Ult. GL Corps #3 - The War of the Lanterns Pt. 3

[liquidsword34]

Ultimate Green Lantern Corps #3
The War of the Lanterns Part 3

Constructs and limbs collide as the battle between the two Lantern Corps rages away inside the Warriors Bar. Both Red Lanterns wielding rings and Atrocitus's drones, constructs controlled by the Red Lantern leader, mob the Green Lanterns, who valiantly jump into action to defend themselves. Guy Gardner and Hannu trade blows, Guy using his ring to create boxing gloves and body armour from hard light while Hannu relies on just his natural body, Kilowog swings a war hammer to keep a group of Red Lanterns away from his own Green Lanterns, and Sinestro fights to defend himself from Atrocitus using his whip and shield. The two fight with a clash of styles; the brute force of Atrocitus against the skill and agility of Sinestro, sword hitting shield as they hold each other off. "You defend cowards and war criminals, Sinestro", Atrocitus grunts while swinging his sword backwards, slashing into a Green Lanterns shoulder before lurching forward at Sinestro, who ducks to one side and clatters his much larger opponent in the back of the head with his shield.

"I defend those who wish for order and unity, not mindless death and unholy massacres", Sinestro retorts as he cracks at Atrocitus's arm with the cat o' nine tails. In such close combat it's almost impossible for anybody to land a clean hit amidst the melee, leading to sloppy fighting from both sides.

"DON'T YOU DARE YIELD, POOZERS!", Kilowog bellows to his fellow lanterns as he conjures up a tidal wave of light, pushing a mix of lower ranking Red Lanterns and the drones created by Atrocitus's rings away across the bar. He can barely hear anything but his own breathing as he charges over to the fallen enemies, intent to not let them near the more vulnerable and inexperienced lanterns. Antipathy, a female Red Lantern with pale blue skin, war paint around her eyes and a sharp pair of scissor like blades which she has created with her ring lunges at Kilowog, plunging the blades into Kilowog's arm like a knife through butter.

"DIE YOU PATHETIC LITTLE STAIN ON THE UNIVERSE!", Antipathy squeals in her shrill voice, which Kilowog responds to by turning and slamming her against the floor with all his might, pulling the bade from his tree trunk thick arm as he does.

"This is Kilowog to Tomar-Re, Red Lanterns are attacking Oa. Suggest we take drastic measures", Kilowog says into his ring while diving back into the fray.

"Confirmed Kilowog, I'm sealing off the Warriors Bar so they can't access the rest of Oa. You'll be trapped in with them".

John Stewart launches himself at Guy Gardner, tackling the Red Lantern off his feet as his fight with Hannu continues. "You used to be one of us!" John roars while driving his fist down into Guy's face.

"I was until the Guardians betrayed me", Guy snaps as he boots John off of himself and creates a baseball bat with his ring. "You were there John, you know what they did to us!" Guy wails as he swings the bat at John's legs, narrowly missing him.

"You tried to kill a perp and your ring was disabled, so your rage took control", John coldly states while driving a boot into Guys face. "You betrayed this corps by acting like a brat on a power trip". John feels a chain wrap around his waist and gets dragged away from Guy, who winks at John sarcastically. John rolls over and sees Atrocitus, holding Sinestro by his throat in one hand and towing John towards him with the other.

"I will crush this Corps with my bare hands!" Atrocitus sneers to Sinestro, who blindly reaches out to Atrocitus's chest, running his hands over the power battery embedded into the beasts body. It pumps wildly as Atrocitus's untamed rage controls his every move, putting him into an auto-pilot style state where all his brain can tell him to do is continue fighting, ignoring whatever blow Sinestro can land. Creating a pair of jagged claws over his hands, Sinestro digs into Atrocitus's chest and clutches the power battery. Unlike the Green Lanterns batteries which can be held in one hand, Atrocitus's battery is just slightly smaller than a navel mine and heated up to hundreds of degrees, powering all ten of his rings and his drones. Sinestro's palms burn, his flesh sizzling and cooking like a joint of meat as he yanks at the gigantic pulsating battery with all his might, feeling his throat being crushed by Atrocitus's powerful grip as he does so. Sinestro winces as he pulls at the battery, digging his claws in until he can move the battery towards himself, forcefully dragging it from Atrocitus's chest with all his remaining strength. Atrocitus drops Sinestro as he realizes what has been done, but it is already too late for the titan.

His drones weaken, the chains around John Stewart disappear, and Atrocitus lets out an ear splitting roar which rattles every ear drum in the room. "You...you hurt me?!" Atrocitus growls in surprise, looking down at the power battery sticking out of his chest in disbelief at anybody being able to take even an ounce of his power away. His rage is overcome with something else, a new emotion; fear. Fear of losing his power. Atrocitus launches upwards, followed by his Corps, flooding out of the bar and deep into space. As much as they would like to, The Green Lantern Corps members are unable to relish their victory as they survey the bar. At least three Green Lanterns lay dead, and many more wounded.

"What did you do?" Kilowog asks Sinestro as he helps him up to his feet.

"Atrocitus is a tyrant", Sinestro says while clutching his throat, feeling his neck bones literally jam back into place. "Without power, a tyrant is nothing but an impotent wreck, filled with fear and living a pathetic existence. We were lucky this time, but Atrocitus will not take this lying down". Sinestro surveys the room, taking in the damage. "And if he strikes again, neither will we", he concludes as he walks out of the bar, leaving Kilowog and John Stewart to deal with the wounded after taking a last glance at Abin's coffin.

***

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"We're getting good readings from all devices, control. Everything's working as it should", Hank Henshaw says into the microphone mounted on his space suits wrist in his thick Gothamite accent as he looks through one of the shuttles many windows out into deep space. Hank, his wife Terri and six other astronauts had been sent up into space by NASA to recover a damaged unmanned drone and record data on the surrounding area for clues as to what did the damage. Around eight hours into the mission Hank finally had time to relax. The reflection of his face in the window is one of a man who has spent years in the navy, and even more in college and university. At thirty years old Hank had been plucked from the armed forces by NASA, where he soon met and eventually married Terri. Only five years later, he's staring at himself in the window of a space shuttle. Hank has short, jet black hair, with a rugged thick jaw. He could pass for the poster boy for both the military and Abercrombie and Fitch with the same ease.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Terri asks Hank as she enters the room, bouncing across to him in zero gravity. The two had graduated NASA training together and gotten married just days before going up into space, making this their honeymoon of sorts. The shuttle is larger than any sent up before, with almost as much room inside as a space station and equipment which even some those on-board could barely begin to understand. Hank simply smiles back at Terri and puts his arm around her, staring out into the clear blackness of space, an endless sea of undiscovered mysteries.

"Hank? Terri?" a voice calls from one of the speakers mounted on the wall. "It's Russell, looks like we've got an unknown object about three miles away, moving in hard and fast".

"Russell, please repeat that. An uni..."

Hank is cut off by the entire shuttle shaking and the line going dead, followed by the lights cutting off. "Hank?", Terri says into the darkness. A few of the dim emergency lights kick in, but none at full power, giving Hank barely enough vision to make out basic shapes.

"I'm right here, Terri" Hank replies as he floats over, wafting his hands into the blackness and reaching his wife's shoulder before moving down her arm and grasping her hand tightly. The two move to their room door and open it, peering out. The air feels thicker, like the oxygen level has drastically dropped. Sounds are muffled as air molecules escape the shuttle, but Hank can still hear it. A low snarl, echoing through out the shuttle. Like the devil himself was calling for Hank, calling for Terri, telling them he had arrived for them. Hank turns to the white corridor wall beside him and pulls a lever, opening a panel and revealing six oxygen tanks. Hank and Terri each grab one, putting the nozzle to their mouths and taking deep breaths. Almost no air molecules left, but Hank can still hear it. The beast's scratching on the hull, its ungodly roar echoing through Hank's body and making every hair stand on end.

Hank motions for Terri to stick close as they make their way down the corridor and turn into the main open area of the shuttle from where the vehicle is controlled and where all readings are taken. The room is at least as big as a small family home and littered with all sorts of devices, most notably the shuttles controls mounted at the opposite side of the room to Hank and Terri. They slowly step into the open area, their hands gripped together so hard it hurts. Terri frantically looks around for the source of the hull breach for a few seconds as Hank practically drags her over to the controls, hoping to be able to identify the issue using the shuttles on board computer or possibly re-enter Earth's atmosphere if needed. Hank tries to block it out, but he can still hear it. Something creeping up on him from every angle, its sharp claws digging into the shuttles hull, its raspy growl still bouncing around inside Hanks mind even without air molecules to carry the sound.

Hank turns to the control panel and looks it over. His hands clam up as he reads it: Everything has gone. Electronics, life support, thrusters. Whatever did this knew exactly what it was doing. Hank feels Terri's grip relinquishing his and starts to pull back, not letting her go. As Hank swallows his fear he spins around, almost already knowing what he will face. Hank had spent time reading about the lost space mission. The one which, officially, never happened. In 1972, when the Soviets sent three cosmonauts into space, something went wrong. Even with his access to data on previous missions, Hank doesn't know exactly what happened, but he remembers the recordings. The maniacal screaming about a four legged beast, climbing down from the sun itself to destroy their craft. And then the images of the crash site, of the three men turned into a thick burnt gunk, like discarded beef patties slapped down to the earth from orbit. About how it cut off their shuttles systems and hunted them down, like it was doing to him now.

Terri's hand slips from Hank's as he turns, trying to pull his wife back in. The blue monster rips at Terri's flesh with its jagged teeth, tearing away at an arm as it crashes through the recording devices, blood still dripping from its powerful shark like mandibles. Hank grabs his oxygen tank and dives headlong at the creature, cracking the metal tank into its skull as hard as he can, to no avail. As he floats away Hank stares into the creatures deep red eyes, seeing the rage trapped inside, trying to escape through its rabid blood lust. A powerful paw swipes at Terri, cutting through her oxygen tank and collapsing her rib cage like it was nothing. Hank stops in his tracks as his wife's movement all but ceases, her convulsions of pain turning into the last grasps at life of a dying women. Hank makes eye contact with the cat like being again, and he can feel it. He can't hear it, smell it, taste it, see it or feel it on his skin, it's like a new sense has arrived just to torment Hank; like the creature is torturing him through its gigantic, deep and glowing red eyes, mocking his inability to save his crew mates or wife. Hank feels his gut tighten up and his adams apple get lodged in his throat as tears well up in his eyes, his whole body seeming to scheme together to further throw his failure in his face.

The creature slides away from Hank, discarding Terri into Hank's grasp like a used up cigarette. Her blood leaks out onto Hanks space suit as the monster crashes through the recording equipment with equal parts brutality and finesse, like even in its rage filled rampage it still knows what it's doing. As it rips through the electronics the monster starts a fire which soon spreads, engulfing the shuttle and turning it into a floating beacon, melting away as Hank stays frozen inside, clutching Terri in his arms. "I'm...I'm sorry Terri", he whispers to himself as his skin starts to itch and burn from the flaming wreckage forming the inferno around him.

"Warning: Large scale shuttle wreckage ahead, two lifeforms detected", Hal Jordan's ring states in the usual flat, monotone voice as the burning wreckage becomes visible to Hal in the distance. Wasting no time Hal puts his arms down by his sides and boosts away into the wreckage, soon finding himself face to face with the charred NASA logo on a scorched piece of metal floating past him. Hal floats inside the shuttle, his ring easily protecting him from the fire.

Hal raises his hand up in front of his face and commands, "ring, direct me to nearest life form", which the ring responds to by pointing him down one of the smoke filled hallways. Hal makes his way through the wreckage until he reaches the central room of the shuttle, inhabited only by Hank and the now deceased Terri. Hank's oxygen tank still has around an hour and a halves worth of air left, but with the fire raging around him he is unlikely to survive until then.

"Hey, you!", Hal calls over to Hank, who turns around and simply stares at Hal, his facial expression barely even changing. As Hal reaches out to grab Hank's hand he is pummelled in the back by Dex-Starr launching itself at the Green Lantern and sending him flying into the wall of the shuttle like a ragdoll. As he turns Hal spots the Red Lantern ring perched on the end of the creature's long blue tail, glowing bright in response to the volotile rage of Dex-Starr. Hal responds by conjuring up a wall of green light and using it to shove back the snarling creature as a way to create more distance between them. Hal floats in place as Dex-Starr dives down through one of the holes in the shuttle out into open space, passing through the fire to escape Hal's line of sight. Hal freezes up as he surveys the scene, realising that the blue cat like creature must have done all of the damage which surrounds him.

"I'm...I'm a Green Lantern!" Hal stutters out as he hears Dex-Starr's claws scratching on the metal hull, creeping through the fire and smoke like a hungry lion stalking a gazelle out on the wild plains of the Serengeti. As the sound echoes through Hal's head, fear starts to set in. Hal again moves towards Hank, who is still clutching his wife's corpse and simply waiting for death, his spirit clearly broken. This distraction is enough to allow Dex-Starr to smash back through the hull and snap its jaws closed around Hal's leg, pulling him out into space. The pain jolts through Hal's body like an electric charge, putting Hal in a state of shock as blood seeps from the open wound. Dex-Starr keeps driving his teeth down into Hal's leg until they hit bone, cutting through it like butter as the pain overcomes Hal. Hal points his ring and attempts to conjure up a construct, but the combination of the fear he feels and the undiluted anger being pumped around Dex-Starr's body fuelling its Red Lantern ring causes Hal to be overpowered, making his ring simply flash pathetically. Dex-Starr uses this as a cue to execute a quick, hard death-roll like a crocodile and excrete a burning red liquid from its gums onto Hal, burning through his flesh and bone further. Hal's whole body aches like it has been scolded by the very fire of hell for what seems like hours as time slows to a standstill, and then he feels nothing as his eyes slip closed and his senses fade away...

***

As Hal Jordan awakes a smell similar to lavender hits his nostrils, clearing out his sinuses and immediately removing the after effects of having been asleep for some time, making waking up a pleasant and easy experience. The first thing Hal notices is his surroundings. Short grass as far as the eye can see, with an assortment of tall trees carrying healthy fresh fruit of all shapes, sizes and colours, every piece perfectly ripe. A stream of beautiful crystal clear water runs just behind where Hal is lying, carrying with it fresh pink fish about the size and shape of fresh water koi. The sky above is as blue as Earth's and dotted with a large sun.

Hal sits up and looks down at his leg, which looks like it hadn't even been near any rabid space monsters, let alone had foot long teeth jammed down through it. Hal stands up slowly, creating a flash of light as he does to check his ring still works, before making his way through the trees and bushes in front of him. He can't help but grab what looks like a bunch of red pears connected like bananas down from a low hanging branch and take a bite into one of the pieces of fruit, filling his mouth with an indescribable taste. Sweet as candy floss, but also refreshing and crunchy, with a smooth texture. Hal pushes through the plant life until he reaches a clearing occupied by two beings stood up and another laid on a stone table resembling an alter.

Hal recognises the man on the table as Hank Henshaw, the astronaut he tried and failed to rescue. One of the figures is Thaal Sinestro, whom has his arms folded over his chest and is staring at the chalk white alien in a uniform similar to Hal and Sinestro's, but with blue instead of green and a dark blue ring, instead of a green one. The Blue Lantern's head has a sort of thick tail, like an extension of the cranium getting thinner as it goes along, but aside from that it looks pretty much humanoid.

"Hello?" Hal calls as he wipes residue of the fruit away from his lips.

"Ah, Jordan", Sinestro replies, turning to face the new Lantern. "I trust your wounds are healed?"

"Yes but...who the hell are you?", Hal says as he looks down at Hank, whose body is burnt to the point that most of his skin is charred and practically falling off the bone.

"I am Thaal Sinestro, your new partner", Sinestro extends out his hand to Hal, who tentatively grasps it and shakes. Sinestro's hand is practically ice cold and sends shivers up Hal's arm. "My previous and most recent partner, Abin Sur, recently lost his life in battle. You appear to have inherited his ring. I trust you had some training from another Green Lantern before throwing yourself headlong into an inferno in a fight against Dex-Starr? Bookdikka was around Earth at the time perhaps..."

"Actually", Hal interrupts, "it was Alan Scott".

"Alan Scott you say? Peculiar", Sinestro mutters under his breath, clearly more intrigued by Alan Scott's involvement than he is annoyed about being interrupted. "The Guardians must have plans for you yet, boy. Hopefully they don't involve almost being murdered on your first day of duty, because you managed to avert that by only the whiskers of your eyes".

"How do you know Alan Scott?"

"Alan Scott was my parter for around twenty Earth years before he retired. He felt he was getting too old for this sort of thing", Sinestro says. "If Scott was brought out of retirement just to train you, there's a very specific reason for it. The Guardians obviously want you ready for combat as fast as possible, although from your recent encounter with Dex-Starr it appears Scott didn't manage to train you well enough to handle the current threat".

"Ah-hum", the Blue Lantern makes a noise like it's clearing its throat to cut off Sinestro.

"Ah yes. Hal Jordan, this is St. Walker, the Blue Lantern", Sinestro tells Hal as St. Walker bows, prompting Hal to reciprocate.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lantern Jordan", Walker says in a soft voice which could belong to either sex. "I'm glad to see I managed to heal you fully. Your injuries were most severe, far beyond what most human beings can withstand".

"You healed me?", Hal asks rhetorically.

"Yes, using my power ring. In fact, most of what you see around you was created by me over the past several cycles, from the trees and their delicious, always ripe fruit, down to the fish and the streams they live in", St. Walker says while showing Hal his ring. Walker's voice doesn't display any sort of pride or feelings of superiority due to his creation. In fact he sounds simply content, as though his surroundings developed on their own and he is privileged to simply live in such a place.

"That's...that's unbelievable", Hal whispers in amazement.

"Understandable", Walker says as he moves over to Hank, making Sinestro step aside. After a few seconds of examining Hank Walker raises his ring and creates a stream of silky blue light, almost like a ghostly hand. The string of blue reaches through Hank's mouth down into his chest cavity smoothly as St. Walker's ring spits out a second blue light, this one projecting x-ray's so he can see inside of Hank's body. "His body has been devastated by oxygen deprivation and the low pressure in outer space. He's brain dead, and most of his organs are destroyed beyond repair".

"You sound kind of relaxed about that!", Hal practically yells at St. Walker, who doesn't react at all.

"Jordan", Sinestro barks quiet enough for St. Walker to not hear. "When I dragged you from that smouldering space craft your lungs had collapsed, your eyes were damaged beyond the point of being able to recognise light, and your leg was hanging on by a thread at best. St. Walker saved your body and life. You'd do well to take heed of a lantern ring's capabilities".

St. Walker conjures up a pair of hands which reach down through the short green grass into the ground. "I wish it did not have to come to this", he says as the hands return clutching a large metallic body, a fair bit bigger than Hank. "I can transfer Hank's consciousness from his brain into this body. From there he can develop flesh to possibly look more human, if his mind does not reject the body", Walker explains as he stands the body up over Hank and wraps Hank's skull in what look like thick bandages, created by his ring. Hal's mouth hangs wide open in shock as Walker calmly performs a medical procedure Hal had only ever seen in the world of science fiction, a world which he feels like he has now stepped into. Walker creates a sort of tether from the dull, seven foot tall, blank slate of a body leading down to Hank's bandaged head. "This may take a while, Lanterns".

"Of course", Sinestro responds as Hank's body raises up off of the stone slab and starts to shake uncontrollably. Hal stands in silence and awe as streaks of white light curve down along the blue beam from the dying human body into the indestructible cyborg body.

"When did you rescue me, Thaal?", Hal says. "I remember that creature..."

"Dex-Starr".

"...Dex-Starr", Hal continues, "ripping through my leg. My ring failed and I sort of...blacked out".

"Dex-Starr is an immortal predator of unimaginable power, its strength matches only by its rage. Your willpower failed you, and you succumbed to fear in the heat of battle. It seems that even Alan Scott cannot train a Green Lantern in a day", Sinestro says. "I ran off Dex-Starr just as you lost consciousness, then brought you and Henshaw here. The creature should have one or two wounds to lick".

"And...where is 'here', exactly?", Hal says as he gestures at the scenery around them.

"A planet called Mogo, my home base", St. Walker interjects. "He is more...receptive to my work than other planets". Hank lets out a load groan, which seems to get carried across to the new body. "My planet, Astonia, along with all those on it, was deemed to be doomed by the book of Oa long ago".

"The Book of Oa is like, the Green Lanternrules, right?", Hal says.

"The Book of Oa contains every law and prophecy that the Green Lantern Corps follows, Jordan", Sinestro corrects.

"Yes, well, in any case, my planet was doomed. Our sun had grown old and ready to die, and it threw Astonia into disarray. As the head priest of my tribe, I decided to unite all five billion inhabitants of my planet together, to change our fate. I instilled hope within my peoples hearts, and drove our sun back to youth, saving Astonia. Soon after, I received a Green Lantern ring". The cyborg body now has some of the facial features of Hank Henshaw, but less human, more like a waxwork model than a person. "But I could not will myself to fight others. I understand the importance of violence in certain situations but in my mind, I simply cannot carry it out. The Guardians of the Universe saw this and created me a Blue Lantern ring, charged by my hope. I cannot use it to attack others, but as you can see", Hank's body drops down to the stone slab, and the cyborg now resembles Hank, albeit with most of his body and face made of sleek metal. "It has its own abilities beyond those of Green Lantern rings". St. Walker's ring finally stops projecting light as the cyborg's eyes light up bright red. He still cannot move, what with his mind not yet being adjusted to its new body, but Hank is now aware of his surroundings, and in a working body.

"But why this planet, of all planets?", Hal asks.

"The company, Lantern Jordan", St. Walker says as he straightens out Hank's human body into a respectable position, his hands together on his chest. "Mogo is as alive as you or me. I was assigned to be his partner when I joined the Green Lantern Corps, and returning to my home planet may distract me from my work helping those in need wherever I may find them. It seemed like a natural place to live and work".

Any other day, Hal would have scoffed. He'd have told you the idea of a living planet is idiotic. But after recent events? He can't help but believe it.

"That is correct", a deep booming voice proclaims, making Hal's knees shake and his eyes dart around, eventually coming to rest on the ground. "Lantern Thaal Sinestro, I believe that you left the bodies of Henshaw's crew mates some way south of your current location. Would it be best to let Henshaw take them back to his planet?", Mogo continues, prompting Sinestro to fly up and head south without another word, respecting Mogo enough not to disagree.

"Lantern Jordan", Walker says as he picks a piece of fruit which resembles a large grape from a tree and starts to peel away the outer flesh. "My ring has scanned Sinestro and senses a corruption of some sorts in his soul".

"Corruption?"

"Yes. The former greatest Green Lantern has become...tainted, by the loss of his partner, Abin Sur. I hate to be the bearer of bad news on only your first day as a Green Lantern, but I cannot simply allow you to leave without knowing".

"And what will this 'corruption' do? He seems to be perfectly fine to me. Sort of distant but nothing more than you would be, all things considering".

"We cannot know for sure", Mogo interjects. "It may have no effect on him. In fact, that is the most likely scenario. However..."

"He might go crazy and kill me?", Hal jokes.

"Possibly", Walker replies, making Hal unsure if he's playing along with Hal's light-hearted suggestion or being deadly serious. "I have known Sinestro for most of my time working with the Green Lantern Corps, and it seems that for the first time his mind, body and soul are not pure. I sensed feelings of betrayal within him, as though the Guardians of the Universe caused Abin Sur's demise in some way".

"Does he have a point, though?"

"Excuse me?", Walker says inquisitively.

"Could he have been betrayed?"

"I received a transmission after the event. Four Green Lanterns against a horde of Red Lanterns. They were ambushed and, like whenever a Green Lantern is in combat, a message was sent to the Guardians of the Universe within seconds", Mogo explains. "For whatever reason, the Guardians decided against further action. Whether it was because they thought Sinestro and the others could handle the situation and they simply failed, or if they did, in fact, decide Abin was just an 'acceptable loss' of some sort, I cannot know for certain. Perhaps Sinestro's anger is due to feelings of inadequacy, like he failed to save Abin. That may be a long term issue that could effect him permanently. Or it might just be simple mourning which will pass in due time. You should keep a lookout for any over aggressive behaviour from Sinestro and if needed, report him to the Guardians".

"Sounds like a fair assessment, I guess", Hal says as Sinestro returns flying over the horizon. Below him are seven rectangular boxes of sorts created by his ring, each containing one of Hank's fellow astronauts who died during Dex-Starr's rampage. Hank's robotic eyes light up as he sees the coffins, clearly now at least somewhat aware of what is happening. Sinestro places the bodies down in the clearing around Hank's body, unaware of his ability to take in what is happening.

"Lantern's Sinestro and Jordan, this is Tomar-Re", a slightly raspy alien voice says through Sinestro and Hal's rings. "This is urgent..."

"We're here Tomar-Re, what is it?", Sinestro quickly responds while taking to the air, prompting Hal to follow. The two fly away while answering the call, leaving St. Walker and Mogo alone once more.

"Do you think Jordan will heed your warning?"

"I can only hope so, Mogo. For all our sakes".

***

Guy Gardner's boots land on the highway with a thud as he drops down from the sky. His waistcoat is still stained with blood from the fight on Oa and, as has been the case since becoming a Red Lantern, he is burning with anger. Every step up the path towards the small airfield ahead of him is hard and deliberate. "Oh little Green Lantern", Guy mutters to himself under his breath. "You had to survive and make it worse for yourself". Guy walks through the gate ahead of him with a sign saying "Ferris & Jordan Aircraft LTD" hanging down above, out onto the tarmac runway. About a hundred meters away Carol Ferris is exiting the small office adjacent to the hanger, a cup of coffee in one hand and a folder in the other, still wearing the same clothes as when Hal was picked up by Alan Scott. Since then Carol has simply got on with her day, reassuring herself that Hal is fine. Carol spots Guy in the distance and considers shouting something over, before noticing the blood red lantern insignia on his handsome waistcoat, and his fists clenched up tightly.

In a flash Carol drops her coffee and turns to run, almost as fast as Guy can summon up a sniper rifle from his ring. Holding it up to his face, Guy casually watches Carol start to sprint across the runway to the hanger through the rifles scope. Carol ran track in high school, and still keeps in quite good shape for a woman working a full time job, but even she cannot outrun the most powerful weapon in all the cosmos wielded by a being of pure anger. As Guy's finger squeezes on the trigger, he barely feels a wave of air going over his head. As the light bullet exits the chamber, he barely sees the green shape out of the corner of his eye. It's only seconds later that he come face to face with the full form of Alan Scott standing in front of him, constructing a wall of light to block the bullet before it has a chance to reach Carol, who has managed to dive into the hanger through one of the open doors and taken refuge behind a storage crate.

"The position of ring slingin' pretty boy's taken in this galaxy, kid", Alan says as Guy's nostrils flare up like a raging bull. Alan dives forward at Guy, who easily dodges to one side and plants a kick straight into Alan's ribs.

"Poor attempt at a rescue old man", Guy replies, seeming disappointed in Alan's unsuccessful attempt at attacking him. "I was expecting a punch to the face, a good attempt at a construct, not for your hip to break and your false teeth to fall out".

"Is this what you've become?", Alan says as he tries crawling to his knees. Guy walks behind him, casually creating a variety of weapons one by one, sizing up his options with all of the time in the world. "Killing innocent people just to hurt the will of your enemies? Aligning yourself with scum like Bleez and Atrocitus? I never worked with you, Guy, but Kilowog and Sinestro told me you were one of the best. Were they wrong?". Guy pauses for a second to think, before shrugging and creating a noose around Alan's neck.

"I guess they were", Guy says as he tightens the noose, lifting Alan off the ground. The younger Lantern's perpetual anger makes the rope stronger and tighter across Alan's neck, cutting off his airway as it drives into his throat. Guy drives his knee hard into Alan's back to force the wind from his lungs, leaving Alan gasping for oxygen which he can't mange to find. As Alan starts to pass out a pair of green lights slam down in front of him from the sky, creating a tornado of dirt from the impact which temporarily blinds Guy. Guy releases the now limp body of Alan Scott, but not fast enough to block Hal Jordan bursting through the dust and punching him square in the jaw. Behind Hal, Sinestro stands patiently with his arms crossed, willing to let his new partner prove himself in battle.

"Why are you doing this?!", Hal roars as he launches his fists towards Guy, striking the Red Lantern on his pudgy nose perfectly.

"So you will understand how weak you are!", Guy replies as he gives as good as he takes, his eyes now snake like slits. "I want to watch your mind break as you realise your will is not strong enough to stop my fury, Jordan!".

Guy and Hal trade punches as their respective emotions run free: Guy's anger at being denied Alan Scott's death and Hal's willingness to do anything to save Carol. The titans are each encompassed by an aura of light as they hover above the tarmac, throwing earth shaking blows. As they fight, Hal feels himself connecting with the ring like he hadn't before. When he fought Dex-Starr, Hal was afraid of death, focusing on the possibility of the rabid animal killing him. Now, none of that matters. Hal can't sense fear any more, just the sound of his fist smashing again Guy's jaw. In an attempt to out manoeuvre the rookie Guy takes off into the clouds, followed by Hal closely.

As he enters the thick white cloud, Hal realises Guy's plan. Without the luxury of seeing ones opponent, brute strength beats out precision every time. A barrage of red missiles barrel through the mist, a handful of them narrowly whizzing past Hal's face by just inches and exploding harmlessly in the air. While creating a shield around himself Hal backs away, blocking another wave of missiles which is followed by Guy throwing himself at Hal. Hal doesn't so much as flinch as he bends the shield around, catching guy like a baseball in a glove. The green shield turns into a trio of clamps around the writhing and cursing Guy, squeezing him hard enough to cause some discomfort.

"Give it up, Guy", Hal says, which Guy responds to by creating a serpent style creature curving from his ring in a last ditch attempt to free himself. Seeing this Hal pulls himself and Guy down hard and fast, ripping through the clouds and tossing Guy onto the runway, using the ring construct to absorb some of the impact on Guy so as to not cause any serious damage. As the dust settles Hal stands over Guy, a trickle of blood coming out of his nose but aside from that seemingly not in too bad a shape. Sinestro makes his way over to Hal and helps him restrain Guy with chains of hard light whilst supporting the now conscious Alan Scott on his shoulder, lowering his ring from his mouth after having called the Honour Guard, the Green Lantern Corps small elite group who transport and guard perps, to collect Guy.

"You did much better than last time", Sinestro says to Hal as they bundle up Guy into a cage created by their rings. "Managed to work your ring, kept your cool, didn't lose any limbs. I'm impressed".

***

"You've really done it now", John Stewart says to Guy Gardner through the green force field which creates the Red Lantern's cell. After a short trip to Ferris airfield and confirmation from Alan, Sinestro and Hal as to what happened, the Honour Guard took Guy to Oa, where he was secured in the maximum security detention area. Guy's cell is quite spacious and created solely of the same green light projected from the Green Lantern's rings, floating in the air amongst other similar cells, each containing a different criminal awaiting trial, questioning or serving a sentence. Guy sits in the centre of his cell, his arms folded, tired from the days fighting and all his attempts to escape the cell having failed. Even with the power of his Red Lantern ring, Guy is unable to break the thick jail cell created directly from a large power battery held deep within Oa.

"Have I really? Well then open this cage so I can apologise to you from close up", Guy snarls back before spitting in John's general direction.

"Guy. I know you. This ain't you, but it's like you're not even fighting that damn ring", John says as he floats closer to the cell, looking Guy directly in his face,

"Why would I want to?", Guy replies. "So I can be one of the Guardians little soldiers, in their pseudo moral Hitler Youth army? Atrocitus let me set my inner self free. He gave me the freedom the Guardians took from me".

"The freedom to murder? To slaughter your friends?"

"Amongst other things", Guy spits. "When's the last time you had a relationship? The last time you got to spend time with your family without that oversize bulldog Kilowog dragging you off to beat up some aliens for breaking one of that damn books rules?".

"And you think with that ring on, you can do either of those things?"

"Oh shut up you uptight moron", Guy retorts, unable to come up with an argument as the ring pollutes his mind.

John sighs and hovers away, navigating the floating cells until he lands on a centre platform connecting the jail to the rest of Oa. John stands next to Kilowog, who is talking to what looks like a floating pumpkin with dozens of long, squid like tentacles hanging down below it.

"Any progress on the ring, Apros?", John asks the floating alien, who first lets out a high pitched hissing as it diverts energy towards the part of its brain which controls speech. As a physically primitive race, Apros's people must consciously active some parts of their body before using them, including their speech functions. Despite this Apros has earned his stripes as a Green Lantern in his decade of service, earning him a place in the Green Lantern's Honour Guard.

"I-I-I-I have studied the ring", Apros clicks, repeating the first syllable of the sentence as he always does. "I-I-I-It is interfering with his brain functions. H-H-He will not be able to dictate his own actions until the ring is remove, w-w-which will only be possibly once the Red Lantern power battery is destroyed".

"So what you're saying is that until we finish off these creeps, Guy's one of those things?", John says uneasily.

"C-C-correct".

"Great. That's just great", John sighs as he makes his way along the walkway, followed by Kilowog.

***

Carol Ferris's hands shake as she looks at the people sat at the small table around her. To her left is her boyfriend Hal, but not as she has ever seen him. Hal looks beaten and bruised, but has a new air of confidence surrounding him, like he's more comfortable than ever with himself. Across from her sits Alan Scott, also known as The Sentinel, Coast City's first and greatest hero. From being a child Carol remembers seeing The Sentinel in the newspaper, on TV and pretty much anywhere else. While The Sentinel gives off an air of sincerity, Alan Scott looks more laid back, with his gelled and styled hair, relaxed posture and cocky grin. And to Carol's right sits the purple alien Sinestro, who stares down at his spring water over his finely trimmed moustache silently. Try as she might, Carol can't read the Korugarian's emotions, like he's a completely closed book.

Altogether, it's not the usual afternoon coffee break.

"Who was that?", Carol asks, breaking the silence which had lasted a few minutes as the four people sat around the table sipping their drinks.

"The crazy red guy in the snazzy waistcoat?", Alan says, which causes Carol to nod. Alan responds by turning to Sinestro,who is obviously more up to date on the goings on of the Green Lantern Corps.

"Guy Gardner was one of the two human Green Lanterns brought in to replace Scott once he retired, around ten years ago local time. Since then he has shown rash and aggressive behaviour, but has managed to restrain himself. That did not hold up. Guy attempted to use lethal force on a perp".

"So he was kicked out?"

"His ring was shut off", Sinestro corrects Carol. "In that time, his anger rose to levels which attracted a Red Lantern ring. We believe the ring is controlling his behaviour, forcing him to not only constantly feel rage and anger, but act on those emotions".

"And he tried to kill you to hurt me", Hal tells Carol.

"One more question: How did you three know he was going to attack me?"

"Hal and I received a message through our rings, informing us Alan had requested our support", Sinestro says while finally taking a sip of his water.

"I sensed Bleez, one of the red Lanterns, reading my and Hal's minds just before he went to meet Sinestro. It seemed like the most obvious place they would attack. Speaking of which, how did did that go, you two?", Alan asks Hal and Sinestro, making Hal look down at the table anxiously like
a child who knows his parent/teacher conference is about to go very bad very quickly.

"Jordan was almost killed by the predator Dex-Starr, a powerful Red Lantern and, as you remember, frequent foe of our Corps before Atrocitus had even formed his band of savages. I had to take him to St. Walker to save his life and reattach his leg", Sinestro calmly answers. "I'm sure you did a fine job on training him though, Scott", he says playfully, showing a side of himself very few ever see.

Carol shuffles her hands around her coffee mug, unsure of what to say. She gives Hal a slight glance before standing up and beckoning for him to follow her outside.

The two walk away from the small hut across the runway, eventually coming to a stop in front of the hanger. The two stand with their backs to the metal door, staring out over the airfield.

"Does it hurt?"

"What?"

"Your leg. Sinestro said that guy had to reattach your leg".

"Oh. It sort of did, when it got ripped off, but now it doesn't hurt at all".

"At all?"

"Not in the slightest. The guy who did it, St. Walker, he's like...he's like space Jesus, Carol".

Carol pauses for a second before realizing Hal is at least slightly serious. "Space Jesus, Hal?"

"Yeah, you know. He does miracles, all that stuff. An astronaut was dead, and Walker managed to put the guys mind into a robot or something. It was like magic". The two stand in silence for a bit as a smile forms across Carol's face, going from one rosy cheek to the other. "What are you laughing at?"

"Nothing, nothing, it's just that you were sort of like this in high-school, remember? With your comic books? You'd get all excited about what awesome thing happened this month, and I'd sort of nod along because I didn't really 'get it' like you do", Carol says, causing Hal to let out a gentle laugh.

"I guess you're right. So, what is it you wanted to tell me out here?"

"Well...", Carol starts.

"You're worried about me getting hurt again?", Hal finishes Carol's sentence for her.

"Yeah. It's not that I want you to quit or anything, but it's knowing that you're up there, fighting psychos like that crazy guy with the bowl cut just now, while I'm down here filling in forms waiting for you to come back. It's only been a day and I'm already worried about it. As I said, I don't want you to just take off the ring. I just thought, you know, I should tell you this sort of stuff".

"Carol, you know when I fought Gardner just then, what I was thinking about, to give me my willpower?"

"What?"

"You. I thought of...of protecting you, of doing anything to stop you getting hurt. When I fought Dex-Starr I was just thinking about how he might kill me, and that was about it. I was full of fear. But just then, on the runway, I wasn't scared. I knew I'd win because...because I wanted it. It's really hard to explain I guess", Hal laughs nervously before continuing. "As long as I know that you're here waiting for me, I'll have all the willpower I need to do whatever I want with this bad boy", Hal says while holding up his ring. "And as long as I have that willpower, I won't get hurt again. I promise".

He puts his arm around Carol and looks off in the distance, spotting Sinestro and Alan Scott exiting the small building and making their way over. Reluctantly Hal takes his arm from around Carol's shoulder and meets his fellow Lanterns in the centre of the runway.

"The Guardians have called some sort of meeting, apparently", Alan says, gesturing to Sinestro's ring to show where the message came from. "You ready to leave?"

"One moment", Hal calls as he jogs back over to Carol. Without saying anything Hal gently pulls Carol into a kiss, which she reciprocates enthusiastically. After a few seconds the two release their embrace and take a step back from each other. "I love you, Carol", Hal says as he trudges his way back over to Alan and Sinestro.

"I love you too", Carol replies as she leans back against the hanger, watching as the three Lanterns raise their rings up. In a flash of green energy as bright as fireworks they burst off into the sky, hitting the speed of sound within seconds and allowing their rings to guide them out of the Earth's atmosphere towards Oa.

"OK, even I think that was pretty awesome", Carol quips quietly to herself as she pushes herself up off of the hanger and starts walking away, watching the green streak tear through space above her.

-To Be Continued-