01 | video

[khajidont]

[The feed flicks on to reveal Jaime, an entirely normal looking teenager, sitting on the curb outdoors, watching the world go by. Why not? It’s a nice day out, and being outside of his supposed residence makes this all seem a bit less permanent. He's not overly eager to start what is supposedly day one of his new life, after all. He wasn't going to bother with this thing at all, but he's hopeful that there will be someone he knows around here. Titans Together? Anyone? Can that still be a thing?]

You know what’s weird? The cars here. I mean, yeah, flying cars are pretty cool and everything, but they really went all out with the designs. I was thinking that by the time people made flying cars, they’d go for something a little less... old school. Something more like the Jetsons, maybe, [he says with a quiet, subdued laugh, mostly at himself for the absurdity of the comment, the absurdity of the situation.]

Something else that’s weird is being shuttled here and branded like a bunch of cows, but I’m thinking you guys get that complaint a lot. [He sounds a hell of a lot less chipper about the tattoos than the flying cars, but leaves it at that with a muttered,] At least they stuck with just tattooing our wrists.

[Always try to look on the bright side, even if that bright side is 'they didn't brand our butts'. He sets his jaw, and moves on.]

Instead of asking the usual questions - [which he’s received answers to mainly by snooping around the network’s backlog] - I guess I’ll just go ahead and introduce myself. So, uh, hi. I’m Jaime. [That greeting gets punctuated with an awkward little wave. And then, because Mama Reyes taught him manners even when kidnapped by some sort of interdimensional doohickey, he adds on an unconvincing,] S’nice to meet you.

Comments

[khajidont]

Why wouldn't I be in the right body?

[Sorry man, he can't exactly see that you're human at the mo!]

[paintjobs]

[ HEAVY SIGH ] Because not all of us are.

[khajidont]

[As someone who has gone through an involuntary transformation before - okay, an involuntary transformation that doesn't go by the name of puberty - Jaime has to cringe at the thought.

But then again, for an interdimensional meeting ground, he hasn't seen a whole lot of aliens.]

Seriously? That's awful. That's like - a violation. Or something.

[paintjobs]

[ this guy will bitch about cars and sympathize with the wrong body thing? jaime: raking in the points ]

I know. And it is! But it certainly hasn't stopped the powers that be.

[khajidont]

[Obviously they're a jump, skip and a hop away from making friendship bracelets and braiding each other's hair...!]

It hasn't stopped them from a lot of things. Is insta-human just a thing here? 'Cause I haven't exactly seen a lot of people walking around here who didn't look human, even in that fortress place we all started off in.

[paintjobs]

Unfortunately. Granted, I wouldn't have very comfortably fit in there in my own body, but I'd have taken a little discomfort over being stuffed into an entirely new body!

[khajidont]

They could've asked first.

[But wait a second... that fortress was pretty big!]

Wait, how big are you normally?

[paintjobs]

If only.

Oh, about... twenty feet.

[khajidont]

[That gets Knock-Out a low, impressed whistle.]

Wow. Being human must have taken some adjustment. So is everything from your world built to proportion, or...?

[Perhaps it's not the first question that ought to be on his mind, but he's naturally inquisitive. He can't help it.]