I'd like to thank everyone who was nice enough to leave a review, and I'd like to thank The Lady Isis for being the beta for this chapter. On with the show...
Oa sits on John's coffee table as he is out putting in applications at several places for jobs. She thinks he left the tv on for her, which was thoughtful, but seeing that the only sense she has in her present condition is her psychic awareness, it ends up being a futile - if thoughtful - gesture. She instead reaches out to the minds of the other people living in the apartment building. After getting to know them a bit, she picks one that she likes (an elderly Korean lady) and watches the TV through her eyes for a few hours.
As they watch, a news report comes up. "The bodies of two fugitives, William Finger and Marty Nodell were found today in Slaughter Swamp. Whilst what caused their deaths has yet to be officially confirmed, it has been reported by our source that it cannot be attributed to natural causes. We will bring you more on this case as it develops," the news woman says.
Where is this Slaughter Swamp? Oa thinks to herself.
"Oh, it's near Gotham," her eyes and ears answers.
Oh um...thank you, Oa says, somewhat confused.
"No problem, ghost lady," the woman answers - unfazed.
Oa breaks contact with the woman just as John walks in. "Well I think I have some good prospects now," he says stepping in.
John I think I've found something suited for our talents, she tells him.
"What is it?" John asks.
Two people were murdered in an unusual way, and I sense something more - or less - than human is involved in the crime, Oa tells him, embellishing things a tad.
"You're still on this?" he asks.
Yes, the disembodied alien woman answers simply.
"Where did it happen?" he asks, curious despite himself.
In Slaughter Swamp, near a city called Gotham, she answers.
"Oa, that's in a completely different state, and I've heard that there is this bat-demon thing that guards over that area. I'd rather not butt into his jurisdiction," he replies.
The bodies were found in the swamp, not in the city, and I believe we are capable of solving this murder and dealing with whatever the perpetrator is, she pushes.
"Alright," he relents, "its not like I have any plans tonight anyway."
He takes the green ring out of his pocket and slips it on his finger, and in a flash of green he's standing in uniform and mask again. He picks up Oa and flies out the window saying, "I need to get you a back pack or something," before speeding towards Slaughter Swamp.
…
In said swamp the mammoth gray man, now with blood dripping from his fingers, walks towards the bright lights of a carnival just past the tree line. A group of teenagers are hanging on the other side of the carnival's fence, passing a couple bottles of liquor and a pipe filled with weed, as the huge man walks towards them.
When the teens see the large and obvious monster stomping in their direction most of them do the smart thing and run, screaming. Four of them, however, laugh as their smarter friends get the hell out of dodge and decide to stay and talk to the huge gray man. "Hey, big dude!" one of the remaining kids shouts, "What you doing here?"
"Yeah, ashy!" another shouts - too drunk or high or stupid to know better. "What's your name?"
"I...I don't remember," the giant man answers, looking at them with dull yellow eyes.
"How drunk is this guy?" another asks. "What do you remember?"
"I was born on a Monday," the creature answers.
The remaining kids seem to find this hilarious, all except for the only remaining girl who pops up and says, "Oh, I know who he is!"
The gray man's face brightens up and he asks full of hope, "Who? Who am I?"
"Solomon Grundy!" she shouts.
"What?" one of the guys ask.
"Didn't you ever hear that? I think its from Mother Gooze or something, the rhyme goes: 'Solomon Grundy, born on a Monday, christened on Tuesday, married on Wednesday, took ill on Thursday, was worse on Friday, died on Saturday, buried on Sunday, and that was the end of Solomon Grundy'," the girl explains.
"Girl, that's stupid," one of the boys tells her and the entire group laughs.
"Not the end," the tall gray man tells them.
"What d'you say, ashy?" one of the teens asks.
"That was NOT the end of SOLOMON GRUNDY!" he bellows at them. With no further warning, he charges the kids, pure rage in his yellow eyes.
…
John and Oa are flying over head when a cotton candy cart flies at them from behind the trees, nearly missing them. What was that? Oa asks.
"Trouble," he answers flying straight for where the cart was thrown.
He gets to the carnival and sees the massive gray swamp man ripping through the colorful carts and rides as citizens flee in terror and a few brave police officers fire uselessly at the thing's massive back.
The creature seems to finally notice the bullets hitting it and it rips a booth off of a near by ferris wheel and chucks it at the cops. Before the giant hunk of metal hits them John forms a protective glowing green wall in front of the men, that stops the projectile and saves the police from certain death. The two cops look up and see the glowing green hero floating above them.
"Thanks, Mr...?" one of the cops starts.
"Oh yeah, I'm the Green Gu- Lantern. Call me Green Lantern," John answers. "I'll take care of big and scary, you guys just make sure to get everyone out of here."
"Alright, good luck, man," the police tell him before running off.
Green Lantern? Oa asks.
"Well you kind of look like a lantern," John answers. Then he floats behind the massive, angry creature and brings a giant plasma cannon into existence in his hands, the business end of which is pointed at the monster's back. "Alright now, Chalk Face, why don't you calm down, put your hands up, and slowly turn around," he orders.
"Not, Chalk Face!" the giant yells, throwing a piece of wreckage back at the hero.
Green Lantern is quick enough to vaporize the hunk of metal with a blast of energy but not fast enough to dodge the giant meaty fist that came next, knocking him back and spinning head over heels.
"Solomon Grundy!"
"Yeah, and I'm Little Ms Muffet!" John shouts back.
He forms and shoots out a giant rocket which hits Grundy in the chest, carries him backwards into merry-go-round, then explodes in a giant blast of bright green energy. John floats above the bombed children's ride, surveying the destruction.
"All in all that was a lot easier then last time," he says. On cue the burnt metal wreckage shifts aside and Solomon stands back to his feet. "I had to say it, didn't I?"
Grundy looks up and sees his glowing green opponent. Then he sneers and shouts, "You can't kill, Solomon Grundy! Now Grundy will crush Little Ms Muffet!"
I think I preferred your first superhero name better, John, Oa tells him.
John sighs. "Alright, ugly, first of all the name is Green Lantern, and I'm the one who is going to take you down!" John yells, forming a giant green fist and throwing it straight at Grundy's face.
Grundy knocks away the spectral fist and leaps into the air and delivers a two armed hammering blow to John's head, knocking him straight down to embed into the concrete ground. Green Lantern is barely able to shake off the blow and roll out of the way before the giant zombie stomps down on his head.
Dodging another punch from his huge opponent GL conjures a glowing green chain that wraps around Solomon's torso, binding his arms to his sides.
"Argh!" Grundy screams as the chains squeezes tighter around him. "Muffet can not hold Grundy! Grundy will snap stupid green chains and then snap Little Ms. Muffet's spine!"
Keeping his concentration on the chains, Lantern also summons a giant green baseball bat into existence. "My name," John says before smacking his bound enemy with the solid light bat, "is Green," he pauses again to deliver another blow to the other side of Grundy's head, "Lantern!" he finishes with a smack.
Solomon Grundy roars in pain and rage then flexes with all his might, and before John's eyes the green energy chains snap. Green Lantern tries to deliver another blow with the giant bat, but his undead foe grabs it and pulls it towards him, and since the construct is connected to the Lantern's ring by string of green energy John is pulled towards the monster to receive a powerful kick to the chest, which painfully throws the hero backwards through the air.
As GL is carried backwards by the force of the blow he unleashes several emerald energy blast at the charging monsters. "Oa, what the hell is this thing?" he asks his partner.
I believe he was once human, but what process could have transformed a human into that, I have no idea, she answers.
"Great! Any ideas about how to take him down?" John asks.
The Glow can create electrical discharges, she advises.
With a force of will John halts himself in midair then uses his ring to create two constructs that look like metal poles topped with Tesla coils. Green tented electricity arcs between the top of both towers before it leaps out from the center and strikes Grundy square in the chest. As the energy shoots through his massive body Solomon screams out in pain, but he stays on his feet. Eventually he grits his teeth, throws a hateful glare at his glowing tormentor, then slowly but purposefully stomps forward.
I have to say, that is impressive, Oa says.
"That really isn't helping right now," John answers as he slowly walks backwards, still concentrating on the tower constructs.
Solomon continues forward and eventually gets close enough to smash the towers, relieving him of the painful electric shocks. "Nothing you can throw will stop Solomon Grundy!" the beast bellows before once again charging his enemy.
Green Lantern stands his ground, points his ring right at Grundy and summons a cage of iron bars around him. As the big zombie begins bending two of the bars to make a hole he can escape through GL steps forward, points his ring at the monster's chest around where his heart should be, then pulls back his arm, summons a massive sword, and then with all his strength the hero thrusts forward with the blade and impales Grundy on it. The solid-light sword pierces his chest and goes all the way through and pokes out the back. Grundy looks at his enemy with a dumbfounded look in his eyes before he slowly falls back on to the ground.
That was excessive, Oa comments.
John steps forwards and conjures an energy pistol in his hand. "I'm a soldier, Oa, and I know that sometimes you have to do what's necessary to take the bad guy down," he answers before pointing the pistol at the dead man's head and pulling the trigger, firing a blast of green energy that burns a hole through the creature's skull just to make sure.
As Green Lantern is turning away though Grundy springs up, grabs the hero by his neck and shoulders, then lifts him off his feet until his face is right in front of his own. "That was NOT the end of Solomon Grundy," the creature sneers before slamming John down into the ground.
The massive brute leaps down on the prone hero, who is just barely able to conjure a half sphere made of green force over himself. Grundy lands on the force field then begins to angrily slam his fists into it over and over again like a mad ape to try and get to the Lantern. "That should have killed it!" John insists as the monsters pounds away on his shield.
You must think of something, John, my energy is not infinite and the creature shows no sign of tiring, Oa calmly tells him.
"Well, I'm fresh out of ideas right now, honey, but I'm all ears if you have any good strategies you're keeping to yourself," John answers as the green dome begins to crack.
After a moment of silence Oa says, The power of the glow can keep you alive and maintain your vitals while in the vacuum of space.
John smirks then concentrates. The cracking energy dome flashes bright, blinding Solomon for a moment, which Green Lantern uses to conjure a rope around Grundy's waist and takes off into the sky, hauling the oversized zombie behind him.
When they get a few thousand feet into the air Grundy grabs a hold of the rope construct and tugs it back, pulling GL down to him who he clocks with a giant right fist. Lantern lets the rope fizzle away then summons a couple of electrified chains to wrap around and shock the monster before continuing his flight up. Finally John hauls the beast out of the atmosphere and begins to spin at high speeds. After he builds up enough velocity GL lets go of the construct and watches as the gray beast floats backwards into the inky black of space.
That done Green Lantern slowly descends back to Earth. Tell me, John, do you think that was the end of Solomon Grundy? Oa asks.
"God, I hope so," he answers before taking off back home.
…
A few days later John comes home from his new security job to see Oa waiting for him on his coffee table, as usual. How did your day go, John? she asks him.
"Was alright. Yours?" he asks, grabbing a soda before sitting on the couch.
I watched some TV. The news is still running stories on the new hero who stopped a monster in Slaughter Swamp. Everyone seems fascinated with Green Lantern, she answers.
"Really?" John says, picking up the remote and clicking on the TV, interested in seeing some new reports on him. Instead he finds a breaking news report of a crime in progress.
"Can you hear me?" the anchor woman asks on the scene in front of a bank as a villain who seems to be made of ice battles the police. "The super villain is calling himself Icicle, and roughly twenty minutes ago he robbed the bank of several million dollars and is now in a brutal battle with police and the situation does not look good."
John looks at Oa for a second before pulling his ring out of is pocket and slipping it on his finger. "Alright, let's do this," he says before forming his costume, picking up his partner, and flying out the window to save the day again.
The End. Reviews are always welcome!