"If I remember right, in the DC universe, Metropolis and Gotham face each other across the bay, and there's a bridge in between."
To confirm which way he needed to go, Ben relied on XLR8's speed and sprinted straight up the side of a building to the rooftop.
From the top of the high-rise, he scanned the city. In the distance, over the dark water, he spotted a massive bridge spanning the bay.
Direction confirmed. Just as Ben was about to take off and finally leave Gotham, a scream ripped through the night—
—and a black shape shot past him, vaulting across the rooftop at high speed.
"Someone needs help! A cape… is that the kidnapper from the news—the one pretending to be Batman?"
The culprit was fast, but to XLR8's eyes it might as well have been slow motion.
And the body under that cloak—the proportions, the movement, the silhouette—made one thing obvious.
It wasn't human.
"Of course. It's Gotham—every kind of monster crawls out of the shadows here. Wonder if the Omnitrix can scan its DNA."
Ben's mouth curled into a grin. Saving the victim came first—but if he could grab a new transformation while he was at it?
That would be a bonus.
Still not completely used to XLR8's speed, Ben deliberately throttled down. Rooftops weren't forgiving—one wrong jump and he'd be a smear on the pavement. Even so, he steadily gained on the fleeing kidnapper.
Then a figure wrapped in emerald light sliced across the sky.
The moment he noticed the rooftop chase, he halted midair.
"Man… Earth's been busy lately."
Hal Jordan—fresh back on Earth—hovered above the skyline in the black-and-green uniform of a Green Lantern. A green domino mask obscured his eyes, making his real face hard to read.
His power ring flared. Driven by sheer will, green energy carried him down in a sharp arc—cutting in front of the cloaked creature holding a kidnapped woman.
"Hey! Buddy—game's over! This is Earth, not your personal playground!"
The monster didn't even acknowledge him. It twisted in mid-leap and tried to jump away.
Ben skidded to a stop.
"Batman's out on a business trip? So you're covering his shift?"
This was Gotham. By all logic, it wasn't the Green Lantern's usual turf.
And even with the mask, Ben could tell from the skin tone, hair color, and height—
This had to be Hal Jordan.
Hal snorted at the mention of Batman.
"I don't know any 'vampire bat' that only comes out at night. I'm Green Lantern. The entire Earth falls under my sector."
Ben raised a hand quickly. "I know who you are—Hal Jordan. The legendary Green Lantern. But maybe you should focus on the bad guy over there."
From Hal's attitude, Ben realized Hal genuinely didn't know Batman.
Either Hal hadn't joined the Justice League yet… or maybe the League didn't even exist in this timeline.
But there was no time to puzzle it out. Ben jabbed a thumb at the monster—already about to escape.
"If you don't move, that kidnapper's gone."
"Please. I don't need you telling me how to do my job," Hal snapped. "Green Lantern's got this."
The instant the words left his mouth, Hal clenched his ring hand and rocketed after the target.
The ring's light surged—condensing into a massive green dragon with claws and fangs, which coiled around the fleeing creature and pinned it in midair.
Floating forward, Hal smiled like a man who'd already won.
"Surrender. You have the right to remain sil—"
He didn't get to finish.
The trapped monster yanked its hostage up like a shield.
"Wait—don't—!"
Hal reached out, trying to talk it down.
Too late.
The creature simply hurled the hostage downward from the sky.
"Damn it!"
Hal didn't hesitate. Cursing under his breath, he focused his will and redirected his ring's energy to catch the falling woman.
From a distance, Ben watched Hal save her.
At the same time, Ben ran down the side of a building in a controlled slide, reaching street level in seconds.
With the hostage safe, Ben turned his attention to the enemy above, thinking hard.
How do I hit a flying target as XLR8?
"Right. That trick."
In the cartoon, Ben had done it before: run fast enough in a tight circle, and you could generate a tornado.
He opened the throttle.
Picking the monster's flight path, Ben blurred forward—reaching a point directly ahead of it in the blink of an eye.
"Come on… trust yourself. I can do this too."
He drew a deep breath and set his stance.
One rotation. Two. Three—
Ben lost count as he spun faster and faster, his speed turning the air into a roaring spiral.
The vortex took shape.
And the flying monster—caught off balance—was dragged straight into the tornado.
"Did it work?!"
The wind ripped the cloak clean off the creature—
—but that was all it did.
Now fully exposed, it looked like some kind of armored tech nightmare.
Ben stared.
"Is this thing cosplaying Iron Man? Wrong universe, dude. And… wow, you are ugly."
Its face was grotesque, and the metal armor screamed high-tech. Ben couldn't immediately place which DC villain it was.
Then it roared.
"RAAAH!"
A Parademon from Apokolips—one of Darkseid's soldiers—snarled as it fought the turbulence.
Its wings vibrated, accelerating it. Locking onto Ben, it dove like a missile from the sky.
For an ordinary person, that kind of drop would be unavoidable.
For XLR8?
It was nothing.
Ben shifted aside by two quick steps—clean, effortless.
The Parademon slammed into the street, blasting a crater into the pavement.
Ben whistled, impressed despite himself.
"Whoa. That guy's serious."
Before he could move in for a closer look, another shadow dropped from above—landing with heavy finality and walking straight toward the crater.
A tall figure cloaked in black.
A cape draped over broad shoulders.
A bat-eared cowl.
The lower half of his face was exposed, carved into a cold, severe line.
Batman.
Ben's eyes lit up.
"Oh! It's Batman! I thought you'd ditched Gotham and gone on vacation!"
Batman didn't respond.
According to satellite surveillance, the "blue velociraptor" racing around the rooftops was just a fifteen-year-old kid—not a dangerous criminal.
But the thing in the crater?
That was different.
Based on Batman's investigation—and witness reports—the monster had been planting something across Gotham: devices that looked a lot like bombs.
Batman stopped at the edge of the crater, staring down at the Parademon.
"What did you plant in Gotham?"
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 50)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 50)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 50)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 44)
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