Issue #207 FDC presents the sense shattering conclusion of the Quwardian saga “ENDGAME” by TJ Burns and Dale Glaser

Hal Jordan's reflexes almost never failed him. They had served him well as both a test pilot and a member of the Green Lantern Corps, and they served him now, as he shot into the air in Sinestro's chamber to avoid a blast of crackling green energy fired by Parallax. The blast obliterated the long table across which Jordan had been facing Sinestro moments before, and the room shook with the explosion. Hal Jordan was a true Green Lantern, chosen by Abin Sur's ring because he was completely without fear. Yet looking down at Parallax, a twisted, destructive vision of himself in militaristic armor, and knowing his doppelganger was consumed with erasing Jordan himself from existence, Hal Jordan felt as close to unnerved as he ever could. More than that, however, he felt enraged, by all of the cosmic crimes already committed by Parallax. The time for Sinestro's blasphemous creation to pay for them was now.        Jordan leveled his ring at Parallax and was suddenly surrounded by a translucent green Sherman tank, which unleashed a ferocious volley of emerald cannon fire. Parallax withstood the firestorm and then raised his own hands toward Jordan, firing a monstrous blast of his own. Hard-edged green light slashed through the tank and enveloped Jordan's body, tearing at his flesh. Jordan willed his ring to condense the Sherman tank down into a forcefield around his body capable of repelling the attack and weathered the onslaught. In spite of the stories he had been told of Parallax's exploits, he was still amazed at the sheer amount of raw power aimed at him. He knew he would have to open himself up to attack from it in order to remain on the offensive. He took the chance, raining down a shower of emerald meteorites on Parallax while the green energy assaulted his body.        Sinestro, forgotten for the moment by his arch-foe Jordan and his duplicate, Parallax, turned to his adviser. "Let us away, Magot. Jordan has signed his own death warrant facing Parallax here. I would love to stay and watch his demise, but the ruler of Qward must attend to the matters of the state." With that Sinestro walked to one of the tapestries lining the back wall of the room and lifted it. He pushed on the wall and a hidden door swung open, admitting Sinestro and Magot and then closing behind them.        Jordan relentlessly kept up his counterattack, ignoring the pain Parallax was inflicting on him. The meteorites continued to bombard Parallax, and for one fraction of a second he was off-balance. Jordan reacted at the speed of thought, creating a pair of manacles that completely enclosed Parallax's hands. The deluge of burning energy ceased at last, contained in the power ring's projections. Parallax scowled and increased the intensity of the energy flowing from his hands. Hal grimaced, resisting with every reserve of his willpower. Parallax roared and glowed with a blinding green aura as the manacles were obliterated by an explosive outpouring of energy. The explosion filled the entire room, knocking Jordan to the ground.        "No one will contain me!" Parallax screamed at Jordan. "Especially not a mockery like you! I reject my past as a whipping boy for the Oans! And I will not suffer to be reminded of it! Hal Jordan has become Parallax - Green Lantern has already been destroyed! And you, impostor, are nothing but a distasteful memory to be destroyed as well!" Another wave of green energy bit mercilessly into Jordan's body from every side.        Dear God, that thing actually believes it's the real Hal Jordan, he thought to himself. It means to kill me and it seems to be outgunning me enough to do it. What do I do now?                                                                                                                                    Lord Malvolio of the Green Flame screamed incoherently at Alan Scott, the Sentinel, while a barrage of green energy bolts flew from the gray-haired man's hands toward Scott. The Sentinel was able to avoid the blasts and return fire, but he quickly realized that Malvolio was able to withstand his most severe attacks. Scott resolved to attack his opponent more psychologically.        Turning in mid-air, Scott sent a jet of jade flames at the gel-filled globes flanking the room. "If there's such a thing as science going too far, I'd say this is it," Scott proclaimed as the globes began to burst one after the other like a string of firecrackers. Translucent gel splattered the walls and the whitish forms held in the center of each globe spilled out onto the floor. Some of them twitched on impact.        Malvolio was non-plussed, launching another attack directly on Scott. "Imbecile! Do you think I care for those insignificant lumps of flesh? For Sinestro's little pets?" A green blast caught Scott's head and knocked him from the air. "My goal now is nothing less than your annihilation!"        John Stewart, meanwhile, was still standing in stunned silence as the clone of Katma Tui approached him, with a slow and somehow intimate gait. "My dearest John," she purred. "I've missed you so. We belong together, you and I. And now we can be."        Stewart continued to stare in disbelief, and the duplicate Katma Tui closed the distance between them. She placed both hands on his chest and leaned in so close that her lips brushed his ear as she whispered. "Leave them, John. Leave them all behind and join me. We two will be Sinestro's greatest generals, leading his Corps to glory. Let us eradicate all traces of the old Green Lantern Corps, all the bad memories of the time we were apart. Join Sinestro. Join me…" she pleaded, drawing out the last word wantonly.        "I … I …," Stewart tried to answer. He pulled his own head back to look into her deep black eyes. He laid his hand along her dark red cheek. "Katma …," he sighed.                                                                                                                                    Kyle Rayner sat on the floor of the headquarters of the Qwardian resistance, a large pad of paper balanced on his knees and a charcoal pencil in his hand. He had been working at top speed in the hours since the other Green Lanterns had left, and actually found himself enjoying the chance to put his artistic skills to the ultimate test: political propaganda for a just cause. It wasn't easy, he mused, as he tried out dozens and dozens of design ideas, from simple symbols to photo-realistic portraits, striving for something resonant. He had generated a couple of solid pieces of imagery that he thought might be useful in a post-revolutionary environment, and had turned those over to Rori Dag. Now he was up against a creative block, and still without the perfect revolutionary icon. Rayner was extraordinarily frustrated.        Still, it wasn't all bad. A beautiful Qwardian girl about his age had taken a liking to him and sat beside him, her head resting on his shoulder. She watched him sketch out ideas and asked him a seemingly endless stretch of questions. Rayner hardly minded, since she seemed so enthralled with him.        As Rayner began letting the hand holding the pencil wander across the pad of its own accord, hoping for sub-conscious inspiration, the Qwardian girl snuggled up closer to him and asked, "So you are one of the Justice League, as well as one of the Green Lantern Corps?"        Rayner nodded slightly. "Yeah, the current JLA, anyway. And," - he started to say he wasn't technically a member of the Corps, just the most recent Green Lantern, but then he turned his head and saw her staring up at him adoringly. "And a member of the Green Lantern Corps, that's me, yes ma'am." He smiled at her.        The girl did not break eye contact with him as she said softly, "You must be very brave."        Kyle could feel himself reddening slightly. He looked down at his pad, hoping he would see something he could flesh out into a symbol for the revolution. Nothing. He shook his head.        Kilowog was hard at work in the next room, modifying some of the heavier weaponry available to the resistance. Most of their armory was old and in some state of disrepair, but it had all been plundered from the Weaponers of Qward, and the technology at the weapons' foundations was sound. Kilowog worked quickly, combining some weapons into more potent offensive units, stripping down others for more rapid speed of fire. Two field leaders of the resistance, Ba'urr and Lanos, watched Kilowog with great interest as he worked.        "I ain't gonna be able to give you much training on these weapons, so I'm just tryin' t'make 'em as simple to operate as possible," Kilowog explained.        "We are grateful for your help, Green Lantern," Lanos assured him.        "Don't thank me just yet," Kilowog replied as he fastened another cartridge on a rifle.        Rayner tore the sheet of paper off the pad, crumpled it up, and threw it across the room. The girl beside him shifted slightly and inquired in a concerned tone, "Am I … distracting you … Green Lantern?"        Rayner turned his head towards hers, his face very near to her own. "No," he explained, "not … too much …"        "Do you believe the resistance will really be able to overthrow Sinestro?" the girl asked him pleadingly.        "Yes … of course," Rayner insisted. He brought his mouth closer to hers as he spoke.        "Do you know what I need … right now?" the girl said as her eyes closed.        "Yes," Rayner said as he covered her mouth with his own.        The girl returned his kiss, raising both of her hands to his shoulders. Rayner could feel their warmth through his costume - warmth which turned to searing heat as twin geysers of flame erupted from the girl's palms and blew Rayner across the room. Rayner impacted against the far wall and collapsed to the floor.        "I need you dead, boy … you and the rest of this pitiful 'resistance'!" The girl stood up and was now wearing a costume of deep crimson and bright scarlet with patterns of flames. Her hair had transformed from black to scarlet as well. The costume reminded Rayner of an old Justice Leaguer, Fire; it was incredibly similar to hers, except that the color scheme was red rather than green.        The girl touched a button on her costume's belt. "This is Fiero," she said loudly, "requesting Crime Syndicate back-up. We have the seditionists in their own nest."        Rayner began to get to his feet as Kilowog, Ba'urr and Lanos ran in from the other room. Fiero aimed a column of red fire in their direction, and Kilowog raised a green force shield in time to deflect the flames. More resistance members were running to the scene from throughout the base.        Suddenly the ceiling of the room exploded inward and figures began dropping in. A man in black and white hooded tunic carrying a bow and arrows was first, followed by a massive humanoid thing which appeared to be a composite of different materials, a young girl wearing nothing more than a blue bikini and blue high heel boots, and a man in a silver and gray bodysuit with insect-like mandibles on either side of its cowl. Bringing up the rear came a narrow faced man who stretched his distended torso through the hole in the ceiling and hovered like a jungle snake hanging from a branch. Kilowog and Rayner glanced at each other as the villains assembled, and conveyed their readiness to fight just as the Syndicators attacked.                                                                                                                                    The Chief Weaponer of Qward and Guy Gardner faced off with reckless abandon in the main armory room, exchanging one weapon for the next in rapid succession as they drew on the seemingly endless cache. Gardner had quickly discarded his original rifle as he realized it was intended for use against unarmored opponents, trading up to an electron discharger which he brought to bear on the Chief Weaponer.        "Welcome to McQward's, can I fry you with this?" Gardner hollered as the discharger fired a series of lightning bolts at the Chief Weaponer. The Chief Weaponer dove out of the way and rolled to his feet with a shoulder-mounted cannon aimed at Gardner. The cannon fired and a projectile sphere tore through the air at Gardner.        Gardner moved slightly to one side, keeping the Chief Weaponer in his sights. Gardner was caught off guard when the projectile sphere rapidly expanded in size. He was still in its widening path when the sphere struck him in the shoulder, knocking him to the ground. Gardner's arm was pinned to the floor under the bulk of the sphere.        The Chief Weaponer raised his gauntlet at Gardner and approached the prone man, finally straddling him. With gauntlet pointed at Gardner's head, the Chief Weaponer smirked, "This little game ends now, intruder."        "Not even close," Gardner responded, bringing both legs up swiftly between the Qwardian's legs. The Chief Weaponer was carried over Gardner's head by the force of the blow, and sailed into a rack of guns against the far wall.        Gardner rolled his body toward the massive sphere and with his free arm pushed with all his might, rolling the sphere away and freeing his trapped limb. He looked around quickly as the Chief Weaponer began to rise, and spied a heavy gattling gun. Gardner seized the gattling gun and swung it around to fire on the Chief Weaponer.        The Chief Weaponer reeled under the fresh onslaught from Gardner and crashed into another wall-mounted display of weaponry. The Chief Weaponer looked up and snatched a pair of shock gloves from a hook on the wall, slipped them on and raised his hands at Gardner.        Gardner paused, finger tense on the trigger of the gattling gun, ready to shoot down whatever the Chief Weaponer threw at him next. But suddenly, Gardner flew through the air toward the Qwardian, losing his grip on his own weapon.        The Chief Weaponer laughed cruelly as Gardner was pulled into his grasp by the unseen force. As soon as the Chief Weaponer had one hand around Gardner's throat, he touched a button on the back of the glove which propelled Gardner through the air again, this time smashing through a door into a smaller room full of experimental weapons. Gardner hit the floor as weapons banged down all around him, practically burying him in a mound of destructive implements.        The Chief Weaponer moved quickly to gather several medium-sized firearms from around the room, and one socketed crossbar; he then snapped four guns into the sockets and pulled down a single firing mechanism from the underside of the crossbar. The Qwardian aimed the weapon assembly into the room Gardner lay in, and fired. Irradiation lasers, accelerated gravitons, plasma bolts and shrapnel rounds all streamed into the second room, destroying the weapons atop Gardner. In a few moments, a mighty explosion rocked both rooms as several of the weapons under fire set off a chain reaction of devastation. The Chief Weaponer of Qward smiled with satisfaction.                                                                                                                                    The main power battery of Qward stood in the center of Sinestro's secret inner sanctuary. Although Sinestro was convinced that Parallax had already torn Jordan to pieces, he cursed the untimely arrival of his arch-foe. Jordan might have brought the rest of those Green Lanterns with him, and they would no doubt cause him further inconveniences. They also had pushed the timetables forward on the end game, and Sinestro resented not being in complete control of the master plan he had striven to see through for so long.        Staring into the heart of the power battery, however, Sinestro was somewhat mollified. Within, floating in a stasis field of black energy, were twelve Guardians of the Universe, their energies being siphoned off by the battery. Sinestro was well pleased to see his former masters in inviolable service to his own designs. Swelling with confidence, Sinestro turned to face his army.        To Sinestro's left on the battery platform stood the core members of the Crime Syndicate of America - Ultraman, Superwoman, Owlman, Power Ring, and Johnny Quick. They had recovered from their defeat at the hands of the Green Lanterns on Earth, and were ready to prove their worth to Sinestro once again.        "Your fellow Syndicators will take care of the revolutionaries?" Sinestro asked idly.        "Yes," Owlman answered. "Fiero has been taken in by them and has their complete trust. Deadeye, Element Man, Frostbite, Scarab and Elasti-Man await only a signal from her to start the offensive which will wipe the resistance out."        "Excellent," Sinestro murmured as he stared out over his troops. Over 3,000 Anti-Green Lanterns stood before him, black power rings fully charged, in all shapes and sizes, all generated from the genetic templates of actual Green Lanterns that Sinestro had memorized while imprisoned in the Power Battery of Oa. Behind the Anti-Green Lantern Corps were thousands more Thunderers and Weaponers. The invasion of Earth was about to begin.        "My faithful legions!" Sinestro bellowed to the forces massed before him. "The hour of our ultimate victory is upon us! The Crime Syndicate will lead the Anti-Green Lantern Corps and the Qwardian Army to the great portal which connects our world to the Earth in the positive universe. When you pass through that portal you will be the most fearsome, unstoppable force that that world has ever seen, and your conquest will be as legendary as it will be swift and merciless! You will usher in a new age on Earth - the age of Sinestro!"        "SINESTRO!!!" the forces echoed back in an ear-splitting roar. Sinestro lifted his head slightly to the Crime Syndicate, who took to the air and began to fly out of the sanctuary, followed by the Anti-Green Lantern Corps in flight and the Thunderers and Weaponers marching behind on the ground.        Sinestro gazed with pride on his departing army. Timetables be damned. Victory was surely his.                                                                                                                                    Parallax's emerald armor was dented in a few places, and his left leg plate had been rent asunder. His once-billowy cape was now a tattered rag hanging limply at his shoulders. His stance betrayed the intense physical exertion he had been put through, and his eyes were dull with fatigue. He was in far better condition than Hal Jordan.        Jordan's uniform was almost completely shredded, and he bled freely from scratches and cuts covering his body. The flesh around his right eye was bluish-purple and swelling. He would have been lying on the floor, unable to summon the physical strength to stand, but Parallax had encased his hands and wrists in thick bands of green energy on each of the four corners of a glowing green X which floated above the floor of the room.        The room itself showed the distressed signs of Jordan and Parallax's battle, with the furniture shattered, the tapestries destroyed and outside sky visible through several holes blasted in the walls. The two combatants had both put their full power into the fight. Parallax had emerged as the victor.        "Do you yield now," Parallax demanded, "to the true Hal Jordan?"        I can't take any more physical punishment, Jordan thought. This maniac has taken everything I could throw at him. Time for something desperate. Jordan concentrated and willed his ring to create a mesmerizing pattern of greens all around himself and Parallax. The colors were so translucent as to be barely visible. Jordan began to speak.        "To the true Hal Jordan, I would yield," Jordan said.        After the ferocity of their battle, Parallax seemed taken aback by Jordan's sudden compliance. He probed his prisoner, "You cannot doubt that I am he …?"        Jordan began to increase the visibility of the patterned colors he had willed as he spoke. "The true Hal Jordan is a defender of all sentient beings, not an antagonist to them. For all his power, Jordan is a man, not a mad god with a twisted and self-absorbed agenda…"        "You try my patience, pretender!" Parallax boomed as he bowed the shape of the glowing green X, pulling Jordan's limbs in all directions and nearly breaking his back. The hypnotic colors in the air flickered, but Jordan maintained them and resumed speaking, ignoring the pain.        "Hal Jordan … is no puppet … especially not to … a vermin … like Sinestro!" Jordan was fighting for breath as he finished the last words.        Parallax began to growl another response but could not form the words. The tension on Jordan's limbs relaxed. Finally Parallax said, "I am no puppet of Sinestro's," he insisted, but with a trace of uncertainty in his voice.        "That would be the only way to explain," Jordan continued, "how a man like Hal Jordan could be anything like you. Sinestro corrupts all that he touches. If you truly were Hal Jordan, you would have no part of anything Sinestro orchestrated. Unless it is too late for you to even realize that any more. In which case, Hal Jordan may as well already be dead."        A look of confusion passed over Parallax's face in an instant, and then was replaced with unbridled malice as he stared long and hard at Hal Jordan.                                                                                                                                    "Katma … my Katma …," John Stewart said as he ran his palm slowly down Katma Tui's face. Stewart's hand reached the doppelganger's shoulder and he twisted her black hair into his fist. "MY Katma would never have betrayed the Corps. It meant everything to her, right up to the day she died," Stewart said as he pulled hard on the clone's hair, earning a look of seething hatred in return. "Thank you for removing any doubt which might have held me back from beating the holy hell out of you."        The duplicate Katma Tui hissed through bared teeth and created a black fist from her power ring to knock Stewart across the room. Stewart rolled with the blow, came up to his feet and unleashed a wave of emerald energy that struck the clone and drove her backwards, embedding her into the far wall. By the time the energy receded, the false Katma Tui was unconscious.        "Sinestro probably believed that was actually going to work," Stewart said to himself as he crossed the distance to the clone. Pulling the black ring off her finger, he added to himself, "Arrogant bastard."        Stewart realized that Malvolio and Alan Scott were still engaged in combat. Taking to the air, Stewart sized up the situation. Malvolio and Scott were at close range to one another, locked in a hand-to-hand grapple, each one glowing with his own unique energy. The advantage shifted slightly back and forth but neither man would submit.        Stewart brought his hands in front of him and fired his emerald energy blast at Malvolio's back. The gray-haired man went down on his knees immediately. Stewart blasted at him again and Scott added his own jade flames. Malvolio slumped to the floor of the lab, unmoving.        "Thanks, John," Scott expressed his appreciation as Stewart landed beside him.        "No problem. Alan, I really need you to fly back to the resistance camp. I could use Kilowog's help making sense out of these containment chambers holding the other Green Lanterns. I'll try to figure them out on my own, but could you relay the message to him?" Stewart requested.        "Sure," Scott answered. He started towards the vent through which they had entered, then stopped himself. "I suppose there's not so much reason to be stealthy now." He flew directly towards one of the windows to the exterior, blew it apart with a jet of jade flame, and sped off through the air.        Stewart approached the row of containment chambers, searching for some master control to release the beings trapped inside them. "Don't worry guys, we'll have you out of here soon," he promised.                                                                                                                                    The Chief Weaponer of Qward waited for the smoke to clear from the auxiliary room before going in to retrieve the body of the intruder. So much ordnance had gone up in the explosion that the plumes of smoke continued to pour out for some time. Finally, the Chief Weaponer was able to make out faint shapes through the haze. A yellow glow began to shine through the smoke as well.        Before the Chief Weaponer could react, Guy Gardner barreled through the air at him, encased in a yellow forcefield generated by a power ring. Gardner collided with the Chief Weaponer, sending the Qwardian sprawling onto the floor.        "Impossible!" the Chief Weaponer spat at Gardner. "That ring would need to be powered by draining a Green Lantern's energy! It shouldn't work for you at all!"        "Awww, ain't that just too bad?" Gardner laughed. "Guess you don't get many Vuldarians with their own internal energies test driving your rings, now, do ya?" With that Gardner raised the hand wearing the yellow ring and created two enormous pairs of yellow nunchuckas. The swinging energy weapons battered the Chief Weaponer senseless in a matter of moments.        "Damn, it's good to be back," Gardner said with pleasure. "Now that I'm armed, I gotta find Hal again. God knows what he's gotten up to." Gardner flew out of the room and into the corridor, retracing his steps to the point where he and Jordan had parted company.                                                                                                                                    There was little room to maneuver in the cramped headquarters of the resistance. The Syndicators had crowded in through the ceiling and were slowly making their way toward the hallway door to continue their invasion of the base. Kyle Rayner realized this and aimed his power ring at the door, creating a green replica of a bank vault door over the exit. In close quarters, he hoped the villains would only get in each other's way, and he and Kilowog would be enough to stop them.        Deadeye aimed his bow at Kilowog and reached into his quiver for arrows. He brought forth three with yellow razor-sharp arrowheads, nocked them and let them fly at the big alien, shouting, "How do you like the taste of these, Lantern?"        Kilowog brought up his ring hand and a flat, wide ribbon of energy emanated from his power ring. The leading surface of the ribbon was tapered like the edge of a sword, and it passed under the arrows' heads and rolled upwards, slicing the feathers from the tails of the bolts. With no stabilizers the arrows veered wildly and missed Kilowog. The ribbon of energy continued up to the ceiling of the room and then rolled down again, plowing into Deadeye's head and smashing the archer to the ground.        Ba'urr and Lanos retreated into the adjoining room and returned a moment later with weapons that Kilowog had been modifying. They fired into the midst of the Syndicators, knocking down Fiero and Scarab with pulse bursts of energy. Frostbite dove out of the way, towards Rayner; Elasti-Man twisted his body to avoid the shots; Element Man simply took each pulse burst that hit him with no reaction.        Frostbite landed on her hands and knees, looking up at Rayner expectantly. She locked eyes with him and rocked on her knees, scantily-clad hips swaying back and forth. She was cute, Rayner had to admit. But he was also getting practiced at identifying the Justice League counterparts of the Crime Syndicate. Somehow this little sex kitten was a Qwardian version of sweet, shy Ice, Guy Gardner's dead girlfriend. Rather than being enticed by Frostbite's bodily undulations, Rayner was only grateful Gardner was nowhere nearby to have to contend with this particular reminder of his lost love.        "You must be freezing," Rayner half-smiled as he turned his power ring on Frostbite. The green energy formed around her in the shape of a gigantic, puffy hooded parka. Rayner could see Frostbite's face twisted with rage as she struggled to escape, but the rest of her body was completely enclosed in the oversized winter coat, which rose off the ground and held Frostbite in midair. Rayner reached up with his free hand, grabbed the green drawstrings beneath the hood and pulled them hard. The opening of the hood constricted and Frostbite was completely enclosed.        Elasti-Man stretched toward Kilowog, as Element Man marched slowly in the direction of Ba'urr and Lanos. Ba'urr and Lanos fired their weapons repeatedly at the advancing patchwork man, to no effect. Kilowog, meanwhile, was trying unsuccessfully to land a single blow on Elasti-Man with the green fist created by his power ring.        "Hold still, ya slippery poozer!" Kilowog commanded.        "Sounds like somebody's got a temper," Elasti-Man taunted. "You better be careful, that could make you lose your perspective!" With that last word Elasti-Man speedily stretched out his index finger and poked Kilowog in one eye. Kilowog growled angrily, and with remarkable speed for his size reached up and grabbed the elongated finger in his massive fist. He reached out with his other hand and grabbed Elasti-Man's hand, and slowly began pulling on Elasti-Man like a rope, hand over hand.        Elasti-Man responded by stretching in the opposite direction. "I can keep this up all day if you can!" the Syndicator laughed.        While he tried to reel in Elasti-Man's arm, Kilowog willed his ring to make two columns of energy along the length of the room's floor, on either side of Elasti-Man's body. With another mental command the columns leapt to the air and met on either side of Elasti-Man's head, which was crushed between them. His distended body went limp, and Kilowog dropped his arm to the floor.        Element Man had closed the distance between himself and the Qwardian field leaders, and he formed each of his hands into the head of an oversized sledgehammer. Ba'urr and Lanos barely evaded the blows as the hammer-hands crashed down, smashing part of the wall and floor into rubble. Element Man turned around to continue his unhurried pursuit.        Rayner and Kilowog held their power rings at the ready as Element Man began to traverse the room again. As the Syndicator passed under the hole in the ceiling, a cascade of jade flames poured in and engulfed him. Element Man slumped to the floor as Alan Scott flew into the room.        "Did I … miss something?" Scott asked dryly.        "Why, whatever do you mean?" Rayner retorted, just as he heard a loud thudding on the other side of the barrier he had placed across the entrance to the room. He willed the green vault door to disappear, and saw Rori Dag standing in the corridor, flanked by two resistance members.        "What has happened here?" Rori Dag asked cautiously.        "Just a few poozers who failed t'realize what it means when the rebels have GLs for allies," Kilowog answered.        Rori Dag nodded thoughtfully at that as he surveyed the unconscious bodies strewn across the room. Then he brought his attention back to the Green Lanterns before him. "We have just received reports from our agents afield. There is a great disturbance at Sinestro's temple, with many explosions seen from a great distance. Sinestro's army has been mobilized and now approaches the portal to Earth. We must mount a counter-offensive now, or never."        Ba'urr and Lanos were on their way out of the room before Rori Dag was finished speaking, and headed down the hallway calling out orders to the rest of the resistance. Alan Scott said, "Kyle and I will be able to lend our strength to your counter-offensive, Rori Dag. But Kilowog is needed elsewhere." Kilowog looked at Scott quizzically and Scott continued. "John and I found many members of the original Corps in the science facility, and he asked me to return here to tell you he needs your help freeing them."        Kilowog needed no persuading. "We'll catch up," was all he said as he flew out the hole in the ceiling.        Rori Dag looked back and forth between Scott and Rayner. "My friends, are you ready?"        Scott nodded. He looked at Rayner. "How about you, son?"        "Sure, sure," Kyle agreed. "Got shook up by a little lady trouble there, but I'm all right now …" Rayner trailed off as a thought seized him. "Hmmm, lady …."        "Kyle?" Scott asked.        "Yeah, let's go, guys. I think I finally got an idea." Rayner led the way down the hall.                                                                                                                                    Hal Jordan refused to look away from Parallax even as the doppelganger closed to within inches of his face. Jordan was eye to eye with madness personified, and yet refused to blink.        "Something has to give," Jordan said sternly as he and Parallax stared each other down. "You claim to be the true Hal Jordan. Yet you can't deny that you are a pawn in Sinestro's game yourself. And you agree that a pawn of Sinestro is something Hal Jordan would never be. So which of your beliefs is actually a lie?" The hypnotic green patterns in the air were flashing and swirling brighter than ever now, and Jordan could only pray that on some level he was affecting the monster before him.        "I say again that I am no pawn," Parallax hissed at Jordan.        "And yet you heard Sinestro speak to me when I arrived, describing how every thing Parallax has ever done has served Sinestro's own ends. Which brings us back to the very beginning, Parallax … or should I say, 'Paradox'?"        Parallax stepped back from Jordan, shaking his head. "Damn you! You confound my thinking! I require the proper time to make sense of all this!" With that, the air behind Parallax folded in on itself in a brilliant green warp. Parallax flew into the warp without a backward glance, and the fissure in the air sealed itself and left no evidence of his passing. The glowing green X to which Jordan was fastened evaporated as well, and Jordan tumbled to the floor.                                                                                                                                    The combined forces of the Qwardian resistance totaled nearly 250. Armed with the weaponry modified by Kilowog, they began a hasty march toward the portal to Earth in order to intercept Sinestro's army. Near the front of their ranks, Kyle Rayner and Alan Scott flew above them. Leading the way was a 150 foot tall green energy construct. It was a beautiful Qwardian woman with the wide eyes characteristic of that people. Rather than the destructive malice which resided in the eyes of most of Sinestro's followers, or the cowering fear of the terrorized populace of Qward, the eyes of the colossal woman shone with a confident gleam of victorious justice. She wore long flowing robes, and a crown atop her head. In one hand, raised high, she carried a blazing torch, and in the other, a long sword.        "Lady Liberty. Nice touch," Alan Scott complimented his friend.        "Hey, when all else fails, go with the time-tested, classic look," Rayner replied. He willed a tendril of energy out of the back of the energy construct, which coalesced into a microphone in Scott's hand. Speakers formed on the shoulders of the construct as well. "Time for you to do your thing," Rayner said to his companion.        Alan Scott had lived through war on his own world, as a broadcaster as well as a heroic masked man. He knew the words which people needed to hear in order to fight the good fight. Scott brought the energy construct microphone to his mouth and began to speak.        "Citizens of Qward!" Scott's amplified voice boomed out over the surrounding terrain. "The time has come for you to choose your own destiny, and live in fear no longer! Join your countrymen who march against the oppressive rule of Sinestro! Join them and be free!"        As Scott continued to speak, varying the message slightly with each repetition, Qwardians began to answer the call. Their numbers were few; Sinestro's rule had instilled a deep and abiding fear in most of the populace. But some were beckoned by the promise of freedom, and were rewarded with rifles from the resistance's stockpile as they fell in rank with them.        Soon the stone structure which housed the portal to Earth was visible on the horizon to the west, as well as Sinestro's army approaching the portal from the east. By the time Sinestro's Army was in sight, there were nearly 400 Qwardians ready to meet them. They were outnumbered more than 10 to 1. But Rori Dag, Ba'urr and Lanos unhesitatingly led their forces forward to intercept the mighty war machine which marched under Sinestro's banner.        "For Qward!" Rori Dag cried out, setting off at a run for Sinestro's army's flank. The resistance members added their voices to Rori Dag's and all ran forward, weapons firing. Kyle Rayner and Alan Scott flew above them, closing on the opposing force.        Ultraman took to the air and began barking orders. "Continue to the portal! Syndicators, and you," - he gestured at ten of the Anti-Green Lanterns floating above the army - "follow me!"        Ultraman, Superwoman, Power Ring and the doppelganger Lanterns streaked airborne across the field toward the resistance, while Owlman and Johnny Quick followed on the ground. The Qwardian resistance members fired on them as they approached, but the blasts were deflected by the black energy of the Anti-Green Lanterns' rings. Rayner and Scott braced themselves for the villains' approach.        Superwoman barreled toward Rayner, fists clenched and ready to strike. Rayner raised his ring and generated a gigantic heart-shaped box in the air between them. Superwoman pulled herself up short.        "I'm just so happy to see you, gorgeous!" Rayner called out to the female Syndicator. "This is just my little way of saying you're a real sweet thing!" With that the box rolled over Superwoman's head and swung open, allowing huge green chocolates to fall out and batter her. Kyle controlled the motion of each energy candy with his willpower and soon had overwhelmed Superwoman and driven her to the ground.        Ultraman turned sharply in mid-air to avoid a stream of jade flames thrown by the Sentinel, then swooped in behind the elder Lantern and clasped him in a crushing bear hug. "I won't give you a chance to shoot me down with any of that wretched magic this time, old man!" Ultraman growled, increasing the pressure on Scott's ribcage with his powerful arms.        "Son … they might grow 'em … big where you come from … but they don't … grow 'em … too bright!" A nimbus of deep green fire exploded all around Scott's body, radiating outward in a flash. Ultraman howled as the magical flames burned through his defenses, then plummeted out of the sky, along with two duplicate Green Lanterns who were hovering nearby; a human-sized orange lizard and a giant eye surrounded with green tentacles fell toward the ground as Scott's magic disrupted their power-rings' black energies.        Johnny Quick was running through the ranks of the Qwardian resistance at blinding speed, throwing superspeed punches faster than the eye could follow. Resistance members were dropping rapidly. Rayner saw this and pointed his ring at Johnny Quick's feet, creating a narrow ramp track that rose up out of the midst of the resistance. Rayner wove the ramp through the air from doppelganger to doppelganger, as Johnny Quick continued to run and punch, and four Anti-Green Lanterns had been clubbed by Johnny Quick's blurred fists before the youngest Syndicator was fully aware of whom he was attacking. Clones of Arkis Chummuck, Laira, Varix and Squagga reacted mercilessly by smashing columns of black energy into Johnny Quick. Caught in the crossfire of four power rings, Johnny Quick was knocked out, and Rayner allowed him to fall to the ground.        A rush of green flames against his back caused Rayner to turn around abruptly, only to see Alan Scott glaring at him and continuing to blast him with jade fire. Rayner shielded himself with energies from his ring and looked down at the ground. He could make out Owlman standing below with both hands raised to his temples, staring intently at the Sentinel.        Rayner split his attention between the green umbrella that shielded him from Scott's assault and a new energy construct on the ground below. Rayner willed a tremendous green field mouse into existence beside Owlman, and the energy animal lowered its head and took the upper half of Owlman's body into its mouth. The mouse shook the Syndicator back and forth and then spit him down into the ground, unmoving.        Rayner turned back to Scott, who was shaking his own head as if to clear it. "You OK, Alan?"        Scott nodded. "Getting there. Not a pleasant experience."        "You're telling me," Rayner agreed. "Uh-oh. What's going on now?"        The resistance members were trading shots with the remaining Anti-Green Lanterns, while Power Ring had flown back to the army, and was calling out to the forces below him now. The ground troops turned and began to sprint toward the resistance, and the thousands of doppelganger Lanterns flew through the air to cross the field as well. Rayner and Scott looked at each other with concern as the army bore down on them.                                                                                                                                    Kilowog flew in through the broken window of the cloning laboratory and found John Stewart concentrating intently on the containment chambers. Stewart had switched the top halves of the chambers from opaque to transparent, and now pored over the sixteen capsules in search of the release mechanism. He looked up as the big alien from Bolivax Vik entered the lab.        "Kilowog, am I glad to see you," Stewart sighed. "Give me a hand figuring out how these work, huh?"        "Sure, John," Kilowog agreed as he approached. He reached the far end of the row and looked down at two pods. One contained a creature with an flattened spheroid body with a face on the front, two short arms protruding from the sides and three stubby legs descending from the underside. The other pod held a humanoid-shaped creature that appeared to be made of brown vegetable matter, with green leafy fronds for hair and one cyclopic eye. Kilowog stared with widening eyes.        "Galius Zed … Medphyll …," Kilowog breathed in wonder.        "Kilowog? You OK?" Stewart asked.        Kilowog snapped out of his reverie. "I … just didn't realize how much I missed 'em …" Kilowog set to the task of locating the containment chambers' controls. He soon realized they were separate from the pods themselves, and used his power ring to create a detection device that would identify the controls' location in the lab. Kilowog sensed them behind a wall panel near the door of the lab, and crossed the floor to it. He ripped open the panel and threw the sixteen main switches.        With a hiss of escaping air, the lids to the containment chambers began to rise. The Green Lanterns held within began to show signs of life again and slowly lifted themselves out of the pods. Stewart and Kilowog helped them as best they could, steadying those who were unsure on their feet, ready to take action if any seemed to be suffering ill effects from their captivity. However, the sixteen Lanterns seemed relatively unharmed as they emerged.        Kilowog and Stewart knew most of the Lanterns from the days of the Corps. The insectile Larvox, squat Galius Zed and plant-like Medphyll were among those, as well as Chaselon and Hollika Rahn, whose duplicates had appeared at Warrior's. They were joined by the robot Stel, the small grasshopper Xax, the diamond-skinned humanoid Tuebeen, and the red-scaled serpent known as Zghithii. Apros of the Green Lantern Honor Guard, with his light brown pumpkin-shaped body and swarm of tentacles, was present, along with Voz, who resembled a hunchbacked grizzly bear, and M'Dahna, a large manta-ray shaped creature.        Four of the Green Lanterns were new to Stewart and Kilowog, who had been exchanging greetings with old friends. Kilowog and Stewart approached these four: two large, muscular men, the larger one with light purple skin and dark purple hair, the slightly smaller with darker purple skin and white hair and beard; a woman with orange skin, bright red hair and large, completely black eyes; and a silicon-white humanoid creature shaped like a bipedal frog with no eyes. All of the captives wore their Green Lantern uniforms, but the frog creature's sported a bell-shaped symbol on its chest rather than the customary lantern icon. Stewart said to the four, "I'm afraid we haven't had the pleasure yet. And you all are …?"        "I am called Adam," the light purple man answered.        "Umburu of Z'Nang," the darker man supplied his own name.        "Shilandra Thane," the woman replied.        "I think I heard o' these guys in the big Book on Oa, John," Kilowog said in response to the introductions.        The pale white alien said nothing, and John watched it with curiosity. Then he asked of it, "Rot Lop Fan?"        "Yes?" the creature responded.        "I thought I remembered the story from Katma," John said, nodding. "You're the Green Lantern who calls himself F Sharp Bell."        "I am, yes," Rot Lop Fan agreed.        "Well, look at this, we practically got a decent sized Corps right here," Kilowog commented. "Let's get out t'help the resistance if it ain't too late. They're tryin' t'hold off Sinestro's whole army."        None of us have our power rings, Apros communicated telepathically. We will all gladly fight Sinestro, but I am not sure how useful we are at present. The other captives nodded in agreement.        "Leave that to me," Stewart answered. He turned to Kilowog and said, "But I need you to do me one more favor, big guy." Stewart reached into his pocket and withdrew the black power ring he had taken from the clone of Katma Tui. "Take this, use it to find Sinestro's main power battery. Hopefully you can shut down the Anti-Corps at the source."        Kilowog took the ring, laid it atop his own green ring, and said, "Good plan, John. Hope it works." Kilowog mentally commanded his ring to find the source of the black weapon's power, and flew out the window in pursuit. Stewart turned back to the assembled Green Lanterns. "All right. Now let's see if my other big plan is any good …"                                                                                                                                    Countless black energy constructs filled the air under the command of the Anti-Green Lantern Corps. Alan Scott was shooting sweeping waves of jade flame from his hands in an attempt to melt most of them out of the sky, while Kyle Rayner used his power ring to generate a miniature replica of the entire Imperial fleet from Star Wars. Hundreds of emerald Tie Fighters and Star Destroyers intercepted black energy creatures and weapons, and fired on the duplicate Lanterns themselves. The overwhelming strain on both Scott and Rayner was evident in their faces.        Below them, the resistance fighters battled the Thunderers and Weaponers. Qwa-bolts sizzled through the air and exploded in the midst of the rebelling Qwardians. Laser fire burned through the air from the Weaponers' field guns, while the resistance returned fire with Kilowog's heavily modified firearms. Three Qwardian resistance members hoisted a huge cannon over their heads and fired a supercharged plasma blast at their enemies, taking out scores of Weaponers at once. Thunderers responded with a flurry of blazing lightning lances that utterly disintegrated the three heroic Qwardians.        "We're up against the wall, here, Alan!!!" Rayner yelled to the Sentinel.        "Don't give up!" Scott called back as he stirred his jade flames to greater heights.        Without warning a dark green vice appeared around Rayner's midsection and drove him down to the ground. Rayner turned his head and saw Power Ring floating above him.        "Whoever you are, you're no Hal Jordan," Power Ring spat at him.        "You know, I was really starting to think it wouldn't bother me anymore when people said that," Rayner growled. He raised his ring hand and created a green Death Star in the air in front of Power Ring, which fired its planet-destroying laser cannon on the Syndicator, knocking him back so far he became just a speck visible against the horizon.        "That's no moon, that's a space station," Rayner muttered to himself. "Unfortunately we need more than that right now. We need a miracle."                                                                                                                                    Guy Gardner zoomed down the hall and slowed as he approached a doorway that was scorched and warped as if several bombs had gone off inside the room beyond. Gardner looked in to see Hal Jordan rising to his feet, uniform tattered, skin bloody and bruised.        "Jeez, Jordan, you look like you've been through hell!" Gardner observed.        "Something like that, "Jordan groaned. He noticed the yellow aura surrounding Gardner. "Nice ring."        "Thanks," Gardner shrugged. "Where's Sinestro?"        "He made an exit while he had me distracted. He knows we're here now so we might as well be direct about finding him. Care to join me outside so we can properly tear this place apart?" Jordan inquired.        Gardner grinned. "Sounds good." Together they flew out a window at the end of the corridor and took up positions floating near the top of the Temple. Soon two massive energy constructs floated beside the Temple as well - an emerald bulldozer and a yellow steam shovel. Gardner and Jordan set about demolishing the building.        Within moments Kilowog flew into view and approached them as chunks of stone were dislodged and fell to the ground below. "Hey!" the big alien called out.        Jordan and Gardner halted their deconstruction. "What's going on, Kilowog?" Jordan asked.        "John gave me one o' the Anti-Rings," Kilowog said, brandishing his own ring with the smaller black ring affixed. "I'm tracin' the energy source to Sinestro's main battery. And it's tellin' me," Kilowog said as he pointed the ring down toward the ground at a spot a hundred yards to the right of the Temple, "that the battery is down there, under ground."        "And maybe that's where Sinestro is hiding, too," Jordan mused. "Lead on, my friend!"        Kilowog dove for the ground, preceded by a green energy drillhead ten feet across, as Jordan and Gardner fell in behind him with their own earthmoving implements. The ground gave way under the energy assault and seconds later the three Lanterns burst into Sinestro's inner sanctum. The tall black power battery sat in the middle of the chamber and Sinestro himself stood nearby.        "Jordan!" Sinestro shrieked as the Lanterns entered. "Can't I even trust you to die properly?!?"        Jordan had no reply. Instead he leveled his power ring at Sinestro and ran a giant battering ram into the Korugarian, knocking him into the far wall. Sinestro writhed between the battering ram and the wall for a moment, then used his own ring to create a swarm of golden termites which devoured the green construct. Sinestro flew into the air, sheathed in a yellow forcefield, and streaked toward Jordan. An enormous yellow fist beamed out of Sinestro's ring, then split into two fists which passed on either side of Jordan and caught Kilowog and Gardner by surprise, knocking both of them down.        Jordan formed a pair of green pincers with his ring and tore one of the tapestries off the wall, thanking Heaven for Sinestro's attachment to ostentatious decorations. Jordan quickly whipped the tapestry around Sinestro's forcefield, then generated an emerald net around his wrapped foe. Jordan flung the net from side to side, bashing Sinestro against the walls of the chamber again and again.                                                                                                                                    Kyle Rayner stood on the ground, too tired to remain in flight. He had cast a green geodesic half-dome over the Resistance to shield them from the Anti-Green Lantern Corps, while Alan Scott remained in the air engaging them as best he could. The Thunderers and Weaponers continued to exchange fire with the Qwardian resistance, a battle of attrition that would surely be survived only by the much larger army. Rayner tried to think of a way to turn the tide, but was out of ideas.        Suddenly, a huge green craft flew into sight. It resembled an oversized skiff, and as it approached Kyle could see that John Stewart was flying underneath it and generating the vehicle with his own energy. Standing atop the skiff, sixteen Green Lanterns were stationed at what appeared to be power batteries mounted along the edge. As the skiff flew into the midst of the Anti-Green Lantern Corps, the Green Lanterns placed their hands on the batteries and began projecting energy constructs to battle the doppelgangers. Glowing emerald light poured out and coalesced into exotic alien weaponry, massive avatars, pure columns of force, sonic beams and more, diverting the attention of the Anti-Green Lantern Corps. Stewart and Sinestro's former captives were woefully outnumbered, but the willpower of the imprisoned Green Lanterns was stronger than any clone's. Collectively they began to make their way through the thousands of duplicates, one vengeful blow at a time.        Scott observed the Green Lanterns' entrance with Stewart, and flew down to Rayner's side. "John looks exhausted," Scott told his companion. "He's putting forth almost as much Oan energy as a Guardian, but it's taking its toll on him. We have to make the most of the chance he's giving us." With that, Scott blasted a wall of jade flames at the Weaponers nearest him, knocking many of them down and slagging their weapons.        Rayner dropped the dome overhead and brought up his ring hand, creating dozens of life-sized green army men, generic American soldiers who waded into the ranks of the Thunderers and began slashing with green bayonets and lobbing green hand grenades. Rayner thought he knew how Stewart must feel, as his own head was beginning to throb from the exertions of the non-stop battle. The arrival of sixteen Green Lanterns was a boon to be sure, but would it be enough?                                                                                                                                    Eight golden spider legs clawed their way out of the tapestry and rent Jordan's net in half, freeing Sinestro. Jordan fired a volley of green missiles at the chamber ceiling, bringing a hail of stones down on Sinestro. Sinestro formed a giant yellow paddle and swatted most of the debris back at Jordan.        Below them, Kilowog and Guy Gardner climbed to their feet. "Guy," Kilowog said to his friend, "We gotta take out this battery, 'n stop Sinestro's GL clones from invading Earth!"        "No sooner said than done, buddy," Gardner agreed. They turned their rings on the black monolith and shone green and yellow light into its heart, building the energy levels within to the breaking point. The main power battery began to vibrate loudly, echoing through the chamber.        "NOOO!!!" Sinestro screamed, turning his full attention to Kilowog and Gardner. Jordan seized the moment, pulling loose a wide section of pipe from the hole in the ceiling and bashing Sinestro in the back of the head with it. Kilowog and Gardner continued pumping energy into the battery, which shuddered violently and then exploded in a fireball of black energy, sending shards of the battery casing flying through the air.                                                                                                                                    Without warning, the doppelganger Lanterns began falling from the sky, their black power rings dead and useless. The Green Lanterns continued bombarding them as they fell. Most of the duplicates lost consciousness as soon as they struck the unforgiving ground. Some splattered into protoplasmic goo, losing cohesion without the energy of their rings. The rest were swiftly dispatched by the efforts of Sinestro's captives.        Cheers went up from the decimated ranks of the Qwardian resistance, who redoubled their own assault on Sinestro's army. Slowly, inexorably, under fire from the resistance as well as Rayner and Scott, the Thunderers and Weaponers began to fall back.        "Kilowog did it," Stewart sighed with relief, straining to continue to supply power to his fellow Green Lanterns. "Now let's really rout these 'poozers'."        Stewart angled the skiff toward the remains of Sinestro's army, and the Green Lanterns aimed their batteries at the Qwardian soldiers. The Weaponers and Thunderers began to break ranks and scatter under the new wave of punishment. Soon a full, disorganized retreat was in effect.        The resistance was jubilant as Stewart set the skiff down and landed beside it. Rayner rushed to Stewart's side to support him. "Nice save, John. I really thought we were all gonna be taking dirtnaps in another couple of minutes."        "Have a little faith, Kid," Stewart smiled weakly. "We've got … powerful friends."        Rayner nodded. "So I see. You gonna introduce me, or should I just start walking around, shaking hands, paws, tentacles … uhh, whatever …"                                                                                                                                    Gardner and Kilowog lowered the arms that had shielded their eyes at the moment of the explosion. They could see Sinestro and Jordan continuing to brawl in midair above them. Jordan was wielding the section of pipe he had grabbed, while Sinestro had generated a huge yellow curved sword that swiped savagely at Jordan.        Gardner and Kilowog raised their ring hands in unison, but were startled by a voice behind them which said, "No, stay your hands. This fight is Jordan's alone."        Gardner and Kilowog turned around and saw twelve Guardians emerging from the smoldering wreckage of the battery. One of the small, blue-skinned men said, "You must not interfere." The gravity of the Guardian's voice would brook no argument.        "Give up, Jordan!" Sinestro bellowed as he swung wildly again with his sword. "Just lay down and DIE!"        "Not today, Sinestro," Jordan replied coolly. Summoning all of his willpower, Jordan sent the section of pipe flying and slid it over Sinestro's ring hand and up to Sinestro's elbow. With a mental command from Jordan the green energy bent the pipe in half, and Sinestro's arm bent along with it. The snap of bone was muffled by the pipe, but Sinestro's scream of agony reverberated in the chamber.        Sinestro faltered in midair as his own screams faded. The Korugarian tried to push more power into his forcefield, but the excruciating pain in his arm made it difficult to focus his thoughts on wielding the ring. The yellow aura flickered. Jordan sent an emerald boxing glove through one of the openings and smashed it across Sinestro's jaw. Sinestro reeled through the air, sinking lower.        A section of the ceiling exploded, and Power Ring flew into the chamber, followed by Superwoman and Ultraman.        "My Lord, we feared the battery had been lost when the Anti-Green Lanterns fell!" Power Ring hurriedly explained. "We were able to get away from the battle at the portal to see if you needed …"        "Get me out of here!" Sinestro commanded. Ultraman swept the room with his heat vision, blasting Jordan, Kilowog, Gardner and the Guardians, all of whom shielded themselves as best they could. Superwoman grabbed Sinestro around the waist and began to fly out of the room, followed by Ultraman and Power Ring.        "Another time, Jordan!" Sinestro laughed humorlessly as they disappeared at high speed.        Jordan watched the villains escape, then descended to the floor of the chamber.        "Jordan? You OK?" Gardner asked with concern.        "I'm fine, Guy." Jordan assured him. "Sinestro knew I had him beaten. I could see it in his eyes. We did what we came here to do. We stopped the invasion. Let's go home."                                                                                                                                    Spontaneous celebration had broken out among the resistance fighters, who were dancing and cavorting unabashedly as Jordan, Kilowog, Gardner and the Guardians arrived at the portal to Earth. Greetings were exchanged between the formerly captive Green Lanterns and the newcomers. Rori Dag broke away from his people and approached Jordan.        "Green Lantern, we cannot thank you enough. Today was a glorious day for the resistance. A victory against the forces of Sinestro!" Rori Dag was overflowing with joy.        "Yet Sinestro himself remains at large," one of the Guardians admonished the resistance leader. The Guardian and Rori Dag regarded each other carefully, and finally the Guardian broke the silence. "My brothers and I have consulted, Qwardian. We feel that perhaps the people of Qward require a Green Lantern of their own, especially so long as the renegade Sinestro roams free in this universe." With that the Guardian held out a small blue hand, in the palm of which sat a power ring. "You have proven yourself brave and honest; will you join the ranks of the Green Lantern Corps?"        Rori Dag reverently lifted the ring from the Guardian's outstretched hand and slid it on his finger. The Guardian offered Rori Dag a green power battery, which was accepted as well.        "Serve your people well, and oppose Sinestro. For that alone, the Guardians of the Positive Universe will owe you a debt of thanks," the Guardian said solemnly.        Rori Dag nodded, turned to face the resistance fighters and raised the ring and battery high. More cheers went up at the sight.        Hal Jordan smiled, then directed his next comment o the Guardians. "And the rest of the Green Lanterns here? Will there be rings for them as well?"        "Perhaps, Hal Jordan, perhaps," was the Guardian's answer. "Let us return to Earth. There is much to be resolved among this group upon our return to our own universe."        "I'm all for that," Kyle Rayner assented. "Time to hit the highway, folks."        The Green Lanterns and Guardians flew into the structure housing the portal to Earth.                                                                                                                             EPILOGUE        In a hidden room in the main scientific research facility on Qward, an assemblage of machinery nearly identical to the cloning laboratory hummed with electric life. Gears turned and tubes pumped fluid as thirteen gel-filled globes began to drain of their viscous contents. A small humanoid figure rested at the center of each globe, and came to its feet as the gel was evacuated. A wet hiss accompanied the unlocking of each globe, and the occupant of each stepped out onto the floor.        In unison, the diminutive figures crossed the room, to find a yellow robe laid out for each of them. They donned the robes, then formed a circle, thirteen small men with black skin, white tufts of hair on their large heads, thirteen ebony duplicates of the Guardians of the Universe. The air in the middle of the circle began to shimmer with a black energy … The End … For Now!!! AUTHORS' NOTES:        TJ and I are deeply indebted to the Book of Oa section of www.glcorps.org for a lot of the background material in this issue. Pretty much every Green Lantern named in this story has a bio in the Book of Oa. If you wonder who the heck someone was who got only a fleeting mention, or want to see a picture of some of these Green Lantern Corps members, go to the web page (it's listed in the FDC Links section) and see for yourself. NEXT ISSUE: Homecoming! After winning their freedom from Sinestro, the Guardians and the kidnapped Green Lanterns must determine what their futures hold. Will the Corps2K be disbanded before it begins? Plus, the return of a classic Green Lantern villain - looking for help from Green Lantern! The first major story arc has concluded but the ride only gets wilder from here!

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