2014-07-16- White Heat

Boulder Heights Colorado. Pop. 32. Home to a gas station, convenience mart and town hall. The Martian Manhunter drifts down the main street. Now in telepathic contact with Aquaman he reviews the information on John Jones. "Arthur traced the credit card use of our suspect. Rented a car to Boulder Heights this morning. Made six other trips in the past two weeks via rental car. Each city has an unexplained murder similar to our crime scene in Bludhaven. Twin wounds to the chest by unknown energy source ... so-called Martian Vision." He touches down by the convenience mart. There's a battered compact car there. he waves to Hal to cover him. J'Onn hates not knowing what he's getting into.

Green Lantern flies along with Martian Manhunter, "Well I guess we could have rented a car and came in a bit more low key ourselves." Though he frowns, "Wait? Arthur ran the credit cards? I didn't know he had the capacity to do such things or the inclination to care about the things like that." He steps onto the ground, "Nice place. MIght need to vacation up here some time." He says bringing his ring up to cover J'Onn.

Arriving quickly and then touching down next to Hal and J'Onn quietly, Superman asides to his teammates. "Perhaps Arthur decided to lend a hand out of the kindness of his heart?" He looks between them and smiles. "Diana strongly suggested that I come give you two a hand. I've been somewhat briefed on the situation so just let me know what you need."

J'Onn smiles slightly and says, "We have a Green Lantern, a Manhunter and a Superman. I think that is sufficient for a good many things including moving the planet a few feet to one side. I suspect a White Martian in this, Kal-El. Your heat vision should weaken him enough to make humane capture ..."

J'Onn's thought is left incomplete as John Jones comes out of the convenient mart dragging the clerk in one hand and face down. He freezes as he sees the trio, a stick of beef jerky in one hand. "Oh ... crap!" the doppelganger says. Hal grins at Superman, "Good seeing you again Superman. We should have meetings, form a league of some type." He says with a smile. Then as J'onn starts talking about who all is there, Hal says, "Alright but if you start telling jokes about nuns walking into a bar, I'm out." It's about then that John Jones walks out. Hal extends his ring out and creates a blockade around them and John. So he can't just take off running.

Superman replies to Hal. "A League. What a great idea. We'll have to discuss that later." He says with a grin as John Jones comes out dragging the clerk. He raises a brow slightly and then looks at J'Onn. "An uncanny resemblance. Definitely a White Martian.." He turns his gaze back to the impostor as his eyes begin to glow ruby red. However, he holds off the shot for the moment. Using his super senses, he tries to determine if the clerk is alive or not by listening for his heartbeat and breathing rate.

John Jones lets the clerk drop. "J'Onn, you shouldn't have brought them here. We can remain undetected but they ... it's too late. They know ... " the detective says.

From around the three colleagues there are shrieks of feral rage and then a rushing of wind. Doors and walls are splintered as a horde of White martians pour from every building to crash against Green Lantern's barrier. The shockwaves of their charge and collision rattles the convenience mart and shatters windows as it raises a cloud of dust.

J'Onn looks horrified as he says, "The town, the whole town, they replaced every human here. We need help!" The JL signaler on J'Onn's belt goes dead as does his telepathic contact. Hal and Superman can almost feel the mindlash J'onn is exposed to and shields them from.

The clerk on the ground rises and morphs into a pale lizard-like monster grabbing Jones.

Green Lantern bursts into action, "J'Onn, It's going to get hot!" He extends his arm out and takes aim as a blaze of green fire and heat washes out from his ring in a wall of fire at the White Martian's coming their direction. "Remember what I said about a nice getaway? Forget it."

Superman turns as white martians begin to fill the area. "Great Scott! Hold your ears." He says to Hal and J'Onn just before he aims at a group of them and then claps his hands together. Hard. His eyes glow before he fires his heat vision, attempting to create a barrier between the three of them and all of the martians. "This is bad. Very bad." He reaches for his communicator only to find that it's dead. "There's no help coming." He moves to float a couple feet above the ground.

Jones and the clerk are a nightmare of slailing limbs, claws and teeth. The green barrier takes several holes from the fury of the assault. Manhunter ducks the heat attacks looking a little peeved. Then he notices several of the Martians vanish from the straining barrier. The ones remaining attack the green energy with renewed fury, some using eye blasts as they try to avoid the green flame. Several White Martians are struck by the thunderclap and fall writhing in pain. One forces through a hole only to be smashed to the ground by J'Onn. The Manhunter blasts another with his Martian Vision. Jones and the clerk are still fighting when two Martians ghost up from the ground and join their hairball of a fight. Green Lantern calls out, "I can't keep both up. I'm strengthening the barrier. Where's the human torch when we need him." The flame disappears. Hal floating a good foot off the ground and his fist gripped tightly as he concentrates on the barrier and keeping the other white martians out.

Superman nods to Hal. "I'll adapt." He shoots straight up into the air and then begins to fly over the groups of white martians while firing his heat vision. He lands hard within a group of then and then goes into melee combat. He grabs some and tosses them away while punching and kicking others. He fires his heat vision in short bursts when the opportunity arises.

She was responding to the distress signal. Flying high, through the air. Going for a low orbital hop and then insertion. Bracelets in front of her then, arms crossed in front of her as she burnt through the sky like a meteorite, friction burning off as the force field extending in front of her protected from the heat of reentry.

Wonder Woman had arrived!

J'Onn fends off a White Martian flying at him and fails to spot the white hands rising from the ground to grab him. The Manhunter fires eyebeams frantically severing several hands that scramble to rejoin their owners. Despite his efforts clawed finger drag him beneath the ground "H'ronmeer!"

The cluster of Martians fighting are suddenly thrown off their victim. The mauled and morphing creature returns to a semblance of John Jones and crawls along the dirt hollering, "J'Onn! No! Save him ... please ... my car it has the only gasoline in the town. They drained the station dry ..." He points at the compact.

Hal looks to "J'onn, Whose he wanting us to save?" With that the walls are coming down and Wonder Woman was with them. He starts to use concussive blasts to knock the white martins away from John Jones. He didn't know what the man was up too but if he's wanting somebody save, he didn't deserve what the martians were doing to him.

Superman was more than a little confused. He thought Jones was the bad guy here but it turns out that he might not be. However, he saw the Manhunter get dragged underground. It was time to go retrieve him. "Diana! I'm glad to see you! Hal..I.." And he's covered by white martians as they wail on him simultaneously. They all suddenly go flying in all directions as Kal shoots up into the sky. "Hal! I'm going after J'Onn!" He flies down towards the ground where his teammate disappeared. He begins to spin like a top as he places his fists out in front of him. He impacts the ground and burrows like a drill into the earth's surface.

Wonder Woman calls out, "Kal, after J'Onn!" She assesses the battlefield, "Lantern, give me a screen." her eyes narrowed to thin, almost deadly slits. "Martians, you have had your moment. And it has passed. Now you end with it." Diana moved like a blur, on the attack. Lasso lashing out, trying to sling it out like a whip, the honed edge of it, of raw magic, hopefully sending the Martians scattering like bowling pins!

Several White Martians exit the ground. They don't ghost. They get flung at mach one leaving craters. Others get sliced or scattered by the raw magic of the lassos. Evil shapeshifters have problems with truth. Others are scorched by Lantern's fires. Somewhere Alan Scott smiles for no reason.

But around the quartet a good dozen Martians remain and steel themselves for a final deadly rush.

But then Jones, almost fully morphed back fires his eyebeams at the small rental car's fuel tank. It explodes causing the remaining Martians to screech and flinch on agony and fear. Several are turned into torches. Jones sinks back to the ground and shuts his eyes.

Green Lantern calls down the satellite he'd stashed in space. It was as risky move but Hal was a gambler. He fires Green flame at martians trying to provide her needed screen. He calls out to J'onn, "Be ready, We're going to play a game of Freeze Tag." As the satellite lands it dissolves to show an arsenal of martian weapons. Among them a gold ball that should frees the White martians into place quicker than a truck of Oreos.

Superman explodes out of the ground, his eyes glowing like some otherworldly demon. He rapidly turns around in a circle while floating there, firing a continuous blast of his heat vision. Any martians caught within range will wish they weren't so flammable. He's just in time to watch the can explode as bits of wreckage impact his body. After the explosion, he checks to see if his friends are alright and to look and see if J'Onn was anywhere in sight. "I think that got most of them. My question is how did they get here without triggering any of the alarms on the Watchtower?"

J'Onn breaks free of the ground throwing down an unconscious foe. He staggers to his doppelganger and drops to his knees. "He's part of me ... when I first merged with John Jones as he lay dying this was created with my biology and John's mind and spirit. I thought he was a White Martian but he was ... me. We have to get him help, to the Watchtower ... "

John Jones opens his eyes and says, "No need ... I'm fine here. It won't matter ... I should have gone on a long time ago." In a moment the human form begins dissolving into an amorphous blob.

Green Lantern frowns, "J'onn. Is there something you can do? What do you need for me to do to help." He hope his friend knew what to do or a plan.

Kal was all set to rush this guy up to the Watchtower but as he takes a step forwards, he begins to dissolve. He frowns faintly, his shoulders drooping slightly. "I'm sorry. I wish there was something I could do.." He watches Diana deal with the stragglers, but mostly his attention is on J'Onn.

Diana will deal with the stragglers. While letting the others be there to help her friend mourn if he needs their support. She hits the comm, "I'll maintain the perimeter." From afar, Reno needs you to check wildcat's screen, important, a question as staff.

J'Onn stands up and walks beside his friends. "I merged with John Jones as he lay dying. Apparently this was one of the results. This being gained a measure of independent intelligence and motivation. I feel like I lost a friend and yet feel like I got a piece of myself back that was missing." The Martian ripples and becomes ... John Jones.

"I assumed this identity to learn more about humans. I guess that it was a failure. I'll have to try harder."

Green Lantern looks around and nods, a bit of a bitter sweet smile spreads across his lips. "Well he is part of you." He sighs, "Maybe you're doing it wrong, John. You need to learn more about being yourself among the humans. But I wouldn't call a good man, being a failure."

Superman folds his arms across his chest. "I agree with Hal. I can imagine that it may be difficult. If it weren't for my adoptive parents, I would have been lost on this planet, I'm sure." He places a hand on John's shoulder. "But I think you should try again. Humanity has much to offer."