"So… how are we supposed to find that alien big boy?"
The Green Lantern–constructed jet hovered above Metropolis. Hal looked over at Ben.
Rumor had it Superman always appeared on his own—showing up beside whoever needed help.
And Metropolis was huge. Superman was famous, sure, and his look was unmistakable.
But nobody knew his real identity. Trying to find one man in a city like this? Not easy.
"He can hear us," Ben said, rubbing his temple. "If he wanted to show up, he'd already be here."
Finding Superman was giving Ben a headache too.
On the flight over, Ben had already told Hal everything he knew.
With Superman's super-hearing, he should be able to catch their conversation from anywhere nearby.
Unless… Superman was hearing it and simply writing it off as the delusions of a pair of cringe teenagers—and filtering it out.
"Looks like he doesn't want to deal with us," Hal said after a moment of silence, growing impatient.
Protecting Earth—protecting Sector 2814—was his responsibility as a Green Lantern.
And as the greatest Green Lantern, Hal didn't think he needed help from some "underwear-on-the-outside" hero.
"Too bad Batman isn't here," Ben sighed. "Otherwise we could just have him buy the Daily Planet. If Superman still won't come out, we fire the reporter named Clark Kent."
If Superman refused to appear on his own, their only option was to sneak into the Daily Planet and see if "Clark Kent" was working.
Ben hadn't even realized it until now, but he was already starting to miss Batman's ultimate superpower.
Money.
"I get it," Hal snapped. "That stupid bat is rich. Could you please stop repeating it?"
Ben's constant jokes were starting to grate. Even in a capitalist world, Hal couldn't accept "being rich" as a superpower.
BOOOOM—
A violent explosion thundered somewhere not far away. Firelight burst upward, followed by a thick column of smoke.
Ben squinted. Hal's eyes sharpened.
"Hey," Hal said, grin returning. "I think we just found Superman."
He immediately piloted the green-energy aircraft toward the blast.
If an explosion like that happened in Metropolis, Superman would definitely rush to the scene.
The explosion had come from an abandoned construction site.
And down below, in the middle of the chaos, Superman was already fighting a Parademon—one holding a strange device.
"So Parademons aren't just showing up in Gotham," Hal said, landing with Ben on a nearby rooftop and watching the fight. "And the thing it's carrying… is that what you called a Mother Box?"
"Yeah," Ben said. "That's it. They use Mother Boxes to open Boom Tubes—teleport Darkseid and his forces onto the target planet."
As he spoke, Ben tapped the Omnitrix—cooldown finished—ready to pick a form and jump in.
But before he could choose, Hal raised a green barrier around him.
"You stay here," Hal ordered. "Green Lantern can handle this."
His ring blazed. His will shaped the energy into a massive iron fist as he charged straight into the center of the fight.
"Hal—don't! That's Superman!"
Ben's warning didn't stop him.
The giant fist slammed down onto Superman and the Parademon with a deafening crash—dust and debris exploding outward.
The next second—
Superman punched Hal out of the air.
The impact launched him into a nearby wall so hard he looked like he'd been embedded into it.
Ben sighed. "Poor Hal. Why do you never listen?"
The ring's energy could prevent serious injury, but it couldn't erase pain. Watching Hal eat that hit, Ben lost any desire to transform and "test himself" against Superman.
Superman finished dealing with the Parademon and flew directly to Ben, hovering calmly in front of him.
"Who are you? And why did you attack me?"
Compared to Batman, Superman was much easier to talk to. Even after Hal sucker-punched him, he was still standing there, composed and reasonable, waiting for an explanation.
Ben stepped forward quickly.
"He's Green Lantern—Hal Jordan. I'm Ben Tennyson. We need your help."
He kept it simple: names first, purpose next.
Behind him, Hal staggered back to his feet.
Getting punched across a construction site had been humiliating—but the brief exchange made one thing painfully clear:
This was the strongest person Hal had ever faced. A threat—or ally—he couldn't treat casually.
Superman glanced at Hal.
"This is how you ask for help?"
Ben shot Hal a warning look. "It was an accident. Hal—stop. This isn't the time to start fighting each other."
Then Ben gestured toward the unconscious Parademon in the rubble.
"Earth is being invaded by Apokolips. There are mass kidnappings happening everywhere."
Superman's expression tightened slightly. He already knew about the kidnapping wave, but he hadn't connected it to an alien invasion.
In Metropolis, he'd fought powerful aliens before—but their invasions were usually far more direct.
"It's happening here too," Superman admitted. "I just thought they were superpowered criminals drifting in from Gotham."
Ben's words clicked pieces into place. Now that he was sure what they were dealing with, Superman understood this was something he had to take seriously.
Ben continued, "And besides kidnapping people, they're installing some kind of device all over the place."
Before he could say more, Superman's head turned sharply—toward Gotham's direction.
A plane was streaking toward them at high speed.
Superman looked back at them. "Did you invite anyone else?"
Hal frowned. Ben followed Superman's gaze.
"Probably Batman," Ben said. "We beat a Parademon in Gotham too. He wanted to investigate alone, but Earth tech can't analyze Apokoliptian tech."
Hal's suspicion flared. "How did he find us? Did he put a tracker on you?"
Superman's eyes glowed faintly as he swept them with X-ray vision, then shook his head.
"No trackers. Nothing like that."
He paused, as if the one exception bothered him.
"Except for that watch. I can't see through it."
Ben pointed upward.
"He probably used his satellite. That's how he found us."
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 54)
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