Basic Training

Chapter 1

"How would you like to go to Hawaii?"

Daria crouched in the volcanic vent, the aura of her Power Ring protecting her from the steam and noxious gases that surrounded her and wafted away in the sea breeze. She barely noticed the lava fountain that had created a glowing stream in its runoff, enveloping her right foot. On the contrary, she was hoping that the heat and noise of the eruption would hide her thermal and sonic signature long enough that she could possibly turn the tables on her pursuer, who she could occasionally glimpse through the steam, drifting back and forth over the lava fields of Kilauea, searching for her.

She saw her chance as the figure landed thirty yards to her right, probably to scan another promising vent. Daria charged out of her hiding place, ring blazing, covering the distance to her adversary in seconds. "Ha! Gotcha!" she shouted, swooping down and firing a blast just as the figure turned around in shock -

-and vanished.

Daria's face barely had enough time to register her own shock when she heard a voice behind her.

"Not today, rookie."

Daria turned just in time to see Katma Tui, her Green Lantern trainer, floating in the sky above her with a giant fist made from Ring energy.
The fist slammed into Daria, smacking her into the ground as the earth shook.

The eruption roared as Katma waited a minute, then a dazed Daria rose from the crater her impact had made in the hardened lava.

"Let me guess," Daria said, shaking her head. "Holographic construct. Damn it, I fell for the same trick I used on Kevin Thompson!"

Katma smiled. "I know. That's why I used it. It's the oldest trick in the book, and I wanted to stress to you that those tricks are old because they work. Just because a ploy is obvious doesn't mean that your enemy won't try it. That's all for right now. Take a break."

Daria accepted, grateful for the respite. They floated over to the backpack that she had left on a nearby cliff and sat. She opened the pack, mopped her face with a towel and then gulped down half a bottle of water. After regaining a little of her composure, she draped the towel over her shoulders. She looked back at the still smoking crater and asked her instructor, "No offense, but - how come I'm not just a smear of strawberry jam?"

"It's the Ring," Katma answered. "It's energies surrounds you, fills your body, and binds you together.'

"You mean like the Force?" Daria smirked. "Does that mean I'm a Padawan? I think that my sister might get suspicious if I ask her to make me a braid."

The Korugarian chuckled, remembering the movies she had seen with John Stewart in better days. "It's more like a 'structural integrity field,'" she replied, recalling another reference from Earth's popular culture. "The energy reinforces the molecules of your body and makes you extremely resistant to damage. It's how you can withstand crushing blows in a fight, and accelerations of many gravities in flight without blacking out." She looked out over the lava field. The fire fountain had subsided slightly, and a river of lava could be seen in the distance, disappearing into the Pacific in a cloud of steam. "Willpower strengthens the field," Katma continued. "The more aware you are of the threat, the more protection the Ring affords."

Daria took another drink and thought. "That explains John's funky eyes. The energy must make them glow. But your eyes don't, and neither do mine. How come?"

Katma Tui laughed out loud. "I'm afraid that John's a bit of a showoff. He told me once that he came up with his eyes as a, uh, 'gimmick' to intimidate evildoers. To me it just looks sexy. John said that he got the idea from a colleague of his."

Sexy? She must think that horror movies are love stories. "I can guess who," Daria said. She had only seen Batman for a few minutes before he left in a huff, but she still remembered the creepy vibes she got from him when she and Jane encountered him with the rest of the Justice League.

Daria thought back. It had been quite a week. Last Saturday morning, Daria left home early, saying that she had to get an early start on a library assignment. This was actually true, but Jane was the one doing the assignment and would give her the notes later.

After Katma caught up with her and gave her her own Power Battery, she charged her Ring. From that moment, events ran by in a blur.

She learned:

-How the Ring worked, that it was an A.I. computer with thousands of terabytes of memory, encoded on a quantum scale.

-That it shared its memory with other Power Rings, and that it remembered any artifact created by a Ring. That was how it was able to create a working automobile, even though Daria had only a layman's idea of a car's mechanism.

-The ethics of Ring usage. She learned that using the Power Ring for personal gain, though allowed, was discouraged, and that if any usage was deemed to be abuse she would have to answer for it.

"Why is that?" Daria asked after hearing that rule.

"Read the chapter on Sinestro. You'll understand." Katma Tui replied.

"Hmm," Daria said, making a mental note. "What about my prank with Kevin?"

"That's a gray area, Katma said. "No harm was done, and you needed the practice. We'll let that one go. In the future, just make sure that your 'victim' learns something from the experience."

After instruction came drill. "Beams and Bubbles," creating complex weapons on the fly, maintaining concentration while under attack, flying obstacle courses, maneuvering under water, Ring energy management. (She discovered that when she first got John's Ring it was trying to warn her that its reserves were running low - at the time, she didn't know how to interpret it.)

This was all crammed in between classes at Lawndale High and homework. The first week, Daria got by on adrenalin and the excitement of being a superhero, but it was starting to wear on her. This morning, Katma had contacted her and told her to be ready for a surprise in six hours. "We're going to play hide and seek," she said.

Still feeling the aftereffects of the "surprise," Daria's thoughts returned to the present. "Can I ask you something?" she said. Trying to get Katma's mind off more combat, she remembered the Lantern's remark about John Stewart. Maybe she could get her to let her guard down. "I couldn't help but notice how you looked at John when we met last week. Do you two have a - history together?"

Katma Tui gave a wry smile. Sitting on an outcrop, she replied. "Was I that obvious? We were both at times in our lives that were filled with difficulty, and we each found the other as a shoulder to cry on. Things kind of got more - intimate - after that. We were good for each other, but we knew it couldn't last. We each had our own sectors to guard, and finally decided to be 'just friends.' I still care for him deeply, though, and am truly happy to see him with Hawkgirl." Her lips thinned into a Mona Lisa smile that resembled one of Daria's. "But if she ever hurts him, I promise I'll break her ass." She and Daria both burst out laughing.

"I think that you have had enough for today," Katma continued, rising into the air. "You go home and get some rest. We'll do Forensic Analysis and target practice tomorrow. You're the target."

"Eep!"

"Just kidding. We'll take turns." Katma waved goodbye and flew off to the north.

"Well, that makes me feel a whole lot better," Daria said to herself sarcastically. "I wonder where she goes?" She held up her hand and spoke to her Ring. "Get me Jane, please." I guess it doesn't hurt to be polite to it. After all, my life depends on this thing's good mood.

#Connecting#- the Ring replied. After a moment, Daria heard, "Yo, Lane residence. Jane speaking."

"Jane, this is Daria. Katma decided to break off early today, and I'll be home in an hour or so."

"That long? Where are you?"

"Beautiful, sunny Hawaii, the most benighted, godforsaken place I've ever been to. Worse than Highland."

"Godforsaken? Hawaii?"

"Never mind, I'll explain later. Thanks for covering for me in O'Neill's class today. Katma assures me this will be the last time I'll have to ditch school.."

"Sure thing, Amiga. All I had to say was 'cramps' and suddenly O'Neill didn't want to hear any more. Men are funny like that. By the way, he gave us some assignments. You and I have a multimedia project. I'll fill you in when you get back. As a matter of fact, we can go over it at the Zon tonight. Mystik Spiral's got a gig there, and we can talk to Trent about helping us with the music."

"Uhhh…Hm. Are you sure that's smart?"

"Come on, Daria. I'm sure Trent would love to try computer music. See you soon."

"Okay, bye."

After calling her mother at the office to tell her she was feeling better, Daria took off for home.
Boosting rapidly through the atmosphere, she enjoyed the brief blackness of space as her suborbital path crossed the Pacific Ocean, re-entering off the California coast. She decided to land at an Arizona truck stop for a few minutes to get a bite to eat; entering, she was bemused that her costume raised very few comments. ("We get all kinds out here, Miss; you'd be surprised. Why just last week I was working the late shift when in came a couple fellas dressed all in black trying to get directions to Roswell-") Fortunately for Daria, the talkative cook's story was cut short by an irate trucker coming in to complain about a broken diesel pump, and she was left to finish her sandwich in peace.

Slinging her backpack over her shoulders, Daria once again set out for Lawndale. Her course remained in the atmosphere as she rapidly flew across New Mexico and Colorado. Halfway across Kansas, she noticed a line of thunderstorms flashing in the distance. She created a HUD in front of her face and noted that the town below her was indicated on the display as Smallville.

"Kara In-Ze Kent, stop racing the horses and get over here right now!" A middle-aged woman with graying brown hair could be seen yelling to a blonde teenager. "That's a nasty storm brewing, and we've got to finish making sure everything's secure!" The wind was rapidly rising around the Kent farm.

"Sorry, Ma!" The girl, dressed in a plaid shirt and jeans, left the horses in their corral and darted around the barnyard, shooing in the chickens, securing goats in their pen, herding cattle. The last thing she did was to carry in the broken down tractor from the field that her Uncle Jonathan had gone into town to get parts for. As she set the tractor down by the barn, her Aunt Martha walked up to her, eyeing the clouds.

"Kara, I just spoke to Jonathan. I told him to stay put in town till the storm blew over. I don't want him to try to get on the road in weather like this; you and me can manage fine."

Kara Kent locked the barn door and followed her adopted aunt's gaze. "Look, Ma!" she said. Against the angry dark sky, she noticed a green spark moving across the sky like a meteor, only traveling laterally and leaving a thin, iridescent trail behind. She concentrated her vision, and the spark resolved itself into a flying girl wearing a green and black costume.

"Ma, I think that's the new Green Lantern that Clark wrote about in the Planet last week. Do you mind if I…" her aunt could see the pleading in her eyes.

"Oh, go ahead, child," Martha answered. She knew that, unlike her son Clark, farm life didn't really set well with Kara. Maybe meeting someone like her would be the pick-me-up she needed. "Just be sure you wash up first. First impressions, you know -"

Kara had vanished, reappearing seconds later, freshly scrubbed, wearing red high top boots, a red cape, white gloves, blue miniskirt and a white bare midriff t-shirt with black trim bearing Superman's shield symbol. "Thanks, Ma! Be back soon!" she said, then rose into the air, then hovered a moment before she streaked off to intercept the Green Lantern, excited to finally meet a Metahuman her own age.