To 'Guest' and 'Just a randomguy': I am not particularly fond of Hawkman as I am of Martian Manhunter. I know Hawkman is just as underrated as Martian Manhunter, if not more so, but I've never had any interest or fondness for him. So it's extremely unlikely that I will do a fanfic story about Hawkman or Hawkgirl anytime soon.

To say that these last two days have been weird or shocking for Team RWBY would be an understatement. Having learned about the four Relics, Salem, and the Gods who created Remnant, they didn't know where to start comprehending all this or even how to deal with it, especially after learning that Salem, the being controlling the Grimm from the shadows, was immortal. But right now, at this very moment, they were gazing at something that may very well eclipse everything they've learned so far. Right in front of their very eyes stood a being that they thought existed only in fiction. The being in question was 7 or 8 feet tall, had smooth green skin, an elongated skull, elongated fingers, digitigrade legs, and two red eyes that seemed to lack pupils.

J'onn J'onzz stared at the heroes cautiously, unsure how to explain himself or respond as he never planned to reveal himself to the people of Remnant, especially in his natural form. Should he just escape and leave them be? Should he erase their memories of this encounter like it never happened?

"Ruby, get behind me..." Qrow quietly ordered as he slowly reached for Harbinger.

"Do not be afraid." A male voice suddenly rang out inside their heads, startling everyone. The heroes momentarily looked at one another in confusion before turning back to the Martian.

"Did... Did you speak to us...?" Ruby cautiously asked, still on guard.

J'onn sighed, he forgot that the people of Remnant were incapable of communicating telepathically. "Indeed." He said with his mouth, which surprised them even more.

After another moment of uncomfortable silence between the two parties, Weiss decided to speak. "Who or what are you?"

Sighing again, J'onn raised his hands in a non-threatening manner. "My name is J'onn J'onzz, and I am what you may call... an alien. More specifically, a Martian." Again, everyone was left completely flabbergasted and speechless upon hearing this. As if learning that the Gods are real, as well as magic, and an immortal monster pulling the strings from the shadows wasn't enough, now they had an alien roaming Remnant?

"Okay, then. Why are you here, exactly?" Qrow asked, though judging from the tone in his voice, it sounded more like a demand. Team RWBY and Qrow had their hands placed close to their respective weapons in case the Martian decides to attack. J'onn didn't hold it against them; he looked into their minds, and learned new information regarding the secrets of this planet — information that, up until now, even he didn't know existed.

"I didn't come to your world by choice." J'onn clarified. "Through circumstances beyond my control, I was transported here against my will." Ruby didn't know why, but she felt concealed sadness and anger in the Martian's voice as he said that.

"Mind clarifying what circumstances brought you here, exactly?" Yang asked, looking at the Martian skeptically with narrowed eyes.

"It is... a long story." J'onn said, his eyes downcast. "I have been living on Remnant for over five months now." Once again, the heroes found themselves dumbfounded and speechless as they heard this. To think that this alien had been living among them for over five months without even a single person realizing it... Some of them now began to wonder (and worry) if he was associated with Salem, or perhaps associated with one of her pawns.

"I am not associated with Salem, nor with anyone that is on her side." J'onn suddenly declared, catching everyone by surprise and shocking them to their very core, especially Team RWBY and Qrow.

"H-How did you know what we were thinking?" Blake asked, looking at the Martian with narrowed eyes.

"I read your minds." Came J'onn's casual reply. The Martian sensed that, aside from being understandably shocked and impressed, their emotions were rather mixed; Ruby, Oscar, and Yang were fascinated and curious upon hearing this, with Ruby even feeling excited at the fact that they were conversing with a real life alien that likely had tons of other cool powers. Qrow, Blake, Weiss, and Maria, on the other hand, became more wary and cautious of him.

"How do we know we can trust you?" Qrow asked seriously. Considering everything they've learned from the Relic of Knowledge regarding Ozpin and what he had been hiding from them, J'onn understood their mistrust towards him, as they were all but justified to act this way towards him.

"Forgive me if I sound arrogant, but the truth is, if I was on Salem's side, all of you would have been dead by now, and the Relic would have been in her hands." J'onn said calmly. The heroes felt very unnerved by this reply, and they couldn't help but wonder what other powers this alien possessed other than reading minds. "Furthermore, I can erase your memories of me and this event as if it never happened, right here, right now. That is, if you wish that."

There was truly no end to how much J'onn managed to shock and impress the heroes. Some wanted to deny he could do that, but after everything they've learned so far and witnessing one of his ability firsthand, there was not much debate about anymore. Still, it felt so unreal, even for Qrow, who knew the existence of Salem and the Two Brothers long before Team RWBY.

"Well...?" J'onn's question snapped them out of their deep thinking.

"N-No thanks... J'onn. We believe you." Ruby finally said as she allowed herself to relax. The others soon followed after, though still remained vigilant and cautious of the Martian, as J'onn expected them to. None of them wanted to trust him, but they knew that they had no other choice at the moment.

"So... what now?" Yang asks, turning to the others.

"We continue as planned. We're going to Atlas." Qrow said before turning to J'onn. "Only this time, we're taking our 'friend' with us."

"Shouldn't we find Mike, first?" Blake suggested.

"Actually..." J'onn began, turning everyone's attention back to him. "He is right here..." Before anyone could ask what he meant by that, J'onn's body suddenly began changing and transforming; heavy clothing formed from his very skin and covered his body, his green skin became pale-cream, his red eyes became blue, his elongated head shrunk down and grew long brown hair, and his over all body shrunk to 6 feet. J'onn J'onnz had transformed into...

"Mike...?" Ruby asked as she and the others stared at what is now the same man they met the previous day. Everyone could hardly believe their eyes, but at the same time, they also began getting an understanding of how this alien was able to live on Remnant for months without detection.

"Yes. Though, the truth is, there is no real Mike. I took that form and made up that story about having a family to hide myself." J'onn explained before reverting to his natural form. "The people of Remnant wouldn't understand me. They would fear and mistrust me because of what I am."

No one said a word, as all of them acknowledged and understood the Martian's motivation. Blake, in particular, couldn't help but sympathize with J'onn, because she, too, once masqueraded as a human to avoid facing discrimination. Though unlike her, J'onn's reason was more serious and justifiable.

"You seem to be okay with letting us know you're an alien." Weiss pointed out.

"I have looked into your minds, and by extension, your hearts. I see that you are trustworthy people who are willing to sacrifice your very lives for the greater good. You care about preserving life and the well-being of others, regardless of what or who they are." J'onn said. His voice was calm, but contained a hint of respect and admiration for them. "For that, I see no reason to not trust you in keeping my extraterrestrial nature a secret. At least, for the time being."

Everyone, especially Team RWBY, couldn't help but slightly blush on the inside and feel somewhat flattered by the Martian's kind and encouraging words. Though this moment was short-lived as Yang soon realized something.

"Guys, we kind of forgot about the spare tire." The blond brawler said, pointing at the trailer and Bumblebee. J'onn looked at her motorcycle and then the trailer, and after a moment of thinking and careful consideration, he turned to the heroes.

"How good are any of you with flying?" J'onn's question took them by surprise.

"You can fly, too?!" Ruby asked as she looked at the Martian in awe, stars of excitement filling up her eyes at the possibility. Even some of the more serious-minded individuals like Blake, Weiss and Qrow couldn't help but feel excited and awed by this.

"I can do that, and more..." J'onn couldn't help but slightly smirk as he said that. Everyone instinctively backed away from J'onn as the Martian once again began to transform, this time much more significantly while simultaneously growing bigger. After finishing his transformation, a gigantic dragon-like creature now stood in the place of the humanoid alien. Its body was a long and serpentine, measuring over 26 meters in length, while also possessing four limbs that were relatively small compared to the rest of his body. Truth be told, J'onn based this form off of the God of Light's draconic form; the only thing separating his dragon form from the God of Light's was the fact that J'onn retained his green skin and red eyes.

Everyone stared at J'onn's dragon form in complete shock and disbelief. As if reading minds and shape-shifting was not enough, they didn't expect his shape-shifting capabilities to be this incredible. On the inside, Ruby and Yang were struggling not to explode in joy and excitement, and shout out loud 'so cool!'

"Climb on." J'onn telepathically said to them as he lowered his head to allow the heroes to climb on his back. Hesitantly, Ruby approached and climbed atop his head, followed by Qrow, Yang, and eventually everyone else. Once everyone was sitting on his back, J'onn crouched down slightly and took to the sky, grabbing Yang's motorcycle, Bumblebee, in his right forelimb as he did so.

"Woah!" Everyone yelped when they left the ground beneath them, allowing air to whoosh around them as they ascended higher and higher, all the while Team RWBY and Oscar clinged tightly on the back of the alien dragon they were riding. Due to being able to fly via transforming into a corvid, Qrow was not affected as much as the others, though he couldn't deny the fact that it still felt amazing. In his serpentine dragon form, J'onn flew through the air as fluently and majestically as a sea snake swims through water. Finally, Ruby allowed her eyes to open, and she along with her friends gasped; they were now flying miles above the ground and nearly touching the clouds. The air was thin and cool, and Team RWBY, along with everyone else, couldn't help but marvel at the breathtaking sight, words unable to describe how they were feeling. J'onn felt their emotions, and couldn't help but mentally smile to himself.

"This is so cool! How many powers do you have?" Yang asked, looking at the ground beneath them and guessing they must be at least four or five miles in the air.

"Plenty. Remind me to go over them later." J'onn replied.

"This is... incredible." Blake breathed, unable to hide her excitement as she looked down at the forest they were previously traveling through.

"I never imagined I could experience this feeling again." Maria smiled.

"Of course. Since you were the Grimm Reaper, once." J'onn's voice telepathically rang in their heads. Everyone instantly became silent upon hearing this before turning to Maria with widened-eyes.

"Wait. H-Hold on a second. You... You're the Grimm Reaper?!" Qrow asked, looking at the elderly woman in astonishment.

Maria herself was momentarily at a loss for words and mentally scowled at the Martian for revealing her secret so bluntly like that. "My apologies, Maria. But I believe it was necessary for them to know who you truly are." J'onn telepathically said, sensing the old woman's annoyance.

"Yes." Maria finally said with a sigh. "I was indeed the Grimm Reaper... once."

Out of everyone, Qrow was the most shocked upon hearing this sudden revelation, not expecting to meet his idol face-to-face in such a predicament. "I can't believe it. You were a legend! And then you disappeared! What happened?"

Maria sadly looked away, not feeling like telling her friends her life story. "J'onn, since you've already looked into my mind, would you prefer it if you told them about me?"

The others turned from Maria to J'onn, who nodded. "Very well. Maria once had silver eyes, just like Ruby Rose. Unfortunately, she was attacked by a group of people who worked for Salem. In the ensuing battle, one of them managed to.. remove her eyes and blind her. After that, Maria went into hiding, fearing that others may come to finish the job."

Again, everyone was completely shocked and astounded at what they heard while Maria simply looked down in shame and sadness. "A Huntress is supposed to protect others to the bitter end. But after I lost my eyes, I only ever looked after myself. Even after my surgery, I was too afraid to fight. You shouldn't aspire to be like me, especially when some of you are clearly stronger already." Hearing this, Yang sadly looked away. "Still, it is comforting seeing that your generation seems up to the task of inheriting this world. I'm just sorry I didn't do more to leave it in better shape."

"Well, maybe you can do something now. Teach me to use my powers the way you did." Ruby said, to which Maria simply looked at her, seemingly considering it. Just then, Ruby's Scroll began to ring, much to everyone's surprise. Pulling her Scroll out, the young Huntress gasped in excitement. "It's Jaune!" She exclaimed.

Everyone looked even more surprised. "How?" Weiss couldn't help but ask as Ruby answered the Scroll.

"Hello?"

"Ruby! Oh, thank you! I've been checking my Scroll for your signal since we made it to the city!" Jaune's voice was heard from the Scroll.

"The city?" Ruby asks in confusion. "Wait..."

"Everyone, we have arrived at our destination." They heard J'onn's telepathic words in their heads, which prompted them to turn and look over the transformed Martian's head to see where he was pointing at. In the far distance below them, they saw a walled city along the ocean ― it was Argus. Being several kilometres in the sky, everyone could see Argus all too clearly, and it looked absolutely beautiful from their point of view.

"It's... beautiful..." Ruby quietly said to herself, marveling the sight.

"That is so awesome..." Yang grinned. With that, J'onn turned and began flying down, where he landed on a small hill not too far from Argus.

Argus

Once everyone entered the city of Argus, J'onn assumed his human form, 'Mike', while Yang imputed a code, '4-5-8', to lock Bumblebee in a garage. After that was done, Team RWBY, Qrow, Oscar, J'onn, and Maria took the time to admire their surroundings, and that was when, through the crowd, a certain bubbly ginger-haired girl in pink zoomed in.

"Cute! Boy! OZ!" Squealing in excitement, Nora gave them no time to reply as she raced over and tackle-hugged Oscar to the ground. "Oh, come here!" Soon after, two more of Team RWBy's friends arrived, Jaune Arc and Lie Ren, before everyone embraced each other in joy and relief at being together again. Having read Team RWBY's minds, J'onn already knew who these people were, which prompted him to smile to himself.

"Wait, who's the old lady and the new guy?" Nora asked, noticing Maria and 'Mike'.

As everyone else engaged in their own conversations, Ruby and Jaune walked up to each other and give each other a big hug. After parting from the hug, Jaune looked down and frowned. "Hey. I promised, didn't I?" Ruby, with a smile, reminded him.

This caused Jaune to smile back while tears welled up in his eyes. "Yeah, you did." He said, wiping his eyes. "It's good to see you guys." As the two shared another smile together, J'onn also smiled ― having read all their minds, he knew how important these people are to Team RWBY and what they've been through together.

..

Later on, the group began traveling through the city via a trolley. "It's a lot bigger than I thought it'd be." Yang commented, looking around her surroundings.

"It's actually one of the largest non-capital cities in all of Remnant." Ren clarified.

"No way!" Ruby gasped. "But wait, wouldn't it be harder to settle something this big away from the main Kingdom?"

"Well, it was, until Mantle showed up." Jaune chimed in. "Early settlement attempts by Mistral didn't go well. But colonists from Mantle were able to help them brave the cold climate and return for goods that Solitas couldn't provide."

"The two nations worked together to create a hybrid city. While it falls under Mistral domain, Atlas keeps a military presence here to help keep the people safe and keep trade between the two nations steady." Ren explained.

"Well, until recently..." Nora sighed softly.

Eventually, the trolley made a stop. "We should probably start looking for a ship." Blake said as she and everyone else hopped off.

"So, where have you guys been staying?" Oscar asked, to which Jaune nervously chuckled and scratched the back of his head.

"There you are!" A loud and excitable voice called out, prompting everyone to turn around and see a young woman with wavy-blond hair and blue eyes holding her infant son in one hand, waving at them on the other side of the street. She was wearing an orange top with a beige vest, light brown trousers with orange stitches on each side, and dark brown boots.

Noticing the similarities between Jaune and this woman, Yang couldn't help but snicker. "Is that...?"

"Hey, Saphron." Jaune waved back awkwardly with a nervous smile on his face, much to the amusement of his friends. Ruby quickly zoomed in, all starry-eyed. She looked back and forth between Jaune and the woman, before gasping upon realizing who the woman was: Jaune's older sister, Saphron.

..

Later, the group reconvened in the living room of Saphron's home, where Yang and Weiss were playing with Saphron's adopted son, Adrian. "I can't believe I'm meeting your sister!" Ruby exclaimed in excitement. "I have so many questions."

"Oh, I can give you the rundown later!" Nora said with a snicker.

"Will you guys knock it off?" Jaune, with his arms crossed over his chest, pouted, feeling humiliated by his situation.

"What? I love telling stories about my baby brother." Saphron grinned as she teasingly squeezed her brother's cheek.

Groaning, Jaune flailed his arms at his elder sister. "I am not a baby! That is a baby." He exclaimed while pointing a finger at Adrian, who, in turn, crossed his arms and huffed back at him. Upon making this adorable pout, Yang and Weiss immediately went all wide-eyed as they start fussing over Adrian while making baby talks at him.

"Aww, you're so cute! Yes you are! Oh, look at your little face!"

"Aww, coochie-coochie! Aw, baby! Oh my!"

"So Saphron, you're the only Arc living here?" Blake asked.

Yep!" Saphron said while still squeezing Jaune's cheeks. "Moved the second I could. Jaune and I are the only two living away from home. I guess he just wanted to be like his big sis." She said teasingly.

"I, uh..."

"Aw, you didn't deny it!~" Saphron teasingly sang.

As the two siblings start play fighting with each other by pulling each other's cheeks, they are interrupted by the sound of the door opening, which was followed by a dark-haired woman with glasses walking inside with bags full of groceries. "Everyone, this is my wife, Terra Cotta." Saphron said, introducing them to her wife, to which everyone greeted her respectively.

Terra chuckled. "Why, hello there! Wow, quite a party, you weren't kidding. Hun, can I get some help please?"

As everyone was conversing with one another, Ren and Nora went to the kitchen to help prepare sandwiches for everyone. As this was going on, J'onn began to quietly think to himself; After looking into Team RWBY's minds and learning about the new information, he couldn't help but compare himself to Ozma, and compare Salem to Ma'alefa'ak. Like Salem, Ma'alefa'ak became the monster he was now via interacting with deities; though unlike Salem, he was driven by his desire to be accepted into the Martian race.

Ma'alefa'ak was profoundly troubled from the day he was born. Their mother had forseen that he would embody the evil of their race, while J'onn would embody the good. Their mother named him Ma'alefa'ak, a Martian phrase that meant 'Darkness of the Heart', so as to warn him of his destiny and convince him to try to take a better path. This backfired horribly, as his ominous name caused the other Martians to treat him with hate and suspicion, which Ma'alefa'ak reciprocated. To prove himself, he became a scientist and made contact with what he thought were benevolent Gods.

Unfortunately, they were actually the New Gods of Apokolips, a planet ruled by the living embodiment of tyranny itself, Darkseid. They attacked Ma'aleca'andra and took Ma'alefa'ak to Apokolips, where he was tortured and brainwashed into becoming Darkseid's servant. Under the control of the New God, Ma'alefa'ak was returned to Ma'aleca'andra, where he began to brutally and viciously mind-probe innocent Martians in an attempt to find the Anti-Life Equation for Darkseid. Ma'alefa'ak murdered his mother when she discovered what he did, but was caught and apprehended by J'onn shortly after. After his telepathy and memories were gone, Ma'alefa'ak was still hated and feared by his fellow Martians, both because of what he did and because of the fact that he was the only non-psychic Martian. This final shunning, in addition to his subconscious memories of his prior hatred of the Martians, caused him to commit the genocide against his race.

"Wanna a sandwich, Mike?" J'onn's thinking of his traumatic past was interrupted when he noticed Yang standing next to him, offering him a sandwich. Smiling, J'onn took the sandwich and began eating. As everyone heartily ate their sandwiches, Saphron and Terra shared a look with each other before the latter's Scroll was heard buzzing.

"Excuse me, I'll be right back. " Sighing Terra took the Scroll and got up before walking out of the room to answer. "Hello?"

"Is everything alright?" 'Mike' asked, turning to Saphron.

Saphron smiled, trying to keep a positive attitude. "Oh, yeah, it will be. Terra's a technician for the town's relay tower. Unfortunately, the military's radar system is also housed there." She explained before making baby talks at Adrian. "Guess what's been on the fritz lately and who's getting falsely blamed~."

"Me." Answered Terra as she peeked into the room.

"So, what's your plan for tomorrow?" Saphron asked, turning to Ruby.

"Well..." Ruby began as she gulped down the last bits of her sandwich. "We're trying to make our way to Atlas. We'll probably start with the military base."

Upon hearing this, Nora and Ren looked at each other with concern, and even J'onn looked rather uneasy. With some hesitation, Jaune decided to speak up. "So, we kind of already tried that, and... it didn't go... super great."

"Come on, it couldn't be that bad." Yang said, somewhat confused.

The next day, Team RWBY, Qrow, Oscar, Maria, and 'Mike' walked up to the Atlesian Military base on the island off the coast of Argus, only for the gates to abruptly close on them before they could even enter, much to their surprise and disbelief.

"It seems this will be more difficult than we originally thought." J'onn commented with a sigh.

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. J'onn shape-shifting into an Eastern dragon and giving Team RWBY a ride on his back was a reference to The Neverending Story.