Kyle Rayner slumped into his bed in a boneless heap, fighting the urge to pop the half bottle of Advil he had in his cabinet into his mouth and sleep for a week. Physical training with an Amazon was something that a professional body builder may enjoy, but not a modestly fit artist. On the other hand it kept him from lying to his girlfriend when he told her he wasn't all that attracted to the blond superhero. Not that he had anything against strong women; he just wasn't the kind of person who was attracted to someone that beat the crap out of him on a regular basis.
Still he had to admit that he was improving, but if he wanted to contribute anything to this team he still needed to improve a lot more. Until he learned not to loose his concentration every time there was a loud noise or bright flash of light, the ring and everything it could do was useless.
Deciding that as good as it sounded going directly to sleep wasn't the best thing he could be doing at the moment. Using his ring to create a green hand and wagon Kyle was able to move the book he wanted from across the room without forcing his abused muscles to move.
"Maybe I should cut back on those Addams Family reruns," commented Kyle to no one in particular as he watched his construct fade from existence.
Now that he had the book his first instinct was to open it to his section, but he squashed it. The League had been trying to teach him self control, something he needed if he was going to wear the ring all the time, so he reluctantly opened the book and started to read from the first real entry.
The world shook.
Before time was recognized demons held dominion over man. That is how it was, that is how it is, and that is how it would forever be. Humans were meant to be playthings for the great beings and nothing could change that.
This was the thought of every man, woman and child on earth yesterday, but for the first time ever they did not think the same thoughts today. The reason for this change was that today, beings had come down from the sky, and they had the power to harm and kill the demons.
The most striking of these new beings was the emerald man. Not only did he shine with a warm light that seemed to empower the humans that looked at him, but he held the power of creation in his hands.
Is it any wonder then that he attracted the attention of the most powerful, and most feared of the demon rulers? The creature was the embodiment of death in the night; the reason mankind first began to huddle around glowing embers as they slipped into their fitful sleep.
The battle was the thing of legend. The shock of the emerald savior as the demon cut through his shields echoed the shock the day must feel as it gives way to night. Still, the pain that the demon felt as it was stabbed by pure creative energy, has been echoed every time the darkness has been forced to flee before the light of a fire.
Both demon lords and star warriors fell simply from the ambient powers unleashed by the two equally powerful beings, neither gaining an obvious upper hand. So the battle raged until the living shadow plunged a clawed appendage into the heart of the newly arrived god, ripping out his emerald heart.
The shadows victory quickly proved to also be its defeat. Without a body and mind to control the energies inside it the power of the green creator flowed from its heart, consuming much of the demon in emerald flames and scattering the rest into the vast universe.
The rest of our saviors only took a brief moment to mourn the loss of the greatest of their number before they continued with the battle.
The powers unleashed moved oceans and created mountains from flat plains. It is understandable that even the gods did not notice as a single glowing emerald heart was buried, its power not yet extinguished.