Chapter 2

Hal flew back to his apartment thoughtfully. Below and slightly behind him, trailed his green wagon construct filled with the water jugs he needed.

He knew next to nothing about this alien girl. She came out of the blue suddenly saying she could get Aya back. It was all very bizarre. How did she even know about Aya? Hal worried away, but in the end, he knew he wouldn't say anything or ask questions. Well, he'd try not to at least. He was too afraid to scare the girl off and to scare off possibly Aya's only hope.

He closed his eyes. Yes. He, Hal Jordan, a green lantern, was afraid, but admitting that fear was the first step. Now he could face it.

As he reached his building, he saw Krishna perched on the roof. He almost didn't see her because her clothes blended in with the dark roof shingles in the fading light. She gazed out quietly at the city. Her arms were wrapped around her knees like a child, but her eyes, no longer shadowed in the hood, scanned the landscape. Hal was curious what was beneath the hood, but he didn't want to push her and was just glad he could see her eyes now.

"Hey...uhhh...got water?" He groaned internally. Not one of his better jokes. She wouldn't even get the reference.

She blinked slowly, her eyelashes, or rather what was in their place looked like eyelashes that were stuck in a straight line so instead of individual lashes, it appeared to be one big "lash."

Her head tilted back to gaze at him then to look at the water he had. She nodded and stood. "Very good. Let's go." Krishna turned and, with a light push, was airborne and heading into the sky.

Hal followed her and they flew up into the sky together.

Hal pumped his fist. "Yes! This is incredible!" He was staring at the Interceptor, in perfect shape, like the day he had hijacked her off of Oa. Ahhhh...good times...

Krishna looked at him puzzled then entered as the hatch opened. Hal trailed behind her.

"Helllllooooo? Anyone here?" Hal called out curiously.

"If there was anyone here, I would know." Krishna replied calmly. "Please put the water in storage area five. Then come to the bridge." She started to walk away.

"Not very chatty are you?" Hal retorted.

She paused and turned to look at him. "Actually, I can be quite 'chatty.' I am merely what you Earthlings refer to as 'being incredibly shy.' I apologize if I appear condescending or any other negative way, though." Her eyes avoided his and he noticed that she played with the ends of her sleeves nervously. She was acting like a shy teenage girl, so it seemed to be true.

"How old are you, exactly?" He squinted. It was hard to tell because she was hidden beneath her outfit and he didn't know her species to make any guess.

The girl's eyes widened in surprise and she gasped softly. Her eyes immediately lowered to the floor and she fidgeted. "In Earth terms...I believe I would be roughly eighteen years old..." Her voice was soft and anxious. Hal wondered what she meant by "Earth terms" and what her fidgeting may mean, but as long as she helped bring Aya back he didn't care how old she was. He was merely curious about it. He was always curious about anything alien, but especially anything alien and female.

Hal felt a pang as he thought about this. Aya was always curious about different cultures. She learned and adapted and applied the knowledge. Her curiosity had furthered her advancement and helped the team numerous times. He truly did miss his little AI "sister" that he had grown to love during their time together. Hal knew Kilowog missed Aya too, though he tried to act tough, the sergeant had grown a soft spot for the little AI.

Krishna lightly placed a hand on Hal's arm, her eyes etched in worry. "Are you alright, Hal?"

He smiled down at the small girl and gently rubbed her head. "Yeah. Just remembering Aya..."

She gazed up at him and seemed to smile at him again. "I would think her memory would make you smile, though..." She wondered aloud.

"But that's just it...it's...just a memory..." Hal trailed off and lowered his hand, frowning. Krishna looked away.

"I have memories of Aya too..." Hal's eyes widened and he looked down at her shocked. She continued as though she hadn't noticed. "She was a sweet girl. Aya was very kind and she cared greatly for others. The universe is lonelier without her presence."

"You talk about her as if she was alive..."

Krishna looked up at him and he was surprised to see her look angrily at him. "You know as well as I that she was a living being! I talk about her as though she was alive because she WAS alive!" Hal blinked, surprised. She had been perfectly calm, level, and sweet up until this point. It was quite a change.

He raised his hands up in surrender. "Whoa, now! I wasn't trying to offend anyone. I know she was alive. I just wondered why you talked like that."

"Sorry..." She scowled at the floor.

"We cool, little lady?" He leaned sideways to smile at her. She smiled back and nodded.

As Hal was storing the water, a thought crossed his mind. Krishna never had said how she had known Aya or how she Aya had actually been alive. Something was off here... How could she have known Aya was alive when it was a secret very few knew? And how had she even met "Aya" when she had only been an AI programmed into the Interceptor as a Navcom? He was the one that had named Aya after all. This just didn't add up... He decided to talk to talk to Krishna about all this.

Krishna was tapping the main console as they sailed through space towards Oa. Trajectory was fine, all the instruments were reading perfect stats, and no warning alarms had gone off. Perfect. Everything was on track for a change.

Suddenly, Krishna hissed and fell to her knees, one hand gripping the top of the console to keep her from falling to the ground , and the other's heel pressed to one of her closed eyes. She groaned softly. It had never been painful until the incident. Now everytime it was used it ached, but steadily the pain was dimming with each use.

LANOS's cube form appeared in the main console and he looked down at her. "Shall I contact Green Lantern Hal Jordan for assistance?" He asked in his cheery voice.

"Don't you dare, LANOS..." She hissed at him. "Ju...just give me a moment..." He nodded, as best he could, and disappeared.

'It is rude to talk to LANOS in such a manner. He is simply trying to help.' A small voice spoke calmly in the back of her head.

'I know, but it hurts when you talk to me.' Krishna mentally retorted back.

'I apologize for any and all pain I cause you. Pain is undesirable, as I have come to know, but you should know something.'

Krishna felt the voice fading. The more painful it was the weaker the voice was and the shorter the length of time it talked. It also took more time before the voice had strength to talk again. 'Then spit it out already!'

'I simply felt it was necessary to remind you that you should not lead yourself down a path of destruction in order to reverse the effects of the Aya virus.' The voice was calm.

'It's my life. I'll do whatever I want with it!' Krishna snapped back at the voice.

The voice seemed to waver and said one last statement before it withdrew. 'This is true, but I really wish you would not pursue this path any further...' Then the voice was gone.

Krishna was groaned. Her head throbbed and was nearly unbearable. It was nearly as bad as when she teleported, but not quite. "Ohhh..." Her hand slipped free and she crumpled to the floor.

Just then the door hissed faintly as it opened. She distantly heard Hal say "What the...!" Then he was at her side, helping her sit up. She looked at him, feeling her strength already coming back. "Hey! Krishna! You alright?! What's wrong?"

"I'm fine Hal." She smiled at him reassuringly. "It was just the last of the teleportation wearing off. I'll be alright. Honest." Krishna let him help her to her feet and help her sit. He still looked worried. "I'll rest until we're closer to Oa. Fair enough?"

Hal nodded. She did seem better now.

LANOS reappeared. "Destination Oa?" He chimed.

"LANOS!" Hal grinned at his old AI. "How ya been buddy?"

"I have been performing at my highest performance rates, Green Lantern Hal Jordan." LANOS cheerily replied.

Krishna smiled at the friendly exchange and caught herself giggling at LANOS's cheerful logical reply to Hal's sociable question. "Yes, LANOS. Can you have the Interceptor remain a few Earth miles outside of Oan sensors and out of Oa's gravitational pull?"

"Objective received." LANOS's hologram disappeared and the ship continued on at a slightly increased pace.

Hal looked down at Krishna, curled up on his chair and then looked around the bridge slowly. The three empty chairs made him feel uneasy and glum, until he felt a hand rest on his forearm. Krishna was gazing up at him with her wide eyes, but they were intense and determined. "By the end of this journey, all four chairs of this Interceptor will be filled."

He nodded and smiled. "A chair for you too if you want."

She nodded and turned to gaze out the front window. "The next seat up that we'll fill is Kilowog's. On to Oa!"

Alrighty so the second chapter is done. I'm really content with the length of this chapter and how it came out and I hope all of you that read it enjoy it too. Eventually, I'm hoping on assembling the whole Interceptor's crew, but it'll take time to gather everyone. Hang in there! The team will do whatever they need to do to bring Aya back. Oh and "the mysterious voice" will be explained later. I'm sure people have ideas, but I'm not planning on explaining until Kilowog joins and fully explaining once we get Razer back. All in time my readers. Please stay patient (I'll get the next chapter up as soon as possible), enjoy, and review!

Mini-Spoiler Alert: For those of you eager and/or impatient to get Aya back (c'mon what GLTAS fan doesn't want Aya back?) well let's just say look at the title. All in time...