Hey, Readers!

New FF, first one with DC Comics! I wrote most of this a long time ago, but I plan on posting a chapter at a time. Favorite and Follow if you enjoy, and drop a review if you want to! Enjoy!

Note: I do NOT own Green Lanterns or DC in ANY way, shape or form.

-aggiefrogger

Chosen

All Sam McDormand wanted to do was enjoy the summer before his Sophomore year of high school, but fate seemed to have a dark sense of humor.

It started with a ring.

That damn ring.

He'd vaguely heard of the Green Lanterns before that day; two members of them, Hal Jordan and John Stewart, helped the Justice League with saving the world the summer previous, but they were nothing more than faces on the news. Even in his small Texas town where nothing interesting happened, they still knew that superheroes existed, even if they never saw them in person, but treated them like a piece of news that didn't affect them. However, he wasn't expecting a green ring to come flying from the sky, into his room through his open window, and hover inches from his face, scaring the shit out of him.

Sam had just gotten back from his friend Jerry's house, and was lying on his bed, listening to his Dad's old cassette player that was older than him. Nowadays, everyone listened to music on their phone, Sam included, but every once in a while, he listed to the old cassette, remembering his Dad's commentary with each song. If he listened carefully, he could almost hear his dad reciting the name of the band, the name of the song, and the year it came out as the first few bars played.

That's when the glowing green ring flew through the window, stopping in front of his face as he yelled a word that caused his mother to yell from the kitchen.

"SAMUEL MCDORMAND," she screeched, and soon heard her footsteps as she walked down the hall towards his room. "I better not have just heard what I thought I-"

She froze in the doorway, her brow still covered with sweat from her ten hour shift at the old folk's home as she stared at the glowing green ring that floated in front of her son. Her mouth dropped open, just like the teen's, and she took a few steps into the room, her eyes transfixed by the glow.

"S-Sam," she started, her voice a little hoarse from the screaming seconds before, "what is that thing?"

"I dunno," he said, turning off the cassette player and putting it in his pocket, staring at it. "I… I think it's a-"

Samuel McDormand of Earth, Sector 2814, a voice from the ring said, causing both the mother and son to scream, and the teen fell off his bed. The ring floated after him, still hovering in front of his face. You have been chosen for the Green Lantern Corps. Report to training immediately.

The two humans stared at the ring, minds reeling from the message. Green Lantern? Training?! Immediately?! The teen looked at his mother fearfully, searching for some sign that she was pranking him. When he found nothing but fear as well, he started to grow even more scared, his heart thumping in his chest.

"M-Mom," he asked, turning back to look at the ring, reaching out a hand to touch it, the light casting his bronze skin in a green glow. "Wha-"

"Sam, don't touch-" his mom started to say.

Suddenly, the ring flew onto his finger, glowing more brightly and encasing the boy in a green aura. The teen yelped, his body tingling as if he was being electrocuted, but he wasn't hurt. He started to breathe heavily as he floated off of the bed, gravitating towards the window.

"MOM," he screamed, reaching out to try and stop himself from flying out the window, holding onto the edges as his legs flew outside.

"SAM," she yelled back, finally moving towards the window, reaching out to grab her son. "HOLD ON, JUST HOLD- OW!" She recoiled, holding her hands as if she were burned, and it was at that moment that the teen lost his grip, floating outside into the summer heat.

"MOM," he called again, "CALL THE JUSTICE LEAGUE! CALL-"

And then he shot into the air faster than a plane; faster than a rocket. One second, he was a few feet off the ground. The next, he was in space, the Earth floating beneath him and growing smaller with every passing second. Sam screamed, flailing his limbs as the expanse of space spun around him. Everything seemed to spin around him, and it made him feel incredibly dizzy. He felt his vision going dim and he eventually passed out, the last thing he remembered was a green glow filling his vision.

Sam woke with a gasp, his heart thudding in his chest. For a few seconds, he was disoriented, and fell off the small bed he was lying on, hitting the cold metal floor as he flailed around. Still thinking he was in space, he eventually calmed down, though he breathed heavily as he looked up and stared at the space around him.

He was in a small room, maybe about the size of a college dorm, and it was all made of a shiny silver metal, a single light above him illuminating the space. A large circular symbol was on the wall nearby, but there was no sign of a door anywhere, or even a window. Next to him, a small bed with simple covers stood nearby, and he noticed that it was made of metal as well. This was the only piece of furniture; the rest of the room was bare. But the most surprising change was himself.

The teen was wearing the most bizarre outfit he'd ever seen. It was a full piece skin-tight outfit with long sleeves, protective plating, and heavy boots, and all of it was an emerald green, accented with black and white. Sam, who was used to wearing warm clothes this time of year, was thrown off at first by the long sleeves, but judging by the temperature of the room he was in, it seemed appropriate. On his right ring finger, the green ring glowed brightly, and the boy noticed that it bore the same symbol that was on the wall and on his chest. He vaguely remembered seeing the Green Lanterns from the Justice League wearing a similar outfit, but as he turned his head, he felt something that he hadn't seen Hal Jordan wearing.

It felt like a piece of slim metal, and it encircled the back of his head, ending at each of his ears, which seemed covered by the material. Sam tentatively snapped his fingers by his ears, and was confused that he could still hear normally. However, he started to panic a little when he couldn't take it off; it almost seemed fused to his skin, and the parts over his ears seemed to push into his ears, like he was wearing earbuds. Fortunately, his hair had been cut short to compensate for the Texas heat, so at least it was resting comfortably against his scalp.

"What the hell," he whispered, climbing to his feet as he started to feel the wall, wondering how to get out of here. After searching the whole space for a hidden door and coming up empty, he sat down on his bed, wondering what to do next. He glanced at the ring on his gloved hand, wondering what he should do next. "Got any ideas," he asked it sarcastically.

Incoming Lantern, it spoke, giving Sam a start.

"Wait, what does that mean?" He shook his fist slightly, as if trying to shake an answer from it. "What does that mean, 'Incoming-'"

Suddenly, the wall a few feet away slid open, and the boy shielded his eyes from the sudden light, falling back onto his bed.

"Damn," a voice said, "you're a lot smaller than I thought you'd be; even for a human."

Uncovering his eyes, he looked at the doorway to find… nothing. For a second, he looked back at his ring, wondering if it was what had spoken. Suddenly, something small and furry shot from the ground, stopping to hover a few feet away in mid-air, causing the boy to scream.

It looked like a rodent of sorts, like a squirrel or woodchuck; Sam grew up seeing creatures like that, so he was shocked to find one wearing a green outfit identical to his own. He even noticed that it wore a tiny green ring on one if its fingers. Even though it looked like an animal, the teen couldn't help but sense something… alien, about the creature, like a cartoon character come to life.

It scowled and crossed its arms, glaring at the boy. "You humans sure are strange; do you usually greet new friends by screaming?"

"N-N-No-o," Sam stammered, sitting up cautiously and staring at the creature with awe. "It's just that… you're a… you're a talking rodent."

"I am NOT A RODENT," the creature screamed, it's body glowing with green energy as it glared at the boy. "I swear, every human I've met thinks that I look like one of your primitive Earth creatures! I'm from H'lven, for your information, and frankly, I'm smarter than most humans, including you!" The green aura that surrounded the creature made him look quite demented, and the teen immediately backed into the wall, terrified.

"OK, OK!" The boy held up his hands in surrender, scared of how much damage the tiny alien could do. "I'm sorry… I'm still kinda new to this whole, uh…" He gestured to his green outfit, and the rodent nodded, his expression seeming to soften a little.

The creature seemed to calm down, the green glow dulling considerably, and his tone had changed the next moment he spoke. "I understand. I've met some of the other human Lanterns; I was even in the same training group as Hal Jordan, and he was the same way at first. You'll get used to all the other Lanterns in no time. But I'm getting ahead of myself." He held out a tiny paw to the humans. "I heard this is how you humans introduce yourselves. My name is Ch'p."

Sam tentatively shook the small hand, wondering if he was dreaming. "N-Nice to meet you. I'm Sam."

"Interesting name," Ch'p said, floating down to land at the foot of the boy's bed. "But not the weirdest one I've heard here. Basically, I'm here to welcome you to Oa, your home while you're training, and to show you the ropes of the planet."

The boy suddenly started, remembering his small hometown, his house, and his mom. "I can't stay here," he yelped, jumping to his feet and heading towards the open door. "I gotta get home! My mom must be worried out of her mind!"

"You can't just leave," the rodent said indignantly, following him into the hall, which was metallic and long, stretching in both direction. "You've got training to go to; I'm supposed to show you around!"

"But you don't get it," Sam said, turning to look at the creature. "I didn't ask to be here, or to get chosen by this ring. In fact-" He tried to pry the ring off his finger, but it didn't budge. "Why can't I take it off?"

"The ring chose you for a reason," Ch'p said solemnly. "Which means that the Guardians chose you. You can't just give up being a Green Lantern; you now have a sworn duty to protect the universe!"

"But I didn't ask to," the teen protested, not caring if he was whining. "Seriously, I don't have any special skills you could want! Obviously, your Guardians made a mistake, so I need to go home, NOW."

The rodent alien sighed, floating into the air to look the human straight in the eye. "We are not chosen for our abilities, Sam. We are chosen for our wills."

Sam gave him a blank stare, thrown off by the change in subject. " … Wills?"

"You know, determination? Will power? Drive? You humans may call it passion."

"Uh…"

Ch'p sighed again. "Let me explain." He lifted his fist, and a glowing ball appeared in the air in front of them, suspended in the air above them like a mini green sun. "We Lanterns use our rings to create constructs to help defend and protect the inhabitants of this universe; the stronger you will, the stronger your construct. The only limit to what you can construct is what you can imagine." Suddenly, the ball burst open, fiery lines of green fire that did not burn flew around them in an intricate dance, and Sam couldn't help staring in awe at the construct, wondering if he could do that with his ring.

"It is a great power, but it comes with much responsibility," the rodent alien continued. "That is why it is our sworn duty to use these rings for the good of all life in the universe."

"Wow," the teen whispered, watching the last of the construct dissipate into nothingness. "That… was amazing. But…" He looked down at his feet, a worried expression on his face. "What about my mom? I was kinda… taken from her, when the ring came. She's probably scared and worried out of her mind, and she's already stressed about her job, and-"

"Don't worry," Ch'p promised, holding up his hand as if swearing on his life. "We can help you contact your mother. Maybe one of the human Lanterns could send her a message on your behalf. But again, I'm afraid you can't leave right now, with your training still to come. Even if you could, you're several hundred light years from your planet, and don't have the skills to make such a journey alone."

The teen's face blanked, and he leaned against the wall, trying to stomach this new piece of information. He learned about light years in his science class, and if he was hundreds of them away… The full impact of what had happened hit him, and he started to shake, imagining all that space between him and his home, and wondered how long it took him to get here when the ring took him.

Sam felt even worse as he imagined his mom, sitting in their tiny home, thinking about what could have possibly happened to him. Her hands trembling as she wiped her tears, wondering if she'll ever see him again. Wondering how she'd explain his sudden disappearance to the neighbors and family. Remembering what had happened to her husband, Sam's dad, and how he'd gone out one day and-

A few tears streamed down the boy's face; for that was all he really was. A boy. A scared, frightened boy, thousands of miles from home, on another planet, forced to protect something so large, he mind could not comprehend how big it was. And now, separated from his mom, he didn't know what to do.

Looks like I'm stuck here, he thought, muffling a few sobs with his arm. But… the quicker I train, the quicker I can fly home. Yes, that would be the best decision; the faster he learned how to fly long distances, the faster he would get to see his mom again. After that resolve, he quickly wiped his eyes, a little embarrassed to be crying in front of the floating alien.

"I-I'm sorry," he mumbled, taking a few shaky breaths and drying his face. "I just… wasn't expecting to have to save the universe."

"Well, it's not as dramatic as that," Ch'p said, floating over to the boy with a concerned look on his face. "The universe is split into thousands of sectors, and a Lantern is assigned to each sector to protect it. When a Lantern dies, their ring flies off, searching for its next owner. I… I'm sorry you got chosen, especially since you're so young, but as of now, you are the wielder of the ring."

"So," the teen started, looking at the ring on his finger, "this used to belong to someone else?"

"Not necessarily. There are also more Lanterns than sectors, which is why some Lanterns stay here on Oa, helping train and lead the other Lanterns should a problem arise. Though of course, some sectors have paired up Lanterns, and others have Lanterns that take turns protecting it. But as for your ring," the alien added, bowing his head slightly and getting back on subject, "it was Swet'llanga's of Sector 348. She was a great Lantern; well respected around here."

The boy stared at the ring on his finger, which suddenly felt like it weighed a ton. He didn't know anything about the previous owner, but based on the Lantern's expression, they must've been close friends. Was this the reason why he was showing him the ropes, Sam wondered, trying to push past the though of him possibly dying or having to fill the shoes of someone so respected. "I'm sorry for your loss," Sam muttered.

"T-Thanks," Ch'p stammered, seeming to pull himself together. "Lanterns come and go, but every Lantern is one of the greats. You're now the owner of that ring, which means you'll join the greats someday. C'mon, I'm supposed to get you something to eat before you go to training."

The teen didn't even realize he was hungry, but at the mention of food, his stomach grumbled. "Thanks," he said gratefully.

"Then follow me," the Lantern said, flying off down the hallway, Sam on his heels as he waited unexpectedly for what was to come.

Hope you enjoyed! Favorite and Follow for more, and feel free to leave a review!

See y'all later!