Post by Spider-Man Beyond on Aug 9, 2006 23:37:06 GMT -5
Legends of the Green Lantern Corps #3
Chapter 4: The Rogue
Chapter 4: The Rogue
Written by Scott D. L. Kruger
Edited by Daniel Dyer
Hal exit's the Generals office, squinting into the early morning light. He and Gardner had been locked in separate rooms all night re-canting their stories... in excruciating detail... to General Scott & his staff. Neither man had done anything wrong, it's just not every day an alien spacecraft crashes into a California desert, forcing them to "land" two very expensive planes.
Adding an extra hint of mystery to an already peculiar tale was the lack of even a bruise on Hal. He just claimed to have been "lucky". The ring Hal had obtained nearly 36 hours ago, the source of his newfound "luck", was nowhere to be seen. If it was still there on his finger, he couldn't feel it. It was as if it simply vanished from existence. Hal staring absently at his right hand wanders back to his base housing.
What did the ghost say? Something about recharging the ring every 24 hours... God I need sleep... The few hours rest in the base hospital didn't do me a lick of good... how much sleep can you get in a hospital bed though. Nurses coming in every hour to check vital signs... stick you with needles & crap... on someone that hasn't a scratch no less. Taxpayer dollars well spent. Tonight, after a good rest, I'll try to recharge the ring. Maybe see what you can really do.
"So... where did you go?" Hal asked to no one in particular as he glances down at his hand again.
As if on cue, the ring materialized.
"Oh Crap!" Hal grabbed his hand & began running towards his quarters. Last time the damn thing appeared the uniform came with it!
Guy who had been walking a few paces behind Hal, stopped dead in his tracks as Hal began his sprint.
"What the hell...? Swear to God Jordan, you are a freak," Guy says to himself as he slowly continues his trip to his own quarters.
Hal quickly enters his home & locks the door behind himself. The ring still had a residual charge in order to appear. Taking a deep breath, Hal stumbles over to his couch and collapses. Within moments he is sound asleep.
In his sleep he dreams of flying. Not flying a plane, actually flying. Below he sees the city streets of his hometown Coast City. His mother’s home. His brother’s apartment building. Ferris Aircraft. Everywhere he flies, the people below stop & stare up at him... pointing in his direction. Crowds gather and people call his name. As he comes to a landing in the town square, the scenery changes. Gone are all the trees, replaced with burning embers. The grass, reduced to ash. The buildings, a smoldering ruin. The air is thick & hard to breathe. As he labors to take a breath, he notices the people around him are dead. The putrid smell of burning hair & flesh fill his nostrils. A hand touches his shoulder and he reels around, coming face to face with the ruined frame that was once his mother.
“Hal, please... you must stop him...” she says as she points to a building on the far side of the square. Her skin begins to turn to dust and crumbles before his eyes.
"Mother, no..." He turns from the empty clothes she once wore to see city hall. A figure stands atop the pinnacle of the building. Something familiar about the figure... Each breath, a labor, he walks towards city hall... a giant banner hangs from the buildings edge... a flag with a Green Lantern symbol. But the symbol is not green, it is a sickly yellow & black. The figure standing above the flag is wearing a Green lantern costume, also in the altered colors. Hal lifts himself off the ground & dons his Green Lantern uniform to come face to face with the one responsible for the massacre.
He sees... himself.
Hal awakes with a start, falling off the couch, landing with a dull thud. He had been sleeping with a pillow over his head... explaining, at least, a portion of the horrifying nightmare.
Some man without fear... weird ass dream.
Hal looks at the clock on the wall... he had been asleep for about 6 hours. He glances down at his right hand & sees that his ring is there, with just a slight emerald glow to it.
"You must need a recharge, don't you? Well, not here... not until I can actually see what you can do."
Hal walks into his bedroom, changes his clothes, gathers his coat & grabs the keys to his jeep. He runs to his jeep, anxious to test the ring's power.
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