by Libbylawrence
June, 1988:
On the planet once known as Vonn, now called New Mars, a small but comfortable home buzzed with excitement. R’bert J’onzz and his wife J’une beamed with pride as their son J’onn prepared for a momentous occasion. He was about to participate in one of the Martian race’s most sacred ceremonies.
As the Martian Manhunter, J’onn J’onzz was a founding member of the Justice League of America, celebrated as heroes across the known universe. He began his career as a gifted scientist at the height of their civilization on Mars and later became a leader of his people on New Mars, helping to build their civilization anew after the challenging exodus there. Now, standing in his family’s home, J’onn was finally able to savor a newfound peace.
It is good to be with my family again, he mused. It is also liberating to know that the Red Brotherhood has been exposed, and their dark conspiracy has been ended. (*) It may even be more exhilarating to walk these streets and see happy expressions on the faces of my people. The military regimes that have dominated our culture for a generation have finally fallen out of favor. At last, the Martian people have returned to the path of science and humanitarianism!
[(*) Editor’s note: See Justice League of America: The Martian Chronicles.]
A slightly smaller Martian entered the room, approaching him with a ready smile on his face. “I know that look,” said T’omm. “You’re feeling at ease again, aren’t you? It seemed as if you stopped smiling ever since you innocently first joined the Brotherhood all those years ago.”
J’onn nodded at his younger brother. “I do feel as if my old troubles have come to an end,” he said. “Is this unusual for one about to take part in the Ceremony of Unity? I know some have joked that such was the beginning of their troubles!”
“You are pledging a bond of union with a special woman,” T’omm replied. “Nubia would be a wonder even if she was not the heroine called Wonder Woman!”
J’onn smiled. “If this was what my JLA friends refer to as a wedding ceremony, you would be what they call the best man. By any name, you still offer me needed support.”
A small orange being then raced into the room and said, “Me… best Zook!”
J’onn bent down on one knee and hugged the small alien. “Zook, you are indeed the very best Zook there ever could be,” he said.
At that moment, a beautiful woman entered the room, accompanied by J’onn’s parents. Nubia wore the red, white, and blue costume that had made her famous as the second Wonder Woman on Earth. Since this Martian Ceremony of Unity was not exactly a wedding, she had felt no need to wear anything other than the costume that she felt most at ease wearing. She was a warrior and had few overtly feminine demands. She only knew that she loved J’onn deeply and was completely committed to him. She had enjoyed meeting his family and relished the stark tranquility of the planet called New Mars.
Clapping his small hands together, Zook shouted, “Nubia looks pretty!”
Nubia smiled warmly at the little alien. She knew J’onn thought highly of the brave and loyal alien, and she had come to share his affection for the high-spirited and childlike Zook.
“She does indeed look pretty,” agreed J’onn. He peered into Nubia’s eyes. “I would say she is beautiful.”
J’onn turned to his father, who had the duty to officiate over the ceremony, which was his role as the eldest family member present. R’bert J’onzz smiled warmly and spread his arms with only slight hesitation. A rather shy man by nature, he disliked being the center of attention.
“All is change. All things alter,” he began, reciting the traditional words he knew by heart. “The only great immutable is love, and it is to celebrate such eternal unity that we have gathered this day. We are here to witness the pledge of unification for J’onn J’onzz and Princess Nubia. We witness their devotion, and we pray for its constancy in a world where all is change.”
J’onn took Nubia’s hand and spoke his vows. “I, J’onn J’onzz, declare my love for Nubia. I pledge that this love will not alter, nor will we allow anyone to change us or weaken this union.”
Nubia smiled and said, “I, Nubia, declare my love for J’onn. I pledge that my passion will never cool, nor will we allow anyone to threaten our bond of unity.”
As J’une J’onzz softly wept, and Zook giggled softly, the couple kissed. A long moment passed before they stepped back to face their loved ones.
“I do love you,” whispered J’onn.
Nubia softly responded in kind, only to gasp, for the man she loved suddenly vanished into thin air.
“Great Hera!” she cried.
Nubia exchanged startled glances with the J’onzz family, and everyone began to speak at once.
“J’onn just disappeared!” cried J’une.
Nubia wore a serious look on her face as she said, “We have many enemies with the capacity to abduct someone from a distance.”
“We will find him!” vowed T’omm.
Zook ran around in a small circle, yelping, “Zook find Manhunter!”
“I believe I know where he went,” said T’omm. “I don’t fully understand the abilities I gained after direct exposure to the Blue Flame, but I feel as though some sense is telling me J’onn is on Mars!”
T’omm referred to the strange powers he’d recently gained after falling into the energy source called the Blue Flame of Mars, which years ago had ravaged the planet. However, instead of being torn apart from its unbridled energies, T’omm had somehow instead emerged from that conflagration with remarkable energy powers of his own. The J’onzz family had migrated to New Mars, along with their fellow survivors, following the terrible destruction caused when Commander Blanx tried to use the natural resource as a weapon. (*)
[Editor’s note: See “And So My World Ends,” Justice League of America #71 (May, 1969).]
“We will go to Mars at once,” said Nubia. “Do not worry! T’omm and I will find him.”
R’bert and J’une expressed their appreciation as they embraced their new daughter-in-law and bade farewell to the pair.
***
Later, after the departure of Nubia and T’omm for the planet Mars, R’bert bent down to comfort Zook, who had remained silent but was clearly agitated.
“Zook, they will find my son,” the older man said. “Plus, you know how capable J’onn is. He will be fine!”
Zook shook his head and said, “Manhunter be fine… but Zook not sure he on Mars. Nope!”
The elderly Martians listened as the little alien repeated his concerns. They weren’t sure if he was right or not, but they knew J’onn had learned to trust Zook’s tracking abilities.
J’une said gently, “Zook, dear, you do not track as well when someone has left the planet. How can you be sure now?”
Zook frowned as he shifted his weight from one foot to another. “Zook just know!” he insisted.
***
Meanwhile, J’onn J’onzz, the Martian Manhunter, found himself instantly transported to a very familiar setting. He was standing in a large building that had once been a barn. As he used his Martian vision to scan the surrounding area, he recognized the location at once.
Middletown! he thought. I’ve been brought back to the small city where I first found myself stranded on Earth all those years ago, when Dr. Erdel’s Robot-Brain accidentally brought me to this planet from Mars.
Spotting a smaller, more advanced duplicate of the exact same invention that had ripped him away from his home planet and brought him to Earth long ago, he nodded slowly and thought, It looks like a far more sophisticated model, but otherwise, it’s clearly Erdel’s old machine, or one with the same function.
He began to walk over to the electronic brain, but made no progress, as small flames suddenly erupted from concealed nozzles that lined each side of the converted barn.
J’onn shuddered as the heat weakened him, but he managed to draw himself back away from the flames. As he did so, he heard mocking laughter and saw a weird man emerge from behind a lined secret panel. The man had dark hair and heavy eyebrows, but the feature that made him utterly unforgettable was the fact that his cranium was unusually large.
“Professor Arnold Hugo!” said J’onn, recognizing the mutated features of his brilliant old enemy.
Professor Hugo was an egomaniac who had been unsatisfied by the intelligent mind he had been born with. Unwilling to be considered merely a minor Gotham City scientist, he used his brain-stimulator to increase his brain power, inadvertently causing his cranium to expand to a freakishly large size to accommodate his larger brain. With his increased scientific genius he took on Batman and Robin, and lost. (*) Later, in Middletown, he pitted his brilliant mind against the Martian Manhunter’s powers, only to lose to him as well. Hugo returned a few more times after that to take on the Martian hero, who had become his arch-enemy. (*)
[(*) Editor’s note: See “The Wizard of 1,000 Menaces,” Detective Comics #306 (August, 1962) and “The Man Who Destroyed J’onn J’onzz,” Detective Comics #322 (December, 1963).]
The criminal genius smiled wickedly as he said, “You remember me? I’m touched. After all these years, I thought you only recalled your many alien enemies. This little homecoming is so very special to me. You see, I’ve brought you here with my own improved version of Erdel’s old machine. I’ve brought you here to finish old business, if you will. In short, I’ve brought you here to kill you!”
Unmoved, J’onn replied impassively, “I’m not surprised that your evolved mind could improve on Erdel’s machine, nor am I shocked that your petty malice would motivate you to try to murder me. But I am surprised that you believe you could ever defeat me. After all, I’ve beaten you every single time you challenged me.”
Professor Hugo merely smiled, although his dark eyes flashed with anger. “I could never defeat you with my purely human body, but thanks to an old enemy of yours, I will easily slay you now. You do recall this esteemed gentleman, don’t you?” Stepping aside, he began cackling with pleasure.
J’onn looked up with disbelief as a massive figure suddenly emerged from the shadows to confront him. “You? That’s impossible!” he whispered.
***
Elsewhere, Nubia and T’omm J’onzz had materialized on Mars. As Wonder Woman, she was used to many amazing feats, since she had been raised in an environment of ancient magic and was a warrior and a member of the Justice League, and she had encountered many bizarre beings with superhuman powers of their own. However, the Amazon Princess was still impressed with the speed and ease of T’omm’s teleportation.
“I am not entirely comfortable with these abilities, although I have had them for a long time now,” said T’omm as blue energy flickered around the pair, and they stepped onto the barren sands of Mars. “I do not like to talk about them, since I frankly do not fully comprehend their origin or purpose!”
“My ally, Green Lantern, has similar powers that originated with his alien mentors, the Guardians of Oa,” noted Nubia. “Perhaps the Blue Flame of Mars has a connection to their emerald power source.”
T’omm shrugged. “I could not say. J’onn is the scientist of the family. I suppose, in many ways, I have been a disappointment to the family. They took my frequent absences to be a sign of irresponsibility, instead of realizing that I was truly infiltrating the Red Brotherhood. I have done very little to change their impression of me, either. I suppose I do not like to talk about the way I have lived over the last few years.”
Wonder Woman remained silent. She was worried about J’onn and did not know exactly what to make of his rather taciturn sibling. T’omm seemed to have bouts of melancholy, or at least, he was far more introspective than J’onn had led her to believe.
As Nubia looked over the stark desert sands, she frowned as she spotted a towering structure in the distance. “I suppose I wrongly assumed the Blue Flame destroyed all the buildings when Commander Blanx tried to use it as a weapon,” she said.
“Most of the planet was charred by the raging inferno he unleashed,” said T’omm. “Still, I can tell you — that odd structure isn’t something I have ever seen before!”
As they approached the white building, Nubia inhaled sharply as she recognized the structure’s basic design. “Great Hera! It’s a Colosseum!” she cried.
“To be precise, it is Amphitheatrum Flavium. But then, how could you be expected to think clearly when you did not expect to see such a sight?”
The words came from a mocking female figure who stood defiantly on one ledge of the imposing building. She had long blonde hair, green skin, and a lithe, athletic body. She wore a brief red and gold tunic with matching laced sandals.
“Who are you?” asked Nubia, stepping closer to the confident Martian woman.
“Your life mate, J’onn, once knew both my caress and my name very well!” she said. “Perhaps he will again someday, when I slay you. I am Bel Juz, but to my subjects, I am more fittingly known as the Queen of Mars!”
At that moment, dozens of yellow-skinned Martians surged into view, overwhelming Nubia with sheer numbers. As she was herded into the massive Colosseum, Nubia received one additional shock as she realized that T’omm had disappeared completely.