"Big trouble?"
This was the first time Diana had heard Morin use that phrase.
"Yeah. Big trouble." Morin's expression grew slightly serious. In the movies, Parallax looked weak because the production team burned the budget on early effects and had nothing left for the finale. But in reality, Parallax was the physical embodiment of fear in the universe.
If it were really that small, it would be a joke.
At the very least, it should be planet-sized.
"Of course, I could be wrong," Morin added. "Either way, we should take a look. Coast City isn't far."
Diana had no objections.
If anything, hearing there might be serious trouble only made her more excited.
Another fight.
With a thought, Morin set off.
"If I remember correctly," he said on the way, "a Green Lantern ring chooses its bearer based on pure, unwavering will."
He raised an eyebrow.
"What if I used telepathy to fake that? Who would the ring pick then?"
After a moment, he dismissed the idea.
He had no grudge against Hal Jordan, so there was no need to steal someone else's fate. More importantly, a Green Lantern ring wouldn't give him much of an upgrade-and wearing that much green sounded annoying.
A classic case of trading gold for copper.
"Forget it," Morin thought. "No need to stir the pot."
He glanced at Diana.
"Let's go. Coast City."
Coast City.
"Aaaaaah!"
Hal's screams were completely useless. The green sphere enclosing him muffled everything. It likely had a cloaking effect as well-despite the glowing ball flying low through the night sky, no one noticed.
"Am I being kidnapped? A new weapon? Aliens?"
Hal's thoughts raced with shock and excitement.
Not fear.
It was hard to tell whether he was brave or just missing a few screws.
Moments earlier, he'd been giving his nephew a pep talk, telling him to never give up hope and to face his fears head-on. Then he stepped outside to head home.
That was when the green light appeared.
Out of nowhere, it lunged at him, wrapped him up, and shot into the sky. No matter how he struggled, he couldn't break free.
By now, Hal was still shouting.
Still fighting.
Still full of energy.
As the night deepened, the green sphere flew toward the coast. It dissipated midair, dropping Hal unceremoniously into a puddle.
"Ugh..."
Hal crawled out, soaked, instinctively scanning his surroundings. His eyes locked onto a transparent spherical craft embedded in the jagged rocks nearby.
The hull was shattered.
Inside was... someone.
"Hang on!" Hal splashed toward it. "I'm coming!"
Ignoring the burn in his lungs, he waded through the surf and reached the wreck. He wiped the salt from his eyes.
The figure inside came into focus.
A dying... purple-skinned alien.
Hal froze for two seconds.
Then moved.
He dragged the man out and laid him flat on the beach. The alien wore a green uniform marked with a strange hourglass symbol.
"Hang in there," Hal said quickly. "I'll get help. Just don't pass out, okay?"
"What... is your name?" the alien asked weakly.
Abin Sur-Protector of Sector 2814, and the greatest Green Lantern in history-spoke with his last strength.
"Hal... Hal Jordan," Hal replied.
"Hal... Jordan... Protector of Sector 2814..." Abin Sur murmured.
"Hey, stop talking," Hal said, glancing at the wound in the alien's chest. "I'll get you to a hospital. Uh... one that treats purple blood."
"...The ring."
Abin Sur opened his palm.
A green ring lay there.
"It has chosen you... put it on..."
"Okay, okay!" Hal said frantically. "Just stay awake!"
He slipped the ring onto his finger.
"The Lantern..." Abin Sur turned his gaze toward the crashed ship, where a green lantern sat intact. "Take the ring... touch... the oath... honor... responsibility..."
"I get it! Just don't die on me!" Hal shouted.
"If you keep pressing his chest like that," a calm voice said behind him, "he actually will die."
"Who's there?!" Hal jumped back.
Abin Sur gasped, barely holding on.
"I'm Morin. Call me Morin." Morin stepped forward and waved Hal aside. "Move. I can save him."
If Morin had arrived too late, that would've been fate.
But since he hadn't-and since the man lying here was Abin Sur-he didn't mind intervening.
The Green Lantern Corps required unwavering will, not moral perfection. Many Lanterns were driven by conviction rather than justice.
But Abin Sur was different.
He truly deserved the title of greatest Green Lantern.
"R-right..." Hal scrambled aside.
"Don't..." Abin Sur shook his head weakly. "Fear... cannot be purged... Parallax..."
"I have to try."
Light flashed in Morin's hand as healing spells wrapped around Abin Sur, stabilizing him. A detection spell followed, probing the energy inside the alien's body.
"How is he?" Diana asked quietly.
"Complicated," Morin said, frowning. "Fear energy is emotional energy. My purification magic can't neutralize it. Worse, it's absorbing the mana from my healing spells to grow."
"At this rate, I'm just buying time."
"Destroy my body," Abin Sur said, his voice clearer under the healing. "Otherwise... Parallax will follow me here."
"There's no other way?" Hal asked urgently.
"Don't underestimate me," Morin said flatly. "Both of you, step back."
"Oh-okay." Hal retreated immediately.
Diana stepped back without hesitation. This wasn't the time for pride.
"Are you... an Earth sorcerer?" Abin Sur asked. "Give up. Only will can oppose fear. I am too weak. The new Lantern hasn't sworn the oath. He must go to Oa... There are no Lanterns close enough to arrive in time..."
"...Mmmph?"
"Do all Green Lanterns talk this much," Morin said, "or is it the ring?"
He cast a Silence Spell.
The world became blessedly quiet.
"Endure it," Morin said. "This might hurt."
"Mmmph mmmph-?!"
Abin Sur's eyes widened.
Morin pulled a lightning-wreathed longsword from thin air.
"Relax. You've seen worse."
He raised the Sword of Eden in his right hand. With his left, electromagnetic force compressed the lightning into the blade, layering it until it blazed like a holy relic.
"Oh, right."
Morin added a touch of actual holy light.
It couldn't hurt.
The Mark of the Angel was good for things like this.
"Wait-what are you doing? You can't-"
Hal stepped forward.
Diana knocked him out cold.
Without the oath, Hal was still just human.
"You intend to..." Abin Sur realized.
"You made the right call," Morin said. "You kept it contained."
In Morin's vision, fear energy clung tightly around the wound. Abin Sur had held it there with sheer will, stopping it from reaching his heart or brain.
That was the only reason he was alive.
But it also meant his wounds couldn't heal.
Originally, he was meant to bleed out.
"I'm starting," Morin said.
"Mmmph." Abin Sur nodded.
Morin exhaled, activating every enhancement. Iron plates emerged from storage, already compressed to extreme density.
The instant pain hit, Abin Sur's control would falter.
If even a trace of fear reached the brain, he would die.
Morin moved.
In an instant.
How long is an instant?
There is no definition.
But Morin knew.
This was the fastest strike he had ever executed.
The plasma-lightning-holy Sword of Eden followed a precise path, carving away every piece of flesh and bone tainted by fear.
The severed matter flew-only to be caught between iron plates that snapped shut, sealing it completely.
"Done."
Morin layered sealing and purification spells over the box until it glowed white, dense beyond molecular gaps.
With his left hand, he continued healing Abin Sur. The blade's heat had cauterized the wound on contact, preventing further blood loss.
A small mercy.
Abin Sur's eyes were wide. Silent. Conscious.
Healing magic knitted his flesh back together.
"Mmmph."
A moment later, Abin Sur ran a hand over his restored chest.
"Mmmph mmmph?"
Morin lifted the Silence Spell.
"So Parallax is coming?" Morin asked.
"I don't know," Abin Sur said. "I escaped with a warp jump. It may track the spatial residue, but that will take time. Tracking through fear would be faster, but..."
His gaze shifted to the glowing iron box.
"With a seal like that, it won't sense anything."
"Good."
Hal groaned and sat up. "What happened?"
He froze when he saw Abin Sur standing.
"You're... okay?"
"Yes."
"Oh-then take this back." Hal reached for the ring.
"No," Abin Sur said, stopping him. "The ring chose you. This is your responsibility."
"What?"
"Welcome to the Green Lantern Corps," Abin Sur said solemnly. "Honor and duty await you."
"...I don't really get it," Hal said, looking at Morin.
"Alien organization," Morin said. "You got recruited. Congratulations."
"Oh." Hal extended his hand. "Uh... thanks?"
The ring was still on his finger.
"Tsk," Morin said. "That's basically soul-level cuckolding."
Abin Sur stared at the ring.
Then shook Hal's hand anyway.
"Time is short," Abin Sur said. "You must swear the oath now."
"Oath? Where's Oa? Is it far? Can I still make it home tonight?"
"...It's close," Abin Sur said tiredly. "And it won't take long."
He retrieved the green lantern from the ship and handed it to Hal.
"Use the ring. Touch the lantern. Draw power."
"You will become a Green Lantern."
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