The Seven Lantern Corps expand their ranks

"Damn Guardians, you won't control our Ring!" Atrocitus his fist on the table, making Merlin's eyelids twitch wildly. "Hey, this table is mine!"

But Atrocitus ignored Merlin and stared intently at Ganthet.

"I didn't want to either, Atrocitus, but as my Guardians's final act—" Ganthet shrugged, "I've activated the safety mechanism."

[Searching for Wrath]

[Search Greed]

[Searching for Fear]

[Searching for Courage]

[Search for Compassion]

[Searching for Hope]

[Searching for Love]

Countless replicas of the Lantern Ring appeared and flew in all directions.

Most of the Ring flew to one place— Gotham City.

Arkham Asylum

"Three Aces, I win." Bane threw down his three cards. "I've been winning all afternoon, it's so boring."

The bruised and battered Scarecrow and Mark Zeus dared not utter a word of anger. With their card-counting abilities, they could easily win every hand against this guy, but they simply didn't dare to do so.

"I heard things are pretty chaotic outside," Scarecrow changed the subject. "Someone even said they saw Jarvis Tetch."

"Tsk, wasn't he already dead?"

"Who knows? That Bat has blocked all news from here," the Scarecrow said. "This guy's getting weirder and weirder."

"Heh." Bane shook his head, seemingly unconcerned.

Just then, countless points of light rained down from the sky, and a red light descended upon Bane's hand, causing two crimson flames to suddenly shoot out from the spot on the back of his head where the Titans Venom had been inserted.

[Intelligent Life has been identified.]

[Bane from Earth.]

[A torrent of anger is raging within you.]

[You belong to the Red Lantern Corps.]

"Hey, what are you doing?" Mark Zeus exclaimed in surprise.

Meanwhile, a Yellow Lantern Ring came to the Scarecrow.

[Jonathan Crane from Earth.]

You possess the ability to instill immense fear in others.

Welcome to the Sinestro Corps.

Roland Cathedral.

[Intelligent Life has been identified.]

[Jason Roland from Earth.]

You have a strong Willpower to overcome fear.

Welcome to the Green Lantern Corps.

"When did Roland hack into the Green Lantern Ring?" Jason was taken aback. Were the Green Lantern Corps' attempts to infiltrate their own interests this blatant now? He thought for a moment, "But why was I chosen by the Green Lantern Ring?"

"Maybe it's because you're brave enough?" Roy guessed, a red Ring appearing on his finger.

[Intelligent Life has been identified.]

[Dick Grayson from Earth.]

You have the ability to instill unwavering hope in others.

Welcome to the Blue Lantern Corps.

"We've got a pretty high proportion of Red Lantern Ring here," Nightwing quipped, a Blue Light shooting from his hand to soothe the newly minted Red Lantern. "Mr. Turner looks like he's about to elbow me."

"Didn't they say this Legion is all women?" Mr. Freeze examined the Violet Lantern Ring on his hand.

[Intelligent Life has been identified.]

[Victor Frith from Earth.]

[You harbor a deep love within your heart.]

Welcome to Star Sapphire.

[Intelligent Life has been identified.]

[Nora Frith from Earth.]

[You harbor a deep love within your heart.]

Welcome to Star Sapphire.

"I really envy your relationship." Astra put on the Yellow Lantern Ring and smiled at Mr. Freeze.

Wayne Manor.

The countless Black Lantern Corpses were imprisoned using various methods, and Batman constantly observed them, studying their mechanisms and weaknesses.

"It seems only the power of Pure Life can harm them—or rather, send them into a state of slumber." Batman sat in the Mobius Chair, continuously searching for information about the Black Lantern.

This is the low-power version of his newly developed Mobius Chair. Although it's a bit slower at searching for answers than before, it's safer and prevents the situation where someone sitting on it gets stuck.

Just then, a Green Lantern Ring flew straight into Batman's hand.

[Intelligent Life has been identified.]

[Batman from Earth.]

You have a strong Willpower to overcome fear.

Welcome to the Green Lantern Corps.

"That'll make things easier," Batman said, reciting the Green Lantern Corps oath, "Bright day, dark night."

o

"Demons and monsters have nowhere to hide."

"Dissidents and rebels fear my divine light."

"Green Lantern's Light shine forever!"

Looking at his green bodysuit, Batman couldn't help but purse his lips. "No wonder Wade cares so much—it really doesn't look good."

"Dad, there are lots of Lantern Ring now!" Damian walked in wearing a green Lantern Ring. "Grandpa and I are Green Lantern too!"

"Looks like they came up with something again at the Seven Lantern Corps' meeting," Batman said. "Pretty normal, it's a good thing to temporarily add a batch of fighting force."

"Oh."

"I'll be going to their side later." Batman, seemingly having obtained some crucial clues from the Mobius Chair, instructed Damian, "After I leave, the safety of Gotham City and Wayne Manor is in your hands. Protect your grandfather, and your younger brother and sister."

"Okay." Damian nodded. "What about Tim?"

"You should protect him too," Batman said. "He's not that good at fighting."

"Did you hear that?" Damian raised an eyebrow at Robin was working at his computer.

"How about I protect you and you do Wayne Enterprises' Finance Officer statements?" Robin said irritably.

"Then let me protect you!" Damian smiled. "I'll protect everything except your hair. There's nothing I can do about it; it's your fault for not using the Hair Growth Potion I gave you."

"Come on, that green liquid you gave me, I wouldn't dare use it even if it were Hair Growth Potion immortality, let alone a hair growth serum!" Robin rolled her eyes.

"Hey, how do you know it also has the effect of prolonging life?"

"Is this really Lazarus Water?" Robin exclaimed in astonishment.

"Believe me, there aren't many things that can save your hairline."

The two brothers bickered as they worked, and Batman, a smirk playing on his lips, walked toward the door.

Metropolis.

[Intelligent Life has been identified.]

[Lex Luthor from Earth.]

Your desires are insatiable.

[You belong to the Orange Lantern Corps.]

"Is the Orange Lantern Ring so destined for me?" Lex Luthor wondered, recalling a time when he had seen another version of himself wearing the same Orange Lantern Ring, but unlike him, Lex Luthor was not controlled by Greed at all.

"Mr. Lex, are you alright?" Mercy saw a beam of orange light break through the window and quickly ran over.

"It's nothing, Mercy." Lex Luthor waved his hand. "It's just—something that came along with the chaos from before."

"I'm glad you're alright." Mercy nodded. She didn't understand the second half of Lex Luthor's sentence, but she didn't want to ask. As long as Lex Luthor himself was alright, that was all that mattered.

Not far from Lex Tower, a park was turned into a temporary camp by Conner to accommodate those who were injured when the Black Lantern Corpses first appeared.

A young man in sportswear kept walking through the crowd, constantly absorbing the negative emotions of others.

As waves of pain eroded his mind, a cyan light suddenly appeared in his hand.

[Intelligent Life has been identified.]

[Raphael Arceus from Earth.]

You possess a Compassion heart of compassion.

Welcome to the Indigo Tribe.

Indigo-1, who was in the middle of a meeting, suddenly sensed something, her eyes glistening with tears, "Heavens—someone who truly deserves the Azure Light of Compassion has appeared."

"Disgusting," Amon Su said coldly. Because Sinestro was present, he didn't attack Indigo-1 immediately, but a beam of yellow light quietly condensed into a mirror. "I'd like to see what you fear most."

However, the mirror only reflected Indigo-1's face, which puzzled Amon Su.

"Do you think your father's image will appear up there?" Indigo-1 noticed Amon Su's subtle movements and sighed. "That's what I fear most—the version of myself that takes off the Teal Lantern Ring —I'm afraid of losing the power of Compassion and turning back into that ruthless, unscrupulous Universe criminal."

"Your hypocrisy disgusts me," Amon Su said coldly.

"Amon," Sinestro interrupted Amon Soe.

"Uncle, she killed my sister, your niece! I—"

"When this dark night ends, you can kill her—or be killed by her." Sinestro placed his hand on...

"But now is not the time, you know?" (Amon Sue's shoulder)

"Okay----" Amon Su lowered his head, seemingly lost in thought.

Sinestro shook his head. He knew his nephew well enough; he wouldn't even listen to his father, Abin Sue, let alone his Uncle.

As for his methods of coercion, he really didn't want to use them on his best friend's son unless absolutely necessary.

"Ahem, please maintain order in the venue," Superboy-Prime said to the crowd. "Or should I set up an octagon first, so everyone can settle their scores and grievances?"

Atrocitus's eyes lit up; he was clearly very satisfied with the arrangement.

"Calm down, everyone," Ganthet tried to smooth things over, but his status as Guardians wasn't well-received, and his earlier act of copying everyone's Lantern Ring earned him a lot of eye-rolls.

"Very well, gentlemen, if you can tolerate these three acting so recklessly here, then allow me to retire and return to my hometown." Roland, never one to shy away from a good show, fanned the flames from the sidelines.

"Shut up, isn't it chaotic enough already?" Wonder Woman rolled her eyes, pulled out a hammer, and slammed it on the round table. "Stop arguing!"

"Woman, do you even have the right to speak here?" Atrocitus roared, his crimson aura spreading out.

"You vile, filthy creature who breeds evil! How dare you provoke the daughter of Themyscira?" Wonder Woman grabbed Atrocitus's head and slammed it onto the table. "I'll rip your guts out and use them to tie you to the Tree of Life, you motherless bastard!"

"I think the Violet Lantern Ring might be more suitable for Diana than the Red Lantern Ring." Superman's lips twitched. He hesitated, wanting to save Atrocitus from Wonder Woman, but after thinking about it, he didn't go forward. Instead, he grabbed the blue kitten Dex Starr, who was about to breathe on Wonder Woman.

As for the other Red Lantern Corps members, they didn't care about Atrocitus being beaten up and acted as if nothing had happened. Bleez's lips curled up, and he watched with great pleasure.

Wonder Woman slammed Atrocitus's head against the round table several times, then glanced at the other members of the Light Brigade present. "Anyone else want to argue with me?"

"Wow, I've decided to exclusively ship Wonder Woman from now on." Superboy-Prime winked at Superman. "Sorry, ex-girlfriend."

Superman remained silent, feeling the power of the Red Lantern Ring surge dramatically.

"Sinestro, Ganthet, Hal, Superman, Roland, Indigo-1, and I, go and gather your respective Lamp Squad members. Meet here in ten minutes! The Lantern Ring has only twenty-four hours to be used to duplicate it. We must completely defeat the Nekron within that time!" Wonder Woman said to everyone, seeing that no one was interrupting. "That's all, meeting adjourned!"

"Uh... who is the leader of the Star Sapphire Corps again?" Superboy-Prime asked Carol.

"I refuse to answer that question." Carol, the now completely powerless Queen of Zamaron, rolled her eyes.

"If I remember correctly, you were quite averse to Star Sapphire, weren't you?" Superboy-Prime thought for a moment and said, "I've read quite a few Green Lantern comics —but they don't leave a very deep impression on me."

"Hey, who cares about the leader of the Light Clan?" Carol suddenly remembered something, her eyes darting around. "By the way, you should know quite a bit about Hal from the Parallel Universe, right?"

"That's quite true," Superboy-Prime Roland probably doesn't know as much as I do."

"Is he like this in the Parallel Universe too?" Carol gestured.

"In most cases, Hal Jordan is a hero with very distinct traits," Superboy-Prime chuckled. "Brave, romantic, confident; impulsive, narcissistic, Pride. Hmm—and good looks too—of course, that's assuming the author is a normal person, not some abstract concept like King Tom's 'I don't know what Willpower is.'"

"You should know what I want to ask, right?" Carol blinked.

"If you want it, you know the rules."

"Okay, what I wanted to ask was about this guy's romantic storyline in Parallel Universe —um—."

"Oh, that Hal the old scumbag, though he can't compare to Batman." Superboy-Prime grinned. "Cowboy Lian Perlman, Green Lantern Arisia —though he's had Roman relationships with many women, he ultimately fell for you. All that on-again, off-again stuff, I wonder who wants to watch it."

"Oh, I see." Carol nodded, a purple light flashing in her eyes.

"What's going on?" Green Lantern, who was gathering the Green Lantern Corps members, suddenly shivered.