Chapter 1: Rescue
The Green Lantern of Space Sector 2814 was almost entirely happy. The week before, he'd helped take out an entire armada of Red Lanterns, popped by Earth to check on his Justice League duties (and catch a couple days of rest), and managed to get back out to Oa early (with a box of donuts under his arm). He'd been casually doing some "paperwork" for the armada's prison records, when the call went out to get his ass out to Sector 3186, where Brainiac had been spotted: the Kryptonian android with a god complex, and a collection of shrunken planets stored in small jars in his ship. Apparently, the android had been doing some serious illegal genetic experimentation, intergalactic kidnapping, and committing mass murder while he was traveling the galaxy looking for new planets for his "collection". Hal Jordan had taken the first ship out to the sector, and was happy to oblige in shooting down dozens of the android's cloned drone ships. Eventually, the Lanterns had managed to crash the massive ship on an aquatic planet, with most of the skull-shaped hull underwater. Dozens of Lanterns boarded the ship from an entrance towards the top, hoping to evacuate the species that Brainiac had kidnapped over the years before the entire thing went down in water. Once inside, and Hal was with them, the Lanterns were greeted with cell after cell of intergalactic alien corpses, all rotting beyond belief and producing an odor one could never imagine. Their cells, or prisons rather, were disgusting to glance at: dirty, filled with feces and excrement of all kinds, the actual alien's body either a pile of rotting flesh or having decomposed to house maggots within their bones. The Lanterns spread apart, scanning each body before loading it onto a cart to be sent back to Oa for further inspection, hopefully to be used in the trial of the murderous android. Hal hoped to god that the bodies would be burned, knowing well that corpses having been decaying that long would definitely cause some kind of disease. Having collected all the bodies in his select cell block, Hal began to wander the ship, noting the labeling of the passages he took, for quick exit of need be. Walking through dozens of hallways in the massive ship, he paused at a large door labeled "CONTROL ROOM". The door was made of a thick metal, but it easily slid open due to water damaging the panels along the walls. The other Lanterns had already picked Brainiac up and carted him off to Oa for the trial, imprisoning him on their home planet with better security, so most of the brain-synchronized parts of the ship had shut off. Hal looked at the floor as smaller gears and metallic arms moved items across the space before him, creating an efficient transport system. The main control lights were dim, making it hard to see, but the room was mostly intact. A few cut wires here and there, some smashed equipment on the floor, but not too much damage. The android had sure put up a fight to defend his collection. 'All in vain.' Hal thought, wondering how a robot could create such chaos. He was startled out of his ponderings by his ring buzzing, signalling a call. He answered, lifting the glowing piece of jewelry to his eye level. "2814 speaking." he stated. "Jordan, good. I've already contacted the other lanterns inside the ship. It seems that during the fight, we breached the engine compartment, as well as some other critical components. We're running scans to see how we can pull it out of the water, but it seems like huge portions of the hull were breached. No water has reached you, has it?" Jade, an old friend of the human, also from Earth, asked. Hal glanced around, seeing no immediate damage. "No, not that I can see. I'll look around a little longer, and I'll be out soon. How long do I have before it comes in?" Hal asked back. "Ten minutes. Make it quick." Jade replied, hanging up. Green Lanterns could project a protective field around themselves, so Hal wasn't worried about drowning or anything, he just liked to walk sometimes. Turning around to leave, his eyes settled on a severely cracked window just to the right of the door he'd just walked through. Walking towards it for a closer look, he realized that water was gushing in from the far wall, having a large hole smashed in it. Searching the room for anything of importance, his eyes settled on a small figure kneeling on the floor. Water was pouring out on top of it, drenching its body, while it struggled to breathe in the onslaught of fluid. A thick chain had been locked to its throat, complete with shackle to bind it to the floor, while its arms were strapped behind it in a painful ninety degree angle against its back with a thick metallic band. A smaller metallic band was also wrapped around its face, acting as a muzzle, apparently. Its legs appeared useless as of the moment, since it wasn't even using them, the structure of its limbs bent and twisted in awkward angles. Hal snapped back to reality once he realized that the creature was the only living one on the ship….the only one Brainiac hadn't killed, starved, dehydrated, or air-blasted out of his cargo hold. And….it was going to die by drowning. "Shit." Hal cursed, kicking down the door to the small cell. Water flushed out around his knees, nearly knocking him over while he fought against the small current, trying to get to the small creature. The chain was floating freely in the amount of water in the room, the creature having barely two inches before it was to be completely cut off from oxygen a second later. Constructing a saw, Hal chopped through the chain as quickly as he could, knowing well that the alien was most likely dead. Nevertheless, he constructed a protective orb around it, launching himself through the damaged hull and out into the air. Bursting through the water, his fellow Lanterns' heads whipped towards him as he floated over to them. "Jordan, are you alright?" Jade asked, floating over to him as he began to somewhat drop out of the sky. "Nope." Hal replied, coughing a small bit. Kilowog constructed a hand to hold his fellow lantern, while in turn Hal maintained his hold on the orb he constructed for the creature. Lying the creature on the loading dock, Hal managed to get to his feet and walk over to check it. "What's that?" Simon asked, eyeing Hal's prize. "The only thing Brainiac didn't kill on his ship." Hal replied. Gently pressing on the creature's back, water sprayed out of the muzzle hole, flowing down the dock and back into the ocean of the planet. Hal used his ring to pry the muzzle off, allowing the creature to suck in another breath of air. "Holy shit." Hal said, stepping back as the small creature slowly moved to sit up, coughing hysterically as it cleared the water from its lungs. Warily looking up at the small crowd of Green Lanterns surrounding it, its glassy eyes dizzily scanned over them before a low growl rumbled from its heavily toothed mouth, irises shrinking down to pinpricks. Catching the look, Jade moved to calm it, only earning a growl in response. Yat knelt down just a few feet away, attempting to gain its attention by snapping his fingers. "Come here, little creature. Come here." he cooed, voice low and calm. When he attempted to move closer, however, the creature frantically struggled to move back, snapping fearfully at him. Hal jumped in, blocking Yat from proceeding. "Whoa, man. If it doesn't want to be touched, don't touch it." he stated. Yat nodded, moving back to give it some space. Kilowog's eyes hadn't left the small creature's form, tracking it carefully as it watched the other lanterns debate. While they were distracted, he approached, a small Bolova cookie (a common treat) in his hand. Holding out the small offering between two large fingers, he moved with two feet of the small creature, trying to make himself seem less threatening. Observing his approach, the creature tracked his movements just as carefully as he did its own, remaining still as he inched closer to it. It displayed its dozens of needle-like teeth when he invaded its personal spatial bubble of three feet, he paid no heed to its warning and proceeded closer. Its body flinched away when he reached forward to offer it the food, the creature's head turning away as its eyes closed tightly. Pausing, Kilowog watched in surprise as the small creature's body shook slightly, tears beginning to pour down its cheeks. "I ain't gonna hurt ya." he said, smiling softly. Slowly opening its eyes, the creature moved to look at him, almost in disbelief, as he held out the cookie. "It's for ya. I had some spare and thought you might like one." Kilowog explained. Cautiously, the creature leaned forward, gently taking the cookie from between his fingers using its sharply-toothed jaws. Kilowog watched in delight as the creature flicked the cookie back into its mouth, gave it a few chews, and swallowed it. Leaning forward, Kilowog moved to gently pet the creature, watching it flinch away again. The Bolovaxian's hand gently glid over the creature's large dome, smooth and glossy at it was. Feeling the gentle stroking of its forehead, the creature began to quietly purr against him, desiring more of the gentle attention. In the debate group, Hal's point wasn't getting across, and he glanced around to find Kilowog gently petting the creature, to his delight. "We can't just get rid of it, Simon! It's a living creature!" Jade hissed at her partner. "I agree, it's going to require medical care." Yat added. Hal left the conversation and moved to stand beside Kilowog, smiling as he picked up the quiet purrs the creature was giving off. "Jordan! Get back over here!" Jade suddenly yelled, startling the trio out of their skin. Kilowog jumped a little, his partner jumping a little more since the demand was directed towards him, and the creature jerked out of Kilowog's hand, frightened. "Jade! You ruined Kilowog's moment!" Hal whined dramatically. Suddenly, coughing gained the lantern's attention, drawing him to the small spatters of blood being thrown upon the loading dock. Blood was gently dripping down the corner of the creature's mouth, splattering against the metallic loading dock as it coughed painfully hard, drawing sharp breaths into its lungs. "Did something change?" Hal asked, Kilowog shaking his head. Kilowog moved to stabilize the creature again, watching as it swayed before falling limp into his hands. Yat moved to check it, scanning its body carefully. "It needs medical attention, like now." he said, constructing an orb and booking it to the Infirmary. Hal, Kilowog, Simon, Jade, and followed close behind, giving the Daxamite room to maneuver if needed. Upon arrival to the Infirmary, IA, the healer, met them with a Medical Orb. "I witnessed your return from Brainiac's ship. It appears you have found an injured species that requires immediate medical treatment." she stated as Yat approached. Carefully, Yat placed the organism onto the Medical Orb, allowing IA to take over. IA moved the creature deeper into the Infirmary, where they kept a machine used for removing bonds or restraints placed by other organisms. Directing the creature into the machine, she used a massive saw to cut through the band on its arms, and a magnetic device to depolarize the remaining bond from the body. Once free, the creature's arms lie limply at its sides, just as limp as its legs. IA then used an electrocardiogram, a special IV set, an X-ray machine, and full-body scanner. Finalizing her results, IA, at last, placed the small creature on a medical bed, leaving it to rest on oxygen. After almost three hours, she emerged from the Infirmary, the results in her hand. "So, what's wrong with it?" Kilowog asked. "Dehydration, starvation, sleep-deprivation, oxygen deprivation, complete shattering of both tibias, fibulas, patellas, and femurs, fractured left humerus, and false rib pairs one through five have been cracked." she reported. Jade whistled shortly, signalling her shock. "Extensive damage. Will it survive the night?" Simon asked, getting elbowed in the ribs by Jade. Still, IA recognized his question. "With injures, survival chance is two point six percent." IA replied. Hal sighed, hearing Kilowog do so as well. "Can we see it?" Jade asked. IA nodded, leading them into the Infirmary to a small room. The creature was lying on the bed, covered up to the waist by a sheet, lying on its side with its arms curled in tight to its chest. Its body was small and frail looking, smaller than Hal's, and resembled a humanoid structure. Its skin was crimson red, marked by golden bolts of lightning across its hips, ankles, wrists, neck, chest, and forehead. A pair of small, golden hearing nodes resembling wings flicked every so often on the sides of its head, possibly picking up radio chatter. Kilowog held himself back from instantly stroking the creature, under the assumption that any kind of contact could create some damage to its frail body. The other lanterns merely stared at it, their expressions displaying their pity, horror, and sadness. "So small." Jade finally said after a few minutes of silence. Simon nodded, agreeing quietly. He turned to IA, gesturing towards the creature. "You scanned it, correct?" he asked. She nodded in return. "What species did it come back as?" he asked. IA moved to the monitor beside the bed, initializing the unit. "Species unknown." she replied. Hal's ears pricked up at her response. "You don't know what it is?" he asked. "No. There is no record of this species in our database." she replied. "So, the Guardians don't know what it is?" Yat asked aloud, making it seem more of an offering of information. Hal thought for a moment before answering. "If the Guardians know about everything, then they've got to know about this little guy. You said there's no record of it? Can you check to see if there's a record that's been locked?" Hal asked, turning to IA. IA took a moment to sweep her files before turning to him. "No locked files of this species exist in our database. No files on this species exist in our database, to be precise." she replied. "Have the Guardians just not known about it?" Jade asked aloud. "That would prove that the Guardians don't know everything." Simon answered. "IA, would you do your best to make sure that it's well cared for, and report to us if it does end up passing?" Jade asked of the android. "Of course." IA replied. Hearing the android's confirmation, the lanterns quickly exited the Infirmary, together heading to find something to eat. In the commons, they each got a tray and sat at a table in their little group, silently unwilling to speak of the creature.