dear_mun | (no subject)

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Listen, mun. I appreciate being remembered and all...not that I minded the headspace with those other guys around...but are you really going to send me somewhere? Alone?

The last place wasn't ideal but I got powers there. It probably won't be the same in other places, right? I'd do my best to help out however I could but don't you think there are better options? Like that big green guy or Impulse's clone. And besides the fact that I wouldn't be too much help in a fight, I don't really want to be away from my family.

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Yep, communicating with machines through touch is one of my powers. I can also do stuff like this...

[He holds his right arm out to the side, neon blue tech lines lighting up the length of it from the elbow down. Over the short course of just a couple of seconds, metal "scales" form up over his lower arm and build out into a giant broadsword with an audible *CLANG*.]

[Joel just stares.]

Dude! That is awesome! Are you some kind of cyborg?

[Rex hefts the sword up over one shoulder, definitely not lacking the strength to wield the weapon even though it's probably about six feet long.]

The technical term where I'm from is "EVO", actually. Stands for "Exponentially Variegated Organism." Almost every living thing on my version of Earth is infected with nanites and when they turn on, they cause mutations.

Just happens to be that I don't show signs of what I am until I use my powers. Most other people aren't so lucky.

Wow, so everyone on your world has the potential to just...suddenly manifest super-powers?

That is pretty awesome. Even if it is a little weird that all the powers come from just one thing.

Here's the thing, though...

[Demo over, Rex sheds his weapon, nanites breaking the metal down until only his normal right arm remains.]

The potential? Totally there. The problem is that all those nanites contaminating everything are unfinished. Their programming was never completed and fully tested. So while occasionally you do get people who turn EVO and get cool powers without a lot of bad side effects or nasty changes, it's waaaay more like you'll end up with out of control mutants.

Same goes with plants and animals. It's how we end up with things like giant, six legged rabbits with fangs in lower Manhattan, plowing through buildings and chewing on cars.

[Joel's just going to watch that metal breaking down, fascinated by the powers.]

Oh man...

[And that kills the cool factor for the EVO for Joel.]

Is there a way to change people back? Or are they stuck out of control?

Some EVOs are incurable. I don't know all the sciency stuff behind why, exactly. Something to do with how active nanites bond to DNA.

For the ones that can be changed back...

[Rex jabs a thumb toward his own chest.]

You're looking at the only known cure.

Man...you are like seven different kinds of cool, Rex.

If you think so, I'm not gonna argue that.

[Brief smirk goes here.]

Though I'd be lying if I said I didn't have my share of nanite related issues. Just about every EVO does, though. Comes with the territory.

[Joel resists for a few moments before giving into curiosity.]

What kind of issues?

I guess all powers come with issues. My family all had their own power-related problems.

In my case, we'll just say it involves my nanites going crazy when I'm close to death. On the whole, though, just having active nanites and being an EVO causes problems. We're not "normal" and the ones that rampage spread a bad rep, so cue problems with some humans hating our guts.

[Having gotten in some talk time about himself, Rex has to admit he's curious about Joel's relatives.]

Yeah? So what kind of problems did they run into?

Oh man...I hope you don't get in that situation often.

[He takes a deep breath.]

Well, my sister tends to fry all the fuses and electrical devices around here if she gets mad. My one brother's moods effect his powers and sometimes he'll just fade out of sight entirely, my younger brother can't be away from other people for too long or his body starts to shut down, and our next door neighbor who's pretty much an older sister to us has a crazy greek god trying to force her to marry him and the nature of her powers makes it so that she sometimes has no idea if people like her for her or just because her powers are making them like her.

[Rex blinks at all that.]

...wow. Your family is like a set of textbook examples on how having powers can be rough.

I can kinda guess at what three out of those four are, like what their powers do, but the one your younger brother has? The thing with his body shutting down if he's away from people. What kind of power is that related to?

Well, he's sort of an alien. One that can copy the powers and skills of others and his err...original form [A pause for an awkward shrug] is kind of uh...not humanoid at all. If he's not around people, his body will try to revert back.

So he's...oh. Oh. Right. Okay, I get it.

Huh.

[Not going to ask how it is that Joel's brother is an alien. Given Rex only has one blood related brother, himself, and adopts close friends as family, he'll just assume that's kind of what's going on here.]

So were you guys like the local crime fighting team where you lived? Did you have a cool team name? I mean, you know, before the whole universe breaking...thing...happened.

[That's pretty close to what happened.]

Not exactly...

I always wanted to be a hero but the others weren't too into it. But the out parents died and I kind of...well...it was dumb but I led my family on some insane trip across the country to be heroes. We ended up chased by supervillains and government agencies and then saving the world from alien invaders but we didn't really do anything after that other than help out another team one time. And we didn't have a cool name...the news just called us 'The Weinbergs' which was a really bad name for a superhero group even if it is the family name.

Dude...that sounds like the best road trip ever.

[Rex stop. Your idea of fun is jumping out of an airborne transport and plowing fists first into a rampaging mutant.]

Even if it just was a one time deal, that still sounds really cool. Too bad you didn't have an awesome team name to go with that epic adventure, though. But eh, details!

It...well it would have been better if the whole trip wasn't just because I couldn't deal with the fact that my parents died.

I still feel kind of bad I put everyone in danger like that but things did turn out better in the end.

[Rex's expression sobers somewhat and, after a moment, he rests one gloved hand on Joel's shoulder.]

Everyone copes with situations like that differently, and like you said, everything worked out fine.

I probably would've done something similar in your shoes, too.

[There's a brief pause...and he smirks a bit.]

Well, actually I did, sorta. Except it was less about coping and probably more about just being REALLY lost.

[Joel smiles.]

Thanks.

And I'm glad things worked out for you too.

[Taking his hand from Joel's shoulder, Rex smiles in turn.]

Oh, and one other thing...

I know it's not a sure thing your mun will put you anywhere, but if by some crazy chance you ever end up in Nautilus, I'll make sure my mun gets me talking to you again. You'd be welcome to stay with my brother and I at our place in the city's Northern District, too.

((OOC: And no pressure meant by that. Rex is just a friendly kid who wants all the friends and adopted family ever. XD; Though I do wanna say that thanks to you, I'm now trying to get my hands on the Relative Heroes mini series issues. THANKS FOR THAT. LOL))

That sounds like it'd be great. Hopefully my mun does send me around. It's good to know I've got some friends to look forward to if I get dropped into some strange new place.

((OOC: It all sounds good to me. And you're welcome. Thankfully it isn't a huge series to find. Just six issues and one appearance in a Batman Chronicles book. The team's last appearance was near the end of Young Justice but they just appeared in the background, didn't really have lines, and were mostly colored wrong so it wasn't easy to tell it was them.))

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