Trial of the Blue Lanterns (Part 5)

"...How can a planet do all of this?" asked Karen.

Walker place his hand on her shoulder. "To be honest, I don't fully know, Karen. I only made brief contact with it. It would seem to be like the Green Lantern Mogo, a sentient and telepathic planet, but I don't know if there has ever been another of its species."

"There are more of them?!" shrieked Sqwaak.

"None that we have discovered until now," said Brother Hynn, "I've heard stories of ancient world spirits. Living planets that once traveled the stars millennia ago. But those were old stories."

Sister Sercy spoke up, "Then that just leaves one question: 'How do we take back our Corps from a planet?'"

"We can't," said Brother Warth, "It's...it's too strong." He stood apart from the others and looked down into the earth. "I felt the brunt of its power. It tears at you. It rips your mind and soul asunder. I didn't just bring out something horrible in me. It undid everything I have worked for. All my time creating mental barriers for the scarab was undone in a matter of seconds. You can't beat it."

Sqwaak gave a faint cry and sunk his head. Karen followed suit. Sercy showed discomfort in agreeing with Warth's outlook, but it was inescapable. Even the reserved Hynn seemed especially quiet. "Yes," said Saint Bro'Dee Walker, "We have to." They all looked up. "Even in the face of an enemy greater than all of us, we must stand firm. We are not the Green Lanterns, or the Indigo Lanterns, or any other type of Lantern. We are the Blue Lantern Corps, Hope incarnate. When all is lost, we are the ones who must fight on, not that we will win, not that we may survive, but to prove that we will never fold. For when that day comes, all hope is lost." His Corpsmen hadn't moved. "I realize what I ask is for you to give your lives for the impossible. I did take the precaution to have some emergency vessels prepared in case anyone was trapped here should the battery go offline. You can take those and go. I'll fight Odym on my own. It was truly a honor and a blessing to have your kinship."

The Lanterns all hung their heads and Walker felt the weight. All were devoid of spirit. "Oh...fine," said Sister Sercy, "You didn't really think you'd throw yourself away alone, did you? I'm staying here."

"Well, I haven't got much left in me anyway," said Brother Hynn, who took Sercy's side.

"And what about the rookie Lanterns?" asked Brother Warth. He pointed to Karen and Sqwaak, both of which hadn't received the Blue Lantern emblem to wear on their uniforms. Instead they bore a vacant white circle. "I won't have them be in danger."

"Warth," said Karen, "I know you mean well but we have just as much stake in this as you do. You better believe I'm in."

"Karen, you are young, don't do this," begged Warth.

"And leave you behind? Not likely. I'm in."

"And Sqwaak?" asked Saint Walker.

The other recruit Lantern scratched at the ground with his feet. He shut his eyes. He muttered under his breath. He opened his eyes. "I *gulp* I'm in too."

Walker looked to his lieutenants. "To the very end," said Sercy reluctantly. Brother Hynn nodded.

The six lonely Lanterns stood together. Powerless, helpless, and against an enemy whose very thoughts were high beyond their comprehension. Nevertheless they stood in the shadow of the Central Power Battery, a great blue tower made from the lost dreams of two lovers. This is where the Blue Lantern Corps made their stand.

"Very well," said Saint Walker. He began to tear up, "I could never ask for stronger Lanterns." He tried to hold them all close but his arms only got Hynn, Sqwaak, and Sercy. Again he straightened himself and took the commander's presence. "I saw what its mind is like. It's chaotic, unfocused. I don't know if it's waking up or if its mind has been made like that, but it's confused. It's not organized or fixed. It's been lashing out blindly at our flaw. I believe, together, we can beat it."

"How then?" asked Sercy

"Odym won't let us go unless we prove to it that we are worthy of our rings. I say we do just that. Somehow, Odym is fused with our Central Power Battery. It can sense us with it while its mind is weak. We'll turn it on and fight it with our own mental attack. I managed to hold Odym off for a while with my own mind, and with all of us-"

"You will fail," came the voice, "You will all fail."

"We shall see about that," replied Walker.

Powerless, but united, the Blue Lantern Corps approached the Central Power Battery. Its shadow hung heavy over them as Polaris sunk lower in the sky. The towering device was an empty husk of itself, dull and dead in appearance. Saint Walker, Brother Warth, Brother Hynn, Sister Sercy, Karen Cassidy, and Sqwaak stood together as the Battery loomed over them.

"You cannot believe you can win. I am above all of you, I am better than you. You are flawed, imperfect creators that question your methods and falter with your uncertainties. You cannot wield the true power of Hope."

"Lanterns! Prepare yourselves. Fortify your thoughts and focus your minds! I'm turning the Battery on!" Saint Walker held out his ring. It sparked and fizzed and began to glow. "Come on," he muttered to himself. At the center of the lifeless Battery, a faint light appeared. It pulsated with a high pitched hum. Cold beads of sweat crawled down Walker's face. His ring was burning white hot. The light began to beat faster and faster. The humming grew from a barely a whisper into a thundering dull. Walker's knees began to quake. Odym's consciousness was crawling into his mind. So much doubt, and fear, and hatred, toxic and venomous. "Rings out!" His Lanterns obeyed. They too strained as Odym screamed into their minds. You are weak. You have doubt. You have fear. You will fail. You have failed. Saint Walker pushed his thoughts deep into the Central Power Battery. He channeled them down, down into the earth below. Into the roots that ran deep into Odym's core. The voice grew. You failed them. They died. You watched them die. Walker saw them. His family. They followed him. Up the mountain. Up to where the messiah was promised. Up to where they all. No. This was different. He saw animals he had never seen before. Each more magnificent than the last, dying. All of them dying. Forests were burning and rivers turned the colors of blood. Warth was here. Or actually there. Somewhere else. Dark in a cave, surrounded by others. They were lost, they were scared, scared of being forgotten and buried alive. Back to here. The forests were turned to ash. The blue ones were there. Not the Guardians of Oa, no, but they were blue. They wielded the Blue. Somewhere else now. Dirty street corners and dank alleys. Places where secrets festered and ate away at everything. Sercy. A struggle. Fighting. Killing. Blood on her hands. Horror. Begging. Begging for forgiveness. From the skies the ones with the Blue were falling, falling on top of them. Landing in the dead forest. Gone again. Hynn standing over a grave. Loss. Love lost. But also silent joy. Passing. A peaceful passing. The killer. The killer of the Blue ones. Standing on the surface. It burns everything it touches. Creating un-life. It. That's what It is. The ultimate destroyer, the ultimate despair. It did this. It killed my animals. It burned my forests. It killed the wielders of the Blue light. It did this. It will consume everything. It will never stop. It can never be stopped. It...It...burns me...burns my mind. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

"GET OUT OF MY MIND!" the voice bellowed from the rings.

"That's it then," said Sister Sercy, "That's why you despise us. You failed when others wield the Blue light!"

"NO, I CANNOT FAIL"

"It hurt you didn't it?" said Saint Walker, "It killed the life on you surface and ripped your mind apart? You don't have to fight us. We will help you!"

"I DO NOT NEED YOUR HELP!"

"You've looked deep into our minds! You've seen what we've fought to earn these rings. And we will do whatever it takes to spread the Blue light with or without you!"

"You...you cannot...you're weak."

"WE. ARE NOT. WEAK."

The Central Power Battery exploded in a blue radiance. The light was like a construct and knocked them all back.

"I was chosen to protect the Blue Light. I held this task before the Guardians came to me and they ensured that they would rule their corps with their wisdom. You lack that, you all lack that now. What makes you worthy of the light of Hope?"

Saint Walker stood up. His eyes were ablaze, there was blue fire burning within him. He stood up in the presence of Odym. "What makes us worthy, is that even against impossible odds we stand tall. Against despair and doubt we will strive ever onward. The universe is a harsh and cruel place, a place where hatred, and greed, and fear infect the hearts of good people, all people. That's why we are here. We will not stop until the universe is made a place of goodness and hope. I, or any of my brethren will stop until we light up the whole DAMN sky. Where anyone, in any sector, on any world, can look up and say, 'Hope lives on, hope never dies.' Because even as the last civilization falls, as we watch our families die, ourselves be entombed, even if we commit horrible acts, or watch the ones we love pass on. There is one thing that will always be true. HOPE. DIES. LAST."

"...possibly" said Odym, "Maybe there is strength in you, I doubt it, but I will watch you. Granted, I will act as your Guardia-"

"No," said Warth, "We will follow only Walker."

"...Very well," Odym conceded, "But you will see the error of your ways. I will allow you to continue your mission. I will watch over you, but do not think I will take orders from you."

"Nor orders from you," said Walker. His five Lanterns stood at his back. They were the Blue Lantern Corps and they were here to stay.

Sqwaak paced back and forth. It had finally come. He and Karen waited behind the Central Power Battery while the Lantern Council, Walker, Warth, Sercy, and Hynn spoke. They had waited for only ten minutes and Sqwaak had been pacing for nine. Finally they heard the Council adjourn and approach. Sercy held out Karen's lantern. "Are you sure you don't want this dent fixed? It seems sort of silly."

"I don't know, I like,"

Sercy seemed bewildered and sighed, "Very well." She handed it over. Sercy saw Sqwaak hiding behind Karen. He seemed far too worried. "Sqwaak, if you still want to join us you're more than welcome." Sqwaak's eyes lit up and he stepped out in front. He handed her his own lantern. In Sqwaak's hands it was like solid lead. He stared at it's radiant beauty, baffled with the realization that it was his.

"Now if you will follow me," said Saint Walker:

"In fearful day, in raging night,

With strong hearts full, our souls ignite,

When all seems lost to the War of Light,

Look to the stars - For hope burns bright."

Beautiful light streamed from the Lanterns. They felt a surge of optimism and joy. All their problems had shrunken into insignificance. They felt the presence of every living thing on Odym. All their problems, all their regrets, all their broken promises and lies, but also all their hopes and dreams. Karen and Sqwaak noticed their uniforms. The white empty circle now held the emblem. "Welcome," said Saint Walker, "To the Blue Lantern Corps"

Karen said her goodbyes. She was heading home and chances were her family was expecting her. She said goodbye to Walker, and Warth, and Hynn. Sercy seemed hesitant but eventually folded and said she couldn't have been more proud to call her sister. She soared off into the bright sky, left by Polaris and straight on towards home. Sister Cassidy was looking forward to a day without psychic planets and elephant men. Just a normal day.

Saint Walker drummed his fingers on the Book of Odym. The now and future tome of the Blue Lantern Corps. He held a quill in his hand and set to write out the first words to begin a new era.

"Hope comes to us in many strange ways. This book was begun shortly after the departure of Guardians Ganthet and Sayd from our Corps. And though we can never fill the hole they have left us, we must move on. As of now, there are only six members of the Blue Lantern Corps: Brother Warth of Space Sector 0002, Brother Hynn of Space Sector 0003, Sister Sercy of Space Sector 0004, Brother Sqwaak of Space Sector 0012, Sister Cassidy of Space Sector 2814, and myself Saint Bro'dee Walker, Guardian of the Blue Lantern Corps. I hope that one day, there will one Lantern for every sector, at least. But for now, we must set the foundation for something greater than us. Do not judge our members based on who they are but what they are capable of. I have learned the great courage that hides within the most unsuspecting of people. Go forth future Lanterns, go on our mission and as our oath says, 'look to the stars' know that those lights are your brethren and your friends. Go forth and light up the whole sky."

Walker put down his pen. He left the book open and watched the blue ink dry. He

smiled. Odym spoke, "It could be better."

"It could have always been better. This is but the first step and it's a good one by me."