The Many Loves of Batman

Facing Your Fears (Soranik Natu, aka Sinestro)

"B-Batman?!" She commented, fear laced in her throat as she watched the hero walk through the sea of yellow flames that were created by her Power Ring's energy. Her whole body was trembling, her eyes getting teary as she took a slight step back. Her Power Ring was whispering to her, whispers that only made her fear the man approaching her even further. And it was these voices that were only making her lose control of her fears, fears that she would fuel her Power Ring with to actually not feel them any longer.

"The more afraid you are, the more the ring controls you" She knew it, she perfectly knew what the ring was doing with her. But she could hear the truth from the ring, even if it was making her fears grow even stronger. Which only made her ring even stronger, even harder to force away. She wished that everything would go away, to stay in a void full of nothingness to be able to not feel this abundant fear that was inside of her brain. She wanted to escape from everything, to stop being part of this group and be actually free once and for all. "Don't be afraid"

"D-Don't be afraid of you?!" Her incredulous tone resounded through the sea of flames. She didn't believe those three final words uttered by the Dark Knight. She knew perfectly well the reputation the hero of Gotham City had within those streets, the fear he would instill on the criminals of his city. Those memories only made her fear the man even further. And it didn't help that her ring was muttering words that only made her more wary of the hero in front of her. It hastened her trembles, tears now quickly falling down her pink skinned cheeks.

"Only criminals should be afraid of me, and you are not a criminal" She tried to ignore the voices, tried to listen to the hero that kept walking towards her without missing a step. But the voices would only get louder, numbing her mind and keeping her feeling on high alert. Thankfully her body was shaking a bit less, but it was still shaking from fear. "You're a victim" She stared at him, fear slowly dissipating into confusion. And even while the voices were trying to control her fears once more, her confusion kept on growing. However, it didn't stop her body from moving back out of instinct, wanting to get away from the approaching hero. "I was a victim, too. I watched the people I love die in front of me, with no power to save them"

She glanced at him, her eyes trying to look straight at his eyes. She could see that he was not lying to her, that he was actually telling her a part of his past. It made her straighten her body and force her shaking to stop. But the voices only grew angrier at her for believing in the man, for not trusting that they were looking out for her. She knew that it was not the case, but her fear was still high, even if she was no longer shaking. And that only made the inner conflict between trusting the hero or trusting her fears be even worse than before. Her head was aching hardly, the female groaning a bit in return.

"I wanted to hide because I was afraid of the darkness out there..." And that, she could not believe for even a second. The one man that used the shadows to scare criminals was actually afraid of the darkness he uses as a weapon. Yet at the same time, her eyes were telling her that the two of them had different kinds of meanings for the word in that particular sentence. "It will consume you, Soranik..." Soranik Natu, better known as a member of the Yellow Lanterns Corp or the Sinestro Corp, only kept watching him closely. Sinestro, who was the alias she had inherited from her father, did not try to interrupt the hero who was seemingly trying to help her. She was, and would always be, fearful of the Dark Knight. Yet in the bottom of her heart, she also felt hope, which only kept irritating the voice in her mind even further. "But you can find the strength to face it if you stand up to the darkness"

She couldn't find the words to describe just how hopeful his words made her feel. To finally be able to push away the fears that had consumed her almost daily, to be free from the shackles that she had created on herself. Yet the yellow flames only increased, anger and fear swimming through the sea of flames that wanted to consume her. Her head felt like it wanted to split open, the voices shouting at her to not trust the hero, that she would only feel safe when accompanied by her fear. But she had enough, and it was the first step that she took towards him that made her decision quite clear.

"I... I believe you..." She whispered, her hand extended towards the hero. She felt like hours passed, an eternity passing over her whole body as she tried to reach the one that was trying to save her from herself and her very own fears. She could see that she was only making things harder for her because she didn't want to accept anyone's help. And finally making that crucial decision, her eyes carefully watched as the hero grabbed her hand and swiftly pulled her up to him and held her in a one-armed hug while his other hand was carefully grasping the hand where her Power Ring was.

Her heart was beating fast, and her mind felt a bit at ease with the man trying to help her. But the shouts of anger from her fear taking form by her Power Ring still didn't want to let her go. They still wanted to torment her until the end of days, and she was tired of that. No longer did she want to see another Power Ring in her life, her mind doubtful of the help the rings could actually provide the user. No longer was it a form of release, the ring transforming her fears into a cage that she could not escape from. Yet it was all thanks to the hero that she could finally be freed from this pain, from the suffering that the ring provided her with.

"Aren't you tired of being afraid?" She immediately nodded her head against his chest, not really trusting her voice to answer his question. She felt at peace now that she was in his arms, a moment to breathe in the calmness that should be around her instead of the chaos and the fear that had accompanied her for a very long time. "Then let your fears go..." She did not hesitate to do so, even as she felt the hero trying to pry the ring out of her finger. She wanted to be free from it, but the fear it had consumed was still enough to maintain the connection between herself and the ring. But she obeyed, her mind abandoning her fears as she relished in the satisfaction that was the warmth of the hero close to her. "Let go and hold on to me"

It was then that she finally felt the connection she had with the ring disappear. The suit the ring gave her disappeared into nothingness as an oversized black shirt and some black shorts covered her body. She could no longer hear the voices, her mind finally free from the anger that kept feeding her fears. She was finally free from that obscured emotion, yet it had been replaced by a new and more pure emotion in return. She felt her heart ache a bit stronger as she finally noticed that the hero still held on to her in such a caring way. Blushing a slight purple tone, she could only close her eyes as she enjoyed the tiredness that the ring gave her in the hands of the Dark Knight, who was a man that shared many things with her.