Illusions, son, best get used to it. You're gonna have to deal with them every time you escape." He strummed a few more times. Then stood idly for a second, he scratched himself under his third chin, then pressed the button again. "A-and put that mask in the food airlock, because i want it. Comeon, gimmegimmegimme. Also, tell me how to call the big cheese, i need him here."

"I was trying to call him when you imprisoned me." Sims grunted, the voice filter in his mask making him sound much deeper and more intimidating.

"AND A SYNTHESIZER? WHOOO BABY I NEED THAT MASK. GIMME BEFORE I SMASH MY WAY IN AND PEEL IT FROM YOUR CORPSE!" He growled, seemingly growing increasingly unhinged. "No wait... Staff first. Stick to the plan..." He comforted himself, floating back towards the staff, but then spotting Sims' desk and getting distracted, before going through the drawers, pocketting everything he could grab."YOU HAD TOO MUCH CRAP IN THERE, NEXT TIME, GIMME SOMETHIN' GOOD TO TAKE!" He screamed across the room at Sims, before he put on his big smile again and floated over to the energy field. He quickly created a large, orange Jackhammer and began pounding away at the field to try and get at the Staff within.

S.W.O.R.D. HQ, CLASSIFIED

S.W.O.R.D. had made it a dedicated surveylance team for each Ring to make sure one team was tracking each rogue ring at any given time. With the Orange Lantern entering New York, a communique was sent straight to the top:

>Orange-Admin: Director, the Orange Lantern has appeared in New York. Initial reports suggest Kurt Filpot, known terrorist, is in possession of it. Requesting Captain Jordan and his team be deployed immediately.
>Director: Negative, Captain Jordan and his team are currently engaging the Silver ring.
>Orange-Admin: Understood, requesting deployment of an Agent team to secure the site and attempt to prevent the rings escape.
>Director: Approved. Team 41 is currently the closest unengaged team.
>Orange-Admin: Understood, sending deployment orders to Captain Briggs and her team.

Worlds Collide: A Merged Universe Superhero Roleplay

T H E L A N T E R N S
T H E L A N T E R N S

^{"Hal. Mom died."}

6 Months ago

As Hal stepped off the plane and back onto familiar soil of Blyniville Air Base, he took a deep, refreshing sniff of the sweet California air. 8 weeks training on the USS Gerald Ford for a top secret mission made even this place look like absolute paradise. He had a few weeks before the mission took place and was being given some basic R&R beforehand. Walking across base, he headed for the front office to sign out. Maybe go visit Mom while he was here, rather than just head straight to Vegas, which was exactly the kind of place he wanted his R&R. Entering the front office to sign all of his papers, he checked his mail box. A couple of the usual letters, mostly talking about how they could make him perform better in bed with 4 easy payments. However, on the top was a number of letters informing him of missed communications. The training facility barred any and all contact with the outside, mostly because they wanted to deny the existance of the facility. Sighing, he walked over to the front desk. "Can i borrow the phone?" He pointed at the landline. It'd take a mass of paperwork to get his mobile back. Jack, his oldest brother, had tried to call him an alarming amount of times. Jack rarely wanted to talk to him on a holiday, so it wasn't likely to be anything good. Maybe Helen's Bar Mitzva yet? Yeah, might be coming up to it. Well, he was about to get an earful. The phone rang a few times, before the familiar voice of Hal's sister-in-law, Janet, came on.

"Hello? Jordan residence." Janet said.

"Janet. Hi, it's Hal. Sorry for not being reachable, i've been..." The clerk behind the desk shot Hal a stern look. "Classified..." He replied.

"Oh... Hal... Ummm..." He heard the telltale sound of the phone being put down, but not hung up. "Jason, go get your father, tell him Uncle Hal's on the phone." Then the phone being picked up again. "Hal, sorry, Jack will be here in a second."

"Ok... How's Janet doing? Did i miss her Bar Mitzva? I'm REALLY sorry about that if i did. You should have told me, i could have had something sent in my abscence." He laughed.

"Oh... Uh... No, she's not going to be 13 till next April." She replied. She sounded worried now.

"Janet... What's going on? Jack is a sourpuss, but we've always been good, what's going on?" Hal asked, he could feel his heart sinking. This wasn't a "I'm annoyed you missed something because of scheduling" kind of voice from her, it was a "I have been dreading the fallout of this phonecall for the last month" kinda voice. The phone then changed hands.

"Hal. Mom died." Jack said. Hal stood there for a second. Not quite sure exactly what to say or how to say it or exactly... Wait, WHAT?

"Ex-FREAKIN'-Cuse me?" He yelled. "WHAT?"

"Mom died... Cancer. Started in the pancreas, quickly spread to everywhere else." Jack replied.

"NO, THAT'S NOT ELABORATION REQUIRED, YOU DILLWEED! THAT IS, YOU JUST FREAKIN' DROPPED THAT ON ME LIKE A NEWBORN GIRAFFE KINDA DEAL! WHAT IN THE ACTUAL HELL?" He roared down the phone, the clerk pretended to look at his watch, before bidding a hasty retreat to the back, clearly not wanting to get involved in this.

"Mom told you not to go into the Military, after dad. You should have been here."

"I HAVE TO MAKE A LIVING, JACK! WE CAN'T ALL BE THE DISTRICT ATTOURNEY, YOU ASSHOLE! DAD FLEW JETS, I FLY JETS, YOU KEEP SCUMBAGS OUT OF JAIL, WE DO WHAT WE NEED TO LIVE! AND DON'T MAKE THIS ABOUT THE AIRFORCE, MOM DIED AND YOU HAVE ALL THE WARMTH OF ALASKAN ROADKILL!"

"I told you that i make good money, and with Mom's pension and dad's military pension, you could have stayed home and just done anything you wanted for the rest of your life without worry. You could have seen the signs, you could have got her to the doctors early-"

"NONONONO, YOU DICK! I AM NOT GOING TO BE MADE THE BAD GUY BECAUSE I ACTUALLY WANTED TO DO SOMETHING WITH MY LIFE, RATHER THAN JUST BE THE SCREW-UP LITTLE BROTHER THAT YOU CAN BRAG TO YOUR BUDDIES AT THE OFFICE WHAT A SAINT YOU ARE FOR SUPPORTING! I AM A BIG-SHOT! I AM A CAPTAIN IN THE AIR FORCE! I MAKE MORE MONEY THAN YOU DO!"

"I hope that money gives you all the comfort mom can't anymore than."

"That was a low blow, you dick! When's the funeral?" Hal growled, ready to go to Jacks house and strangle him with the phone chord.

"Mom was Jewish, you know the rules."

"You bet i know the rules better than you do. You seem to forget that while you and Jimmy more followed Dad, I actually did my reading. The soul is to be put to rest within 24 hours of death, BUT delays are permitted to accomodate close family members as the family needs to be there to have their souls as rested as the deceased. I swear if you put her in the ground just to spite me-" The phone slammed down and Hal stood there for a second just listening to the dial tone. "BASTARD!!!" He screamed, while he slammed the phone down 4 times in frustration, before re-dialing. The phone just rang through to answering machine... He stood for a second as tears began to roll down his cheek. He then quickly began dialing Jimmy to find out about the funeral.

Now

Hal and Jack crashed in a heap, Hal rolling a few times to get some distance between him and his brother. "Hal Jordan, you WILL know my sorrow!" Jack wheezed. Hal looked to see where they had crashed. Blyniville Cemetery... He looked around, he could see the names of the dead. Some names he remembered, Jack pointed over to one next to Hal, he dared a glance and saw the names: 'Martin Jordan' and chizzled freshly underneath it was 'And Jessica Jordan. Loving parents, who's sons will always keep them.'

"Ok, Jack. You want Therapy? Alright, let me give you some Therapy-" He growled. Shooting forward, he created a giant green fist and upper-cut Jack away from the graves. Shooting up, he went for another punch, but Jack created a large hammer that seemed to form out of the tears streaming from his face and smashed Hal in the side, sending him hurtling away. Quickly regaining his composure, Hal formed a Jet Fighter out of ring energy and zipped across the sky, before heading back at Jack from low, pelting him with green bullets, Jack spun the hammer at mach-speeds, deflecting the bullets, and as Hal closed in, quickly formed the hammer into a Scythe, before he deftly cut the wing off the Will Jet. Of course, the Jet was made of willpower, so the form was mostly for show, so it didn't crash, but the construct did seem to unravel. Hal looked at the wing to see the tears from the scythe rapidly burning through his Jet construct. Ejecting out of it, the Willpower returned to his ring and he floated in the sky, looking at Jack, who slowly floated towards him.

"Hal Jordan, you WILL know my sorrow." He wheezed again. Closing in on Hal, Hal once again went for the giant green fist punch, but it was blocked by a giant fist of tears. The pair then began quickly trading blows of lighning fast, giant fists, the fists smashing into each other and perfectly blocking them, blow for blow.

"OF COURSE I KNOW YOUR SORROW!!! MOM DIED AND MY BIG BROTHER HUNG ME OUT TO DRY!!!" He screamed, before he just straight up kicked Jack in the stomach with his own foot. Jack didn't double over, instead, he grabbed the leg and swung Hal into the way of one of his own fists made of tears, sending Hal flying. Hal was sent flying a few feet, but was caught by a Green Baseball mit, stopping himself. He then recovered and floated in the air. The pair staring each other down. "You should have waited for me." He growled.

"Sorrow waits for no man." Jack replied. In a flash, his tears formed into large spears that began quickly shooting straight at Hal. Hal quickly created a construct of a large man with chopsticks, quickly catching all the spears in his chopsticks, before bowing and disappearing.

"Why do you hate me?" Hal called. "You hated me ever since i joined the Air Force. I missed you. I missed being able to talk to my older brother. But it's always Janet when i call. Every Birthday, every Hannukah, I ALWAYS try to talk with you and you just barely acknowledge my existance. I'm sorry i had to work over this Christmas, but evil alien warlords don't take Christmas off, turns out." Jack simply floated, watching Hal yell at him. "I'm not getting through to the real Jack, am i?" He asked. Jack's eyes seemed to, for a second, lose their milky whiteness and return to their normal deep brown. "Or am i?" He whispered, his Green aura seemed to strengthen as he said this. He quickly headed away from the Graveyard, he didn't want to risk damaging any of the graves, back towards the base, Jack in hot pursuit.

As they flew over Blyniville, a green beam lanced into the sky, knocking Jack off-balance, as it did so, Hal turned around and punched him towards the ground with another giant fist. Jack smashed into the concrete, only to see Hal and May approaching him, green energy radiating from Hal's ring and May's Manhunter Staff. Jack stumbled to his feet and looked at May, very confused. "Why... Do you not know my Sorrow?" He mumbled at May.

"Because i know how to compartmentalize it." She replied. "Now that i'm prepared, i know just how to deal with you." She blasted him again, straight in the knee, sending him doubling down to the one knee. Hal then put out a hand in front of her.

"I've got it from here." He replied. Walking towards Jack, he saw Jack throw a regular punch at Hal, who caught it in his hand, before forcing Jack's balled up fist back into his own nose, sending Jack stumbling back a few paces. "Yeah, Jacky, that's the problem with these things. They take you for a ride, but they suck out everything a little too quickly. It's gonna need a new host soon." Hal just kept advancing.

"KNOW MY SORROW, HAL JORDAN!!!" Jack cried, before jumping at Hal, who quickly ducked under the jump and threw a punch upwards into his gut, Jack landing in a heap. Jack kept his fist balled as he got up again. Hal looked at the Sorrow ring... It was shaking, trying to move down Jacks finger, but Jack had his thumb pressed underneath the ring. The Ring was already trying to escape, but Jack wouldn't let it. Was he trying to help Hal? No, that makes no sense, he doesn't know anything about the mission. Hal ducked under another punch.

"You're not the Ring anymore, are you. You're just Jack." Hal sighed. Hal dodged a few more lamps coming from Jack. "Jack, i'm a Boxer, the Army trained me to kill people with my bare hands, you are a DA that gave up on Tae-Kwan-Do because it made you too sweaty. You aren't going to beat me like this." He sighed. A tear construct fist launched at Hal, but it quickly destabilized and just splashed on the ground. "Jack, let the ring go and just talk to me." He sighed. Jack dived at him, but Hal caught his arms and rolled back to kick Jack over himself, before he kipped back up to his feet and walked over to Jack slowly trying to push himself up. He grabbed Jacks arm and pulled him to his feet, before pulling him into a hug. "Come on, bro. You don't need a ring. You just need to hug it out with me." He said a solitary tear began rolling down his cheek. Jack's eyes slowly turned back to their deep chocolate brown as the Ring finally managed to slip away from his finger and shoot off eastwards at Mach speeds. The Sorrow Lantern costume melted away and the brothers were just left embracing.

"HAL, I'M SORRY, I'M SO SORRY I HAD TO BLAME YOU!!!" Jack cried.

"It's alright, bro. I get it. I'm an easy target." Hal patted Jack on the back as Jack began squeezing harder.

"NO, YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND, IT WAS ME, IT WAS ALL ME! I DIDN'T CHECK ON HER AS MUCH AS I SHOULD HAVE, I KEPT SAYING NEXT WEEK, NEXT WEEK, NEXT WEEK! I WAS RIGHT THERE! YOU COULD COME SEE HER FROM JAPAN OR GERMANY OR QATAR, BUT I COULDN'T DRIVE 30 MINUTES DOWN THE ROAD? WHAT KIND OF SON AM I?! I KILLED HER, HAL! I COULD HAVE SAVED HER, BUT I JUST SAT THERE AND LET HER DIE AND I WAS TOO WEAK AND PATHETIC TO ACCEPT THAT!!!" He sobbed loudly/

"Jacky, you did what you could. You did what you needed to. You needed to be strong for Janet and Helen and Jason. I don't mind. I'm pissed that you buried her just to spite me, but... I can't hold a grudge." He patted Jack on the back harder. "Let it all out, big guy." Jack's sobs quickly abated as he slowly began to slump forward, completely drained of all energy by the ring. "May, can you call me a bus?" He asked. As he did so, Sinestro and Dex slowly floated down towards them.

"If you attempt to tell anyone of what happened, i will decorate my litter box with your entrails." The cat growled.

"Hal Jordan, we need to go after that ring." Sinestro demanded, forcing the Green Power Battery into Hals hands. Sinestro's eyes were noticably bloodshot.

"What did he make you see?" Hal asked.

"Irrelevant. The Director just informed me that the Orange ring is attacking New York and that Grey ring is now bee-lining for it. This cannot be good." May turned back to them.

"I have just received word, S.W.O.R.D. Agents are present and they engaged the Orange Ring alongside Captain Marvel. We need to get there now."

"Captain Marvel? The guy from the Lava Golems incident?" Hal asked. "Alright, me, Sinestro and Dex will get there ASAP, you follow along in The Bus. And make sure Jack gets some good treatment... We gotta talk properly when i get back." He then spun a finger around his head to indicate he was going as green, gold and red streaks shot into the air, heading East.

Worlds Collide: A Merged Universe Superhero Roleplay

Not the longest post, but set-up for a crossover for my two stories that will begin after the conclusion of Hal and Jack working out their mommy issues together, next time.

Worlds Collide: A Merged Universe Superhero Roleplay

C A P T A I N M A R V E L
C A P T A I N M A R V E L

^{"It's mine.... Not yours..."}

Captain Marvel had quickly been making a reputation for himself around New York. With that successful rescue of the L-Train after his fight with Boyd, as well as him quickly becoming a symbol of equal rights when he was seen beating a man who was yelling racial slurs. An internet meme of "Be A Marvel! Punch A Racist!" was going cult in a few forums. Of course, Bailey didn't particularly care about all that. He was in it to do good in the city. You know, it took a little getting used to, but Bailey was really starting to get the hang of all of this not living in a facist dystopia thing and boy did it feel good. Sure, there were a couple of loudmouths on the TV... And that couple a few units down from them in F.E.A.S.T. that were constantly using the M word. Much to Christina's chagrin, he hadn't punched them for clout.

School had started and now he was going to Empire State Elementary. Luckily, having friends in high places allowed him to get some good fake ID's to pass as a kid. He was meeting kids his own age. Of course, kids his own age were cruel and unusual. He had mostly been homeschooled for the majority of his life, Mom didn't believe in the state education, but Empire State is where Christina had gone and Mr and Mrs Xu had been very clear that his education came first. Of course, they didn't know that he literally had the Wisdom of Solomon drip-feeding him answers. He was beginning to notice that some of the powers were beginning to seep into his non-powered form. This was mildly alarming as he was afraid they might subsume his personality, but then again, the Wizard said there were trials that had to be taken. Maybe figuring this out was one. Ironically, those were the only answers that Solomon wasn't drip feeding him.

He was finally starting to explore this NEW New York. Lots of Heroes congregated here. Not unusual, same as the one he remembered, although now things were different. It was mostly hope that filled the air, rather than despair. He was tempted to look up some of his old Superhero buddies from before, but was kinda afraid they would be put off by them not recognizing him... Or more terrifyingly, the concept that they ACTUALLY did recognize him. He wondered how the Morlocks in the sewers were doing? How were Reed and Susan doing? T'Challa and Ororo? He had had wonderful adventures with all of them and then he didn't exist anymore... He hadn't read anything about any of them and was a bit too terrified to do so, in case he learned that they were wiped out too... Or even killed. Maybe even before they got the chance to be heroes... Nope, Schrodinger's Reed Richers (As Reed had once called the concept). Better to leave him as a possibility than learn he was just a bag-boy working at the local K-Mart.

As Bailey got back to F.E.A.S.T. and schlept over to his bed before falling face first into it, he heard Christina come by to call to him. "Come on, Bail, we've got a keep to earn." Bailey sighed into the muffled donated blankets before getting up and going to grab a mop from her.

All things considered... Life was good.

As Bailey and Christina were helping around F.E.A.S.T. with their usual jobs, little did they know that mystical eyes were watching. From a nearby rooftop, Kurt Flipots sat watching the pair through a scrying spell he was casting using his Banjo. The guy who gave it to him had told him repeatedly. "Do NOT stay too long in New York, there are strange magics there that may not take kindly to our presence." But he had just taken on one of the strongest heroes in the world and royally beaten him senseless. Sorcerer's, Warlocks, Wizards, Druids, what did he have to worry about. Strumming his banjo, he watched, waiting for his next move. "Dammit, i used to be a sombodeh." He grunted, getting up and strumming a few chordes. "Grand Cyclops... Head of the Silver Legion Band..." He groaned. "TIE A YELLAH RIBBON AROUND THE OL' OAK TREE!!!" He looked in to the scrying spell and watched as Bailey and Christina seemed to be racing each other with mops around the floor. "Look at him. Strong Celtic boy with just some little... like her..." He threw his head back in anger. "Poor boy..." He sighed. "No mamma or pappy to teach him where he comes from. That he is superior to that little... Gad dammit, if i only had the power..." He stopped for a second. "I do have the power. And that old bastard that's training him has got more in that big ol' stick..." He looked over the city towards General Techtronics tower. "And the Worm has got even more in that big ol' cauldron... Yeah, with all of that, there'd nary be a single one of them... or... to challenge me. I could have it all, and the worm would never know until it's too late." He giggled sadistically. As he did so, he barely noticed the light that seemed to have found him. An eerie dim glow as if an old street lamp.

He stamped his foot down on the ground. "OOP! SORRY FELLA, DIDN'T SEE YA THERE! I could have it all... Nay, i SHOULD have it all, i'm doing the work, i deserve the glory!" He strummed out a few more chordes. "On the heath, there blooms a lil floret..." He cooed as he took a few more steps. "Yeah, with the Banjo, the stick and the whatever he's got cooking back there... I could be invincible... It could all be mine... MINE" He walked back a few paces "After all, there's that ol' saying, what's yours is mine..." A mad grin smeared across his face, as he did so, his eyes began to glow orange. "And what's mine is Mine... It's Mine... It's Mine... It's Mine... It's Mine... It's Mine..." He then looked back at the images of the pair laughing. "Not yours..." He reached out his hand as a Orange glowing ring slipped onto his finger.

"KURT FILPOT! YOU'RE ALL MINE!!!"

Worlds Collide: A Merged Universe Superhero Roleplay

By the way, im slowly moving forward with getting The Lantern Rings to their true champions. So, if anyone wants to do any one-shot crossover stuff, now is the time.