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After something close to a year, they seemed ready to perform the surgery. It had taken them forever, researching the difference between the Human's body and a Martian's. How their stomachs and digestive system worked, how their nerve system absorbed information. As it was now there was little difference in the Martian and Human diet. They had their fruits, their vegetables and their meats and fats. Granted their food nurtured their bodies in very different ways, but it was something that they could work with.
The telepathy thing, was also something they could work with. According to J'onn Bruce was on the same level that a little K'nika was. J'onn had taught the human all that he could; the rest could only be learned by experience.
It was the climate that would kill the human. The surface pressure was only one percent. The temperature during the day was fine, but the temperature at night would cause him to freeze to death. His skin also needed to be tougher; their 'ice' would pierce his skin and most definitely kill him upon impact. Yes they had the protective forcefield ready, but that was for the meteors that came their way, or intruders with ill intentions. Not for humans with sensitive skin. Not to mention the whole needing oxygen to breathe in order to live thing...
It was going to take a lot of work, but it wasn't impossible. It would definitely be a challenge, that's for sure.
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While they were taking a year to get ready for the operation, J'onn was getting Bruce prepared to enter Mars for the first time. He had tried to teach him as much as he could; until he realized that he might need some help. Then he had spent almost a month getting Bruce to trust L'helum, who had behaved surprisingly well and hadn't even snooped once.
Sometimes he'd whine about how it wasn't fair that Bruce could barely tolerate him when he never even thought about snooping, yet J'onn snooped almost once a week and was liked much better. To that J'onn could only shrug. He couldn't help it how Bruce's mind worked. But he could tease his brother about it. However, it was taking almost entirely too long to get them to trust each other, and he was starting to considering bringing Lhed Xojil in to help, when L'helum had told Bruce a really gross joke.
It was crude and had to be told in Martian, but Bruce understood enough of the language to get the gists of it, and had laughed for what seemed like hours.
After that they'd gotten along just fine.
J'onn was slightly jealous, but only a little. They had more important things to worry about. Like teaching Bruce Science, Math, History, Martian Culture...things that would probably help him along the way once he was allowed to roam free. And he'd made a good call at calling in L'helum; he'd had the highest scores in class. First though they had Bruce let them sort through his knowledge of such subjects. What he did know was interesting; what he did not was appalling.
How was he expected to get a reasonable occupation with that sort of primitive education? It was times like these that he was really really happy that he was a Martian, and not an earthling. Yes they were interesting creatures; but they were about as intelligent as a brick wall. So they sat in Bruce's head and tried to teach them as much as his young mind was able to comprehend. Some things he just wasn't mature enough to grasp, other things he caught on very quickly. He liked each subject well enough, but there were days when he just was not able to get it, and on those days he usually had the Monster kick them out, steaming over how confusing everything was.
They tried to be patient, but sometimes they forgot that he was just a 'child' and that he was liable to break into temper tantrums and pout.
Didn't mean he had to sick the Monster on them though...
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J'onn stared at Bruce, who lay still on the table, his eyes closed. He was supposed to be the one to bring Bruce out of his year-long slumber. He had kept Bruce company during the operations, talking to him and trying to keep his mind off what they were doing to his body; which was basically re-writing his DNA. They couldn't give him a Martian body; that was impossible even for them.
But they were able to make it so that he could function like a Martian. He didn't exactly understand the procedure, as he was a little bit young to really grasp all the concepts but he was amazed at the end result. His skin felt cool to the touch, rather than warm like he was used to it feeling. His body temperature was the same level as his now. It felt...rougher, like his did.
There were no scars that covered his body, he looked just as he did when he first came to Mars. A little bit older, maybe. Longer perhaps, but still very child-like. Pale skin, black hair. And if Bruce's mental projection matched his outside, blue eyes. He'd spent nearly a year talking with Bruce, teaching him things about his planet and culture...what if when he woke up...
He didn't like the planet? What if he didn't like J'onn? What if he found some new Martian friends and decided that they were cooler than he was? He knew he wasn't as handsome as some of the others, and maybe not as cool...in fact he was considered a bit dorky by Martian standards...and what if Bruce thought so too? J'onn shifted uneasily. Maybe it was best if he didn't wake him up at all...
Maybe--
"If he likes you while you're inside his mind, he should like you just as much outside his mind." Naculh stated softly as she walked over to her K'nika, placing a hand on his shoulder. He tensed slightly, obviously not believing her for a second.
She chuckled. "Might I remind you that it took a long time for him to warm up to L'helum?"
He paused, considering his words. That was true. By Martian standards L'helum was as cool and as handsome as they came. But Bruce hadn't been impressed. He'd kicked him out the first time they met. But he'd let J'onn stay. He'd talked to J'onn.
Letting out a nervous sigh, he touched his hands to Bruce's temples and slowly started on the process of waking him.
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R&R :dances:
