Chapter 4 - Green Lantern Johnny Rico

Sodam Yat looked to the sky, his mind set on ending the conflict. He blasted a Manhunter with willpower just as it knocked John Stewart to the ground. He flew through the dark sky, blasting his way through the Manhunters until their attention averted to him. His eyes locked in the force of Manhunters coming to aid in battle. He raced forward constructing twin swords. Floating above the battlefield Sodam Yat cut through the bodies of Manhunters as more swarmed around him, blasting and striking him in attempts to slow him down but he continued his fight. Even with his uniform torn, leg and chest smoking from the burns and blood dripping down his body, Sodam Yat fought the mass of enemies. "In brightest day, in blackest night," Sodam Yat began to chant. "No evil shall escape my sight," he continued as he slammed his first into the face of a Manhunter. "Let those who worship evil's might, beware my power," Sodam Yat's willpower began to build around him, keeping the Manhunters from landing any more blows. "Green Lantern's light!" With the oath completed his power exploded outwards in a war of emerald energy, dispatching with the remaining Manhunters. His body crashed to the ground, weak from the dump of power.

"Holy shit," Riggs said as he looked up from his seated position. "The green guys did it."

"Hurah," Rico said silently but he could feel the fight was not over. They still stood on the sands of Klendathu and on the bug planet, there was never a bug too far from their location. He also worried about the addition of these new robots. He could feel this mission was about to spiral out of his control. Rico turned to find a green ring floating before him and glowing. It raised to eye level and he could hear the ring speak.

"Johnny Rico, you have the power to overcome great fear," it said to him as he retracted his helmet. "You have been chosen to become a member of the Green Lantern Corps." Rico stood stunned, unable to process what was going on. He hesitated until he could hear the howls of the approaching Arachnids.

"Sir, I'm all out of ammo," Harpy said as many began to protest of their low amounts of ammunition and firepower. Rico shook his head before hanging it low.

"Live forever apes," he said in a low tone before grabbing the ring and sliding it onto his middle finger. A flash of green alerted his combined forces as they looked on. His body floated, glowing in the emerald color of willpower. Sodam Yat, Hal Jordan and John Stewart stood to their feet gazing upon the newest member of their corps. His once pale green eyes now a deep emerald. His eyes were covered by the traditional green mask that covered from temple to temple in the shape of an arrow. The tip extended over his nose. The black material lead down to his neck where the green collar of his suit began. His trapezius muscles, shoulders and chest were covered in green while a block of green when down his chest, covering his abs and stopping at his waist line. The rest of his suit was black besides his forearms and hands. His forearms hard armored playing that's shielded his forearms and fist for hand to hand combat. His boots had a black armor plating that covered from the flat of his foot to the knee. On his chest, in the dead center was a white lantern shaped emblem. His shoulders both bore the lantern shaped emblem but in black.

Rico looked at his hands then to his men. His eyes finally looked just beyond them to see the oncoming swarm. "Harpy, radio in for pick up!" Rico yelled as he flew forward. His body raced past the swarm as he realized he had no idea what he was doing. "Shit, how do I stop this thing?!"

"You have to think it!" A voice yelled out. Rico looked behind him to see the three men in green following him. He had not even noticed he stopped flying and was now floating in the air. "The ring works off of what can think of." John explained.

"Put simply, you think it and the ring ensures you can do it or creates it," Hal added. Rico nodded as he understood what they were explaining and raced past them. He floated between the swarm and his men and thought of the internal build of the MK II Marita assault rifle. The weapon manifested into his hands and he instantly began squeezing the trigger. Unloading and endless amount of ammo into the bugs.

"Holy shit is that Rico?" Deadeye asked as she took aim.

"No time for that, open fire!" Ace ordered as he squeezed the trigger. They were desperate and running low on ammunition. The swarm continued to race forward even as Riggs threw all the grenades and charges he had strapped to his body. Rico took notice and constructed a rocket and launched it at the bugs.

"Holy shit!" Rico yelled in excitement.

"Watch and learn rookie," John said as he landed in the middle of the bugs followed by Hal. The two stood back to back, both firing miniguns into the bugs and tearing them apart. Hal let go of his construction and blasted pure willpower into the approaching arachnids. John constructed a massive armored fist and slammed it into the bugs, throwing them backwards with the force of his punch.

"Heh, show offs," Rico muttered before dropping into the battle with enough force to shake the ground, throwing the body of Arachnids in multiple directions. Sodam Yat landed behind him with his twin blades and narrowed his eyes.

"So rookie, show me what you've got," he said as he dashed forward, slicing clean through the nerve cluster of a bug. Rico thought hard of his power suit, constructing it around his body and holding his fists into a fighting guard. The first arachnid to come close extending its mandibles towards Rico. he parried the left mandible and took hold of the right, shifting his hips and tossing the arachnid to the side. He thrust his boot into the nerve cluster of the next charging arachnid, causing it to fall onto its back with its legs curling inwards as it died. The troopers looked on as the now four Lanterns fought to protect them. Harpy could see the dropship only a few hundred meters away.

"Prepare for pick up!" Ace yelled as he caught on to Tech pointing towards the dropship. I hadn't landed, only hovered to avoid the swarm from one hundred meters off the ground before opening the back hatch doors. "On the bounce!" Ace called out as he rushed towards the dropship. Each trooper activated their jump jets to safely enter the dropship.

"What about Rico?" Riggs asked as the hatch doors slowly closed.

"Something tells me he's got complete control of the situation," a marine said as he took his seat, clutching his side.

"Your men are safe!" John yelled as he flew upwards. "Time for you to come with us!"

"Wait what?" Rico said before he could no longer control his own body. The emerald green power took over him and whisked him off world. He couldn't stop himself from taking flight and racing through the darkness of space. He watched as he passed the fleet of starships unable to stop no matter how hard he concentrated on it. Beside him to the left was Hal Jordan and to his right John Stewart. Above him was Sodam Yat, his eyes locked forward. He felt his body pick up speed and for what seemed like an eternity, his body raced through space. A planet came into sight and before he knew it he was entering the atmosphere. Rico's mind flashed back to a drop he made and instantly maneuvered his legs under him as he landed in the soft grass on one knee with his fist placed into the soil.

"Nice landing," Hal joked as he lowered himself into a slow walk. Sodam Yat and John Stewart landed behind Hal, arms folded over their chests.

"Johnny Rico," a soft voice called out. Rico stood to his feet to see a smaller man with a large head. The small man turned to face Rico, a serious expression on his face that had not matched the voice he heard. "I am Ganthet, a guardian of the universe. You have been chosen to serve a higher purpose."

"A higher purpose?" Rico repeated in confusion.

"Yes, we have watched you. You have survived years of a war you had not started and saved many lives overcoming great fear in battle." Ganthet explained with his hands clasped behind his back. "Should you accept the responsibility presented before you, you shall become a member of the galactic police force known as The Green Lantern Corps."

"Join the what? I'm a soldier in the Terran Federation Mobile Infantry. I can't abandon my men or my people. Like the ones who made it onto that dropship."

"Rico there is more danger out there than just the Arachnids," Sodam Yat cut in. "There are horrors no one should face and it is our job to keep every living being safe. I ask you to honor your title as a warrior and join us, save more lives than you have ever dreamed of." Rico stood still in silence, his might trying to process what he's heard.

"Wait, you called yourself a guardian? What is it you guard because from where I stand it isn't life. I've watched men and women good men and women die before my eyes and in my arms for years while we fought an enemy that outnumber us by the millions. Why have you not exterminated every goddamn bug if you're here to guard life!?"

"Your people invaded their homes. You stumbled upon a hostile race that lived rather peacefully until you intervened. Their space sector went unbothered until you built colonies on their planets and they attacked in defense of their territory. It was also you who waged war upon them, such as I have learned to be the human way of doing things." Ganthet answered coldly. Rico took another moment of silence, understanding what was said but not wanting to admit it.

"Can I see my men again?" Rico asked.

"You cannot return to them as a soldier but I have a feeling you will be seeing a lot of them soon." Ganthet answered.

"And what about the bugs?"

"You will have nothing to do with them unless we are ordered to do so," Hal Jordan said. "If you were to simply leave them be, they would have no impact on your lives.

"Now he's done it," John Stewart muttered.

"You know nothing of my our my people's lives," Rico said with venom in his voice. "My entire family and home country were blasted away by an asteroid these monsters shot through space with plasma. They have bugs that can suck the brains out of someone and tell them everything that person has ever known. They have spores they shoot out into space and when it lands on a planet or asteroid the bugs infest it and god forbid any spore or asteroid infested with bugs lands on a colony. The bugs will wipe out all life within hours. So don't hand me that live and let live bullshit until you've fought these things without one of these!" Rico held up his hand with the Lantern ring as it tightened into a fist.

"Stand down soldier," John said.

"That is quite enough," ganthet cut in, " I understand your frustration but will you help us save millions more lives or will you return to your war?"

"So then what do I have to do?" Rico asked as he noticed a smirk stretch across Ganthet's lips.

"Well first thing's first," Ganthet started but was cut off by the sound of a deep voice from above.

"Bootcamp poozer!" A large, piglike human hybrid that Rico could only describe mentally as the most horrifying creature he has ever seen exist landed before him.

"I've had all the training I will ever need," Rico said to the massive imposing being. He stepped closer.

"This is the most powerful weapon in the universe, not like your rifles or mechs back in your little army." The beast stepped closer looking down into Rico's eyes. "The wearer thinks and the ring constructs the thought into reality using willpower as its power source, so tell me, poozer, can your weapons do anything close to that?"

"I see you and Kilowog will get along just fine," Ganthet said as he turned his back to the group. The beast had pink skin and a large muscular frame. It's face had no lips and a thick jaw bone that could be seen sectioned from the rest of the skull's shape. It's nose was more of just two nostril holes and eyes white as crystals. His ears were pointed and short and face housed thick brows and what seemed to be an even thicker skull. His face somehow seemed to be twisted into a scowl deeper than the one he wore when he first made his descent. Rico took notice of Kilowog only having four fingers. From his massive neck to shoulders down to his pelvis were covered in green. Between his biceps to upper forearms were black, giving way to the white gloves. From his pelvis down to his upper calves were black that gave way to his green boots. Rico studied the beast, trying to figure out if he were fantasy or reality, but judging from the size of the little blue man he figured more real than he wanted.

"Good luck Lantern Rico," Ganthet said as Kilowog rushed him, jamming his shoulder into Rico's chest.

"C'mon poozer! Show me what the boys in blue taught you!" Kilowog yelled.

"If you wanna play drill sergeant, you've gotta be a little tougher than that!" Rico yelled before clasping his hands together and slamming his fists into the base of Kilowaug's neck. He dropped to a knee giving Rico the chance to grab the nape of his neck and thrust his knee forward but Kilowog stopped it with his forearm. He lifted Rico up by his side and leg before throwing him forward. Rico landed in a roll before popping back up to his feet. Kilowog charged again but Rico stopped his movement with a front kick. He rushed forward with a left hook combined with a right uppercut, throwing Kilowog's chin to the sky. Kilowog slammed his fist into Rico's jaw, knocking him sideways but the trooper was persistent. He took a step out to his left to avoid going down to the ground and rifling back with another left uppercut. Kilowog's chin once again reached the sky until he lunged forward head first, slamming his forehead into Rico's. Rico slumped to his knees, blood trickling from his forehead down between his brows along the bridge of his nose. His mind was shaken and vision blurry.

"See ya when you wake up, poozer." Kilowog said with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Was that really necessary?" Hal asked as he watched Rico slowly lay across the soil.

"Kid's got spunk, I like spunk." Kilowog said plainly. Kilowog rubbed his jaw, "hits hard too, I think we got another top tier guy here."

"Enough, lets get him to the med bay," Sodam Yat cut in. He reached for Rico, picking him up and holding him on his shoulder.

"What's with the look?" Kilowog asked with both his hands raised and shoulders shrugged.

"It's always a wonder how anyone survives your training." Sodam said coldly before flying off. Hours passed as Rico slept deeply. His breathing was sporadic before he snapped himself upright, waking from his slumber. His eyes shifted along the room, glancing past the beeping machines with their flashing lights. He could have sworn he was locked in battle with a pink skinned beast or maybe it was all a dream. He looked down at himself to see the suit he acquired after putting the green ring on his finger. He had not been dreaming. He removed the ring and to his surprise, he was wearing the body sleeve he would wear under his power suit.

"At least I'm not naked," he said to himself with a sign of relief. It took him a matter of minutes to notice the woman working on the computer behind him, her back turned. He noticed her slim but toned frame and the color scheme of her attire and deduced she must have been apart of the Green Lantern Corps. She turned and smiled lightly.

"Another rookie flattened by Kilowog," her voice was soft. "He said you packed a hell of a punch for a poozer." Her violet hair spiked upwards in short strands. Her skin was a shade of reddish pink and eyes matched the color of her hair. Her suit was collared with a black collar that was rimmed in green. The collar lead to a V shape going down her chest, exposing some of her cleavage. Rico made a note to not stare as he examined her suit. The shoulders were green and followed the same v shape as the opening down to her navel. Just above her left breast was a white circle that housed her green lantern emblem. Her gloves and boots were white. In her hands laid a clip board constructed by her power ring. "So you were a soldier?"

"I still am ma'am." Rico answered.

"Around here, we are peacekeepers and not soldiers." She corrected as she paced around his seat position.

"Who are you?" He asked as he kept his eyes locked on her.

"I am the medical specialist of this phacility, Soraniku Natu. Green Lantern of sector 1417 from planet Korugar." Natu explained.

"I'm.."

"Formerly known as Colonel Johnny Rico of the Terran Federation Mobile Infantry and now Green Lantern of an undecided sector." Natu cut him off before he had the chance to stumble on his own words. "When you're ready," her clipboard disappeared, " report to the barracks in uniform. I'm sure Kilowog has spent the hours you were sleeping planning on ways to break you." Her smile was assuring but Rico couldn't tell if it was assuring of his demise or success. He signed as she exited the room ad stood to his feet holding the ring in his hand.

"Mom, Dad, I hope you know I'm doing this to make a difference in this world," Rico muttered before placing the ring back onto his finger and watching as the suit formed and willpower flowed through him.

"Hey poozer, hurry it up already." Kilowog said. Rico looked around the room to see no one else with him.

"How the hell can I hear you?" Rico asked.

"The ring acts as a communicator just speak while holding your fist up and you should be able to contact anyone you think of within the corps or even outside of the corps." Kilowog explained. "Now get a move on, we have training to do!"

"Reporting for duty sir," Rico shouted while standing at attention. Kilowog stroked along his jawline with a devilish grin on his face.

"You're more trained than I expected, this is going to be fun." He said as the training began.

"So if I imagine it, the ring will create it?" Rico asked.

"That's the short way to explain it, yes." Kilowog replied. "Your ring also comes equipped with a universal translator. How else did you think you can understand me? Hope you didn't think we speak the same language." Kilowog went on to explain the basic functions of the ring. "Your rig grants you the ability of flight, allowing you to easily move across great distances with great speed. Your ring also comes equipped with healing capabilities. If you are suffering from almost any form of ailment, your ring, so long as it resides on your finger, will purge the ailment from your body to render you fit for duty."

"That sounds lovely," Rico said sarcastically. Ignoring the sarcasm, Kilowog continued.

"You should know the ring has a weakness. For years in the past of the Green Lantern Corps, our central battery housed the entity of fear itself, Parallax. In time, we were able to purge him from our battery and overcome his impurity but many of the new recruits still can use their rings to affect anything of the color yellow, the color of fear."

"That sounds like it could become trouble," Rico said.

"Only when faced with a Yellow Lantern of the Sinestro Corps. Hopefully you don't meet one any time soon." Kilowog said. The next six months of Rico's life were hard. He trained from the time the two suns raised to the time the two suns fell. Pyshically and mentally, he was surprised at the amount of meditation he was forced into doing to insure he could focus but with the meditation came boarderline torture as Kilowog would throw everything he could think of at Rico to insure he stays focused. "Well pozzer, it's been fun but I sadly have to pass you off to the real world. There's a lot of bad out there but I trust you to make the right decisions and handle yourself well."

"Thank you sir," Rico said.

"Finally the fun part," Kilowog began. "Your ring will not stay charged forever it runs on a battery. You have been fortunate enough to use the central battery to charge your ring until now. Each lantern comes with his or her own miniature battery to charge their ring. We keep it hidden within the rings themselves. Think of your lantern battery and it will come to you." Rico did as instructed and the battery formed before him. Kilowog followed suit and the two pressed their fists into the battery openings as the locked eyes.

"In brightest day, in blackest night," they chanted in sync. "No evil shall escape my sight. Let those who worship evil's might, beware my power Green Lantern's light!" With the Lantern Oath chanted and their rings charged. Kilowog shook Rico's hand and welcomed him to the ranks of the Green Lantern Corps officially.