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Disclaimer: I make no claims to any character or image owned or under copyright by another party, nor do I intend on profiting in any way from their use. The Comics Retcon Universe concept is the creative property of Lilith Langtree.
Larfleeze is owned by DC comics, but don't tell him that!
It's been three days since Larfleeze brought me to Okaara, and I still don't know quite what to make of the Orange Lantern. He hasn't spoken to me much, and so far, he's spent most of his time moping around.
I spent my first night in the temple on that divan in Larfleeze's throne room, but the next day, he surprised me by showing me to a large room complete with a huge bed and a Roman-style bath. “Here. I was saving this for my Queen, but I suppose you can use it.”
And with that, he walked off, grumbling and muttering to himself. Strange guy. Still, I wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth, and let me tell you, the bath was heavenly!
Once I felt human again, I found clothing in my size on the bed. The styles were fairly exotic, and I ended up wearing something that looked like it had been stolen from Queen Amidala's wardrobe. The fabric felt like expensive silk, and it was very comfortable.
“May I enter, Alena?”
I turned to see Lianna hovering near the doorway to the room. I've noticed she rarely stands or walks, preferring to glide around. Not for the first time, I found myself a little awestruck by the rogue Guardian. She has the face of an angel, surrounded by a cloud of white hair. That, combined with her sky-blue skin reminds me of an Andorian from Star Trek. She's got to be close to seven feet tall, with a statuesque figure. She has some serious muscle tone for a woman, but she's soft in all the right places.
About the only thing that's not attractive about her is the orange robe she wears, which clashes with her skin tone rather harshly. If Alison saw her, she'd probably wince!
Lianna smiles at me gently. “Does my appearance please you?”
I blush and turn away. “Sorry. Uh, come on in.”
She moves to the bed and sits down gently. “You don't need to apologize. It's illogical, but I rather like the attention. I sense the robes displease you, however.”
“The color doesn't do anything for you, I'm afraid.”
She let out a surprisingly feminine laugh. “I agree! I can take them off, if that would be easier on your eyes.”
“Gah! No, it's ok!”
At that, she laughed. “I'm sorry, I can't help it. You have a lot of, what is the term you humans use...hang-ups?”
I sighed. “Yeah, I know.”
“I want to be your friend, Alena. You don't need to have any hang-ups around me. I'm not going to ridicule you.”
I leaned against the bedpost. “I know. You're a good person.”
She looked away for a moment. “I wonder, sometimes. I've done many things I've come to regret.”
“As long as you regret them, it means you're not bad, right?”
She nodded slowly. “An astute observation, Alena.” She made a gesture, and her robe became this diaphanous white garment that showed off a little more of her body than I was really comfortable with. I turned away, but she stopped me.
“Alena, you are a woman now. You have to learn not to be shy when seeing another woman's body. Your society has some odd taboos. Surely the women of your culture dress to attract the notice of men? Why do you feel like you need to look away?”
“I..I don't know. I just feel...like it's supposed to be wrong. Even if I am a girl.”
She leaned back on the bed. “Because you feel attraction to other females. Something your society frowns upon, yes?”
“I..yeah. I guess.”
“I can feel your desire burning like a fire. You have a strong need for companionship, yet you restrain your feelings, and distance yourself from those who could fill that need. Now don't get me wrong, being able to control yourself is important, but you do so even when it is harmful to you.”
“...Lianna, I don't mean to be rude, but this conversation is making me uncomfortable.”
“I know. There are things you need to learn. Things you need to face. I want to teach you, but you have to let me.”
“...couldn't we start with something, I don't know, more academic?”
She sat cross-legged on the bed. “Certainly, what is it you would like to know?”
“Tell me about the Guardians.”
She smiled and patted the bed next to her. “Then sit next to me.”
I climbed up on the bed. I felt like a little kid next to her. I tried to focus on her words, and not on how strongly attracted to her I was. God, she even smells beautiful! Like jasmine and lilacs...sort of.
“Now, this story begins a long, long time ago.”
“In a galaxy far, far away?”
She giggled. “Yes, as a matter of fact. My people originally came from the planet Maltus. We were among the first sentient creatures in the universe, and we made great leaps in science. In our hubris, however, we made several great mistakes, the greatest of which was an experiment by a Maltusian scientist named Krona.
Krona wished to know how the universe began, so he built a machine that would let him observe the ancient event. As the scientists of your world have come to realize, however, even observing an event can change the event. Krona's experiment created a paradox, and from that paradox, evil entered the universe.
However, a spark of light entered the universe as well, giving us the hope that we could redeem our race. I can see that this legend sounds familiar to you- in truth, every species, every culture, has a similar story.
We began to evolve, our minds expanding, giving us ever-increasing mental powers, and we became immortals. Our bodies shrank, and our heads became larger as a result.”
“Huh? But you look, well, uh...” Jeez. I was about to say she looked human!
She smiled at me. “It's part of why I'm considered a renegade. I'm a throwback to our original form. During Krona's time, all Maltusians looked as I do. As we evolved, however, we sacrificed our physical strength for greater intellect. This is, however, my story, and you wanted to hear the story of the Guardians.
We migrated to another world, Oa, and there we built the Central Power Battery, allowing us to draw upon the power of the Green Element, the Light of Will, as well as grant it's powers to others who proved themselves worthy. Our goal was to bring peace to the universe, to make up for the chaos we had brought into it.
We eventually divided up the galaxy into a number of sectors, and we created the Green Power Rings, sending them out among the stars, each one finding an individual with the Will to protect their assigned sector of space. And thus, the Green Lantern Corps was born.”
“What about the other colors? Where do they come from?”
“The evil that entered this universe is the absence of light. The Black Element, that we oppose. That spark of light that also came into being is the White Element. It quickly fractured, however, into the other Elements. We chose Green because it is the most logical and ordered light. There are others, although not all have revealed themselves to us. I will speak of the Yellow Element first.
Sinestro was a great champion of the Green Lantern Corps. He was resolute in his campaign to rid the galaxy of evil, and many looked up to him. Unfortunately, there was a flaw in his character that we failed to see...or perhaps we blinded ourself to it. Sinestro grew prideful, and began to resent the Guardians. He felt he could do a better job of ordering the galaxy.”
Lianna sighed. “His rebellion was stopped, but at a great cost. Many Green Lanterns died that day. Sinestro was banished, his Power Ring stripped from him. We had lost a champion, but fate had chosen to give us a new one. Hal Jordan.”
“Oh wow. I mean, we knew of him, but not much about him, other than he was the Green Lantern before Jade.”
“Yes, and his loss is a blow to the Corps. There are no doubt many who resent Jade simply because she is not Hal Jordan.”
I frowned. “That explains the treatment she got from the others. Hell, us too, for that matter.”
“Sadly, yes. Many Lanterns were fought fighting Sinestro and his followers, the so-called Sinestro Corps.”
“Wait, you said he lost his powers?”
“Indeed, but he found a new power. The Yellow Element, which governs Fear. Fear, unfortunately, erodes Will, and only the strongest Green Lanterns can fight on equal footing to a member of the Sinestro Corps.”
“Great. My Will isn't so hot to begin with, one of them would make mincemeat of me.”
“Perhaps, perhaps not. Your powers come from the Star-Heart, not the Green Element, after all.”
“So what about the Orange Element?”
“We'd known about it's existence for the past billion years, ever since a band of thieves found their way to this temple. We didn't understand the Light of Avarice, so we took steps to contain it. We allowed one of the thieves to claim it, and ceded this entire star system to him. And, for the most part, he was content to remain here.”
“He..wait. You're saying Larfleeze is a billion years old?!”
Lianna simply nodded. “Being the sole wielder of the Orange Light caused him to evolve into his present state, just as the Oans did so long ago, making him an immortal.”
“Wow, that's amazing.”
She gave me an odd look. “Surely the concept isn't so strange to you. After all, you are also an immortal.”
“...I knew I wasn't going to get old, but immortal?”
“While you can be killed, it is no simple thing, and it will not occur naturally.”
I shivered. “So I could live to be a billion years old?”
“Even older. I myself am over ten billion years old.”
I just gaped at her. Ten billion?! What had I gotten myself into? I mean, in a hundred years, pretty much everyone I knew on Earth would be dead! Mom, Sis...I felt myself shaking. “I...I don't want this!”
Lianna pulled me into her arms. “I'm sorry, I didn't realize how upset you'd be. Doesn't death frighten you?”
It took me a few minutes to calm down enough to answer her. “I..yes, it does. But losing everyone I care about frightens me more.”
“As it should. Immortality is both a blessing and a curse. The worst part of it is the loneliness.”
“Feh! That's not the worst part!”
I turned to see Larfleeze standing in the doorway. He paused, then walked into the room. “I don't need permission! It's my home!”
“No one was disupting that, Larfleeze.” Lianna spoke up.
“And you! Some Guardian you are, dressed like that...no don't bother to change. Whatever.” He paced the room, like a restless animal. What could be bothering him?
“Larfleeze?”
He whirled to face me. “What?!”
“Uh..what's the worst part?”
He blinked. “Of what?”
“Being immortal?” Talk about clueless!
“Oh! That's easy. Boredom. Always bored, never enough to do, or see. Or have. Always hungry for new things. That's the worst part.”
“I didn't think about that, but I guess it makes sense. I mean, what do you do for a billion years?”
Lianna spoke up. “The Guardians have our work, watching over the galaxy, and the universe itself.”
“Bah. That sounds even more boring!”
“It..can be taxing, yes.” Lianna made a sour face. “So you do have a point. Still, I'd rather be bored than lonely.”
Larfleeze seemed to mull that point over. “People always leave you. They die, they go away. So you always end up lonely again.”
“What about other immortals?” I was curious about this myself. There had to be others, right?”
“Bah, like those big-headed old fossils? Bo-ring!”
Lianna coughed delicately.
“Uh, not like you, Lianna. You're not as boring. After all, you're my very own Guardian! You wouldn't leave me, right?”
The Guardian's lips twitched. “No, I'm stuck here for the duration. As per our deal.”
A deal? I would have to ask about that later.
“Yeah! Our deal. You better not break it!” Then Larfleeze turned and looked at me. “I really want the Star-Heart, but I can't have it. So I was thinking...if I can't have it, I could have you, almost as good.”
I was about to protest, but he held up a hand. “Just a minute! Be patient!”
Lianna was quiet, but I could feel her shake from restrained laughter. Larfleeze, telling someone to be patient?!
He coughed. “Ahem, so. I thought to myself, 'how can I keep Alena?'. And then the answer came to me.” He walked over and held out his hand. “Here, take this.” He dropped something.
I was so surprised that he was giving me something that I grabbed without paying attention to what it was. I heard Lianna gasp. I looked down, to see an Orange Power Ring in my hand.
Larfleeze waved it off. “Don't thank me, I got plenty of 'em! Just take it, and then you'll be an Orange Lantern. My Orange Lantern.”
The Ring seemed to glimmer in my palm. I want this. But why? It wasn't the power that tempted me- I had the Star-Heart, I didn't need power. And then I realized what I was seeing in the Ring's luster. Myself. Not Alena, the Green Lantern Sidekick.
But Alena Scott, Orange Lantern. Yes. Yes!
In that instant, the Ring moved onto my finger. It didn't so much replace the Star-Heart Ring as it...consumed it. I felt warm, and orange flames rose up around my body. I felt stronger than ever, filled with confidence! My clothing changed, becoming an orange-and-black uniform bearing that strange symbol- the symbol of the Orange Lantern Corps.
At last, we are one! And it was so. I finally, truly, accepted the Star-Heart. It was me, and I was it. Warmth filled my being, but in the pit of my stomach, also a cold emptiness. It was small, but noticeable.
“The Orange Light of Avarice brings power, but also leaves you wanting.” Lianna sighed. I could tell she had mixed feelings about this.
“Always wanting! Always hungry! Your belly sings, just as mine does!”
I smiled up at Larfleeze. He had given me something, but I was giving him something he hadn't even known he'd wanted. Someone who understood him. “It does, but I accept it. I will be your Orange Lantern...but don't go thinking you can boss me around, Larfleeze.”
“Bah! Who cares? You're mine now! Mine.” Happy as a clam, Larfleeze bounded off. “Party time! Alena is mine! Mine, mine, mine, mine!”
Lianna nudged me. “I hope you know what you've gotten yourself into, Alena.”
“Yeah, me too.”
Green With Envy is over, but Alena's story will continue!
Comments
That's Quite an Ending
I love the ending...it leaves open so many possibilities. I thought she might accept the orange ring at some point and now it will be very interesting to see how things go from here.
I agree with ALL of the
I agree with ALL of the above! :) You said exactly what I was thinking. :)
orange lantern
I dont know how Greed could be a force for good, so I foresee a inner conflict in Alena as long as she wields an Orange ring.
Dorothycolleen
Greed as a positive force
Well, I have a hard time seeing it being good on an individual-to-individual perspective, but... Greed and laziness breed money and time saving innovations on population scales. Competition and greed leads to adoption, development and adaptation of all types of innovations from new machines to organisation structures. This leads to short scale negative and long time positive effects seen on a wide population perspective.
Not the only power
The ring is not her only source of power, so its influence is somewhat countered by this. I also wonder if other sources of power are added to Alena if the negative aspects of anyone ability are weakened as the whole gains in strength. She has already had a positive affect on Larfleeze and may well make greater changes to herself and those around her as time goes on, and she has a great deal of time.
Gordon Gecko Aside…
Greed, Avarice (not actually the same things!), and self-interest are powerful motivating forces.
Enlightened self interest can even have a net growth at the micro and interpersonal levels.
It's all about how it's applied.
Remember
That Alena has always wanted to help. Her desire, (greed), has been to be a hero. To save people. If she can control the ring, and focus on what she wants it could work.
Great power
And with great power comes even greater trouble. Fun to read.
Following with interest
I really enjoy reading this series. I am looking forward to her return to Earth and perhaps anouther match with the green lanterns.
I am also looking forward to what the Star heart will tell Aleana about the Orange light.
Thank for writing this
James
Thanks for more of Alena's
Thanks for more of Alena's story, but I've got a bad feeling about this Scooby!
Colour conversions
Hehe, one green lantern turns Star Sapphire, another turns Orange Lantern. Even if the latter never were part of the corps. Funny how that goes...
*shivers*
The idea of accepting avarice as your guiding light kinda loads me with apprehension. It will be interesting to see how this goes. In a way, avarice can be useful, I mean, like the idea of the 'thirst for knowledge' which is really a more positive way of channeling a greed for knowledge. Without it we will not have advancement, it is the small emptiness, or vacuum if you may, that sucks on you and impels you forward. It is a dangerous force of course without will to temper avarice. Let's hope what willpower she has is sufficient to rein in her desires.
Kim
MINE!!! ;)
Larfleeze certainly is quite a character. He's both a billion years old, yet has the personality of a child. He wants so much, but I think what he actually needs is a friend. I don't know about the rest of you, but things become boring when you have no one to share them with. Alena will probably be a good influence on him.
On the other hand, HE will probably be a BAD influence on HER! Oh well, at least he knows the difference between people and objects (he certainly isn't treating Alena as a possession even if he claims that she is "his").
Oh, and now we know how evil came into the universe... or something to that effect.
Anyway, I look forward to reading Alena's next adventure, whenever it eventually comes out.
Green Lantern?
So.... Who's Green Lantern now that Alena has changed to Orange and Jade to Violet?
Nice way to wrap this one up.
Drakira
Drakira
I think...
it would be Kyle Rayner?
and/or
John Stewart.
Green With Envy-9
Krona http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krona_%28comics%29
Anti-Monitor http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Monitor
Monitor http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monitor_%28comics%29
Parallax http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parallax_%28comics%29
Sinestro http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinestro
Sinestro Corps http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinestro_Corps
Ion http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ion_%28DC_Comics%29
Lianna http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lianna_%28comics%29
With Lars Fleeze being Agent Orange and possibly needing help, here are a few recruits.
http://www.comicvine.com/emotional-embodiments/12-55823/
Wilson Fisk http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingpin_%28comics%29
Hammerhead http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammerhead_%28comics%29
Adrian Toomes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrian_Toomes#Adrian_Toomes
Norman Osborn http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Goblin
Mandarin http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandarin_%28comics%29
Justin Hammer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justin_Hammer
Obadiah Stane http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Monger
Scrooge McDuck http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrooge_McDuck
Flintheart Glomgold http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flintheart_Glomgold
May Your Light Forever Shine
May Your Light Forever Shine
Not unexpected
The situation was going in that direction for quite a while. However, Alena is certainly a peculiar character right now. As Lianna said, she is capable of both selfishness and selflessness. I will be eagerly awaiting to see her further development.
Rose. Thorn. It will definitely be interesting to see how Alena will handle them, now. And, whether Larfleeze's Alena (the part that he separated once) will make another appearance.
And, how will Alena fill the need in herself now that the Orange Light is affecting her.
Faraway
Big Closet Top Shelf
Where you can fool around like you want to and most you get is some bemused good ribbing!
Faraway
Big Closet Top Shelf
Where you can fool around like you want to and most you get is some bemused good ribbing!
Rainbow Universe
This is quite a cute little storyline. I like how it helped develop Alena as a character.
I love Lianna. And Larfleeze is too funny. Even his name is funny.
Thanks and kudos.
- Terry
Dilemmas...
Although avarice / greed can be used for altruistic purposes (as happened with that ship crash a few chapters back), it's usually more concerned with personal gain. The Star Heart itself is by nature unaffiliated, so while it is capable of great power, how that power is used depends entirely on the user.
As far as I'm aware, willpower is innate - it's part of your personality. Willpower is the determination to succeed, so I suppose with a little help from the Star Heart, some aide-memoires and a determination not to accumulate personal wealth / possessions, avarice could be channelled into a desire to help more, to achieve more for others - but not for the ensuing fame and fortune (let's leave that to Myka!).
However, it will be a struggle between the two sides - so the more help and advice she can get from Lianna on coping strategies and how to use the power of avarice, rather than allowing avarice to use her - the better.
There are 10 kinds of people in the world - those who understand binary and those who don't...
As the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, then only left-handers are in their right mind!
Desire by itself is not evil
If you interpret Orange not so much as greed/avarice and more as the emotion of desire, then it actually be a very positive force. It's what makes us get up in the morning: the desire to live and prosper, for example. Human beings are all about desires, and a very large number of desires are not bad. There's nothing wrong with wanting things. The question is: does what you want hurt other people? And how far are you willing to go to attain what you desire? Restraint (which requires Will much of the time) plays a big part.
Greed/Avarice is wanting too much, often at the expense of other people. Larfleeze definitely fits the definition of greedy, while Alena does not (she wants things very strongly, but does not want to hurt people: quite the opposite actually).
So yeah, Orange might actually be more than simple greed/avarice. But that's just me theorizing.
I'm worried for Alana now.
I'm worried for Alana now. Oops.
----
Wow! ^_^
I wasn't expecting so many comments, thank you! I'm glad to see that you all enjoyed the story so far- it's far from over. The main reason I'm ending "Green With Envy" is that the name is no longer relevant, and the story will continue under a new title.
Just as soon as I can figure out what, exactly, that title will be, since I can't think of anything catchy involving "orange". I'm certainly open to suggestions, however!
People assume that time is a strict progression of cause-of-effect...but actually, from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint, it's more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly...timey-wimey...stuff.
I guess Pumpkin Lantern is
I guess Pumpkin Lantern is right out?
Maybe something with Orange Crush or Clockwork Orange. Personally I would stay away from Agent Orange.
Probably not
Pumpkin Lantern just does not have the right .... 'Tang' to it.
Maybe her alias should be Sunny DeLight :)
Time will tell if she will have the 'juice' for this job.
On a more serious note, how will she share the fact she will outlive all of her love ones?
Kim
Well...
Since naming is such a problem, you can try and play with "Agent Orange" title Larfleeze had, and call it "Agency Orange" or something. Unoriginal, but it would show the difference between his solitary figure and him having living Lanterns under (nominal) command. :)
Faraway
Big Closet Top Shelf
Where you can fool around like you want to and most you get is some bemused good ribbing!
Faraway
Big Closet Top Shelf
Where you can fool around like you want to and most you get is some bemused good ribbing!
Come in 00-Orange!
The Intergalactic Agency of Orange. Keeping the peace by taking all your stuff so no one can fight over it! ;)
Starring:
Alena Scott as 00-Orange
Larfleeze as Orange M
Lianna as Orange Q
and John Stewart as the not-so-sinister Green Lantern!
...
What.
XD
Many possibilities
Wow. Alena started out as innocent Alan. I like how you're developing her life and letting her grow. I do have to wonder though, where are you going?
In DC Hal Jordan became Parralax because of his inability to accept that his deepest desire (saving Coast City) would not be fullfilled.
As an Orange Lantern does Alena have to worry about a similar thing happening?
Well Done!
I've followed this story through all the chapters, and while I don't know much about the original canon, this is a very interesting direction you've taken things. In this case, not knowing how things ‘should be’ is probably a benefit, it allows me to appreciate what you've done here, and focus on the personal growth.
The whole story is very focused, and intensely personal; the development, pov, and writing all reflects that. It makes me empathize for Alena, despite not really understanding what's going on. For example, I believe she and the Star-Heart were eventually supposed to merge, beyond symbiosis. The word consumed though, implies this is not what happened. Does that mean there is some of the original consciousness left, trapped in the battery (or whatever) for Orange Light?
There's also the obvious questions of how her family and friends will react. Just leaving the planet and going off is a sharp break from previously established character, those selfish actions which would be a dynamic force in the future.
I can see Alena becoming a more tortured version of Larfleeze—he's had too much time to erode what morals he had—Alena seems very self-conscious.
Thank you for sharing this, and congrats for pulling your chara out of the morals of continuity.
Interesting story... did you
Interesting story... did you write a sequel already?
Thank you for writing,
Beyogi
The story does continue...
Look for the
MisAdventures of Ultra-Girl!People assume that time is a strict progression of cause-of-effect...but actually, from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint, it's more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly...timey-wimey...stuff.