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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!)
I knew, of course, that there were aliens out there. And other Green Lanterns. I just didn't expect them to show up so soon. Next thing I know, Jade's going to Oa, their home base, and I get a very cryptic message saying that I might not be able to rely on the Ring she'd given me in the near future!
All while I was still grounded, I might add.
It makes sense when you think about it, but I hadn't realized how much we rely on Jade. She's the keystone of our little community, and with her gone, we suddenly lacked leadership. Not ability, I mean, American Dream is a very capable leader- the problem is, she works directly for the U.S. Government.
And of course, we all have our own personal problems to deal with. Doris was worried about the way Lena was changing, so she wasn't much help, and the girls in Vegas were having their own problems.
I guess, technically, I should have been Jade's replacement, but...yeah. I'm not really the leader type. Now, despite the warnings, our Rings still worked, but we'd gotten out of the habit of using them to communicate. Mostly because there were two other Green Lanterns in town, and we didn't know anything about them.
And it was pretty likely that they could be listening in.
So I was mostly out of touch, and keeping a low profile when Mom called me and told me about the accident. Ships at sea, big ones, have their courses plotted out by some very large computers. You don't want a large oil tanker running into a cruise liner, for example.
However, if those computers are tampered with, well, bad things happen. Which is why I was flying faster than I really felt comfortable doing towards the scene of just such an accident. It was pretty bad, and already I could see a large oil slick forming on the ocean surface.
It was too big of a job for just me, but I was the only one able to respond so quickly. Ever since my encounter with Larfleeze, I'd been practicing with making light constructs. I'd been able to, in the past, impart my constructs with some kind of limited will of their own. When Larfleeze had somehow taken a part of my psyche and turned it into a free-willed copy of myself, he'd opened a door onto a whole new realm of possibility.
Pretty amazing for someone who acts like a spoiled brat, if you ask me.
I wasn't able to copy his feat exactly, mind you, but I was able to create free-willed constructs with powers similar to my own. So far, I could make two at once. Past that, and I started getting a headache.
They didn't look exactly like me, though. I mean, they would, if I was about nine years old. Don't ask, I don't know why I can only make chibi versions of myself. I conjured the two of them up at once- since they're a part of me, they knew what to do, and we each zipped off to perform a different task.
“Oh those poor people! Don't worry, Mom, I'll save them!” That was Rose. She calls me Mom, which is more than a little weird, but she's so sweet I don't have the heart to correct her. I think she's a manifestation of my better qualities.
“Ah screw 'em. They're all rich bastards anyways, right? I'll deal with the spill- planet's fucked up enough as it is, right?” And that was Thorn, who, despite her apparent age, seemed to exist in a permanent state of PMS. I think Alison would enjoy her bad attitude! One thing I have to say though, Thorn was quick to take action.
That left me with the more immediate problem of how to prevent the ships from sinking. I needed some kind of flotation device, and it had to be big. Like a life raft or something. I imagined a floating platform that would appear underneath both ships. Sparks literally came out of my Power Ring as I tried to manifest it.
“Damn it, come on! Work!” I felt light-headed, like I was going to black out.
Mom! Stop it, you're hurting yourself! Even without using a Green Lantern Ring, my Mini-Me's could communicate mentally with me.
Yeah, you don't have enough willpower, remember? Gee, thanks Thorn, for reminding me of my shortcomings.
I wasn't going to back off though. Jade could do this! What kind of hero was I if I couldn't do it as well? It always came back to that. Jade. You couldn't help but respect her, even love her. But I wasn't her. How could I be?
Everyone always compared me to her, of course. The Junior Miss knock-off. It was so frustrating. Why couldn't I be like her? Why? I could do so much, but it was never enough. I wanted more. I want...
My Power Ring flashed with orange light, and to my surprise, it worked! There was now a gigantic life raft supporting the two damaged ships. And it was orange.
“Huh. Well that's not how I'd have done it, but I guess it'll do. Just one question. Why is it orange?”
I turned and saw a large African-American man hovering in the air, wearing a green-and-black costume. His name is John Stewart, and he's the real deal. A Green Lantern.
“Honestly? I have no idea, but it's working, right?” My voice sounded a bit ragged, and to be honest, I was tired as hell.
He nodded. “Yeah, just take it easy while I handle the rest. Your nose is bleeding.”
Oh fuck. It was.
I hung back and watched as John got to work. He created a supporting structure out of green light, and it was a pretty impressive bit of engineering. I wondered if he did this for a living, you know, before the whole Green Lantern gig.
Rose and Thorn helped out as much as they could before returning to me. Thorn was practically carrying her 'sister', and they both looked tired. I smiled and told them they did a good job before dismissing them. I know that seems strange, but they do seem to have memories of the last time I'd summoned them, so for all intents and purposes, they were 'real', and it felt right to treat them like actual people instead of tools.
I know, I'm a big softy.
About this time, my hand feels warm, and I hold it up. The Ring I'd gotten from Jade is sparking ominously with sickly green light. Ugh, what now?
John flew up towards me, and he didn't look happy. “God, I hate doing this. Why did you have to be so young?”
I blinked at him, and suddenly I found myself surrounded by a cage-like construct of green light. “Hey, what gives?!”
“As a duly appointed Green Lantern of Space Sector 2814, and a representative of the Guardians of the Galaxy...you're under arrest.”
I tried to fight him, but I'd burned too much energy saving the ships. And he was way more experienced at this.
He brought me to an abandoned airfield and into the hangar. He carefully deposited me inside a larger cage, closing the door. I was about to throw myself at the bars, when I felt an odd vibration coming from them.
“Please don't. They're designed to dampen your powers, and I don't know if they'll hurt you or not.”
“Why would you care anyways? You just kidnapped me!”
He sighed. “Yeah, I know. You did real good out there. It's just...the thing inside you, the Star-Heart. It's too dangerous. The Guardians have decided you need to be contained until such time as it can be removed from you.”
My response would have done Alison (and Thorn) proud. Unfortunately, I didn't have the energy to do much more than swear at the Green Lantern, so I just sat down. This sucked, and there wasn't anything I could do about it. At some point during our flight, John had removed my Green Lantern Ring (not the Power Ring, thankfully), so I couldn't even call for help!
“Doesn't the fact that I'm a Deputy Green Lantern mean anything?”
John sat down heavily in a chair, facing me. “Not really, I'm afraid. That Ring on your finger isn't like mine, and you don't draw your power from the Central Battery on Oa. As far as the Guardians are concerned, you're just a kid who happens to be in contact with one of the most dangerous things in the universe.”
“I didn't do anything wrong!” I know it sounds like I'm whining. I am. I was so close to tears. Without the Star-Heart, I'm...normal. And that realization scared me more than I wanted to admit.
“I know. I'm sorry, I really am. Transport should be here within the hour. You need something to eat or drink, maybe?”
I gave him the finger, and he sighed. He really seemed like an okay guy, which made the situation suck even more than it already did.
And then I heard the last voice I expected to hear. The last voice I ever thought I'd be happy to hear.
“Hoy Alena! I'm back!” The doors to the hangar opened, and Larfleeze floated in. “Ready for some big fun?”
I blinked. “Larfleeze?! What are you doing here?” Then it occurred to me that I didn't have a Ring to translate his alien-speak. He was speaking...English?
“Oh you know, just in the neighborhood, thought I'd see my good friend Alena!”
Huh? Since when were we friends?
“Hold it, buster! I don't know who you are, but back off. The kid's staying right where she is.” John stepped in front of Larfleeze, his ring glowing with emerald light.
“Huh. Silly Green Lantern. I got a treaty with your bosses, you can't mess with Larfleeze!”
“Treaty? The hell are you talking about...?”
By order of the Elder Council of Oa, Agent Orange is not to be interfered with. John's Power Ring chimed in at that point.
“See?! That's me! So I'm taking my friend now!” Larfleeze grinned.
“Agent Orange...?” John shook his head. “Whatever...look, I'm fine leaving you alone, but the girl stays put.”
“Why is friend Alena in a cage?”
“Because the Guardians want to take the Star-Heart from me!”
“What?! They can't have it! If I can't have it, they can't have it!” Larfleeze practically growled.
“I'm giving you five seconds to clear on out of here, or treaty or no treaty, you're going down.”
Larfleeze, I swear, giggled. “Oh yeh?” He gestured, and suddenly he was flanked by a trio of Orange Lanterns I didn't recognize. Not people, I mean, they were constructs, but I knew from experience that Larfleeze's minions were nothing to sneer at!
John didn't seem intimidated in the slightest. “Nice trick. Not impressed.”
Larfleeze just stepped back. “Get Alena-friend. If Green-boy gets in the way, kill him.”
“Larfleeze, no! Don't kill him!”
The alien gave me an odd look. “Why not?”
“Because he's a good guy!” The universe must hate me. Of all the people to show up to my rescue, I got Larfleeze?!
“Bah! Good, bad. If he fights, he's mine! Mine!”
“Please?” Maybe it's because I was tired and emotionally on-edge, but I sounded pathetic. Which apparently helped, because Larfleeze made a face.
“Oh fine! Don't kill him, just stomp him!”
The fight was quick and decisive. John Stewart is a serious badass, like Samuel L. Jackson with a Power Ring. That having been said, it was three-on-one, and I got the feeling he'd never faced an Orange Lantern before.
They roughed him up a bit, but left him alive. Meanwhile, Larfleeze had walked up to my cage, inspecting it. “Huh! Shoddy workmanship! They call this a cage? Why on Acellus VI, they'd laugh at this piece of junk! It's barely a detainment cell!” He created some lockpicks out of orange light and got to work.
My hero was apparently a career criminal. Yay.
He popped the lock in no time, and I went to check on John. Unconscious, but definitely alive. “Thanks Larfleeze.”
“Huh. Whatever. Now you owe me.”
Uh oh. That didn't sound good. “Uh, sure. What do you want?”
He grinned. “You're coming with me to Okaara!”
You remember that line Sir Alec Guinness said in Star Wars about Mos Eisley?
”You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.”
That's pretty much Okaara in a nutshell. The planet just looked seedy, even from orbit. I really couldn't say no to Larfleeze. He was way too powerful for me to fight, and really, getting me away from the Green Lanterns was probably a good thing.
At least he let me call Mom before I found myself kidnapped (again!). Interstellar travel is seriously awesome, though. Larfleeze created a platform out of orange light, and opened a kind of, I don't know, wormhole or something, that we zipped through at ridiculous speed.
Speaking of Star Wars, you know that visual effect of the stars streaking whenever the Millenium Falcon goes into hyperdrive? They really do that! So cool.
Larfleeze's 'pad' is an ancient temple. And by ancient, I mean, damn old. You got the impression from the very stones that this place had been around for a gazillion years. Indiana Jones, eat your heart out!
Over the years, Larfleeze had accumulated a lot of stuff, including some rather posh, if alien furnishings. He sat me down on a divan in what was likely the main chamber of worship, but now was basically his throne room. A big orange thing that looked like a giant lantern just popped out of nowhere, and he held his ring up to it for a moment.
Power Ring charge at 100,000% It didn't come as a surprise that Larfleeze's Power Ring had his voice. Also...100,000%? Yikes! Just how powerful was Larfleeze?
“So, what do you think? Nice place, right?!” My God. He sounded...giddy.
“Uh, yeah. Got a real Temple of Doom vibe. So, uh, why am I here again?”
“Well, if Larfleeze can't have the Star-Heart, then having Alena-friend is just as good! You're my guest!”
“...wait a minute. You mean you're keeping me a prisoner?”
He blinked at me. “No! You're just going to stay forever, that's all!”
Oh man, I had such a migraine coming on. Just then, this tall alien babe walked into the room. And by tall, I mean, really tall! She had blue skin and long white hair that came down to her (shapely) behind. She was wearing a white tunic that left nothing to the imagination, but she wore an orange armband with Larfleeze's symbol on it.
“Oh, we have a guest. A Green Lantern?” She seemed pretty surprised.
“Yes! This is my friend Alena! She has the Star-Heart!”
I swear, the woman turned a very pale shade of blue. “The Star-Heart?! You brought it here?”
“Where else would I bring it than my own very lovely home?”
“Uh, hi. I'm Alena.” I waved.
The woman tried to regain her composure. “I'm sorry. You just surprised me. I'm Lianna...Guardian of the Orange Lantern Corps. Such as it is.”
“She's my own Guardian! Not like those little blue guys! She's mine!” Larfleeze seemed pretty impressed with himself.
Lianna sighed. “Yes, that's right. Guardian of the Orange Light of Avarice.”
“...Avarice? Isn't that a fancy name for greed or something?”
She nodded. “Just as the Green Lanterns draw upon the strength of Will, Larfleeze wields the power of Avarice.”
So his power source was...greed? “Huh. That's weird. I never thought of myself as greedy.”
She gave me an odd look. “You..?”
“Yeah, earlier, I tried to make something really big...and it was orange.”
“What?! You..you stole my power!?” Larfleeze seemed horrified.
“No, I mean, I didn't! It just happened!”
Lianna groaned. “You gave it to her.”
“What?! I didn't!”
“Yes Larfleeze. Remember? You told me that you took a part of her identity, and gave it back.”
“Huh. So?”
Lianna's eye twitched. I guess I wasn't the only one that had a migraine! “So, you'd made a construct based on her. With your power. That you gave back to her?”
“Doh!” I kid you not. He said 'doh!'. “I didn't meant to give her that! It's mine, give it back!”
“Damn it! Why does everyone want something from me?! What the hell is wrong with everyone?! I just wanted to be someone special! Is that such a crime?” I couldn't help myself, I burst into tears. Ever since I found the Star-Heart, my life has been one disaster after another, and I'd finally reached my limit.
“...Larfleeze sorry. Just...just...” He looked pained, and finally, in a strangled voice, he finished his sentence. “Just keep it then!” He stood up and stormed out of the room.
Lianna sat down next to me, and offered me her arms. I practically threw myself into her embrace and let the tears come. She stroked my hair gently, and at some point, I passed out.
I woke up a bit later, wrapped in a warm blanket (Larfleeze's place is pretty awesome, but the climate control sucks). I sat up to find Lianna sitting, lotus-style, facing me. I guess sitting is the word- actually, she was floating in mid-air.
“You didn't sleep well. You should lay down again.”
“...I'm okay. Sorry about earlier. I'm not usually so selfish.”
She smiled at me gently. “You are a strange one, Alena Scott. Capable of both great selfishness and selflessness.”
“Selfish? Me?”
She nodded. “When you want something. When you really want something...you want it with all your being.”
I thought about that. “I guess...but I'm not like Larfleeze!”
She actually rolled her eyes. “Well..no, not like that. I mean, the depth of your desire is similar, but your motives are purer. You do genuinely want to help others with your power, even though you couldn't give it up if you wanted to.”
I shifted uncomfortably. It felt like she could see right through me, and some of the things she was saying weren't pleasant to hear.
“I'm sorry. My species is naturally telepathic, and you project very strongly. I'm trying not to pry, but some part of you desperately wants to be heard.”
I sighed. “Yeah. I just don't feel like I have anyone to talk to.”
“I understand. You're different, and that difference bothers you. Yet you feel it's selfish to talk about it to others. I can relate.”
I blinked at her. “You?”
She sighed. “I...I used to be a Guardian. I mean, from Oa. I've...changed. The others consider me to be a rogue...an aberration.”
“I think you're pretty.” God! Don't ask me where that came from!
She smiled again. I really liked her smile. It was...warm. “Thank you. Still, like you, I'm not understood by even those closest to me.”
“Yeah. Even my Mom and my twin sister don't get it. Alison thinks I'm just being difficult. But this isn't easy!”
“Of course it isn't. You wanted something so strongly that you were swept away by that desire. Changed by it. You didn't ask for it, but here you are. Something unique and beautiful, that everyone wants to lock away.”
I blushed. Beautiful? “Uh...yeah, I guess. Is the Star-Heart really that dangerous?”
“Oh yes. It's a source of great power, but it's a power that has no morality of it's own. Good, evil, all these things are irrelevant. You want to use it's power for good, but even you are capable of selfish desires. You lack the Will to restrain those desires, even when they are noble. As a result, there's no telling what you could do. You could become the greatest of heroes, or just as easily, an unstoppable tyrant.”
“A tyrant? Me?!”
“Let's say that you fell in love. And you wanted the person you were in love with desperately. But they did not love you. Could you really resist the temptation to make them be with you?”
“What?! I'd never do that! I mean..I...”
“Just want to be loved. It's a very simple desire. There is a Vegan proverb. 'One who has nothing is the greediest person of all'. Do you understand?”
“...so basically, everyone is right. I am dangerous. I should be locked up.”
She moved next to me, and held me close. It felt good. “No! Of course not. You're a person, you deserve to be free. You need to learn how to control your desires, that's all.”
“That's easy for you to say.” I grumbled.
She kissed my forehead gently. “Don't fret, Alena. I'll help you. In a way it's my job, since you're an Orange Lantern now.”
“What? No I'm not!”
“Well, you're not a Green Lantern, and you are the only other person who wields the Orange Light. Plus, as long as you have Larfleeze's protection, the Guardians will leave you alone.”
“Larfleeze? I thought he was mad at me.”
“Mm. It's hard to say with him. I think, however, he's more angry at himself. It's not like him to share anything, you understand. He hasn't for a very long time. And yet, he's shared something with you, and that bothers him, because he doesn't understand why.”
“That makes two of us!”
“He likes you. You're the first person to stand up to him in a very long time. I think he admires your strength.”
“Uh. I'm not strong. Trust me.”
She ruffled my hair gently. “Alena, you're a lot stronger than you realize. I hope that in the days to come you will come to appreciate that.”
“Days? Just how long is this going to take?”
“Let's just say that you've gotten one of your wishes. Your mathematics class is no longer an issue.”
Oh hell.
Comments
Interesting
Learning to control one's greed, that this is a first in this genre as far as I can tell as the desire for transformation in T folks and the desire to be the best girl or boy is nigh uncontrollable given a chance in a lot of stories, like the MAU universe. An avarice for vanity is hard to control to say the least from the amount of plastic surgery by those who can afford it.
Kim
Green Orange With Envy-8
Lars has a GIRLFRIEND.
May Your Light Forever Shine
May Your Light Forever Shine
So...
Jade's sorting out things on Oa, Alena's stuck on Okaara, but at least has Lianna for company and training, while Larfleeze himself struggles to come to terms with the fact he actually willingly gave something back. No wonder everyone was pleased to see Jade's (temporary) return, since that effectively left the returning Green Lanterns (who obviously weren't aware of the current state-of-play) in charge, who probably didn't take too kindly to the unorthodox ways in which business was being done on Earth.
On a side note, one aspect of the CRU that makes it more realistic, while also limiting the opportunities for the heroes to club together for major disasters such as the ship crash, is that (a) there aren't many flyers, and (b) they're scattered all over the country; whereas in most comics featuring multiple heroes they all relocate to a common base and have some form of aircraft available for use by the non-flyers. And obviously there'd be a huge time penalty in issuing a call to others who may be able to help and (quite literally) picking them up en-route (not to mention carrying someone else would probably reduce her speed and agility).
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!
its been a while
great to see you writing again. an interesting story as always. thanks
Thanks
It's good to be writing again, I just hope it lasts. I've got a lot of stuff going on right now, so even when I do want to write, it's hard to find the free time. Larfleeze has quickly become one of my favorite DC characters however. He makes the greediest person you know look altruistic. He makes the most clueless person you know look like they're on the ball!
He's the ultimate wild card- there's no telling what he'll do next!
I hope everyone is enjoying this odd twist in Alena's story, as I continue to try and account for her activities during the whole Sinestro Corps/Star Sapphire arc. Makes you wonder what happened to Tekik, doesn't it? ^_^
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.
Welcome back, and... what can I say?
Lena is changing? Sounds ominous.
Larfleeze sharing? Sounds interesting.
Lianna mentoring? Sounds promising! :D
Really, I think right now Alena has a prime chance to talk to someone who knows how universe works, and what the past and the actions of the Oans were. She should gather as much information as possible (I do wonder, how does orange light may augment information gathering?) so that she can proceed with a greater degree of certainty.
One must never forget though that Oans have already changed their minds before, so protection of Agent Orange is not absolute.
And, Alena is plenty powerful. I think being separated from Allison, and later Jade, has made more impact on her than she admits to herself. She has forgotten about her artistic talent, about her knack with magic, and about her compassive nature. It's time to bring those up again. :)
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!
Have to say this.
I loved that last line!
Okay, I said it. *grin*
Alena has some weird new friends, or at least one, but that should prove interesting in future episodes.
Nice explanation of why she's the way she is there, too. I get the feeling that she is going to have an interesting time in the next few episodes.
Oh, yeah, good to see you back.
Maggie
Fun!
It's great to see an author have fun with their characters. I laughed all though this, and I too loved those last two lines. LOL! So nice to see you back again and at the top of your game too!
hugs!
Grover
Why is it I am getting this whole 'Island of misfit toys vibe'?
at this point in the story. An ultimately greed being who actually gives something back. A former Oa guardian who becomes guardians of orange lanterns, a mixed up girl who is bonding with a star heart all in a place in the back of beyond.
And they all are trying ways to fit in in their universe.
Kim
OH HELL!!!
I couldn't help it. I just burst out laughing at that one. You make me laugh, I'm going to kidnap you... LOL. No I'm not. After all, I'm not Larfleas. Oops. Did I misspell his name. LOL. Why yes, I did. I have a strong feeling Alena and the star heart aren't the only ones who will be evolving as this story goes on. Larfleeze has already learned something.
Egggscelent!
Chris in CA
Chris