Yue

 4th February

20:06 GMT -5

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.

I look through the one way glass into the cell containing the bound, bruised and bloody form of Dame Carol Ferris. Her hair is shorn short and her musculature is considerably more pronounced than that of our Carol Ferris. Her pink gambeson is torn and dirty from the fight that resulted in the Syndicate 'acquiring' her, and she's-. Her eyes aren't focusing.

"Oh God." Zatanna looks at me in horror. "Is she..?"

"She's alive. Mister Scott, I'm going to need you to let me in there."

"Sure, you can do that." He motions to an adjacent corridor. "Door's around here."

I follow him, Zatanna opting to stay in the observation room. "What happened to her armour and her ring?"

"Doc Strange got the armour and.. what was left of her ring. They're both in pieces." He stands by the control panel for the heavily reinforced door, looking me over. "You weren't planning on giving them back to her now, were you?"

"I'm thinking about releasing her as a show of good faith."

"Hm. Well, she hasn't really learned anything in here. But President Wilson isn't gunna suddenly call us 'partners in peace' just because we let one superhero go free."

"I know. But I'm not trying to persuade him, am I?"

He smiles as he activates the door release. "Knew you'd come up with something, son. Get to work."

I walk into the cell and the door closes behind me.

The walls are padded, and the chains attached in such a way that she can't move much beyond a small circle in the centre of the room. A circle that's already stained with urine and blood-.

A small flare of orange light removes both, and I take a purple healing ray out of subspace and play it over her most obvious injuries.

"Star Sapphire, can you hear me?"

"S-saar 'apphire." She isn't looking at me and her eyes aren't focusing, but at least she's cognisant of my presence. "T-t-two."

Her mouth is swollen and she's lost teeth.

"Two eight."

The swelling goes down as I watch, but purple healing rays don't replace lost teeth. Not in humans, anyway. She blinks as the ray starts to reduce the brain swelling.

"Two eight one four." She looks at me. "Healing me for another round of beatings? I will never betray my comrades in arms."

"Glad to hear it." I hold up the ray projector. "These don’t work on memory loss. This would be difficult if you weren't 'you' any longer."

"Star Sapphire Two Eight One Four."

"Yes, I know-. Oh, are you doing the 'name and serial number' thing?"

"I have nothing else to say to the Syndicate."

"You… Realise that by doing that you're effectively saying that the Syndicate is a government you are at war with, right? Rather than a criminal organisation? I doubt that was what you meant, but…"

"Why are you talking to me, Power Ring? And why are you no longer blue?"

"I've never been blue. And I'm talking to you because I want to send a message to President Wilson."

She nods resignedly. "I wondered how long this would take. Do your worst; I will not fear you."

I frown-. "No, not 'send a message' as in 'kill you and dump your body'. 'Send a message' as in 'I tell you something and then you tell him'. Do you understand?"

"I am not so injured that I cannot understand simple sentences." She frowns. "Who are you? I had taken you for the Hope Diamond, but you are younger. And you are less cowed than he."

"Lex Luthor isn't the only man who can travel to parallel universes. Where I'm from, we're called Lanterns."

"Then why are you acting as an accomplice to their villainy?"

"Based on the information available to me, I have cautiously concluded that a negotiated peace settlement is in the interests of the people of the United States, and that a military victory by the President -if achievable- would produce such.. horrendous amounts of collateral damage that such a solution would be better avoided. As such, I wish to make an opening offer."

"How could I possibly accept anything you say at face value?"

I take the Staff of Love out of subspace. "Does this look familiar?"

She regards it for a moment. "An.. older design. We moved from crystals to power rings millennia ago. How did you come by it?"

"My parallel's history is a little different to yours. The Zamarons never moved on from crystal. This drove… Our you insane until Green Lantern Two Eight One Four A removed it from her. I've since.. adapted it, as you can see." I put my right hand on the head and imagine that it was Jade in this position. The chains turn to violet crystal and then fragment, violet powder falling to the floor.

"Thank you." She takes a moment to flex her joints, probably for the first time in several days. "But it proves little. Even Ultraman loved his parents and his son."

"If I lend this to you, could you gain the proof you want?"

"Yes." She regards me curiously. "Will you give it to me?"

"I'll lend it to you right now, and then give it to you once we release you. Please be aware that I'm trained in anti-Lantern combat and it will put a major crimp in the 'releasing you' plan if you use it to pick a fight."

She nods. "A gesture of faith from each of us, then."

I hold out the staff. Her eyes flick to the observation mirror, then she steps forward and grasps the centre of the staff with her right hand. I release it and she pulls back slightly, placing her left hand palm-down on the Star Sapphire. She shudders as she makes a connection.

"This is… Too powerful." She blinks heavily as her eyes switch from pure violet to violet-irised. "An untrained mortal who attempted to use it-."

"I know. I did say."

She focuses, and strands of violet light reach out from her into the room. Three brush against my chest, then the rest swiftly orientate on me.

"Show me what you love."

Ah… The violet aura around her intensifies. but I don't.. really feel anything. Then the aura dims and she offers back the staff.

"You spoke truly."

I nod and take the staff from her.

"You must understand that I do not have the authority to negotiate with you."

"No, but you know the President, the Vice President and Quizmaster better than I do. I'd like something there's at least a chance they might agree to."

"What are you authorised to offer?"

"Nothing's off the table. But as you can imagine, there's a limit to what I could actually deliver on."

She nods, notably less guarded now.

"Then let us discuss the matter."