#60: Parallel Lives (HoM / Vasquez)

Previously, in GREEN LANTERN CORPS…

When a cosmic event temporarily snuffed out the lights of every star in the universe, KYLE RAYNER became the WHITE LANTERN, a being of immense power, capable of returning life to the stars where it had been stolen!

Wanting to fully understand the extent of the changes, THAAL SINESTRO-- recently returned to the Green Lantern Corps and unsure of his place in the grand scheme of universe-- agreed to train KYLE, and now the two explore the galaxy, seeking answers to the question… what next?

Welcome back to the ongoing adventures of the GREEN LANTERN CORPS!

“…didn’t exist?”

Kyle Rayner jerked awake, surrounded by a thick cloud of dust that drifted upwards. He looked at his hands, and found himself shaking.

“Wh-wha-what?” Cognisance of his situation eluded him, but he fought through his confusion, and clambered to his feet. It was then he realised he was standing in a crater, it was night out, and he couldn’t remember how he got here.

“Thaal?” Kyle looked around, then down at the clothes he was wearing. His White Lantern flight suit was shredded, scorched, and he saw nicks and scratches covering his body. He imagined healing, he imagined his uniform returning to its usually pristine state, but nothing happened.

“Huh?”

Kyle couldn’t access his powers. He remembered his life a year ago, marooned on a forest planet with Thaal Sinestro and Jessica Jordan, unable to utilise his Ion power set.

Kyle remembered how helpless that made him feel. He was back in that wretched headspace, and it terrified him.

“No, no.” Kyle clenched his fists, and began to slow his breathing. Panicking would get him nowhere. He focused on lowering his frantic heart, using the alien meditation techniques Thaal taught him during their time travelling the universe.

“Excuse me, are you all right?”

Kyle looked up and saw Captain Marvel looking down at him. His costume was slightly different, a white tunic instead of red, and it itched at his memory. Behind him floated a bearded Superman and an armoured Wonder Woman. On the edge of the crater stood The Flash-- wearing a combination of Barry Allen's sleek costume and Jay Garrick's Hermes hat-- and Big Barda, and even with the minor cosmetic changes, they were all faces that Kyle recognised.

Looks like whatever had thrown him for a loop had attracted the Justice League’s attention. Looks like the roster had changed in his absence from Earth, but the way that changed month-to-month, he wasn’t surprised.

“I know this looks awkward guys, but just give me a minute to get my head together,” said Kyle. He looked around and furrowed his brow. “Hey, where’s John? Isn’t he running with you guys right now?”

“The Martian Manhunter is none of your concern, stranger,” said Big Barda. She pointed her Mega Rod at Kyle, who didn’t blink at the gesture. “Who are you, and where did you come from?”

“Uh, it’s me, Kyle Rayner? I would have thought Hal told you I was back? From the dead I mean? You knew me when I was Ion?” He looked over to Wonder Woman. “Didn’t Donna tell you?” The Amazon tensed at the question. Donna and Kyle had dated for a short time, he'd hung out with the Teen Titans, surely Diana must know of him.

“Now, son,” said Captain Marvel. “I’m afraid you might be confused. We don’t know you. You fell from the sky and we’re just glad you didn’t impact a civilian populace. Now, if you come with us, we might be able to answer your questions. You’re obviously a bit shaken up by your fall.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” said Kyle. He put up his hands as the superheroes approached him. “Green Lantern. Do you know what a Green Lantern is?”

Superman tilted his head back and whispered something to Wonder Woman.

“I’m afraid we don’t,” said the Man of Steel, looking back down at Kyle. “Should we?”

“Oh, great,” said Kyle, throwing his arms up. “I’ve landed in a parallel universe.”


Big Barda kept a wary eye on Kyle Rayner as the Boom Tube closed behind them. Kyle could tell she was paranoid, and considering her upbringing, could be blame her? He looked around where the Justice League had taken him, and shook his head in further confusion.

“What is this?” said Kyle.

“Welcome to the headquarters of the Justice Society of America,” said Superman.

They were on the bottom floor of a large building. Kyle arched his head back and could see there were hundreds of people working on every floor, and that the centre of the building was a long, glass shaft that had pulsing light bouncing up and down in seemingly random frequencies. The walls themselves held a familiar look technology, and there was a quiet pinging sound coming from every direction. Kyle couldn’t put his finger on why it was ringing so many bells in his head.

“You’re not the Justice League?” said Kyle.

“No,” said Barda. “Why would you think that?”

“Look, I know this must look crazy, but I come from a reality where the Green Lantern Corps are one of the elite peace keeping forces in the universe, along with Earth’s Justice League. I think I’ve slipped realities, and now I’m in one where the Corps doesn’t exist. I think the only way I can prove I’m not lying is if you wrap me in that,” Kyle gestured town Wonder Woman’s lasso. “Where I come from, that can force anyone who wears it to tell the truth. I want you to trust me, and that’s the only thing that will deliver instant results--”

“You could me mad,” interrupted Barda. “Convinced of your words even if they are not truthful to the rest of us, and the lasso would provide a false positive. I am not so easily swayed.”

“Barda,” said Wonder Woman. “Superman has monitored this boy’s breathing, his heartbeat, you are correct. He does not believe he is lying, but I do not wish to use the lasso yet. We should give him the benefit of the doubt.”

“I don’t mind,” said Kyle. “I just need to figure out a way home.”

“Of course,” said Captain Marvel. “Let’s get you patched up first. I’m sure Highfather wouldn’t mind us using a Mother Box to accelerate your healing.”

Kyle clicked his fingers. “I thought I recognised that pinging sound.” He looked over to Marvel. “Where are we, exactly?”

“Everyone knows where the Justice Society are based, kid,” said The Flash. Kyle considered the scarlet speedster in front of him, and realised he was smaller than he remembered. Thinner. “In the centre of Metropolis, taking up residence in the Genesis Corp building.”

Kyle looked around, and then leaned toward The Flash. “Wally, is that you?”

“Whoawhoawhoa,” said The Flash. He skidded across the room away from Kyle and tipped his hat up so his green eyes were visible. “How do you know my name?”

Kyle threw up his hands apologetically. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! Back on my world The Flash is, uh, someone else, and you’re a member of the Teen Titans. I just, ah, I used to hang out with the Titans back before all this,” he motioned down at his costume. “Okay, look, I suck at falling into parallel realities, and I’m at a bit of a low point with my powers, so, uh, yeah. Sorry.”

“There seem to be some stark similarities between your reality and ours,” said Superman. “Like Captain Marvel said, let’s get you patched up and see what we can do about getting to the bottom of this mystery.”


Kyle felt a warm wave of comfort flow over him as the Mother Box healed his wounds. It repaired his costume too, according to the image of it that was held in his head, but Kyle decided to put the civilian clothes the Justice Society had offered him on over them. He didn’t want to take his uniform off, but he also didn’t want to walk around and stick out like a sore thumb. A powerless cosmic being? How pathetic.

In the meantime, Kyle was given access to an internet-enabled tablet, and he began to search the world for traces of anyone he knew. The Justice Society of America formed in the late 1930s, but without Alan Scott. That was the first thing Kyle could think of to look in to. He wanted to look into Hal, John and Guy, maybe Hank, but he wasn’t entirely convinced he was safe yet. This could be a trap to get their identities out of him, it might not even be a parallel universe, so he had to be careful… but even then, everything felt so real, so true. He didn’t know what to believe.

This ‘new’ Justice Society was power heavy, with Superman and Captain Marvel walking shoulder to shoulder, but there was something about the balance of power that confused him. Superman deferred to Cap, which didn’t make sense considering what little he knew about Billy Batson and the role. Unless, and the thought shocked him, unless this Captain Marvel was CC Batson, Billy’s father and one of the original JSAers, who died in one of the early battles during the Apokolips Invasion…

Kyle typed in the date that Darkseid attacked the Earth into the search engine, and it was just another regular day for the planet. He typed in Darkseid, and loads of results appeared, interviews with Izaya, the CEO of the Genesis Corp, after the New Gods came out and announced their existence to the world. After that day, they shared their technology with the world and a new age of prosperity spread across the planet.

“That’s pretty cool,” said Kyle. "Godworld."

As impressive as that was, a question hung heavy at the forefront of his brain: Why would Darkseid not invade the planet if the Green Lantern Corps didn’t exist? From what he knew about his universe’s timeline, he could hazard a guess.

“Anti-Life,” said Kyle, mumbling to himself. “Without the Guardians of the Universe, a fragment of the Anti-Life Equation was missing, so why would Darkseid waste his time coming to Earth to grab the rest when there was no hope of getting the whole...”

Kyle looked into the history of the second Justice Society. They emerged onto the scene around the same time as the New Gods announced themselves. Led by the original Captain Marvel, and comprising of the most powerful superheroes the planet had ever seen. There were faces in the photos that Kyle hadn't seen yet, but knew from his own world. The roster was stacked, and he was impressed by the scope of their world-protecting mandate.

Kyle continued to read. America never turned on the Justice Society like they had the Justice League back home, during the Starro invasion and the rise of the Secret Society of Super Villains. The crises that this Justice Society faced were nothing like those from Kyle’s reality. Severe, of course, but they made it through, and when New God technology was distributed across the world, those crises lessened.

Big Barda entered the medical bay, and Kyle smiled. “Hi, ah, hey there.”

“You fell to Earth through a hole in reality,” said Barda. “Our New God technology is currently mining that area of space for more information, but as of yet, there is nothing we can track.”

“Barda, I know this might sound like a really weird question, and I do know about your life back in my reality, so I apologise if there are assumptions I’m making that don’t ring true for you, but whatever happened to Darkseid and Apokolips?”

Barda swallowed and Kyle felt like she had just shown a small crack in her armour. He wouldn’t mention it, of course, he didn’t want to be pulverised in his current state.

“Our spies on Apokolips tell us that Darkseid is dormant. His advisors run the planet while he sits on his throne, motionless. It’s been that way for decades, since the pact.”

“Huh,” said Kyle. “I guess without the missing piece of the Anti-Life Equation, he doesn’t see the point in moving against the universe.”

“What do you know of the Anti-Life Equation?” said Barda. There was a look of shock across her features that Kyle didn’t know was possible to have manifest on the face of the former Female Fury.

“Uh, only that the missing piece was hidden in the DNA of the Guardians of the Universe, the race of beings that created the Green Lantern Corps,” said Kyle. “In my reality, Darkseid came to Earth and put all the pieces of the equation together, but the Justice League united-- they formed-- to put a stop to that.”

“Darkseid, he,” Barda hesitated, “Darkseid can be stopped—?”

“The Justice League teamed up with you and the rest of the New Gods, and punched him into the Source Wall, I think,” said Kyle. He mimed punching air. “Bam. Then Highfather held him there while the Source Wall took care of the rest. You and Scott did some massive legwork though.”

“Scott? Scott who?” said Barda.

“Scott Free? Uh, Mister Miracle?” said Kyle.

“I am not familiar with that name. Perhaps he is a resident of your universe alone?”

“Oh, that’s a real shame,” said Kyle. “But, uh, back then, you guys did all the heavy lifting,” he paused, “um, is it bad I’m half expecting the world to fall away and this to be some kind of elaborate trap?”

“You wouldn’t be a superhero if the thought hadn’t crossed your mind,” said The Flash. He appeared from nowhere, only a tell-tale red blur around his edges to indicate he’d zipped into the room. “Mother Box clears him. He’s good.”

“What?” Kyle looked down at the device on his chest and then back at the heroes. “You’ve been scanning me?”

“And healing you,” said The Flash. “Box lets us know if your soul is good and pure. It’s telepathic in nature, so it can read you like a book. Made sure there was no mind control, brainwashing, no tell-tale psychic scarring that comes with that sort of thing. We thought it best to go the subtle route than throw a lasso around you.”

“Fine, fine,” said Kyle. “How long have you been The Flash, Wally?”

“Since Barry died,” said Wally. The Flash vanished without another word.

Kyle frowned. “Oh, shit.”


On the surface of the Sun, coalescing strands of light began to grow. Purest white, the strands were wrapped tightly with one another, throbbing and gnashing, as if stray animals looking for a fight. When they met, there was a further throb of light that pulsed into the Sun, and the strands seemed to be growing in size, without anyone noticing…


Kyle couldn’t remember anything that happened before waking up in that crater, but the recordings the Justice Society showed revealed the formation of a swirling portal of light and him being shunting through and shooting toward Earth. During his descent he was enveloped in the same light that made up the portal, and it remained around him until his impact.

“And you got this recording how?” said Kyle.

“The New God satellites around the planet record everything that hits the atmosphere,” said Captain Marvel.

“Weird,” said Kyle. He stood and studied the projection of his descent, and saw that his uniform was unscathed until impact, and that was when the damage to his flight suit occurred. “The white light left me when I landed. So maybe, uh, maybe it’s still around in this universe.” He scratched his chin and ran a hand through his hair. “I have a question.”

“Please, ask away,” said Captain Marvel.

“Why do you have satellites recording these kinds of things? Isn’t that a bit intrusive?”

“You think this is a Big Brother situation, right?” said The Flash. “A bit 1984?”

“Kinda,” said Kyle. “I don’t mean to be rude, y’know? But it’s, ah, weird.”

Wonder Woman nodded in understanding. “When Darkseid didn’t invade Earth, the New Gods continued to strengthen the planet with their technology. At the bottom of the ocean they had constructed a new home, Supertown, and they decided to distribute aspects of that across the planet. All agreed by the worlds’ powers-that-bed.”

“I’m not disputing that, sorry,” said Kyle. “I’ve been training for all kinds of things, but falling into a new reality wasn’t one of them.”

“Please, there’s no need to apologise all the time,” said Captain Marvel. “I’ve been an active member of the superhero community for close to a century, these kinds of things happen more often than you might think.”

“Heh, thanks, thanks,” said Kyle. Before he continued, a klaxon blared overhead, and the Justice Society leapt out of their seats. “Oh, well, that’s obviously your emergency alarm.”

“Stay here,” said Captain Marvel. Superman nodded in agreement, and then the Justice Society were gone, a loud BOOM punctuating their transportation to another location.

Kyle sat at the round meeting table, elbows propped up on the table, chin held up by his fists.

“Now what?” said Kyle. He took the tablet from he’d left it and pulled up the search engine again. He typed in Hal Jordan’s name, and gasped.

Lieutenant Harold ‘Hal’ Jordan of the United States Air Force died during a test flight a few months after the time he would have received his power ring in Kyle’s universe. After a major malfunction, Hal crashed his plane away from the crowd of onlookers that were present.

Kyle pushed the tablet away from himself and realised how different this world was without the Corps.

Next, Kyle searched for Guy Gardner.

An obituary from the Baltimore Sun revealed that Guy died a few months ago in a drink driving accident. Kyle didn’t read any further, he closed the browser and felt anxiety rise in his stomach.

John Stewart had recently been awarded a Purple Heart after a receiving a serious injury in the Kahndaq desert. He was back in Detroit, recuperating after losing both his legs in an insurgent attack. Kyle continue to read, and found that Kahndaq had rejected the New Gods’ offer of their technology, due to their leader, a man known as the Mighty Adam, preferring to believe in ancient magic.

“That’s Black Adam,” said Kyle. “Running a county.”

One historical event that confused Kyle was the fact that Hank Henshaw died as a child. How could the absence of the Green Lantern Corps reverberate back to that point in time?

An idea struck Kyle, and he typed in another name. The biggest result was a news article from Los Angeles that went live a few hours ago. A young, commercial artist had been caught on camera vanishing from his place of work. Literally vanishing, in a swirl of white light. Police were still looking into the disappearance of Kyle Rayner, and the local branch of the Titans were consulting on the case.

“I’ve got a really bad feeling about this,” said Kyle. This whole situation didn’t feel right, his body felt twisted up, and nothing he did, no breathing techniques, no meditation, settled him. His stomach turned, and he looked down at his hand, and the white power ring that had suddenly formed on his finger.

“Oh, hello,” said Kyle. “That’s not right.” He concentrated on flying, and the ring responded by lifting him off the ground. He tried to think about the things Thaal had told him about power rings. Kyle’s power set was different to the Corps’, his power was internalised, making him a walking power battery rather than a wielder of a power ring.

The klaxon blared overhead, and Kyle looked around. The Justice Society were off dealing with something else, and he had no idea what the make-up of this group was. Were there other JSers around that would respond?

Kyle didn’t bother thinking twice about it. He phased through the walls of the building, and headed up toward the cause of the alarm, breaking through the atmosphere and arriving in the vacuum of space, protected by it all thanks to his power ring.

“Holy moley,” said Kyle.

An immense shape was approaching Earth, a muddy green orb with two strange protrusions, like mountains, jutting out of the top of its surface. Kyle watched the thing approach, and saw the moon drawn toward it thanks to the immense gravity of the rogue planet.

“Okay, that’s not right,” said Kyle. He heard Sinestro’s voice in his head: A power ring can do anything the bearer imagines, as long as the bearer’s willpower is up to the task. If you believe in what you’re doing, the ring can make it real.

Kyle imagined the moon returning to its proper orbit as he pointed his fist toward the satellite. Nothing happened, so he gripped his wrist with his other hand, and thought harder. The moon shuddered as it was enveloped in a bright, incandescent light, and Kyle realised what he was trying to do. Rayner was using a power ring to fight gravity. The moon continued to approach the planet as Kyle’s conviction wavered.

That wasn’t good enough. “I defy gravity every single day,” said Kyle. “I can fly. I can travel through space. I can defy gravity again.”

Gripped by two giant, glowing hands, the moon stopped moving toward the rogue planet, and headed back to its original orbit.

Using the ring wasn’t like wielding the power of Ion, or being the White Lantern. But Kyle believed that he was chosen for a reason, all those years back, to wield the Guardians of the Universe’s power in the first place. If he could become a power battery, he could use a power ring. Of course he could.

Kyle pushed forward, and reached the rogue planet. “Stop.” Hands emerged from Kyle’s aura, and gripped the planet. “Whoa, whoa.” Kyle realised the mountains were horns. The planet had horns.

“You’re an evil planet,” said Kyle. Lightning cracked against the surface of the rogue planet as if to punctuate his realisation. “What kind of planet has horns?”

<Kyle, can you hear us?>

“Sinestro?” said Kyle. The voice had emerged from his ring, and hearing it made the hands he projected shimmer. Kyle had to double down on his construct, and forced the rogue planet back slightly.

<Kyle, this is Cyborg, I’m a-->

Dejected but realising he knew the voice, Kyle smiled none the less. “No worries, Vic, I know who you are.”

<Uh, right. I’m broadcasting in a frequency attuned specifically to you, thanks to Mother Box’s scans. The Justice Society are currently on the other side of the world, dealing with a Black Starro hive fleet. They can’t get to you to help. That planet you’re seeing? It’s called Transilvane and it’s an artificial world designed to unleash nightmares on the planets it makes contact with. It needs to be stopped.>

“So it is a bad guy,” said Kyle.

<It’s been on our radar for a few weeks, but its arrival wasn’t expected for a few more days,> continued the voice, <you need to prevent it making landfall, or the world will be overrun in a matter of hours.>

Kyle nodded to no one in particular, and began to think big. Rockets attached themselves to the surface of Transilvane, and then on top of that, more rockets formed. The hands Kyle generated held the planet in place, and when Rayner was comfortable with the amount of thrust he had applied to it, he pulled the trigger and fired off the rocket engines.

Transilvane stuttered and shook, and then began to reverse. Kyle concentrated on the rockets pushing harder and harder against the planets own innate thrust, and imagined it going in the exact opposite direction it was flying in. He watched as the planet began to fade from view, and then wiped his brow. He felt hungry. Like his body had used up every last ounce of energy it had available. He was so used to having an unlimited power supply, and an ease of use that defied any conventions of the power rings, that actually having to exert himself like this felt like actual work.

Contented that Transilvane was no longer an issue, Kyle arched around, and headed to the other side of Earth, where the forces of the Justice Society were caught up battling each other, black, parasitic Starro creatures wrapping themselves around the faces and torsos of some of their number, while others had managed to dodge the tentacle-ridden creatures.

Kyle began to imagine constructs that would separate the heroes from the parasites. Wedges and levers formed across the chests and faces of those present who were infected, and with one immense effort the possessed Justice Society members had the Starros removed.

Without missing a beat, the heroes surged toward the largest Starro that seemed to be almost floral in nature, and they shrank it down to a more controllable size and neutralised it within a large container that hissed out air silently as it sealed shut.

Kyle looked down at the Earth, and realised that large swathes of it were ruined, impact points and energy marks scouring the surface. He looked back at the Justice Society, who already headed back to the planet.

“What’s going on here?” said Kyle, before following them.


“Thank you for your assistance out there, Kyle,” said Captain Marvel. He removed his cape and folded it up as they headed back toward the main meeting room of the Justice Society. “Black Starros migrate across space often, and we’re always in the middle of their mother plants’ migratory patterns.”

“I’ve never heard of Black Starros before,” said Kyle. “Starros, yes, but Black ones? I thought that your, uh, continuity, followed mine back home, but I saw what happened to Eastern Europe. It was a ruin. What’s happened here? Where are all the superheroes?”

“The day shift are resting, they had a long one,” said The Flash.

“Day shift? Since when did the Justice Lea-- Society-- have to work in shifts?

“Kyle, Earth experiences incursions on a near hourly basis,” said Captain Marvel. “Threats from across the galaxy zero in on us, and it’s all we can do to hold them off. Thank goodness for the New God technology that gives us a chance to prepare for the attacks, or we’d be caught blind, and we’d be dead by now.”

“What?” Kyle was shocked by this. It was never this bad back home, but then again, back home--

It finally clicked.

“Back home the Green Lantern Corps take care of these threats before they’d even reach Earth. Without them, armies would conquer with impunity. Minor cosmic threats are nipped in the bud before they become major. My God, guys. You’re facing the unfiltered forces of an entire universe. But, what about the other planets? Rann? Thanagar? Can’t you unite them, join forces?”

“Thanagar obliterated Rann,” said Barda. “Adam Strange barely made it back to tell us of the immense loss, and he’s not been the same since. Thanagarians roam the universe looking for battle. Our informants inform us they’re currently caught up in an immense war with the Khunds. It means we’ve not faced an invading force from either of those races for a few months, not that it makes much difference.”

“I don’t know what to say,” said Kyle. “I never imagined--”

Captain Marvel nodded. “Kyle, look, you’re a powerful young man. From what we’ve seen of that ring, it can do quite a lot. To be honest with you, if you hadn’t got to us when you did, we’d still be fighting off the Black Starros,Transilvane would have hit the eastern seaboard and we’d be overrun by its nightmare forces. Even the ground-based Titans teams would have had a problem with that.”

“It’s nothing, really,” said Kyle. “I should, uh, when I get home, I could speak to the superheroes of my world, and we could come and help you? Or evacuate you to our reality?”

“Kyle, it’s not that simple,” said The Flash.

“What do you mean? I’ve seen the Green Lantern Corps evacuate entire space sectors when toxic spatial anomalies travel through them, saving your planet would be, it could be simple.”

“Wally, tell him what you’ve found,” said Captain Marvel.

“Sure, boss,” said The Flash. “Look, Kyle, if there’s one thing we Flashes know, its vibrations. Before Barry, he, uh, before Barry died, he was working on the theory that every parallel universe is separated from the next by a vibration. So, if you vibrate to a specific frequency, you can travel from one universe to the next.”

“So vibrate me,” said Kyle. “Send me home, and I can use this,” he gestured to his ring, “to record the vibrational frequency of your reality. I can come back with reinforcements.”

“Your frequency is the exact same as ours, Kyle. No residual trace of any other. We can’t send you home because you are home. This isn’t an alternative universe, this is your universe.”

“That can’t be right,” said Kyle. “How could the Green Lantern Corps cease to exist?”

Kyle asked the question and then agony sliced through his brain. He doubled over and fell to the floor, clutching at his head as his ring sparked pathetically. He began to remember what happened before his arrival here, and every moment that struck his memory caused him to spasm and seize up.


“You are capable of wonders, Kyle,” said Sinestro. “We’ve yet to find a limit to the power you wield. How does that make you feel?”

“I didn’t realise you were a psychiatrist, Thaal,” said Kyle. He laughed, but Sinestro’s expression didn’t waver. “Uh, weird, I guess? Scared. Sometimes I’m fine with it, I’m just, well, me, but other times I can, I can see so much of the world, the universe, and I feel like I could reach out behind the scenes and change things.”

Thaal arched a regal eyebrow. “In what way?”

“I can see everything that was and is,” said Kyle. His eyes flared white. “Last Christmas I could see every future possibility for Hank Henshaw’s timeline. Every turn he made and every decision that led to every possible life he could lead. He told me he was scared of the Predator taking him again, so I performed surgery on his timeline. I removed every possibility of the Predator taking over his body, and I left him with a happy ending.”

“You played god,” said Sinestro.

“Yes,” said Kyle.

“That’s not the way of the Green Lantern Corps, Kyle,” said Sinestro. “We do not change things before they happen ‘just in case’.”

“Yeah, but what if we did? What if we could see the crimes before they happened, and made sure they didn’t? Stop the murders before they happen, and save the lives that would be lost?”

“Then you’d be punishing someone for something they didn’t do. Then what? Where does it stop? Someone thinks of stealing a loaf of bread before their family starves. You would punish him before he stole that loaf? Even if it was for a good cause, even if it was to survive?”

“It’s not as simple as that,” said Kyle.

“A facetious example, perhaps,” said Sinestro. “But the Green Lantern Corps is not here to install some perceived order to the universe, we are here to protect it, and respect the laws and ways of the races under our jurisdiction.”

“Thaal, I’m not a member of the Green Lantern Corps. And I sometimes wonder, I sometimes think, what would happen if the Green Lantern Corps... didn’t exist?”

The world began to shimmer. Sinestro looked at his now-translucent hands, and then at the White Lantern. “Kyle?”

“What?” Kyle’s body throbbed with light as he felt himself begin to fall-- “Oh, God, what did I--”


“It was me,” said Kyle, dry heaving at the realisation. “I didn’t mean to, but my power, it, it must have, oh God.”

“You altered the timeline to such a degree as to bring the universe to its knees?” said Big Barda. “In your original timeline, Darkseid is trapped in the Source Wall. The Earth is whole. Countless lives are saved every day, and Earth isn’t under constant siege. You did this? ”

Barda lifted Kyle up by the throat. “I have lost countless brothers and sisters to this eternal war. I defected to Genesis because I thought I could make a difference, but you made it so that any difference is offset by darkness and death. You are worse than Darkseid.”

“No, I, I,” said Kyle. “I didn’t mean to--”

“Barda, wait,” said Captain Marvel. He placed a hand on her wrist, and she shot him a withering glare. “If Kyle made the change, he can undo it. He’s already manifested that ring, perhaps he could re-manifest the entirety of his original power set, and reverse the changes. Return this reality to its rightful condition.”

“You listened to what Mother Box said about that reality, CC,” said Barda. She increased her grip on Kyle’s throat. “You died when Darkseid came to Earth.”

“My son lived,” said Captain Marvel. “In the proper timeline, Billy lived.”

Barda heard something in Marvel’s voice that made her release Kyle.

Then every window in the Genesis Corp building exploded as an almighty BOOM filled the air. Instantly, the klaxon began to blare, and they looked at each other.

“That was a Boom Tube,” said Barda. “A massive Boom Tube. Not one of ours.”

“Come on,” said Captain Marvel.

Captain Marvel led Big Barda and The Flash toward the monitoring screens, and Kyle followed, rubbing his throat. The screens were filled with an unholy site that caused Kyle’s heart to race.

In the sky above the planet Earth rose Apokolips, fire pits flaring, legions of Parademons flooding out from its surface.

“Darkseid,” whispered Big Barda.

Captain Marvel pushed a button on the console in front of him and his voice echoed out. “All members of the Justice Society and Titan reserves, you are now all active. It’s finally here. Darkseid is finally here. You know what we trained for.”

{Telepathic link engaged,} came the voice of the Martian Manhunter. Kyle was surprised to be involved in the silent, psychic communication, but didn’t question it.

{Activate world-wide evacuation procedures. Activate Phantom Zone lenses and clear the planet. You have sixty seconds,} said Captain Marvel. {All flight-capable JSers, you are the front line. Ground forces prepare for engagement with the invading body when they are within range. They will not take this planet.}

“It’s me,” said Kyle. “That’s what’s changed.” He looked at the ring. “The white light, the energy I wield. Maybe it, it corresponds to the missing part of the Anti-Life Equation. Now it’s manifested.”

“You need to fix this,” said The Flash. “You need to bring back your ‘Green Lantern Corps’.”

“I don’t know how,” said Kyle. “I’m not even--”

Before The Flash could intervene, Big Barda broke Kyle Rayner’s neck in one swift motion and he crumpled to the floor, dead.

The Flash didn’t even have to react to stop it from happening. “Barda! ”

“Darkseid is here because of him and the power inside him,” said Barda. “We can at least remove him from the board.”

“Jesus Christ,” said Kyle, as he pulled himself back to his feet, instantly resurrected by the power of the energy beginning to flow through him once more. “I really wish you’d met Scott Free in this version of reality.”

Kyle’s ring flared and he felt its voice whisper to him. <Connection made.>

“Look, I think I can fix this,” said Kyle. “But I need to find the power to do so. And I need to make sure this never happens again. Maybe that’s what this ring is about, maybe that’s how I control it.”

Kyle shot through the centre of the Genesis Corp building but was followed by Captain Marvel. “Look, Cap, I’m going to fix this, I promise.”

“Wait, just a second, please,” said CC. He directed Kyle to the top floor of the building, and then looked around. “I need you to do something for me, if you can.”

“I, uh, sure, of course,” said Kyle.

“I wrote this for Billy.” CC held out an envelope for Kyle. “When you get back, if it… makes it back with you… please, give it to him.”

“Of course, anything.” Kyle took the envelope from Captain Marvel and tucked it into his uniform. “I’ll give this of Billy, you have my word. I just hope it survives the journey.”

“Go and save this reality, Kyle. You can do it,” said Captain Marvel.

“I don’t really have a choice, do I?” said Kyle, as he shot up toward the Sun.

Kyle wanted to stay closer to Earth, where the forces of the Justice Society fought against the Parademons, but he knew he could end this battle in another way.

Barely visible to the naked eye, a giant blot had spread across the Sun. White energy that had to go somewhere when it was torn from Kyle’s body by an errant thought and the power to back it up.

Holding the blot in the palm of his hand was Darkseid.

“You have got to be kidding me,” said Kyle.

The New God of Evil was taller than he had any right to be, grey mountainous crags instead of skin, and black armour that seemed hardly necessary considering the power he radiated. A white omega symbol started at his belt and looped around his chest, and his eyes crackled red. He simply floated, cosmic fire lapping at his heels, and he did. Not. Blink.

“You are not meant to be here,” said Darkseid.

“Neither are you,” said Kyle. “Wait, how can I hear you in space?”

Darkseid smiled, and the expression caused Kyle’s bladder to loosen. “I can see the changes in reality that your actions have wrought. All leading back to this.” He squeezed the white light he held in the palm of his hand, and it shuddered and flexed under the pressure. “You changed my fate, boy. I can taste the moments of omnipotence that graced me now. The faintest strands of a past life now gone.” He pointed an accusing finger at Kyle Rayner. “You have no idea of the power I now hold in the palm of my hand.”

“I have some idea,” said Kyle. “The power to wipe you from existence if it comes down to it.”

“You think you are in a position to threaten me?” said Darkseid.

“I do,” said Kyle. “If you were going to kill me I’d be dead already,” he smiled, “you’re floating here trying to figure out how to make the white light work for you, but you’re at a loss as to how.”

“I believe it has something to do with the ring on your finger,” said Darkseid. “If you remove it of your own will, your suffering will end. Death by the void. If I have to remove it for you, then your suffering will be eternal. I will not let you die.”

Big Barda swung her Mega Rod across the void of space and it impacted against Darkseid’s skull, sending the ruler of Apokolips staggering forward in surprise. He released the white energy and Kyle called it home.

“For Genesis,” said Barda, the splintered remains of her Mega Rod still gripped tightly in her hand. “For humanity.”

Darkseid’s eyes flared with the Omega Sanction, and he spat bile at Barda. “Foolish whelp, you shall pay dear--”

Kyle took his power back into himself and then interrupted the New God of Evil with a burst of energy that tore his lord of Apokolips to shreds.

“Nope,” said Kyle.

Then, the world went white.

Kyle floated in a featureless void, the ring on his finger throbbing with the energy he had reabsorbed mere moments before. He looked at his hands, and then all around, floating in a nowhere place.

“It’s… too much,” whispered Kyle. “It’s become too much. I can ignite stars. Power batteries. I never wanted this…”

<That’s why we chose you.>

The voice emerged from Kyle’s ring, and he was taken aback by this sudden interruption.

“You talk now?!”

<We could always talk, Kyle Rayner. We just had nothing to say until now.>

“Uh, and what changed?” said Kyle.

<We chose you because you never wanted this power. Yours is a soul so bright that it could never be corrupted by the unlimited power we distilled into your being. That is why you are this universe’s White Lantern.>

“Who are you?” said Kyle. “All this talk of ‘we’, who are you?”

<The immune system of the universe. The force that ensures that cosmos does not reach eschaton levels.>

“I… I…” Kyle swallowed hard. “I can’t do this anymore. I’m… changing people’s lives, sure, for the better sometimes, but other times… you’re… I think… I think my brain can’t handle all this.”

<We can change your physical structure to accommodate the power we provide. Expand your perceptions. Remove limitations. The sensory bleed through you have experienced will-->

“I don’t want this,” said Kyle. “I can’t handle this. I’ve spent so long being Ion, the Torchbearer, dead, then lost, and then… this… I want to be me again. I need to know who ‘me’ is. I’m sorry, but I’m not the right person for this power.”

<You would turn down the offer of power we have made?>

“I have to,” said Kyle. “Or I’ll ever be is the White Lantern. I need to go, and, uh, just… live.”

<You are the perfect vessel for the power we offer.>

“And I’m grateful for that, but I need to be Kyle Rayner again. I need to go home. A home where the Green Lantern Corps exists!”

<We understand your wish. Your need. And we will wait. Good luck, Kyle.>

Kyle blinked and he was on the streets of New York, amongst the bustling crowds of people that made the city what it was. There was no ring on his hand, no immense, unlimited power running through his veins. He couldn’t feel any of the extra-dimensional energy that once fuelled him about his body. Kyle was back home, in his normal reality. He glanced up and he caught a glimpse of John Stewart soaring overhead with his emerald ring. The Green Lantern Corps were back. And Kyle couldn't help but smile as he vanished into the crowd, just a normal guy.


“…and with that, today’s meeting of the Justice Society of America is adjourned,” said Jay Garrick, the JSA’s very own Flash.

As members of both the main Justice Society and Young All-Stars teams began to leave the room, congregating together in groups of who-knew-each-other-the-best-and-longest, Captain Marvel walked alone toward the roof of the JSA’s brownstone, so he could begin the journey back home to Fawcett City.

“Captain!” Marvel turned at the call from the Flash, who zipped toward him before he could exit onto the roof. “Sorry, oof, I meant to give this to you before you left, but you got out of there quicker than half the kids!”

“Sorry, Mr Garrick,” said Captain Marvel. “I didn’t mean to leave without saying goodbye, but I have responsibilities back in Fawcett…”

“Of course, son,” said Jay, removing his helmet. “Anyway, like I said, this was left for you,” he held out an envelope and passed it to the younger hero. “Getting your fan mail sent to the brownstone now?”

“Oh, I don’t--” Marvel caught himself mid-sentence as he looked at the front of the envelope. “Who delivered this?”

“Some kid, looked like a college student, didn’t ring any of my bells but he seemed nice enough. It passed all our scans so it’s not loaded or anything. Why? What’s wrong?”

Captain Marvel held up the envelope, a confused expression on his face. “This is my father’s handwriting… but it’s dated yesterday.”