Chapter 190: The Passive Skill of Defying Superiors
To the rookie Superman from the movie, General Zod might have been a major problem. But for Orin Vale, Kryptonians and their technology were among the first things he had encountered and studied since arriving in the DC Universe. He had plenty of countermeasures, not to mention he still remembered the decisive trump card from the Man of Steel movie: the Phantom Drive collision.
Given that he could prepare in advance, honestly, Zod no longer qualified as a boss in Orin Vale's eyes. At best, he was an elite monster. It wasn't that failure was impossible, but there were simply too many ways to salvage the situation, so there was nothing to be particularly concerned about.
Only a few hours had passed of the twenty-four that General Zod had declared on television, and the matter was already resolved. The military and civilians of the entire Earth were still in a state of panic, the United Nations' high command was in an emergency meeting, and A.R.G.U.S. was fully mobilized. The populace was also waiting anxiously for the alien invasion and doomsday disaster scenario.
However, no one could have imagined that there would be no follow-up.
Zod went on TV, made a harsh threat, and postured for a bit, but before he could finish his act, he was gone. Twenty-four hours passed uneventfully, and nothing happened, leaving the people of Earth completely dumbfounded.
After it was all over, Orin Vale's spaceship inventory had increased again, and the variety of his collectibles continued to grow. Zod's mothership had been absorbed, but one spaceship was left behind. After Non was arrested, Fort Rozz, which had been hidden for so long, was finally exposed.
Of course, by now Fort Rozz only contained a bunch of minions who offered no resistance at all when Orin Vale came calling. Thus, a high-tech Kryptonian prison was happily added to Orin Vale's inventory.
If things kept developing this way, Orin Vale felt he could even build his own Interstellar Fleet in the future. A hodgepodge fleet combining the technology of over a dozen civilizations—the thought was somewhat interesting.
Of course, for now, it was just a thought. It was a well-known fact that in the DC Universe's hierarchy, something like an interstellar warship was basically at the bottom of the barrel among interstellar-level powers. Back then, the very first Green Lantern in history, with no training and little experience, could single-handedly wipe the floor with an entire interstellar fleet in his first real battle using the Green Lantern Ring.
In the lore, the warships of even the most advanced civilizations often served as background props to highlight the enemy's strength when a powerful foe appeared in a major interstellar event. The destiny of even the most formidable warship was always the same as that of the Earth Defense Force's aircraft: they would either be set off mid-air like firecrackers or get blown up like fish in a barrel.
Before they parted ways, Orin Vale also instructed Superman to pay more attention to the matter of Intergang.
After all, Metropolis was Superman's turf. Although Superman liked to use an "external brain" during fights, his investigative skills as a reporter were still on point. Entrusting the investigation into Intergang's secrets to him should be quite reliable.
Intergang was similar in status to the Falcone family in Gotham, controlling nearly the entire criminal network of Metropolis. If it were just that, it wouldn't have been worthy of Orin Vale's attention, but if it involved an alien civilization of unknown origin, then it was worth being cautious.
Especially since Intergang, as a major crime gang in Superman's stories—whether in the pre-reboot or post-reboot comics, or animated adaptations—was often linked to the most classic representative of interstellar villains in the entire DC Comics series.
Apokolips.
This was the reason Orin Vale had felt an instinctual alarm when The Penguin uttered the name "Intergang."
Compared to this problem, a mere General Zod was truly just minor trouble. Apokolips and its ruler, the New God Darkseid, were the Justice League's eternal threat. And even in the major events of the original work, the Darkseid the Justice League faced was often just the tip of the iceberg of the supreme New God's true strength.
Early the next morning, Orin Vale's radar picked up a reaction.
"Special Energy Fluctuation detected entering the Atmosphere. Database has a match," Pal reported back to Orin Vale. "Signal location is in Coast City. A recently created file. The energy reaction matches the Target with the codename 'Green Lantern'."
"Hal is back?" Orin Vale thought for a moment.
The last time, Hal had rushed back to Oa, saying he was going to ask the Guardians about the Manhunters. Perhaps he could explain why that Manhunter was here and what its intentions were toward Earth.
"Plan a flight to Coast City for me."
"Yes, sir."
Coast City, "Seaside Home" Ice Cream Shop.
Hal Jordan wore an employee's uniform, a somewhat comical apron tied around his front, and a forced, business-like smile on his face.
"What can I get for you, sir?"
Having been blacklisted by finance and logistics for crashing too many planes, Hal had been kicked out of the Air Force and had to find a new job to make a living on Earth.
The man at the counter adjusted his glasses and studied the menu for what felt like a lifetime.
Hal's patience was gradually wearing thin. "If you don't need anything, please make way for the customers waiting in line behind you, sir."
"Hmm, fine, whatever," the man said, looking up. "Then just give me a pie to start, a hot one."
"We sell ice cream, sir," Hal said, his smile strained.
"Meaning you don't have pie?"
"No."
"Fine," the man waved his hand in annoyance. "Then just get me anything hot, with plenty of grease."
Hal's smile completely vanished, and he stared at him with a deadpan expression.
"You're here to cause trouble, aren't you, asshole?"
"What did you say?"
"I said you've got rocks in your head, so get the hell out of here..."
"Jordan."
The manager appeared in the shop before the situation could get out of hand.
"Sorry, manager, I was just trying to explain to this idiot that we're an ice cream shop..."
"You're fired," the manager said expressionlessly.
Hal was stunned for a moment.
"What did you say?" Hal argued, "That's ridiculous. I didn't..."
"Since you started working here, our customer complaints have risen 100%," the manager said. "I can't believe it took me this long to tell you to scram, but we should have done this a long time ago."
He paused, then snorted lightly.
"I heard you used to be a pilot. Now I think I understand why they don't let you fly anymore."
Hal narrowed his eyes, his expression turning cold.
It seemed that remark had hit a nerve.
"What are you still standing there for?" the manager said coldly. "Waiting for me to throw you out?"
"Actually..."
Hal clenched his fist.
"...it's to give you a parting gift, asshole."
*Thwack.*
A right hook. The manager's mouth was knocked crooked, and he sat on the ground with a look of utter shock, seemingly in disbelief at his reaction.
"Whoa, that definitely must have hurt," Orin Vale, who had witnessed the scene from behind, couldn't help but click his tongue.
This felt like it had to be one of Hal's passive skills. He fought with his teachers in school, his superiors in the military, his instructors in the Green Lantern training camp, and the Guardians after joining the Lantern Corps.
From childhood to adulthood, he was either fighting his superiors or on his way to fight his superiors. With a passive skill for defying superiors like that, anyone who didn't know better would think he had some Japanese ancestry.
A few minutes later, as Hal was packing his things to leave, Orin Vale walked up to him.
"And you are?" Hal frowned.
"I'm looking for the Green Lantern," Orin Vale said. "Got a minute?"
Hal raised his eyebrows.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Really?"
Orin Vale smiled, holding out his right hand and wiggling the small Green Lantern Ring that should have been in Hal's pocket.
"Then what's this?"
Hal: "!?"
(end of chapter)