Birds of a Feather (Oswald Cobblepot)

In Darkest Night

    Green Lantern makes a slow descent from the sky to the ground, his black and green cape billowing behind him. His feet rest at the foot of the GCPD precinct, as onlookers gawk and stare from afar. He opens the large front doors, announcing himself to the police station.

"Gotham City police! My name is Green Lantern, and I require your assistance!"

The precinct comes to a full stop. All of the officers stop their walking, the desk clerks stop their typing, all activity, and all noise ceases to be, as the entire police station turns their eyes towards Green Lantern.

And then they keep working.

Someone bumps into Green Lantern, mumbling a "sorry" before continuing to move along. Green Lantern tries to flag down an officer, but they all seem to pass him as if he doesn't exist, or is just another figure in the bustling chaos of the precinct.

"Alright Captain Underpants, time to go, chop chop," a bearded man with a gruff, slightly raspy voice confronts him, unafraid to get right in his face.

He grabs him by the arm and starts leading him out of the police station, but Green Lantern yanks his hand off of him, "Officer, you misunderstand! I want to help the people of Gotham-"

"Well, trust me, they're beyond helping, Leprechaun Tights. And that's Detective Bullock to you."

Green Lantern purses his lips, clenching his shoulders before huffing out a sigh. Detective Bullock returns to his desk, pulling papers out of a file.

"Besides, we've already got enough costumed freaks running around these days," he grumbles, as he examines a blurry, full-page picture.

Green Lantern glances over at the picture Detective Bullock's holding, "There are other heroes in Gotham?"

The green ring on his finger glows, and the picture becomes encompassed in a bright green ball of energy. It carries the picture up into the air, and Bullock tries to grab it, but the green energy is solid and prevents Bullock's hands from passing through.

The ball reaches Green Lantern and lands in his hands. It disappears leaving the picture to float in front of Green Lantern. He grabs it, and takes a look. The picture is of two masked women, one in a black and red costume, and the other in a bright blue and white one-piece.

Green Lantern's inspection of the picture is interrupted as the large double doors located in the center of the GCPD. Captain Essen walks through, leaning her hands against the railing of the circular balcony overlooking the precinct.

"Attention! Attention everyone!"

This time the police station remains quiet, as all eyes turn towards the captain.

"We've got another masked lunatic running around. Reports are saying that this man can fly and shoot lasers from his hands-"

"If this is true then someone has already utilized the power of the Yellow Lantern ring for their own purposes," Green Lantern realizes aloud.

Rising into the air, Green Lantern starts to fly right in the middle of the GCPD, and some of the officers gasp.

"Gotham City, I, Green Lantern, will rescue you from this threat!"

He speeds off, sending papers flying as Green Lantern flies right out the front door. As the papers start to settle, Captain Essen shakes her head and sighs.

"What is happening to this town?"

"Barbara's not responding to her communicator," I tell Amanda over the phone, as I sit in the living room couch of my apartment, "I knew it was a mistake to leave her in Oswald's hands."

"You did the best you could to save her. Her identity would have been uncovered had you taken her to a regular hospital. Barbara can take care of herself, for now, we have bigger issues to attend to. I've just gotten word that an alien artifact has landed in Gotham City."

I nod, "Yeah, and brought Green Lantern of all people with it, he was literally shouting from the sky a few minutes ago. He really is real, isn't he?"

"Yes, he's been on our radar for some time," Amanda explains, "however, he's known for being...stubborn, and uncooperative. Especially if he wants to procure the artifact, he may end up as more of an obstacle than anything."

I raise an eyebrow, "I take it you want me to get you the ring?"

"Not necessarily. A Yellow Lantern ring is too big of a target for our resources to protect for long. There's a reason Green Lantern wants the ring off of Earth as soon as possible. If galactic forces were to get word that a Yellow Lantern ring is on Earth, we'd have a lot more to worry about than a human wielding the ring. I simply want you to scan it, and put it a tracker on it with your daggers."

I breathe a sigh of relief, "That makes my job a lot easier."

"I'd still watch out for Green Lantern if I were you," Amanda warns, "the Green Lantern Corps aims to have the best interests of the galaxy in mind, but that doesn't always mean the best interests of Earth."

Up in the night sky, Green Lantern surveys the Gotham City skylight, his cape billowing behind him as he keeps a watchful eye on all below. He spots police lights and sirens in the distance, and flies towards it. Helicopter spotlights shine on a tall high rise, where a man stands in front of a shattered windowsill, a bomb strapped to his chest and a small red button in his hand.

"Make a move and this building gets blown sky high!"

As Green Lantern grows closer, he notices that the bomber isn't working alone, as the room he's in is a luxury apartment, where other robbers are collecting any and all valuables strewn about the place.

Green Lantern zips into action, sky-rocketing towards the building, straight towards the bomber. He tackles him from the air, grabbing him by the neck. The force knocks the detonator right out of his hand, causing it to clatter to the ground. Green Lantern then throws the man, sending him flying and crashing into a nearby cabinet.

Green Lantern turns as the other three robbers start charging towards him, but suddenly all of them are shocked by a blast of electricity and fall to the floor, revealing a woman in a white and light blue costume.

"I had the situation covered, you know. But thanks."

"You! You were one of the heroes I saw in the GCPD file," Green Lantern points to her.

Through her sharp mask, she raises an eyebrow, "I wouldn't call myself a hero exactly-"

Just then, sirens wail as helicopter spotlights shine on the two of them.

"Get on the ground, and put your hands where we can see them!" a man with a megaphone commands from one of the helicopters.

Green Lantern raises both of his hands in the air, as he lowers himself towards the ground. The female superhero looks down at him in shock.

"You're the one with superpowers, aren't you? Why are you surrendering?" she questions.

"As a hero, I need to let the authorities of Gotham know that they can work with me," Green Lantern explains.

She raises an eyebrow at him, "I don't know if they're going to give you a chance to."

With some hesitation, the woman gets on the ground, raising her hands in the air. However, just as she gets on her knees, the man with the megaphone shouts.

"Open fire! Now!"