Ok so this one might need a disclaimer. I'm not all that familiar with the lantern corps rules, and I couldn't remember ever hearing about a green lantern, or any other color lantern, that could use their biological powers along with the constructs. Like, if the Flash had a ring, would he be able to use his speed and the constructs, or are the rings more like the Helmet of Fate, where once you put the helmet on that's all you can use? Just a thought, and I'm sorry if I got it wrong. Hope you like the chapter, I've been planning this storyline for a while. Please review with your thoughts!
Sunday mornings were never very busy in Metropolis as far as the crime rate went. Mallory was reminded of this the next morning when she went on patrol and found that the biggest crime in progress that she could find was a fender bender turned brawl outside a twenty four hour liquor store, and even then the police had the situation under control. She landed on the tiered building after a lap around the city and sighed, scanning the rooftops as if that would help her find crime faster. After a moment, she decided to give up and flew to a zeta tube, punching in the coordinates for the Watchtower. If she couldn't find anything to do in Metropolis, she figured she could at least find Razor and whoever else happened to be up there and make plans for the rest of the day.
She came out on the bridge, where Red Tornado was on monitor duty. She said a brief hello to the team's former den mother and wandered down the hall towards the lounge to see who was there, but she ran into Razor halfway there.
"Hey, what are you doing?" she asked, a little too eagerly.
He raised an eyebrow, and she couldn't tell if he was bored with the question or annoyed at the way she asked it. "I was about to go down to the surface and look around," he replied.
"Cool. Mind if I tag along?"
He tilted his head. "Why?"
She shrugged. "Point out stuff, help you navigate, I don't know."
"I told you before, I do not need a tour guide to look around. I have already seen quite a bit of your planet since I've been here."
She rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on. I'm so bored, I'm thinking about committing a crime just to see if I could get away with it," she admitted.
He cracked a smile at that. "Very well, if you must." She grinned. "Where is Moe? You could spend time with him, you know," the Blue Lantern pointed out as they started to retrace the pyrokinetic's steps.
"He's at my place. We can swing by and pick him up, I just couldn't bring him up here with me. I haven't put him in the computer yet. I should probably do that soon." They were on the bridge now, but the zeta tube whirred to life before they were anywhere near it, announcing Batman's arrival. Mallory cringed and avoided the urge to duck behind her companion. "Great," she muttered, already knowing what was coming.
Sure enough, when he appeared and saw her standing there, he strode over, not looking happy. "Inferno," he said curtly, "I heard about your encounter with Icicle Jr, and Superman told me how you asked to get him a reduced sentence. I shouldn't have to tell you that you shouldn't be abusing your reputation to help the criminals you catch. I'm glad you're here, I was going to call you anyway. Superman is already on his way, I'd like to see both of you in the meeting room. Now."
He stalked past her without another word, but Mallory stayed put, giving the part of her that wanted to ignore the direct order from the unspoken backbone of the Justice League battle with the other part of her that, despite the years of knowing him and his partners, was still a little afraid of him when he was mad.
"Well, I suppose I will go on ahead, since you seem to have other plans now," Razor said, breaking up the fight in her head.
She looked at her friend. "Uh, I don't think we'll be long," she said. "Why don't you come with me and we can head out as soon as we're done with the World's Finest in there?"
He rolled his eyes, but at length he shrugged and nodded. "All right."
She let out a breath of relief. It wouldn't completely save her from the talk that was coming, but Batman wouldn't have an open opportunity to yell at her if Razor was there, since he wasn't part of the heroes and she didn't think he would be afraid to stand up to the Dark Knight. Though, she thought, you only made that mistake once.
"This is the Watchtower," Red Tornado said behind them, and Mallory turned to where the android was amplifying an incoming message. "What is the trouble?" Tornado asked, then paused and asked, "Who?" Mallory and Razor looked at each other, their heads tilted curiously. "Understood. Keep us posted in the meantime. Do you know anything more about what is happening?" The person on the other end said something, then the communication ended, and Red Tornado pressed the button that activated the open line to all of the League's comms. "All Leaguers respond, there is a BWR in progress. All members stand ready, space squad report to the Watchtower immediately for final preparation. Target GL, coming in fast. Repeat, all Leaguers respond."
Batman was already on the bridge, his eyes wide, and other Leaguers and team members started coming from both the other rooms of the Watchtower and the zeta tube. Razor looked at Mallory.
"What did all that mean? What is a BWR?"
She checked her suit and pulled her hair up, narrowing her eyes. "It's comm code," she explained quickly, her eyes darting around as she waited for further information. Her face hardened and her voice turned grim as she continued, "it means we're fighting one of our own."
The majority of the Justice League was either in the Watchtower or on the screen within ten minutes, and the team gathered off to the side, waiting to see how they could help.
"Who's the target?" Black Canary asked when things started to settle down.
"Hal Jordan," Red Tornado announced, earning surprised and disappointed murmurs from the others.
"What happened?" Flash asked after a few seconds of letting the news sink in.
"We do not know. John Stuart said that he was not right before he made the first trip back to Earth, and when he got back to them, he started to attack the others without prejudice and without mercy. He could not give us a full story, he only said that the remaining Green Lanterns are on their way, but Hal is traveling much faster, and he will likely arrive in Earth space before them."
Artemis exchanged a look with the others. "The 'remaining' lanterns?" she asked under her breath, though she knew she didn't want an explanation. Luckily, no one seemed to have heard her, other than the team. The Leaguers who were equipped to go to space, Superman, Captain Marvel, Captain Atom, and Martian Manhunter, gathered rebreathers and waited. Mallory glanced at her friends and she, Megan, and Razor walked over to the box to get rebreathers of their own, but Batman stopped them, stepping into their path.
"No."
Mallory glared at him, angry that he could shut her down with one little word. "Why not?" she challenged. "We can help."
"You're not members of the League," he replied calmly, "so you will not be risking your lives fighting one of us."
"I mean, it wouldn't be the first time," Conner muttered.
"Or the second," Artemis said, one hand on her hip.
Canary sighed and put a hand on the pyrokinetic's shoulder. "He's right," she said. "You may not even be needed, but if Hal does get past that line, we'll need more help in the streets."
The girls weren't thrilled with the answer, but they nodded and went back to stand with the others.
"Do you think that'll be enough?" Arrowette asked, looking at the four Leaguers.
Conner nodded to the window, and they all squinted at the glass, and they could make out the faint green light that the clone was indicating, growing fast. "We'll know soon," the clone said grimly, as the space squad hurried to the airlock to be deposited out into space to fight the rogue Green Lantern.
It seemed like the heroes still inside the Watchtower watched the green light grow bigger for days as the suspense and tension built, but it only took a few minutes. The speed that Hal was coming in was alarming, and far more than even the fastest Green Lantern should be able to travel outside of a construct, which only built the tension. What had happened to him, and why was he returning to Earth after beating the rest of the Greens on his mission? Mallory stood between Conner and Zatanna, their faces so close to the glass that their breaths fogged up in front of them. Superman took the lead as the four heroes took their positions a few miles away from the satellite, looking like color-coded ants performing a task.
"There should be more out there," Conner muttered.
"Relax, man," Static said with a grin. "Those are some of the powerhouses of the League. They'll wipe the floor with the guy. Or, well, stars, I guess."
The senior members of the team exchanged a nervous glance. They knew from experience that it was not always so easy to determine the outcome of a fight, and underestimating the opponent was the worst thing you could do in a fight.
"Here he comes," Razor pointed out, nodding to the green light.
"He's not slowing down!" Hawkman exclaimed.
The sentence was barely out of his mouth when Hal slammed into Clark full force, pushing the Kryptonian over a mile towards Earth. The Man of Steel found his footing, so to speak, and started pushing back, but he couldn't budge the Lantern. The younger members of the team looked at the more seasoned heroes, finally beginning to see the danger in this fight.
"Uh, should he be able to do that?" Jaime asked.
"No," Razor replied grimly. "He should not."
The other three heroes had reached the fight now, and the League and team watched from the satellite as they tried to pull the Lantern backwards. Between the four of them they started to make some progress, but then Hal created a construct, and it was at that moment that the heroes realized just how big of a problem this was going to be. The construct he made was just a simple bubble, designed to push from all sides, but the size of the construct and the radiation flowing off it told them one thing: his powers weren't just amplified, they were enhanced, intensified. And he was driven. He barely waited to see if his construct had worked. As soon as the heroes weren't on top of him anymore, he was already gone, flying straight towards the Earth's surface.
"Where's he going?" Barry asked.
Batman already had the computer up and was typing something in, calculating the projected course he was on. "He should land in western half of the United States," the Dark Knight announced. "Somewhere between California and Utah."
"What's over there that he would want to go to now?" Razor asked.
Mallory's heart dropped and she looked around, seeing the same look of dread on everyones' faces. "Coast City," Canary breathed. "Oh, Hal…"
The team was the closest to the zeta tubes, and Mallory was the first of them to react, bolting for the tube, determined to get there before Hal. She heard footsteps behind her, and when she looked back, Conner and Razor were at her heels, the rest of the team not far behind. Flash beat them to the tube, though, and had the coordinates set.
"You need to stay put," the Scarlet Speedster told them.
"We have to go," Conner argued, and Megan continued, "you're going to need us. You saw what he did out there, you need all the help you can get."
"We'll be alright," Green Arrow assured them.
Artemis scoffed. "Yeah, I'm sure your arrows will be just the thing to put you over the top," she said under her breath.
"We do not have time to argue with you," Wonder Woman said firmly. "You are members of the team, so you will stay here."
Mallory narrowed her eyes. "You're really gonna make me quit again?" she asked.
The Amazon's eyes widened a little at the serious tone she said it in, but Mallory's face stayed firm. She wasn't joking. If quitting the team was what it took to get in on this fight, she was more than ready to do that.
"We don't have time for this," Batman said, pushing through the group. "The team can send one squad, now let's move."
Mallory, Conner, Cassie, Jaime, and Megan were on the platform with the rest of the League without another word, and Razor slid in next to Mallory just as the light sucked the group away and brought them down to coast city. They were relieved to see that they had gotten there first, with Hal just beginning to come into view, giving them time to get somewhat of a plan together.
Mallory glanced at Razor. "Anything we can do off the top of your head?" she asked.
He shook his head grimly, looking down at his blue ring. "No. And I do not know if I can help you. My blue ring will only increase his powers."
"Then what are you doing here?" Conner snapped, not taking his eyes off Green Lantern coming in fast.
"I can punch as well as anyone," the Blue Lantern snapped back, then, more to himself, he added, "sometimes that's all it takes."
That instant, the green light smashed into the ground, creating a crater that shook the entire city. Mallory grabbed onto Conner, not thinking about hovering over the ground like some of the other heroes who could fly had. She craned her neck, trying to peer through the thick dust that had filled the air, but all she and the others could see was the creepy green light bending through the screen of dirt.
Suddenly, a figure popped through, making some of the heroes jump even though they knew what to expect, and others cringed away slightly. It was Hal, but he had a creepy, Joker-esque grin stuck on his face. They barely had time to let the image sink in before the Lantern shot out of the crater and flew straight to Wonder Woman, barreling into her and making her lose her footing. Before the other Leaguers could react, he'd moved on to Dr Fate, using a huge hammer construct to hit the helmet like a bell.
"He knows who poses the biggest threats to him!" Canary realized. "Move, before we lose the option!"
Every hero charged at once, all using different techniques that meshed together perfectly. Canary and Blue Beetle ran to the front of the group and gave his sonic blasts, keeping Hal where he was, Flash started circling, hoping to make his friend lose his footing, the Hawks flew forwards, brandishing their weapons, Megan hovered over the situation, trying to break through to his mind and make him realize what he was doing, Mallory flamed up and flew over the tornado, heating the center, hoping to force him to put up a shield and break his concentration. Cassie, Conner, Oliver, Batman and Razor stood back, waiting for some of the chaos to settle so they wouldn't hit the wrong people.
For a moment, it seemed like it was working. Hal went down on his knees, his shields shrunk as his concentration faltered, and the heroes lessened the intensity of their attack, thinking he was tiring. Then, the Lantern let out a frustrated scream and his construct shot out in all directions like it had in space. Mallory flew up, trying to avoid getting the full force of the construct, but it caught up with her, striking her back hard, knocking her off her flight pattern and making her fall to the ground. Her breath was knocked out of her, so she lay there for a moment, struggling to breath. She looked around, forcing the black edges out of her vision, and her eyes widened. Most of her companions were unconscious on the ground. The only ones left were Conner, Cassie, Blue Beetle, and Razor, and they were dropping like flies as they tried to subdue the amped up Green Lantern. First Jaime, then Conner, then Cassie fell and did not get up.
Mallory held her chest and slowly pushed herself up, knowing she needed to get up and warn the League. Her movement caught Hal's attention, and he was over her in an instant. Her heart leapt to her throat, feeling constricted as the man closed his fist around her throat and pulled her up, raising a fist to punch her again. Her hands went to her throat to try to pry his fingers off her windpipe, but her eyes widened when she saw and felt when was on his hands. Rings. He had two and three Green Lantern rings on every finger, all of them lit, all of them in use.
"Hal," she rasped, realizing what he had to have done to get all of those rings.
He leaned down, the same creepy look on his face. "Hal's not here now," he said, his fingers tightening around her throat.
She was suffocating, and she started to heat her body, but it didn't do anything against the protection surrounding him. Black veins started creeping into her vision. Razor seemed to be above her, but everything in her vision seemed to be going red. Then she saw the lights coming from above, like hundreds of green stars coming down from the sky, and her vision went black.