As I prepared to send out the alert, several steaks of blue light ehaded towards me. Blue Lanterns no doubt. They were like the Corps, special rings to do special things. Their primary color was blue, in case the name didn't give it away. While the green is for willpower and the yellow for fear, the blue represents hope. And right now, that is exactly what I need.
All in all, it is five Blue Lanterns that head towards me. They stop, and I recognize one of them.
"Hail Green Lantern Corrigan." He says, raising his hand in peace. It was Nug Terg, the highest ranking of the Blue Lanterns. A member of the Gerva race. His skin reflected his own emotions. He was like a living mood ring. And being a Bklue Lantern, he was normally blue skinned. And, other than the antennae on his forehead and his three fingered hands, he looked human. It really was amazing how much I noticed the similarities of alien races with my own, than the differences.
"Nug, thank goodness. Things have gone to hell." I say, the anguish heavy in my voice. I tell him the tale, the readers digest version.
Nug thought for a moment, and at this point, even that moment may cost us. Time was really of the essence.
"Go" he said to me, "go save Oa. Get your comrades to help. We will assist the people of Fenri Galaxy. We can get them to a safe location, I hope. But this being needs to be stopped."
"Thank you Nug" I said, as I took his hand and shaked it. This gesture always confused him. I turned and headed, as fast as possible to Oa. I had toi alert the others though.
"Ring, send out the alert. Code Zero" I said, as my ring echoed it
"Code Zero"
The code. Only used once before. This code was for a full fledge attack on Oa. All Lanterns were to return to Oa immediately. Some, their rings would even force them to go. It was not mandatory. I heard a crackling in the ring, as a voice boomed through it.
"Corrigan? You sent the alert? What the fuck happened?" I knew that voice. Kilowog. The toughest of us. The drill sargent for the new recruits. And one of the most respected Lanterns ever.
"Kilowog, I'm sorry. I was given a mission and failed. Now, Oa is going to pay the price."
"This about that phoenix thing Ganthet warned us on?"
"Exactly" a bit surprised and relieved that Ganthet had filled them in on what we were going up against.
"How bad is it?"
"Kil, she just snuffed out the sun for the Fenri Galaxy with a thought. That bad enough for you? She has tossed me around like a damn rag doll since the beginning. We need all of us if we even have a prayer."
"Oh." Was all he could say. "Where are you?"
"Heading for a space gate so I can beat her there. Give me ten minutes."
The space gates were portals that helped for intergalactic travel. It cut down tremendously with the time. As far as I knew, Annabelle did not know about it, so that gave me the advantage. Even so, with the power she ahs, it wouldn't give me much of a break. I came up on it fast and didn't slow down at all. Once I entered it, I was bathed in the bright light and could feel myself being shot across the universe like a bullet out of a gun.
Once I exited on the other side, I could see Oa. It shined like a beacon. I always called it the Emerald Planet. I moved as fast as my thougths would allow me, and headed for the main meeting hall of the Guardians. As I approached, I saw a large number of Lanterns gathered around the hall. They all looked up as I got closer. The Gaurdians were out there too. All of them. Floating above the Lanterns. I lowered myself down and joined them.
"Lantern Corrigan, please, give us a report." Ganthet said.
I again gave the tale. This time in more detail. I went over it all. Not being able to contain it before it possessed Annabelle. Not being able to kill her in cold blood, the destruction and death she caused on Earth, the way she played and manipulated me before destroying the Fenri System. And her desire to come for Oa. When I was done, I saw a lot of things on the faces of my fellow Corps members. Some were scared, others concerned and frightened. And some showed anger at me. Kilowog, my original trainer, he showed something else. He showed confidence. In me, in the corps, in being able to win.
"So, because you were too gutless to destroy this thing, you out the entire universe in jeopardy?!" demanded Lantern Jaso. Others around him started agreeing with him.
"Enough" came Ganthet's voice. "Lantern Corrigan has shown time after time astute judgment. It was he that had to remind me that the Green Lantern Cops are peace keepers and law enforcement. Not judge, jury and executioners."
"Yeah, you Poozers" Kilowog chimed in, "Jake has always been a perfect Lantern. I stand by him no matter what. Hell, I'd have done the same thing" he said as he came and stood by my side. He was as tall and jacked as ever. And that face. I always said he looked like a pig with no snout. He was not the person you wanted against you in a fight, that's for sure. And now, more so than ever, I was glad he was on my side.
"Regardless of what some of you may think or feel about me, Oa is still in grave danger, and this universe is in grave danger. If Ann…the Phoenix succeeds and destroys Oa, than we all perish. The entire universe. We need a united front to stop her. And, I hate to sound pessimistic, I'm not even sure that will work. I've never seen such power." I let my ring show off the readings of the Phoenix force and show some of the holograms of what she had done earlier. I heard a lot of gasping.
"All I know is, if we stand separate, we will die. United we got a chance."
"Than allow us to up those chances, Corrigan." Came a voice that made my skin crawl. I didn't nee to look to know who it was. As usual, his timing sucked. I turned with the rest of the Corps and stared at the being who was once heralded as the perfect Lantern before he got a god complex and turned on us all. Sinestro.
And with him, was his entire Sinestro Corps, all with their yellow power rings. This day just got even shittier.