Kyle
Rayner is dead , the Green Lantern Corps disbanded and the surviving
members scattered throughout the universe. Ganthet, the last
Oan has disappeared leaving Jade, John Stewart, Guy Gardner and
Sentinel the only surviving links to
the Corps on Earth...
Jenny Lynne Hayden rolled around on her mattress. Her dreams were
catching up with her, filling her head with words, images and thoughts.
Her subconscious was, as it had been for the last few months, a thing
of violent nostalgia. Her purpose and her former lover’s
purpose had been removed from the universe, a steadying Green hand
removed from reality by the huge web the universe wove.
She was of the Green Lantern Corps and they were dead. Dissolved,
disbanded and disjointed. The pie-diagram that had once been burnt into
her mind to signify the sectors of the universe was now shattered,
apparently half eaten and torn asunder as though it had been shared
between people. Two people who had gone their separate ways; one dead
and one left behind.
Kyle Rayner. Her Hero, her lover and her mentor. He was her salvation
and damnation at the same time and now he was dead. Taken from life at
his prime, removed by hundreds of tiny blue hands, as the Guardian's
pulled his smiling form into the Oblivion that sat behind him.
Jade Scott, however, was not dead. She awoke from her restless sleep,
the alarm to her left bleeping violently. She sighed, sitting forwards
and running her hands through her short, green hair.
"God. That time already?" she muttered into her palms, as they rolled
over her face.
Perhaps, she thought, the source of the dreams was the fact that she
was actually starting to enjoy her life again. It had been over a year
since Kyle's death. She was maintaining a steady-job, something that
she had ached for ever since Kyle had spoken of it. A family, one that
was bigger and filled with more than her real family – A bond
that in recent months she'd forged to make stronger. Since losing Kyle
from her life, she wanted to fix everything else.
Nothing else would slip through her grasp.
As she turned the taps to her shower, she removed her night dress and
let it hang off her fingers and onto the floor. She stepped into
her specially designed shower slowly, the light from the morning sun
hitting her Chlorophyll laden skin and waking her up almost immediately.
She smiled as the water ran over her. Today was going to be a good day.
Deepest Space
The laboratory was itself nearly a mile and a half long. Within it
resided tanks of liquid, burning chemical vats of fire, and huge chunks
of sediment. A virtual graveyard for natural structures. Busying
themselves around a small group of alien beings were the Controllers.
Their pink hued skin and long, lithe bodies danced around their
captives as they took down information on the glowing squares that
floated before them.
“You are aware of the unquantifiable nature of the energy source
on Earth and where Oa once rested, Kinto?” the taller of the two
Controllers asked. The scientist next to him nodded slowly.
“Starheart energy, we believe. It is similar to the energies that
gained sentience and caused our Maltusian Brothers on Oa such
problems.”
“Queries?” the first of the two Controllers asked.
“Research suggests that our theories may be correct. The original
Effigy experiment was not powerful or well thought out enough to
generate a measurable outcome, Yefru.”
“Modifications to our original hypothesis?” Yefru asked,
running a hand over his bald head.
“Using such a low band of the Electromagnetic Wavelength provided
us with very little in the way of offensive/defensive power when
utilised against the Guardian's light-will technology. We believe that
the Big Bang modification is now the way to go.”
“Elucidate,” Kinto asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Darkstar technology previously used, failed because of inherent
inability of Darkstar Exo-Suit wielders to follow Controller commands,
too much freedom resulted in deconstruction of Darkstar bonds and
dissolution of concept. Effigy Corpsmen were designed to have remaining
will power eliminated and proved that, like Manhunters of Oa design,
lack of intelligence and judgement were unable to delineate between
complex or sometimes rudimentary moral or logical problems.”
Yufru explained.
“Resolution?” Kinto demanded, gesturing behind him towards
the working masses of Controller scientists and the rank of motionless
aliens that stood before them.
“Effigy Corps rebuilt with new power set and designs, but
allowing free-will centres to remain intact. Concept should function
more correctly, as power's are keyed to the bodies and wills of
wielders, rather than removable, optional outer shells.”
“Is there not potential for the members of the Corps to rebel
against our will?” Kinto inquired.
“Programming prior to despatch is essential. Understanding of
greater powers as well as enemy threats and their larger purpose within
universe is designed to elevate ego centres and self worth. Designates
will believe they belong to larger order of defenders of Universe and
will attempt to remove other threats to their
‘superiority’.”
“Clarification on power sets?”
“Cosmic Microwave Background radiation and debris from destroyed
planetary masses are being used to correct previous mistakes.
Nature-based biomass synth-tech will allow new members of Effigy Corps
to form coherent bonds with host planets,” Yufru advised Kinto,
gesturing towards the beings before them.
“Current populace of Effigy Corps – fifteen entities from
varying sectors. Mimicry of Lantern Corps is essential for cohesive
replacement.”
“Despatch time?”
“Within a solar rotation. Fifteen entities are to be given
secrets of Starheart, such as resistance to unquantifiable energy
source known as magic, and weaknesses to living green entities such as
Earth Flora.”
“Effigy Corps relies now on the nature of the universe and
planetary masses?” Kinto reaffirmed to the nodding of Yufru.
“Effigy Corps are no-longer burning pyres of Controllers. Now
Effigy Corps are representative of corpses of planets and black body
radiation.”
Kinto nodded and the pair looked over the entities that were being
prepared to despatch the Starheart on Earth for a few moments.
“New query, Yufru. Explain intentions of Black Egg...”
“Thanks for coming with me, John.” Jenny smiled down at the
man who crouched down next to her, a couple of heavy looking bags
hanging from his shoulders.
“This is what friends are for right?” He smiled at her and
adjusted her bags on his shoulders, “Besides, Merayn needed me to
get out the house. I was driving her mad.”
“Restless?” Jenny questioned, as she aimed and zoomed the
camera in on the large leaf that jutted out from the plant before her.
“You could say that. I appreciate everything you do for me,
charging my ring and giving me a purpose but...I get the feeling it's
not going to last.”
The green skinned woman looked up from the camera and sighed at him,
her face a mixture of mild irritation and sympathy.
“Believe it or not, I do know what you're going through, but
having no purpose means that you can find a new one.”
“I get that part,” John replied sarcastically. Jenny turned
back to her camera and smirked.
“Apparently not. You're an architect, John. Build something. We
all find new ways to express ourselves and to take the boredom out of
the day.” Her finger hovered over the camera button. Its lens
clicked into place and the shutter flickered and clicked a few times.
“I'd have thought you'd make a return to modelling, Jen,”
John replied after a few moments of watching her take photographs of
plants and birds. She pulled away from the older camera and set it down
on the ground gently.
“I thought that too. There's certainly more money in it,”
she smiled, brushing some of her short, green hair from her face,
“but actually, this is better for me.”
She turned to face John, who had also set the equipment around his
shoulders down on the ground.
“Wasn't until Kyle...left, that I realised that I hadn't been
very happy for a long time. Modelling is full of huge egos. Women
becoming competitive over the stupidest of things, pressures on me to
lose weight or do something that would get me publicity.”
“So, after Kyle you left it?” John questioned. He knew that
she hadn't been modelling for a while, but he was never sure of the
reason for it.
“Yeah. I've always liked photography and I've always liked
wildlife. Given that I can get angles and do things for a more limited
budget because of my abilities, it seemed like a no brainer,
right?” Jade smiled and crossed her arms over her chest.
“Sounds about right,” John leaned backwards in the grass
and rested on his elbows.
“I've always liked the natural world, John. I think it's probably
something to do with the Starheart.” She held up her palm, the
star-shaped birthmark that sat in its centre giving off a warm glow.
“Dad can't hurt anything that's green and living, so maybe that's
part of the fascination. Neither can I.”
“Always seems like a weird weakness when you hear it out of
context. “Don't hit me with wood!” John smiled a wide,
amused smile at his green friend. “But actually, when you hear it
put into those terms, it makes a certain amount of sense.”
“Let’s be honest here, John. Hardly anything in our lives
makes that much sense. I can eat by metabolising sunlight and your
girlfriend’s from space.”
“Lets not forget that your Dad is a host to a being made from
residual magic and your brother is a source of living darkness.”
Jade’s face dropped off a little when John mentioned that. His
features turned downwards and he gave a little hesitation before he
continued.
“Sorry, Jade. I didn't mean to make you feel bad.”
“No, No. John, it's not that. Don't worry. It's not that you made
me feel bad, it's just...our little lives are so messed up because of
all of this. Todd, Me, Dad and Molly. We've been working, all of us, to
try and make it better.”
John reached out and took Jade’s hand gently, giving it a squeeze.
“I know it's hard, Jade. I think with Kyle it all makes us think
how lucky we are, and how we shouldn't take things for granted. You've
lost your lover, I've lost a friend, and we've all lost the
Corps.”
Jade nodded and smiled, touching his face softly. Her fingertips smelt
of freshly cut grass.
“Guy's got that yellow ring, but I hardly see him any more. My
ring...it barely holds a charge for longer than a day. It's
haemorrhaging energy all over the place.”
Jade pulled her hand back and replaced it within her lap. She stared at
John for a little while.
“I think we both need to put the Corps behind us, John. We're not
part of that world any more.”
“Jade, I don't know how to be anything else. I've been trying to
do the right thing for as long as I can remember. With the marines,
with the Corps and the Darkstars and back again. I don't know how to be
anything other than that.”
Jade got to her feet suddenly, leaving John still lying on the ground.
“Can I show you something?” she asked him, a little wry
grin on her lips. “It's a little out of the blue, but, I
think you might appreciate it.”
John nodded slowly, wondering what she was going to reveal.
“You know my skin isn't just a weird melanin thing, right?
There's actual Chlorophyll under here.” Her fingers tapped
against the bare flesh of her arm as John nodded in acknowledgement.
“Well, there's more to it than that.”
John got to his knees, watching her as she directed her attention
towards the tree a few feet to their left.
“I still have the Starheart energy as well, right? I don't know
if this is part of it but...well, look.” She reached out,
concentration breaking her previously bright features as the tree
before them started to move. At first the leaves just swayed in place,
but it wasn't until the greenish sap started to seep from Jades temples
that John noticed the tree was actually physically moving. It marched a
few feet forwards. Leaves shed from its branches to create a tiny trail
behind it.
Jade released her concentration and sat down heavily, dabbing at the
corners of her head with a tissue she produced from her pocket.
“I think it comes from my Mom's side,” she said after a few
minutes of silence from John.
“Wow,” John managed. “You're moving plants now?”
“Fresh start, right?” she beamed, her voice breathy.
“As I said, I still have the Starheart energy, but I noticed I
could do this. I wanted to try and train myself, maybe it would help my
own weakness to wood. Maybe it would help me be a better hero, or
photographer. Or just be a better me.”
“You're really committed to this, aren't you?” John asked.
Jade nodded slowly.
“Kyle always loved me for me, but he wanted me to be the best I
could. So now, with him gone, I wanted to prove that I could be the
best I can be. For him, and for me.”
“That's certainly something noble to attain,” John added,
getting up from his knees and brushing himself down. “I think
it's time I had a trip back home then, Jen. Got some job applications
to write.”
Jade beamed up at him, and checked the watch that hung loosely from her
wrist.
“Good timing. I'm going to meet Dad in a little while. We're
going on patrol.”
“How’s everything holding up, Jenny?”
The green-haired woman looked over at Alan Scott, the original Green
Lantern and her Father, offering him a strong smile.
“Things have been good today. I've been working on my photography
and that...side project we talked about.”
“Found anything useful for me to know?” Alan asked. He knew
of her ability to control plants; that it was growing in strength and
could lead to a greater understanding and potential cure for their
weakness.
“I've not felt this good in a long time, Dad. I feel like I've
got a handle on me, and what I want from life.”
Alan nodded slowly, allowing himself a small smile.
"We were starting to get worried, Jenny," Alan admitted, changing his
flight path to get closer to his daughter. "When you gave up your
career we were really concerned you were going into depression..."
"Come on, Dad. You know me better than that." She pushed a hand through
her hair, not knowing what else to do to externalise her feeling of
dismay. "I just felt like I was being sufocated by modelling."
Alan sighed and nodded.
"It's a high pressure industry. I can understand why you'd want to quit
it."
Jade laughed at her father’s comment.
"You're joking, right? Dad, nothing is as high pressure as what we do
out here as the Green Lantern and Jade!" She pushed him in the
shoulder, continuing her giggle as plumes of cloud stretched down
towards the streets in front of them.
Her laughter died down as her father pushed ahead of her.
"Wait for me," she insisted, pushing herself forwards to match his pace.
"What the heck are those?" she asked, looking down at the motley group
of aliens that now stood, shoulder to shoulder in a circle, with a
central figure in the centre. The park below them was quickly being
evacuated, the police officer who patrolled its paths standing
motionless, gun aimed at the aliens.
"I don't know, Jenny, but we're about to find out!" He dove through the
sky towards the group, just as Jade realised exactly who that central
figure was.
"Dad! Damnit!" she called after him, folding her arms in and dropping
into a dive to catch up to him. "It's Effigy!"
“Effigy?” Alan asked, as a plume of flames licked upwards.
He threw a shield around the pair of them up just in time, but the heat
was almost unbearable.
"Pleasure to meet you again, Ms. Hayden," Effigy said, smirking at Jade
as he formed a giant burning fist. The villain hurled it forwards,
smashing it through Alan's shield, only to be met with a floating green
pitcher’s glove.
"That's quite enough of that, young man," Alan said, thrusting his
other hand forwards, a glowing fist bouncing off the side of Effigy's
head.
"I assume those aliens are with you?" Alan asked, as the aliens below
immediately looked up at the same time. They broke away from their
circle, and hurtled upwards. Each as individual as each other, Alan was
always taken aback by how different intelligent races over the universe
looked from one another.
"This isn't looking promising," Jade said, offering a worried glance at
her father. He said nothing, and set his jaw.
"I count eight of them, Jenny," he finally said, as he watched two of
the aliens slide underneath Effigy and lift him into the air.
"Can you hear that?"
"Hear what?" Jade asked, as she felt a solid thumping beginning in the
cavity of her chest. She knew it wasn't her heart, but something else.
Something that was building to a feeling of pain.
"I can't hear anything Dad, but I can feel something...in my chest."
“Is that you, son?” Alan asked, clutching at his uniform to
get some sort of relief from the feeling in his rib-cage.
Effigy snarled, pulling himself away from his helpers, to float under
his own power.
“I'm not your son,”
he spat, his fellow aliens gathering around him. Running the joint of
his wrist across his lips, his face was twisted in anger. “I hear
the Lantern Corps aren't doing so well these days?”
The two heroes said nothing, remaining close to one-another in case
Effigy and his aliens broke into an out and out attack.
“I knew it was going down the toilet when Rayner joined up, but
you'd have thought it'd improve once he was offed.”
“YOU SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH!” Jade yelled, lurching forwards.
Her father’s hand on her shoulder prevented her from moving any
further forwards. He said nothing, just shaking his head to her. She
nodded in understanding. They couldn't win this fight out of anger.
They were too out numbered, and they didn't know what capabilities
these aliens had.
“You think you're so great with your little Corps. Well, now the
shoe’s on the other foot isn't it? I have the Corps and you have
nothing. I've got the fire power, literally, the man power and the
knowledge.”
Slowly, Effigy floated forwards. He linked his fingers together and
stretched them out, his palms facing the pair.
“I know all about the wood,” he whispered before laughing
loudly and spinning around in the air. “WE ALL DO!”
Jade took that moment to strike. Summoning a flurry of bats from the
sky, the green creatures hurtled towards the now confused aliens before
her. Effigy finished spinning in place, as Jade powered through the
distance between them and rammed him down into the ground, her green
aura expanding into cuffs that dug into the dirt and pinned him.
"What weakness?" she lied. She knew he knew, and she knew he'd see
through her stall. If she could convince the others, or at least lead
them on slightly, she might be able to give her and her father a
fighting chance.
"Wood. Cellulose. Like what you have in your skin..." Effigy snarled,
his white hot hands grabbing hold of Jade's arms, as he pulled himself
up from the dirt and headbutted her. She fell backwards and off of him,
onto her side, sizzling patches of skin spitting from the heat of his
palms. He got to his feet and threw a kick up, as Alan Scotts energy
projection blocked his action.
Effigy smirked and pointed at Alan.
"Let’s test the weakness theory, shall we?" he smirked, gesturing
for two of the Corps members to attack Alan. "Get him...hit him with a
tree or a bench or something..."
Alan hung in the air, watching the movements of the Effigy Corpsmen
around him. They were somewhat more reluctant than Effigy, stalling
their actions. He also noticed that they were not identical in their
powers the way that the Lantern Corps were.
A woman of rock floated through the air, her body apparently repelling
itself from the ground without touching it. He watched as someting
appeared to spin violently within her chest, tiny fragments of her body
whizzing off into the air around her to be stuck in varying forms of
decaying orbit. He also noticed, that while some aliens inhabited basic
concepts such as the four elements of nature, there were more than that
present. A creature covered in fur, hurtled towards him, along with a
woman covered in blooming flowers. He raised his shield around him, and
threw his arms up to try and protect himself from what he knew was
coming next.
His jaw snapped out of alingment as the flower woman’s fist
collided violently with his face, spraying him with pollen and crushed
petals which shed from her arm on impact. Wings of huge fan like leaves
beat to keep her aloft, before she followed him downwards, thorns
jutting from her fist as she pounded into his body.
"GUH!" Alan coughed, as he felt the taste of copper in his mouth. The
beating in his chest was becoming louder and louder, building to a
pitch he couldn't even feel anymore. There was only reverbation inside
of him, and pain. The flower woman pulled her fists out and drove them
into his body repeatedly, leaving tiny puncture wounds which seemed to
leak energy from them.
"DAD!" Jade yelled, blasting off the ground and away from Effigy, in an
uneven and almost bumbling flight. It was as though she were a emerald
bee. She grew a huge glowing fist around her own, and struck the flower
Corpsman in the side of the body, sending her hurtling off into the
distance.
"Leave him alone!" she asserted, dropping immediately out of the sky
towards her Father, who had already collided with the ground. The fur
covered creature, as well as a octopus-like being made from water and
wrapping tentacles, and a faceless creature of light and energy circled
his form before coming together and facing against Jade.
The trio collided with her, throwing Jade and themselves through the
side of a nearby building, raining debris and dust onto the streets
below. She could feel that pounding inside of her building to a
crescendo. She only hoped that it didn't distract her from what she had
to do.
Her shield shattered, as the fur covered entity, who's long shaggy coat
was now dust coloured, broke a wooden table over her head. Jade dropped
down onto one knee, and let loose a burst of energy into the creatures
legs, knocking it over.
"Here's how this is going to work." Jade got to her feet slowly, the
light and water aliens stopping in their tracks. She was doing her best
to stay steady, but the beating in her chest was threatening to tip her
over. What was going on with her?
She stumbled in her step forwards, the two Effigy Corpsmen shooting
forwards to take her off guard. The water alien hit her in the chest,
throwing the pair of them out of the the hole they made and towards the
ground below.
Twisting through the air, Jade's green aura ignited around her. She
managed to regain some sort of rudimentary flight, her hand closing
into a fist to encase the water Corpsman in a bubble, which she
promptly swung and released at the light entity.
The two Corpsmen collided with a burst of energy as Jade bounced off
the ground below, and skidded to a halt in a trench of dirt inside the
park. She could see her father not too far from her, being held in
place by other Corpsmen. The rock woman's feet dug her heels into the
older Green Lantern's wrists, pushing shards of a broken tree into him,
pinning him in place.
"What do you want?" Jade asked, getting to her feet as Effigy directed
the remaining members of his Corps, a being of electricity and a being
of wind to surround her. Her aura burst into life around her, but the
pounding in her chest made it difficult to control and stay on her
feet. She was waning and she could feel it.
The woman of flora, and the other Corpsmen she thought she had
dispatched within the building landed around her, approacing her
slowly, with shards of wood. Table legs and other items to blindside
her with. She grit her teeth and sent out a distress beacon, hoping to
god that someone would respond.
"Why are you doing this?" Jade asked again, focusing her attention on
Effigy and walking past the electricity Corpsmen with confidence that
she showed outwardly but felt none of inside.
"Because that's why we're here, Jadey," Effigy confessed. "To do this.
The Controllers don't want any of that good old fashioned Lantern times
magic power you got running around. They want it to be them or nothing.
They want control."
"How original," she rasped sarcastically. Her voice was beginning to
grow hoarse as the green sap that had previously slid down the sides of
her face became more prominant. Her body was threatening to give up on
her, the pounding that continued to build inside of her drummed against
her organs, trying to burst outwards. She remained strong, however,
standing and locking her eyes on Effigy.
"You'll find it very difficult, Effigy. Your Corps certainly lacks
something that my father and I possess in spades."
Effigy rolled his eyes and leaned back on his heels.
"Here we go. Some horrifically stilted statement about how your power
comes from the heart, and that love overcomes everything. What, did the
Starheart choose a couple of carebears to become its representatives?"
"That wasn't what I was going to say, Effigy," Jade replied, dropping
to her knees as she felt the impact of the tree-woman against her lower
back. Her aura faultered for a moment, as she attempted to stand up
again. She found that her legs wouldn't allow her to get up.
She glanced into the sky noticing a burst of energy drawing its way
towards her. She allowed a small smile, as she feigned falling
forwards, her fingers hitting the grass that sat underneath her.
"Please...put me out of my misery..." Effigy laughed, approaching Jade
and kneeling down close to her. "What is it, little girl? Are you going
to tell me of something important?"
As the burning man looked over his shoulder, Jade summoned the last of
her strength, sapped by the constant vibrations of whatever it was that
was powering her inside of her chest. Her lithe green fist hit Effigy
in the side of the neck, knocking the villain off balance. As he
toppled forwards, she called on the last of her aura to blast herself
into the man, digging him into the dirt. Using the remaining momentum,
she flipped, unsteadily, onto her feet and drove a powerful downwards
punch into his face spraying petroluem smelling blood into the air and
smothering her costume.
"That's what I have to say, Effigy. We're going to win because we're
smarter than you are. You and your little cronies."
"YOU'RE NOT SMARTER THAN ME!" he screamed, flames erupting upwards.
Jade dropped back, feeling the heat on her body. The sap that dripped
down her face threatned to burn her skin, as it absorbed the heat the
man was giving off.
"Damn it, John..." she whispered, as the golden blur that was John
Stewart dropped from the sky. It wasn't John that intercepted Effigy,
however, it was the blue-skinned woman in the Darkstar uniform. Merayn,
John Stewart’s lover, hit the burning human at a speed
approaching 60 miles an hour, knocking him into the ground with a
sickening crack.
Her feet skidded into the grass, as John landed heavily next to her,
his legs bending with the effort. In less than three seconds, they were
carving a perimeter around themselves and edging slowly towards a spent
Jade, who lay on her back, trying to wipe the burning amber from her
face.
"Nice to see you." She smiled up at the pair, as John offered her a
hand.
"Merayn's idea. I thought you could handle it yourself," John joked,
pulling her between the pair of fighters.
"We need to find Dad. That female made from wood, or whatever it is,
stabbed him."
"That might be easier said than done, Jade," Merayn replied, her
gauntlets glowing with energy.
The Effigy Corps were pulling themselves together. Electricity and
earth colums deflected their energy blasts. John gave Merayn a quick
touch on the shoulder, before he blasted off the ground, leaving the
two women to confront the fifteen aliens before them.
"He's going to find your dad."
She nodded slowly, leaning against Merayn while she tried to catch her
breath.
"In the mean time?" Jenny asked. Merayn smiled and pulled her hands
back, charging some more energy blasts.
"In the mean time, Jade," the blue-skinned alien replied, "we're going
to have to take care of ourselves."
#14