So when I got the call from Kilowogg about Hal's new mission, Gi'ata and I were back on Zamaron after a diplomatic mission. It's not only Green Lanterns that patrol and protect their space. And I had plenty of reasons to stay with the Sapphires. Plenty, of reasons.
"You know you didn't have to punch the ambassador, right?" Gi'ata pointed out after our debriefing. Aga'po takes her job very seriously, but I got to admit that I'm enjoying this place. And they've stopped being mildly disgusted that a male could wield the power of love. Or maybe the disgust was because of the relationship that Gi'ata and I have. Take your pick.
"I warned him that you and I were together. It's his fault he didn't stop his… overly friendly actions." I commented, following Gi'ata to the balcony. Her favorite spot in the palace. And somewhere no one would disturb us. Perfect for after a mission.
"I never took you for the jealous type." She teased, hands running down my chest. I came in close, nuzzling her neck. This is usually how it went. She teases me and my wild nature, and then I showed her my much more gentle and loving side. Love is all kinds of things. Including making me a softie. But about the difference in between a rock and piece of metal soft. I'm rambling; back to the story.
"Why would I want to give up someone like you, my love?" I whispered in her ear. We pulled back for a moment so we could stare into each other's eyes. Then we started kissing. Started, but didn't exactly finish. Universe likes to screw me on that, you notice?
"Shiny? You there?" My ring called out in Kilowogg's voice. Why can't I have something nice? Not that I'm saying that what Gi'ata and I have isn't nice, but… you know I'm going to stop shooting myself in the foot while I still have toes. Apologies to Gi'ata if she's listening.
"Kilowogg, this better be good." I said to his mini violet hologram. Violet did not suit him.
"Now that he's an Honor Guard and the Manhunters are waking up, Hal needs our help again. Get your reflective butt over here stat!" Kilowogg ordered me. Just like old times. I looked at Gi'ata, who gave me her look of disappointment. Well that put one hell of a boulder on my heart.
"I guess you have to leave. To go help your friends." The tone of her voice let the boulder absolutely crush me. Ever since I came back we had been pretty much inseparable, doing missions and all kinds of things together. I tilted her face to look at me and gave her one of my famous goodbye kisses. Couples can't spend every second of the day together, so I made it my specialty to give her that kind of goodbye she'll never forget. Anyways, I'll skip the rest of my sappy goodbye to spare Gi'ata any embarrassment in case the word gets out. Which it won't if you know what's good for you.
"I'll be back as soon as I can." I promised, creating the portal to Kilowogg's location. I got there, there being Oa, and I was greeted by a Hal with a bruised ego and Kilowogg grinning from ear to ear. Apparently I missed something really good. Which Kilowogg would later forward the video to me. And I posted onto everything resembling the human internet that I could find. The last person we needed to pick up on Oa was Aya and she should have been with the Interceptor. But she wasn't. Instead we had a new guy named LANOS. Or as Hal put it, Lame-O. When the little AI started jerking us around with his flying I immediately agreed with Hal's assessment. The only useful thing Lame-O did for us before I ripped him out was tell us where Aya was.
I take back everything I've ever said about the Guardians. They are much worse than I initially stated. They locked up Aya with the intent of dissecting her so they could learn about her. I'm going to vent for a second. Those fat-headed ugly pieces of poozer shit were going to kill my sister and they got incredibly lucky that Kilowogg saw what was coming before I could go tear their blue gnomish bodies apart. Vent done. Kilowogg quickly stuffed me in the cell before I could actually act on my rather violent impulse. I cooled off and eventually Kilowogg let me out of the cell. And yes, I didn't exactly have a family before I joined the Interceptor so I kind of started to think of them as my actual family. Aya's my little sister, Hal and Kilowogg have been great dads. And that makes Razer the sister's boyfriend I'm supposed to be friends with and yet still be a constant reminder of our wrath if he breaks her heart. Which Razer wouldn't do. Plus, Aya said it made her feel more alive when I called her my sister so I did it just for her. Okay that lengthy aside put aside, we needed to rescue Aya.
So Hal came up with a plan to break her out and then nearly messed it up. Thankfully, Hal's luck held out and we got Aya back. Unfortunately my luck isn't that good. Tomar-Re showed up and he wanted on. Now I could have done something about it, but he gave off that "don't mess with me" vibe and my common sense agreed with that vibe. So I sat, kept silent and waited for him to do whatever he was going to do. So then it turned out he was there to join us because Hal was right. What a surprise. Once we got Aya re-installed at least it felt somewhat normal.
"Thank you for coming to my assistance Green Lanterns." Aya told us when she was activated. I missed the talks we had before she cut off communications. I think that was about the time Razer left Oa. We were still missing someone. Someone that we needed, not that Hal or Kilowogg would admit it.
"Aya, you're okay!" Hal breathed in relief. Either it went worse in the lab than he admitted or he is subconsciously taking on the role of group dad.
"I am operating at full capacity. Thanks to you." Aya replied, relief evident in her voice.
"Nice to have you back Aya. That Lame-O was getting on my nerves." Kilowogg pointed out.
"Yeah sis. I don't trust anyone else to do your job." I said, just happy that the Guardians had no chance of getting to her now.
"Sis?" Hal asked me, clearly confused. I just shrugged and didn't answer. He could figure it out for himself.
"Sorry we had to leave your body behind." Hal continued, bringing his attention back to Aya.
"Where is Razer?" Aya inquired, clearly missing her boyfriend. Not that Hal, Tomar-Re, or Kilowogg knew that. Not that I actually had a reason to say anything about it. Secrets, best kept from other people.
"He's on sabbatical. I'm sure he'll turn up. Eventually." Hal answered. Aya was clearly sad so I had to do something.
"I tried reaching him via portal but I couldn't get a stable enough connection. But since I could at least attempt he's not dead." I optimistically explained. Hal gave his now standard "We'll talk later" look. Definitely my surrogate dad.
"Oh." Aya was still sad but I think it gave her some hope.
"I'll let you guys talk about whatever you talk about. If you need me, I'll be crafting some new pieces for Aya." I said, leaving before Tomar-Re could begin his speech. I've had enough of bureaucracy and theoretical science for the day. So we set out for Biot, a planetary junkyard. Maybe I could pick up some extra pieces to help rebuild Aya while the actual Green Lanterns go do their job. I'm part of the crew, but that doesn't mean I do Green Lantern-only problems. When I set out to go get salvage, I was not prepared for a bunch of Manhunters sitting in piles. Where's Razer when I need him? He would know what pieces to gather, but instead I just took large chunks and intact pieces that didn't stare back at me to the Interceptor. It was about the third trip I made when some of the Manhunters activated. Those things are tough, but I was much tougher than I was when I first met the crew. When more of them showed up, I got really happy I could use more colors than anyone else. It took almost all of my charge, but I created active construct versions of myself in red and green to give my real self some cover to get to the Interceptor.
"New tricks brother?" Aya asked as we watched the construct versions of me do battle.
"Always trying to impress you sis." I replied as Hal called for an emergency artillery strike. While Aya took over attack calculations, I slid into the pilot's seat. No wonder Hal likes it so much; the thing is as comfortable as chairs could ever be. It was a great shot from Aya. When Hal decided to scare us a little by waiting to answer, we shared a sigh of relief. She's really got a handle on those now. The sighs were premature, however, because the biggest baddie I've ever seen dug itself out of the rubble and attacked with some kind of particle beam. A quick blast seemed to stun the thing but then it decided that we were the threat. I've never been gladder to have learned to fly from Jordan. The others beat a hasty retreat to the Interceptor, but the baddie attacked. And Jordan decided to get himself blown up by the baddie.