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The Talon and the Red Lantern

Wally wasn't quite sure how he ended up on Earth with an injured Talon in his possession. In fact, he wasn't even sure how he was alive. Normally, he avoided Earth like the plague, but something had intrigued him. He didn't exactly have fond memories of the planet, so it was a surprise when he felt drawn to it. Something important was there. Something he needed. So, begrudgingly, he'd gone back to Earth. He'd been drawn to Gotham, where Batman tried to threaten him away, and had found an empty warehouse. Well, an almost empty warehouse. In the middle, laying in a puddle of blood, was a Talon. It was wheezing softly, hands weakly grasping at a hole in his stomach. Wally wasn't even sure how he knew the other boy was the thing he'd searched he'd for, he just did. Wally had patched him up, and, ahem, found a few things around the city. In a matter of minutes, the Talon was laying on a gurney, bandages wrapped around his waist as an IV fed meds into his body. Wally also found a very expensive computer and monitor that someone just happened to throw out as he flew by, so he took it back and hooked it up to the warehouse's power.

After browsing around for a bit, Wally decided the world hadn't changed much. Sure, there was a bunch of new fancy technology, but there were still needless wars. There were still abused children who no one believed. There were parents who shouldn't have been parents getting away with shitty stuff because they're a parent. Wally stopped looking at the news, and instead decided to look at games and stuff. Online games had evolved a lot since he was last here. You could even play with other people now. People also liked to stream their videos on something called YouTube, and seemed to get very popular because of it. Wally eventually shrugged to himself and watched a few videos. He had some time to kill, so why not see what the big deal is? Besides, he couldn't do much else with the Talon still out of commission. Maybe he could go out in search of food, but he'd already been gone long enough. Wally wanted to be here when the Talon woke up, to find out exactly why he felt this way about him. Maybe it was some sort of prophecy, or whatever magic shit the sorcerers believed.

Wally was in the middle of watching some guy playing Happy Wheels when something loud thumped behind him. He turned around quickly, prepared to fight something, when he saw the Talon crumpled on the floor. The other boy was wheezing, clutching his stomach in pain. "Hey, easy. You're hurt." Wally sighed, floating over to the Talon. He recoiled from the Lantern's touch,  reaching for his belt. "I took your weapons, so you wouldn't hurt yourself. I'm not here to hurt or kill you." Wally explained, motioning to the knives suspended in a red box. "Who are you?" The Talon growled, forcing himself to sit up. "I'm Wally, but people call me Red Lantern. What about you?" "Talon." "You're real name, dummy. I know you're a Talon, but I want to know who you really are." "I don't have one." "Yes, you do. Everyone has a name." "I'm not supposed to have a name." "Look, I'm not the Court. This isn't an interrogation. I just want to know who you are, and why you got hurt." "My name is Talon, and I was hurt because I failed. I should be dead. Why am I not dead?"

Wally stared into the angry yellow eyes, almost a little surprised to see fear hidden in their depths. This Talon had been injured and abandoned. He should've been dead, but Wally saved him, and now he didn't know what to do. "Look, why don't we get you back on the gurney? I'll explain everything." "I'm fine where I am." "You can't stay on the concrete floor. It's not good for you." "I said I'm fine where I am." Wally sighed. "Fine. I'll just do it this way." The Talon yelped as red light surrounded him, lifting him off of the ground. "Put me down!" "I will, on the gurney. Promise to stay on there, and I won't lift you up with my ring." "Fine! Just put me down!" Wally set the Talon on the gurney, covering him with a blanket. Wally took just a quick session to study the Talon. His dark hair and pale skin contrasted beautifully, leaving his gold eyes to shine brightly. Wally noticed that the Talon seemed to be blushing, and he finally understood. This Talon had just had everything ripped away from him: his home, his life, any stability he had, and here was Wally, treating him like a fucking child. He felt like he'd lost his respect, the last thing he had.

Wally pulled the rolling chair over, sitting down in it. "Alright. I think it's best to start from the beginning. I'm part of an organization called the Red Lantern Corps. It's a group of creatures from all over the galaxy, uniting under one common power. I came from Earth, and haven't been back for years, until I felt something pulling me here. I didn't want to come back, but the feeling was getting annoying, so I came here. I found the warehouse, and I found you. I figured out pretty quickly you were the thing calling me. I don't know how, or why. I got some stuff, patched you up, and decided to camp here for a bit. I know you're a little...shaken up right now, but I promise, I'm not here to hurt you. I just want to help you." "Have you figured it out yet?" "Not yet. I was hoping that maybe, once you woke up, we could figure it out. I just...I left home in a hurry, and I never talked to anyone else about this, because I didn't think it was something that they'd understand. Have you ever felt anything? Any pull?" The Talon pulled his knees to his chest, looking away. "I don't know. I don't usually pay attention to my feelings."

The first night was...rough, to say the least. Wally nabbed a couch and tried his best to sleep, but his thoughts were running too wild. He shouldn't be back here. He should've just taken the Talon back to Ysmault while he had the chance. He could sense the ebony's restlessness, and knew tonight was going to be a long night. Who knew how the Talon was feeling? Wally only had a vague idea, and even then, it was probably much more complicated for the boy. From what Wally understood, he didn't have great experience with emotions. Something like this would jumble everything up. Maybe they should go get food. There were usually some late night diners open in the big city. Wally groaned, pressing the bottom of his palms into his eyes. There was no use. He wasn't getting any sleep tonight. He finally threw the blanket back, walking over to the computer. "What are you doing?" The Talon asked, turning to face the redhead. "I can't sleep. Found this YouTube channel earlier, thought I might watch it." "What's YouTube?" "Apparently, some site where people can upload all sorts of videos. Since I can't sleep, I'll just watch this. I'll turn the volume down for you." "It's fine. I'm not tired either."

"Do you want me to pull you over here? You can watch it with me." Wally looked over his shoulder at the Talon. "I can see fine from here." "You also said you'd be fine on the concrete. Look, it's no bother no me. You don't have to give yourself the bare minimum. All I have to do is get the ring to pull the gurney, and you're here with me." "What is that ring?" "Something the Corps gave to me. It can form anything I think of, and do anything I want it to, and it feeds off of my rage. I've got a lot of pent up anger from over the years, so I'm a strong Lantern. I won't use it to hurt you, though. I promise." The Talon looked hesitant, but nodded. Wally pulled the gurney next to him, turning it so the ebony could lay down and still see. "Jacksepticeye?" "I dunno. He popped up, so I thought I'd watch it. It's pretty entertaining." "I never really had time to watch anything. Too busy with the Court." "Well, maybe we can find things you like." "I don't know." 

The two fell into a comfortable silence, watching as the green-haired YouTuber played and screamed at characters, giggling with each other. They slowly grew more comfortable around each other, tensing less and relaxing more. The Talon was the first to fall asleep. Wally didn't even notice until he heard the first soft snores. It surprised Wally, knowing that the Talon trusted him enough to sleep. He'd heard that they were very guarded, unlikely to trust new people. It made him smile, knowing that whatever pulled him here was on somewhat good terms with him. Wally finally found himself tiring out, so he paused the video and leaned back in the chair. Maybe it had been a rough night, but at least the early hour mornings would give him some rest. Maybe the Talon would get some good rest, too. It made him smile as he closed his eyes.  Maybe this would be a good distraction for him.