"No. No!"
Mick needed that credit coin. It was good enough for a meal. Maybe two if he found a cheap place.
So of course it had to slip out of his pocket. And out to a street.
Rushing out, Mick tried his best to catch up to it. He was a street rat, so getting to it wasn't hard.
*HONK!*
But the truck speeding towards seemed like a problem.
"AAAHHH!"
Mick, credit still in his hand, blocked his face in a vain attempt to save himself. Only for his body to suddenly feel weightless.
"Huh? What?"
A pair of arms was holding Mick up. Green arms attached to a flying alien. One with red eyes and a cape.
"Who are you?"
The alien smiled. Weakly.
"My name is J'onn J'onzz. Let me put you down."
J'onn descended from the sky, placing Mick down on the sidewalk. The boy stumbled to his feet and dusted himself off. When he took a good look at J'onn, he was able to recognize him.
"Hey. You're that martian guy. I've heard people talking about you."
"Yes. I'm the Martian Manhunter. Oh, and you dropped this."
J'onn handed the boy the credit coin. A coin that was eagerly taken back. "Thank you."
"Of course. It is-"
J'onn stopped speaking when he heard and sensed another disturbance. One a few miles away.
"Sir?"
"Just, try to be more careful with sidewalks from now on."
J'onn flew back to the sky, leaving a happy and awed Mick on the ground. He turned around to go back to the ducts...
When a C-Sec officer walked right up to him.
"Hold on kid. I need to ask you something."
Mick tried to run. But a grown officer was always going to be faster than a homeless kid with few meals. Thankfully, the officer in question was one of the good ones.
"Woah, kid. Relax. I'm not going to hurt you. In fact..." The officer pulled some credits out of his pocket, which caught Mick's attention.
"You need something, mister?"
"My name is Bailey. Would you mind answering ask a few questions for me?"
Cerberus Headquarters...
The Illusive Man did not usually watch public news stations. There was rarely anything on them that interested him. And with all the resources and informants at his disposal, he had access to more information than a team of journalists could ever accumulate over several lifetimes.
But this news was disturbing. And it was everywhere.
"Just this morning, a group of construction workers here on the citadel was witness to an extraordinary sight. Sir? Could you recount what happened?"
One human worker, likely the foreman, came into camera view.
"It was insane. First one of the beams falls off, probably a loose screw or something. Then we start moving to not get crushed. That's when Eddie trips. I really thought he was a goner. But then the beam is in the sky. A green alien is carrying it."
The screen changed footage to show the worker's story. Indeed, a green-skinned alien wearing a purple cape was flying in the air. Holding up a metal beam it was just a light long stick. An image that haunted the Illusive Man.
The news was muted before it could go into more detail over how the rest of the men felt. That wasn't something that the Illusive Man cared about. Nor did his assistant.
"This is a problem. The only question is, how big?"
Miranda Lawson. Genetically designed to be perfect. Lived up to those expectations in every manner possible. There was a reason the Illusive Man considered her his number one operative. She had not failed him once. So she deserved the full picture.
Putting out his cigarette, the Illusive Man did something he did not do often. He told the blunt truth.
"If I knew the answer to that, I wouldn't have my best people working overtime."
Miranda frowned. "With all due respect sir, I don't see this a time for jokes."
"Neither do I Miss Lawson. That is why I am frustrated," the old mastermind sighed. "Run me through all the details we do know. We can start there."
"Very well. We'll start with the biggest source of controversy. His name. The Martian Manhunter."
Miranda wrinkled her nose at the name. "He is either using old human ignorance to his advantage, or our conceptions about Mars have been incorrect all the centuries we've speculated about it."
"Both of which are troubling possibilities," the Illusive Man said as he lit a new cigar. "But a name like that won't tell us much. What about his abilities?"
"There are only a few we know of sir. Self-sustaining flight being one of them," Miranda said as footage of the alien flying across the Citadel skylines was shown. "His speed is also ridiculous, being able to reach velocities approaching Mach 1. At minimum. Additionally, he has shown remarkable strength, able to direct a ship with his hands alone."
Miranda pressed her tablet to pull up new information. "And then there is this."
New footage. This time from the alien's first public appearance. The secret cameras showing the alien carrying the ship from underneath. And growing an extra set of arms from under its torso to do it.
The Illusive Man would need more cigars to deal with this stress. "Shapeshifting. I didn't think that was possible."
"Neither did I," Miranda said with a hint of worry. "Whatever this creature is, sir, it seems hellbent on redefining that word."
That was an understatement. Whatever the Manhunter was, the word impossible had been redefined the moment he appeared. But that wasn't what worried the Illusive Man the most.
What worried him was what his intentions might be. As the leader of Cerberus, the Illusive Man's responsibility was to safeguard humanity's advancement. To ensure that the species took their rightful place in the center of the cosmos.
It was what his master expected of him.
If the alien wanted to be an ally to all species the way he presented himself, the Illusive Man had no personal issues with that. Altruism was something he could easily take advantage of. But if the alien had other hidden goals, that might produce more of a problem. And right now, he couldn't think of any possible way to restrain the alien if it stood in the way of Cerberus' goals.
It was a fear he hoped would never exist. An enemy too powerful for him to even conceive defeating.
"Keep an eye on this alien. Amp up our spies on the Citadel. Whatever happens, I want to be the first to know. If there are any weaknesses revealed or a sign of ideology presented, I want a report on my desk immediately."
"Understood sir."
Miranda left the room shortly afterward. Leaving the Illusive Man to ponder how best to deal with this situation. He knew that he would have to be decisive and successful. His master wouldn't accept anything less.
Exodus Cluster, Utopia System...
The Normandy was a beauty. That was all Anderson had to say about it. Even with all the time he had served as the new ship's captain, he still had to marvel at the ingenuity of it. A stealth ship capable of sneaking past any armada or fleet. A joint commission between human and turian engineers. A sign of warfare changes to come.
The crew manning it was also something he approved of. Pressly was a good navigator, he'd get that job done. And Joker... well, that kid made sure his disease didn't hold him back. And he had one of humanity's best serving aboard.
"Captain? May I have a word?"
Turning his head, Anderson saw the only non-human aboard the ship. Nihilus, a council Spectre, and turian. He was here on his assignment.
"What is it Nihilus?"
"It's a message I received from the council. Something that they would like for us to discuss... in private."
That piqued Anderson's interest. His interactions with the council weren't so frequent ever since the... incident all those years ago. So this ought to at least be interesting.
"Of course. Follow me."
Anderson led the Spectre towards the private meeting room. Once they were locked away from the rest of the crew, he asked the question.
"What's going on Nihilus? Anything significant?"
"I'm not so sure myself yet. For now, we need to see this footage."
Using his Omni-tool, Nihilus transferred data to the main screen. A screen that began to show them footage from Citadel news stations. Specifically, one Emily Wong was reporting a new story.
"I would not believe this if I was not seeing it myself folks. What you are about to witness will change the way we view the galaxy. Likely forever."
The screen changed to show footage of...
Anderson had seen many things in his career within the Alliance. Many of which were things that made sleeping at night harder than he liked. His botched mission with Saren and failed Specter attempt being chief among them. But the footage that Nihilus was presenting him with was very different. It was something that challenged his mind in ways that nothing ever had before.
He wasn't sure any aliens were supposed to fly.
"What is that thing?"
"We don't know," Nihilus responded, leaving the screen on an image of a green alien wearing a purple cape. "It appeared on the Citadel last week, saving a hijacked ship from crashing into the citadel. Since then, he seems to have made a habit of entering in disasters, trying to save civilians or prevent public damage."
The different screens were showing different events. An out-of-control car being held up by bare hands. A volus trying to escape C-Sec getting captured in mid-air. And in some, the alien was simply flying across citadel skies, the cape flapping behind it.
"This is... unexpected," Anderson said, unable to think of a better word. "But if this is public news, why bring it to me?"
"The reason the council is asking for human cooperation in trying to determine the origins of the creatures. The reasons for that lie in what he calls himself."
"Its name? Why does that matter?"
"When C-Sec Executor Pallin approached the creature, he was given a title to refer to it as. He called himself the Martian Manhunter."
Martian? Manhunter? What sort of a name was that? And why would humanity know about it?
"This has to be some sort of red herring. A distraction. Humans studied mars for centuries. We never found any sign of life on that red rock."
"Personally, I'm inclined to believe you, captain. But the council wants to find as much possible information on this new alien as possible. And right now, the name he gave us is the only clue."
Anderson could understand those concerns. This alien was different than the krogan or batarians. They might act as threats in council space, but they didn't have the power to inflict so much damage. This alien was a complete unknown, his limits and his goals a mystery. And when it came to security, mysteries were never that great.
"Aside from our mysterious visitor, is there any other discussion the council has planned for us?"
"Not as far s I know," Nihilus said as he shut off the screens. "Only the mission I already came here to complete."
Right. The incident on Eden Prime. Speaking of which...
"Joker. Call the commander. It's time for us to get the ball moving."
A few days later...
Dr. Michels was used to having slow days. In fact, she sort of liked them. While her passion was to help her patients whenever they had an issue, she would admit that a low-stress day certainly had its benefits. It let her focus on herself a little more instead of whether she could keep someone alive or not.
Maybe she could make a call to-
"...help."
Seeing her door open, Michels was greeted by the sight of a quarian clutching her bleeding side. Dr. Micheles immediately ran to grab her and keep her from falling over. If this wound festered, she wasn't sure how long she would make it.
"I have a table over here. Come on."
C-Sec Headquarters
Garrus tried to ignore the news. He was busy trying to get his own investigation to work. Pallin had made it clear that he was going to have to do this on his own, without any official support. That was going to make things a little more difficult.
But professional and personal were too different types of help.
"Sorry if I'm late. Find anything Garrus?"
"Nothing on my end Swanwick. But you should be careful. Too many tardies aren't something that C-Sec approves of."
"If that's the case, can we get a department specifically to make sure traffic doesn't bother us?" Swanwick responded. "Besides, don't you have to drive here? How do you make it on time?"
"I get here long before my shift starts. Helps me stay punctual. Have you ever considered doing that?"
"Once. But then I went back to sleep," Swanwick quipped. "Turians are the one hard-wired for public service. Humans like to sleep."
"No wonder they haven't accomplished as much as us yet," Garrus joked. "Anyway, are you ready for some work?"
"That's what I'm here for. What do we have Garrus?"
The turian pulled out a file. One that even had its title classified. The rest of the contents inside weren't any clearer. But there was one name visible.
"Saren Arterius. Council Spectre. You really expect to bring him down?"
"Not without difficulty," Garrus admitted. "But it has to be done. If Saren is guilty, then he is a disgrace not just to the Spectre's, but to the entire Turian race as well. He needs to be bought down before he dirties the names of either group any longer."
"That's all well and nice Garrus. But do you have any proof?"
"No. But I do have a nice human friend who'll be willing to lend me a hand."
"Really? You want to introduce me?" Swanwick chuckled as he took his own seat. "In the meantime, I might as well take some pity on you. What do you have?"
"Not much of anything really. You saw that file? That's how they all look. There's not a single one that isn't full of classified information. The Spectre's work for the council, and there are things the council doesn't want the public to know."
"That is troublesome," Swanwick admitted. "Are you sure you should be doing this? Don't the Spectres have an internal affairs division?"
"Maybe, but we're not privy to that information. And besides, the Spectres are immune to the law. They can do anything so long as it is in the process of preserving galactic peace. They could kill a room full of people and never even fill a sheet of paperwork."
That did make things more difficult. They would essentially be chasing down a ghost that only answered to the galaxy's highest authority. An actual Spectre that didn't leave them a trace to follow.
"You really think you can do this Garrus? There's not much for us to work with."
"I know that Swanwick. But I can't stop. That would be the same as giving up. And I am not a turian that gives up."
He certainly wasn't. Swanwick didn't have to know him for very long to understand that.
"So I take it the plan is for us to scavenge around for any clues that might lead back to Saren?"
"What do think I was doing while you were running late? You have some catching up to do Swanwick."
Grinning, Swanwick got to work searching for his own clues while Garrus focused on the potential leads he had been following. Right now, he was reading about an incident at an underground incinerator. Some bodies being found burned alive.
Unbeknownst to Garrus, Swanwick was trying to think of other ways to find the necessary evidence. Methods that were not technically legal.
Before, he would have been too nervous about being discovered to even attempt to use his natural abilities in such a manner. But the Martian Manhunter was now a known name across the citadel. Being caught was as much a concern as it used to be.
And besides, he had already chosen to start using his powers for the benefit of living beings. Why not use them for the benefit of a friend?
I originally intended to have this chapter out sooner. But things have been busy for me lately, and this took a lot out of me to finish. Hopefully, the next chapter will turn out better.
Anyway, It was fun writing the different reactions that the different groups of the galaxy are having to J'onn.
And with Shepard finally introduced (I decided to go with Jane here), and the inclusion of everyone's favorite quarian, the main plot of the story can soon come underway. But don't worry, there will be changes sprinkled around. I can't just throw in a martian and expect things to go the same.
Side note, I found some art on Deviantart that manages to capture one of the main reasons I love the character of J'onn J'onzz. It is drawn by Harseik, and the link is here: harseik/art/DC-J-onn-Wept-544570237
Anyway, please leave reviews, tell me what you think, and I will see you all next time.
Bye!