From the trenches
"...WE'VE GOT A SNIPER!!!"
That was hours ago, and there's still trainee brains and blood on his face.
It's a bad situation and it could have been worse. He doesn't do 'scared' but Guy is grim. The rookies are spooked and there are too few of the vets around to bolster their morale ( Read more... )
That was hours ago, and there's still trainee brains and blood on his face.
It's a bad situation and it could have been worse. He doesn't do 'scared' but Guy is grim. The rookies are spooked and there are too few of the vets around to bolster their morale ( Read more... )
Tora's head whips around at the sound. She'd been pacing the apartment, home after spending the day with Beatriz.
Green Lantern Guy Gardner on the line for you
"Put him through, please." Trying not to sound relieved, and failing miserably.
"Guy?"
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"Hey hon." The relief in his voice is apparent as well.
"I'm really missin you right now."
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Tired.
Unhappy.
Angry.
"You sound exhausted."
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"Tough day at the office."
Gurneys bearing the wounded and dead float past nearby.
He sits.
"Real tough."
Earth seems even farther away than usual.
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"Tell me what happened, sweetie. Was it... how many did you lose?"
There'd been a few reports filtering back to Earth, nothing with much detail, but enough to know that it hadn't gone well.
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"Lots... Most of 'em were just kids really."
Alien lifespans notwithstanding, most recruits were pretty much 'kids' in a manner of speaking.
His gloved hand runs over his closely cropped scalp. The vision viscera blooming like a violent red flower in his face was still sharp in his memory. He doubted it would really ever go away.
"It's pretty bad. There's still rings commin in from the sector. We don't have a full count yet."
He shifts uncomfortably. Anyone else, he'd clam up. With Tora though, he's not going to do that. It's hard. His default mode is to just be an ass and prove that nothing can touch him. Fortunately, hard earned experience tells him that's a perfect way to screw things up with them. So he lets her in.
"We're pretty much at war hon."
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So many questions to ask, and no idea where to start.
"Did they... how... gods, Guy. I don't..." Voice cracking, Tora pushes through.
"You're not injured, are you?" Selfish question, maybe.
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He decides recounting the details on how the snipers made jelly out of recruit heads in the first assault is a bad idea.
"I'm fine honey. Just beat.
How are you doin? I didn't expect this so I'm real sorry I left the bedroom all messed up. I promise ta get the place all ship shape when I get back."
His eyes look over the wreckage that litters the Oan citadel.
When. Not if.
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No hesitation on When.
A light laugh, and Tora smiles through threatening tears.
"I'm doing alright, though. Worried for you, and all of the others. Is Kyle OK? Beatriz has been acting like this isn't a big deal, but I can tell that she's fretting."
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He pauses.
"Hey Tora. I need ya ta be extra alert for a while. You could be a target if Sinestro's clowns figure out what ya mean ta me."
He'd like to ask her to temporarily move in with Superman or maybe camp out at the Watchtower. He also knows how well that would go over with Miss Olafsdotter. They're both in dangerous gigs. As much as he'd like, he can't ask her to hide and then head into the thick of it himself.
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Even if he did tell her to hide, she wouldn't. Couldn't, not with what might be on the line.
"I think that that also means that I can muster up some of the big guns if I need to. Do you need us out there?"
She would get out there in a heartbeat, if she didn't think that Guy wouldn't immediately make her turn around and go back home.
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He thinks about her offer though. The Gaurdians would want this to remain a Corps issue, not that he was famous for toeing the line when it came to Oan policy. He doesn't like the idea of calling Tora up to the front lines though. Not one bit.
Still, she was right. She was League, and nobody got onto the League without being a heavy hitter, even the screwballs were tough ( ... )
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No clue exactly how to go about it, but she'll figure it out. Probably by calling Ted.
"Guy... I know you don't want it, but I want to be there with you." She doesn't dare to say the first thing that comes to mind.
Because what if I don't get to see you again?
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"Tora Olafsdotter, I love you.
I love you more'n anything else in this universe. No punk eggplant with a yellow power trip is gonna stop me form commin back to ya. Hear me?
I'm commin back."
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"I'll hold you to that, then. If you don't, I'll just go to wherever you're at and drag you back."
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"Love you angel."
Only Tora ever gets the 'tender' voice.
His 'mischief' voice however gets lots of exercises.
"Oh yeah b'fore I go, I wanted to tell ya that I think there might be sompthin living under the bathroom sink. Kin ya check fer me?"
Should Ice actually look, she'll find a plush baby harp seal toy with a small necklace bearing a modest blue diamond of extraterrestrial origin. The perks of being an interstellar traveler.
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