warrior.

nosferatu. hal had referred to one of his league companions as nosferatu once, had been particularly amused with himself for reasons that were obvious only to him. his answer when pressed had been a strange mumble about bats and caves that had seemed wholly unrelated to anything and she'd been quick to write it off as a strange human expression, the way she had with much of hal's   [ incomprehensible ]   vocabularly, confident the topic wouldn't come up again and she'd never need to know exactly what a nosferatu was. perhaps she should have questioned it, if other humans know of this nosferatu as well. she drifts lower, careful not to touch the forest floor even as she extends a wary hand towards the dimly lit cave as her attention shifts towards running various scans.   ❛ i failed to detect additional red lantern energy along my flightpath, but i was unaware of the risk. could the ring be awaiting collection by a member of their corps? ❜

he follows her closer to the forest floor, keeping an eye on what she’s doing with the information given. he had run some scans via the ring already, but he isn’t going to stop her from seeing if she can find some more helpful information besides ❛ it rained approximately 3.7 days ago. ❜ sure, it’s a bit unusual for this kind of forest at this time of year, but every planet has dry seasons. ( climate change is a bitch. ) not really helpful in determining why there is a corpse rotting beneath their feet, clinging to a red lantern ring. yeah, yeah ━━━ technically, the ring is clinging to the corpse. whatever. ❝ nah, should be regulated like ev’ry other corps. might be nothin’ but the faulty ring of a screw’d up fucker, but there’s no tellin’. ❞ he moved closer to the ground, to the opening of the cave. ❝ tell me if you’re gonna soil yer pants now so i can call somebody else. ━━━or expect a trap. ❞

Y’know, that Guy.

❛ yeah, gardner, because you're an expert on talking to women. when i'm desperate for advice, you're definitely the first person that springs to mind. ❜   there's no real bite to his words this time, the jab entirely toothless now the initial aggravation has dulled and left behind nothing more than the slightest tinge of embarrassment, lazy retort followed by an equally lazy grin and dismissive wave of his hand. he knows guy has a point, past experience having proven that the suit is enough to garner plenty of attention   ( whether he likes it or not )   and there's no reason to assume this would be any different   —   but if this does go wrong, he'd rather guy be the one to make a fool of himself.   ❛ sure, if you're so confident. go ahead, guy, show me how it's done. go sweep her off her feet if its so easy. ❜   

how the tables turn.    that makes guy laugh,  throwing his head back.    he had never been one for subtlety, and neither was hal,  it seems.          ❝ who else would you ask ? ❞          the question is posed sarcastically,  but he would love an answer if hal has one.    the image of hal asking kilowag or salakk makes him smile regardless.    perhaps he should ask soranik,  that would be a treat to witness.    he doesn’t dare mention carol,  but the grin on his face doesn’t waver.    guy himself has had plenty of experiences with or without the uniform, but he has to admit that the uniform does tend to help   ━━━   a lot.    not too different from earth,  in that regard ;   everyone loved a man in uniform.    he leans back lazily,  hands behind his head as he makes eye contact with hal, eyebrow raised.    ( a challenge. )    guy has enough confidence to fuel an entire corps, he doesn’t need hal’s validation in that regard.          ❝ you gonna try an' run again ? ❞

somewhere  inside  the  dark  depths  of  the  mask        (    accursèd monstrosity,  blessèd  reprieve  from  the  world’s  eyes    )        cracked  lips stretch,  warp  into  something  that  was  once  a  smile,  thin  and  cruel.  there is  no  need  to  share  his  plans  with  such  a  simple,  simian  creature, lacking  in  anything  like  intelligence,  and  so  the  mask  plays  its  role,  hides any  snide  emotion  from  this  so-called  diplomat.        ❝        repeat  it  as often  as  you’d  like,        ❞        an  airy  wave  of  his  gloved  hand  and  the drones  shiver  in  anticipation.        ❝        my  answer  remains  the  same.  you will  receive  no  aid  from  latveria.  you  cannot  expect  my  generosity  now when  your  kind  have  shown  me  none.        ❞

thank god that he doesn’t have x-ray vision,  because guy isn’t interested to see what kind of mug is hiding behind that mask.    best not too piss of the homocidal dictator too much,  however.         ❝ your schtick’s getting real old, real quick. ❞          guy is awfully tempted to repeat it a couple hundred more times just to get under the other man’s skin,  but that would feel too much like homework. ( and this entire “ diplomitical ” meeting felt like enough punishment. but SALAKK had insisted of guy doing it, despite john being right there too. in other words, if this mission fails, he’s not taking the blame. )    he shifts his hips as if to take a difference stance,  despite the fact that he hasn’t touched the ground for the entirety of their exchange.    a huff escapes him,  not intimidated.          ❝ my kind ?    you’re gonna have t’ elaborate on that one.    american or alien ?    ’cause i can assure you, i’m one-hundr’d percent red-blooded american.    sayin’ that in space just means they’ll double your bill.    but sayin’ that in lat-whatever-ia means ya get drones pointed at yer head.    which means literal squirrels are more civilized than you. ❞

two guys dudes.

there were more pleasant times and places to be meeting someone new, although it seems lanterns weren't privy to such pleasantries. they usually met at an appropriate time and place    ━━━    which, in their profession,  meant something was amiss.    he is levitating about 10 feet above the forest floor,  his left arm across his chest while his right fist is pressed against his chin.    it was an unusual sight,  to see guy gardner so drowned in his thoughts.    who could blame him ?    there was something odd going on in the cave system below them. he grunts in response to her mention of hal, before finally moving to look at her.    his eyes run across her body from head to toe,  his contemplative expression making way for a relaxed smirk.          ❝ yeah,  i know you  ━━━or, i know of you.    can see why they sent you, though. ❞          he drops his stance and reaches his hand out so she can shake it. although, it's always a guess which species shake hands or not. it was even considered incredibly rude in several cultures, as guy had found out.    ( his ring had warned him, he just hadn’t listened. )   ❝ name's GUY GARDNER, but today you'll get to be the scully to my mulder. ❞          he rolled his shoulder back and pointed to the entrance of the cave beneath them.          ❝ a body's been discovered.    medical team said it is a corpse,  i say it's a pile o' bones.    would've left it to the planet's authorities,  had it not been for the red lantern ring they found.    apparently it's functional but just decided that hanging around NOSFERATU for eternity was a good way to spend its time. ❞

how  amusing,  to  watch  this  little  man  get  riled  up  and  flustered.  how  boring  it  must  be,  to  be  ruled  by  one’s  petty,  fleeting  emotions.                 ❝        IF  such  a  time  comes,  latveria  is  perfectly  capable  of  defending  itself.           ❞        there  is  nothing  that  viktor  hasn’t  prepared  for,  nothing  they  can’t  face.  and  besides,  he’s  always  believed  in  the  power  of  diplomacy.  one  man’s  loss  is  another  man’s  gain        —        he  is  sure  even  this  “darkseid”  wants  something  only  he  can  provide.  

guy simply stared at him for a moment,  letting the silence draw out before he sucked in some air through his teeth.    he was keeping his cool,  mostly because he figured the other man must've been dropped on his head as a kid.        ❝ let me repeat that. ❞          he spoke slowly as if the other man was a child,  his hand accentuating every word.          ❝ earth's in danger.    your little patch of dirt isn't gonna survive like an island in the void of space. ❞

has anyone done this before