Author's Note:
For a long time, I wanted to write a story where my MC OC would face a Viltrumite thanks to her Power Armor and an Anti-Regeneration scythe. However, the problem is that Invincible is Mark Grayson's story.
To allow myself to do what I want, I decided to change the chessboard.
The DC Universe has assimilated the Invincible Universe: some Invincible heroes do not exist, others have been left as they are, and some have been modified to fit into the DC world.
Darkwing, Red Rush, Aquarus, and Martian Man do not exist because we have the heroes who inspired them.
Atom Eve, Omni-Man, Robot, Rex Splode, Dupli-Kate, Monster Girl, Cecil Stedman, and the Global Defense Agency will remain as they are because I think they work well.
The Immortal and War Woman will be there, but they need some modifications to adapt.
P.S. I am not very satisfied with the aliens present in these two universes, so I added all the alien species from Ben 10 (OG) into the mix, plus his antagonists and some heroes.
XXX
Story Title: Kaleidoscope Adventure (DC/Invincible): The Silver Lord of Solemnace
Plot: In remote space, new unknown forces are appearing, each with its own agenda. Among them are the Necrons and their leader Trazyn Szarekhan, nicknamed the Silver Hermit. This faction has traversed space, earning a reputation for being relentless and technologically advanced. It was soon discovered that their destination is Earth, but the goal of their journey is not conquest, but rather to live there. The heroes of Earth will have their hands full with him and his Immortal Legions. But honestly, he is the least of their problems. Worse troubles are coming from space, and more and more threats are appearing on Earth.
XXX
Story Arc: A Home for the Overlord of Solemnace
Episode 1: Where is home?
Chapter 1: My Destination is Earth
Plot: Jessica Cruz receives an alarm from her ring, goes immediately to investigate, and discovers that a large crescent-shaped alien Starship has just arrived near Jupiter.
XXX
POV Narrator
In the city of Portland, everything was quiet, except for a single person. Her carefree day was abruptly interrupted when the device she wore on her wrist vibrated, emitting a shrill beep that announced this message: "Anomaly detected. Ship of unknown origin entered Sector 2814 near Jupiter."
Shortly after, above the city roofs, a bright green streak tore through the air, flying straight upward with the power and verticality of a human rocket.
This splash of color was Jessica Cruz, alias Green Lantern, who was leaving Earth in a desperate hurry, the air whistling in her ears as gravity lost its grip on her.
'Something just had to happen during one of my good days and when I am the only Green Lantern on Earth,' Jessica thought, clenching her teeth. She wished with all her heart that her four Senpai were nearby, but unfortunately, all of them were busy in various corners of the Galaxy.
Jessica Cruz is a 24-year-old Latina woman. She has slightly amber skin, large brown eyes, and long, straight dark brown hair, which at that moment was floating freely due to aerodynamic pressure. Physically, she has a slender yet athletic build, standing 175 cm tall and weighing 64 kg, with her three dimensions proportioned at B88/W64/H90. Jessica does not wear a mask like other heroes; the power of her ring generates a tattoo of pure green light in the shape of the Lantern symbol that completely surrounds her right eye, leaving the left one uncovered and illuminating her face with an emerald glow. Her Green Lantern uniform is a full bodysuit with an extremely modern cut, predominantly black on the sides, arms, and legs, with a glossy green section, similar to flexible polycarbonate, covering her torso and extending to her shoulders.
'At least Superman, Omni-Man, Wonder Woman, and her sister War Girl are on Earth. If something happens to me, our world will be protected,' Jessica thought, exhaling deeply and feeling a small shiver of relief as she permanently left the planet's atmosphere.
Once she reached the cosmic vacuum, Jessica could finally let loose. Without the risk of damaging Earth's ecosystem with the shockwave, she increased her speed to the speed of light. The Green Lantern transformed into a comet of emerald light, a projectile of pure willpower capable of erasing the monstrous distance of 778 million kilometers in barely ten seconds.
'Please, let it be a simple mistake by the ring's systems,' Jessica thought, her heart beating fast in her chest, wishing it were a false alarm so she could go back to her house and meet up with her sister.
Jessica's wish was shattered into a thousand pieces as soon as she came to a sudden halt near Jupiter. Beside the colossal, gaseous mass of the planet, a mammoth silver alien Starship was passing by. Its contoured shape resembled a menacing metallic crescent, and judging by the armored plates and sharp lines, it did not look friendly at all.
Jessica's first move was to dash backward quickly, bring the ring close to her face, and transmit a message: "Watchtower, Green Lantern here. I have found an unknown alien Starship near Jupiter, it is moving. I'm going to investigate, keep your guard up just in case."
Having finished giving her warning, Jessica got to work. Since it was a single Starship, she decided to take a minute to consult with her ring, floating in the deep vacuum of space at a safe distance from the silver hull.
"Is there any information in the Archives of Oa about this type of Starship or the race that built it?" Jessica asked the AI of her ring, which was definitely better than any Earth research system.
"Lantern-2814, the identified Starship corresponds 100% to a Necron Scythe-Class Cruiser," the ring's AI replied in a flat, synthetic, and detached voice, similar to a GPS.
"Who are the Necrons?" Jessica asked, furrowing her brows for having never heard that name before.
"The Necrons are a synthetic alien species; their first documented appearance dates back to 15 months ago in Space Sector 3600," the ring's AI replied, showing it did not have much other information on the matter.
"Sector 3600... but that is at the edge of the known universe," Jessica commented to herself, mentally calculating that, even at her ring's maximum speed, it would take 18 months of uninterrupted flight to get there, without breaks to sleep or eat.
"Are these Necrons friendly like the Galvanic Mechamorphs, or are they like the Manhunters?" Jessica asked, clenching her fists and looking for a familiar comparison to understand if she was talking to aliens similar to the Autobots or the Decepticons.
"According to available information, the Necrons are classified as neutral. They have strong isolationist tendencies and rarely speak. If unprovoked, they will mind their own business; if you attack, they will respond to the aggression in a brutal and almost always lethal manner," the ring's AI explained, providing a crystal-clear and unsettling presentation of how the Necrons operated.
"Wanting to mind your own business and not wanting to be disturbed is something I understand, but what do these Necrons want?" Jessica asked, wanting to get straight to the point before the ship got too close to Earth.
"Unknown, Lantern-2814. The only Necron seen speaking or communicating with a non-Necron lifeform is their leader Trazyn Szarekhan, codenamed Silver Hermit. All we know of his intents is that he is traveling to reach a certain planet and occasionally stops to retrieve items of interest to him, often minerals that Earthlings consider precious," the ring's AI finished explaining.
"At least there is a vague possibility of being able to talk to someone," Jessica said. With a sudden burst from her energy suit, she flew to intercept the trajectory of the Necron Starship.
Jessica concentrated, clenching her right fist. The ring responded to her willpower, releasing a blast of green energy that expanded into the vacuum, materializing a mammoth construct: an immense and solid wall of green light with the symbol of the Green Lantern Corps imprinted on it in perfect relief.
'Please stop and let's try to talk,' Jessica thought, a trickle of cold sweat running down the back of her neck. She hoped for diplomacy, but her muscles were tense, ready to face the worst. After all, Earth did not have a good track record when it came to approaching unknown spaceships.
Miraculously, the Necron Starship did not open fire on Jessica and her construct; its massive engines shut down and the silver crescent braked its run, remaining motionless in deep space.
'Good sign,' Jessica thought, flashing a small smile of relief. Most of the criminals who ended up in front of a Green Lantern usually surrendered or started shooting wildly.
"Necron ship, this is Green Lantern of Sector 2814. Identify yourselves and state the reason for your presence in this star system," Jessica said, raising her hand and using her ring's carrier-wave channel to make contact with the Starship's crew.
After a moment of silence, a synthetic and metallic voice, devoid of any inflection that could trace it back to a man or a woman, crackled through the ring's systems: "You Green Lanterns are just like the rest of the police: you only show up when you're not needed, and you're only capable of giving out fines."
'That's not exactly how I imagined an alien machine would express itself,' Jessica thought, raising an eyebrow, visibly surprised by such a bizarre response. In her mind, she had prepared herself to speak with a cold, logical artificial intelligence, not with an individual complaining as if he were in front of a highway patrol.
"Identify yourself," Jessica declared firmly, straightening her back and forcing herself to do her best imitation of a confident, authoritative policewoman who was impeccable at her job.
For about ten seconds, nothing could be heard except for the faint static hum of the communication channel.
"I am known as Trazyn Szarekhan, I am the Necron Overlord of Solemnace. In short, I am their undisputed boss," Trazyn finally replied, speaking through Jessica's ring which, at that moment, was functioning like a normal telephone without a video option.
"Lord Szarekhan, may I know the reason why you are crossing this solar system? Are you using this route as a shortcut to get to whatever your destination is?" Jessica hypothesized, striving to maintain a formal and professional tone. The Lantern had just discovered that the Necrons had crossed half the universe, so it seemed perfectly logical to think that this star system was just one of the many passing stops on their path.
After all, what were the odds that a race of sentient machines from the extreme edges of the known universe would have Earth itself as their final goal? Humans were unlucky, but never that unlucky, right?
"The third planet in order of distance from the Sun is my destination," Trazyn declared with absolute firmness.
At those words, Jessica's gaze darkened. 'What did we humans do wrong to deserve attracting so many aliens?', the girl thought, feeling a weight in her stomach at the thought of yet another extraterrestrial threat; many of them had occurred even before she was born.
"The reason for this journey?" Jessica asked, clenching her teeth but continuing on the path of diplomacy for as long as possible. After all, as tense as the situation was, the Necron Starship had stopped and had not yet committed any illegal or harmful action.
"Personal business," Trazyn replied dryly, without providing any other details.
Jessica sighed internally, crossing her arms over her chest as she floated in front of the gigantic silver ship. "Do you have the documentation and protocol knowledge to stay on a Level 2 planet?" she finally asked, resigning herself to carrying out the most boring, bureaucratic, and ordinary part of a Green Lantern's duties.
"Is stuff like that needed to set foot on a planet? I have landed on other worlds without any need for this," Trazyn asked, with the metallic note of his synthetic voice betraying a hint of genuine astonishment for the first time.
"Earth is a Level 2 planet. It is not part of the galactic community," Jessica explained, keeping her arms crossed and floating in the vacuum, unsure whether to be happy or sad about the bizarre way the encounter was unfolding. "Therefore, there are numerous laws, protocols, and procedures that regulate the entry of foreign lifeforms. Whether it is to settle on Earth or even just for a brief visit."
"If I understand correctly, Earth and Humanity are too primitive," Trazyn summarized, his artificial logic almost seeming to mock that dense bureaucratic network. "So, if a non-human wants to legally set foot on the planet without having trouble with the Space Police, he needs documents, permits, medical checks, psychological exams, background checks, and so on."
"You've grasped the concept," Jessica replied, nodding sternly.
"And where should I go to get these documents? And how long would it last?" Trazyn asked, his tone suddenly turning dark and serious.
"I've been a Green Lantern for just over a year. Interstellar tourism or immigration on planets below Level 5 is not under my jurisdiction," Jessica replied. In her albeit brief career, she had learned that such issues often began and ended directly with violence. "I think you should contact the Plumbers. They are the Peace and Order Force of the Milky Way Galaxy. I can provide you with the coordinates of one of their embassies."
"I will take the coordinates; they might come in handy in the future. But tell me," Trazyn insisted, and his voice this time sounded almost tired, like the creaking of an ancient gear. "How long does this bureaucratic red tape for residence permits take?"
"I don't know exactly," Jessica admitted, shrugging her shoulders. "A year in the best-case scenario. Probably more, or perhaps less, based on any special circumstances." She had no idea whether the Necrons would end up at the top or the bottom of the preference list, or if they would even ever get a visa.
"I have been traveling through the universe for a year and a half to reach that damn ball of mud!" Trazyn suddenly snapped, raising the volume of his transmitters with a metallic, screeching spike. "Believe me, I will set my feet on that muddy land and breathe that polluted air this very day."
"If you try, I will be forced to arrest you for attempted illegal immigration and various other infractions," Jessica countered. With a sharp gesture of her arm, she made her ring flare up, releasing a blast of emerald energy into the cosmic vacuum in an attempt to intimidate the Necron Starship.
"I am a collector," Trazyn resumed, and his voice changed instantly, becoming sweet, mellifluous, almost caressing, in a visible attempt to corrupt a Green Lantern. "I have at my disposal many tons of precious minerals, unique relics gathered from various galaxies, and... a young Tamaranian woman. A former slave of a gladiator arena, formidable in combat, and still pure. Can none of this make you change your mind?"
'She has a Tamaranian on board?!' The thought hit Jessica like a bucket of ice-cold water. 'Now, this is bad news.' Having worked with the Teen Titans on a couple of occasions, she knew all too well how devastating a Tamaranian's strength could be. Tamaranians weren't Kryptonians, but to anyone on the receiving end of their blows, the difference was minimal.
"I cannot be bought," Jessica declared with iron firmness, aiming her ring at the silver crescent. Driven by her willpower, the gigantic wall-shaped construct expanded, doubling in volume and density. "I am giving you one last warning: leave this star system and return when you have proper documentation. Otherwise, I am placing you under arrest."
"The police... honest and unyielding only toward foreigners, minorities, the poor, and the helpless," Trazyn snarled, his voice now vibrating with a cold, cutting contempt. "But in front of rich, influential, and powerful people, you are immediately ready to look the other way. Or even to dig a grave for a corpse and bury dirty secrets in exchange for a promotion."
"Green Lanterns are not common police officers. We were chosen!" Jessica interrupted him with pride. Despite her insecurities and the doubts that often plagued her, wearing that green ring on her finger was the greatest honor of her life.
"Chosen by the algorithm of an advanced computer," Trazyn mocked her, with a calculated coldness meant to wound and disparage the honorable status of the Guardians of Oa.
An angry frown tightened Jessica's features. For an instant, she was almost tempted to fire first, but she clenched her teeth and forced herself to maintain control.
Under her watchful gaze, the Necron Starship began to move, slowly rotating 360 degrees to reverse its course. It truly looked as though it were about to leave.
'I can't believe it... I managed to convince an alien ship to leave Earth alone just with words,' Jessica thought, allowing herself a sigh of relief as she relaxed her mind, dispelling the great wall of green light, which vanished into nothingness. 'Maybe I'm better at this than I think...'
SMASH!
A devastating impact, delivered by a clearly superhuman force, struck Jessica right in the back of her neck. The violence of the blow strained her neck muscles and projected her forward, sending her tumbling uncontrollably into the cosmic vacuum while the stars spun violently before her eyes.
"What... what hit me?!" Jessica yelled through the ring's communicators, bringing a hand to her head, painfully certain that a huge lump was already forming beneath her hair.
SMASH!
Before she could even straighten up, a second, incredibly violent punch centered her right in the stomach. The impact was so brutal that it bent Jessica's body into a 'C' shape, knocking the wind out of her and forcing her to painfully spit out all the remaining air in her lungs.
Without wasting a millisecond, the Green Lantern summoned her willpower: 'Barrier!' she thought desperately, and a protective sphere of dense green energy expanded around her, isolating her from whatever was attacking her.
"Ring! I'm being attacked by something invisible, help me!" Jessica exclaimed, her eyes wide as she struggled to catch her breath and, above all, to keep the structure of the construct stable.
SMASH!
Another invisible blow slammed against the energy sphere. The sound was that of shattering crystal, and a deep crack split open across the glossy green surface.
In a flash of lucidity, Jessica brought the ring close to her chest. Utilizing her residual energy, she emitted a rapid succession of short-range energy pulses—a radial discharge specifically designed to short-circuit and overload surrounding technology. The move proved to be genius: the pulse expanded in waves, completely enveloping the cloaking system of her attacker.
SMASH!
The third blow nearly shattered Jessica's defense entirely, but the optical effect vanished. The aggressor was no longer invisible.
Floating before her in the vacuum of space was an alien girl, a late-adolescent teenager standing 168 centimeters tall. Her physical proportions indicated measurements of B74/W56/H80, highlighting a slender, athletic physique characterized by long, agile arms and legs. The girl had smooth, vibrant golden-orange skin and a heart-shaped face dominated by a small, upturned nose that contrasted with an absolutely wild and ferocious expression. Her eyes were large, expressive, and completely devoid of pupils or white sclera: they were two solid, glowing emerald-green orbs. Framing her face was an incredibly long, thick, and untamed mane of bright fuchsia hair that floated around her waist like an electric cloud.
She wore burnished silver armor with green inserts, and right at the center of her chest, a bright emblem of light stood out.
This girl was a Tamaranian. Her name was Talyra, codenamed Nightflare. For all intents and purposes, she was Trazyn Szarekhan's hound; even the Necrons of the Solemnace court considered her little more than their Overlord's pet.
'A Tamaranian!' Jessica thought, adrenaline coursing through her veins as she raised her arm to point the ring at her.
Unfortunately for her, Talyra moved at a terrifying speed. She raised her hands above her head, clasped her fists together, and brought them down with feral ferocity.
SMASH!
Jessica's protective sphere shattered, exploding into a thousand fragments of green light. Without hesitating for even a second, the Tamaranian girl threw herself headlong at her opponent.
Jessica desperately tried to back away, using her suit's thrusters to gain the space and time necessary to create a new construct, but her golden-skinned adversary gave her no respite, pressing her with wild slashes and kicks through the air. Jessica knew Starfire, but if the latter resembled a big, friendly cat who loved to care for strays, the girl in front of her was a fierce, hungry little tiger.
"Stay back!" Jessica exclaimed. Pivoting at her hips, she whipped her right arm through the vacuum, generating a thick lash of green energy.
WHAP!
The Green Lantern's energy whip struck Talyra square in the chest, halting her momentum for a few precious seconds. That margin was enough for Jessica to concentrate and trigger her ring: out of nowhere, a heavy block of green light in the shape of a medieval pillory materialized, snapping tightly around the Tamaranian girl's arms and legs, pinning her.
"Why did you attack me, you wild girl?!" Jessica asked, her heavy breathing tightening her throat and her muscles straining to keep a firm grip on the construct.
"If my master wants to get to Earth, my master will get to Earth! And I will help him!" Talyra screamed back, her expression distorted into a snarl and her green eyes flashing with their own light.
"He doesn't seem like much of a master if he sends a wild girl to fight his battles for him," Jessica countered, trying to regain control of the situation and focusing solely on the threat before her.
"But I am not alone," Talyra declared. A bizarre grin of triumph painted itself on her face—the exact look of a cat watching a mouse walk straight into a trap.
ZZZZAP!
Suddenly, a multitude of dark green energy bolts shot from deep space, striking Jessica squarely in the shoulder. The violent electrical discharge stole her breath and instantly broke her concentration, dissolving the light pillory into green smoke.
Free from her restraints, the Tamaranian girl lunged forward like a coiled spring and extended her arms, grabbing the Green Lantern by the neck with both hands, tightening her grip.
"If I see even a glimmer of green light come out of that ring, I will snap your neck without hesitation," Talyra declared, digging her golden fingers into the energy suit and squeezing just enough to make Jessica realize, with absolute and chilling certainty, that she was not joking at all.
"Nightflare, do not kill her. I do not want to go to war with the Green Lantern Corps. All I want is to set foot on Earth," said a synthetic, cold, and rasping voice, coming from a not-too-distant distance.
Despite the painful difficulty in breathing and the iron grip tightening around her throat, Jessica managed to turn her head just enough to glimpse the master of the Tamaranian girl.
Trazyn Szarekhan is a humanoid being, 172 cm tall and weighing 60 kg, characterized by a slender, elongated, and graceful figure in terms of proportions. He wears high-tech armor forged from a gleaming silver metal, finely crafted and rich in complex geometries. The heraldic symbol of the Szarekhan dynasty is embossed on the chest of the armor; however, embedded right in the center of the circular mark, an energy reactor stands out, vaguely resembling Iron Man's design but entirely based on Necron technology.
His head is protected by a High-Tech helmet shaped to resemble a stylized skull, devoid of human features, defined by rigid plates and a horizontal rectangular visor that glows with a ghostly green light. The crown of the helmet is surmounted by a majestic metallic headpiece reminiscent of the typical Nemes headdress of Egyptian pharaohs. Behind his shoulders, Trazyn Szarekhan wears a heavy ceremonial cloak made of self-moving metallic plates that slide over one another like reptile scales, rigidly divided into seven distinct segments.
In his right hand, he grips the Staff of Light, the weapon of combat and command for Necron Overlords. It appears as a long, perfectly cylindrical metallic scepter, balanced and manufactured from Necrodermis. The silver surface is densely engraved with geometric hieroglyphs and dynastic runes that light up with emerald pulses when the weapon is activated. The base of the staff ends with a sharp, deadly spike, ideal for plunging thrusts in close-quarters combat.
The upper part represents the true visual core of the weapon: trapped between curved claws of black metal floats a raw, bright yellow crystal. This gem serves as the primary energy core, emanating an incredibly intense solar light, while armored and reinforced conduits run along the shaft to channel energy from the internal power cell up to the summit.
Jessica Cruz noticed immediately that Trazyn Szarekhan was by no means alone. Beside him, materializing from the cosmic vacuum, floated dozens of elite Necrons arranged in battle formation. The Green Lantern could not know it, but this was an altered variant of the Triarch Praetorians, an extremely powerful and lethal class of Necron soldiers.
The Praetorians were colossi of death, three-meter-tall giants entirely forged from ancient bronze and black steel. The massive dorsal thrusters mounted on their backs, resembling exposed and electrified rib cages, emitted a faint but constant gravitational hiss that made the surrounding space vibrate. With their elongated helmets thrust forward and a strictly erect posture, the Praetorians floated in an impeccable formation, defying the laws of physics. In their monumental metallic hands, the Staves of the Covenant were held firmly in a guard position; the heavy trapezoidal heads of the weapons glowed with a sinister emerald luminescence.
'Jessica, you are so stupid... how could you let yourself be fooled like this?' the green-clad heroine thought, turning a harsh and ruthless self-criticism upon herself for having trusted that semblance of a retreat.
"Master, are you sure you don't want me to kill her? A Green Lantern's ring would look wonderful in your collection," Talyra asked, her green eyes sparkling with excitement, wishing only to make herself useful.
Trazyn Szarekhan approached the Tamaranian girl, followed closely by his escort of bronze giants.
'He is so small compared to his guards... and his body is also different, especially the face,' Jessica mentally recorded, noting the deep aesthetic discrepancies between the Overlord and the Praetorians.
"Basic rule, Nightflare: if you kill a police officer, the entire police force will hunt you down," Trazyn replied. He shifted the visor of his silver helmet to the Green Lantern, looking her face-to-face. He remained motionless for what felt like an entire century, as rigid as if he were a stone statue.
"What is it, did you fall in love with me at first sight and want to make me your queen?" Jessica asked with a glimmer of irony, trying to mask her fear.
In response, Talyra abruptly tightened her fingers around her throat, brutally cutting off her breath. "Do not insult my master if you care to live!" the Tamaranian girl exclaimed, her face contorted into a menacing and wild expression.
"Nightflare, you are overdoing it!" Trazyn shouted.
With a lightning-fast movement, the Overlord aimed his silver staff at Jessica's chest. In the blink of an eye, the Staff of Light emitted a shockwave of gleaming gold that generated an intermediate energy shield. The barrier expanded violently, separating the Tamaranian girl from the human woman, and then rapidly folded around Jessica, isolating her and enclosing her inside a perfect, amber-yellow containment cube.
Jessica fell heavily to her knees on the bottom base of the cube. She began to cough visibly, spitting saliva and massaging her throat with her trembling fingers, painfully certain that within a few hours she would have very nasty purplish bruises on her neck.
"Take a moment to breathe. I have questions for you," Trazyn Szarekhan declared, observing her from outside the barrier with a tone swollen with pride. "And do not waste precious energy trying to escape. The yellow stone of my Staff of Light possesses the unique property of directly interfering with a Green Lantern's powers." It was evident that the Overlord had accumulated many useful relics during his long journeys across the universe.
Jessica tensed her muscles, took a deep breath, and tried to concentrate to materialize a simple construct, a mundane baseball made of green energy. She did not succeed. From her ring, only faint, intermittent sparks erupted, similar to those of a defective firecracker, instead of the power of the most formidable weapon in the universe.
Taking a moment to stabilize her heart rate, the heroine in the green suit painstakingly stood back up on her feet. She approached the translucent wall of the yellow cube, right in front of Nightflare and the Silver Hermit.
"What do you want from me?" Jessica asked. She forced herself to keep her nerves steady to prevent a panic attack from overwhelming her; after all, she had overcome even worse situations.
"Answers to some simple questions," Trazyn declared, his flat, linear voice expressing pure logic.
"Speak and you shall live, remain silent and you shall die!" Talyra exclaimed in support, clenching her fists, from which a menacing globe of brilliant green destructive energy erupted.
"I do not want to kill anyone unless I am forced to," Trazyn specified, raising a metallic hand to place it calmly on the Tamaranian girl's shoulder, placating her eagerness. "Nightflare is a former slave. She grew up as a gladiator in the arena of a brutal world and was little more than a wild animal when she fell into my hands. I have tried to civilize her, but as you can see, she is still a work in progress."
"Master, you have done an excellent job teaching me!" Talyra interjected, turning to him with her green eyes wide open and an ingenuous smile.
"Now I know how to read, I know how to write, I know how to count to a hundred, and I even know how to lead troops into battle!" Her tone had suddenly changed, resembling that of a little girl desperately trying to impress her older brother by showing off her school results.
'She almost strangled me to death a second ago... and yet now I feel sorry for her. Being happy just because you know how to count to a hundred is a bad sign,' Jessica thought. She carefully noted those words, promising herself to include heavy mitigating circumstances for the Tamaranian girl in case she were to be arrested and put on trial in the future.
Releasing a long sigh, the Green Lantern met the Overlord's gaze: "Fine. I will answer your questions. But I reserve the right to remain silent if it concerns classified or sensitive information."
Talyra tensed her muscles, ready to hurl another threat, but Trazyn stopped her in her tracks with a single, imperious wave of his hand.
"Are you a human being, or do you belong to one of those alien races that, for reasons my logic does not comprehend, macroscopically resemble a human being?" asked Trazyn, who had evidently had more than one ambiguous and deceptive encounter during his travels in space.
"One hundred percent human. Born and raised on Earth," Jessica declared, seeing no danger in answering such an innocuous question.
"And how long have human beings been part of the Green Lantern Corps?" the Necron Overlord asked, tilting his silver helmet slightly.
"I personally have been one for just over a year," Jessica explained, hoping that the numerical details might induce him to reconsider his approach. "But I am only the fifth Green Lantern native to Earth. There are four other veterans before me, and the very first human Lantern has been in service for almost twenty years."
The Necron Overlord remained silent for a very long moment, almost as if he were internally processing the data received through his synaptic circuits.
"And on Earth... what year is it currently?" Trazyn Szarekhan finally asked, and for the first time, his synthetic voice betrayed a note of ill-concealed anxiety.
"New Year's Day passed just a short while ago," Jessica replied, finding that line of questioning increasingly bizarre and out of context. "Today is January 3rd of the year 2020."
'Shouldn't it be 2028 or 2029?' Trazyn thought, visibly disconcerted and shaken by that chronological information. His artificial mind immediately calculated that there was something deeply wrong with the timeline.
"Is Donald Trump still the President?" Trazyn asked, with a mixture of annoyance, uncertainty, and cold disorientation in his voice.
Jessica's eyes widened, her gaze filling with profound astonishment. "And you... how do you know who Donald Trump is?" the girl asked, absolutely certain that no one in deep space should ever know that Earthly name.
The Necron Overlord snapped his fingers. In an instant, the Tamaranian girl lunged against the translucent wall of the yellowish cube like a rabid dog, her features distorted by fury as she screamed: "Answer the question or I will rip out your liver and eat it!"
Jessica took a small leap backward out of pure instinct, her back grazing the opposite energy barrier.
"Fine, I get it," the Green Lantern replied, raising her hands in a sign of surrender. She vastly preferred to play along and answer twenty questions rather than have to face a potentially crazy and bloodthirsty Tamaranian woman, especially now that she found herself deprived of her ring's power.
Trazyn snapped his metallic fingers once more. Talyra sprung backward, returning to her place in perfect silence; she continued, however, to growl under her breath, vibrating like a female mastiff ready to snap at a throat at the slightest sign or order.
"To answer your last question: yes, Donald Trump is the 45th President of the United States," Jessica explained, a hint of resentment in her voice. "He won the 2016 election and this is his last year in office. Fortunately." It was no secret that she had not voted for that man.
At that point, Trazyn Szarekhan made a surprisingly human gesture: he raised an armored hand, resting his silver fingers on top of his helmet's visor and then slowly running it over the crown of his head.
'A year and a half ago, I would have said this Green Lantern was just a blatant liar,' the Overlord thought, as his optical sensors analyzed the girl. 'But I am in the vacuum of space, she communicates without the need for air thanks to advanced technology, my right hand is a former gladiator girl, and I have Immortal Legions of robotic skeletons at my command. By now, the word "impossible" no longer makes any sense.' He shifted his rectangular visor into the distance, staring at the tiny, fragile bluish dot of Earth shining in the cosmic darkness. 'Time travel or dimensional travel... those are the only logical explanations.' He returned to staring at the Green Lantern, sinking into a deathly silence.
Jessica sensed that something colossal was shaking the Necron Overlord's mind. She had already noticed that there were too many structural differences between him and his mammoth guards, but the mention of Donald Trump had been a true alarm bell.
"Have you already been to Earth or have you had past contact with humanity?" Jessica ventured, trying to break the ice. "Is it... is it a case similar to Adam Strange? A human being teleported to your world, you grew fond of him or her, but then they were forced to return to Earth and now you are pursuing them?" the girl hypothesized, having heard similar stories in the Justice League files and having consumed her fair share of science fiction books and movies.
"You are a sentimental one," Trazyn Szarekhan replied, his metallic note seeming to soften as he enjoyed the heroine's imaginative hypothesis. "A human ends up on an alien world, falls in love with a native of that planet, the human returns but the beloved cannot survive without their other half... so they will do anything to cross the cosmos. A simple, ancient plot that will last forever and can be told in a thousand different ways. Unfortunately for you, that is not my case."
The Overlord took a step forward, his silver silhouette illuminated by the light of Jupiter. "I do not travel to return to a lost love. I travel to return home," he declared solemnly.
At that moment, with a soft magnetic hum, the liquid metal that composed the skull-shaped mask of his helmet retracted, disappearing inside the plates of the crown. The silver housing opened, revealing an incredible human face.
Trazyn possessed incredibly long, straight green hair, so extensive that it floated in the vacuum down to the level of his ankles. His skin was white, pure, and pale like a vampire's, set upon a face with extraordinarily delicate, symmetrical, and mature features. Standing out on his forehead, imprinted like a bright red geometric tattoo, was a symbol that vaguely recalled Necron iconography. But it was the eyes that catalyzed attention: splendid like precious gems, of a dull grayish-purple color, characterized by unusual square irises.
If someone living in the days of ancient Greece had laid eyes on that face with emerald hair, they would have immediately sworn they were standing before a blood relative of the three mythical Gorgon sisters: Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa.
"You... you are a human being?!" Jessica exclaimed, her eyes widening. That discovery finally provided her with some answers, but it opened the way to an infinity of new questions. 'He has beautiful eyes... and he seems to be my age, maybe just a little bit older,' she thought in an involuntary moment of distraction, hypnotized by the magnetism of that amethyst gaze.
"Born and raised on Earth by human parents," the so-called Necron Overlord confirmed, his expression proud and haughty. "But an unexpected journey into space, without a return ticket, combined with the unique hospitality of the Necrons, made me something far superior to a simple mortal."
"If you are human, I seriously doubt Trazyn Szarekhan is your real name," Jessica pressed, placing her hands against the yellow wall of the cube.
"That is my name as a Necron Overlord. You see, Szarekhan is the title of the dynasty of their last king, while Trazyn is the name of the previous Sovereign of Solemnace. I decided to honor my predecessors by inheriting their names," the man at the head of the immortal machines explained.
"And if that is your Necron name... what is your human name?" Jessica asked.
The man with the gem-like eyes offered an enigmatic smile. "My old name is worth nothing anymore. But if I set foot on Earth again, you can call me Perseo Gorgon."
'Someone here clearly has a very marked weakness for Greek mythology,' Jessica thought to herself, having no idea yet how sinisterly accurate that name would turn out to be.
"So, Miss weaponless cop," Perseo resumed, as the liquid metal began flowing over his face once more, remodeling the cold High-Tech skull mask. "Do you still want to arrest me for illegal immigration? Because, as a human being, I have the full and sacrosanct right to be on my native planet, which is also the cradle of origin for my entire species."
"Technically... you're right," Jessica admitted, straightening her back and trying to use the path of diplomacy. "As a Green Lantern, my duty would be to escort you to Earth safely and ask you official questions about what happened to you in space."
"Excellent news for us, then," Trazyn commented, his voice turning metallic once more behind the gleaming visor.
"However," Jessica's voice suddenly turned hard and sharp, "your robotic friends absolutely cannot come with you. And you will not be allowed to bring any form of technology to Earth that is not of Earthly origin."
"I don't have friends. I only have subjects," Trazyn cut her short, his tone suddenly devoid of warmth. "You see, it is a very long and complicated story, but to make it short: I became the King of these Necrons. I will not abandon my new people, and I have no intention of living forever exiled in the cosmic vacuum."
The Overlord raised the Staff of Light, aiming the yellow crystal core at Jessica's protective barrier.
"Earth is my home, and it will become the home of my Necrons. We will build our Necropolis on Earthly soil, and anyone who wants to send us away... well, they will have to go over the dead bodies of my Immortal Legions first," Trazyn declared, transmitting a mental impulse directly to his scepter.
In the blink of an eye, the walls of the containment cube visibly tightened with a magnetic hiss, transforming the barrier into a narrow, suffocating rectangle. Jessica found herself pinned, unable to move even an arm, squeezed like a collectible doll inside her box.
Before the heroine could mount any protest or scream, an invisible wave of psychic energy, emanating directly from the staff, washed over her mind. Jessica's eyelids suddenly grew incredibly heavy, her thoughts blurred, and the girl instantly slipped into a deep, induced sleep.
"Let us return to the Starship. Nothing and no one will stop us from reaching Earth!" Trazyn exclaimed, raising the silver scepter upward, making the crystal shine like a small golden sun in the vacuum.
"Long live the Master!" Talyra yelled with feral ferocity, raising her own closed fist into the air, from which a blast of destructive green energy erupted.
The Necron Praetorian Guard also moved in unison. With a synchronized and perfect motion, the three-meter bronze giants raised their heavy Staves of the Covenant toward the stars, and their synthetic, thundering voices tore through the radio frequency in a titanic chorus: "Eternal Life to the Overlord of Solemnace!"
To be continued...
XXX
Author's Note:
Officially, I am a writer with a twisted mind, because I seriously doubt anyone has ever written something like this.
Anyway, I hope you like this story.
XXX
CYOA Interactive build for the MC (■■■, Perseo Gorgon, alias Trazyn Szarekhan, alias Silver Hermit, alias Silent Silver Lord, alias Overlord Solemnace):
**Meta**
You, CYOA, Shards, what are those Shards you speak of?
**Difficulty**
Standard, Higher (Tier 9)
**Scenario & Setting**
AU Alternate Earth, Second Act (Peaceful), Just Better, Anime Logic, World of Symbiotes (Marvel), Drukhari Raiders (Warhammer: 40k), Maiden World (Warhammer: 40k), Comic Book Pretty, VFX On [It's a Beautiful World We Have], Huh, isn't that... [Colorful Crowd, Native Variant], Expy Galore x 3, Additional Genre x 1, Ben 10 (OG), DC Animated Universe, Invincible (Comics), Alien Planet
**Character**
Drop-In
**Skills**
Parkour, Survival [Hunter], Stealth, Ambidextrous, Spatial Awareness, Anthropology, Archaeology [Doctorate of the Study of Peoples], History, Tactics [Grand Master General], Strategy, Cloak and Dagger, Internal Clock, Logical, Discipline, Polyglot
**Perks**
Blank, Mental Barrier, Trumped the Trump, Invictus, Well-Adjusted, 'Plot' Armor, Manton Protected, Ripple Effect Proof Memory [Ripple Effect Proof Body], Accentuate the Positive, Eliminate the Negative, Comic Book Physics, Peaceful Life, World Clean, Power Tweak x 1, Serendipitous Luck, Sixth Sense, Inheritable, Heir to the Throne, I Don't Get It [I Get It Now... But Not Really...?], Foreigner, Continuity Of Existence, Loyalty Insurance
**Drawbacks**
Conscious Geas x 1, Minor Compulsion x 1, Rapunzel, Rapunzel Let Down Your Hair x 5, Wanted (Global) x 3, Wildbow? Where have I heard that before?, Bound By Blood [Paid In Blood], Slaughterhouse 8, Slaughterhouse 9000, Rogues Gallery, Morsel, Trouble Magnet, Wild Wasteland, Fated Journey, Child of Fate, Plotbound, Villain Target, Acclimation, Jet Lag, Snail's Pace, Quarter Pounder, Arbitrary Limitations (One Power) x 1, Native Awakening, High-Tier, Rank 1
**Shard**
Shardless
**Powers**
Changer (Ritsuka), Innocent Monster (Type-Moon), MANTIS (Honkai Impact 3rd), I Do Not Judge, I Merely Accept, Mind's Eye (True) (Type-Moon), Epsilon-Class Psyker (Warhammer: 40k) [Empyrean Enigma], Blank (Warhammer: 40k) [Nihil Sanctus], Nerves of Steel, Magecraft (Type-Moon) [Smart Circuits, Escardos, Full Body Circuit], Servant (Type-Moon) [Gorgon], Mystic Eyes of Petrification (Type-Moon), Malleable/Smart Soul, Ensouled, Magitech, Cryptek (Warhammer: 40k), Item Construction (Type-Moon) [Perfect Workshop], Territory Creation (Type-Moon), Pioneer of the Stars (Type-Moon)
**Objects of Power**
Harpe (Type-Moon), Aegis [Gorgoneion], Wargear (Warhammer: 40k), Endo-Sym Armor (Marvel), Resurrection Orb (Warhammer: 40k) [The Orb of Eternity], Klironomia (Type-Moon), Undying Legions (Warhammer: 40k) [Soul Restored], Stigmata (Honkai Impact 3rd) x 1 [Personalized Stigma]
**Fusions & Upgrades**
Natural-Born Psychic, Delta-Class Psyker (Warhammer: 40k), Gamma-Class Psyker (Warhammer: 40k), Pariah (Warhammer: 40k), Omega Minus Plus Null (Warhammer: 40k), Warp Circuits, High-Speed Incantation (Type-Moon), Divine Protection of Sorcery (Re:Zero), Magic Crest (Type-Moon) x 1, I Have no Mouth and I Must Scream, Pure Soul, Necrons (Warhammer: 40k), C'tan Shards (Warhammer: 40k), Singularity; Notes (Type-Moon), Foreigner Technology (Type-Moon), Tomb World: Solemnace (Warhammer: 40k), Warranty, Essential, Alternate Setting Adaptation x 2
**Point Conversion**
+50 SP -100 CP x 2, +25 SP -50 CP x 2, +5 SP -10 CP x 2
XXX
Code for CYOA:
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