With the plan settled, all the recruiting work naturally fell to Sinestro. Once he gathered the personnel, all he had to do was go to Earth, find Thea, get her to stamp the paperwork, and they'd be considered official members. What happened if they didn't get that stamp…? Well, the ring Thea blew up earlier was one example of what could happen to temp workers.
And what if they went to Earth and couldn't find Thea?
Then they'd just wait!
Would all sorts of bizarre-looking aliens showing up in Star City scare Moira to death?
The answer was absolutely yes… So there was nothing more to say — this base would be set up in Coast City instead. The big-hearted residents there wouldn't mind having a Yellow Lantern Corps branch right beside the Green Lantern Corps' Earth outpost. With the Green Lantern Corps' massive scale, they might even be able to mentor this tiny, newborn Yellow Lantern Corps. Who knows — maybe one day the two corps would defend peace across the universe together.
In short, Thea and Sinestro's first cooperation could not be called pleasant, but at least they both restrained themselves enough not to start a fight. This disappointed the few sly little blue guys who had been waiting to watch drama unfold.
Sinestro used the excuse that his mind had suffered severe trauma and sped off like a streak of light — not even mentioning Parallax. Let Thea handle it; may she die in the process, he thought!
Thea didn't have the luxury of being so detached. Even though Earth had hidden powerhouses as numerous as the stars, she still felt uneasy. The little blue men "kindly" reminded her that, at Parallax's current speed, it would reach Earth in about ten minutes. Perhaps she should be on her way?
Facing their "tea delivered to the door" attitude — basically kicking her out — Thea was speechless. No wonder Sinestro defected, and Hal Jordan later blackened and tried to slaughter them all. These guys were really impossible to like. She had just prevented the Green Lantern Corps from splitting, helped them enormously, and they didn't offer a reward, a benefit — not even a simple thank-you.
These bastards!
Thea wasn't someone who would just take that lying down. Ever since she got to know Batman, she hadn't learned much martial arts or science, but her skin definitely grew thicker. Pretending not to notice they were chasing her away, she continued extracting information:
"Honored Guardians, Earth is weak and fragile. I fear we cannot stand against Parallax alone. We urgently need the Green Lantern Corps' support!"
Her tone was earnest, gentle, almost moving enough to make someone weep. She conveniently erased the existence of powerhouses like Superman and Diana. In her depiction, Earth was filled entirely with disabled children whose power levels were insultingly low. If you don't deploy troops, we're all doomed!
But the Guardians had lived for billions of years — did she think they couldn't play the shameless game too? One after another, they took turns lecturing her on how difficult things were for the Green Lantern Corps — the vast jurisdiction, uneven member quality, casualties everywhere. They made it sound like a hundred or so Lanterns died every single second.
Thea was completely defeated by their shamelessness and could only stammer speechlessly.
"How about this — the war between the Yellow Lantern Corps and Parallax isn't something we can intervene in too much. However, Hal Jordan is a great Green Lantern warrior. He can represent himself and join the defense of Earth."
Thea nearly spat in his face. A great warrior? Hal Jordan?
So just by flapping your lips, he suddenly becomes a "great warrior"? And such a title is this cheap?
Besides, Hal Jordan had already flown off to Earth. Whether they "approved" or not meant nothing. Thea finally experienced the highest realm of shamelessness. Deeply impressed, she bid them farewell in silence.
Wearing a true Yellow Power Ring felt completely different from the temporary Green Lantern ring. The functions were reduced by more than half, but the first ring in the set was far more powerful than any subsequent rings — especially compared to a copied temporary one.
A massive wave of spatial knowledge swept into her mind. Lantern teleportation wasn't the same as magical teleportation; its theory was purely physical, similar to Earth's Einstein–Rosen bridge — using gravitational field equations to create a wormhole linking two points.
Fascinating…
Thea gave the Guardians a little wave and stepped into the wormhole.
She passed through fifteen planets in a row. Some barren, some covered in strange creatures. Some aliens knelt and worshipped her as she appeared from thin air; others tried to attack her. Thea didn't waste time — she continued teleporting, spending considerable effort understanding how to operate the wormhole properly.
By the time she returned to Coast City, less than ten minutes remained before Parallax arrived. Using the Eye of Horus, she saw Green Lantern Hal Jordan trying to evacuate civilians, with his girlfriend Carol Ferris beside him. The two pleaded with residents to leave, but most citizens simply scoffed at his "giant monster falling from the sky in ten minutes."
This guy is so green…
Trying to convince people with nothing but words?
In a city of seven million, explaining to them one by one would take three to five years!
Thea pulled out her phone and dialed A.R.G.U.S.'s emergency line.
"What is it?" Amanda Waller's voice came through. Thea felt a wave of relief — at a moment like this, this black-hearted, iron-blooded woman was surprisingly reliable.
"Listen, Amanda — I have very little time, so I'll only say this once. A terrifying monster is flying toward Coast City from outer space. Remember that toad that knocked you out? It's here because of that thing! I need you to evacuate the city immediately. Time is tight — I'm counting on you."
She hung up and called the next person.
"Uncle Bruce, listen…"
She gave the same brief explanation, then got to her real point:
"During the big zombie fight, that blue-suit, red-cape friend of yours — can you still reach him? Coast City needs him. And it would be best if you came too!"
Bruce Wayne, on the other end, found it unbelievable, but his iron-solid psyche helped him remain calm. He chose to trust Thea, saying he'd contact "him" immediately and was already heading toward Coast City himself.
Since she hadn't seen Parallax yet, the movie plot was useless. Calling Superman and Batman — two walking hacks — might give her a fighting chance. And if all else failed, she could just open a wormhole and flee with her family. Some planets she passed earlier seemed pretty livable...
She didn't dare call Moira directly, but she did notify Felicity.
"An alien giant monster!!"
Felicity's pitch jumped an entire octave. Instead of panicking, the carefree woman declared she'd hack a few satellites to livestream the whole thing.
"…Sigh."
Thea rubbed her forehead. Felicity's brain really worked differently from normal people. Any normal person would be scared stiff. But her reaction?
Excitement. Thrill. The giddy joy of uncovering a classified event.
What a bizarre little gremlin.