Willful Thinking (Invincible/DC | Green Lantern OC-Insert) - Chapter 21 (Patreon)

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Oscar Ward

Yeah, despite her feet-sweeping opening act, I’m pretty sure Eve has no idea where she’s going. I’ve been following her for a solid few minutes. We’re still over Baltimore, having left the forest behind pretty quickly. Since then, she’s taken us in something vaguely resembling a circle twice, and every few seconds her eyes flick down at the city like she’ll find a good date spot all the way from up here if she just stares hard enough.

I speed up until we’re flying side by side. “...So, where are we going?” 

“I’m figuring that out.”

“Samantha… you asked me out, but you didn’t have anywhere in mind?”

“I had other things on my mind!”

I grin. “Oh, really?”

“Ugh.” Eve looks over. “Like relief, asshole!”

Phew. My confidence comes rushing back so fast I almost laugh. Thank God. For a minute there, I thought six months had turned her into some kind of unstoppable flirting machine, and I was completely fucked. It’d be a complete upending of our dynamic that I’d have no clue how to navigate.

Eve notices me drifting closer and gives me a frown. “What? Why are you smiling like that?”

“Oh, no reason.”

“Ozzy…” She turns to face me completely, squinting. That’s when I lean in. Her eyes widen slightly, but she doesn’t move away. That answers that, then! I close the rest of the distance and kiss her.

The first one caught me completely off guard. This time, I actually get to enjoy it. Eve makes a surprised little sound against my mouth before her arms slip around my neck, pulling me in the rest of the way. Mine settle around her waist. We’re still floating hundreds of feet above the city, which probably makes this one of the stupider places I’ve ever made out with someone, but is it really stupid if we can both fly?

Eventually, she pulls back for air, cheeks burning.

“Are you relieved yet?”

She laughs. “S-Shut up and kiss me again.”

“Yes, ma’am. Though I just—”

Eve rushes in and kisses me before I can even finish smiling… which is exactly what I planned. Okay. Yeah. Why didn’t I do this sooner? I pull her closer, sliding my hands past the small of her back. She responds enthusiastically enough, running her hands through my hair and moaning when my hold tightens. We start slowly spinning in midair without either of us noticing or caring.

“W-Wait!” Eve suddenly breaks the kiss. She takes a breath, still holding onto my shoulders. “I need to tell you something.”

“...That sounds ominous.”

She shakes her head. “It isn’t.”

“Oh, good.” I relax. “For a second I thought you were about to tell me you’ve got a boyfriend. Which would be a little annoying, because I want it on record that I spent six months being very responsible.”

“Responsible?” Eve’s expression changes instantly. “What does that mean?”

“Nothing.”

“Ozzy.”

“I’m just saying I exercised tremendous restraint.”

“With who? You were in space… oh. The kidnapped girl?”

“She’s hot. A man and woman alone in space… things could happen.”

“And did they happen?”

I squeeze one eye shut. “...If I said yes?”

“Seriously?” she asks, sounding a little vulnerable, but she doesn’t pull away. Not yet, at least.

Feeling a little bad, I pull her closer and give her forehead a peck. “No, but humour me.”

“I…” She heaves out a sigh. “...wouldn’t be mad? I’d be hurt, knowing I don’t really have any right to. We weren’t dating at all before you left, even if things were headed that way—”

“Hey, now. I put my heart and soul into our flirting.” I hold the serious look till Eve giggles. “But as tempted as I was—perils of the fleshy body and whatnot—I didn’t make a move on Zoe Thompson.”

Eve’s shoulders relax, dropping by about an inch.

“I like you a teeny bit more.”

She scoffs. “A teeny bit? Let me just say that going back to your spandex suit isn’t helping because I can feel that you like me more than just a teeny bit.”

“That was the point!” I jut out my chin, ignoring how warm my face is at having my boner called out like that. It’s a natural reaction, damn it! “Besides, you won by a microscopic amount.”

She shoves my chest.

I catch her wrist and start leaning in again. “Barely measurable, really.”

“O-Ozzy…”

“Statistical error—unless you’d like to prove me wrong…”

“Stop distracting me!” She plants a glowing pink hand against my face and pushes me away. 

I laugh into the palm. “Fine, fine. What did you want to tell me?”

Eve’s blush doesn’t fully recede despite the emotional reset. She looks at me for a moment, then gestures vaguely towards my face.

“I can see your emotions.”

“...What?”

“Your emotions. I can see them. People have colours around them now, sometimes anyway. They change depending on what someone’s feeling.”

“Since when?”

“About a week after you left.”

“And you didn’t tell anyone?” I sidestep the issue of Eve perceiving the Emotional Electromagnetic Spectrum to point out that obvious morsel. “You just spent six months seeing fucking mood rings around everybody?”

“That is not what—” Eve stops. “Okay, that’s annoyingly close. Red is rage. Orange is greed—”

“Avarice,” I correct reflexively.

She blinks. “You know what this is?”

“In passing, sort of. I’ll tell you later. Go on.”

“Well, yellow is fear. Green is will. Blue is hope. Indigo is compassion. Violet is…”

Eve trails off.

I slowly smile. “No, no. Finish it. Violet’s what?”

She covers her face. “Love.”

Oh, this is fantastic.

“So that thing you were grinning at on my face—”

“Keep talking, and I’m throwing you into Maryland.”

“Ha! Too bad we’re already in Maryland.”

“I’ll find another state!”

“How are you more embarrassed by the fact that I know that you know I love you?” I laugh and catch her hands when she tries to cover my face this time. “Okay, okay. What else?”

“Grey is sorrow. And then there’s white and black. Life and death.”

“Those… aren’t emotions.” Which I’ve always had a bit of a problem with conceptualising. I guess it’s the absence and the maximum of all the emotions that come with life or some shit. Will isn’t really an emotion either, but that’s a whole different can of worms to do with naming.

“Yeah. I noticed.”

“Anyway… how?”

“Rudy thinks it might be some extension of how I already perceive matter, but nothing’s changed physically. He scanned my brain, my eyes, my nervous system. We talked about testing whether I could actually interact with any of it, but I’m not sure I can. Anyway, we decided screwing around with a completely unknown universal energy source that apparently includes death was probably something we shouldn’t do without the guy wearing the emotion-powered ring.”

“Probably wise.” I nod sagely as if I have anything more than a surface-level understanding of this shit.

“He also pointed out that even if I can manipulate it, we have no idea what happens to the person I’m taking it from. Or whether your ring doing something with emotional energy means my powers can do the same thing safely.”

I nod slowly. That does sound like Robot. Or Rudy, rather. God, I need to get used to that since he’s not a tin man anymore.

“So we stopped,” Eve finishes. “We figured we’d wait until you came back.”

I drift in, grabbing her by the shoulders and rocking her back and forth slightly. Eve raises an eyebrow, expecting something, but I really just did that ‘cause I felt like it. Letting go, I clap my hands and smile.

“Well, I am back...”

【—〄—】

After being teleported in by a GDA worker, I let Eve guide me straight to Rudy’s workshop, sequestered at the very back, the most secluded part of the entire Guardians HQ. But, as a result, it’s the room with the most amount of space. Oddly, I didn’t see anyone on our way in. To be fair, it’s pretty early in the day. The only ones who live at the Guardians HQ year-round, to my knowledge, are Rudy, Rex, Amanda, and Kate. The Immortal, Black Samson, Rae, and Throwbolt all have homes outside of the HQ. The chunk of Guardians who do live on the mountain are either asleep or, in Rex’s case…

“...fuck you, asshole! You’ll do nothing!” is a declaration followed by a heavy amount of gunfire that filters between the barely-open doors. See, all the rooms are soundproofed with some bullshit GDA tech, which Rex would be able to completely benefit from if he’d just shut the door.

Sighing, I do him the favour, not that he notices me over whatever first-person shooter he’s got on.

The door to Rudy’s workshop slides open automatically as Eve approaches. There’s a main console that Rudy’s parked behind, his longish hair held up by some goggles. He’s got an apron on and some thick gloves. Once he sees us, he sets down whatever tool he’s got in his hands to smile.

“Oscar.” Rudy swivels around. “It’s good to see you returned.”

“Rudy.” It’s weird to hear a kid talk like that, even if he’s not really a kid, but I shrug it off quickly enough.

He stares at me for another second before turning to Eve. “I assume you told him.”

“Everything we know.”

“Which isn’t much,” I add, walking further inside to grab one of the plastic chairs. “Unfortunately, everything I know isn’t much either. I know the broad strokes.”

Rudy pulls another chair over while Eve takes the stool beside his workstation. “Then I would appreciate the broad strokes.”

“Alright.” I rub my hands together. Time to bullshit a tiny bit. A little white lie, if you will! “So, where I come from, the Emotional Spectrum is basically a fundamental force of the universe.”

“...Fundamental in what sense?”

“Like gravity, light, time, sound, et cetera.” I pause. “Actually, I don’t know if sound belongs on that list scientifically. You know what I mean. Fundamental cosmic bullshit. My universe has all the normal stuff, but it also has things that yours apparently doesn’t. Or didn’t.”

“The Emotional Spectrum,” Eve says.

“Yep. There’s also the Speed Force.”

Rudy leans forward slightly. “What is that?”

“Another fundamental force. Connected to motion and speed. People can tap into it and do ridiculous shit.”

“Such as?”

“Run really fast.” I feel compelled to elaborate a bit with Eve staring into my soul. “Like time travel fast.”

“...Oh.”

I grin. “Mhm.”

“If one such force has manifested here, is it possible this Speed Force has as well?” Rudy asks. “Such a force would be helpful indeed, if its power can be harnessed.”

“Eh, I doubt it.”

“Why?”

“Because I think the Emotional Spectrum might be here because of me.”

Eve leans forward. “What?”

“I mean, think about it. My ring comes from a universe where this stuff exists. Then I somehow end up here with it, and a few months later you start seeing the exact same energies my ring uses?”

“You think the ring introduced it?”

“Maybe. Or whatever brought me here dragged more across than just me and the ring. I have no fucking idea.” I scratch my head. “But if that’s what happened, the Speed Force has no reason to come along. I’m not connected to it.”

“Whereas you are connected to the Emotional Spectrum.”

I lift my ring.

“Very.”

Rudy turns towards Eve. “That would also explain the delay.”

“Yeah,” I say. “If it arrived with me, maybe it wasn’t immediately everywhere. Maybe it had to… I dunno, spread? Establish itself?”

“Accumulate,” Rudy suggests. “That was my theory as well.”

“Heh! Great minds, eh?”

He gives me a smile.

…Still, it’s not like there’s any shortage of fuel. There are seven billion humans on Earth alone. But how many people have lived and died in this universe since the first sapient species crawled out of whatever primordial soup they had? Aeons of fear, hope, rage, love, and all the other bullshit. If the Spectrum really did follow me here and suddenly found all of that waiting for it, would that mean the entities could eventually—

“Ozzy?”

I blink. Eve’s watching me. “What?”

“You went quiet.”

“Just thinking,” I say, clearing my throat. Entities, huh? That is a problem for Future Ozzy, preferably one with significantly more skill with this ring. I guess there’s more meditation in my future. “Anyway! More immediate issue. I wouldn’t get too excited about you shooting rainbow lasers anytime soon.”

Eve gives me a look. “I… wasn’t.” I stare at her till she starts blushing. “Okay, maybe a little. But I was thinking about whether I could interact with it to help people. Make the world as better of a place as possible.”

“...Well, hope is really good for that sort of thing. It so happens that its full power is unleashed when you’ve got some will around—therefore, me. Being honest, though, I haven’t a clue how you’re meant to tap into it.”

Rudy ignores us. “Why do you believe she cannot?”

“Because I can’t.”

I hold up my fist. Ring. Can you utilise any part of the Emotional Spectrum other than the green stuff? Say the answer aloud, please.

“This ring requires Will to function.”

“See?” I point at it with my other hand.

Rudy looks between me and the ring. “But you can perceive the other energies, yes?”

“Not like Eve can. The voices in my head tell me.”

“The voices in your head?” Eve says dryly. “That explains a lot.”

“The ring, I mean. It tells me when it detects the other emotions so they don’t impact my ability to muster up will power. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean I can start throwing fear around because somebody nearby is scared.”

“Have you attempted it?” Rudy asks. “Just to check.”

“Nope. Trust me, it wouldn’t work, but if it means reassuring you.” Well, ring, can I?

“This ring requires Will to function.”

“And there you have it.”

He nods seriously.

“Seeing something and being able to use it are two very different things. Doesn’t mean you’re definitely stuck at seeing it forever, though. Your powers are already way more flexible than mine.”

Rudy turns towards one of his monitors. “Alas, your ring remains our only known piece of technology specifically designed to interface with one of these energies.”

“Pretty much.”

“That is unfortunate. I cannot reasonably ask you to surrender something so important, even temporarily. Particularly now that we know the scale of the Viltrumite threat.” He glances back at me. “A detailed examination of the ring might provide some insight into how it interacts with the Spectrum, but depriving Earth of one of its most useful defenders for the sake of an experiment would be irresponsible.”

I smile. “That might not be an issue for too long.”

Seeing I can duplicate my ring, not that it’s something I’ve given much thought to outside my battery issues, giving him a copy could be worthwhile. Though I’ll have to disable whatever straight copying function any duplicates possess. Or have their duplicates run on a timer or something. Temporary deputisation and whatnot. Haven’t really given the whole Green Lantern Corps thing much thought after… everything in space. But with the mole gone, I’ve got enough time to slowly think things through and consider all my options.

Talk over it with Cecil. Point is, Rudy might be able to get his hands on a ring for studying purposes. I’ve known him for a while now, and he’s a solid guy. A little maladjusted in some ways, but anyone would be if they spent their lives talking to everyone through a screen.

Rudy turns fully towards me. Before he can ask a follow-up question to my totally-not-cryptic statement, the workshop door slides open behind us.

“See, you thought I didn’t notice you, but I did.” I turn just in time for a shirtless Rex Splode to stride into the room. “OZZY, MY MAN!” He wraps his arms around my head from behind. I tap his forearm a few times like an old man. “Where the fuck have you been, dude?! You disappear for half a goddamn year and come back dressed like a Power Ranger? I’m digging the look.”

“Thanks,” I say, chuckling. “But that’s not all I got up to. Let’s just say I might have presents for you close-range Guardians soon… ish.”

“Like your Power Ranger suit?”

“Something like that.”

Rex circles around, spreading his arms wide. “You say anymore and I might hug you again.”

I zip my lips. “It’s a surprise, then. So, what you’ve been up to—”

“Fuck that noise!” Rex claps his hands. “I’ve decided! We’re all going clubbing.”

Rudy looks up. “...All?”

“All of us for whom fun is legal,” he says. His eyes slowly travel down Rudy’s considerably younger body. “And don’t have shrimp dicks.”

Rudy’s face goes completely blank. “I do not—”

“Hey, hey! You cloned that body using my DNA. Trust me, I know.” Rex pats him sympathetically on the shoulder. “But chin up, champ! It’ll grow. You’ll make MG a happy, happy lady one day.”

Eve pinches the bridge of her nose. “...Rex, why are you like this?”

“C’mon, Eve. I was made in God’s image!”

“Rex, you beat me by one second,” I say as I fight a smile.

“Boo-fucking-hoo!”

【—〄—】

“Congrats, you two!” Kate says over thumping, high-speed club music.

“Thanks!” Eve calls back.

Rae raises her glass towards us from the other side of the booth. “About time if you ask me.”

“Was it that obvious?”

“Yes,” she and Kate say simultaneously.

Seraphina snorts. “Hashtag Atomic Lantern? I mean come on.”

Beside me, Eve groans. I take a very dignified sip of my rum and coke. Material alteration is something my ring can do without consuming any charge, really, so I don’t really have any clothes. My clothes aren’t the fanciest, but hey, I saw something in Rex’s wardrobe that I liked and copied it.

“Congratulations, though.” Seraphina says. “I just hope nobody throws a Hashtag Rexbolt up.”

“After he ended up on top of you?” Kate says. “Yeah, right.”

“Some asshole threw a tank.”

“Internet doesn’t give a shit. Just ask Eve.”

I swallow my snort. Eve’s already slumped over in defeat. I can’t be pouring salt in the wound by laughing as much as I want to. Bad boyfriend karma, that.

“I feel kind of bad Amanda and Rudy couldn’t come,” Rae says. “They’re adults. It’s not their fault they’re stuck looking twelve. Well, not in Amanda’s case anyway, but still.”

“Oh, they’re fine.” I wave her off. “You heard Amanda ordering a boatload of pizzas, right? I bet she’s gonna drag the guy out of his lab for some quality time. Besides, do you think Rudy would ever go to a club? Willingly?”

Seraphina snorts into her drink so violently she starts coughing.

Kate pats her back. “You good?”

“Sorry.” She wipes her mouth. “I just imagined Rudy dancing.”

Eve immediately starts giggling. Smiling, I try picturing it myself. Rudy in the middle of the dance floor, hands carefully positioned at his sides, calculating the optimal hip-to-beat ratio. …Okay, yeah. That’s pretty fucking funny.

“Is it bad that I still can’t believe he’s a person?” Eve says. “I spent years thinking he was AI.”

“Technically you weren’t wrong,” Rae says.

My eyes wander past them towards the dance floor. Rex has somehow acquired an audience in the time we’ve been sitting here. He’s dancing his fucking heart out in the middle of a loose circle while three or four girls watch him with varying degrees of interest. Of course, Kate catches me looking.

“Excuse me.” She taps my arm. “You should only have eyes for one woman now.”

“I was looking at Rex!”

“It’s always the ones you don’t expect.” Eve laughs. Kate puts a hand dramatically over her chest. “It’s a shame, though. We never got to roll around one last time before you got locked away.”

Eve’s head whips towards her. “Kate!”

“What?” She looks between us innocently. “I’m happy for you. But hey, I’m open-minded. We can have a threesome.”

Rae almost spits out her drink, laughing.

Eve swats her arm, turning progressively redder while Kate looks entirely too pleased with herself. Her eyes flick towards me once, then immediately away. I clear my throat, praying away the mental image… sheesh.

“Kate, we’ll consider your application,” I say. Eve pinches the skin under my arm. “OW!”

Kate beams. “I’ll expect an answer within three to five business days.”

“You are not helping,” Eve mutters in my ear. “She’s only half-joking.”

“So was I.” Naturally, she pinches again, so I kiss her cheek. 

“Anyway!” Kate takes mercy on her. “How was space, Ozzy?”

That takes me a second. How was space? Pretty fucking great, initially. Gelderia. The station. Meeting the Coalition. Space Racer. Learning that the universe is somehow even bigger and weirder than I already knew it was. …Then there’s Techia. Billions of people reduced to a number so large my brain still can’t really do anything with it. Data Twin 2 crying over his brother before killing himself. Me admitting to Thaedus that I’d probably do it again.

…And now Eve is looking at me. I blink and glance away from her.

“Food’s shit,” I decide. “Like, impressively shit. Turns out Earth has the galaxy beaten on cuisine, and it isn’t close.”

Rae laughs. “That’s your review of space?”

“Two stars. Great sights, mostly terrible restaurants. Some street food gems, though.”

Another song kicks in, and Kate slides out of the booth.

“Come on, Rae.”

Seraphina finishes her drink and follows them. “Are you two coming?”

“In a minute!” Eve says. The three of them disappear into the crowd, leaving us alone at the bar. I reach for my Coke. “...Ozzy, why were you sad?”

My hand stops. Right. Fucking emotion vision. Sorrow is an emotion. Guilt’s bustier, more toxic older sister. An old friend, if you will.

“What happened in space?” Eve asks.

I put my arm over her shoulder, resting my head against hers. “Nothing I want to ruin your night with.”

Eve leans in, opting for silence, which… I appreciate, to be honest. I expected her to push a little till she got it out of me. And she would get it out of me. I care about her, and relationships are built on sharing burdens, right? Of course, I can’t share all my burdens, and the ones I can share, I will. This is one of them, I suppose... yeah, alright.

I take a long, bracing sip of my drink.

“Alright. There was a Viltrumite mole inside the Coalition, so I helped Thaedus flush him out by feeding him information we wanted Viltrum to have. It worked. So when they naturally assumed he betrayed them, Viltrum destroyed his entire planet to make an example out of him. Billions died. His brother killed himself afterwards, and the really fucked-up part is that knowing everything I know now, I’d probably still make the same call because otherwise, Viltrum finds out about Earth and even more people die. Y’know?”

“No… I don’t know.”

“Yeah,” I say quietly. “I guess not.”

“That’s not—” She stops herself, looking down at our hands. “I don’t even know what I’m supposed to say to that.”

“Join the club.”

She looks back at me. I don’t want pity. I especially don’t want to spend my first night back staring into another drink while Eve tries to find the magic combination of words that makes an exploded planet less exploded. So I slap my free hand against the bar and heave us both onto our feet.

“Right!”

Eve jumps at how loud I say the word.

“We’re dancing.” I pull her out of her seat just as the current song starts winding down.

“What? O-Ozzy—”

“Nope. You brought me here. I’m getting my date one way or another.”

“This was Rex’s idea!”

“Technicality.” I drag her towards the dance floor as the last few beats die out. People start shifting around us, some heading for the bar while everyone else waits for whatever’s on next. I stop behind Eve and wrap my arms around her waist, pulling her back against me. She relaxes almost immediately.

“Tell you what,” I murmur beside her ear. “I’ll take you out on a proper date next week. Won’t hold your performance anxiety against you, I promise.”

She elbows me lightly. “I did fine.”

“Define fine for me. I don’t think you’re using the right word. You flew me around, and then we went to go talk about the Emotional Spectrum.”

“I was thinking!”

I snort. “Of me? Okay, in that case, I forgive you.”

“Shut up.”

“Just leave the planning to me. It’ll have to be after the Grayson family dinner in a few days, though. Debbie’s summoned me. Plus I need some time to decompress, you know?”

Eve winces. “I don’t envy you.”

“Hey, Debbie and Mark are great. I’ve even warmed up to Nolan a little.” She turns her head enough to stare at me. I grin against her hair.

“...Really?”

“Yep. We even bonded!” Granted, the bonding was about having to walk about with the souls of billions shackling our ankles, but we did bond… somewhat. Eve’s expression tells me she desperately wants an explanation for that one.

Thankfully, the opening percussion of the next song comes through the speakers. I freeze. No fucking way. I straighten so quickly Eve twists around to look at me.

“What?”

“They have Fontaines D.C. on your world? Huh. Can’t say I expected it. The bands are mostly different, even if a few standouts are the same.”

“Who?”

I stare at her in horror. “...First order of boyfriend business is fixing that.”

The vocals hit, and suddenly, there just isn’t anything existential to worry about. It’s temporary, of course; I know that, but… it’s nice, for once. I take it all in and drift onto the floor. Is Starburster a club song? Not necessarily, but it’s 1 AM, and the weird rap-like flow is getting people moving at least.

…Fuck it. I start dancing, eventually coercing Eve into doing the same.

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