Green Lantern Corps #21

In this story, the saga of the mysterious Alpha Lanterns spills into Green Lantern Corps! Chosen for the elite Alpha Lanterns, Boodikka continues her absolute pursuit of justice and order. When she is assigned by the Guardians to investigate the negligence of her sector replacement, Boodikka is shocked to uncover startling secrets about her own life from before she joined the Corps! Writer Sterling Gates (TALES OF THE SINESTRO CORPS: SUPERMAN PRIME, GREEN LANTERN/SINESTRO CORPS SECRET FILES) explores the life of Alpha Lantern Boodikka in part one of "The Curse of the Alpha Lantern."

We see newly chosen Alpha Lantern Boodikka assisting Green Lantern Harvid in his sector against a group of Manhunters. The Manhunters are about to deplete Harvid's ring when putting the veteran Lantern in serious peril. When the Manhunters detect something different in Boodikka they attack her seeing her as a very high degree threat. Boodikka initiates a counter measure unique to the Alpha Lanterns. Boodikka uses her Alpha Lantern powers to override the Manhunters programming, deleting their memory banks and shutting down their primary programming. By doing this, Boodikka takes out the whole platoon of Manhunters.

• Boodikka now reprimands Green Lantern Harvid for not doing what he was supposed to do under the new rules of the Green Lanterns and take out the Sinestro Corps member who was in charge of the Manhunter platoon. The Sinestro Corps member in question happened was Haasp the hunter who happens to also be the brother of Lantern Harvid: a fact that Harvid tries to explain to Boodikka which is when Boodikka cuts him off explaining that the Green Lantern Corps does not tolerate ineptitude and that if Boodikka is called to deal with Harvid again, he will face suspension. She also mentions that if he lets a Sinestro Corps member go free again regardless of blood ties he will face permanent expulsion from the Green Lantern Corps and will be decommissioned.

• Back on OA Graf Toren and Tomar Tu discuss the newly changed Boodikka. While Tomar recounts how much Boodikka has changed on an emotional and physical level, she was still one that Graf Toren disagrees with. Graf recounts how even though Boodikka had a short temper, Kilowog considered her top of her class and the best in hand-to-hand combat. He also recounted what Boodikka lost at the hands of Parallax and how along with the other Lost Lanterns, they became prisoners of the Manhunters. It was the years that consumed Boodikka in anger.

• Graf and Tomar continue their discussion about Boodikka and the wisdom of the Alpha Lanterns. Graf worries about the members who were chosen to become Alpha Lanterns who no longer seem to have the emotions that made them who they are. Graf is about to say that he hopes he doesn't have to force Boodikka to do something when she interrupts them by asking them where they wanted to take her and how they would force an Alpha Lantern to go there.

• Both Graf and Tomar try to plead with Boodikka to go to the Guardians and speak on behalf of Laira. Boodikka tells them that Laira must pay for her disgraceful actions and that it was their testimony that caused Laira's situation. Tomar pleads with Boodikka that they have lost two members of the Lost Lanterns already and they don't want to lose two more. Graf presses on about how it seemed she lost all ability to feel emotion and how she was the most passionate of all of the Lost Lanterns and asks if her fire is truly gone. She asks if her anger with Hal is no longer there. He is about to ask if she still begrudges her blood-sisters on her home world for turning their backs on her but before he can finish, Boodikka tells Graf that she will no longer be interrogated by him and leaves. Tomar wonders who Graf was talking about and Graf replies that while the Guardian’s promises of justice appeared to have taken Boodikka from the Lost Lanterns, they were not the first group to lose her.

• Boodikka on her way to the Guardians recounts a memory from her past. Boodikka and her blood-sisters were bounty hunters. In this particular hunt, they were after a being named Kronin and his pirates. Together, the Blood-Sisters of Bellatrix or the Bellatrix Bombers, as they are known, were able to take down Kronin, who was a most uncatchable bounty and because of Bellatrix Bombers's accomplishment, their bounty request had tripled. Zale, one of the Bellatrix Bombers and Boodikka's flesh and blood sister, looks for her outside where Boodikka tells her sister what the do is all fine and good, but she wonders if she should be doing more.

• In the present, the Guardians discuss a situation that needs Alpha Lantern intervention with Boodikka. They explain that during the Sinestro Corps War, Boodikka's partner was killed and a replacement ring was sent to her sector of 1414. They continue by telling her that ninety-six hours ago, a bunch of starships went missing along with their crew. Boodikka's new partner was sent to investigate. Boodikka's new partner has not reported back even though the ring reports there had been no injury inflicted on the Lantern and that the ring has been regularly recharged on schedule. Also the number of spacecraft had doubled since the Guardians lost contact with the Lantern. The Guardians tell Boodikka to investigate and take the appropriate measures and once that has been done, Boodikka will have earned her second power ring. Boodikka complies and leaves for her mission. The Guardians feel they have made the right decision in creating the Alpha Lanterns as they never need to rest, recharge or show remorse for what the Guardians ask them to do.

• Boodikka tracks the signatures of the missing ships to the source of the disappearances, which is her home planet of Bellatrix. Boodikka continues to track the location of the power ring, which brings her to a cave. Boodikka thinks about another memory of her just after joining the Green Lantern Corps. Her Bellatrix Bomber sisters feel betrayed that Boodikka would abandon their group for the Green Lanterns. Boodikka explains how she wanted more than to just bring in criminals for money and how, by being a Green Lantern, she could do even more good on many more worlds. Boodika's sister is extremely sad to see her leave and the rest of the Bellatrix Bombers tell her not to come back and that if she does, they would blow her out of the sky. Boodikka is seen high in space looking at the planet she is leaving behind. She looks at her new ring and then leaves.

• Boodikka continues to search for the power ring signature when an animal attacks her. Boodikka recognizes the animal as her sister's pet. The animal attacks Boodikka again, but Boodikka just traps the animal in an emerald cage. We hear someone say that they are detecting a Manhunter signature and Boodikka is shot with something powerful enough to take her down. The unknown group realizes that it's not a Manhunter as the weapon would have destroyed the Manhunter. The mystery Green Lantern asks her ring to identify what they attacked to which the ring replies it is Alpha-Lantern Boodikka. Boodikka looks up to see her former Bellatrix Bombers looking up at her asking if she remembered that they told her to stay off their planet. Even more shocking is the person that Green Lantern Boodikka was seeking out is none other than her blood sister Zale.