Sorry for the long wait for this chapter. Had to deal with some life stuff.

Anyway, I don't own Mass Effect or DC Comics. They belong to their respective owners.

Enjoy!

"Won't be at the office today. Have to talk with Victus."

J'onn raised a brow as he read the message but ultimately didn't put much thought into it. He had his things to think about. Like trying to make sure the coffee tasted good before he tried drinking it.

The scent was obviously very different for him than it would be for the humans that invented the drink, but it was still good.

Right now, he was working on helping Garrus figure out how to expose Saren. He believed his Turian partner when he said that the Spectre had gone corrupt. It was only a matter of proving it to the authorities.

Originally, J'onn had considered using his powers to find Saren and force his secrets into the public. It wouldn't be difficult. He could use his intangibility and invisibility to break into whatever home Saren was living in and take what he needed. He could even use his telepathy to force Saren to publicly state any wrongdoing on his part.

But J'onn decided not to do it when he thought of how slippery a slope that would be.

If he could justify invading the privacy and violating the rights of one sentient being, even one as potentially corrupt as Saren, then what was there to stop him from treating all other beings the same way? He could violate any laws, ignore the consent of any beings, and do whatever he wanted to do.

Just as he had done.

J'onn had sworn to never stoop as low as him. And he was not about to break that promise just to make one case easier. He was going to have to do it the old-fashioned way. With plenty of detective work.

Speaking of work...

Shifting back into the form of Calvin Swanwick, he left his mug in the sink and walked outside. He made sure to have his C-Sec badge and gun with him as he left.

Locking the apartment door behind himself, Swanwick began his walk to the station.

As usual, it was a pleasant and breezy walk. Swanwick was calm as he walked across the city streets, waving and smiling at people as they passed him by. This felt like a good day.

"I said Put Your Hands Up!"

So of course it didn't last.

Turning his head, Swanick saw a small electronic store being robbed by two humans with guns. There was only one Salarian at the counter, and his arms were up.

"Just take what you want. I won't do anything."

"Out of the way," one of the thieves muttered as he pushed the Salarian out of the way and opened the register. Swanwick sighed as he went into a nearby alley to change.

"Is this all you have?" The thief expected there to be more. Usually, stores like this bought in more profit.

"Business has been slow around here lately. I swear."

"Just take the money. We're not staying," the companion thief argued. Listening to his partner, the first thief took whatever he could from the register. It wasn't much, but it was more than they had this morning.

"Let's go. We can't wait for C-Sec to-"

"For them to do what, exactly?"

The Salarian and two thieves immediately stopped moving when the voice was heard. At the entrance of the store, a green-skinned alien descended from the sky. His arms were folded as his feet hit the ground. His purple cape flowed majestically behind him.

Both thieves immediately gave up. They gave the Salarian the credits back, and they went to hand their guns to the interloper.

"I got to be honest. I didn't think you were real," one of the thieves admitted.

"I've been getting similar responses," the manhunter admitted as he smashed both guns in his hand. He then turned to the Salarian. "C-Sec has been notified, yes?"

"The moment they stepped inside this store, yes," the Salarian said, his fear and anxiety now completely gone. Making J'onn keep a note to be cautious around Salarians.

"Both you stay here. The officers will arrive shortly to pick you up," J'onn said to the thieves.

"Yeah, I got it."

"Where else can we go?"

Nodding at the store worker one last time, J'onn took back to the sky. For several minutes, he flew across the sky, searching for any problems that might need his attention. When he found nothing, he flew down into an alley.

A few moments later, Calvin Swanwick resumed his walk to work.

When J'onn arrived at the station, things seemed to be as normal as they usually were. He went in, got checked, and was on his way to the desk to continue his workday. It was when he passed by the evaluation offices that the routine was broken.

"Hey! Swanwick, right?"

Turning around, Swanick saw a blonde man approaching him. One who was also checking to make sure that no one is around.

"Yes, that's me," Swanwick said as he held out his hand to shake. "And you would be...?"

"Bailey. Armando-Owen Bailey," the officer introduced himself. "Do you mind if I ask a favor from you?"

Swanwick was cautious, but he nodded. 'What is it?"

"There's a Quarian in the room right here. The bosses want me to interrogate her and make sure she isn't up to anything."

Swanwick frowned. "Ok. What's the favor you need?"

"Can you talk to her for me? There's something else important I need to deal with."

Even without telepathy, Swanwick had a feeling that Bailey's other task wasn't as important as he made it sound.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? Our superiors might not be happy for us to simply switch tasks."

"They don't have to know. The only thing you need to worry about is making sure the culprit doesn't make a bomb."

"I'm sorry?"

"Here are the notes. Have fun."

Bailey was already gone by the time Swanwick could muster a response. All he had was a datapad and a room with some person he was going to have to question now.

Shaking his head, Swanick gripped the pad and went inside the room. He was surprised to see a Quarian sitting at the table. He was more surprised when she talked back to him.

"Really? Another set of questions? How many more do I need to answer?"

Swanwick felt that context was missing. He considered reading her mind to discover what her situation was, but he swiftly decided against it. She had a right to privacy, and he couldn't violate that simply for his own convenience.

"Perhaps you can help me miss..." Swanwick quickly checked the file. "Tali Zorah. Why exactly are you here?"

Even though her face was obscured by a mask, Swanwick could feel her eyebrow raise. "Is this a test? Or some kind of joke?"

"If it is, no one told me about it," Swanwick said as he quickly read the file and came up with a solution.

"Miss Zorah, do you have any intention of disrupting the peace on the citadel?"

"No! I've been saying the for hours!"

"Great. Let me get you out of here then."

Tali was taken aback. "Just like that?"

"If you were going to do something, I'm sure someone would have noticed by now. You're free to go."

Swanwick pulled a card from his back pocket, handing it to Tali.

"Just hand it to the receptionist outside. Let them know I sent you."

Cautiously taking the card, Tali kept it in her hands. She looked up at Swanwick.

"Thank you."

Swanwick nodded. "You're welcome. And you're free to go."

Just as Swanwick was getting up to return to his desk, Tali called out to him.

"I never asked your name."

Swanwick smiled. "It's Calvin. Calvin Swanwick."

He opened the door and kept it open for Tali. "After you."

"Oh. Thank you," Tali said as she stood up and walked to the door. Swanwick left it open until she left, at which point he let the door close shut. And after exchanging a final goodbye, Swanwick let Tali leave the station.

He didn't need telepathy to know that she appreciated his help.

Later...

Swanwick was sitting quietly at his office. Garrus hadn't arrived, just as he said he wouldn't. But he had left some of the files from his Saren investigation on his desk. Files that Swanwick took and began to gloss over.

There was nothing intelligible to take from these files. More than ninety percent of the contents were blacked out. The few parts that weren't were inconsequential at best. Details about eating spots, murder areas without murder details, and other things that didn't give any indication of Saren's character or the business he conducted.

Putting the files down, Swanwick knew he would get any further in the case with those. They wouldn't be any help.

He could only hope that Saren was out there making headway on the case. maybe he could...

"Where's Fist?"

Swanwick recognized the voice. He had just seen her less than an hour ago. And she was in trouble.

Excusing himself politely, Swanwick went to the bathroom. No one paid him any mind, fortunately.

Once he was locked inside a stall, he assumed his manhunter uniform. The purple cape flowed behind him as he phased through the ceiling of C-Sec and flew towards Chora's Den.

There was a Quarian that needed his help.

Tali knew the moment Fist didn't show up that she was in trouble. The only ones who came were armed Turians.

She should never have contacted him.

"Where is Fist? He plaid the shadow broker would be here."

One of the Turians got closer.

"Don't worry, Fist will be here soon. But before that..."

The Turian ran a finger across Tali's shoulder. Making her back shiver.

"Mind letting us see the evidence you were talking about?"

"No." Tali pushed off the Turian's hand as she backed away. "The deal's off."

The Turian scoffed. "Is that so?"

Tali saw them reach for their guns. So she immediately ducked and ran for cover.

"Don't let her escape. The boss wants her dead."

She was set up. And unless she got out of her situation, she was going to die without accomplishing anything. So she needed... something. It was hard to think with all the gunfire around her.

A way out. A weapon that was better than her small pistol. Or maybe a...

"Don't let up! Take him down!"

Him?

Risking a glance, Tali looked beyond her cover to try and find answers.

What she saw made her eyes widen behind her helmet.

It was him. The green-skinned alien with bright red eyes. The same alien that had saved the ship she had come to the Citadel on. The same one she saw take flight.

That same alien was taking barrages of bullets without damage. Actually, it didn't even look like the bullets were hitting him. They were only spraying the wall behind him.

"This is a waste of ammunition," the alien told them. "If you drop your weapons, we can find a peaceful solution to our problems."

"Don't listen to him!" The head Turian ordered, his gun still firing. "The boss wants her dead, so that's how she'll end up. We're not going back without a corpse."

"Please," the alien requested. "I ask that you all reconsider. I would prefer not to harm any of you."

He was being sprayed with bullets, none of which were hitting him, and his main concern was keeping his attackers safe? Tali had been warned that the beings outside the Floatilla were strange at times. But she didn't think any of them ever expected anything like this.

When the attackers didn't stop firing, the alien sighed before choosing to walk forward. And the closer he got, the more Tali realized something important about the alien. The bullets weren't missing him.

They were going through him. It was like he was a ghost, each bullet passing through his body like he wasn't there.

Before Tali could process that one shock, another one came when she saw his body phase through the floor. The mercenaries stopped firing when they saw him disappear.

Only for the alien to reappear right behind the main Turian.

"What the-?!"

The Turian swung his arm back, intending to hit the alien with his gun. But a green hand caught the weapon and stopped it cold. And with the clenching of a fist, the gun was broken in two. The barrel and muzzle clanked on the floor.

The other two mercenaries were stunned, but they quickly lifted their weapons to fire again.

Grabbing the Turian's arm, the alien effortlessly lifted him and tossed him at one of the other mercenaries. The two Turian bodies smashed together and then against the wall. Both of them slumped on the floor like a sack of computer chips. Leaving only one mercenary remaining.

"Don't come near me!"

The Turian tried to sound confident, but the shaking of his legs made his fear obvious. And even as the green alien approached him, getting closer and closer, the Turian was too anxious to pull the trigger.

The alien was in front of him soon and simply reached out his hand. Knowing he was defeated, the Turian gave up his gun. It was promptly destroyed in the alien's hands.

"The door is close by. And no one knows you were here."

The Turian's eyes lit up. He had expected mercy.

"I will not follow you if you run. Simply promise that you will no longer partake in similar activities."

"Believe me, I'm done," the Turian promised as he backed away. "You'll never see me again. I swear."

The Turian ran towards the exit. And true to his word, the alien did not follow after him.

"I know you are here. I promise that I only came to help."

Tali was hesitant for a moment. But she remembered the fact that this same alien had saved her life, along with the lives of so many others when the Krogan had attacked the ship. So he could probably be trusted.

"Alright." Tali stood up from her hiding spot. When the alien saw her, he held his hands behind his back and under his cape. Was that to show that he wasn't a threat? Because Tali didn't think that would work.

"Greetings. My name is J'onn J'onzz. The Martian Manhunter. Do you know why these mercenaries attacked you Mi-Ma'am?"

Tali had never heard of a name or title similar to his, but that was a different issue. One better saved for a different time.

"I was supposed to be meeting with Fist and someone called the Shadow Broker. They were supposed to help me reveal evidence I have of Saren being a traitor to the council."

Tali saw J'onzz's eyes widen. But before he said anything, his head turned to the entrance that was behind them.

"There are more people coming."

"What? Great, how many people does Fist-?"

"They do not work for Fist," J'onn said calmly. "In fact, they were on their way here to save you already. They want to stop Saren just as much as you do."

Tali frowned under her helmet. "How can you know that? Did... Did you talk to them beforehand?"

"No. I have never met any of them. But you will be able to trust them."

J'onn began to ascend, leaving Tali worried.

"Where are you going?"

"To find someone else who might need me. I promise you are safe now Tali Zorah."

He disappeared, passing through the ceiling like a ghost. Tali was initially worried about that, being stuck with new people.

But she soon found how unneeded her fears were.

J'onn knew that Tali would be in safe hands the moment he sensed Garrus among the group heading to the scene. While he was surprised to sense his mind among a bunch of humans and a Krogan, it seemed that Garrus was more content now than he had been in a while. He could feel his Turian partner's sense of satisfaction and pride even as he flew away.

He would have to wait until Garrus came back to the station to figure out why.

This is where I will be stopping for now. As I have now officially made it to the canon start of Mass Effect 1, the main plot of Mass Effect will soon commence. This time with martian help.

I apologize if this chapter seems short. I wrote this as a bridge of sorts to get me back in the groove of writing this story. Hopefully, the next chapter will come out sooner.

Moving on, Tali has become acquainted with Calvin Swanwick and with J'onn J'onzz. Let's see where that leads.

One thing before I go. How would you guys prefer to see J'onn aboard the Normandy? Should Garrus convince Swanwick to leave C-Sec with him? Or should Swanwick remain while J'onn J'onzz follows after them? I already have an idea of which one to do, but I want to hear some opinions before I make any decisions.

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

Bye!