Starman hesitated but elected to follow orders. He turned his attentions towards Psimon, who was waging a war of mental power with J'onn. It looked like the battle had gone the heroes' way, for only Psimon was left standing. The telepath was beginning to buckle as Supergirl unleashed her heat vision against him, J'onn cast one mental assault after another and Zatanna's magic worked to undo Psimon's defenses. When Will joined the fray as well, it proved too much for Psimon -- he screamed aloud, his hatred and fury at Light for leading them to defeat once more hanging almost palpable in the air.

While the rest of his teammates were falling, Arthur Light was ranting. His curses were laced with spittle, both of which were flung heavily upon Hal as the two men grappled. In his long life, Arthur had seen his brilliance scorned by those around him and he'd seen his burning desire for respect and power lead him to one humiliation after another... but he'd never given up, never surrendered. Somewhere deep inside, he believed he was meant for greater things. 

Jordan was the very antithesis of Arthur Light. Handsome and confident were Light was professorial and neurotic, Hal had always possessed the spirit of an explorer.  When he saw something he wanted -- be it a new car, a woman or a career -- he went for it, with full expectation of achieving it. 

Light saw that and hated him for it. "I'm going to destroy you," he hissed. His eyes glowed with a fury that would have chilled the heart of almost any man -- but not Hal Jordan. He was a man without fear. A Green Lantern.

"You've got the power to back that up, Light... but you're forgetting one thing. You're channeling the power of a Green Lantern Power Battery.  And our power is based on Will." Hal smiled coldly. "Want to guess as to which of us has a greater amount of that?"

Arthur Light's face fell somewhat. He felt what Hal was doing now -- draining the energy straight from him. All that had been stolen from John Stewart's Battery was now being pulled from him. He resisted, his own will warring with that of Hal Jordan.

"I won't let you beat me again, Lantern. Not again."

Green Lantern heard the madness in Light's voice and it frightened him. He suddenly knew, without a doubt, that his view of Arthur Light as an almost harmless old coot was wrong... this was a man capable of great depravity, if left unchecked.  "You've already lost, Arthur... From the first moment you put on that costume and tried to be more than you are. Some people are born to greatness." Hal increased his expenditure of will and the energy around the two of them flashed so bright that it could be seen as far away as Metropolis. "And some simply aren't meant for it."

Green Lantern felt Dr. Light sag into his arms, the man's eyes fluttering closed. He almost felt bad for the guy -- almost. 

"Is he dead?"

Hal glanced over to see Zatanna walking towards him. She looked a little scuffed and bruised, but mostly none the worse for the battle. Despite himself, Hal couldn't help but notice that she was a gorgeous woman. Different in many ways from Kara -- while the latter was full of youthful, blossoming sexuality, Zatanna was a much more mature woman... and Hal found that he liked that. She was like Carol in those ways. "He's fine. He'll have a hell of a headache when he wakes up, but that's it."

"Sometimes I wish we could do something to stop whatever's wrong with him. Fix it." Zatanna brushed her long dark hair back out of her face. "My magic or your ring, fixing all the wrongs of the world. Sick, huh?"

Hal smiled. "No. It's only sick if we actually gave in to temptation and tried to play god. Everybody's got a right to decide their own lives -- even if they're just going to screw it up." Hefting Light over one shoulder, he turned to face the rest of his teammates. "Good job, guys. I'll let you handle the drop off and processing of the Fearsome Five, if you don't mind. I've got a fiancé to get back in touch with."

"You're engaged?" Supergirl asked, skipping forward. Her face held a look of such intense interest that Hal almost laughed. 

"Yes. I should have mentioned it when we all got together a few days ago... I hope you'll all come to the wedding, whenever it's going to be."

J'onn smiled softly. "Of course we will. Now go -- we'll handle things from here."

"Thanks, gang. See you tomorrow at our meeting."

"Penny for your thoughts, J'onn?" Zatanna was watching her friend's face, seeing the mixture of emotions that danced there.

"I was just... remembering. My own nuptials were a very happy event. I hope that Hal treasures these moments."

Carol stretched as she closed the door behind her. She'd heard from Hal an hour or so before, apologizing for not coming back sooner -- but she'd understood he was away on business. There were times in the past she'd begrudged him for the time he spent as Green Lantern, but she was going to try really hard to stop being so selfish. He loved his work -- and so did she. They'd just have to understand that about each other. 

Her office was a fairly cluttered place but every stack was known to her -- what appeared to be chaos to outsiders just reflected her own personal system. It was the opposite of how her father Carl had always been -- he'd been strict and oh-so straitlaced. It had been months since she'd seen or heard from him. After watching Ferris Aircraft be rebuilt again and again, he'd finally thrown his hands up and passed on the business to his daughter, seemingly for good. She didn't really miss him anymore -- their relationship had been very tense for quite awhile -- but she wondered if she should call him and tell him about the wedding. She had to, she supposed -- he was her father, after all.

A movement at her window caught her eye. It was late at night and everyone but Steve in security should have been at home... so who had--?

The man who entered the room moved almost faster than Carol's eye could track. He wielded some sort of staff, which had smoke pouring from one end -- some sort of energy weapon, she realized. Almost before she could attack him again, he was upon her. He delivered a chop to her throat that cut off her air supply and then followed that with a swipe of his staff. It clocked her hard in the back of the head and sent her tumbling to the floor. 

Carol felt like she was going to die -- she'd been in fights as Star Sapphire before, but it had always been in the background, locked away in the subconscious of an alien entity. Now she was in the forefront and it hurt like hell. Was this what Hal went through every day? How did he cope?

"Ms. Ferris," the man said, kneeling beside her. "This is nothing personal, believe me. Give me the codes I need on this paper and I'll stop hurting you. Try anything funny and I'll make you wish you were dead. Understand?"

Carol nodded dumbly, hoping she could stall long enough to get her head straight. She stared at the paper, realizing that he wanted access codes to Ferris accounts and contracts. Was this some sort of industrial espionage?

Pain flooded through her head again as the villain shoved her head into the floor. "Don't make me wait, girl. I'm on a schedule."

"Go to hell, you bastard" she whispered. 

"Been there -- didn't like it. And the name's Deathstroke, not bastard." The mercenary gripped her hair once again and drove her face hard into the floor. Blood dripped from her lip and she wondered if one of her teeth wasn't broken.

"That's enough," someone said. Through the haze of pain, Carol thought it was familiar but couldn't place it.

Deathstroke rose, shifting uncomfortably. "You're not suppose to be here. This isn't the deal."

Carol saw feet move into view but she could barely lift her head. The man appeared to be walking with a cane and his breathing was hoarse and strained. "The deal has been changed. I'm tired of waiting. Tried of waiting to have my life and belongings back -- my company and my daughter, amongst them.

Carol rolled over onto her back, her bloodied mouth hanging open. Daughter? That's impossible. We haven't always seen eye-to-eye but daddy would never do something like this. Not if he were in his right mind....

But the man looking down at her was obviously not in his right mind. A glint of madness -- and calculating intelligence -- was all that stared back at her. 

Carl Ferris had come home.

Next Issue: Carol is held hostage by a man claiming to be her father, while Hal journeys to OA for a reunion with the Guardians -- and Kyle Rayner! Plus: Hal's oldest and deadliest foe makes an unexpected return! Be here for "Father's Day."