Hovering in the clouds above a suburban area not far from Gotham, Clark looked around in bewilderment.
He glanced down at the desolate hills beneath him, then looked all around him, his eyes taking in the faintly glowing high-rises in the distance. He was uncertain which direction to fly to reach Gotham.
Just as he was contemplating whether or not to land and ask for directions, suddenly he spotted a green light faintly visible amongst the falling snowflakes in the far off distance.
As the green light approached closer, Clark narrowed his eyes for a better look, then realized that they were several green spots, like a swarm of fireflies, flying in his direction.
When they came nearer to Clark, he realized that these were actually a group of people glowing green.
It wasn't until the Green Lanterns got right in front of Clark that they realized there was a man hovering in mid-air. Clark looked them up and down, a little puzzled, but Carol looked back at him with a frown, asking, "Who are you? How did you get here?"
"Er, I'm Clark. And who are you guys?"
"Clark? Are you an Earthling?"
"Of course." Clark was taken aback by their question, then asked, "So, you guys aren't Earthlings?"
At hearing his reply, the Green Lanterns instantly became alert. As they took up a battle stance, Carol declared, "You're lying, Earthlings can't fly!"
"How do you know that Earthlings can't fly?"
"Our rings contain the Gaia compendium, and the human race entry has just been updated. Humans can't escape Earth's gravity on their own, much less fly freely. Who exactly are you? What is your purpose on Earth?"
His confident statements completely dumbfounded Clark. He shot back, "I am an Earthling. I was born and raised on a farm in Kansas. Now it's your turn, I get that Earthlings can't fly, but can they emit green light?"
"We're the Green Lantern Corps." Carol replied impatiently, "Who exactly are you? Why are you on Earth? Are you associated with Sinestro?"
His successive confrontations annoyed Clark because he felt that as a native Earthling, it was absurd and downright ridiculous to be interrogated by this clearly alien group, just like a thief who breaks into someone's house questioning the homeowner.
But Carol was also agitated. They had just suffered a major setback, and both their physical and mental energy were significantly drained. As a Green Lantern, whose duty is to maintain peace in the cosmos, he had to investigate potential threats. An strange Earthling who could fly blocking their retreat route was anything but normal.
Tempers flared on both sides. Carol finally lost his patience and said, "If you don't intend to answer me, then get out of our way. We don't have time to chat with you."
"No way! Don't know what you aliens are up to. Leave Earth, you don't belong here!"
Carol took a deep breath. He had never been provoked by an inhabitant of any planet before. Certainly, Clark was not overawed by their extraordinary appearance and powers.
But as deputy head of the Green Lantern Corps, Carol was of a high caliber. He had been diligent and principled in his service to the Green Lantern Corps, never letting personal feelings get in the way. Therefore, he still intended to communicate further with Clark.
Just as he was about to speak, a flash of green light grazed his arm and flew towards Clark, who swiftly evaded the beam by darting to the side.
One of the younger Green Lanterns broke from the group, his face filled with anger as he retracted his hand. As Carol was about to scold him, a red beam charged with destructive energy sent him flying.
Seeing Clark's eyes glowing red, Carol understood that things had taken a turn for the worse. He shouted, "Form up! Prepare to attack!"
The Green Lanterns assaulted Clark from all sides and the intermingling of red and green rays in the skies above the outskirts of Gotham resembled a massive firework display. Many people were awoken by the spectacle and came to the topmost point of their homes to watch the fireworks.
The majority of common citizens were unaware of the events that had transpired at Arkham Mental Hospital, thus they enjoyed the show above the city. But the mob leaders who had just left Arkham Sanatorium recognized the mysterious green light.
The phone continuously rang in the mansion of the Twelve Families. Everyone was asking, "What on Earth is happening?"
"Hello? Spencer? I'm not seeing things, am I? Why is there a fireworks show in the western suburbs? Doesn't that green light seem familiar???"
"Damn it! It's them again! I was wondering why they disappeared, turns out they flew to the suburbs. And what is that red light??"
"One green devil just ran away, and now a red devil appeared. My god, it must be because we haven't repaired the church in such a long time, this place has been cursed!"
"Stop complaining! Grab a gun and go take them down!"
"We tried that, didn't we? Ordinary guns are useless, they can fly, the green light on their bodies can block bullets, and the Godfather launched a missile at the hospital but they were seemingly unaffected."
"Who has a bigger weapon? Anything that can hit and blast them would work too!"