Oa

Hal flew past the massive main power battery, drinking in the sight of the luminescent green energy.

It never looked any less surreal, no matter how many times he saw it. A gargantuan structure containing the willpower of every sentient being in the universe, harnessed in a giant green lantern.
How the Guardians even managed that was a mystery. No one even knew how old the Green Lantern Corps was. As far back as even the oldest species could remember, there had always been Green Lanterns.

In his admittedly short time as a Lantern he had been to one or two planets so old there was no life left on them, but even here they found ancient texts among the crumbling and decayed ruins that told of the deeds of emerald warriors that could fly.
It was incredible, the similarities that virtually all living things in the Universe shared.

For one thing, most aliens he met were humanoid, or vaguely humanoid in physiology. The differences mostly came from the number of organs and their functions, and of course the cultures, customs and languages-and even here there were startling similarities.
He could speak some very basic alien phrases for the purposes of giving orders,asking questions and of course swearing, but most alien languages were beyond him. It wasn't that he lacked the mental capacity. It's just that he literally could not form the words. Many languages needed an additional epiglottis or multiple tongues.
Luckily the power-ring could translate any language, provided the speaker also wore a power-ring.

Perhaps the most surprising thing were the aliens themselves. Growing up on Earth he had always believed aliens were much more advanced, light years ahead of anything humankind had. Spielberg and all the others were wrong. Aliens were highly advanced, but just as it was on Earth, so it was on almost every other planet. On some planets there were species of aliens that were even more warlike, barbaric and bloodthirsty than Vikings,Mongols and Spartans put together. They still fought with crude weapons, divided themselves according to tribes and clans, and some even dressed in animal pelts.

And just like humans, aliens were a contradiction.
Take the extinct Kryptonians, or their living 'cousins' the Daxamites. Both were highly advanced both technologically and culturally even by alien standards, yet both were extremely xenophobic.

As he got deeper into the Operating Base of the Corps he ran into Kilonwog, one of the Lanterns that had trained him. Kilonwog's specialty was hand to hand combat. His physiology was uniquely suited to the giving and receiving of savage beatdowns.
He was huge, and he looked like the love child of a hippo and a wild boar. He was almost seven feet tall, with a chest and shoulders as broad as that of two or three fully grown men.
Even without his ring, Kilonwog wasn't someone Hal ever wanted to cross.

"Jordan! What the hell brings you here? I thought between protecting sector 2814 and your home planet you'd hardly have time to visit." He growled in his impossibly deep voice.

"The bulb-heads called apparently. I guess I'll find out why in a few moments." He added in response to the puzzled expression on the alien's face.

"Better get to it right away then. You know how much they hate to be kept waiting. If you got time come and see me in the sparring room. We still need to work on your hand to hand combat skills."

"Sure, I will." Nope. Definitely will not. He still had nightmares about his first ever sparring session with Kilonwog.

He increased his speed as he reached the massive double doors. They opened incredibly slowly and he had to slow down. It was mentally controlled by the Guardians. This was their way of screwing with him. He could feel it.

"Hal Jordan, Green Lantern of Earth, Space Sector 2814, reporting for... whatever it is you called me here for." Hal said as he floated before the Guardians.

He had only met them a few times before.

He still didn't know what to make of them.
They looked quite unnerving the first time he met them, but he soon got used to it. They had pale blue-grey skin and white hair, and they wore long flowing robes. They wore no jewelry and sat in simple stone thrones that floated in space, but you could sense the power in them.
Their eyes were by far their eeriest quality. You got the feeling you were naked before them. Like they could see right through you, literally and figuratively. They could size a person up and know what made them tick immediately. They probably knew what he ate this morning too.

Their massive heads however, he would never get used to. They reminded him of Onion Boy from Fat Dog Mendoza, except their heads weren't quite so bulbous and round. They were more like inverted cones.

"Ring-bearer Jordan, can you explain why you are 12 Earth hours late?"

"Actually its 11 hours 47 minutes. I shaved some time off of the long flight here."

They looked at him in stony silence.

"Um, I had... work related issues. As you know, Earth is not exactly the most advanced of planets-"

"It is a backwater filled with barbarians, yes. But you serve a purpose." One of the Guardians said snidely.
Hal didn't know his name but from the little interaction he had with him in the past he didn't seem to like humans very much.

"Thing is, they don't know you guys exist. To them, I'm a freak in a colorful suit, not a member of an intergalactic police force. They think I'm a lone wolf. There are no other Lanterns on Earth y'see."

"Yes, we know that. We know everything. Joining this Justice League of America was a wise decision on your part. It is good for the people of Earth to see that Green Lanterns are a force for good." Said a female Guardian.

Hal wasn't that surprised. They really did know everything. They weren't called the Guardians of the Universe for nothing.

"But that is not why you are here. We have summoned you for another reason. A ring returned to Oa several Earth days ago. You know what that means." A power-ring materialized before his face. It glowed faintly.

Hal's face hardened. A fellow Lantern had fallen in battle. He nodded curtly.

"We summoned you here, because the ring found a suitable bearer, but this bearer rejected the ring." Hal raised an eyebrow. As far as he knew, you couldn't really reject a Power Ring. It rejected you. It was like a really, really, really attractive woman. Or a free ice-cream sample. Rejections just didn't happen to it.

"Is that even possible?" Hal asked.

"Yes. Though it is extremely rare. We can count the number of times that has happened in the entire history of the Corps. It indicates that the wearer has willpower exceeding that of the Power Ring."

"That can happen?"

"As I have said, only in extremely rare cases. This appears to be one of them. We want you to find this ring bearer, give them the ring and take them under your wing."

"There are literally millions of Lanterns that are far more qualified than I am. Why me?"

"Because this ring bearer is from Earth." Hal's eyes widened.

"You want me to find the ring-bearer, then convince them to accept it, and then train them? You know who you're talking to right? Who gave you that crazy idea?"

"I did."

A tall, lean, red skinned Lantern floated into the room. A small scar ran from his eyelid to just above his cheek. He had short black hair and a thin mustache, but the rest of his face was clean shaven. He looked a lot like Clark Gable. Except he had a narrower face. And red skin.

He was Thaal Sinestro, the most highly respected and best known Green Lantern in the Corps. He was Green Lantern of space sector 1417, a sector famed for being almost completely devoid of crime, a testament to his prowess and ability as a Lantern.
He hailed from the planet Korugar, and had a reputation for being totally fearless and honourable to what Hal considered an anal degree. He didn't like him, but he did respect him. Except he was careful never to show it.

Behind him was Kilonwog, grinning from ear to ear. A truly horrendous sight.

It was his partner and mentor, Abin Sur,who's ring Hal had inherited. Sinestro had never really liked Hal and the feeling was mutual. He believed Hal was not worthy of the Green Lantern mantle, and he felt he was not worthy of Abin Sur's power ring.

Or so he thought.

What Hal didn't know was that Sinestro only gave a hard time to Lanterns who he thought had promising futures, and that he actually liked Jordan, mostly because he had the balls to always say exactly what was on his mind.
That was refreshing to a man like Sinestro, and it was a quality he admired in Hal. Most of all, he trusted Abin Sur's judgement.
If his former mentor and partner chose this human to wield the ring, then there was a very good reason for it.

But like a typical Sensei, he never showed any sign of his true feelings.

If Jordan wanted that, he would have to earn it the hard way, because that was the only way.

So Hal was having a hard time understanding the recommendation.

"Sinestro."

"Jordan."

"Why the hell did you do that?"

"Tutoring this ring bearer will perhaps teach you a thing or two."

"I just want to see if you can handle baby-sitting the noob, like we had to do for you."
Kilonwog growled in his deep voice, grinning all the while.

"Ok then. You want me to baby-sit a potential Lantern."

"Remember Jordan, ring bearers like this are a rarity. Come back with him, or don't come back at all." Sinestro said sternly.

"He's being a little extreme. What he means is, if you screw this up you're in big trouble." Kilonwog added rather unhelpfully.

He was silent for a few moments.

"I understand." He finally said.

"Good. You are dismissed Lantern." said one of the Guardians.

Hal took the ring and set off immediately for Earth.

"I can't believe I let you talk me into this Ganthet." Sinestro said.

"I didn't talk you into anything Thaal. You know as well as I do he has potential. It seems that humans make excellent Green Lanterns. They have achieved great things through sheer willpower. Hal Jordan is no exception. He may be arrogant,short tempered and a tad overbearing, but I know we both believe he will be a great Lantern, perhaps even as great as you."

Kilonwog and Sinestro shared a look, before flying out of the Guardian's chambers.

"You think they're wrong?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because he is a good Lantern, and I trust Abin Sur's judgement. He chose him for a reason. He saw something in him."

"Wow. If he hears you say that, you'll never live it down."

"Who said anything about him ever hearing it?" Sinestro said darkly.

"Oh please. That might work with the rookies, but it won't work with me. I'm one of the few people who knew you before you became a legend. But seriously, what makes you so sure?"

Sinestro scowled at him, then he broke into a rare smile, which disapearred as quickly as it appeared.

"Abin Sur, may his soul rest in eternal peace, was my partner for many moons. He was a far better Lantern than I, and a far better judge of character. But more than that,there was one thing he never ceased to remind me."

"And what was that?"

"The Guardians are never wrong."

A/N: Sinestro is one of my favorite characters, and IMO one of the most noble characters in the DC Universe. He is the very definition of the misunderstood villain, along with Orm. He just wants to do whatever it takes to protect his people, and even when they hate and fear him he still goes on with it. Because no one else will do it, he took it upon himself. Selflessness is always admirable, no matter what side of the scale the character falls on. I believe he has a lot in common with Hal, although we all know where Hal draws the line.

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