Part Three: Retribution

"Let me get this straight. You deserted your corps, which is powered by hate, in order to warn us about the attack your leader has planned, which is going to happen later today, even though the attack is to wipe out love, which your corps presumably hates?"

"I don't hate love," Leah replied tersely. The leader of the Green Lantern Corps leaned forwards in his chair and put his head in his hands like he was getting a headache. Leah felt a bit of sympathy for him and quickly added, "The rest is about right though."

Jack laughed once. "I'm pretty sure that's an understatement."

Leah resisted the urge to slap him. They were currently sitting around a table in the Green Lantern Corps' outdoor cafeteria. The corps leader had originally wanted them to talk in the underground control room, but Jack's blatant refusal to go back underground unless it was truly necessary in conjunction with a well-timed but totally involuntary bout of morning sickness from Leah made it necessary for them to remain above ground.

Of course, the other two didn't know it was morning sickness, and the corps leader had come close to sending her to their med bay.

Leah sighed. "Look, a lot of us don't want the attack to succeed. We arranged it so that one person from each section can get out and raise an army, I just happened to be the last one out. Didn't know the Green Lanterns would be so difficult to convince." She wrapped her arms around her middle and bit her lip. "Hate to admit it, but we need your help. A handful of us against the rest of our corps won't amount to anything, even if the other five managed to get their armies. We need more ring-slingers, or Zamaron's toast."

She actually did care about the fate of Zamaron. Destroying an entire plant full of civilians did not sit well with her. That the first purpose of the Star Sapphire Corps was to spread love was also a good reason not to let them be destroyed. The Captain didn't know it, but at least a third of his corps was going to fight with the Star Sapphires, not against them.

"Isn't it your job to help people?" Jack asked. "Shouldn't—" The Green Lantern leader held up a hand, cutting him off.

"We'll help," he said, standing. "Everyone who can be spared, including Mogo."

"Thank Cythonna," Leah murmured. Even if the others didn't come back with anything, a sentient planet would at least freak out some Ambers. Speaking of which… "Sorry for throwing up on you," she told the ground. She didn't really expect an answer.

"Apology accepted," Mogo replied. All three of them blinked in surprise.

Hal Jordan wasn't sure what to do with the two kids. The girl insisted that she was going to fight and the boy said that he wanted to help. They were only kids, so Hal did the only sensible thing.

He introduced them to Kilowog.

Then he left to issue instructions to the rest of the corps.

When he got back the boy was hanging in a net from a tree and the girl was dueling against Kilowog's machine gun construct with a broadsword. A bullet eventually hit her neck and splattered into green goo.

"Not bad poozer." Kilowog dispersed his constructs. The bullet-goo vanished and the boy fell to the grass with a thump after the net disappeared. "You might have lasted longer if you didn't insist on using archaic weaponry."

The girl tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and rolled her eyes. "Normally I would have run you over from behind with a bull elephant, but my ring is almost out of charge."

Hal walked over and stood across from Kilowog. The girl spared him a quick glance, and then walked over to the boy, who was leaning against a tree and rubbing his shoulder.

"How did they do?"

Kiliwog shrugged. "The girl's been trained pretty well, certainly up to Corps standards. The boy… I'd like to see what he could do with a ring."

Hal nodded, and then he realised something. He turned to the two teens. "I never asked you your names, did I?"

"Nope," the boy said. The girl shook her head. Hal held his right hand out to each of them in turn. Neither of them refused to shake.

"Hal."

"Leah."

"Jack."

Hal nodded. "Mogo is moving. We'll be near Zamaron in about three hours."

Kilowog clapped Jack on his good shoulder, causing him to stumble forwards. "Just enough time for this poozer to get suited up."

"Are you sure this will work?" Jack asked. He was staring unblinkingly at the power ring that Hal was holding out to him. Hal sighed.

"We won't know until you put it on. This is the only available ring on all of Mogo that can actually be used in a fight."

Leah muttered something under her breath, but when Hal, Jack, and Kilowog looked at her she mimed zipping her lips. Jack decided to bite the bullet and took the ring from Hal. He put it on and light exploded out of the ring. When it died down Jack looked down at himself and let out a yell.

"What the hell?" Leah exclaimed.

Jack tugged, horrified, at his suddenly waist-length hair. The hair extensions had appeared as part of his uniform, which was a violet thing that vaguely resembled a woman's swimsuit, a woman's swimsuit with sleeves that was missing most of its front. Breast implants had also been included, which he was absolutely not good with. The only thing he recognized about himself was his bright indigo aura, which was almost overwhelmed by ring-violet.

"I'm not a girl!" Jack shouted.

'You're a girl Jacqueline!' Jack put his hands over his ears. Leah looked at him with concern.

"I'm not!"

Hal and Kiliowog were looking at each other with confusion. Leah shook her head, walked up to Jack, and slapped him right across the face. "Talk to the ring," she told him while he gapped at her.

Jack looked down at the ring. The star shaped symbol seemed to wink at him mockingly. "I'm a boy," he told the ring.

"Negative." replied the ring. "Your physiology is female."

'You're a girl!' Jack gritted his teeth.

"Being female doesn't mean that I'm a girl," he insisted.

"That is…true." the ring said, with a rising tone at the end of the sentence that made it sound like it wasn't sure. "Recalibrating uniform in five… four…three…two…one…" Violet light flashed briefly. When it was gone Jack was back to his normal self, only he was wearing skin-tight black pants, an equally tight violet T-shirt, knee-high black boots, and a violet armband around his left bicep. The shirt and the armband both had a white star symbol on them. He thought he felt a mask over his eyes, but he couldn't be sure.

"That is a lot better," Leah said. "Can you work your ring? Hint: It's powered by love."

Jack didn't need Leah to tell him that. He had figured it out the second he put on the ring and felt the overwhelming urge to kiss her. More overwhelming than usual, considering he'd been in love with her for four years.

Leah watched statically as Jack created a few simple constructs with his ring. A fist, a staff, a wall. When he created a domed shield around himself Leah decided to do a demonstration of her own. As Jack tried to make the flimsy-looking dome stronger, even though it was probably plenty strong, Leah stepped forward and let a blast of light out of her ring. The blast tore right through the shield and sent Jack flying across the room. Hal had to quickly catch him with a hand construct so that he didn't slam into a rack of ray guns.

"…and that is why giving him a Star Sapphire ring is useless," Leah said as if they had been in the middle of a conversation.

Hal shook his head. "I didn't think violet was weak to anything. Guess we can start the list with amber."

Leah shrugged. "That's why the Captain chose it." She opened up a crack in the space in front of her and reached into her ring's pocket dimension. "I have to charge," she said once she'd extracted her Power Battery. She looked at Jack, who was blinking rapidly. "You should find a cave or something for him to bunker in. Ambers don't pull punches."

She walked outside. About an hour after she charged her ring, Kilowog came to find her. They were nearing Zamaron and Hal wanted all Lanterns together to receive final orders. Leah grinned.

She was ready for a fight.

At the Black Amber base, Three-Seven-Two was giving orders to his troops. As of five days before, he was officially a six-stripe and now was one of the Lieutenants leading a few hundred Ambers into battle. He was mostly on autopilot because he knew the battle plan backwards and forwards, but he did make sure to make brief eye contact with every member of the resistance among his fighters. Each Lieutenant was leading Ambers from their section of the moon, so Three-Seven-Two knew every face.

"Do what you have to do," he finished. "And at least try not to get yourself killed."

The generally angry Ambers cheered savagely, while the outwardly calm Ambers nodded in understanding. The resistance had more calm Ambers than angry ones, because they could actually meet each other without getting into shouting matches.

While they were waiting for the Captain to signal the start of the attack, Three-Seven-Two looked around at the Ambers nearby and tried to figure out who would be on their side when the resistance fighters turned. He tried not to think about the six Ambers who had deserted on the pretense of going back to their home world in order to raise armies. The signal bouncing order that one of the other resistance members had come up with was working, he had tried to locate Leah before the morning meal and his ring had said that she was on Earth, but he was still worried that their plan hadn't worked and that the deserters had been captured. The Captain had seemed angry that they'd left, which was a good thing because he was the type to gloat if they'd been captured.

He had, after all, spouted out his entire reason for creating the Black Amber Corps only an hour after the last Amber had arrived.

The Captain didn't have a loving bone in his body. It wasn't that he had never been loved, his own mother was a Star Sapphire, it was that he didn't want love to exist. He hated love, he hated Zamaron, and he wanted to destroy them both. He didn't even have a reason, except for that he was annoyed by all the love that had surrounded him all through his childhood.

Leah had come up with a better reason, that he was insane and twisted. Three-Seven-Two wondered what his mother though of his ambition.

A gong sounded and the first wave of attackers flew out of the moon. After a few minutes the gong sounded again and the second wave was released. Another minute later and the third and final wave flew out into space. The first wave headed straight for Zamaron, beginning the attack on the planet's surface. The second wave dove into the plant's atmosphere and hovered in the sky, waiting for any Star Sapphires that came their way. The third wave, the wave that Three-Seven-Two's troops were part of, surrounded the planet, creating a barrier of Ambers that would not let any spacecraft escape Zamaron.

The third wave was the first to notice the attack against them. From the 'dark side' of Xochiquetzal, Zamaron's first moon, a fleet of Tamaraian battleships emerged. Lieutenant Struass, also part of wave three, let out a shout that cut off prematurely when one of the ships blasted him with a stunner. Another fleet of battleships appeared, probably having come by lightspeed straight from Xanthu. The most obvious form of protection for Zamaron came in the form of a giant plant that was flanked by Green Lantern Corpsmen.

One of the resistance members turned to Three-Seven-Two with a sly smile. "Is that our signal, Lieutenant?" she asked innocently.

Three-Seven-Two grinned. "It certainly is, Cadet."

The resistors of wave three rose up, and the other Black Ambers didn't stand a chance.

The cells on Mogo were completely full. The mostly unconscious Black Amber Corps members were packed in five to a cell, and it was only information from the Ambers who had fought for Zamaron that greatly minimized the possibility of the cells being destroyed.

Even without rings, if an Amber hated someone they were likely to attack them, never mind any destruction that might occur to their environment.

"That's the last one," Kiliowog informed Hal.

"Thank goodness," Hal grumbled. "How many of them are there?"

"One thousand eight hundred," a voice said. Hal turned to see a young Numericonian male standing next to Leah.

"Give or take about a hundred," Leah added. The Numericonian groaned at the numerical inaccuracy. Leah gave a wry smile in response.

"Who are you?" Hal asked the boy.

"Call me Three-Seven-Two," he replied. He and Hal shook hands.

"Three-Seven-Two is kind of in charge now," Leah said. "There was a really quick vote…Anyway, we figured that you'd want to talk."

They had figured correctly. Hal and Three-Seven-Two went above ground to the river where Saint Walker usually landed when he came to visit. Leah stood with Kilowog for a few moments before excusing herself and heading to the med bay to help with the wounded. Kilowog stood among the cells for a little longer before he suddenly remembered something and rushed to the surface.

He had to get Jack out of that cave.

Weeks later…

"The last of the former Ambers were shipped out today," Three-Seven-Two said to the 1804 Black Ambers assembled on the surface of Mogo. "And the hostages were returned to their homes the day after the battle. Now we have to decide, what are we going to do? Technically, we're criminals. The former Ambers are getting punished, shouldn't we?"

Surprisingly, this pronouncement didn't incite much anger. The Ambers started talking. A few of them wanted to stay on Mogo, sure that they would face harsh penalties if they returned to their homeworlds. Others thought that they should go back to their base in Frua and make peace with the Star Sapphires. There were plenty of ideas. The conversations started getting louder, and more like arguments, and soon Three-Seven-Two called for order.

"One at a time, are there any suggestions?"

Fina cleared her throat. "I think that we should go back to our home planets and see what sort of reception we get. We can come back to Mogo if it's bad." The Ambers made noises of willingness. Leah raised her hand and all eyes turned to her. Even some of Mogo's wild animals looked at the gathering.

"Jack, my hostage, he's a Star Sapphire now," Leah started. "He and Hal could plead our case with the Star Sapphires and Zamaron, and maybe we could go back to our base. If not, we could try to move the Central Power Battery somewhere else. We don't have to disband the corps; we just have to change how it's run."

The Ambers looked around at each other. They were a team, if nothing else. They may hate everyone, but they still managed to pull themselves together to save Zamaron from the Captain.

"Why don't we do both?" a winged Amber suggested. "We can go back to our homes and then meet on Mogo once we've cleaned up whatever mess we left behind. After we're all here we can go to Frua and decide what to do with the corps."

"I second that motion!" a six-legged male said.

"I third it!"

"Let's do it," Three-Seven-Two agreed. "If Mogo doesn't mind." All of the Ambers looked down at the ground.

"I don't mind," Mogo said. "You're not such a bad bunch."

"We're not a bunch," Leah said, scandalized, "we're a corps!"

"The Black Amber Corps!" Fina shouted.

"The Black Amber Corps!" all the Ambers cheered back.

"You ready to go?" Jack asked. Leah bit her lip.

"Almost. I'm just looking for Three-e!" Her sentence ended in a shriek as Three-Seven-Two scooped her up from behind and flew into the air. She laughed and slapped him. "Put me down you!" Three-Seven-Two swooped down and placed her on her feet.

"I think that's the first time he's snuck up on you," Jack remark dryly. He saw Leah's eyes flick over his shoulder and quickly turned around, coming nose to nose with Fina. He let out a scream and jumped backwards. The three Ambers laughed.

"Totally worth it," Leah chuckled.

"How long have you been planning that for?" Jack groaned.

Three-Seven-Two shrugged. "A few hours? Hal wanted me to tell you that you had to wait for a "super-man" to escort you home. I figured I may as well have fun with it."

Jack rolled his eyes. Despite everything, everything meaning the fact that Three-Seven-Two was dating Leah, Jack could not bring himself to dislike him. It wasn't his ring influencing him either; Three-Seven-Two was just a likable person. Jack blinked as what Three-Seven-Two said clicked.

"Superman is coming to get us!?" Jack shouted so loudly that the other Ambers and Lanterns who were around them couldn't ignore him.

"Everyone else is getting a Green Lantern escort," said Two-Six, a Numericonian girl who was part of the Green Lantern Corps. "But we aren't allowed in Space Sector 2814, so alternate arrangements had to be made."

Jack massaged his temples. "It's too early for this," he decided. He turned away from Two-Six and was then greeted by the sight of Leah and Three-Seven-Two kissing. "Way too early."

They remained standing together while they waited. Fina was one of the first to leave, escorted by a fellow Daxamite. The number of people on Mogo's surface gradually dwindled as Green Lanterns headed back to their sectors, taking Black Ambers with them. Soon only Jack, Leah, Three-Seven-Two and Two-Six were left. Three-Seven-Two and Two-Six were only still there because Three-Seven-Two intended to be the last to leave.

"He probably had to stop to fight Two-Face with Batman or something like that," Leah speculated. "Do you think you'd count as an escort?"

Jack shrugged."You did kidnap me, so probably not."

Leah's mouth was on the verge of twitching into a smile when she put a hand to her stomach. She quickly turned away from the group and threw up beside a nearby bush. Three-Seven-Two carefully held her short hair out of her face. Of course, that was when Superman showed up. He tactfully didn't say anything until Leah stopped retching.

"Good morning," Superman said nonchalantly.

Leah wiped her mouth with a leaf. "It's definitely morning," she agreed. "Good? That I'm not sure about."

"You're Superman?" Three-Seven-Two asked. Superman nodded to him. Then he looked at Leah and Jack.

"Are you ready to go home?"

Guy Gardner joined them sometime after they passed Jupiter. Superman was the first to spot the Red Lantern leader.

"Good afternoon, Guy."

"Afternoon Sups." Guy eyed Jack, who was having a little trouble flying against a sudden solar wind. "Earth has another Star Sapphire now?"

Jack shrugged. "I haven't really been thinking about that," he admitted. "I'm actually more worried about catching up with schoolwork."

Superman looked at Leah, expecting to see her nodding in agreement. Instead, she bit her lip and briefly touched a hand to her stomach. "What are you going to do?" he asked her. She looked at him, just hiding her alarm.

"Try not to go to jail for kidnapping?" she replied harshly. "What else can I do?"

"Tell the father," Superman said quietly. If someone could screech to a halt while flying in outer space, then Leah screeched to a halt. Jack didn't seem to notice as he was talking with Guy about motorcycles, something they evidently were both very interested in.

"How…?"

"X-ray vision."

Leah groaned. "I can't tell. He…he killed the last one."

Superman didn't know how to reply to that. He noticed Leah's face beginning to turn red and angry tears collecting in the corners of her eyes.

"I HATE him!" she shouted, drawing the attention of Guy and Jack. "I hate him, I hate him, and I wish he were dead!"

Leah then began crying. Her tears froze as soon as they dropped off her face and she soon had many slivers of ice orbiting around her. Superman was the first one to regain his wits. He put an arm around Leah and suggested that they stop on Mars so that everyone could get some rest. When they landed on the Red Planet, Leah sat down on a rock and put her face in her hands. After a few moments she sighed brokenly and looked up at the other three.

"I need help."

Leah talked, the other three listened, and by the end Guy was angry enough to pick a fight with Batman.

"She's just a kid," he muttered angrily to Superman.

"I know," Superman answered. "I can't believe—"

"I'm gonna kill that guy."

Superman sighed and didn't reply to any of Guy's further mutterings. They landed in Empire City, British Columbia at around one in the morning and just made time for Jack to turn his Star Sapphire uniform to normal clothes before going to the nearest police station. The constable behind the desk looked up as they entered and turned pale when he saw Guy and Superman.

"Ack…what…how…?" he babbled. Jack stepped forwards and the constable's focus turned to him.

"Hi, I'm Jack Turok. According to Superman my parents filed a missing person report around March 15th. Oh, and this is Leah Jenkinson, she's the one who kidnapped me."

The poor constable didn't seem to know what to do. So, he fainted. Guy rolled his eyes and went behind the desk. "I've got this," he told them. "I've been arrested enough times."

Guy worked the phone and managed to call Leah's mother and Jack's parents before other police officers came into the hallway and asked what the hell he was doing. They immediately took over and soon Leah was sitting next to an officer's desk handcuffed to the chair, Guy was lurking in a corner of the room keeping an eye on everything that happened, and Jack was being mobbed by his older sisters, who had driven over as soon as they were called. Superman had been called away, either by his cousin or the Justice League, he wasn't very clear.

A woman with short grey hair and warm brow skin burst into the police station. When Leah saw her she tried to stand up, but wasn't actually able to go anywhere because the station was crowded enough that she couldn't drag the chair behind her.

"Mom!"

The woman looked towards Leah and then literally pushed through the milling officers to get to her. They threw their arms around each other. This drew the attention of Officer Mills, who was in charge of their case.

"Excuse me, ma'am. Are you Mrs. Delagdo?"

Leah's mother looked up at him. "Certainly not! Maria Delagdo is five years younger than me and she looks it. I'm Rachel Jenkinson , Leah's mother."

Officer Mills looked down at some of the papers in the file he was carrying."I'm sorry ma'am, but the Delagdo's are listed as her primary caregivers."

Mrs. Jenkinson blinked and opened and closed her mouth. "Well, uh…" She was saved from answering by the door to the station banging open and a man in a suit storming in with a burly security guard behind him.

"Leah!" the man shouted when he spotted her. Guy was sure that he was Mr. Ivo Delagdo, which was an unfortunate name to have thanks to one Professor Ivo. Guy used all his willpower to not strangle the man where he stood and waited for Jack to make his move.

Jack blocked the path of the man and asked him exactly who he was. Officer Mills coughed and said, "Mr. Turok, I believe that is my job."

Jack bushed. "Sorry."

Officer Mills faced the man. "As Mr. Turok has already asked, who are you?"

The man brushed off his suit and held out his hand to the officer. "I am Ivo Delagdo. I'm the CEO of Delagdo Incorporated." Mr. Delagdo gave a winning smile and slowly withdrew his hand as Officer Mills refused a handshake.

"Mr. Delagdo," he said dryly. "Wasn't it your company that was responsible for the explosions in the Lots last year?"

Mr. Delagdo waved him off. "If you'll remember, my boy, those explosions were ruled an accident." He took a chequebook out of his pocket and clicked his pen. "Now, how much is bail? I don't have all day." Without waiting for an answer, he started writing out a check. The guy acted like a Richie Rich, but Guy was sure that if his assets were compared with those of Wayne Enterprises or Queen Industries, well, there couldn't even be a comparison.

One of Jack's sisters whispered something to the other, who nodded in agreement. They walked over to Mrs. Jenkinson, who appeared to be wilting, and led her out of Mr. Delagdo's firing line.

"Mr. Delagdo, Ms. Jenkinson hasn't been charged with anything."

Mr. Delagdo stopped writing and looked up at Officer Mills from the desk that he was writing on. "Hasn't she? Good. We'll be leaving now. Leah, let's go."

Leah held up her arm, showing off her handcuff. Then she said, "I'd rather be charged with murder than go anywhere with you."

Jack coughed loudly, making everyone look at him. "Leah, you haven't killed anyone."

"Yet."

In one move Leah broke the chain of her handcuff, stood up, and pointed her ring at Mr. Delagdo. Spear, knife, and arrow constructs formed all around him. The officers and Mr. Delagdo's bodyguard got over their shock and reacted by pointing their guns at Leah. Officer Mills was the only one not to.

"Stand down!" Officer Mills shouted. A few of the officers listened to him, but only a few. "Leah, would you care to explain?"

Leah snarled. "What's there to explain? He's a controlling, wife-beating, raping, murdering, pedophile who uses threats and payoffs to get his way!" Her proclamation sent the police station into a frenzy that only died down when Guy created a construct of a gun and fired off three blanks, and left Guy wondering who exactly had trained the poozers.

"Shut up, and let her explain!" Jack exclaimed.

"That won't be necessary," a woman said. Officer Mills turned to look for the woman and turned pale when he saw her.

"Commissioner!" he squeaked. The woman nodded to him.

"Officer Mills," she looked distastefully at Mr. Delagdo. "Please arrest this man."

CEO of Delagdo Incorporated Accused of MURDER

Ivo Delagdo was arrested on Monday on allegations of murder and rape, among others. The youngest accuser, who is unnamed due to her status as a minor, told Police Commissioner Oteri that Delagdo had used threats against her family to stop her from telling anyone. She also believes that Delagdo is responsible for the death of her father. Further victims have come forward and the Commissioner expects Delagdo to be charged with no less than seven counts of assault, ten counts of sexual assault, and one count of attempted murder.

Mr. Delagdo is denying all charges, and has hired lawyer Eleanor Shaw to defend him should he be taken to court.

Delagdo continued on page 3.

For more on Eleanor Shaw go to page 5.

"I never did thank you for not pressing charges."

Leah and Jack were in his sister Ellen's apartment working on the giant packages they needed to complete in order to move on to grade twelve in September. Leah was five months pregnant, and looked it, so Ellen had suggested that they work at her place rather than at the library like they normally would.

Jack measured an angle and erased the number that he'd written down for radiance. "Don't mention it. It wouldn't be fair. Besides, I wouldn't have gotten this if you hadn't kidnapped me." He raised his hand that had his Star Sapphire ring on it. He had been allowed to keep the ring, purely because Hal and Kilowog had decided that it was better for him to have it rather than risking it falling into the wrong hands.

Leah looked down at her own ring and smiled. "The rings are great, aren't they? I went to Australia the other day, just because, and I could understand languages that I don't even know about." Jack nodded in agreement. He had flown to Nunavut when he couldn't sleep the night before and had, unintentionally, done the same.

They worked quietly for a time before Jack spoke again. "How are you doing? You know, with the whole court thing?"

Mr. Delagdo was going to court in a few months' time, as soon as they managed to find a jury that wasn't connected to him in any way. They'd probably have to bring people in from different provinces, because it seemed like everyone in BC had had some sort of meeting or altercation with him. Leah, her mother, Mrs. Delagdo, and most of the Delagdo House maids were going to testify against him.

Leah frowned. "He had my father killed and would have raped his own daughter if he didn't have me. I just want this to end with him behind bars for the rest of his life."

When Ellen and Jenna, Jack's sisters, had heard Leah's story, they had had the same reaction as Jack had. With Leah and Mrs. Delagdo at the head of the line, Ivo Delagdo would probably end up stabbed more than Julius Caesar if he didn't get sent to jail.

"He has a daughter?"

"Regina Delagdo. Jack, she's three years younger than us. The man's a monster."

Leah's ring began vibrating. She listened to it. "Call allowed."

A flat rectangle construct, like a computer screen, hovered in front of her face. Three-Seven-Two waved. When he spoke it sounded a bit like he was underwater. Jack was a little jealous of this aspect of the Black Amber rings. Star Sapphire rings did not have video calling.

"Hello," Three-Seven-Two said. "I just wanted to let you know that I made it to Mogo alright."

"That's good. You didn't get arrested on your way out?"

"Surprisingly, no. Two-Six took my side, which probably helped. And, while I was gone, some of my youth group managed to get the government to review the betrothal law, so we can't get arrested for protesting against that anymore."

"That's great!" Leah gestured for Jack to join her. He put his pencil down and sat beside her. He and Three-Seven-Two greeted each other. "Are we the last?" Leah asked. Three-Seven-Two shook his head.

"Fina, Calder, a bunch of others still haven't arrived."

Leah smiled wryly. "Well, I probably won't get there for a long time. I'm going to be in the middle of a legal storm in a few weeks, so I'm stuck on Earth."

"I'm not going to be free any sooner than you are," Jack pointed out.

"That's alright," Three-Seven-Two told them. "Everyone's learning a lot from the Greens, and we've got some ideas for how to run things once we've got our base back."

They talked for a little longer, and then Three-Seven-Two had to say goodbye. He was joining one of the fighting classes for the Green Lantern recruits, and he couldn't be late. "Try not to get too beaten up," Leah joked.

They tried to get back to work after Three-Seven-Two called, but after only a few minutes the phone rang. Jack answered, and then held the phone away from his ear as Ellen shouted for him to turn on the news RIGHT NOW. Leah heard and fumbled for the TV remote.

The blond News 52 anchor spoke shakily as she spoke. She was informing the continent that a Kryptonite bomb had been set off by the U.S. military in order to weaken Superman, who was now Public Enemy Number One.

"Good grief," Jack groaned. He wondered if the U.S. military had even realized that Kryptonite was radioactive. "Do you think that can reach us here?"

Leah shrugged. Then she yelped.

"What is it?"

Leah smiled. "The baby," she replied. "It kicked."

THE END