Chapter 417: Hal

In the pitch-black night, in a room on the second floor of Wayne Manor, dim lights flickered; Hal raised his hands and stood in the center of the room, turning back to see the face of an old man.

"I know you have a peculiar ability to vanish and reappear instantly, but from my observations, activating it requires a certain amount of time—do you think you vanish faster than I can pull the trigger?"

If any of the few people living in Wayne Manor had heard Alfred's words, they would have been stunned, for the old butler seemed to have become someone else—he had never spoken to anyone in this manor with such cold tone.

Rebirth: Striking the Great Wave of the Era

To most people, Alfred was always the smiling butler who carried trays, arranged tables beside them, or dusted museum shelves with a duster.

But from his stance alone, it was clear he had held a gun before; in his hands was a double-barreled shotgun with a solid wood grip, its long barrel reflecting a chilling gleam under the light, the muzzle pressed against Hal's waist.

Hal swallowed hard, not daring to move; as Alfred had said, activating his Green Lantern ability required a moment—normally so brief it was negligible—but the deadliest flaw was that the Green Lantern ring emitted light.

Whenever Hal summoned Green Lantern energy, the ring would glow green, flooding his entire body in an instant—but even that fleeting moment still existed, and Hal had no doubt that the moment his ring emitted even a glimmer, the trigger would be pulled.

Hal dared not gamble that the bullet's impact would be blocked by the green light before it reached his waist; if it failed, he would be cut clean in half. Green Lantern power could heal him rapidly, but this regenerative ability had limits—being bisected was certainly not among them.

"You're Bruce's butler, right?" Hal asked, trying to ease the tension; Alfred did not answer, only pushed the shotgun forward slightly. Hal clenched his eyes shut, then said:

"Alright, alright, don't do this—you know where this child came from? She isn't human at all—she's a monster…"

Hal suddenly heard a "click" behind him—the sound of the trigger being pulled. Overwhelming fear washed over him; after breaking into a cold sweat, he realized the expected pain never came—Alfred had merely pulled the trigger halfway.

"I know many things," Alfred said, staring at Hal before him. "Far more than you imagine."

His tone remained icy, giving Hal no clue to his emotions. Alfred continued: "I know you see me as an ignorant old butler—otherwise you wouldn't have dared invade this manor so boldly."

"I didn't mean to invade—I just…"

Hal was shoved again by the muzzle; he fell silent instantly. Then he heard Alfred say: "If your parents never taught you to make an appointment and enter through the front door when visiting someone's home, then I suppose you've learned your lesson today."

Hal lowered his hands, sighed, turned to face Alfred, and looked him in the eye: "I'm sorry, Mr. Butler. I know breaking into a private home is wrong, and I know it's an extremely dangerous and disrespectful act."

"But please let me explain—Elsa isn't actually…"

Seeing the barrel slowly raised to eye level, Hal raised his hands again, stepping back two paces: "Alright, let's not talk about this."

He also realized that whenever Elsa's origins were mentioned, the old butler refused to let him speak. As expected, Alfred met his gaze and said: "A butler has the duty to handle all matters concerning his master's children—including any doubts or dishonorable aspects of their origins…"

"I imagine you wouldn't want to become one of those background stories," Alfred drew out his final syllable. Hal understood: if he wanted to leave alive, he'd better keep his mouth shut and bury the secret deep inside.

He took a deep breath and said, "Alright, let's drop that. I came here only to ensure her extraordinary abilities won't endanger ordinary people…"

Without caring whether Alfred understood, Hal began explaining on his own: "The Yellow Lanterns have always been the greatest threat to the Green Lanterns. Though I've never encountered a true Yellow Lantern, the Green Lantern Corps takes them seriously."

"This time is no different," Hal sighed. "When they learned the Yellow Lantern Corps leader and his lantern beast had arrived here, they considered sending powerful Green Lanterns to handle the situation."

"But everything happened too fast. By the time the decision was made, the matter was already over—I could only stay behind to clean up the aftermath."

"Whether for cosmic safety or the safety of ordinary people, I had to do this."

"Your name is Hal, correct?" Alfred suddenly asked.

Hal crossed his arms and nodded. Alfred stared into his eyes and asked: "What do you think caused all this?"

Hal found the question odd. He scratched his head, puzzled: "Cause? Honestly, I don't even know what started it. I just suddenly received an order saying Yellow Lanterns had arrived on Earth and I was to deal with them…"

"Then I came to Gotham, got dragged into some dream out of nowhere, started fighting that monster, and in the end—I don't even know how I won, but I did…"

"Suddenly, the Yellow Lantern beast turned into a little girl, and the Yellow Lantern Corps leader vanished somewhere…"

Hal sighed helplessly: "Honestly, I've never understood what happened from start to finish…"

"And you reported all this to your so-called Green Lantern Corps?"

"I…" Hal was speechless. Alfred sneered: "Without knowing the cause, the process, or even the full outcome, you chose to report to your superiors?"

"What shocks me is that your superiors actually issued orders based solely on your incomplete intelligence…"

"The Green Lantern Corps…" Alfred let out a soft "huh." "If that's your standard, you'd better return to wherever you belong and stay out of Earth's affairs."

Hal pressed his fingers to his forehead, unsure how to describe the old butler—the old-fashioned, elegant British accent made him feel like he was speaking with a nobleman, yet his words showed no mercy whatsoever.

"I'm also an Earthling!" Hal emphasized.

"An Earthling who makes a living selling Earth's secrets?"

Hal was silenced again. He gestured helplessly: "I'm doing this for Earth's safety…"

"Every spy says that."

Alfred lowered his gaze, unwilling to look at Hal's now-stiff expression. "One day, a group of foreigners found you. They gave you money and power, then told you your duty was to maintain peace in your homeland—by reporting every detail to them."

"You took their money, completed your tasks, and when arrested, told the judge you were only protecting peace…"

Alfred's eyes fell on the Green Lantern ring. "Yet you never mention the benefits you gained from them."

"In the first half of my life, I've seen too many people like you."

"Are they guilty? Perhaps their guilt isn't entirely their own—many truly believe their actions bring peace to their nations."

"But are they innocent? The vast wealth gained from betraying their nations places them above the ordinary people who suffer because of it. In the end, only they enjoy peace and comfort."

Hal's expression shifted from initial helplessness to solemn gravity. Alfred turned his gaze back to Hal's eyes and said: "Humans work for money because it's our society's universal equivalent—it brings us the greatest pleasure."

"But how do you know the thing on your finger isn't playing the same role in the universe?"

"Perhaps what you consider immense power is, to them, nothing more than trash and residue—even less than sugar-coating. They give you a tiny bit of garbage, and you hand over your homeland's interests…"

"Stop!" Hal closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and pressed his thumb against the ring on his hand—his fingertip trembled visibly. Alfred continued:

"If you forget who you are, where you came from, and who you ultimately serve—if you cannot hold that goal as your absolute priority—then your fate will be to be betrayed by everyone."

Hal's emotions surged violently. He turned his head aside. After a moment, he took a deep breath—and instantly, the ring glowed green.

At that moment, he heard no trigger pull. Hal clenched his lips. Just as he thought he would vanish from this place, find a quiet spot, and think alone—he suddenly heard the door open. A small black figure appeared in the doorway.

Hal didn't even see her move. In the instant the green light from the ring spread to his arm, he felt a sharp pain.

"Ah!"

Hal screamed, looked down—and saw Elsa's sharp teeth sunk into his wrist guard. The thick guard offered no protection; blood seeped from between her teeth.

Hal instinctively jerked his arm to shake her off—but her teeth pierced the guard, dragging it down with them. When it reached his hand, it wrapped around his palm like a glove.

Hal winced in pain, shaking his arm violently. When the guard and the girl were finally flung off, the ring glowing on his finger was pulled down with it.

Hal gritted his teeth, clutching his bleeding arm. He turned to the four-poster bed—there was no little girl there. The bulge under the covers was just a stuffed doll. It had been a trap from the start.

The moment he realized this, he noticed the Green Lantern energy spreading through his body had vanished. He turned his head—and saw the fallen Green Lantern ring tracing a high arc—

"Clang!" The crisp sound of metal hitting the floor rang out. Hal exhaled in relief—thankfully, the ring wasn't broken.

He took a step forward to pick it up—only to find the dark muzzle of a gun reappearing before his eyes. Hal slowly raised his hands again.

At that moment, a small, delicate hand slowly reached the floor and picked up the ring. Dick, just awakened, rubbed his eyes and stared at the ring in his hand.

"Hey, kid, put that down—it's not a toy…" Hal reached out to stop him. Still half-asleep, Dick's eyes were barely open—when suddenly, green light flooded his entire body.

"Wait… what's this?" Dick mumbled.

Hal slapped his forehead: "No!"

"I feel… I feel something… Is this how you do it?" Dick mumbled.

Hal suddenly remembered something: "No! Don't teleport! That ability is hard to control—"

"Thud!" Dick slammed into the wall.