Chapter Ten: Remember to Recharge Your Ring

“Sinestro, Metropolis does not welcome you.”

Superman’s gaze swept over the two men, naturally passing over Elia with pointed intent toward Sinestro, as if he had never heard of Elia Esposito before, nor ever pried into his father-son relationship.

“The corps members you sent to stop me, I will hand them over to the Green Lanterns to deal with.”

Now it was Sinestro’s turn to look up at someone else. Clenching his left hand bearing the ring tightly, his eyes cold, he wore the expression of someone whose prospects were poached at a recruitment fair—utterly silent.

Superman hesitated a moment before turning to Elia and saying, “You…”

At that moment, Elia, having regained composure from the disturbance, called back without looking: “Go to sleep.”

No one responded immediately.

Elia’s tone sharpened: “Ophelia, go to sleep!”

Ophelia shuddered, snapping out of the shock of seeing two aliens at her doorstep. Without a word, she scrambled back inside.

After she left, the three remaining stood silently, each relieved for their own reasons, yet the atmosphere grew even colder. Sinestro several times seemed ready to strike; his snake-like yellow eyes scanned the surroundings before he finally stopped and sneered coldly. Ignoring Superman, he said to Elia:

“Your abilities are not suited to remain in Metropolis. The universe is a far broader battlefield. I await the day you come seeking me.”

After a pause, he added with heavy implication, “Remember to recharge your ring.”

Without another glance at Superman, his ring glowed, and he transformed into a brilliant streak, a meteor-like unidentified flying object shooting into the sky, leaving Superman and Elia standing there, exchanging looks.

Superman had originally planned to follow Sinestro, but he judged Sinestro’s true target was Elia. To avoid losing sight of the key figure, he chose not to move.

—That said, why had he seen three yellow power rings on the “Death Lantern” earlier?

Either the “Death Lantern” had taken them from Elia.

Or Sinestro wanted them both—both here and there—truly despicable.

Superman admired Elia’s act of protecting the human girl and disliked seeing him go astray. Having more knowledge of the Yellow Lantern Corps, he recognized from Elia’s silence that he was indeed unfamiliar with the Yellow Lanterns. Habitually seeking conversation, Superman offered an explanation:

“Members of the Yellow Lantern Corps usually each have a ring and can recharge it using a special lantern, similar to the Green Lanterns. If you ever get the chance to meet Hal Jordan or John Stewart—the Green Lanterns—they can explain it far more professionally than I.”

After this friendly explanation, he shifted tone and said, “I don’t recommend joining Sinestro’s corps for any reason. Sinestro is not a good ally. If you find yourself in an unsolvable predicament…”

He glanced at the broken door behind Elia, then continued, “Whether it’s me or the Justice League, we can provide assistance.”

Elia, hearing this, remained impassive, standing still. In his mind, the image of a cosmic cat-like guardian gradually emerged as he pondered Sinestro’s message and Superman’s explanation.

Recharge the ring?

The Yellow Lantern ring had indeed shown signs of low energy several times. Given that a new one appeared every so often, Elia had assumed Sinestro’s corps treated their weapons as disposable—use once and discard.

But it could actually be recharged?

Even if mass-produced, it was still disappointing that it lacked endurance. In Elia’s eyes, the Yellow Lantern ring’s prestige plummeted, reduced to something like a first-generation, awkward smart wristband.

If Sinestro himself heard Elia’s thoughts, he’d surely curse:

“Damn it, is it the ring’s fault? That’s your problem!”

A typical ring lasts long and is powerful: a one-second charge could last ten hours, transforming into a handy weapon for a full day of combat without faltering, even automatically translating languages of various species!

Even if it’s black-box technology, it’s cutting-edge. For a primitive Earthling struggling with ground wars and social divides to spout nonsense here—absurd!

Ah, though it didn’t stop Sinestro from cursing while recruiting.

The truth was, talented new recruits were exceedingly rare these days.

Since the last Yellow Lantern from Sector 2814 died, this vast cosmic region containing Earth hadn’t been illuminated by the yellow light of fear for a long time.

But unwilling to clash with Superman, Sinestro was forced to retreat, halting recruitment efforts.

Superman felt a touch of disappointment at Elia’s lack of response.

Through Batman’s information, he had learned about the conversations between Elia Esposito and his foster son, and had been pondering the boy’s mention of a ‘deal.’ Generally, supernatural powers involving contracts, bargains, or exchanges rarely bode well—this was a consensus among cosmic intelligent beings, especially with the key phrase “anything can be traded.”

Earlier, Sinestro’s men had intercepted him halfway, but he kept his eyes and ears on the slum’s movements, not missing the disturbance around Elia’s house and the chains.

Clearly, the chains were antagonistic toward Elia, who could both restrain and be restrained by them.

This led Superman to a logical deduction.

Elia was indeed restricted by this ‘deal.’ He had gained power and an unknown guardian but was also suffering its backlash.

Superman had seen many desperate people who, when cornered, either went mad and took revenge on society or desperately sought help from anyone within sight—even if that third party was a devil.

Sinestro was undoubtedly such a dangerous figure: corrupted by power, ambitious, violently ruling his home planet unjustly, igniting endless wars across the universe, all while wearing a sanctimonious mask and preaching lofty ideals to cover his vile and bloody methods.

Whatever reasons Elia had, he should not deal with such an alien—especially since he had a young daughter he clearly cherished.

Superman wanted to persuade Elia to join the Justice League or at least resist Sinestro’s influence, but Elia was not easily swayed: he was firm and unyielding, even in hardship, instinctively maintaining control.

Superman then considered a gradual approach.

After all, as a Justice League veteran, what stubborn oddballs hadn’t he encountered? Could anyone be stranger than Guy Gardner? More withdrawn than Batman?

Just a bit stubborn—no big deal!

Ignoring Elia’s silent refusal, Superman continued, “Whatever your thoughts, I promise to always help those in need. But if you join Sinestro’s corps and do evil in the universe, our relationship won’t be just about helping each other—”

As he spoke, Superman effortlessly straightened a metal railing bent by Sinestro during the fight.

Such strength, witnessed countless times, always earned him the title of a god among men.

Yet this invincible alien was remarkably friendly. Superman even nodded lightly to Elia as a greeting before taking off, accelerating and disappearing into the horizon.

Elia watched him fly away, relaxing only after a while. He kept a thoughtful expression and slowly walked back inside. As he entered, Ophelia barreled toward him like a cannonball. Having failed to stop her, Elia experienced physical contact with his foster daughter for the first time since arriving.

He gently steadied her shoulders, feeling her trembling.

Still somewhat distracted, Elia focused and patted the girl’s back twice, saying, “It’s alright, it’s over.”

Then, lifting his hand from her shoulder, he firmly but kindly took the kitchen knife she had somehow grabbed away: “It’s late. Go to sleep.”

Remarkably, after this, the previously panicked Ophelia calmed considerably. She glanced seriously at Elia and whispered, “Okay, Dad.”

Then she turned and walked toward the bedroom.

After a few steps, she paused, turned back, and asked, “Don’t you want me to translate what Superman and that alien said, Dad?”

Elia: “...”

What a thoughtful little sweetheart! But when you’re older, you’ll understand—it’s best to preserve the old man’s dignity and pretend not to know!

He politely declined, seriously explaining that he already understood everything. Watching Ophelia lock the doors and windows, he did not follow her to rest.

The reason was simple—his door was still broken! The night wind howled inside!

He wondered if Metropolis had expensive labor costs. If hiring repairs was unaffordable, he’d have to buy a door panel and install it himself tomorrow.

On the other hand, Sinestro’s parting hint was intriguing.

“Remember to recharge your ring.”

According to Superman, charging a Yellow Lantern ring required a yellow lantern. But Elia had bypassed normal procedures, hired directly by the boss, without training—where was his lantern?

Yet Sinestro didn’t seem like a fool tossing out nonsense.

So where was this legendary lantern?

Elia closed his eyes and thought.

He knew Sinestro’s men, for some reason, could never enter this house.

He also knew that an alien virus with an unpronounceable name had been lurking beneath the floor.

Elia’s suspicion grew. Taking a deep breath, suppressing sudden irritation, he pulled out the Book of Fate and transformed it into a tool hammer.

He began patrolling and probing his home inch by inch, finally spending half an hour searching the bathroom tiles until he found an abnormal protrusion.

At that moment, Elia’s expression turned fierce, as if he could seamlessly integrate into the Yellow Lantern Corps, attacking friend and foe alike.

He raised the tool hammer and smashed down with fierce determination!