javmissmartianmisfit-blog

[javmissmartianmisfit-blog]

miss martian’s adorable

[javmissmartianmisfit-blog]

This Quiet Room | Open Starter

After a morning spent wandering hallways and peering into open doors, M’gann finally felt fairly certain that she had found all of the readily accessible training rooms. Everyone knew that Stark Tower was enormous. What M’gann hadn’t accounted for was the variety of available gyms.

Once the Martian had taken the time to explore she concluded that the training rooms were designed to fit the needs of the original Avengers. It made a good deal of sense that the circular gym with a disarmingly fast, movable track along the perimeter complete with obstacles that sprung out of the wall and ceiling would be ideal for their speedster. Wally would have a field day in there, too, M’gann thought to herself. She could picture Artemis or Roy in long room lined with holographic targets suited for the Hawkeyes.

The simplest room held M’gann’s attention. M’gann stepped inside cautiously. An aggressive mechanical suit of armor had surprised her in the third gym and nearly burned a hole through her chest. Thankfully, this time nothing popped out of the ceiling as soon as she entered the room. It appeared to be completely empty.

A large window overlooking the city filled the small gym with natural light. She padded over the wooden floor and took a minute to look out at the buildings below. It was beautiful, but unexpectedly silent. The window blocked out all of the sounds of the city. When M’gann turned around she almost missed a line in the floorboards and knelt down carefully to examine the spot. But just as her fingers fluttered over the groove, the door flew open. M’gann gave a little shriek and leaped backwards at the sudden movement. “Oof,” rubbing her elbow where it hit the window, M’gann started nervously, “You startled me. Is this your spot?” Knowing her luck, it was probably already reserved or even private. She hurried to pick herself up from the floor, “I’ll get out of your way, pretend I was never here!”

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Have you heard from the rest of Young Justice lately?

“Well, aside from working with them on a regular basis I went out with Artemis last week.” M’gann couldn’t help but smile at the recent memory. They had gone to the Natural History Museum for a day trip and it had turned into an overnight stakeout to see who could annoy a particularly rude guard more without being found out. Neither got caught, but Artemis was the clear winner. That man would never look at the dinosaur exhibit the same way. 

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any idea who batman is???

“Nope. No idea. I haven’t the faintest clue. Who is this Batman?” 

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What habit that humans have fascinates you most? Which habit do you think is the strangest?

“Oh! Singing in the shower! No, no, window shopping! Wait, souvenir collecting!” The answers flew out of the Martian’s mouth quicker than she could hold them back. As soon as they were out, M’gann was blushing furiously and clutching her hands together. “Compulsive Googling?,” she added timidly. “I guess that the strangest thing to me is when people ignore other people in the same space as them. I’ve heard that it is normal not to talk to strangers here, but I don’t really understand why.”

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Besides being a 'hero', what job most interests you? What job would you like to have?

Besides being a hero... M’gann tilted her face towards the sky and squinted. This was one of the first questions she was trained to answer, but ever since the false news which revealed her secret identity as an alien, it had held more weight. The answer needed to be delicate. M’gann smiled softly at the reporter, “Whatever job I assume in the future, I want to be helping people.” As simple as that. 

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iwontbeoverlooked:

Zach paused for a moment, considering that one. He wouldn’t need to get covered in sand, and it was something he could boast about later… And that was always fun. Hmm… “I get to pick the music in the bioship, I do not have to set a single foot on any wet sand, food and beverages must be supplied and we’re not to have any meaningful conversations for the whole trip.” he finished his list of demand and stuck his nose in the air, “Guarantee all that and whale-back stargazing and you have a deal.” He frowned a little though, being willing to help, huh… He didn’t know anyone like that, except M’gann and Wanda. It must be a rare thing.

The narrowed eyes almost became slits at that remark, “Yea? Well you’re happy and irritating, I need to balance you out, chirpy.” he sniped. “Really? Well come the morning where even resting your head against an arctic glacier won’t help you… we’ll see how you feel then.” he watched the jar fall and smash, turning back he gave her a stink eye, “You’re cleaning that up.” And then he wasn’t getting her any more, and he’d summon up instruments to follow her around and play loud music all day.

Zach had a very different reaction and couldn’t help bursting out laughing as her house collapsed, “Ha! Serves you right for spilling my hangover cure.” he said smugly, only to roll his eyes at her behaviour, “My god, add stupid to the list of things drunk you is. riapeR.” he cast, the little house assembling itself once more.

“Deal! No take-backs! As your host it is only right that I provide the food,” M’gann smiled. Of course, there was no guaranteeing that this food would be exactly to Zachary’s liking. She was thinking that it might be fun to stock the bioship with Kirkland Signature everything and see Zach’s reaction. With a ridiculous grin, M’gann asked, “What are your feelings on granola bars? Strawberry or plain?”

Chirpy was a pretty accurate word for M’gann’s current state. Her voice was just a tad higher than usual, probably the alcohol, and she felt almost giddy. That she owed to the alcohol and the present company. At Zach’s comment, M’gann’s eyes widened. She realized suddenly that her own remark might have offended him. Even if, yes, he was a bit on the grouchy side. “I didn’t mean that in a bad way,” M’gann started, a bit flustered, “I find your grouchiness endearing. You never hold back.” She paused a moment, before raising a finger in triumph, “Like a little old man feeding the birds on a park bench!” Instantly M’gann slapped both hands over her mouth, only to burst into a fit of laughter at the very idea of Zachary in his pressed suit on a quiet bench Bryant Park, feeding bread crumbs to flocks of pigeons. 

“Thank you,” she said softly. The little house was back to normal and her attention had been entirely removed from the sopping wet puddle of tar that was a hangover cure. “I think I’ll be okay without it. The only question is, now that it’s on the floor, will you?” 

Words Won’t Come || Open

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“Technically we don’t even need to go to the beach,” M’gann offered, “We could fly right above open ocean until I locate the pod and then hop right back into the bioship afterwards.” She hadn’t been to the beach since her move to New York. Something always came up and the beach was pushed back, forced to wait for another day off. It came with the job, M’gann supposed. “If I guarantee whale-back stargazing you’ll come?” she exclaimed, “In that case it’s a definite yes! I’m certain the whales will be more than willing to help us out, especially if I clue them in on some of the stories.” 

M’gann lay down on her side. The floor was cold and yet it felt soothing beneath her. “You’re grouchy when you’re drunk,” she giggled, “I’m sure I’ll manage without depriving a fairy of its wings. The floor is just cold enough that if I press my forehead against it, I think it’ll be something like an ice pack. That’s more than enough for me.” She flicked her wrist towards the jar of tar and pushed it to the edge of the counter. 

“I could make it better with a raise of my eyebrows, but I said I wasn’t going to and I meant--” as M’gann picked herself up to face Zachary her psychic energy knocked the house down. “Oh no!” she whimpered, lunging for the pieces and completely forgetting that she could levitate them back into place.

Words Won’t Come || Open

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With a flick of the wrist three little spheres of batter rose out of the mixing bowl. They hovered near M’gann’s head as she poured the remaining dough into the baking pan. “Want one?” she asked lightly, allowing one of the dots to spin above her palm for a moment before eating it. “Or you can have the bowl, if you’d prefer not to play catch with your food.” The two remaining spheres rushed around Kara’s head as M’gann smoothed the batter in the pan. “I strongly believe that if you are too fancy for chocolate chip brownie batter, then you are too fancy, period.” 

“I may have gone a little bit overboard on the movie and television research,” M’gann admitted. “Once Uncle J’onn installed a set in the homestead, I couldn’t get enough!” Before taking up the cape, M’gann would have been what many might call a TV addict. Even now, without a television to call her own, M’gann remained a recovering TV addict. “The first movie I ever watched was The Wizard of Oz,” she reminisced, “I remember watching so closely, expecting commercial breaks that never came.” A dreamy sigh passed through her lips, “And the color that surprised me when Dorothy first arrived in Oz. Do you remember your first movie?” M’gann asked curiously.

M’gann shot Kara an impish grin as she lowered the pan into the oven, “Just this once I’m going to spare you and keep my clothes on. I really like this dress!” It was a pretty shade of green, patterned with white rabbits and cinched at the waist by M’gann’s half apron. “Even in my old apartment, roaming around without any clothing wasn’t something I made a habit of. Still, you’d think with all the superheroes buzzing around this building Mr. Stark would have found a way to make one-way windows.”

As long as M’gann still lived in hero housing, she found it rather difficult to complain about any living space finer than a dormitory. “Uncle J’onn stayed here for a little while,” M’gann remarked as she sat next to Kara, “He felt that it was just a bit too sharp and modern to fit his tastes.” Leaning her head back against the couch cushions, M’gann added, “We could always attempt a daring do-it-yourself project. I found a flat of mason jars outside the housing project a few weeks back. They might make a cute lighting fixture.” She thought back to the last DIY she and Kara had done together, a clothesline photo album that had hung above her bed until it had been destroyed the attack on her old apartment. “Quirky movies will always help,” M’gann answered as she levitated another pillow from the little chair beside the couch. 

a night off ✶ kara & m’gann

A childish wonder filled her eyes as they tracked the smoothly flying bag, assisted by nothing but M’gann’s sheer force of will. Or something like that, anyway. She hadn’t actually asked. The question was on the tip of her tongue when the redhead interrupted her thought pattern, and her smile widened. “Oh, yeah! You’re right, I can’t believe I forgot chocolate,” there was almost a snort as she brushed some hair behind her ear, eyeing the now improved batter. “Oh, you never know– some people get a little fancy.” Even if there was nothing condescending in her tone, Kara seemed more than happy that her friend wasn’t one of them.

Bereft of her bowl and with M’gann babbling giddily about the movie, the Kryptonian moved to pick up said DVD from its pile on the coffee table. ( Even that piece of furniture looked like it belonged to a lab, somehow. She wondered why humans thought ‘sleek and unremarkable’ was synonymous with ‘high-tech and futuristic’. Krypton had been centuries Earth’s superior, and it had looked like a mess in comparison. ) Dropping down into a crouch, Kara worked the DVD player. “Yeah, it sounds like it’s a pretty big hit. You’re lucky you came across it so early. Trust me, if people get to know you haven’t seen Titanic or The Matrix, they’ll start a riot.” She scoffed, amusement pulling at her lips. So maybe she’d been at the wrong end of that a few too many times, but it wasn’t like you could argue ‘I was in a pod in outer space when that one came out’ in decent company.

Pulling herself up as the screen lit up and the commercials started rolling across it, she turned back around to the Chief Baker. Kara hummed, making her way to the couch and slumping into it, not-so-gracefully letting limbs land wherever they pleased. Tilting her head, she brought a few fingers up to curl idly around strands of golden hair. “The sun is ni–” she began sincerely, before M’gann pulled a surprised laugh out of her, like the crack of a whip. Her hand moved from her hair to press against her mouth, biting back both embarrasment and a spark of mischief. “I mean, it’s pretty high up, so if you really want to…” Dropping the teasing tone, her nose wrinkled in a small and humored grimace, “Not really my thing, but I… appreciate your concern!”

The Martian looked around the apartment with wonder, and Kara frowned thoughtfully. She didn’t actually know where M’gann lived at the moment. J’onn J’onzz lived here, though she’d hardly even seen him, so even that was arguable. She’d have to figure it out soon, so they could hang out somewhere more personable than some headquarters. As someone more personable, she thought with a wry smile. “It’s – nice,” the blonde admitted. The conflicted tone hung in the air a little before she shifted on the couch, making space for her friend and patting the seat with a warm curve to her lips. “You’re right, it doesn’t really feel like a home. It feels like a work place. Cooler than an office, but…” The frown returned to her brow, head sinking back into the pillows as she mulled it over. “Maybe quirky movies will help? Hopefully?”

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Ever the negotiator, M’gann adjusted, “How about we go at night then?” She was fairly certain that the darkness of the waves and the depth of the open water would scare off anyone other than the world’s most arrogant magician. “Maybe the whales would let us rest on their backs and watch the stars, and then a transmorph potion it is!” She was about to go on when she caught Zach’s jab on interspecies war. “That is already kind of a thing, unfortunately.” M’gann bit her lower lip. Anti-alien sentiment was ubiquitous in M’gann’s life on Earth, always looming. “Well,” she started cautiously, “I can tell you that I,” she took a deep breath and looked straight at Zach with a tiny smile, “can’t tell you anything.”

M’gann made a sour face. “Kale and broccoli I can take, but I was out at fairy wings.” She raised her palms and held them in front of herself protectively, “So I’ll have to pass. Maybe next time, gross hangover cure,” M’gann said with a suspicious glance towards the tar. 

She shrugged, carefully plotting her next hug, and glanced down at the little straw house. It wasn’t particularly well-built and the salt on the roof was uneven. M’gann nudged the roof a bit. “Oh yes, so charming,” she grinned, “The most charming. All the charming that someone so insulting can possibly be.”

Words Won’t Come || Open

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“Or,” M’gann pressed her palms into her thighs and leaned forward just a bit, “Or you could save ShadowCrest for another day and enjoy the sun, sea, sand, and cetacea! And this is even better than Harry Potter because this has magic and aliens!” She grinned triumphantly. “I mean, I’d watch that.” A second later, she asked, “Why, is gillyweed real?” M’gann was pretty sure that it wasn’t. Pretty sure. “That makes a lot of sense, Zach. Who knows, before we got acquainted you might have seen me walking around the city as someone else. When I was investigating STAR Labs I,” she broke off suddenly, realizing that she had just begun to reveal sensitive information about a mission. 

Shrinking backwards, M’gann gaped at the evil laugh. “That was insane! Like the crypt keeper finding the perfect brain! Did you have to practice that or did it just come to you?” She squinted and played nervously with the empty bottle of Kopparberg, “Zachary, sometimes I feel like you think the Zachary that performs on stage is a different Zachary than the one drinking with me right now.” M’gann tilted her head to look at him more closely.

“I stand by my two ‘ha’s’. What if I turn off my gustatory senses and just swallow the potion without having to taste it?” she inquired. “What are the ingredients?” This sort of thing was not to be taken lightly. M’gann had discovered the hard way that certain things that would not naturally affect humans could make her terribly ill or cause unexpected side-effects. 

“Luckily I’m ‘huggy’ enough for the both of us!” There wasn’t nearly enough hugging these days. M’gann still felt a bit perturbed by the fight they’d had at the start of the evening, but unfortunately those arguments, that anxiety and uneasiness, seemed to be everywhere. She shrugged, “Fair enough,” and tucked it away for later. Because they would talk about it later. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but it would definitely come up some time. 

M’gann snorted, “You have a wide range of charming features. Insults, however, are not at the top of my list!” She hesitated. Again M’gann was too afraid to come off as hostile in any way so she followed up softly, “I’ll try to understand though. I’d appreciate it if you went easy on me.”

Words Won’t Come || Open

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↖ is now accepting curious anons.

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Only fifteen minutes? That would barely be enough time for the most basic introductions. The gears started turning. M’gann raised her left hand to her chin and puzzled over it for a moment before exclaiming, “I’ve got it! You can be a whale for fifteen minutes and then you can enjoy the underwater wonders from the comfort of my bioship!” Then it occurred to M’gann that Zachary might be less than enthusiastic about being anywhere but center stage. She stopped to think about it again, clapping her hands together at the next bright idea. “We could both start as whales and then change back to humans once the first meeting is over. You can charm an air bubble around yourself!” M’gann frowned, “I used to have trouble with my transformations, too. When I started out I could only take on the human female form.” She shrugged, “Uncle J’onn says he was the same way.” M’gann waited a moment for a response and then blubbered, “Oh! I mean he could only take on the male form! Male!”

She bit her lower lip a moment and then agreed, “Okay, I guess I’m done then.” Then with an uncharacteristically husky voice M’gann followed, “For now.” After a beat, M’gann let out the most maniacal laugh she could muster. It echoed nicely off the bar and she toyed with doing another. With one raised eyebrow, M’gann glanced from the the corner of the room to Zachary. He could be pretty charming when he wanted to be. “You know I wouldn’t doubt that with you,” she conceded.

M’gann listened intently, fully prepared to memorize any and all instructions provided to ensure the success of the bubbling tar drink. Only, of course, Zach had chosen yet another opportunity to tease her. “Ha ha,” she muttered, “Alright, Mister Zatara, but do I drink it now to prevent hangover or later to cure it?”

Releasing Zachary from her hug, hers as it was mostly one-sided, M’gann smiled awkwardly. “You’re going to have to get used to hugs around me. I lovehugs.” Really she did. M’gann’s love of hugging was practically unmatched. The first time she’d played video games M’gann had asked, completely excited and serious, ‘which button is for hugging?’ The Martian leaned back against the bar before sinking to the floor and looking up at the ceiling, venturing sincerely, “I don’t know how anyone could possibly overlook you.”

“Aww, thank you!” she cooed while simultaneously swatting playfully at him. “Just don’t let it get out of hand with those insults, please. My gentle heart cannot take such,” M’gann struggled to think of the right word, “antics.”

Words Won’t Come || Open

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“A short visit then,” M’gann encouraged, smiling, “They might not appreciate theatrics, but I’m certain that the whales will adore you. We’d spend just enough time to enjoy the water and the whale song. Then we can relax on the beach!” One of the benefits of flying was that isolated places were hardly a bother at all. M’gann could fly off to the middle of the ocean or the far north or the wilds whenever she wanted. During her time in Australia she’d explored many quiet coves and lonely lagoons. M’gann laughed out loud, imagining Zachary running around after his doves. “Would I be right in thinking you were  very regal, sleek tuxedo cat?” 

Eyes wide, M’gann gushed, “You heard that? Yes! Yes, I did just bark a you!” She’d never met a natural Earthling who could hear that sound. Instantly she was filled with hope that Zach might be able to learn her native language. But the Martian knew better than to raise her hopes too high. “Can you hear this?” Closing her mouth and shifting the shape of her throat, M’gann created a light pinging sound. It was almost like a dolphin noise, but not quite as long. “I don’t think a hnakra would be a wise choice for an audience member, anyway,” she replied, “They’d probably try to eat you and your lovely assistant before intermission.”

The hang-over cure frothed when Zachary set it on the table. Some of the liquid appeared to be oozing up the neck of the bottle, almost like it was fighting to escape. M’gann eyed the drink, if it could be called a drink, warily. Sure, she’d ingested some nasty things in her time. Somehow she couldn’t remember anything worse than this peculiar clotting concoction. “Is it... Is it safe?” M’gann asked. “How does one drink this?” Maybe she could just phase it into her stomach. Or turn off her taste buds. Maybe. 

After Zach finished his story, she gave herself a moment to let his words sink in. Overlooked, he’d said. Zach always seemed to feel like he was being overlooked when he wasn’t putting on a show. M’gann had begun to notice, more and more, how the magician would sober when he talked about people other than his beloved fans. Overlooked. Wordlessly, M’gann reached out and hugged Zachary. After talking so openly about her own past, M’gann felt like she needed a good hug herself. Sometimes speaking just could not express enough about how much she cared, how much she sympathized, how much she yearned to make things better. 

“And that’s exactly why I call you your majesty, your majesty.” She bowed again for added emphasis, although she decided inwardly that shifting a little crown onto her head would be overdoing it. “Just to be clear your insults are only compliments when I’m drunk,” M’gann gestured towards her empty bottle, “Like now.”

Words Won’t Come || Open

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“A short visit then,” M’gann encouraged, smiling, “They might not appreciate theatrics, but I’m certain that the whales will adore you. We’d spend just enough time to enjoy the water and the whale song. Then we can relax on the beach!” One of the benefits of flying was that isolated places were hardly a bother at all. M’gann could fly off to the middle of the ocean or the far north or the wilds whenever she wanted. During her time in Australia she’d explored many quiet coves and lonely lagoons. M’gann laughed out loud, imagining Zachary running around after his doves. “Would I be right in thinking you were  very regal, sleek tuxedo cat?” 

Eyes wide, M’gann gushed, “You heard that? Yes! Yes, I did just bark a you!” She’d never met a natural Earthling who could hear that sound. Instantly she was filled with hope that Zach might be able to learn her native language. But the Martian knew better than to raise her hopes too high. “Can you hear this?” Closing her mouth and shifting the shape of her throat, M’gann created a light pinging sound. It was almost like a dolphin noise, but not quite as long. “I don’t think a hnakra would be a wise choice for an audience member, anyway,” she replied, “They’d probably try to eat you and your lovely assistant before intermission.”

The hang-over cure frothed when Zachary set it on the table. Some of the liquid appeared to be oozing up the neck of the bottle, almost like it was fighting to escape. M’gann eyed the drink, if it could be called a drink, warily. Sure, she’d ingested some nasty things in her time. Somehow she couldn’t remember anything worse than this peculiar clotting concoction. “Is it... Is it safe?” M’gann asked. “How does one drink this?” Maybe she could just phase it into her stomach. Or turn off her taste buds. Maybe. 

After Zach finished his story, she gave herself a moment to let his words sink in. Overlooked, he’d said. Zach always seemed to feel like he was being overlooked when he wasn’t putting on a show. M’gann had begun to notice, more and more, how the magician would sober when he talked about people other than his beloved fans. Overlooked. Wordlessly, M’gann reached out and hugged Zachary. After talking so openly about her own past, M’gann felt like she needed a good hug herself. Sometimes speaking just could not express enough about how much she cared, how much she sympathized, how much she yearned to make things better. 

“And that’s exactly why I call you your majesty, your majesty.” She bowed again for added emphasis, although she decided inwardly that shifting a little crown onto her head would be overdoing it. “Just to be clear your insults are only compliments when I’m drunk,” M’gann gestured towards her empty bottle, “Like now.”

Words Won’t Come || Open

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“Well, if that really is the case you would have fit right in among the whales,” M’’gann encouraged, “Maybe you could join me when I visit them.” Then she tilted her head to the side and wondered aloud, “Maybe you’d be able to hear some Martian sounds that average human ears can’t detect. Can you hear this?” She emitted a hollow, low frequency sound somewhere between an ‘m’ and a ‘d’ and a bark, that she knew from experience unaltered human ears could not pick up. “The story is very old, a fairy tale really, so I won’t be able to explain everything. Traveling in the stomach of the hnakra would have been their only choice for two reasons. One, the oceans of Mars are violently cold and, two, covered by a thick sheet of ice. So they would not have been able to surface before reaching the shore and would have frozen to death if not for the warmth of the hnakra.” She puzzled a moment before adding, “If this weren’t a children’s story I’d have more to say about the digestive process of the hnakra. As for your second question, I’m pretty sure that the hero’s psychic channels had been changed for so long that it took three days to reset.” M’gann chuckled, “I have to agree with you about that. Hnéraki aren’t exactly cute.”

M’gann scoffed, “That could have ended badly and you know it.” She brought her hands to her temples. Her head felt rather interesting at the moment. Part of her wanted to master dimensional theory right now, just to prove that she could. But more of her felt like saving that energy for practically anything else, anything more interesting and enjoyable. “Oh no,” the Martian buried her head in her hands, “You’re right.” Peering out at Zach through her fingers, M’gann asked, “By any chance is there any anti-hangover magic?”

Pursing her lips, M’gann let out an incredulous huff. She was fairly certain that Zachary would, in reality, rush right over to help her if a troll had just tossed her through a wall, but the mocking was far from reassuring.

“I like having green skin when I can while I’m on Earth,” she tried to explain. “Mostly it helps disguise me and associate me with Martian Manhunter when I fight crime. Neither of us reverts entirely back to our original forms on a regular basis. Certainly not while out in the open.” She breathed out heavily and apologized, “It’s complicated,” before forcing an uncertain smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Mistletoe,” M’gann whispered. The plant was a favorite of romantic movies and holiday specials. Other than that she knew it was poisonous to humans. In truth, that was about all she knew. M’gann looked questioningly at Zachary and leaned in to listen. “Why?” she asked softly. 

Carefully placing a line of flat straws on the roof, M’gann listened to Zach. “Maybe your many lovely apartments can have terrace gardens, in that case,” she offered. “Just something to add a bit of life.” 

“I don’t know, it sounded like a Zach-compliment to me,” M’gann countered. “Plus, you said that my acting was not terrible. That’s two compliments you just paid me, your majesty. Thank you, thank you,” she blew two little kisses, one for each praise, and added a teasing compliment of her own, “You really are too kind.”

Words Won’t Come || Open

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“A hnakra,” M’gann corrected, “It rhymes with chakra.” Honestly, the ‘hn’ sound wasn’t all that difficult to pronounce. There were entire Martian syllables undetectable by the human ear for goodness sake! “How did you even hear Abbatta Matronna? Matron is in English!” she giggled. Deciding firmly against pointing out that an inability to use such a basic Martian blend spoke volumes about his supposed gift for languages, M’gann continued, “Anyway, a ship crashes near the pod and the hnakra surge forward to devour the survivors. Even our hero is speeding towards them, but at the very last second he’s suddenly overtaken by the absolute need to save those people. He dashes between the people and the other hnakra, and after a dangerous confrontation the hnakra finally allow him to escort the survivors back to shore.” M’gann couldn’t help but think how much better this story would be if she could tell it the way she had been told, through mental images. “On the first day, he carries the survivors in his stomach and listened to their psychic thoughts. The second day, he began to communicate as best he could. And on the third day they reach the shore. When the survivors go to embrace him before they leaving the hnakra boy reverts to back into a young Martian.”

M’gann put her forehead down on the bar and let out a muffled whine, “Please can I learn about this later? I couldn’t even teach a simple physics lesson right now!” The counter was nice and cool. That was a bonus. “I totally understand why drunk people in movies are always resting their heads on the bar.”

“That wouldn’t be funny at all!” M’gann rubbed her nose self-consciously. “I would never announce it. My nose would still be there, too! I’d just shut it down from the inside.” There were some serious advantages to being a shape-shifter. One of them was the power to adjust and correct sensory input as needed. In the unlikely event of a meeting with a real troll, such skills may come in handy. “How come you haven’t done something similar if the odor is so bad?”

With a grave face, M’gann answered, “Race. It was about race.” Then she was quiet. There was a lump in her throat and she could hardly find it in herself to explain. The Martian looked down at the little straw house she was working on. “Fire is a problem for all Martians. It doesn’t matter whether we’re Green or White or Red, we all have the same weakness to fire.” She cringed. “Martian society is centered on skin color and imagined traits. Red are the Martian equivalent of royalty, Green are renowned as gentle philosophers and thinkers, and White,” M’gann swallowed, “White are the cruel, the evil, the demonic. My father was White. He was hardworking, loving, and generous, nothing like the stereotypes surrounding him. And although he had many children with my mother, only two were White. I’m one of them.” Her mouth felt unusually dry, but M’gann didn’t want to take another drink. “The fire mobs were Green. They claimed to be acting out of fear for their own lives or for the sanctity of the Martian race. It was hate.” M’gann turned to look at Zach, but didn’t say anything. 

Returning to the little house, M’gann snapped a few straws to make beams for the porch awning. “I would like to live in a small house, something cozy like this, but ideally my real house would have a garden. It would also need to be better built,” she laughed softly to recover herself a bit. “What type of home would you like?”

M’gann stuck out her tongue at Zach and then grinned. “Really, five ‘ways?’” the Martian gave a little shrug, “That’s actually fewer than I was expecting. I’ll take that as a compliment.” After bowing with an exaggerated flourish of her right hand, M’gann leaned her back against the bar and toyed with the tiny cottage. 

Words Won’t Come || Open