Summary: Hal Jordan has been a space police trainée for three weeks, but he already thinks himself ready for the big flights, returning home. Will his fearless bravado be enough to prove his worth?

Disclaimer: Green Lantern and all affiliated characters here are property of DC Comics, and I do not own them.

Chapter 6: L1

GL Training Room, Planet Oa. Sector 0.

April 2004 (Earth calendar).

"Again!"

"I already told you, Jesus, you broke two of my ribs, how am I supposed to…?"

"You don't need ribs to stand up!"

"Just give me a second so I can break your… Ah!"

"Again, poozer!"

His name was Harold Jordan. Hal to his friends. Hal Jordan. He didn't have many friends, but the few who called him Hal, it was usually done with affection. The man standing in front of him, for starters, wasn't really a man. He was a giant pig. And he didn't call him Hal, but poozer, a word the ring refused to translate. So, the giant pig was not a friend. And he didn't treat him affectionately.

Kilowog was the name of the drill-sergeant boar who was hitting him over and over again with a sort of mace he had created. Not one that existed on Earth, but there, on Planet Oa, literally at the center of the universe, it seemed that Planet Earth was a plague, or like an annoying fly that nobody wanted to talk about. Hal was the first Earthling in Oa ever. The first Green Lantern from Earth. Also, the first human to find out that the universe had indeed a center, contrary to all theories. Nobody seemed to care that he was from Earth, especially not the giant pig in charge of training the rookies.

It had been three weeks since Hal left Earth, and he was already tired of everything. Three solar system weeks, as the others had gotten used to correct him.

"Come on, let me go, you discount Pumbaa!"

"If the Guardians say you're not ready, you're not ready, poozer!"

As he created a green light shield to try to defend himself from Kilowog's lashes, Hal thought about the people that would miss him if he ended up like mashed potatoes. His nephews and brothers would. Maybe. And Carol? No, definitely not Carol, that was for sure. Anyone else?

No, Hal decided. There weren't many.

Kilowog destroyed the shield Hal had built, but he used the remaining pieces of light to launch them as mini-missiles at Kilowog's eyes. The sergeant dodged, stepped back, his eyes sparked, and he expelled two streams of steam from his nostrils, furious. Like in a cartoon! Hal took the opportunity to wipe the blood remnants off his chin.

"How the hell…?"

"Surprised? Come on, I could do it all day, but I'm in a hurry to go back home."

"Again, you're not ready, poozer! Your predecessor, one of the best Lanterns we've had, use to protect the sector where your miserable planet is, but nothing indicates they'll let you go there. Maybe they'll transfer you to another sector if you're somehow needed there. It might also happen that you're simply not good enough to protect an entire sector on your own, and if that's the case, they'll send you back to your hut."

"How hard can it be? It's sector 2814, right? It's just one tiny sector with nine planets. Or was it eight? I never get it right. Was it ten? Did Pluto count or not?"

"You sure? Ring! How many inhabited planets are there in sector 2814?" Kilowog asked the ring on his middle finger with a big, goofy smile.

[There are 1,508 inhabited planets in sector 2814, Lantern Kilowog.]

"What?" Hal couldn't believe it. His whole life was a lie!

"See? The best thing you can do now is ask Greet for a special dish with a recipe from your damn planet; maybe that's the closest you'll ever be again."

"I'm not going back as a flying cop; we're talking about my home! Wouldn't you do the same for your planet if you hadn't been back there in three weeks, and they were attacked by evil aliens?"

The warrior didn't answer immediately. He just looked at him, and Hal could sweat he saw some kind of sad sparks in his eyes. Had he said something wrong? Kilowog's voice was calmer, softer. Somehow, that was more intimidating that anything he had done before.

"You know nothing, poozer."

Kilowog raised his arm, his ring shone, and a full armor appeared around him. It was green and shiny, with huge pieces that protected his shoulders, chest, arms, head, and legs, over the green and black uniform that all Green Lanterns wore. In Kilowog's right hand appeared a sort of sci-fi giant anvil.

Hal also raised his ring and imagined how to defend himself. He smiled. Then, a huge boar of emerald light appeared in front of him, snorting smoke from its nostrils. Mad as a boar, Kilowog let out a war cry, and viciously ran towards the boar construct, his weapon ready to attack, and his armor protecting him like a castle.

Hal did the same. His construct ran, just as he wanted it to run. And then, just as they were about to collide, Hal subtly moved his pinky and a green carpet slid under Kilowog's feet, making him fall to the floor of the training room on his back.

"Ah! Damned Earthling!"

"You made two constructs, and I did the same. I don't see the problem," said Hal, with his best, most charming smile.

"Earth-worm!" shouted Kilowog, standing up.

"I've been called worse."

"Miserable poozer!"

"I still don't know what that means…"

"Kilowog, leave him to me," said a sinister voice. It was quite fitting that Hal thought of the voice in that term. "I will put Jordan in his place, take a rest."

His name was Thaal Sinestro, Green Lantern of sector 1417. Unlike most Lanterns, he wore a customized uniform, with green bracelets instead of the standard white gloves, a high collar, and black boots. It was said that creating a customized uniform demanded great creativity and willpower. Sinestro was said to be the best in both.

The emerald symbol of the Green Lantern Corps resided in the center of his chest. He was a tall man, with pinkish skin, small golden eyes, and a head larger than the average human's. He had short black hair and a mustache that Hal couldn't help but laugh at the first time he saw it. From that day Hal got the impression that Sinestro hated him. Although, to be fair, it was on his first day, just a couple of minutes after setting his feet on the surface of Oa, but still! The damn fool just lacked a sense of humor.

"Sinestro, right?" asked Hal, rhetorically, as the huge instructor of the rookies took a few steps back. "Are you my new babysitter? Did the blue meanies also send you to prevent me from protecting my own planet?"

"Who gave you the information about the Appellaxian invasion?"

"The blue meanies. One of the little ones."

"One of the Guardians, you mean." Sinestro crossed his arms, but Hal didn't miss how the ring on his left hand shone. "But what Ganthet says or does doesn't necessarily represent the thoughts of all Guardians of the Universe."

"Let me see if I understand. I have this magic ring that allows me to create anything I imagine, right?" To prove his point, Hal constructed a small handgun in his right hand, and he pointed at Sinestro, who didn't even flinch. "I was chosen by a group of little blue creatures who watch over the universe to be a space cop, whose role is literally to look after people. And you're telling me that even with that fact, I can't go and kick those aliens' asses back to their planet? What kind of cop does that make me then?"

"Hehehe," laughed Kilowog.

"Corrections. Number one, there's no 'kind of magic' in the ring." To somehow prove his point, Sinestro created a dozen weapons, identical to the one Hal had in his hand, floating around him. He pointed them all at Hal. "Number two, the Guardians of the Universe chose you for your ability to overcome great fears, but looking at you, it doesn't seem like a great quality in your species."

"My species?" Hal aimed his weapon at Sinestro and fired at an impossible speed. "I'd say our species is more than capable of overcoming jerks, that's for sure."

Kilowog let out a small chuckle. Sinestro fired one of his weapons and the bullets exploded upon contact with Hal's shots. Then, Sinestro moved the other weapons around and aimed them at Hal. He shot again. Hal considered creating new guns, but he wouldn't make them in time, so he imagined four steel barriers, and they were appeared around him.

"If Earthlings are known for something, it's for their ability to believe themselves the center of the universe, but as you see, only now you've met it," said Sinestro, with a calm yet arrogant voice that really annoyed Hal, whose steel walls began to crack. His willpower, his ability to adapt, Sinestro was incredibly strong. Hal trembled behind his shields.

"This is gonna hurt."

"Abin Sur was wrong. Utterly wrong! I can't believe that the greatest Lantern of all is not here, and instead, someone like you is wearing his uniform. Remind me again, Jordan, why did he choose you?"

The four walls exploded. Hal had no idea what Sinestro had put in the bullets he created, but if not for the natural barrier the ring provided for his body, he would be dead.

"I don't like you."

Hal stood up and ran towards Sinestro. He built a field tractor above his head, ready to crush his skull.

"Pathetic."

Sinestro made a feather in his left hand. A simple bird feather that Hal didn't even try to recognize. When Hal brought the tractor down, Sinestro cut it in half with the feather. He cut down a tractor with a feather! The pieces laid at Hal Jordan's feet, who, for the first time, didn't know what to do other than to look furiously at his opponent. That was not time for jokes, not anymore.

"That's not possible. Our constructs have the properties of whatever we imagine. What feather could cut down a machine like that?"

"The feather of a Golden-Ruc, for example."

"A what?"

"Sinestro, wait, what are you…?" Kilowog was about to ask, but Sinestro stopped him with a raised hand.

"A Golden-Ruc is one of many different intelligent species on Appellax," explained Sinestro, playing with the emerald feather in his hand. "It is a sort of bird, as they would say on Earth, whose wings can cut through anything. One of its younger leaders headed to your planet along with six others, from other species. Their plan is to compete for who controls a larger portion of the planet. Whoever does it, they get to keep it. They've always done it this way, right, Kilowog?"

"Y-yes… but Sinestro, a Golden-Ruc is…" Kilowog seemed genuinely worried about Hal, despite how different he looked before, during training. And before he could finish his important sentence, Sinestro interrupted him again.

"Jordan, I came on behalf of the Guardians to give you permission to intervene on Earth. Try to stop the Golden Ruc. Try to protect your people." Sinestro turned around. Hal noticed how thin he was, and wondered like an idiot where the hell his internal organs were. "If you fail, and let's face it, you probably will, come back here with your tail between your legs, and start respecting and obeying your superiors."

"And what if I don't fail?" Hal bristled.

"Ha. You're supposed to become a member of the Green Lantern Corps, the most powerful intergalactic force in the entire universe." Sinestro slowly began to float away from them, surrounded by an emerald aura. "We do not fail. If you fail, that simply means that you don't belong here."

"You wait here, poozer!" Kilowog ordered Hal before he followed Sinestro, the most annoyed Lantern in the universe.

"But…"

"No buts! And you, Sinestro, wait! You can't!"

But Hal heard no more. Kilowog flew away and disappeared with Sinestro behind the doors of the training room. If they scolded him for not following the rules, then he would at least heed that. He went out, jumped, and didn't descend, starting to fly —something he still found fascinating—. In two seconds, Hal Jordan left Oa's atmosphere.

"Ring, take me to Earth. Specifically, to the Golden-Ruc."

[As you wish, Lantern Jordan.]

...

Canaima National Park, Bolívar, Venezuela.

The ring's wormhole took him to Earth in five minutes. He allowed himself to lower the barrier for a moment and breathe the air of his home planet. He knew it didn't smell well, but at least it was his air, on the planet where he was born and raised. However, this time, it was quite clean, and it even gave him a headache for a moment. It was his planet, not his country. Additionally, there was an intense noise nearby.

"Definitely not Coast City. Where are we, ring?"

[This is Bolivar, Venezuela, Lantern Jordan.]

"Wow, a Caribbean country. And hey, ring, where's that noise coming from?"

[It could be either Angel Falls or the wings of the Golden Ruc.]

"Ruc?"

Not soon after asking, Hal was abruptly and violently thrown into the waterfall by an animal so stupidly large he briefly thought he was in a nightmare. The bird flew past him, and although it didn't touch him with its wings or claws, just the wind from its wings was enough to sent him flying a couple of miles. He crashed against the top of the waterfall, the tallest falls in the world as the ring went on to explain while Hal's head spun, and his nice green uniform soaked.

Truly, it was a natural wonder. The waterfall wasn't like any you could find in some forest around California, it was practically a free-falling ocean, coursing down a huge rock structure. All around there were plants and trees, and that would have been a very nice view, had it not been for the fact that all the greenery had been replaced by a horrible golden, motionless hue. The trees, grass, rocks… the entire landscape was rapidly and progressively turning solid gold, which also meant they were petrifying. Only the water seemed to remain unaffected for now.

As he flew out of the waterfall, he noticed there people nearby. Tourists visiting the waterfall, all turned into golden statues like those made by King Midas. This time, Midas was a bird the size of a plane, flying over the area, swooping down to add nature to its golden collection. Hal heard people screaming as he tried to recover from the blow.

The bird dove at breakneck speed —almost like the best Air Force jet aircraft—, and whenever it touched anything, it turned to petrified yellow. It was aggressive, very violent, and emitted an unbearable screech each time it descended, like nails on a chalkboard. And if there was one sound Hal Jordan hated with all his heart, it was nails on a chalkboard.

And it didn't look like a common bird either. It had four wings, which in the sunlight looked like a set of knives. Its huge feathers flashed golden glints. It had two legs with ten toes each, frightful and dangerous talons that could easily tear trees apart by merely brushing against them. Its head was the weirdest part, basically because there were two, with their necks sprouting from the feathered torso. They had two eyes each, but instead of a beak, there was some sort of sphere at the bottom of their heads, almost like a tumor. That thing emitted the screeches. It was a creature out of the mind of…

"I don't know, the guy who made Nightmare on Elm Street. You know who I am talking about, don't you, ring?"

[No, Lantern Jordan]

"Well, you should know this stuff. Anyway, let's do some police work around here. Hey, you undercooked chicken!"

Hal flew towards the Golden-Ruc, after it ascended again, following a hunt. As he got closer, he noticed how huge the monster was, maybe bigger than a plane. But, of course, that wasn't going to intimidate him. Nothing ever did.

The Ruc didn't seem to pay him any attention amid its own screeches. Hal created a force field around his body, so the violent swirls the bird made wouldn't send him flying away again. It was the first thing Kilowog taught him, and this time he truly appreciated it.

The Golden-Ruc dove again, this time towards a forest to the east where there seemed to still be many people, as he heard their screams in the silence of the forest, only hampered by the brutal winds the bird emitted. Hal focused, and imagined a large cage, like those for canaries. Immediately, a cage appeared in front of him, and he enlarged it with a thought, big enough to trap the Ruc.

However, it flew right through the cage, dismantling it as if it had never been there in the first place. Hal then decided to create a huge steel wall in the path of the beast, but again the bird passed through his construct without any trouble. Was his creativity really so weak?

In his mind, he heard Kilowog's laughter, and saw Sinestro's judgmental look. It was as if he was failing them, and he barely knew them!

He decided the best he could do was to use a bit more willpower instead of creativity, which wasn't really his thing anyway. He focused, looking at his ring as the bird flew among the trees, which quickly turned golden, causing their leaves to stop moving.

"Stay still, you damn nugget!"

Hal fired a large green light beam. The ring was programmed to shoot such blasts when a Lantern wasn't feeling particularly creative, and generally, it was a beam powerful enough to knock down any creature, or at least stun it.

This time, the beam hit the bird, which abruptly spread its four wings, and rose again. It didn't have the slightest scratch, and now, in the air, it set its two sets of eyes on Hal. The bird was in front of the sun, resembling an ancient divinity from some culture that Hal never bothered to study or understand, but he knew it was serious business.

"Crap, crap, crap! Hey, ring, why don't you tell me why nothing I throw at it works?" The Ruc slowly approached, flapping its wings threateningly. Its eyes also emitted golden sparks. It was like a demonic rubber duck.

[The Rings lose power against the color yellow, Lantern Jordan.]

"Excuse me, come again?"

[The color yellow from the emotional spectrum is the force of fear, Lantern Jordan. Because of this, the ring does not work at its full potential against the color yellow.]

"Oh, great. Ha, ha, that's just great." Green Lantern created a shield around him, a sort of sphere like that of a hamster. The Golden-Ruc hit it with one of its heads, aggressively, like a bull against a kitty, and sent him flying down at full speed, straight towards the golden trees. He was going to crush and probably die. So, he smiled. What else could he do, curse someone? That wasn't that bad of an idea, he thought. "Sinestro, you son of a bitch!"