A strange emotion.
This was the conclusion Starfire reached after sensing the emotional fluctuations of the being known as Morlun.
This so-called Morlun radiated thoughts that felt almost tangible, spreading through the air around him. Even though Starfire normally needed close contact to read emotions, a single glance was enough for her to perceive his intent.
He was indifferent to everything around him—except for the young boy behind her, Peter Parker.
If Starfire had to choose one word to describe that emotion, it would be hunger.
Not the kind of hunger she shared with Joey in affection, but a literal, physical hunger.
The way Morlun looked at Peter was like viewing a rare delicacy—completely unrestrained, as if he intended to immediately devour him, body and soul.
This confused Starfire.
Had she grown up on Tamaran, or been exposed to Green Lantern Corps stories or Earth myths like vampires, she might have understood immediately.
Morlun was hungry. He had come to feed—and his prey was this universe's Spider-Man.
"Young lady, it appears you are standing between me and my most delicious meal. Would you kindly step aside?"
Morlun had never been this polite before, especially not when he was this hungry.
However, the energy readings and his instinctive sense of danger forced him to maintain a façade of gentlemanly restraint.
He called out directly to Peter behind Starfire:
"Peter Parker! The Spider-Man I know would not hide behind a lady!"
"How do you know my name?"
Peter had only just been bitten by the spider and gained his powers. He had not yet learned how to use them properly, nor understood the responsibility he would eventually carry.
He also had no idea what Spider-Man even meant.
This kind of exchange had occurred countless times across countless universes, so many that Morlun no longer had the patience to explain.
In the end, it always ended the same way: he killed Spider-Man.
Why waste time on pointless conversation?
He needed to consume this Spider-Man's body and soul.
So he tore off the last remnants of his gentlemanly demeanor, opened his blood-filled maw, and revealed sharp fangs as he lunged forward:
"A truly fresh Spider-Man! How exquisite! Your soul is mine!"
Bang.
His first attack hit a wall—literally.
He slammed headfirst into a suddenly appearing green energy barrier, producing a dull impact sound.
Morlun looked again and realized he was now trapped like a hamster inside a translucent green cage.
Starfire, who was maintaining the cage with her Green Lantern willpower, was multitasking at the same time. With constructs formed from her ring, she used several claw-like shapes to evacuate the civilians inside the bank, tossing them outside one by one like toys from a claw machine.
All except Peter Parker.
It seemed obvious that Morlun's attention was entirely focused on Peter. Separating him from the vulnerable civilians was likely the best option.
And besides, there was still her—
Whoosh.
Inside the green cage, Morlun took a deep breath.
The solid green construct, along with the air itself, was sucked directly into his mouth like fluid. In an instant, he broke through the Green Lantern barrier without effort.
For the first time, his attention shifted fully onto Starfire.
"Interesting."
He looked at the glowing ring in her hand—the light of willpower, representing courage.
To him, it was an entirely unfamiliar form of energy.
For someone who could devour all forms of life energy, this was something he had never encountered before.
His assessment was:
"You don't taste half bad either, young lady."
When that malicious intent was fully directed at her, Starfire finally completely understood Morlun's nature—he truly saw both Peter and her as food.
She manifested over a dozen crossbow-like constructs, firing lethal green energy bolts, followed by infinitely extending blades.
Facing this attack, Morlun simply raised his head.
The energy-formed bolts and blades were instantly consumed by him.
Calling Morlun a vampire was not accurate. He was more like a soul vampire that fed on life energy itself.
Unlike demons in hell, who needed elaborate tricks, contracts, and lies to steal a soul, Morlun simply took.
One touch was enough for him to drain energy from his target—just like he was now draining Starfire's Green Lantern ring.
The energy inside her ring began to leak rapidly, flowing into Morlun's body like a siphon.
Theoretically, a Green Lantern ring never needed recharging, yet under this kind of plunder, its energy was quickly exhausted and dimmed.
Every ring was connected, in some unseen way, to the Central Power Battery—but that connection was disrupted by the temporal and dimensional gap between universes.
"What kind of energy is this?"
After absorbing the ring's energy, Morlun felt a rare sense of satisfaction.
The pure green energy of the emotional spectrum felt novel to him. It wasn't as delicious as Spider-Man's soul, but it was still a decent appetizer.
"I've changed my mind. Woman, I will eat you first!"
Morlun decided to deal with the obstructing source of pure energy first. After that, he would toy with Peter Parker before finally feasting.
Peter, standing behind Starfire, suddenly gathered courage.
"Your weapon is useless, ma'am. Step back—let me handle him!"
His Spider-Sense screamed at him to run, but he knew this was not the moment to flee.
Against such a terrifying enemy, running would mean certain death. Only fighting offered even the slightest chance.
Standing in front of Starfire, he grabbed a nearby metal barrier pole as a weapon. It felt strangely light—almost like a feather. He realized his strength had increased dramatically, which gave him some confidence.
"Come on. You can't survive if you don't fight."
Behind him, Starfire was even more confused by the boy's dramatic declaration. She simply grabbed Peter by the back of his collar and, with a light leap, carried him through a wall, escaping the bank battlefield.
The Green Lantern ring was only one of her combat methods. Starfire had not yet entered her Tamaranean energy output form.
Fully unleashing her star-like biological energy would cause uncontrollable collateral damage, so everything so far had only been stalling.
Her heightened senses already detected the sound of a red cape tearing through the atmosphere. She knew Joey could see them.
So she spoke into the air:
"The opponent can absorb energy, but his strength is weak. There are many civilians near the bank—be careful."
Peter, still disoriented from being carried away, froze.
"What?"
"I'm not talking to you."
BOOM!
Morlun would not let his prey escape so easily. With a casual push, the entire reinforced outer wall of the bank collapsed.
Together with Starfire, Peter was carried up to the rooftop to briefly escape the assault. Seeing what had just happened, he couldn't help but double-check what she had said earlier.
"Ma'am, you call that weak?! Can I ask what your definition of strong even is?"
Morlun no longer wanted to play this boring chase game. He went all out, covering a hundred meters in an instant, and lunged straight in front of Starfire.
"My main course and my appetizer—you will not escape!"
Faced with this relentless madman, Starfire didn't even bother dodging.
"I'm not running away from you. I'm only waiting for someone to come."