Hello again, Readers!

Well, here it is. Battle time! I know it's not a masterpiece of storytelling, and is only one chapter long, but it has plenty of action, is fast-paced, and has an epic conclusion!

I hope you like it!

Powerful Memories:

Sam POV:

Sam had never seen any of the Lanterns in battle, and was stunned for a second at how quickly they rushed forward. Fortunately, he managed to jump out of the way as the two groups clashed with one another, falling on his back as he stared at the two groups fighting, already knocking each other out of the way.

"SAM," someone yelled, and he felt something wrap around his waist, pulling him away from the action towards the Green side of the gym. John Stewart flew overhead, bringing up a shield to protect the students and school faculty in the bleachers. Finally stopping, he locked up to see Pznar looking down at him.

"Hurry up and help," he yelled, setting a power battery next to the teen, looking up just in time as the red cat attacked him, knocking the purple alien into the wall.

Looking around, Sam saw that the number of Green Lanterns outnumbered the Reds, but the Red side was ruthless, attacking so fast, that the Green could barely keep them back. Also, John and the Twins were helping the students and teachers evacuate, as well as protecting them from flying debris. Looking at the fight, he saw that mostly everyone was fighting someone, except for Atrocitus, who had Kilowog and Hal fighting him, but he was slowly and surely making his way across the room. Straight towards him. Panicking, the boy grabbed the lantern, scrambled to his feet, and sprinted towards the exit, bursting into the hallway.

Where do I go, he thought, running down the hall, putting as much distance between himself and the fighting. He could charge his ring now, but he needed at least ten seconds to charge it enough for him to fight, so he needed a place to avoid any attacks while he did so. A bathroom? Too small, and no view of anyone coming; plus, if he was going to die, he didn't want to die in a bathroom, of all places. The cafeteria? Too big and open. Classrooms were out too. The only other room he could think of was-

"The library," he muttered, turning down another hall and running towards the door, which was thankfully unlocked. The librarians were at the pep rally, so he wasn't stopped as he ran between the bookshelves, trying to find a place to hide. Eventually, he found himself in the back computer lab, which was in a small room just off of the main library. He turned off the lights, shut and locked the door, and ducked down behind one of the computers, catching his breath. Then, placing the battery next to him, he stuck his hand with the ring against the side of the green object, counting down the seconds as it charged.

One… two… three… The ring on his finger started to glow, and almost hummed as power returned to it. Four… Five… Six… A few more seconds and he could fight and fly, as well as have the protection of his uniform. Seven… Eight… Ni-
The door to the room was blown inward, knocking tables and computers back, and Sam quickly ducked under one of the tables, ring still charging as his uniform covered his body, minus the metal band around his head.

"Come on out, boy," an unfamiliar voice called; this wasn't Atrocitus'. This one sounded softer, clear, and somehow more sinister. "I can sense that you grow tired of this fighting already; surrender now, and my Corp will bring the silly battle between the Red and Green Corps to an end."

Wait, he's not with Green or Red, the teen thought, confused. Then that means-

The desk over him suddenly was tossed aside, exposing him as he while he whirled around, aiming his fist at the Yellow Lantern who stood in the doorway.

"Lucky guess," the purple alien said smoothly, raising his own ringed fist as well. "Now, let's not be foolish, and-"

The boy shot a beam of green energy at the alien, who dodged it and replied with his own. Quickly throwing up a shield, Sam was blasted back through the wall (if he hadn't been wearing his uniform, or if his ring hadn't been charged enough, he would have died) and into an empty classroom, scattering desks before hitting the back wall. Seeing the yellow lantern advancing towards him, he panicked, shooting into the air and flying out the window, breaking through it and flying into the air. Hovering over the top of the school, he surveyed the battle around him.

The battle between Green and Red had spilled outside into the large sports fields that surrounded the school; he could see several large constructs being thrown, demolishing soccer goals and stadium stands. What was scarier was another battle going on several yards beneath him; Yellow Lanterns, about six of them, were currently fighting nearby, but when the teen saw who their opponents were, he gasped.

"The Justice League," he said out loud in an awed voice, forgetting that he was supposed to be fleeing for his life.

There they all were: Batman, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Superman, Hawkgirl and Hawkguy, and- The teen gave a gasp as Martian Manhunter, his favorite superhero, took down a yellow lantern, floating through another one that tried to attack him.

… Wow, he thought, watching them in action, taking down the super-powered lanterns with ease. They're amazing! No wonder they were Earth's premier defenders! And seeing them in person was-

Something hit him from behind, sending him towards the battle below him, sending him crashing into another yellow lantern. Both scrambling to their feet, Sam blasted the alien back, looking up to see what had knocked him out of the sky. It was the purple alien from before, calmly floating down towards him. He stood up, ready to fight, but realized he'd dropped the lantern battery somewhere.

"GET DOWN," he heard someone yell from nearby, and the teen hit the deck as something flew over his head, followed by the sound of an angry yell. Looking up, he saw some glowing rope of some sort had bound the lantern, preventing him from moving his arms. However, he could still fly, and he took off, and the teen ducked again as Wonder Woman was pulled after her lasso, both of them flying into the sky.

"Sam." The boy turned around, gaping a little at the black-clad individual in front of him, just as terrifying in person than on TV. "You need to get out of here," Batman continued.

"Where am I supposed to go," he asked. "And I'm not leaving my friends here!"

"Not a negotiation."

"You're right." And he took off into the sky at that, flying towards the roof of the school, wondering if he'd actually just said no to Batman, a little relieved that the guy didn't broken his spine.

No wonder mom used to say I'm too cocky, he thought, landing on the roof and surveying the two battles in front of him. To his left, it was Yellow vs Justice League, and to his right, Green vs Red. Looking at both sides, he tried to figure out how this full-scale battle had come to his hometown, of all places, with three different sides fighting over him. He could understand how the Red Lanterns were here, given his rage from when he'd left Oa, but why was Yellow here? According to Ch'p and Kilowog, they kept to themselves mostly, so why would they suddenly be on Earth at the same time as the other two Corps?

"Isn't it obvious," someone spoke up from behind him. He whirled around, bringing his ring up to fight, but suddenly found himself frozen in place, arm in front of him, staring directly at Elantra.

..

"Like my new look," she continued, holding up her hand to display her yellow ring. "I told you I'd be a Lantern; now I'm better off than when I was with the Green Corp!" She walked forward, wearing the familiar smug look. "I should be thanking you for your little outburst and running away; Sinestro thinks that you'll be a welcomed prisoner of ours, or someone too powerful to keep alive. If you do live, all that fear of yours goes to power our rings, and the Green Lanterns wouldn't dare attack us just to rescue you! Even though Red had to come make things harder, they'll be dealt with in their own time. However," she continued, raising her own ring towards him, glowing inches from his face, "I don't like you. I should just kill you right now."

Then what's stopping you, he wondered, glaring back at her as he tried to regain some control again; the last time he'd been under her control, his dad's gift had been destroyed, and now there were three alien groups fighting outside of his school. He didn't want to die, so he frantically tried to figure out a way to force her out of his mind.

"Call it obedience," she said, reading his mind. "Or call it being smart; Sinestro can't expect to live forever, and he already sees me as a valuable addition to the Crop. If I play my cards right, I'll be in charge, and will lead the Yellow Lanterns to complete control of the universe!" A small yellow blade appeared in her hand, the tip barely touching his forehead. "But for now, I'll listen to him, and he didn't say anything about bringing you back unharmed!" Smiling cruelly, Elantra pulled her hand back, ready to cut him down, when something knocked the blade out of her hand.

"Leave him alone," he heard a voice say, and Sam wanted to cry with relief as he realized that someone had come after him. He couldn't turn to see the superhero, but Elantra glared at the man, annoyed that she had been interrupted.

"Back off, human," she spat. "You may have a strong mind, but you're still weaker than me!" She shot something at the Justice League member, but he must've avoided it, because the yellow alien stumbled back, crying out in pain as she pulled a black, bat-shaped piece of metal from her hand, blood dripping from the cut. While she was distracted, she suddenly yelped as something wrapped around her legs, sending her tumbling to the ground. Then, she was dragged out his sight, her yells of anger suddenly cut off.

Suddenly able to move, Sam stumbled forward, turning around to see Batman standing next to an unconscious Elantra. "Did you just… kill her," the teen asked.

"I don't kill," Batman said simply, tapping something on his forearm. "Hal, I took out the mind-controller; she's on the roof."

"Thanks," the Lantern's voice called back, followed by the sound of an explosion that corresponded with the one that the boy heard in the distance. "Come back and help us keep them back!"

"We can't just leave her here," Sam protested as Batman lowered his communicator. "If she wakes up, she'll come for me and all the other Lanterns!"

"What about the rest of us," the man asked.

"She said she can't access human minds unless we lower our mental defenses enough-"

"She won't get into my mind," the superhero interrupted, walking over to the edge of the roof, surveying the fighting. "But I suggest you start trying to keep her out of yours. I'll stay here and guard her; we can't risk you being controlled again." He turned back to Sam. "Is your ring charged?"

"Yes."

"Then use it; help your friends."

"I thought you didn't want me to fight. But if I go, what should I do," he asked, looking over at the two battles as they continued to rage on. "Where do I go? Everything's moving too fast, I-"

Batman turned towards him him, giving him a serious expression that, for some bizarre reason, seemed different from the other identical serious expressions. "You're scared." It wasn't a question, but a statement.

"Should I not be? I know I'm a Green Lantern, but what am I supposed to do? Half of everyone out there is trying to either capture kill me, and right now, they're currently attacking my friends! I didn't-"

"Ask for this," the superhero interrupted. "No one asks for this. No one chooses the cards they're given in life. All you can do is play the cards you're dealt." He looked down at Sam. "I know you're scared, and that you didn't deserve this burden to be place on you. However, now's not the time to be afraid of what might happen; right now, you have to help."

"But what can I do against… that?"

"I heard you made quite an impression when you left Oa," the man told him. "And if two rival groups want you, you must be something special. And you've got a ring that allows you to create just about whatever you can think of. What can't you do?"

There were a million things the boy could think of that he couldn't do, but he was too busy absorbing the impromptu pep-talk Batman had just given him, looking inside himself to answer the question. He looked down at his ring, glowing on his finger; he'd been chosen, out of everyone in the universe, to be a Green Lantern. He was the youngest individual ever chosen by a ring, meaning he must have something going for him. He had grown stronger on Oa, and was able to lead the other Rookies into being strong as well; Elantra, who bragged about being stronger, couldn't do that.

What can I do?

What can't I do?

I can't just sit here and let anyone die because of me, he thought. And I can't die and let my ring find someone else who'll be too little too- A sudden thought struck him, and his ring seemed to grow warmer on his finger, as if telling him that it was possible. But even if it was possible, how would he even do it? He looked down at the ring, and it seemed to briefly glow like a miniature sun, illuminating what he had to do.

"Thank you," he said to the superhero, turning to face him. "I… I think I can do it."

"Of course you can. Now do it." Sure, maybe it wasn't the pep-talk he'd been expecting, but Sam knew that it was the one he needed. Giving Batman a final nod, he took off into the sky, heading for the battle.

..

Things weren't going good for the Green Lanterns; even though they had the will, they didn't have the stamina to keep back Red's attacks, and Sam noticed a few Lanterns, Green and Red, were now lying unconscious on the ground, and the remaining Green Lanterns were starting to take some damage. Hovering above him, he stretched his arms out, ready to move fast.

Any suggestions, he thought as a pair of green earbuds appeared in his ears. Queen's Don't Stop Me Now started playing in reply, and he smiled, making a mental note to thank his brain if he survived, and he dived down into battle.

One of the best things about Queen songs is that they always had a knack of making him feel like he could do anything. That's why, when training with the Rookies back on Oa, he often would listen to the band as he played offence. Now, it was like second nature to him as he took out his first red lantern, surprising Uhjan.

"Aren't you a little late," he asked the teen.

"Better late than never," the boy yelled over his music, turning around and blasting another red lantern away from him, creating a construct that picked up the unconscious alien and hurled him at one of his friends.

The music seemed to give him the confidence he needed to help fight, and he couldn't help but grin as he flew threw the battle. The other red lanterns, noticing this stronger, not-so-tired green lantern, started to go for him, no longer finding fun in the other, more-tired green lanterns. However, Sam was ready for them, and quickly flew at one, knocked them out, and created a wall as two more shot beams of crimson light at him. However, there were still some Green Lanterns up, so Guy and Tomar knocked them out, dragging them away from the fighting. Suddenly, that cat lantern showed up, hissing at him, but the teen managed to fly up, coaxing it higher, before flying forward, wrapping it in a leash construct, and slamming it into the ground.

"Help the others with Yellow," he yelled at Tomar, Guy, Uhjan, John, and the Twins, who stared at him in shock as he threw the cat into the face of its allies, both of them going down. The Green Lanterns nodded, flying over to where Yellow was still in combat with the Justice League, taking on a few of the Red Lanterns that were still up and fighting.

Suddenly, a loud roar echoed across the field, and Sam turned to see Atrocitus kicking Kilowog away from him, sending the pink alien tumbling, and he blasted Hal back with a beam of red light, knocking the man unconscious. Then, the vengeful alien looked up and saw Sam.

"Surely you feel some sort of anger at what I am doing," he demanded, indicating to the unconscious Hal and others. "You may have beaten my followers, but I assure you I am not as weak as them!"

"True," the boy replied, "but my will is stronger than yours!"

With Freddie Mercury singing in the background, a giant wave of green appeared around Sam, rising up to forty feet in the air like a giant tsunami. Then, he sent it crashing down on the leader of the red lanterns, knocking him backwards as the teen ran forward after the wave, two bowling balls appearing in his hands; maybe not the most effective or choice weapons, but they'd do good for the moment. He chucked them at the alien, one of then hitting the alien in the arm while he caught the other, crushing it with one hand.

"Now you've made me mad," Atrocitus growled.

"You mean you were just annoyed earlier," the teen asked, a mixture of bravado and fear running through his veins.

The alien roared, creating a giant hand construct that knocked the boy into the air, temporarily disorienting him before he rightened himself. Looking down, he saw the red alien shooting towards him, and it took everything he had to dodge the red lantern as he flew by. Sam dived towards the ground, flying as fast as he could over the the surface, trying to think of what to do next. His thoughts were cut short when he felt something wrap around his ankle, pulling him from the sky and slamming him to the ground, the wind leaving him at once as the music and earbuds faded away. He gasped, trying to get some air into his lungs as he tried to sit up, but someone landed in front of him, glaring down at him.

"You have been a great annoyance to me," the red lantern told him, creating a construct that prevented Sam from sitting up. "Almost makes me wonder if I should just kill you and be free of you!"

"N-No," the teen sputtered, trying to muster up some strength to fight back.

"Let's see how long you survive the ass-kicking you're about to get," he told him, holding up his fist, which became encased in red energy. Sam wildly thought of a shield, hoping it would be enough to protect him.

Suddenly, a beam of yellow light hit Atrocitus, making him stumble back. "I believe that's my kill," the familiar voice of the purple alien called, and the boy vaguely felt the yellow lantern's shadow fall across his face.

"Back off, Sinestro," the red alien said angrily. "This boy is mine! His rage was enough to catch my attentions, so he comes with me!"

"But it was through fear that he became angry," the leader of the yellow lanterns countered. "And it was one of my recruits that told me of his being here; he is mine to kill. If you refuse, you will join him."

"Bullshit! You may be able to scare the rest of the universe, but you can't threaten me into submission!"

The yellow lantern replied with something, but Sam didn't focus on that; but only on the thoughts that raced through his head. Where was everyone else? How could he break free and escape? These and millions more raced through his head, clouding his judgement.

C'mon, he thought to himself, do SOMETHING! ANYTHING! He couldn't even look at his ring, wondering who it would chose once he died.

You will not die, a voice echoed in his head, and he felt the ring grow warmer on his hand. We will help you.

Uh… what, Sam thought honestly, trying to focus on the voice of the deceased Lantern that was somehow in his head.

Rings carry memories; echoes of those that came before it, the voice told him, sounding reassuring as the voices of the bickering lanterns faded. They are more powerful than you could possibly imagine; all you have to do is let that power flow through you, controling it with your will.

What if I can't handle it, he asked in his mind.

We will help you. The voice sounded so certain, he couldn't help but believe it, and he closed his eyes, trying to focus on the voice from the ring instead of the battle outside.

Kilowog POV:

Kilowog sat up with a start, looking around the field, searching for Atrocitus and Hal. Damn guy knocked him out, and as he looked around, he saw the human lantern lying unconscious several yards away. Finally, he spotted the lantern; it wasn't hard, giving the bright red glow he gave off.

He stood a distance off, seemingly arguing with Sinestro, their yelled conversation unintelligible. Looking at the ground, he noticed a small green figure lying by the red lantern's feet, a construct preventing him from moving.

"Shit," he muttered, staggering to his feet as he scanned himself for injuries. Nothing major, but he was still tired. He took a few steps towards the trio, knowing he had to rescue the boy before the two bad guys realized who their real enemy was, but he stumbled, falling to the ground.

"Get up, Poozer," he told himself, pushing himself up onto his hands and feet, looking around for any sign of other Green Lanterns that could help. Some were unconscious, and the others appeared to be helping the Justice League with the yellow lanterns, trying to keep them from reaching their leader; all the other red lanterns were unconscious besides Atrocitus. "Get up!"

He started to stumble forward again, his walk soon turning into a quick jog, that soon turned into a run as he ran towards the two rival lanterns, determined to protect the Rookie he failed to protect others. As he got closer, he saw Sinestro and Atrocitus look up, raising their rings to attack. He raised his, ready to attack, when a sudden blast of green light knocked him backwards, sending him back to the ground. On guard, he sat up, his arm frozen mid-aim as he gaped at what happened.

Sam… was glowing. He knew that most green lanterns had an aura that meant their ring was working hard to keep them from dying. However, this one was different; it was brighter, and usually, auras don't knock you back several feet, meaning that whatever it was, it wasn't normal. Looking, he noticed Sinestro and Atrocitus were scrambling to their feet, staring at the boy in shock.

"You can't teleport, young man," Sinestro told him, walking over towards Sam. "There's nowhere to-"

A green construct flew from the boy, hitting the yellow lantern in the jaw, knocking him back before landing in front of the fallen leader.

The construct was that of an alien, standing in front of the teen as the glow surrounding him appeared to grow brighter. The alien seemed to tower over the boy, her hair tied up behind her, her face glaring at anyone who dare approach her; on her hand glowing a ring of her own. What was crazy, though, was that it was a Lantern Kilowog recognized; he remembered training her years ago.

"Swet'llanga," he gasped.

Suddenly, Sam started to glow more brightly, and suddenly, a dozen or so constructs were flying out of his ring, surrounding him and forcing the Red and Yellow Lantern leaders back as they watched with shocked expressions. The new Lanterns were all glowing, just like Sam, and the surrounded him, forming a simple ring around the teen as they looked out in all directions. They were all constructs, but something about them seemed… different, from a regular construct. The combat officer gaped as he recognized some of them as Lanterns he had trained, and realized who they were.

Somehow, someway, the past wielders of the ring had come to aid Sam, and they all looked ready to fight.

They sprang forward, Swet'llanga and another one taking down Sinestro and Atrocitus, the glowing constructs seemingly immune to any attack. The others spread out; some going towards the unconscious red and green lanterns, the others going towards the battle against yellow, joining the fight. The remaining green lanterns and Justice League heroes stared in shock as the green constructs flew into battle, taking down yellow lanterns like it was a piece of cake. They tired to fight back, but were quickly taken down, the constructs dragging them towards the boy as the others dragged the red and carried the green over to Sam as well.

:How is this happening," Superman asked, watching as a two-headed construct wrapped up another yellow lantern, pulling them away.

"Memory constructs," John Stewart explained. "Lanterns can create replicas of living things based on their memories of them. But how did he know about-" He could not finish the thought as he and everyone else watched every one of the constructs deposit the Red and Yellow Lanterns by their masters, who were being restrained by two constructs of their own. The surviving Green Lanterns and JL members followed, now seeing the teen at the center of it all.

Sam's eyes suddenly opened, glowing green like the rest of him. He tore off the red construct that bound him, and he climbed to his feet, looking like he was in a trance. He faced the Swet'llanga construct, the captured and gagged Atrocitus and Sinestro, as well as the other past Lantern constructs, who carried the green ones off to safety while leaving the red and yellow ones bound near their leaders. Then, his voice sounding like dozens of others, the boy started to chant.

"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!"

On that final note, he, along with his constructs, all glowed brighter than the sun, disappearing into what seemed like pure energy, which flew inward towards him; Kilowog and the others shielded their eyes, unable to stand the glow. The green cloud swirled around the teen, spinning so fast, he was barely visible as the constructs melted away, joining the swirling form of energy. Then, suddenly, the boy screamed, releasing the energy away from him and towards the on-lookers.

This time, instead of everyone being affected by the blast, only Red and Yellow Lanterns were affected. Atrocitus and Sinestro got the worst of it, but their followers were also tossed into the air like rag dolls, but they didn't fall back down. Now, the energy swirled around the boy, with him in the center of his own hurricane of power, the red and yellow figures helpless to fight against it. Then, giving off another final scream, Sam pointed his ring at the sky, and the cloud mirrored his movement, becoming a single beam that shot into the sky, taking the corrupted Lanterns with them. Seconds later, they were gone, the sky as brilliantly blue as it had been minutes before.

The glow faded from the teen's eyes, and his arm fell to his side. Looking around, he saw that everyone that was left was staring at him in shock at what he had just done. Meanwhile, the injured Lanterns were starting to stir, as if that green glow had given them energy; Sam, meanwhile, looked like he was in need of that energy at the moment as he swayed a little in place.

"We… we won," he said, giving them a tired smile before promptly collapsing, unconscious.

No message for the end of this chapter.

Of course, I hope you enjoyed this installment of the story. Feel free to follow and favorite the story if you don't already, and feel free to leave a review on this chapter or others in the story. And, as always, have a happy and safe week/weekend!

-aggiefrogger

Note: I do NOT own Queen, Don't Stop Me Now, or Freddie Mercury in ANY way, shape or form!