Hello again, Readers!

Just one chapter being posted today this time. Hope you enjoy it!

So There's Gonna Be Another Alien Battle on Earth? ...Yay...

Mrs. McDormand POV:

Mrs. McDormand was in brighter spirits, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Yes, her son Sam was finally home, but she could sense something bad was going to happen, and it had to do with her son; call it mother's intuition, if you will.

First, he looked a lot paler than he used to be; Sam used to have a deep coco color to him, but he came back a couple shades lighter; she didn't know what kind of sun Oa had, but she hoped that it didn't mean he was sick. Also, he was in just a t-shirt and underwear, and the blood from his broken nose had scared her. And finally, she realized that he didn't have his dad's old cassette player. She only noticed this when she walked by his room, seeing him listen to music on his smartphone, a sort of nostalgic and sad look on his face as he listened to Elton John, AC/DC, and all of his dad's favorite bands. She couldn't help but be sad as well, knowing how much he treasured that gift from his dad, but didn't ask him about how he no longer had it. Based on the communications she'd gotten from him in the past, she assumed that life on Oa was rough, and that he needed some time to heal.

Diana and Martian Manhunter had shown up a day after her son had arrived, telling her that he was currently missing from Oa , and that everyone had no idea of where he was. Scared that they might take him away again if they knew he was here (he was, at that moment, sound asleep in his room), she pretended to be shocked by the news, crying and hugging Wonder Woman, who assured him that they would find his son; she may not have a college degree, but she sure was smart enough to know that them finding Sam would equal him leaving again. When they left after that, telling her to call them if Sam came home, she went to his room, peeking in at his sleeping figure.

"I'm not letting them take you again," she whispered, wiping away a few tears in her eyes. "I promise." When Sam was taken, she'd nearly lost herself, especially since he was all she had left after her husband died in that drunk driving accident. She knew that, eventually, the Green Lantern Corp or the Justice League would figure out she was lying, but she'd deal with that when it happened; right now, she was determined to keep her son home for as long as possible.

But things are better now, she thought to herself as she continued to get ready for work; Sam had fortunately just shown up before school started, and since their district did registration at the end of May, they didn't have any trouble with lying and saying he was visiting relatives in Louisiana. Her son went to school, a little quieter than she remembered him being but that was understandable; Wonder Woman and Martian Manhunter had explained to her long ago what the Green Lantern Corp was and what his training would include, and decided to give him some space, though she would sometimes hug him, kissing his head and smiling at him as she silently let him know how much she had missed him. He'd smile back, but then go back to his thoughtful, complacent look that was so unlike the slightly-hyper, distracted boy she used to know. It was a double-edged sword; one one hand, her son was back, but he wasn't the boy she remembered.

On this particular day, she had just finished getting ready to go to work when she heard a knock at the door. Mrs. McDormand paused, looking at the window nearby for any sign of who it could be. Seeing a human-looking silhouette, she went to the door, opening it to find a man in a mask, a floating squirrel, and a large, towering pink creature standing behind them, all wearing identical green outfits. If she hadn't met superheroes before, she would have fainted, but she didn't now; she simply gasped at the sight of the three, wondering who they were, but she had a sinking feeling as to why they had come, and knew that the jig was up; eventually, they would find out that he was here on Earth, or at least come back to see if he had shown up.

"Mrs. McDormand," the man asked, his blue eyes kind and understanding behind his mask.

She nodded. "Yes. I suppose you're here about Sam?"

"Is he here," the pink alien demanded in a deep voice, causing her to start. He was mean looking, but she noticed that he also seemed anxious and almost scared.

"N-No," she said, looking at the alien. "He's- What's going on?"

"How long has he been home," the floating squirrel asked in a small, clear voice, pointing his ring finger at her. "We know he's back on Earth, and based on your vital signs, you seem to be hiding something."

Mrs. McDormand's face blanked, a chill running up her spine, knowing that she was finally caught. "I… I-I-I… You're not taking him," she finally said to them. "Please, just leave us alone!" She made to slam the door in their faces, but a glowing green something blocked the door from closing. About to yell something again, she looked at the human green lantern, who simply stared at her. She didn't know or explain why, but something about his eyes made her calm down, and told her that everything would be alright; he might've been using that green ring of his to trick her, but she doubted that to be true. She let go of the door handle, knowing that being uncooperative wouldn't be good for her or Sam; she needed to talk things out.

"May we please come in," the human Lantern asked kindly. "I think… I think we have some explaining to do."

..

" … so if we hadn't found Lobo, we would probably still be looking in the wrong places," Ch'p finished, taking a sip of milk from the glass the woman had offered him. It was good, he had to admit, and made a mental note to ask Hal to get him some before they left Earth.

The four beings were sitting in the tiny living room, each holding their own cup. Mrs. McDormand and Hal sat on the couch, with Ch'p floating nearby, while Kilowog stood near the doorway, silent and ashamed as his friends told Sam's mom what had happened. He couldn't look the woman in the eye, embarrassed as he listened to the parts about him. The woman, meanwhile, listened quietly as they explained how Sam had been during his training, how he'd helped the other Rookies, how he was tricked, how his machine was destroyed, and how he'd left. She didn't know any of this, since her son wouldn't tell her, but hearing it now, it put a whole new perspective in her mind of what she should do next.

When Hal and Ch'p finally finished talking, Mrs. McDormand remained silent, holding her tea in her hand, though she was also looking at the clock; she had work in twenty minutes, and it was almost too much for her to deal with. She had to work to support her and Sam; the Justice League had offered her money every month since her son was technically a superhero, but she had refused, seeing it as charity. She knew that the Justice League probably knew by now that Sam was back on Earth, and she sighed, knowing that she couldn't protect her son any longer. But time was of the essence, so when she finally spoke, she spoke quickly, pushing aside the pain in her heart. "You," she said, turning towards the pink alien. "Mr. uh…"

The combat training officer glanced up, a little frightened when he saw her glaring at him. "K-Kilowg, ma'am."

"Ah, I've heard about you; your reputation precedes you. You're the one that tormented my son. Right?" All he could do was nod, still ashamed. "Well, I'm not gonna coddle you, given your training and status. I agree with Mr. Jordan here, that you shouldn't have been that hard on him, but given the… interesting circumstances, I can't be mad at you, and I'm won't become mad later on." Kilowog looked up, surprised that she was no longer glaring at him, but giving him an almost pitiful look. He didn't want her pity, but he was just relieved that she wasn't mad at him. "You had a job to do, and I thank you for looking after my son, and know that I use that term very loosely. However, I don't expect you to pull any more crap like that if he goes back with you three." The alien nodded again, and she nodded back, satisfied.

" … If he comes back," Ch'p asked, using his ring to pour himself some more milk. "Ma'am, he has to finish his training. We know you love him very much, but he has a respon-"

"I'm not keeping him from going," Mrs. McDormand said firmly, looking at each of the Lanterns in turn. "I didn't chase him away, so I don't have to ask him to go back." Her eyes landed on Kilowog's. "While... while I want him to stay at home, it's Sam's decision to go back, if he wants to. If I were you, I'd apologize and beg him to come back, since it seems like y'all really need him." Her heart felt like it was ripping in two, offering up her choice in the matter of him staying or going, but she knew that, after hearing everything that had happened, she couldn't hold him back.

The pink alien nodded, straightening up in his seat. "Where is he, again?"

"At the high school a few streets over. The only two story building in town."

"Kilowog," Hal said, standing up, giving his friend a cautious look. "He's in school, and he's probably not gonna be happy to see us. Besides, you and Ch'p aren't human, and I'm a superhero to the people of Earth; we can't just go barging in there!"

"Then don't come," Kilowog said, pushing past him and heading down the hall before opening the front door. Before he could leave, John rushed inside.

"We've got a problem," he said. "Justice League's picked up two separate groups entering the atmosphere, heading towards us."

"Don't tell me-" Hal said.

"Red and Yellow." Kilowog muttered something unsavory under his breath, pushing past the human Lantern and taking off into the sky. "The League's on their way," John continued, "and we're assigned with getting the population to safety, as well as protecting civilians; it seems they're heading for the high school.

"They're heading for Sam," Hal muttered, turning back to Mrs. McDormand. "I'm sorry ma'am, about all of this and the trouble we've caused. If there's anything we can do-"

"I'm fine," she said, smiling grimly and taking Hal and Ch'p's cups (the latter looking a little disappointed). "Go help Sam; I have no doubt that the League will probably check up on me."

"Thanks. But if I were you, ma'am I wouldn't go to work… things may get interesting." Hal smiled, and he and Ch'p quickly ran out of the room, heading towards the open front door, leaving her and John alone.

"Are you sure you don't need protection right now," he asked her.

"No need," she said, going over to her desk nearby, pulling a small communicator from the back of the bottom drawer, pushing the button that alerted the Justice League. "But I thank you for the offer. Now go save the world." The man nodded, giving her a grim smile before running out the front door as well.

For a brief moment, Mrs. McDormand wondered if she should warn her son about was to come, seeing the danger he was in. She didn't have a phone that texted, however, and wondered if he would run if she called him; the last thing she needed was her son out in the open, an easy target for whoever the Red and Yellow groups were. She still went to her phone, however, dialing the number to her job to tell them she wasn't available to come in to work today, and then to call the police and alert them of the upcoming battle

Outside, her next door neighbor stared at the sky, wondering if he was crazy, or if four green-clad aliens had really just taken off from the McDormand's front lawn, yelling at him to get him and his family somewhere safe that was away from all windows.

Sam POV:

Sam stared at the ring on his finger as the short lady at the podium talked about what an exciting year it was going to be.

It was the first Pep Rally of the year, so naturally the high school had pulled out all the stocks; the marching band and cheerleaders had prepared special routines to show off, and the Principal was now making her opening remarks. The gym bleachers were full of students, pulled from their morning classes, grateful to be out of their humdrum classes, even if it was only for half an hour.

Sam, on the other hand, could care less about what the principal was saying. He slowly twisted the green ring around his finger, remembering a time when he could create skyscrapers and such with this ring. Now, however, it was devoid of any power, so even if he wanted to, he couldn't create so much as a flea construct. He'd gotten a few compliments from fellow students about his 'cool replica,' but he didn't thank them.

For some crazy reason, he missed being on Oa; not the bad parts about it, of course, but the good parts. Like how the stars were always visible, no matter what time of day; he missed the time spent training and sparring with his fellow Rookies (save Elantra), and eating lunch together afterwards. Here, his old friends avoided him, not buy the story of him visiting an aunt for two months, and rumors circled that he'd been sent to an institution, which explained his paler complexion and the circles under his eyes. At least back on Oa, he had some friends, and he was able to fly; he missed that too. Pushing aside the memory of the wind blowing his hair and the feeling of weightlessness, he looked back up at the podium, figuring he might as well pay attention now that he was back at school.

" … and the Cafeteria will now be serving both 2% and skim milk," she said, turning the page in her packet of notes. "Continuing on-"

BOOM!

Her voice faltered as everyone looked around, wondering what the heck it was; the faint noise seemed to have come from outside. Everyone immediately started speculating what might have happened: Did a pipe burst in the soccer field or something? I thought I felt the ground shake! You're just pretending; it's probably nothing. Sam looked up too, his curiosity piqued as even some of the teachers looked confused.

"A-Anyways," the principal continued, turning back to her speech while some of the monitors called for silence, "we've also added a new-"

CRASH!

Now people panicked as the side wall of the gym was blown inward, sending brick and plaster across the room. Fortunately, no one was close enough to have gotten injured, but students still screamed as the dust settled down. A few teachers made to walk over to the hole to see what had caused it when someone, or rather, something stepped through it into the gym, bringing a new wave of panic.

It was huge, first of all, and for a crazy second, Sam thought it might be Kilowog. But he quickly ruled it out as he noticed details about the alien. It had dark red skin, like the color of blood, and it wore a lighter red outfit not unlike a Green Lantern uniform, but the insignia in the center was different. But it was the glowing red ring on his finger, along with the glowing red eyes, that confirmed in his mind who it was.

Atrocitus. Leader of the Red Lanterns.

Instantly, the teen felt his level of terror shoot up past ten as he recalled what he'd learned about the Red Lanterns. Their rings were powered by rage, and they apparently had a lot of it. They were ruthless and merciless as well, killing whoever, whenever they pleased. Even now, something that looked suspiciously like blood floated in little droplets around the alien, who surveyed the panicking student body.

Why is he here, Sam wondered. Who here is so angry that the Red Lanterns would show up and- The blood drained from his face as he realized who it was, and at that moment, the alien spoke up.

"SILENCE," Atrocitus yelled, instantly turning off all conversations and screaming as people hunched in their seats, petrified. A small kat in a red outfit, along with a few more aliens in red uniforms, came in through the wall behind him, all glaring at the humans.

"One of you," he continued, his voice echoing through the gym, "is the object of our search. We have sensed a great rage in you, and have come to take you with us. Resist, and we will kill you all."

A few people screamed at that, but a harsh look from the alien silenced everyone again.

"So I suggest, if you care about your pathetic human friends, to stand up and surrender yourself, former Green Lantern."

The school body sat in shock for a few moments, taking in the alien's word. One of them apparently used to be a Green Lantern, and now was being hunted by these Red Lantern aliens who wanted to take them. And if they didn't get what they wanted, they would all die. Some people started crying, some started texting their parents, but most sat in shock, not sure of what to do. But Sam knew what to do; power ring or not, he couldn't just sit there and let everyone die because of him. Taking a deep breath, he stood up, looking Atrocitus square in the eye.

Everyone gasped, and those that sat near him scrambled away, as if he had some sort of disease. Already he could hear whispering about him, some relieved that they would be spared while others pointed to the ring on his finger, but he ignored them, slowly making his way down the steps of the bleachers.

"Smart move," the towering alien said, grinning evilly as he held out his hand, a small red ring floating above it. "Your blood and rage will give our Corp plenty of power!"

"I'm not joining you," Sam said, walking into the center of the gym, facing the Red Lanterns.

"What," the alien asked, eyes narrowing into a glare.

"I said," the boy repeated, "I'm not joining you. I'm no longer angry enough to join you."

"You may tell yourself that, but I assure you that I am never wrong when it comes to rage. I am Rage, and you will join us!" He tossed the ring, which floated over to the teen, hovering a few inches away from his face, giving off a hypnotic glow.

"Don't be a dumbass," someone yelled from the bleachers. "Take it!" They were obviously scared of dying and panicking, so Sam wasn't, and couldn't, be mad at them.

Atrocitus laughed at that; it was a chilling sound. "Your peers are right; take it, and you will save them from sure destruction. Take it, and become more powerful than any Green Lantern that has come before you! Take it, and accept your destiny!"

A silence fell over the gym as everyone stared at the teen, waiting to see what he would do. Sam stared at the ring that floated in front of him, and for a moment, just a moment, he considered taking it. It would be so easy to just take the ring, letting his anger at his dad's death, his Earth friends abandoning him, his mom's crappy bosses, Elantra's betrayal, Kilowog's torture, and all the reasons he had to be angry, give him all the power in the world, or even in the universe. If that explosion back on Oa was him when he was angry, he could be ten times as powerful with a red ring.

Take it, a voice said, unfamiliar and dark. Was it just his subconscious, telling him what to do? Just take it. He lifted a hand to let the ring slide onto his finger, but he noticed a splash of green on his hand, and he looked back at the dormant Green Lantern power ring.

Don't give up, a voice told him, louder than the voice of the red ring. Fight it; do not let your possession of my ring end so soon!

"Swet'llanga," he muttered, looking at the green ring; he couldn't explain how or why, but he could definitely tell that it was her. "How-"

You were chosen for a reason; your will is stronger than your anger and fear. Don't give into their lies! Stay strong! The voice seemed to fade away after that, and he wondered if what had happened, just happened. He looked back up at the red ring, its whisper no longer audible, then back ag the green one.

Lowering his hand, he took a step back, moving away from the red ring. "I won't join you."

Now the alien looked enraged as the red ring flew back to him. "Then you have condemned your friends to die," he yelled, raising his fist, his own glowing ring visible. "But you will join us, even if I must break every bone in your body to put that ring on your finger!"

"Not today," another voice spoke up, and a green boulder flew from somewhere behind the teen and hit Atrocitus in the face, knocking him back. The Red Lantern leader stumbled, growling with anger as he glared at something over the teen's shoulder.

"Oh shit, a talking squirrel," someone yelled from the bleachers, and everyone, including Sam, turned around to find a small Green Lantern floating by the door, surrounded by several other Green Lanterns, who were all holding their rings up, charged and ready for battle. They were about the same number as the Red Lanterns, and consisted of Hal Jordan, John Stewart, Guy Gardner, Ch'p, Tomar, the Rookies (minus Elantra), and finally, Kilowog.

"Samuel McDormand," Ch'p yelled again, probably a little miffed by the squirrel comment, "charge your ring and join us in the fight!"

Atrocitus roared from his side of the gym, the red glow swirling around him as his anger grew. "KILL THEM ALL," he yelled. "LEAVE THE BOY TO ME!"

And with that, both groups of Lanterns leaped forward, with Sam caught in the middle.

Of course, the battle itself is gonna be the next chapter. Also, if you're asking where the Yellow Lanterns are, you'll see next chapter!

To be honest, it was hard to write Mrs. McDormand. Of course, since I'm not a mom, I doubt I could ever perfectly describe the emotions and feelings one would have for their only son being taken away, returned, and then threatened to be taken from her again. She's smart, but stubborn, and this chapter shows that her accepting her son's destiny is not hers to control is a big turning point for her, even though she's not a main character.

But we finally have the start to our epic showdown! More to come in the next chapter!

Feel free to follow and favorite this story or my profile to be updated on new chapters, and feel free to leave a review on this story if you want.

And as always, have a safe and happy week/weekend!

-aggiefrogger

NOTE: I do NOT own AC/DC, Elton John or space battles in ANY way, shape or form!