Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

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BASED OFF THE OWL HOUSE CREATED BY DANA TERRACE AND FOURTH WORLD CREATED BY JACK KIRBY…

𝐎𝐖𝐋𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐆𝐎𝐃𝐒

THE LANTERN ALLIANCE

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Chaos across the universe! Apokolips has suffered its first major defeat in centuries at the hands of the JUSTICE LEAGUE on Earth. Since then, the tyrannical DARKSEID has increased his force's presence throughout the stars in a desperate attempt to find the legendary ANTI-LIFE EQUATION, a transcendental formula that will cease the free will of any sentient being.

In response to this offensive, Apokolips’ enemy NEW GENESIS, unable to directly intervene thanks to a millennia old treaty, have relied on the Justice League as proxy agents to help innocents across the universe. Yet, despite these efforts, countless systems continue to fall into the iron grip of tyranny.

Thus, the latest countermeasure to Apokolips involves gathering the many LANTERN CORPS of the universe to form an alliance, but with few Leaguers available for the mission, New Genesis are forced to rely on a team of young metahumans led by former Captain of the Furies, BIG BARDA and son of Highfather, MISTER MIRACLE in their effort to preserve freedom across the cosmos…

Upstate Metropolis

When you usually think of Metropolis, you think of a big, sprawling city that is the center of technological innovations. Where one can see the Kryptonian streak across the sky at the speed of sound, stopping the next bank robbery or robot attack. No one ever thinks of the much more rural upstate area. Woodland cabins, coastal settlements, and farmland plains. A far cry from the urban jungle of buildings that touched the sky. Here, everything was small and humble. It was the perfect location for someone who wishes to lay low on the radar

On a coastal cliff house, a lone figure with a purple striped shirt, denim shorts with dark gray leggings, white shoes, and a forest green jacket took in the evening breeze. She looked to her side to see the sun slowly set on the horizon, giving the environment a beautiful glow of orange and purple light, with the only sound being the waves crashing against the beach and rocks beneath the cliffs. Luz Noceda liked that about this place. It was calm. Boring. She was free here. Away from judging eyes and constant noise.

She leaned down and picked up a rock, tossing it and catching it in her palm a few times before throwing it in the air and letting it fly, raising her hand, putting her fingers in a gun position and firing a bolt of yellow energy from her fingertips. It collided with the rock, exploding into dust.

She smirked, doing a little gesture imitating blowing away smoke from the gun barrel. She turned around, seeing her little step-brother, Gus come outside to take in the evening coastal breeze, wearing a simple blue t-shirt, with dark gray pants and brown shoes.

“Hey, Luz,” he said, observing the residual dust from the sky, “you’re doing target practice again?”

“I’m getting better every day,” she said, enthusiastically, “my shooting speeds are getting a lot faster.”

“You wanna test that theory?”

In response to that question, Luz leaned down, picking up another rock and tossing it to Gus, “I’ll show you. Do your thing.”

Gus caught the rock, clasped his other hand on top of it and slowly moved it upwards, revealing where there was once one rock, now there were two more, created in a cyan light. He looked to Luz with a smirk, “you ready?” He said, with a sly tone.

Luz nodded, “more than ready. Pull!”

With that, he tossed the rocks into the air, in cyan blue flashes, more rocks were formed in cyan lights in the air, which were quickly vaporized in yellow bolts of energy that were fired at speeds comparable to machine gun fire. After a second or so of silence, Luz looked to Gus with a smirk, “did I get them all?”

Gus had his eyes widened for a second before responding, “uh, no! You actually missed a spot.” As he said this, he created another rock on the ground, hoping she wouldn’t notice, but she did and simply blasted the copy rock, leaving a small smoking crater.

“Any other spots I missed?” Luz said with a sneer as Gus just whistled in a faux innocent way, hands behind his back.

Suddenly, a massive boom shook the area and echoed across the area. A massive tube of moving shapes appeared in the air. The sudden appearance took the teenagers by surprise as they fell on their backs trying to get their footing. As soon as it appeared, it closed, leaving a massive boom behind just like its appearance.

From the area where the tube appeared, five figures were present.

The first figure who stepped forward wore a summer yellow dress, brown boots, gray leggings, and topped with a blue bow on her collar. Her glasses were very big, covering up a third of her face, and her hair was slightly unkempt thanks to a few strands sticking out as though she was in a rush to get here. Her name was Willow Park.

The second figure who stepped forward wore a full pink dress with white borders, black leggings, and pink shoes. She had spiked bracelets and a choker, her hair was dyed green with obvious brown roots showing. She was Amity Blight.

The third figure wore a primarily red suit with a yellow stripe going across the middle of it, and a red, complex looking belt above green trunks with red pants. This was all complemented with green gloves, trunks, and boots, with a green high collar cape fastened with yellow buckles. Yellow button looking decals were on said gloves, boots, and belt, as well. His mask was also red, with a yellow pattern covering most of it. Strangely, his mouth and eyes were almost synchronized with the material as though the mask was an extension of flesh, despite resembling a common mask with white eyeholes. He was Scott Free, AKA Mister Miracle. Son of the New Genesis leader Highfather.

The fourth figure next to him couldn’t have been any more different. She was incredibly tall and wore a bright blue chainmail armor covering her, with a golden breastplate, greaves, faulds and gauntlets. Black bands with red dots complimented her upper arms and legs. Red hexagon shapes with black borders acted as a sort of belt above her faulds. She had a massive helmet, primarily black, but with a gold outline around it that formed horn-like structures on each side, with a red maedate complimenting it. All of this was topped off with a red cape, which was held by a black gorget. She was Big Barda. Former Captain of the Furies, now turned hero.

And the fifth and final figure had an incredibly simple outfit consisting of a primarily red suit, with black pants, gloves and boots. Silver outlines were on his boots and gloves, with a silver belt and a black collar. A silver helmet with small horns adorned on it covered his face, with a golden line that formed what looked like a sun with a red center on the forehead. Despite the white glow of the eye holes, one can see a seemingly permanent grimace on his face thanks to his visible mouth. He was Orion… The son of the dreaded Lord of Apokolips, Darkseid, who fights for the side of good.

Luz got up, wiping the dirt off her sweater, then looking towards the group for a second or two, processing the members present. With a big smile, she laughed excitedly, running up to them in a hurry, Gus following suit behind her, laughing along with her.

"Guys!" Gus shouted excitedly as he nearly tackled Willow, with Luz practically glomping Amity, much to her annoyance and blushing.

Willow laughed at the affection before returning it, "I missed you too, Gus," she then turned to Luz, who was still bear hugging Amity, "and you too, of course, Luz."

Luz then dropped Amity, heading towards Willow, "ven aquí," she said, giving Willow a big hug as well.

Gus went to Amity, holding his arms out with a big old smile. Amity sighed, smiled and answered back with a hug as well, "yeah, yeah, I missed you two as well." She said, with a low tone.

Luz and Gus then went up to Scott and Barda, giving them hugs respectively as well. Though with Barda being seven feet tall, Gus basically only went up to her waist.

Scott laughed a bit, ruffling Luz's hair, “it’s good to see you kids again,” he then pulled off his mask from his head, revealing his somewhat scraggly black hair, “you’ve grown up so much.”

“Look how tall you’ve grown in particular, little one,” Barda said, chuckling as she placed a hand on Gus’ head, “you’re a few inches taller now. You sound different, too.”

Gus pulled back from his hug, “yeah. Puberty does that to you.”

Gus and Luz then looked to Orion, their once happy expression turning to a more neutral and uneasy one. The duo went up to the helmeted New Genisean, standing firm and still.
“Orion,” Luz said sternly, with Gus simply nodding to acknowledge him.

Orion took off his helmet, revealing his face that was topped with red hair. He put the helmet under his arm and held it by his side, “Luz Noceda. Gus Porter,” he said, nodding as he turned his head to each of them, “a pleasure to see you both again.”

He then raised his hand for them to shake it, which they tentatively did. After that, he continued, “forgive us for the sudden intrusion, it is a pressing matter.”

“That’s ok,” Gus said, before turning to the others, “I’m just so happy you guys are here! We have so much catching up to do!”

“Yeah! You guys missed out on a lot!" Luz said as she grabbed Willow and Amity's arms while walking towards the house. She then whispered just loud enough for both of them to hear, "you gotta see the super secret thing I've been working on. It'll blow your minds."

As they walked to the house, they saw two figures emerge from the door. One wore a green trench coat with a light blue shirt underneath and dark blue pants. Her red glasses were adjusted as she stepped outside. She was Luz’s birth mother and Gus’ stepmother, Camila Noceda.

The second figure behind her also wore glasses, but they were outlined brown and square shaped. He wore a yellow flannel shirt with beige pants. He, too, adjusted his glasses as he stepped outside. He was Gus’ birth father and Luz’s step father, Perry Porter.

“What is going on here-” Camila said to her kids before noticing the figures walking with them, “oh.”

“Mom! Perry!” Luz called out, letting go of Willow and Amity. Gus followed her, rushing 

“We thought it was an earthquake,” Perry said, “but it’s nice to see it’s just some old friends.”

“Para algunos, llamarlos ‘amigos’ es un tramo….” Camila whispered, a hint of venom in her tone as her eyes narrowed on the New Gods stepping up to the front porch. Her attention then moved to Amity and Willow, tone completely changing as she knelt down, “oh, but it’s so good to see you two again.”

Willow smiled, giving her a hug, “it’s good to see you too, Miss Noceda,” she then paused before correcting herself, “or is it Mrs. Porter now?”

“Call me whatever you want, mija.”

Camila then turned to Amity, giving her a hug as well, which she returned, albeit a bit awkwardly. She then stood up and welcomed them both into her home, “please, come in. All of you. We just finished dinner.”

One by one, they entered the house, though not without a dirty glare towards the New Geniseans, especially towards Orion, one which the god noticed, but chose to ignore.

Passing by the entrance, they entered the house. They noticed all the wonderful furniture and pictures hanging on the walls or on shelves on cupboards, next to other amenities such as vases, books, and even a record player. A look at the kitchen confirmed that yes, they just finished their dinner, seeing how the plates and utensils in the sink seemed to be just washed.

Scott spoke up, “I see you all settled in quite nicely.”

“Yeah, we did,” Luz responded before a smirk appeared on her face, “though, we would have done it faster if Gus stopped using his powers to make it look like we finished early,” she whispered to him before Gus hit her arm with his elbow, making Scott laugh.

As the children headed to the living room, Perry spoke to the New Gods, “please, make yourselves at home. Have a seat.”

Orion made a dismissive gesture, “I appreciate the offer, but we are on urgent business.”

“Ah. League business, I presume?”

Orion only nodded at his question, if a bit solemnly. Camila folded her arms at this before sighing while Perry adjusted his glasses with an awkward side glance. The former then looked over at Luz gesturing at pictures towards the other two children and telling them the stories about them.

“That one was taken at a national park not far from here,” she said as she held a picture of the family in front of a bunch of trees, “it’s a nice place. Especially in autumn-”

“Luz. Gus.” Camila said, gaining their attention, “why don’t you go upstairs and show your friends what you’ve worked on?”

Luz and Gus’ faces lit up, “I almost forgot!” the former said as she grabbed Amity’s arm and rushed up the stairs and the latter followed, with Willow taking half a second to process what was happening and zooming upwards to the other children as she figured it out.

Camila and Perry smiled before they turned back to the New Geniseans, “alright,” the former said sternly, sitting down on a chair, “it’s time for the adults to talk.”

“Yes,” said Orion as Scott and Barda leaned against the wall awkwardly, “let’s talk.”

Chapter Text

When Luz and Gus reached the top of the staircase, the former was still holding Amity’s arm, much to her blushing that she tried to hide. Eventually, she let go of it as she headed towards a room at the center of the hallway, a big grin on her face as she opened the door for them all to see.

Luz’s room was exactly what Willow and Amity expected it to look like. Posters of various anime shows and superheroes dotted the walls with no rhyme or reason, figurines of various characters lined shelves and tables, and a book with the title along the lines of ‘ The Good Witch Azura ’ lay on a cluttered desk filled with crumpled papers and pencils that were half shaved. A bed lay in the corner of the room, the sheets wrinkled and barely qualified as folded. It was a mess, but it was her mess and she didn’t look embarrassed in the slightest about it.

Willow was the first to speak up as she picked up a figurine of Superman from the desk, “so what’s the whole secret you’re gonna show us, exactly?”

Luz ignored her question at first as she headed to the closet door, opening it and shuffling through the hanger rack, before finally answering, “you gotta close your eyes.”

Gus then sneaked up behind Amity and summoned a cloth rag to cover her eyes, making her yelp in surprise, much to his amusement, “Gus!” She yelled, “not funny!”

“It’s a little bit funny,” he said to the side as he did the same to Willow, who at least could see him do it to her, “no peeking, by the way.”

Gus then zipped to Luz, who stopped shuffling through the clothes and pulled out four articles of clothing, handing two to Gus. They then went to the center of the room and held out the outfits for both their friends to see in full view.

“Ok, you can open them,” Luz said, which was Gus’ que to remove the rags covering both their eyes, “Ta-da!” yelled both step-siblings as they held out the costumes in proud display for both their friends to see.

Luz held the first two costumes. The first one was incredibly simple as it was mostly white, with an indigo, triangular shape covering most of the upper body area. The boots were also indigo with a golden outline, and a golden belt was across the waist, ending in a round buckle of the same color. It was topped off with a cape that was a light purple on the inside and a dark purple on the outside, held by golden buckles that looked similar to the ones on Scott’s costume.

The second costume in her hands was much more simple. It was a black dress and skirt separated with a gray belt, with the sleeves ending with long golden gloves. The chest of the outfit actually had a logo in the form of a golden crescent moon surrounding an orchid circle. The leggings were a dark gray leading to black pointed shoes.

Gus held the third and fourth costumes. The third outfit was mostly a dull green, in fact, almost all of it was dull green. The shirt was a dull green, along with the leggings, and sleeves. But there were a few bits of color breakers here and there. While the faulds were also a dull green, it had strange purple lines forming a strange pattern on the inside. The outfit also had an emblem on the chest, that being what looked like a stylized pink flower and black stem and was topped off with purple boots.

And the fourth and final outfit was another simple one, yet complex at the same time. It had a yellow body with gray sleeves and leggings, with gold boots. A strange, white pattern encompassed most of the body, with it being finalized with a black paludamentum with a red inside across the shoulder with a high collar that would put Scott’s cape to shame.

Luz and Gus held the outfits for a solid five seconds before Willow and Amity processed it all. “Wow,” an amazed Willow said, moving forward to feel the first costume in her hand, “you… made these?”

Luz nodded, “it took a few pricked fingers, but the hours of sewing was worth it.” She then stepped forwards to Amity, handing out the dress outfit to her, “it was just a dumb little side project to pass the time, you know?”

“Dumb? This is amazing, Luz! They look so good! What material is all this?”

Luz shrugged, “spandex and cloth, mostly. Took a loooooot out of my allowance,” She handed the second outfit in one of her hands to Amity, while keeping the first outfit to herself, “and they’re all for us.”

Gus stepped forward and handed Willow the third outfit, while Luz handed Amity the second one. Both Willow and Amity had a look of surprise as they were handed the costumes, the latter measuring it up to herself, raising a brow as she discovered it was a tad bit oversized.

Luz put a hand on her head in embarrassment, “yeah, I may have done some guessing on your sizes.”

Amity just smiled, “it’s the thought that counts.”

Gus stepped forward, hands on his own costume, “we’re glad you guys like it. Took a lot of work to make it look right.”

“I would have finished the costumes a week faster if Gus didn’t keep making the materials disappear on me,” Luz said to the side, receiving another elbow to the arm by Gus.

“Two in one day, are we gonna make it to three?”

“You just make it too easy,” Luz sneered as she placed the costume she held on her bed, “so with the costumes out of the way, how are you guys? It’s been too long!”

Willow pulled up the chair on Luz’s desk to sit down on it as she answered, “nothing much on my end. School has occupied most of my life.”

“Oh, come on, there has to be something,” Luz said, sitting on the edge of the bed as she asked.

Willow seemed to think for a second before responding, “we did some spring cleaning.”

Luz and Gus groaned, “that’s not interesting!” the former said while Willow laughed it off, “what can I say, I’m not a very exciting person.”

“Ok, but have you been training your powers, at least? Student by day, crime fighter by night?” Gus asked, a genuinely curious tone in his voice as he sat down on the floor, his costume put to the side.

Willow looked to the side awkwardly, a sheepish laugh emerging from her, “not exactly.”

Gus threw up his arms as though he was offended, “are you kidding me!?” he yelled, “you mean to tell me you did nothing?!”

Willow just chuckled, “sorry, Gus. I just wanted to live a regular life after the events of last summer, you know? If it helps, my dads told me I could always practice my powers growing our vegetable garden.”

Gus rubbed his brows while groaning, “The Justice League or the Teen Titans could be at our doorstep any day now, how are they gonna react when they find out that you use your powers to grow eggplants!?”

Willow only laughed at the image as Gus stared at her with the most disappointed expression.  Amity then leaned down to Gus’s level, a soft tone of voice as she spoke, “if it makes you feel better, Gus, I’ve been training my own powers.”

Gus sighed in relief, “finally, someone who speaks my language here!” Much to Amity’s amusement as she said the next thing she was about to say, “buuuut, it took some coaxing from Scott and Barda for me to do it.”

Gus’ face was blank, but he inhaled and raised an index finger, “what matters is that you did it,” he said, eyes closed in faux serenity, “it’s nice to see you take it a bit seriously.”

“Oh, stop acting like a baby,” Luz said with a dismissive gesture, “they do their own thing, we do ours. As much fun as it was making those costumes, I don’t think they are in a rush to become superheroes anytime soon like we are.”

Gus rolled his eyes with that statement as he lay down on the carpet, hands behind his head and staring at the ceiling, “well, when they come to recruit us, at least two of us will be ready.”

Luz scoffed, “you’re impossible.”

As the two step-siblings laughed it off, Amity sat down on the carpet, adjusting her dress as she did so. Speaking when they ended their little session, “gonna be honest, part of the coaxing was because Oberon needed a new show to keep the seats filled for his circus and I just happened to have some of the flashiest powers, so…”

“How is Oberon doing, by the way?” Luz asked, “I didn’t see him when you guys showed up.”

Amity’s face formed an expression of melancholy as she looked to the floor, tracing a finger on the carpet, “he died about two months ago. All those cigars, you know?”

The mood in the room changed in an instant, with Gus raising up from his position, “he’s… actually dead?”

Amity nodded before continuing, “He announced that he was dying after the finale of the biggest night in the circus’ history. None of us saw it coming. I guess he didn’t want to break everyone’s hearts,” she then sighed before continuing, “his last will and testament was disbanding the whole gig, sharing the profits from the sold off assets with every performer. I guess he wanted us to live a normal life.”

Willow noticed her tone and stood up, going up to Amity and placing a hand on her shoulder, “you ok?"

Amity smiled at the affection, “yeah,” she responded, “I just miss him.”

“Man…” Luz said, “he was a nice guy.”

Amity nodded before changing her mood, “on the plus side, after the checks came in, Scott and Barda were able to afford a house and happily took me in,” she then shrugged with a smirk, “not like I had anywhere else to go.”

“So Scott and Barda are barely married for a year and already they have a kid,” Willow snarked to the side, which Amity heard. 

“Shut up!” she said, blushing in embarrassment as everyone else giggled, “it's not like that!”

“Relax, Little Miss Perfect, I’m just teasing you.”

Amity only folded her arms and made a small ‘hmph’ as she turned away from her, nose held high. But even she wasn't above it since she laughed it off, afterwards, “that was pretty funny, I’ll admit.”

“Finally gained a sense of humor, I see.” Luz said, with a smirk.

“Living with them taught me a lot.”

Though Camila and Orion prompted a conversation, it was clear none of the members of the party present wanted to actually discuss one. Scott looked to the side, fiddling with his cape collar, Barda looked to a coat rack and gently put her helmet on an unoccupied space, and Orion kept exchanging glances with everyone beneath his 

After another few seconds of silence, Perry decided to speak, gesturing to the couch as he did so, “I insist. Please have a seat."

Barda and Scott did so, but Orion simply dismissed it, “once again, I appreciate the offer, but I prefer to stand.”

Perry nodded at his response, watching the former two sit down and make themselves comfortable, but there was still an awkward tension surrounding everyone.

Clenching his mask, Scott decided to finally speak, “so… How have you two been?”

Camila’s scowl turned into a neutral expression as she answered, “we’ve been good. Honeymoon is long over,” she then unfolded her arms as she continued, “as you pointed out earlier, we’ve settled down.” She then motioned her hands to the many photos and decorations that filled the living room. Books and knick-knacks dotted shelves, with a rather nice looking television in the center of the wall.

Perry then spoke up, “surprisingly, we managed to salvage much from our old homes. It’s been strange, getting used to our new home, but we adapted fairly quickly. It's now like we've lived here our whole life.”

“That’s good to hear,” Scott said, a small smile on his face. After that, the aura of the room was still filled with an uncomfortable vibe. Orion now leaned against the wall, arms folded as he slightly scowled at this entire ordeal.

Camila sighed, knowing small talk wouldn’t solve this uneasy tension, “maybe we should discuss the elephant in the room,” she then looked towards Orion, “the reason you are here.”

Orion nodded before he spoke, “as you know, ever since Earth has fallen under the protection of New Genesis, Highfather has relied on Earth’s heroes as agents to help combat Apokolips’ offensive against the universe. Unfortunately, there are only so many Leaguers available at any given time.”

“Especially since this ‘Legion of Doom’ formed by Vandal Savage has come into the fray,” Barda added, “while the League has been working on reserve teams such as the recent Detroit division, and a planned International division, full implementations of these teams takes time.”

"And time is something we are having less of with each passing day,” Orion said, clenching a fist for emphasis, “but this next mission could change all of that. It will turn the tide of the war in our favor.”

Camila rolled her eyes, “for a peace loving world, New Genesis sure thinks and talks war a lot, doesn't it?”

“Mind your tongue,” Orion sternly retorted at the snark before continuing, “that is why, because of the urgency of this next mission, Highfather has resorted to a most desperate measure. A measure that none of us would have thought of, nor have any pride in telling you.”

Camila and Perry braced themselves for what Orion was about to tell them. They knew it wasn’t going to be any good. “Scott and Barda have been assigned to this mission, but they need four more members to complete a team of ambassadors-”

“Don’t finish it,” Perry interrupted, “we already figured it out.”

Scott and Barda looked downwards as Orion went up to the parents, a regretful stare visible even beneath his helmet, “for what little my word means to you… I am so sorry.”

Chapter Text

“This has to be a mistake!” Camila said as she stood up, “or an incredibly unfunny joke!”

“Unfortunately, it is neither of those,” Orion responded, “this is a decision that I vehemently disagreed with then and one I vehemently disagree with now. Highfather himself didn’t want to resort to this, but in these desperate times-”

“Desperate times should never be an excuse to do this!”

Orion raised a hand at Camila, “there are simply no other viable options, Mrs. Porter.”

“Even if there was no one else available on Earth, why can’t anyone from New Genesis do this job?” Perry spoke up, “it’s a New Genesis mission, no?”

“Any and all viable members of New Genesis are focused on building reparations with the surface inhabitants of our world.”

Perry and Camila looked to each other with expressions of concerns before turning back to the gods. The latter exclaimed, “they shouldn’t have to worry about this. Their biggest worries should be school related. Like getting their homework done on time or wondering if their crushes like them back. They shouldn’t have to worry about fighting some intergalactic war so far away from their home!”

“If it’s any consolation, they will not be fighting anything or anyone,” Orion responded, “since they are working as ambassadors, their chances of seeing action are incredibly minimal.”

“You’re still sending our kids out into space!”

Scott leaned to the side and whispered to Barda, “I’m going to assume we don’t have a say in this,” which everyone unfortunately heard, turning their heads towards them. Barda glared at him as he put on an awkward smile for her.

“If you have something on your mind, Scott, you had best speak it.” Orion said through gritted teeth.

Scott rose from his seat, sighing, and worded his views, “I agree with Perry and Camila,” he then continued quickly after seeing Orion scowl at him, “the kids simply aren’t ready for something like this.”

“Yet, you and your wife signed up for the mission,” Orion said to the side.

“Hey, just because we signed up doesn't mean we like it,” Scott crossed his arms as he responded, “we’d much rather be relaxing at our home than going out spacefaring.”

“Earth life has made you unbearably soft.”

Barda rose up from her seat at that insult towards her husband, but Scott simply laid out a hand to stop her wife from escalating an already tense situation, “he isn’t worth it, honey,” he said, turning his head towards her. When she calmed down, he turned his head to the parents and sighed, “before I was rudely interrupted, I was going to address my opinion further. May I?”

The parents nodded. He then continued to speak, “as I said, the children aren’t ready for this,” he then sighed again, “but you have to realize that something like this happening was inevitable.”

Barda spoke up before anything could escalate, “ever since they gained their powers, they have been thrust into a world far bigger than they could have ever imagined. It was never a matter of ‘if,’ but ‘when.’”

“Not to mention that Apokolips has likely had their crosshairs aimed at them ever since they took down Mantis’ operations last summer,” Orion added.

Perry sighed, “we’re both aware of all these factors, it’s just…” he paused to form the words before continuing, “we just settled down, it’s barely been a full year. Sure, our kids have superpowers and they sneak out at night to fight crime like they’re Batman, we’ve adjusted to that, but it’s just…”

“It just feels like it’s too soon. They don’t have the experience to do it. They fought bank robbers and purse snatchers. An underground fight club at worst.”

“I’d hardly compare Mantis’ interdimensional smuggling cell to acts of simple purse snatching,” Orion said, rolling his eyes beneath his helm, which didn’t help ease the tension as Camila and Perry just gave him an annoyed glare.

Scott rubbed his hands nervously as he observed the rising tension between his adopted brother and the parents. He then spoke up, “why don’t we get the kid’s opinions on this?”

The three looked at him, while Barda only glanced to the side as Scott continued to speak, “I just think it’d be good to hear their own voice regarding this matter.”

Camila and Perry looked at each other again, before turning back to Scott and nodding. Perry stepped forward to exit the living room and head towards the entrance of the stairs, “Kids, come down here!” He called, returning back when he saw four little shapes walk down the flight.

When the kids got downstairs, all the adults stared at them. Scott had a forced smile, Barda, a neutral expression, Orion with his typical grimace, and Camila and Perry with solemn looks.

“So…” Luz said, trying to break the now awkward tension that’s built up, “what’s up, guys?”

“Nothing, really,” Scott said, trying to sugarcoat the situation, “we just wanted to know your opinion regarding something.”

“What kind of something?”

Amity and Willow looked to the side, a concerned look on their faces, knowing something the other two didn’t and something they hoped would never come to pass. The former glazed at Scott and Barda, who glanced back at her with sorrowed expressions of their own.

Perry sighed before speaking up and gesturing to the red-clad god, “I think it’s best if Orion says it.”

Orion nodded before speaking up to the children, positioning himself in a straight position as he spoke, “Gus and Luz Porter, Willow Park, Amity Blight,” he said their names loud and clear, “you have been selected by New Genesis as the roles of ambassadors for a very important mission that could turn the tide of the cold war against Apokolips.”

The aforementioned teenagers, with the exception of Amity and Willow, widened their eyes in shock hearing this. Selected? Ambassadors? Mission? Those words echoed across their minds like the cacophony of a conversation inside a cave. They listened as Orion continued.

“Bear in mind, this decision was not made with ease. Highfather did it only out of utmost desperation-”

“YES!” Gus yelled, interrupting the god of war, and confusing every other adult as they saw him pumping his fists in the air while Luz had a starstruck look to her face, sparkles in her eyes, and Willow had a look of confused neutrality.

“We’re going to space!” Gus turned to his big step-sister, “we’re gonna be real superheroes!”

“Holy crap!” Luz responded and that was all that needed to be said from her.

Amity and Willow only looked at the two, with confused stares, “you guys are taking this all rather well,” the former said.

“How can we not?” Gus responded excitedly, shaking with anticipation, “this is the greatest day of my life!” 

Luz jumped up and down in joy, “Gus, get the costumes!”

Gus zoomed back up the stairs, footsteps fading as he did so. When he came back, he had all four costumes, tossing the three others that weren’t his own to the other three. Amity received the costume with the flower emblem, Amity got the one with the crescent surrounding the orchid, while Luz got the one that had the purple triangle on the top half. Gus himself received the 

“Oh, that is just precious,” Scott said while Barda nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, Perry and Camila had rather worried expressions on their faces seeing their children’s enthusiasm. They knew this would happen and they dreaded seeing it pass.

Orion’s grimace formed into a smirk seeing the two so enthusiastic about this whole thing. Even someone as grumpy as him had to admit it was rather sweet. He then spoke up, “since the young Porters are rather enthusiastic regarding this situation,” he then continued when he received their attention, “you all should know the details regarding the mission at hand.”

From his belt, he brought out a gray, TV remote sized object, rectangular in shape, with silver circuitry patterns, buttons, and outline adorning it. It was a Mother Box, a piece of technology from the Fourth World so advanced and with so many uses, it may as well have been sorcerous in nature.

He laid the Mother Box on the coffee table below and pushed a button, allowing a large hologram of a star chart to appear in view, illuminating the living room in its entirety. The star chart showed countless constellations, representing countless planets, stars, and galaxies. The hologram then began highlighting many areas of the chart with a blood red Omega symbol.

“For the past year, more and more systems are falling under Darkseid’s control in his now even more desperate search for the Anti-Life Equation,” Orion said, allowing the hologram to show a black symbol with a white pattern that resembled a stylized lantern show up, “the Guardians of the Universe and their Green Lantern Corps are one of their many enemies preventing them from acquiring their ultimate weapon any sooner, but alas, there are only so many Lanterns and more and more of them are dying faster than they can be recruited, while the war machine of Apokolips churns on ever so faster.”

The hologram began to show a few more symbols that looked like the Green Lantern’s symbol, but different in a few ways. Some looked more complex, others more simple. Orion once again spoke, “These troubling times are why New Genesis has proposed an idea to the Guardians that has been met with much hesitation from the latter,” the hologram then put all seven lantern symbols in a circle, “the idea is to unite the Lantern Corps together to create the most powerful alliance the universe has ever seen. An Alliance of Light.”

“There are other Lantern Corps?” Willow asked, bewildered.

“Indeed, there are, young Park,” Orion responded, “seven in total. Each representing a different form of energy on the Emotional Spectrum. With some legends stating there are even more.”

Orion then spoke of what each corps represented, the hologram highlighting the different symbols in different colors as he did, “the green light of Willpower. The blue light of Hope. The yellow light of Fear. The red light of Rage. The violet light of Love. The orange light of Avarice. And the indigo light of Compassion. Each corps varies in number, but are all powerful in their own ways.”

The hologram then changed its display to showcase six blank figures, “the mission requires a team of six ambassadors, representing the neutral party of New Genesis, to arrive on the home bases of all different corps and give the leaders a sense of common purpose and unity.”

“What could be a greater common purpose than fighting a guy who wants to conquer the universe?” Gus asked, a hand on his chin as he tried to process this information, “and why can’t the corps just send in their own guys?”

Orion folded his arms behind his back as he responded, “unfortunately, each corps have had many differences over the years. These differences range from simple ideology to eons old grudges and hatreds. Any attempt to display an ambassador from any one of the corps could end in bloodshed,” the hologram then showed the Green Lantern symbol paired with the Blue Lantern symbol, “the only two that have directly collaborated for the better would be the Green and Blue Lantern Corps, the latter of whom was specifically founded to bolster the strength of the former.”

Gus only shrugged, “well, if people on Earth fight over dumb things, I guess it makes sense people in space fight over dumb things too.”

“Indeed.”

Luz placed a hand behind her head, “I mean…” she then gestured her hands to the hologram, “this doesn't really seem all that bad. It’s just going to different planets and talking to people.”

“Yeah, I mean, it could be a lot worse,” Gus added, “we could be sent to a planet that’s one big warzone.”

“Or a planet that has acid storms,” Willow snarked.

“A planet with methane for an atmosphere!” Amity exclaimed.

Camila rubbed her temples, “ninos, please don’t give them ideas.”

Orion slightly smirked in amusement before leaning down and turning off the hologram, picking the Mother Box up as he spoke, “and that’s the mission. A simple act of diplomacy.”

“That isn’t too bad,” Luz said with a cocky tone, “the worst thing that’s gonna happen is my anxiety acting up.”

“You’re not going.” Camila said, sternly.

“What!?” Gus said with a disappointed tone, “why!?”

“You’re gonna go out to space and talk to aliens who would probably rather drink your brains than discuss politics, that’s why!”

Orion then spoke up, “Mrs. Porter, I doubt your concerns, valid as they are, are going to change your children's minds,” he then pointed to the costumes both her kids were holding, “because it seems they’ve already made them up.”

Camila and Perry looked at each other again, before the latter spoke up to Orion, “can we have a moment to ourselves? Family meeting and all that?”

Orion nodded, turning his head towards the others and motioning them to leave, which they all did so, with Willow and Amity taking the costumes with them and Barda getting her helmet off the coat rack, putting it on. Orion followed suit, not another word said when he did so.

The remaining members heard the front door close. When that was done, the parents looked at the kids with a sigh, before Luz spoke up, “what the heck, mom!?”

“Firstly, don’t talk to me like that,” Camila said, raising a finger, “secondly, please think about what you’re getting into!”

“Mom, it’s just talking to people-”

“In outer space.”

Luz glanced to the side, “yeah, in outer space, but it’s just one mission.”

“Please listen to your mother, Luz,” Perry said with an exhausted tone, “this whole thing is beyond dangerous.”

It was Gus’ turn to speak up, “dad, we can take care of ourselves,” he said as he fiddled with the collar of the paludamentum of his costume, “we’re not little kids anymore.”

“Maybe, but that doesn't mean you can just needlessly risk yourselves like this. It’s one thing fighting armed thugs in the middle of the night, it’s another thing going out to space. Do you know how many hazards are out in space alone, even without the threat of an intergalactic empire trying to shoot you down?”

Gus didn’t respond to that. He only looked to the side, awkwardly.

“We understand that you guys are happy having superpowers, we really do,” Perry said, hands on Camila’s shoulder as he spoke, “but this whole thing is beyond insane.”

“Every night when you go out to stop even a simple purse snatcher, we worry ourselves to death,” Camila stated, a quiver to her voice, “and now you’re gonna go out and place yourself in something that dwarfs every problem on Earth? I’m sorry, but you can’t go. We won’t allow it.”

Luz sighed, handing Gus her costume so she could properly speak her mind, “we get it. We do. You’re worried. I’m a little worried too, but we’re still gonna go anyway.”

“Why?” Camila said, while Perry just had a look of stinging pain.

Luz decided to get to the point, “we have the power to change the world for the better. If we do nothing, we might as well just hand the universe over to the bad guys,” Luz then began to float upwards an inch or two to match her mother’s eye-level, “I’m scared, too. I really am. But we have to do this.”

“The fate of countless lives depend on it,” Gus said, “it’s our duty and our responsibility to help them in any way.”

“Ninos, listen to yourselves,” Camila said, exasperated, “you don’t even have drivers’ licenses, what makes you think you can do this!?”

“I know we don’t have even remotely the level of experience needed, but did any members of the Justice League have any experience doing what they did when they first started? Aside from Superman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern, I’m pretty sure that most of the Justice League never dealt with crazy end-of-the-world stuff when they first came into light.”

“You’re not any of those guys!”

“That isn’t what I meant,” Luz clarified, “what I meant is that just because they weren’t used to dealing with it, doesn't mean they didn’t fight against them anyways. It’s the same thing happening to us.”

Gus spoke up, adding to Luz’s words, “we’re in way over our heads, we are dealing with something we barely understand, going to places we barely understand, but we’re still doing it.”

“Because that’s what a superhero would do.”

Camila and Perry said nothing else. It was just as Orion predicted: Nothing they would say was gonna make them back down. With a sigh, Perry adjusted his glasses yet again, while Camila looked to the side as she folded her arms.

Seeing this, the kids tried to reassure them, with Luz going back to the ground, “we promise we’re gonna be ok,” she said, pulling her mother in for a hug, “we promise.”

Gus dropped the costumes and rushed to his dad to give him a reassuring hug, “it’s only one mission. And an easy one at that,” he chuckled a bit before continuing, “it’s not like they told us to fight the Death Star.”

The parents seemed to be a bit reassured, returning their own hugs. They embraced each other for several seconds, but to them, it felt like hours. They let go, the kids picking up the costumes as they went to the front door. When they opened it, they saw the crowd of their friends, and Orion, waiting.

“I assume you’re ready, then?” Orion asked them, bluntly, in which the kids simply nodded, “good. I shall Boom Tube us all to Oa. There, you will meet up with the Earth GLs and further details regarding the mission at hand shall be given to you by the Guardians of Oa. From there, you will acquire your own ship and I’ll be on my way.”

“Wait, hold up, two questions,” Gus said, raising his hand as if he were in school.

Orion rolled his eyes beneath his helm, “make it quick.”

“One: We get our own spaceship?” Gus asked with twinkles in his eyes before continuing, “And two: How come you aren’t coming with us?”

Orion sighed before answering both questions, “Yes, you are getting your own ship. And the reason I can’t come with you is because I am currently assigned with guarding Earth in the event they need me. Rumor in the League has it that Felix Faust is planning something big, and they’ll need all the help they can get if this plan of his comes to pass.”

Gus only nodded, content with both answers.

Orion then pulled out his Mother Box and was about to summon a Boom Tube before Luz interrupted him, “wait, stop!”

Orion grumbled, “what now?”

“We didn’t put on our costumes!” She said, a distressed tone in her voice, leaving Orion to grumble again.

“That’s ok, Luz,” Amity said to her, holding out her own, “some of ours might not be our size, anyways.”

Scott cleared his throat rather loudly to get everyone’s attention. When all eyes were turned on him, he used a little bit of sleight of hand to put his own Mother Box in his hands, making it appear out of thin air. Unlike Orion’s Mother Box, which was gray with silver outlined circuitry, his was bronze, with gold circuitry. “Allow me,” he said as he pointed the Mother Box forward, place your costumes forward, kiddos.”

The children did so, with some raised brows as they did. “Let’s make a miracle,” Scott whispered with a smile as he pressed a button on the Mother Box, letting it ping and watched it consume the costumes in a bright, golden light.

The costumes shined for several seconds before they formed into balls of light and rushed towards the kids, enveloping them for several seconds before it dissipated, leaving the kids confused. After a few seconds, they realized what happened: They were wearing their costumes.

The costumes were no longer made of spandex, but of a strange alien material that felt both loose and snug. Durable, yet didn’t hinder movement at all. Some minor adjustments were also made, such as Luz now having purple bracers, the stem below Willow’s flower emblem now being purple, Gus having yellow gloves and boots that were yellow instead of the latter being gold, and Amity’s hands were now exposed, with her golden gloves turning to bracers with long black sleeves, and now had golden ouroborus-like circles going vertically down her leggings, now a lighter gray, with the ending of the pattern being covered by black boots.

“Ho. Lee. Crap.” Luz said, awestruck as she looked at everyone’s costumes, and that was all that was needed for her to say.

“It… it fits.” Amity said, dumbfounded as she stretched out the skirt of her outfit, the material proving to be a bit stretchy, but not enough to rip apart, if it even could be ripped apart.

“I can’t believe it,” Gus said as he looked at his newly formed gloves, “we look like… like-”

“Real superheroes,” Willow finished his sentence for him with a mystified tone before smiling seeing Gus sporting the biggest smile on his face.

“You’re welcome,” Scott said as he used sleight of hand to make his Mother Box disappear from his hands, Barda smirking in amusement as he did so.

Ping. BOOM.

A sudden appearance of a Boom Tube interrupted everyone’s train of thought and turned to see Orion with his Mother Box extended towards the portal, “as touching as this moment is, you all best get a move on,” he said, a dour tone inflection on his words, “this alliance isn’t going to form itself.”

Scott scoffed while Barda rolled her eyes, “always ruining the moment, eh, brother?” the former muttered, putting on his mask as both he and his wife went into the portal.

Orion followed suit, followed by the children. Amity and Willow went in first while Gus seemed to want to rush into it, but he was stopped by a hand grabbing his cape. It was Luz’s hand and she was looking backwards towards the house with a sad look on her face.

Their parents were on the porch, clinging to each other, with concerned and uncertain looks as they stared at their children.

The siblings didn’t say anything. They didn’t need to. Luz’s face changed from a look of melancholy to a look of happiness as she smiled and waved 'bye' to them. Gus did the same thing. This seemed to cheer their parents up as they too waved 'bye.' They knew it would be temporary.

With that, both siblings turned back to the portal in front of them, took a deep breath, and stepped into it. In the blinding light of various shapes, they saw what could only be described as an image of a white building surrounded by emerald lights.

Before they knew it, they were walking on solid ground, the tube closing behind them. Their journey was about to begin.

Chapter Text

Oa

Across the universe, in a seemingly infinite sea of stars, one planet’s name was echoed across countless trillions of worlds: Oa. The homebase of the Green Lantern Corps, led by the Guardians of the Universe, it served as a beacon of order throughout the cosmos. 

A large majority of the planet’s surface was covered in a massive city, which, if seen from space, formed the symbol of the corps. White buildings of many shapes touched the sky and roads made of an emerald colored hard light snaked across the air. These emerald lights seemed to outline the very buildings themselves as well, embedding themselves in them like circuit patterns.

The children were awestruck to say the least. Everything, from the landing pad they were on, to the distant buildings ahead, caught their eyes. In the distance, they saw the Central Power Battery, located in a plaza that was at the exact center of the city itself. It was a massive, building-sized lantern that housed the Emerald Light of Willpower in its purest, most powerful form. It was the source of all personal Lantern battery and ring power, as well as the ultimate symbol of the corps’ power and light.

“Holy, crap…” Luz said, turning around so many times, she was surprised she didn’t get dizzy.

“We’re on the Green Lantern homeworld,” Gus said, trembling with excitement. “on the Green Lantern homeworld. OH MY GOD!”

As the kids were taking it all in, Orion placed the Mother Box on his belt, “we should be greeted by the Earth GLs any moment now,” he then folded his arms in an impatient manner, “so enjoy the sightseeing while it lasts.”

The children did so as they stared at everything. From the slight green tint in the sky, to the buildings surrounding them, they couldn’t find the words that described the sheer scale and majesty the place captured.

Out of curiosity, Willow stepped to the very edge of the landing pad, her pupils shrinking as she saw just how high up they were, “either my glasses are fogged up, or those are clouds that I am seeing,” she said as she suddenly felt lightheaded.

Scott stepped forward to the edge of the landing pad himself, “nope. Those are definitely clouds, Willow,” he said, with a smile, “from what I read, the surface is mostly a lifeless desert, so I don’t think we’re missing anything down there.”

Processing all this, Willow stepped back to the rest of the crowd, took a deep breath and exhaled, “wow,” she softly said.

Barda made her own observations with a neutral expression, getting the attention of Amity, “you don’t seem that excited,” she said to her with a curious tone.

Barda chuckled, “if you think Oa is impressive, you should see some of the worlds I’ve been to,” she then looked to the side, “a shame they’ve all been turned to glass.”

“Oh.”

As the minutes passed, Orion paced back and forth impatiently, a scowl on his face, “they should have been here already," he muttered to himself as he continued to pace like an angry customer waiting in a long line.

Scott noticed this and slightly chuckled, "relax, Orion," he said, hands on his hips, "we're in no rush."

"You should be," Orion retorted, "every second wasted is a second given to the enemy!" The New God clenched his fists for emphasis, making Scott roll his eyes beneath his mask.

Turns out, they didn't have to do much waiting at all, as Luz noticed something moving towards their position, "look!" She exclaimed, pointing to the figure flying to the landing pad with a green glow surrounding his body.

He was dark skinned, with an outfit that was mostly black, with green boots and bracers, and a part of his upper chest also being green in an almost triangle-like shape. The chest had a single white circle in the center, with a green emblem in the shape of the corps symbol. A green glow of the same design emanated from the emblem like a hologram. His eyes shone with an emerald glow, as though he were made of the green light itself. In his right hand, on his middle finger, held one of the most powerful weapons in the universe: a Green Lantern ring. He was John Stewart, the third Green Lantern of Earth.

John lowered his hovering form to the landing pad, green glow around his body disappearing as he did so, “welcome to Oa, everyone," He said as his feet touched the surface, "sorry I'm a little late. Had to make sure everything was properly set."

“John!" Scott said with a smile as he extended his arm to his fellow Leaguer, "how are you doing?"

John smiled, extending his arm to Scott’s and shook it, “I’m doing quite good, Miracle,” he then turned to Barda, “it’s good to see you, too, Barda.”

“Likewise, John.” She replied, extending her own arm, "I only wish we gathered here under better circumstances."

"Me too, Barda. Me too," John replied, solemnly, before noticing Orion stepping towards him, "I recognize that grumpy attitude anywhere. How are you, Orion?"

Orion shook John's hand, ignoring that snark, "I'm doing well, Stewart," he responded, before looking to the sides, "I was told that the other Earth GLs would be with you."

John replied, hands behind his back, “unfortunately, unforeseen circumstances led to us doing separate missions," he then listed them off, "Hal and the new recruit, Rayner, are on a mission to stop the Headmen of Garon from declaring war on neighboring systems, and the less I know whatever the hell Gardner does, the better.”

Orion nodded, "I see," he said, an understanding tone in his voice, "we'll make due, either way."

John nodded as well. He then noticed four figures looking at him from behind Orion, two of them sporting the biggest smiles he's ever seen on a human being. "Those kids with you?" he said, to Orion, who nodded. The marine then spoke to the side, "not sure how I feel about bringing in a bunch of kids to something on this scale."

"Believe me, we've heard no end to that," Orion responded in a hushed tone.

Barda also whispered, "if it's any consolation, it'll be for one mission and they'll proceed with the rest of their lives."

John only shrugged, "if a bunch of teenagers can stop Trigon…" he then stepped towards the kids, ready to meet them, personally, “and what are your names, recruits? Don’t think we’ve ever met.”

Gus looked like he was about to hyperventilate, summoning a paper bag to breathe in as Willow grabbed onto his shaking form to hold him down. John only raised a brow in concern, “is he gonna be ok?”

Luz awkwardly laughed before answering his question, “yeah, he’s just really excited, that’s all,” she chuckled awkwardly before extending her arm to Stewart, “I’m Luz- I mean, Stargazer! Yeah! Stargazer! That is my name, energy manipulation is my game!”

John chuckled as she shook her hand, “you can say your real name, kiddo. I’m good at keeping secrets.”

This relieved Luz as she let go. John then turned to Amity, who outstretched her own hand, “Amity Blight,” the dyed-hair teen simply said, shaking the Lantern’s hand.

“Ah, so you must be Miracle and Barda’s little protégé they told us about.”

Amity seemed to blush in embarrassment hearing this, practically turning into a tomato, “they told the League about me?”

“Only the most trusted members, I assure you.”

Amity sighed in relief, but not before giving the aforementioned New Gods a death glare, Scott innocently waving in response, while Barda only rolled her eyes.

John turned to Willow, shaking her hand as well, “Willow Park,” she then chuckled a bit after she said her name.

“What’s got you all laughing?” John asked with a smile.

The glasses-wearing girl sheepishly replied, “nothing, it’s just… I remember the news announcing your induction into the League, and one of my dads saying ‘they got the fake news guy as a Green Lantern?’ You know, it’s a stupid joke.”

John only rolled his shining eyes, “never heard that one before.”

Finally, he turned to Gus, who finally seemed to stop hyperventilating, “and now for-”

“MynameisAugustusPorterbuteveryonecallsmeGus-”

John backed up from his outburst of words, “whoa, whoa, slow down there, junior!” He even gestured at him to settle it down, ”You’d give Flash a run for his money talking like that.”

Gus chuckled in embarrassment, “sorry,” he said before properly introducing himself, “name’s Augustus Porter, but everyone just calls me ‘Gus.’ Also, my superhero name is ‘Illusionist,’ he grabbed his cape and covered his face for emphasis, much to John’s amusement.

“You’ve certainly got flair, kiddo,” he said before extending his hand to shake Gus’ but the latter only hugged him suddenly and tightly.

Everyone had different reactions to this. John was surprised. Amity hid her face in embarrassment. Willow just chuckled as Luz smiled. Barda and Scott were rather amused, and Orion just folded his arms and shook his head. The hug lasted for a few seconds before Gus pulled back in embarrassment.

“Sorry,” he sheepishly said, pushing his index fingers together, “you’re one of my favorites, I couldn’t help it.”

John smiled at that, “I get that a lot, junior. Never fails to brighten my day.”

Gus felt rather happy with that statement. Then the joy was cut short with Luz butting in, “need me to get you a new pair of pants, since you peed yours in excitement?” She whispered, a sly tone in her voice.

Gus just raised a finger, not even bothering to turn to face her, “do not ruin this for me.”

With the introductions out of the way, John then turned around to the New Gods, “alright. Introductions are through, I think it's wise we don't waste anymore time.” John’s body then began to glow green again as he floated upwards, “the Guardians can get rather impatient if we keep them waiting.”

Stewart then clenched the hand that held his ring, extended it, and fired a green beam of hard light. The hard light formed into a circular platform, “anyone need a lift?”

Barda, Gus, and Willow stepped onto the platform, Gus being very excited about it. Orion also stepped onto the platform, albeit with quite a begrudging attitude. He mumbled something about regretting leaving his Astro-Harness on the Watchtower as he folded his arms, which greatly amused the other three.

John turned to Luz and Amity, “you two going on?”

Luz only dismissed his question, “don’t worry, we can fly,” she wrapped an arm around Amity as she replied, making the latter blush profusely, “right, Amity?”

Amity just looked to the side before answering, “y-yeah. We can fly,” she said, trying her best to hide her red face, “we appreciate the offer though, GL.”

The two teenagers began hovering off the ground to emphasize their points. John nodded and turned to Scott, who nodded back. From the soles of his boots, came yellow, thin, metal plates, about a foot across in both length and width. They were Aero-Discs, the primary mode of transportation used by Apokolips’ Aero-Troopers. They were capable of generating anti-gravity propulsions that allowed the wielder to fly in a way that retained the position of standing, able to be commanded by simple body movements and thoughts.

With his Aero-Discs out, he proceeded to float off the ground, “let’s get moving,” he said to John, who nodded and took flight, his platform construct now forming into a sphere so that the passengers don’t fall off. Not too far behind were Scott, Amity, and Luz trailing behind him, the latter two admiring the scenery as they went along.

As they flew, the quartet of people in Stewart’s platform had different reactions to being inside the construct. Barda and Orion stood indifferently, while Gus was positively overjoyed, and Willow felt strange, feeling the G’s of flight while not falling at all. “This is so weird,” Willow said as she held onto Barda by pure instinct as they moved, the New God smirking in amusement at this.

“Don’t you mean, ‘awesome?’” Gus said as he pressed his hands against the newly constructed walls, “I can’t believe I’m flying in a Green Lantern construct! I feel like I’m dreaming!”

Overhearing this, John smirked, “you certainly picked a rather enthusiastic kid, Orion,” he said, his words able to pass through the walls of the construct. 

Orion nodded, a slight smirk visible on him, “indeed, Stewart,” his words were able to pass through the construct walls as well, but from John’s perspective, they were rather echoey, “his excitement may be a bit much for my liking, but even I can't help admit it can be rather infectious.”

Gus heard his words and leaned to Willow, “did he just compliment me?” He whispered to her.

“I think he did,” she whispered back.

Meanwhile, Amity couldn’t enjoy the breeze nor the sights as she flew as she had a look of discomfort on her face as she seemed to slightly swerve an inch or two every so often.

Noticing this, Luz flew by closer to her, “what’s wrong?”

Amity responded, “nothing, really, but…” she then swerved a bit more as she continued to speak, “I’m just not used to flying this way.”

She then adjusted her body in a standing position as she continued to fly forwards. Her hands slightly glowed purple as a round, transparent, lavender colored platform construct appeared beneath her feet, about the width of her body. Her feet landed on it, her face gaining a look of confidence, “this is what I’m used to, right here,” she said with a smile.

Scott noticed this, crossing his arms with a smile, his cape flapping behind him as he flew, as his Aero-Discs allowed him to basically stand on thin air, “can’t always rely on handicapped flying forever, Amity,” he said, smugly.

“Easy for you to say,” Luz said as she lowered herself to get a closer look at Scott’s discs below him, “you’re basically doing the same thing.”

“That’s what I keep telling him!” Amity said.

“Nope,” he responded, shaking his head, “I’m using technology to get around, she’s using her powers in a redundant way. It really isn’t the same thing.”

“It kind of is,” Luz said, unconvinced of his argument.

Beneath his mask, the god of freedom rolled his eyes with a smile, “whatever helps you two sleep better at night.”

Oan Citadel

Not far from the Central Power Battery, lay the Oan Citadel. The massive structure was the primary headquarters for the Guardians of Oa. It was a tall building, with a massive dome on the top. Near the front entrance was a landing platform, where John placed the platform containing the quartet inside it. Lowering the walls down, Gus stepped off, or rather, leaped off, the platform. Willow stepped off after him, with Orion and Barda following suit. Stewart made the construct disappear into thin air as he landed.

Luz, Scott and Amity landed as well, the former’s barrier construct disappearing as she did so. Scott also landed, but with far more flair than anyone else. He grabbed the edge of his cape and spun around, flipping at the same time. His Aero-Discs retracted into the soles of his boots as he did so. He landed in front of everyone, perfectly on his feet, standing up proudly.

“Perfect landing,” he triumphantly said, cape flaring outwards as he stood up with his arms outstretched. He turned around to see that there were only two people applauding: His wife and Amity.

“No one likes a show-off, Miracle,” John said as he walked past him, followed by everyone else. Much to his annoyance.

As the party approached the doors to the citadel, they were greeted by another Green Lantern. He had multiple keyboards surrounding him, each one displaying many holographic screens. While he had a bipedal stance, he was far from human. He had pinkish skin, an elongated head, pure black eyes, four spindly arms with four fingers on each hand, with equally spindly legs ending in two digits. He was Salaak, a Slyggian who seemed to be more a creature of protocol than a Lantern.

He finally looked away from his screens and stopped in front of the party, “Lantern Stewart,” he called out, before going back to his screens, “I see you have our guests.”

“Indeed, I do, Salaak,” he replied, glancing at the flashing screens in front of him, “need to confirm it's us?”

The Slyggian nodded as he typed away, "and also to inform you that you and your party are two minutes late.”

John rolled his eyes, not even bothering to defend himself while Salaak's screens beeped in confirmation, "all done," he said as he moved to the side, “you had best hurry. The Guardians are all set and waiting.” 

As the party passed, Salaak pushed a button on his keyboard, letting the mammoth doors open outwards, leading to a grand hall of emerald and white walls. The party entered the citadel, with the kids practically hypnotized by the sheer size of it all. When they reached a certain point, Salaak pressed another button, allowing the doors to close behind them all as they all stopped at an area with many hallways.

"The way to the Guardian Chamber is here," John said as he continued to walk forward, "just follow me, everyone."

The party did just that. After a minute or two of walking, they made it to a grand rotunda of almost blinding white. Upwards, lay a massive ring, where multiple small, blue beings stood. They had white hair of various styles, but all the styles emphasized their rather big heads. They wore red robes with the white and green emblem of the Green Lantern Corps on their chest. Their arms were folded in front of them, with the sleeves covering them, as if to emphasize their stern nature. They were the Guardians of the Universe, leaders and founders of the Green Lantern Corps.

"Green Lantern 2814.3," the Guardian in the middle of the ring spoke, addressing Stewart in an almost haughtily way, "you're late."

Chapter Text

Canadensis

The isolated world of Canadensis was a planet rich in culture and history that went back centuries. The surface of the planet was littered with rock formations that touched the sky, which became the perfect place for the native Canadensians to build their civilizations in. Metallic buildings of all kinds, from houses, vendors, and even palaces, seemed to be fused with the sedimental structures they were built in, with each rocky formation connected by massive bridges designed to support the weight of hundreds of more buildings; a sign of the species’ ingenuity and resourcefulness.

It was a world filled with beauty. 

It was a world that was now under siege.

They came without warning. The skies were lit ablaze as the Apokoliptian warships emerged from massive Boom Tubes and immediately rained fire down onto the capital city. The gunners of the transport ships’ plasma cannons fired at will upon the city that jutted out from the rocky formations.

Transport ships that resembled more like giant hunks of cobbled together metal with thrusters on them, landed on the countless platforms on the hanging cities, opening their boarding ramps and revealing swarms of insectoid soldiers that wore dull green and gold armor that covered gray, pale skin with red, emotionless goggle-like eyes that surveyed the destruction. They were Parademons. The backbone of Apokolips’ army. Many of them were once normal beings, with their own goals and aspirations. These normal beings were plucked from countless worlds and systems to be taken into conversion factories to be transformed into these hideous monsters. They were alive, but… not really. They had no thoughts, no emotions, no free will. Now they only lived to serve Darkseid.

They swarmed the streets, aiming and firing their plasma rifles while screeching at the inhabitants. Using their insect-like wings, they flew towards the wounded and confused, grabbing them with their legs like hungry birds of prey snatching their prey and flying them upwards to the Boom Tubes, where larger ships awaited them.

The larger ships had massive exhausts that shot a stream of fire towards the ground, almost like an upside down volcano that was erupting. Several more transport ships emerged from each one, with one in particular going at a rather slow pace.

The transport ship opened up its boarding ramp while still in the air. On the base of the ramp, a figure stepped off the metallic ramp and leaped downwards to the surface of the world below. When he landed, he kicked up a massive amount of dust as he formed a small crater below him, shaking the area surrounding him.

He was a hulking figure, almost eight feet tall in height, and built like a brick house. His skin was a beige color that was covered by a green outfit that had a yellow, circuit-like pattern on the chest which led to a belt of the same color. A yellow bandolier with red circuit patterns adorned him. His upper arms and legs were exposed, leading to green gloves and boots with a yellow outline. His boots in particular revealed his two digit feet, adding to his already monstrous appearance. As if that wasn’t enough, his face was large and surrounded by a mane of jet black hair, that would bring to mind a depiction of a savage lion, and topped by a nose ring with a yellow, metal headpiece adorning his face. He was Kalibak the Cruel, general of Darkseid’s army, as well as the tyrant’s first-born son.

Kalibak dug a massive hand to the ground below him, scooping the dirt up as he pulled back and rose up. He glanced at the handful of soil he held for a second or two before snarling, revealing his teeth had prominent lower tusks, and dropped the dirt onto the ground from whence it came.

“It is not here,” the Apokoliptian thought to himself as he used his massive strength to leap upwards to the capital city above, landing on one of the taken structures on an empty bit of street behind a Parademon squad.

He was almost disappointed the battle was basically won and it hadn’t even been ten minutes.

He observed the carnage: Buildings brought to ruin, vehicles flipped over and on fire, and the last stragglers in the area being swooped up by Parademons and carried to the sky. He stepped over a dead Canadensian, observing the weapon in its hands, and its elongated face, furry body, big horns, and cloven feet. He scoffed at it. No doubt, this race was one that rarely saw grand conflicts needed to build strength and weed out the weak.

He then turned his head towards the massive palace in the center of the city atop a massive mesa, surrounded by a shield. The area around the palace was surrounded by a wall that had gates connected to all the rocky structures via small bridges, its turret defenses on top of the walls still active and shooting down transport ships that descended from the sky.

He raised his hand, a golden bludgeon made of metal in its grip. With his Beta Club raised, he screamed his orders, “Siege the palace! Stain the streets with their blood!”

The Parademons in front of him shrieked in affirmation before turning to the palace and flying towards it. With a smile, Kalibak put his club to his back and took a few steps back, getting a head start and leaping from the structure he was on, heading right towards the palace. He found his body headed towards the massive wall instead of over it. He crashed and embedded himself into it. With a grunt of annoyance he began to dig his massive hands in the stone and started climbing to the top, rapidly. 

When he made it, he watched the Canadensian guards below fire upon his soldiers that made it past the initial defenses. With another scoff, he was about to jump downwards to the fight, before he heard a whirring sound on both of his sides. He looked to the sources of the noise: Two of the turrets were swiveling and aiming their barrels directly at him!

He smiled at this.

He headed to his left first, dodging the initial blasts of plasma at incredible speeds. He rushed towards the base of the turret, seeing the guards fruitlessly fire their weapons at him, before using his massive fists to knock them to the side with sadistic glee. He was about to crush one of the guards beneath his boot, before being interrupted by plasma fire.

The turret he didn’t go for was firing at him, where the opposing turret and its guards were! They were willing to kill each other just to destroy him?

Maybe he underestimated this race. Perhaps they were not so weak after all.

The turret stopped firing, leaving its counterpart a smoldering wreck engulfed in fire. From the wall of flames, Kalibak rushed out, completely unharmed, save for a few loose hair strands being singed. The turret didn’t even have the chance to fire as he rushed towards its base, knocking the guards away with savage strength. With a grunt, he dug his hands into the metal base, lifting it slowly. With naught any effort, he tossed the turret to the side towards the streets below, crushing the guards unfortunate enough to be caught in its way.

The wreck of the turret then exploded, engulfing any soldier in its blast radius. With a sadistic, toothy smile, he stretched his arms outwards and let out a massive roar that echoed across the lands, his Parademon army swarming behind him in the hundreds as he did so.

With his battle cry done, he grabbed the Beta Club from his back and leapt towards the soldiers below. When he landed, he made no hesitation to make short work of them. Any unfortunate soldier hit by the club, was sent flying away, screaming. If they weren’t dealing with Kalibak, they were dealing with the Parademons who swarmed them without mercy.

With another swing, Kalibak sent another soldier flying. Then another. And another. And another. This was what he lived for: The heat of battle. The screams of the dead and dying echoing across the battlefront as loudly as artillery fire. He, like his brother Orion, (whom he held much contempt for) was also a god of war. Unlike Orion, who represented a just war, he represented savage war. A fact the Apokoliptian took pride in.

Stopping his swinging, he huffed as he saw a hovertank aim its turret towards him. First, the tank fired its repeating blasters at him, forcing the Apokoliptian to stand still and cover his face as the plasma bolts bounced off his skin. Then it fired its main gun at him, covering him in smoke. It fired again. And again. And again. And again.

Kalibak snarled, “enough of this!” He cried out before aiming his club and pressing a button on its shaft, allowing the head to fire a beam of energy directly at the tank, piercing its hull and making it explode.

He readjusted himself as he stepped towards the palace, squads of Parademons flocking behind him as he did so, hellbent on seeing it burn to the ground once they destroy the shields.

“Perimeter turret defenses have been destroyed!”

“The soldiers are retreating back to the palace!”

“All districts are lost!”

The Canadensian King, Tiner, paced back and forth near the conference table as he heard the holograms of his commanding officers yell frantically before being cut off. The room shook from the impacts of artillery against the palace shields outside. He didn’t know what to do.

A particular impact made the outside shield fade in and out briefly. It would not last long. With a sigh of frustration, he took off his robes and headed to the armor stand on the edge of the room, knowing the inevitability of an encounter with these beasts.

As he put on his armor, his advisor called out, “Sire, you are not safe here,” she said, desperation in her tone, “I implore you to get to the safehouse.”

“No. You know I cannot do that,'' Tiner replied, adorning the silver faulds and chestplate, “I cannot, will not , die hiding like a coward.”

He then placed a silver helm on his head, grabbing a small chest as he finished the process and moved past his advisor out of the room, the latter following suit.

“You haven’t used that in years,” his advisor said to him as she followed, “how do you know you’re strong enough to fend off these beasts?”

“I don’t,” Tiner bluntly responded, “but I can’t just do nothing.”

When Tiner arrived at his throne room, his elite guards were waiting, weapons ready. He stood firm and tall, chest locked tightly in his hands as a massive boom shook the room. What sounded like an electrical grid powering down followed shortly after.

“The shields have been destroyed,” Tiner muttered as he opened the chest and grabbed something from it, tossing it aside when he was done with it. 

The front gates were then banged upon as the muffled sounds of screeching Parademons were heard. Then silence… before a hulking form of Kalibak crashed through the gates with a savage roar, knocking away unfortunate guards in his way. 

Tiner wasted no time. In his hands, from the box, was a Green Lantern ring. He put it on without hesitation, enveloping his silver armor in an emerald light, turning it into green and black armor, with the corps emblem displayed proudly on the chest.

Raising his hand, the ring glowed as it fired a beam of emerald energy at Kalibak, sending him flying out the palace gates, knocking away scores of Parademons like bowling pins. The war god landed in the courtyard, the wreckage of buildings and tanks surrounding him.

He got up with a grunt, shaking off debris from his fall, only to see a green fist the size of a tank head towards him. It struck him, sending him further back into a stray building, shaking it to its foundation. Kalibak leapt out of it and snarled when his vision cleared and saw the Lantern floating with a stern look on his face.

“So the ruler of this pathetic world is a Green Lantern?” He asked, before his snarl turned into a toothy smile, “good. I was hoping for a proper challenge.”

Tiner said nothing as he jetted towards the New God at blinding speeds, making him crash into the building again, and take him for a ride across the palace grounds, crashing into lone Parademons, tank wreckages, and destroyed buildings along the way.

Kalibak used a hammerfist to knock him down, ending the Lantern’s airtime and making him crash into the ground. He rushed and grabbed the Lantern, tossing him to the other side, back towards the palace.

Tiner crashed into a wall near the front gates and quickly got back up to his feet. Parademons wielding spears and axes swarming him as he did so. In response, he formed sword constructs in his hands, parrying, blocking, slicing, and stabbing away at any who tried to get near him, spilling their magma colored blood on the floor. Eventually, however, a few insectoids managed to grab ahold of him, intent on ripping him apart with their claws and teeth, leading to a whole swarm to dogpile him. Had it not been for his green aura surrounding him, he imagined he would have been torn apart by the beasts.

He flew upwards, high into the air, hoping to shake the monsters off, but there were too many as they kept dogpiling him. With a yell, he released an omnidirectional burst of green energy from his body, vaporizing them all. As he caught his breath, Kalibak leapt upwards to him, catching him off guard and bringing him down to the surface.

Luckily, the Canadensian was able to use momentum to spin Kalibak around, forcing him to take the full brunt of the impact when they landed. Immediately, Tiner jumped away and fired multiple volleys of green energy bolts from his ring. This did little damage to the god of war as he rose, though it did annoy him greatly. He then rushed to the Canadensian, raising his Beta Club and swinging down on him. Tiner blocked the overhead, the impact causing a shock wave that shook the area surrounding them and blew away soldiers of both sides.

With quick thinking, he formed a lock and chain construct that surrounded Kalibak’s hands and tightened before clamping down.

“What!?” Kalibak said before he felt multiple strikes to his side as Tiner used his free hand to attack him, his other hand holding the construct in place. He then used the war god’s own weight against him as he stopped striking and grabbed him, using the strength given to him by the Lantern Ring, he tossed Kalibak to a stray building, causing it to fall down on him into a pile of rubble.

“I still got it,” he said in a confident tone.

After a second or two of silence, Kalibak emerged from the rubble with a mighty roar, sending debris flying everywhere. He walked forward to the Lantern, a snarl present on his face as he turned to the plasma rifle wielding Parademons, “kill him!” He ordered as the insectoids aimed and fired their weapons at the Lantern.

Forming a quick bubble shield, the plasma bolts bounced off it, keeping Tiner safe, but he couldn’t come up with something else as he found himself bouncing around the palace grounds thanks to Kalibak rushing him and hitting him around. Eventually, he landed, or rather crashed, back in his throne room, his bubble shield destroyed.

Disorientated, Tiner got up and looked around to see his royal guards and advisor on the floor, dead. He gritted his teeth as he looked forward, seeing the war god and a swarm of Parademons heading towards him.

“Noble King, why do you fight?” Kalibak asked, in an almost mocking tone, “you can’t save your people. You couldn’t save your people. What hope do you have saving your world?” Kalibak seemed to smirk at the thought of his words getting under the Lantern’s skin before continuing, “The Great Darkness will claim this world. It is inevitable.”

“That may be…” Tiner responded, clenching his fists as several Parademons clung to the walls and pillars surrounding him, “but let it be known that I did not go down without a fight!”

In a flash, he created more sword constructs in his hands and mini cannons on his shoulders as Parademons attacked him, either rushing towards him with their melee weapons, or firing at him with their rifles. Tiner, with unparalleled grace, dodged plasma shots, spear jabs, and ax swings as he found himself, once again, slicing and dicing his enemies, with the added bonus of the shoulder cannons blowing their heads off. For the hard to reach enemies, mounted above, his cannons aimed directly at them, firing and turning them into smoke.

With a lunge, his swords suddenly gained chains on the hilts as he spun them around, rapidly, letting the blades swoop around on the chains and cut down more foes surrounding him to pieces. He then straightened himself and slammed the blades to the ground, tugging at them, letting the chains fly as they slammed together in the air, creating a massive shock wave that shook the room and blew away remaining Parademons, even fazing Kalibak.

He caught his breath as the dust cleared, repositioning his blades and cannons before a stinging pain hit his shoulder causing one cannon to disappear. He turned around to see a dying Parademon aiming its rifle before limping, its red eyes ceasing to glow.

He felt another stinging pain on his other shoulder, causing his other cannon to disappear. Then, he felt a blade piercing his side. Then his chest. Had it not been for his armor, he probably would have been dead already, though he may as well have been seeing a new wave of Parademons were taking the opportunity to swarm him. Some dropped their weapons and began to slam their fists into him, grabbing him and holding him down.

Tiner tried to fight back, lunging his remaining blade forward and piercing one out of dozens, before a Parademon grabbed his arm and twisted it, breaking it and causing immense pain. He felt his arm go limp as Kalibak barked an order at the swarm, “enough! He is mine!”

The insectoid soldiers backed off as their general grabbed a spear and kicked Tiner to the ground. Tiner only chuckled at this as Kalibak aimed his spear at his heart, “getting the final blow, therefore, all the credit, in spite of your minion's dirty work…” He gave the war god a smug grin as he said this, “the work of a true coward. No wonder your father doesn’t like you. You can't do anything properly, yourself."

Kalibak snarled in anger as he plunged the spear downwards, killing the Lantern instantly. Almost immediately after his death, his ring then seemed to gain a mind of its own as it flew off the Canadensian’s finger, zig-zagging a few times in the air before stopping and flying past Kalibak and out of the front gates. Heading above towards space.

The war god huffed as he turned around to see several figures in metallic robes approach him, a trio of cubical devices floating above them. Their robes seemed to be countless pieces of metal fused together as well as to their incredibly emaciated skin and body. They were Apokolipitan Priests. And they were necessary for completing the final steps of conquering worlds: The terraforming process.

Above them were Father Boxes. They performed all the same functions as a Mother Box, but in the service of evil, instead of good. And instead of being rectangular in shape, they were cubical, but unlike ancient Mother Box models, they were small enough to be fit in the palm of one’s hand.

The priests chanted in a language that sounded more like primal growls and snarls rather than words, making the three Father Boxes fuse together and creating a shockwave of orange energy that transformed the surrounding area from a palace of stone and marble into a molten metallic nightmare with pulsating fiery orange energy. The priests continued to chant as the boxes sunk into each other slowly.

Kalibak watched with glee as the Unity formed. But before he could enjoy it fully, a priest stopped chanting and walked up to him, addressing him in an incredibly raspy voice, “DeSaad is in need of you," he said, watching the smile from Kalibak’s face disappear, "you must return to Apokolips.

“What could he possibly want?” The son of Darkseid asked, annoyed.

“Important matters,” the priest responded as he turned back to the Unity in process and chanted again.

Kalibak growled in annoyance as he walked past the unification and towards the ship they arrived in. Heading up the boarding ramp, he turned one last time, annoyed at missing the Unity as the ship took off towards space. The Boom Tubes that came in the initial assault were gone, so the pilots had to take the long way. He growled in annoyance at this.

Moments later, the Unity was complete. With a deafening ‘click’ the three boxes fused into one. The Priests and the Parademons in their area shielded their eyes as a blinding light engulfed the area and spread outwards. Anything that came from Apokolips was unharmed, but everything else… Scorched to glass.

Up from space, one could see the planet engulfing shockwave of the Unity turned a world filled with life into a scorched, lifeless desert. Canadensis was no more. Kalibak observed the process from a window on his command ship, annoyed that he had to miss one of his favorite parts of conquest. With a snort, he turned to the control deck, sitting on the command throne and watching his pilots work on the systems as he felt the ship turn around.

A Boom Tube opened in front of them and the ship went forward towards Apokolips. His home.

“This had better be good, DeSaad,” he thought to himself as his ship passed through the portal.

Chapter Text

Oan Citadel

“Green Lantern 2814.3. You’re late.”

John resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the Maltusian's overly haughty tone and simply stood firm, hands behind his back as he spoke, “my apologies, Appa,” he said, “I took the newcomers on the scenic route.”

“I presume you are referring to the ambassadors that Orion has brought?”

John nodded, moving out of the way to introduce the ambassadors. Barda and Scott stepped forward, hands behind their back, hidden by their capes. Luz, Gus, Amity, and Willow also stepped forward, though in a far less professional way as the former two waved at the Maltusians while the latter two sheepishly smiled.

Appa stared neutrally before turning to Orion, “I see you have brought Scott and Barda as you have promised…” he then turned to the children, “as well as the children you spoke of.”

“Hi!” Luz said, excitedly, “our names are-”

“We are aware of your name, young Luz Porter of Earth.” Appa interrupted, “in fact, we are aware of all your names, thanks to Orion.”

“Oh…” Luz said, awkwardly, backing away.

“A little heads up for that, would have been nice,” Amity mumbled, confident the New God heard her snark, “kind of a breach in privacy.”

Appa furrowed a brow as he turned back to Orion, “I must say, humans are very deceptive in regards to their age. You have said they were all going through the middle of adolescence, correct?” He watched Orion nod, before continuing, “they look even younger than your descriptions of them.”

“We’re not that young. I’m gonna turn fifteen soon,” Gus spoke up before receiving glares from the Guardians, “... just pointing that out.”

Scott turned his head and whispered to Gus, “I think it’s best if you just let the adults talk here, kiddo.” Gus nodded at this as Scott addressed the others, “that goes for all of you.”

The kids nodded, placing their hands behind their back or trying to adjust their suits awkwardly.

Orion rolled his eyes beneath his helm as he folded his hands behind his back, “shall we discuss the matters at hand, then?”

“Yes, we shall, Orion,” another Guardian, Herupa Hando Hu, said, “in fact, we have been reassessing the mission while you have been away gathering your… ‘diplomats.’”

“What is there to possibly reassess, Guardian Herupa?” Orion asked, annoyed.

“We maintain the belief that the mission to unite all seven Lantern Corps is a fool’s errand rooted in naivety.”

“Not to mention this team does not exactly inspire confidence,” yet another Guardian, Ranakar, added, “your brave diplomats consist of four hormonal addled human adolescents, an escapee artist, and one who was once allied with our enemy. I cannot see any negotiation ending well.”

The kids cringed at the insults, while Barda clenched a fist at the insult directed towards her, but was calmed down when Scott put her hand in his own.

Orion spoke in their defense, “Guardian Ranakar, I assure you that these six chosen representatives are more than qualified to be here,” his words reassured the group as he continued, “ragtag as they may be, they have the heart to commit to this task.”

“Aww, you do care,” Scott said with a smile as Orion ignored him.

Herupa Hando Hu spoke again, “it takes more than heart to sway people. Especially if many of these people have been your enemies in the past.”

“We are aware of the past conflicts between certain corps,” Scott addressed, “but we know a thing or two that will convince them to join.”

“And what would that be, Scott Free?” Another Guardian asked, a female one named ‘Dennap,’ asked, “juggling? Pulling a rodent out of your hat?”

Scott only folded his arms in annoyance, “I’m not that kind of performance artist,” he muttered, "that's that hack Zatanna's style."

John decided to send his word, “if I may speak, Guardians,” he asked, allowing them to nod before continuing, “I understand your hesitation regarding this task. Hell, even I’m not fully confident it would work.”

“Way to be on our side,” Amity muttered to herself before getting a glare from Barda, then she zipped it.

John continued speaking, “but if you remember from a few years back, Jordan managed to reason with the Red Lanterns to prevent them from destroying Oa. He also managed to win over Larfleeze’s good side, and he is known to be exceptionally stubborn. If a hotshot like Jordan can reason with them, I’m sure these guys could do it.”

The group smiled at this reaffirmation as one of the Guardians spoke.

“Indeed, he did,” Ranakar commented, “but there is one corps even he could not sway: The Sinestro Corps.”

There was a chill in the room as he said that.

John rubbed the back of his head, “yeah, those ones are lost causes. Don’t know why Highfather would even include them in the plan.”

“He never always made the right choices,” Scott said to Barda, quietly, but Orion heard him and glared at him, his helm hiding his remorseful look.

Appa was about to speak up, but the roof of the rotunda suddenly opened up, shining the relatively dark room with sunlight. Everyone present looked upwards at the opening, wondering why it would open… And saw a tiny, green ring fall to the ground with a tiny 'cling’ sound.

Luz stepped forward and picked it up, seeing it was a Green Lantern power ring. Her and her fellow teens looked at it with a curious gaze, while everyone else had a look of shock.

“That’s not good,” Scott said in a penitent tone.

“What?” Luz asked, “what does that mean?”

“It means we’ve just been informed of a dead Green Lantern,” a contrite John answered. Leaving the kids in a state of shock as Luz dropped the ring onto the floor in recoil. John stepped forward and picked the ring up from the floor, heading towards Salaak, who floated towards his direction, “whose ring did this belong to, Salaak?”

John placed the ring on the center keyboard panel in front of the Slyggian, allowing it to be scanned. With a few button presses, the panel displayed a green hologram showing a bipedal alien that resembled a bighorn sheep wearing armor showcasing the corps emblem, “this ring belonged to Green Lantern Tiner,” he said.

John folded his arms in front of him, “think I’ve heard of him before, but he isn’t ringing any major bells.”

“Your lack of knowledge surrounding him is not without basis. He was the King of the isolated world of Canadensis in Sector 1438,” Salaak explained, displaying another hologram showcasing the world he spoke of, “he, like the rest of the planet, wasn’t very active in galactic affairs, preferring to stay on his home planet to govern his people and only headed off-world when it was required.”

“There is also the fact that Sector 1438 is one of the sectors that borders between Guardian and Frontier Space,” Dennap commented, “so communication happens less often than we’d like.”

“Frontier Space?” Luz asked, with a brow raised.

“Lantern Salaak,” Appa ordered, “display Guardian space."

Salaak did so, pushing a few buttons on his keyboard, allowing a green orb to hover upwards into the center of the room and expand into a spherical grid, representing a star chart, which then displayed tiny symbols of the corps all around it.

Appa explained, “there are thirty-six hundred sectors in Guardian space. Each sector has a Green Lantern assigned to defend it,” he then looked to Stewart, who had a smug look on his face “or in the case of Earth’s sector, which is Sector 2814, four Lanterns assigned to defend it.” He rolled his eyes as he said this.

“So many Green Lanterns,” Willow said, in awe, “how did Apokolips gain any ground?”

“Because of Frontier Space,” Appa responded, proceeding to explain as the grid then shrunk, showing an green empty bubble, occasionally having a corps emblem or two floating about in there, “Frontier Space is essentially uncharted territory. Long destroyed or abandoned star systems, recently discovered planets that have yet to be fully explored, or even galaxies that have yet to be discovered altogether, are likely in Frontier Space.”

“There are Green Lanterns stationed in Frontier Space, nicknamed ‘Frontier Lanterns,’” Herupa added, “but they are few and far between, so contact is sporadic at the most.”

Ranakar spoke up, “for eons, Apokolips has attacked and conquered worlds throughout Frontier Space,” he continued to explain, “they have attacked Guardian Space many times before, but often chose carefully which worlds to assault. After all, a Green Lantern is one of the few beings powerful enough in the universe to repel an invasion from them.”

“But lately, the rates at which Apokolips have attacked Guardian Space have become more and more frequent,” Dennapa said, “we have stretched our Green Lanterns thin in an attempt to liberate and assist countless systems. And it seems we can add Sector 1438 as just one of many examples of these attacks.”

All the party members took note of the neutral tone the Maltusians were using in regards to this dire situation. Willow spoke up, “what happens when a Lantern dies, exactly?”

“You have just seen one example for yourself,” Dennapa responded, “when a Green Lantern dies, their power rings either fly off into space in search of the next worthy host or they return back to Oa. For the past year, we have seen more rings do the latter than the former.”

John observed the grid while listening to the Guardians explain their system to the kids. He noticed many spots displaying only a circle, instead of the circle with a line on the bottom and top that made up the corps symbol, “I have a question, Guardians…” He said, narrowing his eyes at the grid.

“You may proceed, Lantern Stewart,” Appa answered.

“How many Green Lanterns have died this past year?”

Appa raised a brow, “why do you wish to know?”

“Because this map is showing at least three dozen dead GLs.” John pointed to the bare circles encompassing many spots in the grid.

The room suddenly became more tense after he said that. Orion raised a brow beneath his helm, “you did not know about this, Stewart?” He asked, genuinely curious.

“No, I didn’t,” John answered bluntly, “the Guardians have a habit of not telling their own corps the full story.”

“Watch your tone, Green Lantern 2814.3,” Appa spoke up again, slightly raising his voice as he addressed John by his designated number like an angry parent calling their child by their full name, “you’re beginning to sound like Jordan. Or worse, Gardner.”

Salaak then spoke up, “I have to agree with Lantern Stewart,” his voice went from his typical neutral, almost robotic tone, to a frustrated one, “did you not think it to be fit to inform us of so many Lantern deaths?”

Appa retorted, “because, Green Lantern 1481, if we did inform the Corps of this, it would lead to panic and disarray, allowing Fear - the antithesis of Willpower, need I remind you - to run rampant.”

“Is that really the best excuse you could come up with?” Scott said, angered, “there are Lanterns dying out there and you’re sitting around doing nothing!”

“We are formulating a plan as we speak.”

Barda then spoke up, irritated, “while you sit there planning, countless billions of lives are at stake because Green Lanterns are dropping like flies,” she pointed a finger at them as she spoke, “this situation is precisely why this alliance was proposed to you in the first place, yet you still think it’s a bad idea.”

“You must understand that approving decisions like these are not so simple, Barda,” Herupa retorted, “we must make our choices very carefully, for even the lightest decision could have major consequences that even we could not have foreseen.”

Barda grumbled at his response while Scott put a hand on her shoulder to get her to calm down. The tension was slowly rising in the room. It became so thick, you could cut it with a knife. Orion scowled at the lack of progress, John and Salaak were visibly upset, the children looked around awkwardly, feeling useless, Scott looked almost defeated, while Barda only huffed as she barely managed to calm herself down.

John walked up to Scott and Barda, “I don’t know why you guys are even arguing with them,” he then gave the Maltusians a dirty look, “I think it’s clear they made up their mind.”

The Guardians stood in silence as they watched Orion step forward, “you have, haven’t you?” He asked, before receiving a nod from the now silent Guardians. He clenched a fist at this as he continued, “in fact, you’ve probably made up your minds the moment we stepped into the rotunda chamber!”

The Guardians stood silent, before nodding slightly. Orion shook with anger and frustration before he took a deep breath. Herupa then spoke up, “we understand Highfather’s intentions, Orion,” he said, in an almost understanding way, “but we cannot risk so much on the simple assumption that this could work.”

“You’re already risking everything,” Orion said as he took in a sharp breath.

“The Green Lantern Corps have faced many threats that threatened the sanctity of the universe before,” Appa spoke up, “without the help of other Corps.”

“What of the Blue Lanterns?” Orion asked, as if a lightbulb went over his head, “Hope empowers Willpower tenfold!”

“There are far too little members to effectively make a difference in the long run,” Appa dryly retorted, “barely half-a-dozen, if I recall correctly.”

Orion silently cursed to himself, before looking up again, utterly defeated, “then I have nothing more to add.”

The Guardians nodded, turning to John, “Lantern Stewart,” Rannakar ordered, “escort the party out of the Citadel.”

Stewart nodded, though not without a sigh. He went past the group and gestured to follow him, the party doing so and looking rather defeated. When they left the chambers, Orion, out of frustration, punched the wall next to him as he walked, leaving a noticeable indent on the metal.

“Those guys were jerks,” Luz said, her arms crossed irately.

"And I thought my parents were mulish," Willow added, looking at Stewart, "I can't believe those guys are your bosses."

John turned back and nodded, “those are the Guardians of the Universe, for you,” he said with a tone of annoyance, “famed across the stars and told in countless legends and stories.”

He scoffed before continuing, “what most of those stories never tell you is that they are the most stubborn group of people to ever exist. Held up by eons of so-called “wisdom” that they think they are always right,” he shook his head as the door to the Citadel opened thanks to Salaak, “if I wasn’t used to stubborn bureaucrats like them while I was in the Marines, I imagine I would have pulled a Gardner and punched one of them in the face.”

“Why am I not surprised that idiot did that?” Barda asked, rolling her eyes.

“Oh, I was just exaggerating,” John clarified, “he didn’t actually do that… Yet.”

The group then stopped at the landing platform, with Salaak lagging behind as he fiddled with his keyboards, “I’ll stay behind at the citadel, Lantern Stewart,” he said, not taking his eyes off the screens as he turned around, “I’ll have to return the ring to proper storage.”

“See ya, Salaak,” Stewart responded, with Salaak not even bothering with a wave back as he headed towards the doors. Stewart sighed again, “I’m sorry this whole trip was a waste of your guys’ time. I thought the Guardians would have had their heads screwed on right this time. Guess not.”

The kids all looked disappointed, especially Gus and Luz, Barda and Scott just had their arms folded, with an annoyed expression, and Orion had a scowl as he pulled out his Mother Box and aimed it at the end of the platform.

Before he could summon a Boom Tube, however, he was stopped by Stewart, “whoa, where do you think you’re going?”

Orion raised a brow beneath his helm, “I’m going to Boom everyone back to Earth.”

John shook his head with a smile, “relax a bit, Orion," he then formed a platform construct for the non-flyers of the group to step on as he continued, "because we’re gonna take a little tour."

Everyone just looked at each other and shrugged as the non-flyers stepped on the platform, John encompassing them in a bubble as he flew off, with Scott, Luz, and Amity following suit. For a minute or two, John flew forwards, passing many buildings of white and emerald.

Orion knocked on the construct walls, “you better not be wasting our time, Stewart,” he angrily said, folding his arms as John took a left, “I’m needed back on Earth!”

“Relax, Orion,” John said, as he lowered his flying form towards a large series of rotundas, “it’ll all be worth it.”

When they lowered down to a platform near the domed buildings, John stepped forward, dissipating the platform construct as the non-flyers and flyers caught up to him and then he pushed a button on a door, letting the entrance open, revealing a massive hallway occupied by several doorways that were actually hangar bays leading to either docked ships or empty spaces for ships to land in.

“What is your game here, John?” Barda asked as they walked forward, “we aren’t tourists, you know.”

John chuckled before turning around, “my game here is that I’m taking you to your ship.”

“Pardon me?”

The Green Lantern smirked, “I'm taking you to your ship because you’re still going on this mission.”

“Wait, seriously!?” Luz asked with a twinkle in her eyes.

“YES!” Gus yelled, before covering his mouth, realizing someone could hear him. Amity just covered her ears at the sudden loud noise, looking at him with an annoyed expression as he just sheepishly smiled.

Beneath his helm, Orion had a look on confusion, "Stewart, the Guardians-"

John made a dismissive gesture, “I'm aware they're gonna give me crap for letting you do this, but sometimes you have to defy authority to do what's right," he then folded his arms as he continued speaking, "the Guardians' stubbornness is putting countless innocents in danger and us Green Lanterns need all the help we can get. I'd rather break the rules letting you make things right than stand around and do nothing following them."

The group felt quite happy with John putting his faith in them, with Gus sporting the biggest smile on his face.

Amity leaned to Willow, “we’re gonna get in so much trouble, aren’t we?” she whispered to the glasses wearing girl who just nodded with a smirk that left Amity a bit puzzled.

John then turned and walked further into the hangar, continuing to speak, "besides, this isn't entirely my idea, so hopefully, the Guardians won't rag on me too hard."

"Not entirely your-" Orion interrupted his question before he narrowed his eyes as he realized who he was talking about. 

'Her,' he thought to himself with a clenched fist. He then cleared his mind and followed Stewart and the others into the building, passing by a few hangar doors along the way.

As they were walking, John stopped in front of a bay that led to a massive ship that was white with green accents and had a rounded front, two wings to the side, and a narrow stabilizer on the end, making it almost resemble a Manta Ray.

John whistled, "I may not be an Air Force guy, but even I got to admit that is one nice ship." He said as everyone eyed it like it was made of diamonds, except Orion, who observed with a neutral face.

"What is it?" Luz asked, not taking her eyes off the thing once.

“ This baby right here,” John replied, “is the Interceptor Mark IV. Potentially the fastest ship in the universe."

“Whoa,” Gus said, awestruck at that tidbit.

Orion had a hand on his chin as he observed, "the last time I was here, it was the Mark III," the Dog of War said with a curious tone, "what happened to it?"

Stewart turned and flatly responded, "Jordan happened."

"Ah."

"Please tell us that's gonna be our ship," Gus said excitedly, practically bouncing up and down, "please tell me we're gonna fly in that."

John chuckled before answering, "sorry, kiddo, but I'm already treading on thin ice letting you do this mission. Letting you fly that thing would get me discharged."

"Oh…" Gus was disappointed by that answer as John kept walking to the next hangar door.

“Ah, there it is,” he said with a smile, “this is your ship.”

He then motioned towards a ship which was roughly the same size as the Interceptor. It was silver colored with a narrow front and a wide end, with the engines ending in a square shape. The boarding ramp was extended at the bottom, meaning someone had either just left it or entered it.

The kids seemed a bit disappointed at the reveal, “that’s our ship?” Luz asked, turning to see John nod at her question, “it seems like a piece of junk compared to the other one.”

“I’ll have you know that ‘piece of junk’ is more reliable than some glorified space racer ever will be.”

A sassy voice called out from the side. Everyone turned to see a woman with gray hair and almost deathly pale skin. Her attire consisted of a red dress, with silver patterns all over it, a red tasset with silver faulds, and silver bracers. An amber medallion seemed to be embedded jin her upper chest. Her leggings and boots were also red, with her boots having a silver outline. In her hands was a staff that was wooden colored, with the top end that formed a pattern that looked like a stylized depiction of an owl. She was Edalyn Clawthorne, the renegade New God.

“Wassup, freeloaders?” She said with a smirk, showing her golden tooth, “did I miss anything?”

Chapter Text

“Eda!”

Luz tackled the New God with great speeds and power as she wrapped her arms around her, with Eda nearly falling over with an audible grunt as everyone else, except Orion, watched in amusement.

“I missed you so much!” the teenager said, squeezing Eda’s waist tightly.

“I missed you, too, kiddo,” the New God said as she felt the air being forced out of her lungs, “and I know you’re really happy and all, but can you maybe loosen up your grip? You’re crushing my ribs.”

Luz did that, backing off, “sorry!” She apologized, innocently, “I guess I don’t know my own strength.”

Eda was impressed, “you got that strong in less than a year?” she asked, bewildered, “I remember when you struggled to lift a boulder.”

Luz sheepishly smiled, “yeah, I guess I’ve been working out a bit,” she then flexed an arm to emphasize her point. Amity looked away as she did this, blushing furiously and hoping nobody would notice.

Eda was impressed, “not bad, kiddo. Not bad at all,” she then looked at the other kids with a smile as she outstretched her arms, “what are you all waiting for? Get over here!”

The other three gave her big hugs, with Gus being the most enthusiastic, “we’re happy to see you, too!” he said, looking upwards towards the New Genisean.

“Yeah, yeah, get your sentimentality all out,” the New God responded as she wrapped her arms around them all. After what felt like a minute or two, they let go, happy as clams as they stood next to Luz.

Eda smiled as she looked upon them all, “look at you all,” she said, a sense of pride in her voice, “it’s only been a year-ish and you kids have already grown so much.”

The kids smiled at how proud she was as she continued speaking, “if I was the sappy kind of gal, I think I might shed a few tears.”

“Aw, now you’re gonna make me cry,” Gus remarked, summoning a handkerchief for dramatic effect, much to the New God’s amusement.

She looked at their snazzy outfits and smiled, “so who’s your tailor? That’s some high-end stuff you guys are wearing.”

Luz answered, “technically, it was me,” she put her hands behind her back all innocently, “I sketched the costumes and sewed them. But Scott did the rest.”

Eda looked to Scott, who just smirked and used his sleight of hand to display his Mother Box, waving it and answering any potential question she would have had.

Eda smirked, “Scotty, you clever bastard,” she mumbled as she stood up and faced him and his husband, “Scott and Barda, how the heck have you guys been?”

Scott put away his Mother Box and shook Eda’s hand before the latter pulled him in for a hug, “we’ve been doing wonderfully,” he said slightly surprised at the hug, “been a good year.”

Eda retreated from the hug with Scott and went to Barda, who brought her own handshake-hug combo. Once again, the renegade found her bones crunched in the embrace, “we’ve been enjoying the peaceful life. It’s nice not to worry about everything.”

Eda pulled out of yet another deadly hug before replying to the former Fury Captain, “that’s good to hear, Barda,” she then adjusted her now aching spine, “glad to see you two happy.”

Barda chuckled at the image of Eda adjusting her back as Scott spoke again, “we’ve had some bumps in the road with Amity as our student, but we’ve adjusted,” he then looked to the green-haired teenager with a smile, “she’s a good learner once you learn how to work with her.”

Amity smiled and placed her hands behind her back, innocently.

“Wait, you actually took her in?” Eda asked, finishing adjusting her aching back, “that was a joke…”

Barda raised a brow, “well, if it was a joke, we really couldn’t tell,” she said, a hand on her hip as she continued, “in fact, I don’t think we can tell with you at all.”

“How could you not!?”

“Maybe it’s because you take nothing seriously.”

Orion’s voice interrupted any response from the couple. Everyone turned to stare at him, showing he had his arms folded and sported the most annoyed expression that could be visible beneath his helmet.

Eda flashed a smirk at him, going up to the annoyed Dog of War, “I was wondering if you’d show,” she said in a faux innocent tone, “how are you doing, ya big grump?” She then gave the war god a playful punch to the shoulder, of which there was no reaction from him.

Orion took a sharp inhale before speaking again, “Edalyn Clawthorne,” he said in a barely restrained breath, “you mind telling me what you are doing here?”

“Helping out some friends by lending them my ship,” she said, motioning to the silver ship in the hangar bay, “duh.”

“You’re supposed to be on New Genesis with your sister.”

Eda made a dismissive gesture, “relaaaax,” she said, “Highfather let me, since, technically, I’m not a citizen of Supertown anymore, so I’m not required to be there,” she then chuckled seeing Orion’s exposed chin form a scowl before she continued, “using that loophole, I came here, since I overheard a few things about the Lantern Corps forming an alliance, and how you resorted to using my students.”

Orion slightly groaned at this, “here to judge us on that too?”

“Nah,” Eda answered, before clarifying, “I mean, I was certainly a bit miffed at it, but then I remembered all the trouble I got into as a kid that makes a bunch of rage-fueled monsters and fear wielders look like child’s play. So, I got over it.”

Orion seemed a bit content with that answer. Eda continued to speak, “anyways, knowing the Guardians are a bunch of obstinate dills, I grabbed myself a ship, headed here under the guise of needing repairs, met Johnny over here-”

“Don’t call me that,” Stewart interrupted before letting Eda continue.

“... and I told him of a possible “Plan B” in case things would inevitably go under with the Guardians. I stopped to get a snack earlier and that’s basically where I made my dramatic entrance,” she then noticed the deepening scowl on Orion’s face and piped up again, “and don’t worry, Highfather let me. Again, I’m not a citizen of Supertown, so I used the available loopholes.”

Orion took a very, very deep breath before proceeding to speak, “so what you’re saying is that not only are you the one who gave Stewart the idea to disobey the Guardians, but that you were also enabled by Highfather himself to do this?”

Eda listed her first answer with her thumb, “firstly, guilty as charged,” she then listed her second answer with her index finger, “secondly, he doesn’t enable me, he just understands me better than others.”

“Whenever you get in trouble, he does nothing but coddle you,” Orion retorted, “that sounds like enabling to me.”

Eda slammed her staff in a huff, “regardless of what you think he does, I’m here, whether you like it or not,” she then pointed at his chest to emphasize her point, “so deal with it, bucko.”

Everyone was surprised at the renegade giving the Dog of War attitude and lip. The tension rose in the room as if the very air changed. Orion clenched a fist and gritted his teeth as he took in a few deep breaths, shaking the area around him, which seemed to scare the group, with Scott in particular actually taking a few steps back. But Eda stood her ground.

Fortunately, Stewart placed a brick wall construct in-between the two of them, “alright, let’s give each other some space, ok?” He said, awaiting a confirmation. They both nodded, with Orion somehow giving his nod more attitude. John dissipated the construct as he walked to Eda’s side, “let’s all talk like adults, here.”

“Good luck,” Eda muttered, with John just giving her a look that told her “not now,” and the woman zipped it. 

John then spoke to the Dog of War, “look, Orion, if you’re gonna get mad at anyone, be mad at me for going through with this.”

The war god scoffed, “really, I’m surprised you’d go through with it, considering you’re one of the most by the book Lanterns I’ve met,” he then unfolded his arms, “don’t tell me Jordan is rubbing off on you.”

John sighed before responding, “look, Orion. I don’t know as much about this lady as you do, but if she’s anything like Jordan…” he then went on a semi-rant, “that means she is stubborn, has a near complete disregard for authority, a wannabe casanova, and is reckless as they can be.”

“Way to be on my side, John,” Eda snarked.

John ignored her as he continued, “but that also means that her ideas are crazy enough to work. That her plans, bumps in the road and all, end up being a success more often than not,” he then took a deep breath, “and like I said earlier, it’s better to defy authority doing what’s right than standing around and doing nothing.”

Orion seemed stunned. He was unable to properly form a response as he looked at both the Lantern and renegade for several seconds. Everyone could feel the rising tension between the three as he stared at them, scowl becoming more and more prominent with every passing second.

The war god took a deep sigh, knowing it would be pointless to argue against them. He pulled out his Mother Box, “just leave me out of this when you inevitably get caught,” he said to them all, summoning a Boom Tube behind him, “I wish you all luck. You’ll need it.”

He turned his back to them and entered the portal, the tube closing behind him as he did so, leaving the group in silence.

“He took that better than I expected,” Eda commented, a hand on her hip as John nodded. She then turned around towards the rest, who still had looks of uncertainty on their faces. She chuckled before piping up, “sorry if things got a little heated there. Me and Orion don’t exactly see eye-to-eye.”

“I’ll say,” Luz commented, “don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone give him an attitude like that, except maybe my mother.”

Eda chuckled at her comment, “to be fair, kiddo, your mother could make Darkseid shake in his boots when she’s angry.”

Luz and Gus giggled at that, though everyone else seemed unamused. Scott in particular actually crossed his arms as he piped up.

“I don’t know why you aggravate him like that,” he said, annoyed.

Eda dismissed this, “I know I get on his nerves, but I know he cares deep down,” she then chuckled, “his serious demeanor reminds me of Lilith, so I guess that explains why I love messing with him.”

“I swear, Eda, one of these days, your attitude is gonna get you punched in the face.”

“You and so many others have said.”

“Alright, I think that’s enough banter,” John said, coming between the New Gods, “we’re wasting time here.”

Eda and Scott looked at him before nodding, with the former proceeding to walk beside the Lantern and turn to the rest of the group, “how about I give you all a tour of my ship?” She then corrected herself, “or rather, your ship.”

“Alright!” Gus yelled enthusiastically, once again, making Amity cover her ears at the sudden yelling.

The group approached the ship, its silver chassis shining in the hangar light. Upon entering the ship through the boarding ramp, they were met with flint gray metal walls that were slightly rusted in a few spots, with a table and seating on the left side of the space, but beyond that, it was mostly empty, save for some crates here and there. In front of them was a hallway that led to the cockpit where the pilots went.

Eda introduced them all to the ship, “this is the DT-2020 FREIGHTER ,” she said, her arms outstretched for dramatic effect, “often used as a personal cargo transport or a space RV.”

“Cooool,” Gus remarked as he looked around.

“Huh,” Luz commented, “it’s in a lot better shape than I thought it would be.”

“You have too little faith in me, little human” Eda responded with a smile before adding further details, “now this type of ship may not be the fastest, most heavily armed, or even the most durable starship, but it’s reliable and that’s what matters in the end.”

Scott raised a question, “so, she got a name?” 

Eda dismissed him with a gesture, “nah,” she responded, “not only did I just get it, naming it means I get attached to the hunk of junk. I’d get all sad the moment I crash into something, or it blows up, or I crash into something and then it blows up.”

The group stared at her with an awkward glare, with John giving her a particularly curious look.

Eda threw up her arms, “what?” she asked them, “why are you all looking at me like that?”

Stewart shook his head, “you really are like Jordan,” he muttered, earning a giggle from Scott and Barda.

Eda rolled her eyes, “oh, be quiet.”

Ping.

Eda perked at the sound that emanated from her staff. The owl’s eyes lit up as it emitted a sound similar to that of a Mother Box. In fact, it was in its own way. A Mother Staff served the same function as a Mother Box, just in a different form.

The owl emitted another pinging sound, which mader its wielder roll her eyes.

Eda spoke to it, “alright, alright, calm down,”

She then turned back to the others, with a sheepish smile, “Owlbert is trying to rush us,” she then shrugged before walking forward, “I’ll give you the basics of the interior layout and you guys can figure the rest out on your own.”

As the group followed her into the forward hallway. To the side, there were six doors, which the New God pointed out, “these are your rooms. They’re not much, but they offer some level of comfort when you’re out in the deep void of space,” Eda then pushed a button on a panel next to one of the doors, revealing what was inside. There was a double decker bed, a drawer, and a desk slab that could possibly double as a bench.

“Dibs on the top bunk!” Gus exclaimed like an overenthusiastic child at a sleepover.

“It’s good to see you still have your endless excitement, Goops,” Eda remarked.

“It’s ‘Gus.’”

“That’s what I said.”

Eda then turned back to the hallway, ignoring Gus’ unamused stare and directed the group to the cockpit, where the window overlooked the hangar bay in front of them, “this is the flight deck. No explanation required.”

Seeing all the flashing and blinking buttons of various colors mesmerized the teenagers while the adults observed neutrally. While the former were excited at their first experience being inside a starship, it was nothing the latter hadn't already seen before.

Eda turned around and leaned against the left chair, “so, yeah. Them’s the basics, kiddos,” she then spun around her staff as she continued speaking, “there’s obviously weapons and shielding, and a bunch of other specifics that you can figure out on your own. I’m kind of in a rush. Got things to do.”

Luz went up to the renegade, “you mean you’re not coming?” She said, disappointedly.

Eda’s mood lowered seeing Luz making sad puppy-dog eyes, “no, kiddo, I ain’t coming with ya,” she responded, rather disappointedly herself, “I have my own things to deal with and I can’t just brush them under the rug this time.”

Luz nodded solemnly, “I get it,” she said, a dour tone in her words.

John then spoke up, “I might as well state that I’m gonna have to pass going with you all as well,” he winced seeing Gus’ face turn into one of sudden shock, “I’m needed to stand guard on Oa. The Guardians have everyone stretched thin after all.”

Gus formed puppy-dog eyes that were somehow sadder than Luz’s, “no! You can’t stay!” He pleaded, rushing to the GL and grabbing his waist like a clingy toddler, “I have so many questions! Are you actually weak to wood? If I painted myself yellow, would that mean your constructs are ineffective!? I can’t be left hanging!”

John sighed, forming a claw construct that pulled Gus off of his waist, “sorry, junior, but your questions are going to have to wait,” he then dissipated the construct as he kept talking, “even if I wasn’t on guard duty, going with you guys is committing AWOL. I’m already going to be in enough trouble letting you folks do this, I don’t want to add that crime to my record.”

Gus then sighed, “I understand,” he said, his mood changing from disappointed to neutral.

As for Luz, seeing her heartbroken made Eda wince. She then sighed, placing her staff and kneeling to her, hands on her shoulders, “chin up, little hatchling.”

Luz perked herself at the nickname. She hasn't been called that in a long time. She listened on as Eda spoke, “don’t be all glum. Believe me, if I could go with you, I would do so without a second of hesitation. I just got too many things on my plate,” she then stood up, patting her on the shoulders, “you’re more than ready for this, kiddo. I believe in you."

If these words came from anyone else, Luz would have considered it condescending and false assurance, but coming from Eda, it felt genuine. She smiled at this and gave her a hug.

Eda smiled, returning the hug and patting Luz’s head, “yeah, yeah, get the sappiness out, kid,” she jokingly said before pulling back from the embrace, “I’m proud of you, Luz.”

“I know,” the teenager responded with a smile.

Eda stood up and addressed everyone, “alright, well, I think you’re all ready to go,” she clapped her hands together as she did so, “love to stay, but again, I’m in a rush.”

She then reached for her staff, only to grasp thin air a few times. She turned around to see it wasn’t there at all. In fact, it was in the hands of Barda, who was fiddling with Owlbert on top of it before pulling it out and placing it on the center of the command console in front of her, inserting it into a slot like a USB drive.

“What are you doing!?” Eda asked.

Barda didn’t answer as Owlbert began to emit a pinging noise, eyes glowing bright yellow as the command console beneath it began to glow a similar color. What followed was bright yellow circuit-lines and patterns encompassing the console and spreading every square inch of the walls, celling, and floors. A high-pitched buzzing sound accompanying the technological takeover. The circuitry even extended to the exterior of the ship as well.

The lines became brighter by the second to the point where everyone was forced to shield their eyes as the blinding light engulfed everything. After a few seconds had passed, they lowered their arms and opened their eyes, witnessing what had just happened. 

While the exterior of the ship remained the same, the interior was also different in many ways. The rust spots that dotted the walls were gone and the flint gray walls were now an iron gray, with a few yellow circuit lines pulsing with energy dotting them like decorative paintings. Many of their guts told them that the changes were more than just decorative.

Owlbert then extended out metallic wings and exited from the port it was in, flying back to the base of the staff that Barda pulled it out from. Eda then snatched the Mother Staff from her with a glare. “What did you do!?” she queried, angrily.

“Upgraded the ship,” Barda replied, flatly.

Eda only huffed before muttering to herself, “great, now I have to get attached to this piece of junk.”

“What exactly happened?” Amity asked, confused.

The renegade turned to her and answered, “Barda here made Owlbert upgrade the ship,” she then formed an unamused look on her face, “that also means that the ship has basically become a giant Mother Box - a Mother Ship if you will.”

“That sounds awesome!” Gus exclaimed.

Eda just shrugged, “yeah, well, they could have asked me before doing it.”

“You’re welcome.” Barda snarked, which made Eda roll her eyes.

Scott then hugged Barda from behind, “I love your ingenuity,” he said, smitten.

Barda smiled, “I got it from you, honey.”

It was at this moment that John stepped forward, “alright, lovebirds,” he said, getting their attention, “don’t make this a smooch fest.”

Scott and Barda only laughed at this as they broke off.

The GL shook his head in amusement before continuing, “Anyways, since you lot are all set and ready, I suppose this is where we part ways for now.” The Lantern then extended a hand to both of them, which they shook with fervor.

Eda was about to say her own goodbyes before being interrupted by Luz tightly hugging her waist. “What is with the hugs today?” She asked with a laugh before returning it, followed by the other kids hugging her, “bring it in one more time, you little brats.”

The group said their farewells to the two. John exited the ship first, followed by Eda. But before the latter could leave, Amity tugged her tassels, gaining her attention. She motioned her to come closer, “is Lilith ok?” She whispered.

Eda’s face fell before answering, “she’s on the New Genesis equivalent of house arrest,” she then saw Amity’s face furrow before continuing, her smile returning, “but she does send her well-wishes and she says she's proud of you.”

Amity seemed ok with that answer as her smile returned.

With that, Eda finally exited the ship, the boarding ramp closing not long after her exit.

Barda turned to the command console and sat down on the pilot’s chair, pressing various buttons to get the ship started. The engines began humming to life as the ship’s inner machinations rumbled in a good way.

“You still remember how to fly a ship, right?” Scott asked, taking a seat on the co-pilot’s chair.

Barda only scoffed, “you can’t erase millennia worth of training, dear.”

The ship then began to move upwards out of the hangar bay as the ceiling above opened, letting in the sunlight. From the window, they could see John and Eda waving bye to them as they took off. Despite the tinted windows, they too waved bye.

“This is so cool!” Gus said, shaking with excitement and it wasn’t because of the ship’s rumbling.

Barda smiled, “and we have liftoff,” she said as the ship began to make for the atmosphere.

Watching the ship shoot towards the skies, John then turned to Eda, “alright, hand it over.”

Eda froze before replying, “what do you mean?”

“The stuff you stole.”

Eda put a hand to her chest, “John, I am offended that you would suggest that I did something so heinous.”

John just gave her an unamused stare, “I may not know you personally, but I am aware of your reputation,” he drolly responded, “you don’t seem like the type of lady to fly all the way to the commissary just to get a snack.”

They stared at each other for several seconds before Eda sighed, “you’re no fun,” she muttered as her Mother Staff pinged, opening what looked like a miniature Boom Tube that spewed out several items onto the floor, including a Green Lantern ring.

John particularly stared at that last item perplexingly, “how did you-”

Eda interrupted him with a raised hand, “I have my ways,” she said with a cocky grin.

John just sighed and rubbed his brows.