"I don't get paid enough for this shit," Hal thought bitterly. He's just spent the last three months gathering evidence about an assassination attempt on the royal family of the Kthalak Nation. Three months living on a planet where its people thought hygiene was more of a suggestion than a necessity. Three months sweating is goddamn balls off on a planet with an ass long dry season and the shortest wet season he's ever witnessed. Despite not getting paid enough, Hal still did a fantastic job. Well, maybe not fantastic but it wasn't his fault the assassin was actually the very beautiful and flirtatious Kthalakean princess.
For a being with four eyes and antennae as long as her body she was extremely talented, (especially with the antennae). Green Lantern or not, Hal was just a man. A very single man who is very committed to his very important work, a man who has essentially been blacklisted by all the sexually compatible female green lanterns. Regardless, he got the job done, with or without pants. Hal felt slightly sorry for the princess. Her father highly supported the way their society condoned corporeal punishment, she just wanted to rule to change the laws so that prisoners could not be put to death. The Kthalakean death penalty process was a brutal one. It was 25 solar cycles of beatings, 3 solar cycles of repentance until they finally kill the prisoners by slowing burning their bodies with a special kind of fire. There was also the unfortunate bonus of it all being carried out publically, much to Hal's dismay upon arrival. While Hal had mixed feelings on the matter of the death penalty at home, he definitely didn't condone torture like that. Unfortunately the corps principles include not interfering with a planet's political structure or culture.
Not even five minutes after the princess is arrest he gets called back to Oa for a mission. "Because out of all the thousands of Green Lanterns across the universe they have to call me." Not that Hal thought he was the only one being called, There is a distinct difference in messages through the ring that can alert a lantern if it is a covert message being sent. This one wasn't specifically covert, so at least Hal wouldn't be working alone this time. He glanced back at the Kthalakean king (who was glaring holes at Hal while quietly waiting for him to get the hell off his planet) and took off to the stars.
The trip back to OA was thankfully an uneventful one. Hal felt the tension in his body leave at the sight of the planet. Tiredness began to creep in as Hal lowers himself in front of the central meeting hall. It is surprisingly quiet when he walks inside. Usually there were lanterns hastily going in and out of the building to get their assignments. Today it seemed that there were only a few lanterns about. He turned down the left hallway heading towards the rooms where the higher ranked lanterns received missions. Hal waved his hand in greeting at Yolimo, a lantern who worked in sector 57. Yolimo raised their fifth arm in greeting as they passed by.
Hal's heart sank at the sight that greeted him in the mission room. John, Guy, and Kyle were also in the room, which was never a good thing. "What are you guys throwing a party without me?" he calls out jokingly. Guy and Kyle grinned in response. "Nah" Guy said. "Who would invite your ugly mug?" Hal joined the three of them at a table in the corner of the room, his bad feeling got worse. No one ever sits at these tables; usually people get their mission and leave immediately. John was looking slightly frustrated already. "So I'm guessing we're not all here for good news" Hal prompts. John's frown somehow got even deeper as he slid a file across the table to him.
Hal flipped open the folder and was meet this the word "DECEASED" stamped in large letters. Alan Scott had died. Hal didn't personally know the man, but as another human who operated as a green lantern (even if he wasn't an official member of the core) he and the others still felt a kinship with him. "Jesus Christ" he murmured. Kyle made a noise agreement. "At least he died peacefully". According to the file Alan Scott had died a day ago at 4:15 am. He had died of a heart attack in his sleep.
Guy leaned back in his chair and slammed his feet onto the table. "While this is sad an all, why the hell are we all here?" he asked, ignoring John's look of disapproval at his feet. "Because his ring is missing," John replied while shoving Guys feet off the table. Kyle held up a hand before Guy could throw a fit. "What do you mean it's missing?" he asked. "I thought his ring wasn't even technically a ring." Alan Scott's ring was created in a different universe. It was a magical entity called the Starheart that the guardians failed to contain and eventually found it's way to earth. It wasn't actually shaped into a ring until Alan Scott got a hold of it, being able to wield the power from the Starheart.
Hal shifted uncomfortably. "You're right it's technically not but it could've remained in that form after Alan Scott died. The problem is since the guardians don't power his ring; we don't know where it would go. It could be anywhere." He could see why the guardians called all of them. "We don't think it left Earth." John chimed in. "An entity with that much power would be noticed if it suddenly left Earth. The guardians want us to find it and make sure this wasn't a murder." The table grew silent at that thought. The possibility of someone on Earth with that kind of power and no supervision could be catastrophic. Hal stood up. "Alright we'll split up and scan for it, everyone takes a hemisphere. We'll contact the league for help with the search." "God help whatever asshole took that ring," Guy growled. "We don't know for sure if someone took it," reminded Kyle. "Maybe it went to another person like ours do." Hal really hoped that wasn't the case. It was a toss up to which scenario was worse. A murderer who wanted the power to use it or a random stranger who has no idea what they're doing with it.