An Embodiment of Pollution Emerges From Gotham. Let's See What Happens!
Miasma (YJ OC)
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Prologue
- Location
- New England
AN: Cross-Posted from SpaceBattles
____________________________________________________________
The sewers of Gotham were well known to him. They were his. His territory. His home. But, something changed. He hated it. A foul odor wafted from below, worse than normal for a sewer. It had him on edge. Always on edge. The sewers weren't safe anymore. Not after the Joker's last attempt on Gotham.
Waylon Jones grit his teeth as he went deeper than even he was comfortable with. The smell was getting worse, and the feeling of danger was growing. His instincts said to run. But he bulled through and pushed on. Until he saw it. A break in the sewer wall to a cavern beyond. Green gas hung over a bubbling liquid, and the feeling of death hung over it like a haze.
He took a step closer, only to freeze as his instincts blared. Any closer and only death awaited him. He remained still until he saw it. Something moving in the liquid. A skeletal hand grabbed the side of the crack, dripping the tar-like substance. It was all he needed to see to leave, finally giving into the instincts that had been telling him to run from the start. Whatever it was, he wanted no part of it.
Not when it reeked of of Joker Venom.
____________________________________________________________
At the best of times, Gotham was dangerous. But some places were worse than others, and the Slaughter Swamp was one of the worst. At the very edge of the swamp, it met the sewers, a now rusted pipe allowing the two to bleed together. And from this emerged a blackened, rotten skeleton covered in sludge. Black, tar-like sludge wafting with green and purple smoke that quickly pull into its form.
With a wet splat, it fell to one of the walkways where the bones crumbled into the sludge. After a few moments, sludge started climbing from both the sewer and the hole in the pipe to coat the skeletal entity entirely. Before long, a mound of sludge covered it, and it began to move like a slug across the ground.
A noise drew its attention, and it followed. It was slow. But it kept moving. Bits of plastic emerged from the water along with rivulets of liquid and semi-solid substances. The sludge took it all in, growing in bulk as it did.
It found the spot the sound had come from.
'What is it?'
The thought was there for only a moment, but it stopped the sludge's movements.
'Where?'
The sludge reared up like a snake and 'looked' around as a half-crumbled skull emerged from it.
'There.'
It began to move, following the whiff of lingering death. Of blood.
More and more flowed into the creature as it moved. As it grew, it sped up, and soon, it found what it was looking for.
____________________________________________________________
Waylon ran with reckless abandon. At first, the smell had started to fade. Now it was growing again, getting worse. It was chasing him. Whatever it was, it was chasing him, he was the prey and he did not like it. Nor could he fight it. So he ran. Faster and faster as the smell grew worse and worse.
He could hear it. The wet, sucking noise of its movements as it followed him. He turned back to look, and felt a trill of fear as he could see it. Black as pitch it surged, a broken skull staring at him.
It surged after him and Waylon ran faster. In a fit of desperation, he burst through a manhole to the surface. Moments later, it surged after him, only to freeze in the night.
Waylon didn't stop running, even after it stopped chasing him.
____________________________________________________________
'What is this?'
The creature's form shifted as it looked around. It was more open than the sewer. A ripple moved through its body as a low moan echoed out.
'...Food?'
It's 'head' tilted as it felt the air. A pull, and the air itself began to clear. The smell of oil, smog, and other, less pleasant scents dulled ever so slightly.
'Good. Yes. Good.'
A gasp drew its attention. It turned, then tilted its head again. A woman stared at it. She was backed to the wall, eyes wide.
'Scared? Why?'
It shifted to look at itself. Grey, black, brown, and violet sludge in a serpentine form with bits of bone and plastic sticking out of it. It... was not pretty. It looked back at the woman, who froze as its gaze rested on her.
'Me?'
It pulled its skull inwards, all the plastic and bits of bone followed. A tendril extended towards the woman, and touched on her soul.
She fainted at the feeling, but, it was all the creature needed to understand.
It pulled itself inwards, a shell of hardened sludge reducing it to the size of a small car and pulsed like a heart. Then it compressed. It heated up. It compressed again. Heated more. Again and again, until it was a bit larger than a person.
The shell broke. Within, the creature made its first true thought. An echo of a soul, untainted, giving its mind and body form.
'My name is Miasma. I will not be feared.'
The creature, Miasma, emerged from its... her shell, and picked up the woman whose soul gave her clarity before setting off into the night.
____________________________________________________________
"What do you think it is?" Robin asked, looking at the shell of hardened... something in the middle of the road, not far from an open manhole.
Batman didn't speak up at first, "Is this what Croc was running from?"
"I don't know," he turned to look at the only other oddity about was. A spilled purse with a trail of oily footprints leading away from it.
"But we're going to find out."
____________________________________________________________
AN: So, I finally decided to get back on the writing horse again with an... unusual character in an already established setting. Miasma is a magical entity, if a weakly magic one (for now anyway), and has a lot of underlying mechanics to her mere existence.
She will be a good guy and will eventually join the Team (within a few chapters even).
Inspiration for Miasma include: Venom, Hexxus, Elsie Lovelock's Rendition of Toxic Love, and Muk (yes, the pokemon).
____________________________________________________________
The sewers of Gotham were well known to him. They were his. His territory. His home. But, something changed. He hated it. A foul odor wafted from below, worse than normal for a sewer. It had him on edge. Always on edge. The sewers weren't safe anymore. Not after the Joker's last attempt on Gotham.
Waylon Jones grit his teeth as he went deeper than even he was comfortable with. The smell was getting worse, and the feeling of danger was growing. His instincts said to run. But he bulled through and pushed on. Until he saw it. A break in the sewer wall to a cavern beyond. Green gas hung over a bubbling liquid, and the feeling of death hung over it like a haze.
He took a step closer, only to freeze as his instincts blared. Any closer and only death awaited him. He remained still until he saw it. Something moving in the liquid. A skeletal hand grabbed the side of the crack, dripping the tar-like substance. It was all he needed to see to leave, finally giving into the instincts that had been telling him to run from the start. Whatever it was, he wanted no part of it.
Not when it reeked of of Joker Venom.
____________________________________________________________
At the best of times, Gotham was dangerous. But some places were worse than others, and the Slaughter Swamp was one of the worst. At the very edge of the swamp, it met the sewers, a now rusted pipe allowing the two to bleed together. And from this emerged a blackened, rotten skeleton covered in sludge. Black, tar-like sludge wafting with green and purple smoke that quickly pull into its form.
With a wet splat, it fell to one of the walkways where the bones crumbled into the sludge. After a few moments, sludge started climbing from both the sewer and the hole in the pipe to coat the skeletal entity entirely. Before long, a mound of sludge covered it, and it began to move like a slug across the ground.
A noise drew its attention, and it followed. It was slow. But it kept moving. Bits of plastic emerged from the water along with rivulets of liquid and semi-solid substances. The sludge took it all in, growing in bulk as it did.
It found the spot the sound had come from.
'What is it?'
The thought was there for only a moment, but it stopped the sludge's movements.
'Where?'
The sludge reared up like a snake and 'looked' around as a half-crumbled skull emerged from it.
'There.'
It began to move, following the whiff of lingering death. Of blood.
More and more flowed into the creature as it moved. As it grew, it sped up, and soon, it found what it was looking for.
____________________________________________________________
Waylon ran with reckless abandon. At first, the smell had started to fade. Now it was growing again, getting worse. It was chasing him. Whatever it was, it was chasing him, he was the prey and he did not like it. Nor could he fight it. So he ran. Faster and faster as the smell grew worse and worse.
He could hear it. The wet, sucking noise of its movements as it followed him. He turned back to look, and felt a trill of fear as he could see it. Black as pitch it surged, a broken skull staring at him.
It surged after him and Waylon ran faster. In a fit of desperation, he burst through a manhole to the surface. Moments later, it surged after him, only to freeze in the night.
Waylon didn't stop running, even after it stopped chasing him.
____________________________________________________________
'What is this?'
The creature's form shifted as it looked around. It was more open than the sewer. A ripple moved through its body as a low moan echoed out.
'...Food?'
It's 'head' tilted as it felt the air. A pull, and the air itself began to clear. The smell of oil, smog, and other, less pleasant scents dulled ever so slightly.
'Good. Yes. Good.'
A gasp drew its attention. It turned, then tilted its head again. A woman stared at it. She was backed to the wall, eyes wide.
'Scared? Why?'
It shifted to look at itself. Grey, black, brown, and violet sludge in a serpentine form with bits of bone and plastic sticking out of it. It... was not pretty. It looked back at the woman, who froze as its gaze rested on her.
'Me?'
It pulled its skull inwards, all the plastic and bits of bone followed. A tendril extended towards the woman, and touched on her soul.
She fainted at the feeling, but, it was all the creature needed to understand.
It pulled itself inwards, a shell of hardened sludge reducing it to the size of a small car and pulsed like a heart. Then it compressed. It heated up. It compressed again. Heated more. Again and again, until it was a bit larger than a person.
The shell broke. Within, the creature made its first true thought. An echo of a soul, untainted, giving its mind and body form.
'My name is Miasma. I will not be feared.'
The creature, Miasma, emerged from its... her shell, and picked up the woman whose soul gave her clarity before setting off into the night.
____________________________________________________________
"What do you think it is?" Robin asked, looking at the shell of hardened... something in the middle of the road, not far from an open manhole.
Batman didn't speak up at first, "Is this what Croc was running from?"
"I don't know," he turned to look at the only other oddity about was. A spilled purse with a trail of oily footprints leading away from it.
"But we're going to find out."
____________________________________________________________
AN: So, I finally decided to get back on the writing horse again with an... unusual character in an already established setting. Miasma is a magical entity, if a weakly magic one (for now anyway), and has a lot of underlying mechanics to her mere existence.
She will be a good guy and will eventually join the Team (within a few chapters even).
Inspiration for Miasma include: Venom, Hexxus, Elsie Lovelock's Rendition of Toxic Love, and Muk (yes, the pokemon).
verycoolname
Not actually cool
Huh. This looks like it'll be interesting. Color me intrigued.
...Aand now I have to listen to Toxic Love again.
...Aand now I have to listen to Toxic Love again.
- Location
- New England
Listen to the Elsie version I mentioned. It was already dangerous with Tim Curry singing it, but get a woman willing to get into character? Hoo boy. Practically need a cold shower afterwards.
verycoolname
Not actually cool
I did. Now I'm picturing Miasma versus Poison Ivy in a completely different way.
- Location
- New England
Eh, she's still kinda goo girl at this point. More
verycoolname
Not actually cool
I honestly like the first more. Now, if you'll excuse me; I need to go do some soul searching. I've been on the internet too long if I'm mentally debating the pros and cons of 'sexy pollution ladies' versus 'cute pollution girls' with any amount of seriousness.Eh, she's still kinda goo girl at this point. More
than
though that will change in the future.
Last edited:
1.1 - Ooze
- Location
- New England
The prints were easy to follow. They were plain as day. Not to mention the smell, it was strong enough that a normal person could follow the trail by smell alone.
"Ugh," Robin groaned as his face turned an unhealthy shade of green, "this stuff reeks," it was like his first time in the sewers all over again, only a good dozen times worse.
"I'm not surprised," Batman stated, "hold," he knelt down to look at one of the prints. Robin, covering his nose, moved to take a look.
The print was different. In fact, the ones ahead changed drastically over a short period of time. Like whatever left them was melting. Bits of the same substance had dripped around the prints and created rivulets that led to the next print. Then the print widened and became less like a foot. And farther down, it was almost like splashes of water.
"That's... weirder than usual..." Robin noted.
Batman stood back up and followed the trail more quickly. The prints continued to degenerate until they reached what could only be described as a noxious slug trail leading towards an apartment complex. The door handle had more of the oily substance smeared across it.
The dynamic duo glanced at each other and shared a nod before entering the building. The trail had damaged and bleached a decent stretch of carpet as it led into the stairwell, going up two floors before entering a stretch of apartments. One of the doors was open.
The two made their way in, keeping their eyes open.
A woman was passed out on the couch, parts of her clothing ruined from the same substance they'd been following getting into it, but she herself was unharmed, and she was not the source of it.
She wasn't touched by the substance herself, even with its effects present on her clothing.
"Vicki Vale, she's a reporter. This is her apartment," Robin looked up from his wrist computer, "the purse from before had her ID in it."
Batman's eyes narrowed. The trail led farther into the house, but it was much thinner than it had been. Cleaner.
A clatter from the direction of the trail drew their attention.
Before they could even try to investigate, it came back into the room, only to stop and look at the two before it.
The creature was purple, dark purple and transparent, bones clearly visible through the sludge. Its upper torso looked vaguely human, with some features making it feminine, but its lower body was a mass of slime with bones floating in it. A veil of slime fell from its head like hair.
Bubbles formed around the, very much visible, skull before they popped at the surface as both Batman and Robin got ready for a fight.
But it never came to that. The creature stared as the burbling noise from the popping bubbles seemed to shift and change in pitch until, "-lo," a single syllable came forward, followed by a second attempt that made more sense, "ah, h-hh-hel-llo," it managed as it waved.
Robin stared for a moment, then looked at Batman, then back to the creature, "um?"
"N-n-aaa-mme, i-sssss," a loud hiss came from the skull as a small jet of gas that quickly pulled itself back into the creatures body appeared, "Mm-ia-sssss-ma."
Somehow, Robin got the impression it was smiling. Then the smell hit and he quickly covered his poor nose.
"Miasma?" Batman asked, an inquisitive look on his cowled face.
"Yesssss," the creature hissed non-threateningly.
For his part, Robin could only think, 'this is so weird.'
____________________________________________________________
Miasma was nervous. It had been her default state since she'd 'woken up' a few minutes ago, well, that and helpful and curious. She hoped the vale lady wouldn't be mad about her clothes. She'd imprinted off of the vale lady, so she had... feelings about certain things. And these two were among them. There was an aspect awe and respect towards them, but also a healthy dose of nerves, a feeling she shouldn't try anything. It was a strong imprint. Not as strong as the one that let her find this place, but, strong enough to give her pause.
She'd managed to introduce herself without incident, other than the smaller one covering his nose for some reason. She tilted her head as a stray thought hit her. Or, rather, another expansion to her mental state hit her. The things that made up her body weren't pleasant for others to be near. Okay, pull them in, then.
A few moments later, Batman and Robin seemed to relax a little, though it was Robin moving his hand away from his nose to stare at her that got it.
"So..." Robin started, only to go quiet when Batman looked at him.
"Sssho-uld leavvvve," Miasma says, drawing their attention again, "Beffffore sssshe wa-kesss," she indicates the woman on the bed.
Batman holds her gaze for a moment, then nods, "Rooffff?" a raised eyebrow, then another nod.
Miasma nods, waves, then liquefies as she surges out the, unopened, window and up the building, landing with a splat on the rooftop. She shivered, that still felt weird. Liquefying her bones and resolidifying them always felt especially weird.
A pair of clinks behind her precede Batman and Robin appearing on the roof. Grappling hooks? Oh! There was an idea! Miasma jiggled as she giggled about the idea of swinging through the air on a rope made from her own body. That'd be fun. Then she remembered her troubles with solidity and set the idea aside for now.
"Why don't we start with why you're here?" Batman said, getting straight to the point.
"Vvvale Lad-dy," she indicates the way she came from, "wasss thhhhhere whennnn I wo-ke," she was getting better at this speaking thing! "I wasssn't aw-are at firssst. I did sssomethhing thhhat... wo-ke me up? Gavvve mem-o-riesss, ideasss, thhhought," Miasma continued.
"What did you do?" Robin asked her, he seemed interested.
"Sssoul," Miasma replied, "I... touchhed on her ssoul. It leffft an... e-cho? Ssta-bil-izzzed my own. I can fffeel it. I would havvve ffad-ed ifff I ha-dn't. But I wasss not aware. The con-nec-tion wasss for-ccced, leffft her un-conss-ccious. I brought her ba-ck to her hommme asss thanksss for givvv-ing me a chanccce, even if not vol-un-tar-il-y," she slowed down a little, she was starting to lose the speaking thing again.
"And what of before?" Batman asked.
Taking it slower, she spoke more clearly, "I do not remem-ber entire-ly. I wass not aware before. I remem-ber dark. Warmth. Damp. Then hun-ger. Tun-nels o-pened and ffelt food through. I ffelt ssome-thing elsse, ffollowed it to the ssurfface. That'ss when I ffound the Vale Lady."
"And... what do you consider food?" Robin asked, looking nervous.
She tilted her head and tried to give the impression of a smile, "it'ss in the air," she answered, then actively pulled the smog from the air. It formed streamers of smoke that pulled into her body through her skin, darkening it before she forced it to condense in her lower half, then it stopped as the air cleared, "there'ss more in the tun-nelss below. Plasticss, oilss, chem-i-cals..." she trails off as the word comes to mind, "Pol-lu-tion? I think that iss the word. Yess?"
"That's a new one," Robin muttered while Batman's eyes narrowed.
"You're not human? Never were?" Batman asked.
"I do not remem-ber being human if I wass," Miasma replied.
"And the bones?"
"They are mine. They feel... right." Batman frowned at her statement, "mosstly plass-tic now, they were crum-bling. Bone dis-solved in my body, plasstic doessn't."
There was a lull in the conversation before Batman asked another question.
"Where did you get into the sewers from?"
"Would you like me to sshow you?"
Another pause, then a nod, "Robin," he says as he hands a vial with some of what she left behind while trying to walk to him, "take this back to the cave, set it up for analysis."
Robin looked about to argue, but Batman said something too quiet for Miasma to hear and he nodded. He grappled away.
"Show me," Batman said and Miasma nodded.
____________________________________________________________
AN: I'm not 100% happy with this chapter, but you get to see some of what's going on with Miasma and how she thinks.
Let me know what you think, how it (both the story and my writing in general) could be improved, the usual stuff. Also I could really use a Beta.
NOTE: I had the idea for this story and posted it within the span of hours, there's no concrete plan at this point, but I am working on it.
"Ugh," Robin groaned as his face turned an unhealthy shade of green, "this stuff reeks," it was like his first time in the sewers all over again, only a good dozen times worse.
"I'm not surprised," Batman stated, "hold," he knelt down to look at one of the prints. Robin, covering his nose, moved to take a look.
The print was different. In fact, the ones ahead changed drastically over a short period of time. Like whatever left them was melting. Bits of the same substance had dripped around the prints and created rivulets that led to the next print. Then the print widened and became less like a foot. And farther down, it was almost like splashes of water.
"That's... weirder than usual..." Robin noted.
Batman stood back up and followed the trail more quickly. The prints continued to degenerate until they reached what could only be described as a noxious slug trail leading towards an apartment complex. The door handle had more of the oily substance smeared across it.
The dynamic duo glanced at each other and shared a nod before entering the building. The trail had damaged and bleached a decent stretch of carpet as it led into the stairwell, going up two floors before entering a stretch of apartments. One of the doors was open.
The two made their way in, keeping their eyes open.
A woman was passed out on the couch, parts of her clothing ruined from the same substance they'd been following getting into it, but she herself was unharmed, and she was not the source of it.
She wasn't touched by the substance herself, even with its effects present on her clothing.
"Vicki Vale, she's a reporter. This is her apartment," Robin looked up from his wrist computer, "the purse from before had her ID in it."
Batman's eyes narrowed. The trail led farther into the house, but it was much thinner than it had been. Cleaner.
A clatter from the direction of the trail drew their attention.
Before they could even try to investigate, it came back into the room, only to stop and look at the two before it.
The creature was purple, dark purple and transparent, bones clearly visible through the sludge. Its upper torso looked vaguely human, with some features making it feminine, but its lower body was a mass of slime with bones floating in it. A veil of slime fell from its head like hair.
Bubbles formed around the, very much visible, skull before they popped at the surface as both Batman and Robin got ready for a fight.
But it never came to that. The creature stared as the burbling noise from the popping bubbles seemed to shift and change in pitch until, "-lo," a single syllable came forward, followed by a second attempt that made more sense, "ah, h-hh-hel-llo," it managed as it waved.
Robin stared for a moment, then looked at Batman, then back to the creature, "um?"
"N-n-aaa-mme, i-sssss," a loud hiss came from the skull as a small jet of gas that quickly pulled itself back into the creatures body appeared, "Mm-ia-sssss-ma."
Somehow, Robin got the impression it was smiling. Then the smell hit and he quickly covered his poor nose.
"Miasma?" Batman asked, an inquisitive look on his cowled face.
"Yesssss," the creature hissed non-threateningly.
For his part, Robin could only think, 'this is so weird.'
____________________________________________________________
Miasma was nervous. It had been her default state since she'd 'woken up' a few minutes ago, well, that and helpful and curious. She hoped the vale lady wouldn't be mad about her clothes. She'd imprinted off of the vale lady, so she had... feelings about certain things. And these two were among them. There was an aspect awe and respect towards them, but also a healthy dose of nerves, a feeling she shouldn't try anything. It was a strong imprint. Not as strong as the one that let her find this place, but, strong enough to give her pause.
She'd managed to introduce herself without incident, other than the smaller one covering his nose for some reason. She tilted her head as a stray thought hit her. Or, rather, another expansion to her mental state hit her. The things that made up her body weren't pleasant for others to be near. Okay, pull them in, then.
A few moments later, Batman and Robin seemed to relax a little, though it was Robin moving his hand away from his nose to stare at her that got it.
"So..." Robin started, only to go quiet when Batman looked at him.
"Sssho-uld leavvvve," Miasma says, drawing their attention again, "Beffffore sssshe wa-kesss," she indicates the woman on the bed.
Batman holds her gaze for a moment, then nods, "Rooffff?" a raised eyebrow, then another nod.
Miasma nods, waves, then liquefies as she surges out the, unopened, window and up the building, landing with a splat on the rooftop. She shivered, that still felt weird. Liquefying her bones and resolidifying them always felt especially weird.
A pair of clinks behind her precede Batman and Robin appearing on the roof. Grappling hooks? Oh! There was an idea! Miasma jiggled as she giggled about the idea of swinging through the air on a rope made from her own body. That'd be fun. Then she remembered her troubles with solidity and set the idea aside for now.
"Why don't we start with why you're here?" Batman said, getting straight to the point.
"Vvvale Lad-dy," she indicates the way she came from, "wasss thhhhhere whennnn I wo-ke," she was getting better at this speaking thing! "I wasssn't aw-are at firssst. I did sssomethhing thhhat... wo-ke me up? Gavvve mem-o-riesss, ideasss, thhhought," Miasma continued.
"What did you do?" Robin asked her, he seemed interested.
"Sssoul," Miasma replied, "I... touchhed on her ssoul. It leffft an... e-cho? Ssta-bil-izzzed my own. I can fffeel it. I would havvve ffad-ed ifff I ha-dn't. But I wasss not aware. The con-nec-tion wasss for-ccced, leffft her un-conss-ccious. I brought her ba-ck to her hommme asss thanksss for givvv-ing me a chanccce, even if not vol-un-tar-il-y," she slowed down a little, she was starting to lose the speaking thing again.
"And what of before?" Batman asked.
Taking it slower, she spoke more clearly, "I do not remem-ber entire-ly. I wass not aware before. I remem-ber dark. Warmth. Damp. Then hun-ger. Tun-nels o-pened and ffelt food through. I ffelt ssome-thing elsse, ffollowed it to the ssurfface. That'ss when I ffound the Vale Lady."
"And... what do you consider food?" Robin asked, looking nervous.
She tilted her head and tried to give the impression of a smile, "it'ss in the air," she answered, then actively pulled the smog from the air. It formed streamers of smoke that pulled into her body through her skin, darkening it before she forced it to condense in her lower half, then it stopped as the air cleared, "there'ss more in the tun-nelss below. Plasticss, oilss, chem-i-cals..." she trails off as the word comes to mind, "Pol-lu-tion? I think that iss the word. Yess?"
"That's a new one," Robin muttered while Batman's eyes narrowed.
"You're not human? Never were?" Batman asked.
"I do not remem-ber being human if I wass," Miasma replied.
"And the bones?"
"They are mine. They feel... right." Batman frowned at her statement, "mosstly plass-tic now, they were crum-bling. Bone dis-solved in my body, plasstic doessn't."
There was a lull in the conversation before Batman asked another question.
"Where did you get into the sewers from?"
"Would you like me to sshow you?"
Another pause, then a nod, "Robin," he says as he hands a vial with some of what she left behind while trying to walk to him, "take this back to the cave, set it up for analysis."
Robin looked about to argue, but Batman said something too quiet for Miasma to hear and he nodded. He grappled away.
"Show me," Batman said and Miasma nodded.
____________________________________________________________
AN: I'm not 100% happy with this chapter, but you get to see some of what's going on with Miasma and how she thinks.
Let me know what you think, how it (both the story and my writing in general) could be improved, the usual stuff. Also I could really use a Beta.
NOTE: I had the idea for this story and posted it within the span of hours, there's no concrete plan at this point, but I am working on it.
verycoolname
Not actually cool
So this Batman seems less of a paranoid asshole, which is nice! He's probably still paranoid and might still be an asshole, but at least he's not actively and offensively so.
I like what I've seen of Miasma so far. She seems interesting.
I like what I've seen of Miasma so far. She seems interesting.
- Location
- New England
The Young Justice Batman is called Batdad for a reason.
Thanks. I'm hoping I can keep it that way.
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verycoolname
Not actually cool
Batdad is always superior to Bathole. I don't know why so many fics insist on having the latter rather than the former. 'Drama' is not enough of an excuse in my opinion.
1.2 - Ooze
- Location
- New England
Batman walked behind the creature calling itself Miasma as it guided him through the sewers. He noted tiny rivulets of liquid that flowed into her, along with the occasional chunk of plastic. There was also the smell being dulled to more tolerable levels.
What was this creature? It was a question that kept popping up even after it... she explained some of what she was. Souls. That's what it came down to. This creature was able to touch a soul. He'd need the expertise of a sorcerer for this, and while Zatara was the obvious choice... he doubted his expertise extended this far.
Robin chimed in over the comms, "Analysis is running and I've got the tracker working, got the message out."
"Keep me posted," he replied, keeping an eye on what Miasma was doing.
"Oh! Not much ffar-ther," Miasma obviously thought he'd been talking to her. It was interesting how her voice had changed. At first, it was hard to understand, very clearly inhuman and artificial. Now, she almost sounded like a normal woman. A slight echo to her voice and the occasional stops in her speech were the only remaining signs.
Batman looked at her as she glanced back and noticed his hand at the side of his cowl, "oh, ssorry."
It was several minutes of walking later that Robin got back to him, "he says he'll meet you there. I think he knows where you're headed," there was a short pause then Robin continued, "you're heading northeast by the look of it, near the edge of the sewer limits. Getting into the less populated parts of Gotham."
Batman paused midstep, but continued a second later, "Slaughter Swamp," it's not a question.
"Hm?" Miasma looks back at him with a hint of confusion.
"That's where we're headed. A break where the sewer meets the swamp."
Miasma seems to smile, "yes, though I wass un-aware of the name."
Batman knew he'd made the right call. The last thing to crawl out of that swamp was bad enough. This could be worse.
____________________________________________________________
Just as they were approaching the final stretch, Robin chimed in, "The analysis is complete and... I don't think you're going to like this. She's mostly composed of common chemicals, bleach, ammonia, motor oil, soaps, and some traces of heavy metal along with synthetic polymers, but I've got the chemical profiles for Venom, Joker Venom, and the Fear Toxin on here."
"Anything else?"
"The sample has a slightly higher than normal level of radiation. Nothing harmful, but a bit above what's considered normal background radiation," Robin replied, "nothing in large amounts, actually. Most of what's there is an inert gel that's carrying traces of the chemicals. The analyzer's having some trouble actually pinning down what the gel is though. Closest thing is cytoplasm."
"Got it," Miasma had stopped short, "what's wrong?"
"I-" a shiver goes down her form, "I... I don't want to go any closer," Batman raises an eyebrow.
"Is it dangerous?" Batman asked, it was hard getting a read from her, she had no facial expressions, but the substance that made up her body moved in its own way, he was already picking up some tells from her. He didn't think she even realized she was doing it.
"I don't believe so," she replied with another shiver, "but I... I don't know what it is. It's like there's too much?" Batman looked at her, she was afraid, that was clear even with the limited ability to read her.
"Wait here," Batman said. Miasma nodded and he walked ahead leaving her for the moment. It was only around the next corner that he spotted it. It was a good deal more than a simple crack in the pipe or a relatively small hole. It was a gaping opening in the wall of the sewer leading to what looked like a tar pit, the green haze of Joker Venom and the milky yellow of Fear Toxin hung over it. It roiled and bubbled in a way that almost looked like breathing.
Batman's eyes narrowed as he took it in, there was a presence here. Like a predator waiting to pounce. It was little wonder that Miasma hadn't wanted to go any farther.
"Robin," Batman said as he triggered his comms system, "get a message to Gordon, we've got an issue."
____________________________________________________________
Miasma shifted uncomfortably. The feeling of what laid ahead was not pleasant in the least.
She hadn't been aware of it when she'd first emerged, but, this place... it felt rotten. Decayed. Cursed. She was born from this? This is what she could have been? The thought made her shiver again.
What could cause this? Something that made the toxins and pollutants she consumed so distorted that she feared to even be near them, it was like- like spoiled food for normal people. Rotted rot? She didn't know.
She didn't understand, what made it so dangerous to her now that she feared going near. Or was it not a danger. She didn't know. She didn't want to know.
She heard footsteps behind her, she could use the distraction.
Before she could turn, she heard a voice, "well now, what are you?" Miasma turned and saw a man, dressed well, staring at her with red eyes, "some kind of elemental?"
It was hard trying to convey a smile in her state, but she tried, "Miasma," she said, "my name is Miasma."
The man blinked, then seemed to take a closer look at her. Miasma did likewise. His hair was mostly a dark brown, but a single strip of white went down the center, pulled back into a ponytail. He dressed well despite being in the sewers, if not for the small film on his shoes from her own trail, it'd be hard to tell. And more importantly the shade of something underneath. His soul had another attached to it. It made his normal soul strong but there was a curse there. A corruption.
"Aren't you interesting," the man said softly, then took a few steps closer, "if I may ask, what exactly are you?"
She didn't speak, mesmerized by the state of the twin souls within the man. They bled into each other. Not by much, but they did, facilitated by a curse. It shouldn't have been so harmonious, but it was.
"Um?"
"Jason," Batman's voice broke both of them out of their little staring match and turned towards him.
"Ah, Batman, I assume this is what you wanted my aid with," he indicated Miasma.
"She is not," Batman replied, throwing the now named Jason off balance, "follow me."
Jason glanced back as Miasma waved at him, but followed nonetheless.
____________________________________________________________
Once out of earshot, Jason Blood spoke up, "you don't want me looking over the elemental creature? Dare I ask what you find so much more important?"
Batman stopped and nodded towards the gap in the wall, "her birthplace."
Taken aback, Jason looks towards the same spot, and freezes, "what on earth?"
Jason pulled a monocle from his breast pocket and moved closer to examine it, "this..."
"Is where Miasma says she emerged. Understanding what this is will help us understand what she is," Batman replied, "can you see why I called for this rather than her?"
Jason nods, "I assume you've got more than just this or you would have simply called Zatara rather than bothering me with this."
A pause for a beat, "She's only a few hours old," Batman started, "and she needs someone to keep an eye on her. She mentioned being able to touch a soul," Jason stopped again, "she said it's how she stabilized herself. I'm sure you understand the implications."
"Magic. Yes," Jason said dryly, "and a kind that Zatara would not be able to handle well. You want me to look after her?" He waited for an answer a moment, then sighed when none came forward, "You realize I don't do apprenticeships, Batman. Least of all for magical creatures I know nothing about."
"I'm not asking you to teach her, Jason. I'm asking you to keep her under observation. You have the experience and ability, if not the specific knowledge."
"Now Batman," Jason started.
"I'm calling in my favor."
Then immediately shut his mouth at that statement and leveled a hard stare at him. A minute after, he replies, "fine, fine. Just keep her a few days so I can figure out what's going on here first."
Batman nods and starts to walk away, "Batman," Jason's call stops him, "elementals, regardless how human they act, aren't human. They have their own rules they follow. Be careful."
____________________________________________________________
Miasma waved at Batman as he came back into view. She'd pulled all the plastic and many of the other pollutants from her environment, so she was a little taller now, and her bones were stronger from the added plastic.
"Who was that?" she asked as he got closer.
"An acquaintance that owes me a favor. He's offered to take you in until we can set up better living arrangements," Batman replies, "it will be a few days before then."
"Oh, I didn't think of that," she says.
Batman noted with some interest that she didn't pause in her speech anymore, though she still had that slight echo to her voice.
"I have a place you can stay until then," he notes the slime trail that still follows her, "and train your abilities."
____________________________________________________________
AN: Well, now you get to see what's going on before the Team forms. This is the basis of this first arc. I'm pretty sure I'm not portraying Jason right, I'm not too familiar with him outside of The One Ring and a few fanfics where he plays a minor role, but he's honestly the best person I could think of to be Miasma's sponsor besides Kent, and he's kinda busy at the moment.
Let me know what you think.
EDIT: Beta'd by Linedoffice
What was this creature? It was a question that kept popping up even after it... she explained some of what she was. Souls. That's what it came down to. This creature was able to touch a soul. He'd need the expertise of a sorcerer for this, and while Zatara was the obvious choice... he doubted his expertise extended this far.
Robin chimed in over the comms, "Analysis is running and I've got the tracker working, got the message out."
"Keep me posted," he replied, keeping an eye on what Miasma was doing.
"Oh! Not much ffar-ther," Miasma obviously thought he'd been talking to her. It was interesting how her voice had changed. At first, it was hard to understand, very clearly inhuman and artificial. Now, she almost sounded like a normal woman. A slight echo to her voice and the occasional stops in her speech were the only remaining signs.
Batman looked at her as she glanced back and noticed his hand at the side of his cowl, "oh, ssorry."
It was several minutes of walking later that Robin got back to him, "he says he'll meet you there. I think he knows where you're headed," there was a short pause then Robin continued, "you're heading northeast by the look of it, near the edge of the sewer limits. Getting into the less populated parts of Gotham."
Batman paused midstep, but continued a second later, "Slaughter Swamp," it's not a question.
"Hm?" Miasma looks back at him with a hint of confusion.
"That's where we're headed. A break where the sewer meets the swamp."
Miasma seems to smile, "yes, though I wass un-aware of the name."
Batman knew he'd made the right call. The last thing to crawl out of that swamp was bad enough. This could be worse.
____________________________________________________________
Just as they were approaching the final stretch, Robin chimed in, "The analysis is complete and... I don't think you're going to like this. She's mostly composed of common chemicals, bleach, ammonia, motor oil, soaps, and some traces of heavy metal along with synthetic polymers, but I've got the chemical profiles for Venom, Joker Venom, and the Fear Toxin on here."
"Anything else?"
"The sample has a slightly higher than normal level of radiation. Nothing harmful, but a bit above what's considered normal background radiation," Robin replied, "nothing in large amounts, actually. Most of what's there is an inert gel that's carrying traces of the chemicals. The analyzer's having some trouble actually pinning down what the gel is though. Closest thing is cytoplasm."
"Got it," Miasma had stopped short, "what's wrong?"
"I-" a shiver goes down her form, "I... I don't want to go any closer," Batman raises an eyebrow.
"Is it dangerous?" Batman asked, it was hard getting a read from her, she had no facial expressions, but the substance that made up her body moved in its own way, he was already picking up some tells from her. He didn't think she even realized she was doing it.
"I don't believe so," she replied with another shiver, "but I... I don't know what it is. It's like there's too much?" Batman looked at her, she was afraid, that was clear even with the limited ability to read her.
"Wait here," Batman said. Miasma nodded and he walked ahead leaving her for the moment. It was only around the next corner that he spotted it. It was a good deal more than a simple crack in the pipe or a relatively small hole. It was a gaping opening in the wall of the sewer leading to what looked like a tar pit, the green haze of Joker Venom and the milky yellow of Fear Toxin hung over it. It roiled and bubbled in a way that almost looked like breathing.
Batman's eyes narrowed as he took it in, there was a presence here. Like a predator waiting to pounce. It was little wonder that Miasma hadn't wanted to go any farther.
"Robin," Batman said as he triggered his comms system, "get a message to Gordon, we've got an issue."
____________________________________________________________
Miasma shifted uncomfortably. The feeling of what laid ahead was not pleasant in the least.
She hadn't been aware of it when she'd first emerged, but, this place... it felt rotten. Decayed. Cursed. She was born from this? This is what she could have been? The thought made her shiver again.
What could cause this? Something that made the toxins and pollutants she consumed so distorted that she feared to even be near them, it was like- like spoiled food for normal people. Rotted rot? She didn't know.
She didn't understand, what made it so dangerous to her now that she feared going near. Or was it not a danger. She didn't know. She didn't want to know.
She heard footsteps behind her, she could use the distraction.
Before she could turn, she heard a voice, "well now, what are you?" Miasma turned and saw a man, dressed well, staring at her with red eyes, "some kind of elemental?"
It was hard trying to convey a smile in her state, but she tried, "Miasma," she said, "my name is Miasma."
The man blinked, then seemed to take a closer look at her. Miasma did likewise. His hair was mostly a dark brown, but a single strip of white went down the center, pulled back into a ponytail. He dressed well despite being in the sewers, if not for the small film on his shoes from her own trail, it'd be hard to tell. And more importantly the shade of something underneath. His soul had another attached to it. It made his normal soul strong but there was a curse there. A corruption.
"Aren't you interesting," the man said softly, then took a few steps closer, "if I may ask, what exactly are you?"
She didn't speak, mesmerized by the state of the twin souls within the man. They bled into each other. Not by much, but they did, facilitated by a curse. It shouldn't have been so harmonious, but it was.
"Um?"
"Jason," Batman's voice broke both of them out of their little staring match and turned towards him.
"Ah, Batman, I assume this is what you wanted my aid with," he indicated Miasma.
"She is not," Batman replied, throwing the now named Jason off balance, "follow me."
Jason glanced back as Miasma waved at him, but followed nonetheless.
____________________________________________________________
Once out of earshot, Jason Blood spoke up, "you don't want me looking over the elemental creature? Dare I ask what you find so much more important?"
Batman stopped and nodded towards the gap in the wall, "her birthplace."
Taken aback, Jason looks towards the same spot, and freezes, "what on earth?"
Jason pulled a monocle from his breast pocket and moved closer to examine it, "this..."
"Is where Miasma says she emerged. Understanding what this is will help us understand what she is," Batman replied, "can you see why I called for this rather than her?"
Jason nods, "I assume you've got more than just this or you would have simply called Zatara rather than bothering me with this."
A pause for a beat, "She's only a few hours old," Batman started, "and she needs someone to keep an eye on her. She mentioned being able to touch a soul," Jason stopped again, "she said it's how she stabilized herself. I'm sure you understand the implications."
"Magic. Yes," Jason said dryly, "and a kind that Zatara would not be able to handle well. You want me to look after her?" He waited for an answer a moment, then sighed when none came forward, "You realize I don't do apprenticeships, Batman. Least of all for magical creatures I know nothing about."
"I'm not asking you to teach her, Jason. I'm asking you to keep her under observation. You have the experience and ability, if not the specific knowledge."
"Now Batman," Jason started.
"I'm calling in my favor."
Then immediately shut his mouth at that statement and leveled a hard stare at him. A minute after, he replies, "fine, fine. Just keep her a few days so I can figure out what's going on here first."
Batman nods and starts to walk away, "Batman," Jason's call stops him, "elementals, regardless how human they act, aren't human. They have their own rules they follow. Be careful."
____________________________________________________________
Miasma waved at Batman as he came back into view. She'd pulled all the plastic and many of the other pollutants from her environment, so she was a little taller now, and her bones were stronger from the added plastic.
"Who was that?" she asked as he got closer.
"An acquaintance that owes me a favor. He's offered to take you in until we can set up better living arrangements," Batman replies, "it will be a few days before then."
"Oh, I didn't think of that," she says.
Batman noted with some interest that she didn't pause in her speech anymore, though she still had that slight echo to her voice.
"I have a place you can stay until then," he notes the slime trail that still follows her, "and train your abilities."
____________________________________________________________
AN: Well, now you get to see what's going on before the Team forms. This is the basis of this first arc. I'm pretty sure I'm not portraying Jason right, I'm not too familiar with him outside of The One Ring and a few fanfics where he plays a minor role, but he's honestly the best person I could think of to be Miasma's sponsor besides Kent, and he's kinda busy at the moment.
Let me know what you think.
EDIT: Beta'd by Linedoffice
Last edited:
verycoolname
Not actually cool
The Bluetooth awkwardness made me smile. I just had that happen to me yesterday.
- Location
- Ireland
Really liking this so far.
Loved her insight into Jason.
Wondering how Batman got a favor from Jason Blood of all people.
Loved her insight into Jason.
Wondering how Batman got a favor from Jason Blood of all people.
- Location
- New England
So, I've got a tentative schedule planned. I have days off from work on Wednesday and Saturday, so those will be the days I focus on my writing, though I will get some done on Sundays since I have a shorter shift that happens earlier in the day. So expect chapters Wednesday and Saturday nights (or Thursday mornings and Sunday nights).
1.3 - Ooze
- Location
- New England
Batman had a bemused smirk as he watched Miasma's reaction to the Batmobile, she kept poking at it like it was going to do something on its own. When it had pulled up she'd jolted, her mass spraying back from it. After pulling herself back together she'd started to examine it, and even seemed to "drink" some of the exhaust from it.
It was only after he'd gotten into it that she seemed to realize what it was for and got in herself. She'd curled herself up small, actually shrinking down, as she got into the seat. Her bones remained the same size, but shifted to take up less overall space than if they'd been spread out normally. He also noticed the ooze around her skull had darkened some.
For a long part of the drive, the two sit in silence, though Batman does note her 'face' slowly returning to its normal coloration. Jason's warning flashed through his head and his neutral expression took on a harder edge.
"Robin," Batman spoke up, "meet us at the S.T.A.R. Labs in Fawcett City. Bring the sample analysis with you."
"Got it!" Robin replied, through the Batmobile's speakers.
"Star labs?" Miasma asked with a tilt to her head.
"It's a research facility. The Fawcett City branch specializes in the study of life that isn't terrestrial in origin or are inhuman in nature. It is also in the home of Captain Marvel. His abilities are magic in nature and will aid us in determining your capabilities. Given Jason's reaction to you I think it would be best to have him involved."
"Ooh," Miasma nodded, "but... it's in another city? How far is it?"
"One thousand, three hundred and seventy-five miles," Miasma jolted at the answer, once again noting how expressive she was despite lacking common body language, "though we will be taking a shortcut to get there."
He came to a stop at an alleyway, the doors opening on their own. Batman stepped out and Miasma followed suit after a bit of confusion. With a press of a button, the Batmobile closes itself up and drives off.
Down the alleyway, which turned into a little alcove, there's a phone booth, an ordinary looking phone booth. Miasma looked at Batman. He simply entered the booth as a scanner popped out, "Recognized, Batman-02," then he vanished.
Miasma stared at the booth then, slowly, nervously, entered it herself. The scanner popped out again, "Access Granted, Miasma-A04, Authorization, Batman-02" and the world went white for a moment.
____________________________________________________________
Miasma was nervous when she entered the booth, then nearly panicked when the flash blocked out everything else around her. Then she landed on the other side and she saw Batman waiting for her outside of a photo booth.
She shivered. This place, it was far cleaner than she was used to. She hoped she didn't have to stay long.
"Can you take on a more human form?" Batman asked.
Miasma considered for a moment. Could she? Yes. Would it be obvious she wasn't human? Yes. Would it last? Probably not in her current state. Her bones were stronger now from all the plastic and oils she'd absorbed, but, they were still a bit too weak to support her for long. How long?
"I can, but I'd only be able to hold it for an hour or so," she finally replied.
Batman nodded, "do it."
Miasma nodded, then focused. Her skeleton assembled itself from her lower half, some extra bones forming within her form. Once the skeleton was formed fully and assembled properly, she compressed herself around it, pulling in the puddle of slime that was her lower half into her forming legs and torso. It was uncomfortable, but something she could manage for now.
She didn't even stand up to Batman's shoulder once she was done with the transition.
With a nod, Batman started to walk, Miasma quickly following him, nearly tripping in her haste. She liked this form, even with how uncomfortable it was, but she was so clumsy, compared to her natural form.
After a few steps, Batman turned back, "you might want to keep as much of that," he pointed to her footprints, "with you as possible. We don't want to leave a trail leading to this place."
Miasma looked back, and extended herself mentally towards the prints. A good chunk of it simply liquefied and ran in little rivulets that flowed into her, but that just left little trails over the pavement. A second try had what was left mostly forming into little, semi-solid pellets that rolled towards her and fused into her again, still with small bits left behind, but nowhere near as badly.
Before she could try again, Batman spoke, "Good enough," and started to walk again. Miasma looked between him and the bits still left behind. She wasn't so sure. Still, she followed him. But an idea started to form in her head. Soon, she had a film of plastic forming around her body, like a skin. She had to repair what was on her feet as she walked though, the pavement tore it up, so she made it thicker, but that made it harder to walk. Plastic wasn't the best bet. She switched to a thin layer of rubber on her soles and alternated between plastic and rubber over the rest of her body. She wasn't leaving anything behind now.
She was so focused on the little project, however, that she very nearly walked past Batman as he turned onto the lawn of a large building, and when she noticed, she also took note of the number of people staring at her and Batman. She gave a wave before she went to follow Batman, moving just a bit more quickly now. The way they'd looked at her, she didn't like it. It wasn't fear, but, something about it just felt wrong.
____________________________________________________________
The building was fascinating. While it was meticulously clean, she could feel out some things she could pull from, chemicals she wouldn't be able to find just anywhere. So many she'd never even felt before, too. She might just have preferred to stay here than with Jason if she could try even half of these things.
The front room was simple, a little waiting room with tables, a reception desk, and several people milling about, many of whom stopped what they were doing to look at her. She waved at them when they looked. Most continued to stare, but a few waved back or went back to what they were doing beforehand. Though she was concerned why one threw his lunch away after seeing her and another dumped their drink down the drain after looking between her and it a couple of times.
"Whoa, you've got legs," Miasma turned to see Robin standing with one of those people in a white coat, only he looked excited rather than unnerved like the others.
"And skin," she replied, which caused even more people to look at her, and pinched the coating she made for herself to show it off, "I didn't want to leave footprints behind. It's rubber."
"Haha, you made a literal skin suit, nice!" Robin said. Batman had stepped aside with the smiling man that had come with Robin. She noted she was a bit shorter than him, though it was less than an inch of difference. She paused, why did she think that was important? "you okay there, Mi?"
"Yes!" she noted her voice was a little higher pitched for that one. The slime around her face darkened and she did the equivalent of taking a breath, "I'm fine, just a thought that got my mind wandering."
"Nervous?"
Miasma tilted her head, "about what?"
"Uh, the tests and examinations. You know, the things you're here for?" he replied.
Miasma shook her head, "I don't even know what they'll be doing. Hard to be nervous about something if you don't know what it is."
Robin blinked, then laughed, "I guess 'fear of the unknown' doesn't apply for someone that was only born a few hours ago, huh?"
"Wait, did he just say a few hours?" the man talking to Batman asked, "it's only a few hours old and already developed enough to not only speak but also understand complex concepts?"
"Yes, she can," Batman emphasized. The man flushed and cleared his throat.
"Apologies," he said to Miasma, "I sometimes get caught up in my work. I'm Seth Meyers, my team will be conducting your tests, at Batman's request," he offers a hand to Miasma.
Miasma tilts her head and takes his hand in hers, but doesn't reply.
"Batman, Robin, and Captain Marvel, once he arrives, will be observing the tests. We're currently setting up a space for testing purposes, until then, why don't we have a chat in a more private room?"
Miasma looked at Batman, who nodded, prompting her to do the same.
"Wonderful! Follow me, please," and he went off into the building, quickly followed by two heroes and Miasma.
____________________________________________________________
AN: So, I did some research on S.T.A.R. Labs, turns out there are several branches, and one that specifically focuses on extra-terrestrial life, meaning they'd be perfect to find out more about Miasma. It also just so happens to be in the same city where Captain Marvel, one of the few magically inclined heroes, lives. Very convenient, IMO, but I like it.
BTW, I do plan to have Miasma get into music fairly soon, so I want to ask, what kind of music (or even a specific song) do you think should introduce her to it?
It was only after he'd gotten into it that she seemed to realize what it was for and got in herself. She'd curled herself up small, actually shrinking down, as she got into the seat. Her bones remained the same size, but shifted to take up less overall space than if they'd been spread out normally. He also noticed the ooze around her skull had darkened some.
For a long part of the drive, the two sit in silence, though Batman does note her 'face' slowly returning to its normal coloration. Jason's warning flashed through his head and his neutral expression took on a harder edge.
"Robin," Batman spoke up, "meet us at the S.T.A.R. Labs in Fawcett City. Bring the sample analysis with you."
"Got it!" Robin replied, through the Batmobile's speakers.
"Star labs?" Miasma asked with a tilt to her head.
"It's a research facility. The Fawcett City branch specializes in the study of life that isn't terrestrial in origin or are inhuman in nature. It is also in the home of Captain Marvel. His abilities are magic in nature and will aid us in determining your capabilities. Given Jason's reaction to you I think it would be best to have him involved."
"Ooh," Miasma nodded, "but... it's in another city? How far is it?"
"One thousand, three hundred and seventy-five miles," Miasma jolted at the answer, once again noting how expressive she was despite lacking common body language, "though we will be taking a shortcut to get there."
He came to a stop at an alleyway, the doors opening on their own. Batman stepped out and Miasma followed suit after a bit of confusion. With a press of a button, the Batmobile closes itself up and drives off.
Down the alleyway, which turned into a little alcove, there's a phone booth, an ordinary looking phone booth. Miasma looked at Batman. He simply entered the booth as a scanner popped out, "Recognized, Batman-02," then he vanished.
Miasma stared at the booth then, slowly, nervously, entered it herself. The scanner popped out again, "Access Granted, Miasma-A04, Authorization, Batman-02" and the world went white for a moment.
____________________________________________________________
Miasma was nervous when she entered the booth, then nearly panicked when the flash blocked out everything else around her. Then she landed on the other side and she saw Batman waiting for her outside of a photo booth.
She shivered. This place, it was far cleaner than she was used to. She hoped she didn't have to stay long.
"Can you take on a more human form?" Batman asked.
Miasma considered for a moment. Could she? Yes. Would it be obvious she wasn't human? Yes. Would it last? Probably not in her current state. Her bones were stronger now from all the plastic and oils she'd absorbed, but, they were still a bit too weak to support her for long. How long?
"I can, but I'd only be able to hold it for an hour or so," she finally replied.
Batman nodded, "do it."
Miasma nodded, then focused. Her skeleton assembled itself from her lower half, some extra bones forming within her form. Once the skeleton was formed fully and assembled properly, she compressed herself around it, pulling in the puddle of slime that was her lower half into her forming legs and torso. It was uncomfortable, but something she could manage for now.
She didn't even stand up to Batman's shoulder once she was done with the transition.
With a nod, Batman started to walk, Miasma quickly following him, nearly tripping in her haste. She liked this form, even with how uncomfortable it was, but she was so clumsy, compared to her natural form.
After a few steps, Batman turned back, "you might want to keep as much of that," he pointed to her footprints, "with you as possible. We don't want to leave a trail leading to this place."
Miasma looked back, and extended herself mentally towards the prints. A good chunk of it simply liquefied and ran in little rivulets that flowed into her, but that just left little trails over the pavement. A second try had what was left mostly forming into little, semi-solid pellets that rolled towards her and fused into her again, still with small bits left behind, but nowhere near as badly.
Before she could try again, Batman spoke, "Good enough," and started to walk again. Miasma looked between him and the bits still left behind. She wasn't so sure. Still, she followed him. But an idea started to form in her head. Soon, she had a film of plastic forming around her body, like a skin. She had to repair what was on her feet as she walked though, the pavement tore it up, so she made it thicker, but that made it harder to walk. Plastic wasn't the best bet. She switched to a thin layer of rubber on her soles and alternated between plastic and rubber over the rest of her body. She wasn't leaving anything behind now.
She was so focused on the little project, however, that she very nearly walked past Batman as he turned onto the lawn of a large building, and when she noticed, she also took note of the number of people staring at her and Batman. She gave a wave before she went to follow Batman, moving just a bit more quickly now. The way they'd looked at her, she didn't like it. It wasn't fear, but, something about it just felt wrong.
____________________________________________________________
The building was fascinating. While it was meticulously clean, she could feel out some things she could pull from, chemicals she wouldn't be able to find just anywhere. So many she'd never even felt before, too. She might just have preferred to stay here than with Jason if she could try even half of these things.
The front room was simple, a little waiting room with tables, a reception desk, and several people milling about, many of whom stopped what they were doing to look at her. She waved at them when they looked. Most continued to stare, but a few waved back or went back to what they were doing beforehand. Though she was concerned why one threw his lunch away after seeing her and another dumped their drink down the drain after looking between her and it a couple of times.
"Whoa, you've got legs," Miasma turned to see Robin standing with one of those people in a white coat, only he looked excited rather than unnerved like the others.
"And skin," she replied, which caused even more people to look at her, and pinched the coating she made for herself to show it off, "I didn't want to leave footprints behind. It's rubber."
"Haha, you made a literal skin suit, nice!" Robin said. Batman had stepped aside with the smiling man that had come with Robin. She noted she was a bit shorter than him, though it was less than an inch of difference. She paused, why did she think that was important? "you okay there, Mi?"
"Yes!" she noted her voice was a little higher pitched for that one. The slime around her face darkened and she did the equivalent of taking a breath, "I'm fine, just a thought that got my mind wandering."
"Nervous?"
Miasma tilted her head, "about what?"
"Uh, the tests and examinations. You know, the things you're here for?" he replied.
Miasma shook her head, "I don't even know what they'll be doing. Hard to be nervous about something if you don't know what it is."
Robin blinked, then laughed, "I guess 'fear of the unknown' doesn't apply for someone that was only born a few hours ago, huh?"
"Wait, did he just say a few hours?" the man talking to Batman asked, "it's only a few hours old and already developed enough to not only speak but also understand complex concepts?"
"Yes, she can," Batman emphasized. The man flushed and cleared his throat.
"Apologies," he said to Miasma, "I sometimes get caught up in my work. I'm Seth Meyers, my team will be conducting your tests, at Batman's request," he offers a hand to Miasma.
Miasma tilts her head and takes his hand in hers, but doesn't reply.
"Batman, Robin, and Captain Marvel, once he arrives, will be observing the tests. We're currently setting up a space for testing purposes, until then, why don't we have a chat in a more private room?"
Miasma looked at Batman, who nodded, prompting her to do the same.
"Wonderful! Follow me, please," and he went off into the building, quickly followed by two heroes and Miasma.
____________________________________________________________
AN: So, I did some research on S.T.A.R. Labs, turns out there are several branches, and one that specifically focuses on extra-terrestrial life, meaning they'd be perfect to find out more about Miasma. It also just so happens to be in the same city where Captain Marvel, one of the few magically inclined heroes, lives. Very convenient, IMO, but I like it.
BTW, I do plan to have Miasma get into music fairly soon, so I want to ask, what kind of music (or even a specific song) do you think should introduce her to it?
- Location
- Massachusetts
If you want music suggestions, it has to be the screechiest trash metal. I guess you could call it noise pollution.
- Location
- New England
Honestly, I want her to like a wide variety of music, this is just for what introduces her to music.If you want music suggestions, it has to be the screechiest trash metal. I guess you could call it noise pollution.
- Location
- New England
So, I've made a decision on the song that gets Miasma into music. It's not something on the nose, I'll admit, but it's a song I find fascinating and has a distinct sound that's off or distorted, but in a good way.
verycoolname
Not actually cool
Looking forward to it! Also the next chapter.
1.4 - Ooze
- Location
- New England
Robin whistled. Miasma's overall stats were impressive.
Able to move at the near double highway speeds, when in the right form, and had the endurance to put it to good use-
Miasma, in what seemed to be her default form, moved along the treadmill at a steady walking speed, "we're going to increase the speed," the doc said and Miasma shifted to her legged form, steadily increasing pace until she was at nearly twenty miles per hour, and going by her pace, this wasn't tiring her at all. Then, she tripped as the speed increased more. She shifted so fast it was hard to track, but the next thing he knew, she was a sphere rolling along the treadmill, a ring of what looked like clear rubber spinning rapidly around a central orb where her skull remained stationary, mostly. The speed increased further until it hit 102 miles per hour. She was at her limit of speed with her still being in control. All that while keeping it up for close to an hour.
She practically ignored most forms of physical damage-
Miasma dropped the clay pellets from the last test out of her form, they'd torn through the plastic/rubber layer she'd started to make on her outsides, but hadn't done any actual damage. With her permission, the ammunition increased in power until one actually managed to blow her head completely off, a small caliber pistol, but it didn't really stick since she just pulled the goo back into her and reformed the skull. Didn't stop Dr. Meyers from freaking out. Blunt force seemed to have even less of an effect on her. The only real danger seemed to be her growing more sluggish in pulling herself back together as the amount of material making up her form diminished.
And was resistant to many of the common forms of elemental damage-
Testing Miasma's resistance to heat, electricity, and other esoteric effects proved difficult as her chemical makeup shifted with each test to resist it more than her base form. She'd turned parts of herself to rubber in the electricity test, practically making her immune to commonly used voltages, though lightning would still be harmful, she'd formed a fire resistant powder on top of her skin, snuffing the flames almost instantly, though she did become more runny when in abnormally high temperatures, fire wouldn't be an issue, but heat would if sustained. Cold, however, proved more debilitating if not damaging, she grew stiffer and slower as the temperature dropped, but was otherwise unharmed by the experience. Acids, poisons, and other chemical attacks were useless since she just kinda, ate them, though larger doses seemed to make her sick for a bit. And wasn't that weird to see.
She could change her physical shape and proportions to an incredible degree-
"Alright, let's see how small you can go," Dr. Meyers said, "try and shrink down as much as possible," and Miasma certainly did. She got down to the size of a baseball from being nearly the same overall volume as Robin, and she could still sense while like that, though she couldn't speak very well, apparently. After returning to normal, she'd mentioned feeling different while that compressed, but couldn't describe how. More tests proved she could slip through cracks as thin as a dime if she had to and could spread into a thin sheen over a large area without much issue.
But all of that paled before what Dr. Meyers was calling her chemical forging abilities-
"We've seen that you can convert portions of yourself to rubber and plastic, but how far can you go with that?" the question had been pretty innocuous. But Miasma proved that wrong. She could recreate several chemicals that were a part of her, including making them stable in forms other than their base form. She'd recreated Venom, the Fear Toxin, and Joker Venom easily, as well as several varieties of commercial plastic, synthetic fibers such as nylon, street, prescription, and over the counter drugs in various concentrations, and that wasn't even getting into the plastics and oils.
Other tests had proved her to actually be quite intelligent for her apparent age of 13, though unlearned would probably be a good term. She was a problem solver, street smart more than book smart, though given she seemed to practically soak in the chemistry books that Dr. Meyers had given her after her display of chemical forging, that wouldn't be too far off.
Robin laughed nervously as he heard the last test, where she showed she could change her voice very easily, matching his, Dr. Meyers, his team's, and even Batman's. She even mimicked noises such as camera snaps, glass clinking together, and general mutterings of people. God she would have been a nightmare if she'd become a criminal or dealer, or worse, Robin thought, if she'd imprinted off of Croc instead. Having her as a predator would have been terrifying.
____________________________________________________________
"Gotta admit!" Captain Marvel started, "That was pretty cool," he pointed towards Miasma. He'd arrived just after the they finished the speed and endurance testing, "She actually got better after reading those books the Doc gave her. I saw her experimenting between tests."
Batman's look got him talking, "she looks down and to the right when she's making something, and some of her back bones twist back and forth when she's trying something new, and she gets these little swirls of color, it's actually fun to watch."
Batman nodded, "I noticed the same thing," he replied, "Beyond that, she lost very little mass even when removing fairly significant amounts of material for testing."
"Huh, that sounds like it's important."
"It is confirmed that she is an elemental, a pollution elemental. That means magic is involved," Batman explained, "her abilities are a result of her nature imprinted with a human soul."
Captain Marvel considered this, then nodded, "I know someone that can help, I'll talk to him. But first," he grinned, "Can I talk to her? She seems interesting."
____________________________________________________________
Miasma waited in a room with a scientist from Dr. Meyers' team, she had little wires leading to her ears while she wrote on a clipboard and a bag of some kind, made of faux leather, sat next to her seat. Every now and then, she'd look up, but otherwise kept to herself.
She wondered about the wires, no other humans had those, it was interesting, in a way. What were they for?
"Excuse me," she called out. No reply.
"Hello?" she started to move closer. Again no reply.
Closer still, "can you hear me?" she said louder. No reply once more.
Standing close, the woman looked up, and jumped before pulling the wires free, "What?" she asked, startled by Miasma being so close.
Miasma pointed to the bead at the end of the wire, "what are those for?"
The woman blinked, looked down at the earbuds, and looked back up. She sighed, "right, new to the planet. They're for listening to music."
"Music?" Miasma asked, and the woman froze, looking at her with wide eyes.
"You don't know what music is?"
"Um, I've... never heard any? I know it's sound, but, no?" she shrank in on herself, looking nervous.
The woman, surprisingly, got giddy from that revelation, "Hold on," she reached into her purse and pulled out a... pouch of some kind? She unzipped it and pulled a wire, which she then put into a device she pulled the headphones from.
A few moments later, a song started to play.
Miasma listened, fascinated. She found herself moving to the odd rhythm of the music. She would have smiled if she could. It had an oddly mellow intensity that drew her in, and the distortions in the music itself... it resonated with her.
The scientist was smiling widely when Miasma looked at her again as the song ended. She 'blushed' darkly, "you like it, huh?"
Miasma nodded, still embarrassed, "I can recommend some other songs if you'd like. Always fun to get someone into music. May need to invest in specialty headphones though, don't know how well standard ones would work for you."
"That would be wonderful, Doctor."
"Please, call me Alice," she insisted, "Want to hear some other songs? I've got a playlist you might like," she asked, only to smile more when Miasma perked up.
Fifteen minutes later, Dr. Meyers, Batman, Robin, and Captain Marvel walked in to see Miasma singing along to a soft, folky song with a voice very close to the actual singer. She waves, but doesn't stop singing until the song ends a few seconds later.
Dr. Meyers laughs, "well, I can see you made a friend, Alice."
Both Miasma and Alice blushed at that.
____________________________________________________________
AN: And here we have the testing. Miasma's actually pretty middle of the road for the YJ characters. She's versatile in a way similar to Aqualad, just aimed differently.
Also, the music! I always intended for Miasma to hear something from Blackmore's Night, but I didn't want it to be her first look into the world of music, I wanted her to hear something more... modern (for a 20 year old song ) compared to the Folk Rock favored by Blackmore's Night, and Tool fits the bill.
Able to move at the near double highway speeds, when in the right form, and had the endurance to put it to good use-
Miasma, in what seemed to be her default form, moved along the treadmill at a steady walking speed, "we're going to increase the speed," the doc said and Miasma shifted to her legged form, steadily increasing pace until she was at nearly twenty miles per hour, and going by her pace, this wasn't tiring her at all. Then, she tripped as the speed increased more. She shifted so fast it was hard to track, but the next thing he knew, she was a sphere rolling along the treadmill, a ring of what looked like clear rubber spinning rapidly around a central orb where her skull remained stationary, mostly. The speed increased further until it hit 102 miles per hour. She was at her limit of speed with her still being in control. All that while keeping it up for close to an hour.
She practically ignored most forms of physical damage-
Miasma dropped the clay pellets from the last test out of her form, they'd torn through the plastic/rubber layer she'd started to make on her outsides, but hadn't done any actual damage. With her permission, the ammunition increased in power until one actually managed to blow her head completely off, a small caliber pistol, but it didn't really stick since she just pulled the goo back into her and reformed the skull. Didn't stop Dr. Meyers from freaking out. Blunt force seemed to have even less of an effect on her. The only real danger seemed to be her growing more sluggish in pulling herself back together as the amount of material making up her form diminished.
And was resistant to many of the common forms of elemental damage-
Testing Miasma's resistance to heat, electricity, and other esoteric effects proved difficult as her chemical makeup shifted with each test to resist it more than her base form. She'd turned parts of herself to rubber in the electricity test, practically making her immune to commonly used voltages, though lightning would still be harmful, she'd formed a fire resistant powder on top of her skin, snuffing the flames almost instantly, though she did become more runny when in abnormally high temperatures, fire wouldn't be an issue, but heat would if sustained. Cold, however, proved more debilitating if not damaging, she grew stiffer and slower as the temperature dropped, but was otherwise unharmed by the experience. Acids, poisons, and other chemical attacks were useless since she just kinda, ate them, though larger doses seemed to make her sick for a bit. And wasn't that weird to see.
She could change her physical shape and proportions to an incredible degree-
"Alright, let's see how small you can go," Dr. Meyers said, "try and shrink down as much as possible," and Miasma certainly did. She got down to the size of a baseball from being nearly the same overall volume as Robin, and she could still sense while like that, though she couldn't speak very well, apparently. After returning to normal, she'd mentioned feeling different while that compressed, but couldn't describe how. More tests proved she could slip through cracks as thin as a dime if she had to and could spread into a thin sheen over a large area without much issue.
But all of that paled before what Dr. Meyers was calling her chemical forging abilities-
"We've seen that you can convert portions of yourself to rubber and plastic, but how far can you go with that?" the question had been pretty innocuous. But Miasma proved that wrong. She could recreate several chemicals that were a part of her, including making them stable in forms other than their base form. She'd recreated Venom, the Fear Toxin, and Joker Venom easily, as well as several varieties of commercial plastic, synthetic fibers such as nylon, street, prescription, and over the counter drugs in various concentrations, and that wasn't even getting into the plastics and oils.
Other tests had proved her to actually be quite intelligent for her apparent age of 13, though unlearned would probably be a good term. She was a problem solver, street smart more than book smart, though given she seemed to practically soak in the chemistry books that Dr. Meyers had given her after her display of chemical forging, that wouldn't be too far off.
Robin laughed nervously as he heard the last test, where she showed she could change her voice very easily, matching his, Dr. Meyers, his team's, and even Batman's. She even mimicked noises such as camera snaps, glass clinking together, and general mutterings of people. God she would have been a nightmare if she'd become a criminal or dealer, or worse, Robin thought, if she'd imprinted off of Croc instead. Having her as a predator would have been terrifying.
____________________________________________________________
"Gotta admit!" Captain Marvel started, "That was pretty cool," he pointed towards Miasma. He'd arrived just after the they finished the speed and endurance testing, "She actually got better after reading those books the Doc gave her. I saw her experimenting between tests."
Batman's look got him talking, "she looks down and to the right when she's making something, and some of her back bones twist back and forth when she's trying something new, and she gets these little swirls of color, it's actually fun to watch."
Batman nodded, "I noticed the same thing," he replied, "Beyond that, she lost very little mass even when removing fairly significant amounts of material for testing."
"Huh, that sounds like it's important."
"It is confirmed that she is an elemental, a pollution elemental. That means magic is involved," Batman explained, "her abilities are a result of her nature imprinted with a human soul."
Captain Marvel considered this, then nodded, "I know someone that can help, I'll talk to him. But first," he grinned, "Can I talk to her? She seems interesting."
____________________________________________________________
Miasma waited in a room with a scientist from Dr. Meyers' team, she had little wires leading to her ears while she wrote on a clipboard and a bag of some kind, made of faux leather, sat next to her seat. Every now and then, she'd look up, but otherwise kept to herself.
She wondered about the wires, no other humans had those, it was interesting, in a way. What were they for?
"Excuse me," she called out. No reply.
"Hello?" she started to move closer. Again no reply.
Closer still, "can you hear me?" she said louder. No reply once more.
Standing close, the woman looked up, and jumped before pulling the wires free, "What?" she asked, startled by Miasma being so close.
Miasma pointed to the bead at the end of the wire, "what are those for?"
The woman blinked, looked down at the earbuds, and looked back up. She sighed, "right, new to the planet. They're for listening to music."
"Music?" Miasma asked, and the woman froze, looking at her with wide eyes.
"You don't know what music is?"
"Um, I've... never heard any? I know it's sound, but, no?" she shrank in on herself, looking nervous.
The woman, surprisingly, got giddy from that revelation, "Hold on," she reached into her purse and pulled out a... pouch of some kind? She unzipped it and pulled a wire, which she then put into a device she pulled the headphones from.
A few moments later, a song started to play.
Miasma listened, fascinated. She found herself moving to the odd rhythm of the music. She would have smiled if she could. It had an oddly mellow intensity that drew her in, and the distortions in the music itself... it resonated with her.
The scientist was smiling widely when Miasma looked at her again as the song ended. She 'blushed' darkly, "you like it, huh?"
Miasma nodded, still embarrassed, "I can recommend some other songs if you'd like. Always fun to get someone into music. May need to invest in specialty headphones though, don't know how well standard ones would work for you."
"That would be wonderful, Doctor."
"Please, call me Alice," she insisted, "Want to hear some other songs? I've got a playlist you might like," she asked, only to smile more when Miasma perked up.
Fifteen minutes later, Dr. Meyers, Batman, Robin, and Captain Marvel walked in to see Miasma singing along to a soft, folky song with a voice very close to the actual singer. She waves, but doesn't stop singing until the song ends a few seconds later.
Dr. Meyers laughs, "well, I can see you made a friend, Alice."
Both Miasma and Alice blushed at that.
____________________________________________________________
AN: And here we have the testing. Miasma's actually pretty middle of the road for the YJ characters. She's versatile in a way similar to Aqualad, just aimed differently.
Also, the music! I always intended for Miasma to hear something from Blackmore's Night, but I didn't want it to be her first look into the world of music, I wanted her to hear something more... modern (for a 20 year old song
) compared to the Folk Rock favored by Blackmore's Night, and Tool fits the bill.
Last edited:
verycoolname
Not actually cool
Good choices for songs! Not what I'd pick, but that's probably a good thing.
How far does the "Pollution" elemental go exactly? Cause if you stretch it out a bit, Mind control and other mental interference abilities could also count as Mental Pollutions.
Music is a form of Noise Pollution.
Hell just about anything that is not natural to the world can be considered a form of pollution.
Music is a form of Noise Pollution.
Hell just about anything that is not natural to the world can be considered a form of pollution.
- Location
- New England
At present, it's mostly physical in nature. Over time, her powers will develop further to be able to do more. Essentially, the way I see it, a freshly born elemental is very literal in how they apply their element, as they grow older and more developed, they get into the more esoteric and conceptual nature of their element. So, given a long time to develop, Miasma could, in fact, treat mental and spiritual corruption as pollution.
GameDragon
Too Hot To Handle
- Location
- Challenger Deep
While short, this is very interesting and very well written! I can't wait to read more!