"Justice? What makes them arbiters of Gotham's justice? If they've never lived in this city, never understood the people and events on this land, can't empathize with the locals, then their so-called justice turns into this..."
Saying this, both of them simultaneously turned their gaze to the city, where chaos remained ongoing.
They both understood that this wasn't the throes of a so-called transformation, but that these sky-fallen justice messengers were only disturbing the good night's sleep of the Gothamites, unable to achieve anything more.
The central roundabout of Gotham was particularly lively. Tylenol was raising his Green Lantern Ring high and shouting, "Long live the lantern's light, rays of all ages, unite the shield!"
All Green Lanterns, who had been driven to the central roundabout, stood together, all of them simultaneously initiating the little remaining Green Lantern energy to form a shield. Hal, standing beside Tylenol, shouted, "Where's Carol? Why isn't he here?!"
"He was attacked by a magician!" Tylenol replied, "The magician seemed to have found him using some sort of curse mark. His ring's energy is drained, and he has fallen unconscious!"
Hal stretched out his hand, focusing hard, and a dense green light bloomed from his hand, prompting Tylenol to glance sideways.
But right now, their situation was dire. Bombs were being dropped constantly from the Batplane overhead, the mob's firepower was ceaseless, Clark watched closely with a keen eye, and the Green Lanterns didn't even have a chance to flee.
"Focus your energy! Bring down that plane!" Tylenol started to command. The Green Lanterns concentrated their attention, firing continuous green light waves, but the Batplane skillfully dodged them.
Just then, Clark heard Batman's voice coming from the Batplane flying past him: "Attack!"
"No, I can't make a move in the city center! It would destroy everything here." Clark hesitated.
"Attack, I can rebuild."
"No way, it will affect too many buildings!"
"I have money!"
Clark was speechless, but seeing the Green Lanterns who were gradually organizing their attack, he knew it was time to make a move.
Clark opened his arms, a snowstorm spinning around him bringing a biting cold. He plunged downwards, like a falcon with feathers of snow. As he drew near, Tylenol shouted, "Concentrate on defense! Stop him!"
The green energy converged towards Clark's direction of attack, forming an even more solid shield. But the moment it came into contact with Clark, the shield shattered.
"Boom!"
Clark, like a humanoid missile, blasted all the Green Lanterns away.
Faced with an almost irresistible force, many Green Lanterns didn't even have the strength to stand. Green Lanterns, who rely on willpower to fight, once they begin to feel fear, they've almost lost all their combat power.
Even the corps leader, Tylenol, no longer had the courage to face Clark directly. He slumped to the ground, slowly closing his eyes.
But just then, a more intense green light lit up next to him.
Hal floated to mid-air, face to face with Clark. Tylenol saw that Hal's ring had started to blink, indicating that the power was running low. He wanted to open his mouth to warn him but heard Hal say:
"You can't hurt them, step back!"
The living energy field around Clark was getting stronger. Hal's shadow flickered in the storm, and all the Green Lanterns on the ground were extremely nervous, a mood of despair spreading.
But suddenly, a dense green light, like a sword, pierced through the snowstorm. A slightly ethereal green shark swam through the clouds.
Tylenol widened his eyes and said, "A Green Lantern Ion Shark?! How is that possible??... The Ion Lantern! Hal is the new Ion Lantern!"
The green shark slowly swam into Hal's body, a green sun rising from the midst of the snowstorm.
Clark was not to be outdone, exuding powerful sunlight all around him. Just as the two massive orbs of light were about to collide, a tiny black warplane passed through the radiant light.
Inside the Batplane, a phone was tossed out. Batman said to Clark, "Catch. It's for you!"
Clark hesitated for a moment, caught the phone, and seemed taken aback. But soon, the harsh ring of the telephone broke his silence. Clark instinctively picked up the receiver and held it to his ear.
"Hello?... Ah, professor, I'm sorry! I got held up!... Really? You've been waiting for a long time? Oh my goodness! I'm truly sorry! I almost forgot why I came here in the first place!"
"Alright, alright, I'll get there right away... Ah, please don't get angry, I will explain everything to you later. I'm on my way!"
After hanging up, Clark subdued his radiance and told Hal, "I have urgent matters today. You owe me one for next time!"
With that, he flew away. Hal, suspended midair with his hands on his hips, watched Clark's retreating figure. Below him, the Green Lanterns cheered.
They shouted the name of the Ion Lantern. Hal slowly descended to the center of the platform. Once he had enough green lantern energy, he waved his hand, bringing everyone back to headquarters.
Upon returning to the ground at the base, Tylenol sighed in relief. He walked up to Hal and said, "Outstanding work, rookie. You've performed beyond my expectations."
He cast a glance at Hal's chest where the barely visible mark of the Ion Shark appeared. "It seems the Lantern Beast Ion Shark has chosen you. You've become the unmatchable Ion Lantern."
He then took a deep breath and let out a sigh. "I was appointed to this position in a crisis after the former commander Sinestro betrayed the Corps. I underestimated many situations."
He surveyed the Green Lanterns and said, "Hal, without you, we all would have perished there. You saved everyone and therefore deserve a promotion. From today on, you are an official Green Lantern."
Cheers erupted from the crowd, but Tylenol waved his hand to quiet them down. He then added, "Also, the previous Deputy Carol was seriously injured and may need time to recover. I hope you can become my deputy to make up for my deficiencies."
Hal was about to say something dismissive, but Tylenol interrupted and said, "Please don't refuse. I have a hunch that you have the potential to transcend your predecessors. Maybe you'll even become the greatest Green Lantern in history..."
With that, he extended his hand. Hal hesitated and sighed, but he stepped forward and shook Tylenol's hand. Their firm handshakes symbolized unyielding faith in each other.
Meanwhile, in Rodrix Manor, Shiller leant back on the sofa as Batman opposite him asked,
"So, you intentionally created all those coincidences and went around in circles. What is your ultimate intention?"
Leaning on the armrest of the sofa, Shiller asked, "Remember the mysterious list that had the entire CIA on the East Coast searching?"
"You mean the Philby List? What does this have to do with it?"
Shiller smiled. When he looked up, Batman was certain he saw a gleam of wisdom in the professor's eyes.
"Perhaps we are on the verge of acquiring a 'Hal list'."
Back at the Green Lantern Corps' headquarters, the wounded and exhausted Green Lanterns dispersed after Hal took over Tylenol's work and Tylenol left.
Inside the headquarters' core, Hal was the only one left. He sighed reflectively, looking around at all the unfamiliar equipment and screens.
However, when he turned his head towards the right, he noticed that one of the screens was still on.
He moved closer and realized it seemed to be Tylenol's workspace that had been left open. Just as he was about to touch it, a line popped up on the screen: "Encrypting information, verifying authority... Verification complete."
Hal did nothing, but his ring flashed. Then, the entire screen was filled with dense information.
It showed detailed defense maps of all the sectors of the Green Lantern Corps and the personal details of all the official Green Lanterns.
Hal's heart skipped a beat.
A series of images flashed before his eyes; the dark hallway in the Mayor's Manor, Aisha and Dick's course initiation, the mysterious and ancient butler...
He remembered, back then, one of the skills that Alfred taught in the class was called... Spy's Self-Cultivation.