9199/Sorcerer's World: The Search for Dr. Fate

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Sorcerer's World: The Search for Dr. Fate
Date of Scene: 21 December 2021
Location: Hall of Justice - New Troy
Synopsis: Dr. Doom warned that the effort to rescue Dr. Fate could be far longer and more difficult then the League was prepared for and in this instance, at least, the despot of Latveria spoke the truth. Felix Faust has seemingly littered reality with a variety of traps to keep anyone from freeing Fate from his prison. Hal and Dmitri narrowly managed to escape where Starro the Conqueror has won, adding the Earth -- and the Justice League -- to his servants.
Cast of Characters: Hal Jordan, Dmitri Pushkin




Hal Jordan has posed:
With each passing day the chances that Felix Faust will finally be able to enact his plans and reorder the universe to put magic -- and of course sorcerers -- at the top of the heap grows. Perhaps exponentially. While the League might have suffered setbacks in preventing Faust and his allies from bringing this about they do have new avenues to pursue thanks to an unlikley ally -- Victor von Doom, monarch of Latveria and speaker in the third person. But Doom makes a... dubious ally at best, even if his interests do seem aligned with the League's.

Doom's preferred approach is to take the fight directly to Faust, or at least to continue on to gather the tools necessary to do so. But there is another possibility, one that Doom has dismissed and yet also provided the potential key to achieving; saving Dr. Fate from wherever Felix Faust has trapped him and gaining a powerful ally. Of course, why pursue just one path when you can do both?

Which is why one group has gathered in the meeting hall of the Justice League this evening. Amongst them is Hal Jordan, Green Lantern for Sector 2814. And not someone who necessarily invests a ton of faith in the mystic arts. Oh, he knows they're really, he's seen them in action. But technology and science seems a whole lot more dependable to him. But nonetheless, here he is. Looking decidedly... dubious as he moves around the large, sprawling table that dominates the room. The table where a cloth of black velvet has been laid out, inscribed with a pentacle in blood red, lighting the tall candles that glow eerily in the darkened room. Doom's 'gift', the incredibly faceted gemstone sits in the center of that symbol, all those perfect cuts reflecting the flickering candlelight in compelling -- or perhaps disturbing -- fashion.

"All I'm saying is that going to all this trouble on the word of a crazy dictator who talks about himself in the third person seems like a bad idea. And if we find ourselves married off to Satan, or Neron, or Mephisto, or any other lord of the Underworld at the end of this little ceremony, I'm going to be very loud in my 'I Told You So's', the ring-wielding hero complains.

Dmitri Pushkin has posed:
     "Lighten up Comrade" Dmitri offers with a bright smile his helmet taken off to one side to reveal his big red beard and head of matching hair as he makes a quick slap on the back for Hal. "I'm sure that everything will work for the best in the end." His smile is missing one of his two front teeth but it's a bright white that's filled with confidence, perhaps overconfidence.

     "Dr.Doom is many nasty things." He waggles his finger as he starts to speak looking over the candles. "But, liar is not high up on the list." He bobs his head to one side. "Besides I am already married why would any of them go after me?" He lets out a hearty belly laugh before grabbing his helmet off of the table and tucking it under his arm, his bright eyes are filled with life and joy as he gets ready for the latest adventure.

     "We simply have to get in there, rescue Dr.Fate and get out, how hard can it be?" He tosses that helmet back on covering over his head of red hair and locking the helmet with a low hiss of air.

Hal Jordan has posed:
Eyes narrow behind the green mask that rests behind his face and the look Hal shoots Dmitri is pure disgust. "You didn't just say that," he says with a shake of his head. "Half of your english seems to come from pop culture, and you still say that? Don't you watch movies? Lets just throw out 'what's the worst that could happen?' too while we're at it," test pilot/space cop says with a hint of exasperation as he stalks around the table. He might have about the most powerful weapon/tool in the galaxy around one of his fingers, but he is still a little out of his element with all of this.

Coming up the far side, he finishes lighting those candles, the area around the pentagram fairly brightly lit while the rest of the room is cast only in shadows, oddly shaped thanks to the flickering of the candles. It probably doesn't help that the large gemstone seems to glow with it's own internal radiance, as if sucking in the light from the candles before refracting it back in odd, almost indeterminate ways. There's nothing comforting about any part of the ceremony. But then what would you expect from a man named Dr. Doom?

Pulling out a slip of paper, Hal stares at it for a moment, the spidery writing and oddly shaped letters mysterious and off-putting. "What language is this supposed to be? You know what, no, I don't care. I'll chew my tongue off if I try to read this," he says flatly, holding up that green ring. "Go to town," he commands the power ring.

Dmitri Pushkin has posed:
     "Well I wasn't going to say that." Dmitri offers in an incredulous tone that says he was very tempted to in fact say just that. He looks at the fire reflected in the visor of his helmet fascinated by the dazzling display of lights before him. He holds onto the table for support leaning a bit further in to just look at everything that is before him. "Hokey Smokes that is some colorful light." He lifts one hand over his visor to help block a bit of the light as he looks back over towards Hal.

     "You know I have hard enough time with Czech, English, French, Russian, and Ukrainian, I do not need to try picking up daemonic as well with that long list." He pauses for a second. "Though maybe I should, it might impress Belina if I was learning new language.' He pauses for a long moment. "And I resent that I am watching all of the classic American movies like Ghost in The Shell, and Porky's"

Hal Jordan has posed:
For a moment it looks like Hal is tempted to retort. About what? That's more of a mystery. Perhaps about Dmitri's non-American choice of examples. Or maybe it is the idea of learning daemonic. Is the language daemonic? What a horrible notion. Is there even such a langugage? All of the demons that Hal has encountered to date have just bellowed at him and then proceeded to try to disembowel and eat him. Maybe that is their language.

Either way, whether it is because he gets lost in the tangeant of his thoughts or because he doesn't want to risk interrupting his ring as it begins to speak those strange words the result is the same. No more reprimands come, and instead Green Lantern listens to the strange, somewhat unearthly sound of the words coming from the almost musical tones of his ring's A.I.. They don't really sound daemonic. MOre willoy, wispy. Ethereal even. Of course they sound like pure nonsense to him and Hal resists the urge to order the ring to translate into something that actually makes sense. No immediate result comes from the words either, but after a minute or so of the artificial voice chanting the ritual words the candles surrounding the pentagram suddenly go off like fireworks, the flames dancing at the top of those wicks suddenly exploding upward, almost six feet over and above the already long candles, each sending out a shower of sparks that rains down -- fortunately not setting anything on fire. "I've got a bad feeling about this..."

Then, almost as abruptly as it began, the candles are snuffed out. But the room does not plunge into darkness. Instead all of that light seems to take root in the depths of the gemstone that lies at the heart of the ritual, glowing, shining out from each individual facet of the stone before bursting forth it bright, almost blinding rays of light. A brilliant red glow suffuses the room and when it clears neither Hal nor Dmitri are no longer present. Just the pentagram, still smoking candles and the gemstone that only holds the faintest glimmer of light at it's heart.

Instead, when the spots clear from their eyes, Green Lantern and Rocket Red will instead find themselves standing outside the Hall of Justice. It would seem a little anti-climatic really, except for the fact that instead of night, it is the middle of the day. And a gradual sense of... wrongness pervades. It's the middle of the day in Metropolis... and not a single person is to be seen anywhere nearby. The entire city is bathed in an unnatural stillness that is almost immediately apparent.

Dmitri Pushkin has posed:
     Dmitri takes a step back holding his arms in front of his face as the candles light up into fireworks. He looks around concerned and confused at what's happening having not entirely believed anything was going to happen at all in the first place. After all he was still dubious on the validity of magic even after everything he had seen over his many years.

     When the spots clear from his eyes and he finds himself outside of the Hall of Justice it's a wave of relief that washes over him at first. He's practically overjoyed that all it managed to do was send them outside... and into the middle of the day.... and uh without any people.

     "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore." He offers as he looks around at the empty streets from behind that mirrored visor of his sending his suit into full scan mode. He's still collecting himself as he lowers his arms back down to his side leaving only one at chest level so his suit can scan properly.

Hal Jordan has posed:
"That one you got right," Hal replies absently, peering around the deserted park that stretches out in front of the Hall, a small frown creasing his features as his gaze seeks out any hint of movement, any sign that they're in the right place. "Doom did suggest that Dr. Fate could be imprisoned in any other reality, or time, thanks to Faust having control over the Seige Perilous. I kinda expected to be taken a little further afield," he admits with a frown. But while it might be familiar, that pervading sense of something not being right is impossible to ignore. "Ring, scan for any life signs. Particularly Dr. Fate," he instructs.

Neither Hal nor Dmitri will have very long to wait before they start getting back readings. And what does come back is... confusing. By all indications the population of Metropolis is about double what it should be, at least judging by the scans of their respective technology. But not one of those people seem to be out and about.

"I don't get it," Hal admits as his ring reports back in.

Fortunately -- or not -- they are apparently not destined to be alone for much longer.

The doors of the Hall abruptly fly open and a pair of figures emerge. It's... them. Or at least one of them is wearing Rocket Red armor and one of is surrounded in the green glow of a Lantern. But again, that sense of wrongness pervades and the two figures leap into the air, charging towards them. And one difference becomes obvious. This Rocket Red does not wear a helmet, and where his face should be there is only a strange, alien-looking starfish clinging to his head. The same is true for the Lantern as well.

"I've got a really bad feeling about this."

Dmitri Pushkin has posed:
     "I was expecting more..." Dmitri trails off as he looks over his scans trying to get a good read on just what's going on here. He doesn't like the readings, that sheer increase in population is absurd. "Well I mean we are in an alternate existence." He quashes his own concerns almost instantly, returning to his scans.

     Just in time for the pair to be ambushed by a pair of themselves. It's terrifying to see ones self with a starfish for a head, terrifying enough that Dmitri leaps into the air and kicks on his rocket thrusters. "Great Scott!" He exclaims loudly. "Look out Hal, yesterdays dinner has come back with a vengence.

Hal Jordan has posed:
It is definitely a disturbing sight. While Hal can't be entirely sure that this is some alternate universe version of himself with his face replaced by some sort of weird alien starfish, it almost doesn't matter. "Ugh," Hal agrees articulately, launching himself into the air almost at once. "No matter how you prepare those things I'm not eating them," he lets the League's resident chef know.

Turning his attention towards the onrushing drone with a power ring, he thinks -- and his own ring reacts, a giant green floating medieval shield springing into being in front of him to ward of his attacker. Not that Starfish Hal seems disuaded, plunging ahead, a bright emerald beam shooting out of it's ring, slamming into the shield. Slamming into it hard enough to make Hal Prime grunt at the impact, little micro-fractures beginning to run through his energy construct. "This guy still packs a bit of a whallop," he says through gritted teeth, the cracks healing as an answering blast projects up through that beam of light, through the shield towards the attacking drone, forcing it to peel off.

Of course Dmitri will have his own problems to deal with as his starfish-doppleganger rushes towards him, also airborn by now. That battlesuit seems to be every bit as formidable as his own and while the helmet might be missing to allow the starfish that envelops his face to be seen, the blasters seem to work just fine, energy blasts peppered towards the jovial Russian. Their foes do not speak, or threaten, or make any sound at all. They just relentlessly attack. Which is somehow even more disturbing.

All those lifesigns that their respective tech was picking up? Yeah, those sensors will report that they are on the move. And the first of them can already be seen. From the surrounding office buildings and apartments dozens of figures begin to stream out the doors -- every one of them with their head enveloped in an alien starfish. Everyone racing towards the Hall of Justice, their numbers swelling with each passing second.

Even as the pair of Leaguers battle their mind-controlled opposites, Hal's power ring suddenly dings with a quiet, musical note. "I've found the location of the signal. Looks like Fate... is in the living quarters of the Hall," he says, dropping groundward suddenly as a glowing green axe cuts through the space he was just a fraction of a second before.

Dmitri Pushkin has posed:
     "Trust me Comrade lantern, they are delicious if you only give them a ch-" Dmitri is cut off by an energy blast that sends him careening through a nearby building smashing through one floor to the next and out the other side. It's amazing what one of those bolts of energy can really do when they're fired up.

     Dmitri rises to a stand inside of the building debris falling onto his head from the building that he's just crashed through. He lets out a groan before taking several steps forward before running into a charge towards the edge of the building and charging up his own laser beams to take the fight back to the starfish.

     "Alright this is good, like I was saying in and out twenty minute adventure." He says over coms as he fires off a quad beam attack towards his doppelganger already attempting to dive towards the Hall of justice.

Hal Jordan has posed:
Those words might be a little more reassuring if Hal hadn't just watched Star-Rocket Red knock the real one back several dozen meters through the side of a building. It tends to happen a lot in their line of work of course and it's hardly the end of the world. But it doesn't leave one with the impression that there's nothing to see here either. Carry on, carry on.

"Uh huh," Hal agrees as his ring conjures up a massive glowing boxing glove that slams into his own duplicate, sending it hurling up into the air away from him, granting a moment to think and react without being under constant assault. But as more and more 'regular' drones continue to stream out of the surrounding buildings, such breathing space might be brief indeed. "Now we just have to avoid getting an alien starfish attached to our face and possible face down an assimilated Justice League. No problem at all," he retorts sardonically, sweeping towards the Hall himself.

Sometimes you just have to return the favor. While the Rocket Red armor is indeed formidable, the starfish drone operating it does not quite seem to have the same expertise as it's counterpart. Which stands to reason, really. All together those drones might be deadly, acting in concert, but something does seem to be lost in the process of being completely dominated by a giant alien kaiju. So while it tries to avoid that answering beam barrage several of the blasts hit Starfish-Dmitri and sends it plunging down into the square, disappearing in amongst the growing mass of starfish drones that gather down there.

It would seem that Hal's words are prophetic -- in the worst sort of way. Even as they clear a path towards their real objective in this alternate reality Hall of Justice another obstacle presents itself. Standing in the doorway as they race towards it is a powerful figure in red and blue. The big red not-S that is so prominent on his chest is decidedly alarming in this present circumstances. Especially with that pulsing starfish covering the familiar features of Superman.

"Yeah, we're not going through that," Hal offers up to his partner, veering off suddenly. The Ring on the hand stretched out in front of him glows bright green and an energy beam lashes out, blowing a substantial hole in the wall of the Hall of Justice, giving them another entrance.

Dmitri Pushkin has posed:
     Dmitri blasts his dopple with confidence using the full power of his own energy to send his dopple careening into the ocean of people. He's feeling pretty good about himself right up until the moment he spies that familiar looking S type symbol on the chest of a starfish covered man. He pauses in mid air eyes going wide.

     "Golly Gee this isn't good Comrade Lantern." He scans the surroundings for another entrance into the alternate Hall of Justice only for Hal to blow a hole clean into the wall.

     "This works comrade!" He calls over to Hal before dive bombing towards the new entrance. He dives through only to be hit in the back by another blast of energy from his doppleganger in the crowd. It sends him flying forward far faster than he had anticipated and right through the table of the Hall of Justice that he had always wanted to slam his fist into. He crashes into it hard not obliterating it outright but sure as hell causing a great deal of damage to it as he lands face first into it.

Hal Jordan has posed:
The situation might be getting just a little out of control. Individually, they might be a matching for any of these mind-controlled foes, the advantages of their foes acting in harmony offset by their experience and ability to improvise. But they're not battling one foe. Not even a half dozen. It would seem that they are up against an entire city's worth of foes, more then willing to do anything they are commanded to do. Heck, it could be an entire world-full of foes.

And some of them are awfully powerful.

The assault on Rocket Red might catch them by surprise, sending the armored hero plowing ahead through that table. But it does give Hal an alert that their original foes are back in the fight. Just in time too. The Green Lantern manages to whirl and form a glowing green disc of solid light just as an answering emerald beam screams through that hole in the wall, slamming into it and driving Hal several feet back. That is almost immediately followed up by a number of blasts from Starfish Red's armor, forcing the Lantern to divert more energy to holding off the assault. Adding to that sense of urgency? The sound of walls being crashed through in the near-distance. It certainly sounds like Starfish Superman and/or other League powerhouses are on their way, taking the most direct path.

"New plan!" Hal calls out, green bursts of energy launching from his ring, seemingly at random, though not at any foe. Instead they tear into the walls, slashing great rips in them. Overhead the roof gives a loud crack and the walls around them seem to buckle. Pieces of the ceiling begin to rain down, first in little pieces and small chunks. And then it simply seems to fall towards them, the walls giving out, collapsing as the entirety of the Hall begins to bury them -- and the mind-controlled Justice League of this world.

No, Hal has not gone crazy. As the Hall begins to collapse towards them he hurls himself over towards Dmitri, that green glow surrounding him expanding to envelop Rocket Red as well. While buried would still seem to be buried, regardless of whether they survive thanks to that energy shield. But that doesn't seem to be Hal's plan either. "This might feel a little strange," he says, his only warning before they start to simply sink through the floor.

Feeling tile and stone slip through one is a somewhat disconcerting experience. But in seconds their immaterial state seems to pass and they emerge into the lower levels of the Hall.

"That's probably not going to hold Super Starfish for long," the Green Lantern cautions, holding up his hand as a beam of green light leaps from his ring, presumably in the direction of Dr. Fate.

Dmitri Pushkin has posed:
     Dmitri rolls over onto his back looking up towards the ceiling. He pauses for a brief moment coughing into his hand as he places a single gauntlet against his head. He lets out a low sigh. "Alright maybe I underestimated the starfish."

     And then the building is collapsing around them. Dmitri adds to the attack not entirely sure of the plan blasting into the nearby walls with full force. He's not entirely sure if Hal has gone mad or if he has an ingenious plan about him but he trusts the Green Lantern implicitly given the situation, he has no other choice.

     The moment comes when the building is about to collapse on them both and Dmitri holds his hands in front of his face as if it'll protect from what comes next only to be engulfed in the green energy that saves his life. He lets out a sigh of relief before he realizes that they're sinking into the ground.

     "We're sinking... We're sinking." Dmitri calls out as they lower through the ground he's squirming and uncomfortable as they lower through an experience that he's never had before in his life and one he hopes to never have again.

     "Comrade Lantern, let us not be doing that again. I feel as if I was eating the floor." He comes back to a swift stand using his rocket engine to kick himself up to a stand without putting himself back up. He lands and immediately begins to rapidly float in the direction of Dr.Fate.

     "The sooner we can find him the better, I am not looking forward to fighting man of steel." He shudders lightly even thinking about what that fight would be like.

Hal Jordan has posed:
It is extremely unlikely that burying Super Starfish or any of the other heavy-hitters in the League who might be the mind-controlled lackeys of Starro at this point will do much but buy them precious seconds. Even if they were here to do so, saving this world is a little beyond the two of them. They are here to save one man. The greater fate of the multiverse will just have to wait until after that. So hopefully those seconds are enough.

It would appear that Hal happens to share Dmitri's sentiments about their little intangibility gambit because he makes a face and nods his head. "It's not my favorite thing to do, admittedly. Feeling all that... matter slide through you is pretty distasteful," he conceeds. "But taking Superman's fist to the face would be more so," he asserts with a shrug. Even now the sound of pounding from somewhere above them sends little tremors through the ground, dislodging little chunks from the ceiling. They've bought time, perhaps taken some of the less physically formidable Leaguer's out of play, but that's it. "We better get moving," he says.

The Green Lantern's light leads the way. Perhaps under other circumstances the beam would curve and swerve, leading them through the subterranian passages. But it seems to sense the urgency, the time constraints that they are laboring under so it does not waste any time guiding them around obstacles. Instead their progress is reliant on Hal or Dmitri blowing out the inner walls as they go -- though hopefully not taking out anything load-bearing. The fact that the emerald beam reveals what lays behind the wall helps them avoid critical super-structure.

As they blow out the last wall, leading into one of the personal chambers that litter the grounds of the Hall, a home away from home for the members of the team, the sound of pounding above ceases. Normally that would be a good thing. The chances of the roof coming down on them as dramatically lessened. In this case though it probably just signals that the biggest threats are on their way.

The room itself is in ruins. The furniture has been smashed as if some big conflict took place here, the mattress of the bed torn in half while shattered glass and wood carpets the floor. Somewhat disgustingly overfull starfish seem to litter the ground, pulsing in a slow rhythm, gorged. And what they're gorged on? That would probably be the desiccated corpse laying nearby, the Golden Helm of Fate laying nearby, just beyond the outstretched and flesh-stripped hand and looks to be reaching for it.

Dmitri Pushkin has posed:
     Dmitri blasts with the white hot intensity of a single sun. He fires off one blast after another into the walls as if his life depended on it because in this case he does. "Just a little way further." He comments aloud to himself as he fires one beam after another into the walls tearing them down in a way that is oddly satisfying. Honestly it brings him a great deal of joy to finally level these walls.

     "You know I always wanted an open floor concept for... this... place" He trails off somewhat as he sees the desecrated corpse of fate. It's an uncomfortable site, very much the sort of thing he would have liked to avoid ever seeing if he was honest. It's the sort of thing that might haunt a normal mans dreams, but Dmitri had more than enough nightmeres already from his time as a soldier.

     He runs over into the room and grabs up the helmet trying the first thing that comes to mind, setting it ontop of the corpse of Dr.Fate. (Please work.) He says to the open air in Russian as he sets the helmet down on fates head dropping it firmly into place on the off chance the magic might revive the fallen fate.

Hal Jordan has posed:
For his part Hal kind of had to work up to this, to leveling such a significant symbol of what the Justice League stands for. The fact that this is another eality -- and such a massive distortion of the world that they are familiar with -- helps. Some. But it still doesn't come quite as natural to him as it does to his collegue. Still, the Green Lantern smirks ever so slightly at the comment. At least until they are greeted by the sight that awaits them in the room.

It's hard to believe that they have come all this way, only to fail. Perhaps even more difficult to believe that Dr. Fate is somehow dead. That seems equally impossible. "I don't believe it," Hal mutters quietly, starting to step after Dmitri towards the helmet and the corpse. But a loud crash sounds right behind them as he does and Superman -- with the addition of his starfish headware -- appears in that gap they blew open. The mind controlled Kryptonian stars forward as Green Lantern raises his hand, an emerald barrier suddenly filling that gap, blocking entrance. But for who knows how long. Especially as he can already see what appears to be Wonder Woman and Martian Manhunter approaching, also sporting starfish where their faces should be. "We don't have a lot of time," he shouts just as Superman rears back and slams a fist into the barrier. This time it's not micro-fractures that appear. Instead the emerald construct almost shatters, a surge of willpower reinforcing it at the last as the barrier grows to seal off the room entirely. Hal's not the only one who can pull off that intangibility trick, not if J'onn is here.

It is a last, desperate plow. To scoop up that Helm, to hope that by returning it to it's bearer that the effects of even death can be reversed. It is also the only real gambit they have left to them at this point. But when Dmitri scoops up the Helm of Nabu the room is suddenly filled with the smug, mocking sound of Felic Faust's laughter. The desiccated body of Kent Nelson simply fades away, melting back into dust. The same happens to the signs of battle in the room as the pair from another universe are left standing in a dusty, barren room. Illusion.

And the golden helm? The illusion of it melts away to -- revealling one of those face-hugging starfish that promptly launches itself at Rocket Red's face! Or, fortunately in this case, his helmet.

Dmitri Pushkin has posed:
     Dmitri latches onto the starfish as much as it latches onto him. He's struggling with it as it attempts to cling to his helmet. He falls to the ground fighting it as his beams charge up ready to practically blow his own head off as opposed to letting the starfish take him over. It's the only honorable thing.

     "Comrade Lantern, how could we walk into a trap like this?" He offers as he struggles with each individual word grabbing at the starfish with all of his suits superhuman might. "This adventure was not being ten minutes in and out like I had been expecting." He kicks his foot up towards his face placing it between the starfish and his head as he hovers in place engine kicking into overdrive to keep him ballanced.

Hal Jordan has posed:
It would seem that Felix Faust continues to be just one small step ahead, just enough to keep them off balanced. It is frustrating, infuriating even, but they have to count on the fact that an ego the size of Faust's will slip up, sooner or later. In the meantime however traps like this could be devestated in the wrong situation. Fortunately both Dmitri and Hal are better positioned then much of the League to keep this extra-dimensional Starro from claiming them as it's latest slaves. Between the green aura force field that surround him -- so long as he's conscious and the ring has power -- and the fact that the Rocket Red armor does not bare his collegue's facem their defenses are pretty substantial.

Of course, the starfish is not entirely without it's own abilities, those suckers clinging to Rocket Red's helmet persistently, surprisingly strong for such a small creature. More worrisome though is the fact that it seems to be transmitting an impulse, a little nagging voice into Dmitri's head, urging him to unclasp that helmet, to remove it and to surrender to the peace that one can only know in serving Starro the Conqueror.

Of course Hal has his own problems to deal with, preventing him from lending a hand to his teammate. Super Starfish rears back and hurls another haymaker against that glowing green barrier, another set of cracks radiating out from the impact sight for several seconds before the Green Lantern is able to wipe them clean, restoring integrity to their last safeguard.

Then the mind-controlled Wonder Woman and Martian Manhunter join the fray, spreading out to pound on the shrinking dome from all sides as Hal falls to one knee.

"Doom... warned us that this would probably not be an easy path," Hal manages through gritted teeth, unable to entirely reinforce the barrier after each blow, not with the trio that surrounds them. "Faust has probably laid all sorts of traps for us. And unless we can find a way to avoid them we're just going to have to spring them one after another." The glowing green barrier continues to retreat until it fills less that half the room, riddled with cracks as the trio of powerhouses continue to pound away. "We can't take the risk of bringing that thing back with us. You have to destroy it," he calls out, sliding backwards, inch by inch as he gives ground under that relentless assualt. "Ring, as soon as it's done get us out of here..."

Dmitri Pushkin has posed:
     Dmitri's energy beams grow stronger by the moment before finally he fires them off into his own head. It's going to hurt like hell and it rattles him around inside of his suit causing him to be very dizzy but it manages to obliterate the starfish in a single white hot burst of energy from two angles and four dispersal points. He hears the siren call for just a moment in his head but the rocking back and fourth from the force of the blast on either side of his head is enough to snap him out of it.

     "We can't just leave them like this Comrade Lantern, it's our duty to save the people." More than a bit naive when it comes to this sort of thing Dmitri calls out to his friend with a sort of devastated tone as if he hates the very idea of leaving this world to its fate. This world has its own Belina, its own Mischa, it's own Tasha and the very thought of it breaks his fragile heart.

     "Promise me we will come back for them." He calls out to Hal. "Promise me."

Hal Jordan has posed:
The Ring has it's orders and it is already reciting those strange words as Dmitri blows apart the mind-controlling starfish trying to worm it's way into his thoughts. And not a moment too soon because as strong as Hal's willpower might be, that emerald dome around them is crumbling far faster then he can patch it up, each new blow like a nail to his head -- not to mention that rapidly diminishing energy supply of his power ring.

He can be practical when he needs to be -- perhaps not as much as some Leaguers *ahem*Batman*ahem* -- but enough to do what is necessary when required. Saving this world would be a massive undertaking, perhaps even beyond the League. The Justice League of this world clearly failed afterall. And yet he has no more desire to leave them to their fates then Dmitri. "We'll be back," he agrees, biting the words out through gritted teeth, practically laying down at this point as the emerald barrier that protects them continues to fail. He doesn't make promises likely and he has no idea how practical it is. But somehow they will find a way.

That flattening emerald dome gives way, shattering into hundreds of energy shards as the trio of alternate-reality Leaguers move in for the kill -- or perhaps just to subdue them until they can be infected with their own alien parasite. In some ways that would be much worse. But even as Hal's will gives out the power ring's A.I. finishes reciting the strange, mystical words, completing the ritual. In a flash of light they vanish from that unfortunate earth...

...and reappear on their own, the Hall's Meeting Room still dark, the candles extinguished and even the last gleam of light buried deep in that multi-faceted gemstone fading entirely away. Letting out a long, slow breath, Hal clamors to his feet, the glow from the aura around him intesifying, enough to light the chamber in that greenish luminescence, to drive back the dark for a time. Then he offers a hand to Dmitri to help him to his feet as well. "I need to recharge my ring. But this isn't over. We're going to rescue Dr. Fate. And not Faust, nor anyone else will stop us."