Shane Freak
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Chapter 482: Emerging Talents in Arkham! (Part 2)
🕑 Added 2023-08-08 16:47:04 +0000 UTCIn DC World With Marvel Chat Group : Table of Content/Chapter List
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Not far from Gotham, above the suburban skies, Clark floated amidst the clouds, looking around with a puzzled expression.
Lowering his head to gaze at the desolate mountains below, he then scanned his surroundings, observing the faint glow of high-rise buildings in the distance. Uncertain of which direction to fly in to reach Gotham, he contemplated landing to ask for directions.
Just as he hesitated, a distant green light caught his eye among the falling snowflakes.
The green light grew closer, and Clark squinted to discern several green dots, resembling fireflies, flying towards him in a group.
As they approached him, Clark realized that these were individuals emitting green light.
When the group of Green Lanterns flew up to Clark, they were surprised to find a person suspended in mid-air. Clark observed them briefly, feeling somewhat bewildered. Carol furrowed his brow and asked, "Who are you? And how did you end up here?"
"Um, I'm Clark. Who are you?"
"Clark? You're an Earthling?"
"Of course." Clark was momentarily thrown off by their question. He continued, "So, you guys aren't from Earth?"
The Green Lanterns, upon hearing this response, immediately grew nervous. Assuming a defensive stance, Carol impatiently questioned, "You're lying. Earthlings can't fly!"
"How do you know Earthlings can't fly?"
"Our rings contain a complete galactic encyclopedia. The 'Humanity' entry was updated recently. Humans cannot escape Earth's gravitational pull with their bodies, let alone fly freely. Who are you? What's your purpose on Earth? Do you have any relationship with Sinestro?"
Their firm statements left Clark baffled. He furrowed his brow and retorted, "I am an Earthling. I was born and raised on a farm in Kansas. And what about you? Earthlings can't fly, but can they emit green light?"
"We are the Green Lantern Corps." Carol's impatience showed. "Who are you exactly? And why are you here on Earth? Do you have any relationship with Sinestro?"
Clark's irritation grew from this series of questions. He felt like a native of Earth being questioned by what clearly appeared to be aliens. It was as if a trespasser was interrogating a homeowner, a situation that seemed absurd.
However, Carol was equally frustrated. They had just encountered a setback and were physically and mentally drained. Yet, due to their duty of upholding peace in space, he was compelled to investigate potentially threatening individuals. On their retreat route, encountering an unusual Human who could fly was anything but normal.
Both sides were quite angry. Before they exchanged many words, Carol's patience ran out. He said, "If you don't intend to answer me, step aside. We don't have time to waste on you now."
"No way! You aliens, who knows what you're up to? Leave Earth. This isn't where you belong!"
Carol took a deep breath. He had never been so provocatively challenged by a native of any planet. Clearly, Clark showed no awe or reverence for their extraordinary appearance and abilities.
However, Carol was skilled in maintaining his composure as a Green Lantern Corps officer. Throughout his service, he had diligently adhered to his principles and had never acted impulsively. He decided to continue communicating with Clark.
Yet, just as he was about to speak, a green beam of light grazed his arm, flying towards Clark. Swiftly, Clark veered to the side, avoiding the beam.
A young Green Lantern from the team broke formation, his face contorted in anger. Just as Carol was about to reprimand him, a red beam charged with destructive energy struck him, sending him hurtling away.
Seeing Clark before him, eyes glowing red, Carol understood the situation was escalating beyond salvage. He shouted, "Formation! Prepare for attack!"
Several Green Lanterns moved to encircle Clark, and the intertwining red and green lights created a spectacular display in the skies above Gotham's outskirts. Many people were awoken by the spectacle and hurried to the tallest buildings to observe the display.
Most ordinary citizens were unaware of the events taking place within Arkham Asylum, so they watched with keen interest. However, the gang leaders who had just departed from Arkham Sanatorium recognized the peculiar green light.
Telephones within Twelve Families Manor began ringing incessantly as everyone questioned, "What on earth is happening??"
"Hey, Spencer? Am I seeing things? Why are they setting off fireworks in the west suburbs? And that green light, why does it look familiar?"
"Damn it! It's those people again! No wonder they disappeared. They've flown to the suburbs. What's with the red light too?"
"A green ghost just fled, and now a red one shows up. My goodness, it's probably because we haven't maintained the church. This place is cursed!"
"Quit your whining! Grab your guns and take them down!"
"But haven't we tried that before? Ordinary guns are useless. They can fly and the green light on them can stop bullets. The Godfather even launched a missile at the hospital, and it didn't faze them."
"Who's got bigger firepower? Blow them away with a big explosion!"
At this moment, the telephones within Twelve Families Manor started ringing consecutively, and Alberto's voice came through.
"Everyone, mobilize trucks to the cold storage in East District to retrieve the new weapons. Note that the freeze guns are in limited production and still in the testing phase. Strictly follow the usage instructions..."
The gang leaders didn't hear the rest of the message, fixated on the words "new weapons."
The roar of truck engines echoed through the skies over Gotham, streetlights flickered on, and warehouse lights illuminated the surroundings. The night in Gotham grew brighter, like a lost pearl shining on the East Coast.
Meanwhile, the battle between the Green Lanterns and Clark intensified. The Green Lanterns realized that the man who claimed to be an Earthling was remarkably powerful.
However, Clark should have quickly dealt with them. Yet, due to the nighttime and his concern about causing too much disturbance that could affect the neighboring city, he felt constrained in the fight.
As he contemplated using stronger force to subdue them, a "pause" sounded, and within his field of vision, a blue light appeared. A "smack" followed, and a Green Lantern frozen into an ice block plummeted down...
Clark looked down to see the shattered ice block on the ground. The Green Lantern had suffered minimal harm and flew up again.
But in the next moment, a series of "pause, pause, pause" sounds ensued, and numerous blue lights flew towards the group of green targets.
Many Green Lanterns mistook these lights for regular bullets and didn't attempt to dodge. They used their Green Lantern energy to withstand the assault, but upon contact, they froze into ice blocks and fell.
Carol, the deputy commander, was also hit. However, as she fell, she used his Green Lantern ring's ability to pass through obstacles, piercing through the ice block.
Other Green Lanterns followed suit. After being hit, they quickly flew out of the ice blocks.
Initially, they had scorned the new weapons Humanity wielded. However, they soon realized Humanity's cunning tactics.
Clark had a biotic forcefield that prevented bullets from touching him. The field's range was significant, allowing him to halt bullets several meters away from himself. However, the same couldn't be said for the Green Lanterns.
The Green Lantern energy field had a limited radius that could deflect bullets. On the other hand, the freezing range was larger, causing them to freeze upon grazing the edges of it.
Once frozen, they needed to use their ability to pass through obstacles to break free from the ice blocks. However, this ability also consumed energy. The volley of icy bullets repeatedly trapped them, forcing them to expend energy to escape.
Perhaps some thought they could evade by flying, but they couldn't forget that there was a watchful Clark nearby.
Clark not only flew faster than them but also could emit deadly rays from his eyes. Once the Green Lantern shields touched these rays, their energy weakened, and the Green Lanterns had no air superiority. Their movement space was quite limited.
With the ongoing battle, their ring energy quickly depleted. However, the situation provided no openings for them to teleport away and recharge. Gasping for breath, Carol exclaimed, "Quick! Call for backup! Connect to headquarters, I need backup!"
Within the Green Lantern Corps headquarters, Corps Leader Thaal listened gravely to the voice coming through the communication device. He immediately instructed a nearby Green Lantern, "Gather the third and fourth squads, and the fifth..."
"Reporting, sir. The fourth and fifth squads were dispatched to patrol the surrounding sectors as you ordered."
"What about the sixth squad?"
"They joined the pursuit of Sinessto's team and are currently not back in the 1020 sector..."
Thaal's expression darkened. He was aware of the current situation. Ever since Sinessto defected from the team, the Green Lantern's prestige had suffered a significant blow. Coupled with Sinestro wreaking havoc across various sectors, he had to deploy most of the headquarters' manpower to maintain stability.
Originally, the twelve squads of Green Lanterns guarding the headquarters were enough. However, most squads were sent out for tasks such as delivering messages or patrolling, leaving only a few inexperienced squads with insufficient combat power.
Thaal slammed the table and declared, "Apart from regular security personnel, gather all combat-capable individuals and form a team. I'll lead it and head to Earth to see what's happening."
"But sir, the safety of the headquarters..."
"The headquarters is situated at the center of all sectors. There are dozens of squads in the surrounding sectors. Who could possibly launch an attack here? Even on Oa Star, there are comprehensive defense measures. Outsiders can't enter."
After considering for a moment, the Green Lantern nodded, seeing the reason in the Corps Leader's words. He saluted respectfully and went to make preparations.
After Thaal led nearly all the Green Lanterns of the headquarters away, a burst of light illuminated the teleportation chamber. Schiller's figure appeared on the teleportation platform, holding Pikachu in his arms.
Schiller looked around, spotting the massive spiral structure outside the window. He activated the Green Lantern's teleportation function and appeared directly on top of the spiral building. Descending the staircase unimpeded, he reached the power hall without obstacles.
Although he encountered security personnel on the way, Schiller, enveloped in a green light, walked past them expressionlessly, nodding at people. Nobody knew what he was up to; the Green Lantern responsible for security even thought he was an engineer coming to inspect the power sources.
Upon reaching the power hall, Schiller calmly closed the door, then observed the giant furnace in the center of the room. Speaking to himself, he mused, "Where's the entrance?"
"Up there, it must be up there." Pikachu in Schiller's arms pointed with its short hand at an opening in the ceiling emitting green light. "Don't you remember? We entered from the top of that yellow furnace last time. These toilets all look the same."
Schiller looked up and found Pikachu's words correct. There did seem to be an opening above the furnace.
After flying up, Schiller looked down into the opening and then... tossed Pikachu inside.
After throwing it, he clapped his hands, quite satisfied, and said, "Now, the yellow light is once again a weakness of the Green Lantern Corps."
At that moment, Aisha, who was watching fireworks from her bedroom window, saw countless green lights descending from the sky. Pointing outside the window, she exclaimed, "Wow, wow, wow!"
Schiller, who had returned via teleportation, bent down, picked up Aisha, and said, "What's that? Those are many teething toys!"
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Next Chapter>>Chapter 483: The Simple Folk of Gotham City (Part 1)
