Welcome to Happy Hour

18th July

10:37 GMT -5

What I'm saying is, they accidentally took a guy from the wrong planet. That doesn't sound very safe to me."

M'gann and I are in the kitchen area. Finding out that despite her appearance she is actually forty eight was quite a relief. Someone I can talk to! Aqualad is sixteen but I've got no idea whether that counts as adult or not in his country. Superboy came out of his pod on the day I got the ring. He looks physically adolescent, but his mental development is all over the place. I had an interesting conversation with him about 'Human, All Too Human' a couple of days ago. His analysis of some of the aphorisms was interesting, but when he spoke it sounded like he was reading out something someone else had written. When I questioned him about it he got in a mood and stomped off. If we're going to live together I'll have to watch myself to make sure I don't push his buttons like that.

"Uncle J'onn says that that can't happen again."

"Of course it can't; he's already here."

She giggles. "No, I mean the safety systems have been improved since Dr. Erdel's experiment. There has to be a tube at each end, and they check the signal integrity before sending whoever is inside."

I've got a construct whisk whisking the mango custard. I'm on dinner duty this evening and I've decided to try my mango meringue cake on a captive audience. People at work seemed to like it. The construct has four whisk bits and as it has no actual mechanical components is virtually silent. I've kept the basic shape though, since I'm used to it and the handle is convenient. The one I made for work had two layers. This one will have three. Partly because I want to push my baking skills, and partly because I want there to be some left for the rest of us when Kid Flash has finished. He says that he has a fast metabolism as a result of his speed, but I don't think that can be right. He can run at the speed of sound; there is no way a human body can ingest enough to fuel that in the conventional way. On the other hand, he isn't gaining weight, so, I don't know.

Cooking for and being cooked for by apprentice superheroes is an interesting experience. M'gann goes for traditional American food, though yesterday she branched out into Tex-Mex. I pretty much flip through a recipe book until I find something that looks interesting, though when it comes to pudding I currently have a bit of a custard fixation. When he's actually here Kaldur does baked fish with various kinds of seaweed. It isn't as bad as it sounds. Superboy does Beef Stroganoff and poached pears. He does them well, but it appears to be all he knows how to do. I watched him once, and he put everything he needed out on the work surface in a very particular arrangement before starting. Cooked the whole thing in a fugue state, unresponsive when I tried to ask him about it.

One morning M'gann tried to help him make pancakes. I'm not sure exactly what happened, but I ended up having to remove burned pancake mix from the work surfaces, floor and his forearms with the ring.

Kid Flash actually looked distraught when he turned up last Friday evening and I told him I didn't know the number of the local pizzeria.

"But do they check the integrity of the thing checking the integrity?"

"There is at least one level of redundancy built in to each system, an automatic remote daily system check and a service each month." I stop and look at her. She simpers. "I read the manual."

"Good. I'm glad someone has."

The custard is mixed. I won't add the mango puree until it's started to get stodgy. I eliminate the whisk construct and watch as the custard mix coating it falls into the bowl. I put it in the microwave, one hundred percent power, four minutes.

"Are zeta tubes common on Mars?"

"No, we don't use them at all. Earth developed the technology first, and on Mars the radiation disrupts the signals too much for it to be much use."

I float off the ground, legs folded up beneath me. The cake itself is in the oven, the custard is in the microwave and I can't start the meringue until they are both done and cool. I also can't start doing something else while the custard is cooking because it needs attention every few minutes.

"Why are you doing that?"

"Huh?"

"You do that sitting in the air thing a lot. I was just wondering why?"

Huh, I suppose I have. Hadn't thought about it. Didn't realise that she'd noticed.

"I've had this ring for a fortnight. The novelty value of being able to do this hasn't worn off yet. Kinda hope it never does, actually."

"I can't imagine not being able to fly."

Huh?

"I don't think I've ever seen you fly outside of the base."

"Yes, because I'm trying to fit in. I can't just walk down the street and start floating things in public."

"Why not? There are humans who can do things like that."

"Yes, but not very many. I don't want to attract that amount of attention. While I'm here, I just want to be a normal Earth teenager."

Teenager? Odd. Maybe shape shifters think about societal groups in a different way to humans?

"You do know we're not a monoculture, right? A teenager in the United States is very different to one in Kenya, or Pakistan."

"Yes, but my first exposure to Earth culture was in some TV shows Uncle J'onn sent back after I asked what it was like here."

"They were all American?"

"I think so. I didn't bring the tapes with me, and when I watched them I didn't really know anything about the different countries on Earth."

"Might be interesting to watch them again, now you know more about what it's like here."

"Maybe. I think I mostly liked them because it was so different to what I was used to. Open skies rather than caves."

"You lived in a cave?"

"All Martians do. Oh, no, not little caves. Vast underground caverns. All of the settlements on Mars are underground, because of the radiation."

"Uh."

Mars must be very different here. And not just the being inhabited thing, there are reasons why some worlds don't develop life.

"You said that you came here from a parallel universe, right?"

"As far as I can tell, that's correct."

"Do you have… What's Mars like there?"

"In my parallel Mars is a frigid, barren, uninhabited desert wasteland. I think we found some bacteria in soil samples, but that's about it as far as life goes."

"Oh."

"Sorry, but it's like I said. Where I'm from Humans have only met other Humans."

The microwave keeps whirring. There was something I was meaning to ask. What was it? Oh, yes.

"I've been wondering… I saw you change your t-shirt from white to black when I first got here..?"

"Yes?"

"Do you actually wear clothes, or do you just shape shift part of your skin to look like you are?"

Silence. The microwave beeps, and I pull the steaming protocustard out onto the work surface and recreate the whisk construct.

"YesIwearclothesofcourseIwearclothes!"

I turn around. She looks flustered and is blushing purple.

"Oh. Shape shifting clothes. That's fairly impressive, actually. Though I suppose for a Martian on Earth something like that would be pretty essential."

A quick wizz with the whisk and then the custard goes back into the microwave. I set it for two minutes and go back to watching it.

"I'm not naked."

"Alright. What sort of range do these wonder garments of yours have? Just standard humanoid, or can they do extra arms as well?"

"Really. I'm wearing clothes. Totally wearing clothes."

"I fully accept that you are wearing clothes."

"I mean, you don't seem to care but some people would probably find it really strange if I wasn't wearing clothes."

"They probably would."

"It would be really humiliating."

"Okay."

"I just want to be clear."

"You are fully clad. The matter is resolved."

"Okay."

"Okay."

I've added the puree and am now trying to determine whether or not the custard needs to go back in the microwave. The puree adds a considerable amount of liquid and won't help with thickening, but the custard is hot and will thicken as it cools. Really, to act as icing between the cake layers it has to be quite thick. A little longer will probably be best. I set it for two minutes.

"What was it like?"

"What was what like?"

"Just… Turning up in space like that."

"I was asleep for the actual turning up part. Waking up was weird, then painful."

"Painful? Why?"

"The ring detects my desires and tries to fulfil them. It decided that my body wasn't perfect and corrected it. Human bodies really aren't designed to shift around like that."

"You think your body is perfect?"

I hear her raised eyebrow in her voice. I suppress an impulse to pose and flex. "No, it… This body is the most perfect form of me. I can't change it without it becoming either less perfect, or less me." I peer at the custard. Still counting down. "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"What made you pick that face?"

"What's wrong with my face?"

"Nothing's wrong with it, I just wondered why you chose it."

"It's my face."

"Pre-tty sure that Martians don't have hair."

She looks around. No one else near the kitchen area. There's an odd sound, a bit like reeds moving over a paving slab, and her hair merges with the rest of her head.

"I just… Human girls aren't usually bald. And I actually like having hair. Brushing it felt kinda weird to start with, but it was nice once I got used to it."

I know she doesn't want anyone to know that she is a White Martian, but images of what Green Martians look like exist, surely? I suppose I don't know for sure that this M'gann actually is a White Martian. And I can't check without other examples to scan and compare. Is it important enough for me to make the time to fly to Mars? Probably not.

I snort. "Yeah, and the rest."

"What-what do you mean?"

It's been a while, but I still remember broadly what Martian Manhunter's wife looked like in Justice League Animated. I hold out my right hand and generate what I think is a Green Martian female shaped construct about M'gann's size.

"You're talking to someone who actually knows what Martians look like. Heck, it takes me less time to get from Earth to Mars than to get to some places on Earth. Not that I don't appreciate you making an effort to fit in."

I remove the construct and take the custard from the microwave. I use the spatula construct to scrape the custard stuck to the edge of the bowl back into the centre, and to gauge its consistency. Not quite done yet. Back in it goes.

"I was just wondering, why that face? Was it from a magazine or something?"

There's that noise again as M'gann restores her hair. She's looking at the floor, hands clasped in front of her. Ah, I've done it again! I didn't think this would be a big deal for her.

"Could you not tell the others?"

"If that's what you want. But if it's just Superboy and me here, don't worry about it. You can change back. It wouldn't bother me and given what the Genomorphs look like I very much doubt that it would bother him."

No, not enough, I still feel like an arsehole.

"Look, I'm… I'm sorry, I didn't realise that it would be a big deal for you."

"That's okay."

No, it isn't.

I step towards her, take hold of her right hand with mine and hold it up, covering it with my left. She looks up. "I should have just left it alone. I should have realised that you were uncomfortable with what I was saying and stopped. I'm sorry. That you've changed yourself like this for our benefit shows great generosity. I just want you to know, you don't have to. I was expecting aliens to look different from Humans. I won't be angry, or scared, or revolted if you use your natural appearance, alright?"

She look to the side. "It's just… I really want to fit in here."

"I can understand that."

"And it's okay for guys to look like big ogres but girls need to look like girls."

"Okay, Wonder Woman would literally castrate me if I let you get away with saying that."

Her eyes flick back to me. She looks stunned for a moment, then indignant. "No, she wouldn't!"

"No, but she'd be annoyed about the double standard. And with me, for not commenting on it."

I release her hand. I think I fixed it. M'gann turns and starts to walk away. Probably best. I've made enough of a mess for one day. Then she stops and turns back to me.

"I copied this face from the lead actress on one of the television shows Uncle J'onn sent me. It was called 'Hello, Megan'. The first thing I did when I got to Earth was see if there were any more episodes, but it got cancelled after one season. I don't… Did you ever watch it?"

"Name doesn't ring any bells, but not all American comedies made it across the Atlantic. Particularly the short lived ones. From a parallel universe."

"I suppose you're even further from home than I am. Are you… I mean, getting on alright? With the differences?"

Am I?

"There's two categories. There's major differences, like this ring and you. Those I'm fine with. Then there's the small things. Names of popular websites, some minor historical events, commonly available technology. The television programs I used to watch. Walk down the street and everything's slightly off. That, sometimes, gets to me a bit. Honestly, I try not to think about it. Making myself miserable won't help anyone."

"What sort of television shows?"

"Doctor Who. My Little Pony. The BBC did a reinterpretation of Sherlock Holmes recently, that was pretty good."

"Do you miss not being able to watch them?"

"No, it's… I don't miss them. Doctor Who had really patchy quality in the last few series. But it would have been a point of familiarity, if we'd both seen it, y'know?"

"Yeah. I think that's what I was looking for, on Earth. I mean I know life isn't a situation comedy but I wasn't really… Happy, on Mars. I wanted to meet people like the people Megan met in the show."

"I could probably get the ring to play a canned laughter track whenever anyone says anything. If it would help."

She smiles. "No, that would just be weird."

The microwave pings. I open it and give the custard a stir. Done. I cover the bowl in cling film, poke a few holes then leave it to cool.

"Okay, that's about done. Kitchen's all yours for the next couple of hours."

"What are you doing for the rest of the day?"

"Right now, I have an hour's worth of meditation on the Hierarchy of Needs planned. Then reviewing intelligence reports. This afternoon I'm going back to the centre of the Pacific for more clean up duty."

"Why do you do that?"

"It's full of plastic."

"No, I mean, the meditation."

"Power rings, all of them, cause psychological instability. Some, like the green or yellow ones, just make you a bit odd. Others, like mine, can have really nasty long term effects. If you know what you're doing, you can counteract it. If you don't, you end up like-"

Larfleeze.

"-Star Sapphire. Meditating on the Hierarchy reinforces the balance between different levels of desire, from simple and direct ones to complex and long term ones. Without that, I would risk becoming... Risk only caring about my short term wants."

She looks concerned. "If it makes you crazy, is it really a good idea to use it?"

"Good idea, bad idea. It's the ring I have." I shrug. I really don't have a choice in the matter. "What are your plans for the rest of the day?"

"I don't really have any firm plans. Kid Flash said something about giving me a guided tour, so I suppose Superboy and I will be taking another walk around Happy Harbor."

"Haven't you done that, like, every day you've been here?"

"I don't want to get into a situation where I don't know what to do. Uncle J'onn is arranging for me to start high school, but until then I'd rather learn Human social customs slowly. And, well, Superboy…"

"Yeah. Alright, I understand."

What can I do to help?

"Look, I'm never going to be able to concentrate on plastic particulates all day. How about if I come back at about five o'clock and we all go somewhere. Anywhere on Earth. We could even spend the evening on Mars if you really want?"

"No! No, um, thanks for the offer." She thinks about it for a moment. "Maybe we could go to Acapulco?"

No reason why not. I don't know where it is and I only know the name from the song, but I'm sure the ring will be able to find it. Wait a minute.

"Did Megan from the series go there?"

"No. But one of her friends did. When I got to Earth I found out that was because the actress playing her got hit by a car and they needed to explain why she wasn't in the series any more, but they made it sound really fun."

"Okay, Acapulco it is. I'll see you later."

I leave the kitchen and walk back to my room. I'm a bit surprised she was so worried by me knowing what Martians look like. Maybe it's because as a telepath she'll know if we find it weird if we try to pretend that we don't? I'm also surprised she wasn't a bit more psychologically resilient than that. I suppose she's used to being in a society where everyone is empathic enough to stop asking when it's making you that uncomfortable.

I chose a room towards the centre of the base. It's not like the walk to the briefing room takes more than a minute, and I want to be as secure as possible. M'gann wanted one closer to the communal areas and Superboy… I think he got put in one near her. Remembering not to call him Conner or Kon-El might actually be difficult if he were more talkative. Kaldur has one as near as possible to the sea entrance. I'm not sure why as he generally arrives and leaves by zeta tube. Maybe that was Aquaman's old room? Maybe he just likes to go for a swim sometimes. I don't think that Robin or Kid Flash have bothered to pick out rooms, though that might change once their summer holiday starts and they have more spare time.

Running through the stages of the Hierarchy has become second nature to me. As has floating without touching the ring. I hold my hands cupped at my stomach, legs crossed, eyes staring at the blank wall in front of me. The ring floats about twenty centimetres above my hands, and the diffuse orange aura extends at least that far around my body. It's been over a week since I last fell out of this posture due to a surprise, M'gann opening the door unexpectedly. We had a conversation about how knocking was polite when dealing with people who aren't telepaths.

When I turn my mind to 'friendship' I find that M'gann's face has firmly joined those of Alan and Wonder Woman. That's new. Ah, no, she said that she was fine with me calling her Diana. Alan and Diana. I suppose our heart to heart in the kitchen has forced my brain to accept her as part of my ingroup. Progress with getting to know the others is slower. It wasn't until I demonstrated a pinpoint accurate ranged attack that I even found out they'd wanted Speedy -Roy Harper, not whatshername- on the team, and I only found out then because Kid Flash doesn't mutter as quietly as he thinks he does. I'm not sure that they hold his absence against me, exactly, but they certainly aren't happy about including someone they don't know. Someone they don't know who isn't an attractive woman, anyway.

I did -briefly- contemplate trying to use the ring to change my gender, but I don't think that would actually have helped.

Family hasn't changed. I miss them being around, and I worry about them missing me. It wouldn't be so bad if I could somehow send a message to them letting them know that I was fine but wouldn't be coming back anytime soon. I went up into orbit to scan my emergence point and it turned out that what I told Diana was true; a ring could track back my flight path to the start point. And then, well, it could tell me about the presence of certain forms of exotic energy and particles, and couldn't suggest anything helpful to do about it. I have noticed that this ring appears to have a very limited pre-programmed database. Maybe once I make contact with the Controllers they will be willing to update it.

Sexual intimacy? M'gann's nice, but she acts quite a lot younger than her actual age. I know Martians live longer than Humans but even so, her life experience should put her beyond high school level, surely? I don't feel that sort of attraction to her. No change to that analysis needed then.

In terms of confidence-.

"Hey, Orange!" Mr West appears to have decided that knocking is for other people. I put my feet down and float the ring onto my left hand, sigil facing inwards.

"Yes, Kid Flash?"

I'm still not completely comfortable referring to people by code names. Again, no serious mistakes yet, but I'm going to have trouble faking surprised if they open up enough to tell me their real names. And if they did, I still wouldn't be able to reciprocate. I didn't think that I said my own name often but not being able to introduce yourself gets frustrating quite quickly.

"Did you know that Megan has this awesome Bio-Ship?"

"Yes. It's been here nearly as long as she has."

The stealth was interesting, but without guns or shields I'd hesitate to take it into combat. When she showed me, I suggested that I could remedy this by standing on the outside of the hull. Though a functional solution, I am now slightly concerned that my idea will come back to haunt me.

"Oh. Well, we were all going to go flying around the harbor but she wanted to see if you wanted to come as well. I'll tell her you were busy with… Staring at the wall… Or whatever." He takes a step back to leave.

I hold up my right hand. "No, this sounds like something I should make time for."

"Pf. Fine." He leads the way towards the hangar, deliberately staying ahead of me so that he doesn't have to talk to me.

I need to make an effort. "Ahhh… No archer, then?"

"No."

I think he actually kicked the ground when he said that.

"Did he say why he didn't want to join?"

He slows, and lets me come alongside. "He thinks the League will treat us like kids."

I don't comment. I've seen these kids fight, in the database recordings. Put someone normal through that sort of thing, they'd die in seconds. How Robin manages I have no idea.

"Seriously, it's been over a week. Nothing!" He throws up his hands.

"I'm rather new at this. Is that sort of time gap between major missions normal?"

"In Central City, there's always something! One of the Rogues, or a mugging, or a fire, or something. Anything!"

Diana has had me accompany her on assignments a few times. It mostly involved me watching her work or using OrangeVision to provide her with tactical information. She also has me convey the apprehended criminals to police custody. It makes sense to me for her to treat me like that given that I am completely new at this, but the other guys have earned some involvement, surely? Or else, why put them here?

"Maybe Batman just hasn't found anything worth our time?"

"I'd take a jaywalker right now."

Not sure Mr Garrick would appreciate that. Oh, hang on, mustn't forget. "Oh, erm, I've got a cake in the oven. Would you mind if we went via the kitchens?"

He perks up. "Is it done?"

"The cake layer should be, but I won't do the meringue until this afternoon."

"How many layers does it have?"

"Three of cake, two of mango custard, and then everything gets covered in a layer of meringue. That takes a while to cook. Huh?"

He is now behind me. He stopped walking a second ago and is just staring at me. "Where'd you learn to do that?"

"None of it's particularly complicated. I've been baking regularly for years; frequently, since I started living here."

And then he's standing next to me, one arm stretched up companionably around my neck. He normally moves at regular speed. I've seen him run before, but celerity is a lot more shocking at close quarters. "I think you just became my-" He pauses, counting on his fingers. "-third favorite team mate."

Suck it, Superboy and Aqualad.

"Ah, thank you, I-." And he's gone. A flash -hah- of OrangeVision shows him in the kitchen staring at the oven. Our kitchen is awesome. I don't know who the would-be chef in the League is, but I owe them for not just assuming that teenagers would try living on take-away food.

"Inertial controls on. Ring, plot route before Wallace scoffs the lot."

My flight control has massively improved since my encounter with Turkey. In narrow confines like the base corridors I let the ring AI handle navigation. With my inertia regulated I can change directions with no loss of speed. First time Diana ever told me that I had impressed her was when I used that to fly at full speed through a dense Themysciran forest. I move through the base like a jet powered slalom skier, coming to a halt just outside the kitchen area.

"You sure it's not done?"

"Yes, the meringue takes an hour."

"Aww. M'gann made cookies earlier, but I could probably fit in a few slices of cake."

"I think that was the first time she used that recipe. How did they turn out?"

"Sooo good. Shame there weren't more. Everyone else just got one each."

I use a construct to open the oven and lift out the three cake tins. The cakes within look well done, though this mix does tend to brown on the outside while still being underdone in the middle. The ring also makes it very easy to lift the cakes out of the tins without lining them or risking breaking the cake.

"If you're really that hungry, there is a bakery in Happy Harbour. We could probably stop off."

"Any good?"

"I don't know. I don't buy stuff I could bake myself."

"Mrm. Think about it." We walk towards the hangar. "Have you used your ring in an actual fight yet?"

"No, I haven't."

"How come?"

"I've had it two weeks. In that time I've either been here, or shadowing Wonder Woman."

"Wonder Woman gets in fights all the time!"

"Errr… Put it this way: you've been active two years, right?"

"Huh. Yeah, I guess it would be."

"Did The Flash involve you in fighting the Rogues from the start?"

"Not right away."

"Well, there you-."

"We took down Mirror Master together in my second week. So if you fight someone today you'll only be just behind me."

Right in the ego. Right in the ego.

"So, yeah, you should probably just stay out of the way in a fight. We'll try and leave one or two for you. Regular guys, so you can actually cope."

"Ah. I appreciate the consideration, but I think I can aim a little higher than that. The Green Lanterns call power rings 'the most powerful weapon ever created' for a reason."

"Sure you can keep up?"

"I think I should probably take things at a steadier pace until I'm sure I know what I'm doing, but yes. I don't intend to be a burden."

"'Cause Rob and I were talking about it earlier and we think you're probably the weakest out of all of us."

"Really? As I see it, the only person here I couldn't take in a fight is you."

He looks at me with an expression of incredulity. "Really."

"I can't account for every possibility, but yes, I think so."

"You think you can take Robin."

"None of his standard ordnance is strong enough to penetrate my shield. My shield has no gaps. I can track him through his smoke bombs and attack at light speed."

"He always has plans for how to take his enemies down."

"Plans that in my case he has neither the information to set up nor the equipment to carry out."

"Aqualad."

"His strongest attacks might be a threat, but I can evade with flight and attack from a distance."

"Miss Martian."

"She shares my lack of combat experience, and is far less aggressive. I would attack before she can disrupt the ring with telepathy."

"Superboy."

I shrug. "Same as Aqualad."

"Seriously!? You did read the report where he took down me, Robin and Kaldur in like thirty seconds."

"With all due respect to everyone's favourite Human-Kryptonian hybrid, my regular sparring partner is Wonder Woman, and she hits at least as hard as he does."

"No. Way."

"Ah-ight." I shrug. Unless we start sparring against each other there's no way to tell for certain. Might be worth arranging to start that, actually.

"If you really think you could beat everyone else, -which you totally can't- why don't you think you could beat me?"

"It's not so much your speed as your faster reflexes. If I start with the ring inactive and we're about… what, five metres apart? I've got a fraction of a second to raise my shield before you hit me. Longer, if I want them strong enough to take you punching them as fast as you can. If we start further apart I can fly to evade but I'll still struggle to hit you. If you're intelligent enough to go after my lantern and play keep away, you'll probably win by exhausting me."

"Yeah, that sounds like something I'd do."

We reach the elevator and get in. Kid Flash pushes the button to take us down to the hangar in which M'gann keeps her ship. When she first introduced me to the ship we had a moment of cross cultural confusion when I asked her what its name is. Despite clearly regarding it as a living thing she didn't see any need to give it one.

"As much fun as this joy ride is going to be, might it be worth scheduling some team practice in for later today? Remedial sparring, if you think that I'm that far below your level?"

"Nah. We all pretty much know what we're doing. Even you, I guess. Wonder Woman and A-. Erm. Green Lantern wouldn't have put you here if you were completely useless."

"I do know what his name is."

"Yeah, he said, but you shouldn't get into the habit of using people's names. Still can't believe you just walked up to him like that."

"Seemed like the logical way to go about it."

"Secret identities aren't that easy to breach."

"Why does everyone think that? He wore a tiny mask!" I put my thumbs and index fingers around my eyes with my other fingers splayed outwards. "Tiny tiny mask which didn't cover his face at all. One facial recognition scan was all it took."

The elevator pings open while my hands are still in front of my face. I turn outwards to see the rest of the team staring at me. I lower my hands. They're still staring.

Yeah.

"It was a tiny mask!"

I stalk towards the open rear of the ship. M'gann is trying not to laugh by covering her mouth with her hands. I think the others are just bemused.

"Are we going or what?"

I plonk myself in the seat to the left of the entrance and the chair extends a seatbelt around me. M'gann follows a moment later and takes the pilot position.

"Strap in for launch."

She did let me have a brief go at controlling the ship a few days ago. I can handle simple manoeuvres with the manual controls but I couldn't get my head around using the gravity drive for more complex stunts. Intellectually, I know that 'down' is towards the floor of the ship but whenever I tried to do anything fancy I kept becoming convinced that it was about to be the planet's surface again. It's weird; I don't have that problem with the ring at all. My attempt at using the telepathic control system with the ring was a complete failure.

Kid Flash comes in next and takes the left midship position, swinging the chair around to face M'gann. Robin takes right midship, Superboy at right forwards and Kaldur at left forwards. Guess I'm nobby no-mates then.

"Red Tornado, please open the bay doors."

The ship manifests the control columns and M'gann raises her hands above them. I still haven't quite got used to flight that doesn't involve either conventional gravity or inertia. When I use the ring to alter my inertia it's all pre-programmed. I just ride along with it. I tried altering gravity so that the pull towards the ceiling was two gees once. It wasn't painful or even uncomfortable, but it was weird as heck and I haven't done it again. M'gann's ship pulls out of the hangar so smoothly that if I couldn't see the view I would think that we hadn't moved at all.

We shoot out over the water. I have no idea why no one has seen us. In a sensible universe we'd be a tourist attraction by now. M'gann shows off the artificial gravity by putting us into a brief vertical climb, turns and spins the ship on its axis, and then turns us back towards Happy Harbour itself. The whole time everyone on board felt no more than one point one gravities towards the floor, and maybe point one against the direction of acceleration. It actually feels like being in a malfunctioning simulator. If all Martian technology is like this I have no idea why they aren't the dominant power in this system.

"Incredible."

Robin seems to appreciate it. He can probably compare it to the Batwing, so can better understand how much more advanced it is than the best Earth has to offer.

Wallace sighs. "She sure is."

Either he is literally besotted, or, whaw. M'gann turns to look at him. I can't see her face from here.

"Ah, I mean, the ship."

He's actually pointing. Good save. Good save.

"Which, like all ships, is a she."

Stop digging, man.

"Fast with his feet. Not so much with his mouth."

Oowh, harsh, Robin. Harsh.

"Dude!"

I should probably try and help him out.

"Would it be a problem if someone saw us up here?"

M'gann stretches her neck to look at me. I worry a little about the pilot taking her eyes off the window, but there isn't anything to hit up here and no way for a birdstrike to interfere with the engines. "Why would it be? We're not doing anything wrong."

"Do you have a pilot's license?"

"Yes! Oh. Do you mean an Earth pilot's license, or a Martian one?"

"Whichever one the American civil aviation authority is likely to ask for."

Wallace takes the opportunity to support M'gann. "C'mon, Oh El. No one's gonna care about that."

Maybe he's right. Maybe civil authorities have learned to leave alien craft well alone. I certainly wouldn't blame them.

"No no. You can't call me Oh El, it'll get confusing."

I now have Robin's attention too. "You see any other Orange Lanterns around here?"

"No, but Superboy's an El, isn't he."

Wallace looks puzzled. "How d'you get 'El' from Superboy."

"From his father? That's usually how it works, isn't it? Kryptonians aren't matrilineal."

Superboy is now paying close attention. "What do you mean?"

"Superman's name. Kal-El. Son of Jor-El. Which presumably makes you, whatever you end up picking as your first name, followed by El. The important thing is, I can't be Oh El, because it would make me sound Kryptonian. People would get confused."

Superboy looks stunned. "I didn't know Superman had a name."

"You didn't think his parents called him Superman, did you?"

"I didn't… I hadn't… Thought about it…"

I smile. "Learn something new every day."

Robin leans towards M'gann. "Hey. How about showing us a little Martian shape shifting?"

Guess he decided that I've pushed Super-El too much.

M'gann rises to her feet and steps forwards from the pilot's seat. The reeds on stone noise again as her legs turn.. dark.. grey..?

I get out of my seat to take a closer look, glowing orange-soled boots making sure I stick to the deck. "Heheh. Damn, I look good."

Orange Lantern M'gann strikes a pose. She even has her ring facing the right way.

Wallace doesn't seem to share my appreciation. "Oh, that is just wrong."

Wait, does that mean that she really wasn't wearing clothes earlier? Not mentioning that to Wallace.

M'gann twirls on the spot, and shifts to female Kid Flash. Does Jessie Quick exist here? Another one to look up.

Wallace seems confused. "That's… Sorta wrong, but also kinda right."

Robin claps. "Impressive." M'gann shifts back to her default form. "But you know you're not exactly gonna fool anyone with those."

"Mimicking boys is a lot harder."

"And your clothes…"

Bad Aqualad! Bad! I was hoping no one else had noticed!

"They're organic, like the ship. They respond to my mental commands."

Uh? Wait, why was she so… Is shifting your skin like hanging around in pyjamas for a Human? And you put on actual clothes for company? Not something I do now, as getting dressed takes a literal second with the ring.

"Can you do that ghosting through walls thing that Manhunter does?"

Wallace continues with his interest in everything M'gann.

"Density shifting? No… it's a very advanced technique."

"Flash can vibrate his molecules right through a wall. When he tries it? Bloody nose."

"Dude!"

Robin is definitely off Wallace's wingman list.

"I've heard that power rings are supposed to be able to do the same thing."

I surround my left hand in an orange aura and press it against the side of the ship. "Nothing yet. Guess we've all got something to work on."

M'gann extends her hands again and the control columns twist to reach her. "Well, here's something I can do." A dull thumm sounds through the ship. "Camouflage mode."

The stealth on this ship is really good. Even knowing exactly where to look it's practically impossible to spot. Just hope no one shoots us with a paintball gun. Not sure how it compares to Wonder Woman's jet. OrangeVision bypasses both anyway.

"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."

"Received. Adjusting course."

Robin snorts. "Tornado's keeping us busy again."

We're now over land. I haven't learned the geography of this part of the town yet, but I can see three slim white chimneys attached to an industrial building. Presumably, our target.

"Well, a simple fire led you to Superboy. We should find out what caused the alert."

M'gann sounds more positive.

Superboy looks around. "I think I know the cause."

Tornado? Why is there a t-. Supervillain. Of course. Couldn't be someone testing the fire alarm at the wrong time. M'gann takes evasive action. I doubt that they've seen us, but an area effect attack will still knock us silly.

Too late!

An orange flare and Peter Gambi's finest work replaces my casual clothing. Ceramic and steel hexes held together by dark grey dyneema cover my joints and neck while larger plates protect my torso, arms and legs. I'm not sure what the padding material is made of but I barely felt it when he hit me in the chest with a baseball bat as a demonstration. The whole thing fits perfectly, protects against all of the forms of attack I specified and is wearable even without the ring maintaining my temperature. I'm not sure why, but he actually only wanted to charge me for materials. I was able to negotiate him up only once I said that I might be able to send colleagues his way.

A small holster on my left leg contains a ring-built pistol based on the Smith & Wesson Model 63 I was practising with. This one is largely titanium with a tungsten-lined barrel. I switched to practising with it after I created it and I find it slightly superior to the standard model. I haven't tried forging specialised ammunition for it as the process looks complicated and would be a dead give away to any investigator if I ever used it.

My hands are bare, as is my head. My ability to perceive and interact with my environment is too vital for ring use to compromise for a minor increase in protection. Once I leave Earth I'll see about getting hold of a force field generator of some kind.

Orange Lantern sigils cover my front, back and shoulder plates in traditional superhero fashion.

My eyes glow orange as I activate my visual enhancements.

NO. FUCKING. TINY. MASK.

The precision tornado hits the ship and the view through the window shifts wildly. An electrical crackling noise marks the camouflage being overwhelmed and shutting down. The cyclonic acceleration has much less effect on the interior than it should have and with the ring active I don't even feel that. Everyone else is thrown against their harnesses with a yelp. Fortunately, M'gann keeps her head together and, using the tornado's own movement to gain speed, manages to pull us away. After getting to a safe distance she spins the ship around and brings us down in the car park. We're about a metre up when the floor opens and the rest of the team drops to the tarmac. I'm left standing upside down on the exterior hull as my deck clamp construct remains in effect. I try to style it out by disconnecting and spinning to a crouch but I don't think anyone noticed.

In the distance I can hear panicked screams and just make out people fleeing the power plant building. The tornado is on the side of the building away from us. If the goal was the destruction of the plant, wouldn't it make more sense to drop it directly on the building? I blink and eighty or so avarice loci mark the locations of the plant workers. Most have either evacuated or are in the process of doing so, the few others having been in the parts of the plant furthest from the exits. Or maybe one of them is the villain? I was sort of expecting them to stand out more, but to be honest I couldn't even guess which of them was causing this.

The tornado moves towards the corner of the building. Definitely directed.

"Robin? Are tornados common to New England?"

Aqualad may not have seen a tornado before. Heck, I've only seen recordings. Wait, where's Robin?

"Robin?!"

I hear a peal of laughter, like that which would be produced by Chucky in an unusually positive mood. Is that the villain? Is the tornado a distraction while he invisibly picks us off?

"He was just here."

Shit, the telepath can't find him?

"Ring, scan for Robin." The windows blow out in the top floor of the building as the ring locates my errant team mate. "He's in the-."

They are already running -or in M'gann's case flying- across the car park towards the loading bay. Nice to know she overcomes her reticence when necessary. Oh, right, catching up.

There is a woosh of air and a dull clang.

"Ugoh! Guh."

Superboy makes it inside first, followed by the others. Robin is already on the ground, rubbing his head. Superboy leaps.

Yeah, that's a supervillain. Huge, red and black, with some sort of exposed blue cables running from his back to his arms. And a scarf. Why does he have a scarf? It looks like he's wearing power armour.

Why aren't I detecting avarice? Is the armour blocking my scans? It might be, but I'd be surprised if any Earth technology was capable of doing that.

Superboy lands in a crouch next to Robin. "Who's your new friend?"

"Didn't catch his name."

First step in a fight, armour. Orange plates -a bit like Mass Effect Tech Armour- congeal around my body. Last time Diana punched one she had to rub life back into her hand. I value my own life and physical integrity quite highly, and the strength of my defensive constructs reflects that.

"But he plays kinda rough!"

"My apologies. You may address me as Mister Twister."

Superboy is already charging forwards. Mister Twister points his arms at the ground and creates a visible cyclone around each one? Is that possible? The wind reduces Superboy's forward movement to virtually nothing. Then Twister moves his hands and the wind lifts Superboy into the air, spinning him around.

Whaw, that looks CRASH MAT CRASH MAT!

It forms before he hits the wall, reducing a dangerous slam to a light bump. Another forms beneath him as he falls, cushioning his landing. He rights himself and vaults over the railing.

Kid Flash pulls a pair of goggles out of his trousers. Robin rises to his feet with a groan. Aqualad nods at M'gann, who nods back. Aqualad's hands crackle with electricity.

Was there a team attack strategy session I missed?

A look around shows me that the evacuation is complete. I suppose now we're trying to preserve vital infrastructure? There is no mention of a Mister Twister in any file I remember reading, and those the ring absorbed are similarly blank. What does he want?

My team mates charge. And I? I have no idea what to do. I just float here. How to do this? This is too strange. I don't care enough about the fight to smash a guy who can brush off Superboy. I really don't want to try converting him into a construct. I'd like to negotiate, but that opportunity seems to have passed.

Kid Flash gets into range first, and handplants for a super speed flying kick. Mr Twister brings his hands together and causes the air currents to throw him past his target and out of the back of the building. Another crash mat from me catches him in mid air and safely deposits him on the ground outside.

Aqualad and M'gann get tossed around like dolls. Twister doesn't even have to move to knock them aside. I get a soft chair construct under each of them and pull them back to a safe distance. Superboy's attempt at a leaping attack just gives Twister more time to generate an air blast beneath him and send him up into the rafters.

What the heck is this room actually for?

I put a flight aura around Superboy as he starts to come back down, and bring him in for a controlled landing next to me. He shoots me an angry look.

"I was prepared to be challenged by a superhero. I was not, however, expecting children."

Has he not seen me? Or is he just assuming? I suppose the orange glow makes picking out facial characteristics harder. And M'gann does kind of have a 'youthful' body shape. Er, no offence if you're listening, M'gann.

Robin preps and throws two discs. "We're not children!"

Two cyclones again. The first disc detonates just ahead of him, causing no damage. The second hits him in the chest and embeds in his armour before he reaches up and flicks it away. It detonates on his left, out of range.

"Objectively you are. Have you no adult supervision? I find your presence here quite disturbing."

"Actually, not a.. child, back here?" I don't really want to draw his attention as I have no idea what I'd do with it, but I can't let a comment like that just... Go. I'm in a training team because I need training. Most of my team mates are younger because they started earlier. "I mean, I'm not even the oldest member..."

Hmm. I suppose the infrastructure is safe from further damage as long as we hold his attention. And aside from Robin's attempt at being a solo artist none of us are hurt.

"Well we hate to see you disturbed. We'll see if you're more turbed once we kick your can!"

Are they all just going to rush him again? Even Vas knows that's dumb. And what the hell is 'turbed'?

M'gann steps forwards, and uses telekinesis to rip open a metal.. tank.. that was stuck on the ceiling..? What nutter designed this place? Mister Twister is briefly wreathed in vapour, and Superboy uses the distraction to cover another leaping attack. A full air blast from our enemy sends him straight into a horizontal strut before I can grab him. He also manages to hit M'gann in the air before I get another crash mat under them both before they hit the ground.

This is getting really stupid. I'm no tactical genius or anything, but this is some seriously futile stuff.

Kid Flash and Robin charge just as my patience runs out. An omnidirectional airblast leads to the same mini tornado as Twister used on Superboy. To much the same effect, except that he takes the time to slam the two of them together before he stops it.

Reaching a decision, I grab Aqualad with a mailed gauntlet construct.

"Wha'?"

I bring him level with where I'm floating. "You wanna come up with a plan, maybe tell your least experienced team mate what it is?"

He's actually struggling against the construct. What is his problem? When he realises that he can't get leverage he stops and turns his head to face me.

"You should be aiding us against the enemy."

I roll my eyes. Really? "I should not have to explain the necessity of having a plan to the Atlantean Royal Champion!"

He starts, considers, then nods. I drop the gauntlet. "Can you hold him in place while we regroup? Perhaps a construct chain or manacles?"

No, 'cause those are solely dependent on construct strength and I don't care enough. Sonic attack, try to disable? Aided by -Teen Titan flashback- effective misdirection? I don't have a better idea.

"Miss M'orzz, would you please take over catching duty!?"

She has just disentangled herself from Superboy. "Uh, sure."

I raise my right arm, palm extended, and cause my hand to glow with bright orange light. Amplification please, ring.

"Would my team mates please stand clear of the target!"

That got a reaction.

"Another child in need of an education."

He raises his arms to ward off a direct attack. But I have a power ring.

The only time Kyle Rayner ever impressed me as a Lantern was when, during a fight with Power Ring, he fired a beam behind him and then through the ground under his target. Still, typical Green Lantern, he never expanded the technique. Or maybe it was just bad writing?

Whatever. OrangeVision shows me that the narrow beam running from my right foot has undermined Mister Twister's position while he's staring at my hand. I still don't think I care enough to hit him hard enough directly…

Oh, that's good.

"Things will get loud, now."

Four beams of orange light erupt from the floor around him. Each one sprouts four sonic energy projectors and activates, with his centre of mass as the focal point. I remember reading during psychology A-Level that this is how ultrasound is used to destroy kidney stones; beams are focused from several different directions so that the stone where they meet is vibrated to nothingness while the other tissues are unharmed.

"Graawgh!" His winds dissipate. His hands clutch at his head. I can see his armour vibrating. Wait, why is he clutching his head? The armour doesn't have ears, and I can't see external microphones.

Aqualad takes the initiative. "Superboy, try pulling on his cables!"

Superboy looks up, nods, and then runs full speed at Mister Twister. He isn't Kid Flash, but his strength gives him quite a turn of speed. He pounds across the room, jumps past my constructs and-

"Ghuaaaagh!"

-barrels straight into Mister Twister's chest, screaming in pain. Mister Twister was knocked backwards by the impact.

What? What happened?

He drops to the ground, clutching his head.

What?

My sonic constructs dissipate as I switch my attention to recovering Superboy. When he feels the stretcher construct touch him he flails at it. Even from the other side of the room I can see blood on his hands.

I want him safe.

Tentacle constructs wrapping around him I dump Superboy onto the stretcher and swiftly move it behind the rear wall. He's in a foetal position, still clutching his ears. An ambulance won't work, I'll need to contact Red Tornado-.

"Surprisingly intelligent, for a youth."

Huh?

I hear a vacuum sound.

Arrhhh!

Can't see!

Twister!

Waaaaahh!

Can't concentrate to fly!

Blauhoabaubauabuao!

Doafh!

Slamming through something, I hit the ground.

Uuuuugh.

I threw up inside my shield! Oh, that's disgusting. The ring automatically takes care of all of the vomit that left my mouth, but the bile still fills my throat. I retch and splutter, trying to clear the rest of it.

"Ring, fix it."

Oh that's better. I can still taste a bit, ugh, but I'm now feeling less revolting.

!Superboy!

I struggle to my feet and then immediately collapse down. The world spins as I roll onto my back in the earth. Earth? Trees? I must have cleared the car park.

"Ring, inner ear."

Even in a state of confusion my desire for self preservation remained. Otherwise, my shield would have gone down and the wind blast would probably have killed me. I try to rise again. Yep, fine, good work ring. I quickly check myself for injuries, then realise that's stupid.

Wholeness Rightly Assumed.

I'm at a sharp angle from the entrance to the power plant. I can see Superboy on the ground, but I can't see the others. I can hear them, though. Explosions and shouts.

!Superboy!

Superboy!

I'm at his side in seconds. He's still moaning. I lay a hand on his forearm and he knocks me away with enough force to weaken my shield.

"Ring, what's wrong with him?"

"Numerous physical defects detected. Current primary physical injury is the result of ruptured ear drums."

"Can you fix it?"

"Not without further physiological data for target species."

"Can't you just.. just… Work it out?"

"Suggested course of action is possible, but unwise."

Don't mess with people's bodies if you don't know what you're doing.

"Painkillers. Can you stop it hurting him?"

"Compliance."

A thin orange tether connects the ring to Superboy. He gasps, and stops moaning. He looks up at me, and pushes himself to his feet.

"What happened?" He looks shocked for a moment. "What happened!"

From shocked to scared.

He claps his hands together, loudly, then again right against his left ear. "Why can't I hear anything!"

"You've got ruptured ear drums. You won't be able to hear anything until you've had medical attention. Wo… Can you hear me?"

"Yes!"

"Okay, okay, I think the ring is interfaced with your auditory nerves. Mister Twister is still up and I-."

He bounds away, leaping around towards the other side of the building where our team mates are fighting.

Ear drums ruptured. Sonic attack. Super hearing.

It was me.

He went past my constructs, got hit by the sonic energy and his ears exploded. Oh god. Oh god.

Move.

Move.

Move. Move. Move.

I begin jogging, not trusting my ability to fly yet.

It was me. I might have permanently deafened him.

My shield flickers and weakens.

As I round the corner of the building I hear a grunt as Superboy is sent flying into a car, the force of the impact sliding it backwards.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm waiting for a real hero."

"Read his mind. Find a weakness!"

Won't work, Aqualad.

"Er, I thought I wasn't supposed to do that?"

"It's okay with the bad guys!"

I reach the ruins of the car Superboy hit as he pulls himself free.

"Nothing. I'm getting nothing!"

Mister Twister is airborne, clearly dismissing us. I could hit him, but right now my concern for Superboy is crowding out my other desires.

M'gann strikes the side of her head with the base of her palm.

"Hello, Megan! Mister Twister is Red Tornado in disguise." Um, no? "He's inorganic. An android. But how many androids do you know that can generate tornados?"

Probably a lot? Haven't you read the intelligence files? If you can make one…

"Red Tornado sent us here!"

Nonono Aqualad, not the avalanche of stupid…

"After saying we'd 'be tested soon enough'?"

Robin?

"This is his test! Something to keep us busy!"

Ring. Locate Red Tornado.

I get a momentary vision of him back at the base, staring at the main computer terminal.

"Red Tornado's still at the base! It isn't him!"

They stare at me, thought train derailed.

"Thank you for the information. Perhaps this will tempt Achilles from his tent."

He raises his arms above his head. Two funnels of air form, but they aren't directed at us. What's he..?

The skies darken.

No. Fucking. Way.

A swirling storm forms around him while he stands at the eye. Away from the edge, bright sunny day. Here, it's working up to hurricane force.

Superboy tries walking in a crouch towards the source of the attack.

No. That won't work.

A glow and I've grabbed him and I'm flying towards the others. We land in the centre of the group.

Lightning begins crackling around Mister Twister.

I see worried and fraught faces. My allies.

I fucked up with Superboy, but I'm not failing again.

An orange bubble forms around the group. I hold my arms outwards, palms towards the centre of the storm.

I. Will. Not. Fail.

Krackompf!

I feel the shield stress as the lightning hits. As the afterimage burns my retina I can see the orange membrane ripple like water where it was struck.

Krackompf!

I don't know what to do.

I don't know what to do.

I don't know what to do.

"I can't tank this forever!"

M'gann looks thoughtful.

Mister Twister floats down towards us, crackling with power. And then he stops.

"Fine then. I won't deny that you children have power. But playing hide and seek with you will not help me achieve my objectives."

What?

"So stay concealed. If you confront me again I will. Show. No. Mercy."

What?

OrangeVision

The Bio-Ship is floating between us and Twister, camouflage active. He can't see us, so he's breaking off.

Heh. He flies standing up too.

HeH hEh HeH.