Chapter Text
Commissioner Jim Gordon has seen it all. He’s seen corpses with a laughing grin on their faces. He’s seen men frozen solid, gigantic plants, clay monsters, and flying bat humanoids. Yet he couldn’t shake the uneasiness he felt staring at what was in front of him. He glanced to his right and saw his colleague and friend, Harvey Bullock, his face distorted into a frown.
“Something wrong, Harvey?” Gordon asked.
“You kiddin’?” Bullock replied, exchanging a glance with Gordon and looking back at the crime scene. “I can take flying bat-men, Venom-enhanced monsters, hell even Joker gas victims, but this? This reeks of somethin’ way too big for our pay-grade, Gordon.”
“The world’s gotten bigger than us, Harvey,” Gordon stated. “This won’t be the last time we see something like this.” What was in front of him, was a green alien’s corpse. Their face was paralysed in an expression of terror, its long arms and legs resting by its side. Peculiarly, there was no blood. Gordon made sure to make note of that. The murder didn’t happen in Gotham. He breathed a sigh of relief to himself. He wouldn’t be chasing something that could kill an alien anytime soon. He wouldn’t be doing it anyway, all things considered. That was his colleague’s job.
“Gordon,” a gravelly voice called. Gordon turned to see his colleague standing behind him: Batman. He wasn’t that much taller than him, yet his presence made him seem like he towered over him. His black cape contrasted with the light emanating from the police cars behind him. Jim was always awed by his presence. How something as simple as the symbol of the bat terrified criminals, yet to people like him, it represented hope. Hope for this city, and hope for the future. Bullock grunted and walked away.
“You’re late, Batman,” the commissioner said to his longtime friend and colleague.
“I got held up at the docks,” Batman replied, “The Penguin’s ramped up his arms trafficking efforts. What do you have?” Jim said nothing and gestured towards the body. Batman looked and his stoic expression slipped, before regaining his composure within moments. He walked and knelt next to the body. Gordon picked up on his concern.
“Something I should be worried about?” Gordon asked.
“No blood,” Batman replied. “He wasn’t killed here. The body was dumped.”
“I had the same hunch,” Gordon said, standing behind him. “Any idea what the alien might be?”
“Martian,” Batman stated. “Green Martian… but it shouldn’t be possible.”
“Why?”
“The only Green Martian left is in the Watchtower.”
Justice League Watchtower, the Next Day
In his lifetime, J’onn J’onzz never thought that he would form a family again. Not since his true family, his biological family, his wife and daughter, succumbed to H’ronmeer’s Curse. The curse that took away not only his entire family, but his race. He had that in common with his closest friend in Clark. However, in the years since he appeared on Earth, courtesy of Doctor Erdel, he found kindred spirits; people who felt like outsiders. The greatest heroes of Earth. The Justice League. He found comfort in knowing that they accepted him, being their chairman.
J’onn was overlooking an ongoing battle with Brainiac in Metropolis. His family were in the thick of it and he wanted to join the fray to protect them, but he needed to stay to coordinate teleportations to the ground in the event they needed reinforcements. On the large and wide screen in front of him, he could see the battle in detail: on the ground, The Flash zipped through drone after drone, dismantling them in moments, with Aquaman and Wonder Woman in tow, coordinating their relentless offensive towards the bottling pillars. The sky illuminated with flashes of green and orange, as Firestorm and one of his oldest friends, Green Lantern, were locked in firefights against Brainiac flyers. Wings formed shadows over the streets below as Hawkman and Hawkgirl dived from the sky and punched a line through to the main landing ground, which Green Arrow and Black Canary immediately widened.
“J’onn,” a voice echoed in his head. He flashed a smile, immediately recognising his voice.
“Clark,” he responded.
“How’s it looking?” Superman asked, a hint of concern in his voice.
“They’re going to need more firepower soon,” J’onn replied. His voice was stoic, strong, unmoving. It was good at hiding his concern. His concern for his fellow Leaguers who he couldn’t fight beside.
“I’m a few minutes away; send whoever you can!”
J’onn nodded. He pressed a button on the console in front of him.
“To all available Justice Leaguers, make your way to the teleporters! All hands on deck!” He turned, focusing his mind. He closed his eyes and reached for someone. He found him within seconds.
“Mr. Terrific,” J’onn called telepathically. There was a small lull, but he reached him.
“J’onn?” Mr. Terrific responded.
“I need you to take command of the Monitor Womb and redirect whoever you can to evacuation efforts and crowd control.”
“You’ve got it; where are you going?”
“Into the fray.”
Within the space of about five seconds, J’onn, along with an assortment of Justice League reserves, travelled from Earth’s orbit to the battle in Metropolis. Within another five, J’onn had established a telepathic link with all of the Justice League’s fighters, and a much deeper connection with the founders.
“I am in telepathic contact with all of the League’s members ready to relay orders in a moment’s notice,” J’onn stated telepathically towards the founders present. He took to the skies. He hovered aside Wonder Woman, who punched through a Brainiac drone’s head.
“It’s good to finally have you join us, J’onn,” Wonder Woman said.
“I wish it was under better pretenses, Diana,” Martian Manhunter replied. A tentacled Brainiac Drone fired beams at the two of them. Martian Manhunter’s form became ghostly, the beams passing through him, while Wonder Woman deflected the beams coming right at her. “What’s the situation?”
“Brainiac isn’t letting up!” Wonder Woman replied, grabbing two drones by the neck and crushing their heads together. “Ground Team managed to drive a line through, but they’ve been encircled!”
Martian Manhunter fired a psionic beam at the drone that fired at them, blasting it into pieces. The Martian and the Amazon worked in near-perfect synergy as they picked apart drones in the sky. A whirlwind mixture of Martian might and Amazon relentlessness, one could see a clear line from the ground courtesy of the tandem’s onslaught. The Manhunter already had an idea.
“Hal,” Martian Manhunter called out to the ether.
“Nice of you to join us, J’onn!” Hal replied to him telepathically. After he made the connection, he saw Hal a few hundred meters away, holding off an entire squadron. Green light illuminated his section of the sky, with constructs of boxing gloves punching drones into pieces and fighter jets colliding into Brainiac ships. “What do you need?”
“Air support around Ground Team; Diana and I will open up a path to the bottling site. Superman will be here soon.” Martian Manhunter looked at Wonder Woman, who looked right back. She nodded at him, smiling. She dived right down at full speed, with the Martian right behind her. They flew hard and fast at a massive contingent of drones surrounding The Flash, Green Arrow, Black Canary and Aquaman, and slammed down on them hard. A massive sonic boom penetrated the air when the duo made contact with the ground, leaving a crater behind where they landed. The drones were sent flying in all direction and Green Lantern created a shield which protected the previously surrounded heroes from the debris that ensued. Martian Manhunter and Wonder Woman stood up.
“Strike true, Justice League!” Martian Manhunter called out telepathically to the other four heroes. With Martian Manhunter and Wonder Woman leading the charge on the ground, and Green Lantern providing support in the sky, the battle immediately turned to their favour. Hawkman, Hawkgirl and Firestorm joined Green Lantern, and the focus of the drones clearly shifted from invasion to protection. Brainiac Overseers were deployed: large drones which resembled crustaceans. The heroes on the ground and in the air were unmatched; together, they were unstoppable. Martian Manhunter smiled to himself. The Justice League was his family, and while they could protect themselves, he felt relief at the fact that he could influence the outcome and protect them. Then finally, he heard a sonic boom in the sky. A red and blue blur flew past Green Lantern and slammed hard into the Brainiac bottle, shattering it with a single blow. The drones immediately stopped attacking and retreated.
“They’re retreating!” Wonder Woman said.
“Brainiac’s smart,” Martian Manhunter replied.
Several minutes later, Superman joined Martian Manhunter on the ground. The Manhunter was clearing out debris after sensing that a few people were trapped underneath.
“Good to see you, J’onn,” Superman said, smiling. Martian Manhunter gave him a smile back. A rare one, considering his stoic exterior.
“Likewise, Clark,” J’onn replied. “It was good you came when you did.”
“You looked like you had it handled,” Superman stated, looking behind him. Martian Manhunter looked as well. The Justice League was once a group of seven people. Now they were a little more than quadruple that number, helping civilians.
“Did you ever think we would expand so much?” Superman asked his longtime friend and colleague.
“Not in the beginning,” Martian Manhunter answered. “We had to believe in the League, and because we believed at what it could do, what it could give to others, it evolved into something we never thought could be such a force for good.”
“You’re right,” Superman replied. “And we have you to thank for that, J’onn. Without you being around the League so long, we would’ve crumbled a long time ago.”
“The League is bigger than me, Clark,” J’onn stated.
“And yet you’re still its heart,” Superman replied, smiling. “The League owes you a lot for being such a big part of it.” J’onn grinned. He belonged with them. A group that he felt such closeness with, being outsiders just like he was.
“J’onn,” a voice rang out into his communicator. “J’onn, come in, it’s Batman.” Superman nodded, hearing the voice too, and flew off.
“I hear you, Batman,” Martian Manhunter replied.
“We need you in JSA headquarters.”
JSA Headquarters
The JSA Headquarters is an unassuming brownstone along many brownstones in Battery Park, New York City, but it hides many secrets in its interior. J’onn walked through the front door, greeted by Ma Hunkel, and walked through its historic halls. The walls were lined with framed newspaper clippings and framed photos of the JSA, showing its evolution from the days of World War II to the modern day. He made a turn and entered the medical room. Batman and Doctor Mid-Nite, a man clad in red and green, with a cowl like Batman’s without the long, pointy ears. They were standing in front of a bench. Batman grunted a little. Doctor Mid-Nite gave him a slight nod.
“What’s the situation?” Martian Manhunter asked. He stopped walking once he reached them.
“See for yourself,” Batman replied. Batman moved out of the way slightly so that Martian Manhunter could see what they were guarding. It was an alien corpse. Green skin, with a face paralysed in terror. Its limbs were long and it’s body was thin, with a head that was near-diamond in shape. Martian Manhunter’s eyes widened and he trembled visibly. He took a step back.
“That… that can not be…” Martian Manhunter said, shaking. “T-That’s impossible…” Batman put a hand on his shoulder, which calmed him slightly. Bruce’s voice began to enter his mind.
“If you need time, J’onn-”
“No, Bruce,” J’onn said aloud. His calm demeanour was threatening to be overtaken with a smouldering rage which was bubbling beneath the surface. “I want to know what happened.” Batman nodded and looked over to Doctor Mid-Nite. The JSA member nodded.
“No blunt force trauma, no external wounds, nothing internal either, but a small mark on the eyebrow,” Doctor Mid-Nite stated. “He didn’t die within the past couple of days.”
“The GCPD found the body in an alleyway in Gotham,” Batman added. “No evidence of any foul play, so it couldn’t have occurred in the city.”
“No,” J’onn growled, balling his fists tightly. “It didn’t.” He looked mournfully at his fallen kinsman. His normally stoic expression fell in the face of a world once lost to him.
“The terror paralysed on his face and the mark on his eyebrow… A remnant of H’ronmeer’s Curse,” said the Martian, grabbing the arms of the corpse and crossing them together. “I must’ve done this billions of times…”
“The disease that destroyed your people,” Batman said. “That event would have happened nearly thousands of years ago.”
“Correct,” Martian Manhunter reinforced. “Thousands of your Earth years ago, before I was struck by the transmitter beam that brought me here, my people, including my family, succumbed to a plague that took advantage of our innate gifts to telepathically communicate.”
“How did the plague work?” Doctor Mid-Nite asked.
“If a Green Martian were to use their telepathic abilities, they would contract the Curse,” J’onn answered. “The virus would set a mental fire within their minds, taking advantage of our own psychological fear of fire. In the final days of this disease, I saw my wife and my daughters die before my eyes.”
“If this happened thousands of years ago, then how did the body get here?” J’onn balled his fists once more.
“I do not know,” J’onn answered, the bubbling rage bursting from the seams. His red eyes glowed. “But I will have answers. I will not stand idle and see my kin desecrated.”
“And we will, J’onn,” Batman replied.
“Did you find anything else?”
“Just this.” The Dark Knight pulled a small card out of his utility belt. It was white, with scratchy writing on one side. J’onn took the card and looked at it. “WE KNOW.” He turned it to the other side and saw the mark of H’ronmeer.
“Someone knows your past, J’onn,” Batman added.
“Then you know I have to do this alone,” Martian Manhunter replied, his red eyes glowing brighter. His lips didn’t move, unconsciously giving Batman a telepathic message. His old habits were returning.
“Is there anyone the Justice League can look into?” Batman asked?
“No, but the League… If they know my past, then they will be a target too.”
“In any case, J’onn, I’m coming with you.”
“No-”
“This isn’t up for debate, J’onn,” Batman said sternly. Martian Manhunter snapped back to reality by the tone of his voice. He forgot, for a split second, that the person standing in front of him was a man. “They put the body in Gotham deliberately instead of somewhere you would be like the Watchtower. I want to know who did this.”
“Thank you, Bruce.”
“So, where are you two going to go?” Doctor Mid-Nite asked. “I can continue autopsy here, and keep you posted.”
“We start here, in New York,” Martian Manhunter answered. “I have a feeling I know where the next body will be…”