A/N: Thanks to Alverrann for reviewing! As for the rest of you reading this, it'd be great to hear from you too, after this chapter =)

Chapter Two: White Hot

"ACE!"

If willpower alone were enough, Hal's anguished cry ringing across the demolished patio would have saved Ace Morgan. Sadly, the one thing in the universe that would have made his willpower enough – a Green Lantern's ring – had failed at this pivotal moment, glowing dimly with only just enough power to keep its wearer's identity secret from the villain who remained floating above the scene of the crime.

Doctor Polaris turned to stare quizzically at Green Lantern. "My, my, did you know him personally?"

Numb with shock and grief though he was, there was a blinding rage building within Hal, and he knew that, if willpower without the ring were enough, he would have killed Polaris then and there.

As it was, he had no time to react before a brilliant fuchsia beam knocked Doctor Polaris out of the air. With an outraged yell, Polaris scrambled to his feet, looking for the source of the shot.

Hovering in the air was a woman with flowing black hair, surrounded by a glowing violet aura. Her costume was a tight, low-cut dark pink leotard with long sleeves that continued seamlessly into gloves. A narrow eight-pointed star was cut out of the midriff, exposing the bare flesh of her front torso. A pair of thigh-high boots encased her long legs, and a broad, pink cat's eye mask concealed her identity and provided a frame for the radiant purple gem mounted in the middle of her forehead.

"Who the hell are you?" Doctor Polaris demanded.

"The name's Star Sapphire. However, you can just think of me as the woman who beat you."

"Never gonna happen," Polaris declared.

He prepared to fire a magnetic pulse at the woman, but Star Sapphire did something Hal had never seen anyone but a Green Lantern do: she created tentacles of pure energy – violet, like her aura – and wrapped Polaris in them. Then she conjured a cage made of the same energy and locked Polaris, still tied up, in it.

She did all this without a power ring.

Hal knew he should thank her, but all he could think about was stumbling towards Ace's body. He dropped to his knees beside his friend, having just enough presence of mind not to let his costume disappear and reveal to Star Sapphire who Green Lantern was.

Star Sapphire, meanwhile, left Polaris struggling with his bonds in his cage and stepped over to Green Lantern's grieving form.

"I'll deal with Doctor Polaris. You need to go home, wherever that is for you, and charge that ring."

Hal was too lost in sorrow to wonder how his mysterious savior knew so much about his ring. All he could do was nod automatically, eyes fixed on Ace.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Star Sapphire said solemnly. "Was he a friend?"

"Yes," Hal replied before he could think. "Yes, he was." With a shaking hand, he reached out and closed Ace's lifeless eyes.

In the Coast City S.T.A.R. Labs building, Dr. Hector Hammond compared two genetic samples taken from the latest experiments of S.T.A.R. Labs' Genetic Engineering Division. Cadmus, at the intimation of the ever-vigilant General Wade Eiling, had begun research into a possible method of neutralizing the metagene within humans, and Hammond, as their foremost geneticist, was in placed in charge of the project. However, even while he noted the effects of the prototype serum on the modified DNA samples, Hammond's mind was working on another problem: the true identity of Coast City's resident Green Lantern.

A lunch conversation with old classmate Hal Jordan had inspired a wild idea, and Hammond's home computer was at this moment using a series of complex algorithms to calculate the probability of various Coast City residents being Green Lantern. Hammond was itching to finish his work at S.T.A.R. Labs to get back and check on the results.
With any luck, he would soon be able to update the Cadmus file that listed the known identities of the various metabeings they were tracking.

Hal sat on the floor of his living room with his shoulders hunched and his knees bent, staring blankly at the wall. After Star Sapphire left with Polaris in her custody, he had placed an anonymous call to 911. He felt bad about drawing EMS out for a man who was already dead, but he couldn't bear to call the mortuary and this way he was sure Ace's death would be managed by the proper channels (EMS would call CSI and so on). Once he'd done that, he left, heading straight for home even though he was due at Ferris Air to provide his input for the new and improved Peregrine design (U.S.A.F. had appointed him one of the main liaisons for the revised Peregrine project).

Thinking about Ferris Air reminded him that he should call Carol to inform her of what happened. Ace had been Ferris Air's best test pilot, and he'd been quite friendly with Carol as well. With seemingly great effort, Hal flipped his phone out and dialed – Carol's number was so familiar to him that he knew it by heart.

The phone rang and rang, and Hal was about to give up when Carol finally answered.

"You'd better be calling to tell me you're on your way."

"Carol…"

"The meeting starts in five minutes, Hal. Ditching me is one thing, but ditching the Air Force? Are you trying to get fired?"

"Carol, please just listen," Hal pleaded.

There was a cautious pause on the other end once Carol noticed how hoarse his voice was.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Ace…" Hal swallowed and, with difficulty, choked the words out. "Ace is dead, Carol."

"What!?" Carol's shock was palpable. "That's…I don't…What happened?"

"Can we meet somewhere? I don't want to do this over the phone."

"Hal, the meeting…"

Hal exhaled, bitterly disappointed. "Right, the meeting. I guess I'll see you later, then."

It was a few seconds before Carol replied. "Screw the meeting. I'll come to your house. That's where you are, right?"

"Yeah." Hal wasn't surprised at how well she knew him.

"Give me fifteen minutes."

Carol arrived at Hal's suburban home thirteen minutes later. The front door was unlocked, but she doubted Hal had had the presence of mind to deliberately prepare for her arrival – it was far more likely that he'd not bothered locking it when he staggered into his living room after he left Ace.

Hal was still sitting in the same position he'd been in when he called, his head sunk in his hands. Carol knew it was the same position because she knew Hal. Their relationship might have deteriorated in recent months, but she still knew him better than anyone else, and she did still care for him.

Carol also knew, without asking, that he'd seen Ace die.

"Hal." She let her handbag fall to the floor as she knelt beside him.

"We were having lunch." Hal's voice was monotonous, and he had yet to lift his head. "A supervillain attacked the restaurant…there was nothing I could do."

"Of course not," Carol said soothingly. "You're no superhero. It wasn't your fault."

"Yes, it was." If he had charged his ring…

"Hal, it's natural for you to feel this way, but trust me, there was nothing –"

Hal finally raised his head, and Carol was taken aback to see how dull his bloodshot eyes were. "I was there, Carol," he insisted. "I could have done something – I should have done something. But I failed. I failed Ace, I failed you, I failed the ring…"

"Hal, you're not making sense."

Hal realized the line between his personal life and his hero life was dangerously close to disintegrating, so he pulled back. "No, I'm not," he agreed. "I'm sorry, it's just…I can't believe he's just gone."

Wordlessly, Carol wrapped her arms around him. "You need to get some rest," she murmured into his hair. "When was the last time you slept?"

"Dunno…" Although his life had been relatively normal recently, the combination of U.S.A.F. and League duties was never one that left much time for sleep, and the shock of today coupled with the lingering emotional stress of the last month had worn him down.

Carol sighed. "Come on, then."

She helped him to his feet, then led him up the stairs to his bedroom, still remembering exactly where it was though it had been at least six months since she'd spent the night. Hal didn't protest as she settled him on his bed and slipped his shoes off.

"I'm still mad at you, by the way," she informed him. "We still have issues, and we are not on good terms even if we haven't argued since that day in my office."

"Carol…thank you," he said quietly. "And I'm sorry…for everything."

Carol paused at his bedroom door, her expression softening slightly. "Call me when you wake up, okay?" she said before she left.

"Do you know how jealous I am of you right now?"

John Stewart smirked at his computer screen. "Hey, I served my time. Four and a half years in Afghanistan." He shook his head at the other man's grumbling. "Quit complaining – you've got no one but yourself to blame. Who was it who wanted to play hero for your lady love and volunteered for another tour?"

"Apparently Simon Stagg doesn't think I'm good enough for his daughter," Rex Mason groused. "He said he'd think about letting me marry her if I spent another year on duty."

John raised his eyebrows. "If you ask me, it sounds more like he's trying to keep you away from Sapphire rather than making you prove yourself."

"Yeah, I figured that out after I committed to another half-year." Rex sounded disgruntled. "The only bright side is that Sapphire keeps rebuffing every suitor her father tries to send her."

"How long more till you finish your service?"

"A month." Rex exhaled. "One more month, then I can come home to Sapphire – and to hell with what Simon says, I'm going to marry her."

"I wish you all the luck in the world," said John. "Simon Stagg is not a man who's easily crossed."

"Yeah, I know, but I didn't become a Marine because I was chicken." Rex looked over his shoulder; someone had apparently called his name. "I gotta go, the boys want me to join them on sentry duty. You take care of yourself, all right? Enjoy civilian life – you've earned it." The screen filled with static as he terminated the connection.

"Take care, Rex," John murmured softly, saying a quick prayer for his friend on the battlefront.

When Carol returned to Ferris Air, she retreated to her office to spend a few silent minutes of private mourning. Ace had not only been her best employee, but also a friend. Carol had come to rely on him a lot once Hal started disappearing frequently. She'd been glad to hear that he'd recovered fully from the Peregrine crash, and was looking forward to having him back to work within the next week – now he wouldn't be.

"Fate is cruel," she remarked to herself. She glanced at her digital desk clock and sighed; she had a briefing with her father in ten minutes. She pulled her bag towards her and rifled through it, looking for the file she'd gone to pick up earlier – but it wasn't there.

Carol frowned as she thought back to the morning. She clearly remembered driving home to fetch it from her study drawer; however, she couldn't seem to remember actually unlocking her front door and going in to retrieve the file. Her next clear memory was Hal's phone call while she was on the way back to her office – at that time she could have sworn she'd had the file in her bag.

I must have too many things to do, she mused as she fished her keys out of her bag. With a disgruntled huff, she reached for her phone to tell her father she would be late.

A/N: I patiently await all your lovely reviews. Do let me know how you think the story is going. Next chapter out on Monday!