Above Human Standard #161

"Please don't misunderstand..." Martian Manhunter said as he noticed my annoyed expression. "I'm as capable and willing to help as I was when I made the offer," He calmly added, shaking his head.

"That did not change... however, you did..." the martian telepath went on smiling as he approached and sat on the chair next to my bed, shifting as he made himself comfortable.

"You see that... ring... it was not a simple tool or a weapon..." J'onn explained as he turned to me after getting comfortable. "Not only did it feed on your anger... it also fueled it, the red entity's work no doubt..." he added, without elaborating, and I immediately recalled the bull demon.

"By all means and purposes... it should have completely taken over your mind, but it didn't for reasons unknown to me..." he continued, pausing to choose his words, only for Hal Jordan to interrupt him.

"Indeed. The Green Lantern Corps had multiple encounters with red ring users before, all of which were recorded in the database," Hal Jordan said as he raised his ring hand, conjuring a green hologram.

"All red power ring users did not differ from savage animals, incapable of producing the simplest energy constructs..." he explained as the hologram showed an alien wielding a red power ring fighting one of the green corps members.

The alien was rather powerful, and the green lantern fighting him could barely keep up, even as the former battled like a brainless brute, relying on physical strength and energy blasts.

"Not only that, but they seemed incapable of even forming coherent sentences..." the green lantern went on frowning. "Reasoning with them was impossible..." Jordan added, showing footage of green corps members trying to reason with a captured red ring user.

It was another alien I didn't recognize, but he looked equally as ferocious and pissed off as the first. The green corps members tried speaking to him in many different languages.

He only replied in angry grunts and growls while bashing his head against the energy barrier imprisoning him, to significant effect, I might add, until the green corps members stunned him into unconsciousness.

"I don't know how you pulled it off, but not only were you capable of creating constructs and fighting intelligently..." Hal Jordan said, giving me a bemused look, no doubt for sucker-punching him with a constructed rocket.

"But you could speak and even respond to our reasoning attempts..." he concluded, giving Martian Manhunter and me a curious look, clearly hoping we'd give him an answer.

'It's at times like these that I wish I'd read more comics...' I mused, internally sighing at yet another puzzle I'd need to put together. I didn't get too deep into The Green Lantern comics, and all I knew about red power rings was that they turn people crazy.

Gut and choke you with your bloody intestines for breathing too loudly crazy. Or at least they were until DC made them more family-friendly, but that's all I knew, which makes my decision to use the ring that much dumber. Shit.

"Maybe it's because I didn't wear it too long...?" I said, my remark leaving my mouth as a question more than anything else since I was just as confused as everyone else.

"Believe it or not... people who use red power rings for extended periods show more control and intelligence..." Hal Jordan replied, shaking his head as he dismissed my half-assed theory.

"The second alien only had his ring for a couple of hours before the corps members arrived..." he added as he projected the footage of the captured alien again.

"It is why I'm so curious about your case... not to mention you removed it out of your own will.." the green lantern continued, regarding me with a hard-to-read expression as he meaningfully emphasized the last word to come out of his mouth.

"My offer to take you to the guardians still stands... studying your case might help save many lives..." he went on, raising an arm to cut me off before I could even refuse.

"Heck, I'll even put a good word if you're interested in joining," he remarked, smiling as he raised his ring hand, seemingly too sure that I'd agree in a heartbeat.

Honestly, I couldn't blame him for his confident attitude. Green Lantern might not be as strong as Superman, but he wasn't far behind. His powers are ten times cooler and way more versatile, to boot. And he only had to wear a ring to get them.

I couldn't say the offer didn't tempt me, but being a green lantern came with a shit ton of luggage. After all, The DC writers had to nerf green power rings, or they'd be too overpowered.

The guardians breathing down their necks was one thing, but the fact they get into planet-destroying shenanigans on the regular is a capital turn-off. I can barely handle Gotham so that shit is not for me. Thank you very much.

"I'll think about it," I replied, causing Hal Jordan to raise an eyebrow as he didn't expect such an answer. "You were saying...?" I remarked as I turned back to J'onn, who was patiently waiting on the side.

"Yes, well. You maintained a vestige of reason, enough to process what happened, when..." Martian Manhunter replied, stopping mid-sentence as he noticed my expression darken.

"In any case, it shocked you back into your senses, and you were quick to react..." the martian telepath added, trailing off at the end of his sentence.

"Even if a bit recklessly..." J'onn went on with a sigh as he turned to my missing finger and the scar on my chest. "Not that I don't understand..." he continued with a sigh as he shook his head.

"The ring did not only invade your body. It invaded your mind, entrenching itself deeply into your anger to draw power..." he explained, raising a finger and pointing at his forehead.

"When you forcefully removed the ring, you shook off a good portion of the remnants in your mind causing said anger, not to mention the symbolism behind it..." J'onn meaningfully concluded without elaborating, earning a grateful nod from me.

Still, his vague wording and meaningful tone gave pause to Batman and Hal Jordan, who shared a look before excusing themselves. 'Surprisingly tactful...' I mused, shaking my head as I turned to the green telepath.

"So you're saying I'm good now...?" I asked, scratching my head as I looked at Martian Manhunter after watching Batman and Green Lantern leave the room.

"Not precisely. For simplicity's sake, let's say your anger issues were of superhuman proportions before the incident..." J'onn jokingly explained, to which I could only give him a deadpan look.

"Now they are... above human standards, which I would say is manageable..." he explained, regarding me with an expression, I could only interpret as pride in a lame joke.

"Hence the lack of need for interference on my part..." he concluded, his expression turning slightly disappointed at the lack of reaction before he gathered his bearings.

"I... I don't feel different..." I remarked as I raised my hand and looked at my palm. "Are you sure it worked...?" I asked, despite knowing that the martian telepath wouldn't speak so casually if he weren't confident in his words.

"Very. However, you will not notice the difference so quickly. However, you will discover the changes once you get back to your routine," Martian Manhunter replied, confidently nodding to emphasize his point.

"More importantly, you will notice the difference during stressful situations... where you faced the most trouble..." he concluded, waving a hand to the side as if to end any notion that might suggest otherwise.

"I'll take your word for it..." I said, sighing as I looked at my lap, my mind beginning to wander, but not for long as the martian telepath quickly snapped me out of it.

"And yet... you don't seem so thrilled to hear it..." J'onn said with an expression that suggested he already knew what was on my mind, which might not be that far from the truth.

"Are you reading my mind...?" I asked, frowning as I looked at the martian telepath, a slew of curses already forming at the tip of my tongue, ready to fly loose.

"When you've read as many minds as I have... you'll be able to tell what people are thinking with a glance," he replied with a chuckle, shaking his head. "It comes with experience..." he added with a shrug, and, again, I could only take his word for it.

"I know it might seem like a lucky accident... like you didn't accomplish it yourself..." Martian Manhunter said, putting a hand over my shoulder and squeezing briefly.

"But that is not the case. Even if it was for the briefest of seconds, you've overcome the very embodiment of rage..." J'onn remarked as he removed his hand from my shoulder.

"If that isn't proof of your willpower and a testament of your true character, then I don't know what is..."

...

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