Atrocitus escaped.

Those two words sent all of Oa into panic.

Razer helped him.

Those three words sent Aya, Hal, and even Kilowag into a whirl of distress and betrayal. Why would Razer do this? they wondered.

The Guardians barely conveyed the name of the planet Razer and Atrocitus went to before they all agreed to the mission. As it turned out, the Guardians worked on a teleporter to transport others without the need of a ship. The transporter was bugged however and broke down during the transport. The trio was told that it'd take the fugitives a while to recover from the bumpy ride.

"Fine, we'll head to Varardras and bring them back," Hal said, interrupting Guardian Appa's explanation.

"No you will not," said Sayd. "Varardras is a planet once used for housing prisoners. When the jailers found out about the poisonous atmosphere it became the place for a death sentence."

"Guardian Sayd, with all due respect I have information about Varardras in my database. While you are correct we would have several Earth hours before Green Lanterns Hal and Kilowag would suffer from the poisons. As neither of them is weak or ill it is fact we will have more than three hours to search for, and capture, Razer and Atrocitus."

"What Aya said." Kilowag nodded. "We can find Red and Atrocitus before any of us bite the big one."

"And what if it's a trap?" Appa shook his head. "It's most likely that the fugitives have left Varardras already."

"So what are we supposed to do? Just sit around and do nothing? Razer wouldn't just let Atrocitus go; there has to be a reason for this. Atrocitus will kill Razer the first chance he gets!" Hal clenched his fists and turned his back to the Guardians. "It doesn't matter what you say, I'm going to find Razer and Atrocitus and bring them back." He walked to the exit, not waiting for a response.

Kilowag sighed. "That Jordan…" he muttered, his shoulders slumped. He straightened them and looked evenly at the Guardians. "I'm goin' with him."

"As am I. I apologize if this doesn't suit you Guardians, but Razer is our friend and it seems I've developed what you would call… stubbornness."

She walked after Hal, who waited for them at the door. "I knew I could count on you two." He smiled and patted Aya's head. "We'll find him."

"Wait."

They turned to face the Guardians, their eyes falling on Appa.

"Stay in contact with Oa. Don't split up and as soon as any of you feel muscle weakness leave. If you stay any longer permanent damage will set in, if the asphyxiation doesn't kill you first." He paused. "Good luck Green Lanterns. We won't stop you."

Hal nodded. "Thanks Appa. We'll be back soon." He motioned for Aya and Kilowag to follow him as he took flight and rushed out of the building, towards the Interceptor. They'd need the Ultra-Warp for this.


Razer fell to his knees hacking and wheezing. When the transporter broke down during the transport he and Atrocitus suffered from many scrapes, bruises, and bumps. The worst part was how drained Razer felt, as opposed to Atrocitus who suffered less severe side effects.

Actually, the worst part was that they were separated. Razer hadn't stopped hacking since they arrived several minutes ago. At first they weren't too far away from each other but Atrocitus snuck off. Razer knew he hadn't abandoned the planet though; Atrocitus' ring needed charged and Razer had his battery. The only reason Atrocitus hadn't stolen it right then and there was that Razer's ring was fully charged and a head-on assault would've been suicide. And right then Razer had been on his feet.

Several more minutes passed before Razer climbed to his feet. The hacking subsided though the wheeze remained for another two minutes. When that was gone Razer tightened his grip on the battery and took flight. He had to find Atrocitus before anyone came looking for them. He doubted most people would, but there were three people he knew were reckless enough to try.

Hal. Kilowag. Aya.

They were foolish enough to come after him. Razer knew they would, but hoped that he'd be finished with Atrocitus before then. The poisonous atmosphere would weaken them both, but with a fully charged ring Razer told himself that he'd survive long enough. What about living for a cause? Hal's voice spoke to him, but only him; it was in his head.

"I tried."

That wasn't suitable, but it was all Razer had.


A/N: This is a bit short, but the next part will be longer. Varardras is a planet I came up with, so it's clearly not cannonical. :p I actually didn't plan to write this for a bit longer, but I really wanted to get started on it. Hope you all enjoy! Reviews are super appreciated. (: