hey lovelies! Im so so sorry this is so late. My life has been nuts. i start school in a few days, and my account was really messed you for a while. there was so confusion in the last chapter so just to clear a few things up, Guy and Soranik are not the class with Artemis. But I hope you enjoy the chapter! REVIEW.
A shriek a pure fury rang throughout the base.
"GUY GARDENER!"
Hal Jordon glanced up over his cup of germoine at his fellow lantern, John Stewart.
"He did it again."
The bald man shook his head.
"That idiot."
The dust settled, and the two girls took a moment to try to reassemble themselves.
"Nasty."
Artemis groaned, scraping some of the sticky, clear liquid of her arm.
"Valtula j'ut. Got to admit, they do their homework."
"What's j'ut?"
Arisia winced.
"Valtula spit."
"Artemis, froze, before a growl started deep in her throat.
"They are so dead."
She snarled, sticky hair practically standing on end. Arisia took several steps back.
"I-I t-think t-they w-went t-that w-way."
The young lantern stammered, pointing a shaking finger down the hallway. Artemis was off, leaving only a slight breeze behind her.
….….…...…...
Guy ran as fast as his legs could carry him. He and B'dg had ran for a good ten minutes, trying to put as much distance between the saliva soaked ladies and themselves.
"I think this is far enough."
He panted. B'dg nodded, before collapsing against the wall.
"Did you see their faces? That was hilarious!"
The two lanterns chuckled, too out of breath to do anything else. All of a sudden Guy spotted something that made his blood run cold. A flash of platinum blond hair, and an armored dark green uniform. Crap. He grabbed B'dg's paw and took off, the squirrel like lantern in tow.
"Hey!"
Guy turned his head just in time to see the arrow flying at his face. He let out a not so manly scream, and ducked out of the way. He heard B'dg shout something, before making a construct. Guy turned the corner just in time to see Artemis trip over a small box construct. They raced down another corridor, escaping the arrows flying by their heads. Artemis growled again, got to her feet, and prepared to take off after them, when a voice behind her made her freeze.
"Better hurry up, sweetheart."
Artemis turned to see an older female lantern, with beige skin imprinted with small white dots and long shimmering white hair, similar to Artemis's own, piled up onto her head. She wore a long, flowing, layered robe and a green lantern ring on her right index finger.
"Guy's room is down in that direction."
The lantern said, unaware of Artemis's mental inspection. Artemis froze for a minute, before thanking the lantern and taking off. She spotted Guy and B'dg racing down the hallway, towards the last room on the end, which could only be Guys room.
'Oh no you don't.'
Artemis thought, throwing a fist construct down the hallway. Direct hit. Guy and B'dg spilled onto the floor, but hurriedly picked themselves up and continued to run. Artemis was almost there! But the two male lanterns got to the room first.
"No!"
Artemis shouted, throwing her hand forward. Another scream echoed throughout the base.
"Ohh."
Boodika said, aiming a punch at Laira's head.
"Someone got their fingers jammed."
The two of them were in the middle of a practice exercise and everyone within a five mile radius heard the noise. Laira pinched the bridge of her nose, remembering the time she accidentally got her own hand caught in a door. As a result, she was off for a week and the extreme pain was nothing to sneeze at.
...-.-...-.-...-.-.-...
20 minutes later, Artemis trooped out to the Green Lantern Hall of Fame with wet hair and a new uniform. While her classmates chattered excitedly around her, Artemis nursed her aching fingers, picturing the shock on both Guy's and B'dg's faces when they opened the door and saw her smashed hand. Ohh… they would get it. That was for sure. Now how she would handle it was the question.
Artemis's evil plotting was stopped when she arrived at the front steps of the Hall. She gapped in shock. It was absolutely huge! Tomar-Re let them have theit moment of awe before stopped at the front steps.
"Lantern trainees, I am proud to introduce our very own tour guide and Green Lantern Librarian, Akachi."
A tall woman with white hair and flowing robes stepped out from behind a pillar, and smiled at them. Artemis gasped. It was the woman who had encouraged her to chase Guy earlier!
"It was you!"
"She blurted, before blushing slightly as everyone turned around, staring and obiviously confused. The librarian winked at her.
"So it was. Now, how about we start the tour?"
So far, the field trip to the Hall of Fame had been anything but exciting. After an hour of listening to Tomar-Re's monologue, Artemis was two seconds away from falling asleep. However, moments later, the class reached the main gallery. Throughout the room, portraits of hundreds of Green Lanterns hung on the walls.
The order went from the oldest to the newest. Despite attending Tomar-Re's history class, Artemis only recognized a few lanterns, one of which was Abin Sur. It turned out he was Soranik's uncle and Sinestro's best friend. After crashing landing on Earth, Abin left his ring to Hal Jordon who learned at one point; the ring belonged to Avra, one of the first Green Lanterns. Somehow, the owners of that specific ring always became famous.
Throughout the years, the owners of the original rings had passed them down to people they were close to or someone they trusted including family members, friends and students. Abin Sur had a family on his home planet, but he crashed into Earth, so there was no time for him to hand down his ring to his eldest daughter like he had planned, so the ring went to Hal.
"Listen up, class. We've entered the main gallery in the Hall of Fame, you are free to explore, if you have any questions, Akachi will be more than happy to answer them for you."
Tomar-Re explained.
"I am the head of the Lantern archives, so if you ever need help with your studies and homework assignments, just ask."
Said Akachi, smiling reassuringly at them. Artemis was sure she heard several others give sighs of relief.
"You are free to go."
Tomar announced. No sooner did he finish his sentence, the students went off in different directions. Artemis looked around the gallery. It was a large room, with the walls were painted a shade of teal and the floors a shade of olive green marble. As she walked around the room, Artemis noticed images of she had already knew. Among them were Hal, Tomar-Re, Ch'p and John Stewart. She stopped in front of photos of Laira, Katma and Boodikka.
"Whoa…"
She murmured.
"Yeah, that's what everybody says when they come here."
Artemis froze and turned around; standing behind her was Arisia, Boodikka, Katma and Laira.
"You never told me you three were in the Hall of Fame."
She said.
"Well, you never asked."
Boodikka explained, admiring her 30 feet high portrait that flickered, showing images for her fighting and training.
"Our names and pictures have hung here for about five years now."
Laira explained.
"Why?"
Artemis asked. The three exchanged uneasy glances.
"You will find out later."
Artemis raised a eyebrow, and was about to push a bit more, but she saw Arisia shaking her head behind Laira's back. Artemis reluctantly shut her mouth, and went back to looking at the pictures.
"C'mon, there's something we want to show you."
Said Boodikka. Artemis quickly followed the trio to a section near the middle of the gallery. She noticed a image of a tall woman hanging on the wall. She was around 6'1 in height with sky blue skin, aqua blue eyes and long chalk white hair pulled back into a rather fluffy ponytail.
"Who's this?"
Artemis asked.
"This is Blu, the first female lantern."
Laira answered.
Artemis read the plaque below the portrait; it listed Blu as a member of the first four who were the original Green Lanterns. There was also a short biography; she worked alongside Avra who was originally a writer. Blu on the other hand had it rough; she originally came from Ch'p's sector. Her family was poor, so she started to work very young. To make ends meet, she took up a part time job at a steel mill and used whatever she earned to help her family. On the side, she was also a jewelry artist, and made bracelets from scrap metal and wood.
"Sounds like she took her job seriously."
Said Artemis once she finished reading the biography.
"Yes, she did. Course, she wasn't as famous as she is now."
Laira pointed out.
Artemis frowned.
"She wasn't?"
"No, during her first day on the job hardly anyone took her seriously because she wasn't a warrior. She was just at the first lantern choosing ceremony to support her younger brother, who was one of the best sword fighters in his sector. However, Avra was the only one who suggested giving her a chance. Avra wasn't really taken seriously either, until he proved his leadership skills, but he knew how she felt." Katma explained.
"It wasn't until her first search and rescue that Blu was recognized as part of the team." Laira added.
"Really, when was that?" Artemis asked, eager to find out more.
"She actually wrote about it in her journal. It's currently on display at the archives, but I'm sure if you asked nicely enough, Akachi would let you have a look."
Laira smiled over at her pupil.
"Wow, on display and everything. She must be pretty famous"
"Yeah, Blu…she's one of the most well-known lanterns in the Hall of Fame." Katma said, looking over at the photo.
"Whatever happened to her?" Artemis asked. Katma, Boodikka, and Laira stopped smiling and lowered their heads.
"Oh, I'm sorry I didn't know…" Artemis apologized.
"The three older lanterns exchanged looks.
"The Hall of Fame was Avra's idea. After all the adventures he and his team had together, he wanted to do something to make sure their stories weren't forgotten. So…" Boodikka trailed off.
"Before he retired, he got the local construction crew to help build this place. The project took eight months to finish and the rest… is history." Laira finished.
"Many lanterns have had their names and pictures placed here." Arisisa said.
"Arisia's right, her Dad was added a year ago, so was my grandfather."
Laira added.
"Whoa... wait a second, didn't you say the lanterns pass down their rings to someone they're close to…?" Artemis asked.
"That's right, I got mine from my Dad, who got it from my Grandpa… Laira got hers from…" Arisia trailed off.
"My Grandfather when he retired. My brother Rubyn… he ducked out, so I inherited the ring." Laira finished.
Artemis didn't ask why it didn't go to her father. She had enough bad experiences with dads to last several life times.
"And Blu's ring was left to B'Shi…" Boodikka had just finished explained.
She pointed towards another portrait, a few spots down from Blu's. It was a tan colored monkey resembling a White Fronted Capuchin with dark brown eyes.
"She was Blu's best friend." Katma said.
"After that, the ring was passed down to Blu's relatives, including her younger bother's daughter, quite ironically. Though, one of her descendants wasn't interested in becoming a lantern so, she brought the ring back." Boodikka explained.
"So...who has Blu's ring now?" Artemis asked.
"It remained inactive for centuries, waiting for the right host. Recently however, it left the temple and, well, I'm looking at her." Laira answered.
Artemis looked at her ring then at the others.
"No way… this used to be Blu's ring?"
"One and the same." Said Laira.
"How do you keep track of who had this ring anyway?" Artemis asked, staring at the ring in awe.
"Each power ring has an I.D. number containing the sector number the ring was originally from. The numbers were written down, but now that we have computers so Akachi has all the ring I.D. numbers plus the names they're registered under in a database." Laira explained.
"We keep the hard copies on paper in a file cabinet in the library's attic, just in case the computer crashes." Arisia added.
"Plus the ring works as…what is that tracking system Hal uses on his car?" Boodikka asked.
"A GPS." Katma answered.
Boodikka snapped her fingers.
"That's right."
"Well, that does it for this history lesson." Laira concluded.
"You two better catch up with your class." Said Katma.
"Right," Artemis replied.
"See you." Arisia said, waving good bye.
Once the two girls were out of earshot, Katma turned to Laira.
"Should we tell them about the Reach?"
She asked, eyes wide with worry. Laira shook her head./
"No. It would only scare them, and besides, there isn't any proof that they survived that virus outbreak."
"Tell that to the last lantern who entered sector two."
Boodika muttered. Laira shot her an odd look, but didn't argue. She turned back to glance at the retreating back of her trainee, and bit her lip. Artemis would be find out soon enough.
After going their separate ways, Artemis and Arisia quickly noticed the rest of the class was heading towards another section of the Hall of Fame, where the archives which contained interviews with various famous lanterns were stored. The older ones were written down on paper while the more recent were recorded and played on a radio or television. Both Artemis and Arisia did their best to catch up. Just then, Tomar-Re's voice rang out.
"Come you two, don't get left behind."
One thing was for sure, it had been an interesting field trip.
...-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-..-.-.-.-.-.-..-..-.-.-.-.-.-..-.-.-.
Later that day, a cataclysmic, universe altering event occurred.
"And that concludes our lesson for today." Tomar-Re announced.
"Finally!" said Arisia.
"Tell me about it, he's just like my English teacher." Artemis muttered.
"Is there something you two would like to share with the class?" Tomar-Re asked, looking over at Artemis and Arisia suspiciously.
"No," the two blonds replied at the same time.
"Good…class is dismissed, however…"
Artemis, Arisia and a few other young lanterns groaned.
"You all will be given a homework assignment."
B'dg slammed his head against his desk.
"You're killin' us!" the young squirrel exclaimed dramatically.
Tomar smiled.
"I just love teaching students like you. Anyway..."
"How do you put up with this at home?" Artemis murmered to Tomar-Tu.
"You know my Dad…but at least he doesn't go overboard." Said Tomar-Tu.
"Yeah, look at Kilowog." Arisia added.
"Just be glad, you all got a passing grade… I took the make-up test and almost lost an eye." Said Iolande regarding the obstacle course Kilowog had her run through.
"Does getting blown out of your shoes count?" Arisia asked sheepishly.
B'dg and G'nort all started laughing.
"Oh, that's a good one." Said G'nort.
"We should start to listen to Tomar-Ra, the sooner the better." Said Porter, who had been rather quiet the whole time.
Artemis stopped laughing and tuned back into the lesson.
"Some of the 3600 sectors have been written down and placed in this bowl. This will be a random drawing. You are to write an essay about the sector you choose and it cannot be your own." Tomar-Re explained.
Several students groaned.
Slowly, one by one the students were called up and pulled a slip of paper out of the glass goldfish bowl.
Some of the students raised their eyebrows or smiled at the ones they picked. By the time Artemis was called up only two strips of paper remained in the bowl. She picked one up and opened it.
"Seems you picked sector 002. Interesting." Said Tomar, raising something like an eyebrow.
"I look forward to reading your essay."
Artemis nodded and headed back to desk, Porter got up and picked up the last strip of paper.
"So, what'd you get?" B'dg asked eagerly, looking over at Arisia.
"I got sector 1417." She replied.
"I got 1014." Said G'nort.
"That's Ch'p and B'dg's home sector. What about you, Artemis?" Arisia asked.
"Yeah, tell us." Tomar-Tu insisted.
"I got… Sector 002." Artemis answered, frowning.
Where had she heard that name before?
sorry for the sucky ending. But some of the pieces are doing into play... what is this mysterious sector 002? Who are the reach? we might find out next time! And I'm sorry I didn't get to reply to your reviews this time. I'll try to next time.