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Post by starlord on Mar 13, 2007 19:54:39 GMT -5
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Post by starlord on Mar 13, 2007 19:55:57 GMT -5
Green Lantern [/b] Issue #4: Eye of the Beholder, Part One “Paint it Black” Written by: John Elbe Cover by: Borize Edited by: Scott Kruger and Brian Burchette[/center]
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Post by starlord on Mar 13, 2007 19:57:13 GMT -5
“Why won’t you just die?” The woman screamed as she shot another deadly energy beam at Green Lantern. Hal was forced to the ground as the woman came up behind him and kicked at the protective force field that generated from his ring. The man with her looked down at him and smiled “Don’t be rude. My wife asked you a question!”
Hal tried to stand up but was unable to. He knew that the ring was the only thing that kept him coherent at the moment. What did she keep going on about? He swore she was complaining about the Queen of Hearts? He looked up and saw that she had pulled another jewel from her pouch. He didn’t know how much more of this madness he could take. There was a buzzing in his ears that the ring couldn’t completely silence.
“Maybe this one?” The woman spoke as she lifted up the small amber colored gemstone and pointed it at him.
Hal looked up just in time to see a yellow beam of light shoot out from the jewel in her hand. He closed his eyes and cringed. This had been a bad day that had quickly gotten worse…
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Post by starlord on Mar 13, 2007 19:58:27 GMT -5
Several weeks earlier…[/b]
Hal couldn’t help but smile as he flew through the sky and looked down at the early morning commuters in Coast City. The sun was rising and it was the dawning of a new day. It was symbolic of the changes he planned to make in his own life. He had returned just a day earlier from New York after defeating Parallax and successfully defending Kyle Rayner, the 'Torch Bearer. Though in the end, it seemed Kyle had been more then capable of protecting himself.
The entire incident made Hal wonder if the Guardians had been expecting more when they ordered him stay on earth and protect the kid. If he was to be the future of the Corps as proclaimed by the Guardians themselves, wouldn’t the defeat of Parallax allow him to fulfill his role and usher in the return of the Guardians? Or had the threat of Parallax been the beginning of something more? He would have to get in contact with Kyle sometime soon and see how he had been adjusting to his new role. And though Kyle would object if he knew, he would continue to use his ring to keep track of him and alert him if the Guardians made contact with him; since he himself hadn’t been in contact with the Guardians for quiet some time now.
It had been over a year since the Guardian, Appa Ali Apsa left to heal from his injuries and devise a plan to retake OA from a group called the Manhunters. Hal had stood ready ever since, waiting to be called back to duty. He questioned the ring on occasion concerning the status of OA and the Guardians, even Kiliwog who Hal hadn’t seen or heard from in quiet some time as well. The ghostly voice of Abin Sur always replied with the same answer:
{Status unknown, no further information available.}
In the meantime Hal was determined to get his life back in order and move forward. The first order of business was to settle things between him and a certain blond DEO agent, Chloe Sullivan. He had decided that it would be best to end things between them before things got out of hand. It was a decision he made shortly after taking off to New York. Of course he found that decision was easier when he was on the other side of the country. When he got back home he suddenly felt guilty. Had Chloe not spent that one night at his apartment she would not have gotten involved with Sinestro or Nero in the first place. Facing her meant facing that guilt head on.
The day after returning from New York he called her and asked if she would meet with him. She was still in town but had planned to fly out of Coast City the next morning, after preparing her reports for her superiors back at the DEO.
She was already seated in a booth at the diner when he got there. Her back was to him as he walked up behind her. He paused for a brief moment as he caught a whiff of her perfume that seemed to linger in the air around her. He thought again how this had been a much easier decision to make when he was on the other side of the country.
He slid into the seat across from her and smiled as she looked up from the paper she was reading. “Sorry to keep you waiting. I had an early appointment with the building manager concerning the repairs that need done on my apartment.”
“ Yeah. Faraday wasn’t pleased but the DEO is picking up the tab on that regardless.” She said putting the paper down.
“ Well it was a little hard to explain the damages to the manager but I could have covered the cost.”
“It was just one of many operational expenses to add to the list that I spent half the morning filing paperwork for. The kinds of things superheroes never have to deal with.” She said with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. Hal watched her eyes as she spoke and then looked away. They appeared deeper then he remembered. Angier perhaps. He wanted to ask how she was coping since the incident. It appeared that she was back to business like she had been when they first met. More closed off and guarded unlike the other night that had spent together. Hal was a little taken back but it stood to reason after what she had gone through.
Hal sat there glancing over at the waitress across the restaurant and then down at the table in front of him avoiding eye contact with Chloe the entire time, until she spoke again a minute later. “Why is that you are the fearless hero when dealing with the likes of Doctor Polaris or Sinestro but when it comes to saying what’s on your mind you bury you head under the covers like your hiding from the boogie man?”
“I’m not sure I follow?”
“You asked me here for a reason Hal.”
He did find it surprisingly hard as she sat directly across from him. It was at that moment, when he half wished that his ring would chime to life and alert him that another crazy villain with delusions of world domination, was calling him out. When it became apparent that no such crisis was going to save him, he responded. “I knew that you were leaving town soon and I didn’t want to leave things between us unsettled. I also wanted to see if you were ok considering what you went through.”
“I told you I was fine on the phone. I was a little roughed up and a lot scared, but I can deal. I have before.” Chloe said as Hal wondered if she was trying to convince him or herself that she was okay.
“I just feel guilty. This wouldn’t have happened to you if…”
Chloe quickly cut him off. “ Just stop. Don’t treat me like a victim Hal. I used you as much as you used me.”
“So that’s what this is about then?” A surprised Hal responded back.
“That’s what you asked me here for isn’t it? If you get me to say out loud what we’re both thinking, then it’s easier for you right? Ease your conscience a bit?”
“I don’t…”
“Grow up Jordan. Like I said, I am nobody’s victim, nor am I some high school girl with a crush.”
“I never meant to imply that you were. I just…”
She took a deep breath and a slight smile began to form on her face. She reached across the table for his hand.
“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to take it out on you. I am just angry with myself. I made a lapse in judgment. I don’t regret what happened between us but it was just a brief escape from the real world. A world that is now beckoning me to return.”
He squeezed her hand slightly before pulling away. “So I guess this means we aren’t going to the prom then?”
She laughed faintly. “No. I already made the mistake of waiting for another boy scout to ask me to the prom and that ship has long since sailed. This girl is all promed out.”
They both began to laugh and the situation quickly became more relaxed. Hal and Chloe ordered lunch and enjoyed each other’s company before finally heading their separate ways. But considering the circumstances that drew them together in the first place, Hal knew they would run into each other again. It would only be a matter of time. Time that Hal hoped would pass quickly.
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Post by starlord on Mar 13, 2007 19:59:28 GMT -5
A few weeks later…[/b]
“Wake up Jordan!” Carol’s voice came screaming into Hal’s earpiece. “If you keep making mistakes in sim-mode your wings will get clipped and instead of ‘Highball’ everyone will have to call you ‘Groundball’.
He gritted his teeth and kept his mouth shut for two reasons. One, he had been working extra hard at getting back on Carol Ferris’s good side lately. Not only because he wanted the chance to take her out on a disaster free date, but also because she was right; he had been making too many mistakes. In a simulation the only thing you lose is the respect of your peers. In the air it could cost lives. He had to focus better. The ring granted him powers and abilities limited only to his imagination and will power. But lately his activities as Green Lantern were affecting his performance at work and this hadn’t been the first time Carol had busted his chops for it.
It seemed like every nut job with a costume had decided to cash in their frequent mad scheme miles all at once, which had left Hal facing another long day after another sleepless night. Hal was drained and had discovered that lack of sleep lead to decreased willpower, making him less effective as Green Lantern, and as Hal Jordan. No wonder Batman seemed so temperamental all the time.
And as if he was being tested, the invisible power ring on his right hand began to tingle just before Carol spoke to him again, “Alright shut it down. We will reset everything and try it again tomorrow. We have less then two weeks before the bidding begins on this prototype, so we have to be executing at one hundred percent. And Jordan, I want you at one hundred and ten percent or don’t bother showing back up here.”
Hal quickly unlatched myself from the simulation pod. He flashed Carol a forced smile as he quickly passed the glass booth she had been monitoring the flight simulator from. He could see that she was still speaking to him but he could no longer hear what she was saying without his earpiece in. At that moment he wasn’t sure he wanted to, besides he had to get some place private before he changed.
A few minutes later he was flying over the dessert toward Coast City. The ring had alerted him that two costumed bandits were terrorizing a high end shopping plaza downtown. With everything that had been going on lately he cursed the ring for alerting him to something that the local police could surely handle. At least he could take care of this quickly and be home in time for some much needed sleep before he had to be back to work. Lost in that thought he never saw the brightly colored energy beam that knocked him out of the sky.
The ring protected him from any major injury the beam may have caused, but Hal hardly saw the plus side to his situation as he plummeted toward the ground below. He quickly recovered and used his ring to project a giant feather pillow to slow his descent until he gently glided to a stop when his feet touched the ground.
Standing directly in front of him he saw the person responsible. A blond woman in a brightly colored costumed stood there with a small sapphire type jewel in one hand and a knapsack in the other. He quickly assessed that the jewel in her hand was the cause of all the trouble when he was forced to dodge another energy beam that she projected from it.
“Why is that men never understand a woman’s needs?” She spouted as she turned away. “Do I ask for much? I don’t think so!”
Hal projected a giant fish bowl around the woman trapping her inside. It appeared that most of people in the shopping area had fled and no one had been hurt. The ring was unable to identify the source of power from the jeweled weapon in her possession but for the moment his construct held her at bay.
As Hal moved toward her she reached inside her pouch and replaced the blue gem with a red one. Pointing down toward the ground, she used it to shatter the bowl and break free.
“You are just like my husband! Always trying to hold me down! My mother said never marry a man like your father, but I didn’t listen to her.”
Surprised at how quickly she moved, Hal barely dodged another blast, this time from an orange gem that shot out hot spikes that burned as they whizzed by his head. How many different stones did she have in that bag? Before Hal had time to think, he felt himself being forced off the ground. He looked up and saw a man floating above him holding an unusual looking gun that shot out numerous beams of light that had attached to his arms and legs, pulling him further into the air.
“You will have to forgive my wife, Jewelee.” The man yelled out, “It seems that instead of wanting to go after something of value, on a whim she thought it would be cool to rob a gallery that contained old books.”
“You are a moron Punch!” Jewelee yelled as she waved her fist in the air. “If you ever took the time to read the classics you would see the value here. This is a first edtion copy of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland you dim wit! It will fetch a million dollars easy!”
Punch and Jewelee? Maybe it was the lack of sleep but Hal began to wonder as he struggled to free himself, if this was his rings idea of a joke. These two seemed more interested in squabbling with each other then anything else. Which was a good thing because Hal feared that if they focused on something other then each other they might be able to cause some real damage with the weapons in their possesion. Hal finally pulled away and landed back down on the ground. Punch followed him down. He pointed his gun toward Hal.
“Wait.”Hal ordered as he stood between both of them with his arms out, “The way I see it is that you return the book you stole from the gallery and I take you both into custody. With minor property damage and no one being hurt you both will serve minimal jail time.”
Hal watched as both of them stood there looking at him. Was it going to be this easy? He began to imagine himself in bed asleep withen the hour.
“He does have a point honey-bunny. And besides, it was you that stole the book so I would serve less time then you.” Punch said gleefully, “I would then visit you twice a week in the womans prison.”
“So you two want to pin this whole thing on me now huh?” Jewelle spoke and Hal watched her hand closely as she slowly moved it toward the pouch in her other hand. “In Wonderland the Queen of Hearts authority was often upsurped when the king went behind her back to betray her! Is that whats going on here?”
“You know I love you!I would never betray you.” Punch said as he slowly lowered his weapon. Hal continued to watch and wait for the oppurtunity to take them both down at once.
“Fine. Prove it then.” Jewelle giggled “Kill your new friend here and we’ll call it even.”
Hal used his ring to reach out a grab the weapon from Punch’s hand. A starled Punch never saw the emrald right hook that came at him, knocking him to the ground. Hal turned as Jewelle bagan to scream. She reached into the pouch and pulled out a black stone and pointed at Hal. Hal projected a shild and prepared to use the same tactic to get the pouch away from her that he just used on Punch. Unfortunatly the black beam that shot out went right through his shield knocking him to the ground.
“You know what the Queen of Hearts did when things didn’t go her way?” Jewelee continued to yell as the jewels black beam held Hal to the ground, “She ordered a good old fashion beheading!” The black beam slowly burned it’s way up Hal chest toward his neck. He found it difficult to move. It was all he could do to maintain a protective barrier to keep the beam from causing any real damage.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Punch pull himself up off the ground. He had to put some distance between him and her before he could figure out a way to to get that pouch of jewels away from her. A loud buzzing in his ear began to make it hard for him to concentrate.
“Why won’t you just die?” Jewelee screamed as she shot another deadly energy beam at him. Hal was forced to the ground as the woman came up behind him and kicked at the protective force field generated from his ring. Punch looked down at him and smiled “Don’t be rude. My wife asked you a question!”
Hal tried to stand up but was unable to. He knew that the ring was the only thing that kept him coherent at the moment. What did she keep going on about? He swore she was complaining about the Queen of Hearts? He looked up and saw that she had pulled another jewel from her pouch. He didn’t know how much more of this madness he could take. There was a buzzing in his ears that the ring couldn’t completely silence.
“Maybe this one?” The woman spoke as she lifted up the small amber colored gemstone and pointed it at him.
Hal looked up just in time to see a yellow beam of light shoot out from the jewel in her hand. He closed his eyes and cringed. This had been a bad day that had quickly gotten worse.
Hal suddenly realized that he had finally caught a break. Of all the jeweled weapons in her possession, ironically it was the yellow one that gave him the best chance of finally ending this ridiculous situation. He stood up as the yellow beam harmlessly bounced off of him. He watched as both Punch and Jewelee stood there with surprised looks on their faces. Before either of them had a chance to move Hal swiftly had taken away their weapons.
A brief moment later Hal had Punch and Jewelee tied up, face to face. With the rare collectors book returned and the their weapons in his possession he waited until he heard sirens approaching in the distance. As he flew away he heard her yelling at him about how he could never be a king when he constantly acted like a court jester.
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Post by starlord on Mar 13, 2007 20:00:21 GMT -5
18 hours later… Hal slowly woke from a deep sleep to the sound of the phone ringing. Without lifting his head off the pillow, he reached over and picked it up.
“Hello?” Hal groggily replied as he held the phone to his ear.
“You know Jordan, I wouldn’t have to call you at home if you got a lantern signal like that freak in Gotham City has.” King Faraday announced loudly as if he knew Hal had been asleep just moments ago.
“What do you want Faraday?” Hal said, resting the phone on his pillow.
“If you’re done with napping after your intense battle with the yuppie circus clowns, we need to talk.”
Hal rolled over and sat up slightly, “I think we need to talk about your continued obsession with me. The fact that you seem to be aware of my every move may be considered stalking.”
“Don’t flatter yourself flyboy. Someone is always keeping an eye on the whereabouts and doings of anyone who wears their pj’s out in public.” The almost pride in Faradays voice gave Hal reason to take pause at the seriousness of that statement. He would have to address that particular issue the next time the JLA met. “How soon can that magic ring of yours get you to New York?”
“Why?”
“While you were playing marriage counselor at the mall yesterday, federal authorities captured a real bad guy after a failed bank robbery. They are preparing to transport him back to California where he’s wanted in connection to several bank robberies there over the past year. Now he’s willing to cut a deal and give up information on a group of radical terrorists in exchange for few amenities while awaiting trial.”
“What does this have to do with me?”
“He insisted that the only person he was willing to give this information to was you. Seems like he’s a big fan of yours and talks like you and him go way back. Does the name William Hand ring a bell to you?”
“Black Hand.” Hal responded.
“Bingo. Get to Broome airfield in four hours.” Faraday ordered before he hung up.
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Post by starlord on Mar 13, 2007 20:01:09 GMT -5
The first time Hal faced William Hand was shortly after the reopening ceremony of the Coast City downtown district. That part of town had been hit the hardest during the Apokolips invasion over a year ago and Hal had spent a lot of time assisting with the rebuilding project that took several months to complete.
Hand went out of his way to crash the party by successfully robbing three Coast City banks in the same day. His only mistake was the robberies had been too easy for him to get away with. He found that robbing banks that were owned by his father, presented very little challenge in the end. He wanted recognition for conceiving and executing the perfect crime. To accomplish that, he challenged Green Lantern to stop his next crime spree before it ended. Hal figured out his clues rather quickly and stopped Hand before the first robbery took place.
Soon after William Hand went to jail. He escaped two weeks later. Coming from a prominent family in Coast City meant very little to him since his family had disowned him after the bank robberies. William had found a new focus and that became besting Green Lantern. He knew that to beat Green Lantern at his level would take power, power that he didn’t possess yet.
Several months later William Hand reappeared to cause trouble for Coast City and Hal again. He now went by the name Black Hand since he was the self-proclaimed black sheep in his family. He quickly challenged Hal, but unlike before William had developed a device that put him on par with a Green Lantern’s ring and also sported a costume complete with a mask and cape. The device was able to store energy from Hal’s ring and turn it into energy to power his device. Hand spent weeks committing elaborate crimes and challenging Hal to figure out how they had been committed.
In the end Hal was able to defeat him by overloading the device forcing it to shut down. William Hand was once again taken into custody. Soon after, he escaped again but this time headed east to Central City taking on the Flash. When Hand realized that the Flash already had enough rogues and wouldn’t give him the attention he sought, he disappeared. He hadn’t been seen or heard from for several months, until he surrendered to authorities in New York yesterday.
Hal found it odd that Hand had taken hostages and had been captured as easily as he was. It didn’t fit his normal profile to put other peoples lives in danger. He had always appeared to commit crime to prove that he was smarter then his family ever gave him credit for. The failed bank robbery seemed doomed from the start, which lead Hal to wonder what his real goal had been. Had he allowed himself to get captured and pretend to have evidence on a dangerous group only to get Hal’s attention? Faraday seemed to believe that the group was legitimate but again it led Hal to wonder how Hand would have come across this information. Hand never appeared to have an interest in causing harm to others before or being involved with a terrorist group.
Hal wouldn’t have to wonder much longer as he touched down at Broome airfield outside of New York. Several miles from the main terminal stood a single Boeing 737 passenger plane that was obvious to Hal wasn’t used in commercial flights any longer. It was the type of plane that was commonly retrofitted by the government to transport prisoners to various facilities across the country. He walked over to where King Faraday stood outside of a black sedan parked several hundred feet away from the plane. “Took you long enough.” Faraday snapped at Hal before motioning him inside the vehicle.
In the short time that Hal knew King Faraday one thing was certain to him, Faraday held a lot of resentment toward him. Hal believed it had something to do with the both of them coming from similar backgrounds. Both of them had followed in their father’s footsteps by joining the Air Force but unlike Hal, Faraday served his country during the Korean War and earned multiple medals including a purple heart and medal of valor. Though King Faraday haD never came right out and said it, Hal believed that Faraday didn’t respect him because Hal had never served his country the same way he had.
After retiring from the Air Force and becoming Green Lantern it may have appeared to Faraday that Hal didn’t respect authority or have pride in his country. He would be wrong on both accounts, of course, but Hal has never confronted him directly on the matter. Hal respected and honored both his country and the position he had held in the armed service. But he was now part of something bigger in the Green Lanterns Corp and when it came right down to it, Hal believed that Faraday was extremely jealous and afraid of the power that Hal possessed because of it.
Regardless of their unspoken feeling for each other, Hal took some satisfaction knowing that it was killing Faraday inside that he had to call on Hal for something. Maybe that was why Faraday sat across from him in the car with a frown on his face.
“Alright. Here’s the deal. You fly back to California with Hand. On the plane will be two Federal Air Marshals that are responsible for seeing that he is transported to San Francisco where he will be held at Alcatraz prison to await trial. You have until the plane touches down in California to determine what, if anything he knows about the terrorist group, the Power Revolution.”
“What do you mean, if anything? I thought you said he appeared to have legitimate information.” Hal said as he leaned closer toward Faraday.
“Yeah well, I also said I would grant him a few perks if he gave us anything. I lied to both of you.” Faraday smiled. “ If he has information, great. Otherwise you get a free ride back to the left coast and some pleasant conversation to kill the time. Hand is already secured and waiting for you inside the plane. Enjoy your flight.” Faraday said as he patted Hal on the leg before opening the car door.
Hal paused as he thought of something to say but chose instead to leave without saying a word. He got out of the car and headed toward the plane. Once inside he was greeted by one of the Air Marshals. He told him that his orders were to allow him and the prisoner privacy in the back of the plane, but his orders also stated that the prisoner was never to leave their sight due to his seemingly ability to escape with ease. Hal assured him that Black Hand wasn’t going anywhere. Besides, they would be flying thirty thousand feet in the air making it impossible for him to escape.
Hal walked toward the back of the plane. He saw Hand chained to his seat. When Hand saw him he looked up at Hal and smiled. “Forgive me if I don’t get up. I guess they take the seatbelt rule pretty serious on this flight.”
The inside of the plane had been retrofitted as Hal figured it would be. The traditional seats had been removed and replaced with seats designed to secure prisoners for the flight. Hal sat down in a seat directly across from Black Hand. Still steaming that he had been mislead by Faraday, he fastened his seat belt and didn’t say a word as the plane took off down the runway.
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Post by starlord on Mar 13, 2007 20:04:31 GMT -5
Thirty minutes into the flight Black Hand looked over at Hal. “I guess you’re wondering why I asked for you.”
“Not really.” Hal said finally breaking his silence, “I think you finally got bored and wanted to get my attention. That’s why you made up the story about the terrorist group isn’t it?”
Black Hand tugged at his restraints and began to laugh, “Is that what you think? That I would make a story up just so we could spend some quality time together? I thought you knew me better then that. Frankly, I am a little disappointed in you, Lantern.”
Projecting an hourglass with his ring that he let float in the air, Hal looked over at Black Hand, “I am not in the mood for games. You have until the sand runs out to tell me what you know about this possible terrorist group before you are carted off to Alcatraz.”
“Alcatraz? I am impressed. I heard that they reopened “The Rock” this past year. They must have figured out that I have little trouble escaping from standard prisons. Might take me a bit longer to figure out a way off that island.”
“And you can forget any deal you may have thought you had once you get there either.” Hal said as emerald sand trickled through the hourglass.
“I figured as such. That Faraday character didn’t seem to be on the up and up to me and he sure doesn’t like you much huh? What did you do, sleep with his daughter or something?” Hand shook his head, “Regardless, I do have information and I knew that only you would act on it once you heard what it was. Does the year 2012 hold any significance to you?”
“The year that the world is suppose to end I’m guessing?”
“You see, that is the common misconception, but that won’t really be the case. Sure, the old world will end, but out of the ashes of the apocalypse a new world will arise, and a year of spiritual transformation will be capped of with a new age of reason and understanding.”
Hal laughed at him and continued when he noticed how bothered Black Hand became.
“Of course I don’t believe in that nonsense but a lot of powerful people do, especially a group who call themselves the Power Revolution.” Hand paused when it seemed that Hal wasn’t going to stop laughing. “The sand is running out. Will you allow me the chance to continue without judgement or snickering?”
“By all means, continue” Hal motioned forward with his hand.
Hand grunted at Hal as he tugged at the chains that bound is hands and feet.He ignored Hal and he continued “The Power Revolution are a group of individuals that feel that there is an agenda that needs to be fulfilled before the age of reason is upon us. A blue print if you will, of certain events that need to be maniupulated in order to keep things on track.
Some of these events have already come to pass, some are to take place over the next five years.Some even sooner. A hero will fall to the darkside. Another will rise to take him down. An alien being will control the government from beneath the center of freedom’s land.” Hand paused again as Hal gave him a perplected look.
“And you believe this? Really believe this to be the truth?”
“Don’t look so surprised. It wouldn’t be the first time. There was Lincoln, Roosevelt, Nixon, Clin…”
“I don’t mean just that part. I mean the whole thing sounds too absurd for someone to believe in, someone who claims to be as smart as you. And the fact that you want me to believe it as well makes it worse.”
“You don’t have to believe in what their prophecy tells them, but to not take the threat they hold seriously is a grave mistake. And whether you believe that these people effectively cause change could be debatable. But changes have been occurring regardless. There is too much evidence to ignore that fact. Of course the average person is being conditioned to accept these changes with the power of suggestion.”
“The power of suggestion?” Hal repeated as found himself focusing more of what Black Hand was saying. Something about the way his tone had changed made Hal realize how serious he was. Hal began to see that this wasn’t the same man he faced off against in the past. Something had changed him. Something he couldn’t quiet put his finger on.
“Here’s an example you will certainly appreciate. Twenty people clear their throat at the same time. That would draw attention would it not? But what if it was only two or three? The power of suggestion is very powerful and no one would notice that. Think of how the world has evolved. What was unimaginable years ago now seems natural. Seeing people fly of their own accord, across the sky, is normal now. People have accepted it as commonplace. The power of suggestion again in action. People have come to except changes in their life without ever realizing that had a say in the matter.”
“So your saying that the emergence of more ‘super beings’ is a result of the world heading toward its eventual end and people are being conditioned to accept this?” Hal slowly responded as if he was coming to a grand understanding.
“See, this is why I had to come to you with this information. I knew you would understand how grave the situation truly is” Black Hand spoke as he watched the sand slip through the hourglass seemingly at a faster rate. “But we are getting side tracked here and time is running out. The Power Revolution is a legitimate threat. Especially since the next event on their list is to speed along the natural disasters that will wipe California off the map. This is scheduled to occur within the next ten days and I don’t want to spend my final moments sliding off into the ocean.”
“What do you mean, your final moments?” Hal asked as he was gradually drawn to how dark Hands eyes had become. Almost pitch black and consuming.
“A doctor discovered that the cause of my headaches were due to a large tumor that had slowly began to eat away at my brain. I am dying Hal and I want to go home.”
Hal was no longer looking into Black Hands eyes but saw his own eyes. In fact, he saw himself outside of his body, looking at himself sitting there. He was seated where Black Hand was and watched as his body spoke to him.
“I want to thank you Hal Jordan for this opportunity. I knew that you wouldn’t disappoint me.”
“How did you…” Hal asked but it sounded like it came from Hand. He realized that he was unable to move his arms and legs. He looked down and saw that he was bound with chains. His mind began to whirl as thoughts began to form. How could he see himself seated just a few feet away? He felt a strange sensation in the back of his skull, a pressure that wasn’t there a moment ago. His ring was no longer on his finger. He didn’t recognize himself anymore. How did Black Hand know his real name?
“Don’t worry. The sensation will pass soon enough as the change becomes permanent.” He heard his voice say out loud as his body stood up in front of him. “You were a worthy foe but I needed something a little more. You see I knew that you would probable see through the story about the Power Revolution but I just needed you alone and someplace private. I wasn’t lying about the tumor though. I am dying…well, was dying, and I can see by the look in your eyes that you are starting to figure it out. I just pulled off the greatest escape and perhaps the sweetest robbery of all time. I stole Green Lanterns body.”
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Post by starlord on Mar 13, 2007 20:05:04 GMT -5
To be continued…[/b]
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Post by mockingbird on Aug 1, 2011 18:29:29 GMT -5
To let us know what you think of this issue, please visit the letters page here!
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