Starts almost like Assimilation. Watched!
I'm excited of the possibilities!
And i am hoping i don't disappoint.
Even outside of Cadmus there are a lot of supervillains and weird biological beings and things out there in DC comics that would not be immediately missed that would make the world an all-you-can eat buffet of abilities for Gamma to assimilate. Some things to consider is to what extent he can eat things that are only borderline biological or not sufficient "natural", like demons, living clay, etc. Maybe even beings like Parasite, Doomsday, Chemo, White Martians, etc. What happens if he drinks a Lazarus Pit or eats a Gingo fruit (used to make Gingold for Elongated Mans powers) and so forth?
Alright then, since everyone keeps getting curious, and me being a lazy prick haven't made the Green Lantern and JL conference about Astral Flesh. I still have to, so that you understand more of the creature's behaviours, but i guess the powers need to be explained more directly as even the Lanterns do not fully understand it, nor can they make sense of the principal mechanism at work inside astral biology.
First off, Astral biology is not even biology. Its called Flesh because at a glance, it looks like flesh more than anything. But in truth it is not. It borders the line between machine and cell in such a way that it becomes neither.
That is why purposefully weakening the cells with Blank and then binding them to the Red made them useful as biological manipulation tools. That binding effectively turns Astral Cells into... metamutant super cells that are receptive to the animal kingdom. If you try that with the Green or the Grey, then yeah, it would happen the same manner but receptive to each of its own elemental force. But because these things are not actually biology in the slightest, you could actually bind them to ANY of the elemental forces. An exiting, yet horrifying example would be if you bind it to the Fire Realms then the tamed astral cells would become a self contained blob of quasi-degenerate ionized plasma... that somehow is actually alive!
Like i said, Astral Flesh does not give a fuck about the laws of physics at all.
But everyone wonders still how does it adapt, so let me explain it in detail.
The DC universe is impossible. Like... literally it is. Superman should not fly, magic should not be real, the emotive force is not meant to exist at all, Fate is not real, death should be oblivion, there is no heaven or earth! All of it derives from a semi-sentient, multiversal, programable form of 'energy' that was inserted into the moment of creation thus becoming the various forces and impossible things that happen across the insane multiverse that is the DC universes. This energy, at its purest is called Mythopoeia. And that is the key stone of the Astral Cell's Engine and how they evolve.
They do not replicate a biological process, no. They analyze, assimilate and replicate a target's Mythopoeic signature, and then make the nessesary physical adjustments to use it.
Mythopoeia is akin to the 'Pure energy' of this energy, and it divides itself into the following two main Archetypes, which they themselves divided into two Forms.
Keter Forces.
Potential: The processes that Superman and various other superheroes use. Certain substances, genes or mechanical processes generate a Mythopoeic signature, and thus the Potentia format follows soon after and grants them certain powers depending on the signature. Potentia is very similar to Forces (speed force) and thus can easily overlap, but on a fundamental level, they are different because Potential does not have a specific universal field or realm that derives its energy from, as all Potential forms draw energy from a singular source, an as of yet unidentified zone in reality or creation.
Forces: They function similarly to Potential, except that each power has its own realm that draws energy from, and these powers are syninomous to the forces at play. They can also be entities and non-physical phenomena taken to a form of life of its own. It is one of the more complex ones in terms of how it functions and how its connected to the other forms of Mythopoeic fields, as it touches Ideas and Emotions deeply as well. Elementals are magical beings, but are also tied to the Force as it makes them nexus for universal forces and concepts. If this was not the case, then the Parliament of Limbs of the Red could only affect earth life, and each planet would have its own version of the Red. Happens similarly to lords of Chaos and Order. This however, does not touch much upon gods from Myths, as each only touches regions which birth their own faith.
Apollyonic Patterns.
Ideas: Magic in simple words. At its most fundamental, magic is the stuff of ideas and power that derives from such. I cannot quite explain much without reciting what everyone already knows. So there you go.
Emotion: In the most simplest of ways, it is the Emotive force. Coincidentally enough the Emotive force is both extremely tied to Ideas and Forces, and could be mistaken as either, if it did not possess certain traits and characteristics that made it stand out.
Now.. as for your other questions...
Some things to consider is to what extent he can eat things that are only borderline biological or not sufficient "natural", like demons, living clay, etc. Maybe even beings like Parasite, Doomsday, Chemo, White Martians, etc. What happens if he drinks a Lazarus Pit or eats a Gingo fruit (used to make Gingold for Elongated Mans powers) and so forth?
With the knowledge above explained, I'll give you an answer that may just answer all of the above. If it has a Mythopoeic signature, Gamma can and WILL replicate it. That includes the Lazarus Pit's resurrection trick. Everything that has Mythopoeia is subject to a Star God's diet and eventual replication.
