On a remote island.
"Are you trying to scare me?" The woman in battle attire held the tip of her sword to Hal's throat.
"I guarantee that what I said is true. If you've been paying attention to the outside world, you should know what happened in Gotham. This isn't a scam or a joke." Hal raised his hands, paying no mind to the sword at his throat as he spoke earnestly.
"So you intend to form a group, gathering every powerful person who can help into an alliance to deal with this so-called external crisis?" Seeing that Hal showed no fear, the woman casually spun her sword before sheathing it.
"Yes, that's exactly what we intend to do. I've heard some of your legends. Finding you wasn't easy—we spent a great deal of time searching and investigating." Hal tilted his head slightly as he watched her withdraw the blade, then lowered his raised hands.
"Some time ago, there really was a powerful clash of energy in the direction of Gotham. One of those energies was indeed evil. That matches what you said. I came out this time to investigate the source of that power." The woman said, "It seems you were involved."
"No, we experienced it firsthand." Hal found it hard to look back on it. Although Thanos had not tried to kill him and had, in a sense, even helped him resolve the danger posed by Parallax and regain his freedom of thought, Thanos's deeds—and that pain of having his soul torn in two—made it impossible for Hal to feel grateful to him.
"I can join for the time being. If you truly display enough strength to earn my trust," the woman said softly. "But if your team is immature or nothing more than a disorganized mob, I'll