Hal arrived at work that morning and the first thing he saw was the lovely face of Carol Ferris. Of course, it would be even lovelier if she wasn't shooting daggers with her eyes. Hal wondered what he could have done to put her in such a mood. He hadn't done anything even remotely worth the look she was shooting him…today, anyway.
Carol reached Hal and said "Jordan, where were you yesterday afternoon? You just disappeared without so much as a word as to where you were going or who was going to fly the new prototype!"
I knew I was forgetting something, thought Hal. "Listen, Carol, I can explain that."
"Really? Please, regale me with the tale of what was so important that you skipped out on an important test flight. Did it have something to do with that blond Tom saw you talking to?"
Hal started to defend himself but stopped when Carol mentioned the blond. He smirked and replied "Maybe. Why do you ask, Carol? Jealous?"
Carol's face turned red, but Hal couldn't tell if that was anger or embarrassment. She said nothing more save for a curt "Get suited up and get in the air." She then turned around and stormed off towards the tower.
Hal smiled to himself while he headed towards the locker room, making a mental note to kill his mechanic the next time he saw him. He got to his locker and changed into his flight gear, taking off the ring and leaving it in his locker. He preferred living life without a safety net. He certainly wasn't going to fly with one.
Not long after, he was up in the air and putting the new bird through its paces. It was after his third barrel roll that Carol's voice was ringing in his ears. "Jordan, stop fooling around up there. We're doing trajectory tracking today, not Split-S maneuvers."
"Just loosening up, boss lady. Beginning data feed now." He settled back into the cockpit and focused on the sky around him. The only sound he heard was the roar of the afterburners. This was pure heaven. He looked up at the sky and imagined his dad was flying beside him.
On the ground below, Chloe had arrived at the airfield with Alan in tow. They looked up into the sky and watched the jet and its daredevil pilot. "Okay, Chloe. We're here. Now what happens?"
"Time to be the hero again, Mr. Scott."
"What do you mean?"
Up in the air, Hal was snapped out of his trance by a sudden and persistent beeping. Looking at his instrument panel, he took note of the malfunction alert. Something was wrong in one of his engines. He was going down and he was going down fast. He suddenly lost power in his engines and the jet began to freefall. He tried to stabilize his descent, but to no avail. Now he was starting to wish he had brought the ring. Seeing no other choice, he punched out of the cockpit. Carol would kill him, but it was either the plane or him. He was sure she'd understand.
Below, Alan looked up at the falling plane. He sighed in relief as he saw Jordan's chute open, but his expression returned to one of panic when he noticed the path of the falling jet. Unless a miracle happened, the jet was going to land on Chloe. Unless a miracle happened…
Raising his left fist, he aimed his ring and focused all his energy on the jet.
Hal saw the people below and realized that the jet was going to fall on them. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that they would be crushed and kicked himself for not wearing the ring. If he had it, he could have conjured up a giant catcher's mitt to stop the plane's fall. He then took notice of the man on the ground aiming his fist at the machine and both men were surprised when a giant glove made of jade fire appeared out of nowhere and gently caught the plane, lowering it to the ground just a few yards from where he stood. Hal floated down to the ground and landed not far from the plane, staring at the other man with wide-eyed amazement.
Alan stared at him with amazement. It had been years since he had used the ring and couldn't be more relieved that it had worked, but he was also overcome with the rush of excitement that came with using the ring to halt a perilous situation. He was still a hero, ring or not, and he still had what it took.
"How did you- What was- Where-…Who are you?" Hal said excitedly. He looked to Scott's left and saw Chloe. "You? What are you doing here? And who's this guy?" He took note of Alan's ring and his eyes grew wider. "You have one, too? I'm not the only one, then?"
"It seems introductions are in order. I'm Chloe Sullivan and this is Alan Scott. We're here about the ring you found, Captain. As you can see, we have a unique insight on what you're going through."
Hal smiled and shook his head. "I should have known you weren't from the FAA." He offered his hand to Alan, who warmly grasped it. "Hal Jordan. Nice to meet you, Mr. Scott. And you, Miss Sullivan."
"Is there somewhere we can go to talk, Captain Jordan? We have a lot to discuss."
Elsewhere in the city, Hammond and his team had the wreckage of the ship in a warehouse and were examining it thoroughly. "Make notes of everything, people. I don't want anything left out."
Most of the team was working on the front section of the wreckage, studying the control panel. Hammond, however, was far more interested in the engine compartment. He examined it carefully, fascinated by the crystalline fuel source. "For this, Waller should give me a promotion."
The crystal started to glow at the sound of Hammond's voice, getting brighter with each passing second. Just as the light was getting blinding, the room started to shake and the other agents quickly evacuated. Hammond remained where he stood, transfixed by its light. The last thing he remembered seeing was white before he was hit with a concussive blast and knocked unconscious.
Meanwhile, the other being who had seen Jordan in the desert had reached the city and began searching for the ring bearer. He would tear this city apart, if he had to, and pull the ring from the pilot's cold finger.