Vahl-Or stared at the results on the holo-screen in front of him. While H'El communicated the predicted timetable to the Kandorians, he had put every scanner they had to the test to figure out what this new power was.
He had expected it to be a new facet of his Kryptonian abilities. He wished that had been the case.
The ability hadn't pulled on his solar reserves. So he had made the computers check if he had encountered this energy or anything like it. They all came back with the same result.
This was the same energy that had been utilized by the human Speedster Flash. Apparently, the amount he used to sucker-punch Vahl-Or back on Earth had done far more than breach his durability. Some of it had been absorbed into his body.
This in itself wasn't concerning. He had discovered he could sometimes absorb energies emitted by opponents before. He had even trained his body to absorb electricity by letting himself get struck by natural lightning, granting himself temporary electrokinesis.
Key word being temporary. Without a constant source, like what he got from solar bodies, the energies would inevitably run out.
Except this time, it wasn't. The energy was growing. Which meant the Flash hadn't gotten his abilities from a meta-gene. It was a connection to a foreign source.
And Vahl-Or had no idea what this source was. And that was a problem. If it was a dimension of energy, that wasn't all that bad. If it was an entity, though, that's where problems began.
An entity would have its own desires and beliefs. There would be different problems depending on if him having its power was accidental or on purpose.
And either way, he was possibly screwed if he didn't know about any possible side effects. Every speedster he had ever met before had either been magic or a result of genetics (artificial or otherwise). They had no precedent to go off of by themselves in this scenario.
There was only one place he could possibly go for answers. And he really did not want to go back there right now.
"So, what now?"
H'El had entered behind him and instantly took in the information on the screen.
"Honestly, it's either we figure this out ourselves, hoping this energy isn't connected to a sentient entity, or go back there, and hope the Speedster is amicable enough to explain what he knows."
"Maybe the Guar-"
"We are not asking the Oans for help."
Vahl-Or really did not like those blue immortals. Ever since his relatively brief time as a Lantern, he and the Guardians had been on shaky terms. The self-proclaimed logical thinkers had gotten on his nerves more often than not. How they thought a single Lantern was enough to guard several galaxies was beyond him. One for each system, maybe. The only ones he respected in any capacity were Ganthet and Sayd, who were no longer on Oa, anyway. He'd help the Lanterns when needed, even gave them access to most Waypoints, but he was going nowhere near Sector Zero. He had established New Krypton outside "Guardian Space" for a reason.
"Even if I was willing to deal with those illogical recluses, they don't know everything. I spent a good portion of my time as a Lantern learning their science, and it takes a while for them to discover new stuff. I had almost everything on the Ring downloaded here, so if we don't know about this, it's unlikely they do."
"But not impossible. Besides, isn't it illogical to presume they don't know just because we don't? I doubt they put everything on those Rings."
Vahl-Or signed. H'El had a point. But even if they knew anything, it was far better to ask someone who DEFINITELY knew something then someone who MIGHT. And he explained as such.
"Hmm... Why not both, Vahl?"
"Both what, H'El?"
"Figure some things out, then head to Earth to ask this Flash guy. You'd be less likely to somehow kill yourself on the journey if you had a grasp on these new abilities."
Vahl-Or thought about that suggestion. He could see the logic in that. Sure, there were still potential problems, but each path had pros and cons. Plus, the less he saw of the Guardians, the better.
Or that decapitation-happy Amazon.
"Alright, we'll get started on that, but first, let's set up the growth pad for Kandor."
"Yeah, that's the spirit," H'El cheered, going to pat his friend on the shoulder...
Only for his hand to phase through. Vahl-Or had seen the energy crackle and a felt a buzzing sensation over his whole arm.
"Yeah, let's hurry it up."
"Agreed."
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So, yeah, Vahl-Or has access to the Speed Force, but has a barebones idea of what it is or does. In canon, the lightning that struck Barry Allen had been his future self going all out against Eobard Thawne. Since Superman is capable of absorbing other forms of energy, I thought this would be a pretty cool idea.
Other powers from absorbing different energies:
1. Black Holes - Skirting the edge of the Event Horizon let's him absorb large amounts of Hawking Radiation, granting the ability to alter his own gravitational field. Discovered by accident, as he is not stupid enough to intentionally go anywhere near a black hole.
2. Neutron Stars - Grants a magnetic field that he can control the output of. A Magnetar is a step up.
3. Meta-Abilities - Absorbing energy unique to different metas sent at him by attacks allows him to either store that energy for later use or send it right back at his opponent. This does not always work, so he doesn't really rely on this.
4: Ambient Magic: Done by Superman in the comics, in this reality, it is unique to magic-wielding Kryptonians. Magic-rich areas are a great fuel source to power-up his spells, as well as increasing his resistance to magical attacks. This only works with Ambient Magic in the air, not directed magic (i.e. attacks, already stored magic, etc.). This does disrupt his solar abilities until the magic is used up, though given his age and experience, this isn't usually a problem.