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Thanks again for joining me on this weird voyage of coming and going! Hope I'll be able to spend more time writing these but I will hope to bring you another soon.
Episode XV: A Forced Compassion, Part I
Despite the fact there a billions of species in the known universe, most of the sentient lives out there have similar albeit unique problems which surround their species. Some have limited reproduction cycles, some can only blink one times every thirty days, and some - humans specifically - have an innate problem with disrupting the lives of their brethren.
One common problem which can be found across the universe is poverty. No matter how rich or poor each civilisation is, there are always people who struggle to make a life for their family, resorting to hard labour or theft to keep themselves alive.
Every once in a while, a Green Lantern can come across a planet which is far poorer than anything he has come across before. It's a sobering reminder that a Green Lantern - for all his powers and laws - cannot help everyone with every problem.
This particular planet is infamous in the local system for being incredibly dangerous. In fact, Kyle would even go so far as to say the planet is in a perpetual warzone for the nintey-nine percent who are struggling. Desperate people tend to resort to desperate measures, and if someone is starving and sick to the point of near-death, taking what they need from someone else is nothing.
"Keep your eyes peeled poozer," Kilowog warns the young human, "you look like a prime target. And don't forget: keep your ring off your finger unless absolutely necessary. These people aren't exactly welcoming to the Corp."
"Last time me and Kilo were here, all hell broke loose and it took a dozen of us to keep the planet from collapsing on itself," Hal adds on.
Definitely sounding as though his mentor isn't exactly providing him with all the details for a reason, Kyle decides to not press Hal further and instead reserves it into the back of his memory for a later, more bored point.
Being perhaps the most famous Green Lantern for a particular reason, Hal Jordan certainly has only told Kyle a fraction of the incredible stories he's accumulated over his tenure as a lantern.
"Any reason we are on this planet?" Kyle asks the two, who shake their heads at each other.
"We told you that we will tell you when the time is right," Hal responds, a gentle tone of irritation in his voice. "Let us do the thinking until we can help you on this suicide mission of yours."
Half the time they have spent travelling around the universe together has been spent trying to understand what Kyle experienced after his unfortunate demise and unfortunately, even Kilowog - one of the most experienced Green Lanterns - has no clue what happened to Kyle. By all knowledge known to Kilowog, Kyle should be having his eternal peace at the moment.
Instead, Kyle has been dragged back screaming into the world in order to achieve something which has never been attempted before. Having the weight of the universe on his shoulders is a feeling Kyle would rather shrug off but that's not possible.
Whatever is going on, he has a slight feeling that its completely unavoidable.
He's been moving towards something ever since he spoke to whatever it was, but without directions he feels as though he's just drifting along for the ride without being able to paddle. This river can either flow back to the shore or off the edge of a waterfall, and Kyle severely hopes that it's not the latter.
Then again, since when has anything gone to plan when Kyle is involved. The world has a mysterious way of making Kyle the focal point for everything crazy about it.
Trying not to dwell too much on how this whole quest might end, Kyle instead turns his attention to the people around him. Most are wearing ragged clothing - if any - and it doesn't take long before he notices weapons holstered on most of them. Not quite sure what most of the weapons are capable of, he makes sure to keep his ring close just in case.
Although it will automatically respond to any immediate threat, there's something humanly comforting about having it closer to him, much like most humans tend to carry something which makes them feel safe. Half the time, it makes things worse but that's humans.
"Could things go south?" Kyle asks the two senior lanterns in front of him, although he somewhat already knows the answer.
"Absolutely kid," Hal responds, smirking. "Welcome to one of the most violent planets in this sector - and considering there a quite a few planets here - that's saying something about how dangerous it is. But don't worry, we are mostly going to go in and get out as quickly as we can."
Before Kyle could ask what it is they are doing on this planet, Kyle is almost sent tumbling as someone barges into the back of him, sprinting on past without so much as an apology. Unsurprisingly, Kyle checks his pocket to find that some of them are missing and without informing Hal and Kilowog, Kyle immediately gives chase to his thief with as much speed as his human legs can muster.
Remembering Hal's warnings about using his ring, the young man decides to chase down the pickpocket the old-fashioned way.
It could even be new-fashioned on this planet, Kyle attempts to downplay the seriousness of the situation by joking with himself. Losing a wallet and credit cards is one thing, but losing what most certainly is classified as weapons of mass destruction is by far the worse of the two. Luckily, the complex nature of a lantern ring means the weapon is more than likely useless in the hands of most individuals.
Hoping his pickpocket doesn't have any sort of emotional aptitude for any of the stolen rings at all, Kyle pushes closer to the thief.
Despite being a relatively healthy individual, the young lantern is struggling to keep up the chase. The pickpocket is keeping a lengthy lead against him and is even pulling away from the lantern as he pushes forwards despite the cries coming from his thighs.
The chase goes down an unusual path as Kyle is led into what can only be described as a slum - or as close as any location on this planet can be described.
Turning the chase from a minor distraction to downright dangerous, Kyle's nerves soar. Not only does he have to contend with the pickpocket being in an assumed familiar environment, there's a real chance he might be caught in something a lot more violent than a simply theft.
Despite Hal's warnings, Kyle keeps his ring close. If things go south, he doubts his mentors would be too opposed with him laying down the law.
Then again, they've been a bit more secretive with him lately. Often diverting off to have quiet chats, Kyle wonders whether they either don't trust him or wonder where his allegiances lie. Kyle would believe it to be the latter, as he quite honestly doesn't know who he is putting his life on the line for.
He doubts he will ever truly know.
Something about the creature was beyond his understanding, as though it was far more than the form he was seeing.
Speaking of forms, one almost blocks Kyle's path as he attempts to navigate the winding surroundings. Deftly avoiding the hulking figure by slipping around, he continues the chase with added vigour. If anything, the pickpocket is giving him an extra opportunity to get some exercise in. A Green Lantern needs to be physically fit for the duties they carry out, but at the same time they hardly have any time to intentionally work out, so most of it comes from the day-to-day woes of being a police officer on a massive scale.
Taking more risk than he should, Kyle dips around a corner and breaks his line of sight with the thief, sprinting down a thin alleyway and hoping he can cut off the thief. Praising his luck, Kyle exits the alley directly behind the thief and throwing himself forwards, he manages to barrel his body into the thief, both of them plummeting to the floor.
Still trying to escape Kyle, the thief struggles against the lanterns grip as the human tries to control the pickpocket. After a small scuffle, Kyle manages to subdue the thief without too much hassle.
"You run better than you fight," Kyle chuckles to himself as he takes a few more deep breaths. "Almost lost me a few times."
Not answering the lantern, Kyle decides to skip the small talk and takes back the stolen rings, holding them up for the thief to look at.
"Know what these are?" Kyle asks, letting the thief have a good gander at the power rings.
Unsurprisingly, the thief's eyes quickly fixated on the yellow ring of the Sinestro Corps. Recognisable to most beings in the universe as the instrument of fear, it's fair to say just the object itself is enough to inspire the fear its wielder does.
"I think you know this one," Kyle takes the rings away from the thief's face, instead looking at them himself.
Calling out to him, the ring dares him to place it onto his finger. For a moment, Kyle even finds his body unconsciously attempting to put it on. It's a tempting offer, but one he refuses.
Despite all the effort the thief has forced him into, he doubts the pickpocket had any malicious intentions. The thief's clothing is ragged and tattered, usually a surefire sign the thief isn't the richest of individuals. Selling the ring might have fed the thief for a long while, and on these planets finding some form of honest employment is near to impossible for those born to the wrong people.
What sort of lantern would he be if he meted out severe punishment to someone who has no choice but to risk their life to steal.
"You should leave," Kyle sighs, releasing his grip on the thief.
Before the pickpocket could make a swift exit, another ring appears in front of the young lantern - one of compassion.
"Well done," a voice chuckles from the shadows.
Hal steps out with Kilowog at his side before nodding to Kyle's pickpocket.
"Good job. At least you made him work for it," Hal smiled, ignoring Kyle's open jaw and letting the pickpocket past him. "Well, looks like it worked Kilo."
"Close your mouth poozer," Kilowog responds. "We got work to do."
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Thank for reading guys, hope to see you soon!