"So why are we doing this instead of making nice-nice with the Purple—"
"Indigo," Kyle corrected, a little indignantly.
"—Shamans—"
"Tribe!"
"—and the Zamarons?" Guy continued smoothly and shamelessly. Hal reached over and grabbed Kyle's shoulder, calming the other man, who looked just about ready to beat Guy's face in. He knew the feeling, and as satisfying as it would be, he really didn't want to deal with inevitable fallout.
"The plan," Kyle said, irritation visible on his face, "is for me to deal with them when it's John and Carol's turn to come out here. John is more diplomatic and responsible than the two of you combined and Carol has some leeway with the Zamarons due to her past as a Star Sapphire, as you both well know. Larfleeze, meanwhile, is extremely difficult to negotiate with, if not flat-out impossible, and highly violatile. With him, I need power, not delicacy."
Hal frowned. "What about the other one? Atrocitus and the… Red Lantern Corps?"
"Atrocitus…" Kyle sighed. "I'm putting a pin on that one. I have no idea when exactly he began building his Corps, especially with the wonky timeline and the cloned universe and all that crap thanks to Savage, and while cutting him off at the pass sounds appealing, I would feel better if we waited until we had a decent amount of Blue Lanterns with us first. Knowing Atrocitus, he'll try to piss a few of us off to collect more Red Lanterns, and we'll need the blue ones to help clean out the corruption if it takes hold."
"Couldn't you do it?"
"I could," acknowledged the White Lantern, "but I'm still one person and I can't be everywhere at once. I really rather not risk it when the Corps is still rebuilding — even losing one Lantern would be devastating right now. As long as they aren't causing destruction across the universe yet, it's fine."
Hal wasn't too sure about that, but at this point he was past the point of arguing. His knowledge of the future was limited to whatever the hell Kyle or one his friends bothered to tell them, so all he could do was just trust they knew what they were doing. Besides, it wasn't like he had the high ground or the clout to suggest otherwise. Parallax still hung over him like an ever-present shadow, and Hal knew he would have to carry that weight for the rest of his life. Sinestro had made sure of that.
"So, where are we heading?" he asked instead.
"Okaara," came Kyle's answer. "Years ago, the Guardians made a deal with Agent Orange to leave Okaara and the entire Vega system out of their jurisdiction in exchange for not opposing the Guardians and Green Lantern Corps. It was that deal that allowed the rise of the Citadel and their tyrannical rule. Technically, by going there we'll be violating that agreement, but at this point we can't afford to honor it anyway. Larfleeze is too much of a wild card on his own and we're going to need his help when Blackest Night comes. If that means defying the Citadel, so be it." There was a dark look on the White Lantern's face during that last sentence.
Guy coughed. "Wait a minute, if he's really there then why the hell haven't we heard about him until now?"
"Other than the Guardians deliberately suppressing any and all news of him until recently?" Kyle asked sarcastically, before answering. "It's because he doesn't reside on the surface of Okaara, but within the caverns beneath. I know the entrance that's closest to his primary base, so we'll enter through there and track him down."
"And what happens when we do?" Hal inquired, his ring hand tightening.
Kyle shrugged. "We bribe him and hopes he accepts whatever the hell we give him." He smirked. "He probably will. He is, after all, the incarnation of greed."
If one were to describe the Vegan Star System, the closest accurate description would be 'hell'. 'Dystopian' worked too. To say it was not a happy place to live in would be a massive understatement. Ruled by the despotic Citadel, ravaged by constant civil war, terrorized by the Psions and their rampant genetic experimentation, only the truly entrenched did not take the first opportunity to escape this hellhole the first chance they got. It had always been the shame of the Green Lantern Corps that they were not able to bring order to this system, but the law was the law, and it left Vega a bastion of refuge for the more vile and agressive entities in the universe.
Ironically, it was the downfall of the Corps that gave the Vega System its first spell of relative peace in millions of years. With the Corps no longer able to enforce law across the cosmos, it facilitated a mass exodus of criminals from the system, all of whom sought to take advantage. With those undesirable elements gone, the forces of the Citadel no longer had to combat criminals and rebels on two fronts, able to solely focus on the latter. Peace did not meen freedom, after all.
It only made sense that the return of the Corps had the same exact effect, only in the opposite direction. While order returned to the rest of the universe as Lanterns began to populate the stars once more, chaos reigned in the domain of the Citadel as those same undesirable elements returned to their chosen sanctuary, once again hampering the Citadel's efforts to enforce their rule on the populace. That chaos only intensified when word came in that the Corps was reconsidering their stance on the Vega System and their clause of non-interference, enraging both the Citadel and the criminals they unwillingly harbored.
Needless to say, considering the current situation, only sending in a handful of Lanterns into that hostile environment seemed like a poor choice. It was only because one of them was, hands down, both the strongest Lantern alive and overall one of the strongest beings in existence that it had managed to pass muster at all. That did not give Kyle, Hal, and Guy the carte blanche to do whatever they wanted, but it did give them breathing room to operate towards their goal with the given parameters.
So, their arrival to Okaara was met by only a silently bellicose welcome instead of an actively belligerent one. They would fight if offended, but were just as ready to leave things alone as long as the Lanterns did. Which was just fine with Kyle — he had an Orange Lantern to find, after all.
He had been on Okaara enough times to find the entrance to the underground caverns where Larfleeze spent his time. A quick look at Hal and Guy, ordering them to follow, and they descended into the dark deep with a low, rising feeling of trepidation. As soon as they neared the ground, Kyle held out a hand, stopping them, leaving them hover just above the floor.
"Why—?"
Instead of answering, Kyle waved his ring over the floor, emitting a green light. He would've used the white one, but he wasn't sure if Larfleeze would be able to sense it or not. Better not to risk it.
The light illuminated the cavern instantly, exposing the floor below — the remains that littered it.
Both men stilled at the sight, gaping in horror at the endless amounts of bones, skulls, and rotting flesh that dotted every inch of surface beneath them. To hammer the point in, Kyle flicked the direction of the light towards the front of them, lighting up the tunnel they were to travel and in turn revealing more of the carnage. "It's like I said," he spoke, voice echoing throughout the cavern, "he's insane. But that doesn't mean he isn't dangerous."
Hal swallowed. "Are you sure…?"
"That we need to go after him now?" Kyle finished, already following the unofficial path Larfleeze's wrath had gifted him. "Yes. Even if it's just to make sure he stays here until we need him, we cannot allow him to go unsupervised any longer. He's too much of a wild card to leave on his own. What you're seeing right now should be proof enough."
Both men gave a resigned sigh but no more protests, and followed Kyle down the tunnel. The journey was taken in silence, outside of the occasional wince or cringe as they came across another of Larfleeze's numerous atrocities. Until…
"This is it," Kyle announced, cupping his hands together to form a small ball of energy that floated upwards and acted as a floating lantern (heh) for them. It rose and rose higher, growing brighter and lighting up the entire area, exposing the pedestal where the small Orange Power Battery should've been resting when Larfleeze wasn't hogging it like the very air itself would try to steal it.
Guy frowned. "If that's the case, where the hell is he?"
"Is something supposed to be here?" Hal asked, glancing at their third.
"The Orange Central Power Battery," Kyle confirmed. "It's no bigger than a regular battery due to the nature of the Orange Light, but as a consequence Larfleeze never lets it stray far from him. So either he's waiting in the wings somewhere around here, clutching it to his torso—"
"—Or he's not here," Hal realized with a resigned exhale. "You think you can sense him?"
"I can try," Kyle admitted. He then glanced down at the floor, scanning the filth, until he found it. His eyes glowing orange, he reached out with one hand, and in return an orange ring floated upwards toward it. It was absolutely filthy, but Kyle simply flicked his fingers to, incinerating the dirt and germs and making it squeaky clean. However, before he did, he frowned.
"What's wrong?" Guy asked, noticing his expression.
Kyle made a gesture, and a second glowing ball of light formed. It quickly shot up and brightened the rest of the room, illuminating another scene worthy of great horror.
Bodies. Fresh bodies.
"The hell?" Guy gasped, taking a 'step' back.
"How did we not notice that?" Hal wondered, similarly petrified.
"Considering the smell of everything else here, it would be easy to miss," pointed out Kyle, eying the scene with cold, analytical eyes. Decades on this job made for great compartmentalization skills, and either way this was hardly the worst thing he had ever seen. "I barely sensed it myself."
Guy flashed him a disbelieving. "How can you sense something like that?"
"Through their souls," Kyle bluntly replied. "The White Light of Life allows me the ability to sense the recently deceased. The less time it's been since they died, and the more people killed, the stronger it is. As it is, these guys have been dead for at least two weeks, maybe even a month." He squinted his eyes. "About five to ten people at most. Must have had pretty brutal deaths if their souls are still lingering after all this time."
Hal stared at the bodies. They were practically mutilated, ripped to pieces in a way that not even the most savage predator could hope to achieve. "Who the hell would do something like this?" he wondered.
"The same being we're searching for," his friend answered, before turning his attentions back to the ring. He grasped it with one hand, and reached out towards the Orange Light. The color enveloped him into a powerful aura, almost blinding—
—Before suddenly, and unexpectedly, ceasing, leaving the White Lantern with a confused, pondering look on his face.
He took the orange ring and handed it off to Hal. "Keep it," he ordered. "Who knows — it might be useful one day."
Hal furrowed his eyebrows in confusion but complied, placing the ring into the subspace pocket where he stored his battery. "So…?"
"He's not here anymore. In fact, I'm pretty sure he's not in the Vega System anymore."
"Wait, you mean he's traveling?"
"Yeah. Pretty fast too, so either it's his ring or a very fast ship. I'm betting the former." The artist shrugged. "Larfleeze doesn't play well with others. He regards everything in existence as his, and always views others with suspicion."
Guy groaned. "I'm still questioning the wisdom of going after this guy. I'm might be as green to the core as the next guy, but considering everything you've told us about him, it sounds like we're about two seconds away from poking the bear if we go after him."
"It's either we go after him, or we leave him alone and let someone else poke the bear, causing him to do something stupid, like destroy a planet."
There was a beat.
"Did he really…?" Hal began, trailing off when Kyle's expression remained unchanged and he remained completely and deliberately silent. Which was just about answer enough.
"Oh God," Guy palmed his face. "Why the hell did we want to join the game again?"
"Easy. He needs to redeem himself for Parallax. You just like to beat the crap out of people."
"Not helping!"
"So," Hal said, ignoring Guy's growing existential crisis, "what now?"
"You and I will keep tracking down Larfleeze, now that we've got a general idea of where he is and what direction might be going." Kyle glanced at Guy. "As for you, I've got a special assignment that you need to do."
The bar owner blinked. "You do?"
"Yeah. I need you find someone else and bring him to Larfleeze's location as soon as possible."
"Who?" asked Guy, perhaps a touch too eagerly.
Kyle smiled. "G'nort."
"…I hate you."
"So why do you need him to find G'nort?" Hal asked as they left the caverns and ascended to the space above. Guy had gone ahead of them, fleeing the underground horror show as soon as possible, leaving his remaining two companions to depart at a much more leisurely place. "This isn't just one of those distraction attempts, is it? Like a wild goose chase?"
"No," Kyle responded, idly fingering his ring. "It's actually the most important part of this mission. We have no hope of corralling Larfleeze without G'nort now that he's away from his horde at Okaara. It means that something else has caught enough of his attention to leave all his stuff behind, and that means G'nort is the only person now that can distract him from whatever that thing is."
"But why?"
For the first time today, Kyle honest-to-God smiled.
"You'll see."
The rest of the trip was spent in silence. Without Guy's complaints, there wasn't much to talk about. Unlike the others, Hal did not know his successor well beforehand, or had some innate connection to him that smoothened their relationship into something more amicable. Even Arthur's successor had more of a connection to Arthur than Kyle did to Hal, even if it was through his wife and his worst enemy. Kyle was just the man who had been forced to replace Hal after his greatest mistake, who became his newest comrade after Hal finally managed to free himself from Parallax's corrosive influence. There was a line of gratitude there, and admiration, but little more than that. They did not have much in common, even before the time travel.
Even so, Hal couldn't help but be curious about him. There was an air of mystery around Kyle — about his time as a Lantern in that other universe, about his hatred of Sinestro, about the way he just seemed to take everything in stride. Even his genuine annoyance at Guy rarely bubbled beyond irritation, and even Hal could tell he wasn't really annoyed with Guy so much as the general disrespect he showed towards the other colors of the Spectrum. Even the color Yellow, the color of Sinestro, did not face any sort of condemnation from the White Lantern. No, he respected it, like he did all the other colors.
Sinestro. Even now, the name made him boil. He had thought he hated his old mentor before when the man had conquered his own planet in the name of 'order' and betrayed the Corps, but that feeling couldn't compare to the sheer loathing he felt for the man now. Directing Parallax into corrupting him, possessing him, causing him to destroy the Corps, perhaps the one thing in the universe he loved more than anything else in the universe, and betray all his friends and comrades — it made him want to return Earth, break the bastard out of prison if only so he could strangle him. Despite their past together, despite whatever care Hal had for him, might still have for him, Thaal Sinestro would always be one of the people in this universe that Hal would never forgive.
Hal knew he was not alone in this. He had seen that same hatred in Kyle's eyes when he spoke of Sinestro. The sheer elation the other man had on the day they first met, truly met, when Bruce's second eldest handed over Sinestro's yellow ring, giving Kyle the ample opportunity to crush it beneath his heel and taunt the Korugarian about the end of his ambitions. The euphoric grin on his face when they entered the Anti-Matter Universe and Kyle laid eyes on that massive yellow battery, the one that would've been the centerpiece of the future Sinestro Corps. No, Hal was not alone in this at all. Kyle hated Sinestro even more than Hal did. After all, from what little Hal did know about Kyle past, the two had never had an amicable interaction in the entire time they had known each other.
It made him wonder what else Sinestro had done to Kyle besides having him possessed by Parallax. That would've been bad enough, but there must be more to it. On a whim, Hal opened his mouth to ask, but Kyle making a sudden stop cut down the opportunity. That could only mean one thing: they were close to Larfleeze's current location.
"Hal… we're here." There was hesitation in Kyle's voice, and that was enough to make Hal hesitate himself. Even so, he looked up.
And then… RAGE!
One moment, Hal was about to zoom forward, using every inch of anger and fury coursing through him to power his determination, his will, to track down the one other person in this universe he would always hold in contempt, perhaps even moreso than Thaal Sinestro, and rip him limb from limb, and the next he found himself wrapped in a large green hand, tight and unforgiving. He glared at the source of the hand, an unrepentant Kyle, snarling not unlike he would while under Parallax's influence.
"LET ME GO!" Hal roared.
"No," Kyle said simply, glaring back.
"Dammit, Rayner, you know who's down there!"
"I do. And that's why I can't let you go."
"You know what he did—!"
"Hal, if you go down there right now, half-cocked and without a bit of discretion, you will die," the White Lantern said bluntly and with no remorse. "And that would completely defeat the point of going down there in the first place. So let me say this: Calm. Down." There was a flare of white at that, not too much to produce an aura but enough to get the point across.
Hal grit his teeth, but eventually, surrendered to reason. He looked away, trying to release the tension coiled within him, ready to spring. Upon seeing that, Kyle's eyes glowed blue, and the construct restraining similarly changed color. Almost immediately, Hal could feel the rage within him reduce to a manageable simmer, and closed his eyes in relief.
Content that his friend wouldn't let his anger drive his actions any further, Kyle let him go, floating closer to the other Lantern and closing the space between them enough to render some comfort. "I guess it's safe to say that Atrocitus hasn't started up the Red Lantern Corps just yet," he noted. "Otherwise you would've drawn in a red ring with ease."
"I'm sorry," Hal said, genuinely apologetic.
"Don't be," replied Kyle, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "There's nothing wrong with feeling that rage, Hal. Or acknowledging it, accepting it. What's important is that you know when and where to act on it, channel it, and use it. The same with any other emotion." His eyes flickered white.
"Yeah, yeah." The pilot rubbed the back of his head. "It's just…"
"I know. In your place I doubt I would act any differently. But you need to keep your head. Bad enough that we're near a place like this, but the very fact that the Orange Light is telling me Larfleeze is here makes my skin crawl. Nothing good can come from that."
Hal didn't say anything in reply as they stared at the source of their conflict. The Orange Light had directed them to a massive, mechanical planet, moving through the cosmos at a consistent pace with in-built boosters to drive it in whatever direction its master desired it to go. But to call it a planet would be a great misnomer. Planets were molded by debris and bedrock and nourished life with its resources. This place didn't nourish anything except blood, despair and pain. Much like the being who ruled it.
No, this was no planet. It was a war machine.
A Warworld.
Once he was sure Hal was calm enough not to go straight for Mongul the first chance he got, Kyle used his ring to make them invisible before making landfall. As much as he wanted to find Larfleeze and hike it out of here, they still had no idea where he was or why he was even on Warworld in the first place. They needed information, and that meant becoming one of the many unwashed masses that (willingly or not) called Warworld their home. The moment they touched the ground, that invisibility morphed into a disguise: Xudarians. Might catch a few surprised glances, but nothing enough to garner suspicion. Xudarians were a peaceful people, but there were always exceptions.
Once that was settled, they started the trek to the Coliseum. Warworld was built by the original Mongul as a dystopia for him to rule, where he could build an army to eventually conquer the universe. Even after he died, that ambition was continued by his son, Mongul II (or just Mongul, since the first was dead). A tyrant only a few steps below Darkseid, he ruled Warworld with an iron fist, oppressing the people and keeping them subservient and satisfied with gladiatorial games in the Coliseum and the occasional feast. Panem et circenses — Space Rome, as Jason once called it. Kyle couldn't find it in himself to disagree.
Yet, as they continued their journey, Kyle felt a pit growing in his stomach, one that only continued to grow the longer he had to observe Warworld. He remembered this place well from all the reports spoken of the place, from his own visits, before it had been unceremoniously destroyed during one of Hal and Sinestro's great battles after enduring the Wrath of the First Lantern. Life was not kind on Warworld, yes, but the people still looked healthy, if not exactly alive. Mongul might have withheld resources but he didn't do it to the extent that the people were dying. You couldn't build an army with the dead, after all. At least, not a living one.
And people were dying. They were dying on the corners, on the streets, on their knees. Begging, pleading with anyone and everyone they could find for food, clothes, money. This amount of destitution was too much, even for the likes of Warworld. Even Apokalips, the one or two times Kyle ever bothered to visit that hellhole, didn't indulge in that kind of impoverishment. Their idea of tyranny involved torture, sadism, and brainwashing, not slow deaths through hunger and cold. There was nothing 'fun' about that to them.
It was Larfleeze. It had to be. When it came to a nation, destitution only came from greed, and there was no one in the universe with more greed than the Orange Lantern. What didn't make sense is why Larfleeze came here, of all places. Warworld was nice and all for a dictatorship, but it was not rich in resources. It was a war machine after all. All of its resources — what couldn't be produced in the biomes — had to be imported, and all of it in total mostly went into training the people to be Mongul's army for whenever he got around to actually attacking the universe. That, and the gladiators that made a gory spectacle of themselves whenever things started getting too rowdy and the people started grumbling about rebellion again.
Even with all that taken into account, there just wasn't enough to sate that insatiable appetite. Especially since Larfleeze tended to get bored easily the less distinctive something was. There was nothing here worth taking, worth staying for. So why was he still here?
Kyle continued to ponder over the question even as Hal and him entered the Coliseum. He let Hal guide him towards the front of the stands with the best view of the arena, and of the balcony where Mongul would gander over the people as he made one of his many speeches and played the part of an emperor. It would also here where they would have the best vantage point for finding Larfleeze, if he were somewhere in the crowd. Even with some kind of disguise, Larfleeze had a unique appearance, one that Kyle would recognize anywhere.
"Do you see him?" Hal asked, murmuring quietly. He needn't have bothered. With the way people were cheering as they waited for the games to begin, it's doubtful anyone would hear them. Still, it didn't hurt to be careful.
Kyle silently shook his head, scanning over the crowd for Larfleeze's distinctive orange skin. Nothing.
Suddenly, horns sounded, and the roar of the crowd grew louder. Hal and Kyle stood with everyone else just so they wouldn't stand out, but didn't bother in joining in with the applause. They instead turned their attentions to the balcony, waiting quietly and in one case angrily, for the great ruler of Warworld to make an appearance. After a moment that just seemed to stretch out forever, the double doors leading into the complex opened outward, and Mongul made his entrance.
Except he was orange.
Like a construct.
Kyle could just feel the color drain out of his face.
Oh, no.
He didn't bother to listen to Mongul's speech. He didn't need to. Instead, he shared his horrified expression with the equally-horrified one of Hal's, as the realization hit him.
Larfleeze wasn't here for anything on Warworld. He was here for Warworld. Because what could be more special than a giant, mechanical, moving planet?
As if to confirm Kyle's worst fears, Mongul finished his speech with one last statement, one that encapsulated every single way this mission could've possible gone to hell.
"NOW, PLEASE WELCOME, OUR SUPREME LEADER: LARFLEEZE!"
As a unusually tall being that had a face that looked like a cross between a boar and an elephant stepped onto the balcony, Kyle palmed his face and ran his hand down the length of it.
God dammit all to hell.
Poor Kyle. Things can never be simple with him, even as the White Lantern.
As for why Hal is so angry (and those of you unaware), the original Mongul was responsible for the destruction of Coast City, which led to Hal becoming Parallax and Kyle becoming a Green Lantern. Here, because of the wonky timeline, original Mongul is dead, and Mongul II (who also goes by Mongul) is the one who destroyed Coast City. Either way, Hal hates Mongul and really, really wants to kill him (or at least beat the crap out of him).
Next chapter: Deciding the next move.
