Green Lantern's Protégée

42: "The Big Bang Part II"

Coast City

December 28, 15:59 EDT

Charlie's eyes gazed into the shattered remains of Cyra's Green Lantern ring as he moved his shoe away. The girl dropped and fled like a squirrel from a falling tree.

"Don't let her get away!" Atrocious ordered, pointing to where the girl had disappeared into the ruins of the once legendary Coast City. "She is still dangerous without the ring as she is with it. Make sure she doesn't have any tricks up her sleeve."

With one, curt nod of hir head, Charlie turned like a robot running out of oil as he stalked through the streets after the powerless Green Lantern.

Cyra's back was pressed against a play kid rock climbing wall. Her breath heaved, her body still shaking.

It felt like Cyra's mind, body, and spirit was ripped from her. Her finger was swollen where the extra twist was needed to snap her ring off. Over and over again, her ring being crushed undo a traitor's foot replayed in her mind like a newsreel.

She sat down upon boxes of broken toys and gutted teddy bears and her head fell into her hands. Her shoulders shook chokingly.

Cyra didn't remember wrestling with Charlie—Char-lee, in here, but figured it must have been one of the older Lanterns.

Her older Lantern was currently bleeding out on the ground—if he even was still alive. Cyra didn't get a good look at his wound.

There was a lot of blood.

Shakily, Cyra stumbled to her feet. The battle wasn't over yet. She was still alive with no mistake and she wasn't leaving unless she won or was in a casket. The later seemed the most plausible.

Her ring was gone and she was powerless. She wasn't no Robin or Artemis that had mad kung-fu or could throw batarangs at them.

She was just Cyra.

That only left one option.

They wanted her alive. Maybe, just maybe, they'd take her. The only thing she had to offer them was herself—their stupid message for the other Lanterns. Cyra could only imagine having one fall to their knees before them to be killed willingly would send a bigger one.

Or else, Cyra decided, her eyes hard, I'd fight them and show the other Lanterns never give up hope.

In the end, it was the sliver of possibility to get Hal out alive that mattered—a star in the dark.

Cyra peeked out, seeing Hal's figure on the ground. She couldn't tell if he was breathing or not. This could be a waste if he was already dead.

Cyra's stomach lurched. No, no, she would have known if he was dead, she would have felt it.

The smallest of smiles touched her face as Hal's middle finger raised at Atrocious's back.

Hal wouldn't want this, Cyra realized—the revelation was bittersweet.

Any other arguments vanished when a red spark tumbled into the adjacent wall, sending lego sets falling like flaming meteorites.

That made Cyra's decision for her as she hurdled over a glass chess set and disappeared into the aisles of toys and games.

Charlie stalked into the store like a bloodhound sniffing following the scent of a wounded rabbit. He turned around the corner sharply, only catching the wisp of blonde hair curve around a shelf.

Charlie sprinted after her. His mentor could still be heard raging outside and mocking the fallen Green Lantern. Charlie wanted to yell at him to shut the hell up and let the man have some peace before he died, but just thinking those words made Charlie feel guilty.