This is planned as a 5 part story, I will update the thread title when new chapters are posted.
My Legion roster as of the start of this story is as follows:
BLOK BOUNCING BOY BRAINIAC 5 CHAMELEON BOY CHAMELEON GIRL COLOSSAL BOY COMET QUEEN COSMIC BOY DAWNSTAR DIAMOND DAMSEL DRAGONMAGE DREAM GIRL DUPLICATE DAMSEL ELASTIC LAD ELEMENT LAD INFECTIOUS LASS INVISIBLE KID II KID COMPUTO LIGHT LAD LIGHTNING LASS MATTER-EATER LAD MON-EL (deputy leader) NIGHT GIRL (leader) NIGHTWIND PHANTOM GIRL POLAR BOY QUISLET SHADOW LAD SHRINKING VIOLET STAR BOY SUN BOY SUPERBOY SUPERGIRL TELLUS TIMBER WOLF TYROC ULTRA BOY WILDFIRE
As usual, any feedback is welcome and appreciated, enjoy!
********** TAKRON-GALTOS Every Science Police officer who could be spared filled the enormous prisoner transfer terminal, all anxiously awaiting the chaos they knew was en route. Somehow, the League of Super-Assassins had escaped the supposedly inescapable Takron-Galtos. This was the latest in a rash of break-outs recently, the Science Police were just happy that for a change it seemed to be confined to this one team of villains.
The Super-Assassins hadn’t bothered to cover their tracks. Why would they? Between the five of them they had obliterated any opposition the prison staff could throw at them. The Legion of Superheroes had already been called, but they couldn’t possibly be here in time to be of any use. If the Super-Assassins couldn’t be stopped here and now, there was no hope.
The tense silence in the sterile space was violently ruptured with the sound of rent steel and plastics. The fiery-haired strongwoman Titania tore through a wall that was three feet thick using her bare hands. “Shoot!” the officer in charge bellowed. “What are you waiting for, shoot her!” The squad responded with a hail of fire that sounded like all Hell breaking loose and Titania stood there impervious to it all. Before the Science Police could change tactics, a beam of golden light suddenly zig-zagged through the terminal. Close behind it came a whirling maelstrom of gleaming metallic death; Lazon and the Silver Slasher. The two of them decimated the ranks of the Science Police in seconds. Silence again filled the air.
Lazon resumed human form, cupped a hand to his mouth and called back to the remainder of their team. “We’ve taken care of them, it’s safe to come out now!”
“Lazon, what did I tell you?” the hoverchair-bound Neutrax chided his comrade as he entered the room, Mist Master’s green-tinged fog breezing in along beside him. “Stay in your light form until we’ve commandeered a ship...our powers give us the advantage but we can’t take our freedom for granted until we’ve earned it.”
The sound of screaming metal again filled the air, this time from above them. The villains looked up to see the ceiling being peeled back. Floating there angrily, Mon-El scowled down at them. Six other Legionnaires backed him up; Blok, Quislet, Bouncing Boy, Dawnstar, Supergirl and Dream Girl. “That’s good advice, Neutrax,” Mon-El announced. “But this isn’t the way you earn freedom from prison.”
“That’s not fair!” Lazon protested. “How could you possibly have responded so quickly? It took us less than fifteen minutes to get this far!”
Supergirl cocked a thumb at Dream Girl. “This one sees the future,” she responded sarcastically. “In her dreams. You know, Dream Girl? You might have heard of her.”
“Don’t just talk at them, kill them!” Silver Slasher ranted. She spun around at maddening speed, fast enough to create a vortex which propelled her into the air. Supergirl kept her position with a slightly bemused expression as the metal woman ricocheted harmlessly off of her.
“Don’t toy with them Kara,” Mon-El frowned. “They’re dangerous. Dawnstar, evacuate the wounded. We’re lucky, I can still hear all of them breathing. Everybody else, let’s end this.” The Legion jumped into action the moment Mon-El issued his command.
“Indeed,” Neutrax said calmly. “End it we shall. We have places to be, and more important concerns currently than the Legion of Superheroes.” An emerald beam shot forth from the villain’s visor towards Mon-El, but the Daxamite avoided it.
“Nice chair!” Quislet chirped, zipping down in his micro-ship towards Neutrax. “Can Quislet play?”
“No.” Neutrax turned his beam upon Quislet’s ship. “Quislet may not.” The tiny ship immediately plummeted like a rock, bouncing once then coming to rest on the floor of the terminal. With his ship’s power supply neutralised, he couldn’t even open the hull. “Embarassing!” his shrill voice objected. “Quislet--”
“What does it take to shut that stupid thing up?” Titania punted his ship through the hole that the Legionnaires had created and he soon cleared the artificial planet’s atmosphere.
“Now that was rude!” Bouncing Boy cracked as his flight ring sent his inflated form hurtling directly at Titania. She barely noticed the impact, but Chuck had counted on that. He really only wanted to use her to get the right vector on Neutrax. Bouncing Boy slammed into the villain’s chair and Neutrax sprawled across the floor with a pained yelp. “I’m not particularly proud of myself assaulting someone who can’t walk,” Chuck continued as he rebounded away from Silver Slasher’s talons, “But you’re the greatest threat here, Neutrax.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that,” a disembodied voice mocked him. Mist Master revealed himself, his face appearing in a noxious green cloud surrounding the unconscious forms of Dawnstar and Dream Girl. “My mists have just disabled two of your number, have they not?”
“Leave my friends alone!” Blok pleaded, approaching Mist Master with open arms. “Please! When will you learn the Legion were not responsible for what happened to our world, cousins?”
“You gave up the right to call us cousins when you betrayed us,” Titania spat, grabbing Blok from behind. She spun him around and punched him square in the face, but even her great strength barely fazed the stone man. “Besides, you attacked us this time! We’re just trying to help our people!”
Figuring that Blok was capable of dealing with Titania alone, Supergirl turned her attention to Mist Master. She clapped her hands together with such force that his gaseous form instantly dissipated to the corners of the terminal. “If the most powerful members of this team are a choice between a talking cloud and a guy in a glorified wheelchair, I don’t think we’ve got much to worry about somehow,” the blonde heroine quipped.
“Look out!” Mon-El warned her. He had been trying to pin down Lazon’s speeding form with his heat vision, but the villain now veered straight for Kara. Lazon had changed from golden light to red as he fled the Daxamite and it was a surge of concentrated red solar rays that charged straight into Supergirl now. She grunted in discomfort and fell from two stories up, her powers temporarily sapped.
“Go limp!” Bouncing Boy shouted as his rotund body landed beneath Supergirl and cushioned her fall. She bounced off of him and hit the floor with a startled cry. Taking advantage of Kara’s weakness, Silver Slasher came at her with arms flailing. Bouncing Boy smacked into the metallic woman’s head and knocked her over, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to delay her long. “Supergirl, keep moving until you recover!” Chuck continued as he evaded another strike from the Slasher’s claws. “Use your flight ring!”
Meanwhile, Lazon had turned the tables on his former pursuer. As a beam of red solar radiation, he darted across the terminal after Mon-El. “What works on a Kryptonian should surely work on a Daxamite, no?” he sneered.
He’s right, Mon-El thought, barely avoiding a direct strike. If he tags me, I’m as vulnerable as anyone. I can’t keep dodging him indoors, I need more space. He didn’t waste energy responding to Lazon, but instead suddenly turned and smashed straight through the ceiling. Lazon followed, and the two men continued away from the rest of their teams.
Chuck bounced past Blok as Titania was still fruitlessly pummelling the silicon Legionnaire. Supergirl followed Bouncing Boy, her flight ring barely keeping her ahead of Silver Slasher. “I can hardly use this dumb thing!” Kara hollered. “Blok, a little help?”
“I do not wish to harm any of you,” Blok intoned calmly as Titania continued punching him. “No matter what you have become, I still think of you as my family and it pains me to stand against you...but I cannot allow you to hurt anybody else, Titania.” Blok caught the woman’s next blow in the palm of his hand. Closing his hand over hers and grabbing her with his other arm, Blok spun Titania around and flung her straight at Silver Slasher. The two women tumbled together across the terminal to come to a stop alongside a now reformed Mist Master who was helping Neutrax back into his chair.
Bouncing Boy and Supergirl came back around to stop at Blok’s side, consciously using their own bodies to shield Dawnstar and Dream Girl. Facing them from across the room, the four members of the League of Super-Assassins stared them down.
“We need to stall them until my power comes back,” Supergirl whispered. “Now that I know what they can do, I can wrap this up as soon as I’m recovered.”
“How did you escape anyway?” Bouncing Boy asked the villains.
Neutrax gave a humorless chuckle, hands steepled under his chin. “Bouncing Boy. I could have neutralised my cell’s defences any time I wished. We were content to bide our time here, build our strength until another opportunity presented itself to destroy your team of deceitful monsters once and for all. But then Khor came, and he changed everything. Now we have more than a reason to kill...now we have a reason to truly live.”
“Khor..?” Blok voiced the heroes’ confusion. “Who is Khor..?”
The Legion never heard an answer to Blok’s query. Lazon burst through the ceiling one final time, causing enough damage to the terminal that part of it buried the three Legionnaires where they stood with an unceremonious crashing sound. Lazon resumed human form as he landed by his team. “They won’t be a threat anymore, and I left Mon-El to die in space. Let us depart, cousins. Let our world once more live.”
By the time Dawnstar and Dream Girl regained their senses, the League of Super-Assassins had stolen a Science Police vessel and were long gone. “Where...where are the others?” Dream Girl asked, aghast at the wreckage around them. “What happened here?”
Almost in response, a pile of rubble shifted as if of its own accord. The girls soon saw Blok emerge from beneath the debris, shielding both Bouncing Boy and Supergirl with his indestructible form. “Mon-El!” Supergirl gasped. “Lazon said he killed him!”
“I’m fine,” Mon-El answered, descending towards the others carrying Quislet’s inert ship under one arm. “I still feel a little weak, but I knew I had no chance of escaping Lazon so I made sure to fly towards the yellow star which Takron-Galtos orbits. I was close enough when he struck that it didn’t take me long to start building back to full strength afterwards, and my transuit protected me from the vacuum. I would have been back sooner, but I wanted to make sure Quislet was okay.”
“Quislet still can’t work ship!” the little creature’s muffled voice chimed in. “How can Quislet save the day if he can’t get out of ship?”
“I’m sure Brainiac 5 can help there,” Mon-El replied. “That’ll need to wait though. Once we’re rested, we need to call for backup and pursue the League of Super-Assassins. Who knows what they’ve got planned?”
“I don’t know what they’ve got planned,” Dream Girl announced, “But I can tell you where they’re headed. After Mist Master knocked us out, I had a vision that we’ll face them again on Zwen.”
“They’re not going anywhere near Zwen,” Dawnstar said simply. “I’ve been tracking them since we woke.”
“My visions are never wrong,” Dream Girl replied, tight-lipped.
“Nor is my power,” Dawnstar countered coldly.
“I’m telling you, we need to go to Zwen!” Dream Girl began to get visibly agitated. “If we leave now, we can stop them before they do whatever crazy thing it is they’re doing!”
“Ladies, please.” Mon-El sighed. “Alright, here’s what we’re going to do. Dream Girl, take the cruiser. Take Bouncing Boy and Blok. Go where you need to go, but keep in contact and do not engage them unless there is absolutely no other choice. The rest of us will follow Dawnstar. Supergirl and I will be back to full strength in no time, and I’ll get Brainiac 5 to assemble a squad to meet us and repair Quislet’s ship.”
posted
THE LEGION OF SUBSTITUTE HEROES SATELLITE BASE 22,300 miles above Earth Chlorophyll Kid walked at a brisk pace through the satellite base his team had salvaged from Earth-Man’s villainous Justice League. It had taken them a while, but the Subs finally had this place feeling like their own. Small potted plants lined the corridors of the satellite, an aesthetic touch which also helped with air quality. Portraits of team members both past and present were magnetically attached to the base’s walls. To the left, a trophy room was filled with souvenirs of their many adventures. To the right, a reinforced room full of technology the Subs could use to hone their fighting prowess and practice using their powers.
Ral couldn’t help but feel a surge of pride. The Legion of Superheroes had offered to help with modifying the satellite to the Subs’ needs, but the Subs had wanted to do this on their own. The Subs’ resources might not be as bottomless as the more famous Legion, and their equipment perhaps a little older and a little more banged up, but this was their achievement. He stopped before a gleaming chrome door and waited patiently for the sensor to recognise him. After a moment, he pressed the manual release button and the door retreated into its recess with a slow dragging noise. We’ll get there, he told himself optimistically.
This was the Legion of Substitute Heroes’ meeting room, a massive half-dome beneath the ceiling of a glittering starscape. Holo-viewers lined one section of the wall, many of them constantly tuned into United Planets news channels so the heroes could be ready for any sign of trouble. A more advanced console stuck out like a cactus in a rainforest; this was one of few concessions made to the Legion of Superheroes’ offer of help, a secure datalink between the two teams. The console was coded to each Substitute Hero’s DNA to ensure it couldn’t be compromised by enemies. With this, the two teams could contact one another instantly whenever necessary. It also gave the Subs substantial access to the Legion’s case files.
In the centre of the room was a large round table, a sequoia trunk artificially grown by Ral himself, carved and finished by an artist friend of Rainbow Girl. The rest of the team sat around this table, awaiting their current leader.
“We were about to send a search party!” Fire Lad joked as Chlorophyll Kid approached the table. “What took you so long?”
“Sorry everyone,” Ral apologised, blushing slightly. “Cardio program ran longer than I expected.”
“Well, it’s working,” Rainbow Girl gave him an encouraging smile. “You look great, Ral!”
“Th-thanks, Dori,” he stammered, blushing more. Everyone knew Chlorophyll Kid had battled weight problems for some time now. He was intent on conquering them though, and refused to take the easy way out with cosmetic treatments. He was pleased that he was making visible progress, as embarassing as it was to be discussing it at all. “Okay, let’s call this meeting to order,” he announced in a slightly more authoritative tone. “First of all, I’d like to give an official welcome to our new active members, and a welcome back to our old members!”
Fire Lad, Rainbow Girl, Stone Boy and Polecat cheered as Antennae Lad, Color Kid, Porcupine Pete and Crystal Kid reacted in their own ways to the attention. “This is a big moment for us,” Chlorophyll Kid continued. “The Subs have never had nine active members before! Now--” The green-garbed hero was interrupted by a strobing red light.
“That’s the perimeter alarm!” Stone Boy stood and ran to one of the ubiquitous consoles along the wall. The rest of the team followed closely. “Someone’s come in through one of the maintenance airlocks!” he continued, pointing to five beeping dots grouped closely together on a flickering three-dimensional map of the base.
“Who’d attack the Substitute Heroes?” Crystal Kid asked incredulously.
“We have enemies!” Antennae Lad snapped.
“Come on,” Chlorophyll Kid marched towards the door. “Let’s find out, team!”
The Subs made their way as a group through the satellite, stopping only when they reached the large rec room two levels down. The room was filled with games, sofas and a small cinema. Sectioned off by translucent sheeting was a small kitchenette with a public dining area. The rec room had four entrances, and standing in the doorway of one of those entrances directly opposite the heroes were their intruders.
“The League of Super-Assassins?!” Fire Lad exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”
“You’ll die wondering,” Neutrax answered with a cold smile. “League, take them.”
Neutrax himself struck first, an emerald beam flashing forth from his visor. Fire Lad threw his arms in front of his face instinctively to no avail. He exhaled sharply, but no flame came forth. “My power! He’s neutralised my power!”
“You’re going to have a lot more to worry about than that soon enough,” Silver Slasher hissed, talons flashing as she charged the skinny hero.
“I think there’s been a misunderstanding,” Chlorophyll Kid remarked as he threw a handful of seeds in the gleaming killer’s path. “You invaded our home, you’re the ones who need to be worried.” A mass of thick vines instantaneously sprung up and around the Slasher, tripping and ensnaring her.
“Bouncing Boy and Duplicate Damsel taught us about these psychos at the Academy!” Crystal Kid announced, gesturing at Lazon. A crystalline sheath began to form around the villain from the ground up. Before it had climbed past more than his ankles, he transformed into an intense beam of light and shot forward. Crystal Kid collapsed with an agonised scream, his uniform in tatters and his skin charred.
“Then they should have warned you I move at the speed of light,” Lazon boasted. “Perhaps you’ll choose wiser targets in your next life.” He beamed next towards Rainbow Girl but she split into seven identical duplicates, each one a different color. Lazon missed his intended victim, shot harmlessly through Mist Master’s vaporous form closing on Antennae Lad and Polecat, and smashed through one of the satellite’s interior walls.
The indigo Rainbow Girl ran to Crystal Kid’s side as her duplicates joined the battle. “I - I think he’s still alive,” she stammered. “But we need to get him to a hospital!”
“Hospital?” Titania snarled, marching towards her. “You’re all going to need a morgue by the time we’re done with you!” The other Rainbow Girls jumped the brawny villainess, and Titania tossed each one aside with savage indifference. The indigo Rainbow Girl grabbed her head and screamed as each of her colored selves slammed into furniture and the walls around them with fierce impact.
“Stop it!” Porcupine Pete yelled, standing in Titania’s path. “You’re killing her!” He fired a steady stream of quills at Titania, none of them inflicting even the mildest damage. She raised her fist to strike him down, but Pete stood his ground.
“Her face!” Fire Lad called out. “Pete, aim for her face!”
Realisation dawned on the unattractive hero’s face and he fired one final desperate volley of quills straight into Titania’s exposed face. She cried out in shock as the needle-like projectiles rained into her eyes, and half-blinded she only hit Pete with a glancing blow. He still flew across the room though, collecting Chlorophyll Kid and knocking both men out.
“Perhaps I should have neutralised more than simply your power,” Neutrax smiled coldly at Fire Lad. “Small matter, that can be remedied - what?!” The villain recoiled in his chair, his pale blue visor suddenly turning jet black.
“It’s Color Kid,” Silver Slasher shouted, hacking through layers of foliage. “Now that Chlorophyll Kid’s stopped growing these damn plants around me though, I’ll be out of here in a second!”
“Then let’s try for something a little more resistant than plants,” Stone Boy retorted. He threw himself over the metal woman, locking his arms and legs around her. Activating his own power, she was trapped inside his frozen grapple.
Fire Lad surveyed the room. Crystal Kid, Chlorophyll Kid and Porcupine Pete were all in bad shape. Mist Master hovered over the still bodies of Antennae Lad and Polecat. Stone Boy was going to be useless for the rest of the combat, but at least he had taken care of Silver Slasher. That only left himself, Color Kid, and - “Rainbow Girl!” he bellowed. “Look out!” The team’s lone female member registered a look of frightened apprehension before Lazon’s blazing form cannonballed straight through her.
“Staq, it’s fireworks time!” Color Kid bellowed. Years of experience working together meant that Fire Lad knew to close his eyes and keep them closed. He knew what he’d see if he opened them again; a dizzying onslaught of ever-changing colors which would make it almost impossible to even stand up straight, let alone engage in combat. From the startled yelps he was hearing around him, Color Kid’s visual assault was working. Suddenly, Fire Lad felt a pair of hands upon him and instinctively lashed out.
“Staq, stop!” Color Kid whispered. “It’s me, Ulu! Listen, I’m going to walk you to the corridor...once you get outside the rec room, run to the meeting room and call the Legion of Superheroes. Maybe Ultra Boy or Mon-El can get here in time -” He stopped mid-sentence, overcome with wracking coughs. Fire Lad, Titania and Neutrax soon joined him. Only Silver Slasher with her inhuman physiology and Lazon in his light form were spared. As Color Kid succumbed to loss of oxygen, his power shut off and it became clear that Mist Master had filled the entire room with his noxious vapours. The green mists converged into humanoid proportions once everyone affected had collapsed, and he regained his normal form.
“I hope Neutrax and Titania aren’t angry,” Mist Master declared anxiously. “I just thought...even not being able to see anything, if I filled the whole room with mists that would have to do the job...I did the right thing, didn’t I?”
Titania was already recovering, so Lazon resumed human form and helped her stand. “You did well, cousin. We can help Neutrax recover once we’re en route to Zwen. We came here for Khor, let us retrieve him and depart.”
“Khor doesn’t need retrieval,” a gravelly voice joined the conversation. Silver Slasher gaped in shock as the still petrified form of Stone Boy released its grip on her and stood before them all. A self-satisfied smile crossed Stone Boy’s hardened features as he continued. “Khor is right here, and proud of his young cousins.” He offered a hand to the still bewildered Slasher as she shredded through the remainder of her leafy prison.
“Now, let us raise Dryad to sweet life.”
TO BE CONTINUED!
-------------------- Read the alternate adventures of the Legion after Legion of Three Worlds! postlo3w
Registered: Nov 2009
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Nice cliffhanger! Oh I do love a good cliffhanger, definitely waiting with baited breath for more, more, more
Good use of Chuck's abilities and intelligence, Blok's compassion, Quislets disappointment at not saving the day and Kara's over confidence in the first part of the story.
Haven't the Subs beaten the League of Assassins before? That said, I like your line-up of the subs, lots of potential there.
Great stuff Raz!
-------------------- "Tempus Fugitive" the final part of the Adventures of Dream Boy series, set in the Three-Boot Universe. Read it only in the Bits o' Legionnaire Business Forum.
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The Subs have beat the Assassins before (with an ambush attack)...hopefully this storyline doesn't tear the Subs down so much as it builds up how deadly the Super-Assassins should really be. I don't think there's any shame in being taken down by bad guys who can beat Supergirl or Mon-El.
-------------------- Read the alternate adventures of the Legion after Legion of Three Worlds! postlo3w
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I could have sworn I'd commented before... In any case, I agree with Harbinger's comments on the first part. I'd like to add the Dawnstar-Dream Girl disagreement was hilarious and believable!
As for Part 2, awesome as well. That was a great battle scene, and you juggled the large number of characters well. Props on having Ulu, Staq, Ral, Dori and Dag all show excellent strategy in battle.
(PS, are you still having Infectious Lass be lost in the timestream?)
posted
Funny you should mention Infectious Lass, she is gonna make an appearance in Part 3 (which hopefully should be up tonight, I have been distracted planning an overseas holiday so haven't had much chance to write recently....I am gonna try and get at least this storyline finished before I go though).
Glad peeps are liking it!
-------------------- Read the alternate adventures of the Legion after Legion of Three Worlds! postlo3w
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MEDICUS ONE Earth Orbit Night Girl turned away from the hospital satellite’s window as a Legion cruiser disappeared into the star-filled void beyond. “Brainiac 5, Wildfire and Kid Computo are on their way to repair Quislet’s ship,” she reported to the five Legionnaires before her. “Dream Girl’s team will let us know what leads they get on Zwen...let’s see what we can find out from this end.” The statuesque heroine walked briskly through the pristine corridors of Medicus One closely followed by Duplicate Damsel, Polar Boy, Tellus, Infectious Lass and Invisible Kid.
Keeping up with his loping gait, Tellus regarded each of his comrades with silent curiosity. My friends, he addressed the group telepathically so as to keep their conversation private, I am sensing a great deal of emotional turbulence from some of you. May I ask why? Is there anything I can do to assist you?
Night Girl slowed down, facing Tellus as she answered his question verbally. “Polar Boy, Infectious Lass and I were members of the Subs - the Legion of Substitute Heroes - long before we joined the Legion of Superheroes, Tellus. They’re more than just ex-teammates to us, they’re some of our oldest friends.”
“Hey, here’s a couple of them now!” Polar Boy interrupted. “Fire Lad, Color Kid...shouldn’t you two be in bed?”
The two Subs approached the Legionnaires, greeting them all warmly. “We were lucky,” Fire Lad explained. “Ulu and I never actually sustained any real damage outside of a little oxygen deprivation, Mist Master couldn’t do anything too nasty to us without hurting his own team...and I’m from Shwar, I’m used to not having much oxygen to work with. I recovered pretty much as soon as the League of Super-Assassins left and our base’s air filters kicked in again.”
“I don’t understand!” Infectious Lass exclaimed. “What possible reason could the League of Super-Assassins have to attack you?”
“Oui,” Invisible Kid nodded. “It seems tres bizarre.”
“Revenge,” Polar Boy punched his open palm. “We defeated them a long time ago, when Night Girl and I were both still on the team. We should have known they’d come after us one day.”
Color Kid and Fire Lad exchanged glances. “I...don’t think that’s it actually,” Color Kid disagreed gently. “I mean, if it’s just revenge they wanted, why wait so long? They’ve never been shy about coming after the Legion of Superheroes, why wait this long to attack the Subs? And why not make sure to kill us if that’s what they really wanted?”
Night Girl touched Color Kid’s arm. “Ulu...how are the others? Can we see them?”
“Sure,” Color Kid answered. “They’re mostly in a bad way, but the docs think they’ll pull through.” Color Kid and Fire Lad led the entourage of heroes to a viewing window. In a sterile room on the other side of the plexiglass, a bruised Chlorophyll Kid waved weakly at them. To his left, Polecat and Antennae Lad slept soundly in their own beds. Both men appeared physically unscathed, and both wore oxygen masks. In the next bed along, Porcupine Pete slumbered. His face was so swollen and discoloured though that it was only the quills poking through his bedsheets that gave his identity away.
Infectious Lass gasped, leaning against the window. “Pete?” Eyes wide, she faced Fire Lad. “Pete came back? When? Why now?? He was so angry at me when I joined the Legion, he left without a word! I - I didn’t think I’d ever see him again!”
Fire Lad and Color Kid were both visibly stunned. “Angry?” Color Kid repeated incredulously. “Infectious Lass, Pete was never angry...he was ashamed! When you joined the Legion, he felt like he wasn’t good enough for you anymore...he decided then and there to find some way to control his power properly, so he left the Subs in search of some way to do that and he found it on one of the border planets somewhere. He came back to Earth to try out for the Legion again but by that time - by that time...” He faltered, realising too late the awkward corner he’d talked himself into.
“...By that time,” Drura finished for him, her voice breaking with emotion, “I’d met Jacques.” Invisible Kid stood behind her, his hands on her slender shoulders. She reached up and touched one of his hands with her own. “And so he decided to go back to the Subs. Just in time to be beaten almost to death.” She turned around and nestled into Jacques, an uncomfortable sadness hanging over all of them.
“What about Crystal Kid and the others?” Duplicate Damsel finally asked.
“It’s not pleasant,” Fire Lad warned them somberly. “Come on.”
The assembled heroes soon found themselves at another of Medicus One’s ubiquitous viewing windows. This room contained three nutri-tanks. One was empty and drained of fluid, the other two contained a patient each; Crystal Kid and Rainbow Girl. They were both mercifully unconscious, and both were naked, bald and severely burned from head to toe. A middle-aged man stood at Rainbow Girl’s tube, tears streaming down his cheeks as he gazed up at the floating heroine.
“That’s Irveang Polamar,” Fire Lad explained in hushed tones. “Rainbow Girl’s husband. He came as soon as he heard and he hasn’t left her side since he got here.”
Duplicate Damsel’s face hardened as she looked at the state of Crystal Kid, her former student. “We need to get these bastards,” she said simply. “We need to bring them to justice.”
“And we need to find out what they did to Stone Boy,” Color Kid sighed. “When we regained consciousness, the Super-Assassins were gone, but so was Dag. We don’t know if they took him captive, if he’s tried to follow them alone, if...if anything else happened. We don’t know where to find them. We don’t know why they came or where they’ve gone.”
“About that...” Fire Lad stroked his chin thoughtfully. “I’ve got an idea. You know how I was saying Mist Master’s attack didn’t affect me as badly as it did anyone else because Shwar’s atmosphere is thinner than most habitable planets anyway? I was fading in and out of consciousness before they left...I know I heard them talking, but I was too groggy to retain what they were saying. But maybe...” he looked in Tellus’ direction.
Polar Boy snapped his fingers. “Maybe Tellus can help you remember!” he burst out. “Staq, that’s brilliant!”
I am certainly happy to try, the Hykraian projected to them all telepathically. Tellus sat opposite Fire Lad on his giant haunches, powerful forelimbs supporting his weight as he leaned forward. Fire Lad, if you will relax your mind...think back to those moments, the sounds you heard...like creatures swimming through Great Mother Ocean. Do not attempt to pull them from the current but rather allow the current to wash over you, allow those memories to come closer, to merge....
“I’ve got it!” Fire Lad almost shouted as his own memories replayed with perfect clarity. “Come on, let’s go!”
“Maybe you should let the Legion of Superheroes handle this from here on out,” Polar Boy suggested. “You two are still injured and -”
Fire Lad advanced on his former leader, glaring down his nose at him as tiny jets of flame shot from each nostril. “And what?” Fire Lad challenged him. “You might have forgotten what it’s like to be a Sub since you left us in the dust, Polar Boy, but we support each other. We’re there for each other. And we don’t let other people do our dirty work for us.”
“It’s not like that,” Polar Boy retorted defensively. “It’s just...Color Kid doesn’t even have an offensive power for crying out loud! I just don’t want you to die!”
“Ulu was more effective against that team of monsters than the rest of us combined.” Fire Lad’s stance stiffened, his fists curled at his side. “The entire active roster of the Legion of Substitute Heroes may be me and Color Kid right now, but you’re going to have to knock us out yourself to stop us from seeing this through.”
“That won’t be necessary, Staq.” Night Girl stepped between Fire Lad and Polar Boy and placed a hand on each of their shoulders. “There was never a question that there would be a place on this mission for any of the Subs who wanted to come. Now...where are we going?”
“Zwen,” Fire Lad answered. “They were joined by somebody named Khor and I heard them say they’re going to Zwen.”
********** ZWEN Wentim Valley Blok effortlessly trudged through snowdrifts which reached as high as his waist while Dream Girl and Bouncing Boy’s flight rings enabled them to fly above the drifts altogether. Dream Girl hugged herself and shuddered as snowflakes whipped through the air around them on sub-zero winds.
“Dream Girl, is your transuit malfunctioning?” Blok asked, confused.
“My transuit’s working fine,” the platinum blonde replied. “It’s just creepy being on Zwen during its long night. With most of the native animal life either in hibernation or having migrated dayside and Stone Boy’s people all petrified, it’s like a ghost world here!”
“I find the solitude peaceful,” Blok offered an opposing view. “Though I must admit, I struggle to see what value the League of Super-Assassins could find here at this time. Are you certain we have come to the right place, Dream Girl?”
“I’m sure of it,” Nura answered. “It was definitely night-time in my vision. We fought the League at the base of a monument erected in Stone Boy’s honor. I know it’s in this valley somewhere, once we’ve found that maybe everything else will fall into place.”
Bouncing Boy remained silent. He trusted Dream Girl’s power, but he also shared Blok’s curiosity. Aside from one extremely bored Angtuan Science Police officer keeping Zwen safe from would-be looters while its people slept, the three heroes hadn’t come across a single sign of life since their arrival here. A geological oddity of Zwen meant that all the surface area worth colonising here was on the same hemisphere. A few adventurous souls made a life for themselves in the arid areas on the other side of the planet, but over 98% of the native population were currently in a state of suspended animation waiting for the sun to rise again. Unmoving statues of men, women and children surrounded them everywhere they went. The effect was certainly eerie, but it was also the one and only quirk that gave Zwen any fame at all in the United Planets. There was nothing particularly outstanding about the planet’s mineral makeup and with its people asleep for what amounted to months for most other UP worlds, Zwen generally lagged behind the rest of the UP both culturally and technologically. Chuck really couldn’t think of anything here the League of Super-Assassins would find at all appealing...if the Science Police Caretaker hadn’t kindly offered to turn Wentim Valley’s lights on for them, there wouldn’t even be anything to see; all non-essential power was normally shut off at night to conserve energy.
“There it is!” Dream Girl pointed. “The monument!” Blok and Bouncing Boy followed as Nura led them through the empty streets. Indeed, just as she’d predicted, there was a gigantic snow-covered statue of Stone Boy looming over the city. Bouncing Boy estimated that it must be at least 70 feet tall.
“Stone Boy’s people must be very proud of him,” Blok noted, using his own flight ring now to join his teammates as they ascended over rooftops and streets frozen in time.
“He’s from one of the most influential families here!” Dream Girl shouted to combat the whipping winds above street level. “The Wentims were one of the original colonists, that’s why this city’s named after them! It was their elevated position that gave him the advantages he needed to leave here and apply for the Legion way back when...not that you’d know it to speak to him, I only found out any of this myself when Thom and I served with the Subs a long time ago. He’s very humble, our friend Stone Boy!” She descended once more, hovering at the base of the statue. “Blok, could you be a dear and support me for a moment? Now that we’re here, I’m going to enter a trance and see if I can get any clues as to what our next move should be.”
“That won’t be necessary,” a gravelly voice interjected. Visibly startled, the three Legionnaires turned to its source, somewhere in the deep shadow of Stone Boy’s statue. The darkness was immediately dispelled as Lazon took his light form, the rest of his team standing beside him. Stone Boy stood with the villains, his body turned to stone like the rest of his people.
“They’ve got Stone Boy!” Bouncing Boy shouted, inflating himself.
“We do,” the same gravelly voice rumbled, “Though not in the sense that you think.” The Legionnaires realised with utter shock that the sound came from Stone Boy’s own mouth.
“I don’t understand,” Blok questioned, “I thought the natives of Zwen were truly petrified in their stone forms?”
“The natives of Zwen may not be able to move in stone form,” Stone Boy’s lips curled into a creaking smile, “But for the natives of Dryad, it is our birthright.”
Blok’s jaw dropped. “...Dryad? You...you are from Dryad..?”
“I am.” Stone Boy bowed his head slightly. “And I am pleased to formally make your acquaintance after all this time, cousin. You may call me Khor...and once my sorcery allows our people’s souls to inhabit the rest of these pitiful creatures, you may call me Dryad’s saviour.”
********** THE SORCEROR’S WORLD Deep beneath the ground’s surface, far from the gaze of anybody else in all the universe, the Black Witch completed her daily rituals.
Here at the foot of a winding bluestone staircase, with nothing before her but a lightless pit which led even she knew not where, Mysa Nal came each day to reinforce the spiritual and psychological barriers which suppressed the evil of Mordru the Merciless deep inside of her. The pit seemed to yawn open before her, its bottomless void a constant seductive call. She had given up so much to save her friends, to save her world...and the fantasy of surrendering it all to eternal night was a tempting one indeed. It was important for Mysa to know that siren call so that she could consciously deny it.
Physically and mentally exhausted, she began the slow walk back up the cold steps and craned her neck to see the pinprick of light which awaited her at the top of the staircase. This was the other reason she came down here each day; to remind herself that no matter how far she descended, there would always be light. No matter how long it took her to find it, the sunshine would once again bathe her skin.
The air pressure seemed to change slightly, and Mysa fancied that she heard the faintest whisper of noise from a place where no noise should live. She glared down at the pit below her and icy apprehension bit into her bones. The effect was so powerful that she gasped involuntarily, leaning against the wall to steady herself.
Death.
There was a vast and unnatural turbulence in the realms of Death...it originated on the material plane far far from here, but on such a scale that she knew she must act. Mysa sat upon the steps and held her head in her hands. She could not journey to Death’s realm herself to investigate this disturbance; she had the power to enter, but she did not trust that she had the power to leave. And she knew that Mordru would be waiting if she even tried. She was too spent right now for grand heroics at any rate, though she feared there wouldn’t be time for her to gather her strength for action later.
Harlak would be waiting for her at the surface. Harlak thought that Mysa didn’t know he waited in hiding each day, terrified that this would be the day she never came back. Could she trust him to act on her behalf? No; she could trust him to try but she could not trust him to succeed. When it came to solving impossible dilemmas, there was only one group to which the Black Witch could turn. She didn’t have the strength to summon heroes here and empower them to locate the source of this affront to Death however. Death’s servant must do her work for her.
Speaking words older than language, the Black Witch called into the pit. Minutes later, a wisp of black air trailed forth from the pit, sped past her chalk-white skin and flew straight up.
“Find the Legion of Superheroes,” she instructed, her voice hoarse. “Take them to the source of this turbulence. And may they forgive me for what I have cast upon them.”
TO BE CONTINUED!
-------------------- Read the alternate adventures of the Legion after Legion of Three Worlds! postlo3w
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ZWEN Wentim Valley In Stone Boy’s body underneath a gigantic statue erected in the Zwennite hero’s honor, the entity named Khor faced off against Bouncing Boy, Blok and Dream Girl. Lazon, Titania, Silver Slasher and Neutrax stood beside Khor in the freezing snow. The atmosphere was tense, to say the least.
“I don’t understand,” Blok pleaded. “Stone Boy has been a staunch ally of the Legion of Superheroes for years, long before the destruction of Dryad! Yet here he stands before us, claiming to be a fellow survivor of the tragedy that befell my homeworld? It makes no sense!”
“We must exercise tolerance, cousin,” Khor addressed Titania’s taunt. “This must be a difficult thing for Blok to take in...to have thought all this time that his people were dead, to face the hope that they are so close to life again...I understand his confusion, as you yourselves were confused when I first made contact with you.” Khor turned to the Legionnaires, and Dream Girl had to suppress a shudder of revulsion at the placid smile on Stone Boy’s face.
“Allow me to explain,” Khor continued. “You are young by our people’s standards, Blok. But I am old...very old. And in my time I have amassed a great deal of mystical knowledge. I knew that our homeworld was going to meet its end, and I knew that those of you present today would live through this. I also knew that, unfortunately, my corporeal form would not survive.
Before our world entered its death throes, I cast my soul into you, Blok. Your form was young, strong, and you would have served a higher purpose in life as my host. But then the Dark Man came with his predations. I was too weak from my own soul transference spell to fight him. When the Dark Man set to brainwashing you all with his machines, my only choice was to hide...and so I hid. I hid in your deepest recesses, waiting for the day when I could claim your form without restriction as my own.”
“That’s impossible,” Bouncing Boy interrupted. “Do you really expect us to believe that for years Blok has had a second psyche living inside of him and Saturn Girl or Tellus never noticed?”
“Our silicon forms render us immune from what you would consider conventional telepathy,” Khor explained in a matter of fact tone.
“What about my sister?” Dream Girl asked. “Surely Mysa would have sensed the presence of another sorceror!”
“Perhaps she did,” Blok answered slowly, grim realisation dawning. “Dream Girl, when we were last on the Sorceror’s World the Black Witch said that she sensed a wholeness to me which she had never before known...at the time, I thought she was simply being kind. But now, I wonder...”
“Your slow-witted reputation is undeserved,” Khor confirmed Blok’s suspicions. “The witch did sense my presence, from the moment she and Blok first laid eyes upon one another. But not ever having known a silicon man before, how would she know that what she sensed was not simply Blok’s own unique nature?”
“So what does Stone Boy have to do with any of this?” Bouncing Boy asked.
“You will recall the injuries Blok sustained in your most recent battle with Mordru the Merciless,” Khor replied. “Even Blok is not powerful enough that he could have recovered from Mordru’s assault while simultaneously abiding my presence. Despite my best efforts, he began to decay.
When your new recruit Dragonmage summoned an elemental spirit to heal Blok’s wounds, I knew that I would be cast from my cousin if I did not take immediate control. I would be condemned to an eternal existence without physicality. I was not strong enough to take overt possession of Blok’s body and fight the Legion of Superheroes as would surely result. So I fled once more to the nearest receptacle. Weak as I was, I did not even know at the time where I was going...all I knew was that I must survive. Stone Boy was present, and while he was in his soft form I slept. I regained my vigor with only the faintest hint of awareness. But when he first turned to stone....in that one moment, I was rewarded for all my tribulations. Here, I was the only conscious mind. I didn’t have to fight or avoid detection. Stone Boy slept while I retained dominance. And so, I bade my time...and on each occasion that Stone Boy used his power, I became stronger.” Khor turned back towards the League of Super-Assassins at this point. “Eventually I became strong enough to send a call through the ether to my cousins here, and even to animate this stiff form...I knew that the League of Super-Assassins would be sympathetic to my plight. I knew that they would bring me to Stone Boy’s world, where a populace of dormant bodies wait to house Dryadian souls.”
“What of Stone Boy’s people?” Blok asked. “What of the Zwennites?”
“They will bear the privilege which was once meant for you,” Khor decreed. “Their lives will hold greater significance for having helped the lost souls of Dryad exist once more on this plane.” He faced Dream Girl and Bouncing Boy specifically. “You two however...you will not be so lucky. Blok may bear witness to our people’s resurrection. You may not.”
Dream Girl rolled her eyes. “This is the part where Mist Master tries to asphyxiate us, right? Even if I hadn’t foreseen this before we ever arrived on this planet, did you think we wouldn’t notice that he isn’t gathered with the rest of your cronies?” A sickly verdant haze filled the air around the Legionnaires as Dream Girl spoke.
“Fall, damn it!” Mist Master complained. “Why won’t you fall?!”
Bouncing Boy’s form careened straight into the middle of the remaining Super-Assassins, scattering them. “Lucky for us it’s awfully chilly on Zwen this time of night,” Bouncing Boy joked. “Chilly enough for our transuits to activate automatically, which means we’re in a fully sealed environment.”
“Which makes Mist Master functionally useless,” Dream Girl added, charging straight through his gaseous form and into Neutrax. “Now let’s see what we can do about the rest of you.”
Bouncing Boy and Dream Girl both sounded jovial, but even with Blok on their side they knew they were in for the fight of their lives.
********** EARTH Metropolis, Weisinger Plaza “Thanks again for picking us up from the spaceport, honey.” Colossal Boy gave his wife a peck on the cheek. “Sun Boy and Chameleon Boy had their own business to attend to once we got back to Earth, but with our flight rings not working, I wasn’t looking forward to battling through the traffic in this city myself...not after what we’ve just been through.”
Chameleon Girl gripped her husband’s hand and allowed her head to rest on his shoulder while the cab’s autopilot steered them towards Legion Headquarters. She could see Star Boy and Dragonmage sitting in the back seat behind them, their faces reflected in the windows of the cab. All of them looked miserable. “What did happen out there?” Yera asked.
“I failed,” Star Boy answered flatly. “A young girl died because I couldn’t do my job properly.”
“Don’t beat yourself up over it,” Colossal Boy soothed. “We were all there, buddy...you don’t have to carry this on your shoulders alone.”
“You didn’t see her brother’s face when I had to explain what had happened to Xanthugov,” Star Boy sighed, looking out the window as he rested his chin on one white-gloved fist. “James Cullen is never going to forgive me for his sister’s death. He doesn’t blame the Legion. He blames me. And I can’t fault him for it.”
Dragonmage suddenly flinched dramatically, attracting Star Boy’s attention. “Are you okay, kid?” Thom asked.
“I think so,” Dragonmage replied uneasily. “I just felt like something walked on my grave, I--” He stopped talking as a gigantic shadow suddenly passed over the flying cab. “What was that??” the Asian sorceror exclaimed, peering outside the window.
“That looks like trouble,” Colossal Boy observed. “Check it out!” He pointed, and all four Legionnaires looked to see something none of them could describe. It seemed to be a gigantic serpentine skeleton sheathed in black air which faded into invisibility at its edges. It was large enough that it could easily swallow their five seater air taxi in one gulp were it so inclined, and it seemed to be heading straight for Legion headquarters at the end of the street.
“Damn it,” Star Boy cursed. “Without our flight rings, we can’t intercept that thing...we can’t even warn the Legion.”
“Maybe you can’t,” Chameleon Girl retorted, “Nothing’s stopping me from warning them, though I think I might try something a little more direct as well.” She twisted her own flight ring to activate its emergency signal, and then began to climb out the nearest window.
“Honey, wait!” Colossal Boy grabbed her arm. “Take me with you...let’s give that thing something its own size to pick on!”
Yera nodded, shifting into a giant bird with fiery orange wings as she left the cab. She held her husband in oversized talons, diving down through the hectic sky traffic to drop Gim off at ground level before she veered straight up again. She approached the bone creature front on, making a raucous noise to attract its attention.
As though it weren’t even there, the skeleton flew straight through Yera’s bird form. Chameleon Girl screamed a chilling noise that sounded as animal as it did human and collapsed immediately. Having already grown to giant size himself, Colossal Boy caught his wife with an anguished cry and lowered her gently to the ground. “That’s my wife you just hurt!” he roared, reaching for the flying skeleton.
Dragonmage tried to call out a warning from within the cab, but he was too late - Gim Allon clutched at the creature with two enormous hands, uttered a sharp gasp of pain and keeled over backwards. “He’s too big!” Dragonmage cried out. “He’ll crush half the street at that size!”
Bizarrely, Colossal Boy simply stopped falling in mid-collapse and floated insensate before them. Every vehicle in the street including the cab holding Star Boy and Dragonmage simultaneously stopped moving with a jarring jolt before they all started moving away from the scene as if of their volition. “Look!” Star Boy gestured. “It’s the Legion!”
Sure enough, Cosmic Boy’s magnetism gently moved the traffic away from the scene of battle to protect any innocents. Light Lad levitated Colossal Boy’s enormous body straight up and out of the vicinity. Superboy, Ultra Boy and Lightning Lass approached the bone creature itself from different angles while Tyroc landed by Chameleon Girl and teleported her away with one of his screams.
“Let’s get out of this cab before Cosmic Boy moves us too far away from the action,” Star Boy suggested. “Can you magic us up a ride?”
“Of course,” Dragonmage complied. He concentrated for a moment and a shining scaled dragon appeared beside their vehicle, large enough for both of the heroes to sit upon it comfortably.
“My lightning’s not having any effect!” Lightning Lass shouted as she fired one blast after another. “Whatever that thing is, it’s like it doesn’t even notice!”
Superboy circled the creature at blinding speed, intercepting each one of Ayla’s blasts with his own invulnerable body to prevent collateral damage. “It’s like a ghost!” the teen of steel remarked. “We can’t even touch it, did you see what it did to Colossal Boy and Chameleon Girl?”
“Maybe we just need to try something a little more creative,” Ultra Boy pondered out loud. He zipped beneath the creature, took a deep breath and tried to literally blow it away with an exhalation of air powered by ultra-energy.
“Good idea,” Nightwind’s voice added as she arrived on the scene with several other Legionnaires. She added her own air control powers to Ultra Boy’s plan, buffeting the creature with gale-force winds. For the first time, the creature seemed to be affected. It was thrown temporarily off course before turning towards the source of the assault and zooming straight down at the heroes.
A quick shift to speed moved Ultra Boy out of the creature’s path but he was struck by its tail whipping behind it, and he too fell from the sky. Superboy caught his fallen comrade as Nightwind herself barely managed to stay ahead of the creature. Its terrifying maw opened wide as it came closer, and Berta thought for sure she was doomed. Suddenly she felt lithe arms around her as Comet Queen tackled her and zoomed away faster than the creature could follow. “Don’t want the sun set this early on your first Legion fight, starshine!” Comet Queen quipped.
“Thanks Grava,” Nightwind said gratefully. “That thing’s gaining speed though, what do you think it is?”
Comet Queen gave a quick glance behind her. “Parse me to the c-span, that old pile of bones is gonna red shift! We don’t need to outrace it if it can’t see us though...eat my stardust, ugly!” The gas trail emerging from the quirky heroine’s head became more opaque and soon thick clouds obscured it from their vision.
On the ground, Diamond Damsel, Shadow Lad and Element Lad stood grouped together. “Comet Queen can’t see through her own vapor trail, but that thing’s right behind them,” Diamond Damsel observed.
“It looks like some kind of reanimated skeleton,” Shadow Lad noted. “I’ve never seen anything like it before! I don’t know if my darkness will help, but it couldn’t hurt!” He gestured, and the creature was instantly cloaked in a sphere of shadow. The darkness did nothing.
“Let’s see if it can fly through a sheet of solid inertron that easily,” Element Lad said as he transformed ambient nitrogen molecules around the creature into the most indestructible substance in the known universe. The creature was not slowed down remotely, and Element Lad was forced to transform the dense cocoon back into gas before it fell to the street below.
Dragonmage and Star Boy’s mystical steed circled down towards Element Lad, evaporating into nothingness as the two heroes disembarked. “Not inertron!” Dragonmage shouted breathlessly. “Element Lad, try a spear of pure silver!”
“That thing’s more of a ghost than Phantom Girl!” Diamond Damsel exclaimed. “If inertron didn’t stop it, what good will silver do?”
“Call it a hunch,” Dragonmage replied. “I’m not completely certain what that creature is, but it’s emanating so much mystical energy...it can’t possibly be anything natural, and silver is anathema to some supernatural entities.”
“If you think it’s worth trying, I’ll do it,” Element Lad agreed. He focused once more on the air in front of the bone creature, and a shining rod of silver appeared before it. The creature was moving so fast that it couldn’t avert its path in time. It made no sound, but the instant it passed through the metal a sympathetic wave of pain passed through every single person present. The creature forgot about Nightwind and Comet Queen and veered straight for Element Lad’s group.
The heroes scattered, Element Lad creating another wall of silver between them and the deadly apparition. It flew straight through the barrier, again subjecting them all to a wave of pain. Most of the Legionnaires evaded the creature’s power dive, but it flew straight through Element Lad and Shadow Lad. Both men screamed a bone-chilling wail of agony as they dropped to the ground.
“That’s enough!” Dragonmage bellowed. He glared at the bone creature, uttering incantations that made the other Legionnaires’ skin crawl. It was only now, with the creature and the young sorceror engaged in a fierce contest of wills that it occurred to them this thing didn’t look like a snake...it looked like a dragon.
The bone dragon slithered towards Dragonmage slowly, deliberately. “I’m trying to increase its mass!” Star Boy shouted. “But I don’t think it’s working!”
“No...no, I think this one’s in Dragonmage’s court,” Diamond Damsel responded, watching the mystic stand-off along with a dozen other Legionnaires now gathered around them.
Superboy brandished the silver spear Element Lad had created, having left Ultra Boy in Phantom Girl’s care on a nearby rooftop. “I - I don’t want to kill it,” Superboy called out, “But nothing else seems to be working...what do we do, Legion?”
“You can’t kill it,” Dragonmage said, his voice shaking with exhaustion. “It’s already dead.” He collapsed to his knees before the creature. The bone dragon bowed its skull in deference to the young mage and remained motionless before him.
Star Boy helped Dragonmage get to his feet. “What do you mean, it’s dead?” Thom asked. “Dragonmage, what is that thing?”
Dragonmage wiped sweat from his brow. “It’s a dragon...it’s a dragon from the realms of death. And it wasn’t sent here to fight us, or it would have killed those it touched rather than just leave them comatose.”
“Then why was it sent?” Diamond Damsel asked, eyeing the prone creature suspiciously.
Dragonmage looked up at the gleaming heroine. “It wants us to follow it,” he breathed wearily.
“Death needs our help.”
********** ZWEN Wentim Valley The League of Super-Assassins watched with mounting excitement as Khor sat cross-legged before them. All of them could feel the swirl of mystical energy in the air around them. It made the air somehow colder than even the driving snows and set their teeth on edge.
“Please!” Blok bellowed. “Cousins, it is not too late to stop this!”
The League had not been able to defeat Blok directly...Bouncing Boy and Dream Girl though were far more vulnerable than their stone comrade. Chuck and Nura had put up the best fight anyone could ask of them, but it was only a matter of time before they’d been overpowered. To keep his friends alive, Blok had agreed to surrender. He was now tied to one leg of the colossal statue of Stone Boy with nothing stronger than wire, which the villains had scavenged from nearby residences. To keep the inhumanly strong Legionnaire from breaking free the League had bound the unconscious forms of Bouncing Boy and Dream Girl along with him, one tied to each of Blok’s powerful arms. The way they were secured, Blok could break free at any time he wished but he would surely tear his friends apart if he did so. He had no choice but to sit and watch helplessly.
Silver Slasher approached Blok. Careful to avoid the wire binding him, she slashed at his face with her razor-sharp claws. The Slasher’s claws penetrated less than a centimetre through his rocky exterior, but it was the gesture which hurt him more than the assault itself. “You disgust me!” she spat. “Bad enough that you side with the Legion, with the monsters who did this to us, but now you ask us to stop the resurrection of our people? You are worse than a traitor!”
“Blok is no traitor,” a new voice challenged the villain. The League saw Night Girl enter the artificial glare of Wentim Valley’s streetlights. Infectious Lass, Tellus, Duplicate Damsel, Polar Boy, Invisible Kid, Fire Lad and Color Kid walked through the snow beside her. “Blok is a good man who understands that this is wrong,” Night Girl continued. “We can’t let you hurt Stone Boy’s people to save your own, surely you must have known you were never going to get away with this.”
Khor looked up at the approaching heroes with a smug expression. “You’re not going to let us get away with this, Night Girl?” he asked. “Why, we already have.”
“Night Girl, look!” Infectious Lass gasped.
All around them, the petrified limbs of the citizens of Zwen creaked into life. The Zwennites ambled forward, shuffling through the cold like zombies.
“Welcome to New Dryad,” Khor smiled. “And now, you must die.”
TO BE CONCLUDED!
-------------------- Read the alternate adventures of the Legion after Legion of Three Worlds! postlo3w
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This is great Raz, fab personalities, tightly plotted story and a classic cliffhanger! More, more, more!!
-------------------- "Tempus Fugitive" the final part of the Adventures of Dream Boy series, set in the Three-Boot Universe. Read it only in the Bits o' Legionnaire Business Forum.
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Thanks Harbinger! I should have the final chapter up sometime this weekend! If I may provide a slight spoiler, Fire Lad and Color Kid do something that is SO AWESOME THAT IT BLEW MY MIND AS SOON AS I THOUGHT OF IT.
I have been catching up on the Amazers stuff too, it is excellent! Good work getting me to think Dream Boy is awesome when I never really thought twice about him in the comic!
-------------------- Read the alternate adventures of the Legion after Legion of Three Worlds! postlo3w
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Looking forward to what you having coming next Raz and thanks for your kind words on my work - greatly appreciated.
-------------------- "Tempus Fugitive" the final part of the Adventures of Dream Boy series, set in the Three-Boot Universe. Read it only in the Bits o' Legionnaire Business Forum.
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Took me a bit longer to get it finished than I thought it would, but without further ado, here be the final chapter! Wooh!!
DRYAD RISING Part 5: Ghosts In The Shell ZWEN Wentim Valley With the animated stone men and women of Zwen closing in on them as well as the League of Super-Assassins, Night Girl knew she had to act quickly. “Fire Lad; free Blok, Dream Girl and Bouncing Boy!” she barked. “Tellus; snap Stone Boy out of Khor’s control! Polar Boy, Color Kid, Infectious Lass; make sure Stone Boy’s people don’t kill us while we’re trying to save them! Invisible Kid, Duplicate Damsel; help me take the League down...and Luornu, feel free to throw extra bodies at any other problems you can help solve! Let’s go, Legion!”
Duplicate Damsel created several identical copies of herself, and Invisible Kid drew closer to Night Girl as the rest of the heroes scrambled to follow their leader’s orders. “This is too funny!” Lazon laughed. “A powerless girl who can create even more powerless girls, a weakling whose only power is to hide, and the Legionnaire who loses all of her mighty strength in the merest presence of light...and here I am, a man made of light. Leave these fools to me, cousins...this should only take a moment.” Lazon’s human form was gone in that instant, replaced by a blazing beam of photons which fired straight at Night Girl. Before he had time to register the fact however, she was no longer there. Unable to alter his path in time, Lazon charged straight into the crowd of approaching Zwennites with a painful series of crashes.
“It is not just myself I can hide,” Jacques remarked, his hand on Night Girl’s arm as the two of them regained visibility. “Perhaps next time, a man made of light will not underestimate a man who can bend light, non?” Lazon was beyond hearing this however, knocked out in the midst of a half-dozen Zwennites who now scrambled awkwardly to their feet.
Fire Lad approached Silver Slasher and the captive Legionnaires. Two Duplicate Damsels climbed the small hill at the base of Stone Boy’s statue by Staq’s side.
“Your puny flames cannot hurt me,” Silver Slasher jeered, closing on the flame-haired hero. “But I can hurt you.”
“You know the problem with supervillains?” Fire Lad asked. “You all think you have to hurt somebody to stop them.” As the Slasher prepared to strike him, Fire Lad stepped to the side and breathed a line of flame which started at her feet and finished at the bottom of the hill he had just climbed. Losing her balance, Silver Slasher fell unceremoniously on her rear end and slid down the hill in slush which before Fire Lad’s assault had been a thick ground covering of snow. Before the Silver Slasher could make a comeback, Fire Lad ran straight up to Blok and exhaled a more controlled spurt of flame across the huge Legionnaire’s chest. He was careful not to burn the unprotected Legionnaires tied to Blok’s arms, and he knew his power couldn’t hurt Blok himself. It did however incinerate the wires binding Blok, Dream Girl and Bouncing Boy together. Blok fell to his hands and knees, the other two collapsing along with him.
As Blok stood and shook himself free of the remnants of the wire, Fire Lad and the two Duplicate Damsels tried to wake Dream Girl and Bouncing Boy. Fire Lad had managed to get a groaning Dream Girl to her feet when Nura suddenly gasped dramatically, her bright blue eyes wide with horror. “Down!” she yelped, sweeping Fire Lad off his feet. Silver Slasher’s arm swiped at lethal speed where Fire Lad’s neck had been only a second ago. She snipped locks of Dream Girl’s hair, then completed her terrible arc by slicing straight through one of the Duplicate Damsel’s throats. Luornu gurgled as she fell to the ground, the white snow around her running a deep red.
“Not my intended target,” Silver Slasher grinned evilly, “But I’d rather slay a Legionnaire than one of you Substitutes any day.”
Dream Girl, Fire Lad, Bouncing Boy and the remaining Luornu Durgo Taine were stunned into speechlessness at the graphic scene before them. The wounded Duplicate Damsel convulsed one final time and then lay still, her eyes staring lifelessly into the night sky.
A low growling noise came from somewhere, a noise which swiftly grew into a cry of terrifying but inarticulate rage. It took everybody a second to realise this noise was coming from Blok. The giant stone man punched Silver Slasher with a blow so powerful that she flew out of sight, her metallic form lost in the darkness beyond Wentim Valley’s streetlights. Enraged, Blok stalked towards the rest of the League of Super-Assassins.
“Luornu,” Chuck uttered her name in hushed tones, his eyes welling with tears. “Lu...I’m so sorry.” He hugged her tight, continuing. “I can’t imagine how you must be feeling right now...I - I don’t know what to say...”
“I don’t...I don’t feel anything...” she answered quietly. It made no sense. She had lost two bodies before, and both times had felt like the most horrific loss anyone could face. Yet, she had just witnessed her own death a third time and felt nothing at all. That shocked her more than the actual deaths. What did it mean?
Titania hurtled through the statue of Stone Boy standing over them, thrown by either Blok or Night Girl. Dream Girl and Fire Lad shoved Chuck and Luornu to a safe distance as heavy debris rained down around them. “I don’t mean to be rude,” Dream Girl snapped, “But we don’t have time for you two to fall apart right now...can you do this?”
Chuck shook his head, then stepped back from his wife and inflated his form. “Yeah...no, you’re right. Lu, we will deal with this, I swear to you. We have to concentrate on getting the rest of your selves out of here in one piece first though.”
“Yes...” Duplicate Damsel worded meekly, before her fearful expression changed to one of grim determination. “You’re both right,” she continued in a firm tone.
“Let’s finish this.”
********** “How are you two going over there?” Polar Boy shouted over the driving wind as he froze ten more advancing Zwennites inside a dense chunk of ice. Brek was glad that the Zwennites’ stone forms protected them from temperature extremes and the need to breathe, it made them so much easier to deal with. He was also glad that his transuit offered the same protection...as uncomfortably cold as he normally was off his homeworld, he didn’t want to think about how frigid this weather must be to the unprotected.
“This is so frustrating!” Infectious Lass answered, her brow furrowed with concentration. “I can’t find any micro-organisms capable of infecting people who’ve been turned to stone. I hate this, I feel so useless!”
“Lead them this way!” Color Kid suggested. “Whatever defences they’ve got going for them, they still navigate visually!” At first Infectious Lass had no idea what Color Kid was doing. Using his flight ring to stay just ahead of the mob, he had led dozens of them to crash through a construction site barrier. As soon as they stepped a couple of feet beyond the fence perimeter though, the possessed Zwennites suddenly vanished into the ground without a trace. It was then that Drura realised Color Kid had simply used his power to create the illusion of a vast snowy lot; in reality, they had fallen into a pit meant to house building foundations. The illusion was far from flawless, but it was enough to pass quick scrutiny in the middle of the night. Following her old teammate’s lead, she led her own Zwennite mob into the pit.
“That must be three or four stories deep!” Drura remarked, a little concerned. “They won’t be hurt, will they?”
“I’ve seen Stone Boy take worse damage than a four story drop,” Polar Boy joined the conversation as he created an ice ceiling to seal the mob inside the pit. “They’ll be fine, Infectious Lass.”
“I’m going to go back to the others,” Infectious Lass said. “I think I’ll be more use against the League of Super-Assassins.”
“Good luck,” Color Kid nodded. Once Drura had left their sight, Ulu turned to Polar Boy with a look of annoyance. “So,” he changed the subject, “Color Kid doesn’t even have an offensive power, huh? What was all that about?”
Polar Boy continued freezing Zwennites in their tracks as he answered. “Back at Medicus One, you mean? Look, I’m sorry about that...I just couldn’t live with myself if I let you guys get hurt, you know?”
“On account of how you abandoned us all years ago?” Color Kid asked with uncommon venom while he painted snowflakes in a kaleidoscope of colors to disorient a small group of Zwennites below.
Polar Boy stopped in mid-air and turned on Color Kid. “Why does everyone keep saying that?? Damn it, we all wanted to be in the Legion of Superheroes! The whole reason the Subs were formed is that we were united in our dream to one day join the Legion of Superheroes! I can’t help it if I made that dream happen, Ulu! Sprock, Night Girl graduated from the Subs to the Legion and you never give her this kind of grief!”
“That’s because Night Girl never left us behind to join the Legion of Superheroes. Night Girl never dissolved the Subs because we were an embarrassment to her. Night Girl has never been anything but proud of the legacy she helped create. When Earth-Man killed Double-Header, Night Girl came to his funeral. She made a point of telling his parents how it was an honor knowing him, even though they’d only met a couple of times. When I was in hospital having my eyes restored she visited as often as she could, and when she couldn’t visit she called. You didn’t do any of that! Night Girl moved on from the Subs, Polar Boy, but she never cast us aside. That’s why we don’t give her grief.”
“I visited,” Polar Boy said quietly.
“What?” Color Kid bellowed over the winds.
“I said I visited!” Polar Boy yelled back.
Color Kid scoffed. “Oh please, you didn’t visit once-”
“I came when you were asleep or in surgery,” Polar Boy explained. “I asked the medical staff not to tell you. I always left as soon as I saw Staq or any of the others because I didn’t want anyone to know I’d been there.”
“Because you were embarrassed!” Color Kid accused him.
“Because I felt responsible, damn it! What do you want me to say, Ulu? Yes, I was embarrassed of the Subs before I joined the Legion...I was young and stupid, I put my own self-interest ahead of any common human decency. I saw that the chance to join the Legion of Superheroes was right in front of me, and all I had to do to stand with my heroes was give up my friends who I thought had been holding me back. And you know what I found? I found that the Legion is just as flawed as we ever were! Then Double-Header died and you got hurt, and maybe if I’d been there none of that would ever have happened, but I gave up my friends to find out my heroes had feet of clay!” Polar Boy took a breath and exhaled slowly. “And you know, maybe it’s too late to do anything about any of that, but I can at least try to protect you now.”
“Brek, it’s not your responsibility to protect us,” Color Kid said, his tone only slightly less abrupt. “We’re your friends, not your duty...or at least, we should be friends. You say it’s too late to do anything about that, I say you don’t want to try. That’ll have to be a conversation for another time though. We’ve got work to do.”
Color Kid veered off into the driving snow, leaving Polar Boy alone with his thoughts.
********** “Stone Boy and Khor’s minds are equally impervious to my power!” Tellus’ electronically modulated voice cried out.
Night Girl cursed under her breath. Of course they were. Khor himself had said Blok’s mind was invulnerable to conventional telepathy, it made perfect sense that the same would hold true for Zwennites in their stone forms. “Forget Khor!” Night Girl commanded, “There are too many stone people for Polar Boy and the others to handle alone, use your telekinesis to help keep them at bay.”
Tellus obediently flew off towards the shambling mob, and Night Girl took a moment to survey the site. The League of Super-Assassins were putting up a surprisingly good fight. Lydda had no doubt the Legion could take them, but she was concerned that the longer it took the less likely they would be able to help Stone Boy and his people.
Silver Slasher suddenly zipped through the air as if propelled by an outside force. She smashed through a streetlight and came flashing straight past Night Girl where she intercepted a beam from Neutrax. Modulated specifically for Night Girl’s power, the beam ricocheted off of the Slasher’s metal hide harmlessly. Night Girl looked up to see the most surreal thing she had seen so far in a very surreal night. Cosmic Boy was riding what seemed to be a serpentine dragon made of bones. Dragonmage was at the base of the creature’s skull, his eyes rolled back in his head as he seemed to be whispering direction into it. Diamond Damsel, Comet Queen and Star Boy also sat upon the bone creature’s back behind Dragonmage and Cosmic Boy, a layer of what seemed to be vaguely defined darkness between them and the dragon’s bones. Cosmic Boy disembarked and landed by his lover’s side. “We got here a few minutes ago,” he explained. “Silver Slasher attacked us six blocks to the east so I’ve been carrying her with us magnetically and when I saw Neutrax set his sights on you, she was the first thing I could think of to block his power with.”
“Rokk, what are you all doing here?” Night Girl asked, confused. “Why didn’t you take a cruiser? What is that thing?” At her last question, she gestured at the bone dragon.
“Probably better if I let Dragonmage explain,” Cosmic Boy replied. “It’s all over my head, to be honest. Plus, it looks like we’re going to be a little preoccupied with these charmers.”
“You speak as though we’re nothing more than an inconvenience to you!” Silver Slasher spat, launching herself at Rokk and Lydda.
“Hush, you.” Night Girl casually backhanded Silver Slasher through a nearby wall before continuing her conversation with Cosmic Boy. “Rokk, now that you are here I’m not going to look a gift horse in the mouth...can you help Tellus shore up Polar Boy’s efforts? Stone Boy’s people have been possessed, we’ve barely been holding them back so far.”
“We’re on it,” Cosmic Boy nodded, taking to the sky once more. “Be careful, love.”
It was surprising how quickly the tide of battle turned with the new arrivals. Star Boy increased Mist Master’s mass to the point where he had no choice but to resume human form. Between them, Comet Queen and Infectious Lass had managed to keep Neutrax and Lazon subdued and disoriented. Silver Slasher was no longer a threat. A combination of telekinesis, magnetism and ice barriers kept most of the Zwennites at bay, and the remaining heroes were more than capable of holding back any stone people who did somehow sneak through. Of the League, only Titania was still in a position to fight, and that wasn’t going very well for her.
“Do you think I have wanted this?” Blok roared, raining blows down upon Titania one after the other. “Do you think it makes me happy to stand against the last survivors of my homeworld, to constantly struggle against the closest thing I can claim to real family? I have made excuse after excuse for you all, Titania! I have lived in hope that one day your minds would be clear of the evil the Dark Man inflicted upon us all, that one day you would stand in the light once more! But you do not want that! You live to play the role of monsters! You do not believe the Legion of Superheroes to be responsible for our world’s destruction any more than I do, it is just the rationalisation you use for your black deeds! No more, Titania! No more will you use the tragedy of Dryad to justify your own sick excesses, I swear!”
Blok suddenly felt strong arms holding him back. He instinctively began to fight back, only to see that Night Girl held him on one side and Diamond Damsel on the other. “Blok, that’s enough,” Night Girl said gently but firmly.
Blok dimly became aware of Titania lying beaten and bruised in the snow at his feet, and realised he may have killed her if his teammates had not intervened. His gigantic fists trembled as he stammered something in a voice too small for his large frame.
“It’s okay,” Diamond Damsel soothed him. Blok crouched into her embrace, oddly childlike in his need for comfort. “Let it go, Blok. Let all that anger go.”
Night Girl exchanged a sympathetic glance with Diamond Damsel and quietly backed away to give her and Blok their moment. Lydda approached Dragonmage, towering over the slim young sorceror. He stood beside the bone dragon, radiating an air of uncommon power. “Speak to me,” Lydda came straight to the point. “What’s going on, Xao?”
“This is an abomination,” he explained. “So many souls ripped from their afterlife, shunted into bodies which aren’t their own. They’re confused, scared, completely at Khor’s mercy. They don’t want this any more than we do but he’s too powerful for them to fight.
We need to stop this, Night Girl. Not just for Stone Boy’s people, not even just for Blok’s people. If this mass resurrection is allowed to proceed, it will cause an imbalance between the realms of life and death. Everything will fall apart. But we don’t have much time left. Khor is in the final phases of the spell now, the death dragon can feel it.”
“Can you use magic to change them back to human form?” Night Girl asked. “Khor said he slept while Stone Boy was human; his whole spell hinges on them being in stone form.”
“I wouldn’t know where to begin,” Dragonmage shook his head. “How did you wake Stone Boy when you were in the Subs?”
Night Girl sighed. “We didn’t. Dag has enough control of his transformations that he can time them perfectly, but normally his people sleep until the sun rises.” By this time, some of the others had gathered around the two.
An idea dawned on Fire Lad as he overheard. He looked up beyond the falling snow, into the cloudy beyond.
“Then we just need to make the sun rise,” he thought out loud.
********** Minutes later, Color Kid and Fire Lad were hovering high above the city streets. “You ready, Ulu?” Fire Lad asked.
“You really think this will work?” Color Kid returned with a question of his own. His pale skin made him seem almost spectral against the backdrop of the dark skies.
“Only one way to find out,” Fire Lad smiled with false confidence. Honestly though, now that they were here he wasn’t sure he had the power to do what needed to be done. The Subs had always made do with what power they had though, why should today be any different? Staq took a deep breath, inhaling cold air until he felt his lungs would burst. He exhaled into the sky above them, pushing his power harder than he had ever pushed it before. The two heroes immediately felt the intense heat of a massive fireball and were pushed back by the force of the air expanding beneath it.
Simultaneously, Color Kid reached out with his own abilities and bathed the world in golden hues. For a moment, it felt as though an early dawn had come to Zwen. It was a transient dawn however, Fire Lad’s makeshift sun fizzling out with nothing to sustain it. The sky was still aglow with morning’s light, but with no warmth the effect was sterile and artificial. “Damn it!” Fire Lad swore.
“Don’t contract your mass, sweetie!” Comet Queen suddenly appeared before them, her own golden form almost glowing in reaction to Color Kid’s power. “Maybe your red dwarf just needs its own nebula!”
Fire Lad stared dumbly at her.
“My comet trail!” Grava spelled it out to him as if deciphering her unique slang should be the simplest thing in the world. “Set fire to my comet trail, I can give you fireworks even a supernova couldn’t match!” She flew loops around the men, careful not to approach too close to them as a highly volatile blend of gases filled the skies around them. The winds were ferocious up here, but that fact worked in the heroes’ favor as plumes of gas spread far and wide. His hope restored, Fire Lad again unleashed incendiary breath.
This time it was as though the sky itself caught fire. In Wentim Valley, the Legionnaires felt the rush of warmth. They saw every surface painted in daylight, a ceiling of flame above them. “Mon dieu!” Invisible Kid cried out. “It is working!” The other Legionnaires cheered Comet Queen and the Subs on as all around them stone people transformed back into flesh and blood.
“No!” Khor raged, finally abandoning his ritual to stare down Blok and the others. “This will not stop me...I will restore Dryad to its glory and I don’t care how many of you weak animals I must kill to do it! I am powerful enough to resist this transparent ruse, and you will never end me without ending your friend!”
“Why are you doing this?” Neutrax screamed at Blok as Duplicate Damsel held the villain down. “Why are you working against our people?” Blok looked down at his feet quietly, overwhelmed with conflicting emotions.
“You know, I’ve had it with you idiots!” Diamond Damsel advanced on Neutrax angrily. “It might come as a surprise to you, you self-absorbed moron, but I understand what it’s like to be so angry you’ll hurt anyone to get what you want...but think about it, Neutrax. You were never going to get what you wanted out of this. What part of any of this makes you think Khor was ever going to do anything for anyone made of flesh and blood?”
“Diamond Damsel is right,” Blok added sadly in one final attempt to reach out to the man he considered his cousin. “Neutrax...I have had to consign my own people to oblivion for a second time today. My people. If Khor ever had any ability over your kinsmen of flesh and blood, he would never have needed to enlist the League of Super-Assasins’ help in the first place. It is what I have been trying to tell you all along. You have been used again.”
Neutrax fell silent. He wanted to disagree, but he knew deep in his soul that Blok was right. He supposed he’d always known, he just hadn’t wanted to face it. With strength borne of anger and grief, he punched Duplicate Damsel aside and glared at Stone Boy. Duplicate Damsel recovered and held Neutrax down once more, but not before a green beam struck Stone Boy’s body and neutralised the hero’s petrification ability. The hero reverted to human form and staggered backwards. “Zwen..?” he mumbled in a daze. “The Legion of Superheroes..? What..?”
Khor simmered with fury, his disembodied form circling the heroes as Stone Boy’s friends ran to support him. None of them could see or hear him, and none of them would be able to stop him from possessing another of the Zwennites. Despite the heroes’ best efforts, there must be a stone person somewhere on this world. It would take him a long long while to build the strength to confront them again, but he was no stranger to patience or solitude. In time, he would have his victory.
“That’s far enough, Khor.”
While Dragonmage’s physical form stood motionless below, the young sorceror’s astral form barred Khor’s way.
“What can you do, neophyte?” Khor laughed. “Your power was not sufficient to even detect me when I was released from Blok’s body, how can you possibly stop me now?”
“I wasn’t looking for you before,” Dragonmage replied coldly, “But you’re right. I’m not very powerful. In fact, it’s been taking everything I have to hold back the death dragon which brought us here...and I don’t think I can hold it back any more. Death isn’t very happy with you, Khor.”
To the eyes of the other heroes, the death dragon simply vanished. Dragonmage alone calmly watched it ascend from the material plane, watched it pounce upon Khor and tear the villain’s soul apart with snapping bone jaws. Once Khor’s wails had faded on the wind and the death dragon faded with them, Dragonmage returned to his own body.
“Dragonmage?” Star Boy asked as the boy’s eyes snapped open, “You okay kid? You looked like you spaced out there for a nano...that weird dragon’s gone, I guess that means we won?”
Dragonmage considered his response. Khor was gone now for all eternity. His fate had been justified, and Dragonmage knew he hadn’t violated the Legion’s code against killing; after all, Khor was already long dead. He didn’t know if the Legion would see it that way though.
“Yes,” he eventually nodded.
“I guess it does.”
-------------------- Read the alternate adventures of the Legion after Legion of Three Worlds! postlo3w
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