Avenging Justice:

Two Worlds Collide

Part IV

Earth, Missouri, Central City

Remus huddled in the shadows. It was better this way, people tended to treat him badly when he went out. The kindly old woman near where he stayed was nice enough. She, however, was very much blind. If she could see what he was, he wondered if she would still treat him as well. The fur on his hands and face, along with the elvish ears, marked him as an outsider. It was just a year ago that Remus had changed.

Before he had been an energetic boy who loved to play sports a little too much. His mother and father had always thought him part forest creature, as he always was calmer outside than in. Their love hadn't been enough when their little boy turned into a mutant. His father cried, right before burning all pictures of his son. Remus' mother reacted in terror, screaming at the monster her son had become.

That was six months ago, and he'd been on the run since. As long as he remained away from people, he tended to do okay. Unfortunately, he was hungry. It had been a few days since he had been able to get to the soup kitchen. It had closed before he could get to it, and most of the other services wouldn't allow him to walk up with his hood.

He had one chance, and that was with the Catholic mission about to close. He had waited as long as he was willing, and was going to have to risk being seen. It was either that or another night of hunger pangs. Remus wasn't looking forward to that, hence why he was breaking his own rules.

He moved forward, making himself look smaller and less threatening. Not wanting to hurt anyone, and more importantly not be hurt, Remus was being careful. At least he was trying to be. It wasn't meant to be, and despite his want otherwise, he knew it. He had people after him.

Part of his mutation, besides the physical changes, was his heightened senses. Remus heard the snickering behind him, changed course. Only for that way to be blocked by a really big guy. Deftly he turned around, only to realize he was surrounded. They were six in total, four guys and two girls, and all but one had some type of improvised weapon.

He counted two baseball bats, a tire iron, a crowbar and one chain. Almost as if these people forgot it was past the millennium and they didn't need to retread the eighties gang look. At least they weren't in torn jeans and leathers. No, three of them were in polo shirts, and the others rocked t-shirts with band names on them.

"Look what we have here, a mutie," the ringleader cried out. "What's wrong little mutie, away from your mommy for too long?"

Remus didn't respond, instead looked for a way out. Instead he had one of the gang pull his hood back, while another pushed him. He growled, but kept his rising temper in check. Meanwhile they laughed at him, poking at him with their weapons.

"Oh, look at that! His mom and the family dog. Do you call your dad Woof Woof or Rex?" one the girls said.

The big one without a weapon chimed in, "Maybe if we give him a doggy biscuit, he'll heel for us!"

This time Remus' growl wasn't just audible, it caught the attention of everyone nearby. Soon a crowd started to form, and most of them were not very hospitable sounding. In fact, Remus was sure that he heard a few, "Death to the mutie," in there. Surprisingly, the priest running the food kitchen was calling for peace. The man was legitimately trying to get to Remus.

"Look at that, we angered the little doggy," the leader called out. "It might be rabid, need to put it down."

He swung, and Remus dodged. The next three he dodged, and if he hadn't been starving, might have been able to keep it up. Instead, one managed to nick his ankle, and Remus faltered. The next two hit his ribs and left arm. Pain exploded in his shoulder as he hit the ground. His head nearly didn't feel anything as the crowbar came crashing down. Just barely he moved in time, and the missing chunk of concrete was testament to that.

Remus was on his haunches, deciding whether to fight back when thunder broke the air. The hairs all along his body stood up as straight as a legion of soldiers. A blinding flash left him seeing white and he heard screams all around him. As his vision began to clear, a figure was standing before him, electricity jumping all around it.

"Six against one, time to even the score," the teen said. Remus could make out it was a teenager. "Now we can do this the fun way, or the right way. Please the fun way, I have a lot of pent up energy."

"Who the f…" the leader asked, and before he could finish a bolt of electricity hit him square in the chest.

The teen smirked, "You can call me, Bolt. Now, the rest of you go away."

One of the crowd called out, "You're a mutie like him!"

"I'm the guy that can call down a lightning storm on your asses," Bolt replied. "Now are we done here?"

As an answer, a red blur parted the crowd, "Listen here, we can talk this out, no need for this to get messy."

Bolt cocked his head, "I'm not here to fight."

"The lightning blasts tell a different story," the figure of the Flash came into focus. "Now let's back off from the kids and we'll talk this out."

"You've got the wrong idea here, I'm protecting this guy from them!" Bolt shouted back.

Before he knew it, Bolt was yards away, hands cuffed. On a better note, so was the wolf like teen. Well, the teen wasn't handcuffed like he was, but the wolf teen did look a little green at the gills. The Flash reappeared beside them, a chilidog in each hand.

"It was getting a tense back there," the Scarlet Speedster said after consuming the two hot dogs in milliseconds. "Now what is going on?"

Bolt was the first to speak, "Those idiots were trying to beat up my friend here, I just stepped in."

"I'm not your friend," Remus argued. "I don't even know you!"

The Flash joked, "This is going so well. I think you both need to start talking, the police are slower than me, but not that slow."

"I need to get home," Remus argued and tried to leave, only for the Flash to intercept him.

"Look, you're safe here," the Flash said. "What's going on? I can help."

Remus growled back, "Not unless you can change me back!"

"I know it's hard for you right now, but let me take you back to STAR Labs," Flash said as Bolt looked to interject. "I'll vouch for them there, they can take a look at you. If your condition is reversible, they can help."

"It's not a condition!" Bolt screamed. "He's a mutant. That isn't something that can be cured, nor should it!"

Flash seemed taken back by this, "Superman never has this issue. Look, I'm just trying to help. I need you to trust me, I won't let anything happen to you."

"He needs to be around others like him," Bolt said. "Somewhere he doesn't have to hide."

"I believe that is for our friend to decide," Flash reminded the electric teen. "Not you or I. Besides, I have to square your actions with that mob. Though I can safely say you didn't start that mess."

Bolt cocked an eyebrow, surprised at the one eighty. Concentrating, he heard the electronic noise that was communication. Someone was talking to the Flash through his cowl. So, the hero had a chair person, that was smart. He needed a chair person, somebody to sit back and watch his back. That was number one on the list, get a behind the scenes helper.

Flash removed the handcuffs from Bolt, "You're welcome to come along. I'm sure Cisco there would love to meet you."

"I'll pass for right now," the electric teen said. "I never got your name," he said to Remus.

"Remus," the wolf like teen solemnly said.

What he didn't expect was for Bolt to smile, "Brother to Romulus, I like it. Listen, I know people that can help you. There is a place where others like you are, where you don't have to hide. You can walk freely around, without need of covering or skulking."

Flash commented, "You don't have to decide now. How about we get you something to eat and some fresh clothing? My treat, you both can come."

"I'll go with you, not like I have a lot of choice," Remus agreed.

Flash really wished he had Superman's way with people, "Come on then. You too, Bolty."

"It's Bolt!" the other teen said firmly. "If this is a trap, I will get us out of there, one way or another."

"Understood Bolt-man," Flash grinned. "Now, what do you two think of Tex-Mex?"

Earth, Kansas, D.E.O. Facility 1998

Dr. John Jones reviewed the feeds from across the globe. The DEO was tasked with monitoring and creating countermeasures for meta-humans and mutants. The government had been aware of their emergence since around World War II, but they had multiplied in the last five years.

It seemed every intelligence agency was after them, or information on them. Dr. Jones was aware of another organization named, SHIELD, that the DEO regularly communicated with. It was a more one-sided relationship than many DEO officials liked, but there wasn't much they could do about it. SHIELD was secretive, seemingly everywhere and always had someone that owed them a favor.

Dr. Jones could care less about the interorganizational issues between government agencies, but he knew to keep an eye out for them. They could mean trouble, and they definitely could cause him a lot of grief. It was why all his activities would be scrubbed after he was done. There were advantages to being telepathic, and one of those was pulling needed information from individuals as needed.

John looked around, before he phased through the floor and reappearing in his quarters. Shorting out the camera inside, he knew it would take the technicians about five minutes to restore the feed. That gave him a few minutes to let his form return to its original shape.

His skin turned green, his brow broadened to an almost unibrow and his eyes turned a bright crimson. A blue cape draped itself over his shoulders and his manhunter garb came into focus. Remnants of his long lost home, the sibling planet to Earth. John Jones turned into J'onn J'onzz, last son of Mars, also known as the Martian Manhunter.

His searches had been fruitful, he had found another like him. Another DEO facility had recovered a pod with another Martian, one like he was found in ten years ago. Interestingly, this facility wasn't in the directories. Fittingly, at least the way J'onn understood it, the facility was located at Area 51.

He would be going there soon. Stories coming out of Area 51 had leaked to the public, but they didn't believe them. However, with the information he was able to gather, he knew that barely scratched the surface. More was going down at the secret research base than anyone outside of the DEO could guess. J'onn couldn't allow this other Martian to be experimented on, especially since she was family. He would save his niece.