[X] Miss Martian
You realize Miss Martian has you in her arms, rocking you in her lap. You bury your face into her soft chest, eyes crying milky sap into it. The boys react by either looking away awkwardly or, in the case of Wally, staring enthusiastically.
The Martian pats and rubs your back, letting you cry yourself out. Her touch is comforting, and it doesn't take more than a minute for the sobs racking your form to settle down. When you're sure you're done, you look up at Miss M, biting your lip. "Sorry... I know this probably wasn't pleasant for you..."
Miss Martian smiles. "Don't be silly. You smell like a field of wildflowers in full bloom. Do you know how rare that scent is on Mars? I could spend all day hugging you just for that scent." You hear Robin elbow Wally in the side before he can say something. You giggle a bit, then pull yourself to your roots.
"Anyway, I've held us up long enough. Should we get going?"
"Not yet," Aqualad says. "Do you have any other phobias we should know about, Peony?"
"Ummm... Heights, but that should be fine now that I can fly. Uhhh... Tornadoes and hurricanes. It's not a fear, but my species is weak to fire, cold, polluted water, fungal parasites, and
probably herbicide."
Aqualad nods. "Noted. Thought why did you not react to Red Tornado's flight?"
You shrug. "Probably because it was red and completely controlled by its maker. My fear is more of the destruction and death wild tornadoes and hurricanes can cause."
"Very well. Now, shall we get a move on?"
Everyone nods, then moves to climb down the ramp of the bioship... only to come face-to-face with your worst nightmare.
A massive tornado, ripping through the power plant parking lot.
You scream bloody murder, point, and then...
'Whoa, kid! Calm down! It's a tornado. Ya know what's causin' it, so cool yer jets n' get yer head in the game.'
'BUT IT'S A TORNADO AND IT'S COMING RIGHT AT ME AND-'
'Cool yer jets, kid. Ain't nothin' like that gonna hurt you worse'n I could fix you up from. An' that's if that Ring o' your'n don't stop it happenin' in the first place.'
'Okay, so... in my last life, I grew up in Tornado Alley. Tornadoes never touched us directly, but I'd see TV alerts and hear news stories of neighborhoods leveled all the time! It happened at such a young age, and the reports and alerts were always so intense, I guess I just ended up developing a neurotic, irrational fear of tornadoes!'
'Kid... you need to get yer shit together. You got a ring fit to bust planets with, once you get the right mindset in. I seen what some of them Greenies can do. An' you're well safe, 'sides that. Can't get took down unless every part of you's burned, an' I reckon I could bring you back from that with a bit a' warnin'. Git'cher feathers unruffled, now. An' pay attention meatside, yer team needs you.'
Yeah, that's… a surprisingly good point, actually. Your fists clench, your face screws up in determination, and you whirl around to face Miss Martian. "Right, sorry about that! What'd I miss?"
The Martian jumps. "Peony, you were staring out into space for so long, we-"
"Remote peptalk from a demigod, talk about it later? Need to know what's happening here!"
She shares a concerned look with Aqualad, who is also with you under the Bioship. "I... The enemy is a man who calls himself Mister Twister," the Atlantean explains. "He can cause tornadoes and lightning storms. M'gann could not read his mind, so she assumed he was Red Tornado, testing us. She was... quite wrong. He proved too much for us, so M'gann hid us with the bioship. Wally, Robin, and Superboy followed Mister Twister into town, but M'gann and I opted to stay behind until you awoke... so to speak."
Wow, were you really talking to Swamp Thing for that long? "Okay, we need to do something about this guy."
"We actually just called Red Tornado. M'gann says she might have a plan."
You grin. "Excellent."
-o-
You lie in wait as Miss Martian flies in under the guise of Red Tornado. Even from your safe distance and hiding place, you flinch at the sight of Mister Twister's tornadoes.
"We are evenly matched, Twister!" M'gann announces in Red Tornado's voice, sending Wally spinning behind her to launch rubble at the enemy.
"No, Tornado, we aren't!" Mister Twister says, pounding the ground to deflect the rubble, then launching a beam of electricity at the disguised M'gann.
She hovers and strafes to avoid it, but after an explosion from the beam impacting a boat that was launched from the harbor, she falls to the ground and bounces with a heavy thud.
Mister Twister walks calmly up to his fallen foe, holding out his hand as wires emerge from his fingers and attach to M'gann's head. "Remain still, android. Reprogramming won't take long."
Without warning, Miss Martian grabs the wires and morphs only her head back, smiling up at Mister Twister. "Longer than you might think," she quips.
"No!" Twister bellows as Miss Martian uses a telekinetic push to send him flying into a spinning Kid Flash.
The enemy goes flying and Superboy runs in to catch him by the arm and deliver several devastating punches to his torso, busting holes right through it, then throwing him into the harbor, where Aqualad is in wait. He comes flying out coursing with electricity and sans an arm, where Miss Martian lifts him up and uses a telekinetic shockwave to shore him of some spare parts and another arm.
That's your cue and you
teleport in, grabbing Mister Twister's armless torso and again
teleporting. Now up high above the harbor, and with your enemy facing downward, you let go of him to let him drop, then
teleport safely back down to the Team.
As Mister Twister falls, Robin throws several shuriken at him, and they explode as he finally hits the ground.
As you gather before your thoroughly beaten foe, he rises to his knees. His chest opens up with a burst of steam and out comes an older man in what resembles a helmetless spacesuit. He falls onto his chest with a grunt, struggling to pull himself to his hands and knees.
"Uh, er, foul! I-I-I call foul!"
Without a word, and despite Aqualad's cry of "M'gann, no!" Miss Martian lifts up a nearby boulder and telekinetically drops it atop the man, crushing him instantly.
Robin walks up to the female Martian, arms spread and a look of angry disgust on his face. "Don't know how things are done on Mars, but on Earth, we don't execute our captives!" he growls.
Miss Martian smiles. "You said you'd trust me." She waves her hand to lift the boulder again, revealing the man inside the Mister Twister suit was
also a robot. "
That's why I couldn't read his mind."
Wally squats before the wrecked android and grabs an eyeball with still-sparking wires attached to it. He stands and examines it. "Cool! Souvenir."
Aqualad puts his hand on Miss Martian's shoulder. "We should've had more faith in you." He next turns to you. "As for you, Peony... Your team spirit and attitude are admirable, but you need to work on your... weaknesses. I highly suggest you seek counseling with Black Canary," he instructs.
You wince, nod, and hang your head, your hands clasped behind your back. "I'm... sorry, everyone."
"Hey, you came through for us when we needed you. That's good enough for us," Robin says, smiling.
Wally walks over and elbows you in the arm. "Yeah, just don't zone out like that again, space case."
You giggle.
Chapter 2: Fear Factor
End
