By Barry Reese & Derrick Ferguson

Issue Number Twenty-Six

"Broken People -- Part One"

Squadron Central – Paris, France

Green Lantern Hal Jordan stood in the reception room, shielding his eyes from the blindingly bright chandeliers that filled the area with light. "I have to admit, Max... You do things with a certain style, don't you?"

"There's no sense in doing things half-way, GL. You've gotta go for the gusto if you want to make an impression." Max Lord, looking dapper and fit in his tailored suit, gazed about the room with undisguised pride. "This whole group... Wow. It's coming together." A twinkle suddenly appeared in Max's eye as he turned to face the man known to many as the greatest Green Lantern in history. "That's what brought you here, isn't it? You're ready to suit up?" Max rubbed his hands together with glee. "That's wonder--"

"No, Max!" Green Lantern held his hands protectively. "Not yet, anyway. I have my hands full with the new Corps*. I'm here for something else entirely."

(*As seen in DCL's Tales of the Green Lantern Corps # 1-3)

Max looked crestfallen for a moment but he quickly recovered. Doesn't matter, he mused. Having Hal Jordan on the team would certainly lend some extra credibility, but it's not like we really need him. We're rock solid, through and through. "Okay. Well, what do you need? We're here to help."

"It's a personal problem, Max. A serious one." Green Lantern raised his right hand into a fist, emerald energy spewing forth. A moment later, a woman appeared, enclosed in a large green cylinder. A soft pillow lay behind her head and her eyes were closed in sleep. She wore purple armor which revealed a well-toned body and attractive face. She's a beauty, Max thought. "This is Carol Ferris... but right now, her personality has been subverted by one belonging to Star Sapphire. I recently fought her and took her to the JLA for help. They've struck out, unfortunately."

Max tapped his chin thoughtfully. "And you brought her to us because....?"

"Because Kimiyo Hoshi and Ted Kord are among the world's foremost scientists. I figure between the two of them, we can find a way to help Carol."

Max looked confused. "Uh... But Kimi's focus is on light and physics and Beetle... He's an inventor! I'm sorry, GL, but it sounds like what you need here is a psychiatrist."

Hal sighed, placing a hand atop the emerald casket. "You're my last chance, Max. I've been to everyone else, short of the Guardians themselves."

"Why not go to the little blue guys, then?"

"Because I've already asked them for too much lately. I can't make it look like I'm constantly crawling back to them. I have to find help for Carol on my own." Hal stared hard into Max's eyes. "Where are they?"

Running a hand through his short hair, Max smiled wanly. "Well, Beetle's warming up the Bug -- he and I were going to jet over to the States to check on Dmitri's recovery. But Kimi should be down in the lab with Chandi, running some more tests on her. Want me to show you the way?"

Hal smiled gratefully. "Thanks, Max. I appreciate this -- and so will Carol, once she's back to her old self. If there's anything I can do to repay you..."

"Heh. Welllll... I might come up with something," Max laughed with a wink.

Ten Miles Outside Of Paris

Ralph Dibny kicked open the door of the two story villa and stepped over the threshold, his arms full of the very pregnant body of his wife, Sue. "Welcome home!" he shouted as he spun around, his arms elongating slightly around her body to make sure that he had her securely.

"Put me down, oaf!" Sue said in mock anger and almost immediately, she grinned and kissed Ralph fiercely. "On second thought, hold onto to me. I want to see just how strong you really are."

"Love to, hon, but I’d better give the boys a hand with the bags." Ralph set Sue down on her feet and turned to watch Shilo Norman and Oberon struggling with a number of sizeable suitcases as they followed the Dibnys through the doorway inside their new dwelling.

The villa had been given to them by their Justice Squadron teammate, The Crimson Fox. As Constance D’Aramis, the owner and CEO of Revson, she was one the wealthiest women in Europe and she owned a number of houses both inside the city of Paris proper and in the beautiful countryside. She had given this villa to the Dibnys, as they wanted to be on their own for a while after the baby was born.

Oberon dropped the suitcases he was carrying and wiped sweat from his face. "Sheesh, what all do the two of you carry in those things, anyway?"

Ralph stretched an arm through the door and outside and down the marble path to where the rest of the luggage waited next to the van, about a good thirty feet. He grabbed a bag and pulled it into the house. "I dunno what you’re complaining about. You volunteered to help us bring the rest of our stuff here, didn’t you?"

"Yeah, but if I’d known that you were hauling around suits of armor, I’d have gotten Gardinel and The Olympian to help you move," Oberon griped, massaging his lower back. An’ a night of horizontal gymnastics with Connie didn’t help, either…

Oberon looked around the room while he continued to minister to his lower regions. The spacious, airy room was done in a tasteful modern style, with bright, cheerful fabrics on the sofas and chairs. One wall was lined with books and sliding glass doors led out to a garden where all manner of colorful flowers could be seen, laid out in a circular pattern. A smile played on Oberon’s lips. He could easily see Constance leaving the hustle and bustle of Paris to come here to relax.

Shilo brought in two more bags and dropped them heavily next to the others. He grumbled; "You on a coffee break and didn’t tell me, Oberon?"

Sue had dropped into a couch and kicked her shoes off. "Oh, leave off that hauling stuff in, guys and take a tip from the fat lady and put your feet up." Sue was as good as her word, swinging her legs up onto the couch and struggling to make herself comfortable.

"Here, let me give you a hand, Sue. Shilo, find the kitchen and get Sue something cold to drink, wouldja?" Oberon helped Sue arraign cushions behind her back and under her legs while Ralph finished bringing in the luggage. Shilo returned with a pitcher of apple juice and four glasses and the four friends toasted to the good health of the baby.

"Figured that you might like something a little more healthy after the night you an’ Captain Atom had," Shilo grinned, poured Ralph and Sue more juice.

Ralph grinned at the younger man. "Got that right. I haven’t tied one on like that in years. I’m seriously out of practice. Serves me right for trying to keep up with Nate. He must have a quantum singularity inside of him. That the only way I can explain him putting away that much booze…"

Oberon said; "Shilo tells me that you resigned as leader of The Justice Squadron, Ralph. Was that for real or the booze talking?"

"It was real. Nate and I spent all afternoon and half the night talking about it. It’s time I stepped down and Nate realized something: he doesn’t want the leadership spot either. He wants to wait and see what Bette wants." Ralph reached out to take Sue’s hand in his and smiled at her warmly. "It hasn’t escaped his notice how interested Bette is in our having a baby and Nate wants to leave his options open and not be tied up in a position of responsibility where he’d have to put his marriage second."

Sue frowned slightly. "So if you quit and Nate turned it down, then who’s the leader?"

"I picked the new leader, with Nate’s help. I figured that it was only fair since Crimson Fox DID set a precedent by naming me to take over when she stepped down, so I figured I’d just keep the tradition going and pick my successor."

"So who is?" Shilo demanded.

"Max didn’t tell you? Nate and I told him this morning."

Shilo waved a hand impatiently. "Max has been to busy this morning getting ready for the trip to the States. C’mon, Ralph, who IS it?"

Ralph shrugged. "Well, Max wanted to wait until the next official meeting to spring the news but I guess it wouldn’t hurt to tell you guys…"

So he told them who it was. Their reactions were to say the least, varied.

Sue merely shook her head and buried her face in her hands and kept saying over and over "Ohmygodohmygodohmygod."

Oberon laughed so long and so hard he turned an alarming shade of red and tears streamed freely down his cheeks.

Shilo’s hand were shaking as he placed his glass down on the glass coffee table and stood up, saying, "How could you do this to us, Ralph?" His eyes were wide with something quite close to panic.

Ralph spread his hands and smiled innocently. "Well, we hadda pick SOMEBODY, didn’t we?"

The Planet Almerac

The warrior queen known as Maxima stared out at the various senators, most of whom were lost in various disputes. In the few months since she had reassumed the throne and taken Monarch to her side, the planet had undergone a remarkable resurrection. No longer was it the once-proud empire, scarred by Warworld and The Star-Breaker. Now it was once again a shining jewel in the heavens. It should have been a time of great peace and joy…but the whisperings of fear and war were once more fast approaching.

Maxima heard her consort’s approach and she turned to face him, swiveling the balcony chair. Monarch, clad in his imposing blue and gray armor, regarded her calmly from behind his mask. "How did the meeting go?" she enquired.

"Well enough." Monarch moved past her, looking down at the senate meeting. "We’ve managed to shore up support amongst our allies, but it won’t be enough."

The red-tressed queen rose and moved to place a comforting hand on Monarch’s shoulder. "Then we will fight. And we will win."

Monarch said nothing in return, but inwardly he felt a burning anger. He had built a life here, reclaiming so Captain Atom had stolen much that from him in the past. But now there was this…a threat so great that it dwarfed comprehension.

Maxima did not need her mental powers to read her lover’s mind. He dwelled on the inevitable…that Almerac would eventually need to call upon aid from The Green Lantern Corps, which would in turn bring Earth’s heroes in time.

Turning from him, she stepped out of the balcony box seat and began moving down the long corridor leading to her private chambers. Though she had grown to respect and even love Monarch, she could not allow her people to suffer any more. Hesitating only slightly at the door of her chambers, she moved within.

The source of the current crisis sat before her, looking pale and thin in his golden armor. His curly red hair clung damply to his head, the fever that had gripped him for so long having only recently broken. "Alexander," Maxima said. "The threat is coming closer."

The young man rose, looking concerned. "I’ve placed you all in great danger. I should go."

"It galls me to let anyone dictate such things…Almerac has always chosen to stand proud in the face of oppression." Maxima’s large green eyes flashed with indignation. "But my people have suffered so—"

"You don’t have to explain, I understand." Alexander turned his attention toward a holographic star map that spun lazily as it displayed a three-dimensional representation of the known universe. "I’ve already planned out the path I’ll take. I want to avoid a straight line, stop here and there—make it harder for them to figure out what I’m doing."

"What ARE you doing?"

The young man named Alexander Luthor, sole survivor of a long dead world once known as Earth-Three clenched a fist before saying, "I’m going to Earth. It’s long past time I saw this new world I helped bring into being…if I’m lucky, my arrival won’t herald the end of it’s brief existence!"

Bethea Medical Center, Charleston, South Carolina (USA)

<Don’t worry, my love. I will be back before you know it. Yes, yes, the therapy is going well…Dr. Cadwallander is very optimistic…no, no…I want you to stay there with the children. It does me a world of good to know that you are all together and well and supporting each other with your strength and love…yes, yes…I will do everything the doctor says…I promise…yes, I love you very much…yes, I will call you tomorrow…until then..>

Dmitri Pushkin placed the phone in its cradle and sighed heavily. He spun his wheelchair around until he was facing the balcony and wheeled himself outside so that he could watch the beautiful South Carolina sunset and get some fresh air. The big, bearded Russian had been confined to this wheelchair for some time now, unable to walk after sustaining an enormous amount of spinal damage at the hands of The Extremists.

His recovery, such as it was, had not gone well at all, despite his reassuring words to his wife. You will most likely never walk again, the doctors had said. Dmitri looked up at the purple and red sky. This time last year he had been able to soar in those skies, thanks to his armor but not now. The days of Rocket Red are long gone, I fear…Dmitri had never been prone to the typical Russian penchant for melancholy, but he was most certainly feeling it these days. He watched men and woman walking along the many winding paths that crisscrossed the sprawling twelve-acre medical center and he longed to stand up and join them…

A bottle of vodka seemed to materialize before his very eyes, jolting him to alertness. Its arrival was accompanied by a hearty slap on the back and the sound of a very welcome and familiar voice; "Dmitri, you old sonovagun! Brought you a get-well present!"

Dmitri spun the wheelchair around and accepted the bottle with a grin. Ted Kord leaned down to hug the big Russian, who returned the hug roughly and warmly. Maxwell Lord stood inside Dmitri’s room, flanked by a hulking stranger who carried a large silver suitcase in one hand. "Comrade Ted! It is most good to see you again!" Dmitri held up the vodka and boomed laughter. "Especially when you bear such welcome gifts!"

"Well, we former JLI guys have got to stick together, right?" Ted looked more fit than Dmitri had ever seen him in his well cut simple dark blue business suit. But he still couldn’t hold a candle to Max who was followed down the street by tailors who wept to see suits worn so elegantly. "So how you doin’, big guy?"

"Ah…not well, I am afraid." Dmitri gestured at the wheelchair. "A permanent addition to my wardrobe or so I am told."

Max cleared his throat, looking a bit self-conscious. He had been personally footing the bill for Dmitri’s medical treatments but that didn’t make up for the role he himself had played in Dmitri’s injuries. As Lord Havoc, he’d led The Extremists in their bloody confrontation with The Squadron. "Sorry to hear that, Dmitri…I can’t say it comes as a total surprise, though. Dr. Carpenter had told me before your initial surgery that the prognosis wasn’t good."

"That is why Mr. Lord had me prepare this for you." The imposing stranger with the dead black eyes and a facial expression that could have reduced a statue to tears stepped forward and offered the suitcase to Dmitri.

"Um..thank you, comrade. I do not believe we have ever met. You are---oof!" Dmitri grunted as he accepted the suitcase. It weighed much, much more than he had suspected—and yet the stranger seemed to heft it about as effortlessly as a child might lift a toy.

"I am Gardinel." The stranger said this as if it were enough. And perhaps he is right, Dmitri mused.

Ted moved in closer, hoping for a better look as Dmitri opened the case, eager to see the reaction on his friend’s face once he got a good look at what was inside the case. "I helped out a bit, but most of the work was completed by Gardinel," Ted admitted. He looked at silent Gardinel with a mixture of awe and concern. It wasn’t often that Ted found himself in the dark when it came to engineering, but Gardinel’s knowledge of Apokoliptian technology most definitely placed him on a different playing field altogether.

Dmitri surprised gasp made Max smile with relief. Maybe I can make up for some of the damage I did as Lord Havoc, after all…

Inside the case was the gleaming red and white armor that Dmitri had worn with distinction as a Rocket Red. "This is…" Dmitri’s expression hardened and he slammed shut the lid of the suitcase with a harsh metallic KLANG! "This is a very poor joke indeed, comrades…"

Ted placed a hand on Dmitri’s shoulder. "Dmitri…it’ll be okay. You’ll be out of that chair in no time and—"

"No, I will not!" Dmitri looked sullenly past his friends. "I am to be a cripple for the rest of my days. That armor..it is not for me."

"Maybe you should try putting it on first, Mr. Pushkin." Gardinel’s steady, authoritative voice brought Dmitri’s rising fury to a halt. There was something in the tall man’s stare that made the Russian think twice about continuing his tirade.

Max nodded. "Gardinel and I took your…condition…in mind when the repairs were made to your armor. There’s some complicated technology in there—it’ll give you your mobility back, at least as long as you’re wearing the armor. And it gets better. Gardinel managed to put some regenerative chips in the leg units. Given enough time, the armor will actually begin to heal the damage—from the cellular level up."

"This…will let me walk again?"

"It should."

Dmitri laughed softly, the volume growing as he stared at his long time friends, Ted and Max and the size of their returning grins easily matched his. He offered a hand to Gardinel, who shook it without expression. "Comrade, we are going to be great friends! Do you want to share some vodka as a way of celebrating new friendships?"

"That sounds acceptable, Mr. Pushkin. Very acceptable."

Squadron Central – Paris, France

"…and so then I faced off with The Ultra-Humanite and I kicked his hairy ape-butt from here to Calcutta!" Chandi Gupta, the young heroine known as Maya finished her tale with a dramatic punch to the air.

Hal Jordan chuckled to himself as he divided his attention between recounting of old Squadron adventures and Dr. Light’s careful study of Star Sapphire. "That’s pretty impressive. He’s the JSA’s greatest foe, I’d say." Green Lantern moved over toward Kimi, who was seated at a large computer station. "This is a nice lab you’ve got. Better than anything we had back in the JLE days."

Kimi pursed her lips and nodded, not paying much attention. She was lost in a wave of data, studying the results of her most recent tests. Hal recognized the look of determination on her face—she was on the trail of a scientific mystery and she wasn’t about to be derailed from it. "Energy emissions are fairly consistent with previous Zamaron readings. Whatever it was that Malvolio did to reawaken the Sapphire persona, it’s nothing that I can easily repair."

Hal sighed. "Damn. So it’s another dead end."

Chandi said; "It’s too bad Jennifer had a meeting at The Louvre. I’m sure that she could have—"

Kimi cut her off sharply, "I don’t think we need our resident hoodoo priestess to solve this particular problem. It’s going to be difficult but not impossible."

"What can you do?"

"The main problem is that this second persona of hers—The Sapphire—is firmly ingrained within her psyche. If it were as simple as some symbiotic gem being embedded in her forehead, I could easily remove that with a laser. This is far more serious, though. Kimi stood up and stretched. Counting the hours she’d spent testing Maya earlier, she’d put in about six hours in the lab. "I’m going to try some hypnosis, if you don’t mind."

"Hypnosis?"

"Yes. The villain whose name I’ve appropriated tried similar methods in the past with success. By using my light powers to emit flashing stroboscopic patterns in certain combinations, I can hypnotize a willing participant. If it takes, I’ll be able to wall the Sapphire personality deep within Carol Ferris, trapping it. I may even be able to leave Carol in possession of her powers."

Hal rubbed his chin. "Hmm. Not sure that Carol would want them…Hypnosis wasn’t exactly what I had in mind when I brought her here, you know. Isn’t there some…more scientific way of doing this?"

Chandi said in a timid voice; "Maybe we should wait for Jennifer to—" She fell silent as Kimi shot her a furious look. She turned back to Hal, her face relaxing. "I am using science, Hal. It’s either this or nothing."

Hal considered for a moment before shrugging. "Why not? It can’t make things any worse. I’ll bring her out of her ring-induced coma and stabilize her long enough for you to do your work…"

Less than ten minutes later, Hal Jordan and Chandi Gupta stood behind an emerald barrier, watching as Kimiyo leaned over the bound form of Star Sapphire. Lights flashed in a hypnotic pattern around Kimi’s fingertips as her voice droned on, slowly lulling the murderous villain into a suggestible state.

"Hal...?"

"What is it, Chandi?"

Chandi noted the worried expression on Hal’s face and thought about backing off the subject, but in the end, she pressed on. "This Carol—was she your girlfriend?"

Hal relaxed somewhat, looking a bit embarrassed. "Yeah, you could say that. Off and on for a long time. She’s the closest I ever came to really settling down. I even quit The Corps for her once."

"I hope Kimi can help."

Hal reached out a put an arm around the young girl’s shoulders. "Me, too. Thanks."

A sudden cry made both heroes jump. Hal lowered his barrier as Kimiyo went flying backwards, propelled by some invisible force. Green Lantern caught her in his arms even as Maya generated his mystic bow and a flaming pyrokinetic arrow, notched and ready to fly. "Kimi! What happened?"

"I…I’m not sure. I was just finishing when there was some sort of feedback."

"Oh, no…not again!" Hal watched in growing horror as a shape began to appear above Carol’s head. It shimmered and slowly faded into view—a man, dressed in a black bodysuit, with silver gauntlets and helmet.

"Who is that, Hal?" Maya asked, carefully aiming her arrow.

"An entity that possessed Carol a few times before—but it was supposed to have been destroyed forever!"

The creature known as The Predator crouched before Carol Ferris, it’s metal claws gleaming. "Free once more…and who should I see before me but my old sparring partner? Good to see you again, Green Lantern. Let me show you how much I missed you!"

The killer launched himself into the air, raising his claws for a deadly strike. Before he reached his prey, however, The Predator was blasted out of the air by a beam of purple energy. Freeing herself from her bonds, the figure of Star Sapphire slowly rose from the laboratory table.

Setting Kimi on her feet, Green Lantern took a step forward. "Hold it right there, Sapphire…"

The stunningly beautiful woman stared at him for a moment, then glanced at the fallen Predator who was starting to rise once more.

"Don’t worry, Hal…it’s me."

Hal stopped in his tracks. "Carol?"

"Yes…and for once, I control the power of Star Sapphire!"

To Be Continued

NEXT ISSUE: "Broken People" comes to a stunning conclusion as our cast of characters comes face to face with the malevolent Predator! Plus: Alexander Luthor arrives in Paris, heralding the beginning of a strange and terrible crisis. And are we EVER going to find out who The Squadron’s new leader is?

EUROPINIONS

Wow. It feels nice to be at the helm again. Derrick’s done a terrific job steering the ship and I’m glad to say that he’s going to be sticking around as my co-writer. Derrick will handle the bulk of the scripting on some issues, as well as contributing scenes and advice on ever issue. On the issues he writes, I’ll be the one offering suggestions and such. It should be a nice partnership, one that will hopefully take us all the way up to issue 50.

There are many out there who will be shocked by the appearance of Alexander Luthor in this issue. The son of Earth-3’s heroic Lex Luthor and Lois Lane, Alexander was a key player in the Crisis On Infinite Earths, before disappearing with the Golden Age Superman, the Lois Lane of Earth-2 and the Superboy of Earth-Prime. The Golden Age Superman popped up in The Kingdom a few years back, but with no sign of Alexander.

Until now. Does this mean we’ll discover the ultimate fate of The Golden Age Superman and the Earth-Prime Superboy? Stay tuned.

See you guys in the funny papers.

Barry

Nothing much to add to the sentiments stated by my esteemed co-writer except to say that in working on this issue, I’ve got a renewed charge of creative energy working with these characters and concepts. I hope everybody’s enjoying the ride ‘cause it’s gonna get wilder before we get to the end.

Later.

Derrick