The team looked a little worse for wear.

"Did you find it?" he asked.

Iron Man held out his right hand.

"Where's Hawkeye?"

"He's on his way to a hospital," Captain America said.

"What happened?" J'Onn asked, suddenly startled.

"He was shot by a white Martian, while protecting Tony Stark and Alan Scott."

"No . . . " J'Onn was shocked, a rare occurrence for a telepath. But, he was tired, and upset, and respected his teammates enough to not scan their minds.

"And you?" Cap asked.

J'Onn sighed. "It seems that we have some competition," he said.

"Aye," Thor agreed, coming from a back room. "'Tis good to see you again, Captain."

"Good to see you too, Thor," Cap replied. He turned back to J'Onn. "Z'Onn Z'Orr?"

J'Onn nodded. "That's what Aquaman and I concluded after some investigation. We were attacked. I was unable to secure the fragment." He walked over to Iron Man and took the fragment. "Let's go put this with the Emerald."

They all walked into another room, where Hank Pym had been analyzing the Emerald for hours. Batman and Quasar had joined him. Flash, Wonder Woman, and Captain Marvel had already returned with their fragment, which was now in its proper position.

J'Onn handed the fragment to Pym. Pym carefully studied it and the two remaining holes in the Emerald. Finally, he concluded which hole it filled, and placed it there.

The Emerald glowed for a second, and then died down. The fracture was no longer visible.

"Amazing," Iron Man said. "The Emerald seems to be able to repair itself."

"Yes," J'Onn said. "That surprised me as well."

"I guess all that is left is for us to get the last piece from Z'Onn," Wasp said.

"Can you locate him, J'Onn?" Cap asked.

"I shall try. Knowing him, he is hiding in space somewhere, more than likely."

"That's okay," Pym replied. "I have refurbished one of the QuinJets to allow for space travel."

"Let's go," J'Onn said.

It's was child's play for Z'Onn to channel his own abilities through the Emerald fragment to create this orbiting base of operations. It would not be long before the Avengers League would find him.

And that's exactly what Z'Onn wanted. He wanted them to come. He wanted to beat them. But more importantly, he wanted to get revenge on the one who had sent him to nowhere. The one who had been a thorn in his side since before they were transported through space and time - J'Onn J'Onzz.

Z'Onn heard a commotion coming nearer. He smiled. It could only be the Avengers League. Finally, the doors swung open, and the Avengers stood in front of Z'Onn.

"We want the fragment," Martian Manhunter demanded.

"I know you do," Z'Onn replied. "But you're going to have to fight for it." He turned to the Martians standing on either side of him. "Attack."

The two rushed out, which was more a cue to the others than anything else. Soon, the Avengers League was swamped by Martians. Z'Onn took the momentary confusion to flee the throneroom.

J'Onn flew up. "Avengers, you stay and fight! I'll get Z'Onn!"

"A little obvious don't you think, Z'Onn?" J'Onn stated.

"Perhaps," Z'Onn replied, "but we both know this isn't a fight we could handle telepathically. Even if we weren't evenly matched neither of us would be satisfied with that."

J'Onn watched as Z'Onn flipped the shard through his fingers like a coin. He was taunting him.

"Plus I'm reasonably certain I'm more prepared for this struggle than you are," Z'Onn continued. "You've been corrupted by these Earthlings. You've lost the Martian traditions and yet you're still too honorable to break the rules in here."

"The Martian traditions are much closer to my heart than you realize, Z'Onn."

Z'Onn placed the fragment in a pouch on his chest. Then he bowed to J'Onn and J'Onn returned his bow perfectly. Z'Onn was shocked at how well he performed the maneuver. Nevertheless, Z'Onn moved in confidently to attack. The next few minutes looked similar to a dance as Z'Onn attacked and J'Onn parried every blow. Z'Onn's confidence was quickly waning as J'Onn not only parried but also began a successful set of counter attacks.

"How?" Z'Onn asked as J'Onn continued his onslaught.

J'Onn grabbed the pouch from Z'Onn's chest and knocked him to the floor. He ripped the fragment from the pouch. He then began shifting his body opening a hole in his chest. The Emerald fell into his palm. Z'Onn looked shocked.

"I told you I was carrying the traditions close to my heart," J'Onn said dryly.

He positioned the final shard on the Emerald's surface and it was once more whole. Z'Onn reacted trying to regain his footing. J'Onn gave him a swift kick to the face and Z'Onn fell unconscious.

The Martians seemed to move like a hive mind. The entire force seemed to work in unison. Cap studied their movements and began to notice four different patterns in the army's attack. He looked closely at the group directly in front of him and stared each member in the eyes. One by one he checked and stared into blank glossy gazes. Finally he saw recognition in one set. He had found the leader. Cap tossed his shield at him and struck him between the eyes. The Martian fell and started a telepathic backlash that dropped one fourth of the army instantly.

"Find the leaders and take them down," Cap called.

"Why just leaders?" Thor asked as he spread his huge arms and slammed an entire group into the wall. Another telepathic backlash dropped another portion of the army.

It was then that the Martians changed tactics. Each one started acting alone fearing more of the backlashes. The sudden change from order to chaos caught the Avengers off guard and they started losing ground. Then J'Onn entered the throne room. Using the emerald to focus his attack he telepathically blasted the Martians and the remainder fell.

Finally, he thought. Finally I get to go home. Finally Z'Onn will pay fully for his crimes.

J'Onn tried to step through the portal and found that he couldn't.

No J'Onn, the Emerald hummed. I already exist beyond that portal. To take me through would destroy everything you wish to return to and everything that exists here.

J'Onn watched sadly as the portal closed. Telepathically he saw Z'Onn banging against the edges of the portal trying to find an opening. J'Onn set down the Emerald and Z'Onn's cries were lost to him.

As usual, Captain America was standing up, leading the meeting. "All of you fought bravely and worked hard. I would like to congratulate you." He turned to face the three guests. "The three of you helped us tremendously. Hank, you've been a great help recently as our resident scientist Would you consider becoming Giant Man again, and being placed on active duty?"

Hank thought for a moment. "Well . . . Sure. I have nothing better to do." He smiled. "Besides, I've kinda missed it."

Cap turned to the other two. "Captain Marvel and Thor, on behalf of the Avengers League, I offer you the chance to be an active member. Will you do so?"

"Aye!" Thor said, raising his hammer. "'Tis an honor to work with such a fine group of heroes. I will gladly protect the Earth with you."

"Captain Marvel?"

"As you know, I originally turned the offer down when you were reforming. But, after seeing what you have done, I must say that it does look appealing. Count me in."

"Excellent," Captain America said. "Now, I know many of you have other duties, and often have to drop them for an Avengers League meeting. Well, from now on, you don't have to. As you can see, we have three new members, giving us a roster of twelve. We can all now rotate, as any combination of us should be enough to overcome any threat."

"Here, here!" Flash shouted.

"And now, for what you all have been waiting for," Cap continued. "It seems that J'Onn know has the full story behind the Emerald."

J'Onn stood up, holding the Emerald. "First, I must thank all of you for helping me find this. While it may not have led to the ending I was hoping for, it has put to rest several things bothering me. Z'Onn Z'Orr will no longer trouble us, for one. And while I will not be able to return home, I now know why not.

"As much as I have enjoyed my time on Earth, I always wanted to return to Mars. Even if it could only have been for a few moments, enough to tell my family goodbye. I was pulled away so abruptly.

"But we all learned the true reason why I could never return, thanks to our search for the Emerald. It has become clear that I was transported through time, and thus, cannot go back."

"I'm sorry," Wonder Woman said. "That's so sad."

"I'm not," J'Onn said. "Because, since our battle against Z'Onn, I have realized that I do like it here. In this place, and in this time. Sure, I'll always miss Mars, but you all have done a lot to make this feel like home."

The room was silent for a moment. To break the silence, Flash wiped a fake tear from his eye. "Aw, shucks! A Kodak moment!"

Needless to say, that got a laugh from the League.

"Hey," Clint said, weakly.

"It's good to see you awake," Steve replied. "How are you feeling?"

"Like crap. Look, I'm glad you came. There's something I wanted to tell you."

"What's that?"

"When I get out of the hospital, I'm not coming back."

"What?"

"To the League. I have too much other stuff to work out. Besides, I was never cut out for that anyway."

"Don't say that, you were a fine member."

Clint smiled. "Sure. It was nice working with you. I'm sorry we got off to such a bad start."

Wendell Vaughn was sleeping peacefully. That is, until he hear someone whispering.

"Protect the Emerald . . . "

Wendell woke up suddenly. As he lay in bed, he realized what the dream was trying to tell him.

There was more to the Emerald than even J'Onn knew. He would have to take it into space for safekeeping.

He didn't know why. He just knew that it was necessary. And it felt like the right thing to do.