Inversion Turn 12:
F) Perplex for +1 defense.

Rest

Lantern Jordan:
1) [19] Hal Jordan (E JL Hal Jordan) - 120 (6/7) M5 @
2) [4] Boxing Glove Construct (R Knockout) – 70 (KO!)
3) [5] Green Arrow Construct (E JL Green Arrow) - 70 (6/7) K9
4) [3] Blaster Construct (E LoS Lightning Lad) - 70 (1/6) P16

Total: 330

Vs.

The Inversion:
1) Atrocitus (V Mera) – 85 Koed
w/ Blood Oath - 10 (Targets Hal Jordan)
2) Bestial Construct (U Colonel Logan) - 70 KOed
3) Demon Construct (R JL The Flash) - 70 KOed
4) Serpent Construct (E M&M Iron Man) - 70 (4/6) Q9 (+1 Defense)

Total: 305

LO: I16, P10, S3
HO: K9, H17, P16

Map: http://www.ianparmenter.com/hcutils/...-1&u1=x-470y47

Scenario Rules:

--> Because the constructs are made real by the will of the two combatants, they can be shaken by any significant attack against either man. Any time Hal Jordan or Atrocitus are hit and take damage from an attack where the roll was doubles, all their constructs take a cumulative -1 penalty to all their stats (attack, damage, movement, defense, and range) until the end of their player’s next turn.

Alright, well by the time I got back from my long (and friggin internetless - surprise!) trip, you've already moved ahead. Technically, I'd have said (and did in that PM, ALC, whoops!) that the match was over when Atrocitus went down. But since I wasn't here in a timely fashion to adjudicate, I'll allow you to finish the match anyway. You've come this far, and I won't let my unexpected absence to hold you back.

Play on!

Turn 14a:
Free) Hal will Perplex down the SC's Def.

1) GA construct will attack the SC (Not using RCE). 16 + 2 ESD + 1 Hindering - 11 = need 8. Rolled 6,4=10 hit! Yay! GA construct takes 2 clicks.

2) Hal Pushes and tries to finish him off. 15 + 2 ESD + 1 Hindering - 10 = need 8 (hmm... maybe this wasn't such a good idea...) Rolled 6,5=11 whew! The luck holds! hit! The Serpent Construct takes 3 clicks and is koed.

Thanks for the game!

Lantern Jordan:
1) [19+2+2ko] Hal Jordan (E JL Hal Jordan) - 120 (5/7) M5 @@
2) [4] Boxing Glove Construct (R Knockout) – 70 (KO!)
3) [5+2] Green Arrow Construct (E JL Green Arrow) - 70 (6/7) K9 @
4) [3] Blaster Construct (E LoS Lightning Lad) - 70 (1/6) P16

Total: 330

Vs.

The Inversion:
1) Atrocitus (V Mera) – 85 Koed
w/ Blood Oath - 10 (Targets Hal Jordan)
2) Bestial Construct (U Colonel Logan) - 70 KOed
3) Demon Construct (R JL The Flash) - 70 KOed
4) Serpent Construct (E M&M Iron Man) - 70 KOed

Total: 305

LO: I16, P10, S3
HO: K9, H17, P16

Map: http://www.ianparmenter.com/hcutils/...-1&u1=x-470y47

Scenario Rules:

--> Because the constructs are made real by the will of the two combatants, they can be shaken by any significant attack against either man. Any time Hal Jordan or Atrocitus are hit and take damage from an attack where the roll was doubles, all their constructs take a cumulative -1 penalty to all their stats (attack, damage, movement, defense, and range) until the end of their player’s next turn.[/quote]

Individual:
[23] Hal Jordan 23 IAP = 5 IXP 3 IAP

Guests:
[4] Boxing Glove Construct (R Knockout)
[7] Green Arrow Construct (E JL Green Arrow)
[3] Blaster Construct (E LoS Lightning Lad)
= 14 TAP = 3 TXP 2 TAP

Team
[37] 9 TXP, 3 TAP

KO’s
Atrocitus (V Mera) – 85 Koed
w/ Blood Oath - 10 (Targets Hal Jordan)
Bestial Construct (U Colonel Logan) - 70 KOed
Demon Construct (R JL The Flash) - 70 KOed
Serpent Construct (E M&M Iron Man) - 70 KOed

Total: 305

Total (305)/4 = 76.25 TAP = 76 TAP = 19 TXP 0 TAP

Totals for this game:
Individual:
Hal Jordan (V Cr Green Lantern) 5 IXP 3 IAP

Team
28 TXP, 3 TAP

End of Arc Rolls:
1st issue of arc, no rolls.

Old Totals:
V CR Green Lantern 9 IXP, 2 IAP (166 points)
* With Force Field
E Katma Tui 50 IXP, 0 IAP (139 points)
V Leg Jade 5 IXP, 3 IAP (112 points)
R G’nort 18 IXP, 0 IAP (88 points)
E Tomar Tu (Tomar Re) 16 IXP, 2 IAP (127 points)
Green Lantern (CJ) John 10 IXP, 1 IAP (89 points)

Team: 124 TXP 0 TAP

New Totals
V CR Green Lantern 15 IXP, 1 IAP (172 points)
* With Force Field
E Katma Tui 50 IXP, 0 IAP (139 points)
V Leg Jade 5 IXP, 3 IAP (112 points)
R G’nort 18 IXP, 0 IAP (88 points)
E Tomar Tu (Tomar Re) 16 IXP, 2 IAP (127 points)
Green Lantern (CJ) John 10 IXP, 1 IAP (89 points)

Team: 152 TXP 3 TAP

Team size calculation:
V CR Green Lantern (Hal) 157
* With Force Field
E Katma Tui 89
V Leg Jade 107
R G’nort 70
E Tomar Tu (Tomar Re) 111
R CJ Green Lantern (John) 81
Total= 615 Round down to 600
Squad Size = 600/2 + 50 = 350 point squad

End Post:

Hal was having a hard time focusing. As he pushed more of his focus through his ring, his constructs grew stronger and brighter, but his vision was wavering at the edges for some reason. He could taste blood in his mouth, and as hard as he tried he could not stop the shaking of his muscles and hands. He felt like he was already in round 13 of a heavyweight bout, and the fight had only just started.

“You feel it,” Atrocitus shouted. “It is in you – there’s no point fighting! Feel it in your veins, in your pulse, rushing out from your heart; the red flame will at last be lit!”

“All I feel,” Hal gritted out, his vision tunneling until all he could see clearly was the grotesque figure ahead of him, “is pissed off!”

He lunged with his fist forward and his constructs leapt from his imagination to life, channeled outward through the power of his ring. But when they came, they were veined with red and pulsed crimson and green like a reflection of the conflict in his own body. He let himself scream, letting his anger at being trapped on this desolate planet, his anger at this sick thing taunting and attacking him for no reason, his anger at suffering the whims of these cosmic lunatics and their elaborate games. He was tired of being somebody else’s pawn and sick of being somebody else’s target.

It was time he did the targeting.

The constructs tore through Atrocitus’ own defenses. Hal thought he saw reflections of people he knew in the red constructs as they were destroyed – Katma… John… Carol… It only made him more furious.

He watched Atrocitus’ skeletal face laughing, missing teeth making openings down his festering gullet. Blood still frothed at the edges of his mouth, and he reared back with his arms out. One fist slammed his chest.

“It is in you, now – but can you use it?” he challenged. “Do you have the strength to finish what I have begun?”

“I’ll finish things alright,” Hal said, feeling a swell of satisfaction at how much stronger his ring seemed again. It was like he was back to full power – and he was aching to use it. “I’m ending you right now—permanently.”

He blasted Atrocitus with all he had, and the monster didn’t seem to even try defending himself. He was taken off his feet by the power of the blast and landed in a heap in the blood pool. Hal was on him in seconds, and the two struggled against each other in the crimson tide.

Hal was almost outside himself. He barely registered the feeling of the blood swirling around his body as he slammed his fist into the monster’s side. He could hardly feel the tearing of his skin as claws scraped at his arm, his shoulder, his side. Then he was flipped and Atrocitus was over him. His vision went red as he was submerged, the air taken from his lungs and massive, boney hands clutched his throat. Hal desperately tried to make his ring work, but couldn’t think clearly enough to focus its energy.

What is happening to me? he thought through the swirling cloud of anger that boiled his blood in his veins. Visions swam through the blood pool all around his head. He saw Katma being brought before the Guardians while three of his friends dove desperately into the unknown void of forbidden space. He saw Arisia standing before him and offering her hand. He took it, and was lost. He closed his eyes and his vision was black and then white. He saw himself clothed in ebony, cold and empty but eternal. He saw himself dressed in pure light and his heart broke for the feeling that filled it.

He saw his death.

He saw his life.

He saw how futile it all was, in a world where all possible futures were already written.

And he saw Atrocitus sitting on a throne of skulls with an army of nude berserkers whose sweat ran red, their eyes bloodshot and pupils shrunken and blank. As he raised his fist, they charged and the universe burned. All the while, the creature laughed. He laughed! The Green Lantern Corps was scorched and destroyed for all time, and still that laughter… that mocking, gargled laughter…

Hal saw Atrocitus above him through the red soup of blood that was drowning him. He grit his teeth in fury and let himself give in. He could not die here – not now. All that mattered now was his own survival, and only one thing stood in his way.

He slammed his fist into the beast’s face, then again. Again. Over and over until his knuckles split and finally the creature relented and let go his throat. Hal kicked up and drew his first fresh breath of air, tasting the copper of the blood in his mouth as it ran like the waters of a baptismal font over his body. Atrocitus stared at him with wide eyes, expectantly. He raised his fist and screamed a cry that came from deep in his gut and ground its way past is throat like slabs of brick dragged across the highway.

From within his ring, a blast of emerald-crimson launched out and pierced the monster’s chest. With one short, powerful blast, it erupted through him and disintegrated his heart.

The sound of laughter finally died in Hal’s ears. He stared through the hole in Atrocitus’ chest, then up to the empty eyes above. The towering thing fell backward and sank into the pool, disappearing into the red.

Hal lurched forward and dropped to his knees at the bank of the pool. He could hardly breath and couldn’t stop his heart pounding a furious drumbeat through his ears. He looked down at his hands, his body, all covered in red viscous liquid… he heard voices in his head… he had to get them out! He had to get away!

He launched forward, running blindly through the city. He ran into building corners and fell over low walls, but never stopped moving. When he got out of the crimson citadel, he kept running until he reached the end of the ruined city that housed it. Not even watching where he was going in his blind desperation to get away from the voices all around him, he didn’t see the ground drop off in front of him until his feet stepped down and found nothing beneath but air.

He fell to the ground and tumbled down the steep, rocky hillside for a long way before he finally came to a stop. Pebbles and stones rolled down all around him and he weakly stared up at the red sky. His mouth moved, but made no sound as darkness claimed him and he passed into unconsciousness.

The last time he heard the voices speak to him, they said a single final phrase…

“It is done – the red flame is lit.”

To Be Continued…