Legion World Forums LEGION OUTPOST Bits o' Legionnaire Business Legion Worlds Eight (end 19 Dec 22)

hi Harbi, you deserve all the kind feedback

LOL at Tinya's struggle between Nura being annoying and being helpful. How infuriating eh!

I feel like the stakes will be MUCH higher than Tinya expected, as you have foreshadowed it well... ohhh!

very realistic bit about Tel, I like his conflict between his love for Jed and his... er... lust? attraction? for muscular sexy Dann. I could have cut the tension with a knife, you wrote it so well!

glad Jan still feels his responsibility for Poltergeist ... who might not be his mentee for long...

love the nice relationship between Tinya and Jan, and him asking Jazmin along. and also that bit about Nura undermining Jan too... hah! a throwback to the Levitz days

this is exciting, eager to see where it goes re the Magus!

you write the Zoe/Gahaji relationship so well, it's so real. and nice throwback to Zoe in the comics, her thinking about Gahaji having the ability to find/use magic, lol! oh Zoe!

Nura is probably my favourite Legionnaire, but my god she'd be annoying as hell to know so I feel for Tinya

Poor Tel...it's difficult when you're not used to relationships navigating how to deal with the idea that you can still be attracted to other people on some level or another...or I guess it could also be him convincing himself he should just be happy with Jed when maybe he's not as ready to settle down but I guess we'll see! I am glad you made it really clear that Thirteen wasn't making moves on him though, I was initially wondering if that was gonna go somewhere very different but I think just having a straight up affair would be the less interesting way to go.

Zoe and Gahaji were cute...her rolling over to his side of the bed is a very relatable couple thing, and I like her reaction to Tinya invading their sexytimes lol

True Mathemagic is the arcane arithmetic of the universe, the cosmic calculus that underwrites the laws of physics. It is to true magic what a sabre-tooth tiger is to a mountain lion on its range - a primitive and ferocious ancestor that very very few living beings could claim to have seen with their own eyes.

Of all the beings across time and space that have learned of it, the race known as the Kruishri, who called themselves the Virtuously Aligned and Numbered were widely held as the most adept. Their skills with this art, the rarest of the Mystical Fields, was said by those far less knowledgeable to know any better to be as if they have access to the 'cheat codes' for reality itself. It was far beyond the petty Arithmancy sometimes practiced on Zerox or the commonplace probability scanning of the Naltorans.

The being that referred to itself as x345(3xY-p) was the only living member of the Kruishri known to have entered the United Planets and was currently what could loosely be called in the employ of the former Under Secretary from Rimbor, Sa Lok. This being appeared something akin to a slightly bloated eleven foot tall frond of a fern with a furry silver belly that had many dozen leaf blades that looked as if they were made of copper alloy and silicon as it sat in a methane bath.

When x345(3xY-p) had arrived in the Milky Way, Sa Lok had been working within the department of the United Planets Government on Weber's World that dealt with processing unknown aliens. They had quickly established it communicated through sound, using tonal variations and notes created when it rubbed its leaf blades together, and depending upon which section of its body these were from denoted the thematic structure or emotional context of its conversation. It took a further two months to break the complicated mathematical codes within its speech structure before true communication occurred between this being and the UP. When x345(3x-Y-p) communicated it sounded somewhat like a symphony played entirely on a multi-sized glockenspiel. By the time full communication was established, Sa Lok was well aware that this most alien of beings had exhibited some fairly exotic abilities so had taken a keen personal interest in its well being...

Sa Lok had learned that this being thought of itself as something of an adventurer-cum-temporal surgeon on a mission that involved ensuring the laws of physics that governed space and time were, for the most part, kept whole and contemporaneous within the Milky Way galaxy according to the needs of the greater universe within this plane of existence. Sa Lok had taken great effort to build a personal relationship, of a sort, with x345(3xY-p) that ensured the being would assist the Rimborian from time to time if he continued to feed it real-time information on spatial anomalies and a supply of fresh methane and UV radiation.

Even though Sa Lok kept the strange being physically apart from wider galaxy, x345(3xY-p) was known to the higher echelons of the magical community and had recently assisted them as they sealed Talok viii away from this prime level of existence. After that it had retreated from their perceptions and continued its alien agenda from the security of this satellite. The Mystics of Zerox left it alone as it did not directly interfere in their business. They understood perfectly that the strange being from a place beyond the nearby galaxies had its own path to follow.

Currently, and for the last nine years, x345(3xY-p) resided in a large methane filled chamber attended to by several Gil-Dishpan staff, on an isolated satellite that spun in the depths of space many light years from the nearest star or inter-stellar shipping lane.

As Sa Lok had requested, x345(3xY-p) had transported Science Police Captain Tuk Shir of Daxam from his compound on Rimbor to a secured location in a large craft within the Dominion's Empire and ensure none would be able to trace his whereabouts. After that the Rimborian had left it alone as it contemplated the structural integrity of the Milky Way. Such tasks as the Rimborian asked for and their minuscule repercussions, as x345(3xY-p) saw them, were a small ask given the support it had been given to continue with its own mission.

The beings of this small galaxy at the current moment of time were so wrapped up in their own petty existence that they rarely looked at the bigger picture...

...............


Somewhere within the Dominion Empire:


Phantom Girl - Team Leader, Tinya Wazzo of Bgtzl Dimension - intangibility
Chameleon Boy - Espionage Squad leader, Reep Daggle of Durla - shape changer
MWindaji - Gahaji of Kiringyaga - super tracker, carries the Ruby of Life allowing tactile transformative magic

Newly promoted from Academy student to full membership (Mentor in brackets):
Strobe - Denal Lort of Dryad - assume electro-magnetic energy form (Chameleon Boy)


Strobe went through the warp first in x-ray form and quickly checked the area was quiet.

The young man from Dryad reappeared before the Legionnaires less than a second after the warp had opened. "All clear!" He said before vanishing into an electromagnetic form and zipping back through Henry's warp.

Phantom Girl followed, with Reep and Gahaji close behind. They appeared in a small alcove; the light was dim and the walls and floor appeared to be made out of living material. There was a thrumming noise of distant machinery though none of them could see any Dominators close-by.

<Gahaji, can you sense Captain Shir?> Reep asked the tracker.

<There's something... hang on> M'windaji took the Ruby of Life in one hand and concentrated on his missing Daxamite colleague. He knew he should be able to find Tuk Shir but something was blocking his senses, like a fog. The Ruby grew hot to his touch and Gahaji knew that the mystical essence of the enchanted stone was somehow angry. <It's definitely magical, whatever's stopping us from tracking him, though I'm sorry I don't know anything else about it. I have an idea though... I can't track him, but maybe if I focus on something from his uniform, not him as such but a bit of his clothing... ah... his belt, I'll track that, I can feel it... that way about one and a half klicks> Gahaji pointed to their left.

<Strobe, can you check it out please? Be careful Denal> Reep sent to the new legionnaire.

<Okay, I'm gone!> The young man from Dryad said as he vanished in an electro-magnetic energy form.

The three remaining legionnaires looked around, aware that despite their flight rings producing telepathic white noise to deter casual psychic scans and their distorters projecting a holo to hide them in the dingy alcove they were not entirely safe from risk. Five seconds passed and Strobe appeared before them with a smile on his face.

<It's him! He's strapped onto some strange apparatus though alive>

<That's excellent news Denal> Tinya sent with a smile. She was careful not to broadcast her awe at the new legionnaires abilities as he had just scouted out a position over a Klick away ands returned in a few heartbeats; Reep was right when he had said to her he thought that Denal had one of the most versatile abilities currently on the team.

<Well done> Reep added.

<That's not all though, there's like forty or so big guys in the rooms around him. I didn't want to hang around as they gave off some weird energy between them, and about half are human too>

<Ah, that'll be Sa Lok's troops probably, that'll explain why we didn't find many remains in the debris left of his compound on Rimbor. What do you bet they've had a selection of gene-mods?> Reep mudsed.

<That will complicate things...> Tinya sent.

<Why don't we just get Henry to warp the whole team in?> Strobe asked.

<We'd start a war Denal. Legionnaires have UP ambassadorial status so it would give the Dominion a reason to start a war> Although Reep replied softly he could see the blush rise on the young mans cheek.

<...so, what do you want to do?> Strobe asked.

<Scout ahead for the next 500 metres and we'll make our way after you. Give us warning if there's anything to look out for>

<On it!> And Strobe was gone again.

Tinya was away to give the order to move out when she made eye contact with Gahaji.

<You okay there?> She asked the tracker, noticing his scowl.

<I was just thinking ...I wonder if I could track whoever blocked me from finding Tuk Shir. Maybe pay them a visit to figure out how they did it and stop them doing it again...>

<yeah, good idea, though let's focus on the mission at hand and we'll consider it after we get our colleague back> And with that Tinya floated out of the alcove into a broad twisting corridor.

.....................


Second Base:


Mon El - Senior Team member, Lar Gand of Daxam - incredible strength, speed, stamina, senses, laser vision, space flight, invulnerability

Intern: Snoop - Science Police Cadet Horol Gyllaspi of the Galentorio Satellites - astral projection


Mon El called for the student they called Snoop - Science Police Cadet Horol Gyllaspi of the Galentorio Satellites.

The young officer was one of less than a hundred of his species that had left their home system, despite having been in contact with their galactic neighbours for over two centuries. Galentorians were for the most part unadventurous by nature, though highly civilised and intelligent.

Mon El that, rather unflattering, the student looked somewhat like an over sized chicken. He had heard others say they looked like wingless swans, but he thought they were too ungainly to be swans...

The students' plump oval shaped body was covered in soft downy looking white fur with a fan shaped tail at one end and a long neck at the other. They had four small arms usually held tight against the chest in a double 'W' shape and their two legs were underneath their body with backwards facing knees and curled up feet - effectively, the student walked on his knuckles. Their feet only uncurled when they were underwater to reveal paddle like flippers. As the Galentorians breathed through their fur - it wasn't actually even technically fur, it was a mass of minuscule breathing tubes - which could extract oxygen equally well from both air or water, they were perfectly adapted to their native swampy world. What was most striking though was the long neck with two large red frills that started at the top and ran down to their bodies. These frills could detect vibrations and the molecular composition in the air or water around them giving them extraordinary senses of both hearing and smell. Where one might expect a head, they had a small ocher coloured ball without eyes with a pointy mouth that at a glance did look remarkably like a beak. It was obvious to see why early explorers from the Terran Colonies called this race the Swans of Space.

The Galentorians had one talent though that made them unique. Every one of their race could astrally project their consciousness over vast distances. While projecting they gained an additional sense that was something similar to having 360-degree sight within a fifty metre or so radius of where they projected into.

The main reason why so few left their world was because they believed it best to avoid risk and instead experience the universe with a thought. While he understood this reasoning, Mon El didn't really agree with it. He did know though that it wasn't his place to comment.

He was very grateful to have one of these rare beings present on Home Base and had quickly supported Lu when she insisted the Senior Team nominate them for internship. None of the Senior Team had challenged the decision, as an intern had legitimate reason through the contract the Team had arranged with the UP Security Forces after the Psyche affair, to stay once their training officially ended if they so desired. Having someone on the team who could spy on virtually anywhere within this side of the Milky way was an asset they really didn't want to lose.

"Cadet Gyllaspi, thank you for joining me. I need your unique talents to assist with a mission."

The intern's body vibrated, which Mon El realised was it communicating in its native language - sub sonics. Within a second the translator and speec simulator built into the interns flight ring kicked in and an artifical voice that sounded something like a teenage girl's said "I would be most honoured to assist. Shall I relay what I perceive as I monitor?"

"Thank you Cadet Gyllaspi, though if it's easier perhaps you could broadcast what you perceive across the telepathic matrix?"

"Your senses do not align to our perception so this may not be fully successful, though I shall try..." The artificial voice picked up the lack of faith in the idea, but Mon El ignored it and said his thanks again. Lar Gand smiled to himself as he called up the co-ordinates of the warp where Henry had just dropped off Tinya.

If the Espionage Team got into any trouble then he would call up Henry to warp the Legion in seconds to assist.

.................................


Somewhere within the Dominion Empire:


Captain Tuk Shir had felt his anti-lead treatment finally wear off two days before.

He had spent the four days prior to that held inside an energy field that had dulled his senses and neutralised his abilities. He had tried using every trick he could think of to escape but the energy field had simply absorbed everything he could throw at it, and when he had attempted to spin at hyper-speed in an attempt to break through the time barrier (something he had never tried before) the energy field had shrunk around him binding him in place.

When he first appeared he had several hours of non-stop aggression against the barrier before he stopped and rested. Every few hours he would resume his attempts to break free but had been wholly unsuccessful ever time. Tuk Shir knew better than to exhaust himself as he no access to yellow star light to refuel his Daxamite abilities.

In the six days he had been here it had been virtually impossible to sleep as the barrier would jolt against him if his eyes closed for longer than a few seconds. Tuk Shir knew that while his Daxamite abilities were still present this was not too much of a problem but as he would only remain immune to heavy metal poisoning and red star radiation for a limited period of time the exhaustion would soon become torturous. It didn't help that he couldn't see or hear anything, just the dull glow of the energy barrier and sound of his blows against it. At one point he had started counting his heart beats, that he could now clearly hear, just to keep his mind active.

The entire time Tuk Shir had been trapped the captain had found it hard not to think about his wife Anje; he knew she would try to remain stoic but doubted she would succeed, she was far more in touch with her emotions than he was. As he thought about her he wondered why there had been no telepathic attacks - it was something a Daxamite was fully vulnerable to. That's not to say there weren't strange things happening within his mind: He had felt his moods twist and turn but never enough to really get the better of him. He knew that a mixture of the training he had received within the Science Police to resist potential psychic attacks and techniques his wife had taught him to remain grounded had helped him when these foreign feelings invaded his mind. Sa Lok's gene-mod shops had offered some limited psychic skills so he assumed that this was what was causing these strange mood swings. It also confirmed to him that it had actually been the Rimborian that had kidnapped him and held him here.

The other thought that he had was that the Legion must be searching for him, they had resources that even the Science Police didn't so he held tightly onto the knowledge that the team would be doing everything it could to rescue him. As the days slowly passed this became a difficult idea to hold, and slowly his thoughts swung between worry that the team had no way to find him or were in similar situations to him where they were somehow trapped, and anger that they weren't moving fast enough.

Roughly sixty hours prior, the energy field had started to glow with a dull red hue and the Science Police Captain from Daxam knew that his captor was introducing radiation that mimicked a red sun's. They were taking their time as he was being slowly weakened and made physically vulnerable. He was still a strong man though with many years of training so even without his enhanced Daxamite strength and speed so he could tell his captors were trying very hard to weaken him while lessening any risk that they might give him any opportunity to get free. With every passing hour he felt his strength ebb away and knew that soon he would not be able to resist whatever it was that was planned for him.

And even as he became weaker, his determination to see his wife again kept his mind active... or at least, it helped stem off the urges to scream in fear and frustration.

Where were the damned Legion? Whatever the reason for them not rescuing him yet, he thought, whoever it was that was holding him here would find out pretty quickly after he escaped how big a mistake it was to piss off a Daxamite with serious military training!


Three hours ago Captain Tuk Shir had finally succumbed to extreme exhaustion and collapsed.

The Dominators that were running this experiment had been careful to ensure that the Daxamite was truly unconscious, though once they were certain they ordered their staff to remove the captain and prepare him for harvesting.

I really love how you introduce new concepts, Harbi. the Mathemagic concept is an interesting one, and I laughed a bit at how it's more potent than the (quote) commonplace probability scanning of Naltorians

that's a super interesting description of x345 there....! and a mission to ensure the laws of physics stay constant, huh!

I really like the little bits of tech you've added to explain how Legionnaires can sneak around (or weather weird environments, etc.), it just makes sense that with all the tech at their disposal, they'd have things like telepathic white noise projectors...

nice way to highlight Strobe's speed and usefulness! quite impressive indeed!

I love Snoop's design! like a chicken, I giggled at that. making them highly intelligent also adds a nice juxtaposition there

ah, smart of Mon-El to keep an eye on Tinya's team... though I can imagine Tinya wont be very happy with him doing that. maybe.

whew, that energy field is something, they really thought of everything to stop Tuk Shir from escaping... he's smart though, knowing he has to conserve his strength and stay alert. I would probably have given into despair by that point.

Good explanation for why Tuk is still OK despite being gone for quite some time... that the Dominators were really intending to weaken him.

oooh, excited for the next bit!

okay I immediately love x345(3xY-p) and Snoop! They are really ALIEN aliens!

I especially like how x345(3xY-p) isn't actually even a villain, but just has a different perspective on the greater good.

And Strobe is starting to become the Legion's own little Monica Rambeau, he's much cooler than a certain other character from Dryad who turns into light

Somewhere within the Dominion Empire

Phantom Girl – Team Leader, Tinya Wazzo of Bgtzl Dimension - intangibility
Chameleon Boy – Espionage Squad leader, Reep Daggle of Durla - shape changer
MWindaji - Gahaji of Kiringyaga - super tracker, carries the Ruby of Life allowing tactile transformative magic

Newly promoted from Academy student to full membership (Mentor in brackets):
Strobe - Denal Lort of Dryad - assume electro-magnetic energy form (Chameleon Boy)



MWindaji carefully led the way.

It had been over thirty minutes since they had arrived and Gahaji reckoned they had managed to make it most of the way to their missing colleague.

Chameleon Boy had changed a small flying form that was buzzing around the group, sometimes he was in front, sometimes behind as the Durlan used the enhanced sight of the creature who's form he had assumed to look out for any guards or personnel from this base. Strobe was off in an x-ray form searching this base for information while Phantom Girl floated quietly behind the tracker from Kiringyaga.

The tracker could feel they were getting closer to their quarry but the Legionnaires had had to make a few hurried stops as they hid from Dominators.

The Diskheads were thankfully oblivious to the team as they went about their business in this base. There were two humans - presumably from Sa Lok's staff on Rimbor - that accompanied each group of the Dominators. The humans looked dazed, perhaps drugged. as they got clser to where M'Windaji was leading them the team all noticed that lights were getting brighter and the thrumming noise that they had heard when they arrived was louder now as well. The laboratory where he was being held was clearly central to this facility. As Tinya thought about it, it kind of made sense - having access to a Daxamite's DNA that also held the secret to maintaining that races incredible powers under a red star would be an absolute coup for the Dominion.

<we're getting closer, I think he'll be about 250 metres that way, one level down from here> MWindaji pointed ahead of them as he sent his thoughts across the telepathic matrix.

<team, let's think this through before we charge in there> Tinya sent as Gahaji started to fly forward. The tracker turned back towards her and gave a small smile.

<What do you suggest Tinya?> Reep sent his thoughts out.

<Oh... I think perhaps it's time we created a distraction>

..............


Strobe had flown in circles around the team in x-ray form.

He remembered his academy training and scoped out the floors above and below as well as just the level they were on - 3D thinking was a constant part of the training he had been given while at the academy. The adrenaline fuelled urge was to fly around at full speed but he knew that was how he would miss things so he controlled his velocity and moved at a reasonable rate.

Initially a lot of the rooms around them appeared to be storage or empty living quarters but as they got closer to their kidnapped colleague there were an increasing number of laboratories and strange open places that held large tree-like structures with pods holding organic structures. Denal was sure these were Dominion clone vats though he didn't stop in any of them long enough to make certain. Each of these tree-like things had cables... roots perhaps, that all led in the same direction. Strobe decided to quickly check this out and it was while he was flying through a room two levels below that he witnessed something he knew he would need to report to Phantom Girl and the team above.

Strobe had once disarmed a Dominion battle cruiser by disrupting their energy grid while on a mission with Mon El. After that experience he could recognise a power generator of Dominion design when he got close to it. This room opened up into a massive cavern that housed an enormous dome that filled his senses; a Dominator Power Sphere! Though what really grabbed his attention was that it had a queue of what he assumed were humans close by. He carefully lowered his x-ray form to get closer and saw that there were three Dominators stood at the top of a ramp that led to the generator and they called for one of the humans to approach... As Strobe watched the person touched a spot on the generators dome and started the glow. The young man from Dryad could feel the exponential increase in energy within them as if they were sucking in the energy from the power sphere. The now charged-up person stepped back and the next person in the queue stepped up. A group of Dominators would lead these hyper-charged individuals away in pairs.

Strobe realised he had been hovering there for thirty seconds, though maybe more, and needed to keep his teammates updated with what was around them.

In a split second Strobe was back with his teammates to share what he had found. He used the telepathic matrix to share his memories though his senses were very different to his teammates so he needed to explain what he had witnessed.

<they're powering up... you think it's the Rimborians that had gene-mods? That's very worrying, they were tough enough already> Chameleon Boy shared. <Denal you need to....>

<no, don't do anything right now Denal... we're here to rescue Captain Shir, and can return once we have him safely back on First Base. We'll need to distract them... so, Denal, can you try to find one of their power spheres a few klicks from here and do your thing on it, mess it up, see if we can get their attention pointed away from us. Do you think you're up for that?> Phantom Girl sounded concerned but it was clear she was only focused on the mission.

The young man from Dryad nodded and vanished. Reep was silent as they continued on their way to the captured colleague.

.............


Chameleon Boy saw the guards!

After Strobe had left to complete the mission Tinya had given him, Reep had flown ahead of his teammates staying in a tiny form and sticking close to the ceiling where he felt it was less likely he would be seen. The corridor had several tight turns that made it more likely that the team could be caught unawares so Reep had taken it upon himself to act as a look-out, ranging four or five metres ahead of his colleagues.

The two Dominators were tall and skinny, standing outside a large octagonal doorway like guards. They were wearing flowing green robes that blended seamlessly into the walls around them making them harder to spot. Reep did see that both and had red hexagons on their brows - he was fairly sure that meant they had been enhanced. He quietly flew above them to get a better look. Before he could send a telepathic warning to Tinya or Gahaji they both pulled small weapons from their robes and turned towards the direction where the Legionnaires were coming from; something had alerted them to the team's presence and Reep was sure they would get the opportunity fire off an attack before M'Windaji could avoid it...

The Durlan had been silently circling above their heads in the form of a Saundorrean Midge-fly. Without a second thought he quickly changed into a Braalian Ferropotamus and allowed gravity to take its course, squashing the two guards underneath his metallic hide with a 'clank!'

The Legionnaire quickly changed back into his usual form and snapped two incapacity cuffs onto their arms before pulling them to the side of the curved corridor.

<What the hell... Reep!> Tinya was clearly surprised. She hadn't seen the guards as she had been floating behind M'windaji.

<Gahaji, can you find a place where we can stash these two until this is all over?>

The hunter closed his eyes for a second before pointing towards the wall ten feet further down the corridor. They dragged the two unconscious Dominators and once they had reached the spot he had pointed to Gahaji leaned against the wall. There was a small hum and it spiralled open into a darkened room. They flung the guards into the room and stepped back into the corridor, allowing the door to spiral shut behind them.

In the corridor the ambient lighting had changed, suddenly flashing pale blue. An alarm had obviously been tripped.

<Was that Denal or us?> Gahaji asked?

<Not sure... Either way, let's get moving>

<follow me, we're nearly there> M'Windaji rushed through the doors were the two guards had been standing closely followed by Phantom Girl and Chameleon Boy in the shape of a sand-fly.

Inside were sleeping quarters housing over a dozen of Sa Lok's enhanced meta-troops along with several of the tall Dominators. The Legionnaire's unexpected entrance did not go unnoticed and within seconds there were energy bolts being flung at them as they quickly retreated.

...............


Second Base:

Mon El - Senior Team member, Lar Gand of Daxam - incredible strength, speed, stamina, senses, laser vision, space flight, invulnerability

Intern: Snoop - Science Police Cadet Horol Gyllaspi of the Galentorio Satellites - astral projection

Support staff: Henry – Anti Lad – Spatial warp controller


Mon El had watched enough!

Snoop had been sharing their astral visions with him. If needed Mon El could be incredibly patient - it was something he had learned painfully while trapped within the Phantom Zone for almost a thousand years. But that didn't mean he would ever be comfortable being in a situation where he was remaining on the sidelines while being able to act as people desperately needed his assistance.

"Henry can you come here please." The Daxamite said out loud, knowing that the holo-man who controlled the teams spatial warps would hear him through the flight ring comm app and appear in front of him.

It took three seconds before the holo materialised.

"Lar, how may I help you?"

"I need a warp to Tinya's location, now. Her team needs my help."

Henry gave a small sad smile and shook his head.

"I'm so sorry but Phantom Girl expressly forbade me from sending a warp to her team if you requested it. She said, and I quote 'if Lar asks for a warp to help us you need to tell him to give us a chance to complete the mission and not charge in their like a bull. We don't want to start an intergalactic war.' So, my apologies but I shall not be opening that warp for you. Is there anything else I can help you with."

Mon El swore at Henry, who gave an apologetic shrug and half smile in reply.

Hey folks, sorry for the delay, things have been busy, though there should be more coming your way very soon - fingers crossed by the end of the week.

no apologies needed Harbi, good writing takes time, and it's always a treat seeing something new from you!

As always, I like your look into the thought processes of your characters - see, Strobe applying his Academy training.

Dazed human staff... it does make sense that they would be drugged, I bet the Dominators would take precautions

Hyper-charged individuals.. are those the dazed staff? uh oh...

I like how Gahaji can also track/find things,like a room they needed to stash the guards

ooooh my gosh, Tinya had anticipated Lar looking in! both clever of her, and... well, let's see if it was completely wise!

I do like the tensions you've written in: Cham being forward-thinking and probably wanting to put a stop to the spheres for good, while Tinya focused on the mission and wanting to avoid a larger incident... well, it's hit the fan now, I'm super eager to see what comes next, Harbi!

I like the realistic tension between Tinya and Cham, it's not over the top and you can't really say that either of them is in the wrong...

Also continuing to enjoy Strobe's little outings! I really dig the way you have him use his powers!

I had to laugh at Henry being all "lol sorry not sorry" at Mon....and it makes total sense to me that Tinya of all people would anticipate Mon wanting to come play cavalry - it is one of those things that shows how well they know one another without necessarily making a big deal out of it.

I quite like this small team that Tinya has taken with her, I am looking forward to seeing how they go from here!

Somewhere within the Dominion Empire

Phantom Girl – Team Leader, Tinya Wazzo of Bgtzl Dimension - intangibility
Chameleon Boy – Espionage Squad leader, Reep Daggle of Durla - shape changer
MWindaji - Gahaji of Kiringyaga - super tracker, carries the Ruby of Life allowing tactile transformative magic

Newly promoted from Academy student to full membership (Mentor in brackets):
Strobe - Denal Lort of Dryad - assume electro-magnetic energy form (Chameleon Boy)


M'Windaji and Chameleon Boy fled along the corridor.

They turned a corner and Reep pushed Gahaji against a wall.

<quiet! and tuck your feet in> As the message was sent the Durlan transformed into a large leaf-like shape and squeezed the tracker up against the wall.

A group of the thugs roared around the corridor and ran past them.

<Tinya? Are you okay? I'm with Gahaji...>

<my ruby can make me totally invisible to them> the tracker sent as he pushed Chameleon Boy off. MWindaji gripped the enchanted stone tightly and visualised becoming undetectable to anyone that wasn't a Legionnaire. Chameleon Boy could tell that something had happened as his colleague appeared to dim ever so slightly, as if suddenly wrapped in a heat haze. Knowing full well that magic was outside of his own understanding Reep trusted that the young tracker knew what he was doing.

<I'm okay guys, you get Captain Shir and I'll be right behind you> Tinya called across the telepathic matrix.

They could hear explosions and yells traveling away from them. There was obviously a group of thugs chasing after Tinya in the opposite direction.

<Strobe!> Chameleon Boy reached out for the new Legionnaire he was mentoring, <can you find and assist Tinya...>

<no! Guys, listen to me. Get Captain Shir out of here and I'll find you> Phantom Girl cut the communication, her focus was clearly on dealing with the thugs that were chasing after her.

<I don't understand, she could easily lose them...> M'Windaji sent to Chameleon Boy. They were carefully retracing their steps.

<yes, and she will as soon as we have our Daxamite colleague away from here. So let's get that done and let Tinya keep those the guards away from us>

As Reep sent this message they both heard a explosion that rocked the complex they were in. It came from behind them and from the way it echoed and rumbled through the buildings, they estimated it was quite far away. Seconds later Strobe appeared beside them and announced that he had damaged the power sphere as asked and wondered if he should hit a few more. Chameleon Boy gave the young man from Dryad some praise and asked him to stay close, their primary mission was to free their colleague and they were getting close.

The three men retraced their steps along to where Gahaji had indicated they could find their Daxamite colleague.

<Guys, I have an idea...> Gahaji sent <Reep, I need you to touch me so the Ruby can make you undetectable too. We should be able to sneak right past any guards they have and grab Tuk Shir. Once I get my hands on him he'll vanish too then we can call a warp out of here>

Gahaji felt his Durlan colleague, in the form of a small fly land on his shoulder.

<Okay.... he's not far away now so let's go get him>

................


Phantom Girl knew what she was doing.

They had been seen and there was nothing any of them could do about that fact but that didn't mean the Legion wouldn't get what they came for. And, she also knew if she was clever about it they would never be officially held responsible for taking Tuk Shir back either.

Her distorter on her belt would make it really difficult for the group giving chase to find her if she set it on the Hide function but instead she willed it to generate an illusion that would slightly modify her outfit and features - she would not be seen as a known Legionnaire in any footage that might come up from this excursion. Instead she would appear as a pale purple skinned woman and the uniform it projected was a standard bounty hunters mish-mash of armour. Also, by feigning to be injured she knew that the thugs chasing after her saw her as an easy target... she found it quite funny how easy it was to get them away from where she needed her teammates to be.

There were bound to be guards left behind where they had just ran from, she knew they wouldn't be lucky enough to have them all chasing after her, but even if she had just split the defending force in half it meant much better odds for Reep and Gahaji and Denal.

The team leader had an idea: locate some infrastructure that looked vital and hide out in it, getting the thugs that were close behind her to rip it apart trying to reach her and so damage their own base in the process. As she looked around for anything that appeared to be important a bolt of electricity zapped close by her head. Instinctively, Tinya ducked, and as she did someone charged into her and fell straight through her immaterial form to crash into a wall. In an attempt to misdirect the thugs that were racing up behind her she punched the fallen man firmly on the back of the head and while doing that slipped an incapacity cuff on his wrist with her other hand. He immediately fell unconscious just as she hoped. Tinya quickly rummaged in his belt and threw away a gun before finding what appeared to be a command key. She only had seconds as the mob got close. She quickly ripped the cuff off his arm, so as to not leave evidence behind, and ran. It would appear to the thugs following her that she had strength enough knock one of their enhanced comrades out, which might make them pause a little. She hoped that this misdirection would give her extra seconds when they finally got close to her.

More energy bolts flew past the Legionnaire, scorching and smashing the walls and floor around her.

Tinya smiled as she flew along the twisting corridors.

..................


MWindaji could hear his heart beating.

He floated through the sleeping quarters they had just ran from, sticking to the sides of the room to avoid the four guards who remained. The team had established that Sa Lok had taken a team of his gene-modified security from Rimbor when he fled so weren't surprised to see them here. Each of the guards looked like they meant serious business! Three of them wore paramilitary armour while the fourth had metallic skin with thorny spikes running across their shoulders and arms.

"Any news?" The guard that stood at the door at the rear of the room said.

"La Chon-Sai says there's only one woman, but she's tricky... wearing some camouflage that scrambles the sensors but they'll get her, there's nowhere she can run to." The woman by the door said, her eyes never leaving the corridor.

"Keep me up-dated." The first guard growled. Even as he spoke the Legionnaires sneaked past and into the corridor behind him.

The corridor led to junction that split into four. Gahaji cautiously led them down the central corridor which reached a small room where three Dominators and two humans were watching a screen. None were facing the door as it opened and before they could turn around Strobe had transformed into a bolt of electricity and blown them off their feet. Chameleon Boy recognised one of the men as Sa Lok, the rogue former UP Under-Secretary from Rimbor who had set up the gene-mod shops on his homeworld. Reep assumed his normal form and quickly turned to the door behind them and ensured it was locked shut - the guards outside hopefully wouldn't disturb them for a while. The Durlan resumed the form of a fly and circled above the control panel desperate to figure out how to release their colleague.

As he flew over the hard light control he saw the Dominators get back on their feet and Sa Lok rubbed his eyes and sat up.

"Oh Legionnaires and your little tricks, I know you're here." He growled. He closed his eyes and started to glow a sickly green colour. A light pulsed out from him across the room and with it Reep found himself back in his natural form and Strobe appeared, suddenly human again.

"You didn't think I'd empower myself? Neutralising abilities is such a handy skill to have..." As the former Under-Secretary spoke the Dominators jumped at the Legionnaires who desperately fought against them. Strobe struggled and was quickly forced face down upon the ground by two of them while Reep did his best within the confined space to use his combat training effectively against a bigger and stronger opponent but even with all his experience, the Durlan was struggling.

MWindaji floated at the side of the room, suddenly aware that he could no longer sense the presence of Tuk Shir... his tracking ability had been neutralised! It took a second to see that the Dominators had not attacked him but he quickly realised that the Ruby of Life must not have been affected by Sa Lok's unexpected ability. Swooping across the room Gahaji slapped an incapacity cuff on Sa Lok's arm as the Rimborian was standing up. The former UP Under-Secretary collapsed. The young tracker then did the same to the Dominators on top of Strobe and Chameleon Boy.

"Thank you Gahaji..." Chameleon Boy said as he took a couple of deep breaths, "right, let's get Captain Shir out of here and skedaddle! that's enough excitement for one day."

"How long will this last?" Strobe said. He was still lying on the floor, blood was trickling from his nose and he had red marks across the side of his face where the Dominators had struck him. He seemed oblivious to that and was looking aghast at his flesh and blood hands.

"C'mon, we need to get Captain Shir and get out of here. We'll get fixed up back on base..." Gahaji said as he helped the young man from Dryad up from the floor.

Reep had been working on the control panel. His fingers flew across the hard light console and a green light started flashing above the Legionnaires. There was a loud whirring noise and the whole wall in front of them folded in on itself revealing a chamber with an ruddy red glow. Captain Tuk Shir, looking exhausted and weak as he hung in mid-air. Two muscular Dominion drones moved aside as the Legionnaires stepped into the small holding cell. Gahaji quickly brushed the Ruby of Life against them and willed them to remain frozen. He had no idea how much individual control the Dominion's clone grown workforce had but he was not away to take any chances... not when they were so close to their objective!

"Henry!" Reep said into his flight ring, "we need a warp to First Base Medi-bay, right now."

Gahaji stepped back towards the room they had just came from and dragged the unconscious Sa Lok towards the group. Even as the honey and violet warp spun into existence before them Reep turned to Gahaji and gave a curious look.

"This bastard needs to face justice too."

<Tinya, we have Captain Shir, it's time to go now> Reep sent across the telepathic matrix as the warp swallowed them up and deposited the group back onto First Base.

..................


Phantom Girl could feel the psychic attack push against her mind.

It wasn't telepathy, it felt more like a clumsy attempt at what Psyche might do. Her emotions were running wild, one second she felt paranoid and dreadfully afraid and then the next she was euphoric... it didn't help that the group of soldiers following her were firing off energy blasts and it was getting increasingly hard to avoid them. they had nearly caught her twice already.

In her years as a Legionnaire Tinya had always felt pretty much untouchable - in a literal sense of course but also as she saw herself as quick thinking and having had a lot of experienced in surviving all sorts of difficult and dangerous situations. She could call on a warp if all else failed and simply step away back to First Base, though she would leave that as the last resort, her team needed her to buy them enough time to free Tuk Shir.

She blinked, or perhaps closed her eyes for several seconds... she wasn't exactly sure which. The corridor seemed to spin around her and she fought the almost over-whelming urge to scream. She could hear yells and cheers behind her from the gang that still chased after her. It sounded like they had been joined by someone... was that the person making her feel so weird? was that why the security forces were cheering? What meta-abilities had they been given, and had they been through the amplification process that Denal had reported? Tinya heard these thoughts as she fought against the implanted emotions.

After turning a blind corner Tinya allowed herself to drop through the floor, away from the attacking group hoping to buy herself a little bit of time. As she floated just below the ceiling she could hear her pursuers race above. The sense of panic and unease faded...

Looking around herself, Tinya saw that she was hovering above what looked like a power sphere and she wondered if this was the room where strobe had seen what looked like the gene-modified troops getting their abilities amped up. For a split second she wished Querl Dox was there to examine the technology... the room was dimly lit and she lowered herself towards the glowing control panel at the side of the large dome set on a Dominion chloro-tech podium.

She knew that she wouldn't be able to avoid the thugs that had chased after her for long, and likely they would arrive soon so wanted to record as much as possible with her flight ring scanner while the room was empty. She reached across the control panel - one section of the screen had an arrow-like shape that she remembered from a basic training session several years before was the Dominion symbol for 'go' or 'start'. She brought out the command key she had taken from the thug earlier and touched it against this symbol and stood back, waiting to see what would happen.

Nothing changed... no sudden energy surge or even blinking light on the control panel. As she watched the podium remained inert. Well, she thought, she had scanned it thoroughly so perhaps the Science Police could figure it out. Whatever it was and however it worked would be a question for another day as she looked around for another exit that she could take which would lead the guards away from her teammates.

It was only a matter of seconds later that a door burst open and almost a dozen of Sa Lok's meta-security force ran in.

.........................


The feeling of abject hopelessness immediately overwhelmed Phantom Girl.

She slumped forward as several energy bolts passed through her intangible form. The group that had been chasing after her were only metres away as she stumbled behind the control console, her thoughts were racing uncontrollably: fear was dominant, alongside a hopelessness that urged her to give up entirely.

"We got her. She'll not give us any more trouble." the young mans voice sounded proud.

"What is she doing here? A merc would never come here, would they?"

"Probably for enough money..." The gruff response.

"We gotta get her outta here, the boss'll kill us if she damages the amplifier!"

They reached for the Legion Leader unaware of who she was as the distorter still kept its holo-image around her. Tinya remained intangible as she stated to curl up into herself, like a child cowering against bullies. Several flashes of energy erupted which led to the security personnel arguing amongst themselves. Several were aware that if they were to damage the technology around them there would be serious questions to answer. The sort of questions that could lead to one being killed if answered incorrectly.

Phantom Girl felt exhausted.

A bone aching weariness that made her eyes hurt as they started to cry. She knew that she had been worn down by previous missions before leading this one - Reep had warned her! - so the psychic attacks were taking their toll much harder than she would have expected. With some difficulty she reminded herself that she was currently the longest serving member of the Legion. She needed to get up and finish her mission!

<Tinya, we have Captain Shir, it's time to go now>

The telepathic message surprised her and for two long seconds she simply did not know what to do, until some gut reaction made her stand up and turn to face the crowd of meta-security that Sa Lok had taken from Rimbor.

...............................


"Henry, you need to warp Tinya out." Chameleon Boy said to the holo-man.

"Of course Chameleon Boy, as soon as she requests it I shall open a warp..."

"No now, please." Reep rarely expressed emptions openly, but his voice was clearly that of an angry man as he spoke to Henry.

"I have express orders to await for Tinya to request a warp herself. From Tinya."

"You will do it now!" Reep repeated, his voice softer this time and somehow more authoritative as a result.

"Ah... of course."

...............................


"You can't touch me... but I can touch you!"

Tinya kicked out, the sole of her right foot connecting with the throat of the soldier directly in front of her.

"Stupid bint!" He said as she hopped back, "mah skin's hard as steel!" He started to laugh, but not for long.

"Bet your kidneys aren't..." And with that Tinya lashed out again, this time phasing her foot inside his thick torso. He grunted and fell back in agony as she withdrew her foot.

"Who's next?" Tinya realised that by showing her powers and obvious skill with them she risked identifying herself but she didn't care, she wanted to show these jack-asses not to mess with her!

The security stepped back and several started to glow with energy, preparing to blast her if she became solid again.

Tinya stepped backwards and quickly looked around. She was stood next to a podium, in the shadow of a huge dome that she knew was a Power Sphere. Out of the corner of her eye she could see that it had started to light up. This would not be an area where the security around her would risk being too brutal - damaging a Power Sphere would cause immeasurable, potentially lethal harm. She knew she needed to get out of sight before she could summon one of Henry's warps so stepped backwards, and phased into the podium next to her.

"Get her away from the amplifier!" A guard shouted as they stretched out their hands, shining a green light from their palms in the Legion leaders direction.

Instinctively Tinya dived downwards into the mess of chloro-tech for the control panel on the podium, phasing inside it. As she did it started to light up and she felt as if she were being pulled in all directions.

There was a momentary feeling of weightlessness and then everything went black.

.......................


"I'm so sorry Chameleon Boy but I am not able to locate Phantom Girl to offer her a warp." Henry looked mystified as he spoke.

"What do you mean? You know where she is..." Reep scratched his chin and squinted his eyes as he replied.

"I believe the planetoid where you went to retrieve Captain Shir... I am unable to reach it as it seems to have vanished."

Yay, that was fun! A good showing for our little makeshift Espionage Squad, even if Tinya was maybe a little too cocky for her own good in the end!

The four of them all got a nice bit of spotlight though - I really liked Tinya getting to strut her stuff on her own...on a team of powerhouses you don't really get to see how effective she can be in combat a lot of the time. I also like Mwindaji realising the power nullification didn't affect his ruby, and Strobe having a minor freak-out about losing his powers.

One thing though...



Did Tinya accidentally dusguise herself as Bendis Phantom Girl?? I love it!

More great stuff Harbi! and you excel so well in the little nuances, like Cham knowing what Tinya was doing (acting as a distraction) while the newer Gahaji did not.

nice little easter egg re Tinya making herself appear purple, like the Bendisboot version

of course Sa Lok would empower himself! nice curve ball though, it still increased the tension well!

always the loopholes though Sa Lok neutralizes natural abilities, but not magic... nice touch

oh I wonder if Tinya activated something dangerous unknowingly...

nice grit from Tinya, fighting back against overwhelming odds. also good acknowledgement of the impact of fatigue

also nice bit with Reep ordering Henry to open a warp... and convincing Henry!

oops! oh wow did not expect that, Tinya must indeed have activated something unknowingly... yikes! she got too cocky perhaps? was it the impact of the empathic manipulation?

whoo boy! you have upped the ante very well!

Support Staff:
Science Police Psychiatrist - Doctor Anje Falkner - alpha-level telepath

Newly promoted from Academy student to full membership (Mentor in brackets):
Mindbender - Marmud Illic of Titan - alpha-level telepath (Duplicate Girl)

Home Base, Legion Academy, Sol System:


Dr Anje Falkner taught the class on interpersonal relationships on Home Base as requested.

Lu and Rokk had asked the team's psychiatrist to address a recent issue that had been brought to their attention and of course she had said she would gladly help. As one of her qualifications was as a Sexual Health and Relationship Therapist, she had the experience and know-how to talk to the assembled student body to address the issue of consent and legality in physical relationships.

The majority of the students here were off their home world for the first time. As a result, they were re-establishing themselves within a new social and professional hierarchy and each would be addressing this within their own unique understanding of what a relationship should look like, most likely according to the social norms of the world they had come from. On top of that, they each had unique physiologies that would drive their physical urges and had their own individual moralities and social mores to guide them.

She had given tbe first part of her presentation on the normality and positive benefits of masturbation, before she began the trickier part of how to establish and respect boundaries when entering relationships... something a lot of youths found difficult, especially in the confines of the academy where they were living next to the people they trained and studied alongside day after day.

There had been a lot of embarrassed laughing and blushes. One student from a more conservative culture had stood up and left without a word. Anje put a quick note in her diary to remind her to contact that student afterwards.

After she had finished the presentation Anje had opened the floor up and there had been a few interesting queries before a Naltoran asked a rather bluntly phrased anatomically direct question, much to the amusement of their peers. Anje had smiled and carefully answered, being sure to use the same wording but without any real emotion to de-emphasise their crudity. She had smiled calmly as she treated the question as if it were an everyday matter, something of no great importance. The Naltoran looked a little unhappy that they hadn't gotten the response they wanted but said their thanks and sat down afterwards.

There were several other questions, some she could answer directly while others she had to remind the students that the laws of the United Planets applied here just as much as anywhere else, and in fact they had to set an example of propriety and decency as they were under the Legion's care, so certain things were a definite no-no despite how physically mature or emotionally ready the student thought they were. She tried not to show her disappointment at these questions but the majority of the student body were aware that they had just been given a clear warning that certain behaviours would not be tolerated.

The session ended after a little over two hours and Dr Falkner had twenty minutes before her next session. As expected, there were several alerts pop up on her private flight ring communication bandwidth - these students queries didn't look particularly urgent so they would have to wait as she desperately needed a cup of green tea before she got to work at her next counselling session.

Marmus Illic, the young telepath they called the Mindbender had requested an urgent meeting.


...................................


Anje Faulkner sat opposite Marmud and smiled warmly.

Marmud Illic knew her report could potentially torpedo him becoming a full Legionnaire. He also knew, logically, that he had successfully saved several Legionnaires on his first mission, held the highest ratings for any of the current psychic students on Home Base, and was one hundred percent committed to the Legion's ethos, but his emotions just wouldn't settle down... every thought that came into his head seemed to start with "But what if...?"

And... he couldn't quite stop his heart from racing in anxiety whenever he had a call from his mentor....

And finally, Marmud knew he desperately needed to offload what he was feeling or the situation would never improve so he called Dr Falkner. She understood without it being said that as a telepath from Titan, Marmud could cause some damage if he was to lose control of his emotions. There was a reason why Titanians had a reputation for being unemotional and closed off - their natural ability would easy spread whatever they were feeling amongst unprotected minds - so from their early childhoods they were taught how to manage and control such outpourings..

<you have an alpha graded telepathic ability with a particularly strong emphasis on mind control, you have completed the team's combat training with several distinctions, have a perfect mission record and, I believe, currently have several pages dedicated to you on Hot Zone as the up-and-coming star to watch. So, with all of these factors being taken into account Marmud, why do you have doubts about becoming a full-time Legionnaire?>

<I don't think I'm not worthy, or at least I'm as worthy as anyone else I guess... I just can't stand it and am having serious doubts about my career here. I... I just hate being under Duplicate Girl. I don't get any time to enjoy the experience, like she's this devil on my shoulder that won't let me rest. I was going to ask to swap mentors with Poltergeist after he blew it with Element Lad but he's now got Tyroc and doesn't want to swap anymore>

<aah, so it's a personality clash... if you like I can make a request on your behalf, perhaps transfer you to First Base and swap with one of your peers there?>

<it's more than that! She's like... she's a barracuda, I wouldn't wish her on the bloody LSV. She can literally suck the joy out of a party, like suck the joy right out! I know because I've lived it...>

Anje Falkner sat back in her seat and let the young man get everything off his chest.

<I know she's super focused and determined and has... I dunno, like four hundred years more experience than me, but I just can't stand her. I really can't, she's awful. She's a truly awful person! She... I was so proud of myself getting this far. Y'know I harassed my parents from the age of eight... eight! Just to get martial arts lessons after I saw a docu-holo on the Legionnaires. I stayed late at school to study every flippin' day so my grades would be the best, I've spent over half my life training for this and that ...snot-dragon is sucking the joy out of me>

There was a long pause before he continued.

<I'm considering quitting. I'm surethe science Police would take me> Marmud wiped a hand across his eyes as tears formed. <You know, this morning I met her for a training session at 0600 hours and I was literally one minute late as I ran into Grava and Drinchnar on the way and said 'hi' to them, and she went ballistic. Totally called me out in front of everyone there as if I'd personally offended her grandmother or something. Thing is, okay I was one minute late, but I couldn't help but hear her thoughts on how much pleasure she was taking from telling me off>

<she was testing you?>

<loving humiliating me more like...>

<no, I don't think that's her nature Marmud, I really don't. Luornu is a long-standing member of the team with over a decade of experience at the academy. She must have known you could have heard her... I believe, from what I have observed, that she was pushing for a response, testing your resolve.>

<so, you reckon she wanted to push me for a reaction? It was another training session? Why, for god's sake? That's what the academy was for! I'm supposed to be a junior Legionnaire, not a student. They made such a point of training us that we must show our colleagues respect even if they are very different from our own expectations of the 'norm', it was drilled into us in almost every lesson but she isn't practicing what she's preaching. I've had enough of it Dr Falkner, let me show you...>

Marmud opened up his mind to the psychiatrist and shared the memories from the last week: Lu calling him at 0330 hours for an urgent meeting as a drill so he would realise that Legionnaires could be called at any time then expecting him to meet her in the gym a few hours later at 0600 for a two hour combat lesson, Lu harshly telling him to 'mind his place' in front of other Legionnaires when he had tried to crack a joke when they were waiting to warp to Lallor then quite blatantly ignoring him for the entire mission after that, the dismal of his question when he asked for advice - "Really? You should know that already..." , toxic glances and cold body language were commonplace and then Lu talking shop during the party the other night... as much as he knew it was a minor complaint it had been that conversation which had finally sealed the deal for him that she was just an awful person.

Her constant tough love approach of talking business and making every single little thing be about her perceived idea of what a perfect Legionnaire should do, say, act... All his fellow Mentees were saying how great their mentors were and how constructive and supportive they were. He didn't sense any of that from her. He didn't look forward to going on missions anymore, he was barely sleeping as he expected her to call and now knew that if he wasn't ready exactly as she wanted him to be when she wanted then she would turn on him. He didn't know what to say as he was sure it would be criticised and he was becoming scared to act in case he got it wrong. And he hadn't had a full nights sleep in a week!

It was wearing him down and it had only been just over a week since she had become his mentor!

Anje Falkner did her best to sooth the young man's mind without affecting any of his memories.

<okay, so one question springs to mind Marmud. You are used to being he best, aren't you? I mean you record certainly points towards that...>

<yup, though only through hard work, I don't expect to get first place in everything. I try my best with every challenge and if do end up taking the lead... well it's nice but it's not the be-all and end-all of it. For instance, psionically I know I'm real buff but physically not so much so I work hard at my martial arts and self defence training...>

<I do see that, and I have to say you have a rare focus and drive, it's something you should be proud of...>

<so why amn't I hearing anything like that from my mentor? Why does she have to be such a savage controlling bitch?>

<Okay...> For the first time Dr Falkner's face was something other than neutral in expression, and Marmud realised he had taken this too far, but before he could apologise the psychiatrist continued <you're clearly upset. It will impact negatively on your experience here and mission readiness if you don't deal with it. So... I can't tell you what the right thing is to do Marmud but I am going to sign you off active duty for 48 hours and suggest you use that time to think over what you want to do. If you need to talk to me again then feel free to contact this office at any time. As you said, you have dedicated a lot of time and energy to get this far so this is not a decision to jump into. I recommend meditation and relaxation, allow your mind to transcend the immediate so you can perceive the bigger picture and decide the position you want within in>

<thank you, thank you so much Dr Falkner, that’ll give me some breathing room, some thinking room...>

<it’s not unusual to find that when we get close to the things we’ve worked hard for that they are not what we expected Marmud, and a Legionnaire's life is not nearly as glamorous...>

Unexpectedly, a holo of Henry appeared between them.

“Dr Faulkner, please follow me as your husband needs you.” And with that a honey and violet spinning disc spun into existence next to her.

Both Dr Falkner and Mindbender jumped through the warp.

.......................................


Support Staff:
Dr Shoodixi Singh - Science Police Medical Officer - bio-empathic
Solstin Wang of Earth - Booster - medical support - awareness and manipulation of physical properties of those around him
Gloriana Crestellen of Grighshtall iv - Glory - medical support - awareness and manipulation of bio-auras


The warp opened into the medi-bay on First Base.

Dr Shoodixi Singh from second Base alongside both Booster and Glory were leaning over Captain Tuk Shir's unconscious body as he lay prone on a floating bed. Three drones hovered above them pumping out an intense light obviously trying to recharge the solar radiation that that was missing from his depleted cells to empower him. A force field wall sprang up between the team's counsellor and the new Legionnaire and the medical team.

Dr Falkner understood this was standard procedure with a patient as clearly injured as Tuk Shir, he would be isolated from everyone other than essential staff until it was felt he was well enough to deal with them.

"Anje, glad you're here. They got Tuk but he's not in great shape. we're doing everything we can. Are you able to... y'know, check him inside?" Dr Shoodixi Singh asked as they gave the teams counsellor a quick supportive smile.

"Yes, I'm in his mind already Shood. Poor man... he is there, just so exhausted." There were tears in her eyes as she replied but her voice was steady. The man she had loved for over a decade appeared from her preliminary scan to be in overall acceptable shape, though would clearly need a lot of support in the days and weeks going forward as he recovered from this experience. Anje knew that Tuk had a singular focus that would intimidate most people and at that moment was grateful for this character trait as it would help him get back to his former self.

"Where are the rest of them?" Marmud asked.

Booster turned and gave a tight grin before nodding towards the decontamination suite, "We put them in there, we need to check they're okay and didn't bring anything back accidentally. They brought back Sa Lok as well. I put him in a holding cell until the Senior Team are ready to hand him over to the Science Police."

..........................


Chameleon Boy sat patiently within the decontamination chamber.

The Durlan had been through this experience before so used this time to calmly recount the mission to a log-file. He knew that it would only take an hour or so before Dr Singh would give them the all-clear so wanted to make sure he captured everything he could remember for the teams' records.


In the next chamber MWindaji paced the three metre wide floor.

The young tracker was worried that his abilities might not return. The universe felt so much smaller without them. Zoe had sent a holo - she had been told quite sternly she could not attend in person until the clinical team released him. They chatted as he paced, mostly about small stuff, both understanding without it being said that Gahajhi was really worried about Tinya and the apparent loss of his tracking skill.

Zoe promised she would cook Gahaji his favourite meal for when he got out to celebrate him saving Tuk Shir and catching the former Under-Secretary Sa Lok. Gahaji had asked if she minded simply using the auto-chef as she wasn't the best cook on First Base... or even their apartment, which led to playful bickering between them that quickly had them both laughing. Without even thinking Gahaji said "y'know I do love you, don't you?"

"So you should!" She replied with teasing grin and a shake of her hair.


Strobe cried.

Denal Lort sat in a corner of his decontamination chamber and cried.

Initially, he had been angry and tried to punch the walls, but that had hurt him far more than expected so instead he sat in the corner and thought about everything he might have just lost and the tears had streamed out... He had come here as part of a group from the former world of Dryad that had spent their savings on gaining abilities in a badly thought-out plan to somehow make up for the League of Assassins shaming their heritage. Of the six of them, Denal was the one who had wanted to become a Legionnaire the most. It was everything he had always dreamed of.

When he had been accepted it had been quite literally the single happiest experience of his life. To have that taken away from him because of the Rimborian psychopath Sa Lok was too much for him to contemplate. Sa Lok had been responsible for forming the original League and then framing them (along with a clone of Tharok, to throw the Legion off his scent) so he could to test out the UP's gene-mod treatments. It was part of a Black Flag operation many layers past Top Secret.

Denal had been neutralised before, his cousin Mi Pra had been given abilities that matched the assassin Neutrax, and she had happily zapped him and the rest of their group on a few occasions. This time it felt different, somehow it seemed to seep into his bones and the young man from the long-dead world felt weaker as a result. Denal hoped that it was just a stronger dose of the neutralising radiation, and would therefore last a little longer ...and as much as he tried his hardest not to think about it, he was terrified that he had just lost his powers for good.

And that with that he had lost being a Legionnaire before his career had actually taken off.

...................................


The U-Vabbishte Toktrec Settlements, galactic north of the Great White Asteroid Field, Raptor Nebula

Element Lad - Senior Team member, Jan Arrah of Trom - elemental transmutation
Kid Quantum - Jazmin Cullen of Xanthu - creation of temporal quantum bubbles, flight
Starkling – telepathic swarm-being composed of indestructible ball bearing sized components
Green Lantern - Dkyun Mu of Xudar - wearer of a Green Lantern power ring

Support staff:
Dr Richard Kent Shakespeare - Impulse – Chief Medical Officer and Support Team manager - enhanced strength, speed, durability, stamina



Encyclopedia Galactica: The U-Vabbishte Toktrec Settlements were originally established as a religious refuge for those fleeing persecution during the 27th century. Settlements were created along a string of large asteroids and small planetoids within the galactic north of the Great White Asteroid Field of the Raptor Nebula as the 'Didactic Purge' under Prime Officer Hirohasi of the nascent United Planets took charge. In her three years in command, it is estimated that Hirohasi exterminated close to five billion sentients under increasingly draconian legislation that controlled so much of the everyday citizen's lives. Due to Hirohasi ordering the destruction of all Intellect Hubs on Earth in the final days of her reign there is no definitive way to establish exactly how many citizens were murdered in her name. The aftermath saw a surge in support for pro-freedom politics that still hold great sway into the 31st century. The settlement at U-Vabbishte Toktrec was established to cater for all faiths and outlooks and for a while in the 28th century was referred to as a wild frontier that attracted many, many thousands of visitors looking for an alternative lifestyle. These days the U-Vabbishte Toktrec Settlements is often seen as truly anarchistic with hundreds of thousands of virtually independent small holdings within the greater gestalt coexisting without any cohesive governing body or singular law enforcement body. Somewhat surprisingly, it is rightly renowned as one of the places within the UP where a sentient being would be least likely to be the victim of a criminal act. Of late, the meta-team known as the Wanderers, as well as several members of the Legion have been spotted in the settlement though their reasons for being there are unknown and no crime or meta-event is recorded as having taken place while they were present.


They arrived at the outskirts of the U-Vabbishte Toktrec Settlements four hours after leaving Second Base.

For the majority of the journey Jan and Starkling had meditated while Jazmin and Kent took turns manning the control board. The Grren Lantern had flown alongside the cruiser for the entire journey, having said that her power ring would scan the space they travelled through and would provide her with information regarding what was out there.

Jazmin hadn't really understood why Dkyun Mu would want to do that, but also realised that Green Lanterns probably had their own agendas that she wasn't fully aware of so perhaps that was why... or perhaps Dkyun just wanted to enjoy the journey in her own way. Whatever the reason, it gave Jazmin and Kent the opportunity to talk and as she had never really spent much time with the team's physician the Xanthuan quickly found that he had a dry sense of humour that she really liked.

They had been on two missions together in the past; the first was when she was still at the academy and the Dark Circle Psyche had taken control of a small town in Canada... they both had not really added much to that mission and had been so inexperienced that their nerves had stopped them from relaxing in the quieter moments. The other mission they had both been on had resulted in a city being destroyed - or at least she thought it was a city but it may have been a disguise used by a strange cosmic child-like being playing hide-and-seek... she still didn't fully understand what had gone on there. But what she had learned on that mission was that Dr Shakespeare was absolutely dependable when the chips were down, so it was a nice surprise for her as she realised he could also be a fun colleague to chill out with in less strenuous situations. As Kent spent the majority of his time either in the medi-bays or with Jan she hadn't had much opportunity to really get to know him so was enjoying the few hours they had before they reached the Magus' planetoid.

Kent watched the screens like a kid at the movies as they flew past the exotic and strange array of planetoids and space rocks that made up the outer settlements. These Jazmin knew, were pretty tame compared to some of the sights that were coming up but she held her tongue and let his take in the amazing sights before them: an asteroid carved into a perfect cube with landing pads in the middle of each face, the next came along only a minute later -it had been flattened out into about the size of a city block with a haze of atmosphere above the planted fields and copses of trees that ran along both sides - there was even a flock of birds clearly flying over the underside field, the third had loops and hoops and sort of looked to Jaz as if someone had taken their inspiration from a pile of spaghetti thrown into the air... from it tubes ran out in all directions connecting the disparate rocks and planetoids. Dkyun Mu flew close to their shuttle and they could hear the occasional chitter of laughter from her through the comms as the Xudarian revelled in the sights before them as well.

"Wow! Brin did say it was a unique place in the report he filed but... My god, is that a river?" Kent said quietly.

Jazmin laughed. She remembered being dumb-struck when she had first seen it; an immensely massive flowing current of water that surged between the inner and outer settlements with a wide array of boats and vessels upon and in it. Although she hadn't seen any proof, she was certain there would be fish in it as well.

"I have to wake Jan; this is absolutely amazing." Kent spoke quietly, his eyes never leaving the screen.

"Don't move Kent, I'll get him. You enjoy the view. We'll be coming up to a docking station soon. They have surprisingly tight border control so you better get ready." Kid Quantum left the bridge and made her way to the quarters at the rear where Element Lad was meditating.

As she entered the rear section Jan Arrah walked out of the compartment with Starkling close behind.

"We're there now, aren't we?" He smiled as he asked, knowing what the answer was before she replied.

After Jazmin had smiled back and said "yup, wanna see it?" they wandered back up to the bridge to watch the amazing sights as they entered the U-Vabbishte Toktrec Settlements.

Hey Raz and IB, thank you again for your kind reviews, they are appreciated!

Couple of points - Tinya using the distorter to look like her Bendisboot self had to be done

IB - It seems Tinya activated the Dominator power amplifier but we'll get into that when she finally returns, and Cham certainly got Henry to open a warp, though it was a pity he was delayed by those vital few seconds eh?... almost as if Henry was delaying him or something.

More soon as we check in with the Magus and Psyche, there's a couple of interpersonal bits and we are overdue a visit from one of our team's fiance.

Thanks again guys,

C

oooh I like it Harbi, nice hint re Henry purposely delaying things a bit... Nura also foresaw something, so perhaps this was the pivotal moment...

nice follow up re the consent topic. nice professionalism by Anje, also making sure to follow up with the student who left. And also being very clear that there are lines that cannot be crossed...

good look into Marmud's situation, and also reminding why Titanians tend to have such self-control.

Hot Zone one of those fan sites I suppose?

whew. the Marmud-Lu interactions are interesting. of course there are two sides to this, so I wonder what Lu is thinking... but it does some clear that Lu is being all tough-love, as we've seen some of the other mentor/Legionnaire relationships which are more fun, relaxed. Being ignored during a mission for cracking a joke or being told "why, you should know that already" DO seem a bit severe...

a decontamination chamber... makes sense that everyone would have to be careful...

love the teasing between Zoe and Gahaji

poor Strobe... and Gahaji of course. nice contrast with the two newer ones deathly afraid of losing their powers, while Cham is taking it in stride and being professional (I guess he realizes that he can't do anything except wait, so might as well do something constructive)

The Toktrec Settlements, fascinating, and almost physics-defying. was cool seeing the wonder on Kent's face, Jazmin's enjoyment, and also interesting to see Dkyun scanning outside the ship (maybe collecting data to share with the GL Corps...?) whew, interesting thought that the UP had an authoritarian period, and logical that the aftermath would reverberate until today with more focus on freedom!

more great stuff, Harbi!

The diverse group of the Legion needing some guidance on consent issues is one of those things that I honestly would never have thought of but actually makes so much sense! I like it because it makes the Legion's world much less homogenised than it usually is depicted as being.

I am also INTENSELY intrigued about the whole deal with Marmud and Lu....she is a hardass, but we have the benefit of having seen her evolve to that point through two of her own deaths along with everything else she's been through with the Legion so it's eye-opening to see how it must feel to another character in context. I also suspect that she'd naturally have become much harsher with Chuck gone, but I'm still wondering how much of this is perception and how much is a legitimate grievance - I will be curious to see where this goes!

Poor Strobe, I was thinking the power loss would be hard for him because his powers make him so invulnerable but it never really occurred to me it would be so tied to his self-esteem as well!

The U-Vabbishte Toktrec Settlements continue to sound amazing, I am glad they're getting a revisit! The bit about Jazmin and Kent getting a chance to interact on a personal level was nice too....on a team the size of even the classic Legion, there must be members who just never got to hang out together much

Okay, I'm up to date on reading Raz's stuff, now you're next, Harbi.

I'm just about to go out, so I'll be reading this tomorrow to give my stream of consciousness on three months of your tales.!

Lightning Lass - Senior Team member, Ayla Ranzz of Winath, electrical generation and manipulation
Backlash - Mrruaw MNau of Simballi - enhanced strength, speed, senses, absorbs kinetic energy to boost own size and mass
Atom Girl - Sylva Nrilsan of Imsk - can shrink to microscopic size

Newly promoted from Academy student to full membership (Mentor in brackets):
Solar Gorilla - D'Nadka Endarooga of Dmansca - generate and project extreme heat and light (Lightning Lass)

Duplicate Girl - Senior Team member, Luornu Durgo of Carggg - creation of multiple identical duplicates
The Huntress - Ambassador Amynta of Nostos ii - incredible strength, speed, invulnerability, space flight
Bouncing Boy ii - Stoor Chamble of Pasnic - creation of personal spherical force field

Intern:
Haze - Science Police Cadet Tkemwa Autmi-Hu of Ungara - strength, durability, induce confusion and senselessness
Impact - Dillon Blackstream of Myar - incredible strength, speed, durability, stamina, motion sense

Laipas - hunting dog from Nostos ii - enchanted to never lose a trail, fast and tough, far smarter than she looks!


Lu and Ayla had met in Henry's warp control room on First Base with their respective teams.

As Amynta's hound, Laipas, had taken the scents of the Shadowmancer's team that had been on Lallor only a day before the Amazon had reassured the Senior Team members that they would be able to track them. Lu had kept her scepticism to herself while Ayla unselfconsciously petted the hunting dog affectionately on the head.

"Seems like you might not be Ayla's fave quadruped anymore Lashy." Atom Girl whispered to Backlash.

"Oh, hardly..." the great horned feline said with a disdainful sniff.

"Okay teams, we're using Strike and Shield formations. My team will take the lead though remember to use your distorters to minimise any interruptions. We don't want a gang chasing after us while we do this." Lu announced. They all understood; the team had recently been on Rimbor to help the Science Police close down Sa Lok's gene-mod operations and several of the larger gangs would have been seriously compromised by their actions so the Legion was unlikely to draw much support if they were seen.

Henry created a warp that transported them to the place where the twin Khund cyborgs had been sent by the Gil'Dishpan Warpsmith the Shadowmancer had used.

The Legionnaires stepped through the spiralling honey and violet disc and found themselves on the roof of a low-rise housing complex in one of the less salubrious neighbourhoods of Rimbor City. The Devil's Dozen had taken someone from here to feed their dark lord's hunger; Ayla hoped whoever they were, they had been returned safely.

Laipas immediately caught a scent and led the team to the edge of the roof.

"Okay, let's find some stairs and get down there without drawing attention."

Duplicate Girl led her team; the Huntress and Laipas, Bouncing Boy and Haze, towards a fire escape that ran up the side of the building and they clambered down. Lightning Lass waited a couple of minutes before she led the rest of the team after them.

The street below had several local stores - all served behind shutters, and an array of parked old aircars. The pavements were cracked and weeds grew in the border between pedestrian and traffic. A flickering holo-ad threw stroboscopic images of half clad young women across a large blank wall. Two elderly men sat on a step muttering between them. The sudden arrival of the Legionnaires didn't appear to have been noticed. The Legionnaires were glad that this was not a busy section of town as they followed the hunting dog.

Laipas' tail wagged as she led the Legionnaires to their quarry.

........................


Thunder - Deputy Leader, Cecelia Becks of 21st Century Earth, immense strength, speed, indestructibility, space flight, wisdom
Mon El - Senior Team member, Lar Gand of Daxam - incredible strength, speed, stamina, senses, laser vision, space flight, invulnerability
Dawnstar of Starhaven - Senior Team member - space flight, incredible speed, tracking
Atomsmasher - Ergus Wraithcat of Betelgeuse - spaceflight, durability, hyper senses, limited telepathy, radiation manipulation


Thunder, Mon El and Dawnstar each held onto one of Atomsmasher's whip-like tails as the Wraithcat extended its invisibility field around them.

They had raced here, to the site where the planetoid base in Dominion space that Captain Tuk Shir had been held captive on had once been. Henry warped them to the exact spot that he had sent Tinya and her Espionage Squad, but there was nothing but the vacuum of space. The Dominator's base where they experimented with the gene-modification technology brought by Sa Lok had totally vanished.

They each used their respective senses to try to locate their missing leader but after fifteen minutes of fruitless searching eight Dominion cruisers appeared. Atomsmasher had alerted the team moments before they arrived and Thunder had decided that she would rather keep an eye on them than run from them.

<we should return to First Base and examine the data our flight rings have captured> Mon El sent across the telepathic matrix.

Thunder remained silent for a few seconds, well aware that Mon El probably had an ulterior motive in that the Daxamite would want to check in on Tasmia Mallor after her accident earlier that morning.

<let's wait a bit longer, perhaps the Dominion will be able to find something we missed> Cece eventually replied.

<their commanders are furious about something. I wonder what they were told would happen if they returned empty handed?>

Dawnstar smiled as Mon El sent his message.

In total they remained there for a further three quarters of an hour. The Dominion had as little luck as the Legionnaires finding any trace of the missing base. Thunder eventually called time and they each hoped that the scans they had taken on their flight rings would give some trace that they had overlooked.

.........................


First Base:

Chameleon Boy – Espionage Squad leader, Reep Daggle of Durla - shape changer
MWindaji - Gahaji of Kiringyaga - super tracker, carries the Ruby of Life allowing tactile transformative magic

Newly promoted from Academy student to full membership (Mentor in brackets):Strobe - Denal Lort of Dryad - assume electro-magnetic energy form (Chameleon Boy)

Support staff:
Dr Shoodixi Singh - Science Police Medical Officer - bio-empathic


M'Windaji felt his abilities return first.

Zoe had left him twenty minutes earlier, saying she wanted to get some nice food ready for his return. Gahaji almost called her but instead opted to double-check the tingling in the back of his skull really was his tracking sense returning. He concentrated on finding her and using a hard-light holo from his flight ring that displayed an image of the base and the whereabouts of his teammates he figured out that he was right - with a small smile he closed his eyes and thought about other people who might be close by. He correctly figured where Booster and Glory where, and then concentrated on finding the largest open space within the planetoid. As he hoped, he pointed towards the massive chamber that housed the Q-Drive, which his flight ring database confirmed was right.

Calling up a holo he shared his news with Chameleon Boy and Strobe. Reep thanked him before returning to completing his report. Strobe was a clearly excited by the news and cheered.

Ten minutes later the young man from Dryad materialised in the trackers decontamination cell and gave him a tight hug before vanishing as he re-assumed an energy form and left.

It was only two minutes later that Dr Singh open the cell door and told Gahaji he was free to leave. As he flew out of the door the doctor asked him to tell Strobe if he saw him that they all needed to report for a check-up the next morning or they wouldn't be cleared for active duty.

...........................


The U-Vabbishte Toktrec Settlements, galactic north of the Great White Asteroid Field, Raptor Nebula

Element Lad - Senior Team member, Jan Arrah of Trom - elemental transmutation
Kid Quantum - Jazmin Cullen of Xanthu - creation of temporal quantum bubbles, flight
Starkling – telepathic swarm-being composed of indestructible ball bearing sized components
Green Lantern - Dkyun Mu of Xudar - wearer of a Green Lantern power ring

Support staff:
Dr Richard Kent Shakespeare - Impulse – Chief Medical Officer and Support Team manager - enhanced strength, speed, durability, stamina


A security drone had buzzed them as they approached the docking station.

They sent their details through and waited further instructions. The drone breeped several times before sending a message that one of their party was wanted in relation to the destruction of station property.

It appeared that Jazmin was on a list for people to be queried after two drones were destroyed when she had visited before. Jaz rolled her eyes and let the team know across the telepathic grid that Quantum Queen had destroyed them, but she wouldn't say that instead she pleaded ignorance and sent across the official Legion info-page about her that clearly stated she had non-destructive abilities.

Dkyun Mu intervened, stating that the Green Lantern for this sector had aided the settlers who originally came here and that she would take personal responsibility for Kid Quantum's action on this visit. This appeared to mollify the security service and they were allowed to dock.

At the docking station they disembarked and stood outside on the platform looking around at the sights. The docking bay was a tubular construction with a range of landing pads jutting out from it;s length, arranged in a loose spiral. From where the Legionnaires were standing they could see several dozen tubes leading away towards the nearest settlements, the enormous river that ran between the majority of the populated planetoids undulated below them - they could see small boats riding upon its speckled surface while dark shapes appeared in its depths.

"The engineering involved is breathtaking." Dkyun mu said to no-one in particular as she looked down towards the flowing waters.

"If you want to take Jaz and investigate we'll be fine making our way out to the Magus from here." Element Lad said. his tone was light, unconcerned.

"Jazmin?" Dkyun looked at Kid Quantum.

"Yeah, why not, I didn't get the chance to investigate last time we were here. Come on then." She took to the air and followed the Green Lantern as they dived off the platform.

"Have fun ladies." Kent Shakespeare said with a laugh. "Right, we get shuttles nearby, so... shall we get going?"

<We shall join their endeavours> Starkling sent to the group and the swarm drifted off the edge of the platform behind its teammates.

"Take care ad keep in touch please." Jan said as the three Legionnaires drifted away.

"So, we going then?" Kent asked.

"Oh yes," Jan replied with a grateful smile.

........................


Encyclopedia Galactica - meta-teams throughout the centuries: Universal Justice

Universal Justice were a team of meta-powered adventures in the late 27th Century that helped defend the nascent United Planets during the First Dominion War.

Led by the charismatic Daxamite known as Mr Power, their membership included several planetary heroes that exhibited abilities that were stronger than their average planetary norm - Mentax from Titan, Polestar 1 from Braal, Jinx from Durla, Dreamer of Naltor. They were joined by a range of synthetic beings, mutants and mutates that were proficient in their unique meta-skills - Wormhole from Mars, Tracker of the Terranova ii Colonies, Buzz from Sherman's World, Daramulum who claimed to be the embodiment of an ancient Terran deity, Topaz Storm from Zerox, Phaser from Tropparaiti, and the Hawk-Knights of Thanagar, alongside the twin Green Lanterns of Sector 2104 they made an unstoppable force. In total forty five beings are recorded as being part of the team at one time or another during the decade that they were in operation.

This was the era where the huge corporations that had powered the initial expansions off Earth and out of the Sol system into the wider galaxy were losing their grip on the incredible power they held over the masses. Increasingly planetary Colonies on Worlds further away from Earth and the so-called Inner Worlds were arranging governments that did not share the corporation's ideals, supporting their populations over the profits raised by the star-spanning businesses.

Universal Justice publicly spoke of the rights of the individual and in doing so were rarely fully supported by the nascent UP. It has been rumoured that their final battle against the Grey Army had been set up by certain clandestine departments within the UP Militia to destroy the team. At least six of Universal Justice died during that battle, including their talismanic Daxamite leader Mr Power and his wife, the mystic known as Topaz Storm.

Ultimately, internal and external politics, United Planet regulation and a scandal over several dozen supposed illegitimate children drove the team to officially disband exactly ten years and two days after they had first arrived on Earth. The months that followed their disbanding had intense political upheaval and were the beginning of the 'Didactic Purge' under Prime Officer Hirohasi of the nascent United Planets that led to monumental changes in the fabric of humankind's culture and societal expectations.

It has often been hypothesized that R.J. Brande was influenced by this short-lived group as a model to base his Legion of Super Heroes initiative upon.

What is not generally reported is what happened to the team after they split up.

Harbi, another excellent batch of entries.

I have to say, your Marmud/Lu situation is so engaging that I really paid close attention to every word and action from Lu, to try and see how her appearance here links up with Marmud's impressions of her!

Thunder's wisdom in action It is nice to see Mon caring about Tasmia... or is it more guilt and fear of Shady leaving him?

Strobe's excitement and relief and sheer joy at regaining his powers was palpable, lol. even him zipping out before the Doctor cleared him!

haha at Kid Quantum and Quantum Queen being confused for each other

hmm, did Jan just intentionally ensure that he and Kent would be going to the Magus alone?

Universal Justice is an amazing, interesting concept. and I like your focus on the conflict between the values: profits and the people. Gates would have a lot to say about that!

I can definitely see a link between the values of Universal Justice and the Legion.

Super interested to see where you are going with this!!

The U-Vabbishte Toktrec Settlements, galactic north of the Great White Asteroid Field, Raptor Nebula

Kid Quantum - Jazmin Cullen of Xanthu - creation of temporal quantum bubbles, flight
Starkling – telepathic swarm-being composed of indestructible ball bearing sized components
Green Lantern - Dkyun Mu of Xudar - wearer of a Green Lantern power ring


Dkyun spun a bubble of emerald energy around Jazmin and Starkling and the flew across the space towards the awe-inspiring river. as they got closer they could see a slight shimmering from the force field that help it and the atmosphere around it together.

<The power supply must be immense!> Dkyun sounded awe struck as they reached the edge of the protective barrier <I will phase us through the screen so we can examine it closer> The three Legionnaires glowed as the Oan power ring altered their density to allow them to float through the immense force field that surrounded the incredible river that flowed amongst the settlements.

The Green Lantern dropped her energy bubble from around her colleagues and the three Legionnaires soared above the river. There were patches of spray from the waves in the river that caught them as they flew, giving Jazmin a laugh. In the distance they could see a boat, due to the tubular nature of the great river it appeared to be across the horizon from them. As they got close, they could see it was a large rectangular barge carrying large boxy containers. The people on the bridge of the craft waved up to the Legionnaires.

The Legionnaires swooped down towards them. As they did the Green Lantern's ring pinged and she flew up quickly, leaving Kid Quantum and Starkling to talk to the sailors. Jazmin could see the person on the deck, with their hands on a hard light wheel stare as Dkyun Mu shot up away from them.

"Hola!" Jaz shouted, "How are you today?"

"You some noo-group doing a musak holo? Ah heard there's a competition going on t' sell the settlement, git some new blood here abouts..." They responded, ignoring Jazmin's question entirely. Several others, working on the barge stopped what they were doing to listen to the conversation.

"No, though that sounds like fun... We're Legionnaires." Jazmin replied with a smile.

"Ah, okays then, enjoy being that then..." He sounded moderately disappointed, "so's wise... we gotta crack on wi' this here lumber t' deliver. Enjoys yourselves." The boats captain appeared less interested now that they were unlikely to be involved in a promotional holo. Jaz wished them a good journey and flew away.

<Wow, I'm not used to people not recognising us. Oh well, we're really off the beaten path here so we better get used to that. Anyway though... where did Dkyun go?> Jazmin sent.

<I am above you Jazmin, there is something we need to investigate...> The Green Lantern hung in the air next to the protective force shield that kept the physical integrity of the great river together.

<My ring has picked up something unexpected. It believes it has located someone that we believe perished several centuries ago... shall we investigate?>

<Absosprockin'lutely> Jazmin replied with a laugh.

<We do not understand, please offer explanation> Starkling interjected.

<Oh, it just means 'yes' Starkling, sorry, like a really strongly felt 'affermative'> Jazmin replied with a laugh.

Thirty minutes later, as the Green Lantern led them towards a distant sailboat Jazmin could see there was a man with dark grey skin upon it looking towards them. He had one hand shading his eyes from the nebula light. As the Legionnaires approached, he tied off a rope and walked across the deck to wait for them. They could see his left leg had been severed at the knee and he had a basic prosthetic in place underneath.

"Hi there," Kid Quantum said "we're..."

"Not welcome." He interrupted her, "go away. Don't come back." His voice was polyphonic, seeming to echo as it reverberated. Jazmin turned to leave...

"Daramulum, this ring recognises you. It belonged to Oolangan Matsha, one of the Twin Green Lanterns who fought beside you in the first Dominion War. Your hypnosis will not work..."

"Just go away Lantern. Your kind only bring destruction with you, for all your ideals and intentions. I've seen it too many times before and I want no part of it now. Leave me alone."

This time he sounded normal; a deep male voice with a bitter edge to it.

"You're Daramulum?" Kid Quantum recognised the name of the supposed deity that helped the newly formed United Planets against a Dominion invasion three centuries before. The one-legged man looked up at the Legionnaires with an expression of sad resignation.

<we were informed of your adventures with Universal Justice while attending the Academy> Starkling sent.

He remained silent for several seconds before he shrugged and half turned away from them.

"If you won't go then at least stop drawing attention to me and come down to join me. I was thinking of preparing some lunch. I have some nice cheese..."

<We do not consume fuel as the carbon beings do, we are energised by...> Starkling sent an image of a wavelength of energy.

"Like this?" Daramulum said as he held out his left arm. A string of Starkling's components broke away from the main mass and started to swirl around it.

"Hey, get away from Starkie!" Jazmin said as she stretched out her hand.

A quantum bubble sprang around the sailor. It appeared as if he was frozen for a second until he faded into a mist and then this form ricocheted around the stasis field before finally bursting though. Daramulum reformed from the mist and shook his head before bending over to put his hands on his knees and take deep breaths. Jazmin recoiled in shock as she cancelled her quantum field.

"That was immensely unpleasant, do not do that again. And... just so you know, I was generating a little bit of ultra-violet light, your ...interesting colleague there seems to enjoy it." He stood up straight and held his arm out again. Within a few seconds almost a third of Starkling's mass had flown to the former hero's arm and undulated happily as they circled his arm.

"Sorry, I'm so..." Jazmin whispered, before realising how quietly she had just spoken and repeating "I'm so sorry..."

"You're young and human... Believe me, I've seen a lot worse from less provocation from your kind. Now, after that little exhibition of time-bending I definitely need sustenance, that was quite draining. Do you want to join me? Perhaps we can begin again on a more civilised footing... "

"We would be very grateful, thank you for your kind offer." the Green Lantern said as she flew between Kid Quantum and Daramulum.

<Absosprockin'lutely> Starkling added.

The grey-skinned man's face broke into a small smile as he signalled for the Legionnaires to join him at a raised area in the middle of the boats deck.

...........................


An hour or so, and a lot of conversation later:

"This one..."

"Starkling! Their name is Starkling!" Jazmin said. The former 27th century hero had, after producing a rather exceptional meal, started to open up and ask questions about the wider galaxy. For all his assertion that he was no longer interested in humanity it was clear that the many centuries he had spent on Earth had left a deep-rooted affection for her people. Jazmin found him fascinating and quickly dropped her initial wariness as he told stories about his time as an adventurer in the 27th Century.

Dkyun added to these stories, informing the group that her Oan Power Ring had a full record of that era and could share them if they wanted. The two of them squabbled over some minor historical points but it was obvious they enjoyed hearing the others' views and recollections. Daramulum had insisted that the Hawk-Knights of Universal Justice were time travellers that had somehow sent their souls through history to intervene at crunch points in Humanity's development while Dkyun insisted they were just soldiers from Thanagar who needed to make up an excuse to join the fight.

It was at this point that Starkling stated that it still had problems understanding the concept of time as humanity referred to it, instead seeing only the cycles of the universe around them, and how each fit within a greater cycle. Daramulum kaughed heartily.

"Your swarm..."

"Starkling, its name is Starkling!" Jazmin said with a smile.

"It is unlike anything I have met in my life, though they does not call themselves Starkling... do you?" Daramulum asked the composite Legionnaire.

<We believed ourselves unique so had no need of a name. We are ...us> The swarm-being continued to gently float slightly above the legionnaires and the sailor, making rhythmic waves as it swirled in the air.

"You truly are unique." The grey skinned man said with a smile. "My people travelled around the galaxy millennia ago, we saw ourselves as great teachers that would help lesser civilisations... ha, such hubris! Such utter hubris! Anyway, hah, we met a lot of other races and beings but this swarm..."

"Starkling!" Jazmin interjected again with a laugh.

"Yes," Daramulum laughed along with her as he continued, "the fantastic life form you call Starkling... it is truly amazing!" Some of the composite Legionnaire's marble sized components flew down from the main body and spun in a circle around the top of the grey-skinned man's head making it look as if he had a halo made of dark stones.

"Legionnaires, I have lived a rather simple life here for over two centuries and it suits me, I travel the river carrying cargo sometimes or people or like today, I carry nothing and enjoy the wind on my face. My days are filled with calmness and contentedness. After so long teaching your ancestors about the stars and the land and their place in between both, and battling the forces that sought to deny them their birth-right it is so enjoyable..."

"I call bullshit! You are so bored... You've had a break to recharge but you miss adverturing, just admit it!" Kid Quantum interrupted with a laugh.

<Jazmin, please show him a little respect> Dkyun sent across a personal bandwidth.

<Yes Jazmin, show me some respect> Both Legionnaires turned and stared at the ancient man as he slid his thoughts into their telepathic matrix. He gave them a knowing smile.

"Ah... okay, perhaps that was too much but, c'mon, it seems to me that you are only treading water here - excuse the pun - and I just gotta ask, where are your people? You said you went to Earth with your people to teach the primitive humans there, so where are the rest of them? Like, you were all gods but what happened to you?"

"They retreated back to the Dreamtime. It's our ancestral home, like Earth is for your people. I... uh, I had to remain behind to make sure the way would be open for them to come back. The Lightning Men and Wandjina would have it no other way. I remained on Earth and left the great desert continent to travel around that globe. In the continent shaped like a horn that pointed towards the great islands of ice your people called me Tezcatlipoca ...though I left them once they started sacrificing their children in my so-called honour. I was far more cautious revealing my abilities after that."

"Have they not come back? Your people I mean..." Jazmin asked, suddenly realising that this being must have been alone for several thousand years.

"No... not yet. Time is a strange thing. In this reality it follows rather sticky rules, but not where I am from. That's why I've never really aged."

<Perhaps there is a correlation as to why we cannot grasp the human concept of time either> Starkling sent.

"Us immortals rarely do." Daramulum looked a little bit sad as he said this. The grey-skinned man stood up and activated a motion sensitive hard-light console. Two small droids appeared and cleared away the plates and goblets from the decking around the Legionnaires.

"Anyways," He scratched absently at the stubble on his chin as he spoke, as if uncertain, "...speaking of time, perhaps it's time you went on with your adventuring, I've got somewhere to be as well and don't want to hold you up anymore."

"We're sightseeing while our colleagues do their own thing, so haven't any plans... but if you're busy, we'll leave you to it. It's been a real pleasure meeting you." Jazmin realised she had been gushing enthusiastically for most of whole time they had spent with this ancient being, her excitement and awe were probably really embarrassing to watch... and actually she didn't care. Even being a Legionnaire, how often did the opportunity come up to speak to an actual, living deity from Earth's ancient history?

Daramulum smiled a knowing smile.

"I have enjoyed spending these moments with you as well Jazmin Cullen, but now we both have our own paths to follow. It’s always a genuine pleasure seeing how amazing humanity has become." He bent forward and lightly kissed her forehead before turning to Dkyun Mu.

"Green Lantern, thank you for this meeting. I am genuinely please to learn that the Corps are still active. Oolangan and Shenshen Matsha were two of the most extraordinarily kind and brave beings I have ever met. They would be proud to know you are carrying on their legacy." Dkyun bowed her head respectfully as she heard these words.

"And you, nameless swarm that the humans call Starkling... I know we will meet again down the centuries. If I may offer you some advice... Do not get too attached to these beings as their lives may be glorious but they are shockingly brief."

<We will meet again Daramulum of Universal Justice. we ...look forward to it> Starkling responded, uncharacteristically sharing an emotional feeling with the message.

"Fare well Legionnaires. It has been my honour to meet you." The ancient being smiled at them as he fully unfurled the sail.

The three Legionnaires levitated off Daramulum's sailboat and watched as he hoisted the sail around so it could catch the breeze sending the boat bobbing gently along with the great river's current.

"Do you think we'll see him again? We must have reminded him of his old life. I wonder if he misses it and secretly wants the excitement..." Jazmin asked.

"Oh, yes, I am quite certain of it." Dkyun replied with a chittering laugh.

..................................



Lightning Lass - Senior Team member, Ayla Ranzz of Winath, electrical generation and manipulation
Backlash - Mrruaw MNau of Simballi - enhanced strength, speed, senses, absorbs kinetic energy to boost own size and mass
Atom Girl - Sylva Nrilsan of Imsk - can shrink to microscopic size

Newly promoted from Academy student to full membership (Mentor in brackets):
Solar Gorilla - D'Nadka Endarooga of Dmansca - generate and project extreme heat and light (Lightning Lass)

Duplicate Girl - Senior Team member, Luornu Durgo of Carggg - creation of multiple identical duplicates
The Huntress - Ambassador Amynta of Nostos ii - incredible strength, speed, invulnerability, space flight
Bouncing Boy ii - Stoor Chamble of Pasnic - creation of personal spherical force field

Intern:
Haze - Science Police Cadet Tkemwa Autmi-Hu of Ungara - strength, durability, induce confusion and senselessness
Impact - Dillon Blackstream of Myar - incredible strength, speed, durability, stamina, motion sense

Laipas - hunting dog from Nostos ii - enchanted to never lose a trail, fast and tough, far smarter than she looks!


Amynta the Huntress took the lead, walking close behind her hunting dog Laipas.

Behind her, Duplicate Girl walked alongside Haze while Bouncing Boy trailed close by. Lu kept her head up and was grateful for the holo-disguise their Distorters projected as she glanced around. The streets they were on were becoming increasingly run-down with more people hanging about outside large shuttered buildings. She estimated that at least half were low level gang members looking for a mark. Bouncing Boy was hiding it well if he was feeling a little bit rattled as he strutted along the street, Lu was impressed to see.

<pity mindbender isn't with us, would good to know what these guys know. They look like they're keepin' secrets...> Stoor sent to Lu.

<Yeah, though he needed a few days off so we'll have to do it the old-fashioned way and use our own brains to figure it out> Lu replied.

Laipas gave out a small 'yip' and looked up at Amynta. The Amazon gave her hunting dog a casual pat on the head and kept walking.

<we are getting close> Amynta sent.

Ahead of them there appeared to be an industrial estate. The majority of the large buildings seemed deserted, while high fences surrounded them and group of youths added a further deterrent to investigating the warehouses.

<Okay, let's not get too close until we know exactly where the Khunds are. Ayla... we'll stop here and act like we're waiting for someone, can you take a turn off and get a look from another angle. Atom Girl may need to scout ahead>

<on it> Lightning Lass replied, her team had been dawdling a couple of hundred metres or so behind before they turned into a side road and wandered casually around the block. Once Ayla had established that they were behind the same warehouse that Laipas was leading them to she had her team stop, for anyone watching it looked as if they were just taking a breather.

<Sylva, we want to know what's inside each building, don't cause a scene, okay?>

<Yup, espionage mode is on> the Imskian replied with a laugh as she flew out of Backlash's fur and made her way towards the warehouses.

<good luck> Impact sent as she flew off out of sight at her tiny size.

Ayla watched the dot vanish as the tiny Atom Girl flew up the side of the warehouse. The Winathian knew about the Imskian cultural need to prove themselves, something she had seen vi fight with and sylva appeared to be just as stubborn... Lightning Lass hoped she hadn't sent Atom Girl into a situation she wouldn't be able to handle.

more great stuff Harbi!

found it funny that the boat captain was wanting to feature in a promo holo lol

cool powerset, hypnotic voice! nice! And also generating light... ooph Jazmin, don't attack (though she didn't hurt him, I think) You right Jaz well, she's competent but clearly young in her habits and speech. ooh Wandjina reference... huh, interesting how Daramulum has played a role in many society's myths...

pleasant meeting, and indeed I am sure we will see him again...

again, I gotta say I was closely scrutinizing Lu during this mission, and trying to judge her actions and words... I leaped a bit when she casually mentioned Mindbender needed a few days off too. It is looking like Marmud's recollections may be colored, but... I will keep observing

Imskian need to prove themselves indeed, we've seen that in Violet a lot.

nice installment, looking forward to more!

Thanks IB,

Daramulum is an actual Australian Aboriginal deity, a one legged god that changes shape, controls the weather and lives on the moon, oh and is married to an emu. I've taken a few liberties obviously and will have him pop up again.

Lu and Marmud's relationship will be explored soon enough, and it will have some consequences.

We'll find out how much Atom Girl wants to prove herself next time as she finds herself in a tight spot.

More next week hopefully when we'll find out what Jan and Kent are up to as well as an interpersonal moment or two.

Thanks again,

C

Hey Harbi! Trying to catch up with a bunch of stuff here, so bear with me.

Don't want to repeat a lot of what was said, so a few notes of things that jumped out at me.

I really like your Tinya here. And her belt controls are cool - is this something that you invented? I love it.

Very cool, disorienting scene where she's losing focus and hope, but her recovery is even better executed.

----


A sentence I'd never expect to see in the Legion. Hopefully the doctor has talked to Tinya about barging through people's bedroom walls!

I *really* love the concept and need of the team to have a psychological counselor. With all that they have to deal with, it seems like it would be a natural thing, and you write that well.

Daramulum seems like an interesting character. I'm curious to know more.

Have you seen the newest Matrix movie? Starkling seems like how they represent AIs to move around with bodies in the real world. Really cool. At least that's how I pictured Starkling in my head.

GL, hi, thanks for your review.

The distorters on the team's belts are taken from canon: the arc where Cham takes Vi and Timber Wolf to Khundia they use them to pass as natives - though then they were called Dystorters, but I thought that was changing the spelling for the sake of it so just spelled them correctly. I've added them to the team;s belt buckles so all of them can appear as someone else if needed.

Re That line... well, Anje was presenting to several hundred teenagers so it kind of had to be said, ummm, no it wasn't something you'd normally expect to read but I guess as I've just watched all three series of Sex Education on Netflix it was channeling my inner Jean Milburn I introduced a team counselor at the end of the first Legion Worlds as it was something that I thought they would need, so glad you like the idea and thanks for saying I write it well as I am totallly making it up as I go along so just hope there's nothing said that's too wrong

Daramulum will return soon and if my long term plans go ahead, again later on. Creating a god character fr the team to interact with is too much fun to ignore for too long,

Still haven't seen the latest Matrix, I totally loved the original though the next two were less successful I thought - in fact I watched the third one in a theatre in Bangkok in Thai without English subtitles. I liked imagining the story much better when I invented it myself compared to when I eventually saw it in English - or perhaps I liked being in the air conditioned cinema compared to the 35+ degree celsius outside

Anyway, thanks again, very grateful for your review, more soon!

C

Done some catch up reading!

- Backlash getting a little jealous over Ayla and Laipas was cute...I really like Backlash, he is a fun addition to the team!

- I liked the description of Rimbor; low income areas are pretty much the same everywhere I guess, give or take a thousand years of technological advancement!

- Daramulum, yay! Aboriginal lore doesn't really get much of a look in comics, that was a nice cultural shout out....and I loved finding out more about Starkling! Very intriguing that they're a unique entity, and immortal to boot! Starkling is another one of my favourite OCs, their whole schtick is super unique!

- also as a sidenote - Sex Education is great! I haven't seen the last season yet, but it's such a good show