Chapter 113 : Little blue man
Author note : hey guys ! Sorry about the late update. I've had a busy day and kind of forgot to update this chapter !
Anyways… enjoy ! Check out earlier chapters for the link to my Patréon ! I can't be bothered tonight xD
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Through the eyes of their creations, the Malthusian watched as the Third Army gradually killed off the pirates and took over their bodies. If he had been able to feel anything other than the cold logic now fueling his actions, he wondered if perhaps, he would have been happy, sad, disgusted or aroused.
However, this question was born out of curiosity or desire. It was simply a question that came to him in passing. He didn't really care if he ever got an answer. Sapient life was flawed. Emotions were a weakness and the source of the universe's problems. Without desires, the pirates would never attack civilians to rob them of their wealth and lives. Without fear, the civilians wouldn't kill each other to save themselves. Without greed, the civilians wouldn't protect their wealth instead of the own lives… This train of thought could continue endlessly, but it was a moot point.
They had found the answer to this problem ! By purging the emotions from people, a new universe, a truly peaceful and, in time, a prosperous one would be born. For a while, their systematic attack on the races of the universe would generate a lot of feelings and emotions, but it would soon all end.
Besides, in addition to the fact that feelings were a weakness, they also were a source of power for the Universe. A finite source of power. Instead of drawing from it, the guardians decided it was better to themselves off from it entirely…
Perhaps, the wisest decisions they've ever taken in their long eons of life. Much wiser than harnessing the energy of Willpower in any case…
However, the situation of his portion of the Third Army suddenly took a drastic turn with the arrival of a small spacecraft. Even from a distance, the Malthusian could feel how it was filled with magic. And not any magic either… A blood magic similar to that of Atrocitus.
If that was the only threat, he could have managed. However, the last son of Krypton accompanied it for some reason… And soon, an unknown, extremely powerful and donning a magical power armor swept through his forces like a farmer in his wheat field.
Thankfully, without his emotions he easily managed to deduce the best course of action at the moment… Otherwise, panic and annoyance at being disrupted in such a way would have probably impaired his judgement. Unfortunately, just as he finished gathering the necessary information and was about to retreat, he felt the gaze of the unknown direct at him.
Intrigued by its ability to detect him, he stopped and waited. He knew that there was little out there that could threaten a Guardian. It wasn't pride as he was now above such things… It was a simple application of statistics and risk management. In this current region of space, except for the arrival of the Kryptonian, the Malthusian knew that he was basically at the top of the food chain.
Moreover, he knew of two facts that comforted him to confront the unknown. The first : The Kryptonian lived on Earth. Secondly : the design of the spacecraft, invisible though it was to the common sapient, was obviously of Earth design. Therefore, the unknown was probably a human or a creation of a human… Despite the martial prowess of the Green Lantern earthlings, he knew that, like all other races and perhaps even more so, they were flawed and plagued with feelings.
In conclusion, it was simply no threat to him !
He trained his analytical gaze on the unknown as it headed his way at rapid speed.
* * * * *
Ned killed and wounded all the members of the Third Army in his path without bothering to look back or stop. He had already determined that his top speed was superior to that of the drones. The only danger would be to end up surrounded by countless of them… which was pretty much impossible with the small contingent that attacked the pirates. Even with the pirates that had already been turned.
While he zeroed in on their commander, he sent a verbal update :
« You guys should thin the herd. Try to keep them away from the Pirates… Don't want to make more of them. I'll have a chat with the Malthusian in the meantime ! »
And then, he ignored the voice of the Dark Knight which seemed pretty peeved with his decision. It didn't matter… He wasn't here to make friends with the future members of the Justice League. He was here for one thing and one thing only…
Advancing at terminal velocity, Ned would have probably blown the Malthusian to bits had he impacted him. Only, the Malthusian was prepared to dodge. And Ned used an overpowered arresto momentum in order to stop a few feet away from his target.
A second later, his armor deployed an electromagnetic shield that he filled with oxygen. Couldn't very well have a conversation without air to carry sound now, could he ? That was always something that was brushed off with the Lantern comic books. A lot of the fighting happened in space and yet, they spoke between themselves and to others without trouble. Then again, in Star Wars, the space battles were quite noisy…
For the latter, Ned understood that it was an artistic and marketing choice. If the space battles, that were a big part of the stories were actually entire scene without sounds, the movies would lose a bit of… something. However, for the Lanterns, there were other possible explanation. For one, they were all carrying their personal forcefield generated by their magical rings. Perhaps, those same rings allowed them to talk to one another. And by extension, to non-wielders as well. Or, like him, they could use the ring to create a forcefield that allowed conversation… Though that left the question of where the oxygen came from…
« Hello there, Mister Guardian ! » Ned saluted, with a smile on his face hidden behind his faceplate.
Silence and a stoic, unreadable expression were the only thing that answered him. It's not that the 'Guardian' couldn't talk. He just didn't deign do it… Ned wasn't one to let himself get down from this, however.
« I have a question… You know how we got the 'little green men' trope on Earth, right ? I was wondering if you and your siblings have ever come down there disguised or with make up ? Or maybe a trick of the light that made you look green ? Unless you were sick… »
While Ned continued to speak nonsense for a while, the Malthusian finally decided to interject :
«… Is there a point to this ? » A cold voice asked.
Ned was surprised how… empty the gaze of the blue man was. He almost looked dead… Only he wasn't. It gave him the chills !
« The point is to try and awaken something in you… » Ned shrugged, the armor clanking noisily. « At some point in time, before you deemed yourself able to pass judgement or 'guard' the universe, you probably started out as… okay guys, I guess. It probably doesn't mean anything to you now… You probably think yourself above considering - or caring for that matter - your 'subjects' feelings. Then again, you've pushed the god complex pretty far, didn't you ? Snuffing out your feelings, creating a new race meant to take over the rest of the universe… Creating weapons of mass destruction and ruling like the cocky and moronic bastards you were enough ? »
« … » The Malthusian tilted his head. « It is useless, you know ? The insults or the appeal at some kind of… what do you earthlings call it ? A humanity ? All ethical problems become void when you purge all feelings. And you'll find my emotional responses quite lacking… Now, what ? »
Another shrug as Ned talked :
« Not sure to be honest… The legal treatment of psychopaths creates a great controversy. Should we allow the death penalty in the case of people who are proven to be guilty of terrible crimes and show no remorse, to the point of being a threat to other people in the future ? What about if one of them could cause the end of the Universe as we knew it ? »
Ned raised his hand toward the Malthusian's face, the focus in his palm glowing a purple light.
« Personally, I don't think there's much of a choice, you know ? When an animal goes crazy and starts attacking anyone in sight, we put him down… Why would human be any different ? » The glow grew with the next sentence : « Or little blue aliens, for that matter ? »