Eight Years Ago

Ten year old Terry Berg fell to the ground, having been pushed off of the swing set by the larger kids. They started laughing as Terry saw his elbow had been cut. He was trying to hold in the tears, but the sting of the cut wasn’t helping.

“Hey!” shouted twelve year old Kyle. He was used to being bullied just as much as anyone by the larger kid but up until now had tolerated it. It was only when he saw his best friend being physically harmed that something went off inside of him. “Terry was on the swing first!”

“What are you going to do about it?” asked the larger boy as he poked Kyle in the chest. Kyle clenched his fist in anger. He’d been told not to fight by his mother, a rule he’d been trying to abide, but seeing Terry laying on the ground bleeding.

Kyle took one good swing, punching the larger boy and sending him spinning. The larger boy, now angrier, turned back around and went after Kyle with the intent of doing actual bodily harm. Kyle avoided the larger boy’s attacks, and returned with some of his own, including a stomach punch and a shot to the back of the knees. Kyle’s father hadn’t taught him much, but he did show his son how to defend himself.

The large boy fell to his knees as Kyle got ready for the finishing punch, but at the last second, pulled back. Kyle realized he’d already won the battle and there was no need to continue the violence. “Don’t pick on my friend anymore. Don’t pick on any of my friends. From now on, none of us are afraid of you.”

The large boy’s friends started running off as Kyle gave them a silent stare that was just begging for them to try something. Kyle went to help Terry up as he noticed the other kids on the playground staring at him. It wasn’t a look of fear but a look of respect. From that day on, Kyle never threw another punch. He didn’t have to, but knew if he had to it was going to be because he was protecting someone he cared for.

Today

The rain had finally stopped, but it was getting closer to dusk in the city as Kyle Rayner continued his walk home. It had been quite a day for the young unemployed artist. What had started as an attempt to get a steady job wildly diverted into Kyle rescuing a woman and her baby from a fire, meeting a dying alien and getting a weird glowing piece of jewellery, and stopping a would be mugger without even lifting a finger.

Now with no car, no money, no shirt on his back, and no cell phone, Kyle had to walk several miles to get home. All he had was the ring that was doing odd things, such as providing a sweater and umbrella in the pounding rain, which just as quickly vanished when the sun started to shine again.

“What the hell are you?” asked Kyle as he looked down at the ring sitting on his finger. It was small and looked to be made of pure emerald. Finding an empty parking lot behind a condemned building, Kyle made a fist and stretched his arm out in front of him. He had nothing left to lose, so he figured he’d see what this ring had to offer. “Okay, ring, do something.”

Nothing happened as Kyle stared straight ahead.

“Go, go, lantern ring!”

Still nothing happened.

“Mecha leka hi, mecha hiney ho!”

The ring continued to do nothing as Kyle shook his hand and pointed it forward again.

“Thing ring, do your thing!”

Kyle looked down angrily at his fist. “Do something, damn you!”

The anger seemed to funnel from Kyle’s mind to the ring, sending a small blast of emerald energy shooting out of it, with just enough force to send Kyle flying backward into a mud puddle. The fall hurt, but instead of yelling out in pain, Kyle started laughing upon the realization of what he had been given.

IN BLACKEST NIGHT

By Tobias Christopher

“Don’t worry, I’m going to give Kyle a good butt kicking as soon as he gets home,” said Terry, talking to Kyle’s mother over the phone. She had a night job to get to, which helped her keep up the rent on her own home. Terry saw Kyle’s dog, G’Nort sitting on the kitchen counter, scooping the dog up with his free hand, sitting it on the tile floor below. “I’m sure he got the job, he probably just stopped off to get a cake or something. I’ll have him call you as soon as he gets in.”

Terry hung the phone up on the wall, and turned back around toward the counter, where he jumped in shock of seeing G’Nort back on top of the counter. It was then that a knock came at the door. Terry scooped up G’Nort and set him back onto the floor as he opened the door, finding Kyle’s girlfriend Alex standing there.

The daughter of a rich socialite, Alexandra DeWitt was one of the most desirable women in town, with her flowing blonde hair, couture clothes, and stunning looks. Kyle had met her in his senior year of high school, and after a few weeks of crushing his soul in every physical and mental way possible, he was ready to date her. To Kyle, he’d landed his dream girl. To Alex, she’d gotten a new pet.

Alex walked in, sneering at Terry like he was nothing to her. The little brother that Kyle never had, and Alex never wanted. She never liked the fact that Kyle was a substitute sibling to Terry, choosing to spend his time with the younger man and not with her. And she really didn’t like the fact that Terry was one of the few guys in town who didn’t act like she was the ultimate woman.

“Where’s Kyle? I have to make sure that everything’s perfect for my parent’s anniversary party,” said Alex, still wondering why Kyle wanted to live in such a small place.

“He’s out,” replied Terry as he turned back toward the kitchen, seeing G’Nort was back up on the counter. “Don’t know when he’ll be back. I’m sure your broomstick is double parked, so I’ll tell him you stopped by.”

“I’m not leaving until I see Kyle,” said Alex as she reached to pet G’Nort, who snapped at her. “Horrid little beast, if I had my way, Kyle would get rid of you. Both of you.”

“If you had your way, flying monkeys would be bringing Dorothy and her ruby slippers to you,” replied Terry as he looked past her, where Kyle was standing at the door, covered in mud. Kyle fell to the floor, too drained of energy to stay standing.

“Kyle Rayner, you are in so much trouble!” said Alex as Terry rushed to Kyle’s side.

“Really?” asked Terry in disbelief as he made sure Kyle was okay.

“Boy, get out here!” shouted the older man, who was clearly drunk.

Todd Rice sat with his back against the door, hoping his father would get too tired before long to take out his frustrations on the young man. Todd always knew that this was a gamble, as some days his foster-father would just give up, then other days.

The pounding on the door got worse as Todd finally realized that this was going to be one of those nights that this was going to end with him having to explain to everyone how he received yet another black eye in class tomorrow.

Todd was in first year of college, but due to lack of a job or any other real income, was forced to stay living at home with his foster parent. He was counting down the days to graduation when he was sure he’d be offered a job with a prestigious law firm that would get him out of this house.

Knowing he couldn’t put it off anymore, Todd stood up and unlocked the door before taking a deep breath and praying that this wouldn’t take long. As his foster-father stormed into the room, looking for something to take his anger out on, Todd felt something deep inside of him the second the hitting started.

Todd opened his eyes wide and let out a loud gasp as something was unleashed. He didn’t know what it was, but he knew it was going to change things, starting with the situation at hand.

Kyle opened his eyes, seeing G’Nort was lying on his bare chest, his large Chihuahua eyes just staring at his owner. Kyle stared into the dog’s eyes, who continued to stare back at him for several seconds, neither of them willing to give up the staring contest. After a short period, G’Nort started licking Kyle’s face as he realized he was lying in his own bed.

Sitting up, Kyle rubbed the back of his bed, still feeling sore from his long walk. Stumbling to the kitchen, he found his mother and Terry sitting at the kitchen table, having coffee.

“What happened?” asked Kyle in a tired and raspy voice.

“You tell us,” said Maura as she got up and hugged her son. “Terry called me and said you passed out when you got home. What the hell happened?”

“I– I’m not sure,” said Kyle truthfully as Terry held up the evening paper from the night before. It had the story about Kyle saving the woman from the fire.

“That explains the smoke damaged pants,” said Terry as he put the paper down, seeing G’Nort sitting on the table in front of him. “I think your dog’s possessed, by the way.”

“Things get kind of hazy after the fire,” said Kyle as he ran his hand across his hair. “I think the smoke inhalation got to me. I started hallucinating about purple aliens and–“

Maura and Terry just gave each other the same look they always did when Kyle brought up something out of the ordinary. Like when he was eight and swore he met Bigfoot while out with his cub-scout troop. Or when he was fifteen and drew a portrait of his version of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Santa Claus, Elvis, John Wayne, Elvira, Indiana Jones, and Samuel L. Jackson.

It was then the Kyle looked at the green ring on his finger and it all started coming back to him. The dying alien, the mugger, the parking lot where he tried to use the ring, all the previous day’s events came rushing back in an instant.

“Nice bling,” said Terry as he noticed the ring. “I’m taking it that the job interview was a bust?”

“I never made it,” said Kyle as he fell back onto the couch. “I blew my one shot at not being a loser. Alex is going to– Oh, no, I was supposed to call her!”

“She was here when you got home,” said Terry as he kept his eye on the dog. “She didn’t stay long. Either she didn’t like the sight of you being covered in dirt and filth, or she heard that there were a bunch of newborns at the hospital and had to go suck out their souls for sustenance.”

“Kyle, you are not a loser,” said Maura as she sat next to her son. “I know I didn’t do a stellar job of raising you, but I know I didn’t bring you up with that kind of attitude.”

“Mom, you were perfect,” replied Kyle as he opened his eyes to look at her. “You did the best you could do on your own and I still turned out to be a jobless loser who can’t even afford community college.”

“Is that what Alex has put into your head?” asked Terry as he leaned over the couch, putting an arm around Kyle’s shoulder. “You need a serious boost of self-confidence, bro. Why don’t you get a shower and get dressed and we’ll out and do something fun.”

“I don’t consider going to see ‘Wicked’ for the 98th time fun, just so you know in advance,” said Kyle.

“Fine, we’ll go see ‘Helen Keller: Turn off the Dark’,” Terry told him. “Just go get ready.”

The coroner zipped up the body bag containing Todd’s foster father. The man had died of a massive stroke despite being in perfect health. The neighbours had claimed to have heard a loud scream coming from the Rice home, as well as seeing the entire house go dark for several seconds before the lights returned.

The detectives were questioning Todd about what had happened, who was hesitant to talk about what a monster his foster father was, or how things had gotten so bad that his foster mother had walked out on them and left Todd alone with the man.

Todd was the only one who knew the absolute truth about how the man had died. It had happened so quickly that Todd couldn’t control the situation. His foster father was beating him savagely, then – the darkness came. It enveloped the both of them, but it seemed to target the older man mainly. The darkness had consumed him, showing him the darkness that lay in his own soul, which was more than enough to give him the heart attack that killed him moments after.

As soon as the police had cleared out, Todd knew he had to go see his girlfriend. He needed a calming influence on his nerves, and she’d be the only one who could give it to him. Todd headed into the bathroom to clean up, looking at himself in the mirror. As he stared into his reflection, Todd saw something dark staring back at him.

Something telling him that his foster father was only the beginning.

Kyle looked at himself in the mirror after having showered and dressed. He was dressed casually, ready for a night out with his best friend. As he adjusted his collar, he looked at the ring on his hand. Maybe it was time to really put this thing to the test while he had a clear head.

“Hey, Terry, can you grab me a soda from the fridge?’ asked Kyle from the bedroom as he held his ring up. He looked out the door as Terry walked toward the refrigerator. Kyle held out his hand and concentrated.

As Terry opened the door, a green light shined out of it, followed by a booming voice. “There is no soda, only Zuul!”

Terry slammed the door as his eyes widened. Slowly, he re-opened the door and looked inside. There was no green light or booming voice this time. As he reached for the soda, he instead found a dancing green turkey.

“I love to sing-a, about the moon-a and the tune-a and the spring-a. I love to sing-a, about the sky of blue or a tea for two-“

Terry slammed the door and backed up against it, this time finding Kyle laughing as stood at the entranceway. He held up his ring and smiled. “You’re never going to believe what I can do.”

Todd walked toward his girlfriend’s apartment and knocked on the door. After everything that had just happened, he needed to talk to someone. He knew she had to be home since he could see movement from her bedroom window from the parking lot as he pulled up. Seeing the door was open, Todd let himself in.

“Anna, are you home?” asked Todd as he walked in. That’s when he heard a laughing coming from her bedroom. Slowly looking inside the room, he saw his girlfriend in bed with another man. “What the hell is going on?”

“Todd, what are you doing here?” asked Anna as she pulled the blanket up over her.

“I came to see my girlfriend!” shouted Todd.

“Is this the loser you told me about?” the guy asked as he looked Todd over. “Doesn’t look like much.”

“Todd, look, this is probably not the best time, but I’m leaving you,” said Anna as she sighed. “I like you, but you’re going nowhere.”

“Nowhere? I’m studying law. I’m going to get a job with a firm–”

“You’re in college and living with your father,” Anna told him. “You have no job, no car, and frankly you’re not very good in bed. I mean, you’re really, really bad.”

Todd started clenching his fist in anger as the man in Anna’s bed laughed.

“Anna, I love you.”

“Todd, get your life together, and maybe we can be friends,” Anna told him. “But you and I aren’t working. You’re not giving me what I need.”

“Yeah, you heard her, so get lost you impotent freak–” the other man said as Todd punched him as hard as he could. As he threw the other man to the floor, he lost all control as the darkness inside of him took over.

“Todd, what’s happening to you?” asked Anna as she saw his shadow was growing larger in size. The entire room seemed to be growing dimmer, despite it being broad daylight outside. Soon, total darkness enveloped the room as both Anna and her lover screamed in horror at what was happening to them.

“Okay, let me get this clear,” said Terry as he walked down the street with Kyle as the two were eating ice cream cones from the local ice cream parlour. “You get a powerful ring from a dying alien, and your first instinct is to scare me with a dancing turkey?”

“I didn’t mean any harm,” Kyle told him as they walked along. “But I figured you wouldn’t have believed me if I just came out and told you.”

“Did I have to French-kiss my first boyfriend in front of you to convince you I was gay?” asked Terry with a raised eyebrow.

“No, but that really didn’t stop you,” replied Kyle. “And he wasn’t your boyfriend. He was the bag boy at Trader Joe’s. And I’m reasonably sure that was the reason we were banned. Either that or it was the incident in aisle 5. I still can’t look at box of Lucky Charms without a chill going down my spine.”

“The point is that you didn’t have to resort to fancy theatrics to convince me,” said Terry. “So, do you know how to work that thing or is it just for scaring innocent schoolboys?”

“I think I have the basics down,” said Kyle as he finished his cone. “It seems to react to whatever I will it to do. But other than that, I don’t know what else it can do yet. The guy who gave it to me didn’t exactly leave an instruction manual. The odd part is that I think I do know all the stuff there is to know about it, but I just can’t…remember it. Like it downloaded into my brain the second I put the ring on, but then I just as quickly forgot it.”

“It’s obviously buried in your subconscious, you dumbass,” said Terry as he looked at Kyle. “All we have to do is figure out how to retrieve the info from the part of your brain where it’s buried. In the meantime, what are you going to call yourself?”

“Excuse me?” asked Kyle, not getting what Terry was hinting at.

“Your superhero codename, you’ll need one,” replied Terry as he continued walking ahead of Kyle.

“How did I go from an unemployed artist to a superhero in the course of one conversation?” asked Kyle as he rushed to catch up.

“So… cold,” said Anna as she lay huddled in a foetal position on her bed. Both her and her lover’s colour scheme had gone from flesh-coloured to a dull grey as they lay there, feeling intense cold, despite the fact that it was 90 degrees in the apartment.

Neither of them was casting a shadow as they lay in the bed, where Todd had left them after leaving the apartment minutes earlier.

“You can make them pay,” said a voice inside of Todd’s head as he looked in the mirror. Todd had since returned home, feeling light-headed after leaving Anna’s apartment. He knew what he had done to Anna and her lover was wrong, but something inside of him was compelling him to do what he did. “You can make them all pay.”

“No,” said Todd as he looked in the mirror. “I can’t. I killed him. I killed my father. I nearly killed Anna.”

“Anna laughed at you,” the voice told him.”Your father hated you. But you have the power now. You can make everyone who has ever hurt you pay.”

“Yes,” said Todd as he started believing the voice inside of his head. “Yes, I can make them pay. I can make the world pay for hurting me.”

“I’m not a superhero,” said Kyle as he walked alongside Terry. “I’m nowhere close to being a superhero.”

“Tell that to the woman and her baby you pulled out of that fire,” Terry told him. “Tell that to all the kids you stood up for in elementary school that day on the playground.”

A little girl was playing with a red rubber ball on the front lawn when it got away from her and rolled out into the street. She followed it out into the road to retrieve it, not seeing the large semi that was coming towards her. Kyle and Terry were just arriving, but were too far away to do anything.

Kyle, without even thinking, held out his hand as a green, fully detailed, My Little Pony appeared out of nowhere, quickly picking the girl up out of the truck’s way just in time for it plough through without even slowing down. ‘Rainbow Dash’ disappeared after dropping the girl and her ball on the front lawn.

“I rest my case,” said Terry as he continued walking along. Kyle just stood there, looking at the ring on his hand, wondering if there was something to what Terry was saying. It was then that his cell phone started ringing with the Wicked Witch of the West’s theme as Alex’s picture showed up on the screen.

“Dammit, Terry!” shouted Kyle. “Hey Alex.”

“Get over here now, I need to get you ready for my parent’s party,” ordered Alex, even though the event wasn’t for several hours. “And be sure you’re clean. I don’t want to see the sight that was lying on your floor last night.”

“Okay, I’ll be right there,” said Kyle as Alex hung up. “I lo-” Kyle was met with a dial tone as he looked over toward Terry. “I gotta go.”

“While you’re gone, I’ll start working on costume designs,” Terry told him. “After that I’ll put up some ‘Have You Seen Me?’ posters for your balls.”

Todd was losing more and more of his sanity with each passing moment. Todd had felt his sanity had been slipping for quite some time, but had been doing his best to keep it under control. It was only when his powers had manifested themselves that all bets were off.

Having put together a black and blue costume, a white cape, and a full black mask that covered his head completely, he didn’t see a trace of Todd Rice in the mirror. “Who will be the next to feel my vengeance?”

Looking out into the hallway, he saw his foster-father’s work schedule on the wall for the factory just on the edge of the city. They were the man’s co-workers and friends. The ones that had seen Todd with his bruises and black eye and never once questioned where they’d come from, or lifted a finger to try to help him. That’s where he’d start his path of revenge.

Maura Rayner arrived at the factory, where she worked the late afternoon shift. She’d been working there for the past ten years for minimum wage to make ends meet and keep a roof over her and her son’s head. It wasn’t much, but it got her by.

As Maura walked into the factory, ready to start her shift,  her thoughts drifted to her son, hoping he’d find the man she knew he could be, unaware of the danger that was now focused on her and the factory.

To be continued…