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Chapter 235: My Apologies for Not Fitting In
Author: Rowing Without Oars 233
Intergang was dealt with, and its leader, Bruno Mannheim, was successfully apprehended. But the news he revealed wasn't exactly good.
Steppenwolf was already on Earth.
No one knew when he had arrived, how long he had been on Earth, and certainly no one knew his current whereabouts. The fact that there had been no activity or any move from him so far meant only one thing: he was still waiting.
He might be making some kind of arrangements, waiting for an opportunity. In this situation, the longer the wait, the more troublesome it would be when the battle finally began.
As for Batman's disappearance, Orin Vale began to form a new theory.
Bruno Mannheim knew nothing about Batman's disappearance. The only thing he knew was that before disappearing, Batman had come looking for him and had beaten the intelligence out of him.
Previously, Orin Vale thought Batman might have been ambushed. Now, he considered that perhaps he was actually following up on some clues. Considering the subject was Batman, he wouldn't even find it too strange if someone said he had already infiltrated Apokolips.
Of course, he still didn't rule out the possibility that Batman had been ambushed during his investigation.
After the recent accident at Belle Reve, the pseudonym of Agent Mike Williams could have been in some danger, since he had entered a high-security area without authorization.
Although it was an alias created on a whim and losing it wouldn't have had a major impact, after discovering that this alias had built up some influence within the Organization, it was naturally better not to lose it if he could help it.
Orin Vale conveniently erased every trace of his entry from the system and, while he was at it, tested the abilities of his new teammate. The Martian Manhunter possessed very traditional psychic abilities, similar to Professor X, specializing in mind reading, mental manipulation, memory alteration, and so on.
Thus, under the Martian Manhunter's mental influence, the testimonies of all witnesses in the Base, whether they were guards or criminals, were uniformly rewritten. The new story was that when Intergang attacked, Agent Mike had ambushed and subdued the Intergang thugs, seized their high-tech weapons, and single-handedly guarded the high-security area to turn the tide.
He was even credited with a great commendation for it.
The only hassle was that he would inevitably have to submit a detailed report. Of course, that wasn't Orin Vale's problem, but Pal's.
As the saying goes, practice makes perfect. Pal had become quite skilled at writing reports now.
And so, Agent Mike Williams was now on a clear path to becoming a first-tier expert among A.R.G.U.S.'s non-superpowered special agents for combating supernatural enemies.
Orin Vale also temporarily brought the Martian Manhunter back to the shop. This one was particularly easy to accommodate. His innate ability to shapeshift allowed him to change into any appearance, and he could easily forge an identity to blend into society.
He took on a human form, and his name as a human was John Jones, which sounded similar to his real name, J'onn J'onzz.
On his first day at the shop, he received a warm welcome.
As it happened, the young reporter Clark Kent was off work for the weekend. He flew over early in the morning for some coffee, and he also brought a large bag of snacks to share with his friends there.
When Martian Manhunter saw the table full of snacks, his eyes were inexplicably drawn to a certain black, round sandwich cookie. As if compelled by some unknown force, he reached out and precisely selected the cookie known as an "Oreo" from the pile of snacks.
Twist it, lick it...
The Martian's pupils constricted. He trembled as if he'd been electrocuted, as if the door to a new world had just opened.
The others all looked at him with strange expressions.
"Wh... What's wrong? Did the cookies I bought expire?" Superman adjusted his glasses and picked up the Oreo package. "That can't be, I checked the date..."
"It's... so delicious." Martian Manhunter held the cookie with the utmost seriousness. "If I die one day, you must place one of these on my grave."
Everyone: "???"
Only Orin Vale nodded slightly.
Yep, that's Martian Manhunter, no doubt about it.
Wonder Woman and ice cream, Martian Manhunter and Oreos. The same kind of mysterious bond.
"A Martian?"
Kara expressed her surprise when she heard of his origin.
The knowledge banks of Krypton indicated that a civilization had once existed on Mars; after all, Krypton had sent scout ships to the Solar System. But that was a very long time ago.
"I thought Mars was... was..."
"You are correct. Mars no longer exists." Martian Manhunter closed his eyes and sighed softly.
"My wife, my daughter, my friends, my family... they're all gone."
"Ah, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—" Kara, a little flustered, hurriedly tried to console him.
"It's okay. I'm just like you. Our Krypton was destroyed, and all my family died too. My cousin as well, his family all died in the destruction. So, you're not that special..."
Martian Manhunter blinked, looking at her strangely.
This girl... was she trying to comfort him?
Their culture's way of comforting people is certainly... unique.
After a moment's hesitation, Martian Manhunter couldn't help but ask, "You and your cousin... aren't your families the same group of people?"
The ahoge on Kara's head seemed to twitch.
"Huh? Now that you mention it..."
Clark chuckled and stepped forward to pat his shoulder.
"I think what Kara means is that we all share the same destiny. Our planets were destroyed, our civilizations perished, and the entire familiar world of our families and friends vanished behind us."
"We are castaways, and yet we have all gathered here. Perhaps this is its own kind of fate. So, if you're willing, you can absolutely think of Earth, and this place, as your second home."
"Though we no longer have our families, we can still have each other."
Martian Manhunter smiled slightly.
Although they had only just met, he could already feel something wonderful from this man known on Earth as 'Superman'.
His clear eyes, and his words, seemed to possess a wondrous magical power, making one feel an incredible sense of peace and instinctively want to believe him.
So, Martian Manhunter smiled as well.
His gaze swept over the three people beside him.
"Yes, perhaps it really is destiny... it's quite incredible. In this vast universe, of all places on Earth, in such a small coffee shop, four aliens stranded far from home..."
"And all of our homes were destroyed, with nowhere to return to," Kara chimed in.
Orin Vale, who had been listening quietly, felt that something was off when he heard that.
"Uh... I know this might ruin the mood, but I feel I should mention something," he said. "I am indeed an alien. But my home is perfectly fine, it's not extinct. I just can't go back for the time being..."
Kara glanced at him and pouted.
Dark lines formed on Orin Vale's face.
My apologies that my family is still alive and well. So sorry for not fitting in...
Just as he said that, Diana Prince also came in from outside.
Three of the founding Seven Giants of the Justice League had now gathered in this small coffee shop.
"Sister Diana!"
Kara stood up happily. Diana nodded at her, then sat down without a word.
"Huh? Sister Diana, you seem... not to be in a very good mood?"
Wonder Woman's face was stern, indeed looking as if 'unhappy' was written all over it.
Orin Vale also instinctively sensed it; her aura today seemed a little different than before.
How to describe it...
If before she mainly gave off the heroic and valiant aura of a warrioress, now she had more of the air of a queen?
Diana glanced at them and said softly.
"I think I'm about to become the King of the Olympian Gods."
(end of chapter)
Author: Rowing Without Oars 233
Intergang was dealt with, and its leader, Bruno Mannheim, was successfully apprehended. But the news he revealed wasn't exactly good.
Steppenwolf was already on Earth.
No one knew when he had arrived, how long he had been on Earth, and certainly no one knew his current whereabouts. The fact that there had been no activity or any move from him so far meant only one thing: he was still waiting.
He might be making some kind of arrangements, waiting for an opportunity. In this situation, the longer the wait, the more troublesome it would be when the battle finally began.
As for Batman's disappearance, Orin Vale began to form a new theory.
Bruno Mannheim knew nothing about Batman's disappearance. The only thing he knew was that before disappearing, Batman had come looking for him and had beaten the intelligence out of him.
Previously, Orin Vale thought Batman might have been ambushed. Now, he considered that perhaps he was actually following up on some clues. Considering the subject was Batman, he wouldn't even find it too strange if someone said he had already infiltrated Apokolips.
Of course, he still didn't rule out the possibility that Batman had been ambushed during his investigation.
After the recent accident at Belle Reve, the pseudonym of Agent Mike Williams could have been in some danger, since he had entered a high-security area without authorization.
Although it was an alias created on a whim and losing it wouldn't have had a major impact, after discovering that this alias had built up some influence within the Organization, it was naturally better not to lose it if he could help it.
Orin Vale conveniently erased every trace of his entry from the system and, while he was at it, tested the abilities of his new teammate. The Martian Manhunter possessed very traditional psychic abilities, similar to Professor X, specializing in mind reading, mental manipulation, memory alteration, and so on.
Thus, under the Martian Manhunter's mental influence, the testimonies of all witnesses in the Base, whether they were guards or criminals, were uniformly rewritten. The new story was that when Intergang attacked, Agent Mike had ambushed and subdued the Intergang thugs, seized their high-tech weapons, and single-handedly guarded the high-security area to turn the tide.
He was even credited with a great commendation for it.
The only hassle was that he would inevitably have to submit a detailed report. Of course, that wasn't Orin Vale's problem, but Pal's.
As the saying goes, practice makes perfect. Pal had become quite skilled at writing reports now.
And so, Agent Mike Williams was now on a clear path to becoming a first-tier expert among A.R.G.U.S.'s non-superpowered special agents for combating supernatural enemies.
Orin Vale also temporarily brought the Martian Manhunter back to the shop. This one was particularly easy to accommodate. His innate ability to shapeshift allowed him to change into any appearance, and he could easily forge an identity to blend into society.
He took on a human form, and his name as a human was John Jones, which sounded similar to his real name, J'onn J'onzz.
On his first day at the shop, he received a warm welcome.
As it happened, the young reporter Clark Kent was off work for the weekend. He flew over early in the morning for some coffee, and he also brought a large bag of snacks to share with his friends there.
When Martian Manhunter saw the table full of snacks, his eyes were inexplicably drawn to a certain black, round sandwich cookie. As if compelled by some unknown force, he reached out and precisely selected the cookie known as an "Oreo" from the pile of snacks.
Twist it, lick it...
The Martian's pupils constricted. He trembled as if he'd been electrocuted, as if the door to a new world had just opened.
The others all looked at him with strange expressions.
"Wh... What's wrong? Did the cookies I bought expire?" Superman adjusted his glasses and picked up the Oreo package. "That can't be, I checked the date..."
"It's... so delicious." Martian Manhunter held the cookie with the utmost seriousness. "If I die one day, you must place one of these on my grave."
Everyone: "???"
Only Orin Vale nodded slightly.
Yep, that's Martian Manhunter, no doubt about it.
Wonder Woman and ice cream, Martian Manhunter and Oreos. The same kind of mysterious bond.
"A Martian?"
Kara expressed her surprise when she heard of his origin.
The knowledge banks of Krypton indicated that a civilization had once existed on Mars; after all, Krypton had sent scout ships to the Solar System. But that was a very long time ago.
"I thought Mars was... was..."
"You are correct. Mars no longer exists." Martian Manhunter closed his eyes and sighed softly.
"My wife, my daughter, my friends, my family... they're all gone."
"Ah, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—" Kara, a little flustered, hurriedly tried to console him.
"It's okay. I'm just like you. Our Krypton was destroyed, and all my family died too. My cousin as well, his family all died in the destruction. So, you're not that special..."
Martian Manhunter blinked, looking at her strangely.
This girl... was she trying to comfort him?
Their culture's way of comforting people is certainly... unique.
After a moment's hesitation, Martian Manhunter couldn't help but ask, "You and your cousin... aren't your families the same group of people?"
The ahoge on Kara's head seemed to twitch.
"Huh? Now that you mention it..."
Clark chuckled and stepped forward to pat his shoulder.
"I think what Kara means is that we all share the same destiny. Our planets were destroyed, our civilizations perished, and the entire familiar world of our families and friends vanished behind us."
"We are castaways, and yet we have all gathered here. Perhaps this is its own kind of fate. So, if you're willing, you can absolutely think of Earth, and this place, as your second home."
"Though we no longer have our families, we can still have each other."
Martian Manhunter smiled slightly.
Although they had only just met, he could already feel something wonderful from this man known on Earth as 'Superman'.
His clear eyes, and his words, seemed to possess a wondrous magical power, making one feel an incredible sense of peace and instinctively want to believe him.
So, Martian Manhunter smiled as well.
His gaze swept over the three people beside him.
"Yes, perhaps it really is destiny... it's quite incredible. In this vast universe, of all places on Earth, in such a small coffee shop, four aliens stranded far from home..."
"And all of our homes were destroyed, with nowhere to return to," Kara chimed in.
Orin Vale, who had been listening quietly, felt that something was off when he heard that.
"Uh... I know this might ruin the mood, but I feel I should mention something," he said. "I am indeed an alien. But my home is perfectly fine, it's not extinct. I just can't go back for the time being..."
Kara glanced at him and pouted.
Dark lines formed on Orin Vale's face.
My apologies that my family is still alive and well. So sorry for not fitting in...
Just as he said that, Diana Prince also came in from outside.
Three of the founding Seven Giants of the Justice League had now gathered in this small coffee shop.
"Sister Diana!"
Kara stood up happily. Diana nodded at her, then sat down without a word.
"Huh? Sister Diana, you seem... not to be in a very good mood?"
Wonder Woman's face was stern, indeed looking as if 'unhappy' was written all over it.
Orin Vale also instinctively sensed it; her aura today seemed a little different than before.
How to describe it...
If before she mainly gave off the heroic and valiant aura of a warrioress, now she had more of the air of a queen?
Diana glanced at them and said softly.
"I think I'm about to become the King of the Olympian Gods."
(end of chapter)
