Second Chances: Green Lantern

Chapter 13

James just barely managed to put up a shield before the crazy man could even land a shot.

"Whoa, calm down. We're not your enemies." James said, trying to calm him down.

"Liar." The man said as he pulled out some kind of mace and tried to pound his way through the shield, only to be contained in a green energy sphere projected by Tomar and Kilowog.

"You sure this guy is our friend? He doesn't seem very friendly." Kilowog said angrily, since the only person who got to beat up his fellow Lanterns on Oa was him when he was training them.

"Calm yourself Kilowog. It's natural that he be unnerved after everything he's gone through." Ganthet said as the woman opened her eyes and James prepared to defend himself from her too, but it appeared that like with humans, this woman was more rational than the man.

"Where are we? Who are you?" the woman asked before she noticed the symbols on all of their chests and that two of them were confining her partner in a green energy bubble.

"You're Green Lanterns." the woman said and James nodded.

"You're on Oa. We stopped your ship from crashing into the planet and likely saved your lives and your friend here thanked me by trying to kill me." James said dryly.

"Apologies, but can you blame him for being in attack mode?" the woman asked.

"No, but could we maybe know your names?" James asked.

"If you'll tell me yours." the woman said.

"I'm James Olsen, Green Lantern of sector 2814." James said.

"I am Shayara Hol, warrior of Thanagar first order and now former member of the Thanagarian peacekeepers and the man you've incarcerated is my husband and partner, Kator Hol." Shayara said.

"What's the last thing you remember before you went into your pod?" James asked.

"We were fleeing Thanagar due to protesting an unjust war between our planet and the planet Rann. However, before we could get too far, our sensors detected some kind of energy that destroyed both Rann and Thanagar and it was closing on us fast. Our ship was already damaged and we thought we were done for, but at the last second, a portal opened up and our ship traveled through it to safety into some kind of void. Until the ship's auto repair cycle was completed, we chose to put ourselves into hibernation to conserve power and supplies. Next thing I know we're here." Shayara said, confirming the story.

"It's a bit more complicated than you think. That energy was antimatter. There was a big crisis where an entity called the Anti Monitor unleashed it on the multiverse, intent on wiping out every world in existence, which he did. It sounds like your ship managed to slip through the cracks into a place that the antimatter wave couldn't reach, since there are a few of them. The universe we live in now is a new one created to replace the multiverse." James said.

"So you're saying that our old world is gone for good?" Shayara asked.

"Yes. I'm sorry, but it seems that you and your husband are refugees in this universe. You're lucky you managed to survive." James said.

"How can we be sure that you're telling the truth?" Shayara asked as Ganthet approached.

"Because the Thanagar of this universe is nothing like yours. In this universe, Thanagar is a cruel, warmongering empire that has been waging wars on other planets for centuries. We had to appoint an extra lantern to that sector specifically to keep an eye on that world to make sure that they didn't get too ambitious. The fact that we have them under such a close eye is the only thing that's keeping them from getting too ambitious." Ganthet said as he projected images of Thanagar into Shayara's mind.

"I think that's the way our world was going before it was destroyed." Shayara said.

"Well, if you can get your husband to stand down, you two are more than welcome to come back to earth with me. It's kind of known for being a safe haven for alien refugees." James said and Shayara chuckled.

"It had a similar reputation in my universe. That's actually where we were headed before this happened." Shayara said and James nodded to his fellow lanterns to let Kotar, who'd appeared to have gotten all the aggression out of his system as he'd been listening to their conversation, go and he walked up to James.

"Apologies for attacking you. I acted on instinct and nearly killed a potential friend." Kotar said as he held out his hand to James, who shook it.

"Once your ship is space worthy again, we'll head back to Earth and get you two settled in." James said and Kotar and Shayara both nodded.