The glowing gateway opened silently, with no fanfare whatsoever.
Hal Jordan's return to earth was as dignified and elequent as
the majority of his life had always been. He flew from the portal,
an emerald field wrapped tightly around his form. Though the years
had turned him prematurely grey, he showed no signs of being an
old man. Instead, as the smile lit upon his face, he looked once
again like the cocky test pilot to whom Abin Sur had given the
most powerful weapon in the galaxy -- the incredible Green Lantern
ring.
Hal swooped through the air as the portal closed behind him,
sealing off the strange alternate earth that he'd found himself
a part of this last few months. There he'd allied himself with
the valiant champions of that world and been reunited with his
best friend, Barry Allen. Hal found himself hoping that Barry
would find some peace there -- if anyone deserved it, Barry did.
Green Lantern recognized the landscape below him -- southern
California. From the looks of it, not much had changed, and that
knowledge brought a flood of warm tears to his eyes. Coast City
was still dead, destroyed by the Cyborg and Mongul*.
(*See Green Lantern # 46.)
Hal forced his mind away from that tragedy even while he flew
in the direction of Coast City's remains. There were other mysteries
to concern himself with -- like who had impersonated him and destroyed
the Corps*. Hal felt a sick feeling in his stomach at the thought
-- what must his friends think of him now? He had to find Tom
and Carol -- let them know that those actions were not his. "So
many things to do...but right now I feel like I've got all the
time in the world. It feels good to be..."
Green Lantern's words stopped abruptly as he flew above the monument
to Coast City. He choked out "...home," as he stared
down below at a city that he'd come to love. It was still a source
of extreme guilt for Hal, but he was strong enough to overcome
it. He would never forget, but neither would he let it destroy
him.
Green Lantern landed in front of the monument. A few passerby
were there, laying down flowers in memory of lost loved ones.
A little boy stared at him as he approached, his eyes wide. "Mommy,"
he tugged on his mother's skirt, "it's the Gween Lantrin!"
The woman clutched her son to her and Hal winced inwardly. He
could see the fear in her eyes as she stepped back from the memorial.
It wasn't going to be easy convincing people that the actions
caused by Parallax weren't his fault.
"It's okay," he tried to smile reassuringly, "I'm
just here to pay my respects."
He ignored the woman as she stood watching him. He knelt before
the monument and closed his eyes, silently saying a prayer for
all those who had died here. Then he raised his ring and created
a green bouquet which he lay atop all the other flowers. "May
you rest in peace..."
Green Lantern stood up and without another word flew straight
up into the air. He felt like a weight had been lifted off his
chest -- like he'd come to say goodbye to an old friend who'd
passed away. Now it was time to find Carol and Tom...
"Is that him?" The question was asked by DEO Agent
Willard Tompkins, a slender man with a pockmarked face. He wore
a dark suit and sunglasses and was seated inside a dark, unmarked
van.
"Yep. Tom Kilmaku." The man to whom the original question
had been posed was Agent Streeter, a broad-shoulder black man
who had once sought a career in professional athletics. But those
days were long behind him. He lowered his binoculars and pointed.
"I hope our boy can handle this nice and clean. We don't
want any surprises."
Tompkins snorted, thinking of the hulking brute in the back of
the van. "Yeah, right. Subtlety isn't his strong point."
He glanced over at Streeter and smiled. "You check out that
Ferris lady, yet? Nice..."
"Yeah, that she is. But we're not here to look at the scenary
-- we want Kilmaku's diary. The DEO needs to know the inner workings
of the Green Lantern Corps -- an entire army of near-omnipotent
alien beings could be cause for concern if we don't know their
secrets. If our intelligence is correct, Tom's kept some detailed
records from his days as Green Lantern's sidekick."
Tompkins looked at his watch. "Let's send him in -- no time
like the present."
Streeter nodded. He turned and spoke to the hulking figure who
stood brooding in the shadows. "Major Force -- you know your
orders. Get that diary and get it quick..."
And the malevolent features of Major Force twisted into a smile.
"The sweetest words I've heard all day..."
Carol Ferris stepped out of her office, a smile on her lips.
She wasn't feeling as cheerful as she looked but she had studied
the art of dealing with the press, learning at the feet of the
consummate professional -- her father. She practically beamed
as she greeted the reporter from GBN. "Hello and welcome
to Ferris Aircraft."
The reporter, a pert blonde, smiled in return. She was pretty
enough, though somewhat bloodshot eyes made Carol wondered what
it was that kept her up at night.
"Thanks for having us, Ms. Ferris. My name's Kelly Latrelle
-- the opportunity to tour your facility will make a great story
for the evening news."
"You're quite welcome. To be honest, the publicity will
be nice. What with LexCom cutting into our market share left and
right, Ferris has had to get creative to stay alive."
Latrelle's smile widened. "You know, in the past Ferris
Aircraft has been the target of a number of metahuman attacks
-- think you could dial one up for today? It would really boost
ratings."
Carol fought to maintain her own smile. "No thanks -- metahumans
are part of my past and I'd like to keep it that way. The most
exciting thing you'll see today is our new one-man aircraft that's
going to revolutionize the industry...But let's not get too far
ahead of ourselves. Let's get the tour started, shall we?"
The sound of rending metal brought the conversation to a stop.
"What the hell?" LaTrelle stepped out, followed by her
cameraman. The scene that greeted her was like something out of
a nightmare -- one of the Ferris employees, an Asian man, was
running from one of the garages, a hulking figure in purple and
orange following him. Even from the airfield, LaTrelle could sense
the man's power. She smiled to herself. "Looks like you've
just got a blast from the past, Ms. Ferris." She looked at
her cameraman with evident excitement. "Chuck, get the station
on the phone -- I want to go live with this. This'll be the last
time I get sent on a crappy assignment like this!"
Carol's heart sank as she saw Tom running for his life. Not again...not
another supervillain. And what was worse than that was the realization
that Hal Jordan wasn't around to save them anymore...
Green Lantern swooped through the air as he had when he'd first
gotten the ring, the sheer joy of being alive overlowing in his
heart. He couldn't wait to see Tom and Carol again -- he'd made
some mistakes with regards to them over the years, but they'd
always drifted back together in the end.
He flew lower as he approached Ferris Aircraft, his eyes narrowing.
It couldn't be, not on his first day back...
Major Force held Tom up by his collar, not caring about the camera
recording the event. Back in the van, Streeter and Tompkins were
shaking their heads over another job gone bad.
"Where is the diary? Give it to me and I'll let you live..."
Tom's face was turning blue from the grip around his neck. He
knew exactly what Force was talking about and he wasn't about
to give it up. Hal had been his friend -- his best friend -- and
he wouldn't sell him out, not even if Hal was dead. "No...way!
You'll have to...kill...me first!"
Force smiled. "If you insist."
A giant green boxing glove plowed into Major Force, causing him
to drop Tom. Tom landed on his feet and scrambled away, clutching
at his throat. Major Force lay on the ground, a snarl on his lips.
He looked up, expecting to see the young punk Green Lantern he'd
fought before...Instead, his jaw fell open in surprise.
Green Lantern floated above them all, arms folded over his chest.
"Hi, Tom. Long time, no see. Looks like you're up to your
usual hijinks..."
Carol stood behind the reporter, unsure if she was really seeing
this. "Hal...?"
Kyle Rayner sipped his coffee and stared at the blank page before
him. As usual, Radu had outdone himself on the coffee -- but unfortunately
that was the only bright spot in Kyle's day. As Green Lantern,
he used his imagination to create incredible energy projections...but
right now he couldn't come up with a darn thing. He tapped a finger
on the drawing board and sighed.
Kyle wondered idly what Wally West was doing today. The Flash
was supposed to be on monitor duty at the JLA's Watchtower headquarters...maybe
he could zoom up and check on him. He frowned. That might be such
a good idea. They'd been getting along better lately but Wally
could still be a pest sometimes. He flipped on the television
set and nearly spat out his mouthful of coffee. He turned up the
volume and stared. "...on live remote at Ferris Aircraft.
The man known as Parallax has apparently resumed his Green Lantern
identity and is engaged in battle with someone identified as Major
Force..."
Kyle turned the set off. "Damn. You've got more lives than
a cat, Hal." He raised his hand and commanded his Green Lantern
ring to change him into his costume. An emerald glow later, he
stood transformed. "I wanted a break and now I've got one...I
just hope it ends better than most of my fights with Parallax
have."
"What happened to the kid? Did he flunk out or something?"
Force fired an energy blast at Green Lantern, but the hero threw
up an emerald shield that absorbed the blow.
"I'm not sure who you're talking about, mister. All I know
is you're making a nuisiance of yourself. Give up now and save
yourself some bruises, okay?"
Tom pulled himself to safety and grinned to himself. Now this
was the Hal Jordan that he remembered! Not sullen and half-insane,
but a cocky guy who had the ultimate faith in himself and his
abilities.
Green Lantern snared Force in a set of green salad tongs. He
lifted the villain into the air and slammed him against the concrete.
Major Force was staggered, falling to one knee as the tongs dissipated.
"You're good, Lantern. Better than the kid. But it takes
a lot more than you've got to take me out. I've gone toe-to-toe
with Captain Atom!"
Green Lantern grinned at that. "Should I be impressed?"
He slammed an emerald ram's head into Force's stomach, driving
the air from his lungs. Hal pressed his advantage by sealing Force
in a green bubble. The villain pounded on its interior for several
long moments, before falling to his knees, gasping for air.
Hal dropped the bubble and Force fell forward, his face landing
hard on the airstrip. Green Lantern landed nearby. He could hear
the reporter chattering away and he turned towards, a smile playing
on his handsome face. "He's okay -- I just let him use up
his oxygen trying to fight his way out. Seemed like a the solution
that would cause the least bit of damage to the surroundings."
The reporter moved forward eagerly. "Are you once again
a Green Lantern? What about your alleged crimes as Parallax?"
Green Lantern answered evenly, looking directly into the eyes
of Carol Ferris. She was every bit as beautiful as he remembered.
"That wasn't me. It was, quite literally, someone else. I'm
going to try my best to make up for the deeds that were committed
in my name. But there are still other things I have to do -- I'll
answer more questions later." With that, he flew into the
air, leaving the reporter -- and his friends behind.
He landed behind the airfield, changing into Hal Jordan's civilian
garb. He was about to rush out and speak to Carol when he heard
a young man's voice.
"What's the game this time, Parallax?"
Hal whirled about and came face-to-face with Kyle Rayner, who
was dressed in his own variation of the Green Lantern uniform.
Hal took a deep breath. "I'm not Parallax...but I take it
that you're the 'kid' that Major Force was referring to. Are you
a Green Lantern."
Kyle frowned. Parallax sounded like he'd never met him...Could
he have lost his memory somehow? "I'm THE Green Lantern.
Don't you remember?"
"Not really. How about you explain it to me?"
Kyle stared at him for a long moment, seeking some sign of deception.
But he found none. "Okay. It started when you went nuts and
killed the Corps..."
Hal Jordan and Kyle Rayner sat across from each other at a diner
several miles from Ferris. Hal had hated to put Tom and Carol
on hold, but he had a feeling it was the only choice he could
make.
"So...you died saving earth from the Sun Eater*. And that's
that."
(*See Final Night # 4.)
Hal leaned back and steepled his fingers in front of him. "Parts
of that story don't make sense. As soon as I find Ganthet, I can
find out more but...Parallax shouldn't have been able to kill
any of the Corps. The rings don't work that way."
Kyle watched as Hal worked out the details in his head. There
was something different about this guy -- something that set him
apart from Parallax. A confidence, perhaps...but something more,
too.
Hal snapped his fingers. "I've got it...Parallax might have
made it look like he killed the others, but it must have been
something else entirely. I'd bet my last dollar that Kilowog was
converted into pure energy -- the rings have a fail-safe that
prevents you from using them to kill other members of the Corps,
but there's no failsafe from converting them to an energy form
where they're out of the way."
He stood up suddenly, glancing at Kyle. "Come with me outside.
If I'm right, I think I know what to do."
The two Green Lanterns stepped into the twilight air and moved
into an alley. Hal seemed serious now that he had a task at hand.
"If Kilowog still exists in energy form, we can use our rings
to reconstitute him. Follow my lead."
Hal concentrated, sending his ring's energy outward, tracing
for any form of Kilowog's essence. Kyle wasn't sure what he was
supposed to do exactly, but he joined his willpower to Hal's nonetheless.
Many moments passed and Kyle was about to mention that maybe
it was hopeless when a strange humming filled the air and emerald
energy shimmered between them. Hal laughed, "It's working!"
Kilowog's hulking form reappeared suddenly, the former Green
Lantern blinking in confusion. He locked eyes with Hal and suddenly
frowned. "Ya blamed poozer!" His fist slammed into Hal's
chin, sending him sprawling.
Kyle clutched at Kilowog's arm. "Hey, big guy -- calm down!
Hal just saved your life!"
Kilowog blinked. "He did?" He scratched his head. "Sorry
'bout that, Hal...Last thing I remember ya wuz trying to destroy
the Central Battery on OA..."
Hal rubbed his jaw and nodded. "It's okay...I understand.
Listen, Kilowog -- there's a lot that we have to talk about, but
first I want to see Carol and Tom. Then we can all head to this
Warrior's that Kyle says Guy is running these days..."
Kyle watched him stand up. "What are you planning to do,
Hal?"
"I want to reform the Corps...and then I want to find out
who's been perverting my name!"
NEXT ISSUE :
Hal, Kyle, and company begin their quest to bring back the Green
Lantern Corps... but what happened to Ganthet? Be here for our
next issue to find out the answers to this, and other mysteries!
Author's comments: Well folks, after a year of waiting, you now
have Green Lantern #201! It would still be in my head if it wasn't
for the contribution of the Fastest Writer Alive, Barry Reece,
and the able assistance that Matt Turnage has given me in the
plotting. If there was anything that you folks out there liked,
it was their contribution. The hokey stuff, if any, was all me.
Hopefully, we'll have another issue out really soon!
TJB
