Hal, Seaside City

When the Sinestro Corps fled in disarray and their leader Sinestro was once again imprisoned on Oa, faraway Earth held another man who should have been great but had remained obscure for all sorts of reasons. He sat atop a stretch of ruins, lost in thought.

Hal Jordan, Yellow Lantern, former resident of Seaside City.

He stared blankly at the city being rapidly rebuilt, overwhelmed by a profound sense of unfamiliarity.

This was no longer his Seaside City, no longer his city.

Back then, Mongu and Cyborg Superman had destroyed Seaside City. Eight million residents had become innocent victims. Hal had narrowly survived, only to be possessed by Parallax, who had arrived from the depths of the universe, and killed Cyborg Superman in one stroke.

Though the city had been undergoing rapid reconstruction and countless residents poured in every day, this utterly unfamiliar metropolis no longer had anything to do with Hal.

"At least I still have Carol..."

Hal sat atop a crumbling abandoned building, blankly watching Seaside City, where construction sites stood everywhere.

At least his lover Carol had survived as well. She had been enhanced with a super serum and had become a superhuman too.

But some things had ultimately been lost forever.

Hal rubbed the Yellow Lantern Ring on his finger. The power of fear coiled around his heart, and silent weeping rang out, composing a low, lingering symphony.

He had accepted the ring Donnie gave him and become a Lantern.

Though this outcome was hardly ideal, it was the best choice under the worst circumstances.

Hal silently watched the city without saying a word.

The night wind swept in, and scattered lights flickered on like dying candles in the wind, as though they could be extinguished at any moment. Compared to the metropolis that had once