Liberation #2: "The Mankillers"

Sardath's lab was lit by a sterile blue ambience, everything seemed flat, and the assorted Green Lanterns and space-faring heroes stood impatiently, the Rannian scientist known as Sardath frittering about Kyle Rayner, who was lying flat on a diagnosis bed. He vanished for minutes on end, only to reappear with an ornate piece of technology that he attached to the young human. He mumbled knowingly to himself, and the others waited impatiently.

"Rannian technology is far beyond anything on Earth, Guy, I'm constantly amazed by the devices that Sardath takes for granted--"

"Look, as long as your doc does his job, we'll be square," Guy Gardner looked around at the others, and then huffed. "I'm gonna' go for a spin topside. You know how to get a hold of me." The doors leading out of the lab hissed open, a malleable forcefield ensuring a sterile environment morphing around Guy as he left.

"Ignore Guy, Adam," whispered Tomar, as he stepped forward. "I believe he is taking this harder than I thought possible."

Katma was holding Kyle's hand, irritating Sardath as he was at work. The silence between the group was broken by the Rannian's words, as he turned with his findings in his hands. "Do you know what you've done to this boy?"

"Excuse me?" replied Katma, as she looked up at him.

"This boy, he contains the energies of the Central Power Battery of Oa, am I correct?" Sardath pulled images on the screen, Kyle's nervous system intertwined with strands of green energy, his bones filled with emerald fissures. "I had to look very very closely, but it's quite obvious when you trace the energy signature that your rings are giving off back into this boy's central nervous system."

"What is happening to him?"

Sardath sighed. "Please. The Central Power Battery was perfectly balanced in it's simplicity. The scientific community of a hundred planets have heard whispers about its origin. Energy cascades and convalesces around and around, never faltering, never failing, pooling together waiting to be used. This boy is not perfectly balanced in his simplicity. He is burning out from exposure to the power within him. He cannot survive like this."

"I... I'm fine... R-really..." Kyle pulled himself up from the diagnosis bed, and smiled weakly. "Winded is all."

"Lie back," nodded Kilowog, "Ya need t' rest."

"Well, no, actually Lantern, he needs to have this power extracted from within him, else he'll fold into himself under the weight of the energy."

Adam blushed, "I'm sorry, tact isn't really..."

"No, it is fine." Tomar looked to the others. "Then we must end this. We must reach Oa and return the Central Power to the Battery. We must accelerate our plans."

Kilowog turned to Katma. "Contact the poozers on Mogo. Tell 'em the war is about to begin in earnest."

"On it." Katma placed her ringed hand to her ear, and opened communication channels.

"Where's Guy?" inquired Kyle, as he was pushed back down gently by Sardath.

"Gods know," muttered Katma.

*

Guy Gardner floated high above Rann, basking in the glow of the Sun that was not his own. This was what he lived for now. Different worlds, different planets, different races. And yes, the occasional bounty. But now he had a new reason to live, he thought. And as he thought that, his mind arched back to when he left Earth, weeks back:

Guy stared at Hal for a minute, Katma and Kyle watching them. "Alright, Highball, you got five minutes." He turned to Katma. "Get the ship prepped." He turned back to Hal. "Five minutes."

"It's all I need."

Guy opened up his arms and shrugged his shoulders. "So, you gonna' lay into me? Tell me I shouldn't be out there? Spank me for being under the influence of Qward or whatever? 'Cause I don't wanna' hear it, Highball. I got better things to do than listen to a lecture from you of all people. Get enough of that from th' others up there."

Hal looked at him calmly, and took a moment before replying. "I'm going to ask you to look out for Kyle."

Guy arched an eyebrow in surprise. "Oh."

Hal continued: "The others, they'll do well by him, but out there you can forget things, and you need to be there for him. I know we've disagreed in the past. In fact, I know that all we've done in the past is disagree. Violently. But we were both in the Air Force. We know what it means to be brothers-in-arms. Hell, when it comes down to the big fight, you put aside those differences. You're going out into space now, and you're going to fight one hell of a war. Kyle shouldn't be exposed to that, but it can't be helped. He needs someone to watch his back."

Guy was surprised by this comment. "You sayin' that Kilowog and the purple chick ain't got his best interests in mind?"

Hal shook his head violently. "No, no... But... I don't know, I just need to know someone is watching him. Looking after him. We trained under the best Guy, we wouldn't be alive today if we weren't using those smarts that got drilled into us. And now that you've signed up for this gig? Saving the universe from some Terminator rejects? That takes cajones."

"I got the big ones, Highball. You know that." Guy scratched the back of his head. "An' look... I'm sorry about how things went down between us. I ain't sayin' I'm in the wrong, but things got fuzzy years back, you know that."

"Yeah. I get you." Hal put out his hand to his old comrade. "I'm not saying we're friends Guy. I'm not saying that. But if you do this for me, I'll owe you. And I always pay back what I owe. You have my word on that."

Guy looked at Hal's hand. He'd fantasized about this moment since he found himself floating in deep space years back with a yellow ring on his finger and a mad on for vengeance. He'd fantasized about slapping his offered hand away and punching Hal so hard in the fact his skull left his body.

Guy took Hal's hand and gripped it tightly. "Alright, Highball. Alright."

"Looks like Katma wants to get going, Guy." Hal put up his hand in recognition of Tui standing by the doors, and Guy turned back to him before he left.


"Yeah," nodded Hal. "I know."

"Good." Guy shoved his hands into his pockets and headed up the ramp.

Katma looked at Hal confused and Jordan just smiled. The ship roared to life, and the doors sealed shut, leaving Hal Jordan, the Green Lantern of Sector 2814, alone in the desert. "God speed," he whispered, before powering up his ring and heading to the Hall of Justice, to fill in his colleagues on what was about to happen in space.

"What is going on with me...?" Guy asked himself, as he soared up into high atmosphere. "Shoulda knocked him out..."

“Guy” Katma Tui appeared atop his ring, and he looked at the construct as it spoke to him. ”We need you down here, things just got complicated.”



"Absolutely not." Commissioner Vril Dox, as he stood flanked by his LEGION. "What you're outlining is suicide." He looked at Adam Strange, "And I've done the equations. We might as well put our heads inside your step-father's thermo-nuclear furnaces and sing the national anthem of Durla, which, I assure you, is not a fun thing to do!"

Adam Strange nodded in agreement, but put his hand up. "I can understand your frustration, Commissioner Dox--"

"No, you do not understand my frustration! The Manhunters are culling entire planets! And LEGION are stretched too thin to be part of some mad scheme that has no chance of succeeding!" He turned. "LEGION regretfully will have no part of this. I say regretfully, but you no full and well I'm not leading my people into a slaughterhouse."

"Then sit back and relax, Dox, because the slaughterhouse is gonna' come to you."

Dox froze, and turned slowly to the man who was talking to him. They were in the Rannian chambers of diplomacy, a place recognised by all races across the universe as a place of esteemed political standing. King Gavyn, flanked by his general and best friend Rikane, leant back in his chair pondering the events, whilst Ch'ah, King of the H'San Natall whispered to his daughter Au'dreh, the half-human hero of Earth known as Prysm. Thanagarians were present, as were a half dozen over races, all here to discuss the threat of the Manhunters.

"You. Earth-monkey. Are you threatening me?"

Guy Gardner sat down, and lifted his heavy booted feet to the table, resting them atop the pristine surface. Adam Strange cringed. "Well, no, I ain't, I'm stating a fact. 'Cause the Manhunters intend to purge the universe of biological taint, don't they? That means that we can sit back and wait for their culling groups to come find us, murder us where we lie, or we can take the fight to them. I don't intend to die like a dog, Dox."

"I see what you're trying to do, 'Warrior'," scoffed the Coluan. "It isn't going to work. Good luck with your suicide mission."

"I'll stand by you." King Gavyn rose from his seat, and General Rikane grinned in agreement. "I and all the might behind my empire. If the Green Lantern Corps, the most esteemed police force in the entire universe, have a plan, then who are we to stand by the wayside?"

"Our thoughts exactly, old friend," nodded Ch'ah. "The military might of the H'San Natall and all their allies are at your disposal."

Dox sighed, "Fools, you’re all signing your own death warrants."

"You'll be surprised what can happen if you ignore the equations and listen to your spirit, Vril." Captain Comet, the older gentleman and special advisor to the LEGION from Earth, stepped out from behind his employer. "I'll fight by your side, Corps."

"Blake!" barked Dox, "LEGION will not be involved in this!"

"Then I'm no longer part of LEGION. Take your ships and go home. Do as Gardner said. Wait to die." He turned from Dox and looked at Guy. "What's the plan?"

Kilowog placed his hand on Guy Gardner's shoulder, and spoke up. "We take th' fight back to Oa. And we win."

"Suicide," muttered Vril, as he marched away from the table, "you're going to cause the universe to burn."

"Yeah," smiled Guy. "Maybe."



"I've never used so much power at once. It just took the wind out from in me. I'm fine." Kyle took to his feet. "See? Fine." He looked at Tomar. "It was weird though. Ever since we've been in space, I've felt like... I'm surrounded."

"Drowning?" Tomar was examining Kyle's medical scans.

"No, no, like I could feel the entire universe flowing through me."

Tomar turned back to him. "Interesting. Have you been meditating as I have instructed you to?"

Rayner nodded, and his Ion costume formed around him in an eye blink. "Yes, couple of times a day since your first lesson."

"Hmm." Tomar placed the scans back down. "Inside you is the power of the entire Green Lantern Corps. The energy contained within 3600 Oan power rings inside your skin. I may have a theory about what happened to you, Kyle Rayner."

"Anything you have to say would be appreciated," replied Kyle sheepishly. "Because, well, I'm scared. I have a girl back home, and my mom... And I don't want to die. But I'm not..." He took a breath and collected himself. "But I'm not going to stop doing what's right because of my own feelings. I know how this job is. Hal taught me a lot. And I kinda regret listening to him now."

Tomar smiled. Kyle had spent weeks with the Lanterns, trained with them as they headed back toward Mogo, and then trained with those who had been brought to the living planet by Appa Ali Apsa. He'd seen dozens of races, all of them more fascinating than the last. He wished that he'd packed his sketchbook. He liked Tomar. He was regal, elegant, and to top that, he was a talking, walking bird. "Hal Jordan has that affect on people. We will save you, Kyle. And my theory, well... You have so much energy inside you, and you said you hardly used it on Earth. But out here we're pushing you, and as your senses broaden from our sessions together, as Kilowog teaches you how to fight and Katma teaches you to think, your powers are adjusting. You took apart a hundred Manhunter units. Undid their atoms. That's tactical thinking on a massive level. You were aware of their coming before they arrived, Katma told me how you reacted."

"Yeah, I felt this weird sense of vertigo. Like the air molecules were screaming."

"Because they were. For seconds before the sub-space tunnel opened, transient energy existed at the very same moment as the air molecules. You were aware of that because your senses are broadening. Do you follow me?"

"I think so, yeah, the more I hone my powers, the more powerful I'll become..."

"... And the more applications you use your powers for, the more you'll be--"

Kilowog appeared in the doorway, his large bulk popping the hermetic force field seal of the lab before it reformed. "We're moving on."

"Ok, cool." Kyle smiled. "I promise not to pull anything like that again, Kilowog."

"Hey, don't make promises you can't keep, poozer. You Earth-men are all the same."

Kyle laughed. "Are you comparing me to Hal?"

"That a problem?"

"Nah, take it as a compliment," winked Kyle in reply as he headed back toward the ship.

Kilowog looked at Tomar, and nodded. "I heard what ya said, Tomar. An' I think ye'r right."



"Ya made a good argument in the chambers, Guy." Kilowog pulled at the controls of the ship as it began to lift up out of Rann's atmosphere. "Level headed. Bit aggressive. But I've come t' expect that about ya."

Guy turned to Kilowog, confused. "You got a point, Kilowog?"

"Just talkin', y'poozer, just talkin'." There was a long silence between them as the stars came into view and Kilowog pushed hard on the engine, sending them flying into subspace. "You're changing, ain't ya?"

Guy coughed in surprise. "What?"

"Katma told me you and Jordan had a little chat before ya left Earth, and ya've been less of an arrogant sprocker since. He said summit to ya that made ya think, and you're scared a that, aren't ya?"

"I ain't scared of anythin', Kilowog, an' I'd appreciate it if you shut your mouth." Guy climbed out of his seat, and was at the threshold of the cockpit before Kilowog slowly replied.

"Yeah, you ain't scared of anythin'. An' I think that's why yer here."

Guy froze. "What?"

"Appa Ali Apsa coulda taken your ring offa ya, couldn't he? Could have taken the ring off yer finger and been done with ya."

"I'd like to have seen 'im try..."

"Yeah, yeah, bravado, come on you stupid poozer, ye'r here 'cause you can make a difference. 'Cause you have the potential to be a great big sprocking hero."

"Well we'll see, won't we, Kilowog? We'll see when we arrive on Oa."

"Guess we will then."



Krona stormed through the slave factories, watching more and more Manhunter units being built day after day. This was his army, and with his army, he'd conquer the universe. After the universe was finished, he'd turn his eye back to his purpose in life, the multiverse, and continue his scientific exploration into its creation and continuing existence. No one would stop him. No one could. He'd pierce the veil and reach his hand back to the Zero Hour of creation, and crush creation into nothingness, so he could mould it into an existence shaped by Krona and Krona alone. "Grandmaster."

He turned, his cape whipping behind him. "What is it?"

The Manhunter's voice buzzed to reply: "The units sent to eradicate Rann have been off line for 24 hours. We can not raise them."

"Hmm. Then the escaped Guardian, this... Appa Ali Apsa... He must be about to make his move against us." He laughed. "Prepare the Mankillers and release them in the surrounding sectors. Bring the anti-matter cannons to full yield and ready them for firing. Seal the sub-space tunnels with fusion mines." He grinned. "And bring every Manhunter unit online. Take the slaves down to the vaults and leave them there. They are of no consequence."

"Yes, Grandmaster." The Manhunter turned around, leaving the Grandmaster smiling.

This was his ultimate revenge on his people, the Guardians of the Universe. Before they had evolved to their elevated position, they were just like him, but he was better than them for one reason-- He wanted more. He wanted more knowledge. He wanted the truth. They were content to live as they had for centuries, and they were, before he had struck them from reality, content to watch the world and keep the peace. Ensure the status quo. The status quo, believed Krona, was an outdated concept. Now was the time for change. Change at his hand.



Guy was headed toward his room when Tomar passed him in the corridor. "So where's our back up comin' from?"

"They're not, Guy. Kilowog believes they should protect their own homes and territories if we should fail."

"Huh. So... We wasted our time trying to convince 'em then? What was the point of that whole exercise?"

Tomar Re looked at Guy Gardner, and then shook his head. "Kilowog takes orders from Appa Ali Apsa himself. As do you and I."

"Where is that little blue guy anyway? Not seen him since... Since... I don't even remember the last time I saw him. What's going on with him?"

"I do not know." Tomar shook his head. "I really don't."

"See, I don't like it. I'll sign up for a war if I believe it's right, and I'll kill if I have to, I don't have no qualms about that either. But I don't like being lead to the slaughter if our guiding light ain't so guiding at all." Guy shook his head. "It don't sit right with me."

Tomar nodded in agreement. "Noted."



"Do you remember what you said before you passed out?"

Kyle looked up at the doorway of his room, where Katma Tui stood. "Excuse me?"

"Before you passed out, what did you say? Do you remember?" She stepped forward.

"He's going to die." Kyle whispered. The color drained from his face. "Yeah. I remember."

"Who is he? Who is the 'he' that you were talking about? Because you're linked to us all, Kyle, you're linked to us because you're the Central Power Battery. You can't just go around spouting things like that, not without... Without..." She collapsed in front of him, and began to sob. "We've lost so many, Kyle. So many. And I don't want to lose anyone, not to some prophecy that doesn't make any sense..."

"I think it might be me," Kyle said slowly, each word calmly collected and delivered. "Because... That wasn't me speaking. It couldn't have been. At that moment I was... Gone. Displaced. I..." He ran his hand through his hair. "I don't know. I really don't know, and that worries me. All this power inside me, and it's killing me and then, on top of that, I'm being used as a mouth piece for someone? Something? It's insane."

“All hands, we have a problem--”

Kyle looked up at the construct of Kilowog that formed in front of him. "Kilowog? What's happened?"

”Something's headed straight for us. The tech is definitely Manhunter, but it's not like anything I've ever seen... I’m barely picking up signals but they’re all around us… Didn’t see ‘em till too late…

A construct of Guy formed next to Kilowog, glistening in the dull light of the cabin. ”Want me to head out and give ‘em a welcome they won't forget?”

"Might not be a good idea, Guy, we have no idea what it could be, and ya might not have any effect on it what so--”

There was a sound that rattled against the hull of the craft, like fingers on a chalkboard. Metal tore and rended, and Kyle and Katma stood. "What the Hell?"

”We got an incursion people! We got--”

The lights on the ship went out, the engines whirled to a stop, and the only light was from the rings on their fingers, the emblems blazing on their chests and the shields automatically clinging to their skins. Guy and Kilowog still floated before Katma and Kyle. "What just happened?"

”EMP strike, they're in the ship. Katma, Kyle, secure the engine, we need to get to Oa undetected. Three Green Lanterns and one Central Power Battery are going to get noticed if we start using our rings to get there. Guy’s the only one whose ring runs under the radar, remember? We're weeks away from help, so go!”

"On it." Kyle and Katma rushed out of the cabin, and froze in their tracks. The metal twisted and snarled as something seemed to take shape from it. The corridor was sucked inward as it began to form the shape of a humanoid.

"No. Man." It's voice was like static struggling to form words. "Escapes." It snapped free of the metal moorings it had been created from, and trudged forward toward the two heroes. "The." Its words were disjointed, rickety. Ion lit up his hands, and Katma was calculating the distance they were from the outer hull. Too close. "Mankillers."

"This is going to suck," whispered Kyle.

"Fight,” replied Katma, “And don't die."