Shadow Monarch in DC
Chapter 181: Planet Oa

Chapter 181: Planet Oa

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GOTHAM CITY -

The rain came down like it had something to prove. This city never had decent weather to begin with.

Fat, heavy drops fell from the sky, each one slapping against the cracked sidewalks. Thunder rolled somewhere far off, muffled behind the labyrinth of towers and crooked architecture. Streetlights flickered dimly in the gloom, barely holding back the darkness.

Arthur Blackwynd walked alone beneath it all, his black coat draped across his shoulders, hands tucked into the pockets. Water streamed down the collar, but he didn’t seem to care.

"Shitty weather," he muttered under his breath, eyes glancing up at the grey ceiling of cloud above. "This city is horrible in every regard."

Oddly, the way he said it sounded almost... appreciative. As if he respected the honesty of Gotham’s decay. No masks here. Everything was out in the open, the rot, the madness, the rain that never stopped.

A soft bell jingled as he pushed open the door to a small, out-of-the-way bar. The place was narrow, low-lit, and smelled faintly of old wood, cigarettes, and disappointment. Jazz spilled faintly from a speaker tucked into the ceiling. It wasn’t crowded. No one looked up.

Except for one man.

Seated at the bar, back straight, sipping something amber from a short glass, was Hal Jordan.

Arthur didn’t break stride. He walked across the room and took the stool next to him, resting his arms on the edge of the bar.

"I’ll take the same," he told the bartender without looking. The barkeep nodded and poured the drink.

Hal chuckled quietly and raised an eyebrow without turning. "You actually arrived on time."

Arthur accepted the glass, cool and smooth in his hand. "I keep my word."

Hal tapped his fingers along the bar. "That’s reassuring. I kinda need you sober, though, assuming you still want to talk to the Guardians and not just do something unexpected.."

Arthur didn’t respond immediately. He brought the glass to his lips, sipped.

No reaction.

Then downed the entire thing in one go.

Hal blinked. "...Seriously?"

Arthur set the glass down with a gentle clink.

The system voice chimed quietly inside his mind:

[Harmful substance detected.]

[Substance neutralized. Cleared from bloodstream.]

He gestured for another.

Hal eyed him, suspicion behind his smirk. "You alright?"

Arthur turned slightly, those shadowed eyes half-lidded but alert. "Why do you ask?"

Hal hesitated. He scratched the back of his neck. "...No. Nothing. Just used to people flinching when they drink that. Not... nevermind."

Arthur said nothing.

The second drink arrived. He didn’t touch it this time. Just let it sit.

They sat in silence for a while. Drinking and idle chit-chat.

Arthur then spoke, voice quiet.

"We should go now, no more delays, I also want to get this over with quick."

Hal looked at him for a long second, then nodded. He threw a few bills on the bar and stood up. "Right behind you."

They left together, stepping back into the night. The rain hadn’t let up. If anything, it had grown more intense, sheets of water slicing through alleyways and flooding gutters. They walked a block in silence before cutting into a narrow passage between two worn-down buildings.

There, beneath the shelter of a fire escape, Hal raised his right hand.

The ring on his finger ignited with green light. It surged across his body, wrapping him in glowing armor, casting light across the wet walls. The Green Lantern, stood tall, his flight aura humming.

Arthur reached into his coat and retrieved a ring of his own.

Hal watched, eyes narrowing as the glow pulsed not green, not any standard color at all. It was a mix of deep violet, and a strange black glow. The symbol etched into it was alien to him even by cosmic standards. It didn’t belong to any Lantern Corps, of that he was certain.

Arthur slid it onto his finger.

A pulse.

A ripple.

The shadows bent toward him.

The uniform that formed across his body was regal in the most ominous way. Violet energy crackled in slow arcs across the gauntlets and shoulders. The symbol on his chest was unknown to Hal Jordan.

Hal frowned. "You ever going to tell me what that is?"

Arthur glanced at him. "I don’t know."

"Lies."

Hal cracked his neck and looked skyward. "Alright. I’ll fly ahead, make the route clean. You follow my lead."

Arthur’s eyes didn’t leave the clouds. "Keep a wide distance."

Hal’s brow furrowed. "Because of your ring?"

Arthur nodded. "My presence drains the emotional spectrum. If you fly too close... your ring will lose its charge, and might die in space because of me."

Hal’s jaw twitched. "Yeah. I remember Qward. And your shadow lanterns, they had the same effect on us."

Arthur smirked faintly. "Then you already know what to do."

The Green Lantern’s light flared brighter as he rose from the ground, cutting through the rain and heading toward the sky.

Arthur stood there, waiting.

Watching.

Only once Hal had vanished into the clouds, a pinprick of green fading higher and higher...

Only then did Arthur rise slowly, calmly. Violet light burst behind him, expanding like wings. He stepped off the ground as if walking up invisible stairs, then vanished into the dark above, chasing after the green light.

But never too close.

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OUTER SPACE – PLANET OA

A swirling mass of green light glowed in the distance like beacons in the void a world not just inhabited, but alive with the pure essence of willpower. The closer they got, the more radiant it became. Oa didn’t just exist in space it pulsed, thrummed, shimmered with concentrated power of will.

Arthur flew closer now, quietly behind Hal, his arms crossed now in a relaxed posture, but his eyes... his eyes told a different story.

Violet irises glowed beneath the shadows of his brow, quietly analyzing the planet ahead. Oa. The heart of the Green Lantern Corps. Headquarters of the immortal Guardians. Home to judgment, rules, and control disguised as order.

He narrowed his eyes.

"So this is Oa..." he muttered to himself, tone low, distant, yet strangely reverent.

Hal, flying ahead and slightly above, heard him through the comms embedded in his ring.

"Yep," Hal replied. "A shining emerald rock floating in the ass-end of nowhere. But it’s home."

Arthur didn’t reply immediately. His gaze roamed, drawn to the enormous green energy constructs encircling the planet massive satellites, beacons, and citadels built. The sheer scale of it was something else. He could feel the pressure of that will, resisting him already.

Arthur finally spoke, voice calm but firm.

"Take us straight to the Guardians."

Hal tilted slightly in the air, adjusting their trajectory toward the Citadel of the Guardians the towering center of Oa where the immortal overseers held court.

"Not wasting any time, huh?" Hal muttered, mostly to himself. "I understand, this place can get boring..."

As they breached the exosphere, dozens of emerald trails zipped around them Green Lanterns on patrol, training, or simply mid-flight. But they all slowed when they saw the pair.

Two figures. One, Hal Jordan. Familiar, respected, reckless, the Human Lantern.

The other? Just a rumor to them.

"Hey... is that who I think it is?" one Lantern asked over the comms.

"That’s the Earthling, the one Hal Jordan was meant to bring right?"

"The one who killed Sinestro?"

"The Dark Lantern..."

"I thought he was just a rumor."

"No rumor. That’s him."

"The one who brought imbalance to the emotional spectrum."

"I heard he doesn’t even need that ring to fight. Just uses it to cause that imbalance."

Arthur heard everything. The whispers. The suspicion. The fear that crept in beneath the masks of pride and strength. He didn’t need to read minds to know what they thought. Their thoughts hung heavy in the air, and it was written across their faces.

He turned his head slightly toward a group of Lanterns watching from an upper platform. His glowing violet eyes met theirs, unblinking.

They recoiled slightly. One even dropped his construct mid-air.

Arthur’s gaze lingered just long enough to make them shift uncomfortably... then he looked forward again.

Hal noticed the change in atmosphere. He didn’t even need to turn around.

"Just smile, Arthur," he said dryly. "Helps put people at ease."

"I’m not here to ease anyone," Arthur replied. "I’ve agreed to come here. That’s more than enough."

"Right," Hal muttered. "Almost forgot who I was flying with."

They continued onward, past the great emerald towers and glowing platforms. Past hundreds of lanterns pausing in the middle of drills and missions, all turning to look.

To them, he wasn’t a guest.

He was a variable. An anomaly in the universe.

A possible threat in violet and black.

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If you Like this story! Check out my other stories! Solo leveling in Westeros.

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If you wish to read more or simply support me than check out my patreon at

"/FrenzyAren"

You can Get Access to 3 More Chapters OR 7 More Chapters if you want