Between Light and Dark

Hello-it's the Captain. It was 3 in the bloody morning when I wrote this. 10 till 3 if you want to be precise, but it was still 3 in the freakin' morning. The characters are slightly out of character, but artistic license and all that. And Batman's my favorite character in "Justice League," so you'll probably realize that a little later. Bloody 4:30 when I finished the thing. Including special guest appearance.

Notes: we all know that J'onn has a special connection to Supes, being aliens and all that. There's also a connection to Bats, in my humble (ish) opinion. Don't believe me? Refer to "Secret Origins," "A Knight of Shadows," "Injustice for All," and the episode with Dr. Destiny. Which was an awesome episode. This takes place sometime after those events. Bloody 3 in the morning.

Disclaimer: the Justice League characters originally belong to DC Comics, so that's who I'm disclaiming them to. "Introspection" belongs to the dictionary, and sleep should belong to me. It doesn't though.

During his time on Earth, J'onn had observed quite a number of different personalities. And that was just within this Justice League that had adopted him as one of their own. Brash, arrogant yet reliable Flash, the battle-driven and steadfast Hawkgirl, the military air that hid Green Lantern's kindness, Diana, who was a warrior princess in every sense of the term but still a fledgling in some of the ways of man (as he was) and finally, Superman and Batman. It was these two that J'onn found his thoughts turning to.

J'onn narrowed his eyes in consideration. It was these two leaders that were the most difficult to understand. He considered the Batman a leader, simply for the fact that his guidance took place in the shadows. Superman was the recognized leader, but he himself trusted Batman's judgment at times.

Yes, these two were almost polar opposites, a child of light and a monster of dark. But the child of light didn't come from Earth. He was an alien like J'onn himself, but had a completely different outlook on this planet. He viewed the humans, and really all life on this planet, as something to be protected, unconditionally and unwaveringly. Usually the first to offer aid, he was also the first one to trust J'onn without reserve. He wore his goodness and trust about him in the red cape that flowed behind him. His abundance of goodness and emotion were woven into his outfit. And the humans were able to sense that. J'onn was consistently amazed at Superman's utter command of mankind's better traits. But if Superman was aware of this, at how easily his influence could be warped to his own beck and need, he chose to ignore it.

Manipulation and distortion belonged to Batman. Batman was extremely guarded in, well, everything. (A/N: understatement of the century, I know. Just don't give me too much grief over it. Please?) J'onn was secretly of the belief that he could have been Martian for all of his secrets. In a mind-boggling complexity though, he was literally the most human of the league. He had no special powers or abilities, despite his remarkable physical and mental prowess, but that was it. When J'onn had told him as much once, J'onn realized what power it was that Batman truly understood. Although the dominantly logical part of his mind told him Batman would have to be at full health to pose a significant threat to J'onn, the smaller emotional part told him he would die then and there if he tried to stop Batman. That was the power he commanded: uncontrollable, irrational fear that would make even outworlders become slightly more cautious with his presence. J'onn respected privacy too much to read other's minds, but he would not have been surprised if there was a time or two when even Superman felt uneasy around his "friend." (A/N: glares at disbelieving audience What? Not only am I entitled to my opinion, but this could, and has happened.sighs I read too many graphic novels.) The man was a complexity, because J'onn was certain that Batman subconsciously trusted only the very few that had proven they deserved it. Like J'onn.

Which led J'onn back to his original train of thought. Where did he stand within this mesh of personalities? All of the members of the league harbored secrets, but, excluding Batman and possibly Hawkgirl, he harbored the most. He had almost accepted Earth as his new home, but after Morgan LeFay had tempted him, he felt like he was a hostage Martian again. Nowhere to go, confused, lost, and tentatively reaching out for help.

Perhaps his wandering thoughts had been sensed by Superman, or maybe he was searching for J'onn, but said hero had entered the lounge where J'onn was.

"J'onn?" Superman asked. "Are you alright? I haven't seen you at all today. Not unusual for Batman, but you usually make sure everything's alright."

"My apologies, Superman," J'onn said monotonously. "I was in contemplation."

Superman shrugged. "Everyone needs some quiet time. Should I leave you?"

J'onn nodded after a slight hesitation. "But would you please answer a question for me first?"

Superman grinned briefly. "That was a question J'onn." Seeing the Martian's stoic look, Superman grinned again sheepishly. "Sorry-that one never worked on Batman either. What is it?"

J'onn thought about it for a moment, not wanting to sound too straightforward or sounding like a child seeking approval from an authority figure. Giving up, J'onn asked "Why are you the way you are? And why do you trust me as a friend, even though I'm another alien like yourself?"

Superman looked surprised, then thoughtful. "well, first of all, that's two questions. I don't mind though. As for whom I am," Superman thought about this a little longer. Speaking slowly, "I guess part of it is the humans who raised me. Then there are the people I work with, both here and with my other identity. But there's also some of the things I've seen. J'onn, I've seen stars explode and wonders I could only dream of. But I've also seen some bad things. I'm the way I am because I want there to be more of the good things in the world, and I always want there to be more surprises, more amazing things to see. As for you, well, you're like me. I've mentioned that before. But even if you were a super-human like Flash or someone representing a larger group like Lantern, I'd treat you the same. That help any?"

J'onn nodded. "Thank you. Is Batman here today?"

Superman shook his head. "No. He's in Gotham today. Thinking of paying him a visit?"

"Perhaps."

Gotham City, 1 hour later

J'onn frowned. He had been flying around Gotham for nearly 30 minutes, and he had seen nothing of the elusive Batman. This was, however, his home city. Or "turf," as Flash would have said.

J'onn could not say he was very impressed with it. The wastelands on Mars looked like slightly messy children's rooms compared to this. It's not that the entire city was overwhelmed by trash: it was the fingers of old grime and the hands of black despair and apathy that choked the beauty out of it. No wonder Batman dressed as a dark predator. There was no need, no call for garish colors or bright highlights to offset the shadows.

Slightly frustrated, J'onn sent out a telepathic signal, hoping to brush his cohort's cold intellect. He quickly withdrew though, before the mental tendrils of unhappiness and forsakenness could worm their way into his mind. The only way he could find the Batman was to call out to him: Batman had jammed his communicator (again) so he couldn't be found. Before he gave up completely though, he finally spotted the cloaked defender. Swooping down to land silently beside the Dark Knight, J'onn raised an eyebrow. "You've been following me," he stated flatly.

"Since you flew in unannounced," Batman stated just as flatly.

Expecting something more, J'onn was almost surprised when nothing else was forthcoming. Instead, he started the conversation again. "I have been deep in my thoughts today. I determined I needed to ask you something."

Batman gave no answer, patiently waiting for the question. "Why do you still fight for this city? Since you've been following me, you must have realized I was not terribly encouraged."

Batman didn't say anything except "follow me." Taking out his grappling hook, Batman started flitting from shadow to shadow. He never stayed in the light too long, J'onn noticed, as if he was afraid the light would scorch him. J'onn followed, just as silently, altering his appearance into the nightmare that gave Batman his name.

Stopping in front of the police headquarters, Batman pointed to an elderly man standing in front of it with a brown trench coat and glasses, smoking a cigar. "Commissioner James Gordon. Worked here the past 20 years. He has the option of retiring soon. I doubt he will."

When J'onn looked at the Batman, he glimpsed something he had never seen before. He couldn't put a name to it, since it was an emotion he hadn't seen before, but it reminded him very much of a sad type of determination. "Why?"

"He thinks he can still make a difference. He knows he can. I know he can." Batman turned toward him slightly. "Why do I still fight for this god-forsaken city, J'onn? Because people like Jim have hope. Because even if anything I do isn't worth a damn in the long run, people like him will still believe it made a difference. They hope it did. That's why."

J'onn was inwardly stunned that Batman had shown such…foreign emotion about this commissioner, and hope. Apparently Batman sensed this, and turned back towards the station. "I've seen the worst of the human race, J'onn. I've seen the worst of it, then beyond the worst. But if aliens like you or Superman are willing to fight for it, then I'll be damned if I can't do it myself. Take this street, turn left, you'll be out of the city. Even from the air, it's difficult to navigate this labyrinth from hell. This is one of the clearer days though."

With nothing more to say, Batman took out another grappling hook and swung back towards the core of the city. J'onn felt that "heart" of the city would be reserved for better times. If Gotham ever saw better times. But looking at this man in the brown trench coat that Batman almost certainly respected very deeply, J'onn recognized what the answer was.

On the rooftops of one of the dirtiest, coldest, and worst cities on this world that J'onn finally understood where he belonged. Everything must come to light eventually, he realized. Even this "labyrinth from hell," as Batman called it. At the moment, he was somewhere between light and dark, helping to bring everything to light. He had to, because this blue and green planet called Earth was now his home. And he would be damned if it would happen without his help.

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