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A deep breath of the thick air made his lungs burn for a brief second. His fist tightened and a ring of green light encircled him, filtering the air outside that brought instant relief to his chest. He shone like a beacon in the bleak landscape that celebrated its darkness. Stepping to a ledge of a building only halfway to the top of the gothic landscape, he looked down to see the ever-moving sea of people and cars several stories below. Even his command to deepen the hue of the energy that moved around him couldn't provide a camouflage to hide him from the points and stares from the crowds on the street. A gargoyle beside him gave the impression that it wished to punish the citizens that ignored it, and as the Green Lantern turned his attention back to the streets below, he understood the gargoyle's frustration. All traffic returned to normal, acting as though the Green Lantern was an unimportant fluke to their normal routine.

He stood high above the city; watching as best he could the people below and wondered, as he had for the past week and a half since his conversation with Ganthet, about his role on Earth. The A.I. inside his ring buzzed in the back of his mind as it scanned the area, freeing Kyle to watch and think. According to Wally, though, too much time to think was a dangerous thing to a Green Lantern, and Kyle wondered to himself if his friend were right.

Wally was, of course, always right.

Kyle sighed aloud without anyone to hear him and knew he could not spend too much time idle, wishing the ring would come back from its scans with something to do. Like New York, the ring was oddly quiet and Kyle knew a place like Gotham City would not be free of danger. He recalled the times spent on the Watchtower on monitor duty, studying the assessments Bruce published though the League's dissemination. Bruce always had the most bleak reports for Gotham.

"Scan complete." The emotionless words tickled the back of his mind. "Loss of life, not imminent. Attention not required."

Kyle sighed again. "Ring, recalibrate and scan again."

"Unnecessary request, no attention required."

"Recalibrate and scan again."

"Working."

Twelve minutes ticked by and Kyle felt every second. He waited and watched all the movement below, and the mechanized voice reported the same information as he stared into the bleak horizon of Gotham City...apparently the safest city on the planet.

"Scan complete, no imminent threat to life discovered."

He turned away from the ledge and the people below would see the green beacon atop the roof fade from sight, his uniform slipping away into street clothes – lightly faded cargo pants and a dark t-shirt with a design old enough to fade into near nothing – and he descended the stairs to the street. Several minutes later he stepped into the dirty yellow light provided by corroded street lamps and felt the blistering night heat punish every inch of his body.

A pair of women walked by; one searched his body and smiled, but the other scoffed and pulled her friend away. Not to be deterred, the woman looked back and left Kyle with the sight of a decaying smile. A shudder filtered its way down the Green Lantern's neck and he turned to walk opposite of their path. The woman would not be easily deterred, slinging insults and expletives into Kyle's ear, insults he simply shrugged off as he continued to move against the crowd.

He kept under the stained street lamps, his eyes darted back and forth, ever watchful in the black expanse of the Gotham night for anything that might be waiting. He weaved between a horde of night dwellers that rushed against his movement, like a herd of cattle pushing one another away in order to find the greener shade of grass to devour. Kyle broke free of the moving line of human cattle and he found himself in a darkened landscape of decrepit buildings and haunting noise. In the distance, his ears piqued at a quickly silenced car alarm; then he caught wind of an arguing couple not far to his left. Finally there was a short spurt of a policeman's siren that quickly died in the horizon.

He walked and waited for the ring to alert him but the voice kept its silence. Three blocks behind him left Kyle with little more than strange looks of a man walking in an area he simply did not belong. All the strange glances, the upturned eyebrows of men and women curious of his presence, and the occasional disapproving glares and whispered damnations to an outsider, yet he walked undeterred. Three whispered voices came from behind him and Kyle slowed his pace if only to listen more closely.

Footsteps on the sidewalk gave Kyle pause and he turned to face three men with hats pulled low to cover their faces. The jaundiced light revealed little and that voice in the back of his mind sparked to life. "Four human males, identities unknown, with hostile intent. Caution advised."

He turned his torso to lessen his profile and searched for the fourth member of the advancing group. They dressed alike; mostly head to toe in black and gray with a violet band wrapped around their left biceps. Kyle couldn't recall Bruce ever speaking about specifics of Gotham's gangs and he tread lightly to at least appear less threatening. "Not looking for trouble, guys, just passing through."

Two men walked on either side of a central figure that stood tall as though he was the one in charge. The two on the left and right flipped their wrists and, with a sharp metallic sound, steel batons sprang from their hands. "Trouble is funny like that, always finding that one guy not looking for it."

"That's pretty deep for an inner city stereotype," Kyle spoke and instantly regretted his voice. "Guess you're right though, it was only a matter of time."

"Human subject one, right hand perspective, walks with slight limp. Initial scan reveals bruised ACL with damage to the muscles around the right femur. Suggest course of action, swift strike to the afflicted area of past damage."

The three men stopped and Kyle heard the telltale snap of a handgun. "Backup in the bushes, boys? You scared of a lone half-Latino, afraid my boys are quick behind me or somethin’? Not to remind you, but I haven't done anything to anyone."

"And you won't," the center man said as he stepped back, letting the other two overtake his former position while he took cover behind them. "Beyond all that, there's a matter of the toll we're about to collect."

"Regional laws and regulations cite no taxation or tolls for this area."

"I'm new here, man. I never heard about a toll road."

The smug tone of the thug in command was silent as his guards moved in to collect. The slower thug on Kyle's left smacked his asp in an open palm, attempting to intimidate. "Wallet, watch." He paused and saw the ring on his right hand. "Jewelry too."

Kyle balled both fists and waited for the approach. "Not a flat toll for everyone, I take it?"

"Nah, percentage is income based. We like to call it…‘progressive’. "

"Sorry to inform you, I don't carry cash, especially in this town."

A steel rod swung wide in front of Kyle's chest and he quickly bent and turned his body to avoid, letting the would-be assaulter lose his balance in his effort. He turned his sight to the man with the limp and took action. A low kick planted the flat of Kyle's foot into the other man's inner thigh just above his knee. The thug cried out and collapsed to his other knee; without a second of hesitation Kyle's fist came down hard just behind the man's jaw, collapsing the man who hadn't had a chance to attack into an unconscious seizure.

The companion thug gathered his wits and balance and rushed in for another attack and Kyle smirked. "How about we open the table to negotiation on fair taxation?"

He ignored his banter and continued to rush Kyle with a colorful scream of obscenities. The asp high over his head, Kyle ducked and stepped into the thug’s path, raising himself as his shoulder made contact with the thug’s lower chest and abdomen. The strike snapped two ribs and forced every bit of putrid Gotham air out of his lungs. The man was lifted off his feet within an instant and Kyle continued to use the man's momentum against him and threw the confused man to the ground. Windless, he gasped to fill his lungs and paid no attention to the metallic bounce of his weapon that long ago left his hand.

Kyle, his smirk painted across his face, turned to face the thug in command. "So, how about I get on my way and you collect your wounded?"

"Proximity warning! Lethal intent recognized!"

The dirty smell of a poorly maintained firearm caught the small wind at his back and Kyle immediately tensed. "You don't want to do this."

"Not so brave this time, huh? No smart-ass comebacks? Looks like trouble found you after all, my friend." The thugs' slight middle-eastern tone hung in the air as he stopped closer. "It's like this…putting up a fight it escalates things and, you see, with escalation comes the kind of attention I'd rather avoid."

"The bat?"

"And all his little cronies, too. Do you know how difficult you can make my life if you walk away?"

The thug pushed Kyle into the pale yellow light of one of the few functioning street lamps and stepped to within just inches in front of Kyle's face. The man froze and stammered as he looked onto the emerald mask that covered Kyle's identity that had been previously unseen in the darkness. The fear that betrayed the man's false strength made Kyle smirk slightly. "No, but I have a feeling how difficult you made your own life tonight."

"Heart-rate’s increased, adrenaline responses likely to override logical thought. Imminent danger, proceed with caution."

"Too good to be true!" The thug smiled and commanded his crony, "Smoke him!"

"Safety protocol override, protection enabled."

Thunder roared behind him as a flash of emerald energy sent the threats hurdling off their feet. Despite being unscathed, Kyle's ears rang with an annoying hum of tinnitus. A cry of pain penetrated the momentary deafness and Kyle turned. The gunman rolled about the round like a wounded pig, leaving a bloody mess behind his irrational movements.

"Threat to life detected, medical attention required. Three minutes to fatal blood loss."

His street clothing immediately replaced with his Green Lantern uniform, Kyle's thoughts stumbled for a brief second before his ring sparked to life again. The Green Lantern stood over the thug-turned-victim while two constructs appeared beside the injured man. The constructs were solid green, humanoid-looking characters including a featureless dummy with a cross banded on its right arm who dug into the victim’s chest and removed a large portion of metal.

The construct stood and, without a face or mouth, the voice of the ring's A.I. almost scolded him. "Medical protocol completed, thirty-three percent successful. Internal bleeding requires further expertise."

With a taught fist, the Green Lantern ring shone and energy flowed all around the victim. A solid platform took quick shape and Kyle had little time to make any other shapes or features. Quickly, the Green Lantern took to the air with the victim in tow behind him, stabilized by the constructed gurney. "Ring, locate nearest medical center."

"Completed." A grid flashed in front of his right eye. "Seven miles north by northwest, bearing three hundred twenty two degrees. Two minutes, thirty eight seconds travel time."

His eyes and head looked up as the Green Lantern took himself in the direction his ring advised. He flew slightly slower than he liked, but to keep the man alive he had to ensure the victim didn't move and exasperate the wound. No acrobatics or fancy flying, he took only a straight line approach to his bearing, the A.I. continually guiding his approach until the illuminated building came into view.

Kyle's body turned to the right and down, altering his path to the building entrance. "Emergency technicians have been alerted," the A.I. spoke and the automatic doors opened with three people tending to an empty stretcher and attached equipment.

"Single gunshot wound to the chest," Kyle yelled before his feet touched the ground. "I got most of the bleeding to stop, but..."

A heavy-set paramedic pushed the Lantern away from their stretcher. "Severe internal bleeding here, folks; it's like someone pulled the fragments out with their bare hands!"

The medic turned and glared at the Lantern and took a second to glance down at his blood-free hands. "Let me guess, playing super cop isn't enough, you wanted to play at emergency surgery too?"

"Look, I just needed to stop the bleeding..."

"Save it, 'hero',", the medic scoffed and ran after the stretching, shouting commands in medical jargon that sounded like another language.

"Translating...Earth language two-two-seven-zero, professional dialect..."

"Halt program, ring." Kyle sighed and lifted into the air. "Just stop."

In a flash of emerald light the Lantern shot into the air, stopping to hover just below the air traffic routes, high enough for the air to cool and the noise of Gotham to fade. A serenity came with the cooler air and Kyle Rayner hovered in place and let his mind wander. "Way to make Gotham worse, Kyle." He almost laughed at himself but found himself unable. "Almost kill the guy that tried to kill you, excellent work, really."

"Search resumed with given parameters, Lantern 2814.1 do you require...."

"Shut up!" He screamed to the voice in his head. "I require you to give it a damned rest for ten minutes! Let me think!"

"Acknowledged."

The buzz in his head cleared and Kyle felt a wash of relief flow across his mind. He sighed, thankful for the moment of quiet even if he knew it wouldn't last. He allowed himself to glide down, back into the view of Gotham City once again. The sound of the busy streets, muffled noise of too many people crammed in a single place, was nearly enough to cause a migraine.

"Alert! Residual energies detected, report one-seven-six-four. Alert! Unaffiliated Green Lantern energies detected. Star Heart designate: Alan Scott of 2814 planet three-nine-two."

"Shit!" Kyle cursed. "Ring, report: what the hell is a seventeen sixty four?"

"Aggressive manhunter force, location determined, waypoint created."

A green streak shot across the polluted Gotham sky, small clicks followed the light as sound tried to keep up to Kyle's speed. Within seconds, Kyle approached a building remotely familiar to him. "What do Manhunters want with Alan?" Kyle halted his path with only five hundred meters between himself and Alan Scott's radio tower. Wrecked mechanical parts and building damage cause concern to build in his gut. "Ring, locate Alan Scott."

"Location unknown."

He touched down on the rooftop and inspected the wreckage all around. The tell-tale sights of the Manhunter face staring into the sky without emotion, without a sight of fear or pain, and then oxidized blood pooled just outside the pile of wrecked Manhunter. "Ring: confirm vital signs for Alan Scott."

"Location not determined. Genetic material not a direct match to unaffiliated Green Lantern of Earth."

"Direct match?" Kyle whispered, but did not need to think of the meaning, "Oh god…Jenny."

His heart immediately sank and Kyle took a knee to gather a sample but it was too old to peel away from the asphalt roof. "Jesus Christ! Ring: check all hospitals and emergency clinics. Find Jenny Lynn Hayden, now!"

"No need for that, Kyle." The voice of a tired man ruptured the silent roof, a voice Kyle rarely heard speak in anger, came from the east and out of thin air. A solid green boxing glove, larger than most refrigerators, flew into Kyle's face, throwing the Green Lantern ten feet.

His eye already swollen, Kyle pulled himself to his feet and wiped the blood that trickled from his lip. "Starheart energies, disrupting protection. Alternating energy frequencies to compensate, extreme caution advised."

"Alan, what the hell!"

The first Green Lantern of Earth hovered above him and the Manhunter wreckage with his arms crossed and stared down at Kyle Rayner, a rage in his eyes that few had seldom seen glares down at the younger man. "Jenny's fighting for her life right now…care to explain what Oa and the Guardians want with her?!"

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To Be Continued...

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