Second Chances: Green Lantern

Chapter 20

"Wait, so you not only let your boss know who I am, but you brought him to our base?" James asked Winn after he brought Ted into their base.

"He figured out your identity himself and he has a good reason for being here." Winn said.

"What reason could that be?" Barbara asked, wondering what could have possibly possessed her boyfriend to risk all their necks by bringing Ted Kord into their base.

"Because I used to be just like your friend there. I was the Blue Beetle." Ted said.

"You mean Metropolis's version of Batman before Superman showed up?" Barbara asked, since while Blue Beetle had been before her time in Metropolis, she'd learned about him in old police reports she'd studied after she became commissioner of Metropolis PD.

"The very same." Ted said as he showed her proof.

"Wait, that tech looks familiar." James said and he was thinking that it wasn't in a good way.

"You recognize the Scarab tech?" Ted asked.

"Wait, you're bonded to a scarab?" James asked, suiting up immediately.

"No. The scarab is currently deactivated in a high security vault on the other side of the planet, since I wasn't chosen by it. But I did study its tech to create my own Blue Beetle gear." Ted said, wondering what the big deal was.

"Where is it?" James demanded.

"What's the big deal about a scarab?" Carter asked.

"That scarab was created by the Reach." James said and both Carter and Cheryl immediately understood his concern.

"So, they're the same here as they were in our universe?" Carter asked.

"Based on the information I learned when I was training on Oa, I'm gonna say yes, if the Reach in your universe was a race of alien conquerors?" James said.

"Got it in one." Cheryl said.

"What is the Reach for those of us who don't know?" Winn asked, referring to himself, Ted and Barb.

"Right. Here, let me show you." James said as he used his ring to project a hologram of a race of green skinned, yellow-eyed, bald aliens.

"The Reach are an alien race that are about as old as the Guardians themselves, since they emerged at around the same time as two of the first intelligent species in the universe. And while the Guardians saw the universe as a place to be protected, the Reach saw it as a place to be conquered. This eventually led to war between the two." James said as the image changed to one of the Reach fighting the Guardians and Green Lanterns.

"How long did they fight?" Winn asked.

"For centuries to a stalemate and it ended with the two sides signing a peace treaty where they agreed to recognize each other's territory and that the Reach would not conquer any other worlds. The Scarabs were created by the Reach as a way of getting around the treaty, since they give them plausible deniability." James explained.

"But that Scarab never seemed dangerous. In fact, when my friend Dan Garrett was bonded to it, it never gave off any signs of wanting to conquer the planet." Ted said and James had to admit, from what he was hearing, it didn't match what he knew about the Scarabs.

"Maybe I should take the scarab to Oa and let the Guardians investigate it." James suggested and Ted nodded.

"I'll give you and only you the coordinates and access codes for the vault, since I don't think using that ring is a good idea, since it might reset the scarab to its original settings." Ted said and James nodded, since that did make sense, attacking the scarab could reset it.

"Thank you." James said.

After retrieving the Scarab, which thankfully remained dormant when James picked it up, which meant it hadn't sensed him as an enemy, James immediately headed for Oa, since he knew the Guardians would be interested in this development.

"James Olsen, what brings you back to Oa?" Ganthet asked him when he entered the council chamber.

"There's been a development on Earth that I thought you should be made aware of." James said.

"What development could possibly be worth our time?" Ranakar asked dismissively, only to be silenced when James presented the Scarab.

"A Reach Scarab. But according to the person I got it from, this one has not only been inactive for years, but before that, it was actually used to protect people, not conquer the planet. In fact, it sounds like it was behaving more like a Green Lantern ring." James said as Appa Ali Apsa used his telekinesis to lift the scarab up.

"Interesting." Appa said as he studied it.

"Well?" James asked since he could tell that the Guardians were all examining the Scarab.

"It appears that this scarab has had its programming wiped. While it retains its sentience, it does not possess its previous Reach settings. Something damaged it." Appa said.

"Could it have just broken down due to the tests of time?" James asked.

"No, these scarabs were built to resist that. It must've been attacked prior to its arrival on Earth." Appa said.

"So, would you say it's safe?" James asked.

"It appears to be. In fact, based on what we can tell from its mind, it appears to have been heroic on earth." Ganthet said.

"So it's safe to take back?" James asked.

"Yes. In fact, if you can find someone for this scarab to bond to, they would be a powerful ally to you, especially with the threat of Sinestro still imminent, since the Scarab would be able to attack him in ways you cannot." Ganthet said as he returned the Scarab to James.

"So no word from Hal yet?" James asked, since Hal had been radio silent for months.

"No. But we are not concerned. Hal Jordan is a very capable Green Lantern and he has his wife at his side to help him and he has orders to report when he finds Sinestro for as much help as he can get." Ganthet said and James nodded before he headed out.