"What?"
Guy froze for a moment, stunned by Adrian's cold, indifferent tone.
"You always create unnecessary embarrassment, and now you've embarrassed the entire Earth," Adrian said flatly.
"You!" Guy's face twisted in fury. "Screw you, you hypocritical bastard!"
He roared and drove his fist forward, the Green Lantern Ring glowing violently as it amplified his will into raw force. The punch cut through space with explosive momentum, aimed directly at Adrian.
But Adrian did not react with urgency. The attack meant nothing to him.
The difference in strength was absolute.
He simply shifted backward, crossing his arms as he stepped out of the punch's path with effortless precision.
John Stewart, standing nearby, observed everything in silence. His gaze flicked briefly toward Hal Jordan, who remained quiet and unreadable. Stewart said nothing, but the tension in his expression made it clear he understood how this would end.
Guy, however, was not done.
Before he could pull his arm back, Adrian moved.
A sharp smack echoed through the void as Adrian struck Guy's arm, then closed his grip around it. The moment his hand tightened, Guy's entire body stiffened.
Pain surged through him instantly, deep and crushing, like his arm had been caught in an unbreakable steel vice.
"Ah!"
Guy cried out despite his willpower. Even a Green Lantern's mental strength could not override that level of pain.
Adrian held him firmly, then moved with controlled speed. His free hand shot forward and seized Guy by the chin, forcing his face upward.
Guy struggled, but his arm was still locked. He could not break free.
Adrian's gaze was cold as he looked directly into him at close range.
"I don't think you can participate in this battle anymore," Adrian said.
Without hesitation, he released the chin grip, shifted his hand to Guy's neck, and hurled him outward with overwhelming force.
Guy's body was launched through space like a projectile, vanishing into a streak of green light.
"GUY!" Stewart shouted.
Instinct took over.
Stewart transformed into a bolt of green energy and chased after him. Even though he now stood with Adrian, Guy was still his friend. He could not ignore that.
He caught up to Guy deep in space, forming a massive construct shaped like a baseball glove to intercept him.
But Guy's momentum was too strong. The construct shattered on impact.
Stewart immediately created another, then another, repeatedly forming oversized gloves as he tracked Guy's trajectory like a desperate catcher trying to stop a runaway missile.
By the time Guy finally slowed, Stewart was breathing heavily, the effort draining him.
"Guy, are you alright?" Stewart asked.
"I'm fine," Guy said through clenched teeth. "But my arm…"
He looked down at it, pain etched across his face. The damage was severe, multiple fractures already forming under the strain.
"John, listen to me," Guy said urgently.
Stewart frowned. "What is it?"
"That wasn't a feint. That was real," Guy replied, sweat forming across his brow. "Hal is in serious danger."
"What?"
"The Guardians planned this. This entire operation is meant to wipe out the Yellow Lantern Corps," Guy said quickly. "Do you think we came here without a purpose?"
Stewart's eyes narrowed.
Guy continued, voice strained but urgent. "Mogo is not just support. It is a living planetary weapon, a being with a Green Lantern will. Why do you think they brought it here?"
"Do you understand what kind of power something that size can release?"
At that moment, deep in space, the battlefield erupted.
The Green Lantern Corps, seeing Guy's defeat, immediately issued the order.
"Attack!"
With command given, the Corps surged forward.
Across the void, the Yellow Lantern Corps responded in kind.
Green and yellow light collided from every direction, converging toward Adrian and Hal Jordan's position like opposing storms.
Sinestro appeared first, moving with uncanny speed until he stood before Adrian.
"So," Sinestro said with a faint sneer, "negotiations have broken down?"
He glanced toward the chaos behind him.
"I warned you. People like them only respond to force. Patience only makes them think they can manipulate you."
Behind him, the Yellow Lantern Corps advanced. Their forms were twisted, fear made manifest, their presence heavy and unsettling even by cosmic standards.
Guy had not been wrong about their appearance. Even among villains, they carried an unmistakable aura of cruelty.
Then the sky itself changed.
A massive shape emerged from the depths of space.
Mogo.
A living planet.
Its scale dwarfed everything around it, its surface marked by an immense Green Lantern insignia that pulsed like a heartbeat.
Hal Jordan stared upward, momentarily speechless.
"That is… Mogo…"
The planet moved with purpose, positioning itself between the Green and Yellow Lantern forces.
Its presence alone applied pressure across the battlefield, a silent force of will that destabilized the Yellow Lantern formation.
Then it activated.
A surge of green energy erupted from its core.
It exploded outward like a planetary judgment.
The first wave struck the Yellow Lantern Corps instantly.
Those closest disintegrated into dust without resistance.
The energy did not stop.
It continued expanding, flooding the space around it, turning the entire sky into a vast ocean of green light.
That light pierced through atmosphere after atmosphere until it reached Earth.
Night vanished.
Cities across the planet were engulfed in emerald illumination.
Gotham, Metropolis, New York, Washington.
Everywhere, the sky burned green.
People stepped outside in confusion, staring upward as reality itself seemed overwritten.
In Gotham, Harvey Bullock stood among the crowd, cigar frozen between his fingers as he looked up.
"What the hell is going on…" he muttered.
A woman beside him asked anxiously, "What is this?"
No one answered.
Harvey knew, but even he could not bring himself to speak immediately.
After a long pause, he finally said, "So it's begun."
In Metropolis, Harley Quinn stood on a rooftop edge, tilting her head as she watched the sky glow.
"Well," she said with casual fascination, "this is pretty."
Elsewhere, inside the operations network connected to the Batcave, Barbara Gordon spoke through a channel to Batman.
"Guy said this is the best moment to strike," she reported. "Do we move now?"
Batman did not answer immediately. Outside, the green sky flickered across Gotham like an omen.
Then Barbara's console chimed.
"Black Canary is calling."
She glanced down. "It's her."
Batman's voice sharpened slightly. "Put her through."
Barbara accepted the call.
"Hey, Laurel," she said. "I thought you were going to keep working alone."
A brief exchange passed between them, then Barbara added, "Batman wants to speak to you."
The line switched.
"Batman," Black Canary said from Metropolis, her voice steady. "You have something to say?"
She stood in a dim room. Outside, the entire city was bathed in unnatural green light.
She checked her weapon calmly, a Beretta 92F, then loaded a long sniper round from her case. The bullet glowed faintly with a sickly green hue.
Kryptonite.
"If you're going to say something," she said quietly, "now is the time. My window is closing."
===
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