The Lonely One:
Flash: "Don't you ever get lonely?"
J'onn: "More than you could ever imagine."
No one was as lonely as J'onn J'onzz, the last survivor of Mars. Superman was the last survivor of Krypton, but he grew up on Earth, with a loving family and friends. J'onn's family and friends were on Mars. Everything that had formed him, everything that had made him the man he was, was gone. The pain was ineffable. When J'onn's entire race was wiped out it left a hole in him; a hole that could only be filled with a friendly Martian face. Unfortunately for J'onn, that was a face he would never see again.
J'onn J'onzz had the most responsibility of all of the team leaders. The organization was not a problem. Neither was the maintenance of equipment or gaining the respect and confidence of the team members. His new responsibility gave him purpose. He felt truly needed. But with his new leadership role, J'onn spent very little time on Earth. Earth was supposed to be his new home, but he hadn't set foot on the planet in a long time. He missed the intimacy of the core seven. There were no problems with the other heroes or the staff members, but J'onn's new role meant he was giving orders, not learning from other people. And learning from and about his new environment was important to him. He missed being the quiet observer of the group.
J'onn found humanity endlessly interesting. He couldn't help but compare them to his own species. Although, J'onn loved his people very much they were somewhat less interesting than humans. To understand Martians all one would have to do is follow two throughout their whole lives. One could follow forty different humans throughout their lives and still not understand humanity as a whole. But Mars had a beautiful and peaceful simplicity before . . . well until . . .
J'onn sighed. He'd gone and depressed himself. His family, his friends, his people, he felt so sore and empty when he thought about them. He loved My'ria'h with his heart and soul, but it was his children that he missed the most. They'd lived such short lives. They never got the chance to grow up and have children of their own. It is simply unfair. No child should ever die unnecessarily. It's not fair for a parent to lose their child. It's unnatural. It's wrong. No parent should have to go through that. Never. J'onn's eyes were glowing. He'd retreated into himself and his memories.
"J'onn? J'onn? J'onn are you okay?"
J'onn awoke from his trance. Supergirl was standing in front of him, looking concerned.
"I am fine Supergirl," answered J'onn.
"You takin' a nap, big guy?" asked Flash.
"No, I was . . . in meditation," said J'onn.
"Cool," said Flash as he exited the main area.
"What were you meditating on? Is there a problem? 'Cause I can help maybe. I'm itching for some action," said Supergirl.
"No, everything is fine."
"Oh," said a disappointed Supergirl.
J'onn tried to get back to his work, but there was nothing of importance to distract him from his thoughts. Supergirl's words echoed in J'onn's head. "I'm itching for some action." She's so young. The youngest of us all and yet so willing to enter combat. It is always youth that goes into combat. Why? Because they are young and strong. Because they have yet to realize their mortality, but that is not how it should be. Young people should be protected.
Supergirl reminded J'onn of his own daughter. She died at a much younger age, but she was always too impetuous. I remember when Ru'ahna was learning to faze through things, she tried to faze through everything and anything. Even after My'ria'h and I told her not to faze without our supervision. Ru'ahna still kept fazing, even after she got hurt. She almost lost her hand in a piece of the furniture. R'onn was much more timid. I had to coax him into fazing. Even after his sister learned how and teased him relentlessly. He wouldn't faze through anything. He was afraid of getting stuck. I sat him in my lap and explained that I would never let anything happen to him. He was so small then. He wanted me to cuddle him.
"Father, I'm afraid."
"Shhh, there is nothing to fear my child." J'onn held R'onn closer and rubbed his back.
"But what if something bad happens."
"I would die before I let anything happen to you R'onn. You are my heart."
"I am your heart too? Yes Father?" called Ru'ahna from another room.
"Yes Ru'ahna. You are also my heart," said J'onn telepathically, "But what has Mother told you about yelling? It is very rude."
"Sorry Father," yelled Ru'ahna. J'onn couldn't help but smile at her lack of manners.
"Now come R'onn, let us see what I have taught you. Look at the book and put your hand through it."
"Can we use a smaller book?"
J'onn smiled. "Yes my heart, we will use a smaller book." J'onn hugged his son before getting up to find another book.
No one would ever guess from J'onn's cool demeanor that Martians were naturally affectionate. They often greeted each other with hugs and a telepathic kiss. Unlike humans, Martians all look alike, and even if they didn't they're shape shifters, meaning Martians have learned that sight is not that trustworthy. They recognize each other because every Martian gives out a unique telepathic wave. Giving and receiving that wave is a meeting of minds (sort of); a very intimate greeting. J'onn couldn't give that sort of greeting to anyone else, ever. He was the last Martian in the universe, and it was realizations like that that iced his soul.
J'onn went back to his surroundings. He looked up and saw two staff members laughing together. From their body language and facial expressions it seemed they were flirting with each other. The exchange reminded J'onn of the first time he met My'ria'h. It was an arranged marriage and they were both rather shy. For the first few minutes they sat together in silence while J'onn tried to think of something to say. My'ria'h was the one who broke the ice as she offered J'onn something to drink. She then suggested they take a walk together. J'onn agreed to the idea. Things were awkward at first until My'ria'h asked about J'onn's future plans.
"What will you do once you are out of school, J'onn?"
J'onn blushed. He hadn't told anyone about his plans for fear of embarrassment, but My'ria'h was going to be his wife. He had to tell her the truth. "I would like to join the Manhunters."
The Manhunters were a recently formed government group. It was like a cross between the police force and the army, and people were still wary of it. Martians are traditionally very peaceful and many felt it was an unnecessary group. Some went so far as to accuse the government of attempting to intimidate dissenters.
My'ria'h didn't laugh, but she did express surprise. "But you seem so peaceful. Will you not have to learn combat and other unpleasantness."
"Yes, but I would like to be a Manhunter, so I can keep the peace. I think it is good that people will have someplace to go when they are in trouble. I believe that when someone is in trouble, someone should help them."
"Well, I agree with that. When I was a young girl, my family took a vacation to the Ice Cliffs. They were very beautiful. My sister, Mu'ahna and I were racing and we ran too far from our parents. We did not know where they were or where we were and we were terribly frightened. Mu'ahna started to cry and I was going to ask someone for help, but I did not know who to ask. My mother was shocked that no one offered their assistance. How could no one help a crying child?"
J'onn watched My'ria'h as she was telling the story. There was a passion in her eyes as she spoke. Everything about My'ria'h seemed genuine. J'onn inwardly smiled at her furrowed brow and emotion filled words. She was genuinely still upset that no one bothered to help her and her sister.
"How did you find your parents?"
"They found us. We had not run as far as we thought. We just panicked a bit when we could not see our parents. Children tend to do that. They need guidance. That is why I want to be a teacher. I think a lot of teachers only care about imparting knowledge and that is a good thing, but I think they should also care about their students. How many times have you sat through an entire class without getting any eye contact from your teacher?"
"Every time."
"You see? I hate when a teacher thinks they are better than their students. Knowing more does not make you better, all it means is that you have a responsibility to educate others, in my opinion."
J'onn smiled at My'ria'h's passion.
"Am I talking too much, J'onn?"
"Not at all."
"I am not usually this talkative. I think I am a little nervous."
"I am also nervous."
"Were you worried that we would not get along?"
"Yes."
"Me too. My parents said that if I did not like you they would try and set you up with Mu'ahna."
"I do not think I would want anyone but you."
It was My'ria'h's turn to blush, and it was only then that the future spouses realized they were holding hands.
"J'onn! J'onn guess what?"
"What is it Supergirl?"
"They've got this new Oreo ice cream in the cafeteria. Let's go get some before Flash eats it all."
Before J'onn knew it he was being led by the hand into the cafeteria. A lot of heroes were crowded around the ice cream case already (superheroes love sugar). Supergirl practically skipped over to the ice cream and started pawing through it. There were lots of other new kinds of popsicles and fudgesicles that the heroes and staff were enjoying. Supergirl wrangled two Oreo ice cream sandwiches (like regular ice cream sandwiches, but round and they say Oreo on the cookie) for herself and J'onn. She handed it to him and smiled as they found a seat with Flash and Elongated Man. Flash was trying to drink as many milkshakes as he could, as fast as he could, before he got an ice cream headache. Elongated Man was timing him. It didn't take long for them to draw a crowd as Gypsy, Vibe, Ice, and Booster Gold joined them.
"Go! Go! Go! Go!" chanted the heroes.
J'onn smiled and silently slipped away after he finished his ice cream. The spectacle made him think of his own children's inane exploits.
"Look what we did Father," said Ru'ahna.
"Ru'ahna! R'onn! What have you done?"
J'onn looked at his children's bedroom. It was covered in red and yellow "paint" (or the Martian equivalent to paint). All around the room were messy, dripping stripes running across the walls. Worse yet the paint had dripped onto the floor. J'onn looked up and the ceiling was also covered in paint. Green and purple paint were dripping onto the center of the floor.
"Look how pretty, Father," said Ru'ahna.
J'onn was trying to keep his composure. The children were clearly very proud of what they had done and J'onn did not want to hurt their feelings.
"Where did you two get paint?" asked J'onn.
"Mother gave it to us," said Ru'ahna, "She said we could paint in here."
"I do not think she meant the walls my dear."
"Do you like it Father?" asked R'onn.
"Well, it is certainly very creative. Although, I think you may have used too much paint."
Just then the family heard My'ria'h enter the house.
"Mother come look!" yelled Ru'ahna.
My'ria'h walked into the room. "Ru'ahna what have I told you . . . Oh my!"
"Father says our room is creative now," said R'onn who had already climbed up into his fathers arms.
"When you said you wanted to paint I assumed you meant on paper," said Ru'ahna.
"Never assume," said an amused J'onn wiping paint off of R'onn's fingers.
J'onn was back at his work station. A Javelin of heroes had just come in and J'onn had to send orders to prepare the med bay for Vigilante and B'wana Beast. Some of the heroes went to meet them at the hangar. They congratulated their friends on a successful mission (an aid mission in Mexico, massive mudslides had caused billions of dollars worth of damage) and they expressed their concern for Vigilante and B'wana Beast. There was an easy camaraderie between the heroes. J'onn wasn't reading anyone's minds, but he could sense their comfort. He loved his new friends very much, but he knew he would never attain the same easiness with them that they had with each other. He could never send a telepathic kiss, never tell a joke that anyone outside Martian culture would understand, he would never see a Martian face again, except in his dreams. In his dreams he was with My'ria'h, Ru'ahna, and R'onn and they were all happy and safe. J'onn took another look around the station and sighed. His dreams would have to do.
-I do not own the "Justice League" or the characters therein (I couldn't find the names of J'onn's children, so I named them, if anyone knows their real names I'd love to know)
-I would appreciate feedback on this story since J'onn was the most difficult character for me to pin down, also I wrote this working through the most obnoxious type of writer's block
-Thanx for reading, and for anyone who's ever reviewed my stories, I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. Especially you Averroes : )