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Chapter 348: Extreme Cold Trap
The temperature seemed to drop once again.
As more Brainiac machines appeared, the oppressive cold intensified. This time, even Hal found it difficult to endure. A cyclone of impossibly cold air swirled around him, like a thousand sharp blades constantly probing, hungrily searching for any chance to breach his Green Lantern barrier.
And Hal sensed it wouldn't be long now. He wasn't even sure how much longer he could last in such extreme temperatures.
Of course, that didn't change what he had to do.
Hal forced himself to his feet and willed his Power Ring to keep shining. He noticed the ring was consuming energy faster to resist the severe cold, just as every fiber of his being was pushed to its limit. But he didn't care.
He was a Green Lantern; he would never give up the fight. Not even if all his teammates had fallen, not even if he was the last one standing.
"Commendable courage, but it changes nothing," Brainiac said coldly, as all his machines locked onto Hal's position.
"After today, the 'greatest Green Lantern' will be nothing more than a unique collectible."
Hal said in a deep voice, "You're welcome to try."
Just then, a blinding light pierced the sky. The curtain of wind and snow seemed to melt before a blade of light. A pillar of light shot down from the heavens, crashing onto the earth with a heavy roar.
Power Ring: "High-energy reaction detected."
"Yeah, I noticed. I'm not blind yet." Hal instinctively shielded his face from the blinding light, a look of surprise and relief spreading across his features.
He recognized this light. As far as he knew, there was only one being in this universe who possessed such brilliance.
"What's the situation, Hal?"
The brilliance faded, revealing Orin Vale floating in mid-air in his human-sized form, a smile on his face.
"Still half-asleep?"
Hal grinned, smacking his ring-clad fist into his other palm.
"Who? Me? Ha, I haven't even started trying yet."
Then he noticed Orin Vale hadn't come alone. As he floated in the sky, he was holding another person, dangling him like a chick.
That blue skin, that bald head, that short stature...
"A Guardian?"
Hal thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.
He thought he saw a Guardian—one of those arrogant, high-and-mighty Little Blue Men—being held in Orin Vale's hand like a pet.
"Oh, this guy."
Orin Vale set the Guardian down.
"He attacked me on my way here. Seems he was corrupted by fear. I purged it from him and was about to take him back to Oa."
Only then did Hal realize this was the same berserk Guardian he had run into earlier.
Once on his feet, the Guardian said, "I am ashamed to admit I was careless, which allowed the power of fear to take hold. Thanks to this Blue Lantern's righteous aid, I was fortunate enough to escape.
"The light of hope is the rarest and most difficult to master in the entire spectrum. Anyone capable of wielding it is undoubtedly a person of the noblest and purest character. For a being like you to have obtained the power of the Emotional Spectrum is a blessing for all life in the universe, both in the face of the coming War of Light and the prophesied Blackest Night."
Hal listened, utterly bewildered. At first, he just felt that something was off, but after a moment's thought, he realized what was wrong.
Did this Guardian take the wrong medicine?
How could he suddenly be speaking so civilly?
From what Hal understood of the Guardians, they were never polite to anyone like Orin Vale who used the power of the Emotional Spectrum outside their Corps. They probably wouldn't even give a warm reception to the Blue Lantern Corps, the brother corps most closely linked to the Green Lanterns in the spectrum.
The Guardians weren't fond of others wielding the power of the Emotional Spectrum.
Yet this Guardian before him was clearly very polite to Orin Vale, even going so far as to unreservedly express his gratitude to this 'free-range' user of the spectrum. This made Hal begin to suspect that either the Guardian had taken the wrong medicine, or he himself was hallucinating from the cold.
However, the Guardian was arrogant, not an idiot.
When infected by the yellow light, his mind was twisted, but he didn't lose his memory. He clearly remembered what this overpowered individual before him had done. The shock he'd experienced while corrupted remained vivid even after he recovered.
Not only that, but after coming to his senses, he also remembered who this personage was. This was the unknown individual from the Solar System known as "Ultraman." During the battle against Apokolips, he had crossed the galaxy to thrash the legendary Darkseid—the very same Dark Lord he and his fellow Little Blue Men had sworn never to provoke for the rest of their lives.
They couldn't afford to provoke Darkseid, so it went without saying they couldn't afford to provoke this person. Therefore, in the Guardian's view, this wasn't cowardice; it was the wisdom of an elder.
There was a reason this bunch of Little Blue Men had been able to stir up trouble in the universe and survive for so many years.
"Ultraman of Earth. Perfect."
The surrounding cryo-machines had already closed in, a red glow flickering in their optical sensors, as if a neglected Brainiac was trying to emphasize his presence out of displeasure.
"This time... Containment will be completed."
Hal said gravely, "Be careful. It seems this thing was specifically designed to deal with you. Brainiac said its freezing device can suppress your light energy and interfere with your speed."
Orin Vale understood.
Indeed, Brainiac must have done his homework this time. Low temperature was truly one of the few weaknesses of the Ultraman Race. That was a setting established as far back as the era of Seven's TV series, and it had been exploited by alien villains in the Ultraman Universe more than once in later periods.
Similarly, the Speed Force could also be suppressed to a certain extent by low temperatures. One of The Flash's main villains was Captain Cold, whose freeze ray was said to suppress the molecular thermal motion in the environment, thereby reducing The Flash's speed.
However...
Hal was still talking, "Your abilities might be countered, putting you at a disadvantage. I'll take the lead and create an opening. You look for a weak point—"
BOOM!
That was the sound of Orin Vale instantly breaking the sound barrier as he shot forward.
Before Hal could finish his sentence, Orin Vale had already shot forward. With a flash of lightning, the ice under his feet exploded from the force of his sprint. The unexpected shockwave made both the Green Lantern and the Guardian instinctively raise their arms to shield their faces.
By the time they recovered, Orin Vale had already appeared in front of one of the mechs. His arm, crackling with electricity, pierced through its center, punching a clean hole straight through its chassis from front to back.
This development was completely unexpected for Hal. He opened his mouth, but for a moment, was speechless.
Just... one-shotted?
The same cryo-mech that had just forced a brute like him into a battle of wits, making him power up and use strategy, was one-shotted just like that?
Wait, what about the super-low temperature that was supposed to suppress his speed? Does this freaking look like he's being suppressed?
"You seem to have misunderstood one thing, Brainiac,"
Orin Vale pulled his arm from the punctured mech, tossing the scrapped machine aside like trash as he said coolly,
"Even if I'm slower, that doesn't mean you've gotten any faster."
(end of chapter)
The temperature seemed to drop once again.
As more Brainiac machines appeared, the oppressive cold intensified. This time, even Hal found it difficult to endure. A cyclone of impossibly cold air swirled around him, like a thousand sharp blades constantly probing, hungrily searching for any chance to breach his Green Lantern barrier.
And Hal sensed it wouldn't be long now. He wasn't even sure how much longer he could last in such extreme temperatures.
Of course, that didn't change what he had to do.
Hal forced himself to his feet and willed his Power Ring to keep shining. He noticed the ring was consuming energy faster to resist the severe cold, just as every fiber of his being was pushed to its limit. But he didn't care.
He was a Green Lantern; he would never give up the fight. Not even if all his teammates had fallen, not even if he was the last one standing.
"Commendable courage, but it changes nothing," Brainiac said coldly, as all his machines locked onto Hal's position.
"After today, the 'greatest Green Lantern' will be nothing more than a unique collectible."
Hal said in a deep voice, "You're welcome to try."
Just then, a blinding light pierced the sky. The curtain of wind and snow seemed to melt before a blade of light. A pillar of light shot down from the heavens, crashing onto the earth with a heavy roar.
Power Ring: "High-energy reaction detected."
"Yeah, I noticed. I'm not blind yet." Hal instinctively shielded his face from the blinding light, a look of surprise and relief spreading across his features.
He recognized this light. As far as he knew, there was only one being in this universe who possessed such brilliance.
"What's the situation, Hal?"
The brilliance faded, revealing Orin Vale floating in mid-air in his human-sized form, a smile on his face.
"Still half-asleep?"
Hal grinned, smacking his ring-clad fist into his other palm.
"Who? Me? Ha, I haven't even started trying yet."
Then he noticed Orin Vale hadn't come alone. As he floated in the sky, he was holding another person, dangling him like a chick.
That blue skin, that bald head, that short stature...
"A Guardian?"
Hal thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.
He thought he saw a Guardian—one of those arrogant, high-and-mighty Little Blue Men—being held in Orin Vale's hand like a pet.
"Oh, this guy."
Orin Vale set the Guardian down.
"He attacked me on my way here. Seems he was corrupted by fear. I purged it from him and was about to take him back to Oa."
Only then did Hal realize this was the same berserk Guardian he had run into earlier.
Once on his feet, the Guardian said, "I am ashamed to admit I was careless, which allowed the power of fear to take hold. Thanks to this Blue Lantern's righteous aid, I was fortunate enough to escape.
"The light of hope is the rarest and most difficult to master in the entire spectrum. Anyone capable of wielding it is undoubtedly a person of the noblest and purest character. For a being like you to have obtained the power of the Emotional Spectrum is a blessing for all life in the universe, both in the face of the coming War of Light and the prophesied Blackest Night."
Hal listened, utterly bewildered. At first, he just felt that something was off, but after a moment's thought, he realized what was wrong.
Did this Guardian take the wrong medicine?
How could he suddenly be speaking so civilly?
From what Hal understood of the Guardians, they were never polite to anyone like Orin Vale who used the power of the Emotional Spectrum outside their Corps. They probably wouldn't even give a warm reception to the Blue Lantern Corps, the brother corps most closely linked to the Green Lanterns in the spectrum.
The Guardians weren't fond of others wielding the power of the Emotional Spectrum.
Yet this Guardian before him was clearly very polite to Orin Vale, even going so far as to unreservedly express his gratitude to this 'free-range' user of the spectrum. This made Hal begin to suspect that either the Guardian had taken the wrong medicine, or he himself was hallucinating from the cold.
However, the Guardian was arrogant, not an idiot.
When infected by the yellow light, his mind was twisted, but he didn't lose his memory. He clearly remembered what this overpowered individual before him had done. The shock he'd experienced while corrupted remained vivid even after he recovered.
Not only that, but after coming to his senses, he also remembered who this personage was. This was the unknown individual from the Solar System known as "Ultraman." During the battle against Apokolips, he had crossed the galaxy to thrash the legendary Darkseid—the very same Dark Lord he and his fellow Little Blue Men had sworn never to provoke for the rest of their lives.
They couldn't afford to provoke Darkseid, so it went without saying they couldn't afford to provoke this person. Therefore, in the Guardian's view, this wasn't cowardice; it was the wisdom of an elder.
There was a reason this bunch of Little Blue Men had been able to stir up trouble in the universe and survive for so many years.
"Ultraman of Earth. Perfect."
The surrounding cryo-machines had already closed in, a red glow flickering in their optical sensors, as if a neglected Brainiac was trying to emphasize his presence out of displeasure.
"This time... Containment will be completed."
Hal said gravely, "Be careful. It seems this thing was specifically designed to deal with you. Brainiac said its freezing device can suppress your light energy and interfere with your speed."
Orin Vale understood.
Indeed, Brainiac must have done his homework this time. Low temperature was truly one of the few weaknesses of the Ultraman Race. That was a setting established as far back as the era of Seven's TV series, and it had been exploited by alien villains in the Ultraman Universe more than once in later periods.
Similarly, the Speed Force could also be suppressed to a certain extent by low temperatures. One of The Flash's main villains was Captain Cold, whose freeze ray was said to suppress the molecular thermal motion in the environment, thereby reducing The Flash's speed.
However...
Hal was still talking, "Your abilities might be countered, putting you at a disadvantage. I'll take the lead and create an opening. You look for a weak point—"
BOOM!
That was the sound of Orin Vale instantly breaking the sound barrier as he shot forward.
Before Hal could finish his sentence, Orin Vale had already shot forward. With a flash of lightning, the ice under his feet exploded from the force of his sprint. The unexpected shockwave made both the Green Lantern and the Guardian instinctively raise their arms to shield their faces.
By the time they recovered, Orin Vale had already appeared in front of one of the mechs. His arm, crackling with electricity, pierced through its center, punching a clean hole straight through its chassis from front to back.
This development was completely unexpected for Hal. He opened his mouth, but for a moment, was speechless.
Just... one-shotted?
The same cryo-mech that had just forced a brute like him into a battle of wits, making him power up and use strategy, was one-shotted just like that?
Wait, what about the super-low temperature that was supposed to suppress his speed? Does this freaking look like he's being suppressed?
"You seem to have misunderstood one thing, Brainiac,"
Orin Vale pulled his arm from the punctured mech, tossing the scrapped machine aside like trash as he said coolly,
"Even if I'm slower, that doesn't mean you've gotten any faster."
(end of chapter)
