CXV
Barbara Gordon: Green Lantern
Since the time that Trigon had dragged her through her own personal Hell, Barbara Gordon had never felt so damned helpless – filled with a suffocating dread that she had made taking another breath difficult. It had all seemed so real, a nightmare scenario where death was preferable to life…
But it had all been a lie.
Raven (her new sister) had allowed Barbara to cope with the pain and the trauma from Trigon's mental assault, taking her anguish until she felt like she may be able live again. She began to understand Raven's true power and her ability to endure extreme suffering if she could bear what Barbara had felt. She had once thought of this quiet woman as a girl, but began to understand her complex emotional abilities more.
Slowly, the scarlet-haired dynamo was returning to the brash, confident Barbara Gordon that had driven Bruce Wayne across the darkened streets of Shiruta on a motorbike. She has been pulled from the brink of the abyss; because her sister had volunteered to stand in her place.
When Raven had asked her help to alleviate Clark's pain, Barbara did not hesitate to give Raven everything she required.
Clasping Raven's hand in her left and Clark's bloodied hand in her right, the two sisters sat to form a circle with the beaten man. As his immense pain began to flow through them, Barbara willingly took any hurt she could, not allowing Raven to bear Clark's burden as she had just borne Barbara's, so that her own mental anguish was now being replaced with Clark's pure physical agony.
Barbara's body was racked in spasms, sweat poured from her brow as she screamed cries and curses across the desert plains. She had never given birth, but it could not be this bad. The pain still crashed against her nerves in waves that threatened to drown her as she struggled against unconsciousness…
But it was for Clark. Her hands would not break the circle.
As the pain left the fallen hero, she let her true feelings flow back into him, the love that had grown, the friendship she had discovered, the hopes and dreams of his father… Clark's pain was replaced by hope, and by her love.
Dear God, she needed him to live!
As the onslaught of Clark's physical anguish drove Barbara to her breaking point of sanity, a different pain now flowed from the fallen Kryptonian and into Barbara Gordon's restless heart. It was a pain she knew far too well… the bleak despair of heartbreak. He had loved with all his soul, to have that love snatched from him forever… his secret heart now wandered lost in a wasteland where once love had grown bright.
"I will be there for you."
It was her own heart that whispered those words to Clark, her promise to him. He need only to come back to the living and she would replace the love he had lost a thousand fold. If only he would come back to her… Please Clark….
"You have given so much." Raven's voice broke the communion. Barbara snapped back to the present.
"…Will he survive, Raven?"
"He has begun to recover… I believe he wants to live, now. We have done all that we can. He needs time…"
Then Bruce had returned. Raven's feelings of joy, love, and unadulterated pleasure pushed through Barbara like endorphins, echoes of what she had given to Clark. It was one of the few times she had felt the empath lose absolute control of her emotions so that those around her experienced what she felt.
Barbara learned that Bruce had discovered a weakness in their enemy. The gears in her mind spun wildly on how to exploit it, how to defeat Trigon in one single attack so there would be no chance at retaliation. They should have taken Clark and regrouped somewhere else, far away… but the demon returned once more.
She had hated very few things in her life, but Raven's father was certainly on top of that list. But before Trigon could torture them further, a red alien, bathed in a green glow, had faced off against the giant demon.
But like a cat playing with a mouse, Trigon had made the alien take his own life, crushing any hope for victory Barbara may have harboured. The alien's corpse had crashed only feet in front of her, abruptly landing on the force field suspending them… yet another tragedy at the hands of Trigon the Terrible.
When the demon lectured Bruce and picked Clark's unconscious body up from the invisible floor, Barbara Gordon went numb. She knew there was no mercy in the demon; and she also knew that Clark had outlived his usefulness to Trigon. She knew, but refused to believe, what would come next…
Every moral fibre of her being screamed at her to save Clark… To not let the pain she had suffered, the love she had shared, the promise that her heart had made to him… be broken. Her legs gave out as she stumbled forwards, the blackness of despair creeping into her perception as she stumbled to the floor… DON'T GIVE UP, GIRL!
As much as her fighting spirit kept her strong, she wasn't sure what to do next. If only she had a weapon. She would fight for him, strike at the demon, with the last beat of her heart…
And then, like a shining beacon of emerald hope on the alien's dead finger, she saw it…
The Ring.
Reverently, she slipped the Power Ring from the alien's dead finger, while a strange feeling of power suddenly coursed through her. She released her hold as the ring rose from her finger-and-thumb grasp, floating magically in the air, to remain suspended just above her ring finger. A strange voice (which she knew to be the ring's) sounded in her mind…
'Barbara Gordon of Earth.
You have the ability to overcome great fear.
Welcome to the Green Lantern Corps.'
The ring then slipped itself onto her right ring finger. She had been chosen! Her clothes from the funeral (which had honestly seen better days) were suddenly replaced by the style of the green, black and white uniform that the alien still wore.
Barbara Gordon was a Green Lantern!
But in one single instance, the structure of the Universe snapped. Her sudden elation transformed into abject horror as she heard the crack that emerged from Trigon's fist… echoed in her heart.
Clark was dead.
She had been too late to save him, the greatest hope they had…
And she had failed…
In a blinding flash of light, Love gave her a second chance to make it right.
Suddenly, it was four seconds ago.
There was no hesitation this time as she went straight for the ring. No fear as Trigon cried out in agony after being struck by a white beam from above. This time there was only an unstoppable resolve to save Clark from the fate she had been shown, to save the man she had given her heart to, before his life was crushed by the demon reaching down to destroy him. As the ring slipped on her finger once again in this new reality, her heart and mind suddenly cleared of everything else except for the one chance they had…
The voice in her mind welcomed her to the Green Lantern Corps once again - as her will connected directly to the Central Power Battery on Oa. She became a being of pure will, a conduit of power across the Universe, unleashing a beam unlike any before, a nuclear reaction of will and desperation to save the life of the last Kryptonian… the man she loved.
"You will NOT harm him!"
Her vision, her very soul itself, had become nothing but emerald light until she thought she would be lost. For a moment, the power of the Universe flowed through her ring, blasting the God that had stood before them - the power to create and destroy entire worlds.
And then Trigon was gone.
Like a million crackling green embers drifting in the wind.
Had she done it?!...
Clark remained on the invisible floor, alive… She thanked all that was Holy for his life. She was aware of Bruce looking at her in shocked amazement… as she slowly felt herself falling… the floor! It had disappeared! She could use her ring! The alien had flown… that meant she could too, right?
Nothing happened.
The ring's power was spent. So she fell, Clark fell, and then it went dark… and she landed on the sand one hundred feet away from the crater. Clark also landed beside her, still unconscious, but still alive. Bruce and Raven stood only yards away from her with Raven clearly winded…
"…That's a little farther apart than I'm used to."
She had teleported them! Wearing a wide grin, Barbara ran to hug her sister, firmly embracing the smaller woman in joyous celebration. By God, they had done it!
"He's really gone, Raven! We've won!"
"He is gone, Barbara… but I cannot say for how long."
"C'mon, I just blasted him into green sparks. Nothing could have survived that."
"How does one kill revenge, sister?"
"By blasting it into a million green sparks, that's how!" Barbara grinned at Raven again - until Bruce spoke up…
"Sister?... Is there something I should know?…" Before she could stop her, Raven replied while Barbara began to turn a deep shade of crimson.
"Barbara said that after she had kissed you, it felt like she was your sister. So we have made a pact to be sisters."
"… Does that make me her brother?"
"Brother-in-law, actually," Barbara announced triumphantly.
"Well, welcome to the family then, Barbara Gordon – Green Lantern."
Bruce grinned that copyrighted smirk at her, joining in the embrace of the two women who were his family now, so that they held one another and breathed a collective sigh. As the morning shone in its full glory upon the sands of Kahndaq, it was nice that they could do this, after coming so close to demonic annihilation just moments before.
"… Someone approaches." Raven's ability to sense emotions often acted like a sixth sense for her.
The trio stepped apart from one another as they watched a female figure approach from the south… one that seemed to have stepped directly out of the past… a gladiator, or Roman Centurion of times gone by.
She wore leathered red boots, with white metal shin guards in front. Around her waist hung fifty-two blue leather Roman pteruges, each with a white star at its end – to create an armoured skirt. Her moulded breast plate was red-and-gold, crafted of lines creating a winged bird of prey upon her chest as a symbol.
She carried a golden Centurion helmet with red plumage in her right hand while a blue-starred shield was fastened to her left. At her left side (thankfully sheathed) was an ornate sword of legend, the gladius. On her right hip hung a golden lasso coiled into loops. Her long dark hair was worn loose, cascading over impressive, bare shoulders framed by the tattered white cloak draped across her back. This woman had fought a war.
After the shock of witnessing her armament, it had taken Bruce a moment to realize that this strange woman was stunning. His awe was broken when Raven pinched his backside. He hastily whispered his apologies to her…
"Sorry. Don't worry, she's not my type."
"I don't believe you are her type, either, my love."
Raven winked and then grinned knowingly at her husband as the tall Amazon strode directly at Barbara Gordon, placing her right hand upon the shocked woman's shoulder.
"Thank Hera! Our legends had told us the Green-Ring-Sorcerer had been a red-skinned man. How fortuitous that I now find it is a red-haired sorceress. I witnessed your power from afar, fair one."
"Thank you… who are you?"
"My apologies… I am Princess Diana of Themyscira of the Amazons. My sisters and I have journeyed far to join the battle of the red demon as foretold by prophecy. We have been cutting through his demon horde since we landed upon the shores of this land. Thank the Gods that you arrived when you did, Sorceress. Many of my sisters have already fallen…"
"…Are they alright?"
"We shall see. If they were lost, their souls will return to Themyscira to be re-born. I am sorry I was too late to add my blade to this battle. My sisters cry out for vengeance still against this Lord of Evil."
"It may not be over yet…" Bruce replied.
"And what would you know of this… man?" There was scorn in her voice. It was as though she didn't like him.
"This was no mere demon, Princess. That was the God of Revenge."
"Nemesis is no demon, man."
"My name is Bruce… That wasn't a true demon. There are New Gods. This one's name is Trigon."
"Aye, I had heard the men of the world outside had abandoned the true faith. So it is true, you have scorned the gods of old to worship devils."
"Princess Diana," Raven interrupted, "there are many Gods who go by many names. It is correct the Gods of old have fallen from favor in this world, but men do not worship demons. My husband fights for me, and to save our world."
"You have taken this man for your own? Then it is right that you should speak for him… You have the look of a sorceress as well. What is your name, girl?"
"I am Raven Wayne. My husband is free to speak as he sees fit, as am I."
"As I am free to ignore both of you... Let us seek out my sisters, Green-Ring-Sorceress, they will overjoyed to meet you. It will lift their spirits after this bloody battle."
No one had noticed the strange alien who had joined them…
"Barbara Gordon has immediate business with me, I'm afraid."
They all turned to see a small blue man with white hair standing before them. He wore a red-and-white robe with the symbol of a Green Lantern on his chest. In his hands he carried a green lantern battery, almost half as large as he was, emerald energy sparking in its core.
"Greetings, I am Ganthet of Oa. This newest Green Lantern, Barbara Gordon of Earth, is now my charge. We have much to discuss…"
Author's Note:
Princess Diana of Themyscira of the Amazons is (of course) Wonder Woman. As this is an Alternate Universe story, you may have noticed she's a little different from the current DC version. Amazons are trained from birth to be warriors and live in an all-female society, the hidden island of Themyscira.
The Amazons only left their home during World War II to covertly defend their Isle when the war of men came too close to their shores. In this story, Diana has never been to America and rarely ventured outside of the island.
The warriors of Themyscira are much closer to ancient Greece and Rome in philosophy, customs and beliefs than people of the modern world - remaining the subjects of the old Gods, particularly the female deities such as Hera, Artemis and Athena.
Amazons employ the use of seers and oracles to foretell of the nature of the outside world. This was how they knew of Trigon. And, as in the comics, no man is allowed to set foot upon Themyscira under penalty of death. Diana does not trust or respect men (in this case, Bruce) and much prefers and enjoys the company of strong women (in this case, Barbara). To an Amazon, strength is independence.
Also, Amazons (including Diana) do not have the power of flight. Being extremely powerful, Diana can leap great distances, but when she needs to fly, she will use one of the white-winged horses of Themyscira. And there is no such thing as an invisible jet…
So how do Amazons have babies you ask?... Good question! I'm leaning towards the George Pérez interpretation where they are eternal guardians to Doom's Doorway, one of the entrances to the Underworld. Once slain, their souls would return to Themyscira and new bodies of clay created for them to be re-born as baby girls to fulfill their eternal obligation.
Diana herself was actually crafted from clay by her mother, Queen Hippolyta and imbued with life by the Gods themselves, making her an immortal Princess. The Titan Prometheus used the same process to create the race of man in Greek mythology, but as mortals.
Ganthet is one the Guardians of the Universe, an inhabitant of Oa who lead and administer the Green Lantern Corps. He is about four feet tall, blue-skinned, immortal and very old.