Author's note: Once again, let me remind you that this is a transcript of a session between Jump City's chosen psychiatrist, Dr. David Silberman and Beast Boy. In accordance with the agreement Dr. Silberman negotiated with Robin, there will be no names used in these transcripts. So, Robin=Subject #1, Cyborg=Subject #2, Beast Boy=Subject #3, Raven=Subject #4, Starfire=Subject #5, Kid Flash=Subject #6, Jinx=Subject #7, Speedy=Subject #8 and Aqualad=Subject #9. This transcript, like the others, is preceded by some notes by Dr. Silberman.
***
26 May 2008
After my fairly rushed preparations for sessions with (Subject #8) and (Subject #9), it was a relief to have a few days to prepare for (Subject #3). I read the file provided by the Jump City Police Department (JCPD) all the way through once then started making notes to myself as I read through a second time. A couple impressions quickly formed. Though no hard data was available, it seemed clear that (Subject #3) was the youngest of the group. He seemed to occupy a sort of annoying little brother role relative to the other Titans. Or at least he had until recently. He was regarded as a sort of class clown, too, prone to making jokes even at public ceremonies. One of the other immediate observations I made was his size. Until six months ago when he apparently began a very rapid growth spurt, he had been almost exactly the same size from the time the Teen Titans were formed. He was a very slender five foot two, growing only to perhaps five foot three and change in the course of four years. He was the smallest of the group, shorter than (Subject #1) who was perhaps five foot five at the inception of the group.
But in the last six months, (Subject #3) had shot up like a weed, growing to over six feet tall, adding a little muscle to have the appearance of a still slender but certainly athletic high school boy and changing in other ways, too. For one, his voice belatedly changed. I listened to different recordings included in his JCPD file and until six months ago, his voice was a sort of scratchy, nasally boy's voice. Now, it's distinctly deeper without any nasal sound. Also, he looks different. With his growth spurt, (Subject #3)'s jaw line changed. His whole face seemed to change. And he grew his hair longer, somewhat disguising his pointy ears. The overall effect was quite impressive, so much so that (Subject #3) now occasionally works as a model. Most notably, he appeared in an ad for a new electric car, leaning back against it at the end of the ad as the voiceover says "Green can be beautiful".
From the time of the group's formation, (Subject #3) was the most popular Titan. There were apparently seven different fan clubs devoted to saluting how cute and wonderful the club members, almost entirely female and self described as "BB Fangirls", found him to be. With his sudden metamorphisis into a young man of a different sort of attractiveness, his appeal to the general public hasn't waned. If anything, it's grown. At the suggestion of (Subject #1) and the JCPD, (Subject #3) was encouraged to report those items in the massive volume of correspondence he received from fangirls which perhaps indicated unhealthy obsession with him. In one month's time, according to the JCPD, 17 marriage proposals, 19 overt solicitations for sex and 12 items of feminine underwear were sent to him.
At the Jump City St. Patrick's Day Parade, at the front of which he'd marched for the last four years, police detained 34 fangirls who tried to rush at (Subject #3). Things might have been handled better but (Subject #3) patiently tolerated the first few who ran up to him at beginning of the parade and professed how much they loved him and kissed him. Video of the even shows him sighing and letting one, then a quarter mile later another, then a hundred yards later a third fangirl kiss him on the cheek and give him a hug. But a sort of tipping point was reached and scores of young girls started running from both sides of the parade route toward him, forcing the JCPD to intervene.
His appearance is utterly distinctive as he is green, not with envy, not with feelings of jealousy or as though he's in the money or behaving in an environmentally sensitive way. (Subject #3) is green. His skin is a rich green color. His hair is a darker green. His eyes are green as well. He wears a one piece suit, purple down the middle with black arms and legs from the thighs down. He also wears a sort of utilty belt, white gloves and running shoes topped in the same purple as his uniform.
Actually, the uniform is an interesting topic because my daughter, who along with her friends shrieked at the top of her lungs when I told her I would be speaking to (Subject #3) next asked where his uniform went when he turned into a rhino or a gorilla and how did he have it back on when he turned back into a human. One of her friends gave away their interest when she wondered aloud why he isn't just naked when he turns back into his human self. This, of course, was followed by the word 'naked' being shouted by another girl and another round of shrieks so loud that my neighbor came over and knocked on my front door to see if everything was alright.
Compared to some of the other Titans, there was practically no conflict about (Subject #3)'s powers. He's able to instantly change his slender teenage boy body into a green version of any animal that has ever walked the earth. However, there was a complete lack of information about the origins of his incredible power. One environmentalist magazine once speculated that his condition was the result of having eaten genetically modified corn but there was no corroboration whatsoever for this hypothesis if it can even be called that.
I had my prepared notes with me in my briefcase when I took the usual boat launch across the bay to the island on which Titans Tower stood. I made my way up the steps to the front door and rang the bell. In a split second, a red and yellow blur came into view and then materialized as (Subject #6). He buzzed me in from the other side and led me to the elevators. He had less of a wary air about him than before. He asked who I was going to be seeing. I told him (Subject #3). He sighed and nodded then asked that I please go easy on him. He said that (Subject #3) was all worked up at the prospect of this session. I said I didn't know that (Subject #3) had anything in particular to worry about. He reiterated his request that I go easy on him.
When we got to the 6th floor, (Subject #3) was waiting in the hallway. I composed myself enough for an introduction and followed him into the usual room but I should note that he was both more handsome and more . . green than I had expected from the pictures in is file. Maybe that sounds silly. All the pictures showed that (Subject #3) is green. But seeing an actual living boy like that was somehow much more powerful. When we sat down and I faced him, I probably stared at him for his appearance. I also saw that he did look rather anxious. No better way to dispel that than to start right in talking, so I started the recorder rigt away
DS: This session takes place at 2:10 PM on May twenty sixth 2008 with Doctor David Silberman and . . .
#3: (Subject #3)
(Subject #3 removes a dollar bill from his utility belt and hands it to me)
#3: (Subject #1) said I was supposed to give you that.
DS: Yes.
#3: And, um, I-I just wanted to say that it's crazy that you guys think (Subject #2) would ever hurt anybody. Ever. He's like totally got the whole gentle giant thing going on.
DS: Duly noted.
(pause)
#3: We like play fight all the time and when he thinks he might have hurt me, he gets really bent out of-hey-you didn't write anything.
DS: Huh?
#3: You said 'duly noted' but you didn't write anything!
DS: It's being recorded. This session's being recorded.
#3: Oh. Yeah, right. I saw you press the button and everything. I'm not used to how these things go. I never had to see a shrink before. I mean a psychiatrist! I only know from what I see on, like, the Sopranos . . . . . You don't treat any mob guys, do you?
DS: I can't tell you about who I treat.
#3: So you do!
DS: No! I'm not saying that. I'm not saying that I do and I'm not saying that I don't. I can't tell you anything about any other patient.
#3: Cuz he might have you whacked?
DS: No! That's not it. It's part of my professional oath. If, after seeing you, a patient asked me if I'd ever had a changeling as a patient, I would tell him that I couldn't say yes or no. I would have said the same thing before meeting you. It's part of being a professional.
#3: Okay, Doc. And, you don't have to turn away like that when I notice you staring. I'm green. It's unusual. I understand it.
DS: It-it doesn't look bad. You're . . quite a handsome young man. My daughter's very much infatuated with you. She loves your . . your green-ness.
#3: Well, I don't have a hell of a lot of choice in the matter, Doc.
DS: How do you feel about that?
#3: About what? About being green?
DS: Yes.
#3: It's cool. I mean, sometimes I'd like to be normal. I'd like to be like (Subject #1) or (Subject #6). It seems like it'd be a relief to be able to be anonymous. All they have to do is change their clothes and they can go out in public. Me, I'm always (Subject #3). It's a lot better now that I'm not just a weird looking little green shrimp.
(In a split second, Subject #3, morphed from his human body into a small green shrimp on his chair and then back into his human form)
DS: That's amazing. Is it easy for you to do that?
#3: Yeah. I just think about another animal with a certain intensity and I become that.
DS: Does it hurt?
#3: No. Not at all.
DS: Were you born being able to do that?
#3: (Sighs) No.
DS: Do you mind my asking, how did you get such an incredible power?
#3: My parents were scientists. Notice how I say that? They . . were . . scientists. I was ten years old traveling with them in Africa. They were doing work on genetics. I got bit by this frigging monkey infected with sakutia. I got really sick. And we were a long ways from any kind of hospital. I was getting really weak and the best my parents could do for me was to give me a shot of something mixed with certain properties from the monkey itself. See, the monkey was, like, carrying the disease but wasn't affected by it. So if I could have the same stuff in me as in the monkey, then maybe I could fight off the sakutia. And it worked. My body fought off the disease. I lived, eeeeeeeeeeexcept it turned me green. Everything except my teeth and the whites of my eyes turned green. I was happy to be alive, but at the same time I was wondering how I could ever go back to school now that I was fricking green! How would I ever live this down?!
DS: Were you able to change into other forms right away?
#3: No, I . . well maybe I could. I didn't know. I only realized I could a week or so after I was able to get out of bed. I was with my mom outside our hut and all of a sudden, there was this poisonous snake right there in front of her. And I remember wishing I was a mongoose so that I could take out that snake. The next thing I knew, cloth is flopping down over my head like blankets were dropped on top of me and I feel completely weird. Not uncomfortable, just . . weird. Different. Anyway, I crawl out from these like blankets on top of me and I realize that they were my clothes and now I'm only like knee high to my mom and my green arms are-are furry. I was a mongoose. I turned into a mongoose! I realized it right away. And now my mom is like double shocked. There's not just the snake in front of her but her son just turned into a little furry thing and walked out from under his clothes. But, hey, I was a fricking mongoose, so I went right at that snake and I took him out. And then my mom is all crying and grateful and she's holding me but I'm this little furry mongoose. But I don't want to spend the rest of my life as a little furry mongoose. Cripes, being green was bad enough. And I thought of my regular self and the next thing I know, I'm me again. And from then on I could change into anything.
DS: Did that make it easier to deal with-with what had happened to you?
#3: Yeah. I mean, I was still a freak but now I was a real useful freak. I would change into an elephant and carry all my parents instruments and bags and things and they could ride me when they went on safari to try and find some particular animal to study its genetic background. I could also fly ahead, as an eagle and see if something they were looking for was there. At night, I could be a lion sleeping beside their fire for protection. Clothes were kind of a problem but in some parts of Africa that's not as much of a big deal.
DS: Couldn't . . couldn't they have just studied . . you? I mean, if they wanted to see something about the DNA of a mongoose, well, you could be a mongoose.
#3: I could be a mongoose, Doc, but a green one and one with special DNA that lets me do this . .
(In a split second, Subject #3's body becomes that of a green mongoose sitting in his chair and then, just as quickly returns to human form)
DS: Simply amazing. Reading about you doing that or even seeing it on TV doesn't do justice to how amazing it is to see in person. So, you start working with your parents, serving as their beast of burden or whatever else they need.
#3: Uh huh. And that was kinda neat. My dad thought he'd be able to fix me bein' green and, well, with just the three of us out in the middle of Africa, it was okay.
DS: Were you doing any super hero-ing right away?
(pause)
#3: No. it's a little like Spiderman.
DS: You like to read comic books?
(pause)
#3: Yeah. Look, I know it's not the real world. I understand that. It's not the real world. It's not what we deal with. It's just comic books. But sometimes those heroes have the same problems we do! It can be useful. It's not just a waste like (Subject #1) says!
DS: I don't think there's anything wrong with you reading comic books.
#3: Oh. Um . . well, you see, Spiderman got his powers but he didn't become a hero right away. He didn't know just what to do with his powers and then this bad dude who robbed some place was running right by him but Spiderman didn't do anything to stop him. Then, right after that, his Uncle Ben gets killed and Spiderman's all angry and he chases the guy down and finds out it's the same guy who he didn't stop! So, he's all guilty that he should have tried to help. With great power comes great responsibility. That's what his uncle said. And from then on he-he tries to be a hero.
DS: Did . . something like that happen with you?
#3: No. But I wasn't being a hero at all. I was just helping out my parents, some. I didn't even have a chance to . . . . to . . . . . save them. I . . . .
(Pause)
DS: Take as much time as you need.
#3: (Sighs) They left me with a Kenyan woman at our bungalow. She was a sort of babysitter friend of theirs who knew about me. I could've gone with 'em. There was only so much space on the boat, only enough for them and two other scientists. I could have become something small but I liked becoming bigger animals much better. I was a stupid little ten year old kid. I was tired of feeling small. I only wanted to turn myself into elephants and rhinos and lions and things like that. I didn't want to be a little green mouse! I could've been there. I . . . I probably could've saved them. I . . . .
(Pause)
DS: Take your time.
#3: I-I didn't think there would be any danger. They were just going up river on a trip to find some stupid bird, some stupid fucking bird. They drowned because of some stupid fucking bird. Well, not directly because of it. But their boat flipped over in the river and they drowned. . . . . And I wasn't there because I was too insecure to become a mouse.
(In a split second, Subject #3 becomes an exceptionally tiny green mouse on his chair and then morphs back into his human form.)
#3: I could've changed into a dolphin or a whale or something and carried everyone to safety. But I wasn't even there. This-this guy just came to the bungalow to tell us. Sorry kid your parents are dead. Just like that. And he practically flipped out seeing me, the green kid. The babysitter had tried to sort of have me sit in deep shadows so that the guy couldn't tell what I looked like but he saw. There were a couple months there where they didn't know what the fuck to do with me. I was like freak squared, green and a changeling. I think they were trying to figure out how to make money off me, probably send me to a circus or something when Doom Patrol showed up and picked me up. Somehow they'd heard about me and how I could morph.
DS: That's the group lead by Mento?
#3: Yeah. They-they were (sighs) I don't know. I want to say they were good to me. I was 11 years old and my parents had just died right after I turned into the world's biggest freak. It-it was okay. Things didn't fall apart. Elasti-girl was nice to me but frickin' Mento was just this cold asshole all the time. She-she realized she was kind of a stand in for my mom but he didn't try to be a dad at all. Everything was all business with Mento. Don't be emotional and stop to help a teammate, not when you could chase after someone from the Brotherhood of Evil. I mean, he was cold even for a team leader. As much of an uptight, anal retentive jerk as (Subject #1) can be, he's a lot better than Mento. At least Mento came up with this uniform.
DS: Ah, I was going to ask you that. Where does your uniform go when you become a rhino or a gorilla or whatever it is and how is it that it returns after you become human again?
#3: Well, like I said, I have to give Mento credit for it. The whole clothes thing was a real problem. What Mento figured out is that I can completely control my own genetic material and he wondered if maybe I could control some slightly unstable other materials if they had some of me mixed in with 'em. This suit?
DS: Mmm hmm?
#3: It might look like just a spandex suit but it's not really. It's something just like that with a very small amount of my hair clippings mixed in, not even a handful over the entire suit. HYou can't even tell to look at it, they're cut short and sort of woven right into it. Same thing with the gloves. For the utility belt and shoes, we used ground bits of my nails. As long as it's me, I can control it. So, when I become something else, I change the suit and gloves and everything into that and when I change back I change rhino or whatever into suit and gloves and shoes.
DS: Ahhh. So that's how you do it! Very interesting. But, back to Doom Patrol, you were unhappy with that team.
#3: Yeah. The-the whole thing, it being after I was orphaned and Mento being so cold to me. I-I needed more than that. I can't believe he couldn't see that. And he-he made me feel like the team mascot not a team member even why I did the most to catch some guy.
DS: So, when you had a chance to join the new group forming, the Teen Titans, you jumped at it.
#3: Like this . .
(Subject #3 turns himself into a lemur, leaps across the room to the bookcase on the wall behind me and then back to his chair before turning back into his human self)
DS: I-I still have to say that that's amazing. So . . so you became a Teen Titan and how was that?
#3: Well . . better. (Subject #1) can be a complete hardass but he's not as bad as Mento and he's only like a year older than me so, I don't know. It's-it's kind of like my older brother's not as nice as I'd like. And I guess that's better than your dad never being nice to you. And it was better to be with a team of other kids than with a team of people who're old, like 30 . . . . oh, sorry. Anyways, maybe I was almost old enough to be past missing my dad quite so much anyway. But everybody's cool to me. Sometimes I kind of felt like I was, well, not just a mascot, but sort of, I don't know, not as important or respected as the others but leading the fight against the Brotherhood of Evil helped change that.
DS: You felt like you didn't get enough respect from (Subject #1)?
#3: Well, it-it wasn't quite like that. It's hard to explain. He takes certain things for himself. He's the leader. He does the communications with the JCPD and the Justice League. He does all the case files. And that's cool. I don't really want to spend all my time typing out case files. Let's see, the barometric pressure as we were fighting Cinder Block was . . . 30.21. I mean, so what? He goes way overboard. But I could do some of that. I could talk to the JCPD. I mean, most of it's so, like, duh! Sure, Chief! We'll be on the lookout for Professor Chang! What? Only (Subject #1) could say that? I did some case files and I got, like, the tiniest stupidest little unimportant details wrong and he was all over me. Forget it, (Subject #3)! If you're not gonna keep the event date and file dates straight, just get out of here! I'll do it. Well, duh! He wants to do it himself. No matter how well I did 'em he'd have found something wrong. He's gotta feed his OCD, I guess. But then I get put down for not being responsible.
DS: So, you feel like you sort of get pushed into a certain role within the group that's not all you can be?
#3: Yeah. And it's not just me. (Subject #1) doesn't want (Subject #6) doing the case files either. And he's perfect for it! He can type a few pages out in a couple seconds. But (Subject #1) blew some tiny things way out of proportion and told him he couldn't do 'em either. He, like complains that he has to do all that shit himself but when people try to help he runs 'em off the job! (Sighs) I don't wanna seem like I'm too hard on him. He's not a bad guy and he does everything without a power, which is almost as incredible as anybody's power.
DS: Mmm hmm. How are your relations with the other members?
#3: Pretty good. (Subject #2) and I kid around and play video games and compete all the time but we get along pretty well. I get along pretty well with (Subject #5), too. And (Subject #6) and (Subject #7) are cool. They can be a lot of fun, even if they're both serious nerds. But they're not snobby about it. (Subject #4) was always kind of snobby about it, kind of snobby about everything to me.
(Pause)
#3: I . . I don't know what she told you. I know! I know! You can't say. I'm not gonna ask. Anyway, I-I really wanted to go out with her, at one time. Okay, for a long time. But nooooooooooooo, she has to control her emotions. Can't do that sort of thing. Oh no. And I'm not sophisticated enough for her. Then, she meets frigging (Subject #9) and if he'd been weak from lack of contact with water, like he gets, it would've been okay, because she could've covered him in drool. She didn't know anything about him. She didn't know if he was a nice guy or a jerk or smart or dumb. But she like had a crush on him instantly. All her stuff to me, oh (Subject #3) how could I go out with the team clown. Oh (Subject #3) how could I go out with someone who's not intellectual. All her cutting remarks! Well, (Subject #9) could've been the Titans East team clown for all she knew but it didn't matter because he was six feet tall and all studly looking in his unitard. And he's gay, anyway. Ha! Shows you how much she knows about anything. But she used to try to say that we just weren't a match because of personality issues. Well, the way she acted when we met (Subject #9) showed it was all about looks. Chicks try and tell you that they're all like high minded and stuff, Doc, but they're just as much about looks as us dudes. Just as much. Trust me. I'm the test case. She even went and did it with (Subject #8)! (Subject #8)!! Everybody knows about it. She did it with Mr. Titans Playboy. God! I guess he just has some special hidden personality traits. Some hidden sophistication, very well hidden. But no, not me. And then she got all upset when I was so nice to Terra. So, when I had my growth spurt and got to more than six feet and the way I look changed, it was no surprise that all of a sudden she was giving me looks. She must've just thought I had a spurt in the growth of my sophistication, right, Doc?
DS: You think she only started to consider you an acceptable suitor because you'd gotten taller and better looking?
#3: I know she did. Well, I mean, I didn't ask her out. I didn't say anything to her. If I wasn't good enough for her then, then she's not good enough for me now. Doesn't matter anyway. I moved on. But I'm not that bitter. I mean, she wasn't the only one. Some of the others thought I was really cute. That's what they used to say. (Female auxiliary Teen Titans member), (another female auxiliary Teen Titans member) and (a third female auxiliary Teen Titans member) used to always hug me and tell me how cute I was. But cute sucks, Doc. Cute's just a tease. Plushies are cute. Cute is like, I like you but I could never ever be with you. Cute's not worth crap doc.
DS: Do you have a steady girlfriend now?
#3: (Sighs) Well, no, not really. But I'm not acting like (Subject #8). I mean, I could have all these fangirls if I wanted. We're like rock stars in Jump City. Me, (Subject #6), (Subject #1) even (Subject #2). We could be like doing a few different girls every day. It could totally be happening. But (Subject #1)'s more interested in being the king of the case files. (Subject #2)'s always working on circuits and stuff and (Subject #6) just wants (Subject #7). He doesn't care about any other girl. Who's that leave? Me! I could totally be, um . . . doing . . girl after girl but I don't. But just for enjoying how I look now a little bit I get made into a peacock.
DS: Huh?
#3: We all went to see a performance of (female Justice League magician) a few months back, us and East. And one by one she had us guys come up on stage and she changed us into animals that fit each of us. She made (Subject #1) into a little bat. He totally freaked about it. Mr. Control getting turned into something against his will. And she turned (Subject #6) into a cheetah. Duh. She made (Subject #9) into a frog and (Subject #8) into a jackass. And, let me tell you, Doc, her frigging magic is strong. I coudn't do anything about changing back. She turned me into a peacock, not a green one, a regular one with blue body feathers and the big fan of tail feathers. I got turned into a peacock, because, supposedly I was, like, all posing and showing off all the time. Well, shit, I got made fun of all the time before that for being short and scrawny and having kind of an odd voice. Is it so terrible that I enjoy that I look like this now?
DS: No, not within reason.
#3: Right. And I didn't try to get those modeling gigs. Those people called the Tower. Hello, is this Mister (Subject #3)? I'm Dink Wickworth, or whatever the hell the guy's name was, from the Ford modeling agency, We'd like to talk to you about doing some modeling for us. I didn't plan that! I did enough stuff before, like being at the front of the Saint Patrick's day parade, ha ha wearin' of the green! Get it?! All those Christmases being an elf in the window of the big department store in downtown Jump. He's small and he's got big pointy ears! Get it?! I did that stuff that practically made fun of me, but I can't be on the other side now? I don't take time off from the team to walk down the catwalk a few times a year. It's not like I'm gonna do that for a living. It's too weird, anyway. Look at me. I'm a bit light, huh?
(Subject #3 gets up from his chair and turns a circle in front of me then sits back down)
DS: A bit, I suppose.
#3: No, I am. A hundred sixty two pounds and six feet tall. But, I mean, I just had this big growth spurt so, it's kind of expected. But at fashion shows? If there are fifty guys there, there might be three that you wouldn't bet on me to take in a fight, I mean, if I didn't have my power. They're all pretty boy wimps, scrawny ass pretty boy wimps. It's so weird. And the chicks are even worse than the dudes! (Subject #5)'s thin but half the girls are anorexic. They must be. They don't have any, um, you know, um, chestal shape, um, breasts. They got all mad at me in Milan because I was watching 'em before the big show and I said 'they're so thin it makes me want to puke, like they all must do thirty seconds after every meal'. And it got picked up on some microphone. So what? It's true! Everybody knows it is. Why do we have to pretend? But I'm even more of a freak with the models. They all stare at me, the green kid. I didn't realize how normal I felt with the Titans till I was dressing and undressing with all those scrawny pretty boys and starving pretty girls. And, besides that, there're these couple guy models totally after me, I mean in, like, an over the top dude dude way, all over me when I'm changing backstage.
DS: Huh?
#3: In a dude who likes dudes way! I mean, fine, whatever you want to do, just don't hurt anyone. But one of 'em even broke into my hotel room in Paris. This blond french dude. He was like crazy trying to bed me. Oh Garcon Beast! Mon Cheri! Je t'aime!! I had to throw him out into the hallway. I don't need that crap. I mean, I made some serious benjamins doing it, so that's cool. But there are designers who use, like, sweatshop labor for all their stuff but they want me to be in their show and say, look, I'm green! I even have (Subject #3) in my show, that's how green I am!
DS: So what will you do, I mean, with your time if you're not going to do any modeling?
#3: I'll do this, I'll do superheroing. It can be a real pain, not getting thanked a lot of the time and being taken for, like, granted a lot of the time but it feels so good to save people. I mean, maybe I prevent somebody else's mom and dad from dying and that little guy doesn't have to go through what I did.
DS: That's very admirable. Do you mind if I ask you some more questions about your powers?
#3: Sure Doc. Fire away.
DS: Well, a couple years ago, there was a rumor that you had some kind of virus or something and your powers had gotten out of control. Is that true?
#3: (Sighs) Yeah. It-it was some kind of virus. It totally messed with me and for about a week there I was turning into this sort of giant wolf thing against my will . . . I had some fights with my teammates. But I didn't hurt anyone! And it hasn't happened again.
DS: Do you have trouble controlling aggressive animals like wolves and things?
(Subject #3 suddenly turned himself into a velociraptor dinosaur just like the ones from Jurassic Park and stepped toward me, leaning over me and showing me a mouthful of incredibly long, sharp teeth. Then he stepped back and was his human self again and sat back down.)
#3: Sorry. I was just kidding there. I'm completely myself, mentally, no matter what animal I become but I do feel that animal's instincts. Like, when I turn into a dog, if a house cat goes by, I don't chase it but I do feel that impulse.
DS: And does the constant changing of your body, of your shape make you feel in any way odd or uncertain about yourself?
#3: Huh?
DS: Well, what I had in mind was for instance, I was watching a documentary about an actor who used to play all kinds of different roles, sometimes multiple roles in the same movie. He was an expert impersonator and he would get so immersed in all these different roles that he almost seemed to have trouble remembering who he, the actor not the characters he was playing was. That's not a very good explanation, I'm afraid. But do you feel differently about yourself after being several different animals?
#3: I don't think so. I suppose I notice my own body and how it feels to walk upright at first. But I don't stay anything else for very long. As soon as I'm done needing to be something else, I always change right back.
DS: Good. That's good. A muddled self image isn't healthy. On another point, you . . you have quite a reputation as a jokester according to your file.
#3: Yeah? I guess that's true. So what?
DS: As much as before?
#3: Well . . maybe not as much, no.
DS: Why?
#3: Why?!
DS: Yes, what's changed?
#3: I don't know. Maybe some of it was nervousness before and I'm not so nervous now. Some of it's probably (Subject #6). He likes to joke around, too. And he gets off some great ones at (Subject #1). Saves me from having to do it. He dressed up in (Subject #1)'s uniform one time and a call came in to the video screen at the communications center and he pretended to be (Subject #1). Oh my god! It was great. He said to the police chief, 'I know people think I'm so uptight that a lump of coal up my butt would come out a diamond'. Haha! And (Subject #1) had to stand there and take it. That was great!
DS: So, (Subject #6) helped to upset the roles a bit?
#3: I guess so, yeah.
DS: Are you more comfortable with how things are now?
#3: Yeah, I suppose so.
DS: You like the job?
#3: (Nods) Like I said, there're gripes but it's cool. I just want, I mean, this isn't the 'job', but I just want to have a girlfriend. Well . . . no, I mean, that'd be cool enough. but what I really want is what (Subject #6) and (Subject #7) have. She's hot and it's like totally understood between them, the connection. They kid each other and they have fun and there's always a, like, connection between them. I guess that's cuz it's real. That's why they got married. That's . . that's what I want. I want to feel that connection to a girl. I hoped well, I don't know what I really hoped with Raven, especially at the start. I wanted to sleep with her. With Terra, I think I was a little more like mature about things. But I want what they have, (Subject #6) and (Subject #7).
DS: Well, there are a fair number of super hero girls out there . .
#3: And the annual get together in June's coming up!
DS: Ah, that's right. I read something about that in one of the files. You've all gotten together in June for . . the last 3 years.
#3: Uh huh. On (Subject #6)'s birthday, or around there. It started as a birthday party and celebration of a new member, for him. But we kept it going because it was cool to be together without it being cuz the world was falling apart or something.
DS: Well, good luck to you.
#3: Thanks Doc. We're . . done? You're getting your briefcase ready.
DS: Yup. We're done. That wasn't as bad as you'd feared, was it?
#3: No, well, I didn't know what this would be like. I just . . I didn't think we should have to go through this. It was sort of unfair that far and I didn't know how far the-the unfairness would go.
DS: I'm not here to attack you or trick you, just to see if you're in control of yourself and your powers.
#3: I am, Doc.
DS: I think we're done here.