Kilowog's words rang clear in Hal's mind as he pulled himself out of the mud, bruised and aching. Kilowog was firing off blasts from his ring at the dozen or so Green Lantern recruits, knocking them into the pile of mud beneath their feet.
"Stay on your feet, poozers!" Kilowog would yell at them occasionally. Hal didn't know what a poozer was, but it was apparently something pathetic.
Kilowog fired off another blast and Hal instinctively raised his arms to block it and closed his eyes. To Hal's surprise, he was still on his feet after the blast had faded.
"Heh. Nice job, Earthman," Kilowog grunted.
Hal opened his eyes and looked up to see a large solid hologram shaped like a shield. His ring had apparently created it.
"...I just thought about a shield and it made it," Hal thought out loud.
"Congratulations," Kilowog said. "You've now literally learned the first thing about bein' a Green Lantern." Kilowog fired off another blast, knocking Hal down.
Hal jumped back up, practically roared at Kilowog, and fired a blast of his own. Kilowog easily blocked the blast like it was nothing. Hal and Kilowog started to run for each other when suddenly a green wall separated them.
"Kilowog, the Guardians don't particularly appreciate you fighting with the recruits in one-on-one combat," Sinestro said as he descended from the sky, his ring raised towards the wall. "Jordan, come with me."
Hal followed Sinestro back into the sky. "Why'd you pull me out of there?" Hal asked.
"Kilowog is an excellent teacher, but thus far he has only worked with recruits from... more advanced... civilizations."
"More advanced?"
"Don't ask me to be polite, Jordan. Earth is a primitive world that's barely aware of anything but its own existence."
"We learn fast."
Sinestro stopped. "Let me guess. You don't particularly recognize the authority of the Green Lanterns, the Guardians, or least of all, Kilowog."
"Not really, no."
"Of course not. You'd never even heard of a Green Lantern until, what, two days ago?"
"One, actually."
"Were you raised on a modern world, you'd have known of the glory of the Green Lanterns since you were old enough to crawl. You would know the importance of the role we serve in the universe. The very reason your planet still exists is because of the Green Lantern Corps."
"So, what, you're saying I don't kiss ass enough for your liking?"
"I am saying that you're not responsible enough for my liking. And those under your protection will die because of it. You see Tomar-Re over there?"
Sinestro gestured towards Tomar-Re flying nearby.
"Seventeen Earth years ago, he was negligent in his duty to a single planet in his sector. The planet Krypton was destroyed by explosive chemical reactions within its core—reactions that Tomar might have been able to halt, had he been aware of them. Now he bears the guilt of Krypton's extinction. Six billion deaths. That is the responsibility of a Lantern. Not to wait while chaos builds in the darkness, but to shine light upon the evils of the universe and blind them. Make the forces of chaos beware your power."
"That sounds great, in theory. But how exactly am I supposed to do that? I can't seem to make this ring do much of anything useful."
"Remove petty emotion from your mind. Will is what drives the ring, not anger. Don't merely try to do something. Choose to do it. Force your mind to focus."
Hal took a deep breath and cleared his mind. He lifted his arm and created a large green construct. In a mere few seconds, it began to take shape—it was an F-22. Hal accessed every memory he had on the craft, every bolt and panel. It was as close an approximation as Hal could muster.
Sinestro raised an eyebrow. "Hmm. Impressive, Jordan. There is potential in you yet. Be sure you do not squander it."
Sinestro floated away, leaving Hal alone in the space between Oa's buildings.
Hal slowly flew over to meet Tomar Re.
"Hey, Tomar?"
Tomar stopped and turned around, giving Hal a gentle smile. "Yes?"
"I just... I just wanted to say... I heard about what happened with Krypton, all those years ago."
Tomar's face fell sadly.
"And I wanted to tell you," Hal explained, "that, well... I actually know someone from Krypton. He's my age; I think he was a baby when he left his home. His family sent him away in a ship to Earth before the planet blew."
Tomar's eyes widened. "The Kryptonians were isolationists; they didn't normally send ships to other worlds. Are you sure?"
"Yeah, definitely. So anyhow, you should know, for whatever it's worth, at least one Kryptonian survived."
Tomar's eyes began to slightly change color. Hal eventually realized that was his equivalent of getting teary-eyed.
"It means quite a bit, Hal Jordan. Thank you."
"That sounds great, in theory. But how exactly am I supposed to do that? I can't seem to make this ring do much of anything useful."
"Remove petty emotion from your mind. Will is what drives the ring, not anger. Don't merely try to do something. Choose to do it. Force your mind to focus."
Hal took a deep breath and cleared his mind. He lifted his arm and created a large green construct. In a mere few seconds, it began to take shape—it was an F-22. Hal accessed every memory he had on the craft, every bolt and panel. It was as close an approximation as Hal could muster.
Sinestro raised an eyebrow. "Hmm. Impressive, Jordan. There is potential in you yet. Be sure you do not squander it."
Sinestro floated away, leaving Hal alone in the space between Oa's buildings.
Hal slowly flew over to meet Tomar Re.
"Hey, Tomar?"
Tomar stopped and turned around, giving Hal a gentle smile. "Yes?"
"I just... I just wanted to say... I heard about what happened with Krypton, all those years ago."
Tomar's face fell sadly.
"And I wanted to tell you," Hal explained, "that, well... I actually know someone from Krypton. He's my age; I think he was a baby when he left his home. His family sent him away in a ship to Earth before the planet blew."
Tomar's eyes widened. "The Kryptonians were isolationists; they didn't normally send ships to other worlds. Are you sure?"
"Yeah, definitely. So anyhow, you should know, for whatever it's worth, at least one Kryptonian survived."
Tomar's eyes began to slightly change color. Hal eventually realized that was his equivalent of getting teary-eyed.
"It means quite a bit, Hal Jordan. Thank you."
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