Chapter 4: In Brightest Day
Out in the Nevada desert, the Ferris airfield was abuzz with activity. Jets were taking off left and right, though one pilot strayed behind for a moment. He was a bit distracted by the beautiful woman with which he was currently sharing a passionate kiss. The pilot broke the kiss as the woman gave him a cheeky smirk.
"If you want any more of those, you better get your butt in the cockpit." the woman warned playfully. "My investors want a full analysis on the new prototypes."
"Of course, Carol." the pilot told her.
"It's Miss Ferris while on the runway, Hal." Carol reminded him.
"Right, right." Hal replied before smirking. "But when it's just you and me alone. Say, tonight…"
Carol chuckled, rolling her eyes.
"There won't be a tonight if you aren't in the air in the next five minutes." she threatened.
"Then consider me airborne." Hal reassured, taking off towards his plane.
Carol watched him go, then retreated into the observation deck to keep an eye on the planes.
…
Miles away, and several miles up in space, a damaged ship streaked through the cosmos. In its cockpit, a red-skinned alien in a green and black suit struggled to gain control of the crumbling vessel.
"This is Abin Sur, Green La-" An explosion from his engine cut him off, slamming his head into the dashboard. "-Lantern of Sector 2814! My ship is damaged and my ring is low on power! Requesting backup! Requesting-!"
He was cut off again by his ship lurching, his computers suddenly beeping and screaming at him.
"Warning: Planetary impact in t-minus 3 minutes." the computer declared.
Abin Sur gripped the controls as hard as he could, trying to avert the collision. Unfortunately, he had already been caught in the planet's gravitational pull, and his ship did not have enough power to pull free. The ship darted down towards a patch of desert on the planet, crashing down hard.
The engines finally gave out as the ship was left half buried in the sand. Shrapnel was everywhere and the cockpit was destroyed. Abin Sur tried to move, but pain lanced through his entire body. He looked down, his eyes widening when he saw a massive piece of metal piercing through his abdomen. Realizing his time was limited, he held his ring up to his face.
"Seek out… a worthy… successor." He said, wheezing as purple blood dribbled down the corner of his mouth.
Once he finished speaking, a burst of green energy shot out from his ring, streaking across the desert to seek out Abin Sur's successor.
…
"Yeehaw!" Hal cried out, maneuvering the jet like a pro.
"Let's keep the commentary to vehicle specific, shall we Jordan?" Carol requested through the headset in his helmet.
"I was boss." Hal insisted. "That was me expressing my professional opinion of the prototype's acceleration."
"Someone at the FAA is going to read this transcript Hal, so words might help." Carol insisted.
"Of course Ms. Ferris." Hal replied. "My apologies. Plane go fast. Very fast. Plane good."
"Do not make me come up there, Jordan." Carol warned with a teasing edge to her voice. "I'll have you grounded before you can say Apache."
"As much as I'd love to have you up here with me boss, I think you should leave this to me." He told her. "But in all seriousness, the controls are smooth and there's no lag in the engine. So far, everything is running-"
Suddenly, his plane jerked to a stop, his instruments seizing up on him. A strange green glow began to surround the plane, which seemed to distort the radio.
"Ha-... ou-... -ood?" Carol's voice came out stilted and broken. "Wh-... -ing o-...?"
"Carol?" Hal tried to respond. "Carol, come in!"
Suddenly, his plane began flying on its own, taking Hal away from the airfield and out into the desert. Panic setting in, Hal struggled to try and regain control of the aircraft, but nothing seemed to be working.
"Come on, come on." He let out, trying to operate the controls. "Can anyone hear me?! I've lost control of my-!"
He cut off when he saw something out in the desert. He looked out, gasping when he realized it was a downed ship, and he was headed straight for it. His plane landed right next to the ship, everything powering down and returning to normal. Despite the overwhelming desire to get as far away from whatever just hijacked his plane as he could, Hal got out and approached the downed craft cautiously.
"Hello?" he called out. "Anyone alive in there?"
As he peeked inside, he saw Abin Sur's still form, the alien just barely alive. Hal gasped, both at the sight of the alien, and his horrible shape.
"Whoa…" He let out. "Just hang in there. I'm gonna get some help."
"No…" Abin Sur wheezed out. "It is… too late for me… My time… is short…"
"What do you mean?" Hal asked.
"I am… a soldier… a protector of the innocent." Abin Sur grunted, coughing slightly. "A Green… Lantern… and now… you must take… take up my… my mantle..."
"What?" Hal responded. "Why me?"
"You are a man… without fear..." Abin Sur explained. "One who is… worthy of the ring's power… It chose you… so you must take it..."
Abin Sur held out his hand, a fair sized ring floating over to him and landing in his palm. Hal gently took the ring, surprised by how heavy it was. It seemed to pulsate in his hand, as if it was alive.
"You… are the new Green Lantern." Abin Sur told him, his body growing limp. "You must… defend..."
His eyes glazed over as his head fell slack, life finally leaving his body. Hal was still trying to process all of this. He was in shock of seeing an alien with his own eyes, but couldn't help but feel bad for his passing. He looked down at the ring, watching as its glowing light pulsated like a tiny heartbeat.
"What now?" he questioned.
Just then, the sounds of several strange aircrafts filled the air. Hal looked outside to see three spaceships descending towards the downed craft, no doubt the ones that shot Abin Sur out of the air. Hal gripped the ring in his hand before heading towards how own jet, hoping to make a getaway. Unfortunately, laser fire came down from the attacking ships, utterly destroying the ship. Hal skidded to a stop, his eyes going wide at the burning wreckage.
"Carol's gonna kill me." he muttered before narrowly avoiding a second shot. "Unless these guys do it first!"
The ships touched down near him, allowing a dozen aliens to step out. Leading them, was an alien in blue armor and bug like eyes.
"Going somewhere, humie?" He remarked.
"Boss, look." One of the other aliens said, pointing at Hal. "He's got the Lantern's ring."
"Hand it over." the boss insisted.
"Just take it easy, pal." Hal insisted, holding his empty hand up. "I don't want any trouble."
"Too bad, cause you just crossed paths with Kanjar Ro, the most vicious pirate in this sector." the boss alien boasted. "Now hand over the ring, before I send you to join Abin Sur in death."
Hal looked at the ring in his hand, then closed his fist around it.
"You want it?" he taunted. "Come get it!"
He then dove behind some rocks, scrambling to get away as Kanjar Ro and his pirates took off after him. The pirates drew their blasters and began shooting at him, forcing Hal to keep running while keeping his head down. He then leapt behind a rock, narrowly avoiding a blaster shot before pulling himself up. As the pirates drew closer, he looked down at the ring, which was still pulsating in his grasp. Realizing he was outnumbered, outgunned, and out of luck, he came to a decision.
"This is insane, but it better work." he said as he slid the ring on.
Once the ring was on his finger, a surge of energy began spreading from his hand to all over his body. Once the energy began to dissipate, Hal looked down and saw he was now dressed in a green and black uniform similar to Abin Sur's, with white gloves and boots. The only noticeable difference was that he had a green domino mask over his face.
"Not a bad fit." Hal admitted. "Now, how to make this work."
Another blaster shot hit the rock behind him, causing him to jump a little. He swung around, bringing his hands up to protect himself. Much to his surprise, a shield that was shaped like a knight's shield suddenly appeared in front of him. It was translucent and green in color, and a trail of light connected it to Hal's ring.
He looked at the green construct and started to put two and two together. To figure out if he was right, he pictured something else in his mind. The construct changed from a shield into a baseball bat. Hal then swung the bat at the pirates, knocking two into the air and making them land on the ground hard.
"And that's a double header." He jeered.
He then formed a massive fist, punching out three more pirates. The remaining ones began shooting at him again, causing him to form another shield. This one he pushed out towards the pirates, ramming it into them and pressing them against a rock. As he retracted the shield, allowing the pirates to slump to the ground, Hal looked down at the ring in awe and amazement.
"What else can you do?" he wondered.
Just then, the ring started blinking rapidly, beeping as it did. It reminded Hal of his phone whenever he forgot to charge it, and that analogy made Hal immediately go pale.
"Oh no, don't tell me this thing is battery operated!" he exclaimed.
Before Hal could protest further, he noticed Kanjar-Ro seemingly absent from the scene. He looked around and saw him entering into his ship, taking off and flying towards him.
"Oh crap." Hal let out before running away.
The ring kept beeping at him as he ran, Hal looking at it frantically.
"How am I supposed to charge you?" he questioned. "Do I look like I have alien batteries on-?"
He cut himself off, his eyes turning to Abin-Sur's downed ship. He caught a glimpse of a giant green lantern in the cockpit.
"Bingo!" he shouted, rushing towards the ship.
He sprinted towards the ship as fast as he could, dodging the blaster fire of Kanjar-Ro's ship as best he could. Once close enough to the ship, he slid across the dirt and dove for the cockpit.
"Real sorry, but I need this." He apologized as he grabbed the lantern. "Ok, now… how does this work?"
He turned the lantern in his hand, but found no cords or plugs. On a whim, he shoved his ringed hand into the lantern, and was rewarded with a glow. The light began to reflect in his eyes as multiple voices filled his mind. They were all reciting the same thing, an oath of some sort. On instinct, Hal began to recite it as well, as if he'd known it his entire life.
"In brightest day… in blackest night… no evil shall escape my sight… let those who worship evil's might… beware my power… Green Lantern's light!"
Once he finished, his ring was glowing brighter than ever, renewing Hal's confidence. He grinned at the ring, clenched his fist, then turned towards Kanjar Ro's ship. He then leapt up into the air, flying straight towards the ship before shooting out a massive energy beam that blew off his wing. The ship began spiraling down, but Hal quickly used the ring to catch the ship, depositing it gently on the ground.
As the ship was placed on the ground, Kanjar-Ro opened the cockpit and tried to escape. Hal floated down, landing right in his path and causing the pirate to run right into him. He stumbled back as Hal reeled back his fist, punching the pirate across the face. Kanjar Ro fell to the ground, groaning in pain as Hal snorted.
"Good riddance." He remarked.
As Hal revelled in his victory, he heard applause sounding from above him. He whipped his head up, seeing a strange creature flying above him. It was bulked out in green armor, a pink head with pointed ears, sharp fangs on his lower lip, and bright red eyes.
"Not bad newbie." the creature commented. "Especially for just having the ring for a few kliks."
"Uh… thanks." Hal replied.
The creature nodded, then turned his attention to Abin Sur's ship. He landed, his ears drooping slightly when he laid eyes on the fallen lantern.
"Abin Sur..." He said quietly. "I'm sorry I didn't get here in time..."
"I'm sorry." Hal consoled. "I didn't know him but… he seemed like a good man."
"One of the best of us." the creature agreed. "You got some pretty big shoes to fill."
He reached into the ship, gently closing Abin Sur's eyes.
"I'll take him, and his murderers." the creature declared. "I'm sure you need time to figure things out now that you're a Green Lantern."
"Yeah… I guess so." Hal agreed.
"Word of advice, head out to Oa as soon as you can." the creature advised. "Your ring knows the way. There, you can get the training you need to do your job right."
"Thanks uh..."
"Kilowog." the creature supplied.
"Kilowog." Hal repeated. "Right. I'll remember that."
Kilowog snorted slightly, then used his own ring to pick up the ships, as well as Kanjar Ro and his pirates.
"Good luck, Poozer." he said. "You're gonna need it."
With that, Kilowog flew off, carrying the aliens and their ships away. Hal watched them disappear into the sky, then the sounds of helicopters reached his ears.
"Crap, Carol!" he realized. "How do I ditch these duds?"
His Green Lantern uniform then disappeared, returning him to wearing his flight suit once more.
"That was easy." he let out.
Just then, the helicopters appeared overhead, kicking up dust as they approached. One landed faster than the others, Carol rushing out of the side door and running over to Hal. She threw her arms around him, burying her face in his shoulder.
"Hal!" she cried out. "You're alive!"
"Hey, it's me remember?" Hal reassured.
"Just shut up and hold me." She ordered, tightening her grip. "I was worried sick!"
"Sorry to make you worry." Hal said with absolute sincerity.
As he continued holding her, he held his hand up and looked at the new ring, gracing his finger. He could feel it pulsating against his finger, reminding him of his new purpose.