39. Discussing Mars

The hum of the city outside Middleton set the backdrop as John Jones, the Martian Manhunter, returned to his modest apartment from his daily job. He closed the door behind him, and with a casual gesture, his humanoid form shifted seamlessly into his true Martian state. The green-skinned, red-eyed alien moved with an otherworldly grace, navigating his living space as if it were an extension of himself.

John hung his outer coat on the hanger, his mind momentarily at ease. The day had been long, and the mundane act of returning home was a welcome respite from the responsibilities that came with being his kind on Earth.

As he approached the fridge, the beacon of comfort awaited him — a pack of Oreos. John indulged in this earthly delight, savoring the familiar taste that connected him to the human side of his identity and his Martian addiction.

Suddenly, his hands froze.

His ears twitched (metaphorical) as a low hum entered his ear. The inaudible frequency that only Martians could hear filled the room. J'onn placed the Oreo in his mouth and walked to his drawer. The Martian pressed his hands to the floor, phasing through and unlocked the hidden compartment.

With the lock released, he pulled the wooden cover away and gazed at the hidden device.

A dark-green oval device floated to his hand at his will. It was the transceiver he brought to Earth when he left M'arzz. This was his only means of communication with his home planet, and it's been years since he had been contacted.

J'onn activated the device in trepidation, as the frequency of the hum meant it was an urgent message, and he needed to respond immediately. J'onn activated the device, and a low buzz filled his room. The device was way out of its time.

[M'hontrr J'onn J'onzz, you are to report to duty immediately by the order of the King. Your home needs your service.]

[We are at War with an invader from Earth.]

The voice cut off after giving him the order. The news shocked J'onn, images of M'razz civil war flashing before his eyes. Death, suffering, and sacrifices made to end that war were tremendous, and the hard earned peace was broken now. He felt his mind shake, but he pulled himself back together. A bit of shellshock won't stop him from protecting his people.

J'onn stood up and walked to his window, gazing at the starry sky with a million specks of fireflies gleaming in the sky. The image of his home emerged in his mind. The red sandy earth, dark caverns, the mythical sacred river – all of it was the beauty that his planet beheld within.

J'onn activated the device and sent his reply, "M'hontrr J'onn J'onzz reporting to duty."

He placed the transceiver in his pocket and pulled out another that looked like a bat. It was the device that Batman had given to him after their alliance. He pressed the button to alert Batman and moved out of his apartment to meet with him.

...

-Batcave-

In the dimly lit Batcave, Batman sat in the glow of the supercomputer. His gaze lingered on the screen, and the absurdity of it all baffled him. He was looking at the picture that shocked all the leading minds in his company.

The division set to monitor deep space got news of Mars' anomaly from the official observatory. The astronomers had used the billion-dollar satellite equipped with advanced deep space scanners and got a high-resolution image of Mars.

And he was presented with a jellyfish.

Mars, the barren sister planet, now had tendrils that sprouted from its dark side. Half of the planet had turned dark, and it was growing tendrils. The most absurd thing was what these tendrils did. These glowing tendrils captured the asteroids and ate them.

They then moved from the asteroids and targeted the moons of Saturn, Callisto, and Ganymede. The tendrils pulled the massive moons out of orbit without affecting much of Saturn's orbit or the other moons.

But this event had changed the solar system forever.

The anomaly that would happen due to the changes in the celestial bodies would be astronomical in the far future. The astronomers were more baffled by how this was happening, with most of them pointing at a more advanced race.

But Batman felt like he knew the person responsible.

"What is this? are you trying therapy?" Robin asked as he walked past. "But the jellyfish looks weird."

Batman, without turning his gaze, answered, "It's Mars."

Robin paused and lowered the towel he was using to wipe his sweat. "Huh?"

"This is a live feed from our satellite," Batman elaborated. He didn't need to turn to know that his son had a stupid, dumbfounded expression. "Mars was altered, and now it's feeding on Callisto and Ganymede."

"What?" Robin shouted in shock, "How is this even possible?"

Robin scrutinized the image, trying to find any evidence of its falsehood, but if Batman says it's Mars, it should be Mars. He couldn't believe how a planet could change like this. Who could do this? Are we finally in contact with aliens.

"Zion left to Mars to terraform it," Batman shared the information he had gotten from Superman.

"That doesn't ex-" Robin paused as he remembered what kind of person Zion was. He also remembered the talk they had with him and his worldview. From his analysis, Zion had a mad scientist syndrome, but, "How did he even do this?"

"Zion got his hand on Kryptonian technology," Batman answered.

"Superman?"

"Yes, Superman helped Zion so he could terraform Mars," Batman elaborated. "And he left Mars a week ago."

"No wonder," Robin replied.

The duo stood in silence, watching Mars, but the silence was cut by a beeping noise from the Batcomputer. Batman immediately got up from his seat and rushed to the Batmobile.

...

-Metropolis-

Superman in his iconic red and blue suit looked into the voice of space with a scrutinizing gaze, skepticism visible in his face. He couldn't believe his eyes as he watched a planet jellyfish eat a moon.

He had set his fortress to inform him of any and all changes on Mars, in case his help was needed. And when he returned today, he was alerted to Mars' change that left him doubting his ears.

He checked on Mars' condition with his own eyes, his zoom vision helping his endeavor. Yet, he could only doubt his eyes. With more scrutiny, he noticed that the asteroids around the solar system had vanished, even Jupiter's rings had thinned.

He didn't know what Zion was doing. Zion was supposed to terraform Mars. But now, the planet is alive.

"Did he really create a sentient planet?" Superman mused, "I hope Kara keeps him in line."

Superman's contemplation was interrupted by a beeping sound that came from his belt. He pulled out a bat-shaped transceiver from the hidden compartment.

"Trouble in Mars, come to our discussed location."

Superman pocketed the transceiver and flew out of the fortress.

...

-Arrow Cave-

Green Arrow looked utterly baffled at the picture presented to him.

After his talk with Batman about an invasion, he had used his company's satellites to observe the other space, expecting an alien invasion. He did not doubt the existence of aliens after confirming that Superman was one.

But the picture of Mars before him baffled him to no end.

"What the hell?" Arrow questioned his eyes.

...

-Washington D.C-

After a long and arduous discussion, and Lex Luthor's intervention, the Pentagon decided to send their elite troop to Mars to check the situation. With money and influence, Luthor easily swayed the council and got in on the mission. Lex Luthor would be providing his advanced space shuttle to take the troop to Mars, and of course, Luthor will be accompanying them with his team.

The team would consist of Wonder Woman, Colonel Trevor with his own team, and Luthor with his own team.

"We are leaving to another planet?" Diana asked Trevor, a childish curiosity visible in her voice.

Trevor just smiled and shook his head, "We are going to investigate the abnormality of Mars. We will move to Lex Corp base before we leave; it is estimated to take three months."

"Isn't it a bit slow?" Diana questioned.

"We can't do anything about it unless you have some Amazonian magic to take us there faster,"

Trevor joked to lighten the tension.

"I don't know of such arcane magic," Diana replied truthfully, "But I hope, whatever it is, gives me a good fight."

Diana raised her sword valiantly. The other troop members just chuckled to themselves.

Trevor pushed the sword away from him. "I hope not," he muttered under his breath.

"We are going to another planet."

"I thought I had seen everything after I met with the Amazonian princess."

"Another planet, I hope this is not a Xenomorph."

"Dude! chill!"

"I am going to have nightmares."

"What is this creature you are talking about," Diana joined in on the conversation.

The soldiers turned to Diana in shock, their fearful expressions visible. They didn't want to show it to the Amazonian princess only to learn that it exists. They were not ready for the shock and fear-filled nights that follow.

One brave soldier pulled out his phone and presented the video to Diana. Diana carefully took the human's artifact and looked at the movie it showed.

~Screeeech~ ~kraawwww~

"Such a vile creature! Where does it live? I need to slay it immediately," Diana turned to the soldiers with a serious expression.

The soldiers collectively breathed a sigh of relief at Diana's answer. They were happy that it didn't exist. Trevor, not amused by the situation, took the phone from Diana's hand and answered her question.

"It doesn't exist, Diana," Trevor threw the phone back to the soldiers. "They are fiction. They don't exist."

"But I saw it in the artifact," Diana argued.

"It is like an illusion. It doesn't exist," Trevor elaborated and gave the soldiers a hard look. "Diana, go pack your things. We are leaving in 10 minutes!!!"

Trevor barked the order.

""Yes, Sir!!!""

...

-Gotham-

After alerting Batman, Martian Manhunter quickly took off to Gotham. He arrived at Gotham Harbor covered in darkness. His form human with a black coat blending him with the darkness. J'onn's soundless footsteps made him feel like a ghost, but he wasn't the only ghost hidden in darkness.

"Manhunter," a deep voice called from the shadow.

Batman walked out of the shadow, his iconic cowl adorning his face. His black cape dragged behind him like a shadow, connecting him into the darkened abyss.

"Batman," J'onn greeted with ease.

"It seems like all of us are here," Batman stated, his eyes focused behind J'onn.

The first thing J'onn noticed was the fluttering sound of the cape billowing in the wind. He turned to see the very noticeable "S" on the new arrival. Superman in his iconic red and blue suit floated behind Martian Manhunter.

"Superman."

Superman greeted Manhunter with a polite smile. "Manhunter?" Superman tried to lighten the mood.

"It's M'hontrr, a Martian police," J'onn elaborated.

"Let's talk inside," Batman stated before he walked to the nearby container. He punched the code into the hidden compartment and entered the dark container.

Superman and Martian Manhunter followed Batman in. They stood in the dark, no one needing the light to see in the dark. The doors closed, and the ground started to descend. The dark surroundings changed, and bright light started to fill in from the ground.

The elevator stopped in a brightly lit cave filled with gadgets. It was one of Batman's warehouses. He had arranged them to meet after learning of Zion's departure to Mars. He had only informed the directly involved individuals, Superman.

"I hope you can explain what is happening on my planet," Martian Manhunter questioned.

"Yes," Superman chimed.

Batman turned on the desk, displaying the image of Mars in its current state, the jellyfish. J'onn was shocked by the image displayed.

"Is that?" He questioned, unbelieving.

"Its Mars," Superman confirmed, "I saw it with my eyes."

"My deduction is that Zion is taking over Mars forcefully."

"But why?" Superman questioned. "He informed me it was to terraform the planet."

"I don't know his full intentions." Batman turned to the Martians. "Martians are divided into two groups, aren't they?"

"Yes, we have a class system in place after the civil war. B'lahdenn, red Martians, as the ruling class. G'arrunn, green Martians, as first-class citizens and A'ashenn, white Martians, as second-class citizens. Due to the past history, the A'ashenn are always treated badly... Wait, you are not..."

"Yes," Batman answered. "He is uniting your race by force."

"How do you know?" Superman questioned Batman.

Instead of answering the question, Batman pulled an audio file.

~I don't like working under anyone, and I really am not suited for any kind of management. Moreover, it is a waste of time that could be used elsewhere. And I don't like humans and their war and territorial conflicts over a small piece of land they can't even take care of. What would happen if I give them my tech?

What do you think will ha...

..

...man needs something bigger than them to be better. They need to face extinction to grow as a species. Unity is not forged in peace but in the hellfire of war."~

After listening to the audio, Superman didn't know what to think of Zion. For him, Zion was a kind kid from a small town, just like him. But he never expected this side of him that is cold and calculative.

"You should leave to Mars and check the situation yourself," Batman commented as he paused the audio. "Just to make sure that we are not just making false conclusions." 

"I will leave immediately. Thank you for the help." J'onn said as he turned to leave.

"I will come with you," Superman chimed in. 

*****