Sword of The Lanterns

Chapter Five- Sword

John and Hal caught up with Jaina and Killawog in the armoury, both of them acting like a kid in a candy store.

"What about this one?" Jaina held up a wicked-looking laurel-green scythe that was nearly as tall as Killawog and nearly a foot taller than herself.

"No! No, no," Hal gently took the scythe from Jaina and placed it back on the table carefully. Jaina pouted for a second, before she caught sight of another weapons display.

"All rings are equipped for long-range combat. These weapons you see here are to assist in hand-to-hand combat." Killawog explained to Jaina as she ran about, not really listening.

"Uh-huh," she nodded, examining a mace on a three-foot long chain.

The mace was too heavy for her, the spear didn't feel right, and staff was too heavy. John amused himself at the idea of what a terrible Indigo Lantern she'd make.

Jaina liked the grass-green nunchucks, but was afraid of hitting herself in the face with them. She set them down and examined a duo of sais, when something caught her eye.

It was a sword. The blade was a bright green, like the leaves when the sun shone through, and the hilt and handle were both a dark jade green.

"That one!" She declared, pointing to it.

"You sure?" Hal asked. Sure, it wasn't as bad as the scythe, but it was still sharp! He preferred the idea of her getting the bo staff. No blades there. But once Jaina hefted the sword in her hands, there was no going back.

"Aren't you going to test it out, poozer?" Killawog asked, using the nickname he had for all his trainees.

Jaina took a deep breath, and held the sword in front of her face. She pointed it at John, holding it out in one hand as if singling him out for a duel, then she held it in both hands again, spinning araound and slicing the stand it had been sitting on cleanly in half with one stroke. Then she tossed the sword in the air, catching it on the handle when it came back down.

There was a clacking noise to her right, and she spun to see John holding the nunchucks in defiance.

"Ladies first." He announced.

Jaina grinned at the challenge. She aimed for his arm, but he trapped her blade in the chain. With a swift, downward jerk, Jaina freed her sword and deflected his attack with the other 'chuck. She spun out of reach of his nunchucks, and was a hairsbreadth away from slicing his neck. When John reached out to swing at her, she knocked the nunchuck out of his hand. and then the other. John was about to bend down and pick up his borrowed weapons, when a green blade was pointed at his chin.

"How was that?" Jaina asked.

Killawog applauded. "Not bad for a first-timer." Hal was just grateful she hadn't hurt herself.

Jaina smiled proudly at the two of them, and looked back at John.

Except, she didn't see John.

It was a teenage boy standing in the mud next to a pond surrounded by jungle trees and misty, humid jungle air. His face was youthful, though he was exhausted from fighting. His robes were pure black, except for the mud on his clothes. Same with his hair, which was threatening to fall out of the leather thong holding it back in a ponytail. The air hummed with the sounds of jungle creatures, occasionally interrupted with the sound of gunfire and explosions, smelling of sweat and burning air.

Jaina's sword was purple, burning with energy as she pointed it at the young man's throat. He couldn't have been much older than her, and something told her she knew him.

"Jaina, Jaina...please..." He heaved hoarsely.

That was when she saw his eyes.

His emerald green eyes.

Jaina simply fainted as the clearing exploded into a thousand blue stars, streaking off into infinity.

-------

"-aina, Jaina!"

The voice grew louder, and Jaina blinked her eyes, trying to chase away the darkness and see who was calling out to her.

She was back in her green bedroom at Oa, it took her a second to remember that and that the dark-skinned man next to her wearing a green and black outfit was John, one of her mentors.

One of her friends.

"Jaina, are you alright?" John asked as she sat up slowly, knowing better than to try and hurt her sore body.

"Fine. Where's the boy?" She asked.

John's face was puzzled. "What boy?"

Jaina gave him a look that clearly told John he was being stupid.

"The boy! The one with black hair and green eyes..." She trailed off when she mentioned the eyes.

John coughed to get her attention. "Jaina, I think you were hallucinating. There was no boy. You defeated me with your sword, and then you fainted, remember?"

Fainting. Oh yeah Jaina definitely remembered fainting.

She jolted upright with a sudden thought.

"Where's my sword?" She asked, looking around the room wildly.

John was expecting this, and smiled reassuringly.

"Don't worry, it's right here," he promised, holding out the weapon to her hilt first.

Jaina gratefully took it. "Where do I keep it?" She asked.

"In your ring." John told her. "Tap the blade to your ring, and it'll disappear inside. When you want to use it again, just command it to come out like you do when you fly."

"Cool!" Jaina did as John instructed her, and entertained herself for the next minute by taking her sword out and putting it back in again.

"How does that work?" She asked, putting her eye up close to the ring.

John shrugged. "Only the Guardians know, I guess. I've always been curious about it myself."

Jaina studied her ring a bit more as the door across the room opened, and Hal flew in.

"It's settled!" He declared to John

"What's settled?" Jaina asked, looking back and forth between the two.

"Jaina," Hal sat down on the bed next to Jaina, "what do you think of being on a team of other superpowered kids?"

Hahaha, two chapters in one day, working on a third too XP....I got inspired.

~Lizardgurl