Sword of The Lanterns

Chapter Nineteen- Cocky

Jaina looked over at her desk, covered with homework she still needed to do.

"Just one thing." Jaina walked over to the desk and picked up the hilt of her laser sword.

"This," She turned it on with a snap-hiss, "is called a lightsaber."

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"Jaina!"

A few days later, Jaina shoved her homework to the side and ran to answer her mentor's call.

"Hal!" She flew down the hall and threw her arms around him.

Hal chuckled and ruffled her hair. "Sorry I haven't checked in with you in a couple of days. How's school?"

Jaina smiled. "It's okay. I definitely prefer going on missions with the team, though."

Hal mimed wiping sweat from his forehead, "Well it looks like I came in at the right time!"

"Really? What do you mean by that?"

Hal shrugged. "John's back on Oa for a mission, and Doctor Polaris is kind of trying to take apart my city as we speak. You don't, by any chance...want to help-"

"Race you to the tubes!" Jaina cried. Her ring flew out of her room and onto her finger as she ran towards the mission room.

"Hey, no fair!" Hal joked, flying after her.

Jaina almost made it to the tubes when she realized she had no idea where to zeta to.

Hal chuckled, typing a few commands into the computer. "We're going to Coast City." He informed Jaina smugly as she out on her uniform.

"Recognize: Green Lantern, 05. Girl Lantern, B10."

Jaina hardly had the opportunity to appreciate the city before multiple screams split the air and several civilians ran past the alleyway where the secret zeta-tubes were hidden.

Hal grabbed her shoulder, however, before she could fly off.

"Brief rundown: Polaris has the power to control magnetism, and since most of these buildings are made of metal, he tears them down quite easily. Before you take him head-on, make sure the people are out of the buildings first and that no one will get crushed if it falls."

"Avoid metal, get the people outta the way. Got it." Jaina nodded.

"And one more thing," Hal pointed to the green mask over his face that reminded her of Robin's. "Batman insists on hiding your secret identity." He took off to meet Polaris, 

Jaina rolled her eyes, but shone the light of her ring on her face. In a moment, she had a mask just like Hal's.

"Of course, anything to make the great-and-powerful Batman happy," Jaina mocked as she took to the sky, scanning the mess of the city. "Why is everyone so kriffing afraid of him?"

Hal was trying to hit a floating man who only could be Polaris with a giant green hammer, but Polaris waved his hand, and several support beams flew out of a nearby apartment building, bending to form a hammer that Polaris used to sort of fence with Hal.

Jaina inwardly groaned, remembering what Hal said. She wanted to get in on the action too, but Hal did tell her that the people came first. 

She used her ring to create a giant platform, and several little arms that grabbed falling civilians. PArents tried to calm down their children, and teenagers stared up at her in shock.

"Okay, okay, now where to put them," she murmured, looking around wildly.

At the edge of the city was a long strip of land, a runway for taking off.

As she flew to the empty spot far from the wreckage, she saw a single woman running out to meet her.

"Who are you she asked?" Sounding braver than those Jaina had rescued.

Jaina shrugged. "They call me Girl Lantern."

Before the woman could ask any more questions, Jaina's ring began to beep and vibrate loudly, and she dropped to the ground. Thankfully, she wasn't too far off the ground, and her mask and uniform stayed on.

"Kriff," She growled. She should have charged the ring before she left.

Now she was stuck, a from what she could see at this distance, Hal was staring to lose his fight against Doctor Polaris.

Jaina looked around. At one end of the runway was a small squad of ships, lying unattended. 

She turned tot he woman, assuming that she was in charge of this runway and the nearby hanger where Jaina could see more ships.

"Hey, lady, do you mind if I borrow a few of those ships?"

"Well, yes, but, they're still experimental, they're not even fueled!"

"Not a problem for me!" Jaina yelled over her shoulder, already halfway down the runway.

"Anakin, you flake, if you're there I'm gonna need your help," She muttered through gritted teeth. With her ring lacking charge, she used the force to push herself off the ground and land in the cockpit of the nearest ship.

"Okay..." She'd only seen a brief look at the controls on "her" ship, which was being examined by Batman at the League's Watchtower, and these controls were nothing like them.

She forced her breathing to stay even. Without the protection of her ring, this could get her killed.

But she didn't need the ring. She had the force.

"This one turns off the brakes," she flipped a small switch, and felt her craft give a little lurch forward.

"Nice," She could feel Anakin's excitement within her, and reached out through the force to two more of the waiting planes. By now, everyone was cleared off the runway, giving Jaina a clear shot.

She inhaled deeply, and could feel Anakin reaching out to help her from beyond the grave. Somehow, she felt that deep within the force, someone else was helping her too.

The three ships shot down the runway with a scream, Jaina's plane at the front.

The end was approaching rapidly, and if they didn't take off in time, she could crash into the trees or the mountains just up ahead. Jaina braced her arms against the sides of the cockpit.

"Lift, lift, lift, lift!" She urged the planes.

She shot up into the air.

"Whew, all good so far," She used the force to carry the ships as a kid played with a model plane, heading towards Polaris and Hal.

Hal's jaw nearly dropped when he saw Jaina coming, and Doctor Polaris turned, the eyes in his mask narrowing. 

Jaina saw Polaris reach out in slow-motion, Hal powerless to stop him. She urged the ships to go faster.

Polaris's fingers began to curl, and the ships on her right and left inched closer to her ever so slightly.

"Now!" Anakin told her. Jaina leaped out of the cockpit, using the force to blast a hole in the glass, and barreled towards Polaris. The force kept her airbourne as he crushed her ships into a giant metal ball and let it drop. With Polaris distracted, Jaina was able to punch him in the head and knock him out. With a little help from the force.

Hal caught them both on a green platform. "You forgot to charge your ring, didn't you?"

"Shut up and let's bring this guy in." Jaina stood up and crossed her arms.

"Don't worry, Polaris has a one-way ticket to Belle Reve penitentiary. But did you have to use Ferris Aircraft planes?"

Jaina looked down to what remained of her ships. "What's wrong with that?"

Hal sighed. "My boss is gonna be so peeved."