Chapter 31: Exit Stage Right

General Mulligan had seen it all go down. He had seen the cloud look remarkably ill, had seen as it became the form of two of the Justice Leagues premier heroes in a rather intimate scene, and he had seen the cloud's final end, including so much of its malignant pieces crashing harmlessly into the waters of the ocean. However, right now he didn't care about any of that. None of it mattered right now. He had other priorities.

This thing was not over yet. Not since that additional piece of the cloud had landed right here, right in the middle of his base camp. He was under attack. His men and women were under attack. This would not stand.

But it wasn't another energy attack like the ones that had been plaguing the city. The block that landed in his camp wasn't able to absorb or kill any of them. It was blinding while its light lasted, but in itself that was it. No, the threat here wasn't from the last piece of the cloud, not the thing itself. The threat here was the forms emerging from within it.

Mulligan had heard the stories when Batman had exited the cloud at the half-way stage of all this turmoil. He knew that there had actually been people inside that thing, aliens of a very vicious nature. Well he would be damned if he would allow them loose on his planet just when he had destroyed their primary weapon. These people would not be getting the chance to attack again. That was why Mulligan had given the order. An order that he was immediately given a full showing of as he drew his own pistol.

"Everyone, weapons trained! Any sign of movement and you're to open fire! This city, this planet, will not fall today!"

Her joy was remarkably short-lived. It was the same for all of them. They had made it out of the cloud. They had made it. They had bodies, real, physical, Martian bodies. Their own bodies. The Bat Man and the Wonder Woman had fulfilled their promise. M'vall and all of her people, all of them were alive again, truly alive. More than that, the two Earth heroes had supplied them with the means of actually making it out of the cloud, using one of the last pieces of the dying form as a means of transportation, sending them all down to the city, keeping their new physical forms safe on the way there. But after that, the cloud was gone. There was nothing that either the Bat Man, the Wonder Woman or even J'onn J'onzz could do to help them, not without actually being right there alongside them. From that moment on, they had to fend for themselves.

Which was why it was so unfortunate that straight away they found they were in dire need of aid.

They had barely touched down, barely gotten used to standing on their own two real feet again when the light of their transportation field faded. With the light no longer there, they could see what lay beyond. At the same time, those beyond could see them.

And those who lay beyond clearly weren't liking what they were seeing.

The weapons were alien to M'vall and the rest, but they could all recognise guns on any planet, no matter what form they were in. M'vall for one had also seen enough examples of people itching to use such weapons to know when it was on display right in front of her eyes. Right now, with these humans stood encircling them, it was exactly the situation in which she and the Martians found themselves. These humans clearly hadn't been aware of the plan. These humans didn't know that the Martians weren't a threat, and from the look on their faces they weren't about to stop and listen to M'vall or any of her people. At best they were prisoners. At worst...

At worst they might have been better off just staying with the cloud until the end.

There was no way that they could fight back. For one thing, they were all still too weak, too unused to the physical realm after spending so long torn from it. After all, they were having to get used simply to physically standing again. There was no way that they could fight, even if they had been experienced fighters like J'onn had become. For another thing, they were just too well surrounded. Any aggression would just be met by superior aggression. It would only lead to them all getting killed.

They needed help. M'vall knew it immediately. They needed someone both sides could trust. Someone or a group of someones that these soldiers would listen too, who could explain that she and the Martians were not the enemy, that they were not a threat.

Once again they needed J'onn J'onzz. Once again, they needed the Justice League.

Even with Batman, Shayera and the Flash now out of her care, she still had two patients left. With Wonder Woman and J'onn J'onzz still laid unconscious in their beds, it didn't matter how curious she was about what exactly was going on down in Metropolis. Dr. Conway wasn't going anywhere.

There hadn't been anything that she had really had to do yet, but with the completely unknown nature of this scenario, especially for the health of those whose minds had been taken away by this mysterious threat, Conway knew that all of that could change so very quickly. She wasn't going to allow herself to be distracted if they did. Her sole duty was to her patients, to ensuring these brave heroes lived to fight another day. If that meant waiting patiently and hoping that she wouldn't be needed at all, then that was fine by her. If it meant being completely in the dark as to how the fight against that energy cloud was going, then so be it. Everything in her power would be done for those in her care. The rest could be left for the heroes who were better suited to it. The rest was in their care.

However, one distraction that Doctor Conway couldn't ignore was her own personal League communications device going off just as she was checking Wonder Woman's vital signs for the umpteenth time that hour. With Mr. Terrific's voice sounding out from it to her and with both patients still looking stable, she felt it wise to answer. If nothing else then she had to make sure that this wasn't a message telling her that she was about to get a fresh batch of patients to go with what she already had. Luckily, though, that wasn't the message.

"Hey Doc, it's Mr. Terrific. Listen, we've got plenty going down planetside, which is hopefully good news. But it means things ought to be happening with your patients. At least we hope so. Is there any change yet? Are they waking up?"

Plenty going down. Conway couldn't help but wonder what he meant by that, even if she didn't dwell on it. Right now, the only reason she could possibly care was regarding what exactly it would mean for J'onn and Wonder Woman.

"No signs of anything yet," she answered truthfully after taking a second to double check both heroes' vital signs. "But I– Wait! Wait, I've got something!"

Conway had to interrupt herself during that second sentence. Just as she was saying the opposite, a sign had emerged. J'onn's monitors had just changed. It was just as things had been before with the other three who had already left her care today.

"J'onn's waking up."

He was awake before he realised it. He was back aboard the Watchtower, laid out in one of the beds in the structure's infirmary. It had worked. For all their effort, for all their energy, for all their pain, Batman and Diana and gotten him out of the cloud. He was alive.

But that wasn't enough for him. That wasn't enough to allow him to celebrate. This day was about far more than just him. This day he had learned that there was a chance that his entire race, long thought lost for all eternity, could live once again. J'onn now had to find out if that was still the case. He had to find out of Diana and Batman had managed to save all of his fellow Martians too.

That was why before his eyes were even fully open he was stretching out was his mind, reaching out towards them as they had done to him when this whole thing had started. It didn't take him long to find them. Packed into a large group, the differences between a Martian mind and a humans would have made them easy to pick out, but he didn't even need that advantage. No, instead he could immediately lock onto them, for the simple reason that they were already reaching out to him. After centuries of entrapment since their transcendence back on Mars, they too were free. However, they were also scared. They were emitting a very definite sense that they were uncertain if they would keep their regained life for long. They were in a position where they still needed help, his help. That was why they were reaching out to him. It was a beg, a plead for rescue. His people needed him. They needed him to help keep their entire race alive, just after they had been reborn.

That message was coming through strong. So strong in fact, that it was overwhelming J'onn's telepathic senses. Only just awakening from having his mind ripped out from his body and then shoved back in again likely wasn't helpful, but try as he might, in that instant J'onn found he couldn't get a read on anyone but his race. It wasn't for a lack of trying either. At the very least he wanted to stretch back out to his wife. In spite of what all that the last hours had meant for him, he hadn't forgotten his new family in favour of his old. He had still desired to check in on her now that he was in a position where he should be able to once again. Only he found that he couldn't, because of how desperate his people were for help.

And so help he would. The rest would have to wait until afterwards.

Because of that, J'onn sat upright like a shot. He knew that he would have to act fast. However, there was every chance that he would have to do so with some help of his own. Not only that, he also had to ensure there wasn't someone else, someone right up here with him who needed his help too. A very dear friend, at that.

Only one bed over, he had to make sure that Diana was also all right.

J'onn hadn't forgotten the potential sacrifice that Batman and Wonder Woman had made. The two had given everything they had in that last gasp effort to control the cloud, even when it was dying. They had taken great anguish, risking death or worse to live up to their promise and ensure that the Martians were reborn. It was clear that those efforts had not been in vain. They had succeeded. J'onn was free of the cloud. His people, complete with fresh bodies, were free of the cloud. The only question remaining was whether those two had made it too. Batman wasn't up here, so J'onn couldn't check up on him. With Diana, it was a different story.

"Hey! Easy now," a voice was suddenly calling out as J'onn flung himself upwards, intent on crossing over to Wonder Woman to check on her vitals. Even at this close proximity, J'onn couldn't get a telepathic read on her. He hoped dearly that that was simply due to the abundance of Martian presences on his mind. However, his action had clearly firmly caught the attention of the doctors. In fact, the one name Susan Conway was already right at his side, both hands on his chest to try and prevent him from standing. "I know you hero lot like to be all tough, but you've just been through a hell of a lot. The others may have gotten past me before I could do anything but I must insist! You need to take a minute to recover, to let me make sure you're all right."

"I cannot," J'onn hurriedly answered, the tenseness that he was feeling flooding out into his voice. "I have to get down to Metropolis before things spiral out of control. Just tell me about Wonder Woman's condition. Is she awakening as I did?"

J'onn waited for Doctor Conway's response with baited breath. Unfortunately, she seemed hesitant to give one. That wasn't a good sign. She even glanced over her shoulder towards Diana, still laid prone in her bed, as if hopeful that all would have changed in the last few seconds. Alas, when she turned back to him it was with a shake of her head.

"There's no sign of any brain activity returning to her yet," Doctor Conway answered. She sounded solemn, like she had realised that it would have been now or never. She sounded almost like she had lost a patient. However, J'onn was suddenly feeling the opposite of solemn, even if he was well aware that this didn't mean everything was back to perfection. There was still every chance that the effort and the cloud's end could have done some serious damage, but Doctor Conway had turned around just a second too soon.

Wonder Woman was stirring. She was waking up too.

In that first instant, she was almost certain that she could sense something, almost certain that she had felt the gods' presence around her for the faintest of moments. But then more started to come back to her.

As she began to awaken properly, she could immediately tell that her head felt empty. Something was wrong. Something was...different. She felt mentally exhausted from all the exertion that she had just been through, but that wasn't it. It took Diana a long a moment to realise exactly what that something was, but when she did she didn't like the possible implications, and it wasn't because anything seemed to be wrong with her.

She couldn't feel Bruce's presence in her mind any more. She couldn't read his thoughts, access his memories, nothing. He just simply wasn't there. He wasn't sharing her head any more, and neither was she sharing his. The link had been broken. In that instant, Diana could only think of two possible reasons for that. Either it was simply a side effect of the cloud's destruction, there no longer being a core to tie them into one mind, or...

Or Bruce hadn't made it out of there as she apparently had.

If it hadn't been for the worry that was suddenly hitting her hard, Wonder Woman would have been noticing how remarkable it was that she felt so empty now that the link between them was gone, despite it only having been in place for a matter of minutes. And minutes that could hardly be enjoyed at that. But empty she did feel, almost lost. And yet she knew that it may be nothing yet. If her worst fears came to pass, if Bruce hadn't made it... Well, to put it simply she didn't want to think about it. About the possibility or about how she would react. She couldn't afford to speculate. She just had to know.

It was exactly because of that that she awoke with a start, literally launching herself up out of the cot and into the air. She knew where she would be without even looking, but she wasn't sure where Bruce would be after his trip out and back into the cloud before. The task was to find him, and fast. However, she only just took air when she heard someone shouting her name.

"Diana, you made it! Are you all right?"

For a brief moment Wonder Woman thought that it might have been Bruce calling out to her, but that was just a trick of a tired mind and weary eyes. As she looked properly at the Watchtower infirmary around her, she saw that it was instead J'onn that was by her side.

"I'm fine, J'onn," she was quick to reassure him, setting back down on the deck beside the bed. However, she was also very quick to ask the question that was really on her mind. "A little tired but I'm okay. Where's Batman? Did he make it? Is he here?"

Unfortunately, the doctor beside J'onn – Susan Conway – was fast shaking her head. "No, he went down planet side when he woke up before. I assume he's still down there. Why? He didn't go back into that thing, did he?"

"I cannot tell," J'onn answered Wonder Woman's original question too, leaving Conway's question unanswered and ignored. It was clear he was feeling rushed about all of this too. "My telepathic senses cannot reach out at present. I cannot sense whether he has made it out of there too or not. Diana, my people made it out of the cloud. You got them safely clear, but they need our help again. They're down in the city, where Batman was. Diana, I'm sorry to have to ask this and I understand if you have other priorities, but I have to help my people, and I may need your aid."

Instantly Diana was feeling the guilt for being selfish. She knew what Bruce would say. It was maybe not how he would feel but it was definitely what he would say and what he would do. Truth be told, the exact same could be said of her. There was no choice regarding how she would react to this, not without betraying everything that defined who she was. In spite of it all though, she still felt like saying no, like insisting on going after Bruce first and foremost. But, this time anyway, her heart was overruled by her head.

"Of course, J'onn," she answered before Conway could speak up again, since the doctor certainly looked like trying to insist Diana stay right where she was. "Let's get down there. If the Martians are still in trouble, we must help them. We must see this through."

J'onn was immediately smiling. He looked exactly like he didn't need to read her mind right then to know exactly what thoughts were running through it. And because of that, he looked incredibly grateful.

"Don't worry, Diana," he said through the smile, even putting a reassuring hand on her bare shoulder. "Batman is strong. If anyone else could make it out of there, it will be him. And I promise you, as soon as we have ensured my people are safe, I shall assist you in every way I can in finding him, and making sure he has survived the ordeal as thankfully intact as you have."

Wonder Woman could respect exactly what J'onn was saying, but it didn't make any difference to her. Not really. Only finding Bruce alive would help there. That was why, more than ever, she was in a hurry to get on with things.

"Come on J'onn, this isn't helping. Let's get going. Let's go make sure you're people are safe."

With that, Diana immediately swept away, heading fast out of the infirmary. Without even looking, she knew that J'onn was soon fast on her heels, leaving Doctor Conway dumbstruck behind them both. She went quickly, literally flying down the Watchtower's corridors in a race towards the transporter room.

For no matter how important it was to ensure the Martians made it through their first hour being alive once again, all Diana could think of was getting that task over and done with.

Bruce had to have made it out of there alive, as she had.

After all that they had been through, after all they had survived, after all they still had left to live, he had to.

With his super enhanced hearing, Superman had heard things start to go down from halfway across the city. Despite everything else that had been happening in that moment, despite seeing all that was associated with the energy cloud's final end, Superman had known that this thing wasn't over yet. Immediately he had known that he had to get over there, to try and stop things escalating just at the time when it had seemed the danger was done. He had only paused for long enough to make sure that Flash was going to follow him. He may well need the Speedster's assistance on this.

Even with his speed, by the time that Superman had arrived at the military base camp the light from that sole chunk of the cloud had already faded. The people who had been held within it were already visible. And the military soldiers had already got their weapons trained on them. More, they were already looking ready to use those weapons.

Almost as if they thought these were the aliens who had assaulted the planet all along, no matter how wrong that was.

Thanks to Batman's plan, somehow the Martian race had just been reborn. They couldn't be allowed to lose those lives already.

The base camp had become a cacophony of noise. Every one of the soldiers was shouting, roaring at the Martians to stand down, to get their hands above their heads or to get on the deck, limbs spread. In turn, the Martians all just looked too scared and confused to act, perhaps even to understand.

Every member of the armed forces at the base camp was there, in position, guns at the ready. General Mulligan was even amongst them. All of the soldiers were encircling the Martians in a tight ring, making sure that they had no way out, especially as they would surely be too weak from the rebirth to fly. The aliens were certainly looking unsteady, only just able to stand. Having bodies again would likely take some getting used to. The horde of Martians, all in their native form, would not be able to do anything physically right now to protect themselves should Mulligan and his men get a little too trigger happy. Similarly, from how aggressive Mulligan and his army were looking, the Martians themselves were unlikely to talk him down. At the very least he would be taking them prisoner.

Unless Superman and the rest of the Justice League could intervene. That was why, flying in faster than a speeding bullet, Superman placed himself right between the one at the head of the Martian pack and General Mulligan himself. Only a second later, Flash was right in there too, albeit stood rather obviously with the impervious Superman between him and the majority of the bullets.

"General, please!" Superman bellowed out at the top of his lungs, trying to drown out all of the rest of the noise. At the same time, he was determined to sound calm. He couldn't sound fierce or aggressive in any way. He couldn't risk exacerbating the situation. Luckily, the first stage of his efforts seemed to work, even if there was no indication at all that it would be the start of a trend. The shouting died down in the instant that Superman and the Flash arrived, though the soldiers' weapons didn't drop alongside their yells. They were clearly just waiting for Mulligan to give the order, ready for whatever that order may be. They were all seemingly in it together, all of one mind, set on a course that Superman knew they couldn't take.

"Superman, you had damn well better have something good to say son, because you are standing right in our way!" Mulligan roared back at him, sounding none too happy. He was staring at Superman the whole while down the barrel of his gun, even if such a weapon would be useless against the Kryptonian. It was clear that he meant business. "After refusing to do what was necessary once today, I'd think twice if I were you. The people of this planet will want justice for all that's happened here today! These aliens have to pay for what they did!"

"General, you must listen to me," Superman quickly began to plead with Mulligan, though now he was speaking at a far more personal volume, no longer having to shout over a barrage of sound to be heard. That was a good thing. Any kind of shouting could be deemed aggressive, just when they needed the exact opposite. "These are not the aliens who were controlling the energy cloud. These people were not the aggressors who attacked Metropolis. They aren't a threat. They're not our enemy. They were victims in all this, just like everyone else."

"They weren't the victims!" Mulligan thundered in return. He sounded practically irrational. He sounded like he might well not be prepared to listen to reason. Superman knew that he could stop this if things came to it, especially with Flash there with him. They could protect the Martians, and use the Watchtower's technology to get them safely out of General Mulligan's hands. The problem was what the fallout would be. Once before, during the Cadmus fiasco, they had seen just how tense things could get between the Justice League and the governments of the Earth. Acting so forcefully against the military forces of one of said governments would just create those tensions all over again, and after how close things had gotten before, that couldn't be risked happening again. If it could at all be avoided, that was. Superman was prepared to act if he had to. He just dearly hoped that he wouldn't have to. Peace, compassion and unity was by far the best solution for all. Unfortunately, General Mulligan seemed unlikely to realise that. The red mist had descended, the irrational fear of more danger arisen in him. "Don't try to deceive me, son. I know these aliens came from that thing. We all just saw them emerge from the last chunk of it. And when it comes down to it, no matter what, they are the villains here. Whether they controlled it or not, they allowed that cloud to attack us. They allowed the city to be hit, badly. They allowed the people in Metropolis to get hurt, and even allowed many to die. Now stand aside, Superman. These people need to face the justice of the people they threatened to destroy!"

"And what exactly does that mean?" Flash called out, though Superman wished he hadn't. They were words of passion, typically Wally, but they weren't the kind of words to help cool Mulligan off. Not at all. Mulligan's retort proved that.

"It means exactly what you think, lad! We're taking them into custody, and if they resist in any way, I am authorising my troops to use whatever force necessary to stop them. No more aliens or monsters are going to be hurting people on my watch! You see, unlike you heroes, I'm prepared to really do something about it. I'm not afraid of getting my hands dirty for the good of the people I serve! Now both of you, stand down! These aliens are coming with us, now, to a military detention facility until we decide what to do with them. If you stand against us, then I don't care how powerful you are. You'll have just made yourselves an enemy of the United States government. Choose your side. Us, or them. Either way, this ends now, and they will pay."

This was it. Things were coming completely to a head. The tension was so obvious, so intense that no one could possibly miss it. For Superman, he was simply having to fight to not get overwhelmed by it all. With his array of enhanced senses, it was even more obvious to him than it would be to everyone else. He could hear the heartbeats racing, in both human and Martian rhythms. In human and superhuman speeds too. Everyone was nervous, the Martians, the soldiers, the Flash. Everyone knew what was about to happen, and everyone was scared by the thought. But no-one was backing down, nor did they look like doing. In fact, many soldiers fingers were already locked on their triggers. The soldiers were hiding it well, but Superman could hear their hands shaking. The Martians weren't even hiding their own trembles. It was coming. The Martians couldn't be allowed to be taken away. Mulligan had already shown his feelings regarding them, regarding the peaceful approach. This was a man who had shown that he was more than willing to kill if it eliminated what he saw as a worse threat. Right now he saw the Martians as that threat. Even if his bosses ordered him otherwise, Superman was now sure that Mulligan would do what it took to stop the Martians being freed ever again. He would kill them sooner than set them loose, unless he could be talked down now. He had to be talked down now. Superman had to try one last time.

"General, please," he begged. If he thought that it would help he would have even dropped to his knees and clasped his hands before the man. He had to convince Mulligan. He had to say or do whatever it would take to get him to make his men stand down, to get him to let the Martians go free. He had to stop there being any more suffering. "Please. These people are not your enemies. Please. Don't do this."

Mulligan's answer was delivered quickly. Alas, it wasn't the one that anyone but he and his most loyal soldiers were going to want to hear. Superman could see that now. Even though all of the encircling troops would clearly obey, most were glancing at the General wishing not to here what they knew was coming.

"Last chance, Superman. Stand down. I won't say it again. You have three seconds to get out of our way. They have five to surrender. Otherwise," he paused, only briefly, gesturing down to his pistol with his eyes, "there will be consequences."

This was it. This was really it. Superman knew that in only seconds the bullets would be flying. He spared just a fraction of one of them to look over his shoulder at Flash. Even in just that fleeting glance, he could read a lot in the young man's eyes. He was prepared to act too. He too knew that there would be consequences, perhaps dire ones, but they couldn't abandon these Martians to death or an eternity rotting in a cell somewhere, particularly when they had only just escaped centuries of trauma. They had to be kept safe. Even if it was the supposed good guys that the Justice League would have to fight to ensure that. Because of all that, because of all that he knew was coming, Superman had to take a very deep breath. He had to ready himself. Above all else, though, it was because he couldn't believe that it had come to this. Nevertheless, his muscles tensed, ready to surge himself around the circle of petrified Martians, ready to take out every single gun and bullet that he could before any of them could be harmed.

And yet, he never took off. He never had to. Mulligan's mouth had opened ready to give the order, but that order never left him. The black gloved hand clamped tightly on his shoulder just in time, halting him before he could say anything. Quickly the General was looking over his shoulder to see who it was that had dared to touch him in such a way. Superman looked there too. In fact, everyone did. And every last one of them stared up into that cowled face, those menacing eyes, the embodiment of fear; Batman.

"Yes. There would be consequences," Batman growled. His voice was quiet, low, enough so that Superman had to utilise his enhanced hearing to pick up on it. Still, there was enough rage in there that the intent was clear. "I'd think again before giving that order if I were you. People don't like it when lightning strikes twice, Carnicero del río."

Batman was there. Superman had been so engrossed in the situation he hadn't noticed his friend arrive. He still hadn't really registered properly that Zatanna had walked over with him from where the magicians had set up their base camp. Heck, he had been so wrapped up in the tense situation he hadn't even been able to allow himself to worry about whether his friends had made it out of that energy cloud before it had died. He definitely hadn't had the chance to absorb what he had seen in the clouds final moments. But now Batman was very much here, and he had just delivered a few words which seemed to have rocked General Mulligan to his very core. Truth be told, Superman didn't have a clue what Batman had meant. It was clear that he was referencing something, no doubt from one of those many records Bruce kept on anyone with sufficient power, but Superman didn't know what that something was. However, he didn't have to know, certainly not right now.

Whatever Batman was really saying, it worked. In that second, every hint of aggression had faded from Mulligan. Instead, fear consumed him. In that second, he looked like he was maybe even more scared than he had made the Martians just moments ago. He suddenly looked so small, so timid. But more than all of that, he looked like he was beaten. He sounded it too.

"Everyone," Felix Mulligan muttered after many long moments of nervous silence. His voice was shaky, quiet, almost like he was struggling to speak. All the while he didn't take his eyes away from the unflinching glare Batman was giving him. All the while that fear looked more like deepening instead of fading. Mulligan paused again after just that one word, but eventually he managed to drag out a few more, addressing his entire field of soldiers. "Lower your weapons. Stand down. The aliens are free to go. Do it now."

The words had barely left Mulligan when he was retreating, backing out of there. He didn't run, but he definitely didn't dawdle. He was slinking away, not even waiting to see if his order was being obeyed. His action was clear. He was fleeing, pulling back to the sanctuary of his own command tent. As if to make sure that he would not be coming back, Batman had kept glaring at him until the moment the General went out of sight.

The soldiers of his army all looked confused. Apparently they were as unclear about what Batman had meant as Superman was, those who may have actually heard it anyway. The important thing was, though, while they were all looking around and at one another in search of answers, they had all lowered their weapons. With the League holding position, only moments later the soldiers followed their leader. They all backed away, albeit not with the same fear. They all left the Martians alone.

The Martians were going to live. The Martians were free.

That was the signal, the end. It was over. It was all finally over. The Imperium were defeated. The menacing cloud was gone, completely destroyed. So many of the innocents had been saved, rescued from vile clutches. The Justice League had made it through, perhaps shaken up but all of them alive. And the Martians were safely reborn. They had done it. The day was saved.

After so much turmoil, after so many grim moments, it was saved. They had done it. They had actually gone and done it.

The timing of all that was quite apt, really. In that exact second, there was a quick flash of light only a few paces to the right of where Superman, Batman and Wally stood. For the brief moment of that flash, Superman was scared. Too often already things had turned bad just when the situation seemed to be over. In that moment he was worried that it was about to be happening all over again, that that flash was an extra bit of the cloud coming back for the kill. However, when he saw what was actually happening, Superman knew that this was definitely not another danger.

"J'onn!"

It was one of the Martians behind Superman who had made the shout, sounding incredibly relieved to be able to do so. In fact, they all suddenly gave off that aura. Their collective fears seemed to have gone, replaced by that great relief. Indeed, the light had been from the Watchtower's teleporter, from the materialisation on the scene of both J'onn and Wonder Woman. Superman felt a great relief of his own to see more of his friends had survived the day intact. Both J'onn and Diana were immediately stepping forward, though J'onn far more so. Soon he was right there with Superman. This was clearly a big moment for him. He had spent years believing he was the last of his kind, centuries. Now, he wasn't alone. Superman could only guess how good that would feel.

"You made it!" J'onn expressed joy of his own. He had clearly been worried for his people. Perhaps they had told him all about the situation with the military via their unique forms of communication. Regardless, seeing them here, outside of the cloud, alive, was a much bigger event then telepathic talks. It seemed to be overwhelming J'onn completely. After that first outburst, he seemed to have become almost lost for words. Superman couldn't blame him. However, he did also realise that after the near miss with Mulligan, while this might be exactly the right time to break them apart, it may also not be the right place for such a reunion to occur. There was no point taking chances, not after how far they had come, how much they had had to face to get this far.

"J'onn," Superman stepped in before J'onn could fully embrace his people, causing both J'onn had the apparent leader of the Martian pack to look up at him. "J'onn, I think it'd be best if we move your people to the Watchtower for the time being. Metropolis has been through a lot. We need to let people get over the madness of today before we try and integrate both sets of peoples, to even the smallest of degrees. After what just happened down here, I think it'd definitely be for the best."

"It is likely for the best," that lead Martian spoke up before J'onn did, repeating Superman's sentiment. "At this moment, this planet, or at least this city, is not ready for us. That much is clear."

"Perhaps, you are right," J'onn was nodding in agreement. "I will make the arrangements with Mr. Terrific. But first, M'vall, all of my people, it is good to truly see you again."

Superman couldn't help but smile. With the soldiers having backed away, even if they didn't have long there was at least a moment for J'onn and his people to truly express their feelings at the rebirth of the Martian race. It appeared that they were going to take it.

However, Superman didn't watch that for long, despite it happening just over his shoulder. Something else had caught his attention, a moment clearly just as meaningful for a pair of his other friends.

It was only then that Superman could truly reflect on what he had seen up in the skies during the clouds final moments. He hadn't seen it coming, despite them both being his best friends. To say he was feeling surprised would be putting it lightly, but now it was all there before him. Now he couldn't not see it. The two were clearly trying to be subtle, but Superman could see it all there. The relief, the empathy, the love. While J'onn had been rushing to be with his people again, those two had clearly gone straight to each other. Right now, they weren't in the kind of passionate embrace that the cloud had shown them in. In fact, they were merely standing side by side, shoulder to shoulder, not even facing each other, a clear sign that they were trying to be subtle. But by the way they held each other's hand, the sentiment was clear.

"Yeah, Bats and Di, I didn't see it coming either."

Flash's comment broke Superman from his reverie. He hadn't realised that he had been staring until he forced himself to look back at the Scarlet Speedster stood right with him, also looking out at Batman and Wonder Woman. Just then the pair separated, apparently not yet ready to display their affection to the world and blissfully unaware that the cloud had already done that for them. Flash, though, was still smiling as they both watched Batman move to discuss something with Zatanna and Wonder Woman go to be with J'onn in his moment of joy.

"It never would have been you, you know," Flash went on, causing Superman to give him a look of even more surprise. "I mean, I know you're head over heels for that reporter, but there was always talk about Superman and Wonder Woman from certain folk. You can't have missed it. But the warrior princess fighting for peace would never pick the super powered, hope inspiring farmboy over the bad ass rogue with the secret heart of gold. Star Wars taught us that a long time ago. You know, even before Lucas tweaked it in Jedi and they were made siblings. Anyways, too bad, Supes. Too bad for all the rest of male kind. Looks like Batman wins this one."

Superman wasn't really listening to Flash's actual words, he was more hung up on what they were about, on the situation that had unfolded. Only unlike so many others that had happened today, this one was actually a happy one. He felt both pride and joy for his friends, for the act they had clearly taken with each other, even if he hadn't seen it coming. It would take some getting used to. Even as he looked across at the two of them now, Superman knew it might be a while before he would be able to truly think of them as a couple. But he also knew the real goodness in both of them. He truly knew both of them. And he knew that this might well work out brilliantly for them both, just so long as they let it. That made him smile too.

Despite everything, this day seemed to have found a happy ending after all.

"Come on, Flash," Superman instructed a moment later, changing the topic despite the smile the last one had caused remaining firmly in place. "Let's go help J'onn bring his people to sanctuary. Then we'll have plenty of pieces to pick up to help Metropolis start to rebuild."

"Have I ever mentioned my dislike for the clean up jobs?" Flash muttered at that. Superman only smiled broader. He had changed the subject, but Batman and Wonder Woman were still on his mind. He even looked up at them both again, despite them having moved apart. Seeing them both subtly glancing at one another still only made him think about them even more. Their feelings for each other were clearly deep. Superman couldn't believe that he hadn't noticed it before now. Maybe he really was just the big boy scout.

Bruce and Diana. It was a good thought. However, his smile was broadened more by what the thought lead too. The thought of them two coming together only pointed his mind to he and Lois. She had seen this coming hours ago. Perhaps she had seen other things too.

"The quicker its done, the quicker we can move onto other things," Superman told Flash with a shrug, those thoughts going ever deeper. Perhaps, after everything he had just seen, it was time to tell her... "Now that the day seems to finally be saved, I've got a feeling that when we're done here there will plenty of good times ahead. For all of us."

A/N:

A bit of time off in the past week allowed me to crack on, so here you are. And so there we go. After almost thirty chapters of it, the action is done and the world is saved. Couldn't resist a lot of the symbolism and imaginary of the last few parts, be it J'onn getting the Martians back, Superman seeing J'onn get his people back, him seeing Bats and Wondy and liking it, the Star Wars comparison and particularly the whole image of the cloud changing its shape in that way. Ultimately, it was those sorts of images that made me do this story this way, of going for the "telepathically controlled, Imperium filled energy cloud as the villain" route in this sequel as opposed to anything more traditional or anything else entirely.

So let me know what you though, both of this chapter and of the entire action run as a whole. Of course, don't worry, I've still plenty of wrapping up and character stuff to do for the last couple of chapters. I hate it when endings are just cut off and leave it there as soon as the action's over. Expect the ending of this story and hints at the future to come in the following weeks. In the meantime, I look forward to hearing from you.

Which can, of course, include anyone volunteering for a spin-off still as discussed several chapters ago, perhaps in particular for the one idea I have which can be treated as a "back-door" pilot for a series of someone else's own, complete with versions of all characters in existence...