Chapter Eleven ― Bereft
"In truth you like the pain; you like it because you believe you deserve it."
Arley, with a pounding headache, woke up to the sound of her ring beeping. Slowly, opening her eyes Arley pushed herself off the ground― several questions ran through her head as she looked around the room, ranging from why was she on the floor and why Wally, who's arm was wrapped around her waist, pulling her snugly to his chest, was dressed in black to who exactly was the girl dressed in green a few feet from them ―and ran her hand through her knotted hair.
"Kid," Arley hissed as she turned to her best friend, she ignored how the tips of her ears burned as Kid Flash's grip on her waist tightened and his face rubbed the air where the back of her head had been. "Kid!" Arley hissed again, shaking the speedsters shoulder roughly, jolting the boy awake.
His green eyes were wide and unfocused as he leaned away from Arley; his arm through, continued to be wrapped around her waist.
"Arley?" Kid, pushing himself up by using his elbow slowly looked around the room, "Where are we?" Kid, when his eyes fell on his arm, jerked back and fell flat onto his back as he whipped his arm away from Arley; the Lantern ignored her heart clenching in her chest as she shrugged.
"No clue, I was hopping you'd know."
"Great," Kid sighed only look wearily down at his black uniform, "Any clue what I'm wearing?" Arley shook her head.
"I'm about as lost as you are the moment." Arley looked up at the hole in the roof of the shack they were in, Arley's ring beeped again.
"Ring at ten percent," Arley's ring said and the held her ring hand up and looked down in disbelief; Green Lantern rings had a charge of twenty-four hours, which meant if her ring was down to ten percent Arley had been away from her battery for almost a day.
Why was she away from her Lantern, in the middle of no where with Kid Flash and his strange uniform and a strange blonde girl?
Arley turned to Kid Flash who was looking down at her ring; Arley wasn't a telepath but she knew Wally West better then the back of her own hand, and she knew the questions racing through his mind were similar to hers.
"Think she knows why we're here?" Arley wondered jerking her head towards the other sleeping girl; the girls bow was press against her chest and her knees were drawn as far up as the bows bottom limp would allow.
"Can't hurt to ask," Kid said as he slowly got to his feet; the speedster didn't hesitate to pull Arley to feet as soon as he got to his; the Lantern girl bumped into the red headed boys chest and Kid, from under his mask, burned red as his free hand flew to Arley's hip to stabilize the girl. Awkwardly Kid stepped back, spinning on his heel the boy turned to the sleeping blonde girl.
He cleared his throat with a cough and from the corner of his eyes he peeked at Arley; "Hey beautiful," Kid said to the girl and Arley bit her tongue, she was used to Kid flirting with other girls in front of her; there were more pressing matters then how she felt. "Wake up."
With a groan the girl's eyes opened only for her to let out a yelp as she stumbled back away from Kid who had been leaning over her.
"Hey," Arley moved so that she was next to Kid as the girl threw herself against the far wall, her bow in hand, "It's okay, it's okay, we're not going to hurt you."
"Yeah," Kid said with a nod as he leaned his elbow against Arley's shoulder, "We're two of the good guys, you know?" Kid pointed at himself and used his head to motion to Arley, "Kid Flash and Green Lantern."
The girl looked at Arley and nodded, Arley smiled kindly at the girl and though the blonde didn't quite return it the corner of her lips tipped up, the blonde then looked to Kid.
"I've seen Kid Flash on the news, he doesn't wear black." Both Wally and Arley looked down at the speedsters new uniform and Kid, with a nod conceded that point.
"We're a little unclear on that ourselves," Kid said with a wave of her hand. "What about you, Green Arrow fixation?"
The girl looked down at herself and then at both Arley and Kid, "Who put me in his!" She demanded to know.
"Wow," Kid said with a shake of his head, "I am not touch that with a ten foot―"
"―So do you know how to use that bow?" Arley cut the boy off with an elbow to the ribs; the speedster, looking at Arley ever so slightly vexed rubbed his side. The girl pushed off the wall and nodded.
"Yeah my dad taught me." The girls eyes widened only to shift into a glare as she held up her bow almost accusingly, "Dad! He must have done this. Another one of his stupid tests."
"What kind of test?" Arley wondered as she looked looked from the girl and at the shack around them as her ring beeped again; being thrown into the middle of no where with a dead or dying ring and no help did remind Arley of boot camp; though there was little chance of it being a training exercise as Arley was on Earth and both Kid and the strange bow wielding girl in front of her were non-Corps members, but the whole situation screamed of Kilowog.
The girl lowered her boy and look at both Arley and Kid dryly.
"He probably wants me to kill you."
Before either Arley or Kid to reply to that the whistling sound of a missile cut through the air, Arley grabbed the blonde girls wrist with one hand― the Lantern ignored the girls confused cry and instead of letting the struggling girl go Arley just tightened her grip on the girls wrist ―and threw up a glowing green dome around them as the missile crashed through the side of the shack closet to the blonde girl and into the side of Arley's construct; exploding on impact. Fire erupted around them as the shack burned.
As the dust cleared Arley and Kid and the blonde girl looked in the direction the missile had come from and caught sight for two tanks and a Humvee full of armed soldiers.
Kid grabbed Arley's hand and Arley kept hold of the blonde girl as the dome dropped around them; the three young heroes took off in the opposite direction.
"Don't let them escape!" The soldiers shouted from the Humvee; Arley was sure the only reason she could understand was because of the translator in her ring and not because they were speaking English.
Where was she?
Bullets flew after the three and Arley as pulled her arm from Kid's and dropped the blondes, tossed up a shield behind them that followed their every step, protection them as they ran.
The blonde girl was the one to stop, turning with a roll she notched an arrow from her quiver and fired at the Humvee of soldiers; the truck exploded and flipped over the tree heroes. The blonde girl knelt behind a large rock and pulled a second arrow and Arley looked to Kid as she glowed green, her feet lifted off of the ground. The tanks that had been following them pulled to a stop and Arley's ring beeped again.
"Ring at nine percent." Arley looked down at the her ring― Kid did too ―and then at the girl as the tanks clicked into place.
"You get her, I'll follow behind," Arley said, Kid nodded and as Arley constructed a wall between the three of them and the tanks, Kid scooped the blonde girl up into his arms.
"Sorry," Kid said, explosions and gunfire shook Arley's barrier, though it never cracked or crumbled, "But they've got bigger arrows." It was only when Kid was a dot in over the sandy horizon, safe enough away, did Arley take off herself.
The three of them only stopped running from the enemies behind them when Arley detransformed mid-air; the girl, with her arms cross in front of her face, fell to the sandy ground with a tumble and an aggravated yelp.
"Arley!" When Arley stilled on the sandy ground and opened her eyes she found Kid already kneeling down next to her, his hands hovering over her.
"Are you okay?" His red hair looked more auburn in the light of the setting sun and his freckles seemed almost brown against his face, something that only ever happened when the speedster was tanned, but he couldn't be because who got tanned in March?
"Yeah," Arley said with a nod as she got to her feet, Kid helped pull her up only to sag against her as he did. She was wearing grey sweatpants that cinched at her calf and a black Hex Girls tank-top Arley was sure she had packed away the year before with the rest of her summer stuff, but it was March, she wouldn't have pulled out her summer clothing yet; but she was sure she had packed the shirt away the year before.
"Sorry," the speedster apologized as Arley ran a hand over the black material of his back soothingly, "Running on empty."
"When was the last time you ate?" Arley wondered; if her ring was drained then she and Wally hadn't been home in just over twenty-four hours, but still, Kid usually always kept food on him.
The speedster flipped open the area of his suit that he usually kept food and frowned as he looked at the empty compartment, he shared a heavy look with Arley; where were they that they had been gone for over twenty-four hours? Why had they been gone and away from home for more then twenty-four hours? And if they had been gone for more then twenty-four hours then where was her lantern?
"More then twenty-four hours ago or my cupboards wouldn't be bare," Wally said as his eyes flickered to her ring. A boy― a shirtless, dark haired boy ―fell to the ground in the space between Kid and Arley and the blonde girl who still hadn't yet given her name.
The shirtless boy swung his fist out and tossed Kid Flash into the rocky mountain wall behind him before the swirling cloud of sand the boy had kicked up had settled. The dark haired boy was quick to bat Arley in the other direction before running that the blonde girl; the blonde girl flipped back before she fired a series of arrows at the shirtless boy onto to have to roll out of the way when nothing even slowed the boy down.
Arley moved as a missile shot through the air and hit the shirtless boy; the blonde girl flew through the air and Arley opened her arms to catch the girl. She may not have had her Lantern strength but she was still a hero, even with out it. The blonde girl fell into Arley's arms and the dark haired Lantern dropped to her knees as she caught to the girl.
"You okay?" Arley asked as she let the other girl go; the other girl as they both got to their own feet nodded.
"Yeah, you?" The shirtless boy lunged at the tanks that had rolled up in the direction Kid and Arley had been traveling in. Effortlessly the shirtless boy crushed the barrel of the tank on the left.
"Fine, but who's side is he on?" A soldier that's been inside the tank popped out, his gun firing at the shirtless boy; the bullets bounced off the boys skin. The boy crashed the gun in the soldiers hand only to then grab the soldier by the front of his shirt and toss him from the tank before ripping the tank in half.
Arley's mouth fell open at the sight. The boy wasn't even phased as the second tank tried to blow him away from point blank range. Whatever the boy was he wasn't human; Arley doubted there was a super powered human alive that had that kind of ability.
Superman was what flashed through the girls mind; but if that was true, if the boy was somehow related to Superman― if he wasn't a Kryptonian all on his own ―then he was an alien and that made him Arley's responsibility.
"You want to stick around and find out?" Kid wondered, only to pause as he looked between both the blonde girl and Arley. Arley stepped back, away from the girl and Kid as the boys green eyes flickered down to the empty compartment he usually kept food in.
Dread settled in Arley's stomach as the reality of the situation washed over her like an ice bath.
"Take her," Arley said to Kid; who frowned, the blonde girl looked between Kid and Arley, "I'll be fine here."
There was more then one reason Arley had offered to stay behind; first off there was the boy, the shirtless almost feral boy― if he was an alien then he was her responsibility, the whole sector was her responsibility but aliens on her home planet were especially her responsibility ―second off bow or not the blonde girl wasn't a hero and though her father sounded shady, the blonde girl herself didn't seem like a villain which made her a civilian, which made her safety Arley and Kid's first priority. And third off Kid was out of food, he wasn't going to be able to come back which meant once they left Arley would be alone and have to fend for herself, something that Arley wasn't unused too. Something that she could handle, something the blonde girl might not be able to do.
"What?" The blonde girl blinked astonished. The blonde girl looked at Arley like she'd grown a second head and Arley could hazard a guess at what the girl was thinking, Arley was going to die. And perhaps she should have been more scared at the prospect of dying but at eight years old she was told Lanterns don't get old; that getting old in the Corps was a privilege not usually earned, it was a grim and dark prospect Arley had gotten used to; she didn't like it and Arley knew she would fight until she couldn't anymore but it was a fact she had made her peace with.
"You're kidding me right, between those soldiers and that thing―"
"―I'm a Lantern Kid," Arley smiled the same over confident smile she had picked from Hal, the one the pilot always used when the odds were against them and the future looked grim; it was a smile that only other Lantern Corpsmen ever had the arrogance to wear when facing the odds. "Trust me, ring or not, I'll be fine." Arley then turned to the girl, "You wouldn't happen to have a grappling arrow on you, would you?"
The girl, as the shirtless boy continued to destroy the second tank blinked, "Y-yeah."
She reached into her quiver and after a second pulled out an arrow for Arley; Arley took the arrow with one hand and slammed her other against the flat arrow head before unwinding the wire that had been coiled into the arrows shaft turning what had once been a grappling arrow into a blunt make-shift Bolas.
It wasn't like the chain scythe Laira had occasionally trained her to use but it was, in some ways, similar enough; the same way apples and oranges were similar.
The girl's brows from behind her mask shot up, impressed. She turned to Kid, "You shouldn't take me, I mean she-Green Lantern, her ring―"
"―I second that―" Kid said only for Arley to glare at the two of them.
"Look I've been a hero since I was eight, trust me when I say this isn't even the hairiest of situations I've been in, now I'm serious Kid," Arley's eyes hardened and her back straightened the same way she'd been taught to stand in boot camp; her ring was dead and she was probably going to die, "I'll be fine."
Kid Flash didn't look like he believed Arley, he looked worried and frightened and when he stepped up and hugged Arley, his lips pressed against the crown of her head making the girl blush a bright firetruck red.
Her feelings― the words 'I love you' ―balled on the tip of her tongue but Kid stiffened as he pulled back from Arley and the words seemed to stay there, trapped in her mouth; like usual Arley swallowed the words back as she looked up at the speedster through her lashes. There would be other times to tell him how she felt, she wouldn't die, not when she hadn't yet told him how she felt.
"I'll come back for you," Kid promised, his lips against the to of Arley's head.
"Of course you will," Arley told the boy stepping back from the speedster, she smiled up at him as she continued to look at him through her lashes, "Now get going." There would be other times to tell him how she felt.
Kid nodded, he swept the blonde girl up in his arms and with a fleeting look he took off; when Arley could no longer see him or the blonde girl in his arms she turned to the shirtless boy and the ruined tank he was still smashing.
Like the Green Lantern Laira had taught her Arley choked up on the wire of her weapon as she spun it; getting used to the feel of it, he rest of the wire was coiled around her other hand as she approached the shirtless boy. Soldiers ran from the wreckage of the tanks, in the direction they had come from.
"Hey!" Arley shouted, she stopped spinning her makeshift bolas. The shirtless boy continued to stomp on and destroy the smoldering tank, the Lantern narrowed her eyes as she tried to remember the Kryptonian word for hello.
"Ehrosh bem!" Arley shouted; the boy didn't stop. She knew she had butchered the word but it wasn't as if anyone had properly taught her how to say hello― or Kryptonian in general ―it was just what she had managed to pick up through the books she'd read.
Perhaps the boy wasn't Kryptonian; though Arley highly doubted it, but no matter, he wasn't human and something in Arley told her he wasn't a human either. She knew it in her bones, the boy in front of her was an alien.
Soldiers in Humvee's appeared from the direction Arley and Kid and the blonde girl had come from; Arley rushed to the feral alien boy as more soldiers then she thought could fit into two Humvee's began to unload from their trucks, guns drawn.
"Hey! We need to leave!" Arley shouted as the boy continued to smash the already destroyed tank. "Hey moof-milker did you hear me, we―" Arley reached out to grab the boys bare shoulder only for him to push her back, off of the damaged tank and roughly onto the ground. Pain shot through her shoulder.
The soldiers took that as their opportunity to open fire.
Arley, without her uniform and her healing abilities― without her ring ―rushed forward. The alien boy was her responsibility, he was in her sector, and maybe the soldiers couldn't hurt him but there was something wrong with the shirtless boy― maybe his brain got addled when he crash landed or something ―and she wasn't just going to take cover and let the possibility of something happen to him.
She swung her make-shift bolas, the head of the arrow wrapped around he feet of the closest soldier and Arley, as the soldiers comrades were focused on the alien boy, pulled on the wire of the arrow, taking the soldier down. The soldiers gun went flying and Arley made a grab for it; guns weren't her thing. After growing up in Gotham, a place where the rate of gun violence was through the roof Arley liked to use any other weapon before she used a gun, but her ring was dead and she was in sweatpants.
Arley took the barrel of the gun in her hands and swung the weapon at the soldier only a few feet from her just as the armored man was turning to his fallen comrade. The second soldier fell to the ground with a thud and with the heel of her foot Arley brought her weight down on the first solider.
The shirtless boy yelled as a soldier managed to wrap a cable around his wrist and Arley as she moved to flip the gun around and shoot at the man― not lethally, but in the leg ―was shot herself.
Arley wasn't a stranger to being shot, she'd been a fully fledged Lantern since she was nine, people shooting at her was an occupational hazard. But what she'd never been was shot while her ring was dead; the bullet ripped through Arley's left shoulder― and a scream Arley didn't even recognize as her own ripped through her throat ―and Arley landed on the ground as blood rushed from her wound into a quickly growing puddle.
A second cable wrapped around the boys wrist.
The shirtless boy seemed to grow angrier at the sight of Arley as she tried to sit up, one hand pressed against her bloody shoulder, only for a soldier to kick her back and keep the boot of his heel against her ribs.
The muzzle of the soldiers gun was pointed in her face. Arley glared up at the man as another thick cable wrapped around the boys wrist and Arley's legs flared out― just as Dick had taught her before the New Years ―as she bent inwards and wrapped themselves around the leg the man had been using to crush her; every movement hurt but the soldier stumbled back, his gun firing widely into the air and Arley who had jumped to her feet rammed her good shoulder into the mans padded stomach.
Kilowogs voice rang through her ears.
Gage. Arley's foot slid behind the soldiers.
Lock. Her leg locked behind his.
Throw. And she pushed the man to the ground; Arley was quick to bring her foot down― like she's down against the two other soldiers she'd gotten the drop on ―and knock him out.
Another; a third cable wrapped around the boys wrist, this one on the other side. The boy was stretched out as he fought against the soldiers pulling him, a third Humvee was approaching and Arley knew that while now or never had past as soon as the first squad of soldiers had arrived she and the boy needed to run. So she picked up the soldiers fallen gun and rested it against the hip of her good side and fired at the soldiers who had managed to wrap a fourth cord around the boys wrist. Arley stumbled back at the guns kick back and a bullet from one of the enemy soldiers grazed Arley's right thigh.
The Lantern cried out from behind her gritted teeth.
Two men got out of the third Humvee― Arley had only just turned to fire at them, if she could keep more of the soldiers allies away perhaps the alien boy had a chance ―when a skull splitting pain ripped through her head and the world around her went black.
...
Arley woke up in a tent; the alien boy was strapped upright to a table and she, with her arm caked in dried blood, was tied to a chair, scientists stood around a whirling alien― technology wasn't Arley's forte but she knew the machine in front of her was alien ―machine, all of them were taking notes. A man with a bushy mustache that reminded her of Rudy Wests stood in front of her, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his lab coat. Though the man in front of her kept his mustache unkempt; hairs bristled and broke upwards, unlike Mr. Wests.
Next to him a soldier stood; his dark eyes glittering in excitement.
"You are the Green Lantern," the scientist said, he spoke with a thick accent. Arley's shoulder throbbed and her thigh stun but she smirked. She smirked in a very Guy Gardner kind of way. The alien boy was still out cold.
"You know, normal people usually introduce themselves," Arley snarked. If she could stall until Kid and the blonde girl made contact with the Flash and the rest of the League― with John and Hal ―then she'd be fine. She just had to stall.
"I am not a normal man Green Lantern," the scientist spoke arrogantly and Arley continued to smirk impishly at the man.
"I can see that, most normal people don't have such stupid mustaches." The scientist glared down his nose at Arley, his cheeks puffed out and his chest inflated.
"You will be asked this once, your ring, your powers how exactly do they work?" The man questioned and Arley leaned back in the chair she was tied to, careful of her shoulder. John would keep his mouth shut and Hal would say something witty and sarcastic that he could recount in stories at a later date but Guy Gardner would do neither of those things; Arley looked at the machine the other scientists in the corner were studying and then at the shirtless alien boy; then she glared back at the scientist. Her hands curled into fists and her powerless ring shifted on her finger.
"Why?" She wondered,
"Curiosity, we have an idea of how your ring works but not an exact how or a why or even a where you get them," the scientist explained.
"Oh," Arley blinked, "Well then, get fucked." Unsurprisingly, the soldier next to the scientist punched her clean across the face. All she had to do was stall. Arley moving her jaw looked up at the soldier as the scientist moved back. She smirked up at the man. "My foster father used to hit me harder and he was drunk, you hit like a fucking poozer."
He hit her again; Arley could deal with being hit, she could out last the man in front of her― she was a Green Lantern Corps member because of her indomitable willpower not because the suit made her look good ―but as time ticked on and the blood that had gushed down her nose began to dry and she still wasn't telling the scientist what he wanted to know― but as time ticked by and Hal and John still didn't bust into the tent ―the scientist began to suggest other measures.
Arley breathed as she recounted every torture method she knew was used across the known universe, her heart thudded in her chest but the fear did not show in her face. Green Lanterns didn't flinch in the face of fear.
The mustached man turned to the still knocked out alien boy and nodded his head to a shaggy haired blonde man.
"Setting one," the scientist instructed and with a press of the button the alien boy was awoken to violent shocks coursing through his body.
Arley jerked against her chair; "Leave him alone!"
The mustached scientist turned slightly in Arley's direction.
"Will you tell us the source of your powers? The source of the other Lanterns powers?" Arley glared at the man.
"Like is said, get fucked." The setting was drawn higher and Arley was hit again; that time the room began to spin. Arley blinked as the spinning room began to slow.
"You will tell us," the scientist said as someone entered the tent from behind Arley.
"No," the Lantern breathed as she tried to twist as the ropes around her wrists, "I really won't."
"Not even to save your friends life?" and Arley paused looked at the scientist oddly.
"I don't know him." The scientist's gaze flickered over Arley's head and a man― a shriveled grey man with a hood ―stepped around her into her field of vision. Arley blinked at the obviously evil man; all she had to was stall. "What are you an evil raisin?"
The shrived man look dryly at Arley, "The wit if today's youth is so unperplexing it's almost painful."
Arley shot the shriveled man a dry look, "Can the other guy go back to hitting me, looking at you hurts more."
"Funny," the cloaked man drawled, "Very funny." He lowered the hood of his cloak and Arley's eyes widened at the sight of the mans brain, her empty stomach clenched queasily. "But if you will not tell us what we would like to know then I will just take what I want."
The mans eyes closed and pain reverberated through Arley's mind; it felt as if someone had taken a dull can opener to the curve of Arley's skull and began to twist.
He was trying to read her mind, Arley snarled. Lanterns, during training were taught to build mental defenses to ward against psionic attacks and while something had wiped her memories of the past twenty four hours Arley wasn't going to allow someone else into her brain.
The man's eyes shut tighter as Arley grit her teeth; she imagined a wall, a tall glowing green wall. She imagined a dome, she pictured a safe, she conjured up guard dogs in her mind. She wasn't going to let him in; she wasn't going to tell him about the Corps, about Hal or John or Guy or Katma or Kilowog. She wasn't going to betray her family, willingly or unwillingly; they would kill her before she gave something up.
The man breathed and Arley glared at him, sweat that beaded her brow ran down the side of her face.
"Like I told you friend mustache," she panted, her lips twisted into a tired smirk, "Get fucked."
The soldier hit her again.
...
Time ticked by and between the ringing in her ears and the whirling of whatever alien machine the other scientists were studying Arley was forced to listen to the alien boys screams as the men in white coats continued to shock him.
The soldier had moved from hitting Arley to pressing against the bullet wound in her shoulder to using the belt of his uniform to hit her; the graze on her thigh had opened up and blood had long ago started to drip down her leg. Arley though just egged the man, telling him she'd been hit harder, and that if he though hitting her was going to open her mouth he was stupider then he looked and well, he looked pretty stupid.
The shriveled man one of the scientists had addressed as Mr. Psimon stood in the corner of the tent. Every so often he'd say something, either to the mustached scientist or to Arley.
"Tell me Green Lantern, what do you think being beaten will bring you? A metal? Honor? Just tell us what we wish to know."
"Nortz, your voice is grosser then your face," Arley said as her head hung limply, she was tired, but all she had to do was wait. Kid wasn't just going to abandon her, he and the blonde girl were going to get help, so she breathed. All she had to do was wait a little bit longer. She could wait. Waiting was easier then eating cake, when eating you had to move your jaw and make sure you didn't choke but waiting only entailed getting hit, something Arley had spent a life time doing.
"Will power only lasts so long," Mr. Psimon said and Arley lifted her head and smirked. The shriveled man growled at the sight of her upturned lips.
"That's always what spineless Poozers always think." Mr. Psimon moved the soldier took the shriveled mans spot and Arley shut her eyes. Arley had long ago learned― long before the Corps ―that if you think the hit's going to land harder then it dose it doesn't hurt half as bad.
"Turn it up to shock level four," Arley heard the mustached scientist say before the alien boys screams filled Arley's ears. The machine whirled louder and Arley wondered what exactly was taking Kid and the blonde girl so long; what was taking Hal and John?
How far in the middle of no where where they?
After what had felt like forever, the soldier who had raised his fist once more flew away from Arley, into one of the scientists that had been observing the screaming alien boy― Arley's head whipped around as she looked for who had come to save her and the alien boy because there was no distinctive green glow ―and the man in a lab coat who had been controlling the shock level coursing through the dark haired boy fell as he was thrown back.
The machine powered off and Arley saw― or at least ―she thought she saw the outline of someone standing in front of the control panel. She began to twist at the binds on her wrist once more; no one was paying attention to her, if she could just get free she'd be fine. She'd be safe. The rope on her wrists began to rub her skin raw and yet Arley continued to struggle; why was she having such trouble getting out of a few simple ropes, any other Lantern worth their salt would have been able to.
"Well―" Arley heard a feminine gasp come from somewhere in the room, "―Someone's certainly a glutton for punishment, Psimon says..." The man trailed off as he lowered his hood and while Arley couldn't make out what the villain was looking at the girl moved more apparently in her chair, pulling with all her might as she tried to get loose from her binds.
Objects in the room began to float and the scientists moved from the sphere they had been taking notes on to the shriveled man; a blonde man waved his hand in front of Mr. Psimon. The alien boys heart rate monitor picked up and Arley, as the boy began to lift his head moved roughly against the chair.
The pain in her shoulder flared every time she did so, but the alien boy glared at the evil man only to look away when the sphere― whirling loudly ―broke its metal bonds and lifted itself into the air before slamming down, almost crushing the scientists that had been observing it and freeing the alien boy. She needed to get out of the chair and out of the tent.
The alien boy, with a clenched fist lunged at Mr. Psimon only be be pushed back by a physic field. The boys eyes went unfocused and his hand stilled in the air; the sphere continued to whirl around the room, destroying things. Arley struggled harder against her binds and the rope the soldier had used to tie her wrists rubbed her skin raw; Arley hissed as she continued to worm around in her chair.
The alien boy's eyes focused one more as his arm dropped and soldier rushed into the room; before he could attack them though, the sphere ran them over, Arley stilled at the sight, her brows shot up. And the alien boy smiled at the alien machine.
"Thanks?" The alien boy said to the sphere before scanning the tent, his icy blue eyes landed on Arley and thought the boy was already pale he seemed to get whiter. "Arley?"
Arley blinked at the boy in surprise, more questions piled onto the ones she already had. More soldiers rushed into the room and Arley ducked her head as one of them opened fire onto the sphere, the Alien boy attacked; he grabbed one of them, deflecting the bullets and tossed the man into three of his comrades.
When another soldier had tried to sneak up behind him the boy reached back and grabbed the back of the mans neck; the alien boy flipped the man onto the ground, knocking him out the same way Black Canary had once shown Arley. The alien boy approached Arley who under several layers of blood, smiled at him even though it hurt to do so.
"You know my name," Arley observed. The alien boy moved around her and snapped the robes binding Arley in half.
"We're friends," the alien boy replied as he helped Arley stand, supporting her good shoulder; Arley grimaced because she couldn't remember ever having met him before, and yet he knew her name. Perhaps they had met in the last twenty-four hours. Arley opened her mouth to ask the boy when the scientists that had taken cover from the soldiers fire and the sphere's attack were lifted into the air as the sandy floor in the tent began to swirl, the alien boy looked at Arley panicked. "Can you run?"
"I guess," Arley nodded as she began to pull the alien boy towards the tents flap only for him to pull back, "What are you doing?" He had a glint in his eyes had told Arley he was going to do something stupid, it was the same one Hal and Guy both got before throwing the plan to the wind and improvising.
"Run, M'gann and I will catch up," the alien boy promised― Arley's question of just who M'gann was died in her mouth as the alien boy jumped ―before disappearing into the swirling vortex of sand, the sphere whirled up to Arley and the girl leaned against the alien machine as it lead her out of the tent and helped her up a tall sand dune. Arley as she sunk to her knees― half way on the other side of the sand dune ―rested her head against the cool metal of the sphere. Everything hurt; everything hurt so much that her body throbbed in spite of the adrenaline rushing though her veins.
The scientists, still stuck in the swirling sand vortex that had been their tent screamed; Arley lifted her ring to eye level and breathed.
"What the hell is going on?" Arley wondered and the sphere beeped, Arley looked up at the sphere and her shoulders dropped. "Yeah," she muttered, "I got that much." Which was to say nothing.
The vortex blew outwards with a whoosh, and Arley, though half over a sand dune, ducked her head as sand from the vortex shot forcefully overhead; she could hear bodies and things― chairs and computes and other things that had been in the tent ―hit the ground. Slowly, leaning against the sphere Arley stood.
Arley slowly made her way back up the sand dune and saw the alien boy with a girl― a green skinned, Martian girl ―in his arms; the Martian girl was cupping the boys face and though Arley couldn't quite see the look in either aliens eyes, with the way the boy was leaning into the Martians touch Arley could only guess the boy was looking at the other alien with such a tenderness Arley could only ever dream about.
She blinked and the machine beeped almost excitedly as he rolled down the sand dune faster then she could slide, the Martian girl moved from the alien boys arms and with a horrified look in her eyes― but a revealed look on her face ―she moved towards Arley who had slowly limped over to the two, and threw her arms around the Lantern, causing the human girl to wince.
"I'm sorry!" The Martian girl panicked as she let go of Arley.
"It's okay," Arley said, the alien boy got to his own feet behind the Martian girl, Arley held her good hand out. "I'm Green Lantern Arley of this sector, you must be M'gann."
"Right!" The Martian thumped her hand against her forehead, "Hello Megan, your memories!"
"You know what happened to them?" Arley wondered and M'gann nodded.
"I do but, maybe we should get back to the bio-ship before I restore them, Wally's probably already worried sick, I'm sure." Arley blinked, the fact her best friends name left the green girls mouth caused the Lantern's good arm to shoot out and grab the front of her cape, the Martian girl yelped as Arley flipped them so that she was holding the Martian girl up over the sandy ground by nothing more then the lapel of her cape.
Arley's heart pounded in her ears.
"Arley!" The alien boy snapped, Arley ignored him; M'gann however held a hand up over Arley's good shoulder. Arley's thigh burned but the Lantern ignored the pain— she could feel blood rushing down her leg she she continued to hold the Martian girl up —because the Martian had known Wally's name.
"How do you that name?" Arley demanded, and M'gann the Martian girl gently brought her hands up to cup Arley's hand, a gentle smile on her face.
"He told me, he told Superboy too; we're teammates, all of us." Arley's eyes narrowed,
"Restore my memories now or feel free to taste my might," Arley snapped and M'gann conceded with a nod, her brown eyes shut and the Martian moved a green hand from Arley's to the human girls forehead; images― memories ―of the past six months flew through Arley's head.
The sunflower Wally had given her on Jay Garricks birthday appeared, as did the teams first mission and breaking Superman out of Cadmus Labs; other memories appeared too, like her last day of freshmen year and the day she had Dick had gotten ice cream in Gotham after one of the times she'd visited her mother.
With a breath Arley lowered M'gann to the ground, only to collapse next to the girl.
"Sorry about that Megs, I thought―" Arley broke herself off, she wasn't quite sure what she had thought when M'gann had said Wally's name, just that she wasn't supposed to know it, and since she had, something terrible must have had happened.
M'gann gathered Arley in her arms, carefully pulling the girl close, "It's okay."
Arley jerked back, her head swiveled between her and Superboy, the image of the two other young heroes embarrassing in such an intimate way flashed through Arley's mind.
"You two were kissing! That was not-you didn't tell me―" She said to M'gann only to look to Superboy, "―What!" Superboy burned pink and his palm clasped to the back of his neck, like a child caught doing something he wasn't supposed to.
"We weren't kissing," Superboy grumbled.
"Right," Arley mused, smiling smugly between her two blushing friends, the pain her her body had slowly started to numb and the corners of her vision had started to darken. A weight settled heavily on Arley's shoulders. "Sorry to interrupt."
"I hate you," Superboy grumbled. Arley chuckled as she leaned back against M'gann, a wave of exhaustion rolled over Arley. She was safe, she could rest. M'gann stiffened against Arley as the girls eyelids began to drop.
"I'm really happy for you guys," Arley slurred as her smug grin began to small.
"―Arley―" M'gann said, her voice high and panicked. Arley continued to let exhaustion sweep over her, pulling her into unconsciousness the same way a riptide pulled you into the oceans depth, only for her eyes to fly back open when M'gann shook her, "―Open, keep your eyes open!"
Arley blinked as M'gann gathered her in her arms and cradled the girl to her chest with one arm and wrapped her other around Superboy's waist. The sphere, as M'gann took off towards the bio-ship, whirled after them.
Wally and Dick and Artemis were all there with her lantern waiting outside the bio-ship for them when M'gann landed; Wally had all but shoved Arley's lantern battery into Dicks arms as he rushed forward, a step away from M'gann, his arms were already outstretched as the Martian girl landed.
"Oh god," the red head whimpered, Superboy untangled himself from M'gann, "What the hell happened!" Wally demanded looking wildly between Arley and M'gann and Superboy as M'gann passed the injured Lantern to the red head. The boy looked down at the bloody girl in his arms and his shoulders shook with unshed tears as he breathed. "I-I-I can't lose you," he said quietly; softly.
The boy sucked in another shaky breath; Arley could feel his chest tremble as he breathed. Arleys slowly opened her eyes smiled dazed at the speedster and she cupped his cheek with her good hand.
"Stop worrying," Arley whispered "I told you I'd be fine."
Wally's eyes were red and so was the tip of his nose, he'd been crying but nonetheless he smiled at Arley; it was a weak and regret-filled watery smile.
"You're not fine," Wally disputed, Arley rested her head in the crook of the boys neck as he sunk to his knees, her hand still rested against his face. "You're covered in blood, you look lucky to be alive."
Arley felt Wally press his quivering lips to her temple; his eyelashes were damp as they fluttered against her skin. Dick moved to being her battery closer. Artemis seemed to move closer as Dick placed the lantern on the ground next to Arley; it had never occurred to Arley but she had never charged her ring in front of the archer had she?
"Maybe," Arley smiled impishly, "But I'm alive."
She dropped her hand and moved it from Wally's face as she turned to the lantern and slowly, with a groan she moved her ring hand; Wally helped her hold it out towards the green battery as she breathed. She knew the Corps oath like the back of her hand, the same way she knew that on the back of her left knee there was a beauty mark in the shape of a flower. Half asleep― practically half dead ―she repeated the mantra.
"In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight. Let those who worship evil's might, beware my power, Green Lantern's light"
Green glowed from the lantern and swirled around Arley, around her arms and legs and face and into her ring; her hair fluttered as the light died out and Arley, still tired and exhausted and in pain slumped against Wally. She breathed deeply, inhaling the speedsters sent; he smelled of dirt and sand and sweat but also of home and of the powered donuts M'gann kept on board for him. Slowly Wally stood; Dick swiped the lantern from the ground and braced the giant alien object against his chest.
The sound of his heart beat managed to lull her to sleep before he even got her into the bio-ship.
