The Next Generation

Fade heard Nightwing's plan and gave a simple nod. "Fair enough, I'll keep it in mind when we get there," he said as they continued to fly outwards. Damn it Starfire, how could she just charge off like that? Surely she didn't actually think that they could win did she? He understood her pain to a good extent, but throwing herself into a suicide situation was not the answer. "God be with us", Fade said more to himself than to anyone else.

----

"Oh God!", Fade shouted at the same time as Cyborg as they realized what was about to happen. That was not good timing on their parts, launching them backwards and across a lake and into a hill. Thank god for seat belts and ejector seats! As Fade was going crashing towards a tree he felt Raven's magic around him, causing him to move slightly so that he only ended up skidding towards the grounds rather than making direct contact with a tree. "Owwwww", he muttered as he ended up pushing himself up.

He looked around for the others who were scattered about in various directions. Without waiting for any sort of plan of attack he began to run towards the direction that Black Adam and Starfire were in. They needed to provide whatever support they could now or else she was toast. He just entered into his empowered form after all, and that form was much more terrifying to face.

Six Months Ago...

Sarah felt... so cold. Her entire body had gone numb, and she couldn't twitch even a muscle, no matter how hard she tried. It was dark, too... but that's because she realized she couldn't even open her eyes. She could feel enormous weight upon her, as well, as if buried under tons of dirt and rock. What had happened? The last thing she remembered, she was being held by Black Adam, and then he yelled out his word... and then blackness. Was she dead? Was this what it felt like to die? It wasn't so bad, she guessed... she couldn't even feel any pain.

But she didn't want to die. She couldn't. There were people depending on her. Her friends. her family. Starfire... she couldn't die here. She had to see Starfire again. She had to help her. She had to... had to... But she couldn't move. She didn't know where she was. She wanted to help everyone, and yet she couldn't do anything, and it was killing her!

That's when she saw the light. Even though her eyes were closed, a very distinct, bright green light appeared before her vision. And then there was the voice. It was soft, soothing even. And powerful. She could sense that. Like some kind of guardian angel, watching over her.

"Do you wish to die?" the voice asked, echoing inside of her mind.

"N-no..." Sarah responded. Her own voice sounded inside her head, since she couldn't move her mouth. "I don't... want to die."

"You have a strong will," the voice continued. "You are... deserving. It has been many years since the last, but you will be suitable. Do you wish to keep fighting?"

Sarah's answered was instant. "Yes. I must... keep fighting. I have to."

"Then say the oath," the voice commanded. "Say the oath, and join us on our home. We will make sure that you are able to keep fighting."

And so she said the oath. She didn't know how she knew it, but she did. Then, the next thing she knew, her body lifted into the air, surrounded by bright green light. In an instant, she was zipping through space and time, through the stars.

---

Current Day...

A bright green streak zipped across the sky like a comet. She knew where she had to be. She knew her friends were in danger. And now she had the means to help them. Six long months of training and recovery. Six long months away from her friends and family. It had been hard, painful even. But she had to. if she didn't, she wouldn't be able to help them now. But she had to get there in time... she would get there in time.

---

Black Adam walked up to the downed Starfire. She had escaped the brunt of the blast, but had still taken heavy damage. She couldn't even hold herself up now, but he took care of that by grabbing her neck and lifting her up. Her eyes were barely open. "I told you to stay away. I told you not to try and stop me. But you didn't listen. Now, you must suffer the consequences.

---

She put on a burst of speed. She could sense that time was running out. She could sense the evil. But she would not fail! At that moment, the oath passed through her head. That same oath that had brought her to a distant planet. The same oath that gave her a new chance at life. As she flew even faster towards her destination, she said the oath to herself again, to instill confidence and power in herself.

"In Brightest Day," she started.

The mountains were now coming into view. "In Blackest Night."

She flew low over a river now, kicking up mists of water as she went by. "No evil shall escape my sight."

There was the battlefield. "Let those who worship evil's might..."

And there was Black Adam. He had Starfire by the throat. But he would not succeed. She would make sure of it. "...beware my power-"

With a mighty swing of her arm, she came into range, leading with a massive green fist that emerged from her ring, a hard light construct made of her pure willpower. The fist struck Black Adam with such a force that it sounded like a boom of thunder, and sent him flying back into the distance.

"GREEN LANTERN'S LIGHT!"

Fade just kept running despite the ache that his body was giving him. The situation was bad, but he couldn't afford to stop and rest. Black Adam was in his powered form, and in that form he'd be able to kill Starfire in a matter of seconds if he took her as a serious threat. Fade couldn't allow that kind of pain to come back, he couldn't let Black Adam get away with this kind of destruction! At first he was a man trying to save his wife, now he was nothing more than a murderer in Neal's eyes. He needed to pay for what he had done.

It was just then that Neal came to the edge of the hill, just in time to see Starfire being held by the neck with Black Adam's hand. "NOO!", Fade shouted as he started to run forward. He was still out of range, his ability wouldn't affect Black Adam until he got closer. But there was too little time! The guy only had to flex his muscles and Starfire's neck would probably snap like it was nothing more than a tooth pick.

And in that second, everything seemed to change. Fade watched as some giant green fist appeared out of nowhere and sent Black Adam flying. What the hell was that!? Fade quickly turned his gaze, and felt his jaw drop as he saw something that he could hardly believe. "My God..........I can't believe it", he said under his breath. Was it really possible? Fade had heard about the last Green Lantern and how he had died, Earth hadn't had one since. But this........Fade's eyes weren't tricking him.

"A new Green Lantern," he said softly as he watched the figure in the distance. He was still in shock for a few moments before seeing that Starfire was still on the ground and not in good condition. He quickly ran forward again, wanting to reach his friend before Black Adam recovered again.

Black Adam was out for the moment, but he'd be back soon. She had to make sure Starfire was safe in the meantime. Kneeling down, she took the almost unconscious Tamaranian into her arms and lifted her up. When Neal came running up behind her, she turned with a small smile. Walking forward, she passed Starfire off to him; he'd know to get her to safety.

"Neal..." she said, smiling a little wider. "Good to see you again." Once he had Starfire, she let her mask come down and took a step back. "Take care of her... I have a job to do."

Then, she turned back to where she had punched Black Adam. She could see him in the distance, obviously not happy as he came flying back. Holding up her right hand, her ring started to glow. Now, she meant business. Shit was about get real.

Fade kept up his run, apparently having been the first one to recover and take off to reach Starfire as none of the other Titans had shown up yet. He kept running as the Green Lantern was checking out Starfire, wanting to make sure her fellow hero was alright before continuing the fight. Fade slowed as he approached, now leading the Green Lantern to turn around.

He raised an eyebrow for half a second. How on Earth did she know his name? And that was when the mask came up, leaving Neal's jaw to literally drop this time. "SARAH!? You're alive!? But how, how is this possible! We couldn't find you after the battle!", he said before taking Starfire in his arms as she was weakened and barely conscious.

Neal wanted more answers, but he turned to see Black Adam coming towards him. "Stay alive against him, the others will be here soon Sarah. I'll get Starfire to safety and than I'll come back I promise", he said before quickly turning and running back the direction that he came. The hill with the trees would be a good place to find some temporary cover at least. Boy once the others showed up did he have some explaining to do!

Sarah smiled slightly at Neal's questions, before he finally stopped and took Starfire to safety. She knew they would all have many questions that she would have to answer. But not right now. There would be a time later for explanations. Now, she had to take care of something. Black Adam was coming in hot, his rage at new levels. He flew straight at her, one fist forward ready to collide with her body.

"Lantern!" he shouted, coming in range and throwing a punch.

Sarah raised her own fist, forming a large, round shield of pure green will in front of her. Black Adam's fist pounded the shield and knocked her back a good distance, but did no damage to her, as it was absorbed against the hard light. She came to a halt in midair and started to fly right back at him as well. She held her ring forward and formed a mass of chains that sprang up and held Black Adam in place. He struggled against them, but couldn't break them as easily as he had the promethium binder.

As Black Adam concentrated on escaping the chains, Sarah flew up in front of him, and swung a big green baseball bat at him, the size of a small building. Upon impact, she released the chains and watched as he went flying again, this time crashing and rolling across the ground. She didn't stop there, however, following through by creating a massive weight in the air above him. The weight read '1k tons' on it. She let it fall and come to a crash on top of him, apparently crushed.

Fade continued to run despite the sounds of battle behind him. Thankfully he had gotten into a good enough shape that running with Starfire in his hands didn't tire him out like it would have a year ago. He continued to run for the trees, only glancing back once to see the fight that was still going on. He saw that he was safe for the time being and moved further into the trees. He rested Starfire down against a tree out of view, not wanting Black Adam to try to use her weakened state against the rest of the Titans.

Right as he turned around again he saw Sarah hit Adam with.........a giant baseball bat? "Wow, that is cool," Fade said before beginning to sprint back. The Lanterns were powerful, but Fade still couldn't let Sarah go into this fight alone. He had stayed too far back last time and thought she had died, he was not going to be the coward that he had been last time. As the weight dropped down on Adam Fade skidded to a halt and focused on where the man was. The moment he made any sort of movement, Fade would make sure to make him see a vast array of bright colors. In short, it was a strobe light mixed with a rainbow of colors.

By now, the other Titans were recovering as well. Nightwing and Cyborg came up over a nearby hill to witness the incredible sight before them: a new Green Lantern giving everything she had against Black Adam. Raven and Beast Boy appeared a moment later too, and were about to offer assistance, when suddenly they all seemed to notice it at the same time.

"Holy..." Cyborg uttered, staring with wide eyes.

"Can't be..." Beast Boy said, blinking in wonder.

Nightwing took a step forward, feeling his legs go almost numb with shock. "Is that..."

While the others were still not believing their eyes, Raven could already sense it. There was no doubt, even in the midst of a battle. "Sarah..."

When Black Adam finally pulled himself out from under the massive weight construct, he wasn't looking so well. His costume was torn, and body was beaten and bloodied. It looked like this time, he had sustained some real damage. Standing up slowly, he staggered and held his head. All he could see when he opened his eyes were bright flashes of color. Apparently, he'd been hit even harder than he thought.

"Let's finish this," Sarah said softly, flying up high up into the sky. She held out her ring, and in an instant, she was in the pilot seat of a military fighter jet composed entirely of her green will. A real fighter jet she'd have no idea how to fly, but her own version she was pretty comfortable with. "This stops now, Adam!"

And then, the jet's machine gun opened fired, at the same time ejecting all its on board missiles, all made from her lantern's ring. Normal ballistics and explosives probably would have bounced off Black Adam. But the power of will could, and did, hurt him. Black Adam became engulfed in a barrage of bullets, explosions, and debris. After several moments, Sarah flew the jet forward as fast as possible, the engine erupting with green fire. When she neared the target, she ejected out of the seat to safety, as the jet hit Adam and exploded in a cataclysmic green fireball.

Fade watched as Adam slowly began to pull himself from under the giant amount of weight. "I can't believe it, that's some serious damage", Fade said in a whisper to himself as he saw what kind of damage Sarah had been able to do to this guy. He hadn't been able to land a scratch on her and yet she had torn him up pretty badly. Fade always knew that the Lanterns were strong, but he had no idea that they were capable of this kind of damage. Fade kept his concentration up though, not wanting Adam to realize what was happening to his vision yet. He needed to make more opportunities for Sarah to take this guy down.

Fade glanced up barely as he saw that Sarah was flying into the air. "Oh what.........the hell?", Fade asked as Sarah suddenly morphed a giant jet around her body that she was somehow able to fly. She was flying straight towards Adam, unleashing all kinds of bullets, missiles, and various other types of hell. It all ended when Sarah ejected and caused the jet to crash into Adam, leading to an explosion that even Fade could feel from as far away as he was.

He brought his hands down, which he had been using to cover up his face from the dirt that was shot up from the explosion. The dust was still settling, but Fade couldn't make out where Adam was. "Is he..........finished?", he asked as he glanced over at Sarah. He could still hardly believe that she was alive! And on top of all of that she was a Green Lantern now! THE Green Lantern for Earth!

And yet, in spite of all that, Black Adam still found away to emerge from the wreckage. He flew straight out of the fire and dust, colliding with an unprepared Sarah, who had assumed and hoped that her enemy would be down at least a little longer. He took the two to the ground, Sarah landing on her back and Adam landing atop her, his hands trying to come down to get a hold of her. Sarah had managed to grab his wrists, however, struggling to force him away. Black Adam stared at her, seething. His eyes were glowing bright white, pure rage the only thing fueling him now.

And then, in what would be a morbid deja vu for the Titans, Black Adam lifted his head and yelled that single, unforgiving word. "SHAAAAZAAM!" The lightning bolt rained down with unrelenting fury, colliding on the same spot that the two were caught struggling.

At least this time, Raven was prepared to endure the blast, erecting a shield composed of her soul self energy around the Titans. The shield absorbed the blast, or at least the outer effects of it, as they were still a good distance away. On thing it would not protect them against, however, was the apparent repeat of Sarah's initial demise.

"Sarah!" Nightwing called urgently. When Raven's shield finally came down, he ran forward tot he top of a high rock and observed the battlefield, which had been obliterated even further now. But there was two much dust in the air to see anything. "Where are they?! Where is she?!"

The Titans' nerves were beginning to go haywire again, a the horrid thought of losing their friend not once, but twice over now. However, when the a powerful gust of wind pushed the dust away, their worries were put at ease. Black Adam and Sarah were still struggling in he same position as before, but a round green dome had formed around them, a dome that had protected Sarah from the full brunt of the explosive lightning bolt.

Then, with an angry shout, Sarah pushed back hard and started to sit up, forcing Black Adam back. She then aimed her ring inward at him, causing a sudden bright blast to fire into his chest and send him flying backwards off her. She wasted no time, flying straight after him and forming two massive boxing gloves out of hard light around her fists. She then proceeded to beat him, again and again, one strike, then another, then another, each time the boxing gloves hit him causing a loud, thunderous, and sickening boom.

Neal's ears rang in horror as Black Adam grabbed onto Sarah and held her down, echoing the word that nearly destroyed her last time. God, he was growing to really hate that word. "NO!", Neal shouted and almost moved forward. Raven's shield moved in front of him though, protecting him from the explosion that was Adam's power. Neal still almost felt like he could feel the blast rocking the foundations of where they stood. How was this guy SO powerful!?

As the shield came down Neal moved forward along with Nightwing to get a look at the battlefield. If they had lost Sarah again it would be ten times worse than last time. To have her show up again alive, only to be killed off again would only cause the pain to magnify. Thankfully, this was a pain that the Titans were not going to be forced through again.

"She's gotten so much stronger, I had no idea the Lanterns had power on this level", Fade said to himself as he watched the dome that had saved Sarah's life. Whenever Adam used that word it seemed like he defeated everyone, and yet Sarah had just blocked it like it was nothing. It had probably taken a good deal of energy, but the power that it must have taken to create something like that was off the scale!

As Sarah began to deal her flurry of punches and attacks towards Adam, Neal still felt like they needed to do something to provide some aid. "Nightwing, she seems to be doing well but Black Adam is still a tough opponent. Should we provide some assistance?"

"I'd say... just stay out of her way," Nightwing said, watching earnestly as Sarah pummeled Black Adam into the ground with one more mighty punch of her oversized boxing gloves. "It looks like she has things under control."

Black Adam hit the ground hard and didn't move. When the dust settled, it looked as though a completely different person was in his place, apparently just an average person. Sarah had hit him straight back into his original form. Floating down next to him, she held her ring out and formed coiling rope to wrap tightly around him, binding him in place, including a portion that wrapped around his mouth and gagged him, so he could not utter that magic word when he recovered.

Sarah then held her hand up and cause Black Adam, now merely Teth-Adam, to float up and hover behind her as she walked over to the others, who were all watching in awe. "So... how is everybody?"

"Yeah....looks like you might be right on that one," Neal said as he watched as Sarah continued to beat the living daylights out of Black Adam. Neal had to admit that he'd never seen Sarah take someone out so viciously before. It was cool, and yet extremely intimidating. If she moved back into the tower, it'd probably take a few weeks for him to work up the courage to go back up to the security room with Beast Boy.

All the same, he watched as Sarah finished off Adam and wrapped him up so that he wouldn't be able to escape or say his word of power once he woke up. It was amazing, Sarah had done what all the Titans together couldn't do. Was the ring that strong? It was too much to think about, especially when Sarah got so close.

"How are we?," Neal repeated as if the question was almost an insult to their intelligence. Within a just a second though he moved forward and gave her a hug. "Considering that someone I cared about just came back from the dead, I'm pretty good", he said before letting go and taking a step back to allow all the Titans to say whatever it was they needed to say. At the same time though, his eyes met with Sarah's and he activated his power. In the background several fireworks would begin to go off, despite the fact that Sarah was the only one who would see or hear anything. Still, he couldn't think of any nicer way to welcome back an old friend.

Granted, she did get to Black Adam only after Starfire had worn him down, and had the advantage of surprise when initiating the fight, but it was still quite an accomplishment nonetheless. Her mind was not on that accomplishment, however. It was on much more important things, like the warmth that filled her when Neal, soon joined by the other Titans, came in to hug her. She could only smile and hug them all in return. The fireworks were a nice touch.

"It's good... so good to see you all again," she uttered, on the verge of tears.

"I don't understand," Nightwing said. "What happened to you? Where have you been? We all thought you were..."

"I'll explain everything soon," Sarah assured them. "After we've finished taking care of things here. Just know that I've been safe, and not a day went by that I didn't think of all of you." She paused a moment, taking time to notice that one particular person was not with them. "Where's Kori? Is she safe?"

Neal waited in the back and just smiled as Sarah went on to explain everything to everyone else. Well, she didn't so much explain as say that she would explain everything in due time. It was good enough to have her back though, despite whatever circumstance may have been keeping her alive. They had lost a friend and thought she was gone forever, now she was back though and stronger than ever. It was a miracle.

"Oh right," Neal said as he looked over in the direction that he had placed Starfire. "She's right on the edge of that forest. I set her behind some trees. She got beat up pretty badly and is in need of some medical attention..........but she's going to be just fine. She'll be a lot better when she wakes up and sees you though"

"Let her rest for now," Sarah said with a small smile. "She's earned it... I'll be sure to be there when she wakes up. But now, what do do with him?" She was of course referring to the captured Teth-Adam, who no doubt had to pay for his crimes now."

Even as she asked the question, a shadow descended down upon the group, followed by a calm, strong voice. "I'll take it from here, Lantern," the man spoke, shadowed out by the sun. "Looks like I got here a little late and missed the party, but then it doesn't look as though you needed me. Good work."

Sarah turned towards the man and squinted her eyes, watching carefully as the figure drifted into view and out of the direct sunlight. He already had his hand out for her to shake. "Who.... oh!"

"It's good to have a Green Lantern back on earth," Superman said. "Welcome."

Fade glanced over towards Adam, wondering about what exactly to do with them. He supposed that until something better came along he might be able to trick the guy into thinking that he was in some maximum level prison or something like that, after all as long as Sarah could hold the ropes onto him it didn't look like he was going to be going anywhere. Still better safe than sorry right?

Of course, Neal's ideas all turned to scrap as someone else showed up. He glanced over to see who it was, eyes going wide as none other than one of the most recognized faces on Earth appeared in front of them. "That's Superman", Neal said in shock as if Superman himself wasn't aware of who he was.

"Yes, so I am," Superman said with an amused smile. In turn, he shook Neal's hand as well. "I don't believe we've met, either, a pleasure to make your acquaintance." He then turned back to Sarah, the new Green Lantern. "I was dispatched here as soon as was able, but I guess you took care of things already. I don't believe I've seen you before, though. Are you from a different sector?"

Sarah shook her head. "No, I'm all human and brand new. The first Lantern in this sector for three years, I believe."

"That's correct," Superman said, with a nod. "It seems the Guardians have started recruiting again, that's a good sign for the Corps. You know, there's always been an opening in the Justice League for a Green Lantern, if you'll take it."

"Uh..." Sarah started, just blinking stupidly. She'd only been back for ten minutes and she was being offered a spot in the Justice League? Sure, she was a Green Lantern, but she was still just Sarah. She turned back to look at the others for a moment, then at Superman. "Wow, um, thank you for the offer, really. But... I have a lot of things to take care of, here and for the Corps. I'll be pretty busy... and besides, I'll always be a Titan."

Superman nodded. "I understand, and I respect that. If you ever change your mind, though, the offer stands. Now then, I have to get going and take care of him." He was referring of course to Black Adam, who he now took hold of and began to fly upward with. "Take care, Titans." And then, he was gone.

Neal gladly shook Superman's hands. He knew that he wasn't acting as he should, but how could he not react! This was THE Superman after all! He was the guy who started it all! This guy saved more people than there were in the entire country of India....hell he probably saved all of India at one point or another! Thankfully Sarah was able to prevent Neal from looking any worse by having Superman's attention focus back on her.

Neal couldn't help but smile as Sarah decided that she wanted to be a Titan over being a member of the Justice League. It was a huge charge, it was probably pretty hard to say no to the Justice League of all things. Than again, Sarah was in a relationship with Starfire and she probably would rather be with her friends especially after being gone so long. Neal would like to think that he would have made the same choice, but it would be hard to refuse.

Neal watched as Superman took Black Adam and flew off to who even knew where. Adam had been defeated, they had regained a lost friend, and they seemed to be on top of the world. "Hey Nightwing," Neal said as he suddenly remembered something. "I know they were a lot of trouble, but shouldn't those artifacts be returned to their proper place?" he asked curiously. Now that he thought about it, where were those things anyway?

Nightwing turned to Neal, folding his arms and thinking. "Yes, they should. Unfortunately, we have no idea where they are, or where to start looking... we'll have to work on that later. Right now, however... I think there are other things that need to be attended to."

Sarah smiled slightly. "I agree," she said. "There is much that needs attending to."

And with that, the Titans began to leave. Sarah went right for Starfire, taking the Tamaranian in her arms and holding her tight, not wanting to let her go. Starfire was still unconscious right now, but when she woke up... she was in for a big surprise.

"Ahhh man," Cyborg stated, as they discovered the wreckage of the T-jet. "This is going to take months to fix.

"Yeah, I suppose you have a point. Sorry," Neal said as he scratched the back of his head. They had just gotten back Sarah after all, there was no point in rushing over something as small as the artifacts. Adam had been taken care of after all, and that was good enough. Neal just watched as Sarah found Starfire and embraced her, happy that they were together once again and that both would end up just fine.

Neal glanced over at Cyborg who seemed to be in dismay over the T-jet. "Well, I'm not expert yet but I can try to learn if you need a hand with it. I won't be as good as you, but two heads might be better than one in this case," Neal suggested as he stood next to Cyborg.

"Well sure, if you feel up to it," Cyborg said, holding a head to his head. His poor baby was in pieces, mechanical parts strewn everywhere. "But it's going to take a long time and a lot of work... seems like my stuff is always getting busted up."

A few moments later, a figure came walking out of the log cabin a short distance away, which surprisingly hadn't been touched by the battle. "Oh my..." Madame Xanadu stated, looking at the destruction. "It appears that I will have to find a new summer getaway."

Nightwing walked up to the woman to make sure she was alright. "Ma'am, are you okay?"

"Oh, I'm fine," she said, waving her hand flippantly. "Could do without all the excitement, though. Thank you for the assistance, Titans. I think we'll be meeting again soon."

Nightwing narrowed his eyes. "You know us?"

"Hey, Nighty, get a move on, we're heading out!" Cyborg called to him.

Nightwing looked back. "Be right there, Cy." But when he turned back to where Madame Xanadu had been only a moment before, she was gone. "What the..." Just who was that woman?

---

Later, back at the tower, the Titans sat around the main lounge on the couch, while Sarah stood in front of them explaining everything that had happened to her in the past six months. The only one who wasn't there was Starfire, who was recovering in the medical ward, and still not conscious. It had all started, of course, once Sarah had been nearly destroyed by Black Adam. There in the darkness of the rubble, a voice had contacted her, a voice drawn to her amazing will to survive and keep fighting.

That voice had belonged to Ion, all all powerful and all present being of symbiotic willpower entity birthed from the green of the emotional spectrum. At least, that was what she was told. She still didn't quite understand what Ion was, only that it came from the very will of the universe. After the destruction of the Green Lantern Corps., Ion served as a peacekeeper and worked to recruit new Lanterns. It sensed Sarah's will and chose her to be the new Lantern of sector 2814. Once she said the oath, she was at that instant transported to the plant Oa, the home of the Guardians of the Universe, the beings who oversaw the Green Lantern Corps.

Though she would have loved to have returned immediately after recovering to see her friends, she could not. The Guardians and the other few newly recruited Green Lanterns had to train her how to use her will as a weapon against evil in all its forms. They trained her as a better fighter, as a better person, and how to be completely fearless in the sight of danger. After those six months, she was inducted as a full fledged member of the Corps. and permitted to return to her sector. It was at that time she sensed her friends in danger, and came to their aid as quickly as possible. As it turns out, she got there just in time.

"And that... is where I've been," Sarah said, letting out a deep breath. "I hope i didn't miss anything too exciting in the meantime."

"Well it'll definitely be a lot better than you working on it all by yourself right?" Neal asked with a laugh as he crossed his arms. "Plus it'll be good for me to learn these kind of things, you know in case you ever need a break or something. We can't put all that responsibility on your shoulders right?" he asked as he looked towards the T Jet. In truth Neal was both happy and say at that moment.

Everyone seemed to really have their place set on the Titans, but he still felt pretty useless when it came to fighting. All he could do was distract or annoy the enemy, Raven had encouraged him not to use his illusions for the sake of causing pain as it would affect his mind and how he thought. He had listened to her council, but still he had just sat there while Sarah single handed had defeated Black Adam on her own. They joined at the same time, and yet it felt like she was far more worthy of being a Titan than Neal was. He could only distract and irritate, but not really take anyone down. It was why Neal spent all of his free time watching and training by copying the movements of others, but it still wasn't good enough was it?

Neal shook his head and tried to get the negative thoughts out of his mind. Raven always said that it was better to be positive than negative, with powers like theirs it could prove to be their undoing if they lost control of their emotions. So for the moment Neal placed the thought in the back of his mind, but it would surely come up again soon. Neal left along with everyone else when the time came.

----

"That is some story," Neal said as he finished listening to Sarah explain what she had been through the past six months. So she was a Green Lantern now and in charge of protecting this sector, Earth mainly. "So will your duties to the corp take you away from the Titans on occasion?", he asked curiously. He had heard about The Green Lanterns, but didn't know much about how their system worked.

Sarah nodded slowly. "Yes... it will. But that comes with the job, and is part of my responsibilities, so I accept it. The hardest part will be being away from all of you, though... but I promise I'll be here as much as possible, you can count on it." She gave them all a smile and then sat down for a moment. She was exhausted, to say the least. It was nice to actually be able to take a breather. She'd never had the chance on Oa, constantly training and working to get better. Her fellow Lantern Kilowog had made sure of it.

"For now, I just need a break," she said with a small laugh. "And, to see someone very special to me."

With that said, she took a deep breath and stood up, heading to the medical ward. There, Starfire rested in the bed. She looked so peaceful... Sarah didn't know how long she sat there, waiting for the Tamaranian to wake up, but she would have waited forever if she had to. It had been six months too long since they'd been separated.

Finally, after several hours, Starfire began to stir. She opened her eyes slowly, still feeling quite a bit woozy from her fight with Black Adam. What had happened? The last thing she remembered, Black Adam had been choking the life from her, and the next... nothing. How had she made it back to the tower? How had...

And then, she saw a sight that made her heart nearly explode with overwhelming joy. "Sarah...?" she uttered.

"Hey, Kori," Sarah said, smiling widely. "I have so much to tell you."

Breaking down in tears of joy, Starfire lunged up from her spot in the bed and wrapped her one non-broken arm around her in a tight hug. "Sarah!"

"I guess if that's part of the trade off we can all live with that," Neal commented as he listened about how the corp could potentially summon Sarah in any give moment. After all, the Corp watched over the entire galaxy, who knew what dangerous things might be out there that the Titans would have no idea about? Still, Sarah was alive and that was good enough for Neal and the others. "Guess we should really take down that picture of you in the memorial room, it's a bit outdated now," he added with a smile.

As Sarah got up to leave so did Neal. "Yeah, I'll catch all of you tomorrow. I think that I'm just going to go train for a while before turning in. It's been a long day," he said before heading off towards the gym area. As much as Neal didn't want to admit it, those thoughts were still in his head and he couldn't really get them out. All he could picture was how useless and weak he appeared on the battlefield. He just made himself a target, he wasn't doing good for anyone. His ability only allowed him to create distractions, but he couldn't inflict pain according to Raven. She didn't want him to, saying that it was too risky for his own mind to start wandering over towards that part of his power. Still, if it was between that and watching another friend die before his eyes Neal would gladly take the risk. He needed to be stronger.

Once he got to the gym he tried to distract himself by playing some music on the loud speakers as he pumped some iron. He would make himself stronger, even if it took the next year to do it. And with that thought Neal began to lift the heavy weights, wanting his arms to become even stronger than they had gotten the past few months. Neal would never let himself be seen as a coward again.