Chapter 10

"Director Henshaw, this is a surprise." President Olivia Marsdin said when the director of the DEO entered the Oval Office.

"Well Madam President, I have a few things I need to discuss with you, all of them of the utmost importance." J'onn said.

"What is it?" Marsdin asked.

"The first one would be the treasonous actions of General Samuel Lane." J'onn said.

"What are you talking about? General Lane is the only reason Superman works with the DOD." Marsdin said.

"Not anymore he isn't. Considering recently acquired evidence, he'll most likely be the one who starts a war between the United States government and Superman." J'onn said as he pulled up the video he'd had Lucy email him and showed it to the president.

"This is footage captured by Lane's own daughter Major Lucy Lane, clearly showing him conspiring with an alien terrorist to kill Superman's own cousin, Supergirl, who is actually willing to work with the DEO." J'onn said.

"I always knew the man was a bit paranoid towards aliens, but I never thought that he'd take it to the point where he'd betray his oath to protect our constitution." Marsdin said.

"I can tell that he does think that he's doing what's best for the country, but his view of the world is too black and white. He thinks that all aliens are threats and I'm sure that it's only a matter of time before he turns on Superman as well." J'onn said and Marsdin nodded.

"I cannot risk him jeopardizing this country's relationship with Superman or stop us from forming one with Supergirl. You have an executive order to place him under arrest effective immediately." Marsdin said.

"Yes ma'am. However, before I do that, there are a few other things we need to discuss." J'onn said as he took a deep breath.

"And that would be?" Marsdin asked.

"That neither of us are what we say we are." J'onn said.

"What are you talking about?" Marsdin asked, only to be surprised when J'onn assumed his true form.

"You're not Hank Henshaw." Marsdin said.

"No I am not. My real name is J'onn J'onzz. I am the last son of Mars and I know that you, Olivia Marsdin, are not a daughter of Earth as you claim, but a daughter of the planet Durla." J'onn said as he resumed the form of Hank Henshaw.

"I guess one shapeshifter would recognize another." Olivia said.

"Martians are also psychics." J'onn said.

"You have to admit J'onn, the fact that you've been impersonating the director of a government organization does not exactly seem like a good sign for you." Marsdin said.

"Let me explain." J'onn said.

"Okay." Marsdin said.

"I am a refugee on this planet, just like you, just like Superman and Supergirl. I came to this planet after escaping the genocide of my own people on Mars, seeking only to live in peace. The real Hank Henshaw was a lot like General Lane. He didn't see that I meant no harm to this planet. All he saw was a threat. So he attacked me. The only reason I am alive is because of the intervention of one man. Jeremiah Danvers, who saw me for who I am and he sacrificed himself to save me. I took Henshaw's form so that I could not only reform the DEO to it's true purpose, which Henshaw had deviated from, since he was hunting all aliens, not just hostile ones, but also so that I could keep the promise I made to Jeremiah before he died. I promised him I would protect his daughters. I swear, my only desire has been to protect this planet." J'onn said.

"I believe you. Does anyone else know?" Marsdin asked.

"Only Superman and Supergirl know and they both trust me with their lives." J'onn said, though he was lying a bit about that.

"You should've led with that. Having the man of steel and the girl of steel vouch for you is something that will work in your favor, so I will offer you a deal." Marsdin said.

"I'm listening." J'onn said.

"After you arrest General Lane, you will resign as the director of the DEO, simply for optics reasons, since it might not look good if people found out that the director of this country's primary defense against aliens was an alien. In exchange, I'll grant you a pardon and full amnesty and we'll act like this part of our conversation never happened." Marsdin said.

"I agree, since I was already planning on telling you that I was going to be resigning and promoting Alex Danvers to be the new director of the DEO." J'onn said.

"A decision I agree with. Is there anything else?" Marsdin asked.

"I suggest you start looking into Project Cadmus. If we really want heroes like Superman and Supergirl on our side, then perhaps it's best that organizations like Cadmus are not associated with this country." J'onn said and Marsdin nodded.

"I will take that under consideration." Marsdin said as J'onn left her office.

To say Sam Lane was surprised when he saw Director Henshaw waiting for him in his office at the DOD was an understatement and he was not pleased.

"To what do I owe the pleasure Director?" Lane asked snidely, only to be taken aback by the man's response.

"Wondering what you can say to keep you out of military prison for the rest of your life." J'onn snapped at him.

"What are you talking about?" Sam asked, only for J'onn to pull out his phone and show Sam the video of him with the Master Jailer.

"Where did you get that?" Sam demanded.

"From your daughter Lucy. It appears that she doesn't trust you as much as you think and for good reason. I have to admit, I never liked you Sam. Not for one minute. But I never thought that you'd take your hatred of aliens to such a degree that you'd work with terrorists. Especially an alien terrorist to take out Superman's cousin. Especially since I'm sure he would've warned you about such an act." J'onn said.

"He'll never know it was me. The whole point of using that alien prison guard was to be able to kill Supergirl without Superman being able to trace it back to me." Sam said.

"Except for the fact that Lucy is telling him and your daughter right now." J'onn said.

"You really think that you or he can do anything to me as long as I know his identity?" Sam asked.

"Which is exactly why you no longer will." J'onn said and to Lane's shock, his eyes glowed red.

"You're not Hank Henshaw." Sam said.

"No, I'm not. Not that you'll remember that. Or anything else regarding the man of steel." J'onn said as he grabbed Sam by the head and used his powers to erase Sam Lane's memory of not only his own identity, but also everything he knew about Superman's secret identity, basically doing the same thing to him that he'd done to Alex when he'd erased her memories of Supergirl's secret identity to protect them all from Colonel Haley, only this time, he felt no regrets about this. In fact, he wished that he'd done this as soon as he'd found out that Clark had told Lane his identity, since while Lois and Lucy had both proven themselves trustworthy, Sam Lane was the farthest thing from trustworthy imaginable and J'onn didn't know why any universe Clark would tell the man who he really was.

Anyways, it took a few moments, but eventually, J'onn had wiped Sam's mind clean of any trace of Superman's secret identity and made sure to modify his remaining memories to compensate for the missing ones.

"What just happened?" Sam asked when J'onn finally released him.

"What happened is that you are being placed under arrest for treason and conspiring with a terrorist." J'onn said, since he'd left Sam's memories of their conversation untouched until Sam mentioned knowing Superman's identity.

"You really think you have the authority to do that?" Sam asked.

"Since the President herself ordered your arrest, yes I do, since I showed her the video myself and she was appalled by your behavior, especially considering her latest order." J'onn said as he pulled out a pair of handcuffs.

"You really think I'll go quietly?" Sam asked, only to have J'onn disarm him and quickly arrest him.

"You won't get away with this." Sam said.

"You're the one who won't get away with your crimes." J'onn growled as he shoved Lane down onto his own desk and put the cuffs on him before reading him his rights.

Since Kara was in Smallville and J'onn was dealing with General Lane, Nia decided that now was the best time to go to Parthas and talk to her mom, since honestly, she knew that now she had a chance to get some real training in how to interpret her dreams, something that she'd never had before and that was honestly the only aspect of her powers that she didn't have mastered and she knew that she needed to if she was ever going to be able to truly hold her own as a member of the Superfriends.

"Nia, what an unexpected surprise." Isabel Nal said with a smile as she opened her front door to her house to find her youngest daughter standing there.

"It couldn't be helped." Nia said as she hugged her mother, so relieved to have her alive again.

"Okay, a little tight there hun." Isabel said.

"Right, sorry." Nia said as she let go of her mom.

"So, what brings you here?" Isabel asked.

"One question first. Is Maeve here?" Nia asked.

"No she's at a friend's why?" Isabel asked.

"Because of this." Nia said as she produced a burst of dream energy from her hand.

"You've received the gift." Isabel said and Nia nodded.

"I have some friends who've helped me master most of the powers, manipulating dream energy, but the only thing I still need help with." Nia said.

"Is dream interpretation." Isabel said and Nia nodded.

"Yeah." Nia said.

"Come with me. Let's get started." Isabel said as she led her daughter into the parlor to begin her training.

Maeve Nal was very surprised when she returned home to find her younger sister there, sitting in the parlor with their mom, especially since it looked like they were both asleep.

"No, it can't be." Maeve said, right as they both woke up.

"So Nia, what did you see?" Isabel asked.

"I saw a man. He looked familiar, but not at the same time." Nia said, genuinely confused.

"Describe him." Isabel asked.

"Tall, dark blue suit, with three glowing light blue dots on it forming a perfect upside down triangle, blonde hair, but the strangest thing of all, his skin was green." Nia said, since while she knew the man she'd seen, he didn't look the way she remembered him looking.

"Interesting. What else did you see?" Isabel asked.

"Enough. What is going on here?" Maeve asked, interrupting them.

"Maeve." Nia groaned.

"Maeve, we were in the middle of something." Isabel said.

"Yeah I can see that, but why were you teaching her how to interpret dreams. I'm the one who's getting the power." Maeve said.

"Actually, I already got it." Nia said.

"You're kidding. You? Why would you get the powers when you're not even a real woman." Maeve said as Isabel looked at her daughter in shock.

"Maeve, that was uncalled for." Isabel said as she could see Nia's hands glowing with dream energy and she had a pretty good idea of what her daughter was going to do with it.

"I think I should head back to National City, we can keep doing this over skype right?" Nia asked.

"Of course. However, before you go, there is something I want to give you." Isabel said and Nia nodded as she let her mother lead her out of the room and into her bedroom.

"I've kept this with me for a long time, hoping that I'd get to pass it on to my daughter and now that time has finally come." Isabel said as she handed Nia a box.

"This was your suit wasn't it." Nia said after she opened it to find the Dreamer suit in there.

"It was. But it's yours now Nia. I know you'll put it to good use." Isabel said and Nia smiled.

"I may need to have a friend make a few adjustments to it, but I promise I'll make you proud." Nia said.

"I know you will. And don't let what Maeve said to you get you down." Isabel said.

"I won't, but mom, please don't ask me to forgive her for it. That's the one line that I can never forgive her for crossing." Nia said.

"I know and I'm not expecting you to forgive her for it. At least not until she actually apologizes for it." Isabel said.

"Which will likely never happen. She's just jealous that I'm the one who inherited your powers, but I didn't ask for it." Nia said.

"I know sweetheart. I'll work on her and I'll even send you some of her books on dream interpretation." Isabel said.

"Thanks mom. I hope you'll understand if I don't come back here like I usually do this year." Nia said.

"This one time I'll make an exception." Isabel said.

"Thanks. Now I better go. Technically, my boss doesn't know I took this trip." Nia said with a smile.

"Okay then, yeah, you should probably get going before she knows you're gone." Isabel said.

"I'm not too worried, since Kara's in Smallville right now, but still." Nia said.

"Still." Isabel said with a chuckle and Nia nodded in agreement as she took the box.

"I'll call you to let you know I made it home safely." Nia said.

"Good. I love you Nia." Isabel said.

"I love you too mom." Nia said as she hugged her mother again before heading out.

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