CHAPTER SIX

"Mama! Where are you? Mama!" Haylynn screamed as she ran through the darkness. "Hayden! Help me! Mama! Hayden! I'm scared!" She didn't know what she was running from, or why. Even through she was only four years old, Haylynn Lee Stewart was not one to run away. From anything. Uncle Nick said she was hard headed. Aunt Sara said she just knew what she wanted and refused to budge from it. Her twin brother Hayden John called her stubborn. But Mama, Mama never said any of those things. She just ruffled Haylynn's hair and told her she was just like her parents. Which made Haylynn beam with happiness. She didn't know her father, had never known her father, but she was proud to be like him. She knew he had to someone very special or her Mama would have never fallen in love with him.

But she was all alone right now. No Mama. No Aunt Sara. No Uncle Nick. And no Hayden. Where was Hayden? Hayden was always with her! He was her older brother, although she would never, ever, ever tell him that to his face. His ego was big enough already.

"Hayden! Mama!" Haylynn yelled again. But there was nothing, not even an echo. And it was dark, everywhere. "Aunt Sara? Uncle Nick?" Haylynn called again, her voice quivering and tears filling her eyes. She was scared. Really scared. Without any reason what so ever, she started to run again. She had to run, she didn't know why. She just knew that if she wanted to get out of the darkness she had to run. And run fast.

Haylynn was close to hyper ventilating, she was so scared. When she was smaller, and afraid of the dark, her mother had taught her a small thing to say when she was scared. How did it go again?

"In brightest day. . ." She couldn't remember any more! She was too scared and the darkness was too dark. Where was Hayden? Where was Mama!

"Mama! Mama!" Haylynn screamed, her breath coming out in painful gasps. "Mama! Mama!" She sobbed. Then something caught her eye. A small green glow. Without knowing why, Haylynn suddenly turned and ran at the light.

Haylynn suddenly slammed into something that stopped her dead and knocked her flat on her back.

"Oww." She whispered.

"Hey there." The man said as he looked down at her. His face was blurry and unfocused, but his outfit was familiar.

"You're a Green Lantern." Haylynn whispered in awe.

"That's right." He knelt down to her level, but Haylynn still couldn't focus on his face. For some reason, it didn't bother her. "Who are you?"

"My name is Haylynn. Haylynn Lee Stewart.

"And how do you know about the Green Lanterns?

"My mama told me about them. My daddy is one, and I want to be one when I grow up!"

"Do you know the anthem?" The man asked with a grin, picking up Haylynn. Normally, Haylynn hated it when people she didn't know picked her up or touched her, but she felt safe with this man.

"No." Haylynn said. She felt the thing in the darkness get closer and she whimpered, cuddling up to the man, feeling safe and warm in his embrace.

"What's wrong sweetie?"

"There's something out there, in the dark. I'm scared. I want my Mama, and my brother Hayden!"

"You don't have to be scared. I'll protect you."

"How?"

"With my Green Lantern ring. Did your Mama teach you the anthem?"

"She taught me something to say when I was scared of the dark."

"That's it. Say it with me."

"In brightest day. . ." The man started.

"In darkest night!" Haylynn chimed in excitedly.

"Good! Together now."

"Okay."

"No evil shall escape my sight." They both said. The green light that surrounded the man grew brighter. "Let those who worship evil's might, beware my power, Green Lantern's light!" The green light surrounding the man grew even brighter and exploded out from him, chasing away the darkness, and dissolving the creature that had been chasing Haylynn. Haylynn threw up an arm and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, the darkness was gone and so was her fear.

"Yeah!" She cheered, throwing her arms around the mans neck. He laughed and hugged her. "You did it!" She cheered.

"We did it together Haylynn." The Green Lantern said. Haylynn pulled back and smiled at him.

"I told you my name. What's your name?"

"My names John, Haylynn. By the way, how old are you."

"I'm four."

"Your certainly smart for only being four."

"That's what my Mama says. Aunt Sara and Uncle Nick say my brother and I are precocious."

"That you are." The man paused, then looked at Haylynn closely. "Can I tell you a secret Haylynn Lee?" The man asked.

"Yeah!"

"I'm your daddy."

"Daddy!" Haylynn screamed, sitting straight up in bed.

"Haylynn!" Hayden yelled, grabbing his sister's arm. "Haylynn are you okay?"

"Yeah." Haylynn muttered, shaking her head. "It was just a dream."

"A nightmare?"

"Kind of."

"Out of one, into another." Hayden said, putting his arm around his sisters shoulder and his wing across her back.

"Tell me about it." Haylynn sighed, looking away the small cell where she and her twin had woken up after that, that. . . thing had burst into their room. It had hit Hayden first, knocking him into the wall, and when he didn't move Haylynn had screamed as load as she could, only to have something horrible smelling clamp over her mouth and nose. She beat at the thing behind her with her wings, but it didn't matter. Haylynn had continued to fight until the horrible smell in her nose and mouth overpowered her and she slipped into blackness.

Haylynn shook her head to drive away the memories and scowled at the wall.

"I wish I had Mama's mace." She said glumly. Hayden snorted.

"Hay, you can't even lift Mama's mace." He pointed out.

"Shut up Hay, neither can you." Haylynn shot back. Hayden just grinned and shrugged his shoulders.

"Besides, even if we did have Mama's mace, which we don't, and even if we could use it, which we can't, what would we do once we got through that wall? We have no idea where we are or how to get home." Hayden said logically. Most people would have been surprised to hear a four year old talk like that, but Haylynn wasn't. Aunt Sara and Uncle Nick said that the two of them were precocious. Mama said they were smart.

"Hayden, do you think Mama is looking for us?" Haylynn whispered.

"Of course." Hayden responded without hesitation. "I bet she even went and got Daddy to help. And the Justice League!"

"Does Mama even know the Justice League?"

"I don't know, but the Justice League is a bunch of hero's, and so is Mama. I bet she knows at least one of them."

"Hayden, I don't really think that there is a superhero's union."

"Well, even if she doesn't know any of them personally, she knows how to find them."

"Everybody knows how to find the Justice League Hayden John."

"Well, then how do you find them Haylynn Lee?"

Haylynn glared at her brother, but he just grinned right back at her. She hated her middle name as much as he did, but Haylynn was the hot tempered one of the two while Hayden was more relaxed.

"That's easy. If you want to find the Justice League, you just try to find one of the members who has a home base here on Earth, like Superman or Batman. Superman is in Metropolis, Batman is in Gotham City with Batgirl and Robin, Nightwing is in Bludhaven. . ."

"Nightwing isn't in the Justice League." Hayden interrupted.

"But Batman is."

"So?"

"Nightwing knows Batman. I can't remember where the Flash is, but I do know that the Green Lantern is in New York."

"How do you know that?" Hayden asked his sister. "I didn't know that the Green Lantern had a home base."

"Mama told me."

"Oh."

They were both silent for a minute, then Haylynn spoke again. But her voice was so low and frightened that Hayden almost didn't recognize it.

"Hayden, do you think Mama went to Daddy?"

"What?"

"Well, Mama always told us that daddy was a hero, right? With the Green Lantern Corps?"

"Yeah." Hayden said, trying to be reassuring.

"Hayden?" Haylynn whispered again.

"Yeah?"

"What else did Mama say about him?"

"Don't you remember?" Hayden teased his sister. Mama had always told them about their father as a sort of bedtime story. But Haylynn always fell asleep faster then Hayden did, so she probably didn't always hear what their mother had said about their dad. So Hayden searched his memory, trying to remember four years worth of bedtime stories.

"Well, Mama said that he was brave and strong, very strong. She also said he was very stubborn sometimes, like you runt." Hayden poked his sister in the ribs, making her squirm and laugh as she tried to get away.

"Don't call me runt!" She protested through her laughter.

"Why not? You're the younger twin!"

"By half and hour Hayden!"

"Half and hour is half an hour Haylynn."

"Hayden! Stop it!" Haylynn managed to squirm away from him and pushed him.

"All right. I'll stop. Anyway, Mama said that Daddy was a Marine. . ."

"Like you want to be."

"Right. And he was a member of the Green Lantern Corps."

"Like I want to be!"

"Right!"

"Well, aren't you two smart." An unfamiliar voice said.