Genesis 1.10
– o – o – o – o – o – o – o –
MOUNT JUSTICE
July 18, 11:16 EDT
"Ezekiel, correct?"
"Um, yeah," Zeke replied, unsure of what else to say as he stared up at the sidekick. "You know me?"
"I know of you, yes." Aqualad nodded. "My King made me aware that would be receiving a new addition to the team."
"Oh," Zeke let out a slight laugh. "Well, nice to meet you, I guess. You can call me Zeke, though."
"Very well. My name is Kaldur'ahm. You may call me Kaldur, if you wish."
"Okay, Kaldur it is."
The dark-skinned Atlantean gave the shorter teen a slight smile, right before turning his gaze away as he refocused his attention on the holoscreen in front of them. Zeke, on the other hand, couldn't keep his eyes off of Kaldur.
It had been awkward enough walking out into the center of the cave just a few minutes ago and seeing the guy standing there, his back turned to him. The next awkward bit had been the conversation between him, Zeke doing his best not to come off as weird in front of the rather intimidating teenager.
He was pretty sure he accomplished that last bit, though.
Either way, it was one thing seeing footage of the sidekick online, the thirteen year old realized, and an entirely different thing to meet him in person. Frankly, it was just weird enough seeing him in the flesh, given that when he heard the name Aqualad, Zeke had originally expected someone more…
Well, he didn't want to say white, but basically… yeah.
Regardless, Aqualad didn't exactly fit with what he knew, skin color or otherwise. Using Observe on him didn't even give him any added information either, once more filling the box with nothing but a name, title and question marks.
Kaldur'ahm (Aqualad) Lv ??
Defender of Atlantis
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Like, come on, that just wasn't helpful.
Other than the fact that Observe just seemed to give him an error message, there were other things that puzzled Zeke about the sidekick. Hell, just looking at the Atlantean for any long stretch of time raised a great deal of questions inside his mind, one question in particular that wouldn't leave him alone. Really, Zeke's confusion had very little to do with the gills on the side of his neck or the webbed fingers or even how his powers worked.
Instead, it was something else.
Something much more important to Zeke right now, above all else.
Just ask him already.
Letting out a low breath, the young teen decided to go for broke. "So, do you dye your hair or…" Zeke let the question trail away as Kaldur turned his gaze back to him, green eyes narrowing slightly. "Y'know, that's a dumb question, sorry. Just… like, how exactly does that work underwater?"
"...I do not color my hair."
Really? The kid frowned, his face screwed up in obvious confusion. "Really?"
"Yes."
"Oh." Zeke nodded slowly, still unsure if he was hearing him correctly. "So, then that whole situation…" he gestured up at his own head, "that's natural, then?"
Aqualad raised an eyebrow at him, nodding back at Zeke just as slowly.
The young man clicked his tongue, turning away from Aqualad's piercing green eyes. "Ah, that's… that's cool." Shouldn't have said anything.
"Hello, Kaldur! Hello, Zeke!" Zeke glanced up at the sound of Miss Martian's perky voice, internally thankful for a distraction after the gaffe he just made.
Quickly spotting the green girl as she floated over, Superboy right behind her, Zeke raised his hand and waved. "Hey, M'gann!"
The pretty Martian gave him a beatific smile as she touched down softly right behind Kaldur, the blond Atlantean turning slightly to give her a smile and his own greeting. "Hello to you too, M'gann." Turning his head slightly, he nodded towards the taciturn clone just now reaching the holographic computer at the center of the room. "And to you as well, Superboy."
"Hey, Superboy," Zeke offered as he gave the clone a bright smile, forcing as much cheer into the facial expression as possible. Even though he wasn't really expecting to receive one in return, it didn't hurt to try. His expectations turned out to be mostly accurate, Superboy offering him a grunt in response while giving Kaldur a nod of acknowledgement right after.
Zeke's wide-eyed expression narrowed, his smile fading to a blank line as Superboy turned away from him. Oh, wow, a grunt. Our relationship has never been stronger. Truth be told, despite his annoyance at Superboy continuing to ignore him for the most part, the young teen couldn't help but feel a little better at that bit of acknowledgement from the clone.
"Anyway, M'g-" Whatever he was going to say went forgotten as the holoscreen reared to life in front of the group of four, the hovering image displaying what looked like a computer graphic of the eastern seaboard. The Zeta tube?
Zeke whipped his head around towards the futuristic teleporter and turned back to Kaldur and the other two, his teammates glancing towards the Zeta tube expectantly. "Wait, who else is showin-"
Recognized: Robin; B-0-1, Kid Flash; B-0-3
"...up?"
Both boys appeared in a flash of light from the Zeta Tube, walking out in their civilian clothes.
Zeke tilted his head as he caught sight of the two of them, surprised at how normal both of them looked compared to the three figures standing around him. Wow, they look… boring.
He wasn't sure what he was expecting but from the pictures he had seen of them in costume, the two had seemed impressive, heroic even. Outside of those outfits, though, neither of them seemed all that spectacular compared to Superboy's stacked physique, Aqualad's visible Atlantean traits and Miss Martian's… Christmas-themed color scheme.
Tilting his head to the side, Zeke decided to try something out, still only half-sure it would work. Worth a shot, Zeke thought with a shrug. "Observe. Observe."
? ? ? (Robin) Lv ??
Protege: Crimefighter
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? ? ? (Kid Flash) Lv ??
Protege: Speedster
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????
That's three strikes. Man, this skill sucks.
Observe Lvl Up!
8→9
Zeke gave the notification the stink-eye. Oh, shut up.
Bright smiles on both their faces, the new arrivals ran towards the raised circular platform where the four of them stood. Despite Kid Flash's supposed speed, Robin was the first to reach them, stepping up onto the platform with a sentence already on his lips. "Did you ask him?"
"No, not yet." Aqualad turned to face Robin with a slight smile on his face. "He should be arriving any moment."
Kid Flash jumped up onto the platform in an unnecessary move, considering how short the steps were, and shot them a grin. "So, what did Tornado s-" The speedster paused midway through his sentence, turning his head towards Zeke as he raised an eyebrow.
"One sec," He lifted a finger, pointing at Zeke while the boy in question blinked back. "Who's the new guy?"
"This is Ezekiel." Aqualad announced, cutting Zeke off before the thirteen-year-old could introduce himself. The Atlantean's hand clasped onto his shoulder immediately after, Zeke's eyes widening as he was guided forward to face the late-comers. "He is Captain Atom's protege and the newest member of this team."
"Hi." The young teen raised a hand up, giving a slight wave in addition to the greeting.
Robin returned the greeting with a wave of his own and a nod, cracking a smile as he looked Zeke up and down. "Nice jumpsuit."
Zeke broke out into a slight smile of his own at the comment, as he stared back at the slightly taller teen. "Thanks. It's all I had to wear for a w-"
"Oh, come on!"
Whatever Zeke would have said next was drowned out by Kid Flash's sudden outburst, the redhead letting out a groan tinged with several flavors of annoyance. "I can't believe this. We're getting another guy on the team and Speedy still won't join up?" he groused, sticking his hands in his pockets with a huff. "Man, this sucks."
Zeke's smile turned down into a slight frown as he turned to stare at the whiny ginger. Wow, thanks for that.
"It is surprising that you are unaware," Aqualad spoke again, his arms folded across his chest as he sent Kid Flash a measured look. "I expected that Flash and Batman would have briefed the two of you about him."
"Pfft! As if." Kid Flash turned to Robin, a question on his lips. "Rob, did Batman tell you about this?" He gestured vaguely in Zeke's direction, the 'this' in question still wearing an unamused expression.
"Yeah, I knew," Robin replied with a smirk as he glanced over at Zeke, eyes hidden behind a pair of dark sunglasses. While Zeke could guess which Robin this was, as he was apparently the first, the kid couldn't exactly be sure considering that there were a lot of differences in this world compared to the comics or any shows he could remember. "He wanted to keep me up to date on who we were working with."
"Man, Flash never tells me anything," scoffed Wally. Shaking his head, the speedster raised his hand in a lackluster wave towards Zeke. "Hey, I guess."
The thirteen-year-old took a single step forward as he shot Kid Flash a grin that he didn't really mean. "Nice to meet you."
"Yeah, same," Kid Flash replied dully, enthusiasm clearly lacking from his words. He opened his mouth to add something onto his lackluster introduction when he suddenly let out a gasp, Robin mimicking his reaction almost at the same time as they both took a step forward.
"Red Tornado!" Kid Flash and Robin called out in unison.
"Wha-" Zeke let out a flinch at the sudden shout, stepping back hurriedly as all the sidekicks rushed past him, Miss Martian's floating form nearly brushing the top of his head as she floated past. He turned his head to the side in the direction the Team had rushed towards, realization dawning on him as he spotted Red Tornado's scarlet chassis make his way down the entrance into the mission room.
Zeke actually hadn't had the pleasure of actually meeting Red Tornado yet, the android being mostly absent for the period of time Zeke had spent in the cave. That wasn't to say that he hadn't seen the aerokinetic robot before.
He had, just from a distance.
Now, though, Zeke didn't feel at all up to actually meeting him, for several reasons.
"He's like right there. What's the problem with waiting like five seconds?" Rolling his eyes, Zeke followed behind the running members of his team, speeding up just enough to meet M'gann just as she landed behind all of the other boys.
"Greetings," Red Tornado began as the entirety of the team came to a stop in front of him, impeding him from entering the cavern proper. "Is there a reason you all chose to intercept my entrance to the cave?"
"We hoped you had a mission for us," Aqualad announced, his deep voice making the statement sounding far more like a demand than he probably expected.
"Mission assignments are the Batman's responsibility," Red Tornado intoned back. "I have no intention of superseding his authority on that issue."
"But it's been over a week and nothing-" Robin began pleadingly, only for the android to firmly interject.
"You'll be tested soon enough. For the time being, simply enjoy each other's company."
"This team is not a social club," Aqualad retorted, actually taking another step forward.
Huh, he sounds pissed, doesn't he? Zeke blinked at his tone, the slight edge to Kaldur's voice the closest thing he had heard to actual emotion from him since he showed up at the base not too long ago.
"No, but I am told social interaction Is an important team-building exercise," Red Tornado replied in his usual monotone. The superpowered android stepped forward, walking past Kaldur and Superboy as he continued speaking. "Perhaps you can keep busy by familiarizing yourself with the cave."
The six of them turned and watched, all of them in various stages of annoyance, as Red Tornado made his way further into the cave, entering the Zeta tube in a flash of bright light.
Recognized: Red Tornado; 1-6
"Keep busy?" Kid Flash growled, elbowing Robin in the arm as he stepped forward slightly. "What does he think we are?"
"I know, right?" Robin added, a scowl on his face. "He's treating us like we're kindergarteners or something."
"Regardless," Aqualad turned around to face his gathered teammates with a thoughtful expression on his face, his arms crossed. "Red Tornado does have a point."
"No way." Kid Flash folded his arms across his chest to match Kaldur, still glaring at the hallway Red Tornado had disappeared into. "He literally just told us to go keep ourselves busy."
Kaldur held his expression, even as he nodded to acknowledge the redhead. "While his words may have seemed somewhat condescending, I believe it would be in our best interests if we did attempt to follow Red Tornado's advice."
His eyes met each of theirs in succession, his gaze lingering on Zeke as the boy stood off to the side of M'gann. "Exploring the cave and ensuring that we are aware of where everything is located would help us prepare for rapid deployment for missions."
"Actually," Zeke chimed in, eager to put his own two cents in. "I kinda planned on training for a whi-" The words died on his tongue as Kaldur placed a hand on his shoulder again.
The Atlantean put an end to the conversation, slapping away Zeke's attempt at avoidance with a firm statement. "This is a team building exercise. Without the entirety of the team, it would be pointless. We'll all go."
Yeah, I kinda need to get back to training, though. It wasn't that he didn't feel like he was making headway. In fact, after M'gann had helped him meditate, Zeke had been able to sense the energies inside him and was even getting close to actually doing something with them. Thing is, he still couldn't deny that he needed more practice and he wouldn't get that practice if he kept getting distracted by other stuff.
With that in mind, Zeke opened his mouth to protest further only to pause as he realizedhow everyone seemed to take in Kaldur's words in stride, Superboy giving a terse nod and M'gann smiling brightly while Robin and Kid Flash just gave equally lazy shrugs. All at once, the entire group of teens followed behind Aqualad as he turned around and began to walk.
Shrugging, Zeke followed as well, falling in line next to Superboy. Glancing over at Kaldur's back, he let out a slight sigh. Well, at least I know who the boss is now.
– o – o – o – o – o – o – o –
Several minutes later, Zeke found himself walking in pace with his team down yet another identically drab hallway, desperately trying his best not to die of boredom. Despite Kaldur's words, this 'team building exercise' seemed just as bad as he had expected, going straight from pointless to mind-numbingly dull.
Granted, it wasn't the fault of the tour giver. Zeke didn't have anything against M'gann or her personality but there were only so many times you could hear the phrase 'and here's another empty room' before you felt like bashing your head up against the wall till something gave way.
I could be meditating or something else right now but no… I'm stuck in a tour of Mount Boring. For a superhero headquarters, the cave really wasn't that exciting considering that the majority of space was taken up by tons of empty rooms, a few gyms, and lots and lots of stairs.
Man, even S.T.A.R. Labs was cooler than this place, he thought to himself as he recalled the massive hologram-based training area they had set up for more 'experienced metahuman participants.' In other words, you must be this tall to use the Danger Room knockoff.
Letting out a sigh, Zeke shook his head, deciding to focus on something else other than what he could be doing. Meditation was obviously a bust, seeing as how it was impossible to walk and meditate at the same time. At least… I think it is. Zeke frowned, raising a hand to his chin. Hmm. Question for later.
Regardless, Zeke was well aware that he couldn't meditate or do most other forms of training at the moment. However, there was something else he had gained from the session with M'gann, at least other than learning how to meditate properly. Okay, let's do this.
Zeke dropped his hands down to his sides, letting out a breath as he did so. Without slowing down his stride, the teen began to focus. His mind relaxed, slowly beginning to calm as he mentally prodded at something he could almost feel inside him, one of the sources of energy he had been training up for the past two days.
With a sudden mental command, Zeke grasped hold of the blue light inside him as it pulsed inside his chest. All at once, he was hit by a wave of what could only be described as muscle-relaxing calm, the feeling spreading throughout his entire body and nearly forcing him to stumble.
Catching himself, Zeke glanced around to see if any of his teammates had noticed that. Thankfully, they hadn't, each focused on the tourgiver but for drastically different reasons. Robin and Kid Flash seemed to be vying for the front position as M'gann floated in front of the group, each one trying to drop tidbits of what they knew about the mountain to impress the green girl. Aqualad and Superboy, on the other hand, were the pictures of stoicism with Kaldur's calm expression differing greatly from the clone's expression perpetually set in a thin line of displeasure.
Satisfied that he hadn't disturbed the rest of the team, Zeke returned his focus back to what he had been doing. The blue light began to stream through his entire body, the image like water trickling down a small stream in his mind's eye. As he had done before, Zeke began to cycle it around his body, simply to get a better feel for the control of this energy.
The golden light seemed to shrink away as he did so, retreating into the center of his chest as nothing more than a perfect golden sphere as the blue continued to circulate. Maintaining his concentration, Zeke turned his ear back to M'gann's tour for a moment.
"And here's the shower room!" M'gann announced with arms spread out. "I don't really know why there's only one big one, but I'm sure we'll figure it out!"
Kid Flash's mouth rose into a smirk, the redhead opening his mouth to say something only to be stopped by Robin jabbing him in the stomach. "Ow! What was that for?"
Zeke rolled his eyes yet again, shaking his head. Yeah, I'd take an awkward silence with Superboy any day over this.
As if reading his thoughts, the clone in question tilted his head slightly to glance down at the much shorter individual walking next to him.
Speak of the devil.
Zeke blinked back at Superboy, unsure of what he had done to catch his attention. Seriously, what did I do now? I get it already. You don't like me. Despite his less than pleasant thoughts, Zeke offered Superboy a smile, even as he tried to parse the odd look on the older boy's face.
For one thing, the clone didn't really seem angry. At least, not as much as he usually did. The expression on his face was far from the scowl that Superboy usually had for him, appearing more like a befuddled grimace that continued to look more befuddled the longer he continued to stare, his gaze constantly moving up and down Zeke's form.
Thankfully, Superboy turned his attention away from him as the green girl led them out towards the back exit of the hideout, allowing Zeke to let out a relieved breath. That was just weird.
"And this is the back of Mount Justice" Miss Martian continued as they all walked out behind her. "If you haven't already guessed, the cave is actually the entire mountain."
"Flash Fact," Wally cut in with a grin as he shoved Robin to the side again. "The cave was actually hollowed out and reinforced by Superman and Green Lantern in the early days of the League."
Robin stared back at him with a raised eyebrow. "Flash Fact? Seriously?"
Before Wally could respond with his own comeback, Superboy spoke up. "If it's such a good base, why abandon it for the Hall of Justice."
"That," Aqualad begun, staring at Superboy and Kid Flash in turn, "can be be blamed on the fact that the secrecy of the cave's location was… compromised."
Zeke frowned. "What? Compromised? Villains know where this place is?"
His question went unanswered as Superboy spoke up next, scoffing. "So, they traded it in for a tourist trap. As if that's any better."
Miss Martian let out a slight gasp, clapping her hands together in front of her. "If bad guys know where the cave is, then we have to be on constant alert!"
"Don't worry, M'gann. The bad guys know we know they know about the place," Robin assured her. The young crimefighter grabbed her hand and turned the green girl her to face him, putting his other hand on top of hers. "They'd never think to look here."
"I'm sorry, what?" Zeke blinked, starting at that explanation. He can't be serious right now. He really can't be serious.
His eyes widened further, Zeke having to bite his tongue to prevent himself from cursing as he realized something extremely annoying. As shocked as he was by Robin's and Aqualad's statements, he had ended up losing focus, the blue light leaving his control again. Oh, come on!
Awareness: Mana Lvl Up!
7→8
Well, at least I got something out of it.
Robin didn't turn to look at him, still smiling at M'gann with her hand in his but Kid Flash quickly got his attention.
"Uh," Kid Flash interrupted, quickly pulling Robin's hand from Miss Martian's as he moved in front of the green girl, "what Rob means to say is that we're hiding in plain sight."
"Oh, okay. That's much clearer," Miss Martian replied as she scratched her head, the expression on her face giving the exact opposite impression.
"No, it's not," Zeke cut in, shaking his head rapidly as he stepped forward. "That is the farthest thing from clear. You're saying that we're in a place which villains know exist and can plant bombs, listening devices or anything else and that's supposed to be safe? Like," the kid paused to rub his forehead, "does this place have force fields or defense systems at all?"
Robin and Kid Flash shared a look and shrugged before Robin answered, "I don't think so but…"
"So, it's not safe, then," Superboy concluded, jumping on Zeke's point. "The League put us somewhere dangerous and we're just supposed to be okay with that."
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
"Umm," Miss Martian raised a finger to her mouth, her expression thoughtful. "I think I have to agree with Zeke and Superboy. That doesn't seem very safe."
The three permanent residents of the cave stared back at the other, more experienced, members of the team with questioning glances. Kid Flash and Robin actually seemed unsure, the speedster screwing his face up in thought. The Atlantean, on the other hand, seemed as composed as ever.
"Friends," Aqualad began, his tone signalling an end to the conversation, "we must trust that our mentors would not put us in the path of undue danger. The Justice League felt that Mount Justice would be suitable for us. Let us not begrudge them for their generosity."
"Okay, I guess but..." Zeke shook his head slowly, arms folded over his chest. "I just really don't want to get caught on the toilet by a supervillain."
Before Aqualad could respond, Superboy lifted his head up, his nostrils flaring slightly as he spoke. "Something's burning."
Miss Martian's hands flew to her mouth, red eyes widening as she let out a startled gasp. "My cookies!" Spinning in mid-air, Miss Martian took off back into the cave, quickly shooting into a hallway before any of the boys even started moving.
No! Zeke's eyes widened and he took off after her, only to be quickly overtaken by Kid Flash, the boy naturally quicker than he was and just as motivated. Speeding into the kitchen with Robin directly at his back, Zeke let out an exasperated groan as he spotted M'gann standing by the kitchen counter, a tray full of what looked like smoking hockey pucks in front of her.
"Not the cookies!" Zeke hung his head, letting out a choked sob at the thought of M'gann's cookies being wasted. "They were so young and so… so delicious."
M'gann let out an awkward chuckle, rubbing one arm with the other as she turned her back to the tray to face the boys. "Sorry, Zeke. I know you wanted to try out some sugar cookies. I'll make you some new ones if you like."
Zeke sighed, lifting his gaze to meet M'gann's. Shaking his head, he gave the older girl a slight smile. "Don't worry about it, M'gann. I wasn't that hungry anyway." Why am I lying? All I had was cereal this morning and I'm tired of those stupid bars.
"At least they're not going to waste," Robin chimed in, the dark-haired boy wearing a wide grin on his face as he sat atop a counter at the far side of the kitchen.
"Huh?" Miss Martian frowned at that statement, a look of confusion on her face that was matched by the ones on Zeke, Aqualad and Superboy.
Robin let out a small laugh, pointing over at M'gann. "Behind you."
The four blinked, shared expressions of confusion switching to surprise as M'gann turned around and stepped away from the counter where Wally now stood, the speedster stuffing his face full of charred cookies.
Cookie in hand, the redhead smiled awkwardly under the combined gazes of his team. "I have a serious metabolism."
Yeah, this is definitely Wally West, then, Zeke remarked to himself, confident that his memory of what the comics were like wasn't too far off. If he knew anything about Wally West other than the fact that the guy was the second Flash, it was that the guy had a huge eating problem. Which really doesn't make sense now that I think about it. Considering that there's no way he could eat enough to power his speed, then why…
Zeke shook his head, pulling himself out of that particular rabbit hole as his team began talking again, Kaldur introducing himself again for some reason. Trying to put reason to the speedforce is pointless. Glancing over at Kid Flash as he stepped up, Zeke noticed that the redhead was dusting the crumbs off of himself, managing to wink at M'gann while he did so.
"The name's West. Wally West." Kid Flash said, leaning on the kitchen island in an attempt to seem suave.
Heh. I was right.
"See, M'gann? I already trust you with my secret identity, not like Mr. Dark Glasses over here." Robin frowned, shooting a glare at Wally that was undoubtedly less effective considering how dark his sunglasses were. "Batman's forbidden the Boy Wonder from telling anyone his real name."
"Mine's no secret." Miss Martian admitted with a bright smile. "It's M'gann M'orzz. But you can just call me Megan, though. It's an Earth name since I'm on Earth now," she finished, seeming to burst with excitement as she spoke the last sentence.
Zeke shrugged, unsure if they expected him to introduce himself again. "You guys already know my name so, I'm not sure what else I'm supposed to say."
"What about your code name?" Robin asked, tilting his head to the side. "What you're gonna use in the field or whatever." After a moment of silence on Zeke's part, the Boy Wonder raised an eyebrow. "You do have one, right?"
"What? Of c-course!" Zeke let out a scoff, waving off Robin's question. "Why wouldn't I have… Yeah, of course I have one of those." I have like a whole list, actually. I just haven't really settled on one of them yet.
"Mind sharing any time today?" Kid Flash spoke up, cookie in hand again.
"N-no problem," Zeke replied hesitantly. "My name is…" The youth shut one eye in an expression that could only be described as a slow motion wince. "Genesis?"
"Hmm. Genesis," Robin tried the name out, seeming to mull it over as he repeated it a few more times. "That can also mean an origin, a beginning, or a source… huh. Makes sense, I guess."
The rest of the team actually nodded at Robin's words, all of them seeming to approve Zeke's name.
That actually worked. Thank you, Sega. Zeke's gaze went over to Superboy, the clone remaining slouched against the counter, just as silent as ever as he returned his look with a glare. Seriously, what did I do to you?
The clone grunted as the team continued to stare at him, obviously expecting Superboy to say something. He turned his back on them, quickly walking away only to halt in place as he let out a pained grunt.
Ok, what the hell? Zeke blinked, taking an involuntary step back as Superboy let out another angry grunt, his posture tensing as he spun around. One hand gripped tightly against his right temple, fingers seeming to dig into his skull as he stared over at his teammates with shock and fear clear on his face.
"Get out of my head!"
I am not dying today! Zeke jumped, quickly stepping back behind the counter while Wally, Kaldur and Robin seemed to freeze up at Superboy's scream of rage. All of the boys turned at once, facing M'gann with questioning expressions, Zeke's visibly more fearful than theirs.
[What's wrong? I don't understand.] Zeke blinked in slight surprise as the sound of M'gann's voice filled his head, staring in confusion as the other boys seemed to flinch and groan for some reason, open grimaces on their face as they grabbed at their heads. [Everyone on Mars communicates telepathically.]
"M'gann. Stop." Kaldur commanded, that same edge in his voice once more. A hurt expression filled the Martian girl's face, but she seemed to ease up whatever she was doing as both Robin and Wally relaxed once more. "Things are different on Earth. Here, your powers are an extreme invasion of privacy."
What's everybody's problem? Zeke raised an eyebrow as he stared at everybody, his head moving back and forth. M'gann seemed to do the same, although her expression was nea It's not that serious.
"I-I didn't mean to-" M'gann began.
Superboy growled, cutting the girl off mid-apology. Staring her down, he narrowed his eyes and spoke through gritted teeth. "Just. Stay. Out." With that said, Superboy stalked off into the next room.
Huh, looks like I can add telepathy to the list of things Superboy doesn't like, right next to me and his own name. Zeke raised his eyebrows in a thoughtful expression. "That went well."
The others turned to stare at him, obviously confused.
"Is that what you call that?" Robin replied.
"I mean, I'd call that going well," Zeke clarified. As the confused glances continued, the shortest member of the team let out a sigh. "Look, the first day I met Superboy, I was pretty sure he was about to kill me."
"Ditto." Both Robin and Kid Flash chimed in at the same time.
Aqualad let out a slight breath. "I can also say the same."
"Look at us," Zeke smiled at the other three boys. "Already bonding."
"That's it!" M'gann gasped as Zeke finished speaking, prompting the boys to turn to her. "Hello, Megan!" she continued, batting her forehead with the heel of her palm. "I know what to do!" A smile on her face, she took off flying once more.
Zeke glanced up at Aqualad, giving Robin and Kid Flash questioning looks as well. "So, are we gonna go after her or…?"
– o – o – o – o – o – o – o –
"This is what I wanted to show you guys!" M'gann said proudly, spreading her arms as she stood in front of a red ovoid thing the size of a large car sitting in the middle of the cave's hangar.
"It's an egg." Superboy raised an eyebrow at the object, a frown still on his face. It had taken some prodding on M'gann's part and more than a little pleading, but the clone had rejoined the rest of the group again as they continued their tour.
"It's not an egg, Superboy," giggled Miss Martian. "It's a ship, my Martian Bioship."
"Cute." Wally stepped forward, a hand cupping his chin. "Doesn't look all that aerodynamic, but cute."
Zeke tilted his head to the side as he as he looked over the egg-shaped ship. Did Martians have ships? He frowned, scratching his head as he tried to recall what little he knew of the Martian Manhunter's backstory. I mean, Miss Martian had to get to Earth somehow, right?
"Don't be silly, Wally," M'gann replied with a smile. "It's just at rest. See, I'll wake it up."
Spinning around, Miss Martian performed a slight flourish with her hands that Zeke was sure had to be entirely unnecessary. Behind her, the egg ship began to shift, metal shifting like liquid as it turned into something that Zeke had to admit looked pretty cool. Curved yet distinctively sharp-looking, it looked like every little boy's dream spaceship as it floated over a meter above the ground without any visible means of propulsion.
That's… That's so freaking cool, Zeke couldn't help but think aloud, his jaw hanging slightly open. Just to the right of him, he could see that from the similar awed looks on both Robin's and Kid Flash's faces, they agreed completely.
The bioship spun around, performing the moment it finished transforming, a door sliding open at the back as a set of stairs slid out from the ship and M'gann began walking up to it. After taking her first step up the stairs, she glanced around at the boys and smiled. "Well, are you coming or not?"
– o – o – o – o – o – o – o –
Zeke had to admit that of all the weird things he had experienced since waking up in a filthy alley on top of a dumpster in Kentucky of all places, seeing a female version of himself striking a pose was somehow topping the list. You would think that being inside a spaceship surrounded by people that were supposed to be fictional would be higher, but apparently, you'd be wrong. This was definitely higher.
Not number one, though, the rookie couldn't help but frown, shaking his head. Top five, at least.
As M'gann spun around, Zeke ducked his head, fighting to avoid staring at how snugly his sleeveless blue-and-white jumpsuit fit M'gann's gender-swapped version of his body. There were some things man was not meant to see, and this was apparently one of them.
I'm gonna need therapy for this.
"What do you think, Zeke?" M'gann asked, doing one more spin. "You didn't say anything."
Come on. Don't be rude, you big baby. Zeke glanced up at Miss Martian and tried not to wince as she flexed her arm, forming a muscle that was far bigger than any he actually had. And of course, another reason to be embarrassed. "You look nice, M'gann."
"Mmm," hummed Wally, raising an eyebrow. "I gotta say, out of all of them, I still think Flash Girl was the best one."
"Yeah, I bet you would," Robin snorted, the glasses-wearing teen staring at Miss Martian as she transformed back to her normal green-skinned form. "You know, M'gann, that's impressive but you're not exactly gonna fool anyone."
The Martian girl sat down in her seat, her hands resting against the two orbs she used to direct the ship, and smiled softly at Robin. "I know. It's just that mimicking boys is a lot harder."
"And your clothes?" Aqualad asked.
"Oh, they're organic," M'gann replied with a bright smile, repeatedly tugging on the collar of her jacket as she spoke. "Just like my ship, they respond to my mental commands."
"As long as they're the only ones," Superboy cut in, a stormy expression on his face. M'gann's smile shrunk at Superboy's comment, disappearing almost completely as she sunk into her seat.
Wow, burn, Zeke thought, fighting the urge to snort at Superboy's comment. After a moment, his eyes widened as a thought came to him. Oh crap, she's a Martian. Double burn.
"Can you do that ghost thing like Martian Manhunter does?" Wally cut in, obviously trying to change the topic. "That's always cool."
"Density shifting?" M'gann questioned, her face still sunken. "No, that's a very advanced technique. That would take me quite some time to learn…"
Robin leaned forward, a smile on his face as he spoke to M'gann. "You know, Flash can vibrate his molecules right through a wall." Chuckling, the Boy Wonder gestured to Wally. "When he tries it, bloody nose."
"DUDE! Come on." Wally snapped, obviously annoyed at his friend's attempt at lightening M'gann's mood. Shaking his head as Robin continued to laugh at him, the redhead turned towards Zeke with a slight frown still on his face. "So, what's your thing?"
"My thing?" Zeke asked, turning in his seat to face Kid Flash. What?
"You know," Kid Flash stretched his arms out in front of him. "Your thing? Your powers, do you do?
"Oh," Zeke pulled a face, unsure of what to say. "Ugh… well, I can make myself stronger and faster if I… uh, when I focus, I guess." He couldn't stop himself from twisting in his seat slightly under Wally's stare, well aware that he wasn't all that useful compared to the rest of them.
"Stronger? Faster?" Robin raised an eyebrow. "By how much?"
"Marginally." Zeke let out a sigh, wincing as he did so. "About thirty-five percent on average."
"Oh," Kid Flash pulled a face before quickly shifting into a smile that Zeke didn't buy for a second. "Well, that's pretty cool."
"Rather specific, though," Aqualad added, the Atlantean glancing over at Zeke as he spoke. "You must admit."
The newest member of the team shrugged, feeling rather awkward over how weak he seemed in comparison. "...I guess."
"He glows too," Superboy interjected, surprising everyone but Zeke most of all.
The boy in question blinked, leaning forward in his seat. "I… do?" He stared over at Superboy, confusion and curiosity warring on his face. "When? How?"
A few seconds passed in silence as Superboy didn't seem willing to explain, the clone simply staring back at Zeke with a flat expression. After a moment, Superboy simply turned back in his seat, facing the front of the ship like everyone else.
Well, then…
As Superboy remained silent, Zeke simply shrugged his shoulders and turned back to Kid Flash. "Yeah, I guess I glow too."
As the team processed that little bit of information, a voice began emanating from the speakers, the monotonous sound of the team's robotic babysitter familiar to all. "Red Tornado to Miss Martian. An emergency alert has been triggered at the Happy Harbor Power Plant. I suggest you investigate covertly. I'm sending coordinates."
M'gann raised her head, her hands spreading out across the glowing spheres at the sides of her seat as she responded. "Received. Adjusting course."
Zeke glanced out the window, taking in the scenery as the ship spun around over the ocean and darted toward its new location further inland. "You think it's a bad guy?" He did his best to keep the slight quiver out of his voice, not wanting to come off as a scared kid. Seriously, please don't let it be a villain.
"As if. This isn't Central City or Gotham or anything." Kid Flash replied, rolling his eyes. "At best, we're looking at a fire or something."
"That much is true," added Aqualad with a nod. "Happy Harbor is not the sort of place to be prone to attacks by villains."
Robin shook his head, his lips turning down into a frown. "Just Tornado keeping us busy again."
"Yeah," Zeke replied half-heartedly. "That's just… terrible. What does he think we are?" Thank you, Red Tornado. You are definitely on my gift list for Christmas. Satisfied that he wasn't being led into a fight, Zeke let himself relax, continuing to stare out the window.
After they began to approach their destination only a few seconds of continued flight, the thirteen-year-old pulled away from the side window, whipping around in his seat to stare at his teammates, eyes wide with fear. "Tornado!"
"What?"
Zeke wasn't actually sure who responded, the voice high-pitched enough that it obviously wasn't Kaldur or Superboy. Then again, fear and surprise did do a lot when it came to messing with the sound of a voice. Either way, whether the exclamation came from Robin, Flash, or more than likely, M'gann, it didn't matter one bit as the only important thing that he could keep in mind was that tornados moved a hell of a lot faster than he thought they did.
The ship shook with a massive force, hurtling through the air as the mother of all tornadoes hit the alien vehicle hard enough to send it flying out of control. Amid the shocked screams of his teammates, Zeke found it in him to scream as well, his own exclamation a bit more eloquent than what everyone else could manage at the moment.
"You said there wouldn't be any bad guys!"
– o – o – o – o – o – o – o –
Spoiler: STATUS
Ezekiel Patrick Armstrong Age: 13 Level 1 Experience 50/250 Health 110/110* [340] Mana 90/90 Willpower 103/103 STR 25 (-30%) SPD 31 (-30%) VIT 23* INT 18 WIS 9 CHA 11 Stat Points: 2 Cash: $375 Traits
Malnourished: Too little to eat for too long has weakened your body, drained you of vitality and made you more susceptible to bumps and bruises. (-30% to STR & SPD, Health does not gain VIT bonus, Health/Will recovery is slowed by 50%, and Will-based skills cost twice as much)
Bright Kid: While you're no genius or some prodigy, you're obviously brighter than most kids. By the time you're an adult, however, no one will care. (Before the age of 18: +75% to INT gain and +25% to speed of learning Mana-based skills/abilities) Perks: None
Skills
Observe Lv. 9
Kinda like a scouter, but less cool somehow.
Allows you to view the status or qualities of anyone or anything, allowing you to learn information about them.
Cost: 1 MP
Power Sprint Lv 8
You'll never be the Flash relying on this alone. Still, we've all gotta start somewhere.
While active, your running speed increases by 5% per level. (40%)
Cost: 1 Will/s
Power Strike Lv 3
Not exactly a heavy hitter quite yet.
Increases the STR value and knockback of your punches/kicks by 10% per level. (30%)
Cost: 5 Will
Abilities
Gamer's Body Lv. MAX
Allows your body to exist in a similar standard to that of a video game character.
Sleeping restores HP, MP, Will and removes most negative status effects. Health, Will, and Mana regenerate at a base of 1 point every 30 seconds. Food and drink items can accelerate recovery.
Gamer's Mind Lv. MAX
Allows your mind to exist in a similar standard to that of a video game character.
Grants immunity to mental status effects, emotional trauma and severely damaging emotional states. Grants immunity to forceful/unwanted mental intrusion.
Awareness: Mana Lv 8
Mana, magic energy, magicka, prana, ether, spirit energy, magatsuhi or even chakra… Call it what you want. It's all the same in the end.
You have gained awareness of Mana, the spiritual energy found within the human mind and soul. Gaining awareness of your magical energy has given you some semblance of control over it.
Awareness: Willpower Lv 5
Willpower, ki, chi, qi, stamina, aura, mantra, physical energy, life energy, od, or even hamon… Call it what you want. It's all the same in the end.
You have gained awareness of your Willpower, the physical energy found within all living organisms. Gaining awareness of your physical energy has given you some semblance of control over it.
Basic Martial Arts Lv 3
Heroes prefer fists. Apparently, so do sidekicks.
This ability measures your skill and intuition in bare-handed combat, allowing for rapid growth and adaptation in martial arts.
Breathing Control Lv 7
Batman can breathe in space. Why can't you?
The ability to use oxygen efficiently, enabling you to hold your breath for extended periods of time. Increases by 1 minute every level. (2 minutes)
Meditation Lv 5
When the mind is enlightened, the spirit is freed and the body matters not.
The ability to train your mind in order to achieve a state of oneness with your spiritual essence and life force, as well your mind and body.