"So where are you really from, Clark?" John asked me that after we were outside of city limits. Probably afraid of collateral damage if I went ballistic.
"Smallville." I smirked and looked over at the bastard, "What about you?"
"Ma'aleca'andra." He looked over at me and sighed, "Mars." His eyes glowed bright red as they got bigger, his bald head elongated and turned green, but overall, he kinda had the same general facial features.
His human form was eerily similar to his Martian form, though I'm not sure whether that matters at all. Martians are just too ridiculous when it comes to shapeshifting. I couldn't even tell he wasn't human using my supersight, but once he turned into his Martian form, it was like a barrier was preventing me from seeing through his flesh or zooming in on his individual cells.
"Makes sense." I didn't bother acting surprised, "When I looked up supernatural events and phenomena online, I saw some pictures of you in your natural form. You're not very famous, yet. But it's only a matter of time. I'm sure the government is definitely hunting you down though."
"Humans can be very… Xenophobic." J'onn J'onzz smiled wryly as he returned to his human appearance, "Martians aren't much better though."
"How did you arrive on Earth?" I needed to know, because there are multiple different variations and some were more ridiculous than others.
"There was a war on Mars. Two ethnic groups who hated each other for various reasons. The White and the Green Martians… The Green Martians lost the war." He obviously left out like a million fucking crucial details, "I survived, likely the last of my kind. I came to Earth and have been living amongst humanity in relative secrecy for centuries."
"You're afraid the White Martians might come to Earth if they know you're still alive." I guessed, "Either that, or you're afraid of the other Gods, aliens and monsters that are everywhere on this insanely dangerous planet."
"I haven't met any Gods yet, but it is true that there are quite a few other refugees and powerful creatures." He seemed to be lost in thought for a moment, before adding, "One should also never underestimate humankind."
"I'm something of a human too." I snickered and leaned back in the comfy chair. I looked out towards the houses and trees passing by, all covered in snow. The roads were cleared already though.
"At least I can tell that you aren't a White Martian." John looked over at me again, "You don't feel like a Metahuman though."
"You can feel whether someone's an alien or not?" I raised an eyebrow, "Maybe you're just reading my passive thoughts subconsciously?"
"I don't need to read your thoughts to notice your sense of… Alienation." He chuckled at his own pun, then explained, "I've been on Earth for longer than I was on Mars, but that was where I was born. My homeworld. I'll never be able to let go of those precious memories and my identity as a Martian. I wouldn't want to, no matter how much it hurts."
"Okay fine, no point lying about it. But be careful not to leak this secret, because it's a dangerous one." I groaned and almost said it aloud, but instead, I just mouthed the name.
"I see. How long have you been here on Earth?" He nodded calmly and didn't seem too concerned.
"I'm nine. I got here when I was about one." I remembered it as about a year since my birth, but who the fuck knows when I was actually born and how long I actually spent on the way to Earth? The Pod had a stasis function for long trips. I basically just woke up on Earth shortly after being put in the shuttle.
"I see. Did your parents come with you?" He didn't seem to know what happened exactly, which meant he wasn't the Smallville version that knew Jor-El.
"I don't think I'm the only survivor of Krypton's destruction." I stated calmly, "But my biological parents should theoretically be dead."
"I haven't heard of any other Kryptonians on Earth, but I also haven't been searching for them." He reached out and patted my shoulder, "I'm sorry for your loss, Clark."
"It's okay. Even though I do remember them to a certain extent, I was basically a newborn baby at the time. I was lucky enough to get adopted by the Kents after arriving on Earth."
I couldn't help thinking about Martha for a moment and got a little nervous. Definitely can't let a fucking telepathic detective anywhere near my pedophilic mother!
He might not give a shit about me accidentally killing a dude, but he would definitely have a problem with my Mom abusing her 9 year old son…
"I spend a lot of time over my friend Lena Luthor's place lately though. Lex is kinda like a second, or maybe a third father figure to me." Better to turn his attention towards the bigger and more obvious target.
"Ah! I remember now!" He patted the steering wheel and chuckled, "Now I remember where I've seen your face before! Your picture with Lex Luthor was in the newspaper I bought earlier." He didn't reach back, but a newspaper floated over from the back seat and opened up in front of me.
"Uh, wait a second." I looked at the headline and frowned, "The truth about Lex Luthor and his stepmother?"
"It's just a tabloid, but it is quite compelling." John commented on the side as I read more.
"Of course Lilian is behind this shit…"
Basically, there was a leak from a secret conversation between Lilian and Lex. Essentially with Lilian acting like the concerned mother.
Asking whether Lena was actually Lionel's daughter or her granddaughter. Also asking about whether Clark was actually Lois' son. I was adopted by the Kents after all, not their biological son.
"I remember working for Lex a few years back." The Martian Manhunter casually mentioned, "He wanted me to investigate Elizabeth Walsh's death. What I uncovered was a government conspiracy related to Lilian Luthor. You don't seem very surprised."
"From the moment I saved Lena, I've been entangled with the Luthor family drama. I don't have telepathy, but I'm not an outsider." I shrugged my shoulders and asked, "Have you dealt with a lot of cases involving magic over the years?"
"More than I'd prefer." John grimaced, "Humans can be quite barbaric and depraved when given power over one another."
"Everything is like that." I sighed again, "Humans, animals, aliens, Gods, Devils, we're all monsters on the inside."
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A/N- Read 50 Chapters ahead on Patreon. I also post three chapters a day there.
Chapters are uploaded Bi-weekly, meaning twice a week. Each update is 10,000 words, 20,000 in the week. Enjoy!
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