E8: Green Lantern #2

[Spider-Man Beyond]

E8: Green Lantern #2
Emerald Dawn
Part 2:
Luminescence

Written by Jason Blankenship (Captainknight)
Edited by Daniel Dyer (Spider-Man Beyond)

Green Lantern dove toward the armored villain, energy pouring off of him. He grinned like a maniac as the mechanized armor formed itself into being around his body. Electricity crackled around the powered armor, the crook gearing up for round 2.

Okay, so you’re wondering how I got here, aren’t you? Not a hard thing to guess, given that the last time you guys saw me, I was wandering around the city in a bit of a drunken haze before being the most powerful weapon in the universe from what I was sure was a hallucination.

A hallucination…that’s what I get for being a dumbass.

Now, as for how I got to the point where I’m fighting a nutcase who’s calling himself “Ohm”, that’s actually the ring’s fault…more or less…it started like this…

—

[Spider-Man Beyond]

Kyle wasn’t surprised that Alex wasn’t in his apartment when he got back. After the fight they’d just had, he wasn’t shocked in the least. No doubt she’s gone back to her place to cool off. I would do the same, but… Kyle sat the tiny green ring down on the table and sat down, staring at it like he was expecting something to happen.

The ring sat there.

“Okay, come on, Kyle…blue midgets and Kryptonians? Kryptonian…where have I heard that before…?” Kyle shook his head, “Think… this is a very vivid dream, and I’ve completely passed out in an alleyway on my way back from Guy’s… Hopefully I’ll still have my wallet when I wake up.”

He stood and began pacing, his eyes locked on the emerald ring on his table.

“What are you? How do you work?”

There was a silence that was more uncomfortable than when he and Alex had that fight over that model he’d been kinda flirting with at Warriors.

Kyle sighed and placed the ring on his finger.

The ring flared to life, and the uniform again materialized into being in place of his street clothes. He looked down at the glowing ring and sighed, “Okay, so how do you work?”

{Translation protocol complete. Engaging tutorial.} The voice seemed to come from the ring itself and a woman made of green light and looking every bit like every teacher fantasy Kyle had ever had appeared before him. {I am Ms. Winters, and I’m here to teach you how to use the gift you’ve been given, Kyle.}

“I must be dreaming. What the Hell is going on, lady, who the Hell are you?”

{I am a hard light construct formed by your power ring to be the avatar of the tutorial program. Of all the teachers in your conscious and subconscious mind, the ring selected me as the one you’d respond the best to.}

I can think of some responses…Dude, it’s tacky to hit on your hallucinations.

{I assure you, I am no hallucination. Now, Mr. Rayner, allow me to explain. You are the Green Lantern, essentially one part knight and one part cosmic police officer. The ring you wear is both a conduit to the Green Lantern energies and a powerful artificial intelligence.}

“You know, Teach, you’re saying a whole lot without getting to the point. So, why don’t you speed this up, speak English and maybe I can take this thing out for a test drive?”

{Very well, Mr. Rayner…This ring is capable of creating hard light constructs, and is limited only by your imagination and willpower.}

“So, I can create anything I can imagine?”

{Yes…it’s a lot like the helmets the Veritech pilots use in Macross. You simply will something to happen, and it does.}

Kyle’s eyes widened beneath his mask and a wicked smile spread across his lips. “Anything?”

{Yes, Mr. Rayner, anything, but I warn you, if you plan on being naughty, I will have to punish you.}

Oh yeah, definitely the teacher I’m most likely to respond to… so, I have infinite power literally at my fingertips... what to do first? Kyle began to concentrate and began to float. He broke out into a grin.

—

[Spider-Man Beyond]

“YAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!” Green Lantern sailed through the New York night sky, weaving in and out of buildings and barrel rolling through Times Square.

Oh my God, the freedom. The sheer unparalleled joy… I haven’t been this giddy since the first time I had sex. Ah, Amber Hein… I haven’t thought about her in years… Green Lantern stopped and hovered for a few seconds before rocking upwards into the sky. Okay, there is one thing I HAVE to see before I stop joyriding..

He continued upwards, and finally stopped after hitting the cold darkness of space. He looked down at the Earth that had been his home with a new found sense of awe. Up here, so very far away from everything, nothing seemed to matter, not his lack of a job, not his rocky relationship with Alex, not even the problems of the world. He was completely at peace.

{I have detected a 240.56 in progress in the city you call Los Angeles. Engaging auto pilot.}

Green Lantern’s body rocketed toward the west coast, “Wait, what’s a 240.56? I didn’t sign up for this, you chintzy gumball machine reject!”

{You are Green Lantern, and you will do your duty. Be comforted that in your probationary period I am only monitoring your home planet.}

If he wasn’t dead, I would totally kill that blue son of a &*& that gave me this thing.

—

[Spider-Man Beyond]

“Run, run you fools! I am Ohm, and all of Los Angeles will feel my wrath!!”

Green Lantern sighed as he saw the center of the disturbance the ring had detected. A nut job in powered armor. Great. Okay, time to conjure up some weapons… Green Lantern grinned as two giant rifles appeared in his hands and the first few guitar riffs of Master of Puppets began playing in his head.

He fired and green energy lanced out and struck the ground all around Ohm.

Yeah, I totally need to get better at this whole, little guy, big gun thing.

“Who dares?”

“Can’t you see I’m the goddamn Batman?!”

Ohm paused for a second, “Huh?”

Green Lantern used that second of distraction to rush forward, charging the armored criminal. Ohm quickly came to his senses and grabbed the errant hero and in a perfect judo throw launched the emerald gladiator skyward.

—

[Spider-Man Beyond]

And that brings us up to speed. Kyle’s construct mecha landed in front of Ohm, and began humming ominously.

“Okay, Watt-”

“My name is Ohm.”

“-Ohm, beware my power…”

What could only be referred to as an anime-esque swarm of missiles launched from the green mecha and lasers lanced outward toward Ohm. The villain couldn’t move fast enough to avoid the barrage. Ohm left his feet and in an eye blink, Green Lantern was hovering over him with a can opener.

“Time to come out, Prince Albert, you’re refrigerator is running.” Green Lantern peeled away the armor and pulled the scrawny criminal free. He held him up by the collar and smiled, “Now, you wanna surrender?”

Ohm nodded weakly and passed out and Green Lantern turned to the sound of clapping. A crowd had gathered to witness the battle, and Kyle was so caught up in fighting that he hadn’t noticed.

Police officers grabbed Ohm’s unconscious form and a bunch of microphones got shoved into his face as reporters swarmed him.

“Who are you?”

“What are your powers?”

“Are you really Batman?”

“Are you here to avenge Superman?”

Kyle shook his head, “Whoa, whoa, whoa! First of all, you guys ask too many f*%#$ing questions. Secondly, I’m Green Lantern, and if you excuse me, I have some real work to do.”

Green Lantern lanced into the sky and back toward home. Patching things up with Alex is the hardest thing I can think of.

—

[Spider-Man Beyond]

Alex let herself into Kyle’s apartment and headed for his bedroom, hoping to surprise him. It’s only 8 am, the odds of him being up aren’t very good. She quietly opened the door to his bedroom and peeked inside and was a little shocked when she found his bed empty. No way he got up and started job hunting early… most likely he’s passed out at Guy’s again.

She turned and let out a scream as she came face to face with a 8 foot alien clad in green and black armor. The creature’s mandible’s clacked in her head, Alex heard flawless English.

“You are not the ring bearer.” Alex screamed again as there was a bright flash of light, and the creature was gone.

“But I will find him,” the creature’s voice echoed in the near-silent apartment.

Continued...