Kyle had never been in a war.
Hell, until only a few weeks ago, he'd never been in a fight that lasted longer than a few seconds.
And now?
Now he was on mars, fighting to free a race of beings called saturnians— which are an offshoot breed of aliens created by the native dwellers of Mars. The white martians. Also called…..
"[A'ashenns, Pale Martians and/or Pole Dweller—]"
"Ring! Shut-up and let me focus!" Kyle yelled as he dodged a sea of white-Martians taking the form of serpents the size of cars back on earth.
They hit the sanded ground and exploded into shifting pools of white skin and wild red eyes, changing shape and function at the drop of a dime.
Once Kyle created enough distance, he spun around and aimed his ring at the horde, now taking the form of giant quadrapedal demon-dogs with wings.
Green energy blasted from his ring, taking the form of a jungle. The fliers hit the trees while the ones still in snake form slithered around the objects.
"They don't like fire. It's our— I mean, their weakness!" The little Saturnian girl named, Synassia said as he held her.
"Right. I totally knew that." Kyle spun around again, suddenly holding a construct of a flame thrower to the horde.
He fired. A wave of green flames took over the green forest.
The Martians inside screeched and snapped back into their original forms, left to convulse and sweat profusely on the grounds.
"Good thinking." Kyle said to Synassia.
She didn't reply.
"Do you know where the others are?" Kyle asked as they flew away, weaving and cutting through the warzone.
"No….. I uhh…. Oh! I know where prisoners are! People like you." Kyle only just realized she wasn't speaking with her mouth. She was talking into his mind. Telepathically.
"More Lanterns??" Kyle asked in shock.
"No. Protectors. Heroes."
"Where?" Kyle asked.
"There." The white-Saturnian girl pointed down at the war torn and construct swept world below.
Behind Kyle's castles and defensive walls, a bunker of sandstone and crystallized barriers sat like a pimple on the planets surface.
"That's a prison. They're inside."
Kyle dove, taking note of Alan in the distance, cleaving through waves of warriors with constructs of giant scissors and swords.
He landed at the prisons entrance and blasted through the crystallized sandstone doors with a construct of a charging bull.
Frightened shouts echoed from the dark. Red Saturnian eyes glinted in the cells, as he freed them, they began to glow with the constructs of bandaids, bandages and ice packs suddenly sticking to the wounded members.
"John….. you've gotten better with your ring." A woman said in the distance.
"Not John. Kyle. New guy." Kyle replied as he approached her cell, "Talking bird….. what kind of Alien are you?"
"Thanagarian. My name is Sheyara Hol. But since we're on the clock, call me Hawkgirl….. unless you dislike the shape of your nose."
"No. No. I actually like my face as it is—"
"Great. Now get me out."
"Right." Kyle broke open the gate and allowed the woman to step out of the shadows.
Her silloutte was misleading to say the least. She looked as human as she sounded, she just happened to be wearing avian armor in the form of a winged metal helm.
But she did have wings and eyes like a hawk. They were actually somewhat terrifying.
"Where's my mace?" She looked around the prison in shadows.
"Everything's confiscated and given to the White-Martian King."
Kyle and Hawkgirl looked at the Saturnian he held.
"Right…. And how do you know that?"
"Uhh— I saw it before the lantern found me."
Hawkgirl side eyed the Saturnian suspiciously, "After you two then."
Kyle took off, leading the other Saturnians to shelter through the use of arrow constructs on the mars grounds.
All the while, he followed Synaasia's telepathic directions down a small sandstone village of sorts.
The markers of battle left the place in ruins. He passed more than a few skeletons and puddles of white g—
"Watch out!"
A white Martian taking the form of a winged demon lunged at him yelling, "Traitor!"
Synaasia screamed.
Hawkgirl flew into the alien, tackling it to into the rubble of a destroyed globular building where she began punching it until it twitched like a stomped bug.
She got up with bloody knuckles, "Where's my god damned mace?!"
"Just down there!"
Kyle followed the Saturnian's finger down the street to a tall skyscraper like building.
"[Ringpower 47%...]"
Kyle used his freehand to wipe the blood from his nose, "Keep going. Just keep going. I can't die out here... as opposed to dying on earth….? No. Stop the inner monologue. Focus on the job. Stop the alien genocide, get to class on time after. Find a time for sleep somewhere in between."
Synaasia looked up at him suddenly.
Kyle didn't have the energy to smile that time.
When they reached the white-Martian kings castle of sorts, Hawkgirl flew for the door in a rage.
Before she could even get inside, a blast from the other side sent her crashing back into Kyle.
He caught her in the construct of a giant birds nest.
"Very funny." Hawkgirl climbed out of the nest and dusted herself off, ignoring how her armored chest steamed.
"What was that?"
Synaasia gasped, "The dark-guard is still inside. They're strong.."
"I don't care." Hawkgirl replied and put up her fists.
Kyle put Synaasia in the blanket construct and aimed his ring. Instead of waiting for them to come out, he sent the construct of a semi, ignoring how its shape lost detail and warbled as it crashed into the massive building.
The place crumpled and a mass of giant humanoid flies rose from the dust and rubble, shooting lasers from rifles that looked like they were from the future.
A concrete dome of green overtook them just as Kyle fell to his knees.
"What the hell! Those aren't martians." Hawkgirl said.
"They're parademons." Alan Scott said from behind them. "Kyle, your ring…"
"I'm fine." Kyle stood.
"Alan, long time no see." Hawkgirl said as the parademons continued to rain hell on the construct shielding them.
"Indeed, I've been busy. Searching." Alan said.
"Did you find what you were looking for?" Hawkgirl asked.
Alan looked around at the castle constructs and road signs leading to glowing shelters and healing centers fit with bandages and casts. "I think I did."
"Great, help me find my mace next." Hawkgirl said.
"How about a replacement." Kyle said.
Hawkgirl looked down at the construct of a mace in her hand, she held it up in front of her and broke it over her knee.
"You are new." Hawkgirl commented before knocking on the walls of the shield, "Let's wrap this up before the kid dies."
"Can we not say that like I'm not right here?" Kyle said.
"Don't worry, I won't let you fall. This is only the beginning."
Seemingly right as Alan said that, he let the bubble down.
Kyle, Alan and Hawkgirl took to the skies, zipping and dashing past the lazer fire and returning blasts to take down the parademons. Once above ground, they could see the base of the Martian kings home.
Glowing red fiery lights glimmered from a black technological shell. It looked both living and artificial.
Kyle could feel it's heat even from hundreds of feet above ground racing across the sky.
He didn't know what it was, but the sight of it made his stomach drop.
"What the hell is that?"
Hawkgirl flew beside him, "It's a god damn hellspore. They're used to burn a hole down to the center of any planet. They create fire pits and terraform planets. It's apokolyptian tech."
"Who would use something like that?"
"Darksied. It's what brought me here. I thought my Intel was wrong. Guess not. I hope you've been conserving your energy roo—
Kyle was taken out of Hawkgirls sights as a bright yellow and orange spinning portal opened and spit a blast that knocked Kyle back to the grounds.
He spun and hit the stone with Synaasia in his arms.
"[Boom-tube energy signature recognized. Property of Apokolyptian technology.]" Kyle's ring spoke.
"[Ringpower 20%….]"
Kyle cursed as he opened his eyes. Just ahead, the boomtube spun. From its depths a figure emerged.
"There aren't supposed to be any more Lanterns. Yet here you are. Powerful. Different... I'd like to see what makes you tick…. After I punish you for attempting to thwart my plans, of course."