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SM/DC Chapter 66 : Martian Manhunter
🕑 Added 2025-03-22 21:30:08 +0000 UTCJustice League Watchtower – Containment Sector.
The room was too quiet, expect for the soft hum of the advanced containment systems buzzed faintly in the background. a mix of transparent and iron walls, reinforced with alien alloys and magic, surrounded Kara Zor-El, Supergirl. The sterile light overhead cast a faint glow over her figure as she sat cross-legged, on the sleek metal bench, bound by energy restraints that crackled faintly around her wrists.
She looked calm, but her mind was a mess.
“Still here…and I'm getting bored...” she muttered to herself, leaning her head back against the cold wall. Her fingers curled into fists against her knees as she let out a slow breath, trying to shake the weight pressing against her chest.
It wasn’t the cell that bothered her, hell, she agreed to be here. It was the feeling. That itch in the back of her skull, like something familiar and wrong was lurking just out of reach.
And then she noticed it.
Her shadow.
It… moved.
On its own.
Kara blinked, her brows furrowing as the edges of her shadow rippled unnaturally across the floor.
“Great,” she muttered dryly, rubbing her temples. “First visions...now my shadow’s acting weird. Maybe I am losing it.”
But then it shifted again. A sliver of darkness peeled itself away, rising, morphing into something… someone.
Kara froze.
Her heart hammered in her chest as the shadow twisted and stood upright, an inky black shape with glowing blue eyes. Her breath hitched as she shot to her feet, her hands still bound but fists clenching.
“Wait a minute...you’re...”
The shadow trembled, and then, like mist burning away under sunlight, it began to change.
Darkness unraveled, revealing armor-clad boots, a long black coat, and a face she knew. A familiar smile cut through the gloom as Arthur Blackwynd stepped forward, his sharp blue eyes glowing faintly.
Kara’s eyes widened in shock. “Arthur?! How—?!”
Arthur tilted his head, the corner of his mouth curving into an easy, almost teasing smile. “Hey,” he said, voice smooth. “I see you got yourself in trouble again.”
For a second, just a second Kara forgot everything. The cell. Her thoughts. All of it.
Her lips twitched into a half-smile, but she said nothing.
Arthur chuckled softly, stepping closer to the transparent barrier that separated her and freedom. His gaze swept over her, calculating, but there was something warmer beneath it.
“I leave you alone for a bit, and now you’re locked up again? Tch...you sure you’re a Kryptonian ?”
Her eyes softened just a bit, as she took a step closer to him. “You shouldn’t be here, Arthur. If they find you...”
Arthur’s smirk lingered as he took a step closer to the transparent barrier, his boots echoing softly against the sleek floor. “Let them.” His voice was smooth dangerous. “We’ll clear them out ourselves, every single one in Cadmus.” His fingers traced the edge of the containment field, eyes narrowing as he scanned for a weakness. “These binds… let’s get you out of them.”
Kara sighed, watching him with a mix of exasperation and, beneath it, something warmer. “Cadmus? No. Listen” She hesitated for just a second. “We’re not in Cadmus, Arthur. We’re in the Justice League Watchtower.”
Arthur froze mid-step, his focus snapping back to her. “What?” His voice sharpened, because that didn’t make sense. His gaze darted to the sterile room again, suddenly scrutinizing every detail. “Then why the hell are you a captive here?”
Kara shifted her stance, her hands curling slightly at her sides. “I agreed to this,” she said, trying to sound casual, but her tone carried the weight of her decision. “Batman and the others… they’re trying to help.”
Arthur scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest as a cold chuckle escaped him. “Let me get this straight, you’re locked up because you ‘agreed to it’?” His glowing blue eyes pinned her down. “Did they mistake you for your clone or something?”
She shook her head. “No. This is just… precaution.”
Precaution. The word hung heavy in the air..like a leash.
Arthur let out a slow breath through his nose, his jaw ticking as his fingers curled into fists. “So you basically agreed to be a lab rat again…” His voice dropped lower, every word edged with sharp disdain. “Except it’s for the ‘good guys’ now.”
He took a step back, tilting his head slightly. “Tell me...did Clark agree to this as well?”
Kara’s lips parted, but no words came. Silence.
Arthur’s expression darkened, and his laugh came out cold. “How expected.”
Before Kara could respond, another voice slipped into his mind. Low, calm, and unmistakable.
“Arthur Blackwynd.”
The words echoed inside his skull, not spoken aloud, but telepathically delivered with the weight of someone who had been watching. “Your intrusion here is bold… but foolish. Did you think you could walk unnoticed in the house of the Justice League?”
“Shit.” Arthur’s eyes snapped open, glowing brighter as he turned sharply behind him.
Martian Manhunter.
He stood at the far end of the room...silent, his towering figure partially concealed by the shadows. His blue cape hung heavy against his shoulders, and those glowing red eyes pierced through the darkness.
Unmoving. Unyielding. Watching.
Arthur tilted his head, meeting J’onn’s gaze without flinching. “Bold?” His voice was low, but the confidence in it burned. “I call it doing the right thing.”
The Martian’s expression remained unreadable, but his presence filled the room, an unspoken authority that even Arthur couldn’t entirely ignore.
“You risk much, shadow-wielder,” J’onn’s voice echoed again, calm but heavy with warning. “But your concern for her… it is genuine.”
Arthur exhaled sharply, his usual arrogance slipping for a heartbeat before returning full force. “Yeah, well...someone’s gotta look out for her.”
Kara, still behind the containment field alongside Arthur, placed a hand against the barrier, her heart pounding in her chest.
J’onn’s gaze softened slightly as it moved toward Kara before settling back on Arthur. “I understand your motives… but breaking into the Watchtower is not the way to protect her.”
Arthur took a step forward, his voice unyielding. “Then maybe you shouldn’t be locking her up.”
J’onn’s voice remained calm but unyielding, a weight pressing down on the room. “She must remain here. Safely.”
Arthur’s lip curled into a faint frown, sharp and dangerous. “And if I disagree?” His voice was low, charged with a threat that hung heavy in the air.
“Arthur… please.” Kara’s voice softened, barely above a whisper, but there was urgency in it. A plea.
J’onn’s eyes glowed a deeper red. “That is not up to you to decide.”
A cold silence stretched between them until it shattered.
With a crackling snap, a Long Sword, black as midnight, and wreathed in crackling blue lightning, materialized in Arthur’s right hand. The air hummed with raw power as the blade hissed like a living thing, dark mist curling from its jagged edge.
Arthur turned his gaze back to Kara, his eyes burning a bright blue. “I can tell you don’t want to be here.” His voice was smoother now confident, unchallenged. “And we’re getting out. Now.”
Kara’s breath hitched as she took a step toward the barrier. “Wait! Arthur, please! You’ll really be in trouble now!” Her tone wavered between fear and frustration, but he didn’t flinch.
His focus was locked on Martian Manhunter, the sword in his grip humming with growing power. “Doom.”
The Shadows beneath him twisted as Doom, his towering Shadow General, emerged, its crimson eyes gleaming. The sheer weight of its presence filled the containment room, crackling with restrained violence.
Arthur didn’t look away from J’onn, his voice a calm command. “Break her binds.”
Doom moved without hesitation, stepping toward Kara. Its massive clawed hand reached out, and with a metallic screech and a flash of blue lightning, the restraints binding Kara’s wrists snapped like brittle glass, and even little pieces of kryptonite fell to the ground.
She gasped softly as the weight lifted, her hands falling free, staring at Arthur with wide eyes.
J’onn still hadn’t moved, but the air around him shifted, subtle but dangerous. “You do not understand what you are risking.” His voice echoed through Arthur’s mind,deeper now.
Arthur only smiled, his grip tightening on the hilt of his sword. “I understand plenty.” The blue lightning arced brighter along the blade’s edge. “The real question is, are you going to stop me?”
J’onn’s crimson eyes burned brighter an ominous glow as he tilted his head slightly. Without a word, a powerful psychic wave surged toward Arthur, an attack meant to crush his mind like a vice.
But nothing.
Arthur didn’t even flinch.
A soft ding echoed in his mind.
[System Notification: Mental attack threat neutralized.]
He chuckled low and smooth, as he met J’onn’s glowing gaze. “Your greatest weapon… is useless against me, J’onn.” His voice dripped with confidence, and that cocky half-smile tugged at his lips.
J’onn’s expression didn’t change, but there was a flicker of something else beneath his stoic exterior. Confusion.
Without breaking eye contact, Arthur raised his hand his fingers twitching ever so slightly. The air around his palm warped, unseen tendrils of power snaking out toward the shimmering energy barrier of the containment room.
Ruler’s Authority hummed to life, an invisible force bending to his will. The room trembled as the pressure grew, a faint blue light pulsing around his fingers.
The energy barrier flickered, cracks spidering across its surface as Arthur’s grip tightened.
Kara’s breath hitched. “Arthur...how are you doing thi...”
CRACK!
With a final, effortless twitch of his fingers, the containment field shattered...pieces of glowing energy disintegrating into nothing. The air rippled in its wake as if reality itself had been bent beneath his will.
Arthur took a slow, deliberate step forward, his sword still crackling with lightning at his side. His shadow stretched unnaturally behind him, curling like it had a mind of its own as he approached Martian Manhunter.
The distance between them closed, two unstoppable forces standing face-to-face.
“No hard feelings J’onn and i really don't wish to fight you... but we are leaving whether you like it or not.” Arthur’s voice was calm, but beneath it lay an undeniable edge, a promise of violence.
J’onn J’onzz regarded him with something else now, not just caution.
Respect.
