In a typical classroom full of rowdy teenagers, Percy was at his desk, his leg bouncing up and down as he stared at the clock on the wall, waiting for the final bell to ring. He had spent the entire day in this manner, barely paying attention in class as he thought about what was to come after school ended.
"Dude, are you listening to me?" said Nico, tapping him on the shoulder and snapping him out of his focus.
"What'd you say?" asked Percy, turning around to look at Nico.
"I asked if something's up. You've been out of it all day." Nico asked, looking a little worried.
"Fine. Just, uh, ready to leave, you know." said Percy.
"If you say so." said Nico, not fully believing Percy's lie. "So, you want to go to the skatepark later? There was a pretty girl and her friend there that I've seen a few times. I was thinking we could talk to them. You take the friend, obviously."
"Can't. Have something to do after. Mom needs help. You know how it is." said Percy.
"Sure. Another time then." said Nico.
RING
Percy shot up at the bell, backpack in hand, and practically ran out of the classroom. As soon as he was outside the school, he took off, eager to see what Batman had in store for him.
Reaching the alley where he met Batman, Percy had to stop and catch his breath, having run the entire way there.
"Good, you're here." said Batman, startling Percy after appearing out of nowhere.
"How do you do that?" he asked.
"Practice." he replied before tossing something at Percy.
He caught it and saw that it was a black, stylized domino mask.
"What's this for?"
"To protect your identity. Unless you don't want to." explained Batman.
"I assume this would be temporary until I get a proper outfit/costume?"
"Yes."
"Where are we going that I need to protect my identity? Where the others are?" asked Percy, remembering Batman mentioned there were others.
"Yes."
Percy looked at the mask. He trusted Batman, which meant, by extension, he semi-trusted the others, whoever they were, but he'd rather take all precautions possible until he fully trusted them.
"Okay." he said, putting the mask on.
"Follow me."
Percy thought they were going to go underground somewhere or maybe the Hall of Justice in D.C., but when he saw Batman take him to the old run-down telephone booth with an out-of-order sign on it in the same alley they were already in, he was a little confused. Batman opened the door and stepped inside.
"Guest authorization: Batman 01." he said as a light scanned him up and down.
"Recognized. Access granted." said a computerized voice.
"Have you thought of a code name?" asked Batman.
"Uh, yeah. I have." said Percy. "Dial. Because of the dial, you know."
"Guest designation: Dial A-04."
"Recognized. Access granted. Dial A-04." said the computer as the light scanned Percy up and down a few times.
"Step in and close the door." said Batman, making room for Percy.
Percy stepped inside the phone booth, closing the door behind him. Once the door was closed, a light consumed Percy's vision before he felt his body shift. It was a similar feeling to when he transformed, except his body did not change shape.
After a second, the light subsided, and he saw that he was no longer in the phone booth but in a futuristic-looking tube that led to a big cave with a giant metallic structure coming down from the ceiling onto a tiled floor. He could also see a hallway that led elsewhere on the wall opposite the tub, and in the tiled area, he saw six people standing there.
With one look at the six people, he recognized three of them as sidekicks to Justice Leaguers: Robin, sidekick to Batman, Kid Flash, sidekick to Flash, and Aqualad, sidekick to Aquaman. The other three were unknown to him but going by their appearance, he guessed the tall, muscular boy wearing a black shirt with a Superman S was Superman's sidekick, the green skinned red-haired girl was Martian Manhunter's sidekick, and the emerald green clad blonde girl with a quiver on her back was Green Arrow's sidekick.
"Team. Listen up." said Batman, getting the attention of the six, who very quickly moved on from looking at Batman to looking at Percy.
"Who's that?" he heard Kid Flash whisper to Aqualad.
"I do not know." responded Aqualad.
"This is Dial. He will be joining the team." said Batman.
"Another newbie?" said Kid Flash, and Percy noticed that the blonde rolled her eyes at that while the green girl smiled.
"I got a question." said Robin, hand shooting up.
"What?" said Batman.
"Who the heck is Dial?" he asked. "And why is he joining the team exactly?"
"Introduce yourself." Batman told Percy, who nodded.
"Hi, I'm Dial, but just call me Percy." he said, having just decided to use his real name but not reveal his face until he felt he could really trust everyone. "I'm joining the team, and the reason for that is, well, that's a little more complicated."
"As complicated as being a clone of Superman?" asked Kid Flash, pointing his thumb at the boy wearing the Superman S.
"Clone?" said Percy, looking at Batman, who did not look amused. "Maybe not as complicated as that, but long story short, I answered a phone that transformed me into a superpowered being, and then the dial got stuck to my wrist, and now I can't take it off. Also, I turn into a different superpowered being every time I dial a number."
"That's the basic rundown. I expect you all to make him feel welcome." said Batman. "Robin."
Batman and Robin went off to the side to talk about something while the rest of them walked up to Percy.
"I am Aqualad, the leader of the Team. My full name is Kaldur'ahm, but please, call me Kaldur. It is nice to meet you, Percy." said Kaldur, a soft-spoken, tall boy with light blond hair cut at the bottom, deep brown skin, pale green eyes, high cheekbones, and a lean build wearing a skin-tight, full-body, red-and-blue swimsuit.
"Nice to meet you too." said Percy, shaking his hand and noticing he had a firm grip and webbed fingers.
"Kid Flash, KF, Wally, the Wallman. Any of the above." said Wally, a fast-talking boy with spiky red hair, freckles, green eyes, and lean yet slightly muscular build wearing a yellow uniform with red pants, red gloves, and yellow shoes, with a symbol of a red lightning bolt within a white circle on his chest and goggles on his head.
"Wally." said Percy, nodding.
"Superboy." said Superboy, a tall and muscular boy with short black hair and blue eyes and a frown on his face, wearing a black shirt with the Superman S and blue jeans with black boots.
"Just Superboy?" he asked, which made his frown get deeper.
"Long story." chimed in Wally.
"Noted."
"Hi, I'm M'gann M'orzz, or Miss Martian. You can also call me Megan, it's my Earth name." giddily said M'gann, a green-skinned girl with amber eyes and shoulder-length red hair wearing a short-sleeved white top with a red X on it, along with a blue skirt, a knee-length collared cape, gloves, and ankle boots.
"You know you're a dead ringer for this actress from a show my mom used to watch." said Percy.
"R-really? W-what a coincidence." she said, forcing a smile with a shaky voice.
"Artemis. Just joined yesterday." said Artemis, a girl of average height with olive-toned skin, long, thick blonde hair, and dark gray eyes wearing a green sleeveless top with a stylized arrow tip on the front, fingerless gloves, pants with black knee pads, and black combat boots and a mask extending from the hairline to the cheekbones.
"Looks like we're both new, then." he said.
"So, care to show us your dial?" asked Wally, looking curious.
"Sure." said Percy, putting his arm out to show them.
"That's it?" asked Artemis. "It's a phone dial."
"How does it work?" asked M'gann.
"I have to dial a certain number sequence and I'll transform." he explained.
"What's the sequence?" asked Wally.
"Sorry, Batman said the fewer people that know, the better. No offense." said Percy.
"None taken." said Kaldur.
"Smart." chimed in Artemis.
"Don't trust us?" asked Superboy.
"Well, I did just meet you all, but you guys seem cool."
"Clearly you think I'm the coolest." said Wally, winking.
"More like the dumbest." mumbled Artemis.
"I hope you will come to trust us fully." said Kaldur.
"I'm sure I will." assented Percy.
"So, Dial, care to show us your little doohickey?" said Robin, having finished his talk with Batman, who left through the tube. "Robin, by the way. Sort of the second in command around here."
"As a Gothamite, I have to say, big fan." said Percy, smiling.
"You don't say." said Robin, looking smugly at Wally. "You hear that, KF? Big fan of me."
"Pssh. That's just because he's from Gotham. If he were from Central City, he'd be my fan."
"You keep telling yourself that." said Robin. "So about that doohickey of yours? We need to see it in action, get a feel of your capabilities, and see how you'd fit into the team."
"You just want to see me transform, don't you?" said Percy.
"Well, there's that too." replied Robin with a smile.
"Can't say I blame you." said Percy, turning around and dialing HERO.
A blinding light consumed Percy's vision before he felt his body changing. Unlike before, he felt his stature grow, his entire frame expand, and his hair disappear. He felt his limbs shorten and get stubby, he felt something grow from where his tailbone would be, and he felt two long things grow from his upper lips. His mouth became enormous, lined with rows of countless uneven fangs and a long tongue. Opposed to the blue and yellow suit from the previous two transformations, his clothes changed into something dapper, almost gentlemanly, but too small for his frame.
As always, with the end of the transformation came the rush of information and the irresistible urge.
"I am Tahm Kench[1]!" he shouted, his voice deep, raspy, and carrying a New Orleans accent.
Turning his big body around, he saw the six of them looking up at him with wide eyes and slack jaws.
"You look ... Atlantean." said Kaldur, the first to recover.
Percy had turned into a 7' (213 cm) catfish-like humanoid with a large, rotund body, short, stubby limbs, and a catfish tail. He had an enormous mouth full of teeth, a long prehensile tongue, and a thick, mustache-like pair of catfish barbels on his upper lip. His skin was shiny green, pale in the front with darker markings on his back. He had wide-set yellow eyes, three clawed fingers on each hand, and four clawed toes on each foot.
As far as clothes go, he had a black human-sized top hat, dwarfed by his massive head, a maroon dress shirt, and two overcoats stitched together to fit his massive frame. The sleeves were missing from the overcoats, but he had the detached cuffs on his wrists with additional wrappings on his hands. He also wore a gold ring with a green gem on his left index finger and another golden ring on his left barbel.
"Why, thank you, but while they are sea-dwellers, I myself am a river fish. I am the River King." said Percy, tipping his hat at Kaldur.
"Dude, you look sweet!" said Wally, speeding next to Percy and posing. "Someone take my picture."
"So, you're just a giant catfish?" asked Artemis.
"Just a giant catfish? No, no, my dear. I am so much more." he said, smiling to show off his teeth.
"Gnarly." said Wally, taking a step back.
"Batman didn't mention that you take on the personality of whoever you transform into. Is this guy somehow different?" asked Robin.
"No. Just thought it would be fun to lean into the southern affable gentleman." answered Percy, fiddling with his barbel as if it were a mustache. "Little roleplay if you would."
"What can you do, uh, what should we call you when you're transformed?" asked M'gann.
"Percy's fine by me. As for what I can do, do I have any volunteers?"
"Volunteer for what?" asked Robin.
"To get swallowed." he said, his wide smile making him seem like a demon.
"Ew." said Wally, Artemis, and M'gann.
"Will it hurt?" asked Kaldur, surprising everyone.
"You want to get swallowed?" asked Wally.
"No, but it would not hurt to know the capabilities of this transformation." he explained. "Will it hurt?"
"Not unless I want it to." said Percy.
"Very well then. I am ready." said Kaldur, stepping away from the group and standing still.
"Are you sure? We could always just have him swallow a camera or something." said Robin.
"I am sure."
"Your wish is my command." said Percy.
His slimy tongue shot out from his mouth, wrapping around Kaldur before he pulled it back. He opened his maw wide, showing off his multiple rows of jagged teeth, and swallowed Kaldur. Unconsciously, he licked his lips and hummed in delight.
"Dude, that was disgusting." said Wally.
"Shall I spit him out?" asked Percy.
"Wait." said Robin, turning to M'gann. "Miss M, see if you can link up with Kaldur."
"Got it." she said, closing her eyes and opening them a few seconds later. "I can't. It's like he's not even there."
"Link up?" Percy asked.
"I'm a Martian, and telepathy comes naturally to Martians. I use my telepathy to mentally link us up so we can communicate without using electronic devices on missions. I have a pretty big range, but I can't find Kaldur in your stomach. There's no trace of him." explained M'gann.
"Telepathy. Very nice." said Percy.
"Thank you. I can also shapeshift and use telekinesis."
"Must come in handy." said Percy. "So, now can I spit him out?"
"Uh..." said Robin, taking a few steps back. "Now you can."
"Wait!" said Wally as he and everyone else also took a few steps back.
Once they were far enough away, Percy opened his mouth and spat out a slime-covered Kaldur onto the floor.
"I think I'm going to hurl." said Artemis, her hand over her mouth.
"Hahaha!" laughed Robin, seeing Kaldur in a puddle of slime. "So, how was the trip?"
"Dark and slimy." he said, standing up and wiping the slime off. "I felt like I was in a stomach, yet at the same time, it felt like I was in a vast, endless space. Then, out of nowhere, an opening appeared from which I was spat out."
"That is one of my abilities. I have a massive stomach that can be used to devour nearly everything. It can be used to hold objects, including living beings, for long periods. I can also spit them out whenever I want, and with a lot of force if I so please." explained Percy.
"Nearly everything?" said Robin. "How big are we talking?"
"Well, the information I receive about the abilities doesn't go into super specific detail, but I think I might be able to swallow a building."
"A building? There's no way. Your mouth is way too small." said Wally.
"My mouth grows in proportion to the size of what I want to swallow. I'm not that much bigger than Kaldur, and yet he fit." said Percy.
"Are there any other abilities besides swallowing things?" asked Kaldur.
"I'm strong, very, very durable, and I can store some of the kinetic energy from getting hit to shore up my defenses, heal myself, or expel it out of my mouth. I can breathe underwater because I'm a humanoid catfish, and I can teleport through water." said Percy, listing the abilities he had.
"Teleport through water? Why didn't you start with that?" asked Artemis.
"Because that's like a secondary ability. My main ability is the endless stomach and the swallowing stuff, and I think it's cooler." he explained.
"How does it work, exactly?" asked Kaldur.
"The water source has to be at least a foot in diameter for it to work, and once I'm in the water, so to speak, I can sense other water sources that fit the criteria for me to exit from." Percy explained. "I can also take people with me, but I would have to swallow them first."
"We are never, ever doing that." said Artemis, vehemently. "I don't care if we're about to die. I'd rather die than be swallowed by a giant catfish."
"Duly noted." said Kaldur. "Can you test it?"
"Sure. Just need some water."
"I got it." said Wally, speeding away and reappearing with two buckets of water. "Where do I put these?"
"Put one near the Zeta-Beam tubes and the other near the hallway." said Robin.
In a second, Wally had thrown the water down where mentioned.
"Here we go." said Percy.
As soon as he neared the puddle, he knew it could be used to teleport, and so he jumped headfirst into the puddle, his body disappearing into the water. Unlike when he's been submerged in water before, this time it would be apt to say his body became water, as if he were immaterial.
The best way to describe what he was experiencing would be as if he had dove into an ocean of murky water, and any water source that fit the criteria was like a crystal clear window he could see out of, and if he focused, he could also hear out of it. He felt the general direction of a water source that fit the criteria, and if he so wished, he could teleport directly to a nearby source instead of taking his time and swimming there.
Initially, he thought he could teleport anywhere in the world, but he discovered he could teleport to any water source that fit the criteria as long as it was within a 10-mile radius. To teleport farther, he would need to have visited the area he wanted to teleport to first. He could see many viable water sources in Gotham he could teleport to if he wanted, but he remembered he was only testing it out, so he brought back his focus to the other puddle and swam there.
Nearing it, he could see the group of six staring at the puddle, waiting for him to come out. As he was about to exit from it, his form was suddenly shown on the puddle, eyes glowing a sinister yellow that caused Wally and M'gann to jump. He exited through the puddle, twirling in the air as he landed on his feet, laughing at his successful prank.
"Was that on purpose?!" said Wally.
"Sorry, I couldn't pass up the opportunity." said Percy, chuckling.
"Oh, it's so on." he said, smiling.
"Before you start pranking each other, I want to know how it was." Robin said, and Percy explained everything about how it worked.
"So it's like you unlock a part of the map when you visit it? Like in a video game." said Wally.
"Yeah, pretty much."
"Good to know. Last thing to test is your durability." said Robin.
"We should do it in phases." said Kaldur. "We do not want to overestimate your durability and cause you harm."
"No need. Let's start with the muscle." said Percy, patting his belly like a drum. "I am quite confident."
"Okay, but first let's move to the training area so we can get accurate readings." said Robin, and everyone moved to the tiled area under the giant metal contraption, which turned out to be a computer. "Kaldur and Superboy are the muscle, so we'll start with Kaldur."
"Please, let me know if it is too much to bear." said Kaldur, standing across from Percy.
"I will."
Kaldur punched him in the stomach. Instead of seeing the fist sink into his stomach, it simply caused a small ripple as if Kaldur hadn't used much force at all, but Percy could tell he had. It was just that a portion of the energy behind the fist had been absorbed and stored in his body, and what was left hadn't been enough to do much.
"That felt odd." said Kaldur, realizing something had occurred. "I used a good amount of strength, and yet."
"I absorbed some of the energy behind the punch, and the rest wasn't enough to do anything." explained Percy, enlightening Kaldur.
"I see. I will use my full strength this time."
Again, Kaldur punched him in the stomach, except this time, the energy absorbed was twice as much, and he actually felt something. Though if he had to compare, it felt like he was getting hit by a little kid. It didn't hurt, but he felt it, unlike the previous one.
"How did that feel?" asked Kaldur.
"I felt it, though just barely." explained Percy, deciding not to use the little kid analogy so as not to hurt any feelings.
"That was your full strength?" Robin asked Kaldur.
"Yes, it was."
"Interesting." said Robin, turning to look at Superboy. "You're up."
"Gladly." said Superboy, cracking his knuckles as he moved to stand in front of Percy.
"I think it would be a good idea if we step back." said Kaldur.
"Way ahead of you." said Wally, already a few feet away, before being joined by the others.
"Full power?" asked Superboy, a smile on his face that made Percy feel less confident.
"Let's start with half, shall we?" he said.
"Hmph. Fine." replied Superboy, looking a little disappointed.
Unlike Kaldur's punches, which barely registered, Superboy's half-strength punch felt like an actual punch. The energy absorbed from it was five times the amount he received from Kaldur's full strength, and even then, there was still enough force left for it to hurt. He would have to say it could be compared to the punches he received from Chuck only the day before.
"Oof." he lightly grunted, the pain coming through.
"You felt that?" asked Robin.
"Yeah. Feels like a punch on the weaker side, but still a punch." he explained.
"Maybe you should brace for a full-strength punch then." added Robin.
"Good idea." Percy agreed and braced himself for the next hit. "Go."
With Superboy's punch, he felt a pain he had felt only once before, and that time he bruised a rib. The energy absorbed was almost three times the amount he received from the previous punch, and the force left over was almost too much to bear. Luckily, thanks to his many fights over the years, he was somewhat used to pain and gritted his teeth to bear it, though his voice still managed to leak.
"Damn." he said through gritted teeth.
"You okay?" asked Superboy, his smile completely gone, while everyone else moved to check on him.
"Fine. Just give me a sec." he said.
He used some of the kinetic energy to heal himself, and the pain quickly went away, feeling as good as new. He checked how much energy was used to heal himself, and he saw that nearly half of it was used.
"Phew. Much better." he said, tapping his stomach with a smile.
"Are you sure? It did not seem like something that could be walked off so easily." said Kaldur, looking concerned.
"Normally, no, but I used some of the stored-up kinetic energy to heal myself so I'm feeling good." he said. "Nice hit, though, Superboy. Really felt that. If I weren't used to pain, I would've been on my knees. You're a lot stronger than you look."
"Thanks." he said, looking surprised at the compliment before glancing away.
"I thought Batman said you have no formal training whatsoever?" said Robin.
"Well, not training like you guys, I suppose, but I have been taking boxing lessons for a few years now. Also been in a lot of fights." explained Percy.
"Oh? A bad boy?" asked Artemis, eye brow cocked in interest.
"No, just standing up for the little guy. Only fight bullies and stuff." he said.
"Oh." she said, still sounding interested.
"Keep it in your pants." said Wally, out of the side of his mouth.
"You wanna go, Wallman?" she said.
"Enough, you two." said Kaldur, shutting down their argument before it could progress further. "Now that we have tested all of this form's abilities, perhaps we should give Percy a tour of the Cave."
"Yeah, I'd love that." said Percy, dialing the number in reverse and undoing the transformation. "Lead the way."
The tour of the cave was very informative and interesting. He found out that Mount Justice, more commonly referred to as the Cave, was located just outside Happy Harbor, Rhode Island, and was the first headquarters of the Justice League before the location was compromised by the Joker.
It was recommisioned a month prior so the Team could use it as their base of operations. It consists of the central chamber/mission room, which also serves as a training area, a fully stocked kitchen, living quarters, a two-level library, lounge, medical bay, workout room, locker rooms, showers, grotto, souvenir room with souvenirs from their past missions, and a multi-level hangar.
Every member of the team had a room assigned to them, and whether they used it or not was up to them, though M'gann and Superboy both lived full-time in the Cave. Naturally, Percy was assigned a room, though he wasn't sure he would ever use it, but still it was nice to know he could crash at the Cave if he had/wanted to.
"And that's the end of our tour." said M'gann, leading the tour due to her living in the Cave, as they all walked back into the mission room. "So, what'd you think? Pretty cool, huh?"
"Yeah. It's a lot bigger than I thought it would be." said Percy.
"If there's one thing to know about Batman, it's that he doesn't half-ass anything." said Robin.
"Clearly."
"Alright, enough of the tour. I'm hungry. Let's order some pizzas." said Wally
"You're always hungry." added Artemis.
"So sue me."
"Pizza sounds good." said Percy, speaking before Artemis could rebut. "Pepperoni and sausage for me."
"That's what I'm talking about." said Wally, putting his arm around Percy. "I'll take five pepperoni and five plain cheese."
"10 pizzas?" said Percy.
"Oh, because of my super speed, I also have a super metabolism. Don't worry. No food will go to waste." explained Wally.
"Ooh, I want a pepperoni pizza." said M'gann, turning to look at Superboy. "What about you, Superboy?"
"Sausage." he said.
"Ham and pineapple." said Artemis.
"I'll call it in." said Robin.
"How are we paying for this?" asked Percy.
"Oh, don't worry about that." said Robin, showing off a credit card with a bat symbol on it.
~
Percy walked into his house and saw that his mom was sitting on the couch, drinking some wine and watching TV. Seeing him, she shut it off.
"How was it? Everything go alright?" she asked, worried and curious.
"Yeah. Went pretty good." said Percy, smiling as he thought about the others. "The others are cool. Nice people."
"That's good." she said, looking relieved. "Want something to eat?"
"No, I ate pizza." he replied as he made his way to his room. "I'll be in my room. Got some homework to do."
"Alright." she replied, turning the TV back on.
Percy closed the door to his room and sat down at his desk, taking out a notebook and flipping it open to a blank page.
"Time to design my outfit."
[1] Added a few, dozen I think, League champs just because. Tahm is the demon of addiction but in this, he will not have that power/ability.