Episode 2

Lantern's Light

Chapter Four

2005

Earth. It had been so long since he had seen it, years in fact. It was only now that he realised how much he missed it, but not only that, but he saw how much he himself had changed.

He wasn't sure it was for the best either. He and the other Lanterns had been so close to blasting away half of the planet just because of one android. All of those people would have died, just because they had thought said android had destroyed Oa.

But it hadn't. This Amazo android had simply moved it elsewhere and now it was back, they were moving off out of the system as though nothing was wrong, as though they hadn't been ready to murder a planet to get at one android.

He looked to his left as Hirunan and another Lantern, Salaak, flew up beside him.

"Something wrong?" Hirunan asked. "You look down."

He shook his head slowly. "I can't believe we were going to blow up Earth."

Salaak took objection to that. "We weren't going to blow up your homeworld, Kyle."

"Not too badly, anyway," Hirunan added, her voice devoid of any humour.

Salaak glared at the purple woman for a moment, before addressing Kyle. "We thought Earth was doomed anyway. Better to destroy it there, with half the planet, then let the thing continue on and destroy more worlds."

"But it didn't destroy anything," Kyle pointed out.

"We know that now," Salaak said. "We didn't when we chased the thing here. I'm still not sure we should leave the thing unchecked though."

"I think the Justice League are keeping an eye on Amazo, now," Kyle said, glancing back to Sol, which was now just another dot in the sea of stars.

"Correction," Hirunan began, "that guy in the gold mask is keeping an eye on the robot."

Salaak then added, "I don't trust extra-dimensional beings such as that Doctor Fate. I think it was a mistake leaving such a powerful entity in that sorcerer's hands."

Kyle didn't agree. "We couldn't force it to come along and we don't have a reason to fight him anymore. Besides if Superman's okay with him staying with Fate, then so am I."

"Him?" Salaak questioned. "It's a genderless robot, Rayner."

"I know that," he said. "All I'm saying is that this whole thing was a mess. We should never have gotten that close to blowing up a planet. Remember how John Stewart was nearly executed for being falsely accused of doing that. Now imagine if a force of us did that? The whole universe might turn against us."

"It was a mistake, I agree," Hirunan said.

"We can all agree on that," Salaak defended. "It's just that sometimes you have to make decisions that seem evil for the greater good."

Kyle didn't buy it. "If that's what being a Lantern is about, then I don't want a part of it. I didn't sign up for this. I might as well return to Earth and throw my ring in the sea if this is how things are gonna go."

"You seemed alright with it before," Salaak snapped at him.

"Yes, but we nearly destroyed a planet because of an assumption," he shouted back. "I'm done with this," he said as he peeled off from the group and flew off into the void.

"Kyle!" Hirunan shouted after him.

"Let him go," Salaak said. "He'll come to his senses eventually."

Salaak moved over to a group of other Lanterns, while Hirunan kept her gaze on where she had last seen Kyle.

"Wait-up," she said to herself as she moved away from the group and flew after him.

Kyle sat on the edge of the ridge, looking out across the barren vista of the uninhabitable planet.

He was protected by a forcefield projected by his ring. How he didn't run out of oxygen within seconds, he didn't know. What he did know was that it did eventually run out, though that wouldn't happen for quite some time.

His thoughts fell onto Earth, onto what he had left behind. Sure, his job at the Daily Planet sucked, but there was so much that didn't. Music, TV, movies, Videogames. He had left it all. Sure, there was music and TV and movies of sorts out here, but they weren't the same.

As for video games, the closest thing he'd seen was simulations. And while he had always dreamed of having the game surround him in all three dimensions and to be able to fully interact with it, he missed just sitting down and playing something.

Also, the simulations were just that. He hadn't had the opportunity to use one for fun. Always training or scenario role-play where he always played the role of what he was; a Green Lantern.

But now he wanted it more than ever. He wanted to be done with this. The possibility of them killing billions had been a very real reality today and that scared him. It made him feel sick.

He looked up as he saw something moving quickly towards him from above. It was obvious it was another Green Lantern, but who was it?

He got his answer as the figure drew near. It was Hirunan.

"Wow you can move fast," she said as she landed on the rocky ridge next to where he sat.

"I want to be alone, Hiru," he said softly.

She sat down next to him without saying a word and stared out across the rocky planet.

The two of them remained there for several minutes before Hirunan turned to face him.

"Want to talk about it?" she asked him.

"Not particularly," came his response.

"Are you really thinking of quitting?"

He turned his gaze away from the rocky tundra and looked her right in the eyes. "I would have done it, Hiru."

"It bothers you, doesn't it?"

His face screwed up in disgust. "Doesn't it bother you?"

"The chance was sixteen percent that we would blow away the atmosphere. eleven percent that it would destroy half the planet."

"And one-hundred percent likely that we would have destroyed the east coast of the United States. We should not have that kind of power, Hiru."

"When the bad guys have too much power, there need to be good guys to stop them."

"The good guys don't blow up planets."

"And we didn't," she pointed out.

"We came closer than we had any right to."

"But we didn't. Earth's still there and Oa wasn't destroyed."

"I know that, but it could have turned out so differently. We can't ever let ourselves get into a position where destroying an innocent planet ever again."

"We can all look forward to the Guardians saying the same thing," she said, looking up at the sky. "We're all going to get a good talking too, I can guarantee it."

Kyle shook his head as he looked out towards the horizon. "We deserve to get more than a good talking to, after what we nearly did."

Hirunan stood up. "Come on Kyle, we should probably go catch the others up."

"You go, I'm gonna stay here a while longer."

"I'm not leaving without you."

He slowly stood up and dusted off his pants, even though they weren't dirty. "Fine, let's get out of here."

The two of them took off and shot up into the sky.

Mid 2007

Kyle stood talking to Arkkis and Galius in the corridor. It had been forever since the incident where they had pursued Amazo to Earth. Things since had been relatively quiet, though there were rumblings regarding the Gordanians, with several skirmishes between them and the Green Lantern corps.

Galius and Arkkis were having a heated discussion about something. What exactly, Kyle didn't know because he wasn't really paying attention. He had stopped listening when Hirunan had stepped into the room and started talking to Gorish.

Kyle tried to muster up the courage to go talk to her. He knew he shouldn't be nervous, he had known her for a while now. But he had started to develop feelings for her and as a result, he had begun to feel nervous around her.

It was stupid and childish, he knew that. It was frustrating to him that he couldn't just tell her how he felt. Instead, he could see their friendship starting to fall apart because he was too afraid and found it increasingly more difficult to talk to her.

He needed to just put that aside and go for it. If she turned him down, then she turned him down. He wouldn't let this ruin the friendship they had developed any longer. He needed to know and not be stuck in the rut of uncertainty he currently found himself in.

"Rayner, tell him he's wrong," Galius said, pulling Kyle out of his reverie.

"What?" Kyle asked with a frown.

Galius pointed at Arkkis. "He's wrong."

Kyle shrugged. "I don't know what you're even arguing about. As far as I'm concerned, you're both wrong. Now, if you'll excuse me." Kyle moved off towards Hirunan, leaving the two behind.

As he approached, he became more and more nervous. Mentally, he was scolding himself.

"Hiru," he greeted, "Gorish," he then said to the other alien Lantern.

She smiled at him, making his heart beat faster. It was now or never.

Unfortunately, it wasn't to be. "Who're they?" Gorish asked, pointing at something behind them.

Kyle looked around to see Katma and Kilowog with two others who were not Lanterns. One of the strangers looked human, but out here that could be deceiving. He had long flowing sandy-red hair and was dressed in a white and black outfit. The other was shorter and was more alien with orange skin and short red hair and was walking around in nothing but blue underpants, boots a collar and gauntlets.

"That one's not modest is he," Hirunan commented. "Nice abs, though."

Kyle felt himself start to glare at the nearly nude orange guy, almost out of instinct.

Katma looked over at them, her gaze fierce. Something wasn't right. "You five, Central Meeting Hall, now."

"Understood," Arkkis acknowledged.

The all headed there promptly where they found a substantial gathering of other Lanterns, all stood waiting, though not silently. Everyone was chatting away, causing the room to be filled with the sound of perhaps a few thousand voices overlapping.

Then came the loud sound of something knocking. Everyone went silent as the Guardians all filed in and took their seats, all except one. Then came in the two aliens Kyle had seen with Kilowog and Katma.

The Guardian who remained standing addressed them. "Some disturbing news has become known to us recently. This news could very well prove disastrous for entire galaxies if not dealt with." He stopped and turned to face the two strangers. "Primus, you may begin," he said as he took his seat.

"With thanks," the one with long sandy-red hair said.

Kyle's heart was thumping hard in his chest. The guardians didn't often call a meeting with so many Lanterns present. In fact, he couldn't remember it ever happening before, not while he had been a Lantern at least.

Primus cleared his throat before he began, "I am Primus the leader of the Omega Men. A few days ago we were forced to retreat from the Vega sector after the formation of the Vega Alliance, an alliance between the Citadel, the Psions, Gordanians and Orange Lantern Corps. The Citadel, Psions and Gordanians have always had a loose alliance, but the introduction of the Orange Lanterns has cemented their power and they have truly taken the sector. As we speak planets such as Tamaran fights, but I am not hopeful of their victory."

Kyle noticed that the orange-skinned one looked down towards his feet, his shoulders sagging.

Primus continued. "They have already sent out fleets to bring more sectors to heel under their control. They must be stopped and as the leader of the Omega Men I knew we could not do this alone. Thus I have called on you, the Guardians of the Universe."

The Guardian in the centre stood back up. "This threat has been confirmed and is a threat that must be stopped before it grows too big for us to deal with. It is unfortunate, but we are officially at war with the Vega Alliance."

Kyle gulped hard.

One Week Later

Kyle, Hirunan and Katma hovered in orbit of a blue planet with numerous landmasses with a bustling, growing population.

They were here because a Vega Alliance fleet was supposed to be heading to take this planet and they were here to defend it.

Kyle glanced back at the planet, then to Hirunan and Katma. "Why this planet?" he asked. "They haven't even had their industrial revolution yet. What possible reason would they have to invade here?"

Katma's answer was simple, yet harrowing. "Slaves are slaves. A planet that can't put up a fight is the perfect target. They won't even know what's happening."

Kyle shuddered. He couldn't help but wonder what would happen if an advanced race went to Earth to take it over and enslave the population? Truth be told, he didn't want to think about it.

Hirunan held out her ring. "Picking up the frequencies of hyperspace. Looks like the fleet will be here in the next few moments."

"Get ready," Katma said. "We don't know what kind of fleet we'll be dealing with."

Kyle held out his ring, ready to use it. "Let's hope we can deal with it."

"If we can't, then we leave and report," Hirunan said.

There were flashes in the distance, indicating multiple ships entering normal space.

"It's a fleet alright," Katma said as she scanned with her ring. "I've identified what I believe are Gordanian and Citadel ships from the information that we were given from the Omega Men. But there're ships I can't identify up at the front of the pack. Twenty in all."

"Psion?" Hirunan questioned.

"We'll find out soon," Kyle said. "It looks like the unknowns are leading the fleet."

"You're right," Katma said, after confirming it herself. "Either they are in charge of the fleet or they are the pawns."

"You think we can take 'em?" Kyle asked.

"Twenty ships and three Lanterns?," Katma began, slowly shaking her head. "No, the best we can hope for is that they decide fighting us is too much trouble and leave. An actual fight with twenty warships isn't one we're going to win, not head on."

"So we run away?" Kyle said.

"No, we wait and see what they do," Katma told him.

The three of them waited in orbit as the fleet slowly approached. All of them were anxious but willing to defend themselves if it came to that.

Katma held up her ring. "I'm receiving a hail from the lead ship," he told the other two.

"Same," Hirunan added, while Kyle simply nodded.

"Let's see what they have to say," Katma said. The three of them held out their rings and formed the same green projection. It was a woman in an elaborate outfit. Her features were washed out by the green of the projection. What they could see, however, was her expression. It was evident by the smug grin on her face that she knew she had the upper hand here.

The woman spoke, "I am Queen Kommand'r, the rightful ruler of Tamaran, a new member world of the Vega Alliance. You will step aside and leave the system or you will be destroyed."

The call ended with that and the three of them glanced at each other.

Katma was the first to speak. "We're leaving."

Hirunan folded her arms. "You sure we should. Those people down there don't stand a chance."

"We have to report that the Tamaran is now part of the Vega Alliance," Katma told them firmly. "As I said, we're leaving."

Katma flew off, followed by Hirunan. Kyle took one last glance down at the planet. A planet that had no idea aliens existed, still got around by riding animals and lived in stone houses. They were defenceless, they had no hope.

He tried to force it out of his mind as he followed Katma and Hirunan out of the system.

Kyle didn't know what the future held, but he was apprehensive of what was to come and sadness for those that were going to fall and be enslaved by them.

He wanted to stay and fight, to defend those that were defenceless. But Katma was right. They couldn't win this particular battle and they needed to report on Tamaran joining the Vega Alliance.

A/N

If you know who Hirunan is, then kudos to you. She isn't an OC, but she has only appeared in two things ever (at the point of writing this). Once in Justice League Unlimited and a few times in Batman: The Brave and the Bold (Is that what it was called? I never watched it) I used the character because I wanted someone who wasn't a main Lantern, but I also didn't want to create yet another OC. So I developed a character that has no real identity beyond a name and character design. Also, her developing relationship with Kyle wasn't at all planned. I just had them interact and it sort of went from there.

Also, Valonberry Brew is completely made up as are most of the planet names.

Updated January 2018