Chapter 4
For JJ, the return of his Peppermint was paramount in his life. It was his main goal, and everything else came a distant second. He told everybody to prepare for battle; Nia, to make an ambrosia laced knife; James, rest so he could better control his rage. Rachel drilled into his mind on what he needed to kill a god, and something about ambrosia had an adverse affect on them. He watched Nia closely as she worked, but he didn't know if he trusted her. He didn't trust anybody, especially James Olsen. His relationship with Maggie upset him badly, and he felt like he couldn't trust anybody who would do what he was doing.
After he talked to James and Maggie until about nine o'clock on the previous night, he felt their minds weren't in the right place. It was their body language as they did Facetime, and he wondered if he was hasty in his judgment of the Guardian. He tried working through some complexed calculations in his head to analyze his biases against National City residents, and he did, but he still felt James' mind wasn't prepared to tussle with Ganthet. James gave off vibes at times that the mission of finding Peppermint was secondary to his penis, and that was a problem.
Perhaps the idea of matching wits with the likes of Ganthet disturbed him on a mental level because he read stories of his evil deeds. He knew of the Oan's powers, of his telekinesis and telepathy, and every second of the day, he calculated his probable losses. He made a chart of the pros and cons to battling with a superior beings, and most setbacks happened within the members of the DEO.
Nia-all silvery and astute-stood in front of him analyzing the chart, and she had a laser pointer explaining J'onn's telepathic abilities, and JJ didn't like what she said, but it was based on analytical data of what they knew about him.
"So, you're saying his telepathic abilities won't withstand an attack from Ganthet?" He asked with a grimace.
"He's not whole, JJ," she said. "There's been spies from my world who've analyzed his capabilities, and his contact with humans has been a detriment to his abilities. We can retrain him, but we don't have time."
"If he can divert a telepathic attack, he's an asset," JJ said. "Of course I'd love a full blown telepath on the mission, but if J'onn can't do it, I'm not going to pressure him about it." He pulled out a thumb drive, and stuck it into his computer, and had three levels of encryption on it. When he pulled it up, an image of James Olsen appeared on the screen. It was him in Japan in a Martial Arts studio when he was in high school. "Rachel made me study these charts until I became nauseated."
"You're a tad agitated," she said. "What's wrong?"
"Rachel designed the particle accelerator to turn me into a god and Peppermint into a goddess," he said with a smile. "Daily, I'm increasing in strength and power." He paused for a moment, and then his countenance changed. "Unfortunately, she gave James the superman formula."
"Okay. But…?" She asked.
"It has side effects," he said with a grimace. "I think they're manageable most of the time, but he may become explosive in battle."
"Is that bad?" She asked.
"Only if we can't control him," he said with a grimace. "In addition, the formula caused him to have an insatiable sex drive. An uncontrolled rage with an insatiable sex drive may cause him to rape somebody in the moment. This is the only reason I haven't told Alex about what's been happening after dark between him and Maggie. The superhero formula is probably contrary to James' character, so we need to watch him closely."
"I'll be recording everything, and I can detect anomalies in his character," Nia said. She sat down in the chair to the rear of the room, and she looked somewhat disheveled. "You've analyzed your team, but what about yourself."
"Yes. I've analyzed myself too, but it's really you that we need to discuss," he said. "Are you or are you not with me all the way?" He asked poignantly.
"No matter what I tell you, it can't minimize your distrust in the girl who assumed the identity of your beloved," she said.
"But what was your mission?" He asked. "Why me?"
"You're the leader," she said with a grimace. "We only received a small bit of information from the future, but you were the fourth in command of the Golden Knights when they destroyed Oa. I have the recording right after Oa exploded."
Colonel Johnson's Last Recording
Colonel Johnson: General T'McGinnis, this is Colonel Johnson over.
General T'McGinnis: Go ahead, Colonel.
Colonel Johnson: Moxia launched their fleet. It'll take them eight years to make it to Doraxia.
General T'McGinnis: Quantum warp to Moxia, and take out the planet with your gamma drive.
Colonel Johnson: But that's four hundred billion souls!
General T'McGinnis: Do you have a problem with my order, Colonel?
Colonel Johnson: Yes, sir! We killed one hundred billion on Oa. We've killed thirty billion on Brion Noir. When does the fucking killing stop, sir?
General T'McGinnis: You gave your allegiance to the Golden Knights, Vulcan. You knew it wouldn't be easy. For us to achieve our goal of peace, we have to do the heavy lifting now. If I had done this fifteen years ago, Su'Ra would be alive today.
Colonel Johnson: After I do this, Peppermint and I will tender our resignations.
General T'McGinnis: You speak for her?
Colonel Peppermint Johnson: I side with my husband. We have to look our kids in the faces at the end of the day.
End of the Last Recording
"Nia, am I the bad guy?" He asked. "You're telling me that future me is part responsible for killing a trillion people?"
She shook her head in agreement, and then said, "It appears that way."
"No, no, no, Nia," he said, "I'm not killing a trillion people. That's crazy talk," he said, "I would never follow anybody like that." He looked down at the ground, and then said, "I now realize I have to work on my philosophical reasoning." He paused for a moment. "If we survive this, can you come and live on Earth?"
"JJ, my family is in danger on Oa," she said. "The Oans will kill them."
"But the only way for me to become better is through outside influences," he said. "Did you even feel anything when I sang to you?"
She laughed. "It was hard as hell to keep from weeping," she said, "I ran out the room. I'd like to stay on Earth, but I must head back to Oa to protect my family."
He paused for a moment, and then wondered if she knew Peppermint's location. He looked at Nia in the face, and she had a sadness about her. "Do you know where Ganthet's keeping my Peppermint?" JJ asked with a grimace. She sat back in her chair, looked straight ahead, and then said with a straight face.
"We work off the premise of the body never knows what the head is doing," she said softly. "He purposely moved his location, so we couldn't do exactly what we're planning on doing, JJ." She paused for a moment, and then said, "After walking in her shoes, and seeing the way you love her, I realized I could no longer assume Peppermint's identity."
He folded his arms, looked out his bedroom window, and then asked, "What kind of race judges people off of future, possible events?" He asked with a scowl on his face. "There's no guarantees that I'll be a commander in some alien military, and destroy worlds."
"There's no guarantees you'll be alive after tomorrow anyway," she said with a straight face. "How can you be sure I'm not luring you to your doom?"
"I can't be sure about anything," he said. "All I can do is my best. If I can't have my Peppermint back with me, then I'll rather die fighting. I'm going into this battle like it's the last one I'll ever have."
She took off her headphones completely, laid them on the nightstand, and then asked, "Why is she so important?"
He sat on the edge of the bed, and said, "Probably because of her proximity to me. Her father and my father were best friends until some gangsters killed my daddy. I was about twelve-years-old then." Turning back to the window, he said, "I've considered her my betroth since we were five-years-old. My heart isn't complete without her."
"Don't you find this monogamy confining?" She asked with a grimace. "There's worlds out there where men and women have multiple spouses."
He laughed. "Peppermint is all I desire. I'm not an advocate against polygamy, but all my heart desires is my Peppermint." He sat down at his computer desk, and said, "Surely, I would think people in polygamous relationships have worked out all the sordid details of how it would work. They wouldn't be like James and Maggie who sneak around behind Alex's back, and call it just a fling."
"Of course not," she said with a grimace. "That would be childish."
"I don't like Alex at all because she's so damn bossy," he said.
She laughed so hard that she nearly fell out of the bed.
"What?" JJ asked.
"It's because you're bossy and judgmental yourself," she said with a grimace. "Have you ever listened to how you talk to everybody?" She picked up a stack of records, and said, "You literally have everybody's bathroom schedules in these notes."
"Oh that's not true," he said, "I don't have Kara's schedule. Rachel did all the charts, and I'm using them to assess my team. Anyway, Alex and I are nothing alike." He laughed, and then said, "Maybe a little, but that's as far as I'll go."
"Why do you care about Alex so much if you don't like her?" She asked.
"Because I see the love in her eyes for Maggie," he said with a grimace. "It reminds me of how I feel for Peppermint." He paused for a moment. "It's not my place to say something to her about Maggie, but if my Peppermint slept around on me, then I'd like to know. Only then could I make a cognizant choice on the direction of my relationship."
"This is the reason I never wanted this assignment, JJ," she said. "Your Patty is so pure of heart that her only desire is to make you happy."
Thursday October 12th 2017….
When he flew to James' apartment at five-thirty in the morning, James had Maggie draped over the bed while he violated her without any control. The grunts and growls sounded like a feral animal. He gripped her hair with both hands, rammed her from behind, and she screamed for more. Nia and JJ peered into the room, and then turned away from the vile act. It was full dark, and most people were still in bed asleep, but not James and Maggie; they glistened in sweat, and then when he unhinged himself from her backside, he said, "I'm developing feelings for you."
"James, I'm not prepared to take it there," she said. "It's just sex. Just the raunchy, no-kissing only banging kind of sex."
JJ walked into the bedroom while the two lay bare, and then said, "Ahem!
James, I'm thinking you're not understanding the gravity of what's going to happen today," JJ snapped. "Have you had any sleep?"
"Dude! Don't you knock?" He asked with a grimace. "Kara returned home last night according to Alex, so once we get Clark and Peppermint back we'll be done."
"What part of we're dealing with a god don't you understand?" JJ asked. "Nia, please come here." She stepped into the room covered in silver from head to toe, but very exotic looking. "This is a Zeta. I haven't been talking just to hear myself talk"
"Do you know the whereabouts of this Oan?" Maggie asked Nia.
"My name is Nia by the way," she said. "No. Once we're put on assignment, he relocates the ship."
"Listen, guys? We need to head to the DEO," JJ said. "Hank is in danger. Alex is in danger."
"But Kara is there," James said.
"Your friends aren't very smart," Nia said.
"Given the kind of Kryptonite I detected in Kara's apartment, I don't think she could easily escape off Ganthet's ship, James." He paused for a moment. "We're talking about the laws of probability here." He looked over at Nia, and then said, "Please assume the form of James Olsen." Immediately, she turned into James Olsen. "Now assumed the form of Maggie?" He asked. She turned into Maggie, and then back into her Zeta form.
"Damn," Maggie said. She lay on her back, and James sat beside her, rubbed her face, and kissed her on the mouth. His interaction with her actually looked like love, and on some levels, JJ found it extremely confusing because she confessed to loving Alex. "We have to make sure I guess."
Maggie hopped off the bed, ran into the bathroom, and James rolled over on his back. "He's much much bigger than four inches," Nia said with a smile.
"James, go take a shower, and get dressed," JJ said. "We need to hurry."
"Maggie's in there," he said.
"Wait? You can screw together, but you can't shower together? Am I missing something?" He asked.
"Fine," he said.
"These National City folks are weird," JJ said to Nia.
DEO…
The DEO office building didn't look any different than any other building on the block from the outside, and JJ knew he didn't truly belong in National City. He walked in the place with the Zeta Unit dressed up to look like Peppermint, and James and Maggie were with them. They entered in the elevator, and James punched in a special code, and the elevator took them underground. As soon as JJ stepped off the elevator, a swarm of agents descended down on him, and told him to raise his hands.
"What's this all about?" JJ asked with a grimace.
A dark skinned man walked up to him, and said, "You don't have clearance." He stood right up to JJ, and stuck his right index finger in his face.
Suddenly, all the weapons flew out of the soldier's hands, and JJ tossed them to the other side of room.
"Hank, this is Kara's trainee," James said.
"I came here to see my mentor," he said.
"Fine," Hank said. "Once you see her, I want you and your girlfriend out of my building."
"Dick," JJ whispered under his breath.
"Your friend has an attitude problem, Olsen," Hank said. "Kid needs a telepathic, mental adjustment."
When he saw Kara on the other side of the room, she had on a black uniform on like Superman wore back in the eighties. He ran up to her, tickled her, and she started laughing loudly.
"Quit, JJ. This is abuse," she said smilingly.
He hugged her for a long time, and said, "I was so scared something happen to you. You're the only friend I have in National City." He looked over at James, and then said to Kara, "James is a dick. Maggie is a dick. I just met Hank, and he's a colossal dick. Basically, you hang around a lot of horrible horrible dicks."
She smiled, blinked, and then said, "That's not very nice."
"I'm just happy to see you're okay," he said with a grimace. "Where were you?"
"She was out of town with her cousin, Mister Johnson," Hank said.
"Mister Johnson?" JJ asked. "Calm down, old man." Peppermint walked over to Jimmy, and kissed him on the lips, and that meant Kara was a Zeta. James and Maggie stepped backwards, and then he looked directly at Supergirl, and said, "Zeta, take me to the real Kara."
Immediately, she hopped off her chair, walked around the table, and clapped slowly. "Do you know why I came here?"
"Yeah," he said with a grimace. "You came for Hank, but you can't have him."
She transferred into a full Zeta Unit, and had a Lantern ring on her right hand. "Superman and Supergirl couldn't hang with an elite Lantern, Vulcan. What makes you think you can?"
He walked over to Hank, and turned to the Zeta, and said, "I'm trained a little differently than our Kryptonian brothers and sisters. In addition, they're like gods. I am a god." As soon as he said god, a lightning bolt hit the Lantern's ring, and caused it to malfunction. He walked over to the robot, and said, "I want my people back."
The Zeta Unit laughed for a moment, and said to Peppermint. "You betrayed your race."
"No. You betrayed our race by turning your back on Luciferous," Peppermint said.
"Your entire family will be killed over this," the Zeta said.
"Entire family?" JJ asked. "How many are we talking?"
"I have two kids," she said.
JJ looked around the room for a moment, and then over at Hank. "Where's Alex?"
The Zeta Unit laughed. "I handed her over to Ganthet."
JJ floated halfway up to the ceiling, and appeared to be in a deep meditative state. He could hear his allies asking what was going on, but Hank told them to be quiet. Suddenly, electrical tentacles came out of his hands and body, and entered into the Zeta Unit's mind. It looked like the Zeta Unit malfunctioned, but it was nothing more than JJ extracting information from her. She screamed and screamed, and then cried out for him to stop, but he didn't until he found the whereabouts of his people. When he finished with the robot, she fell to the ground, and cried.
"You've violated me," she said in agony. "You've mentally raped me."
"I didn't want it to be like this," he said, "But you have my beloved, and I can no longer waste time with this." He turned to Hank, and said, "Suit up, old man." He turned into a large green dude with muscles and everything.
"Give me three men to escort the Zeta Unit to the holding cell," Hank said. "Let's go get our people."
"They're located at the Gotham Shipyard," JJ said. "Once we're in Gotham, we'll stop at Mister Wayne's mansion. He has a box for Zeta to put us in, and then deliver us to Ganthet. We're using the Trojan Horse approach." He paused for a moment, and then said, "If the Trojan Horse method doesn't work, then we might have to hit him on a mental level. If that's the case, Hank you have the lead." He turned to the tall, emerald colored man, and asked, "My sources have you as a level two telepath."
"I'm actually a three," he said with a grimace.
"Sheesh," JJ said with a smirk. "Hank, what's your mind-blocking level?"
"Oh. I'd say a two," he said.
"If we survive this, we have to train on the basics," JJ said. "I know you want to fit in on this planet. I think we all do on some level. But if you have to lesson yourself to fit in with the human race, then it's really not for you." He looked over at James, and said, "This goes for all of us. We're in a world with powerful telepaths who can steal pertinent information if we don't have the ability to protect it. I'm sorry that I have to take you into battle against a god, and you're not mentally ready for this, but we have to fight with what we have and not what we wish we had." He continued to go over different possible scenarios in the field, but didn't want to saturate them with too many possibilities. "I hope I've given you enough information on contingencies in case the first plan doesn't work." He looked over Hank, and said, "Check on learning! What do you do when you feel a tingle in your mind?"
Hank raised his hand, and said, "Block, divert, and send the telepath out your mind."
Zeta, take the lead. Hank, right. I'll take the left, and James to the rear." JJ pulled out his cellphone, and then threw a picture of Ganthet onto the screen, and said, "This is our enemy, folks. He has one of the powerfulest emerald rings in the universe. He has the ability to fly with or without the ring. Please note that he has as much power as a Kryptonian in his fist. He's telepathic and telekinetic. We can injure him with a hard enough hit, but we have to pierce his heart with an ambrosia dipped knife for him to die."
"What's the probability of killing him?" Hank asked.
"Remote," he said, "Less than thirty percent chance. Our goal is to free our people from his clutches. If he's victorious, he'll take us to Oa, and execute us for the universe to see, but we can't afford that to happen. Stay focused on freeing our people. Let's make sure this is a good victory and not a Pyrrhic victory."
"Check on learning," JJ said. "What's the only way to kill Ganthet?"
James raised his hand, and said, "Ambrosia dipped blade to the heart."
Wayne Manor:
JJ walked into Mister Wayne's mansion by himself while Hank looked through the van to map out the best seating situation. JJ insisted on a documented seating chart based on strengths and weaknesses of each person, and he knew everybody wanted to choke him out because he looked over everything, and ensured the arrangement was adequate. When he walked into Mister Wayne's mansion, he pulled out his tablet computer, and had an image of the Bat Plane attached to the building. He gave the diagram to Mister Wayne, and he looked at the young kid for a second with a grimace.
"Tell me you can do this?" JJ asked in a strong voice. "I wouldn't ask you this if it wasn't vital."
"You're asking me to bomb Ganthet's ship if you can't stop him," he said.
"I'm asking you to kill us to protect secrets," he said with a grimace. "I'm asking you to kill us, and then beef up the Justice Corp. I'm asking you to find the powerfulest humans on the planet to build up the Justice Corp, so another alien doesn't come to our world, and dictate their will on us."
"So, you're willing to kill your beloved?" He asked with a grimace.
"You've studied my life. You know how I feel about her," he said, "If I'm asking you to use a nuke, then you must understand I know what Rachel and Amanda have in their heads. I wouldn't ask this of you unless it was of the utmost importance."
Mister Wayne looked down at the ground, and then asked, "Did you tell your team of this possibility?"
"Leaders make decisions, and sometimes the decisions aren't pretty," he said with a grimace. "My only solace is I'll die with my beloved Peppermint, but Rachel's and Amanda's liberation is the goal. If I free them, but can't free Peppermint, then I will go to Oa with my beloved, and face death."
"You scare me," he said, "You're like Amanda."
Back at the van...
Nia placed them all in the back of the van according to Hank's seating chart, and JJ looked it over, and switched up James' and Hank's position, and then gave a detailed reason for it. He then said, "Ganthet is left side dominant." Everybody climbed into the vehicle, and strapped in while Nia ensured everything looked right.
"Let's go," NIa said.
"About freaking time," James said.
"You got something to say, Olsen?" JJ asked.
"You're micromanaging," he said.
"Whatever. I need to get a headcount," JJ said, "Count off." When they finished counting, they had five individuals including Zeta, and then JJ said, "I expect to return with all our people, but Amanda and Rachel are our primary focus."
"What about Kara, Alex, and Peppermint?" He asked.
"They are my focus," he said, "But we can't let Ganthet get away with Rachel and Amanda," he said, "They hold secrets vital to the survival of humanity."
'You're just now telling us this?" Hank asked.
"I'm sorry about that, sir. If I can't free Rachel and Amanda I've ordered GK to blow up the ship with a nuke," he said.
"You'll kill Peppermint?" Maggie asked.
"If I make that call, Hank, you have to make sure everybody gets away. I'll stay with the ship," he said, "I'll go down with Peppermint."
"You'll kill Alex?" Maggie asked.
"I have to protect our world," he said, "When I trained with Kara and Rachel, they told me leaders sometimes have to make the hard decisions. I'll use my powers to ensure we don't have to use a nuke, but it's there in case we need it.."
Docks…
A large spacecraft set in a field approximately two hundred yards from the docks. In the background, Wayne Towers stood with a giant, black tumor on it, and it waited for his command. The Bat Plane looked like a large bump hanging off the side of the tower, and when Nia opened the double doors to the rear of the van, he looked Ganthet dead in his beady little eyes. JJ's hands were clasped, and when he walked out of the truck, he realized the Oan was approximately six foot six in height, sapphire, and thinning white hair. He wore a black business suit, and his emerald ring looked intimidating on his left hand.
"My brothers are going to love ripping you and your beloved into pieces," he said with a grimace. "You've killed billions in the future."
"I'd never do that," he snapped. "I find it hard to believe that I would kill like that under my own volition."
"But you do," he said. "I'll find all the future Golden Knights from Earth, and wiped them out."
"Don't do this," Maggie said, "Give me back my Alex."
He laughed. "I have no empathy for humans," he said, "She'll work well in our brothels."
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning flew out of the sky, and Ganthet blocked it with the power of his ring. He then hit JJ with a beam of emerald light that knocked him backwards. A spider web of lightning-strikes broke all the constraints on his people's wrist, and then J'onn took flight, swooped down on the Oan with a flurry of fist. Ganthet blocked every punch, and then grabbed the Martian in a headlock, threw him to the ground, and kicked him across the field. JJ grabbed J'onn in an electrical field, and brought him back to him.
"Do you really think you have what it takes to defeat me, child?" He asked laughingly. "I just so happen to come to Earth when you're still weak. You haven't reached to the power of a god yet, and I'm going to make sure you never do."
"I'm trying to preserve your life," he said. "I want my people, old man."
As soon as he said, "Old man," an emerald fist knocked him into the ground, and then whacked him several times. James Olsen ran up to the Oan, punched him in the stomach, and the guy flew into the ocean.
"Nia and Maggie, please get our people," JJ said, "We'll keep this sapphire dude occupied." He flew straight into the air, and it rained electrical sparks down on the Oan, striking him multiple times. He screamed loudly, and just when he thought he had the Oan at a disadvantage, he punched JJ into the ground, and caused him to pass out briefly. When he came to, the Oan had Olsen and J'onn by the neck with his emerald ring, and dragged them towards the ship.
JJ flew into the air, went at full speed, and tried to hit the Oan from the back, but he ducked, and flew into the ground. An entire plume of dust flew into the sky. He hit the ground, and another lightning bolt came out of the sky, and struck him in the head. The blast completely tore off Ganthet's suit, and he was ripped with muscles.
An Asian girl in a white dress flew out of the ship all of a sudden, and yelled, "It's time to hit'em with the sticky icky." Several balls of goo hit the Oan, and he was encased in a solid thing of crystal, and then all of a sudden JJ hit him with a bolt that threw him backwards. Peppermint flew over to JJ, and he kissed her for a long time.
Ganthet slowly climbed to his feet, and then he looked twice as big. "Is he growing?"
"Hell to the yeah," Peppermint said. "He's shopping from the plus size section now."
"If I give the order, you get the hell out of here, Peppermint," he said, "I don't want you around here if I have to call in a nuke."
"A nuke?" She asked.
"I can't let Ganthet leave with Rachel and Amanda," he said. Suddenly, Ganthet grabbed him, and threw him to the ground.
"Oh no you didn't," Peppermint screamed. She shot a laser out of her fist, and the giant Ganthet flew backwards. He hit Peppermint with a backhand, and she flew clear across the field, but JJ caught her with his electrical field, and brought her back.
"You'll never free Rachel and the clone of the Great Mother," the Oan said. When JJ and Peppermint took a fighting stance, a sonic boom happened, and it threw them off balance. Some kind of fighter ship appeared out of nowhere, and then landed. It covered a large portion of the field, and it was nothing like any ship on the planet. A stairwell appeared, and a emerald colored woman with orange hair dressed in a Yellow Lantern uniform came out of it. She had a helmet with a black veil over her face. Her hair was long in the back. She had about three grown, brownish looking men with her and one female of the same brownish color, but they all had orange hair. JJ and Peppermint ran up to her, and bowed.
"General, why do I know you?" JJ asked.
"You're an empath," she said with a smile. Her disposition was sweet, but authoritative. "Ganthet, stand down."
"You've broken the timeline, Green Witch," he said.
JJ immediately thought the General and all the other Lanterns looked like an envoy. "Why are you here?"
"Oa, Moxia, Thoraxia, and Brion Noir all exist," she said, "The General rewound time, and restored all the life he took."
"But why," he said, "We lived a lifetime together, and one day he told his wives that he couldn't live with all the lives he took." She paused. "He sent me back in time to tell you to leave Earth be. Now free them, Ganthet."
"Green Witch, you've never been dishonest with me throughout time," he said, "I'm going to trust that my brother has restored Oa."
"One more thing," she said, "Su'Ri will be born in twenty forty nine, and I beg you to treat her like the god she is. The General spent ten years refining her, and he told me to tell you that he shouldn't have to do that." J'onn and James limped up to the group, and the Green Witch said, "Heal them, Terry."
Terry-a Golden Knight-touched James, and healed him completely. He did the same to J'onn.
The General walked over to the Martian, grabbed him by the head, and looked at him for about ten minutes. J'onn screamed so loud, and then when James tried to intervene, Ganthet, said, "Don't. She's increasing his telepathic abilities."
She stepped back, and then J'onn said, "I feel energized."
"You can return to twenty ninety with me, and I'll take you to the planet Emerald Star," she said, "There's seventy six thousand green Martians on that world."
"Are you serious?" He asked.
"It's a beautiful world flowing with milk and honey, J'onn," she said. "I've increased your telepathic abilities to a level ten," she said. "What do you say?"
"I need time to think," he said.
"Listen, I can return at any time," she said, "The General has built the powerfulest ships in the universe, and we can travel anywhere in time if need be."
JJ held on to Peppermint closely, and then said, "Old man, please get my people. We want the Zeta and her children on Earth too," he said. He looked at J'onn, and noticed the look of pain on his face, and he had an idea of what the Green Witch showed him.
"If Oa is strong in the future, I'll give you the Zeta. I'm only here because I wanted to stop the destruction of my planet."
"It's okay," The Green Witch said, "Oa is whole."
Back at the DEO…
Everybody except for Peppermint, JJ, and J'onn scattered immediately from the premises. Rachel and Amanda had already gone back to Cadmus. Ganthet and Nia flew back to Oa to retrieve her family, and he expected them back by December. GK went home. The Green Witch returned to her time, and JJ and Peppermint sat across from J'onn. It was a somber mood in the room, and the big, sage guy didn't want to say much. He brooded over the information he received, and scoffed at the young teen as he pried. JJ's girlfriend sat quiet next to him, but remained attentive to everything happening.
"You should have gone with the Green Witch," JJ said in a caring voice.
"Don't be presumptuous, Mister Johnson," he said with a grimace. "You haven't lived long enough to tell me what I should do."
"Perhaps," he said. "I'm no telepath, but I feel deeply." He paused for a moment, and in a brittle voice, he said, "You can't saved them. They can't see you as a green man, and they hate you as a black man."
"There has to be some good in them," J'onn said. "I believe they can change."
"Based on what?" He asked. "Look around, J'onn," JJ said. "Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson tried to change humankind in their day, but the power of the church squashed them, and slavery persisted. They found solace in their brutalizing of the African. Did you not feel the whips when you absconded from Mars to Earth, and you assumed the form of a slave? Did you not feel the brutality, the pain of the man with his hands and mind in bondage?"
"But they can change, JJ," he said.
'You can leave this world. You can be with your kind. You can start a family. You can forget about us," he said, "Luciferius already made the decision to eradicate them two thousand years ago. First, he killed the Grays of Doraxia. Upon his return, he will give the leaders of this world a chance to explain their actions, and when they fail to persuade, he will leave this world, but death will stay. And in the next one hundred years, more of them will die than be born. Within a millennium, they will be no more. You can love them, but you will only hurt for them as they die."
Peppermint leaned forward, and said, "JJ and I discussed this in depth when we learned of what happened on Doraxia. We studied the Grays and how they interacted with the Blues. The parallels between Doraxia and Earth are unnerving. With what we've surmised and with what the clone has told us, we're ninety-five percent sure, Luciferius will unleash the phage on this world. It will surgically remove one predetermined race from existence, so humankind can reach its apex, and take to the stars."
"There has to be something that can be done," Hank said. He looked stressed on the other side of the table. "If this General is so good…"
"It's not a matter of what's good or bad, but every species has an aberrant strain that keeps it from growing," he said, "Humankind can't move forward without the eradication of this rogue strain. Perhaps Kara and Clark can give them the spark needed to be better, but what did the Green Witch say?"
Hank placed his face in his hands, and said, "The General already set the phage in motion in twenty-ninety. They anticipate the eradication of whiteness out of the genepool in eight hundred and seventy-five years." He paused for a moment. "The General gave the disease to the European nations in a black box. He told them it would humanely kill Africans around the globe, and once that happened, he'd introduce the world to trans-warp technology."
"How quickly did they unleash the phage?" JJ asked with a straight face.
"Before the General ascended back to his ship," he said "If they hadn't pushed the button, the phage wouldn't have happened."
JJ felt saddened that the human race had a choice, but failed to empathize with their fellow man. "Peppermint and I must head home, Hank. Please reconsider about staying on Earth. You can't save them from themselves. Nobody can."