Your Everything Disgusts Me (DC/SI)

When I open my eyes the first thing to hit me is the phantom sensation that has replaced pain. It’s incredibly distracting; which is, admittedly, just as I intended it to be. As soon as I acknowledge the sensation it diminishes greatly; that wasn’t how I’d intended it to function. Which seems to imply I’m probably wearing the ring.

It is so.

Very good, then. Status report?

Agent Puce was incapacitated for approximately seventy-two local hours. Forearms were flayed down to the bone; remainder of body suffered only mild abrasions. Further progress on recovery cannot be completed at this time.

I frown and attempt to sit. There’s a painful noise just at the edge of my hearing; a high-pitched whine of some sort coming from one of the instruments attached to me. It appears that I have been moved to some sort of infirmary. The sound really is irritating. Ring?

It shall be done.

The sounds of various machines silence; along with a good half-dozen other background irritations I was barely aware of. As I start examining my bandaged arms the doors open and Cyborg walks in. He looks relieved to see me sitting up and conscious. Various displays lower down and start to flicker to life as his gaze runs across me.

“Good to see you back with us. That ring of yours made things kinda tricky.” I raise an eyebrow at him and glance down at my hands. Puce light shines out from under the bandages on my left hand. Should probably get it off soon. The ring, that is, not the bandages. Those can come off now. As I start to tear them off Cyborg reaches out in shock. “Hey now, easy! What’re yo-...”

He trails off as I silently finished. My forearms are a hard, muscular mass that looks vaguely chitinous at the moment. The optimised architectures distributed around my body have been pumping out the necessary ingredients for reconstituting my ruined flesh with the minor side effect of making me incredibly hungry. If it weren’t for the drip I’d probably be… oh, wait, no. There it is.

“I’m fine. Just… need a lot of high protein food. Fast.” My arms are shaking. Looks like the ring helped to direct the reconstruction process but it’s still had to cannibalise part of my musculature after clearing out my fat reserves. I’ll need to upgrade further, and soon. Cyborg is giving me a look right now but the equipment is still upping the quality of my drip so that’s nice.

“Kid… what have you done to yourself?” Hm. Not sure how to feel about that. The ring reacts to strong flashes of emotions but I only get the vaguest sensation of what they actually are. No empath, me. But I’m fairly sure he’s not trying to condescend. Cyborg can’t be that much older than me but from his point of view I would be a total newbie.

“Eliminated everything I hated about myself. Not entirely by choice, admittedly. It was already underway when I woke up.” I hold out my arm and poke at the ring. Not taking it off until I’m healthy again. “And you can call me… Huria, I guess. Might end up changing that, but it’s appropriate for now. I am twenty-one, as well. Not really a kid, you know?” The prior look melds into a new one as Cyborg… as Victor spots the obvious parallels. Sympathy, probably. Or at least empathy.

“The ring has a lot of data on alien biologies. It took everything that was compatible with me still being… ‘human’... and then rebuilt me based on that.” Not entirely sure of the details. My skin’s probably equivalent to mid-range body armour. Bones would be as close to indestructible as you could get in non-magical materials. Excluding metamaterials. All senses increased to the maximum limit based on brain architecture and space available. And still technically human.

“I see.” His expression tells me that he doesn’t, not really. Victor Stone isn’t stupid, especially not with the Reach-tech built into him, but he’s not a biology major. Trying to explain the intricate details of my altered physiology would be pointless even if I could. Although maybe that stuff in him could help translate a bit. It really is quite nice. If it weren’t for my personal issues around cybertech I’d be looking into it myself.

“I realise it’s a bit…” Then I stop, and I really look at the situation. Cyborg… Victor’s origin is very similar to my own, in a way. If you break it down to the barebones. He’s almost certainly seeing himself in me right now. “Okay. I’ll admit it’s fucked up, and I suspect that I’ll be speaking with my assigned therapist about it a bit. However, I feel much better than I have in a long time.”

That’s not a lie, either. Maybe it’s to do with the alterations properly balancing my brain chemistry or maybe it’s because of where I am but I really do feel pretty good. Victor gives me a long look that I can’t decipher and then sighs.

“Alright. In that case, I think it’s time for a good team bonding exercise! C’mon.” My stomach loudly protested any course of action except eating at that moment. “We can take care of that too.” As I try to stand I find I need to extend an environment shield around myself and enhance it a bit so I can use it as an assisted movement device. My current muscle mass is having trouble supporting my weight.

“Need a hand?” He doesn’t move to help me automatically, which I appreciate. I shake my head and he lets me stumble along with him for about as long as it takes me to remember that I can fly. A dash of contempt for my infirmity gets me off the ground and trailing after him. “Good timing for you, actually. Just got in our last member today.”

Huh. We’ve got the entire Titans roster plus him. Superboy? Was I out long enough for them to hit up Cadmus, then? I can imagine that going quite differently with Raven and Starfire. Particularly the former. Kinda hard to contain someone who can phase through walls. Especially since she’d be a complete unknown to them. Hopefully they didn’t get any of Starfire’s specs, though. Incorporating Tamaranean physiology into the Genomorphs could be troublesome.

We walk and float through the corridors and into an elevator. To my surprise it heads up. I know the personal rooms are all underground, but the original Titans Tower was not. Is it a fake or in use? The tour had the infirmary, labs, evidence room, gym and all that jazz still built underground as well.

The doors open to reveal a beautiful view of what I can only assume is… what was it called, Jump City? I can see a bridge in the background and the sky looks beautiful. Just shy of midday, I’d say. This area definitely looks like a briefing room. I suppose there’s no reason to not have it be in the actual tower even if the thing as a whole is a red herring.

… wait, no. This will be the public meeting room. Duh. Making the new guy feel welcome. I do my best to smile as we move out of the elevator and I catch a glimpse of… huh. Not what I was expecting.

M’gann M’orzz is early. That doesn’t bode well. Or does it? I need to find a reason to point the team at Cadmus as soon as possible. Not just for Superboy’s sake. There’s stuff there that I need. Her uncle isn’t here, and she’s nattering away at the team. Beast Boy… yeah, that’s probably a crush. Wally is Wally. Robin and Aqualad are their usual selves too but Starfire actually seems to be enthused to be interacting with another alien girl.

I shift my gaze to the side and notice that Raven is off to one side watching the rest. Of course she is. She notices me first and we lock eyes for a few moments until an annoying voice cuts across our quiet moment.

“Oh yeah. And there’s this guy too, I guess.” Ah. Wally. I sigh and lower myself to the ground; supporting my movements with the ring as I walk to the others. “This is Agent Puce. He’s a Puce Lantern.” And then he smirks at me. Okay. I don’t remember him being this much of a dick in the show but, then again, he was younger. So on the one hand I would have expected him to mature a bit. On the other hand…

Warning! Mental intrusion detected!

I turn to glare at the still-smiling M’gann as she floats over. Oh really? That does it. Ring? New protocol! In response to any attempt at mental intrusion induce in me the sensation of being burned alive, drowned and electrocuted. Begin.

Two things happen. My entire body starts to tingle as my nerves try to parse the sensations. It doesn’t hurt me, it just feels weird. As for M’gann; her eyes widen, her skin pales and she starts to scream. The sensations end shortly after.

There’s an immediate surge of confusion and concern. I see Raven watching me in horror; not endearing myself to her, am I? And then Wally rushes up to me and grabs me by the collar. I relax; not strengthening the environmental shield and allowing him to take hold of me.

“What did you do to her!” I give him one of my best Looks and then push him off me. It’s hard; I need the ring-assist to make him stumble back. Just a few days ago I was stronger than him. Need food soon. M’gann has fallen back into a seated position and is staring at me in horror while Beast Boy tries to comfort her. He looks pretty distraught; I feel worse about that than anything.

“She tried to read my mind, and I applied the appropriate countermeasures. Excuse me.” I shoulder past him and approach M’gann. She doesn’t try to get away but she does flinch as I fix my gaze on her. There’s a quiet hum at the edge of my hearing that’s coming from Cyborg. He’s powered up something but is just watching us for now.

“I would appreciate it if you didn’t attempt to invade my mind without permission. Perhaps it was just instinctual and, if so, I apologise for my reaction. That said; my thoughts are my own. Alright?” She nods weakly and I offer my hand to her. M’gann doesn’t take it; instead she lets Beast Boy help her up.

“Hell no! What is your problem, man? She was just being friendly and you attacked her!” And Wally’s on my case again. I’ve been wearing the ring for an extended period so perhaps my judgement is slightly compromised. But I’m not going to let people in my head just like that.

“Friendly or not she isn’t entitled to know what I am thinking.” Beast Boy is still trying to soothe M’gann but I can catch a pensive look on Robin’s face. Starfire doesn’t seem to know what to think.

“What, you trying to hide something?” … alright. That does it. I finally turn to face Kid Flash with my most hateful expression on. Artemis was an unknown who he felt was replacing his friend so he was somewhat hostile to her. I’m even more unknown and just assaulted a cute girl. So I understand his antagonism. Doesn’t mean I’m going to put up with it.

“Do we have a problem, Kid Flash? Because this issue you have with me seems a bit more personal.” I’d genuinely like to know, as well. This can’t just be because of Speedy deciding he didn’t want to play with the rest of them.

“Yeah, we have a problem. You.” Hm. Not anger any more. Is that fear? Afraid of me, or what I’ve done? “You showed up out of nowhere with a weird Power Ring and you’re clearly unhinged. Robin showed us what you did to the Joker-” I look to him and he holds my stare evenly. Fair enough. I can’t fault him that. “And now you just attacked Megan out of nowhere!” Fear wrought of legitimate concerns and anger about his missing friend being projected onto me, then.

“N-no… it’s fine.” Oh? The girl herself speaks. “Uncle J’onn said I shouldn’t do that here on Earth. It was my fault.” Not entirely true. I look over to her and her face has darkened with... with… hm. I don’t recognise that emotion. Feels close to contempt, though. Shame? Sounds about right.

“As I said; if it was just an instinctual thing then I apologise for the extremity of my reaction. You, likewise, are forgiven.” She looks relieved. Probably was frazzled by what I did to myself just to force her out. Wally still looks mad, though. “As for you, Kid. In the words of my countrymen; You wanna scrap, bro?” The mocking South Auckland accent I affect gets a giggle out of Beast Boy. Good, good.

“I don’t think tha-” Cyborg, bless him, attempts to mediate. He was willing to watch for a time but now it’s starting to escalate this is the right time to step in. Sadly, it’s too late.

“Oh yes! You shall do the glorious battle to establish your strength! On my world, this is the ‘custom’, yes?” Ah, Starfire. I grin at her by way of answer. Even if it’s kind of bloodthirsty in context her the expression is a familiar one of almost childhood glee. Cyborg sighs.

“Can’t it wait? Huria, you know you’re sti-” I wave a hand at him and shoot him a glare. He gives as good as he gets. Right. He’s our caretaker. Not our age-appropriate friend. Well, he won’t be that much older than me, I think?

“I promise I won’t hurt him.” That does it for Wally. He finally snaps. I know this because I barely hear him shout at me before suddenly he’s rushing across the room with his fist already raising for a swing. I think he said something along the lines of ‘Fuck you too’, or somesuch.

I feel a little bad about this. Of course, I goaded him into this reaction but, at the same time, my reaction to M’gann was genuine. This confrontation was bound to happen at some point so might as well make it happen now. So let’s see…

The ring has accelerated my perception so that I can see him coming but with my physical prowess alone I can’t do anything to stop it. Wally’s charging towards me like he’s moving through treacle but, and this is crucial, he’s getting faster by the second. I won’t be able to react to the actual blow by the time he reaches me; this much I’m sure of.

Alright! Ring, can you help me extrude some studs from the point of impact? Wait until right before his punch hits.

It will be done.

Kid Flash speeds up over the next couple of seconds until he’s moving faster than I can see; his fist slams into my environmental shield and suddenly time returns to normal. There’s a tingling in my head and a hot, warm feeling around my ears and nose. I ignore it in favour of shifting my left leg forwards, twisting about my waist and swinging my right fist directly into his gut.

Everyone looks on in horror; from their point of view Wally just reeled back from me, clutching his hand and crying in pain, and then I socked him one. Well, almost everyone. Starfire is openly cheering me on. I shift and grasp Wally by the forearms; using the ring’s assistance to haul him into the air. He’s looking down at me with an expression that goes from anger to confusion to horror.

Huh. I’m bleeding from my nose and ears. That would be why.

“I’m going to make this as clear as I can, Kid.” He stiffens up and I smirk a little. “You don’t trust me? Well, I don’t trust any of you. Nor do I trust anyone inside my head. I’m not going to apologise for wanting to keep my secrets to myself.” I drop him with a little bit of a push. Kudos to him; he doesn’t try and hit me again as I turn away.

“Oh yeah? What are you trying to hide?” There’s a little gasp from Raven and Cyborg steps forward; clearly unhappy. Too late. It’s been said.

“... hide?” I spin on my heel and advance on him; jabbing a finger into his chest. “I’m not allowed to have any privacy? Is that it?” Now Cyborg reaches for me, putting a hand on my shoulder to pull me back. I shake him off but I don’t advance as Wally steps back; rather, I merely raise my voice as I go.

“FIne then, Wally!” His eyes widen and he retreats another step. “Let’s share! Five days ago I woke up in space with a piece of unknown xenotech flaying me down to the bone so that it could remove every last thing I hated about myself! I don’t know what happened to my family, my friends, or even my entire world! For all I know every single person I’ve ever cared about is dead! So please, allow me a little abrasiveness while I try to come to terms with that.”

At last I turn and walk away; leaving the room in stunned silence. I end up getting into the elevator alone and fiercely slamming the button. Once the doors have closed I collapse into the corner, yank the ring off and look up at the camera in the top corner opposite me. “Hey, Cyborg. I’d, ah, appreciate if you could arrange for a wheelchair at… wherever I’m going. Just kinda hit a random button. Sorry about… yeah.” There’s no reaction for some time until the red light underneath the camera turns blue and then winks on and off.

The doors open shortly thereafter. No idea how he did it but, sure enough, there’s a mechanised wheelchair waiting for me outside. It takes a lot of effort for me to pull myself upright and get into it; at this point, my body can only barely lift its own weight. Geez. Once I’m in it the chair starts to move on its own; startling, but not surprising. It heads through a sliding metal door into a vacant lobby and then out a pair of glass double doors to a paved path that winds down the side of the hill the tower is on.

We’re located on an island; that was expected. Tower’s still under construction which isn’t as expected. I’m parked at an empty dock that faces away from the city; presumably to wait quietly and cool off until Cybor-

A muffled ‘boom’ from behind me and then the man himself steps on to the wood beside me. He stands there as I lean into the back of the chair and stare off into the distance. After a few minutes he finally speaks.

“You’ll need to apologise to Kid Flash.” I nod. Yeah. That’s fair. “But so will he. To you. And M’gann already said she’s fine. They’re all going out for pizza. Team bonding, like I said. You still in, or…?” He trails off, and I wonder if there’s a deeper meaning to his query. Probably not. Maybe so. Hard to say.

“... yeah. I’m in.”