FIVE THINGS THAT NEVER HAPPENED TO GRANT EMERSON

for Ang Griffen

by Cloudtrader

1 - Girl

Three months and sixteen days. That was how long he had been stuck like this, how long it had been since he'd been cursed. Three months and sixteen days and today he had officially lost hope. Today he'd been told that - barring some pretty drastic surgery - he'd be a girl for the rest of his life.

It was definitely time to get drunk.

Grant left the JSA headquarters and wandered down the block in something of a daze. He'd been in a daze since that day three months and sixteen days ago when he'd touched the Relic of Dinatolagi and... transformed. Into a girl. It was like a dream. Except that after all this time, and now that Doctor Fate had admitted reluctant defeat in breaking the curse, it finally felt all too real. This body. His body now. It felt real. But it didn't feel like HIS.

Or rather, hers.

He - she - he didn't know how to deal with this. Toni and Kory had tried to help, but they just wanted to dress him up. Roy had been too uncomfortable with him to deal with it - Grant thought that maybe Roy thought he was hot now, and OH BOY, did THAT complicate things - so he had avoided Grant completely. The others had been, well, supportive, but that wasn't what he wanted...

Grant sighed and looked around. Oh good, a bar! Just what he needed to stop thinking...

He pushed his way through the door and made a beeline for the bartender, a buff looking Asian woman with soft features. "Beer," he said, digging into his jeans for some cash.

"Any particular brew, honey?" the bartender asked.

"Whatever is on tap is fine," he said, even now startled slightly by how DIFFERENT his voice sounded now. "Actually, add on a scotch, too."

She nodded. "You look like you've been going through a rough few days, if you don't mind my saying."

He laughed. "Try a rough few MONTHS."

"Wanna talk about it? Its pretty slow right now and I always enjoy a pretty new face."

He sipped his scotch. "You ever have, well, a crisis of identity? Like, suddenly you've changed, except that you really haven't, but now everybody sees you differently?"

"Most of the chicks here have, girl. You really are new, huh? Your family not take you coming out well?"

Coming out...? Oh! Oh. He had walked into a lesbian bar. Grant giggled. He - SHE, dammit, still liked girls, so he guessed that he - SHE was a lesbian now. Or something. Heh. Oh well, in for a penny, in for a pound. "Something like that," Grant said, nodding her head, "something like that."

2 - Runaway

"Cops rousting the squatters over on Park, moving this way. Pass the word along, huh kid?"

"Fuck!" Grant swore under his breath. It was too goddamn early for the cops to be out and about, he hadn't even gotten his belly filled yet today. Sun was already setting, but it was winter and it set early - which just meant more cold nighttime to try and fill as far as Grant was concerned. Not that it really got TOO cold here, but it was always better to be bundled up in a good place for the night. Fortunately he wasn't currently holding anything for the dealers, so even if the cops did peg him, he'd be okay. He was one of the lucky ones so far, though - never been caught.

Grant jogged up the street and took a turn at a familiar alleyway. "Yo, Andy, move your ass, the cops are doing a sweep!" The boy on the corner nodded and scampered off. He was about Grant's age and he'd shown up just a few weeks ago. He'd actually managed to avoid the pimps, so far, so Grant felt he deserved a heads-up, even if he was selling his ass.

That was something that Grant had mostly managed to avoid since he'd run away from his parents two years ago, shortly after he father had announced they were moving to Georgia. He'd had enough from his fucking father - he didn't want to take it from a stranger, either. A few times he'd had to do it just for some food, but mostly he was able to get something. It helped that he was so strong. He could fight off just about anyone, usually.

He wondered about his strength. The other day, he'd gotten angry and smashed his fists through a solid wall. He'd been completely without injury. It was... kinda cool. But superpowers or no, right now all he wanted to do was avoid the cops.

Grant turned the corner again and nearly ran into a group of guys from the local gang.

"Hey, watch where you're going!"

"Sorry! Hey, you guys, heads up - the cops are out and about."

The leader nodded. "Yeah, we know, we're going to see."

Grant's expression must have conveyed the 'huh?' he was feeling. Most of the time, the gangs liked to AVOID the cops.

"They're chasing a real-life supervillian, bro! Guy named Metallo is tearing through the neighborhood, looking for someone!" He clapped Grant on the back and started walking. "Come on, let's take a look!"

Grant went with them, but he couldn't help getting a bad feeling about all this. It was pretty far-fetched, but what if... what if this Metallo guy was looking for HIM?!

3 - Mercenary

"Hold it right there, you bastard!"

Grant smirked. "Hello Agent Harper, fancy meeting you here! And you with some new duds, too. Checkmate change their uniform?"

"I'm not with Checkmate anymore, scum. We're the Titans and we're going to take you out!"

"Oh, I think not!"

Last time Grant had faced Arsenal, Harper had been part of Checkmate. Now he was a Titan again - so what? Still didn't mean he'd catch Damage. Grant had a reputation to maintain, after all. If anyone ever got too close to catching him... Well, they didn't call him Damage for nothing.

Grant evaluated Arsenal's team. He knew there were more of them around somewhere - probably off helping the "innocents" from the rubble of the complex he'd been hired to blow up - but right now he only had Arsenal, Supergirl, and Impulse to deal with. Piece of cake. Symbolix had trained him well, after all.

"Let's play, boys and girls!"

4 - Hero

Sitting in the monitor womb of the JLA satellite, dark but for the glow of a thousand screens. Small crises throughout the world - all under control. No need to interfere. They don't want to be interfered with, either. Not from... him. He disturbs the others. He is lucky that, at the moment, his only "parent" in the Justice League is J'onn. Because whenever he has worked with the JSA in the past, it had been. Awkward.

Speaking of his Martian DNA-donor, there J'onn is now - ready to relieve him. With a brief grimace of concentration, he makes mental contact with his teammate. 'J'onn.'

'Grant,' the Martian Manhunter acknowledged. 'Anything of interest?'

'No.'

'Then you are relieved.' J'onn phases into the monitor womb as Grant phases out.

It is time to go home. He could just use the JLA transporter to get there, but he feels like flying. He makes a construct, green. It is interesting that he can use the powers of a Green Lantern even without the ring. DNA is such an interesting thing... Memories, too. He remembers the first time Alan used his ring. He remembers the first time Hal used his ring. He remembers everything.

There are so many people inside of him. The DNA of so many heroes and the memory engrams of those same heroes. That is why they are uncomfortable around him. He has their powers, he has their memories, he is... them. But who is he?

Grant takes comfort in the fact that he questions his place in the universe. It makes him somehow more human. He is, actually, mostly human, with a dash of Martian and a hint of Thanagarian. All of the rest of his "parents" were human. Just augmented.

He sometimes wonders how much of him really is HIM as opposed to everyone else. Vandal Savage and Symbolix made him, trained him, used him. He was made of bits and pieces of heroes, so of course he is a hero. He thinks it was silly of Savage to think that he could ever be anything but. Especially since Savage also gave him the MEMORIES of the heroes whose DNA was used to create him.

Grant plummets through the atmosphere in a haze of green fire. He shrinks and expands, changing size and shape and density. As he touches down, he changes into himself.

This is HIS. He is a Titan and will always be welcome among them. He may be JLA now, but like Wally, the JLA is only his team. The Titans are his family.

Raven is outside in Kory's garden. "Welcome home," she says to him. Grant smiles.

5 - Mentor

He wondered if any of the others had faced these problem. Probably. These types of thing never really changed.

It was a legacy. Except for the originals, there had always been an older, hopefully wiser, at the very least more experienced leader for the team to shepherd the youngsters into realizing their powers and how important they were in the greater scheme of things. To help them learn responsibility. And to ride herd on them.

"Speedy! Come back here! I'll get you, you little freak!" Barry Allen-King-Jones sped past at superspeed, his arrows leaving a streak of green imprinted on Grant's vision, with Nightfire in hot pursuit. Grant didn't even bother reprimanding them - they were already gone.

Spoiler sidled up to him. "Don't worry, he'll be bored with the game and in Bermuda within the next two minutes and she'll calm down." Grant nodded and glanced at the grim boy next to him. Even without any power, Jack Drake was good. Well, what did he expect with the son of Batman and Batwoman?

"Yeah, they'll be okay," he said.

"Sir," Spoiler nodded to him respectfully and withdrew back into the shadows.

Grant turned to the young woman next to him. "Thoughts?"

She crossed her arms and tilted her head thoughtfully. "Were we ever that young and stupid?"

He grinned at her. "Lian, I babysat you."

"Are you going to hold that over me forever? How am I supposed to be an authority figure to these kids if you keep bringing up those stories?!" She pouted at him.

"Heh. Deal with it. If you're going to be second in command of the Teen Titans, you'll have to EARN their respect." He smirked at her. "And now we have to round them up for training."

"Okay, I'll get Spoiler and Plastic Boy, you go after the other two. Have fun in Bermuda!"

Grant closed his eyes. How had the others ever done this!?!

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