Soon, Lea and Hal made it to Bellwood Park in enjoying the walk. It seemed to help clear their heads while savoring a small break from the situation.
'There must be a reason to why that moth creature is eating so much metal yet trying not to hurt people,' Lea thought to herself deeply. 'And if the footprint isn't from him, then who?'
"Wanna go skip some stones at the pond over there?" Hal asked.
"Hm? Oh, sure. Whatever works, Hal," Lea said, getting out of her train of thought.
As Hal and Lea were skipping stones at the pond. Hal was winning...only because Lea was distracted.
I know, I know. You're all thinking that I should get my mind off the case for a short time. But I couldn't! I just knew the answer was out there somewhere until it hits me.
"Hey! Look out!" called out a voice.
Before reacting, Lea felt a soccer ball hit her on the back of the head and fell face-first to the pond.
Speaking of which…
"Lea!" Hal yelled. He then sees a teenage boy running toward Hal. "Did you kick that ball?"
"Sorry! I am so sorry!" the teenage boy said, feeling bad and checking on the girl he accidentally hit. "I didn't hurt her, did I?"
Lea spits some of the pond water while rubbing her head. "Nope...I'm okay," she assured, turning around to see who kicked the ball and blinked in surprise.
The boy had brown hair, fair skin, and green eyes. His clothes were a white jacket with green highlights, brown pants, and green sneakers.
"Phew. Again, I am so sorry for that. I didn't see you in my path." The teenage boy said.
"It's fine. I can understand being too zoned out on something," Lea said, getting the soccer ball out of the pond water and giving it back to the soccer player boy. "Here's your ball back, um..."
"Oh, right. Forgot my manners," The teenage boy said, rubbing his neck sheepishly while extending his hand. "My name is Ben. Ben Tennyson."
"Lea Thompson," the blonde teen said, giving a friendly smile while shaking Ben's hand while giving the ball back to him. "And this is Hal Jordan. He and I are just visiting Bellwood."
"Nice to meet you, Ben," Hal said, letting his hand out. "Pretty bumpy start, huh?"
"Likewise," Ben said, shaking his hand back. "If you're just visiting, then welcome to Bellwood."
"Thanks. So, are you on a soccer team or do you just enjoy playing soccer at the park for fun?" Lea asked Ben.
"I am part of a soccer team, but I'm just practicing for fun," Ben said.
"Well, if you're trying to knock out the competition with your soccer skills, then mission accomplished," Lea joked with a chuckle, rubbing her head where the soccer ball hit her.
"Yeah, I didn't see you there. I was kicking the ball out of anger," Ben said, chuckling nervously.
"Out of anger?" Lea questioned. "Rough day?"
"Yeah," Ben said, sheepishly rubbing his arm. "It's complicated."
Lea gave a small smile. "You know, since you live in Bellwood, maybe you can show us around one of the best places in Bellwood? If it's okay with you, I mean."
"That's a good idea," Hal said.
"Then, consider me your tour guide. And I know the best place in all of Bellwood," Ben said.
"Sweet," Lea said, smiling while placing her hands behind her back. "By all means, lead the way, Tour Guide Ben."
"Hmmm, Tour Guide Ben, I love it," Ben said, as he leads Hal and Lea around town. "We'll start at my favorite place in all of Bellwood." He said.
Hal looked at the sign of a store. "A smoothie bar?"
"Not just any smoothie bar. It's Mr. Smoothy. The best place in the world." Ben said.
"We'll be the judge of that," Lea said, playfully.
"Oh, really? Then, wait here and I'll get you some smoothies," Ben said.
"Gladly," Lea said, smirking. As she and Hal took their seats, the blonde teen couldn't help but giggle when thinking about a certain new friend.
"It's just a smoothie place," Hal said. "And he's treating it like Valhalla for some reason." He then chuckles.
"Come on, Hal. I think it's sweet he's treating us to his favorite places to get drinks," Lea said, getting her miniature notebook plus a pencil from her jacket pocket to write/draw something down. "It's like how I introduced to you the Rabbit Café in my Freshmen Year."
"Touche, Lea," Hal said.
Okay, I'll admit that this was not my finest introduction to someone new. Especially when it's a ball to the head and getting soaked. However, I didn't complain. Ben Tennyson seemed like a nice guy and very sweet to offer us a tour around Bellwood. I find this a win-win.
"I'm back, and I got 3 smoothies. One for you." Ben said, giving one to Lea. "One for you." He said, giving one to Hal. "And One more me. Drink up."
"Thanks, Ben," Lea said, trying her smoothie. "Mmmmm! This is surprisingly good! Is this...Chocolate and Carrot?"
"Yep." Ben said.
"And this banana and vanilla?" Hal asked, drinking his smoothy.
"That's right." Ben said.
"How have I not heard about this place until today?" Lea questioned, sipping on her smoothie. "Seriously, this is beyond any smoothie joint I've ever been to."
"Where have you been to not know about this place?" Ben asked.
"We live in Coast City," Hal said. "And we never heard of Mr. Smoothy."
"Coast City? Guess that explains it," Ben said, sipping on his smoothie before speaking again. "Bellwood has about 22 different Mr. Smoothy joints here that I know of."
"I'm surprised they haven't gone global yet," Lea commented. "How often do you come across a smoothie place with unique combos like this? This is just as good as the Rabbit Café."
"I take it that's where you like to hang out in Coast City?" Ben asked.
"Sure do. Been going there from the moment I started Midtown High. It's where I chill and work on my art," Lea explained, taking another sip from her smoothie. "Think of it as the kind of place that's Alice in Wonderland themed mixed with steampunk vibes, Electric Swing music, and sweet treats."
"Sounds interesting," Ben said.
"It is. I'd be happy to introduce you to the place if you ever happen to stop by at Coast City," Lea said, smiling after finishing her smoothie and past the time sketching on her notepad. "It might not be as good as Mr. Smoothie, but it's still a nice place to hang out at."
"I'll keep that in mind," Ben said. "So, wanna continue the rest of the tour?"
"Sure," Hal said.
"Don't see why not," Lea said.
Moments later, Hal and Lea were nearly done with their tour around Bellwood with Ben. They seemed to enjoy the different places of Bellwood they never noticed before. Even Lea started taking notes and drawing out the cool stuff.
"And that's all I have to show of Bellwood," Ben said. "So, what do you think?"
"Bellwood seems like a pretty okay place," Hal replied. "How about you, Lea?
"Yeah! It was definitely fun," Lea said, smiling at Hal and Ben. "I can see why you enjoy being here, Ben. Bellwood looks like a charming place to be around."
"Thanks, it really is a nice place to be in," Ben said.
BOOM! CRASH!
Suddenly, a bunch of people fled away from a nearby pet shop screaming.
"Whoa! What was that?" Hal asked.
Ben took a closer look to see something shady going on at the pet shop. "Whatever is going on, let's not stick around,"
The teen boy grabbed Lea's hand and ran away from the place with Hal following them. It didn't take long for all three of them to stop at an empty alleyway.
"We should be safe," Ben stated, noticing that he was still holding Lea's hand, and quickly let go. "Oh. Sorry."
"It's fine," Lea said, turning away with her cheeks blushing a bit. "But you should probably go call the police. Hal and I know our way back."
"Are you sure?" Ben asked.
"Don't worry, we'll be okay. Trust us," Hal said.
"...Okay. Text me when you got to safety," Ben said, already running ahead until stopping. "Oh. And before I forget...Thanks for letting me be your Tour Guide. I had fun."
"Likewise," Lea said, smiling warmly. "Hope we'll see each other again."
As Ben runs to call the police, Hal and Lea went somewhere to hide. "Where should we go so no one can see us transform?" Hal asked.
"Hmmm...Over there! Behind the large dumpster bins between those buildings!" Lea said, already leading the way for the two of them to get down and transform in private.
"Okay, good. Let's go." He and Lea rushed towards the dumpsters and transformed into Green Lantern and Midnight Hope.
The two heroes then flew to the sky with their own bright Lantern energy to hurry at where the danger was.
Meanwhile, Ben was already calling backup until noticing two trails of green and blue passing above him and heading toward the pet shop.
"Yeah, Grandpa? Get help as soon as you can," Ben said, before hanging up to check the action out at a safe distance.
Green Lantern and Midnight Hope looked around the pet store to see what was going on. "Let's see what's going on in there."
As the two Lanterns entered inside, they noticed how the place looked like a mess. Along with a few cages being broken in where there should be animal pets.
"Yikes. Whatever made the people here freak out must have been something big," Midnight Hope stated, staying close to her partner.
"Someone must've stolen some animals." Green Lantern said.
Midnight Hope noticed a scared bunny at the corner and went closer. "Ohhh...Hey, sweetie. It's okay," she said, lending her hand down to the bunny.
"So, not all the animals were taken," Green Lantern said. He then sees the store clerk getting back up. "Excuse me. Do you know what happened here?"
"Not really. Some guy in a weird cloak did something and I blacked out," The store clerk said.
Midnight Hope held the bunny in a secure hug while going over to the clerk. "Weird cloak? Do you recall any other important details on the guy before being unconscious?"
"Nope. I couldn't see his face; he looked like he was wearing a mask." The store clerk said.
Just then, the two Lanterns heard a noise coming from the back.
"That must be the cloaked pet thief!" Midnight Hope stated, giving the bunny to the clerk. "Hold this cutie until the authorities get here. GL and I will handle this.
"If you stop him, consider this bunny your reward," The store clerk said.
Perking up from that, Midnight Hope grabbed her partner's arm and started flying to the source. "Let's catch this bad guy!"
"You got-WHOOOOAAAAA!" Green Lantern yelled as Midnight Hope flew around while gripping his wrist.
During their sudden flight, none of them noticed Ben going inside the store to see the mess.
"Whoa. Did the action already happen?" Ben asked.
"Apparently. You shouldn't be here, it's all destroyed," The store clerk replied. "But thankfully, Green Lantern and that new Blue Lantern girl are here."
"Green Lantern? And a Blue Lantern girl?" Ben questioned, looking over to some odd sounds where the heroes might be. "That's new."
Meanwhile, Green Lantern and Midnight Hope reached the further back of the pet store until finding what looked like large molted skin...or pieces of a chrysalis.
"That doesn't look good," Midnight Hope stated.
"Yep. We're probably dealing with a mutant reptile or a mutant... Moth?" Green Lantern assumed.
Hearing that last part, Midnight Hope looked at her partner in the concern. "You don't think this is the same Moth creature we came across last night, do you? ...Well, mostly me, I mean."
"I don't know. You said it gets colder when you get closer to it, right?" Green Lantern asked.
"That's right. But I don't feel cold now," Midnight Hope said, only to hear a growling sound. "Uh, GL? Please tell me that was your stomach."
"Hmmm...No, we just had those smoothies." Green Lantern said as the growling was heard again. "Something must be coming."
Boy, was Hal not kidding about that statement. And what happened next starts to get as confusing as the Mad Hatter of Wonderland.
To Be Continued…
So, in case anyone is confused, this AU is combined with No Watch Ben's world. He does make an important part in this story. Hope you enjoy.