For a creature whose powers dealt with the cognitive elements of an organism’s mind, J’onn’s own proved to be rather vulnerable as of late.

He should have seen it coming. Of course he would face his one true weakness eventually, it was only a matter of time. Besides, it wasn’t as if fire pained him physically, after all— just mentally, bringing back memories of slaughter. Genocide.

It was no secret that J’onn had an aversion to fire, yet he found himself drawn to it in that moment; when he saw the house ablaze; when panicked thoughts flooded his conscience; when he acted without thinking and flew in. Reckless is the one defining factor he never thought himself to be.

He’s already lost one world to the flames. He can’t— won’t— give up another.

He deposited the civilians outside. Swept tears off of children’s cheeks with gentle yet shaky hands— oh, how he wished he could have saved his own.

Everything seemed too much in that moment. For one thing, he was glad the fire department had already been phoned; for another, the sirens rung louder than the humans’ scattered thoughts forcibly entering his mind— that of the victims, that of the neighbors, that of the firemen. It reminded him of the downfall of M’arzz. And the fire, the fire.

If it were any other time, he would have stuck around to try his hand at consoling the civilians, but he couldn’t, just couldn’t, and so he flew off the scene just as quickly as he had came. He didn’t know where he was going, just that he couldn’t stand the humanoid form he took for Earth anymore, that he needed to take a break from it, if only for a moment.

He landed deep in the heart of a nearby forest. Reverted to his Martian form; all lanky limbs and sharp ridges, unnatural to the to the human eye yet so familiar to his own. He’d spent so long in a body that never seemed to truly be his. It was comforting to return to something dear to his mind.

A rustle was heard amongst the shrubbery around him; likely one of his companions searching for him.