As the saying goes, there is strength in numbers.
Hal Jordan had been trapped alone in Storybrooke Town before Dante and Bruce Wayne discovered him.
As the only normal person who hadn't been assimilated, he was stuck in a reality-distorted town.
If it weren't for the strange boundary that he couldn't cross no matter what he tried, he would have thought he had completely lost his mind.
After shaving and washing his face, wearing a hoodie Dante bought from a clothing store in town, he was still the handsome kid from Coast City.
Dante looked at the tag he had torn off the hoodie.
It read: "Produced by Princess Aurora."
Below that, there was a small line of text:
"I swear, wearing my family's clothes will definitely not make you want to sleep…"
Well, Sleeping Beauty's business brand was pretty on point.
After all, she was the princess whose curse involved a spinning wheel. A born weaving saint…
Then he thought of the princesses he had seen earlier, all over the streets, full of energy and obsessively dedicated to work.
Even Selina Kyle, a master thief, had become a small-town police officer whose entire mind was filled with work.
At least in this distorted reality, these princesses were truly workhorses, one after another, doing nothing but work.
Dante even wanted to complain, "Go fall in love with the princes already. You office drones want something sweet, not this grind."
"Let's go! Where are we going first?"
Hal Jordan stood tall and proud, completely shaking off his earlier gloom when he had been whimpering and clinging to Bruce Wayne.
"How long have you been in this town? Didn't you think of gathering some intel?"
"As a test pilot, I went through a crash completely outside my professional knowledge, and then I got pulled into a reality-distorted space. Both times were a sudden crash to my worldview."
Hal Jordan felt incredibly wronged.
"Even though I've been here for a week, where would I find the time or mental space to think about that? And I'm just a pilot, not an FBI agent! I know how to fly planes, but when it comes to gathering intel, I'm completely clueless."
Seeing Hal Jordan's resigned and helpless look, Bruce Wayne also deeply agreed.
Specialization matters. Amateurs meddling and giving blind orders only causes trouble.
"So where are we going?"
Dante actually had two options in mind.
First, the town library.
According to Selina Kyle, the town library had books recording information about the outside world.
If there were no surprises, this would be the most concentrated source of intel, and the reality distorter had most likely materialized all that information into books.
Going there would likely reveal some clues.
The other option was Agatha's inn, which was mentioned last night.
The name Agatha is not common.
But hearing that name in a normal place wouldn't raise an eyebrow.
However, in a space shrouded by reality distortion, and there was someone named Agatha…
He had never heard of a single fairytale protagonist named "Agatha."
So that inn owner was most likely Agatha Harkness, the ancient family tutor with a penchant for mischief.
As one of the oldest and most powerful witches on Earth, her most impressive ability wasn't her mastery of various magic, but her skill at teaching apprentices.
First, there was Franklin Richards, and later, Scarlet Witch.
The peak abilities of her apprentices only got more ridiculous with each generation.
Of course, in this Universe, Wanda had only just begun to master Chaos Magic. In a short time, let alone full awakening, she was still far from reaching the level of an Abstract Entity, and only at the level of tearing apart a normal Thanos like in the movie.
As for the other one, no need to even mention him. Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman were still in their honeymoon phase.
But after weighing his options, Dante still decided to go to the library first.
Given Agatha's mischievous nature, she was probably just waiting for Dante and the others to come to her. So let that old witch of unknown age wait.
"Selina Kyle mentioned that they all learned about the outside world through the library. In this reality-distorted space, no location is useless."
Dante took the lead and walked forward.
"The library is most likely the nexus for information linkage with the outside world."
"Because only the information here exists simultaneously in both realities."
Actually, these words were a bit too stream-of-consciousness. Dante was basically saying them for Bruce Wayne to hear.
Although abstract, Bruce should be able to grasp the general meaning.
But Hal Jordan…
It would be a miracle if the he didn't run wild.
As Dante was thinking this, Hal Jordan's questioning voice came from behind.
"Although I don't want to question you…" Hal Jordan awkwardly pointed in the exact opposite direction from where Dante was going, "But the library you mentioned is over there."
If it were an ordinary person, they would probably feel a bit embarrassed, and those with thinner skin would likely blush.
But who was Dante?
He was someone whose thick skin could withstand the Nightsword!
So, led by Hal Jordan, Dante and Batman returned to the streets of Storybrooke.
This time, with three of them together, they finally caused a stir in Storybrooke Town…
But it was the good kind.
Little Red Riding Hood, who had just been scared away, was the first to approach.
She first looked at Hal Jordan's clean, handsome face, and her cheeks turned a little red.
"Wow, he actually looks normal! You didn't lie to me. You really are a doctor!"
Although Little Red Riding Hood's behavior was shy and her movements small, her voice was quite loud.
The surrounding fairytale characters, hearing Little Red Riding Hood's words, immediately gathered around enthusiastically.
Bruce's Batman instincts made him instantly assume a fighting stance, but he quickly dropped it.
Because the glorious pipe repairman, Alice from Wonderland, wiped her hands on her blue overalls and straightened the red hat on her head…
Then she clasped Bruce Wayne's hands with both of hers.
As if she had met a celebrity.
"What's your last name?"
"…Wayne."
"A miraculous recovery, Doctor Wayne!"
Even psychiatrists or psychologists who can treat mentally ill individuals so they appear indistinguishable from normal people are not common in this industry!
"Doctor, please take a look at me. I've always felt I should grow a little taller…"
"You're a Dwarf. Your height is already considered a little giant among your own race."
"I believe there shouldn't be racial distinctions between people. I consider myself a slightly shorter ordinary human."
"Thankfully, it's an ordinary human. I thought it was an armed helicopter."
His ears were instantly filled with the nonsensical babble of the Storybrooke Town characters.
Dante felt a headache coming on just listening to them.
After escaping the warm hospitality of the folks, the three finally arrived outside the library.
"This… is a library?"
Dante pointed at the building in front of him and turned to ask Hal Jordan.
"It should be… right? This town only has two intersecting roads, and the town library is located at this intersection."
"But no matter how you look at it… it looks like a dark castle belonging to some evil villain!"
The building in front of them, with a sign that read "Storybrooke Town Library," was a brick-black castle, with a towering clock tower standing tall.
"Dante, although I know the answer, I still need to confirm it again." Bruce Wayne exhaled deeply and asked, "This library, we absolutely have to go in, right?"
"Of course!" Dante gritted his teeth and kicked open the six-to-seven-meter-high castle gate of the Storybrooke Town Library.
Hal Jordan stared in shock at the scene before him.
Is this FBI agent even human?
He kicked open a several-ton castle gate with one kick?
Is this man in front of him part of the reality distortion!?
"You, where did you crawl out from, monster?"
Dante babbled nonsense to Hal Jordan while he and Bruce Wayne covered each other as they crept inside.
Hal Jordan gritted his teeth and followed them in.
To leave this distorted reality, and to make Carol remember him, thereby preventing the possibility of him being cuckolded.
He was going all out!
But as he rushed in headfirst, he slammed his forehead into Dante's back…
"Holy crap! You only walked one step in, why did you stop!"
Dante's mouth twitched, and he pointed forward.
"Open your eyes and look. How can we move forward with this thing here!"
Hal Jordan looked in the direction Dante was pointing…
A gigantic crimson dinosaur was lying in the center of the hall.
Its ferocious eyes showed a curious expression.
"I—holy crap."
Hal Jordan was stunned.
This is a… dinosaur?
A real, genuine dinosaur?
Dante ignored Hal Jordan, whose worldview was once again being shattered and rebuilt. He knew the origin of the dinosaur in front of him.
This one is quite famous among the monster group in the Marvel Universe.
Devil Dinosaur.
It's a highly intelligent Tyrannosaurus Rex from the Savage Land, also serving as…
Moon Girl's nanny and mount.
"Devil Dinosaur, why are you here? Do you know what happened here?"
Dante frowned.
The monster appeared.
He didn't put Devil Dinosaur in his eyes.
But Devil Dinosaur is deeply bound to Moon Girl. Moon Girl's Inhuman ability is to establish a deep mental link with Devil Dinosaur.
A true "soulmate."
Upon hearing Dante's voice, Devil Dinosaur no longer lay down but slowly stood up.
In front of a seven-meter-tall dinosaur, human figures were pitifully small.
Hal Jordan felt like his neck was about to break from craning it backward, yet he still couldn't clearly see the face of Devil Dinosaur in mid-air.
The dinosaur opened its mouth, and then…
"Roarrrrrr~"
Yeah, Devil Dinosaur couldn't talk!
He could communicate with Moon Girl, but that was because of her Inhuman ability!
But Dante still had a way to solve this small problem.
The green lantern ring lit up at that instant, and in a flash, Dante entered the Green Lantern transformation state.
Hal pointed at Dante, then looked at Bruce Wayne.
"He… huh?"
Bruce didn't reply and kept looking at Dante calmly.
Dante raised his right hand, and the green lantern ring glowed with a dazzling yet soft Will Green Light.
Besides being a weapon of the Green Lantern Corps, the green lantern ring is also a cosmic-level personal terminal.
It can translate almost any language.
After being cleansed by the Will Green Light, Devil Dinosaur roared once again.
As goosebumps rose on Dante's skin, the roar was also translated into his ears.
"Where are you from?"
"If you're from outside Storybrooke, get out!"
"I won't allow you to destroy my old buddy's dream Storybrooke Town!"
(To be continued.)
***
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