"Rayner to Watchtower. Rayner to Watchtower. Come in Watchtower." He flew past the Watchtower in great haste. "I need some back up. Urgent, Please respond." There was no answer. "I hate busy signals." As he entered the atmosphere, a large pink beam hit him from behind. He plummeted to earth in a fiery glow. A yellow gleam was seen in the sky, like an ever-growing star, far in the distance. Sinestro rocketed in and slammed Kyle into the ocean, to the sea floor. Star Sapphire blasts Sinestro from behind, shooting him right into Kyle.
Pink, yellow, and green lights fill the sea like an underwater aurora borealis . Kyle surfaced and floated along with the waves, right next to Sinestro. Rising from the depths, Sapphire unleashed another brutal assault on the both of them. She concentrated her attacks on Sinestro for a few moments and Kyle made a break for it. He flew, faster than he ever had before, his life at stake, towards Coast City in a desperate attempt to recharge his drained ring. Sapphire spotted him hurtling away in the horizon, dropped Sinestro's badly beaten body and took chase. "Not so fast Kyle, I'm not done with you yet." She followed at about three quarters Kyle's speed, as close as she could.
Kyle, still flying to his power battery, looked over his shoulder to see a faint pink blip. Darting and weaving through the busy mid-day traffic, Kyle gets ever closer to the lantern. "Fine time to go speeding down the city streets." Sapphire disappeared from sight for a few seconds. "Now where did she get to?" She popped up right above Kyle, who looked up just in time to see the attack. He got blasted through the street, down to the subway system, and Sapphire followed. "You thought you could just run away and that would be it?" "You know me, always the optimist." He said while getting back on his feet. The two met eyes in a tense stare down. A few moments go by and a train passes between the two, neither one moving, still staring each other dead in the eyes. Another train approached, Kyle and Star, still locked in a fierce contest of will power. Sapphire looked down the rails after the train passed, in surprise, as Kyle used the train as a get won't save you, Kyle deary! Why not just stay and fight." Sapphire surfaced, back to the sun-lit city, and took off for Kyle's apartment. Kyle, heading in the opposite direction, had cleverly hidden his lantern at an art museum in uptown Coast City. Changing into his street clothes, he strolled in and made his way to the Impressionist wing. A man was standing next to a beautiful Monet, Kyle held his ring up. "Ya know, I've always liked this painting, what do you think?" As he said that the lantern appeared. Stating the Oath, he raised both in the air. "See you again sometime, alright?" Overcome with new found strength, he left, in hot pursuit of Sapphire.
Star had set Kyle's apartment ablaze in her failed attempt at locating either him or his battery. "Hmm...not here. I wonder where he's run off to." She floated over the still burning remains with a dissatisfied expression on her face. A voice behind her spoke. "Hello again, darling." She turned just in time to see Sinestro. Startled, she failed to counter his attack. As he bashed her into the side of a nearby building, he gloated. "You're a lot stronger than I remember, little girl. Looks like I'll have to get rid of you before I go on to 'greener pastures'." And with an evil laugh, he shot a devastatingly large beam right at her. His maniacal cackle filled the air as he ascended high above the buildings to get a better vantage point. "Now, where, oh where, has my little lantern gone?" He surveyed every building and every horizon line, scouting for his green adversary.
Staggering up from the rubble, Star, with a demonic glare in her eyes, regained her composure. "I am not just some fly you can swat and be done with! I'll kill you!" she yelled. Sinestro, without even glancing down, smashed Sapphire back down to the dirt. "Stay down now, child. It'll be easier that way." He flew down to the top of another building and lobbed her limp body into the bay. A small green beam came from behind him. It raised Sapphire from the water and placed her on the beach. Sinestro turned around, firing a series of bolts at Kyle. Fashioning a shield, Rayner charged forward.
They battled for a while. Buildings caught in the crossfire were taken down. Blasts were blocked and countered. Sapphire started to regain consciousness. Her temper flaring, she go to her feet once again. She watched the two exchange blows, neither one gaining any ground. She looked around, and something caught her eye. Kyle shot Sinestro with a quick beam, and he was thrown back into a building. Kyle quickly made a giant cage, trapping Sinestro inside. While Sinestro bashed around, shooting wildly, Kyle caught his breath. He watched Sinestro try to break free, then, all of the sudden, he stopped. He just looked up towards Rayner. Kyle felt a drop of water hit his head. "Funny, not a cloud in the sky." he said as he looked up. An ocean liner was in the sky above him, hanging from a thin pink beam. He followed it over to a drenched Sapphire. She slammed it down with great force. Kyle encased himself in a bubble as the ship blew up around him. From the bubble, he shot at her. She blasted a few shots of her own back at him before putting up a massive wall between herself and Kyle. Kyle shot at the wall, but it wasn't coming down. He looked around. He had forgotten about Sinestro. "That can't be good. Hey Star, seen Sinestro lately?" She looked around but couldn't find him. She dropped the wall so she could look around more. Neither one could find him. They looked around a little while longer, until their eyes met. They went at it. Sapphire got a few good hits in, but the fight was pretty one-sided. A few quick hits and Kyle had her on the ropes. He held her down with a net construct. "Now, you are hereby under arrest." "YOU CAN'T KEEP ME DOWN!!!!" as she yelled it, Kyle pressed harder down. She screamed. "Oh, I'm sorry. Is that too tight?" He let up a bit.
A flash of light in the sky. Kyle looked up. Two streaks of yellow passed by, high in the sky. Kyle watched them pass. "Well that can't be good..." He turned around, and was startled by what he saw. Sinestro was hovering right in front of him. Behind him was Cyborg Superman. "Oh...wow. You're a little late, we're about done here Supes" Kyle said, hiding the uneasy feeling in his stomach with humor. "You know I enjoy our time together, but I have big plans for the future. You, consequently, aren't part of them." Sinestro said with a sneer. "Hey Star, wanna call a truce and help a lantern out for a bit?" She was getting up when she replied, "They aren't here for me, you-" her head was smashed into the ground before she could finish her insult. Cyborg Superman then picked her up by the leg, spun her around several times, and hurled her at Rayner at incredible speed.
-To be continued...