Green With Envy-5 by Lynceus Sometimes, even a superhero needs to take a break. And what better place for Alena Scott than a comic book convention? But just when you thought it was safe, a new enemy appears! Can The Green Lantern save the day? Read on, True Believer!

Green With Envy-5

Chapter 5: Who's That Super-Girl?

Life isn't always easy for a superhero, even a newbie like yours truly. Sometimes, you just need a break from it all. I'd been pretty zombified lately; my days consisted of irregular meals, doing misellaneous chores, sleeping at odd intervals, and staying up late at night to patrol the City, answer emergency calls...you get the idea.

One such emergency call had taken me pretty far from home to help a new metahuman named Stefani; someone whose life was even more screwed-up than mine! I was so damn tired on the way home that I actually started nodding off in mid-flight...not good!

So I found a spot where I wouldn't be disturbed, used my ring to make a temporary shelter, and took a nap. Four hours later, I awoke, feeling rested...and realizing the sun had been up for hours! I rushed home, where Mom was waiting for me, and she looked pretty upset.

She bawled me out, then started crying. I happen to be a girl, but I still can't handle other girls crying. So next thing I know, I was crying too. I hadn't realized how on edge I was! After I calmed down, Mom and I had a long talk.

“Honey, you have no idea how proud I am of you. You're doing so much to help people...but you're growing up so fast! You need to slow down and stop putting your own life on hold!”

“Mom. I love you, and I understand that you're worried about me. But for the first time in my life, I have a purpose, something that matters to me. I know you want me to be happy, get good grades when school starts, even go to college...but how can I ignore people who need me, when I have the power to make a difference? I'm sorry if this disappoints you, but if I had to choose between saving lives or studying for finals, I'll be in the air before the books hit the floor. Every time.”

She paused for a long moment before she spoke. “That's very mature of you, Alena. Maybe you're old enough to make your own decisions now.”

“Woah! Mom, wait a second! Don't get carried away now...I need you more than ever. I mean, I'm the boy...er...girl, who can't even keep her room organized, let alone my life!”

She laughed. “Well of course you're always going to need your mother, that's a given, honey. But if this is what you want to do with your life...how can I stand in your way?”

“The same way you always do. Mom, if you really think I should stop, I'll do it.”

“God, I want to. I can't tell you how much I want to say those words, to keep you home and safe. But I can't. The world needs you just as much as I do. All I ask is that you at least try to remember that you're Alena Scott first, and Green Lantern second.”

“I guess maybe I could try to take it easy for a few days...”

“Good, that means I can give you these.” She held up two tickets.

I blinked and took them. “These...these are..” Two tickets to the big Comics convention in Las Vegas! “Mom! You...you're amazing!”

She chuckled. “Moms have superpowers too, you know. Now there's a catch, two tickets. That means you're taking Alison too.”

“Huh? Ali hates comics. Why would she want to go?”

She chuckled. “You'll see.”

-

I knocked on my sister's door. “Sis? Can we talk a sec?”

“Sure thing, Al, come on in.”

I did, and froze. There, standing in front of the mirror was...me?! Before you say, 'duh Al, she's your twin sister', let me be more specific. Standing in front of the mirror was the second Green Lantern!

“Sis...why are you dressed up as me?”

She chuckled. “Because we're going to the Comics con, silly!”

“Uh...you hate comics.”

She grinned. “True, but I love cosplaying!”

I blinked. “Wait..back up. You want to go to the Con...cosplaying...as me?!”

“Yup! Isn't it awesome?”

I had to admit, her costume was top-notch. Granted, she'd helped design the original, but mine was magically created. She'd done this with needle and thread! “Wow, the gauntlets actually look like they glow!”

“Yeah, I had to mold the plastic chrome myself. Luckily Gramps had most of what I needed in the garage.”

“Huh. I guess that's where you get it from.”

She gave me an odd look. “Huh?”

“Costume design. Remember my original costume? That was his.”

“Oh wow. You mean he was a superhero too?”

I shook my head. “No..he wanted to be, but..something more important came up.”

“What could be more important than being a hero? Jeez, he could have been the first superhero on Earth!”

I kind of doubted that, for various reasons, but I kept my mouth shut. “Someone he cared about a lot was dying, and he asked the Star Heart to save her.”

I could see her brain working, and then her eyes widened. “Wait, you mean that story about how Mom almost died when she was our age?”

I nodded. “Yeah.”

“Woah. That's...poor Gramps. He loved comics just as much as you do.”

“Sis, if something ever happened to you, and giving this up would save you...”

“Argh, don't get all sappy on me. We need to figure out who you're going as.”

I blinked. “What, me?!”

“You're a girl now! Nobody is going to tease you for cosplaying!”

Holy shit...she was right! “Wait a minute though. You can't go as me.”

“Eh?! Why not?!”

“Sis, think about it. Who do you look like?”

“Duh, you.”

I nodded. “Not just like me, you look exactly like the new Green Lantern. What if someone makes that connection and thinks you're me?”

“You're not serious.” She looked at my face. “You are serious! Oh Al...come on, that kind of comic book stuff isn't real. People aren't going to go looking for your loved ones...” She trailed off. “Fuck. They would, wouldn't they? Ok, tell you what. Can you use your ring to make alterations to the costume?”

I thought about that. “I don't see why not, why?”

“Hey, I'm a metahuman too, I'll just change myself. Be taller, maybe darker skin, that sort of thing.”

I nodded. “Thanks for understanding, Sis.”

“But you know, someday it might come in handy that I can impersonate you.”

I swore I almost saw the lightbulb appear over my head. “Sis! You're brilliant!”

“Duh, I knew that...uh...for what reason?”

“Think about it! All I have to do is give you the ring Jade gave me, and you could pretend to be any of us! I mean, some of us have secret identities; what if we need to be in two places at once?”

“Oh. Oh! Hey, that's a really sweet idea! I mean, don't get me wrong, but the superhero thing isn't really me. But superhero support? Hell yeah!”

“Superhero support...” I chuckled, then yelled out. “SIDEKICK!!!”

She threw a pillow at me. “You are such a geek!”

“Hey, he'll be there too.”

“Who?”

I sighed. “Bruce Campbell.”

“Uh...”

“Ash? Army of Darkness? Brisco County, Jr.?”

“Uh...”

I wanted to cry! “Never mind.”

She turned and faced the mirror. “Alright you Primitive Screwheads, listen up! You see this? This... is my boomstick! The twelve-gauge double-barreled Remington. S-Mart's top of the line. You can find this in the sporting goods department. That's right, this sweet baby was made in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Retails for about a hundred and nine, ninety five. It's got a walnut stock, cobalt blue steel, and a hair trigger. That's right. Shop smart. Shop S-Mart. You got that?”

I just stood there, staring in awe, even as she turned around and winked. “What? Turns out I have geek genes after all.”

“I..you...why...”

She giggled. “Close your mouth, Sis. I know you think I'm hot as hell right now, but we have more important things to talk about.”

“Wha? Like what?”

“Your costume God!”

-

So that's how I ended up flying us both to Vegas. We'd booked a semi-decent hotel room, since Mom was letting us stay for all three days. What hero has ever had a better reward? We checked in, and it wasn't half bad, really. If you don't mind sharing a bed with your perpetually horny twin sister that is...

Which, for the record, I do!

We showed up for the Con bright and early, and even though I felt pretty self-conscious, I had to admit; it felt great to be able to dress like this in public! Oh, you know what I mean! Plus, the attention we got was...flattering. I didn't even mind so much when the guys whistled at me!

Oh yeah, you're wondering about my costume. Well, after giving it some thought, I decided to show off my real hair color, and go as American Dream. Yeah, I'm shorter than she is, but I'd have felt ridiculous trying to be Giganta!

There was so much to see, but I had a list of stuff I wanted to check out. Ali had a slightly different list; she'd heard the ladies of Battlestar Galactica would be there, and she definitely wanted to check them out in person!

Which, Tricia Helfer and Grace Park alone were hot as hell, but I'd always compared Sis to Katee Sackhoff, which is how she'd gotten into the show in the first place. Of course, I wasn't as certain about her orientation then, and she had mentioned more than once that she thought James Callis was sexy.

From a completely hetero-male standpoint (never you mind my actual gender!), I found myself agreeing.

But as much as I'd love to see the actors in question, there was something else more important to do. Celebrating the re-launch of The Mysterious Y-Women, Lee Stone was hosting a panel of the title's various writers and artists over the years, including the new artist (and one of my personal all-time favorites), Kyle Rayner! I mean, the guy was simply awesome!

-

I tried not to geek out at the panel, but it was really hard not to! Even though I wanted to ask a ton of questions, I sat there and looked pretty. This is not a very hard thing for me to do; I make a very good American Dream, even if my hair is too short. I guess I could have used my ring to make it grow, but with my luck, I would end up with green roots. No thanks!

There was, however, one thing I had to do. Gramps had, among his various comics, a copy of Mysterious Y-Women #26, which marked the finale of one of the title's most celebrated story arcs; the Electron Saga.

In case you're not a comics geek, I'll give you the rundown; the leader of the Y-Women was Dr. Charlotte, who created a serum that would transform a man into a superpowered young woman. Yeah, I know, pretty ironic. As usual, Ms. Stone was ahead of her time by decades. Anyways, she went to recruit a team of fellow superhumans by selecting great men close to death. It was revealed in issue #19 that her first recruit had been an Auschwitz survivor, a Rom man who had become a celebrated physicist in his later life. The transformation turned her into a beautiful white-haired girl with great powers over electricity...and driven her completely insane!

Electron was the first major villain for the title, and her rivalry/friendship with Dr. Charlotte would become a huge part of the title's mythology. When Kyle started drawing for the book, he went back to her original design by Jackie King, and re-imagined her as a Gothic Lolita. And the fanboys went wild!

Anyways, this book was special, because it had already been autographed once, by Jackie King herself. I knew if Gramps was still alive, he'd be happy as a clam to have it autographed by Lee Stone as well!

When the panel was over, I quietly walked up to Ms. Stone. “Excuse me?” My voice sounded so quiet, I just couldn't manage to speak up...I mean, this woman was a legend!

“Well hello, dear. American Dream, isn't it? What can I do for you?”

I smiled shyly and handed her the book, in it's dust cover.

“Well what do we have here...my, this is a rare one! Where did you get this?”

“My grandfather owned it.”

“May I?” She gestured to the dust sleeve and I nodded. Slowly, reverently, she removed the comic, and opened the front page. And there, on the inside cover, she saw the signature. She gasped softly. “Oh...oh my. Jackie..” She touched the signature gently, and I saw tears in the older woman's eyes. “She hated giving out autographs, you know. As talented as she was, she always felt second-rate.”

She sighed. “Let's see what he wrote.” She put on her glasses. “To Alan Ladd, the best fan a girl could ever have, 'King Krackle'.” She looked at me. “You're Alan Ladd's granddaughter?!”

I blinked. “Uh, yes, Alena Scott. Wait, you knew Gramps?”

“Did I! Oh child, you have no idea. I went to college with your grandmother...I heard they both passed away, I'm very sorry.”

“Thank you...but how did you meet Gramps?”

She chuckled. “It's a funny story, really. You see, back in those days, me and Jackie were always fighting. Over everything, really. Especially boys! As it happened, we both dated Alan, he always had this big ideas, but never had the time to do anything with them. Well me and Jackie were listening, in a lot of ways, there wouldn't have been a Silver Age without Alan! One night, I got really sick, and I begged your grandmother to go on my date with Alan in my place...I didn't want to give Jackie the satisfaction! And well...a couple years later, me and Jackie were both bridesmaids. Can you believe it?”

She then got out her pen and added her signature. “To Alena Scott, the granddaughter of the best man I ever knew. Excelsior! -Lee”.

She returned the comic to me and I tried to thank her. But no words came out! She clucked at me. “You're so much like him. He used to get tongue-tied a lot too. Take good care of that comic now, ok?”

“Th..thank you so much! I will!”

She patted me on the head and headed off to talk to Kyle. I felt like I was walking on air! Then I checked and realized I was walking on air, so I quickly put my feet back on the ground.

-

I caught up with Ali near Joss Whedon's display; he was promoting his new Serenity comic, and talking about movies that we'd probably never see, like Ripper, or the Buffy/Torchwood crossover. Sorry, I like Whedon's work, but his actors were aging fast, and there were no signs he'd ever deliver on these promises.

“Ali Ali Ali!” I was practically bouncing.

“Woah, calm down, what is it?”

I told her, and showed her the comic. “Uh huh, so Gramps knew some comics chicks back in the day? Go Gramps!”

“You're teasing me again!”

She laughed. “Damn, you're catching on! Jeez, Sis, that book has to be worth a fortune!”

“Oh..no way can I sell this, Gramps would roll over in his grave!”

“Now you know what he always said. 'Comics are for entertainment, not money. I'd rather burn a comic than let it sit in a vault somewhere!'”.

“He did say that...well, I guess we could get it appraised. I'd need Mom's permission to even think about selling it tho'.”

I stopped by a Doctor Who display first though. They had the Red Dalek from 'Journey's End' on display, and did it look awesome!

Ali had other ideas. “That is a stupid looking robot. What is it supposed to be, an evil salt shaker?”

I laughed. “I'm not even touching that one!”

-

I was a little underwhelmed, I mean, don't get me wrong $178 bucks is a good price for a comic that was bought for 12 cents, but I mean, hell, a mint Black Lotus went for 6 grand, and it was a silly card!

“Guess we'll keep it for another generation, I suppose.”

Ali laughed. “Why, are you having kids, Sis?”

I blinked. “Wha...uh...no?”

“You can, you know. If you ever meet Mr. Right.”
I sputtered. “Sis?! Come on, you know I don't...I mean...I'm not...”

She laughed at me. “Oh God, Sis, your face is so red!” She put her arm around my shoulders. “Come on, let's go register for the cosplay competition!”

I admit, standing around with a bunch of other people wearing cool costumes was neat. Almost like what I imagined being part of a big superhero team would be like! Of course, not all of the heroes were comics characters; the new metahumans were popular, and we weren't out of place at all. Of course, Sis was the only Green Lantern II around, which kind of made me a little depressed. I know I'm no Jade, but come on, surely someone has heard of me?

Sis pointed that out herself. “Damn. I worked so hard on this costume, but I bet you're going to win for sure.”

“Huh? Me?”

“Heck yeah! Everyone loves American Dream!”

“Sorry Sis. You totally deserve to win.”

She grinned. “It's ok. At least you have one fan, right?”

I hugged her. “Thanks, Sis.”

“Aww, shucks. I love you too, Al.”

-

The contest didn't go off without a hitch; there was actually a catfight between two Terra's; one claiming to be the comics Terra II, and the other claiming to be the 'real life superhero' Terra. I honestly couldn't tell their costumes apart; I had yet to meet Terra, but Jade told me that we had a lot in common. That is to say, we were both obsessive comic book nerds!

Anyways, both girls were ejected, and it was too bad; they had a good costume! Er, costumes. In the end, I only got second place, losing out to some professional Cosplayer who went as Power Girl. And man, did she ever fill out that costume!

“Jeez, can you believe it? You only lost because she had bigger boobs!”

I shrugged. “It was a good costume.”

She punched me in the arm. “Boobs!”

“Yes, I know, they were nice too.”

She laughed. “Well, yeah, they were. I guess next time I know who to go as.”

“...oh yeah? Who?” I guess she regretted her choice after all.
“You, with a bigger chest!”

I couldn't help but laugh, and we linked arms.

-

The trouble didn't start until Saturday night. All day I'd had a headache, which was really crimping my style. I'd gone to sit down and rest for a few minutes while Sis poked her head into a discussion panel about how 'real' superheroes would affect comic books.

Just then I heard screams. “Oh...what now?”

A POWERFUL ENTITY HAS BEEN SUMMONED, YOUNG ONE.

I stood up. “I guess in that case...it's Morphin' Time!” I held up my ring and transformed into the Green Lantern. I resisted the urge to call out 'Green Lantern Power', mostly because of my headache. Sis was right, I really was a geek!

I rose into the air, and predictably, nobody seemed to notice. I soon found out why!

There was this guy. He was huge, I mean, Giganta size, hovering in the air. He had chalk white skin, wore green shorts, green boots, and a green hooded cowl. Now, normally I'd have made a crack about his fashion sense, but my head started throbbing the minute I got near him. I realized that, somehow, he was the source of my headache!

KYLE RAYNER, FOR YOUR CRIMES, I SHALL HAVE VENGEANCE!

Wait...what? This thing was here for my favorite artist? No way!

Kyle, to his credit, just started up at the guy. “I don't know what the heck you're talking about! Who are you, anyways?!”

I AM THE SPECTRE, VENGEANCE INCARNATE!

“Yadda, yadda, yadda. What you are, is scaring people for no reason, why don't you go back to wherever you came from?” I floated in front of the guy.

YOU WHO WIELD THE GREEN FLAME, DO NOT INTERFERE, OR YOU WILL BE DEALT WITH HARSHLY.

I frowned. He knew about my power? Not good! I channeled extra power into my bracers, and flew at him, throwing a punch at his massive jaw. To my surprise, he actually reeled back slightly, and then his eyes filled with harsh light.

SO BE IT, YOU TOO, WILL KNOW VENGEANCE!

He swatted me out of the air like a damn bug, and when I hit the ground, a glowing green snake burrowed out of the floor, wrapping me up in it's coils and hissing at me!

“Oh no you didn't!” I tried to phase through the snake, but to no avail. The Spectre, or whatever he was, grabbed Kyle in his massive hand.

AND NOW YOU WILL SHARE THE FATE YOU DELIVERED UPON ALEXANDRA!

“Alexandra?! She died in a car crash! I wasn't even there!”

BUT YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN.

Fuck fuck fuck! I had to do something, but I couldn't move! I looked around as best as I could, and then I saw the answer.

I aimed my ring at the display, and glowing green light surrounded my target, as it rose off the floor. “Go get him!”

The Spectre turned, noticing the oddly-shaped green object moving towards him. WHAT DOES THAT DO?

I could hear Kyle laugh. “It's about to kick your ass, pasty-face!”

In a harsh, electronic voice, my creation spoke. EXTERMINATE! The now-Green Dalek fired blasts of light at The Spectre (also green in color).

The Spectre actually howled in pain, his cloak bursting into...you guessed it, green flame. He dropped Kyle, who landed in a heap on the floor, and turned to face this new nemesis.

YOU WILL NOT DEFEAT ME, I AM THE SPECTRE!

YOU ARE THE ENEMY. YOU WILL BE DESTROYED! EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE! The Dalek fired it's weapons again, but this time The Spectre grabbed it with a massive hand.

YOU WILL NOT WIN! INITIATING DALEKANIUM CHARGE! 3...2...1...

“Oh shit!” I covered my eyes as the Dalek exploded in green light, taking The Spectre's arm with it!

Howling in agony, The Spectre faded out of existence...and so did the snake pinning me to the ground! As I stood up, I saw a tall woman wearing a rumpled trenchcoat. She had short blonde hair and striking features. As I watched, she lit a cigarette. “Now that's something you don't see every day. Tommy Baker would have loved it.”

“Who..who are you?”

She winked at me. “Constantine. Johanna Constantine. Don't worry, we'll be meeting again soon.”

Kyle Rayner was at my side. “Hey! Are you ok?” He offered me a hand up.

“Ugh, yeah. At least my headache is gone.”

“That was incredible...but uh...not to complain, but Dalekanium isn't an explosive.”

I chuckled. “Day of the Daleks had a Dalekanium Bomb.”

He shook his head. “Thanks, you saved my life.”

“What was that all about anyways?”

He frowned. “I'm not sure. He was talking about Alexandra...she was my girlfriend, but she died in an accident. I don't understand...”

“Well, don't worry, if he comes back, one of us will handle him.”

“I hope it's you. Hey, how would you like to have your own comic book? I'd love to draw it!”

I blinked. “Ah....well...”

“Hey! You! That's official BBC property you just destroyed, do you know how much that thing costs?!”

“Eek! Sorry, gotta go, maybe some other time!” I flew off before the BBC rep could catch up to me.

Kyle Rayner shook his head. “Who was that masked girl, anyways?”

-

“So that's what happened, Jade. Weird, huh?”

The green flickering hologram of Jade frowned. “Very weird. My Ring doesn't have any information on this Spectre guy, but it sounds like his powers are similar to ours. And you say he knew what the Green Flame was?”

“Yeah, I don't get it at all. Uh, look, I'm beat, going to get some rest. Call me if you need me, ok?”

She nodded. “You deserve it. Good work, Alena.”

The hologram vanished and I lay back on the bed. “Oh man...”

Alison sat on the edge of the bed. “Poor Al, you had a rough day. Need a massage or something?”

“That would be nice...but just watch your hands, ok?”

She laughed and I rolled over. She straddled my waist and soon her fingers were turning my muscles into putty. “Oh man...that feels so good.”

“I'm sorry I missed the fight. It sounds pretty epic.”

“Yeah, especially if you're a geek like me. Mmm...lower, please!”

She chuckled and did as I asked. “Better?”

“Like you wouldn't believe! So...how was the panel?”

“Oh, it turns out you do have some fans...they've taken to calling you Green Lantern Zwei.”

“Zwei?”

“It's German for two, I guess. It sounds kind of cool, at least. And I bet you have a lot more fans tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow...I'm not sure I could take another day of this.”

“Aww, poor baby. You'll be fine. No more costume for me, though. They might really mistake me for you.”

I wanted to answer her, but I was too relaxed, and too exhausted. I drifted off to sleep.

“Good night, Sis.”

And I fell into a deep sleep, thankfully devoid of dreams.

To be continued....