Member
PapaOso
Half Pint
princess
Tpartywithzombi
CitrusArms
Izurich
Shin Ghost Note
SilverPaw
DClassified
13org
Location: Justice League Watchtower
“How long will it take?” Black Canary's patience was waning concerning Alisa's status as she stood within a small chamber housing the young cybernetic heroine lying supine on something akin to an operating table. She was addressing Cyborg who nearly stood over Alisa as he calmly observed her resting body.
“I can't be certain… With some of the guesswork we had to resort to, anything can be expected.” His tone was steady as he simply briefed honestly, but he was quickly aware of how what he just said might sound to someone else. Black Canary furrowed her eyes ever so slightly. “My money's on her waking up sooner rather than later. Even without the original blueprints, we had the best the League could offer working on filling in the gaps. If anyone can get Alisa back on her feet, it's us,” he assured her.
One moment, Alisa was burning. The next, she opened her eyes to the glaring overhead light. It took her mind a moment to catch up- for a few seconds, her eyes flitted around in panic, her mouth wide open. She whimpered. Everything was wrong. She wanted to scream but couldn’t find her voice. Something’s wrong, this isn’t my body. It isn’t mine it isn’t mine it isn’t mine- She lifted her hand to the light, confused and afraid, and then met Cyborg’s eyes and dropped her hand. Her tongue felt lodged in her throat.
“... Hello,” she croaked. Speech felt weird. Movement felt weird. Everything was bright and loud and she was cold and the hospital gown was scratchy and what happened to her-
Breathe, Alisa. It was rhetorical, but she found the saying soothing. “What… where…” She couldn’t quite form the question, which terrified her.
“Hey hey hey, stay calm. You're just waking up and we-” Cyborg was cut off by Black Canary who placed a hand on his shoulder as she moved past him.
“We want to make sure you're alright, Alisa. It's a lot, I'm sure but we're safe here in the League Watchtower. Your friends are safe too.” She refrained from hitting Alisa with the fact that her body had been destroyed during the previous mission. She and Cyborg had to be careful with how they handled this. “How do you feel?”
Alisa’s eyes flicked from Cyborg to Black Canary. Moving awkwardly, she attempted to sit up on the table, supporting herself with her hands. She was at the Watchtower. She was in space?! Why wasn’t she at the cave? “I- I feel wrong,” she said. “What happened to me?” She remembered her limbs falling off and the fire and the agony, but little else.
“There's no point in beating around the bushes.” Cyborg spoke up. “You've been pieced back together after what happened during your last mission. I'm sure you can already identify a difference with your body. The lack of blueprints was replaced by some of the brightest minds in robotics engineering and data science within the League.”
“Can you stand?” By her tone Black Canary was legitimately asking and not ordering Alisa. She had faith in her colleagues but she needed more assurance.
Alisa’s lips parted in shock. She looked down at her exposed hands. It made sense, now. This wasn’t her body. It wasn’t even the same model, the same design. She wasn’t herself. A weird mix of shame and anger and confusion and gratitude flowed through her. She should be thankful, shouldn’t she? That she was alive? “I… you rebuilt me?” She left the other parts out, fearing she would sound ungrateful. It’s not like you couldn’t get the original, she thought. Had they even tried before they started mocking up a new model?
“I think so.” Alisa raised her eyes to Black Canary’s and flexed her feet. Cautiously, she swung her feet over the table and hopped off.
She immediately stumbled, her legs buckling. The shock of standing for the first time in months, let alone in a new body, led her to fall. But she righted herself, leaning against the table, and came to a stand. “See? Standing.” She smiled thinly with Black Canary and Cyborg answering with their own in return.
“Yes, though we should probably perform some sort of physical, right?” Black Canary glanced at Cyborg who folded his arms.
“Already prepped and ready for Cybergirl to give the new body a test run. Simple movements first to ease the gears, and then we'll escalate from there and see how you perform. Pass that to prove you're mission capable and you'll be good to go.”
“Physically. Alisa, I'd like to have a weekly sit-down with you about what happened. Nothing different than what's provided to each member of your team after a mission..”
“... Therapy?” Alisa looked a bit skeptical. “Are you sure that would work on me?”
]“Of course. Alisa, you have emotions and memories like anyone else,” Black Canary placed a hand on Alisa's. “I'm sure you have strong feelings about what happened… but save looking back at them for the two of us to work through. In the meantime, you should try to get used to your new body.”
“And crush this obstacle course!” Cyborg was a bit proud of what he put together.
“Physical Assessment.” Black Canary corrected.
“Great. I love obstacle courses,” Alisa deadpanned. “Can’t be as bad as when Daphne strangled someone… Unless I’m gonna die a second time.” Alisa says ((as she looks directly into the camera with a shrug)).
After Alisa conducted her physical and was given a reluctant yet optimistic thumbs up from the League, her team was informed of her return unbeknownst to her. Kila, Kassy, Viktor, and Zach gathered around the zeta tubes at their headquarters anticipating her return.
It had been a few hours, and Alisa was slowly starting to feel… not better, but more like herself. The new body was still strange, but she could do all the things she was meant to do. That was enough for Cyborg, and he had sent her and Black Canary on their merry way to take Alisa back home.
The team's de facto mother figure felt a pit in her stomach. It was there for the entire time Cyborg worked on Alisa’s recovery and it did not go away. This ordeal was sure to be traumatizing for the young heroine. She could not even begin to comprehend what thoughts and feelings were running through her right now. She glanced sideways at Alisa, but did not say anything yet. What words of comfort were appropriate in this situation? What could you even say….
The two of them were standing in front of the Zeta Tube now. Alisa had changed out of the hospital gown and into a blue long-sleeved shirt, jeans, and sneakers. They weren’t her clothes, but they fit fine.
Home. Alisa had been informed that it had been a whole month since she was destroyed. It was jarring to realize that she had missed nine months of the past year. It was even more jarring to realize it had been an entire year since she’d been home with her mom. It felt like only two months, but the seasons had returned to the place they’d been when she left. The world kept turning without her. Thinking about that brought her a strange melancholy, amid all the other strange emotions saturating her head. Shock. Anger. Relief. Sadness.
She was just glad that she got to go back to the cave and see her friends. How had they been without her?
Zach was sitting around scrolling through social media on his phone. He had been away from the base for some time. He had returned to be here for Alisa’s return? Zach didn’t know what the right word was. He wasn’t sure he should even be here in the first! It was his fault she had died in the first place, and they were never that close to begin with. It was his cousin who convinced him to be here for this,
Kassy paced barefoot around the Zeta tube area. She was quite anxious. With Daphne still not back from being a tree, she had been the only lady left on the team. It had been a long month. Losing two of her friends in one fell swoop hurt like nothing else. Zach had been absent, but his behavior made it clear that he was just as self absorbed as ever. Viktor was… Viktor. And she wanted to give Kila space. It was hard not to withdraw. She nibbled at one fingernail. The yellow polish needed a touch up. Alisa always did her off-hand for her… "What's taking so long…"
Viktor was just entering the area with his usual stoic gaze and neatly wrapped box tucked under his arm. He had been waiting for this day, and to him it had been a month too long. Missing someone like this was uncomfortable for him, and he didn't know how he'd feel once he saw her again.
The buzzing sound of one of the zeta tubes activating vibrated through the halls of the teleporter room. Black Canary along with a slightly bewildered Alisa stepped out of the light. Dinah softly squeezed Alisa’s shoulder, which was similar to pinching a piece of metal.
“They’ve been waiting a long time to see you.”
As their den mother she was moved to see how much they missed her. Even Zach who pretended not to care. Or Viktor who surprised her by bringing a gift, which she spotted immediately. It was endearing.
Alisa stared out at the rest of them, immediately overwhelmed. She had a stricken look on her face. “... Hi,” she said, finding herself unable to say much more. She bit her lip.
Kassy was the nearest. Her eyes went wide, and she would have rushed forward - if not for the look on Alisa's face. Still, she approached Dinah and Alisa. "Welcome back, my friend." A warm grin clashed with her teary orange eyes.
A smile reached Alisa’s lips- a real one. “It’s nice to be back,” she told Kassy, touched by her tears. She hadn’t thought her and Kassy were very close. “It only feels like a few hours since I last saw you, though.”
Hastily wiping her tears and not caring about the smear of mascara left behind, Kassy chuckled faintly. "It's been a long time. Far too long. I kept your room clean while you were away. I didn't organize anything. Just kept the dusty rabbits from the corners."
”Wamkelekile, Alisa. Back home where you belong.” Kila smiled as he called from his place near where Viktor was. He and Alisa were not that close, so he did not act that way. However, he did indeed feel pain when she had ‘passed’. He did do something, though, to remember. His hand had been wrapped over the place where he had cut it during the battle. Although by now it had long healed, he had kept it wrapped with an unsoiled bandage until she returned.
On it was written her name and the date of the mission that was completed. In the moment, the young lion had it rolled up in his hand and stepped closer to offer it to the android girl.
Alisa took the bandage, perplexed. When she turned it over in her hand, seeing her name and the date, the expression melted off her face. “Thank you,” she said, sounding choked up.
”I trust that you are feeling alright? Things have been difficult here, without you. ” Kila chuckled, though offhandedly nudging his head towards the taller young man with the box in hand.
“I’m alright,” Alisa said. “I just need to get used to the new body and everything, that’s all.”
Viktor felt a slight trembling throughout his body as he felt a level of excitement he hadn't been used to. His feet remained planted as he simply stared, struck with awe. Still, yet subtle trembling. I have to say something…
“Al-” Viktor was interrupted.
“Um… congratulations on not being dead, I guess…” Zach said awkwardly. What do you even say in a situation like this? “Ok look… I know we’re not exactly BFFs, and this is going to sound weird coming from me but… um… I’m sorry… If you hadn’t had to save my incompetent butt, we wouldn’t even be here right now.”
Alisa’s eyes glanced at Viktor first, not missing his attempt to speak up nor his shaking, but then flicked to Zach. “No,” she said. “It was all my fault. I should be apologizing for making all of you so upset. I should’ve been smart enough to not… well, run at a time reversal barrier. I failed. I’m sorry.”
Internally, Alisa believed it was true. She should’ve seen it, and in retrospect she had noticed things reverting behind Thiago. She had made all her friends so upset, and guilt was worming around inside her. She looked down. Thinking of the mission only made her think of her failures. She should’ve been better than that. Wasn’t she meant to be smart? Strong? Durable? Huggable?
The feeling of large arms wrapping around her form had followed the swift patter of rapid steps. Viktor had finally broken from his self-induced paralysis and closed the gap between the two. Eyes shut, he held Alisa tightly as he savored the moment.
“I missed you, Alisa.” He whispered. “And, I don't care about an apology. Having you back is more than exceptional. It's perfect.”
“I…” Alisa just stood in his arms for a moment, stunned. The touch felt different than it used to, but… good? Viktor… He never hugged people, and to do it in front of everyone else… Alisa made a small noise, a hitched almost-sob, before hugging him back and burying her face in the hug. She couldn’t believe he had missed her this much.
With his arms crossed in satisfaction, Kila smiled at the gesture. Finally, it seemed, the dam that held back a great river was given a vessel to flow through.
Kassy, who had retreated to give the others space, looked quite surprised. That sort of emotional display was something she hadn’t thought Viktor was willing to do at all - especially in front of all of them. She too, began to smile, flashing Kila a look that clearly read 'heh!'
“Alisa?” He broke brief silence as he wasn't sure if the feeling of Alisa sobbing against him was something he was supposed to let happen or cease. “I acquired something for you… I mean, I got you a welcome home gift.” He pulled slightly from the hug so her face wasn't buried into him and began to lead her toward the neatly wrapped box on the floor.
Alisa’s chest continued to hitch as Viktor led her towards the box. Her face was scrunched up into what looked like sadness while she made noises that were akin to sobbing. Yet, no tears fell. She couldn’t stop. Everything that had happened- to her, in the last half a day- seemed to bubble up all at once. How was she here? How had she missed all this time?
“Did you- you got me- a present?”
“A welcome home gift,” Viktor explained. “I made a thorough assessment of what you might like and… well, you should open it.” He broke away from her so she could do just that. All the while, he watched in anticipation as if awaiting the signs of a completed mission objective.
Tentatively, Alisa kneeled on the ground and neatly ripped open the wrapping paper. It was… a metal easel and paint. An art kit. She smiled, full. “Thank you,” she said, not just to Viktor, but to everyone. “I… I’m glad to be back.”
Cybergirl had returned.
