Once we made it back to the floor where the autopsy was taking place, we saw a few more Justice League members standing in the waiting area outside the room. Cyborg was gone, apparently had something he had to check out. Black Canary and The Flash were still there. Both looked to have been recently crying. Green Arrow was standing next to there spot on the bench in the hall. Across from them was unmistakably Captain Atom. His skin and gloves were pretty glaring.
The nuclear powered hero spotted us immediately and he marched over with all the straight backed posture you'd expect of an Airmen.
"So you're the new Lantern. I'm Nathaniel Adam, Captain Atom to most." He extended his hand and I shook it. His skin was metallic, and I could feel that he was very warm. Then I realized given the gloves on my suit and default barrier, that my ring was probably feeding me that tactile information.
"Yes, sir. Seeing how there is 4 of us Green Lanterns you can call me Shepard." After a brief handshake we let go and he nodded.
"Would have liked to meet you under better circumstances, but this is the gig. Hal was one of the best." He paused a minute, giving Hal Jordan a moment of silence, then continued speaking. "I've been tasked with investigating the crash site where you found Jordan and looking around in the air space and upper atmosphere in case his fight wasn't started planet side. Care to join me?"
I almost said yes. The chance to discover how useful my ring can be for gathering evidence and investigation, and to start learning how to do it proper, was enticing.
"I would love to, however I've been using the ring for a few hours and today is my first day. I had a scuffle with my new friend here, a misunderstanding that was quickly resolved, but Kryptonians are no pushovers." I stated. Kara planted her hands on her hips and put on a cocky smile.
"Tell me about it." Captain Atom stated. That got my attention, my mind ran a little wild with the spectacle that would be. I decided against feverishly asking him about it though since there were more important things to attend to.
"Yeah it was taxing. That's okay though. Valuable lesson learned in case I come across any evil Kryptonians or similar beings of that immense strength. On top of that I promised to go notify his wife. I honestly don't know why, I don't know her. But I did, so I'm going to." I sort of slouched my shoulders at this. The task of telling this woman her husband died and that I found him and took his ring, despite it choosing me, didn't feel all that appropriate. Given the reaction Flash had, I knew he'd be there as well, which meant I should go clear the air with him. We are on the same side after all. Or at least I hope we are.
"Honestly, it kind of makes sense. Think of it like Police or the U.S Armed Forces. Servicemen and women have their families notified by the organizations they belong to. In your case, the corp usually only has one GL per sector in space from what Stuart has told me. So, if it wasn't for the League, you'd be the only person to do so." What Atom said was correct, and I hadn't really thought about that before. There wasn't a lot known about the inner workings of The Green Lantern Corp as a civilian.
Standard knowledge after Hal Jordan became the Lantern for our sector was that they would be heavily involved with any intergalactic crimes committed in our sector of space. Since humanity isn't that advanced in space-faring, they've acted more or less the same as most of the meta-humans/alien/street heroes, and just helped out where needed. Nothing else about them is really known to the general public. My thoughts were interrupted when Kara spoke up.
"I know Carol, so Flash and I will go with you." I nodded my thanks before turning to Atom.
"Well Cap, it was nice meeting you. I won't keep you from your investigation any longer. I look forward to working with you in the future if the need arises. I'm already guessing it will." Nathaniel nodded and shook my hand once more before turning to Kara.
"Supergirl, though I'm sure Carol would appreciate your company at this time, I would like to request your keen eyes and ears for this investigation. Would you mind leaving the death report to GL and Flash?" Kara and I looked at each other for a brief moment before I willed the thumbs up emoji to project through my eye.
"You sure?" She asked.
"I'll be fine." I gave a combination holographic plus actual thumbs up of reassurance. She laughed a bit and nodded.
"Okay. Just call if you need anything." She and I had exchanged numbers, having learned that I could program my phone to my rings Communication protocols. Now, every phone call that's made from me or to me can be answered with my ring and every notification can be displayed to me in various ways, depending on desired privacy. I could read texts by having them projected only for myself to see or have my ring read them out for me. It was also possible for me to communicate over radio waves and other frequencies in order to keep in contact with anybody I might need to coordinate with in the future.
That was so awesome.
"Same goes for you. Thanks for your help today. Oh, and I want a rematch some time." We laughed and she agreed before walking with Atom down the hall.
Once they disappeared around a corner I turned to the next group I'd be talking with and sighed heavily.
"Come on Shepard, you got this." I felt the fatigue starting to creep in. The mental tax on using the ring to make constructs was larger then it's other basic functions from what I could tell. Especially against Kryptonians as I said to Atom. Will have to condition myself.
Flash was sitting with his head in his hands, Canary was rubbing his back while Arrow stood next to them with a sorrowful look on his face. With the speedster being busy grieving and Canary busying herself by consoling him, the archer was the first to notice me. He looked over and nodded. I gave a two finger salute.
We stood in silence for a few moments. The hall was gloomy, given how colourful the most of us were, the bright colours of our uniforms seemed muted. Eventually I cleared my throat grabbing the attention of the other two league members.
"Hey, I'm the new Green Lantern, Shepard." I extended my hand to Green Arrow. He looked me up and down briefly. It seemed to be more gauging me as the new guy rather then being hostile. It didn't take long for him to take my offered hand and shake it.
"Green Arrow, away from civilian and villain ears you can call me Oliver." I nodded. Letting go of his hand I turn to the other two.
"Dinah, pleased to meet you. Sorry it doesn't appear that way at the moment. Three of us are usually the chipper ones. So was Hal." It became very clear to me that if I were to make a guess, these three were probably the closest with Jordan. I didn't doubt he had other good friends in the league but it was likely these three were like family to him. I felt bad for yelling at Flash at that moment.
"Hey, it's understandable. I should have been more patient. I'm sorry for escalating things with you Flash. And I'm sorry for your loss. The guy died with a smile on his face. He had to have been one hell of a man." That statement caused Flash to shudder a bit. His lip quivered slightly as fresh tears fell. Dinah also had tears, but the one that openly sobbed, just once but still, was Green Arrow.
Flash stood up and gathered his nerves enough to wipe the tears away and address me.
"It's understandable. I apologize for my actions as well Shepard. I know better then to act like that. It isn't your fault that any of this happened. I just... I can't imagine not talking to him ever again." His voice was shaky. I couldn't help but feel guilty for comparing my experience with witnessing him die to them losing a loved one.
"You're right kid, he was... is... a rare breed." Oliver spoke up having gathered himself enough to speak.
"Wish I could do more." I really did. Part of me now wanted to go catch up with Atom and Kara but I felt like without some rest I'd be more in the way, not to mention my inexperience. Then again, maybe me wanting to help them over being here and having to face Hal's wife was just avoidance of responsibility trying to worm it's way in.
"I actually have a suggestion." Dinah spoke up after composing herself. Her eyes were puffy and face was flushed. Silently crying hard for her friend.
"Shoot."
"I can't fly, nor do I have super speed. Would you mind taking me to the Jordan Residence? Ollie and Flash should stay here for the autopsy report. After they're done, they can join us at Carol's place." I nodded without hesitation. I wanted to get this all over with.
"Of course. Should we leave now?" Dinah stood and nodded. The Flash extended his hand to me as Dinah and Oliver wrapped their arms around each other. I realized then who had 'taken' her.
"My name's Barry." I shook his hand. "I look forward to getting to know you a bit better. Assuming you are interested in that. There is one other thing though you should know." I released his hand and indicated that I was listening with the Ear emoji. He smirked a bit.
I was glad I could lighten the mood some.
"Though I'm sure we'll be working together, since we have worked with non-human Green Lanterns before, given they have this sector in their jurisdiction and we've been to space on numerous occasions, you won't be made a member of The Justice League just because you put on that ring. I'm sure you already understand that but just in case it's best to clarify." I nodded, fully expecting that to be the case.
"Oh, yeah I figured that would be the case. Especially since I don't even have the Corps logo on my suit. I'm assuming that won't appear until I've gone through their equivalent of boot camp. If I make it through their test of will and resolve, I imagine that alone could qualify me for The Justice League." Barry smiled again and shook his head.
"I'm sure you will. Better yet, I hope you do." I project the smiley face emoji again and chuckle a bit. I turned to the love birds as they pull away from a kiss. They seem to hesitate in letting each other go, but eventually they do. The looks they gave each other, it made my chest twist.
"You be safe Pretty Bird." Arrow's hands didn't just leave her, they slid from her waist to her arms and then her hands.
"I will Ollie Goat." She gives him a playful smile and another quick peck on the lips before releasing his hands. He smiles back and watches her the entire time we walk down the hall. I didn't need to look back to know that. She looks back at him once, and then focuses her gaze forward as we walk out of the building.
"So, should I make a vehicle for us to sit in? It's been quite the night." I raised my ring hand but she placed hers on my wrist. She shook her head.
"Ollie has used a ring before. He said he could barely make a construct. Very mentally taxing. It's your first day, so a little bubble is fine. I nodded and stayed close as I formed a sphere around us and took off. She sat down on the curve of the sphere and pulled her knees to her chest. Resting her chin on her knees, she looked sullenly towards the tops of the buildings we were flying over.
We remained silent for a few minutes. I spent that time realizing I'd never had to do something like this before. I mean, I've had a family member and a friend die before their time, but I was never in charge of telling everybody what happened or how. Not to mention that nobody, as far as I knew, was a meta-human or superhero. I sighed as I sat down against the sphere facing the direction we were going, while she was facing me. I watched her mourn silently for another minute or two before I spoke up.
"I hope you don't mind my asking, given what we're about to do, but I am curious. What was it like for you?" Dinah's attention was drawn back from her grief and she wiped a tear from her eye being careful not to smudge her makeup. For whatever reason, it occurred to me then that maybe she used makeup as a sort of mask. Questions for later.
"Anything to ease my nerves a bit. Also, what do you mean?" The look on her face reminded me of when I'd make an out of pocket statement or ask a random question to... well anybody. Just read 'Dude not enough info to work with.'
"Oh, I mean the first time your powers activated and fought crime. Scary, exciting, underwhelming, overwhelming?" When I was done I leaned forward, my eyes still focused on our trajectory but keeping her in the periphery.
"Well, I am a meta-human, and unfortunately my powers manifested when I was about 9 or 10 in my 4th grade classroom. I nearly deafened all the kids and my teacher. I was bullied for it, heavily. My parents decided it was best to move and transfer schools so we did. Those times were really hard. Scared, I'd say scared is what I was at that time. I was practically a mute for 2 years because of it." Dinah appeared to speak about these things more matter-o-factually rather then with any kind of emotional charge.
"Kids are little sociopaths. Change my mind." This earned me a laugh from the vigilante. "So were you basically a solo Robin and nobody remembers? I mean you do have a bird moniker." I chuckled at the light teasing. She shook her head with a smile.
"No, smart ass, I didn't start fighting crime till I was 19. Maybe you don't know this, but my mother was the original Black Canary. She didn't have the meta-gene so she didn't have powers but she was kick ass all the same. My Father was a hell of a good cop, investigator specifically, and so I guess you could say me putting on a costume or a badge was bound to happen. After my first couple of fights, I was a little scared, but more enthusiastic and proud of following the family business of being a kick ass crime fighter." The passion and respect in which she spoke of her parents was endearing. The smile on her face being one of pure joy for being proud of her parents, and undoubtedly, them being proud of her. It was pleasantly refreshing.
We spoke a little bit more about her experiences as a vigilante before meeting Green Arrow for the first time. The Emerald Archer had been scouted to join the League, but was hesitant to trust them. Black Canary had joined a few months prior, and ended up working with him closely on a few missions, convincing him to join. Shortly afterwards their romantic relationship began.
I suppose that it was a need to vent, but Dinah continued talking about her relationship with 'Ollie' and their mutual friendship with Hal Jordan. The two emerald heroes not getting along at first due to misunderstandings and differences of opinion. Ultimately, they came to realize there were similarities between them and their differences should be celebrated. Being able to think differently from each other could prove eye opening when dealing with different problems and having new perspectives on them. They've been friends ever since.
It wasn't long before she stopped talking and started holding back tears. Maybe saving her mourning for when she was with Carol and not a stranger who's face she's never seen. The fact she was willing to open up as much as she has to a mop of hair attached to what looks like a robot head and armoured body tells you the kind of people she must know and the experiences she must have gone through.
I tried of thinking something else to talk about, but it wasn't long after that my ring informed me of our arrival.
The house was definitely nicer than I was expecting for a guy that was a test pilot for Ferris Aircraft Inc. It was an upper mid-class place. Not Wayne Manor, but Suburban home, something I'd expect a well off lawyer or top of their field doctor to have. Big house big yard, painted white with a black roof. There was a back porch that looked hand made, maybe something Jordan built, with a garage wide enough for two, possibly three cars.
By this point Black Canary had stood up and crossed her arms. She was holding herself together pretty well, and I was hoping I could be professional and sensitive to this situation. I was already running on fumes when Flash got in my face back at the hospital. I was ready to lay my head anywhere and sleep.
"We should land in the backyard. You think we can dim the lights? Make us less obvious to her neighbours? Hal kept his identity secret after all." I nodded my head as I focused on dimming any light we were giving off. It worked, mostly, which made me think we should act quickly on getting inside when we landed. Every neighbourhood has nosy neighbours.
Upon touching down, I could already see the back porch light was on, and inside was a woman with dark hair facing away from us appearing to be making a snack, something with fruits and veg. I went to go up the porch and knock on the sliding glass window but, Dinah asked me to wait. She wanted to text the woman that we were outside so that we wouldn't scare the shit out of her. I nodded and waited for Mrs. Jordan to acknowledge our arrival.
The raven haired woman turned her head slightly to look at her phone and quickly put down what she was working on, washed her hands and turned to face us. My heart dropped into my stomach, seeing the bright smile on her face. Upon seeing me specifically however, I saw the flash of confusion on her face and I suddenly felt sick. I knew if I needed to puke my ring would remove the waste automatically but... it wasn't a comfort. Carol walked up to the sliding door, and opened it, and I got a clear view of who I now realized was Carol Ferris, CEO of Ferris Aircraft. Which made me think that they could have been living in a bigger house if they wanted. I know, weird time to have a thought like that. Just... trying to not think about this too much.
"Hey, Dinah? Is that Kyle? Nice suit kid. Mask is somewhat off putting but, still creative." I shook my head as Dinah simply waved at her.
"No, ma'am. Thanks for the compliment. Um... I'm... the new guy." There was a slight dim to her eyes as I said this. She folded her arms, and leaned against the door frame, her eyes looking in my direction, but I guess not directly at my face do to the light. Opting to be more human about my manner of dress, and to not draw the attention of the neighbours, I slipped a mask similar to Hal's and Kyle's on before getting back into my civilian clothes. "Sorry, I feel I should draw as little attention to you as possible, seeing as how Hal kept his identity a secret?"
At this, she flinched. I cursed under my breath for being so careless about the wording. This woman was smart, she knew the dangers, the risks, and was familiar enough with corporate dealings and bureaucracy to pick up on phrasing and what have you. Or at least you'd hope with somebody that was a CEO of a company that made state of the art aircraft.
"You got a name, new guy?" She was strong, for sure, but definitely on the verge of tears.
"Shepard, ma'am." I was struggling. Anxiety about having to deal with this, the frustration of not being able to do anything other than bring bad news to a now widow, and the realization that being Green Lantern, for me, means that somebody had to die for me to pick up the mantle. How common was that for non-GL's? Something I didn't want to think about, but it was right in front of me. A now broken home and for what?
I did my best to keep it together.
"You going to explain to me why my son and I can't c-call..." She looked down at my hand, and placed her hand over her mouth. The tears streamed down her cheeks freely now and Dinah rushed to her side, embracing her as sobbing ensued.
I opted not to answer her question at that moment.
I didn't keep track of the time from landing to when Dinah and Carol gathered themselves enough to hear me explain to the now widow and single-mother of how I found her husband.
"How did he die? Did somebody...?" She didn't want to finish the question. She had to have known it was likely. With as long as Hal had been a Green Lantern, and the scope of the universe that he protected, there was no way he didn't make any enemies.
"He was definitely in a fight. I was at Alouette Lake, camping. I was out on a boat in the lake, had fallen asleep, woke up to a loud boom and the sunset. In the purple-orange sky, I saw a green light falling from space. I thought it was some space craft or something, crash landing. It was heading in my direction with caused me to panic paddle out of the way, which wouldn't have helped if he kept heading for me." Carol tilted her head at that.
"He, changed course?" I nodded, Dinah looked at me with a quizzical look also.
"Yeah, actually... he slowed down to. I'm not sure if that was an attempt to soften the blow or what, and I don't know why he bothered switching paths. Maybe avoiding..." My mind went to him not wanting to drown or die underwater, though I knew the water wouldn't have prevented the ring from finding me or any other new wearer, I imagined that maybe he was planning on maybe speaking to the next person. Or at the very least being capable of being found. Though animals would have eaten him sooner rather than later. I wasn't sure what the plan was. I decided however to avoid saying any of this to Carol. "...well, maybe he knew I was there and decided to save one last life before going out like a champ."
"Probably looking to do as little damage as possible." Dinah suggested. Carol laughed a bit.
"First time for everything I suppose." I gave her a quizzical look and Dinah just softly laughed with her. "Hal test countless Aircraft for my father's company before it was passed on to me. He destroyed countless aircraft in test runs."
"Though he was mindful about keeping people safe, he didn't mind causing some property damage when he got into a few tussles as GL. Though, he tended to avoid destroying entire buildings and city blocks if he could at all help it. Not like we can always control how much damage is done in any given scenario. Just do our best to minimize." I gave a small smile. Hal Jordan, the devil-may-care type. Makes sense for a guy that died with a smile on his face. Speaking of which.
"Anyway, after he crashed, I waited a moment to see if anything followed him out of the sky, or if anybody or anything crawled out of the forest. Nothing. So I just went in myself. Curiosity and... a sense of adventure took over. I wasn't expecting to find a Lantern though. Like I said, he was definitely in a fight, but he had enough will to hold on for a bit longer. Long enough to give me a brief, bare bones intro to the ring, and to tell me he wanted you to know he loved you. His last thoughts were of you and his family, and that tough bastard passed with a smile on his face." At that, Carol laughed again.
"Of course that idiot was smiling at the end." Dinah would have a few tears here and there but, mostly she was holding herself together for her friend.
After a few minutes, Carol broke down fully, and Dinah took her inside. I just stood there like an idiot, able to do nothing but offer my condolence. Whatever that means to complete stranger.
I wanted to take a seat, but knew I'd probably start passing out if I did so I stayed up right for the time being. After a minute I had an idea, and hoped that I could still find something useful in what happened to the late Hal Jordan.
"Hey, uh... ring. God should I name you? Never mind. Do you record audio, or hell even video?" Maybe there was some recorded evidence.
"Affirmative. A Lantern's ring is capable of recording all sensory data in the immediate area, or specific sensory data. Said data can be played back at any time, and even constructed into a holographic mapping of the area that was recorded. For example a crime scene, or surveillance on a stake out." That was very cool and unexpected. I had decided that the next day was going to be spent getting familiar with most if not all of the rings functions. Then, I would spend a few days training with it, maybe a week, before heading to Oa. Of course, that was only if nobody came looking for me.
"Okay, so can you play back the last few hours of Green Lantern, Hal Jordan's, life for me please? Maybe I can-"
"-Negative. You are only a recruit as of yet. Until you have been inducted into the Green Lantern Corps proper, previous recordings, mission reports, and other sensitive materials pertaining to Lantern records-"
"-Yeah, yeah, of fucking course it's restricted. There goes that plan." I was about ready to just take the thing off and throw it in frustration. Seriously, if there was mortal danger to our planet, or hell the 'sector' that Hal was in charge of, then we'd be screwed because of some dumb restriction based on a technicality.
Shortly after my failed attempt at being useful Black Canary came back outside, eyes red and puffy.
"Sorry about leaving you out here. She... doesn't want to see you anymore tonight. It's nothing to do with you, just-"
"-A reminder of the loss. I got it. Look, I wish I could do more but, I can't. You people don't know me, and I am way to new at this to be dealing with the loss of a hero, and taking up his mantle all in one day on top of managing and navigating the emotional landmines all around me. Not to mention I'm exhausted..." I kind of trailed off, realizing I sounded like I was complaining and not being considerate of their situation. Luckily, Canary smiled and shook her head.
"I know. I'm sorry. You've done well today though. Most don't have to deal with this kind of challenge on their first few days. Most of us have to deal with more personal challenges. Challenges that you will undoubtedly go through for the next little while. Then you're trip to Oa, and their training program... I'm rooting for you Shepard. Really. So, go focus on that for now. We've got the rest taken care of." I released a breath I didn't know I was holding, thankful that I didn't have to wait around like a pylon anymore. That, and I was going to find a place to sleep as soon as possible.
"Thanks, Dinah. I appreciate the understanding." The woman nodded as she reached up and cupped my face.
"No problem, we've all been there at some point or another. Feeling like we are in way over our heads and being bombarded non-stop with responsibility that was just thrust upon us. It's exhausting, especially for first time ring-slingers. So, go rest. Come back to the lab tomorrow. We'll hold a mini debrief of what they find. Okay?" I nod in eager agreement, which makes her chuckle as she moves to go back inside. "Goodnight, Shepard."
I smile back and wave as I start floating off the back deck.
"Goodnight, Dinah."
With that, I take off, and form my suit and 'mask' again. As I do, I feel like my eyes are two tonnes and my body is sludge. I'm not going to make it back to Canada tonight. I remember what Supergirl said about offering a place to sleep and call her.
Never thought I'd ever be apart of a superhero sleep over.