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Message
re: Bard's Poor Attempt at a Combined Marvel/DC Universe (an ongoing project)
Posted on 5/11/23 at 2:26 pm to Bard
Posted on 5/11/23 at 2:26 pm to Bard
“You were right, Hal, the view here is amazing!”
The two sat in his jeep looking out at the star-filled horizon. Hal had driven them to the edge of newly constructed concrete retaining wall somewhere many miles north of the small town, far enough away that there was no light pollution obscuring their view of the heavens. She guessed they were somewhere southeast of Groom Lake, she had asked Hal about the possibility of accidentally stumbling onto the restricted lands around the mysterious “Area 51,” but Hal had assured her that the entire area was surrounded by adequate fencing and signage. He said there was nothing to worry about, so she didn’t worry.
They had been there only a few minutes when Hal reached over to take her hand. She was attracted to Hal, who wouldn’t be? He was handsome, confident, funny, a successful fighter pilot and incredibly charismatic. She chided herself for having that feeling of “butterflies in her stomach” like a schoolgirl, but also enjoyed the feeling. She wasn’t going to sleep with him (yet) but she was definitely interested in him and she wanted to make sure he knew it. “Hal, I…”
She was interrupted by the honking of a horn in the distance. They turned back to see the lights of a vehicle coming toward them at high speed, as it got closer they could hear that the driver was frantically blowing the horn.
Without another word Hal was out of the jeep and facing the onrushing vehicle. Without looking away from the approaching vehicle he told her, “Stay there. I can handle base security. When they get here, don’t turn to look at them. If they don’t get a good look at your face, they won’t know who you are and that will make it difficult for if any of the base spooks who may want to try to harass you later.”
The two sat in his jeep looking out at the star-filled horizon. Hal had driven them to the edge of newly constructed concrete retaining wall somewhere many miles north of the small town, far enough away that there was no light pollution obscuring their view of the heavens. She guessed they were somewhere southeast of Groom Lake, she had asked Hal about the possibility of accidentally stumbling onto the restricted lands around the mysterious “Area 51,” but Hal had assured her that the entire area was surrounded by adequate fencing and signage. He said there was nothing to worry about, so she didn’t worry.
They had been there only a few minutes when Hal reached over to take her hand. She was attracted to Hal, who wouldn’t be? He was handsome, confident, funny, a successful fighter pilot and incredibly charismatic. She chided herself for having that feeling of “butterflies in her stomach” like a schoolgirl, but also enjoyed the feeling. She wasn’t going to sleep with him (yet) but she was definitely interested in him and she wanted to make sure he knew it. “Hal, I…”
She was interrupted by the honking of a horn in the distance. They turned back to see the lights of a vehicle coming toward them at high speed, as it got closer they could hear that the driver was frantically blowing the horn.
Without another word Hal was out of the jeep and facing the onrushing vehicle. Without looking away from the approaching vehicle he told her, “Stay there. I can handle base security. When they get here, don’t turn to look at them. If they don’t get a good look at your face, they won’t know who you are and that will make it difficult for if any of the base spooks who may want to try to harass you later.”
1
Posted on 5/11/23 at 2:28 pm to Bard
Bruce looked forlornly at the clock on the wall once again. He was supposed to meet Betty at the Oasis earlier in the evening but plans had changed. General Ross had shown up in a rampage (again) just before Bruce and his team were supposed to leave for the night. The Pentagon wanted test results by Monday morning so the first detonation would be happening tonight in order for the Pegasus personnel to have enough time to compare its data to other results from other tests.
It was Bruce’s responsibility to make sure the team of scientists under him were in place and ready, especially with the abrupt scheduling change. It wasn’t until they were in the new observation bunker that Bruce realized he had been so busy that he had forgotten to call Betty to let her know about the change in plans. He was too far out for cell reception and the bunker had no phone lines. It didn’t help that she was Ross’ daughter and he hadn’t been happy when he found out they were their seeing each other. Hopefully she would understand. The countdown had just begun when he saw lights in the distance.
“What the hell?? Someone get me some binoculars! NOW!” Seconds later Bruce was adjusting the focus, seeing clearly the headlights of a vehicle out on the desert. Out in the blast radius of the gamma bomb.
“Stop the countdown” Bruce announced, “there’s some fool out there.” A moment later members of his team began telling him they couldn’t get the timer to stop. The detonation was just minutes away, whoever that was out there was as good as dead if someone didn’t warn them. Bruce made a decision, for him it was the only decision. “Keep trying. There’s a concrete embankment there, I should have enough time to get them to safety if you can’t stop it.” Bruce’s team went to work furiously on trying to re-establish control as he bolted out of the bunker.
Bruce was hammering the truck’s horn the moment he put it in Drive. He didn’t care about how rough the terrain was, he was focused on the spot he believed the lights had been as he floored the gas. Soon enough the truck’s lights fell on the jeep and a man standing beside it. As he neared, there looked to be a woman in the passenger seat, but she didn’t turn around.
Bruce slammed on his brakes just before hitting the jeep, throwing up a thing cloud of dust from the rocky terrain. He jumped out of the truck, shouting “THERE’S A BOMB! WE’RE ABOUT TO EXPLODE A BOMB!”
The man next to the jeep wasted no time. As he turned to the woman, he told her something and they both began running the few steps to the edge of the embankment. There was only a four-foot drop to the ground below, the area had been shored up and reinforced with concrete to house some Pegasus equipment, but that was before the timetable was moved up a week. There was nothing there now but a wall, it was lined with lead so it would be enough to shield them from the danger of the blast.
Bruce was right behind them. The man had just gone over the edge when Bruce glanced at the woman as she leapt down. She turned slightly as she dropped. Bruce was only a step away from the salvation of the concrete barrier when he caught a glimpse of her through the dusty haze. What he saw caused him to falter for just a moment as he began to call out a question.
“Bet-” was all he was able to get out before the bomb went off. In one instant, the entire world became blindingly white, except for the pitch black swath he was falling towards. In the next instant, that blackness rushed out to envelop him in total darkness. After that, he knew nothing else.
It was Bruce’s responsibility to make sure the team of scientists under him were in place and ready, especially with the abrupt scheduling change. It wasn’t until they were in the new observation bunker that Bruce realized he had been so busy that he had forgotten to call Betty to let her know about the change in plans. He was too far out for cell reception and the bunker had no phone lines. It didn’t help that she was Ross’ daughter and he hadn’t been happy when he found out they were their seeing each other. Hopefully she would understand. The countdown had just begun when he saw lights in the distance.
“What the hell?? Someone get me some binoculars! NOW!” Seconds later Bruce was adjusting the focus, seeing clearly the headlights of a vehicle out on the desert. Out in the blast radius of the gamma bomb.
“Stop the countdown” Bruce announced, “there’s some fool out there.” A moment later members of his team began telling him they couldn’t get the timer to stop. The detonation was just minutes away, whoever that was out there was as good as dead if someone didn’t warn them. Bruce made a decision, for him it was the only decision. “Keep trying. There’s a concrete embankment there, I should have enough time to get them to safety if you can’t stop it.” Bruce’s team went to work furiously on trying to re-establish control as he bolted out of the bunker.
Bruce was hammering the truck’s horn the moment he put it in Drive. He didn’t care about how rough the terrain was, he was focused on the spot he believed the lights had been as he floored the gas. Soon enough the truck’s lights fell on the jeep and a man standing beside it. As he neared, there looked to be a woman in the passenger seat, but she didn’t turn around.
Bruce slammed on his brakes just before hitting the jeep, throwing up a thing cloud of dust from the rocky terrain. He jumped out of the truck, shouting “THERE’S A BOMB! WE’RE ABOUT TO EXPLODE A BOMB!”
The man next to the jeep wasted no time. As he turned to the woman, he told her something and they both began running the few steps to the edge of the embankment. There was only a four-foot drop to the ground below, the area had been shored up and reinforced with concrete to house some Pegasus equipment, but that was before the timetable was moved up a week. There was nothing there now but a wall, it was lined with lead so it would be enough to shield them from the danger of the blast.
Bruce was right behind them. The man had just gone over the edge when Bruce glanced at the woman as she leapt down. She turned slightly as she dropped. Bruce was only a step away from the salvation of the concrete barrier when he caught a glimpse of her through the dusty haze. What he saw caused him to falter for just a moment as he began to call out a question.
“Bet-” was all he was able to get out before the bomb went off. In one instant, the entire world became blindingly white, except for the pitch black swath he was falling towards. In the next instant, that blackness rushed out to envelop him in total darkness. After that, he knew nothing else.
Posted on 5/11/23 at 2:36 pm to Bard
“Bruce?”
It was his mother, she was crying. His father had been drinking again.
Brian Banner was a brilliant geneticist and had been an all-star linebacker in college. Not only was Brian expecting his son to follow in his footsteps in both brains and athleticism, but he had worked long and hard to guarantee it. Brian’s primary focus was in recreating the famed Super Soldier Serum which had given Captain America his incredible abilities. His work with derivatives led him to believe it worked on the genetic level with the Erskine’s “Vita radiation” as the catalyst. No one knew what his “Vita radiation” truly was and that knowledge had died with him.
Without Vita radiation, no forms of the serum worked to fully and permanently change a subject’s genetics so Brian went another route. He experimented on himself heavily so that any genetic material he passed on would hopefully already carry the changes. When his wife became pregnant, he experimented on his unborn son to make certain. Bruce was going to be his ticket to scientific fame, fortune and the adulation which followed, a living testament to his greatness.
Brian was elated at the birth of his son, as most fathers are. As Bruce grew older though, Brian began growing frustrated as Bruce proved to be smaller and weaker than other boys his age. It didn’t matter that his son could was fluent in both Latin and Japanese by the age of four, Brian was a winner and winners didn’t accept “almost”. Over the years Bruce’s value in his father’s eyes fell greatly regardless of his academic achievements. For Brian Banner, his offspring had to have it all or else it was all for nothing. He went from being his father’s crowning glory to his greatest failure.
Brian eventually began drinking more in an attempt to soothe his disappointment and anger. His drinking led to problems at work and in his marriage. The problems at home he could beat into silence, the problems at work were another story. That is, until they fired him. Now, Dr. Brian Banner, would-be world famous geneticist, was lucky to have a job teaching high school biology.
He hated his life. He hated his mewling, pathetic wife. He hated his small, weak son.
“You’re pathetic, Bruce. You’re not even 'small', you’re just puny. Puny and weak.”
Tonight his wife had gotten between Brian and his beating of Bruce so he beat on her until he grew tired of it and left.
“I’m sorry, momma,” Bruce heard himself say. “Daddy calls me ‘puny’, I wish I was bigger so I could stop him from hitting us.” Bruce could feel himself getting angry. “I would hurt him, momma. Hurt him until he can’t hurt us no more!” He began to shake with sadness and fury. “I would smash him! I would smash him over and over!”
Rebecca Banner sobbed as she grabbed up her son, “No, Bruce, don’t say that! You don’t want to be like your father. You have to learn from his mistakes. Be in control of your emotions, don’t give in to your anger. Don’t be him, Bruce, please! Promise me!” And then more quietly, “I don’t think I could handle it. Promise me, Bruce.”
Something was happening. His mother’s voice was falling away and the world was going black but the echoes of her last words echoed over and over in the darkness. “Promise me, Bruce… Promise me…”
“I promise,” he whispered to the dark.
It was his mother, she was crying. His father had been drinking again.
Brian Banner was a brilliant geneticist and had been an all-star linebacker in college. Not only was Brian expecting his son to follow in his footsteps in both brains and athleticism, but he had worked long and hard to guarantee it. Brian’s primary focus was in recreating the famed Super Soldier Serum which had given Captain America his incredible abilities. His work with derivatives led him to believe it worked on the genetic level with the Erskine’s “Vita radiation” as the catalyst. No one knew what his “Vita radiation” truly was and that knowledge had died with him.
Without Vita radiation, no forms of the serum worked to fully and permanently change a subject’s genetics so Brian went another route. He experimented on himself heavily so that any genetic material he passed on would hopefully already carry the changes. When his wife became pregnant, he experimented on his unborn son to make certain. Bruce was going to be his ticket to scientific fame, fortune and the adulation which followed, a living testament to his greatness.
Brian was elated at the birth of his son, as most fathers are. As Bruce grew older though, Brian began growing frustrated as Bruce proved to be smaller and weaker than other boys his age. It didn’t matter that his son could was fluent in both Latin and Japanese by the age of four, Brian was a winner and winners didn’t accept “almost”. Over the years Bruce’s value in his father’s eyes fell greatly regardless of his academic achievements. For Brian Banner, his offspring had to have it all or else it was all for nothing. He went from being his father’s crowning glory to his greatest failure.
Brian eventually began drinking more in an attempt to soothe his disappointment and anger. His drinking led to problems at work and in his marriage. The problems at home he could beat into silence, the problems at work were another story. That is, until they fired him. Now, Dr. Brian Banner, would-be world famous geneticist, was lucky to have a job teaching high school biology.
He hated his life. He hated his mewling, pathetic wife. He hated his small, weak son.
“You’re pathetic, Bruce. You’re not even 'small', you’re just puny. Puny and weak.”
Tonight his wife had gotten between Brian and his beating of Bruce so he beat on her until he grew tired of it and left.
“I’m sorry, momma,” Bruce heard himself say. “Daddy calls me ‘puny’, I wish I was bigger so I could stop him from hitting us.” Bruce could feel himself getting angry. “I would hurt him, momma. Hurt him until he can’t hurt us no more!” He began to shake with sadness and fury. “I would smash him! I would smash him over and over!”
Rebecca Banner sobbed as she grabbed up her son, “No, Bruce, don’t say that! You don’t want to be like your father. You have to learn from his mistakes. Be in control of your emotions, don’t give in to your anger. Don’t be him, Bruce, please! Promise me!” And then more quietly, “I don’t think I could handle it. Promise me, Bruce.”
Something was happening. His mother’s voice was falling away and the world was going black but the echoes of her last words echoed over and over in the darkness. “Promise me, Bruce… Promise me…”
“I promise,” he whispered to the dark.
Posted on 5/11/23 at 2:37 pm to Bard
“Bruce!?! BRUCE???”
That voice… it wasn’t his mother’s but it felt familiar and almost as important to him.
“Oh, Bruce… it’s Betty, please wake up for me.” The voice pulled him from the darkness, the world began to brighten.
“Betty,” he asked groggily as he opened his eyes.
She was hugging him now, and crying. It reminded him of… what? He felt like he should know, like it was something just outside the grasp of his understanding. So close yet… what was he thinking about again?
“I didn’t think you would ever wake up,” she was saying as she kissed his cheek repeatedly.
His memory started rushing back to him. The man in the desert, the jeep, the bomb, the woman… He gently pushed her back from him. “I thought we had something going, Betty.”
Betty looked like she had been slapped, shock, confusion and fresh pain warring for control of her expression.
“Who was he, Betty? The man in the desert.”
Betty stared at him dumbfounded for a moment, the previous emotions fighting for supremacy making way for… relief?
“That man in the desert was Hal Jordan, he was a pilot at the base. He worked under my father for years, going all the way back to when we still lived on Edwards.”
Bruce didn’t want to ask the next questions, but the unfamiliar vein of jealousy he was feeling was growing and wouldn’t be denied. “How did you two meet?”
Betty looked confused but answered anyway. “I’ve known Hal for years. Dad took him under his wing years ago and when he got the promotion to Groom Lake, he made sure he brought Hal and a few others with him. Hal was the one to suggest we move to Indian Springs when dad started having problems with that Waller woman at Edwards. He really liked the area and dad respected his opinion so he up and moved here while I was off at college. Why are you asking about him?”
Bruce looked away, he was struggling to keep his rage in check. “Just before the bomb went off, I saw you. You were there, with him.”
Betty’s jaw moved a couple of times and she blinked, but she made no sound. Finally, she managed to squeak out an incredulous, “What??” Bruce’s anger was building, it was like nothing he had ever experienced before. His pulse was racing, his breathing was starting to become labored, he felt like he could possibly explode if this went on too long. He had always been able to push down his negative emotions before but something about this time was different. He was losing control and it scared him.
“Bruce?” Betty had noticed the stress this was causing him. “Bruce! That wasn’t me out there-“
Bruce’s anger abated slightly, he wanted to believe her. “But I saw you,” he whispered while still looking away from her.
“Oh, Bruce… that wasn’t me, that was a woman named Carol Ferris. Hal ran into her at the Oasis that night then took her out to the desert to look at the stars.”
He looked at her now, hope warring with jealousy.
She took his hand. “Bruce, there hasn’t been anyone else I’ve been interested in since you and your pickle,” that had become a running joke between the two of them, “I’ve been here with you almost every day since the accident.”
He warred within himself briefly. He wanted, no he needed, to believe her yet the anger being fueled by this new and unreasoning jealousy was so strong. It was almost tangible, like it was trying to take on a life of its own. She took his hand and kissed it and it was like the rage simply turned off. The relief he felt from those negative emotions leaving him almost drained him. He barely heard Betty when she continued.
“Bruce… there’s more.” She paused, then continued, “You’ve been in a coma for a year.”
That took a moment to register. “A… year?” He wasn’t sure what muscle atrophy felt like, but he didn’t feel like he was suffering from any muscular issue. “Wait…” something finally occurred to him, “you’ve been speaking about that pilot and the woman in the past tense…” He left the question unasked, afraid of the answer.
Betty smiled as she breathed a sigh of relief. “They’re fine, both of them. They both made it over the edge of the protective berm before the bomb went off. It seems Hal’s time to re-up was coming soon and he was on the fence on whether he wanted to stay in the Air Force or look for a new challenge. Carol the VP of her father’s aircraft company was looking for a test pilot for some new plane designs they have been working on, they’re hoping the new designs will lead to a bigger DoD contract. She was wondering if she could tempt him away from the Air Force by offering him a job when you showed up. After what happened with the gamma bomb, dad and Hal decided it would be best for Hal to take his Honorable Discharge then take Carol up on her job offer. They’ve been a couple ever since.”
Bruce quietly let go of a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding. He had done it, he had saved them and Betty hadn’t left him for someone else. With those concerns out of the way, another came to him. “What happened to me? Am I okay?”
Betty’s smile warmed. “You’ve been in a coma for a year but other than that no doctor has been able to find anything wrong with you. They said you were hit with a lot of gamma radiation but it didn’t do any damage to you and not even your clothes were radioactive when they brought you in.”
That voice… it wasn’t his mother’s but it felt familiar and almost as important to him.
“Oh, Bruce… it’s Betty, please wake up for me.” The voice pulled him from the darkness, the world began to brighten.
“Betty,” he asked groggily as he opened his eyes.
She was hugging him now, and crying. It reminded him of… what? He felt like he should know, like it was something just outside the grasp of his understanding. So close yet… what was he thinking about again?
“I didn’t think you would ever wake up,” she was saying as she kissed his cheek repeatedly.
His memory started rushing back to him. The man in the desert, the jeep, the bomb, the woman… He gently pushed her back from him. “I thought we had something going, Betty.”
Betty looked like she had been slapped, shock, confusion and fresh pain warring for control of her expression.
“Who was he, Betty? The man in the desert.”
Betty stared at him dumbfounded for a moment, the previous emotions fighting for supremacy making way for… relief?
“That man in the desert was Hal Jordan, he was a pilot at the base. He worked under my father for years, going all the way back to when we still lived on Edwards.”
Bruce didn’t want to ask the next questions, but the unfamiliar vein of jealousy he was feeling was growing and wouldn’t be denied. “How did you two meet?”
Betty looked confused but answered anyway. “I’ve known Hal for years. Dad took him under his wing years ago and when he got the promotion to Groom Lake, he made sure he brought Hal and a few others with him. Hal was the one to suggest we move to Indian Springs when dad started having problems with that Waller woman at Edwards. He really liked the area and dad respected his opinion so he up and moved here while I was off at college. Why are you asking about him?”
Bruce looked away, he was struggling to keep his rage in check. “Just before the bomb went off, I saw you. You were there, with him.”
Betty’s jaw moved a couple of times and she blinked, but she made no sound. Finally, she managed to squeak out an incredulous, “What??” Bruce’s anger was building, it was like nothing he had ever experienced before. His pulse was racing, his breathing was starting to become labored, he felt like he could possibly explode if this went on too long. He had always been able to push down his negative emotions before but something about this time was different. He was losing control and it scared him.
“Bruce?” Betty had noticed the stress this was causing him. “Bruce! That wasn’t me out there-“
Bruce’s anger abated slightly, he wanted to believe her. “But I saw you,” he whispered while still looking away from her.
“Oh, Bruce… that wasn’t me, that was a woman named Carol Ferris. Hal ran into her at the Oasis that night then took her out to the desert to look at the stars.”
He looked at her now, hope warring with jealousy.
She took his hand. “Bruce, there hasn’t been anyone else I’ve been interested in since you and your pickle,” that had become a running joke between the two of them, “I’ve been here with you almost every day since the accident.”
He warred within himself briefly. He wanted, no he needed, to believe her yet the anger being fueled by this new and unreasoning jealousy was so strong. It was almost tangible, like it was trying to take on a life of its own. She took his hand and kissed it and it was like the rage simply turned off. The relief he felt from those negative emotions leaving him almost drained him. He barely heard Betty when she continued.
“Bruce… there’s more.” She paused, then continued, “You’ve been in a coma for a year.”
That took a moment to register. “A… year?” He wasn’t sure what muscle atrophy felt like, but he didn’t feel like he was suffering from any muscular issue. “Wait…” something finally occurred to him, “you’ve been speaking about that pilot and the woman in the past tense…” He left the question unasked, afraid of the answer.
Betty smiled as she breathed a sigh of relief. “They’re fine, both of them. They both made it over the edge of the protective berm before the bomb went off. It seems Hal’s time to re-up was coming soon and he was on the fence on whether he wanted to stay in the Air Force or look for a new challenge. Carol the VP of her father’s aircraft company was looking for a test pilot for some new plane designs they have been working on, they’re hoping the new designs will lead to a bigger DoD contract. She was wondering if she could tempt him away from the Air Force by offering him a job when you showed up. After what happened with the gamma bomb, dad and Hal decided it would be best for Hal to take his Honorable Discharge then take Carol up on her job offer. They’ve been a couple ever since.”
Bruce quietly let go of a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding. He had done it, he had saved them and Betty hadn’t left him for someone else. With those concerns out of the way, another came to him. “What happened to me? Am I okay?”
Betty’s smile warmed. “You’ve been in a coma for a year but other than that no doctor has been able to find anything wrong with you. They said you were hit with a lot of gamma radiation but it didn’t do any damage to you and not even your clothes were radioactive when they brought you in.”
Posted on 5/13/23 at 10:02 am to Bard
“Oh, my God, Hal!” Betty leapt from her booth to hug her old friend.
“Betty?” Hal returned her hug. “It’s good to see you too. How’s Bruce doing? I heard he’s out of the hospital.”
“He’s been out for a while. As a matter of fact, he’s on his way over for to meet me for a late supper. If you’re not busy, why not join us? He would probably love to finally meet you instead of just hearing about you.”
Hal agreed and joined her across the table while they waited for Bruce. Hal had been wanting this meeting and dreading it at the same time. He had felt a deep-seeded need to at least apologize for screwing up their test, and an incredible guilt about being the reason Bruce was ever in a coma. “So, how are things as ‘work’ since I’ve been gone?” They were in public, so they had to speak of their work at Groom Lake in code.
“Oh, wow. I forgot how long you’ve been gone. I left the …office… not long after you did. After Bruce recovered, I was finally able to get out from under dad’s wing and get my first ‘big-girl job’. I’m finally putting my degree to use, I’m teaching at an elementary school in Vegas.”
“Congratulations! How did the ‘Thunderbolt’ feel about that?”
“You know him, he was all gruff and grumbly at first because his ‘little girl’ wasn’t going to be under his constant protection again; but just like when I went off to college, he’s learned to accept it. Now, enough about me. What about you? What have you been up to? Where have you been?”
Hal’s thumb unconsciously brushed the band of the invisible ring on his finger. “I’ve been… away. A new opportunity came up, something I can’t really talk about yet, but it’s been one of the most amazing things I’ve ever done.”
“Flying new tech?”
Hal paused, looked thoughtful then answered, “Sort of.”
“Well? How much can you tell me about it? Is Carol or Ferris Aircraft involved?”
Hal smiled. “I absolutely had to tell Carol, the initial training took me away for almost six months. She wasn’t too happy about it at first, but I’ve been able to balance it out with my work for Ferris.” He thought for a moment before continuing on, “It’s helped me realize there’s more to life than flying.”
Hal almost laughed out loud. Betty’s mouth had literally fallen open.
“Hal Jordan found something he loves more than flying,” she was incredulous.
Hal snickered, he knew his reputation. “He did. Strangely enough, it’s actually helped me to appreciate my relationship with Carol even more.”
Betty’s wide, surprised smile was genuine. That kind of open sincerity directed toward him made Hal smile in return, giving him encouragement to continue. “Part of that is realizing how precious time is and how waiting to do a right thing is a big waste of time. I’m glad I ran into you and Bruce is on the way. I’ve never actually apologized to him for putting he and Carol’s lives in danger.”
“Hal…”
Hal shook his head gently. “No, let me finish. The reason Bruce was ever in a coma in the first place was because of me. It’s my fault. A year of his life was wasted in a hospital bed. I owe him at least an apology.”
Hal’s ring sent a strong, tingling vibration through his hand.
“Betty?” Hal returned her hug. “It’s good to see you too. How’s Bruce doing? I heard he’s out of the hospital.”
“He’s been out for a while. As a matter of fact, he’s on his way over for to meet me for a late supper. If you’re not busy, why not join us? He would probably love to finally meet you instead of just hearing about you.”
Hal agreed and joined her across the table while they waited for Bruce. Hal had been wanting this meeting and dreading it at the same time. He had felt a deep-seeded need to at least apologize for screwing up their test, and an incredible guilt about being the reason Bruce was ever in a coma. “So, how are things as ‘work’ since I’ve been gone?” They were in public, so they had to speak of their work at Groom Lake in code.
“Oh, wow. I forgot how long you’ve been gone. I left the …office… not long after you did. After Bruce recovered, I was finally able to get out from under dad’s wing and get my first ‘big-girl job’. I’m finally putting my degree to use, I’m teaching at an elementary school in Vegas.”
“Congratulations! How did the ‘Thunderbolt’ feel about that?”
“You know him, he was all gruff and grumbly at first because his ‘little girl’ wasn’t going to be under his constant protection again; but just like when I went off to college, he’s learned to accept it. Now, enough about me. What about you? What have you been up to? Where have you been?”
Hal’s thumb unconsciously brushed the band of the invisible ring on his finger. “I’ve been… away. A new opportunity came up, something I can’t really talk about yet, but it’s been one of the most amazing things I’ve ever done.”
“Flying new tech?”
Hal paused, looked thoughtful then answered, “Sort of.”
“Well? How much can you tell me about it? Is Carol or Ferris Aircraft involved?”
Hal smiled. “I absolutely had to tell Carol, the initial training took me away for almost six months. She wasn’t too happy about it at first, but I’ve been able to balance it out with my work for Ferris.” He thought for a moment before continuing on, “It’s helped me realize there’s more to life than flying.”
Hal almost laughed out loud. Betty’s mouth had literally fallen open.
“Hal Jordan found something he loves more than flying,” she was incredulous.
Hal snickered, he knew his reputation. “He did. Strangely enough, it’s actually helped me to appreciate my relationship with Carol even more.”
Betty’s wide, surprised smile was genuine. That kind of open sincerity directed toward him made Hal smile in return, giving him encouragement to continue. “Part of that is realizing how precious time is and how waiting to do a right thing is a big waste of time. I’m glad I ran into you and Bruce is on the way. I’ve never actually apologized to him for putting he and Carol’s lives in danger.”
“Hal…”
Hal shook his head gently. “No, let me finish. The reason Bruce was ever in a coma in the first place was because of me. It’s my fault. A year of his life was wasted in a hospital bed. I owe him at least an apology.”
Hal’s ring sent a strong, tingling vibration through his hand.
Posted on 5/13/23 at 10:04 am to Bard
“Well? What’s the verdict, Hal?”
“I’m not really noticing any change in G’s, Tom. I don’t know what these ‘inertia dampeners’ are, but they don’t seem to be working.”
Ferris Aircraft had won a bid for obtaining some of the Fantastic Four technology. The federal government had manage to acquire some after the famed super-group disappeared shortly after the Galactus Event and quietly auctioned off the rights to work with it to various aircraft companies. Hal’s security clearance and service record helped win them this contract. Hal had been working with Tom Kalmaku, Ferris’ lead mechanic, and dozens of others from around the world in their attempts to use something, anything, from the famed tech to enhance their aircrafts.
“That seems to be the usual story with this Richards-tech. No one’s been able to reverse engineer or adapt any of his work even after all these years. Come on back in and we’ll run some tests, maybe we’ll get lucky and something will show up this time.”
“Roger that, Highball returning to - WHOAH!”
“Hal?!? What’s going on?” Tom’s concern was evident.
“Just missed being hit by something from above.”
“Say again?”
“Something like a green comet just came by me from above and behind, around a 30-degree angle.”
“Hal, I don’t have anything on radar…”
“Neither do I but I have eyes on it. I’m going to try to catch up to it.”
“You’re going to-,” whatever Tom was going to say next was cut off.
“Dammit, Hal,” it was Carol. “You are not going to try to ‘catch up’ to a damned comet in my plane. Whatever it is, it’s not as important as the tech on that jet. Get your arse back here!”
Hal had already increased his speed. They had been doing high-altitude work and the object didn’t look to be moving too much faster than Hal. “It looks like it’s going to crash somewhere ahead of me. Gauging its speed and angle, I should be able to get a good look at it before it hits.”
“Don’t you dare risk yourself over a stupid rock! Hal! Do you hear me!?!”
Hal keyed his mic on and off while he spoke, “I d-..yo-..radio pro-..” He knew she was going to be angry, but she would get over it. He pushed the throttle forward more, he was already able to see that whatever the center mass was, it wasn’t that big. As he closed in on it he realized it looked almost human-like. They were within 10,000 feet of the ground, but he just had to know. He pushed the engines until he pulled beside it, and it was indeed a person! It looked to be a bald man with the world’s worst sunburn, dressed in green and black and covered in a bright green aura. The man was facing upwards, head pointing toward the ground; Hal had no idea what to make of it. The man turned his head to look at Hal, then reached out his hand…
Hal’s altimeter alert went off, he was below ten thousand feet and quickly closing in on the ground. He checked his GPS then to mark his location and heading then veered off to head back to the airfield. It was the first time he could remember ever wanting to hurry to get out of his jet and back to the ground.
“I’m not really noticing any change in G’s, Tom. I don’t know what these ‘inertia dampeners’ are, but they don’t seem to be working.”
Ferris Aircraft had won a bid for obtaining some of the Fantastic Four technology. The federal government had manage to acquire some after the famed super-group disappeared shortly after the Galactus Event and quietly auctioned off the rights to work with it to various aircraft companies. Hal’s security clearance and service record helped win them this contract. Hal had been working with Tom Kalmaku, Ferris’ lead mechanic, and dozens of others from around the world in their attempts to use something, anything, from the famed tech to enhance their aircrafts.
“That seems to be the usual story with this Richards-tech. No one’s been able to reverse engineer or adapt any of his work even after all these years. Come on back in and we’ll run some tests, maybe we’ll get lucky and something will show up this time.”
“Roger that, Highball returning to - WHOAH!”
“Hal?!? What’s going on?” Tom’s concern was evident.
“Just missed being hit by something from above.”
“Say again?”
“Something like a green comet just came by me from above and behind, around a 30-degree angle.”
“Hal, I don’t have anything on radar…”
“Neither do I but I have eyes on it. I’m going to try to catch up to it.”
“You’re going to-,” whatever Tom was going to say next was cut off.
“Dammit, Hal,” it was Carol. “You are not going to try to ‘catch up’ to a damned comet in my plane. Whatever it is, it’s not as important as the tech on that jet. Get your arse back here!”
Hal had already increased his speed. They had been doing high-altitude work and the object didn’t look to be moving too much faster than Hal. “It looks like it’s going to crash somewhere ahead of me. Gauging its speed and angle, I should be able to get a good look at it before it hits.”
“Don’t you dare risk yourself over a stupid rock! Hal! Do you hear me!?!”
Hal keyed his mic on and off while he spoke, “I d-..yo-..radio pro-..” He knew she was going to be angry, but she would get over it. He pushed the throttle forward more, he was already able to see that whatever the center mass was, it wasn’t that big. As he closed in on it he realized it looked almost human-like. They were within 10,000 feet of the ground, but he just had to know. He pushed the engines until he pulled beside it, and it was indeed a person! It looked to be a bald man with the world’s worst sunburn, dressed in green and black and covered in a bright green aura. The man was facing upwards, head pointing toward the ground; Hal had no idea what to make of it. The man turned his head to look at Hal, then reached out his hand…
Hal’s altimeter alert went off, he was below ten thousand feet and quickly closing in on the ground. He checked his GPS then to mark his location and heading then veered off to head back to the airfield. It was the first time he could remember ever wanting to hurry to get out of his jet and back to the ground.
Posted on 5/13/23 at 10:11 am to Bard
Bruce had been out of the hospital for months and his life was going better than he could ever remember it being. He and much of his team had been transferred to Project: Pegasus where they were working with NASA on building the next generation of gamma detectors for defense satellites. Research and testing on the gamma bomb had come to a halt in the wake of the accident, it had been determined that the rush job in setting up the bomb’s detonation system occurred because of the unexpected change in the testing schedule pushed by the Pentagon. Rather than admit they had made a mistake, military brass was quietly letting the program die off. Bruce was fine with that as he was more interested in pursuing productive uses for gamma technology rather than destructive ones; the military was willing to give him whatever assignment he wanted to forget the event ever happened.
His relationship with Betty had strengthened and deepened. The two were practically inseparable. They both loved Italian food, comedies, board games and spending time in the desert quietly looking up at the stars. Betty loved the corny jokes and puns Bruce came up with, Bruce loved her rare form of empathic honesty.
The only problem in this nearly perfect life was that he felt a slowly growing feeling of rage when Betty wasn’t around. He had grown up pushing anger down then diffusing through looking at the illogic of being angry for no reason, but lately he felt his control slipping. Only Betty’s presence kept him from fully losing control. He was afraid of what might happen were she no longer in his life and that fear sometimes tried to grow into unreasoning jealousy. That too he pushed down and diffused, or at least tried to. Ever since waking up from the coma it felt like there was bottle of endless anger somewhere within him, rattling and shaking as it tried to free itself. He had begun meditating as a means of trying to master this new, inner demon and it seemed to have some small positive effect. Still, it worried him.
This worry was at the forefront of his mind as he neared the Big Belly Burger, his eyes automatically looking through the glass to find Betty the moment he rounded the corner of the building. He saw her, she as sitting with someone… no, it was him. HIM! Hal Jordan! They were talking… and laughing… Bruce spun back around the corner of the building from to try to wrestle down this sudden surge of negative emotions. His thoughts began racing, as they sped up they turned into bitterness, then anger, then rage. It made no sense! He felt he was being drowned in a sea of hatred and loathing. His breathing became labored, he felt himself growing hot. He tried desperately to shove it all down but the thoughts would not be denied. His pulse raced and his sight dimmed as an endless, mindless fury swallowed him. His head felt like it was being stabbed with needles, his skin felt like he was standing in the sun. She's leaving you for Hal, something deep within him whispered, because you are so weak and p-
His relationship with Betty had strengthened and deepened. The two were practically inseparable. They both loved Italian food, comedies, board games and spending time in the desert quietly looking up at the stars. Betty loved the corny jokes and puns Bruce came up with, Bruce loved her rare form of empathic honesty.
The only problem in this nearly perfect life was that he felt a slowly growing feeling of rage when Betty wasn’t around. He had grown up pushing anger down then diffusing through looking at the illogic of being angry for no reason, but lately he felt his control slipping. Only Betty’s presence kept him from fully losing control. He was afraid of what might happen were she no longer in his life and that fear sometimes tried to grow into unreasoning jealousy. That too he pushed down and diffused, or at least tried to. Ever since waking up from the coma it felt like there was bottle of endless anger somewhere within him, rattling and shaking as it tried to free itself. He had begun meditating as a means of trying to master this new, inner demon and it seemed to have some small positive effect. Still, it worried him.
This worry was at the forefront of his mind as he neared the Big Belly Burger, his eyes automatically looking through the glass to find Betty the moment he rounded the corner of the building. He saw her, she as sitting with someone… no, it was him. HIM! Hal Jordan! They were talking… and laughing… Bruce spun back around the corner of the building from to try to wrestle down this sudden surge of negative emotions. His thoughts began racing, as they sped up they turned into bitterness, then anger, then rage. It made no sense! He felt he was being drowned in a sea of hatred and loathing. His breathing became labored, he felt himself growing hot. He tried desperately to shove it all down but the thoughts would not be denied. His pulse raced and his sight dimmed as an endless, mindless fury swallowed him. His head felt like it was being stabbed with needles, his skin felt like he was standing in the sun. She's leaving you for Hal, something deep within him whispered, because you are so weak and p-
Posted on 5/13/23 at 10:17 am to Bard
The tingling from Hal’s ring had gotten stronger. He moved his hand from the table down to his lap, but he felt pretty sure that if the sensation got any stronger his whole body might vibrate. He needed to get somewhere private to find out what was going on and he needed to do it soon. Betty was telling him about the trip she and Bruce were planning to take to Rome when the waitress showed up to take their order. Perfect timing! “Betty, while you order I’m going to run to the ‘little pilot’s room’.
Once there, he checked to make sure he was alone, locked the door then willed the ring to become visible. “Okay, ring, what’s going on?”
“Anomalous surge in gamma radiation, close proximity. Advise caution.”
Hal had just willed his costume and shield aura into appearing when something huge exploded through the bathroom wall across from him then through the next one, leaving a massive opening from the parking lot in back of the building, through the bathroom and into the dining area. He flew through the hole into the dining room and almost ran into the reason for the hole. It was huge, he guessed it was a solid eight feet tall and ridiculously muscled. Hal had seen some sights ever since joining the Green Lantern Corp, but thus far he hadn’t seen any humanoid anywhere close to this thing’s size. Not even Kilowog, and Hal often called him a “hulking brute”.
Before Hal realized what was going on, the jade behemoth strode forward then bent over to reach for something. Over the tumult of customers fleeing the building he heard a woman scream from in front of the monster.
Betty!
Hal wrapped the beast in the green hard light powered from his ring. With enough willpower, Hal could shape that light into anything he desired and right now he desired a straightjacket around this thing and to fly it far away from innocent civilians. The straightjacket appeared and the ring lifted the creature up as Hal began quickly towing it backward. “Hands off the customers, big guy.” They had barely made it out to the parking lot when the creature burst free. The backlash stunned Hal briefly, he hadn’t felt anything like that since his first week of training against Kilowog.
The creature hit the ground for only a moment before turning then leaping up at Hal. Hal hadn’t been expecting that. The creature clamped one massive hand onto Hal’s shoulder and another onto his opposing hip as they crashed together. The thing’s strength was incredible, he could feel the pressure on his shield aura as they hung there in the air a dozen feet above the parking lot. The beast was literally trying to tear him apart! He tried increasing the size of his shield to break the monster’s grip but it was so strong that all he accomplished was to barely ease the pressure. The giant, green behemoth responded by letting go of Hal’s hip but then used that hand to begin pummeling Hal in the face. If he hadn’t had the ring and good training… he didn’t want to think about it.
He focused on maintaining his shield while flew them outside of town. It felt like hours, but only a few seconds had passed and they were well beyond the city and out into open, barren expanse. Hal poured everything he could spare into focusing on expanding the shield around his shoulder. All he needed was to loosen the things grip just… enough… THERE! With the creatures grip loose enough Hal shot sideways while retracting his shield, it was just enough to allow him to slip from the giant’s fist. They were a thousand feet in the air, Hal was pleased to see it couldn’t fly.
Again, it landed then shot back up into the air at him like a giant, green missile with rage issues. This time, Hal was ready. He shifted to the side far enough to get out of its way then got in behind it as it continued its upward arc. He willed half-dozen giant pincers into existence behind the beast. The creature thrashed as it tried to find some sort of leverage, but Hal was quick with his thoughts and randomly let a pincer go from this thought if the monster’s hand got too close to it. It’s hard for incredible strength to come into play if you don’t have any leverage.
“So… what’s your name, big guy?”
The creature ignored him as it continued to try to get at the things holding him up, but also denying him any leverage. Apparently, it didn’t care if it fell a thousand feet. Again. Hal soon realized a couple of stationary, bright green glows in the sky might draw a little too much attention, so he began to lower them into a small canyon. “You know, you remind me of my old buddy, Kilowog. He’s a big guy as well, but he uses words to express himself. At least at first. Sometimes. Have you ever heard of the word ‘poozer’?”
The beast seemed to finally begin realizing that it was never going to get free by trying to grab the pincers. As Hal continued talking, it began to focus on him instead.
“Yeah, it’s a strange word but the big hulking brute seems to like using it.” Hal realized the beast was paying attention to him now as they drifted slowly downward below the rim of the canyon walls.
Once there, he checked to make sure he was alone, locked the door then willed the ring to become visible. “Okay, ring, what’s going on?”
“Anomalous surge in gamma radiation, close proximity. Advise caution.”
Hal had just willed his costume and shield aura into appearing when something huge exploded through the bathroom wall across from him then through the next one, leaving a massive opening from the parking lot in back of the building, through the bathroom and into the dining area. He flew through the hole into the dining room and almost ran into the reason for the hole. It was huge, he guessed it was a solid eight feet tall and ridiculously muscled. Hal had seen some sights ever since joining the Green Lantern Corp, but thus far he hadn’t seen any humanoid anywhere close to this thing’s size. Not even Kilowog, and Hal often called him a “hulking brute”.
Before Hal realized what was going on, the jade behemoth strode forward then bent over to reach for something. Over the tumult of customers fleeing the building he heard a woman scream from in front of the monster.
Betty!
Hal wrapped the beast in the green hard light powered from his ring. With enough willpower, Hal could shape that light into anything he desired and right now he desired a straightjacket around this thing and to fly it far away from innocent civilians. The straightjacket appeared and the ring lifted the creature up as Hal began quickly towing it backward. “Hands off the customers, big guy.” They had barely made it out to the parking lot when the creature burst free. The backlash stunned Hal briefly, he hadn’t felt anything like that since his first week of training against Kilowog.
The creature hit the ground for only a moment before turning then leaping up at Hal. Hal hadn’t been expecting that. The creature clamped one massive hand onto Hal’s shoulder and another onto his opposing hip as they crashed together. The thing’s strength was incredible, he could feel the pressure on his shield aura as they hung there in the air a dozen feet above the parking lot. The beast was literally trying to tear him apart! He tried increasing the size of his shield to break the monster’s grip but it was so strong that all he accomplished was to barely ease the pressure. The giant, green behemoth responded by letting go of Hal’s hip but then used that hand to begin pummeling Hal in the face. If he hadn’t had the ring and good training… he didn’t want to think about it.
He focused on maintaining his shield while flew them outside of town. It felt like hours, but only a few seconds had passed and they were well beyond the city and out into open, barren expanse. Hal poured everything he could spare into focusing on expanding the shield around his shoulder. All he needed was to loosen the things grip just… enough… THERE! With the creatures grip loose enough Hal shot sideways while retracting his shield, it was just enough to allow him to slip from the giant’s fist. They were a thousand feet in the air, Hal was pleased to see it couldn’t fly.
Again, it landed then shot back up into the air at him like a giant, green missile with rage issues. This time, Hal was ready. He shifted to the side far enough to get out of its way then got in behind it as it continued its upward arc. He willed half-dozen giant pincers into existence behind the beast. The creature thrashed as it tried to find some sort of leverage, but Hal was quick with his thoughts and randomly let a pincer go from this thought if the monster’s hand got too close to it. It’s hard for incredible strength to come into play if you don’t have any leverage.
“So… what’s your name, big guy?”
The creature ignored him as it continued to try to get at the things holding him up, but also denying him any leverage. Apparently, it didn’t care if it fell a thousand feet. Again. Hal soon realized a couple of stationary, bright green glows in the sky might draw a little too much attention, so he began to lower them into a small canyon. “You know, you remind me of my old buddy, Kilowog. He’s a big guy as well, but he uses words to express himself. At least at first. Sometimes. Have you ever heard of the word ‘poozer’?”
The beast seemed to finally begin realizing that it was never going to get free by trying to grab the pincers. As Hal continued talking, it began to focus on him instead.
“Yeah, it’s a strange word but the big hulking brute seems to like using it.” Hal realized the beast was paying attention to him now as they drifted slowly downward below the rim of the canyon walls.
Posted on 5/13/23 at 10:17 am to Bard
“So you know I’m here now? Great. Now let’s try that name thing again. Do you have one or are you also just a big hulk-“
The beast had baited Hal into allowing the pincers to remain long enough to give it some leverage, just enough to push and twist to get a single arm free. Hal quickly clamped another set of pincers on it.
“Let’s try this again. Do. You. Have. A. Name. Or. Are. You. Just. A. Hulk-“ it interrupted by trying again, this time with an incredible roar of raw, animalistic rage followed by heavy breathing as it stared at Hal with a promise of furious pain in its eyes.
“Wow. Okay. Apparently ‘hulk’ is a trigger word for you. That’s a bit of an odd word not to like. ‘Hulk’. Everyone is different, I know Carol hates the word ‘moist’. I still haven’t figured that one out but I can take some guesses. Not like ‘hulk’. I mean what is ‘hulk’? It’s just a word that sits there. It doesn’t even sounds like a real word if you hear it enough. Hulk… huuuuuuulk… hullllllllllllllk…”
The beast continued its focused on Hal, he could almost feel its concentration.
“Hhhhhhh…”
“Oh, you like the word ‘hulk’ now?”
“Hhhhuuuuu…”
“Come on there, big-green, you can do it. Huuuullllk.”
“Hhhuuuullk…”
“Great now you know a new word. Any chance I could get your name now?”
“Huuullk...”
“Or maybe where you’re from…”
“Hullllk…”
“Or how you got this way…”
The creature seemed be concentrating on speaking. “HuuuUULLK!”
“Yeah we’ve gone over that…”
For a brief moment, Hal wondered why he and the monster were no longer drifting downward at the same speed. His confusion was cleared up a moment later as the creature moved with lightning speed to reach down, grab a handful of rock and sand in its huge hand, then hurl it all at Hal’s head. “HULK!”
On instinct, Hal raised his hands to cover his head. Through training he also strengthened his shielding around himself. Through inexperience he had let go of the giant green monstrosity. He realized his mistake right as a rock twice his size slammed into him, causing him to hurtle into the wall of the canyon. Before he could recover, the beast was on him. It punched and pounded on him relentlessly, and with each strike is roared a single word: “HULK!”
The onslaught was incredible.
“HULK!”
The beast’s hits were so strong that enough of the kinetic force was able to get through Hal’s shield to actually hurt him. He could feel some of the impact from the blows coming through the shield. He hadn’t thought that was even possible.
“HULK!”
Hal’s shield began to crack in places, the monstrosity began to focus on those while punctuating every strike with that single word: “HULK! HULK! HULK! HULK!”
Hal had to put so much focus into keeping his shield up that he couldn’t spare any to launch a counter-attack, much less just get himself free. A head-butt from the monster left him slightly dazed.
“HULK!”
Amazingly he had been able to keep his shield intact. An overhand strike to his chest felt like it cracked a rib. The best paused for a moment as he looked down at Hal, then took a deep breath as he raised his gargantuan fists high above his head.
“AM! HUUUUUUULK!”
Hal tasted blood in his mouth, his willpower was waning. He was physically and mentally wrecked as the ongoing might of the monster was driving him deeper into the hillside. The beast didn’t seem to be slowing down at all. The rhythm of the beating blended into a low rumble, then increased until it culminated with the beast being swept away by a wave of dirt and rocks. The green behemoth’s rage had created a massive landslide. While Hal was thankful for a few minutes to catch his breath, he soon realized he was buried under an unknown amount of debris. The pressure of the land and rock above him was nothing compared to the beating he had just taken so Hal took a few minutes to recover his wits and take stock of his health.
Hal mumbled to himself, “When I woke up this morning, I didn’t think it would be the kind of day where I was glad to be covered up by a landslide.” The noise of the landslide had become more and more muffled as he was buried deeper. Once the earth settled, the silence was almost deafening. Without the constant assault, Hal was able to focus his thoughts after a few minutes. There was still a rampaging monster out there needing to be stopped from causing more damage or possibly even killing people. Hal took a deep breath and focused on creating a wedge above himself in order to shove the rubble out of his way. He had intended to fly out of the hole, but with his willpower flagging he quickly understood the most support for movement he would be able to muster was assistance has he climbed out.
Twenty feet later he struggled out of his hole, he was spent but he would give whatever he had to take this dangerous beast down.
Hopefully.
He winced as he turned around, ready for a giant green mass, a rock, anything to come hurtling at him. Nothing came. Aside from the dust hanging in the still air, nothing moved. He was alone in the quiet of the desert night.
The beast had baited Hal into allowing the pincers to remain long enough to give it some leverage, just enough to push and twist to get a single arm free. Hal quickly clamped another set of pincers on it.
“Let’s try this again. Do. You. Have. A. Name. Or. Are. You. Just. A. Hulk-“ it interrupted by trying again, this time with an incredible roar of raw, animalistic rage followed by heavy breathing as it stared at Hal with a promise of furious pain in its eyes.
“Wow. Okay. Apparently ‘hulk’ is a trigger word for you. That’s a bit of an odd word not to like. ‘Hulk’. Everyone is different, I know Carol hates the word ‘moist’. I still haven’t figured that one out but I can take some guesses. Not like ‘hulk’. I mean what is ‘hulk’? It’s just a word that sits there. It doesn’t even sounds like a real word if you hear it enough. Hulk… huuuuuuulk… hullllllllllllllk…”
The beast continued its focused on Hal, he could almost feel its concentration.
“Hhhhhhh…”
“Oh, you like the word ‘hulk’ now?”
“Hhhhuuuuu…”
“Come on there, big-green, you can do it. Huuuullllk.”
“Hhhuuuullk…”
“Great now you know a new word. Any chance I could get your name now?”
“Huuullk...”
“Or maybe where you’re from…”
“Hullllk…”
“Or how you got this way…”
The creature seemed be concentrating on speaking. “HuuuUULLK!”
“Yeah we’ve gone over that…”
For a brief moment, Hal wondered why he and the monster were no longer drifting downward at the same speed. His confusion was cleared up a moment later as the creature moved with lightning speed to reach down, grab a handful of rock and sand in its huge hand, then hurl it all at Hal’s head. “HULK!”
On instinct, Hal raised his hands to cover his head. Through training he also strengthened his shielding around himself. Through inexperience he had let go of the giant green monstrosity. He realized his mistake right as a rock twice his size slammed into him, causing him to hurtle into the wall of the canyon. Before he could recover, the beast was on him. It punched and pounded on him relentlessly, and with each strike is roared a single word: “HULK!”
The onslaught was incredible.
“HULK!”
The beast’s hits were so strong that enough of the kinetic force was able to get through Hal’s shield to actually hurt him. He could feel some of the impact from the blows coming through the shield. He hadn’t thought that was even possible.
“HULK!”
Hal’s shield began to crack in places, the monstrosity began to focus on those while punctuating every strike with that single word: “HULK! HULK! HULK! HULK!”
Hal had to put so much focus into keeping his shield up that he couldn’t spare any to launch a counter-attack, much less just get himself free. A head-butt from the monster left him slightly dazed.
“HULK!”
Amazingly he had been able to keep his shield intact. An overhand strike to his chest felt like it cracked a rib. The best paused for a moment as he looked down at Hal, then took a deep breath as he raised his gargantuan fists high above his head.
“AM! HUUUUUUULK!”
Hal tasted blood in his mouth, his willpower was waning. He was physically and mentally wrecked as the ongoing might of the monster was driving him deeper into the hillside. The beast didn’t seem to be slowing down at all. The rhythm of the beating blended into a low rumble, then increased until it culminated with the beast being swept away by a wave of dirt and rocks. The green behemoth’s rage had created a massive landslide. While Hal was thankful for a few minutes to catch his breath, he soon realized he was buried under an unknown amount of debris. The pressure of the land and rock above him was nothing compared to the beating he had just taken so Hal took a few minutes to recover his wits and take stock of his health.
Hal mumbled to himself, “When I woke up this morning, I didn’t think it would be the kind of day where I was glad to be covered up by a landslide.” The noise of the landslide had become more and more muffled as he was buried deeper. Once the earth settled, the silence was almost deafening. Without the constant assault, Hal was able to focus his thoughts after a few minutes. There was still a rampaging monster out there needing to be stopped from causing more damage or possibly even killing people. Hal took a deep breath and focused on creating a wedge above himself in order to shove the rubble out of his way. He had intended to fly out of the hole, but with his willpower flagging he quickly understood the most support for movement he would be able to muster was assistance has he climbed out.
Twenty feet later he struggled out of his hole, he was spent but he would give whatever he had to take this dangerous beast down.
Hopefully.
He winced as he turned around, ready for a giant green mass, a rock, anything to come hurtling at him. Nothing came. Aside from the dust hanging in the still air, nothing moved. He was alone in the quiet of the desert night.
Posted on 5/13/23 at 10:28 am to Bard
He sat high on a hill looking over a city as he thought about the stupid man and his stupid, green ring.
Stupid Green Ring Man.
Stupid Green Ring Man called him a name. Names matter. Stupid Green Ring Man called him “Hulk”. He tried it out.
“Hulk.”
Hulk like it. It start like the grunt of breath Hulk let out when Hulk punch something, when Hulk break it, when Hulk smash it.
“Hulk… smash.” This is good name, strong name. Being strong matters. Hulk is strong. Hulk has a name.
“Hulk is… Hulk. Hulk… strongest one there is,” he muttered to the night. Hulk mattered.
Maybe Green Ring Man not so stupid.
Thinking about “Green Ring Man” made Hulk think about their fight.
Rocks and dirt got between Hulk and Green Ring Man, stupid rocks and dirt made Hulk angry. Hulk always angry.
“Stupid rocks and dirt.”
Hulk jump over moving ground to land on giant rock. Green Ring Man was buried... somewhere. Hulk wait but nothing happen. Waiting was stupid. Green Ring Man not there so Hulk not care about fighting with Green Ring Man anymore. Hulk blew dirt out of his nose then jump to the top of hill full of more stupid rocks and dirt.
In the distance Hulk see lights. City.
Something made Hulk want to come here, but not too close. Hulk don’t care why, it not matter.
A picture of someone slowly crawled from the molasses of his mind.
Woman. She nice. She matters. She has a name?
He struggled to put a name to her.
“Beh… tee.” He tried it again, “Beh-tee”.
Yes, that was it!
“Betty.”
As he continued to stare blankly toward the city while the name and face of Betty Ross lingered in his mind, his rage slowly calmed. As he calmed, he grew sleepy. Being angry was tiring.
Hulk sleep here. Now. On stupid rocks. Because stupid rocks don’t matter.
Stupid Green Ring Man.
Stupid Green Ring Man called him a name. Names matter. Stupid Green Ring Man called him “Hulk”. He tried it out.
“Hulk.”
Hulk like it. It start like the grunt of breath Hulk let out when Hulk punch something, when Hulk break it, when Hulk smash it.
“Hulk… smash.” This is good name, strong name. Being strong matters. Hulk is strong. Hulk has a name.
“Hulk is… Hulk. Hulk… strongest one there is,” he muttered to the night. Hulk mattered.
Maybe Green Ring Man not so stupid.
Thinking about “Green Ring Man” made Hulk think about their fight.
Rocks and dirt got between Hulk and Green Ring Man, stupid rocks and dirt made Hulk angry. Hulk always angry.
“Stupid rocks and dirt.”
Hulk jump over moving ground to land on giant rock. Green Ring Man was buried... somewhere. Hulk wait but nothing happen. Waiting was stupid. Green Ring Man not there so Hulk not care about fighting with Green Ring Man anymore. Hulk blew dirt out of his nose then jump to the top of hill full of more stupid rocks and dirt.
In the distance Hulk see lights. City.
Something made Hulk want to come here, but not too close. Hulk don’t care why, it not matter.
A picture of someone slowly crawled from the molasses of his mind.
Woman. She nice. She matters. She has a name?
He struggled to put a name to her.
“Beh… tee.” He tried it again, “Beh-tee”.
Yes, that was it!
“Betty.”
As he continued to stare blankly toward the city while the name and face of Betty Ross lingered in his mind, his rage slowly calmed. As he calmed, he grew sleepy. Being angry was tiring.
Hulk sleep here. Now. On stupid rocks. Because stupid rocks don’t matter.
Posted on 5/14/23 at 1:06 pm to Bard
The cold desert air woke Bruce up like a bucket of ice water in a hot shower. Where was he? What happened? He tried to focus, to think on the last thing he had done. He remembered walking up to the Big Belly Burger… and then… he focused… and… nothing. For Bruce, one moment he was happily walking through the parking lot behind the Big Belly Burger, the next he woke up on the side of a large hill looking over a city.
Was that Indian Springs? It was. He could even see his apartment building from this vantage. “How the hell…” It was then he noticed his clothes were shredded, he was barely wearing anything at all. He started shivering as he made his way down the mountainside, but by the time he arrived at his home he had worked up a sweat. The pocket containing his wallet and keys had miraculously remained intact, his phone was nowhere to be found. He was still trying to remember what had happened as he opened the door, only to have his thoughts disturbed by Betty rushing to hug him.
“BRUCE! Oh, my God!” After a long, intense hug, she pulled back and only then seemed to realize he was dressed in rags. “What happened to you? Where have you been?”
“I don’t know and I don’t know,” he said, “in that order.” He partially stunned at finding Betty here, but mostly he was stunned that she was so concerned instead of upset about being stood up. “Can I come in? It’s a bit cold out here.”
Betty half-led, half-dragged Bruce into his apartment as she continued to fuss over him. He grabbed the blanket off the back of his sofa then sat down, Betty snuggled up to him and gripped him tightly as she rested her head on his shoulder.
“Bruce, I was so scared! So much happened and I didn’t know where you were-“
Bruce looked over at her as she looked up at him. He now realized she had been crying. “Betty, what happened?”
“I was waiting for you when Hal walked in-“
“Hal Jordan?” Bruce felt a tiny, muted stirring of that now-familiar jealous rage. He turned his head as he rested it against the back of the sofa. These negative feelings had been growing for months but he realized now that this was the first time he had felt them since waking up on the mountainside. It was almost non-existent, like it was too tired for anything to matter. He closed his eyes as he thought on this. Betty laid her head back on his shoulder.
“Yeah, he showed up while I was waiting on you. We were catching up and he talked about how he has some secret new job and how it’s changed him. He wouldn’t say what it was but that it’s made him appreciate things more. He was telling me how he felt guilty about your coma and he wanted to apologize to you.”
Bruce perked up at that and looked down at Betty again. “Really?” He wasn’t sure what he had been expecting her to say about their meeting, but it certainly wasn’t that.
“Yeah, but then that monster showed up and you…”
“Wait. ‘Monster’? What monster?”
Now it was Betty’s turn to perk up as she looked at him again. Confusion warred with a tinge of disbelief on Betty’s face. “How could you not know about it? It was huge, and green, it crashed through the back wall of the Big Belly Burger like it was nothing. When I couldn’t find you I thought it had gotten you on your way over,…” she trailed off. “And then you show up here hours later with your clothes looking like you fought off a pack of wolves… Bruce, what happened to you?”
Bruce was still trying to process that Betty was literally talking about some sort of large, green monster destroying a building in Indian Springs. The only thing stopping him from making a Godzilla joke was that Betty was still visibly shaken by the ordeal.
“I… I don’t know. One minute I was walking through the lot behind the Big Belly Burger on my way to meet you, the next moment I was waking up on the side of the big hills just south of town with my clothes in shreds.”
“Nothing else?”
Bruce shook his head, “not a thing. I spent the entire walk back trying to remember… anything extra. So far, though… nothing.” They sat in silence for a moment, Bruce laid his head back on the sofa and Betty laid her head back on his shoulder.
“Hal had just gone to the bathroom when the thing came through the wall. Bruce, I was so scared. It came through the wall then started walking toward me, then that new Green Lantern guy showed up and hauled it away.”
“Green Lantern Guy?”
Betty patted Bruce on his chest in a loving manner. “You need to pay more attention to the news, love. Las Vegas has its own superhero now, they call him ‘Green Lantern’. Kind of like that guy from World War Two. He showed up, dragged the monster outside, they fought out there for a little bit, then… went somewhere else. Once I realized they were gone I ran outside to look for you but I couldn’t find you. I was scared and relieved at the same time. And then I thought about Hal, but he was gone too.”
“Gone?”
“I got a call from him an hour or so before you showed up. He said he had been hit in the head by one of the bricks from the wall when that thing came through. He said he wandered around in a daze for a while before he was able to ‘pull it together’, but was blocks away by then. When he got back to the restaurant, the police and fire department were there and not letting anyone in. He tried to call Carol but realized he dropped his phone somewhere along the way. He went back and forth over where he had been until he finally found it. He called her, then me. He’s a little banged up, but alive.”
Bruce blew out a breath. “Sounds like everyone had a big night.”
Betty playfully smacked his chest. “Not funny, I was really scared.”
“I know,” he hugged her tightly as he kissed the top of her head, “but it’s over now and everybody’s okay.”
Was that Indian Springs? It was. He could even see his apartment building from this vantage. “How the hell…” It was then he noticed his clothes were shredded, he was barely wearing anything at all. He started shivering as he made his way down the mountainside, but by the time he arrived at his home he had worked up a sweat. The pocket containing his wallet and keys had miraculously remained intact, his phone was nowhere to be found. He was still trying to remember what had happened as he opened the door, only to have his thoughts disturbed by Betty rushing to hug him.
“BRUCE! Oh, my God!” After a long, intense hug, she pulled back and only then seemed to realize he was dressed in rags. “What happened to you? Where have you been?”
“I don’t know and I don’t know,” he said, “in that order.” He partially stunned at finding Betty here, but mostly he was stunned that she was so concerned instead of upset about being stood up. “Can I come in? It’s a bit cold out here.”
Betty half-led, half-dragged Bruce into his apartment as she continued to fuss over him. He grabbed the blanket off the back of his sofa then sat down, Betty snuggled up to him and gripped him tightly as she rested her head on his shoulder.
“Bruce, I was so scared! So much happened and I didn’t know where you were-“
Bruce looked over at her as she looked up at him. He now realized she had been crying. “Betty, what happened?”
“I was waiting for you when Hal walked in-“
“Hal Jordan?” Bruce felt a tiny, muted stirring of that now-familiar jealous rage. He turned his head as he rested it against the back of the sofa. These negative feelings had been growing for months but he realized now that this was the first time he had felt them since waking up on the mountainside. It was almost non-existent, like it was too tired for anything to matter. He closed his eyes as he thought on this. Betty laid her head back on his shoulder.
“Yeah, he showed up while I was waiting on you. We were catching up and he talked about how he has some secret new job and how it’s changed him. He wouldn’t say what it was but that it’s made him appreciate things more. He was telling me how he felt guilty about your coma and he wanted to apologize to you.”
Bruce perked up at that and looked down at Betty again. “Really?” He wasn’t sure what he had been expecting her to say about their meeting, but it certainly wasn’t that.
“Yeah, but then that monster showed up and you…”
“Wait. ‘Monster’? What monster?”
Now it was Betty’s turn to perk up as she looked at him again. Confusion warred with a tinge of disbelief on Betty’s face. “How could you not know about it? It was huge, and green, it crashed through the back wall of the Big Belly Burger like it was nothing. When I couldn’t find you I thought it had gotten you on your way over,…” she trailed off. “And then you show up here hours later with your clothes looking like you fought off a pack of wolves… Bruce, what happened to you?”
Bruce was still trying to process that Betty was literally talking about some sort of large, green monster destroying a building in Indian Springs. The only thing stopping him from making a Godzilla joke was that Betty was still visibly shaken by the ordeal.
“I… I don’t know. One minute I was walking through the lot behind the Big Belly Burger on my way to meet you, the next moment I was waking up on the side of the big hills just south of town with my clothes in shreds.”
“Nothing else?”
Bruce shook his head, “not a thing. I spent the entire walk back trying to remember… anything extra. So far, though… nothing.” They sat in silence for a moment, Bruce laid his head back on the sofa and Betty laid her head back on his shoulder.
“Hal had just gone to the bathroom when the thing came through the wall. Bruce, I was so scared. It came through the wall then started walking toward me, then that new Green Lantern guy showed up and hauled it away.”
“Green Lantern Guy?”
Betty patted Bruce on his chest in a loving manner. “You need to pay more attention to the news, love. Las Vegas has its own superhero now, they call him ‘Green Lantern’. Kind of like that guy from World War Two. He showed up, dragged the monster outside, they fought out there for a little bit, then… went somewhere else. Once I realized they were gone I ran outside to look for you but I couldn’t find you. I was scared and relieved at the same time. And then I thought about Hal, but he was gone too.”
“Gone?”
“I got a call from him an hour or so before you showed up. He said he had been hit in the head by one of the bricks from the wall when that thing came through. He said he wandered around in a daze for a while before he was able to ‘pull it together’, but was blocks away by then. When he got back to the restaurant, the police and fire department were there and not letting anyone in. He tried to call Carol but realized he dropped his phone somewhere along the way. He went back and forth over where he had been until he finally found it. He called her, then me. He’s a little banged up, but alive.”
Bruce blew out a breath. “Sounds like everyone had a big night.”
Betty playfully smacked his chest. “Not funny, I was really scared.”
“I know,” he hugged her tightly as he kissed the top of her head, “but it’s over now and everybody’s okay.”
Posted on 5/14/23 at 1:09 pm to Bard
Bruce yawned as he stepped off the bus. He smiled as he began walking back to his apartment, his thoughts drifting on how good his life had become. After waking up naked in the desert, he and Betty had talked at length about the events of the night. She had eventually talked him into going to see the base psychiatrist, Dr. Leonard Samson, and those sessions seemed to be paying off. Both the frequency and intensity of his rage fits had dropped dramatically since then. During that time he, Betty, Hal and Carol had started meeting up from time to time to have a “couples’ night”.
Bruce had heard stories about Hal Jordan for a long time and from everything he heard he gathered Hal was the stereotypical test pilot: cocky, smug, maybe not quite as good nor as smart as he thought he was… Whether it was Carol’s influence or Hal had never really been that guy, Bruce had learned first-hand that everything he had heard and thought about Hal Jordan was wrong. On that first night they all had gotten together, Hal bared his soul to Bruce in what he felt could only be described as one of the most honest and sincere apologies he had ever encountered. There was genuine sadness, regret and humility to Hal’s words and tone that surprised him.
Over the last few months they had gotten together more and more often, sometimes it was for lunch or dinner, sometimes a movie. Last month Hal had told a story about an old friend who had accidentally sent him a text meant for someone else. It had said, “google ‘unstable angina.’” Hal had responded with, “why would I want to look up old girlfriends” followed by, “oh, you said AN-gina!”. While Carol and Betty had only groaned, Bruce still laughed about it.
This afternoon’s trip had been a bit more adventurous as they had gone to an amusement park, Bruce’s smile turned into a grin as he remembered the feel of sliding around those curves in the go-karts. On their way to the bus station, he and Betty had talked about how they thought Hal had purposely lost the races to the rest of them.
Betty… Bruce’s heart grew warm thinking about her. He wished she could have come back with him, but as she had said; “tomorrow is a school day.” They had talked about his moving down there but he was reluctant to take on that much change. Things were good right now… but he missed her during the week and he knew she missed him. Phone calls, it seemed, weren’t as good as being with someone in person. Groom Lake had the Janet flights running multiple times a day to Nellis, so maybe…
As he entered the convenience store, the bell over the door broke him out of his thoughts.
“Mr. Banner! How are you tonight? Miss Ross wit’choo?”
Bruce stopped at the counter to talk to the night manager, Javier, through the security glass. Violence from drug addicts was no longer a “big city” issue, a month ago someone stoned out of their minds had come in with a machete and began attacking the chips aisle. After that, they put in place some serious security measures. Javier and the register were surrounded by thick, bulletproof glass. All transactions would have to go back and forth through a sliding drawer. Inside the booth was the register, a landline phone, a tv, a radio, Javier had his laptop, he even had a cot, food and a private bathroom. If someone tried robbing them all he had to do was call the police and then wait in comfort for them to show up. Bruce thought it was both smart and sad at the same time.
“Not tonight, Javier, she has to work in the morning so I’m on my own. Hey! When’s that brother of yours going to let you work days for a change?”
“From your lips to God’s ears, ese. He keeps saying he’s going to swap, but we’ll see.”
Bruce smiled at that as he made his way back to the freezer for some milk, it was the same thing Javier had been saying for years. He had grabbed a carton of milk and was letting the freezer door shut when the bells at the entrance rang again.
Two people in hoodies and wearing masks rushed in and pointed handguns at Javier.
Bruce froze. He was just out of their field of vision, maybe if he stayed extremely still they wouldn’t see him.
Javier laughed. “Estupido! Go ahead, try to shoot me, I dare you! Leetle punk-asses!” One of the thieves fired a couple of shots at Javier, but the glass did its job well. Still, the surprising loudness of the noise caused Bruce to involuntarily take a step back, accidentally knocking over a display.
The gunmen both turned and fired at Bruce as he fell, a lone bullet ripping through his left shoulder. Bruce fell hard but barely noticed as his shoulder felt like it was on fire. The pain was excruciating! Out of instinct he reached to grab where the pain was coming from, but as he did so his vision started getting blurry and dim. His brain felt like someone was poking it with pins, the fire in his shoulder seemed to suddenly spread to every inch of his skin. The world around him was starting to get fuzzy and dim, but just before passing out he felt something clawing its way to him from beyond the pain: rage.
Bruce had heard stories about Hal Jordan for a long time and from everything he heard he gathered Hal was the stereotypical test pilot: cocky, smug, maybe not quite as good nor as smart as he thought he was… Whether it was Carol’s influence or Hal had never really been that guy, Bruce had learned first-hand that everything he had heard and thought about Hal Jordan was wrong. On that first night they all had gotten together, Hal bared his soul to Bruce in what he felt could only be described as one of the most honest and sincere apologies he had ever encountered. There was genuine sadness, regret and humility to Hal’s words and tone that surprised him.
Over the last few months they had gotten together more and more often, sometimes it was for lunch or dinner, sometimes a movie. Last month Hal had told a story about an old friend who had accidentally sent him a text meant for someone else. It had said, “google ‘unstable angina.’” Hal had responded with, “why would I want to look up old girlfriends” followed by, “oh, you said AN-gina!”. While Carol and Betty had only groaned, Bruce still laughed about it.
This afternoon’s trip had been a bit more adventurous as they had gone to an amusement park, Bruce’s smile turned into a grin as he remembered the feel of sliding around those curves in the go-karts. On their way to the bus station, he and Betty had talked about how they thought Hal had purposely lost the races to the rest of them.
Betty… Bruce’s heart grew warm thinking about her. He wished she could have come back with him, but as she had said; “tomorrow is a school day.” They had talked about his moving down there but he was reluctant to take on that much change. Things were good right now… but he missed her during the week and he knew she missed him. Phone calls, it seemed, weren’t as good as being with someone in person. Groom Lake had the Janet flights running multiple times a day to Nellis, so maybe…
As he entered the convenience store, the bell over the door broke him out of his thoughts.
“Mr. Banner! How are you tonight? Miss Ross wit’choo?”
Bruce stopped at the counter to talk to the night manager, Javier, through the security glass. Violence from drug addicts was no longer a “big city” issue, a month ago someone stoned out of their minds had come in with a machete and began attacking the chips aisle. After that, they put in place some serious security measures. Javier and the register were surrounded by thick, bulletproof glass. All transactions would have to go back and forth through a sliding drawer. Inside the booth was the register, a landline phone, a tv, a radio, Javier had his laptop, he even had a cot, food and a private bathroom. If someone tried robbing them all he had to do was call the police and then wait in comfort for them to show up. Bruce thought it was both smart and sad at the same time.
“Not tonight, Javier, she has to work in the morning so I’m on my own. Hey! When’s that brother of yours going to let you work days for a change?”
“From your lips to God’s ears, ese. He keeps saying he’s going to swap, but we’ll see.”
Bruce smiled at that as he made his way back to the freezer for some milk, it was the same thing Javier had been saying for years. He had grabbed a carton of milk and was letting the freezer door shut when the bells at the entrance rang again.
Two people in hoodies and wearing masks rushed in and pointed handguns at Javier.
Bruce froze. He was just out of their field of vision, maybe if he stayed extremely still they wouldn’t see him.
Javier laughed. “Estupido! Go ahead, try to shoot me, I dare you! Leetle punk-asses!” One of the thieves fired a couple of shots at Javier, but the glass did its job well. Still, the surprising loudness of the noise caused Bruce to involuntarily take a step back, accidentally knocking over a display.
The gunmen both turned and fired at Bruce as he fell, a lone bullet ripping through his left shoulder. Bruce fell hard but barely noticed as his shoulder felt like it was on fire. The pain was excruciating! Out of instinct he reached to grab where the pain was coming from, but as he did so his vision started getting blurry and dim. His brain felt like someone was poking it with pins, the fire in his shoulder seemed to suddenly spread to every inch of his skin. The world around him was starting to get fuzzy and dim, but just before passing out he felt something clawing its way to him from beyond the pain: rage.
Posted on 5/14/23 at 1:16 pm to Bard
“Alert: airborne vehicles on approach vector to this position. Due north.”
Hal conjured some binoculars then looked in the direction his ring had indicated. Sure enough, two modified Apache helicopters were coming towards him. At a thought, the binoculars added a range gauge: twenty-five miles and slowly closing.
Ever since his run-in with the “Hulk” creature, Hal had made a point of adding Indian Springs to his normal patrol patterns in and around Las Vegas. While the military brass at Edwards AFB left him alone these days, it had taken him subduing the Rhino right outside of Waller’s office to get to that point. The people at Groom Lake apparently had their own ideas as they had started sending out aircraft to either shadow or intimidate him. They weren’t succeeding at either.
Hal had tried to meet with General Ross, but apparently the “Thunderbolt” was still upset. He had been understandably angry over the Banner situation, but he had taken Hal’s resignation from the Air Force personally. From what Betty had said, it seemed Ross had been grooming Hal to be his successor someday, but Hal’s leaving shot those plans down.
Hal had done his best to diffuse the previous encounters by playing a bit of hide-n-seek with the choppers and jets, but his patience was running out. He had a job to do and they were getting in his way. His mind made up, he dimmed his aura and dropped between two buildings to avoid any tracking then tapped into their comm system as he made his move.
“Eagle One to base. Target has disappeared again. Request permission to return to base.” There was an uncharacteristic pause before the response.
“Negative, Eagle One. Both you and Eagle Two are to continue to patrol. If you have an opportunity to engage without risking civilians, engage with the target and bring it down!”
Hal smiled. That was Colonel John Ryker, one of the most blatant “yes” men the military had ever produced. If you were high enough up the chain of command, Ryker would do whatever it took to curry your favor. He had latched onto General Ross’ coattails years ago so Hal knew him well. He guessed Ross had put him in charge of finding out about the mysterious green light over Indian Springs (you can’t have something like that appearing randomly near a military base which isn’t supposed to exist) and now Ryker wanted to earn a pat on the head.
Hal broke into the channel, “Are you sure about that, Colonel?”
“Wha-of COURSE I’m sure! Which one of you said that?”
Hal could hear the uncertainty when one of the helo pilots responded.
“Uhhhh… that wasn’t us, sir.”
“Oh? Then who the hell was it, soldier? Are you telling me someone has hacked into a secured military channel?” Hal could almost feel the sarcasm coming through his earpiece.
“No, Johnboy, he’s not telling you that. I am.“
“WHO TH-“
“Green Lantern for space sector 2814 at your service. Think of me as a ‘space cop’. This area of the galaxy is my ‘beat’.”
“I DON’T CARE WHO YOU ARE! You can’t break into secure channels of the United States military!”
“It seems that I can. There’s always something I’ve wanted to know, Colonel… does that slicked back hair make it easier for you to check Ross’ colon for polyps?”
“EAGLES ONE AND TWO! FIND AND ENGAGE THAT TARGET!”
“Ease up, there Johnny. You’re primitive tech can’t find me unless I want to be found. ‘Space cop’, remember?” At that point, Hal willed the brightness of his ring’s constructs to increase suddenly. To the pilots it seemed like he suddenly appeared out of the darkness between them, sitting cross-legged while riding on a carpet.
“Eagle One! Target sighted between us and Eagle Two!” Both pilots began to bank away from each other, but then stopped as their world became green.
“Eagle One to base! Visuals blocked by a thick green light. LIDAR is out, we don’t even have altimeter readings! We have nothing on any instruments!”
“Eagle Two, same! We’re blind and controls aren’t responding!”
Hal conjured some binoculars then looked in the direction his ring had indicated. Sure enough, two modified Apache helicopters were coming towards him. At a thought, the binoculars added a range gauge: twenty-five miles and slowly closing.
Ever since his run-in with the “Hulk” creature, Hal had made a point of adding Indian Springs to his normal patrol patterns in and around Las Vegas. While the military brass at Edwards AFB left him alone these days, it had taken him subduing the Rhino right outside of Waller’s office to get to that point. The people at Groom Lake apparently had their own ideas as they had started sending out aircraft to either shadow or intimidate him. They weren’t succeeding at either.
Hal had tried to meet with General Ross, but apparently the “Thunderbolt” was still upset. He had been understandably angry over the Banner situation, but he had taken Hal’s resignation from the Air Force personally. From what Betty had said, it seemed Ross had been grooming Hal to be his successor someday, but Hal’s leaving shot those plans down.
Hal had done his best to diffuse the previous encounters by playing a bit of hide-n-seek with the choppers and jets, but his patience was running out. He had a job to do and they were getting in his way. His mind made up, he dimmed his aura and dropped between two buildings to avoid any tracking then tapped into their comm system as he made his move.
“Eagle One to base. Target has disappeared again. Request permission to return to base.” There was an uncharacteristic pause before the response.
“Negative, Eagle One. Both you and Eagle Two are to continue to patrol. If you have an opportunity to engage without risking civilians, engage with the target and bring it down!”
Hal smiled. That was Colonel John Ryker, one of the most blatant “yes” men the military had ever produced. If you were high enough up the chain of command, Ryker would do whatever it took to curry your favor. He had latched onto General Ross’ coattails years ago so Hal knew him well. He guessed Ross had put him in charge of finding out about the mysterious green light over Indian Springs (you can’t have something like that appearing randomly near a military base which isn’t supposed to exist) and now Ryker wanted to earn a pat on the head.
Hal broke into the channel, “Are you sure about that, Colonel?”
“Wha-of COURSE I’m sure! Which one of you said that?”
Hal could hear the uncertainty when one of the helo pilots responded.
“Uhhhh… that wasn’t us, sir.”
“Oh? Then who the hell was it, soldier? Are you telling me someone has hacked into a secured military channel?” Hal could almost feel the sarcasm coming through his earpiece.
“No, Johnboy, he’s not telling you that. I am.“
“WHO TH-“
“Green Lantern for space sector 2814 at your service. Think of me as a ‘space cop’. This area of the galaxy is my ‘beat’.”
“I DON’T CARE WHO YOU ARE! You can’t break into secure channels of the United States military!”
“It seems that I can. There’s always something I’ve wanted to know, Colonel… does that slicked back hair make it easier for you to check Ross’ colon for polyps?”
“EAGLES ONE AND TWO! FIND AND ENGAGE THAT TARGET!”
“Ease up, there Johnny. You’re primitive tech can’t find me unless I want to be found. ‘Space cop’, remember?” At that point, Hal willed the brightness of his ring’s constructs to increase suddenly. To the pilots it seemed like he suddenly appeared out of the darkness between them, sitting cross-legged while riding on a carpet.
“Eagle One! Target sighted between us and Eagle Two!” Both pilots began to bank away from each other, but then stopped as their world became green.
“Eagle One to base! Visuals blocked by a thick green light. LIDAR is out, we don’t even have altimeter readings! We have nothing on any instruments!”
“Eagle Two, same! We’re blind and controls aren’t responding!”
Posted on 5/14/23 at 1:17 pm to Bard
Colonel Ryker took the microphone again. “THIS IS AN ACT OF WAR, YOU SON-“
“Settle down, John-John. I’m not hurting them, I’ve just disabled their ability to see or track anything with my fancy ‘space cop’ tech. Now if you’ll check your radar you’ll see they are gently being brought back around to head towards home.”
“I demand you release them at once!”
Hal dimmed his aura then dropped his constructs, they were approximately 20 miles away from Groom Lake and now heading back toward it. “Done. Understand this, John: I could have done this and more at any time.”
“Is that a threat!?!”
“It’s a gesture. I don’t care about you nor your base-that-doesn’t-exist, but I’m not going to allow you to continue to harass me. Stop sending sorties out after me or I’ll return the soldiers safe and sound but pile the destroyed equipment up around your office while having a long conversation with ol’ Thunderbolt about how that waste is all your fault.”
“Eagle One to base: we have control again but no target.”
“Eagle Two: confirmed.”
Hal slowed to a stop as the helicopters continued to proceed northward, waiting to hear Ryker’s response.
“Eagles One and Two: return to base. Ryker out.”
Hal blew out a sign of relief as the two choppers receded into the distance. One problem down, now to get back to Indian Springs…
“Alert: terrestrial authority radio warning of silent alarm triggered: corner of Boulder and McFarland,” his ring announced suddenly. Hal headed back toward the city at lightning speed.
A car was speeding out of the parking lot as he flew up, he was considering the best way to stop the speeding vehicle when his ring spoke up again, “Alert! Anomaly det-“
The rest was drowned out by the sound of the Hulk exploding out of the store’s entrance. He was every bit the raging, emerald machine of destruction Hal remembered. The Hulk oriented on the car then leapt at it but Hal was quicker. Pinball from the amusement park earlier in the day was still in the back of his mind so he conjured a pinball plunger which slammed into the Hulk from the side as he was still in mid-leap. Hal remembered well the beast’s incredible strength and brutal manner so he had put some extra force behind the hit in order to force the fight well outside of town.
Although he followed in the Hulk’s wake as fast as he could, the monster’s crash back to earth had stirred up so much dust he couldn’t see where- WHAM! A boulder had shot out of the dust cloud and slammed into Hal, knocking him backward slightly. The monster took advantage and leaped at Hal.
Hal wasn’t about to make the mistake of letting the Hulk get close to him again. He dodged back and away from the Hulk’s leap arc, then flew around behind him. As the Hulk hit the ground, Hal surrounded his opponent with a sphere large enough that he would have to telegraph any attack on it thus giving Hal time to move it out of reach again. Hal had been planning this for months, this time he had a gameplan.
As the Hulk moved to attack the side of the sphere, Hal moved the sphere away from him. If the Hulk punched, the sphere moved before contact could be made. If he jumped, Hal would use the bubble to pull Hulk back down to the ground from behind then move it away if his giant adversary tried to make any other contact with it. When the Hulk tried to run, Hal would trip him.
“Green Ring Man! Fight Hulk! Stupid Bubble is STUPID!”
“Sorry, Big Green, but I think you are a bit too much for me to handle straight up like that.”
“Green Ring Man knows Hulk strongest there is! Hulk SMASH!”
“It’s ‘Lantern’, ‘Green Lantern’. Come on, man. We have marketing and everything.”
“Shut up, stupid Green Ring Man!”
This went on far longer than Hal would have thought possible but finally his opponent started slowing down. Hal could control how much air entered or left such a construct and he had made this one air-tight. He had made sure the Hulk could see the bubble the entire time, giving him something to focus on while using up all the air within it. Hal had already painfully learned that this beast was clever so instead of relaxing, he kept his focus sharp. When the beast finally fell, Hal was ready for it. What he wasn’t ready for was what happened next.
The beast had been unconscious for mere seconds when the started. Hal watched in amazement as the creature began to shrink into a more normal-sized form. His amazement turned to awe as the beast’s skin color changed from green to the pinkish-white of someone who hadn’t been out in the sun for years. His awe, his amazement, all of his feelings flatlined to a dull nothing when he saw the face of his opponent morph into that of his friend.
“Oh, God… Bruce…”
“Settle down, John-John. I’m not hurting them, I’ve just disabled their ability to see or track anything with my fancy ‘space cop’ tech. Now if you’ll check your radar you’ll see they are gently being brought back around to head towards home.”
“I demand you release them at once!”
Hal dimmed his aura then dropped his constructs, they were approximately 20 miles away from Groom Lake and now heading back toward it. “Done. Understand this, John: I could have done this and more at any time.”
“Is that a threat!?!”
“It’s a gesture. I don’t care about you nor your base-that-doesn’t-exist, but I’m not going to allow you to continue to harass me. Stop sending sorties out after me or I’ll return the soldiers safe and sound but pile the destroyed equipment up around your office while having a long conversation with ol’ Thunderbolt about how that waste is all your fault.”
“Eagle One to base: we have control again but no target.”
“Eagle Two: confirmed.”
Hal slowed to a stop as the helicopters continued to proceed northward, waiting to hear Ryker’s response.
“Eagles One and Two: return to base. Ryker out.”
Hal blew out a sign of relief as the two choppers receded into the distance. One problem down, now to get back to Indian Springs…
“Alert: terrestrial authority radio warning of silent alarm triggered: corner of Boulder and McFarland,” his ring announced suddenly. Hal headed back toward the city at lightning speed.
A car was speeding out of the parking lot as he flew up, he was considering the best way to stop the speeding vehicle when his ring spoke up again, “Alert! Anomaly det-“
The rest was drowned out by the sound of the Hulk exploding out of the store’s entrance. He was every bit the raging, emerald machine of destruction Hal remembered. The Hulk oriented on the car then leapt at it but Hal was quicker. Pinball from the amusement park earlier in the day was still in the back of his mind so he conjured a pinball plunger which slammed into the Hulk from the side as he was still in mid-leap. Hal remembered well the beast’s incredible strength and brutal manner so he had put some extra force behind the hit in order to force the fight well outside of town.
Although he followed in the Hulk’s wake as fast as he could, the monster’s crash back to earth had stirred up so much dust he couldn’t see where- WHAM! A boulder had shot out of the dust cloud and slammed into Hal, knocking him backward slightly. The monster took advantage and leaped at Hal.
Hal wasn’t about to make the mistake of letting the Hulk get close to him again. He dodged back and away from the Hulk’s leap arc, then flew around behind him. As the Hulk hit the ground, Hal surrounded his opponent with a sphere large enough that he would have to telegraph any attack on it thus giving Hal time to move it out of reach again. Hal had been planning this for months, this time he had a gameplan.
As the Hulk moved to attack the side of the sphere, Hal moved the sphere away from him. If the Hulk punched, the sphere moved before contact could be made. If he jumped, Hal would use the bubble to pull Hulk back down to the ground from behind then move it away if his giant adversary tried to make any other contact with it. When the Hulk tried to run, Hal would trip him.
“Green Ring Man! Fight Hulk! Stupid Bubble is STUPID!”
“Sorry, Big Green, but I think you are a bit too much for me to handle straight up like that.”
“Green Ring Man knows Hulk strongest there is! Hulk SMASH!”
“It’s ‘Lantern’, ‘Green Lantern’. Come on, man. We have marketing and everything.”
“Shut up, stupid Green Ring Man!”
This went on far longer than Hal would have thought possible but finally his opponent started slowing down. Hal could control how much air entered or left such a construct and he had made this one air-tight. He had made sure the Hulk could see the bubble the entire time, giving him something to focus on while using up all the air within it. Hal had already painfully learned that this beast was clever so instead of relaxing, he kept his focus sharp. When the beast finally fell, Hal was ready for it. What he wasn’t ready for was what happened next.
The beast had been unconscious for mere seconds when the started. Hal watched in amazement as the creature began to shrink into a more normal-sized form. His amazement turned to awe as the beast’s skin color changed from green to the pinkish-white of someone who hadn’t been out in the sun for years. His awe, his amazement, all of his feelings flatlined to a dull nothing when he saw the face of his opponent morph into that of his friend.
“Oh, God… Bruce…”
Posted on 5/17/23 at 7:02 am to Bard
The cold desert air woke Bruce up like a bucket of ice water in a hot shower.
Again.
Before he could start wondering the “where” and “how” of his waking in the desert again, a voice came from nearby.
“It’s okay, Bruce. You’re okay.”
Bruce turned to the voice near his left shoulder. “Betty? I… I…” He was confused but the love and concern written on Betty’s face kept him from panic. The blackouts had returned.
“You’re going to be okay, buddy.” He turned to look farther to the left and there was Hal.
“Hal? What… what’s going on?”
Betty turned his face back to hers. She spoke as she covered him with a blanket, “Bruce, we have some good news and some… not so good news. The good news is that we know why you’ve had those blackouts and those anger spikes. The bad news is…”
“It’s that it’s my fault,” Hal broke in as he walked around in front of Bruce, a tinge of desperation to his voice. “My God, Bruce. I had no idea. The explosion-“
Almost in a daze, “Hal, we’ve been through this. It’s o-“
Bruce’s words were cut off as a bright, green light suddenly surrounded Hal. It dimmed, but didn’t go completely out, just a second later. Hal now stood before him dressed in an outfit of green, black and white, the outfit of that superhero from Las Vegas.
“You’re that Green Lantern guy?”
Hal knelt before him, the mask covering his eyes dissipated. “Bruce, please here me out before you say anything. You know that after the accident I left the Air Force and went to work for Carol. What you don’t know is that shortly after that I had an encounter with an alien being. He was a member of what’s called ‘the Green Lantern Corps’. We’re sort of like space cops who keep interstellar peace in the galaxy.”
Bruce’s eyes widened.
“He had been in a fight with someone, he was banged up so badly that the best the ring could do was prolong his life long enough for him to pass it on to someone else. Me.” Hal looked at the softly glowing ring on his hand, then back to Bruce.
“Months later I fought a giant, green monster in Indian Springs. Tonight I fought it again.”
Bruce wasn’t sure if what Hal was saying what he thought he was saying…
“Bruce, just before the first time I encountered the beast, I was there with Betty at the restaurant and my ring picked up a large spike in radiation nearby. Gamma radiation.”
Bruce’s heart sank, but it was no match for the look on Hal’s face. Betty now sat beside him, holding him with her head on his shoulder. “Hal,” he said, “are you sure?”
“One of the many things my ring does is to record what happens around me when I’m using it. I can show you what happened at the end of my fight with the Hulk earlier tonight.”
As Bruce looked down at Betty, she looked up at him. Even in the moonlight he could see the wetness under her eyes. She had already seen the footage. He looked to Hal, “I think-“
Again.
Before he could start wondering the “where” and “how” of his waking in the desert again, a voice came from nearby.
“It’s okay, Bruce. You’re okay.”
Bruce turned to the voice near his left shoulder. “Betty? I… I…” He was confused but the love and concern written on Betty’s face kept him from panic. The blackouts had returned.
“You’re going to be okay, buddy.” He turned to look farther to the left and there was Hal.
“Hal? What… what’s going on?”
Betty turned his face back to hers. She spoke as she covered him with a blanket, “Bruce, we have some good news and some… not so good news. The good news is that we know why you’ve had those blackouts and those anger spikes. The bad news is…”
“It’s that it’s my fault,” Hal broke in as he walked around in front of Bruce, a tinge of desperation to his voice. “My God, Bruce. I had no idea. The explosion-“
Almost in a daze, “Hal, we’ve been through this. It’s o-“
Bruce’s words were cut off as a bright, green light suddenly surrounded Hal. It dimmed, but didn’t go completely out, just a second later. Hal now stood before him dressed in an outfit of green, black and white, the outfit of that superhero from Las Vegas.
“You’re that Green Lantern guy?”
Hal knelt before him, the mask covering his eyes dissipated. “Bruce, please here me out before you say anything. You know that after the accident I left the Air Force and went to work for Carol. What you don’t know is that shortly after that I had an encounter with an alien being. He was a member of what’s called ‘the Green Lantern Corps’. We’re sort of like space cops who keep interstellar peace in the galaxy.”
Bruce’s eyes widened.
“He had been in a fight with someone, he was banged up so badly that the best the ring could do was prolong his life long enough for him to pass it on to someone else. Me.” Hal looked at the softly glowing ring on his hand, then back to Bruce.
“Months later I fought a giant, green monster in Indian Springs. Tonight I fought it again.”
Bruce wasn’t sure if what Hal was saying what he thought he was saying…
“Bruce, just before the first time I encountered the beast, I was there with Betty at the restaurant and my ring picked up a large spike in radiation nearby. Gamma radiation.”
Bruce’s heart sank, but it was no match for the look on Hal’s face. Betty now sat beside him, holding him with her head on his shoulder. “Hal,” he said, “are you sure?”
“One of the many things my ring does is to record what happens around me when I’m using it. I can show you what happened at the end of my fight with the Hulk earlier tonight.”
As Bruce looked down at Betty, she looked up at him. Even in the moonlight he could see the wetness under her eyes. She had already seen the footage. He looked to Hal, “I think-“
Posted on 5/17/23 at 7:04 am to Bard
Hal had managed to get a shield up only because his ring had given off a warning a split second before the explosion. The shield had been too weak to completely stop the blast, but it had been enough to keep him from being knocked completely out. He hoped it had been enough to help Bruce and Betty as well.
“Jordan…” The word hung in the cold desert air like a hangman’s noose. The voice behind it could have been warm and soothing, but the clipped syllables and the deep malevolence spoken into that word left it clear to any listener that the person speaking it had no good intentions in mind.
“Sinestro?” Hal wasn’t sure if he was in a bad dream or a worse reality. Sinestro had been the first among the Corps. The Guardians of Oa, the creators of the Corps, even deferred to his stance at times due to the incredible peace and unity he had created in his sector of space.
At least, that was the case before Hal had exposed him as being a ruthless despot. Apparently it’s easy to establish peace when you’ve shown your populace that you’re willing to kill over the least bit of aggression. After Hal had proven Sinestro’s betrayal of the Corps’ ideals, there had been a massive manhunt and fight. It seemed that Sinestro’s methods were shunned only by almost all of the Corps. Some stood by his side to fight against fellow Corps members. It was only until the Guardians stepped in and forcibly removed the rings of the traitors that the conflict ended. The last time Hal had seen Sinestro or any of his followers, they had been serving lifetime sentences in science-cells on Oa.
Somehow Sinestro had escaped. Not only that, Hal noticed, but he had somehow acquired a yellow power ring. Hal had no idea they could come in different colors.
Sinestro floated there in front of him, dark promises written on his face. “Death is too good for you, for what you’ve done to me.” Sinestro’s ring began to glow brighter, “but I’ll take it.”
Hal used his ring to shove himself brutally to the side, barely avoiding an energy blast from Sinestro’s ring. He had purposely moved away from Betty and Bruce. He had no idea if they were hurt or not. He had no idea if Sinestro knew or cared about them, but he knew he needed to move the fight away from them to make sure neither would get hurt. Hal had seen Bruce and Betty’s forms near her car so he tried to circle away and back from them.
This wasn’t Sinestro’s first fight, he saw Jordan’s movements for what they were. The pathetic fool was trying to lure him away from those other humans. Sinestro didn’t care about them, but they could be used as tools.
When Jordan moved away, attempting to lure him, Sinestro took a step closer to the humans. They were starting to move but were clearly still dazed, possibly hurt. Over the next few minutes he had moved Hal closer to them instead of farther way. Sinestro didn’t care about killing the humans, but he did care about making Hal Jordan feel desperate. Desperation could disrupt will and without will, a Green Lantern’s ring is just a glowing toy. Desperation bred fear, fear from nearby creatures fed his own ring. Jordan was close enough to his precious humans now that he would be have to spend some of his attention on defense in case energy or debris from the fight slipped by to threaten them. He concentrated, bringing forth more power to bear against this second-rate Green Lantern. He would slowly increase the pressure on that miserable Jordan until he began crushing him, one bone at a time.
Hal matched Sinestro’s power, energy for energy. For every bit it increased, Hal increased his own. He had to stop Sinestro from hurting anyone else, especially his most dear friends. He had to! As their test of strength increased in intensity, debris from the area between them began getting shoved away, then thrown, then hurtled. Sand and rocks were being blown around at a dangerous rate. Hal realized he might be coming to a point where he had to choose between overpowering Sinestro or defending his friends.
His thoughts were interrupted by his ring. “Alert! Power levels down to 10%, entering into power reserve mode. Please find appropriate atmosphere for recharge. Shutdown is imminent at continued use levels.” Over his ring, Hal could see Sinestro starting to smile.
“What!?! I thought you only had a time limit!”
“False. A Green Lantern Corps Ring has a large, but finite pool of energy to use. The recharge timer is set as a failsafe against unauthorized beings attempting to use it as lanterns are tied to their bearer biometrically.”
“But that doesn’t even make sense, why wouldn’t the Guardians just make the rings biometric??” Hal focused on pushing his ring to its limits. He had to end this fight now.
“Answer is unknown. Alert! Power reserve levels at 9%.”
Sinestro’s smile grew and he started to laugh.
“Jordan…” The word hung in the cold desert air like a hangman’s noose. The voice behind it could have been warm and soothing, but the clipped syllables and the deep malevolence spoken into that word left it clear to any listener that the person speaking it had no good intentions in mind.
“Sinestro?” Hal wasn’t sure if he was in a bad dream or a worse reality. Sinestro had been the first among the Corps. The Guardians of Oa, the creators of the Corps, even deferred to his stance at times due to the incredible peace and unity he had created in his sector of space.
At least, that was the case before Hal had exposed him as being a ruthless despot. Apparently it’s easy to establish peace when you’ve shown your populace that you’re willing to kill over the least bit of aggression. After Hal had proven Sinestro’s betrayal of the Corps’ ideals, there had been a massive manhunt and fight. It seemed that Sinestro’s methods were shunned only by almost all of the Corps. Some stood by his side to fight against fellow Corps members. It was only until the Guardians stepped in and forcibly removed the rings of the traitors that the conflict ended. The last time Hal had seen Sinestro or any of his followers, they had been serving lifetime sentences in science-cells on Oa.
Somehow Sinestro had escaped. Not only that, Hal noticed, but he had somehow acquired a yellow power ring. Hal had no idea they could come in different colors.
Sinestro floated there in front of him, dark promises written on his face. “Death is too good for you, for what you’ve done to me.” Sinestro’s ring began to glow brighter, “but I’ll take it.”
Hal used his ring to shove himself brutally to the side, barely avoiding an energy blast from Sinestro’s ring. He had purposely moved away from Betty and Bruce. He had no idea if they were hurt or not. He had no idea if Sinestro knew or cared about them, but he knew he needed to move the fight away from them to make sure neither would get hurt. Hal had seen Bruce and Betty’s forms near her car so he tried to circle away and back from them.
This wasn’t Sinestro’s first fight, he saw Jordan’s movements for what they were. The pathetic fool was trying to lure him away from those other humans. Sinestro didn’t care about them, but they could be used as tools.
When Jordan moved away, attempting to lure him, Sinestro took a step closer to the humans. They were starting to move but were clearly still dazed, possibly hurt. Over the next few minutes he had moved Hal closer to them instead of farther way. Sinestro didn’t care about killing the humans, but he did care about making Hal Jordan feel desperate. Desperation could disrupt will and without will, a Green Lantern’s ring is just a glowing toy. Desperation bred fear, fear from nearby creatures fed his own ring. Jordan was close enough to his precious humans now that he would be have to spend some of his attention on defense in case energy or debris from the fight slipped by to threaten them. He concentrated, bringing forth more power to bear against this second-rate Green Lantern. He would slowly increase the pressure on that miserable Jordan until he began crushing him, one bone at a time.
Hal matched Sinestro’s power, energy for energy. For every bit it increased, Hal increased his own. He had to stop Sinestro from hurting anyone else, especially his most dear friends. He had to! As their test of strength increased in intensity, debris from the area between them began getting shoved away, then thrown, then hurtled. Sand and rocks were being blown around at a dangerous rate. Hal realized he might be coming to a point where he had to choose between overpowering Sinestro or defending his friends.
His thoughts were interrupted by his ring. “Alert! Power levels down to 10%, entering into power reserve mode. Please find appropriate atmosphere for recharge. Shutdown is imminent at continued use levels.” Over his ring, Hal could see Sinestro starting to smile.
“What!?! I thought you only had a time limit!”
“False. A Green Lantern Corps Ring has a large, but finite pool of energy to use. The recharge timer is set as a failsafe against unauthorized beings attempting to use it as lanterns are tied to their bearer biometrically.”
“But that doesn’t even make sense, why wouldn’t the Guardians just make the rings biometric??” Hal focused on pushing his ring to its limits. He had to end this fight now.
“Answer is unknown. Alert! Power reserve levels at 9%.”
Sinestro’s smile grew and he started to laugh.
Posted on 5/17/23 at 7:05 am to Bard
“Alert! Power reserves at 6%. Space travel is not recommended. Please find a planet with suitable atmosphere to recharge.”
Hal was desperate. Even if his friends weren’t here, he realized, he wouldn’t be able to stop Sinestro. He was about to die and there was nothing he could do about it.
“RING MAN!”
No! Not now! Hal risked a glance over to where the monstrous form of the Hulk now stood. Behind him, almost protectively, Betty was lying on the ground.
Sinestro spared a glance as well. “What is that Jordan, your pet? His green is almost as sickening as yours.”
Pet? Like a lightning bolt in the night, inspiration struck. He looked at the Hulk and yelled: “YELLOW RING MAN BAD!”
The Hulk looked from Hal to Sinestro but didn’t move to engage in the fight. Instead, he positioned himself move between Sinestro and Betty. He looked down at her, then back up at Sinestro, then back to Betty. When he looked up again, rage was there but also confusion. He didn’t know what to do.
“Alert! Power reserves at 5%. Please find safe atmosphere to recharge. Shutdown imminent.”
“HULK,” Hal shouted again, “YELLOW RING MAN HURT BETTY! YELLOW RING MAN WANT TO SMASH BETTY!”
“NOOOOOO!” The Hulk leaped at Sinestro.
Sinestro put up a wall between himself and the brute, the Hulk sunk his thick fingers into the bricks of golden light and then crushed them. The feedback surprised and shocked Sinestro so much that he stopped attacking Hal. Before he could regain his wits, the Hulk was on him. He massive hand closed around Sinestro’s head, gripping only the thin shield he was able to maintain, then brutally slammed him into the ground. The Hulk repeatedly him up by the face then pounded him back into the rock-hard desert ground like a child angry at their doll.
Hal took the opportunity to check on Betty. He constructed a hospital bed to rise up from beneath her as well as constructed a patch to seal the bleeding gash on her forehead. She groaned as her eyes fluttered. Hal breathed a sigh of relief.
Hal was desperate. Even if his friends weren’t here, he realized, he wouldn’t be able to stop Sinestro. He was about to die and there was nothing he could do about it.
“RING MAN!”
No! Not now! Hal risked a glance over to where the monstrous form of the Hulk now stood. Behind him, almost protectively, Betty was lying on the ground.
Sinestro spared a glance as well. “What is that Jordan, your pet? His green is almost as sickening as yours.”
Pet? Like a lightning bolt in the night, inspiration struck. He looked at the Hulk and yelled: “YELLOW RING MAN BAD!”
The Hulk looked from Hal to Sinestro but didn’t move to engage in the fight. Instead, he positioned himself move between Sinestro and Betty. He looked down at her, then back up at Sinestro, then back to Betty. When he looked up again, rage was there but also confusion. He didn’t know what to do.
“Alert! Power reserves at 5%. Please find safe atmosphere to recharge. Shutdown imminent.”
“HULK,” Hal shouted again, “YELLOW RING MAN HURT BETTY! YELLOW RING MAN WANT TO SMASH BETTY!”
“NOOOOOO!” The Hulk leaped at Sinestro.
Sinestro put up a wall between himself and the brute, the Hulk sunk his thick fingers into the bricks of golden light and then crushed them. The feedback surprised and shocked Sinestro so much that he stopped attacking Hal. Before he could regain his wits, the Hulk was on him. He massive hand closed around Sinestro’s head, gripping only the thin shield he was able to maintain, then brutally slammed him into the ground. The Hulk repeatedly him up by the face then pounded him back into the rock-hard desert ground like a child angry at their doll.
Hal took the opportunity to check on Betty. He constructed a hospital bed to rise up from beneath her as well as constructed a patch to seal the bleeding gash on her forehead. She groaned as her eyes fluttered. Hal breathed a sigh of relief.
This post was edited on 5/22/23 at 6:47 am
Posted on 5/22/23 at 6:42 am to Bard
The onslaught of raw power was something Sinestro had never encountered before. This beast was brutal and savage, it stood against everything he held dear.
It had to be destroyed.
The next time the monster pulled him up, he used the ring to propel him up in the air. He used the creature’s own momentum of movement against it as he shot up powerfully with its upward movement. This move proved to be so successful that once it was complete, he had spun the grotesque thing into its back and now he was on top. The beast held one of his hands in each of it’s giant fists.
“A test of strength then?” The thing was strong, but Sinestro knew he was strong. As fast as thought he lashed thick, strong chains of yellow around the monster’s hands and sunk the other ends deep into the ground. His connection shifted to the ends buried deep below them and he pulled while also flaring his power downward.
“Do you feel it, you chaotic filth? The strength and power of ultimate order?”
The beast below him grunted. He pushed harder.
“You are nothing, beast. NOTHING! I will break you, you will kneel like the dog you are. After that, I will kill that insufferable Jordan.”
The monster snarled. He pushed against the monster even more, his chains ever-tightening.
“And then… I’ll kill that she-cow you covet.” He felt the monster shake. It was afraid! He had it right where he wanted it. At last he would have his revenge on Jordan, on the Guardians, on-
“YELLOW. RING. MAN.” Froth came from the behemoth’s mouth. It was only then Sinestro noted that the creatures irises were barely visible. It wasn’t scared at all, it was-
“TALK TOO MUCH!”
Sinestro screamed in agony as every bone in both hands were crushed from a strength he thought reserved only for cosmic level beings.
It had to be destroyed.
The next time the monster pulled him up, he used the ring to propel him up in the air. He used the creature’s own momentum of movement against it as he shot up powerfully with its upward movement. This move proved to be so successful that once it was complete, he had spun the grotesque thing into its back and now he was on top. The beast held one of his hands in each of it’s giant fists.
“A test of strength then?” The thing was strong, but Sinestro knew he was strong. As fast as thought he lashed thick, strong chains of yellow around the monster’s hands and sunk the other ends deep into the ground. His connection shifted to the ends buried deep below them and he pulled while also flaring his power downward.
“Do you feel it, you chaotic filth? The strength and power of ultimate order?”
The beast below him grunted. He pushed harder.
“You are nothing, beast. NOTHING! I will break you, you will kneel like the dog you are. After that, I will kill that insufferable Jordan.”
The monster snarled. He pushed against the monster even more, his chains ever-tightening.
“And then… I’ll kill that she-cow you covet.” He felt the monster shake. It was afraid! He had it right where he wanted it. At last he would have his revenge on Jordan, on the Guardians, on-
“YELLOW. RING. MAN.” Froth came from the behemoth’s mouth. It was only then Sinestro noted that the creatures irises were barely visible. It wasn’t scared at all, it was-
“TALK TOO MUCH!”
Sinestro screamed in agony as every bone in both hands were crushed from a strength he thought reserved only for cosmic level beings.
This post was edited on 5/22/23 at 6:49 am
Posted on 5/22/23 at 6:44 am to Bard
Hal spun around at the sound of Sinestro’s pain. His former mentor slumped down after that, unmoving. Hal could still hear the bones being ground together. He continued to watch as the Hulk pulled Sinestro’s ring off… with the finger still attached.
The Hulk rolled to his side, shrugging off the unconscious form as if it were an old rag and dropping the finger and ring, then he turned his eyes to Hal. Then to Betty. His stare lingered on her form as she laid on the softly glowing green hospital bed Hal had created. He didn’t move towards them nor did he move away. Instead, he took in a deep breath then roared his anger at the sky as he beat his chest.
“Bruce…”
The Hulk stopped shouting and looked at Hal. His rage had cooled from maniacal to merely angry. “Hulk not puny Banner. Hulk is Hulk, stupid Green Ring Man.”
Behind Hal, Betty stirred. “Bruce,” she said.
The Hulk took a hesitant step forward.
Betty reached her hand out towards him.
He moved closer, losing his hesitancy with each step. Wisely, Hal Jordan moved out of the way.
The behemoth knelt down beside the bed, worry uncaringly etched across his face. Betty’s hand touched his cheek, a gesture of love and devotion. “Bruce. I know you’re in there.”
The Hulk whispered back in response. “Silly Betty. Hulk not puny Banner. Hulk is Hulk.”
“I know. And I love you too.” As she caressed his cheek, the Hulk closed his eyes, then began to dwindle.
The ring broke the moment. “Alert! Multiple air and ground units converging on this point!”
The Hulk jumped back from Betty’s emerald bed, reversing the change back to Bruce Banner.
“Hulk smash,” he snarled through gritted teeth as he looked back at the limp form of Sinestro.
Hal raised his hands. “Hulk, no! Those are probably military people coming to investigate the mess we made out here. If you attack them, they’ll fight back.”
“Good! Hulk smash them all!”
Hal pointed, “A fight like that could hurt Betty!”
The Hulk seemed to consider this.
“Hulk,” Betty said without raising her voice. “Come here”. She stretched out her hand again.
The Hulk placed his hand under hers but didn’t close it. They stared into each others’ eyes.
“You can’t fight those men. They aren’t bad men like he is,” she glanced at Sinestro. “They’re just soldiers. They are coming here because they think something is attacking them. They’re scared. When they get here they are going to be very scared of you.”
“They should be. Hulk strongest there is,” he stated without energy behind it.
“You are, Hulk. You are the strongest one there is but being strong means knowing you only fight bad people who want to hurt you, not fighting people who are just scared. You have to go run away, just for a little while. Until they go away. And then you can come back. Okay?”
He understood but he didn’t. He knew Betty didn’t want him fighting these new men, but why she didn’t want him to fight them didn’t make sense. Still…
“Betty silly but Betty not stupid. Hulk like Betty. Hulk not fight so Hulk go.”
With that, the Hulk leapt into the night, easily outpacing the quickly closing military vehicles.
The Hulk rolled to his side, shrugging off the unconscious form as if it were an old rag and dropping the finger and ring, then he turned his eyes to Hal. Then to Betty. His stare lingered on her form as she laid on the softly glowing green hospital bed Hal had created. He didn’t move towards them nor did he move away. Instead, he took in a deep breath then roared his anger at the sky as he beat his chest.
“Bruce…”
The Hulk stopped shouting and looked at Hal. His rage had cooled from maniacal to merely angry. “Hulk not puny Banner. Hulk is Hulk, stupid Green Ring Man.”
Behind Hal, Betty stirred. “Bruce,” she said.
The Hulk took a hesitant step forward.
Betty reached her hand out towards him.
He moved closer, losing his hesitancy with each step. Wisely, Hal Jordan moved out of the way.
The behemoth knelt down beside the bed, worry uncaringly etched across his face. Betty’s hand touched his cheek, a gesture of love and devotion. “Bruce. I know you’re in there.”
The Hulk whispered back in response. “Silly Betty. Hulk not puny Banner. Hulk is Hulk.”
“I know. And I love you too.” As she caressed his cheek, the Hulk closed his eyes, then began to dwindle.
The ring broke the moment. “Alert! Multiple air and ground units converging on this point!”
The Hulk jumped back from Betty’s emerald bed, reversing the change back to Bruce Banner.
“Hulk smash,” he snarled through gritted teeth as he looked back at the limp form of Sinestro.
Hal raised his hands. “Hulk, no! Those are probably military people coming to investigate the mess we made out here. If you attack them, they’ll fight back.”
“Good! Hulk smash them all!”
Hal pointed, “A fight like that could hurt Betty!”
The Hulk seemed to consider this.
“Hulk,” Betty said without raising her voice. “Come here”. She stretched out her hand again.
The Hulk placed his hand under hers but didn’t close it. They stared into each others’ eyes.
“You can’t fight those men. They aren’t bad men like he is,” she glanced at Sinestro. “They’re just soldiers. They are coming here because they think something is attacking them. They’re scared. When they get here they are going to be very scared of you.”
“They should be. Hulk strongest there is,” he stated without energy behind it.
“You are, Hulk. You are the strongest one there is but being strong means knowing you only fight bad people who want to hurt you, not fighting people who are just scared. You have to go run away, just for a little while. Until they go away. And then you can come back. Okay?”
He understood but he didn’t. He knew Betty didn’t want him fighting these new men, but why she didn’t want him to fight them didn’t make sense. Still…
“Betty silly but Betty not stupid. Hulk like Betty. Hulk not fight so Hulk go.”
With that, the Hulk leapt into the night, easily outpacing the quickly closing military vehicles.
This post was edited on 5/22/23 at 6:52 am
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