Vulnerable to Yellow
by Ken Arromdee
The boy looked up in astonishment at the apparition in front of him. It
was a glowing figure... a man! He was wearing a costume of green and white
and black, with a stylized picture of a green lantern on it, and he was flying.
Flying... no, he was falling.
"Listen, there's not much time..." said the man. He flew, or fell, all the
way down. The boy could see that he had a massive wound in his chest. He
pointed to it.
"Yes, that's it... I have to give you this... My ring."
"Your ring?"
"My name is Kyle. I'm an artist. I... *cough*... came to own a ring
that grants awesome power. But I *cough* need to give it away. I'm afraid
I'm not long for this world..."
The boy looked at him dumbly.
"The ring belonged to a man named Hal Jordan. I *cough*..." He gasped
and heaved up blood. "I received it after he was driven mad by a ring owned
by a man named Lord Malvolio... but it's too late for me...."
"You want me to have this?"
"I...." Kyle, already turning pale, explained. "Listen... I know you're
not an evil person. The ring is powered by the willpower of the wielder. It
no longer needs to be charged... it's almost limitless. Take it from my
fingers and put it on your *cough*."
Kyle collapsed, even the ring unable to keep him alive for any longer. The
boy did what was asked of him and took the near-magical green ring for his
very own.
* * * * *
His world was crumbling. His father was a madman, people were dying all
around him. He tried to retreat into himself, escaping from the demands of
the world and the need for initiative and self-will until he was forcibly
dragged out of it, only to falter, again. It was too late for the world, too
late for him.
His thoughts flashed back, briefly, to that strange dying man from the sky.
But it was futile, of course. Maybe it had been foolish to believe what he
said about the ring's power, maybe not, but it all ended up being useless in
the end no matter what.
All the way to the end of the world and beyond, Shinji never understood why
his power ring never did work.