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[Exit to Gotham City Incursion Zone]

In possession: 25 Atlantean Explosive Orbs (Grenades)

Fierce as a lion....

{Crimson Crusader’s POV}

Crimson Crusader was absolutely infuriated. How dare this demon pull her from the saddle! How dare he harm her! How dare he try to take his beloved Arturia away‼ She was his rider, his commander, his friend! She belonged here, up in the saddle that rested on his back, high above the danger of ground combat. But this demon had dragged her from that nest and no doubt intended to take her someplace beyond his reach, for which he would die. No one was going to take his Arturia from him. Absolutely no one.

Every single person on the battlefield would suddenly hear the powerful warhorse release an ear-splitting scream of fury, with a volume that only a creature of the Astral Plane could accomplish. His ears were pinned back, his teeth were bared, his jet-black tail rapidly thrashed back and forth as he ran in front of Arturia and reared. He even allowed his wings to materialize and extended them to make himself appear larger and more threatening. The blood-red stallion was displaying every indicative sign of rage that a horse could make.

Ordinarily, Crimson only allowed Arturia and divine beings to understand him, but now, he wanted all to hear. "Thou hast angered me greatly, daemon! Thou hast harmed my rider, and for such an action, thou shalt face my wrath and perish!!" The armored stallion's voice roared through the air like thunder. One almost expected the sky to go dark and for lightning to flash behind him.

{Back to Arturia}

By this time, Arturia was crying from the pain and sheer terror, her entire body trembling. She had honestly thought that she was going to die, or worse, become demon food. But the demon had allowed her to get up, and was actually going to give her a "fair" fight. By the time she had managed to get to shakily her feet, cradling her wrist as she picked up Excalibur, Crimson Crusader had moved in front of her, vowing vengeance on the demon. As much as she loved that he was so protective and loyal, she saw that someone else needed the protection more. The Green Lantern appeared to be in some deep trouble, so she stumbled up to Crimson and softly asked him to go help the ringed hero instead. After a bit of arguing, he agreed and went to go tackle Nathaniel.

The female knight then turned to face the demon. "I-I know that this probably is not in your character, but could you give me just a moment to recover a bit? I am still a bit out of breath, and I would like to check my wrist so that I know if I can still wield Excalibur with this hand." she politely asked, looking a bit scared and worried. She was stalling, but she really did want to check.

Meanwhile, Nathaniel Grant would suddenly find 2,500 pounds of angry, armored equine charging straight for him at high speed. If he didn't move, he was gonna be trampled.

Fierce as a lion....

{Crimson Crusader’s POV}

Crimson Crusader seemed to almost laugh at Nathaniel's first words. "Oh, really? I think that I'm already doing just that!" he replied, holding his head high. However, the stallion soon squealed in shock and slight pain as the Yellow Lantern knocked him to the ground. That was slightly unexpected. Not that it really should be, though. Of course, like any logical being, Crimson immediately tried to roll to the side so that he could get to his feet. Unfortunately, he wasn't fast enough, and pain exploded in his head as two bullets lodged themselves in his skull, something that would kill an ordinary horse. Luckily, Crimson was not ordinary, so instead of dying, he faded away into a reddish mist and returned to the Astral Plane via Arturia's amulet.

Once there, the poor stallion screamed in pain and rage, rolling around in the grass. Dammit, now Arturia was all alone out there! He was too injured to head back out into the Material Plane, but he needed to be out there. He couldn't just leave her there on her own, she wouldn't last the entire battle without someone at her side! Sure, there were other heroes there, but Crimson didn't trust them to be of any help. They were busy fighting other villains.

However, there was one thing he could do to ensure Arturia's safety. There was a certain denizen of the Astral Plane that owed him a favor... The dragon, Verteidiger. He was strong, powerful, and he had scales that couldn't be penetrated by bullets. Now, if only he could get to him....

Allegiance: Sinestro Corps
Status: Healthy
Thoughts: This planet will be mine.


Well then...that was interesting. Instead of the satisfaction of putting a good horse down, the horse dissolved into red mist and left the battlefield. Satisfied that he would now be able to proceed with eliminating an obstacle to his plans and Sinestro's, he turned the assault rifle from where the horse used to be and aimed it straight at where he believed Ian would still be lying down at, only to find that the young man that was a few seconds away from being killed by his hands, was now standing up and placing him under arrest, or he will kick his a** about as thoroughly as Nathaniel did to him back at the slums.

Well if that wasn't the most ridiculous thing he had heard. Sure, the Lantern had shown some gumption and was even putting up a fight earlier, but Nathaniel still believed he held all the cards. Even if the Black Beetle turned against him, Inertia was now dead, and he was unsure of the other invasion zones status. Ian would see the Yellow Lantern shake his head.....and laugh, "You. You're going to arrest me, Ian? That's a very good joke. I already know the reason behind your sudden bursts of aggressive behavior. Took the Beetle over there posturing about the Reach and stuff like that, but it all makes sense now."

The assault rifle disappeared from his hands and in it's place, was a rather large sword. One that looked cursed, with what looks like an eye above the hilt, and a skull above said eye. The eye even blinked at Ian, "But your steroid rage is just a bluff. Underneath all that machismo, you are still the scared, little boy, wishing that Jordan's ring never found you in the first place," Nathaniel then pointed the macacbre sword at Ian, his face an emotionless mask, "This world is mine, Ian, and you will know this fact. And I will make sure that by days end, you will be groveling at my feet, begging for mercy. Like a little b***h."

And he will be merciful and end Ian's pathetic, miserable life.

Ian simply stood and smirked towards Nathaniel, was this guy seriously just all talk? yeah, maybe he was right about the whole beetle thing and the fact that Ian was scared and that he wished the ring had never found him but for the scared little boy underneath a bunch of bluster: He was not doing too shabby at all. It was just like the imaginary Ganthet and Sayd had said. He was doing so well, for who he was, what he was trying to accomplish, there was no one that could doubt him. Nathaniel in all respects should have been shitting all over him, taking him out to pasture, putting an old dog down but instead he had to be all mouth. The trained soldier meeting his match in the Video Game Designer. How odd was that?

But what was more odd was that Nathaniel was genuinely all mouth it seemed... Considering that he was a soldier, war should have been easy for him, his experience should have been able to eclipse Ian at any moment. But it didn't. Was he actually having a hard time? Was Ian putting up more of a challenge than he anticipated? Was he afraid? All these questions ran through Ian's head as Nathaniel just kept on talk, kept on goading. There was no way Ian was about to strike first unless it was absolutely necessary but that thought was pushed aside for another one that kept naggling at Ian, now confident in himself. How did he ever lose to Nathaniel in the first place?

If this world was truly Nathaniel's, how come there was so much resistance?

"I may be bluffing, but this bluffing kid has you on the back foot. Has your plan hitting a rut. Had you powerless. Is Who you now... OWE YOUR LIFE TO!" Ian continued to watch as the yellow lantern in front of him pranced about with a sword that looked oddly like soul edge. "So yeah, I'm gunna take you to church? Got a problem with it?" The flames of willpower dancing on Ian's back flickered and moulded themselves down Ian's arm into a ball in his hand before instantaneously shift into the solid, dense shape of a sword. The first sword that came to mind whenever he thought about or wanted a cool weapon: Squall's gunblade from FFVIII. Griever keychain included. The only real difference being the bullet chamber reel in the middle of the blade. It didn't have holes in it to fit bullets but instead was kitted out for an entirely different effect...

What that was... well, that would be a "shock" for Nathaniel to find out...

Allegiance: Sinestro Corps
Status: Healthy
Thoughts: Pfft. I haven't even begun to get serious yet.


Was Ian trying to goad him into a haphazard response? A grave miscalculation that would end with his defeat? As much as Nathaniel wanted to crush this kid's head right now, Ian would find his taunts were not having the effect he was hoping for. Nathaniel's face remained like stone, those eyes glued directly at him. Even as he summoned a sword of his own, one that Nathaniel recognized was straight from a Final Fantasy game. Only difference was the barrels. There was nothing suggesting it was going to fire bullets. There was something about this construct that told Nathaniel he would have to be on his guard.

"On the back foot? No. I haven't even begun to fight," Nathaniel answered. Within a split second though, he had unleashed a second construct at Ian, a clawed hand that reach for Ian to hopefully grab him and immediately pull him towards Nathaniel. Once he was in range, he immediately dispelled the grappling hook like construct and slashed down with the yellow Soul Edge replica, not even bothering for subtly. He was aiming for maximum brutality, a cleaving strike that would end the Green Lantern's life once and for all.

But there was something about Nathaniel's attack. Why would he purposely bring the Green Lantern to him if he knew something was up with Ian's gunblade? What was Nathaniel truly thinking?

Allegiance: Sinestro Corps
Status: Healthy
Thoughts: Surprise.


When Nathaniel could see that the hook was going to miss, Nathaniel already had a way to rectify this mistake. As Ian's sword came down to cut the chain, the construct suddenly animated, like a snake, immediately wrapping itself around the entirety of the gunblade, effectively stopping his swing dead in its tracks. With a hefty pull, Nathaniel hoped to wrest the blade out of his hands. Now why would this work? Ian was a college student, studying Game Designing. It can be a safe bet that he was not as physically fit as say a college student who plays football for Metropolis University. Much less an Army Soldier. His training with Killowag may of helped to improve his physical fitness, but Nathaniel still held the edge in a test of physical strength.

With his weapon hopefully deprived, Nathaniel dispelled the hook construct and charged forward, almost blinking to close the gap between them. His own sword construct was glowing even brighter than it was previously as he slashed forward. When the blade hopefully made contact with Ian's suit, a sudden burst of yellow energy would burst forward, engulfing the youth with devastating force. Providing it hits.

But that wasn't all. From the din of the smoke and the upturned sand, a swarm of rockets pierced the tan veil, all bearing down at Ian. Nathaniel had decided to create a construct on his shoulders, which basically looked like twin man sized missile racks, similar to what you would see on a HIMARS Multiple Rocket Launcher vehicle.

Allegiance: Sinestro Corps
Status: Healthy
Thoughts: Surprise.


Well, this was a predicament. His attempt to ensnare the sword did not go as planned. And Ian was being a cocky a*****e. Like at the Slums. But at that time, his cockiness left the moment he realized Nathaniel was better than him at that time. Now, he wasn't so sure. But if Ian thought Nathaniel was defenseless, he was horribly mistaken. For when Ian's sword came to slash open his abdomen, the sword simply passed through. Once again, Nathaniel had simply used his ring to phase through solid objects. Including Ian's own attack.

But as Ian sword ended it's swing, Nathaniel ended the phasing effect, then he effectively slapped the gunblade, and backed off, forming twin missile racks on his shoulders and launching several at the Green Lantern.

Once far enough away, Nathaniel simply snapped his fingers. Ian would hopefully notice that there was what looked like an explosive charge was placed right on the blade. And with Nathaniel snapping his fingers, it has now gone off. Nathaniel packed enough energy within that charge to hopefully shatter that blade of his and do a good bit of damage to the Green Lantern.