Metal doors, once locked, secured, and forgotten, were torn apart, locks breaking and the former barrier opening to allow the host of armed intruders in. Purple covered their torsos and legs, silver guarding waists, shoulders, wrists and lower arms.

This left much of their arms bare, exposing orange-colored skin. Multiple hands carried plasma rifles, the barrels of the weapons aimed at all shadows as the intruders rushed in, seeking to secure the area. Various shades of orange to red hairs peaked from the headgear they wore, waving and fluttering as air rushed through the exposed locks.

It didn't take a lot of time. This place was virtually empty. Almost forgotten could be another description. Well, empty of life was more appropriate. There was something here, stored and housed and waiting to be used once more.

That is, if the stories were true.

Strong footsteps clanked on the metal floor. Someone from behind the shock troops strolled in, a dark purple cape flapping in the wake of this newcomer. Unlike the rest, black replaced purple and covered every inch of skin, stopping just under the chin. Silver armor embodied the torso, molding around firm breasts. Gauntlets stretched over the majority of the arms with a cuff pattern that jutted out at equal intervals.

The only thing this new arrival had in common with the rest was that she too possessed orange skin. Her hair, on the other hand, was draped back behind her head, almost flowing down her back like ink. Shrewd and unimpressed eyes were a dark shade, not quite purple, but not quite black either, and they gazed at the sight before her.

Bare hands planted themselves on armored hips, legs spread out in confidence. Unimpressed eyes lit up in satisfaction as a smirk gave life to her face. "So, this is it, right?" Arrogance meshed with confidence and colored her proud voice as it nearly boomed in the expansive room. Her dark eyes then slid away from the sight before her and to another newcomer who also did not blend in with this invading group.

The pale green skin was a dead giveaway; the height was another as this creature was easily the shortest here. Whereas the orange-skinned invaders wore the garments of warriors, this one was a scholar, loose purple robes draping down its body. Impossibly long fingers trembled and large round eyes twitched. It was difficult to made out the pale yellow pupils that darted in the female's direction, then quickly away and back to the sight before the group.

This...thing was a Psion, one whose name she did not care to know, or even learn. A Psion was a Psion, nothing more. A gross little creature, really, what with the bumps that pushed out starting from the brow and stretching back around the head and to the neck was freaky. The only use these aliens had was their intelligence. No one was smarter than a Psion, especially in the Citadel.

For a Psion, science was their religion, and engineering was how they practiced their faith. The weapons, the transports, the quality-of-life devices that made up the Citadel were all devised by them.

That included this marvel here.

"Yes, this is it," the Psion confirmed, reedy voice grating on her eardrums. "Is this all you need me for?"

The leader of this band of intruders eyed the Psion, a hint of mischievousness glinting. "I didn't quite hear you. Care to repeat yourself? Properly?"

Teeth ground against each other. "Is there anything else you need, Grand Ruler Blackfire?"

Blackfire's smirk grew. "That's better. And since you asked so nicely, yes. Yes, I do need more from you. I have no idea how to operate this thing, but since your people made it, you should have a better idea than anyone else here."

There was a growl from the reptilian alien, but a simple raise of an eyebrow shut him up. Psions, so sensitive. What could you do with them?

Well, now she knew that this little venture was worthwhile. The ruler of all Tamaraneans returned her gaze to the technological marvel. A massive behemoth it was, easily as big as a starship. Hell, a cruiser was about as big as this machine was.

The centerpiece was a large orb-shape center, and from it were three, spire-shaped legs that descended from it. If the rumors were correct, that machine had been commissioned by a member of the Citadel's royal family. According to the same rumors, it was made due to sheer laziness and not wanting to leave a certain planet because it was the perfect distance from its star, but its environment needed some tweaking.

A lot of tweaking.

Long story short, it worked, but then, stupidly, it was put into storage with the intention to be used again and then promptly forgotten about, left to collect dust. Such a waste of time and science. Oh well, one person's stupidity was another's big opportunity.

It was called the World Engine and now it belonged to Tamaran. To Blackfire.

"Get ready to move this. Our welcoming party will be coming soon," she ordered, her voice suddenly more authoritative. "We need to leave and we'll be taking this with us. Now get to work."

Blackfire spun on her heels, cape whipping behind her as she made to leave, her fellow Tamaraneans surging forward to fulfill her command. All but one, that is, and this one was a giant of a Tamaranean. Most of his hair was in a beard, the top of his head balding. He was huge, and nearly had to squeeze through the doorway to get in here. A charming little scar marked his right eye and he stood there stoically, awaiting her next orders.

"Ah, there you are," Blackfire greeted. "Glad you could catch up. Now, I need something from you, Galfore."

Green eyes gazed at her, blank but attentive all the same. He was trying to be unreadable, but she could read him like a book. He gave a nod, the only answer he would give right now.

"No need for the strong and silent treatment, but it's fine. I know that you know and I need you to act on it. It slips my mind right now, but maybe you can refresh my memory. What's the name of the planet that my...sister has settled on?"

The investigations in Keystone were not that promising. J'onn had found the signal jammer that had interfered with their communications and brought it with him back to the Watchtower, and Batman had returned with a dart found at one of the bank robbery scenes. Neither was much to work with and there was still no sign of Green Lantern.

Superman didn't like this. While he knew they had those few leads to follow up on, it wasn't much. Even more concerning was that J'onn hadn't been able to telepathically locate John. He had scanned an entire city and hadn't found their friend.

Currently, the Martian and Hawkgirl were looking over the signal jammer. Batman, in the meantime, was running tests on the dart. The process was taking a far longer time than anyone was comfortable with.

"No serial number, no registration," Hawkgirl growled in frustration. "No damn way to track this damn thing!"

"It is highly sophisticated for a model developed on Earth," J'onn pointed out. "Most certainly it is military grade."

"Of course it's military grade. Only the military would have access to equipment like this. No way any government would willingly allow private citizens to get their hands on it," the Thanagarian snapped back.

"And still someone did," Diana pointed out. "Without any way to track it, it must have been altered on an illegal market."

"So what, find the Black Market and demand someone tell us where they got it?" The redhead snorted. "I doubt we're going to have a line of thieves lining up to spill their guts."

Superman could appreciate Hawkgirl's abrasive behavior. She was close to John and with him missing, it was stressing her out. It was clear the signal jammer itself was quickly becoming a dead end. Why else would it be left behind?

The doors to the room slid open then, Batman gliding through them. "I have the preliminary results on the dart," he reported.

Hawkgirl's head snapped towards him, her red hair fanning out behind her head as it flew from one shoulder to the other. "What did you find?" she asked eagerly.

"There was a potent sedative on the tip." The dark-clad hero held up a sheet of paper, clearly the report itself. "Some of the ingredients themselves are uncommon, so that will help narrow down where it came from. I should have more to go on in a few hours."

"What about the dart?" Superman questioned, seeing the winged woman's shoulders slump in response. "Any idea where that came from?"

"The dart is mass produced. Any sporting goods store can get their hands on it, so it could have come from anywhere. The dart itself won't help narrowing anything down like the sedative will." Batman then glanced to the signal jammer. "What's your progress here?"

"Jack and shit," Hawkgirl spat out. "Whoever set it up removed the serial number and any registration tags. We can't go much further than any military in the world would use it."

"Have you tried tracking down the manufacturer?"

"Oh, the manufacturer? No, that hadn't occurred to us at all!" the redhead erupted. "Didn't you hear? We can't trace it!"

It was a testament to Batman's patience that he allowed Hawkgirl to scream at him. "Military grade hardware is limited to a handful of companies world wide." He then walked over to the jammer, looking it over. "I can see metric and imperial screwheads on it, so we're looking at manufacturers that service the U.S. military primarily. That limits it to companies with defense contracts. Tech like this is advanced, so that reduces it further to only a handful of possible manufacturers."

Hawkgirl stared at the man before she said, "If I wasn't involved, I would kiss you right now."

"So who would that limit it to?" Superman asked. "Star Labs?"

Batman nodded. "Star Labs, Wayne Enterprises, Lexcorp, Queen Industries for starters. Give me a little time and I can—"

Suddenly, Steel burst into the room, cutting the Gothamite off. "Guys! You're not going to believe this! We've picked up Green Lantern on radar and he's closing in on the Watchtower!"

There was a blur of red as Flash sped out of the room, Hawkgirl giving him a good run for his money as she trailed behind him. The rest of them followed Steel, the steel-clad man leading them through the satellite and to an airlock.

In the time it had taken them to get there, Green Lantern had boarded the Watchtower, exiting the airlock in time to be enveloped in an embrace by Hawkgirl. His arms automatically wrapped around her, squeezing her tight to him. Flash stood nearby, nearly bouncing on his feels in excitement. Fire and Ice were nearby, watching everything.

Then Hawkgirl pulled herself back before punching the dark-skinned man on his shoulder, nearly staggering him. "Where were you?!" she shouted at him. "We were worried sick!"

"Missed you too," John grunted as he rubbed his shoulder where he had been hit. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting long."

"Long enough to make a big, stupid entrance," the Thanagarian grumbled. "Don't do that again."

"I'll try not to."

"Welcome back, John," Superman cut in then. As big of a relief as this was, they needed to debrief and learn just where their comrade had been. "We're glad you made it back safely."

"Uhh, thanks," the Lantern responded, his green eyes glancing at the crowd around him. He had a slight frown when he saw Steel, Fire, and Ice, but he damn near froze when he saw Flash. For a moment, he looked as if he were seeing a ghost, which seemed strange. "I'm guessing you'd like to know where I was," he said then, a slight hitch in his voice.

"Yeah, that's why we're all here," Hawkgirl replied. "Now quit building the suspense. You're not that good at it."

John's eyes returned to the redhead and a small smile appeared on his face. "During the fight, I had an unexpected villain show up—a Star Sapphire to be exact."

"A Star Sapphire?" Flash questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"It's one of the Lantern Corps, though nothing as organized as Oa," John explained. "They fall on the violet side of the spectrum. A lot of their abilities are similar to my power ring, though they used special stones for the channeling of their powers."

"Huh, neat. So why was the Sapphire chick there?"

"That's a long story, but the short version is that Star Sapphires and Green Lanterns don't get along. It isn't contentious as with the Yellow Lanterns, but we have butted heads."

"Is there a group of Lanterns you Greenies do get along with?" the speedster questioned.

"More importantly, what happened between you and the Star Sapphire?" Batman interjected, cutting off the tangent.

John looked to the man, his eyes narrowing slightly. "We fought and I ended up chasing her out of the city. I ended up losing her and have been trying to track her down ever since."

"Star Sapphire is a woman?" Flash perked up.

It was Batman's turn to narrow his eyes. "Then why were you not answering your comm link? We sent out multiple hails."

"Wasn't the signal jammer messing with it?" Flash pointed out.

"The jammer only had a radius of five miles," J'onn answered.

"And if Lantern left the city, he would have been outside of the jammer's range," Batman finished.

This earned the Lantern several curious looks, including Hawkgirl. In response, John reached to his ear and plucked out his comm link. "Sorry about that, but my comm was damaged in the fight. All I could hear was static."

Batman held his hand out and John dropped the device onto his palm. "We'll see about getting you a new one," he grunted as he lowered his hand.

"Which can come later," Hawkgirl interjected then. "John's been through a lot, so he should get a chance to rest up. We can catch him up when we have something tangible from our investigations."

That seemed like a reasonable course of action. "I agree," Superman added. "We'll reconvene later once we have something the League can work with." He then stepped forward and placed a hand on John's shoulder. "We're glad you're back," he told his friend.

"So am I, Superman," John replied. "So am I."

The door opened and shut in quick order. Most of the League was seeing to Green Lantern's return. It was beginning to wind down and no one had given a second thought as members removed themselves.

The room was a lab, one of the more sophisticated one in the world. A computer was currently running a test, specifically identifying the sedative found on the mysterious dart.

Batman went right for the computer console and opened up a security program. Specifically, he was making sure none of the cameras or audio equipment would record the impending conversation. Once done, he turned around to face J'onn, who stood a short distance away from him, watching him stoically.

"Something about Lantern's story doesn't add up," Batman bluntly told the Martian. There was little need for beating around the bush.

"I was having similar doubts," J'onn agreed. "The broken communication device seems suspect."

Yeah, the comm links were designed to take whatever beating was dished out on the wearer. That didn't mean they couldn't be damaged, but if this so-called Star Sapphire had a similar power set as a Green Lantern, then it should have survived the battle no worse for wear. These were top-of-the-line devices, made by Wayne Enterprises solely for the League. Batman knew what they were capable of intimately.

"Are you familiar with these Star Sapphires?" he then questioned J'onn. While he hadn't heard of them outside of Hawkgirl's admission, he wanted to make certain there was more than one person that could confirm it. Security footage had been disabled at the banks, so there was nothing to corroborate Lantern's story.

"I am not," the Martian admitted. "Until now, I was only aware of the Yellow Lantern Corps and the Red Lanterns, courtesy of your time travels."

That wasn't the answer Batman wanted to hear, but there was a way to rectify this. "The others are updating the League's database on super villains. It wouldn't be too much of a stretch to have Lantern do the same; that way we can confirm his claim of this new Lantern Corps."

J'onn nodded his agreement. "I also find it strange that he would give chase after an opponent while I was imprisoned by the Shade's power." There was a flash of embarrassment on his face as he said this. "It seems out of character that he would not see to my safety first."

That was an excellent point too. Because of his marine training, John Stewart would not have left a comrade at the mercy of another before tracking down another enemy. It would be one thing if they had been separated prior to J'onn's predicament, but according to the tall, green man, he had been enveloped in darkness with John still present.

Then there was this dart as well. Its presence indicated some sort of abduction, if it had been successfully used. It would seem he needed to run a DNA test on it as well to determine if someone had been struck with it.

"What do you think our next course of action should be?" J'onn then asked, pulling the vigilante out of his thoughts.

Shaking his head, Batman replied, "There's no point in riling up the others about our concerns. For now, we keep an eye on Lantern until we have something more concrete."

"That would be wise." J'onn paused for a moment, looking thoughtful. "While we were conversing with him, I did not detect anything duplicitous from his mind. He fully believed he was telling the truth."

"Was that an active mental reading, or what you were able to indirectly pick up his thoughts?"

"Indirectly. I am not comfortable actively reading minds unless the situation is warranted."

That was certainly something to keep in mind. Batman didn't think they needed to violate any trust at the moment. "What can we definitely agree with Lantern's story?"

While that was an odd question, they had already picked at parts that weren't adding up. It was just as important to know which parts were true as well as false. Circumstances may cast doubt, but if there was an explanation for it, no matter how credulous or not, it needed to be considered.

"When I performed my mind sweep of Keystone, I did not detect Green Lantern," J'onn answered. "So I can confirm that John Stewart had left the city at one point or another."

"We just don't know the exact time," Batman mused. There had to be a way to get further confirmation. Eyeing one of the security cameras in the room, a thought occurred to him. Not all of the security feeds in Keystone were off at the time of the multiple robberies. In fact, he had witnessed some activity outside of the banks, such as Flash's retreat with Diana. He would just need to access the cameras that were active.

"For now, I'll continue to follow up on the dart we found at the scene," he then said. "When I return to the Cave, I'll have the computer analyze all footage in Keystone to see if we can't find when and where Lantern and the Star Sapphire left the city."

"That would be wise," J'onn agreed. "We do not need to alert the others to our concerns. It would be safer to perform our own investigation at your base so that there is little chance of the others stumbling upon it."

Batman nodded. "You continue with the signal jammer and keep observing Lantern. I hope this is nothing and just our own paranoia."

"I believe the adage is it's not paranoia if they're really out to get you," J'onn replied.

Yes, and the question now was who was out to get them?

"I applaud your acting skills, ladies. I did notice some of the improvisation and ab libs, but they worked well with your theatrical prowess. You should be proud."

Two unamused expressions returned the praise.

"That sucked," Volcana grumbled, arms crossed. "You should have let me fry him to a crisp. He was right there! Vulnerable and everything! We'd be down one member of those pansies, but no, you have to let him go—"

"There is a bigger play here than you know," Humanite cut in. He was disappointed that his actresses weren't feeling the artistic bug, but not everyone enjoyed art. "Take some time, let off some...steam. Be ready for our next move."

"It better be more than an acting gig because I am not Hollywood material," Killer Frost retorted, a threat underlying her words as she stalked away.

That was the problem, was it not? Two females more oriented to action than dialogue. That they were willing to put up with what he had assigned them to do was a minor miracle in and of itself. Shaking his bulbous simian head, the former man and currently super-intelligent ape slipped away with a silence that belied his massive frame.

While leathery feet slapped against polished floor, it did so with a whisper of sound. This was a leftover from his days where he had once been homo sapien. That it had managed to follow him into a different body was a marvel.

It was to his personal quarters that he trekked. He made no attempt to avoid anyone; after all, this Hall was his to do with as he saw fit, yes? He belonged here. Were there more luxuries in here? Yes, but he was one to crave a luxury here and there. In fact, it was because they all did that any of them were here.

However, there was one thing he needed to keep a lid on. Turning on a monitor that blended in with the wall and tapping in a password on a wireless tablet happened to be that thing in question. It took about three heartbeats of his simian heart before the monitor came alive with picture, one that possessed the features of a bald man in a black and white business suit.

"Status reported," Luthor immediately ordered, not bothering with any small talk of pleasantries. Pity.

"Everything has gone according to plan. The Green Lantern has been released back into the wild, just as you wanted," Humanite reported. "It seems that the re-education process you put him through was successful."

Luthor's lips quirked. "As to be expected. We will leave him time to reacquaint himself before moving forward with the next stage."

Standing taller, he inquired, "You've been very silent about the full scope of this operation. Playing a lot to the chest. How many stages should I expect?"

"That would be telling, and with that in mind, I would not want to take the risk that this line is not one hundred percent secure. We'll continue piecemeal, but with you having the liberty to improvise as needed," the business mogul dismissed. "As for your next instructions, I don't care what you have to do to achieve this, but capture another one of those scouts in the sky."

"Repeating ourselves already?" Ultra Humanite did not like this aspect. If you repeated yourself enough, that created a pattern, and patterns always left a trail. Someone with sharp enough observation skills and deductive reasoning would be able to spot it.

"Yes. One member is a start, but not enough. Whoever you capture, make sure they are one of the original six. Even with the increase in their ranks, the founding members carry with them seniority and rank. They will be leading the League and are high priorities as a result," Luthor explained. "If I had a preference, I would choose Wonder Woman. However, if you manage to capture Superman, all the better. I leave the details to you so long as you produce results."

That was the kind of man that Luthor was, one that wanted a specific result. The means matter not, which allowed such a controlling man to give so much leeway. Ultra Humanite was under no illusion that this was also a diversionary tactic. If the League would be chasing anyone down, his fingerprints were all over everything. It was Luthor's favorite tactic as it allowed him to express plausible deniability in the event that any connection was made to him.

Humanite admired the tactic; however, he was the patsy and he knew it. So that meant he needed to make certain to have several routes out of this in case everything fell apart.

"It will be done," was his actual answer. That should have been the end of it, however, he had an impulse that he was unable to resist. "One more thing. That Omnicron 2.0, fascinating invention. I'm tempted to take it apart, but I know better. How ever were you able to make it, from one inventor to another?"

The mogul only expressed good humor. "That is classified, I'm afraid. Admire, if you wish, but do not dismantle. Let us say it is extremely expensive to produce. Now I need to cut this call short, but next time, I would love to have some very good news awaiting me."

The image of Luthor ended, flashing to black. With a grunt, Humanite shut it down.

So, another capture-and-release task, was it? Stronger quarry was expected this time, though. This was going to take more effort than anticipated. To remove not just one, but two different League members, keep them incapacitated, and do so long enough to place the Omnicron 2.0 on them, then release them before anyone became too suspicious of the disappearance was a tall order. A real challenge.

But he had managed to succeed over the challenge that was death before. He had the ability to do so with another challenge.

The only question was how to do it.