Caterpillar

Massacre

It was an enormous hall. He could barely make out its outer walls but he could not see the ceiling. There were no windows and there were no lights either. Though he could not see his hand in front of his face, he could hear the collective breathing of a large group of living beings. Through his Sage senses, he could feel there were thousands of them gathered in the hall.

An orange-red flame bloomed in the palm of his hand. When his surroundings were revealed, he paled.

Thousands of yellow-skinned humanoid beings were hanging from the ceiling in translucent fleshy cocoons. Tentacle-like plants, just like the one that had got the drop on him a few hours before, were wrapped around each of those Debstam inhabitants' neck, torso or face. It was a giant hive.

'It's just like back then.'

He was reminded of how the God Tree had captured the entirety of the Elemental Nations, every living being, and encased them in cocoons, putting them into an eternal slumber. Just like the tentacle plants were doing to their victims. Each one of them was experiencing something no different than the Infinite Tsukuyomi that Madara had cast back in his homeworld.

Sounds of teeth-gnashing came from him and his face became livid. A rage that his hands started shaking came over him. Veins were pulsating on his temples and his breathing came out in gasps. He was hyperventilating.

It was at that time that the sound of people talking reached his ears. His wildly beating heart slowed down and he got a hold of his violent emotions. But his red, slit eyes shone with ferocity.

'Whoever did this. I'll rip them to shreds. I'll-, I'll-"

He could not continue that thought. Just thinking about it made him see red in front of his eyes.

⁂

"How are the tests going?" A massive humanoid being asked. He was bald, his skin was a dirty yellow colour and his eyes were completely red. His skin-tight purple costume showed off his incredibly muscular physique.

"We have successfully modified the genetic data of the Black Mercy." a man similar in stature and appearance to him answered. They looked like they were related. The difference came mostly in the outfit he was wearing: a blue and dark pink costume with a bright yellow symbol on his chest. It was none other than the Yellow Lantern Corps' symbol.

"Previously, Black Mercy would have offered its victims a painless death, giving them the perfect life they've always dreamed of. However, I changed it. My yellow power ring gave me new insights that I have never thought about before. I made it so after tasting the sweetness of their version of Paradise, their greatest fears would come to life. The emotional trauma would increase the speed at which the Black Mercy feeds on their psychic energy, eventually draining all the vitality from their body. The victims would die an agonizing death, worse than any physical torture could ever bring them."

The two muscular yellow-skinned humanoids were none other than Mongul and his son who carried the same name as him, Mongul the Younger.

A cruel smile appeared on Mongul's face.

"Good. Good." he said, repeating himself. "They took Warworld from me. That lowly slave, Draga, that Kryptonian and the Justice League, I will pay them back for that humiliation tenfold. How sweet it will be to see them all bent on their knees in front of me, begging me to kill them."

He broke into laughter. Similarly, Mongul the Younger laughed along with him.

"What about our other project?" Mongul asked.

"My sister is dealing with it. Our fleet is almost ready. We are missing some personnel though. We have killed too many in the last pandemic. But they're just rubble. We could always get more slaves from another planet. Fear will keep them in line." his son replied and raised his fist to look at the Yellow Power Ring on his middle finger.