Sinestro looked at the planet with a mixture of disgust and pride. Finally, he had tracked down the traitors. It had been more than six months since their leader, Kailan, had left the corp. Even worse, he had stolen nearly a hundred new rings, and shortly after two other lanterns had also left the corp. Since then Sinestro and his followers had been working nonstop to find them. Now, at last, Sinestro had found the planet they had fled to. His most trusted followers were with him now, waiting for his signal to attack.

Sinestro gave the word and all the lanterns flew down as one. Soon they came within view of a large complex. Sinestro waved his hand and a small group of lanterns broke away from the group to search for secondary entrances. Sinestro and his team flew to the main doors and entered without stopping. Once inside he told his ring to scan for heat signatures and vital signs. For a moment his ring showed four signals, then they disappeared until there was only one. This was odd since the rings were normally very precise and almost never wrong. Sinestro considered that it might be a trap but didn't think much of it. Whatever was waiting for him, he could face it.

As they flew through the complex, Sinestro sent some of the other lanterns to search the side passages and corridors they passed. He didn't want to take time away from finding the traitors, but he also didn't want to risk someone sneaking up on them. Soon they came upon a set of large double doors. According to his ring the only other living thing in the building was behind these doors. He made a hand signal to tell the other lanterns to be silent then slowly pushed the door open enough to look inside. There was a dim light coming from a far corner, but it wasn't bright enough to show the rest of the room.

Sinestro stepped back, made a large construct battering ram, and knocked the doors open wide. The moment he stepped through the doors, a yellow light as bright as a sun burst from the farthest corner of the room. The light soon lost its blinding quality but still remained fiercely bright. Sinestro noted the bodies that he could now see due to the light lying around the room. He recognized them immediately as lanterns that had left his corps. Sinestro wondered what had killed them but turned his attention back to the light. He signaled for the other lanterns to stay back as he moved forward. If Kailan was waiting for him behind the light, Sinestro wanted to handle it himself.

As he got closer, Sinestro could see that the source of the light was a person and prepared to attack. However, he realized after watching her for a moment that she wasn't a yellow lantern. She didn't have the uniform of a yellow lantern and she wasn't wearing a ring, yet he was certain she was the source of the light. As Sinestro studied the girl and debated if she was a threat to him, he noticed another body on the floor next to her. He recognized it as Kailan and stepped forward to see what had caused his death but stopped as the glowing girl spoke. She was saying something, repeating a phrase over and over while crying, but Sinestro couldn't understand her. He told his ring to translate but it said it did not recognize the language.

Sinestro stepped closer to her and she screamed and put her arms over her face. As she did, strange discs of light appeared in front of her. Sinestro stepped back when he saw them. How could this girl make constructs like this when she had no ring? He thought about his options and wondered if he should kill her when the girl began to speak again. Even though he couldn't understand what she was saying, Sinestro could clearly tell from her voice and body language that the girl was terrified. She cowered on the ground as though trying to make herself appear smaller and as she leaned forward Sinestro was able to see her back for the first time. There was a large scar, as though someone had burned something into her back, and as he stared he realized that it was his own corps' symbol.

Sinestro stopped thinking and stared at the scar for a moment. It reminded him of something he had seen before on himself, when Kyle Rayner had branded him with the green lantern symbol. He still remembered the burning pain from it, but even worse had been the knowledge that he would forever be marked with a sign from a place he no longer belonged. He began to get an idea of who this girl was and what had happened to her. He couldn't guess how she was able to use constructs or emit light without a ring, but the rest he understood. Sinestro assumed she must have been captured by Kailan and his people so they could practice ways to instill fear. Sinestro had never let him use innocent people for this purpose, which was one of the main reasons Kailan had left. He assumed that somehow during the torture the girl had managed to kill her captors but was too injured or too scared to leave.

Sinestro still didn't know what to do with her. Part of him still thought it would be best to kill her. He had no idea what limits there were to her power and this made her a danger to himself and his corps. At the same time, her power was also interesting and could prove valuable later on. As he debated these options he couldn't keep his eyes from drifting to her back. Soon the thoughts faded from his mind again and he felt an overwhelming guilt. It's not your fault, he told himself, this is Kailan's doing. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that whatever had happened to this girl was ultimately his responsibility.

Sinestro sighed, thinking he would come to regret this decision, before speaking up. "I'm not going to hurt you" he said, his voice harsher than he'd meant for it to be. The girl looked up at him but did not seem to understand what he said. She said something and pointed to the dead man on the floor.

"I'm not like him", Sinestro said. "I'll help you." He took a step toward the girl and the construct discs immediately reacted, edging nearer to his throat and looking very sharp and menacing. "I won't hurt you" Sinestro repeated. The girl shook her head, still unable to understand him, and said something while pointing to Kailan's body. Sinestro looked and realized that she must recognize his uniform as the same as the others. The discs continued to move toward him and he decided he had to act quickly if he didn't want to fight her.

Sinestro took a deep breath and willed his shield aura and uniform to fade away; leaving him in the blue and black jumpsuit he always wore. To his relief the discs stopped moving toward him, but the still didn't go away. The girl looked curious but still scared and Sinestro knew that if he wasn't careful she would attack again. "Look, I don't want to hurt you" he said, trying to make his voice sound a bit friendlier. "I want to help."

Although she still couldn't understand him, something in Sinestro's voice and demeanor made the girl trust him. Sinestro watched as the discs slowly faded away and the light coming from her skin dimmed and disappeared before approaching the girl. He held out his hand to help her stand. Although she tried, she couldn't make her legs support her and stifled a cry of pain. Sinestro took a closer look and realized they were bent at odd angles and most likely broken. He bent down and cautiously picked her up, being careful not to scare her. Once he was holding her in a comfortable position he turned around and flew back to the rest of the lanterns, letting his uniform spread back over him.

Sinestro landed in front of his lieutenant, Arkillo, and told him to search the rest of the building. "If you find any more bodies, burn them along with these three here. Bring back any rings you find and make sure to bring Kailan's to me. Also, if you find any more living prisoners, bring them back alive." He told half the lanterns to stay and help Arkillo and the rest went back with him. Some of the others offered to carry the girl for him or to create a transport bubble for her, but Sinestro insisted on carrying her himself. Halfway through the journey she fell asleep in his arms.