Wallace West yawned as he reached into the industrial-sized fridge and took out a carton of milk. Like all members of the West-Allen family, Aunt Iris had a truly massive amount of storage to handle all the groceries that would be needed to feed a speedster. While she was no longer living with a speedster, plenty enough visited for her to keep both the fridge and the pantry fully stocked. This had been an oddly prescient decision, considering that her youngest nephew was now the latest in the family to join the family business.

He could still remember the look of shock on his aunt's face when he had sped over to their home as an adult — as the Flash. She had spent what felt like an eternity constantly hugging him and searching his face for the boy that had been stolen from her by a brainwashed Hal Jordan. According to her, she had been largely accepting of Wally and Donna's warnings, but seeing it in person had been no less shocking.

After doing a quick recap of what had gone on after his kidnapping, Wallace had crashed in the guest bedroom for a much needed sleep. His own bed was now unable to handle the weight and size of his new body, so Aunt Iris had set him up in the guest room for the night instead. She had taken the news that he was temporarily moving out unhappily but conceded, recognizing that having an adult speedster in the place of her eleven year old nephew was asking for all sorts of trouble that she wasn't quite prepared to deal with just yet. Of course, that was only after repeated assurances that he would try to visit as often as possible. Not particularly difficult, considering his speed.

Once he had three cartons of milk in his arms, he made his way to the dining room. Due to his…situation, it was decided there would be a family breakfast so everyone in the family could see what he looked like now for themselves. Truthfully, that wasn't saying much — the only other member of the family that hadn't been at the battle besides Aunt Iris and Linda was Max Mercury. As he wasn't one for questions, Wallace could content himself with the fact that he didn't have to answer any too soon. While he knew the others had charged him with explaining Flashpoint (the dicks), he was not looking forward to talking about that. Even now the subject was painful, especially concerning how it had to do with his own existence.

If Uncle Barry came back in this universe too, Wallace was totally going to punch him in the face.


Expecting to walk into a typically raucous Flash Family meal, Wallace was little off-put to realize how quiet the dining room was. A quick darting of the eyes around the room, and he soon saw the reason why.

An extremely guilty-looking Hal Jordan had come to visit the West-Allen home, and was facing off with unamused and slightly hostile Iris West-Allen. Off in the corner was Wallace's teammate Kyle, who was currently spectating with the rest of Wallace's family. While the speedsters all looked awkward and apprehensive, with Wally in particular looking ready to intervene, Kyle was completely casual, observing his nails instead.

Wallace cleared his throat, catching everyone's attention. He held up the cartons he had been carrying. "Got milk?"

Kyle snorted. "That joke got old decades ago."

"For you, maybe," Wallace easily retorted, setting the cartons down on the table.

Kyle moved to the side, approaching Wallace, and crossed his arms. "Not surprised to see me?"

Wallace gave a half-shrug and thumbed Hal. "Moment I saw him, I knew you'd be here. Leaving him on his own in his current state of mind is just asking for trouble."

"True." The Lantern hummed. "What about you? Did Iris take you moving out of the homestead seven years early well?"

The speedster gave another shrug. "As well as could be expected," he answered noncommittally.

"You know we can all hear you, right?" Iris suddenly snapped back at them, breaking her stare-off with Hal.

"We know," both men sang in unison.

Iris huffed at them, before turning back to glare at Hal.

Hal quivered under her hard stare. "Iris…I'm sorry. Honestly, I am. I didn't mean to kidnap him, I was just—"

"—possessed, Hal, I know. Wally and Wallace both explained it to me." The woman crossed her arms. "But you can understand why I'm not happy to see you right now, right?"

Her late husband's best friend glumly nodded.

Iris sighed. "I understand you weren't in control of yourself. But…I just can't look at you right now, Hal. That boy you stole wasn't just my nephew, he was my son. My youngest son. You can't even begin to imagine how terrifying it was to have him taken from me like that and being completely helpless to stop it. I'm sure I'll be able to forgive you one day, but for now — please leave."

Hal swallowed, but gave another nod, and turned to leave. Kyle shared a meaningful look with Wallace before following his predecessor out of the room. The moment the front door clicked closed, some of the tension eased out of the room, and one-by-one the members of the family seated themselves at the table. Breakfast was breakfast, after all, and nobody loved breakfast more than a speedster.


After breakfast was over and goodbyes were made to everyone, Wallace sped over to the Catskills Base that had been designated as his temporary home. Catskills, along with Mount Justice, had served as primary education centers for the JLA Training System alongside the two Titans Towers and the Hall of Justice. Unlike the latter three, the two bases of Young Justice had been left to mothball after the team's disbandment in the wake of Tim Drake's untimely death, the memories too painful and raw, especially after the subsequent deaths of Bart Allen and Cassie Sandsmark.

However, they had been dusted off with Conner's blessing upon the advent of the training system. Each base was an ideal location for training, both for their illustrious history and because they were fully equipped to handle the excesses of a large number of preteens and teenagers. While technically, there was no upper age limit for any level of the training system (just minimum ones), that didn't change the fact that the majority of the students that were entering at the lowest level were going to be well below drinking age.

As part of the training system included missions with each level's respective team (Young Justice, Teen Titans, and finally, Titans), each base needed to handle the needs of each team. The Young Justice team was always going to comprise of the youngest members, and their base, Mount Justice, reflected that, as the original base of the original Young Justice.

The Catskills Base was different. It was formerly a hotel resort, for one, so it was unnaturally large even compared to the likes of the Titans Towers. Few bases, among them the famous JLA Watchtower, dwarfed it size. This made it ideal for training retreats, and indeed that was its primary utility. Boot camps and training simulations and all sorts of events took place at Catskills, including the famed Seven Lessons that served as the final test before entry into Senior Grade — the camp that was personally run by the Council themselves.

In short, Wallace was very familiar with Catskills. He didn't need any coordinates to figure out his way there, especially not with his speed, and after a quick few pitstops to pick up some tools, he skidded to a stop, arriving with a flourish.

When he got there, he realized that he wasn't the first one present. Jason, Donna, and Kaldur were already there, talking quietly in front of the gate. In a far-off clearing was the Bat-Plane; Jason had probably borrowed it to get here now that the JLA's teleporters were temporarily out of commission.

"Hey guys!" he shouted, approaching them with bags in hand.

The conversation ceased as all three glanced at him, Kaldur giving him a nod. "Wallace," he greeted back. "Tools?"

"Yup!" Wallace glanced around. "Where's everyone else?"

"M'gann will be arriving soon, but Kon and Kyle aren't going to show up until later," Donna explained. "Kon is dropping off Kara at Themyscira today with Clark. He wants to make sure she's settling in well before coming here."

"And Kyle? I just saw him. Well, him and Hal." Wallace coughed. "Aunt Iris wasn't particularly happy to see him."

"Not surprising," Donna muttered. She had been the one kidnapped with Wallace, after all. A little louder, she said, "Kyle and Hal are visiting Guy's bar today, meeting John, Guy, and Carol there with Alan Scott. Kyle wants them read them in before handing back their rings and and heading off to space. He's going to drop by after that's over to choose his room and drop off his stuff."

"And leave us to do all the work," Jason noted sourly. His girlfriend elbowed him on the side. Hard.

"One of the perks of being one of the few Lanterns in the universe, I suppose!"

Miss Martian descended from the ground in full superhero attire. Once she touched the ground, however, her form began to shift. She changed into a tall, pale-skinned and freckled human woman with short red hair and brown eyes. Much like how her Uncle J'onn had the dark-skinned John Jones, this was her human disguise, Megan Morse.

M'gann (or Megan, she supposed) smiled. "Uncle J'onn is helping out with the rebuilding of the Watchtower, so here I am." She opened her arms wide.

Jason gave another nod. "Good. That's mean we're all here." He turned to one of the pillars of the gate, revealing the biometrics screen. After a quick scan of his eye, palm, and voice, the gates snapped open to allow them inside.


"When we realized there was a possibility that all of you would be joining the Kon, Donna and I," Jason started as they walked up the stairs of the base and down one of its two main residential wings, "We designed this wing with all seven of us in mind. Of course, the whole 'adult' thing changes thing considerably, so we're probably going to have to refurnish and refurbish some of the rooms, but for the most part space isn't going to be an issue." He turned around and gestured to the hallway. "Go ahead and pick. First come, first serve."

Donna then jabbed her thumb towards the room at the end of the hallway. "Except for that room. That room's taken."

Wallace, Kaldur, and M'gann all stared at her. "That's yours and Jason's room, isn't it?" Kaldur finally said, sounding unsurprised.

Jason rubbed the back of his head. Donna let out an innocent whistle.

"Please tell me these rooms are soundproofed," Wallace groaned.

M'gann knocked one of the walls. "Sounds like it. Lucky us."

"Great! That means this wasn't a total mistake."


"No!" Guy suddenly declared, crossing his arms back and forth in a repeated motion. "I'm not falling for this shit."

John frowned. Carol tilted her head. Hal cringed. Kyle raised an eyebrow. Alan simply rubbed the bridge of his nose, and muttered an exasperated, "Gardner…"

"You're trying to tell me that this guy," Guy jabbed his thumb towards Kyle, who looked a little amused and slightly irritated, "is a time traveler from the future."

"Actually, I'm from an alternate universe that this one is a clone of that's further along the timeline—"

"—and that he's this…Uber Lantern—"

"—White Lantern—"

"—and that he needs us to go up in space and reestablish the Corps with Jordan of all people—"

"—well, am I supposed to police the stars by myself—?"

"—the same Jordan that destroyed the Corps in the first place?"

"—he was possessed!"

"Look kid," Guy said, standing up to loom over Kyle. "This is a crazy-ass tale you've concocted up, but if you think I'm gonna work with Jordan after what he did, you've got another thing—"

Suddenly, a pair of white tendrils wrapped Guy's form. Before the man could react, they snapped taut, restraining him and slamming him back down into his chair. Guy tried to struggle, but it proved fruitless, and he ceased when he saw Kyle stand up in turn, a dark expression on his face.

"I am not a kid," Kyle retorted calmly, his eyes glowing an ominous white. "And you are as annoying as ever, Guy. You'd think after all the years I spent as your partner, I'd remember. I guess it really has been a long time."

Guy stared up at him in awe and a hint of fear as he shied away from the younger(?) — they were really going have to figure that out — man. The others looked similarly apprehensive, and Alan was sweating. Only Hal didn't look afraid, though there was obvious hesitation in his form. Both of them were no doubt remembering the battle with Kyle a couple days ago. Clearly, they weren't looking forward to a possible repeat performance.

Slowly, Kyle exhaled a deep breath. His eyes returned to their normal green, and he slowly released Guy from his bonds. He sat back down, dusting himself off, and then his ring glowed green. The pair of Green Lantern Kings that Kyle had duplicated from Hal's own floated up from his pocket and were placed on the table: one in front of John, another in front of Guy.

"The universe needs the Green Lantern Corps," Kyle started, interlacing his hands together, his white ring glinting under the lights. "There are events in the future that one Lantern, even one as powerful as me, cannot handle on their own. Hal and I and whichever of the two of you that end up joining us are going to take care of one of them: the Central Battery that Sinestro would've used to start his own Corps. I've already destroyed his ring and imprisoned him, but that Battery and the Qwardians are the main problem. All Sinestro needs is them to begin his plans again."

"Sinestro was going to start his own Corps!?" John exclaimed, the words slipping out before he could stop them.

Kyle nodded. "He might still, if we don't destroy that Battery and deal with the Qwardians. We can handle the former well enough, but if we don't revive the Corps then the Qwardians will just build a new one for when Sinestro inevitably breaks out."

"Okay, this is interesting and all, but what am I doing here?" Carol asked, breaking into the conversation. "I'm not Star Sapphire anymore. I don't even have the Star Sapphire anymore—"

Before she could finish, Kyle flashed his ring again, his eyes glowing violet. Carol's own eyes mirrored his, and a familiar gem appeared on her forehead before floating away from her and into Kyle's hand. He grasped it into his fist, but the violet glow did not cease. If anything, it grew brighter, flaring out before fading away.

"Sinestro isn't the only one trying to create his own Corps, Carol," Kyle said as he opened his hand to reveal a violet-colored ring, and dropped into the shocked woman's hands. "The Zamarons are trying to create one as well. The Star Sapphire Corps. You're involved, whether you like it or not — as a former host for the Predator and as the most well-known of the Star Sapphires, they're going to seek you out as a potential Lantern for their Corps. With us, and with this ring, you'll be able to at least keep your own mind."

Hal blinked. "The Predator? Why would the Zamarons care about the Predator? Wasn't that just some—" His stopped speaking, his eyes widening in realization.

"What is it, Hal?" John asked, noticing his expression.

His old partner didn't answer, instead turning to Kyle. "The Predator…it's like Parallax, isn't it?" Gasps of shock followed that statement. Carol looked on in wide-eyed horror.

Solemnly, Kyle nodded once more, and his ring glowed white. Two orbs popped into existence: the one containing Parallax, and another one, containing a green, fish-like creature. "This is Parallax, the cosmic embodiment of fear," he explained for those that didn't already know, lifting the one with the yellow creature. He then lifted the other one. "And this is Ion — the cosmic embodiment of willpower. It used to live in the Green Lantern Corps' Central Battery before it was destroyed. It later sealed itself inside my ring, sleeping and trying to regain its strength, and would've eventually taken me on as a host when it was done." He nodded towards the green ring that now sat on Hal's finger. "I extracted it from the ring when I duplicated it. When we reestablish the Corps, we will need it to reignite the Central Battery."

The White Lantern flicked his hand, and the two orbs disappeared back into his personal pocket dimension. His ring then glowed white again, and a colorful display of the emotional spectrum appeared with each color, each bearing an image of a creature. The other Lanterns recognized Parallax and Ion on sight, floating in their respective colors, but the others were unfamiliar to them.

"The Emotional Electromagnetic Spectrum is comprised of seven colors, and each of these colors get their energy from a cosmic entity that embodies that color's emotion — they are the first entities in the universe to feel that specific emotion when the universe was born from the Source all those billions of years ago."

"From left to right, we have the Butcher, the Entity of Anger; Ophidian, the Entity of Avarice; Parallax, the Entity of Fear; Ion, the Entity of Will; Adara, the Entity of Hope; Proselyte, the Entity of Compassion; and finally, the Predator," Kyle glanced at Carol, "the Entity of Love."

Suddenly, the display changed, the seven colors merging into one: white. And at the center of this white image was a new entity, one bearing traits from each of the previous seven. "Together, these seven colors make up the Emotional Electromagnetic Spectrum, and thus the color white — the color of life, embodied by the Life Entity that currently slumbers in the Earth's core."

"Kyle," Alan started slowly, "Are you trying to tell us that there's going to be a Corps for each and every single one of these colors?"

"Yes. In fact, discounting the Green Lantern Corps, two such organizations already exist," Kyle casually revealed, much to everyone's increasing shock. "The first is…well, it isn't really an organization, but a person. Agent Orange, real name Larfleeze, the current wielder of the Orange Light of Avarice."

"One Lantern isn't really a Corps, Rayner," John pointed out.

Kyle glanced at Hal and Alan, who both looked uncomfortable. "It is in his case. The Orange Light of Avarice — well, it induces an increasing amount of greed in those who wield it, and the light is stronger the less users there are. There used to be more Orange Lanterns, but Larfleeze killed them all. Copies of their souls now exist in his ring to do his bidding as his own personal constructs. If I hazard to guess, he's probably the most powerful lantern in the universe after myself."

There were looks of horror from everyone at that. "You're kidding," Guy accused him

Kyle shook his head. "I'm not. Normally, it's fine just leaving Larfleeze alone though. One of the downsides about the Orange Light is that it increases your greed the longer you wield it and the more of it you wield. Larfleeze has been the sole wielder of the Orange Light for millions of years. As a result, he's…" The White Lantern cringed.

"Off his rocker?" Hal offered.

"That doesn't even begin to cover it, but yes. He's nuts, which decreases his effectiveness in a fight. But if he thinks we're trying to take his battery away from him, he's going to be hostile. We'll have to be careful in our dealings with him." Kyle rubbed his thumb over his ring. "The other Corps is the Indigo Tribe, led by a woman named Iroque, or Indigo-1. They were created by Abin Sur."

That startled Hal; clearly, he had not expected such a close connection with one of these organizations. "Abin Sur created them? Why?"

"The Prophecy of Blackest Night," his successor replied, looking grim.

Alan sat up. "You mentioned that when you first came back. Whatever it is, it spooked Ganthet."

John frowned again. "It's also mentioned in the Oath. I take it's not just for fancy wordplay, is it?"

"No," Kyle confirmed, still grim, "it isn't." The image of the Life entity morphed away, turning into something else. A tall and emaciated figure, wielding a scythe replaced it, one that looked unnaturally frightening. "This is Nekron. The Entity of Death."

"You mean Krona's benefactor?" Hal asked, staring at the figure in apprehension.

"More than that. If life is all emotion, death is the absence of it. When the universe first began, as far as he was aware, there was only Nekron. Then the Life Entity came into being, and life began to populate the universe." Kyle's eyes flashed darkly. "Nekron abhors life, sees it as an aberration. Two or so years from now, he intends to use William Hand, better known as Black Hand, as his harbinger and bring about the Blackest Night, creating a zombie apocalypse that will plague the entire universe. He has his own Central Battery, his own rings, all located in Sector 666, and they will spread across the stars, possessing the corpses of the dead and allowing them to rise and to plague the living. Nowhere will be untouched."

Now everyone was pale, their skin almost chalk white. Hal swallowed. "And the Guardians knew about this?"

"Not exactly," Kyle corrected him. "The original prophecy, written in the Book of Oa, was extremely vague. They knew Blackest Night was coming, they just didn't know what it was until it happened. Now that I'm here, however, we can prepare." His gaze swept across them all. "Nekron's goal is to kill the Life Entity. If he does that, then all of life will die, and we will all be slaves to his will. That cannot happen. But we cannot hope to combat him alone, even with the might of all of this world's heroes standing behind us. We need to reestablish the Corps, everyone. The fate of the entire universe depends on it."

"Well said, Kyle Rayner."

Ganthet swirled into view, green light flaring out from behind him. The Lanterns stared at him in shock, except for Kyle, who simply smiled. "Ganthet," he greeted the Guardian warmly. "How long have you been watching?"

"Since you came to this time — or universe, I suppose," Ganthet answered, floating towards the front of the table. "I am sorry I did not intervene when Savage had you kidnapped, but I did not want to risk him placing me under his thrall as well."

Kyle winced. "Yes, that would've been…well, disastrous. Do you know the source of his power?" He asked curiously.

Ganthet shook his head. "Alas, that is a mystery even to me. Nonetheless, while Savage unquestionably the greatest threat, we can do nothing about him for now." His eyes sharpened. "The threats you speak of, however, are a different matter. For years, us Guardians have agonized over the mystery of Blackest Night, wondering over what this great threat was. And now that you've revealed it to us, including me, the Last of the Guardians, I cannot help but find it troubling." He settled his weighty gaze on the remaining Lanterns, eyes firm. "Kyle Rayner is correct. We must reform the Green Lantern Corps."

"There are other things we need to do as well, but we can discuss that later," Kyle continued for him, standing up. "Right now, I need to know: are you in? Or are you out?"

With that ultimatum finally spoken, all four men and one woman exchanged silent looks, before retreating to their own thoughts. After several minutes of quiet, someone finally spoke.

"I already gave you my answer yesterday," Hal told him, eyes blazing green. "It hasn't changed."

John sighed and smiled, picking up his ring and sliding it onto his finger. A perfect fit. "And if that's the case, then I better come along so you don't get yourself killed."

Guy snorted, smirking as he picked up his ring too. "Oh, why the hell not? I'm in!"

Carol fiddled with her own ring, frowning. "I can't go out into space with you. I've got a company to run." Then, she smiled. "But if you're in a pinch, don't be afraid to call."

"Same," Alan agreed. "I've got too much going with the JSA right now, but when you really need me, I'll be there."

Kyle grinned. "Good. Now, we need to decide who's going to stay planet-side to help guard Earth with the JLA…"


I can see why they call this place Paradise Island.

"Kara? Kara!"

Kara Zor-El glanced to her right. Her two cousins, in their Kryptonian armor ("Humans consider them costumes," Kon-El had told them) were standing there, preparing to leave. However, they wanted to check in on her one last time before they flew off.

"Remember, if you need anything, just ask Queen Hippolyta, or Diana if she's here," Kon told her seriously. "We'll try to visit as often as we can, but if you truly need us, just call out our names. We'll be there in a jiffy."

Kara tilted her head. "'Jiffy'?"

"It's a human expression, Kara," Kal-El explained. He then pulled into her short hug. "It's only for a couple of months, okay? Just listen to your teachers, learn, and it'll be over before you know it. Then you can come home with us and decide what you want to do then."

"I still do not understand why I have to stay here to learn instead of with you," she looked back at gaggles of Amazons and the classical buildings of Themyscira. This place was beautiful, in a different kind of way from Krypton, but it was not home. Her home was gone, and her new one — the one she was supposed to make with the remaining family she had left — was taken from her before she had time to even settle in.

Learn… Kal-El had told her to learn. He didn't seem to realize that she already was. She had nothing else to do now but learn.

She still remembered when she had first awoken after the Krypton's destruction, barely clothed and in the arms of some strange bearded man, surrounded by a bunch of people in colorful costumes. So scared and confused, and then she was thrown by the man towards one of the people there, before falling into Kon-El's arms. Of course, Kara hadn't known that at the time — just that the man that had caught her bore her house's crest and had an uncanny resemblance to her Uncle Jor-El.

Then there was another man that look liked Uncle Jor-El, introducing himself as Kara's baby cousin Kal-El. That's when she knew something was deeply wrong. They had given her a short explanation: she was on Earth, Krypton had been destroyed, she had been stuck in suspended animation, so on and so forth, but Kara was too confused and lost at the time to really comprehend it, let alone process it. It hadn't been until they had taken her to the 'Brownstone' as they called it that she had been receptive to their words.

Krypton was gone. It had been destroyed decades ago. Kara had expected the former, it was one of her last memories, but the latter had stricken her heart with a deep amount of shock and disbelief. Kal and Kon (as he had introduced himself) explained that her pod had been struck by debris upon the planet's explosion and then sealed within in it, passing through the Phantom Zone and placing her in stasis. They knew she would arrive eventually, but she had been taken by her pod by a man named 'Savage' — the man whose arms she had awoken in, who had thrown her to the unfamiliar crowd earlier that day.

Of course, once Kara had time to process those words, she had asked how they had known she was coming and why they didn't come for her sooner. That's when she had gotten another shock: Kon-El was both Kal-El's half-human clone and a time traveler. "In my timeline," he had said, "you would've arrived in a small meteorite that would've crashed in Gotham Bay, where Kal and our friend Batman would've found you. I had the date memorized and everything, so I could be there to help you acclimate myself." The reason they hadn't searched for her is because they didn't know where the meteorite that held her pod was, and didn't have the time to find out.

But Savage, the man responsible for Kon-El's time travel, had changed things by bringing her here earlier. Along with transforming Kon back into his adult body ("I was a teenager like you before all this."), he had scuttled all of her cousins' plans. They had both planned to clear their schedules around her original arrival date so they could train her and help her settle into the family. The recent upheaval and the ensuing chaos of Savage's actions, however, had made that impossible; there was simply too much going on that they couldn't spare as much time for her as they had wished.

Kara didn't quite understand that either, until she learned about her powers. She was strong now. She could fly and shoot heat beams from her eyes and dozens of other little things. Even her brain had been enhanced; Kara had been considered a genius on Krypton, but on Earth? She was beyond brilliance. It had only been a day but she already had a rudimentary understanding of English, the primary language of the country where her cousins resided. Kon claimed that within a couple weeks, she'd be completely fluent.

This was the result of the yellow sun that this world, this strange world, orbited around. Their bodies processed this sunlight differently from the natives, and it enhanced their bodies exponentially, giving them these amazing abilities. This, Kara learned, is why she needed training. "If we can't control these powers, Kara, then we are dangerous. We could accidentally hurt someone," Kal told her. "Kon and I, we had wanted to teach you ourselves, but we simply don't have the time. It'll take at least week for you to be able to hold something like an apple without accidentally crushing it."

More than that, they wanted her to learn how to fight, how to defend herself. That, more than anything else, she did not understand at all. They had to explain to her that they were 'superheroes', and that they used their powers to protect Earth, but because of that they had enemies that would target her. Dangerous enemies, they had said. But she didn't get it. With her powers, it was unlikely any of their enemies could touch her. Wouldn't control be enough?

But she didn't protest. She didn't know how. They believed the danger to be real, Kon had even claimed to live through it and knew that her power alone would not be enough. So she had gone along with it, knowing that they would at least visit once a week. At least they had allowed her to meet the family before she left, allowed her to meet Mr. and Mrs. Kent, the parents that had taken Kal in. Kal's wife, Lois Lane — and his son, Jonathan Samuel Kent, or Jon as they called him. He didn't have a Kryptonian name. Kal confessed that they were going to wait until he was older and allowed him to choose one for himself if he wished.

Kara had especially been delighted to meet him, and it seemed he had been the same. The seven year old had been elated to have another cousin (Kara wasn't quite ready to be called an 'aunt' yet) and was saddened she wasn't staying with them for the time being. Kal and Kon, at least, had promised to bring him to visit her once they got permission from Queen Hippolyta. That was something to look forward to.

After a night and a breakfast at the Kent Farm, Kal and Kon had flown her to a nearby private airfield where their friend Diana was waiting for them. Themyscira, she had learned, was magically protected by the gods of Diana's people. While her cousins could locate it (albeit with some difficulty), it would be better form to go there in Diana's plane. Diana was the Princess of the island, and her people weren't fond of men. Kon and Kal arriving unexpectedly, even with Kara in tow, would've not gone well.

And now she was here, on Themyscira. It had been beautiful at first, the people kind, but now that her cousins were departing, it had lost its shine. Kara didn't want them to go.

She didn't want to be alone.

"Kara," Kon started, gently brushing Kal aside to pull her into his arms, "I know this isn't ideal. But trust me when I say that this is for the best. You'll be safe here, until you can protect yourself. I know you want to come with us, but—" He halted for a moment, then sighed. "But, you are not the only person who needs us. Far from it. I'm sorry it has to be this way."

Kara looked down, her eyes watering slightly. Kon gently lifted her chin, and smiled sadly at her.

"We will visit this weekend, I promise," he told her firmly. "Nothing in the world will keep us away."

She smiled tearfully at that, and hugged him back.


First chapter of the year!

Our first look at Kara. It'll be a while, but she will become a major character later on. Poor Kon. Forced to leave his cousin on Themyscira because he knows that the best place to get her training before Darkseid comes for her.

And of course, the Lanterns. Kyle's going off in space and doing space things because if he stayed Earthside then there would be far less of a story. But that's what you get when you're one of the most powerful characters in the setting. Plus, his responsibilities are far more vast than just Earth, so…

Next Chapter: The Era 2 JL settle in on Catskills and get a visit.