Chapter Two
Welcome to The Corps
It was almost sundown by the time Izuku was able to get away from the scene of the Sludge Villain's defeat. The Pro Heroes who were there had seen fit to lecture him about being reckless in his attempt to save Kaachan and endangering himself, plus the paramedics checked him over for any injuries. At the same time, those same Pro Heroes had praised Kaachan for his powerful Quirk, never mind the fact that it was because of Kaachan's Quirk that most of the area had been on fire in the first place. Though to be fair, it was technically the Sludge Villain who used Kaachan's Quirk to cause all that destruction in the first place.
Once he was finally able to get away from the scene, he ducked into a nearby alleyway and took a closer look at the ring he had had found, seeing it was still giving off an ethereal green glow. "What… are you?" Izuku muttered as he squinted his eyes, only to jump about a foot in the air when the voice that had spoken to him when the Sludge Villain was defeated rang out again..
"I am a Green Lantern Corps Power Ring, sent by the Guardians of the Universe," the voice replied, "My previous bearer, who is now deceased, bade me seek out someone to succeed him. You are the closest sentient being on this planet who fulfills the necessary prerequisites for a member of the Corps."
"Wait…what?! What do you mean-" Izuku tried to ask, only for a halo of green light to envelop him. And before he could even react, he found himself suddenly clad in a gleaming, almost metallic, form fitting suit of green and black body armor from neck to toe. Completing the outfit was a green domino mask that somehow made his eyes look as though they were faintly glowing a solid green.
Before Izuku could comment on his new, admittedly cool-looking outfit, the ring spoke up again. "We will now travel to Oa. There, you will receive a proper introduction and orientation to the Green Lantern Corps, as well as receive proper training in order to carry out your duties."
"Training?! Wha-" Izuku tried to say as he felt his feet start to leave the ground, the green glow around him intensifying. "Wait! I can't go to this Oa place! I gotta get back home, my Mom's probably already worried sick enough as it is, especially after that villain attack I got caught up in!"
Unfortunately, the ring instead ignored him as the green glow got bright, and as if on cue, he felt as if he was suddenly shot out of a cannon as he was sent rocketing towards the heavens. Within seconds, the teen pierced the few lingering storm clouds overhead and the blue skies beyond, quickly finding himself inside the star-speckled blackness of outer space, loudly screaming the entire time. And as this happened, Izuku found that much to his great surprise, that he was able to breathe as easily as he was able to on Earth, and that he wasn't even a little chilly.
A few minutes of screaming came next, only for the teen to stop as he felt himself continue to fly through the cosmos. And as the ring saw he was calming down, it spoke up again, "I am programmed to follow your mental commands, provided they do not conflict with the Code of the Guardians."
"I see…" Izuku muttered out as was now dumbfoundedly staring out into the reaches of outer space, "And would taking me back home count as conflicting with the Code of these Guardian guys?"
"Affirmative," replied the ring.
Izuku sighed and chuckled humorlessly. "Of course it would."
"Welcome to the Corps," the ring added before launching itself and Izuku into hyperspeed, causing Izuku to start screaming again from the overwhelming barrage of colors assaulting his eyes.
Meanwhile, Back On Earth…
Katsuki Bakugou was absolutely fuming as he stormed around the neighborhood where Deku lived. He needed to find the Quirkless nerd to remind him of his place in this world, and to make sure he knew to stay out of his way. It wasn't like Bakugou appreciated the sentiment of what the loser had tried to do for him or anything. He didn't! Sentiments were one of the many things that Katsuki Bakugou didn't do. Deku needed to be punished for not knowing his place in the world.
"Deku!" Katsuki bellowed in rage, "Where the hell are you?! Dammit, you shitty nerd, I know you're around here somewhere!"
"Excuse me young man, but weren't you just in a villain attack?" a voice nearby asked.
Katsuki wheeled around to find a skeleton of an old geezer with a mess of blonde hair that for some reason, gave Katsuki a feeling of deja vu that he quickly shrugged off. "How the hell do you know that, old man?!" he growled, a small explosion popping in one of his palms.
"I was one of the bystanders who saw the whole thing," the geezer replied, "Don't you think you should go home and get some rest?"
Katsuki scoffed at that, "I'm fine. Medics checked me over and gave me a clean bill of health."
"Ah. Glad to hear it," the old man replied, "That being said, do you know what happened to that young man with the green hair who rushed in to try to help? I wanted to have a word with him. He helped me with something today and I wanted to express my gratitude."
"Keh, how the hell should I know where that damn nerd scurried off to hide?!" Katsuki hissed as he turned on his heel and began to stalk away.
'Well, it's hard to blame him if you're looking for him with such burning rage,' the old man, who was actually All Might, thought to himself before speaking aloud. "Well then, could you give me his name? It's pretty obvious the two of you know each other."
"Grr…fuck off, geezer," Katsuki spat as he continued to walk away, causing All Might to heave a sigh and shake his head.
'Well, I guess I'll have to seek out that boy myself. Though I do need to pass on One For All soon, so I can't wait for him for too long.'
Back With Izuku and His Power Ring…
Eventually, Izuku's initial terror had simmered down yet again as outright boredom took over as he and his ring exited hyperspeed to find what seemed to be a desert planet.
"Is that Oa?" Izuku asked as the ring continued to bring him toward the desert planet.
"Indeed it is. Located in the exact center of the universe, it is the headquarters of the Green Lantern Corps, and home to the Guardians of the Universe," the ring replied.
"The center of the universe, huh?" Izuku responded as he stared at the floating space ball, "Gotta admit, not what I would have thought would be here."
The ring said nothing as it continued to bring Izuku closer to the planet, soon reaching the atmosphere and down to its surface, only for Izuku to go wide-eyed as he now saw a vast and sprawling metropolis. Not only that, it was inhabited by…
"Aliens…" Izuku gasped. Despite living on a world with all kinds of mutations that could make any human look like anything, he had never seen anything like this. The creatures before him were indeed extraterrestrial in every sense of the word, most soaring through the air while clad in body armor similar to his own, thought they were in various shapes and sizes.
"Believe it or not, recruit Midoriya, you are actually the alien here. You are the first of your species to ever be selected to become a member of the Green Lantern Corps. It would be wise to remember this when we reach headquarters."
'Great, more pressure. Not only do I need to make a good impression myself, but I'm representing my entire race to beings who have likely never even heard of Earth, and likely possess the means to destroy it if they want,' thought Izuku before he spoke aloud. "R-right…" he stammered.
Admittedly, this felt like a situation where he should be scared out of his wits at the prospect of representing all of humanity, and yet, while he did feel nervous and scared about it, it wasn't nearly as strong as it by all rights should have been. After what felt like a long time descending and making his way through the city, Izuku approached what he quickly realized was the tallest building around. The teen soon floated through the front doors and into an entrance hall, where a tall, thin alien with four arms wearing a suit of armor akin to Izuku's own seemed to be waiting for him.
"Translation protocol active," the ring announced as the alien turned its attention to Izuku.
"Welcome to Oa, recruit," the alien chimed, only glancing up from the clipboard in one of his hands. "I am Lantern Salaak, head administrator here on Oa. Name, home planet, and sector of origin please."
Izuku could only give the being a blank look, as he only knew the answer to the first two queries. Thankfully, his ring spoke up for him. "Izuku Midoriya of Earth, Sector 2814."
That got Salaak's attention. Looking up from his clipboard with a shocked look on his face, Salaak asked, "Abin Sur is dead?"
"Affirmative," the ring responded. "We were set upon by unknown assailants wearing yellow uniforms akin to a Lantern Corps'. Abin Sur's ship was critically damaged, causing him to crash on Earth, where he bade me find a successor before he perished."
"Sinestro…" murmured Salaak before he closed his eyes and lowered his head, surprising Izuku with just how human the gesture of mourning looked. After a moment, Salaak spoke again. "His remains?"
"His remains are still on planet Earth. He did not instruct this ring to do anything with them before he perished."
"I'll have a team go to Earth and recover them then," Salaak sighed before raising his head, his gestures showing he was all business again. "Recruit's age, age of maturity on his home world, and Oa-to-home-world time passage ratio?" he asked the ring.
"Lantern recruit Midoriya is Age 14. Age of Maturity on Earth is 18. One Earth year is equivalent to approximately 0.84 Oa years."
"Recruit Midoriya is definitely gonna start off as a junior Lantern then," replied Salaak, "If you'll follow me, Recruit Midoriya, I'll introduce you to your trainer. You'll begin learning how to use your ring immediately."
"Um… excuse me?" Izuku asked Salaak, causing the alien to stop and turn to face him. "Sorry, but uh…what is this place? What's going on? What exactly is the Green Lantern Corps?!"
Salaak appraised Izuku silently for a moment. "You don't know?" Izuku shook his head, "Really? Your planet has never heard of the Green Lantern Corps before?"
"No sir," said Izuku as he shook his head again.
Salaak looked pensive for a moment. "All right then, I'll need to explain to your trainer that you'll need to rundown on all the basics. Follow me."
Izuku nodded before slowly following Salaak, his eyes quickly glancing around as he saw all the different creatures and beings making their way through the halls. They were all wearing similar armor to Izuku's own, only for his amazement to increase tenfold when Salaak led him out into a courtyard where a far larger variety of alien creatures were outside. He saw them all doing all kinds of things that Izuku could only assume were their rings, most firing energy blasts at training dummies, creating green hard light constructs of things, and so much more. And as Izuku and Salaak made their way through the courtyard, they were eventually met by what could only be described as a man with an orange fish-like head with a kind of bird beak for a mouth. Even in the world of quirks, he had never seen a head like that before.
"Yes, Salaak?" the Lantern spoke up as it turned to the pair,
Salaak pointed at Izuku, "Lantern Re, I'd like you to meet Recruit Izuku Midoriya, the new Lantern of Sector 2814."
"Sector 2814? So that means Abin is…?" Tomar-Re gasped, his eyes fully wide.
Salaak nodded solemnly. "He is. Sinestro's doing," he said before turning his attention to Izuku. "Recruit Midoriya, Lantern Tomar-Re is our current stand-in to train young ones such as yourself to become junior Green Lanterns. If you are still a member of the Corps by the time you reach adulthood, your skills will be evaluated, and if your skills should be found wanting, you'll need to go through training again, this time with Lantern Kilowag. And his training is far more grueling, so I suggest you avoid that."
"Um…okay." Izuku squeaked out, only for Salaak to look back at Tomar-Re.
"Lantern Re, you should be aware that Recruit Midoriya hails from a distant, rather primitive planet that has never even heard of the Green Lantern Corps. You will likely have to explain a great deal to him before you can begin his training in earnest."
Tomar-Re looked Izuku over, his eyes narrowing before turning and nodding to Salaak. Izuku shrunk back at this, realizing what exactly what Salaak said really meant, only for the alien to float away a second later. Izuku turned to watch him go, only to feel a hand pat his shoulder, making him glance up at the fish-headed alien.
"Don't let Salaak get to you. He is…stiff, but a good Lantern."
"Oh no, he's fine!" Izuku quickly replied, waving his hands at the same time. As abrupt, unexpected, and outright alien as the encounter may have been, Salaak had still come off as far warmer and friendlier than most of his school teachers had ever been.
"Hmm…" Tomar-Re hummed as he looked Izuku over, only to turn to another one of the other beings present. "Cadet Zabik, I need to explain some things to our newest recruit. You're in charge until I get back."
"Yes sir!" Zabik replied while saluting.
"Good." Tomar-Re responded as he glanced back at Izuku, "Now, let's begin with the basics of basics." He leaned down, "Do you know how to fly?"
Izuku let out a long gulp, a big frown on his face, "I, um… I don't know how," he sheepishly admitted while rubbing the back of his neck.
Tomar-Re nodded back, "Understood. As with all new recruits, flight is the first thing to learn." He showed his fist to the teen, the ring shining on his finger, "To start, the ring is how you will fly. It is powered through willpower, something that you will have to concentrate into it. To start, imagine you can fly…then will it."
Izuku blinked at him, his frown still on his face before glancing down at the ring. His mind went over what he had just heard, and after a few seconds, he decided to give it the old middle school try anyway. He imagined himself taking off into the air like a bird, as if he was someone like Hawks from his world. And as he did this, he felt himself float again just like when the ring had sent him away. A few seconds after this, slowly and very unsteadily, he felt his feet leave the ground. He began to stumble in mid-air at this, his balance coming to him a few more seconds later.
"I-I did it!" Izuku gasped before glancing up at Tomar-Re, "I'm flying!"
Tomar-Re showed what could be a small smile before nodding, "Good. Now, come and follow me."
Tomar-Re took off at this, Izuku gasping at the sudden exit. Closing his eyes for a second as he tried to concentrate, he soon took off as well. Gasping at this, he fumbled up and down in the sky, only to soon find stability as he tried to catch up to Tomar-Re. The two flew across the city, Izuku's jaw dropping at the sights as he felt as if he was as free as a bird. It made him wonder what else he could do with this power, only to see Tomar-Re come to a stop.
"We're here." he replied before motioning his head to Izuku. The lantern then descended, Izuku staring at him for a second before flying down as well. The teen almost fumbled the landing, only to get his standing before seeing where he was. Both were now standing in front of a giant green lantern, one that looked like what cave miners used in the old days, though it was also colored green. That and it looked like a fish was swimming inside it.
"Wha…what is that Lantern Re?"
"That is the Central Power Battery." he replied before spinning around and staring at Izuku, "And call me Tomar. I have no need for honorifics."
"Oh…okay." Izuku gulped before saying, "Um…if that's the case, please call me Izuku."
"Understood. Now, Salaak tells me that you know nothing of the Green Lantern Corps, yes?" Izuku nodded back, "I see. It seems the universe is still bigger than we thought." The lantern showed what Izuku believed was a smile, a genuine one as he said, "Very well. I personally like talking about history, so let me start by telling you what the Green Lantern Corps is. We'll start at the beginning."
"That uh…that sounds really nice."
Tomar-Re seemed like he was about to chuckle at that, only to begin his explanation. "To start, the planet you are currently on is Oa, the home planet of the Guardians of the Universe, along with being the center of the universe."
"Okay…" Izuku pointed at the giant lantern, "Let me guess. Did they make that?"
"Indeed. The Guardians are a council of immortal beings who have made it their purpose in existence to bring peace and order to the universe. To do this, they created the Central Power Battery. It is essentially a giant power source that collects will power from every living being in the universe and then distributes it to those who are worthy of wielding such power to become one of the universe's peacekeepers."
"Is that where the rings come from?"
"Yes, along with our power batteries, which let us charge our rings as needed." Izuku opened his mouth at this, only for Tomar to add, "You will receive one of those later."
"Oh. Okay."
"Now, as for why you have the ring." He pointed to Izuku's hand, the teen glancing down at the object around one of his fingers, "You, like so many others, have been chosen for your ability to overcome fear."
"Overcome…fear?" Izuku muttered to himself, only to glance back up at Tomar, "But…but I'm not brave. Heck, everyone I know is probably braver than me!"
Tomar-Re just shook his head at this, "Not at all. The ring knows who it chooses. You were chosen because it knew you had the potential and willpower to become a peacekeeper of the universe."
"It…knew." Izuku looked back down at the ring, his mind now catching up to what Tomar-Re had just said. For so many years, he had been told he would never amount to anything because of how he was born. All because he was quirkless, he was told time and time again that he was nothing, a nobody that could never be a hero.
But then a ring said otherwise. An object on his finger. Not his idol, his former best friend, his mother…no, just a ring. A ring made by a bunch of intergalactic peace-keeping police force, but still. The thought made tears pour out of his eyes, making Tomar-Re's eyes slightly widen.
"Izuku?" The teen glanced up at him, "Are you alright?"
The teen blinked at him, only to shake his head before rubbing his eyes. A second later, he was no longer crying as he wiped his face. "Sorry about that. I just…can't believe it."
Tomar-Re tilted his head at this, "What do you mean? Did you not hear what I said? The ring chose you."
"Yeah. That's…what I can't believe."
"Why not?"
"I…well…I don't know." Izuku muttered out, "I've just been told all my life that I'll never amount to anything, only for a ring to suddenly tell me otherwise."
Tomar-Re just silently stared at him for a few seconds, only to nod, "I understand. Still, whatever you have been told or believe about yourself, the ring chose you. Out of all the sentient beings in the area, you were the one most able to overcome your fears at the time your ring was searching for a successor."
Izuku continued to stare at the ring, remembering that he had obtained the object right after All Might had saved him from the Sludge Villain, 'That was when I was most brave? Strange…it feels like it shouldn't have been. Unless it was when I charged at that Sludge Villain when he had Kacchan.'
"Shall we continue?" Tomar-Re asked, making Izuku glance back up at him.
"Oh…um, sure," the green-haired teen said.
"Do you still doubt the ring's choosing?"
"Um…maybe?" Izuku replied, "I mean, when it found me, I wasn't doing anything brave."
"Did it talk to you right when you got the ring?"
Izuku blinked at him before shaking his head, "No, it did that later."
"Then it knew you would show your bravery later." Tomar-Re instantly responded, Izuku going wide-eyed at that. "Seems you understand now."
'I was right.' Izuku thought, 'It was after I charged in to try and save Kacchan. Though was it just when I did that or-'
"Now, are you ready to begin your training?" Tomar-Re asked, interrupting Izuku's thoughts.
The teen rapidly nodded back, "Yes! Yes, please!"
"Good." Tomar-Re showed what Izuku assumed was a smile before replying, "Now, you will start as a cadet, where I will teach you the rules and regulations of the Green Lanterns. You will then graduate to being a junior Lantern, which you will stay as until you reach the age of adulthood in your society."
"Junior Lantern?"
"Yes." Tomar-Re nodded, "The universe is…well, it is a place of endless violence and terror. Destruction, death and war rage among the cosmos, something that junior lanterns are not ready for. It is why we train you to be prepared for such things when you become adults."
"Oh." Izuku gulped at this.
"I will explain more later." The lantern shined his smile again, "Don't worry. There will be much to learn, and more to see. The Corps is constantly growing, and that's why this training exists." He presented a hand to the human, "Ready to become a Green Lantern, Izuku?"
Izuku stared at the hand before taking it, "Yes! Please teach me!"
"Spoken like a true Green Lantern!" Tomar-Re laughed, "Now, before we get started, are there any questions?"
Izuku's brain instantly went over the entire day, only to reply, "Uh…well, there is one. Is there a way for me to call my Mom?"
Tomar-Re shook his head at this. "I should have seen that coming."
Izuku grimaced at that reaction. "Did I say something wrong?"
"Not at all. I've been telling the higher ups they should let the junior Lanterns get their affairs in order before the rings take them straight to Oa. As for your question, let me show you the many capabilities of a Green Lantern Ring."