Pikachu glanced at his body. Now, his body had become translucent, dotted with tiny specks of light linking together, as though he had transformed into some sort of star spirit.
Then, under Shiller's watchful gaze, Pikachu began to grow bigger, swelling up into a gigantic Pokémon that towered tens of meters tall, his body radiating a rich yellow energy.
A thin thread of energy linked him to the Lantern Furnace, as though Pikachu had formed a unique connection with the furnace and the Lantern Ring, much like when Parallax had become the Yellow Lantern Corps' Lantern Beast.
After Parallax reincarnated as an Order Creature and went public, Pikachu absorbed almost all the energy from the Yellow Lantern Furnace, filling the void in the Yellow Lantern Corps and becoming their new Lantern Beast.
The new Yellow Lantern Beast, Gigantamax Pikachu, the embodiment of cosmic fear, was born!
Soon, Pikachu's stature began to shrink, gradually transforming into a physical entity once more. However, a faint yellow aura still shimmered around his fur. He could now travel freely throughout the universe. He flew to Shiller and said, "This energy is quite powerful. But when I compress it all into my body, I feel a mysterious connection being established. What is that?"
Having observed the entire process, Shiller understood that Pikachu seemed to have become a new Lantern Beast for the Yellow Lantern Corps. He simply explained to Pikachu the concepts of the Lantern rings and Lantern Corps in the DC World. Pikachu rubbed his cheeks with his stubby little hands and asked, "Those people with Yellow Lantern Rings won't come for me, will they? And make me their mascot?"
"What are you afraid of? If they do come, I'll take you somewhere else." Shiller picked up Pikachu and studied him, "Rather than wanting you to return, I think they might...not want you to appear in the Yellow Lantern Corps at all."
"Why?"
Shiller thought back to what Parallax originally looked like, as well as the portrayal of other Lantern Beasts in the comics. Looking back at Pikachu, who was nearly round from eating too much cake, he said, "Because the styles don't mix. They can't force compatibility."
Shiller held Pikachu, intending to return to Earth. Before leaving, he gave one last look at the Yellow Lantern Furnace, now emptied of its energy. Its rich yellow color was entirely gone, leaving the furnace looking dull and worn. It seemed that it would be a long time before it recovered.
Meanwhile, at Wayne Manor, Sinestro hurled a yellow blast at Batman, who had suddenly appeared behind Aisha.
Batman initially wanted to dodge, but with Aisha still near him, he decided to hold her before attempting to avoid the attack. In the process, he threw Aisha to Dick. With that, Batman got delayed and the yellow blast hit his arm.
Yet… nothing happened.
In disbelief, Batman looked at his arm, then at Sinestro. Sinestro looked at Batman's arm, then at his own ring. Both men were stunned.
Sinestro fired another yellow blast at Batman, who showed no reaction once again. Sinestro continued to channel his Yellow Lantern power, forming a massive energy ball and throwing it at Batman.
The ever-skeptical Batman remained cautious despite Sinestro's ineffective attacks. He rolled aside to dodge. The energy ball brushed against him before it suddenly stopped midair and flew towards Batman again.
Sinestro reached out his hand and yelled, "...Hold on! Come back!"
In an instant, the ball of yellow light fused into Batman's body, causing one arm to glow with a yellow light. Just then, Sinestro, who had been chasing the energy ball, caught up with Batman. Without thinking, Batman took a swing at Sinestro, and then...
Sinestro was flung at least ten meters away.
Batman lowered his gaze to his glowing fist and then eyed Sinestro, who was struggling to get up. He started to understand something.
Having recovered from the ground, Sinestro wasn't one to take humiliation lightly. After getting up, he glanced at his dimly lit ring and realized he had nearly exhausted all his energy during the battle with Hal.
But Sinestro didn't panic. He had brought the Lantern Furnace to Earth in a bout of foresight—and at that moment, the Yellow Lantern Furnace should have been hovering above the planet.
Sinestro stretched towards the sky and roared loudly, "Fear is the source, Sinestro's authority!"
"...Fear is the source, Sinestro's authority!"
"...Sinestro's authority!"
"Authority! Authority! ...Authority???"
Across from him, Batman, Dick, and Aisha were standing in line from tallest to shortest, watching a man in a yellow bodysuit strike a strange pose—one hand on his hip and the other pointing to the sky—as he repeated the same phrase over and over.
Batman opened his mouth to call for Alfred, but before he could say his name, the butler was already behind him. Batman hesitated before suggesting, "Maybe... we should call Arkham Asylum. I think he's... no, not think, he definitely has mental health issues…"