green lantern is overpowered

The battlefield was in absolute chaos. Darkseid had returned to Earth, again, and the Justice League was in the fight of their lives. The streets of Metropolis shook with every step the massive, godlike being took. Buildings crumbled, civilians ran in terror, and the skies were darkened by the storm that followed Darkseid’s arrival.

"PATHETIC MORTALS, YOUR END IS HERE," Darkseid boomed, raising his hand to unleash a volley of Omega Beams.

Superman zoomed through the sky, dodging beam after beam with only inches to spare. "We’ve got to find a way to take him down!" he yelled as he swooped past Wonder Woman, who was busy fending off a swarm of Parademons.

Wonder Woman deflected another strike with her bracelets. "Easier said than done, Clark! He’s stronger than ever!"

Meanwhile, Flash dashed in and out of the fray, trying to rescue civilians. "I vote for punching harder!" he suggested, sprinting back to the group. "Seriously, is no one else thinking about giant fists right now?"

But then there was Hal Jordan, the Green Lantern. Unlike the others, Hal wasn’t flying into battle guns blazing. No giant fists, no massive hammers, no over-the-top glowing green constructions of doom.

Instead, Hal was… coasting.

Not slacking off. Not quite. But he wasn't attacking Darkseid like the others were. He was, quite literally, floating around the battlefield in a way that felt very deliberate, dodging blows and creating strange constructs as Darkseid launched his assaults.

Darkseid’s gaze finally locked onto Hal, clearly annoyed. “YOU, LANTERN. YOU MOCK ME WITH YOUR SILENCE.”

Hal raised an eyebrow. "Silence? I'm just thinking."

Darkseid unleashed another set of Omega Beams, this time aimed directly at the Green Lantern. But instead of countering with an equally aggressive force, Hal created a small, perfectly timed green mirror that redirected the beams back into the sky, far away from the city.

Wonder Woman, watching this unfold, blinked. “Hal, what are you doing? You’re not even fighting him!”

“Oh, I’m fighting him,” Hal said with a grin, summoning a green coffee cup in one hand and taking a slow sip. “Just, you know, differently.”

Darkseid’s eyes flared with more rage. “YOU DARE TO TOY WITH ME?”

“No, no toys here,” Hal said. “Just… balance.”

Flash zipped over, panting from the sheer effort of running everywhere at once. “Hal, buddy, pal, this is NOT the time for balance! You’re in a battle with Darkseid—y'know, the guy whose hobby is conquering entire dimensions?!”

Hal gave Flash a casual nod. “I know, Barry. But I’ve got this.”

Another Omega Beam shot straight for Hal’s face, but without even blinking, Hal generated a series of tiny green portals, sending the beams bouncing harmlessly around the battlefield like ping-pong balls, completely avoiding harm to anything and anyone.

"WHAT IS THIS?" Darkseid bellowed, clearly growing more irritated by the second. "ARE YOU A COWARD?"

"Nope, just got a different approach," Hal said with a shrug. "See, I was watching Star Trek: The Next Generation the other day, and there was this episode—"

“NOW IS NOT THE TIME FOR TELEVISION,” Batman growled from the shadows, currently mid-hack of an Apokoliptian drone, because of course Batman was doing that.

Hal ignored him and continued, floating gently above the chaos. "So, there’s this android named Data, right? He’s playing this super competitive game against this overconfident jerk, and instead of trying to win, he goes for a stalemate. Like, he just plays to keep things balanced, to frustrate the other guy."

Wonder Woman, mid-swing, deflected a blast from Darkseid and shouted, “What are you getting at, Hal?!”

"I’m doing the same thing!" Hal replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Instead of trying to beat him with brute force, I’m keeping everything even. Redirect, neutralize, stall. He can’t win if I don’t let him escalate."

Superman looked on, narrowly avoiding another Omega Beam as he side-eyed Hal. “That’s... genius, Hal. Or absolutely insane.”

“I vote insane,” Flash muttered, watching as Hal, without even blinking, used a green baseball bat to knock another Parademon into orbit, without any real enthusiasm.

Darkseid, however, was not amused. “ENOUGH OF THIS!” He raised his arms, conjuring a massive energy wave that seemed to ripple through space itself. “I WILL DESTROY YOU, AND THIS PATHETIC PLANET, IN ONE STRIKE!”

Without missing a beat, Hal created a large, green umbrella, effortlessly redirecting the energy into space, sending it harmlessly out of the atmosphere. He smiled up at Darkseid. “Cool, cool. But, like, what if you didn’t?”

Darkseid’s fury reached a boiling point. His fists clenched, his Omega Beams flaring wildly. "YOUR GAMES ARE NOTHING TO ME!"

Hal nodded calmly, generating another construct—this time, it was a hammock—and he reclined in it, hands behind his head. “They’re something to you, or you wouldn’t be this mad.”

Darkseid stomped forward, his voice thunderous. "YOU DARE TO THINK YOU CAN WEAR ME DOWN WITH THIS INANE STRATEGY?"

“Pretty much,” Hal said, sipping his green lemonade.

Darkseid threw another barrage of attacks, but Hal was always a step ahead, not by overpowering them, but by redirecting them with ease. A green funnel here, a portal there. Every attack Darkseid launched was neutralized without Hal even having to leave his hammock.

As the rest of the Justice League struggled to hold the line against the Parademons, they couldn’t help but notice Darkseid’s growing frustration. His once-overwhelming attacks were becoming less frequent. His roars of anger, more frequent.

“WHAT IS THIS MADNESS?” Darkseid bellowed. “YOU REFUSE TO ATTACK ME DIRECTLY. YOU MOCK THE GOD OF APOKOLIPS.”

Hal shrugged. “I’m not mocking you. I just figured there’s no point in trying to win the traditional way. You’re, like, a cosmic-level entity. Super overpowered. So, I’m not even going to try. I’m just going to keep you busy until you get bored.”

Darkseid’s face twitched. “BORED?! I AM NEVER BORED.”

Hal smirked. “You sure about that?”

For a moment, everything was still. Darkseid, for the first time, hesitated. He glanced around at the battlefield—his Parademons still locked in combat, the Justice League still fighting back—but none of his attacks had landed a decisive blow. Nothing had gone according to plan.

And there was Hal. Still lounging. Still sipping lemonade.

Darkseid’s fists unclenched. His eyes narrowed, and for the first time in recorded history, the mighty god of Apokolips let out a long, exasperated sigh.

“...I AM BORED.”

The Justice League froze.

Darkseid, his shoulders slumping just a bit, turned away from Hal. “THIS IS POINTLESS. I HAVE NO DESIRE TO CONTINUE THIS… FARCE.”

Superman blinked. “Wait, what?”

“I WILL RETURN WHEN I AM CHALLENGED PROPERLY,” Darkseid muttered, his voice losing its usual godly boom. With a flick of his wrist, a portal opened behind him.

As Darkseid stepped into the portal, he glanced back at Hal, who waved casually. “Later, big guy. Have fun out there.”

Darkseid growled one last time. “THIS IS NOT OVER, LANTERN.”

And then, with an audible sigh, Darkseid vanished into the portal, disappearing from the battlefield entirely.

There was a long moment of silence. The Parademons stopped fighting. The Justice League just stared at where Darkseid had been.

Hal floated out of his hammock, cracking his knuckles. “Well, that worked.”

Flash zipped over, jaw hanging open. “Did you just... did you just bore Darkseid into quitting?”

“Yep,” Hal said, grinning.

Superman landed next to him, utterly bewildered. “That was either the most brilliant or the most ridiculous strategy I’ve ever seen.”

“Thanks,” Hal said. “It was all thanks to Star Trek: The Next Generation. Data’s got all the best moves.”

Wonder Woman shook her head, sheathing her sword. “I can’t believe that worked.”

“I can,” Batman said, finally closing his laptop. “Classic Hal.”

“Right?!” Hal grinned, summoning a taco truck construct with his ring. “Now, who wants tacos?”