2.I
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"They just completely forgot we were here." Connor said.
"Mmm." Michael agreed.
A moment passed.
"Do you think we should tell the Justice League?" Connor asked.
Michael shrugged. "I think I'll stay up here. Earth is pretty."
They both turned, seeing the planet before them.
"It is." Connor agreed.
There was a brief hum, and the energy field surrounding them collapsed. All at once, the air rushed away, leaving only the void of space.
They looked at each other. Connor's mouth moved, and no sound came out. Michael's eyebrow raised in response, before he turned back to Earth.
A short moment later, Connor sighed soundlessly, airlessly, and joined him.
+++
"- as, amazingly, Pluto has turned green. The Hubble Space Telescope shows that there are forests growing there, and the planet has heated up to almost 77 degrees." The News Anchor said excitedly, the word 'EXCLUSIVE' running along the bottom of the screen.
Hal flicked the TV screen off. The remote was placed carefully to the side as he stared straight forwards, mind running a mile a minute.
He considered the possibilities, the probabilities, and came to a single conclusion.
"Gardner."
He leapt out of his seat, his Power Ring flying to his hand in the same moment.
"Ring, call Lantern Gardner."
"Connection established." His ring responded promptly, before an entirely different voice rang through. "Hey, Hal-"
"Gardner." Hal all but growled. "What did you do?"
"No idea what'cha talkin' 'bout."
"Gardner, Pluto is green. What. Did. You. Do?!"
"Eh..." Gardner went incriminatingly silent for a few seconds. "I... mighta made a bet?"
"God damn it, Gardner!"
+++
"God damn it, Gardner." John sighed. "What the hell were you thinking?"
"In my defence!" Guy holds his finger up. "I was thinking it was impossible."
"And now, here we are." Batman spoke, his voice low. "With Pluto terraformed."
"I'll admit, I was wrong." Guy looked like he bit into a lemon when he said it. "Because really, it should be impossible."
"How does Pluto turn into a forest, anyway?" Flash asked. "There wouldn't be enough light for trees, right?"
"Eh..." Guy scratched at the back of his head. "Ring, tell 'em what you told me."
"Confirmed." Guy's Power Ring supplied. "Pluto now possess a network of subterranean roots throughout the body. These roots absorb ice, which is broken down into hydrogen, oxygen, and other base elements. From there, the elements flow through the roots. Hydrogen is transported towards large hubs, where it undergoes fusion. The heat from this process flows outwards, and is released through the trees, heating the surface of the planet. The energy released is used to sustain the life of the plant network."
"I'm sorry." Captain Atom interrupted. "Did your ring just say that the plants are fusion powered?"
"Yeah, that was my reaction." Guy nodded. "It ain't done, by the way."
"Some method of gravitational manipulation has also increased the surface gravity to Earth-equivalence. Scans cannot identify the source of this effect, but it is suspected to occur from the roots. Deepening scans. The fusion process continues until heavier elements are formed. Certain elements, once created, are moved to the surface, creating fertile ground. Other elements continue fusion, or are fissioned back into hydrogen. Note: fission process somehow releases extraneous energy despite fissioning elements that are lighter than iron. Fusion of elements heavier than iron also releases extraneous energy. Scans are inconclusive as to why."
"What." Captain Atom said.
"That's impossible." Hawkman reared back.
"Yeeep." Guy agreed. "Except it clearly ain't."
"That is literally not possible." Captain Atom stood up. "Physics makes that impossible! You can't fission lighter-than-iron and get energy out of it! That's not how nuclear fission works!"
"Yeeeeep." Guy agreed. "Except it clearly ain't."
Captain Atom opened his mouth, before closing it. He sack back down with a thud, clearly confused.
"Is it... tapping into other energy sources?" Hawkwoman asked. "The Bleed? Fusion on such a scale could probably produce the energy needed to make a torsion influence happen..."
"Nope." Guy shook his head. "Ring was monitoring everything it could. The Bleed was solid, stable, and untouched."
"The Quantum Field?" Hawkwoman suggested.
"Nada." Guy shot the suggestion down.
"... The Emotional Spectrum?" She tried.
Guy shot her a look.
She nodded, looking away.
It had been a stupid question anyway.
"Then how?" Hawkman asked. "Even the most effective energy generators of Thanagar still require tapping into something in order to step around physics. How is it generating energy contrary to the laws of physics?"
"I don't know!" Guy growled. "I don't know, and my Power Ring can't figure it out. It's a pretty damn big deal, right?"
"Yes." Batman cut in. "Like the terraforming of Pluto you provoked."
Guy did not wince. It was a near thing. "I thought it was a bluff. I was wrong."
"Mistakes do not normally result in planets turning from icy, barren rocks, into lush, jungle worlds over the course of a few hours." Batman noted.
"Well, at least now we know that the Sentient can do that." Guy said. "Because that was a pretty big deal."
"I hate to say it, but he's right." John spoke, voice reluctant. "Pluto is... pretty small. Its diameter is almost five a half times smaller than Earth's. But, this kind of speed?" He looked between the members of the League, and Guy. "Hours to make it habitable. At that kind of speed, Drich could wipe out pretty much everything on this planet in two or three hours."
"Most of that would be travel-time." Hal couldn't help but note. "Did you see that replication rate? It was exponential. Literally seconds in order to double, triple, quadruple the number of bodies. Then each and every single body went and did the same thing."
"We wouldn't be able to stop that, even if we tried." Guy crossed his arms. "We'd have to call in the entire Green Lantern Corp to even have a hope. And by the time they arrived?"
"There would be trillions." Red Tornado stated. "Each one capable of adaptive regeneration, each one capable of subverting technology, each one requiring no food, no drink, no air, and nothing but time. There would be nothing to stop it from swarming endlessly."
"That is not a battle we could win." Superman nodded.
"Then we'll do the smart thing, and not make it a battle." Batman stressed. "It goes without saying that nobody is to provoke the Sentient."
The League nodded.
"Hal, John." Batman looked at them. "If you can find anything on the Sentients, do so. We need to know the limits."
"How could something like this have gone unnoticed for so long?" Hawkman asked, absently.
"Until then, -" Batman continued. "We need to deal with the fallout of Guy's bet. Any suggestions?"
"We'll need to prepare a news conference." Aquaman stated. "Assure the public that there's nothing unsafe."
"Diana?" Zatara suddenly asked.
"Yes?"
"What does Hades think of this?"
"I could not even begin to imagine his reaction." Diana said.
+++
"I am pleased with this string of events." Hades said. "Persephone, dear, would you mind helping me prepare a bundle of flowers?"
"Of course, my love." Persephone smiled, tipping her head in acceptance. "We're going to need many white and purple anemones."
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"Nor lord Pluto's." Diana continued.
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"Suck it, Mars!" Pluto laughed as he chugged his drink. "My planet is better than yours! It has NUCLEAR TREES!"
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"I will have to speak with them about it." She concluded. "I only hope they're not angry."
