"Mad! Mad! Why are there so many madmen in this city?!"
Carol, nursing his injured shoulder, and the Green Lanterns hurriedly weave through the skyscrapers of Gotham, using the green lantern energy to fly at a low altitude.
The reason they don't fly high is because the missile-laden Batplane is patrolling the skies.
The massive skyscrapers are tightly packed, and the green lights dart about like fireflies. As they pass by, the huge screens on the building walls glow in all colors. On the screen, there's a painted face of the Joker, and he says into the camera:
"This is Joker Jack with your late-night weather forecast. Today is sunny, there might be heavy snow tonight, and a magical creature called the Green Lantern will appear in the sky..."
"Alright, that's it for today's weather forecast, because the host, Jack, is off-duty... What? You ask what I'm going to do after work? Of course, take this opportunity to go for a good drive!"
"After all, tonight will be the night with the most Green Lanterns in Gotham, ha ha ha ha ha ha!!"
"Boom!"
After flying past the screen, Hal dodges a rocket with a flash, and when he looks back, the giant screen is sparking from an explosion.
He accelerates his flight to pull alongside Carol, who is leading the group, and says, "This can't go on, we will eventually be shot down!"
"What the hell is going on in this city? Why are there so many madmen?!" Carol is at a loss. He looks down to see the mob chasing them on the ground, each armed with a truckload of weapons, and they are now firing at them.
The ring can indeed help the Lanterns ward off bullets and blasts, but it also consumes energy. Flying and dodging also drain energy. Carol dares not think what would happen if they were to fall into the hands of these lunatics when their energy depletes.
"Hal, you've stayed here for a while, right? Do you know of a safer place where we can recuperate?"
Carol glances at the Green Lanterns who are having difficulty flying and asks Hal.
Originally, most members of the second team were novices. Although they had been trained, they rarely took part in high-intensity missions. Their experience in Gotham was not just high-intensity; it could be said it equaled hell difficulty right from the start.
The Green Lantern energy is only a tool that lacks conscious thought and does not control the Lanterns' actions. The Lanterns must think for themselves, manage their bodies, and determine how they should act or fly.
Now, the intensity of the firepower in Gotham forces them to remain highly vigilant constantly, countering bullets and shrapnel from all directions.
The challenging airborne maneuvers every three seconds are even hard for Hal, a former test pilot, let alone the inexperienced Green Lantern novices.
With a "boom", another air-to-air missile explodes. The young Green Lantern at the end of the line is blasted away.
He reacts a little late and fails to avoid the blast. A teammate who was about to fly over and save him is momentarily blinded by a flashbang, and subsequently shot down.
Hal and Carol, the most proficient Green Lanterns in flying, quickly double back to the rescue. After much trouble, they manage to fish the two people back into the group.
Hal uses his Green Lantern energy to stay connected to the exhausted Green Lantern, flying with him, then says to Carol, "There are hardly any safe places in this city; we'd better get out of here first."
Hal looks up at the three Batplanes circling in the sky, and then says, "Someone needs to lure them away; I'll do it."
Impressed by his determined look, Carol is moved. He says, "Even though I've served in the Green Lantern Corps for so long, you are the most outstanding newbie I've seen."
Hal turns to him and says, "For justice."
Just as Carol prepares to lead the other Green Lanterns away, Hal calls out to them again, "The turmoil in this city is not yet over; you'd best relocate to other cities on Earth and await reinforcements from headquarters."
"I suppose we have no choice but to do that, as the remaining energy in our rings is not enough to transport us directly back to headquarters. Since you're a local, do you know where it might be safer?"
Hal considers for a moment and then points out a direction. Carol nods in agreement, then says,
"Once we find a safe base, we will call for backup immediately, and then quickly return to support you."
Hal saluted him and then turned and flew away directly. The other Green Lanterns watched him leave, their hearts filled with solemn emotions.
In their view, every second spent in this chaotic and crazy dangerous city demanded immense courage, and Hal was clearly a brave warrior who confronted difficulties.
Hal flew to a nearby Batplane. He seemed to have a conversation with the person inside, who followed him away in the aircraft. The remaining two Batplanes were also drawn away by him, thus providing an opportunity for the Green Lanterns to flee Gotham City.
It was after their departure that Hal stopped. He vanished instantly and reappeared in the copilot's seat of the Batplane. Batman turned his head and squinted at him.
Hal also turned to look at Batman, shrugged, and said, "I thought you'd know who to look for."
Batman turned his head back, pressed a button on the control panel, and the navigational voice produced a pleasant sound: "Navigation in progress, the destination... Rodrix Manor."
By the time Batman stepped into Rodrix Manor, Shiller and Constantine were already sitting on the sofa, drinking.
The glass collided with the surface of the coffee table, creating a clear sound as the golden liquid fell into the glass, splashing up brilliant droplets.
Batman grimly raised his glass, but did not drink, while Hal, sitting beside him, guzzled down the whiskey in his glass without a second thought.
The cool liquid cleared his mind and eased the fatigue from flying. Just as Shiller was about to say something, Batman cut him off: "You don't have to explain to me why you want to confront the Green Lantern. On this matter, our positions are aligned."
Shiller took a sip of his drink, then stroked his chest and raised his glass to Batman, "This is why I like talking to smart people. Let's skip the grand principles and excuses that don't matter and get down to the time when Constantine called me saying he was going to stay at Arkham Mental Hospital…"
Constantine held his drink, took a large sip, then picked up the bottle and refilled his glass.
He reclined comfortably on the back of the sofa, hands resting on top of the armchair. His slurring speech conveyed his indifference, "I had no choice, my personal charm is too strong. A boy named Bruce chased me around the whole city. He was dissatisfied with me going to the Red Light District and caused a lot of trouble there. Even when I went to relax for a while, he would stick with me…"
Hal spewed out his drink with a "poof". Seeing the sharp gleam of the Batman dart in Batman's hand, Constantine cleared his throat, "Alright, no joke. I just called Shiller because I wanted a place to hide."
"But this damn miser, that offensive Glan Tai, insisted that I do something for him before he would let me in."
"So, you started the mob riots in the hospital?" Batman asked.
"According to the original plan, I should have done it. But I didn't expect two eager beavers in the hospital. They wanted to stir up some trouble and escape in the process. I simply used their plan and expanded the chaos a bit."
"What's the deal with the arrival of the Green Lanterns?" Batman turned to Shiller again, but Shiller looked at Hal. Hal shrugged and explained to Batman how he requested support from Oa Star.
"You initially caused a mob riot, and then placed the Green Lanterns precisely at the center of the chaos. Was your goal to get the Lanterns to realize the threat Earth posed?"
"Yet, this might not be enough to deter them and it certainly won't keep them away from Earth. Instead, it might make this group of brainwashed green flies swarm around Earth even more." Batman made an evaluation.
You could tell from his words that Batman didn't have any fondness for the Green Lantern Corps. Yet, it was understandable. Batman was the only local of Gotham among the four present there. Earlier, a group of people radiating green light flew brazenly through Gotham's skies leading to numerous car accidents and prompting the mob to destroy many buildings.
More importantly, Batman had always seen Gotham as his territory and had an almost obsessive need to control it. These people invaded without any permission, and had Hal not stopped Batman's pursuit in his aircraft, Carol and the others wouldn't have escaped.
"I never intended to deter them," said Shiller as he put down his drink.
"Then what? Your series of actions will only alert them to Earth and lead them here."
"My objective is to bring them here."
Just as Shiller finished this sentence, the phone rang. Merkel walked down the stairs, picked up the receiver and said, "Hello, this is Rodrix Manor. Yes, he's here…"
Then placing the phone on the coffee table, he passed the receiver to Shiller. Over the phone, Shiller said, "Oh, is that so? You're already on your way?…Okay, I'll be waiting for you."
Batman stared at Shiller, as if he had a premonition. Just then, Shiller said into the phone:
"Well then, see you in a bit, Clark."