Chapter 2

Medical Facility; Bolovax Vik (Sector 0674)

Hal's eyes shot open as his breath returned to him. He felt disoriented, the light above him was blinding. When he rose to his feet, he looked around to see that he was inside what looked like an operating room, although it wasn't the one in the shuttle.

"Hello?" he called out, trying to see if anyone was there with him. "Volkov? Captain Seaton?" there was no response.

Looking around, Hal noticed a large glass container. Carefully, he inched closer to it before a strange, multi-armed creature jumped at him, only to slam into the glass. Hal stepped back a few feet "Okay, bad idea."

Hal continued walking, almost stumbling as he did so. Eventually, Hal covered his eyes with his arm as a bright light began to blind him. When his eyes adjusted to the light, Hal removed his arm to notice he was in some cliff he had never seen before.

"Okay" he muttered to himself, trying to grasp the situation "I'm not on the station, or Earth for that matter."

Taking a step, Hal slipped as he nearly fell off of the cliff. Hal held on as hard as he could, feeling his grip beginning to slip. He tried to climb up only to slip, he held his hand out trying to grab any spare rock or root he could get only to feel something wrap around his hand.

Hal looked up to see a large, muscular creature grabbing his hand. The creature had short ears, a round nose like a pig, a thick jaw line, and four thick fingers on each hand.

"It's okay" the creature said. Wait, how did Hal understand that thing? "I'm on your side."

The creature then pulled Hal up ward before placing him on a stable part of the cliff.

"Thanks." Hal said, the alien let out a light chuckle.

"Don't worry about it." He spoke "My name is Kolowog." The then massive alien then held out his hand and Hal noticed a ring similar to the one he had. "I'm a lantern too." The two walked back into the facility.

Hal sat back on the table and started looking around. He noticed a lot of strange tools, the container from earlier, and many other things he hadn't noticed before.

"You're lucky." He turned to face Kilowog, who was looking through a huge pile of things "I didn't think that artificial tissue I designed would respond to your genetic material. I guess this means our anatomies are similar."

Hal then passed his hand through his torso, noticing several patched areas where he had been hit and blasted by the robot he fought.

"So, you're a doctor?" Hal asked curious, Kilowog scuffed at it.

"No, I'm a scientist. Everything you see here, I built it." The large, pig-like alien responded.

Hal once again looked around the room.

"Where am I?" he asked curiously

"Bolovax Vik" Kilowog responded proudly "Not to be confused with Bolivax Vel. We're an independent world, a bit isolated but you shouldn't worry about that. Now what about you? What sector are you from?"

"Sector?" Hal raised a confused brow.

"Yeah, you know, what planet are you from?"

"Oh, well. Earth."

"Earth, huh?" Kilowog started scratching his large chin as if to think before pulling out something. Some kind of portable computer, so small that it could fit in the palm of Kilowog's hand. "Oh, here it is. Earth, third planet from the G-type Yellow Sun of the Milky Way, Sector 2814." Kilowog then placed the computer back in his pocket with a huge smile on his face which quickly faded. "Wait a minute, Sector 2814? That's Abin Sur's sector."

"Who?" Hal asked confused.

"Abin Sur, he was the Green Lantern assigned to that Sector before all this started. So that means he sent his ring out and it found you."

"What are you talking about?"

Kilowog sighed "So you don't know about the Corps? Even though you just did something only a handful of trained and skilled lanterns were able to do?"

"Wait, Corps? Lanterns?"

"You know, the Green Lantern Corps." Hal looked at Kilowog with a puzzled look on his face "You really don't know even though you destroyed a Manhunter?"

"A what?"

"That thing that attacked you."

"The robot?"

"So you're saying you didn't kill it?"

"No, no I did, but I thought I was gonna die when I fought it. As for this 'Corps' I don't know anything, I just took what was available to me at the moment and acted purely on instinct. So, you're saying there's more of these things?"

"Wow" Kilowog brought his hand to his forehead "And I thought we were isolated. You see, the Green Lantern Corps were once the protectors of the Universe. They operated out of a planet named Oa, but then the Manhunters, who came from the same planet, started attacking them. There are only a few of us left."

"Where are the rest?"

"I haven't seen any other Lantern since all this started. If any of us are still left, they're probably hiding, or protecting their worlds as best they can from these things."

"Why would they be hiding?"

"The Manhunters have basically conquered every world they could find, and those that fought back were completely decimated. It's been that way for quite a while, several years actually. Now I'm sorry, but you'll have to leave." Kilowog then went back to searching through the large pile from before.

"Leave? Why?"

"We don't normally allow visitors into Bolovax Vik, I already told my people you would leave as soon as you recovered, and since you're fine now, you'll have to go back to your planet."

"Wait, so how is it that we can understand each other?"

"It's the rings. They have a lot of different functions, including a universal translator."

"But I thought mine was out of energy, so how is it still working?"

"Ah ha, here it is." Kilowog shouted as he pulled out a large object. "It's moments like these why I always keep a spare." The large alien turned around holding the large object. It was shaped like a lantern and had the same green glow as the ring. "This is a Green Lantern battery, to make sure you don't run out of energy."

"Is there a right way to do it?"

Killowog rolled his eyes "This isn't magic, just hold your ring up and it'll charge."

Hal looked skeptical before doing as instructed. "Alright, now how does this thing work?"

"It's actually pretty simple, just imagine something and it'll do that."

"It can't be that simple. Look, I'm a pilot and I was always told to test something before using it. So I'll have to stay until I learn how it works."

Open Plain; Bolovax Vik

The night sky above Bolovax Vik shined green as two figures flew above its surface. Hal Jordan and Kilowog hovered over several open plains in Bolovax Vik, testing out the ring. Hal was holding the power battery in one hand to keep his ring charged. The two Lanterns then gave a turn to avoid the side of a cliff, causing Hal to almost drop the battery.

"You know, I always keep my battery stuck to my belt" Kilowog stated "I recommend you do the same."

"Don't you think you might need it?" Hal asked, looking back at Kilowog. Suddenly, the green glow surrounding Hal faded and he began to fall. Killowog flew down and grabbed Hal by the wrist before they hit the ground.

"Never lose focus" Kilowog scolded Hal "Come on, I need to show you something else."

The two landed on a canyon, Kilowog walked up to a nearby rock before placing a mark on it.

"Alright" he said "I've placed a mark on that rock over there. The ring is powered by the energy of Will-Power, the stronger your Will-Power is the more power your ring becomes. What I want you to do is blast the rock on the mark."

Hal pointed the ring to the rock and began to focus. Closing his eyes, he pictured his fight with the Manhunter in his head. When he opened his eyes, a beam of green light shot from the ring, disintegrating the rock in the process.

"Wow" Hal stepped back as he noticed the giant whole in the side of the cliff. "Sorry, I guess the blast was more powerful than anticipated."

Camp Site; Bolovax Vik

Hal and Kilowog sat next to a campfire, Kilowog took a large bite out of his meal and began chewing. Hal hesitated for a moment before tasting his, as he slowly began to chew he felt a sensation of delight in his mouth.

"Wow, this stuff is amazing." He stated "I don't know if it's because I haven't eaten solid food for days or something else, but it is great."

Kilowog chuckled a bit "Like I said before, our anatomies are similar so it's no surprise that we like the same food."

The two continued eating before a bright light began to shine over them. The two turned, shielding their eyes, their rings at the ready should it be a Manhunter.

"Kilowog" a voice shouted, the light then began to dim and they noticed a large number of creatures similar to Kilowog only they were wearing strange uniforms "You know the rules, no aliens are allowed on the planet, now step aside."

"I never agreed to ANY of your rules, General" Kilowog shouted back "and neither did any of my predecessors. It's my duty to…"

"We are here to protect our own, and make sure no threats come from the outside. I would have thought you Green Lanterns understood that by now. You stated the alien would leave as soon as he recovered and since he's recovered he has to leave." The General responded bitterly.

Hal stepped forward "Kilowog saved my life, I'd be dead if it wasn't for him."

"Then maybe he should have left you to die in the vacuum of space." The General shouted "That ring of yours might translate our language, but you have no idea of the amount of damage you're causing with your mere presence. RESTRAIN HIM!"

Kilowog pushed Hal back, holding his ring forward to form a barrier between them and the officers. "You're not taking him anywhere, General."

The General positioned himself to arrest both before one of the officers tapped him on the shoulder.

"Sir" the officer spoke "Look."

The General and remaining officers looked up and his eyes widened in horror.

"MANHUNTERS" he shouted before turning to face the Lanterns. "Now, look what you did."

"How was I supposed to know they would follow me here?" Kilowog shouted.

"We told you something like this would happen, but you didn't listen. NOW look what you've done, you handed us on a silver platter to the Manhunters."

The general began approaching both Lanterns before a blue beam of energy cut through his body, slicing him in half. The group began to scramble as more and more Manhunters descended onto the surface of the planet.

Hal and Kilowog used their rings to fend off the Manhunters, though they began to struggle as more of them descended on them. Hal charged at one of them before being knocked on the ground.

Groaning, Hal attempted to rise to his feet, but then noticed a group of Manhunters swarming Kilowog.

"KILOWOG" Hal screamed, causing his ring to shine brighter than before. Hal then shot a beam at the Manhunters, destroying a large number of them before rushing to aid his fellow Lantern.

Hal turned to see even more Manhunters closing in on them, surrounding the officers and killing several of them. With regret, Hal lifted Kilowog onto his shoulder and blasted off into the atmosphere, letting the Manhunters claim the planet.