The crew of the interceptor sat in the control room. Hal was slightly off put after their latest attempt at recruiting Green Lantern hadn't gone as planned. Shore if needed they could call on the new green lantern, Mogo to help in an all-out battle but what they really needed was another team member or 10 to turn the tide in their favour. The fore of them were not going to be able to stop the red lanterns alone.
"How desperate are we for another team member" Razer asked, clearly thinking along a similar path.
"There are a total of 4 of us on this ship, and at best we can call on another 2 green lanterns – and that is our entire force against the red lanterns. We are pretty desperate" Hal responded
"But that doesn't mean we will accept anyone on the team" Kilowog snapped back, still sticking to protocol.
"I know of another red Lantern who will be willing to join us on our suicide mission, and she's not that far from hear" Razer suggested
"No way" Kilowog instantly responded "we are not having another red on board the guardian's most important ship"
"She is… different from other red lanterns" Razer chose his words carefully
"How so?" asked Hal
"For a start she doesn't support Atrocitus, she hates his guts"
"Whys that?"
"She doesn't approve of killing, there was a big fight in which she took on Atrocitus and damaged shard"
Hal was instantly interested "she's that good"
"Yes" Razer said braking eye contact
"What's the catch?" Kilowog asked looking suspicious
"She's only that good when she's sober enough to be aware of what she is doing"
"No way" Kilowog stated "there is no way we need a drunk red on our team. We would be better off without a liability like that"
"no, absolutely not, we don't need her" Kilowog protested walking into the night club looking out of place with his huge bulk taking up a significant amount of space what dancing bodies were wanting to use.
Hal had managed to convince Kilowog that this red Lantern was worth at least checking out. They really needed more team members. Aya had pointed out that another being no matter their skill set would put them in a better position than they were currently in.
So they had stopped on a nearby planet and went in search of this red Lantern. Aya had tracked a red energy to this club. It took more convincing to get Kilowog to step a foot inside the club, he argued that strobe lights and loud music would give his a headache. Hal didn't buy it.
Once they were inside they were hit by the wall of sound, the base passing straight through them. Their eyes struggled to adjust to the strobe lights, lasers and flashing colours, and their noses were greeted with the smell of alcohol and sweaty bodies grinding against each other on the dance floor.
Kilowog just hoped that this red Lantern was worth the detour and effort.
Aya couldn't pin point the exact location of the red Lantern due to all the simulations in the club leaving it up to Razer to find her. Aya had decided to stay with the ship outside saying that she needed to do some scans that required her complete concentration. Hal thought that she just wasn't shore how to comprehend the club environment and it was making her uneasy.
"Who are we looking for?" Hal shouted over the music
"Tyler" Razer yelled back "she has short curly black hair, light blue is skin and wings"
Hal hearing most of Razer's description tried to scan for a women with wings that could be this Tyler, but couldn't find a match.
It took Razer a minute to locate her but he suddenly pointed into the throng of people grinding against each other on the dance floor. "There she is"
"Where?" Kilowog shouted
Hal followed Razers finger and saw a girl in her late teens, with a drink in one hand, Wings folded onto her and doing a provocative dance in the middle of a ring of men. Hal noticed that instead of wearing the red Lantern armour/uniform she wore a short figure hugging dress, he also couldn't see the ring on her finger
"That's her?" Hal asked, not shore how to interpret this.
"Yes"
"Let's leave now and save our time" Kilowog yelled "we need soldiers, not slutty drunks"
Once the song ended Tyler downed the last of her drink managed to detach herself from the crowed surrounding her to refill her now empty glass.
"Let's just talk to her while she is alone before you judge her too quick"
Hal only herd half of what Razer said but followed Razer, and after moving his mouth in what looked like grumbling Kilowog also followed.
Walking up to Tyler Razer yelled her name in greeting.
"Razerrr!" Tyler slurred and shouted at the same time "what'sss up?" she picked up her refill from the bar tender, smiling at the liquid before taking a mouthful.
"Can we talk we have an offer to propose"
"Can …wait… Tomorrow" Tylor responded. Hal thought she was missing words out of her sentence, but couldn't be shore over the music.
"No, let's get you home and we will talk about it in the morning" Hal interrupted.
Tyler pulled a face. Just then a new song, Novocaine came on and she lit up and ran/stumbled back into the throng in the dance floor.
Hal sighed and followed her. Kilowog and Razer decided to stay by the bar, Kilowog because his large bulk would make it hard to move through the tightly packed crowd and Razer because the thought of so many people made his skin crawl.
This left Hal to try and locate Tyler by his self. The pushed his way throw the dancing mass having to force his way through groups and around couples. He had lost sight of Tyler leaving him to aimlessly move through the crowd. After being stood on 3 times by girls in heals witch even his green Lantern armour could not completely stop the pain that shot through his foot, he decided that the best solution would be to fly up and scan over the crowds heads.
From his new vantage point Hal was able to spot the runaway, she had managed to fight her way to just in front of the DJ and was dancing to the beat of the song. Hal landed and tried to push is way towards the DJ, easier said than done as the crowd got more and more packed the closer he got to the DJ. Eventually he managed to find Tyler singing along to the song, he grabbed her arm and then began dragging her off the dance floor. Tyler put up some resistance but she was so intoxicated that he barely noticed her attempts.
Once they were off the dance floor Hal found Razer and Kilowog still next to the bar. He pointed at the door, Kilowog nodded.
Once outside and the music from the club, Hal could hear Tyler's complaints
"That was my favourite song" she complained, then began singing "I will always land on you like a sucker punch, singing I your worst, I am your worst nightmare!"
Hal almost wished for the noise of the club again. "Hey could please stop singing for a minute"
"Why should I?"
"Because you want to keep you amazing singing talent a secret" Hal invented
"I do?" she questioned thinking it over "yes I do shhhh" putting a finger to her lips.
Hal rolled his eyes and turned to Kilowog and Razer who were just behind them.
"You had better be worth the effort" Kilowog ground at Tyler
"You're big" Tyler laughed steering up at the Bolovaxian
Kilowog threw his arms up "can we leave now?"
"She will be worth it" Razer defended
"Year shore she will" came the sarcastic reply
"You saw her dancing, how many people do you know that are that coordinated when completely wasted, manage that with a lot more precision and awareness behind it"
Kilowog went silent for a moment as he remembered just how precise and accurate she had been despite being intoxicated "I still don't think she will be able to fight with us" he said after a pause.
"At the very least we need to get her home, she is not capable doing it herself" Hal said
"Wait till tomorrow, when sober she is a force to be contending with" Razer defended
"I'm so scared" Kilowog said in a monotone with his arms folded
"Tyler where do you live?"
"Live?" she asked coming out if a trance "down the curly corner by the pink house"
The three men steered at her "I don't think Aya can work with those directions" Hal prompted, an address would be helpful"
"Who's Ayay?" Tyler slurred
"Give us an address and we will introduce you to her"
"349 Starflight road. Do you think she will like my singing?"
"That's a secret remember"
"Right. Shhhhh"
"Why. Just why" Kilowog asked no one in particular "are you actually going to start listening to my advice any time soon Jordan"
"Maybe, when you have something helpful to add" Hal replied heading towards the interceptor
Once on bored the interceptor Hal sat Tyler down in one of the medical beads "just stay put ok"
Tyler Hum in response. Hal took it as a yes
"Is this the red Lantern Tyler that you were searching for" Aya asked walking in
"Yes, she's a bit out of it at the moment though so we are going to take her home" Hal explained
"Do you have water in it that I can fly the ship to?"
Hal repeated the address Tyler had told him, as Tyler had passed out or fell asleep as soon as she hit the bed, Hal wasn't shore witch one.
Aya flew the ship across the planet. They didn't go very far, just a few blocks, the road twisted and turned beneath them, and they landed next to a pale pink house.
Hal shock Tyler awake. She groggily opened her heavy eyes, struggling to focus on the Hal. "Come on let's get you to your own bed" Hal prompted
"Can't I just sleep hear?" she complained
"no, up you get" Hal said pulling her up, worried that when she woke up in the morning she would freak not knowing where she was or would be sick.
Tyler had to lean heavily on Hal was they stumbled up to the front door of her flat, the rest of the team following behind. Tyler managed to put her finger on the scanner to let them in on the second attempt.
"Razer could you find the bedroom I don't feel like carrying her all over the house" hall asked, putting Tyler in an arm chair in the meantime.
The flat was open planed with a kitchenette in one corner and the living arear in the rest of the space with a couch, armchairs and a hologram projector. There were doors heading off the from the living arear witch Razer was sticking his head in to try and find the bedroom. Kilowog looked out of place in the small room.
Hal walked over to the kitchenette and began opening cupboards, after a few attempts he found some glasses and filled it with water from the tap.
"Found it" called razor
Hal carried the glass back to Tyler who had fallen asleep again on the chair. Hal rolled his eyes and created a mattress construct to carry her to the bead room, rather than going through the whole waking her up, convincing her that moving was a good idea and then having to carry her again.
Hal set Tyler down on the bead and put the water on the bedside table.
"You look like your done this before" Razer said
"I've had by shear of dragging drunk friends home" Hal laughed remembering his teen parties. He pulled a blanket over Tyler before turning to leave.
"So how do you know Tyler exactly" Hal asked razor, taking a seat on the couch next to Aya "she doesn't seem like your type"
"She's a red Lantern, she was always just around" Razer explained in his usual monotone "I was repairing the cufflinks in the living quarters when I found her passed out from a drug overdose. I took her to the hospital and that was about it for a week. When I was in the hospital to fix the lighting one of the doctors pulled be into Tyler's room. When she realised I was the one that found her, she tried to strangle me"
"She tried to kill herself?" Kilowog asked feeling slightly guilty for calling her a drunk slut.
Razer nodded "when she got out of hospital a month later, she was just around, we were on speaking terms after a while, Bleez and me were the 2 people she didn't outwardly hate with a passion. Then one day she snapped at Atrocitus. I don't know what changed, but something did and she marched into the meeting between Zox, Atrocitus and myself and took me and Zox out in a matter of seconds. When I woke up Atrocitus had taken a beating and Tyler what was nowhere to be seen. There were rumours flying round but most people said that she torched every blow Atrocitus threw at her and that she emptied her entire rings chard on him before taking off."
Kilowog was unimpressed "we need more thank roomers"
"Attention" Aya stated 'while I was in the red Lantern main frame I downloaded the security footage and I lave located the fight Razer is referring to"
"Pull it up" Hal prompted
Aya projected a hologram showing the inside of a war council room, Razer and Zox were facing Atrocitus planning the best way to set traps for the green lanterns, when the door behind them exploded with red energy.
Zox took the full force of the door exploding and was unconscious in the ground. From the centre of the Dust obscuring the cameras view of the attacker a concentrated blast of red energy hit a disorientated Razer knocking him out. That left the attacker and Atrocitus. A figure exploded out of the dust – Tyler. In red Lantern armour that was flaming due to her rage she threw a powerful blast of red energy towards Atrocitus, forcing him to put up a shield. Despite that there was enough force behind the blow that Atrocitus and the shield were thrown out the stained glass window of the war room. The camera angle changed to some from a court yard below the war room. Atrocitus fired blast after blast at Tyler but she cartwheeled, flipped and twisted, and dodging all attacks until she was closes enough to Atrocitus to empty her rings charged on a single blow directed at his chest, an ugly expression of vengeance, before running out of the courtyard. Once the dust cleared it reveal Atrocitus at the bottom of a still smoking crated, his red Lantern armour burnt off in places and his chest beneath it an angry red. His eye was swollen and his lip bleeding.
"Wow" Hal said not shore how to react to that.
"She contacted me not long before I … met you" Razer concluded "and said that she was on this planet and to find her If I ever realised how much of a 'manipulating, despicable person Atrocitus was'"
"And Atrocitus just let her leave" Kilowog asked
"No, some low ranker was given the job of searching for her and 'taking her out' but the green lanterns were always the main focus" Razer explained
"She sounds like the kind of person we need on our team" Hal said "and she might be a bit of fun on this ship"
"Her history does indicate that she is a good fighter" Aya added
"ok if she can take on Atrocitus, when she has sobered up we will see what she can do and decided from there" Kilowog caved "but if she's no good were leaving"
The next morning the team woke and made their way from the interceptor back to Tyler's flat. Hal created a construct to replicate Tyler fingerprint and fool the scanner to let them in.
Once inside there was a whispered argument as to who should check on Tyler, Hal saying it should be Razer as he knew her. Razer saying it should be Aya as she was also a girl and less likely to freak her out. Aya saying that logically as Hal had taken an interest in Tyler and had taken care of her last night it should be him and Kilowog stating that it should be anyone but him. In the end Hal checked on her.
Opening the door to the bedroom as quietly as possible Hal paired around the door. Tyler was still fast asleep, with her mouth open and her short hair spread over the pillow. Hal stepped inside and walked up to her to check that she hadn't chocked on her own vomit in her sleep. Seeing that she was still breathing Hal walked back out and closed the door behind him with a click.
"She's still breathing and is fast asleep" he reported
"So now what?" Kilowog asked "we have better things to do than sit hear waiting for this girl to wake up"
"I don't have a better plan" Hal shrugged
It was late morning before they heard a crash and then a groan from Tyler's bedroom, followed by the sound of running water witch must be from her ensuite.
It was another half hour before Tyler emerged from her room. Still not in her red lantern armour, a tank top and shorts with a duvet wrapped around her instead. She was looking at the floor as she dried her long hair with a towel. Upon seeing the fore of them siting in her lounge she immediately screamed, jumping back, dropping the power and grabbing the chain that she wore around her neck and puling it out from under her shirt.
"I'm a red lantern so you had better tell me who the hell you are and what you are doing in my house" she threatened holding the ring to her finger but not putting it on.
"Calm down" Hal said quickly "I'm Hal Jordan green lantern of sector 2814 and these are my team mate's razor, Kilowog and Aya"
Tayler looked unconvinced even though recognition flashed in her eyes when she was Razer
"We met last night" Hal continued when she didn't do anything "we brought you home"
Tyler turned from Hal to Razer "you left Atrocitus or are you still with that murderer?" she said quietly
"I left" Razer said simply
"Ok" Tyler said tucking the red lantern ring back under her shirt. She then deflated al the adrenaline leaving her body, here eye squinting against the harsh light and shoulders slumping. Hung over.
She picked up a remote from the coffee table in the middle of the room and hit a button so that the windows changed from clear and see through to give Lilly tinted and restrictive to the sun light trying to burn its way through to Tyler eyes. She then headed over to the kitchenette to get a glass of water witch she drank quickly before purposely falling over the arm rest of a 2 person couch so that she was lying face down on it with the duvet wrapped around her.
"Why are you hear?" Tyler asked in a muffled voice "if you told me I don't remember"
"Were fighting the red lantern armada and we were interested in your abilities" Hal said carefully
Tyler poker her head out from under the covers to glare at Razer "you told them about me" she didn't need an answer.
"Don't get me wrong" she explained "I would love to rip Atrocitus's guts out, but I'm trying to have as little to do with red lanterns and that monster as possible"
"I can understand that" Hal said trying to reason with her "but-"
"And Bleez is my sister, if it came to a fight between me and her I wouldn't be able to do it" Tyler interrupted.
This was met with silence. "Bleez is your sister?" Hal asked
"Yip. Did Razer not mention that?"
"No he didn't" Hal said giving Razer a sideways glare.
Hal could hid his disappointment. Another team member would have been helpful and the footage from her fight with Atrocitus or had been promising. It was a shame to let her potential go. They could maybe call her if they were ever in serious trouble, maybe. But could they trust her? She just said she wouldn't fight Bleez, were there others she wouldn't fight? Maybe it would be for the best that she didn't join them.
"So this was a complete waste of time" Kilowog crumbled "I told you Hal that we didn't need her"
Tyler sat up fast "what do you mean by that?" she said accusingly despite looking life the world was spinning slightly from the quick movement.
Kilowog didn't answer
"The fact I'm a red lantern? The drinking? The drugs? Or is it my whole life style in general?" she accused, razing her voice slightly
"No all I'm saying is that, I don't think that you would make a good fighter" Kilowog tried to explain
"Tomorrow, you me ill kick your ass" Tyler challenged
"Look I don't want to fight you" Kilowog laughed, looking at her tiny frame wrapped in the duvet.
"Why? Don't want to lose?" Tyler taunted
Kilowog opened his mouth to try and work his way out of Tyler's challenge when the door opened.
"Tyler I got-" The girl who walked in stops talking half way through her sentence seeing the number of people in the room. She dropped the bag of shopping she was holding and pulled out a gun from her bag "who the hell are you?" she demanded pointing the gun at Kilowog who was standing closest to Tyler "did Atrocitus send you?"
"No, calm down" Hal said razing his hands
"Ruby!" Tyler yelled to get her attention "there not with Atrocitus, they are actually fighting him and could you seep quietly?"
"You shore?" ruby asked.
With a nod from Tyler ruby lowered the gun.
"Everyone this is ruby, ruby this is Razer, Jordan ha… Eya annnnd kilo-something" Tyler attempted
"Razer, Hal Jordan, Aya and Kilowog" Hal corrected pointing to each person in turn
"Hi and, sorry?" ruby offered
"Its fine" Hal replied
"You didn't have the gun pointed at you" Kilowog mumbled
Ruby was a tall humanoid alien with pink stripes across her face and arms and jet black hair witch hang in front of her face.
"Have you eaten Tyler?" Ruby asked to fill the silence that followed.
"I'll be sick" came the muffled reply from under the duvet again.
"You were drinking last night?" ruby said disappointment in her voice
"No"
Ruby picked up her bag and walked over to the kitchenette and began to unpack the food from the bag "you need to eat" she said over her shoulder
There was just a grown in response.
Hal watched ruby. She clearly was close with Tyler. She clearly wasn't a lantern as she had threatened them with a blaster. But this was another unknown, who was she and could she be trusted?
Ruby was pulling food that Hal didn't recognise out of the cupboards and throwing them into what looked like a blender before flicking it on and poring the mixture it producing into a glass for Tyler.
"I don't want it" Tyler grumbled when it was set down on the coffee table.
"to bad, and for lunch I'm going to fry something up for you" ruby said siting on the armrest of the couch with what was left over from Tyler's smoothie in another glass.
"So what exactly are you lot doing here?" ruby asked
"We were asking if Tyler wanted to join our fight against the red lanterns" Hal explained
Ruby chocked on her smoothie "I hope you got life insurance, you'll need it." She scoffed, then her eyes widened and she steered at the lump of duvet that was Tyler "you didn't agree did you?" she sounded almost panicked
"No" came the flat reply
Ruby breathed a sigh of relief "good"
There was a pause in which no one was to shore on what to say next.
"Are you going to stay for lunch?" ruby eventually asked "because I'm not shore what you eat"
"No we should leave" Hal said thankful for the chance to get out without seeming rude.
"No you're staying" Tyler commanded despite the duvet "I'm going to kick Kilowog's but once my headache is gone"
Ruby rolled her eyes "what do you eat then?"
"Were leaving" Kilowog stated "I am not going to fight her"
"Why not? Don't want to lose do you? I'm guessing Razer did tell you that I beat Atrocitus" Tyler argued siting up and throwing off the duvet.
"Look, I don't want to hurt you and you would be a liability on this team so we are going to leave now"
Razer shock his head and took a step back.
"I'd be a 'liability' would i?"
"Yes"
"you have no right to judge me on whatever I did while drunk last night and I'm hung over this morning so I'm not exactly at my best sorry, if I was expecting judgmental green lanterns I would have sobered up for you. You have no clue what I've had to do and what I've been through you don't get to judge me on one night!"
Kilowog was silent in response. He clearly hadn't thought she was capable of having an outburst like that while hung over.
Hal stepped in thinking of how Razer could explode when he got angry "every one lets calm down"
Before Hal had to think of what to say next there was a buzzing at the door.
"Tyler! Let me in, we have to talk" followed by banging on the door.
Hal turned to Tyler. She looked even paler that before.
"She's the last thing I need today" Tyler groaned.
"You need to hide" ruby said pushing Hal and Kilowog towards the bedroom.
"Why who is it?" Hal asked
"My dear sister" Tyler said sarcastically "Bleez"