Tales of the Teen Titans: Unstoppable, Part 1: Shadows of the Empire, chapter 7: Transformation.
Omega didn't even bother to knock at Killer Moth's house, but phased through the door, his every sense alert and searching for trouble. He found Killer Moth on the second floor, at one end of the hallway, lying on the floor, half turned on his side, seemingly unconscious. Omega checked; although it was hard to tell, given the human's altered biology, he didn't seem to be in any danger. His breathing was normal, as was his heartbeat and respiration; pupils, well, perhaps a bit dilated, but no signs of blood or severe trauma. It was as if he'd fallen asleep there in the middle of the hallway.
Omega looked up. Huddled against the far end of the hallway was a figure dressed in a white nightgown. He approached cautiously, even after his senses confirmed what humans would call his heart had already told him. "Oh. Oh, my."
…..
The ambulance drivers had a hard time securing the six and a half foot tall moth man into the gurney. They were especially afraid of damaging his wings. Every test they could administer came up negative, however: negative on cardiac enzymes, no indication of insulin-related coma, nothing that they could determine as to the cause of his continued unconsciousness. The attending police, who'd come with them, wanted to cordon the place off. Omega wouldn't hear of it.
"I'm tellin' ya, the crime scene investigator-*" began one.
"Is already here. Now. I have a job to do. Kindly do not hinder me." And with that, he went back into the house, slamming the door shut in their faces.
For the next two days, Omega was mostly conspicuous by his absence. He didn't attend meetings, he didn't answer his T-cell, and Cyborg noticed that the heat in his room was turned up. Way up. But not the gravity. Usually, when the Osiran didn't want company, he turned up both heat and gravity.
Robin happened to catch him at the Titans' main computer one night, around midnight. "Omega? Long time no see. Is everything alright? You've been locked in your room for two days straight…"
"No, Robin. Everything is not alright. In fact, I would say that everything is on the other side of the universe from 'alright.'" He spoke with an intensity the Boy Wonder had never heard him use before. He did not look up from his search, and Robin began to get some "bad vibes" from him. Something was definitely wrong.
"Does this have anything to do with Killer Moth? I heard he was hospitalized, for reasons unknown." The other Titans, hearing the voices, began gathering in the room.
"It does." He clamped his lips together.
"Wanna talk about it?" No reply. "Omega? I said-*"
"I heard you."
"Well?"
Omega abruptly paused in his search. Stupid, clumsy interface, anyway. The human was obviously not going to just go away. He got up and rounded on Robin, thrusting his face within an inch of his. "If I wanted to talk about it, do you not suppose I would have, before now?" All the while, drilling his own dark eyes into Robin's.
The others were stunned. Omega hadn't raised his voice, but the way he'd said it clearly denoted someone on the edge. They'd never heard the normally calm, controlled Osiran come so close to losing it as now.
Omega must have seen their shocked expressions, because he drew back, and rubbed his eyes. "I'm sorry. I….apologize. That was….inexcusable, on my part. I ask your forgiveness."
Starfire approached him, putting her hand on his arm. "Friend Omega…something is obviously causing you the stress. Perhaps if we knew what it was, we could help."
Omega sighed, looking down. "You are, of course, right. And you certainly can't help as long as you don't know. Very well. Come with me." And he led them down to his room. Cyborg whistled when his bionic eye translated the temperature readings coming off the door. "Man. You've gotta have it at least a hundred sixty in there."
"One seventy-five." Without another word, he phased through the door without opening it. The others could hear him talking to someone in the room. It seemed to take him a long time….
Finally, the door opened, releasing a searing blast of heat that made the others (except for Starfire) step back a notch. Omega exited the room, then turned and waited, there at the open door. He evidently had the lights on full blast, too, because they couldn't see into the room for the brightness.
He turned and spoke to someone in the room. "Come on. It's alright, nobody's going to make fun of you or anything. You're among friends here. Come on, now. It'll be okay." There was no response from within the inferno of a room. "I know you've fought in the past, but they're your friends, Kitten, and they want to help. But they have to know what's going on. So come on, now. Trust me. It'll be alright."
A figure emerged from the searing white blast furnace. A figure wearing an old-style nightgown down to her ankles
The figure placed her hand in Omega's, and emerged fully from the room. The other Titans gasped when they recognized their sometimes sort-of arch-nemesis, Kitten….but drastically changed.
Her hair was unchanged, but her skin, all that they could see of it, was a bright, solid red. Her eyes were almost a glowing yellow from corner to corner, with barely visible pupils. She shyly placed her other hand in Omega's, and he put his arm around her, drawing her in protectively close; she leaned her head against his shoulder. "I found her like this. Evidently the victim of genetic manipulation. And, no, not her father's. This goes way beyond that." The girl put her face in her hands, hiding from the assembled heroes. "Kitten, it's alright. You didn't do this to yourself, nor did you ask for it. This was done to you, completely against your will. You had no say in the matter. You've nothing to be ashamed of." Kitten just shook her head, still hiding her face in her hands.
"Kitten?" Robin asked, still a little stunned, "Is that you? What, what happened?" He moved forward….
Omega held up his hand, interposing himself between the two. "I wouldn't get too close, were I you, Robin." At his look, he added, "For two reasons. One, her skin temperature is now about one hundred ninety five degrees Fahrenheit. And two," here he turned to the changed girl, still hiding her face in her hands, "Go on, Kitten. Show them. They're here to help. They have to know." The girl just shook her head harder, her blond hair rippling up and down its length, all the way to the middle of her back. "It's alright," he coaxed, "I promise you nobody's going to laugh or poke fun. Now come on. Show them." The girl sighed, her face still in her hands.
And something shifted beneath her nightgown.
Beast Boy, himself no stranger to bizarre transformations, would later say he couldn't help but feel a little "gone" as a tail emerged from underneath Kitten's nightgown. A long, bare, prehensile tail, the same color as the rest of her skin, with a wickedly-sharp asymmetrically barbed stinger on the end. "When she awoke, and found herself like this, she naturally sought out her father. Unfortunately, she was unprepared for her…new body's reactions and reflexes. She stung him with her tail, resulting in his current paralysis. She didn't mean to," he added, somewhat defensively, "it was…an accident."
The others were stunned virtually speechless. Finally, Robin goaded himself into speaking. "Why—why doesn't she say anything? Is she in shock?"
"She can't talk, Robin. Her tongue has been removed."
….
Grodd stood in the communications room, conversing with "Lucifer." The shadowy figure on the other end was talking. "You'll be happy to know," he said, "that I've just shipped the first module. By Fedex. It should arrive within a day or so."
"Good. The Master will be pleased. And what of the other matter?"
"I have acquired one test subject, and so far, all seems to be proceeding well, but my experience in these matters tells me not to rush things. After all, there is no point in throwing away human lives needlessly."
"The Master is of the opinion that there are too many humans as it is."
"An opinion I share, curiously enough. But that is a matter for a later resolution. For now, the superfluity of humans simply means an overabundance of test subjects."
Grodd exhaled. Truth to tell, he'd always felt the same way, but despised appearing to agree with Lucifer. But all that was in the Master's hands now. "Well, anyway. We shall await the arrival of the package. Do you require anything else from us, on this end?"
"No. Let me know if the module is satisfactory. Although I don't really offer a warranty, I am willing to make whatever alterations you require. For, of course, a wholly reasonable fee."
…
Kitten and Omega sat, side by side, on his bed, in his room. The other Titans had left, some shaking their heads. They might feel various ways about Kitten, but what had been done to her was….a bit extreme.
Omega's hand was in her open mouth. "The good news," he was telling her, "is that your tongue was surgically removed. That means I may be able to regrow it, using my healing ability." She didn't, of course, say anything, but her eyes spoke volumes.
He took a break after a few minutes. He wasn't tired, but she couldn't sit there and hold her jaw open that wide for very long without getting sore. She had her iPhone, and now turned to it, tapping a message into it: how can u stand 2 look at me?
Omega repressed a sigh. They'd had this conversation before. Evidently they were going to have it again. "Kitten, there's nothing wrong with the way you look. You look the same. Your skin's just a different color. That's all."
i have a freakn tail!
"So?"
So?! im hideous
Now he did sigh. "You are not."
Yes i am. im a monster
"Then I must be a monster, too. My skin's the color of your Earthly paper. No way that's normal, by human standards."
i killed my own father!
"You did not. He's recovering nicely at Conner Memorial Hospital." This last wasn't strictly true; Killer Moth was alive and, so far, well, but he didn't seem to be making as much progress towards recovery as the doctors had hoped. Still, he was at least awake. That was something. Whatever she'd hit him with must be pretty potent, given his body mass index and artificially-induced resistance to toxins. "Give it some time, and I'll take you to see him."
not like this!
"Do you really think how you look is going to matter to your father?"
No reply. Then, im repulsive
"You are beautiful. Just like you've always been, ever since I've known you."
Pause. Then, do u really think so?
"Yes." He prepared himself. Here it came, again.
then prove it. make love to me. right now
"Kitten. We've had this discussion before. You're in an emotionally vulnerable state right now. It wouldn't be right to do that with you in your current condition."
u do think im ugly
"No, Kitten, I don't. Why won't you believe me? It just wouldn't be right to, to take advantage of your state of mind right now. Surely you see that. Let's see how things go, okay?" He stood up, deliberately changing the subject, and tried to sound optimistic. "Now. You'll need nutrition, lots of protein, since you are, after all, regrowing a bodily organ. That takes biomass. It must come from somewhere. What would you like to eat?"
idk. Hard to think of food at a time like this.
"How about tacos? Burritos? Plenty of protein there."
maybe. hamburgers? i guess pretty much anything. dont know how itll taste 2 me now
"One way to find out. I'll go get a variety of things. See which ones you like best. Okay?"
do you have to leave me? im scared. She paused. Then , i hate being so weak.
He knelt in front of her, taking her small hands in his. "Kitten. You're not weak. Okay, yes, you're scared. That's okay. That's normal. In these circumstances. But weak? Kitten, I can easily see someone going through what you've gone through completely losing their minds, becoming catatonic, even. It's a big change. You don't like it, well, okay, that's okay. It would be abnormal if you did like it. But I wouldn't call you weak, by any means." He paused a moment. "I don't know how I'd react, if something similar happened to me. I probably wouldn't take it as well as you're taking it."
She smiled. liar liar pants on fire. ur the strongest person i know.
"Physically, maybe. But mentally, emotionally? I don't know." He sighed, looking off. "I snapped at Robin, earlier, out of sheer frustration. So, really, I admire you for how well you're holding up under all this. I'm not sure I could do it."
u snapped at Robin?
"Yes." He shifted, a bit uneasily. "I'm…still learning to deal with emotions."
id have paid money to see that.
"I'd pay money for it never to've happened. He was only trying to help."
There was a long pause on her part. She was obviously wrestling with herself. Then she typed in, omega?
"Yes, Kitten?"
i have a confession to make. When he waited, she proceeded to type in, i dont know quite how to put this. Another long pause, while she thought. i,i was just using u 2 get some dirt on Robin.
"Oh?" An arched eyebrow.
yeah.
He sat for a long moment, thinking. "Well, I suppose I should be…upset about that. Maybe on some level I am. A little." He turned to her. "So…why are you telling me this now?"
idk it just seemed like i had 2
The two sat in silence for a while, lost in their own separate thoughts and feelings, sitting there in his room: her, on his bed, he, on the floor in his usual kneeling posture. Then, she typed, i didnt always, then thought, and backspaced over it, hurriedly. thats y i started going out with u in the first place.
"I see."
idont blame u for hating me now. i kinda hate myself. u'v been nothing but good to me. iguess what im saying is, dont put urself out anymore on my acct. ill just go.
He got up from the floor and once again sat by her on his bed. Gathered her in his arms. "Kitten. I don't hate you. I've felt hatred before. I know what it feels like. And I don't feel that way towards you. Quite the opposite, in fact."
u, u don't hate me? even though i was just using u?
"Even though."
u sure?
"One hundred percent." He kissed her cheek and stood up. "It's all about choices, Kitten. And I choose this path. Now, I'll go bring back some food. Say, do you suppose you could drink those high-protein drink mixes I see marketed for human bodybuilders? That might be a quicker route."
i could try. ill try anything.
"Well, I'll be back soon. Try to get some rest, okay? And you'll see, Kitten. No matter what happens, it'll all work out. I'll stay with you throughout the whole thing."
She smiled, white teeth showing, the first time she'd done so since her shocking transformation. okay. hurry back…. And she showed him the message as he left the room.
After he was gone, she stood looking at the door for a long time. Then, she typed in the word dearest, and sat there, looking at the whole message for a while and smiling. Then she hastily backspaced over it. Before anyone could see it, of course. That just, like, would not do. No, that wouldn't do at all.
…
Angelique was enjoying some wholly unnecessary but tasty tacos just outside a local Taco Bell when the very same Prime warrior she'd been instructed to leave strictly alone flew in and ordered two dozen to go. She started, momentarily, when she recognized him. Well, I guess even he gets hungry, once in a while. Still, she watched him, warily, as he placed his order. She'd been told to have nothing to do with him, but if he started to hurt anybody….well, she'd see for herself just how tough he was. No way she was gonna stand by and let some innocent bystander get beat up by some thug.
But he was acting in a decidedly non-thuggish manner, waiting his turn in line, politely paying for the tacos, thanking the clerk at the desk, even holding the door for an elderly woman with a walker to get out. Angelique couldn't keep her eyes off of him. This was the big bad boogie man she'd been told about? Where was the meanness, the badness, the awfulness, the, the whatever it was that was supposed to positively drip off of him? He didn't seem so bad. Such was her astonishment that she even called out to him, just as he was about to take off. "Must be hungry, huh?"
He looked startled. "They are not for me. A friend of mine has been hurt, and I'm taking these to her."
"Hurt? How?" Angelique's ears would've perked up, had she still had that much basic organic humanity left in her. As it was, she opened her audio sensors up more, turning up the gain, in order not to miss anything of what he said.
"She was apparently the victim of someone using some sort of retrovirus. She was genetically altered, and she's having a hard time adjusting to her new self. I'm trying to help her."
"Wait. Somebody messed with her DNA? And didn't even ask?" Angelique put her feet down from the outside table where she'd been resting.
"That's correct."
"What happened?"
"It's a rather long story, Angelique, and I really don't have time to go into it now."
She froze. "You know who I am?"
"Yes. And what you are, as well." The two were no more than a few feet apart.
"And you're not gonna attack me?"
"Why should I? You're not causing any trouble. Why should I attack you?"
"Isn't that what you do? Cause trouble?"
"No. Who told you that?"
"Mr. Slade. He says you and your group are always running around, causing trouble for everyone."
"I see." He paused, thinking. "Do you, by any chance, have the capability of accessing online news feeds directly?"
She looked warily at him. "Yes."
"I would recommend you look up incidences involving the Teen Titans and related groups. See for yourself whether or not we are actually causing trouble. Then decide. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to my friend." And off he went, leaving a very puzzled Angelique behind.
An Angelique who began to do just what he suggested, accessing news media content with in-built search engines, searching for any reports of any activity or activities involving the "Teen Titans."
Hm. Now this was interesting.
To be continued…
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