As Adrian spoke the name Martian Manhunter, the reaction was immediate.
Everyone froze.
Their eyes shifted toward Wonder Woman, who lay on the ground, breathing heavily, her armor scuffed and her posture unsteady. Confusion spread across their faces. The claim did not match what they were seeing.
Nightwing narrowed his eyes, uncertainty creeping in.
This was Martian Manhunter?
And then there was Homelander's earlier statement. He had claimed the man was General Swanwick. That only made things worse. Could it mean that Swanwick himself was Martian Manhunter?
That thought alone made no sense. He had personally spoken to General Swanwick before coming here. The idea that the same man now stood before him disguised as Wonder Woman twisted his thoughts into knots.
Before anyone could speak, the figure on the ground began to change.
The transformation was undeniable.
Armor faded, form shifted, and skin turned green.
Standing there now was a tall, green-skinned man.
Martian Manhunter, or more precisely, General Swanwick.
He rose slowly, drawing in a steady breath as he faced Adrian.
They were not strangers. During the Kryptonian invasion led by Zod in Metropolis, they had crossed paths more than once. Martian Manhunter believed he understood Adrian well enough.
Clearly, he had been wrong.
Adrian had seen through everything, even identities carefully buried within government ranks.
"Why?" Martian Manhunter asked, his voice steady but edged with disbelief. "How could you tell I was not Wonder Woman?"
Adrian's expression did not shift.
"No matter how perfect the disguise is, you are still not her. Wonder Woman would never place her identity above the lives of ordinary people."
His tone remained cold.
"And that alone is enough."
Martian Manhunter studied him for a moment, then spoke again.
"You are sharp, Adrian."
"Thank you, General," Adrian replied without warmth. "But I assume you are more surprised that I know your weakness."
That struck deeper.
Martian Manhunter's fear of fire was not just physical. It was psychological.
The memory of H'ronmeer's Curse, the event that burned his wife and daughter to ashes before his eyes, was etched into his mind. Fire did not simply weaken him. It unraveled him.
Near it, his control faltered. His powers became unstable. His body could fail him.
For a brief moment, that truth flickered across his expression.
Then it was gone.
"You have taken this too far," Martian Manhunter said, his voice firm now. "You need to stop. I know what you have endured, but it was a misunderstanding. Things can still return to what they were. I can protect you. I can protect your family."
Adrian let out a faint smile.
"Wrong?" he said quietly. "Your definition of right and wrong is not mine. You are not even from this world. Why stand against me when you could stand with me?"
"It is not about standing against you," Martian Manhunter replied. "I have principles. I once believed in you. You and Clark were supposed to represent hope. But now, you are becoming something else."
Adrian tilted his head slightly.
"And what exactly is that?"
"I will show you."
The moment their eyes met, the world shifted.
Martian Manhunter's telepathy surged forward.
Adrian saw it all.
Mars, consumed by destruction.
Flames stretching across the horizon, cities collapsing, the sky choked with smoke. Martians were driven like cattle, hunted, slaughtered without mercy. There was no escape, no resistance that mattered.
It was annihilation.
Pure and absolute.
"This," Martian Manhunter said, his voice echoing through the vision, "is what it feels like. When your world is taken from you. When power crushes everything you know."
Images followed one after another.
Families torn apart.
Children separated from their parents.
Lives shattered in moments.
"This is despair. This is helplessness."
The vision vanished.
Reality returned.
Martian Manhunter looked at Adrian.
"Do you understand now?"
Adrian's gaze remained steady.
"If that is your final point, then I have to disappoint you."
There was no hesitation in his voice.
"The extinction of your people does nothing for me."
His expression hardened further.
"And the future you fear is nothing more than your imagination feeding on trauma. It is not worth my concern."
Before the last word fully left his mouth, his eyes flared.
Heat Vision erupted.
The beam cut through the air toward Martian Manhunter.
The Martian reacted instantly.
A violent gust of wind burst outward as he moved, his speed carrying him out of direct line.
Adrian did not move.
His Heat Vision adjusted, tracking.
Martian Manhunter's abilities were formidable. Strength, speed, durability, senses, all rivaling Kryptonian power in many aspects. Without his weakness, he could stand against Clark himself.
But Adrian knew better.
He knew the flaw.
And that changed everything.
The beam chased its target, carving through the space where Martian Manhunter moved, but suddenly, he was gone.
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
"Invisibility."
He recognized it immediately.
By altering his molecular structure, Martian Manhunter could become transparent, slipping beyond visible detection. Even advanced sensors struggled to track him.
A dangerous ability.
Adrian slowly lifted off the ground, rising into the air.
His gaze swept across the battlefield, searching for any disturbance, any trace.
If Martian Manhunter thought he could disappear, then he would learn otherwise.