Peculiar readings from Gotham Harbor.

In the simmering heat of the Gotham morning, Duke Thomas, known as The Signal, stood perched atop the spire of an old waterfront warehouse. His golden and black suit glistened in the sunlight, catching reflections of the cityscape. His white eyes, a distinctive feature of his cowl, scanned the hustle and bustle of the Harbor, a perfect example of organized chaos. His gaze was sharp, but it was his ears that were the focus of his attention. A set of peculiar readings had caught his attention.

The Signal dropped down near the shoreline, following the radio frequency. The waves crashed against the concrete pier. He managed to tune the sounds of the waves out, using his unique metahuman abilities which allowed him to hear and decipher various signals, frequencies, and codes, but this... this was different.

It was a message of some kind! A continuous loop in a language unfamiliar yet melodic, like the rush of waves against a... pier...? His brow furrowed under the cowl as he tried to make sense of it. He glanced to the water splashing, receding, and repeating in progressively larger waves. The rhythmic beat of the foreign transmission seemingly embedded within the sounds of the ocean itself, the sea becoming more violent as the transmission intensified.

SPLASH!

Before he could decipher it, his world tilted sideways, and all he felt was a sensation of sinking as if caught in a fast current. Then darkness.

When he came to, he found himself in a large, water-filled chamber, bathed in the soft, ethereal glow of bioluminescent plants. He floated there, suspended in a strange, shimmering liquid that wasn't quite water. His suit had been removed and there was no breathing apparatus in sight. It was strange... he could breathe despite being submerged. This coupled with but weightlessness and the slow sway of the liquid around him, it was disconcerting.

He observed the room around his glass tube. Dark metal floors and walls were dimly lit by the hue of what he assumed were control panels. The language and symbols foreign to him. Was he **** by aliens...? Why is it always aliens?

Duke raised his fist and pounded on the glass a couple times. Thick stuff. He doubted he'd be able to rupture it without a blunt object.

Suddenly, a silhouette emerged from the darkness. As it neared, the light caught the figure's features, revealing a stern man with a regal bearing. His face cloaked in an oddly shaped silver mask with piercing crimson lenses. In his hands, a three pronged trident. A dark cape flowed behind him, the light glinting off his silver belt with an "A" shaped buckle. Almost like the one Aquaman wore...

"Greetings, Surface Dweller. I am Orm Marius, though you may know me as my rightful title: Ocean Master! I'm sure you have heard of me."

"Ocean what?"

Duke piqued a brow, Orm's face contorting with anger.

"Ocean Master! The true king of Atlantis!"

"The king of... Atlantis...? Isn't that Aquaman?"

"NO, THAT'S MY BROTHER, ARTHUR!"

Orm slammed his staff across a few computer terminals. He hissed his sibling's name like it was a forbidden curse, his voice dripping with disdain.

"Arthur has no right to the throne! He's half... half human for Poseidon's sake!"

Orm ranted. Fed up with the self-proclaimed king, Duke spoke out.

"What does any of that have to do with me, huh? Why am I in this weird... floaty... Star Wars healing chamber thing?"

Ocean Master's gaze narrowed at his prisoner.

"Yes, of course. I have no quarrel with you, Duke Thomas of the surface," Orm smirked when he recited the vigilante's true name.

"It is what you are. You're what the surface calls a 'meta-human,' a member of the human race, yet you possess unique gifts. You know this. Which is why you parade around in your foolish attire laying waste to the impoverished in the name of justice."

Duke didn't expect the sudden critique of his heroic escapades but what further caught him off guard was the fish-guy insulting his costume.

"Dude, do you see what you got on right now?"

"SILENCE!"

Orm shouted, slamming his staff on the deck.

"You are just as insufferable as my brother!" He snarled. "You will serve me, surface dweller. Whether you like it or not!"

"Not gonna happen, Nemo," Duke rolled his eyes. He wasn't fazed by the villain's monologue. He only feigned interest so the 'Ocean Master' wouldn't catch on as he formulated an escape plan.

A second figure entered the room: another masked man in regal armor. Though he paid Duke no mind, approaching Ocean Master and rendering a salute.

"Sire, the preparations have been made."

"Wonderful. Commence the alteration sequence post-haste."

Orm rendered the honor back to the scientist.

"Yes, my lord," he dropped his salute and bowed, stepping up the console in front of Duke's tube. He started flicking switches, turning knobs and dials. The tube hummed, the water growing warmer.

"Wait, wait, what're you doing?"

"You are going to be purified, insolent human. You will shed your decrepit shell and become a mighty Atlantean! One loyal to me and me only."

"Okay you've lost me..."

"You see, it's the DNA of meta-humans, such as yourself, that fascinates me. It's far more compatible with our Atlantean technology than the DNA of ordinary humans. And so, it's significantly easier for us to rewrite your genetic code."

_"Rewrite... my genetic code?" the Signal echoed, realization dawning. "So that's why you captured me...?"_

"That's right. Capturing a meta-human isn't easy, as you can probably guess," the Ocean Master admitted, his voice filled with cruel satisfaction. If any old human would suffice, Orm wouldn't waste his time with the monotony of capturing a super-powered human.

"But the pay-off is so worth the effort. That's why I released that transmission, hoping it would draw in one of you so-called 'heroes'... and it seems my plan worked perfectly."

"Now you will be transformed into one of my people. An agent of the Ocean Master! You will **** my brother and from his rotting corpse, I will take the throne!"

Duke paused, blinking a couple times.

"Pal, I've dealt with a lot of super-villains but you're a special kind of crazy!"

The Signal started to pound furiously on the glass, his eyes darting every which way for the smallest imperfection. A hole, a crack, something he could use to rupture his container.

"Struggle as you wish, there is no escape! Status, doctor?!"

"Sire, the chamber's alteration sequence has begun," he reported obediently.

As the chamber began to hum more intensely, Duke Thomas could feel a sudden, unexplainable jolt of energy pulse through him. His hands grasped at the glass as he clenched his teeth against the invasion of sensations. His body started to feel... different. Different in ways he'd never imagined.

"Now the machine's nanobots are hard at work," Ocean Master smirked. "Soon you will be the perfect, obedient agent..."

His skin began to prickle, tingling all over. He looked down to see his skin becoming several shades paler.

He gasped, "What...?"

Before he could finish his sentence, another wave of intense sensation crashed over him. His chest felt tight and warm, and when he looked down, he found his pectoral muscles softening. His chest swelled outward into firm, round orbs. The fleshy mounds protruded into his hands as he desperately tried to cup and contain them.

"What's happening to me?!"

His eyes widened in surprise and disbelief.

His broad shoulders began to slim down, the muscles there receding as his body took on a softer, more feminine shape. His waist cinched in, making his chest and newly widening hips even more pronounced. His suit slowly became tight, especially around his chest and hips. His whole form was shifting, expanding in some places and retracting in others.

Then, there was the rush of hair down his back. It grew rapidly, spilling out from under his cowl in thick waves of fiery red, reaching down to his waist. His once short, curly black hair was now a sea of red tresses.

His face felt strange as his features softened. His jawline became less square, his lips fuller. His cheekbones rose a bit, and his eyes... They seemed larger, more vibrant.

He looked down at his body once again, only to see his legs lengthen, muscles shifting and realigning into sleek, feminine curves. His feet remained the same size, but there was a distinct difference in the way they looked. More delicate, less muscular.

He felt his cowl shift as his ears tingled. They'd become pointed, adding to his alien appearance. He touched his face, his hands shaking as he traced the new contours.

"What in the—?"

He was cut off when he felt his suit shift, his clothing changing, too. The familiar weight of his suit was replaced with the form-fitting embrace of a shiny green jumpsuit. It was incredibly comfortable, it felt like a second skin. Its scaly pattern shimmered in the faint light of the chamber.

He was no longer the Signal, no longer Duke Thomas. In front of the Ocean Master stood a beautiful redheaded woman in a green jumpsuit. His figure was undeniably feminine now, with curves in all the right places.

"You have been reborn, Mera of Xebel!"

Ocean Master decreed.

Duke stared at his new body in shock. He felt panic bubble up inside him, but then he felt something else. Something powerful and incredibly potent. Power, real power.

He'd become something new, something more than he'd ever been before. But he was still Duke, still the Signal at heart.

Ocean Master had altered him, made him into this... woman, but he would show him. He would show them all that no matter the form, no matter the body, he was still a hero. And he would stop at nothing to escape and thwart Ocean Master's plans.

"Well," Duke said, pushing his new long hair back as it floated through the tank, "this is going to take some getting used to..."

POUND!

This time a sizable crack was made. Atlantean strength. At least it wasn't all bad, right? He could panic and freak out about being a redheaded lady later. First he had to escape!