The woman did not draw J'onn's attention, as various other superpowered individuals had over the course of the almost-over day. However, given that she was 15 feet tall, feathered, and floating in the sky, he assumed that she must have powers of some kind. From a different source, then.
Perhaps she was another alien? Her overall body type was very human, but then, so were Kryptonians and Thanagarians.
An inherited memory bubbled forth. His predecessor, other heroes, all fighting in a burning city. Fighting... this woman.
So she's a villain of some sort. If all the devastation in that vision was her doing, then her power must be considerable.
On the other hand, she did seem to be asleep. He might be able to take her...
On the other other hand, attacking a slumbering opponent wasn't particularly noble. He decided to hold off on facing her, at least until he had a clearer idea of her crimes.
J'onn flew onward.
The pieces of the path laid out for him came together as he descended. The storm clouds masked his glow from the wider populace, allowing him to zero in on his target. His flight power dissipated almost completely, allowing him to make the last of the fall without drawing unwanted attention. Even with this, a glow continued to emanate from his body, as he surveyed the beings in front of him.
One man, middle aged, disheveled, and more relaxed than anyone he'd approached in this world, save the floating woman.
One woman, younger, well-dressed, in a more familiar state of shock and awe.
Lastly, there was one dog, standing perfectly still, ears flat against its head.
Even the man, Kevin Norton, J'onn reminded himself, seemed to become less at ease as he looked at what he thought was Zion. Too late, his power told him the reason: in all their previous encounters, Zion had been utterly still. Minor, instinctive movements on J'onn's part were shattering the illusion.
"Something's not right," Norton muttered to his companions. "He seems off, somehow."
"It's been all over the internet," said the woman, faintly. "They're saying he's fallen ill, or that he's dying..."
Norton seemed jolted by her words. He turned to J'onn. "Hello, old friend," he began cautiously.
J'onn mustered all of his efforts. He'd practiced as he traveled, working his body's atrophying vocal cords.
"Hello," he managed. It was quiet, not quite raspy, but still much more poorly vocalized than he would have liked. Still, he had managed his first word in this body.
The two humans reacted strongly to his reply. The dog, oddly enough, seemed to relax a bit.
The ensuing conversation was still rather one-sided, with Norton first explaining his history with Zion, which, unbeknownst to him, was nearly as enlightening to J'onn as it was to Lisette.
"So they... know me as.. Scion, not... Zion?" Admittedly, as he asked the question, J'onn could see how they'd made the mistake.
"That's right," answered Norton. "It's up to you, of course, whether you'd like to correct them, now that you've become more conversational..." He paused, perhaps hoping for an explanation.
"It.. happened recently... I know... Earlier... I just found myself... in this state..." It was basically the truth.
"So you're more aware now, I see, but you've been getting sicker too?"
J'onn didn't exactly nod, but a spasm accompanied his attempted gesture, giving the appearance of an affirmative response.
"That's some coincidence," began Norton slowly. "You see, I was hoping to see you here soon. I needed to set my affairs in order. Somehow, I got hepatitis. Don't have long left, and there's something I need to say. Those endbringer motherfuckers... You know the thing's I'm talking about, right?"
J'onn hadn't the slightest idea, so he kept silent.
"Think hard, Zion. Giant monsters that destroy cities? The things you've been fighting for years?" He seemed to become more agitated as he spoke.
J'onn did as Norton asked, and found that he had some relevant memories. One giant monster which burrowed into the earth, another which fled into the ocean. And possibly... He managed a short description of the two, as well as the strange woman he'd seen earlier.
"That's them. Behemoth, Leviathan, and the Simurgh." Norton seemed to pause, growing increasingly afraid. As he hesitated, J'onn asked the question he'd pondered earlier.
"Should I... kill them?"
The moment J'onn spoke, Norton looked like he'd been hit by a train. He sank to the ground slowly, trembling. "I knew it," he mumbled numbly. "It's my fault... all my fault."
Lisette spoke up. "Yes, you should kill them, Zion," she said with astonishment. "Do you mean, that, before, you weren't fighting to -" at that moment, Norton collapsed. Lisette rushed to help him, and J'onn hovered closer. A power of his told him Norton wasn't yet dying, but was unable to stand up due to stress.
Norton managed an utterance. "Find Lisette here, if you need someone to talk to," He whispered to J'onn. "She'll do much better..." he trailed off.
Duke the dog began to nuzzle Norton worriedly.
Lisette looked back and forth from Norton to J'onn, apparently unsure which of their statements was more alarming. But she managed to speak.
"Zion, can you find them? The monsters? Do you know where they are? Behemoth or Leviathan in particular?"
J'onn suspected that he could. A new power surfaced, but it only revealed two creatures: the mysterious woman, and...
"I see... something strange..." J'onn began. "The Simurgh.. sleeps in the sky... And something else..." His vision showed an aberration of a creature. Not quite as large as Leviathan or Behemoth in his memories... But it seemed to be fighting a host of heroes, including some of those he recognized from what he now knew as Endbringer fights. He described the scene haltingly to Lisette. She became horrified as she listened.
"Zion, if there's a new Endbringer that's emerged, you have to stop it. Well, you should stop all of them, for good, but if one is attacking right now, you've got to go. Don't worry about us, just go!"
J'onn waited just a moment before flying off; he implemented a quick method his power suggested to treat Norton's disease. He then shot off in a golden burst, heading to a city on the east coast of the United States.