Knight of Wonder
Act II
Scene 3: A New Accord
The spires of New Genesis glittered in the white light of the nearby dwarf star that hung high in the sky. There was a time when John Stewart would have stopped to marvel at the impressiveness of the sight. On this particular day, however, he could stop his progress for nothing.
The enormous domed palace of the leaders of the New Gods loomed larger in his vision until the green plinth he was crouching on brought him down gently in front of the austere building. As the plinth vanished back inside his ring, John brought himself up to full height while the wealthy and influential citizens of New Genesis looked at him with a mixture of awe and suspicion. Their whispers were not entirely inaudible. The talk ranged anywhere from inquiries as to what a member of the Lantern Corps was doing all the way out here on New Genesis to wonder at the change is skin color of the human Lantern. Comments like these used to be a source of extreme irritation for John. After a keen explanation from Clark on the subject, however, John had come to the realization that the citizens of New Genesis literally had never seen a black man before. Still, that did little to get him out from beneath the shadow of Hal Jordan.
As he approached, John was relieved to see that the guards recognized him as they swung the massive stone doors of the dome open with an almost supernatural seeming strength. It all looked impressive, John knew, but it was nothing but the lower gravity of the planet that allowed them to perform such heroic seeming feats of strength. The same was true on Earth with Clark's ability to "fly."
John walked briskly and with purpose as the statues of the various New Gods drifted through his peripheral vision. The many sumptuously dressed movers and shakers of the New Genesis leadership parted ways as the unstoppable force of John's stride carved a swath through them until John reached the audience chamber, a massive circular room filled with light from opening in the ceiling. The grand throne at the far end marked High Father's seat of judgment, and judgmental he looked as he sat there, a fist buried in one cheek and his other hand twirled an end of his long, forked, white beard. A counselor was whispering in his ear but quickly broke off upon noticing John's entry.
"Lantern Stewart, this is an unexpected honor!" High Father greeted in his deep, booming voice which echoed around the halls magisterially.
"Cut the crap, Santa Claus," John spat back in his equally deep but noticeably lower tone. "I'm here about the man you saw fit to trade sons with."
"Darkseid? What's he done now?" High Father asked, sounding oddly coy.
"Don't play stupid with me. The Lantern Corps sees more than you think. For instance, we know all about Darkseid's fleet buildup and the deployments they've made in the direction of Earth. In fact, with your proximity to Apokolips, you should have been the first to notice this! Why did we not receive warning about this?"
High Father's face grew suddenly grave. He waved his counselor away and the counselor obliged, giving a deep bow before he vanished behind one of the many doors in the hall. "I'm afraid I don't like your tone, young man," High Father sternly warned. "What are you implying?"
"I am implying nothing," John backed off. "New Genesis and Apokolips are celestial neighbors. There's nothing Darkseid can do over there that you guys won't already know about way before us. Oa, on the other hand, is millions of miles away from you two. So I just want to know how it is that Darkseid had to go zipping his ships across our observable space for us to find out about this instead of receiving advanced warning about it per our agreement."
High Father finally stopped twiddling his beard and leaned forward on his throne, ostensibly to look down upon his underling. Then he heaved a great sigh and said, "John, my boy, I'm afraid there is a new agreement in place."
John raised an eyebrow. "And what new agreement would that be?"
High Father sat back in his chair as the doors around the hall echoed as they banged open. Out of them came the liveried guards of New Genesis, resplendent in their golden battle helms, spiked armor and flowing purple capes. "You are right to point out that Apokolips is our neighbor," High Father allowed. "The problem with that, you see, is that we are the first target that Darkseid considers when contemplating an attack after he has rebuilt his forces. Now you can see what a difficult position that puts me in as leader of New Genesis. It is my duty to guarantee my people's safety after all, so I decided to craft a new accord to that end."
John watching unflinchingly as the guards surrounded him. On the inside, however, he could feel a sense of panic starting to creep in. There were too many for him to take on his own. Coming here alone was a mistake. "And just what was in this new accord that could guarantee that Darkseid would leave you alone?" John asked calmly.
"I think the right question to ask, in our particular case, was rather, where else could we focus Darkseid's attention? What target could he possibly value as much as New Genesis?"
The implications of High Father's words were immediate. The only person Darkseid hated more than High Father and the New Gods was almost certainly the one man who had repeatedly frustrated his ambitions over the years: Kal-El. It was with this in mind that John grudgingly answered High Father with, "You're talking about Earth." High Father nodded and John was forced to ask skeptically, "So you forged a new agreement where instead of fighting your enemy you would team up with him to take down one of your staunchest allies?"
"No, Lantern Stewart, we forged a new agreement where Darkseid would spare New Genesis and march on Earth, and in return, New Genesis would do… nothing."
"Nothing?" John repeated. "Well I'm afraid I can't do nothing when it comes to the defense of my home planet!"
"I understand that, Lantern Stewart, I really do," High Father said with genuine lament in his voice. "But you must try to see it from my point of view. I'm sorry that it had to work out this way, but for our safety's sake, this is how it must be."
"Oh, I understand alright!" John roared. "I understand you sold us down the river for political expediency and mark my words, it's only a matter time before, oof!" John's words were cut off by a swift strike to the gut from the lance of one of the guardsmen.
More followed and the resulting beating forced John to the ground as High Father said, "Perhaps you're right Lantern Stewart, but we've bought ourselves time against our foe, and while he grows weak fighting Earth, we shall grow strong. Strong enough to defy Darkseid should he turn and set his sights on New Genesis. Until such a day as that, however, you can see why I cannot realistically allow you to leave New Genesis to spread word of this accord."
John had just enough time to look up and yell, "You traitor!" before another lance strike forced him back down. After sufficiently beating him down, the guards grabbed John by the shoulders and lifted him to his knees in order to drag him off, presumably to the dungeons.
"Take heart, Lantern Stewart, your imprisonment will not be forever. While the destruction of your planet is lamentable, you may yet come to see that we do this for the greater good," High Father suggested.
As he was dragged into the dark passage leading to the dungeons, all Green Lantern John Stewart could do was roar in defiance.