2

It was a peaceful Summer day in Coast City, California. The skies were clear, with the exception of a few clouds roaming here and there, The sun was shining bright in the sky, freeway was jammed with traffic because of an accident; with no fatalities. Usually, people spent this time enjoying the beach in its warm waters, children annoy parents for ice cream or cold soda, peoples style of clothes changed as well for this warm and hot season. For the normal Coast City resident, today was a good day. That is, if you aren't on the main streets nearly avoiding accidents that would ruin your day as a 1967 Chevy Impala raced, dashed, and skeeted along the streets avoiding any and all cars it would have come into contact with.

The driver of this lovely, and pretty dirty, car was named Hal Jordan, and he was in a great hurry. He ignored the sounds of horns and angry drivers, and very rude gestures, as he continued driving forward with nothing but his destination set in mind.

"Crapcrapcrapcrap." He was muttering to himself.

He didn't say this for dodging cars, his job required him to solve problems quickly and he used this skill with almost everything outside of his job. No, he said this because he knew today was an important day. It was important to her. And if he messed up, he would never hear the end of it. Even though he knew it was his fault for running late because he forgot to set up his alarm and slept late, if it wasn't for his good friend Thomas Kalmaku, he would have never gotten up in the first place.

His phone vibrated inside of his chest pocket. He took it out and saw who it was. He was half tempted to ignore the call, but he knew he shouldn't. With a sigh, he answered it.

"Good morning, Carol." He greeted.

"It's three in the afternoon and where the hell are you, Jordan?" She replied in a sweet voice, but there was a hint of a deadly tone.

He hated when she called him "Jordan". Whenever she did, he knew he either did something wrong, or angered her. In this case, it was both. She isn't always so "tight", as Hal would put it sometimes in closed doors with Tom, she is a childhood friend of Hal's who accepted the full responsibility of Ferris Aircraft Inc. from her father when he decided to retire and travel the world. In other words, she became Hal's boss. There were times after work when she would talk to him as some sort of stress relief, but these days she has been piling on more and more stress that she was on the verge of breaking down.

Today was very important to her. And he already messed up by not being there on time.

"Take in a deep breath and relax, Carol. I'll be there soon." He assured her.

Normally, he would give a smartass remark. But he knew she didn't need that right now. Right now she needed reassurance that this day will go perfect without any problem.

"How can I relax? You were supposed to be up in the air a half-an-hour ago!" Her low voice cracked.

"What can I say? You know how I like to be fashionably late." He immedietly regretted not thinking before he spoke.

Carol took in a deep breath. "Just get here, Hal. I am counting on you."

She hung up before Hal could even say anything. He was hitting himself on the forehead with his phone, repeating "stupidstupidstupid!" over what he said. For one, he didn't even spend time picking out what to wear. After Tom called, he quickly hopped in the shower, brushed his teeth, and put on the same clothes he wore the previous day which was a white tee shirt, brown leather jacket (which he also regretted for how hot today was), and jeans. He didn't have time to put on shoes so he just ran out barefoot and started driving.

Nearly there to the airfield, and he heard the sound he was hoping he wouldn't hear. He was surprised he even made it this far without hearing that "magical" sound. The police siren continued to remind him that the cop wanted him to stop. He pulled over and got out of the car, leaving his license and registration on the windshield. It didn't matter now since he was in front of the building. He ran in and made it in the locker rooms a few minutes later.

As he was stripping off his clothes and putting on his flight suit, Tom walked in.

"You know she is going to kill you when this is all done, right?" He reminded Hal.

"Please... When this is all done, she will declare her undying love and gratitude for me." Hal replied, grabbing his helmet. "Let's fly."

Another half-an-hour later, and Hal was seated in the first sixth generation fighter jet. The Government chose Ferris Aircraft Inc. to host and test pilot their new aircraft which they were hoping would replace fifth generation aircraft's sooner rather than originally planned. A lot of work and money went into this one piece of aircraft. Instead of feeling honored, Hal felt proud. He wished his father was here to see him now.

His heart beated rapidly as excitement finally reached him. Whenever Hal was given a chance to fly a new plane, he was like a little kid given his new favorite toy. The controls were very similar to other jets he had flown previously. He switched on the usual switches, pushed the usual buttons and had a wide smile on his face.

"You should probably wipe that smile off your face, and look serious." Tom spoke from the communicator within Hal's helmet.

"Sorry, couldn't help it."

"Let's take her out nice and slowly." Tom instructed.

Hal grabbed the controls and gently urged the jet forward. The feel of "the purr", which Hal liked to call it, sent a chill up and down his body. It was a feeling he was well accustomed to as a mix of nerves and adrenaline fused within him. There was always dangers in testing a new aircraft, so he always felt adrenaline. He always enjoyed pushing them to their limits. He realized that the controls were very sensitive, something he was going to change once up in the air. The jet was now on the runway.

"How are you feeling?" Carol's voice asked.

She always asked him this whenever he was ready to launch in the air. And he always replied.

"I feel like Christmas came early."

He knew she smiled at this and Tom's voice replaced hers. "Do it."

That is all he needed to hear, and in seconds he was in the air. Already he noted that this new generation fighter jet was faster than any other craft he flown before. He couldn't help but scream in excitement as he took off into the air. Everything about her, the jet, was smooth and easy. Hal felt a bit disappointed, he was hoping for more of a challenge but either way he loved it. He loved this, his job. There was something... Fulfilling, about being in the air. Where it is only him and the vast space in the skies.

Many years ago, no one believed man would fly like the birds. Many years later, hundreds and thousands of men and women have flown into the air along side their animal inspirations. Although Hal was one in a million pilots across the world, he felt like he was making history every time he was in the skies. He loved every second of this.

He won't forget the first time he flew, he was six and his father took each of his sons up in the air separately. Yet, his brothers could not feel the same way Hal did. He was so fascinated and inspired by this magical feeling that he knew that he wanted to do nothing else but fly. Years later he was here, looking down on the same sights he did when he was six.

A look of determination was placed on his face, now was the time to push her to her limits. Hal performed a series of flips and different maneuvers in the air. Some were dangerous and death defying but he has performed them so many times that he is used to the sensation. There was something he wanted to try that he never did before. He wanted to see how high she could go. It was risky, very, very risky. But he was going to do it.

He pointed the nose of the jet upwards and flew up higher and higher.

"Hal, what are you doing?" Tom asked.

Hal ignored him and continued going up. The jet began to shake a little, he ignored that as well. All he kept thinking was "Higher".

"Hal, answer me, please." Tom requested.

Now the jet began to shake even more. Some lights were blinking and the sounds of Caution were ringing in the cockpit. Hal just closed his eyes, took in a deep breath, and continued forward.

"If you go any further up you will stall! Hal, come down now!" Tom warned him.

He knew the risks, but he no longer cared. All he cared about was going higher. Finally, the jet began to stall and the controls were cut off. Even communications was out. But for a moment, the jet stayed in the air before the nose pointed down and he began to nose dive to the ground far below.

Reality finally hit him. He was calm though, he couldn't afford to panic though he could stop his rapid beating heart. He tried to turn the switches back on but they wouldn't.

"Tom? Tom? Are you there?" He tried calling for.

The ground was looking fairly close now and he slowly began to panic. He tried to eject but his seat was jammed, a problem with maintenance and hdad nothing to do with being in the air. As of right now, he was in a seat plunging to his death. He suddenly remembered that his father was in this same situation. His jet stalled, his seat was jammed, and his father fell into his death. Hal was only eight when he witnessed the death of his father. And now he would die like his father did.

The ground looked as if it were an inch away and Hal closed his eyes tightly and suddenly, the falling jet stopped. Hal opened one eye and then both eyes staring out of the window of the cockpit. He couldn't believe his eyes. The nose of the jet was barely touching the ground now and what saved him was something he couldn't process in his head.

Surrounding the entire sixth generation fighter-jet, was a large green orb...

Sorry for the long wait for a new chapter. Computer has a virus which makes it very hard to write, and submit new chapters. Hopefully the problem will be solved soon and I can get back to posting new chapters regularly.
Now some of you may be wondering, "Why would Hal want to go higher knowing the risk?" the answer to this is because he enjoys pushing Jets to their limits. He has never done this particular move before and he decided now would be a perfect time to do it. He needed his determination and focus to do it which is why he ignored Tom and warnings the jet was giving him. "Why didn't he remember his fathers death originally?" This I am saving (as a small cameo appearance to show that this world exists within my other DC stories), so that will have to wait until MUCH later to be answered. "What about any mention of romance between Carol and Hal? And who the hell is Tom Kalmaku?" Also will be saved. This chapter served as an introduction to three characters Hal, Carol, and Tom. More of their relationships and who they are will be said later on.
Other than that, if you have any other questions then feel free to ask. Not sure when the next chapter will be up, but I thank you all for your patience and of course, the love you may have for this story so far. =]