Star Burst

Chapter One: Dominic Wolf

By: BigToFu

Betad by: morde24

The moment I rolled over in bed, I knew that something was wrong, and I do mean very, very wrong. My eyes snapped open at the sudden feeling of weightlessness and instantly I started to freak out. Someway, somehow, I was in the void with thousands of twinkling lights all around.

I twisted one way, then I twisted the other as I floated through what I was suddenly starting to think was space. The only reason why I came to such a conclusion was the floating ball of blue that passed my vision once or twice.

The sudden flash of the blue had my mind come to a grinding halt as my spinning stopped somehow. There, right there before me was the earth, the reason why I knew it was the earth was because of the bright blue oceans and the little fact that I was hovering in space right above the United States.

For whoever knows how long, I just hovered there in space, fuck. Taking deep breaths to center myself, my brain finally kicked in and I almost choked on the sudden situational awareness. My hands instantly came up and I started to pat myself down, only for a look of horror to dawn onto my face.

Not only was I floating out in space, but I was also buck-ass naked. Now, that was a situation I was not ready for. As I was checking myself up, down, left, and right, I finally found the most important clue. The green fucking ring on my finger, which should not have been there.

The ring on my middle finger was bright emerald green and it had a glow that ran up my arm and around the rest of my body. If the mere fact that I was floating in space with one if not the most powerful creation in the DC Universe didn't prove that I had gotten ROB'ed then I don't think anything else would.

People like to clown Hal Jordan, but they never quite understand just how busted the power rings could be in the right hands. These things were basically reality-warping kiddie gloves that could do anything with strong enough willpower. Yes, you couldn't just snap your finger and erase someone from existence, but structure your will properly and you can blast someone with pure time erasure.

Then there is the fact that it's filled with all of the technology from one of the first Beings in DC. FTL capabilities, flight, time, and the ability to travel in space unaided, and let's not get into the healing, and medical abilities nor the multitasking capabilities. Terraforming and planetary relocation, the rings were in a league of their own and then some. The rings were busted in a way that screamed OP to the max, yet some of the only restrictions were laughable, to say the least.

No killing, because of course DC was stuck in that silver age mindset of the perfect hero and refused to understand that the Universe ran on shades of grey. Obey the Guardians of Oa because they were control freaks. Then there were the 'Two' charges a day because they were worried people would turn themselves into constructs of pure WIll because of ION the space whale and the GREEN that powered the emotional spectrum.

Speaking of which, I brought my hand up to my face so I could inspect the ring some more as I put aside my fanboying for a bit.

"Ring, what is my level of charge?" I questioned the Ai.

"Current charge is at one trillion percent."

That should not be possible I thought with shock running through me. Yet, as I floated there the ring didn't explain.

"Ring, please, explain why the charge is at one trillion percent," I ask and command all at once.

"Central power core is located within subspace pocket, proximity to power core has allowed the limits to be released."

Again my mind short-circuited as I processed the information. Letting out another sigh, because there was just so much a man can take before he breaks. Getting myself in order, I spoke to the ring once more. "Ring, do we have a copy of O's technological and medical records?"

"Affirmative."

"Do we have a galactic standard map?"

"Affirmative."

"Can we FTL somewhere?"

"Negative."

"Why not?" I asked, confusion already bubbling because what good was a Green Lantern ring if I couldn't just up and go out into the wilder galactic reaches.

"We are no longer connected to the OAN network, conclusion, no longer within the same reality."

Okay, that I already knew, but the fact that we were in a reality that wasn't DC was not something I was prepared for. "Ring, connect to the nearest satellite, and begin to download the latest news."

I was still nude and floating in space, honestly, I wasn't reminded of that fact until my environmental shields flared from impacts of micro debris flying around. As the ring was doing that, my mind started to run through plans and what I could do next since I was obviously not in Kansas anymore. Neither was it the Kansas I could get a leg up with by stopping at the Kent farmhouse and asking for help.

If it wasn't that one, it meant that there wasn't a Watch Tower I could stop by for some advice or help. There goes my easy-ass win for this situation, thanks ROB. What I did know was that there was no way in hell, I was going to run around with the main central battery hanging out in my subspace.

That was just asking for a disaster to happen. With all the realities out there in the omniverse, someone had the power to fuck my shit up and break into my subspace. So no, I was not going to run around with it. My best bet was to bury it deep into the mountainside of Mars. Leaving it out on the surface would get the scientist types all frothing at the mouth if they spot it and I didn't want that.

I also needed a second place to crash and what better option than to have Mars, as my home away from home. Paranoid or not, it was always prudent to have backups.

"Information prepared." The ring flashed as it spoke out loud.

Raising an eyebrow, I looked down at it in surprise before speaking, "Present the information on my optic nerves and set up a display of the news, at least five feet away, starting with the United States."

The sheer amount of information was staggering and I was pretty sure if it wasn't for the ring, I would not have been able to handle it all. Terabytes of information flowed across my optics, yet one line screamed out to me.

[I AM IRON MAN.]

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, I wanted to scream, I wanted to rage, there were no words that could describe the storm of turmoil that ran through me. I would have been so much happier if I was anywhere else but here, in the Marvel Universe. Now I knew why the ring couldn't just FTL me anywhere.

It wasn't that we weren't in my or its reality, it's that we were in a completely separate cluster of the omniverse, and like any GPS it couldn't path a way without satellites to guide it. This means I was starting from the ground up in one of the most power filled universes around. There was no superman to come and perform an instant save of the day or ultra-paranoid Batman, with instant win options in his utility belt.

Letting out a huff of frustration, I knew my next plan, "Ring, download updated solar system map and tracking from NASA and plot an FTL course to the geosynchronous orbit of Mars.

I received a double flash in reply before my shields flared and the stars stretched around me. Five seconds later, I dropped out of FTL in orbit of the red planet.

I should be excited, I was about to go where no human had ever gone before. Yet, all I could think about was the pure unadulterated headache-inducing shit storm I was in. Letting out a huff, I landed on the ground and realized once more that I was still butt-ass nude. Okay, it was officially time to get my shit together.

My will cleared and the earth flowed and shifted around me as it was absorbed into my aura and reconstructed into a pair of combat boots, combat pants, and a black T-shirt. I was already forming what I wanted my main battle suit to contain, but that could wait for later as I just needed something to get around in for right now.

If my spatial awareness was correct, then Olympus Mons was somewhere to the northwest side of the planet. Floating upwards, I took off at a parabolic arc as my rings scanning came back with a location.

Landing after a quick thirty-second flight, I surveyed the mountain for a little before finding a nice clean spot to dig in. Holding out my fist, I sent a mental command cutting a small five-foot hole into the side of the mountain.

Creating a set of tongs, I then pulled the five-by-five slab out of its hole. I took another ten minutes to dig my way deeper into the mountainside. As I dug into the mountainside, I just subspaced the rocks and debris, waste not, want not. Even if I had an unlimited charge, I wasn't going to waste it on matter generation.

Once I felt that I had gotten deep enough into the volcano's mountainside, I made sure to plug the hole right behind me. My aura of green illuminated the darkness as I took a quick breath before starting.

Holding my hand before my face, I had my hand palm up and spoke a command, "Duplicate ring."

"Duplicating, secondary ring charge one hundred percent."

Nodding my head, I placed the second ring on my left-hand middle finger and got to work. Performing a quick spin, I had an easy one hundred by one hundred room carved out with all the waste material stored. Liking what I was seeing, but not happy with the overall darkness. I created a charging light between my hands, but I wasn't happy that it was all green.

Pursing my lips, I pushed my will forward and shifted through the electromagnetic spectrum until I found what I was looking for. Getting something as close as I could to natural lighting with a proper blue light filter. I tossed it up over my head as I got back to building a base.

With the main room settled, I carved out a lower level and then started working on a command room, then three other bedrooms, and a massive training room the size of an Olympic gym, I finished up with what I was going to turn into an armory. After completing each room, I cast a light orb above to keep things from getting too dark and broody.

Unfortunately, that was when the dam burst. A light tap on the wall just had me letting it all out as I vented my frustrations in the most cathartic way possible.

I punched the walls of the cave unleashing all of my pent-up rage, I wasn't the daring Hal Jordan who could pull off last-ditch rescues and saves. I wasn't John Stewart either whose compassion and architectural mindset made him one of the most powerful lanterns to have ever existed. Nor was I Guy Gardner whose out-of-the-box perspective made him such an unstoppable force of Will. Hell, I wasn't Kyle Ryner, the comic artist that transcended what it meant to be a Green Lantern.

I was, hell, I don't even know what I was. What I did know was that I was snatched out of my bed and sent on an adventure where the stakes were either succeeded or death. Ohh, and let's not forget that little bit about the countless Universe ending threats.

The room shook and the walls cracked underneath my assault, but I kept going, not stopping until all of the tension had finally bled out and I just felt hollow from it all. My knuckles split and my hand bled, but on and on, I continued to punch.

I punched as a crater formed, I punched as the walls and floors buckled and I punched until a loose falling rock finally slammed on top of my head. My hands fell to my sides as I took in the damage I had caused to my own base and home away from home. Backing away from the wall, I held up a hand, then willed the wall to reconstitute itself.

Leaving the wall behind, I continued up the flight shaft I had created until I got to where I wanted to create my observatory. Getting to the proper level, I held both hands in front of me and then started to cut into the volcano some more while subspacing the cast-offs.

With a room cleared out capable of fitting a full three dance parties. I then carved out a roof with plenty of skylight for later. Once the observation room was complete, I then proceeded to create the plumbing, electrical grid, and everything else that would make this a place worth living in.

Finishing off the last of the vents, I stopped in the ventilation room and checked over the power one more time.

"Ring, create a level four oxygenator from the excavated mass."

"Confirmed, processing."

I held my hand out and in front of me as the ring started to create solid matter with hard-light. I knew that I was cheating as I offloaded all of my problems to the ring, but any real training could wait. Right now, I needed a home and someplace where SHIELD wouldn't be able to get to me easily.

With a flash of light, I watched as the level four oxygenator solidified into reality before me. Nodding my head at it, I then hooked up the vents and checked the seals and dust collectors. Checking the blueprints with the ones the ring was giving me, I made sure everything checked out before hitting the on switch. There was a low hum as everything cycled, then I felt a thump in my chest as the environmental seals proved their worth.

Leaving the environmental room, I then proceeded to the display area. Taking several deep breaths, I steeled myself for what I was about to do next.

Holding my right hand forward, I pointed my ring at the massive hole in the ground. "Ring, mount central power core."

Instead of coming from my ring, a circle of green lit up my chest, my feet raised up off the ground from the force of my aura. I felt as if something was being pulled out of my very being as the power battery made itself known.

With the central battery out of my body, I felt so much lesser than before, but I felt more like me than I did before. Landing lightly on the balls of my feet, I took in the massive power battery and stood stunned that something like that was somehow hidden inside of me.

Shaking my head and just accepting that it was blue spaceman tech, I then got up and floated before the lantern. From where I was standing down below, I had noticed a letter attached to its surface.

Pulling the note off the central power core, I almost crushed it in my hands as I read it over.

Welcome to the wonderful world of Pokemon, sorry, wrong soul. I would like to inform you, that you have been chosen for a Marvelous adventure. You should have already noticed the Green Lantern ring on your finger. I felt since you were talking all of that shit, you might as well put your money where your mouth is.

The central power core is something I threw together to see what you can do with it. It's basically a combination of the StarHeart, yes, that StarHeart. And that of the central power battery. That means you got the best of both worlds, but also the worst of course. Now, the big question you want to ask me is about that yellow snakey snakey that should be hiding in the battery's core. Well, since I already gave you such a leg up, I felt it was only fair I let Parallax go free. So if you want to imprison him again, you gotta go catch him.

But you know what they say, you either nut up or shut up.

ROB -

Staring down at the letter, I wanted to rage, scream at the skies about the unfairness of it all, but I didn't. The ROB was right, people love to talk all kinds of massive shit, but even they don't know what they would do in such a situation.

Landing back on the ground, I took in my surroundings and absorbed the things I had done myself. Instead of going to earth, I had left for the stars and made my own Mars base all with instinct and autopilot.

I didn't know if that was a sign I had what it takes, but I wasn't going to give up now. Letting out a sigh, I checked the scans of my ring and noticed the thirty percent of the environmental fields. Accepting that it would take another ten minutes to finish sealing everything to the specs I wanted.

Accepting it for what it was, I then flew over to the launch tube, then up and out into open space. Doing a quick circle around the planet, I then flew to Saturn and grabbed myself an ice asteroid for the water systems.

Finding one designated by my ring, I then sliced it into sections, before subspacing them and heading back home. Before flying back to my sector house, I took the time to locate a few decommissioned satellites. Grabbing six, I subspaced them as well before turning around and heading back to my base on Mars.

Flying over the red planet, I flew over the observatory, then dropped down the chute that led to the outside. Floating down, I smiled as the bubble of green enveloped me performing a security check and decontaminating me.

Touching down on the landing pad, I then waited for the doors to open. There was a hiss as the double doors moved allowing me to proceed further into my base. I went down the hall, took a few turns then stopped at the water treatment room.

Walking over to the container, I held my ring hand out and emptied ice into it from my subspace. I watched as the meter rose and rose until there was a ding announcing that it was full. Before I could move to check the rest of the systems to my base, my ring flashed.

A notification popped up in my vision announcing that the environmentals were complete. Smiling at what I was reading, I slowly allowed my Green Lantern aura to fade away. Slowly, I let out a breath then just as slowly, I breathed in.

The air wasn't stale, but it wasn't as crisp as the Alps mountain either, what it was, was acceptable. Turning my attention back to the water treatment system, I gave it a once over and noticed that already there was enough water melted to fill a small swimming pool.

Nodding my head and taking that as my cue, I left for my room so I could take my long awaited and much deserved shower. Then, I was going to sit somewhere and just get a run down from the ring about the full situation while also doing what I can to convert these satellites into something that could work with subspace communications.

Urgh, speaking of subspace, I would also have to log into the local network because with multiple galactic empires around, someone would have something that has reached this far.

With my long list of tasks ahead of me, I stripped and hopped into the steaming shower. Damn, the water felt amazing, my hand glowed as I created brushes that went and rubbed me in all of the right places.

Once I was certain that I was cleaned from head to toe, I decided I was going to make my final backup plan. I might not have any guns, but I would be damned if I didn't carry a spare ring. Looking down at myself, I braced once before giving the command to duplicate the ring.

The ring grew then changed texture before I slipped it on and around my handlebar. Making sure the fit was right, I gave it a nod and tried to ignore the feeling as I turned off the shower and stepped into the dryer.

They could take the rings from my fingers and maybe find one on my toes, but they would never find the backup unless they stripped me and by then it would be far too late. Ignoring the green flashlight between my legs, a flash of my ring dresses me and I got ready to buckle down to really make a difference.

Right, now, Tony did the whole I AM IRON MAN bullshit which means I was in something like the MCU timeline. That means if I wanted to be an effective Green Lantern, I would need to wait for the cosmic anomaly to happen and get a ride with Thor to his home.

Can't be an effective Lantern without a real star chart and if I stuck around to help Thor set the nine realms to order, then that would just be great PR for me and my core. Hmm, I could also get a word in with the Dwarfs, I had some armor ideas I could get made.

Flying up to the observatory, I looked out over the expanse of Mars before bringing out a satellite and getting to work.

If the ROB wanted me to nut up and shut up, then I was going to bring the boom.

Authors note:

Happy holiday folks.