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Chapter Text

Balance

Chapter 1: Dispatch

Hal lifted his eyes from his desk as his ring buzzed with an important announcement. A face projected itself from his ring, resembling a holographic call. The messenger was Kyle Rayner: an Earth-born green lantern with crow-black hair. He’d earned himself a position on Oa personally protecting the Guardians, and acting as their messenger/attendant. 

“All lanterns from sectors 1355 to 2814, report to plaza 36 for a mission briefing!” Kyle ordered. His voice wasn’t demanding as much as the tang of urgency could be heard within it. 

Hal sighed, putting down his datapad. He’d been reviewing a vessel report about corpses being sighted in sectors 1355 to 1370. ‘It can wait, if this is that important.’ Hal thought, standing up from his chair and heading to the door. 

He exited his little housing unit and floated down the various walkways to plaza 36, spotting a massive gathering of various other lanterns also awaiting the briefing. Walking into the crowd, his attention was quickly drawn by a hand being thrust into the air. 

He headed towards it, finding Jon Stewart, Guy Gardner, and Katma Tui standing in a little group together. “Hey, dude! What’s up?” Guy greeted, his short red hair blazing on the top of his head. He offered Hal a grand smile. 

“Not much. Any word about what’s going on?” Hal asked back. 

He looked to Jon. The african american seemed to be deep in thought, scratching the back of his recently-shaven head. He still had that military-style patch of black hair growing on the top, of course. His brown eyes were downcast, his hand resting on his chin. 

“I heard we’re supposed to be attacking a ship.” he offered. 

“Really? I thought we were out of that business.” Katma replied. Her black hair fell perfectly around her pointed ears, her red skin only making her blue eyes stand out more. She was a little shorter than Jon, but was his “teacher”. Hal respected her, at least. She was experienced in combat. 

“It’s supposed to be more of a “take into custody” mission, as far as I’m concerned.” Jon explained. 

Guy looked up, drawing Hal’s attention. “Look!” he stated, pointing at a massive screen descending over the plaza. Each lantern was forced to look up a bit in order to see what was on it. The Guardians were projected on the screen, Kyle in the background. Their faces were grave. 

Appa stepped forward, raising a hand to quiet the crowd. Once they were silent, he spoke. “Our scouts have reported word that Brainiac has been spotted in sector 1355.” he stated, his voice echoing throughout the plaza. 

Guy leaned in to Hal’s ear, a hand covering part of his mouth to muffle their conversation. “Brainiac’s that weird Kryptonian android, right?” he whispered. 

Hal nodded. “Not only that, but he’s a collector: of data, and planets .” Hal whispered back. 

“We have confirmed that Brainiac’s vessel has been identified disposing of various intergalactic species across the spatial sectors. Based on the analysis of the corpses, we have determined that he may be involved in illegal biological experimentation, intergalactic kidnapping, and intergalactic torture. We have also added a charge: intergalactic murder, based on the format in which he disposes of these corpses. They may have been living at the time of their disposal.” Appa explained. 

“Wow, he’s got a list.” Katma noted aloud. The other lanterns around her nodded in agreement silently. 

“However, it appears that Brainiac halts his traversal of each spatial sector for a small amount of time. Tracking the intervals in which he stays in each spatial sector, we have located him in 1355, just outside the approximate gravitational field of Penelo. Therefore, this selective group of lanterns will engage the target, by departing for Penelo in sector 1355, as soon as possible. Your task is to capture Brainiac, alive, and return his ship here. Reduce damages to a minimum, if possible. We require the evidence aboard his vessel in order to determine his true charges. In accordance with this mission, we’ve assigned Transporter 112 to carry the selective lanterns to the space sector, in order to maintain power efficiency.” Appa explained. 

The lanterns nodded their understanding to the head of their operations. “Understood, sir!” some replied. 

“Dismissed.” Appa replied, the Guardians vanishing from the screen. 

Hal watched as the massive passenger/medical ship moved to hover above the plaza, its loading dock opening to take in the passengers. The cool green glow of its thrusters was a welcoming sight for most of the soldiers in the green lantern army. 

“Onwards, soldiers!” a green lantern called, punching his ring hand in the air as he flew towards the transporter. Hal recognised him as Raker Qarrigat: the muscular, blue-skinned terran from Apokolips. 

Jon smirked, scratching his shaved head. “He looks like he’s ready for a fight.” he stated. 

“I’d say we all are.” Hal grinned, taking off after the war veteran. 

“Race you to the ship!” Katma called, flying past him. 

“Hey, no fair!” Jon exclaimed, launching from the ground into the air. 

Chapter Text

Chapter 2: Rescue

The ride to Penelo was approximately two hours, their speed aided by the frictionless travel of Penelo’s airspace. As Transporter 112 came to a stop on the edge of the sector, the green lanterns jumped out of the loading dock, from the observation deck, and from the top of the ship, pretty much wherever they could exit with a little bit of fun. The job wasn’t easy, after all. 

Approaching the target planet, Penelo, the green lanterns formed a wide attack arc around said planet, hovering easily in the frictionless space. Brainiac’s ship floated imposingly large above the aquatic planet, its metallic skull-like structure a symbol of death to come. 

A pair of glowing red eyes marked the front of the skull-like vessel, along with Brainiac’s signature upside-down triangle formation of purple circles on its forehead. A series of black lines outlined the ship’s mouth, where Brainiac was said to exit and enter in most circumstances. The dome of the head was a light blue, outlining where the command bridge was. Exactly weight metallic tentacles pushed the ship to and fro, used to direct its movement through space, and supposedly, time. Thick black stripes lined the tentacles, outlining the joints. 

Overall, the damn thing was terrifying to look at. 

Once it seemed like the mobilization of the lanterns had Brainiac’s attention, Katma floated towards the front of the crowd, constructing a megaphone. She lifted it to her mouth, standing defiant before the impossibly large threat. “Brainiac! The green lantern corps have determined that you are facing multiple charges for murder, kidnapping, and possible biological experimentation! Surrender now and let us take you in peacefully, or face forceful capture!” she yelled. 

There was silence for a moment before the skull’s eyes directed towards her, glaring red daggers into her soul. Katma, however, didn’t falter. “I am afraid I must ask: which Brainiac are you referring to?” a smooth, robotic voice asked back. 

Katma paused, taken aback. She looked to Hal for a moment, shrugging her shoulders. “Is he trying to be a smartass?” she asked. 

“Humor him.” Hal replied coolly. 

She nodded, lifting the megaphone back to her lips. “I’m addressing Brainiac Prime! The first Brainiac! Whichever one of you is in charge!” she called to the android. 

Again, there was silence before the Kryptonian answered. “I apologize. Brainiac Prime cannot surrender.” the android replied. 

“Why not?” Katma asked back. 

“Brainiac Prime must continue the primary and secondary mission. Once the primary and secondary missions are complete, we can surrender to you.” the android replied. 

Katma sighed. “What are the primary and secondary missions?” she asked. 

“Primary mission: catalog and record data of every living specimen for further analysis. Secondary mission: conduct analytic experiments on specimens for further data acquiration.” the android replied. 

‘Shit.’ Hal cursed. This wasn’t good. 

Katma deconstructed her megaphone, turning to the mobilized troops. “Take him at whatever cost. Try not to damage the ship.” she ordered. 

The lanterns around her nodded. They raised their ring hands, firing whatever projectiles they constructed at Brainiac’s ship. The projectiles all seemed to collide at once, creating a small explosion at the front of the ship. Once the dust cleared, the green lanterns were left staring at a rather unscratched shield. 

“He’s got a shield!” Jon called, warning the others. 

“You have provoked unneeded violence. I will respond with such measures as to counter you. I am not responsible for whatever happens as a result of my countermeasures.” Brainiac’s voice stated to the green lanterns. 

The jaw of the ship opened and dozens of small ships flew out, firing small purplish laserbeams at whatever lantern was in their sights. Scattering, the lanterns flew in different directions, firing back whenever they had the chance. Each of the smaller vessels were piloted by a clone of Brainiac, each designed for a specific purpose and fulfilling it as they shot at the lanterns. 

Hal shot down at least three of the small ships before he turned his attention back to the mothership, where the jaw of the dispatch bay was still lowered. Flying towards it, Hal ducked and dodged his way to the landing bridge, projecting a shield around himself just in case. 

Two lanterns followed him, Medphyll and Stel, creating a doubled pair of support for their little “storming the ship” group. Medphyll basically looked like a very muscular plant. He had somewhat of a humanoid body, save for his orange-trunked tree-shaped head. He had a single eye in the center of his forehead, at the base of said tree. Stel was more of a mechanical-bodied green lantern. Though his shell was green, his inner mechanisms were blacker, and heavier-built, designed to take a hit. He had a single glowing stripe of an eye at the front of his small head, sitting seven feet above the ground. 

Together, the trio shot down the “guards”, and effectively closed off Brainiac’s ability to dispatch more of his clones. Once the shooting outside stopped, other lanterns entered the dispatch bay, regrouping where the previous guardsmen of the bay lie in a pile, destroyed. 

“Jordan, take Stel and Medphyll and search the lower decks for prisoners. Brainiac may still have “specimens” that he hasn’t disposed of, yet. We don’t want to give him the chance. Jon, Guy, Kilowog, you’re with me. Jon, you’re with Guy. Take the east wing and Kilowog and I will take the west. We need to search this place from top to bottom. We are not letting him escape. Everyone else either split with Jordan, come with me, or start setting the ship up with the lift on the transporter.” Katma ordered. 

The lanterns nodded, understanding their orders. About a third went each way, splitting evenly between each group. 

Hal began the search by splitting his rather large party into groups of three, of which he sent into different parts of the lower decks. Keeping Medphyll and Stel with him, they began to traverse the first deck, the concerningly empty one. “Jeez, where’s all the androids?” Hal asked, annoyed. 

“Perhaps they were destroyed in the battle?” Medphyll offered. 

“The sheer amount we fought was a considerable size, true, yet Brainiac has the ability to replicate himself easily. He will have many more clones.” Stel replied. 

The group went down a set of metal stairs, their footsteps tinkling along the floor, before they entered a hallway seemingly filled with row upon row of cells. Like prison cells. Each cell was about an eight by eight, with a single light at the center of the ceiling. Each cell’s front was barred by some kind of toughened material Hal didn’t want to learn about. On some cells, the bars were bent slightly, but just barely. So he knew they could take a rather hard hit. 

The first thirty were empty. When they approached the next block however, Hal’s nose was assaulted by a strong odor. Covering his nose with his hand, he tried to keep himself from retching. “Shit! What is that smell?” he asked aloud. Medphyll started looking a little ill as well, the leaves on his head wilting slightly. 

Stel walked forward a few steps, peeking into the first of the filled cells. He took a step back, seemingly shocked for a robotic entity. Quickly, he recomposed himself, turning to Hal and Medphyll. He didn’t have a face, so Hal couldn’t read him. “The odor is rotten flesh.” he stated plainly. 

Hal’s face paled. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” he mumbled back. He moved to stand beside Stel, looking into the cell. The ceiling light was flickering. Broken, but it was illuminating what appeared to be the remains of an alien creature, its body nothing more but a pile of rotten flesh and bone. It almost looked liquidized. 

Hal took a step back, throwing a hand over his mouth. ‘Don’t throw up. Don’t throw up.’ he told himself. He walked to the next cell, only to find a body in worse condition. Those that followed, along the thirty cell block only got more and more decomposed: their flesh melted, frozen, rotten away, liquified, or worse. Not only that, but fecal matter lined each cell’s floor, adding to the stench. 

Hal walked to the next block. Another thirty cells. He turned to Stel. “How many of them are there?” he asked. 

Stel floated into the air, looking back and forth as he went down each block of cells. He returned to Hal and Medphyll’s side, the plant-based lantern visibly sick now. “There are five rows of thirty cells. One hundred fifty cells total.” Stel stated. 

Hal swallowed thickly. He had to know. “And how many bodies ?” he asked.

Stel fiddled with his hands for a moment before making eye-contact. “One hundred twenty.” he replied. 

Horror struck Hal in the gut like a punch. “Are they all -” he began before Stel nodded. “Shit. We were too late.” he said instead, rubbing his eyes. 

Medphyll placed a root-like hand on his shoulder, drawing his attention. While the living tree was sickened by the sight, he had also taken to examining various corpses, from a distance. “They all show similar signs of the corpses we found in the sectors from this one to 1370. They’re also old.” Medphyll explained. 

“I know they’re old, Medphyll. They’re all decomposed.” Hal replied. 

“That’s not what I mean. I mean they’ve been dead since before we’ve arrived here. He didn’t kill them recently, but a long time ago.” Medphyll rephrased. 

Realization struck Hal like a second punch, but to his face. “He’s just dumping the bodies. Why is he just dumping the bodies? He hasn’t gotten any new specimens, or they’d be here.” he asked aloud. 

“There must be an ulterior motive. We’re missing a vital component.” Stel stated. 

“It seems we are.” Medphyll agreed. 

The trio were startled out of their thoughts by Hal’s ring buzzing. Answering it, Katma’s face popped up before them, as a hologram. “Jordan, you there?” she asked. 

“Yeah. I’m here. Medphyll and Stel are with me.” Hal replied. 

“We’ve got Brainiac, or rather Brainiac “Prime”, in custody. We’re heading back to the transporter. Have you guys almost cleared the place?” she asked. 

“You wouldn’t believe what we’ve found. Bodies, lots of bodies.” Hal replied. 

“Approximately one hundred twenty.” Stel added. 

Katma’s face fell. She looked disgusted by their discovery. “That’s horrible, Hal. Well, I can send an evacuation cart to your position, so you can get them out of there. We need them, since they’re evidence.” Katma offered. 

“That would be lovely, Ms. Katma.” Medphyll replied. 

“Will do, then. Check the rest of the decks, then get out of there. They’ve secured the lift to the ship, so we’re about ready to leave.” Katma explained. 

“Understood.” Stel replied. Hal and Medphyll nodded in agreement, Hal hanging up. 

“Can you two get the bodies on the cart? We haven’t cleared the rest of this deck, but I think I can do that pretty fast by myself.” Hal asked. 

“It is an easy task for us, Hal Jordan. Be on your way. We will await the cart.” Stel stated. 

“We can handle it, Jordan. Don’t worry about it. Just be quick. We don’t want to leave you behind.” Medphyll warned, smiling softly. 

Hal nodded, using his ring to hover off the ground. He flew down the rows of cells and around the rest of the deck, before he came to a security door. The small markings on the plate beside the door read “Laboratories”, in Kryptonian. 

‘Looks like he still practices the language.’ Hal noted, turning to the peculiar type of scanner. It was like a type of hand scanner, made for Brainiac clones. Looking around, Hal found a destroyed clone lying on the floor a few feet away, of which he lifted from the floor using his ring and ran its hand over the scanner. The scanner made a loud beep, signalling a defective hand scan. 

“Welp.” Hal said aloud, slamming his fist into the scanner. Now destroyed, the scanner sent a jolt of electricity to the door, unlocking it. With a swoosh, the door slid open, revealing the labs. Walking inside, Hal looked around. 

The main room was fairly large, big enough to house several large specimens at a time, if need be. There was a quartet of examination tables in the center of the room, in a box formation, though their instruments appeared on a small table beside each of them. Some of the tables still held pieces of the specimens that had been operated on recently, their blood still splattered on the white surface. 

A smaller room sat off to the side, black and purple mechanical arms twisting back and forth within it. The glass to the window of the room was cracked, having taken some kind of heavy impact, of which a huge pipe sat off to the side, lying on the floor. The cracks spider-webbed out from the initial impact site, giving the impression that the window would shatter at the slightest touch. 

Curious, Hal walked up to the door linking the two rooms, reading the label above it: “Observation Cell”. “Huh.” he said, heading to the window. Leaning his hand against it, he peered through the cracks. 

Inside, the arms were twisting frantically, trying to catch some kind of scarlet body struggling against them, often slipping out of their clawed grasps. The body seemed humanoid in nature, kicking and thrashing against the metallic claws that attempted to lock around its legs or neck. 

Hal watched as the small creature kicked its way to press its back against the wall, a claw wrapping around its neck, another grabbing hold of its waist. A third arm descended from the ceiling, some kind of syringe armed on it, filled with a green fluid. The two other arms held the creature still while the syringe leaned towards it, pressing into its scarlet skin. 

That’s when Hal noticed that the creature had a thick chain shackle around its neck locking it to the floor, and a silvery muzzle strapped to its face, with a single vertical hole in the front allowing it to breathe. 

The creature let out a muffled cry as Hal crashed through the window, spraying glass everywhere as he emerged into the room. One of the arms turned its attention to the green lantern, its clawed hand reaching to grab at his face. Hal constructed a sword, slicing through the mechanisms holding it up to the ceiling, watching the metal construct fall to the abnormally clean floor with a loud crash. 

The creature squirmed and whimpered as Hal approached, the claw still wrapped tight around its throat, while the other mechanical device pressed the syringe into its flesh. It curled tight into itself, body shaking in terror, unable to do much other than scoot farther against the wall as the green fluid entered its body. 

Hal tore the mechanical arms from the ceiling, letting them haphazardly fall to the floor as he caught the small creature before it hit the floor. It’s thin arms were chained behind its back with some kind of magnetic cuffs, its legs bent and twisted at odd angles. Hal used a simple laser and cut the chain locking it to the floor, letting the length of the cut chain dangle against him. The creature’s body spasmed against Hal as he lifted it into his arms, little choking sounds leaving the small hole in its muzzle, Hal holding it close as he rose to his feet. 

Flying quickly out the broken window, Hal bolted through the rest of the lower decks, ignoring the questioning looks from Stel and Medphyll as he dashed for the exit, using all his speed as a green lantern to fly directly towards the waiting transporter. 

Rocketing through the loading bay and through the transporter’s lower decks, Hal found himself being peered at by various aliens as he flew through the passenger ship, rounding a corner before he darted into the Infirmary, landing in the empty lobby with heavy breaths. 

The receptionist looked up, her eyes glowing a familiar andromedial green. She rushed to him instantly, directing him to an empty medical bed, where he lie the creature down. “Go rest in the lobby, Hal Jordan. I can continue without you, for the time being.” the android ordered. 

Hal looked at her as if she was crazy. Her white frame was marked with a medical patch on either of her shoulders, and a green lantern symbol on the center of her chest. Her detailing was a darker shade of green. “Are you kidding me? I busted my ass to get here in time. I’m not leaving.” Hal protested. 

Ia turned to him with a glare. She had already removed the creature’s bindings, watching it seize in the medical bed: its arms jerking, legs twitching, breathing ragged and quick. A red fluid was leaking out of the corner of its open mouth, dripping down its neck onto the sheets of the bed. “I need space in order to work, Hal Jordan.” she explained. 

Hal looked to her in understanding. “Can I help?” he asked. 

Sighing, Ia nodded. She hooked up various equipment to the creature’s body, all while it seized in her grasp. “Hold it down. It requires a heart monitor.” she ordered. 

Hal nodded, using his ring to pin the creature’s body to the bed using energy shackles. He made sure the shackles weren’t tight enough to hurt it, but at the same time, strong enough to contain it. 

Ia quickly hooked up the heart monitor to the creature’s chest, watching the results with interest. “Cardiac arrest.” she stated as the creature’s body suddenly stopped moving. It’s eyes rolled into its head, and it went limp on the medical bed. 

“We’ve got to do something!” Hal cried, looking to the android with disdain. 

Ia nodded in agreement, turning to the curtain around them. “Where are you going?” Hal asked. 

“We need a defibrillator set. It’s in one of the other medical bays.” Ia replied.

“We don’t have time for that!” Hal exclaimed, constructing a defibrillator. He placed it against the creature’s chest, looking to Ia. “Tell me what to do.” he requested. 

Ia nodded, turning to the heart rate monitor. “Move the electrodes up a fraction. It’s a terran, so the heart will be further up, and to the left side of its chest. Now, on three, shock it’s heart back into a rhythm. One...two...three! Clear!” she ordered. 

Hal did as he was told, sending a jolt of electricity into the creature’s body. The creature’s chest arced upward, yet it remained limp. He looked to Ia once more. “Any response?” he asked. 

Ia was examining the heart rate monitor. “No heartbeat.” she stated. 

Chapter Text

Chapter 3: Life

Hal ground his teeth, sending another wave of electricity through the creature’s body. “Come on, come on . Live, dammit!” he pleaded, tears welling in his eyes. 

After the fifth shock, and no cardiac response, Hal felt a heavy hand on his shoulder. Lifting his head, he noted that Kilowog had followed him to the Infirmary, along with Medphyll and Stel. Katma, Guy, and Jon had also joined them, their faces filled with concern. The warthog-like alien looked at him with a pleading expression. “Hal, stop .” he ordered. 

Defeated, Hal bowed his head in anguish, allowing his defibrillators to deconstruct themselves. “It was the only one...the only one still alive .” he mumbled, lost in thought. 

Medphyll stepped forward, bowing his head respectively. “It can rest now. No one can harm it anymore.” the tree-being stated, his voice full of sadness. 

Hal averted his gaze from the limp body in front of him. His hands shook in his lap. With fury? With sadness? With grief? He didn’t know. He ground his teeth. “Why wasn’t I there sooner ? I could’ve saved it.” he growled angrily. 

Stel stepped forward, gazing over the creature silently, his single green eye scanning over it. After a moment, he turned to Hal. “You were present when you needed to be.” he stated bluntly. 

Hal ran a hand through his hair. For once, he let his eyes wander over the creature: It was small, smaller than him, but skinnier and leaner, yet had the same body structure as a human. The creature’s head was marked by a smooth dome, golden lightning bolts extending from the forehead over the top of said dome, vanishing into its smooth skin. Similar lightning bolts extended from its wrists, circled its chest, bordered its hips, and extended upwards from its ankles to its lean calves. A lightning-bolt-shaped ear node sat on either side of its head, drooped downward in its stillness. It completely lacked claws, a tail, horns, and whatever Hal could determine would come from a predator. 

The lanterns suddenly found themselves struggling to find their balance as the ship shook, huge tremors sending overwhelmingly large shockwaves throughout the ship’s interior. “What the hell is going on?” Guy asked. 

“Some kind of storm, maybe?” Jon theorized. 

“Not a chance. We don’t get storms out in these sectors.” Medphyll replied. 

Just as suddenly, the lights went out. “Fuck this!” Guy cried, holding onto Katma for dear life. 

“Stop being such a baby!” Jon snapped angrily. 

Hal was silent, eyes drawn to the creature’s body. Electricity was gathering around the creature’s form, pulsing through its scarlet skin, glowing a lovely crimson color. 

Ia stood beside the bed, her eyes filled with wonder. She reached out to touch the creature’s arm, red electricity flooding her body. She cried out before she hit the floor, sparking at the edges. 

“Ia!” Stel cried, running to help the woman to her feet. 

To their shock, the electricity only seemed to grow in magnitude, the electronics in the room blinking on and off, others sparking with the power surge. The creature’s chest lifted upwards with the polarity of the charge, the electricity gathering primarily on its front. “Duck!” Hal shouted as the electricity jumped from the creature’s body towards them. 

The entire group hit the deck as the electricity jumped above their heads, vanishing out the door in red arcs of sparking voltage that fried every device that it came into contact with it. Shouts could be heard outside the Infirmary before the lights turned back on, the group cautiously rising to their feet, looking to each other with shock and concern. 

“Well, that was interesting.” Medphyll stated half-heartedly. 

Hal glanced back at the creature’s body, spotting the choppy lifts and falls of its chest. Rushing to grab a fluid vacuum, he shoved it down the creature’s throat, switching it on. With a watery flushing sound, the vacuum quickly filled with a white fluid, before Hal pushed it aside, reaching for an oxygen mask. 

Ia located and clamped the gelatin-based mask to the creature’s mouth within a second, fresh oxygen flooding the creature’s lungs, its chest steadily rising and falling. It’s eyes were closed, but it looked to be at peace, for the time being. Ia glanced to the heart monitor and smiled softly. “It is stable.” she reported. 

Hal sighed, his heart rate finally calming down. “I can’t believe it came back.” he mumbled. 

Ia was silent, running a scan over the creature’s body. She made a face, before turning to Hal, Medphyll, and Stel. “Tell me what you know of this patient.” she ordered. 

Hal ran a hand through his brown hair. “I found it down in Brainiac’s labs. It was in the observation cell.” he explained. 

“What was it doing down there? Why was it out of the normal cells? And why was it alive?” Jon asked. 

“It seems as if Brainiac was in the process of killing it, based on this mess.” Katma replied. 

“What happened to put it in this state?” Guy asked. 

“In the observation cell, it was pinned against the wall, by some kind of mechanical arms. I tried to get to it, but one of the arms injected it with a green fluid. I don’t know what that fluid was, but it seems pretty deadly to me.” Hal explained, glancing back at the creature. 

“I will isolate a sample of its blood in order to determine what exactly the poison is, then specifically counteract it. However, we do have another matter that is an issue.” Ia stated. 

“You cannot identify what species it is, am I correct?” Stel asked. 

Ia nodded. “The information does not exist in our system, as of yet. There is no data concerning this species.” she explained. 

“How did you know she couldn’t-” Guy asked before Medphyll interrupted him. 

“They share the same database. We all do. But, as androids, they have better access to it.” the tree-creature explained. 

“Correct.” Stel and Ia replied in unison. 

“Are you going to transfer it to the medical bay, when we get back?” Katma asked. 

“Most certainly. It still requires medical attention. And until I determine if it fits into a species genre, then we may have no other way to offer it treatment.” Ia explained. 

Kilowog yawned, stretching. “Well, we should go see what kind of damage the little guy created with that lightning.” he suggested. 

“True. Ia, keep an eye on it for us, alright?” Hal requested. 

“Of course, Hal Jordan. I will report my findings to you when we return to Oa.” Ia replied. 

With that, the group headed out of the Infirmary, leaving the scarlet creature to the android’s care. 

Chapter Text

Chapter 4: Discovery

Another hour and a half passed before Transporter 112 arrived on Oa, and the creature was transferred to the medical bay, similar to an Earth-based hospital, for further treatment. Once finishing his duties, Hal found himself heading to the medical bay, greeting Ia at the desk. 

“How are you, Hal Jordan?” the android asked, her voice monotonous. 

Hal rubbed his eyes. He was tired. “I’m kind of tired. I just wanted to check in on the newest patient.” he replied. 

Ia nodded, projecting the creature’s lab charts using her mechanical hand. Instantly, her face fell. “Are you certain you wish to hear the results?” she asked, looking to Hal uncertainty. 

Hal nodded slowly. “How bad is it?” he asked back. He couldn’t read the charts backwards, and hoped that Ia wouldn’t lie to him, though he doubted she could, given her programming. 

“Dehydration, starvation, sleep-deprivation, oxygen-deprivation. Fractures: pelvis left, femur left, tibia left, fibula right, talus right. Cracks: false ribs one through five, cranium upper.” she explained. 

Hal sighed, running a hand through his hair. He bit his lip. “Is there brain damage?” he asked. 

Ia looked over the charts silent for a moment. “Possibly. I cannot confirm. There was internal bleeding into the lungs, of which was cleared. The patient currently requires a ventilator.” she replied. 

“How long do you think it’s got?” Hal asked. 

“A few days, possibly. Unless it recovers, and I can confirm brain damage, there’s no confirming its survival permanently.” Ia replied. 

Hal was glad they weren’t standing in the creature’s room. He didn’t want it to hear them. “Is there anything I can do?” he asked. 

“I have been attempting to find any and all information regarding this patient. As far as I can tell, there is none. This is concerning to me, due to the possibility that I may be applying the wrong treatment. I am currently using treatments used for humans, since this creature’s body is so similar to that of an earthling. If there’s any information you can acquire that is available outside my reach, I would ask you to find and share it. Otherwise, I will continue to delve for information over our database, and continue treatment using human designs.” Ia requested. 

“You got it, Ia.” Hal replied, heading out of the medical bay. He found himself returning to his desk, in his search for answers. 

Seating himself with a fresh cup of coffee, he picked up his datapad, basically an alien form of an Ipad, and set to work. Opening the “Species Log”, or what he liked to call “Alienopedia”, he began a search. 

Search (all files)> red skin… 

‘Is it really skin, though? It could be a really light layer of fur, or scales! I didn’t really get a good look at it, so I can’t be sure, but-’ Hal’s thoughts were cut off by the search results returning. ‘Stop your tangents, Harold, you big oaf! Just go with skin! It looked like skin, so it’s skin until proven otherwise!’ he scolded himself. 

Result > 4,182,170,384 species. 

Hal almost choked on his coffee. ‘Right, forgot how difficult this could be sometimes.’ he noted. Absentmindedly, he took out his drawing pad, pulling out the electric pen. As he thought, he drew up a sketch of the creature, using the multi-pen to color it. 

“Hmm…” he hummed, drawing large red lightning bolts arcing off the creature’s body. 

Search (all files)> red skin, type: electric… 

Result > 1,122,564 species. 

‘What kind of electricity is red? I’ve never seen red lightning, but I mean, I’ve seen one of those orange lanterns with yellow electricity. Can’t judge people, Hal.’ Hal thought, nibbling on the end of his pen. 

“It would help if I knew what sector it’s from.” he pondered aloud. He looked up at the universal map sitting on the corner of his desk. Raising a hand over the control orb to switch it on, he watched as the map displayed a specific projected universe. “If I was a humanoid terran, where would I live?” Hal asked. 

“What?” Kilowog asked. 

Hal almost jumped out of his chair. “Jesus christ, Kilowog! You scared the shit out of me!” the earthling puffed, hitting his knee painfully hard against his desk. 

“Sorry, Hal. Just wanted to check on ya. Seems like you’re doing research.” Kilowog replied with a cheeky smile. 

“For a big dude, you can be very quiet sometimes. But, yeah, I’m doing some research on our little scarlet friend in the hospital.” Hal replied. 

“Ah, okay.” Kilowog noted. He was silent for a moment before he glanced at the map Hal was examining. “Trying to figure out where it’s from?” he asked. 

“Yeah. It’s got a humanoid structure, so it has to be a relative of my species. Maybe an evolved species?” Hal reasoned, looking to the Bolovaxian. 

“What have you got so far using the Alienopedia?” Kilowog asked. 

“It’s got red skin, and it’s electric.” Hal replied. 

Kilowog chuckled. “You’ve got to be more specific than that . What about what you said?” he offered. 

“True.” Hal replied, turning back to his datapad, typing in some commands. 

Search (all files)> red skin, type: electric, close relative: human… 

Result > 7,339 species.

“There we go. Getting closer. What else can we use?” Kilowog asked. He wasn’t usually the brainy type, but he could be helpful sometimes. 

“The markings? It doesn’t look like a predator, so…” Hal trailed off, typing again. 

Search (all files)> red skin, type: electric, close relative: human, external markings: lightning bolts, non-predator… 

Result >  286 species.

“Damn!” Hal growled, grinding his teeth. 

“We’re close. Hmm. What about the suggested searches?” Kilowog asked. 

Hal glanced down at the sub-bar. “Suggested abilities? We don’t know what it’s capable of. It’s still in bed, and we can’t talk to it. We don’t even know what language it speaks.” Hal reasoned. 

Kilowog nodded. “We know it can transport itself fast, somehow. What about portals?” he suggested. 

“I’ll try that.” Hal replied. 

Search (all files)> red skin, type: electric, close relative: human, external markings: lightning bolts, non-predator, suggested abilities: portal… 

Result >  0 species.

“Well, we tried.” Hal smirked. 

Kilowog was silent again, pondering. “What if...what if the Guardians know about it, but just don’t have information on it?” he suggested. 

“That would be a locked file.” Hal replied. 

“I know, I know, we shouldn’t access locked files-” Kilowog began. 

“Let’s do it.” Hal grinned. 

“Really? You’d be okay with breaking the rules?” Kilowog asked. 

“You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for you to say that.” Hal grinned, turning back to his datapad. 

Search (locked files) > red skin, type: electric, close relative: human, external markings: lightning bolts, non-predator, suggested abilities: portal… 

Result > 1 species.

Hal and Kilowog’s eyes went wide when a single file popped up on the screen, glowing like green treasure. “Is that it? The file we’re looking for?” Kilowog asked cautiously. 

Hal was silent, reaching forward to select the file. Opening it, the duo were greeted with a simple title: “SPEEDSTER”. 

“What’s in it?” Kilowog asked. 

“I’m getting to it. Just a minute.” Hal replied, his eyes scanning over the few words actually written on the page. Everything else was blank, save for a pair of images. The first image showed a very distant picture of what seemed to be a blurry figure vanishing into some kind of portal, the second displaying what seemed to be a blast of electricity as the portal closed. 

>SPEEDSTER<

Notes: Unconfirmed species. 

Rarity: unknown

Homeworld: unknown

Relatives: Human (possible)

Type: electric (suggested)

Abilities: interspatial gateway (portal)

Description: smooth flesh (possible match: skin), red color flesh, non-predator, external markings (lightning bolts described).

“Wow.” Hal mumbled, scanning over the little information in shock. 

“Seems like the Guardians know about it, but haven’t personally met one before.” Kilowog reasoned. 

“Maybe. There’s not even an image of its body structure. This is crazy.” Hal mumbled, lost in thought. 

“We should probably seek an audience with the Guardians. They’d want to know more about it. And what we’ve got won’t be much to explain the only survivor to Brainiac’s kidnapping and murder spree.” Kilowog reasoned. 

“True. Do you think they have any time now?” Hal asked. 

“I can give Kyle a call and ask.” Kilowog offered, stepping outside for a moment. 

Hal stared wild-eyed at the information before him, sipping his coffee curiously. ‘Why did Brainiac want you ?’ he thought. 

Kilowog stuck his head back into the room, nodding to him. “We’re good. Kyle said they’ve got space cleared for a considerable amount of time. That’s our cue.” the Bolovaxian reported.

Chapter Text

Chapter 5: Lore

Heading up the stairs to the Guardians’ council chairs, Hal and Kilowog walked side-by-side until they stood in the center of the circle, where they would have each and every Guardian’s attention. Kyle Rayner stood off to the side, attending to some business on a monitor. His nose was buried in work, so Hal didn’t take much note of him, other than being his friend. 

“Kilowog. Hal Jordan. We hear you have a matter of much importance to bring to our attention.” Appa greeted. 

Hal cleared his throat. “Yeah. I mean, yes, sir. It concerns the survivor from the raid on Brainiac’s ship.” Hal explained. 

“A survivor? We have not been given word of this.” Ganthet questioned. 

“For a good reason, probably . The survivor couldn’t be identified with the Species Log directly. It took a good guess on Hal and I’s part to identify it, and we’re still not sure if it’s correct.” Kilowog explained. 

“Has Ia received this information?” Niad asked. 

“No, sir. Since it couldn’t be a complete identification, we didn’t believe-” Kilowog began before Herupa cut him off. 

“You believed ? We have protocols here, Kilowog. Any information regarding medical patients, or assignments, is to be sent to Ia, and reported to us immediately. Whether or not you believed the information relevant or not, it must be reported to Ia, for the sake of the survivor’s treatment!” Herupa barked. 

Kilowog shrank at the scolding. “Of course, sir. But-” Kilowog began before Pazu interrupted him. 

“That may be true, however, the concept of relevancy wasn’t decided by Kilowog, am I correct? Your intention was to gain more information regarding this survivor, due to the fact that the file you find relative to this survivor’s species is not complete.” Pazu asked. 

“Yes, mam.” Hal replied. 

“What is the profile you were concerning yourselves with in trying to make the identification?” Baris asked. 

“The file was labeled “Speedster”.” Hal replied. 

There was visible shock among the Guardians. “You must be joking! They don’t exist!” Scar laughed. 

“We haven’t confirmed their existence, Scar. That doesn’t mean they do not exist.” Sayd corrected. 

“What have you found to confirm this?” Ganthet asked. 

“Just the details on the file, which isn’t much.” Hal replied. 

The Guardians were silent, contemplating the lanterns’ statements. “We do lack a considerable amount of information on this subject. It would only be natural to question the survivor’s species, given that we cannot identify it directly.” Appa reasoned. 

“Do you have any information to offer our research?” Kilowog asked nervously. 

The Guardians were silent, before Ganthet nodded slowly. “Speedsters were said to be a higher form of evolution. They are supposedly evolved from humans. They are said to have the ability to create interspatial, interdimensional, and intertime gateways, using their own bodily energy. We do not have evidence of this, of course, but if this is true, then capturing one may prove a near-impossible feat.” she explained. 

Hal was pondering the information offered to him. “What would someone do with one of these Speedsters?” he asked. 

“Do? They are extremely powerful beings, and to the extreme of rare. We only have records of one of them, and those records are incomplete.” Niad chuckled. 

“If one were to harness a Speedster’s power, however…” Herupa began before trailing off. 

“Indeed. Disaster would befall billions. Time and space would become malleable to the one who controls that power.” Nguanzo added. 

“We have yet to learn what Brainiac’s plan was, in capturing those various species, of which you found the corpses of. We have several lanterns investigating the ship itself, for more information, but we have yet to find a true motive behind his actions. Until then, we must take the utmost care in the sole survivor of his terrors.” Scar stated. 

“Agreed.” the various Guardians answered. 

“Question the survivor, once it regains consciousness and has the ability to communicate. It would do us best to learn more about it, and what circumstances befell it.” Appa ordered. 

“Understood, sir.” Kilowog and Hal replied in unison. 

“That will be difficult. The patient is nowhere to be found.” Ia’s voice stated from behind the duo. 

Turning around, the duo found the android standing at the edge of the speaking platform, her hands folded neatly across her front. “Your patient is missing?” Kilowog echoed, concern in his voice. 

“Yes. I was running a secondary scan, with the intent to track the patient’s healing progress during the day. I returned to the patient’s room to find it...gone.” the android explained. 

“Gone? Like dead? Or-” Hal began before Ia cut him off. 

“It left the premises of the medical bay, and proceeded to leave no evidence of its existence behind.” Ia rephrased. 

“Do you have any idea where it went?” Kilowog asked. 

Ia shook her head, looking down at her feet. “I do not.” she replied, sadly. She was built to be a medic, doctor, warrior, and manager of most of Oa’s functions. She wasn’t built to feel stress or guilt in herself. 

“How could it even get out of bed, at this point? It was so injured.” Kilowog reasoned. 

Ia projected a series of images using her mechanical hand, allowing the duo to look over them. “These are the scans I recorded once the patient arrived in the Infirmary, back on Transporter 112.” she explained. The scans depicted fractures, bruising, and cracks in various places along the creature’s body, both externally, and internally. “And this scan was taken approximately ten minutes and twenty four seconds ago.” she stated. The new images showed nothing of the like: a perfectly clean bill of health, save for a little damage to the skull. 

“One scan depicts extreme injuries, while the other, taken this same day, shows nothing save for a simple head injury? How curious.” Ganthet stated. 

“This must be evidence of an exponentially fast healing ability we have yet to record. How exciting!” Pazu smiled. 

Suddenly, an alarm was going off at Kyle’s station, where the lantern was typing furiously into a command box. After a moment, he turned to the Guardians. “The scanners are picking up an extreme amount of energy moving very fast across the surface of Oa. We can’t get a lock on the source, but it keeps managing to avoid our scouts.” Kyle reported. 

“That could be our patient.” Hal reasoned. 

“Where is it going?” Kilowog asked. 

Kyle turned to the command box, typing in a set of instructions. A map was displayed, with a single projectile moving across the map with more speed than the map could load itself in. “It doesn’t look to have a direction. It’s all over the place, really. There’s not a set path, so I can’t predict it, either.” Kyle explained. 

Hal turned to the Guardians, his eyes twinkling. “Can I have your permission to pursue this patient in a capture-and-contain assignment?” he asked. 

The Guardians whispered amongst themselves for a moment before nodding to him. “Capture and contain with as little damage as possible. We must study it.” Appa ordered. 

Hal turned to Kilowog, nudging his shoulder. “Let’s go.” he urged. 

Kilowog nodded his dismissal, running down the stairs after Hal. 

Chapter Text

Chapter 6: Containment

As soon as they were out of sight, Hal and Kilowog took to the air, using their rings to ascend into the skies. “If we get high enough, I think we might be able to see where the energy is coming from.” Kilowog reasoned. 

“Good idea. You take the left, and I’ll take the right.” Hal suggested. 

Kilowog nodded as they flew high into the clear sky, their heads on a swivel. “See anything?” the Bolovaxian asked. 

Hal gazed far out into the more open areas of Oa’s surface, spotting a single red streak running away from them on the horizon. “That way!” he shouted, taking off after the blur. 

They shot through the skies as fast as they could, the blur still hundreds of feet in front of them, its dust kicking up enough particles to make Hal’s eyes water. “It’s too fast!” Kilowog shouted. The Bolovaxian was even farther behind Hal, by a dozen or so feet. 

“Looks like it’s time for a speed boost!” Hal called back. Constructing a jetpack with his ring, he locked himself into it, turning on the boost. He launched forward with amazing speed, the wind blowing past his face and exciting him beyond belief. 

The jetpack gave him the speed needed to just catch up with the creature, hovering above it by at least a dozen feet. Constructing a wall, Hal slammed the construct into the ground in front of the creature’s running route, effectively blocking its path.

The creature came to a screeching halt, slamming hard into Hal’s construct with enough force to effectively shatter it. Hal flinched as the creature bounced against the ground several times before rolling to a stop against the ground, lying on its stomach. Just for safety, Hal constructed a cage around it, large enough to hold a gorilla if need be. 

As the creature sat up, it groaned, shaking its head. Looking around dizzily, the creature’s eyes glassily scanned the environment before settling on Hal, its irises shrinking down to pinpricks. The creature pressed its back into the farthest bars of the cage, whimpering as tears pooled in its eyes. “P-please, no more. I-I don’t want...don’t hurt me...anymore, please .” a meek, scared voice left the creature’s mouth, its body beginning to shake. 

Startled, Hal moved to take a step forward, deconstructing the cage to approach the creature. The creature dug its hands into the dirt, slamming its eyes shut as Hal knelt before it, gulping audibly. “Please, don’t hurt me anymore. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” the creature whimpered pitifully. 

Hal sighed, smiling his best smile. “Hey. Slow down, would’ya? I just want to talk.” the lantern offered. He didn’t want to startle the creature any further than he already had. 

“T-talk?” the creature whimpered. 

“My name’s Hal, Hal Jordan.” Hal offered. 

Cautiously, the creature opened its eyes, chancing a glance at the lantern’s face. “You-you’re not... him ?” the creature asked, speechless. 

“Nope.” Hal replied casually. 

The creature rubbed its lovely blue eyes rather harshly before looking up at him again. “S-sorry. I can’t see very well right now. I’m sorry I mistook you for him.” the creature apologized. 

“I bet it’s all the green, huh?” Hal joked. 

“Kind of? I mean, it’s in all the same places, but now that I look, it doesn’t seem like the same shade.” the creature replied. 

Hal reached down and offered the creature a hand. “Need help standing up?” he offered. 

Cautiously, the creature took his hand, wobbly getting to its feet. “Thank you. My name’s Barry, Barry Allen.” the creature offered. 

“Nice to meet you, Barry. So, I know I’ve got a lot of explaining to do, but how about we find someplace a little more comfortable to talk?” Hal asked. 

Barry nodded in agreement. “I’d like that.” he replied. 

~ENDE