More Young Justice Trash

Encounter of the Third Kind

-A little M'gann-centric fic (set pre-ep1)-

M'gann was ecstatic. J'onn would be home when the clock on the little oven showed the numbers he'd written on their wrist. If he wasn't back by then they were to press the telephone buttons and ask for someone named Shayera. 

Shayera. That an interesting name, was that a normal name on earth? They only knew a few earth names. They only knew a few earth words still (and apparently there were hundreds of languages here?) They and J'onn had only been communicating mentally, mostly cause M'gann had not yet learned to speak like a human. They were really trying: they'd taught themself how to breath and grunt and huff, but forming articulate sounds was hard!

M'gann was hungry, they decided, crawling into the food room (The Kitsch-en as humans called it). There was always something there to eat. She struggled back onto their hind legs, trying to balance as they shifted into a humanoid shape.

It was certainly easier to eat as a human: you just put food in the food whole and swallowed it into your stomach (at least that's what they assumed happened to humans, so that's what their body did).

They began probing through the cupboards for snacks.

John Jones had nearly been held up at work, but explaining that he had a house guest, he'd been able to get away on time. Not that he objected to Hawkwoman babysitting, she'd surely do a good job, but he knew M'gann was impatient for his return. M'gann was a very eager child, and they probably had tens--if not hundreds-- of questions for him about earth culture that they'd thought up during the day.

Unlocking the door, he sent out a mental greeting, hoping to locate them in the apartment.

'Hi Uncle J'onn!'  She called as he set up a mind link.

He followed he psychic signals to the kitchen. M'gann had shifted into a green martian, sitting cross-legged on the kitchen floor, devouring a block of butter.

'How was your day, m'gann?'

' Hi! They wiped at the grease on their face. 'Look! I found food.'

M'gann was so gleeful about being able to feed themself that he didn't correct this. At least they was consuming  something while he was out.

'I brought you a treat.'

M'gann looked very excited as he produced a box of Choccos. She loved the biscuits as much as he did. 'thanks!' She snatched the box and ripped the carboard to shreds as she sought the cookies hidden within.

They weren't quite human enough to go into public yet, having only landed on earth a few days ago, they could shift into a green martian for a couple hours at a time-- having lots of practice while trying to avoid racial harassment on Mars. Humans were softer, their eyes were bigger, and they were a little shorter. Not to mention M'gann was still learning to walk on two legs. 

The league wasn't sure what to do with M'gann yet, they couldn't in good conscious sent them back to an overpopulated family and a system of racial oppression, but they couldn't just be let loose among humans.

So for now, starting the last week of June, she was staying with him.

J'onn got started on dinner. 

J'onn performed what certain league members called "Contemporary Humanity": where non-human heroes will adapt and create their own subcultures around the loose structure of humanity. J'onn definitely preferred to cook in a Contemporary Human style, taking his preferred ingredients and textures from different dishes and combining them into something unique. Though their human colleagues were often repulsed by the dishes, many of the non-humans were in agreement about their quality.

M'gann was clearly carved from similar stone; she would eat anything from earth, they was so excited just to be there. Every breath they forced in to their brand new lungs reminded them that they'd actually made it to the sister planet.

As a result of M'gann eating anything, J'onn didn't put too much concern into dinner, putting together a few portions and placing the plates on the slightly rickety dining table. M'gann was on it like a flash, devouring it with her hands. Human hands made eating easy, as did their mouths, and M'gann couldn't fathom why they'd use those little silver weapons to eat instead.

'Uncle?' M'gann asked after a short time, 'How did you decide what to look like?'

'Explain?'

'how did you decide what your human self would look like?'  They continued. 'what skin to have?'

J'onn mused on this. M'gann would have to take a human form eventually, but it seemed so early, they had no plans to take them out of hiding. 'I suppose it came easiest to me, you will not do well with a body that's hard to maintain.'

 'What about...' They looked a bit shy. 'Why did you decide to be a human man?'

J'onn wasn't too surprised by the question, the Martian concept of gender didn't line up one-to-one with the human understanding of gender. It was inevitable that M'gann would try to assign themself a box. 'I simply chose my body, and that body was gendered by humans. I found it easier to let them make their cultural assumptions about my body.'

'I just can't decide.' M'gann admitted. 'I want to be called 'she' like Megan from Hello Megan, but... I can't pick one.'

'You don't need to worry about that yet.' J'onn assured. 'would you like to over your English words again?'