I apologize for the near back-to-back posting. But I'll be away for the weekend and am trying to push out 5 posts so I can get Zatara + some collabs started.
Organized crime wasn't really Megan's specialty. She wasn't a real hero, without and resources or training her only asset came from brute force; which was enough, for street skirmishes or robberies. Taking a more proactive approach was completely new to her. So it shouldn't have been so surprising when she timidly rapped on the apartment door. The internal voice that both was and wasn't hers immediately groaned.
The noise of movement inside only served to highlight her mistake. A window was definitely opening, albeit with some difficulty, judging by the cursing. Megan phased through the door, wearing her usual officer's shape. Three men in the room. One at the window, a second armed but stunned by her sudden appearance, and the third in the process of arming himself; bent over a duffel bag on the counter. Assault rifles, not the simple handgun she'd seen in Cairns.
She went for the most obvious target first, an elbow to the neck had the second man dropping the gun before he had the chance to fully recover. It was never as easy as movies made it look; Megan had tried the single punch knock-out technique before, with little to no success. Her method of neutralization was bit more crude, if effective. She kneed the man in the ribs, and winced as they cracked.
You're not using your weight.
"What?"
The man doubled over, and Megan helped him to the ground by way of a shove; which resulted in another snap as his arm bent at an angle that shouldn't really have been possible. But he stayed down, screaming, but no longer threatening.
You keep all your weight on your rear leg. I can feel it. Are you scared of falling over? Because that's not going to help you if-
On cue a blast went off and a shot of pain hit Megan's left thigh. The bullet didn't pierce the skin, but the force of it set her reeling, sure enough her leg crumpled and she toppled backwards. Suddenly all those four letter word's she'd heard Jenna use so frequently seemed very appropriate. Fortunately the shot had distracted the criminals as much as herself.
"You fucking idiot, now someones going to call the cops."
"Police are already here."
"Are you- Does that look like a god-damn cop to you?" They two that weren't currently writhing on the floor took a long moment to stare at Megan as she stood, tentatively testing the leg. It was fine of course, but she'd never been shot before. Definitely something to avoid in the future.
Officer or not, the trigger happy man decided a second bullet would surely accomplish what the first one had not, and raised his weapon again. But Megan was faster. In a heartbeat she was at him and pulling the gun free from his hands. They were both surprised when the weapon was suddenly in Megan's possession and not his. He reached out, as though to retrieve it, just as she lifted the rear end of the gun and brought it down. She'd aimed for his head, but it was for the best she struck wide, as a third crack signaled a broken collarbone. Megan cringed as the man screamed.
"Sorry! Sorry, I really didn't want to-"
A movement to her left took Megan's attention, and she turned to see the final man just as he slipped out the window.
You are unreasonably terrible at this.
Megan wasn't sure crippling strangers was something she ever wanted to be good at. But she opted to follow the fleeing man rather than argue. He didn't get far; Megan hadn't needed to climb through a window. She barreled into him, so he fell face first into the pavement. The other men's screams could still be head quite clearly form where they were. The man was speaking into the pavement. Megan rolled him over to reveal a broken nose. She had to be setting some sort of record with this.
"You were kind of- Could you repeat that?"
He blinked at her. There were other voices too, a small crowd was gathered outside the building to see what the commotion was about. Some were calling the police, others were filming, but no one approached.
"The fuck do you want?"
"The guns! That is, I don't really- Could you just tell me where they are?" There was a lot of fear and panic in the air. Megan couldn't be sure exactly how much was coming just from herself. She had just seriously injured two people and really didn't want to make it three. "Please." She added.
"Fuck you."
Megan frowned. That wasn't right. He was supposed to tell her where the guns were, then she would take him into the police and everything would be nicely wrapped up. A pair of arms grabbed her shoulders, trying to pull her off the man. Stuck in thought she didn't resist, until a fist came barreling towards her face.
She had just enough time to make herself immaterial before it landed. Instead it passed right through her, and the thrower staggered forwards. Megan looked at the scene around her. It didn't look good, and sirens weren't too far off.
Now would be a good time to leave.
But she wasn't finished. The apartment was too small for a real base, and it would take more than three people to get serious weapons into Australia. She knelt next to the man again, who was staring at her in abject horror. A phone was poking out of his front pocket. It would have to be enough, she certainly wasn't going to do anymore damage. She snatched the device just as hands began to reach for her again. She was more aware the second time, and disappeared completely to a chorus of shouting.
"Right, just to be clear, you don't have your bankcard or any ID on you and you want me to withdraw all the funds from this account."
"Yes." The man, Stephen by his nametag, just continued to stare at her as Megan offered up her best everything-is-fine smile.
This isn't going to work.
For a second the smile faltered, but the customer service representative was looking back to his computer. "Look, I can cancel the card but that's all I can do for you."
Megan sighed and pretended to fumble in her pocket for something before raising her hand to the counter. "Would this help?"
Stephen looked from her empty hand to her face, consternation clearly written in his expression. "Did I not make myself clear when I said any piece of photo ID?" Megan didn't respond, she was too focused on keeping the illusion in the man's mind as he reached for the license that didn't exist.
And you claim to never use telepathy.
It was getting easier to distinguish the stranger's voice from her own thoughts; if only because she was never so constantly negative. Besides it wasn't telepathy, not really. She wasn't forcing him to give her money, or stealing it. Just expediting things. She wasn't greedy or evil, just hungry.
"Here is your money Miss. Morse, have a good one." The man was already looking past Megan to the next customer, clearly eager to be rid of her.
"Thanks" She took the 300 and odd dollars from the counter, and all but fled out the door. It had seemed more than enough money to get by a week before. When she'd had a place to live, a job, and solitude. Now she doubted it would last more than a week.
--
Fifteen minutes later Megan was sitting in a Macca's polishing off a milkshake after finishing a meal that should have fed two. Something about flying across the country and picking up a second consciousness in two days worked up an appetite.
You'll have to start listening to me eventually.
"Suppose it would be too convenient for you to listen to my own thoughts." Talking to herself didn't really go with her usual M-O of trying to blend in, but usually there weren't voices with vital information giving their opinion ever twenty seconds.
You get the body, I get the subconscious. Just say the word and we can switch.
That was so obviously a bad idea Megan ignored it, returning to the milkshake. It wasn't like The Other needed much prompting to speak. There wasn't much else for her -or him- to do, and she was the only company they got. She'd have pitied whoever it was, if they hadn't killed a dozen people. Including Jenna.
Go to Metropolis.
"You know just because you keep saying that doesn't mean I'm going to do it." Not only did taking the anonymous, murdering brain parasite where it wanted to go seem to side on the list of super-terrible ideas, but Megan was very reluctant to return to America for reasons entirely her own. Especially with what was happening in the country she was already in. "Besides, I saw you get the gun in Melbourne. Someone sold it to you. Now you can tell me exactly where the guy is so we can move on, or just watch as I pick this entire place apart."
Before she'd put the block up, they'd been much more connected. Too connected really. Having a second set of memories simply begin to appear from nowhere was not a pleasant experience, but she'd managed to stop the process before The Other had gotten the chance to see too deep into her past. In turn she never actually learned who it was that had cozied up in her thoughts. But she'd seen enough to know Jenna had died long before a bullet ran through her head, that they had taken and killed at least a dozen other people, and in one of those stolen lives, passed through Melbourne and found an arms dealer. In Australia. The idea never got any less ludicrous.
24 Kelling, Block C, Appartment 17. Not far from the harbor.
"Huh."The answer came so quickly it left Megan stunned for a moment."Well, thanks."
Of course, the sooner you die the sooner I get out of here.
She slammed the remains of her meal in the bin. Well. At least they knew where they stood with each-other.
Even for the off-season, the hostel was exceptionally dead. On a Friday night, the lobby should have been a hub of activity; travelers coming and going, meeting up with new friends for a night out. Or there should have been people downstairs, broke backpackers spending the last few dollars they always seemed to be able to scrounge up for drinks. But the staircase down was roped off, and Megan, potentially the universe’s last Martian, and Australia’s self-appointed watcher, was spinning in an desk chair.
Not that she was unhappy in her position. Even if Cairns was hot as a solar flare and so humid opening a window was likely to flood a room. The desert was never more than an hour’s fly away, and hospitality work suited her. A city full of tourists was an easy place for Megan to fit in; she was no more eccentric than the hundreds of other strangers that flooded the streets every week. Usually. But business was slow, nearly twenty minutes after her shift had ended and she had more pressing activities for the evening than spinning in a chair. Even if it was a very good chair; very smooth with minimal squeaking in a blessedly air-conditioned room. She grabbed the desk to halt the movement and refreshed the computer screen. The month's schedule remained stubbornly bare. On a whim she checked the internet. No headlines to worry about in Cairns. That should have been a relief, but nine days had been too long; there had never been more than a week between attacks before.
Maybe It’s just over?
The thought was almost pleasant enough to erase worry from Megan’s mind. After all, how many suicidal vandals could there be in one city? Megan pushed off the desk again, just as the door chimed open.
"Slow night?"
She neatly toppled to the floor in effort to stop herself. Oliver was smiling in the doorway, not in the least annoyed that the his sole working employee was apparently surfing the net and playing with his office equipment.
"Sorry- I- Yes." Megan stopped, steadied herself, and continued in a slightly more cohesive manner. "Two early checkouts and four more cancellations."
The smile stayed on Oliver's face, but waves of anxiety rolled off him, abruptly ending whatever small respite Megan had found from her own tension. "Fire makes people scared."
She examined his face closely then, but no. He wasn't even looking at her anymore. The fires had been terrifying, for everyone. Real terrifying, not the quick thrill that drove tourism up like haunted buildings or idle threats. Whether the intention was to hurt anyone or not, fire couldn’t be controlled. Especially not in a downtown city.
"Rooms are spotless, haven't had to replace a mattress in a full month." Her poor attempt at humor went unnoticed.
"Though you were finished at 7 today?" While grateful for the change in subject, Megan offered no more than a shrug and a shift of gaze away from Oliver. It was response enough for him though. “Jenna.” He concluded.
"It's not really any trouble- I think she had an appointment with..." She floundered for a moment, but quickly gave up and visibly deflated. She really had to get better at lying. Not a skill she'd be proud of, or want to use, but to have the option would be nice sometimes, at least to keep her friends from getting into trouble.
“No need to defend her, knew ow she was when I hired her. Jenna would be late to her own funeral if it were possible.” He relaxed slightly, his smile slightly more genuine. "But I'm sure you had better plans for a Friday night. I'll cover until she gets here."
Megan was standing before he finished, and out the door before she remembered to thank him. She managed to catch it before it slammed behind her. "Thanks!” Oliver only lifted a hand in acknowledgement, already sitting in her place, eyes glued to the computer screen.
A small thing like the sun no longer hanging in the sky, or the fact it was nearly winter had no effect on the City's heat: it hit her like a wall the moment she was out of the hostel. Suddenly a night spent sitting idly in an air conditioned office was very appealing. Megan glared at the red haze of the remaining sunset over the western skyline before making her way south.
The intrigue of three charred storefronts had worn off the city quickly. Now people avoided the entire block. They'd been empty when the fire began, and as always the body count had been exactly one.
It takes a whole new level of crazy to burn yourself alive.
It was too easy to slip back into the horrific memory; Megan standing helpless a quarter mile away from the blaze and still somehow choking on the smoke. She shook it from her mind and focused on making herself invisible after a quick glance ensured she was truly alone. The attacks never happened in the same place twice, but Cairns wasn't used the these sorts of attacks, and compensated their inexperience with caution. There were cops station never more than a few blocks from an attack site for a few weeks after the fact. The first pair Megan found were parked outside a servo, a radar gun perched on the dash that neither were paying very close attention to. She had no difficulty slipping through the door to sit in the rear seat. She was no detective, had no resources, so she'd discovered listening to police scanners directly the quickest way to receive news on the city. It didn't take long.
“Code: 305 Westbeach Caravan Park. All available unites respond.”
“No…” The man in the passenger seat looked to his partner. “Can’t be right. Hostages? How?” The driver said nothing but pulled into gear. Megan felt sick. Enough so to hesitate, and only the lurch of the car moving reminded her that Westbeach was the other side of town, and the only way she’d get there before it was all over was on her own. She drifted through the vehicle's roof and over most of the city. In no time, red and blue lights dotted the grid of streets. But for once Megan didn’t need to follow them; the Caravan Park was another backpacker crash spot, she knew it well enough.
There was a small crowd outside the gated fence, not media or police, Megan noticed as she lowered; civilians, tourists. At least the place had been evacuated. Sirens were approaching, there wasn't time for recon; Megan knew too well what would happen as soon as the cops showed up. She was determined to get answers this time. She flew over the small crowd and scanned the park for anyone else. Not to far in there were three figures, a young man with a younger girl kneeling on the ground, and-
No. No way.
Refusing to believe her own eyes, Megan lowered herself to the ground in the image of a police officer; the same tall and dark man she nearly always used for these situations. She hadn't been wrong, and was struck dumb by the realization. Jenna was staring at her looking rather bored, but expectant, with a gun casually held in her left hand.
Where did she even get a gun?
"Jenna?" That got her a raised eyebrow at least. Megan tore her attention to look at the hostages. The young man was staring at the ground, jaw set firm. The young girl barely looked old enough to be a teenager, she'd been crying. Neither looked hurt.
Megan let out a breath "Jenna what's going on? What are you doing?" She dropped the officer’s form in favour of her regular human shape as she spoke. The shape her friend would recognize, and immediately realized the flaw in her idea. Whatever hope her presence had originally brought had drained from the two stranger's faces; the girl began to cry.
For her part, Jenna looked only intrigued. "What are you?" The question had been directed more at herself than Megan; who was too busy trying to balance her own emotions with the sudden torrent of terror and fear emanating from the hostages.
"You've got to tell me what's going on, I don’t want anyone to get hurt- I- Shit.” People in Australia weren’t supposed to have guns. The attacks in Cairns didn’t hurt people. Jenna's stare broke for a moment as she looked passed Megan. The sirens had gotten close enough for human ears.
"Guess I'll see for myself." In one motion, Jenna kicked the back of the young girl; who lurched forward and into Megan's open arms, breaking her fall before she hit pavement. When Megan looked up again, Jenna's face had broken into a smile that made her stomach flip. Jenna never smiled like that. Megan didn't notice she was now pointing the barrel at her own head until it was too late.
"N-" Megan didn't even get to finish the syllable before she doubled over in pain, screaming.
Martian Physiology: Megan's body is faster, stronger, and more durable than any human's. Multiple times over. Shape/Density Changing: Another martian trait that allows Megan to take on the physical shape of anything or anyone she wishes. The change happens on a cellular level, meaning Megan is also able to make her body impossibly ridged, or intangibly specter-like. Regeneration: Martian cells change readily and regenerate much more quickly than those of humans. Flight: Self-explanatory Telepathy: Megan can sense, read, speak through, and sometimes manipulate the minds of others. It's a feat she's recognized as a highly invasive in human culture and has a great distaste for using it on unknowing subjects. Invisibility:Megan can make herself invisible to human eyes.
Weaknesses
Pyrophobia Like all martians, Megan is extremely susceptible to fire and extreme heats. Being close to flame is enough to destabilize or neutralize all of her powers while sending her into panic. Personal Rules: Half out from her good conscience half from a well developed paranoia, M'gann refuses to use telepathy on anyone, especially friends or innocents, unless lives are in danger. Alien: There is a lot about Earth Megan has yet to learn or understand, as it is even with her shape-shifting abilities her mannerisms often make her stick out among humans. Uneducated: Megan never finished her education on Mars, and hasn't received any at all on Earth. Empathy: Part of her physic abilities allow Megan to tap into the emotions around her, a side effect leads her emotions to mirror those she senses.
Skills
White Martian Instinct: Despite herself, Megan is a born fighter. She has a drive to fight, conquer, and win.
Appearance
Brief Bio
M'gann was born on mars (obviously) and was still very young when the martian war broke out. Her family managed to flee before the worst of it came, and escaped to the Vega star system. What had been a few years of space travel for them had been nearly a millions years for the rest of the universe, and they arrived unwelcome and to devastating news: White martians had destroyed Mars to the point of being uninhabitable, and their entire race was wiped out. Wherever they went, M'gann and her family were scorned as criminals and aides in a genocide, regardless of their level of involvement. After nearly a decade of barely surviving, hiding from world to world, news of a more positive nature reached them; a living martian was reported as living on Earth. Peacefully. While who the martian was remained a mystery, the family jumped at the hope of a peaceful, stationary life and began the return trip to their home system.
Immediately upon arriving on Earth, they rather foolishly declared themselves martians, and were quickly taken in by an American organization they never learned the name of. For the next nine years, the family was held captive and studied. In an effort to escape, both M'gann's parents were killed. For years she wandered the earth, never staying in one place or as one person for long; paranoid and alone. Eventually she came to Australia, it's red mountains and dry valleys gave some respite and she chose to live there quietly as the human Megan Morse. But the trials she'd experienced had taken their toll; M'gann was angry and unable to remain idle as she witnessed the same depravities from Mars repeat themselves in her new home. For the past two years, M'gann has been working as a vigilante throughout northern Australia. While she does her best to remain hidden; taking on the guise of police officers or becoming invisible altogether, she's had to use her inhuman abilities on a number of occasions which has lead to the public knowing there is some super-human force watching over Australia. Even if they don't know what or who it is, the public has taken to referring to this mysterious figure as the 'Queensland Keeper'.
Story Arcs
Two's A Crowd: Megan's good deeds have garnered notice among all the wrong people. There is a crime spree in Cairns. Vandalism that leads to entire blocks being destroyed, robberies of every bank and government building in the city. The criminals aren't careful and are easily cornered, but always kill themselves in someway before they can be taken in. The authorities are at a complete loss, and while no one other than the criminals themselves have been hurt so far; Megan has to put a stop to whatever is going on.[Solo for now, team-up as progresses.]
Missing Martian: There is another Martian being kept somewhere in on Earth. Not in the same facility she was held in, Megan is almost certain, but perhaps by the same captors? She has spent enough time recovering, and it's time for her to return to the task she came to Earth for in the first place.[Solo, Potential Team Up]
Secondary Characters:
Maxwell Lord: Originally one of the first sponsors for the Justice League, Lord turned on the team shortly after developing his own telepathic super-human powers. He possessed Superman in an attempt to wipe all super-humans and aliens from the Earth, but was killed by Wonder Woman before completing his goal.
Martian Manhunter: J'onn J'onzz came to Earth directly after escaping the war on Mars, before humans even existed. Since then he has spent time in and out of stasis emerging every few millennia and taking on the shape of other humans, only to for his own isolation and loneliness to force him back into stasis. Decades prior to M'gann's arrival he resumed his somewhat more natural green form and began to fight crime on the planet. It was a time before superheros were so common, and one so obviously alien and unfamiliar instilled more fear than hope, and J'onzz disappeared again shortly after.
Additional Notes
A slightly different take on Miss Martian, as there are no other known Martians on the planet (at least to the public). It's a weird idea, but I have another for her to be possessed/cohabited by Max Lord early on in her arc, who survived Wonder Woman breaking his neck by possessing a stranger when he died. Since then he would been laying low searching for someone else who he could take control of and use to destroy all super humans with. Of course, not knowing Megan has telepathy he won't be able to control her, but will exist as a second consciousness in her own mind.
Martian Physiology: Megan's body is faster, stronger, and more durable than any human's. Multiple times over. Shape/Density Changing: Another martian trait that allows Megan to take on the physical shape of anything or anyone she wishes. The change happens on a cellular level, meaning Megan is also able to make her body impossibly ridged, or intangibly specter-like. Regeneration: Martian cells change readily and regenerate much more quickly than those of humans. Flight: Self-explanatory Telepathy: Megan can sense, read, speak through, and sometimes manipulate the minds of others. It's a feat she's recognized as a highly invasive in human culture and has a great distaste for using it on unknowing subjects. Invisibility:Megan can make herself invisible to human eyes.
Weaknesses
Pyrophobia Like all martians, Megan is extremely susceptible to fire and extreme heats. Being close to flame is enough to destabilize or neutralize all of her powers while sending her into panic. Personal Rules: Half out from her good conscience half from a well developed paranoia, M'gann refuses to use telepathy on anyone, especially friends or innocents, unless lives are in danger. Alien: There is a lot about Earth Megan has yet to learn or understand, as it is even with her shape-shifting abilities her mannerisms often make her stick out among humans. Uneducated: Megan never finished her education on Mars, and hasn't received any at all on Earth. Empathy: Part of her physic abilities allow Megan to tap into the emotions around her, a side effect leads her emotions to mirror those she senses.
Skills
White Martian Instinct: Despite herself, Megan is a born fighter. She has a drive to fight, conquer, and win.
Appearance
Brief Bio
M'gann was born on mars (obviously) and was still very young when the martian war broke out. Her family managed to flee before the worst of it came, and escaped to the Vega star system. What had been a few years of space travel for them had been nearly a millions years for the rest of the universe, and they arrived unwelcome and to devastating news: White martians had destroyed Mars to the point of being uninhabitable, and their entire race was wiped out. Wherever they went, M'gann and her family were scorned as criminals and aides in a genocide, regardless of their level of involvement. After nearly a decade of barely surviving, hiding from world to world, news of a more positive nature reached them; a living martian was reported as living on Earth. Peacefully. While who the martian was remained a mystery, the family jumped at the hope of a peaceful, stationary life and began the return trip to their home system.
Immediately upon arriving on Earth, they rather foolishly declared themselves martians, and were quickly taken in by an American organization they never learned the name of. For the next nine years, the family was held captive and studied. In an effort to escape, both M'gann's parents were killed. For years she wandered the earth, never staying in one place or as one person for long; paranoid and alone. Eventually she came to Australia, it's red mountains and dry valleys gave some respite and she chose to live there quietly as the human Megan Morse. But the trials she'd experienced had taken their toll; M'gann was angry and unable to remain idle as she witnessed the same depravities from Mars repeat themselves in her new home. For the past two years, M'gann has been working as a vigilante throughout northern Australia. While she does her best to remain hidden; taking on the guise of police officers or becoming invisible altogether, she's had to use her inhuman abilities on a number of occasions which has lead to the public knowing there is some super-human force watching over Australia. Even if they don't know what or who it is, the public has taken to referring to this mysterious figure as the 'Queensland Keeper'.
Story Arcs
Two's A Crowd: Megan's good deeds have garnered notice among all the wrong people. There is a crime spree in Cairns. Vandalism that leads to entire blocks being destroyed, robberies of every bank and government building in the city. The criminals aren't careful and are easily cornered, but always kill themselves in someway before they can be taken in. The authorities are at a complete loss, and while no one other than the criminals themselves have been hurt so far; Megan has to put a stop to whatever is going on.[Solo for now, team-up as progresses.]
Missing Martian: There is another Martian being kept somewhere in on Earth. Not in the same facility she was held in, Megan is almost certain, but perhaps by the same captors? She has spent enough time recovering, and it's time for her to return to the task she came to Earth for in the first place.[Solo, Potential Team Up]
Secondary Characters:
Maxwell Lord: Originally one of the first sponsors for the Justice League, Lord turned on the team shortly after developing his own telepathic super-human powers. He possessed Superman in an attempt to wipe all super-humans and aliens from the Earth, but was killed by Wonder Woman before completing his goal.
Martian Manhunter: J'onn J'onzz came to Earth directly after escaping the war on Mars, before humans even existed. Since then he has spent time in and out of stasis emerging every few millennia and taking on the shape of other humans, only to for his own isolation and loneliness to force him back into stasis. Decades prior to M'gann's arrival he resumed his somewhat more natural green form and began to fight crime on the planet. It was a time before superheros were so common, and one so obviously alien and unfamiliar instilled more fear than hope, and J'onzz disappeared again shortly after.
Additional Notes
A slightly different take on Miss Martian, as there are no other known Martians on the planet (at least to the public). It's a weird idea, but I have another for her to be possessed/cohabited by Max Lord early on in her arc, who survived Wonder Woman breaking his neck by possessing a stranger when he died. Since then he would been laying low searching for someone else who he could take control of and use to destroy all super humans with. Of course, not knowing Megan has telepathy he won't be able to control her, but will exist as a second consciousness in her own mind.
[center][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/873000357712765022/1122544468558614632/25185797.gif[/img]
the universe is grand, but life is grander
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<div style="white-space:pre-wrap;"><div class="bb-center"><img src="https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/873000357712765022/1122544468558614632/25185797.gif" /><br><br>the universe is grand, but life is grander</div></div>
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