Chapter One: First Flight
She was flying through the empty, vast expanse of space. A bright green aura outlined her body and left a trail of light in her wake. She felt truly alive; no limits, no boundaries. The only things that restricted her were her own imagination and willpower. She looked behind her, seeing an entire army of Lanterns like her, over 7200 strong, and she was their leader, the one they rallied behind when push came to shove.
"Miss Jordan…"
She knew that voice, it was familiar to her. And yet, consumed as she was by her own responsibility as the dreaded planet of Ysmault came into view, she ignored it. She had to reach the planet; she had to lead her Lanterns through the War of Light…
"Miss Jordan…"
The voice was more insistent this time, and she felt the space around her seem to warp. The stars were replaced by blackness, then a sort of light. She glanced back worriedly at her Lanterns; they were fading into nonexistence. No! This could not be happening…She was so close…
"Miss Jordan, wake up!"
With that, Carlie Jordan, sixteen, of Coast City, California woke with a start, lifting her face up from the desk she had her head laying on. She wasn't flying through space as a Green Lantern—she was in high school, in Home Studies class, which just so happened to be her least favorite class of all. The teacher, one Mr. O'Donnell, leered at Carlie with beady, vulture-like eyes.
"Miss Jordan," Mr. O'Donnell said testily, "this is the third time you've slept in my class this month. Third! Of all of my students in this class, I've not ever seen one so lazy and disrespectful as you! I'll be calling your parents, young lady; I can assure you of that!"
Carlie just pushed her raven-black hair out of her face and looked to O'Donnell blearily. Why, why couldn't he just leave her alone? It wasn't like she was doing anything disruptive—she just wanted to sleep. But Carlie knew not to say anything back; it would only worsen her situation, even if she told the truth: That she had been working on a project for her AP Physics class and had been forced to pull an all-nighter because her project kept falling apart.
"Sorry, Mr. O'Donnell," the teen said, slurring her words as she had not yet fully awakened. "It won't happen again…"
"For your sake, Miss Jordan, I should hope it won't," O'Donnell hissed, just before the school bell rang, signaling the end of the period—and the school day. Carlie didn't listen to O'Donnell as he told the class of their homework; she was already behind, so she'd just catch up later. She slung her bookbag over her shoulder and walked from the classroom, heading for the front of the school, where her father would pick her up.
"Hey, Carlie!" called a voice, and she turned her head to see Olivia Rayner, her closest friend, hurrying up to her, smiling broadly. Olivia was a head shorter than Carlie, with mousy hair that curled naturally at her ears.
"Hey Liv," Carlie said groggily, still recovering from her abrupt awakening. "Sup?"
"Well, I haven't yet gotten to wish you a happy sixteenth birthday today, so… happy birthday, C.J.!" Olivia said with a wide grin. Carlie smiled.
"Thanks, Liv. That makes my day a bit better. Nothing like getting a 'happy birthday' from my best friend right after I get out of that hellhole of a Home Studies class," she said, and Olivia winked.
"No trouble, C.J. So, any idea what your parents have gotten you?" she asked, and Carlie shook her head.
"Nope. I hope I get that iPod X-50. Have you seen those things? They can hold up to, like, five terabytes of data," she said to Olivia, grinning at the thought. "I can put every single song I've ever liked onto it and still have room for more!"
"Don't those cost, like… what, five hundred bucks?" Olivia asked, and Carlie gaped.
"Five hund—Oh wow… Mom and Dad might not want to shell out that much for me…" Carlie said, pouting a little as she and Olivia walked across the front lawn of Coast City High School, heading for the car pool. "But a girl can hope, right?"
The two girls continued, before departing with a hug as they reached the car pool, and Carlie stepped into the passenger seat of a grey sedan driven by her father, Hal Jordan. Hal was fifty, with slightly weathered features. His eyes were the same as Carlie's, right down to the exact shade of brown. As Carlie got into the car, her father smiled.
"So… Happy birthday, C.J.," Hal said as he drove off, and Carlie beamed. "Sixteen… I can't believe it. It feels-"
"—like only yesterday that you saw me when I was born. You say that every year, Daddy," Carlie replied with a grin, and Hal shrugged.
"Well, I've got a present for you. A very special gift, something you've wanted for a long time," he continued, and Carlie's eyes lit up.
"Oh my God, Daddy— is it an iPod X-50?" Carlie demanded, and Hal burst out in laughter.
"Maaaaybe…" Hal said with a warm smile, and the two continued on in silence until they reached the two-story house they called home. As they walked inside and into the living room, Carlie un-slung her bookbag and tossed it casually onto the sofa like she always did when coming home.
"Mom, we're home!" Carlie called, and down the stairs came an attractive woman in the same age group as Hal, who shared her hair with Carlie, while Carlie had Hal's facial features. Carol Jordan (nee Ferris), the CEO of Ferris Aircraft, Incorporated. She embraced her daughter in a big hug and smiled widely.
"Hey, C.J.! Happy birthday!" she said, and Carlie beamed again. When they let go, Carol led Carlie into the Jordans' kitchen/dining room area, where on the polished wooden table sat a large birthday cake with sixteen candles.
After sitting through a rather uncomfortable attempt at Hal singing the "Happy Birthday" song with a slow jazz beat, Carlie got the chance to dig in. After several slices of cake for each member of the family,
Hal called Carlie into the living room. As she came in and sat on the couch, Hal faced her, hiding something behind his back. He grinned, and spoke: "C.J., your mother and I have been talking, and we have some important news for you. I'm… retiring from the Green Lantern Corps."
This made Carlie freeze. The Green Lanterns were the "space police" of the universe, and Hal Jordan had the distinction of being one of—if not the most—famous Lantern in the Corps. Carlie had known of the existence of the Corps, and her father's status within it and as a superhero on Earth, for her entire life. She had always looked up to him, idolized him, and wanted to be like him. And now he was retiring? That was… That had to be some sort of joke; she had never thought her own father would be retiring.
"You— you're joking, right, Daddy?" Carlie asked with a weak chuckle. "There's—there's no way you'd retire… The Corps is your life, Dad."
Hal gave a small, sad smile. "I'm sorry, Honey, but I'm afraid I am. I've done my time, and I feel I deserve a break. So that's why… I'm giving you this," he said. He took his hands from behind his back and uncurled his fingers in his right hand, showing Carlie a glowing green ring. The ring's centerpiece was a flat circle, and on it was a symbol: a small O-shape, with a line on the top and bottom, forming the rough general shape of a lantern. As she looked on, Carlie's eyes widened. This couldn't be happening…
"My ring," Hal said softly, "the same one that chose me all those years ago upon the death of my predecessor, Abin Sur."
Carlie nodded. She remembered the story quite well: Hal had been an employee of Ferris Aircraft, working underneath his future wife, when suddenly a floating green ring found him and sent him to the crashed ship of the mortally-wounded alien known as Abin Sur. Abin gave Hal the choice to accept the responsibility of the Green Lanterns… and the rest was history. Hal had served as a member of the Corps for… well over twenty years before now. He had become the most famous member of the GLC, even more famous than his former mentor, the traitorous Sinestro.
With shaking fingers, Carlie gently took her father's ring from his hand, and just stared at it breathlessly. She looked up at Hal, her throat tight, and asked: "Wh—what are you going to do, Dad? I mean… you're not just affiliated with the GLC… you're also a founding member of the Justice League."
"Indeed I am," Hal said with a smile. "I may be retiring from the Corps, but the Guardians allowed me another ring to use when I'm working with the League. You, however, are using my first ring. The ring of Abin Sur. Want to put it on?"
Carlie swallowed what felt like a large lump in her throat, and slowly slipped the ring in her hand onto her right hand's ring finger. She took a deep breath as she felt a powerful surge of energy flow through her body, and her clothing changed to a standard Green Lantern uniform: a full-body suit that covered everything below the base of her neck. It was green and black, with a white circle on Carlie's chest—this was what showed her as a new member of the GLC: "White Circles", as they were called, had not yet earned the right to wear the Green Lantern emblem on their uniform. Carlie looked down at herself. Like her father, she had white gloves, and green boots.
"Carlie Jordan of Sector 2814," the ring said in its computerized voice, "You have the ability to overcome great fear. Welcome to the Green Lantern Corps."
"Wicked…" Carlie muttered, and then she started to cry, hugging her father tightly. "Daddy…" she said softly, "this is the best birthday present I've ever gotten!"
Hal just smiled, hugging his daughter back. Carol joined in, and after a little while, the three broke apart.
"So," Carlie said, wiping her eyes, "Do I… Do I report to Oa?" she asked, referring to the homeworld of the Green Lantern Corps.
"Yeah," Hal replied, "but… I was thinking… Before you go and report to Oa for training, you should try out your ring. That's what I did when I got it."
Carlie nodded, and moved into the backyard. Hal followed her, with a warm smile on his face as Carlie stood stock-still, took a deep breath, and thought only one thing: I want to fly. As she thought this, she jumped into the air—and stayed there. Carlie opened her eyes, looking down at herself. A green light outlined her slim figure; this was the force-field generated by her ring which would protect her from harsh weather and atmospheric conditions that the human body couldn't handle. When in space or on a planet that couldn't support human life, this field kept a portion of Carlie's native atmosphere within itself, so that Carlie could function. This also, somehow, allowed her to hear things in the soundless vacuum of space. At least for other Lanterns this made some sense: They would use their rings to transmit radio signals to each other. But as for aliens that could function in space, like Superman for example… Carlie had no idea how he could speak to others in space and they could hear him (maybe his Justice League communicator? It functioned like a radio, so that might have explained it).
Carlie snapped herself out of her thoughts, and she realized she was smiling like a kid in a candy store. She looked to Hal with an odd look on her face, like she was asking permission for something she didn't know about. Hal just smiled, nodded, and made a sweeping motion with his hand, as if to say: Go ahead, kiddo. Start flying.
Carlie smiled even wider, if that were possible, and she flew higher into the air, soon going high above Coast City and zooming around the city itself, marveling at what she was feeling: She felt… free. Flying was in Carlie's blood: Not only were her parents Lanterns, but they were also jet pilots: Hal had worked for Carol (and still did) as a test pilot at Ferris Aircraft, which Carol had inherited from her father upon his untimely death. As they, and their fathers, had been pilots and natural flyers, it was only natural that Carlie would inherit the same love for flying through the air—either in a jet or with a Power Ring. Carlie did several laps around Coast City, and after five minutes of sheer joy, she landed back in her backyard. Hal was still there, and Carol had joined him. Both of them had wide smiles on their faces.
"It's a great feeling, isn't it C.J.?" Hal asked with a knowing smile on his face. "Flying through the air under your own power; being able to go as fast as you want and go almost anywhere you want. The only limitations with that ring are your own will and imagination… plus that pesky little recharge protocol. Speaking of which, the ring's low on energy. I got my Power Battery—which now belongs to you—and you'll have to recharge the ring."
Hal hefted up a medium-sized green object shaped like a lantern, and held it out in front of Carlie.
"Recharge protocol initiated. Please recite oath," the ring said as Carlie inserted the ring, still on her finger, into a slot on the Power Battery itself. The ring glowed, and Carlie's green outline glowed brighter as Carlie recited the Green Lantern Corps Oath:
"In brightest day, in blackest night,
No evil shall escape my sight!
Let those who worship evil's might
Beware my power—Green Lantern's light!"
"Recharge completed. Power levels at one-hundred percent." The ring said and Carlie pulled her hand away from the Power Battery, and then grasped its handle, taking it in her hand. Hal grinned, and Carlie could see the sheer pride in his eyes when he looked at her.
"Now, off you go to Oa, kid. You've got to report for training. That white circle on your suit is unfitting, wouldn't you agree?" Hal asked, still with that trademark grin on his face. Carlie beamed, and then started crying again. She had waited her entire life for this… and here it was.
She hugged Hal and Carol, and said: "Don't worry, Mom, Daddy— I'll make you proud of me!" With that, Carlie flew up into the air, and let her ring do the work, setting it to autopilot and letting it take her to Oa, the homeworld of the Green Lantern Corps.