The Green Lanterns watched, stupefied. So it wasn't only them who could do it? Their self-image plummeted from "chosen saviors" to ground level, and practical concerns began to replace grandiosity.
"See that? Green light combined with any other color takes a Black Lantern offline. Stop hesitating—break out of Oa and regroup at the Blue Lantern homeworld!" Thea issued the breakout order.
The Greens roared in unison. They'd watched Indigo-1 and her people work in tandem—one burst of green, one burst of yellow—and shatter a Black Lantern. Morale surged.
As long as the enemy could actually die, there was nothing to fear. Half a day of fighting without a single confirmed kill had been the definition of despair.
The Yellow Lanterns, as if determined to prove their superiority over the Greens, charged in right behind the Red vanguard. The Greens refused to be outdone—all 2,000-plus were hardened veterans, and once Black Lanterns could be destroyed, there was nothing terrifying about them.
After all, the risen were corpses, not the people they'd been. Hit the ring and the Lantern went offline—effectively a two-hit-point enemy. Any halfway decent coordination was enough to win.
Seven colors of light blazed across Oa. The entire force pushed outward together. Once they broke through, whether they teleported or flew under their own power, anything was better than being trapped.
To force them to practice combined-arms tactics, Thea lied about running out of teleportation materials and joined the main formation on foot.
Halfway out, Salaak suddenly remembered something. He turned to Ganthet and Sayd. "What about the Central Power Battery? Without it, our rings will drain dry in no time."
Thea blinked. "Your Central Power Battery is still operational?"
Salaak answered honestly: "As long as Green Lanterns remain on Oa, the Central Power Battery will never go dark." His expression was that of a true believer.
Thea almost laughed. That was awfully metaphysical—the Battery runs as long as there are Lanterns to believe in it? What kind of causal reasoning was that? Everyone just bought this? The Battery worked because Ion was inside it, supplying power.
She gave Ganthet and Sayd a knowing look. Ion couldn't be abandoned—it was the oldest of the emotional entities. With this many Lanterns from seven corps, they could spare the effort to haul it back.
The Central Power Battery was easy to find. Dozens of meters tall, it was impossible to miss if you had eyes.
The main force adjusted course slightly, picking up the Battery while continuing to push outward.
They were within sight of Oa's edge when the Black Lanterns behind them became a tidal wave. Mongul led the pursuit—and ahead, an equally uncountable horde blocked the way.
"I'll cover the retreat!" Kilowog—Hal Jordan's friend, the hippo-headed drill instructor—stepped forward, volunteering to hold the rear alone and buy time for the main force.
Green Lanterns didn't bluff about courage. Instantly, a dozen more volunteers stood up, ready to fight and die as the rearguard.
"No need. Keep up with the main group—I have arrangements." Thea grabbed Larfleeze by the collar. The man had been visibly slacking off right in front of her, and that was the final straw. "Use your constructs to hold back those pursuers!"
Most of the Greens had never seen an Orange Lantern before. Kilowog and the others felt sorry for the skeletal-looking Larfleeze—Mongul's arm alone was thicker than Larfleeze's waist, and the raw menace radiating off that giant hadn't faded even in death. Every other corpse the Guardians had kept as a trophy had been a legendary powerhouse in life.
The Green Lanterns figured throwing Larfleeze in there wouldn't even make a splash. This was pointless sacrifice.
Thea found this privately hilarious. She didn't spoil the surprise. Their rings maxed out at 100%. Larfleeze's maxed out at 100,000%. An absolute anomaly—practically a bug in the system.
Sometimes she wondered if it was because the Presence had incarnated as a Schnauzer, and therefore had a soft spot for anything dog-headed. There was no other explanation. The Orange Lantern's power was absurd.
Larfleeze protested with every fiber of his being, but under Thea's coercion, he had no choice. He released a massive swarm of ring constructs to stall the pursuing horde.
The Green Lanterns who'd bravely volunteered for the rearguard stared, slack-jawed, at the tidal wave of orange light that filled their entire field of vision. They didn't know the Orange ring's unique properties—they just assumed Larfleeze was some kind of powerhouse in disguise.
The chaotic mass of Lanterns, hauling the Central Power Battery along, burst out of Oa. The Indigo Tribe worked together to bring the entire force back to Odym.
The Blue Lantern homeworld's serene, comfortable atmosphere—saturated with positive emotion—hit the Green Lanterns like a drug. Bodies hit the ground. Some sat, some lay flat. They were utterly spent.
Thea pulled aside the corps leaders to "align perspectives." There wasn't much to align—the entire point of this rescue was to support Earth.
Her own Yellow and Indigo forces had no objections. Sinestro was magnificently ignored.
The Blue Lanterns, who were semi-subordinate to her, had no objections. Larfleeze, who'd been bullied into silence, had no objections.
Carol Ferris, leading the Violet Lanterns, was a human from Earth. She'd fly back that second if she could.
Atrocitus ran a divination and agreed to support Earth as well.
The only complication was the Greens.
Salaak looked genuinely confused. "Why Earth? There are countless planets under siege across the universe—why not support them? Or we could retake Oa!"
Thea glanced at Ganthet. The Guardian gave a slight shake of his head: the Entity's existence couldn't be revealed.
She wasn't going to argue with this many stubborn Greens. The only solution was to let their own people convince them. She summoned every Earth-based Green Lantern she could reach.
Hal Jordan. Guy Gardner. John Stewart. And the newcomer, Kyle Rayner. Regardless of who knew whom, she scattered them through the crowd to preach the importance of defending Earth.
Hal Jordan's popularity was real. Half the Corps had shared a drink or swapped war stories with him at some point. Many of the Greens found the reasoning a bit thin, but they agreed to go as a favor to Hal.
Where there were supporters, there were naturally those who sneered.
Thea restrained Hal before he could go punch someone. "Anyone who doesn't want to go can stay here and protect Odym. The Blue Lantern homeworld can't fall—if Earth is lost, we can counterattack from here."
The force split immediately. The Greens left behind just over three hundred. Thea matched them with a roughly equal number of her less presentable Yellow Lanterns to bolster the defense. Everyone else—bound for Earth.
"Thea—Barry says something big just came out of Coast City!" Diana's voice crackled through the long-range comm.
Nekron had finally been summoned. Thea's eyes narrowed. The moment had arrived. She exchanged a few quick words with Ganthet, and the Guardian nodded.
Thea took Green Lantern Hal Jordan, Yellow Lantern Sinestro, Indigo-1, Blue Lantern Saint Walker, Red Lantern Atrocitus, Violet Lantern Carol Ferris, and a very reluctant Orange Lantern Larfleeze—and went ahead to Earth.
She found Diana first.
The Warrior Princess was surrounded by Black Lanterns. Maxwell Lord—the traitor from the Darkseid War, pulled from the grave by a black ring—had immediately rallied a Black Lantern force and gone after Diana.
Seven Lanterns descended. Maxwell Lord took one look at the situation and ran. They didn't have time for small fry. Fighting and falling back, they finally carved their way out of the encirclement.
"A massive Black Lantern power source touched down in Coast City. Barry's there—he says he's seen a tall dark figure." Diana's voice was taut with urgency.