I don't own Martian Manhunter/J'ohn J'ones, Superman/Clark Kent/Kal El, Lucius Fox, Mister Miracle/Scott Free, Big Barda, Oberon, Amanda Waller, or Batman/Bruce Wayne. DC does. Please enjoy this chapter for free.

Wayne Manor Eleven Years After Waynes' Deaths

John wrote, scratched out, and rewrote. Then, what remained without a line through it on the plain paper, he copied onto the fine stationary. His soul became raw trying to explain to the young man he'd known, who must be old now, why he'd pretended to be his father for a few days. If anything, it was even harder doing so for the young women he had pretended to be a father to for years. It was slightly easier writing those he'd worked beside while attempting to help them help Americans to reach the stars.

Eventually, his hand shook from the unfamiliar work. He put the pen down and began to rub in circles the hand that had held it. He had only learned to write to help his pretend daughters with their schoolwork. It had motivated them to watch him try as well. He'd later had to learn much more to pretend he belonged with those making breakthroughs in technology never before achieved by mankind. He'd usually chosen work that did not necessitate writing like tending to animals.

He knew Clark Kent, whose family's cows he'd once cared for, was downstairs covering a tunnel in titanium for him. Clark hoped it would allow him to go home. His fellow alien also hoped he'd find the person he had a right to care for. His white Martian niece, he could have told the truth to if he had made it to her while she still lived ...

He did not know how long, according to earth time, he or his fellow Martians used to hibernate. Decades had passed since he left Mars. He'd watched humans grow up, and hibernated and re-awoken himself a few times. In all that time, he'd tried to ignore the fear that sat hibernating in his mind. How could his niece still live? Was Martian hibernation really ever this long? If he was not there to re-awake to, who was taking care of her? So many White Martians had died, so many green as well. So many caverns had been laid waste.

He knew all the humans and aliens downstairs hoped to discover some spot in Mars Martians could still live as well as the person he had promised to care for there. They thought fear was choking out his ability to hope for the same. He did not think it was fear. He knew it was exhaustion.

He and his brother were the last if his brother … He took a deep breath and let it out, relaxed, let the the possibilities come into his conscious thoughts … His brother was captured, dead, or hating him furiously while insane. Perhaps, if he was truly the alive, but insane finding out Mars still had a home for them …

His exhaustion crashed over him. He shook his head. He had not the strength to do what he had done for so long now, have hope for himself and his fellow Martians. But, he would devote what strength and free time he had left doing what he "should" have been doing all this time. There were more letters to write.

He stopped rubbing his hand and picked up the pen again. At the top of a piece of plain paper he wrote "Dear Mandie …"

He crossed it out. He had not the right to call her what her father had. He tried again. "Dear Amanda …"

No. He scratched that out as well. She would not want any hint of familiarity between them. At best, she might respond to the strictly formal. She'd want her official title, what truly he had known her as for so long now, used in any addressal of her. "Dear Agent Waller …"

Batcave Eleven Years After Waynes' Deaths

Superman looked into the smooth circle of titanium stretching into shadow before him. "It's ready."

Lucius nodded. "Yes it is." The old man walked into another room and closed the thick door Bruce, Scott Free, and his calculations had said should keep his old bones safe.

Superman's head turned as Oberon demanded, "Well, can you either get it over with or get out of the way so 'we' can go?"

Scott, in his mask, as if ready to perform the instant they got to the other side of the galaxy peered down at his co-performer. "They can't use it without my Motherbox Oberon."

Scott's towering wife stared at the Krpyotnian. "Hurry it up, Mr. Super."

"Superman," the hero corrected with a small smile her direction. He looked back to the tunnel. "Bruce asked for us to do this without Moe?"

"If you mean your Martian friend, then yes."

Clark pursed his lips. He could just zip up and let …

A swirl of light and gust of wind hit Superman's eyes. He heard Scott's voice yelling over the swirling roar. "Just go!"

Clark sighed out the air in his lungs feeling it ripped away by the blast. Then he sprang forward and dove down the tunnel.

Orbit Over Mars Eleven Years After Waynes' Deaths

He used the momentum he came out the other end with to fly around in an orbit above Mars. Then he stopped and stared down. With his x-ray vision, he peered deep, deep beneath Mar's surface. As he did, his cells were flooded with radiation.

His skin began to glow. As he felt the extra power, he kept a count down in his head. His eyes narrowed and mouth twisted in winces as he took in the sights of blackened cavern after blackened cavern with fossilizing, deteriorating, or frozen remains of burnt and pierced organisms, sometimes Martians, inside them. He pushed through the grief and horror to look beyond them in an attempt to find some life preferably a very specific life-form.

Come on … Come on …

The energy buzzing through his every cell tried to fill him with elation, but anxiety built inside him instead. He now knew what such power unleashed where he'd return to would do.

Come on … Come on … Please!

He jerked back, eyes widening, before bending double to peer down again. Then he smiled. He enjoyed seeing living specimens of the many remains he'd seen before. He marveled at the types of organisms he could see. Most were like plants, but not. Without the sun's rays to catch, like he did, these somewhat simple life-forms had had to develop in other ways. Then he saw animals, he felt he could rightly call them. They were moving about on their own with purpose.

He tried to keep himself from being distracted into examining them thoroughly. He had to keep looking for ... He jerked back again. There was one: a life-form like Moe appearing as his Martian self! He moved toward one of the animals. Superman then he saw more Martians were surrounding the animal. One swam out of a tunnel and startled the beast so it swam away and almost right into another Martian. Superman almost dove through most of Mars in an attempt to intervene. But he realized even as powerful as he was now, it would both be too late and he would destabilize many cave systems in his wake. However, the Martian he thought would be bowled over by the fleeing animal, sent a shock wave that collided with the beast's head. Their prey then went limp and floated in the water. Then the other Martians began to gather around it. Superman's eyes widened and body stiffened as he saw what happened next.

Batcave Eleven Years After Waynes' Deaths

Outside the tunnel, Barda shouted "He's staying too long!"

Then a flash of color and light burst out of the tunnel. It disappeared down another. Scott ordered the Motherbox to shut down the Boom Tube. It took two seconds longer than he'd thought, but it did shut down. Barda heaved out a breath. "Alright … Is it good for another go?"

Scott stepped around and glanced into the titanium tunnel. "Eh, it's hot now … but in about an hour or so …"

Oberson nodded. "Good."

"What happened here?"

Three visitors spun around to watch a fourth green guest in the manor floating down to the floor. Scott replied, "Superman just went to take a look at your planet again."

"Then where is he?"

Lucius walked up. "Probably out getting rid of some of that extra energy he'll have after absorbing Mars' level radiation. He should be back soon to tell us what he saw."

The Martian moved his jaw and looked down at the floor. Then a hand landed on his shoulder. He turned to look into the eyes of a smiling Scott Free. "Hey, if we don't have hope, we have nothing. So, have hope my friend."

Barda and Oberon both gave half-smiles of pride behind their star. Lucius gave the other alien visitor a nod of thanks. John stared back into the smiling masked face thoughtfully.

West Side Gotham Clocktower Eleven Years After Waynes' Deaths

Batman was watching the city from a clock tower, when a streak of golden light first zoomed, then spun like a corkscrew down toward him. Then the form of his friend drifted to a halt right in front of him. Superman met his gaze with a grim one of his own. Batman spoke first. "Speak in Kryptonian."

Superman nodded, not even asking. "I saw living Martians. They were hunting in a cavern pretty full of life. It's far far down from the surface though, and I think it's in a system of tunnels and caves that don't connect to the burned and wasted ones. Moe would have to phase through some solid walls to get to it."

Batman replied in the same alien language. "Any other bad news?"

"Well, yes, actually."

Bruce grit his teeth. Superman saved him from having to ask. "All the Martians I saw, they were green, and … I saw two groups of them fighting each other."

"Fighting each other?"

"Yeah, one group made a kill, and was then attacked by another group of Green Martians. I didn't see how things worked out, because I had to get back through the tunnel before I got so overpowered I melted it again."

Batman looked away over the city, though it was difficult to see much past the beacon of golden light Superman had become. "Hmmmm … It could be one group were survivors from the war encroaching on another's territory, because their past home is unlivable now. You sure they were all Green Martians, or were some White Martians pretending to be Green?"

"I … (sigh) It was really far down, and I was trying to take in the larger picture while they were hunting and fighting …"

"So, you don't know?"

"I can only tell Moe is Moe, when he's pretending to be someone else, when I look down at the cellular level."

"(You shouldn't call him that.) I was hoping with all the radiation you were absorbing …"

"I couldn't absorb that much and go back through the tunnel again, not unless I found a way to use it up afterward, and I was afraid to mess around and wreck anything else on or near that planet. It's been through enough."

Batman clenched his jaw a moment before loosening it again and saying, "Understood."

Superman stared at his friend. "What do we tell him?"

Bruce's whole body tensed up before he replied grimly. "The truth."

"Should I … wait, give it some time?"

"No." Bruce turned his gaze on his friend. "You told him the bad news last time. I'll tell him this time."

"What?"

"You go spend some time flying over the city watching over things. You just showing up looking like that is enough to make most of the criminals around here think twice. And it should use up some of your energy."

"You sure you want to do this? I mean, I already explored pretty much your entire labyrinth down there beneath your home and the city to de-power ..."

"Of course, I don't 'want' to. I don't want to tell him we still have no clear answer about his niece, and his own people are fighting each other, probably over territory and food. I have … 'We' have to hope knowing there is life, that there are Green Martians or just Martians at all on Mars still, is enough hope for him at this time. And you told him before ... And you need to de-power some more ... So go."

Superman nodded. Then he turned and flew away looking over the city. Batman grappled down to the streets and began moving toward his car.

Alleyway in West Gotham Eleven Years After Waynes' Deaths

As he walked through an alleyway toward his car, a shadowed figure stepped into his path. Batman raised an eyebrow at the smooth, but powerful movement and the quietness and stillness of the figure before the reveal. He looked up into the shadowed face and asked, "Do you work for someone I know?"

"You might have told Waller, when you spoke, that you have long conversations with the beloved alien of Metropolis."

"I thought he was the beloved alien of all earth. What does he have to do with what she and I talked about?"

"It's been over a day, and you haven't contacted her."

"She expected me to be successful in a day or so at what's taken her years to 'not' accomplish?"

"You don't appear to be putting in much effort."

"Neither do you right now."

"Are you in league with the aliens? Or maybe you are him?"

Batman took something from his pouch. The man's hand went to his sidearm, without raising it far from his belt Batman made a swift movement, and a flame appeared out of the lighter he held. The other man actually relaxed slightly as the Batman raised the flame up before his eyes without turning it off.

Then agent nodded. "Very good. Looking forward to meeting again. Maybe you'll have something for us next time."

"We'll see." Batman closed the lighter making the flame disappear.

"Would sure do this place a lot of good. I can see why you found what you're doing here necessary after being here for less than a week."

The agent walked away as Batman glared after him.

Boat Docked At Gotham South Side Docks Eleven Years After Waynes' Deaths

Waller, sat dark bags under here eyes, in the middle of radio receivers, when a signal came through she'd been waiting for. She picked up a microphone and snapped. "Report." Then she flipped off her microphone to listen.

"Asset was seen interacting with #1 Subject of Interest between five and ten minutes ago. Over."

Waller raised her eyebrows. Batman and Superman? She flipped her microphone back on. "Did you engage and question the target tonight?"

"Yes. He seemed to either have not made progress or is unwilling to speak of the progress he's made."

"Did you ask about his relationship with #1 Subject of Interest?"

"Yes, he only wanted to know what #1 Subject had to do with our current target. I did not provide any information."

Waller sighed. "Keep watching #2 Subject of Interest tonight instead of switching to looking for #1 Target."

"Boss, keeping up with #2 Subject is more taxing than expecting. Requesting replacement."

"We can't take anyone off this search in Gotham now that we have reason to believe #1 Target was here recently. Either we find him or someone with information on where he's gone unless you'd rather take a nap than save the world."

"Copy, over and out."

Waller flipped off her receiver and stared off in silence for a moment. Then she pulled out a satellite phone, dialed a number, and waited for someone to pick up. When they did, her voice snapped into the receiver. "Go ahead and leak the info."

What do you think?

Whumptober Prompts Labyrinth, Fatigue, and Burnout. Superman went through Batman's Labyrinth. Fatigue and Burntout- the state John is in both with writing the letters, but more severely continuing in his original goals/missions he's had since arriving on earth decades before. Also, Waller and her people as they search for J'ohn.

God bless

ScribeofHeroes