DISCLAIMERS/NOTES
1. This is a fan fiction based on characters owned by DC Comics. I DO NOT OWN THEM. This is just for fun.
2. As always, I'll point out this was written over a decade ago, when, here in the UK, Season 2 of the JL cartoon had yet to air. So Hawkgirl had not been revealed as a spy, and the massive, every-hero-in-the-DCU roster of Unlimited wasn't a factor. My timeline picks up after the Season 1 finale, "The Savage Time". All my Wayback Wednesday stories are numbered chronologically, if you get stuck.
3. There are aspects of these stories that, in hindsight, I would change. However, I have kept them as I originally wrote them for history's sake. Not laziness.
PART 2
J'onn J'onzz slowly opened his eyes, and blinked.
He waited a few moments for his vision to clear. He then looked around, and sighed.
He got to his feet, and slumped his shoulders.
He had spent the last seven months in a hybernation cycle.
And nothing had changed.
He looked out over the sandy desert. Everything was just as he remembered it. Everywhere was a wasteland.
Earth had made many scientific leaps over the decades. But it still looked like they had no begun to populate its neighbouring planet.
So he was alone. Still.
J'onn sat back down, and frowned. This was his life now. His second wife had died… he had tried to move on… his friends had been supportive… but it did not work. He no longer felt the desire to carry on.
So he had returned to his homeworld… waiting. For what, he did not really know. But… he was waiting for something.
Maybe death. He had spent so long alone… he could bear it no more. Unfortunately, he still had many decades left in his life… maybe even centuries. He was over 1,000 years old… and he felt every bit of it.
Maybe he should return to Earth. He missed his friends terribly. But… he would only bring them down. He would only be a burden. It was best for them if he stayed away from them… stayed out of their lives. Bruce and Diana had a second chance… he did not want to ruin it by always being depressed. Clark had suffered a loss of his own… J'onn would only make him feel worse. And the children did not deserve to her the moaning of a Martian.
J'onn sighed again, and got to his feet. He started to walk, deciding it was better than sitting around doing nothing.
Then… he paused.
He remembered something.
He narrowed his eyes… his head began to ache…
He lowered his head, the pain increasing. Something was happening within his mind…
Something was… breaking…
He held his head. "Uuuuuuuuuhhhhh…" He closed his eyes, his mind on fire.
Then, suddenly, it stopped.
His mind cleared.
He darted his head up, opening his eyes.
Something had happened.
He began to tremble. "Moons of Mars…"
/
"Ladies and gentlemen of the court… justice is blind."
Dawn Wayne stood by her client, leaning on her stick. Across from her was the defence, and in the stand, the defendant.
"Mr. Waid," Dawn said, pacing around the front area. "Can you explain what happened on the night in question?"
Frank Waid looked at the lawyer, and sighed. "I don't know what to say. I don't know what came over me. I just began seeing things… hearing things. Images of aliens. Of monsters. And I guess… I thought Ms. Yates WAS an alien. I just…" He paused, and held his head. "I lost control. I ran at her, and… well… attacked her." He took a deep breath. "Look, I know I did something wrong. I gave myself up. I'll go with anything the judge decides."
"So you're not denying you committed this crime?" Dawn asked.
"No," Waid said.
"So do you plead, guilty, or not guilty?"
"Guilty," Waid answered.
Dawn adjusted her black-tinted glasses. "No further questions, Your Honour."
Thirty minutes later, Dawn sat outside the courtyard with her father. "So that's it," she said.
"How many cases have happened like this now?" Bruce Wayne asked.
Dawn sighed. "This is the twenty-ninth. It's amazing. Seemingly normal people suddenly attacking other people for no apparent reason. All claiming temporary insanity, mentioning images of aliens."
"I'd almost think it was a hoax," Dawn said. "But then, we'd know better."
"So Waid's been admitted into Arkham?" asked Bruce.
"Yes," said his daughter. "That place is overflowing again."
"I guess we better keep an eye on him," said Bruce, "and the other cases." He then smiled. "Congratulations on another case, honey."
"Thanks, Dad," Dawn said. "Will you excuse me? I'm going to go meet Mon at the diner."
"Sure, I'll see you later," Bruce said, kissing her on the cheek. "You know your Mother and I are going to the Watchtower tonight?"
"Yeah," she said. "Have fun. Bye!" She then turned, and slowly went down the courtyard steps, tapping her stick as she walked.
Bruce smiled. He would try and have fun. But he knew about Shayera. He felt so bad for her… it was not fair.
But it was nature. There was no point fighting it. The only thing they could do know was be there for her.
Bruce turned around, and walked towards the car parked at the bottom of the yard…
/
Frank Waid stared at the mirror.
He had been in Arkham for two hours now. It was minimal restraints; no straightjacket, no padded cell. He was just in a large room, with twenty-eight other people in similar situations.
What happened to him? He was fine; he was just on his way to meet his girlfriend… when he suddenly had images of aliens… monsters… destroying worlds. Conquering planets. He had memories of vicious battles… killing… warfare.
How could that be? He had never been in any wars… especially outer-space ones. It was crazy.
He looked around the room. All the other people were there for the exact same reason… and they were all in the same age group. They were all in their 40 to 50s. It was incredible.
He sighed, and looked at his reflection in the mirror.
Something seemed… familiar…
He began to remember something.
A fight… policemen… New York…
John Jones…
He had never heard the name before. And yet… he knew him. Somehow… he recognised the name.
His head began to hurt. He rested on the sideboard, and groaned. Why was he having these images… these… memories…?
He held his head, as his mind began to break…
No… not break…
Open…
He remembered… a bomb… superheroes… fire…
He began to shake.
Something was opening his mind… it was like a blanket was being lifted from his memory…
He remembered more and more…
He remembered…
His real name.
He let out a gasp. He looked in the mirror, and he was sweating profusely. He took deep breaths, and remembered more. A green man… hypnotism… describing a new life…
He glared at the mirror… and saw something in the reflection.
His skin was white… his eyes red… his teeth sharp…
What memory was this…?
He looked at his arm.
It was not just a memory.
His arm was contorting… his skin colour getting paler… his nails growing…
It was real.
He remembered.
He began to smile, as his body grew…
His body twisted and turned…
His spine lengthened… a spiky tail growing from the bottom…
The tail swung behind him… knocking a chair away.
He growled.
He remembered.
He stood there, fully transformed.
"J'onn J'onzz…" he whispered…
TO BE CONTINUED