45 Text

The next morning when I woke up, I decided to text the phone number that had been left for me in the tree.

[Good morning, :Smiley Face: If this isn't April, I would imagen it's Pam that April spoke to me about. Though she didn't say much other than you're a botanist and that we have the same tone. Not sure what tone she is referring to. I would naturally be Logan. :Wave:]

Leaving it at that I went for my morning exercise. I was looking forward to Dick showing me what he called Devil cave 5. Once we are set up there, I will have the same workout ability as in the watchtower minus the holo room. Remembering the conversation, I had with Monkey in The Red, the stronger my body the stronger my shift's body would be. Simple math told me that if I could lift one ton then if I changed into a Gorilla that enhanced my ability X 6 on average then in that shape, I can lift 6 ton's or more.

Again, if you think about it in the speed aspect, whatever my top speed is then as a cheetah I would multiply that speed by X 4. J'onn himself can move at lightspeed same as Superman, then if I used The Red to change into a cheetah then I would be 4 times the speed of light.

An interesting point I found was that if I used my Martian powers to shift into the shape of a Silverback Gorilla then my strength multiplier didn't come into effect. Only by using The Red to shift do I receive the multiplier. But again, it's all based on my body foundation. I am not sure if there is a list on what animals give me what amplifier, but I couldn't wait to figure it all out.

I found that learning more about my powers gave me a better idea on where to focus. Not long ago I wasn't too interested in my powers of shape shifting through The Red as I could do the same through my newly acquired abilities through the Martian DNA J'onn and I had found in my mind. But now it showed that if I can work all my abilities together then my growth can be nearly unlimited.

Just thinking about how scary J'onn would be if at his peak right now he could transform into something 6 times stronger gave me shivers. As I exorcised, I let my mind wander over these thoughts, and I had a brief one that nearly blow me away. If The Red is all creatures that lived, then would that include the Celestials and Gods? How many times stronger than me would a Celestial be considered? I shook my head to clear that picture, just 4 days ago I passed out after turning into a Tulkun for 30 seconds. I have a long way to go.

Still, I have to say that if I was right then all I needed was time to grow, also imagination was a big key for my growth. I did learn a lot in that fight with the Trench-like creatures in Boston. I need better situational awareness with the shapes I change into, especially around other people. If my shape is too eye-catching then it could disrupt their ability to fight. Around seasoned fighters I would just shrug it off as they had poor skills, but I can't expect the same around civilian forces. Also not taking in my weight as a factor and nearly falling through the pier was something I couldn't allow to happen again.

A good thing about being a mechanic is it gave me time to think once I got used to the task at hand. Part of my attention was on the vehicle and the other half was running through scenarios in my head. When I just started a task though I needed all my thoughts on the issue with the vehicle. Any 5-minuet fix was just one broken bolt from being a 6-hour job.

During lunch I saw there was a reply from the text I sent this morning, curious I checked it.

[Yes, this is Pam. The one being blackmailed into a set number of messages per day. Nothing against you and you have my thanks for looking after 'April' :Smily Face: but I'm not much of a conversationalist with people.]

I type back, [Well at least we can both be honest in our messages with no thought of needed to deceive the other. No Catfishing allowed!]

I put my phone away and went to let Arnie know that I was done with the break job he assigned me.

After the shop closed, I went and grabbed my phone then I headed to take a shower. I didn't see a message, so I just pocketed the phone.

After my shower I was putting some comfy clothes on and about to settle down for some TV when I heard a ping from my phone.

Pam, [Catfishing? What do you mean?]

[Someone's urban dictionary skills are a bit behind. Catfishing in this situation means the process of luring someone into a relationship by means of a fictional online persona. I never understood the reason behind it, I would rather that you hate me for who I am than like me for who I am not.] Logan.

A couple hours later I busy myself in the kitchen making my dinner, two thick cut ribeye steaks for the grill and a bag of potato wedges for the Air Fryer. Grabbing my phone I ask, [I am preparing my dinner and that got me to wondering, are you a Vegetarian, Vegan or a Carnivore? I will answer in advance so you can't waste a text asking. I am a meat and potato type of guy.]

Pam, [I am a carnivore. If you could talk to animals, would you still choose to be a carnivore?]

Logan, [I am most animals, and I can talk to them all as much as they can talk. Like I told a friend of mine, mother nature isn't kind to picky eaters. Animals eat plants and other animals; plants use animals and other plants as fertilizer and the cycle of life continues. On that note, I will say goodnight. I look forward to talking more tomorrow.]

After I ate, I went outside and fed the boys. Seeing that I got along with them just fine Arnie gave me the job of feeding them and cleaning their kennel. After they ate both Tango and Cash came crashing into me to start off the night by wrestling around with me in my wolf form. After I worked some excess energy from them, I jumped up to the roof to wait for Dick.

As I sat waiting for him, I was thinking that as Robin, Dick, Nightwing and later even Batman he was always the same person. He wasn't like some who downplayed their civilian counterpart or just made them a straight fool like Matt/Bruce Wayne did. I always thought that Batman was dumb to never realize that he helped Dick to gain closure on the death of his parents. That was why 'The Mission' wasn't the driving force behind him. Matt/Bruce spent their young life inventing 'The Mission' learning to become Gotham's Avenger and in later life making it happen. But Dick in his younger years was doing the mission to get past his trauma. He did eventually get his closure and went on to become a good man. Well so long as you weren't a girl in his harem that is.

About 30 minutes later he landed on the roof, and I took a double take as I noticed he was wearing a slick one-piece suit with a large stylized red bat that went from his abdomen then up and over his shoulders. On his back were a pair of Escrima Sticks rather than the cape he normally wore.

Logan, "Woo, new outfit hu? I like it!"

Dick, "Matt and I worked together on it or me, Alfred also came up with the idea of the Escrima Sticks as my martial arts rely more on speed than force. It will help conserve stamina and deliver a stronger blow to enhanced individuals that can take it. Especially when they do this." The sticks in his hand energized with a tremendous glow of electricity.

Logan, "You come up with a new name?"

Dick, "Well Matt is pushing for Batman because it's a part of his name. Starfire, a teammate from Teen Titans went through a little time jump ordeal years ago and told me I had changed to the name Nightwing. Also, Clar.. Another friend told me a story from his home world about an individual that called himself Nightwing. But that tale started with the guy being cast from his family and I'm not sure that fits me."

Logan, "That's quite the graduating from Boy Wonder gift, let the name slid for a bit and see what you get used to."

Dick, "You ready to head to your new training grounds? Matt was telling me that by teaching you I will improve myself by leaps and bounds."

Logan, "Lead the way oh great Sensei!"