Hal, who had just been transported to Oa Star using green lantern energy, was looking around the teleportation platform. It was a completely transparent cabin, cylindrical in shape. Through the surrounding glass, he could see an eye-opening alien city.
The most notable structure was a massive, green spiral-shaped building closest to him. His gaze could not reach its height. Around the spiral building stood numerous irregular tall structures, interconnected by transparent glass corridors. Many Green Lanterns, emitting green light, flew back and forth among them.
As Hal was enraptured by the sight, a team of Green Lanterns walked briskly through the only door of the teleportation cabin. The man leading the group saluted Hal.
Hal reciprocated with a gesture as instructed by the green lantern ring. The young Green Lantern sternly said, "Hal Jordan, nice to meet you. Welcome to our family."
"Thank you."
"Please follow me. Our Corps General wants to see you," the young Green Lantern said. However, the Green Lanterns behind him slowly positioned themselves behind Hal.
Having trained in the Air Force base, Hal, with basic military manners, wrinkled his brows, sensing the hostility of the newcomers.
However, he did not panic. Shiller's earlier script readied him for any possible situation. The reaction of the other Green Lanterns did not exceed Shiller's prediction.
Hal figured that when a Green Lantern accept the ring and registers as a member of the Green Lantern Corps, their name would be sent to the headquarters of the Green Lantern Corps. Therefore, the Corps General could check any Lantern's name and the sector they came from. All Green Lanterns in the headquarters are registered under their real names.
Hence, Hal knew that the sudden energy consumption would prompt the Corps General to investigate who withdrew the energy. The investigation would eventually lead to Shiller and Earth.
The treatment he, another Green Lantern from Earth who had just arrived at the headquarters, might receive was apparent.
But Hal had prepared sufficient reasons. So, he followed the young Green Lantern forward, passed through a transparent corridor, and flew into the gigantic building.
Entering the indoor area again, he took an elevator to the top floor. Finally, in a hall filled with green light, Hal met the Corps General of the Green Lantern Corps.
He sees an upright middle-aged man with a beard at his temples. Hal saluted him, the Corps General nodded, and sternly asked him, "You are Hal Jordan, aren't you?"
Hal nodded, gave a brief self-introduction. His military background gave him a distinguished aura, which even outshined other Green Lanterns who had undergone Oa's training.
"I am the Corps General of the Green Lantern Corps. You can call me Tylenol. The rookie instructor told me that you delayed reporting in. Why?"
"Because an urgent order was once sent to me by the headquarters, telling me that Sinestro, the Corps General of the Yellow Lantern Corps, had arrived on Earth. I was assigned to investigate the matter. Therefore, the superior who issued the command reported a delay for me."
"After the completion of the mission, why didn't you report in?"
"After the main mission was completed, I was ordered to stay in the city where Sinestro had appeared to investigate potential hazards and risks."
Hal's response was impeccable and matched exactly what Corps General had seen in the records. So the Corps General asked again, "Do you know the newly recruited Green Lantern Shiller Rodriguez in your sector?"
"I know," Hal replied expressionlessly. He continued, "I just came from him, and I brought a message he wanted to convey to headquarters."
The Corps General and the adjutant both frowned. The Corps General asked, "Message? What message?"
"He says he needs support."
"Needs Support???" The adjutant by the Corps General finally could not hold back, "In just two days, he drained almost half of the energy in the headquarters. He still needs support???"
But Hal sternly argued, "I think it's necessary. Because, during my stay in that city, I found out that it could be the most dangerous place in the cosmos…"
His serious tone got the younger Green Lanterns glancing at one another, trying to hold back their laughter.
Even the extremely patient Corps General, Tylenol, was somewhat angry. He said, "Hal, rookie Green Lanterns tend to exaggerate the risks of some missions. But that's not because the mission is genuinely dangerous, it's due to their cowardice…"
"To the best of my knowledge, Sector 2814, where Earth is located, is relatively remote, very distant from the central sector, with a small number of registered civilizations. I don't think there's anything we could label as dangerous there."
"So why would Sinestro choose to appear there?" Hal posed a question that no one in the room could answer.
Since Sinestro betrayed the Green Lantern Corps, the prestige of the Green Lantern Corps had taken quite a hit. Most Green Lanterns viewed the traitor as a thorn in their sides.
Therefore, as soon as Sinestro appeared on Earth, they assigned the task of investigating the Yellow Lantern to Hal, Earth's only Green Lantern, who was still an untrained rookie.
To the surprise of headquarters, Hal executed the mission well. Hence, his question stumped everyone present.
"You mean to say, Earth has its uniqueness?"
"Yes, the motive of Sinestro's arrival described in my mission report is listed as 'unknown' because I didn't find any conclusive evidence."
"However, based on my investigation over these days, I speculate that perhaps the Lantern Beast of the Yellow Lantern Corps felt a strong sense of fear in a city on Earth, which is why Sinestro was drawn there."
Corps Commander and his deputy exchange glances. The boss's expression softens slightly, he coughs and says, "Even so, shouldn't have half of the headquarters' energy been used up in two days, should it?"
Hal seemed hesitant, as if he wanted to say something, but didn't. The deputy said, "You can speak your mind, there's no need to worry."
"Actually, I want to ask, during the process of him drawing so much energy, did you guys not realize it? If you did, why didn't you stop him?"
Before the Corps Commander could speak, the deputy sighed and said:
"Only when the ring's energy is completely depleted does it return to the headquarters energy to recharge, but very few Green Lanterns will recharge only after they use up all their energy. The headquarters energy has never been consumed this quickly before, and we lack the appropriate alarm mechanisms."
Interrupting his statement, the Corps Commander said, "We will improve this in the future, but first, we need to figure out what this Green Lantern named Rodriguez is up to."
"Actually, he wanted to report with me, but the situation where he is, is not so great, he can't free himself now, and I had to come to request support."
"What kind of place is he stuck in that he would use up the energy of the ring thousands of times within two days?" The deputy seemed utterly perplexed.
"That's exactly why I'm here." Hal's face grew even more serious. He said, "I know you may suspect some plot in this, thinking we stole green lantern energy by cheating."
"But the pursuit of justice by the earthlings won't change because of such suspicion. To prove that we indeed use this power justly, I hope to bring back a small team to support my friend Rodriguez and also to prove to you that we certainly do not misuse the Green Lantern energy."
Hal's candid attitude made the others hesitate. They had imagined many possible responses from Hal, but they hadn't expected him to come genuinely asking for support and also hoping to have other Green Lanterns assist on Earth.
"How many people do you want to take back?"
Hal pretended to think for a while before giving the answer preset by Shiller, "I hope it will be more than five, but the more the better."
The deputy's eyes widened, "Is it really necessary to have so many?"
"My companion Shiller depleted the energy of the ring thousands of times in two days, that's the most powerful evidence, he can't possibly make the energy disappear out of the blue, right?"
Hal spread his hands and very sincerely explained, "Even if I am a rookie Green Lantern, I know that the safety lock on the ring is very secure, the energy must have been consumed, and where so much energy is consumed, a small team of Green Lanterns may be in danger."
The deputy nodded at his words. Everything Hal said made sense. He had even more confidence in the safety lock on the Green Lantern Ring. This Green Lantern named Shiller must be in an extremely dangerous situation to consume the energy in the ring repeatedly.
At this point, the Corps Commander waved his hand and said, "We don't have many people left at the Headquarters, most of them are novices who have just completed training. Let's do this, Carol..."
The Corps Commander turned to his deputy, "You take five people from the second squad and go with Hal to Earth to see what the situation is like there. If it's as dangerous as you say, send me a signal right away, and I'll send more support."
Carol didn't say anything, just saluted, and then said to Hal, "Let's go. Green Lanterns fear no danger. Peace and justice are what we pursue throughout our lives."
Hal saluted him in return, and both saw a determined look in each other's eyes.
Just as the Green Lanterns were assembling their forces, checking their rings, and preparing to head to the unknown land called Earth, the chaos in the Arkham Mental Hospital escalated.
Strangely, the gunfire in the hospital gradually subsided, and the mob's firefight was essentially over.
However, the locals of Gotham all understood one rule. The most dangerous time on the streets of Gotham was not when a firefight was raging, but when the firefight was nearing its end, everyone was counting the losses, and the bosses were sitting down to negotiate.
On the corridor of the third floor of the mental hospital, steady footsteps suddenly echoed. In front of the door of an office, a hand wearing a white glove knocked lightly on the door a few times.
When the door opened, the mob bosses in the room saw the well-dressed Alberto standing outside, his expressionless face peering into the room.
The boss closest to the door brought over a chair, but Alberto had no intention of sitting down. He walked to the center of the room and looked at the mob bosses who had just been furiously arguing, and said:
"Do you know that this hospital, which you've just battered with machine guns and rocket launchers, is supposed to be my internship place for the next two years?"