#62: Elements of Chaos, Part 2 (of 3)

Previously, in GREEN LANTERN CORPS…

Five mysterious power rings have surfaced in Japan, leading JOHN STEWART to journey to the Land of the Rising Sun to figure out what exactly is going on. Wielded by five teens, the power rings appear to channel five elements-- fire, water, air, earth and ether-- and with his old friend REX MASON, aka METAMORPHO, THE ELEMENT MAN, by his side, JOHN intends to get to the bottom of this mystery-- and it doesn’t help that the bearer of the fire ring has just been found dead in her bedroom!

Meanwhile, GUY GARDNER returns to Earth after a harrowing experience facing off against the mad Kryptonian scientist XA-DU, and finds himself smack dab in the middle of another horror show, as a cannibalistic murderer is loose, and his last crime scene was outside HAL JORDAN’s old brownstone in Coast City! GUY’s ring identified the culprit immediately, and it mean nothing good for the ring-slingers… because WILLIAM HAND, better known as the long-thought-dead BLACK HAND, is apparently on the loose, and with murder on his mind!

And while the two Green Lanterns of Sector 2814 fight battles on different fronts on planet Earth, their old comrade HANK HENSHAW is MIA, having been ejected from the Corps after losing the will to utilise his ring. Where is he? Only JOHN STEWART knows, and for the good of his friend, JOHN isn’t sharing.

Welcome back to the ongoing adventures of the GREEN LANTERN CORPS!

“Highball, it’s Gardner, do you read?”

There was nothing but emerald static on the other end of the ring-to-ring communication.

Guy Gardner sat alone on the roof of one of Ferris Aeronautics’ hangars, not even bothering to make himself invisible. He went unnoticed, and that didn’t surprise him any. It was the middle of the night, there was nobody about, and he quite desperately needed to get in touch with his former rival, former comrade, his friend, Hal Jordan. Coming here wasn’t part of that decision, but for some reason he felt compelled… like it was the best place for it. Ghosts of a long gone history haunting him in the present.

Guy tried again. “Hal, please, it’s Guy, I need you to pick up. I know you’re retired, I know you’re laying low with your family, but this is important.”

There was a desperation in his voice. Black Hand was back-- and on the hunt for Jordan. But every attempt to contact his old friend left him empty-handed, no response from the man who dragged him into the madness and mayhem of the Green Lantern Corps in the first place.

Ever since Hal had gone to ground with his family, there was no word from him. That was the idea, of course. The Global Peace Agency, of which Chloe Sullivan was the Weatherman, was the premier peace keeping agency in the world. Anonymity played a massive role in that, as did Chloe’s wish to protect their daughter. So Hal vanished, without a trace, and wherever he was, his ring didn’t pick up transmissions. He was retired, and that was fine, but if Black Hand found him before Guy…

“Please,” repeated Guy, “please, you need to know, it’s Black Hand, he’s back and you need to watch yours. C’mon, Hal.”

Guy waited, but yet again there was no response. He prayed that Black Hand hadn’t found Hal already. But he knew, and he hated knowing, that if this went from a hunting trip to an avenging crusade, Guy Gardner wouldn’t rest until Black Hand was dead. For good this time.


Everyone in Japan knew the story. Back in the early fifties, a mysterious cloud appeared in the sky from out of nowhere. Throbbing green and crackling with lightning, this atmospheric event instilled dread in the citizens below, and it only got worse from there. The cloud was a warning, a rash over the country that broke out into full blown chaos when a tear in reality opened up and dozens of monstrous creatures-- dubbed Kaiju by the government-- poured out.

Thus began the Monster Wars. Starting in 1954 and unfolding into the seventies, the Kaiju came, and they were forced back time and time again by a cadre of heroes who united in the face of barely relenting chaos.

Led by the noble Ultimon, a centurion wearing futuristic armour and representing an ancient and secret society of science warriors, the heroes fought back against the invaders. Heroes such as Boss Bosozuko, the original Nazo Baluda, future Global Guardians founding member Rising Sun and the actor-turned-hero Sunburst were made legends due to their actions, and it was their efforts that led to the closure of the dimensional rift and the restoration of peace to Japan in 1975.

From the ashes of the Monster War came the formation of Big Science Action, a cabal of heroes who, from that day, promised to keep Japan safe from whatever threats may come.

So when, in the present day, an ominous green cloud began to form over the islands of Japan, and the dreaded lightning began to crackle, Big Science Action reformed and headed up to the dimensional rift-- but they were too late!

“What is that?” asked Boss Bosozuko’s successor, Boss Bishonen. The hotheaded young man’s eyes widened as a reptilian claw began to tear at the sky. It was bigger than he had imagined possible, and that feeling was shared by the others.

“It’s bigger than before-- bigger than they ever were--” started Rising Sun.

“What can we do?” asked Sunburst. “We barely stopped them the last time! And back then, we had Ultimon fighting by our side!”

A golden explosion manifested before the gathered members of the modern day incarnation of Big Science Action, and a familiar figure emerged, his arms opened wide. “And when the clarion call of impending doom sounds, Ultimon will by your side once more!”

“Ultimon, thank the heavens,” said Rising Sun. “That thing--”

Ultimon’s head titled as he looked up at the shape tearing at the skies. “The King of the Monsters returns. Fear not, old friend--”

Five blasts of energy streamed upwards from the city below, striking the reptilian claw and sending it back into the abyss.

The cause? Fire! Water! Earth! Wind! Ether! The five elements of Japanese Buddhism, the Godai!

“What is that?” asked Rising Sun. “Are those children?”

“Children? By no means,” mused Ultimon, watching as the five beams of light twisted and turned and pushed the King of the Monsters back, and the dimensional rift began to seal up before him. “They wield the power of the elements—their coming was foretold—Ultra Element Force 5!”

Kaori Nakamura, aka Fire Mistress Red, smiled as her crimson ring lapped up the flames it had unleashed. “Yes! Ultra Element Force 5 are here to save the day, Ultimon-san. There’ll be no more Monster Wars while we’re around!”


The long serving warden of Alcatraz prison, Leonard McGoohan entered his office and was immediately alerted to the presence of the Green Lantern due to the simple fact the entire room was bathed in emerald light.

Interestingly, the light didn’t creep out from the crack at the base of his door, seemingly contained to this room, and in the corner, Guy Gardner waited for the man who’d-- to his knowledge-- last held Black Hand in custody.

“When my secretary told me a Green Lantern wanted to speak to me, I assumed it was the other one. The one I met before.” He held in his hand a cup of tea, and took a seat behind his desk, settling in for what he imagined would be one of those meetings. “We’ve never met, have we.” Not a question. A statement. Assertion of authority by way of rhetorical question.

Guy was straight to the point. “You need to tell me how Black Hand is still alive and kicking.”

McGoohan, the man responsible for containing some of the worst metahumans the world had ever seen for the last two decades on the island prison of Alcatraz, had been in charge when Hal Jordan-- in the body of Black Hand-- led a motley crew of villains in a daring escape so that the Green Lantern could reclaim his stolen body*. His reputation had taken a hit all those years ago. But still he was the boss, the man in charge of containing the worst of the worst, and he wasn’t best impressed by the Green Lantern’s presence in his office.


McGoohan took a sip from his tea and cocked an eyebrow at the interloper in his office. “I’m afraid I don’t know the answer to that question, Green Lantern.”

“He was your prisoner, chief. What do you mean you don’t know?”

McGoohan remained still, but an intensity filled his voice. “Tone your volume down, son. Aggression will get you nowhere with me. I have to deal with hardened super-cons every day, and when I’m in this room,” he gestured around him, “I don’t tolerate people raising their voices, visitor or no.”

Gardner clenched his fist, trying to calm himself down. “I came home after havin the god damn worst time of my life. Came home and found myself smack dab in a big ol’ case of unfinished business. A monster who should be dead-- a monster who had a tumour twice the size of a baseball rotting away inside his brain-- is loose-- on a ing killing spree that’s taken him all the way from San Francisco to Coast City. I apologise if I’m raising my voice!”

“Well, apology accepted then,” said McGoohan, wearing a smile that caused Gardner to grate inside. “After Black Hand was apprehended by your colleague and Wonder Woman, he was taken into federal custody. The transfer papers were signed by the governor, all above my head. If I had it my way, that freak of nature would have been thrown into the pit and left to rot, cancer be damned. The man was a suspected serial killer before he built his little energy wand. The papers seem to ignore that when they tell the stories of his battles with Green Lantern. Or maybe they’re afraid of bringing him down on their heads.”

“Feds,” murmured Guy. “FBI?”

“Oh, I think we both know it’s an organisation a bit bigger than that,” said the warden.

Guy felt something turn in his stomach. “Ah, crap. The DE freakin’ O.”

McGoohan nodded. “Correct. Now, I met one of their agents. An older gentleman who came in to explain that Black Hand wasn’t my responsibility anymore. He wasn’t a disagreeable sort. In all my time running a prison I’ve seen many like him. He gave me his card.” The warden flicked through the rolodex in front of him and withdrew a simple, white rectangle. “I heard that the DEO were disbanded a year or so back*, but the name might help.”

*And replaced by the Global Peace Agency, first seen in Green Lantern #36

Guy looked at the card then rolled his eyes in aggravation. “Ah, crap.”

“You know this Faraday character, then?”

“Yup,” said Guy. “But I need to find Black Hand before he finds, well,” he hesitated, before soldiering on. “Warden McGoohan, thanks for your time. I appreciate it.”

“Yes, well,” said McGoohan, waving the young man away. “I’ll always be here.”


“What is that thing, GL?” asked Rex Mason, keeping the surviving members of Ultra Element Force 5 out of the crime scene that was Kaori Nakamura’s bedroom. The young woman was dead, her body a scorched ruin, laying on her pristine, luxurious bed.

John Stewart stood in front of the thing that Kyoko had impaled-- killing it instantly-- against the wall, considering what had happened.

“I don’t know, the ring is scanning,” said John. “Did you call the authorities?”

“Yes, yes, Lantern-san,” said Kanako. “They’re on their way-- but we’re superheroes, we should be able to--”

“No,” John interrupted. “I’m sorry, but no. Rex, please take them into another room. I need to work the scene. I’ll be through in a moment.”

“I’m calling Sugabayashi,” said Akifumi. “He’ll want to know what’s happened,” the young man shook his head, barely able to process what had happened to their teammate, “oh, oh God.”

Mason nodded and beckoned the four youths into another part of the apartment. John raised his ring but then stopped before beginning further scans. He looked down at the victim-- Kaori Nakamura-- and considered the bed. She was a burnt husk, but the bed was pristine. Whatever the thing did to her was so focused on her that it didn’t even touch the bedsheets. The fire was either controlled to a very precise degree, or the accelerant burnt fast but didn’t spread. Either way, odd.

<Lifeform identified as a member of the Pyreonox race.>

The alien had a dense, almost black hide, but on closer inspection there were shades of blue under a carapace structure across it’s body. It had two sets of long, odd-looking arms, and smaller legs. There was a mouth, filled with gummy teeth, and large eyes that took up the majority of its face. No nose, no ears. He leaned in close to the dead alien and noticed surgical scars up and down the body, hidden in the crevices of the carapace armour. The alien was covered in cybernetic components. A deep body scan revealed that the parts went to the bone, integrated with organs. Someone had chipped away at the ‘humanity’ of this is member of the Pyreonox race. Despicable.

“I’m assuming some kind of flame-related abilities are inherent to this species?”

<The Pyreonox home world // the Pyre // exists in a region of space close to the Forbidden Sectors known as the Burning Time //the Burning Time is filled with spatial anomalies that mean that those living inside it have had to adapt to extreme temperatures // the Pyreonox people’s innate abilities to survive heat do not extent to projection of fire or heat.>

“So it’s not probable that this guy over here killed the victim,” mused John. “Scan the genetic structure. What’s going on with these implants?”

<Genetic tampering present. Unknown mutations to base DNA spiral // reason behind cybernetic implants unclear // will continue to compute possibilities.>

John looked down at the body of Kaori. “I’m sorry.” He gently lifted her hand up with an energy construct and slipped her power ring off her charred finger. He considered the red band, saw the engraving of a fire on the façade, and then glanced around. “What’s going on with this power ring?”

<Inert variant on Oan power ring technology.>

“Inert? Could this project and control--” There was a banging at the door and John realised the police had arrived. He slipped the ring into a pocket dimension, close to the one he kept his power battery in, then went to meet them. “To be continued.”


After the dismantling of the Department of Extra-Normal Operations in favour of the so-called Global Peace Agency, under the command of his protégé, Chloe Sullivan, King Faraday had a whole host of job offers to pick from.

For a while, he’d freelanced, operating as an intelligence advisor to a senator by the name of Bradley Roth*, but that grew old fast. Now he was back in the FBI, riding a desk, intelligence crossing his desk and him, with his decades of knowledge and unquestioned extended lifespan, picked through it, analysing and highlighting issues of importance.


It wasn’t a directorship. What did the Global Peace Agency and then Stormwatch call the position? It wasn’t being the Weatherman, but it was good, honest work, and with his intentions at the moment, perfect.

But more on that at a later date.

“You’re a hard man to track down, Faraday,” said Gardner, walking up toward the park bench Faraday was sat on. He was wearing his civvies, old trainers, battered jeans, an old Baltimore Clippers t-shirt under his flight jacket. Just because Jordan wore it better didn’t mean he was the only one allowedto wear them, and it was one piece of Guy’s personal history he held onto. Gardner used to be USAF too, before the Green Lantern Corps entered his life.

“There’s a reason for that,” said Faraday. The old man-- older than he had any right to be-- looked like he was in his early fifties, well-kept and tidy. In truth, this was an intelligence operative who’d been active back in the early days of the Second World War. His white hair was streaked with black, his terse features pinched as Gardner made himself known.

Instead of reacting with alarm, Faraday slowly folded his copy of today’s Times and placed it on the bench beside him. He cast a judgemental eye over Guy. “Look at you, Gardner. No longer the raving lunatic.” From out of his pocket he took a small, cylindrical device that he placed on top of his newspaper. He pressed a hidden button on the perfectly smooth surface of it, and a low hum began to fill the air.

What is that? asked Guy, the question in his head directed at his ring.

<Dampening field currently in operation. We are currently standing within a communication black spot.>

Someone’s paranoid, thought Guy. He bristled. When Faraday was part of the lives of the earthbound Green Lanterns, Guy wore a power ring-- Sinestro’s old ring-- infected by a sentient virus intent on infecting and destroying the Corps. The Legion Virus got into his head, muddied his thoughts, perpetuated his bad attitude and regressed his thought processes.

Sure, Guy was an asshole back in his day-to-day, but that's not all he was. But it was what the ring made him, what the ring refused to let him grow past.

“Yeah, I dropped that piece of crap jewellery and got something that’s a lot more my colour.” Guy held up his emerald power ring. “Suits me better, don’t ya think?.”

“If you say so,” said Faraday. “What brings you to Washington? You’ve not been around much recently.”

“Been keeping an eye on me?” The two men went quiet as a woman walking her dog walked by. She was looking at her phone, and audibly cursed when her wi-fi signal dropped out. “God damn mobile data,” she hissed, leaving the communication black spot nearly as quickly as she entered. “Oh, there we go--”

“I keep an on all of you, to make sure there are no come-backs from my previous life,” said Faraday. “Sit down. You’re drawing attention.”

Guy shoved his hands into his pockets and sat a calculated distance across the bench from Faraday. “Black Hand. You keeping an’ eye on all of us, I’m sure you know where Black Hand is.”

“William Hand died not long after he compromised Hal Jordan,” said Faraday. Slow. Uncomplicated.

Rehearsed?

Guy tapped his chin a few times, his ring on display. “…You’re lying.”

“Why would I lie?” said King. “Care to test me with that portable lie detector on your finger?”

“You like knowing things others don’t, Faraday. And yeah, I could dig into your brain matter and pull out the answers I want, but that’s not me, not here, not right now.” He shifted in his seat, uncomfortable. “Listen, I need to know where Black Hand is, or was, or even what his agenda was last time you saw him. Because he is alive. And he’s looking for Hal Jordan.”

Faraday didn’t show any emotion. “Black Hand is dead.”

Guy grimaced. King almost smiled. “Okay, sure, so he’s the walking dead and he’s looking for Jordan, that means Chloe’s in the firing line. And their kid too.”

Faraday’s lip twitched. Chloe was his protégé. He had been like a father to her, but their relationship had soured at the same rate as his intense dislike for the growing superhero community. Unrestricted power in the hands of flyboys and sycophants. A dangerous combination.

“You can’t find the body with your ring?” said Faraday. “Because he is dead.”

“Whatever happened to him, his genetic signature is warped,” said Gardner. “He’s untraceable. But he’s killed. There were traces of his DNA, but mangled like nobody’s business. Can’t get a lock on him.”

Faraday took a notebook out from his jacket and scribbled down a name and address. “Black Hand is dead, Gardner. But if he’s still active out in the field, this is the person you’ll want to speak to. She’ll have all the answers. I can’t say anymore. Treason and all that.”

Guy took the scrap of paper and tucked it into his jacket. “Thank you..”

“Never mention it,” said Faraday. “If I’m caught passing intel to your side, my career is done. I’m no Ed Snowden. Russian weather wouldn’t agree with me.”

“Happily, then,” said Guy. He stood and headed away from the bench, to some secluded spot to vanish back into the sky where he’d arrived from.

Faraday looked straight ahead, at the Korean War Veterans Memorial directly in front of him. He was southeast of the Lincoln Memorial and just south of the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall, and it was here he put his thoughts in order time and time again, in moments of doubt.

Maybe it was time for a change, you old bastard, he thought to himself. Especially considering the situation in the Agency right now. Maybe it’s time to get into a new line of business.


The Japanese deferred to John Stewart with an ease that surprised the Green Lantern. Usually, there’d be hostility between the two police forces, one native, one intergalactic, but the reverence this society held for the super powered was fascinating.

“What did this?” asked one of the detectives.

John kept things close to his chest. “At the moment, it’s unclear. There was a second victim, an alien being, but I need to follow up on some leads before I provide a solid answer.” He looked over at the other teenagers on the team. “I need to explain to the others they shouldn’t use their rings for the time being..”

“Should we confiscate them--?” asked one of the uniforms. Young. Eager. John could see right through him. Should we confiscate and take the rings for ourselves?

“No,” said John. “Rex, could you--?”

Mason nodded. “Detectives, let me provide a chemical analysis of the crime scene.” His Japanese was, as established in the bar, flawless. The detectives knew him, they respected him. John thought it best for someone more local than himself act as an interim. He wanted to ask some questions first before letting Ultra Element Force 5 get removed from the scene. Mason looked over at John after a short chat with the lead detective and nodded-- go ahead.

“You said it was unclear, but that thing Kyoko killed--” started Tomoko. “Kaori was murdered.”

“Until I know the whole picture, it’s not wise to share snippets, glances,” said John. He sighed, collecting his thoughts. First things first. “How did you get your rings?” he asked. He was stood in front of the four surviving members, and they were looking sheepishly at the weaponised jewellery on their fingers.

“What does it matter?” asked Tomoko. She had started to grip the edge of the sofa tightly-- John could see anger in her, and he made a note of that. “Our teammate--”

“Our friend,” quickly interjected Akifumi, his fingers rolling over his knuckles.

“That’s what Tomoko meant, Aki,” said Kanako. “Kaori was a bitch but she was our bitch. We loved her, even if she treated us like garbage. And she loved us too.”

Kyoko, sat away from the others, sighed. “They came in the night. We didn’t know each other before they arrived. Each of us were chosen. Chosen to bear this gift.”

John turned and considered this girl. He didn’t fully understand the concept of the Japanese interpretation of the four-- seemingly five-- elements, but Kyoko Goto-- Ether Void Queen-- wielded the power of the ‘ether’, energy instead of element, and from what he’d seen, her power discharges more closely resembled that of a Green Lantern than the others.

“What did the rings say?” asked John.

“What do you mean?” asked Akifumi.

“When a Green Lantern is chosen, a message is recited,” said John. He held up his ring, and in a hard, human voice, it began to speak: “You have the ability to overcome great fear. Welcome to the Green Lantern Corps.”

“You will change everything,” said Kyoko, quickly, flatly. “Not like your voice though-- harsh, mechanical. I didn’t understand it at first…”

“Then it drew us all together, in Tokyo,” said Kanako. “I’m not from here originally, but the rings had a pull, like gravity. Where’s Kaori’s?”

“Safe,” said John. “Do you know how your rings work? Has anyone checked them out?”

“I think hard and I can manipulate the earth,” said Tomoko. “What else do we need to know?”

John said nothing. They were just children. Children with abilities beyond their understanding.

Rex came up behind John and placed a hand on his shoulder. “The police want to talk to the kids.”

“Yes, Green Lantern-san, it’s best time you left!” A bristling, sweat-faced man stormed past the police, a briefcase in one hand and a handful of papers waving in the others. “My clients need time to grieve this horrible loss!”

“Who’s this?” asked Stewart, looking down at the posturing man.

Mason sneered. “Green Lantern, meet Kaname Sugabayashi, the community’s least favourite lawyer slash PR guy.”

“You’ve harassed my clients enough for the night,” said Sugabayashi. He turned his attention to the team. “I told you not to speak to the authorities until I got here.”

“Okay,” said John. He needed to think. He had full biometric readings on the team, he had full scans of the crime scene, and his ring could perform an autopsy off the full body scan he’d taken of Kaori. He needed time to decompress, to run through the events of the evening, and figure out his next move. “Someone needs to stay with the team. Whoever that alien was, we don’t know if there are more, and if they’re gunning for the others, they’ll need a detail on them.”

Rex Mason wasn’t paying attention to John. Instead, his eyes were locked on the windows, and as John turned to see what had caught his attention, he saw the figure floating, arms crossed, in the middle of the air, above the quiet street.

“Ultimon’s here,” said Mason. “News travels fast.”

Ultimon phased through the windows and entered the room. The police went deathly quiet. “I have seen what transpired. Do you need someone to watch over the children?”

“These are not children!” spat Kaname, his thin moustache shuddering.

“Ultimon-san, I don’t want to end up like Kaori, like Fire Mistress,” said Kanako. “I…”

Ultimon placed a hand on her shoulder, a light squeeze to show support. “Green Lantern-san. You are well-versed in matters of the extra-terrestrial. You should take the lead here. I will stay with these young heroes. I will keep them safe.”

John smiled. “Thank you.” He glanced over to Rex. Gave him the look. “Metamorpho, could you stick around too?”

“There’s no need for the two of us--” started Ultimon.

“It’s no problem, GL,” said Mason, knowing full well that Stewart was constructing something in his head. A theory, maybe. “You want your two big guns watching these guys, that’s absolutely fine. Wherever they go, we go.” He patted Ultimon on the back. “No problem at all.”

The elder statesman of the Japanese superhero set nodded. “Good luck, Green Lantern-san.”


Guy sighed. It was as if he was doing laps around the country, his ring enabling near instant travel, but pinging backwards and forwards, going back on himself when all he wanted to do was gain some forward momentum, couldn’t help but drive him to irritation.

The last few weeks had been absolutely crap. First off, Guy was vivisected by a mad Kryptonian on a ruined Daxamite colony*.


Then he’d nearly been forced to make a decision he might have regretted, exposing the Daxamites to a so-called cure to their lead exposure that might have been just another poison*.


Guy could have been party to the murder of over a hundred innocents who had already been through their own hell. Then less than twenty-four hours ago, he’d been demoted back to Sector Lantern, and thrust straight into a nightmare on his return to Earth*.


Black Hand.

Black Hand, who stole Hal Jordan’s body a few years back. Black Hand could have committed atrocities in his friend’s name if it weren’t for Hal’s indomitable will to get back into his own body, and the assistance provided by Wonder Woman.

But this man-- this villain-- was a nobody before then. A minor player in a team known as the Masters of Disaster. The other members of that little cabal hadn’t been seen together since. Did they learn from their former teammate’s mistakes?

Or had Black Hand tied up that loose end? What had the warden said? That Hand was suspected of a number of serial killings before building the energy wand he used to steal the charge from a Green Lantern’s ring?

Another investigation for another time. When there weren’t more pressing matters at hand.

King Faraday had directed him to something called the Steadborne Stack. A special medical facility in the heart of the city, they were a lower key version of STAR Labs, focusing on medical breakthroughs in the field of superhuman medicine.

Gardner called ahead, spoke to someone called Bridget Steadborne, apparently the acting director of the facility. She had a soft voice, was surprised to hear from him, half convinced it was some prank call. When he projected his face out of her phone, a scowling, emerald Guy Gardner face being one of the scariest things that could possibly crawl out of a phone, she agreed to meet him.

“I need information,” said Guy, cutting to the chase. He felt exhausted. All this rushing around, he hadn’t slept since Oa, and even then he was having the nightmares that came with being taken apart and sewed back together again. His ring could take care of the dreams if he wished. Take care of his sleeping too. Instead he pushed and clawed at his focus, using that razored edge state of being to keep him on track.

“William Hand, yes, you said,” said Bridget. She was a short woman, blonde hair in curls down to her shoulders. Pale blue eyes were made bigger by her thick rimmed glasses. Hipster-chic, but she was young, mustn’t have been older than thirty, if that, and it worked. She wore a plaid skirt, a wool jumper and a white shirt underneath. Pretty. Agitated though. She bent over her desk and scrawled something on a piece of paper. She held it up. “I’m afraid I can’t discuss that case.”

Guy’s brow furrowed.

We are being monitored, read the note.

Guy took a leaf out of King Faraday’s book. He held out his ring. He imagined the room was a black spot. No communications capable of breaking through his imagination. He imagined that any recording equipment in the room would show Bridget turning him away. He nodded slowly.

“We’re clear now. You’re being monitored?” said Guy.

“I can’t—shouldn’t-- go into it. But I’m here now, and you have questions about William. Please, ask away. I need to help however I can.”

Was this woman here under duress? If she was, she had a perfect moment to be rescued, but that didn’t seem to be it. She wanted to help, but was being monitored. Strange. But if she wasn’t willing to press the point, neither was he. There was time for that later.

“So you had him here?” asked Guy. He was somewhat surprised by how easy that was.

“Until he died,” said Bridget. “And then only until he came back.”

Guy blinked. “Repeat that.”

“Mister Hand died, Mr Green Lantern,” said Bridget. “He was dead, cold on a slab, and then he came back.”

“Call me Guy,” said Gardner, calmly. She was helping. He kept telling himself, that's voice in the back of his head, don’t be an asshole to her, don’t be an asshole. “Go on?”

“William Hand was suffering with a severe brain tumour when he arrived at the stack, what we found after an MRI was that it wasn’t just one tumour, it was several. His entire body was riddled with cancer. It was astonishing that he lived as long as he did,” said Bridget. “But that was why we wanted him here. We read the medical reports, the write-ups on his tumour-- no one should have lived as long as he did, considering the diagnosis.”

“Is that why you had him here?” asked Guy.

“Yes, exactly. Our work here involves using the superhuman physiology to combat all-too-human ailments. A man who can survive that kind of cancer? I want to take a look inside his head.” Her glasses slipped down the bridge of her nose, and she pushed them up with her thumb.

“And then he died,” said Guy.

“Complications from the treatment,” said Bridget. “We were trying some radical treatment to stabilise him, maybe shrink the tumours. We wanted to look inside his brain, but if we opened him up, we were convinced he wouldn’t make it through the operation. And as much as others wouldn’t care about keeping him alive, I’m not going to vivisect a man to death. Even if he is a killer.”

Guy nodded. “Humane of you.”

“Well, more humane than what he would have done in our position. That man was vile, and absolute beast. He suffered, and he suffered, and we tried to alleviate his suffering, but nothing we could do helped. He ranted about already being dead, how we were haunting him, and how nothing we did, or he would do to us, mattered, because he was already dead. He spat and swore and cussed us out every minute of every day. And when he wasn’t berating us, explaining how he was already dead, he talked about someone he knew. Umm, Harold, I think it was?”

Guy stiffened. Visibly straightened up.

Bridget cocked her head to the side, giving him a look up and down. She read him like a book. “You know who he meant?”

“Black Hand died?”

“Hand thought he was dead already. You know what we call that? The Cotard delusion. Somebody who thinks they’re already dead. With the way his body reacted to the tumours, the weight and hair loss, his fingernails fell out, his skin blackened, started necrotising. You could almost believe it.”

“But you said he actually died?” pushed Guy.

“During the course of treatment. And when then,” Bridget paused. “Look, I have a theory, and it’s an odd one, and I’ve got no proof. Hand escaped, and his escape left our work in a shambles. But I think, I think he was a superhuman. And his brain tumours were basically a part of that. Part of his specific mutation. His body is dead, effectively. Afterwards, we opened up his head and looked inside and he woke up, mutilated two of the surgeons, nearly killed them with a scalpel, before breaking out. I can show you the footage-- he just-- he just picks up the part of his skull we removed, slips it back in place, picks up a stapler--”

“I get the idea,” said Guy. “Mutation, you said? What’s his power set?”

“I don’t even know, turning himself into a walking, talking zombie?” offered Bridget.

“Why wasn’t this reported? Why didn’t the world know this god damn monster was loose?” asked Guy.

It was Bridget’s turn to rankle. She searched her desk for something, an excuse maybe, but instead, she cleared her throat, took a breath, and finally shook her head, dejected. “I’m not allowed.”

“Not allowed? By whose order?” asked Guy. Something else clicked into place. “You’re working for the government. FBI? Are you working for Faraday?”

“Who? No, I’m, it’s a private… I shouldn’t really…”

“But they monitor you?” said Guy. His ring sent a wave of green across the room, revealing numerous pieces of recording equipment, microphones in the walls, a camera in every corner of the room. Her computer, her phones, her laptop, everything was riddled with bugs. He made a note to record their schematics. He hated a conspiracy. “Are you safe? Really?”

“Yes, yes, I’m safe, it’s just, well, they pay us well and they demand a certain level of anonymity. It’s a private investor, I can’t go into details, but they were the ones who paid for William Hand’s transfer to the stack. They wanted us to figure out the secret to his surviving. The in-house psychiatrist told me something, and, uh, it might be worth something. It might be the reason he kept going, or it might be a madman’s delusion.”

“What would that be?” asked Guy.

“William thought he kept going because Harold had something of his that he needed back to finally rest,” said Bridget. “He said he wouldn’t rest-- I assume he meant stay dead-- until he saw him again.” She deflated. “Forty-eight hours later, he escaped.”


John didn’t want to do this next thing in atmosphere, near a population centre, near anybody that could get hurt. He went up into space, protected by his ring, and took Kaori Nakamura’s red ring out of the dimensional lock he’d left it in.

Red rings meant rage, in his line of work. This wasn’t emblazoned with the crimson insignia of the Red Lantern Corps, currently barricaded in Sector 666, hidden from the universe behind a scarlet energy wall*.


“What are we working with here?” asked John.

<Inert variant on Oan power ring technology,> his ring repeated its comments from earlier. <No database link detected. Structural scans indicate minute hole on the façade of ring. Traces of dimensional tearage.>

“Dimensional tearage?” said John. “What does that mean?”

<Unknown // supposition // dimensional tunnelling present, façade of ring acts as exit / entrance.>

“It’s a tunnel. Can we tap into it? Go inside?” asked John.

Tendrils of emerald light spread across the red ring, and slipped into the façade of the ring. They worked away, worming their way inside some space that John couldn’t see, until they spread outward, stretching a hole in space wide enough for John to see inside. The ring was still intact, but it was just as his own power ring said, there was some kind of dimensional tunnel, the ring was one way in or out, and it led to--

John floated into the hole in space and allowed his ring to close the portal after him. He didn’t want a mysterious portal floating around in orbit around the earth. His power ring kept tabs on the red ring that spun in orbit around the earth, tethering him to Earth.

Where was he? He had stepped through space and arrived in a dank, cable filled chamber. Immediate defensive scans told him there were no weapons active near him, nothing that would attack if he pushed on. There was no light, so he ordered his ring to change his perceptions so he could make out the shapes in the dark. On command, he could suddenly see in the dark, and what he was horrified him.

John had read Guy’s ring recording of his experiences on the Daxamite colony, the one that had left him broken and barely capable of wielding the ring afterwards. The horror show. The abattoir smell, the horrible, horrible sights that came with the mad Kryptonian’s work. This place, where John had ended up, made connections in his head to his friend’s experience.

There were four pods, one empty, the other three containing three aliens of species he couldn’t identify by eye. Firstly, he looked at the empty pod. Fragments of a heavy duty, plastic-like substance was smashed in shards across the floor. Bloody dents covered pieces. He scanned the matter left over by whatever had escaped from it and it matched that of the Pyreonox that they’d found in Nakamura’s bedroom.

Whatever escaped went straight after her, thought John. How? Why?

He continued looking around the room, as silent as he could manage. He looked toward the occupied tube closest to him, and asked his ring to analyse the alien being floating inside.

The first alien, translucent skin and visible internal organs of inhuman shape and design, was floating in a pod full of water. There were wires and implants across his body, digging into the same organs that were visible to John’s naked eye. Its black eyes blinked as John moved toward it, but it made no move back. It was restrained, thin gills at its neck, wrists and sides, under the elongated rib cage. It was fish-like, if you took a mackerel, stretched it out and gave it the lower torso of a humanoid.

<Lifeform identified as a member of the Ekhthysk race.>

Does the Ekhthysk have something to do with water?

<The Ekhthysk home world // the Great Lake // is 97% water.>

The second being was a brownish lump of rock in the shape of a man, an extra set of muscular arms made of stone. Rivets were driven into what passed for its flesh-- simply more rock-- and pinned it like a butterfly to the wall. It had no facial features, and instead of the mechanisms John had seen on the alien back in Japan, and the Ekhthysk beside it, there was no sign of body modification. He left his ring dance across the being, and a scan revealed the long rivets branched out under the flesh of the alien and were digging into the small, pebble like sacs that must have made us its internal organs.

“Where the hell are we?” asked John, aloud for the first time in this space.

Lights flickered on somewhere down the corridor, out of sight to Stewart. His ring didn’t take note, an imperceptible power drain suddenly activating to mask what was happening.

<Scanning the local region, Book of Oa // does not // WARNING // Green Lantern 2814.1 is currently within the Forbidden Sectors. Dimensional tunnel has taken ring bearer across the universe.>

This is bad, thought John. No back up.

“Scan the others,” said John. He picked up the pace now. “Who are they?”

<Lifeform identified as a member of the Jolm race,> said his ring, indicating the rock-like being, and then it turned its attention to the cloud-like being in the fourth pod. It was a moving, swirling cloud, contained within what looked like a containment field. <--member of the 0blak race.>

“Send a databurst to the Book of Oa. Kidnappings matching the physical descriptions we’ve taken. Can we remove them from these pods without hurting them?”

<87% chance of survival,> said his ring.

John saw something shimmer in front of the captives. Before them were small circular panels, and on the panels events were playing out. John positioned himself so he could see what they were seeing-- before the captives were images streaming directly from Japan-- John saw Mason talking to Ultimon from different angles.

“The rings are relays,” said John. He began to solidify his thought process. “Somehow the rings on Ultra Element Force 5’s fingers are channeling these people’s abilities, modified by someone. And they also act as portals linking the inhabitants of these pods to the rings. Holes in space. That Pyreonox escaped, crawled through the hole, and murdered Nakamura.”

<Proximity warning // alert // danger,> hissed John’s ring. <Energy drain present // recommend evacuation of immediate area.>

Before Stewart could investigate the warning, he was smacked on the back of the head by a heavy fist, his ring’s aura the only thing saving him from having his skull crushed. He spun around, encircled his attacker in light, and his eyes opened wide as he saw who had struck him.

“Oh, no,” whispered John.

<No… Man… Escapes…> buzzed the Manhunter, it's armour grey and gold instead of the regular red and blue. Behind it, other Manhunters began to emerge from the walls, their dead eyes burning yellow as they activated. They were part of the walls, inactive until something had triggered them-- probably his damn voice, or an over-exertion of the ring’s energies. But they were waking up, unfolding from the walls, and if he didn’t act fast--

John crushed the Manhunter with all his might, his ring’s construct grinding it down into dust, but he knew that the Manhunters had countermeasures for a power ring, and if he gave them enough time then they would activate every defensive measure and suck his ring dry.

John send out a wave of light that surrounded the chamber and severed it from the rest of the compound. He sent a ping out and took a full scan of the complex, making sure to multi-task and ensure that power was still being fed to the pods containing the captives. He then reopened the hole in space and shot through, back into Earth orbit, his ring pointing at the red ring that allowed him travel.

A gold and grey hand reached out of the hole, and John obliterated the red power ring connecting the two points in space with an almighty blast of his power ring. There was a pop, audible only over the ring’s higher functions, and the threat was over for the time being.

“Ring, send that Manhunter arm to Oa, directly via subluminal,” said John. “Send the following databurst: Numerous Manhunter units present in Forbidden Sectors. Victims of unknown experimentation rescued, requesting back-up to Sector 2814-- Earth-- for transfer to relevant medical facilities.”

<Message dispatched to Oa,> said his ring.

“Guy,” started John, opening a channel to Gardner, “I’ve got a potential Manhunter problem--> He cut the message short when the aliens in the emerald sphere he had projected began experience massive seizures.

There was an energy discharge from their chests into the panels that were sat in front of them. Everything clicking in his brain, his regrettable ability to put two-impossible-things-and-two-other-impossible-things together leading him to a terrible realisation.

John headed back down to Japan as quickly as his ring would allow, leaving the captives safe, suspended above the world.

Above the Omotesando District, lights were flashing, frazzling beams of crackling energy, columns of rock rising up into the air, plumes of water gushing and immense gusts of winds flying. Spinning around and dodging them was Metamorpho, who looked on in surprise when Green Lantern reappeared.

“Hey, GL, you won’t believe the day I’m having,” said Mason. Pure machismo. No fear. God bless this man!

Below him, the surviving members of Ultra Element Force 5 were attacking, dead-eyed looks on their faces. Their expressions were blank, apart from Kyoko Goto-- Ether Void Queen-- whose smile was gleeful. At their feet, in the ravaged apartment they called home, lay Sugabayashi, his torso a smoking ruin. On the roof, his armour shattered and his open rib cage revealing all too human internal organs that had half-spilled out onto the cold concrete, was Ultimon.

Four chambers in that complex. Fire, air, water and earth. Four elemental aliens linked to these teenagers through their rings. But there was a fifth, and John cursed for not realising it sooner. There were four captives, four teens who looked like they’d been brainwashed, and one final girl, grinning, almost laughing as she led the team in their attack.

“It’s Kyoko,” said John. “She’s got something to do with this!”

“Yeah, she’s the one who tried to drop me,” said Mason. “Got to the others before I could-- ahh--!”

Ether Void Queen caught him with a blast that sent Mason spinning down toward the ground. He landed in a heap next to Ultimon’s body, and struggled to reconstitute himself.

John surrounded the heads of the attackers in spheres, hoping to deprive them of oxygen. Kyoko laughed, shattered her globe, and the three others kept fighting, seemingly not requiring oxygen to operate. His ring sent information to his brain-- life support link between captives and ring-wielders detected?

“What do you want, Goto?” asked John. “Can’t we talk about this?” He floated down, his ring deflecting and redirecting her energy blasts, until he was beside Mason. Every blast of Kyoko’s that hit dissolved his aura. He kept having to think hard, reinforce, reinvigorate, keep himself safe all while fighting against these teens. “There’s no other choice here, you need to know that. We need to talk this out, before this goes any further.”

“The whispering Oni who made me said you were arrogant, but I had no idea,” said Kyoko. “Smug American bastard, that’s what you are, see why my Guardian despises you so.”

Guardian? thought John. Who?

“Someone who hates you almost as much as I do,” growled Kyoko. “As much as I hate everything. He told me to make a game of it, so I did. But when he hears how I killed you, my demon protector will elevate me to the highest order, they’ll name effigies after me--!”

Then John realised why the energy blasts being directed at him stung so much. Why they ate away at his constructs on impact. It was a familiar energy, and the name of her Guardian left John’s mouth nearly as fast as it left hers. He’d faced him once, barely made it out alive, taking a chunk out of him for what it was worth. But when has a missing arm ever stopped--

“--Parallax!”

Ultimon grabbed John’s foot, crushed the aura surrounding it with one squeeze, and lurched up. Stewart cried out, his left foot a red smudge, and was on his back when Ultimon clambered up and began laughing.

“Oh, no,” said the Green Lantern. “You’re not Ultimon, are you?”

“I’m really not.” The ancient amour Ultimon wore began to creak and swell as an unknown energy built up under the surface. Within seconds, it burst outward in places, eventually falling away from the man completely, barbs of energy-- yellow, crackling power-- teasing outward.

Where John expected to see a Japanese hero of some pedigree floated one of his worst nightmares.

The villainous Parallax was revealed. Hairless, gaunt, razor-sharp teeth in a mouth twisted into a grin. his right arm absent at the shoulder since Stewart removed it*, replaced by a clawed limb crackling with golden energy.


The monster was here-- on Earth-- for the first time in years*, and he looked as powerful as ever.


Before John could think about attacking, Parallax reached out toward the Green Lantern and bands of golden energy whipped around Stewart’s limbs, binding him tightly. A single band, about an inch in diameter, looped around John’s ring and suddenly the Lantern was unable to project his constructs. He struggled, but Parallax tutted and shook his head.

“I shouldn’t have to tell you it’s pointless to struggle. Now, listen carefully. I told you I’d weaponise the universe against you, back when you took my arm from me,” he lifted up his energy limb and smiled, “and I have to thank you for that. Look at this. There was always something lurking underneath. You helped me show me that. Now--” Parallax looked up at the sky. “Did you know there’s a beautiful piece of monstrous esoterica sealed up by a dimensional lock above this tiny island?”

“You-- can’t--” growled Stewart.

“I can. I will,” said Parallax. He looked up at the sky and licked his scarred lips with a thick, forked tongue. “Say goodbye, John. It’s the end times.”