ISSUE 04 MAJOR WILL

"God dammit." Kyle rolled over onto his stomach and spit out the blood pooling in his mouth. Tasted like pennies.

The other students stumbled as they scrambled to back away at his advance.

"Who are you?" The team captain questioned in a hushed voice.

"I'm the one who just asked you shaved rats if you've seen a Lantern flying around, answer the damn question." Now out of the dust, he looked even larger and more grotesque. His skin was coated in a weird purple metal. His eyes glared at them like high beams at midnight. Blinding, as he approached.

Kyle got to his feet, helping Jack up at the same time.

"N-No….." Kyle said as he stepped in front of Jack and the other students. Classes were starting, causing the usual student activity back on campus to fade. Leaving them alone.

"No what?" The purple titan questioned.

"No. We haven't seen any Green-Lan—…." He trailed off as an almost impossible to see green dot hovered in the clouds behind the giant.

"I don't believe you." He grinned.

"Wh—" Before Kyle could get a word out, the metal skinned behemoth lunged forward and grabbed him by the throat, lifting him off the ground effortlessly.

He pulled him close, turning his head to side eye him. As if he was inspecting something differently for the first time.

"All the little boys behind ya can't stop themselves from soiling their pants. But look at you…. pretty boy. Facing Major Force. You ain't scared enough. That's the problem with you greens. You like to face your fears. You like to get all close and snuggly with death." Major Force explained.

Kyle couldn't even breathe. His golden-handed grip was tightening, crushing Kyle's windpipe.

He brought his other hand up to Kyle's face as he struggled and snapped his fingers. Small purpke and white quantum explosions danced around the golden digits. Even such a small impact away from his face, seared the skin on his cheek.

"ACK—"

"You feel close enough, boy?" Major grinned like a maniac.

Kyle clawed at his hands until his nails broke.

"Get me that damn ring, or I'm gonna find everyone you love and stuff them in a closet— or fridge, for you to find when you least expect it!" Major Force shook him. "I've done it to others for less, junior. Cough up the jewelry."

Kyle watched as the ring hovered in the distance. Before he could do anything, Major Force threw Kyle behind him.

"Fine. I don't see the ring on your finger so you must be hiding it. One of your soccer boys holding it for you? Let me check." Major Force approached the boys.

Kyle lay in the crater, clothes torn once again, face burned and neck nearly crushed. The ring hovered closer. Watching— like an eye. Waiting, like a disgruntled ex that needed him to admit he made a mistake before they could reconnect.

Ganthet's words echoed in his mind.

The students screamed as Major Force grabbed the first, shaking him and rummaging through his pockets aggressively.

"Come on, Kyle…."

"The ring never makes a mistake."

His finger itched like all hell. It vibrated. It burned with a spectacular brilliance he couldn't describe. Something that magnified when he reached for the sky and felt the green descend.

It fit like a glove.

Major Force went through two students, roughing them up in his searching process. Jack was next.

"Oh boy….. you've got some anger, don't you?"

"Come find out." Jack snarled.

Major Force's eyes lit up, "Don't mind if I d—"

A rock hit the back of his head. Pathetic in the way it bounced off and made no effect other than small scale interruption.

"Hey, crayon-man. Come step into your weight class." The shadows of the abandoned parkinglot were swallowed in green lights.

Major Force grinned, "Here we g—"

As he turned around, the next rock to hit him was a construct of a boulder as large as a car. The weight of it slammed him into the pavement. Then another boulder fell on top of the previous, crushing the giant and sending him through the ground.

Kyle hovered above the crater in his green lantern uniform, the students watched— still trying to process Major Force. "GO!"

Jack hesitated, his old scared and worrisome self seemingly rising above the muscles and tattoos. For a second he saw the kid he used to draw with on weekends. "Kyle…?"

"I'm so—"

First rule of lantern combat, stay focused. Kyle was a rookie— so naturally, he made a mistake.

Major Force shattered the constructs with his quantum blasts, sending purple and white lights into the sky like a disco ball in reverse.

Kyle sent a construct of a hand out to shove John out of the parkinglot.

At the same time, Major Force flew into Kyle.

"I want that ring!"

The two collided, rolling wildly in the air until they smashed through a gate and ended up in a cement courtyard.

Major Force took top mount and pummeled Kyle's face until the pavement behind his head shattered.

"Focus, Kyle Rayner. Use your power. Draw with your mind." Ganthet's voice spoke over the sound of his nose breaking.

Major Force swung again, now with a fist empowered by quantum energy.

His head snapped back into the small crater. His world flashed. Suddenly it was nighttime and he was back in the cemetary facing Ohm. Watching him barrel through deadly attacks with his mech suit.

"Wake up, greenie! I was just warming up." Major Force taunted before swinging again.

Kyle was back in the present. Ring sizzling as it spit out a construct. Green metal plates sheathed his skin. A visor slid over his face his arms and legs sat snug in turnbuckles and pulleys that controlled the mech suit enveloping him.

"I think I'm warming up too." The shoulder portion of his mech opened up, allowing a turret to rise and fire a blinding explosive blast of green into Major Force's face.

The titan flew backward, flipping all the way towards the clouds.

"Suddenly I wish I read more gundam manga…" Kyle moved his limbs in the mech construct, gaining his bearings slowly. Too slowly.

A purple blast blew through one of his arms.

"COME ON! Show me what ya got!" Major Force screamed from the sky.

Kyle's suit arm regenerated in a wave of green fire and metal. He took off on rocket propelled boots, pushing his limits. Increasing speed. Transforming the suit arms into compressed blasters with supportive concussion fields that caused every blast to warble and expand.

Major Force tried to punch his way through the first shot. He did. Black spirals of smoke and ash blew off his impenetrable skin as he descended.

When the second came, he was moving too slow. It knocked him back. So did the third and fourth. All the way until he was spinning and rolling through a high tech carpet bombing of lantern powered assault.

When Kyle was close enough, he grabbed Major Force by the leg, attempting to replicate some of Aqualad's fighting style.

Major Force was worlds stronger than Ohm.

He laughed and brought his leg up, ripping off Kyle's mech arm again. "You want to wrestle me? I was state champion before you even wore diapers, chump!"

Before Kyle could regenerate the construct, Major Force was punching through it, trying to reach him.

He swung with his other arm.

Major Force turned and screamed a field of quantum energy like some purple skinned dragon-man.

His construct wavered with his focus. And fear.

"His skins unbreakable…. His energy is endless and stronger than mine— and he's a better fighter. How do I beat this without dying???" Kyle panicked.

First rule. Again.

His construct evaporated before Major Force could even swing again.

"There you are." He grabbed Kyle's face. Concussive waves of quantum energy flowed down his arms. He made the process slow. "I'm gonna leave you in pieces. And then— only then, I'm gonna take that ring with your whole hand and serve it to my employers on a silver platte—"

A flash of green passed by.

Kyle wouldn't mind another ring. But that didn't sound pheasable.

When he opened his eyes, Major Force was falling towards the forest edges of campus.

He looked down at his ring. "I didn't do that— did I?"

"No, ya didn't. Wake up, rookie. I ain't fighting beside a preteen who can't hold his constructs cause he's too pussy to stay focused."

Kyle looked up to find another lantern. Same power ring. Same suit color. Only he wore a jacket and boots. His red hair was long and unkempt. When he spoke, all Kyle could smell was beer and meat.

The man slapped him, "Wake up!"

"Easy, Gardner. This isn't bootcamp."

Kyle's insides shriveled as he spun at the sound of John's voice.

And there he was, standing beside him. In a lantern uniform. Eyes fully green and fade freshly…. faded.

"Oh but it is, Sarg'. You see who I just wholloped?" Gardner pointed off in the distance.

"Major Force. Captain Atom without the morality. Gun for hire." John replied flatly. He somehow seemed even more stiff.

"More like atom-bomb for hire... no pun intended." Gardner replied. "Which is WHY we can't have this here right now? Training wheels can't even close his jaws."

They both looked at Kyle.

"You seem decent with your ring? How long have you had it?" John asked.

"Less than a day…"

They looked at him like he started skinning himself with a butter knife.

"You been to Oa?" Gardner asked.

"O what?— guys why are we asking questions right now? Shouldn't we be….."

"He's still restrained." John replied. Causing Kyle to look down at his ring. It pulsed with activity. It had a physical warmth to it. Even the veins in his hands glowed.

"Show off." Gardner huffed.

"Have you heard any word on The Guardians? Are their any other Lanterns other than you?"

"Just me. I only know Ganthet— why is this important?"

"Because the Central Power-Battery is gone— thanks to the Guardians. There shouldn't be any more Green Lanterns. The last vestiges of the corps fade slowly now. So I don't understand how or why you're here."

Kyle shrugged, "I don't understand either."

"Well, don't get used to it. Once your charge hits zero that's it. Free trail over. Back to the bench." Gardner explained.

A blast split the clouds in the distance.

They all readied themselves for another round with Major Force.

"I don't think you guys can afford a bench right now." Kyle replied as Major Force flew for them.

"That's your problem, rookie. You keep thinking. Don't do that. Just fight!"

They charged.

John flew with perfect stillness. Moving in precise cutting motions to only barely avoid Major Force's quantum blasts.

Gardner moved like a firestorm. All spinning and twisting as he punched through the blasts and screamed obscenities.

Kyle held the flank— more so because he couldn't maintain their speed for reasons he didn't know.

Major Force charged John first. John embraced the offensive gesture only for the purple madman to dive low and rise up underneath Kyle.

His fist smashed into his stomach and sent him through a cloud.

He watched the clouds. Green and purple lights from the battle below flashed like dyed lightning.

Eventually, Major Force flew up for him.

"I didn't forget ya!"

Kyle made a wall of green.

Major Force charged it and bounced backward thanks to Kyle placing a construct of a trampoline in front of it before impact.

Gardner waited behind him with a rat-stick construct. "I'm calling home-run!" He yelled and swung.

The hit was so hard it split the clouds around them. Clear blue sky spread, revealing John below them with a construct of a sniper.

He took aim. Major Force flew for the outer atmosphere. As he worked to come back down, John fired.

Even from Kyle's distance and Major Force's spinning state, the headshot was obvious and insanely loud.

"Hell yea! Green-Lantern's one, party-balloon colored mercenary….. zero. Not bad, rookie. Not bad. You still suck, though." Gardner said.

"Thanks." Kyle replied.

"Let's move." John led them to the landing site.

Thankfully, it was on a beach. South of college campus. After hours and on weekends it was usually full. Now, all that occupied the sands were old bits of trash and bugs.

Oh, and of course, Major F—….

"Where the hell is he?" Gardner asked as they stood over a still steaming crater absent of a purple giant energy bomb.

"Not here." John replied.

"Obviously, jarhead!" Gardner said.

"You did say he was a mercenary." Kyle added.

They both looked at him.

"Major Force wanted my ring. He said he'd cut my hand off and serve it to his employers. Maybe they're who got him out of here." Kyle suggested.

"Then I'm sure he'll be back for another go at you. We'll keep watch—"

His ring beeped.

Gardner groaned.

"Times up. Charge at sixty percent. It's good to have another man on the field. Wish it was under better circumstances. Lantern's fall out."

John held his fist out.

Gardner bumped knuckles, leaving room for Kyle as he looked at him.

Hesitantly, Kyle joined the fist bump.

Green light bloomed from their connected knuckles.

"[Ring-Power 60…..61….62…63…64…65…70%]"

They disconnected and looked at Kyle.

"What the hell was that, rookie?"