Days. It turns to weeks. Weeks. They turn to months. Months turns to years. And years... they turn to centuries... at least that is what seems after I had fled my planet... my home... with my adopted niece, M'gann. She was not one of my kind... but I cared for her. Right now I needed to fix.
"Father?"
"No M'gann... it is I."
"Uncle J'onn? How did you... How did I..."
"Questions better left unanswered. For now what matters is that you are safe."
As I guided that ship further away from Mars, I knew that what I had told her was a lie. I did not want her to be frightened. I knew, somewhere far behind us, my brother Ma'alefa'ak was coming. But I could not tell her... I mustn't worry her anymore than she has been.
"The others..."
"They... are gone..."
"H... How?"
"No more questions M'gann. Get your rest."
After she had gone to sleep I stopped the ship at a port to provide the ship with more fuel. As I placed the fuel inside the ship's engine, I kept thinking about the attack. The White Martians. Vicious, evil monsters. My brother, Ma'alefa'ak betrayed his own to join them. I still remembered it. I still remembered when I first found M'gann.
I was wandering the craters, searching for Mars rats to take home and eat. I then heard a sound of an martian crying. A baby martian. Not even 200 years of age. I slid into the crater where I heard the cries and picked up the little one.
"There there." I said, trying to console her in my arms.
The little one stopped crying and I carried her to my home. My family accepted her. They loved her... but my brother... Ma'alefa'ak did not like her company. I was unsure why he detested her so, so I asked him.
"She will bring death to us all."
"You are wrong. She may be a White Martian, but we will raise her to not be our enemy."
"You are foolish J'onn. Take the monster in... one day she will turn on you... you will have no one to blame but yourself."
Ma'alefa'ak's words made me wonder, made me question. But I could not abandon such a child... no.., that would be distasteful. I stayed with my original plan, but little did I know that the true enemy would soon be revealed.
I sat upon the top of the ship staring at the mixture of purple and blue and black. The little white dots created patterns. I deeply sighed, sucking in the beauty.
"Uncle J'onn?"
I looked behind me and saw M'gann approaching. She sat beside me and shared my fascination with the beautiful wonders of the universe.
"Were you scared?"
Her question caught me somewhat off guard. I knew I needed to be strong for her, but my memory was flooded with the screams of my family.
"I was… but no more."
I felt horrible lying to her. Of course I was scared. My brother was right behind us, following us, and we were stuck on a ship with barely enough supplies to keep us safe. As she leaned upon me I caught a glimpse of a strange… being floating out in space. No ships, no anything. Just him and his green suit. That's when I suddenly realized.
"A Green Lantern."