"Is robbing a bank really all that profitable anymore?" I posed this question over my communicator as I created an on ramp that looped around and lead towards me, intent on stopping the high speed chase that followed after a bank robbery in Coast City.
"Why wouldn't it be?" Kara's voice was transmitted over my ring and into my ear, for she was getting an injured bank teller to the hospital.
"Digital banking? They don't hold money in the banks anymore." The unsuspecting bank robbers weren't given a chance to avoid the ramp as I made it single lane and right under their vehicle. I added bumpers to the sides so they wouldn't try anything stupid like drive off and flip their car, risking their lives to escape me.
"Yes they do, Shepard." I rolled my eyes as the driver sped up when he realized they were trapped, causing him to rub against the bumpers as he went around and around, looping up my spiral ramp.
"Okay, I meant to say they don't hold nearly as much. Especially since this wasn't a bank for the rich. Banks these days tend to only carry between fifty to two hundred thousand dollars, based on how much they are anticipating for their daily transactions. Most people just use cards now." The vehicle was getting closer to me now, and I stuck out my hand in anticipation.
"I mean maybe they aren't looking to get rich? Maybe they just needed an extra $10k for their kids college fund or something." I smiled at her attempt at seeing the good in people, but also because when the car met my hand, it stopped dead in it's tracks. As I liked to do, I projected a force-field around the car to absorb a lot of the impact, preventing the car from folding around me and killing it's occupants.
When the car was stopped, I brought the vehicle back to street level and removed the tires. The four perps inside promptly stepped out, which I allowed them to do, and they levelled their weapons at me.
"So, why are you guys robbing a bank in the age of digital banking anyway? How much did you actually get?" They didn't answer, but instead just started opening fire on me. Though I was a bit nervous about it, I wanted to test how effective my personal force-field was, and only put a shield up behind me to protect innocent bystanders from stray rounds.
They fired at me with mostly automatic weapons, but one of them had a shotgun. Each round that hit me did no damage and made basically no dent in my rings power consumption. On top of that, each round of ammunition didn't ricochet off me, but instead, were effected by the anti-gravitons that I use to fly, and dropped harmlessly to the ground after making contact. I loved that. Almost as much as I loved how my ring was feeding me tactile information to inform me of when and where I and the constructed barrier I made behind me, was hit. It even gave me information on the types of ammunition used and what weapon it was fired from. I loved data. And there was so much data.
I gave them a few seconds, and then decided that it had been long enough. I projected the flat emoji from my lens as I created two plasma casters, the shoulder mounted cannons from Predator, on my shoulders, and formed the laser targeting system normally associated with the use of that weapon in the movies and games on my head. I created a Heads Up Display in my vision to act like a video game HUD and willed the green laser to target each perp. Instead of the triangle symbol that would normally be depicted when the plasma casters would have a lock, I instead had the Green Lantern symbol form around the locked targets. When the four targets were locked, I fired the shoulder mounted weapons, and instead of actual plasma, I wasn't looking to kill these guys, they fired electrified bean bag rounds. Each perp was hit square in the chest and lightly tased before hitting the pavement. Again, each bag projected a force-field around each criminal before they hit the ground, to avoid any accidental head injuries. They also got heavier, holding them in place as I waited for CCPD to come and make the arrest.
I floated over to the car and pulled out the bags they had stuffed full of cash. Using the ring to measure the weight of the bag and scanned images of the bills, it concluded there was about eighty-thousand dollars in total. I whistled, having never seen that much money in one place before. Or hell, having that much in my bank account. I had been broke most my life, just scraping by. My parents were alright at some point, but... things happen.
Still, even with this amount, getting a house in B.C would still be out of reach. Would need to rob about 20 more banks before you could afford to live there.
"So how much did they get?" Kara's voice came over the ring and I briefly thought about lying to her. I didn't want the money for myself, I wanted to give it to my mom. Most of it anyway. The rest would go to some people I knew who could really use it. Like Emily.
Don't be stupid. The crooks, the bank, and the police, will know how much was taken. This isn't the way.
Sighing out loud, I decided to listen to the voice in my head and turned to find the CCPD had arrived on scene. I wasn't willing to risk becoming a target for the sum of those bags. Money wasn't going to fix all my problems anyway. Handing off the bag, I longed for a way to put my mom into a better house in a good neighbourhood. I knew I'd have to bide my time, figure out something else. I was starting to worry that having a real job and doing the GL thing was going to be impossible and hoped to talk to the other Earth Green Lanterns sooner rather than later.
"Shepard?"
"Sorry, was just, lamenting."
"The money? Don't sweat it. From what I hear, all Green Lantern's are sheltered and fed on Oa."
"It was eighty grand Kara. I wasn't even going to keep it. So many people I know... it doesn't matter. It'll sit in evidence forever, be used as bait in stings and probably skimmed by corrupt cops. What a waste." Dejected, I left the scene and flew straight up into the sky. It's when I get to about Fifty Thousand feet that I realize how high I was and stop my ascent. "Whoops."
"I do that too sometimes." Kara's statement of understanding drifted in from the right. I turned to face her momentarily, and saw that she was concerned. Likely about me. "Wanna talk about it?"
"How I nearly flew straight into space without considering what I was doing?"
"No, and you weren't that close. Still have another fifty thousand feet give or take."
"Oh, the other thing." Kara hovered closer to me, staying about four feet away, and just watched me as I turned back towards the sky to look at the new moon.
"We don't have to. We ca-"
"-It's fine. My mom will work until she's dead, I don't have a real job and now it's likely I won't be working anywhere save the great unknown. Well, unknown to us humans anyway."
"If you want... I can check in on her when you're away." I sighed, wrestling with hope and despair. Sometimes, I hated my brain, and I was having such a good day that I was frustrated with myself for not being able to clear my thoughts.
"Thanks, Kara. You don't need to. My dad's around, he's just... not a lot of help these days." I spark of frustration flashed through my chest and I swallowed it down, like I always did. We floated there in silence for awhile, and my thoughts went back to the hospital.
Emily didn't make a move, or say anything, unsure of how to respond. After a few moments, Michelle nudged her, and urged her to do something. Emily then raised her hand towards the ring, and for the briefest of moments I wanted to pull away. I felt like an asshole, but I wanted to keep being a GL. Despite my speech, I really enjoyed that I could fly, and the prospect of becoming interstellar without having to use rocket ships was pretty amazing. Losing that because somebody was distrusting of us was frustrating. Still, I held out my hand, and let her make the decision.
But then my ring started signalling there was trouble and that I needed to respond. She flinched away when the beeping started, and I knew that meant she was too scared to take it. We looked at each other, eyes locked, searching, seeking for a connection that could bridge the gap between us. I wasn't sure if we found it, but she shook her head, thanked me for saving her, and focused on Lucy and OJ. I had released a breath I hadn't known I was holding and slid the ring back on. I said goodbye to the kids, gave well wishes to all that needed it and Michelle shook my hand, thanking me. She clearly appreciated the gesture.
"Do you understand people?" I finally broke the silence and Kara put her finger to her chin, contemplating my question.
"I guess that depends. I would say sometimes, I do, despite being from another world. Other times, definitely find them to be a frustrating puzzle."
"Don't chalk that up to being alien, I feel the same way. Although sometimes I feel like I'm an alien." Looking to Kara, I saw that she seemed to be scanning me. I wondered if she had more than X-Ray vision, and decided to remove my cybernetic eye since we were alone.
"Other than that ring, there's nothing alien about you, Shepard." She looked back up to my face and gave me an apologetic smile. I stored away the information that she was clearly capable of seeing way more than anybody was aware of.
"That would be too easy of an answer." I sighed and looked back up to the moon. "Earth is so messed up. Sometimes I wonder if all creatures are like us, or at least species that resemble us closely like Kryptonians, or if everybody else has things figured out."
"I can tell you right now that almost nobody has it all figured out. Every species is just doing there best. Some excel in one area, while those who don't will excel in others. Krypton was scientifically and technologically advanced by thousands of years when compared to Earth. We had our own prejudices, and political and social problems, out dated traditions, though different from Earths, a lot of them were similar in nature."
"So if I want to get away from the bullshit I need to be floating in the void."
"Basically. But every so often you'll run into a cosmic entity that might try to eat you or a planet, or something along those lines."
"Yeah. No rest for the wicked." I stared at the Moon, wondering what exactly was the point? Was life just chaotic by nature? Only capable of any true order when it's forced upon those of the living or was there something else? Why was everything so God damned complicated? Questions like those wracked my brain often. A young man, frustrated and angry with the world for not making more sense, and wanting to make it make sense. "So clearly you've been to space."
"I have." Kara said.
"What's it like?" I turned to her and she shrugged.
"I mean, everybody experiences it differently. Kryptonians can survive the vacuum of space when powered by the sun, but even just between Kal and myself, we feel differently about unassisted space travel." I cocked my head to the side and leaned in. "Okay, well, Kal says it doesn't really bother him that much, and he has no problem being in space for extended periods of time, but I don't find it to be all that comfortable. I find that Martian Manhunter feels the same way about it. The one thing he and I agree on is that it's way more quiet, but he thinks it's too lonely."
"It is called 'The Void' after all." I turned back towards the Moon. "Sounds peaceful."
"It can be."
"Want to go to the Moon with me? I've never been. Besides, I have questions about how you Kryptonians survive in space." I stuck my hand out to Kara, inviting her to join me off planet.
"It would be my pleasure." She takes my hand, and we started towards the Moon.
As we got higher and higher my ring was feeding me data. How high we were, how thin the air was getting, but it was different seeing the transition from Earth's atmosphere to space. Due to light pollution the stars aren't normally visible from the city, but there were some in the distance that were visible now. Looking around me, I could see in the distance the gaseous film that made up our atmosphere and where it ended. Well visibly ended to the naked eye. Looking down on the Earth, the City was just apart of a landscape, distinguishable only by the faintest traces of light, which of course were sprinkled across the landmass of North America.
I turned back around to focus on our destination and heard Kara take a deep breath. I grew somewhat concerned, but she has stated she's been to space and can survive out here, so I trusted that she knew what she was doing. My thoughts on her actions were cut short as the wind resistance, as little of it as there was up here, and the sound of air, along with all other ambient noise, faded away.
I dared not mutter a sound, for I wanted to fully grasp just how quiet it was. As a person that loves music, and is normally around some kind of sound, even if it is just the whir of my desktop computer, the engine of a car driving by, kids playing at a nearby park, people conversing, or other ambient noises from the city. Let's not forget mother nature, birds chirping, leaves crunching, the sound of water in a river rushing down to the ocean. On top of that, I normally had thoughts running a mile a minute, so peace and quiet in my own head was rare, but when I crossed that barrier, everything just stopped. I had never known true silence. It was peaceful, and I almost cried from how beautiful it was.
It donned on me just how empty space looked. It felt like if I let go of Kara's hand, I wouldn't stop going, and would eventually drift off into nothing forever. Absentmindedly I had ended up clenching Kara's hand as a way to feel anchored to something, not noticing until she returned the gesture.
It only took us a few minutes to get to the Moon. If we were going full tilt, we would have gotten here in seconds, but I was glad we took our time. Touching down on the surface, the ring reminded me how cold it could get during the moon's two week night cycle and it made me consider what my blonde companion said about being uncomfortable in space.
Looking over to her, she was staring at the Earth behind us, which caused me to let go of her hand so I could do the same, and we both turned to fully face the world I was born on. I was not ready for that experience, but I will always cherish it.
Words could not escape my lips, for I was enthralled, engrossed, spellbound, any word synonymous with being in complete awe, in all of Earth's languages and all the others throughout the cosmos, still wouldn't be enough to explain what it was like to see Earth for the first time, in person, from the moon. At least not enough for one born on Earth.
I was extremely lucky to have picked that day to go see what it was like for myself. It was a Full Earth, and yes, for those of you that don't know, Earth has phases like the Moon when being observed from said lunar body. Therefore, Earth was on full display, colours of blue, brown and white made up the planets visage, lit up by the Sun's rays. It was about 4 times the size of the moon in our sky, making the large blue marble a true spectacle to behold. Looking at it, from that perspective, on that rock in nothing space, I finally started to peak into the truth of existence, even though I still didn't fully understand it yet.
"It's like when you're small you think your parents are giants and when you get older you realize they are just like you. The world was so big, but still a little too crowded, and yet, here it is, this small orb in this infinite universe of nothing. How impossible is that? Yeah sure there are other species out there, countless I'm sure, but still the rarity of life in all the universe, even if there are trillions upon trillions, with how vast space is, this is lunacy. We only have two planets in this system that have or had life. Mars and Earth. It's beautiful. Every bit of meaning that we put on ourselves and the importance we put into the belief systems we have are... are they even necessary? The only real meaning of existence is that it was basically a middle finger to the empty void surrounding us, just to prove life could happen, that it could do more than survive but thrive. What matters is we exist at all. Beyond that, it's just padding ourselves with more meaning so we can survive the suffering of life. Nothing wrong with that, it's just... fuck I'm on the Moon! Looking at my home! This is AMAZING!" I felt like my thoughts and mouth couldn't keep up with each other. I shouted at the top of my lungs, whooping like a mad man, and raised my hands in triumph. It was then I noticed that at some point Kara and I had reestablished holding each other's hands, and I felt a little goofy. For the most part I didn't care, I just wanted to enjoy this.
Thankfully, she was grinning at me. Clearly amused by my display.
"This is quite the reaction. I-
"Holy shit!" I didn't mean to interrupt her, but I was taken by surprise when I heard her speak. At the time, I had no idea she could do that.
"What's the matter?" She looked around with an intensity that told me she definitely didn't know what shocked me so much.
"Nothing's the matter. I'm just surprised you can talk in space! Why, but more importantly, HOW?! Matter of fact, let's get into the questions I had for you at the same time. Like, how are you surviving up here? Why'd you take a deep breath while still in Earth's atmosphere? Can you not breathe in space? And what about how you looked at me earlier?"
"Okay, okay! Slow down, Shepard. By Rao, somebody is enthusiastic." I averted my gaze, as she smiles at my obnoxious enthusiasm.
"Eh-heh. Sorry. This is all... so... so..."
"Exciting?"
"Yeah." She shook her head before turning back to Earth.
"Well, first, let's start with breathing. I don't need to do it that often, but it is still necessary to generate power."
"Like throwing a punch, or lifting weights?"
"Yeah, exactly. Now, my strength works differently than you'd think most likely, but-
"Tactile telekinesis?" Kara spun towards me with semi-surprised, semi-amused look.
"Who told?" She said jokingly.
"I saw footage of your cousin lifting things that should have fallen apart due to lack of structural integrity. I know that telekinesis is a real thing due to the few heroes and reported villains that can do it, so I figured it had to be something like that. Either that or magic, and I'm still not convinced on the latter being real." I used my ring make a small scale figure of Superman carrying things like planes, boats, and more importantly buildings.
"Well, you're sort of right, but we'll get more into that later. Despite having that at our disposal, we still have to exert ourselves like most physical beings do when using physical means of lifting, well, anything. That strain is lessened because of our tactile telekinesis, but still, it is necessary. With that said, we breathe, but we don't need to do it as often as other oxygen dependant species. Just like we don't really need to eat or sleep as much, though to the extent of which, neither Kal nor I have tested fully. The reason for this lack of needing similar sustenance is because we gain such sustenance, and our powers, from the Sun."
"So... what you're saying is... you're a plant person?" Kara's jaw dropped as her smile grew, and she pretended to slap my arm as I laughed.
"Rude! We don't pollinate!" I snorted, imagining Kryptonians as plants with faces surrounded by petals and bees coming to get their nectar. But then the thoughts went to the gutter and I shook them from my mind.
"Okay, okay. Please continue." Kara shakes her head, the more relaxed and joyful smile remaining as she went on to explain her powers.
"As I was saying, we Kryptonians absorb massive amounts of Solar Radiation, at least massive in comparison to humans-"
"-and plants." Kara did slap my arm that time.
"Quit interrupting." She giggled and I just raised my hands in surrender. "This is what gives us our powers, and coincidentally, keeps us from freezing to death out here in space. In reality, all Kryptonians truly need to survive is solar radiation from a yellow star. If the star is red, than we become similar to the average human, requiring food, liquid, sleep, etc. However, we live slightly longer and heal just a little bit faster. Although, that could possibly be a result of our advanced medicine and technology."
"Oh! So did Krypton orbit a red sun?" She nodded her head. "Did anybody on Krypton know just how powerful they could be under a yellow star? Seems kind of weird they wouldn't have taken full advantage of that." Kara nodded.
"Yes, actually, we did. Well, not everybody, but the leading scientists of our world did. They kept it a secret, not wanting those bred for war or prone to greed to get any ideas about starting a crusade using the powers granted by a yellow sun. When I say leading scientists by the way, I mean my Father Zor-El and his brother, Kal-El's father, Jor-El, along with maybe two or three others. It was a well kept secret. Now, before you ask any more questions, I would like to pull our train of thought back to what you initially wanted to know." I blushed, producing a sheepish smile, well aware of how I could jump around in conversation.
"Right. Please continue."
"Okay, well in order to expel energy, humans will usually take a breath and exert themselves, expelling air, for almost every physical activity."
"Yeah, breathing is important for everything. Lifting, running, fighting, you name it. You learn how to breath for all forms of physical exertion and your golden."
"True enough. So Kryptonians have a few more abilities at our disposal that most humans don't. Heat Vision being one of the only ones that doesn't require as much air as everything else."
"Didn't think it required any."
"It's mostly just a method of expelling solar energy that we've stored up. So if we aren't near a sun, we could deplete our energy reserves if we use heat vision in excess. Thus, becoming weaker. As for why it requires any air at all? Well, think about meditation, calming your nerves, or even better, pooping." I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Supergirl compared shooting lasers out of her eyes to taking a dump.
"What?!" She burst out laughing when I shouted my surprise.
"Kal's right! Every time!" The mere idea that the Kryptonian cousins pranked every new hero with that joke had me questioning everything. I half expected the Earth to grow arms and a mouth so it can point and laugh at me.
"Yes, I'm sure the look on my face was, or hell still is, priceless. I'm sure it doesn't feel anything like pooping." Kara nodded her head.
"Well no, it doesn't, but think about how you sometimes strain to get everything out. Or, in the case of holding it in until you can make it to the bathroom. Using our heat vision is like opening a dam of solar energy."
"You realize all I can think of now is you having bowel movements from your eyes." Kara made a face that looked like she threw up in her mouth a little, but still had a bit of a laugh about it.
"Ugh, that is putrid. Sorry about that." I shook my head.
"No need to apologize. How about we move on." She nodded while trying to hold in further laughter. I couldn't help but chuckle myself.
"Okay. So heat vision expels a lot of solar energy, but takes the least amount of breath control to manage, while Cold breath on the other hand..." she turns her head away from me and quickly blows air out of her lungs. I wasn't expecting to see anything, but some how this frosty, ice blue, and white, cloud came out of her mouth. It floated around for a bit before separating, the particles going off in their own directions. "...requires the most oxygen, and the least solar energy."
"Basically compressed air. It's like a can of compressed air when you flip it upside down. You have air forced out of a narrow enough space it cools. Because you're a humanoid and have super powers, also probably because of your latent psychic abilities, you can store large quantities of air, and then compress it all so it freezes when it comes out. That's amazing."
"Exactly. After that, everything else requires much less air and solar radiation, but still does require it. Now, we may breath in a similar manner to humans, but we aren't prone to oxygen poisoning, so we can over saturate our bodies with O2, like you just mentioned, in order to survive space, and have some left over to generate our powers."
"I still have so many questions." Kara laughed but placed her finger against my lips to silence me. I blushed slightly, and she didn't seem to notice.
"No doubt about how I was able to breath cold breath out here in space. That one I'm going to leave a mystery for now. Let's keep focused, okay?" I dumbly nodded, and she removed her finger, and pulled her hand away with a slight tinge of red showing in her cheeks. Apparently, she had noticed. "Sorry."
"Don't be. Please, continue." She takes a moment, brushing her long golden locks behind her ear, before blinking her eyes a bit as she shook her head. She raised her hands to her arms, and began to rub them, making me wonder if she was starting to feel cold. Not wanting to interrupt her, I wordlessly gave her a personal shield of her own, which surprised her a bit. "You looked cold."
"I wasn't. Just... no matter. Thank you." I gave her a salute. "Alright, well, where was I."
"Surviving in space, talking in space, avoiding how you can generate cold breath in negative one hundred and thirty-seven degree weather." She nodded.
"Right. So, the solar energy that fuels our powers keeps us warm, and using air to exert ourselves, and expelling that energy, is how we travel, fight, talk, among other things, in space. As for actually making sound... well think about it like this. We still expel air to make sound, even on Earth, but we can talk under water as well. How?"
"Well sound requires vibrations, so under water you probably are just speaking so forcefully that the water doesn't impede you're speech. Up here... I don't know. More psychic stuff?" She claps her hands.
"Exactly. Kal never fully understood how his powers worked, and until just before I arrived on Earth, he had discovered that he didn't need an oxygen mask to communicate in space, let alone survive extended periods of time there. So, when I was trying to figure out what to do with myself, I ran experiments with him, mainly because I was too scared to come out here for awhile, to test how our abilities worked. My father had mentioned how a yellow sun would affect us before... before my world died... But he never really explained how any of it worked. I don't know that he even knew. After a few days I figured out how our strength worked, and there for, our nigh-invulnerability, and then how we can make the breath we expel last long enough in space to make vibrations and communicate." My eyes threatened to pop out of their skull as everything started to click for me. I'm sure the ring would have prevented my eyes from actually popping out but still, I don't think they had ever been so close to just rolling out of the socket in my life.
"A psychic aura or shell around your body. Similar to the rings personal force-field currently around mine. Only mine is visible, at least where it is outlining me anyway. Which means when you catch people when they are falling at terminal velocity, you probably still use mathematical equations to avoid hurting them but the minute you make contact with a person or object-"
"-our psychic aura, or shell, extends to what we are touching, especially when we intend on moving it."
"Which is why you can lift a building above your head without it crumbling apart."
"Precisely." As we nerded out over her powers and how they scientifically worked, we had subconsciously floated closer to one another. Just staring into each other's eyes, a passion for the discoveries, the revelations. Only being pulled out of it when we floated to close, bumping into each other, causing our insecurities to flare and pull away.
We both went to apologize, but stopped, not wanting to interrupt the other. We stayed quiet for a moment, looking away from each other. Too embarrassed to say or do anything. I definitely was starting to like this girl, but dashed those thoughts from my mind.
Why? You two clearly like each other. Nerds of a feather should flock together kid. Go for it Joe!
I shook out the little voice in my head. It wasn't the time to fancy a superhero. I barely knew her. Besides, the first time she met me I was carrying her hero's corpse and wearing his ring. How could she look at me without thinking about that.
I convinced myself that there wasn't a chance and that I was just letting my hormones get the better of me. Instead, I tried focusing on something else, which didn't take long since there was still the matter of the investigation Supergirl and Captain Atom had conducted with each other the night prior.
"Not so subtle segue, and honestly I'd rather not have to talk about this but it's kind of important, but can you fill me in on what you and Captain Atom found last night? If anything at all?" Kara's nervous smile and demeanour vanished at the mention of the events of last night. Her shoulders slumped a bit and she crossed her arms. Definitely attempting to sooth herself.
"Well, other than Hal's body, we found nothing at the crash site, and since the fight definitely took place in space, there isn't much evidence left behind. We wouldn't even know where to look, and we looked. We checked all of Sol and the surrounding systems. Nothing." I frowned as Supergirl's dejection grew. I sighed.
"Looks like I should have gone with you after all. Kind of stupid of me to focus on notifying Carol when I don't even know the woman. I wasn't even that useful. Would have been more so if I had gone with you."
"Don't beat yourself up over it. You said yourself that it was your first day, and after our misunderstanding, you felt drained. If you had spent the majority of the night flying around with us, you probably would have just passed out before getting passed Saturn."
"Yeah, I guess. Still, I'll look more into it soon. Maybe my ring and I can pick up something you guys couldn't. Fresh eyes and all that." Kara nodded and we didn't say anything further for about two minutes. I spent the entire time looking at Earth.
Though I had considered needing to go back for my camping supplies, wallet, truck, etc, along with letting my mom know I was okay. My friends and I don't necessarily talk everyday and since I work when I can find work or am inspired to, I don't have coworkers or a boss that would send people out to look for me.
"I should probably get going." I was disappointed at Kara's words, guilty because I soured the mood and our moment bringing up the events of the night prior. I was upset with myself for that, angry that my mind was coming up with any excuse for her to stay and chat a bit until we got back to a better emotional state before parting ways.
"Uh, yeah. Me too." I internally cussed at myself for being so dense.
"Thanks for the help today, Shepard. You did well."
"Anytime, and... thank you. It was fun, getting to see the Moon with you, and talking about Kryptonian powers and how they work." Kara nodded, a smile was being forced, trying to hide her sadness and be polite. I wanted to tell her to stop, but I didn't know her that well. I was worried it would back fire. Another part of me wanted to hug her, and tell her it was okay. Apologize for leaving her alone. Instead, I offered a handshake, as if our hands were clasped together for most of this space trip. I thought of how much of an idiot or asshole I had to be when she nervously took my hand and shook it.
You can't beat yourself up Shepard. Lanterns can't do that. Especially not the Green kind.
My conscience was right, but I still felt bad. I opted to just let her go, but not before ensuring I'd get to see her again.
"I've said this once before but you can call me." She looked at me in surprise, but smiled and blushed. Which in turn caused me to realize what I had just said. "I mean, if you need anything you know!"
"Oh, yeah of course." I saw a bit of dejection cross her face and I remember wanting to dive into a crater and slam my head against it's wall.
"I mean... even if you just want to talk, or, you know-"
"Code Ten-Three Three in Oregon, United States of America on Earth in-"
"I know where it is, ring." I couldn't decide if I was saved by the bell or if I wished I could stay to try and fix what I had messed up. Regardless of what I wanted, I was called, and I had to answer. "Sorry, Kara. I-"
"It's alright. We've all got responsibilities. So uh... see ya later?" I smiled as I began to float off the Moon.
"Absolutely." She smiled back at me, and waved, as I gave her a two finger salute and took off back towards Earth. "So, what's a Code Ten-Three Three anyway? Haven't gone over that stuff yet."
"Active shooting."