Hal and Tomar had been on their way to Earth while the Worldkillers were attacking. Being unaware of these events the two Green Lanterns made for Coast City. The city was quiet and peaceful, and Hal had a plan for heading there, a plan he had yet to explain. So Tomar was confused and questioned his friend as they landed on the roof of an apartment building.

“Hal…we are on your home planet to find the Worldkillers. I highly doubt that this dwelling will yield the results our search requires.”

“We’re here for a reason Tomar. Trust me.”

Hal opened the roof access door and began to descend the stairwell before taking a step back as Tomar began to follow. Once again the more experienced Lantern was confused as Hal spoke.

“Before we go in there Tomar, you might want to change your appearance.”

“Will my visage frighten whomever it is we are here to see? We have much more important matters to attend to Hal.”

With those words, Tomar stepped down into the stairwell without any idea of where they were headed. He had to pause as Hal took the lead once again with a sigh at his friend’s reluctance to use his ring to alter his appearance. Sinestro had done it once upon helping Hal while he was in prison. But Tomar was also correct, and time was not on their side. So upon entering the hallway of the apartment building, the first person they came across was immediately terrified.

“Fear not human, I mean you no harm. I am a member of the Green Lantern Corps and…”

The young man turned and ran from the avian and fish like creature speaking to him in perfect English. Encountering an alien on his first day living in this apartment was not on his list of expectancies and Hal could only shake his head as Tomar looked back at him in confusion.

“Was it something I said or did, Hal? Why did the human run from me in fear? Green Lanterns are sworn to protect and…”

“Let’s just say that my species isn’t exactly familiar with aliens; Tomar. I was going to tell you that Sinestro once altered his appearance to human form while training me. He…never-mind. The apartment we’re going to is this way.”

Hal led the way down the hall towards a non-descript door with Tomar still right behind him, albeit still confused. The former only hoped that his friend was home right now and would be able to provide them with some assistance in regards to their mission. With a quick knock on the door, Hal only had to wait a few moments as a muffled voice came from the other side.

“Just a second…always at the worst times…look…I told you…”

The door opened just a fraction to reveal a disheveled and exhausted young man, still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. His words died in his throat as soon as he recognized his friend but not the creature standing there with him.

“Hal?! Hal, where in the hell have you been? You know I’ve had to cover for your disappearance for weeks now! And now you just show up out of nowhere!”

“Tom…I…”

“Just get in here. Can’t let anyone see your… your…what do I even call this…”

Hal and Tomar quickly stepped inside the apartment to avoid drawing any more attention to themselves as doors were beginning to open due to the sound of yelling in the hallway. When they were all safely out of view, Hal began to explain.

“Tom…I know this isn’t the best of times for me to show back up…”

“Damn right it isn’t…”

“And I’ll explain if you’ll let me get a word in edgewise.”

“Okay, I’m listening.”

“Tom…this is Tomar Re. Like me, he’s a Green Lantern. Tomar…meet Tom Kamalku. He’s a friend and we work together at Ferris Air.”

“Ah yes…in your civilian life outside of the Corps.”

“So how many of there are you? Hal…I guessed that you’d become some sort of intergalactic space cop, but…”

“There are 3,600 sectors in the universe Tom Kamalku. Each sector is protected by a Green Lantern. Millennia ago, the Guardians of the Universe sought to maintain peace and order throughout the myriad worlds. Their first attempt started with what they called the Manhunters…but…”

“I think we can spare Tom the history lesson, Tomar. Tom, you know I wouldn’t have come here if I didn’t need your help. I’ll sum it up. For the past few weeks I’ve been helping Tomar with a threat to his sector. We learned that there is a threat coming to Earth. A threat known as the Worldkillers.”

“That doesn’t sound good.”

“Tom…”

“Okay…so what do you need me for?”

“News reports…attacks on the planet…maybe one of your contacts at NASA knows something?”

Tom gets a pensive look on his face as he recalls hearing about the sightings of fireballs streaking through the sky back in December. The government had chalked them up to meteors and anything in regards to the sightings was basically getting the official story of space debris.

“I might know something Hal, but I don’t know how helpful it will be. A few days ago…there were four separate attacks on cities around America. Central City in Kansas, National City in Missouri, Metropolis and Gotham City.”

“Is there footage of these attacks? Any reports at all?”

“You really think there wouldn’t be Hal? Most of it is amateur video, shot with cell phone cameras but I think I can still access them if they haven’t been pulled down yet.”

Tom pulled up his searches on his laptop and quickly found the footage of the attacks on Central City. The first footage showed the waterfront with the police firing at the flying alien as a red and yellow blur came running into view to protect the officers. As quick as the lightning bolt arrived it was also gone with the assailant following behind.

“What was that? I’ve never seen anyone move that fast. Another alien?”

“No Hal…he’s what people have been calling a meta-human.”

“How are you sure that it is a he, Tom?”

“I’ll slow the footage down.”

Hal and Tomar took in the video feed of the bolt of lightning they had seen moving in slow motion. Now that they could process what they were seeing, they both knew Tom was correct as the man in the red suit ran off and out of the frame.

“So who is he?”

“Central City reporters call him the Flash, Tomar. He just kind of appeared after the particle accelerator explosion three years ago. Here, this next bit is what I really wanted you to see.”

Tom sped the video back up to the next part of the battle on the streets of Central City. The devastation to the surrounding area was intense and in the middle of the war zone the Lanterns could see two women locked in combat. One was dressed in blue and red with a cape hanging off her shoulders. The other was dressed in black, clearly beginning to get the upper hand as the two flew up to the top of a building. Hal caught sight of the S-shield and instantly knew it was familiar.

“When did Superman take on a sidekick; Tom? How long has she been on the scene?”

“About two years now. And don’t let either Superman or her hear you call her a sidekick. That’s Supergirl, she’s the big blue Boy Scout’s cousin.”

Supergirl was fighting with all her heart against the odds and holding her own until her enemy pulled a dagger from her boot, shoving it into the heroine’s shoulder. There was no sound but it was clear from her expression that Supergirl was in extreme pain. In the next moments the same blur of lightning Hal and Tomar now knew was the Flash was on the rooftop running circles around the two women. What happened next was a shock to both Lanterns as they watched Supergirl fall and Superman flying faster than Hal thought was possible to catch her. But it was what Flash did next that was the most surprising.

“Tom is he…”

“Yeah Hal; he just vibrated his hand through the alien’s shoulder. Don’t know what he was saying to her at this distance, but you can tell he’s furious.”

The footage ended there with Flash running off as the two aliens returned to their ship hovering above Central City. There was more footage from National City where two Green Martians as Tomar noted were fighting another enemy, before one of the Green shapeshifted to a White Martian. Even Gotham wasn’t spared as they witnessed one more attack with a woman that appeared to be related to Supergirl was also in combat. Hal had seen enough and knew where they had to go next. They needed answers and he hoped they would get them.

“Thanks Tom. You’ve helped out a lot. But Tomar and I have to go.”

“Where are we going; Hal? We should find these aliens who I have no doubt could be the Worldkillers. They are injured and we may not get another chance to stop them if they recover.”

“I’d agree with you Tomar, if we didn’t need answers first. We don’t know that these are the Worldkillers. If they are, we only saw a fraction of what they’re capable of. I know you’re still weighed down by what they did to Krypton, but to prevent that from happening again, we need to go to Metropolis.”

“Why there?”

“Because Metropolis is Superman’s city. He’ll have some of the answers we need.”

Hal and Tomar were about to fly away before Tom called the former back. He had been covering for his friend with various excuses but Carol Ferris was quickly beginning to see through them.

“Hal…you can’t just fly off without stopping by Ferris. Carol’s extremely pissed and she’s not going to believe my assurances any more. You’ve got to tell her what’s going on.”

“Tell her that I’m an intergalactic space cop who is about to have to protect our entire world against an army of four Worldkillers? You think she’d believe that over what you’ve told her?”

“Right…well it might sound less crazy than the myriad of illnesses I’ve said you have.”

“Hal…if we are going to save your world, we must go.”

“I’m coming Tomar…I’ll think of something to tell her Tom. Thanks again.”

Hal knew he had to see Carol, and he would, but with Tomar’s insistence the pair bypassed Ferris Air as they flew towards Metropolis. Their two green trails of light caught the attention of a young couple on the beach. Kyle Rayner and Alexandra DeWitt were enjoying the last days of their vacation looking up at the early night sky with the last rays of sunset melting into the ocean behind them.

“Shooting stars?”

“I don’t know, don’t you think they’re kind of going the wrong way, Alex?”

“Maybe, but it couldn’t hurt to make a wish. Come on Kyle, live a little.”

Unaware of their audience, Hal and Tomar were flying quickly towards Metropolis with the hope of finding Superman there. Hal had been reading about the Kryptonian’s exploits long before Abin Sur came crashing to Earth and subsequently named the test pilot his successor in the Corps. They had departed Tom’s apartment knowing that the veteran hero had saved his cousin, but not the state of mind he would be in. As they reached the city limits of Metropolis their question was answered as a red and blue blur flew into their path. The Lanterns barely had time to form shields as a violent blast of heat vision hit them full force.

“You get one warning. If you’re affiliated with the Worldkillers or Brainiac…you made the biggest mistake of your lives coming to my city.”

The voice that spoke had a commanding presence and Hal and Tomar were in awe as they did their best to recover from the sudden attack. While the Green Lantern ring was one of the most powerful weapons in the known universe, fueled by pure willpower, being caught off guard by an enraged Kryptonian sent slight shivers up their spines.

“Superman, we’re not here to fight you. And neither of us is working with Brainiac or the Worldkillers.”

Hal spoke first, hoping to calm Superman before another attack occurred and the situation escalated. Flying through the city and causing copious amounts of damage were not in the best interests of anyone right now so while Superman hovered in front of them, arms crossed over his chest, Hal took it as a sign to continue. He was just about to speak again before two words stopped him.

“Prove it.”

Hal was immediately at a loss for words in response to the still angry tone in Superman’s voice. A lack of confidence is something the experienced pilot rarely suffers from so Tomar took this as his opportunity to continue where his friend could not. As he had done with Tom previously, Tomar launched into an explanation of whom they were and why they were looking for Superman.

“Superman, you may not be aware of the Guardians, but my colleague and I are representatives of them and the Green Lantern Corps. The Corps consists of 3,600 Lanterns, one for each sector of the universe. Hal protects sector 2814 of which your home-world of Earth is a part of. I am Tomar Re. My sector neighbors his and is sector 2813. We were…”

“You’re Xudarian.”

“You know of my home, Superman?”

“I know of your planet from the archives in my Fortress. Krypton was a part of your sector, and though I was raised on Earth, I am one of the last Kryptonians. I’ve heard rumor that a Xudarian Green Lantern was sent to my planet before the destruction.”

“I was that Lantern. I was the only off-worlder allowed on the planet for millennia. I met with one of the leading voices on the Science Council. Jor-El spoke of the impending cataclysm. You bear a resemblance to him.”

“He was my father.”

Tomar felt a ray of hope in really looking at Superman. He had failed to save Krypton but life from the planet did still exist. And he had fought a Worldkiller and survived. In the Lantern’s mind, he knew there was fighting a chance to save Earth from the fate of Krypton. With an agreement between the three, Superman led the way to his Fortress so Hal and Tomar could learn more of the enemy. In Central City, Barry was still by Kara’s bedside, holding on to hope with Alura.

“Why won’t she wake up; Alura? Clark and I…”

“Kara is only unconscious while her body heals, Barry. Black kryptonite still possesses unknown properties that I promise you I am working to discover. Kara will be fine.”

Barry wanted to believe Alura but his heart was aching. Black kryptonite had caused Kara to lose all control and nearly kill him not that long ago. His thoughts were turbulent remembering that incident.

“Will she; though?”