Chapter 42: The Martian

"…The Flash made an appearance in Starling City today, helping Green Arrow round up a gang situated in the Glades that planned on selling stolen military-grade firearms on the streets…"

"…Supergirl spotted in Detroit, fighting alongside Vixen against a man who could manipulate fire with his bare hands…"

"…Sightings of the vigilante Black Lightning, who disappeared several years ago, have been reported in the city of Freeland…"

"…Carol Ferris, CEO of Ferris Aircraft, had a press conference today addressing the disappearance of missing test pilot Hal Jordan…"

Malcolm Merlyn glared angrily at the concrete wall across from him. It had been one month since the Undertaking had been foiled at the hands of Green Arrow and his band of merry men. Since then, he had been arrested and detained, before his custody had been transferred to the United States government – and by extension, the vilest woman in existence.

"Malcolm Merlyn. We finally meet."

Malcolm looked up from his cot, frowning. After Quentin had handcuffed him, he had been quickly chauffeured in to the SCPD's 1st Precinct, thrown into one of their holding cells like a common criminal. He had attempted to escape, but found that the security of his cell was, suspiciously, of a far higher standard than one would expect. Deeming it too much of a hassle, he had resolved to wait until his inevitable incarceration at Iron Heights to make his vanishing act, hopefully before the League sent someone in to finish the job that Green Arrow started.

Except he hadn't been incarcerated at Iron Heights. A few days later, men in military uniforms had appeared, re-cuffing him, gagging him, and obscuring his sight with a black, cloth bag, before marching him out of the precinct to be driven to God knows where. Hours later, the bag had finally been taken off, and Malcolm found himself staring at the insides of his new concrete prison, with state-of-the-art security, supported by technology far beyond his expertise.

He had been on his lonesome since then, left to wallow in his misery on his own, until now. The woman before him was African-American, slim and attractive – had it not been for the dark look in her eyes. Malcolm had seen that look before, on his own face, and that of his former master, the Demon's Head himself. But on this woman, it was unsettling, and he felt a pit form in the bottom of his stomach. Whoever she was, he could tell that she was one not to be trifled with.

"And take it you are my new warden?"

The woman smiled. It was not kind. "My name is Amanda Waller, and yes, I guess you could say that. This is a courtesy call more than anything else – one last bit of salt in the wound before the good people of this country decide your fate, whatever it may be."

Malcolm nodded slowly, eyes narrowed. "Let me guess; you're here to tell me that it was the Queens who really sold me out, correct?"

"Oh, you are a sharp one. How'd you know?"

"Easy. Frank Chen was too much of a coward to go against me, and always has been. He might have felt a little guilt once in a while but as long as he and his daughter were safe, he easily pushed it aside. The Queens were different – they've tried to defy me twice out of some convoluted sense of morality before little Thea became the cost of their disloyalty, and even then, they weren't as tempered as the others. It figures that the moment someone gave them an out that didn't end in their deaths or those of their children, they'd take it and never look back."

Amanda smirked. "Well done, Mr. Merlyn, well done. And if you've figured out that much, then you've figured out why I'm here."

"You want me to absolve the Queens of any involvement they've had with the Undertaking in my testimony." The archer concluded, frowning. "And why would I do that?"

Amanda shrugged. "Well, for one, we've scrubbed any proof of the Queens' involvement, so, with your reputation already so far down the drain as it is, your claim will be taken with a grain of salt at best, if that. The last ravings of a mad man, if you will. And even they do take it seriously, we have proof that it was you who sabotaged the Queen's Gambit – and considering Oliver's good reputation with the city, including the ever-increasing amount of volunteer work he's been doing in the Glades; well, whose side do you think public opinion is going to fall on? Especially when they connect the dots and realize how exactly Walter Steele got involved and why he was killed?"

Malcolm grit his teeth. Amanda's smirk deepened.

"You've lost, Mr. Merlyn. Accept that, repent for your sins, and maybe you can find some peace in your life before they stab a needle into your arm. And if you don't, well, there's this one." She lifted her phone, showing a picture of Tommy Merlyn. Malcolm clenched his hands.

"And then, there's this one." Her finger slid over the screen, revealing a picture of Oliver Queen. The assassin blanched, white-faced.

"You're a smart man. You can figure it out from there." And with that, she walked away.

Malcolm had been prepared for failure, unlikely as it had been until Green Arrow had gotten involved. He would be a fool not to plan such a contingency.

But this? This wasn't failure – this was so much more worse. He had been played, his plan used to springboard his enemy and his band of super-powered lackeys, and he hadn't seen it coming. He had been so far out of his depth, and worst of it all, there was nothing he could do about it. The Flash and Supergirl were both far out of his league, as was this 'Vixen' that had made her debut alongside them. Even if he had known about them, without any knowledge of their weaknesses, all he could have done was stall them. They were all far beyond his reach.

Green Arrow, however, wasn't, and Malcolm could be content with that. It started with Green Arrow, and it had been the fellow archer that had been his downfall. If he could have his revenge against him, that would be more than enough.

Malcolm didn't know how. He didn't know where or when. But revenge would be his, in the end.

"This it?" The Flash asked, surveying the far-off base from a cliff. Beside him, Green Arrow nodded.

"This is it. Eiling's last base. According to intel, his most secretive and best-guarded as well; it was buried so far deep within his files that the techs are surprised they managed to find it at all. Whatever's here, he didn't want anyone to see."

Supergirl, standing on the other side of the Flash, crossed her arms. "Apparently, the only other person who had knowledge of this place was an Agent Smith. Amanda was not happy to hear that; something tells me that whatever's down there, we're not going to like it."

The Flash stretched his arms. "Well then, let's take a looksie. Arrow?"

"Is it me or is this getting too easy?" Supergirl noted as her two compatriots restrained the last of the base's residents: a couple of scientists, who had been looking over an extremely tall, large cylindrical glass tube, attached to a couple of very ominous machines. Whatever the contents, an alarming amount of smoke inside obscured them.

Green Arrow grunted. "Don't tempt fate, Supergirl."

"I'm serious, Arrow. Ever since we took down Merlyn a month ago, it's been smooth sailing; no major plots, no dangerous fights, nothing. Crime is down, perhaps more than it's ever been."

"Visible crime, you mean. Crime doesn't end, it just evolves."

Supergirl sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right on that account."

"Uh, guys?"

The two vigilantes looked over to their companion. The Flash had been observing the machines, trying to figure out their functions. It seems whatever he found was…startling, judging by the narrowed look on his face.

The speedster tapped the glass. "Whatever's in here? It's alive."

Green Arrow and Supergirl shared a look. "Should we open it?"

"Well, judging by these readings, it looks like it can survive our atmosphere, so there's that at least…" Flash placed a finger on his chin, "Supergirl? Are you okay with carrying this thing over to A.R.G.U.S.? I think I can disconnect the machines fast enough to make transport viable."

The Kryptonian shrugged. "I could, but this is supposed to be a stealth mission and Amanda said she wanted most of the base intact. Want that out? We're going to have to blow the roof off."

"Okay then, opening it up it is!" Flash announced brightly, already in the process of pushing the necessary sequence of buttons. Green Arrow sighed, palming his face in a well-practiced fashion.

With one last click!, the glass cover snapped open – and spilled out a large, tall humanoid with green skin and a pointed head.

It was clearly an alien.

Green Arrow delivered a flat look to Supergirl. "You just had to open your mouth, didn't you?"

"So, you aren't going to experiment on it?" Green Arrow asked incredulously.

Amanda smiled viciously. "Oh, apparently we already have, and extensively, and the reports are all in my office. My conversation with Agent Smith was quite enlightening."

The trio of vigilantes were tempted to ask if this "Agent Smith" was dead but thought better of it.

"And what of the alien currently lacking blonde hair?"

Amanda pursed her lips. "His name is J'onn J'onnzz – and he's a Martian. And he is under your care from now on." The vigilantes blinked.

"…Can he at least shapeshift?"

"You are never allowed to make an idle comment like that again." Oliver stated pointedly to Kara. They, along with Barry, were now standing in front J'onn's bed, waiting for the Martian to wake up.

Kara scoffed. "Then Barry will make one, either for kicks or to just spite you Ollie. You know he will."

"She's right. I totally would." Barry admitted shamelessly. Oliver pinched the bridge of his nose.

Oliver Queen. Kara Zor-El. Barry Allen.

"And of course, he's a telepath." Barry shook his head. "You aliens have too many broken powers for your own good."

Kara ignored him. "J'onn, correct?"

Yes. Thank you for releasing me from my prison. I've spent the last decade or so stuck in that construct and it was not…fun. I understand I am to be under your care from now on.

"Yes. Don't worry, we won't imprison you or run tests on you like they did." Kara assured him. "Seeing as you can shapeshift, you can blend in with human society easily. We'll help you acclimate here for now, and in the meanwhile we can find a way to send you home."

…I have no home.

Barry frowned. "What do you mean? Mars is right around the bend, isn't it?"

Mars, yes. But Martians are a different matter.

Oliver stepped forward, eyes narrowed. "…You're the last one, aren't you? The last Martian."

Yes. Mars is a dead planet. There is nothing left for me there.

"Well, that explains why we've found no life on the planet closest to sustaining it besides ours." Barry snarked, the humor falling flat in the face of his obvious distress.

"How?" Oliver demanded, dread pooling in the pit of his stomach. Kara would've reprimanded them both for being so insensitive, but J'onn's confession had too close to him, and something told her that whatever had done in the Martians, it hadn't been overtaxing their natural resources like Krypton.

They feared us, feared our abilities. So, they came, and slaughtered us all.

"Who? Who came?"

J'onn snapped his eyes open, a striking ruby red. They go by many names, but only one has persisted.

They are called…the Dominators.

I'M ALIVE!

So, I promised this in May, but it didn't come. I have a lot reasons for that – writer's block is one, but also disinterest. With the exception of Legends, the Arrowverse did not have a good year. Supergirl, while good, got delayed extensively thanks to Kreisburg, and Arrow and Flash both suffered significant dips in quality. Plus, there is a number of fandoms I've gotten into lately – Boku no Hero Academia and Yuri On Ice!. Not to mention Infinity War, which we all saw and are aching for the sequel next year.

Now, onto the story. Yes, this is J'onn, and yes, I've completely changed his backstory to accommodate the Dominators. For storyline purposes, mainly involving character focus.

As you all have noticed, I have been focusing on specific characters and downgrading the roles of other major characters – most prominently, Thea, Cisco, and Caitlin. And honestly, that is not going to change. One of the reasons why Arrow and Flash have varying quality is because they almost always try to include everyone in the central plot and ignore the fact that they have lives outside of whatever the leads are doing. Too many characters to juggle at once. I'm not going to do that; they'll get more focus if they're integral to the main plot but otherwise I'm not going to force them in there when they have no right to be there.

Iris, for one, is not going to be the leader of Team Flash, partly because there really isn't a Team Flash and partly because I have other plans for her. It's actually ironic that I'm doing this considering my Iris is probably more qualified for that post than canon!Iris is, but oh well. I actually like canon!Iris fine, and her relationship with Barry is sweet, but pigeonholing her into that role because they weren't willing to do journalism stories with her was not fun.

As for villains, no DeVoe and no Diaz. I know people liked DeVoe, but I didn't and I'm not going to delude myself into believing I can write a character that smart and do them justice. As for Diaz – meh, I've got plenty enough Arrow villains play around with. Needn't bother with him.

The next update might not be for a while, but consider this a bone for all your waiting.

Oh, and I have TV Tropes page, which is linked at the end of the fic. Edit it at your peril.