[b]Mess Hall October 31, 2025[/b] S'tann hesitated. [i] What?[/i] He thought, utterly confused. Andrew had just complimented the Martian, while at the same time tearing him apart. What was the pyro's game? He was wrong about all of it, of course, but Andy's little speech had caused S'tann S'tonn to doubt himself and his actions. He could see the boy was hurting. From the sound of his thoughts, Hughes' ribs were likely broken. That would need to be addressed swiftly. At the same time, Legacy couldn't telepathically sense any deceit in Andy's words. It would seem he believed every word. [i] Is that what he really thinks? Is that what they all think?[/i] Impossible. Inconceivable. In Martian Boy's eyes, he was the weakest of them all. He was flawed and broken. And he thought they could all see that. The truth. But Andy proved that theory wrong. There was at least one person on the face of this earth that believed in the Martian. But if Andrew truly thought that S'tann could be one of the greats...What was the point of all this? Why antagonize S'tann? The alien's fragile psyche couldn't grasp what was going on. His face remained blank as Andy drew closer and continued to speak. His words stung worse than any sword. When the pyrokinetic began to shove at the Martian, he didn't move. He didn't budge. He just looked down at the Australian with the slightest hint of confusion on his face. S'tann tried to hide his true feelings; whatever they might be. He wasn't quite sure. It was working, too, somehow. Until Andy caught fire. As soon as the student began to glow, S'tann collapsed. His knees felt like gelatin. The Martian's vision blurred. His ears rung with the sound of...bells? What was- No. He recognized- No. Unfathomable. Unreasonable. Totally and complete insanity. S'tann sniffed the air and he could spell it. Burning flesh. Screams echoed from behind him. S'tann's vision slowly cleared and his worst fears were realized. It was happening again. He was surrounded by a sea of red, covered in broken green and white shapes. Shadows danced all around him. Great crimson monoliths crumbled in the distance. Packs of dark things filled the skies. The sun was blotted out by smoke. Huge structure blasting their eternal infernos into the air were erected by armies of horrific monsters. Demons roamed the streets, dragging bodies behind them. This wasn't...This wasn't happening. This couldn't be real. It wasn't until S'tann noticed the boots a few feet in front of him that true terror gripped his heart. He knew those boots. He'd seen them, ever so briefly, in person. And he had witnessed recordings and artists' rendering of their owner. Legacy's eyes traced the armored feet up to the face of the horrific being before him. S'tann's face was filled with fright as he crawled backwards, desperate to escape his presence. The giant figure was draped in fire. Yet he stood unmoving. Unfeeling. As still as a statue. It couldn't be him. S'tann couldn't be here. This was all so...so impossible! But he looked so real. It all looked real. Mars was burning. "" S'tann muttered. He reverted to Martian in his fear, unable to recall any English words. There was a pack of parademons standing behind the Dark Lord. They were chomping at the bit, licking their sharp tongues in anticipation of the coming bloodshed. "" S'tann whispered. His back had touched the wall. There was no where to escape to. He was completely surrounded. "" He rasped in desperation. "" He mouthed, unable to form words. His throat was too dry for words. Sweat raced down his green face and stained his robes. Panic caused his muscles to stiffen. He couldn't move now. It was a struggle just to breathe. Anxiety ate away at the Martian, threatening to tear him away from consciousness. There was no escape. No help was coming. This was it. This was S'tann's end, as strange as it was. "" He said aloud, louder than the rest of his words. S'tann pushed himself to a standing position, using the wall behind him as a prop. Blood dripped from his mouth, nose, ears and eyes. The fire around Darkseid had weakened him greatly. It was killing him, in fact. But he had to stand and fight. S'tann had to remember his pledge. He was to protect Mars. He would be its Manhunter. "" One of Darkseid's Furies, his all-female hit squad, flew in from behind him. She flew straight at S'tann and struck him, sending the Martian Boy falling to the ground once more. He wanted to give up. He wanted to crawl up into a ball and die. But something inside S'tann drove him to pick himself up again. A voice, silent yet more powerful than any S'tann had heard before, told him to fight. For himself. For his family. For Mars. "" Suddenly, S'tann burst forward and slammed his forehead into Mari's nose. Before she could even stumble backwards, he wrapped a hand around her throat and slammed her into the ground. Chunks of tile were tossed into the air and at the watching crowd, sharp, quick and deadly. "" He spouted mindlessly, unleashed a torrent of blows to the Fury's head. He pulled back and prepared to stomp the girl's head in half, but one of the Parademons leaped from the crowd and tackled him to the ground before he could. S'tann wrapped his elongated arm around the demon and chucked it across the room before turning to Darkeid. "" He screamed at Andy. Rage buried instinct. Every part of his body told him to avoid the fire. But S'tann wouldn't bow to Darkseid. Not until he was dead. The Martian shot forward, fist reeled back and prepared to punch a hole in Andy's chest. ""