Razer takes Spectrum to a ruined planet for training. Trying to balance Rage with Hope keeps turning Chief into Blue, so they turn to using powers in sequence. Chief’s blades and Sin’s spikes clang against the metal remains of the planet’s buildings. The scattered Sound of Syndrome and Vertigo assembles into Dissonance.

Spectrum discovers that it reacts to the sounds of his constructs, regardless of their color. With Green empowering Razer’s Blue, they use a larger Liberty Bell and a Blue cannonball to scatter it. Back on Oa, Specs heads for Guy’s bar. The night ends with trust, Vi0ut, and a fade to black; the morning leaves a real metal key, a conjured thank-you, an orchid, and a mushroom.

The Story

The morning on Oa

“It experienced loss”

The Story

The morning on Oa

The morning begins with Razer and Aya and the discussion of pooled power. Razer wants to see Spectrum use Blue and Green at the same time.

“Razer, my love, we have discussed this.”

“I know, Aya, but imagine that power!”

“I don’t have to, Razer.”

Aya gives him a stern look.

Aya has been superpowered, and it killed her. Razer was there.

“You’re right…”

He turns to Specs.

“I’m sorry…”

He turns more quickly to Aya, takes her cheek in his hand, and kisses her gently.

Aya has maintenance to perform on her ship. Specs heads out with Razer for training.

“It experienced loss”

Razer has selected a nearby planet. They fly there. He explains that it is barren of lifeforms but offers an excellent environment for training.

Specs looks around at what was clearly once a thriving planet. Cities. Buildings. Infrastructure. Not like Earth’s, but advanced.

Now it looks as though Judgment Day has been through it.

“…It… experienced loss,” Razer says, with a look of pain.

Rage and Hope

Spectrum slips into Chief, and they start by talking. Razer explains not pushing Rage away, but focusing it on things worth being mad about. He is not a scholar or a long-standing good guy. He is trying to embrace and understand who and what he is, and shares that as best he can.

He tries to explain letting Hope bring balance to Rage. Chief slides Blue.

The Red/Blue meditation keeps ending in Blue. They give up on trying to wield two hues at once outside IndiKid and focus on using multiple powers, learning to make them play off each other.

“Or, whatever that means for you… I guess,” Razer says, questioning himself.

He tries to keep his tone steady, even when he does not know what to say. He keeps up with the right name for Spectrum’s form, even during rapid sliding, refusing to withhold that respect.

Chief and Sin have similar fighting styles. Chief slings whips with blades; Sin whips chains with spikes. The bump through Orange makes the changes less smooth—a hiccup when he does not want or need one.

They make a lot of noise. Like ringing a doorbell.

Dissonance

One of the spikes clangs against still-standing metal infrastructure: a building’s solid framework, nothing but metal beams.

What scattered from the twins assembles in front of Razer and Spectrum at the speed of Sound, complete with thunder.

The booming leaves them queasy. Its roar knocks them back.

“Nope, still don’t hate being right,” Spectrum says aloud to himself.

Dissonance is uglier than Syndrome. The twins have reformed together.

During the fight, Spectrum notices the sounds bothering it. The closer to it, the more they bother it—but not when the sounds come from Razer’s constructs.

“Hey, make/do this!”

“Why?!”

“DO IT!”

Razer’s attempt produces a sound. The entity does not respond.

It is Spectrum’s constructs. The color does not matter. It is his sounds.

“Make it Blue!”

Spectrum slides to Green and immediately feels Razer’s presence. He looks over and sees Razer powering up too: Red and Blue, with his Blue at full power beside Green.

Green makes a fist and looks at his Ring construct.

“Sorry, Sound Buddy, I’ll give it right back…”

He looks at Razer and shouts.

“Get ready to give me something big… and make it Blue!!!”

Green points his Ring at the entity.

“Please work.”

He sounds more worried than hopeful.

Green light: the Liberty Bell, larger than last time, right beside the thing’s head.

“NOW!!!!”

Razer fires a massive Blue cannonball at the bell.

“Please ring true… please ring true… please ring true!!!”

BONG.

Scattering.

Back for a drink

“I need a drink!”

Green slides into IndiKid. Using Green, he ropes Razer and pulls him close, holds up the Indigo Tribe staff, and teleports them to Oa.

“How was your training?” Aya asks with a smile.

“I’m getting a drink.”

IndiKid slides to Sin and saunters quickly out the door to Guy’s bar.

Aya turns to Razer, worried.

“Did I say something offensive?”

“Not at all, my love. Training was… well… I agree, your friend is… loud.”

“What’s on tap?”

Sin walks into the bar.

“Whiskey, fast!”

“You’ve been hanging here off and on ever since you first came to Oa… not once have you ordered a real drink… you good?”

Guy sets down the drink. Sin slides to Specs, downs the shot, and slides back to Sin as the glass slams onto the bar.

While this happens, Guy closes and locks the otherwise empty, dimming bar.

Sin turns to him.

“Need another?” Guy asks, stepping closer.

Sin grins his grin.

“What’s on tap?”

“I think I want to try something new.”

The key

Vi0ut is there, kneeling, head down.

Guy lifts his chin, runs his hand up Vi’s cheek to his head, then down his back to get the key.

As he leans forward to reach it, he kisses Vi’s forehead.

Fade to black.

The morning after

Vi gets lost in a dream. Specs wakes held by Guy.

Next to him is a key. The key—but not the key?

It is real. Real-real, not play-play. Metal, not a construct. But it is certainly the key.

Specs looks at Guy and smiles. He gently waves a hand beside the bed.

A finished note appears.

“it’s not the real one, exactly… just a trinket. Thank you.”

Instead of a name, there is a rainbow smear of ink, clearly a spectrum. Specs smiles at it. It looks cool, but that is not why it is there.

What name would he sign?

He leaves. There is no pause to write.

The key and note remain. Conjured on top of the note are an orchid from Mogo and a mushroom.

About The Story

Unleashed

The fight allows Red and Sin to let loose while Specs bears the experience of using them. The title also plays on Vi0ut’s later release with Guy. The action and the intimacy concern different ways of letting part of himself out.

Recombination

Syndrome is the creature first encountered with Halo. The earlier separation did not permanently erase it. When sound entities reform together, their combination can produce Dissonance—a new and more difficult encounter.

The writer’s comparison to the Gems concerns the possibility of coming apart and recombining. The thought that The Voice could simply say “separate” belongs to the scale of power Specs will eventually have, beyond what he can consciously do in this fight.

Green and the Ring

Patty’s connection avoids the physical ring that normally stands between a Lantern’s Will and a construct. His own Ring supplies familiar conceptual functions, and he uses it for communications and scans as the Lanterns do. His experience is still filtered through what he believes those functions mean.

Friends with chemistry

Sexuality and romance can connect without being inseparable. Vi’s time with Guy concerns friendship, trust, shared desire, and understanding. “Friends with chemistry” is the phrase in the writer’s notes.

Guy’s taking the key for the night and his later keeping it close express that connection. The proposed later glimpse of the key under his shirt gives that meaning through an object rather than a declaration of romance.

The key, the note, and the signature

The key beside Specs is real metal rather than the construct he recognizes. He smiles, conjures the note, and leaves; conjuring it does not require him to sit and write.

The spectrum smear takes the place of a name because no single name quite answers what he would sign. The note displays everyday magic beside a question about where the key came from. The orchid and mushroom continue with it to Alan’s mantle, where their later presence carries the connection forward.

Writer's Notes

The opening and the fight

The later opening puts the pooled-power conversation before training. The longer account follows the fight and the way the different hues meet it.

From the writer’s notes

okay, so we start the morning with Razer and Aya, we have the pooled power discussion… we head out for training with Razer, Aya has maiteance to perfom on her ship (you know the one wink-wink (see: GLTAS)).

From the writer’s notes

okay, so we need to meet Guy in S1: Green… that way we have a actual face to face, he can be part of the welcome to Oa… also part of that is meeting the GL record keeper (I can’t think of the name, but they’re the inspiration for Gaze’s computer interface)

Also, I want to change the setting of the fight… this was meant to be a training excerices, so Razer has selected a nearby planet they’ve flown to… he explains it’s barren of lifeforms, but offers an excellent environment for training… when they arrive, Specs looks around at what was obviously, at some point, a thriving planet: cities, buildings, infrastrucutre… not like on earth, but clearly advanced … but it looks like a scene from T2, like Judment Day been all up in there… “… it … experienced loss” Razer says with a look of pain (he was Judgment Day back in the day)

This gives us the metal Sin and Chief’s (remember, on Oa, they aint good with calling him a color, and it’s weirder when your also the color… Razer doesn’t have to cheat here, unlike some, he’s always excellent at using the right name at the right time, even during rapid sliding, he keeps up… as if he’s not capable of or, even more so, refusing to let himself not offer that respect… a good reader and knower will know it’s cause that path of thinking is what leads to people questioning the validity of his love (Aya), and he won’t be having that - cause he kept the Red for a reason!)

They start. out trinaing, slipping into Chief and just talking… letting Razer explain not pushing the rage away, but focusing it on things worth being mad out (it’s important to remeber Razer isn’t a shcolar… or a long standing good guy… he’s just a guy trying to embrace and understand who and what he is… and he shares that in language as best he can), he tries to say to let Hope bring balance to the Rage, but that just results in Chief sliding Blue.

As planned: the Red/Blue “meditation” attempt that kept reulsing in Blue, was enough to give up on the idea of trying to wield two hues at once outside of IndiKid… so they focus on making use of multiple powers in general and leraning how to make them play off each other “or, whatever that means for you.. I guess” Razer says self-questioningly; Razer tries to maintan a steady tone when speaking always, even when he doesn’t know what to say.

Chief and Sin have similiar fighting styles, so it’s easy to play off them… but since there’s that bump of orange, it doesn’t go as fast (not that it’s slow, it’s just like having a hiccup when you don’t want/need it) Chief slings whips with blades, and Sin whips chains with spikes… and it makes a lot of noise… like ringing a doorbell.

when one of the spikes clanged a still standing, but solid metal infrastucurre (think abuilding that wasn’t finished, but has nothing but metal beam infratrucure) what was scene dispersing from the twins is now assembling at the speed of sound (complete with thunder) in front of Razer and Chief/Sin, the booming leaves them queassy, and when it roars, it knocks them back … then the fight… it’s just a fight but he does notice the sounds bugging him now, the closer to it, the more it bugs him, but not when it’s Razer’s constrcuts making sound (they test that with “hey, make/do this!” “Why?!” “DO IT!” the attempt brings nothing, a sound is made but no response from the entitity … It’s Spectrums Constructs…. the color doesn’t matter, it’s just his sounds… Spectrum slides to Green, immediatly feeling Razer’s presence and looking over to see Razer powering up as well (now he’s a Red and a Blue at max GL-Buddy power); Making a fist and looking at the Green ring construct “sorry Sound Buddy, I’ll give it right back… looking at Razer and shouting get ready to give me something big… and make it Blue!!!”

Green Spectrum points his ring at the entity “please work” he says less hopeful and more worried… schwing goes Green light) the Liberty Bell… larger than last time, right next to the things head “NOW!!!! he shouts at Razer as Razer access and fires a massive Blue cannon ball at the bell please ring true… please ring true… pleas ring true!!!” BONG*

Scattering.

“I need a drink!” Green Spectrum slides into IndiKid, uses the Green to “rope” Razer and pull him close, holds up the Indigo Tribe staff and teleports them to Oa.

“How was your training?” Aya asked with a smile. “I’m getting a drink” IndiKid slides to Sin and saunters quickly out the door to Guy’s Bar. Aya, turning to Razer worried “Did I say something offensive?” “Not at all, my love. Training was… well… I agree, your friend is… loud.”

Coming apart and returning

Syndrome’s first separation with Halo leaves it capable of returning. The involvement of Was is part of the writer’s explanation, while the physical result can still exceed what Specs understands.

Comparisons and the future Voice

The Gems comparison and the imagined simplicity of “separate” are thoughts about the underlying mechanism and the power still ahead.

From the writer’s notes

I also like, not that I’ll talk about it in story.. the idea that they’re like the Gems (see: Stevens Universe)

From the writer’s notes

I also love the idea that I know all he had to do was, as The Voice, say aloud to Dissonance “separate” or similar and the components would have… Sound bows to The Voice (one way or another).

Patty’s Ring

The familiar functions and the missing physical intermediary explain why his experience differs from the Lanterns’.

From the writer’s notes

exactly… also, science fact: the rings are the probelm with cracking.. no matter how hard they see that image solid the whole time… that damn ring’s AI is gonna fuck it up and slow it down at the worst time… it sounds jokey, but this is my reasoning for why it’s so simple for Patty: there’s not middleware.

From the writer’s notes

yep… and while Patty’s Ring is a constuct, and it does have the same functions and limits… these are conceptual limits and functions, things that are part of the Green… programing isn’t part of the Green… even Specs understanding of it all is skewed, he treats his Ring(s) like all the GL’s do (Comms, scans, etc)… he knows these functions are a thing and he’s tapped into something that makes it spit out answers… in this case, same function, but he’s the middleware

The bar

The scene begins with urgency and Guy’s familiarity.

From the writer’s notes

So, we’ve left Aya and Razer, Sin is walking into the bar “Whiskey, fast!” “You’ve been hanging here off and on ever since you first came to Oa… not once have you ordered a real drink… you good?” Guy sets down the drink Sin slides to Specs, downs the shot, and slides back to Sin as the glass slams on the bar. As this was happening, Guy locked and closed the otherwise empty and dimming bar. Sin turns to Guy “Need another?” Guy steps closer, Sin grins his grin “What’s on tap?” “I think I want to try something different”

The chin and the key

Guy asks “Need another?” At the later “try something new,” Vi appears kneeling with his head down. Guy’s hand lifts his chin, moves over him, and takes the key. The view does not show what Vi cannot see.

Friends with chemistry

The writer’s distinction between sexuality, connection, Love, and romance is central to what this encounter means.

From the writer’s notes

ooh, Spectrum: Unleashed… that’s good!!! (and a secret play on words if you fully understand Vi)… which means lets change that order… we need Vi’s intro sooner… then later Unleashed… cause Guy will be they guy… the one who lets Vi out to play… and it sets something that’s important to me (the writer): sexuality and romantic emotions are connected, but not intrinsically linked for all… Vi0ut can “serve” Guy and it be about their friendship, connection, mututal undesttandings and desires and romance never enter the picture… l/Love, sure, sometimes, often…. but that doesn’t equate to romantic… this is why letting Vi out is so damn hard… this is something Specs (and I) have always understood: sexuality is another tool and it can tinker and be used to work out a whole hell of a lot and THAT’S FUCKING OKAY!!!! So, Sin lands Guy… but when Guy asks a question… something he “want’s to try”… stammering, Viout appears, kneels, and waits for Guy to lift his chin as his hand mooves up Vi’s face, rubbing his head, down his back, to take the key… at least, for the night.

The morning and the spectrum signature

The note is conjured whole. The spectrum smear answers the uncertainty of what name he would sign.

From the writer’s notes

oh yeah… back to that night with Guy… the next morning, Vi got lost in a dream and Specs woke up being held by a GL with more story than most would believe for a “backup”. Next to him, a key… the key… but, not the key? I mean, it is… but, it’s real… like, real-real, not play-play (see: Drawn Together)… it’s real, like metal… not a construct… but it’s for sure the key. Specs looks at guy and smiles and gently waves a hand next to the bed, conuring a note that reads “it’s not the real one, exactly… just a trinket. Thank you.” and instead of a name there’s just a smear, a rainbow smear of ink, but clearly a spectrum… not because it’s clever, or because its looks cool (though Specs does smile at this)… but because, honestly… what name would he sign it with? (if I haven’t said already, then that’s the last panel of that issue lol… if I have said, we might have a fight… cause that note and key is a great last scene)

A key kept close — a later scene idea

The note’s natural magic and the possibility of seeing the key again develop the relationship beyond the night itself.

From the writer’s notes

1) the note isn’t written, it’s conjured as is (See: Buffy, Willow, Reveale… my version of that spell in that seen with Amy the Rat is that the note was/is/will be written… I just moved it. This also means there’s no pause to write… it’s look, smile, conjure, bolt.

In a later issue (if we can find a way) I want to find a way to see a playback of a video with Guy in it… where you can see, during the fight, a chain comes lose of his collar, and a key adorned… now, as the writer, I know this wouldn’t be some delcaration of love on Guy’s part… not even close!!!! It’s just Guy, who lets face it, is the softest asshole that ever there was, honoring his friend… and keeping close what he may need at any given moment 😉 (to be clear NOT ROMANTIC, just, as my best buddy says, “Friends with chemistry” … in fact, we need to work that in there somehwere… even if only in the eventual behind the scenes or something lol…. but I like the idea of Guy saying that to someone when talking about Specs… “yeah, not really my type either… except when he is… chuckles then he really really can be!” he says rubbing his chest, or rather, what’s under his shirt

From the writer’s notes

another note: the note gives a nod to natural magic (rather than hues) while also having just asked “where did this come from” wihtout noticing… that’s CLEVER!!!!

From the writer’s notes

on top of the note, conjured, was an orchid from Mogo and a mushroom… writer knows: Guy gave those to Alan Scott later, cause that felt right… Sam put them in a place on their mantle, where they never wilted, never aged (remember, Grundy’s book is 10 years later, so my knowing that means for at least 10 years Sam played Al and I played Sam so Sam could have Alan when I can’t have Allen.

The Gold incident’s place

The later Gold incident belongs after the morning with the note. Placing it at the opening of Resolved gives the note its own ending in Unleashed.