Second Chances: Green Lantern

Chapter 3

When the light died down, James found himself on some kind of alien planet and he was now wearing some kind of green and black suit with a lantern symbol on his chest.

"Where am I?" James asked.

"Welcome to Oa James Olsen." a new voice said and James realized that he was surrounded by strange floating blue skinned aliens with big heads. Like physically big heads.

"What's going on?" James asked, confused.

"You've been selected for a very special honor. You are one of the few humans or few creatures in this universe that have been deemed worthy of being a Green Lantern, one of the protectors of all that is good and honorable in this universe. We are the guardians of the cosmos." one of the aliens said.

"Wait, so is this like some kind of intergalactic police force?" James asked.

"In simple terms, yes. And it appears that despite our wishes, another Green Lantern has come from Earth. Like the first one hasn't been enough to handle." one of the Guardians said.

"I resent that." A new voice that actually sounded human said from behind James, who turned to see a guy who at least looked human wearing a similar uniform to the one he was currently working on.

"James Olsen, meet Hal Jordan, the first human Green Lantern and the official protector of sector 2814." the lead Guardian said.

"Sector?" James asked.

"After the Guardians established the Corp, they divided the universe into 3600 sectors, assigning at least two lanterns to protect each sector. Sector 2814 is the sector Earth and its solar system is the sector I and now you protect." Hal said.

"Why haven't I heard of you before?" James asked, since with all the superheroes in the world now, he would've thought he'd heard of this guy.

"Because by the time the ring chose me, Earth already had Superman to protect it, so I didn't need to spend much time on my home world, so instead, I've been in space. Honestly, I think this is the first time since the Corp was founded that my sector has needed a second lantern, I thought it was too primitive." Hal said, since he was aware of what the Guardians thought of his home, even though he'd earned their respect.

"It was. However, you seem to be forgetting again that you work for us, not the other way around." the lead Guardian said.

"Right, my apologies. I didn't mean to offend, I was just surprised by your decision." Hal said.

"Understandable. However, the reason we tolerate another human wearing the ring is because of the promise you have shown. You are one of our greatest Lanterns Hal Jordan and we hope you'll be able to train Mr. Olsen into the same kind of Green Lantern you are." the lead Guardian said and Hal smiled.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure he knows what's expected of him." Hal said.

"Excellent. But before you begin, inform Sinestro of this decision, since we did not tell him that we had appointed a new Lantern." the lead Guardian said and Hal groaned.

"Great. I'll get right on that." Hal said as he led James away.

"What was that about?" James asked after he and Hal had left the Guardians' chamber.

"Sorry, but the Guardians don't exactly have a high opinion of Earth, they think it's a relatively primitive world compared to the rest of the galaxy and they were not happy when I was first chosen, but I proved my worth." Hal said

"Do I want to know?" James asked.

"Probably not, but you'll find out any ways. Do you remember a few years ago when there was a report of a giant yellow rock creature invading from outer space?" Hal said.

"Yeah, Superman never told me how he beat it." James said.

"That's because he didn't, everyone just assumed he did and I asked him to keep it that way, since I didn't want the press or the public to think that they've got another hero when the truth is, I'm off world most of the time, since Earth has Superman, but a lot of other planets in our sector don't, but they have the same problems as Earth." Hal said.

"Okay, say no more. But what about this Sinestro guy? You didn't seem thrilled when the Guardians told you to tell him about me." James asked Hal sighed.

"Thaal Sinestro is the field commander and leader of the Green Lantern Corp, meaning that while he reports to the Guardians, the rest of us report to him and he makes sure we all know it. He's an asshole who has a particular dislike of humans. He fought the Guardians hard against my appointment and even after I proved myself by defeating Parallax, which is what that creature was called, he still doesn't like that I'm here. He thinks that having humans here is an insult to everything the Corp stands for. The Guardians don't trust humans, but they respect us, or at least they respect me after I earned it and proved the potential humans have, but Sinestro, well, I think you can guess what he's like." Hal said.

"Yeah and I'm guessing that's why the Guardians didn't tell him they were giving you a partner." James said.

"Protege. After all, even after we finish your training, you're probably gonna be on Earth most of the time while I'm in space." Hal said.

"Right. Still, it doesn't sound like he'll be thrilled to find out that another human has joined." James said.

"Trust me, he'll be anything but thrilled." Hal said.

"About what." A new voice asked as James and Hal turned to see a red skinned man with creepy yellow eyes and a weird goatee walking up to them.

"Sinestro, the Guardians asked me to look for you. They wanted me to introduce you to our newest recruit, James Olsen." Hal said.

"Another human." Sinestro said dismissively.

"You know as well as I do Sinestro, the Guardians have their reasons, even if we don't like them and it's not our place to question their judgment. At least about things like this." Hal said, since he knew he was guilty of going against the Guardians' wishes at least a few times in the past.

"Fair enough. But I'll be keeping a close eye on you Mr. Olsen. So far Hal Jordan has gotten lucky in his endeavors. Let's hope that you prove to be as well. I'd hate to lose a new lantern so soon." Sinestro said as he walked past them.

"Wow, you weren't kidding when you said he was a dick." James said and Hal chuckled.

"Trust me, he was even worse when I joined. But come on, I'll show you your quarters, since we start training tonight." Hal said.

"One thing though, I've noticed that we're the only Lanterns who are wearing the exact same suit. Not that I mind, but why?" James asked and Hal chuckled.

"No worries, I forgot you haven't gone through orientation yet. Your suit is customizable through your ring. You can make any modifications to it that you like, you just have to will it to happen." Hal said and James nodded as he took a deep breath and focused on what he wanted his suit to look like and sure enough, he could feel the suit's appearance shifting as he looked down to see that it now resemble his Guardian armor, only with the Green Lantern color scheme and the insignia still on this chest, though he'd decided against the helmet, since he liked the mask, since while it concealed his identity, it also made sure the world know he was black and proud of it.

"Nice look. No wonder you're protecting Metropolis now. Guardian." Hal said with a chuckle.

"I thought you'd know better. It's Green Lantern now. So let's get started." James said and Hal smiled.

"Let's do this." Hal said as they continued the tour.

Okay, now due to the consensus I've been getting and my own desires, I will be taking a small break so that I can plan out and start writing the Black Lightning addition to this series. I'm not sure when it will be up, but hopefully, it will be worth the wait.