"I am surprised that you even dared to enter into the anti-universe, let alone come to MY world!" Sinestro growled before wrapping golden chains around John and hurling him into the side of the central battery, where he floated over with a very unfriendly glare. The black and yellow clad alien then wrapped the chains tighter as he scowled with rage. "You should know better than nearly any Green Lantern, what happens when Green Lanterns come to my world. They die, alone and afraid!"
"But I just get mad!" Sinestro turned to take a white mare's hooves to the face, catching Sinestro right on the bridge of his nose and bouncing his head back into the battery. She then constructed a massive crimson claw that wrapped around Sinestro before hurling him into the air, where he quickly caught himself while he stared down at the crimson pony.
"I was not aware that you had any pets, Stewart, but you would do well to keep it on a leash," Sinestro sneered, infuriating the bloody belle.
"That's it! You're losing an arm!" Sweetie roared as she lunged up at Sinestro with a wicked blade extending from her horn. But in a moment, Sinestro had sidestepped her attack and slammed a large axe into her back, shattering her red aura and sending her crashing into the Yellow Lanterns below.
"And you have lost your mind if you believe yourself able to match my light," Sinestro mocked Sweetie while she forced herself back up, the two staring each other down for a moment before a flash of green went off and John placed himself between the two combatants.
"Cut it out you two! Sweetie, this is exactly the reason I left you in the ship! You are not in your right state of mind!" John bellowed at her while constructing a brick wall around her, getting her to bellow in reply while she started to burn through it. "And as for you," John growled as he turned on Sinestro, who looked anything but impressed at John. "As hard as it might be for you to believe this, I did not come here to fight. I came to ask for help."
"I must give you some credit, Stewart, you nearly got a chuckle out of me there," Sinestro said with a look that only could be described as a smirk and a sneer combined. He then pointed his left hand right at the symbol on John's chest and created a crystal-like spike with which he debated impaling the Lantern. "The Sinestro Corps and the Green Lanterns are enemies. When will you get that through you skull?"
"Trust me, there's no love lost between me and your Yellow Lanterns," John growled as he created a missile launcher and pointed it right at the emblem of fear on Sinestro's chest. "But your Corps and the Green Lanterns have worked together before, when the situation called for it, and this is the time to do so. Brainiac is back."
"And?" Sinestro asked without an ounce of concern in his voice. "Brainiac is your problem and your League's problem, not mine. Besides, I have more pressing matters to attend to than helping the Guardians of Oa continue their arrogant vision. You will get no sympathy from me."
"Not even if I tell you that Brainiac is the one responsible for the missing Yellow Lanterns?" John asked with a stone cold stare, getting an eyebrow raise out of Sinestro, and the Yellow Lantern leader crossed his arms with a look. "Yeah, I figured that would get your attention. Brainiac is responsible for all the missing Lanterns. He's kidnapped and killed most of them, except for a select few that he keeps aboard his space station the size of a moon."
"Dare I ask what he has done with those that have remained his captives?" Sinestro asked with narrowed eyes.
"You remember the Manhunters?" John asked, reading from Sinestro's expression that he did. "Well, Brainiac has rebuilt thousands of them and is pumping the power of those captured Lanterns, one from every Corps, into them, giving them the same powers that we wield."
"That...that cannot be," Sinestro muttered before shaking his head slightly and narrowing his eyes once again. "While this news is...disturbing, I do not see how it warrants cooperation between the Green and Yellow Lanterns. If Brainiac has attacked any of my Corps, I will deal with it personally. I hardly see the need to ally myself with you."
"That's because, you egoistical sack of crap, I'm not done yet. Infusing the Manhunters with the energy of the Lanterns was only an added bonus for capturing members of each Corps. His real goal was to build a weapon...a weapon that could nullify the power of a Corps' home world, allowing him to shrink and then capture that world." All of the Yellow Lanterns that were listening went quiet at John's words, and a few of them began to murmur to one another with concern.
"A terrifying thought to be sure, but I am certain that you are lying," Sinestro said with a smirk as he turned away from John. "There is no one, not even Brainiac, who is capable of unlocking the secrets of all the Corps' rings. Your data is most likely faulty or-"
"Data?! Listen here, you fear-filled freak, we know what he's capable of because we saw it happen!" Sweetie Belle roared at Sinestro, who slowly turned to face the Belle with both rage and concern in his eyes. "That's right, you know the Star-Sapphires?! Well nearly every single one of them is now trapped in a tiny glass jar because of Brainiac, including their planet!"
"You've worked with him in the past, Sinestro, you know what his goals are," John cut in when he saw doubt flash across the Sinestro Corps leader. "He wants all the knowledge in the cosmos and the fewer beings that have it, the more valuable it becomes. And what could be more valuable and filled with more knowledge than the source of power of the most powerful weapons in the galaxy?"
Sinestro went quiet for a long time after hearing John's reasoning, his chin resting on his chest as he floated with arms crossed. "So, you are telling me that Brainiac is collecting the Lantern Corps' home worlds so that he may place us in jars and add us to his twisted collection?"
"Before he uses that same power to destroy everything in the cosmos," John confirmed with a nod of his head, getting a genuine frown out of the fear-filled Lantern. "And with the Star-Sapphires already captured, we're going to need every ring in the galaxy to fight back."
"Have you contacted any of the other Corps and informed them of the imminent doom, if you are speaking the truth?" Sinestro asked.
"The Blue Lanterns are already with us, but the Guardians reasoned that with you having one of the larger Corps, we should get you on our side first," John explained. "The Guardians will contact the other Corps."
"So, the other Corps are essentially dead then," Sinestro scowled before placing his fist under his chin while he pondered for a moment. Then he opened his mouth to speak...before his gaze, along with the eyes of every other Lantern in the area, was drawn skyward by the arrival of twelve Manhunters that all shone with a blue hue. "Are those the Manhunters you spoke of, Stewart?"
"Yeah. And by the colors they're giving off, it seems that they're not here to talk." The hundreds of Yellow Lanterns took up fighting stances as the twelve Manhunters landed in the center of the crowd, scanning each and every face before their scanners rested upon the leader of the Sinestro Corps.
"Sinestro. We are here on behalf of Brainiac," one of the Manhunters spoke as it stepped forward, getting a glare from Sinestro. "We are here to offer a choice to you."
"A choice? Are you saying that Brainiac is threatening me?" Sinestro asked with a growl.
"Not threatening. Giving you a choice because you have served him well in the past," the Manhunter clarified, yet its choice of wording caused Sinestro to lower his arms to the side and stretch his fingers. "You and your Corps can surrender to Brainiac and all of your lives will be spared. Or, you can fight a futile battle and most of you will die before he takes what he wants. What is your answer?"
"My answer?" Sinestro began without a moment to think as he walked forward towards the Manhunter. "You, my friend, have made my answer very simple." In a blur of motion a golden chain with a spear on the end of it flew forth from Sinestro's hand and imbedded itself in the Manhunter's head, where with one powerful tug Sinestro tore the machine's head clean off its body whilw he glared at the remaining eleven. "My answer is one that Brainiac will fear. Sinestro Corps, dispose of this trash."
All of the Lanterns roared in rage as they attacked the Manhunters, who all began to fire bolts of blue energy into the advancing sea of fear. Despite Hope being the strongest defense against fear, the sheer volume of Yellow Lanterns was enough to quickly overwhelm the Manhunters despite their power.
"Very well, you shall have our aid, Stewart, as the Green Lanterns can do nothing without me," Sinestro said as he turned to Stewart, whose eyes were locked on one of the Manhunters that was being ripped apart by a massive, eight armed beast. "But do not for a moment believe that this means we are allies. My Corps' goal is to destroy Brainiac. If that is the Green Lanterns goal as well, so be it. But the moment I have crushed the last bit of that machine in my grasp, things return to normal."
"Anything else would truly be something to be afraid of," John muttered before he looked down at Sweetie, who was watching the sky. "Alright, you ready to head out?"
"Nope. These idiots are going to need us in a moment." John was about to ask her what she meant, before a massive flash of green light erupted from the sky, hurling away the Yellow Lanterns from the remaining Manhunters. Sinestro and the other Lanterns watched as a Brainiac body radiating green power floated down into the center of the Mahunters, causing their already blue light to shine even brighter.
"You did not tell me that Brainiac had created bodies that could harness the Blue Lanterns' light," Sinestro snarled as he constructed yellow armor as well as a golden battle axe.
"Just found out myself," John growled while he constructed a rocket launcher. With the power of a Green Lantern's light, the Manhunters' power skyrocketed, and they began to push back the Yellow Lanterns.
"You're both idiots. If he's smart enough to do that to Manhunters, why not do it to himself?" Sweetie Belle seethed as plasma began to drip from her lips. "Let me make this very clear for you, Lantern fueled by cowardice. You want the Manhunters? Knock yourself out. But if anypony is going to tear Brainiac's throat out and make him swallow it, it's going to be me!" Sweetie bellowed before lunging for the machine, but a green claw grabbed hold of her and pulled her back.
"Hold it young lady, you're sitting this fight out," John ordered while he pulled the raging Sweetie back. "Blue Lanterns are also the worst kind of Lantern you can go up against. They have the power to nullify a Red Lantern's rage, and without rage you might straight up die. Let the professionals handle this."
"So, you shall be retreating as well Stewart?" Sinestro mocked before hurling himself into the battle, driving his axe right through a Manhunter's skull before twirling in the air while he fired golden spheres into the faces of the other Manhunters! "Fight! Show these machines the meaning of fear!" Sinestro ordered as spider legs constructed from his back and impaled a Manhunter multiple times before the Yellow Lantern turned to the Green Brainiac.
"Feh, you don't even have the manners to appear before me in your real body," Sinestro growled while he scanned the machine before him. "And what is this shell that you have crafted? Are you truly trying to use the power of the Lanterns against the Lanterns? And here I used to think you were smart."
"This talk is meaningless, Sinestro. Even if you manage to defeat these simple machines, what the master has planned will be far more terrifying than even you can comprehend," the Green Brainiac said with no emotion as it raised both arms and fired blasts of green energy towards the leader. Yet, with skill that nearly no other Lantern could match, Sinestro deflected and dodge the attacks before closing in on Brainiac, constructing yellow boulders that he sandwiched the Green Brainiac in-between.
"More terrifying than I could comprehend?" Sinestro asked in a cold whisper that hid an ocean of rage beneath it. "I AM FEAR! I am the one who mastered the Yellow energy and created my own Corps to combat those who do not submit! You are a machine, capable of feeling nothing! That is why," Sinestro began before crafting a sword which he drove through the Brainiac's extended arm, severing it completely. "Even your advanced strength is no match for me."
"Fascinating," the Brainiac muttered as it looked at the sparking circuitry and hydraulics, "despite having the same power that Hal Jordan constantly uses to defeat you and your superior armor, you were still able to wound this form."
"Of course," Sinestro spat as he brought the blade straight down on Brainiac's skull, cleaving the robot's head clean in two with a growl. "You may have the power of will, but without emotion all it does is make you weak to my light. An emotionless being like you cannot possibly unlock the full power of the Lanterns rings. That is why I do not fear you Brainiac, but it should be why," Sinestro said as he pointed his ring at the center of Brainiac's neck. "You shall fear me."
One last blast of yellow light disintegrated the false will in one shot, burning it away until nothing of the body was left. Then Sinestro turned and constructed another set of spider legs that tore through two more Manhunters. Without the green light to support them, the Yellow Lantern turned and walked back over to John, who was still trying to keep Sweetie under control.
"You know that Brainiac is not going to be happy about your answer," John reminded Sinestro as the rest of the Yellow Lanterns cleaned up the rest of the Manhunters. "He'll most likely come here next, and he'll come to take your whole planet. And he'll have an army next time."
"It does not matter. We shall not be here when he does arrive," Sinestro said, smirking when he saw the confusion on John's face. "I have a number of central batteries set up all across the cosmos, in case I need to change home worlds for my Corps quickly. Why do you think you can never find us?"
"Yeah, you would be the type to do something like that," John said with a mix of respect and worry, wondering what other secrets Sinestro was keeping from them. A flash of red went off behind them as Sweetie finally managed to break through John's barrier, and in a moment she had turned on Sinestro with fury.
"HE WAS MY KILL!" she bellowed as she lunged at him, but once again Sinestro swatted Sweetie away with little effort.
"Calm yourself, if you are able, I did not slay the real Brainiac. No, the real one is still most likely aboard his ship and preparing to wage war against us," Sinestro informed Sweetie, who pulled herself off the ground with round two flashing in her eyes, before she growled and held her hooves to her head.
"Sweetie! What's the matter?" John asked as he rushed to her side.
"I...hear a voice! He's...Atrocitus and he...demands that all Red Lanterns return to the battle ship," Sweetie growled through gritted teeth while she clutched at her skull. Sinestro and John shared a look before John placed a hand on Sweetie's shoulder.
"Sweetie. Did he say anything about why he wants all Red Lanterns to return to the battle ship?" John asked Sweetie, who had fear mixed in with her rage when she opened her eyes to look at John.
"Because a large number of the Red Lanterns have already fallen. Fallen to Brainiac."