31st October 2010
16:08 GMT -5
That didn't take long.
The resources of the Justice League are
useful to me. Having trainers and legal coverage and… People who will drag my broken body to a hospital if things go badly wrong, those are useful to me. They're not
essential. There is, in fact, a grand total of one man I can't just walk away from.
Green Lantern Abin Sur, Sector 2814.
Mardi Gras skin, inhumanly large eyes with yellow sclera and no iris, a far better Lantern than me -
at the moment- and someone who could end my career
very easily and
very permanently by reporting me to the Guardians. Even if all they do is take the ring and Lantern from me, I'll still be stuck… Mundane. Oh, I've got.. money, and mostly-legal paperwork. I won't starve or be arrested for existing, but
this is my new normal. None of the alternate empowerment techniques I've looked at match a power ring because I haven't been
trying to match a power ring, I've been trying to supplement it.
Lantern Sur bows his head slightly. "I see what they meant about your smile. Are you really that worried?"
"Yes."
He nods slowly. "I had thought that we had a better relationship than that. What is it that concerns you so?"
"I can evade every other member of the Justice League indefinitely."
"Have you done anything which might mean that you
have to evade me?"
"No, but you're
still here."
He looks at me… Sadly?
It's not much progress, but I'll take it.
Then he raises his right hand and
calls up… Some kind of report on a
construct page that I… Can't read for some reason.
"Yes, I see. I did note a change in your attitude when you used this-." He makes eye contact with me for a moment. "'Augmentative formula one seven three dash B'-" Thank you. "-but I thought it was a reaction to the change in your life circumstances. Will you allow me to scan your brain?"
I have my own scans, of course. And every record he's shown me suggests that doing more than scan with a green ring is an expert level thing, and despite his long service Lantern Sur isn't actually an 'expert' with a ring in any particular field. But he's either decided that turning me back by any means is necessary or he's really just concerned, and this is the man who founded the Indigo Lantern Corps.
It still
really rankles, though. That's a trait of psychopathy that… Alright, I wouldn't exactly miss it.
I don't bother trying to smile, but I
do take off my ring and put it down on the work bench before fanning out my hands. I couldn't fight him if he was determined to take it anyway, and a show of trust-.
And a show of submission, yes.
No.
Might be just the ticket.
He doesn't scan me immediately, so, good?
I nod. "Go ahead."
"Thank you." He raises his ring and
green light strobes over my head, then
slowly shift down to the rest of my body. "Hm. Yes, you're a good deal stronger now, and your brain… The patterns of activity are very similar to those of a psychopath."
"Yes, I know. But my behaviour-."
"Has
changed, even if you haven't done anything that would require us to detain you. You do understand why I am concerned, don't you?"
I nod. "I was concerned as well, then I checked that I could recognise when a thing was wrong even if I didn't really
feel it any longer. I submitted mission reports at the time."
"And I read them. I-."
"Paul, I-" Artemis shoves the door open, and then spots Lantern Sur. "-want-. Ed. Ah, Green Lantern."
She didn't know he was here, so… Another attempt to persuade me.. without other people being around? I suppose that she's most likely to recognise how psychopaths behave, but I'd assumed that she was most familiar with the
violent sort of psychopath.
"Miss Artemis. Do you.. wish to speak privately with Paul?"
"That-. Are you talking him out of this?"
Lantern Sur considers me for a moment. "I don't think that I can, if he has set his mind to it. As he is now, we can't form the sort of emotional bond that would make him simply accept my suggestion."
I can't stop myself from snorting. "You say that like it's a
bad thing."
"You say that like it's
not. Have you considered the impact of not being able to form relationships with people will have-."
I glance at Artemis. "I
can."
"Not remotely normal ones." He turns and walks towards the door. "Please, for your own sake, consider it."
I keep.. watching Artemis as Lantern Sur leaves and the door shuts behind him. She looks… Awkward.
"Yeah, I-."
"Given the behaviour you've seen from your father's associates, I'm… A risk."
"It's not-.
Like that. They're messed up! They make themselves and everyone around them-."
"Fine."
She stops, mid-rant. "Huh."
"I want you. As I am..
now, anyway. But this is a big deal for you. So… Okay. I…"
"Oh."
"Yeah. But… When I removed the… When I used it, I didn't really notice that it was gone. Adding it back in… I'll have to do it gradually, and I'm… Probably going to be an emotional mess."
I
call the ring back to my finger.
Ring,
notify Kaldur that I won't be available for a week.
Sure thing, sport. I think you're making the right-.
Don't. I'm not happy about being in this situation, but I need to be realistic.
Okay. Standing by.
"But when I.. do this… Assuming I'm still interested, am I boyfriend material?"
"I-." I think she's considering just saying 'yes', but then decides to be honest instead. "Maybe. We can.. try it. Just-. Don't inject yourself with.. more things."
"But-." It's a trust issue. Even for the safe things, if I can't-. "Okay. No injections."
I
fabricate myself a cushioned pad and set it on the floor before lying on it and
strapping myself in.
"Ah… What's.. that?"
"I'm going to be manually changing the structure of my brain. I'm expecting seizures and extremes of emotion until things settle down. Which means that I can't just strap myself in with the
ring, because I won't be able to focus my emotions."
"You.. don't want to do this in the medical..?"
"No, I just want to get it done. Ring, re-.
Slowly, revert."
But smart does not always mean wise, after all...
