When darkness falls and evil does rise
Two heroes shall put on a disguise
To save those lost they return
To a time past so they may learn
To find a way to make the blackness end
And in return life they shall mend.
~Anonymous
Chapter 1
Stars Twinkled in the dark, lighting the empty vacuum of space with enough light to give visibility of the clear surroundings. A sudden flash erupted and a swirling mass of glowing energy appeared, growing into a wavering portal before two figures flew out of it. The second flying out before the bridge collapsed into itself and vanished from existence. Both figures looked about curiously before the bigger of the two spoke.
"This does not look like Odym." He said.
"The coordinates to the home of the Blue Lanterns was lost long ago." The second said, holding up her palm and a figure of the guardian space appeared.
"According to these coordinates we are near Oa." She said.
"Why must we go to Oa? Should we not avoid the other lanterns?" he asked.
"According to our source the coordinates to our destination will be found onboard a vessel called the Interceptor, which at this time should be located on Oa. In order to bypass their security we must go here," at that she pointed to a planet within the guardian space, "there we shall find our ticket into Oa."
Her partner seemed to sigh before he replied.
"Then there we shall go, until our mission is complete we should wear our lantern attire, to ease our infiltration." He said.
Both nodded to each other before their forms began to glow, revealing mechanical figures before they flew towards their destination.
Hal was enjoying a meal with Carol Ferris when his ring beeped and he looked at it irritably.
"I'm sorry Carol, duty calls." he explained.
"And we didn't even begin with the appetizers." She sighed but nodded at him to go.
He stood and kissed her, thanking her for the meal and rushed off to suit up.
In an alley Hal ran inside before standing as his whole body glowed before his figure was suited into his Green Lantern attire then he flew off towards the source of the call.
He followed the coordinates to a badland littered with caves and small plateaus with steep drops. The coordinates led him to a cave entrance near the base of one of the plateaus and he landed in front of it, looking around curiously before walking forward cautiously. He used his ring to light the way as he looked at the rough walls before he came to what looked like a large cave, cracks in the ceiling lit the center of it and he walked to it before looking about. The sound of moving rubble and footsteps made him turn and hold up his ring arm defensively as a pair of glowing blue eyes appeared in the dark.
"Okay, whoever you are, give me some sort of sign this isn't a trap or I'll be forced to use this thing." He warned.
"It is not, Hal Jordan." A feminine voice said.
Hal noted her voice seemed mechanical and somewhat distant, the voice reminded him of Aya but his gut told him something about it was off
"Okay then, well can you let me see you so I can be set at ease?" He said.
A figure walked into the light, it was female, as he predicted, but what caught him was the design, other than the helmet and minor modifications the figure looked almost identical to Aya. The best he could describe her was she seemed youthful; her helmet looked like an A-line with strands that extended from her forehead and followed the curves around her face and ended thickly, like long bangs. She was smaller than Aya, and many details from her armor were missing, the only recognizable ones were the green orbs on her hands and the mechanical lines on her pedes. The likeness was unnerving and his earlier feelings were magnified as he looked it over.
"Who are you? And why do you look like Aya?" he demanded.
"I am Ehopel, I am an Artificial Intelligence from a future time, my structure design is based upon the Aya entity to help ease my introduction into this era." She replied.
Hal frowned but movement beside her prompted him to turn towards the figure as it stepped into the light. The figure was male, and its design was almost identical to the other except for its design was sharper, and boxier, but it did not have a face, only a visor and almost looked like it was wearing a helmet.
"This is Ewil, my companion, he is to ensure my safety along this venture." She said.
Again something about her voice stuck to him, he couldn't place what it was, she sounded robotic but something about her voice wasn't right.
"Why are you here? Where did you come from?" he demanded again.
"To save the Universe." She said.
Hal blinked in surprise before frowning.
"Okay, so what is happening? Is there a lunatic out there wanting to destroy us?" he asked, somewhat sarcastic.
"I cannot relinquish too much information, my message is that we are from the future, sent back to find and record a long lost emotion to end a war that has destroyed almost everything." she said.
Hal frowned, again something about her voice puzzled him but he felt she was telling the truth, that much he knew.
"So if you're from the future, why did you call me? Can't you get what you need without help?" he asked.
"Our data is incomplete, our only objective is to find the emotion and record it without affecting the timeline." She said.
Hal thought for a moment before he spoke.
"So I'm guessing the only reason why you're not going to even try to change the supposed future you come from is because of your incomplete knowledge, right?"
The female nodded.
"Due to lack of records we are unable to determine the cause but we do know of a possible solution." She said.
Hal frowned, something did not add up, he felt it had something to do with her voice but he couldn't quite grasp the reason.
"Alright, so I just need to report to the Guardians to help-"
"We are under orders to not allow the Guardians know of our presence." She suddenly said.
Again, that thing in her voice, was it emotion? Fear maybe? What was it? But robots aren't supposed to show emotion, but Aya did, just not like this.
"Why not?" he asked, feeling suspicious.
"The Guardians will attempt to interfere and it will interfere with the timeline." She said.
Hal nodded, that was true, the Guardians had a knack for wanting to gather information at terrible costs, but it still felt wrong to go against them then he realized something.
"Wait, if you're not supposed to interfere with the timeline why did you contact me?" he said, frowning.
"You are known for disregarding Guardian orders, according to our data your assistance will not affect the future, we require your assistance in completing our mission."
Hal sighed.
"Alright, so what emotion do you need to record and why?"
"We need to record the emotional waves from the Blue Lantern Corps." She said.
"Blue Lantern Corps?" he said, surprised.
"Yes." She said.
He frowned before the reason dawned on him.
"By 'long lost' you mean vanished right?"
She was silent but he already knew the answer, the Blue Lanterns corps would not exist in the future.
"There is no hope in the future, Hal Jordan. That is why we have been sent back in time."
Hal was surprised but he nodded, he would help them, but he needed a crew, and he knew just where to get one.
"Hal to Kilowog, you there buddy?" he asked coyly to his ring.
"Jordan this better be important." Kilowog said, sounding annoyed.
"It is, look I have a pair of Aya look alikes behind me claiming they're from the future and need help getting to a place we have the coordinates to."
"What are you spouting, poozer?"Kilowog growled.
"Just meet me with Aya and Razor, okay?"
"Fine, but don't be late!" he said ending the call abruptly.
Hal shook his head and kept flying, Ehopel flew beside him with Ewil following close behind as they headed towards the space bridge.
"Can we trust Sergeant Kilowog?" she asked.
"Hey Kilowog is many things but he's not a tattle tale, he'll talk to me first before he would go to the Guardians, and that is all I need to convince him not to bother." He said, smiling.
Ehopel only looked ahead as they passed through the space bridge and came to Oa, its bright green glow enough to dazzle the eye but Ehopel remained visibly nonchalant to its glow. Hal swore he saw a sparkle of emotion in her eyes but decided to keep that thought to himself, having seen the alike before.
Hal led them to a dock where Kilowog and the others were waiting and landed in front of them giving them his usual smirk as Ehopel and Ewil landed behind him.
Kilowog scowled at Hal but looked surprised when he saw the two behind him, his jaw dropping in surprise. Razor looked surprised, with is arms crossed as he looked at the two while Aya looked calm before stepping towards the two figures.
"Greetings, I am Aya." She said.
Ehopel nodded.
"I am Ehopel." She said.
Razor looked at the male and frowned before walking up to him.
"And who might you be?" he said, his tone as cool as ever.
"He is Ewil, he does not vocalize." Ehopel explained.
"Alright, explain what's going on Jordan, and don't play any games." Kilowog demanded, his Sergeant personality breaking through the shock.
"These two say they're from the future and need something we have." He said.
"We require data on the Blue Lantern Corps to stop and end a war." Ehopel stated.
"A likely story." Kilowog grunted.
"You're not seriously buying this are you Jordan?" he growled.
Hal was about to speak when Aya interfered.
"Your components are unlike anything I have scanned or processed."
"My components are composed of several alloys not yet discovered in your time." She said before looking at Kilowog.
"I assure you we do not wish harm and wish to complete our mission as soon as possible, our directive states we cannot interfere with the timeline if it affects the future, we only wish to acquire the data then return to our time." She said.
"How do I know you're just not some little gadgets made to destroy Oa or the Blue Lantern Corps?" he growled.
Ehopel blinked.
"You do not, we do not wish to alert the Guardians of our presence or interfere with any major acts that will affect the timeline." She said.
"Okay then, tell me, what HAPPENS in the future? Huh? Or are you not supposed to tell me because it will affect the future?" he growled mockingly.
"Kilowog, she can't-"
"Kilowog, I have studied their physical build and likeness, it is indeed my own but the modifications are far more advanced. I must also inform you nothing else has my data pertaining towards my physical structure." Aya said.
Kilowog frowned, looking at Ehopel and Ewill coldly before sighing.
"Alright, alright…so what IS it they need from the Blue Lanterns?" he asked, eyeing Ehopel.
"We require their emotional signature." She said.
"Their signature?" Kilowog frowned deeper.
Ehopel held up her palm and the figure of the glowing green lantern insignia appeared.
"Each emotion of the emotional spectrum has a specialized signature and with each there is an emotion. We have managed to find and sample each emotion, all but one."
"Hope." Razer said, frowning.
Ehopel looked at the Green Lanterns, stating directly towards them as she spoke.
"The future depends on the success of our mission, are you willing to assist us?" she asked.
Razer frowned as Aya tilted her helm slightly to the side, curiously, as Hal Jordan looked at Kilowog, clearly looking for his approval for this.
Kilowog frowned in displeasure before groaning as he gave in.
"Alright, but I got my eyes on you two poozers, you take ONE wrong step and-" he pounded a fist into his palm to emphasize his meaning.
Ehopel looked at Kilowog blankly before nodding.
"Understood." She said.
Kilowog walked with Hal ahead of the group as Aya conversed with Ehopel while Razer and Ewil walked behind the girls. Razer glanced at Ewil every now and then, clearly not at ease with the figure beside him, he had a bad feeling about these two and not once was he going to let his guard down.
"Why is it my structure design was chosen for this delicate objective, surely a more advanced figure would have been more suitable." Aya said.
"Your structure was the most advanced at this point in time, it was chosen for the future cannot risk too many changes in the timeline." Ehopel stated.
"Oh…" Aya said, sounding somewhat disappointed at not getting more information.
"I understand you wish to gain intel, but for the sake of the future I cannot allow it." Ehopel said, continuing her stride, which was mirrored by Aya.
"That is understandable…thank you." Aya said.
Ehopel blinked before she replied.
"You are welcome.
Ahead of them Kilowog spoke lowly with Hal, clearly not liking the whole situation and what they would have to do.
"Listen Hal, even if we do somehow manage to get the ship how are we going to explain to the Guardians what is going on without telling them about these two." He said, looking at Hal for answers.
"And I'm still convinced they're hiding something from us." He growled.
"I know, I feel it too, but my gut is telling me these two don't mean harm, anyways there are four of us and two of them, what could go wrong?"
"Ugh, I hate it when you say that Jordan." Kilowog groaned, rubbing the side of his head.
"Why? You're not afraid something is going to happen are you?" Hal smirked, elbowing Kilowog playfully before turning and almost running into Appa Ali Apsa and stepped back in surprise.
"Well hello 2814, I see you have returned to Oa from your short time back at your sector, and what for?" he said, his tone ominous and he attempted to look past Kilowog and Hal.
"Oh nothing, just wanted to see my friends and check up on them." Hal said, swaying from side to side to block the Guardian from seeing past him as Kilowog did the same, both smiling nervously.
"I see…" he said, raising an eye ridge slightly.
The two lanterns backed up and moved to the side, allowing the Guardian to pass, a suspicious look on his face before he passed by Razer and Aya, continuing his path seemingly unaware.
Once Appa Ali Apsa had left their view both lanterns and their two crewmates breathed out in relief and looked behind them, Ehopel stood behind Ewil and looked at all of them before nodding.
"We thank you for keeping our presence hidden." She said.
"Don't mention it." Kilowog sighed.
"According to my data the Interceptor should be nearby." Aya said, looking towards a door and the group approached it. Kilowog allowed Aya to enter the passcode before quickly pushing in and looking around the dark hanger.
Using their rings Hal and Kilowog lit the room and all of its organic occupants made a look of surprise.
"Its empty." Hal said, looking around in surprise.
"What is going on? Where is the ship?" Kilowog frowned.
"This is illogical, my data said the ship was supposed to be here." Aya said, frowning.
"Indeed it was." A voice said behind them.
Immediately everybody turned towards the door as it was shut, sending them all into darkness.