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Chapter 360: I Am Inside
This was the Green Lantern Corps' first official visit to Earth, and also the first time the vast majority of Lanterns had collaborated with Earth's superheroes.
It had to be said, they were deeply impressed.
The performance of the Justice League and other new heroes completely rewrote the Lanterns' long-held stereotypes about Earth. The powers of these earthlings were absurdly overpowered; those who relied on their physical attributes either had god-tier strength or speed that defied physics. In short, every single one of them possessed unique and extraordinary skills.
For a time, the Lanterns, who hailed from all corners of interstellar space, couldn't help but wonder if the humans on this planet had decided from birth to completely disregard the concept of "physics."
Those who relied on equipment were just as absurd. Take Supergirl, for example. Although she wore an S emblem on her chest like her cousin, she was less inclined to rely on her fists in the traditional Kryptonian way.
Her battlesuit, which appeared to be a simple uniform, was equipped with all sorts of unconventional weapons. Some were Kryptonian equipment, while others were fleeced from Old Bu. A careful observer would even notice that many of the gadgets she used bore a striking resemblance to some of the things Brainiac's warship was using to bombard Ultraman in the sky. An uninformed onlooker might have even mistaken her for being on Old Bu's side.
If that could still be considered normal, then what was truly absurd had to be the orange cat.
When they saw an orange cat streak across the battlefield at supersonic speed, firing an anti-matter particle cannon with one paw and shooting out small black holes with the other, all while its eyes continuously emitted scorching, sun-like heat vision, it wasn't just the Yellow Lanterns who were stunned—even their interstellar friends were dumbfounded.
Stryker flew to Kara's side. "Meow meow meow!"
Kara said thoughtfully, "I see, you have a point."
At that moment, Kara's otherworldly counterpart, Karen, who happened to be passing by, heard this and asked in amazement, "What did it say? You can understand it?"
Her own counterpart was at cat language level ten?
"Oh," Kara gestured, "Stryker said it noticed one of the ships in the fleet up there has a different style, like a Manhunters' warship. It scanned the ship's structure and energy data and found that the engine they use has a unique technical frequency.
If I adjust my battlesuit to emit a specific radiation and Stryker uses the opposite, and we reach a certain speed to collide with each other at that warship's location, we should be able to use that engine to create a tremendously powerful explosion.
Now we just need more detailed calculations to precisely control our radiation and speed to regulate the blast radius."
Karen was stunned.
"Don't kid me, did the cat really say all that?"
The girl and the cat both turned to look at Power Girl in unison.
Stryker's displeased expression seemed to say, "Looking down on cats? Can't a cat engage in scientific research?"
Kara, on the other hand, was puzzled. *Doesn't the version of you from that parallel world have a Stryker? Isn't it normal for a cat to know these things?*
But the battle was tense. The girl and cat said no more, charging toward the Manhunters' mothership while continuing their calculations and communication, leaving Power Girl reeling in confusion behind them.
"Your friends on Earth are very brave, Jordan."
Green Lantern Kilowog said, taking a moment from swinging a great club that hit wherever he pointed.
"I hate to admit it, but they seem stronger than some Green Lanterns."
"Of course, they're the best of the best."
With a flick of his finger, Hal commanded a circle of levitating gatling guns in the air to fire, sending the Yellow Lanterns and Manhunters scattering in chaos. However, his attention didn't seem to be focused on them at all; instead, he was looking all around.
"Speaking of which, has anyone seen Sinestro? Why haven't I been able to find him this entire time?"
Logically, Sinestro should be the main culprit behind all this. Since the battle began, Hal had been itching to find his former best friend, now his arch-nemesis, to settle old scores, but he hadn't seen a trace of him after searching for a long time.
"Looking for me, Jordan?"
Hal's pupils contracted.
That familiar voice finally emerged, but it didn't come from his surroundings. It came from within his own power ring.
"Sinestro!"
An image of the once legendary Green Lantern, now the leader of the Yellow Lanterns, Sinestro, materialized from Hal's Green Lantern ring. The latter's three-dimensional image looked at Hal with a smile.
"Show yourself, Sinestro. It's time," Hal said coldly. "We need to settle this."
"I quite agree, Jordan," Sinestro smiled. "But it must be in a more meaningful place. Guess where I am right now? I'll give you a hint.
No matter how far a soldier wanders, there is always a place for their soul to return to after death. Even for a wanderer like you with no fixed abode, you still have family, don't you?"
Hal's eyes widened.
"Jim?"
His brother, Jim Jordan, and their family were the only relatives Hal had left on Earth.
And at this very moment, in Coast City, right in front of Jim's family, Sinestro was floating in mid-air with his arms crossed, a playful smile on his face.
Jim's daughter, Hal's niece, hid fearfully behind her father and asked in a small voice, "Uncle Hal will come back, right?"
"Oh, he most certainly will," Sinestro chuckled. "Make a wish, my dear."
Orin Vale watched as Brainiac's figure restored itself to its original state once more.
The once-shattered body, the severed limbs—every single part was restored to perfection, every screw as if it had just left the factory. But this wasn't an ability like "self-healing," but rather a technology that applied the principle of matter recombination to itself.
"Microscopic granules, those wonderful, invisible particles, are the very foundation upon which matter and the universe are built," Brainiac said as he straightened up again. "Only one who understands the essence of all things, who possesses all knowledge, can master them.
And to master them is to be able to rewrite the very foundation of reality. Even resurrecting oneself an infinite number of times is possible."
The projection of telepathy transmitted his thoughts in the briefest of instants.
"Knowledge is the true power. For this reason, I am invincible."
"Interesting. For once, I agree with you," Orin Vale chuckled. "A pity I only agree with a part of it. Calling yourself invincible is far too brazen. The more one learns, the more one should understand that there is no such thing as invincibility in this world. There are no unbeatable enemies, and no abilities that cannot be countered.
Like this."
The telepathic exchange took but an instant. Orin Vale's movements never paused. His figure flashed forward again, launching a punch. Brainiac tried to use the same old trick, attempting to disintegrate himself to evade, but his movements stiffened unnaturally.
The disintegration did not activate.
Orin Vale's fist, meeting no resistance, smashed into the body Brainiac had just restored to perfection. His armor fractured once more, exposing bare circuits as he was sent tumbling backward through the air.
He struggled to lift his head, only to find that his body's restoration function had also failed.
"What did you do?"
"Simple. I turned off the tech module in your body that regulates the 'matter recombination' weapon."
"Impossible," Brainiac said in a deep voice. "There are no signs of an external breach."
As he spoke, a massive stream of data scrolled past his eyes. His supercomputer brain was calculating at high speed, as if performing a security check on itself.
"Internal Interference... unknown obstructing factor... Weapon System offline..." A look of utter confusion appeared on his face. "But... how did you do it?"
"Simple," Orin Vale said. "...because I am inside you."
(end of chapter)
This was the Green Lantern Corps' first official visit to Earth, and also the first time the vast majority of Lanterns had collaborated with Earth's superheroes.
It had to be said, they were deeply impressed.
The performance of the Justice League and other new heroes completely rewrote the Lanterns' long-held stereotypes about Earth. The powers of these earthlings were absurdly overpowered; those who relied on their physical attributes either had god-tier strength or speed that defied physics. In short, every single one of them possessed unique and extraordinary skills.
For a time, the Lanterns, who hailed from all corners of interstellar space, couldn't help but wonder if the humans on this planet had decided from birth to completely disregard the concept of "physics."
Those who relied on equipment were just as absurd. Take Supergirl, for example. Although she wore an S emblem on her chest like her cousin, she was less inclined to rely on her fists in the traditional Kryptonian way.
Her battlesuit, which appeared to be a simple uniform, was equipped with all sorts of unconventional weapons. Some were Kryptonian equipment, while others were fleeced from Old Bu. A careful observer would even notice that many of the gadgets she used bore a striking resemblance to some of the things Brainiac's warship was using to bombard Ultraman in the sky. An uninformed onlooker might have even mistaken her for being on Old Bu's side.
If that could still be considered normal, then what was truly absurd had to be the orange cat.
When they saw an orange cat streak across the battlefield at supersonic speed, firing an anti-matter particle cannon with one paw and shooting out small black holes with the other, all while its eyes continuously emitted scorching, sun-like heat vision, it wasn't just the Yellow Lanterns who were stunned—even their interstellar friends were dumbfounded.
Stryker flew to Kara's side. "Meow meow meow!"
Kara said thoughtfully, "I see, you have a point."
At that moment, Kara's otherworldly counterpart, Karen, who happened to be passing by, heard this and asked in amazement, "What did it say? You can understand it?"
Her own counterpart was at cat language level ten?
"Oh," Kara gestured, "Stryker said it noticed one of the ships in the fleet up there has a different style, like a Manhunters' warship. It scanned the ship's structure and energy data and found that the engine they use has a unique technical frequency.
If I adjust my battlesuit to emit a specific radiation and Stryker uses the opposite, and we reach a certain speed to collide with each other at that warship's location, we should be able to use that engine to create a tremendously powerful explosion.
Now we just need more detailed calculations to precisely control our radiation and speed to regulate the blast radius."
Karen was stunned.
"Don't kid me, did the cat really say all that?"
The girl and the cat both turned to look at Power Girl in unison.
Stryker's displeased expression seemed to say, "Looking down on cats? Can't a cat engage in scientific research?"
Kara, on the other hand, was puzzled. *Doesn't the version of you from that parallel world have a Stryker? Isn't it normal for a cat to know these things?*
But the battle was tense. The girl and cat said no more, charging toward the Manhunters' mothership while continuing their calculations and communication, leaving Power Girl reeling in confusion behind them.
"Your friends on Earth are very brave, Jordan."
Green Lantern Kilowog said, taking a moment from swinging a great club that hit wherever he pointed.
"I hate to admit it, but they seem stronger than some Green Lanterns."
"Of course, they're the best of the best."
With a flick of his finger, Hal commanded a circle of levitating gatling guns in the air to fire, sending the Yellow Lanterns and Manhunters scattering in chaos. However, his attention didn't seem to be focused on them at all; instead, he was looking all around.
"Speaking of which, has anyone seen Sinestro? Why haven't I been able to find him this entire time?"
Logically, Sinestro should be the main culprit behind all this. Since the battle began, Hal had been itching to find his former best friend, now his arch-nemesis, to settle old scores, but he hadn't seen a trace of him after searching for a long time.
"Looking for me, Jordan?"
Hal's pupils contracted.
That familiar voice finally emerged, but it didn't come from his surroundings. It came from within his own power ring.
"Sinestro!"
An image of the once legendary Green Lantern, now the leader of the Yellow Lanterns, Sinestro, materialized from Hal's Green Lantern ring. The latter's three-dimensional image looked at Hal with a smile.
"Show yourself, Sinestro. It's time," Hal said coldly. "We need to settle this."
"I quite agree, Jordan," Sinestro smiled. "But it must be in a more meaningful place. Guess where I am right now? I'll give you a hint.
No matter how far a soldier wanders, there is always a place for their soul to return to after death. Even for a wanderer like you with no fixed abode, you still have family, don't you?"
Hal's eyes widened.
"Jim?"
His brother, Jim Jordan, and their family were the only relatives Hal had left on Earth.
And at this very moment, in Coast City, right in front of Jim's family, Sinestro was floating in mid-air with his arms crossed, a playful smile on his face.
Jim's daughter, Hal's niece, hid fearfully behind her father and asked in a small voice, "Uncle Hal will come back, right?"
"Oh, he most certainly will," Sinestro chuckled. "Make a wish, my dear."
Orin Vale watched as Brainiac's figure restored itself to its original state once more.
The once-shattered body, the severed limbs—every single part was restored to perfection, every screw as if it had just left the factory. But this wasn't an ability like "self-healing," but rather a technology that applied the principle of matter recombination to itself.
"Microscopic granules, those wonderful, invisible particles, are the very foundation upon which matter and the universe are built," Brainiac said as he straightened up again. "Only one who understands the essence of all things, who possesses all knowledge, can master them.
And to master them is to be able to rewrite the very foundation of reality. Even resurrecting oneself an infinite number of times is possible."
The projection of telepathy transmitted his thoughts in the briefest of instants.
"Knowledge is the true power. For this reason, I am invincible."
"Interesting. For once, I agree with you," Orin Vale chuckled. "A pity I only agree with a part of it. Calling yourself invincible is far too brazen. The more one learns, the more one should understand that there is no such thing as invincibility in this world. There are no unbeatable enemies, and no abilities that cannot be countered.
Like this."
The telepathic exchange took but an instant. Orin Vale's movements never paused. His figure flashed forward again, launching a punch. Brainiac tried to use the same old trick, attempting to disintegrate himself to evade, but his movements stiffened unnaturally.
The disintegration did not activate.
Orin Vale's fist, meeting no resistance, smashed into the body Brainiac had just restored to perfection. His armor fractured once more, exposing bare circuits as he was sent tumbling backward through the air.
He struggled to lift his head, only to find that his body's restoration function had also failed.
"What did you do?"
"Simple. I turned off the tech module in your body that regulates the 'matter recombination' weapon."
"Impossible," Brainiac said in a deep voice. "There are no signs of an external breach."
As he spoke, a massive stream of data scrolled past his eyes. His supercomputer brain was calculating at high speed, as if performing a security check on itself.
"Internal Interference... unknown obstructing factor... Weapon System offline..." A look of utter confusion appeared on his face. "But... how did you do it?"
"Simple," Orin Vale said. "...because I am inside you."
(end of chapter)
