Prototypes

by Black Phoenix Risen

After the fall of the Manhunters, the Guardians accidentally release seven forbidden prototype rings and one of their most dangerous prisoners; Krona. With several dangerous weapons and the greatest evil they have ever faced loose in the universe, the Guardians are relying on Hal Jordan and his team to retrieve the rings and stop Krona before it's too late. T for violence.

10. A Flash of Silver Lining

Black Phoenix Risen cannot be here right now do to reasons of vengeance, but he has left this chapter to be posted for your enjoyment.

Same disclaimers as before

Chapter 10: A Flash of Silver Lining

"This is a bad idea."

"Shut up. What could go wrong?"

Razer sighed and rubbed his temples. "Famous last words," he murmured. Kid Flash grunted and crouched down, ready to run. Razer quickly formed a blue box around the speedster.

"Hey!"

Razer drifted to the ground and approached the silver dome. "For one so quick, you are rather slow-witted."

"Like I haven't heard that one before," snorted Kid Flash. Razer gently put his hand against the silver. As soon as it touched his skin, he felt strange, like everything was muted. His hope, his precious love, was failing. He began to lower his hand further into the cloud.

"This is strange," he said to himself. He slowly lowered the construct around Kid Flash. Why shouldn't he? It didn't matter if the young human rushed headfirst into the dome.

Kid Flash stared at him incredulously. "Are you okay man?"

Razer considered the query for a moment before replying with a simple shrug and a "Meh,"

Kid Flash frowned and grabbed Razer's other arm. "C'mon, man, you're freaking me out here."

He pulled hard, but Razer shook him off. "Just let me be," Razer mumbled, his eyelids drooping. Kid Flash rubbed his head, his mind racing. Suddenly, he ran over to the nearest police officer, his gun still trained nervously on the fog. "Hey, so, when Flash and I got here, why was he so freaked out?"

"We shot at his ship."

"Right. Thanks, dude." Kid flash ran back to the ship, scooping up some stray pebbles on the pavement as he did. "Hey! Tall, dark, and dismal!" Razer blinked at him, up to his elbow into the mist. "Watch this!" Kid Flash began to hurl the small rocks at the hull of the Aya, dinging them off her pristine metal. Razer watched in disinterest. His face never changed from a relaxed frown. Kid Flash scowled and tossed his last stone onto the ship. With a final ding, it hit the 'Aya' emblazoned across her face, scratching the paint. Razer's eye's widened and he yanked his hand out of the fog.

The pouch around his neck ripped and a small red ring shot onto his finger, the blue ring on the other hand dropping off, clinking on the street. With a screech of rage, Razer's body was engulfed in red light. Kid Flash stepped back and shielded his face against the light. When he looked back, he was staring directly into the flaming eyes of a fully enraged Razer.

The Red Lantern grabbed the teen by the throat faster than even the speedster could react and lifted him off the ground. "You…you defiled her name." he reared back his fist and a red dagger shot from his knuckles. "Give me a reason why I shouldn't kill you!" Kid Flash gulped and swung his foot up, kicking Razer in the jaw. The alien dropped him in surprise and Kid Flash ducked down, grabbing the ring straight off his finger. Razer howled in shock and pain as his red energy was ripped away, back into the ring. He fell to his knee, exhausted and panting.

"Razer?" Said Kid Flash, approaching the downed extraterrestrial carefully, "We cool?"

Razer glared over his shoulder at the teen. "You just put enough rage in my heart to incite my re-induction into the Red Lantern Corps. I spent weeks of meditation to achieve the calm needed to take off my ring by myself." He slowly struggled to his feet and shambled over to his fallen blue ring. "You just set me back to the beginning of my training as a Blue Lantern."

"Oh, sorry."

Razer picked up his ring and slipped it on, sighing as he felt its calming influence once again. "Still, thank you for saving me from that…stuff." He frowned as he had to use an unusual amount of hope to stitch his torn pouch back together. "Give me the ring," he said, holding his hand out to Kid Flash.

"Are you sure?"

"I'll be alright now." Kid Flash tossed him the red ring and he quickly slipped it into the pouch, pulling the drawstrings tight to keep the red light from him.

"What is this stuff anyway?" asked Kid Flash, leaning towards the mist.

Razer formed a large shield between the teen and the cloud. "I'm not sure," he said, "But whatever it is, it is powerful enough to negate emotions, even that of a Lantern. I would advise against touching it."

"Right, right," said Kid Flash, backing away, "So, what's the plan?" Razer glared at the mist. He formed a protective shield around himself and dipped his hand once more into the fog. It didn't affect him as before, but he could see his shield melting away when it touched the silver air.

He pulled it back grimly. "At any other time, I would encase us in a shield that would protect us from the fog's influence, but since my control of the Blue Light has been reduced, I doubt I could keep up a shield long enough fro us to meet up with the others."

Kid Flash nodded and rubbed his chin. "Can you fly the ship into the fog?"

"Maybe, I'd rather not risk her against the unknown."

"What if I rotated my arms really fast to make a vortex and blew the fog out of our way?"

Razer stared at him in surprise and amazement. "You can do that?"

Kid Flash looked at the ground. "No, Flash can, but he's still teaching me the basics. I can't even vibrate my molecules without getting a nosebleed." They stood in silent thought for a moment before Kid Flash raised his head and looked around. "Hey, look." He said, nudging Razer. He pointed to a truck in the distance where some men in white coats were examining the fog. "Scientists."

"So?"

"Field scientists. Dealing with unknown, volatile, alien materials."

"So?"

"So, they probably have hazmat suits."

. . .

Hal punched Evan in the face and the younger man fell back, his expressionless face maintaining its blankness. Hal lunged at his sister, but Kilowog tackled him from the side and drove him into the street. "Kilwog?" groaned Hal as the massive alien stood above him. "Why?"

Kilowog shrugged. "Why not?" He raised his fist and Hal rolled away just as it slammed into the pavement where his head had been a second ago. Hal scrambled to his feet and raised his ring. Something kicked him hard in the back and he flew back into Kilowog's grip with a grunt. He glanced back to see Flash staring droopily at him.

"Et tu, Barry?" Hal muttered. He made a massive spring between him and Kilowog and coiled them tightly, shooting Kilowog backwards. As the alien fell, Carol clambered over his back and leapt at Hal. He ducked and Carol landed with a crouch behind him before spinning with a kick and brought Hal to the ground. "I know this is neither the time nor place," Hal sighed, "But why aren't you this agile in bed?" He pushed himself up and pushed Carol to the ground as he did. He quickly dropped twin green handcuffs around her ankles and wrists.

Just as he breathed a small sigh of relief, he felt a pair of arms wrap around his neck from behind. Instinctively, he kicked back and heard a grunt of pain as his boot connected with something. The arms around his neck loosened and he wrenched free with a turn. Arisia was staring at her knee, where a bruise was already forming. She shrugged with a sigh and reached behind her. Ch'p scampered onto her hand and she tossed him like a baseball. Hal formed a green tennis racket and smashed the squirrel away. "Why aren't any of you using your rings?" he muttered to himself. Arisia looked at her ring and pointed it at Hal, but nothing happened, her ring wasn't even glowing.

"I always liked elf ears as a kid," said Hal, raising his ring, "But I wondered how sensitive they were, how many decibels can they take?" A massive speaker formed besides him and a green electric guitar appeared in his hands. He didn't play the instrument, but for his purposes, he didn't need to. He strummed violently and a wave of high-pitched sound shot out of the amplifier. Arisia's eyes widened and she sank to her knees, blood dripping out of her ears.

Hal's speaker shattered as Flash ran through it. Hal put up a shield dome, but Flash ran up and delivered a hundred punches in less than a second, shattering the construct and sending Hal into the ground painfully. Hal grimaced and formed a block of green concrete around the Flash's feet. Barry tripped over, but quickly vibrated his molecules out of the concrete. Hal scowled as Flash ran circles around him. It was a common diversion tactic that Barry used. Hal shot out a giant green fist and Flash ran straight into it, knocked out cold.

Even flew out of the mist, his fist cocked back. He punched Hal in the face and Hal grunted from the pain as he reeled backwards. Even didn't let up, barraging Hal with punches and kicks, backing him into the unknown fathoms of the mist. After a few moments of this assault, Hal threw up green boxing gloves and remembered his training at the hands of Kilowog. "Block," he muttered, raising his arms, "Counter." He spun away from the attack and jumped up, brining his fist down onto Evan's head. The young man grunted and backed away.

"Jab," Hal told himself, "Jab, duck, haymaker," he wove between Evan's punches and delivered a few of his own. He danced on his toes as Evan tried to focus and recovered from Hal's attacks. "Tell me, kid," Said Hal, blocking an uppercut, "Why do you want to do this anyway? Because your sister told you?"

"Whatever."

"Why are you listening to her?"

"Whatever."

Hal paused. "What time is it?"

"Whatever."

"What color is my ring?"

"Whatever."

"Can you say something other than whatever?"

"Whatever."

Hal rolled his eyes. "Right." He attacked abruptly with right hook and his gloved fist smashed into Evan's temple. The young man didn't make a sound, but Hal could see pain blossom behind his eyes. "Your ring is powered by indifference," said Hal, "And it makes it harder to use my ring. How can I beat you?"

"You can't." From the mist behind Evan, his sister walked out, hands in her pockets. "You and your friends get your powers from your emotions, but Evan can drain your emotion using this mist. Face it, it's taking all of your concentration to keep your friends immobilized, keep up your shields, and fight my brother. All it would take was a single distraction to take you down."

Hal raised his fists as Evan adapted a fighting stance. "Give it up, kid, even if you take me down, there are hundreds of other heroes out there who would take my place."

"And I'll make them my slaves," the girl said with a shrug, "Evan controls anyone touched by the mist, and I control Evan." Hal grunted as Evan leapt forwards and jabbed at him. This was going to be a problem.

. . .

"We look ridiculous." Razer grumbled.

"But we're not brainwashed zombies, and that's what counts." The Blue Lantern glared down at his young companion through the thick plastic that separated his face from the fog. The hazmat suits were heavy and thick and, while sturdy protection against the silver mist, made it downright impossible to fight. Razer sighed and continued walking forwards.

"What is the point of this anyway? I'm sure they are fine."

"Look I'm worried about Flash, alright?"

Razer cocked an eyebrow. "You do not have faith in your mentor's abilities?"

"Of course not! Flash is the fastest man in the world, but…"

"But?"

"He's dating my aunt."

Razer hesitated, but never broke his stride. "I see."

"No, you don't," said Kid Flash with a sigh, "My aunt hasn't exactly had the best love life, she deserves to be happy, but guys keep breaking her heart. Barry, he's the first guy in a long time to treat her right." He stared at his hands, "If I ever let something happen to him…" he let the sentence hang, but Razer knew all too well just how much weight those words carried.

"I understand," he said quietly, "Twice in my life I have let down those I love. I hope never to do so again. It's not an experience I would advise."

"Aya?" Razer fixed him with a glare, "You didn't care about the ship," explained Kid Flash, "You cared about her name."

Razer nodded. "You're smarter than you look. Yes, Aya."

"I'm sorry."

"She's not dead," said Razer, "Just…scattered. She was too smart not to have a backup program of her consciousness stored somewhere. I hope to find it one day and reconstruct her."

Kid Flash stared at him. "I, um, ah…what?"

"She was a sentient, self-aware android."

"Oh, cool." They continued to walk forwards together. After a while, Kid Flash sighed and drooped his shoulders. "Hey, Razer?"

"Mmm?"

"We have no idea where we're going, do we?"

"Absolutely none."

"And we have no idea where we are now, do we?"

"No part of that statement was incorrect."

"Right, just checking."

. . .

Komand'r glared over her army. They were assembled in straight lines and massive battalions, all looking at her with fear and respect. Her forces were made up of thousands of young Tamaraneans and hundreds of experienced Warlords. Komand'r slowly stood, her shining bronze gown falling like a waterfall around her. She waved her hand and her dress morphed into sturdy, bronze battle armor.

"My subjects," she said, her voice ringing throughout the arena where they were gathered, "I would give you an inspiring speech, filled with endearing and powerful words that would bring you to your knees in worship of me." She drifted down and landed majestically on the ground. "It would be memorable, enticing, funny at times, and would cause you to rush into battle in my glorious name to die on my behalf." She walked up to a random Tamaranean soldier and caressed his cheek. "I would give such a speech," she said, "But you're fighting for me," she smiled and the soldier she was touching shivered in her touch. "That should be inspiration enough." She flew up to her throne and reclined, twirling a bronze scepter. "Now go, engage the enemy." As one, her army bowed to her and filed ranks passed her, out of the arena.

"You'll never win."

Komand'r sighed and spun her throne around. Behind her, Koriand'r was rigged in a bronze construct with thousands of needles poking into her skin, making any movement excruciating. "Come again, sister dear?"

"You'll never win," Koriand'r closed her eyes and kept her breath shallow to restrict her movement.

Komand'r cackled. "Oh? Why not?"

"You lack the trust of the people."

"I don't need it." Komand'r smiled, "Now there's something I've been wanting to try…"

Koriand'r grit her teeth, bracing herself for the unimaginable torture to come. "Do your worst."

"I intend to."

. . .

"Huh," muttered Razer, "This is new. I don't know if I've ever seen Kilowog in such bad shape." He knelt down over Kilowog's unconscious form.

"C'mon Flash, wake up!" said Kid Flash nervously as he slapped his mentor's cheeks to no avail. Razer stood and walked passed a bleeding and groaning Arisia. He crouched down and stared at Carol, still inhibited by green cuffs.

"What happened here, Star Sapphire?"

Carol looked at him lazily. "Mmm, Evan told me to kill Hal, so I tried to. But he cuffed me, soooo here we are."

"Evan?"

"Some kid with a Silver Ring or whatever."

Razer nodded. "I see. Thank you for your help."

"No problem."

Razer stood. "Let's go, Kid Flash."

Kid Flash glanced up at him. "But Flash-"

"I'm sure will be fine. But Green Lantern needs our help."

Kid Flash grimaced and stood up. "Fine, so what do we do?" Hal appeared out of the fog and slammed into Kid Flash, sending both of them flying.

Razer sighed. "I suppose we just stand around and wait for the trouble to find us." Out of the fog appeared a young man in a silver uniform, walking casually towards Hal. "Evan I presume?"

"Whatever." Evan didn't even look at him.

Razer watched as he passed. "I see. Your ring works based on how little you care. So why are you doing this?"

"Because I'm telling him to." A girl walked out of the fog, her hands shoved deep into her pockets.

Kid Flash stumbled out of the fog next to Razer, patting over his suit. "Okay, we're good. I don't think Green Lantern broke through the suit. What's going on?"

Razer groaned. "Try to keep up, won't you? The Silver Lantern is powered by indifference and he's being controlled by this female."

Kid Flash tried to scratch his head. "Who're you?"

"I'm his sister." For a moment, they all stood, staring at each other. Hal and Evan grappled with each other and tumbled between Razer and Kid Flash and Evan's sister. Kid Flash dashed forward to help, but he was weighed down by the heavy suit, giving Razer enough time to grab his shoulder.

"We have to do something!" protested Kid Flash.

"If our suits are compromised, we'll be turned into weapons for the Silver Lantern to use against Hal," explained Razer, "We can't risk turning the tide against him." Kid Flash almost stomped his feet in frustration. For a few moments, they all stood in a circle, watching the two Lanterns wrestling on the ground. Hal would occasionally form a construct, but they were weak from his lack of concentration.

"Wait," said Kid Flash suddenly, "The Silver Lantern is powered by indifference, right? That's the emotion of not caring, right?"

"Yes," said Razer hesitantly.

"So, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

The penny dropped and Razer gasped. "Kid Flash, forget everything I've ever said to you. You are a genius."

Kid Flash grinned. "You want to start, or should I?"

Razer smiled. "It would be an honor." With that, he swiveled and punched Evan's sister in the face. The girl was too surprised to block and tripped backwards, landing with a thump. She cried out and hissed as she rubbed her tailbone.

Kid Flash dove forwards and slid behind her, wrapping his arms around her neck. "I hate to hurt a girl, babe. But you know what they say about desperate times."

"Evan!" screamed the girl and the Silver Lantern looked over. His eyes widened and he ran forwards. Razer knelt down and tripped him up, sending Evan sprawling.

"Get your hands," snarled Evan as he raised his ring, swinging back and forth between Razer and Kid Flash, "Off my sister!"

Razer smiled. He could already see the mist thinning. "It's working!" Evan grimaced as he thrust his ring towards Kid Flash, but nothing happened, not even a spark.

Hal walked up next to Razer. "What's going on?"

"His ring is powered by him not caring about anything," said Kid Flash, "But whenever he starts to care about something, he looses his power. That's why the mist doesn't affect her; he cares for her too much for his power to touch her."

"And he cares even more now because his sister is in danger!" exclaimed Hal, "That's brilliant Razer!" The sun began to poke through the mist as Razer shrugged.

"Actually, Kid Flash came up with it."

"Really? You don't say." Hal stared at the grinning red-headed hero, "Maybe the kid has some potential after all."

Razer smiled. "Perhaps all he needs is a little hope." Evan stared at his ring in confusion and Kid Flash took advantage of the moment. He dropped the girl and stripped out of the hazmat suit with his super speed. Before anyone could blink, he dashed forward and snatched the ring straight off of Evan's finger. Evan gasped in shock as what little emotion he had returned abruptly and the last of the fog slurped back into the silver ring.

"And that's a wrap, folks," said Kid Flash, flipping the ring like a coin.

Evan slowly sunk to his knees. "Huh," he murmured, "Did I just take over a city with alien powers because my sister told me to?" Razer and Hal exchanged a glance and nodded. "Right, just making sure," said Evan.

"So what now?" asked Kid Flash.

"I don't know about you guys," said Evan, "But I'm going home."

Kid Flash stared at him. "You think we're just going to let you go after what you did?"

"Let him go, Kid," said a voice. They all turned and saw a disheveled Flash and Carol supporting a barely conscious Kilowog and Arisia. "He wasn't in control of himself," continued the Flash, "None of this was his fault. She, on the other hand," he glared at Evan's sister, who glared at all of them in turn before dashing off down the street. Kid Flash rolled his eyes and shot forward, holding his arm out and clothes-lining the girl. She fell on the pavement with a groan.

"Sorry babe," he said with a smirk, "But I'm the fastest boy alive."

"Will she be alright?" asked Evan monotonously.

Hal formed handcuffs around her wrists. "You can visit her in prison," he reassured Evan.

Carol walked over to Hal and leaned on his shoulder. "Well this has been…an experience."

"A good one?" Hal chuckled.

"It could've gone better," she admitted, "But it all ended well, and that's all we could ask for. Still, I think you should handle the rest of your adventure with your friends. I'll make sure little miss take-over-a-city here gets into police custody."

"Probably the only time a woman wants her boyfriend out of the house to hang out with his friends," laughed Hal.

"With all due respect, Lantern Jordan," muttured Arisia, "Shut up, everything sounds like a drum in my ear."

Hal cringed. "Yeah, sorry about that."

"See you guys," called Evan, walking away, "I'm out of here. Give me the details in that one phone call of yours, sis."

His sister stared at him incredulously. "You're not going to help me here?"

Evan stopped and turned back. "Is your life in danger?"

"Well, no not now, but-"

"Will you get three square meals a day in prison?"

"I thinks so, but-"

"You'll be safe, secure, fed, looked after, and I'll still be able to visit you." He shrugged. "No offense sis, but after all this," he waved his hand at the city around them. A few pedestrians were slowly shambling around, shaking their heads as their emotions and cares returned to them. "Maybe juvie is the best place for you right now." With that, he turned about face and walked off, whistling a flat tune with his hands tucked behind his back, like he was taking a relaxing, evening constitutional.

"We should get going too, Kid," said Flash, "Your aunt is going to kill me for taking you all the way to Florida."

"Right," nodded Kid Flash.

"You've done well here, Kid Flash," said Razer, resting his hand on the speedster's shoulder, "I hope to see you as a powerful and prolific hero in the future." Kid Flash grinned at Razer before he and Flash shot off like blurs into the distance.

"I have to get back to the airfield," said Carol, "Next time, tell me when you come back to Earth, 'kay?"

Hal puller her in for a long, deep kiss filled with passion and love. Carol's pink ring glowed brightly as they pulled apart, but kept their heads bent towards each other. "I promise," he whispered.

"If either of you feel like coming up for air," called Kilowog, "We need to get moving. If I spend another minute on this forsaken planet, I'll turn in my ring and retire!" He turned and flew off in the direction of the Aya, Razer and Arisia following him closely.

Hal stared into Carol's eyes. "Babe-"

"Let's not draw this out, Hal," said Carol with a smile, "I'll see you when you get back."

Hal grinned. "I don't suppose I can count this as a paid vacation, can I?"

"Don't push your luck, cowboy. Now go save the universe."

Hal laughed aloud, which made Carol's smile widen. "Love you, babe!" He called as he shot off into the sky after his fellow Lanterns.

They all fell to the ground outside the Aya where service men and women were cheering and applauding them. Arisia clutched her hands to her ears as tears of pain streamed down her face. "I'm going to kill you," she muttered, glaring angrily at Hal. Hal grinned sheepishly and waved to the crowd as he started up the ramp.

"So, I say we never speak of this again," proposed Kilowog as they boarded the ship, "Two Lanterns, one of them a training instructor, brought down by one of his former students? I'd never hear the end of it."

"Speaking of hearing things," snarled Arisia, "I'm going to the med bay." She stormed off and gave Hal a pointed look as the sliding door slammed shut behind her.

"I must go to my quarters to meditate," said Razer, "Please do not interrupt me, I will need some time to reintegrate my connection with the Blue Light." He flew off, leaving Kilowog and Hal alone on the ship's bridge.

"Kilowog," started Hal, "Do you hate me?"

Kilowog blinked. "What kind of question is that, Jordan? We've been stranded in the forgotten zone together for months on end! We stopped a Red Lantern invasion and killed the Anti-Monitor! You're my comrade and friend, why would I hate you?"

Hal smiled in relief. "You're right, I guess it was a stupid question."

"That being said," continued Kilwog as he took his place at the control board, "You could stand to follow orders a little more often." Hal scowled at his friend who grinned in response.

"I never thought I'd actually be glad to leave Earth," said Hal as he power up the ship, bringing it a few yards off the ground before sending it towards the sky.

Kilowog hesitated. "Do you feel like we're forgetting something?"

Hal thought a moment before his eyes snapped so wide, his mask threatened to fall off. "Whoops."

. . .

"I'm really starting to hate humans," complained Ch'p as he watched the Aya make a harsh u-turn back to earth.

"Tell me about it," said the squirrel next to him on the branch.

. . .

Indigo-1 looked out over her assembled tribe. They had formed roughly a week ago by the standards of Oa, but they already stood several dozen strong. Indigo-2 flew up to her. "They want to hear you speak good words to them, sister," he said.

Indigo-1 smiled and opened her arms. "Brothers, sisters," she called. All eyes were fixed upon her. "Soon, we will officially make ourselves known to the universe. We will spread good will and caring throughout the worlds and all races and peoples will understand one another! Nok!"

"Nok!" her congregation called back happily.

"And here is where we will begin!" she pointed down with her staff at the planet below them. "Okaraa has always been home to the Warlords, but recently, it has become a hive of jealousy and greed! However, with our help, they will find peace! Nok!"

"Nok!"

"Are you ready, my siblings in compassion?"

"Nok!"

"Then let us descend!" As one, the entire tribe rose up and shot down towards the surface of the planet.

. . .

A few days later, Evan sat down behind the viewing glass at the Tallahassee General Jail and picked up the phone on the wall. "Sup, sis?"

His sister glared at him from her side. "Don't call me that. You're not my brother."

"I don't care, you're still my sister."

"You turned me over to the pigs!"

"Technically the hot lady in the pink bikini did that."

"What do you want, Evan?"

"I don't know, I just wanted to talk."

"I don't want to talk to you."

"I don't care."

"Yes, you've made that abundantly clear." They sat in silence for several minutes, simply looking at each other. Finally, a buzzer rang and a guard yelled that visiting hours were over.

Evan stood. "See you later, Sarah."

Sarah sighed and stood up as well, her hands cuffed in uncomfortable metal bonds. "See you later, Evan."

. . .

Hello! Black Phoenix Risen here! Unfortunately, I'm away right now dealing with some issues regarding an ex-girlfriend, a living napkin, and an existential graffiti artist (really it might be better if you don't know). So I've handed off this chapter to my good friend who has asked to remain nameless.

I plan to be back by the next chapter, so don't worry. Also, sorry for taking so long to get this out there, but the living napkin will talk on and on about nothing and if he thinks you're not paying attention he absorbs all the blood from your body (again, ignorance is bliss). To make up for it, I made this chapter extra long.

Please review!