Brittany stared doubtfully at the sky. "Are you really sure this'll work?" She felt like such a nutcase. Though it was more Amber who was the nutcase here. "Where the hell'd you get a light that big, anyway?"
"Borrowed it from Jack, downstairs," Amber responded. Her hands were on her hips and there was a satisfied smile on her face as she gazed up at her creation: a Blue Lantern symbol projected onto the clouds of the night sky. Brittany took one look at her all-too-pleased face and sighed. If anyone saw them up on the roof with the silly signal light she would never live it down.
Five minutes passed, during which Amber sat patiently waiting and Brittany fidgeted nonstop, constantly looking around to see if anyone was out to spot them. The more time she spent out there, the less she liked what she was doing...not that she'd liked it to begin with. She wrapped her coat around herself a little more tightly and began to pace around the rooftop. Amber glanced at her, then returned her gaze to the sky. Brittany frowned and opened her mouth, about to announce her intention to go inside and get out of the cold.
The words died on her lips as a flash of blue light suddenly lit up the rooftop, and then a slim female alighted beside the signal light. The Blue Lantern symbol glowed on her chest, and the light from her ring cast sharp shadows behind the two young women.
"Finally!" Amber jumped to her feet before the Blue Lantern could more than open her mouth. "You're Saleen, right? I'm Amber and this is Brittany. We're friends of Janet. There's something weird going on here."
Saleen blinked, looking a little stunned at Amber's rush of words, and Brittany immediately sympathized. She seemed to recover quickly, though, as she nodded. "I am indeed Saleen, Blue Lantern of-well, the only Blue Lantern in this universe right now, I suppose. Green Lantern Janet has spoken of you both before. What is...weird?" She spoke the word strangely, as if it were unfamilar to her.
Brittany stepped in before Amber could go off again, digging the item out of her pocket and holding it out. "I found this in an alley, like someone dropped it. It doesn't look terrestrial in origin. And there was something poking around farther back, though I couldn't see more than a big, hulking shape."
Saleen took the item as Brittany described the encounter, turning it about and holding it close to her eyes. Brittany couldn't help studying her, as well; it was one thing to hear Janet talking about meeting and working with aliens, and quite another to be standing next to one. She wasn't quite sure what she had been expecting, but Saleen somehow seemed to be unexpected, and yet at the same time perfectly logical. She was as tall as a tall woman-about Brittany's height, in fact-but a great deal slimmer. Her body shape wasn't quite human, but similar enough that it would not stand out in a crowd. She didn't seem to have a nose, either, and her indigo-colored eyes had slit pupils, like a cat's. Her hair was the same color, and it hung loose to about halfway down her back.
Saleen's mouth turned to a frown as she studied the item. "Then it is not my imagination," she murmured. "There truly is something on Earth."
"What sort of something?" Amber asked. "What is that?"
Saleen handed the item back to Brittany. "I am not certain, but I agree that it is not terran. I have found markings similar to those on this object on other planets...destroyed planets, with ruins of lost civilizations."
"Destroyed planets?" Brittany echoed Saleen, her mind trying to catch up. Amber seemed to make the connection much faster.
"Are you suggesting that we've got a possible invasion on our hands?"
"I am not certain..." Saleen's gaze flitted between the two human women. "But it is a distinct possibility. I came to Earth because I was picking up some strange energy signatures here, in several locations. They were very similar to the signature of the rift we came through into this universe."
"So some sort of dimensional transport system?" Brittany asked. "Yeah, I'd say that sounds like an invasion. What are we going to do about it?"
Saleen tilted her head, her expression seeming to indicate she was thinking. "I do not think we can do much at this moment except wait and see what will happen. I will continue to monitor Earth...and I will keep in contact with you both. It will be good to know that there is someone I can speak with here."
"You know where to find us." Amber grinned.