The Lanterns
Yonkers, New York
The name Horace Wilks means nothing to you. In fact, it means nothing to almost everyone. Not that Horace see's this as a bad thing, he's a simple man with simple needs and desires. He was married straight out of highschool and has beautiful house with 2 daughters. Waking up this morning, he could hear the latest cheesy pop-song on the radio alarm. He looked at the alarm to see the time "10:01" He grabbed the clock as he quickly realized what was happening. This was the third time he had slept through his alarm this month, that was grounds for disciplinary action. Quickly leaping out of bed, he ran over to the wardrobe, pulling his clothes out and pulling them on as quickly as he could, before running out of the house. He looked around, not seeing his car. "What the fu... UUUUUGH!!!" He pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed his wife. "Hello, dear, where's the car? What do you need it for? Well, i need it. Why didn't you wake me?" He asked. "AAaaaaaaaaahhh!" He roared, before running off down the street to try, in vain, to make it to work before he was fired. As he began to run, the heavens opened and sheets of rain pelted down.
By the time he had gotten to the city center, he had given up. Looking at his phone, he saw the time was 10:26 and he was hungry. Well, if he was going to be late and soaking wet anyway, better be late on a full stomach. Horace entered the McDonalds and waited in the que for several minutes, leaving immense puddles of rainwater dripping off of him, before finally being seen.
"Hello, can i please get a sausage and egg McMuffin meal? Large coffee." He asked. The woman behind the till pointed to the clock. 10:31. "Look, i'm not having a good day, can you please just give me an egg McMuffin meal?"
"I'm sorry, sir, but i'm not allowed to serve breakfast after 10:30am." Horace grunted in frustration. He then saw someone getting handed a pancake breakfast meal.
"Well, then why is he getting served?" He asked.
"That customer obviously made the order before 10:30." The woman replied with a smile. Horace's face soured even more. He looked at his phone to see 10:29 on it.
"Hey, it's not even 10:30 yet, look." He showed her his phone.
"I'm afraid that your phone must be running slow, sir."
"Have you ever heard the expression, the customer is always right?" He asked. He then saw the clock on his phone flip over to 10:30.
"Yes i have, and your phone now says that it's 10:30, i'm afraid that i cannot serve you breakfast. May i offer you a Big Tasty?"
"No you may not offer me a big tasty, i don't want a big tasty, i want an egg mcmuffin." He growled.
"Well, i'm sorry, i'm afraid that there is nothing i can do." She replied, big smile still across her face. Horace looked around, before looking behind her and seeing a whole row of egg mcmuffins on the pre-made bench behind her.
"Wait, can't i just buy one of those? You're going to throw them away anyway." She turned around and looked at the row.
"Ooooh, i'm sorry, but it's past 10:30, i am afraid that i could lose my job for selling you one of those."
"BUT YOU'RE GOING TO THROW THEM AWAY!" He yelled.
"Sir, if you are not satisfied with the lunch menu, then you can speak to the manager, or call our offices." She said. Horace didn't even care that he was getting later for work by the second, this was a matter of principle.
"Yes i would. Get your manager down here right now." He ordered. She spoke into a mic and a few moments later, the manager arrived.
"Hello sir, can i help you?" Asked the manager.
"Yes, you can, i want to buy an egg mcmuffin, one of those ones sat right there and about to get thrown away!" Horace demanded.
"Was this employee refusing to sell one to you?" The manager asked.
"Yes, she kept on saying "BuT iTS pAsT 10:30!!!" Despite the fact that it was 10:28." He growled.
"I'm sorry, sir, but it's past 10:30 and we aren't allowed to sell them anymore. We could lose our license." The manager replied.
"SELL ME THE FUDGING BURGER!!!" Horace snapped.
"Sir, if you will not remain calm, i'm afraid that we are going to have to call the police." Horace wasn't paying attention anymore as he watched an employee picking up the tray of muffins and taking them to the back to throw them in the dumpster and all he could feel was the purest of anger. He only wanted this one thing to brighten up his already pretty shitty day.
"Horace..." A voice said. Horace looked around, he could see the manager still talking at him, but he couldn't hear a word the man was trying to say.
"Horace Wilks, I sense in you great rage. Say the oath and join our ranks." As the manager continued to talk at Horace, he saw the mans eyes starting to turn red, before his teeth sharpened, red foam started to pour from his mouth.
"Umm... Sir... Are you alright?"
"With blood and rage of crimson red,
From the corpse of the innocent, so freshly dead,
Together with our Righteous hate,
We'll burn all evil--that is your fate!" Horace's clothes exploded, revealing a crimson red business suit, with black lines and the
Red Lantern Logo over his breast-pocket. his eyes were now a burning red. Red fists of energy lanced out, punching the till operator and the manager in the face, before he let out a roar and a shockwave of red energy erupted through the McDonalds, throwing over tables and smashing the windows. Horace stomped through the carnage outside, before red hands of energy launched up to the golden arches and pulled them down and throwing them across the street. People were now running away screaming.
"BURN EVERYTHING!!! BURN!!!" He roared as he opened his mouth and a beam of fire shot from it, setting the McDonalds sign on fire.
S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ, New York City
Hal, Sinestro and May sat around a large table looking at several dossiers. Hal slammed his down on the table, forcing the other 2 to take notice
"Ok, i appreciate this whole "Let's pick out some guys for our team who aren't likely to go insane and kill us the moment they see a power ring" thing we've got going on, but shouldn't we be going out there and find the rings and whoever they belong to and add them to our team instead?" Sinestro eyed Hal for a second, before looking at May.
"Hal Jordan makes an excellent point, Agent May. Your Shadowy "Boss" as you call him, put whichever members of his organization as he wishes under my..." He shook his head
"Under our command. But the Rings will be the ones deciding who will be facing Ronan when he comes.""And if we choose the correct team, then the chances of Ronan making it to Earth are considerably lower... Also, my Boss is a rather paranoid guy. He's not going to trust anyone he hasn't personally vetted." May replied. At that point, May's phone began to beep loudly.
"Well, that's moot now, we've got a live one." She said, pressing a button under the desk and a small keyboard folding out. Pressing a few buttons, a video feed of the burger restraunt on fire with the man in the red suit outside of it came on the large moniton the back wall.
"Red. That's anger right?" Hal asked. He watched the guy belch a massive plume of fire into the air.
"That's a lot of anger and i don't think he's putting it to the most constructive use as a hero.""Rage, a very different emotion from simple anger. Believe it or not, this is the ring i'm second least afraid of." Sinestro replied, watching it.
"Yes, that is just him acting on mindless aggression. Not the Champion of Rage at all." Sinestro got up and in a flash of gold, was wearing his Lantern suit and his face was back to the rosy pink.
"Come, Hal Jordan. This will be a good test of your abilities." He patted Hal on the shoulder, before walking over to the window and opening it.
"Um, Sinestro, what are you doing?" Hal asked as he began climbing out.
"Buddy i know things are a bit hard with your teams loss, but this isn't the answer." Hal pushed away the chair and ran towards the window. Sinestro floated out of it, before turning around and looking at Hal, confused. May and Hal looked shocked as Sinestro floated there.
"You... You didn't know Lanterns could fly?" Sinestro asked. Hal and May looked at each other.
"You're trying to tell me that you have been a Lantern for almost 2 weeks and you haven't attempted flight even once?" Hal wasn't quite sure about the physiology of Sinestro's people, so how their veins worked was something of a mystery to him. But he could SWEAR he could see a vein bulging in Sinestro's immense forehead and his eye twitch a little.
"Never mind" Sinestro wheezed in purest frustration.
"Now, Green Lantern Hal Jordan, fly out here with me and let us go and retrieve the Red Ring." He said.
"Ok, yeah, fly... How?" Hal asked. Sinestro's forehead vein bulged just a little harder.
"Transform and all will become clear." He grunted, clearly trying to remain as civil as he could. Hal nodded, before looking at the ring, gripping his hand tight, the green light enveloped him and he stood in his costume. He then simply levitated off the ground and over to Sinestro.
The ring instils natural instincts into your brain when it is active. Flight and construct creation is as natural as breathing. Hal looked himself over as he floated.
"Well, alright." He laughed, before turning to May
"Highball requesting permission to sortie, ma'am?" He asked. May simply stared.
"Permission granted, Captain." She replied. Hal saluted her before rocketting off upstate. Sinestro watched with a little bit of surprise. He had gone from no idea that he could fly to being able to fly at jet speeds in less than a minute. Maybe this Human wasn't as incompetant as he suspected.
Yonkers, New York
The two finally arrived to see Horace advancing on a pair of police that were emptying clip after clip of ammunition into him, a red shield blocking it. Sinestro floated a few hundred feet above them, he watched Hal circling the area.
"Enjoying the view?" Sinestro asked. Hal could hear him just as clearly as if they were stood next to each other, despite him flying around.
"Built in 2 way communication, convenient." He continued to fly in a circle before finding his vector for attack.
"Highball, descending for attack." He called, before flying down and onto an attack vector. His ring creating a large green construct fist out in front of him. Sinestro sat back and watched. He needed an idea of Hals base line before he could begin training the Green Lantern in earnest. As Hal rocketted towards Horace, the Red Lantern looked up, his now-forklike tongue whipped around his face.
"Ah, my misbegotten brotheren!" He laughed, before belching a large lance of magma straight at Hal. The green fist, managed to cut right through the magma and splattered it off to the side, onto cars and the now abandoned streets, before the fist made contact with Horace's. The nearby police were thrown backwards by the force of the Impact and they scurried for cover, leaving these two to sort things out between themselves.
"Come to stop my evil rampage, or maybe to join me, brother?" He laughed, before a pair of red uzi's appeared in his hands and he began to fire at Hal at point blanc range. Hal, quickly summoned more green hands to block the incoming red fire.
"Calm down, citizen, i'm here to save you from that ring." Hal managed to grunt out, mostly trying to focus on not dying right now. Horace, however, simply laughed maniacally.
"Save me...? Save me? HAHAHAHA I DO NOT NEED SAVING FOR I AM ALREADY SAVED!!!" He roared, before the uzi's turned into a pair of rocket launchers and he turned towards another fast food chain.
"I'M GOING TO BURN THE ENTIRE OF CORPORATE AMERICA TO THE GROUND! THAT'S MY SALVATION!!!" He fired the Rocket Launchers, Hal instinctively created a few more hands that reached out and grabbed the rockets, crushing them in his grip and setting them off, sending Hal back a few feet from the force. He turned and summoned a large Baseball Bat and struck Horace across the face with it. Horace slowly looked back up at Hal, spitting some blood onto the floor which sizzled from the lava inside of it, before his hands turned into large, red, scizzor-like claws that he began slashing at Hal wildly with. Hal stumbled back, summoning a shield to deflect the blows, after about 10 swipes, he quickly lifted off from the ground and rocketted into the air, Horace in close persuit, flying towards Sinestro.
"ANY CHANCE OF A HAND, GOLD!?" Hal yelled at him as he shot past.
"You've got this Green Lantern." Sinestro smiled and saluted to him. That was the first time Hal had seen him smile and he did NOT appreciate it. Lances of lava shot past Hal as he instinctively took evasive action. Horace summoned his uzi's back and began pumping out an endless stream of red bullet and lava blasts towards Hal. Hal couldn't help but be reminded of those old japanese flying games in the arcade that ate a god chunk of his allowance as a kid. But he had gotten good at them and he was going to remain good at them as a Super Hero. He smiled, before focussing on weeving around.
"What's the matter, Red? Somebody never learned target tracking?" He taunted Horace, who simply roared in frustration, 8 new hands made of red energy hot from the ring, each holding an Uzi, which began firing at Hal. Hal picked up the pace, summoning a shield to catch any stray bullets. He had done this kind of fighting before. It wasn't too disimilar to his Training Dogfights back at the academy. Just needed to bleed off the guys energy and not give him a good opportunity to actually hit him, before swooping in for the kill. Slowly, the hands with the uzi's began to fade, Horace's face looking confused. He roared in anger and they popped back up for a few seconds, before dropping again. Hal made one final flourish, before turning around. Time for the kill. Immediately, he pushed every bit of will he had behind him, rocketting at Horace at almost Mach speed, a large green fist forming in front of him, before raising it and bringing it down on Horace's head, sending the man spiralling into the tarmacked road bellow them, leaving a brand new hole in Yonkers' highstreet (Not that the Citizens would notice another one) Hal slowly floated down and landed next to him. Sinestro already having arrived there.
"You... You cannot..." Horace grizzled a little bit, trying to get back up, but Sinestro simply put his boot onto the back of Horaces head before sharply smashing it into the floor to render him fully unconscious, without leaving any longterm damage. A containtment beam shot from Sinestro's ring, enveloping the Red Ring and pulling it from Horace's finger.
"Alright..." Hal huffed, a little tired from that.
"3 down, 4 to go." He smiled, before holding up a hand for Sinestro. Sinestro looked at him confused.
"Come on, buddy, don't leave me hanging." Sinestro shook his head before lifting off into the air. The police approached them, Hal looked at them.
"Don't worry about this guy, not his fault. Umm... It's... Umm... You know what-" He reached in his pocket and pulled out a S.H.I.E.L.D. business card.
"Just call these guys, they'll give you an official statement on what that was, but just know, it's not this guys fault." He said, giving them the thumbs up, before shooting into the air after Sinestro.
"So... We have it... Now what?" Hal asked Sinestro as he caught up with him.
"Little choice in the matter, we're going to have to wait for the Hero of Rage to show himself. We'll have to bleed off some of its energy off to keep it from escaping. If we can calm it, then the next time it goes active will be when the true Red Lantern makes himself known.""Convoluted... But it makes sense." Hal sighed.
"Hey, race you back to HQ!" He then set off at his top speed.
"Green Lantern Hal Jordan, you still have much to learn. Sinestro replied, before immediately shooting straight past Hal as if he was standing still.
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