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thejusticelounge2014-03-27 03:21 pm
bossymarmalade) wrote in thejusticelounge2014-03-27 03:21 pm
Entry tags:
never going back again
The HSR was silent.
That is to say, upon returning to the ‘scene of the crime’ so to speak, the machine felt different. Obviously it was still broken and in the midst of repair; but more relevant to Kyle was that whatever connection Kyle had once felt - or thought he’d felt with it, was gone. The last time he’d been here was with Mar’i, and he’d been so focused on her, he hardly paid attention to the HSR itself (not like he was avoiding it or anything, no).
But now, Kyle hovered in the womb section of the HSR, in the exact same spot he’d been when he helped tear open space and time…but Kyle wasn’t thinking about that. Instead, he was spending long minutes looking down at the ruined doorway. He could almost imagine the Star Trek 'whoosh' of the door to the HSR opening and little boy standing there, staring up at him with dark grey eyes. Asking him 'mama?' in a tiny bird-like voice, so utterly vulnerable. The boy who had that much trust in Kyle Rayner.
No. Kyle felt nothing for the HSR any longer. It was a crime scene, nothing more.
He’d been severely reprimanded by the Guardians for what he did, not that he’d told anyone yet. He didn’t even get a summon to Oa; instead, a day after they’d returned from Cachement, Ganthet just appeared in his bedroom. The Guardian then tore a strip off him regarding duty and responsibility and Hal Jordan and Coast City and arrogance and post-Parallax and Earthling cockiness (and there Kyle had to laugh a bit because Ganthet said ‘cock’)…and almost sadly, the Guardian then suspended 2814.4 from Honor Guard duties, relegating him to Green Lantern of sector 2814. His fellow Earth Lanterns would do good work elsewhere.
Fair enough. Kyle had no intention of leaving Earth anytime soon anyway. So in a sense, this was a good thing although he didn’t say as much. Instead, Kyle just sighed a lot and said a few passive-aggressive things before the exasperated Guardian left him alone.
Kyle had committed a crime in the eyes of the Guardians. And ironically, in the eve of Parallax, he’d pretty much got a slap on the wrist.
So here the Lantern was now, going about an investigation after judgement was cast. Kyle wasn’t much of a detective, at least not in the normal sense. Kyle was looking for quantum signatures and energy residue. Energy waves and a whole bunch of physics gunk that Kyle willed into possibility even if he didn’t quite understand it. He didn’t need to understand it, just believe it worked.
"Ring, run a diagnostics scan of the womb-space. Use my biometrics to triangulate and pinpoint any energy cross-references to what was registered during my time in Cachement. And don’t pretend you don’t know, because you came to life a few times in the dome. Use that. I want to find energy patterns. I want to find patterns." Saying that triggered a slew of memories from Cachement, puzzles and mysteries and patterns that Kyle desperately tried to connect, trying to draw lines between dots and distinguish a shape. He fed all of this sentiment into his ring, and waited.
[ Patterns isolated, ] his ring responded after a few minutes. Its response was cold and mechanical. Kyle’s bond with his ring was taking time to readjust, after Cachement. [ Pattern indicates unidentifiable and unsourced umbra at the following coordinates.]
Kyle frowned. Umbra? Unsourced? In addition to being cold, his ring refused to give him layman’s terms these days. ”Unsourced, like you mean it’s a shadow without matter to cast it?” His ring remained silent. ”Alrighty then—” Kyle held his fist up, constructing large spotlights behind him, with blasted blinding green light towards the indicated coordinates. There was indeed a flicker of…umbra, which seemed to burn and dodge the light. The shadow did not register as any type of recognizable lifeform. It wasn’t the Beings, at least not the ones Kyle had encountered here before. But the idea that something was lurking here - still hiding and watching - enraged Kyle more than he’d anticipated.
"I don’t have time for this. WHAT ARE YOU?" he yelled, knowing full well useless to communicate with something as unidentifiable as this.
There was silence. And then, a hiss of words - You shine bright in the world. But there is no light if there is not first darkness. We are brothers. Our lives are symbiotic. But one of us will supplant the other. One of us will win. Give in to our embrace and accept our peace.
It was tempting, at this moment to completely destroy the HSR. Hell, destroy Queen Towers as a whole. This place had turned into a nothing but a nightmare. Instead, Kyle started floating higher.
"Follow me, then. Don’t stay here," Here, where Queen might visit to grumble and gripe; where Bruce will come to do repair upon repair upon repair; where even Kate might venture, weeks from now. Whatever this thing was, Kyle was not going to allow it to remain here. ”Follow me, if we’re so damn symbiotic.”
Whatever it was, it seemed to listen. Kyle kept his ring attuned to it, as the Lantern soared higher and higher. Higher and higher. Until he reached outer space.
And then, the shadow was gone.
Silently, Kyle headed back to Coast City. Whatever clues he needed to find Cachement again, they weren’t going to be at Queen Tower.
Kyle would never return to the HSR.
That is to say, upon returning to the ‘scene of the crime’ so to speak, the machine felt different. Obviously it was still broken and in the midst of repair; but more relevant to Kyle was that whatever connection Kyle had once felt - or thought he’d felt with it, was gone. The last time he’d been here was with Mar’i, and he’d been so focused on her, he hardly paid attention to the HSR itself (not like he was avoiding it or anything, no).
But now, Kyle hovered in the womb section of the HSR, in the exact same spot he’d been when he helped tear open space and time…but Kyle wasn’t thinking about that. Instead, he was spending long minutes looking down at the ruined doorway. He could almost imagine the Star Trek 'whoosh' of the door to the HSR opening and little boy standing there, staring up at him with dark grey eyes. Asking him 'mama?' in a tiny bird-like voice, so utterly vulnerable. The boy who had that much trust in Kyle Rayner.
No. Kyle felt nothing for the HSR any longer. It was a crime scene, nothing more.
He’d been severely reprimanded by the Guardians for what he did, not that he’d told anyone yet. He didn’t even get a summon to Oa; instead, a day after they’d returned from Cachement, Ganthet just appeared in his bedroom. The Guardian then tore a strip off him regarding duty and responsibility and Hal Jordan and Coast City and arrogance and post-Parallax and Earthling cockiness (and there Kyle had to laugh a bit because Ganthet said ‘cock’)…and almost sadly, the Guardian then suspended 2814.4 from Honor Guard duties, relegating him to Green Lantern of sector 2814. His fellow Earth Lanterns would do good work elsewhere.
Fair enough. Kyle had no intention of leaving Earth anytime soon anyway. So in a sense, this was a good thing although he didn’t say as much. Instead, Kyle just sighed a lot and said a few passive-aggressive things before the exasperated Guardian left him alone.
Kyle had committed a crime in the eyes of the Guardians. And ironically, in the eve of Parallax, he’d pretty much got a slap on the wrist.
So here the Lantern was now, going about an investigation after judgement was cast. Kyle wasn’t much of a detective, at least not in the normal sense. Kyle was looking for quantum signatures and energy residue. Energy waves and a whole bunch of physics gunk that Kyle willed into possibility even if he didn’t quite understand it. He didn’t need to understand it, just believe it worked.
"Ring, run a diagnostics scan of the womb-space. Use my biometrics to triangulate and pinpoint any energy cross-references to what was registered during my time in Cachement. And don’t pretend you don’t know, because you came to life a few times in the dome. Use that. I want to find energy patterns. I want to find patterns." Saying that triggered a slew of memories from Cachement, puzzles and mysteries and patterns that Kyle desperately tried to connect, trying to draw lines between dots and distinguish a shape. He fed all of this sentiment into his ring, and waited.
[ Patterns isolated, ] his ring responded after a few minutes. Its response was cold and mechanical. Kyle’s bond with his ring was taking time to readjust, after Cachement. [ Pattern indicates unidentifiable and unsourced umbra at the following coordinates.]
Kyle frowned. Umbra? Unsourced? In addition to being cold, his ring refused to give him layman’s terms these days. ”Unsourced, like you mean it’s a shadow without matter to cast it?” His ring remained silent. ”Alrighty then—” Kyle held his fist up, constructing large spotlights behind him, with blasted blinding green light towards the indicated coordinates. There was indeed a flicker of…umbra, which seemed to burn and dodge the light. The shadow did not register as any type of recognizable lifeform. It wasn’t the Beings, at least not the ones Kyle had encountered here before. But the idea that something was lurking here - still hiding and watching - enraged Kyle more than he’d anticipated.
"I don’t have time for this. WHAT ARE YOU?" he yelled, knowing full well useless to communicate with something as unidentifiable as this.
There was silence. And then, a hiss of words - You shine bright in the world. But there is no light if there is not first darkness. We are brothers. Our lives are symbiotic. But one of us will supplant the other. One of us will win. Give in to our embrace and accept our peace.
It was tempting, at this moment to completely destroy the HSR. Hell, destroy Queen Towers as a whole. This place had turned into a nothing but a nightmare. Instead, Kyle started floating higher.
"Follow me, then. Don’t stay here," Here, where Queen might visit to grumble and gripe; where Bruce will come to do repair upon repair upon repair; where even Kate might venture, weeks from now. Whatever this thing was, Kyle was not going to allow it to remain here. ”Follow me, if we’re so damn symbiotic.”
Whatever it was, it seemed to listen. Kyle kept his ring attuned to it, as the Lantern soared higher and higher. Higher and higher. Until he reached outer space.
And then, the shadow was gone.
Silently, Kyle headed back to Coast City. Whatever clues he needed to find Cachement again, they weren’t going to be at Queen Tower.
Kyle would never return to the HSR.