All right, here's the new chapter. I apologize for the long delay, but I've been stumped with ideas and all. So, after much deliberation I've decided that since Eddie's parents now know about him and his friends having great powers, I think it's time they also saw the danger he faces. Involving an old friend of his. Let's go.
The following morning, the storm had let up and the grounds were now completely whited out with snow. While everyone else was still asleep, Eddie and his mom Jasmine were both in the kitchen making breakfast.
Eddie wore a pair of navy-blue cotton pajamas, gray socks and a pair of black slippers, whilst Jasmine had on a red pajama top, white pajama pants with red polka dots, a pair of white furry slippers, and over her pajamas a bright pink robe.
"I've missed cooking together with you, honey." Jasmine said to her son while scrambling up some eggs in a big mixing bowl. Afterwards she poured it into a hot frying pan, then turned to another one on the stove, cooking with sizzling bacon.
"Me too. I wish we'd have been able to see each other sooner, but after being laid off from my job, I guess you realize I just didn't have the money to blow on plane tickets." Eddie replied, pouring pancake batter onto a hot griddle. "And then when I got this ring, I guess I'd gotten sidetracked with all these new enemies that come with being a Lantern."
"So, what kind of enemies do you and the others face exactly?" Jasmine asked.
"Mainly the threats of the Red and Yellow Lanterns."
"Red and Yellow? There are more colors?"
"Altogether there are 7 different colors," Eddie said and used his ring to create a hologram of the seven different insignias of the other Lantern corps. "With all these colors of Lanterns, their rings are all fueled by different emotions. Red by hatred, orange by avarice, yellow by fear, green from willpower, blue by hope, indigo by compassion and pink from love."
"Oh, so the reason a person gets picked by a ring like this is because of how strong a certain emotion runs through them."
"That's the base of it, yes," Eddie responded whilst flipping over the pancakes. "This might sound bizarre and all, but the leader of the Yellow Lanterns was actually once a good friend to me."
"Really? How so?"
"Before becoming a Yellow Lantern, he was a Green Lantern like Elsa. Maybe the best in the entire Corps. We both trained under his tutelage, went on a mission all the way across the universe with him. But then when I saw him again after a couple months, he changed. He'd opened himself up, and gave into the yellow power of fear, turned against everyone and everything he'd stood for as a Green Lantern. Under the orders of the Guardians of Oa, those are the leaders of the entire Green Lantern corps, we brought him to justice, and he was exiled from the Green Lantern corps. But we hadn't seen the last of him. Sinestro, that's his name had gotten a new ring. One that was powered by the yellow energy of fear."
"Wow, that's quite a story," Damien said walking downstairs in his dark green silk pajamas and black slippers.
"Morning," Eddie greeted his father.
"Seems you've been through hell and back since you've gotten that ring, haven't you, kiddo?" Damien said to his son.
"That's putting it lightly, Dad." Eddie said. "A few months ago, Sinestro had launched an attack on Earth, after gaining his new powers over fear, and the Guardians of Oa had us human Lanterns bring him to justice, but like I said sometime after we beat him and the Guardians stripped from his status as a Green Lantern, he somehow received a yellow power ring, and soon after he would begin to start the Yellow Lantern Corps, or the Sinestro Corps, I really don't care what he calls it."
"I see," Damien said as Eddie pulled the pancakes off the griddle and poured on more batter. "So, what of these Red Lanterns?"
"My first encounter with their leader, Atrocitus came maybe a couple days after I'd received my ring and met Elsa," Eddie responded and used his ring to create a hologram of the Red Lantern's leader.
"That's their leader?" Damien said looking horrified at him.
Eddie nodded. "Ugly, isn't he? Atrocitus launched an attack on Oa during our training session with Sinestro. And then Sinestro, Elsa and I had gone on that mission I told you about. To see if we could uncover whatever it was that they were planning, which we did. The Red Lanterns had built a fleet of warships and an army of killer robots to attack Oa, but the Green Lantern Corps, myself included had intercepted the fleet. It was beyond intense, but I loved it. After that, the Red Lanterns became one half of an entirely new and maybe a bit of a personal problem."
"What do you mean?" Jasmine asked.
"Tyler. After stopping that fleet, a few days later, Tyler paid me a visit in my apartment. He was curious as to where I disappeared to when he couldn't reach me, so I let him in on my secret. Which turned out to be a mistake. He got greedy and tried to kill me for my ring," Eddie said earning a gasp of shock from both his parents.
"He tried to kill you?" Damien asked horrified.
Eddie nodded in response once more. "But he didn't succeed, and he got sent to jail. Sometime after that, the Red Lanterns sent him one of their power rings, and he was forever changed. Or so I thought. A couple months ago, back in autumn, the Red Lanterns sent another massive fleet of warships and killer robots, at least 10 times bigger than the last to Earth to wipe out the human race. I led the entire Green Lantern Corps into battle with them, and when I thought all was lost, Elsa convinced me to find a way to get Tyler on our side. And I actually found a way. Lisa. I brought her to Tyler, and she helped him come to his senses. Afterwards he led us to the Red Lantern's control center on their planet and we stopped the invasion once and for all."
"And what became of Tyler afterwards?" Jasmine asked.
"Oh, well we got back to how we were before any of it had happened. He chucked his Red Lantern ring off the bridge and into the river. But then the Indigo Tribe leader gave him an Indigo ring, in case he still felt remorse for what he'd done. The Indigo Tribe have converted many evil doers because their rings have the ability to make the evil see the error of their ways. Of course, he hasn't decided yet if he wants to wear it or not."
"Yep, I stand by what I said. You really have been through hell and back," Damien said.
"Eh, it hasn't been all too bad. I'd be lying if I told you I didn't enjoy the thrill of it all. When I accepted this ring, I knew I'd be taking on some enormous responsibilities."
And then Elsa, Anna and Kristoff all walked into the kitchen, just as Eddie and Jasmine were dishing up the food on serving platters.
"Morning, sleepyheads," Jasmine greeted. "Hope you're all hungry. Eddie and I have cooked great food together for years, so you're all in for a treat."
"I bet," Anna said looking to the freshly made bacon, scrambled eggs and pancakes. "It all looks so good."
"Well, let's have it while its hot," Eddie said bringing out plates and forks for everyone. "Help yourselves. If you're thirsty I've got coffee and OJ."
After making their plates they each sat at Eddie's new kitchen table which could fit 8 people altogether having their breakfast.
"So, what's on the agenda for today?" Damien asked carving into his pancakes.
"I was thinking of doing some shopping a little later," Eddie replied. "Won't know what to give for Christmas if I don't look."
"Sounds fun. I might go with you and do a little shopping of my own," Damien said once more. "What about you three?" He asked Elsa, Anna and Kristoff.
"I'd love to, but I really have to be getting back to Arendelle," Elsa replied. "As queen, my duty to my people comes first."
"Yeah. And the ice isn't going to deliver itself," Kristoff said. "Even though it doesn't sell much in winter, still have a job to do."
"I've also got some things I need to take care of back at home, too. Otherwise, I'd love to," Anna responded.
"Well, guess it'll just have to be us three, then," Eddie said. "After all, this could be a good chance to catch up more."
"You're probably right," Jasmine said eating a forkful of eggs. "Plus, if I can find you guys anything you'd like wouldn't want to ruin any surprises."
"After breakfast we'll help you clean up, but then we really have to get home," Elsa said.
"Fine by me," Eddie replied.
Everyone continued enjoying their breakfast and once they were all done, Elsa, Anna and Kristoff had done as they promised and helped clean up. Once done with that they walked into Eddie's back yard, so no one would see them morph into their Lantern suits.
"All right this has been fun," Eddie said to Elsa. "Maybe this weekend we could do as we suggested last night and head up to Rockefeller Center to try out the ice rink."
"I'd like that," Elsa replied happily. "Have fun with your parents." She said as she and Eddie embraced and then the trio flew off into the skies.
Later on in the midafternoon, Eddie went out to his driveway, which was covered under at least 2 feet of snow. He looked around in all directions to make sure that none of the neighbors were out to see. When he was certain he lit up his power ring and constructed a snowblower, which he used to start clearing out his driveway.
After it was all cleared out, Eddie and his parents got into his SUV and drove off to the local shopping center.
At the shopping center, the trio had gone their separate ways visiting several clothing shops, electronics, music and other types of shops.
While looking around at where to shop next, Jasmine and Eddie had met up and she'd gotten curious about something else. "You also said there was an Orange Lantern. Have you had any encounters with them?"
"Yeah, we actually had an encounter last night," Eddie replied. "An old enemy of Elsa's had ruined our fun at the ice-skating rink. One who accused Elsa of being a sorceress because of her personal powers. He was one greedy old man. Elsa told me he was the duke of another country. He'd been chosen by the Orange Lantern ring I'd unintentionally obtained."
"Unintentionally obtained? What do you mean by that?"
"I'd once uncovered the home of the Orange Lanterns, but there was only one of them left, because they all tuned on and killed each other for their precious power battery. In the area where he attacked me, there were piles of orange rings all over, and when he blasted me into one of those piles one of the rings fell into my pocket. Seeing as that old man last night had a heart so full of avarice, it had to have awakened that ring's power and gone to him. He wasn't much of a threat, because he was also a coward. But his two bodyguards were a completely different story. When he received that ring, he used its power to take them to the Orange Lantern's planet, where they both obtained rings, too."
"So, it seems you've encountered all 7 colors of these Lanterns," Jasmine said.
"Yeah. Fortunately, most of them have become good allies, but there are those who abuse having such power."
"Well, if that's the case with some, I'm glad that there are people like you and Elsa who fight for what's right."
"So am I. I know that as long as we have allies, there's nothing we can't overcome."
Later on, that day, the skies were turning dark, snow had started to fall lightly once more and the lights from the Christmas decor all began to brighten up the entire shopping center. Eddie and his parents, each carrying several bags from all different stores were making their way to the parking lot.
"Well, this has been fun," Eddie said as they reached the car, where they loaded all their bags into the back of it. "When it comes to Christmas shopping, this may well be one of the top places to visit."
"You bet it is," Damien said. "Whenever we did our shopping here, it was pretty easy to find what we were after."
"Now I see why," Eddie replied and walked to the driver's side door. Before he could open it however the sound of people screaming back at the shopping area could be heard. "What the?"
The Michaels all turned to see people running about and then they saw why: Giant yellow glowing alien hornet-like creatures flew up to the skies swarming all through the air.
"What are those?!" Jasmine exclaimed.
"They're made of yellow energy," Eddie responded. "And that can only mean..."
"Me."
Eddie and his parents looked to see the purple skinned alien hovering above them.
"Is this him, Eddie?" Damien asked.
"Yep. Thaal Sinestro, a former ally and a friend turned enemy."
"From what I've learned of my studies of this planet, this time of year is the season of giving if I'm not mistaken," Sinestro said. "That being said, I've got something for you, Eddie." He said holding out another yellow ring in his hand. "Take it. Join with me and together we'll show the Guardians of Oa the true meaning of fear."
"Sorry, but there's a couple things wrong here, Thaal," Eddie said pulling his own ring from his pocket and sliding it onto his middle finger. "One, yellow isn't my color. And two, there is no way I'd ever stoop as low as you and embrace fear."
"Then you leave me no choice. If you won't accept the ring of fear as I did, then I'll force it on you!" Sinestro yelled and lifted Eddie above the ground in a field of yellow energy.
"Eddie!" Both his parents exclaimed.
"Why not stop resisting and accept it? I knew it was my destiny to become a wielder of fear, and I believe it is your destiny as well."
Eddie glared towards his former friend and then lit up his power ring. With it he unleashed a burst of blue light from his body, blasting Thaal back and morphing into his suit in the process. "This is my story, and you're not part of it."
Thaal glared back at Eddie, then looked down towards his parents. "Very well. There are other ways to force one's hand." She shot a lasso at one of Eddie's parents, which ensnared Jasmine.
"Mom!" Eddie exclaimed and flew at Thaal, who restrained his mother with a sword construct to her neck.
"Make one move and she dies!" Sinestro said putting the tip of the blade close to her neck.
"Don't do this, Thaal. Do not kill her."
"You know there's only one way to stop me, Eddie. If you want her to live, then join me."
"No, Eddie. Don't do it, don't listen to him," Jasmine said to her son.
"For your sake, he'd better," Sinestro said to her. "Which is it, Eddie? The ring of fear, or your mother's life?"
Eddie knew this was a no brainer and he couldn't bear to watch his mother be killed. "You..." Eddie sighed in defeat and descended to the ground. "...You win, Thaal. Just put her down."
"First remove your ring."
"No, Eddie! Don't let him win!" Jasmine said once more.
"Listen to your mother, son," Damien said as well. "Do not let him make you like him."
"There's no other choice. If I don't, he'll kill you both, and I can't live with that." Eddie responded and pulled his ring off behind his back, thus making his suit vanish.
"Now toss it away," Sinestro said once more.
Eddie complied and tossed his ring far away.
After he did so, Sinestro landed on the ground floor as well, then tossed Jasmine to the ground. Then he used his ring to yank Eddie towards him by his left hand. "Good to see you follow orders well. The time has come, old friend, to join sides once more." He then lifted Eddie's left hand up in a field of yellow energy, then sent the yellow ring floating upwards. "This is your destiny as it was mine. Embrace your fear. Join the Sinestro Corps!"
The yellow ring floated down and began to make its way onto Eddie's hand.
Both Eddie's parents looked on in shock and horror, worried about what their only son was about to become.
Eddie looked to his parents, then cracked a small grin, confusing them both. "Gotcha." He said and then used his ring to blast Sinestro away, freeing his left hand as the yellow ring was mere centimeters from his middle finger.
"What?! But how?! I just watched you toss your ring aside!" Sinestro yelled.
The ring Eddie tossed aside had floated to him, where he took it in his hand. "You mean this?" He asked and the ring dispersed into mist. "That was just a construct. I tricked you into thinking I let my guard down to get my mom out of harm's way." He then morphed back into his Lantern suit.
"You deluded fool!" Sinestro yelled and zoomed towards Eddie.
Eddie did the same thing and then kicked Thaal back as the two made contact.
"Eddie, you are one brilliant man!" Damien said laughing happily.
Eddie had chuckled lightly. "I am, aren't I? Gonna need some help though." He pulled his phone from his pocket and tossed it to his father. "Call Elsa and tell her what's going on. I'll deal with him as best I can. Hurry, go, run!"
Both Jasmine and Damien complied with Eddie's orders and ran back to the shopping center, while Eddie and Sinestro took the fight high in the snowy skies.
Once they were both a safe distance, Damien had opened Eddie's phone and found Elsa in his contacts, and he wasted no time in calling her.
Back in Arendelle, it was snowing even harder there and inside the castle library, the fireplace was lit, and Elsa sat at a desk signing a bunch of papers for trade and dispute between Arendelle and other kingdoms.
She took a sip of a mug of hot chocolate that was right by her and then a musical tone played. She took the phone Eddie gave her out of her dress pocket and saw the call was coming from Eddie's phone, then answered it. "Hello?"
"Elsa, it's me." Damien's voice was heard.
"Hi, Mr. Michaels. Is everything okay?"
"No, Elsa, it's not. Listen Eddie is fighting this purple skinned Yellow Lantern and he needs your help."
"Purple skinned? You mean Sinestro?" Elsa asked standing up from her seat in worry.
"Yes."
"Where are you at?"
"We're at the local shopping center."
"I think I know where that is. I'm coming," Elsa said hanging up and running to the outdoor balcony. Once outside she jumped from the balcony and morphed into her Green Lantern suit, then took to the skies.
Still fighting against each other, Eddie and Thaal both sent out power stream blasts from their rings at one-another, both locked in combat and neither one giving up.
"Give up!" Thaal exclaimed. "You can't win this, Eddie."
"I'll never surrender to the likes of you, traitor."
The two both stopped shooting blasts from their rings, then Sinestro constructed 5 daggers and sent them in Eddie's direction, who quickly blocked them with a shield.
"Nice try, Thaal. My turn."
Eddie dissolved his shield and then constructed a large battering ram and knocked Sinestro far back with it, causing him to slam into a parked delivery truck.
A lasso then wrapped around Thaal's right leg and Eddie reeled him back in, then punched him upwards into the skies with a giant boxing glove.
As he fell upwards, Sinestro recovered quickly and flew back down towards Eddie, constructing a flail on a chain and swinging it in his direction.
Eddie quickly constructed another shield and began blocking his attacks best he could.
"Make this easier on yourself and just yield!" Sinestro yelled continuing to swing his weapon.
"Not gonna happen," Eddie said as he continually blocked Sinestro's attacks then quickly constructed a chainsaw to destroy his weapon. After destroying his flail Eddie attempted to bring his chainsaw down on Thaal, who countered with a metal net to jam it completely.
Eddie attempted to punch him across the face, but Sinestro grasped his hand then squeezed his knuckles tightly.
Eddie groaned in pain as Sinestro yanked off his ring, morphing Eddie back into his original clothes and tossed it away. Sinestro then levitated Eddie in a field of energy, as well as constructed a pillory around his wrists and neck to restrain him. "Not so tough without your power ring, are you? Without it you're as you humans say all bark and no bite." And then he lit up his ring causing the yellow ring he tried before to force on Eddie float back into his hand.
"Oh, no. Honey, look!" Jasmine exclaimed as they could see what was happening.
"That creep tossed Eddie's ring aside, now he's powerless." Damien said. "And it looks like he's about to force that yellow one onto his hand again."
"How does it feel, Eddie? You're completely defenseless and powerless to stop me. As I said before, if you won't accept my ring, then I'll force it on you."
And with that said Sinestro lit his power ring up once more, casuing the power ring to float above him. It then descended once more and made its way towards his left hand.
Just as it was about to slip onto his middle finger, a green blast hit Thaal right in his chest blasting him back and causing the pillory around Eddie to dissolve and him to fall from midair.
As Eddie fell, Elsa flew in and scooped him up.
Eddie smiled at her, never feeling so relieved to see her. "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes?"
"Are you okay?" Elsa asked.
"I am now that you're here. I owe you for this."
"I think we'll call it even for when you saved me in Paris."
"Works for me." Eddie said as both Elsa and Eddie then landed on the ground.
"That does it!"
They looked to see Thaal hovering above them.
"If you won't side with me, then you will both die. I'm going to kill her first, to see your spirit break and then I'm going to kill you slowly and painfully. And I'm going to savor every moment."
"Stay behind me, Eddie. Without your ring you can't face him."
"Then I think it's time to change that."
Elsa and Eddie both looked to see Damien.
"Got a little gift for you, Son." Damien said and tossed Eddie his ring.
"Thanks, Dad," Eddie said putting his ring back on and morphed back into his suit.
"You conniving fool!" Sinestro yelled and shot a massive yellow blast at Damien.
Eddie quickly shot a lasso and pulled his father out of the way.
"Thanks, pal," Damien said to his son.
"No problem. Now run."
Damien did as he was told and ran for it.
Elsa and Eddie both glared back up at Sinestro. "All right, Thaal, let me get one thing straight. You can come after me, you can try to kill me, you can try to force me to join your ranks, but when you go after those who can't defend themselves you go way too far!" Eddie yelled and zoomed towards Sinestro and sucker punched him across the whole parking lot. "You go after either one of my parents, or any of my family again, and you're really gonna be sorry!" Eddie continued on with his eyes now glowing electric blue.
Sinestro glared and shot a yellow blast at Eddie who quickly countered with a blast of his own, which quickly overpowered Sinestro's and blasted him to the ground.
Elsa stood off to the side and looked on with a small smile, knowing Eddie was going full force at his former ally.
Eddie approached Sinestro who attempted to shoot another blast from his ring, but Eddie stomped on his hand then grasped Thaal by his torso and lifted him face to face with himself. "You can target me all you want, Thaal, but you get this through your head. Leave my family out of it!" Eddie yelled in a booming voice that echoed through the whole parking lot. And then he charged up a power blast in his ring and blasted him into the skies and out of Earth's atmosphere.
The glow in Eddie's eyes faded and he looked back to Elsa. "Sorry about that. Hope I didn't scare you or anything."
"Not at all. In fact, that was pretty impressive. Never saw you so intimidating before."
"I didn't even know I could be that intimidating. Guess him targeting my parents really set me off. Anyhow, sorry to pull you away from your duties as queen."
"Don't be. To me, helping out a close friend in need is always more important than any of my jobs as queen."
"Eddie, are you okay?" Jasmine said as she and Damien ran up and embraced their son.
"I'm all right. I have a good feeling Sinestro learned his lesson. And if not, then I'll just have to give it to him again."
"That was pretty amazing, kiddo," Damien said. "The way you grasped him, I'm almost positive I saw him quiver for a split second."
"As I told him, he can target me all he wants. But if he goes after the people that I care for most, that's when he really goes over the line." Eddie said and then looked over at the ground near his vehicle. He walked over and picked up the yellow ring that Sinestro almost got him to wear. "I think I'd better take this to the Guardians." Eddie took out his car keys and tossed them to Damien. "Take the car and head home. I'll be back soon."
His parents both got into the vehicle while he and Elsa both took to the skies, to head to Oa.
On Oa, Elsa and Eddie had gone into the Guardians' chamber and presented them the yellow ring, where Salaak had analyzed it.
"How is it you came by this ring?" Appa asked.
"Sinestro had attacked me and my family on Earth, trying to get me to become one of those Yellow Lanterns. He very nearly forced that ring onto my finger."
"This ring is unlike any I have seen before," Salaak stated as he continued his analysis. "Similar yet different to the rings we wear."
"I assume you have a plan, Guardians?" Eddie asked.
"We'll continue analysis on this ring you brought to us. We can only hope that by analyzing it thoroughly a weakness in its power can be found. Fear is unpredictable."
"I know that much. And it scares me to death to wonder what would have happened if Sinestro had succeeded in getting that ring on my finger." Eddie turned to leave. "I'm headed home. Hopefully I can sleep this off. I'll leave it to you, Guardians."
As he was out of sight, Elsa looked in worry. "He's not the only one. It scares me too to wonder what Sinestro would have turned Eddie into."
Ok, that'll do it for this one. Now I'm gonna need some time to think what I'll put next. Now you see why I called this chapter Close Call? That was a close one. If Elsa had arrived any later, Eddie may have been completely consumed and corrupted by fear. As for the characters I've made I think I have some idea on who their voices are.
Eddie: David Gallagher.
Tyler: Lee Pace.
Lisa: Peyton List
Damien: Nolan North.
Jasmine: Reese Witherspoon.
These are who I imagine voicing them. Been thinking about it for some time now and I like these voices. Until next time, please read, review and enjoy.