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Going Native: Desires Forgotten (ch. 72)
🕑 Added 2021-03-01 16:00:33 +0000 UTCOa, the center of the galaxy and the home of the Guardians. Over the years, Hal wondered if he would ever see it again. It was the birthplace of the Green Lanterns, a Corp that he had loved wholeheartedly. He still did, in his own way. He loved what the Green Lanterns represented, what the Lanterns that made the Corp… it was just the Guardians that tainted that love.
Hal scratched at his cheek, the green veins pulsing with ethereal light as they traveled up his neck, stretching across the bottom half of his jaw. He looked down his the translucent hand, a green power ring located on his finger. His entire arm was now a construct, including his shoulder and about half of his neck. Veins of green light inched towards his heart, covering most of his left pec. It was a slow transformation, Hal thought to himself, opening and closing his hand.
Near a decade of slowly becoming a will construct to check the liquid rage in his veins. It hadn't been that way at the start. He just needed something to replace his hand after Tarble cut it off, and to let him use his green power ring. But, as years went by, Hal continued to struggle to check the rage that came from the red ring forced on to him. He leaned into his willpower, refusing to bend to his anger, and one day… one day he simply couldn't dispel the construct. And the more willpower he used, the more the construct grew.
"Five years left," Hal muttered to himself. At the current rate that the construct was going, he only had five years until he became a construct entirely. That was the optimistic estimate. It was already inching towards his brain, so he might not even have a year left, because no one knew what would happen if his brain was converted. Especially not him.
"Are we going to ring the doorbell or what?" John Stewart questioned from behind him, the Green Lantern that had replaced him on Earth. He was a solid man, Hal decided. Smart, reliable… they didn't see eye to eye on some issues, but Hal didn't have a doubt in his mind that Stewart was a good man. It made him feel good about this. Like he was in the right.
"The Guardians have much to answer for," Indigo added, floating next to him as she clutched her staff that glowed with an indigo light. A Lantern of Compassion.
"I do hope that peace is the goal here," Saint Walker spoke up, but it wasn't to any of them that he spoke to. The first Blue Lantern hovered nearby, looking to one that stood apart from the group. That glared with rage and hate at the planet, as if he could kill the Guardians from countless miles away with a look alone.
Atrocitus let out a sound of disgust, "There will be peace when I stand amongst the corpses of the Guardians," he snarled out. He always sounded angry, but now that he was so close to the object of a long, long, long-held grudge, he was losing his handle on his rage.
Hal didn't know what to think of the alien most of the time. There were days he woke up loathing Atrocitus. If it wasn't for him vomiting liquid rage onto him, Hal wouldn't be dying. Other days, he just felt bad for him. What would he be like after billions of years after surviving a tragedy like Sector 666, while the culprits behind the murder of trillions were celebrated as heroes by the universe?
Now? Now, Hal was just glad to have another ally in this fight, even if they would become enemies once it was over. Because they needed all the help they could get.
"Easier said than done," Hal sighed, looking back to planet Oa, or, rather, the countless green lights that floated before it. The Green Lanterns still loyal to the Guardians. There were a lot of them. Thousands of them. Maybe ten thousand all together. Hal guessed that extreme will and loyalty to the Guardians were the requirements to join now.
Behind Hal were just as many Lanterns of various colors. Green, Blue, Indigo, Yellow, and Red -- only the Red and Yellow hadn't been able to commit everything to this battle due to orders from Tarble. The bastard was hedging his bets, waiting for that agreement they made to end before wiping them all out. If Hal had to say anything good about the Prince, then it was that he had the decency to wait until their mutual enemy was defeated.
Their numbers had expanded, more and more recruited for each Corp until they handily outnumbered the Green Lanterns. One would think they would win, but Hal had his doubts. After all, the Guardians were billions of years old, and the most advanced species in the universe bar none. Hal would honestly be shocked if they didn't have something up their sleeve. Everyone said that a power ring was the most powerful tool in the universe, but he wondered if that was only true because the Guardians hadn't revealed their ace.
Still, it was time.
"How are things on Earth?" Hal asked Stewart, earning a look from the man. He hadn't been since the slaughter of his comrades and his induction into the Red Lanterns.
"Good. Better than they were. When Tarble comes for Earth, we'll be ready."
"That," Hal went still, "I very much doubt," he heard, knowing who the voice belonged to. Even still, Hal turned around to see Sinestro appearing in the void of space with a fraction of the Sinestro Corps. His lips curled, his blood boiling in his veins.
He was the one that killed Kilowog. Just as much as Tarble had.
Instead of openly snarling at the man, the fragile balance of the alliance breaking if he wasn't careful, Hal forced a smirk on his face. "I wouldn't be so sure about that," Hal remarked. God, he wished he lived long enough to go home and see Tarble realize that he wasn't such hot shit when Superman beat his face in. If he did, then he could die with his only regret being that he hadn't been the one to batter the punk black and blue across the galaxy.
Sinestro returned the smile, "I suppose time will tell. Now, are we expecting anyone else for this joint venture?"
It made every instinct in his body scream out in protest, but Hal turned away from Sinestro. He faced Oa and took in a deep breath.
"No. Let's finish this already," Hal said as he began to fly forward. There was no passionate speech or heartfelt words. There didn't need to be. Instead, his words were filled with a grim determination to see this through until the bitter end, no matter what outcome awaited him. That grim resolve spread out amongst those that followed him as they flew towards Oa, the specs of light taking form to reveal shapes of various races, all united by the ring they wore and the oaths they upheld.
There was no thought in his mind except for the upcoming battle. No thoughts of what led to this point because there was no point. They were already here. He spared no thought of what would come after either because, in all likelihood, he wouldn't see what came after. No thoughts about his future death by constructification either. Just the here and now, and the battle to come.
Hal raised his left fist, taking aim with his green power ring. He never would have thought that this day would have come. Still, it didn't weaken his resolve. If anything, it only made him more resolute. He fired the first shot, a green blast of energy tinged with red crossed the distance between them as a flash of light, impacting a bubble shield.
It punched right through it and into the Green Lantern behind it, winging them in the side. A flesh wound. It had taken him years to combine the two colors, but the results spoke for themselves -- he hadn't encountered any other Lantern that could match his will, and with the destructive effects of the Red Light…
That was the signal for the battle to begin. A second later, the vast stretch of space between them became filled with light -- the thousands of Green Lanterns opening fire while Hal's side returned.
Hundreds of shields of various colors appeared before Hal, absorbing the return fire. Each shield had a faint blue tinge, telling Hal that Saint Walker's Corps were acting as support as planned. Hal pressed forward, becoming a streak of light as both forces raced to collide with one another, the Green Lanterns mirroring their actions. As they neared, Hal locked eyes with the lead Green Lantern.
A red-skinned alien with an oddly shaped head and dark eyes. Salaak, one of the Honor Guard. Hal always pegged the guy as a loner, but it wasn't much of a shock seeing the stickler for rules remain loyal to those that made the rules.
Hal raised his green power ring while he clenched his right hand into a fist. Salaak's face was a determined mask as the two raced towards each other, picking out each other as an opponent amongst the thousands. The shields held for a moment longer, until they nearly clashed, before they suddenly winked out of existence.
And the battle began.
"Kilowog would be disgusted with what you've become, Hal," Salaak started, beginning their fight with a tongue lashing as he launched a construct at him -- some kind of energy ray that fired blasts that Hal easily blocked with a round shield. "To think that I one day expected you to stand amongst the Honor Guard."
Hal didn't bother responding. There wasn't a point. Instead, he launched the flat of the shield at Salaak, forcing the Green Lantern to dodge while Hal's red ring flashed. Swirling portals of rage flanked Salaak before red chains erupted from them. Salaak responded instantly, a shield forming around him that the chains wrapped around. Salaak was an honor guard for a reason -- more than that, he was one of the longest-lived ones. It showed.
It just didn't matter.
His red chain tore through the bubble shield, wrapping around Salaak's arms, legs, and torso. He let out a pained cry as Hal flew forward, ignoring the countless similar battles raging around them. Salaak quickly grit his teeth and wore an openly defiant expression. "You could have been the best of us," Salaak hurled the words like a curse.
"I want what's best for the universe, and it's not the Guardians, Salaak," Hal answered, and his words stung a bit. The Green Lanterns… he had devoted his life to the Corps. He had been ready to die for it.
But he had lived. Against all odds, against all reason, he had lived. That was Kilowog's fault.
"Spare me your justifications," Salaak replied indignantly, readying himself to die.
Instead, Indigo appeared next to him and pressed her staff into Salaak's chest. There was a slight smile on her face, "You are a good man, Salaak. Simply on the wrong path." She told him, the Indigo Lantern symbol mark appearing on his chest, before Salaak closed his eyes and fell asleep. A crystal formation spread from the marking, spreading over Salaak's chest before engulfing him entirely -- though, not before Hal took his ring.
"It'll protect him, right?" Hal questioned, sparing a look at Indigo despite the battle raging around them.
Indigo nodded, "It shall."
Good. Unlike some, Hal had no interest in anyone dying today. If not a drop of blood could be spilled then Hal would count himself lucky, but experience taught him that he was anything but.
Offering a simple nod, Hal turned his attention back to the battle to find that his alliance was handily winning. Or, so it seemed. His gaze drifted over to Stewart and Saint Walker, the two working together to overwhelm three Green Lanterns at once. Each one was subdued by an Indigo Lantern. The whole brainwashing thing seemed a bit much, but it would take them out of the fight. Theoretically.
Not that it had with Tarble, Hal thought grimly to himself as he flew off, spotting red chains violently whipping around and slashing at a Green Lantern. Tarble had thoroughly shaken Indigo's faith in the Light of Compassion, so it seemed he made it a habit of fucking with people's world view. It was worth having the Indigo Corp at least, if only for the crystals that would protect the wounded and defeated from harm and prevent them from rejoining the fight.
Hal caught another flash of red out of the corner of his eye. He looked over just in time to see a blood red blast slam into a green bubble shield, racing towards a Green Lantern trying to hold their ground. His red ring flashed and in the split second, before the Green Lantern was hit, a swirling pool of red appeared between the blast and him. The red blast from a Red Lantern vanished and reappeared to slam into the Red Lantern that fired it.
While the Red Lantern recovered, the Green Lantern looked to him questionably, but still ready to fight. Hal formed a sizable boxing glove and punched the Green Lantern in the face with it, knocking him back before the construct became a crane claw to grab the Lantern, pinning his arms to his sides. Indigo followed up, pressing her staff to his forehead before his body became encased in violet crystal.
Hal knew it was coming, so he deftly dodged the red chains that were launched at him. He turned to the Red Lantern, who snarled in naked rage at him. Atrocitus ended up with a mixed bag. Some of his Lanterns weren’t much better than rabid dogs, while others were in control like he was. Most of the time.
However, before he could do anything about it, the Red Lantern screamed in pain as his power ring flashed. Hal hesitated, not sure what was going on, and quickly found his answer when he heard Indigo let out a sound of disgust. Following her gaze, Hal found Atrocitus holding up a fist with a glowing ring on it. The Red Lantern stopped crying out in pain and he quickly moved on, heading to rejoin the battle once again.
Atrocitus looked at him, and despite the battle waging between them, their eyes met for a moment. Atrocious offered a curt nod before he too joined the battle. Hal swallowed a sigh, his gaze drifting back to Oa, which now sported a sizable Green Lantern emblem. That was fine. The Guardians weren't the only ones with a Lantern planet.
As if to prove his point, Mogo warped into the system, the two planets millions of miles apart, but each so large that it felt like they were seconds away from colliding with one another. The planet Lantern formed constructs, thousands of them, while the planet Oa began to do the same. The constructs threw themselves into the fray, the battle ramping up in intensity.
Hal decided he had enough loitering around and clenched his right hand into a fist. In response, a dozen swirling red portals appeared, each near a Green Lantern Loyalist, before Hal hit them with green chains. Some reacted in time to block or dodge, but most didn't. And even if they had, it was enough of a distraction to let the other two or three Lanterns that were already teaming up against the Loyalist to take them down. With each second that passed, more of the violet crystals began to hover in space.
Mogo had constructs dart out in the middle of the battle, grabbing them to bring to his surface to make sure that they wouldn't be harmed. But the fight was far from won.
Where is the other shoe? That question tugged at his mind as Hal fought in the battle, throwing himself into the thick of it. Where was that ace up the Guardian's sleeves? There had to be one. The Guardians didn't make it this long by being dumb and unprepared. The battlefield unfolded before his eyes -- his alliance of the Lantern Corps were overwhelming the Loyalists.
They might be similar in number, but in power… in the end, the spectrum of Lanterns were simply stronger when they worked together. Hal proved that concept by combining will with rage. The Blue Lanterns further proved it by reinforcing every color on the spectrum. Every two of theirs working together was worth twenty Loyalists. And it showed. More and more of the Loyalists were wrapped up in crystal and sent to Mogo, leaving more Lanterns free to take down the remaining few.
It was hardly a surprise when the Loyalists got the order to retreat and fall back to Oa -- a handful pulling a maneuver that made Hal's stomach twist into knots. Memories flashed in his mind as a handful of Loyalists broke off from the group while the rest fell back to Oa, sacrificing themselves. He closed his eyes for a moment, his rage flaring at the memory, but he crushed it into nothing in his chest.
There was nothing to be angry about, Hal told himself before the group was quickly subdued. They were just doing what any Lantern should do for their comrades.
But it galled at him, something dark stirring in his chest as he realized that he was standing at the other end now. On that day when everything changed, he had been the one to try to sacrifice himself. And now he was the one others sacrificed themselves to save others to protect them from him. He had put on Tarble's shoes and it was repulsive on a fundamental level.
Hal took in a deep breath and calmed himself down, forcibly shelving his anger and he felt more of himself vanish to the construct. Looking down, he saw a red glow emanating from his chest, representing the heart that had been stolen from him when Atrocitus put his ring on his finger. That… was a poor choice of words. He didn't have time to dwell on them, because Indigo made herself known.
"You suspect a trap?" She asked as they watched the Loyalist disappear on Oa. It was only then that Hal realized that he had given an order to halt. When did he do that?
"The Guardians know more about the emotional spectrum than anyone else in the universe. They would have known that we would win this battle. The only reason they would fight it at all would be if they gained something out of it," Hal answered. That's how the Guardians worked -- they used ice-cold logic to dictate their every action. They had good intentions, but good intentions didn't mean that all the blood they had spilled would wash off their hands.
Every Lantern that had been defeated was a sacrifice. Just like the thousand of that battle that began the Thanagarian war against the TO. His blood felt hot in his veins, but again, Hal swallowed his rage.
Something that couldn't be said for Atrocitus. Atrocitus launched himself down to Oa, directly towards the city that housed the Guardians. Part of Hal wanted to snap at him, but he couldn't. Not when he struggled with his own rage constantly. Not when Atrocitus lost his entire species, and now he was so very close to their killers.
"Come on," Hal said before he started to fly after the Red Lantern. "No point in trying to out-think the Guardians. We just have to knock through every barrier they have for us." There were times that Hal wished that he was some brilliant tactician, but he wasn't. Trying now would just end in defeat, because the Guardians taught circles around guys a million times smarter than him with ease. The only thing that he could do is outperform their expectations for him and use that opening to defeat them.
It did mean that their plan basically boiled down to winging it… but it's worked out for Hal so far. Mostly.
Hal flew down to the planet's surface, rushing through a cloud to-
Hal opened his eyes and found himself standing in an empty room that stretched on for eternity. Pure white in every direction. Without his rings, he'd probably go snowblind. Or whatever you called going snowblind when there wasn't actual snow.
"Not what I expected, but fair enough, I guess," Hal muttered, identifying the room as one of the aces up the Guardian's sleeves. He searched his memory for when he actually entered the room, but came up with a blank. One moment he was descending down to the planet and the next he was here. He hadn't been hit with anything, no flash of light either. He wasn't sure if he was actually here, or if he was somehow locked up in his own head or something. With the Guardians, all possibilities were on the table.
Hal looked down at his hands to find both rings still there. More of his body had become a construct -- the progress advancing rapidly… screw five years, he'd be lucky to have five months at this rate. Something was ramping up the speed of the spread…
But that wasn't important. His red ring glowed, as did the core of rage that replaced his heart. "I'm leaving," he told the room, knowing that someone was listening. Both his heart and his ring continued to glow before his construct hand curled into a fist as well, the ring embedded in his finger also starting to shine. Hal channeled his will and rage, blending them together so the mix would be more powerful than they would be individually.
The colors dyed the white room red and green, the colors growing in intensity as they were fueled by two moments in his life.
The moment that he took off for the first time as a pilot in the air force, conquering his fear of planes after watching his father die in a crash.
And the moment that he realized the Guardians had betrayed him, screaming out into the void of space, summoning Atrocitus to him.
The white room cracked, and Hal only noticed that he had closed his eyes when he opened them. "I said… I'm leaving," he told the room, the vast space of nothing cracking under his will and rage. Parts of it falling apart, crumbling…
Then Hal opened his eyes to a familiar sight.
A long staircase that traced around the edge of a huge spire that would take him to the Guardians. Looking around him, he saw his alliance standing behind him, all with their eyes closed. Similarly, he saw the Loyalists had been pulled into the same trap. Each Corp was separated by color, the leaders of each were standing ahead of their corp -- Indigo for Compassion, Saint Walker for Hope, Stewart for Will, Sinestro for Fear, and Atrocitus for Rage. All of them standing still, eyes closed, but in formation.
Hal turned his attention to the spire, looking up. A small sigh escaped him as he started walking forward up the stairs, his hands clenched into fists. He caught his reflection in the spire -- most of his torso was now a construct, only leaving behind a sliver of flesh and blood. Most of his neck was as well. He still had the right side of his face, though veins of green were crossing the bridge of his nose, and also to his left eye that displayed the symbol of the Green Lantern Corp. It might have looked fine if it wasn't for the fact he hadn't shaved in a month, and the remaining half of his face looked like he hadn't slept in about just as long.
He felt an itch in the back of his neck as he ascended the stairs, a pull in a direction. Hal looked out to it as he walked up, heading to the Guardians. He saw the city that they had built, and just like every time he saw it, Hal was struck by how beautiful it was. It looked like something straight out of a sci-fi novel -- buildings of gentle slopes bending and twisting in ways that skyscrapers couldn't back on Earth.
The Central Power Battery. That's what was pulling at him.
Hal looked away as he continued to walk, focusing only on the task at hand as he headed up. The Guardians didn't try to stop him, even when he neared the top. He never bothered to count how many stairs there were, but it was a lot. Nevertheless, Hal reached the top of the spire and there he saw the Guardians of the Universe.
A few dozen of them -- bluish-gray skin with white hair, large heads, and short bodies. They all wore robes, their hands hidden underneath their sleeves as they stood on an uneven ridge that surrounded the top of the spire. All of them looked down at him with blank, unfeeling expressions and calculating gazes. All except one.
"Ganthet," Hal greeted, his tone stiff and unfriendly. Out of the Guardians, he was the only one that Hal could recall that didn't feel like he had his personality surgically removed.
"Hal," Ganthet returned, offering a small nod, his tone just as unfriendly.
"Back with the Guardians again?" Hal questioned -- he had split off from them to make the Blue Lanterns, but when Saint Walker rebelled with him, Ganthet had disappeared.
"Is that truly what you wish to ask?" Ganthet questioned, his tone disapproving.
It wasn't. Hal could feel every eye on him, the eyes of beings that were about as old as the universe itself and had pulled at its strings for about as long. What was going through their minds, Hal wondered? What did they think when they looked at him? Actually, on second thought, Hal found that he didn't care what they thought of him.
He met Ganthet's gaze, his hands curling into fists. "Did you know?" He asked, knowing that they would know exactly what he meant.
"We did not," Sayd answered, another Guardian to his left.
A scoff escaped Hal, "Do you expect me to believe that?" He bit back a snarl, glaring at the Guardian.
"What is the point of asking a question when you have already decided the answer?" Sayd returned, sounding unimpressed.
"We are not gods, Hal. We are not infallible, as the Universe has now learned. Our mistakes are many, and for each one trillions are affected. It is why we removed our emotions, to prevent such mistakes in the future… but we are not perfect." Ganthet spoke up, making Hal's attention snap to him.
"How did a little boy manage to get one over the Guardians?" Hal snapped at him, clenching his jaw as he fought the rage rebelling inside of him.
"You do a disservice to Tarble by using his age against him," Sayd pointed out.
Hal glared but he was not impressed.
"Tarble has been a Saiyan that we have monitored closely since his encounter with Lantern Kaylark," Ganthet spoke up. "Based on the information that we had available, the risk that the battle being a trap was relatively small and it was our belief that he was ignorant of our capabilities to listen in on him. Too much sensitive information was passed to us for us to believe otherwise."
That… that wasn't satisfying at all, Hal thought to himself. If they had led them all into a trap, then he could justify his rage. If they really had been ignorant, if it wasn't a trap to wipe out the rebellious Green lanterns… then it was still a mistake that got a thousand of them killed.
"It was after your defeat at his hands that we made a decision regarding the Saiyan Prince. At long last, a Saiyan has managed to rise above their base instincts -- his motivations are simple. Peace and prosperity," Sayd added, and Hal just about did a spit take at that take on Tarble.
"He's a mass-murdering monster that's killed millions," Hal snapped at the Guardian.
Sayd nodded, "Billions," He corrected. "Yet, through his own will and subtle manipulations, he has grown to value peace above all else. To achieve it by any means."
There was something that he was missing.
"Why him?" Hal questioned, frowning. Was it because he was the Supreme Commander of the TO? Because he was strong? What in the world made Tarble so special that the Guardians would let a galaxy spanning war break out and let so many trillions die?
Ganthet sighed, "The answer will not satisfy you." He told Hal, his tone blunt. "Tarble is simply a piece of a puzzle that we have waited billions of years for."
Hal opened his mouth to respond but a snarl of hate caught his attention. He looked behind him to see Atrocitus behind him, glaring hate and rage at the Guardians while his ring glowed. Hal had just enough time to widen his eyes before a scream ripped from Atrocitus' throat as he took aim with his ring and fired a blood-red blast.
Ganthet raised a hand and stopped the blast cold in its tracks, and from Hal's view, there was a troubled expression on his face. The red blast winked out of existence, but Atrocitus didn't seem to care, mindlessly throwing himself forward as he went to fire another blast at the Guardians, any trace of sanity in him suddenly gone as he stood before those that had slaughtered his species and his sector.
Hal raised a hand, his own rings glowing but, for a moment, he was struck with indecision on who to attack. The Guardians? Or Atrocitus?
He never got a chance to learn who before Hal felt an energy wave wash over him. Every hair stood on end, his skin felt sensitive, but he could have easily ignored it if it wasn't for Ganthet's reaction.
"What was that?" Hal questioned, his eyes drawn to the sky to see that it was filled with light. For a moment, he wondered if the battle above Oa had somehow begun again.
"The Vega System… we've been transported to the Vega system," Sayd informed, his tone even but harsh. The Vega system? The same one that…
Hal flew up into the sky, leaving the Guardians and Atrocitus behind to punch through the atmosphere, the flashes of lights becoming more prevalent until he hovered in the vacuum of space. He saw fleets in formation battling it out, a nearby planet was covered in winking lights that could only come from explosions. He saw...
Hal saw death all around him.
Comments
Maximillian
what a delightfully unexpected twist!
