277 Oaths #277

"You who are evil, wicked, and mean..." Jack muttered, putting his new ring against the green lantern to convert it. "I'm the nastiest creep you've ever seen," He added, and I couldn't help but chuckle at his ridiculous oath.

"Come one, come all, put up a fight..." Jack went on as the Starheatr's green flames engulfed the lantern, slowly changing it. "I'll pound your asses with green lantern light...!" He concluded, raising the lantern up high as it completely transformed.

It had been an hour since we set off to capture and interrogate the Aeolian bloodhounds, which went as well as I had expected. We beat them silly and proceeded to pry the information we needed from their minds, which led me to believe that Jack's target possessed the body of Aeolian Champion.

The orders to follow Kara and myself were from him, and he was the highest authority on the planet, so it made sense that the so-called sentient Kryptonian weapon would choose him as the host.

Still, we ran into a problem as Jack's ring ran out of power since he didn't get a chance to charge it in a while, but his green lantern didn't work on the Starheart ring, and the damned thing even tried to escape.

I quickly figured out and taught Jack how to convert the lantern, which involved using his ridiculous oath, and here we are.

"That's an interesting oath..." I said, giving the blue-skinned a side glance, which didn't hide my amusement. "How did you come up with it...?" I asked with a slight laugh.

"I'm not exactly a model citizen... I've had some rough patches, but I wouldn't do it any other way..." Jack replied with a shrug. "The green corps oath didn't sit too well with me, so I came up with one of my own..." He continued.

"What about you? What sort of oath do you have...?" He asked.

"I don't have any, don't need it, don't want it," I blankly replied. "You won't catch me doing something so embarrassing, no sir," I added, firmly shaking my head at the idea, finding it ridiculous.

"Besides, I can't forget where I came from, even if I wanted to," I said, without bothering to explain.

"Well, whatever the case, we have a face and a name..." Jack said after a brief pause as he finished charging his ring. "Now we just gotta finish the job," He added as he floated in the air.

"Where did you say the champion guy was again...?" He asked as he suddenly stopped and turned to me, awkwardly shaking his head, much to my amusement.

"This way," I said with a chuckle as I jumped into the air and flew toward the Champion's quarters.

...

The Champion's Quarters

Surrounded by the best Aeolian bloodhounds and warriors, the Champion sat calmly on his throne, waiting for the inevitable as alarms rang all over the building, warning of two intruders.

It all happened so suddenly. One moment the Champion, rather World Killer-1, the sentient weapon that possessed his body, was contemplating how to capture Kara Zor-El and take over her body, then reports of missing bloodhounds came.

It wasn't long after the reports that the building's security system came to life, sending out alarm bells as two men broke into the Champions Quarters, sweeping through everything in their way.

Still, the sudden intrusion didn't faze World Killer. He saw it as a chance to capture Kara, so he split his forces, sending some of his finest warriors to subdue her, providing them with Kryptonite.

But, his decision was foolish as the Aeloian soldiers he sent did not travel far from the Champion's Quarters before being ambushed by three gigantic machines that prevented anyone from leaving or entering the building.

Though the Aeolians panicked at the sight of the machines and called for backup from other cities, World Killer didn't care. He relied on his personal might and still had the strongest warriors of the species by his side.

Once the intruders reached the throne room, he'd crush them and move on to claim his prize, or so he thought. Whether he could do it was anyone's guess, but he didn't need to wait too long to find out.

Suddenly, the wall opposite the throne distorted and was torn wide open by a gigantic green fist as Jack casually strolled into the throne room with a cigarette in hand, followed by Grayson.

"Yeah... that's the guy, alright. I could feel more than one conscience inside the big one on the throne..." Grayson said, stepping over the rubble as he gestured toward the Champion's body that dwarfed the other despite being seated.

"Listen and listen well because I'll only say this once..." Grayson said, addressing the Aeolian warriors as he walked past Jack. "That's not your leader... a living parasitic weapon from Krypton has taken over his body," He stated, looking World-Killer straight in the eye, to which the latter merely grinned.

"My friend here is part of the green lantern corps..." Grayson added as he pointed at Jack behind his back, and the latter nodded as he raised his hand, showcasing his ring for all to see.

"He's here to free your leader under orders from the Guardians of The Universe," He went on, pausing to study the Aeolian's reactions. "Step aside and let us do our work. You'll have your leader back, and all be well," He concluded.

In response, several Aeollians began muttering among themselves, but the majority seemed to have turned Grayson the deaf ear as they stood their ground with resolute expressions.

"Kill the intruders..." World Killer said without bothering to explain himself as he stood up, and Aeollan warriors roared, brandishing their weapons before Charging ahead of him without hesitation.

"Well, at least we tried..." Grayson said with a sigh as he hit the first Aeollan warrior to reach him with a causal backhand, which sent him crashing into the wall.

"Try to pull back on your punches--" He added, stopping halfway through as World Killer flew towards him at an incredible speed, forcing him to dodge in a hurry.

"Looks like I'll have to take care of the big guy," Grayson added, dodging another charge from World Killer. He reacted quickly and caught the brown alien's wrist before throwing him into the closest wall, which led outside.

"I'll take it outside. I don't want to destroy the building. Don't overdo it on your end either," Grayson concluded as he flew through the hole World Killer's body created, following him outside, to which Jack could only shrug.

"Well, you heard the man," Jack said as he began creating small energy constructs around him. "I won't beat you too bad, so try not to make it too hard for me, will ya?" He concluded as he activated the constructs, sending a volley of projectiles flying toward the Aeolian warriors.

...

"Out of curiosity... what's your story...?" I said, staring at the brown alien as I found him waiting for me in the air. "How did a Kryptonian weapon end up here... why are you after Kara...?" I asked without bothering to hide my curiosity.

"It's none of your concern, human," The alien replied with a scowl. "You'll be dead soon anyway. Knowing my origins will do you no good," He added, flexing his muscles as he prepared to attack.

"I guess I'll just ask Kara once I've wiped you out of existence," I added as I raised my hands in a defensive, and my words seemed to hit a nerve as the alien's hideous scowl became even more so.

"Oh, did she perhaps reject you or something...?" I said, swaying my body to the side to dodge an incoming punch that I saw coming from a mile away, thanks to the alien's agitated state.

"Silence, you pitiful primitive creature!" The alien said, clearly angered by my words as his attacks became more telegraphed and forceful. "Kara Zor-El is the epitome of Kryptonian evolution!" He added through gritted teeth as he watched me dance around his attacks.

"Only Kara survived planet Krypton! Natural selection chose her to be the best of her people!" The alien added as he put all his strength into one punch directed at my face.

"You are not fit to stand beside her! Kara Zor-El is mine, and no one else can have--" The alien creature said, stopping halfway through his sentence out of surprise as I caught his fist with one hand.

"So you're not only a parasite but also a creep...?" I said with a frown as I squeezed the alien's hand, slowly crushing its bones. "That's kind of pathetic..." I said as I let go and punched the alien with my free hand.

"Free the champion guy and get out of here while I'm still in the mood to let you..." I coldly stated as I watched the alien hold its bleeding nose while glaring at me.

"Do you think you've won?!" The alien exclaimed, sounding and looking angrier and angrier as he spoke. "I'm just getting started!" He added as strange spikes emerged from his mechanical battle suit.

"Here comes phase two, I guess... sure, why not...?"