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METROPOLIS -
The portal tore open over the smoke-choked street of Metropolis, its edges glowing with violet and obsidian light. Arthur stepped through first, boots crunching onto shattered concrete, Raven close behind with her cloak billowing like living shadow, and Kara emerging with her cape catching the wind. The stench of scorched steel and ash struck them immediately buildings gutted, streets fractured, the distant chorus of car alarms and human screams echoing through the canyons of glass and steel.
The battle ahead was already in full swing.
Superman was a streak of red and blue, tearing through the sky as his fists shattered a Black Lantern in half only for its mangled torso to knit together and rise again. Wonder Woman's blade gleamed with divine glow as she carved through another, her shield catching a barrage of black energy that sent the nearby plaza shuddering. Flash was everywhere and nowhere, a streak of lightning weaving through falling debris, carrying civilians two, three, four at a time out of collapsing streets. Martian Manhunter hovered overhead, his green form phasing in and out as black energy bolts whistled through where his chest should have been, his telepathic command holding a desperate line of panicked soldiers together on the ground.
And still, the Black Lanterns advanced mocking shadows in familiar shapes, each bearing the ring of death.
Arthur's gaze swept across the carnage, his jaw tightening as he saw some civilians as black lanterns. Fires licked the edges of glass towers. A bus lay overturned on its side, its windows webbed with cracks, a line of people scrambling from the emergency exit while a Lantern clawed its way over the frame. Somewhere distant, an explosion bloomed like a black sun.
"Well, this is bad…" he muttered, more to himself than anyone else. His eyes followed the line of soldiers firing futilely into the swarm, their bullets clinking uselessly off reanimated corpses. "Why are there even people here trying to fight…?"
His thoughts darkened. 'I shouldn't have taken my shadow off Clark,' he cursed inwardly. 'I did it out of respect, knowing he's not the type to scheme like Bats… but that was the wrong call.'
"They attacked out of nowhere," Kara said beside him, her eyes hard and bright with heat vision that hadn't cooled yet. Smoke smudged her cheeks; she'd been here before them, clearly, trying to stem the tide. "As if they appeared from thin air. And they moved fast..too fast. They multiplied the moment they landed. Clark, myself, the rest we stopped them where we could, but they won't stay down. We need you."
Arthur scanned the horizon again, watching a skyscraper tilt with a groan as its support beams melted under black energy. "It's good that not everyone from the justice league is here," he murmured. "They might attack elsewhere."
"Hal's somewhere in space," Kara added quickly. "He said he's tracking someone, but I don't know where."
Arthur's expression hardened. Without a word, his hand rose and the ground beneath him rippled like ink spilling over marble. Shadows rose in, twisting, shaping themselves into figures clad in shadow lantern uniform, their eyes aglow with violet flame. At the front hovered two imposing silhouettes, Sinestro's cruel angular features twisted by deathless shadow, and Atrocitus, a hulking mass of rage subdued by shadow barely contained by his form. Behind them, a phalanx of shadow Lanterns stretched across the war-torn avenue.
"Go," Arthur commanded, his voice cutting through the chaos like a blade. "Clean them up. You know what to do, destroy their rings."
The shadows nodded as one, and with a sound like a thousand beating wings, they surged forward. The air shuddered under their charge as they collided with the Black Lantern horde in a storm of dark light.
Arthur turned his head slightly. Raven was beside him, her hood drawn low, violet eyes reflecting the destruction. "You don't have to fight here," he said quietly. "The ring exhausted you last time. So you can..."
"No." Her voice was calm but edged, cutting him off before he could finish. "I'll fight."
He held her gaze for a moment, then inclined his head slightly. "Very well."
She stepped forward, her cloak unfurling like a raven's wings as she descended, dark energy crackling in her palms.
Arthur glanced at Kara next. "Be careful. Take this seriously Kara, they always go for the kill."
Kara gave a tight nod, her lips pressed thin, and then rocketed down toward the fray, a trail of heat vision carving a line through the swarm.
Alone for a heartbeat Arthur let out a slow breath, the violet glow beneath his eyes sharpening. He watched as Superman tore through a dozen Black Lanterns with blistering speed, heat vision slicing through their stitched-together forms.
Then he flew forward until he was right beside him, his gauntleted hand already forming the beginnings of a blade. Clark looked at him briefly, a flash of relief passing over his features before another wave of Black Lanterns surged toward them.
"You're late," Superman grunted, shoving one back with enough force to crater a car.
Arthur's fingers tightened on his weapon. "Let's fix that."
Arthur raised a hand, slicing one of the undead in half with his Kamish twinblade, the red edge glinting even in the dimmed light. "Sorry," he muttered, voice calm, almost casual. "I didn't come sooner."
Clark paused mid-flight, surveying them with a mix of frustration and determination. "I don't think it would have changed much honestly," he said, his voice steady. "These things… they just appeared out of nowhere, and carnage was inevitable. While I was observing, this part of the city paid the price. Now all we need to do is stop them here before they spread, once and for all."
Arthur's eyes flickered across the black lanterns, a calculated calm in his movements. "I'll try to minimize the damage," he said, carving another Black Lantern in half effortlessly. "And prevent further meaningless deaths. I won't fight with you directly. My focus is on locating the Herald. He's close, but he'll never confront us directly. He knows I can kill him."
Clark's jaw tightened, heat vision burning brighter as he vaporized several more Black Lanterns, only for their grotesque forms to stitch themselves back together. Arthur's shadow lanterns then attacked, dark constructs shaping into different weapons, striking with precision. Shadow Atrocitus and the other shadow Lanterns tore into the reanimated corpses, destroying their black rings and watching them collapse into truly lifeless heaps.
Clark exhaled, shoulders easing just slightly. "Alright…" he said, eyes sweeping over the city. "Don't worry..we'll hold them here with your shadows. Find this Herald."
Arthur gave a small nod, already moving away, blending into the shadows as he tracked a faint signature only he could sense. The trail led him through the chaos until he was flying near a building wreckage, where Batman was locked in combat with a familiar and dangerous figure. Arthur's eyes narrowed, the violet glow intensifying.
He called out, voice low but carrying authority: "Do you need help with Slade's corpse?"
Batman barely looked up, deflecting a black construct sword slash with an impossible precision. "No," he replied curtly. "Focus on your battles."
Arthur smirked, tilting his head slightly. "Very well," he said, his tone almost teasing but then Shadow Sinestro leapt into the fray. His constructs a jagged, shadow sword sliced through the Black Lantern Deathstroke, the undead barely reacting before the blade shredded him into pieces.
"Tch… mere constructs of black rubbish," Shadow Sinestro growled, eyes flickering as the form of Deathstroke twisted and shattered beneath the shadow blade. With a sudden, controlled motion, a beam of shadow energy unleashed from his shadow ring and struck the black ring, smashing it apart. The body crumpled to the ground, finally dead for real.
Batman's cowled eyes narrowed. Arthur raised his hands, an almost mocking gesture of surrender. "I didn't help," he said, voice smooth, controlled. "My shadow did, I can't control them that well you see."
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If you Like this story! Check out my other stories! Solo leveling in Westeros.
&
If you wish to read more or simply support me than check out my patreon at
"https://www.patreon.com/FrenzyAren"
You can Get Access to 3 More Chapters OR 7 More Chapters if you want