A fist that seemed to materialize from the darkness struck Hal Jordan heavily on the chin, sending him flying into the ceiling of the hard cavern and then crashing to the ground.
His head felt like a busy downtown thoroughfare during rush hour, the cacophony of noise causing his mind to blur and stars to dance before his eyes.
But he was the Green Lantern Hero, and strong willpower was his foundation. As long as the ring had electricity, it could automatically provide a certain level of protection. He immediately soared into the air, searching for his enemy.
Everywhere around was complete darkness, not merely an absence of light, but rather a gray energy blocking his vision, created by a lights-out program. Even with his ring operating at full power, Hal could only see a faint glow.
Another punch hit him, sending him flying out once more.
"Hal, welcome home!" Dawn Deceit Lantern concealed himself in the darkness, with only his raspy voice reaching Hal.
Hal wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and flew up: "Heh."
Dawn Deceit Lantern appeared beside him again to land a punch, making him fall headlong into the ground, creating a large crater: "What's so funny?"
Hal got up to counterattack, but hit nothing but air: "Are you Little Bruce, claiming to be Batman from a certain universe's alley? You're quite amusing."
Dawn Deceit Lantern suddenly appeared behind him, landing a heavy blow to the back of his head, sending him plummeting to the earth: "What's so amusing? Let me in on it."
"The funniest part is you thinking I fear you," said Hal, charging his ring with energy: "You think bombarding me with clips of Binhai City's destruction and some scary sound effects can terrify me?"
"Heh, you should manifest a mirror and look at your face saying that." The voice of Dawn Deceit Lantern came from an indistinct direction.
The Green Lantern Ring emitted a light, illuminating a small area like a flashlight. With that light, Hal hunted for his enemy: "Our Batman is much smarter than you. All you're doing is fueling my fighting spirit. Come out, let's settle this seriously."
"Your Batman is just a legend in his own mind, just like you. What can your light do? Get up at night to use the bathroom? I am the black hole that extinguishes all light. I am Dawn Deceit Lantern!"
He charged out of the darkness, wielding his Deceitful Lantern Ring, and Hal's Green Lantern Ring immediately extinguished, plunging everything into darkness. A flurry of blows echoed in the dark.
Hal fell to the ground again, struggling to rise, gasping for breath, and spitting out blood.
"Cough... Your ring absorbs light, huh? Kudos, quite the novelty, but you can't absorb light that keeps disappearing." Hal raised his right hand, bringing his ring closer: "Activate flash mode."
"Flash mode activated," the ring's voice responded.
The so-called flash mode was like a high-frequency camera flash, alternating between bright and dark. The short bursts of light allowed Hal to see his foe, yet wouldn't be snuffed out by the lights-out ring.
He saw it, Dawn Deceit Lantern hovering above him, and he wiped the blood off his face.
"Alright, Dawn Deceit Lantern, let's dance!"
Dawn Deceit Lantern immediately rushed down, his ring emitting a spray of gray-green light.
"I once slaughtered the Green Lantern Corps!"
"Missed me." Hal now could see him, sidestepping the energy beam effortlessly.
"Kai, Gael, John, even the Guardians are dead!" Dawn Deceit Lantern emitted energy again.
"Missed again." Hal twisted, conjuring something with his hands in the dark.
"No one can stop me!" Dawn Deceit Lantern threw a punch.
"I dodge." Hal twisted like a fish, evading in mid-air.
"Why do you think you can?!" Dawn Deceit Lantern charged at Hal like Superman, fists clenched.
"Because, Little Bruce..." It was only when Dawn Deceit Lantern got close that he realized Hal had quietly manifested a giant robot under the cover of the flash mode—a fist as big as a person. Without hesitation, Hal operated the robot to land a punch knocking Dawn Deceit Lantern away: "You've never flown with me before!"
Hal followed up, punching Dawn Deceit Lantern repeatedly, using the flash mode to keep his target in sight.
"This punch is for Guy!"
He spun Dawn Deceit Lantern on the spot with his blow.
"This punch is for Kael!"
Hal knocked him into the ceiling of the cavern.
"This is for John!"
He grabbed Dawn Deceit Lantern and slammed him down into the ground.
But in the gaps between the flashes, that bizarre Batman vanished again.
"Hiding again, are you?" Hal searched for his enemy, but in the darkness could only see countless Lantern Hero bodies displayed under glass—a collection from another universe, all gathered by Dawn Deceit Lantern: "Why did I say again? Heh, come out, the show's not over yet!"
The bodies included not just those from the Green Lantern Corps but all other Lantern Groups too, Dawn Deceit Lantern having destroyed it all.
Dawn Deceit Lantern hid behind a stone pillar, watching Hal fly to and fro, he charged his ring with gray dark energy. As the ring was laced with gray-green arcs of electricity, he raised it.
"Then, Hal, do continue your performance!"
He adjusted his lights-out ring's absorption frequency to match Hal's flashing frequency, plunging everything into darkness once more.
"Ring, end flash mode." Hal turned around. The voice had come from behind him.
"Flash mode ended."
Hal raised his ring, solidifying his beliefs in himself, his Corps, and his world.
Endless green light poured from the ring, spreading like flames across Hal's body. The Green Lantern Hero suit began to emit a strong glow, brighter and more intense.
The whole cavern seemed to burn in the green flame.
"Let me teach you a lesson, Dawn Deceit Lantern. My ring wasn't handed to me, nor did it find me." He gazed at his ring, having once joined other Lantern Groups, abandoning many rings, even dying once, but this ring was different: "My own willpower forged it. I'm not just carrying it, I am it!"
He began to blaze fiercely, the green light forming the Green Lantern Corps emblem behind him. He just looked at Dawn Deceit Lantern floating in the distance, his expression resolute.
"Together with it, I blew up War World! We returned from the Netherworld together! We saved the lives of gods!" He aimed his ring at Dawn Deceit Lantern, the dense energy on it roiling, about to erupt: "Now, we'll burn your ring to ashes!"
Dawn Deceit Lantern clapped slowly. His face, less some flesh from his world's destruction, revealing red gums, now smiled widely.
"For a lantern show, not bad. Want to listen to my song?"
Hal unleashed energy, a massive pillar of green light rushing toward Dawn Deceit Lantern.
"Who the hell wants to hear your emo songs? I rock out with rock music!"
Dawn Deceit Lantern shrugged, seemingly pitying Hal's taste, and raised his hand, making a fist. A strong swathe of gray-green light surged forth like a tide, dissolving Hal's attack as if it had never been.
Everything returned to darkness, with only Hal and his ring emitting a faint glow. In the dim haze, he saw countless nightmare creatures surging toward him.
Leading was the form of each Lantern Group leader, retaining the horrors of their deaths in another world, twisting, screaming, uttering sounds Hal only heard in his nightmares.
"Mine! They're all mine!"
"Fear always claims a foothold!"
"This isn't how I trained you, Jordan!"
"Ismot's bloody lake will embrace your crimson!"
"I wish to be alone with you, darling."
Hal looked at these nightmare creatures, each face familiar, their bodies imbued with powerful energy that filled him with dread. He knew he was on the brink of failure, but he only shook his fist and brightened his ring.
"Alright, who's first?"
Green Lantern lets one face fearlessly, not that one isn't frightened in the face of death, but that one can still fight to the very end under the weight of fear.