Tales of the Green Lantern Corps #2

The man known as Evil Star floated in the midst of an asteroid field, his proto-clones, the Starlings, doing cartwheels and somersaults through the void. They looked like child-like versions of their master, though there was no innocence in their hard stares and cold laughter. When they spoke, it was in dark, brooding mutterings that sounded like the gibbering of lunatics.

Evil Star himself ignored them. They were often his only companions, but they were mere extensions of himself, not true friends. He had no friends, nor did he need any -- since the day he invented the powerful Star Band, he had cared nothing for the feelings of others. He had become addicted to the power and the youth that the Star Band gave him... and, unknowingly, he went mad. He had stood by and watched as his wife and son grew old and died, he had terrorized his world until they had risen up against him and he had finally slain all six million of his fellow Aorans.

And still he had craved more power.

Over the years, this had led him to clash repeatedly with the Green Lantern Corps and their sometime rivals, the Darkstars. The name of Evil Star, once feared throughout Sector 2814, was now synonymous with failure and insanity.

Evil Star turned to the nearest Starling, who was pointing at a glinting object in the distance. "Thank you, little one. It seems that our mysterious ally is true to his word, after all."

The object slowed as it grew nearer, finally coming to a rest in Evil Star's outstretched palm. A Qwardian power ring, its yellow energy every bit as powerful as a Green Lantern's. Evil Star could feel its power calling to him, enhancing his own. It was so delicious and rich, different from that of a Green Lantern, but just as satis--

The disembodied voice made Evil Star snap back to reality. He clutched the power ring. "What?"

"Don't forget our agreement. I will give you the power you crave, but only after I have been restored from my current state... Betray me before that and you'll regret it."

Evil Star looked around at his Starlings, who were casting wary glances about themselves. They heard the anger in their ally's voice, as well. "You know I won't betray you. What do you want me to do next?"

Star Sapphire stared at Hal Jordan's lifeless body, emerald energy spewing forth from his neck. His head hurtled towards her and she reached out with a hand to clutch it by its hair. She could scarcely believe it -- after all these years, she'd finally destroyed the man to whom Carol Ferris had given her heart.

His face registered his last thought clearly enough: pain, mingled with shock and fury. "The only thing that disappoints me, Hal, is that you didn't bleed. Why is that?"

Hal Jordan's eyes narrowed suddenly and a wry smile twisted his lips. "Because I'm not human anymore, Sapphire -- and, to paraphrase Mr. Twain, the reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated!"

Hal's body suddenly jumped to life, backhanding Sapphire hard across the face. Blood spewed from her torn lip as Hal's head tumbled into his own arms.

Calmly setting his head atop his own shoulders, Hal used his Guardian powers to heal the wounds. "I'm sorry to hurt you, Carol, but I need to know what's going on. How did Sapphire regain control and what were you doing with the yellow power ring? Where did it go?"

Sapphire wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "Go to Hell, Hal. If I can't kill you the normal way, maybe I'll have to get creative." She slashed through the void with her sword, sending forth a wave of purple energy.

Hal felt like a battering ram had slammed into him. He felt himself begin tumbling through space, the force of the impact momentarily overwhelming him. In the time it took for his head to clear, Sapphire was once again on the attack, slicing deep into his right shoulder with her sword. More emerald energy spewed forth and Hal realized that with each attack he lost more of the fuel that powered him. I regenerate the green power pretty quickly, but she could still wear me down. I'm sorry, Carol, but I'm going to have to end this quickly.

Hal covered himself in a shimmering green set of armor, making himself look for a moment like a knight of old. Throwing up an arm he blocked the next attack and then reached out to grab Sapphire about the throat. His eyes flared with power before unleashing a powerful discharge that hit Sapphire point-blank in the face.

The green energy surged back and forth between them, holding Sapphire's gaze against Hal's own. "Sapphire... Tell me how you came back and what you did with the Qwardian power ring."

With halting words, Sapphire answered him. The emerald energy compelled her, forcing her to reveal all even though her soul cried out against it. "I... was revived by a mysterious benefactor who wanted my help in stealing the power ring... from the Justice League. When I saw the ring, I realized... who my ally had to be... and when he told me to send the ring on to Korugar... I knew I... had to... be right....."

"Good point." Hal wrapped a sheath around Sapphire, allowing his mental control over her to wane. He felt exhausted, the strain of the fight and the knowledge that not one, but two, of his greatest foes had returned combining to make him feel old and impotent. "Carol...."

"Carol's dead, Hal. Dead and gone." Sapphire pounded against the sheath but to no avail.

"Carol. I'm going to send you to the League's Watchtower HQ. Maybe J'onn and the others can help you. I'll be back to check on you, after I head to Korugar. If Sinestro is back, it's my responsbility to stop him."

"That's right, Hal. You always have responsibilities that take you away from Earth, away from Carol... Don't you?"

Ouch, Hal thought. "I'll be back, Carol. I promise." With a mental command, the emerald prison speeded off towards the moon. With a final glance at her retreating figure, Hal took off like a comet, aimed directly at the homeworld of his greatest enemy.

Years before, when he had been new to the Corps, Sinestro had been the Green Lantern of Korugar. He'd taken Hal under his wing, until the day had come when Sinestro's true colors had shown through and he turned against the Corps. For years after that, they had clashed repeatedly -- until Hal, under the mental command of Lord Malvolio, had slain Sinestro on OA*.

(*For more on Sinestro's early days, check out Emerald Dawn I and II. For the story of Sinestro's alleged death, check out Green Lantern vol. 2, # 50. The revelation that Lord Malvolio was behind Hal's actions came in DCL's The Legend of Hawkman # 6)

Evil Star stood in the midst of carnage, though he barely noticed the scent of burned flesh and the cries of the still living. His ally had sent him and his Starlings here, to the largest energy research center on Korugar, with orders to seize control of a device located on the 12th level. He had done so with ease and now allowed his Starlings to play.

Two of the little creatures were bashing a scientist's head against the floor, slowly turning it to mush. Several more were busy smashing equipment, pulling wires out of the wall with great shouts of glee.

"You have done well, Evil Star. Now place the ring in the center of the device. It is capable of absorbing its energy and increasing it -- it was designed to protect this world, creating a force field that would grow strong with each attack aimed against it. Now, it will be used to solidify my form, returning me to the world of solidity!"

Evil Star stepped forward, regarding the object. He could alarms blaring in the background, meaning that more Korugarians would be coming soon. "How long will this take? I want that power you promised me."

"Mere moments. Place the ring in the center." The voice, insistent now, urged Evil Star forward.

The stellar villain examined the smooth, round opening of the device. He placed the ring in its center and stepped back as the machine whirred to life. His thoughts began to race with plans for his coming power -- and they were cruelly expelled from his consciousness as an emerald baseball bat slammed into him from behind.

From his knees, he was helped back up by a trio of Starlings, who mumbled with concern. "I'm fine, little ones, but what--" There, floating above them, was a face from the past -- his garb was different now, but he was immediately recognizable. "Green Lantern!"

Hal glanced around at the carnage before focusing his gaze on the power ring. A field of energy now surrounded it and a strange electricity was in the air. A faint smell of ozone flooded Hal's nostrils. "Since when were you a pawn of Sinestro's, Evil Star?"

"Sinestro? Is that who I'm working with? Not that it matters, as long as he keeps his word." Hal blinked. Sapphire had seemed positive about their ally's identity, but she had said that she'd realized who it was. Sinestro had never identifiied himself. Before Hal could follow that train of thought, Evil Star attacked. As he unleashed an energy attack, his Starlings snarled and jumped onto Hal's legs, biting and scratching.

Hal threw up a force field that caught the brunt of Evil Star's attack, but the Starlings were still a concern. Concentrating, he turned himself immaterial and passed right through them. "I'm sorry to see you're still causing trouble, Evil Star. I'd hoped by now you'd broken your addiction to power." Hal sent a green fist towards Evil Star, who attempted to evade the blow. To the villain's surprise, however, the blow veered off at the last moment and struck instead at the Korugarian machine.

Evil Star watched in shock as the energy field ceased, the delicate computer equipment broken beyond repair. "No! The power -- I was going to get all that power!"

Hal frowned. He could still detect rising energy levels in the air around himself. Had he been too late? If he had been, he'd better take Evil Star out of the equation before Sinestro reered his ugly head. "Let's stop this before it gets nasty, shall we?" Hal waved his right hand through the air, sending forth a dozen minature versions of himself, each dressed in his old Green Lantern uniform. The mini-Hals began battering the Starlings, with four of them raining blows down upon Evil Star.

Hal watched for a brief moment, until he saw Evil Star's side come towards him unprotected. With a mental gesture, he created a giant pair of tongs that yanked the Star Band off Evil Star's wrist. The villain, now powerless, howled in protest. "It's over, Evil Star."

Hal turned towards the new voice, confusion and anger welling up inside him. He saw a figure rising out of a cloud of energy, stepping forth from the Korugarian machine. The yellow power ring was gone, absorbed into the being that now stared forth at Hal.

"No, I am not. I am the man who brought you to your full potential, only to be undone by your innate weakness! I am your greatest foe...."

Next Issue: "Faces of Evil" comes to an end! The evil mastermind stands revealed and Hal Jordan will have to face him in the fight of his life.

I hope you enjoyed this issue as I'm having a lot of fun with this storyline. Next issue will see the final showdown between Hal Jordan and the man who drove him over the edge, Lord Malvolio! For those of you who really wanted to see Sinestro return... maybe someday. I thought it would be a bit too obvious for Hal's old arch-foe to return to life so soon after Hal's resurrection.

Hopefully things begin to make sense from here -- Malvolio, while embedded in Hal's power ring and psyche, learned about Star Sapphire, Evil Star and much about the Justice League's security. This was how he was able to manipulate them all -- and Malvolio has been a wraith ever since he first faked his death way back in the pages of Action Comics Weekly. Now, though, he's merged with the energy from a yellow power ring -- he is, in effect, an anti-Guardian. As to how he knew of the Korugarian device, let's chalk that up to his having had plenty of time to travel in his spectral form since Hal's "death" in The Final Night.

Next issue is also the final one I'll be writing (for now, anyway) of Tales of the Green Lantern Corps. Hopefully, you'll see some other authors step in and tell their stories before I return.

I AM LORD MALVOLIO!