The two hug one another, but it is an awkward embrace. It is the embrace of former lovers now resigned to being just friends.
"So how are you, John?" she asked.
"I'm good Kat. I'm good" he answered, exhaling a little.
She laughed aloud.
"What's so funny?"
"Liar!" she exclaimed smiling. "John, you have always been an open-faced book".
"That's sandwich – an open-faced sandwich" he corrected.
"Whatever. It's no wonder you were so bad at espionage training. Your emotions are and have always been front and center".
"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about" he stated with some annoyance as his eyes looked toward the ground.
"Please!" she began, but then stopped herself.
His body language told her he was troubled. She exhaled before continuing.
"John, I'm…I'm sorry about Shayera…and Vixen".
He looked up in mild shock, but slowly lowered his gaze and exhaled.
"Is it that obvious?"
She placed her hand on his left shoulder and softly answered.
"Yes…it is".
"How did you…" he began.
"C'mon John. You know how the grapevine is with the Corp" she interrupted. "Nothing goes unnoticed".
He looked up and began to survey the landscape.
"Can we get out of here? I mean, can we go somewhere?"
"Sure…sure John. Where to?"
"Anywhere".
"Okay. Climb aboard".
At the speed of thought her ring manifested an emerald green bubble that encapsulated the two of them. They slowly floated away from the planet's surface and into space. They traveled for several minutes in silence. John stared straight ahead, but his thoughts were in every direction. No longer able to bear the quietness of space and John's silence, she spoke.
"Penny for your thoughts or did you start playing the quiet game without me?" she asked playfully.
A few seconds passed before he responded.
"Huh? What? Oh, I'm sorry Kat. Just lost in my thoughts is all".
He briefly smiled at her, but slowly his expression turned emotionless again. Katma Tui is a strong woman. She is a fighter. She does not suffer fools nor those wrapped in self pity. She brought their transport to an abrupt halt, which caused John to fall forward and his momentum pressed his face against the inside wall of the bubble.
"Hey! What gives?!" he asked.
"I was going to ask you the same question!" she answered with annoyance in her voice. "Why are you here John? And don't give me that backup crap again. You know I could have handled those petty crooks myself".
He sighed deeply before speaking.
"Honestly Kat. I don't know what I'm doing here. I don't know a lot of things anymore. My life these past few years have been nothing but one high drama rollercoaster event after another" he stated, clearly angry with himself. "I lose Vixen and…and I lost Shayera. I'm tired of losing the people I care about" he said, softly.
She could feel his angst and it both alarmed and annoyed her. She knew John Stewart to be a man of tremendous strength. Not just mental and physical strength, but emotional as well. She wanted to see that man again.
"Well I hope you haven't come here thinking I'm going to play the role of the rebound chick" she said placing her hands on her hips.
Her accusation angered him, which was exactly her intent.
"What?! I came to Oa to see the Guardians. I just happened to catch your battle on Oa's monitors. I came here to help!" he stated, angrily. "You think I came all this way for some…some type of intergalactic booty call?!" he exclaimed, glaring at her.
They stood in silence frowning at one another until she slowly broke into a wide smile.
"Gotcha" she said playfully.
"What? Oh Jeez…why do I always fall for that?! You were baiting me!" he said, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Booty call?" she asked raising an eyebrow.
"Oh. Yeah. Lemme see, how do I explain…" he started.
"I know what a booty call is John Stewart!" she interrupted, laughing. "I may not know all of Earth's colloquialism's, but there are some things that don't need explaining. Besides, training Raynor all that time…well one picks up on things. So don't hate the playa, hate the game" she remarked.
He put his right hand on his forehead.
"Please! Stop. Just stop now" he said, shaking his head and laughing.
"What? What? That's hip right?" she asked.
"Yeah, that was hip about six years ago! And if I don't stop you now, you'll be saying things like 'foshizzle' pretty soon!" he stated.
"Hmmm. Foshizzle huh? I'll have to write that one down" she said playfully, while manifesting an emerald green pad and pencil.
"Oh God! Can we please just go now?!"
She laughed and once again their emerald green bubble chariot was on its way. They traveled in silence for a moment until he spoke.
"Hey Kat".
"Yeah?"
"Thanks".
"For what?"
"Thanks for making me laugh. I haven't had a good laugh in awhile. Frankly, I haven't had that much to laugh about lately. So thanks for the mood lift" he said, facing her.
"You're welcome John" she said, nodding.
They smiled at each other and then turned forward.
"So where are we going?" he asked, exhaling a little.
"My place. I wanna know more about this booty call thing" she said, matter of factly.
"Uhm…" he began.
"Gotcha…again" she said with a smile and wink.
"Just drive" he motioned with his hand.