BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

I wasn't a morning person by any means. Staying up late was a constant in my life, something that I hoped was going to be useful for my new job. Alarms, however, were not my cup of tea, albeit very necessary for me to wake up.

This didn't stop me from hitting the snooze button a few times before finally getting up. I mean when you don't feel you have purpose in life, you tend to develop habits that orbit the emotions of pointlessness and... well lets just say it's amazing that I became a Green Lantern. After sleeping on it I had developed a keen awareness that I broke every imaginable barrier that should have been preventing me from attaining, or rather earning the ring. Maybe there was something in me after all.

As I was saying, I'm not a morning person, and I love to hit the snooze button so I can keep sleeping just for a bit longer, or at the very least contemplate why I need to get up and force myself to do so. However, feeling around, I couldn't find my alarm clock. What made it worse was that it was one of those clocks with lights attached to them. I could sense a pulsing light through my eyelids, intent on adding to the stimulation to wake up. Odd that it was green though. I pried one of my eyes open, bleary vision scanned the night stand for the alarm... and found none.

"What the hell?" I rubbed my eyes and looked around the room, not recognizing anything in it as my stuff, but instead remembering that the night before wasn't a dream, and I was sleeping at Supergirl's apartment.

Looking around, I didn't see her anywhere, and wondered briefly if she was around or if she had even come home the night before, or if she and Captain Atom discovered anything.

BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!

"Jesus, what is that?" It was odd that despite the lack of an alarm clock, there was definitely an alarm sounding off. I lifted my hands, intent on putting my face in them before I realized the flashing green light wasn't from some unseen light fixture, but from my ring. "Oh, shit! What's happening?!"

Turning my hand over, a holographic sound wave appeared, and a voice came over the transmitter.

"Mayday! Mayday! Thi..zzt- flight 3-zzt... Crashing in-zzt National City! I-zzt" I stood up, looking around confused and at a loss. My first call. My ring was picking up radio transmissions from a crashing plane. I thought it was cool and worrying. I supposed it was the only way I'd be notified of any crisis, but it's a bit alarming to hear people afraid for their lives.

"No time for that, Shepard. Suit up and get out there. Ring, locate the ship." I willed my suit to form around me and I was satisfied that it only took a fraction of a second to do so. Immediate responses to mortal peril is a must as a Green Lantern after all. I flew out Kara's window and immediately scanned the skies for the descending aircraft.

Detection of crashing space craft, Flight 375 complete. It is-

"Yeah I can see it." Ahead of me was quite a good number of tall buildings and a plane that had one of it's engines on fire. "Well... let's hope I don't screw this up." There's no getting around that I had a fear in the pit of my stomach. The thought that I was responsible for all those lives made me anxious. And here I was the other night, being excited to have these powers.

I shook my head of my thoughts and slapped my face, making my way towards the plane, making it there in seconds. They were struggling to keep themselves up right enough to just glide down, but they were descending too quickly, and were definitely going to crash into a building if I didn't do something.

"Flight 375, this is Green Lantern- uh, Shepard, new recruit. At your service." That was sloppy. I was nervous, and not sure if there was a protocol I was supposed to follow. Having guidelines is always helpful, especially when you're new to something. It happened to be however, that I was without such a luxury, and guiding those people to safety, and protecting the civilians of the city that were in the immediate path of destruction, was up to my own problem solving skills.

"Oh thank God! Was hoping for Supergirl seeing as how this is her city, but we'll take anything we can get!" Being closer to the plane, my ring seemed to make the comms more clear.

"Don't worry. I'll carry you guys to safety."

"Excellent! We were planning on landing just outside the city, but anywhere you're willing to take us will suffice Green Lantern! Thank you!" The fear that had been evident in the broken up message prior was replaced entirely by hope. I've never been directly saved by a super hero before, at least not anybody that was wearing a costume. So you can bet that I was taken aback somewhat when I was the source of this new found hope.

"Okay. No failing here Joseph. You got this. You're Green Lantern now." Analyzing the craft, I am fed schematics through my ring and directly into my mind allowing me the ability to properly building supports for carrying the massive craft without it falling to pieces.

Flying under the plane, I matched it's speed and raise my ring hand, producing a construct that ran along the bottom, and placed various supports along the craft so that I can keep it a float. At first I thought everything was in the bag. But then the construct started to crack under the weight of the plane.

"What? Why?!" I grabbed my wrist with my other hand, and tried to focus on the construct, but my mind was plagued by images of the plane crashing into the city, causing mayhem, killing countless of innocent people. "Stop it. Stop it. Stop it! God damn it Focus!" The ship shook a bit and I heard a groaning as my supports were starting to crack and shatter to nothing. I ran the risk of having the whole thing fall apart if I kept trying to force the construct to work as was, but my focus was off. Pouring over the possibilities of why it wasn't working and being scared that it was about to smash into a building wasn't helping anything.

"Uh, Shepard. We're getting a bunch of turbulence. Feels like the planes going to fall apart." The pilot spoke to me with trepidation.

"Sorry. Give me a second. My first idea didn't work." It should have, and it frustrated me that it didn't. Impeding my concentration and will to get the job done. I tried to think. What the hell could I do differently that would be less complicated. I concluded that I was still a novice and more complicated constructs would take some getting used to. So simplicity was key, if only to forgo showing off skill and knowledge in order to focus on saving lives. I had to come up with something fast, and stop overthinking, or this plane was about to crash into a skyscraper.

"Maybe if I fly the plane... oh yeah, that will work. Hey, Captain, uh, what's your name?"

"Captain Marcus Teller, sir."

"Two things Captain Teller. One. I'm not your boss, you don't need to refer to me as sir. Secondly, I'm probably going back to your child hood to pull this off, so hang on tight." As I began to form the construct in mind, I heard Teller scoff.

"Odd way of putting it but if it gets us out of this mess than I'm all for it!"

"Noted."

Laughing, due to the sheer ridiculousness of how stupid simple this could actually be, I formed an open hand, large enough to carry the plane in it's palm, similar to how you may have held a toy plane as a kid. As we all did. When I made the attempt, I could still feel the structure of the plane groan in response to my new oversized green hand. A slight spark of irritation flashed through me, but it was squashed quickly by a seemingly random thought, or rather memory, that I had from the night before, in regards to my personal force-field. Basically, I fly because my ring manipulates anti-gravitons and couples that with directed molecular movement. The force-field around me keeps me all together so that I don't tear apart moving at speeds too high for the average non-powered human. So, as I started to grip the plane, I also projected an emerald force-field around the entirety of it's structure, making it capable of being grabbed by my light-constructed hand, and manipulated how I saw fit.

"So, where were you heading exactly?"

National City thankfully had an airport nearby. Though I had figured out how to help, it was still somewhat taxing to make constructs. I was eager to get started on the conditioning. I could tell it was already going to be like growing a muscle. I doubted however that it would seem like lighter weight as I grew that muscle, and more just something I can better manage but still feel the same tax on my mental faculties every time I did it.

Anyway, landing at the plane's initial destination, I immediately used my ring to cut the oxygen off from the blown engine, killing the fire, and allowed the smoke to drift off. As I was doing that, the airlines staff deployed the emergency slide in order to disembark all the passengers. As they slid down, my ring scanned their vitals, and determined that each and every one was healthy. There were a few that were stressed, and others that were completely relaxed. It became apparent to me with the varied responses of gratitude that some weren't that comfortable with me, while others seemed like it was just another Tuesday. Then there were the few that actually seemed eternally grateful.

I also learned that when people touch my suit they feel how cold or hot it is. I had to start warning people that wanted to shake my hand or straight up hug me, not to, because my suit isn't actually fabric, but a construct of energy itself. At some point I theorized that if I had willed that second-skin force-field, that people wouldn't be potentially harmed by the extreme temperatures of my suit.

Hilariously enough, people were giving me strange looks, undoubtedly due to my cybernetic appearance. I used as many emotes as possible to ease the tension, but like I said, some people were already used to this kind of thing, and it didn't matter what I looked like.

"Nice job, kid." The Pilot, Captain Marcus Teller, was an older gentlemen, looked to be in his late forties. He had some greying hair, and his hair line was beginning to recede, but he seemed to keep a pleasant smile and an amount of joy in his eyes that I found myself envious of. I hoped to be that content when I hit that age. Didn't even consider at the time that I may not make it to thirty now that I was a Green Lantern.

"Popular already, eh?" Teller made sure everybody got off the plane before he did. He waited his turn to approach me, after everybody else had thanked me and even some of the women, and even men, offered a night of fun in return for saving them, which is what he was referring to.

"Just doing my job. Riding the coat tails of previous lanterns."

"Don't sell yourself short kid. You pulled through under that pressure. Some might complain that it came too close, given our nose almost hit the tower, but you got us out of there safe and sound. Nobody died, and no buildings were toppling over."

"You think I'm a kid?" Considering everything about my body save my hair was covered, along with my voice being altered, I couldn't tell if he was making a guess that I was younger than him, or truly knew how old I was by virtue of some fabled wisdom. It turned out to be the latter.

"Well, clearly you're an adult, but I'm guessing young man. Early to mid twenties. Green as the grass, and I'm not talking about your outfit." His eyes and the creases on his forehead held the experience, while his smile showed that he wasn't weighed down by it, at least not openly.

"Don't know what to tell ya. Can't you see I'm a robot?" He laughed at my obvious lie and slapped my shoulder.

"Definitely young! No shame in it. Really you should enjoy it while you can. The job you're taking on with your new position is one hell of an undertaking." His exclamation brought Hal's death to the front of my mind for the first time that day. His wife's grief. The thought of his son growing up without him.

"Yeah..." It was all I could manage. The battered body of Hal Jordan, laying in that crater he made.

"Hey, kid?" His questioning tone plucked me from my mind. He had a look of amusement on his face as he was looking into the sky, covering his eyes from the sun. "Looks like she's waiting on you."

Following his line of sight, I'm greeted with the divine sight of an other wordly beautiful woman, hovering in the sky, with the sun at her back. My ring protecting my eyes from the sun's rays as I dumbly gaze upon Supergirl. Her blonde hair meshed with the sun's light well, and her ivory skin looked soft and smooth. I had seen her before, but it was at night and she was trying to take my head off. This was different. Namely because she was smiling.

She was a good 10 feet in the air, and showed no indication of coming down. I felt a hard slap on my back and a sharp inhale at the surprise of my suits temperature.

"Go on, man. Don't keep her waiting." I smirk at the fact he whispered it to me, knowing fully well that Kryptonian hearing is far beyond ours.

We said our goodbyes and I refocused on Kara as I lifted off the ground and flew up to her. When I got to her eye level, I halted my ascension, and noticed her smirk grew into a smile. She moved her hands to her hips and nodded towards the people below.

"First save today?" I looked down, a smile crept over my face as I saw people hugging the loved ones that were waiting for them at this airport. The people that were looking up at us and waving, calling out their thanks for what we do. It felt good.

"Yeah, actually. Learning experience too. Some problems aren't as complicated as we make them out to be." She nodded and nodded her head behind her as she started floating away. I nod in understanding and we head back towards the heart of National City.

"So you created a giant hand." I snapped my focus back to Kara as we fly, watching her cape and hair flow in the wind with a grace I wasn't sure she was causing or was natural. She looked over and laughed at my face of mild surprise. "First time I saw Hal make a construct it was a golf club. In fact, if he wasn't making jets or other aerial constructs to deal with a problem, he'd use sporting equipment, human weaponry, and yes, giant hands or fists. At least they were the most commonly used constructs." I nod my understanding.

"Yeah. Don't over complicate things when your ring is capable of anything so long as you can focus. Might cost lives. I'll be experimenting with the more complicated stuff as my training I guess. Maybe it'll condition me faster." Kara smiled and nodded her agreement.

"Exactly. Save the flashy impressive constructs for the rare occasions where they may be the only solution to a specific challenge. At least that's what Hal used to say." I appreciated the affirmation that my method wouldn't be incorrect.

"I know you don't have a ring, but do you follow a similar guideline when using your powers?" Kara nodded vigorously, giving me an 'oh absolutely' look. "Any examples?"

"Oh plenty. Maybe you never heard about it because you're from Canada. This one time, a fire engulfed a truck after a bad accident. Luckily, the driver only minorly injured, having escaped his vehicle before it went up in flames. I tried to put out the fire since I had arrived first by blowing on it with my cold breath."

"Sounds like something Superman would do." She rolled her eyes. "I'm guessing it didn't go as smoothly?" At this she chuckled nervously, becoming sheepish.

"Yeah, well... I was blowing too hard and it nearly went through a shop window."

"Ouch."

"Yeah. It was a mess for awhile there. I've gotten way better with my powers, but..." She stopped herself short, and I figured she wasn't really intending to go down this train of thought. Her smile faded again, and I didn't really intend on pushing her to talk about it.

"Hey, no need to get into it if you don't want to. For now we-" I was interrupted by the Girl of Steel as she stopped dead and looked to the west. "What's the matter?" She pointed in the distance and waaaay out near the edge of the city were dark smoke clouds.

"Fire."

"Well, suppose we should go deal with it." She looked back towards me and nodded before taking off.

"Try to keep up, fly boy!" I grinned at the challenge and raced off after her.

I managed to keep up, and realized my ring had told me that flying beyond a certain speed while in the Earth's atmosphere was usually hampered by the ring itself for safety reasons. Supergirl seemed to be following the same train of thought, but definitely was pulling slightly ahead of me.

"Wanna brief me on what you can already see and hear about the situation?"

"Good idea." The heroine kept her focus on the building that we were rapidly approaching as she gave me the run down of what was happening. "We're heading to an apartment building. First responders have arrived on the scene and have already started doing what they can, but the fire fighters can't risk going in. So, it's up to us to get those that are trapped in the building."

"I can collect them in a force-field one by one, with my ring providing breathable air for those I transport."

"I'm glad you're taking to this so quickly. Show's that you'll make a great hero." I felt odd, hearing that from her. A sense of pride sure, but I would have been lying if I didn't admit that there was a slight sense of imposter syndrome developing in me. "So on the third and fourth floor are a couple of people stuck in their apartments. I can handle them on my own." I was slightly confused by this. It would make more sense for me to be the one to collect everybody, while she worked on putting out the fire. "You need to go to the fifth floor. On the north side of the building you'll find a family. Two children, preadolescent boy, prepubescent girl. They are refusing to leave the building because their parents have become trapped under debris, and the son has burned his hands trying to get the material off of his mother and father. You need to go collect them, and take them straight to the hospital." This halted my questioning of her decisions, having realized she was prioritizing the most injured to my care.

"Got it."

"Excellent. Now that we're all caught up, let's save the day."

We reach the apartment in no time. Fire fighters were already trying to hose down the building, but the fire was raging out of control. Most of the people had gotten out in time, but a few were still trapped. I watched the chaos of it all and it was a little startling. The cries for help became clearer to me as I got closer, which had me considering that Kara could hear said chaos from a greater distance. I briefly wondered how overwhelming that can be when many people in different directions are calling for help, and I started to feel a little nervous about being in that situation myself.

"Green Lantern? Will you be able to handle this?" I snap out of my thoughts as Kara floats in front of me, giving me a once over. Her voice was slightly concerned but mostly professional. I could tell she'd have no problem side lining me if she thought I wasn't ready for a particular emergency. I didn't want that, nor did I want to let her or Hal down. So with renewed vigour I nodded my head and put on my serious face, which she couldn't see, and I raised my ring, while looking at it.

"Yeah. Green Lantern's got this." Kara winced again, now giving me concern.

"You okay?" She looked down and suddenly Kara was gone, replaced by Supergirl. She nodded and turned towards the building. I wondered how she could change like that so effortlessly, but shoved it aside as we needed to get on with it.

"Yeah. Let's focus on those in need. Remember what I said. Get the family to the hospital." She starts heading into the building while I move towards the fifth floor.

"Roger, Roger." Putting on the most robotic voice I could I salute the Girl of Steel and stick my ring out towards the building. "North side, eh. Scan for life signs." I knew I didn't need to verbalize it, but part of me felt like I should at the moment.

From my ring, a glowing wave of green washed over the building, scanning for vitals as opposed to heat signatures, and showed me where everybody in the building was. I could see several people scattered across the building, including the family I was supposed to grab, and Supergirl herself.

"Supergirl? Do you read?"

"Yeah? You got the family yet?"

"I found them, but scanning the building has shown me the locations and vitals of all the survivors. Do you need any of that or-"

"No. I can hear and see all of them. Just focus on your task." I felt a bit foolish, but didn't dwell on it as I flew through a broken window, engulfing myself in the smoke. "Right, you can count on me."

It was strange, never expected myself to willingly walk into a plume of smoke before. Even though it obviously wasn't going to affect me due to my force-field, it was still strange. Only in the sense that it didn't impede anything save for my natural vision. I could see the rings outline of the building as if I was looking at a schematic or map in a video game. Not to mean I had an eagle eye view of the place, just that the grid that was put up and showing me outlines of rooms, halls, and people, was still there.

Luckily for everybody involved, the family was right in this hallway, just on the other end. I realized that the smoke was getting thicker, their oxygen levels were low, and the parents had minimal brain activity. Luckily it only indicated that they were unconscious, and nothing fatal had happened. Deciding to shed some light on the situation I raise my hand and create a bunch of industrial fans, blowing as much smoke away from the family as possible.

The kids noticed this and turned to face me in terror. The son showed recognition after looking me over, and tears started flowing from his eyes. The girl screamed, probably because of my cybernetic eye mask. Since they were just kids, I removed the mask, and showed my human face. The boy tried to stand, but he was getting weaker and weaker by the second.

"Green Lantern? I... it doesn't... matt..er. Just hel..." He was trying to hold back a violent cough and eventually failed. Their suffering and fear fuelled my need to get them out immediately, and caused me to switch tactics with my constructs.

I made on large vacuum connected to a hose that lead to the window, and sucked all of the smoke out of the hall, expelling it safely outside. While I was doing that, I had turned to the kids and gave them a force-field bubble, with plenty of air being generated for them.

"I'm Rookie Green Lantern Shepard. What are your names?" The girl seemed a little nervous at first but the boy already started breathing a little better now that he was getting freshly made air.

"I'm Liam Peterson. Nice to meet you Shepard. Dad always said shaking hands when meeting somebody can be a sign of respect, but..." he raised his hands and showed that they were covered in heat blisters and burns. Brave kid.

"You're brave Liam. I'll shake your hand when you heal up." I turned to the girl and nodded my head with as gentle of a smile as I could muster. "Who are you little one?" She knelt down next to her brother, who was sitting against the edge of the bubble exhausted, and tried to hide behind him. He wrapped an arm around her and gave her a kiss on the head. I felt a tinge of pain in my heart and shoved it down as deep as I could.

"You can talk to him, sis. He's a good guy. Superheroes are the only strangers you can talk to." The girl looked to her brother with tear stained cheeks before turning back to me.

"I'm Lucy."

"Nice to meet you Lucy. I'm going to get you guys out of here okay? Sit tight in that bubble, you'll be safe from everything that's going on right now. Promise." I received a double head nod of understanding and took that as my cue to get to work.

I turned to the parents, and not wanting to risk losing concentration from the vacuum and the protective shielding over the kids, I simply walked over to the beams and lifted them with ease. I nearly chucked the entirety of the debris into the wall, which could have caused more problems. Luckily I realized quickly just how strong I was and stopped before it was too late.

"How strong am I?" I mumbled the question as I scanned the parents, checking for injuries other than the burns and bruises. The ring pinged that it had an update about my super human strength while wearing the ring, which I made note of for later.

The injuries of the parents weren't as bad as they could have been. It appeared as though the husband tried to protect his wife, and did so with his whole body. As a result, the wife had very little burns and some minor bruising, while the husband had the worst of it. He had burns on his back and arms, was bruised from almost head to toe, with only a few fractures and a broken humerus bone. Not being a medical expert, I assumed that was the arm, given how it looked, but otherwise, he wasn't bleeding out or on the verge of death, but would be if I didn't get them out of here.

The smoke had by that point been mostly cleared of the hallway. More was pouring in, but there was some breathing room to drop my vacuum hose and start making a gurney large enough for both parents. When I was satisfied, I had the gurney roll into the orb the kids were placed in while inspecting how they were doing.

"You guys still doing alright?" They seemed to be breathing a little better now, but definitely needed medical attention. Which lead me to realize if I could figure out how all that machinery worked I could probably make it myself. Another note I filed away for a later time.

"I've had worse." Liam stated in an attempt to seem unaffected by the transpiring events.

"I'm okay." Lucy was trying to sound brave as well, but less successful. Understandable for them to be scared. Things went south real fast. I'm glad I was able to make it to them.

"Alright that's good to hear. As for the rules about riding with Shepard Air, the only ones are to make sure you tell me if something is wrong, or hurts, or if your parents wake up. Otherwise, try to enjoy flying over the city with me. Oh, and don't worry about rolling around in there. You and your parents will be safely held in place in that bubble while I take you all to the hospital." I head for the window opposite the one I came from and smash through it head first, knowing it won't bother me none, and head towards St. Marie's Hospital.

"Rookie Green Lantern Shepard? Did you help Amaya and her mommy's too?" Lucy's concern for her neighbours, maybe even friends, now that she was safe is heartwarming. I stop my flight and scan the building. Half the people that were in there when I first scanned were gone, indicating that Supergirl was almost done.

"Supergirl is evacuating the rest of the building. She told me to help you guys first and to come back to help afterwards. There isn't very many people left, so it looks like they may already be safe." Lucy just looks back at the building, a worried expression painted her features and I considered going back in for Amaya and her parents. Enough to check if there was a group of three trapped anywhere. "What floor did they live on Lucy?"

"Um... I think above us?"

"Literally above us actually. Sixth floor apartment above ours is where Mrs. Williams and Mrs. Li live."

"Where is you're apartment?"

"Unit 506. We were sitting right outside of it." I knew where he meant, so I focused my scan in that location, and sure enough, there were three people, two adults a child, and a fourth living creature.

"They have a dog or cat?"

"Maine Coon. Big fucker."

"Liam! You're not supposed to swear!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Who cares Lucy! We almost died! I can swear if I want to!" Lucy looked a little frightened by her brother yelling at her, and I could tell he was stuck between being angry, likely due to the fact that he was in a lot of pain, and that it is a ridiculous rule to be reprimanded for at a time like this, and guilty for yelling at his scared sister.

"That's enough, both of you. Liam, don't yell at her. She looks like she's 7."

"I'm 8!"

"Okay, she's 8. What are you, 12?" Liam slid into dejection as I seriously considered going back in for Amaya's family. I checked to see where Supergirl is, and she has a few more people on the bottom floor she's working on saving at the moment.

"I'm sorry Luce, I shouldn't have yelled."

"You better give me a hug or I'm not forgiving you!" I nearly laughed, turning to see Liam roll his eyes and open his arms. His sister dove head first into him and he started shaking her a bit, which made her giggle.

"Help! Our daughter needs help!" The cry came from Amaya's floor, the girl that I had gotten vital signs had dropped dramatically. I use my ring to check for heat build up and find the safest point of entry, not that fire was going to bother me at all.

Without thinking any further, I slammed threw the wall, knocking it down, and forming another vacuum to pull all the smoke out. I hadn't realized but I was still towing the Petersons until Liam spoke up.

"Damn! The whole floor over there fell apart." I was annoyed that I hadn't thought to put them down somewhere, but focused on the task at hand.

"What are Mrs. Williams and Mrs. Li's first names?"

"Oh, uh, Mrs. Williams is Emily, and Mrs. Li is Michelle." I nodded my head, remembering to put my cybernetic eye back where it was to cover my face, as I flew over to the apartment. The door was open, but the family refused to leave. I entered their home and saw that both mothers were kneeling over their daughter. The Caucasian woman on the left was heavily tattooed, lithe, and dressed in dark clothing with medium length messy black hair with blue streaks. To her right was a Korean woman with longer straight hair, blonde highlights, a little heavier set, a little more colour in her clothing, and way less tattoos. Their daughter, was of mix race, indicated by her slightly ambiguous ethnicity. Her skin was bronze, but other than that her features didn't scream any specific background. Her hair was curly, but not to the extent that is most common among the Black-American and African communities. She looked to be about Lucy's age.

"Emily?" The tattooed woman looked up to me and a bit of a frown mixed with relief washed over her. Shortly after who I assumed was her wife looked over and the terror she had for the fate of her daughter never left. "So you're Michelle."

"Please! Help her!" I didn't miss the fact that she cared more about helping her daughter than getting to safety herself. Making a gurney for Amaya, I lift her up and place her in the force-field, with her mother's following suit. I increase the fields size to accommodate the extra people I was helping and just before I headed out the window, a meow was heard below me.

Looking down I see the very obviously Maine Coon cat that Liam was talking about. Orange and white like they normally are. Though this one looked even bigger than usual. Just as I was about to ask what it's name was, the cat's head whipped down, it's hackles raised as it walked backwards in a weird stance, and the floor began to collapse. It only managed a screech, while the others made various sounds of concern about our surroundings falling apart, while I caught the cat with my hands and it attempted to scratch me. I shook my head as it yowled and hissed and placed it in the force-field as I addressed Lucy.

"Lucy?"

"Yeah, Mr. Shepard?"

"Liam was right. This is a big fucker." Using my ring to get the cat into the bubble, it hissed at me, and curled up next to the kids. Having gathered everyone, I flew out their kitchen window, and raced towards the hospital.

"What happened to her?" Looking over, I see Lucy Peterson crying as Liam holds her, worried about her friend. Emily wraps both kids in a hug, along with the cat who's now in their laps. Legitimately spread across all of them. Emily was definitely distressed about her daughter, but for whatever reason was giving me disgusted looks every so often.

I ignored her, assumed she was taking what was happening to her daughter out on me. So focused on it she couldn't be bothered to update me on what was happening.

"She has asthma. We tried keeping her low, but the smoke was becoming too much." The woman began a fit of coughing herself, leaning over and away from Amaya.

"If you need to spit it out go for it. The force-field will dissolve it." The woman basically hacked up a lung and horked the blackest phlegm I'd ever seen.

"Thanks." She stood up, and wiped her mouth before facing her daughter and continuing. "When the floor collapsed outside our apartment, we were too scared to risk going out the hall, and we heard Liam yelling for Supergirl, so we hoped we'd be okay."

"I was trying to get us out rather than wait on fascists." When Emily spoke, it was raspy, a real rocker chick voice, and it aggravated me that she called us fascists. Again, I decided to ignore us. "If it wasn't for the fire escape falling apart because of our fucking cheap landlords not wanting to replace the rusted hunks of shit, we'd have been fine."

"Seriously, Em?! This isn't the time for this! You tried your best, and it didn't work. Can we please focus on Amaya and be grateful that this hero came to get us?" Emily's outward hostility was reigned in when her wife chastised her. She grunted in annoyance but refused to glance at me any further. After a few minutes, she let go of the Petersons, stood up, and walked over to her wife and daughter.

When Michelle looked up at her, Emily's expression softened, and tears were threatening to shed, but she didn't want to let them. Being somewhat shorter than Michelle, the tattooed woman wrapped one arm around her waist, while the the dirty blonde wrapped an arm around Emily's shoulders. Both of them holding Amaya's left hand. My temper over Emily's words vanished, and I yearned to get them to safety.

I got the survivors I collected from the fire to the hospital and checked in. Immediate treatment was given to all that were in the building, but Emily, Michelle, and Lucy, were cleared after getting inspected and sent over to me and Liam, who was getting his hands treated in the ER. His parents, along with Amaya, were taken from ER after being worked on for a bit to a room each for further care.

I had called Supergirl upon arrival to tell her I was heading back, but she told me it was okay to stay put. She had already gotten everybody out and was working on putting out the fire. I agreed, wanting to know those I had gathered, and ended transmission.

The four of us were now sitting in the waiting room, hoping to hear back from the doctors soon about those taken into intensive care, and for Liam to come out all patched up. Turning to my side, I see Lucy playing with the Maine Coon, of which was a male cat called OJ. Lucy stating it was a reference to Orange Juice and Michelle confirming that it was Amaya's favourite thing to drink, along with the fact that he was indeed orange.

The entire time in the waiting room I could see Emily switching between being concerned with her wife, and looking at me like I was responsible for what was happening. I had about enough of it. I stepped away from the wall that I was leaning against and she stood up from her seat, marching up to me.

"What is your problem?" She sneered at my question, clearly unhappy with my tone.

"You assholes. All of you costumed heroes and villains, and whatever else... you all act like your gods, even if you don't have powers you treat our cities, our homes, like they're playgrounds." Emily's tone was of righteous indignation. I was the villain, regardless of my actions, simply because I wore a uniform. That much I understood, what I didn't understand is why she thought I was.

"Are you blaming the fire on us? Or is this about something unrelated? Because I'm seriously confused here."

"Not surprising coming from a cop."

"I'm barely a cop. At least not the way cops are here anyway."

"Don't try to separate yourself from the systemic oppression we've all been under. You guys help the police all the time. Green Lantern's, Superman and Supergirl, and Batman and every other member of your private super friends club." I groaned in frustration when the same tripe I had been hearing for nearly a decade at that point was regurgitated to me and I immediately had the urge to leave, but the stubborn asshole I am just had to get a few words in.

"Okay, back it up a second, lady. I wanted to be a cop when I was young but-"

"-unsurprising-" I gritted my teeth as I worked on ignoring that jab.

"-but, as I got older, I realized I'd not be able to flush out the corruption if I ever saw it without likely being ostracized, fired, or killed. That, and some of the necessary red tape that is surrounding that job, would keep me from helping people that were too afraid or too weak to ask for it, making it illegal for me to get involved."

"So what? You want a pat on the back for not enlisting? Kind of defeats the purpose when you put that ring on." Something in me snapped when she said that. I was trying to be civil, something I rarely bothered with at that age, but she wasn't going to be satisfied either way, so I tossed being polite out the window and geared up for verbal combat.

"Are you dense?" Emily looked ready to fire back but I wasn't finished. "You must be, because I'm not a cop, it's just a decent metaphor to explain how the Corps works. I don't know how any of the others like to operate, nor do I care. I'm my own person. Me being like them stops when I accept the responsibility of carrying out the duty of the previous wielder of the ring who either retired, or in my case, died. The ring by the way finds somebody worthy of wearing it. It's not just handed out like a service weapon to any asshole that can barely pass a psyche eval."

"Basically it's cowboys and aliens, and you don't even get screened before joining? Yeah, no, you're right. Definitely, nothing wrong with that" I wanted to tear my hair out at this point.

"For fuck's sake wo-"

"Lantern!" Our spat is interrupted as the voice of Supergirl fills the room. Her abrupt command for my attention drew all of our eyes to the entrance of the waiting area. I remember being irritated that I was getting yelled at about all of this, but also being slightly astonished that Supergirl didn't look like she had just been in a blazing apartment fire. Than again neither did I, but I had a force-field.

"What?"

"We need to debrief. Now." She left no room for argument, and I was torn between just ignoring her anyway so I could finish schooling Emily, or just dropping the whole thing. Looking at Kara's eyes told me she wasn't messing around, so I opted to just do as I was asked and followed her into the hall.

Once we were clear of the room, she immediately started grilling me.

"You went against my orders. Why?" She crossed her arms and popped a hip out. Her delicate features were hardened into a simmering glare, and I was reminded of that one job where my manager was 18, and I was 24. Getting dressed down by somebody younger than you was always embarrassing.

"I don't know, maybe because I felt like it? This ring is based on willpower after all." Her glare narrowed and I had suddenly felt like she might just put me through the ground and into the crust of the Earth if I didn't pull back the sarcasm. "Why the hell are you angry at me? I saved them. If I hadn't, their apartment floor would have collapsed, and all three of them would be severely injured, or dead. Not to mention their daughter had just gone unconscious when they called for help. I wasn't going to ignore that, even if you were Superman telling me to do so." Kara's scrutinizing look very quickly began to fade, and a shadow of a smirk was forming on her lips.

"Good answer." I felt like an idiot. Of course she was testing me. Why would a hero like her, especially wearing that emblem, bust my balls over saving people?

"Are you seriously testing me right now?" She nodded her head, the smirk finally forming.

"It is a favourable quality for a hero to think for themselves, and make last minute adjustments to their plans when it could mean saving lives. If you were too rigid in your thinking, I'd suggest taking that ring off. Good work." Oddly, her praise was more soothing than I had anticipated it to be. Especially with how she tricked me into thinking I was in trouble at first.

"Thanks. I guess."

"Now, why on Earth are you arguing with that woman? It doesn't look good when a Lantern is in a civilian's face. Especially one that he saved." She had a point, but at the time, I was still pissed about the total disregard for my efforts.

"Sure, but does it look any better when you spit on the person that saved your life?"

"She spat on you?"

"What? No! She basically hates us for wearing costumes and fighting villains, although to be fair she lumped us with the villains. Said we use their homes like playgrounds. Called us fascists, despises the fact that we help the police, and called me a cop."

"So what?" I was floored by Kara's response. "You are, technically, a space cop. That's still a cop."

"Holy shit, am I going insane right now?"

"People are rude to us more often than you'd think. Doesn't mean we start shouting at them or excluding them from our list of people to save when there is a crisis. Besides, she's entitled to her opinions and beliefs." I rolled my eyes at the word 'entitled' but agreed that I had no say in anybody's belief system. Unfortunately when said belief systems sounded like utter tripe to me, I'd have this tendency to rip it to shreds. Usually after a believer starts whacking me in the head with it.

"I wouldn't do- hold on. I don't think I have a say in her- That isn't even what I was- God damn it. She's just wrong about us."

"How so?"

"Well..." I stopped to think about the League, and realized that I didn't know any of them. So I focused on myself and what little I knew about the Lantern Corps from my one day of being a Green Lantern. "...okay well I don't know about all the heroes in the League, but I know for a fact that I'm not a cop." Kara raised a brow and flipped her hair out of her face.

"I'm not saying I necessarily think you are the same kind of Police Officer that works the streets of National City, but you are a figure of authority through out the Universe, or have I always misunderstood Hal and the other Lanterns when they've mentioned that?" I sighed, just hanging my head. "Well that's what she sees. She associates it with the same kind of authority that may have wronged her or somebody she loves. I may help stop crime and fight super villains, but I'm not blind to the injustices that have been caused by those in power. Unfortunately, using my physical might to fix it will only garner more distrust and hatred, and that can definitely get out of control really fast. Besides... I'm an alien. I don't get to choose these things for humanity."

That ripped out all frustration and anger over the situation. I watched as her eyes lowered, her hardened gaze falling away to reveal a sadness that I was now realizing I was only catching glimpses of before. And then it was gone as quickly as it came. She raised her head, attempting the same hardened look.

"You're way to wise for somebody younger than me, you know that?" I joked. She tried to resist a smirk.

"I'm 21, thank you very much." She states with an extended finger.

"Good to know." I took a moment to gather my thoughts and released a strained breath before continuing with the conversation. "You're right. I've got a responsibility now. Being held to a higher standard than I ever have been. It's annoying, but I get why. I think."

"You will eventually if you don't now." She stated confidently.

"Yeah maybe." I started towards the waiting area again but paused before crossing the threshold, turning slightly to face Kara again. "By the way, Kara Zor-El. Last Daughter of Krypton. As far as I'm concerned, this can be your new home. If you want it to be. If anybody has a problem with that, they can take a long walk off a short pier. I for one, am glad you're here." Kara looked a little taken aback by my words at first, but quickly slid into a smile, with a hint of red in her cheeks.

"Thanks. I appreciate that." Nodding my head I turned back towards the married couple and their neighbour, noticing that Liam had returned with his hands bandaged completely.

I walked right up to the boy and gave him a fist bump in place of a handshake, which he seemed to appreciate given the circumstances. He told me that it barely hurt, which I knew he was lying about, and I just gave him the monocle face emoji. He looked sheepish but didn't admit to anything. Looking over to my left, Emily was standing with her arms crossed just a few feet away, and staying where I was, I considered how to make her understand that I wasn't what she thought I was. And then it hit me.

"I'm sorry for getting angry earlier. Unbecoming of me, and I'll chalk it up to working out the kinks of this new gig." She snorted and turned away from me. "I will be the hero you need and deserve. If the Justice League, the Titans, or hell, even the Green Lantern Corps itself, ever step out of line, I'll be there to stop them. If some intergalactic warlords want to conquer or destroy Earth, I'll be there to face them head on. Same goes for anywhere else in the Universe. I will fight for those that can't fight for themselves, no matter what." Emily looked at me sideways, her hardened look of contempt softening a little. I thanked my lucky stars that I seemed to be making some headway, making her already more likeable than most. Can't stand people who are too stubborn for their own good. Which yes, is probably because I'm just as hard headed at times. Unfortunately, Emily was still proving to be a tough nut to crack.

"I don't know what to tell you Lantern. You might mean what you're saying now, but power corrupts people, right? What makes you so special that you can float above the rest of us, immune to the mistakes of the past?" I took a moment to really recognize the fact that I've used that exact argument for people that wished communism to be brought to North America, or really anybody I knew that thought they could run things better without any experience and not end up just being the same as every other shit bag that ran the world. That was the only thing I needed to hear to put into perspective how she was truly feeling about all of this.

"Nothing." I pulled the ring off of my hand, my suit dematerialized and I extended the most powerful weapon in the universe towards the discontented woman. It earned me a gasp from Lucy and a combination look from both wives of stupefaction. Apparently they weren't expecting my hail marry attempt at making peace and setting them at ease. At least with me. "Aliens, Gods, Monsters... man, I'm just a guy with a ring. Another human, like you. Sort of. Obvious differences are obvious, but that's okay. We celebrate those here." Emily's wits seemed to be returning to her after I spoke, her trepidation still apparent. I could see in her eyes that she wanted to hope, but the fear and anger was getting in the way.

"I don't know... if we can trust you. Any of you." I gave her a soft smile, urging her to take my ring, and remembered something my mother always said to me growing up when I was afraid of making a major change.

"Sometimes, you have to take a leap of faith first. The trust part comes after."