"Are we there yet?" she said. Hal looked back at her.
"Hilarious," he said. She wanted to ask him what to expect and to ask Kal why he insisted on coming along. Instead she just sat there, taking in the surroundings of the green box. Hal's construct was opaque so there were no stars or planets to watch as they rocketed through space. Although even without a window she could feel they were going at incredibly high-speed, the force almost able to drag her back gave it away.
"Can you tell me what we've gotten into," Kal said, it was the first thing he had said on this trip of theirs.
"I'm not trying to spring anything on you. The Guardians genuinely want to piece together the conflict between Daxam and Earth," Hal said.
"So when we tell them the truth they'll clear up Earth's name?" Kal said.
"I would hope so," Hal said, glancing at Kara. She stayed quiet as being forced to dwell on these events had her riled. The less detail she could get away with, the better.
"Are the Guardians still as grandiose as I remember?" Kal said. Hal chuckled,
"Only you could find a nice way to say they have massive sticks up their arses," he said.
"I'll take that as a yes," Kal said, he turned to her. "It's best not to mess around with these people." Kara was hardly in the mood to try and charm her way out of this anyway.
Kal kept asking questions, the gist from Hal was that there was no nuance or trick required. If anything that would just cloud the Guardian's judgement, however she would remain guarded until she encountered them for herself.
"We've arrived," Hal said. She wandered how he knew that with no windows, the ring must have done all the navigation. The construct disappeared, revealing a grand city. Sleek towers stretched into the glowing sky, its colours changed and refracted as the light danced off the gleaming architecture. It was unlike anything she had seen, even the warm glow of Krypton paled in comparison to it. She began to gawk as they flew closer to the city below.
"Yep, it had that effect on me too first time I saw it," Kal said, taking in the view himself.
"So you've been here before," she said.
"I've helped out the Green Lanterns a few times. I've ended up with a bit of respect and a little bit of sway around here. I'll tell you about it sometime," he said.
"Please do," she said.
"We aren't here to sightsee, follow me" Hal said.
They travelled through the city and it only got more impressive as they were lead through. The aura of light this place gave off from every surface got increasingly green as they went on. A large creature in the Lantern uniform flew up alongside Hal.
"Hey Kilowog," Hal said.
"Good to see you, what brings you back to Oa?" he said.
"Seeing the Guardians," Hal said. Kilowog laughed
"What did you do this time?" Hal briefly looked back after this comment, Kara raised an eyebrow at him.
"No, I'm taking them to see the Guardians," he said.
"Oh, right. Well if you have time it'll be good to catch up," Kilowog said.
"We'll see, my sector has been keeping me very busy," he said.
"Yeah a lot of us have the same problem, I hear they're thinking about expanding the Corps to two lanterns per sector," Kilowog said.
"It's about time, I've been pushing that idea since I joined. Anyway I'll try and catch you later yeah?" Hal said. They exchanged goodbyes and Kilowog flew off in a different direction.
"I hope the Guardians can speak our language that well," Kara said.
"The ring translates," Hal said. There seemed to be a lot more to the rings than met the eye, she wandered what else they were capable of.
Her train of thought was quickly de-railed when she saw a bizarre structure on the horizon. The green glow that now dominated the sky was emanating off of a literal green lantern. It was giant and sat conspicuously in the middle of the city structures, the sprawling paths left a perfect circle around it as if it were surrendering space to it.
"Is that why you're called Green Lanterns?" she asked.
"There's a long answer and a short answer to that question," Hal said.
"The short answer is yes," Kal said.
Hal began to descend toward a tall spire, whoever designed it certainly built to impress. Hal stood by the entrance which had the same circular symbol as Hal's uniform and ring.
"Wait here," he said. He stepped inside, leaving her alone with Kal. He put his hand on her shoulder.
"I'm with you all the way," he said, Kara looked at his hand.
"Are you?" Kara said.
"Of course," he said.
"You didn't exactly approve of my methods then, I doubt you still do now," she said.
"That doesn't change the fact Daxam attacked and that your methods were purely defensive," he said. It was reassuring to hear, he would always defend truth and those he cared for.
The minutes went by and a light breeze was in the air. Kara was stuck wandering just how much sway Kal had here and what exactly that entailed. The door opened and Hal popped out.
"Come with me," he said, holding the door open for them.
She looked to Kal, he gave a slight nod and smiled. She took a deep breath and stepped inside. The interior was just as glorious as the outside, the light bounced around the gleaming floors and walls, giving off the same effect as the sky.
Hal lead them to a chamber with a large table, he let them in first then followed. He closed the door behind them and stood by it with his arms folded. Sitting around the table were a council of stout, blue aliens. Their heads seemed a bit big for their bodies but apart from that they looked like small, blue humans. Each one wore red and white robes with the Lantern symbol, these must be Guardians.
"Have a seat," one said, gesturing to two empty chairs. She let Kal move first, when it was her turn to sit, all of them watched her every move. Their prying eyes made it feel like they were judging every aspect of her just from how she took the chair.
"Welcome back Superman," one said.
"Please, call me Kal," he said.
"Very well, I assume this is the counter-part known as Supergirl," said the Guardian.
"Kara Zor-El," she said, Kal's shadow even seemed to reach out to other planets as once more she felt like just an extra. She waited for the Guardians to introduce themselves but they did not extend this courtesy.
"Our operative, Hal Jordan, claims you resisted coming here and remained reluctant when summoned a second time." Their avoidance of any introduction caught her off guard.
"I'm sorry, can I get some names? I don't know who I'm addressing," she said. Her super-hearing picked up a faint groan from Hal.
"We are Guardians, you address us as such," one said.
"No I..." she stopped herself, figuring this was probably the only answer she would get from them.
"Why were you resistant?" a Guardian asked.
"I don't suppose your operative mentioned that he was incredibly vague before trying to detain me and that he met me saving a bunch of civilians from certain death?" she said.
"He did, he said he was overly-quick to act and that your efforts with the fires were admirable," one said. Kara looked back at Hal, who avoided eye-contact. Despite his attitude toward her he at least had the guts to be honest.
"However that was not the question," the Guardian continued. "Why were you resistant?"
"A man I didn't know tried to take me away on behalf of an authority I hadn't heard of, away from the planet I protect," she said.
"Noted," the Guardian said.
"So you claim to be Earth's protector," another said.
"Well not exactly, I do my best to keep people safe" she said.
"A Daxamite would disagree," the Guardian said.
"They attacked..." she said, another Guardian interrupted her.
"The biological nature of the weapon used against the Daxamites is not only morally questionable, but Hal Jordan claims it also breaks Earth's own agreed conventions,"
"It was a last resort, all other forms of attack available would have been ineffective," she said.
"So you adhere to the laws until it is inconvenient?" the Guardian said. They spoke in a consistent monotone. Such accusations were almost harder to swallow when delivered so flatly.
"I tried to stop them with their own law. I challenged their leader, Rhea, to single combat. The invasion was called off in preparation and the winner would decide the fate of the planet," she said.
"Uncivilised, but quick and effective with minimal casualties," the Guardian said.
"These were not the events that transpired, Hal Jordan's ring detected the altered atmosphere," another Guardian said.
"When Rhea began to lose the duel, she broke off and ordered the continuation of the invasion," she said.
"That's when you used the weapon?" The Guardian said. She rolled her shoulders and sat up with a strong posture.
"Yes," she said.
"A weapon developed specifically for the purpose of poisoning the atmosphere for only Daxamites?" Another Guardian said. The way they took turns in grilling her was infuriating.
"Yes," she said, looking at each expressionless face before her.
"Did the shared past and feud between Krypton and Daxam accelerate your willingness to use the weapon?"
"May I?" Kal said as he leaned forward.
"You may speak freely," a Guardian said.
"The weapon was not designed by an official authority or agency. It was originally developed by a radical off-shoot known as Cadmus to eliminate all alien life. It was re-purposed to only target the threatening force, no-one associated with Kara or I requested its manufacture," he said.
"Noted, however such division toward alien life re-affirms that Earth is not ready to become part of a larger galactic community. Such instability cannot be ignored," a Guardian said.
"The weapon was also actively re-developed. Not being the original creator excuses little. In addition, it seems unlikely Krypton and Daxam's sordid past had no part of the decision to use such methods," another Guardian said. Accusations of prejudice against Daxam after sacrificing Mon-El were not easy to stomach, she wanted to steer the conversation away from this.
"Rhea ignored her own people's laws and targeted civilians. Bystanders and hospitals were her main targets. If I had delayed it would have cost thousands of innocent lives, possibly the entire planet if I hadn't used it at all," she said.
"This was not mentioned in the Daxamite reports," one said.
"Figures," Kara said, folding her arms. There was a brief silence across the table.
"This shifts perspective," one said.
"The Earth's authorities still provoked an attack from a superior power and resorted to extreme methods very quickly when they realised they were outmatched. This is not the behaviour of a balanced people," another said. They seemed to be relentless in their efforts to undermine her.
"We didn't provoke them," she said.
"Reports suggest the Daxamite prince was being held in Earth's custody," one said.
"Custody? He chose to stay on Earth. When he told his Mother she refused to accept it so he sought refuge. That's why she launched the invasion," she said.
"That seems unlikely, why would he choose to stay?" the Guardian said. Kal tried to speak, but she cut in before he could.
"He landed on Earth by accident long before the rest of the Daxamites showed up and grew fond of life on the planet." Kal looked at her with slight confusion as the Guardians discussed this point. She shook her head at him as she could not bear the thought of discussing her relationship with Mon-El. Especially in this environment and with these Guardians questioning everything so aggressively.
"That seems most irrational," a Guardian said.
"We aren't all such rational creatures," Kal said, looking at her whilst he said it.
"You defend Kara Zor-El's actions, but where were you when all this occurred. You are well known for your willingness to fight the unjust," one said. Kal lost his confident manner in an instant.
"Rhea used a mind-altering substance on me when I went to confront her. Kara knocked some sense into me," he said.
"Did this occur before or after use of the weapon?" one asked. Kara stared at him with wide, unblinking eyes. Kal shifted in his seat.
"Before," he finally said.
"So where were you when the weapon was deployed and used?" The Guardian said.
"In my weakened state I couldn't fight directly so I looked for alternative means to end the Daxamite threat," he said.
"Would you have used the weapon yourself?" The Guardian said.
"Kara used it to defend the civilians Rhea was targeting," he said.
"Would you have used the weapon yourself?" The Guardian repeated. Kal looked at her, then at the Guardian. He hung his head. Her heart stopped.
"No."