| Synopsis
| - Inside his palace, Larfleeze places the Blue ring he took from Hal Jordan on his finger. It immediately overrides his Orange ring, making him a Blue Lantern. More importantly, it has quieted his stomach. Larfleeze is overjoyed...until the Blue ring fades. Confused, he discovers that the ring created an illusion, and Hal has not lost his hand. Larfleeze is enraged, believing Hal really can wield the Blue ring. As all it will do is charge his Green ring, Hal decides to take advantage of that, and create an army of constructs of various Green Lanterns. Agent Orange screams that Hal stole his idea.
On the surface, John Stewart is trapped within a crystal created by Fatality. She says that the Zamarons have shown her to forgive him, and she kisses him. John is uninterested and wants to get back to helping his fellow Green Lanterns. Fatality departs, saying that the next time John goes to Xanshi to bury his grief over its destruction and Katma Tui's death, he should forgive himself, for Xanshi was not innocent in the War of Light. As the crystal fades, John doubles over, and Stel moves to his aide. However, they have little to worry about: the Orange Lanterns have withdrawn, and the Guardians are about to breach Agent Orange's palace.
In the palace, Larfleeze's Lanterns fight Hal's Lanterns. Hal notices that his battery is constantly recharging his ring, as maintaining his Orange Lanterns is a serious power drain. As the Guardians break in, Hal makes a grab for the Battery—is is overwhelmed with thoughts coming from the battery. He briefly mutters "mine", but Larfleeze takes the Battery back, removing the Orange light's influence on him. The dissenting Guardians reiterates his earlier warnings that attacking Larfleeze was a mistake, but the other Guardians will have none of it. Larfleeze, however, takes it to another level, and creates a giant construct of himself.
Unable to make a dent in his construct, Hal is frustrated that he is unable to make his Green right work. He knows that they'll beat Agent Orange, but he just doesn't see how. Suddenly, the Blue ring registers sincerity in Hal's belief that they will defeat Larfleeze, and unleashes a massive blast of blue light, destroy the Larfleeze construct. The ring then leaves his finger, and initiates a sector scan for Sector 2828. The Guardians are impressed with the blue light's power, as it has recharged the rest of the Green Lantern rings. Larfleeze, however, reveals that he still has his power as well, and they are effectively at a stalemate. The Guardians wish to continue the fight, but the dissenter points out that they can no more eliminate the orange light than they can avarice from the universe. If they defeat Larfleeze, they'll have to deal with another Agent Orange down the line. Realizing this, the Guardians agree to stick with the devil they know, and ask if they might bater with Larfleeze. The Green Lanterns are not pleased with this, and Torqumaeda mentions Gretti's death, but the Guardians remove the Green Lanterns while they negotiate with Agent Orange.
Outside, Hal and John talk about the respective hopes they had. Hal also explains that when he used the ring, he may have also saw something into the future, but doesn't know what to make of it. What he doesn't tell John is that he saw Sinestro saying he needed Hal's help. The Guardians then emerge from the palace and say that they have reached an agreement with Larfleeze. The Lanterns are to assist them in arresting any remaining criminals in Vega and return to their own sectors. Hal asks what he wanted, but the Guardians say it does not concern them.
On Odym, the Blue Lantern Corps have since added two new members, Brother Hymn and Sister Sercy, who has just accepted the ring. She is eager to begin her schooling, so that she might return and give hope to the people of her world facing Evil Star, but Sayd sees that they have bigger problems as it is revealed what Agent Orange wanted: to know where he could find a Blue ring. The Guardians have sold out Ganthet and Sayd, as the Orange Lantern Corps descends upon Odym.
Meanwhile, in Sector 666, Ash and Saarek continue their search for the Anti-Monitor's corpse. Ash writes a letter to his dead wife on their search, saying that Saarek told him she's come to hate the violence he's embraced. Ash realizes that this is probably true, but he cannot abandon his purpose. Meanwhile, the search has taken it's toll on Saarek. The cries of the dead grew so loud that Saarek's ear drums blew out the other day, but he still hears the cries of the dead. Ash and Saarek soon come upon what Saarek dubs the Anti-Monitor's tomb: the Black Lantern. Ash asks his ring where they are, and is confused when he learns it's classified. Saarek always thought that his ability to speak to the dead was gift, but realizes that everyone else was right in dubbing it a curse. When he is unable to contact the Scarred Guardian, Ash realizes something is wrong, and tries to drag Saarek away, but Saarek says that they have already awaken him.
And beneath them, a pair of massive, decayed hands reach out for the two Green Lanterns—"craving their heats and their demise..."
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)