I do not own Mass Effect or Justice League. They belong to their respective owners.

Just to let you all know, this chapter will be shorter than the last. It is mostly just a setup for things to come.

Enjoy!

Swanwick was bored on his hospital bed. The doctors had gotten him some medi-gel, so his injury was healing at a good rate.

Now of only the average rate of healing burn wounds was quicker for humans. Then he would be able to get out of this bed and go to work quicker.

As it was, he had to wait for a least two more days before the doctors would allow him to leave. They wanted him to stay and make sure that the wound would now become infected or irritant once he left. The burn had left a bad patch of skin on his back, and they wanted to make sure he was safe to be in the open air before he left.

He appreciated the gesture, and he knew that they were just doing their jobs. But if Swanwick was going to be away from work, he would rather be at home watching vids. There was a screen for vids in his hospital room, but the fact that a doctor or nurse could come in at any minute ruined the fun. So did the open window. If anyone saw him change, his secret would be out.

If there was any silver lining, it was the fact that he was about to have some company. It took a few minutes, but Garrus made his way through the hospital until he found the right room.

"Swanwick. There you are. I've been trying to find your room."

"It took you this long? I thought you were supposed to be a detective."

"I am. But hospitals are a mystery all to themselves."

Garrus walked to the edge of Swanwick's bed and sat down.

"How are you doing?"

"Bored, mostly," Swanwick said honestly. "The doctors managed to patch up the burn. They want me to stay for a few days so that it doesn't get infected."

Garrus chuckled. "Is this a normal response from you? Boredom after getting hurt? Am I going to have to get used to that?"

"You might just have to. Especially after I come back."

Realizing that this would be a good question to ward off suspicion Swanwick asked it.

"What happened out there, by the way? Did you catch Saleon?"

"Yes. But I almost didn't."

Swanwick furrowed his brow. "What happened?"

"He managed to get his hostages into a shuttle. I tried to shoot him, but I was too late. He locked the ship and took off."

"But you said you got him?"

"I did. The only reason he got caught is that his ship malfunctioned. His left wing went haywire, and the ship ended up crashing into the river in the presidium."

"The presidium? Did anyone get hurt?"

"No. Thankfully, the people caught sight before he landed. Everyone evacuated before they could get seriously hurt. A few scares, but nothing too bad. Unlike Saleon."

Swanwick frowned. "What do you mean? What happened to Saleon? I thought you just caught him."

"I did," Garrus leaned in closer before continuing. "But I think someone else also got to him. He was found with a broken hand and a broken gun."

"You think someone else did that? But who? Who could have broken into the ship when it was in the air?"

"Maybe they were already inside and waiting. But it doesn't explain how this person got out."

"If you want to find someone, you also need a motive. We don't have anything to go off of, do we?"

"Nothing. And truth be told, I don't even know if this is worth looking into," Garrus said, which surprised Swanwick. "If there was someone inside who broke Saleon's hand, I honestly feel like I should thank them. They made it easier for me to take down a dangerous scumbag."

Swanwick raised a brow. "Never thought I would hear a Turian talk like this. I thought your people liked following rules and regulations. This person sounds like a vigilante, and you're praising them."

"I'm not praising them. I'm thanking them. There's a difference," Garrus pointed out. "And to be honest Swanwick, I think un-Turianlike behavior is becoming more appealing to me every day."

Swanwick was surprised to hear something like that. He leaned closer to him before continuing the conversation.

"Does this have to do with that conversation you wanted to have earlier?"

"You remember that? Truth be told, I was planning to invite you to the bar so we could have a chat."

"Don't think that's an option now," Swanwick stated as he patted the hospital bed. "Want to just have it here? Or are you busy?"

"Not right now. Pallin wants to talk to me, but that won't be until later. Right now, I can talk."

Swanwick made himself a little more comfortable on the bed. "Anywhere you want to start?"

Garrus scratched the back of his head before he started. "You're not going to say anything, right Swanwick?"

"No. I'm new to the Citadel, so I don't have anyone to tell anyway."

"Remind me to help you get laid. It sounds like you need it. Anyway, you know how Turians are supposed to be, right?'

"Respectful of the hierarchy, militaristic, public-serving. Right?"

"Right. Well, I think I'm falling short in that regard," Garrus said, unsure of how to continue. "You know about the Specters, right?"

"Yeah. Council's right hand. They can pretty much do anything."

"Exactly. Well, there was a time when I tried to become one."

Swanwick's eyes widened. "What happened? How come you're still at C-Sec?"

"My father talked me out of becoming one. He hates the idea of anyone being above the law." Shaking his head, Garrus made his displeasure clear. "Nowadays, I wish I had ignored him. Gone ahead with it. Maybe then this whole Saleon business would have gone by easier."

"What happened? You said you caught him."

"I did. But his ship malfunctioning was just luck. And I don't want to rely on luck. That's why I had ordered the ship be shot down. But Pallin overruled my order."

Swanwick frowned. "Garrus, there were hostages on that ship. We're supposed to protect people, not victimize them alongside the criminals."

Garrus took a moment to just look at Swanwick. "Ok, you might be right on that. But there were still other things that could be done. Maybe have a ship or two ready to chase him through space. Or shut it down remotely so he doesn't get away. But Pallin was willing to let that monster go just to avoid collateral damage. Avoid paperwork, more likely."

Having looked into Pallin's mind once before, Swanwick knew it wasn't the case. The executor was a pragmatist who valued the lives of the people in the Citadel. If he did not want the ship shot down, it was because he wanted to avoid casualties or injuries. Something Swanwick could understand.

"We can't always win Garrus."

"You're sounding like an old man Swanwick. I thought Turians and Humans had similar lifespans."

Standing up, Garrus was prepared to leave.

"I need to head back to the desk. I got another case to work on. Once you're all set, come and find me. I'll want your help on it."

Swanwick nodded. "So I'm just going to be working with you now?"

"You helped me solve a case I've been working on for months in a day. I hope you'll keep working with me."

Garrus left right after that statement. Leaving Swanwick to once again lay bored in a hospital bed.

Later...

Sitting at his desk, Garrus wondered what he should even be doing right now. The Saleon case was over, which meant two things. One was that he could simply take a day or two to relax before going back to work. The other option, the one that seemed more appealing, was to find another case.

The problem was, he knew which case he wanted to work on, and he had a feeling it wouldn't get a pass.

After all, Specters were meant to be above the law. They served the council and no one else. This gave them immunity to any sorts of red tape and jurisdiction issues that other officers faced. They could quite literally go anywhere and do anything to achieve their missions.

That made it almost impossible to prove when they went rogue.

But Garrus knew that Saren was up to something. He was a disgrace to the Turian race, and he needed to be bought down.

Now he just needs to convince his boss of that. Which was not going all that well.

"Vakarian, you just solved one case. Why are you bothering me with another?"

"Sir, I just need time to find a good lead."

"Vakarian, Saren is a Specter. Any and all of his activities are classified beyond even my reach. If I can't find any files or information on him, what makes you think you can?"

"I don't need any official documents, sir. I just need to find someone with whom he's interacted. Or something he interacted with. Anything that can point corruption back at him. I just need-"

Pallin silenced Garrus with a raised hand.

"Look, I get it Vakarian. You think Saren is dirty, and you want to prove it. But you need actual proof before you can make accusations. Without it, you sound like an angry child pointing fingers."

"Sir-"

"Find proof. Then we can talk. But it's going to have to be on your own time."

"What?" This wasn't good. It would have been hard enough to find any information on Saren with C-Sec resources. Without them, it might as well be impossible.

"I won't waste time, resources, or manpower on an investigation that will ultimately turn up nothing. Am I understood Vakarian?"

"Sir, if I could just..."

"Am. I. Understood?"

He wasn't going to win. Garrus might be hotheaded at times, but even he was self-aware enough to accept when he lost. Pallin wasn't going to support him on this. No one was.

"Yes sir."

"Good. Dismissed."

Disgruntled, Garrus left the executor's office. His only hope now was that when Swanwick came out, he would be willing to help him. That human was the only aid he was going to get.

Two Days Later...

Swanwick had to go back to work tomorrow. And right now, J'onn was busy watching the news.

Hidden within his apartment, Mars' last survivor watched and analyzed the coverage of the Saleon capture. His human disguise had been discarded for his true martian form, and he was spending his time as he often did. Watching vids. Except that this time, the event being covered was the result of his own actions.

"While the cause of the ship's malfunction is still unclear, officials are glad that the ship crash did not harm any civilians. And the incident did allow C-Sec officers to arrest Dr. Saleon, a geneticist charged with the illegal distribution of organs from different species. A horrendous crime that has stained his hands with the blood of many species and in many colors."

There was also a bit of coverage on the cleanup efforts.

"Presidium workers still clocked in to try and pull the ship out of the lakes. Might take some time, according to the foreman."

"I should have been more careful. The presidium is crowded, I should have found a more isolated area."

There didn't seem to be one at the time. Very few areas in the citadel were isolated, so it would have been hard to find one without any people. Still, J'onn was just glad that no one else got hurt. But he was left with one question.

What should he do from here?

The obvious answer would be to leave it as a one-time event and move on. Continue his work with C-Sec and pretend that his little escapade had not happened. He had already told no one, so it would be easy to continue doing that.

But he enjoyed it. He liked using his natural abilities. And he was glad to have stopped Saleon.

"No. Stop it."

Exposing himself, exposing what he could do, would only be more trouble than it was worth. This galaxy could be cruel. And the species living within it could be just as cruel.

The Turians were strict and rigid people who could rarely accept extreme change. The Asari were often objectified and fetishized by the males of the galaxy. Volus were easy to victimize due to their small size. The Quarians were made outsiders after they mistakingly created artificial life and lost their homeworld. A pain J'onn could understand. And Salarians were... tricky.

J'onn also had to remember what had happened to the Krogan species. They had fought for the Citadel and defeated the Rachni centuries ago. But after they rebelled, their entire species was infected so that breeding was nearly impossible.

A slow extinction.

And J'onn was the last martian. If anything happened to him, then it wouldn't just be his death. It would be the death of Mars. His people and culture. All of it would be gone from the galaxy.

And there was no telling how the other beings in the galaxy would react to him. Fear was a likely option, however. While his power had some basis in this galaxy, such as with Krogan and Asari, his abilities far outclassed any living thing known to intelligent life. J'onn wasn't trying to brag or boast, he was too humble for that. It was simply a fact he had come to realize with all the knowledge he had at his disposal.

And even if fear wasn't as prevalent as he believed it would be, the fact remained that mistrust would exist. His shapeshifting, telepathy, and ability to cast illusions if necessary allowed him to hide anywhere. His strength and speed meant that there was little that could harm him (physically).

For a galaxy run by a council that liked to control things, he would be a wildcard. An independent agent with more power than they could reign in. Though he had no doubt that they would try to control him. And he didn't know he would react.

H would try to be accommodating. It was simply in his nature. His people liked to avoid conflict, and he would try to follow in their example. But life in the wider galaxy was different, and he didn't know what would happen.

"What am I doing?"

He shouldn't even consider exposing himself. He should stop being so liberal with his powers, he had to show more restraint. Once was enough. He could catch just as many criminals in his human form as he could without. Perhaps it would be better for everyone to assume that Mars never had any life.

"I'm thankful. I cannot express how grateful I am."

Taken aback, J'onn looked back at the news. There was a Turian woman speaking to a reporter. And unlike other images of Turian women had seen in the minds of others and walking across Citadel streets, this woman did present herself with a cold and rigid posture. He was seeing a woman display pure appreciation.

"I knew that my husband's work was dangerous. But I never imagined he would go to these lengths. Not for me. I'm just happy that the nightmare is over."

It was over because of him. J'onn acted, and this woman could be happy that her husband was no longer being torn apart and treated like a piece of meat by a deranged doctor.

And it felt good. It felt good to use his power freely, even if in secret. It felt good to see Dr. Saleon be unable to escape the fate he had rightfully earned. It felt good to see the hostage employees be able to escape confinement to return to their families, hopefully getting help in the future. And it felt good to know that he could easily do the same thing all over again.

Even if the risks still remained.

J'onn didn't have an easy answer for this difficult dilemma. Both sides of his internal argument had pros and cons. The only thing he could do was make a choice. Help or hide. Reveal or remain.

Sighing, J'onn rubbed his face as he tried to find an answer. All he could do was pray for one.

"C'eridyall, what should I do?"

This is where I will be stopping for now.

Before the actual plot starts and the Normandy comes into play, I want to spend some time on J'onn's current conflict. He's stuck between his desire to hide and his impulse to help wherever possible. Soon enough, he will have to make a choice on how he will continue.

Speaking of Normandy, I have recently made a decision. After looking at some gameplay and listening to some lines, I decided to go with Femshep. There are a couple of reasons why, Jennifer Hale being a great voice actress is among them, and I will reveal more later.

Alright, I have decided to finalize the question of J'onn potentially having a romance in this story. I know most people have shown a preference towards Tali, but I have put up a poll to let democracy decide who gets to be the only female in the galaxy who gets to learn what dating a martian is like. Go ahead and vote on it if you want.

Anyway, please leave reviews, tell me what you think, and I will see you all next time.

Bye!