Chapter 488

The car stopped on the road in front of Gotham University, tires screeching against the pavement; Victor swiftly opened the door and stepped out, exhaling as he saw the brightly lit dormitory building.

I told you already—Gotham City is huge; even if dozens of people fell from the sky, it's impossible they'd land right inside Gotham University," Harvey patted Victor on the shoulder.

Victor took a deep breath but didn't relax; he kept walking quickly toward the campus, saying: "No, we can't be sure yet—the lab is far from the dormitory…"

Harvey sighed helplessly but followed him; the two hurried through the university's buildings—lecture halls, administrative offices, dormitories—until they reached the eastern experimental building.

On the surface, the experimental building was pitch black; it was already past midnight, and Gotham University had no students or faculty who stayed up late doing experiments, so the building was always silent at night.

But this unsettled Victor, conjuring up countless terrible possibilities—he may have rehearsed this scenario countless times in his mind; the obsession-driven madness nearly drowned him.

"Calm down, Victor… Victor! Come back!" Harvey shouted from behind, but Victor had already sprinted into the experimental building.

Heavy footsteps echoed in the stairwell; Victor dashed straight to the floor housing the lab. As he stopped at the stairwell entrance, he saw a faint glow seeping from one door down the corridor.

Like a moth drawn to light, Victor walked straight toward the door; when he opened it, he saw several children standing outside the cryo-chamber, gazing up at his wife under its cold illumination.

Hearing the noise, the children turned around; upon seeing Victor, they chattered and swarmed around him. Victor was flustered—he recognized them as the newspaper boys who regularly delivered mail to Gotham University.

"Professor Victor! You finally arrived! If you didn't come soon, we were going to fall asleep!"

"Yeah, yeah! We got here ten minutes ago—we thought you weren't coming, we were about to leave!"

"What's going on? Why are you here? Where did you get the lab key?"

The group of young paperboys began talking over each other again; Victor's head throbbed. He placed a hand on one boy's head and said: "Quiet. You—start."

The boy puffed out his chest proudly, cleared his throat, and said: "We all live in the university's gatehouse—east gate, you know the one? That's where they put the paperboys."

"About ten minutes ago, we got a call from Boss Cobblepot—he told us to take the key hidden above the doorframe and come here to wait for you."

"That doorframe is so high—we stacked ourselves up just to reach the key. He said if anyone breaks into the lab, use the cryo-gun beside it to freeze them."

"You haven't finished!" a girl interrupted loudly: "Boss Cobblepot said if all the lights go out and the switches don't work, go next door and turn on the generator."

"Yeah, right! He said to press some button or other!"

"We waited forever—no one broke in, no power outage—we almost fell asleep…"

These kids were very young, maybe seven or eight, all tiny little things, chattering like sparrows landing on snow.

Victor looked down at them. When they noticed he wasn't speaking, they fell silent, each one staring up at him.

Victor slowly knelt down, pulled the lead boy into his arms, and stroked his head: "Thank you."

When Harvey walked in, he saw this scene. After escorting the children back to sleep, they returned to Victor's lab.

They stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, watching Gotham City erupt in flames; the flickering lights outside cast their shadows in and out. Harvey heard Victor say:

"Many say this place is beyond saving. They say its darkness is incurable, endless…"

"People claim the darkness is made by Gothamites—that chaos and madness are their just desserts. Do you really think they're beyond redemption?"

Harvey turned to look at the city's buildings and said: "I've always believed no place on earth is beyond redemption—that's why I came here."

"Environment shapes people; people shape their environment. I don't know where this darkness first came from, but I know that when the longest night falls and no light remains, humans still made fire to illuminate their civilization."

"Did you hear what those people are shouting?" Victor watched the scene outside and said: "They say they'll purge evil, restore peace—they say they'll save this place…"

Harvey shook his head: "If saving Gotham were this simple, I wouldn't have lain low all these years, accomplishing nothing."

"Justice? By what right do they define Gotham's justice? If they've never lived here, never understood the people or the land, never felt what it's like to be one of us, their so-called justice becomes this…"

As he spoke, both men turned their gaze to the city, where chaos continued unabated.

They both understood: this wasn't the pain of revolution. These celestial messengers of justice accomplished nothing but shattering Gothamites' sleep.

At Gotham's central roundabout, the scene was bustling. Tyrone raised his green lantern ring high and shouted: "Green light eternal, everlasting radiance—United Shield!"

All the Green Lanterns herded to the roundabout stood together, channeling their dwindling green energy to form a shield. Hal, standing beside Tyrone, shouted: "Where's Carol? Why isn't he here?!"

"He was attacked by a sorcerer!" Tyrone replied. "That sorcerer somehow tracked him with a curse—his ring's energy is drained, he's unconscious!"

Hal extended his hand, concentrating fiercely; thick green light burst from his palm, even making Tyrone glance over in surprise.

But their situation was dire: the Bat-jet above kept dropping bombs, the gangs never ceased firing, and Clark loomed nearby—Green Lanterns had no chance to flee.

"Concentrate your power! Bring down that plane!" Tyrone ordered. The Green Lanterns focused, firing green energy beams—but the Bat-jet dodged nimbly.

At that moment, Clark heard Batman's voice from the Bat-jet flying past him: "Attack!"

"No—I can't fight in the city center! It'll destroy everything!"

"Do it. I can rebuild."

"No—it'll damage too many buildings!"

"I have money."

Clark fell silent, but seeing the Green Lanterns organizing their assault, he knew it was time.

Clark spread his arms; a blizzard swirled around him, carrying biting cold as he dove downward like a hawk with feathers of snow. As he neared, Tyrone shouted: "Defend together! Stop him!"

Green energy converged toward Clark's descent, forming a denser shield—but the moment it touched him, it shattered.

"Boom!"

Clark, like a human missile, blasted every Green Lantern away with his aura.

Facing overwhelming power, many Green Lanterns couldn't even stand; those who fought by willpower lost all combat ability the moment fear took root.

Even Commander Tyrone lost the courage to face Clark. He collapsed on the ground, slowly closing his eyes.

But then, a deeper green light flared beside him.

Hal floated into the air, facing Clark. Tyrone saw his ring flickering—energy nearly gone. He opened his mouth to warn him, but heard Hal say:

"You won't harm them. Step back!"

Clark's bio-field intensified; Hal's figure trembled in the storm. All Green Lanterns below held their breath; despair spread.

Then suddenly, a thick green light pierced the snowstorm like a blade—a faint, spectral green shark glided down from the clouds.

Tyrone's eyes widened: "Green Lantern Ion Shark?! How is this possible?! …Ion Man! Hal is the new Ion Man!"

The green shark drifted slowly into Hal's body; a green sun rose from the storm.

Clark refused to yield; his body blazed with intense solar light. As the two colossal orbs neared collision, a tiny black jet shot through the radiance.

From the Bat-jet, a phone was thrown out. Batman said to Clark: "Catch—it's your call!"

Clark's momentum faltered. He caught the phone, stunned—then the shrill ring pierced the air. Instinctively, he lifted the receiver to his ear.

"Hello? …Uh, Professor, sorry! I got held up! …You've been waiting long? Good grief! I'm so sorry—I almost forgot why I came here!"

"Alright, alright, I'm coming now… No, don't get mad—I'll explain later, I'm on my way!"

After hanging up, Clark dimmed his glow and said to Hal: "I've got an emergency today. You're next."

He flew off. Hal hovered midair, arms crossed, watching his back—while the Green Lanterns below erupted in cheers.

They chanted "Ion Man!" as Hal slowly descended to the roundabout's center. With sufficient green energy, he waved his hand and teleported everyone back to headquarters.

Landing on the HQ floor, Tyrone exhaled. He stepped forward and said to Hal: "Outstanding recruit. Your performance exceeded my expectations."

He glanced at Hal's chest, where the faint emblem of the Ion Shark shimmered. "It seems the Green Lantern's Ion Shark chose you—you are now the one and only Ion Man."

He took a deep breath, then sighed: "After Sinestro, the former Green Lantern Corps commander, defected, I was thrust into command unprepared."

He scanned the room full of Green Lanterns: "Hal, without you, we'd all have been lost there. You saved everyone—you deserve promotion. Effective today, you're a full Green Lantern."

Everyone cheered. Tyrone lowered his hand and added: "Also, the former deputy, Carol, is badly injured and must return for recovery. I'd like to appoint you as my deputy—to fill the gap in my leadership."

Hal opened his mouth to refuse, but Tyrone cut in: "Don't decline. I have a feeling—you have the potential to surpass all predecessors. Perhaps you'll become the greatest Green Lantern in history…"

He extended his hand. Hal paused, sighed, then stepped forward and clasped it. Their hands locked together; their convictions grew firmer.

Meanwhile, at the Rodriguez Estate, Schiller leaned back on the sofa. Batman faced him and asked:

"So—you manufactured all these coincidences, went through this elaborate circle—what exactly were you trying to achieve?"

Schiller shifted, propping himself on the sofa arm: "Remember that mysterious list the CIA agents scoured the entire East Coast for?"

"You mean the Philby List? What does that have to do with this?"

Schiller smiled. When he looked up, Batman was certain—he saw a light of wisdom in the professor's eyes.

"Perhaps we're about to get a 'Hal List.'"

In the Green Lantern Corps headquarters, wounded, exhausted Green Lanterns dispersed. After handing over duties to Hal, Tyrone left.

Consumption

In the central core of headquarters, only Hal remained. He sighed, glancing around at the incomprehensible equipment and screens.

Then, as he turned his head to the right, he noticed one screen was lit.

He approached—it seemed to be Tyrone's unlogged office interface. As he reached to touch it, a line flashed: "Encrypted message—access verification… Verified."

Hal hadn't done anything—yet his ring glowed once, and the entire screen filled with dense, scrolling data.

It contained detailed defense maps of every Green Lantern sector, and full personal profiles of every official Green Lantern.

Hal's heart lurched.

A cascade of images flashed before him: the dark corridor of the mayor's mansion, Elsa and Dick's early lessons, the mysterious, aged butler…

He remembered—the lesson Alfred taught included a skill called… The Spy's Self-Cultivation.