#15 (26): Hearts & Minds (Palmer / Hodges)

[HoM]

Green Lantern
Issue Fifteen: "Hearts & Minds"
Written by Daniel Palmer
Cover Brian Hodges
Edited by House Of Mystery

[HoM]

When… Where…where am I? Hal looked around, finding himself in an empty white space, dressed not in his Corps uniform, but in his oh-too-familiar bomber jacket.

Okay Hal, think. You lost all your money to Barry, you had an atmospheric chat with Big Blue, and you headed home. Then things got all pink as you passed over Ferris, and now you’re here.

In an empty white space. All alone. Sans power ring.

This is not good Jordan. Composing himself, he focused. There has to be a way out of here…a way to at least get some answers. If I can stay calm, and just think this through…ah, screw it.

“Hey, someone let me outta here!!!”

His voice echoed against the emptiness.

[HoM]

“W-what do you mean, Hal’s not here?” Carol backed away slowly from the man she knew so well, the eyes she had looked into earlier that night, the arms that had held her…all now home to a voice that seemed so alien.

“I mean,” Hal stared down at his hands, seemingly in awe, “that all this…power…is no longer in your boyfriend’s hands. Out of the hands of that arrogant buffoon, who had his entire life handed to him, gracious for none of it. All of it, mine. All mine.” An oversized green fist grabbed her up off the ground, pulling her close.

“And now, so are you.”

Scowling her face in disgust, she spat in his face – and fell to the ground.

Green energy dissipating, Hal – or whoever – reached to wipe the saliva from his face, and stared down at Carol with a sneer.

“Hm. The focus needed for this is…unexpected.” A large hammer hung over Carol…and quickly faded away.

“Can’t quite keep it up?” Carol’s sarcasm surprised even her, since she was on the precipice of death.

“No matter,” ‘Hal’ leveled his ring at her head, and it glowed brightly. “Don’t need much to do this.”

A stillness settled in the night between the two, a scene that would have been serene if not for the threat of imminent violence. Lit only by the lights of the burning city in the distance, and the soft glow of the ring, the seconds betwixt them hung like hours, the only sound Carol’s shallow breathing.

Then, many things happened at once.

From the hanger, a jet engine roared, causing Green Lantern’s head to snap up, allowing Carol to dive off of the tarmac, while the massive plane shot forward, afterburners blaring, barreled over the stunned hero, carrying him on the wing.

From inside the cockpit, Hank could see construct claws digging into the wings of the F-14 Raptor, and pulled back on the joystick, launching the aircraft – Green Lantern and all – high into the night sky.

[HoM]

The white room shook all around Hal, almost knocking him off his feet, and a flash of Carol appeared before his eyes.

“Carol!” Hal caught himself lunging towards the image. “Okay, I know SOMEONE can hear me, and I want answers, and I mean now!”

Your will is stronger than I thought.

“Who said that?” He turned around, as the voice seemed to come from everywhere. Well, if he’s noticing my will…then maybe I can use aforementioned will to get the hell out of…wherever I am! Closing his eyes, he focused on Carol, on the fear in her eyes…

Really? You are depending on your feelings for her to save you? I know what truly lurks in your heart! The whole world at your feet, and it was never enough!

“No. No. NO!!!” A green light emanated from Hal’s body, and cracked the white room all around him, and he looked back into the mind of his captor. And understood.

[HoM]

The plane climbed into the mesosphere, and the experimental shielding began to give. No plane – not even one kitted out with the experimental shielding from Ferris Aircraft – could hold up to the rapidly deteriorating conditions that Hank had exposed the F-14 to. The 90 degree climb, burning afterburners and falling temperatures were taking their toll, and the plane began falling apart.

Fighting against the G-forces, Hank struggled to reached the eject button, but finally depressed it, sending him into the night sky, as the plane finally broke up. In free fall now from over 160,00 feet in the air, with the burning debris from the plane raining down above him.

[HoM]

Carol watched in awe as the plane carrying her newest pilot and her possessed boyfriend disappeared into the night sky. That awe quickly gave way to horror as the orange fireball lit up the sky. Without regard for her own safety, she hopped in her car, and headed where the wreckage would land.

[HoM]

One second, he was trapped in a white room with a mysterious, disembodied voice, telling him about himself.

The next, he was in the night sky, surrounded by flaming debris, next to a flailing Hank Henshaw, with the desert floor rushing up at him.

No, this was no good at all.

Instinctively, Hal knew he had to stop them from falling as soon as possible. He willed his ring to encase Hank and himself in an energy bubble, both to protect them from the falling shrapnel, and slow their descent. The ring sparked to life brightly and then…nothing. No bubble, no voice warning of low power, nothing. The ring was suddenly dead. With them trapped in a free fall.

Thinking quickly, he noticed that stray shrapnel had knocked out Henshaw, who was still strapped into his parachute. Grabbing the other man, he tugged at the rip cord, and deployed the parachute. Their descent slowed, but the chute was not designed to hold the two grown men, and they continued their plummet.

At the last moment, the ring sparked to life, and captured them in a thin force field, as they bounced off the ground, coming to a rest right in front of Carol’s Mustang.

“Evenin’ honey.” Hal grinned. “How’s your night been?”

[HoM]

Hector Hammond’s head snapped back violently. These new powers of his had never failed him…yet he had been forcibly expelled from the mind of another for the first time since he had attained his mastery of the minds of others. Remarkable. he mused. Even as deep as I was in his head, he was able to shake free of my grasp.

Spinning in what had been Chris Byrne’s chair, he gazed through the floor to ceiling windows that overlooked Coast City. Hector thought back on the first time he had stepped into this very office…

“Have a seat Hector.” Chris didn’t even turn his chair around to face his friend of over 20 years. “What can I do for you?”

“Well, um, you s-see, I’ve got this idea…” Hector swallowed hard, fighting for words.

“That’s your problem Hec, you’ve always had ideas, but no idea what to do with them.” Chris dramatically spun the chair to face the new comer to Coast City. “Me, I make things happen. And now, look.” He motioned to the impressive view. “All of this mine, and I’m in a position to make your dreams come true.”

“You mean it? Wow Chris, I won’t make you sorry, I’ll show you.” Hector rose to his feet, and enthusiastically shook his old friend’s hand. “Man, I should have known. The way you were talking, I was afraid…”

“Like I said, that’s your problem, my man.” Chris clapped Hector hard on the back, leaving the arm around his shoulders. “You can’t be afraid; you’ll never get anything done. Soon enough, you might even get your own little piece of all this.”

Looking out now over Coast City in shambles, the sanity of the entire place gone to hell, Hector couldn’t help thinking that he had gotten a lot done with a bit of fear. And now it was all his.

[HoM]

“What the hell is going on?” Hal hopped out of the Mustang once they got back to the hanger. “I come to, and Hank is falling out of a blown to hell F-14, my ring isn’t working right, I had some weird voice in my head, and hear you tell it, all of Coast City has gone nuts.”

“Hear me tell it? Look Jordan, you asked me what’s going on, and I told you. If you don’t like what you’ve heard…” Carol spoke sternly, with the edge of an already long night creeping into her voice.

“Look, you have to admit, it sounds a little far-fetched Carol. You say I’ve been speaking in another voice, that all the citizens of Coast City are tearing each other to shreds, and…”

“Far-fetched? How dare you Hal…”

“She’s telling the truth.” Both the arguing parties turned to the formerly unconscious owner of the voice who was pulling himself out of the back of the Mustang. Rubbing the back of his head, Hank walked towards Hal and Carol, holding out his hand. “Don’t think we’ve actually done this. Name’s Hank Henshaw.”

“Pleased to meet you, I’m--”

“Green Lantern, I know. Glad we can meet now under better circumstances than you trying to blow up my plane.”

“Apparently I wasn’t myself.” Hal allowed himself a smile. “Okay, let’s assume whatever was screwing with me is affecting everyone else. How are you two still holding on?”

“I think part of it is how far out we are,” Hank offered. “That seems to make the most sense.”

“But I was in downtown when it started,” Carol protested. “Why wouldn’t it affect me?”

“I don’t--” Hal was cut off by his ring coming to life.

<The female has been inoculated due to her exposure to the Star Sapphire power>

All three of them looked confused at the ring.

“Uh, GL, I thought the ring wasn’t working right.”

“It wasn’t.”

“The female?!”

<The male is of a unique make up, alleviating his ability to be affected by outside forces>

“Ring, what is the source of the incursion into my mind.”

<An artificially enhanced metahuman consciousness, located approximately 18.6 miles due south>

“I’ll check the police band,” Hank jumped up. “Maybe there are some others clue as to why all this is happening.”

Carol turned to Hal as Hank ran into the office. “How did he not hear me call you Hal? Was he that out of it?

“Well,” Hal allowed himself a smile. “I know you aren’t exactly the best at the ‘subtly’ thing, so I made the ring replace each time you say ‘Hal’ to ‘GL’ to other listeners.

“Not a bad idea Hal,” Carol admitted, punching him in the arm anyway. “Insulting, but not a bad idea.”

[HoM]

Sergeant Kaskiw had seen much in his 15 on the force. But nothing like this. He stood agape at the scene in front of him. Men, women, and children were parading down the street, destroying everything their paths crossed. Women in nightgowns threw trashcans through storefronts, while their children chased dogs down the street brandishing torches. Kaskiw’s immediate attention was drawn by four men in three piece suits conspiring to turn over a car. Seeing this, he ran over to the men – and helped them tip the car.

Unsatisfied with this destruction, the four men proceeded to kick in the windows of the now overturned car. Stepping back, Kaskiw’s hand went to his holster, and called out to the others: “Step back.” Pulling back the hammer, he squeezed off four rounds into gas tank, until it exploded.

The blast filled the night sky, coupled with the cackles of Coast City’s citizens.

[HoM]

Jim Jordan slammed the phone into the cradle. Four times he tried to call his big brother, and four times, ringing all the way to voicemail. He would have heard if there was some big Green Lantern emergency, and knowing Hal, he’d probably answer even if he was fighting some giant monster, just to prove he could. Which meant that Hal was ignoring him. Which meant that Hal had probably forgotten that he was coming. Which meant that he didn’t care at all what was going to happen to Jack.

Shaking his head, he dialed again.

[HoM]

“Looks like things are nuttiest near the NCB building.” Hank jogged back over lightly. “I think we should start looking there.”

Hal nodded in agreement. “I’ll fly us over there, and we’ll have to play it by ear from there.”

As Carol and Hank stood next to each other, Hal poured his will back into the ring, and went to fly away. But nothing happened. Laughing nervously, he tried again. Sparking a little, the ring still did not come to life.

“Well, I guess we can at least call for back-up,” Hal offered as he brought his ring to his mouth. “Contact Flash.”

A brief silence followed, and then:

<Error. No communication in or out of Coast City is possible>

“Well, that’s not good.” Hal’s eyes never came off of the ring.

“Um, GL?” Carol stepped away. “I can drive us into the city.”

“I’ll check the hanger, see if we can find any weapons.”

As his companions left him alone, Hal was still befuddled by the ring.

“Ring, power levels?”

<Power levels at 84%>

Abin Sur’s voice reverberated in Hal’s head, as his worry grew.

“Then why are you not working at full capacity?”

<Subject’s willpower has been severely compromised, inhibiting power ring’s function above emergency levels>

“Compromised?” Hal stared at his ring in disbelief.

[HoM]

To Be Continued!

Be back in 30 to see Hal go toe-to-toe with Hector Hammond, and watch the Green Lantern Universe change forever.

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