A/N
Over 500 views in the month of May alone, that is incredible! Let's see if we can smash that this month as well, and I'll begin uploaded some bonus episodes for all of you!
Episode VIII: SOS, Part I
"You've got to be kidding me."
Of course. There must be several hundred million star systems and beyond in the universe and the one place they track Kyle's ring to is not only dangerous, it's supposed to be a place where any sentient species with some smarts behind them avoids.
And for good reason.
"What?" Green Arrow asks, only surviving in the vacuum of space thanks to Hal's concentration and willpower.
Sharing his aura is generally frowned upon by members of the Green Lantern Corp, mostly as it wastes the ring's power levels rapidly and generally speaking, the only people supposed to be accompanying a Green Lantern on a dangerous mission should be another Green Lantern.
He's glad he chose to ignore the rules this time around - seeing Green Arrow, Wonder Woman, Flash, Aquaman and Hawkwoman encased in a green light of his making is quite cool, even with his vast experience using the ring.
Still, he can't keep it up for long. This has to be a quick rescue operation, but the only problem with that may be the inhabitant of the cave.
Larfleeze.
Even so far away from his lair, the mere thought of his name is enough to cause some discomfort to the usually stalwart Hal Jordan. No Lantern worth their ring takes this particular enemy easy. Those who do make their rings search out a better replacement.
"I need to come out here more often," Shazam gasps, looking around at the vast void of space avoid them. "Cool."
Being the only one apart from Green Lantern with the ability to survive in space, at least Shazam in one less worry for Hal to focus on. The kid does have a point though: there's no feeling in the universe quite like traversing the endless beauty of space.
"You seem worried, Hal," Wonder Woman states, to Oliver Queen's agreement. "What are we facing in there?"
Maybe it would be better to not fill them in about what's lurking inside of the cave, but he's fairly sure it would be breaking some Lantern ethical regulation, and he's definitely already broken too many of them to count so far.
Taking a moment, Hal spins around to speak to the group. One deep breath is all he allows himself to compose his beating heart.
"Emotion.. and not the good kind," Hal begins, to the confusion of many of the members of the group. "What you should expect is two things really: one, you should expect to feel different and more importantly, you should focus on the task at hand. Nothing can combat greed like a selfless mission. Two, the resident creeper inside of that cave is the one and only Orange Lantern, Larfleeze."
Hal stops for a moment in order for his words to sink in, but Barry is the one to speak up first.
"One Lantern, huh? Sounds a piece of cake.. no offence."
"That's where you are wrong, Flash, very damn wrong. You see, a long time ago there were quite a few Orange Lanterns, until our boy Larfleeze decided to hoard all their rings. All that power - which normally would be extended across an entire Corp of ring-wielders in now focused on one very greedy alien," Hal explains, and the Flash only nods in response.
Green Arrow opens his mouth to say something, but decides against it and instead looks to the others to speak in his place. Whatever the archer was planning on saying, Hal is guessing Queen finally understood what's waiting for them. The archer many have his moments of utter stupidity - not unlike Hal himself - but he can be a smart cookie when it comes down to the basics of heroing.
"I'm guessing this Larfleeze will not take too kindly to us entering his domain," Wonder Woman assumes, and when Hal nods, she flashes a smile. "Good. This shall make us rescuing Kyle from his clutches that much more.. as you would put it Hal.. sweet."
"You're right about that, princess," Hal agrees, returning to face the cave's entrance and tentatively floats towards it.
The journey seems as though it would be a small endeavour, but as he gains closer, he can't help but notice his movements becoming more slow and hesitant. Usually, a Green Lantern of Hal's calibre would have no trouble charging into danger at the first opportunity, but past experience has proved more than willpower alone will be needed to defeat Larfleeze. Even with the combined powers of all those present, Larfleeze is more than a match for them.
When first commencing his tenure as protector of space sector two-eight-one-four, none of the instructors actually told him it was alright to feel afraid. A Green Lantern's main enemy is his own fear, but what Hal Jordan has come to discover is allowing your fear to control your actions is the true enemy. All the great Lanterns see fear as only an obstacle in an otherwise straight and narrow road.
A Lantern sees a problem, and that Lantern does absolutely everything within their willpower to solve it. It doesn't matter how you feel, or how many injuries you sustain in the process.
Only that you do it.
Whether Hal would wish to avoid this confrontation or not, there's no way he's going to fly away and condemn Kyle to the whims of a deranged ring-hoarder. He doesn't know how to.
Feeling rejuvenated by his own internal pep-talk, Hal breathes in a few extra times and picks up the pace, dragging Green Arrow and the Flash along. The rest are able to travel on their own, although aided slightly by Hal.
"Into the rabbit hole we go guys," Hal sighs.
"Yeah. We can only hope the Mad Hatter is willing to share his hats," Green Arrow jokes, earning him a few chuckles here and there from the members of the group.
"I wouldn't bet on it," the only Lantern in the group mutters under his breath.
The journey inside of the cave was akin to treading water - no-one wanted to drown by expending too much energy struggling to keep afloat. As soon as they entered the cave, Hal's ring let him know the air was breathable to those in attendance and thus, he let go of his concentration. The one's who were floating by Hal's will dropped to the ground with a slight thud, exchanging silent glances to ensure Larfleeze didn't hear them entering.
Luckily for them, nothing comes out of the darkness and decides to have themselves a snack. Instead, they continue their meanderings until they come across the interior of the cave, the walls themselves alight with a dangerously orange light.
Remembering to avoid staring for too long and overthinking things, he motions for the other members of the team to do the same.
Avarice can come in shapes and forms, and he really doesn't wish to discover how Wonder Woman deals with this particular emotion. Amazon's have their pride, but greed can make that pride downright dangerous.
If anything, Larfleeze is what teachers call on Earth a cautionary tale. At one point, he was wondering around these caves with his four friends and joking about what he had for breakfast, and what girls he fancied.
Then, one small drop of greed led to the complete destruction of anyone and anything he ever cared about. All because he wanted something all to himself.
In the end, he does.
"In the event Larfleeze finds us - and that possibility is infinitely certain - our plan should be to get out of there with Kyle as soon as possible. Everyone needs to stick together.. being alone in this place can do messed-up things with your mind," Hal plans, to the mumbled agreements of the other heroes.
"Actually, the chances of Larfleeze discovering your presence is around ninety-nine point nine-nine-nine-ni."
"You don't have to be a smart-ass ring, what have I told you?" Hal interrupts, sighing.
"Guess the maths against us this time," Green Arrow jokes, and the Flash grins in return.
"This time? It's always against us," the speedster jokingly responds.
Speaking for the first time since they began their journey, Hawkwoman comments on the situation. "Why would this greedy piece of filth decide to keep Kyle alive?"
"Absolutely no idea," Hal returns, shrugging his shoulders and continuing to illuminate their way into the cave with his ring.
Fortunately, the previous ventures Hal Jordan has undertaken inside of this cave has allowed his ring sufficient time to map out the interior, so in the event this whole mission goes sideways, he can guide them out accordingly. Still, no chances can be taken. The cave can create it's own illusions, and no-one here is smart enough to deduce which is real and which isn't.
Leading them into the main area of the cave, Hal places his hand up and gestures for them to stop as he hears faint mumbling coming from within the room.
Creeping forwards as slowly as possible, the group crouch down and stay still just within earshot of the horrific monster.
There Larfleeze was, sitting down and hunched over a bench of kinds as he speaks to himself in an almost pathetic way. Orange Light becomes the team forwards from just in front of the alien as the very visible Power Battery brightens the room, it's greedy tendrils sucking any amounts of darkness away from the room. Though it's pointless for them to attempt to do this quietly, it still gives Hal the time to examine Larfleeze's current mood.
Encased in a eye-watering orange uniform, the alien - whose skin matches that of the light of avarice itself - is currently toying around with the tusks located at the sides of his head and mouth, mumbling and making odd sounds as he does so.
"No.. human.. want's what is mine.. cannot give it to him.. must dispose."
Without super hearing, Hal can still make out the insane ramblings of Agent Orange, who seems completely entranced on some form of food or other. For a second, Hal has to convince himself that it's not Kyle, but it's quickly thrown out the window when he remembers that despite many things, Larfleeze generally doesn't eat those he captures.
Generally.
"Where is Kyle!"
Hawkwoman soars from the rest of the group and heads straight for Agent Orange, who steers around in shock. Though the Thanagarian makes it pretty close, the Orange Lantern sends him flying into the group once more with a simple flick of his ring.
"Intruders! Here to steal! Thieves!" Larfleeze frantically yells, focusing his ring on the group with crazed eyes.
Standing in front of Larfleeze's ring, Hal holds his hands up. "It's me Fleezy."
Hal might not be able to calm down the Lantern, but the best he can do is buy some time for the others to get into position.
Picking up on what Hal is doing, Wonder Woman's hand slowly reaches for her magical sword.
"The Green Lantern," Larfleeze acknowledges, eyes narrowing further than Hal would believe possible. "Have the Guardians finally sent you to take what's mine away from me?"
"Nope. Here for.. personal reasons," Hal answers, eyes flickering inbetween Agent Orange and Wonder Woman. "And I'm not leaving until I get what I want."
Oh.. wrong words, Hal.
"I knew it!" Larfleeze screams, sending bright orange light into the group.
Hal doesn't manage to get a construct up to block it and it crashes into him, and the last thing he sees before unconsciousness is Wonder Woman receiving the same treatment.
That went well.
As his mind begins to regain consciousness, his eyes struggle to focus on the things around him. Luckily, he's been in this situation far more times than he would admit, and chooses something to focus on, in this case the noticeable outline of Green Arrow and his unmissable beard.
Not taking long before he can fully concentrate and see around him, Hal's first reaction is to check for his ring.
Thankfully, it's still plastered onto his finger. Larfleeze may be the personification of greed, but thank the Guardians he has no interest in collecting willpower rings as well. Then again, he probably lost all the willpower he had when he gave in completely to avarice.
The alien has made a big mistake.
As long as Hal still has his ring and the willpower to use, he's fairly confident there's no situation he can't transform into one of his advantage. With a little bit of luck, they should be free before Larfleeze decides what to do with them.
Attempting to move, Hal hears a quiet wince from inside his cage.
"There's not enough room," Green Arrow whispers, "you're squeezing on my leg."
"Guess he never expected so many visitors," Hal mumbles, taking the chance to assess the situation.
Everyone is accounted for, with himself, Green Arrow and Aquaman all encaged in a bright orange trap with Wonder Woman, Hawkwoman, Flash and Shazam in the other. Noticing where they are imprisoned, Hal mentally groans.
"Bad news guys: these cages mean my ring isn't going to be much use," Hal speaks up.
Ring, give me a power check, Hal thinks, hearing the ring beep as it examines it's own situation with the same calculating mind Hal is trying to assess theirs with.
Forty percent, and with the current absorption rate, it shall be zero within an approximate half-an-hour, his ring speaks back to him.
"Not enough juice to do much," the Lantern mutters to himself, thinking of ways out of this situation. "I'm going to need a quick recharge."
"Psst," Shazam whispers from the other cage, quietly apologising to Hawkwoman as he tramples over her to speak to his fellow jailmates. "So.. this Larfleeze.. he eat people?"
Poor Billy - he might have the courage of demi-gods, but the boy inside is still the same old Billy Batson who gets scared of his own shadow inside of the Watchtower. The amount of times Hal has caught the superhero jumping and yelling 'Batman' has gone beyond even the capabilities of his power ring to comprehend. Sure, Batman is one hell of a scary guy, but he isn't that scary, at least to the man without fear.
"You'll be fine. He has a thing against kids," Hal assures him, and Shazam leans back into his cage with an optimistic smile on his face.
"What about the rest of us? We can't wait and see whether he likes the taste of Thanagarians or not," Hawkwoman asks an important question, her wings almost being crushed by the inhabitants of the cell.
"He must come at some point, and when he does, we shall strike," Wonder Woman offers, shooting a glare at Hawkwoman whilst speaking.
"Both of them are right Hal, and since you know the most about this guy, maybe it's your chance to shine for a change."
Hal can hear Barry mumble from underneath of Shazam's body, the only visible part of his body being his arm waving in the air. Everytime Shazam uncomfortably shifts, the arm goes deeper and deeper down, eventually until the point the speedster is completely hidden under the bodes of the others.
Smarter than he may seem at times, Barry Allen definitely has a point to make. Hal maybe got them into this mess, and he'll be damned if he lets Larfleeze harm anyone of his friends. Kyle is here somewhere, and if he can manage to save this lot, maybe there's hope for his young protégé yet.
"What do you know about this pathetic creature?" the King of Atlantis asks.
"Larfleeze.. is Larfleeze. Speaking from experience, he's pretty much a nutcase. Paranoid, violent, and with a dangerous appetite - the whole shebang. However, the one thing we can play on is that greed of his. If we can convince him we've stolen something of his, he'll be hellbent on getting it back."
"A distraction," Aquaman nods.
"When he is distracted, myself and the Flash shall attempt to distract him further. Hal, you can attempt to contain him as much as you can," Wonder Woman strategizes.
"How easy will it be to convince him?" Oliver Queen inputs, rubbing his beard casually.
"Depends who is doing the convincing," Hal answers, winking directly at the archer. "No offence, but you're probably the most likely to steal something in this group."
"Ouch," GA feigns a sigh.
After a moment of silence, Green Arrow realises the group doesn't find the situation funny and shrugs his shoulders. Although not a direct admission he would like the honours of placing life and limb at risk, it'll be good enough for the time being.
Now, all the team has to do is figure out how to escape the cages and set their plan in motion.
"Any ideas how we get out of these?" Hal asks the group, looking to each member as they shake their head. Clearly, they expect Hal to continue doing all the hard work.
"I've got an idea."
Not knowing who that was and where the voice came from, Hal twists his body around to the displeasure of Green Arrow and Aquaman, but when he sees whose voice it belongs to, his mouth - and everyone's in attendance - drops to the floor.
Kyle Rayner. The damn kid really is alive.
"You guys look like you've seen a ghost," he says with a cheeky wink.
A/N
He's back guys, and it has been torture waiting this long to reintroduce him, both for myself and hopefully - or not - for you as well. It's only on the up from here on out, so please favourite and review and let's keep this rolling!