The Next Generation

"Look, I may be damn good," Rose said, looking at the yellow light surrounding them, "but even I'm not Lantern caliber. Those blades wouldn't even scratch these constructs."

Sarah held her gaze firmly on the one leading the group of Yellow Lanterns. She knew who he was, though she'd never actually crossed paths with him before. She'd learned about him when the Green Lanterns taught her about their history. "Sinestro..."

This wasn't good. If Sinestro and his Yellow Lanterns were on Oa, that meant something had gone horrible wrong. If the Guardians weren't here, then they were either captured or dead, and the Sinestro Corps. had control of the planet, as well as its defense systems. But what did that mean for the rest of the Green Lanterns? Were any of them still out there?

"It's the Sinestro Corps..." Cyborg muttered, pounding his fist into the yellow light construct dome that trapped them. Little good it did. "The Green Lanterns' biggest enemies. That guy leading them, Sinestro, used to be a Green Lantern, then he went rogue. I don't know the whole story, but he went and created his own Corps. with yellow power rings that operate on Fear instead of Will. He's been trying to destroy the Green Lanterns ever since."

"I see my reputation precedes me," Sinestro said, lowering himself to the ground and walking forward. "I'm almost flattered."

Sarah, too, lowered herself to the ground. "It was you on the other end of the radio when we arrived here."

He merely nodded.

"Then why allow me on Oa at all? Why let me get a new power battery? Why not just blow us out of the sky?"

"Because that would not have been honorable," Sinestro replied, holding up his glowing ring. "I have a long standing history with the Lanterns from Earth, and I could never allow myself to kill you while you don't even have your power. I wanted you at your peak, so that when I defeat you it leaves no doubt who is the superior combatant."

Sarah narrowed her eyes, looking around at all the other members of Sinestro's group. "Right, because twenty on one is so much more honorable."

"Oh, they're not here for you," Sinestro informed. "They're here waiting for the rest of your Green Lanterns to arrive. Some, I've already eliminated, but most are still out there. I've called them back to Oa, and when they get here, the Sinestro Corps. will wipe them all out once and for all. But before then, you and I must settle things."

"And my friends?" Sarah asked, glancing back at the other Titans. "I'm supposed to think that you'll just leave them unharmed?"

"Your friends free to go at any time," Sinestro explained. "This matter does not concern them, nor am I interested in wasting my time on them." He glanced over at the big monster-like Lantern next to him. "Arkillo, if you please."

The Yellow Lantern named Arkillow dissipated the barrier surrounding the Titans, then folded his massive arms over his chest.

"We will not leave!" Starfire countered, as they were freed. If she were not holding Lori, she would have already attacked.

"Stay or go, it doesn't matter," Sinestro replied, glaring at her. "Just know that if you interfere in this, I will forego my leniency, and we will crush you with the full might of the Sinestro Corps."

Neal bit down on his lip as Rose mentioned that they wouldn't be able to break through the barriers that were surrounding them. Not good, what were they supposed to do than! Neal had never even realized that there was a whole other group of Lanters, and not ones that wanted to cause evil of all things. Well, this situation was certainly getting worse and worse as things went on. They were currently trapped in a cage by a Lantern, meaning that he could probably make the whole thing shrink in a manner of moments.

Neal listened as Sinestro revealed that he wanted to fight Sarah in a fair fight. Yeah, Neal had heard talk like that before from Blackfire. Last time he checked Starfire had won fairly and they had still been shot at and nearly killed! Perhaps Sinestro was more honorable, but coming from a guy that jumped them Neal wasn't quite ready to believe that just yet. Neal didn't care what his history was, if he was an enemy of the Lanterns than he was probably an enemy to them all.

The most surprising moment, was when Sinestro actually had the cage released from its current location. He could have just crushed them all, and yet he was giving them the chance to leave. Neal couldn't help but consider trying to flee, but he knew that he'd never make that decision. Sarah was his friend, and if the other Lanterns were coming than perhaps the Titans fighting the Sinestro corp. for a while would provide them with an edge when they all showed up. Neal was more certain about one thing over anything else though.

"I made a promise to never abandon my friends. Thanks for the offer, but I'm staying right here"

"Then watch as she falls," Sinestro muttered, glaring. "Now, Lantern, prepare yourself!"

Sarah took a defensive stance, her ring glowing. This was far from what she'd expected when arriving on Oa, but she wasn't about to back down now, not that she could if she wanted to. If Sienstro wanted a fair fight, then he would get one. She just hoped he wasn't too surprised when she defeated him. She knew she could... she just had to have the will, she had to believe and remember her training. This wasn't just for her or her friends, this was for every Green Lantern, and for all of Oa.

Sinestro lunged in, forming giant claws of yellow light over his hands. He slashed in fiercely, but she flew up and away, dodging. Pointing her ring forward she fired several concentrated beams, but they were hit away effortlessly. As he flew up to attack her again, she formed two giant gatling guns over her shoulders and opened fired. Sinestro's claws changed to a large shield that deflected her willpower bullets. As he came closer, the shield then grew a large point in order to spear her. Her gatling guns changed to her own shield just in time to absorb the blow, though she was thrown backwards.

Sarah then brought her ring up and created a straight jacket and chains that ensnared and locked Sinestro up tightly. He struggled against the bonds as she flew in again, this time leading with a massive green fist. Before the fist could hit, however, a yellow, skeletal hand formed and caught it, then squeezed and shattered it. With an angry yell, Sinestro surged yellow energy around him and broke free from his bonds, then fired off several spinning blades.

She tried to deflect them all, firing off short bursts of green will at them and hitting most of them away. But several got past her defenses, swirling around and coming at odd angles. Two sliced into her shoulder, another into her thigh, opening deep cuts that began to bleed freely. With her concentration momentarily shaken, Sinestro seized the opportunity and lashed out a yellow whip that wrapped around Sarah's neck and threw her to the floor with a sickening thud.

"Sarah!" Starfire yelled again, taking a few steps forward.

Cyborg held her shoulder, stopping her. "You can't," he said. Not only could they not interfere, but there was Lori to consider. She couldn't get involved in a battle when she was carrying her baby.

Neal just watched as the fight finally broke out. This seemed extremely similar to what had gone on before. There was the friend, the enemy, and than the army that prevented Neal and the others from interfering. It was just like what Starfire had gone through about a month ago. They had to hope that Sarah could win, and with luck they would be able to take on the Sinestro corp. Neal tried to come up with some sort of plan, if things started to go to hell he would need to use his illusions to put the side in their favor. The Lanterns were good, but even they depended on seeing what was in front of them.

As the fight continued, it seemed like the fight was fairly even. That was of course until Sinestro seemed to pull ahead. Neal's eyes glanced down towards Lori as Starfire nearly moved into the fight. Not only did they have to worry about fighting off the twenty Lanterns, but there was also the child to consider.

They had a lot on their plate right now.

Neal continued to come up with a strategy, all the while watching Sarah fight against Sinestro. "You can do it Sarah!"

Sarah pushed herself up to her hands and knees, coughing and trying to regain her breath, as the wind had been forced out of her. Glancing up, she noticed Sinestro coming in again, this time wielding a massive yellow chainsaw. He swung down at her legs, trying to sever them, but she flipped herself out of the way just in time. He continued his assault, flying after her and slicing again with the chainsaw. She created a chain that wrapped around his wrists and yanked it upwards, forcing him to drop his constructed weapon. Then, she pulled him in quickly and delivered a powerful punch straight to his jaw.

As Sinestro flew backwards, Sarah raced after him, forming a bungee around his waist so that he snapped straight back to her. This time she struck him with a large green fist of light that hit him back again. The bungee once again snapped and pulled him in. This time, however, Sinestro was ready for it. As he rocketed back towards her, with her fist at the ready, he encased himself torpedo-like construct. He tore straight threw the light fist, shattering it and smashing full force into Sarah's chest.

Sarah hit the ground hard, her head bashing against the floor. She cried out in shock as the whole world seemed to spin around her. She caught sight of Sinestro flying toward her again, this time swinging a yellow sword. She flipped backwards, staggering wearily as she tried to get her senses back about her. Creating her own light sword, she defended against a series of attacks, parried, dodged. As he cut down towards her again, their blades locked up, each one pushing fiercely to gain position.

"The only Lantern... to ever defeat me," Sinestro growled, bringing both hands to his blade, "was Hal Jordan of Earth. And you... are no Hal Jordan!"

With a final effort, he pushed her back and parried her blade to the side. Sarah tried to spin her sword back in time to block the next attack, but she was too slow. Instead. Sinestro's blade cut deep across her chest and dropped her to the ground. She coughed several times, the pain unbearable. She tried to create another light construct, but she couldn't concentrate. Holding a hand to her wound, she groaned, just staring up as Sinestro stared back down at her.

"A shame, really," he said. "I was hoping for more of a challenge. It seems that you just aren't as talented as your predecessors. But I won't kill you, not yet... I want you to be here to witness the end. When the other Green Lanterns return, the planet's defense systems, along my Corps. will obliterate them."

Neal just kept watching as the battle grew worse and worse. At first things seemed okay, but it became very clear that Sarah wasn't winning this fight. At first she was able to adapt and come up with new strategies extremely well, but it seemed like every time she did Sinestro was able to come up with more power in order to smash Sarah down. In the end, he cut her right across the chest and left her on the ground wounded. Alright than, time to intervene.

Neal quickly tried to focus on Sinestro himself, casting an illusion upon him as quickly as he could. Two blades would rise up from the ground in an attempt to stab Sinestro right through his legs and knees. Sinestro was their leader, if he went down the others might lose some faith in their ability to win.

It was probably not the best idea for Neal to try and take things into his own hands. Though his illusion did succeed, and even brought Sinestro down to his knees in sudden surprise, there were about two dozen other Yellow Lanterns in the air around them. When their leader was abruptly attacked, even though they couldn't see what had attacked him, they reacted instantly. None of the Titans were entirely sure what had happened, only remembering bright flashes of yellow light and a lot of shouting.

Rose blinked, shaking her head and trying get her vision back. She'd been hit so hard in the head that everything had gone blurry. She was vaguely aware of being upside down, and soon realized that she was slumped against the wall, with her legs hanging over her head. Grunting, she slowly pushed herself away and righted herself, though fell back to her behind a second later when everything started to spin. Before she could do anything else, bright yellow chains appeared around her, binding her arms and legs together. Then, she was lifted up into the air along with the others, who were equally bound.

Sinestro floated there, facing them with his arms held behind his back. "That was very foolish," he said. "I did say that if you got involved, I would take back my leniency, and so I shall... to a degree. Before I take you away to the holding cells, I feel I must make an example to deter any further resistance."

Turning his attention over to Kid Flash, he held his ring up and formed a noose. The noose slipped over Kid Flash's neck, remaining slack for only a brief second before tightening and choking him. Bart began struggling, choking out short gasps of air as the life began to drain from his face.

Well, that plan had gone terribly wrong. Before anything else could even happen they had all been attacked and taken out by the Yellow Lanterns. Neal had seen that going a lot better in his mind rather than how it actually played out in reality. Neal had to remember that his illusions wouldn't always worked like he had planned for them to. He might have just cost everyone else their lives. What else was he supposed to do? Sarah had lost, they couldn't just stand there could they? Well, regardless Neal should have taken a better approach. That much was obvious.

It was only a matter of moments before Neal began to gain his vision back. God that had hurt like hell, a bunch of angry lanterns could definitely pack a punch against a bunch of unexpected heroes. Neal just hoped that they didn't come back to regret it. Of course, considering their current position Neal was already beginning to regret his decision.

It was what Sinestro did next that Neal couldn't ignore, no matter what came of it. He saw the noose fitting around Kid Flash's neck, and he knew that he couldn't just stand by and do nothing. Neal was responsible, not him. "HEY!" he shouted in Sinestro's direction. "I was the one that attacked you not him! If you have to do something than punish the guy that deserves it! Not him!"

The noose visibly slackened around Kid Flash's neck, just moments before he would have passed out. Sinestro slowly looked over at him, his attention drawn by the boy's open plea. Floating over to him, he stared at Neal carefully. "You wish to take his place?" he asked, his eyes shifting steadily. He then began to raise his ring up and point it at Neal's face. "Very well."

"No!" Rose shouted, her eyes going wide. This wasn't happening, Neal had not just thrown himself into death's path!. "Please, don't!"

She tried to break free, as did the other Titans, but the bonds were ironclad. She couldn't so much as lift an arm, let alone get loose and try to stop Sinestro from killing Neal. Just before the killing blow could take place, however, a weak beam of green light flickered around Sinestro's wrist and pulled it away.

"Don't..." Sarah uttered, coughing a mouthful of blood. She was alive still, sure, but her condition wasn't exactly favorable. It took every bit of effort she had left to form that one construct, which blinked away moments later.

The other Yellow Lanterns immediately prepared a counter, but Sinestro held his hand up to stop them. "If she wishes them to live so badly... then so be it. They can live, for now. Karu, take them to a holding cell and stand guard. The rest of you, return to your stations and prepare for the arrival of the Green Lanterns."

The female alien called Karu-Sil that had been at Sinestro's side earlier raised her ring and formed a solid dome barrier around the Titans, carrying them off, away from the citadel. She took them to one of the other floating structures around them to the series of holding cells where prisoners of the Lantern Corps. were kept awaiting trial and transport to the Sciencells. She opened up one of the large chambers by entering a passcode on the control panel outside, then forced the group within. Once they were inside, she entered the code again, causing the energy barrier that was the door to form back between them. She then turned her back on them, standing a short distance away and acting as their guard.

"Are you crazy?" Rose asked Neal, once they were alone. She walked over to him and pulled him into her arms. "You almost got yourself killed."

Neal wasn't sure what he felt in the next moment. The noose slackened around Kid Flash's neck, which meant that he was going to live but Sinestro was indeed going to switch to turning Neal into the example. Neal had saved his friend's life, but he might have just literally tightened the rope around his own neck. Neal just let his eyes gaze down towards Sinestro's ring as the man raised it and pointed it at Neal.

Rose's cries were already painful to hear; Neal was fighting whether to look at her or not. She didn't need to see this, she didn't need to see Neal die right before her very eyes. He couldn't decide whether to look at her or not, he didn't want her to see the pain of having his life choked away. However, if Neal was to see one last thing before he died he definitely wanted it to be Rose's face.

Before any of this became reality though, a sudden shot of green moved towards Sinestro's arm and stopped him from forming the full noose around Neal's neck. He was extremely grateful for that. It was only then that Sinestro decided to have all of the Titans leave before sending them to the prison cells in order to make sure that they wouldn't interfere with the destruction of Oa and the Lanterns. Damn, this situation kept getting worse and worse. Still, Neal was just thankful to still be alive at this point.

As they were forced into the cells, Neal turned his gaze and embraced Rose as she pulled him into her arms. "I couldn't just stand there while Kid Flash got killed. I was the one that attacked Sinestro, if anyone was to pay the price for that it was going to be me," Neal said before looking right up at Rose. "I'm.......I'm sorry though Rose. I didn't mean to put you through that"

"I know, I just... I didn't want to see you go," Rose responded, tightening her arms around him. Of course she understood why he had done it, but that didn't mean she had to like it anymore than she did.

"Thanks, by the way," Kid Flash said, rubbing his hand around his neck. It still throbbed. "I'd be dead right now. Again."

Wonder Girl slowly paced around the room, trying to find a weak spot in the structure. Perhaps she could bust through the walls or something, though it looked like they were all reinforced with the same energy field that created the barrier at the cell door. "So, what exactly is our escape plan? We do have one, right? We can't just sit here while Sinestro and his goons take out the Green Lanterns."

"I'm working on it, hold on," Cyborg said, also inspecting the room while he began to think of what he could possibly do to help them escape.

Starfire, meanwhile, was busy trying to calm down her daughter, who had broken out into tears now in light of the recent events, crying loudly. "Shhh," she whispered, rocking the child back and forth. "It's alright, Loriand'r... everything will be fine." Though, it was evident by the lack of conviction in which she said that, she didn't really believe it.

Cyborg knelt by the wall near the cell entrance, examining a small metal cover that seemed to guard the cell's circuitry. His eyes then slowly glanced up at Karu-Sil, who still had her back turned to them. Holding up his finger, he extended a small electrical tool, then whispered, "Hey, I think I can override the system's security by working on it manually... but I'm going to need some kind of distraction, draw her attention away from me."

"And I didn't want to leave you either," Neal said as he held his arms around Rose. The pain and fear in her voice was evident, she had truly believed that Neal was going to die. Neal couldn't blame her, if it wasn't for Sarah than Sinestro probably would have killed him in front of everyone.

"Don't mention it, I'm sorry I put you in to that situation. I jumped the gun, it won't happen again," Neal said in apology to Kid Flash.

Neal kept holding Rose for some time, thankful to just be able to still be in her arms. Everyone else was trying to come up with an escape plan, but Neal just wanted to be with Rose for now. He was so sorry that he had scared her like that. Neal could hardly believe that he had even said that. He really had just volunteered to be killed in the place of Kid Flash. Perhaps that was a sign that Neal was really becoming a selfless hero. Right now though his legs were shaking, as his mind was coming to terms with the fact that he had nearly died.

Neal glanced over at Starfire who was busy trying to calm down the child who had begun crying. Neal couldn't help but feel bad, they had been together for about a month only to be pulled away from each other again. It was a cruel twist of fate. Neal knew that he was going to make things right by Starfire though. Sarah had saved his life, and Neal would make sure that the two of them were reunited with each other.

"Distractions are somewhat of a specialty of mine," Neal said in a low whisper as he turned to look over at Cyborg. "What were you thinking? Just something to catch her eye? Or something to really freak her out?" he asked curiously. Neal had messed up, but perhaps now he could use his power as he was supposed to. An illusion might convince their guard that something strange was going on outside.

"Just something that'll keep her occupied for a few minutes," Cyborg explained. "Preferably not anything that'll make her want to attack or call for back up, though. When I get the systems down, we're going to have to jump her and then... well, actually haven't thought that far ahead yet, but we'll figure it out."

Starfire's eyes grew cross. "We should attack them without mercy," she said, remembering quite clearly what Sinestro had done to Sarah only a short while ago. "We should destroy them!"

"As great as that would be," Rose said, glancing back at her. "I highly doubt the six of us are going to take down the entire Sinestro Corps... especially not when you're carrying your kid."

"I can take Lori back to the Javelin," Kid Flash suggested. "I have the best chance of making it there without being seen, and she should be safe there. Then you can bust in as many of their heads as you want without having to worry."

Starfire looked down at the still sobbing Lori. "That... might be best," she replied, sighing slightly. "I do not wish my daughter to be in harm's way if there is to be fighting."

---

Meanwhile, Sinestro remained in the main citadel chamber, looking up into the open sky above them. Green twinkles of light were beginning to appear, drawing closer as they traveled through space towards Oa. "They're starting to arrive," he said, turning his attention towards the defeated Sarah, who lay at his feet in bright yellow chains. "When they get close enough, the planet's defense systems will destroy them, and the few that do manage to make it through will have to deal with my Corps. Try to stay awake for this, Sarah of Earth. I wouldn't want you to miss the fall of the Green Lanterns."

"Alright, something that will distract her but not ultimately freak her out and cause her to start firing off shots from her ring.........easy enough," Neal muttered to himself as he tried to come up with something that would get her attention but not force her to be suspicious either. It would have to be small and subtle, there was no way that Neal could make a person appear without her freaking out and questioning what was going on. An image? Possibly, but that also might inspire her to action. Perhaps just some strange sounds would be best, with Neal's power he could alter the sound to make it sound like it came from far away.

"Alright, I'm going to try something subtle and work my way up," Neal whispered to Cyborg as he turned his gaze and began to focus on the guard. A sound, all he needed was some sounds. He started off with the simplest thing that he could think of, the sound of dripping water. It wasn't much, something that would just get her attention without making her freak out. Who would think that dripping water was a part of the grand escape plan after all? Once she began to listen though, Neal began to add a few smaller sounds. This time, he tried to make the sound of footsteps, making them seem like they were down the hall from their current location though.

As the subtle sounds began to reach Karu-Sil's ears, she began to look around curiously for their source. The dripping water was not exactly cause for alarm, the the sounds of footsteps coming from down the hall definitely grabbed her attention. She glanced back at the prisoners for a few moments, trying to make sure they weren't doing anything funny. When she was satisfied that they were still contained, she began to fly down the hallway to check on where those sounds were coming from.

The moment she was gone, Cyborg went to work, opening up the panel and jabbing his electrical tool into the circuitry, trying to fry the system and shut off the security. Fortunately, it only took a few moments before the energy barrier blocking off the exit to the cell flickered and disappeared.

"Alright, everyone out, quickly," Cyborg said, motioning for them to get going.

Starfire turned to Kid Flash and very gently handed over her daughter to him. "Please... please keep her safe."

Kid Flash nodded. "I'll protect her with my life, count on it." The next instant, he was gone.

As the group began to move out into the hallway, Wonder Girl took a quick look out the window, only to stop in shock, her eyes widening and jaw opening. "Gods..."

Outside, the Green Lanterns were approaching the range of the planet's defense systems. Massive cannons rose up from the surrounding platforms and began to fire enormous blasts of pure energy. The initial wave of Lanterns weren't prepared for their own home planet to begin attacking them and were vaporized instantly. Even those that finally realized they needed to defend themselves showed difficulty. They were falling by the dozens, it seemed. Those numbers only began to increase as more and more showed up.

Neal kept focusing, making the variations of the footsteps grow softer and than louder, trying to make it sound like it was truly a group of people that were moving around. He figured the more complicated and real the sound became, the more likely that she would grow curious as to go and check it out. Neal was glad that his power was based off of his mind, as it made it seem like he wasn't doing anything at all when Karu-Sil turned and looked right at him. Well that was one advantage they had against the lanterns, at least Neal's illusions could still fool them to an extent.

As Cyborg broke them out, Neal quickly moved out with everyone else, moving quickly in order to get away from the cell and their current location. Neal would keep up the illusion a little bit longer, but he couldn't afford to keep focusing on her now that they were leaving. With luck, she still wouldn't come back for another minute. Just as they got out though, it was Wonder Girl who began to notice just what was happening.

"My God," Neal said as he watched wave after wave of Lantern being killed. They didn't expect an ambush on their own home planet, the Lanterns were being devastated. "We have to find a way to shut those guns down, dozens of them are dead already!"

"X'hal..." Starfire uttered, watching the laughter going on outside. "It is a massacre."

Cyborg, too, watched, but only for a moment. They had to keep moving before Karu came back to find them out of their cell. "They have to be controlled by a central defense system," Cyborg explained, as they headed out of the building and back out into the open. Fortunately for them, most of the other Yellow Lanterns were concentrated on dealing with the Green Lanterns that managed to break through Oa's cannons. "If we can find the main system, I should be able to hack into it and shut them down, or even reconfigure their targeting to aim for the bad guys."

"But where do we even start looking?" Rose asked, looking around. Oa was a big planet after all... even if the main system was concentrated in the current area, it could take forever to find it.

"The system controlling the cannons have to be giving out some kind of remote signal to operate them," Cyborg said, fiddling with his arm panel. "If I can scan for incoming radio frequencies, I should be able to locate the source... got it!" He turned to his left, following a blinking light on the screen. "Let's move!"

With Starfire and Wonder Girl carrying those who couldn't fly towards the signal and across the floating structures in the sky, the group soon found themselves outside a large security building. The fact that there was a war basically going on around them actually helped in a way, as the place didn't seem to be guarded. Cyborg led them inside, where they found a rather large, advanced looking computer system.

"Uh... no offense, Tin Man," Rose said, inspecting the advanced technology. "But you really think you can hack something like this? Don't exactly have this kind of stuff back on Earth."

"Oh, I can hack it," he assured them. "In a way. All I need to do is upload a copy of my operating system into the console, and I can basically control it like my own brain. Everybody cover my six, I'm going in."

As Cyborg began to move, so did Neal although he walked away and kept his eyes on the Lanterns. There were so many dying, so many that didn't even realize WHY they were dying. It was a butcher's massacre, that's all that this was. They needed to do something now. "Just hang on guys, we'll make the fight a bit more fair soon enough," Neal said under his breath before turning and running off with the others.

They kept moving along, listening as Cyborg seemed to identify the place that they needed to get to. If he could hack into the system, he could stop the cannons from attacking the Lanterns. The Sinestro Corp. might be winning right now, but Neal had a feeling in a fair fight that they would get massacred by the overwhelming number of Green Lanterns. They just needed to give them an edge before too many of their numbers were slain, THAN they would have a fight!

As they arrived as the computer, Neal just allowed Cyborg to take over from here. "We're going to have to hope that he can at this point. If not, things won't look that great for Oa's future," Neal said sadly as he looked towards the door. He'd keep an eye out for anyone coming. Neal just hoped that Sinestro and his followers would be too distracted to head this way.

Within minuets, Cyborg was in the systems. His robotic eye began glowing brightly as his consciousness flowed into Oa's defense computers and began to reconfigure them. The first thing he did was deactivate them, making sure that no more Green Lanterns died while he tried to figure out how to switch their targeting systems. That took a bit more maneuvering through the circuitry, and would be a few minutes longer.

While he was doing that, however, who should show up through the entrance but Karu-Sil herself, the one that had been charged to guard them. She didn't really look all that pleased that she had been tricked into letting them escape, and didn't hesitate before charging the entire group, leading with a series of light constructs designed to maim them.

Wonder Girl and Starfire intercepted her, flying around her attacks and assaulting her with a combination of starbolts and the lightning lasso. Unfortunately, while they were busy taking her out, another Yellow Lantern decided to show up at the same moment, this one crashing through the wall and pummeling straight into both women, smashing them into the far wall. It was Arkillo, the monstrous Lantern from before, with giant yellow claws extending from his arms. Before Starfire and Wonder Girl got a chance to recover, Arkillo began batting them around like bugs, cutting and smashing them.

"Neal, come on!" Rose shouted, charging Arkillo from behind. She wasn't about to stand idle while the other two got the snot beaten out of them.

Neal just kept standing guard, watching and waiting as Cyborg hacked into the controls. He would let them know when he was done, so there was no point in watching him work. Neal was glad that he had thought like this, since he didn't have his guard lowered when Karu-Sil showed up. She didn't take long to begin fighting, already going at it with Wonder Girl and Starfire, both of whom were eager to fight.

Neal was about to react when another Lantern showed up, Arkillo. "Damn I was hoping he wouldn't be the one to show up," Neal said to himself before he started to attack Starfire and Wonder Girl. "Already on it!" Neal shouted as Rose told him to get moving. He ran forward, already trying to come up with something in order to stop the two Lanterns. Pain was the only thing that Neal could think of, this mission was too important to hold back right now.

Much like Neal had done with Sinestro, he concentrated to the point where several blades appeared out of nowhere to stab and pierce through the two lanterns. Neal made sure to concentrate a great deal more on Arkillo though. He seemed to be the stronger of the two.

At the very least, Karu-Sil didn't last very long, having already been greatly weakened by the initial attacks from Wonder Girl and Starfire. Once the painful illusions hit, she fell to the floor writhing and twitching. Her alien screams were little more than shrill, tormented shrieks, like some kind of banshee. However, the only thing that the illusions seemed to do to Arkillo was making him angry. He let out a loud roar in response, only to whirl around with his giant claws, slashing at the charging Rose.

Though Rose saw the flash of the attack before it hit her, she had too much momentum to change her trajectory in time. She jumped up, trying to leap over his razor claws, but the top one cut into the meat of her leg, slicing straight through her armor and leaving behind a sickening gash on her thigh. At the very least, she managed to get one cut in with her energy blades that seemed to stun Arkillo for a few moments. By the time she hit the ground, though, he was already recovered, while she clutched her wound and quivered in agony.

Arkillo turned his sights on Neal now. His eyes glowed hotly with anger, wanting some revenge for the pain that Neal had tried to inflict. Just as he was about to charge, however, a familiar Green Lantern burst through another of the walls and sent Arkillo flying back out the other wall behind him.

"Come on, poozer!" Kilowog growled, his green ring glowing brightly. "Fight someone your own size!" Arkillo turned his sights on Kilowog now; the two titans clashed a moment later, exchanging thunderous blows.

"I got it!" Cyborg shouted, pulling his consciousness back out the systems. "Defense systems are reconfigured!"

And so they were, as they could see the cannons now turning and firing at the targets they were supposed to: the Yellow Lanterns. Though countless Green Lanterns had already fallen, more were on their way, and now the Sinestro Corps. was at the disadvantage.

"We have to find Sarah!" Starfire shouted, as she and Wonder Girl got back to their feet.

"Don't worry, we'll find her!" Cyborg said. "But we have to get out of here, now!"

Rose was struggling to get back to her own feet; the wound to her leg was just too bad. She was leaking blood everywhere and she had lost any feeling in it. "Shit, shit, shit!" she muttered. squeezing down on the wound. She was too distracted at this point to notice another Yellow Lantern coming in from behind her, through the broken wall. Several razor constructs were already slicing their way through the air at her.

"Look out!" Starfire shouted, flying over like a rocket and pulling Rose out of the way. The yellow constructs buried into the floor where she'd been just a second before. Wonder Girl took the opportunity to pummel the attacker back out of the building.

Rose looked back in surprise, then up at Starfire, who was carrying her through the air. "You... you saved me? But you hate my guts."

"We may not get along," Starfire said, flying them both out after the rest of the group, "but we are still family... and I protect my family."

Rose just blinked, stunned. Her expression softened. "You know what, Snooki, you're alright."

Starfire glanced down at her, confused. "What is a Snooki?"

---

"What?!" Sinestro yelled, watching as the defense cannons began to turn on his Corps. "What's going on?!"

Sarah looked upwards, seeing that the Green Lanterns were beginning to gain ground. She couldn't help but smirk. "You're going to lose, Sinestro... just like you always have."

Growling in anger, he stared down at her, then began to fly upwards. "You're wrong, Sarah Sanders. I'm not finished yet."

The chains that bound her suddenly released, allowing Sarah to push herself up to her hands and knees. She coughed a few times, trying to get her breath back. Though the wound on her chest was a deep one, it wasn't fatal, nor would she let it slow her down. She was more concerned with the direction that Sinestro was flying in. Out that way, there could be only one thing he was going after... and if she was right, then she had to stop him at all costs. Activating her power ring, she took off like a bullet, chasing after him.

Evidently, they would both end up flying straight past the security building that the others were fleeing from.

Karu-Sil seemed to go down, apparently she had taken too many injuries from Starfire and Wonder Girl. Her body had already been injured, so the added pain of her mind now was probably too much for her. That was one Lantern down, but it was the one that was still standing about that Neal was worried about. Neal was correct in his assumption that Arkillo was the stronger of the two, but he had been hoping that his illusions would do a bit more damage than that.

Arkillo turned his attention towards Rose, slashing at her leg and tearing at a good chunk of it. God, how much power did this guy have. "Rose!" Neal shouted as he saw how much pain she was in. Arkillo turned his attention away from her and focused on Neal thankfully. "That's right ugly, stay away from her and come fight your better!" Neal shouted as he tried to make the Lantern focus on him instead of Rose.

Thankfully, Neal didn't have to worry about coming up with a strategy, as a very well known Lantern showed up in order to aid the fight. "I have never been more happy to see that guy in my entire life," Neal said as Kilowag began to unload his ring's power on the enemy Lantern. Reinforcements were finally here, and it was time to take back Oa.

Once Arkillo was taken out of the picture, Neal quickly looked over in Rose's direction. She was struggling to get up and move around, a clear sign that the gash in her leg had been deeper than even Neal originally thought. As Neal looked towards Rose, he saw a lantern coming from behind, readying an attack that would surely kill her. "ROSE LOOK OUT!" Neal shouted as he tried to run towards her. Thankfully, someone beat Neal to Rose and saved her. Neal watched as Starfire zoomed off with Rose, he would have to thank her for that later.

"Let's get out of here," Neal said as he began to follow the others out of the building. The Lanterns were coming in now, but the battle for Oa wasn't over yet.

Just as the Titans were about to head off and search for Sarah, she flew right by them. This was of course moments after Sinestro had flown right by them as well, as she was apparently chasing him somewhere... though where he was heading remained to be seen.

"There's Sarah!" Starfire shouted, already starting to fly off after her.

Wonder Girl carried Cyborg and Neal with her, one in each arm, as the entire group chased after Sarah now. They were heading down towards the planet's watery surface, or more accurately one of the few landmasses still floating in the water, instead of the sky. It wasn't the same one as they'd gone to to get to the Foundry, though it was in the same general location. While Sinestro and Sarah disappeared inside, the Titans were close behind.

---

Sarah tore down the straight corridor, going as fast as she could will herself in her condition. Sinestro already had a head start, and if he was planning what she thought, then he needed to be stopped, no matter the cost. She could not let him succeed. When she broke into the main chamber, she saw him already standing before the massive green battery that cycled torrents of pure green will energy through it. The central power battery of Oa, the battery to supplied the entire planet, as well as the Green Lantern Corps. power batteries with its power. This was, simply put, the source of the Green Lanterns' powers.

But she would not let him destroy it.

"Sinestro!" she shouted, pummeling straight into him at full speed. She formed a green shield between them that led the strike, smacking the Yellow Lantern through the air and into the wall. "You can't do this! I won't let you!"

Unfortunately, the pain from her wound was too great. Just as she was beginning to form a follow up construct, she lost her focus and it disappeared. The next thing she knew, Sinestro had her by the neck with a whip construct and flung her back through the air. She hit the far wall and fell to the ground with a crash.

"If I cannot destroy the Green Lanterns and take Oa for myself," Sinestro said, forming a yellow light mallet that came down and crushed Sarah against the floor, "then I will destroy Oa! Stay down, Sarah Sanders, and do not interfere again!"

With that, he turned back to the central power battery and held his ring forward. Then he began dumping almost the entirety of his own ring's power, corrupting the green flow of will with his yellow fear. The central battery began to fluctuate and shake, growing unstable. Within a few moments, a chain reaction erupted as the amount of power flowing through it surged to critical levels. The entire room was shaking now, a massive quake beginning to tear through the planet, with the central battery at the epicenter.

"Stop!" Starfire shouted, rocketing into view and blindsiding Sinestro with a thunderous tackle. She'd already dropped off Rose at the chamber entrance so she could attack the alien freely, without restraint. The two collided into the far wall with crippling force.

But Starfire was thrown back by a powerful blast of Sinestro's ring. He floated up again, breathing heavy as he took out his yellow power battery to recharge his ring. "You're too late!" he shouted, then blasting an escape route through the ceiling. "Oa is done! The Green Lanterns are finished! And you will all die." With that, he flew up out into the sky, exiting the planet Oa and zipping through space.

Neal quickly turned his head, seeing that Sarah was chasing Sinestro down to some place. He had no idea what it was, as he wasn't familiar with anything that Oa had to offer. "Follow them! If Sinestro's fleeing this might be our one chance to take him down!" Neal shouted. Thankfully the flyers were willing to help him chase. Otherwise it would have taken Neal forever to catch up with all of them. They quickly began the chase, pursuing the two streaks of light.

---

The Titans only arrived once the action was over. Neal ran into the room after Wonder Girl and watched right as Sinestro took off into space. "You are so fast in retreat Sinestro!" Neal shouted out angrily even though the man was clearly gone. Neal quickly turned his attention back to the giant green and yellow object. "So.......what did he mean by we were all going to die?" Neal asked as he looked at the device. What exactly had Sinestro done?

Sarah let out a groan as she pushed herself back up into a sitting position. Her body hurt everywhere; several bones were broken, she was sure. What hut the most, though, was that she had failed. Sinestro had set off a chain of events now that could not be stopped. "He... he corrupted the central power battery," she uttered, staggering back to her feet. "In a couple of minutes, this place will explode from a massive power overload... and take the entire planet with it."

Rose widened her eye in shock. "Uh, come again? Did you just say the planet is going to explode?"

"Okay, everybody back to the Javelin, now!" Cyborg commanded, waving them all to the exit. "We don't have a lot of time!"

Starfire rushed over to help Sarah along. following the rest of the Titans as they hurried out of the central chamber. "Come on, Sarah, we will make it!"

"No," Sarah uttered, tears beginning to form in her eyes. She knew what she had to do, but she couldn't let the others know, not just yet. Not until she made sure they couldn't stay behind. Just as Starfire was about to lead her into the corridor with the others, she pushed her wife forward and held her ring out, forming a green barrier between them. The quaking was growing stronger now; the entire planet was beginning to tear itself apart. "We won't even make it to the Javelin in time, not if someone isn't here to contain the power surge."

Suddenly realizing what Sarah was saying, Starfire felt her insides begin to tear apart. "No!" she shouted, pounding her fists against the green barrier. "NO! Sarah, you can't! YOU CAN'T!"

A sad smile formed across her face. Those tears were starting to flow down her cheeks now. "I'll give you enough time to get away, but you have to hurry... I don't know how long I'll be able to stall it."

"Sarah, NO!" Starfire pleaded, trying to do everything she could to break through the barrier. Don't do this! Don't leave me! Please!"

The others looked on sadly, not able to find the will to say anything. They didn't like it anymore than Starfire did, but they realized that Sarah was right. There was no reason for her to lie, after all. If the situation was this dire, and someone needed to stay behind for the rest of them to survive... then it was what needed to be done. Of course, that didn't make it hurt any less.

"Kory..." Sarah uttered, pressing her hands up against the barrier she created. "Please, take care of Lori. And know... know that I'll always love you."

"Sarah..." Starfire said, her voice catching in her throat. She was sobbing, hiccuping, not understanding why this was happening. "Sarah, please... don't..."

"Star, we need go," Cyborg said, looking up as the ceiling above them was beginning to collapse, raining down debris. "We don't have much time!"

But Starfire wouldn't budge. It took Wonder Girl forcibly pulling her away to get her to move, and even then she struggled and fought, screaming for Sarah.. But they couldn't stay. They had to return to the Javelin, and they had to get off the planet before it exploded. When they were gone, Sarah turned back towards the surging power battery. If she didn't do something quick, it would go nuclear in about a minute. She wouldn't let that happen, though. She'd give her friends the time they needed... she had to.

Holding her ring forward, she took in a deep breath and formed a domed barrier around the central power battery. She instantly felt the strain of withholding that much energy inside such a small space, but she knew she couldn't let up. Not yet. Though the effort brought her to her knees and caused her nose to start bleeding, she didn't lose focus. She contained the battery's power fluctuations as long as she could... as long as she could bear. Her final moments would not be wasted.

---

"Everyone buckle up and hold on!" Cyborg yelled, as they boarded the Javelin. He was already in the cock pit, starting up the systems taking off. "This is going to be a bumpy ride!"

Kid Flash appeared, looking around curiously. "What's going on? Where's Sarah?" The others just gave him a quiet look, a look with a meaning that could not be mistaken. He immediately lowered his gaze. "Oh..."

"Sarah..." Starfire uttered, sitting motionlessly on the floor. The Javelin was rocketing towards space now, exiting Oa's atmosphere. They had to get far enough away so the planet explosion wouldn't also destroy their tiny little vessel. After a few moments, Starfire suddenly got up and ran to the window, pressing her hands and face against it, watching as Oa began to grow smaller in the distance. "She... she'll make it. She'll get away. I know she will... she always does. She... she'll be okay."

At that very instant, there was a blinding flash of light. Oa erupted in spectacular fashion, the explosion sending giant chunks of the planet spinning in all directions across space. While the other Titans bowed their heads, unable to watch, Starfire couldn't look away. Her futile hopes had just suddenly been ripped away, causing a heart wrenching, sinking feeling to sting the center of her chest.

"SARAH!!!" she screamed, her tone a mix of sorrow and agony. She collapsed to her hands and knees, staring at the floor as she began to weep uncontrollably, her entire life destroyed in a single flash of light.

Aside from Starfire's wails of anguish, the ship was quiet. The Titans allowed an air of silence, none of them able to say anything. Nothing they could say would make a difference, anyway. Sarah, one of their own, was gone. She'd given her life for all of theirs, a sacrifice worthy of a hero. And in the end, that's exactly what she was, exactly what she'd always worked her hardest to be.

A true hero.