Don't own Justice League. Never will. WB and DC got dibs that I don't. Takes place around the first season of JLU, pre-The Return.
Onions and Cakes
by Alba Aulbath
Somewhere along the line, J'onn had drifted off to sleep, though he could not recall how or when; the 'how' due to the fact that it was unbearably hot in the basement for him, and the heated handcuffs didn't help him at all, and the 'when' confusing because he could swear he still heard Pierce continuously scribbling notes and observing what he could from what tools could offer aid and what little he could learn about the Martian's anatomy without harming him further - possibly killing him.
That was either noble of the scientist, or he was drawing out J'onn's torture. He wasn't aware of which at the moment, from what little he knew of Pierce.
From the doctor's ramblings, he admitted that he was from Central City and had developed a taste for his profession from a friend. The details he skipped or J'onn could not catch/recall from his delirium, but he had summed up that Pierce had been in one city for most of his life, and received his drive from a companion whose name had never been mentioned. In spite of having been kidnapped and feeling feverish, dehydrated, and overall horrible, J'onn suspected that Pierce was not such a terrible person.
Which made him all the more concerned as to why he was doing all of this.
Eventually, Pierce turned around and tilted his head, then offered, "Are you hungry?"
J'onn nodded faintly.
"Hmm. I suppose I never really thought about it," he admitted. "What kind of food would a Martian eat?"
Smiling faintly, wryly, the psychic spoke out loud as he could, "...Earth food... is just as well..."
"All right. I'll see what I can do." Standing up from his work, Pierce left at a brisk pace.
Closing his eyes, J'onn took in a slow breath. It'd been hours since he'd been taken, burned from Volcana, Heat Wave, and Firefly alike. Though, his mind a little more awake than it had been for awhile, he noticed his injuries had been treated, though hastily. His communicator wasn't in his ear, or else Diana would have attempted contact - and it was no doubt destroyed or at least dismantled by this point, or else he would have been found already. If he gave Pierce the credit he deserved, the basement was also likely to be lined with lead, so either Superman or Supergirl finding him at this point wasn't likely. Finally, due to the heat in the room and still being terribly disorientated, he just wouldn't be able to reach out mentally far enough to contact anyone.
He felt his arms being shifted, and opened his eyes, finding Pierce taking off the handcuffs. The dark-haired man tilted his head, then pushed up his glasses, "You're hardly a threat in the condition you're in right now, Mr. J'onzz. So there's no need to cause you any more discomfort." He set the handcuffs aside, and opened a container. "Fruit salad's fine, I hope?"
J'onn nodded.
"Good. I'm not much of a cook, sadly. Been surviving on take-out and instant ramen for the past seven years."
Weakly, J'onn smiled, not replying verbally, and he wasn't able to contact mentally with Pierce's headband on.
Gently, Pierce slid his arm under the Martian's shoulders and helped him sit up before offering the fruit available with some water. Though it appeared as weak and hungry J'onn was, he was incapable of finishing the container.
"Taking care of the subject, Dr. Tan?"
J'onn squinted, barely able to make out the new face... though, not entirely new. Familiar, though he couldn't remember why; it was a man, tired and maybe a tad bit insane, his hair completely black and cut in a bowlcut style.
"If he's not taken care of, then we don't have a subject," Pierce pointed out quietly, frowning behind his glasses. Slowly, he laid the Martian back down. "I didn't permit you access to the prison and the labs so we could kill a perfectly good man."
"Alien," the other scientist corrected, smirking. "But you know we're going to have to kill him sometime. X-rays don't tell us enough about him."
Pierce paled. "You want to do an autopsy, Milo?"
"Don't tell me you're not curious."
"Curiosity has nothing to do with it! This isn't ethical!" Before, Pierce's appearance had suggested a level of timidness; his voice, when speaking to Milo, suggested something completely different to J'onn. "Get out of this lab; I was addressed to him, and I'm doing as I was asked to."
"Hey, don't throw a fit." Milo smirked at him. "You know what to do, but if you keep taking steps to help him, I wouldn't mind getting my hands into the project."
"Whoever is behind all this, do you really think they'd let someone with a record like YOURS get involved?" Pierce sneered at him. "Foiled twice and no doubt more by Batman. Your track record is horrendous."
"But I get results."
Pierce went silent, as if he was incapable of arguing at that, for the moment. He scowled, shaking his head and glancing at J'onn briefly; the Martian did not say anything, predictably.
"Just keep in mind what you're here for, Dr. Tan." Milo grinned at him, turning and leaving the laboratory.
Once he was sure that he had left, Pierce settled down onto his stool, turning to J'onn. At the Martian, he smiled helplessly, shrugging. "...It's not what I want, what they want."
"That man..." J'onn remembered, faintly, of Dr. Milo. Never had they met, but he did have his run-in with Batman previously, sometime before the psychic had ever met any of the Justice League.
"The infamous Dr. Milo. ... I met him, after Lexcorp refused to fund me. I know he's not the only one behind what's going on, but he's the only one I've spoken to. You're in the League with Batman, so you know what kinds of things he's done. It's the kind of thing..." Pierce paused, as if considering a word, then continued with, "...my friend would have been upset over... but instead I, like a coward, agreed to his terms... Maybe I'm too desperate."
"Why are you involved?" It seemed inconceivable; why was a man like Pierce involved with all of this?
Pierce frowned. "...A friend of mine. His memory was completely wiped. He can't remember anything. He's still himself - hardly surprising - but he can't remember a thing. Not for six years. He can't remember me, or his wife, or anyone who used to mean everything to him. I've been trying to find ways to have him recall his memory, but... not many effects have taken place, with what I can work with. That's why I needed the funds. Lexcorp turned me down, unfortunately, as I've said..."
"...Amnesia?" J'onn looked at him, not understanding. If it was just common amnesia, then memory should, gradually, return.
However, Pierce shook his head. "Worse than that. ... His memory was purposefully wiped. I don't know all of the reasons, but it's ridiculous. And I know Iris and Wally agree with me."
(Wally...?) J'onn eyed at him. Was it the same as he knew? Likely, very likely. "...Why am I involved?"
"Several reasons." Pierce readjusted his glasses, scowling as stood up to approach the sink, running some water. "Dr. Milo insisted I capture you. I had the means to, by his suggestion... though it's not the approach I would have preferred. While I'm pleased to get to know the last Martian, this isn't the way to do it. For Dr. Milo... it's a project of his. Something to do with the Justice League. I just don't know what it is. All I know is that I'm to understand you anatomically as I can, hand in the DNA evidence and my research. And then they will fund me."
"You agreed?"
Pierce smiled darkly. "No. But I don't have a choice... and it's not just my life at risk. I'm quite the coward, aren't I?"
"...There is nothing discouraging in doing what you must," J'onn told him quietly. "I don't hold contempt for you, but for your unfortunate employers."
There was a pause between them, then Pierce shook his head. "You're far too forgiving."
"...Yes." J'onn couldn't disagree, even if it was a habit he didn't regret.
Upon arrival to Pierce Tan's home, it was quick realization to see that he hadn't spent time there for weeks, based on a rough estimate. Dust, mess, and spoiled food aside, it appeared that Pierce had grabbed everything he could before making a quick leave. Folders and papers decorated both the walls, desks, and floors; there was some equipment, much to the basic of forms, though according to the Question most of Pierce's tools had been taken. Either by himself, or someone who didn't want to leave tracks.
Both Flash and Question made a silent agreement to split up. Dashing away at hi-speed, the Flash had gone to the bedroom and kitchen for his searches - after grumbling some when the Question told him to be completely thorough. The Fastest Man suspected that even if he was, the paranoid detective would search the house three times before being even remotely satisfied.
The Question had the rest of the house to himself to search.
Flash had zipped around the bedroom, looking at some things. Clues, hardly, but he found plenty of sentimental things that made him frown.
But he eventually stopped, finding a few stray notes that were probably left behind in a hurry. Many were marked about celluar memory, cases of amnesia, and...
"...G.L.?" The Flash tilted his head, looking at a few newspaper clippings. Not just John Stewart; there was Kyle Rayner and one clipping about Hal Jordan. Glancing at the notes that were taken, he tilted his head curiously and read them over, noting mentions of Star Sapphire and Sinestro, though only briefly.
Setting the notes aside, he continued to search the room, then spotted what appeared to be blueprints for... something. He really didn't understand what it was; the notes that were scribbled down were a bit too complex for his comprehension. Though, Iris might be able to make some sense of it. Maybe Question. Regardless, the pictures showed the design of possibly something mechanical, based mostly on Flash's guesswork. It was humanoid in shape, and the prints described the process of how it should work and look, though he didn't understand it.
Flash rolled up the blueprints and paused, sniffing faintly. With a hyper-accelerated metabolism like the Flash's, smelling out food wasn't inconceivable. Racing out from the bedroom, he lifted a brow at the Question, who was the culprit of a pot of some kind of pasta and cheese. He hadn't checked, but he found it unusual that the detective made something to eat.
"All yours." By the faceless man's tone, it wasn't an offer. It was his intention. It did beg the question (as many were formed about the detective): How did the Question eat?
"Uh, thanks?" The Flash rubbed the back of his neck, curious.
Turning his head a bit to look at the man in red, the Question explained himself, "Better to keep you energized. I'm not exactly a gourmet chef, though, and besides - this was pretty much all that was in Tan's cupboards."
Shrugging with a faint grin, the Flash grabbed the pot full of - he saw it now - macaroni and cheese and found himself a seat in a creaky old chair.
"Find anything yet, Speedy?" Question apparently had even made some tea. Though it probably wouldn't beat Alfred's, it was still appreciated. And... odd. Flash hadn't counted on the Question paying attention to his metabolism, much less knowing exactly to put in thirty-seven sugars and a cream.
(He really seriously does his research,) the Flash mused to himself, surprised. "Nothing that tells me where he took J'onn or really why." He considered revealing the blueprints to him, but considered. "Some things, but I wanna see if Iris can make sense of it. You?"
Flash found himself distracted as, somehow, the Question took a sip from a teacup he found. That was definitely crazy and weird in his book, and he was the guy who fought talking gorillas regularly.
"Well then." The Question tilted his head. "What can you tell me about a man named Barry Allen?"
Flash winced and said nothing, taking his fill of the pot's contents.
"Detective Allen, isn't it? Barry's memories were wiped. So he doesn't remember you, Iris, or Pierce. And the Green Lanterns have something to do with it." The detective folded his arms, expecing an answer to his earlier question.
"Y'know, G.L. toldja not to keep interrogating people," the Fastest Man pointed out, grumbling.
"You always do what you're told?"
Flash shrugged. "Yeah, well..." That was different, he wanted to say. "...Barry was my uncle. He married Aunt Iris, and Pierce was his assistant. He was kind of a scientist, but he was also a cop. Now he's a full-time inspector, y'know?"
"More like he's not allowed to be a scientist."
"Jeez, you sure jump to conclusions," Flash muttered.
Question somehow managed to look smug. "But I'm right. After he lost his memories, you weren't allowed to talk to him as much. Iris isn't married anymore, and both your uncle and aunt had to be legally removed from your records. Pierce couldn't make contact anymore, and it probably was driving him off the deep end. Now the question remains: why was Barry's memory erased?"
"...None of us really know the full story."
"Is that a fact?"
Flash narrowed his eyes. "We weren't told. Pierce, Iris, or me."
"Who did the memory erasing?"
"I wish I knew, 'cuz if I ever met 'im, Supes' x-ray vision wouldn't be able to tell which bone would be what," the Flash grumbled darkly. "I'm not sure if G.L. knows, either. But those Oompa Loompas he works for pro'ly do."
"Did you ever try to find out?"
The Flash nodded. "Yeah. I asked Kyle to try to ask. He did, but they wouldn't tell him anything. If John knows..." He scowled.
"Some heavy business here. There'd have to be some good reason the Green Lanterns are involved with Barry Allen..."
The Fastest Man spoke up before the Question to make another word, "Not another one of your conspiracies. Jeez."
"Conspiracy," Question corrected him. "And all I've seen is a bunch of evidence telling me I'm right. Pierce Tan takes the Martian after breaking out three supervillains; Pierce is connected to you and Barry Allen, who is connected to the Green Lanterns. And we have our own Lantern in the Justice League - who just so happens to be a good friend of yours. Very convenient."
"G.L.'s not hiding anything from me."
The Question shook his head. "We all hide something. Even if you don't know it yet."
"I trust him," the Flash told him stubbornly. "I know G.L."
"Not as well as he probably knows about you."
"Don't you trust anyone?"
Question probably would have frowned, the Flash guessed. "There's always potential for betrayl. You trusted Hawkgirl, before the Thanagarians came to Earth-"
"I still do," the Flash told him sharply, but the Question continued without a beat.
"-and you can clearly recall how that turned out. And think of what might happen if the Justice League goes rogue, like the Lords. The potential of a spy in the League, or the potential of an invader; always consider it an option, even amongst comrades."
Flash went quiet, finishing the pot of mac 'n' cheese. That was too paranoid of a life, too sad of one. (This guy's a real piece of work. Even Batman doesn't freak out this much.)
"What is it you want to show Iris?" the Question asked, as if he never mentioned anything about the matters of trust and distrust.
"Huh? Oh... uh..." the Flash set aside the pot and unrolled the blueprints. "I don't get what this is. It looks like some layout for a machine or something. Humanoid. But I don't get what it does."
The detective quickly took the paperwork from Flash, glancing it over. From his tone of voice, he didn't sound too pleased, "You know what this is?"
"No. You?"
The Question shrugged. "It's a weapon. Formed with organic compounds and biotechnology, from what I can understand. It can make skin contact with someone, then completely memorize their history and everything about them. With machines, it can absorb the workings of it, the outlines, and copy it." Noticing the Flash thinking about this, the detective continued with an example. "If it makes contact with, say, a flamethrower, it can make its own flames."
"It sounds kind of like Amazo," Flash noted.
"Similar. Except this can't copy biological powers, only mechanical ones. Though, seeing from these blueprints, it doesn't look like copying mechnical properties wasn't the original intent."
"How do ya figure?"
The Question held out the blueprints. "Different ink. He designed and wrote different parts at different times. Though I can guess what his intentions were; if this Replicant can make contact with someone and receive their memories through skin contact, then he probably planned it to touch Barry."
"Why would that effect Uncle Barry?" Since the Question had made such an extensive investigation and knew part of Flash's history, he made no attempts to seem informal about his uncle.
"Celluar memory - which is why skin contact is important. Iris said it before; through celluar memory, we can recall things suddenly. Maybe without knowing why, and not knowing we had such a memory. If the Replicant touched Barry, it could read his mind, completely understand his history, and in turn cause celluar memory to make him remember. Assuming this works, anyway."
"Why the other additions? Man, I don't get it. What's J'onn got to with it, too?" The Flash frowned. He stood up and zipped to the Question's side, looking over his shoulder at the paperwork.
"Think about it. It looked like Pierce was in a big rush to leave, and left us clues. Why would he take the Martian? Why these additions? Because it's not his idea anymore." The Question looked to the Flash. "Dr. Tan is working for someone now. He hasn't been here in weeks, and didn't suspect that anyone would come to check on him - so long as he came to work every now and again. Nobody would be the wiser. As for the Martian, he's capable of morphing his body. While the Replicant can only form its body to copy machines, it's still made of organic compound. The Martian was probably just the last piece required for the finishing touches."
The Flash thought about this. Though he still thought that the Question was literally nuts and probably needed some big time therapy, the way he said all of this made sense... and he was starting to be inclined to agree. (Maybe he isn't such a complete kook.) "So the Replicant is a weapon now, and not something to help Barry anymore. Who's making Pierce make the weapon?"
The Question handed Flash the blueprints. "Who do you think was behind Supergirl's clone?"
"Wha- I dunno." The Flash frowned. "You think it was the government?"
"Or at least a hidden group we're not aware of yet." The Question stood up. "Now we need to find Pierce and the Martian."
"Not see Iris?"
The detective shook his head. "No more time to waste. The Martian is in danger, and nobody knows when the Replicant will come to life. Which will be our problem, soon enough."
At some point, J'onn was sure that he had drifted off again. The heat was slightly less intense with the lack of the heated cuffs, for which he was grateful for. Though he noticed, soon enough, a damp and cold washcloth padding away on his face. He sensed Pierce nearby, without opening his eyes to tell... which made him concerned.
After all, during all of his time in the lab, Pierce had been wearing the headband that prevented J'onn from reading his mind.
Opening his eyes, he found himself staring up at the scientist, who looked at him regrettably.
"Soon, your friends are going to be in danger," Pierce told him quietly. "I'm sorry. ... I haven't had much choice but to comply."
That was a sudden line that had nothing to do with greeting him. J'onn was, naturally, puzzled by Pierce's apology and information. He tilted his head faintly, eyeing at him, as if to say 'oh, really?'
"There are... several reasons why I was here. Why you were taken. For data, for DNA sampling, for the development of something that was only intended to help him... I never meant to endanger anyone, much less the League." Pierce frowned. "J'onn. I'm sorry."
The Martian shook his head faintly. "...you are a victim, as I am."
"Will the League think so?" Pierce smirked faintly. "I doubt it, honestly. I am responsible for your capture, whether or not I'm a willing accomplice. I wish I could stop this..."
"You cannot?"
"No." Pierce shook his head. "They've already threatened lives I care about, and I can't risk them. Just hope that the Justice League can do something about it. But I'm sorry that you had to be involved in the creation of this."
"What has happened?"
"I intended the creation of the Replicant to help him remember, not to be configured into a weapon." Pierce set aside the washcloth, scowling. "Lexcorp turned me down, but somehow, Dr. Milo must have heard about it, or at least the people he works with must have. He's been involved in the creation of this thing. He seems to know what he's doing makes me wonder how often he's done experiments like this."
J'onn didn't quite smile. "Several, from my understanding."
"Still... I hope to postpone Milo from coming in here. Else he might..."
"An autopsy. Yes, I remember... and I can sense your fear." J'onn frowned. "You removed the headband. Why?"
"I need you to understand what's happened... and what I have to do next. And hopefully Wally will forgive me for having taken the headband." Pierce smiled tiredly. "I need you to read my mind and know what's going on. I'm giving you complete permission."
"...You are positive? You will not be in trouble?"
Pierce chuckled. "Any bug and any camera in the room has been shut off, I'm sure. We have about fifteen minutes until they're all rebooted."
The Martian hesitated; regardless, the scientist took his forearm and placed the alien's hand to his head.
And memories quickly began to flow.
In the Watchtower, it had been a few hours since Wonder Woman had last heard from both Flash and Question. She was concerned, but their signals from their comlinks were still online so she did not fret - yet. The Amazon had been, otherwise, watching over the League and still taking over the shift completely. Superman was away in Europe and was incapable of covering the shift as previously planned.
Relief came swiftly when she heard from the communicator, "Flash to Watchtower!" Fortunately, much less annoyed this time.
"This is Wonder Woman," the Amazon responded. "Flash, how's the search going?"
"It's getting complicated," the Question responded.
The Flash almost grumbled; Diana could tell. "A guy I know, Dr. Pierce Tan, got involved in J'onn's disappearance. He had, far as we can tell, those pyromaniacs escape so he could nab J'onn. So he's making this thing called the Replicant. Question thinks J'onn's DNA can help complete it. Uh, I think that's the basics of it."
"The Replicant will become a weapon," the Question added. "It can absorb information of something mechanical and completely copy it. If it grabs, say, Firefly's flamethrower, it can make its own flamethrower."
"So we found out this much, but we have no idea where Pierce or J'onn are right now," the Flash completed, sighing a bit. "Somewhere around Central City, we figure, but was hoping you had any ideas, Princess?"
"Not a one, sorry to say. J'onn's signal disappeared on the outskirts of Central City. It's been hours, so who knows where he is now?" Diana held her head, frowning. "He must be very weak right now, being incapable of contacting any of us."
The Flash grumbled over the comlink, "Great. G.L. make any contact?"
"No, but he's still active. He's in Keystone right now; do you know why?"
The Question must have been speaking to Flash, since all he said was, "Well?"
"I dunno," the Flash muttered. "I really don't."
Diana glanced over the map with the different signals, nearly missing an additional one blinking at her. She did a doubletake.
J'onn's communicator was online.
"Flash!" the Amazon said quickly. "It's J'onn! His comlink is online!"
"Where?" the Question demanded.
"Central City Harbor. I'll give you directions."
There was a pause, then the Flash groaned. "Hey, Princess? Talk to Batman sometime about givin' this kook a Questionmobile or something, will ya?"
Predictably to be continued.
Next Chapter: A flashback, with what J'onn sees in Pierce Tan's mind. What Barry Allen has to do with everything, what the Green Lanterns have to do with everything, and what Wally West has to do with everything. More layers, more conclusions, and more questions. It's a pain in the ass.
Notes:
A lot of dialogue and not much going on here. Sorry about that. Most should recognize Dr. Milo; he was in the Batman animated series. He showed up in "Cat Scratch Fever" and "Moon of the Wolf". He also made an appearance in Justice League Unlimited in "Doomsday Sanction". So I can imagine loads of you are going to be able to make loads of guesses now about what the heck is going on.
To note, the Replicant was a villain in the Flash comics. Originally a person, not a creation, but if Bruce Timm can take liberties with origins, damn it so can I! As it is, I'm attempting my best to make comicbook references and keep the original characters as low as possible. Telling the story in an original fashion is another thing entirely, and if you're the comic geek that I'm becoming, then you know how different Barry's origin and fate here is. And maybe take a guess why the Green Lanterns are so involved.
The flashback chapter will probably be short, but it will hopefully clear up so much crap, then we can move on to some action and fun. Woo woo.
To the readers:
Qk: Sorry I didn't get to you last chapter; as I posted the second chapter, your review just came in. XD Regardless, I'm quite pleased with my grammar skills, though FFnet isn't helping with the format much. I'm so very not pleased with it.
Tomboy13: WOO! The infamous Tomboy13. Pleasure to have you review this story. Hopefully, you're still enjoying the connections as they continue to form throughout the story. I'm just kind of hoping the interaction continues to be enjoyable.
Dacker Spaniel: Thank you so very much! Hopefully, you'll still feel the same way as this story continues.
doc-trigger: Well, read it soon! Because I just posted AGAIN! BWAHAHAHA! Hmm.
balletangel19: Flash/Question interaction is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. They don't bounce off of each other the way Flash/GL do, but they have an interesting relationship. And it was my pleasure to make J'onn get out of the Watchtower. About damned time, too!
Jill: Here it is, and more Flash/Question to boot! But, I'm afraid poor ol' Question isn't showing in the next chapter since it's all a flashback, pretty much. But Wally is in it! We love Wally, right?
Red Tigress: WOO! Glad you liked his inclusion! I dunno if I can squeeze Chyre in. Maybe a mention. I try my best to keep from using original characters, as you know. So if I see fit, I shall use Chyre.
Keep on reviewing! Reviews are my energizers! They keep me going and going and going and...
