Their plan succeeded, although the target wasn't Batman. Actually, it was almost the same. After all, they're going back to the same base. If Batman sensed something unusual, he would definitely notice something wrong with Hal too.
Steve initially didn't quite agree with the plan. After all, no matter how you look at it, the crystal counts as a divine artifact. Just handing it over to the other side feels like aiding the enemy. But Charles quickly convinced him: "Think about it, if this was something really good, we wouldn't want it, but Shiller would want it. We already expressed interest in researching it with Tony, but Tony refused, and Shiller didn't say anything, which proves it's actually useless."
Steve thought so too. Shiller is best at turning trash into treasure, always saying "Trash is just resources in the wrong place." If he's not interested, then this thing is probably truly useless.
Moreover, the unique thing about this is that its functions sound very powerful, and its design is quite impressive, obviously an extraordinary item. Even if Batman understood and activated it, he wouldn't use it lightly. He's just training soldiers, not a terrorist, so why destroy the cosmos?
He can't use it, can't return it, and has to bear the risks and potential curses it brings. It seems wherever he goes, Batman encounters tricky problems. The Joker is still chasing me.
Meanwhile, regarding the situation on the ground, Hal had indeed noticed something. Because when he emerged from the other end of the teleportation portal, he felt his energy had drastically decreased.
It wasn't the energy he was currently using, but his reserve. He had brought enough energy this time, but after just one teleport, more than half was consumed. Hal's heart sank instantly.
What? What's going on? I just took someone through a teleportation portal, how could it consume so much energy???
Hal understood that generally, the larger the mass of the transported objects, the more energy is consumed. But there were only two people. Could this Green Lantern be peculiar?
Hal continued to use the Green Lantern energy to save the injured while checking his own condition. But after checking thoroughly, he found nothing unusual. He also checked his equipment and found nothing extra. This was truly strange.
The Primary Universe Batman probably saw his delay on the monitors, so he asked, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. The teleportation portal I just set up might have had a problem." Hal finally decided to attribute it to the rush in saving people causing issues with the teleportation portal. He said, "I consumed most of my energy, might need your energy to recharge when we return."
"No problem," Primary Universe Batman said, "If you're really out of energy, just retreat."
Hal shook his head; he wasn't completely out of power, and still had quite a bit available. He first settled the injured, then returned to the battlefield.
At this moment, the Green Lantern had already pushed the defensive line inwards a bit. Hal charged to the front line, ready to launch another assault, aiming to push back the few Captain Americas ahead.
He raised his hand, and the bow and arrow formed by Green Lantern energy appeared in his hand. Having learned some skills from Oliver, his archery was now superb. These energy arrows were perfect for dealing with the Captain Americas.
Hal raised his hand and shot, two energy arrows hitting Captain America's shield. Although he couldn't break through their defense, the immense impact pushed him tens of meters back.
Captain America's mobility isn't strong, and in space he mainly relies on the shield's thrust for movement. These tens of meters, although not far, were enough for him to fly for a while. Hal then replicated this technique on another Captain America.
When Captain America was pushed back, the Green Lantern could seize the opportunity to advance, gradually eating away at their tactical space.
However, as Hal drew his bow wanting to condense energy arrows with Green Lantern energy, he suddenly found his Green Lantern energy depleted.
This left Hal completely puzzled. Although his remaining energy wasn't much, it should be enough to fire hundreds of arrows. How could it disappear like that?
Despite his confusion, Hal had to retreat quickly. In a while, he might not even be able to maintain his personal shield and end up being severely beaten by the enemy.
He withdrew to check his energy consumption, only to find that several colleagues around also retreated, all checking their lantern rings and lantern furnaces, equally puzzled.
"Um... for some reason, my energy consumption is rather fast; I'm almost out of power."
"You're out too? So am I. It's odd; could it be the excessive number of hits today is causing the shield to drain quickly?"
"I'm also out; does anyone have extra lantern furnaces? Otherwise, we won't be able to fight..."
The Green Lanterns frequently retreated, naturally drawing their teammates' attention. The Main Universe Mars Hunter turned around and asked, "What's wrong? You're out of energy?"
After receiving a sure answer, the Main Universe Mars Hunter frowned. Comparing this battle to the last, he realized they weren't on the same level. The previous battle involved creating ships and evenly fighting the Asgardians, yet until they retreated, there was still some energy left. How did it come to this—this battle just started and you're already out of power?
The Main Universe Mars Hunter suspected they hadn't charged properly, but was embarrassed to say so, only advising them, "You should retreat a bit further; don't let your shields get broken."
There was no other choice. Although the retreating Green Lanterns were reluctant, they knew advancing without energy was certain death. Hal straightforwardly suggested, "Let's pool our energy, open a teleportation portal and go back to recharge; maybe we can still catch the last wave."
The Green Lanterns thought it was true; without energy, they couldn't go on, so they decided to return to recharge and catch the second half. They pooled their energy, opened a teleportation portal, and went back.
Primary Universe Batman found it suspicious and wanted to stop them from returning, but the Green Lanterns moved quickly and were already back above Apocalypse Star.
They flew back according to the original plan, but didn't expect to be bounced off when they reached the Apocalypse Star's shield.
"What's going on?!" Hal couldn't help but frown and said, "Aren't we on the whitelist? What's Darkseid up to?!"
Primary Universe Batman didn't know what was going on either, so he contacted Darkseid. Darkseid replied that there was no problem, yet the Green Lanterns couldn't get in.
Primary Universe Batman couldn't help but wonder: could Darkseid be doing something?
Darkseid quickly noticed the anomaly too, but it wasn't the shield recognition system malfunctioning; the shield was under a fierce attack, almost breaking with a single hit.
"Batman!!!" Darkseid appeared in the command center, roaring at Batman, "What's going on?! They're at our door, and you're just sitting there?!!"
Primary Universe Batman looked at him, puzzled, and said, "They're at our door? Who's at our door?"
"The Apocalypse Star's shield has been heavily hit, isn't it the other side attacking?!"
"You are the master of the Apocalypse Domain. You're invincible here. You can see for yourself who's attacking instead of asking me."
Darkseid took a deep breath, sensed, and then his expression suddenly darkened.
"Green Lanterns," Darkseid said, "The Green Lanterns are attacking the Apocalypse Star's shield. Have them stop immediately, Batman!!"
Primary Universe Batman was even more puzzled. He said, "Why would the Green Lanterns attack the shield? They should be able to fly in directly with whitelist permission. Why attack your shield?"
"You should ask yourself that, Batman?" Darkseid's face grew increasingly gloomy. He wondered if Batman knew Mephisto had come to see him and planned to strike first?
Primary Universe Batman also had his suspicions: could it be that Darkseid was preparing to turn against him?
Though the two were currently allies, the alliance was not solid. If Darkseid found a better ally, he would surely be abandoned. Today's incident might be self-directed, using the opportunity to stir things up.
Primary Universe Batman took a deep breath and decided to put the bigger picture first. He immediately told the communicator: "Hal, don't come back yet. I'll send someone to bring you energy."
Hearing this, Hal stopped his actions. Primary Universe Batman then immediately found the Green Lanterns stationed, asking them to deliver a Lantern Furnace to Hal and others. Worried it might be a trap by Darkseid, Primary Universe Batman had to send several Green Lanterns over.
Meanwhile, in the prison of the Apocalypse Star base. Hooves clattered on the smooth, cold floor, with long black horns reflecting a gloomy light. Disguised as Mephisto, Shiller smiled at the people inside the bars and said, "I told you, the guards will soon leave. Remember me now?"
Star-Lord clung to the bars, looking out and discovering that the Green Lantern energy outside had indeed vanished. He swallowed hard and said, "What did you do to them?"
"Instead of worrying about them, you'd better worry about yourselves. Aren't you leaving?"
"Quick, quick, quick! Rocket!" Star-Lord hoisted Rocket Raccoon and then nudged awake Gamora, who was still asleep beside him. Groot and Drax also hurriedly got up, wiping away saliva from their faces. Star-Lord used a laser knife he had hidden to cut the bars and stealthily slipped out.
"Don't forget what you promised me." Shiller's voice sounded in Star-Lord's ear and then dissipated.
Apocalypse Star is Darkseid's domain, and logically, everything here should be discovered by him. But Darkseid, filled with vigilance and suspicion, was preoccupied with pondering Batman's possible betrayal, having no time to care about the prison.
Primary Universe Batman should not have withdrawn the prison guard's strength either, but he was too doubtful of Darkseid. After all, whether it was the sudden power cut of the Green Lanterns, the inability to enter Apocalypse Star, or Darkseid claiming someone was attacking Apocalypse Star, it all seemed like a prelude to turning against each other. He had to be wary.
The two suspected each other, busy outsmarting each other, failing to notice that the Guardians of the Galaxy had escaped, and even took off with a ship from Apocalypse Star.
Shiller stood on Apocalypse Star, watching them leave, then gazed into the distance towards Darkseid's Palace, quietly saying, "If there is no demand, create one. You have no choice, Your Majesty."
"What did you say?!" Primary Universe Batman looked at The Flash and said, "The Guardians of the Galaxy ran?!!"
He abruptly turned his head, glaring at Darkseid behind him, with intense coldness and murderous intent no longer concealed in his eyes. His deep voice echoed in the room: "What explanation do you have, Darkseid?!"