A/N: I am ASHAMED. FOUR YEARS I've been promising this story, four years I've left y'all hanging. I have no excuse, except for this thing called real life. My apologies, however, to everyone who read Fall From Grace and was expecting the follow up within a reasonable amount of time. I hope the length of this story makes up for the arduous wait.
Anyway, it's 2019 now, so let's kick this off with a bang. This is the longest Diamond Earth story to date, and while I haven't QUITE finished writing it yet, I am close enough to the end to begin posting (also, I really didn't want to keep you all waiting anymore). To new readers, welcome to Diamond Earth, my fanfiction DCU - you can check out a summary of what it's all about, how it works, and the other stories in the universe on my profile. It isn't strictly necessary to read all former stories before this (though I would recommend it because there are numerous references and allusions to events in previous fics), but the prequel oneshot Fall From Grace is a must if you wish to understand what's going on here.
Now, for the last bit of business before you can finally delve in: my update schedule for this story will be twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays. Today is a special case - you get the prologue, and chapter one will follow tomorrow, after which we will resume with twice-weekly updates.
Disclaimer: Hal Jordan, the Green Lanterns, the Justice League, and everything related to them belong to DC Comics. This story is fan-written purely for fun and enjoyment, with no intention of monetizing the properties. Any similarities with existing official incarnations of the characters and their world are either deliberate adaptations or completely coincidental.
ENJOY! And if you'd be so kind, feedback is greatly appreciated =)
TALES OF DIAMOND EARTH
Brightest Day, Blackest Night
Prologue: Memories of a Dark Day
June 2004
The afternoon shift (continental U.S. time) of Watchtower monitor duty was widely regarded by most of the League to be the single most boring shift in the entire duty roster. None proclaimed this view more vociferously than the Flash, who found himself having figuratively drawn the short straw for this month's schedule, which placed him primarily on the dreaded afternoon shift (though he shared some with Green Lantern, who was also working afternoon monitor duty for the rest of the month).
"I never should have mentioned that I'm working the graveyard shift at the lab this month," he grumbled to himself as he used his League comlink to remotely activate the Watchtower teleporter. The transporter beam instantly locked onto his biosignature, and a moment later he materialized on the Watchtower.
He was pleasantly surprised to find Green Lantern lounging around the monitors with a cold chicken sandwich in hand.
"Hey, Hal," he greeted jovially. "Whatcha doing here? I thought you were on duty yesterday."
The Green Lantern shrugged. "I had to get away for a while."
"Tough day?" Flash asked sympathetically, coming over to sit next to him.
"Tough week." Hal sounded weary. "Ferris Air's latest prototype fell through."
"The Peregrine? The one you said was so promising?"
"Yeah. It nearly killed Ace when he took it out for a spin; Carol's really upset, and to top it off, she's furious with me."
"With you? Why? I thought you guys were doing okay."
Hal sighed wearily. "That was before…" He stopped himself, to Flash's curiosity. "You know I still haven't told her about the ring," Hal said instead – and Flash's curiosity turned to concern, because he knew a deflection when he heard it. "Carol knows I'm hiding something, and it's a constant thorn in her side that I'm holding back something from her. And she hates it – she hasn't been completely happy with me since I joined the Corps. So when she gets angry at something, her temper also extends to me because of that issue." Hal sighed. "She also has a rather specific reason to be mad at me this time – I was supposed to be the one to test the Peregrine. I promised her months ago, when U.S.A.F first approached Ferris for a new design."
"And you weren't around because of hero activities?" Flash guessed.
"Oh, I wish that was all it was." Hal's voice was despondent, ringing with heartache and pain to those who knew what to look for.
Flash had heard enough. "Hal, what's wrong?"
Hal opened his mouth, seemingly to reply, then thought better of it. "I don't want to talk about it."
"Hal…" Flash began.
"Wally, please."
Flash gave his friend a long look, and Hal knew Wally's green eyes were worried behind his cowl.
"All right," Flash relented. He wasn't happy about it, but as a person who valued his own privacy he knew he needed to respect Hal's wish for him to back off. "But whenever you're ready to talk, I'm here."
"I know. Thanks."
The African-American man hitched his bag higher up his shoulder as he wove his way through the streets of Detroit. It was the height of the afternoon, and not many people were out on the streets, but even so, his military buzz-cut and Marine uniform made him stand out from the regular citizens. A few paused what they were doing to observe him for a while, but most simply gave him a passing glance as they went about their business – for which he was thankful. He had never been the type who liked to draw attention to himself.
He stopped at a curb and hailed the next cab that came that way. As it happened, the driver was an old acquaintance of his.
"John Stewart," the cabbie greeted with a wide grin, turning around in his seat as the Marine hoisted his knapsack into the backseat. "It's good to see you, son."
"It's good to see you, Al," John returned with a genuine smile.
"How long you back for this time?" Al inquired as John mounted the cab.
"For good, Al." John shut the door.
Carol Ferris was not a woman who coped well with things that didn't go her way. And unfortunately for her, lately things had been going sideways with alarming frequency: first, the growing problems in her so-called relationship with one Hal Jordan; second, the fact that Hal had bailed on her for the Peregrine flight test; third, the failure of said flight test; and most recently, an argument to end all arguments between her and Hal this morning (and no, it did not escape her notice that 75% of things not going her way involved Hal Jordan).
Hal had come to apologize for leaving her stranded in the matter of the Peregrine, but Carol, with her emotional meter already at maximum capacity, had chewed him out loudly and thoroughly, bringing up issues from years ago (perhaps unfairly, but she had reached her limit). Hal, of course, had his own pride, and he'd shouted right back at her about how she didn't understand, and how he'd thought he could count on her support. The debacle had ended when Hal stormed out after Carol slapped him in the face.
In order to direct her considerable lingering fury in a more constructive way, Carol had retreated to her office and was now poring over the data in front of her with single-minded zeal. On her desk were spread design blueprints, specifications overviews, performance reports, test results, and anything else about the failed Peregrine model she had been able to get her hands on.
The disastrous failure of Ferris Air's latest flight test last week had been both a huge embarrassment to the company (the representative U.S.A.F had sent to evaluate the Peregrine's performance had had a front-row view of the entire dreadful affair) as well as near-fatal for pilot Ace Morgan, who was currently recuperating from the injuries he sustained in the crash after his seat failed to eject.
"I don't understand it," Carol muttered in frustration as she reviewed the official report from the technicians who had investigated the Peregrine after the crash.
All initial assessments of the Peregrine had been favorable, exceeding expectations even, and Carol, being the devoted perfectionist she was, was determined to figure out what went wrong and why.
"It can't have been the design, it was perfectly sound…the construction materials all passed standard safety regulations…inspection before the flight revealed nothing amiss…it shouldn't have malfunctioned that way, but it did." Carol frowned at the reports. "What did I miss?"
Sighing, she leaned back in her chair and rubbed her temple with the tips of her index and middle fingers. She needed a break from all the engineering evaluation, or she would go stir-crazy.
A purplish glimmer flickered at the corner of her eye, and she turned her head to study the object resting in the pencil holder on her desk. Since picking it off the street a week ago – in fact, she'd found it on the same day as the Peregrine's failed flight test – she'd been inexplicably attracted to the odd gem. It was a beautiful thing, smooth and oval with a bright pink starburst exactly in the center of the otherwise dark fuchsia stone. Carol knew she should probably take it to the police station so they could find the owner, but something about the way the gem gently radiated a feeling of power had prevented her from telling anyone about it. Carol was inquisitive by nature, and like the Peregrine, this gorgeous jewel was a puzzle she wanted to solve.
With a thoughtful shrug of her shoulders, Carol put down the pen she'd been using and picked up the gem.
Maybe a temporary change of focus to a different mystery would prove to be enlightening.
It was close to midnight by the time Hal finished his patrol of Coast City. Since the Air Force hadn't called him in for any missions tonight, he'd opted for a solo flight around his hometown, to make sure no villains were wreaking havoc as well as to clear his head after what was, as he'd told Flash, a long, difficult series of days.
After the triple blow of Hector Hammond's anti-metabeings viewpoint, Sinestro's disgrace and exile, and Ace's brush with death all on the same day, Hal's emotional state had been a wreck for the better part of a week as he struggled to come to grips with the emotional backlash from all three events. The stress of coping, coupled with the demands of his double life as a U.S.A.F fighter pilot and a Green Lantern, was taking its toll on Hal, and tonight was worse because of the massive argument he'd had with Carol. Thus, it was a weary Green Lantern who landed on Hal's front porch at five minutes to midnight.
Hal was just about to depower and go in when his ring beeped gently, indicating the presence of another Green Lantern nearby. Hal mentally prepared himself for a trying ordeal – the last time he'd been around other Corpsmen, his whole world had tilted sideways.
To his surprise, however, it was not Tomar-Re or Kilowog or anyone else Hal associated with 'official' Lantern business, but Arisia Rrab who dropped down in front of him.
"Hi," she said shyly.
"Arisia, what are you doing here?" Hal asked, thoroughly confused. Though Arisia was in charge of the sector right next to Hal's, neither of them had ever ventured into the other's area before.
"I wanted to see how you were doing." Arisia tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear, the glow from her ring emphasizing her flawless skin and smooth curves. "None of the other Lanterns have heard from you since…"
"Unless there's a crisis, I don't really want to hear from them either," Hal said frankly. "Not till life has gone back to some semblance of normal. No offense to you or any of the Lanterns, of course – it's just…"
"I know. You need time." Arisia's tone was understanding. "Katma Tui has been appointed Green Lantern of Sector 1417," she volunteered.
"Oh." Hal wasn't sure what he was supposed to say about Sinestro's successor. Arisia sighed.
"Look, Hal…" She drew closer, until they were eye to eye, and put her hand on his shoulder. "I know you're hurting, but so are we all. Sinestro was liked and respected by all of us. I know you'll need time to get over what he did, but you don't have to shut everyone out."
Her hand automatically rose to cup the side of his face, and the tension in the air abruptly increased. Arisia caught her breath as they held each other's eyes, and her lips involuntarily parted. Hal, too, could feel the attraction between them, and it was a welcome change from the dark mood that had hung over him all week. Arisia's presence as someone who knew what he was going through and who was offering the emotional support he desperately needed was also a soothing balm to his troubled soul.
Before either of them realized what was happening, Hal had covered Arisia's lips with his own.
A/N: Chapter One tomorrow!
