JLU 2001 Fanfiction - Martian Manhunter #7

I seek to disinfect this world of sorrow and pain. Some call me a prophet for this world where Darkseid’s cruelty seems to have taken the strongest hold. I simply do what I can to move things along. I once had a tremendous opportunity in which to combat the spread of Darkseid, but my people took that from me. My brother specifically was involved in that affair. Fear and a lust for power ruled their decisions. The Martian Empire could have been the first rung in the ladder to Darkseid’s defeat.

My brother, Malefic, and his allies in the royal line cast me off my throne as an exile. Seeking refuge I hid on Earth in the guise of a normal human. Eventually, I grew tired of hiding and revealed my true nature. At that point the tired masses came to see me as a sage of sorts. I kept promising them that the end of Darkseid’s rule was at hand. They began to take my sayings as prophetic statements and who was I to deny them their hope? Hope came in so few instances that it would have been cruel for me to deny them theirs. So I continue to wander the planet and bring hope to those who have none.

Let me begin this tale with the gathering of my disciples…

Hundreds of Parademons marched down the concrete roads of Rome and one among this collection wasn’t quite right. I had felt it with my mind as I watched them march from one of the many alleyways in the city. There was a mind in distress among the Parademons and that was simply unheard of. The mindless soldiers of Darksied felt no emotion and if they did the last thing they would feel is distress. So I watched with morbid curiosity as the cybernetic soldiers walked past me and I tried to guess which one just wasn’t quite right.

I pulled my cloak a little further over my head to protect myself from the gray rain that never seemed to stop pouring down. It seemed like centuries since I had seen a day without rain anywhere on this planet. No wonder humanity was so lacking in hope. They were constantly downtrodden by Darksied and their own planet. My exile here had me appreciate the finer things my people were possessed with. The coming of Darksied had spelled such great trouble for this whole solar system.

So I continued to watch the march of the soldiers until suddenly there was a massive explosion amongst the soldiers. Brown clay spread out forward in all directions and wrapped around the Parademons like tentacles and lifted them up into the air. That’s when I made my move and flew up into the air to help whoever was attacking the Parademons.

Who are you?

You know who I am, servant of Darksied!

I am no servant of Darksied. I am Prophet, J’onn of Mars.

I know of you. I am called Clayface. Help me beat back these soldiers!

With pleasure…

Rising up in the air I held out my arm and shaped it into a spike and stretched it forward until it slammed into the ground and scattered Parademons beneath me everywhere. I knew that this conflict would only attract the attention of more powerful enforcers of Darksied. While Clayface seemed to be quite powerful having to possibly take on Amazons wasn’t something I desired to do.

My friend while this battle is invigorating we are attracting needless attention. Let us head into the sewers of this city and discuss things further...

That was how I gained my first ally. Clayface had been a product of experiments conducted by Darksied. We became close friends over time and we were able to relate to each other on an intimate level because of our shape shifting abilities. The two of us were able to disguise ourselves amongst the underbelly of society and blend ourselves in amongst the tired masses.

It wasn’t until some time later that I found my next allies…

“Keep your hands off my wife you assholes!” a dusty, blonde-haired man shouted as he snapped his fingers and suddenly the Parademons that were harassing his wife were covered in flames.

“A magic user!” one of them yelled as the flames ripped away at their metal and flesh.

“Get him!”

As the burning robots made their approach the ground turned against them and they were hanging in the air as vines wrapped around them and lifted them off their feet. The struggle of the Parademons was futile. One looked down at his attacker and yelled, “Your magic tricks shall earn you Darkseid’s wrath.”

“That particular trick was mine,” a feminine voice said from behind the robots. The woman was cloaked in brown, but her long, luscious red hair hung out slightly from the garment.

“It is Ivy!” the harassed wife exclaimed.

Her husband looked as if he had seen a ghost. The same wizard had trained Poison Ivy and him, but rumors had pretty much said that Ivy was dead. So he had begun to think of himself as the last true magician left on this wrecked planet. It was a lonely position, but seeing Ivy made all those feelings fade away.

“Hello Constantine. I see you can still agitate Darkseid’s forces without even trying,” Poison Ivy smiled underneath her cloak.

“It’s good to see that Darkseid and his boys didn’t get you,” Constantine smiled despite the heavy rain that began to fall.

“The two of you did excellent in battle,” an aerial voice said. The two wizards looked upward.

“It is Prophet J’onn!” the wife exclaimed almost overwhelmed with the site of both him and Ivy in the same place.

“Too bad you showed up after we already roped them up,” Constantine grunted.

J’onn landed on the ground and said, “Forgive me for my observance, but I had to see if you could hold your own in a fight.”

“Why does that matter to you?” Constantine asked as he went over and helped his wife to her feet.

“I need soldiers,” J’onn replied.

It was then that Constantine and Poison Ivy were added to the ranks of my disciples. Though we were small in number we became greatly hated by Darkseid and beloved by the desperate people of Earth. We did what we could against the dark overlord, but now with the last of my disciples I think we finally might have a chance.

We found him only a brief two years ago…

“Are you sure this is the place?” Constantine asked as he held up the lantern and scanned the large storage house. Various metallic boxes and plastic tubes lined the walls neatly while pieces of wood were scattered across the floor.

“My intelligence told me we would find him here,” Poison Ivy assured as she moved ahead of the group.

“I’ll go overhead and see if I can see him,” Clayface said as he transformed into a hawk and took to the air.

“Let us hope he is here. Taking him from Darkseid would do our cause a great deal of good,” J’onn said as he began to use his telepathy to find any signal of the being they had come here to find.

Constantine continued to scan the dimly lit room and asked, “Just why would Darkseid keep this guy completely unguarded? It doesn’t make the least bit of sense.”

“Arrogance has always been one of Darkseid’s many flaws. Fortunately, it seems to be playing to our favor here. Thank the stars for that,” Ivy said as she suddenly came to a stop in front of one of the metallic boxes.

“What’s wrong Ivy?” Constantine asked.

“I heard a muffle come from that box.”

“Guys! Over here! Ivy said she heard something,” Constantine yelled.

J’onn moved like lightning to where Ivy and Constantine were. He bent down and touched the box with his palm, “I don’t sense anyone, but my telepathy is able to be blocked. Constantine open this crate if you would.”

“Sure thing,” Constantine said as he rubbed his hands together, mumbled a few words, and pressed his palms against the crate. Orange light began to pour from his hands and within moments the crate had turned to ash.

Ivy gasped at what was in the box and J’onn smiled, “Captain Atom.”

Present Day: Castle Innuzzii (Castle Olympus Mons on Earth- New Apokolips)

Emperor Malefic looked out from the highest peak in the solar system and felt a great sense of helplessness. Not because of the height he was at, but because somewhere down there was an emissary from Darkseid. An emissary that was more than likely going to be bearing bad news for the ruler of the Martian people.

It only took a few minutes before the emissary had arrived in the fluorescent throne room. He was about six feet tall and wore a brown cloak that was neatly cut in triangular shapes at the bottom. The emissary’s face was hardly visible, but his red eyes shone brightly. A golden scimitar hung from his thick black belt and turquoise necklaces hung to his stomach.

“Emperor Malefic I come bearing a message from our lord, Darkseid,” the mysterious figure said looking around with disgust at the ever-changing colors of the Martian decorations.

“Do you have a name, emissary?” Malefic questioned.

“Deacon Strange.”

Malefic smiled, “Yes, I have heard of you. Your skills as a warrior are to be commended. So what message does Lord Darkseid come bearing for me?”

“Dispose of your brother. Exiling him to Earth at first seemed a good idea, but now he stirs the people to have hope. Hope can create rebellion. Lord Darkseid orders that he be taken care of immediately,” Deacon said.

Malefic nodded, “Yes, my brother has proven himself to be quite resilient over the centuries. I have just the idea to get rid of him. Have you ever heard of the Hyperclan?”