I am J'onn J'onzz.

J'onn J'onzz RP for the Rebuild Group.

[dialmformanhunter]

oflove-andwar:

“No, I had already reached that conclusion myself.” Even had she not spoken to other heroes about the changes, Diana would have known simply from the mood on the streets that something had changed. People seemed…happier. Particularly the people she cared about most. “Unfortunately, going without drawing attention has never been a particular skill of mine,” she said with a rueful smile. She was already very much on the Panel’s radar, even though she had not yet registered. “So I will offer my support instead, in whatever capacity you require.” Perhaps there was a way that she could provide additional leverage, make some sort of justice the condition for her registration. It would not hurt to make the offer, at any rate.

“I have only fought alongside a few of them,” she cautioned. She took a long moment, frowning as she considered what to say about those Avengers she had met. “Stark, you have already heard my impressions of. I know the one they call Falcon. He is…a good man. Perhaps one of the kindest humans I have met. Thor, I know of old. A stalwart ally, and a true one. And not a bad sparring partner either,” she added with a brief smile. “I have seen the one called Black Widow fight - I was greatly impressed by her.”

She slid the paper into her pocket, with a nod of gratitude. “I would like that, and thank you.” It had always been their responsibility to look out for the younger heroes. She would not forget that responsibility again, or set it aside because of larger concerns if she could help it. It was high time she checked in on some of them.

The Martian doubted that the latest version of the Panel would willingly remove the psychic shield from his head. Likewise, he worried that M’gann’s wrongful capture and torture would never see resolution. That her file would drop into limbo until someone decided that the Panel would be better off if all evidence of it ever happening was erased. He didn’t need to speak these fears to Diana. It was written all over his face. “Diana, I truly appreciate any and all support from you,” he told her genuinely. Then he hesitated. “In truth, I am beginning to feel that I have reached an impasse with the Panel. It is,” J’onn thought for a moment, “difficult to detail the extent of my frustration. The path is no longer clear.”

J’onn listened intently as Diana told him what she knew of the Avengers. Most people who met Diana Prince probably thought she was an athletic woman in her early thirties. Even the ones who knew her story almost certainly forgot that she was far older than thirty. J’onn, however, always remembered that she was older than him. They’d teased each other about it on late nights in the Watchtower. He was the chipper young sprout, she the feeble old woman. But for all the jokes, J’onn knew that with age came experience, and that he would do well to learn from her. “When have you worked with Thor? Have you met Dr. Banner?” There were so many questions he wanted to ask.

“Young Edward Bloomberg has also come to the city, I believe. As has Bruce’s son. Barbara Gordon is in New York as well.” The younger generation hadn’t reached out to him yet, but as an NYPD consulting detective with a specialty in enhanced individuals, J’onn was well versed about which heroes were in town.  

[dialmformanhunter]

agcntcxrter:

J’onn had always been a comforting presence. From the soft humour he displayed to the wisdom that seemed to roll from each of his words, he had never once made Sharon feel on edge, or like there was a modicum of him that she shouldn’t trust. He was the definition of a good man, in her humble opinion, and she was perfectly qualified to make that assertion considering the number of evil men she had encountered in her lifetime.

“I’m sorry to admit that I would’ve made the same joke too,” Sharon said, a grin on her face belying the fact that she wasn’t apologetic at all. “I need to come up with something more creative now, though, that I know someone else has beat me to the punch. Something about Mars bars, perhaps?” Even when it was revealed through Panel files that John Jones was not of this earth, Sharon hadn’t been particularly terrified or wary. If J’onn was going to take over the world, he would have done it by now, and easily if the list of his powers were to be believed. For a secret agent, Sharon had somehow retained a small capacity for trust. “At least you didn’t need to retrain. From what I’ve heard, it’s a pain in the neck.” The SHIELD agents who had survived the fall had dispersed as quickly as they came together, perhaps with even more haste. Some had moved into neighbouring agencies like she had, the CIA and FBI amongst others, whereas some had chosen to embrace civilian life instead, and had often complained about the change. Everything seemed boring after the life of a SHIELD agent – Sharon knew she’d never know, considering she’d never stop fighting until she physically couldn’t, same as her aunt.

Sharon spent a lot of time pretending to be bubbly. Her enthusiasm was contagious, spreading through the offices in her work, but it was all a front. Underneath, she was still suffering from the things she had seen, the things she had been forced to do simply to keep herself and the rest of the world from facing the pain people like HYDRA wanted to inflict. With J’onn, she could remain silent, and he wouldn’t judge her. Despite that, she liked talking to him. “The Avengers have offered me several missions,” she replied. “My best friends are amongst their ranks, so I’ve been helping them out with the HYDRA invasion, keeping myself busy. I’ve also found an amazing burger place three blocks from Central Park, we have to try it sometime.”

Partnering with the police force was always eye-opening. J’onn, amongst the other esteemed officers of the law, had his ear to the ground. He knew how the city worked. Sharon could read between the lines about Dupont, could guess at his intentions, but J’onn had the evidence to back that up. “I knew from the name change alone he was going to be a dickwad,” Sharon said eloquently. Howard Stark had been like that – she had met the man only when she was five years old, but upon reflection years later, Howard had been so determined to become upper class that he had made a fool of himself in the attempts. “Do you think he would be capable of keeping the killer’s identity a secret? Men like him don’t tend to have backbones when it comes down to it.” Regardless of Howard beginning SHIELD alongside her aunt, the knowledge Sharon had of his intimate affairs was more than enough to put anger in her heart every time she thought of him – and men like him.

Sharon blinked at the reveal of J’onn’s car. “How did I guess?” she muttered under her breath, nothing but fondly, but a little exasperated nonetheless. Her white Audi stood out bright and clear under the lights, and its roaring engine called to her, but everyone commented on how murderous her driving was. She could almost – almost – outdrive Bobbi Morse, which was enough to tell her she was deadly. Sharon hopped into the car beside him, pulling files out of her bag to look at on her knee as he drove.

“There was no murder weapon,” she told him, “none that we could find, anyway. It seemed as if she was choked, but there were no fingerprints to be found. Now, it could just be because I was with SHIELD, but I have an inkling that someone enhanced was at work here.”

With a put-upon, fatherly sort of look, J’onn sighed heavily at her. “I would at least hope for something more original from a woman of your caliber.” If someone sang ‘look out here he comes, he’s a manhunter,’ at him one more time he might need to make them forget that they’d ever heard the song. Or he might have, if not for the shield. “You have not seen the photographs of my original Justice League uniform, I’m guessing?” Shorts, a cape, and a red ‘X’ across his otherwise bare chest. The whole look made him a little embarrassed now!

Her answer further confirmed J’onn’s theory that Sharon’s life revolved around her work, but he did not see any point in mentioning this. “Ah, the hamburger. I must say it is one of my most favorite Earth foods.” Smiling nostalgically, J’onn could recall the very first hamburger he had ever eaten. Meat was a luxury food group on Mars, but his first partner in Chicago had introduced him to hamburgers after his first month. Just after he’d found out that J’onn was not really John. His partner had been a good man. Very understanding, thankfully, and very discreet. “After our visit to the hotel we can stop if you would like. I do have something of a craving for sweet potato French fries.”

“What is your take on the Avengers?” J’onn asked hesitantly. He knew that Sharon was friends with many of them, but as a Justice Leaguer, he had never known them individually beyond the intelligence files and news reports. “As people, I mean.” He cleared his throat a little. “What I mean to ask is: Who among them are trustworthy? I would value your opinion greatly.” To his ears, that came out all wrong. It was one of the rare occasions that J’onn found himself unsure how to proceed.

“Yes,” he said, raising an eyebrow at Sharon’s colorful choice of language. “Whenever he was approached by the police from late 2002 until early 2004, he specified that he preferred to be called ‘Monsieur Dupont.’ I can confirm that your summation is accurate.” J’onn considered her question as he stepped into the driver’s seat. “He is in the business of keeping secrets, so, yes, I do think he is perfectly capable of keeping the identity secret.” And J’onn wouldn’t be mind reading to fact check him this time, either. He would have to rely solely on his detective skills and Sharon, his partner. “We will need to pay close attention.”

“The victim was suffocated, wasn’t she?” He had seen more than his share of suffocations, unfortunately. Most recently, his precinct had dealt with a man who had asphyxiated to death during an apparently consensual sexual encounter. J’onn doubted that this would be the same cause, however. Young women were less likely to partake in erotic asphyxiation, and there would have been marks if that had been the case. “Were there any traces of gas in her lungs and the hotel room? Is the autopsy report complete yet?” A priority case, if it wasn’t finished yet it would be soon.

[dialmformanhunter]

oflove-andwar:

It was nearly enough to break Diana’s heart, hearing J’onn’s explanation. She had been so close to deciding to register, but this new information cast her back into doubt. Was this something that could be recovered from, even with new management? “I wish I had known this sooner,” she told him candidly. Had she known, she would have stood with her friend. Of course she would have. If there was one clear benefit to being known as Wonder Woman, it was the influence that, if she were careful, she could wield. This was the rare case where she would have thrown out that caution. “You know, of course, that if there is any assistance I can offer, you need only ask.” 

She pursed her lips, considering what he said about the Avengers. He had a point. There had never been all that much in the way of cooperation between their groups in the past. Still, the divide seemed…well, to be frank, it seemed silly to her. She had never agreed with Bruce and Kal about it. They were, at the end of the day, all trying to make the world better. Surely that ought to lead to some sense of unity. “I have worked with several of the Avengers,” she explained slowly. “I do not know that I would trust all of them, but those that I have encountered seem willing to cooperate, in this time of crisis, regardless of their leaders’ preferences. But…” She shrugged. “I do not know well enough yet to make arguing with Batman a worthwhile endeavor.” Gods above and below, the man could be stubborn when he put his mind to it.

It was not the choice she would have made, in his position. But it was not her choice to make. “Very well. Still, the offer stands, should you require it,” she said decisively. She was most certainly going to offer her support to M’gann as well. The League had not done its duty by J’onn’s niece this time. She would rectify that however she could.

“I don’t need to tell you that this new incarnation of the Panel is different than the first.” Very different. More transparent with their leadership, less open about each move. There were far fewer television broadcasts, for instance. Yet the women in charge were well known to the people and their motives were more agreeable than Orse’s. “But, yes, until justice can be served for M’gann and this chip can be removed, I cannot fully trust them. If you were already involved, I would ask that you lend your voice to my causes. As it is, you may be better off without drawing their attention.”

J’onn had never bought into the divide himself. It appeared to be about the perils of the powerful other to Bruce, but he had never fully understood why Kal had been so unreceptive. “I have intelligence on each of them,” he said quietly. “However, I have not had the opportunity to fight alongside their team. Would you mind telling me about your interactions with them? I would like to learn as much as I can about the Avengers.”

He scribbled a number onto a crisp notepad from his breast pocket and handed it to Diana. “M’gann’s telephone number,” he explained. “Should you want to get in contact with her.” J’onn tucked the pad back in its place. The pocket was a part of his biosuit, so the pocket was exactly the right size for the pad and pen together.

[dialmformanhunter]

madripccr:

In her role as one of the leaders of the Panel, Maria had found a sense of comfort, almost ease, at least in comparison to her role in SHIELD. While she was Deputy Director under Nick Fury, she had been surrounded by people who were as well trained as she was, even if she was of the humble opinion that they lacked the predisposition to make the hard choices when the time called for it – Maria Hill could be cold just as often if not more than she demonstrated acts of bravery or, dare she say it, heroism. With the Panel, she did not have interactions with purely agents at all times. Instead, she had to entertain journalists, members of the NYPD, civilians, heroic figures, enhanced people, and representatives of Xavier’s school. All of these people were well respected in their various fields, but Maria was of the opinion that they were much easier to read and manipulate given the fact that they were unaware that was exactly what she was doing. Everyone had a particular skill set, and she was determined to use hers to the fullest.

With J’onzz, though, she could see the sharp perception in his eyes, how they drifted over her office, cataloguing each minute piece – or rather, cataloguing the cold sterility of her place of work. Maria could move from place to place with minor disruption purely because she had nothing of great sentimental value to bring with her. Just as well, in her humble opinion, given that SHIELD H.Q. had gone into the Potomac, and many agents had lost their photographs and personal effects with that. Carter in particular, she knew, had lost one of her aunt’s lockets, and Barton had lost his life.

J’onzz wasn’t missing what she was insinuating. He was asking pointed questions that allowed for no deviation from the subject, no matter how many times Maria attempted it. Old habits died hard, she supposed, no matter whether she was the pinnacle of transparency – or meant to be – now or not. “People, in my experience, rarely claim what they have done unless they want it to be a spectacle,” she replied. “If the people who imprisoned your niece were working with Orse, that will be the furthest thing from their mind. The Skrulls, as far as our intelligence is concerned, are more preoccupied with stealth than an all out assault. I’m assuming that their human enforcers would be of the same opinion.” Remaining in the shadows was something that Maria understood, although it made her job monumentally more difficult. “I was not aware until I read the reports. The specifics of attempts to imprison her a second time were well hidden. I had to read between the lines to get any kind of intel at all.”

As far as Maria was concerned, the previous Strike Force, now disbanded, had been unsuccessful at apprehending M’gann for any prolonged period of time. Her power, therefore, must have been substantial enough to overlay their determination and brutality. If Maria wanted M’gann to trust the Panel under herself, Morse and Drew, then she would need to begin with her uncle. “There are many things we need to consider, Mr. J’onzz,” Maria responded smoothly. “We only have so many hours in the day, and there was much information to sift through. I assure you, after this conversation it will be moved to the top of my personal priorities pile.”

J’onzz was diplomatic. Maria made a metal note of that fact. He could be a worthy participant in the new Panel for that alone. Herself and Drew were not sweet enough to win over the masses with well-spoken words. Morse was much more charismatic, and Stark had enough experience, but someone as measured as J’onzz could only portray a confident image. “You intend to bring these people to justice through the legal system?” Maria asked, raising an eyebrow. “That is very admirable of you, Mr. J’onzz. I appreciate your trust in our due process.” Maria enjoyed doing things by the book. It made the world simple, predictable. She liked things predictable.

“There are many in your position who would take the law into their own hands,” she said, not able to hide the distaste in her voice for vigilantes. Daredevil, the Punisher, even Spider-Man and his associates came immediately into her mind. They had long since made her job extremely difficult. “I appreciate that you are willing to work with us on this, J’onzz. If we stick to the book for everyone, providing standardised punishments for the wrongs that were committed under Orse, then it will be much more successful.”

Maria nodded once, sharply, and stood up from her seat, making her way over to the water cooler. M’gann is like a daughter to me. Those words, more than anything else, hit Maria in such a way that she paused for a moment at the water cooler, hand shaking minutely as she picked up the cup. By the time she set it down on the desk in front of J’onzz, however, it had steadied once more. When she spoke again, there was no politeness in her tone, no empty platitudes or promises that wouldn’t be received. Instead there was a cold determination as she promised the man, “I will find who is responsible for hurting her, with your help, and we will make sure they’re thrown in a dark hole for many, many years.”

Maria Hill had a particular skill set. J’onn J’onzz had one of his own. He was a detective, always observing and analyzing. His partners on the force knew him as an excellent judge of character, and it was not only because of the telepathy. After all, he’d been the equivalent of a detective on Mars, too. J’onn was perceptive enough to know that the woman behind the desk was sympathetic to M’gann’s plight, while maintaining the same cunning manipulation of someone long used to quietly pulling the strings. He would need to be very careful around her.

“In my own experience, groups this large always have a weak link. One of these scientists is out there, sweating. Just a sign away from breaking under the pressure.” There were many scientists in this group. M’gann could not say exactly how many, but more than ten. Unless they had all been silenced, the odds were that at least one of them felt the guilt. Maria said that this was her top personal priority, but he had seen more than enough to tell him that what was personal in her life never received priority. 

“They managed to contain her, presumably on Panel property, for several hours and sedated her during that time. The prison was unique, obviously created with her in mind. I have a hard time believing that the people who attempted to kidnap M’gann for a second time did not receive any orders to do so,” J’onn reminded her. “This was during Orse’s war, but there must be someone on that strike team who still has some recollection of the capture.”

J’onn nodded soberly. “Of course. As a detective and as a hero, it is my duty to apprehend criminals. No lone actor has the right to determine the meaning of justice. Certainly not to deliver it alone. I believe there is a saying in English. One cannot play judge, jury, and executioner.” He stressed the last part enough that it might have told Maria how he felt about revenge-seekers. 

“In that case, I hope that the leaders of the Panel have selected a committee of qualified and experienced judges to deliberate on these sentences.” Augustus Freeman came to mind, but J’onn knew Freeman had given up the mantle and would not appreciate being dragged back into the world of heroes without notice. Especially when it was the Panel and the Accords that had caused Freeman to give it up.

Her hands were not quite shaking, but they were quivering slightly. With tact, J’onn took the cup and did not mention it. Merely another mental note. He sat in silence, drinking the water slowly while he reflected on her last statement. “I thank you. Your support in this endeavor signifies a new era for the Panel. Far better, I hope. Then there is my next order of business.” The cup was nearly empty. “The psychic shield implanted in my frontal lobe by the Orse administration remains intact and I would like it to be removed.” Perhaps she would agree right away. Within a week the chip might be gone, that lost feeling lifted and the connection to his beloved Mars returned. Somehow, he doubted it.

[dialmformanhunter]

agcntcxrter:

When they had worked together in the past, it had always been as Agent 13 and Detective Jones. Now, though, the world had changed, and with it their names had altered. Sharon gave J’onn a bright, genuine smile. “Does J’onn suit?” she asked. “I insist you call me Sharon, though I know you will not take it.” Agent Carter carried a lot of connotations for her, most of them bringing back memories of Peggy. Her grief had reached the stage where they were no longer melancholy, but instead bittersweet. She did not mind the little things she saw on a daily basis which made her ache for her aunt, instead she took it as a sign that her presence was still beside Sharon, a comforting shadow following her throughout the day.

Sharon couldn’t help herself from bursting out in laugher. J’onn had always had an endearing humour about him, a way of saying things so matter-of-fact that it made Sharon amused in the worst of circumstances. She endlessly appreciated people like that. “Hey, it could be worse,” she said with a smile. “You could be ‘Maneater.’ They’d be singing Nelly at you everywhere you went!” As they walked towards the parking lot, Sharon shook her head, a small fond smile still on her face. She had gone to Harvard for a time, but even she knew when to cut her losses, and when it came to her driving, she knew she had no leg to stand on. “What do manhunters do on Mars?” she asked curiously. “You do not need to tell me. I’ve been told before I ask too many questions for my own good.” She grinned. “Almost gotten me killed a couple times over, have to admit.”

To add to the long list of things she appreciated about the man, Sharon realised how important it was to her to have a partner who knew how to do things in the correct order. “When have you ever been mistaken?” Sharon teased. She nodded. “Of course.” She held up the card hanging around her neck. It had the worst identity card photo she had ever taken, considering the massive black eye and bust lip, but the CIA wouldn’t allow her to replace it once she healed up. Bad employee treatment all round, really! “We need to keep things on the low-down. The hotel manager, a Mr. Dupont, is a very prestigious man around these parts.” Sharon tried to restrain herself from rolling her eyes, but failed. The CIA’s loyalties were skewed. She understood diplomacy, but there came a time where it went too far. “He has refused to provide any information so far, even if he has signed a consent form to allow us to enter.”

As they spoke, theories ran around in Sharon’s head. There was a chance that the manager had been the one to cause the murder, but there were quite a few strange circumstances that would almost rule him out. (Plus, he was too easy, and cases like this were rarely easy.) “Perhaps it is because you have proven yourself indispensable,” Sharon said fondly. She almost laughed when he mentioned her youth. “Sorry,” she said afterwards. “I just … I forget, sometimes, that I haven’t been doing this for a century. It seems my whole life has been running around in a catsuit beating up the bad guys.” She opened the door to the car, hand resting on it for a second. “Would you rather drive, J’onn?”

“J’onn suits me well,” he agreed. After all, it was his birth name. His given name. The one his father had given him so many years ago, a whole planet away and yet still unchanged. “I shall consider it, Agent Carter,” he teased, giving her a mischievous little smile before facing the elevator doors. Perhaps he would call her Sharon, maybe later today just as a little surprise.

Ah, yes. ‘Maneater.’ The song had been the bane of his existence. Some of the more asinine members of the League had taken to singing it whenever he arrived for a meeting. “Booster Gold and the original Blue Beetle certainly made it work. They played their edited opening of that very song at least once a day. I only found out years later that it also happened to be my notification tone whenever I called the Watchtower.” He rolled his eyes. “Once those two could never let go of an old joke.” Where were they now, he wondered. “A manhunter is akin to a police detective on Earth. It is no coincidence that I choose this profession here. The manhunters were responsible for solving crimes and collecting the guilty parties on behalf of the judicial committee. Ask as many questions as you would like,” he told her kindly. “I shall answer what I can to the best of my knowledge.”

For one who was so willing to answer questions, J’onn asked remarkably few. At least when his conversation partner was not a suspect. J’onn preferred silence, he always had. Even without his telepathy, he could still observe and analyze. Still, he supposed he should ask a few things to give Sharon a turn to talk. It was only polite. “What else have you been occupying your time with recently? You, too, do not need to answer.”

The psychic shield came to mind as one of the most recent mistakes, but he chose to stay quiet on that matter. Too many people were worrying about him already. “It is a rare occurrence, I’ll admit.” He took a long look at the photo ID and made a face. “That is… most unflattering, I am afraid to say.” In the picture her poor eye was swollen to the size of a golf ball and colored like a rotting plum.

He nodded slowly. Pierre Dupont, born Pierce, had a reputation among the force. Every detective on the team already knew that Dupont had an eye for luxury, a deep-seeded interest in maintaining the privacy of his guests, cultivated connections with the local media, and a profound distrust of any and all authority figures. Even those he had in his pockets were given no more than was necessary. Unlikely as it was that Dupont committed the murder himself, he almost definitely knew more than he was letting on. He explained all this to Sharon as they walked through the parking lot.

That would be the best-case scenario. J’onn had lingering doubts, though. He suspected that the Panel wanted to keep him close, just as they had wanted to mute his telepathy and telekinesis. This was one way to monitor his activity, his comings and goings. But J’onn decided to allow it. He smiled softly, masking the worry quite well. His shifting, at least, had not been altered by the chip. “As a matter of fact,” he said, clicking the unlock button of his Prius, “I would very much like to drive.” The little green car beeped twice, right next to where Sharon had parked. J’onn opened the door, grinned triumphantly, and waited for Sharon to take her seat.

[dialmformanhunter]

oflove-andwar:

For a long moment, Diana was completely flabbergasted. J’onn had been blocked from using his psychic powers completely? More, from the sound of it, he had allowed this! It did not seem right. She could only think that it was as though she had permitted the removal of her sword arm. Telepathy was a part of who her friend was, and now he no longer had that part of himself. “And this….is acceptable to you?” she asked hesitantly. “You do not seem to be distressed.” But then, J’onn had never been the easiest to read. Perhaps she had missed something.

There was much to consider, in what J’onn had said, and she did not say anything until she had given it that consideration. Finally, she said “I believe I would be more concerned, were we not counting among our number many people who are capable of responding to a crisis quickly no matter where it happens.” She was far from being the fastest person in the League, and even she could reach problems quickly enough to help, if need be. “As for the other, I would think the presence of so many would be a protection, not a liability. I would prefer to do battle in a city where I have many allies, at least.” She frowned and added “Perhaps it will make those fights messier, but that could be mitigated with increased cooperation.” The problem, as she saw it, was that those who were unaccustomed to working together would simply get in each other’s way. Training together, learning to trust each other, would help.

Now more than ever. Those words were ominous. And it only got worse as J’onn explained what he meant. A pit formed in Diana’s stomach. A pit, and then a terrible coldness. “Should you desire assistance in making sure such a thing can never happen again,” she told him fiercely, “I would be more than happy to offer my sword to assist you.” Assuming that she did not simply visit the people who had harmed M’gann herself. She was no detective, but she knew a few. If she set her mind to it, she could find the people she needed. Oh, she wouldn’t cause them harm. At least not permanent harm. Just remind them of what was right, and what was not.

J’onn bent his head in a strange combination of shame, embarrassment, and resignation. “Only in hindsight do I feel that I had any other choice. At the time, you see, the Panel would not allow me to continue my work if I did not accept that particular aspect of their terms. If only I had resisted more fervently.” He could have saved M’gann, he could have kept the power that connected him to his home planet, he could have done so much more. “It is far from acceptable. In fact, I have been meeting with the current incarnation of Panel leadership to discuss the removing the shield.” That was not going as smoothly as he had hoped, but it wasn’t possible to get the chip taken out safely any other way.

As usual, Diana was astute and to the point. “Yes, I suppose you are correct. At least we can count on the others like us.” And yet… “Do you recall that certain distance between our League and the Avengers before this all began? How the Batman supplied us with detailed contingency plans on how to defeat the Avengers? How we were not asked to assist in the Battle of Sokovia? I only just returned myself, but I do not see that the former leadership of either of these teams has attempted to build cooperation between the two.”

“My aim is to persecute the offenders to the greatest extent of the law. I want to shed light on their misdeeds and open the eyes of the public.” He wanted the world to know what they had done and to pass judgement. “But I thank you, Diana. Right now, I believe that M’gann would appreciate comfort and support more than anything, er, violent.”

[dialmformanhunter]

madripccr:

“I appreciate that,” Maria said, linking her fingers together, resting her elbows against the desk. She wasn’t sure if her words were true. They seemed like a simple statement, an empty platitude, but Maria had long since recognised the importance of word choice. Perhaps it was a side effect of working with Fury for so long, who chose his sentences as if he was constantly on trial in a court of law, who hid his deceptions behind carefully constructed explanations. Maria had been one of the only ones to know when he was being candid, and as a result, she had been trusted. Trusted, because he knew she was a threat to his position, but trusted nonetheless. Emotion had no place in espionage, and for that reason, she avoided relying on other people backing her up regarding her decisions, and she avoided thinking about the pit in her stomach that had been there since Nick disappeared, alleviating only when she received a single letter from him each month to assure her he was alive.

Maria’s own family was far removed from the tragedies that gripped the city. Her adoptive mothers – though in her mind, they were more family than her biological parents ever were – were safely back in San Francisco. Her biological mother was dead, died the day she was born, on one of the coldest days that Chicago had on record. The cold had seeped into Maria’s veins then and never removed itself, and it had done the same to her father. He went by Ed Vernon, the last she heard, the last she cared. He could rot in hell or be taken by Skrulls, she wouldn’t bat an eye.

She almost smirked. Of course you are flicked through her mind, but it might have come across passive aggressive, and that was her last intention. In reality, she was merely marvelling at how insane the world had gotten that to hear someone was friendly with androids was less surprising than getting her coffee on time. The interns were always painfully slow. “Perhaps,” she replied, more than a little non-committal. Maria nodded as he spoke. He spoke with clarity and intelligence, and for that reason, she pursed her lips. “It can be done,” she replied. “I will make the necessary arrangements. I assure you, Mr. J’onzz, that I will be very capable in this matter. I will have the information for you as quickly as I humanly can.” She understood that matters such as this were time-pressured. After all, the people who had once experimented on M’gann may flee the country the moment they were able, making the search more complicated.

Full disclosure was always something Maria appreciated, and she was sure that showed on her face. She pulled a notepad towards her, jotting down J’onzz’s conditions, adding in some notes around it of her own. “Before you feel the need to justify this, or reassure me of anything,” she said, even though the man had not made any movement to speak and stopped himself, “I do not need to know what you plan to do with it. I do not judge you for any actions you take.” Maria paused for a moment, just a brief beat. “I have gone on a lot of revenge missions,” she said. “I am merely saying to you that if you feel you are going down a path you might not want to take, to involve me. I am comfortable with most things.” Everything, really, but that would put him off more than inspire confidence.

M’gann was young. Idealistic. She had more than proven herself as a hero, but also as the kind of person who saw the best in people. When agents like that came into SHIELD, they never lasted long, The world’s darkness overtook them and it destroyed them. She had a light inside of her, and Orse had looked to exploit it just as HYDRA had with Maria’s own agents, looked to bring her over to the dark side once she was broken. Maria was glad, if for nothing else, that they hadn’t succeeded. “It would make sense,” Maria mused, “for him to distract you in other ways if he wished to study your niece.” Study sounded so clinical. Cold. Torture, though, didn’t tend to rub people the right way. Maria tapped her pen against her notepad. “I will look into this as well. Orse had people working for him – perhaps they could be overtaken by Skrulls also, or if they aren’t, then they were complicit in allowing him to gain power. Either way, they will be dealt with.”

Behind the cool mask, J’onn sensed that Maria Hill did not, in fact, appreciate what he had said. She looked bothered by it. Perhaps if Agent Hill trusted the alien at all she might have said something. J’onn had the nagging suspicion that Hill trusted very few people, though. If anyone at all. His detective skills worked silently in the back of his mind while the agent took a few moments to consider his words with an icy stare. No photos on the desk, nothing sentimental or personal. She hadn’t been particularly open with the secretary who had seen him in either. This was her place of work only. Compartmentalizing perhaps?

He gave her a brief nod. “As of yet, no one has come forward to claim responsibility. Were you aware that they attempted to take her a second time?” M’gann had been so quiet when she had confided in him. So quiet and sad, as though she wanted to curl into a ball and disappear. For hours, not even Zook the dog could cheer her. “How is it that these people have not already been brought to justice?” he asked, coming across more pointedly than he had intended. He sighed. “My apologies, Agent Hill. I do not mean to offend your position. In all other areas you appear most adept at your new position. The turnaround since the fall of Orse is quite commendable.” He absolutely meant that. Hill, at least, had helped put an end to the Strike Force and the violence.

J’onn furrowed his brow. Revenge was never his goal. Nothing good ever came from revenge. He knew that well enough. “It is not my duty to punish these people myself. They have committed terrible acts that defy understanding and violate the Nuremberg Code as well as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.” His niece, whom he had helped to raise since childhood, was not the same girl she had been when he left on his mission. She was beaten down, wary of strangers, and there was tremendous pain all around her. He could not hear her emotions any more, thanks to the chip, but he could see it in her eyes. He knew her well enough to sense that M’gann might never be entirely right again.

“Those who did this to her must be given a lawful trial. I want the world to know what they have done and to see that it will not be tolerated. Then I want an impartial judge to decide their fate.” Preferably they would rot in prison. “I thank you for your understanding of this endeavor, however,” he added. It was more than a little alarming that someone so powerful would jump so quickly to vengeance beyond the law. Perhaps this would be something to reflect upon later.

Now Orse was a different story. It seemed more and more likely that Orse had gotten J’onn out of the way just so that the Panel scientists could perform cruel experiments on his young, vulnerable niece. He was glad that Orse was dead. He was not a killer by nature, but anger swelled through him. “Would I be able to have that cup of water now?” he asked quietly. For all his years, for all his experience, J’onn could still be overwhelmed. Especially when it came to family. “M’gann is like a daughter to me. I need to know that justice will be served.”

[dialmformanhunter]

agcntcxrter:

“A true gentleman,” Sharon said with a little, teasing smile. She was endlessly appreciative when people treated her with the respect she believed she deserved. Peggy had told her once, while Sharon was sitting on her knee playing with her hair, that the only person in the world who was needed to define her worth was herself, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t important to have others accept Sharon’s experience as well. “Should I refer to you as Detective as well, or Mr. J’onzz? It seems only fair, after all.”

J’onn had always been entertaining to work with. He had never talked down to her, always respected her opinion even if he didn’t necessarily agree with it, and was the calm, soothing presence she needed late at night when she was going to rip her own hair out from the frustration. “Of course. The pleasure of my company can be considered a raise,” Sharon joked. Honestly, they had long since gotten the good cop, bad cop routine down, and it had worked fairly well for them before.

Of course, this was a different matter altogether. There were no suspects for J’onn to build a rapport with or for Sharon to subtly interrogate. There were no leads to follow, only some weird clues that were all too vague to string together. “If that’s your subtle way of ragging on my driving, it is not appreciated,” Sharon said. She nudged him with her elbow, a grin on her face to show there was no offence taken. After all, she had heard the same complaints a million and one times during her experiences with SHIELD, and more recently with the CIA.

Sharon nodded as J’onn spoke. She understood where he was coming from, even if he couldn’t quite put it into words. “You reckon that someone else could be living in a place like that so they didn’t have to suffer, right?” she asked. Her father had been the same; a bleeding heart, really. Her mother … was a different story altogether. “Of course,” she said shortly, not wanting to pry any more into his feelings. She was not a particularly good person to have chatting about this sort of thing anyway. “The CIA don’t consider me worthy of an assistant, I guess,” she said with a light laugh, pushing her hair back behind her ear in an attempt to mask the bitterness. “Or perhaps they just don’t have enough funding.”

With a little flourish of his wrist, J’onn gave Carter a little bow. “You may call me anything you would like. Detective J’onzz if you feel the need to be formal, but I am comfortable being called Mr. J’onzz or J’onn or even simply John.” He had gone by John and Detective Jones for so many years and he’d never minded it. For a time, actually, it had helped him gain some distance from the loss of his old life. “In the Justice League they often called me ‘Manhunter.’ Many of them thought it to be an amusing name. An innuendo if I am not mistaken. However, on my planet being called ‘manhunter’ is much like being called ‘officer.’”

J’onn chuckled and checked that he had everything, then began to follow Carter down to the parking lot. “I can tell you with complete certainty that it was in fact my way of ragging on your driving.” Ragging was a term he had never come across. He made a mental note to look it up later as he pressed the elevator button. “If it came across as subtle then I suppose I need to work on my delivery. It was not meant to be subtle at all. Your skills as an agent are unparalleled. Your driving skills, on the other hand, could use improvement.” Just remembering the last time made him feel a little nauseous. “I don’t believe that being a federal agent gives you the right to exceed the legal speed limit.”

“Still, if you insist then perhaps we should visit the crime scene first. The roof of the Hotel L’Atalante, if I am not mistaken. I presume you already have all the clearance we might need?” The press would be all over this case, likely the detectives would be followed from the moment they arrived on the scene to the moment they unmasked the murderer. In addition, if rumors were to be believed, the Hotel L’Atalante would be eager to hide any sign of wrongdoing on their part. There was even a chance, however small, that the hotel would try to make the death look like the fault of the unfortunate victim herself. Even if the hotel had nothing to do with the murder they might do anything to deny culpability. When it came to murder, few things surprised J’onn anymore.

The elevator began to descend to basement parking area just as J’onn nodded in agreement. “That is correct, Agent Carter. I also wonder why they have chosen to support me in particular when so many other heroes are also living in the city.” He had several conclusions about that. Mainly that he was so high-profile that the Panel would want to keep him close. There was something behind Carter’s expression. Remembrance, perhaps even a hint of sorrow. She did not dwell on it for long. “I am sure that is not the reason,” he soothed. “You are tremendously capable, yet you are also young. In time you will be given all the recognition you deserve and, if you are lucky, an assistant as well. A good one, I hope.”

[dialmformanhunter]

oflove-andwar:

It was good, Diana thought, to see her friend smile, in response to her own joy, after this long. For that alone, this visit would have been worthwhile. “A few months,” she told him. “Most of that I spent settling in, however. Finding an apartment, and a place to store those possessions too valuable to leave behind in Paris. That sort of thing.” Not to mention the business of being Wonder Woman, of course, which never seemed to end. Her life had been full enough that she almost hadn’t had time to miss her friends. Almost.

She listened to his story, and her brow furrowed slowly. It was definitely uncharacteristic. “Poor Zook,” she said softly. “I hope that he is not distressed, to not be himself.” She twitched one hand toward the dog, considering extending it, and offering friendship to him. He did not look as though he wished to be touched, however, so she turned the motion into a reach toward the package of cookies instead, taking one and nibbling on it absently. “The…shield? Forgive me, but what shield?” She didn’t recall him ever having mentioned the like, which meant it must be something new.. Or simply something he had not wished to reveal before now.

“Why such a sigh, my friend?” She looked at him curiously. It seemed that in spite of her efforts to avoid bringing strife into their reunion, it had come uninvited. She was grateful for the change of subject. “Yes, I have met Tony Stark as well. He is a man of honor,” she told J’onn solemnly. “And the one they call Falcon. Perhaps others, who have kept their identities a secret from me. They seem to be good people. It might be worthwhile to befriend them.” She added quickly “Is M’gann in the city as well? I did not realize! I will have to seek her out.”

He nodded along, but few things J’onn owned were worth anything substantial. His biosuits, maybe. Three days prior the manhunter had owned five of the malleable clothing designed specifically for shapeshifters. He’d been more than a little surprised to find that M’gann had been running around for months without a biosuit! Those Panel researchers had confiscated hers when they had captured her so she had been traipsing around the city in nothing but her own disguised skin. Of course, no regular human would have been able to tell the difference. J’onn, of course, had noticed almost right away.

J’onn slowly held out a hand to pat Zook’s head. Zook allowed it, but did not look pleased. “Ah, my apologies. I lose track of who knows and who does not. The shield was, is, a condition of my cooperation with the Panel,” he said solemnly. Although ultimately J’onn had agreed to the procedure, he was aware that he really hadn’t had much of a choice. “It blocks psychic signals. Nothing in and nothing out. Unfortunately, as a side effect my telekinesis also suffers.”

Running a hand over his head, J’onn explained, “It concerns me that there are so many heroes in one place. Not that we might try to compete or any such slippery slope.” He clenched his jaw for a moment. “More that we are spread thin elsewhere. And,” he paused to looked Diana in the eye. “That having so many of us in one space makes us an easy target for any targeted attack.” J’onn of all people knew how quickly something like that could happen. The psychic plague which had annihilated his wife and daughters, as well as most of the surrounding settlements, still haunted him. “It does me well to hear that Mr. Stark is an honorable man. M’gann needs people of honor in her life now more than ever.” 

J’onn closed his eyes and drew in a long, deep breath. “She never left the city. The Panel saw to that. After I left on my mission they manipulated her into captivity and tortured her.” He knew he did not need to use the Panel’s jargon for Diana. It was not research. It was unethical experimentation and torture. “She is lucky to be alive after all they put her through. I would be lying if I said I did not, in some part, blame myself.” Now Zook appeared to recover his old nature. The dog lumbered over and rested his furry head on J’onn’s knee, watching him with big, sorrowful eyes.

[dialmformanhunter]

madripccr:

Understandably, whenever someone brought up one of the decisions she had made within the Director’s office at SHIELD, Maria found herself bristling. She was so used to hiding in the shadows, her contributions to the safety of the world being overlooked for good reason, so that she could continue to help people, to keep order, to uphold the law, that this new culture of transparency almost brought her out in a rash. She ran the Panel now, alongside Drew and Morse, and that meant that there was a spotlight pressed upon her. The SHIELD files that were leaked to the internet had long since been decoded, and all of her decisions, good, bad or otherwise, were public knowledge.

Morse said it was a good thing, ensured that they had a solid foundation of honesty to start upon, but Maria had always been more of a fan of making sure that no one knew exactly who she was. Nevertheless, she caught herself quickly and nodded once in affirmation. “Yes, that was me,” she said. “Fury was predisposed that day.” Most days, actually, flying off to some remote country to assist in negotiations, either with a silver tongue or some other more forceful means of persuasion. “The Avengers were too valuable to lose, and the human cost was too great to justify issuing a missile. Perhaps it would have been the most effective manner in which to deal with the threat at hand, but I could not allow it to pass when it reached my desk.”

It was hard to tell whether J’onzz was impressed by Maria’s decision making or if he felt distaste when he thought of it. Normally she wouldn’t care what others thought of her; they rarely had the experience she had, rarely knew what it was like to sit in a seat and make decisions that either saved or took life, and oftentimes was associated with both. During this conversation, however, she realised that tact and diplomacy was more paramount than preserving her own authority. J’onzz could be a valuable asset, and he had already signed the Accords, agreeing to register with them and act as a sleeper agent within them. He was someone she wanted on side if she could at all.

Once again, she nodded, pursing her lips. “I was only made aware of your niece’s treatment when we took over the Panel,” she said. “My access to the higher files was much restricted under Orse’s leadership. I now know why.” Back then, Orse had justified it by saying that he was unsure if Maria was one of the rats that should have gone down with the ship. HYDRA had been deep within SHIELD, and Maria had considered him intelligent to regard that fact when choosing his closest lieutenants. Now, she saw him for the snake that he was. “If I had known then what I know now, I assure you I would have done everything in my power to stop it. You may have heard stories about me, but I am not a robot.”

Not a robot, but not capable of the emotion that was clear in his voice when he spoke of his niece, either. Maria cleared her throat, moved some files around the desk, as she considered whether there was anyone in her life that she was close enough to talk of in that way – she soon found that there wasn’t, not even her mothers, the women who had taken her in when everything came crashing down. “I would like to know everything that you can recall from your time under Orse,” she replied. “Your mission objective, your methods, your motive for signing. I would like to know if you noticed anything different about him, or if there were particular members of the Panel who seemed close to him. You understand I would like to know who I am working with, yes?”

Regular reports and a mission debriefing. Maria almost scoffed. “I am well acquainted with those documents,” she replied. “From my time under Fury, I am more than aware that the reports can make the most interesting of missions seem … bland. It is better to hear first hand, in my opinion.”

“I can assure you, Agent Hill,” J’onn replied calmly, “that I fully agreed with your ultimate decision.” He weighed his words carefully. Though he had spoken English for more than twenty years now, he still found that there were eccentricities behind each word. One needed to be selective, cautious with each one. “When we received this intelligence at the League, my sole concern rested on your reasoning. Whether it was the Avengers alone whom you wished to save, or the many islanders as well. I suppose the matter is resolved now.” She had given him the answer. Regardless of what had reached the desk, it was both.

J’onn silently observed as Hill provided her explanation. The Panel higher-ups, all the people who had any authority at all, said the same thing. They didn’t know anything about it. They hadn’t even heard rumors about it. Always the same story. Times like this made J’onn regret ever accepting the psychic shield. Maybe he would have heard M’gann’s cries for help. Plus, now, after the fact he would very much like to be able to read minds. To know who really knew nothing about it and who was hiding secrets.

Thankfully, his years as a police detective had taught him more than enough to discern when someone was being genuine. Hill might not have been telling him everything, but she was sympathetic to M’gann’s plight. “I am close comrades with several androids and it is clear to me that you are not an android.” Maria Hill did not seem as empathetic as Red Tornado or as kind and considerate as Aya. Nevertheless, J’onn believed her. “I would like to know the identities of the scientists who ‘researched’ my niece, and their current employment data and whereabouts.” He was not sure precisely how he would use that information, yet, but he wanted to know. Had to know. “Full disclosure, I would like actions taken against every person who was involved in her illegal imprisonment and torture. I would also like reparations to be made.”

Orse. “He was a clever man, calculated. I could see that from our first meeting. What I could not know, though, were how drastically different his intentions were regarding myself and my niece. He was deeply distrustful of my telepathy, but oddly intrigued by M’gann’s.” J’onn rubbed his temples. He blamed himself. Orse had asked and the alien had told him too much about the strength of M’gann’s mental powers. How had he not seen it coming? “In hindsight, I can see that Orse used the mission to get me out of the way while he took advantage of her. She was younger, more vulnerable.” Despite her raw power, he was too pacifistic to use her powers to kill or maim even in self-defense. He knew she would never have brought herself to do something like that. J’onn had let her down.

“If you must know, I also suspect that my yearlong mission was a diversion.” It had only occurred to him in the past twenty-four hours, through much contemplation. “As David Miller, I only ever defended my mark from one attack and to be perfectly honest it seemed almost…” J’onn tried to phrase it the right way. “I kept expecting a follow-up attack because there was something too simple about the first. It was like someone had told the attacker to put up a good fight, then fail in the end. Like it was fixed.” He could remember an underground fight ring back in Chicago were fighters had been paid to lose, but to make it convincing.

[dialmformanhunter]

akagoddammit:

Why did people try that tone? Did they honestly think it would be calming? No, Jessica suspected it had more to do with them being grade-A assholes. She tensed when he reached into his pocket, but when he pulled out just a license, she took a quick glance and then smacked it away.

“Congrats, you’ve got paperwork,” she said, crossing her arms and not moving an inch. It would take more than that to placate her. There wasn’t goddamn anything that would make her move from this door. She’d made a promise to M’gann. She wasn’t about to let anything compromise that. 

“All I’m finding is that you’re a shithead,” she shot back, still not budging. “See, my friend told me to watch this apartment. And no one said anything about visitors dropping by.” Everything about him, from his condescending gestures to his pacifying, pretentious tone, set her teeth on edge. “Door’s that way, asshole.”

J’onn took a step back to stare at the woman. First, she had rejected his explanation, now even his identification was being called to question. This woman was more than disrespectful. She was belligerent. There was no reasoning with her and he felt threatened. True, his powers and experience meant he could likely outmatch her. But J’onn knew better than to underestimate an unknown opponent. Especially one with such strength, and in such close proximity to his niece. That was the most important thing.

Perhaps it would be unwise to push her any further. There were other options. J’onn pressed his lips together, leaned his head forward, and then finally held up his hands. Years of training helped him to mask his anger. “I am who I say I am,” he said in a low drawl. Then he turned and strode back to the stairwell. One last idea came to him just as he stepped out, “At least it is comforting to know that there are now two who have M’gann’s best interests at heart.”

[dialmformanhunter]

akagoddammit:

Her grip was tight, and it had never failed her. But suddenly, she wasn’t holding any more than air. She leapt back like she’d been burned, staring at the man who looked no different than before, but somehow had changed. Shit. What the hell was that?

Time for a new tactic. She planted herself in front of M’gann/Malcolm’s door, not eager to touch him again, but not willing to let him anywhere near the inside of that apartment. “I don’t have to listen to you,” she said harshly, the words rough and sharp around the edges. “And I don’t have to believe you either.”

Her eyes narrowed. An uncle. M’gann hadn’t ever mentioned an uncle, at least not that she remembered. (Though Jessica could be… distracted during their conversations. It was easier to just let M’gann talk sometimes.) “Yeah, and I’m the queen of goddamn England, pal,” she said, voice thick with disbelief. She eyed the elevator door pointedly. “Either way, looks like your ‘friend’ isn’t here. So why don’t you run the hell along?”

Now the woman was blocking his way. Using her own body to barricade the apartment door. It was lucky for her, he thought to himself, that J’onn did not make a habit of using his powers against overly defensive neighbors. Even the ones with apparent super-strength. J’onn stood up straighter, still ready to defend himself, and took a deep breath.

“You may look at my driver’s license if you do not believe me,” J’onn told her in low, placating tone, like he was trying to pacify a child. He reached into his pocket to withdraw his wallet. His wallet, unlike his key, was just where he had left it. He actually had two licenses these days. The John Jones version had been with him, renewed periodically, since he’d adopted the identity of the real man. The one which proved his identity as a legal immigrant to the United States was a much more recent addition. J’onn held up his card for the woman to examine. J’onzz, J’onn. Sex: M. HT: 6’0”. Eyes: BRO.

He scoffed. “I am sure you’ll find everything is in order.” J’onn took a step towards the door and gestured for her to move out of the way. The altercation had ruffled his feathers, that was for sure. “If you would allow me to pass then, your majesty.”

[dialmformanhunter]

akagoddammit:

Jessica was home. Alone. M’gann was out, Tony was busy… being Tony. A single phone call from Pepper could tie him up for days at a time, but she’d always been okay with being alone. It gave her time to think. To recharge, to just breathe for a minute. Course, it used to be more fun when she could have a drink while she was alone, but at least she had a TV now. 

She wasn’t watching it though. She was sitting at her desk, feet propped up, just listening to the sounds of the city outside her window. There weren’t any screams or more sirens than usual. People weren’t rioting or scared or panicked. There was traffic and kids playing and guys catcalling and acting like tools, but it was all so normal. And because it was so normal, it slowly faded away into white noise, into something barely noticeable in the back of her mind. 

A loud bang! broke her out of her reverie. She was on her feet in a second, staring at her door, waiting for it to get kicked in, or for the bullets to start flying. Old paranoias died harder than old habits. When nothing more happened, she slowly approached her door. Opened it, just enough to get a look into the hall. 

There was someone there, but he wasn’t headed for her apartment. He was headed for Malcolm’s door – now M’gann’s. Jessica’s eyes narrowed, and she slipped out into the hallway silently. Jaw clenched tight while she watched him. Whoever he was, he was desperate to get inside. None of it seemed right to her. And then he spotted her, tried to explain himself, but what the hell kind of explanation was I’m a friend? 

Okay, so maybe it was the dismissive freaking hand gesture that really got to her. She wasn’t sure exactly. But next thing she knew, she’d crossed the hall, and pulled him away from the door by the back of his shirt. Slammed him up against the wall, one elbow pushed into his neck. “Friend of who, exactly?” she asked loudly. Maybe he was one of Malcolm’s old junkie buddies coming to call. Maybe he was one of the people who’d hurt M’gann. Maybe he was just lost, but either way, he had to go. “You got two minutes to start talking before I pull a Michael Jackson and start dangling you out a window. Go.” 

Dangerous neighbors. Dangerous neighbors with too much time on their hands. That was all J’onn could think about for the first few moments after the woman had slammed him against the wall of the hallway. “H-hey,” he gasped. “It is…” He could hardly breathe, let alone speak. For the first time since he’d shifted back to his preferred form, J’onn shifted. He had no choice.

His human neck and head thinned, allowing the alien a chance to slip from her grasp. He jumped to the side and quickly reverted again. If he was not careful, this woman could tear his body in two. The recovery was difficult and there was no doubt that J’onn was out of practice. “Please, listen to me. I am a friend of the young girl who lives here.”

Again, he sprung to the side. He didn’t want to reveal her identity, but it seemed there was no other way. “Her name is M’gann M’orzz. I am her uncle, J’onn J’onzz.” J’onn pressed against the door. “I do not know what it means to ‘pull a Michael Jackson,’ but I can assure you that it is not necessary.”

Then there was the question of who this wild woman was. The apartment had already made a terrible impression on him. He would have to help M’gann find a new residence and she could stay with him in the meantime. This was no place for a good, impressionable youth to live. Certainly not his own niece. 

[dialmformanhunter]

madripccr:

“J’onzz,” Maria corrected herself, wondering how many names she had looked at over the past week to make that mistake. She was never particularly tolerant of the enhanced types anyway, so she blamed it on a cold detachment that was almost always present when she was in talks with someone that possessed powers no human – or alien – should have. It was playing with nature, in her opinion, shifting the balance so ordinary people could no longer feel safe on their streets, instead running scared, outmatched, even if they were far from outnumbered.

J’onn J’onzz had never shown any signs of being antagonistic to the Panel. His niece had ran from Orse’s regime, but even that could not be held against her; Maria had read the file, was well aware of what had occurred to her, and had been sickened by it even if she had previously doubted she could be surprised by anything these days. The torture, the manipulation, the pain she must have endured and still kept pushing through was extraordinary, and Maria had every suspicion that resilience had been taught by the man standing in front of her.

Maria gave a smile at that, but even the small gesture took a lot for her to force onto her lips. “I hope it’s only good things,” she teased, or as close to it as she could manage – she never quite got the tone right, according to the girls. Humour was supposed to comfort, to build up a rapport, but when it came to Maria it often had the opposite effect and just made everyone uncomfortable.

J’onzz had worked as a detective for a time, and it showed. Maria tapped her heavy pen against the notepad in front of her, and spread the pages over the desk smoothly before returning them to a pile in front of her. “I understand your hesitance completely, Mr. J’onzz,” she said. “Yes, this is simply routine. I wanted to meet you myself and have a discussion about how you’re finding the Accords. Your file is quite comprehensive, although I notice your interaction with the previous Panel is suspiciously void of the … how should we put it?” Maria let out a light cough. “The juicier details. In the interests of transparency, you’d be best to share with me what you know, and I should be able to do the same in return.”

He appreciated that Agent Hill at least accepted the correction, although he noted that she did not appear apologetic in the least. It was highly probable that the woman was preoccupied, distracted perhaps. J’onn gave her a slight nod. He said nothing. Even as a young man, J’onn had been the quiet type. Always preferring to observe and take note while others rushed headlong into action. For better or for worse, his nature had likely saved his life on that fateful day he was snapped away from Mars.

“Yes. All good things,” J’onn confirmed. “Please, correct me if I am wrong. You saved the lives of the Avengers. You declined a presidential order which would destroy a small island entirely populated by nefarious fugitives, yes?” He was fairly certain it was her. That story had reached the Justice League headquarters and been the subject of much debate. No one disagreed that the agent had made the right choice by sparing the island. It was her reason that J’onn found problematic. It hardly mattered, but J’onn was of the opinion that the island deserved to survive not only because of the Avengers, but because no matter how villainous its inhabitants were, they deserved a chance at a fair trial.

None of this he spoke aloud. In fact, he almost regretted bringing it up. Too late now, he supposed. J’onn eyed everything spread upon the desk. Vague documents about his work. Nothing appeared to mention his time undercover in any particular detail. A stealth photograph of him walking Zook. He sincerely wondered whether the Panel regarded all of its signees with such suspicion. Or if it was only him.

“You understand? Then you have must learned about my niece and her ordeal. Explain to me, if you can, why no one saw fit to contact me while she was wrongfully imprisoned and tortured by Panel agents.” J’onn’s voice took on a deep rumble. It was not meant to threaten Agent Hill, if anything it was a heartfelt plea. He needed to know why. Why he had not known what M’gann had been through until his return from the mission. It hurt him now.

“What would you like to know, Agent Hill?” J’onn turned one of the papers towards himself. Much of the writing was redacted, he wasn’t sure if it was to keep him from seeing or to keep Agent Hill from seeing. “I spent the past year living as David Miller. Body man.” The subject under his protection, and observation, was someone Agent Hill should already know. Depending on her line of questioning, and the answers she gave to his questions about M’gann, he would provide the details she specifically asked for. Other than what she asked, his lips were sealed. “I filed regular reports and a mission debriefing, as is standard. What else are you missing, Agent Hill?”

[dialmformanhunter]

agcntcxrter:

“How many times do I have to tell you it’s Sharon?” The agent asked, shaking her head with a fond smile on her face. Agent Carter still reminded her a lot of her aunt, which was never particularly a bad place to be, but now it was tinged with a melancholy sadness. She was gone, long gone now, and Sharon felt better when she wasn’t inhabiting her name as well as her blood. “I’m hoping I can persuade you to leave your very cushy consultant gig for a day to come join me at a murder scene,” she replied, voice light as if she was discussing the morning news. “I thought that was your favourite. An agent never forgets, you know.”

A Hollywood starlet normally wouldn’t come under investigation by the CIA, instead being delegated to smaller police forces and their detectives, but Lizzie Logan was a unique case. She was very well known, having grown up doused in the spotlight, and her family were as famous as she was, every one of their moves recorded. For her to have gone missing – for her to be off camera for even a second – was even more surprising than finding her on the roof of her hotel, all things considered. Of course, Sharon thought to herself, even her murder had to be spectacular, enough for the press to chew over.

Sharon picked out a sugar donut from the bag for herself, picking at the sides of it before just deciding to take a large bite of it. “Can’t a girl make a social call these days?” she teased, licking the sugar off her lips before nodding. “Hit the nail on the head. They put her case on my desk, and I figured if I was going to choose a contact to help me out, you’d be one of the best.”

The new Panel was getting less and less complaints across the board, and Sharon felt a swell of pride on behalf of her friends because of it. “Never a bad thing, and nothing more than you deserve,” Sharon said, not labouring the point, but acknowledging that J’onn was one of the finest police detectives she had known during his time on the force, and surely would be as a consultant, as well. Sharon laughed a little, thinking of J’onn walking around in the nineties – would that have been the original emergence of cargo pants and Converse sneakers? “Not too bad, I’m glad to say,” she replied. “There’s more paperwork on my desk than I know what to do with, and a dead starlet with no leads on my hands. Outside work-” She paused to laugh. “-is a whole other story, and much less interesting, I’m afraid.”

“I would say you need to remind me at least another hundred times.” J’onn shrugged his head, as if mulling it over. “After that we can revisit the matter.” He had not known her aunt. Not personally, at least. Yet J’onn felt it was important to refer to Sharon by her title. A small gesture to nudge her into becoming her own Agent Carter. The title belonged to her just as much as it had belonged to the woman before her. Sharon had earned it.

“A social visit? That is a new one. But you have already persuaded me. Maybe it was the donut. We may never know.” It certainly was not the donut. Sharon always brought him interesting cases and she was always a pleasure to work with. Even if he did occasionally need to pacify her when a suspect invoked her temper. “Besides,” he added. “This is what they pay me to do.”

J’onn stood up and stretched before bending back down to pick up some of his belongings. Cell phone, identification, and of course his work satchel. “I don’t suppose that I could drive for a change?” he asked, long-suffering. “I have access to a fine new car, and your driving skills. Well.” It was difficult to hide his feelings on the matter. Sharon had only driven them once, but J’onn had sworn never again.

He nodded slowly. “I suppose. It is not that I am ungrateful. Ah, I don’t know how to say it in English.” There was a word for what he was feeling in Martian. C’rodol. It roughly meant to worry that one is living well at the expense of others. To his knowledge, none of the other registered were being provided such lavish housing. It was slightly unsettling. “Never mind it, Agent Carter. It is hardly worth noting.” Nodding along as she told him about her work, J’onn couldn’t help but ask, “Why do you not have an assistant? Someone to keep the files under control while you do you your investigations.” He had hired an assistant for some time at the height of his detective work and he considered it to be one of the best decisions he’d ever made in his professional life.

[dialmformanhunter]

gixlofsteel:

“That’s me.” She muses with a snort, letting the hug last a few seconds before she pulled away and smiled up at him. “I have missed you as well, J’onn. How are things going back home?” Kara automatically questions, National City still being such an important part of her even though she no longer lived there, and also Alex, James, Winn, and even Cat, still all being important to her as well. “I haven’t exactly taken a step back, but yes, I have continued with my exercises, I always do.”

Sitting herself in the chair across from him, she takes in a deep breath and shrugs her shoulders. “Oh, it was Alex’s, she had gone to this place with Maggie one time and told me about it the last time that I visited, saying that it was a must to try it.”

J’onn nodded. They were alike in many ways. “Always thinking of home,” he said approvingly. “I only visited briefly, but I can tell you that Alex is doing well as head of the DEO. She misses you.” He took a sip of his water. “But you’ll see her soon of course, with the wedding coming up.” J’onn’s mouth quirked into a smile and added, “While I was there, Alex asked me to walk her down the aisle.”

“As for James and Winn,” he grimaced. “I still have my concerns about their night time activities. One day, Mr. Olsen is going to get himself killed. Mr. Schott, too. He’s not safe in that van regardless of what he thinks.” J’onn leaned back and sighed. “I worry about the two of them.”

“That Alex Danvers. Reliable in battle as well as in recommendations,” he laughed. “I trust you’ve been in touch with her.” With Kara’s super speed, J’onn surmised that the sisters could still see each other whenever they wanted.

[dialmformanhunter]

oflove-andwar:

“Zook will not frighten your guest, no matter how loudly he barks,” Diana called cheerfully through the closed door when she heard her friend approaching. “I have it on good authority that I’m not frightened of anything.” At least, that was what her Wikipedia page said, and surely the Internet never lied. 

When he opened the door, she met him with a blinding smile. “J’onn! I am glad to see you as well, my friend. It has been far too long,” she told him warmly, stepping carefully around the uncharacteristically aggressive Zook and giving the dog a look of concern. She’d never seen him act like this. “I would offer my assistance, but I’m afraid I don’t know a great deal about animals,” she admitted. It had never been a field that she’d required any great deal of experience in. “Perhaps it is simply the newness of your return. He could adjust, given time?” It seemed plausible to her, at least.

She handed over the cookies with a quick shake of her head before settling on the couch where she’d been directed to. “Did you think I would forget? Cookies are important,” she informed him solemnly. Not that they were her preference, when it came to sweets, but they were still a delightful sampling of human creativity, in all their varieties. Therefore, she loved them. She could have said any number of things in response to his inquiry about how she was, but ultimately, she didn’t want to spoil her friend’s homecoming with her questions and worries. So she smiled, and simply told him “I am doing well for myself. And better every day, since it seems all my friends are coming to stay in the same place as me.”

 There was no denying it. Diana had a brilliant smile. J’onn, who rarely showed teeth himself, couldn’t help but smile back.  “Have you been in the city long, Diana?” Losing track of his closest friends while he was under was proving difficult to come to terms with. Even though the mission had been a success, J’onn felt deeply guilty. He especially blamed himself for M’gann’s suffering under Orse’s Panel. If had been there. If he had kept a closer eye on her. If only.

“I am glad,” he admitted. “Zook ran into the hallway this morning. I’m afraid that he may have frightened one of our new neighbors.” The dog hadn’t actually gone for the man, or his groceries for that matter. Instead, Zook had raced down the hall and made a dive for the elevator. Luckily, the doors had just finished closing. “There is a possibility that Zook’s ire may be an unexpected side effect of the shield.” J’onn held a hand to his forehead, near where the psychic shield had been injected.

After a pause, J’onn sat on the couch and patted his lap invitingly. Zook ignored this and sat down beside the wing chair to watch them. J’onn sighed as he reached out to pick up a cookie. He had been sighing a good deal lately. “Not just our friends. Not that I have ever considered them our enemies, it would seem the Avengers are here as well.” J’onn had been one of the Leaguers who viewed the Avengers as a competent organization. An asset to the world and the hero community. “My niece has made friends with Mr. Stark, apparently.” She’d also mentioned a brief run-in with Thor. He suspected that she had met other Avengers as well. If it was the fast blue one, he might just have to break some knees.