Disclaimer: I
don't own Justice League, I own the Secret Origins tape and issue number #16 of
JL Adventures, but that's all.
Author's notes: Sorry for the delay in updating, writer's block attacked
this chapter [and other fanfics I'm writing], this chapter isn't as long as the
last, but the action's starting to heat up. Hope you enjoy this chapter. I want
to thank Matt Morwell, who puts up with me showing him my fics and does the
HTML stuff so you can see the italics, go read his work now ^^
Random quote -
Superman [to J'onn] : "For all our friction, I'd like to think we've
become a kind of family up here. I know we can never replace the one you lost
to those savages. But there's a lot we can do to help, if you let us"
[Justice League Adventures, issue #16 - 'Traitor']
Recovery
Chapter four - Revealed
- - - - -
The Javalin was carefully maneuvered into the docking bay of the Watchtower,
the bluish trail of energy leading from the engines dying down, wheels
squeaking as they touched onto the metal flooring of the room. On the underside
of the craft, there could be seen a faint, rectangular seam, one side of which
was missing. With a small hiss and a whir, the seam became a crack, and then an
opening, and then a fully lowered ramp.
Making his way down the sloped ramp, J'onn's unconscious form in his arms,
Superman's face was tense and his features drawn into an expression of worry
and uncertainty. He strode across the large hangar, which was empty, save for
him, J'onn and the Javelin, and let the door open before walking through,
almost forgetting the security code. He had to shift J'onn slightly so that his
hand could reach the panel.
This done, he turned and headed towards the Med-bay.
Superman's worry when he'd seen
J'onn lying in the crater had only increased when the Martian had brought a
hand to his head, appearing disoriented. Then when he had collapsed, Superman
had felt a pang of fear, tinged with guilt, even as he had caught his comrade.
J'onn had come around in the Javelin, but was disorientated and in obvious
pain, then blacked out again.
He had been injured before, as they all had, but this time it seemed more
severe, and Superman kept thinking back to the sight of J'onn half-phased through
the robot's shell, and had a feeling it was important.
- - - - -
Batman was waiting for him when he entered the Medlab, motioning to one of the
flat bio-beds, Superman carefully placed J'onn down, the Martian's closed eyes
were twitching, as if he were in the grips of a dream, and beads of sweat were
dotted on his head, the ocean blue cape had been torn in places, as well as
burnt, and was removed.
This done, he watched as Batman took several devices, which he knew from past
experiences were medical tools used in the Medlab, it seemed strange to see
Batman using them, J'onn was mostly the one to deal with any injuries to other
members of the team, and it was unnerving to see J'onn being the one injured
this time.
"What happened?"
The deep voice shocked him from his thoughts and Batman looked at him, the scan
was evidently finished, and results were being projected onto the screen above
the bed. Without waiting for an answer, Batman turned around to study the
readings.
"Well?"
He shrugged. "I don't know...the information you gave us was right, I
managed to get a shot in before it saw, and it weakened the shell, J'onn phased
through before I came to and he phased out just as it exploded..."
It all seemed logical now. J'onn had not been able to get out in time, probably
because the machinery had been complicated inside.
But what could be complicated about phasing into the core, shorting it out by
become solid again, and phasing back out?
It made sense and at the same
time did not.
Trying to take his mind off this, Superman asked how badly J'onn was injured.
"Concussion, several gashes," Batman told him. "He'll be out for
a while; the concussion was serious."
He frowned "J'onn will be
OK, though, won't he?"
"A blow like that would have killed a normal person, but J'onn's not
normal," Batman replied; he allowed the smallest trace of a smile to touch
his face, Superman noticed. "He'll be fine."
- - - - -
J'onn didn't wake up that day, or the next. He would stir beneath the thin
coverlets of the med-bay, but make no movement that would indicate he was
awakening; eyelids would flutter open, then close, without so much as a hint.
One of the other members of the league would always be present in the room,
keeping watch, hoping that he would wake soon.
On the outside, J'onn appeared to be asleep, sometimes seeming uneasily, other
times deeply.
But his mind was a whole different story.
- - - - -
Where am I?
Earth...blue, green, mixture of both...small and large, welcoming and
alenating...Mars...warm, sand....family...gone...gone?...yes...gone...not
returning...killed...
Want to go back...why did I live...pain...suffering...surrounding...everything
seems so painful...don't want to go on...
Am I on earth anymore...
Dark as the blackest of nights, or the space between stars in the deepest
reaches of space.
I know not whether I stand, if I am flying or running...
...winning or losing...
No...
...I do know...
This darkness, I am inside it, but not at the core, there...there in the
middle, or perhaps the bottom...further down than I am presently...
It is reaching out to me, asking me to come...telling me something...
...but what is it saying...it does not say it in words, but as a feeling...it shows me pictures, of my family, destroyed by the invaders...of my teammates falling in battle, at times when I should have been able to save them...
Why does it show me these...I
feel the pain and suffering of all, and the guilt and shame that I will always
carry within...because I failed...
...
It speaks again...though there are no words, or even actions...but I know what
is being said...
...
The darkness will swallow me, and take me away from the pain?
Then I will let myself fall into it, for doing this will take me away from my
anguish...it now surrounds me...eyes I did not even realise were open, close,
but I cannot tell the difference, since both inside and out it is black...
Just as my hope is...
Why hope, when there is nothing to live for...
I have no family now, so why do I bother to live...
If I leave, I would see them again...
Yes...
I want to let go...let go of all the pain and suffering I have endured...I do
not wish to be the last Martian any longer...
I do not want to
Where am I?
Let go...see family...make friends happy...
There is still a spark within...something that keeps me back...but I will soon
forget it...I am sure...
Yes...
Soon...
- - - - -
"I don't understand it; shouldn't he have awakened by now?"
Batman turned away from the
diagnostic panel that was displaying J'onn's condition. He understood
Superman's agitation, for he himself did not understand it. It had been almost
three days after his injuries, and there still had been no clear signs of their
friend waking up any time soon. All of the league were worried, and it showed
visibly, as did whenever any of them was injured.
And this was the longest any of them had been.
Slightly more concerning was that over the last twenty-four hours, J'onn's body
temperature had steadily increased, hour by hour. At first it would not have
been apparent without the data on his physiology that he'd provided in case
such injury were to occur.
In the last hour though, it had risen far more quickly, and whereas before he
had just lain in the bed, hardly moving, J'onn now slept fitfully, shifting
under the coverlet aimlessly, beads of sweat on his forehead, running down his
face. His mouth would be slightly open at times, or else pursed into a thin
line, as if he were battling some inner demon.
Since he had turned away, Batman did not notice the small signs on the
diagnostic screen, showing elevation in breathing rate or brain activity, nor
the increased twitching of the eyes; it was only when J'onn took in a sharp
breath did Batman and Superman turn around.
Now J'onn moved more erratically, turning from side to side as if to try and
escape from something; he groaned deep down in his throat, entire body shaking.
Superman placed a hand on his shoulder, to try and calm him down
"J'onn, wake up!" he pleaded, hating to see one of the team, one of
his friends in obvious discomfort. Whether J'onn heard him or not, Superman
couldn't tell, but the Martian stopping tossing, lying on his back, still
shaking. Now he seemed to be in the grips of a nightmare of some sort, and
listening closely, Superman could make out disjointed words; since he could not
understand them, they had to be J'onn's native language.
Then, in a split second, J'onn shot straight upwards, eyes flying open.
"NO!" he shouted, then let his head hang slightly, eyes hang half-closed,
sweating profusely and breathing in heavy gasps. Before either could ask him
how he felt, J'onn turned to them; his eyes were glassy, unfocused. Straining
to concentrate on the people in front of him, lidded eyes grew wide again, and
he drew away.
Confusion crossed Superman's features. "J'onn...what's wrong?" he
asked, taking a step towards the bio-bed. In response, J'onn attempted to get
out of the bed, shifting his feet onto the other side and onto the floor. He
pushed himself up and held onto the railing beside it; Superman began to walk
around the other side, which seemed to agitate J'onn more.
"Get away!" he ordered, but Superman kept on walking.
"Superman! Don't!" Batman commanded.
"Why?" Superman asked,
hearing the tone of strong warning in Batman's voice.
A warning which was proven to be an accurate one when he was just a few steps
away from J'onn, who kept backing away. The Martian's eyes narrowed.
"LEAVE!" he ordered; he swung an arm, catching Superman off guard and
sending him flying into a console at the other side of the room, where he lay,
wires crackling all around him, smoke rising. Then, without a word, his body
became slightly translucent as he transformed into the intangible state he
possessed, and J'onn sank into the floor, disappearing in a matter of seconds.
"What on Earth just happened?" Superman groaned, as he picked himself
up. He had only been stunned momentarily. He looked to Batman for answers.
"He's delirious," was the simple, short answer. "We need to get
him back here, or he could injure himself badly."
"Or us," Superman supplemented, rubbing his head as he gazed at where
J'onn had just been, then back to the machinery he had been thrown into.
"Perhaps" Batman frowned "But we'll have to chance it..."
...or we might have to take drastic action...
- - - - -
J'onn didn't know that the person he had just flung away had been Superman, in
his clouded and feverish mind, he only knew what it told him.
His mind, seconds before he had awoken, had been conjuring up another
nightmare, this time, of all his friends being destroyed. Which was why when he
had awoken, he believed Superman, and Batman, not to be real. Perhaps clones,
or disguised by some sort of trickery. J'onn did not realise, thinking the nightmare
to be real, and what had just happened to be a dream.
Not the other way around.
Now, he wandered aimlessly, after phasing through the floor.
Breathing erratically as he ran, he knew that all those here were impostors,
for he had seen them die.
Superman had seemed worried, and as thoughtful as always, but the impostor
probably knew him well enough to mimic him. All of the others also, J'onn would
not hesitate to hurt them in his state, for he knew that to let them find him,
and capture him, was to invite destruction.
Tired, J'onn could only feel a small spark of his telepathy, which would be
useless if he needed to fight. Strength was still available at the moment, as
well as intangibility, but with every passing moment, he felt weaker. They must
have done something to him to cause this, to stop him fighting back perhaps?
Yes.
Destroying his friends, the impostors would pay.
He phased through the wall again.
Find them first, before they found him.
The only way.