A numb feeling overwhelmed J'onn. It hollowed him out, leaving him empty, devoid of feeling. The realization that Mars' plight was a result of someone he had known his entire life…
How? How could this have happened? How could this be?
His brother took another step down the seemingly long set of stairs. "Guilty as charged," he mockingly confirmed.
"How could you?! How could you cause so much suffering and death?!" J'onn roared. His emotions were returning, his anger most prominent.
"Has our reunion not shown you the dark underbelly of our society?" Ma'alefa'ak countered. "I am a social pariah because I dared to think of rational solutions to our world. A world not with some powerful deity guiding us, but a world created by ourselves. And then when I raised the alarm that we were vulnerable to a microbial attack, I was ridiculed and defamed."
"You did this to prove you were right?!"
"Partly, yes. But in all honesty, if I am to be truthful, it was to see an experiment on a global scale." Ma'alefa'ak finally reached the ground floor, taking the last few steps down. "I wanted to see what our society would do when attacked by an organism it could not fight back against. I have no connection to this world due to my ostracization, so it was a simple choice to use it. Thus far, my hypothesis has largely been correct in how things have played out.
"However, what I could not predict was the way my plague would mutate and change. For that, I have you to thank for getting me such precious samples. Not even my simulations were able to predict how the disease progressed."
"Why a disease then? Surely you would not want to fall prey to your own creation," J'onn pointed out.
"The proper precautions were taken, of course, but I am the only one immune to this pathogenic terror."
"Impossible."
"Oh, normally I would agree with you, but you would have to take into account how it was transmitted. You did figure that much out, yes?"
J'onn paused. He wasn't entirely sure. He had not been present in his investigation since his family's demise. If any progress had been made, he was unaware of it.
Ma'alefa'ak noticed his hesitation. "Considering the late stage of this experiment, allow me to tell you. It was not spread by the normal forms of transmission, contract, droplet, or even airborne. This virus was spread through telepathy."
"Telepathy?" J'onn repeated. "That isn't possible. It cannot be possible."
"Then how do you explain H'ronmeer's Curse," Ma'alefa'ak countered. "It wasn't easy, but with a little assistance from foreign minds, I was able to develop it. The way it ravages Mars is indisputable proof of my success."
"Regardless, there is no way you could have built an immunity into it. Not with the way it has mutated."
"You are forgetting one key detail, dear Brother. Please, tell me, what is a disease transmitted telepathically to a man without telepathy?"
The revelation struck J'onn like a lightning bolt. No wonder Ma'alefa'ak held no concern for his own safety! If the disease could only be spread psychically, then he could not contract it himself! All who fell victim to it lost their rationality shortly after, so it could never be directed at his brother, thus preventing infection.
"Sometimes my own brilliance surprises even me!" Ma'alefa'ak gloated gleefully. "Of course, releasing the disease onto the populace needed some attention as well. Thankfully, I had a research assistant."
"Th'mas," J'onn spoke, recalling the man's employment file. "You injected him with the pathogen."
"Indeed. He did so willingly, no doubt to maintain his position in the University. I did not really care for him much. However, he performed his part brilliantly as he took my dormant disease to that ostentatious church. The moment he joined his mind to the 'Great Mind,' the rush of psychic energies sent my pathogen into action, infecting that gathering of psychic energies. All who came into contact with it afterwards just furthered the spread."
This entire time, they had been played by his brother. At every turn, the desire to maintain the status quo had been used against Mars' people, furthering the spread of a seemingly unstoppable plague.
Ma'alefa'ak had seen to it that H'ronmeer's Curse could not be stopped by killing those that could, the very people he had used to obtain the necessary information to create the pathogen. It wasn't too farfetched to come to the conclusion that Ma'alefa'ak had also raided Gon'a'gal's greenhouse, picking the various herbs and plants he needed to accomplish his goal. There had been gelsium missing from the greenhouse; no doubt that plant had been stolen and used to produce the paralytic agent that stopped the University professors from saving themselves.
However, there was one thing he needed to know, more than anything.
"I must know," J'onn began lowly, his brother stoically gazing at him. "Why did you tamper with the Kallifa Box? Why did you place tsuiste plants within it to ensure my own children were infected?! That my wife was infected?!"
He lost his composure at the end, his voice raising the moment he said "children." He only saw the black singe markings in his home, all that was left of his children following their spontaneous combustion. He could clearly see M'yri'ah backing away from him even as the devastating flames began to burst through her flesh.
Ma'alefa'ak had been the cause of that.
His sibling closed his eyes, bowing his head for a moment or so. When he looked back, there was something similar to regret on his face. "I loved her," Ma'alefa'ak simply said. "M'yri'ah was one of the few people that actually seemed worth living for on this desolate planet. Where others shunned me, she approached me. Where others feared my brilliance, she challenged me. She was genuine in a world of deceit. I did not feel as if I were abnormal, a freak, the one Martian who could not use telepathy and was a social outcast for it."
Then his facial features hardened, twisting with rage. "And then you stole her from me."
J'onn narrowed his eyes, his own expression hardening. "I did no such thing."
"Yes, you did. Of course, you did! You, J'onn J'onzz, the shining example of Mars! The perfect Martian! You, who were gifted every conceivable gift to make you the ultimate specimen! You were flocked too if only so that your followers could bask in your greatness. I was cast aside for this, for being your perceived lesser!
"It wasn't enough for you to have all of the adulation. You had to have M'yri'ah's too! So you found her, seduced her, made her your own! You took the only happiness I could ever have!"
"That's enough," J'onn interjected. It was a tone very much like their father's, one he used when the two siblings would irritate the other. J'onn hardly believed he could replicate such a tone, but it had the desired effect of stopping Ma'alefa'ak's tirade.
"I did not know you knew M'yri'ah. It was never conveyed to me. I only found out about your history with one another after you attended dinner with us."
"Lies!" Ma'alefa'ak snarled.
"Did she never tell you how we met?" J'onn countered. "It was just after I became a Manhunter—"
"I do not care! I do not, J'onn!"
J'onn stopped. Then, "I see words are useless on you, Brother. That is…unfortunate. I have always admired your intellect, your brilliance. I believed that there was no one that could accomplish what you could so long as you put your mind to it. Now…now I wish you had not. You, who would harm those you have never even met. You, who would openly drive away those you viewed as lesser—that being the entirety of Mars. You sequestered yourself away from the world, only venturing forth to prove how superior your mind was to others, only to seeth when you were rejected. You are no man to respect."
"Easy for you to say, the favorite son," Ma'alefa'ak replied snarkily.
"It is not my fault I was favored, but it is yours for not bettering yourself in spite of it," J'onn countered cooly. "Whatever hardships you have faced, you allowed them to make you into a twisted monster."
"So I am a monster now?"
"You are. And I am a Manhunter, sworn to protect and uphold the laws of Mars." This time, J'onn took a step towards the man he called family once. "Surrender yourself, Ma'alefa'ak. Turn yourself in while you can still repent for your crimes."
"And if I don't?"
"Then I will force you to surrender."
"You can try, but you will fail, just as you have failed your family."
J'onn's face twisted with rage before he let out a roar, launching himself towards Ma'alefa'ak. All the while, his body changed and shifted. Ma'alefa'ak did the same as he threw himself into battle.
J'onn's body turned a dark gray, even as his legs melded together, forming a long serpentine tail. His head widened and stretched forward, his neck lengthening and curving forward. Fangs emerged out of his mouth. His transformation into a yalthith was complete.
In response, Ma'alefa'ak's entire body bulged and widened, a contrast to the firm yalthith body. Pink flesh overtook him, even as his head rounded, a second set of eyes forming one either side of his original ones. A gaping mouth stretched open, revealing even bigger fangs than J'onn, as well as rows of smaller teeth between them. Ma'alefa'ak's thin arms bulked up, flesh-colored spikes growing out of them as they lined up from wrist to upper arm. The same serpentine tail was present as well. It seemed his brother had chosen the gorganlith as his own form.
Their monstrous bodies collided with each other in the next instant. Clawed hands rammed into each other and then closed, the two changed Martians entwining their fingers together, clutching at the other, preventing their arms from harming themselves. Their bodies twisted and writhed against each other, the two spinning around in a circle as they tried to use their increased strength to overpower the other.
Until Ma'alefa'ak threw his round head forward and bit down on J'onn's shoulder. A yalthith shriek erupted out of J'onn's mouth as he felt teeth pierce through his skin, dark red blood sputtering out between his body and Ma'alefa'ak's lips. Gritting his teeth, J'onn moved his tail, snaking it up behind his foe until he was able to wrap it around Ma'alefa'ak's neck. Flexing his tail muscles, J'onn removed the gorganlith's fangs from his shoulder and threw it back high into the air. Immediately, J'onn shifted his body so that he healed the bite wound on his shoulder until it was no longer there.
As for Ma'alefa'ak, he flipped his gorganlith body tail over head until he was right-side up again. However, he had begun to change form once again. Pink flesh began hardened, dark green exoskeleton. Six legs erupted out of his sides of his torso even as his large arms were sucked into his body. At the end of each leg were sharp, blade-like tips. Spikes erupted down his back, even as insect-like wings grew out. The round gorganlith head became angular, with a pointed chin and three pointed horns at the top of the head. The eyes had shifted until two sets of eyes were present, one on top of the other. This was the isthix insect.
The isthix landed on the floor, its bladed appendages scraping across the floor as its momentum kept it moving backwards. Eventually, Ma'alefa'ak came to a stop, screeching the isthix's battle cry.
Immediately, J'onn changed his own form as well. This time he chose the rhicos, a red beast that stood on all fours, yellow flesh coloring his back. A large horn jutted out of his face, along with several smaller ones. The moment his change was complete, J'onn charged forward.
Ma'alefa'ak did the same, the rhicos and isthix colliding head on. The force the rhicos hit with immediately overwhelmed the isthix, the insect being carried backwards as it seemed to be crushed against the rhicos' horn.
But then Ma'alefa'ak countered as his insect legs grew wider, becoming pale blue tentacles. His insect body began the head of a squallib, a tentacled sea creature with a hidden beak for a mouth. The moment the tentacles wrapped around J'onn, he was changing as well, his hardened rhicos body shrinking in on itself as its colors faded into a flabby white body.
Ma'alefa'ak took this opportunity to wrap his tentacles around him, trying to crush him with their strength. That was when J'onn's body expanded, inflating much like a balloon, which forced the tentacles to spread outwards.
There was a tearing sound and the white flesh ripped apart. From within it, a towering starphila emerged, revealing its purple back and white belly. It looked very much like a square with its rounded corners stretching outward, though not very far. It had a singular red eye at its center, which was all J'onn needed to see with as he moved one of his arms to get ahold of Ma'alefa'ak's squallib head. Then with incredible strength, he threw the squallib down onto the floor hard.
The squallib hit the floor so hard, it actually bounced back up into the air. Taking advantage of this, J'onn moved his other starphila arm and landed a powerful blow to the other side of the sea creature, sending it flying up into the air.
What else will you throw at me, Brother? J'onn mentally thought. Though he willingly admitted his sibling was the smarter of the two, when it came to combat, J'onn was the better of the two. Were they to duel as Martians, the outcome was obvious, thus Ma'alefa'ak's shapeshifting into various animals.
He had only chosen poorly when J'onn countered each and every form.
Watching as the squallib flew through the air, it began to flip, its tentacles going over its elongated head, only for it to begin changing once more. J'onn readied himself for yet another shift.
Ma'alefa'ak had said he was the ultimate specimen. Well, J'onn was going to show him just what that truly meant.
The men Commander Kris'to'fer sent met up with them at the edge of Dea'vars. Lon'fon had felt such relief at seeing them. A quick communication between Bil'lock and their paltry force of three hover vehicles confirmed their mission and they joined forces.
There were two transport vehicles, promising at least six Manhunters each, not including the drivers. There were three hover vehicles as well, two men each. As for Lon'fon and Bil'lock, they had only managed to find three Manhunters at the precinct that they could bring. There was a fourth, but he was unable to join. So Lon'fon rode with Bil'lock while the other three took the other two hover vehicles.
Across the desert terrain they flew, the monotonous red landscape stretching as far as the eye could see. Off in the distance were rock formations, ones seemingly growing up from the desert floor the closer they came towards them. It was painstakingly slow, which caused a growing impatience to start forming in Lon'fon. Just how far was the Face of Mars from Dea'vars?
If only distance and time were the only things they had to worry about. Off to the north, a sandstorm was approaching. Thick clouds were reaching out towards them, a veil of red sand hanging beneath it, hiding anything and everything beyond its opaque wall. According to the satellite feed they were receiving on the vehicles console, it was a storm of massive proportions.
Naturally, it was heading towards them and the Face of Mars.
"This is going to be close," Bil'lock murmured. He had already given the order for their small force to reach top speed with their vehicles and they had been traveling at that speed for some time now. There was an uneasy feeling between them, one that increased as the storm came closer and closer. A few silent minutes passed.
Then, "We're not going to make it," Bil'lock declared. He then tapped a couple touchscreen buttons on the console, opening all communications to their small force. "All units, we are not beating that storm. Either land and risk burial, or try and go above it and risk crashing."
Immediately, Bil'lock chose the latter option as he angled their hovercraft upwards. The landscape below them shrunk as they rose through the air. It seemed the other members of their squad felt the same as they too began ascending. All the while, Lon'fon kept glancing towards the storm to gauge whether they would make it or not.
There was something…inevitable about it. It was a clear and present threat, a ravenously hungry entity that wanted to swallow them whole. There were sharp pelting sounds being made now, indicating grains of sand were striking the hover vehicle.
"Damn it," Bil'lock swore. He then began to angle the vehicle to the south, hoping to put some distance between them and the storm, buying them time to get above it. Again, the other vehicles did the same. "Get up there, get up there," he chanted.
Lon'fon wasn't certain if that was meant to be broadcasted out loud, but she did not seek confirmation. She just remained silent, her attention switching between the clear sky and the storm that was almost upon them. The sound of sand striking them was unfortunately only growing louder, though it was focused to their rear.
"All units, use afterburners. It's our only chance!" Bil'lock suddenly shouted. Already obeying his own order, he tapped a couple more buttons before the hover vehicle jolted and Lon'fon suddenly found herself sinking into her seat. The entire craft began to shake as they put on more speed, one akin to a rocket launch. She was unable to look out the windows to see if the others were doing the same.
They almost made it. Before they reached the sky, the sandstorm's clouds reached them, swallowing them up. However, there wasn't as much sand in the clouds and moments later, they burst through it, reaching a clear red sky, one that began to darken as it bordered the atmosphere and space.
They…they were really high up.
"All units, report in," Bil'lock demanded. He stared at the console screen, even as Lon'fon made the effort to look out their windows. She was glad to see the two transport vehicles with them. As for the smaller, two-man hover vehicles, one, two…three…?
Response came in over the communication line. The two transport vehicles were first, followed by a couple of the hover vehicles. The third one, however, relayed disappointing news. "All two-man crafts made it except one. Fr'ost didn't make it."
Fr'ost, he was the one piloting his own craft instead of sharing it with one other. Dread filled Lon'fon as she directed her attention to the dark red cloud below. She prayed for their remaining lost ship to emerge then, ensuring their force remained intact.
That, unfortunately, would not happen.
"If any of you wish to stay and search for Fr'ost, you have permission," Bil'lock said then. "For everyone else, we head for the Face of Mars. Connect with Satellite RCM24 and use it to guide you there."
It went without saying that their craft would be doing the latter.
However, Lon'fon looked out across the cloud coverage and she couldn't help but feel dismayed. The storm looked as if it stretched forever. She could see no end to it. Admittingly, they were at its beginning, and she wasn't all that familiar with the science behind a storm, but this one…this one seemed impossibly huge.
"Are you certain we can find the Face?" she couldn't help but ask. "What if it is caught in the storm?"
"The satellite will give us its geographic coordinates, so we will be able to find it," Bil'lock assured her. "Hopefully by then, the storm has weakened for us to find J'onzz."
Hope. That was what they were basing their mission on. Even as a forensic technician, Lon'fon knew that was not something you relied on for success. You ensured success as much as possible, not leaving anything to chance. That was what relying on hope was.
Yet, what other choice did they have?
Claws dug into J'onn's back, despite the hardened skin of the elezant he was. It was a large beast with skin as hard as stone. Large tusks extended out of his mouth, but they were useless as Ma'alefa'ak's fligor form was pressed against his large face. Sharp claws dug into flesh, ripping out bloody chunks as his foe clawed at him.
Though the elezant was a four-legged creature, J'onn flung himself onto his back legs, which put incredible strain on them. The elezant was not made to stand this way. The moment he stood though, he was making the latest change. His tusks slid towards each other before combining into one. They became a long tentacle, one that whipped high into the air before wrapping around Ma'alefa'ak's neck. The rest of J'onn's body went thin, giving the fligor a smaller target for its wicked claws. He tried, but no longer was J'onn's skin flesh, but bark.
He was now a yaddash tree, though its name was rather misleading. The yaddash tree was an animal, but one that had plant-like qualities. It was thin, with a whip-like appendage it used to strike at the avian population that tried to feast on it.
Because of the weight of the fligor, J'onn's yaddash tree body bent downward, though this was to be expected. It also aided him as it increased the tension within his long appendage, which was still wrapped around the fligor neck. Then he used every muscle the tentacle had and yanked hard on Ma'alefa'ak, whipping him into the air and throwing him across the room.
Ma'alefa'ak slammed into a wall shortly after, the force of the collision warping the metal. The fligor let out a pained cry before it fell to the floor, landing in a heap. Almost immediately, the feline body shrank in on itself until Ma'alefa'ak laid there. Weakly, he raised his head, looking at J'onn before he seemed to liquify, becoming a puddle, and then flowed out of sight, disappearing into a nearby shadow.
By then, J'onn resumed his normal Martian form. "Ma'alefa'ak!" he bellowed, reaching out with his mind to find his evil brother. That was what he was, evil. No man could do the things he had done for the reasons he had proclaimed and could not be evil.
"You seem angry, Brother," Ma'alefa'ak responded, but it wasn't from in front of J'onn. No, it seemed to come from another part of this launch room. The Manhunter spun around, trying to locate his brother. "Your strength and resourcefulness are still as capable as ever."
It was true, J'onn was the stronger of them. He also was the better fighter as their shapeshifting battle had indicated. "Then you know it is useless to resist any further," J'onn called back. "Surrender yourself now."
"No, I will not be doing that."
This time, the voice echoed from a different section of the room, J'onn whipping his body around to face that direction. What was Ma'alefa'ak up to? "You know you cannot win."
"In a feat of strength, you are correct. Fortunately, I was gifted with greater intelligence. That is where you and I will continue this fight."
J'onn did not bother to respond to that. The latest remark indicated that his brother wanted just that, for them to banter with each other. He would not engage that way. So, he continued to search with his mind, seeking out his wayward sibling.
"Using your telepathy? I would advise against that," Ma'alefa'ak suddenly said in a knowing tone. "You may find me that way, yes, but you will pay the ultimate price for it. You see, I am a carrier of my own creation, of H'ronmeer's Curse. If you wish to join your beloved family, go right ahead and touch my mind."
Immediately, J'onn withdrew his consciousness. He hadn't considered that his brother would inject himself with the pathogen. In retrospect, perhaps he should have. His telepathy was an advantage he had, one that Ma'alefa'ak would seek to undermine if he could. That it could not harm him as it was passed through psychic means meant he remained a carrier, someone immune to the disease, but could spread it to others.
Yet…
"When did you infect yourself?" the Manhunter could not help but ask, turning himself in a slow circle, seeking out a sign of his brother's whereabouts.
"The moment I sensed your seeking out my mind when you first arrived. Though I cannot use telepathy, I have taught myself how to recognize the signs of a telepath. The intrusion of your mind into mine made me realize I needed to take steps to prevent a direct incursion. Thankfully, I have learned very much about infectious diseases, thanks to the late Professor F'yers."
An alarm then went off, klaxon blaring loudly. J'onn found himself looking to the source of the sound, a red light flashing as well. "What have you done?!" he cried out.
"Many things, dear Brother," he heard the voice again, the Manhunter instinctively spinning around. This time, he laid eyes on his foe, finding Ma'alefa'ak standing next to a computer terminal. The monitor was on, the evil Martian holding a hand above the touchscreen interface. "For instance, I have started the launch sequence for this ancient spacecraft."
It didn't take much thought to figure out why Ma'alefa'ak would start the launch sequence. There was a reason the ship was here, not to mention all the necessary equipment present. One used a spaceship to go to space.
"Where are you planning on going?" J'onn responded. "This ship is not as advanced as today's spacecrafts."
"Of course, you're correct," Ma'alefa'ak confirmed. "This ship could perhaps reach the outer limits of our solar system. It is limited in that regard. However, there is one other planet in this system that is habitable. I will go there."
"Only if you are able to defeat me," J'onn countered. "I do not know what lifeforms exist there, but they do not deserve the hell you will put them through. You are destroying one world; I will not allow you to destroy another!"
"You cannot stop me!" Ma'alefa'ak shrieked. "You have failed to stop me thus far! You will only continue to fail!"
J'onn did not respond verbally to this. Instead, he launched himself forward, his body elongating in the process. His legs melded together to form a serpentine tail. His chest and arms remained the same, but his head stretched further out and curved downwards. This was a drogon, a creature from their homeland.
Ma'alefa'ak instantly responded as he threw himself towards his approaching brother. He took on the same drogon form, though his was bulkier, had four arms with claws at the end of each finger, and his mouth enlarged until it could not stay shut, revealing sharp fangs.
Their bodies collided with each other, but thanks to J'onn's momentum, they were thrown back towards the computer terminal, crashing into and then through it. Electricity erupted across the terminal, more alarms sounding off.
Placing one hand on his foe's chest, J'onn pushed himself back enough so that he could throw a proper punch, one that landed against Ma'alefa'ak face. He flinched back before he retaliated, throwing his own fist at him. J'onn darted to one side to avoid it, continuing to circle around his opponent, who copied him. Their tails began to coil around each other, twisting them together as they bided their time. They began to raise up into the air, each combatant waiting for an opening.
And then J'onn struck. His brother's lack of fighting experience was his ultimate downfall. Even with four arms, he could not block the punch that he took to the face, followed up by another. A pained hiss came from Ma'alefa'ak's gaping maw before he went on the attack. He threw his right upper fist at J'onn, who merely leaned to one side to avoid the blow.
But then Ma'alefa'ak lashed out with his bottom left hand. He slashed at the Manhunter, his claws digging in, and then tearing through flesh, leaving three bloody claw marks across J'onn's chest. The older Martian cried out as he flinched back from the cuts.
Encouraged, Ma'alefa'ak tried to slash at him again, this time with his upper left hand. In response, J'onn stretched out his lower abdomen, where it became his tail, allowing him to lean further back to avoid the latest attack. The moment his foe missed him, he flung himself upwards, clasping both hands together above his head.
Then he swung them down, landing a jackhammer blow to the top of Ma'alefa'ak's head. The force of the blow sent the younger Martian downward. However, due to their tails coiling around each other, J'onn was dragged down with him, the two Martians falling until they crashed into the floor.
Immediately, J'onn began unwrapping his lower body as quickly as he could. He wanted to separate himself from the close quarters fight for a moment, but before he could, Ma'alefa'ak countered, by tightening his tail around the older Martian's. Because he had landed first, Ma'alefa'ak pressed his upper body onto the metal floor, and whipped his lower body upward, which took J'onn with it. The Manhunter arched up into the air before he was forced back down to the ground, slamming hard onto the floor.
Alright, that was enough of that. J'onn began changing again, this time taking on the shape of the grilant. Shoving himself up, the bulk of his body was more than enough to force the tight coils of Ma'alefa'ak's tail to pull apart. Looking up at him, the drogon only had a brief moment of surprise before J'onn swung up his grilant-sized fist. He landed the uppercut that sent his foe flying up into the air and towards the rocket ship. A loud hiss erupted out of Ma'alefa'ak's mouth as he struck the side of the metal ship, bouncing off of it.
Quickly, J'onn resumed the form of his preferred drogon and flew up to meet his brother again. As he reached him though, the sound of large, ancient gears turning filled the room.
Finding himself distracted, J'onn looked up towards the ceiling. Above the tip of the spaceship were launch doors, which were now opening. No doubt this was part of the launch sequence. A thin line appeared where the doors separated before they began sliding to either side. A deafening roar was heard, the sight of rushing sand appearing beyond the doors.
A shrill roar diverted J'onn's attention back to the fight, seeing his brother dropping down on him as he held both right arms back, ready to strike. Hardening his drogon's face, the Manhunter rushed forward, horns growing out of the top of his head. He rammed his head right into Ma'alefa'ak's torso, forcing the two of them upwards towards the opening launch bay doors.
That was when Ma'alefa'ak's upper arms slammed down on his back, digging the claws into his flesh. The same occurred with his lower arms, only they dug into his chest. With an impressive display of strength, Ma'alefa'ak leaned backwards, rotating the two until it was J'onn that had his back to the launch bay door, which completed its opening.
A moment later, the two Martians flew up into the raging sandstorm. J'onn let out a pained hiss as the sand struck him. The winds were frighteningly powerful, the sand they felt actually beginning to tear into his flesh. In fact, pieces of his body were being torn off, blood leaking out of the wounds, making him cry louder, the same for Ma'alefa'ak.
Yet, his brother wasn't done. Though he had forced the two of them out into the storm, his tail had managed to latch onto something within the launch room. It was with this appendage that Ma'alefa'ak pulled them both back inside the structure and out of the storm.
However, Ma'alefa'ak swung them downwards, and then used every bit of momentum he gathered to continue pushing J'onn down until he crashed into the floor. The very air in his lungs was forced out, leaving him breathless.
Then he was yanked off the floor and thrown through the air again. He didn't go high, not this time, instead going a short distance through the air, where he ended up hitting the floor again, bouncing across it a couple of times before he came to a stop.
That…that had been terrible. Gasping, J'onn tried to reclaim his breath. The exposure to the storm and the latest collisions with his body had taken a toll. No longer could he retain his drogon form, returning to his natural Martian body. He felt weak, unable to gather his strength at that moment. He needed to rest. He knew this.
Suddenly, his body was flipped onto its back, a pair of clawed hands grabbing onto his throat. Eyes firmly open, J'onn saw Ma'alefa'ak's bulky drogon form above him, hissing in mocking laughter. "How doessssss it feeeeeel, Brother?" he managed to say with the drogon's snake-like tongue. "To knoooow your ssssssuperior is choking the liiiife out of you? That your physssssical inferior is draining the liiiiife out of you?"
J'onn gagged in response, even as he raised both of his hands to grab at Ma'alefa'ak's wrists. His oxygen deprivation had certainly left him weak, but he needed the strength to remove the strangulating hands.
However, there was something far more deadly hovering above them.
Somehow, they had ended up beneath the exhaust port for the spaceship. The launch sequence had been started some time ago, and it seemed the ship was in the last moments before launch. A glowing light was beginning to form deep within the port, one that was becoming bigger with every passing second.
Grimacing, not only for the thought of needing to flee, but of what he would need to do to flee, along with being strangled, J'onn did what he knew needed to be done for his survival. Letting go with one hand, he threw it to one side, changing it into the sharp-bladed appendage of the isthix. He then drove the end of the shape blade into the side of the drogon above him.
Ma'alefa'ak shrieked from the pain he felt the moment he was stabbed. His upper body leaned upwards, weakening his hold on J'onn's throat. Immediately, J'onn thrust his other hand up, pressing it against his brother's chest, and shoving him back even more. This finally released him from his brother's hold.
Immediately, not even taking the chance to suck in some needed oxygen, J'onn spun around so that his chest was facing the floor. He immediately took off flying, staying low as he skimmed over the floor. Once he felt he was safe, he came to a stop, turning his head to see if he were being followed.
It seemed Ma'alefa'ak was confused by his actions. He stared at J'onn if only for a moment, though his anger returned shortly after. Before he could give chase, a deafening roar rang out.
By then, the light from the spaceship's exhaust port had completely filled it and it would not be contained any longer. Fire erupted out of it, blasting out and down to the floor.
Right where Ma'alefa'ak was standing.
His brother had turned his body so that he faced the incoming flames. Though he did not have telepathy, Ma'alefa'ak did share the Martian phobia of fire. Immediately, he lost his drogon form, returning to his Martian body even as he let out a scream.
The fire rushed all over him, bathing him in its flames. J'onn only watched for a second in horror as his brother was consumed entirely, realizing the flames were not just stopping there. They washed across the floor, heading in all directions.
Frantically, J'onn launched himself into the air, flying low across the floor again. He immediately spotted a part of the wall that appeared to be glass as it was transparent, revealing the existence of a room beyond it. If this was indeed a launch room, then that glass had to be reinforced to withstand the force a launching ship could produce.
So he flew right for it, even with the fire giving chase after him. Intense heat reached the fleeing Martian first, frightening him even more than he already was. He urged his body to go faster, faster than he had ever gone before.
He reached the window in an instant, even if it felt like an eternity. Somehow, he instinctively went translucent, phasing right through the glass. There was an immediate change as he entered the room, the heat vanishing as it was replaced with cool air.
The red and orange lighting, however, remained.
J'onn lost control of himself, his body returning to its solid form even as he lost his flight. He struck the floor a moment later, momentum pushing him forward until he came to a stop. A panicked cry left his lips, the Martian covering his head with his arms as his body shook with repressed terror.
The light of the fire, though, quickly darkened. It took what was perhaps only a couple minutes, but there was no true way of knowing the exact passage of time before J'onn eventually peered at the protective blast window.
There was smoke present, covering his entire view. Slowly, J'onn stood onto his feet, cautiously approaching the window.
It would be some time before the smoke would dissipate, showing that the spaceship was no longer there. In fact, there was nothing much left in the room that was salvageable thanks to the rocket.
There was nothing left at all.
Quick note: I borrowed heavily from J'onn and Ma'alefa'ak's fight in Justice League: Doom. It's nearly a play-by-play honestly, except with the inclusion of the names of each animal. The drogon forms though, come from the Justice Lords episode in the Justice League show, when J'onn fights his evil counterpart. It suddenly occurred to me that whenever J'onn fights other Martians, they usually fall into a shapeshifting battle. At least, that's been the case in the animated media I've seen so far.