04x19 - Encounter Upon the Razor's Edge!

[bunniefuu]

Threezand-a-half months

to collect and assemble materials,

and it takes him less than
ten minutes to install them?

Yeah, sorry it took so long,

but incorporating
these rebuilt components

from your dead Time-Sphere
was a real time suck.

- Is it ready?
- "Is it ready?"

It's almost ready.

I could finish it now. Easy peasy.

- But?
- But I won't.

Not until you finally
tell me everything.

- But the timeline...
- Oh, please.

I'm not even from this timeline.

I'm a wild card, yo. A free radical.

That's why you came to me.

So spill, or we're done.

All right, we're here.

We remain out of sync
with the time stream,

so we're undetectable.

But I'll have to risk syncing.

Isn't it time you explained
our mission, Lor-Zod?

I've told you what you need to do.

What, not why.

Darkseid ordered you to obey me.

And we will.

But only a fool
goes into a mission blind.

And the Ma'alefa'ak is no fool.

So spill, or were done.

[theme music playing]

[ethereal music playing]

New Genesis.

Breathtaking.

Yeah, I guess the scenery
will be nice to look at

while we totally waste our time
at the summit.

You do not harbor high hopes
for this conference?

Surely between the New Gods,

the Justice League
and the Green Lantern Corps...

Da-da-da-da. Tomar-Re,

there's an old proverb by Bolovax Vik.

"You want nothing done,
form a committee."

[beeping]

Emergency distress call. Hit it.

[intense music playing]

There!

[Tomar-Re] It appears to be a
member of the Blue Lantern Corps.

His life support aura rapidly fades.

- I suggest...
- [Kilowog] Way ahead of you.

Branwilla's Ghost!

This ain't no Blue Lantern.

- [chuckles] This is Razer!
- Kilowog?

[grunts]

It is as I feared. [exclaims]

I am dead

and in The Place of Eternal Torment.

Great to see ya, kid.

Ah, hey, nice duds.

You're coming up in the world.

Leave it to a hothead like you
to planet-hop

without a fully charged power ring, huh?

- [laughs]
- It is fully charged,

but a blue ring
requires hope to function,

and I am all out of hope.

New Genesis officially welcomes

the Justice League to the summit.

Thank you, Orion.

Greetings, Rocket.

Vykin. [chuckles]

Good to see a friendly face.

Were you short on friendly faces here?

[sighs] I admit

I was dreading negotiations
with the Dog of w*r over there.

- Then you must not understand him.
- No?

He's Darkseid's son, right?

Orion is the son of
Highmother and Highfather.

You need to take a closer look,
my friend.

Greetings, Lantern.

Do you attend this summit alone?

Oh, Green Lantern Kilowog
will be along shortly.

He had personal business to attend to.

[Kilowog] Four years.

Four years!

You don't call,
you don't send subspace mail.

And suddenly you're here
wearing blue pajamas.

Spill it, Red. Uh, Blue.

You have not changed a bit, my friend.

Unfortunately, neither have I.

Shortly after we parted,

a blue lantern ring powered by hope

found me in deepest space.

I took it is as a sign
to finally abandon my anger

and gladly did so.

I could not in good conscience
release my red ring

to plague some other
wrath-filled wretch.

So I carried it with me.

A grim reminder of my past.

A chance meeting
with the New God, Metron,

provided a solution.

He would hold the red ring
in his interdimensional vault

while I continued my quest.

But said quest has proven fruitless.

There were many promising clues,

but each led to another dead end.

Hey, come on, kid, don't give up hope.

Don't you see?

I've already lost all hope.

Only my rage remains to power my quest.

So I've come to New Genesis
to get my red ring back.

[Forager] Supertown is indeed beautiful.

Wouldn't Forager agree?

Forager?

[sighs] Forager apologizes to Forager,

but Forager must admit

Forager is surprised Forager
gave up Forager's seat

at the conference.

Forager would not have
made such a choice.

Forager trusts Rocket and Flash
to handle the summit.

And Forager would prefer
to spend Forager's time

getting to know Forager.

[both chirping]

Okay, hit me with it.

[sighs] The Phantom Zone.

Krypton's extra-dimensional prison.

But the Kryptonians never intended

to imprison criminals for eternity.

[scoffs] That would have been too cruel.

Unfortunately, Krypton was destroyed

when its sun exploded.

[expl*si*n]

So, no Kryptonians survived

to release the Phantom Zone prisoners

when their sentences ended.

So when the last Phantom Zone projector

was discovered on New Genesis,

the United Planets paroled
every single inmate

as each one had been trapped in the zone

for over a thousand years.

When my parents were unjustly imprisoned
in the Phantom Zone,

not even my mother knew
that she was already pregnant.

As no one ages or dies there,

she had the honor
of unknowingly carrying

the scion of General Dru-Zod
for a millennium.

Eight months after their
parole in the st century,

I arrived.

The frightened bureaucrats
of the United Planets

had settled all of us

on the Kryptonian colony world, Daxam,

a planet orbiting a red sun,

thus preventing us
from gaining the powers

that were our birthright.

But they didn't count on
my father's ingenuity.

By the time I turned ,

he'd smuggled his loyal followers

along with like-minded Daxamites

to a nearby planet under a yellow sun.

Now that we have our rightful powers,

my father made a valiant attempt

to lead a rebellion
against the United Planets

for the good of the Galaxy.

General Zod was a menace,

determined to assert his dominance

over everyone and everything.

Fortunately, the newly formed

Legion of Super Heroes defeated Zod

with very Phantom Zone projector

that had released him from prison.

The damn Legion put my parents

and their army of patriots
back into the Zone,

depriving the galaxy of true leadership.

But because Lor-Zod
was still a teenager,

they didn't consider him culpable,

and to our sorrow,

he wasn't sent to the Zone.

I was raised to despise the Family El.

Chief Scientist Jor-El

had exposed my father's attempt
to save Krypton

from its own weakness.

Meaning Zod had attempted a coup.

Call it what you will.

What is certain is that Jor-El
conspired with his brother,

Chief Examiner Zor-El,

to sentence my parents to the Zone.

I didn't think I could hate anyone

as much as I hated the Els.

But now, there was the Legion.

Lor-Zod was relentless

in his attempts
to acquire the projector.

Finally,

the Legion had no choice
but to destroy it.

The Legion had permanently consigned

my mother and father to
the hell of the Phantom Zone.

And this Legion,

who do you think
inspired its very existence?

Superboy, Kon-El,

a member of that accursed El family.

That made him twice my enemy.

So planning ahead,

I stole the last known sample
of kryptonite

and this Time-Sphere.

[Saturn girl] So Chameleon
Boy, Phantom Girl, and I

were pursuing Lor
when he escaped to the past.

Chroniton radiation
from his stolen sphere

washed over us.

Making the three of you immune

to the changes Lor made
to the timestream.

Been there, irradiated by that.

We tried to contact Legion HQ.

But there was no Legion HQ.

A quick data search of the new timeline

revealed that Lor had k*lled
Superboy in the past,

and without Conner Kent's inspiration,

the Legion had never formed.

[sighs] With no Legion to stop him,

General Zod now ruled the Galaxy.

There was only one thing to do.

Take the last Time-Sphere

and stop Lor-Zod
from stopping our future.

Metron.

Ah, Razer.

I predicted I would see you again.

The red power ring
I gave you for safekeeping.

I require its return.

Nothing could be simpler.

The red ring will be yours again

in exchange for your blue ring.

The evidence of Darkseid's agents

infiltrating and exploiting
the Earth is undeniable.

What do Highfather's New Gods
intend to do about it?

Nothing.

- Excuse me?
- We will not,

cannot help battle Apokoliptan forces.

But that's why we need you.
That's why we're here.

The truce between
New Genesis and Apokolips

came at a heavy cost.

New Genesis will not be
the first to break that truce.

You're afraid of a fight?

You should all be afraid of that fight.

What is needed is a neutral mediator.

The Green Lantern Corps

is uniquely qualified for such a role.

If even they have the stomach
to defy Apokolips.

They released Darkseid's
Furies and Mantis

only six months
after the Anti-Life event

- at the Orphanage.
- They were poozers.

The big bad, Granny Goodness, got away.

[scoffs] Thanks to you Earthlings.

Earthlings, including the three
Green Lanterns on the scene?

Why are there so many
Green Lanterns from Earth?

It's, uh, hard to find qualified GLs.

You know, somehow
the screwy conditions on Earth

produce a lot of potential candidates.

But each green rings A.I.
chooses its own Lantern

based on a subject's love of justice

and ability to overcome fear
with willpower.

Meanwhile, Earth's bleeding meta-humans.

The League is trying
to stop the hemorrhaging,

but we need the Corps
and the New Gods to do more

to shut down off-world trafficking.

Your petition has been noted.

- That's it?
- You have our sympathy,

but we have an entire galaxy to police.

Finding your lost strays
is not our sole priority.

- But...
- [cell phone vibrating]

[grunts] Excuse me.

Using sketchy historical records,

I pinpointed the one time in the past

prior to the event,
ten years from this era

that inspired the Legion,

when I knew exactly
where the Superboy would be.

From our quick review of
the Galaxy's revised history,

we knew just where Lor would strike.

We time-traveled
to the United Nations last year

when Superboy famously revealed
his existence to the world

and managed to prevent
Lor's assassination of Kon-El.

And you thought that would be
enough to revert the timeline.

Been there, didn't revert that.

[sighs] Lor had escaped,

and still had ten years
worth of opportunities.

And with history now revised again,

we had no idea when, where,
or how Lor would strike.

All we could do was shadow Superboy,

using our powers to hide in plain sight,

waiting for Lor-Zod's next move.

When we learned of Superboy

and Miss Martian's trip to Mars,

we followed them there.

[Chameleon Boy] We did our best to
keep an eye on Kon-El at all times.

[Saturn Girl] That was our plan, anyway.

But Lor was on Mars, too,
with a plan of his own.

By keeping this Sphere out of sync

with the timestream as I am now,

I made it impossible for
the Legionnaires to track me.

I used my heat vision

to destroy the Earthlings' Zeta-Tube

and the M'arzz-Earth
communications satellite,

cutting Superboy off from the League

and any support they might offer.

Then I cut off support from my pursuers

by forcing Saturn Girl
into an unguarded moment

that revealed her psychic
signature to Miss Martian.

The Legion's foolish determination

to minimize interference
with the timestream

compelled them to maintain
their distance from my prey.

Your heart was in the right place

setting that gene b*mb, Ma'alefa'ak.

[Lor-Zod] All that was missing

was a lead box of Kryptonite,

and Kon-El was as good as dead.

We lost visual contact with Superboy,

[sighs] so we split up to find him.

Then,

it happened.

[expl*si*n]

Superboy and Phantom Girl d*ed.

[Ma'alefa'ak] So you k*lled
my sister's fiance.

You have a problem with that?

No.

I simply wanted to thank you.

- What's wrong?
- [Noble] Nothing.

But I just got out
of the school conference and...

Noble, I am in the middle

of an intergalactic summit.

I don't have time for this.

You don't have time for our son?

[sighs]

S-sorry.

Of course, I do.

- Tell me.
- It's basically good news.

The school wants to set

Amistad up with a one-on-one aide,

you know, a shadow, to work
with him in the classroom.

And the district provides
one free of charge.

And Amistad gets stigmatized?

[sighs] You're worried
about the wrong things, Raq.

Appearances don't matter.

We need to help our son.

I'll consider it.

That's it?

Look, that is all
that I can give you right now.

I'm trying to bring peace
to an entire galaxy,

and I'm failing.

[Razer sighs]

Maybe this is a mistake.

[Metron] Is something wrong?

When this ring first chose me,

I was a different man.

Now...

You came to me, Razer.

Have you changed your mind?

When I first donned

my Red Lantern ring on Volkreg,

it felt like injecting acid

directly in my bloodstream.

Apologies in advance
for my screams of agony.

Noted.

[slight gasp]

[Razer] Perhaps it's lost its charge.

[Metron] Fascinating.

Do you know it took less than four years

for you to completely lose hope?

That's one-point-three years

fewer than my initial estimate.

I appreciate your faith in me.

You misunderstand,

this was never about faith.

It was about calculation.

Explain.

Four years ago,

I captured this Blue Ring's
potent energy signal

and tracked it to you.

When we met,

I saw an opportunity
to study not one Ring,

but two.

Thus, I convinced you
to make an exchange.

I did not require convincing.

You agreed to keep the Red Ring

so it would not afflict anyone else.

I manipulated you into reaching
that conclusion, yes.

Since then, I've been occupied
with two endeavors.

One, studying the Red Ring,
its properties and potential

and two, providing you,
surreptitiously, with clues

to aid you in your quest.

False clues that could only lead

to dead ends and the death of hope.

You wasted years of my life
on fool's errands?

And with hope lost,
you predictably return to me

to make this trade.

Now I may study
the Blue Ring at my leisure

as I once studied the Red.

Why tell me this now?

To anger you, obviously.

I've studied the Red Ring
quite thoroughly.

Now, I must see it in action.

You want to make me angry?

You won't like me when I'm angry.

[screaming]

Yes, show me your full potential.

[screaming]

Time with Forager
is very pleasant to Forager.

Forager has a way of saying exactly...

[both] What Forager was thinking.

- [distant expl*si*n]
- [gasps]

[Razer screams]

I am quite pleased with these readings.

Every att*ck generates more force

than the previous.

Yes, exactly.

[Noble] Raquel, I've known you
since you were Amistad's age.

You don't fail, you deal.

Uh, thanks, but I gotta go.

Compelling data.

Unexpected.

[Forager] Look out!

- [Rocket] What's going on here?
- Forager!

[gasps] Forager!

Forager?

Forager!

[exclaims]

Forager!

Forager.

I've been a fool.

Return the Blue Ring, New God.

[screams]

[Metron] This was never about faith.

Show me your full potential.

What is this?

I will have those rings!

[Metron grunts]

[Vykin] What happened?

I-I'm honestly not sure.

All I know is Razer was gonna talk

to some poozer named Metron.

- [sighs] Metron.
- Say no more.

It's okay. He's one of the good guys.

Kinda.

Forager is injured.

[Forager clicking]

[breathing deeply]

Forager.

Forager.

[both clicking]

Forager thanks Red and Blue Lantern

for helping Forager.

She would not have required help,

if not for me.

Please accept my apologies

and my thanks for reminding me
how to hope again.

Foragers are not sure

how Foragers reminded
Red and Blue Lantern.

But Foragers are happy to be of service.

It seems I have more to atone for.

That is not how it was before.

But it will serve.

Thank you, Razer.

I was prepared to give up the Blue Ring,

convinced it would find someone more

suitable than I.

I dunno, Red.

Looks like you're still
the Blue Ring's top choice.

I believe so.

It seems I am equal parts

hope and rage.

Anger is a part of who I am,

but it is no longer all that I am.

At least, I'm hopeful
it doesn't have to be.

Rage, Hope, gnortz,

you've got a ton of willpower too.

We should get you a Green Ring.

Before you know it,
you'll have Rainbow Power.

- [grunts]
- [laughs]

So, uh, what's next, kid?

The continuation of my Quest.

Say hello to Hal for me.

I will find you, Aya.

I will.

With Kon-El dead,

I had guaranteed my parents release

in the next millennium.

But why wait,

when I knew the last
Phantom Zone Projector

was on New Genesis.

Not only had we failed to save Superboy,

[sighs] but we lost Tinya as well.

To make matters worse, Lor-Zod found

and destroyed our Time-Sphere,

stranding us here in the past.

[sighs] Been there. Stranded that.

Fortunately, Miss Martian's
retired Bio-Ship

was no longer part
of the historical record.

So I opened my mind to her,
and she agreed to help.

[Chameleon Boy] We spent the next
month traveling aboard her to Earth.

For months, I searched
New Genesis for the Projector,

eventually learning it was stored

in Metron's inter-dimensional vault.

But even with this Time-Sphere,

I'd never succeed
in retrieving it without aid.

Back on Earth, we turn to the one person

capable of replacing Superboy
in our timeline.

Oh. Uh, me?

No, Superman!

[Saturn Girl] We told him
as little as possible,

but at least there was a chance
he might take Superboy's place

and become the Legion's inspiration.

[Chameleon Boy] Then we came to you,

the only true space-time expert
in this era, on this planet.

Which brings us to now,

and our desperate need for your help.

[Lor-Zod] I traveled to Apokolips

and, using my assassination

of Superboy as a calling card,
appealed to Darkseid himself.

We made a tentative deal,
a winner-take-all arrangement,

which he said was similar
to a pact he'd made before

with some savage or other.

Unfortunately, Darkseid's
truce with New Genesis

prohibited any overt
intervention on his part.

But he did provide resources,

the two of you and this device,
the Kaizer-Thrall.

Together we will find

the coordinates to Metron's vault,

steal the Projector
and release my parents

and the rest from the Phantom Zone.

Then, the galaxy will be ours.

Well?

Step inside.

Ta-da!

As promised, one Bio-Ship

now with its very own...
Cosmic Treadmill!

[Forager] Ah.

[both Foragers sing]

♪ Today is Flash's birthday ♪

♪ So ring the birthday bell ♪

♪ Time to tap antennae ♪

♪ Upon the birthday shell ♪

♪ Today is Flash's birthday ♪

♪ Bugs know just what to do ♪

♪ Forage birthday grubstakes ♪

♪ And Foragers will too ♪

♪ Today is Flash's birthday ♪

♪ Great time to be alive ♪

♪ And to celebrate Jay ♪

♪ With every bug ♪

♪ In hive ♪

[blows]

[cheering]

♪ With every bug in hive ♪

[cheering]

[Rocket] Crash!

[Orion] That is not how it was before.