It always ends like this this, regardless of the circumstances. A greater power threatening or breaking or destroying a lesser one once it steps out of line. Kyle with his ring, Jack and his avalanche. With people like Connor or Batman the gap can at least be overcome. There are steps he can take to make up the difference, to become the greater power in that scenario, even if it takes time and work and planning. There's no fighting winter. He doesn't even understand the Lanterns, how they could exist, let alone how they work.

And then there's this. The carrot and the stick. The whip and the sugar cube. Punished for bad behavior and then coaxed back into the fold, until the next time. That thought at least puts a little spine back into him. Makes him promise himself that whatever Jack is really after he's not going to get it.

Clipped, precise, and final: "No."