Author: Cyclone
Feedback: Please be gentle.
Distribution: Gimme credit and a link.
Rating: Just a little bad language.
Spoilers: Anything and everything.
Disclaimer: The characters depicted herein belong to other people. I'm just borrowing them for a while.
Summary: After Halloween, everything changes. Sequel to Blackest Night. Part one of Emerald Flame.
Author's Note: Okay, y'know, the reason Blackest Night was originally a one-shot was because I saw only two ways to expand on it: Green Lantern Xander and Future Knowledge Xander. Both of them had already been done and done well by others, and I didn't want to retread ground already covered, so I intended to leave it as is.
Then I got this idea.
If the sky were clear and someone were to point a telescope in just the right direction, that person would have been able to see a glowing green sphere -- about eight feet in diameter -- hovering high above the North American continent. Within the sphere hovered a young man in green and black with a symbol that would be familiar to most of Western culture splashed across his chest.
Xander Harris, Green Lantern of this universe, watched the world turning beneath him.
It felt... wonderful to be up here. It brought back memories. He and Marina used to come up to the edge of the atmosphere all the time back...
Back then.
The power ring drew on his memories, and before he knew it, she was hovering in front of him, a playful smile on her face. Or, more accurately, a ring construct of her was hovering in front of him. His heart ached at the sight, and he reached a hand up toward her cheek...
He abruptly shook it off and willfully banished the construct.
Marina was gone, lost in some alternate timeline. Considering that he was here by virtue of the Halloween spell, it was likely that, if she had ever even existed, if he had ever actually met her, the him that had met her was still with her. He was just the sucker cursed with the memories of a happy other him.
Besides, he had come up here for a reason, and it wouldn't do to get distracted.
"Ring, find Kakistos."
The door exploded inward, and the reactions from the vampires within the warehouse was immediate. Kakistos calmly rose to his feet as his minions abandoned whatever they were doing to face whatever was coming.
Beside Kakistos, Mr. Trick racked the action of a 9mm Uzi... and stared, his jaw dropping in disbelief when the dust cleared. Standing in the doorway was a man in the unmistakeable uniform of the Green Lantern Corps.
"In brightest day..." the man began as the first wave of vampires launched themselves at him. The ring on his hand glowed, and the light extended to envelope him in a suit of green plate mail and form what was pretty obviously some sort of lightsaber.
"...in blackest night..." he continued, lashing out and decapitating the surrounding vampires with frightening ease. Suddenly, he stopped, and the armor and lightsaber vanished. The green light flashed out and suddenly pinned each of the minions around the neck, looking like green floating guillotines. "No evil shall escape my sight."
Schlunk!
The captured vampires crumbled to dust, and the man strode towards the two head vampires. "Let all who worship evil's might," he intoned, blasting Kakistos against the wall behind him, "beware my power, Green Lantern's light!"
Another beam of green light lanced out and neatly decapitated Kakistos. The man turned to look at Mr. Trick. Trick stared back at him, still not quite believing what he was seeing. Suddenly, he snapped the Uzi up and opened fire, not really expecting it to work. A green energy barrier popped up and blocked the bullets easily, which was pretty much what Trick had expected.
"Damn me," he said, dropping the Uzi in resignation. "I'm gonna get killed by a comic book character."
The intruder nodded, "Yup."
Schlunk!
Xander surveyed the room curiously. It was odd. He remembered how much trouble Kakistos had caused them last time. Two Slayers, and he had nearly killed them both; Trick hadn't been much easier. Just now, though, he had dusted both of them and a couple dozen minions without even breaking a sweat. It really put into perspective just how powerful the power ring really was. Here, it definitely deserved the title of "most powerful weapon in the universe."
Okay, he thought. That's one threat dealt with.
There were others, of course, but many of them were going to be more complicated to deal with than Kakistos and Trick. He didn't even know where Acathla was buried, and his attempts to find him with the power ring had proven fruitless. The ring kept registering too much interference in Sunnydale... probably the hellmouth. Finding the Judge parts hadn't been a problem, but they were all buried in places he couldn't get to without drawing way too much attention.
Definitely not something he was going to risk just yet. Which was also why he was wary about taking on the Mayor or investigating the Initiative right now. As for Glory...
Damn it, he thought sourly. Why can't I remember who her damn host was?
Still, he was already in Boston, so maybe he should...
Riiight, he thought, as reality smacked him in the face. Like she's gonna trust some comic book geek in green and black pajamas. C'mon, there's gotta be some way I can ease her into it... hmm...
He smiled as an idea began to form. It took a moment to create what he needed and instruct it, but once he was done, he was satisfied as he watched his little messenger fly off. He'd come back in a day, and that should have been plenty enough to get her used to the weird. In the meantime...
"Ring, find Tara Maclay."
"Ow!"
Faith Lehane grabbed the back of her head and spun, glaring down the alleyway, but there was no one there. Whoever had thrown... whatever it was... at her was gone.
She felt the offending object between her hand and her head and rolled it in her hand as she brought it around, trying to ascertain what it was.
"A ring?"
There were three people there, two men and a woman.
"Damn it, woman!" the older man roared at the woman. "I know you've been teachin' her. Don't deny it! It stops! Right now!"
His fist hurtled toward her face... only to break against an impervious glowing green barrier.
"What is this? More of your witchcraft?" he demanded.
"No," came another voice from the side. A male voice. "Just an interstellar cop responding to a domestic disturbance." They all turned, and the new arrival said calmly, his voice deadly serious, "Do not make me resort to police brutality." He paused, then recanted, "On second thought, please, make me."
"Green Lantern?" Donny Maclay sputtered in stunned recognition from behind his father.
"You read comic books?" the Green Lantern blurted out in surprise. He frowned and shot him another odd look, "You can read?"
"Don't talk about my boy that way!"
"Or you'll what?" Green Lantern snorted. He looked back at Donny, "You know the name. Do you know the oath?"
Donny gulped and nodded, "Uh, yeah."
"Recite it for me."
"In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight. Let all who worship evil's might beware my power, Green Lantern's light."
"Very good," Green Lantern said. "Here's a newsflash: Witchcraft isn't evil, and she's not demonic. I should know. I've fought real demons before." He stepped towards them menacingly. "Beware."
Donny bolted, and his father whirled toward him, "Come back here, you coward!" He spun back toward Green Lantern and cocked a fist back, "Fine. I'll take care of you mys-OOG!"
WHAM!
The green boxing glove had smacked him right in the belly and sent him flying.
"Thank you," came a soft voice from behind him.
He turned and smiled, "Just doing my job, ma'am. That's not quite why I'm here, though." He took in her appearance -- wavy blonde hair, hazel eyes, and an assortment of other familiar features that cinched what he'd concluded from the presence of the two Maclay men -- and asked tentatively, "Ah, would you happen to be related to Tara Maclay?"
"Yes," the woman's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "I'm her mother, Rebecca."
Xander nodded, "Well, ma'am, I'm looking to recruit a good witch or two to help me keep a lid on the hellmouth. Your daughter's name came up." He gave her his patented Xander smile, "So, you interested?"
Faith could get used to this. Flying... was fun. It was one of many things she had come to appreciate since the ring had smacked her in the head at around this time last night. She still didn't know what to make of there being a real Green Lantern power ring -- she may never have had the opportunity to read comics, but she had seen them before -- but at the moment, she didn't care. Flying hundreds of feet in the air was simply far too exhilirating -- almost intoxicating -- to let anything ruin her mood.
"Faith Lehane."
She froze and looked around in surprise for a moment, then looked up and saw him. She paled. It was Green Lantern. A real one.
"H-hey," she said. "I-I didn't know, okay. I found it. I dunno what happ-"
"Welcome to the Green Lantern Corps," Xander interrupted. "I knew the ring would find someone worthy." It was technically the truth: He knew she was worthy -- or would be, someday -- and he'd sent the duplicate ring to hunt her down specifically.
She stared at him, "Me? B-but..." That was when her tough girl attitude reasserted itself. "Wicked," she drawled. "So what now, big guy?"
Xander smiled.
Author's Postscript:
Yeah, I know I've used the oath a little too frequently, but it just fit the scenes too well to leave it out. Oh, at Anime Ronin's suggestion, Tara's mother Rebecca looks like Susie Shinner.