The Power Of The Starheart Ring #276

"You can do that...?" Jack asked, sounding extremely confused at my words as he tilted his head. "You realize the Oans don't mess around with their toys...?" He asked with a frown, seemingly unconvinced.

"I understand why you'd be skeptical. It's impossible to tamper with a green power ring under normal circumstances," I said with a shrug as I retracted my hand and raised it in front of my face.

"But I've got a little something to make it possible," I added as I equipped the Starheart ring, causing Jack's eyes to widen in surprise. "And no, this isn't a green power ring, not your typical run-of-the-mill one, anyway," I continued, activating the ring so he'd feel its energy signature.

I wasn't speculating when I said I could remove the limitations that the Oans put on their power rings, such as the lethal force inhibitor, the trackers, and recording functions, among other things.

Alan Scott, the first Green Lantern, who wielded the Starheat, had tampered with green power rings and other variants on multiple occasions, and if he could do it, what's to stop me?

Ultimately, my actions would piss off the Oans and put a target on my back, but I really didn't care. After all, I'd likely have a conflict of interest with the hyper-intelligent bubbleheads eventually, considering my long-term plans and what I needed to achieve them.

In a way, I was doing my future self a favor for a change, as I'd deprive the Oans of one of their agents and maybe gain a new ally in the process, hitting two birds with one stone.

"As I've said, I'm only trying to gift you something back," I added as I lowered my hand. "Whether or not to accept it is entirely up to you," I concluded, shrugging as I waited for a reply.

"Eh... fuck it..." Jack said after a brief pause as he took off his ring and held it in his hand. "I was starting to get tired of those little blue bastards breathing down my neck anyways," He added as he tossed the ring at me with a nod.

"Good choice," I said as I caught the power ring from the air. "Now give me a minute," I added, taking a deep breath and frowning as I activated the Starheart ring and channeled my energy into it.

"They really don't mess around, do they...?" I muttered to no one in particular as I ran into the various protection systems installed into the ring, both on the interior and exterior.

There were energy blockades, trying and failing to stop me from altering the ring alongside counterattack mechanisms, which tried to tamper with my Starheat ring as a defense mechanism.

I broke through everything with brute force, and when all else failed, the ring tried to attack me directly, but I shrugged it off as I removed the last lingering protection system.

"I'm in... now I just need to make some changes..." I said, smiling as I watched the power rings shine in a luminescent green light that looked awfully similar to Starheart's flames.

I immediately went to work, removing any and all restraints and installing a new protection system before adding one constraint of my own and handing the ring back to Jack.

The guy looked like a cutthroat, and I was one paranoid bastard. I'm willing to give him his freedom, but that doesn't mean I'll let him use that freedom against me.

If Jack proved more trustworthy than his appearance suggested, no one would ever know about the restraints, and everything would be alright. If not, he'll be in for a nasty surprise.

"Congratulations, you are now free from the blue bastards' influence and a member of Starheart corps," I said with a chuckle as I watched Jack put on his new and improved ring.

I didn't intend to turn his ring the way I did. It seemed like an accident as the green flames altered it when I removed the limitations, but I had it on good authority that it was Starheart's doing.

I knew the damned thing was conscious and had its own agenda, and this was likely its way of pushing it, but I knew it wasn't innately evil, so I let nature take its course, despite being able to stop the process.

"Starheart corps, eh...?" Jack remarked, raising an eyebrow. "Any rules I need to be aware of?" He asked after a brief pause after he inspected his ring, conjuring several constructs.

"None. As long as you don't go Sinistro 2.0 on everyone's asses," I said with a chuckle. "The Starheart, which is something like the green central battery, is sentient, and it's supposedly on the side of the angels," I added, shrugging my shoulders.

"Other than being a decent carbon-based life form and not going out of your way to terrorize the good people of the universe..." I said, raising one finger as I looked at Jack. "You're free to do whatever the fuck you want," I concluded.

"Meaning I could just up and leave right now since the guardians don't have authority over me, and neither do you...?" Jack asked, giving me a strange look as he trailed at the end of his sentence.

"Of course, and I wouldn't even blame you for it," I replied with a chuckle, unsurprised by Jack's words. He was here under the guardian's orders, but now that they no longer had leverage on him, he had no reason to stay.

Naturally, I had no intention of forcing him to stay either. I didn't think I needed the help, and no good would come from strong-arming anyone to do anything they didn't feel like doing.

Besides, we started on the right foot, so it's better to leave it that way.

"Huh... you and I are gonna get along just fine, boss-man," Jack said with a chuckle as he re-applied the illusion on his ring. "I'll stick around and see this situation to the end, though," He continued with a happy grin.

"Jack T. Chance is many things, but ungrateful is not one of'em," He concluded.

"Then you have my thanks, friend," I replied as I nodded, extending my hand toward the blue-skinned alien, asking for a handshake. "Now, let's take care of this sentient weapon thingy," I added as he firmly gripped my hand and shook it.

"I don't want anyone messing up my date," I concluded.

"A lady's man, too, eh? Not bad," Jack said with a chuckle as he let go of my hand. "So where do want to start, boss-man? I managed to plunder some info from Aeolla's databanks, but it isn't a lot to go on," He asked, scratching his chin.

"The Aeolian bloodhounds, or whatever people call them," I said as I turned to a high-rise building close to the hotel, where I knew one of our tails was hiding.

"I don't think that's a good idea..." Jack said with a frown, shaking his head. "Aeolian might look like soft-belied merchants these days, but they're true to their warrior ancestry," He added as he displayed a hologram of an Aeollan warrior tearing a giant spider to shreds.

"They're tough nuts to crack. They won't talk," Jack concluded as he dismissed the hologram.

"I don't need them to talk. I'll pry it off their minds..." I calmly replied as I levitated into the air. "We'll see where to go from there," I added as I turned invisible and flew toward the high-rise building.

...

Kara couldn't help but sigh, an exasperated smile tugging at her lips as she closed her eyes and leaned into the pillow. "Men..." She muttered to none in particular.

She knew Grayson had sneaked out of the hotel and heard the entire conversation with Jack, thanks to her super senses and some lessons in lip reading she took back on Earth.

Grayson seemingly didn't want her to know as he acted cautiously, applying an energy field of source around to hide before sneaking out, which covered his heartbeat, making it nigh impossible to detect.

Still, Grayson had underestimated the superior sense of a Kryptonian and overestimated his ability to hide his intentions. After all, a woman's intuition was something that all men should fear.

Though she was concerned as she immediately realized who Jack's target was, Kara still decided to leave it to Grayson. Under most circumstances, she would not let others solve her problems since Superman and Superboy tended to baby-handle her excessively.

However, Grayson's reasons made the situation an exception. He didn't want to solve the problem in her stead to protect her or because he thought she couldn't handle it.

No, he only wanted to make the problem disappear so it wouldn't affect their date, and Kara couldn't help but find it cute.