canaryrose

Young Justice

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Location: Happy Harbour Interacting with: Viktor (@FunnyGuy), Daphne (@dreamingflowers), Talon (@Courtaud), Kila (@DClassified), Kassandra (@Mistress Dizzy)

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Oh god. He… he’s falling! Alisa watched in horror, frozen in place as Talon tried to grapple across the pit and… fell. As he clung to the cliff side, she watched, considering her options. Daphne and Casper were over there, and they could help, right? As they did just that, she was briefly relieved. The two weren’t strong like her and Viktor, but Daphne had her vines and Casper had necromancy. They’d get him back up. Crisis averted.

Except things quickly got worse. Alisa’s horror only doubled as she saw Daphne freak out, shapeshift, and wrap her vines around Talon’s neck, choking him. Alisa didn’t need oxygen, but Talon did. Alisa glanced at Viktor, her jaw slackening and eyes widening. She didn’t know what to do, but she needed to be there to help. He looked almost disappointed. Why does he look like that? Talon could die! She understood that this could have easily been avoided if he had only let Viktor throw him, but still.

“Vik, you n-” Before Alisa could voice her request, Viktor had already grabbed her by her limbs, swung her around, and chucked her across the pit. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!” Oh, this was scarier than she thought. Alisa landed with a crash in the ground on the other side, creating an indent. Ow. That was a hard and painful impact, and she felt her nerves firing, but she still rushed over to the scene to help.

Kass and Ja had gotten there before her, thankfully. Alisa sighed in relief as Ja let the ladder drop and pulled his legs over the edge and Kass cut the vines. She rushed forward and broke the remaining vines (well, Daphne’s hair) in a few quick and hard movements, separating the two. Hopefully Talon could breathe better now. “M-make sure he’s okay!” she told Kass and Ja, trying to sound strong but still reeling a little from the sudden crisis. “I’ll handle Da- Nymph, I mean.”

Alisa took the elbow of the still-crying girl, pulling her away from the pit and everyone else. She hoped Daphne’s vines weren’t still overreacting, but if they were… well, she would be the best stress ball for them. Since Talon was already out of the pit, this was the best way to help, before Daphne's out-of-control body hurt anyone else. "Are you alright? Are you hurt? I think... I think everything's going to be alright. It's okay."

Young Justice

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Location: Happy Harbour Interacting with: Viktor (@FunnyGuy), Daphne (@dreamingflowers), Talon (@Courtaud)

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So we’re throwing them, huh? Hopefully I don’t drop Daphne… It was certainly an inelegant method, but Alisa supposed that it was really their only option. Viktor, Talon, and herself might have been able to jump, but she wasn’t too sure about Daphne or Casper. For all intents and purposes, Alisa and Viktor were yet again taking the lead on an obstacle. They would just have to be really careful about not dropping anybody. As Viktor picked up Casper and tossed him across the gap, Alisa approached Daphne.

Unable to speak, Alisa tapped Daphne on the shoulder, waited to get her attention, and then picked her up. It wasn’t much of a strain, but she was heavier than the tires. And… it was a bit awkward. Alisa blushed as she tried to get her hands in the right, least awkward position, while also trying not to drop Daphne onto the ground. Sorry, she mouthed while shifting her hands around to get the best grip. Her hands were noticeably cold and hard when placed on Daphne’s skin, almost like a mannequin’s, except flexible and mobile.

Alisa ended up getting Daphne into a sort of bridal carry position. Now she just had to actually throw her. Oh, this was going to be hard. Throwing Daphne without any momentum behind her would result in her falling into the pit, but getting momentum would be difficult. Alisa chewed on her lip for a moment, contemplating, before turning to her side and starting to rock Daphne back and forth like a baby. Her head was on the pit side and her feet were facing towards the tires. Hopefully, with this method, the other girl would land head first on the other side. Gradually, the rocking started to pick up in speed until Alisa offered her a comforting, nervous smile and chucked her across the pit with all the force she could muster.

Oh, please don’t fall please don’t fall please don’t fall… Alisa crossed her fingers and closed her eyes, unable to watch.

Young Justice

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Location: Happy Harbour Interacting with: Viktor (@FunnyGuy), Daphne (@dreamingflowers), Talon (@Courtaud)

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When Viktor clapped at her and held out his hand, telling her to stop, Alisa rooted herself in place. She was a bit confused. Did he have a better idea? She had thought flipping the tires was pretty good, but if he had something faster…

Oh! Alisa smiled big and gave a thumbs-up to Viktor as he rolled the tire towards her. This was much better. And faster. As the tire rolled towards her, she stopped it with her hands, hefted it onto her shoulder, and put it on the pole with the other tire. They repeated the process of Viktor rolling the tire over to her and then Alisa hefting it onto the pole four more times until all the tires were on the pole.

Alisa stood back to admire their work for a moment. It hadn’t taken very long- a perk of having super strength was, well, super strength. Viktor and she were strong, although she wasn't sure who was stronger. Maybe they'd have an arm-wrestling match later! Although given Viktor's stoic personality, she wasn't sure he'd agree. With the tires finished, Alisa waved Talon, Casper, and Daphne over and began to jog towards the hole. Now how are we going to cross that? While Alisa and Viktor were strong, none of them could actually fly. Maybe they could throw the rest across? The monkey bars didn’t look like they’d be an issue since the other team was in the process of crossing them and they’d probably meet up in between the two obstacles. Well. Since she couldn’t speak, it was Daphne’s choice. She looked expectantly at the other girl as they got to the gap, waiting for instructions.

Young Justice

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Location: Happy Harbour Interacting with: Viktor (@FunnyGuy), Daphne (@dreamingflowers), Talon (@Courtaud)

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A small smile replaced Alisa’s ashamed expression. Viktor didn’t seem shocked- he seemed intrigued. She had been worried for a moment there- his brows had narrowed as though he disliked her explanation. “I’d like that a lot,” she told him. “Maybe catch me later and we can talk. I don’t mind explaining, and it would be great to learn some more.” While Alisa didn’t desire to fight, she would have to while she was stuck in this role. She far preferred being useful and a good teammate over refusing to learn and being a burden.

Before Viktor got a chance to respond, Talon approached them. Did he sound… angry at Viktor? For “holding back” in their spar? Alisa frowned. She had won fair and square! It had been because of her tactics that she had won, not Viktor taking it easy on her. She was about to say so when Viktor started talking, and then Talon… woah.

Alisa’s eyebrows climbed up high into her forehead. Seriously? Threats? Despite herself, she felt a bit scared of Talon at that moment. He clearly had a temper, and given that they were superheroes… well, he probably had a skillset to back that temper up. It was such a little thing to get mad about, too, and while it wasn’t directed at her, it was certainly a bit disconcerting. They were a team. From what Cyborg had told her, a superhero team was supposed to be friendly, if not friends with each other. She shot Viktor a concerned glance from where she was standing next to him.

There was certainly a fight brewing here, but before it could escalate, Black Canary announced what they would be doing next- joining the others on the obstacle course! Alisa smiled. That sounded like a fun game. Unfortunately, only Daphne could speak, which would make it a bit hard, but still! Fun! This was much better than beating each other up. Alisa followed the rest of her teammates to the obstacle course.

While they were walking, there was a tap on her shoulder. Alisa turned around to see… Daphne! She grinned broadly. She had been wanting a chance to talk to the other girl, but she hadn’t yet gotten one. She laughed lightly at what Daphne had to say and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay. It was sweet of you to worry, but I’m a lot more durable than, well… you and Talon. I don’t go down easily.” Before Alisa could get a chance to elaborate further, they arrived.

Before they started, however, Alisa wanted to do something. With a significant amount of trepidation, she walked up to Talon and tapped him on the shoulder. She didn’t want things to go sour between him and Viktor later because of Viktor and her’s fight. “Hey,” she started, awkward, in a quiet tone. “Don’t be angry at Viktor for “pulling his punches” or anything. I don’t even think he did, but even if that did happen, I didn’t win because of that. I won because he underestimated or forgot or didn’t know my physiology and thought oxygen deprivation would kill me. So please chill out. Okay? We’re all friends and teammates here, I promise.” She smiled broadly at him as she finished, and then walked off.

Without waiting for a response, Alisa walked off. She gave Daphne an enthusiastic thumbs-up and a smile- she couldn’t talk, after all- and waved Viktor over so they could start lifting the tires onto the poles. Alisa picked up one with only a little difficulty, flipped it, dragged it over to the pole, and set it down. They were heavier than they looked, but not too heavy.

Young Justice

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Location: Happy Harbour Interacting with: Viktor (@FunnyGuy)

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Alisa squirmed uncomfortably under Viktor’s scrutinizing gaze. She looked away, a blush coming to her cheeks. If only he had asked something else! It was a loaded question, that what are you. It spoke to irrefutable differences between her and other people, that otherness that many believed made her less of a person. She supposed that she was. People needed oxygen, food, water, and sleep. People had blood and organs and organ systems and all sorts of fleshy bits and complicated, organic things. Living things. Alisa had none of those things. She was a computer program at her core, with a mechanical body dedicated entirely to her. Yet, deep in her, she believed that that made her no less of a person than Viktor or Jack or Daphne were. No less of a person, but certainly not human.

Unfortunately, many did not believe that. Before all this, she had been safe in her own world. Safely a person. An inhuman person, but a person. But there were those who thought of her as an object- a thing. That way of thinking had nearly led to her death. The thought made her simultaneously furious and ashamed. Hopefully, Viktor and their other teammates would not be like those people.

“Well,” she began, tearing her eyes away from the ground to meet Viktor’s, “I’m not a typical human. I don’t think I’m human at all. I guess the most simplistic explanation is that I’m a robot.” She giggled, nervous. That was certainly the most simplistic explanation. It was nowhere near her full truth. “That’s too simple, though. I’m an artificial intelligence system. My body is completely synthetic, made mostly of stainless steel alloys, copper, and silicon, with a smattering of other materials appropriate to my functions. I have a metallic skeleton like you noticed, yes, and posts that are mostly for charging and checking out vital stuff. I have no need for oxygen, food, water, waste discharge, or sleep, besides for a 4-hour charging period every 72 hours. I don’t have most of the organ systems that organics might. That’s why you felt no pulse and didn’t see me breathing. I don’t have lungs, a heart, arteries, or veins, among many other things.” Alisa listed off her rote functions in a friendly voice before she realized she was sounding a bit too robotic. Idiot.

“Simply put, I’m a walking, talking, very sentient computer! A… machine. It gets a bit more complicated than that, but the more technical stuff is sort of boring. Does that… does that answer your question?” Alisa rubbed the back of her neck, sheepish and anxious. When she put it all out there, her biology- no, anatomy- was embarrassing. She hoped that her teammates would understand, that they wouldn’t fear or hate her. It was what she was, and she couldn’t change how she had been made.

Young Justice

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Location: Happy Harbour Interacting with: Viktor (@FunnyGuy)

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Just as Alisa noticed a certain boy’s eyes glued on her, someone crashed through the trees. She whipped around, staring curiously at the girl picking herself up. She could fly?! Wow. Jealous! Alisa already liked the Tamaranean. There were way too many guys on their team already, and she seemed nice and peppy. She made a mental note to herself to go talk to her after the training exercise. Luckily for Alisa, her mental notes never went forgotten.

That buoyancy sparked by the arrival of a new potential friend was quickly dashed, however, when it was announced that Alisa would be part of the sparring group. An expectant grin slid into a disappointed frown. At least Daphne (Nymph- she had to remember their code names!) looked as unhappy with the situation as she did. Viktor and Talon looked ambivalent, while Casper… well, she couldn’t really tell what Casper was thinking. Alisa was mentally sizing up her opponents, wondering whose ribs would be hardest to break when Black Canary told her to remember her strength. Alisa’s cheeks turned red. Although having zero combat experience, she was freakishly strong- a benefit of having stainless steel limbs and incredible durability. Maybe since he was also strong, Viktor would be a good choice? But then again, fighting Daphne could be fine. She didn’t look like she would want to fight seriously, while Viktor looked very serious.

She contemplated it for a moment before Viktor seemed to make the choice for her. "A, I think you would be good for me. We won't have to worry about limiting ourselves," he said.

“Alright. If you say so!” Alisa smiled, a nervous, fleeting thing, before backing up and dropping into what she thought resembled a fighting stance. “I’ve never been in or trained for combat before, just so you know. Not even martial arts, so I’m not good at the technical stuff… but I’m stronger than I look. I can take a hit and be fine. But I do have stainless steel limbs, so… if you want to use our full strengths, we can, but I’m really sorry in advance if I break a rib or two!” The last part was said genuinely apologetically- she would feel really bad if she broke Viktor’s bones. He seemed nice, if standoffish.

“Should I, like… count to three or something?” Alisa stood with her fists up and stared unblinkingly at Viktor. She really didn’t know how this worked.

/ / H A L C Y O N / /

Jo startled when she heard a sudden greeting from behind her. The mountain had been so uninhabited and quiet that she had thought she was alone. Apparently not. She turned around quickly, anticipating another Communicator. And that is exactly what she found. The woman who stood before her looked about her age, with the same confusion written across her face that Jo felt. That’s where the similarities between them ended. This woman (girl, more likely), looked to be East Asian. She was tall for a woman, but Jo was taller and towered over her.

She contemplated her answer to the girl’s question for a moment. It would be strange to say no, but yes wasn’t an admission Jo had made to anyone yet. It felt personal. Ultimately, Josephine nodded, unsmiling. “... I am.” She didn’t offer a name or a god and didn’t ask for one in return. This other girl would soon find out, anyways. Group introductions seemed safer.

In a flash, Jo saw someone enter the white and then… disappear. Several someones- a group of women, it looked like. Her heart pumped in her ears. “It looks like people have begun to cross,” she murmured. “We should get going. It would be impolite to be late.”

Without waiting for the girl next to her, Jo started to walk forward, towards the white. She didn’t look back as she crossed the threshold into what she hoped would be a new world.

Jo emerged in a fantasy wonderland. She gasped, a strange euphoria filling every inch of her. This place… it was beautiful. She could scarcely believe she had been on that mountain not even seconds ago. Doors sprouted up from nothing, wrought in beautiful architectural styles that had no right looking as good as they did next to each other. She descended the path gingerly, walking towards the central palace. She could already see a few more women standing there, clad in winter gear, much like her. Warily, she approached, seeing an unnatural purple flame before them. She stopped behind them, her dog beside her. He seemed more at home here than he was anywhere else, and he showed it. Kevin laid down on the floor, content to doze while Josephine stared at the valley.

“This place is incredible,” she whispered, more to herself than anyone. Maybe that other girl was still behind her. She hoped so- it would’ve been awkward to just leave her on the mountain.

@Kumbaris

𝔸 / 𝐒𝐘𝐍𝐂𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐘

@psych0pomp This might have already been asked, but are we permitted to be related to any of the original missing eight?

Edit: Nevermind, looked at some of the already-submitted CSes, looks like it is. Might not go that route since some people already did.

𝔸 / 𝐒𝐘𝐍𝐂𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐘

Ooh, I think I might have an idea for this. Will keep you posted.

Young Justice

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Location: Happy Harbour Interacting with: The Team

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Combat was not Alisa’s forté. She had always known she was capable of violence, but she had never been encouraged to or had wanted to pursue it before the Young Justice League found her. Now, however, she found herself standing at the main entrance to Mount Justice, watching Black Canary and Green Arrow demonstrate a basic combat scenario. It was something she needed to know, but that didn’t mean she was any less uncomfortable. Her discomfort was palpable in the way she stood, arms crossed, eyes down. She didn’t want to hurt anybody, but… if it was for a good reason, if they were hurting other people, didn’t she have to? It would be the least amount of risk for her to fight, anyway, since she was hard to kill.

Alisa pondered these moral questions for a moment as Black Canary and Green Arrow warmed up. She had been the first to get to the training area and, even though she wasn’t thrilled by fighting, she was admittedly excited by the prospect of training. Technically, her muscles didn’t need to “train”, but it would be a fun bonding activity! She had worn workout leggings, tennis shoes, and a tank top that morning, showing off her ports. Her hair was down, however. Showing the big port there was a bit far for her. Alisa didn’t sweat, but these clothes were less liable to fall off and they were just comfortable and cute. She was standing next to Kassy, who she had deemed a potential friend yesterday afternoon.

She stood at rapt attention as Black Canary lectured briefly on battle. As the woman asked for volunteers, Alisa grit her teeth. Don’t pick me don’t pick me don’t pick me…

Her prayers were seemingly answered by Green Arrow. Alisa watched as he stepped up to the plate and… was promptly knocked into the ground. Alisa winced in sympathy, although she did see where he went wrong. Why would anyone ever flirt while sparring? Just seems like an easy way to get punched. Her teammates (coworkers? colleagues?) seemed to share the same sentiment, as they each spoke up about exactly what Green Arrow seemed to have done wrong.

A bit worried about being picked out for her reluctance to respond, Alisa elected to put in her own two cents. “Maybe Green Arrow should try not flirting with his colleagues in the middle of a fight? Or, since he uses arrows, he’s ranged, and he should try moving farther away first…” That was how ranged combatants worked, right? Alisa remembered seeing that in a game one of her parents was playing. Alisa wasn’t sure. She shifted uncomfortably, glancing at her teammates. Certainly, they were more experienced with this than her!