The need for various metals would only increase in the future. Developing Mars was an essential step. Whether Martian Manhunter was willing or not, unless he stood against all humanity, he'd have to face this eventually.
If willing, he could move his relatives' remains to Earth. If not, Thea could help set up a seal. Unless someone Darkseid-level showed up, ordinary people couldn't break her seals.
Thea didn't voice these thoughts. Martian Manhunter's key issue was his heart. Earth was so close to Mars—if he wanted, he could return anytime to visit. Yet for centuries, he'd never gone back. Not once.
Helping him rebuild confidence and overcome his pyrophobia would be difficult. Ordinary people could recover with counseling, but he was different. His powerful psychic abilities amplified the condition, making the fear of fire affect him from the mental plane to the physical.
Thea had no cure for this. Martian Manhunter's resistance was too high—even magic wouldn't work. Everything depended on him.
A full half hour passed before Martian Manhunter, looking exhausted, said, "When do you plan to go?"
Learning Thea intended to leave immediately, he hesitated but finally bit down and decided to make the trip.
Without notifying anyone, they slipped away. Thea had suggestion spells, Martian Manhunter had psychically-powered invisibility. They flew straight out of the atmosphere undetected.
The fifty-five million kilometer distance took them no longer than traveling from New York to Philadelphia.
Gazing at the familiar yet alien planet, Martian Manhunter felt indescribable grief. During flight, he'd already dropped his disguise. Aside from that one time clearing Heracles's mad consciousness when she'd seen his mental form, this was the first time Thea saw Martian Manhunter's true appearance on the physical plane.
Two meters tall, deep green skin, purple cloak—Martian Manhunter didn't fly but descended to the ground.
In this desolate environment, Thea's office Gucci outfit looked oddly out of place. She had shares in several major global luxury conglomerates, so they sent batches of clothes, shoes, and bags monthly.
Seeing Martian Manhunter so dejected, and dressed so formally herself, Thea felt she should show proper respect. With a thought, she changed into her New Genesis attire—the divine artifact robe she'd named Godsmite.
Unlike Zeus's crafted divine aegis armor, Thea wore this robe primarily because its hood both blocked sand and, covering half her face, gave her an air of mystery. Perfect for this solemn environment.
They walked heavily across the ground. Martian Manhunter reminisced about the past, sometimes half-talking to himself, half-explaining.
"There was once a city there. The local residents were extremely kind."
"To the northwest, a space monster once attacked. Twenty of us killed it. Its bones are still buried underground."
"This is... this was my home. My father, mother, wife, and daughter all lived here."
Thea walked with hands behind her back. Martian Manhunter occasionally shared memories. To Thea, it all looked like sand, yet somehow he could determine exact locations.
They stopped at a stone crater. The towering Martian knelt on the ground, weeping uncontrollably. This had been his home, his strongest spiritual anchor. Now it was shattered.
Unlike Superman, Martian Manhunter had lived centuries, spending them alone on Earth. Though his lifespan stretched long ahead, his spirit had aged.
Thea didn't know how to comfort him—she wasn't good at this. While waiting, she activated super-vision to survey the planet's mineral deposits. As she scanned aimlessly, a gray-white metallic gleam caught her attention.
"Hmm?" When she tried to look closer, the metallic object emitted a special wavelength that blocked her deep probe.
No way this wasn't anomalous! Thea grabbed the still-weeping Martian Manhunter. "Uncle J'onn, nineteen thousand meters south—there's an anomaly. It doesn't look natural."
Bewildered, Martian Manhunter saw her serious expression and collected himself. Unlike humans' five senses, Martians had nine sensory systems. His scanning ability matched Superman's.
Following Thea's direction, he looked carefully twice, then his face changed dramatically. He flew over instantly.
Thea could only follow. Just as she was about to ask what it was, she saw Martian Manhunter unleash a massive psychic blast forward, using pure mental force to clear away the debris covering the gray-white object.
Now Thea could see—it was a spacecraft. A small, single-pilot craft.
Buried in rock and covered by time and sandstorms, it had looked unremarkable.
"What is this?" Thea asked, though seeing Martian Manhunter's ghostly expression, she already had a guess.
The answer was expected. "This is a Martian ship. From the traces, it's been here less than twenty years. This is impossible! I should be the last Martian..."
Martian Manhunter's expression was spectacular—fear, joy, disbelief, and a thread of hope, all mixed together.
The ship was strange, as if psychic force blocked her probing. Thea couldn't understand how such an abstract mental power could be applied to technological spacecraft—it contradicted everything she knew.
Seeing Martian Manhunter's complete disarray, she had to act. It wasn't like she was dismantling the ship—just opening the cockpit. Easy enough.
"Uh, nobody inside. Looking at the cabin size, doesn't seem built for someone your height? Is this for your young people? The display still has power—check if there's any message left."
Thea couldn't read Martian. The power ring had translation functions, but with a live Martian right here, she was too lazy to bother.
Martian Manhunter took two deep breaths and began reviewing the display text, muttering aloud. "This ship returned to Mars twenty years ago? The recorder shows the pilot was investigating the true cause of the Martian extinction? ...The ship's owner is... M'gann M'orzz?"
Watching Martian Manhunter's face shift between white and green, Thea almost expected him to transform into a White Martian. Curious, she asked, "Who's M'gann?"
"She should be my niece. But the M'orzz family tree was huge—her generation had over three hundred siblings and cousins combined. My head's spinning—I'm not entirely sure if this is the relative I remember."