The Unearthly Girl [IC]

[Avenger Assembled]

Sharl did just what Miss A said, watching through the door as she got the parts loose, keeping his projector clutched to his chest in a grip that would have been white-knuckled on a normal teenager. "Come on! Come on!" Turning to the civilians, he yelled, "In Salvation's name, get back! We don't know how hard this is going to go off!" He didn't ask if the girl Jill could do it; she was a superhero, and from all he'd seen they were able to save the day. When Miss A was out, he hesitated just a moment before getting between the fallen craft and its former pilot, solidifying his body with an effort. I've got to do something...

[Electra]

Things were getting very unstable as Miss A struggled with the drives, enough so that pulling one of them free sent a nasty arc of electricity running through her thankfully shielded) body. It was enough to char her costume a little bit, but she certainly wasn't worried about that now. With the pile of equipment in her arms, she leapt out the hole in the side of the ship and flew out of range of the ship, just in time for Jill's shimmering forcefield to go up around the wreckage. She landed by the others, turning to look at the ship, then the pilot. "We could get her to the Lab," she suggested, not looking terribly hopeful.

[Ecalsneerg]

With a huge THUMP, the ship exploded outwards, metal warping, stretching and distorting, before... without warning, the whole thing suddenly imploded in upon itself, twisting and distorting in ways which made the eyes water and geometry shut up and lie down for a few hours with a painful headache. In a second or two, all that was left was a vacuum and a small piece of metal fading into apparent nothingness, a small hole in space-time closing up over it as if nothing had ever occurred. As soon as the force field was lowered, the displaced air rushed in with an audible pop, but that was all the explosion that was apparently going to happen.

"What the?" offered Jeni, laying back on the cold ground. I wish I could have told them what happened... they might manage to translate the computer eventually... But they're quite primitive... Then, without warning, the light in her hands surged up, surrounding every visible part of her body in a bright green glow. Jeni began spasming wildly on the floor, eyes rolling in her head.

[Aoiroo]

Changeling didn't have much of a view, as they moved away Custos had spread his wings to block any stray debri. However, the sounds did give her enough curiousity to peer around the stone wings and catch the end of the object closing in on itself than disappearing into space. She blinked for a few seconds, than looked around to see that most everyone was alright regardless of the strangeness. Taking a few steps she looked at Jeni as she seemed to voice similiar feelings about the current happenings but it was quickly replaced with a bright green glow she didn't recognize.

"What?"

She turned to the healer first,

"Do you know what is happening?"

[Gizmo]

Next to Jeni, Jack raised a forearm in front to his face to block some of the intensifying green light. Whatever was happening, his sensitivity to energy suggested that the illumination was only a byproduct. "What..."

Jill let her force field drop, a little nonplussed by the implosion after expecting a roiling ball of flame. Still, given the force of the vacuum filling with air as she popped the bubble, it was probably just as well she'd shielded the craft. A growing glow caused her to turn back around, her mouth opening and closing as she attempted to answer the dress wearing girl's question. "What?"

Not knowing what else to do, the swordsman remained where he was, trying to peer through the glare to see what was happening to the thrashing woman. "What."

[Avenger Assembled]

"Woah..." Sharl trailed off, catching himself before he could use any number of definitively alien (or at least Tronik-local oaths). "Miss A, are you okay?" he asked her, shooting a worried look at the dying, glowing woman even as he did so. "I thought I saw you get zapped in there." Sure enough, she was looking scorched, but it looked all superficial. "I don't know what's wrong with her," he said, opting not to comment on the energy overload that had damaged a superficial part of his own display. A scorched jacket sleeve was nothing before someone actually dying. "I don't know what to do. Should we take her and get help?" He thought of his own travels and how far they'd taken him from home, and what it would have meant to die around people whose language he barely spoke.

[Electra]

"Jill did as much as anyone could," Miss A murmured, laying a comforting hand on the young man's shoulder. "I don't know what's going to happen now, but I don't believe anything we do now would be productive. In fact," she added, raising her voice, "we all might be well served to take a few steps back, just in case." It seemed very strange that a body would have a self-destruct mechanism, but they didn't call them aliens for nothing. Hefting the bulky computer cores, she drew Sharl back and away.

[Ecalsneerg]

Jeni found her body and legs curling upwards as the green energy blasted out of her, before with a rush it all dissipated, causing a huge rush of air down onto her, planting her on her back. Her eyes shot open, irises turning brilliant amber even as her hair retracted inwards and lightened to a dirty blond. Her facial features broadened slightly as she visibly shrank in height by a couple of inches, yet gained a few pounds of muscle.

Jeni shot bolt upright and looked down at the stomach, where the glow of green light jetted across her stomach wound and replaced it with a flat, muscled stomach. "What!?" She got up and began pacing, talking to herself in a slightly deeper voice than before, to go with her different appearance. "<OK, shorter, more heavily built, but... I'm not wounded! My shapeshifting hasn't been able to heal me before, damaged tissue is damaged tissue!>" Calmly, she forced herself to focus, trying to force the 'Revert' command into her shapeshifting network. Nothing happened. She tried picturing herself as she was a minute before... again, nothing. Tears welled up in the pits of her eyes as she tried vainly to shapeshift back to normal, looking for all the world like an upset young woman standing with her eyes screwed shut to avoid crying.

She turned and railed on the superheroes assembled. "WHAT DID YOU DO!?" she screamed at them, amber eyes blazing brilliantly. Her jumpsuit hung slightly loose on her, due to change in height and build, hanging a little over her feet. The huge tear down the front highlighted further her new lack of an actual stomach wound.

[Gizmo]

Jack scrambled to his feet, taking a couple of steps back away from the suddenly blonde woman. Glancing over his shoulder to his sister, he asked, "...did you do that?"

"I don't think so?" Jill answered uncertainly, raising her hands palms outward in a helpless shrug. She couldn't think of any way her healing powers could have caused this, but using them on a completely unfamiliar physiology might not have been the wisest move.

Looking back over to Jeni, the older sibling paused for a moment before giving her a apologetically baffled look. "Well, on the upside, you're still pretty?" he offered bemusedly. "And not bleeding all over the place, which is arguably even better news!"

[Aoiroo]

Changeling did back away from the stranger. Watching the strange glow her eyebrows raised as the female form started to morph, becoming more petite, while the hair changed color and the body reconstructed itself over the damage caused by the wreckage. When she seemed to stop and started to talk to herself in the foreign tongue she paid even more attention as observation turned to confusion, and than anger. Taking an involuntary step back from the new yelling woman she furrowed her brow and looked back at the other heroes before letting out a breath. Apparently this was a new thing for the person, plus the shock of crashing and apparently dieing was probably very grating on her nerves. Looking over at the pair trying to explain it poorly she let out a sigh as she approached the girl,

"Calm, please be calm."

She said in a gentle voice, though her expression didn't match exactly,

"We tried to save you, you could not feel it but you were dieing. It is really very strange that you changed form, but I do not think any person here did anything to cause that. Also, the place you are now, it is a place called earth, more exact, here you are in a city called Freedom City. Did you come here on purpose?"

[Avenger Assembled]

"Wow!" This was a day for Sharl to be impressed. "Are you...are you okay? That's great!" He clapped his hands together, the holographic contact oddly silent. "I mean you look different, but you're healed up! That's really great!" He shot a look at Miss A and added, "Can all your species do that, fix damage and things? I mean your ship just crinkled away into nothingness, and your injuries just healed away too! That's really cool!"

[Electra]

"None of us purposely did anything to change your form," Miss A told the frightened young woman soothingly, firming her hand on Sharl's shoulder to get him to pipe down. "We've only been trying to help you. Whatever energy changed you, came from your own body. I'm Miss Americana, this is Sharl, Jack of all Blades, and Jill O' Cure." She would let the other woman introduce herself, since she didn't know her name. "You must be very confused right now. We can take you somewhere that you can rest and get a change of clothes."

[Ecalsneerg]

Looking back over to Jeni, the older sibling paused for a moment before giving her a apologetically baffled look. "Well, on the upside, you're still pretty?" he offered bemusedly. "And not bleeding all over the place, which is arguably even better news!"

Jeni walked up to Jack, until she was nearly leaning right up against him, smiled sweetly... then placed her hand over his mouth. "Not moving," she told him. Grrr, the lack of eloquence available here is INFURIATING... why am I so angry? I'm not meant to be an angry person.

"My species?" Ok, I think I know their verb tenses... "They all died. Ship? Well, on the upside?" Suddenly she had gained a grasp on sarcasm, looking around, and then shrugging. At which point she snarled "Confused!?" and fell to her knees, head in her hands.

[Gizmo]

Letting Jeni hold his mouth closed without resistance, Jack received the message regardless of language barrier; it was a familiar enough sentiment, after all. He winced mightily at the revelation of her people's demise, any attempt to calm her with offbeat humour evaporating in his throat as she fell to the ground. After a moment, the swordsman took a seat next to her on the pavement, still not saying anything, and simply waited for her indicate what it was she needed from them.

[Aoiroo]

Silence was the only response Changeling could muster to the statement. Died, her race was dead, and she was alone, no more than alone. She was lost now, and could never be found by any other person who had the slightest understanding of her culture. Placing a hand on her head Changeling let out a deep breath as she took a step back and pulled out her cell phone and sent a text so her books may be collected since she had a feeling she would not return to the hospital tonight.

[Avenger Assembled]

Sharl turned red with embarrassment and put his hand on his mouth. Oh no, that's awful! He'd thought her an explorer like himself, but instead she was a refugee, a survivor of a disaster so big he could hardly imagine it. He stepped back and let Miss A handle this situation, his projector still in the crook of one arm. Man, she must think I'm a little jerk. he thought. "I can call the Lab," he murmured to Miss A, trying to stay useful. "Or maybe Doctor Archeville?"

[Electra]

"Let's just wait a moment, Sharl," Miss A murmured, looking at the rebuilt refugee with faint consternation. She wished that one of the more genuinely people-oriented types would step in and take charge,but they'd all been thrown for a bit of a loop. "If you tell us what would help you," she told the girl, "we'll do our best to get it for you. What is it that you need most right now?" They couldn't bring back a civilization, or even the vaporized spacecraft, but there were plenty of resources that, between them and their allies, they could lay hands on even at short notice.

[Ecalsneerg]

"I want..." Jeni sniffed and rubbed at her eyes. "I want rest," she said resignedly. I don't even know the... Earth?... word for home. She ran her hands through her hair, glancing sideways to see its new colour, and wincing. Never liked that colour.

Unsteadily, she forced herself to stand up, and forced some composure back into her expression. "Where?" Then she realised that Miss A was holding part of the chronopod's machinery. Wait... if I can use them, I could perhaps find a way to bring the ship out of the dimension it's in, and repair it! "And I want..." She struggled to figure out the word 'my', but eventually gave up and just pointed at the drives. "Want back."

[Electra]

"Of course," Miss A said graciously. "They're yours, you can do whatever you want with them. But I think you might lack resources that will let you use them properly. We can help you with that, as well." She looked to Sharl. "Why don't you go ahead and call the Lab, and make sure that one of the secured living quarters is available? That's probably the easiest solution right now." Turning back to Jeni, she said, "We have a place where you can stay, where you can rest and recover. There's medical equipment there that can help you learn what happened to you." As a gesture of good faith, she held out the cores, though she wasn't entirely sure the girl was strong enough to carry them.

[Ecalsneerg]

Jeni hurried forward and took the three heavy pieces of equipment off the woman. Hmm... these are pretty heavy, I suppose I could figure out if my shapeshifting matrix is still functioning... She closed her eyes for a few seconds, activating a code sequence for the augmentation of muscle and bone. Instantly, she grew a good few inches as her muscles visibly swelled, letting her heft the pieces of her ship easily. I'll let them wonder for now, they didn't seem too worried about me doing it involuntarily instead of dying.

[Gizmo]

Jack rose back to his feet as Jeni moved to retrieve the electronics equipment, frustrated that he couldn't offer more constructive help but not wanting to irritate the upset alien any further. It had taken a while, but he'd eventually learned that in these situations it was often better for him to say nothing. At the sudden growth spurt and display of strength, however, he felt compelled to ask, "So... that's normal-ish, right? We're not going all origin-story, new fantastic powers?"

Jill noticed the brief wince as Jeni examined her hair and piped up, "Oh, um, you could always dye it, right?" The young woman was still concerned that the transformation had been at least partially her fault. "My hair used to be a lot longer, but short's good too! It's ah, it's a lot less work!"

[Aoiroo]

Changeling kept a comfortable distance as she spent some time going over what she had seen. She felt bad for the stranger, but it did not make her less curious to try and understand her a little more. She was an alien, a refugee, and a shapeshifter with strangely humaniod preferences to her forms. She was also intelligent, or at least exceptionally good with languages and able to make clear points with what little information was available to her. Her ship was a complete and utter mystery, as was her unprompted changing of form which seems to have surprised herself more than it had anyone else present. Which came to another unsettling point, the woman probably didn't know exactly what she looked like. Taking a step forward she looked at Jeni,

"Though you do not seem uncomfortable with transformation, would you like a mirror to see your present form?"

[Avenger Assembled]

Sharl was soon on the phone to the Lab, using Miss A's cell that she kept tucked in a discreet pocket in her otherwise form-fitting costume. His magnetic fingers dialed the keys and he was talking to a staffer there, one of the assistant lab managers he'd met during his tour. "Yes, we need a secured room for a lady from another planet. I don't know what kind of alien, she's a shapeshifter with sort of maroon blood. No, I don't think she's a Grue." He looked to the others for confirmation, and no one seemed particularly worried by that prospect. "All right, I'll let them know." He hung up and said to Miss A, "Okay, they're going to have a room set up for her when we get there, if we're slow enough."

[Ecalsneerg]

---

A Few Hours Later

Jeni sat at one of the computer terminals in the Lab's library, flicking through various movies on an Internet video site with ear buds in either ear. She settled on a video of a kid's television program, with pink mouse-like creatures walking around on the moon. "Hmmm... such interesting extraterrestrial creatures..." mused Jeni, having even more rapidly picked up English upon access to film clips and the couple of large dictionaries on the table beside her.

"Your planet is... different," said Jeni slowly. She swiveled in her chair, looking up at the assembled superheroes. Her amber eyes had started turning green, the edges of them being especially pronounced. "I'm going to need to do some sort of medical scan on myself, but a cursory check... I'm in good shape. Possibly better shape."

[Gizmo]

"Don't," Jill warned her brother flatly from her perch atop one of the library's desks when Jeni mentioned her shape, the swashbuckler's mouth opening and closing with an audible click. While the alien appeared to be fully recovered, it had seemed prudent to keep the healer on hand just in case and Jack had come along for the ride.

Admittedly, the fencer was also curious why his sister seemed to know her way around the Lab so well, but for the time being, focused on their new acquaintance. "Give me a little credit, hermanita," he shot back with a mock hurt look. "Jeni, hate to bring this up, but if you just barely escaped from something, should we be worried about the big bad following you here?" Jack's expression was sober, but he lowered his voice gently, cognisant of the blonde woman's trauma.