Legion World Forums LEGION OUTPOST Bits o' Legionnaire Business LMB Novella: The Lord of the Oval

Orbit of Daroon

"Permission to dock, Templar-7," Loser Lad asked the Space Knights Templar warship via his ship's communicator.

Granted. Docking bay opening.

Minutes later, Loser and the crew debarked from their ship with Fes Te having followed behind, flying under his own power.

Greeting them was Serj Ontranik, current member of the Space Knights Templar and former member of the Order of Lard Knights. Serj had wild, curly black hair and a long shock of black chin hair.

Serj and Loser quickly introduced themselves.

"It's good to see some Space Knights coming to our aid!" Loser said as he shook Serj's hand.

"A mutual friend sent me!" Serj grinned. "I believe you call him 'Lardy'!"

"Lardy? Shit! How is he?"

"Fine, last I saw about a week ago anyway. They knocked out the Dominion, but he, Cobalt and the others should be in Hive territory at this moment."

"Good luck to them," Loser said grimly. "Those bugs are relentless. If Daroon survives this, it'll never be the same."

"Well," Serj smiled, "we'll concentrate on the positive for the moment. Our Templar warship, its fighters and those Xylarian forces have just granted Daroon some breathing space, time at least to prepare for the next wave. Maybe time for some evacuations?"

"We'll discuss that possibility with Daroon's Queen within the hour," Loser agreed.

"Anyway," Serj continued, "Lardy wanted me here to help you guys and, well, to help protect his kids. Are they well?"

"Yeah...they're safe for the moment with Helen and the surviving royals."

"Good to hear. He'd be pretty cross with me if they weren't! I initially had permission to come along with only a few Knights, but the success of the Dominion campaign freed up a warship. I've a company of Knights and two dozen fighter craft aboard. It's not much, but its all we could spare."

"Certainly better than what we had yesterday," Loser observed. "Plus, we've just freed up more of the Xylarian forces to help, most likely!"

"I also made a side-trip and picked up some old pals of mine." Serj motioned to the far right, and a dozen sentients clad in blue with yellow trim stepped forward and bowed, swords held up.

Loser gasped. "Lard Knights?"

"Yes," Serj smiled, "I paid a visit to the Lard Monastery and convinced the Council that staying out of things, per their usual policy, was ill-advised. They were still hesitant until I mentioned Lardy's kids were here."

"Having their kind of power will certainly help," Loser said.

"Indeed. Let me introduce you to this mission's commander, Sir John..."

Sir John stepped forward and split into three identical men. "...the Carggite," Sir John completed with a wink.

Loser chuckled slightly and shook all three outstretched hands. He figured correctly that the two had premeditated this bit of levity. "Good to meet yous," he said with a grin.

Serj grinned again. "I also have an old friend of yours who's dying to get reacqainted..."

There was a stirring among the rank and file Templars as someone yelled, "LOU!"

It took Loser a moment to figure out who the voice belonged to until a large, furry brownish-red figure emerged. As the reality of whom this was dawned on him, Loser was left speechless.

The figure drew directly opposite Loser and half-growled, "you haven't forgotten ol' Lumber Fox, have ya?"

"Oh my God! Foxy! I haven't seen you in a decade! Where've you been?" Loser hugged the seven-foot tall vulpine man-beast ferociously. He was genuinely awed to see an old-time LMBer like himself, one who had left the team in its first or second year.

Lumber Fox broke the embrace and swatted Loser playfully with his large, fluffy white-tipped tail. "Ha! I just felt a little redundant in the LMB with Shark Lad and Furball hangin' around. I explored the universe for a few years 'til I found my callin' amongst the Templars!"

"Well, it's damn good to see you, Foxy!"

The group talked for a while until Sir John got a call on his communicator, and a grim look fell across his face. John addressed them all. "It looks like our window's starting to close. More bug ships are approaching the system. We have about a day until they get here. The warship will remain in orbit and coordinate the defense with the Xylarians. I'll take Serj, Lumber Fox and the Lard Knights planetside with you and your crew, Loser Lad, to discuss options with the Daroon Queen."

"Damn," Loser muttered, "I was hoping we'd have more time..."

Minutes later, two ships emerged from Templar-7 and entered Daroon's atmosphere.

As Goon Boy, Power Boy, Tempest and Disaster Boy began making their own preparations to leave Ecumanopolis, Invisible Brainiac took a few seconds to sneak off and think.

He needed time to get his bearings a bit.

He was no stranger to battle, but...

This was probably the first time he truly realized that he might not come home.

He didn't know what he'd do if he fell in space, or got turned into a ghoul like Disaster Boy had. Thank grife they were able to free him.

They were so far from home, but...

He made his way to the controls and figured out a way to leave a message. Opening star charts and graphs, he came up with a plan right away.

*************************************************

A burst of light streaked away from Ecumanopolis. IB Blue carried the message they had prepared. As soon as he was within range of Legion World, he would release the message as a hologram that would travel straight towards its intended recipient.

IB Yellow waited in the hidey hole they had prepared. Yellow would wait for Blue in case the rest of the Fellowship left Ecumanopolis before Blue could return.

Green and the other four made their way back to the ship. Green shimmered and altered the light around him so he would look normal, while the other four hid themselves. IB didn't feel like explaining much to the others.

He opened his omnicom again and looked at the letter he'd sent off. He wished he really felt that way, but... he didn't want to cause unnecessary worry. If he didn't make it, then he wouldn't. The mourning could start then, not before.

Reunion
The Loser Cave, New Wystuv’ryy, Earth-4

Rockhopper Lass was exhausted.

She was very glad to see her patrol come to an end. Especially now that the Emperor had returned to the new capital from his summer palace in that city whose name resembled that of their home planet., she had to be so careful. As she and Seth entered the Loser Cave, she heard some commotion.

“What's going on?” the Pyngwyny Princess asked.

Infra-Red Lass ran to her. Adelie, we have some visitors I think you'd like to see. Infra led Adelie to an inner chamber. “What visitors, Infra? What are you talking about?”

Infra smiled the smile identical to her almost-double of Earth-1, Caliente. “Here is one of them.”

“Hello, Adelie!”

Adelie froze. What was Tempus doing here? But wait! This couldn't be Tempus. After he betrayed the SMB to her brother, the extra powers given him added ten centimeters to his height and ten kilos of muscle to his frame. This man was a little shorter and a little slighter.

“Tim? Time-Teller Lad?”

“Yes! It's so good to see you again!” The two embraced. “And here is someone else!”

A very happy dog entered.

“Hyvvie!” She shouted! There was no doubt as to the identity of this canine. There was no Hyvvie in her world. “Good boy! Aren't you happy to see your Aunt Adelie?”

The Wonder Beagle showed all due affection for Adelie. As she stood up from scratching him behind his ear, Adelie turned to see someone else.

“Eudyptes?”

Rockhopper Lad entered. “I'm here, Adelie. I made it!”

The two who were not truly siblings, but, despite hailing from parallel universes, had come to think of each other as such began a tight, tearful embrace.

Rockhopper Lad looked at her. Yes, this was the same Adelie, yet she was different. She looked as if she had aged ten years. There was that much less innocence in her eyes. He knew that her living in secret on this world where his own double—her own brother—reigned had taken so much from her. Rockhopper Lad pondered this double of his again. Seeing with his own eyes what evil had been wrought by someone who was for all intents and purposes his own self, save for something that prevented him from developing a moral compass, was overwhelming. And to know that the double of his own late first love, Blaine Fey, and the double of his best friend, Time-Teller Lad were the Emperor's co-conspirators added fuel to the fire. For perhaps the first time in his entire life, Rockhopper Lad felt hatred for another being.

Adelie spoke and brought her other-dimensional “brother” back from his thoughts. “I was afraid I'd never see you again, Eudyptes!”

“I thought I'd never see you again, but deep down I never gave up. We're here now.”

“Oh, Eupyptes! It's worse than you could imagine!”

“I know,” the Pyngwyn Prince stated grimly. Then, raising his hand, which crackled with ice magic, “But I swear by all Pyngwypalia holds holy, by the Celestial Throne of Merciful Dywh Who Took on Feathers and on the Silver Pyngwyn that I will not leave this world until my double is overthrown and that he, that detestable Blaine Fey and that treacherous Tempus are all in chains!”

The ancient ruins of Prianopolis,
The Dark Oval

At first he heard sounds, as if off in the distance, and then gradually the world began to fade back into view. The light stung his eyes but he quickly grew adjusted to it. It was only after his hearing and sight returned to normal that he felt the enormous headache and stomach-sick feeling pulsating through his body. He was battered and bruised, and for a moment felt as if he might vomit from the pain and sickly, blurry feeling in his mind. Luckily, he hadn’t eaten a proper meal in sometime and had nothing to really vomit anymore. At least I’m still alive…so far…, though Cobalt Kid.

Cobalt to his left and saw his best friend was also waking up. Lard Lad looked terrible: beaten, bruised and bloody and Cobalt realized he probably looked the same. He remembered they’d just taken quite a beating but he wondered if they were beaten while unconscious? Probably. The two of them both waking up at the same time was too coincidental too. They’d been waken up, and probably telepathically. It was then Cobalt recalled they had both been taken. By Titus.

“The young heroes awake,” said the icey, soft voice as if on cue, and the tone of it caused both heroes another wave of nausea. The way Titus said “young heroes” was riddled with sarcasm and amusement. “We’ve come a long a way, esteemed ones, and I’ve been looking forward to you being able to see the magnificent Empire of Prianopolis!”

Cobalt turned to his right and then saw it: a massive, huge city with diverse and great architecture as far as the eye could see. Yes, it was once magnificent, but now it only ruins and rubble. Some of it looked old that it might collapse at any moment. Cobalt could smell the ruins too—an old, musty smell of something that was too old to still exist. He could also smell something else; something more familiar. Salt? Salt water to be precise. They were near an ocean. Titus must have us by a dock or harbor, he thought. But why?

“You okay, Lardy?” said Cobalt softly.

“Yeah,” said Lard Lard. “You?”

“Yeah,” replied Cobalt. Neither spoke more than they had to. They both knew it was time to wait and see what Titus was planning and to get a better sense of the situation. They both sounded worse for wear—hurt, scared and tired, but they knew each other so well that they could tell they weren’t that hurt, scared or tired.

“Isn’t that sweet?” said Titus as he now stepped into view. His magnificent purple cloak flowed in the wind, representing his once royal stature. Behind him, the sun shown brightly into their eyes, so they could barely seen his features. Only his beautiful, sparkling eyes shown and when they looked into them, both felt the urge to smile and be happy. It was sickening.

Titus was soaking up the moment, letting the two of them scramble. Cobalt knew Lardy was trying to tap into his armor and figured Lardy knew what he was doing. He was testing his magnetism—looking for metals on his own person, around him, on Titus, anywhere. But he couldn’t find anything.

“No magnetism for you, I’m afraid,” said Titus, this time with the sweetness totally gone from his voice. “Nor healing. I’m afraid on this occasion, you have no shield to hide behind.” Titus leaned forward and they could see his face now: it was pale white and his lips were a deep, bloody red. When he smiled, they could see his teeth were sharp and like fangs, ready to rip into flesh if need be. Cobalt recalled Titus had telepathic abilities and the realization set in that Titus was strong enough as a telepath to block Cobalt’s ability to use his powers. This was not good.

“You take us to the loveliest places,” said Lardy with a laugh, a show of pure defiance.

Titus didn’t take the bait. “Don’t I? This was once the gem of the universe! A bastion of civilization and power! All those who lived under my rule knew what true glory was when they looked upon me. For one thousand years sentients came from all over to see the glory of the City of Prianopolis.” Titus looked out to the ruins of the ancient city with a longing nostalgia. And again, that evil grin appeared. “And when that grew boring, I let those I’d risen to the highest ranks think they’d thrown me out. It was worth it to see the look on their faces when I returned with another army at my back and sacked this city until the Empire of Prianopolis vanished as if it never existed.”

As Titus talked, Cobalt looked around. He realized both the matching cloaks that Lardy and he had from a mission years ago were gone. They were both in chains—old, rusty chains made of iron that tore at the skin. Cobalt’s shirt was removed exposing his scarred body to the sun, and his boots were also gone. They were in a pile off to his side and Cobalt could see one lone fly buzzing around them, landing on his clothes as if to watch them.

Lardy was not wearing his exo-armor but was still fully dressed. “Your cloaks are on their way to the Dark Lord,” said Titus as if he’d read his mind, which Cobalt realized, he may have done. “Any meager belongings you may have had are gone. Your powers are gone too. You only have yourselves.”

The damn telepathy, though Cobalt, I’ve got to remember what Crujeckie taught me.

“No being without telepathy, no matter how hard they’ve practiced,” said Titus hearing those thoughts, “can withstand me.” Titus peered at Cobalt, as if studying his face. “I sense something odd about your mind,” he said after a few moments, “yes, for a non-telepath, you practice the art quite regularly. How romantic—the love of your life is a telepath.” The mention of love and romance gave Titus’ tone of voice a the sense of utter contempt. “You two share a telepathic link. To a telepath, this is if your soul was bound to another’s in the most honest and true form. Even stronger than marriage. It’s disgusting, and it shows you for the weakling that you are.”

Cobalt looked at Titus with pure anger in his eyes now and Titus stared right back. “Allow me to make you a stronger man, Cobaltus,” he said with a wicked grin and suddenly sharp daggers shot into Cobalt’s skull. The pain was so immense, Cobalt doubled over in pain and blood ran out of his nose and ears; he vomited immediately and tried to cry out but could not find his voice.

“Des!” yelled Lardy. “You son of a bitch!” he yelled to Titus, trying to grab the celestial’s attention.

Cobalt’s mind felt like it was being continually cut and ripped apart, as if a surgeon was performing a brutal procedure on it. And suddenly all at once he realized something was shifting within him; something was being ripped away and he could no longer feel it. The telepathic link he shared with Crujectra was broken. Ripped asunder. He know longer felt her presence even a little, and that realization shocked him as true despair engulfed his visage. He had been tortured before in his lifetime, once so terrible it shattered him; now for the first time since then, he felt the same despair he thought he’d never feel again.

“Noooooo,” he whispered to himself, as the pain began to subside. “Y-you…bastard…”

Lardy struggled with his bonds now, trying to push himself between Cobalt, who still lay on the ground, and Titus, who stood magnificently above them. Titus only smiled.

“The Dark Lord has designs for you, Anthony,” said Titus in his soft voice. “Though I don’t see why. There is little about you I find worth keeping. But for that reason, you remain untouched for the moment. Luckily, we can still make your presence worthwhile,” he said in a vicious grin that showcased those blood red lips and pointed, dagger like teeth.

He turned Lard Lad around so he faced the other way and the sight of what he saw was almost overwhelming. A vast, huge ocean that extended in all direction as far as the eye could see. Huge, foamy crested waves crashed into one another as the water ranged from a deep, dark green to a murky brownish-black.

They were at a harbor, along a dock that stuck out into the ocean. Only one small boat was in view, and in front it, walking forward, was a lone figure. He was a dominator and his height and built gave him away as an Unkillable. With his adrenaline surging, Lardy’s mind instantly figured out who this was: Outcaste, the Dominator with a long-standing grudge with Cobalt Kid. Outcaste walked forward to join them.

“The vast oceans of Prianopolis are what helped our great city first conquer our planet, before reaching out into the stars to conquer the others. Those days of pillage and plunder have always had a warm place in my heart and the salty smell of the sea water gives me a burning feeling in my groin,” said Titus. “But the waters of Prianopolis have something truly amazing living in them. Just watch.”

Lardy looked at his friend, who was still doubling over in pain with blood running down his nose, ears and now he could see his eyes as well. He then looked forward into the water. At first he saw nothing other than the rugged crash of the waves but upon further inspection, he could see something else. Very large fins. Hundreds of them.

“The megalodon sharks of Prianopolis are legendary,” said Titus. “Likely because we kept them so well fed,” he added. “Let me reach out to one so you can at least see their splendor.”

As if on cue, one fin came closer to shore and Lardy began to see the shape of what lied beneath the water. It made him inhale deeply, as he suppressed a gasp. The shape began to rise out of the water, growing larger and larger, revealing it to surpass in size even a standard space cruiser. And at last, it breached the water in a giant leap, crashing upwards into the sky to reveal a giant frame. But most awful of all was its massive set of jaws, with huge sword like teeth as large as a man’s leg. The beast crashed back into the water in a moment and ocean water splashed outwards in every direction as if a rain storm.

Lard Lad realized what was to come. Cobalt was now looking up, into the sea, the despair still fresh on his face. “Cobie,” said Lardy, “hang in there. Fight anyway you can. You’ve still got the magnetism.”

Titus laughed and then Outcaste followed. “No one gets to say goodbye I’m afraid,” said Titus matter-of-factly, and suddenly Outcaste grabbed Cobalt Kid by the chains and began dragging him up the dock.

Cobalt struggled, kicking from side to side and trying to rise to his feet, but Outcaste leaned down and pulled out a dagger from his felt. Suddenly, with unkillable-enhanced ferocity, he came down upon Cobalt, stabbing him again and again and again. A half-dozen blows rained down into Cobalt arms, chest and stomach and Cobalt again cried out in pain. Outcaste laughed and cursed the LMBer.

“You’ll pay for this,” said Lard Lad to Titus. “I have no doubt about it,” he added. “A thousand years you’ve been alive? Well it won’t make one thousand and one.”

Titus said nothing but put his icey-cold hand on Lard Lad’s shoulder. The power Lard Lad felt was immense and it froze him in place for a moment.

Outcaste continued to drag Cobalt over the old wooden dock, as a long slithery snake of blood followed them, fresh from Cobalt’s various wounds. In the distance, dozens of fins swam in the ocean.

Outcaste reached the vessel, and throw Cobalt aboard. He got in his himself and they were off, sailing into the sea. Lard Lad could say nothing, but stare forward in horror, as he struggled to break free.

Aboard the vessel, Outcaste drove farther into the sea, turning back to look at Cobalt Kid. “Your magnetism is still gone. Your healing. Your Princess. You’re all alone, Cobaltus,” he said. He did not laugh and he did not grin. He simply felt nothing but hate. “I destroyed the brain of your slut all those years ago. But this will be so much more fun.”

Cobalt looked at him with hi deep blue eyes. They had gone partially blurry and the pain of the stab wounds was causing him to go into shock. He knew what was happening, but he could hardly feel any emotions reacting to it. Maybe I deserve this, he thought.

Outcaste stopped the boat. He walked over to a container and opened it; he grabbed a large metal scoop and began to shovel something into the water. It was blood and guts and other gore. Chum. He was shoveling chum into the water. “I want you to know,” he said, “that I never once stopped thinking about you. You ruined me, and now you’ve ruined any chance I’ll ever have at redeeming myself with the Dominion. But now I’ve ruined you.”

He throw down the metal scoop and walked over to Cobalt. The dagger still hung from his belt and he made to reach for it, but stopped. Instead he walked over and found a rusty, old machete along the wall of the cabin. “The rust gives it a more poetic meaning,” he said.

He turned to Cobalt and Cobalt suddenly spit a wad of blood and spit into his face. It caught him right in the eyes. Outcaste felt anger flood him but he held back. He wiped it away. “You and I have unfinished business,” said the Dominator. And suddenly he plunged the machete into Cobalt’s stomach and ripped it long and hard across his abdomen sideways so blood spilled everywhere.

He threw the machete into the water. And then he bent over, and scooped up Cobalt by the chains and picked him up into the air. Cobalt felt more nausea as he was carried up high and he suddenly realized that this was probably his end. He was going to die today. He tried to mutter something—something clever or funny or even light-hearted—but all he could do was choke on his own blood.

And suddenly Outcaste hurled him into the ocean and he began to sink. The weight of the chains carried him downwards. Giant, massive megalodon bodies swam around him and he could feel their presence.

His wounds ached and his head pounded. He felt himself quietly dozing off to sleep as he sank.



“You fucking bastard,” said Lard Lad on the shore, after being forced to watch Outcaste stab Cobalt and then hurl him over. “You bastard…” he said, as tears ran down his cheeks.

Timber Wolf had changed his form to that of Furball for most of his trek across the barren landscape of Earth 4. He needed to drop his internal body temperature to accomplish his plan, but with the temperatures on Earth 4, he wasn't sure if he could survive the full trek with his standard uniform.

He was finally getting close to his target. He stopped and reverted back to his standard humanoid form, and immediately began shivering. he put his uniform back on, and while it was insulated, it really offered no protection against the elements here.

He looked into his bag and smiled. These explosives he picked up on Haven were exactly what he needed to get The Emperor away from he and Kalla long enough to get her out of there. All he needed to do now was stay conscious long enugh to plant the devices.

He could feel his feet and lower legs going numb as he neared the Palace. He was glad that he had picked up some light colored clothes to use at this point, as it gave him a chance to get close. He needed to be able to do this without killing or even alerting any of the guards that were posted anywhere.

We waited and watched the patterns, even the mix up of routines that they thought were static enough to confse their enemies were to predictable for him. He was able to slip into the shadows of the Palace and move to the first point where he wanted to place the explosives.

After about an hour, he had three more explosives left to plant and disguise...which was pathetically easy for him in this environment. When he finished planting the last on, he grabbed a hypo out of his bag. He pulled up his pant leg and exposed his left calf. He gritted his teeth and put the hypo to his calf muscle and squeezed. It was everything he could do to not scream out in pain. The fact that he could barely feel his legs did not mean that it did not hurt, in fact, the shock of the device entering his body was made that much more intense by the cold.

He discarded the hypo and buried it in the debris at the side of the Palace. Snow, dirt and ice mixed to make perfect hiding spots for what he did not want them to find. In fact, aside from the explosives, he had hidden several things around...just in case.

He sat there for a short time and let his temperature drop even further. He waited for the cold to almost take him. With his healing factor, it took a while, and he hoped Kalla was not going through too much...but he knew better than that. The Emperor was not known to treat guests very good under the best of situations...let alone a prisoner. One that he considered a traitor to him and his cause.

When he knew that he could not take any more, he forced himself to his feet and made his way to the front gate.

One of the guards at the gate yelled for him to stop, but he kept on moving. If he stopped now, he was dead. He held his hands up and tried to talk, but no words escaped his mouth.

His arms fell to his sides as the guards started laughing at him and were talking about leaving him in the cold to die. He smiled at this, and lifted his hands again. Two guns popped from his sleeves and into his hands. He opened fire on the guards and actually managed to hit four of the eight with fatal shots before they were able to take him down. He was able to severely injure two and kill one more in the fight itself.

As consciousness left him when the last remaining guard hit him in the head, his last thought was Hold on Kalla, I'll be right there to save you.

Prianopolis: Titus’ Palace

Ameratsu watched from bronze metallic eyes. He heard them approach, the captive, Lard Lad howling with rage and pain.

The old sturdy doors to the inner palace flew open. Titus strode in, armored in charcoal. Several ghouls in ragged cloaks carried Lard Lad in. Ameratsu was impressed, the captive still struggled. Most of Titus’ captives began to fade away into insanity after this much attention.

Titus’ eyes looked hungry as his thick violet cloak billowed behind him. He would need to feed soon.

“Ameratsu, report!” Titus commanded as he threw his cloak over a throne that looked like the bony claw of a prehistoric beast, fashioned palm up into a chair, sharp clawed digits arced up and around the sitter to form the back and arm rests.

“The plan succeeds.” Ameratsu responded with a harmonic robotic voice.

“The plan succeeds MY LORD!!!” Titus spat. “I will not have this THIS day robot!” He shouted at the golden artificial humanoid.

“The plan succeeds my lord.” The android repeated with an ever so slight bow of his head. “The Legion space craft approaches. The trap is sprung. Everything is in readiness and goes according to your plan …” (a pause of several seconds) “my lord.”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The ghouls threw Lard Lad on the floor of the open throne room, still wrapped in chains. Even without Titus telepathically obscuring his thinking, he had a hard time understanding what was going on around him. He hurt on the outside from the beatings he received but, that was nothing compared to the hollow ache in his heart that he felt for his friend, murdered in front of him. He didn’t catch much of the exchange between Titus and this irritable robot servant except for the mention of more of his friends falling into Titus’ hands.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ameratsu waved a long elegant hand of tarnished gold for two chained prisoners to come forward. They were young, very young. A filthy boy and girl, wearing only rags. A large bruise covered the boys face. The girl looked barely conscious, her mind having fled long ago. Two humanoid soldiers pushed the slaves forward with short swords. Not members of Titus’ elite ghouls but still two of the many soldiers Titus kept for various tasks.

“What is this?” Titus asked.

“I’m sorry my lord, I thought you wished to feed?” Ameratsu replied smoothly.

“THIS!” Titus pointed at the starved children. “This is not enough! Is there no one stronger or more powerful to feed on? You know I subsist on the life energies of others.” Titus spoke suspiciously.

Ameratsu was grateful for his robotic nature in moments like this. An unreadable facial expression had served him well with Titus over the past hundred years. Still, he did have emotions, he felt fear, and if he had sweat pores they would surely be pouring now.

“These are all that is left my lord.” Ameratsu spoke simply.

A pause lay in the air between Titus and the android.

It was not entirely true. Ameratsu had been working for years to undermine Titus’ power. He fed him less and less powerful creatures, arranging for the super powered to escape or die before Titus could add their energies to his own.

It was a deadly game he played but the stakes were creation itself. He did feel some remorse for feeding the weak and the very young, like these children to Titus but, in a battle against the Dark Lord a conscience was a severe liability. The less powerful he fed to Titus the less power Titus would have to do the Dark Lord’s will.

“You have not taken as many prisoners as usual, and you have needed to feed so much for these battles with this fellowship.” Ameratsu spoke quickly. “You could always feed on a few of your soldiers, they are strong.”

The two humanoid soldiers that brought the slaves in both gulped deeply, obviously terrified.

The android waited and thought to himself. ‘Two less soldiers to fight in Titus’ armies would be a small victory especially if their essence fueled Titus himself.’
Ameratsu had learned to take what small victories he could after so long with Titus.

Titus sat on his throne, fuming, frustrated. He cared not even in the slightest for his soldiers but, this android was becoming … more and more … obstinate … a bearer of bad news.

It may be time to remind his loyal servant who was the master.

“Or…” The android went on “What about this one, he seems strong, despite his current predicament, and he is your enemy.” The robot gestured to Lard Lad.

“You know the Dark lord has plans for him. Would you have me defy the Dark Lord in all his greatness???” Titus leaned forward on his throne.

Ameratsu stared at Titus. ‘Yes’ He thought ‘Anything to topple you. A rift between you and the Dark Lord destroys your power and deprives the Dark Lord of possibly his greatest warrior. And this removes Lard Lad as a potential tool of the Dark Lord. ’

Shock pierced the androids impassive artificial face. Titus mistook it for an appropriate fear response at the prospect of defying the Dark Lord.

The expression was actually that Ameratsu was shocked at his boldness. He could feel it though. The time he had been waiting for was coming. Titus was tripping up. He had slaughtered and killed while the other servants of the Dark Lord amassed great empires. It was a new age with different types of heroes that used cunning and guile to defeat their opponents. Brute force and terror were the games Titus was used to playing, not politics.

Ameratsu continued, unable to stop himself. He even dropped his face, adopting a pleading posture with Titus.

“What greater plan could the Dark Lord have than for you to lead and crush his enemies. Surely, this is the Dark Lord’s plan for Lard Lad.”

Ameratsu would risk anything, risk anyone to see Titus undone, to deprive the Dark Lord of a chief servant, and to see the Dark Lord fail. Besides, death was a mercy for Lard Lad, much better than whatever plans the Dark Lord may have for him.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Prianopolis: The City

Power Boy grappled with a ghoul, he held its head at his eye level, staring into its dead eyes.

“Titus, you’re going to need more ghouls.” He spoke bitterly.

Then he ripped the ghouls head from its shoulders. Tossing it to the side.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Prianopolis: Titus’ Palace

Titus broke from his conversation with Ameratsu with a start. Jarred by Power Boy’s message

“HERE. They’re here.” He bellowed. “You lie.” He pointed at Ameratsu, Titus was always one to lay the blame at others feet but, this time, he was right, Ameratsu did lie when he said they approached rather than they were already here, past Prianopolis’ defenses, An uncharacteristically foolish misstep for the careful android.

“RAHHHHHRR!!!!” Titus hurled his spear from the throne. The spear took Ameratsu in the chest where his heart would be were he human. The android fell to the stone floor spearhead sticking out through his back. The artificial body limp.

Titus’ chest heaved, furious. It was a waste of a major domo, the android all but ran this planet.

Titus’ eyes looked to Lard Lad, he needed to take his frustration out on someone.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Prianopolis: The City

Power Boy turned to Tempest, Invisible Brainiac, Disaster boy, and Goon Boy. They stood in an unremarkable street in the dead city of Prianopolis. Their starship was nowhere in sight. Power Boy hated this place, It was a graveyard. There wasn’t any infrastructure, just bare bones buildings to house Titus’ soldiers and servants.

They spread out, Power Boy taking a direct course for Titus’ palace. Tempest and Disaster Boy moved to either side of Power Boy. They would flank him from safety, using their powers to destroy this place indirectly. Invisible Brainiac and Goon Boy vanished. It was their job to search for and rescue Lard Lad and Cobalt Kid. They would all take paths to converge on Titus. It was risky plan, but it was too late for anything clever.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Buildings flew apart and shattered under Power Boy’s telekinetic assault. He walked towards Titus’ palace with the measured steps of a predator. He was really enjoying this. He could be at Titus’ palace in seconds but that wasn’t the plan. The plan was to make himself a target, drawing out more and more ghouls and soldiers, to pick them off in waves rather than face them all at once in Titus’ home. Power Boy was a trap.

On the street to the palace, Power Boy swept his baton straight through the middle of two ghouls. They fell apart, shattering into ashes.

From the sidelines Tempest used her power to remove all the oxygen from the area, felling dozens of soldiers without killing them. The earth shook and raged as Disaster Boy took out another group of soldiers as they closed in on Power Boy.

Soon Titus would run out of lackeys to send, and then Power Boy would be on his doorstep. They all would be.

Power Boy broadcasted three words telepathically, with such force to reach Cobalt Kid and Lard Lad wherever they were.

<span style="font-size: 16px;">
</span>

Dev em was relieved. It was apparent that there was something happening up in orbit above DAroon, and that Loser Lad and Fes Te had at least gotten some help from the Queen of Xylar 7. The bugs had retreated for the time being, and had not been seen for about an hour or two.

"Daddy?" Han Em asked from behind him.

He turned and smiled at his daughter. "Yes sweetheart?"

"Are we going to be alright? The animals on Daroon are really scared of the bugs...and I am too."

He looked from his daughter up to the sky. He had heard the sound of a ship...multiple ships entering the atmosphere.

Han looked up in the sky and squinted her eyes really tight. "I see shiny things up there daddy."

Dev laughed for the first time in days. "You do sweatie? That's great. It looks like there are a lot of ships coming. Loser and Fes are in one, and...no way. Is that..."

"Who daddy?"

"An old friend honey. You're going to really like him. He'll remind you of your Uncle Lon in a way."

-------------------------

Loser Lad landed the cruiser and hit the switch to lower the ramp.

The second ship landed right along side of him and their ramp lowered as well.

Loser walked down the ramp and was met by Dev and Han. "Thank the gods you made it back Loser," he said as he gave Loser Lad a hug. "I take it things went well?"

Loser nodded. "There's a good sized fleet up there, and quite a few troops l;anding just the other side of the ridge. I also ran into some other friends..." he said and nodded toward the other ship that had made the landing within their compound.

Dev moved to go meet the others, and Han just stayed by Loser Lad. Jon Em came running up to them with Hugh, both yelling "Loser! Loser! Loser!" over and over again. Han shook her head, "they love saying your name over and over agian."

Loser Lad just smiled and excused himself, heading back into the cruiser to get some supplies.

-------------------------

Serj and Lumber Fox came walking down the ramp and Dev was waiting to greet them.

Lumber Fox grinned, "This is like old home week. How are ya Dev?" he said as the two gave a rousing back patting hug.

"It is so good to see you. It's been way to long Foxy."

Lumber Fox gave Dev the abridged version oof where he had been and why he came to help.

Dev was all smiles as he turned to Serj. "You have to be Serj..."

Serj nodded. "I am, and I have something for you," he said as he reached into his pack.

"What..."

He pulled out an OPmnicom and handed it to Dev.

"Your brother wanted me to give this to you. He said you'd know what the information on it meant."

"Lon's still alive then...that's good."

Lunber Fox had a slightly puzzled look on his face. "You have a brother?"

Dev looked up at him as the Omnicom booted up. "Yeah...his name is Lon, but you knew him as Furball."

Lumber Fox shut his eyes and put his index fingers to the corners of his eyes. "Wait, Furball is your brother, and he has a name?"

Dev sighed. "Yeah, he also is one of the single most deadly sentients in the U.P."

"Furball?"

"He goes by Timberwolf now, and he looks...well pretty normal."

"Furball..."

Dev laughed again, "oh yeah, you also know our 'cousin,' in a manner of speaking."

Lumber Fox tilted his head at Dev, "you better not say..."

"I'm serious. Bruce is 'genetically' related to us through our mothers side...they were sisters."

Loser Lad walked up behind Dev and just grinned. "Yeah, things are never simple with the Legion."

Dev turned to Serj. "I'm sorry, we just..."

"It's all right," he said flashing a small grin. I would speak with the Queen and whomever is left of the Royal Cabinet."

"Sure," Dev said, glancing down at the Omnicom, "my wife, Queen Alyson, is right over here," he finished as he turned to lead Serj and the others the Queen."

AS they walked towards where the Queen was meeting with what few Senior Guards that were left, Lumber Fox leaned over to Loser Lad. "Dev is married to a Queen?"

"Yep..." Loser said before breaking out into laughter himself.

Prianopolis, Titus' Palace

Titus frowned at Lard Lad and considered the advice Ameratsu gave him. Should he feed on this one and go against the Dark Lord's commands?

As if he sensed what Titus was thinking, Lardy yelled, "do it, you sprocking coward--while you have the chance!" And then he spit on one of Titus' sandaled feet.

"You DARE!" Titus screamed and backhanded Lardy across the room. Titus stood over him and prepared to feed on him. Then, he paused and backed away. "Clever ruse, Lard Knight. You were obviously paying attention to the accursed android egging me on earlier. I will not defy the Dark Lord! You live...for now."

Lardy laughed. "So the high and mighty Titus is actually someone's lapdog? Maybe he wants to trade you in for someone with some backbone!" And his laughter rang through the Palace.

Titus' eyes lit up with pure hatred. Lardy had struck a nerve. Maybe he would feed on this one after all.

Suddenly, Power Boy's telepathic message rung in everyone's ears with its power and gave Titus pause. "So," Titus said, "he approaches. Time, I think, to teach the little one a lesson!" He gestured toward Lardy and said, "I will deal with you later!" Titus turned toward the two guards and, as they wailed, drained them of all of their life force. He motioned toward the rest of the guards and commanded, "guard this one, or I'll feed on you next!" Then, Titus flew out the nearby window.

Lardy's smirk faded away, and he tried to figure out how the Hell he'd get out of this mess. Gods, is Des really dead? Is this how it ends for us? he thought.

A moment later, he was aware of a fly buzzing around his head. Strangely curious about it all of a sudden, his eyes followed it as it came to a rest about two feet in front of him on the floor. In a blink a guard's foot came down on the fly, apparently ending its fragile existence. Then, the guard's foot flew in the air as if he'd just slipped on a patch of ice. A closer look showed that something had grown underneath the foot and threw it in the air. In another blink there was suddenly a great dragon in the room, and it lashed out at the guards with its tail. Several fell unconscious, and the remaider had little courage to face such a beast and ran away.

The dragon perused the throne room, confirming that the room was cleared of threats. Then, it faced the chained Lard Lad and shrunk down and shifted to a humanoid form with skin of an orange hue and a pair of distinctive antennae on its head.

Lardy recognized immediately that this was the traditional form taken by Durlans to outsiders. Moreover, he was pretty sure he recognized this particular Durlan.

"Juj?" Lardy asked him in an attempt to confirm his suspicion.

Juj Rinold was one of Kalla Hrykos's top aides. Lardy had worked closely with him years prior to assassinate and replace the Dominion's Pinnacle Command with Juj. This had paid off royally in the recent sacking of Hul they'd pulled off. He'd considered Juj a friend.

"Indeed I am, Lard Lad!" the shapeshifter confirmed jovially as he made his limbs into sharp blades to free Lardy of his bonds.

"How?" Lardy managed as a follow-up as he massaged his now-free wrists.

"I'm afraid I've been stowing away with you since Haven, my friend. I was trapped there after fleeing the Dominion, having finished playing my part. I wasn't sure how you all would take me, so I was literally a fly on the wall! I stayed with you throughout, waiting for my opportunity to help out. I'm...sorry about your friend. But I knew I was no match for Titus."

Lardy tried not to think of his friend or risk falling into despair. "It's...okay, Juj. Let's--"

Before he could say more, Lardy was distracted by a sound like weeping. The two turned and saw the two small children that had been offered up as a sacrifice to Titus cowering in a far corner. Lardy's eyes softened as the two reminded him of his own two precious children. Thoughts of grasping at straws and searching the ocean for Cobie dissipated. "We've gotta get them to safety, Juj."

"There are more downstairs, my friend!" Juj asserted.

Lardy walked toward Titus' throne and found what he was looking for: a marble. He touched it and it turned to liquid and coalesced all over him into his exo-armor. Then, he walked over to the children.

"Come, little ones," Lardy said gently. All fear left the children at his words, and they climbed into his arms. "Let's free the rest!" he yelled to Juj, and the two headed down the stares with Juj taking lead in his dragon form.

Des, I know you'd do the same, given this choice. Lardy thought as tears formed in his eyes. I just hope I can live with myself...

Earth-4,
The Dungeon of the Emperor's Palace

"AAAAAIIIIIIEEEEEEEE!!!!"

"Your screams are like music to my ears, traitoress!" laughed the Emperor as he tortured Kalla Hrykos with selected usage of his ice powers as her magically-imbued bonds restrained her light powers. "Now, perhaps, you can be persuaded to tell us all you know of your aptly-named 'Losers'?"

"Do your worst--I refuse to give you the satisfaction!" she snarled. "Just know that when I get out of this, I'll feed you to Shark Lad!" The thought made her want to laugh. And she did.

"Listen, you harlot!" the Emperor screamed in anger. "If you don't cooperate, I'll get Wyandotte on the communicator and tell him to unleash his bugs on your beloved Hrykosia!"

This gave her pause. "You wouldn't DARE!" she yelled.

"And why shouldn't I?" He looked toward his consort Blaine. "Get me Wyandotte, beloved!"

"STOP, you filthy water fowl!" she commanded to the Emperor before Blaine could do anything. "Did you think I had no contingency? If you make that call, I will destroy this planet and you and I with it!"

The Emperor and Blaine laughed. "The traitoress grasps at straws, my love," Blaine derided.

She shifted her eyes from one of them to the other, making direct, stony eye-contact with each. "When have either of you known me to bluff?"

The two looked at each other and frowned. They had worked with her enough to know not to take her lightly.

"I'll indulge you," the Emperor finally said. "How would you supposedly carry out this threat?"

She grinned broadly. "A nega-bomb," she said. "A particularly powerful one planted somewhere you'll never find it."

"Ridiculous!" Blaine scoffed. "There's no way, you--"

Kalla interrupted. "I had the opportunity with Hrykosian operatives planted among the Losers during my frequent visits here along with the necessary components for the device. As for the method, I'm sure you know that nega-bomb tech originates on Hrykosia?" She grinned, "and I'm sure you don't doubt the motive?"

The Emperor gasped noticably, the implications washing over him. "If such a thing were true, what would stop me from leaving this planet to die?"

"Well," she said slyly, "such an act would be looked at with disfavour among the other Oval Elite, would it not? A definite sign of weakness? My fate is sealed now, so I have nothing to lose. But you...?"

He knew of what she spoke. Weakness and treason were both punishable by death in the oath they swore. "How would your operatives know to activate it?"

She smiled wider, knowing she had him. "There's a pre-set time frame--could be a minute from now, an hour, a week--in which my operatives know that if they don't hear from me...BOOM!" She laughed loudly.

"My love," Blaine whispered, "surely she can't be telling the truth--!"

The Emperor whispered back, "But I must be sure!" Then, he turned back to Kalla and was about to speak, just as Blaine received a communication over his earpiece.

"Eudyptes!" Blaine yelled all of a sudden and motioned for the Emperor to turn back. Blaine whispered something unintelligible to him. As he heard what his lover had to say, The Emperor got an evilly confident look in his eyes.

"Traitoress," the Emperor finally said with renewed confidence, " I believe I've trumped your trump card!"

Moments later, another prisoner was brought down to the dungeon. Kalla recognized him immediately.

"Lon!" she cried as she saw her lover, also known as Timber Wolf, brought in in chains.

The Emperor grinned as he announced, "we will see how resolute you are as your lover suffers!"

As Blaine and the Emperor laughed, Lon and Kalla made eye contact. Her fear for him turned into hope as he silently mouthed to her, "right where I want 'em!"

Of course, she thought. He always has a plan. Part of why I love him so much!

She winked at him as he winked back, but her facial expression remained horrified for their captors' benefit.

She just hoped they'd be out in time to give her people the signal not to activate the bomb...or it would be a very short reunion! For Kalla Hrykos was not one to bluff...

New Wystuv’ryy (formerly Gotham City),
Earth-4, The Dark Oval

Following the reunion of Rockhopper Lad and Rockhopper Lass, a true sense of optimism seemed to overtake the Losers, and Lolita found herself smiling more herself. It had lifted their spirits and Lolita and the others felt glad to be around them.

Her initial intention had been to stay with Shark Lad, almost off to the side, her chronic shyness kicking in. But Shark Lad had told them they were here to help and it would be worthwhile to get to know them better. He was right of course, but Lolita couldn’t help but feel the nervousness that set in when you felt like an outsider; it was a feeling she’d had her entire life.

She knew the Earth-1 Faraway Lad very well because of Cobie, so she tried to find the chance to speak with him, but he remained busy with Rockhopper Lass for the planning stages. She had taken on the role of leader among the Losers and Faraway Lad was an important lieutenant to her, offering counsel and advice.

She liked Lightning Lass a lot, who seemed to have a swagger to her that usually was reserved for the boys. Ayla was nice to Lolita and welcoming, but it was obvious she had her own set of close friends and was busy with other things.

The two she really clicked with were Hugh Taylor, who was incredible nice and welcoming and always had a moment to speak with everyone, and Polka Dot Kid, who she met on the way here. The first thing he did, when he learned she didn’t have any offensive powers, was take her to the armory.

“Once you leave this cave,” he said dead serious, not realizing how silly he looked with his polka-dots on his face and costume, “you’re open to attack from just about every way possible. Snipers and bombs are everywhere and that doesn’t even get into the super-powered enemies we’re up against. You know how to use a gun?” he asked.

“Of course,” she said, taken aback. She grabbed a class-A blaster and cocked and loaded it, letting the micro-converter hum while it powered up. “This isn’t my first war,” she said. That was the truth but maybe her words came out a little to abrupt.

“Well excuse me,” he said smiling, handing her several flash-grenades. “Then surely you know what these are and how to use them. What about a knife?”

“I…I’ve never really used a knife or sword before,” she said. The thought made her nervous. Could she ever stab someone if she needed to? Maybe the Red Bee.

“Why don’t you take one just in case,” said Polka-Dot Kid. “Think of it like one of your boyfriend’s big teeth.”

Lolita laughed at the joke but there was something about the way he said boyfriend that made her wonder. Was it a bit of jealousy?

As they were talking, other Losers came and went, many of them people she didn’t know and hadn’t meant. She realized there were a lot of Losers who were not former SMBers or SMB Academy members. They had no powers at all.

Polka-Dot Kid seemed to know what she was thinking. “When you start doubting yourself, just look around you at these folks. Losers, everyone. One bullet kills them, just like you and I. And every one of them helps us just a little more. Just like you and I.”

Lolita nodded, taking his point. As they talked, another Loser she recognized entered the room, and walked over to them near the resupply station. It was Zhiya, the petite Asian woman who seemed to be some kind of super-ninja. Lolita immediately recalled when Zhiya held the sai to her neck and pricked it ever so slightly so her neck bled. It was not something she thought about gladly.

Zhiya walked by them but seemed to hover a minute when she walked by Lolita. She almost appeared ready to say something, but then decided against it and continued on. She walked over, asked for her some flash grenades and left.

Polka-Dot Kid noticed it too. “Zhiya usually doesn’t say much,” he said, “but when she does, it’s pretty direct. I’m surprised to see her unsure like that.”

“Why does she hate me?” asked Lolita. “I keep seeing her give me looks. I mean, I know she’s blind, but it’s like she listening to me when I talk even when she’s across the room. She always seems to be following me if that’s possible.”

Polka-Dot Kid shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe. Aren’t you like your Earth’s version of Cobalt Kid’s sidekick or something?”

Lolita was suddenly taken aback in a big way and her face showed it. He lifted his hands up to apologize but she yelled right back at him. “No! I’m most certainly NOT Cobalt Kid’s sidekick! Where did you hear that? Was it Timberwolf? I’ll kill him! And what does that have to do with anything?!”

“Whoa, whoa, I didn’t mean anything by it,” he said quickly. “It’s just, if you’re close with your Earth’s Cobalt Kid, maybe that’s why Zhiya is interested in you.”

“Why?” she asked, confused.

“You don’t know,” said Polka-Dot Kid as if the answer was obvious. “Zhiya is our Cobalt Kid’s widow. She was his wife before he died.”

The ancient ruins of Prianopolis,
The Dark Oval

As the chains slowly dragged him down ever further into the murky depths of the ocean, Cobalt felt himself drifting into unconsciousness. His body ached from the stab wounds, cutting deep into his organs and arteries and spilling massive amounts of blood into the water. All around him he could sense the presence of massive sea creatures—megalodon sharks, sniffing at the fresh blood and inching ever closer to inspect, and very likely, enjoy a tasty meal. Would he drown, die of the stab wounds or be eaten?, he wondered. It was too bad he couldn’t utter any last words and instead only choked on his own blood.

As he continued to sink, the moments spread out as if they were minutes—no, as if they were hours. Titus did this, with Outcaste, the Dominator he hated so much and twice let go on this quest. But was it really them? Wasn’t it fate he should killed? Didn’t he deserve it after everything he’d done? He loosed the greatest killing race in the entire history of the galaxies, the Khunds, upon a planet and gave them full privileges to sack it. It was monstrous. But in truth, for years he’d been doing things leading up to that moment, pushing things further and further as the years went.

He felt the blood welling up in his throat as he tried to breath and it caused him to choke. He couldn’t help but open his mouth to let it out and all that caused was sea water to rush in. He was fading fast, and he knew it. He tried to think about the good things in his life but in a moment of clarity realized there was only one good thing in his life. The LMB. He tried to think about all the good times, so when he died he could be at peace but he couldn’t focus.

He kept thinking about Dr. Hoffman and Dark Conan torturing him. The Doctor experimenting on him like he was an animal and the barbarian brutalizing him for his own sheer pleasure. He wanted to die so bad then but somehow found a way to survive.

He thought about his father dying in his arms while his entire home planet died around them. He hadn’t even been able to cry at that moment, the trauma from his torture years earlier ruining him for life. My own father, he thought, and I didn’t shed a single tear. Dr. Hoffman made me used goods. Screwed up and unable to be a human being, no matter how hard I tried to feel something.

But even then, he knew that was a lie. A lie he told himself, as if the world had given him an excuse for his actions and he took it. It only made him feel guilty and hate himself all the more. He’d been used goods for a lot longer than that. Ever since the day his own mother stabbed him. He felt the sharp pain hit him in the back just like he did up on the boat when Outcaste stabbed him. But it was only when he looked up from the floor and saw his mother standing there with the knife in her hands that he felt true pain. A pain he’d never stopped feeling. How could she? he thought. Her own son…

A giant mass moved by him suddenly and snapped him back to attention. The megalodon shark had gotten closer and rubbed up against him; its sharp skin scratched as his arm almost knocking it off and caused him to bleed more. Had it only been seconds that he’d been in here? It felt like hours. Why wasn’t he dead yet?

He hadn’t thought about his mother in a long time. He pushed those memories away. Just like he pushed away what the barbarian did to him in that prison cell. What they made him do. Sometimes if you could make yourself forget you could survive.

The world had done him wrong but he was no different than anyone else. People could do terrible things. But not everyone. It was so hard to think, the pain was so great. His lungs were screaming from not being able to breath and his wounds were hurting so bad. Not everyone. You had the right of it before.

Did he? What was he thinking about before? He couldn’t even remember anymore. He was too far gone. This time, there was no coming back. Maybe, just maybe, somewhere beyond this existence there was something else and I could make things right with his parents.

He felt the despair begin to lift away as he felt acceptance. Submit.

And he sank lower and lower into the darkness.

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
No.

No, you’ve never given up yet. You have to at least try. Try for them. Try for the only ones who ever showed you any true love before. For your brethren. For the Legionnaires.

In his darkest moments, he believed that people were naturally terrible beings prone to do terrible things. But he’d always had the evidence to counter that argument: the LMB.

He opened his eyes but the darkness this deep was overwhelming. He could not see the shapes of the sharks around him. But he felt he could see. He felt as if someone was giving him a look.

“We’re heroes, Cobie. That’s what we do.” Lash said that to him on their first mission. Always smiling, always laughing.

“As long as we watch each other’s backs, we’ll be okay,” said Lardy to him. And he meant it. He proved it to me again and again.

“It’s okay to get knocked down,” said Dev, “you just have to get back up.” Dev reached down with an outstretched hand and grasped Cobie’s, pulling him to his feet. Those words had always stuck.

“It’s not over, Des,” said Faraway, “until it’s truly over.” Perhaps his greatest teacher of all.

They had taught him so much. They taught him everything. Maybe as he got older he started to forget. But not now. Not anymore.

Okay LMBers…here I come…. He began to kick his feet to try to stop the sinking. It was no use. He didn’t know how much time he had left. Probably not much. It was probably never going to work. But he had to try.

“I know I’ve done terrible things, Cobie. But so long as I’m alive, I still have time. I can redeem myself.” The Emerald Empress said that to him and he believed her. She did exactly that—she redeemed herself. Maybe there was still hope for her, after all?

He cleared his mind and pushed away the thoughts of despair and giving up. He could still redeem himself, he knew it. Crujeckie, Lolita…so many. They might not love him, and they might not be his friends, but he could do right by them.

”The first thing any super villain worth his salt learns,” said Yellow Kid with a half smile, “is that it’s okay to get caught as long as you can escape shortly thereafter. So you’ve got to learn to bust free from any types of chains or shackles. With no powers.” Yellow Kid had an incredible sense of humor, which Cobalt learned full well the day he agreed to let YK teach him how he always broke free after being caught.

“C’mon,” said Cobie. “There’s no one way to break out of any type of restraints.”

“Of course not,” said Yellow Kid. “You’ll need to learn dozens of ways. Luckily, we’ve got lots of chains and shackles.”

Art would get a kick out of this death trap, thought Cobalt. But he’d be pleased to see this rudimentary shackling they put around me. He shifted his body but the water made it difficult. The pain from the stab wounds was immense—he’d lost so much blood already. Maybe it wasn’t so rudimentary after all. He stopped moving and focused. And then he pushed with all his might to move his shoulder around. POP. His shoulder became dislocated; but his arms also came free.

The chains continued to sink to the bottom, but now, Cobalt Kid was free.

“I think we need to put something right in the official charter,” said Looks that Kill Lad. “Something else else about our outlook on those who are different.”

“Paul, what do you mean?” said Seahorse, confused.

“I mean that just because something is scary and different, doesn’t mean its bad. It doesn’t mean its going to kill you. As heroes, the public will expect things from us—to protect them from things they’re afraid of. But that’s not our job. Even scary aliens or monsters can be living beings. And they deserve our respect.”

“Even if they dine on human flesh?” said Cobalt with a grin. Goon Boy laughed.

“Yes,” said Looks that Kill Lad, spinning around with his finger in the air. “Even then,” he said dead serious. “If you show it respect, it may just leave you alone.”

Cobalt began to push away the pain and swim back towards the top of the ocean. We’ll see if you were right, Paul. The megalodon sharks swam all around him now, the blood almost driving them into a frenzy. But Cobalt felt no fear. If they end it now, it’s over, he thought. But I’ll give them my respect, and we’ll see.

Though they continued to swim around him, they left him alone.

“It’s no use, Joe,” said Cobalt, “I can’t seem to do it. There’s not enough metal in there. I can’t lift it.”

“Cobie,” said Engine Joe Boy, “you have to stop thinking about yourself as a superhero who only uses magnetism on metal. The extent of yours powers are undefined. And you are much more than a simple superhero. You can do so much. If there is element in this rubble that is affected by polarization, you can lift it. It’s not just about science. It’s about willpower. If you push yourself, you’ll find a way to do it. Even if you don’t understand how you did it.”

He was right; he was always right. Cobalt focused. My powers…Lardy yelled out to me as they took me away. He said I still had them, I had to just fight. I could get them back.. It’s all about willpower.

He concentrated as hard as he could and swam up, up and farther up. He choked back the blood and the sea water, and ignored the pain. He thought about the magnetism and the healing and all the other wonderful things he could do so naturally. He pushed himself.

And at long last, he saw the light up ahead. It’s worth it. It’s worth going on. For the LMB.

He broke surface at long last and inhaled deeply. Air went into his lungs and burned all the way down. He spit up blood and water and felt dizziness overtake him. He felt awful.

But he was alive.

From the boat, Outcaste watched in the distance as Titus battled the heroes. He realized, of course, the Legionnaires had arrived to save their friends. Likely Titus would kill them all, but there was always the chance he might not. Thankfully, Outcaste was now long out to see and difficult to reach. Cobalt Kid was dead and Outcaste had to secure his escape from the LMBers and he’d be fine.

He did not like the ocean water at all. The salty smell made him sick and the constant rocking had thrown off his equilibrium. After he’d thrown Cobalt Kid into the water and his adrenaline had died down, he vomited over the side from sea sickness. Years ago he’d made himself into an unkillable, but that never changed the decades of being nothing more than a member of the science caste, where physical duties were frowned upon.

He could hear those retched megalodon sharks breaking up from the water and then diving back down again. It was distracting and unnerving. They were big enough to shatter the little boat he was on.

“You really are stupid,” came a voice suddenly. It sounded tired and distressed but it had a bite to it. He knew immediately who it was.

Outcaste turned in an instant, pulling out both his gun and his dagger and getting into attack position. Anger and shock were overpowering all other emotions and senses. Cobalt Kid was still alive!

Cobalt was leaning over the side of the boat, trying to climb in. He was costume was only his pants, which was in tatters, and he was covered in blood and cuts. He was soaking wet from the ocean and his skin was a pale blue from the cold. He was trying to climb in but couldn’t and fell over the side into the boat and onto his back. Outcaste almost laughed.

“Not quite the dramatic entrance,” he said, letting his guard down and moving forward.

Cobalt suddenly lunged to his feet, grabbing hold of the side to steady himself. He felt the boat rocking back and forth and it took a moment to adjust, but the feel of having something beneath his feet again was like medicine. He tried to focus, to push away the tiredness and pain. He’d gotten too far not to. “You think you’re the first person to beat me, stab me, tie me in chains and throw me into an ocean full of sharks?” he said with a smile.

“Defiant to the end,” said Outcaste, angry and annoyed. “I thought you’d bleed out before any other means of death overtook you, but a blast in the head works fine for me.” He raised his blaster, hoping to end it once and for all.

Cobalt held his own hand up and suddenly the blaster came stumbling out of Outcaste’s hands and into Cobalt’s. Outcaste’s eyes went wide as the realization that his magnetism was back began to set in.

Cobalt smiled. “Yes,” he said and using his magnetism, he turned the blaster into a small pile of scrap iron and threw it over board. “The stab wounds, they’ll heal too,” he continued as Outcaste saw the deep cut he’d made with the machete was no longer leaking blood. The scar would remain forever, but the wound was healing.

The hot sun beat down on Cobalt’s body and it reinvigorated him, burning away the chill in his bones from the depth of the ocean. “There’s a lot I want to say to you, Outcaste, but frankly, I’m too exhausted.” He moved his hand to face the water and it was clear he was using his magnetism. Suddenly, as the machete Outcaste hurled into the water earlier came floating back up to the boat and into his hands, did the Dominator realize why.

Cobalt held the machete in an offensive position. Outcaste held his dagger in the same. Both of them pushed away any exhaustion or nausea as adrenaline began to rush into them both.

The boat rocked and the waves crashed but silence became increasingly deafening.

Cobalt spoke, and his words held an air of finality: “You and I have unfinished business.”

They charged one another at full speed; Outcaste using his enhanced unkillable body to maximize his strength and speed; Cobalt used his magnetism to do the same. In an instant, they were on top of one another.

Outcaste plunged his dagger forward to reach Cobalt’s side but it was a ploy so he could swing his super-powered arm around and carve out Cobalt throat.

But Cobalt was possessed with the fury he’d held back for too many years. His magnetism exploded forward like an explosion, knocking the dagger out of Outcaste’s hand and his body to the floor. The Dominator looked up in shock.

And Cobalt swung the machete down and lopped his off his head, sending it flying into the ocean waves.

The waves continued to crash and Cobalt at once realized he could hear them again. Outcaste’s decapitated body rained blood into the air but Cobalt kicked it aside as it did so none would land on him. He threw the machete over the side, as Outcaste had done before.

“It’s over,” he said aloud to himself. He felt no better about it, but no worse. He looked out into the ocean and felt a calm suddenly. His wounds were beginning to heal but he was in very bad shape. “But I’ll live,” he said out loud. “That much I’m sure of. I haven’t forgotten, old friends,” he said to the sky. “Maybe for a moment…but that moment has passed.”

He rose in the air using his magnetism and below he began to shatter and destroy the boat so it became rubble and sank deep into the ocean. He spied the name of the vessel as it began to sink and read it, expecting it to be something ironic, like ‘revenge’. Instead it simply said “Mother”.

In the distance, he could see fighting and instantly he knew the LMBers had arrived to battle Titus. He wiped the blood off of his face, some his own and some Outcaste’s disgusting yellow variety, and flew off towards the fighting.

Prianopolis
The Dark Oval

"You dumbass," Invisible Brainiac thought to himself as he flew through the streets of Prianopolis.

Or rather, his Green self thought to himself.

It had seemed like a good idea then, splitting up to cover more ground. Blue and Yellow were en route, but hadn't reached Prianopolis yet. Their delivery had taken longer than expected.

That left, Red, Orange, Green, Indigo and Purple. IB had thought 5 of him would be enough.

He'd reconsidered the moment they'd landed.

He cringed as he remembered Titus telepathically invading his thoughts. "You try to resist me?" came the mocking voice. "Your Cobalt Kid was more skilled than you in telepathic techniques, and he's dead now. You will join him soon - after I have my way with you, youth. I haven't forgotten our earlier encounters."

"Few do. Bet you've been thinking of my ass ever since you've seen it. Poor you, guess nobody'll have you so you have to resort to rape?" IB had sent before shutting off the mindlink between his selves. He'd guesses that was what had allowed Titus to locate him so quickly. Crujectra and the other LMB telepaths had done the same to him before.

He wished he'd felt as brave as he'd sounded, though.

He couldn't see Goon Boy anymore.

He was alone.

"Not truly, though." He told himself. "As long as the LMB stands..."

He flew on.

Prianopolis
The Dark Oval

Purple skulked in the shadows of servant's quarters, searching quickly. "Damn, wish I could still talk to the others," he thought. "Shutting of my mindlink also shuts me off from Power Boy's telepathy."

He hovered silently, peering through every room he could. Around him, servants huddled in their quarters. Purple made a mental note to help them when the battle was over. If he still lived, that is. Titus claimed to have already killed Cobalt Kid, who was a better hero than he himself was.

He pushed that thought out of his mind as he went on.

He heard a familiar moan. Heart pounding, he ducked into the room. Relief flooded his heart as he saw the figure lying on the floor, weak but alive.

"Cobie? You're not dead?" He quickly turned the older hero over.

Too late, he noticed the lifeless eyes and the wicked smile. Cobie's form melted away to reveal one of Titus' ghouls.

Purple felt a crushing feeling in his throat.

*************************************************

Red yelled as he fired blast after blast at the ghouls around him. "I've already seen myself die once, it ain't gonna happen again!"

He raged at the thought. His Earth-4 counterpart had died as he'd watched helplessly, unable to help. He hated being helpless.

Adrenaline rushing, he ducked a ghoul's clawed hand by crouching, then quickly blew its head off. Another quickly came up behind him; spinning around, he kicked its feet out from under it and used a laser to decapitate it.

He hoped Titus was too busy to quickly reanimate these things - or to create more. He hadn't seemed to particularly care when he'd lost control of Disaster Boy.

He turned to face the wall of ghouls around him. "Come and get it, squajes!" He cut a swath through their ranks as they surged forward.

Suddenly, they stopped. And as one, they parted.

A lone ghoul stood in the middle. This one glowed, capturing the sunlight.

Red paused. This didn't look good.

Deciding to test it, he fired a laser at where its heart would be.

His beam refracted out of its side.

"Crap." It must be made of refractive crystal!

The ghoul didn't hesitate. It held out its arm, sending crystal daggers flying out towards him.

Desperately reaching for his quarterstaff, Red wished that he'd prepared enough for this. He wouldn't go down without a fight.

Prianopolis
The Dark Oval

Indigo cursed as he dodged the darkness that snaked around him, trying to engulf him. The ghoul attacking him wore a cape and a skimpy costume; if it were alive he'd probably had taken a closer look.

As it was, he could barely see its features in the dark shadowy clouds surrounding it. And he was too busy fighting for his life, too.

In a moment of panic, he realized that his other selves were also likely fighting ghouls whose powers counteracted his own powerset. Suppressing that panic, he thought carefully.

His previous blasts had been absorbed by the blackness around him. If it touched him, would he be absorbed as well?

He didn't dare risk it. There was only one choice.

He dropped to the floor, turning himself back into flesh and blood. He'd have to take this on without using his powers.

*************************************************

Orange's chest heaved as he crawled along the ground. He didn't dare look up.

Above him, a cloud of particles floated in the air. Around him, plants caught in its path withered; the ground was littered with bugs that had fallen from it.

He saw a rat try to scurry out of the cloud's path; it didn't make it.

The source of the cloud was hovering above; a gigantic moth with large eyes and a wingspan wider than he was tall. Its shadow loomed across him, blotting out the sun.

In his light form, he shouldn't be affected by poisons and pollen. But the problem was, the cloud was also absorbing the sunlight, somehow. If he flew through it, he had no idea if he'd be absorbed or refracted.

Orange huddled under the foliage; his only advantage was that the cloud moved slowly. But if he didn't do something fast, he'd be out of time...

Prianopolis
The Dark Oval

Two streaks of light raced through space towards Prianopolis.

"I can't believe you didn't keep in better touch with them!" Blue sent to Yellow. "All you know is they were going to split up?"

"Don't yell at me like that. I was nearly out of range, and it was tough keeping in touch with both you AND them." Yellow glared back. "I'm not the irresponsible one anymore."

"Fine, fine. I'm sorry. You know I'm just worried."

In the time it had taken to make that exchange, the two had already reached the upper atmosphere of Prianopolis.

"No, I don't." Yellow snapped back. "The rest of you always harp on and on about responsibility - that's why we don't enjoy life more!"

Blue's eyebrow raised. This wasn't like Yellow. Red was the most intense one, and even he didn't snap like that when they were arguing. He bit his tongue - know wasn't the time.

"Enjoy life? Like that time you got us in trouble with the husband of that married women? You just don't accept responsibility, do you?" Blue couldn't stop the words. Almost as though someone else were willing it.

His eyes bulged wide. Surely he hadn't meant that. Someone must be influencing them. Titus was a telepath. He had to tell Yellow.

Before he could turn his head, it snapped towards the left. "And I thought you were the empathic one? Why don't any of you understand?" Yellow screamed.

Blue rubbed his cheek. "Stop being a baby and GROW UP!" He flew up to Yellow, kicking him in the stomach.

No, he shouldn't. They were being controlled. STOP IT!

Yellow's eyes were wide too, and tears welled in the corners. Blue could tell over their mindlink that he also knew what was going on. It didn't stop him from backhanding Blue across the face, though.

Nor did it stop Blue from catching Yellow's second punch in his fist, and then elbowing him in the gut.

Neither of them even noticed the ghoul floating just below them, feeding on their violence.

Prianopolis
The Dark Oval

Green was sorely tempted to open up his mindlink again and check on his other selves. He hated not knowing.

He just concentrated on covering as much ground as he had, while making sure he didn't run into Titus.

He ignored the cries ringing out as destruction rained on Prianopolis. He knew his LMB allies wouldn't harm the civilians, so he didn't feel any guilt at moving on.

Invisibly running through the streets, he felled ghouls and soldiers quickly and efficiently. "That's 27 soldiers and 7 ghouls," he thought. That much less for Titus to call upon later.

Up ahead, a ghoul stepped out of a side street into his path. It was like it knew he was there. "I should take this one down fast then," he thought. He raised his hand to strike it down.

Suddenly, space distorted around him. It was almost like the fabric of reality screamed.

Nausea overtook him. Clutching his stomach, he forced himself steady as the warp collapsed. Looking around, he saw he was back in space; he could recognize Prianopolis off in space. It was so far away...

He turned to find the ghoul. Had it been the one that transported him here?

It was floating a short distance away from him.

He fired a blast, not wanting to get any closer than necessary.

Opening its cloak, the figure revealed its body... a swirling, dark, dense mass of nothing. A black hole.

"Oh light," Green thought as his blast was absorbed. Soon, he would be too.

Titus' Palace
The ancient ruins of Prianopolis,
The Dark Oval

It began when:

Titus greeted them on the once grand steps leading up to his palace. His arrogance reeked. He talked and talked, making lewd comments about having Disaster Boy return.

Power Boy stood in the center of the street below the steps. Tempest and Disaster Boy stood to either side. They looked fresh, having taken time on the journey to shower, eat, and recover. They said nothing, they looked impassive. They looked deadly.

And suddenly Power Boy made eye contact with Titus, causing the tyrant to trail off.



The next thing Titus saw was Power Boy’s boot in his chest …. Violently knocking him back, shattering the palace doors, and hurling him across the floor through the interior rooms.

Titus’ head rung, it took him a moment to focus. His hair was in his eyes as he looked around from his place on the floor. His chest … hurt … his breastplate shattered. He knew he had no time to get it off, he tried to get up. To say that Titus was surprised was a vast understatement. Titus was fighting for his life.

In his madness he felt … relief.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now:

Tempest stalked the battle. She stood in the shadows intently focused on the gods locked in combat. The fight had started with the rings of Power Boy’s baton on Titus’ sword. At first, Power Boy’s superior speed allowed him to get more strikes in with his baton. Over time, This enraged Titus causing him to become more reckless which capitalized on his brute strength.

The battle changed when he grabbed Power Boy by the throat who responded with a vicious blast of energy vision from his eyes, burning a gash across Titus’ face. Now they tumbled through walls, shattered columns, and shook the palace in a savage frenzy.

Titus diminished, bruising and bleeding, skin turning grey with every passing blow struck. Cuts on Power Boy didn’t bleed, they … leaked … light and energy. The result was a sizzling of light and grey as the battle blurred, threatening to bring the castle down on their heads.

From the corner of Tempest’s eye, she saw Disaster Boy dispatch a few soldiers with a blast of flame. Most of the soldiers broke and ran after seeing the battle began. They feared Titus as much as anyone else and took this opportunity to flee. She knew Power Boy had talked with Disaster Boy about a contingency plan. Disaster Boy would bring this entire castle, even this planet, down on them if it looked like they would fail.

She wouldn’t let that happen, she would succeed, at least in her part. She pushed her mental powers into Titus’ mind surreptitiously while he was distracted with Power Boy. She gradually cut him off from his mental powers. She dismantled his psychic defenses while he fought Power Boy. She did more than that, oblivious to the palace crumbling around her, she delved Titus deeper and deeper searching for any clues, weaknesses, any hint of … the Dark Lord.

Earth 4

Gear was putting the finishing touches on another weapon for the Losers to use in the upcoming battle.

Clark Marlowe was also working with him, as Jon needed help with certain aspects of the weapons that required a gentler touch.

“Here’s another one Clark,” he said as he tossed the weapon behind him without looking.

Clark caught the gun. “A little warning next time Jon."

Gear turned and sighed. “Sorry. I forget sometimes.”

“We all forget things sometimes Jon,” a voice came in from the hall.

Hugh Taylor entered Gears workshop area and shut the door. “Are you okay?”

Jon lifted his head to the right and gave a really unimpressive chuckle. “Yeah, I’m fine. I was kind of hoping he would have been with them…but at least I got to meet their Sharklad, and know that my ‘Uncle’ is here fighting alongside us…even if he did wander off...just like she used to all the time.”

Hugh closed the gap between them and placed his hand on Jons left shoulder. “Maybe…”

“No. I’m sure he is taking care of things back with his family. If my calculations are correct, his family is under attack as well.”

Hugh shut his eyes for a moment. He and Jon had been friends for years, and he hated when he got into these moods. While it usually meant really innovative tech for the Losers, it usually meant that he was drawing further away from everyone.

Clark wanted to say something, or leave the room. But neither option seemed to be the right thing to do, so he just stayed as quiet as possible.

Jon scratched the back of his head. “Stupid thing is itching again. I hate feeling like a cyborg.”

“Look, we don’t even know if he is on planet right now. For all we know, he went and followed the other group.”

“No, he’s here, and it’s about time he learned that I am alive. I don’t think it will make any real difference to him at this point. He’s insane. The Emperor has twisted his mind into something beyond repair.”

“You don’t know…”

Jon shook his head, and Hugh stopped mid-sentence/ “I’m sorry Jon.”

Jon shut his one good eye. “No Hugh, I’m sorry. You’re the best friend I have, and the only one that puts up with my ‘somber’ moments. The rest just walk off when I get like this.”

Clark wanted to say something, but didn’t.

The door burst open and all three of them whipped their heads around and were ready for anything.

Legion Adventure Boy ran in the room, “He’s searching for us, and he’s getting closer…”

Prianopolis
The Dark Oval

The gigantic moth hovered slowly, scattering dust particles all around. As its shadow streaked across him, Orange had a desperate idea.

He reached into his pocket and fished out his lighter.

He flicked it open, holding it up in the wind, watching the flame intently and praying that the moth wouldn't see what he was doing.

*************************************************

Purple grabbed at the clawed fists around his throat. He couldn't breathe. His lungs were on fire.

Strangling was a horrible way to go any day, but here in this derelict room, with nobody he loved knowing where he was?

He fought down the panic he was feeling. He forced himself to realize he wasn't quite choking yet - he was managing to keep the ghoul from crushing his windpipe.

He had someone to come home to back on Legion World. And he would.

*************************************************

Blue and Yellow continued raining blows on each other, desperately trying to stop. Both were bloodied and battered; Yellow had a black eye on the face he always groomed perfectly; Blue was bleeding from his nose and the corner of his mouth. Uniforms torn, they tumbled through the sky.

The ghoul controlling them didn't even bother to hide now. It was taking sadistic glee in watching them slowly kill each other.

Yellow took a chance - he had no choice. He opened his mindlink with Blue. "Okay, so this thing can manipulate our actions, but not our thoughts, since we're both still aware."

"Right," Blue replied. "It also can't seem to fully control us - I was able to pull my last few punches, at least a bit."

"Okay, if I'm right, here's what we do..."

Prianopolis
The Dark Oval

Red swung his staff desperately, trying to block as many crystal darts as he could.

"I sprocking should have practiced more," he thought. One out of every four darts was getting through, and that was way too many. Gashes caused blood to run down his arms and legs. He had managed to prevent them from hitting anything vital, but soon blood loss would make that accomplishment useless.

He tried to think. What had Power Boy and the others taught him about weak spots?

Maybe he should change strategy... It would mean taking some hits, but it was a risk he'd have to take.

He fought against the dizziness and the pain as he formulated a plan.
************************************************

Indigo kept his back to a corner of the room, watching as the dark tendrils snaked around him. He'd tried to run through them, but they were so dark... Any light he gave off had been quickly absorbed.

He hated fighting this thing without being able to see.

Those tendrils of blackness were also cold... Every touch seemed to drain not only light, but the very life out of his body.

He drew out some of his throwing knives and tossed them in the general direction the ghoul was last in, trying to buy whatever time he could.

*************************************************

Green flew as fast as he could, but the currents from the black hole ghoul were drawing him in.

Ordinarily, he'd just blast it away, but no dice this time.

Smaller space debris was being drawn in, but it looked like the ghoul couldn't expand its black hole too much. Else, Prianopolis and the other worlds around would be affected.

Its small range now was still powerful enough to deal with a 5'9'' young man, though.

Green desperately tried to reach a nearby asteroid . It was his only chance.

New Wystuv’ryy (formerly Gotham City),
Earth-4, The Dark Oval

Deep into the Loser Cave stretched a damp, dark tunnel that opened up into yet another wider cavern. Within was a cave lake with black, still water; they had set-up several makeshift lighting mechanisms and the lake caused a nice reflection that opened up the room. Within, t
the Losers known as Karate Kid and Zhiya dueled one another, practice fighting to keep each other’s senses honed. Lolita approached and joined several onlookers among them, standing next to Saffron Kid and Portfolio Girl. The young former SMB Academy member Saffron Kid had a look of awe at the level of skill being displayed, while longtime SMBer Portfolio Girl had a smirk on her face, enjoying the high intensity of the spectacle. As always, her mysterious suitcase was in her hands, where she contained all manner of beast to summon in battle.

For all the action, it was relatively silent. Lolita watched as both combatants proved they were among the best fighters Lolita had ever seen. Karate Kid was magnificent to behold; she’s heard the stories about him, even on Legion World years ago, but she could see now they didn’t do him justice. He had perfected martial artistry to the point where it was a super-power. She’d heard how he once beat a Daxamite in single combat and now for the first time gave that story some credence. Meanwhile, Zhiya was equally adept. Her fighting style was totally odd yet equally beautiful; it flowed like music. Lolita had to remind herself Zhiya was blind and in that memory she realized now for the first time that Zhiya undoubtedly had superpowers.

The two fighters danced, parrying and blocking blows, leaping forwards and backwards, punching, kicking, lunging and circling around one another. Both were concentrating deeply but Lolita thought their styles were more due to instinct. She could see now the contest was not a fight—rather, it was a contest to see who could land a clean blow without being blocked.

Finally, the sequence ended, as Karate Kid showcased his reputation as the supreme fighter in existence. He doubled back, and faked his own tripping over a loose stone. For a micro-second Zhiya believed the action was genuine before she realized that could not possibly be true but by then it was over. All he needed was a moment, no matter how brief, and he quickly chopped at her calf and caught her cleanly with a blow, knocking her off her feet.

She landed on her derrière, and a smile went across her face. Lolita could see she was out of breath and so was Karate Kid, who rose to his feet. He extended a hand to help her up and she took it. “Probably the best sparring session I’ve had in years,” he said to her with a smile.

“The best I’ve ever had,” she said matter-of-factly, “but then again, I lost.” She laughed and he did too.

As they walked to the others, Saffron Lad couldn’t help but comment. “That was amazing! When do we get lessons?” he added enthusiastically.

“I’ll think about it,” Karate Kid hesitated. Lolita wondered if it was the idea of taking on new students again that caused him the hesitation. She knew his last students didn’t fare so well in the Epsilon Sector.

Several of them now began leaving the cavern, though Zhiya stopped in front of Lolita, grabbing a towel to dry off the sweat from her face. It was cold in the cavern and her deep breaths showed in the cold air. “You are looking for me,” she said to Lolita, though not as question.

“Well…” said Lolita, hesitating, realizing for the first time that Zhiya was just as petite as she was, “…I thought it was the other way around. You’ve kind of been following me for a few days.”

Zhiya smiled. “If I’d wanted to approach you, I would have. But I’m glad to have the chance to talk to you now, Oracle.” Lolita appreciated the usage of her official new LMB codename. Zhiya faced her but Lolita could see that her eyes were void of color, a side effect of her being blind. Despite the sweat and lack of any make-up, she was very beautiful. She had clear, porcelain skin and jet black hair that extended midway through her back. She had it up in a ponytail during the battle but now let it fall loosely across her shoulders. She wore black as always, this time the pants and jacket in a pseudo-ancient Japanese style with a 31st century twist. Lolita felt that Zhiya had an air of being friendly about her, but buried not far beneath was something very dangerous.

“It took me a little time to figure out why you might be interested in me,” said Lolita, realizing Zhiya just told her she would have approached her if she wanted to but skipping past that, “but I know you were married to your world’s Cobalt Kid. As you probably realize, I’ve been his partner for many years.”

Zhiya’s eyes creased as if she was confused by something. “I hear your words, but your heartbeat has changed slightly. You are distressed by this topic. Has something happened to your Cobalt Kid as well?”

“No,” said Lolita, perhaps too quickly, “we’ve just…we haven’t been seeing eye to eye. We didn’t part on the friendliest of terms. Actually, I was the one who unfriendly.”

Zhiya nodded. “If he is anything like my Cobie, then it’s understandable.” She smiled widely as she spoke. “But there is still time then for you to make things right. I hope you’ll use the time wisely.”

Considering Zhiya’s loss, Lolita felt her words carried more weight. “I never had the chance to meet your Cobalt Kid, though from what I hear they were very similar. They never got to meet each other either.”

“I do not speak of him too often,” she said to Lolita. “Though they were polite never to say, my hearing could detect it makes people uncomfortable to speak of your grief. I was never a member of the Society of Message Board Posters, though before he passed, Cobie would bring me to their meetings more and more. Likely I would have joined at some point since I do have a powerset. But he died and I just remained an Honorary Member. Only after our planet was put in such dire peril did I take up the call and join the Losers. I suspect Louie and Hugh thought one day I just showed up. The truth is I thought about it for a long time before taking the step. Their kindness and genuine sense of good is what convinced me.”

They walked slowly out of the cavern and Lolita noted that Zhiya walked standing very strait, almost regal. “I’ve never met your counterpart on our Earth,” she said, though she thought it was a stupid thing to say the moment she did so.

“Nor have I ever met yours,” said Zhiya. Lolita suddenly realized she didn’t like that—why wasn’t there a version of her among the SMB? She dropped it though and figured she’d return to it another day.

“What are your powers?” she asked, figuring with all of these personal anecdotes, she might as well ask her the question she’d been most curious about.

Zhiya told her without hesitation. “The story of how I came to be blind is a long one and I will not bore you with it. Needless to say, when I was a young girl, I lost my eye sight, but I gained many other gifts in return. All of my other senses are enhanced: hearing, taste, touch and smell. To such a degree that they’ve opened up my mind to other senses I did not know I had. My hearing is proficient enough where I now have a Radar Sense, able to see all around me 360 degrees. I’ve even learned to harness the long unused sense of electroreception that sharks and other animals have.”

Ah, thought Lolita, no wonder she’s such a fantastic fighter. Her balance and knowledge of her surroundings must be second to none.

They were now approaching the end of the cavern where it opened up into one of the big rooms in the Loser Cave where numerous members of the Losers were going about their daily activities. “It was his smell that made me take notice,” she said. “It caught me totally by surprise when I attacked you in the snow bank. Since then, I haven’t been able to not smell it. Whenever you enter the room, I can’t help but feel that’s he suddenly here with me. It’s been many years now, but I miss him all the same.”

Lolita could see the sadness in Zhiya’s face, something she obviously guarded very judiciously. It made her feel something too…she felt her eyes welling up a little with tears. “I’m wearing his jacket,” she said at last. “Sometimes I take it or he gives it to me, since it’s got all kinds of circuitry and gadgets in it. He threw it to me before we began the quest so he could don some old cloak, mainly I think to make Lard Lad laugh. That’s why you smell him so much. The jacket is his.” For some reason, Lolita took the jacket it off and handed it to her. “They say the two of them were almost exactly the same.”

Zhiya held the jacket and lifted it up slightly so she could smell it better. She smiled. “They smell exactly the same,” she said at last.

The stood there for a moment in silence. Zhiya did not sniff or inhale deeply but Lolita knew she was taking the moment to smell him and be reminded of her dead husband.

She handed the jacket back to her. “Thank you, Lolita,” she said, as the two rejoined the others.

Earth-4,
The Dungeon of the Emperor's Palace

Lon awoke with a slight start. He hurt everywhere, he hurt in ways he hadn't imagined he could. He was still shivering from the cold, but he felt his body starting to warm up.

He tried to open his eyes, and found that he could barely open his right eye, and his left eye was swollen shut.

He could hear The Emperor ranting at Kalla, who was chained across from him. He could see that she was shaken a bit from whatever had been done to him, but she wasn't breaking. she trusted him and that he had a plan.

"...what I need to know, or I will do even worse things to this beast." The Emperor finished.

Lon laughed as best he could. "I hope you have worse things, because whatever you've done is making me feel better," he said in a barely audible voice.

The Emperor spun and walked over to him. "So the lapdog is awake. You passed out so fast, I was worried I had broken you already."

Lon cleared his throat, and smiled. "You got me when I was barely conscious to start with. Hardly a challenge."

"Oh, don't you worry about it...I'm just getting warmed up with you."

"I would certainly hope so bird boy. I'd hate to think you'd take the easy way in this and use the numbness in my body as an excuse as to why you can't hurt me."

He could see Kalla past The Emperor's shoulder. She looked a cross between worried and awed. He wondered why, but as feeling slowly returned to his body, he realized that he had cuts, stab wounds and other bruises all over his body. he was chained up above the ground with no way to gain any leverage to break free. the effect of all of this was that his body was working overtime to heal itself and spending energy...which in turn was warming him up faster and faster.

The Emperor grabbed a long metallic object. One end of the rod was pointed. It looked almost like a spear to Lon. "Let's see how you do when you have only one lung to breathe with."

Lon cleared his throat again, "I'm gonna shove that through your..."

His comeback was interrupted by a loud scream of pain as The Emperor jammed the spear though his right chest wall.

Lon howled and he felt blood coming up his throat. He aimed carefully, and spewed it out onto The Emperors lower half. That earned him a strong backhand across the temple.

Lon's head swam in bright lights. He could not remember taking this bad of a beating in years...if ever. He would have given The emperor his props for being as sadistic as possible, but that would get him nowhere. He needed this sadistic sprockin maniac as angry as possible.

Blaine actually looked a bit surprised that Lon was still alive, let alone conscious. He moved in close to The Emperor, "My love, please let's go and get you cleaned up. The guards can have a little fun while we're busy, and we can continue this later."

The Emperor looked at Blaine, and then down at himself. His face turned to one of sheer unbridled anger. He turned and struck Kalla as hard as he could and came close to knocking her unconscious. Then he turned back to Timberwolf. "When I get back...she suffers more than you have."

Lon coughed up more blood and laughed. "Wouldn't take much you pompous ass. My daddy used to give harsher whippings when I was a little cub."

The Emperor grabbed the spear sticking through the left side of Lon's chest and ripped it out. That was when Lon became acutely aware that there were serrated edges in it.

"That's a little better," he barely got out due to the blood he was coughing up between gasps of breath.

Blaine led his Emperor away and motioned the guards to him at the door. They were giving them instructions as to what to do while they were gone.

------------------------

Lon lifted his head as much as he could. "Can you summon any power hon?"

Kalla looked at him wide eyed. "Very little, not enough to get us out of here."

"Good." >cough< :I want you to fry my left calf," he said in a low voice. To her surprise, he opened both eyes and gave her a wink.

Her attention went to the doorway. The guards were nodding their heads and laughing with what seemed to be great delight at the prospect to allowed to torture these two.

------------------------

Kalla summoned all the power she had and Lon could feel feeling returning to his left leg.

One of the guards turned around as the other shut the door behind Blaine and the Emperor

"What are you doing?" The first guard said as he saw a faint light coming from Kallas hand.

It was the last thing that he would say.

In a matter of a second, explosions started going off from various parts outside and inside of the Palace.

Lon screamed as the trigger had heated up enough to go off, blowing out a small portion of his left calf.

The guard at the door, ran forward drawing his weapon, but Lon was already changing.

The next thing the guards knew was that there was a large furry creature that had snapped out of the chains that he was in and turned on them.

The first guard tried to draw his weapon but found that his arm was missing, before he saw a large clawed hand grab at his head. The second guard got a shot off that want wild and hit the wall harmlessly.

Kalla, eyes wide, watched as Furball turned and limped over to her. He tore the chains holding her captive off and then fell to the ground, reverting back to the man she loved more than ever.

"LON!" she screamed as she knelt beside him.

She heard him grunt, or laugh...she wasn't sure. She turned his face to hers and kissed him on the forehead. "This was your plan?" she said mustering a smile.

"Yep..." he turned his head and coughed something up, "...and it's working perfectly, go seal the door..." he managed to mutter as he passed out.

Legion World

Angdar Fel had just landed on Legion World.

He was getting ready to leave his Thanagarian Wingman Cruiser when the message alert sounded.

Angdar put his bag down and went to the communications console. It was a priority message coming in on a scrambled channel.

"Who has this channel?" He said to nobody, as he was the only one on the ship.

He ran a few checks and could not trace the signal past the upper atmosphere of Legion World. He stared at the screen for another minute, finally deciding to answer the call.

The screen flashed to life and he was presented with a woman who he could tell was important. Just by the way she looked at him through the screen.

"Angdar Fel," she said, not as a question, but as a gentle statement.

"Yes ma'am."

"Good. I am Ambassador Mirenna Helene of the Langley Galaxy." I am calling you to offer you a chance."

Angdar had heard of the Langley Galaxy, and had heard of Mirenna Helene. He was one of those on Thanagar that had always been interested in the workings of the United Planets. This was an important person talking to him, and he felt a wave of nervousness wash over him.

"I'm...ummm...honored to have you contact me Ambassador Helene," he said, trying to sound as sure of himself as he could.

The Ambassador smiled and continued. "You have more friends than you ever thought on Thanagar young man. Powerful allies that cannot reveal themselves at this point. But mark my word, there is a change coming on you home planet. How soon that change happens, how quickly it starts is dependent on you and your actions though."

"I don't understand," Angdar said, feeling totally at a loss for words. There were government officials that were behind him. Why had none of them done anything? How did she know this?

"I'm sure you have questions. These cannot be answered at this time, but I need you to do something for me. I have to get back to a meeting, but I need you to come to Webber's World as soon as you can. The answers you seek, and your future will start to unfold once you arrive here."

"Okay," he said, not wanting to say anything to upset the Ambassador, especially if she could help him.

"There will someone to greet you when you land. We will see you soon Angdar, have a safe trip."

Angdar thanked her and the transmission ceased.

He walked over to where he had set his bag down and proceeded to unpack. He then did leave the ship long enough to gather a few supplies and take a flight.