"As a Red Lantern, you must strike down your opponents as mercilessly and as brutally as possible." Atrocitus stood on the edge of a cliff as his Corps with its' three newest members begun their training. Whether it was making red hard-light constructs to strike moving and stationary targets, maneuvering through a river of lava with geysers of flame spewing out every so often, or even simple hand-to-hand combat, the Dazzlings and the Corps were deep within their regimen. "In this corps, you will have the chance to take revenge on the ones who so wronged you and drove you to become this abhorrent being, born of the remains a ruinous life. Now. Do not disappoint me!"
Adagio Dazzle stood with Skallox and Rankorr. While the two males created warhammers and darted towards some structures, Adagio was still trying to come to terms with her new powers to create objects. She tightened the grip on her ring and began to glow. She fought back to when she was in the Battle of the Bands in the final battle with the Rainbooms. The mere thought of the memory created a translucent red hippocampus.
She walked up to the red monster and gave it a pat on the forehead. As Adagio slid her fingers delicately over the fake scales of her monster's body, she felt a peculiar warmth shoot up through her arm and into her body. Despite being new to the benefits of being a Red Lantern, she knew that deep in her heart, that she was glad to have her Equestrian form back with her—and without having to sing in a musical contest to call it out. She smirked and pointed towards the nearby rock tower, causing the hippocampus to dart off towards it and collide with it head on, sending all of the rocks into the air. She threw her head up to the sky and her arms down to her side, causing the creature to let out a sonic wave which shattered the rocks into millions of tiny pieces.
"Impressive." Skallox watched as Adagio's beast vanished into thin air. He then flew over to her and gave her his best grin with his goat-like head. "Not even an hour into being a Red Lantern and you've already learned how to create and control things."
"Yeah." Rankorr came over, using a hard-light bazooka he had made to clear out another section of rubble and debris from the training grounds. "Most Red Lanterns struggle on their first day, but you're just tearing this place up with your powers. It's like you were born to be a Red Lantern, Adagio."
"Heh, what can I say?" Adagio let out a little chuckle as she flexed her fingers. "Me and my sisters have a knack for anger management." Her eyes glowed a faint hint of red as she finished talking.
"But you should know that Red Lanterns don't just rely on creating hard-light objects to win their battles." Skallox's sharp fingers drummed against Adagio's shoulder pads. "It's not just about what you create, but also how you use it to your advantage."
Skallox flew out towards the end of the grounds and created a massive morningstar. He began to twirl the spiked ball and the chain that it hung to around, before bringing it down hard on the ground, creating fissures that swallowed everything around them up before sealing themselves back up, crushing anything that the cracks had eaten. With another strike from the weapon, the entire ground ruptured, flinging everything beneath it into the air.
"Whoa..." Adagio couldn't help but gape in awe as Skallox destroyed the tectonic plates that he had knocked airborne purely by swinging his morningstar into them. It was as if she had been completely outdone in her own game; and she was only a newcomer in the Red Lantern Corps.
"And that is the pure strength of a Red Lantern." Skallox crossed his arms as he floated away from the shower of rocks behind him.
"I-I-I..." Adagio was at a loss for words as Skallox simply went off to another section of the training grounds. She couldn't take his eyes off him, even when Atrocitus sent him off towards a Ysmault assault course.
"A Red Lantern's strength is reflective on their rage." Rankorr laid his hand on Adagio's body. "The reason Skallox tore that whole place up like that is because his rage is incredibly strong. Granted, it's not as strong as Bleez or Master Atrocitus's rage, but it's still pretty high on the scale."
Adagio grunted and hung her head, looking down at the ring on her finger. "I've still got a lot to learn about the Red Lanterns, don't I, Rankorr?"
"You and your sisters do. But I'm sure you'll catch on pretty quick." As Rankorr patted Adagio's back, he glared at a cavern beyond the training grounds and created a massive cannon. He held it in one hand and blew the rock face to pieces before turning back to her. "When I started out as a Red Lantern, I had to learn the ropes pretty hard. Master Atrocitus would send me to the Blood Ocean if I didn't."
"The Blood Ocean?" Adagio tilted her head.
"When a Red Lantern falls behind in power, or is driven to the brink of an uncontrollable meltdown, Atrocitus throws them into the Blood Ocean." Rankorr shivered merely by bringing it up. "The Blood Ocean is... well, you need to go into it to see just how haunting it is."
"Truth be told, it doesn't really sound like my kind of place." Adagio shook her head and turned back towards the hard-light practice area. "We three are ladies, regardless of our Red Lantern powers. Blood doesn't really look good on us—even if we are dressed in red now."
"Then let's hope that you never end up in the Blood Ocean." Rankorr turned back and created a barrage of missiles, which he rained down on the area ahead of him, while Adagio resurrected her hippocampus and screamed away the debris over towards a volcano. "You three seem sweet, and I don't want you to be traumatized so quickly after you joined the corps."
Aria Blaze and Bleez were flying over a river of molten lava, with massive boulders crashing down around them as they performed flips and barrel rolls around them. All the while, the two grouches were trying to knock each other against the walls, scoffing at each other as they tried to make it to the end of the course alive.
"Master Atrocitus is clearly in over his head if he thinks you three are good Red Lanterns." Bleez darted ahead and punched a wall before making a sharp turn to the left. She left behind her a hail of volcanic ashes and rubble as fire burst out of the top of the ground above. "You and your sisters are scum that he pulled off of that wretched human world!"
"And you're clearly not learning your place, dweeb." Aria flew up and punched some of the ashes away, feeling the heat for a brief moment before she flicked her hands to quell the flames on her fingers. "Where we're from, we were using rage before we were part of this corps. So I think it's fair to say that we've got way much more experience with anger than some noob dorks."
"I am Havanian royalty! I'm a princess! I will not be put in my place by some bratty teenagers!" Bleez flew down towards the tip of the lava and repeatedly scooped it over her back towards Aria. "I've suffered in the Blood Ocean, I've lost everything I had, and I'm not about to be belittled by some twerps who've only had their rings for an hour!"
"Geez. And here I thought I got angry at times..." Aria flew high to avoid the streams of liquid flame and used her Red Lantern ring to fire down red bullets down on Bleez's wings, trying to shake her out of her flight pattern. "You've really gotta save your anger for when it counts, Bleez."
Bleez took all of the bullets, even when she tried to swerve away from them. Eventually, some of them slipped through the joints in her wings and caused the bones to have spasms, shaking her body to the core. In the assault, she almost ended up falling face-first into the lava, but using her hands, she managed to land a handspring on the rocks and land on the sloped inclines next to the river of lava.
"Ngh! Lucky shots!" Bleez watched Aria overtake her as she shook her wings back to life. It wasn't long before she was back in the air and in hot pursuit of Aria.
"Oh, there's plenty more where that came from, bitch." Aria held her hand out and taunted Bleez, watching her give chase. "Just try and keep up with me and see what else I can do to your body."
"Your words illustrate foolishness—not bravado." Bleez rocketed down towards the end of the track's loop, grazing against the lava with her bone wings.
"Surprised to see me, Rainbooms?" Sonata spoke to a training dummy made out of pure rock, with some red outlines around its' body. "Well, I'm here to settle the score, like a real siren." She gave the dummy a strong punch straight to the head. "Is THIS weak enough for ya? How about this? This is for being at Canterlot High!" She continued to punch it, unfazed by the solidarity of the rock or the jolts of agony that flooded her arms. "This is for taking away our power! This is for putting us in debt, and robbing. Me. Of. All. My. Plushies!"
"What do you make of our new recruits, Dex-Starr?" Atrocitus asked the cat, who simply purred in his ears as he watched Adagio, Aria, and Sonata keep up their training. "I know, I know. They're a little wet behind the ears, but so are all Red Lanterns who learn about the corps. I'm sure I don't need to remind you about the days when Bleez started out as a Red Lantern." He watched Sonata smash the dummy's head off, only for her entire hand to bathe in lava, sending her screaming and running around as she tried to get rid of the volatile orange goo. "Give them time, Dex-Starr. That is why they are here as Ysmault's training grounds. For them to exact revenge against the group that stole everything from them, they must first let their rage nullify any pain, anguish, or sorrow that their past lives left them with.
"Had enough?!" Sonata, beached on her stomach with the lava finally pried from her arm roared at the headless dummy, which still spat out lava as it fell to the ground. "Sure. Fall down dead, why don't'cha? I can still go a few rounds..." She got back up to her feet and tried to coil her hands back into fists.
"I'm still just as intrigued as you are about them, Dex-Starr. These three are human, yet they have some sort of other power deep within them; lying dormant." Atrocitus leaned in closer and kept his focus on all three of the Dazzlings. "Human, yet with alien powers. It begs the question of what they really are, and how their rage can benefit my corps."
"We used to be on top of the world, Rainbooms. Then you had to go and ruin everything!" Sonata pounced on top of another training dummy and brutally smashed its' head in with a combination of fast jabs. "You and your stupid Equestrian magic caused us to lose the Battle of the Bands, lose our singing powers, and to lose everything we had in our lives!" Sonata grabbed the torso and crushed it to pieces with a firm smash against Ysmault's surface. "We hate you, the students of Canterlot High hate you, and even my soon-to-be-sold plushies hate you too!"
"Whatever these Rainbooms are, we should waste no time in destroying them. And even if I don't know what a plushie is, if it is something close to her heart, then it makes me even madder at what despicable wretches they are to do such a thing to them." Atrocitus snarled, cracking his knuckles together. "As soon as we're done here, Dex-Starr, we are to open a portal towards Earth. We will all let the Rainbooms burn at the might of the Red Lantern Corps, give the Dazzlings their payback, and properly welcome them into our society."
"Sounds wonderful, Master Atrocitus." Nite-Lik came up behind Atrocitus and walked towards Adagio and Rankorr. "Together, we shall desecrate the Rainbooms for what they did to the Dazzlings." The tendrils shot out of his body once more. "I'll look forward to personally holding them all down so that these girls can properly give them the retaliation they so utterly deserve."
"No. Not from you, Nite-Lik." Atrocitus shook his head. "You're still on probation after that unauthorized attack on the Star Sapphires. You had no right to strike down their newest recruits, yet you did it anyway. Was a bathe in the Blood Ocean not enough for you to come to your senses?"
"The Star Sapphires deserved it." Nite-Lik hissed and turned towards Atrocitus. "After the way I saw Hal Jordan helping them out, I couldn't help myself. What is a Red Lantern if we don't strike down the Guardians and their allies when we see them?"
"You were alone without backup out there, Nite-Lik. Even if your rage is strong, it still won't be enough to end the Guardians alone." Atrocitus stomped. "Especially not Hal Jordan. He is my enemy and mine alone, and I will not forgive you if you rob me the chance to take down the Guardians' premiere hunting dog!"
"Master. With all due respect, I—"
"Enough of this, Nite-Lik!" bellowed Atrocitus. "You are not to go out on any more missions without back-up. And if I do catch wind of you disobeying my orders, I'll throw you so deep into the Blood Ocean, you'll be so scared that you might actually see nothing but your traumatic past until you die!"
Nite-Lik tried to think of something to say, but his comeback crumbled to dust as he looked at the fire in Atrocitus's eyes. Defeated, he hung his head and let out a weary sign, retracting his tentacles. "Yes, Master Atrocitus."
"Now. Gather the other Red Lanterns." Atrocitus coiled his fingers against each other. "It's time to give Adagio, Aria, and Sonata their proper induction into the Red Lantern Corps."
"Understood." Raising his ring high, Nite-Lik created a massive red lighthouse that shone its' crimson light down on each of the Red Lanterns at the site. "Red Lanterns! Master Atrocitus wishes to speak with you all!"
Adagio, Aria, and Sonata saw the light straight away and flew over with Rankorr, Bleez, Zilius, and Skallox. They all landed in front of Nite-Lik, who stepped down to join them as they all bowed down before their master.
"As you are all aware, when someone wears a Red Lantern Ring, it is their solemn oath to punish the people of the world who commit wrongdoings." Atrocitus began his speech. "And whenever we receive a new recruit into the Red Lantern Corps, it is only fair that we allow them to have their first assignment be on the people who ruined their lives in the first place." He looked down at the Dazzlings. "Adagio Dazzle, Aria Blaze, and Sonata Dusk. This is your opening mission as part of our corps. You will be accompanied to Earth by us, so that together, we will help you crush the group that tore you from your pedestals; the Rainbooms."
"Whenever you want us to depart, Master Atrocitus, we will be ready." Adagio looked up and smiled, putting a fist to her chest.
"Yeah. Just say the word and we'll give those punks a real butt-kicking they won't soon forget." Aria held her ring up close to her face, causing a red aura to appear around her.
"After the way that those Rainbooms ruined us at the Battle of the Bands, taking them down now with all of your help is going to be all the better." Sonata's brows lowered. "And maybe after we're done, we could get some tacos to celebrate!"
"Ugh... Even as a Red Lantern, you still can't stop obsessing over those stupid things..." Aria face-palmed. "No wonder you're the worst, Sonata."
"I am NOT the worst!" Sonata chided.
"Are too!" Aria retorted
"Am not!" Sonata shot back.
"Are too!"
"Am not!
"ARE TOO!"
"AM NOT!"
"Both of you, be silent!" Atrocitus threw his arms out to the side, silencing both Sonata and Aria instantly. "You two have some strong rage, but it will not help you if you burn it out before your battle." He punched the air in front of him, creating the same black hole that he had first appeared out of. "Now, take this wormhole towards Earth and confront these so-called Rainbooms. We will follow after to make sure that your revenge is guaranteed."
"Come on, girls." Adagio took both Aria and Sonata by the arm and walked them over towards the portal. "It's time for the Dazzlings to have their encore..."
All three of the Red Lantern sirens shared a laugh with one another as they waltzed through the portal, leaving their voices to echo as they disappeared. Not long after they had left, the other Lanterns flew in after them, with Atrocitus and Dex-Starr being the last ones through as the portal behind them all closed.