How fast that time?"
Wonder Woman looks up from her stopwatch.
"I don't think The Flash has to worry about his job security."
"That's hardly a fair comparison; he has an opt out on the laws of physics. How about Superman, or you, or something."
"Your best speed so far is about a quarter of what I can do. Without straining."
"Whaw I suck."
"It's not that bad."
"How about compared to the other Lanterns?"
"I'm not sure. I haven't flown with them that often."
That reminds me, I do need to ask about them. "Have the Green Lanterns said anything about me?"
"Are you expecting them to?"
"I was expecting to get stuck in a science cell, actually."
"Why?"
"The Guardians' deal with Larfleeze is that he doesn't leave the Vega Systems and they don't send Lanterns to the Vega Systems. I don't think they ever expected to encounter Orange Lanterns outside that area, and they don't usually respond well to things they didn't expect."
"Sorry to disappoint, but neither of them have been back to Earth since you arrived."
Neither? "I… pretty sure I detected three Green Lanterns when I first got here."
She looks down for a moment. "The other Green Lantern-"
"Lantern Gardner." She looks at me. "Come on, he doesn't even wear a mask. That's like not knowing who you are."
"Lantern Gardner is not a member of the League. As such, I have no idea whether or not he knows anything about you."
"Is there a particular reason why he isn't a member? He's not… that bad."
"He got his ring shortly after the League was founded. We might have included him in the first expansion were it not for the fact that he was in a coma at the time."
"What happened to him?"
"He was hit by a bus."
Huh?
"What?"
"I'm not sure exactly what happened, but he wasn't wearing his ring at the time and so was injured like any normal person would have been."
For God's sake, Guy.
"He regained consciousness earlier this year. He might still end up joining the League, depending on his duties to the Corps."
"He was in a coma for three years? My understanding was that injuries like that usually included some sort of lasting brain damage."
"I honestly don't know how well he's recovered. I've never worked with him. I would have thought that if the damage were significant then he would no longer be able to use his ring, and I know that he can."
I remember that in the comics he ended up switching between nice but weak Guy and mean but strong Guy whenever he hit his head. I'm fairly certain that such a condition has no basis in medicine.
Alright, I'm flying slowly, presumably because I don't care about going fast. It's the same problem as when I was in space: one patch of coastline is much like another unless you're right next to it, and when I'm that close I want to explore, not zoom past. I have to want it more.
"I think the problem with my airspeed is that I don't want it enough."
"Why don't you want to go faster?"
"Because it's abstract. By going faster all I achieve is a different number on the stopwatch. It doesn't matter. Competing against my own speed just doesn't…"
"What if you were competing against me?"
Mmmmm. I'm not that competitive, but maybe. "That might work."
She thinks for a moment. "The coast of Turkey is about twenty miles to the north of here."
"Loser buys lunch? I have been wondering where you carry things in that armour."
"On this world we have these things called 'credit cards'. They are convenient to carry and can be used to pay for things in many places. I keep mine in my left boot."
Ppppffffffff.
"Okay then, go on thre- HEY NO FAIR!"
I shoot forwards after her. Instinctively I assume the swimmer pose, arms tucked tight against my side, legs back and feet turned sole upwards. OrangeVision marks her position ahead of me, the compass points and the horizon. I'm gaining on her.
You're not going to have so easy a time of it.
Just as I come up alongside her she accelerates again. Holding back!
Don't mock me, I don't need your consideration.
Her relative acceleration drops, stops, then becomes negative. Gaining again! I can taste the pide!
And she's pulling away again.
Alright, fuck it, I'm winning this. It's a stupid pointless race with no consequence but I want it Want It WANT IT.
The sea blurs. The islands blur. I blink and I'm past Wonder Woman.
!Need!
Faster!
I risk a look back and I see an orange trail. Eyes forwards I see that my normal environmental shield has expanded and is far thicker at the front.
Faster!
OrangeVision marks the coastline. Not far now!
Faster!
The shield in front of me is damn near matte orange. I can see through the sides, but there's some sort of distortion in the air. Oh wait, is that..?
[IMG]
Baghuahlhahrhal!
Shield shield shield!
Uh!
Ow!
Argh!
Bwah!
Ow!
I come to rest in a furrow of soil, rock and tree. Araaahaah.
Everything seems to be intact. Uhh.
I gingerly push up on my hands, and then rise to my feet.
Shiiiiit…
I've… I think I clipped a section of cliff. An otherwise solid line of frontage has a chunk that just isn't there anymore. I can see where I hit the ground, bounced, and then hit again. Thank god there was no one around. There… There wasn't, right?
"Ring, scan for organic remains."
"No deceased or damaged animal life detected. Unable to calculate dendritic remains."
"Den what?"
"Tree parts."
Hahhhh. I breathe out. Picking my way back towards the unruined part of the cliff I survey the damage. Looks like a donation to the Turkish forestry commission is in order. And the tourist board. I shakily sit down and await Wonder Woman's arrival. I'm going to either need lots of practice not losing control when I create a sonic boom, or maybe just restrict myself to travelling that fast above a certain altitude. Pressure build up shouldn't be a problem on the edge of the atmosphere. Or maybe the ring can keep me just below the speed where it happens?
OrangeVision shows me Wonder Woman before I can see her unaided. I raise my right hand and create an orange sigil over my head. She comes in fast, then slows to survey the damage.
"No one… No one was hurt, but I'd rather not do that again."
"What happened?"
"I wanted to go faster, as fast as possible. I wasn't prepared for the sonic boom and lost control."
She nods, and comes down to land next to me.
"Are you sure you're alright?"
"Yeah. Yeah, the ground broke my fall."
She gives me a flat look. I giggle.
"I'm fine. Really. As long as I desire my own well-being the ring will put me back together."
"Try not to test it so thoroughly in the future."
I raise my hands and nod. "No fear." I look along the shoreline. Craters aside, it's really quite pretty. "So, lunch?"