Chapter 1 The Beginning
Asteroid Belt, Sol Solar System…
A tiny green light, no more than a spec when compared to the grand size of space, flew through its inky blackness at a speed uncommon for an object its size. No ship that size could move that fast, for it was not a ship, but a humanoid figure, a male one to be precise.
He was of standard height, about six feet, and was well built with corded muscle easily distinguishable on his form. He wasn't human though, his skin was a pale shade of violet, and he lacked any hair. But his most unique feature was the uniform he wore. He wore a black body suit, the upper half covered in a downwards facing green triangle. Green arm guards adorned his forearms, and a pair of green boots that seemed to meld into his suit.
The last feature on his suit was a white circle adorned on his chest. Inside the circle was another green circle with two green beveled lines on either end, shaped almost like a lantern.
This figure shot through the darkness of space, the look on his face suggesting he was on a mission of importance, when he suddenly came to a stop, floating in place, a green aura surrounding his form.
The male lifted his fist and looked at the emerald green ring on his middle finger and spoke, "Contact Thaal Sinestro, Sector 1417," he ordered.
A green light blinked once on the ring, and a holographic form of a male with short hair, pointed ears, and purple orange skin appeared hovering an inch above the ring, his colors slightly muted and green.
He nodded his head in greetings, "Abin Sur, it's good to hear from you friend, how goes your search for the illusive lantern killers?" he asked.
Abin frowned, "I fear that I have had little luck in that endeavor Sinestro. However I have stumbled upon something far more interesting," he told him.
Sinestro raised a brow, "Oh? And what could that be?"
"I seem to have stumbled upon an unmapped solar system," Sinestro looked at Abin Sur surprised.
"You're sure of this?" He asked, "An unmapped solar system is unheard of in any sector, only in the frontier zone,"
Abin nodded, "I am," he said, "I came across when my last lead started to go dry, and my ring has detected signs of radio transmissions emanating from the planet. I intend to investigate it,"
Sinestro placed his chin in his hand, rubbing it thoughtfully, "I see, make sure to be cautious my friend, there is no telling what beings could inhabit this system,"
"I'll keep that in mind Sinestro, report my findings to the council," he ordered.
"I will, Sinestro out," the hologram flickered out and Abin Sur lowered his hand. It was time to investigate this world.
His aura grew brighter, and he shot towards the little blue sphere that rested two planets away from the yellow sun that made the center of the system. It took only a short time before he approached the planet and its moon, his ring detecting several manmade objects orbiting the planet.
Abin stopped again, "Ring, begin scanning the planet's information network," he ordered.
There was a blink of acknowledgement and Abin began weaving his way through the information net of the planet. He quickly learned that the planets inhabitants were called humans, and were just taking their first tentative steps off planet. He learned their languages, their customs, and then he stumbled upon an interesting piece of data.
"I need to get to Oa, tell the Guardians of this," he said to himself.
"You're not going anywhere Green Lantern!" a high strung voice declared.
Abin Sur whirled around to see something he hadn't expected. Three figures floated behind him, lead by an alien whose main body was composed of a face with thick fang like teeth and pure white eyes. Its skin was pale and bore resemblance to dead flesh, covered in thick wrinkles.
Its body was covered in a red uniform, with the arms and legs covered in black sleeves with red gloves and boots. A black and red symbol was emblazoned on its forehead. Two lines ran vertical up the symbol with a circle in the center of it.
The two behind him, for he seemed male, were dressed in full black and red body armor, wielding silver staffs with red energy swirling around one end.
"Who are you?" Abin demanded.
The floating head laughed, "Zillius Zox, loyal servant to Atrocitus of the Red Lanterns!"
Abin Sur regarded him suspiciously, "There are no Red Lanterns, you are mistaken,"
Zillius laughed again, "That's what the last few lanterns said too before we ripped their hearts out!"
Abins eyes widened, "You're the Lantern killers!"
"Yes, we are," Zillius admitted happily, "And now we get to add the great Abin Sur to that list!"
Zox attacked Abin Sur before he could respond, blasting a tendril of thick red energy at the lantern. Abin raised an emerald shield with his ring, blocking the attack. To his horror, the shield began to crack, the red energy eating through it with ease.
Zox turned to the two behind him, "Attack you imbeciles! Attack!"
The two armored goons raised their staffs at Abins shield and added their fire to his. The Lantern grit his teeth and focused, his hands tightening. With a loud yell, the shield slammed forward knocking the three backwards and cart wheeling through space.
Zox shook his large head, a rather humorous gesture given his whole body was a head, before snarling angrily at the Lantern, "Kill him now!" he screeched.
The two soldiers quickly regained their senses and attacked Abin Sur. The Lantern, realizing he was outnumbered and outmatched, shot off away from Earth towards their moon. He needed to warn the guardians about this potential threat.
He didn't get far when a blast of red energy hit his back, causing him to yell out in pain and plummet to the moon, his body just barely caught in its gravitational field. Abin turned on his back and stopped falling, instead floating in place once again.
The two Reds attacked him, their staffs firing bolts of red energy at him. Abin made certain to dodge each one, and shot at the first red, knocking it away. The other had managed to get to close for his ranged attacks, and swung his staff at Abin.
The lantern blocked the blow with a sword construct, the two struggling against each other briefly, moving back and forth through space. Abin shoved the red away, and grabbed the edge of his staff, cutting through it with his blade as he shot back. The red looked at his now shortened staff before red energy began to coalesce where the end had once been.
"Drop the weapon," Abin ordered, "it's going to-" his warning was too late, as a large red explosion engulfed the red for a brief moment.
Abin Sur felt a brief stir of regret at the loss of life. Lanterns were forbidden to kill, and the death of any criminal, whether it was by his hand or indirect influence, the lantern felt it had been unwarranted
His sorrow was quickly replaced by shock as the cloud dissipated in the vacuum, revealing the Red. Its entire right arm was gone, with robotic components poking out of where the limb used to be. The two reds weren't living beings, they were machines.
Abin looked at the red and its comrade who was floating next to it, and his gaze hardened. Moving fast, he materialized a large buzz saw, and cut into the damaged red lantern robot. Sparks and chips of metal went flying as the green construct cleaved it in two, both halves floating off in opposite directions.
The remaining machine attacked him, dematerializing the construct. Abin formed a shield as it slammed its staff down with a burst of red energy. The shield shattered and sent Abin flying backwards. He quickly righted himself and materialized an alien pistol in his hands, holding it at his side as the machine barreled towards him firing red blasts.
The lantern scowled, and with a quick flick of his wrist, a green bolt of energy slammed into the machines head, knocking it clean off. It stuttered once before its body drifted in the opposite direction of its now disembodied head.
Abin let out a grateful sigh and let the pistol fade away. With those two gone he could return to Oa and warn the Corps. Turning towards the general direction of the planet, he prepared to take off, when a bolt of red energy slammed into him from the side.
"Where do you think you're going Green Lantern!?" Zox demanded as he hovered towards the lantern, his ring glowing furiously red.
Abin winced as he felt his side, a nasty burn having formed there. That shouldn't have been possible, his shields were up. Horror dawned on Abin as he finally made the connection that the red energy really could eat through his constructs with ease.
He backed away from Zox, realizing the danger he represented, "Oh what's the matter Lantern? Afraid?" he mocked.
Abin ignored the Red Lanterns taunts and focused on ignoring the pain in his side that continued to grow worse. He looked back down at his side briefly and saw that the injury was growing worse; the red energy was eating at his side like some sort of fire.
He ignored it for now and addressed Zox, "A lantern never… feels fear. We overcome it,"
Zox snorted, "Whatever, you'll be dead soon enough anyways," he grinned exposing his disgusting fangs.
His large mouth opened wide and red plasma that looked sickeningly similar to blood, shot forth from his maw towards Abin Sur. Years of training took over and he managed to bring up a sphere shaped shield over his form as the red vomit coated the shield and began to eat its way through his vital protection.
Abin grit his teeth again and focused his mind on sustaining the shield, and repeated the oath to help calm himself, "In brightest day,"
A crack formed in the shield.
"In blackest…night,"
Another stretched out from the original.
"No evil… shall escape my sight,"
His arm shook as he fought to maintain the shield.
"Let those who worship evil's might…"
He clenched his eyes shut as the shield began to collapse.
"Beware my power,"
His eyes suddenly shot open.
"GREEN LANTERNS LIGHT!"
The shield exploded outward, sending the red goo everywhere, even towards Zox, who screamed bloody murder as a small portion of it burned his face, "You will pay for that Lantern. I'll make you-" he was cut off as a green energy blast slammed into him, sending the red lantern careening off into the darkness of space.
Abin heaved for breath, gripping his injury which felt as if a fire were raging within his wounds. He looked down and winced, the injury had worsened, the fire eating at his flesh was starting to die, but it was too late. His ribs were exposed, startling white, and he felt that whatever was eating away at him had made its way into his blood stream.
He was dying.
Abin formed a bubble around him and lay on it, letting out a groan of pain. He lifted his ring hand to his face and said, "I have been critically injured by a group labeling themselves as the red lanterns. I will not survive,"
He looked to Earth, "I am sending my ring… to find a… suitable… replacement," with that, the emerald ring slid off his finger and shot to Earth, leaving a faint green trail in its wake.
Abin did not doubt that it would find a wearer worthy of his ring. The Rings never made a mistake after all…
Earth…
As the Boeing 777 passed over the Atlantic Ocean, Captain Terrence Green knew something was terribly wrong. The throttle had suddenly stopped working causing the aircraft's engine warning lights to blink repeatedly at him and a sharp whistle to go off in his left ear. After thirty four years of being a pilot, he knew this could only mean one thing; the one thing that was the worst nightmare for anyone who ever operated an aircraft- dual engine failure.
"Peters start the APU. We need to make an emergency landing," Captain Green told his co-pilot, who's eyes widened. An APU was the auxiliary power unit on an airplane. It was a critical safety device that was designed to supply backup electricity to an engine if it suddenly became dead. If Peters's captain was calling for its activation, the aircraft and the two hundred and seven souls on board were in serious trouble.
Captain Green grabbed his radio and called out to the airport closest to their current location, "Paris Tower, BA Code 01326!"
The French air traffic controller was quick to reply, "BA Code 01326, this is Paris Tower, go ahead!"
Captain Green looked over at his co-pilot who was shaking his head as he frantically switched the APU on and off repeatedly. The green light that signaled the APU was working was not coming on. The backup power device had failed too. From the lurch the airplane suddenly made, Captain Green knew the Boeing 777 was quickly losing altitude.
"May Day! May Day! May Day! BA Code 01326 Five November Romeo Alpha Mike dual engine failure!" Captain Green shouted into his radio, trying the throttle again. No response.
After delivering the message, the pilot grabbed the intercom system. Through the cabin door, he could hear the cries of the frightened passengers as the plane descended lower and lower towards the ocean.
"This is your captain speaking," Green said over the radio, trying to remain as calm as possible in order to prevent complete chaos from descending upon the plane. "We have experienced operational difficulties that will require you to remain seated and buckled in. Please brace yourself for a water landing."
More screams could be heard as a result of this news, but the captain had to ignore them. The Paris Tower air traffic control officer was talking to him again.
"BA Code 01326, I repeat: do you read me?"
Captain Green picked up his radio again, "I read you five by five! Dual engine failure! Negative response from throttle! A water landing will be attempted! I repeat: a water landing will be attempted!"
Green looked over at his co-pilot, who was attempting to level out the plane. The younger man was the picture of desperation. Peters's grip on the yoke was so tight that Green could see the blood vessels popping out on his hands and sweat was gleaming off the other man's face while he muttered over and over again, "Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck."
Unfortunately, it seemed Peters's efforts were going to be in vain. In front of them, the ocean was coming closer and closer at an alarming speed. If they did not slow the plane down now, everyone on board would die.
"Pull back! Pull back!" Green yelled at his co-pilot, but it was no use. They were going to crash.
In the last moments before impact, the captain managed to grab the intercom device one last time to shout to his passengers, "Brace yourselves!" before the entire world around them seemed to smack into a blue brick wall.
Eight year old Harry Potter was having a wonderful day.
The Dursleys had been planning a trip to Italy for over a year now. Aunt Petunia was thrilled to spend time on the warm beaches and work on her tan- "I need to look better than that horrid woman in Number 11 before summer starts!"-, Uncle Vernon wanted to eat as much Italian food as his whale-like body could consume- "Those Grease Balls might have spanked by us in the War, but they can still cook damn good food!"- and Dudley… well, he was just excited for all the souvenirs he was promised by his parents.
Harry was supposed to remain in Little Whinging just like on every Dursley family holiday. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon told him that this was because holidays were meant to be enjoyed and his 'freakishness' would certainly ruin that possibility. This was why they had arranged for Harry's neighbor- the crazy cat lady, Mrs. Figg- to watch him for the week that they would be away.
A week without the Dursleys was like Christmas come early in Harry's opinion. It would be a week without weeding the garden or dusting the furniture or scrubbing the floors or any of the other terrible chores Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon could invent for him. He would be allowed to relax and read all the books he had checked out of his school's library before their March break. Harry was excited to delve into classics such as "Charlotte's Webb" and "Chronicles of Narnia." The eight year old was convinced it was going to be his best break yet.
But then, disaster struck for the Dursleys when Mrs. Figg's uncle had passed away two days before the trip. The deceased man had no next of kin and it was up to his niece to arrange the wake and the funeral services. She would need to leave town and was unable to take Harry with her.
Now, panicking at the possibility of their holiday being derailed, Uncle Vernon had phoned his sister, Marge, in hope that she could take the boy. Unfortunately Marge, a bulldog breeder, was attending a conference about canine nutrition on the continent.
"We can't just leave him here, Vernon. He's eight!" Aunt Petunia had argued with her husband, when he had suggested locking Harry in the cupboard for the week while they were in Italy. "What would the neighbors think?"
In the end, the Dursleys were forced to purchase a plane ticket to Italy for Harry. Despite it being in economy class- the Dursleys were in business seeing as they were above such mediocrity, it was still very expensive, since it was bought last minute. The Dursleys were furious, but there was nothing they could do about it. Harry Potter was going to Italy whether they liked it or not.
On the morning of March 13th, 1988, Harry Potter had boarded flight 1326 in a fantastic mood. Even though he was stuck with his awful relatives for the week, he would still be going to another country. For a boy who had never left Little Whinging, this was a huge deal. He would be able to see all the sights that he had only been able to glimpse at in books- Rome, the Alps, the Mediterranean and the list went on and on. Harry knew this trip would be the highlight of his young life.
He took a seat between a man the size of Uncle Vernon and an old woman with wispy white hair who was clutching a pair of rosary beads. The man had glared at Harry when he accidentally stepped on his foot while squeezing by, but the woman had smiled at him.
"You're awfully young to be flying by yourself," she commented when he sat down next to her.
"My relatives are on the plane too," Harry assured her and pointed towards the Business Class section that had been separated by a curtain.
The old woman raised her eyebrows at his response, "Why are you stuck back here, while they're up there?" she asked him, her hazel eyes narrowing with suspicion.
"I got my ticket at the last minute," Harry muttered, not wanting to draw any more attention to the Dursleys. If Uncle Vernon found out someone was poking in his family's business because of Harry… well, he knew the most minor punishment would be getting locked in the cupboard under the stairs for a week. Harry did not want to think of what else his uncle would do to him if such a thing occurred.
Before the old woman could ask Harry more questions, a blonde haired lady in a navy blue blazer and pencil skirt walked down the aisle and told the passengers to start buckling up. The eight year old felt his heart begin to race. He could not believe he was actually going to fly!
While the lady in blue gave instructions about the life preservers, Harry wondered if flying on an airplane was anything like the dreams he sometimes had of the flying motorbike. Harry loved those dreams more than any other recurring dreams he had. There was wind in his hair, a bubbling sensation in his stomach and a rush of excitement the boy had never experienced outside his sleep before. The eight year old hoped the Boeing 777 would produce a similar reaction.
Suddenly, there was a rumble underneath his feet and Harry felt his entire body begin to vibrate. Above him, a sign blinked on and showed a hand putting a seat belt into the buckle and Harry mimicked the action.
'Here we go!' Harry thought as the plane pulled out of the gate and started creeping down the runway.
"Is this your first time flying, young man?" the old woman asked, taking a break from saying the rosary to look over at Harry.
The small boy nodded, "Yes, ma'm."
She smiled down at him, "My, my, you're awfully calm for your first flight," the old woman told Harry. "I remember when I took my Monica on a plane for the first time. The poor girl almost wet herself in fear!"
Harry was not sure if the old woman was making a joke about her daughter or not, so instead of laughing, he smiled back politely, "Don't worry ma'm; I used the loo before I got on the plane."
The old woman let out loud, barking laughs that attracted the glares of some of the other passengers, who were tense on account of their imminent takeoff. She ignored them and beamed down at Harry.
"I like you, young man," she said, still smiling. "What's your name?"
"Harry, Harry Potter," the small boy informed her and held out his hand, feeling warmth grow inside of him.
Harry was not used to hearing from many people that he was liked and especially not by adults. At home, he was constantly called a freak and a brat. At school- where he had to play dumb to lessen the wrath of the Dursleys for beating Dudley on exams-, he was dubbed as lazy and a troublemaker by his teachers. This was a welcome change.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Harry Potter," the old woman said and shook his hand firmly. "I'm Elaine Kirk."
Before Harry could return the sentiment, a deafening sound filled the cabin of the airplane, making his teeth chatter. He looked out the window to see what was happening. Was there an earthquake?
"The engines are being turned up," the old woman explained loudly over the noise, while still fingering her rosary beads. "The plane needs a lot of power to get off the ground."
Suddenly, the aircraft began to move at a speed Harry did not think he had ever traveled in his entire life. His stomach was clenched tightly and his mouth began to dry up, but he could not stop grinning. This was fantastic! It was almost better than his dream!
After a few seconds of speeding down the runway, Harry felt a sudden upwards lurch and his back immediately pressed against the seat. They were climbing into the sky, gaining feet by the second. Harry leaned over Elaine Kirk, who had her eyes clamped shut and was muttering the rosary, to gaze down at London through the airplane's window. The huge city was getting smaller and smaller as they went up. It was wonderful!
When the plane broke through the thick, grey London clouds, the sight below him had made Harry's breath catch in his throat. The young boy had never seen anything more awe-inspiring than the top of the clouds. It did not seem natural to Harry. It was as if he had just landed on a different planet that had a grey and fluffy surface. The sight was absolutely beautiful and Harry wished he had a camera to capture the image forever. It would certainly be a lovely picture to look at while he was stuck in his cupboard. It would remind him of a happier time, a freer time.
After a few more minutes, the flight attendant informed Harry and the other passengers over the intercom that they were now over the Atlantic Ocean and gaining altitude. They would be allowed to remove their seat-belts and use the bathroom if they so desired. Once the announcement was over, Elaine Kirk opened her eyes again and rested her rosary beads on her lap. She looked visibly relaxed and smiled at Harry.
"Nice sight, isn't it?" Elaine asked, glancing out the window.
"It's beautiful," he agreed.
"Still makes me want to say the rosary, though," the older woman told him, regaining some of her previous wariness. "It's not natural for humans to be amongst the clouds... If flying wasn't so damn convenient, I would say leave it to the birds!"
"Why do you need those?" Harry asked, pointing at the beads.
The Dursleys had only taken him to church and youth group a few times when he was younger. After Dudley kept throwing a fit, "I want my telly! I'm bored! I'm bored!", they had stopped. This was why Harry was not very knowledgeable when it came to religion. Of course, he had still managed to pick up a few things from church, including how to use rosary beads. But from what he noticed about the beads was that people usually took them out during mass or during confession. Harry was not sure why they were with Elaine on the plane now.
"I don't trust airplanes, Harry," she told him. "I don't get how they get off the ground. I don't get how they stay in the sky. I don't get anything about them… The only thing I trust in is God. God will protect me no matter what happens to me… That's why I use the rosary beads- to keep in touch with God even at my darkest hour."
Harry did not know how to respond to that. The boy never really believed in anything. After all, if there was a loving and all-powerful God as they said at Church, why would he let his parents die in that car crash? Why would God allow him to live with people as terrible as the Dursleys? It did not make sense to Harry. The only thing the boy did believe in was that one day he would be free from Number Four, Privet Drive. It was what drove him even when he was locked away in the cupboard for days at the time, starving and miserable.
Suddenly, the plane gave a quick, downward lurch and several people cried out, either being tossed forward or into the aisle. Elaine grabbed Harry's hand very tightly and started saying prayers under her lips again.
"Ladies and gentleman, it seems that we are experiencing a bit of turbulen-"
But before the flight attendant could finish, the plane lurched downwards again, inciting more screams. The seat-belt sign was on again and people scrambled to secure themselves. Harry could hear babies crying and more prayers being muttered. However, what he no longer heard was the rumbling sound of the plane's engine.
'That's impossible,' Harry thought but when he looked out the window at the engine on the left wing of the plane, it was no longer vibrating. His stomach clenched immediately and every hair on his body was on edge. What was happening?
"This is your captain speaking," a deep, male voice suddenly echoed through the cabin's walls, cutting through the infants' wails. "We have experienced operational difficulties that will require you to remain seated and buckled in. Please brace yourself for a water landing."
The words provoked an instant panic. People around Harry started crying. Mother's were hugging their children in an attempt to soothe them. A couple across the aisle gripped each other's hands like a lifeline. Harry wondered what his relatives were doing in business class. Aunt Petunia was probably throwing a fit over Dudley. Did she even think about her nephew who was all by himself towards the back of the plane?
"This is it," Elaine whispered next to him, tears now running down her face, and started spewing what was all nonsense to Harry, "I should've said goodbye… I'm such a fool… But, I am going to be closer to you, God, and you, Mark... Yes, we'll be reunited again very soon."
Harry squeezed the old woman's hand, hoping this would comfort her, but she just cried more.
"And you poor, poor boy," Elaine muttered, cupping the side of his face. "You're too young… too, too young. Where are your relatives? Why haven't they come to say goodbye?"
Even at the brink of imminent death, Harry still could not admit how terrible the Dursleys were to another person. Saying goodbye to Harry was probably the last thing on his 'family's' mind. They hated their nephew. They were probably blaming the plane crashing on his freakishness at this very moment.
"I'll be okay," Harry told the old woman, ignoring the lurch in his stomach. They were falling at a sharper angle now. Death was moments away.
"Yes, you will be," Elaine agreed, caressing his face once more before praying out loud, "Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee," The ocean was getting closer now, "Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus," They were about 500 feet away, "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death," Harry closed his eyes as he distantly heard someone yell to brace themselves, "Amen."
Just before impact somethring broke through the window, right next to the window and attached itself to Harry's finger and an emerald light surrounded him...
To Be Continued...
Authors Notes: I had trouble starting this story so I used 2 different stories to help start me...