33 Maple Street, Coast City.
Rainwater still dripped through the hole in the roof. The living room was a wreck, with broken boards and insulation mixed into the water covering the floor.
Carol Ferris stood at the edge of a puddle, staring blankly at the sky. That dazzling green light had long since vanished deep into the clouds, leaving not even a trace behind.
"Can he... win?" Carol's voice was soft, as though she were asking herself, or the person behind her.
Yang Ming wasn't looking at the sky. His head was lowered as he wiped the water splashed onto his briefcase with a clean handkerchief.
"Parallax grows stronger by feeding on fear." Yang Ming folded the handkerchief and tucked it back into his pocket. "As long as Hal stops being afraid of him, he's just an oversized yellow balloon. One poke and he pops."
In the original timeline, even without Yang Ming's two-pronged beating, both physical and psychological, Hal Jordan had managed to grasp the true meaning of willpower in his darkest hour and throw Parallax into the sun to burn to ash.
And now?
Now the kid was flying back to Oa with a bellyful of fury and a freshly reforged will. If he still managed to lose, the entire Green Lantern Corps might as well resign and start collecting trash.
Yang Ming picked up his briefcase, took a business card from his inner pocket, and casually set it on the only coffee table that was still reasonably intact.
"Mr. Yang Ming." Carol turned around. "You're leaving?"
"The medical consultation is over. I charge by the second. I can't wait for him to finish his alien war and come back to settle the bill." Yang Ming adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and walked toward the front door. "Give him