"You haven't been sleeping well lately."
Kristen cupped Cassius's face gently, her fingertips brushing the faint dark circles under his eyes.
"Too much on my mind. Brain won't shut off," he admitted, catching her wandering fingers and holding them in his palm. Her hand was smaller than his, knuckles delicate, skin slightly cool to the touch.
"Still thinking about those Korean netizens trying to claim you as their oppa?" she teased, one eyebrow arched, lips curved in playful mockery.
Cassius let out a short laugh. "Nah, that page is already turned."
Kristen suddenly pulled back a little, eyes sparkling with mischief.
"Mr. Green Lantern," she said in a dramatic whisper, putting on a theatrical voice, "does that power ring of yours have any… practical, everyday uses? Besides fighting aliens, I mean?"
Cassius blinked, then caught on to exactly what game she was playing.
Damn, nobody warned me how fun it is to date an actress.
He played along, lowering his voice to match. "In theory, the ring is the embodiment of willpower. As long as your will is strong enough, you can manifest anything you can imagine."
"Anything?" Kristen's fingertips traced lightly down his chest, the thin cotton of his T-shirt doing nothing to block the heat. "So… is your imagination and willpower strong enough right now?"
Cassius felt his throat go dry.
He caught her wrist, voice dropping. "That would require field testing. And it depends on who the opponent is."
"Opponent?" Kristen tilted her head, but her other hand was already sliding around the back of his neck, pulling him closer. Her warm breath ghosted against his ear. "Your opponent's right here, Green Lantern. But I don't need a ring."
Her voice turned husky. "I might use a few other… techniques~"
Before he could answer, she moved.
The hand around his neck suddenly pushed down while her body twisted backward. Her legs snaked up in a smooth grappling move, trying to lock around his waist and arm like she'd seen in fight scenes.
Cassius wasn't ready, but Level 4 Body Language and months of getting thrown around by Gina kicked in instantly.
His core tightened like steel.
Instead of getting taken down, he twisted with her momentum, arms flexing as he reversed their positions and pinned her back against the soft couch cushions.
"Ambush?" he breathed, caging her between his body and the sofa, their noses almost touching, both of them breathing harder.
He could feel every curve under the oversized T-shirt, the soft press of her chest against his.
"That's not very Justice League of you, Miss Stewart."
"Who said anything about the Justice League?" Kristen laughed, eyes bright with challenge even while pinned. "I play vampires and action heroes, remember?"
She was surprisingly strong and flexible for how slender she looked.
Cassius held back just enough—blocking, guiding, never using full strength—while thoroughly enjoying the charged back-and-forth.
"Learned that from Gina?" she asked, panting as he blocked another elbow strike.
"Improved version," he grinned, pulling her closer until their bodies were flush, heat bleeding through thin fabric.
"Then I need to test the results—"
Before she finished the sentence, Kristen surged up and kissed him hard.
A whole different kind of fight broke out.
Cassius's arms wrapped tight around her waist, pressing her deeper into the couch.
The laptop got kicked to the floor and forgotten.
---
The next morning, Cassius was jolted awake by a shrill phone ring.
Rob had already shown up at the Beverly Hills house.
The second he walked in, Rob's phone started vibrating like crazy—Star Wars theme blasting.
Rob jumped, fumbled for the phone, then froze when he saw the name.
"It's Greg Silverman!"
He shot Cassius a look and hit speaker.
"Morning, Greg."
Rob tried to sound calm.
"Rob! Is Cass with you?"
Silverman's voice came through fast and energized—nothing like the stressed executive from yesterday.
"Yeah, you're on speaker."
"Listen up—international distribution just sent over the early numbers. The UK opening is on fire!"
Silverman was practically shouting. "It broke the record for non-sequel superhero movies this year! London, Manchester, Edinburgh—every major city's prime shows sold out. A bunch of theaters are adding extra screenings!"
Cassius and Rob both froze.
"You sure?" Rob asked instinctively.
"Numbers are still rolling in, but the margin of error is under five percent!" Silverman sounded rock-solid. "Not just the UK—Ireland opened the same day and it's doing just as strong, three times normal for this genre!"
"Canada's major cities, especially Toronto and Vancouver, are seeing crazy attendance. New Zealand is way over projections too!"
He paused, voice filled with disbelief. "Social monitoring shows #OurKeiraLeadsTheNewDC and #EnglishRoseLightsUpTheGreenLegend are climbing hard. Audiences can't stop talking about Keira's performance—and they're giving Cass massive props as her co-star."
"What about the protests?" Cassius finally asked.
"A couple of idiots showed up with signs, but nobody cared. Security escorted them out before they could even make a scene. That racist nonsense isn't landing in London's West End or Manchester's working-class neighborhoods. People just want to know if the movie's good and the stars deliver."
The news left both men stunned.
Nobody had expected this.
While North America was still mired in controversy and weak numbers, overseas markets were delivering knockout results.
Especially the UK—culturally close to America—setting records?
If China's explosion was fueled by Cassius being , then the UK and other markets succeeding could only be because the movie itself was actually good.
"PR and international distribution are already moving," Silverman continued, voice regaining that executive power. "We're going to use the UK and Canada numbers to push back against the domestic doom-and-gloom narrative. Focus on the film's universal appeal and how international audiences are validating its quality."
"Combined with the global performance, all that 'casting failure hurts worldwide' talk collapses on its own."
"Cass, on behalf of Warner Bros. leadership, I want to apologize for the pressure you've been under and thank you for everything you've done for this project. The unique situation in the American market is not a reflection of the movie's quality or your performance. The studio will fully support all upcoming promotion and take legal action against anyone disrupting theater operations. We still have strong confidence in Green Lantern's global future."
The message was clear: the company was officially shifting blame away from Cassius—at least most of it.
Capital had a sharp nose. The second overseas markets showed real profit potential, Cassius went from liability back to asset.
After hanging up, Cassius and Rob stared at each other.
Relief was written all over both their faces.
"Holy shit…" Rob muttered, finally cracking a real smile. "The Brits can be pretty damn lovable sometimes."
Cassius walked to the window, looking out at the brightening sky. The tension in his shoulders eased a little.
Under Warner's PR push, the narrative on social media began to shift.
Domestic Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Reddit film boards—after weeks of flat or declining discussion—suddenly showed a clear upward curve.
Positive comments in the last 24 hours had jumped 300%.
A Reddit thread titled "Green Lantern Is Being Underrated" shot to the top of the movie subreddit.
The OP was a regular moviegoer tired of superhero fatigue. He broke down the pacing, character growth, effects quality, and especially praised Cassius for making the hero feel like a real, relatable person instead of a generic savior.
Hundreds of replies poured in agreeing, sharing their own experiences:
"I went because my friend dragged me. The protesters outside clearly never saw it—it's nothing like what they're saying!"
"Took my nephew. He's obsessed with the Azure Dragon effect now."
"Keira was still magnetic, and she and Cassius actually have great chemistry!"
"I admit I let the noise get in my head. Glad I went—definitely not a miss."
At the same time, domestic ticket sales started climbing.
Friday's pre-sales were up 65% from the previous week. Many theaters' prime slots showed "nearly sold out" or "limited seats remaining."
Several major chains quietly added more Green Lantern screenings for the weekend, especially IMAX and Dolby.
The New York Times entertainment section ran a column titled "When the World Says Yes, Does Domestic Noise Still Matter?"
The controversy around Green Lantern had turned into a cultural fight over who got to define American heroes.
The irony? While the movie won audiences around the globe, that fight looked increasingly narrow and out of touch back home.
The Hollywood Reporter updated their box-office analysis with a new headline: Green Lantern Shows Remarkable Staying Power—Overseas Success Illuminates Domestic Future!
The piece quoted multiple anonymous producers and agents: "This is a lesson for all of us. In the global era, a movie's success can't be judged by North American opening weekend alone. If it's making hundreds of millions overseas, who cares if it's down a few million in Kansas City?"
Even some of the loudest doomsayer podcasts and YouTube channels quietly changed their video titles.
The tide was turning.