Green Lantern

Lanterns and Flame

by Immortalwildcat, with LadyObie33

Prelude

by LadyObie33

{Note: this story takes place during the events of “Green Lantern: Emerald Guardians”}

The sorceresses in the Silver Phoenix Realm were abuzz with nervous excitement.

A couple of their most powerful telepaths had picked up on something that was nothing short of a nightmare.

It wasn’t really anything the 2 telepaths, Hannah & Celeste, could fully understand & interpret, at least not yet.

It was akin to a small flickering light shining in the darkness, a small sense that something just wasn’t right.

But it upset them enough that they thought they should spread the word of their suspicion among the others, hoping they wouldn’t be thought of as insane or just making a mountain out of what at best might be a molehill.

They approached their queen, Althea, curtsied & let her know what had occurred to them.

“My Queen, dear Great-Grandmother.” Celeste said pensively to the woman who was actually her ancestor over a great many generations.

“Hannah & I have sensed something which might be quite horrible if it?s true.” She continued

Hannah then continued, “Yes! I wish I could say for sure it was a nightmare, that we were just stressed out or tired or?”

Althea then interrupted the younger women, “You have come to tell us something. We have all had trying experiences in our lives so surely whatever you’ve felt couldn’t be any worse than at least some of those.”

“You know we’re all family here. Please tell us what bothers you so.” She concluded.

Celeste & Hannah looked at each other with strong sad expressions growing over their faces. Celeste telepathically spoke to Hannah, “Do you want to tell her or should I?”

Hannah shook her head, “This isn’t going to be easy no matter which of us says it or how. But I’ll do it.”

“Thank you sister,” replied Celeste, a small but warm smile slightly cheering up her downcast face.

The two faced Althea. Hannah spoke, “I fear we have had a traitor in our midst, someone who we thought was family but turned out not to be.”

Althea looked at her descendents with a stunned expression, “Who? Who could it be? Was your vision clear enough to tell you?”

“Yes it was.” Hannah said, nodding, “I’m pretty sure it was Frances. The poor thing we thought needed us so badly likely turned out to be nothing but trouble. I’m not even sure if she was human!”

Hannah then broke down crying, placing her face in her hands. Some of the other sorceresses came to comfort her & Celeste picked up where she left off. “Yes, we saw darkness surrounding a female figure & then an angry flame burst around her. At first we couldn’t make out who it was but then, just before the vision faded, we got a pretty good view of her face & it was Frances but not the good girl we knew. Her face was twisted with evil & anger.” Celeste then showed some mild anger on her own face.

Althea sighed & then Rose started crying & ran out of her ancestor’s crystal palace. A couple of the others ran out after her.

“How many times in her life has Rose been betrayed by evil? How many more times must she be?” waxed Phoebe in a sadly nostalgic fashion.

“Please tell me, Celeste?” Althea asked, “Is there any way this vision could have been false?”

“You said it was kind of vague.” She concluded

“I wish I could say that, I really do.” Celeste replied, “But it felt so real, almost like it was.”

Althea hung, then shook her head side to side, “I fear the only way we might be able to confirm such a thing is to ask our family on the other side.”

“I wish I could send for Todd & Jennie-Lynn, to ask them. But I have no way to know for sure what may happen and if there’s even a very small possibility your vision could be inaccurate it might not be worth bothering them.” She concluded.

“So we’ll just let them be?” Celeste replied, unable to hide a slight feeling of concern & disappointment.

“Yes, for now. And if this nightmare does prove to be true I hope they’ll know they can come to us to help them get through their pain.” Althea said.

Indeed, it seemed as if some dark difficult days were nearly upon a place normally full of light & happiness.

Chapter 1

by Immortalwildcat

Two women sat in a room, worried expressions on their faces. The older of the two, Molly Scott, glanced from time to time at the three infants lying on a couch. Since the five of them had arrived, she had been too worried about the rest of her family to let the children out of her sight. Now, she and her stepdaughter, Jennie-Lynn Hayden, sat, waiting.

The night passed in silence, neither of them daring to move for fear that they might miss the return of their loved ones.

Just before dawn, the darkened room was lit by a glow, which grew into a halo surrounding a shadowy globe. The globe split apart and disappeared, leaving four persons in its place.

“Alan!” cried Molly, leaping from her seat to embrace her husband. Alan Scott held his wife close as he scanned the room. Seeing everybody accounted for, he relaxed in her arms.

“Todd! Hank! Thank God you’re all right!” cried Jennie as she wrapped her arms around both of the young men.

Standing apart from the others, Steph Harrigan sighed. This was a family moment, one that she did not feel comfortable joining. She moved to check on the Scott triplets, the reason she and the others had traveled to another world. They all slept soundly.

“Where do you think you’re going, young lady?” Steph turned to find Alan and Molly standing right behind her. “You’re a part of this family now.”

“Umm, Dad,” said Todd Rice, feeling a bit uneasy at the assumption being made about a young lady he had met on a blind date less than twelve hours earlier.

“Brothers and sisters in fire, Todd,” said Alan, recognizing his son’s concern. “It took all of us, working together, to defeat the Light.”

“What about Frances?” asked Jennie Lynn, as she realized that the group was short one person. An uncomfortable silence fell over the room.

“Frances wasn’t who, wasn’t what we thought she was,” said Todd in a low voice. “She was some creature called the Phoenix, who came here to steal the power of the Star Heart.”

“No, no! That’s can’t be! We saw the blood test results! She’s Dad’s daughter!” Tears flowed freely down Jennie Lynn’s cheeks as she tried to assimilate the revelation that the woman she thought was her sister was a fraud. Hank King held her as the sobs racked her body. The rest looked on, unable to find words to comfort the young heroine.

Chapter 2

The morning after the Scott family’s return, Alan and Molly sat on their veranda, finishing breakfast.

“I still can’t believe that the Phoenix fooled us all, dear. Everything she told us seemed to be true.”

In between sips of coffee, Alan nodded. “I know. I mean, the story of this bizarre plot by the Black Shadow organization that gave birth to Frances seemed so outlandish, yet we could never find anything to contradict it. The blood tests, and most of all, Todd’s experience with his late mother and her ancestors.” He paused, deep in thought. “The Frances Kane who went to Thanagar with us may not have been my daughter, but she did say that she had taken the place of the real Frances Kane.”

“Are you going to tell Jennie-Lynn and Todd?”

Alan stood, and a green glow surrounded him. “Not until I’m sure.” The glow dissipated, and his robe and lounge pants were replaced by the many-colored costume of the Green Lantern. “But I will find out the truth.”

Chapter 3

By noon, Green Lantern was descending over the small town of Blue Valley, Nebraska. His first stop was the town’s Police Department. He landed before the small, gray stone building and walked inside. An officer sat at a desk, typing up a report.

“Excuse me, I’m looking for information on a young woman who lives near here.”

The officer didn’t look up from his typewriter. “Sure thing. If you can give me just a minute to finish this up…” His voice trailed off as his two index fingers moved slowly over the keyboard, hunting for the elusive letters needed to complete his report. It took him several minutes to finish his task. When he was done, he pulled the paper from the typewriter with a flourish. “There! That didn’t take too long, did it?” He turned to look at the tall figure, patiently waiting before the desk. “Yipe! Green Lantern?”

“Guilty as charged,” replied the wielder of the power ring with a smile.

“Good grief! I’m so sorry I kept you waiting.” Sergeant Bill Malone glanced around. “Are you here by yourself, or is the rest of the Justice Society with you? This isn’t one of those big alien attacks or anything like that, is it?”

“No, I’m just here looking for some information, Officer, umm,” the hero paused, reading the name off the officer’s badge. “Malone. I’m trying to track down a young woman named Frances Kane. I understand she lived around here.”

“Oh, yeah, Frankie Kane. Sheesh, now there’s a real odd case for you!” Seeing the stern look on Green Lantern’s face, Sergeant Malone backtracked. “I mean, here she was, your normal teenager, and the next thing we know, her dad and brother are dead and her mother is blaming poor Frankie for it. Her mom practically drove the poor kid out of her life. Last I heard, though, they patched things up before Mrs. Kane passed away.”

Green Lantern nodded. This all agreed with what the false Frances Kane had told he and his family. “Why did Mrs. Kane blame Frances for the deaths?”

“She kept talking about how Frankie, err, that is, Frances, was some sort of devil or something. Said she made stuff fly around the house and things like that.”

“Where did the accident happen? Could you direct me to the site?” A green-tinted map of the area appeared in the air between the two men.

“It was out on county route five, about a half mile past Howlett Hill Road.” Malone pointed to a spot on the map, and the image changed to an enlarged view of the immediate area. “Yeah, the car was in that ravine, just past the Miller’s driveway ” hey! Maps don’t show stuff like that!”

“They do when I use the power ring to store a picture image of the whole area as I fly over,” responded Green Lantern. “I thought it might be useful in my search.”

“Can you give me a phone number, so I can call you the next time widow Humphries wanders off. That poor old lady takes off walking some days, and it takes us hours to track her down.” Malone looked back at the map. “Yeah, that’s where we found them.” A bright dot appeared in a spot that he touched with his fingertip.

Green Lantern reached out and took the officer’s hand in his own. “Can you spare me an hour or so? I’ll return you here immediately if there’s an emergency.”

“Sure thing!”

The glowing image swelled up, until it wrapped around the two men. When it faded, they were gone.

Chapter 4

A green sphere soared through the air over Blue Valley, coming to rest beside a ravine outside of town. It dissolved, leaving behind a uniformed police officer, and the tall, caped figure of the Green Lantern.

“Holy smokes! What a way to travel!” Sergeant Bill Malone bent over, his hands on his knees, catching his breath. Green Lantern grinned.

“You get used to it, after a while.” He brought his left hand up in front of his face, and concentrated on it. The ring flared, and an image appeared of a car in the ravine. The glow intensified, and the car backed out of the ravine and on to the road. About sixty feet from the ravine, and burst of energy erupted briefly around the car. The scene froze.

“What the heck is that?” asked the police officer.

“According to Frances Kane, that’s what happened when she, her father, and her brother crashed. Latent traces of chemicals from the car, disturbances in the soil, and tire patterns on the road surface all match up. She had a form of electromagnetic powers, but they were latent. A man known as the Magnetic Marauder found out about it, and tried to tap into that power. The accident was caused by an electromagnetic energy burst when he tried it. From up there.” Green Lantern pointed, and Malone noticed a green tendril extending from the energy burst, extending to a silhouette of a figure high above them. “So, it wasn’t Fran’s fault that they died. Doesn’t help me find her now, though.”

“You know, Frankie left Blue Valley for a a few months. She came back when she found out her mother was dying, but from what I hear, she was living in Kansas City for a while. After her mother’s funeral, I heard she was selling the house, and taking an apartment in town.” As the green image faded away, Malone turned to the hero. “So, how did you come to find she was missing?”

“A short time ago, we met, and I found out that we may be related. Then, the Frances Kane that I knew was revealed to be an imposter, but she implied that she had taken the place of the real Frances Kane.”

“Whoa. I had no idea Frankie was so well-connected.” The radio unit on Malone’s belt came to life. He lifted it to his ear for a moment, then looked at Green Lantern. “Umm, that was the county dispatcher. They’ve got a problem over to Belmont School.”

Once again, a green globe formed around the two men. “Just point the way.”

Chapter 5

“Todd? Are you there?” Jennie-Lynn Hayden poked her head in through the door, looking around the apartment. She pulled her key from the knob and stepped inside. From the small bedroom that Todd used as a meditation and exercise room, she heard the strains of Pink Floyd. Advancing to the door, she knocked lightly.

“C’mon in, sis.” She opened the door, finding the room in darkness. Heavy curtains covered the one window, and the only light in the room came from a florescent black-light bulb above the door. In the center of the room, on a mat of woven bamboo, sat Todd Rice. His bare legs were drawn up under his body, his outstretched arms angled down so his wrists rested on his knees. As light spilled into the room, he unfolded his legs and stood up. “I sort of figured you’d be here sooner or later.”

Jennie leaned against the doorframe and crossed her arms. “Yeah, all this stuff that went down yesterday, well, I figured you’d want to talk. I know I do.”

Together, they went out to the apartment’s small kitchen. Todd took glasses from a cabinet and a bottle of orange juice from the refrigerator, pouring a glass for each of them before he sat down at the table with his sister. “It’s about Frankie, isn’t it?”

“Good God, Todd, how the hell did she manage to fool us all for nearly a year?” Jennie laid her head on one hand. “She gave us that story about freak magnetic powers, and her dad and brother being killed. Then her mother died, just before we found her. Yeah, right!”

“I was thinking about it, too, sis. But I realized that she wasn’t the one who claimed she was our sister. Remember?” Todd jumped up, ran out to the living room , and came back with a large, ornate book that had been resting in a place of honor on the bookcase. “It was Mama and her ancestors who told us about Frankie’s origin.”

“Then, if the Frances Kane that we knew was a fake, but our mother’s family has proof that the real Frances Kane is our sister, then what’s happened to her?”

Laying the book on the table, Todd concentrated for a second. His body was encased by shadow, which cleared revealing a figure with a featureless black face, clad in a bejeweled costume of black, gray, and midnight blue. “We need to go to the realm of the Silver Phoenix and find out.”

“Todd? What happened to your costume? That’s your original one.” Jennie’s birthmark flared, leaving her clad in a white and emerald costume. Her hair and skin were now a brilliant, emerald green.

“To tell you the truth, I’m a little uneasy. Everything that happened last year, finding our mother and her family, discovering that I have powers based in light as well as darkness, that was all tied in with our meeting Frankie.” Despite the apparent lack of facial features, Jade could see the concern on her brother’s face. “All of that, oh, I don’t know, but it might have all been staged, you know? So, I thought I would go back to basics, go with what I know works.”

“You really gave this a lot of thought last night, didn’t you?”

“All night long, Sis.” Obsidian laid his hands on the book, and Jade laid her hands over his. “Let’s go.”

Chapter 6

At the Belmont School, in Blue Valley, Green Lantern touched down along with Police Sergeant Bill Malone. A crowd was gathered outside the school, a crowd whose attention was quickly drawn to the costumed hero.

“Nice going, Bill,” whispered another police officer. “How did you managed to pull in the Green Lantern?”

“Just luck, Steve,” replied Malone. “He was here, checking up on Frances Kane. Now, what’s going on here?”

Clearing his throat to make sure he had both Malone’s and Green Lantern’s attention, Officer Steve Turo explained. “About an hour after school started this morning, Principal Strickland had a call on the school intercom. It was Pete Jenkins, who retired as the school’s custodian last month. He directed her to walk down to the cafeteria, and look in through the window on the door.”

“What did she find?” asked Green Lantern.

“About forty students, seated at the tables, with Jenkins up on the stage in front. He had a couple of rifles, a pistol, and something that looks like a crude bomb on a table.”

“Good God!” exclaimed emerald warrior.

Malone shook his head. “Old Pete always did seem a little odd in the head. Scared the hell out of me when I was a kid, I can tell you that.”

Playing a hunch, Green Lantern asked “Did Jenkins retire by his own choice?”

“No,” said the principal. “I think Pete would work here until he dropped over in his boiler room. State law requires all employees retire at age sixty-five. He held out until the very end. It, it wasn’t pleasant. Now, he says he wants a half-million dollars, to make up for the fact that we won’t let him work anymore.”

“He’s not the first person forced out of a job to try this.” Green Lantern shook his head. “I wish I could say he’s the last one.” The ring on his left hand flared to life, as he lifted into the air. The last the officers and school officials saw of him, he was swooping high over the school, then dropping to the roof.

Chapter 7

When Jade and Obsidian arrived in the realm of the Silver Phoenix order, they were met by the spirit of their mother. She seemed unsurprised at their arrival.

“My children, welcome. We have been expecting you.”

“Expecting us?” asked Jade. “Why?”

Rose looked uncomfortable. “We, well, we have uncovered signs that we made a serious error with regard to Frances. Portents, if you will, that she is not who, or what, we believed her to be.”

“Mama, that’s why we’ve come! We’ve just found out that she wasn’t who we thought she was. The woman we knew was actually a creature from another world, but she hinted that she had taken the place of the real Frances Kane.” As they walked, Obsidian’s face reverted from featureless shadow to the genial features of Todd Rice. “We know you believed her to be the product of the Black Shadows’ Blood of Thorns project, described in that book you recovered. We’d like to look at that book.”

“Of course, my dear. Ellen has it now, she’s been reviewing it to see if we made an error in our translation.” Rose grew pensive as they walked.

“Mama, this is hard for you, isn’t it?” asked Obsidian.

“Yes, it is. When we found that the Black Shadow order had used me in an attempt to create offspring with my Thorn powers, the only thing that helped me get over the shock was knowing that Frances had grown into a good, young woman.” Rose stopped, and turned to face her children. “Now, we find that Frances was some creature. I, I just don’t know what to think.”

For the first time, Todd and Jennie Lynn saw the quiet, tentative woman Rose Canton had been in life. They reached out to hold her, to reassure her. “Whatever has happened with Frances, it’s not your fault Mama.”

A short time later, Todd and Jennie Lynn sat studying the Blood of Thorns journal. The language on the paper was in decipherable, but a spell cast by a small group of Silver Phoenix mages provided a translation that hovered a few inches off the paper. The book detailed plans to take genetic material from Rose, both when she was in her more passive, Rose persona and when in her more aggressive, evil Thorn state, and combine it with material from several males, including Green Lantern and other members of the Justice Society. The outcome of the project, according the journal, was mostly unsuccessful, with one exception: a child combining the material of Rose and Green Lantern, who was implanted as a six-celled embryo in a woman who had unsuccessfully tried for three years to have a second child. Todd closely examined the script under the translation, a puzzled look on his face.

“What is it, twinnie?” asked Jennie.

“Something’s not right here. Can’t you see it?” Todd’s features disappeared in a mask of darkness, as he allowed his powers to manifest themselves. When he spoke again, his voice had lost all tonal quality. “That’s not the real script.” He placed a hand over the page, and a miasma of silvery light and pitch darkness flowed from his palm. When it cleared, the text on the page was clearly different. The translation disappeared, replaced by letters of silver flame.

“The project was a total failure. None of the implanted embryos ever developed,” whispered Jennie Lynn. She looked up at her brother. “How did you do that?”

“I’m not sure. Something in me just told me, that it wasn’t right. When I looked at it, I could see it was a forgery. When I combined the light-based magic that I’ve been learning to use with the, I don’t know what you’d call it, the senses I have in my shadow form, I was able to alter Ellen’s spell to force the real text to appear.”

“Both the book, and the ciphers that the Silver Phoenix mystics used to translate it came from the realm of the Black Shadows. If it was deliberately altered to provide a cover for the Phoenix, then that’s where we’ll have to go to find the truth.” Obsidian stood up, reaching for his sister’s hand. “I think we need to let Alan and Molly know about this.”

Taking their leave of Rose and others of the Silver Phoenix order, Todd and Jennie left for home.

Chapter 8

Paul Jenkins stood on the stage in the Belmont School, watching the children in their seats. All of the entrances to the cafeteria, all double doors with panic bars, were securely chained and padlocked. The two doors that allowed entrance to the backstage area from a hallway were locked with padlocks on steel hasps that he had installed during the night. The only remaining entrance, through the kitchen, had been hastily booby-trapped with stout cord and pans that would alert him to anybody opening the door. He had left that, in case he needed to get himself, or the children, out in a hurry.

“Remember what I told you: if I press this button, you all go to the kitchen and out that back door.” He repeated this every few minutes. The button was on a box connected to a bundle of dynamite sticks. “Just like in the fire drills, everybody lines up and walks out, and nobody gets hurt.”

“I’d like to include you in that promise, Mr. Jenkins.” The retired janitor looked up, to see a figure passing through the ceiling in a burst of green light. As he reached for the button, a small green hand formed over the switch box, blocking his way. Another green hand grasped the revolver in his hand, ejecting the cylinder and letting the bullets fall to the floor.

“No! I was close, so close!” Jenkins fell to his knees as Green Lantern descended and stood before him.

“No, you never were. If I weren’t here, the police would have come in. Either they would have shot you, or you would have set off that bomb and killed yourself.” Laying a hand on Jenkins’ shoulder, he added, “I know, you didn’t want to hurt the kids, I heard you.”

Jenkins looked out at the scared children. “Go on, out through the kitchen. Just like I told you.” As they moved out of the cafeteria, he looked up at Green Lantern. “So, what the devil am I supposed to do now?”

“Look, I know what it’s like. Despair. Feeling useless. Believe me, I have been there.” Giving the older-looking man a hand up, Green Lantern said, “I think I can arrange for you to be sentenced to community service. If I pull a few strings, I may be able to arrange for you to do that service in Gotham City, if you don’t mind traveling. There, I can keep an eye on you, give you some support, and nobody there will know what has happened here. I happen to know that Gotham Broadcasting could use some help in the building services department, particularly in the day care center that they recently opened for the employees.”

Police officers came dashing into the room as the children left, weapons drawn. At the sight of Green Lantern leading Paul Jenkins down the steps from the stage, Bill Malone holstered his gun. “Geez, Lantern, I figured you’d swat him with a giant green hand, or at least seal him up in a big green bubble.”

“I can do that, when it’s necessary.” Looking at Jenkins, he added, “It wasn’t.”

When they got outside, Jenkins was led to a police car and taken away by county deputies. Green Lantern offered Bill Malone a trip back to his station house, which was gratefully accepted. When they arrived, a light was flashing on the station’s answering machine. As Green Lantern started to leave, Malone pressed the button to play back the messages.

“Blue Valley, this is Captain Fred Maynard, Kansas City Police Department. Lee Memorial Hospital just called here, about a Jane Doe they’ve had in a coma for the last eleven months. She just woke up this morning, and gave her name as Frances Kane, from down your way. We need someone who can give us a positive ID. Please give me a call, so we can make arrangements.”

Before Malone could turn toward the door, there was a burst of verdant light as Green Lantern streaked into the air, heading east.

Chapter 9

When Obsidian and Jade left the realm of the Silver Phoenix, they returned to Todd’s apartment. When they arrived, they discovered a visitor waiting for them.

“There you are! I hoped that you would not be long in returning, for I don’t know how long I could remain here waiting amongst your charming early K-Mart decor.” The visitor was tall, thin, dressed in quaint, old-fashioned black clothing, complete with a high silk hat. Cradled against his crossed legs as he sat on the sofa was a black cane, tipped in silver. He looked at them over the small lenses of his dark glasses. “Do you have any idea of the risks you are taking, young man?”

“The Shade? What are you doing here?” asked Todd. Silver fire danced around his clenched hands. “I know that Jack and David say you’re all right, but I haven’t forgotten that you led those kids to Jade last year!”

“Ah, an understandable lack of trust. Truly, Karkull’s desire to use your sister to rejuvenate that colorful lot of criminals and mischief-makers was not entirely unknown to me, and I am grateful that worthless whelp Rayner served the purpose instead.” Lowering his glasses to look at the young lady with the green skin, he added “To take such beauty from this world would be such a waste.”

Jade gave him a look that clearly said “Don’t even think about it.”

“So, what’s the deal? From what I hear, you rarely leave Opal City these days.”

“Yes, dear Opal, truly a shining star among cities. But it isn’t this realm I am concerned with today. Rather, it is that world into which I was born which brings me to this rather charming domicile today. Do you know what you risk, tapping the ShadowRealm’s power as you did today?”

“The ShadowRealm? That’s where you’re from?” asked Todd, reverting to his normal self.

“As are you, apparently. Or, at least, you have some link to that world.” Seeing Todd’s incredulous look, the Shade laughed. “What, did you really think the Starheart was the source of your ability to walk in the shadows, and to call upon the psychic emanations of the ShadowRealm to make others confront their own nightmares? Yes, boy, when my long-ago associates tampered with young Rose Canton to create their agent, they infused her with the ability to tap the shadows in a very limited fashion. Surely, even one such as you can understand how the darkness can corrupt the creations of nature, no? That link was passed to you, amplified by the power of the Starheart.”

“I came to suspect something like that, when we found that the Thorn was created by the Black Shadows – say! You were a part of them?”

“Yes, a long time ago. I made the grievous mistake of falling in love with one destined for Lord Umbra, and found myself banished. In the century and a half since then, I have come to appreciate that their ways are anathema to my own sensibilities.”

“Right, so that’s why you joined up with the Injustice Society!” scoffed Jennie Lynn, even as she willed herself to resume normal coloration and her regular clothes re-appeared covering her white and green costume.

“No, I did that because ennui sets in after a while, and I needed a challenge. The heroic mystery-men of the time seemed to have the upper hand, so I allied myself with the underdogs.”

“From what Starman has told us, I can believe that. But why come here now? We’re in the middle of something, and-”

The Shade held up a black-gloved hand. “And you are about to go charging into the ShadowRealm, to discover the truth about the woman you believed to be your sister.” He smiled as their expressions verified his supposition. “Oh, yes, I know about her. The Phoenix has had dealings with the Black Shadows before.”

At this point, the phone rang. Todd answered it. “Y’ello. Oh, hi Dad, what’s up?” A long pause. “Oh, my God. Where are you? We’ll meet you there. Umm, we’ll be bringing someone else along, he has some answers on this, too.” As he hung up the phone, Todd said “Let’s go, you too, Shade. Dad has located Frances Kane, the real Frances Kane, in Kansas City.”

Chapter 10

The young woman lay in a hospital bed, weak, but otherwise healthy. She had thought of trying to explain her situation to the doctors and nurses, but realized that they would quickly lock her in a mental ward. Instead, she had simply identified herself, and was intending to wait until she could be released before contacting any of the people she knew would be waiting for word about her.

She didn’t need to wait that long.

She heard voices outside the door of the ward where she had spent the past eleven months. She, of course, had not been aware that she was in the hospital. So far as she knew, up until the previous day she had been living a somewhat extraordinary life. In the past eleven months, she had made discoveries about herself and her family that astounded her. The discovery that she had spent all of that time in a coma brought the realization that those events had occurred only in her imagination.

That realization was not entirely correct.

The door opened and Doctor Tallman walked in with someone who was immediately familiar to her from her imagined life of the past year. “Green Lantern? What are you doing here?”

The doctor retreated to a far corner of the near-empty ward. Green Lantern stepped up, and took a seat in a glowing green chair that appeared in place as he sat. “Frances Kane? I, um, I need to talk with you, about some things that have happened to me in the past year. Things that appear to be related to how you wound up here.”

“It wasn’t a dream, was it? My mother dying, and Todd and Jennie coming to my home,” whispered Frances. “That Phoenix creature, it really did all those things, didn’t it?”

There was a brief commotion outside the room, followed by three newcomers entering with a nurse. :”Todd? Jennie? Who is this?”

“You know us?” asked Jennie Lynn. “How-”

“It’s OK, Frances. This is a friend, who may be able to shed a little light on the situation.” The Shade grimaced as Todd said this. “Umm, that is, he has some information that may help straighten things out.”

“OK, how about if we all calm down.” Green Lantern willed up chairs for the new arrivals. “Frances, this may go easier if you can just tell us what you remember, from the time just before you came to the hospital, and what you think you remember since then.”

“It’s so strange, like the memories of two people in my head. I remember being in my apartment here in Kansas City, I was making dinner when this burst of light appeared in my kitchen. I thought I had blown up my toaster oven or something, but this, I don’t know, this thing was there. It was indescribable, but then it started changing, until it looked just like me. It told me that it needed me to get the Starheart, and I had no idea what it was talking about. Then it said something about having to immerse itself in my life totally, for its plan to work. At that point, it was like I traded places, and I was looking at myself through its eyes. I watched myself collapse on the floor. I/it picked my body up, and brought it to the hospital here. Then, I drove back to Blue Valley, and made peace with my mother before she died. It was just after that when I met you all. But this is all crazy, isn’t it? I’ve been in the hospital all this time, haven’t I?”

From the corner, the doctor spoke up. “Miss Kane, I was assigned to your case. We could find no real cause for the coma, but your electroencephalograph readings were unlike anything I’ve ever seen. From what you’ve been saying, it almost sounds like your consciousness was transplanted into this, for want of a better word, doppelganger.”

Green Lantern nodded. “We know now that the Phoenix, for that’s who took your place, was after the Starheart. That is the source of my ring’s power, and its power was passed on to my children.” He gestured, indicating Todd and Jennie Lynn. “Apparently, it used a sort of ‘deep-cover’ method to get close to us, suppressing everything of its own personality until a pre-appointed time or set of circumstances.”

“Does, does this mean that I really am your daughter?”

Before Green Lantern could respond, Todd spoke up. “No. We found where the information that the Silver Phoenix order based that conclusion upon was falsified. The Phoenix used the power of the bit of the Starheart it already possessed to create a false impression that fooled Mama and the Silver Phoenix mystics.”

“The lad is right, Lantern,” added the Shade, impressed.

“So where does that leave us now?” asked Jennie Lynn.

“It leaves us with a young lady who needs to get back to her life,” replied her father. “And, it leaves us with a group that has meddled in our lives for the last time.”

“You mean?” asked Todd, his face going black as he asked.

“You don’t seriously mean to-” said the Shade, incredulous.

“Yes. We are taking this battle to the Black Shadows. Now.”

Chapter 11

It had not even been twenty-four hours since their return from Thanagar, and the Scott family was preparing for another battle. A battle far from the world they knew, yet as close as the shadow under a bed.

“But, I cannot go back there. Don’t you understand what banished means?” exclaimed the Shade.

“Look, I doubt any of us will exactly be welcomed there. You can travel to the ShadowRealm more easily than any of us, and you know your way around there.” Obsidian grinned, a pale line in the darkness of his face. “And hey, maybe you can get a little payback to this Lord Umbra you mentioned earlier, and win back your lady friend.”

“Ah, the perpetual romantic, I see.” The Shade cocked his hat slightly to one side and straightened his glasses on the bridge of his long node. “Very well, then.”

Raising his cane, he swept it in a circle. Inky blackness spilled forth, enveloping the quartet. When the darkness dissipated in the light, they were gone.

Elsewhere, it was the opposite effect. From nowhere, a swath of light cut through the darkness. As it moved, figures appeared in it. The light dissolved away, leaving four people in its place.

“They will know I have returned, we cannot stay in one place for any appreciable amount of time.” The Shade looked around, getting his bearings. Straddling his cane, he rode it like a witch’s broomstick. “This way. Remember, this is not like your realm. There is no solid world, only islands of solidified shadow where other shades may dwell. Not life as you know it, we are merely knots of consciousness that come into being and dissipate when we feel our existence is no longer worthwhile.”

“So, anything we encounter, isn’t really living?” asked Green Lantern. “Including yourself?”

“In a manner of speaking, yes. Though I prefer to continue with my semblance of life for sometime yet.”

“Whoa, what a rush!” said Todd, taking to the air. “I feel like this darkness is feeding me, giving me power enough to take on Solomon Grundy with one arm tied behind my back.”

“Let’s not get too cocky, there.” Todd turned to look at his father, flying alongside him. “Treat every opponent as if it’s your toughest one.”

“Yes, Obi-wan-Daddy,” said Jade with a slight grin. She had noticed that her power pulse seemed dimmed here. “Any increase you feel, Todd, may make up for a loss of power on my part. What about you, Dad? Do you feel any weaker here?”

Green Lantern focused his attention on his ring for a second. “No, not really.”

“Up ahead, there. The Black Shadow Society is headquartered there.” The Shade indicated a large tower of black glass. Even in the darkness of the ShadowRealm, it stood out. At the top, a large flame burned in the turret. Willing a pair of binoculars into existence, Green Lantern spotted several dark figures in the turret. “They will be able to manipulate the darkness around you, remember that.”

Streaking through the air, all that was visible was a pair of faintly glowing green coronas surrounding Jade and Green Lantern. Obsidian spotted this, and instinctively willed his cape out and around them. They vanished from view, yet he knew there were there. “What’s that about manipulating the darkness?” he asked.

“You catch on quick, lad.” The Shade smiled. “We may get out of here with our skins intact, after all.”

They streaked toward the tower, coming through a wall of polished glass that had appeared to be transparent. It shattered, sending pieces flying all over the room. Twelve figures turned toward them. “He’s here!” cried one, turning to face a thirteenth figure sitting on a black onyx throne.

“Indeed.” In the darkness, a pair of red eyes glowed malevolently. “Shadoo, after all these years, you dare to return.”

“My Lord Umbra, I come to ask only one minor indulgence.” Everybody froze. Obsidian turned to face the Shade, expecting betrayal.

“An indulgence? And just what do you think I can do for you?” asked the leader of the Black Shadows.

Faster than mortal eyes could follow, the Shade’s hand dove into his morning coat, pulling something from his vest pocket. “You can die!” he screamed, turning on the tungsten hand torch. The light stabbed through the darkness, striking Umbra full in the face. A scream tore through the inky blackness, as Jade and Green Lantern let loose with torrents of green flame at their opponents. Lord Umbra tried to pull the blackness around himself, to shield against the light. Obsidian spread his arms, absorbing the shadows into himself. His body seemed to swell as the darkness around him abated. As shadowy figures advanced on him, he pushed outward. Waves of darkness rushed out, carrying the figures away.

On his throne, Umbra finally gathered enough darkness to himself to fight back. A bolt of shadow struck the Shade, tossing him through the air toward the opening in the wall. Obsidian rose up and flew over to interpose himself, catching the one-time villain in mid-air.

“My thanks, lad. Now, work with what you’ve seen. They cannot stand the light.” gasped Shade as he passed out.

“Dad! Your oath!” cried Obsidian.

Understanding, Green Lantern looked at the half dozen creatures facing him. They reminded him greatly of the shadow demons who had menaced this world and others during the Crisis some time back. Making a mental note to investigate that possibility later, he raised his hands before him. His body was enveloped in bright green flame, and the ring on his left hand glowed with an intensity painful to the creatures of the ShadowRealm. “And I shall shed my light over the dark things, for the dark things cannot stand the light. The light of the Green Lantern.” At the conclusion of this oath, the flame was filling the room, driving the creatures to the floor. Jade thrust her hand forward, power pulse glowing, adding to the fire, directing blasts at specific shadow creatures.

“Fah, your light may destroy them, but not me!” growled Lord Umbra. The darkness came alive, eating away at the green flame.

Handing the Shade’s unconscious body over the his sister, Obsidian said “Go! Get him away from here, he’s our ticket home!” He urged his father to follow, saying “We’ve crippled them. Let’s go.”

“No, boy, they may go, but you are touched by the darkness. You may not be one of us yet, but you shall be!” Umbra gestured, and tendrils of shadow reached out to grasp Obsidian. “Do you deny it? It is our gift that powers you, the darkness within your soul just as surely as it is in my own.” The young hero was drawn back to the onyx throne, and turned to face its occupant. “Do you dare deny it?”

Realizing that Obsidian had been drawn back, Green Lantern raced back to the tower. He arrived in time to see his son bow his head before Lord Umbra.

“Yes, I have your darkness within me,” he said, in a low voice. “But I also have the light that is my mother’s birthright, and the honor and the will that is my father’s, and they all make me who I am today!” His voice rose to a dull roar as he spoke, and his hands came up before him. Once again, the darkness gathered about them, but this time the darkness was laced with silvery fire. “Which is why I’ll never be one of you!” he yelled, as shadowy, silver fire shot forth, striking Lord Umbra in the chest. This was joined by a gout of green fire, a blast which blew him back through the wall, out of the tower. His screams were heard throughout the realm, ending only when his form was totally consumed by green and silver fire.

Chapter 12

Obsidian and Green Lantern flew out of the tower, sending bolts of shadow-laced silver fire and green fire back behind them to blow the tower into a shower of glowing fragments that dispersed into the darkness. Far ahead, they spied a glowing green isle. Speeding toward it, they met up with Jade and a recovering Shade.

“Good Lord, you’ve done it. Umbra and that council of his have held this Realm for centuries. Not that there might not be someone just as repugnant waiting to take over now.” Pushing his glasses back up his nose, he smiled. “Still, perhaps, I might yet find my Lady Nightfall.”

“You mean to say you’re going to stay here, Shade?” Obsidian sounded doubtful.

“For a while, at least. Oh, don’t get your hopes up, you’ve not seen the last of me. After all, I can’t expect this young Starman to take proper care of Opal City without my guidance. I owe you now, Obsidian, for my very life.” the Shade tipped his hat. “Such as it is.”

Jade started to protest. “But wait, you have to get us home, first!”

“No, I think I have that covered, Sis.” Obsidian raised his cloak, spreading it wide with his arms. It seemed to grow, enveloping his sister, his father, and himself. As the Shade watched, the cloak rippled, then collapsed upon itself, leaving nothing in its place.

“Yes, I do believe, the lad has a great deal of potential.”

Chapter 13

Frances Kane was sleeping when the shadows stirred in her hospital room. Like an inky curtain, the shadows drew aside, and three costumed figures stepped out. There was a brief burst of green light, and the costumes dissolved away from Alan Scott and Jennie Lynn Hayden. The third reached up, to pull away the cowl that covered the back, top and sides of his head as his face came into view in the blackness that had been there before. Todd Rice shook out the thick, wavy brown hair and let out a sigh.

“Nice job, twinnie,” whispered Jennie Lynn. “Going to make frequent trips back there now?”

“I don’t think so.” Todd shrugged. “I could feel this enormous power while we were in the ShadowRealm, but now that we’re back, it’s gone.” He held up a hand, and traces of silver light danced around it. “Guess I’ll just have to settle for my old shadow powers and my light-based powers. I can live with that.”

“We’ll have to let Rose and her ancestors know that the Black Shadow order is defeated,” said Alan.

“Todd?” All heads turned toward Frances. “I’m glad you’re all right. I know we aren’t related, yet…”

“Hey, Frankie, don’t worry about it. We’ve got all the time in the world to get to know each other now, for real.” Todd looked at his father and sister. “All of us.”

 

The End