Morden Man — Roleplayer Guild

Some characters just work better in isolation. I think Moon Knight is one of them. There's a reason he hasn't really stuck on a team in the comics for a long while. He's always been far, far more interesting to me on his own than when forced into a more classic comic book setting.

And to be honest, I'm not a huge fan of the post-MCU characterisation of Stark. I prefer a more stoic depiction of Iron-Man. Though he was at times horribly mischaracterised throughout Civil War, I thought Tony was far more interesting then than the Downey-esque depiction that has taken over in the comics. Mostly because there are no shortage of wise-cracking, comic relief characters that do that schtick better than Stark.

The Fortress of Solitude, Arctic

Superman and the Martian Manhunter stood in silence outside of the crystalline formation known as the Fortress of Solitude. Their bright costumes were a shock of colour amidst an ocean of white that stretched as far as they eye could see. Flakes of snow and ice drifted through the air and onto the unpressed snow around them. J'onzz stretched out his hand and caught a flake of ice atop on of his fingertips and eyed it for a moment. Clark glanced over to J'onn inquisitively and smiled as he spotted the snowflake. Their serenity was burst by the sudden appearance of a shuddering piece of metal tearing through the sky above them. It was shrouded in flames, billowing smoke, and emitting a noise like a thousand metallic teeth grinding at once. The superheroes watched as the metal came to a crashing halt some two hundred metres away from the entrance to the Fortress of Solitude.

As the craft hit the ground with a bang the grinding fell silent. Though the smoke continued to billow the flames were extinguished by the cold and snow as J’onn and Clark made their way towards it. Both men unsuccessfully attempted to scan the insides of the craft before J’onn extended a hand in its direction. J’onzz was one of the foremost telepaths on Planet Earth, perhaps second only to Professor Charles Xavier himself, and it was in these moments that Clark appreciated J’onn’s telepathy the most.

As J’onzz approached the ship his voice projected itself into Clark’s mind.

~Be careful, Superman. I sense the Hank Henshaw inside that craft is no longer the same Hank Henshaw that left Earth.~

Clark followed after J’onn closely and watched as the Martian thrust one of his green hands down through the craft. Without a sign of stress or exertion, J’onn peeled away the metal and a gas emitted through the inside. Both the Martian and Superman staggered backwards, instinctually covering their mouths, as a form came crawling from inside the craft.

It coughed and spluttered metallically as it attempted to push its way from its front onto his hands and knees. The coughing continued through the smog until a pair of red eyes looked up at J’onn’s direction.

"Who are you?"

The smoke cleared and Clark Kent’s face crumpled with disgust as he recognised the face looking back at him. At least he recognised part of the face. The thick black hair, the deep, piercing blue eyes, and strong features were the same features he saw when he looked in the mirror every morning. Except three quarters of Henshaw’s face had been replaced by metallic parts.

Clark shook his head in disbelief as he spotted the Kryptonian symbol for hope on Henshaw’s chest. His was emblazoned on a black and red crest and interwoven with his cybernetic parts.

"You have… you have my face."

Henshaw’s neck wrenched round and his eyes filled with hatred. It wasn’t a rational hatred but a deep-seated primal one. The look a predator got in his eyes when it spotted its prey for the first time. Within half a second of the look appearing in Henshaw’s eyes he had sprung to his feet and launched himself in Clark’s direction.

"You. You’re the one he sent me to kill."

Superman and Henshaw went flying through the air and crashed in a snow mound. They wrestled for position and Henshaw rained punches down on Superman, his organic arm packing a punch equal to his cybernetic arm. Whatever had been done to Henshaw had made him Superman’s equal in almost every respect. Except in skill. Clark’s experience shone through as he managed to writhe from beneath Henshaw and incapacitate him long enough to call for assistance.

"A little help here, J’onn."

J’onn shot to Clark’s side and helped to pin Henshaw down. Once they had secured him, the Martian attempted to reach into his mind, as he had done Clark’s earlier, to piece together his broken psyche.

~We do not want to hurt you, Hank. We are here to help you.~

Probing Henshaw’s mind only seemed to enrage him further and he managed to throw Superman and the Martian away from him.

"You stay out of my head, you freak."

Henshaw climbed to his feet and circled them. J’onn lifted one of his green hands into the air and spoke as softly as he could. It was clear that he saw some part of Hank Henshaw still inside of the man and was determined to reach him. 

"I heard your pain. I know how you suffered out there. You must calm down and let us help you if you want to see Terri again."

There was a flicker of humanity in Henshaw’s eyes at the mention of Terri Henshaw’s name and he forced a robotic howl of anguish from his mouth.

"Terri? What have you done to her?"

Before J’onn could answer Henshaw let loose a blast of heat vision in Superman’s direction. It was wild, more a flail than anything else, and Clark managed to block the blast with his hands. His feet slid back in the snow as he attempted to hold the heat vision back.

"I don’t think this is working."

Henshaw darted after Clark and attempted to tackle him to the ground again. This time Kent stood his ground and the two locked hands – each straining to gain leverage over the other.

"It was you, wasn’t it? You’re dangerous. He told me you were dangerous. He said your kind had to be dealt with or… or… Earth would be destroyed. If you’ve hurt Terri, I’ll kill you. I’ll kill both of you."

Superman shook his head defiantly.

"Nobody is getting killed here."

A wry smile appeared on Henshaw’s face as he threw Superman aside and extended his hand in the direction of the craft.

"We’ll see about that."

It lifted from the ground and hurtled towards J’onn and the Martian phased through it. J’onn was about to aid Superman when the craft burst into flames beside him and knocked him to the ground. The Manhunter attempted to regain his senses until he noticed the flames wafting ever closer to him. Suddenly J’onn J’onzz began to scream in fright and he assumed the fetal position by the burning craft.

Clark pointed an accusatory finger in Henshaw’s direction.

"What’s wrong? What did you do to him, you monster?"

Henshaw’s rage slipped for a moment and confusion washed over his face.

"I don’t… I… I have to do this. Your people are dangerous. He told me so…"

"Who? Whoever did this to you has messed with your brain, Henshaw."

The rage appeared as quickly as it had passed and Henshaw roared as he flew in Clark’s direction. The pair of them went flying through the air and came crashing down but a metre or two from the Martian. This time Henshaw’s pure, unadulterated rage overpowered Clark’s finesse and he pounded at Clark’s face.

"No! I won’t let you trick me. I know what your people did, I know how they butchered millions, and I won’t stand by and let you butcher my planet."

Beside them the balled up J’onn attempted to drag himself towards Henshaw and Superman. His green skin bubbled and distorted, once spiky and rough, then fluid as the Martian seemed to struggle to control his form. Through the pain he reached a hand towards Clark.

“Super… s-superman…”

Through the barrage of punches, Clark pushed his thoughts towards J’onn and hoped that he could hear him.

~I need you to fight whatever Henshaw has done to you, J’onn. You’re stronger than this, I know you are.~

The Martian’s outstretched hand shook feebly for a moment as J’onn watched as Henshaw pounded on Clark mercilessly.

“Fight… no… not fight…”

Suddenly a defiant scowl appeared on J’onn’s face and his shaking hand turned into a fist. With a gust of wind, the Martian disappeared off into the horizon at such speed that it tore through the snow beneath him. Henshaw grinned as he spotted the Manhunter had fled and let up from the punching to goad his downed opponent.

"Are you going to run too? Or will you meet your end like a man?"

He sent another punch in Clark’s direction but this time Clark caught it and began to twist it away from Henshaw with a strain.

"Run? No, now we’re on our own I can finally stop holding back."

Morden Man Member

Status

Bio

Most Recent Posts