The ring hit Danny’s finger for the fourth time that afternoon. And for the fourth time, Danny slapped it off like it was a radioactive cockroach.
“Quit it!” he snapped, shaking out his hand. “I don’t need more powers—I barely manage the ones I have!”
The ring hovered in the air, humming with offended purpose.
“Nope. Absolutely not.” Danny backed away, palms raised. “I’ve been chosen enough times in my life, thanks.”
The ring launched itself again with a determined shwip. Danny phased; it passed through him; he batted it aside like a dodgeball. It hit a wall, wobbled indignantly, and went right back at him.
Above the alley, Hal Jordan hovered, increasingly panicked. “I can sense it—it’s right there—why isn’t it listening to me?!” he hissed, gripping the air like he could yank the ring back through sheer willpower.
Batman, on a nearby ledge, crossed his arms. “Because it wasn’t yours to begin with.”
“What does that even mean, you furry fuck???”
Down below, Danny grabbed the ring mid-lunge, holding it between two fingers like a cursed Cheerio.“That’s it. We’re done.” He swung his arm back. “Be gone from me, you clingy space parasite!”
And with the strength of someone who had absolutely hit his limit, Danny yeeted the Lantern ring straight into the sky.
It shot upward—past the rooftops, into the clouds, out of sight.
Batman said mildly, “Jordan, a teenager with ghost powers just threw your replacement ring into low orbit.”
Danny dusted off his hands and muttered as he walked away, “If one more magical object tries to adopt me, I’m filing a cosmic restraining order.”
Hal stood before the Council, shoulders tense. The Guardians hovered, robes glowing, expressions identical blends of disapproval and cosmic dread.
“So,” one Guardian began, voice echoing, “you allowed the ring to be taken.”
“I didn’t allow anything,” Hal protested. “The kid didn’t steal it—the ring chose him.”
A ripple of alarm passed through the chamber.
“Impossible,” another Guardian said. “The new prototype rings do not choose without our approval.”
“Well,” Hal said, rubbing the back of his neck, “this one did.”
The Guardians stared at him, then at the ring floating innocently in containment.
The ring emitted a plaintive choooseeeen, vibrating like a lonely Roomba.
“And the candidate?” the eldest Guardian asked.
Hal winced. “Rejected the ring. Violently.”
“Does he understand what he rejected?”
“Does he understand the sacred significance—?”
“He called it,” Hal said reluctantly, “a ‘clingy space parasite.’”
One Guardian actually clutched their chest.
Another fainted mid-hover.
“We must retrieve the child,” the eldest declared. “Someone who can overpower a power ring’s insistence is either a galactic threat—”
“Or,” another whispered, “the greatest Lantern of the age.”
Hal sighed. “Or he’s just a tired teenager with ghost problems.”
The ring, quivering in its field, whispered longingly: Choooseeeen…
Danny was brushing his teeth when the bathroom mirror flickered neon green.
Then a hologram burst out of the mirror—an ancient blue figure with giant eyes and robes that looked too expensive to touch.
“Greetings, new Lantern!” it boomed.
Danny spit toothpaste. “WHAT—NO—”
“You have demonstrated great willpower,” the projection continued, oblivious to his panic. “Your training begins immediately. Please refrain from physical violence toward your ring. It is deeply traumatized.”
The hologram flickered. “To begin, please recite the Oath.”
“No?” Danny said, voice cracking. “What part of I threw it into space did the ring not understand?!”
The hologram ignored him. “In brightest day—”
Danny slapped at the light like it was a bug. His hand phased through it.
“STOP,” he groaned. “I’m not joining your intergalactic Boy Scout troop!”
“I HAVE SCHOOL TOMORROW!”
The projection paused as if buffering.
“Student… obligations detected. Recalculating assignment. You will be contacted soon.”
Danny slumped against the sink. “Please don’t.”
From somewhere in his backpack, muffled but unmistakable:
Danny covered his face with both hands. “Leave me alone,” he whispered, “I just want to be a normal half-dead teen.”
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