The voice struck straight into the soul.
It detonated the fear buried within the Green Lanterns-and forced it to expand.
"You who wield willpower," Parallax sneered, its tone dripping with mockery, "who boast of bravery and fearlessness... you feel dread too. Fear lives in your hearts!"
By awakening fear in several Green Lanterns, Parallax seized control over their lives.
All it needed was time.
Time for fear to grow.
Time for fear to deepen.
As fear expanded, their life force would become Parallax's nourishment.
The Green Lantern Corps would weaken.
Parallax would strengthen.
One rose.
The other fell.
Victory, by all logic, belonged to Parallax.
As long as things followed theory.
And Parallax was very confident in theory.
So it laughed.
"Fear is germinating within you. It feeds me. Today, the Green Lantern Corps will be annihilated! I am fear!"
How could it possibly lose?
Parallax could not imagine a scenario where it failed.
Then-
It sensed something.
A familiar energy.
After a brief delay, recognition struck.
Fear energy.
But not its fear energy.
That was the problem.
Alarm surged.
Parallax violently struggled while turning toward the source of that massive surge.
What it saw was... a human.
Small.
Insignificant.
Wearing yellow.
A bat-eared cowl.
And on his finger-
A ring radiating yellow light.
A Fear Power Ring.
"Who are you?!" For the first time, suspicion-and a trace of genuine alarm-entered Parallax's voice. "How can you wield fear energy?! Why do you possess a Fear Ring?!"
"Damn those ancient fools... they broke their oath after all. They dared to forge a Yellow Ring using fear!"
But what truly unsettled Parallax wasn't the ring.
It was what Bruce was doing.
He was injecting fear energy into the Lanterns who had just felt fear-
Then extracting it completely.
Stripping it away.
Once that fear vanished, Parallax lost its control over them.
That level of precision required absolute mastery over fear energy.
Removing fear without harming anything else.
Even Parallax couldn't do that.
Of course, Parallax had never needed to.
It devoured fear and life force together.
Maximum efficiency.
"When you say that," Bruce said calmly, raising an eyebrow, "have you forgotten you were once one of them?"
"You were the first to violate the oath. You entered fear energy willingly and became this."
The pot calling the kettle black.
"So what?" Parallax roared, shattering a green crystal-only to be sealed again by another formed from renewed willpower. The Lanterns, freed from fear, fought back harder. "Now I possess absolute power!"
"You're no different! You can perfectly control that ring. Don't pretend you don't understand its strength!"
"I do," Bruce replied evenly. "But fear and will are both emotions. Neither is superior. What matters is mastery."
The Yellow Ring flared.
Bats formed from fear energy poured out in swarms, flying toward Lanterns whose hearts had begun to tremble.
With Abin Sur's explanation, the Lanterns chose to trust.
They opened themselves.
The fear was drained.
Gone.
They became, in the truest sense-
Fearless.
This wasn't ideal. Removing fear didn't strengthen will.
But as purification?
It worked.
"No!" Parallax howled. "I will devour you! I will destroy every life in your star system! Your parents! Your family! Your friends!"
Bruce's gaze shifted.
His hand rose slightly.
"Don't be shaken," Abin Sur said quickly. "These are empty threats. It will be sealed. Its fear is draining, while our will can be replenished endlessly!"
"It cannot escape!"
"I know," Bruce said, nodding. "But I don't intend to let it end that way."
"I rely on fear to wield this ring," Bruce continued. "So congratulations, Mr. Parallax."
"You've changed my mind."
Bruce's fear had never disappeared.
He simply used it.
His parents.
Their murder.
The people he protected now.
Those were his reverse scales.
"What?" Abin Sur frowned.
"I never planned to interfere," Bruce said calmly. "I came as support. But sealing it isn't enough."
"One day, something will stumble onto the seal. It will escape. And history will repeat."
"...You're right," Abin Sur admitted. "But we cannot destroy it with willpower alone."
"I understand," Bruce said.
"That's why I'll do it my way."
The fear bats detached from the Lanterns and gathered around Bruce.
More poured out.
Thousands.
Tens of thousands.
"A being formed of fear energy requires fear energy to deal with it," Bruce stepped forward. "You suppress it."
"I'll devour it."
Bruce's rule against killing applied to humans.
Aliens?
He'd never promised anything.
"You arrogant human!" Parallax screamed. "I will destroy everything you love!"
Bruce didn't react.
Compared to Morin, this was amateur hour.
The fear bats surged forward, slipping through the cracks in the seal.
They bit.
They tore.
They consumed.
"Aaaaaargh!"
Parallax's screams echoed in every mind.
But this time-
No Lantern felt fear.
Even Hal could hear it.
Fear.
In Parallax's voice.
(Hal: "...What?")
Bruce's voice followed, cold and absolute.
"Now, I see fear in your heart."
-
"Fear?"
On Mars, inside a massive crater, Zod lay panting.
"In such a short time... I've forced a stalemate!"
Clark: "..."
"You're on the ground," Clark said seriously. "And I'm still floating. That's not a stalemate."
"...Fine," Zod stood. Sunlight healed him rapidly. "Then you win this round."
"Next match. Tactical command."
"Fine," Clark nodded.
After absorbing Morin's knowledge, he was confident.
Even if it was cheating.
Some traditions deserved to continue.
-
Diana returned, breathing hard but smiling.
"Did you enjoy it?" Morin asked, reaching out.
"It was great," she nodded. "She was about my equal. But I found her weakness."
"I shattered her mask."
"She passed out instantly."
Morin: "..."
Should he explain?
Breaking the mask was equivalent to unsealing a Kryptonian.
...Later.
Zod was impressive.
Rapid adaptation.
Fast mastery.
A born warrior.
Still strange he lost to a scientist.
"Mmm..." Diana leaned into Morin, letting out a satisfied sound as healing magic flowed through her. "So... how strong are you, exactly?"
She'd seen it.
Kryptonians immobilized.
Completely helpless.
The gap was absurd.
"I think you've asked that before," Morin said calmly.
"And you never answered."
"Physically," Morin replied after a moment, "I'm not weaker than Clark."
"And mentally-telepathy, electromagnetic control-the difference between me and Clark is the same as the difference between Clark and a normal human."
Metaphors were necessary.
Better than overreaching.
"Aaargh!"
Faora woke and charged over. "You cheated!"
"It was tactics," Diana replied lazily, not even moving.
She was done fighting.
Especially now that Faora could fly.
Wait.
Why hadn't she flown before?
Diana frowned.
"The battle is over," Morin said, waving his hand.
The restraint vanished.
The Kryptonians collapsed, muscles locked.
Faora rushed to check them.
Her gaze toward Morin grew heavy.
Serious.
She didn't understand what had happened.
But she understood one thing.
She couldn't do what he did.
And she wouldn't try again.
Two sonic booms followed.
Zod and Clark returned.
The battlefield fell silent.
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