### Chapter 5: Hal: Stop Repeating that Batman is Rich!
"So, where do we find that big alien boy?"
As the Green Lantern jet hovered over Metropolis, Hal looked at Ben beside him.
Rumors said Superman would actively appear beside those who needed help.
Metropolis was too big. Although Superman was famous and his features were distinct, no one knew his real identity. Finding one specific person in a vast sea of people wasn't easy.
"He can hear us. If he wants to come, he should be here."
Ben also had a bit of a headache regarding the search for Superman.
On the way to Metropolis, Ben had told Hal all the intelligence he knew.
With Superman's super hearing, he should be able to hear the conversation between him and Hal.
Or perhaps their chat was being treated as the naive fantasies of chuunibyo teenagers and automatically filtered out.
"It looks like he doesn't want to deal with us."
After a short silence, Superman still hadn't appeared, and Hal seemed a little impatient.
Protecting the Earth and Sector 2814 was his duty as a Green Lantern.
As the greatest Green Lantern, he didn't feel he needed the power of a superhero who wore his underwear on the outside.
"It's a pity Batman isn't here, otherwise we could just let him buy the Daily Planet directly. If Superman doesn't come, then fire that Clark Kent guy immediately!"
If Superman didn't show up on his own, they could only try to sneak into the Daily Planet to see if they could find Superman at work.
Although he hadn't experienced it firsthand yet, Ben was starting to miss Batman's 'money power'.
"I know that smelly bat is rich. Can you please stop repeating it?"
Ben's complaints were a bit jarring to Hal's ears. Although this was a capitalist world, he couldn't accept treating "being rich" as a superpower.
*Boom~*
Accompanying a violent roar, some kind of explosion seemed to occur not far away. Intense firelight shot in all directions, accompanied by thick rising smoke.
"Hey! I think we found Superman."
Having found a target, Hal immediately piloted the energy-construct jet toward the incident location.
With such an explosion happening in Metropolis, Superman would definitely rush to the scene to help those in need.
The explosion occurred at an abandoned construction site. At this moment, on the battlefield below, Superman was fighting a Parademon holding a strange device.
"It looks like Parademons didn't just appear in Gotham. Is that thing in its hand the Mother Box you mentioned?"
Taking Ben down to a nearby rooftop, Hal Jordan watched the battle in the distance.
That Parademon seemed to have been discovered by Superman while installing the Mother Box. Under Superman's attacks, it had no ability to fight back.
"Yes, that's right. They use Mother Boxes to open Boom Tubes to teleport Darkseid and his subordinates to the target planet."
Confirming Hal's words, Ben clicked on the cooled-down Omnitrix, preparing to select a hero to enter the battlefield.
But before he could decide which alien hero to use, Hal raised a green barrier around Ben.
"Now, you stay here! Green Lantern can solve the problem!"
The Green Lantern ring in his hand shone with brilliant light. As the greatest Green Lantern, Hal Jordan feared no enemy.
With firm will controlling the green energy to transform into a giant iron fist, Hal rushed straight toward the center of the battle.
"Hal, don't go! That's Superman!"
Ben's shout couldn't stop Hal Jordan. Accompanying the giant iron fist smashing heavily onto Superman and the Parademon, dust flew up with a loud bang.
The next moment, Hal Jordan was sent flying by Superman's punch. The huge impact caused him to land heavily on a wall to the side, looking as if his whole body was embedded into it.
"Poor Hal, he didn't listen to advice."
The Green Lantern energy could protect Hal from harm, but pain was unavoidable. Seeing the miserable Hal, Ben had no intention of transforming into an alien hero to challenge Superman.
"Who are you people? Why did you attack me?"
After dealing with the Parademon, Superman quickly flew in front of Ben. He needed an explanation for the sudden attack.
Compared to Batman, Superman was much easier to talk to. Even though he was sneak-attacked by Hal just now, he could still stand calmly in front of them.
"He is Green Lantern Hal Jordan, I am Ben Tennyson. We need your help!"
Briefly introducing himself and Hal Jordan, Ben stated the purpose of their trip.
At this time, Hal also stood up again.
Although being sent flying with one punch just now made him feel humiliated, that move made him realize that he had met the strongest human and needed to treat this seriously.
"Is this how you seek help?"
Looking at Hal Jordan to the side, Superman could feel that the glowing green guy wanted to fight him.
"That was just an accident. Hal, stop! Now is not the time for infighting!"
Stopping Hal Jordan, who wanted to fight Superman, Ben looked at the Parademon knocked unconscious in the ruins of the construction site.
"Earth is suffering from an invasion from Apokolips. Large-scale kidnappings have appeared everywhere."
Hearing Ben's words, Superman also realized there was a connection between the recent large-scale kidnappings, but he didn't expect it to be an alien invasion.
Metropolis also had them, but not like this. He thought they were super-powered criminals fleeing from Gotham.
Ben's words allowed Superman to clear his thoughts. After confirming the identity of the annoying person, he clearly treated this as an event requiring his serious attention.
"Besides kidnapping innocent people, they are installing some kind of device everywhere."
Just as he finished speaking, Superman seemed to sense something and looked to the side, in the direction of Gotham City.
A plane was flying quickly towards them.
"Did you invite other guests?"
Superman's gaze turned towards the direction they came from.
Obviously, after discovering that Apokolips technology could not be analyzed, Batman also thought of the strongest alien on Earth.
"It should be Batman. We just defeated a Parademon in Gotham too. He wanted to investigate alone, but Earth's technology is insufficient to analyze Apokolips creations."
Hearing Ben's words, Hal, who flew back to the side, seemed a little upset.
"He knows our location? Did he put a tracker on you?"
Hearing Hal, Superman took the opportunity to scan the two people in front of him with his X-ray vision and shook his head.
Except for that strange watch he couldn't see through, there were no tracking devices on either of them.
Looking at the two, Ben pointed to the sky.
"He probably used his satellites to find our location."
...