Episode 86: Realigned
Takes place 6-7 February 2012.
Short version
Paul accompanies Lantern Xor back to his home and helps him to investigate and expose the government's oppressive treatment of soldiers like him.
Longer version
Lantern Xor announces that he has fulfilled his obligations to Earth, and intends to return to his home to seek revenge on those who falsely accused and imprisoned him. Paul finds the account of his trial fishy, and persuades Xor to fully investigate before doing anything rash. He and Lantern Gardner come to help out.
They learn that Xor is the product of a government program to create super soldiers, by transferring the brains of young children into augmented War Hound bodies and programming them with a strict honor code. After ten years of military service, they are free to leave — but they always die in mysterious accidents within a few years.
To learn more, the Lanterns contact Xor's former girlfriend Onigar, who has been politically active on behalf of the War Hounds. Before she can tell them anything, she is attacked by assassins, but the Lanterns' unexpected presence quickly thwarts the attack. Onigar reveals that Xor's arrest and imprisonment were politically motivated, covering up the assassination of her mother, who worked on the War Hound programming. Xor realises that there is not just one person responsible for the wrong done to him, but an entire system, and he resolves to change it.
Paul provides Xor with a number of secure communicators for himself and his allies, while Lantern Gardner leaks information onto their internet equivalent about the government's activities. Paul then infiltrates the War Hound training facility and alters the mental programming equipment so that future War Hounds will have stronger expectations that their leaders will also be honorable. Xor then leads an assault team and captures a number of government officials, whom Paul maroons in the Vega Systems.
The title refers to "The Alignment", the government of Xor's home region, and Xor's determination to bring about moral reform.
- Alternate Universe: Common Sense Paul appears, keeping the Team's first mission to Bialya actually covert and avoiding the memory erasure that happened in canon. He and Aqualad then report Bialya's activities to a United Nations delegate, because dealing with Apokolips is very bad for the planet.
- Battle Couple: In the Renegade timeline, Teth Adom and Circe go to defeat and banish/slay the chaos lord Oggar together. Adom is surprised by Grayven's indication that it's a date, but Circe showed clear interest after hearing about how he beat Oggar into submission previously.
- Child Soldiers: It turns out that Lantern Xor was one, his brain transplanted into an enhanced body at age 5, then artificially educated and indoctrinated to ensure his loyalty.
- Didn't Think This Through: Zauriel teleports into the center of Mount Justice doing his "BE NOT AFRAID!" schtick. Unfortunately, the last time OL and the League interacted with Angels, it led to an invasion of heaven and Paul literally being decapitated. Zauriel is lucky that all that happened to him is getting slammed into the ground by Paul's construct.
- Distracted by the Sexy: Holly is quite impressed by Artemis' figure. Holly's girlfriend Karon is quite unimpressed by Holly being impressed.
- Dynamic Entry: Zauriel comes to visit Paul, appearing in a blaze of light, and gets as far as "Be not afr-" before Paul slams him to the ground with a construct fist. Because it was a secure area and Zauriel took them by surprise.
- No-Sell: Lantern Xor is able to focus his own desire for his ring to prevent other Orange Lanterns from simply calling it off his finger.
- Older Than They Look: Due to the Awakening process, Queen Clea is in the process of reverting to her physical prime. Which leads to her flirting with Black Manta. He's uncomfortable with it at first, until he learns that she might actually be serious, at which point he becomes contemplative.
- Punch! Punch! Punch! Uh Oh...: Some part of the Alignment government sent a handful of troops to assassinate Onigar Tonn. However, when they arrived and started shooting, the first person they hit was Honour Guard Lantern Guy Gardner, accompanied by Illustres Paul, each of whom was capable of curbstomping armies.
- Trial by Combat: Lantern Xor offers this to the captured Alignment government officials, including a full heal beforehand and no further mention of their crimes regardless of whether they live or die. None of them take him up on it, probably because he's several meters tall and beefier than Charles Atlas.
