Justice Squadron Headquarters

Green Lantern Hal Jordan stood in the reception room, shielding his eyes from the blindingly bright chandeliers that filled the area with light. "I have to admit, Max... You do things with a certain style, don't you?"

"There's no sense in doing things half-way, GL. You've gotta go for the gusto if you want to make an impression." Max Lord, looking dapper and fit in his tailored suit, gazed about the room with undisguised pride. "This whole group... Wow. It's coming together." A twinkle suddenly appeared in Max's eye as he turned to face the man known to many as the greatest Green Lantern in history. "That's what brought you here, isn't it? You're ready to suit up?" Max rubbed his hands together with glee. "That's wonder--"

"No, Max!" Green Lantern held his hands protectively. "Not yet, anyway. I have my hands full with the new Corps. I'm here for something else entirely."

Max looked crestfallen for a moment but he quickly recovered. Doesn't matter, he mused. Having Hal Jordan on the team would certainly lend some extra credibility, but it's not like we really need him. We're rock solid, through and through. "Well, what do you need? We're here to help."

"It's a personal problem, Max. A serious one." Green Lantern raised his right hand into a fist, emerald energy spewing forth. A moment later, a woman appeared, enclosed in a large green cylinder. A soft pillow lay behind her head and her eyes were closed in sleep. She wore purple armor which revealed a well-toned body and attractive face. She's a beauty, Max thought. "This is Carol Ferris... but right now, her personality has been subverted by one belonging to Star Sapphire. I recently captured her and took her to the JLA for help. They've struck out, unfortunately."

Max tapped his chin thoughtfully. "And you brought her to us because....?"

"Because Kimiyo Hoshi is one of  the world's foremost scientists. I'm hoping she can help Carol somehow."

Max looked confused. "Uh... But Kimi's focus is on light and physics.  I'm sorry, GL, but it sounds like what you need here is a psychiatrist."

Hal sighed, placing a hand atop the emerald casket. "You're my last chance, Max. I've been to everyone else, short of the Guardians themselves."

"Why not go to the little blue guys, then?"

"Because I've already asked them for too much lately. I can't make it look like I'm constantly crawling back to them. I have to find help for Carol on my own." Hal stared hard into Max's eyes. "Where is she?"

Running a hand through his short hair, Max smiled wanly. "Well,  Kimi's down in the lab with Chandi, running some more tests on her. Want me to show you the way?"

Hal smiled gratefully. "Thanks, Max. I appreciate this -- and so will Carol, once she's back to her old self. If there's anything I can do to repay you..."

"Heh. Welllll... I might come up with something," Max laughed with a wink. "Maybe you'll consider hooking up with us down the road?"

Arthur Light sat back in the dark booth, two fingers idly tugging at his beard. "We can do this. There's no reason we have to let old rivalries bury a good partnership."

The man sitting across from him was dressed in a dapper jacket and suit, but it was definitely the man's head that garnered the most attention. If he hadn't been using his ample mental abilities to shield his appearance from the rest of the bar's clientele, all eyes would have been on Psimon. "Good partnership?" he asked, his voice tinged with disbelief. "You were a laughingstock, Light... and your poor leadership skills led the Fearsome Five to defeat again and again."

"And you've done better?"

"I've come closer to success than you ever did."

"Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, Psimon." Dr. Light leaned forward, his eyes swirling with energy. "I'm more powerful than ever and I mean to get my reputation back, with or without you guys. But I'm talking about bringing back the old gang because I feel bad about how it all turned out before -- and this is a perfect scheme."

Psimon smiled coldly. "What do you have in mind?"

"Power." Dr. Light held his hands up, generating a holographic image between them. A Green Lantern power battery floated there, rotating slowly. "Pure, unadulterated power...."

"…and so then I faced off with The Ultra-Humanite and I kicked his hairy ape-butt from here to Calcutta!" Chandi Gupta, the young heroine known as Maya, finished her tale with a dramatic punch to the air.

Hal Jordan chuckled to himself as he divided his attention between the recounting of old Squadron adventures and Dr. Light’s careful study of Star Sapphire. "That’s pretty impressive. He’s the JSA’s greatest foe, I’d say." Green Lantern moved over toward Kimi, who was seated at a large computer station. "This is a nice lab you’ve got. Better than anything we had back in the JLE days."

Kimi pursed her lips and nodded, not paying much attention. She was lost in a wave of data, studying the results of her most recent tests. Hal recognized the look of determination on her face—she was on the trail of a scientific mystery and she wasn’t about to be derailed from it. "Energy emissions are fairly consistent with previous Zamaron readings. Whatever it was that Malvolio did to reawaken the Sapphire persona, it’s nothing that I can easily repair."

Hal sighed. "Damn. So it’s another dead end."

Kimi sharply replied, "I didn't say that. It’s going to be difficult but not impossible."

"What can you do?"

"The main problem is that this second persona of hers—The Sapphire—is firmly ingrained within her psyche. If it were as simple as some symbiotic gem being embedded in her forehead, I could easily remove that with a laser. This is far more serious, though." Kimi stood up and stretched. Counting the hours she’d spent testing Maya earlier, she’d put in about six hours in the lab. "I’m going to try some hypnosis, if you don’t mind."

"Hypnosis?"

"Yes. The villain whose name I’ve appropriated tried similar methods in the past with success. By using my light powers to emit flashing stroboscopic patterns in certain combinations, I can hypnotize a willing participant. If it takes, I’ll be able to wall the Sapphire personality deep within Carol Ferris, trapping it. I may even be able to leave Carol in possession of her powers."

Hal rubbed his chin. "Hmm. Not sure that Carol would want them…Hypnosis wasn’t exactly what I had in mind when I brought her here, you know. Isn’t there some…more scientific way of doing this?"

Kimiyo turned back to Hal, her face relaxing. "I am using science, Hal. It’s either this or nothing."

Hal considered for a moment before shrugging. "Why not? It can’t make things any worse. I’ll bring her out of her ring-induced coma and stabilize her long enough for you to do your work…"

The JLA Watchtower

"I don't trust him."

"You don't trust anyone."

The Batman glanced over at Superman, keeping pace with him as they headed to the meeting room, where the others were waiting. "That's not true, Clark. I just find it difficult to forget the crimes Hal committed."

"He was under Malvolio's influence."

"Malvolio only nudged something that was all ready there. We need to keep him under close watch."

"He was a League founder. We should offer him a spot on the team." Superman held up a hand to ward off Batman's next comment. "And it'll keep him close, so you can verify his honesty. Fair enough?"

"What about Kyle? We don't need two Lanterns on the team."

Superman stopped in place, nodding. Batman halted also, looking into his friend's eyes. "I've been thinking... With all the extraterrestrial warfare that's threatened Earth in recent years, maybe we should take a cue from L.E.G.I.O.N. and form a branch specifically dealing with such things. They'd be diplomats from Earth in one sense, defenders in another."

"You've already been making plans, haven't you?"

"Yes. And if Hal will agree to lead the team, I think we're ready to go....." 

Hal Jordan and Chandi Gupta stood behind an emerald barrier, watching as Kimiyo leaned over the bound form of Star Sapphire. Lights flashed in a hypnotic pattern around Kimi’s fingertips as her voice droned on, slowly lulling the murderous villain into a suggestible state.

"Hal...?"

"What is it, Chandi?"

Chandi noted the worried expression on Hal’s face and thought about backing off the subject, but in the end, she pressed on. "This Carol—was she your girlfriend?"

Hal relaxed somewhat, looking a bit embarrassed. "Yeah, you could say that. Off and on for a long time. She’s the closest I ever came to really settling down. I even quit The Corps for her once."

"I hope Kimi can help."

Hal reached out a put an arm around the young girl’s shoulders. "Me, too. Thanks."

A sudden cry made both heroes jump. Hal lowered his barrier as Kimiyo went flying backwards, propelled by some invisible force. Green Lantern caught her in his arms even as Maya generated his mystic bow and a flaming pyrokinetic arrow, notched and ready to fly. "Kimi! What happened?"

"I…I’m not sure. I was just finishing when there was some sort of feedback."

"Oh, no…not again!" Hal watched in growing horror as a shape began to appear above Carol’s head. It shimmered and slowly faded into view—a man, dressed in a black bodysuit, with silver gauntlets and helmet.

"Who is that, Hal?" Maya asked, carefully aiming her arrow.

"An entity that possessed Carol a few times before—but it was supposed to have been destroyed forever!"

The creature known as The Predator crouched before Carol Ferris, it’s metal claws gleaming. "Free once more…and who should I see before me but my old sparring partner? Good to see you again, Green Lantern. Let me show you how much I missed you!"

The killer launched himself into the air, raising his claws for a deadly strike. Before he reached his prey, however, The Predator was blasted out of the air by a beam of purple energy. Freeing herself from her bonds, the figure of Star Sapphire slowly rose from the laboratory table.

Setting Kimi on her feet, Green Lantern took a step forward. "Hold it right there, Sapphire…"

The stunningly beautiful woman stared at him for a moment, then glanced at the fallen Predator who was starting to rise once more.

"Don’t worry, Hal…it’s me."

Hal stopped in his tracks. "Carol?"

"Yes…and for once, I control the power of Star Sapphire!"

Hal Jordan thought for a moment that he had lost his grip on sanity. He knew that voice... that face. It was the woman whom he'd loved for so very long -- and yet she was also Star Sapphire. "You did it, Kimi. You brought Carol back."

Those words were spoken under Hal’s breath, but the Japanese born scientist was close enough to hear them. She chose not to respond, instead motioning for Maya to stay back. Kimi hadn’t anticipated the arrival of The Predator, whom Hal had thought long banished from Carol’s psyche. If I’d known he was still in there, I would have proceeded with more caution. I hope I haven’t brought back Carol’s personality just in time for her to be slaughtered by that creature…

The Predator slowly rose from the floor, his face contorted in fury. Smoke wafted up from his burned side. "So it’s little Carol, come out to play at last? I didn’t know you had it in you."

Carol’s face showed a mixture of emotions – fear, exultation and something else, something harder to define. "I’m so tired of people ruining my life…controlling my life. If I have to kill you to be free, I will. So help me God, I will!"

The words were barely out of Carol’s mouth before another purple beam of energy had shot forth from the jewel atop Sapphire’s headpiece. At the same moment, Sapphire’s energy sword materialized in Carol’s right hand.

Even as The Predator did an acrobatic dodge out of the way, Dr. Light was in action. She projected a tight laser beam that cut into Sapphire’s energy attack, stopping it. With cold efficiency, she barked orders to both Hal and Maya. "Separate these two before they destroy my lab! GL, you take care of Carol – Maya, pin down The Predator!"

Maya drew back on her psychic bow, firing two flaming arrows at The Predator, who slashed through them with his claws. Sensing that her opponent was too agile for this sort of attack, she closed her eyes momentarily and felt for her emotional center. There, amidst all of the teenage angst that she was seemingly cursed to deal with was something greater – the spirit of Shiva. Finding it, tapping into it, Maya summoned forth a small wave of water, which washed over the villain before he could dodge it.

Green Lantern, meanwhile, flew over his former love. She held the sword in front of her, looking more lost and confused than he’d seen her in a long time. "Carol…put down the sword! Now!"

"Hal…why aren’t you dead? Have I gone crazy again?"

Green Lantern landed nearby, ignoring the impulses that told him to stay clear of her weapon. This wasn’t Star Sapphire who fell into his arms…this was Carol. He was sure of it. He held her tightly. "Baby…you’re not crazy. The Guardians brought me back. I’m here and I’m real and I’m never gonna leave you again!"

While Hal Jordan comforted his former love, Kimiyo strode towards the downed Predator. The killer, a force of vengeance who had tried to mate with a previous Star Sapphire back in The Middle Ages, was trying to rise from the small tidal wave that had struck him. Kimi backhanded the villain before he could even open his mouth to speak. The blow, augmented by a small light-burst around her fist, sent The Predator straight into unconsciousness.

"Whoa. Nice move, Kimi!" Maya whistled in awe as her psychic bow fluttered away into nothingness.

The Japanese scientist and mother smiled wanly, shaking out her fist. Despite the light field she’d generated, she had still felt the blow and every knuckle now ached. "Thank you, Maya. Run upstairs and tell the others that we have a prisoner to turn over to the authorities."

Maya glanced over at Hal and Carol, who were whispering softly to each other. Carol was visibly calming, but still seemed on edge and was continuing to grip her sword. "Are you sure you’ll be okay? What if Star Sapphire snaps again?"

Dr. Light shook her head. "I’ll be fine. The hypnotic blocks I put on Carol’s mind seem to have taken effect. She’s in control of the Sapphire powers without the murderous instincts that drove Star Sapphire. I’m guessing that The Predator broke free because he was afraid that he, too, would be locked away with Star Sapphire. As long as we can keep him from merging with Carol again, she should be free of him forever."

Hal held Carol tighter against him. "I've never stopped loving you," he whispered.

Their lips came together then and it was like they'd never been apart.

Next Issue: Hal and Carol try to get settled in, but the Fearsome Five have other plans! Plus: the JLA's cosmic branch comes calling and you'll never guess who's onboard as members!

AUTHOR'S NOTES

Welcome to our fourth issue! Parts of this one ran as Justice Squadron # 26 & 27, back when the series was at DC Legends. Given that I've excised issues 19-on from my continuity and will be rewriting them, I decided to take the Hal Jordan portions of those issues and reuse them, with considerable rewriting and new scenes added in. Next issue kicks off a storyline I'm really excited about -- the Fearsome Five are amongst my favorite villains of all time and I've always wanted to see Dr. Light with them again. Dr. Light last appeared (in our continuity) in Justice Squadron # 14, where Kimiyo kicked his tail and dispersed his energy. Obviously, Arthur has managed to re-form his body since that latest defeat.

Let me know what you'd like to see in future issues!

Keep in touch,

Barry Reese