King Clown
DCU Green Lantern Corps #73 Duality of Man (Blackest Night)
To go along with the issue, here is the track for issue 14. If you care to, listen to it before, during, or after the issue, I feel it elevates the experience :)
-^-
"There is now a problem, Kyle Rayner," Aya says, looking down at Kyle.
"What do you mean 'problem.'"
Aya's chest compartment opens, revealing a screen with each of the emotional spectrum lights, both violet and black still off. "While the black ring of death may no longer be under Nekron's influence, its user, Hal Jordan, has yet to rebel."
"But…" Kyle mumbles, his face falling, "he put on the ring! He killed himself for it!"
"Yes, but he has not yet rebelled against Nekron in the afterlife," she explains, pointing to the violet light. "Furthermore, The Predator and its violet light no longer have a host."
Kyle's eyes widen, looking out at the floating violet ring. "What if I put it on!" he suggests, turning back to Aya. "O-or… or how about you!?"
"You are already the host of an entity, The One, and I am an AI designed to experience no emotion," she informs, her forearm projector pulling up a map. "I have scanned the nearest star systems for any potential life forms, but none exhibit strong enough feats of love."
"So…" Kyle mumbles, looking out of the bubble at the black battery, "what do we do now?"
-^-
"Where… am I?" Evil Star asks, looking down at his rotted hands. He examines the ring around his finger, pulling on it with all his strength, to no avail. "This ring… what is going on?"
Guy takes note of his sentience, taking no time to slam an axe construct down onto the zombie's head. The construct shatters on impact, but Guy doesn't relent, forming another axe and cleaving into Evil Star's gut. As the construct breaks, he creates a maul, swinging it upwards only for it to shatter against the zombie's jaw. He curses, slamming his fist into Evil Star's face. The corpse tilts his head, as if he is confused. Guy growls angrily, flying back to launch chains around his enemy. The constructs fly from his ring like missiles, each wrapping around a different limb and pulling tightly apart. Guy holds his wrist as he charges up a massive blast. Images of John laying unconscious and Hal's body enter his mind as he yells and fires, the force strong enough to push him further back.
Guy pants as the light from his attack fades. "Take that you… son of a bitch," he pants as Evil Star's figure floats idly, unphased from the blast.
Guy attempts another shot, but his eyes bulge wide and blood spills from his mouth. It takes a whole ten seconds before he even realizes what happened. Evil Star's fist had crashed into Guy's chest, shattering multiple ribs and his sternum. He feels the bone fragments pierce his organs and his blood fill his lungs. As soon as the shockwave of the attack finally registers, Guy is sent careening through space. He cries out, more blood shooting from his mouth into the void as his back crashes into a knee, Evil Star's. The zombie grabs him by the back of the head, boney fingers digging into his scalp.
"I remember you," Evil Star says, examining Guy's bloody face. "You were one of the earth lanterns who stopped me. I recall you being the first to fall then."
Guy tries to speak, but chokes on his own blood, his words turning to garbled liquid slosh. Evil Star smirks at this. In the next instant, Guy finds himself being dragged along the surface of an asteroid, a streak of what he assumes is his blood following behind him. As his head slams against the edge of a crater, Evil Star flies upwards, hand still holding Guy's skull tightly. The zombie grins before throwing Guy back down into the asteroid, destroying it on impact.
Before he's able to collect himself, Guy is once again grabbed by Evil Star. "I don't know what this new power is, exactly," he boasts, once again looking at the black ring, "but it does truly feel amazing. Mind staying alive a bit longer, you're a good test dummy."
Guy's eyes begin to leak crimson. With a guttural scream, boiling blood erupts from his mouth, spraying Evil Star. The attack causes Evil Star to let go, allowing Guy to break away from the corpse. He wheezes as blood drips down his face like drool; the taste is vile. He shakely raises his ring towards Evil Star's who's melted face has begun regenerating. His arm unwillingly falls, the red glow around his body going dull.
Guy is fighting to stay conscious.
"That was the blood of a red lantern… and I smelt nothing…" Evil Star mumbles, hand pressed against his reforming cheek. "I was… dead. I remember now. The great Evil Star… slain by an earthling with no metahuman abilities…"
Guy didn't get a chance to blink before his arm was snapped like a twig. He cries out in pain as Evil Star narrows his eyes. "I guess it can't be helped," he says, slamming his balled fists downward, crashing into Guy's back. "This new body seems to be an upgrade, afterall."
Guy feels his body hit the asteroid base, but doesn't move. He can't move anything but his eyes. So he watches. He watches as the zombie lowers himself onto the asteroid, cracks forming where he steps.
"I guess it's the same as last time," Evil Star says with a shrug. "You fall before your allies can even land a hit. By the way, where is Jordan? I have a score to settle with him."
The red glow around Guy flairs up for a moment, causing Evil Star to smirk. Images of his father flash in Guy's head; the smell of booze, the sound of the belt hitting his skin. Suddenly the glow goes out, leaving him with nothing but a life support field. Evil Star's smile falls.
"Your hatred isn't as strong as I thought," he says, lifting his foot above Guy's head. "I was ready for a workout."
"You've got one you bastard!"
Guy's eyes go wide as a blue sports car slams into Evil Star. The construct doesn't immediately shatter, creating a good distance between Guy and the zombie. Simon with his blue ring zooms past Guy, with Alan following close behind. Jessica lands next to him, frowning at the state of him.
"Guy…" she whispers, creating a cast construct around his arm before lifting him up. "C'mon, we need to get you to Ay-"
"Get out of here," he mumbles, his eyes barely open. "They won't… beat him… all of you, leave."
"Guy?"
"Please… you'll all die," Guy coughs, watching as Evil Star plays with Simon and Alan. More blood tears fall from his eyes. "You all can't die…"
Jessica gently places his head back down against the ground, turning to look at Simon and Alan. Taking off into the air, she smiles softly at him. "Don't worry, Guy," she says, her indigo light burning brighter than before. "I won't let anyone die."
"Jessica!" Guy shouts, reaching forward with his good arm. "No!"
-
Guy jolts up from the hospital bed, breathing heavy and quick. "Jessica!? Hal!?" he shouts, rising from the bed and calling his ring from the table to his right. "John!"
His body is enveloped in green light, his uniform forming as he storms out of his hospital room. He does a double take down the hallway, seeing it mostly empty, barring a single figure walking towards the elevator. He zooms down the hall, nearly crashing into the man, Jefferson, as he lands.
"Where are they!?" Guy shouts, grabbing Jeff by the shoulders. Sweat runs down his face, as he stares at Jeff, his breathing still rough. "Please, tell me they-"
"They're okay, Guy," Jeff says, placing his hands around Guy's and pulling them off. "They beat him a little while ago, no casualties. I was just visiting John."
Guy backs away slowly, finding himself leaning against the wall. They're okay. Even without him, they were able to beat Evil Star… He doesn't notice he'd begun crying until he hears the droplet hit the floor. He looks over to Jeff before wiping the tears from his eyes. "Ah, sorry," Guy apologizes with a smirk. "Pretty sad I couldn't get a good hit in, y'know?"
"What 'I know' is that you just woke up not knowing if your friends were dead or not," Jeff says with a frown. "You don't need to hide that behind some tough guy act, it's natural to feel worried."
"Don't try and psychoanalyze me," Guy shoots back, "you're a principal, not a therapist."
"Doesn't take a therapist to see someone who nearly lost everything they hold dear," Jeff says, keeping his calm demeanor. "I'm not telling you to break down and cry to me, but letting that shit build up isn't good for you."
Guy opens his mouth, but no words come out. His head hangs as he exhales loudly. "One attack… and I was out," he mumbles, looking back up at Jeff. "So yeah… wh-wh-what if I did wake up to see their graves? What if I f-failed them… I could've woken up and lost everyone… all because I wasn't good enough."
-
"I failed…" Guy wheezes, watching the battle ensue. He can't move. He can't breathe. He can feel his life fading, he'll be dead in minutes. "I'm… a failure after all, dad."
He wonders why he feels his life force fluctuate each time he thinks of him. Like the mere thoughts of the man drain the hate from his body. Things are funny like that. He guesses there's something he hates more than even his father.
"What is this?" the voice of The Butcher asks, echoing in his mind. "Your hatred… it grows, but your father, the source of your hatred minutes ago, deludes it."
"Guy Gardner… hero of the ages," Guy continues, coughing up blood as Evil Star throws Alan through an asteroid. "You're a joke. You couldn't stop him then… couldn't stop him now… you couldn't do anything."
"You… something is not right," the entity panics, a peculiar whizz echoing through space. "Your rage… something is bleeding into it… what is happening!?"
"I'm supposed to be a hero…" he mumbles, left hand twitching while he watches Evil Star slam his fists into Jessica and Simon's unified shield, "but I can't even save the people I love."
The crimson of Guy's left eye fades, a spark of light replacing the color. Through the void of space, a thin streak of violet light travels across the stars. Guy's hand, not of his will, raises towards the streak. The world around him goes white.
He hates the way he couldn't fight back against his father. He hates the way he used his badge to feel a semblance of control. He hates that he was chosen to have the most powerful weapon in the universe. He hates that even with that power, he still couldn't save his friend.
He loves the way Jessica shyly invites him to her gigs. He loves the way John lectures him on their patrols. He loves the way Simon critiques his car's unorthodox build. He loves the way Hal unwinds to share a drink as they watch action films together.
He hates himself. He loves all of them.
The space around Guy ripples, as if it were an anomaly in time. He feels strange, as if his body wasn't broken and bruised, as if his lungs weren't makeshift blood bags. He feels… superb, really. His right hand instinctively raises, watching curiously as a white light bends around it. His red ring looks strange, brighter than it had been before. It wasn't just the brightness though, its crest was no longer the Red Lantern Corps, but something new entirely. Moving his hand to his chest, he presses down lightly. He raises an eyebrow, confused as to how his ribs are solid once more.
It's only then that he notices the difference in his uniform. His entire right side, ring excluded, is the same Red Lantern uniform he'd been wearing all this time. His left side, however, was lighter and violet in color. He stares amazed at the violet ring around his finger, its crest similar to the red ring.
"What's… happening to me?" he asks, looking up to see both The Butcher and The Predator looking over him. "Two… rings?"
"I… do not understand this at all," The Predator says, it's head turning towards the Butcher. "Your emotions… they've both equally filled your heart and mind."
"You have reached a state untouched by anyone in the universe," The Butcher comments, its nostrils flaring. "You have obtained pure equilibrium, the closest in the universe to the white lantern."
"I… still don't understand," Guy says, looking down at his rings, the violet and red both glow equally bright, "but I don't care… I'm ready to go."
"Your power is an unforeseen occurrence, one even the entities could not expect."
"Our power does not flow through your body as one yet, you must complete this new power."
Guy tilts head, before seeing the dual-holed lantern and realizing what the two meant. He looks back at the rings, thinking about the torn feeling in his heart. Raising his hands, he places both rings against the lantern.
"The fire inside me
Is borne of two lights
With love and rage
A duality of might
I'll live with my regrets
My penance, my plight
Keep walking this path
To end the Blackest Night"
-^-
Kyle watches as Evil Star holds Alan up by the throat, his foot slowly crushing Simon and Jessica's shield.
"Is there anything we can do!?" he shouts, looking back at Aya. "They're going to die!"
"I am sorry Kyle Rayner, but w- we will not have to," she says, pointing to the asteroid that Guy lays on. "The violet ring has found a host."
"A host?" Kyle says, staring at the pink glow in the distance. "I thought you said there weren't any for miles."
"It seems," she says, watching as an explosion of red and violet erupts from the asteroid, "there was a factor I never accounted for."
-^-
Guy bursts from the asteroid, flying through space like a missile. The stars all around him reflect his red and pink light. Before Evil Star can react, Guy crashes into him. The force causes a sonic boom, tearing the corpse's torso from his legs, leaving the bottom half behind as Guy drags him through space. Evil Star attempts to raise his fist, but when nothing happens realizes his left arm was left behind with his legs.
"This power…" he mumbles, eyes going wide as he feels gravity take a hold of his body.
Guy slams him down onto the base of Ryut, the force causing nearby mountains to crumble. Evil Star raises his right arm in an attempt to strike, but Guy catches the attack, creating a cage out of violet light. His right fist glows a bright red as he places the ring against Evil Star's chest.
"You hurt my family."
DCU Green Lantern Corps #73 Duality of Man (Blackest Night)
To go along with the issue, here is the track for issue 14. If you care to, listen to it before, during, or after the issue, I feel it elevates the experience :)
-^-
"There is now a problem, Kyle Rayner," Aya says, looking down at Kyle.
"What do you mean 'problem.'"
Aya's chest compartment opens, revealing a screen with each of the emotional spectrum lights, both violet and black still off. "While the black ring of death may no longer be under Nekron's influence, its user, Hal Jordan, has yet to rebel."
"But…" Kyle mumbles, his face falling, "he put on the ring! He killed himself for it!"
"Yes, but he has not yet rebelled against Nekron in the afterlife," she explains, pointing to the violet light. "Furthermore, The Predator and its violet light no longer have a host."
Kyle's eyes widen, looking out at the floating violet ring. "What if I put it on!" he suggests, turning back to Aya. "O-or… or how about you!?"
"You are already the host of an entity, The One, and I am an AI designed to experience no emotion," she informs, her forearm projector pulling up a map. "I have scanned the nearest star systems for any potential life forms, but none exhibit strong enough feats of love."
"So…" Kyle mumbles, looking out of the bubble at the black battery, "what do we do now?"
-^-
"Where… am I?" Evil Star asks, looking down at his rotted hands. He examines the ring around his finger, pulling on it with all his strength, to no avail. "This ring… what is going on?"
Guy takes note of his sentience, taking no time to slam an axe construct down onto the zombie's head. The construct shatters on impact, but Guy doesn't relent, forming another axe and cleaving into Evil Star's gut. As the construct breaks, he creates a maul, swinging it upwards only for it to shatter against the zombie's jaw. He curses, slamming his fist into Evil Star's face. The corpse tilts his head, as if he is confused. Guy growls angrily, flying back to launch chains around his enemy. The constructs fly from his ring like missiles, each wrapping around a different limb and pulling tightly apart. Guy holds his wrist as he charges up a massive blast. Images of John laying unconscious and Hal's body enter his mind as he yells and fires, the force strong enough to push him further back.
Guy pants as the light from his attack fades. "Take that you… son of a bitch," he pants as Evil Star's figure floats idly, unphased from the blast.
Guy attempts another shot, but his eyes bulge wide and blood spills from his mouth. It takes a whole ten seconds before he even realizes what happened. Evil Star's fist had crashed into Guy's chest, shattering multiple ribs and his sternum. He feels the bone fragments pierce his organs and his blood fill his lungs. As soon as the shockwave of the attack finally registers, Guy is sent careening through space. He cries out, more blood shooting from his mouth into the void as his back crashes into a knee, Evil Star's. The zombie grabs him by the back of the head, boney fingers digging into his scalp.
"I remember you," Evil Star says, examining Guy's bloody face. "You were one of the earth lanterns who stopped me. I recall you being the first to fall then."
Guy tries to speak, but chokes on his own blood, his words turning to garbled liquid slosh. Evil Star smirks at this. In the next instant, Guy finds himself being dragged along the surface of an asteroid, a streak of what he assumes is his blood following behind him. As his head slams against the edge of a crater, Evil Star flies upwards, hand still holding Guy's skull tightly. The zombie grins before throwing Guy back down into the asteroid, destroying it on impact.
Before he's able to collect himself, Guy is once again grabbed by Evil Star. "I don't know what this new power is, exactly," he boasts, once again looking at the black ring, "but it does truly feel amazing. Mind staying alive a bit longer, you're a good test dummy."
Guy's eyes begin to leak crimson. With a guttural scream, boiling blood erupts from his mouth, spraying Evil Star. The attack causes Evil Star to let go, allowing Guy to break away from the corpse. He wheezes as blood drips down his face like drool; the taste is vile. He shakely raises his ring towards Evil Star's who's melted face has begun regenerating. His arm unwillingly falls, the red glow around his body going dull.
Guy is fighting to stay conscious.
"That was the blood of a red lantern… and I smelt nothing…" Evil Star mumbles, hand pressed against his reforming cheek. "I was… dead. I remember now. The great Evil Star… slain by an earthling with no metahuman abilities…"
Guy didn't get a chance to blink before his arm was snapped like a twig. He cries out in pain as Evil Star narrows his eyes. "I guess it can't be helped," he says, slamming his balled fists downward, crashing into Guy's back. "This new body seems to be an upgrade, afterall."
Guy feels his body hit the asteroid base, but doesn't move. He can't move anything but his eyes. So he watches. He watches as the zombie lowers himself onto the asteroid, cracks forming where he steps.
"I guess it's the same as last time," Evil Star says with a shrug. "You fall before your allies can even land a hit. By the way, where is Jordan? I have a score to settle with him."
The red glow around Guy flairs up for a moment, causing Evil Star to smirk. Images of his father flash in Guy's head; the smell of booze, the sound of the belt hitting his skin. Suddenly the glow goes out, leaving him with nothing but a life support field. Evil Star's smile falls.
"Your hatred isn't as strong as I thought," he says, lifting his foot above Guy's head. "I was ready for a workout."
"You've got one you bastard!"
Guy's eyes go wide as a blue sports car slams into Evil Star. The construct doesn't immediately shatter, creating a good distance between Guy and the zombie. Simon with his blue ring zooms past Guy, with Alan following close behind. Jessica lands next to him, frowning at the state of him.
"Guy…" she whispers, creating a cast construct around his arm before lifting him up. "C'mon, we need to get you to Ay-"
"Get out of here," he mumbles, his eyes barely open. "They won't… beat him… all of you, leave."
"Guy?"
"Please… you'll all die," Guy coughs, watching as Evil Star plays with Simon and Alan. More blood tears fall from his eyes. "You all can't die…"
Jessica gently places his head back down against the ground, turning to look at Simon and Alan. Taking off into the air, she smiles softly at him. "Don't worry, Guy," she says, her indigo light burning brighter than before. "I won't let anyone die."
"Jessica!" Guy shouts, reaching forward with his good arm. "No!"
-
Guy jolts up from the hospital bed, breathing heavy and quick. "Jessica!? Hal!?" he shouts, rising from the bed and calling his ring from the table to his right. "John!"
His body is enveloped in green light, his uniform forming as he storms out of his hospital room. He does a double take down the hallway, seeing it mostly empty, barring a single figure walking towards the elevator. He zooms down the hall, nearly crashing into the man, Jefferson, as he lands.
"Where are they!?" Guy shouts, grabbing Jeff by the shoulders. Sweat runs down his face, as he stares at Jeff, his breathing still rough. "Please, tell me they-"
"They're okay, Guy," Jeff says, placing his hands around Guy's and pulling them off. "They beat him a little while ago, no casualties. I was just visiting John."
Guy backs away slowly, finding himself leaning against the wall. They're okay. Even without him, they were able to beat Evil Star… He doesn't notice he'd begun crying until he hears the droplet hit the floor. He looks over to Jeff before wiping the tears from his eyes. "Ah, sorry," Guy apologizes with a smirk. "Pretty sad I couldn't get a good hit in, y'know?"
"What 'I know' is that you just woke up not knowing if your friends were dead or not," Jeff says with a frown. "You don't need to hide that behind some tough guy act, it's natural to feel worried."
"Don't try and psychoanalyze me," Guy shoots back, "you're a principal, not a therapist."
"Doesn't take a therapist to see someone who nearly lost everything they hold dear," Jeff says, keeping his calm demeanor. "I'm not telling you to break down and cry to me, but letting that shit build up isn't good for you."
Guy opens his mouth, but no words come out. His head hangs as he exhales loudly. "One attack… and I was out," he mumbles, looking back up at Jeff. "So yeah… wh-wh-what if I did wake up to see their graves? What if I f-failed them… I could've woken up and lost everyone… all because I wasn't good enough."
-
"I failed…" Guy wheezes, watching the battle ensue. He can't move. He can't breathe. He can feel his life fading, he'll be dead in minutes. "I'm… a failure after all, dad."
He wonders why he feels his life force fluctuate each time he thinks of him. Like the mere thoughts of the man drain the hate from his body. Things are funny like that. He guesses there's something he hates more than even his father.
"What is this?" the voice of The Butcher asks, echoing in his mind. "Your hatred… it grows, but your father, the source of your hatred minutes ago, deludes it."
"Guy Gardner… hero of the ages," Guy continues, coughing up blood as Evil Star throws Alan through an asteroid. "You're a joke. You couldn't stop him then… couldn't stop him now… you couldn't do anything."
"You… something is not right," the entity panics, a peculiar whizz echoing through space. "Your rage… something is bleeding into it… what is happening!?"
"I'm supposed to be a hero…" he mumbles, left hand twitching while he watches Evil Star slam his fists into Jessica and Simon's unified shield, "but I can't even save the people I love."
The crimson of Guy's left eye fades, a spark of light replacing the color. Through the void of space, a thin streak of violet light travels across the stars. Guy's hand, not of his will, raises towards the streak. The world around him goes white.
He hates the way he couldn't fight back against his father. He hates the way he used his badge to feel a semblance of control. He hates that he was chosen to have the most powerful weapon in the universe. He hates that even with that power, he still couldn't save his friend.
He loves the way Jessica shyly invites him to her gigs. He loves the way John lectures him on their patrols. He loves the way Simon critiques his car's unorthodox build. He loves the way Hal unwinds to share a drink as they watch action films together.
He hates himself. He loves all of them.
The space around Guy ripples, as if it were an anomaly in time. He feels strange, as if his body wasn't broken and bruised, as if his lungs weren't makeshift blood bags. He feels… superb, really. His right hand instinctively raises, watching curiously as a white light bends around it. His red ring looks strange, brighter than it had been before. It wasn't just the brightness though, its crest was no longer the Red Lantern Corps, but something new entirely. Moving his hand to his chest, he presses down lightly. He raises an eyebrow, confused as to how his ribs are solid once more.
It's only then that he notices the difference in his uniform. His entire right side, ring excluded, is the same Red Lantern uniform he'd been wearing all this time. His left side, however, was lighter and violet in color. He stares amazed at the violet ring around his finger, its crest similar to the red ring.
"What's… happening to me?" he asks, looking up to see both The Butcher and The Predator looking over him. "Two… rings?"
"I… do not understand this at all," The Predator says, it's head turning towards the Butcher. "Your emotions… they've both equally filled your heart and mind."
"You have reached a state untouched by anyone in the universe," The Butcher comments, its nostrils flaring. "You have obtained pure equilibrium, the closest in the universe to the white lantern."
"I… still don't understand," Guy says, looking down at his rings, the violet and red both glow equally bright, "but I don't care… I'm ready to go."
"Your power is an unforeseen occurrence, one even the entities could not expect."
"Our power does not flow through your body as one yet, you must complete this new power."
Guy tilts head, before seeing the dual-holed lantern and realizing what the two meant. He looks back at the rings, thinking about the torn feeling in his heart. Raising his hands, he places both rings against the lantern.
"The fire inside me
Is borne of two lights
With love and rage
A duality of might
I'll live with my regrets
My penance, my plight
Keep walking this path
To end the Blackest Night"
-^-
Kyle watches as Evil Star holds Alan up by the throat, his foot slowly crushing Simon and Jessica's shield.
"Is there anything we can do!?" he shouts, looking back at Aya. "They're going to die!"
"I am sorry Kyle Rayner, but w- we will not have to," she says, pointing to the asteroid that Guy lays on. "The violet ring has found a host."
"A host?" Kyle says, staring at the pink glow in the distance. "I thought you said there weren't any for miles."
"It seems," she says, watching as an explosion of red and violet erupts from the asteroid, "there was a factor I never accounted for."
-^-
Guy bursts from the asteroid, flying through space like a missile. The stars all around him reflect his red and pink light. Before Evil Star can react, Guy crashes into him. The force causes a sonic boom, tearing the corpse's torso from his legs, leaving the bottom half behind as Guy drags him through space. Evil Star attempts to raise his fist, but when nothing happens realizes his left arm was left behind with his legs.
"This power…" he mumbles, eyes going wide as he feels gravity take a hold of his body.
Guy slams him down onto the base of Ryut, the force causing nearby mountains to crumble. Evil Star raises his right arm in an attempt to strike, but Guy catches the attack, creating a cage out of violet light. His right fist glows a bright red as he places the ring against Evil Star's chest.
"You hurt my family."