A/N: Oops, I forgot to update for a week! I'm sorry, totally my bad - it's been a really busy week for me, so anything and everything fanfiction-related just slipped my notice. My sincere apologies to all of you waiting for the next chapter, and I hope you enjoy this one!

Many thanks to Alverrann for her review!

Chapter Nine: Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
September 2004

"We have a problem," Batman said grimly at the Justice League meeting.

"Don't we always?" said Hawkgirl sardonically.

The long table in the Watchtower conference room was nearly full. Out of the twenty chairs arranged around the table, five had yet to be filled by future League members; at this meeting, three additional chairs remained empty. Zatanna and the Atom were on a mission in Southeast Asia, and Green Lantern…well, his seat was awaiting a replacement.

"What is it this time, Batman?" queried J'onn.

"There's been a concerning rise of a very specific crime in Coast City."

"Coast City?" Flash, who had been gazing absently at Hal's empty chair, perked up immediately.

"What exactly is happening?" Wildcat asked with a frown.

In response, Batman pressed a button on the remote that controlled the giant plasma screen on one wall of the room. An image of a man encased in a deep pink, crystal-like substance appeared.

"What the hell is that?" exclaimed Black Canary.

"There's been an alarming number of men trapped in these crystals," said Batman. "In the past two weeks, almost fifty have been found."

Flash whistled.

"Dead?" questioned Zatara.

"They don't appear to be. As far as scientists can tell, they're in some sort of suspended animation."

"So they could just break them out, right?" said Vixen.

"It's not that simple. The crystal appears to be indestructible. It's resisted all attempts to free the victims."

"How long could the victims last inside the crystals?" inquired Aquaman.

"Theoretically, indefinitely, but in practice…" Batman glanced to Doctor Fate, who nodded solemnly in confirmation.

"Suspended animation is an incredibly delicate process," the mystic explained. "I doubt these crystals have the right attributes to properly sustain their captives for an extended length of time. If too much time passes, the men's bodies will adapt permanently to the stasis, and they will die if they are released from the crystal."

"Well, we can't let that happen," declared Superman.

"Were the victims only men?" asked Wonder Woman.

"Yes," Batman affirmed. "The earliest victims are mostly criminals — thieves, rapists, murderers, gang members — but our crystal-trapper has become more indiscriminate with time. At least half the victims are innocent men with no criminal record."

"Why start with criminals and then move to law-abiding citizens?" Aquaman wondered.

"I've got a better question," said Hawkgirl. "Why are only men being targeted?"

"It would seem to suggest a vendetta against men, wouldn't it?" said Black Canary. "I bet our culprit is some scorned woman who had her heart broken by her man and now she wants revenge on all males."

"You watch too many soap operas," Vixen informed her.

"While I agree with that assessment," Wildcat interjected with a glance at Canary, who loftily rolled her eyes, "in this case, it might be a valid theory."

"Do you have any idea who's doing this, Batman?" Superman inquired.

The response was instant. "Star Sapphire."

There was a contemplative silence.

"But — I thought she was one of the good guys?" Flash said quizzically.

"She has been protecting Coast City in Green Lantern's absence," J'onn agreed.

"Are you sure it's Star Sapphire?" asked Superman. "I'd hate to jump to conclusions just because the crystals are the same color as her energy."

The look Batman sent his way was not quite a glare, but it was a very stern stare, quite obviously questioning what the hell was going on in the Kryptonian's head if he thought the World's Greatest Detective would base his conclusion on a mere color.

"…It's not just the color, is it?"

"No."

Superman sighed, waving his hand for Batman to continue.

"S.T.A.R. Labs analyzed the crystal and found that it was a derivative of hard light — which is what Star Sapphire's constructs are made from. They couldn't compare it to her energy because they don't have samples from her, but when I compared the lab results with the energy sample I have on file for Green Lantern, it was almost exactly the same."

Vixen stared at him. "How did you get S.T.A.R. Labs' report?"

"Don't ask," muttered Black Canary. "We probably don't want to know."

Superman still wasn't convinced. "Okay, but that still doesn't mean it's Star Sapphire. The results could just be a coincidence."

Batman narrowed his eyes. "Apart from Green Lantern, Star Sapphire is the only known vigilante to use hard light constructs, and her powers are very similar to Green Lantern's. She operates in Coast City, has proven to have a ruthless streak in her dealings with criminals, and the color matches. It fits."

"Gotta say, Supes, it's not looking good for Star Sapphire," said Flash. There was a hint of apology in his tone; he knew Big Blue had been considering inviting Star Sapphire to join the League as Green Lantern's replacement. Flash himself hadn't been too happy with the idea of anyone replacing Hal, but he had to admit that the League had relied a lot on him. In terms of sheer power, Green Lantern was right up there with Superman, J'onn, and Aquaman.

"No, it's not," Superman admitted.

"What are we going to do?" asked Hawkgirl.

"We have to stop her, and find a way to release the victims before it's too late," said Zatara.

"We have to make certain she's responsible before we start any countermeasures. Perhaps a visit to Coast City is in order?" J'onn proposed.

"That seems wise," agreed Aquaman.

"I'm in," Flash said at once.

"I will go," Zatara volunteered.

"I'm coming with you," said Batman. "If I can examine the crystal firsthand, I might be able to come up with a way to free the victims."

"I will accompany you," said Doctor Fate. "I may be able to buy the victims some time."

"That might not be a bad idea," Batman concurred. "I don't expect it will be easy to find a way to break the crystal."

"Then it's settled," said Superman. "J'onn, Flash, and Zatara will look into Star Sapphire while Batman and Doctor Fate study the crystals."

"When are we going?" Zatara inquired.

"No time like the present," quipped Flash as he zipped out of the room, presumably to head to the transport pad.

"Am I the only one who thinks he has an ulterior motive for volunteering?" asked Wonder Woman.

"No," came the chorus from the other four founding members.

Vixen looked puzzled. "I don't understand."

"Flash and Green Lantern are close," Black Canary explained. "None of us has heard from Lantern since he officially resigned from the League; Flash probably wants to take the opportunity to visit."

Aquaman made a quiet noise of disapproval. "He should not mix personal affairs with his duty."

Wildcat snorted. "Good luck convincing him of that. Flash operates on a much more personal basis than most other heroes. It must be a speedster thing — both his predecessors were the same."

Flash chose that moment to dash back into the conference room. "Are you guys coming or what?"

John slammed into the wall so hard he was sure he would have broken something if he weren't protected by the power ring's aura.

"Again!"

Narrowing his eyes, John picked himself up and attacked once more, firing a barrage of green energy. He still hadn't quite gotten the hang of making constructs, but he was excellently proficient at shooting with the ring.

Though, it seemed, not proficient enough. His opponent's shield held strong — he barely cracked it — and as soon as he stopped shooting and tried to find a way around, the bright green blast knocked him into the wall again.

"Dammit, woman!" he exclaimed.

"Stop cursing and let your ring do the talking. Again!"

John pushed himself off the wall, flying through his opponent's constructed obstacles. She laid heavy fire on him, but he was able to dodge it all, and he had a moment of brief satisfaction when he came too close for her to shoot. With her ring, from a distance, she had the definite advantage — she was more experienced in using the thing — but he doubted she had the hand-to-hand combat skills to counter a physical attack.

Underestimation. That was his problem.

As it turned out, she did indeed have sufficient skill to hold him off. She parried every one of his punches until she found an opening to jab his solar plexus, hard. While he was doubled over, she followed up with a roundhouse kick, landing him flat on his back for the umpteenth time.

"I thought you were a soldier, Stewart. You fight like a rookie." Katma Tui stepped back and glared down at him. "Still think I'm a rookie, rookie?"

John gritted his teeth. He'd taken umbrage at Tui's harsh training methods from the very beginning, but the reason for today's particularly brutal session was entirely his fault. It was nearly two weeks since the ring on his finger had kidnapped him and brought him to Oa to be the new Green Lantern of Sector 2814, and he'd finally discovered this morning that his assigned mentor was no more than a slightly more experienced rookie herself. Katma Tui had been a Green Lantern a mere two and a half months, and for John — already irritated by her aggressive training — this was the last straw. He didn't see how he was expected to learn under a teacher who clearly didn't know how to teach. When he confronted Tui about her suitability as his mentor, she'd challenged him to try to beat her in single combat. If he succeeded, she would step down as his mentor and persuade the little blue men (Guardians, John reminded himself) to find him someone else.

Obviously, he'd failed spectacularly in proving his point. A junior Green Lantern she might be, but Katma Tui was no rookie — and she was making her ire clear by pushing him harder than she ever had before, and by basically beating the crap out of him.

"All right, fine," John grunted. "You have the skill, but you're not training me."

"What do you think I've been doing for the past twelve days?" demanded Tui.

"That's not teaching! That's throwing everything you can think of at me and expecting me to defend myself!"

"My job is to train you, not teach. I don't have the time to hold your hand while you learn how to master the ring. You'll learn fastest by hard combat."

"Learn what, exactly?" John demanded.

"How to stay alive. In case you hadn't noticed, we're in the middle of a war. You think Oa normally looks like this?"

Though much had improved since the Thunderers' attack two weeks ago, Oa was by no means restored to its usual splendor. Beyond the boundaries of the courtyard in which dozens of new recruits were training, the city around them still bore marks of the destruction that had been wreaked upon it by the battle. The architect in John cringed at the level of damage done to the magnificent Oan structures, but his soldier's mindset objected to Tui's reasoning.

"And you think almost killing me everyday is the way to keep me alive?" Marine training was hard and demanding, but at least he'd known what to do there. Here, on a planet a billion miles from Earth, with a tiny green ring as his only weapon, he hadn't a clue.

"I'm toughening you up," said Tui without missing a beat. "If you can't handle my training, you wouldn't last a second against the enemy."

The enemy. John still knew very little about the so-called Thunderers of Qward who had apparently declared war on the Green Lantern Corps — all he knew for certain was that a renegade Green Lantern named Sinestro was leading them, and that their initial attack had wiped out almost half the Corps. The Guardians had finally finished their hasty recruitment of over 1,500 new Green Lanterns, all of whom were being put through a rigorous two-week crash course that crammed as much of the regular three-month training as possible into their heads. As a matter of fact, it was the massive manpower shortage that had resulted in Tui being appointed John's mentor in the first place. As prodigious as Katma was, John was aware that she wouldn't have been assigned as his teacher if it hadn't been for the dire lack of senior Green Lanterns.

"I didn't ask to be involved in this," John retorted.

"Too bad. The ring chose you and you accepted."

"Only because the only other option was to send a freaking teenager into a space war!" John hadn't wanted the ring; the only reason he'd accepted was because the Guardians had made it clear that if he declined, the ring would go to Kyle Rayner. John was not going to be responsible for roping a seventeen-year-old kid into a perilous extraterrestrial conflict, much less his brother's best friend.

"And the fact that you stepped forward to spare the young one is the only reason I haven't dismissed you as a coward," Tui said coolly.

John felt his temper, and his pride, flare. "I'm not a coward."

"Then prove it. Use your will."

John had no time to react as Katma rammed him into the wall again with a green hand.

"This is pathetic, Stewart," she told him as she kept him pinned. "You're supposed to finish your training in two days and you've yet to create a single construct."

"You haven't shown me how," he growled in frustration.

"There's nothing to show!" she exclaimed exasperatedly. "Imagine what you want to make and will it into existence!"

She made it sound so simple. The problem was that John's mind was the quintessential architect's — he thought in terms of nuts, bolts, and construction materials coming together to make functional buildings, and he couldn't figure out how to make that serve an offensive purpose.

Until now.

Goaded by Tui's inflammatory remarks, John was determined to make a construct. Casting about for inspiration, his searching gaze found one of Oa's ruined towers, and his architect's mind automatically reconstructed it. Visualizing it whole and complete, John lifted his right hand, and a perfect replica of the structure appeared behind Katma. Tui turned around at once, but was too slow to prevent the tower crashing into her. Her distraction released her hold on John, and he shot into the air, guiding the green tower around the training courtyard as Katma twisted and swerved to avoid it.

Another idea popped into his head, and, grinning slightly, John let the tower disappear. He closed his eyes and pictured the interior of the Stewart apartment, causing the familiar furniture to spring up around Tui, blocking her path towards him. He completed the construct by adding the walls, floor, and ceiling, essentially creating a whole apartment in midair.

Once he was satisfied that he could hold the image in his head, John opened his eyes. He was surprised to find himself right in the midst of the green facsimile of his home; he was standing by the dining table, while Tui was sitting on the living room couch, curiously examining everything in his construct.

"Terrific detail, Stewart," she remarked, actually sounding impressed. "However, next time, it might be a good idea not to put yourself with your opponent in an enclosed area."

A bit sheepishly, but undeniably pleased, John let the copy of his apartment fade. "I know. I'm usually in the apartment when I see it," he said, by way of explanation.

"No doubt," Tui agreed dryly. "At least you've made progress." She raised her fist, her ring glowing.

John groaned. "Again?"

"Again."

A/N: Right, now - next chapter SHOULD be out Monday. Or Tuesday, at the latest. If I forget, feel free to send me a PM to remind me.