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thejusticelounge2013-02-08 08:30 am
bossymarmalade) wrote in thejusticelounge2013-02-08 08:30 am
Entry tags:
recharge
[Ring Txt] Hey Guy - The Watchtower reports say you're awake and feeling better? Good thing they got that ring on you. Sorry about...wall anyway. I can come up and bring your Lantern if you need a charge. Maybe you can come back to Casa Verde! Lemme know, there's a lot to I gotta fill you in about the GLC.
That morning, he had finally convinced them to release him from the restraints. He’d purposely acted a bit dopey to let them think the sedatives they were pumping into him were doing their job. In reality, now that he was thinking more clearly, he was able to use his ring to purge them from his system as fast as they could drip them into his IV line.
Suckers.
At least now he could move, sit up, and with ring flight, get out of bed if he wanted to. He had been trying to reason where his battery might be earlier that morning, and now, he was receiving this surprising message. He stared in confusion at his ring, then suspicion, then checked who this unknown Green Lantern was.
[Identity confirmed. Honour Lantern Kyle Rayner, designation 2814.4, currently assigned to Earth.]
2814.4?? FOUR? Assigned to EARTH? Since when does Earth need more than one Lantern, much less more than-…
His blood ran cold as a thought struck him, and he wracked his fragmented brain to recall if the archer had mentioned Jordan or Stewart. He’d…someone had mentioned John. Hadn’t they? A ghost-like image of John, bending over him came to his mind, even though he almost hadn’t recognized him, his hair was so much shorter, military-cut, not the short afro he remembered. And what was he doing there, wherever “there” had been? Wasn’t John on Oa, in the rebuilding effort?
No…that was six years ago, he reminded himself grimly. It was possible, though he didn’t know why, that John had been reassigned to their sector in the interim.
But what about Jordan? No one had mentioned Hal since he’d woke up, not that he recalled. God, if Ted Kord and Maxwell Lord were gone, and the others “off the grid”…
No.
Not Jordan. NOT Hal. He couldn’t be dead.
He could ask his ring, but Guy couldn’t bring himself to do it. If he was going to hear this stuff, he wanted it to be from a person. Was this “Kyle Rayner” Jordan’s replacement? He’d probably have the answers Guy wanted regardless, about Hal, the Corps, and God knows what else he’d missed in the last six years. Hopefully, it wasn’t too much.
Plus, whoever this new Lantern was, he had Guy’s battery.
[Ring Txt] Yeah I really need a recharge soon. Can you bring my battery up asap, Rayner? You and me gotta talk.
Kyle got Guy’s text and headed up to the Watchtower, so grateful to feel his will channel through the ring, enabling the zeta trip up to the space station to tamp any feelings of nausea. All he felt was cool, calming green. And people wondered why wintergreen was his favorite mint flavor.
He was clutching Guy’s battery in his hand as he made his way to the Medbay. He’d considered using his own, but it seemed more elegant for the healing Lantern to use his own, well, lantern. Guy would appreciate that too, Kyle figured.
The ‘Rayner’ was a little weird, but Kyle wasn’t fazed. Things were pretty dire for Guy, all things considered with his hand gone…Kyle was still vaguely annoyed that no one was able to salvage the limb and re-attach it. It seemed vaguely ridiculous that he was strolling about in an advanced tech space station and Guy had to deal with no hand.
Then again, perhaps he was blaming everyone else for something he /should/ be able to do through Ion, but right now simply…couldn’t.
As Kyle entered the Medbay, he got rid of those thoughts and greeted Guy with a grim smile. Apart from the obvious left-handed ring wearing, he was looking pretty decent, for a person in their line of work.
“Hey bro. Brought your lantern.” Kyle hauled it up onto the bed, placing it near his leg. He looked up and sighed, smiling softly, finally allowing a fraction of his immense care and relief to pierce through his facade of serious professionalism. “It’s so good to see you awake, man. It seemed really…anyway. I knew you’d pull through.”
Guy blinked at the man, taking in his appearance. Dark hair, light-brown skin, a young, open face that exuded emotion… no, he’d never seen him before. He didn’t look like he could be much younger than him, though; he was 29, this guy looked to be in his mid-twenties. He was speaking to him as though they were good friends - the “bro” was a dead giveaway.
And then he realized: this new guy hadn’t heard. He didn’t know Guy didn’t know him. There was only so much Guy could fake through this until Rayner figured it out, too, so…
“Uh…thanks. An’ for bringin’ my battery. Gimme a sec, here…” Man, it was nice to be able to talk again. He was grateful his ring was working on healing him fast, as it should.
He leaned forward, picking up the battery in his left hand, and snugging it between his knees to hold it in place as he prepared to recharge. It felt a bit weird, performing this ritual in front of a stranger, though him being a fellow Lantern helped; Guy was used to doing this completely alone in his room at the League headquarters in NYC.
What was weirder still, though, was feeling Rayner’s eyes on him. He didn’t look up to confirm, but he was sure the other man was staring at his stump moving as if there were still a hand attached to it, reaching instinctively for the lantern’s handle, and stopping. Watching Guy gracelessly pick-up the battery, use his knees to hold it, then recharge with that same hand.
It was awkward for Guy…it was probably no less awkward for this young man who had done him this favour, and that, the fact he’d just brought him his battery, was the only thing stopping Guy from showing how angry if made him. Great. I’m a freak show, he thought darkly.
He recited the oath, giving it little thought, and ringed it over to the small table/cabinet next to the bed, tucking it away and out of sight, before looking back up at his visitor and gesturing him to have a seat.
“I uh…got a lot of questions. An’ I’m guessin’ they didn’t tell ya about my memory.” He gave the man an uncomfortable look, really having no idea how well they knew each other, or how much he could trust him.
Was this the kind of person who would be willing to help him without being a jerk about it? Would he tell him stuff accurately, or take advantage of the situation? Guy hesitated. What if this new Lantern wasn’t like Jordon? Or Kilowog? What if he was royally screwed, because this man was like… himself?
“I don’t know anythin’ about the last six years,” he began, “It’s all gone. I don’t remember anythin’ of it.”
The wheels slowly, almost painfully turned in Kyle’s head as he absorbed what Guy just told him. Truth was, he was already feeling pretty discombobulated. After everything happening with the GLC, the attacks and deaths of Lanterns and the disappearance of Ion - and finally, watching his friend stalwartly maneuvering his own damned Lantern to just recite the oath…it was tragic in its awkwardness, and yet Kyle just watched it happen. He knew it was rude as hell to just stare like a completely gormless asshole and yet he couldn’t tear his eyes away. Somehow it was different than seeing Arthur and his hook. It seemed wrong to the point of unacceptable. Kyle couldn’t process this change in Guy, it was all so sudden and Kyle wasn’t even there to save him or help or anything…
And now Guy informed him of another change, this time internal. Kyle was used to Guy being guarded and closed, particularly in times of extreme duress; so he hadn’t even really noticed any difference in Guy’s somber, wary disposition. But when Guy said - six years of memories, gone - little things slowly slid into place in Kyle’s mind.
“Brain damage,” he blurted out. Just like Guy was years ago. Before Kyle knew him. Almost right when Kyle became the last Lantern, himself. “You’re brain damaged again.”
Because /that/ wasn’t rude, Rayner you fucking culo.
“Madre de dios, Guy, you. Oh. Ah. Well.” Kyle wiped his gloved hand on his thigh and held it out. “I’m Kyle Rayner, I….” He wondered first why Guy wasn’t shaking it - and in fact he was staring at Kyle as if he was a complete moron - until he realized. His /right/ hand!!! Kyle switched hands, sputtering an apology. “Lo siento! Sorry sorrysorry, I just - I wasn’t thinking - I forgot you didn’t have your - ahhhhh, Guy! I’m not —”
Kyle took a breath.
“Lemme start again. I’m Kyle Rayner. Fourth Earth Lantern. Well - kind of. I mean, Alan was the first, and then there’s Jade. But I guess Jenny wasn’t a Lantern before me, I guess technically she’s the fifth Lantern? Er, I mean - uh she’s - uh she /was/ - the sixth? And…”
Christ, he was like Marty McFly’s son from the second Back to the Future movie.
“Whaddya mean, ‘brain damaged again?” he growled. That sounded like Hal’s old and tired rhetoric. ‘Guy, I don’t like this person you’ve become. You’ve changed, wah, wah, wah.’ Okay, maybe he had changed…HA, for the better. At least he wasn’t some bleeding heart wimp, like Jordan. ”Look, there ain’t nothin’ wrong with me, I just have that…amnesia thing. I ain’t stupid or nothin’.” He wasn’t. He wasn’t stupid. He wasn’t stupid.
“Guy Gardner. Best Earth Lantern, an’ supposed to be first, well, afterold man Scott,” he reached over with his left hand and waited for the other to shake it.
He listened to the awkward lineage of future Lanterns and waved it away for the moment, though if he’d followed him correctly, it sounded like Scott’s kid had followed in daddy’s footsteps. Good for her, and him, keeping it in the family.
“No offense, but, D’ya mind if we stick to the people I actually remember, for now?” he asked, a mildly pained expression on his face. “Six years, it’s a lot of catchin’ up.” He visibly braced himself as he asked the hardest question, “What happened to Jordan an’ Stewart, an’ Kilowog? Are they…I mean…didja replace someone? Y’know?”
“No. Well yeah, I….” Kyle glazed over for a while, realizing that Guy had missed out on everything Kyle had experienced. John as a Darkstar and all the changes in the League and…and Parallax. He kept slowly shaking Guy’s hand, getting a little pale and really only snapping back to the present when Guy pointedly removed his hand, after the prolonged contact got awkward.
Kyle tried to think of all the things he’d seen about amnesia patients…sadly the only thing come to him were those atrocious soap operas his mom used to adore. And Dr Truck Baxter having an amnesia that could only be cured by the soft, loving embrace of Angelica Rose…or maybe her evil twin Elvira….
Right. Okay. Stick to the questions Guy was asking. He was right of course - talking about so-and-so that Kyle knew did nothing to help Guy.
“Hal’s fine. He had some issues but it all worked out.” /Some issues/. A near-hysterical laugh almost bubbled from Kyle’s lips, but he repressed it. “John’s fine too. He’d retired for a bit from Lanterning, but he got back into the swing of things to take over while I went off-planet. He’s fit as a fiddle, now. And Kilowog’s fine too! He was a little…he needed a bit of, ah, rebalancing. But I got him rebalanced. Totally cool now.”
Dammit Kyle, Kilowog isn’t a freaking tire.
“Everyone’s fine! And you /are/ a great Lantern - you’re an Honor Guard now, just like me. By Guardian appointment and everything. We - you and I, we’re partners - we were tasked on Oa, but recently got back here for some reasons and…christ Guy. How the hell are you feeling? Six years…this has gotta be just insane for you, oh man.”
Guy relaxed some as he was told the others were still alive and well, and settled back on the bed to listen. A smile slid over his healing but pugnacious cheeks, though, at the revelation of his new title.
“Honor Guard?” he sat up, keenly interested. “Yer not shittin’ me?” He recalled that his ring had told him this Kyle Rayner was an Honor Guard Lantern too, so he must be better at ringslinging than he looked, if he’d only been at this six years or less. Jeeze, and he was only in his mid-twenties!
“Honor Guard…” he repeated, grinning to himself. “‘Bout time they-…” He looked at Kyle, confused. “Whaddya mean, we’re partners? I’ve always run solo before. Everyone has. We just get called up together if there’s a crisis or somethin’.”
“I feel…m’okay, I guess. Like I had a run-in with Darkseid…oh, wait.” he gave a mild grin at his own joke. “A lot to get used to…” he looked at his stump briefly, then pushed it out of his mind. This wasn’t going to stop him. No way. Besides…gymnastics wasn’t really that big a deal…football… He thought briefly to the knee injury that ended his chances to be signed to the NFL, but this was nothing close to that. Huh. And back then he thought his world was crashing. That was before he was given a Power Ring.
There was another loss, though, that bothered him. He knew he wouldn’t get his hand back, but this… ”So, ya know me well? Can ya tell me…what happened to Tora? Y’know, Ice? She’s in the League, or, she was, six years ago. Did…did she leave me, or is she missing? Green arrow said she was “off the grid”…
Kyle relaxed a bit, glad that Guy was placated by his stammering historical narrative. The redhead seemed glad to know everyone was alive - and really, that /was/ what mattered. Lanterns lived for the present, after all. Everything in the past…well, even if Guy’s memory never returned (it will. of course it will), then the gory details would be easier if filled in gradually. Not all at once.
He pulled the chair closer, sitting down and giving a light huff of laugh at Guy’s cracking wise. “Yup, we’re partners. Once the GLC was reinst - I mean, once stuff happened, the Guardians decided it was best to have all the Lanterns from all the sectors partnered up. Makes sense….like cops, right?” Kyle grinned at him and nudged Guy’s upper arm with his knuckles. His smile fell a bit when Guy asked about Tora. His expression was just…so much more open and hopeful than Kyle was used to.
“Iiiiiii, yyyyeah. You told me a bit about Tora, yup. When we lived on Oa, she even came to visit, once. And…and…./she/ didn’t leave you exactly, it was…well.” Kyle struggled with how to say this, and decided to go for the ‘as even keel as possible’ route. “You both…ah…agreed that the relationship wasn’t working out. And…and that your work as a Lantern came first. You told me you didn’t regret the decision, though. It was the best for the both of you, y’know?” He looked sympathetic, given how curious Guy had been about Tora. “Sorry for the shock, hermano.”
He took it in, as best he could. Since when did he care more about the Corps than her? Since when did he really care about the Corps at all? Sure, they were like him, only maybe wimpier - though he hadn’t seen this Honor Guard partner of his in action - but he had never really needed them, all he needed was his ring and a target to clobber.
Tora…she didn’t dis him for what he wasn’t. She accepted him for what he was, whatever it was she saw there. He didn’t have to try to be perfect for her, and that made him want to. He stared at his knee for a long moment, in thought. It had been mutual. It hadn’t been working out. Why would he even have considered leaving Earth to go live on the Guardians’ home planet in the first place?
“Ahh…she was okay. M’glad she moved on. Sounds like I was crampin’ the princess’ style or somethin’,” he waved it off. “Yer right, I don’t regret it,” he lied, then changed the subject.
“So. Partners, like cops. Are you like, the rookie or somethin’?” he raised an eyebrow. It would make sense…like cops. Pair the new one with a solid, strong one that could pass on all the good qualities. “So how long’s that been? An’ you an’ me are assigned to Earth? An’ what about the other two, Stewart an’ Jordan? How does that work?”
Kyle nodded, offering another sympathetic smile, but not pressing the Tora thing any further. What was so prominent and sensitive a topic in this Guy’s life was something the Guy he knew had been able to move on from. Or, well. So Kyle thought. Guy was always very good at double-talk, saying one sentiment out loud and feeling something else inside. Regardless, Kyle was now used to accepting this about Guy, and not pushing a subject.
He bristled indignantly, knee-jerk reaction to being seen of as a rookie than actually being hurt or upset. “No, I’m not a rookie, ha ha! I haven’t been a rookie for a while, mano.” He smiled in amusement at Guy’s assessment of their pairing dynamic, though. It was pretty endearing he thought, as he nodded.
“Yup. Strong and solid, that’s our Guy.” Really, he meant it. He scratched his head, squinting and thinking. “Ahhhh we got partnered up…after Jenny died, then there was that year…so for about the last sixteen months? Eighteen months? Something like that. We used to /train/ rookies on Oa, bro.
“John and Hal are still partners for Sector 2814. We’re…well we’re kinda on a leave, but things got a little hairy and…well anyway. Point is, all four of us are on Earth right now, y’know? We’re all here.”
“Jenny? Alan Scott’s kid? Jesus…” he shook his head. So that’s what Kyle meant when he spoke of her in the past tense. It wasn’t limited only to her job. What to say, though? Ask how it happened? Ask how Alan took it? How the hell do you think he took it? “That’s…I…man, poor Alan…” He was quiet again for a time.
“M’gonna have to get used to hearin’ ‘bout the bad stuff, I guess.” He tried not to think how much longer the list was going to get, and the thought crossed his mind, how he reacted to their deaths at the time they happened. When Scott Free was thought to have been killed, and they held his funeral, it was the first time he’d lost a colleague like that. But he had Tora to talk to about it… Don’t think about that. She’s gone. Suck it up.
“Training rookies? Like, drill sargents?” He grinned a bit, “Doesn’t sound so bad, as long as we still got to kick ass and weren’t babysittin’ all the time. The four of us on Earth though, I dunno…sounds as pointless as when Jordan has his own Corps set up here, with Arisia an’ Salaak an’ all them…I mean, ain’t it kind of overkill, four of us here? Heck all the League really ever needed was one Green Lantern, and that Green Lantern was yours truly.”
This Kyle Rayner guy seemed okay. He could tell he wasn’t telling him everything, and while Guy didn’t like it much, there was also a part of him that was grateful. “Ya keep callin’ me ‘bro’…do I call you somethin’? Anyway, ah, Kyle. I kinda get the feelin’ yer holdin’ back a lot of stuff. I get the reasons, but… yer gonna eventually tell me all of it, right?”
“It’s okay that you got so many questions - I just - I don’t know if - I mean, I just…there’s a lot that…geez, six years, man. A lot can happen in that time…” Well that was a dumb thing to say, Captain Obvious. Try again. Kyle stood up, rustling Guy’s forearm in a comforting motion.
“Alan’s been able to…work past it. And as for all four of us?” He shrugged. “Honestly, it was the reason me and you took off to Oa to rock our rookie power tripping, heh.” Kyle was quiet again, and for one odd, brief moment he looked Guy straight in the eye and almost offered for them to take off again. Go back to Oa and do it all over again. Guy might’ve been six years worth of missing memories, but something about him felt easy and comfortable with Kyle. He suddenly craved it - just him and Guy and a bunch of other Lanterns, flying about, being awesome, saving planets, being away from Earth….
…of course, Kyle didn’t actually suggest it. Never mind that it was completely stupid, given that poor Guy was here with amnesia and still recuperating -as if that’d ever stop Guy Gardner!!!…but that was beside the point. Besides, Kyle didn’t relish the idea of being so close under the Guardian’s noses, not when he was currently in their badbooks for losing communication with Ion.
He grinned crookedly at Guy, tilting his head up in an insouciant fashion. “Oh there’s tonnnnnnns of things you used to call me, sure. ’Kiddo’, ‘dumbass’, ‘Mister Touchy-Feely’….and when you were feeling particularly sensitive and sentimental, it was ‘buddy’.” He leaned in close to Guy, grinning confidentially. “But don’t worry, that sentiment was only expressed only late on a Sunday night, between 3 and 4 am.” Kyle winked, laughing a bit.
“We owned a bar on Oa you know. We own one here too. Warriors, on Venice Beach. Yup…” he nodded as he saw Guy’s eyes widen. “Unfortunately the one in Manhattan got destroyed. Risks of being a superhero, y’know? Sorry about that too hermano.” Kyle bit his lip, thinking.
“There’s one last thing - we gotta report your condition to the Guardians, Guy.”
Guy was a little weirded out by this near-stranger petting his handless forearm. Mr. Touchy-Feely sounded about right. Still, he said nothing as he waited it out, to see where he was going with that. The dark-haired Lantern seemed to just be…well he was being genuinely nice to him. Guy wasn’t entirely accustomed to that, especially not from other men. Well, most women, too. Come to think of it, aliens didn’t much care for him either. Their loss.
“Wait, I…I mean, we….own a bar?” His eyes certainly did widen.
He was Honor Guard, had a team mate that liked him, and he owned a freaking BAR? Well, the future, or rather, the present, certainly was looking a little brighter. He could boss around Jordan and Stewart and be generally awesome all day, then drink to his success all night, free. ”Warriors” he smirked, “Good name.”
“Ah, don’t sweat it, Kiddo,” he tried the nickname on for size, “Ya just tell ‘em I bumped my head, an’ we got the situation under control,” he waved it off nonchalantly. “They’re used to it, an’ trust me, they don’t give a crap what condition my head’s in. I was the best choice for a Power Ring six years ago, an’ I still am. Takes more n’ a whack on the ol’ noggin’ to change that.”
“An’ this?” he lifted his stump, “A missin’ hand didn’t stop Luke Skywalker, amirite?”
“Damn right,” Kyle said, leaning back and rubbing his chin speculatively as he looked at Guy’s lack of hand. He was getting used to the look of it now; it really was just a matter of time what with Guy waving it around like a hookless Captain Hook. On top of that, the Green Lantern lifestyle made it easy to adjust to change and different bodies. In their world, disfigurement sucked; but at least it meant you weren’t dead.
“You’re like Luke but with a Solo attitude. Think you can make yourself a hand? Y’know…” Kyle wiggled his own ringed fist questioningly. With what Kyle considered extremely weakened Lantern powers, he wasn’t exactly sure how much they were individually capable of. “Frankly I have no idea how the hell they can’t just reattach the original deal. You…do you remember anything about that? The fight with you and Darkseid?”
He considered what Guy said about the Guardians. And honestly…why not? They were pissed off as hell at him and Hal anyway, with this whole Ion debacle. And the last thing he’d want is any of them giving Guy any grief. His partner had enough to deal with. He squinched his nose at Guy’s choice of nickname, but more in jest than annoyance.
“Hal and John’ll both be glad to know you’re awake. You’ll probably have a lot more to say to them…since you know. You /know/ who the hell they are, ahah. But they’ve changed too, the both of them. Even from when I knew them and…well anyway.” Kyle grinned.
“Yup - we gotta bar! And an apartment above it. We’re roomies, bro.”
“Huh. Ya know…” Guy examined his right forearm, “If I can make a giant fist, I should be able to make a normal-sized one, right?” He tried, a strand of energy from the ring on his left hand, crossing in front of him to take the shape of a hand on his right limb. The beam connecting them made Guy look like like he was bound with a loose cord of green light.
He certainly had the willpower to maintain the construct without the umbilical from his ring, but animating it, getting it to move without his Ring physically connecting to it with a beam of light, that would be the tricky part, and take a lot of practice. “Maybe not today, but I’ll get it,” he promised himself as much as he did Rayner and he settled back on the pillow again. Roommates with this guy…he was curious to know how it worked out. The other guy seemed to be pleased about it, at least.
“I don’t remember a damn thing about Darkside. One minute, as near as I can figure, I’m fallin’ asleep in my room at the League’s HQ building. The next,….I thought I remembered seein’ Stewart, only his hair was all cut short, an’ his uniform was different. An’ then I woke up here, Nightwing waking me up an’ sayin’ my name a lot.”
“I really wouldn’t be so sure about Jordan an’ Stewart. They ain’t never glad to see me unless I’m savin’ their hides at the time,” he smirked without a trace self-pity. He almost seemed to enjoy the notion of causing them harassment. He eyed Kyle, though, as he tried to imagine how they might be different now. “They’ve changed how?” he asked, curiosity getting the better of him, “An’ why?”
“Looking good, man,” Kyle complimented, surveying the hand with a somewhat critical eye. He couldn’t help it, he was an artist. But really, it did look really great - Guy’s willpower and conviction in doing things seemed in check, perhaps even stronger than before…/was that a cynical thought, Rayner? Dial it back a bit./
“We’ll have you high-fiving in no time if you keep this up,” Kyle said, looking up at Guy with an encouraging smile.
“It’s been six years, ese. A lot can happen in six years, y’know? I mean hey - I’m here and we’re partners and Honor Lanterns- that’s six years, man. Sure, a lot of stuff happened to Jorda - I mean - to Hal and John.” He grinned at Guy’s joke, shifting on his feet where he stood. ”Okay maybe they still might not be /grateful/ to see you. But. That’s /their/ problem, right?” Kyle was being tongue-in-cheek, but then he switched to a tone more sentimental.
“I just like knowing that you /plan/ to save their hides, man,” Kyle said. /I like your determination/, he thought; but he didn’t want to get /too/ cheesy.
“Damn straight that’s their problem!” he agreed with a wink. It stung a bit to wink, but he didn’t care. This Kyle guy wasn’t bad at all. Finally, another Green Lantern who thought as Guy did: having the power and privilege of a Power Ring wasn’t about false humility or altruism, it was about getting the job done fast and effectively. Let the rest look down their noses and lift their pinkies as they sipped their tea and discussed ethics and diplomacy; Guy preferred raising whole other finger entirely to that notion and taking action. “Of course I’d save their hides,” he smirked, “It’s what Guy Gardner does. Besides, we’re Honor Guards, gotta look after the subordinates, right?” he grinned, his turn to be tongue-in-cheek. Mostly.
“An’ yeah, I guess I’ve changed a lot too, in six years,” he admitted. “I got a look at a mirror this mornin’, finally. I’m likin’ the new bod, I musta gotten into some serious weightliftin’ or somethin’, that’s a lot of upper body. Any idea how much I can press, roomie? Man, I bet the Venice Beach babes LOVE this…I’m freakin’ Charles Atlas on steroids!” He paused and then his head snapped up to look up at Kyle, “I…Christ, I don’t do steroids, do I?” he asked in a worried whisper.
At Kyle’s bemused but reassuring ‘no’, he relaxed a bit. Fitness was important to him, but he’d seen and heard horror stories about men who tried to take shortcuts. He raised his casted arm and touched his head, “Not so sure about the hair, though…when did shave off the bowl-cut? That was kinda my signature look, y’know? This…I dunno…” He couldn’t help but wonder what the man who had this haircut and body was like. “Does the Terminator know I’ve copied his look?” he grinned. “All I need is shades and a leather jacket…”
Afrer assuring Guy that he definitely did not do steroids, he considered Guy’s bench pressing question.
“I uhhh yuhhhhh, ummmm, I have no idea. You /are/ something of a gym rat now though, this is true. Ever since I’ve known you, you’ve been pretty buffaroonie, honestly. Hmmm….let’s watch Kyle do some math - this is gonna be a hilariously tedious, be warned - you’re like a six-years ago kinda dude, ok. Which means I’m almost just gonna get my ring because Coast…” Kyle caught himself and switched paths. “…because I’m awesome like that. And I met you maybe…a few months after I had became a Lantern? Yeah that seems about right.” Again, Kyle stopped himself from talking about how /exactly/ they met. All of that, Guy could find out later, in due time. It was all gonna take time. And given that nothing was pinging in Guy’s mind from the things Kyle was telling him, they’d likely have a lot of time.
“Awwww y’don’t like your new look? I think it’s pretty damn snazzy. The chica ricas down on Venice Beach do too, bro,” Kyle said with a cocky grin, and then he looked away sheepishly as he realized what he was saying. Guy was with Dick right now. Guy had come out of the closet. He was different now. Maybe ogling ladies together wasn’t something he should encourage in Guy; and especially not with Dick looking like an absolute heartbroken wreck. It seemed, well. It seemed unethical. He switched topics.
“Don’t worry, you look nothing like our illustrious Governator. Once you’re ready to bust out of this hospital in the sky, think you’ll wanna check out your digs?” Kyle held up a hand in deference, not wanting to make Guy feel uncomfortable.
“Or you could stay here. You got quarters in the Watchtower too. It’s up to you. Point is, once you’re on the road to recovery, I wanna try and look for ways to start getting your memories back. Before your birthday, at least.” Kyle squinted as he smiled, scratching the back of his neck as he gently reminded Guy. “You’re gonna be thirty-six, mano. Come January.”
“I really do wanna check out this bar you told me about. An’ I wanna see where I live now, sure. At least get out of this damned place…tomorrow, maybe?” Knowing he had quarters on the Watchtower was good to know as well; it gave him a place to retreat to if things were for any reason awkward or impossible to adjust to in his new surroundings with this new roommate.
Guy’s smile faded when Kyle mentioned his birthday, not in distress or anger, but from the dawning unhappy realization that it wasn’t just the ongoing lives of his colleagues he had missed these last six years. It wasn’t strictly as though he had time-traveled into the future and learned of people passing or moving on. It wasn’t even as though he’d been awakened from a long coma (been there, done that) and discovered the world had passed him by while he vegetated.
He’d missed six years of his own, active life. He’d had experiences, done things, seen things, hell, even hung out and lived with a ringslinging partner, and aged. He remembered August of 2006, chilling on the embassy roof at night, being 29 years old, drinking beers with Ted on a hot summer night, and checking out the Perseids meteor shower. And now, it was 2012, December sometime, and he was a month or less from 36. Whatever he’d done, or challenged, or loved, or suffered, or survived…all of it had been stolen from him, and everyone around him had an advantage he didn’t: THEY remembered HIS last six years.
“Wow…thirty-six…” he murmured, “Guess my birthday is comin’ up…and Christmas.” He looked up at Kyle searchingly. Right here and now, this partner of his seemed to really be his best source of information. “Did I have anythin’ planned? Hell, do I have any plans for anythin’? Ya think I should I cancel them on account of…all this? I mean, hell, I don’t even know people.”
Kyle leaned sideways against the back wall, facing Guy as he folded his arms and considered. He could see that wide-eyed, anxious expression on Guy’s face. It didn’t occur to Kyle to /not/ help Guy out in any way he possibly could, and he’d only back down if Guy had indicated that Kyle’s help was not needed.
But this was Guy - still Guy, six years difference or no - and he was looking at Kyle with a sort of need and trust that Kyle hadn’t seen…well, ever. When they’d first gotten partnered up, Kyle had needed Guy more than the other way around. And Guy had cheerily helped pull Kyle through the depression post-Jenny, without complaint. Kyle now had an opportunity to do the same, so to speak.
And honestly Kyle wasn’t sure who else could do this. Not to toot his own horn or anything, but Kyle was a GL and Guy’s best friend, therefore equipped two ways to a) ease Guy back into this whole new world (didn’t he once give a young Hal the very same tour, a few years back?); b) help caulk the holes in Guy’s memories as best as Kyle could; and c) figure out a way to get his memories back.
Lantern business was Lantern business, after all.
He smiled warmly at Guy. “Only plan so far is a Christmas party at Warriors for our friends in the League and their families and stuff. But we can figure it out later. It won’t be for a while and I won’t blame you for thinking it might be overwhelming. You gotta lot to swallow already, and you’re only on the first course, bro. But don’t worry too much yet…one flight out in space and I know you’ll start feeling better about this.”
/I hope you will, anyway. I’ll do my damnedest to make sure it works out for you./
“Ah, who’s worried?” he waved it away, putting on the tough act, “Loads of time, like ya said.”
An orderly came in, wheeling an empty wheelchair in front of him. “Excuse me. Mr. Gardner? I’m here to take you to Medical Imaging.”
“What? They did that yesterday,” he frowned.
“And they are doing it again today, sir. Let’s just get you in the chair…”
Guy was having none of it. “Do I LOOK like a freakin’ invalid to you? I’ll fly there, Nurse Chucklehead.”
“But…”
“Exactly, so I’m wearin’ a robe,” he grumbled as he ringed one on over his hospital gown, along with slippers. Floating off the bed, he turned to look over his shoulder at his new friend, “Seriously, you’d think they could provide gowns that close freakin’ properly in the back! Seeya later, Kiddo.”
The orderly stood there, dumbstruck as the patient simply floated out the door, and looked to Kyle for help for just a moment. Clearly, he was new around here. Maybe he was the victim of Medbay staff hazing, being sent to fetch a Green Lantern with a wheelchair.
“Let’s GO, Lawrence Nightingale!” came a bark from the corridor, “Let’s not keep that sexy brunette technician waiting. She wants me. I can see it in her eyes…”
Kyle could tell Guy was putting on the bravado; but really who could blame him. It’s what Kyle would do in his situation. Lose the tough act and you lose hope. Lose hope and you lose will. Enter fear.
Yoda would’ve loved Green Lantern philosophy, honestly.
Chuckling, Kyle gave an amused (and rather pleased) salute to Guy’s retreating robed back. He gave the confused orderly and apologetic shrug. ”I’ll never figure out the mystery of hospital gowns either,” Kyle said to Guy, laughing a bit. “Catch you later ese. Don’t mean for it to sound weird but - good to have you back.”
He waited until he heard his friend hollering in the other room and only then did he leave.
Things might not be the same…but at least it seemed like it was going to be manageable. In a strange way, Guy’s rather wide-eyed wonder and bluster helped Kyle put the entire dire situation in a bit of perspective. The bigger picture was: they had each other. They were alive. And really, that was all any Green Lantern could hope for.
That morning, he had finally convinced them to release him from the restraints. He’d purposely acted a bit dopey to let them think the sedatives they were pumping into him were doing their job. In reality, now that he was thinking more clearly, he was able to use his ring to purge them from his system as fast as they could drip them into his IV line.
Suckers.
At least now he could move, sit up, and with ring flight, get out of bed if he wanted to. He had been trying to reason where his battery might be earlier that morning, and now, he was receiving this surprising message. He stared in confusion at his ring, then suspicion, then checked who this unknown Green Lantern was.
[Identity confirmed. Honour Lantern Kyle Rayner, designation 2814.4, currently assigned to Earth.]
2814.4?? FOUR? Assigned to EARTH? Since when does Earth need more than one Lantern, much less more than-…
His blood ran cold as a thought struck him, and he wracked his fragmented brain to recall if the archer had mentioned Jordan or Stewart. He’d…someone had mentioned John. Hadn’t they? A ghost-like image of John, bending over him came to his mind, even though he almost hadn’t recognized him, his hair was so much shorter, military-cut, not the short afro he remembered. And what was he doing there, wherever “there” had been? Wasn’t John on Oa, in the rebuilding effort?
No…that was six years ago, he reminded himself grimly. It was possible, though he didn’t know why, that John had been reassigned to their sector in the interim.
But what about Jordan? No one had mentioned Hal since he’d woke up, not that he recalled. God, if Ted Kord and Maxwell Lord were gone, and the others “off the grid”…
No.
Not Jordan. NOT Hal. He couldn’t be dead.
He could ask his ring, but Guy couldn’t bring himself to do it. If he was going to hear this stuff, he wanted it to be from a person. Was this “Kyle Rayner” Jordan’s replacement? He’d probably have the answers Guy wanted regardless, about Hal, the Corps, and God knows what else he’d missed in the last six years. Hopefully, it wasn’t too much.
Plus, whoever this new Lantern was, he had Guy’s battery.
[Ring Txt] Yeah I really need a recharge soon. Can you bring my battery up asap, Rayner? You and me gotta talk.
Kyle got Guy’s text and headed up to the Watchtower, so grateful to feel his will channel through the ring, enabling the zeta trip up to the space station to tamp any feelings of nausea. All he felt was cool, calming green. And people wondered why wintergreen was his favorite mint flavor.
He was clutching Guy’s battery in his hand as he made his way to the Medbay. He’d considered using his own, but it seemed more elegant for the healing Lantern to use his own, well, lantern. Guy would appreciate that too, Kyle figured.
The ‘Rayner’ was a little weird, but Kyle wasn’t fazed. Things were pretty dire for Guy, all things considered with his hand gone…Kyle was still vaguely annoyed that no one was able to salvage the limb and re-attach it. It seemed vaguely ridiculous that he was strolling about in an advanced tech space station and Guy had to deal with no hand.
Then again, perhaps he was blaming everyone else for something he /should/ be able to do through Ion, but right now simply…couldn’t.
As Kyle entered the Medbay, he got rid of those thoughts and greeted Guy with a grim smile. Apart from the obvious left-handed ring wearing, he was looking pretty decent, for a person in their line of work.
“Hey bro. Brought your lantern.” Kyle hauled it up onto the bed, placing it near his leg. He looked up and sighed, smiling softly, finally allowing a fraction of his immense care and relief to pierce through his facade of serious professionalism. “It’s so good to see you awake, man. It seemed really…anyway. I knew you’d pull through.”
Guy blinked at the man, taking in his appearance. Dark hair, light-brown skin, a young, open face that exuded emotion… no, he’d never seen him before. He didn’t look like he could be much younger than him, though; he was 29, this guy looked to be in his mid-twenties. He was speaking to him as though they were good friends - the “bro” was a dead giveaway.
And then he realized: this new guy hadn’t heard. He didn’t know Guy didn’t know him. There was only so much Guy could fake through this until Rayner figured it out, too, so…
“Uh…thanks. An’ for bringin’ my battery. Gimme a sec, here…” Man, it was nice to be able to talk again. He was grateful his ring was working on healing him fast, as it should.
He leaned forward, picking up the battery in his left hand, and snugging it between his knees to hold it in place as he prepared to recharge. It felt a bit weird, performing this ritual in front of a stranger, though him being a fellow Lantern helped; Guy was used to doing this completely alone in his room at the League headquarters in NYC.
What was weirder still, though, was feeling Rayner’s eyes on him. He didn’t look up to confirm, but he was sure the other man was staring at his stump moving as if there were still a hand attached to it, reaching instinctively for the lantern’s handle, and stopping. Watching Guy gracelessly pick-up the battery, use his knees to hold it, then recharge with that same hand.
It was awkward for Guy…it was probably no less awkward for this young man who had done him this favour, and that, the fact he’d just brought him his battery, was the only thing stopping Guy from showing how angry if made him. Great. I’m a freak show, he thought darkly.
He recited the oath, giving it little thought, and ringed it over to the small table/cabinet next to the bed, tucking it away and out of sight, before looking back up at his visitor and gesturing him to have a seat.
“I uh…got a lot of questions. An’ I’m guessin’ they didn’t tell ya about my memory.” He gave the man an uncomfortable look, really having no idea how well they knew each other, or how much he could trust him.
Was this the kind of person who would be willing to help him without being a jerk about it? Would he tell him stuff accurately, or take advantage of the situation? Guy hesitated. What if this new Lantern wasn’t like Jordon? Or Kilowog? What if he was royally screwed, because this man was like… himself?
“I don’t know anythin’ about the last six years,” he began, “It’s all gone. I don’t remember anythin’ of it.”
The wheels slowly, almost painfully turned in Kyle’s head as he absorbed what Guy just told him. Truth was, he was already feeling pretty discombobulated. After everything happening with the GLC, the attacks and deaths of Lanterns and the disappearance of Ion - and finally, watching his friend stalwartly maneuvering his own damned Lantern to just recite the oath…it was tragic in its awkwardness, and yet Kyle just watched it happen. He knew it was rude as hell to just stare like a completely gormless asshole and yet he couldn’t tear his eyes away. Somehow it was different than seeing Arthur and his hook. It seemed wrong to the point of unacceptable. Kyle couldn’t process this change in Guy, it was all so sudden and Kyle wasn’t even there to save him or help or anything…
And now Guy informed him of another change, this time internal. Kyle was used to Guy being guarded and closed, particularly in times of extreme duress; so he hadn’t even really noticed any difference in Guy’s somber, wary disposition. But when Guy said - six years of memories, gone - little things slowly slid into place in Kyle’s mind.
“Brain damage,” he blurted out. Just like Guy was years ago. Before Kyle knew him. Almost right when Kyle became the last Lantern, himself. “You’re brain damaged again.”
Because /that/ wasn’t rude, Rayner you fucking culo.
“Madre de dios, Guy, you. Oh. Ah. Well.” Kyle wiped his gloved hand on his thigh and held it out. “I’m Kyle Rayner, I….” He wondered first why Guy wasn’t shaking it - and in fact he was staring at Kyle as if he was a complete moron - until he realized. His /right/ hand!!! Kyle switched hands, sputtering an apology. “Lo siento! Sorry sorrysorry, I just - I wasn’t thinking - I forgot you didn’t have your - ahhhhh, Guy! I’m not —”
Kyle took a breath.
“Lemme start again. I’m Kyle Rayner. Fourth Earth Lantern. Well - kind of. I mean, Alan was the first, and then there’s Jade. But I guess Jenny wasn’t a Lantern before me, I guess technically she’s the fifth Lantern? Er, I mean - uh she’s - uh she /was/ - the sixth? And…”
Christ, he was like Marty McFly’s son from the second Back to the Future movie.
“Whaddya mean, ‘brain damaged again?” he growled. That sounded like Hal’s old and tired rhetoric. ‘Guy, I don’t like this person you’ve become. You’ve changed, wah, wah, wah.’ Okay, maybe he had changed…HA, for the better. At least he wasn’t some bleeding heart wimp, like Jordan. ”Look, there ain’t nothin’ wrong with me, I just have that…amnesia thing. I ain’t stupid or nothin’.” He wasn’t. He wasn’t stupid. He wasn’t stupid.
“Guy Gardner. Best Earth Lantern, an’ supposed to be first, well, afterold man Scott,” he reached over with his left hand and waited for the other to shake it.
He listened to the awkward lineage of future Lanterns and waved it away for the moment, though if he’d followed him correctly, it sounded like Scott’s kid had followed in daddy’s footsteps. Good for her, and him, keeping it in the family.
“No offense, but, D’ya mind if we stick to the people I actually remember, for now?” he asked, a mildly pained expression on his face. “Six years, it’s a lot of catchin’ up.” He visibly braced himself as he asked the hardest question, “What happened to Jordan an’ Stewart, an’ Kilowog? Are they…I mean…didja replace someone? Y’know?”
“No. Well yeah, I….” Kyle glazed over for a while, realizing that Guy had missed out on everything Kyle had experienced. John as a Darkstar and all the changes in the League and…and Parallax. He kept slowly shaking Guy’s hand, getting a little pale and really only snapping back to the present when Guy pointedly removed his hand, after the prolonged contact got awkward.
Kyle tried to think of all the things he’d seen about amnesia patients…sadly the only thing come to him were those atrocious soap operas his mom used to adore. And Dr Truck Baxter having an amnesia that could only be cured by the soft, loving embrace of Angelica Rose…or maybe her evil twin Elvira….
Right. Okay. Stick to the questions Guy was asking. He was right of course - talking about so-and-so that Kyle knew did nothing to help Guy.
“Hal’s fine. He had some issues but it all worked out.” /Some issues/. A near-hysterical laugh almost bubbled from Kyle’s lips, but he repressed it. “John’s fine too. He’d retired for a bit from Lanterning, but he got back into the swing of things to take over while I went off-planet. He’s fit as a fiddle, now. And Kilowog’s fine too! He was a little…he needed a bit of, ah, rebalancing. But I got him rebalanced. Totally cool now.”
Dammit Kyle, Kilowog isn’t a freaking tire.
“Everyone’s fine! And you /are/ a great Lantern - you’re an Honor Guard now, just like me. By Guardian appointment and everything. We - you and I, we’re partners - we were tasked on Oa, but recently got back here for some reasons and…christ Guy. How the hell are you feeling? Six years…this has gotta be just insane for you, oh man.”
Guy relaxed some as he was told the others were still alive and well, and settled back on the bed to listen. A smile slid over his healing but pugnacious cheeks, though, at the revelation of his new title.
“Honor Guard?” he sat up, keenly interested. “Yer not shittin’ me?” He recalled that his ring had told him this Kyle Rayner was an Honor Guard Lantern too, so he must be better at ringslinging than he looked, if he’d only been at this six years or less. Jeeze, and he was only in his mid-twenties!
“Honor Guard…” he repeated, grinning to himself. “‘Bout time they-…” He looked at Kyle, confused. “Whaddya mean, we’re partners? I’ve always run solo before. Everyone has. We just get called up together if there’s a crisis or somethin’.”
“I feel…m’okay, I guess. Like I had a run-in with Darkseid…oh, wait.” he gave a mild grin at his own joke. “A lot to get used to…” he looked at his stump briefly, then pushed it out of his mind. This wasn’t going to stop him. No way. Besides…gymnastics wasn’t really that big a deal…football… He thought briefly to the knee injury that ended his chances to be signed to the NFL, but this was nothing close to that. Huh. And back then he thought his world was crashing. That was before he was given a Power Ring.
There was another loss, though, that bothered him. He knew he wouldn’t get his hand back, but this… ”So, ya know me well? Can ya tell me…what happened to Tora? Y’know, Ice? She’s in the League, or, she was, six years ago. Did…did she leave me, or is she missing? Green arrow said she was “off the grid”…
Kyle relaxed a bit, glad that Guy was placated by his stammering historical narrative. The redhead seemed glad to know everyone was alive - and really, that /was/ what mattered. Lanterns lived for the present, after all. Everything in the past…well, even if Guy’s memory never returned (it will. of course it will), then the gory details would be easier if filled in gradually. Not all at once.
He pulled the chair closer, sitting down and giving a light huff of laugh at Guy’s cracking wise. “Yup, we’re partners. Once the GLC was reinst - I mean, once stuff happened, the Guardians decided it was best to have all the Lanterns from all the sectors partnered up. Makes sense….like cops, right?” Kyle grinned at him and nudged Guy’s upper arm with his knuckles. His smile fell a bit when Guy asked about Tora. His expression was just…so much more open and hopeful than Kyle was used to.
“Iiiiiii, yyyyeah. You told me a bit about Tora, yup. When we lived on Oa, she even came to visit, once. And…and…./she/ didn’t leave you exactly, it was…well.” Kyle struggled with how to say this, and decided to go for the ‘as even keel as possible’ route. “You both…ah…agreed that the relationship wasn’t working out. And…and that your work as a Lantern came first. You told me you didn’t regret the decision, though. It was the best for the both of you, y’know?” He looked sympathetic, given how curious Guy had been about Tora. “Sorry for the shock, hermano.”
He took it in, as best he could. Since when did he care more about the Corps than her? Since when did he really care about the Corps at all? Sure, they were like him, only maybe wimpier - though he hadn’t seen this Honor Guard partner of his in action - but he had never really needed them, all he needed was his ring and a target to clobber.
Tora…she didn’t dis him for what he wasn’t. She accepted him for what he was, whatever it was she saw there. He didn’t have to try to be perfect for her, and that made him want to. He stared at his knee for a long moment, in thought. It had been mutual. It hadn’t been working out. Why would he even have considered leaving Earth to go live on the Guardians’ home planet in the first place?
“Ahh…she was okay. M’glad she moved on. Sounds like I was crampin’ the princess’ style or somethin’,” he waved it off. “Yer right, I don’t regret it,” he lied, then changed the subject.
“So. Partners, like cops. Are you like, the rookie or somethin’?” he raised an eyebrow. It would make sense…like cops. Pair the new one with a solid, strong one that could pass on all the good qualities. “So how long’s that been? An’ you an’ me are assigned to Earth? An’ what about the other two, Stewart an’ Jordan? How does that work?”
Kyle nodded, offering another sympathetic smile, but not pressing the Tora thing any further. What was so prominent and sensitive a topic in this Guy’s life was something the Guy he knew had been able to move on from. Or, well. So Kyle thought. Guy was always very good at double-talk, saying one sentiment out loud and feeling something else inside. Regardless, Kyle was now used to accepting this about Guy, and not pushing a subject.
He bristled indignantly, knee-jerk reaction to being seen of as a rookie than actually being hurt or upset. “No, I’m not a rookie, ha ha! I haven’t been a rookie for a while, mano.” He smiled in amusement at Guy’s assessment of their pairing dynamic, though. It was pretty endearing he thought, as he nodded.
“Yup. Strong and solid, that’s our Guy.” Really, he meant it. He scratched his head, squinting and thinking. “Ahhhh we got partnered up…after Jenny died, then there was that year…so for about the last sixteen months? Eighteen months? Something like that. We used to /train/ rookies on Oa, bro.
“John and Hal are still partners for Sector 2814. We’re…well we’re kinda on a leave, but things got a little hairy and…well anyway. Point is, all four of us are on Earth right now, y’know? We’re all here.”
“Jenny? Alan Scott’s kid? Jesus…” he shook his head. So that’s what Kyle meant when he spoke of her in the past tense. It wasn’t limited only to her job. What to say, though? Ask how it happened? Ask how Alan took it? How the hell do you think he took it? “That’s…I…man, poor Alan…” He was quiet again for a time.
“M’gonna have to get used to hearin’ ‘bout the bad stuff, I guess.” He tried not to think how much longer the list was going to get, and the thought crossed his mind, how he reacted to their deaths at the time they happened. When Scott Free was thought to have been killed, and they held his funeral, it was the first time he’d lost a colleague like that. But he had Tora to talk to about it… Don’t think about that. She’s gone. Suck it up.
“Training rookies? Like, drill sargents?” He grinned a bit, “Doesn’t sound so bad, as long as we still got to kick ass and weren’t babysittin’ all the time. The four of us on Earth though, I dunno…sounds as pointless as when Jordan has his own Corps set up here, with Arisia an’ Salaak an’ all them…I mean, ain’t it kind of overkill, four of us here? Heck all the League really ever needed was one Green Lantern, and that Green Lantern was yours truly.”
This Kyle Rayner guy seemed okay. He could tell he wasn’t telling him everything, and while Guy didn’t like it much, there was also a part of him that was grateful. “Ya keep callin’ me ‘bro’…do I call you somethin’? Anyway, ah, Kyle. I kinda get the feelin’ yer holdin’ back a lot of stuff. I get the reasons, but… yer gonna eventually tell me all of it, right?”
“It’s okay that you got so many questions - I just - I don’t know if - I mean, I just…there’s a lot that…geez, six years, man. A lot can happen in that time…” Well that was a dumb thing to say, Captain Obvious. Try again. Kyle stood up, rustling Guy’s forearm in a comforting motion.
“Alan’s been able to…work past it. And as for all four of us?” He shrugged. “Honestly, it was the reason me and you took off to Oa to rock our rookie power tripping, heh.” Kyle was quiet again, and for one odd, brief moment he looked Guy straight in the eye and almost offered for them to take off again. Go back to Oa and do it all over again. Guy might’ve been six years worth of missing memories, but something about him felt easy and comfortable with Kyle. He suddenly craved it - just him and Guy and a bunch of other Lanterns, flying about, being awesome, saving planets, being away from Earth….
…of course, Kyle didn’t actually suggest it. Never mind that it was completely stupid, given that poor Guy was here with amnesia and still recuperating -as if that’d ever stop Guy Gardner!!!…but that was beside the point. Besides, Kyle didn’t relish the idea of being so close under the Guardian’s noses, not when he was currently in their badbooks for losing communication with Ion.
He grinned crookedly at Guy, tilting his head up in an insouciant fashion. “Oh there’s tonnnnnnns of things you used to call me, sure. ’Kiddo’, ‘dumbass’, ‘Mister Touchy-Feely’….and when you were feeling particularly sensitive and sentimental, it was ‘buddy’.” He leaned in close to Guy, grinning confidentially. “But don’t worry, that sentiment was only expressed only late on a Sunday night, between 3 and 4 am.” Kyle winked, laughing a bit.
“We owned a bar on Oa you know. We own one here too. Warriors, on Venice Beach. Yup…” he nodded as he saw Guy’s eyes widen. “Unfortunately the one in Manhattan got destroyed. Risks of being a superhero, y’know? Sorry about that too hermano.” Kyle bit his lip, thinking.
“There’s one last thing - we gotta report your condition to the Guardians, Guy.”
Guy was a little weirded out by this near-stranger petting his handless forearm. Mr. Touchy-Feely sounded about right. Still, he said nothing as he waited it out, to see where he was going with that. The dark-haired Lantern seemed to just be…well he was being genuinely nice to him. Guy wasn’t entirely accustomed to that, especially not from other men. Well, most women, too. Come to think of it, aliens didn’t much care for him either. Their loss.
“Wait, I…I mean, we….own a bar?” His eyes certainly did widen.
He was Honor Guard, had a team mate that liked him, and he owned a freaking BAR? Well, the future, or rather, the present, certainly was looking a little brighter. He could boss around Jordan and Stewart and be generally awesome all day, then drink to his success all night, free. ”Warriors” he smirked, “Good name.”
“Ah, don’t sweat it, Kiddo,” he tried the nickname on for size, “Ya just tell ‘em I bumped my head, an’ we got the situation under control,” he waved it off nonchalantly. “They’re used to it, an’ trust me, they don’t give a crap what condition my head’s in. I was the best choice for a Power Ring six years ago, an’ I still am. Takes more n’ a whack on the ol’ noggin’ to change that.”
“An’ this?” he lifted his stump, “A missin’ hand didn’t stop Luke Skywalker, amirite?”
“Damn right,” Kyle said, leaning back and rubbing his chin speculatively as he looked at Guy’s lack of hand. He was getting used to the look of it now; it really was just a matter of time what with Guy waving it around like a hookless Captain Hook. On top of that, the Green Lantern lifestyle made it easy to adjust to change and different bodies. In their world, disfigurement sucked; but at least it meant you weren’t dead.
“You’re like Luke but with a Solo attitude. Think you can make yourself a hand? Y’know…” Kyle wiggled his own ringed fist questioningly. With what Kyle considered extremely weakened Lantern powers, he wasn’t exactly sure how much they were individually capable of. “Frankly I have no idea how the hell they can’t just reattach the original deal. You…do you remember anything about that? The fight with you and Darkseid?”
He considered what Guy said about the Guardians. And honestly…why not? They were pissed off as hell at him and Hal anyway, with this whole Ion debacle. And the last thing he’d want is any of them giving Guy any grief. His partner had enough to deal with. He squinched his nose at Guy’s choice of nickname, but more in jest than annoyance.
“Hal and John’ll both be glad to know you’re awake. You’ll probably have a lot more to say to them…since you know. You /know/ who the hell they are, ahah. But they’ve changed too, the both of them. Even from when I knew them and…well anyway.” Kyle grinned.
“Yup - we gotta bar! And an apartment above it. We’re roomies, bro.”
“Huh. Ya know…” Guy examined his right forearm, “If I can make a giant fist, I should be able to make a normal-sized one, right?” He tried, a strand of energy from the ring on his left hand, crossing in front of him to take the shape of a hand on his right limb. The beam connecting them made Guy look like like he was bound with a loose cord of green light.
He certainly had the willpower to maintain the construct without the umbilical from his ring, but animating it, getting it to move without his Ring physically connecting to it with a beam of light, that would be the tricky part, and take a lot of practice. “Maybe not today, but I’ll get it,” he promised himself as much as he did Rayner and he settled back on the pillow again. Roommates with this guy…he was curious to know how it worked out. The other guy seemed to be pleased about it, at least.
“I don’t remember a damn thing about Darkside. One minute, as near as I can figure, I’m fallin’ asleep in my room at the League’s HQ building. The next,….I thought I remembered seein’ Stewart, only his hair was all cut short, an’ his uniform was different. An’ then I woke up here, Nightwing waking me up an’ sayin’ my name a lot.”
“I really wouldn’t be so sure about Jordan an’ Stewart. They ain’t never glad to see me unless I’m savin’ their hides at the time,” he smirked without a trace self-pity. He almost seemed to enjoy the notion of causing them harassment. He eyed Kyle, though, as he tried to imagine how they might be different now. “They’ve changed how?” he asked, curiosity getting the better of him, “An’ why?”
“Looking good, man,” Kyle complimented, surveying the hand with a somewhat critical eye. He couldn’t help it, he was an artist. But really, it did look really great - Guy’s willpower and conviction in doing things seemed in check, perhaps even stronger than before…/was that a cynical thought, Rayner? Dial it back a bit./
“We’ll have you high-fiving in no time if you keep this up,” Kyle said, looking up at Guy with an encouraging smile.
“It’s been six years, ese. A lot can happen in six years, y’know? I mean hey - I’m here and we’re partners and Honor Lanterns- that’s six years, man. Sure, a lot of stuff happened to Jorda - I mean - to Hal and John.” He grinned at Guy’s joke, shifting on his feet where he stood. ”Okay maybe they still might not be /grateful/ to see you. But. That’s /their/ problem, right?” Kyle was being tongue-in-cheek, but then he switched to a tone more sentimental.
“I just like knowing that you /plan/ to save their hides, man,” Kyle said. /I like your determination/, he thought; but he didn’t want to get /too/ cheesy.
“Damn straight that’s their problem!” he agreed with a wink. It stung a bit to wink, but he didn’t care. This Kyle guy wasn’t bad at all. Finally, another Green Lantern who thought as Guy did: having the power and privilege of a Power Ring wasn’t about false humility or altruism, it was about getting the job done fast and effectively. Let the rest look down their noses and lift their pinkies as they sipped their tea and discussed ethics and diplomacy; Guy preferred raising whole other finger entirely to that notion and taking action. “Of course I’d save their hides,” he smirked, “It’s what Guy Gardner does. Besides, we’re Honor Guards, gotta look after the subordinates, right?” he grinned, his turn to be tongue-in-cheek. Mostly.
“An’ yeah, I guess I’ve changed a lot too, in six years,” he admitted. “I got a look at a mirror this mornin’, finally. I’m likin’ the new bod, I musta gotten into some serious weightliftin’ or somethin’, that’s a lot of upper body. Any idea how much I can press, roomie? Man, I bet the Venice Beach babes LOVE this…I’m freakin’ Charles Atlas on steroids!” He paused and then his head snapped up to look up at Kyle, “I…Christ, I don’t do steroids, do I?” he asked in a worried whisper.
At Kyle’s bemused but reassuring ‘no’, he relaxed a bit. Fitness was important to him, but he’d seen and heard horror stories about men who tried to take shortcuts. He raised his casted arm and touched his head, “Not so sure about the hair, though…when did shave off the bowl-cut? That was kinda my signature look, y’know? This…I dunno…” He couldn’t help but wonder what the man who had this haircut and body was like. “Does the Terminator know I’ve copied his look?” he grinned. “All I need is shades and a leather jacket…”
Afrer assuring Guy that he definitely did not do steroids, he considered Guy’s bench pressing question.
“I uhhh yuhhhhh, ummmm, I have no idea. You /are/ something of a gym rat now though, this is true. Ever since I’ve known you, you’ve been pretty buffaroonie, honestly. Hmmm….let’s watch Kyle do some math - this is gonna be a hilariously tedious, be warned - you’re like a six-years ago kinda dude, ok. Which means I’m almost just gonna get my ring because Coast…” Kyle caught himself and switched paths. “…because I’m awesome like that. And I met you maybe…a few months after I had became a Lantern? Yeah that seems about right.” Again, Kyle stopped himself from talking about how /exactly/ they met. All of that, Guy could find out later, in due time. It was all gonna take time. And given that nothing was pinging in Guy’s mind from the things Kyle was telling him, they’d likely have a lot of time.
“Awwww y’don’t like your new look? I think it’s pretty damn snazzy. The chica ricas down on Venice Beach do too, bro,” Kyle said with a cocky grin, and then he looked away sheepishly as he realized what he was saying. Guy was with Dick right now. Guy had come out of the closet. He was different now. Maybe ogling ladies together wasn’t something he should encourage in Guy; and especially not with Dick looking like an absolute heartbroken wreck. It seemed, well. It seemed unethical. He switched topics.
“Don’t worry, you look nothing like our illustrious Governator. Once you’re ready to bust out of this hospital in the sky, think you’ll wanna check out your digs?” Kyle held up a hand in deference, not wanting to make Guy feel uncomfortable.
“Or you could stay here. You got quarters in the Watchtower too. It’s up to you. Point is, once you’re on the road to recovery, I wanna try and look for ways to start getting your memories back. Before your birthday, at least.” Kyle squinted as he smiled, scratching the back of his neck as he gently reminded Guy. “You’re gonna be thirty-six, mano. Come January.”
“I really do wanna check out this bar you told me about. An’ I wanna see where I live now, sure. At least get out of this damned place…tomorrow, maybe?” Knowing he had quarters on the Watchtower was good to know as well; it gave him a place to retreat to if things were for any reason awkward or impossible to adjust to in his new surroundings with this new roommate.
Guy’s smile faded when Kyle mentioned his birthday, not in distress or anger, but from the dawning unhappy realization that it wasn’t just the ongoing lives of his colleagues he had missed these last six years. It wasn’t strictly as though he had time-traveled into the future and learned of people passing or moving on. It wasn’t even as though he’d been awakened from a long coma (been there, done that) and discovered the world had passed him by while he vegetated.
He’d missed six years of his own, active life. He’d had experiences, done things, seen things, hell, even hung out and lived with a ringslinging partner, and aged. He remembered August of 2006, chilling on the embassy roof at night, being 29 years old, drinking beers with Ted on a hot summer night, and checking out the Perseids meteor shower. And now, it was 2012, December sometime, and he was a month or less from 36. Whatever he’d done, or challenged, or loved, or suffered, or survived…all of it had been stolen from him, and everyone around him had an advantage he didn’t: THEY remembered HIS last six years.
“Wow…thirty-six…” he murmured, “Guess my birthday is comin’ up…and Christmas.” He looked up at Kyle searchingly. Right here and now, this partner of his seemed to really be his best source of information. “Did I have anythin’ planned? Hell, do I have any plans for anythin’? Ya think I should I cancel them on account of…all this? I mean, hell, I don’t even know people.”
Kyle leaned sideways against the back wall, facing Guy as he folded his arms and considered. He could see that wide-eyed, anxious expression on Guy’s face. It didn’t occur to Kyle to /not/ help Guy out in any way he possibly could, and he’d only back down if Guy had indicated that Kyle’s help was not needed.
But this was Guy - still Guy, six years difference or no - and he was looking at Kyle with a sort of need and trust that Kyle hadn’t seen…well, ever. When they’d first gotten partnered up, Kyle had needed Guy more than the other way around. And Guy had cheerily helped pull Kyle through the depression post-Jenny, without complaint. Kyle now had an opportunity to do the same, so to speak.
And honestly Kyle wasn’t sure who else could do this. Not to toot his own horn or anything, but Kyle was a GL and Guy’s best friend, therefore equipped two ways to a) ease Guy back into this whole new world (didn’t he once give a young Hal the very same tour, a few years back?); b) help caulk the holes in Guy’s memories as best as Kyle could; and c) figure out a way to get his memories back.
Lantern business was Lantern business, after all.
He smiled warmly at Guy. “Only plan so far is a Christmas party at Warriors for our friends in the League and their families and stuff. But we can figure it out later. It won’t be for a while and I won’t blame you for thinking it might be overwhelming. You gotta lot to swallow already, and you’re only on the first course, bro. But don’t worry too much yet…one flight out in space and I know you’ll start feeling better about this.”
/I hope you will, anyway. I’ll do my damnedest to make sure it works out for you./
“Ah, who’s worried?” he waved it away, putting on the tough act, “Loads of time, like ya said.”
An orderly came in, wheeling an empty wheelchair in front of him. “Excuse me. Mr. Gardner? I’m here to take you to Medical Imaging.”
“What? They did that yesterday,” he frowned.
“And they are doing it again today, sir. Let’s just get you in the chair…”
Guy was having none of it. “Do I LOOK like a freakin’ invalid to you? I’ll fly there, Nurse Chucklehead.”
“But…”
“Exactly, so I’m wearin’ a robe,” he grumbled as he ringed one on over his hospital gown, along with slippers. Floating off the bed, he turned to look over his shoulder at his new friend, “Seriously, you’d think they could provide gowns that close freakin’ properly in the back! Seeya later, Kiddo.”
The orderly stood there, dumbstruck as the patient simply floated out the door, and looked to Kyle for help for just a moment. Clearly, he was new around here. Maybe he was the victim of Medbay staff hazing, being sent to fetch a Green Lantern with a wheelchair.
“Let’s GO, Lawrence Nightingale!” came a bark from the corridor, “Let’s not keep that sexy brunette technician waiting. She wants me. I can see it in her eyes…”
Kyle could tell Guy was putting on the bravado; but really who could blame him. It’s what Kyle would do in his situation. Lose the tough act and you lose hope. Lose hope and you lose will. Enter fear.
Yoda would’ve loved Green Lantern philosophy, honestly.
Chuckling, Kyle gave an amused (and rather pleased) salute to Guy’s retreating robed back. He gave the confused orderly and apologetic shrug. ”I’ll never figure out the mystery of hospital gowns either,” Kyle said to Guy, laughing a bit. “Catch you later ese. Don’t mean for it to sound weird but - good to have you back.”
He waited until he heard his friend hollering in the other room and only then did he leave.
Things might not be the same…but at least it seemed like it was going to be manageable. In a strange way, Guy’s rather wide-eyed wonder and bluster helped Kyle put the entire dire situation in a bit of perspective. The bigger picture was: they had each other. They were alive. And really, that was all any Green Lantern could hope for.