Legion World Forums LEGION OUTPOST Bits o' Legionnaire Business Young Legion Book 2

Jezebel Quick is an awesome name, and I am guessing the second formula was one that Ten came up with (or found) to neutralise the first one? In which case I like it!

https://i67.servimg.com/u/f67/18/91/37/14/johnny16.jpg

Ten is a Terran history buff. Among other things.

I actually just finished reading the first couple of years worth of All Star Squadron not long ago! I think I like Liberty Belle more than Johnny, but always nice to see the future remembers someone other than Superman or Batman

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
MASTER-MIND

Location: Morado, one of the three purple moons of Rimbor

"Do you think the fence is really here?" asked Cosmic Boy.

"That's what Jezebel Quick told the SPs," said Lightning Lass. "And the SPs were pretty persuasive."

"You don't think it's a trick?" asked Cosmic Boy.

"No," said Lightning Lass. "I think it's a trap. Star-Woman has alerted the Rimbor Science Police, but I imagine they'll be pretty slow in responding."

There was a bunker. Small and squat, it sat alone on the flat, purple rocky plain. There seemed to be no guards, no security. There was also no cover, no possibility of approaching stealthily.

The bunker was filled with computer equipment. Above it all hovered a Fulguran Electrobrain.

"Welcome, Members of The Super-Hero Club." Projected thought echoed in their minds. "They call me Mister Fence. An absurd appellation. My real name is..." Arcs of lightning appeared above the floating brain. "But I would prefer you call me Master-Mind, if you need to call me anything." There was a distinct undertone of humming to the creature's telepathy. "You are one of those lightning-casters that defeated the Master of Thieves World," More humming. "Are you all gingers? And you are a Braalien. But also Kathooni? Ah, well, if you've seen one human, you've seen them all. You are surprised by the paralysis? I am not without my defenses. It is pleasant to have visitors, but I am quite busy right now. You have taken out the last of my Burglars, and I need to begin rebuilding my employee base. So I suppose I should allow you to kill one another. There is so much unmet demand for my services."

Lightning Lass' hands rose jerkily into the air. Lightning crackled from her fingertips.

"Please, Dacey, you must still be in there," pleaded Cosmic Boy. "Don't kill me! Please!"

"Oh, foolish little Braalien," the Master-Mind thought. "Stop your protesting. I can see inside your mind. I know that you are planning to divert the lightning-caster's power with your magnetic fields. You think to reflect her bolts at me, and put on this play-show for my benefit. I see that it would be folly to have you kill one another. Much easier to simply stop your breathing. You humans are so delicate. There now, see? You do not even experience the desire to breathe. Quite comfortable. You will simply die. You humans are so fragile..."

A white-hot blast of electricity flew from Lightning Lass towards Cosmic Boy. It cascaded around him, then changed course, enveloping the self-styled Master-Mind. The Fulguran Electrobrain collapsed, falling to the floor, looking for all the world like a giant mass of scrambled eggs.

"You know what Mother always taught us," said Lightning Lass. "When faced with mind control, do not think. Act without thinking."

The two Science Police showed up without announcement. "Good work," they said. "We'll take the suspect into custody." The containment unit looked like a plastic storage bin with electronic accessories. The two SPs poured the unconscious Fulguran into it.

Sister, Saturn Girl's voice echoed in her Dacey's mind. These Science Police officers are in the employ of the Electrobrain,

Corruption in the Rimboran Science Police, Lightning Lass thought back. Who would have thought? A couple of well-placed shocks on the necks of the SPs rendered them as unconscious as their boss. "I'm getting pretty good at this," she said.

Cosmic Boy touched his flight ring. "Is Ten available?" he asked. "There's quite a lot of computer equipment here to examine."

Ten appeared immediately, courtesy of the Pentachoron. "This equipment is a collection of real antiques," he noted. He spent a few minutes investigating. "Highly encrypted. Decentralized memory storage. It will take a while to decode. I have sent a copy of the system to the Clubhouse, and the Rimboran and Venturan SP."

"Why Ventura?" asked Cosmic Boy.

"Because this system has recently sent a series of brief, high-priority encoded transmissions to a dozen locations on Ventura. I hypothesize these were preferred clients."

Cosmic Boy tapped his flight ring again. "Can you send us to the Central Science Police Precinct on Ventura?" he asked.

Ten went back to the Clubhouse, while Cosmic Boy and Lightning Lass appeared on Ventura.

"We immediately closed the Spaceports," said the SP chief. "And we have been analyzed the warning transmissions from Morado. It seems several prominent citizens made sudden, unexpected plans to leave the planet."

"Chief," said one SP officer. "One of the Houyhnhnms reports that Zeta Spaceport is not completely closed. There is one departure already in progress."

"Get the flight ID," said the Chief. "We'll track them down eventually."

"Maybe sooner," said Cosmic Boy. He tapped his flight ring. "Zeta Spaceport on Ventura," he requested. And he and Lightning Lass were gone.

"Can't you just magnetically lock onto their ship?" asked Lightning Lass, the two Members pursuing the fleeing vessel through the atmosphere.

"The hull is non-ferromagnetic metal," said Cosmic Boy. "Probably Aluminium-Pluridium Alloy. But just a little closer..."

"Reaching orbital velocity," warned their flight rings. "Approaching escape velocity."

"Perfect," said Cosmic Boy.

"You want me to blast them?" asked Lightning Lass.

"No, create an alternating electric field to boost my magnetic powers," said Cosmic Boy. "There are ferromagnetic bolts securing the engine block... and, there." A half-dozen tiny objects burst through the hull. The space-vessel shut down, falling into a looping, parabolic orbit around Ventura. "The SP should have plenty of time to recover the passengers and crew.now."

"There seems to have been quite a number of 'respectable' citizens in this stolen art auction club," said Star-Woman. "The thrill of the auction itself seems to have been a great attractor. I am afraid all the excitement was too much for the Circadians. They have requested twenty-four hours off to recover. We need to be somewhat judicious in the use of this new technology. It would be unwise to become overly reliant on it."

"Quite a few of the artworks have already been recovered," said Saturn Girl. "And many of them have substantial rewards offered for their recovery. Our treasury continues to grow."

"We're sharing the rewards with the various planetary SPs that were involved," said Shrinking Violet. "And our share is small-- but not negligible."

""Does this mean Saturn Girl is back?" Cosmic Boy asked.

"Yes, she has reconsidered," said Lightning Lass. "We're one big happy family again.

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
"BUT THIS IS POL!"

"So how are the folks?" asked Pol.

"Your Dad is as stiff as ever," said Dorrit. "And your Mom is still the fun aunt. Did you know they were thinking of having another baby?"

"At their age?" asked Pol. "What do I need a baby brother for?"

"Or sister," said Dorrit. "But don't worry too much... I think they are still in the just thinking about it stage."

"What about your family?" asked Pol.

"Davera has become interested in the Zoonan android working the farm," said Dorrit. "A typical teen-ager now."

"Everyone calls him 'the android'," said Pol. "Does he even have a name?"

"He calls himself Lance," said Dorrit. "You're right-- everyone but Davera treats him more-or-less as a piece of intelligent machinery."

"Well, isn't that what he is?" asked Pol.

"You could make the argument that Davera is also a piece of intelligent machinery. Or you or I."

o o o

"I know what you want to say to me," said Dacey.

"And you know I need to say it," said Dorrit.

Dacey fumed.

"Dacey, this is Pol," said Dorrit. "We used to change his diapers."

"Don't exaggerate. We're not that much older," said Dacey.

"OK, but we used to watch while Dad or Uncle Rokk changed his diapers."

"I don't remember that," said Dacey. "Maybe you, with your eidetic memory, remember. Not me."

"Anything I know, you know," said Dorrit.

"But I only know it second-hand," said Dacey. "That's why you wanted to have this talk with me."

"We see the same set of facts, but come to different conclusions," said Dorrit. "Your are sincerely thinking of marrying him? Not just trying to provoke me?"

"More than thinking about it," said Dacey. "Committed to the idea. One of us just needs to pop the question. Not before he turns eighteen, though. Maybe a lot longer. I'm in no hurry."

"I don't get it," said Dorrit. Dacey looked at her sister, and unleashed a flood of memories, going back a dozen years. "Oh, well, when you put it that way... maybe I understand."

CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
THE SITUATION

"Why did you return?" asked Star-Woman. "For that matter, I am not entirely sure why you left."

"My vision of the Super-Hero Club," said Saturn Girl, "Was for us to be an autonomous, independent 'white hat organization-- not a paramilitary arm of UPGov like the old Legion grew into. It was bad enough when we became a registered coalition of Adventurers-- I don't blame you, it was necessary. But I felt like these 'gifts' we were getting were the last straw-- just another way to assert control over us."

"And you have changed your mind?"

"Not in the least. But I talked to Mom and Dad. And they agree these gifts are a way to control us. Also our new-found super-friendly alliance with the SPs. And other stuff going on behind the scenes that I didn't even know about. The CASQUE (*Champions and Adventurers Sub-Council) on Weber's World is keeping a particularly close eye on us. But Mom and Dad explained why the UPGov is trying to control us."

There was an awkward silence. "At this point, I am supposed to ask, 'Why?'?" asked Star-Woman.

Saturn Girl laughed. "Exactly. It's because the U.P. is terrified of us. The Analyst War didn't just happen on Sorcerer's World. All the more magical U.P. members were affected. Orando, Avalon, Witchhaven, Faerth? and quite a few non-magical worlds as well. The U.P. knows our service was a turning point in the War. That makes us scary powerful."
"But there's more. Remember the simultaneous disasters that crippled the Dominion and the Khundish Empire a while ago? Well, it turns out the Super-Hero Club was responsible. Not us, exactly, but a Super-Hero Club from an alternate timeline. They all died, apparently, but prevented a similar disaster from befalling the United Planets. The story was pieced together by the Seers of Naltor, the Trylop Council of Mernl, and the ICIC, intercepting Khund and Dominator communications. So, yeah, we are a real force to be reckoned with. Terrifying. But it means the Super-Hero Club can really do something."

"How do you know this?" asked Star-Woman. "I didn't know this, and my mother is High Seer of Naltor."

"And my mother," said Saturn Girl, "Is Imra Ardeen.

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
THE RETURN OF PHANTOM GIRL AND SHRINKING VIOLET

"Where do you go?" asked Korvea.

"What do you mean? asked Star-Woman,

"I mean, you left Mars yesterday afternoon," said Korvea. "And didn't come back until early this morning. You've done that a couple of times before. What's the big secret?"

"Well," said Star-Woman. "You know that most of my powers-- aside from precognition and mass-induction-- are electro-cometary in nature. My mitochondria store electro-cometary radiation. But I need to recharge every once in a while. The Xanthuan comet that gave my father his powers no longer exists, but there is an electro-comet in the Naltoran system; and fortunately, Comet Koothrappali-Hofstadter 2O18 in the Solar system is also an electro-comet. It sits just beyond Neptune's orbit right now, but if I feel like a recharge is necessary, it is less than a day's flight there and back."

"Someone is coming," Phantom Girl interrupted. "And they look... familiar.".

The two young women came walking down the road from New Metropolis. They definitely looked familiar. All fourteen members of the Super-Hero Club went out to meet them. As they drew into view, there was a collective gasp. Phantom Girl looked at Shrinking Violet. "It's us," she said.

"We were you, once," said the other Phantom Girl. "A little older now." Her hair had grown out. Her haunted eyes took in the new Clubhouse, and the Spacetime Pentachoron, with its Circadian attendants. "You've come up in the world since we were here last."

One-quarter of the left-hand side of this new Shrinking Violet's face had been bleached white. Half her hair was now green. Two fingers of her left hand were also white, with green nails. The left side of her mouth was in a permanent rictus, giving her a peculiar lop-sided half-grin.

"We're you from an alternate time-line," explained Shrinking Violet. "One where we-- all of us, the whole Super-Hero Club-- saved the United Planets from the Khunds and the Dominion." The two Members took turns relating the story of the Khund-Dominion alliance, the prophesied Daxamite attack, and the subsequent plague.

"We've spent some time wandering alternate time-lines," said Phantom Girl. "The Phantom Zone is more complex than even the Bgztlr have imagined."

"We have seen the future the High Seer dreamt of," said Shrinking Violet. "One where the United Planets are devastated. Less than a billion sapients on Earth survived the plague. Half of those died during the Starvation Wars that followed. There are small populations rebuilding around that world now: we visited a group in Baja California, and another near the Oahu Observatory area."

"The Dominator's plan was only half-successful. Phase Two of the microbe never emerged, the United Planets were not Eliaformed. But many were destoryed. The existing plant and animal life was devastated," said Phantom Girl. "Mars, for example, is lifeless, inhabited now only by invading entities from Ysmault. A literal demon-haunted world,"

"That's horrible," said Lightning Lass.

"Oh, there are worse places," said Phantom Girl. "We found one Universe of evil zombies where everyone spends their whole time violently dismembering one another. Eventually everyone regenerates, and the cycle begins all over again."

"Other Universes were just odd," said Shrinking Violet. "There was one where Mrs. Nah wore a halo, and your Aunt Ayla had a mohawk."

"You settled on this Universe?" asked Shrinking Violet. "Or just visiting?"

"When we destroyed the Dominion's Doomsday weapon, our own future ceased to exist," Shrinking Violet explained. "We are responsible for this time-line you are living in," said Shrinking Violet. "Although it is not the one we came from... it is the one we hoped for."

"Truthfully, it was much a matter of luck," said Phantom Girl. "Shrinking Violet randomly disabled some mechanism which was essential to the Dominion's planetary defenses, otherwise the Doomsday weapon would have launched."

"I'm not sure 'luck' is the right word," said Shrinking Violet. "Fortuity, perhaps. Dorrit, Ten, and the Triplicates were disintegrated in the Elian Nova Event, and Kallor died trying to stop it. The Members in Karkyn's ship-- and his entire crew-- died under attack from the Dominion defenses. It is possible Korvea survived, as she has shown the ability to re-form herself and return to life, even after being atomized. But this was in the void of space; we searched from the Zone, but never found her body."

"I am aware of the Shelbonite ability you have described. It would be astonishing if I shared it. The Malloran Council will be very interested in that aspect of your story," said the living Korvea. "If I do have that ability... or if there is any possibility the other Korvea could be recovered..."

"The Mallorean Council has established a diplomatic mission with Elia. We have already reported to Talok," said Phantom Girl. "And Weber's World. We have registered as temporal anomalies, and have assumed new names and identification. Niri and Lue M'Kord."

"Sisters?" asked Shrinking Violet.

"Married," said Shrinking Violet. "We became... close... during the years we were traveling, lost across the timelines, and in and out of the Phantom Zone."

"What happened to your face?" asked Shrinking Violet.

"I received a tiny dose of the Dominion's Madness Vapour in an accident," said Shrinking Violet. "My own fault. I was careless. It doesn't seem to have affected my mind, but I was stuck at six inches for a time. Of course, I've been away from Irulan so long, I've completely lost my shrinking abilities now. That's why Niri and I are going to back and settle on Orzde."

"Well, this will be a surprise for Mom and Dad," said Shrinking Violet.

"We've already introduced ourselves to them," said Shrinking Violet. "They've been helping us get settled, even though I'm not technically their daughter… you. But I'll be starting work as an administrative associate to a sub-assistant editor at Thaul Publishing on Orzde, and we've found a small, furnished apartment in the First Fractal of Germel City.".

You two have done a lot in this timeline without consulting us, thought Shrinking Violet. Of course, I would have done the same, in her place, her second thoughts said.

"What about Chameleon?" said Fey. "The other Chameleon... the one you left behind on Khundia?"

"Assuming he survived," said Phantom Girl, "Which is unlikely... he would be another temporal anomaly-- an anachronistic replicant living in this timeline. But we don't really know. We can't go everywhere, and we haven't seen everything."

"We'd like to go look for him," said Fey. Farrah and Ffiona nodded.

"I would like to go as well," said Chameleon.

"We'll have to find a transport going out that way. Using the Pentachoron would be inadvisable," said Star-Woman. "You can't just appear on Khundia out of nowhere... no offense intended," she added to Shrinking Violet and Phantom Girl.

"It was an emergency," said Shrinking Violet. "And Khundia was not officially at war with the Dominion... at least, not at the time."

"Fortunately," said Korvea, "I believe the government of Talok VIII would lend diplomatic approval to that mission."

"And the worlds of the Naltoran system as well," said Star-Woman. "Although this might be a mission for just the four of you. I can't see the Club going in force."

"We have something we've been carrying for you," said Niri M'Kord. She handed Star-Woman the head of a star-rod. It was badly pitted and blackened. "Another temporal anomaly. But I thought you should have it. Good luck, to you all, Lue and I have had enough of adventuring. We will be satisfied with Achilles' Other Choice. Maybe raise a couple of children."

"Or pets," said Lue. "Remember my little sister Song."

Friday, Ides of March, 3O22
Sol Lunae, 02 Pisces, 751

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
SAVING CHAMELEON

"According to my research, the Khunds are a purely capitalist, strictly feudal society," Ten explains. "Each prospers according to their own abilities, but most align themselves as vassals to one powerful warlord or another. There is no central government. Relationships of any kind-- familial, political, economic-- are governed by formal contracts. The Khundish Temples are the repositories of all agreements. The temples are stewarded and the contracts adjudicated by the High Priestesses, and enforced by a number of Assassin's Guilds. To break a contract is a sacrilege, it is as if to take a life. And yet, contracts are broken all the time. There is a morality which idolizes the warrior, and values not merely strength, but integrity, loyalty, and trustworthiness. However, these seem more like loose guidelines than moral laws, and ultimately, profit and profiteering trumps all else."

"It seems like they would be difficult to deal with," said Ffiona.

"They are. And yet the United Planets continues to send and receive ambassadors, emissaries and negotiators," said Ten. "Colu has taken a position against such outreach, and does not participate."

"Why is it called the Khundish Empire," said Ffarrah, "When there is no central government?"

"The Khunds worship Ak, the Living Goddess, Demon Mother and Empress of the Khunds" Ten explained. "She is imagined to be the ancestor of all Khunds, and from her hidden throne judges the hidden actions of them all. They believe in some sort of Warrior’s Paradise as an Afterlife, over which Ak also rules."

Arrangements for passage on a cargo ship were surprisingly easy to arrange.

The four members traveled with the Triplicates in single form, and Chameleon as their twin.

They were met at the spaceport on Khundia by a dwarf named Qalraq.

"United Planets tourists. Do you have any cybernetic implants or supernatural abilities to declare?" asked Qalraq.

"Two can become four, but that’s about it," Chameleon lied.

"Most of you U.P. tourists come here looking for trouble. The challenge courts can give it to you."

"Actually, we're looking for a friend," said Ffiona. "Some time ago, you had a cannibal and a zombie in the Challenge Courts. Do you know where they were staying?"

"A very bad business," said Qalraq. "They stayed in the Challenge Court chambers, with their other U.P. friends. If you are looking for them, they left Khundia, and good riddance."

"We are looking for someone they met here," said Chameleon. "We really want to keep away from the Challenge Courts."

"You have reservations at a... how do you call it? 'Bed-and-Breakfast'. Do not overstay your welcome."

The inn was the private home of a single, female pink-skinned dwarf Khund who introduced herself as Dowager Rhokari.

"You will meet a number of dwarf Khunds during your stay here," said Rhokari. "Providing you stay away from the Challenge Courts. Our kind tends to fill shopkeeper and service economy positions. You will recognize the scientists and technologists on the streets as taller than the dwarves, but more slender than the Warrior class. You will meet none of the priestesses, as they spend all their days in the Temples-- where strangers are forbidden. The Warriors, of course, spend most of their time in the Challenge Courts."

When they were alone, Ffiona asked Chameleon, "So if you were you, and left all alone on Khundia, where would you go?"

"I would probably set myself up as a shopkeeper. Probably selling weapons," said Chameleon. "I would try to blend in with the rest of Khundish society as best I could. It is the Durlan way."

They went out to survey the shops in the shopping district the next day. A large, red-skinned Khund exited a weapon's shop they had been observing, and followed them. Unfamiliar with the city, they eventually found themselves facing him in a dead-end alley.

"You are tourists," said the Khund. "You have money."

"Less than you might think," said Chameleon.

"Hope it is enough," said the Khund, "To buy your lives."

The Triplicates split, and the Khund found himself facing four small, slender girls. He laughed. "Perhaps you can double your money in the same way."

"Please," said Ffey. "My sister..." She indicated Chameleon. "She has an unfortunate condition. Please do not upset her."

The Khund grabbed at Chameleon, and found himself holding onto a twelve-foot Martian M'Mannix.

"Do you wish to meet in the Challenge Courts?" the monster asked the Khund.

"Please, no," said Ffey. "Can’t you just leave us alone?"

"You are wise not to challenge me," said the Khund, and retreated, trembling slightly.

Chameleon resumed his duplicate Triplicates form, and the real Triplicates merged back into one. Undeterred, they continued searching the shopping district.

The Triplicates stopped, and pointed to a sign on a business across the street. "I think we’ve found your doppelganger," she told Chameleon.

It read: "Prosprack's Exotic Pizza".

A young female yellow dwarf Khund was working behind the counter. Her left hand had been replaced with a robot prosthetic.

"What can I get you?" the little woman asked. "Make it quick, we're about to close."

"We're looking for a friend," said Chameleon.

"Well, I suppose we can close a little early," said the woman. She pulled down the metal shades on the windows, locked the doors, and turned out the outside lights.

"Prosprack, at your service," said the little woman, with a bow. "Owner and proprietor of Prosprack's Exotic Pizza. A real UP delicacy. I learned to make it from a master. Let me tell you a story. A Durlan and a Cargggan walk into a pizza joint..."

"I know who you are, too," said Chameleon.

"Is this...?" asked the Triplicates.

"I am Prosprack of Prosprack's Pizza, Nothing Like It In The Galaxy," said the little woman. "Have you seen the sign? The Khunds have a kind of sourdough yeast, and a rye-like grain, from which they make a sort of black bread. I have it more finely milled to create my pizza dough. They have nothing similar to cow's milk or pepperoni here, so I use blood-cheese and smoked glow-rat."

"It sounds disgusting," said the Triplicates.

'I didn't say there was nothing better,I said there was nothing like it. It does seem to appeal to the Khunds. I've developed a reputation. I pay my assessments, but not an inik more. Some low-level Khundish thugs came in here once looking for protection money. Threatened to cut off my left hand if I didn't pay. So I took out a cleaver, chopped it off myself, and threw it at them. They left me alone after that, but it cost me a pretty penny. I had to buy a prosthetic to keep up appearances. Of course, this one is just a simulation. Her robotic hand transformed into flesh-and-blood. The real one is under the counter."

"Then you are Chameleon," said the Triplicates.

"And so is she," said Prosprack, indicating the other Chameleon in Cargggan disguise. Chameleon assumed the androgynous default Durlan form. Prosprack did the same although hers was clearly female.

"Only I'm not Chameleon anymore," said Prosprack. "I’m Prosprack. I've found a new name and new identity. If you've come to 'rescue' me... well, I'm engaged to be married to a Khundish technician named Otlack. He knows I'm Durlan, but he accepts me for who and what I am. I'm happy."

"It is difficult to argue with happiness," said the other Chameleon.

"You mean we're just going to leave him here?" asked the Triplicates.

"I'm pretty sure we have no other choice," said Chameleon.

Prosprack shifted back into her Khundish form, complete with robot hand. "This is my home now. I assume that as the United Planets still exists, and the other Members were successful? There are two Super-Hero Clubs now?"

"Not many of your allies survived," said Chameleon. "Phantom Girl and Shrinking Violet are on Orzde."

"That's all?" asked Prosprack. “Everyone else gone?”

"Just the three of you are left, as far as we know," said the Triplicates.

"That is sad news," said Proprack. "But as many die every day in the Challenge Courts. It is the Way of the Demon Mother."

She walked to the back of the shop, and brought out a black handkerchief. She unwrapped the black cloth.

"I thought you might come looking for me," said Prosprack. "Take this with you. It is a Khundish Electro-Mace. The other Dacey developed a rapport with one like it. Found it useful. Perhaps your Dacey will also." She sighed. "And I suppose you had better take this as well."

She went behind the counter, and returned with a large mug full of dirt. In the dirt was the Martian Zo'Ok that Chameleon had used as a costume. The octofurcated golden flower was turning brown at the edges, its scarlet tendrils drooping.

"It is not thriving here in the Khundish night," said Prosprack.

"I'll take it back to Mars and re-plant it in the sea-cave where I... you… we... found it," said Chameleon.

"Fare well, my friends," said Prosprack. "When the war between the Khunds and the Dominion is over, perhaps we may meet again."

o o o

It was a long trip back to Mars, as there were a number of stops along the way. Yet even in the artificial environment of the transport, the Zo'Ok seemed to be recovering.

"Zo’Ok. It is a Martian word," said Chameleon, now back in Triplicate form. "Meaning 'little friend', or 'companion'. They evolved-- or were evolved-- along with the Old Martians. Elasomorphic, semi-telepathic, semi-invulnerable. I wish I could get more to bond with the whole Membership. They say there is a garden-- or possibly hothouse-- of Zo'Ok on Earth, in a place called Z'Onn Z'Orr-- some sort of ancient Martian colony. But no one knows where Z'Onn Z'Orr is.”
"History tells us that the Martian J'Onn J'Onzz once met a trio of Vibranns. They brought with them a little creature whose name the Martian Manhunter heard telepathically as 'Zo’Ok'. He called the creature Zook, and took care of it for several years. No one knows whatever happened to that little creature, either."

CHAPTER FIFTY
KORVEA NEW AND OLD

"Much more of this, and we're going to need to organize a formal arsenal," said Shrinking Violet. “First Star-Woman’s Star Rod, and now this weapon.”

"Interesting," said Lightning Lass to Chameleon, hefting the Electro-Mace. "You say your doppelganger said the other Lightning Lass had some kind rapport with it?"

"Not really another Lightning Lass," said Chameleon. "Your other self, just following a different timeline."

"Whatever," said Lightning Lass. "But I'm not feeling anything from it. It just feels like a big hammer."

"Where is everybody?" asked Ffarrah.

"Out on assignment," said Shrinking Violet. "Saturn Girl and Cosmic Boy took the Sojourner on an informal ambassadorial assignment to Braal. Just exploratory diplomatic outreach to a newly discovered world of metal beings.
"Phantom Girl and Polar Lass are on an assignment with the Science Police-- some kind of undercover work.”
"Matter-Eater Lad Two is out on an assignment with Star-Woman.”
"Ten is on Colu. He had some technical questions about the workings of the Pentachoron. Nothing I could understand.”
"Korvea is on a private mission to Talok VIII."

"Not anymore," said Korvea, walking up the beach from the Pentachoron. "I just got back. If only the four of you returned, I assume you didn't find the other Chameleon?"

"Oh, they found her," said Lightning Lass. "They just couldn't persuade her to leave Khundia. It seems she's made a life for herself there."

"Well, that makes four," said Korvea. "Talok VIII petitioned the Dominion to search for the remains of the other Korvea, and they found her. She's been in some sort of cryonic suspension since reforming, in orbit about Elia. She's back on Talok VIII now. We've met."

"Is she as... different... as my other half?" asked Shrinking Violet.

"Well, she doesn't seem visibly older," said Korvea. "Although technically, due to the time travel, I'm a few weeks younger than she is. But she has a different... perspective now. You know how I tend to walk around displaying my wings? Well she walks around with her claws out. Dying twice can do that to you, I guess. But according to Talokan and Malloran tradition, as she is slightly older, she supplants me as the Planetary-Champion-in-Waiting."

"So she’ll be replacing you the Super-Hero Club?" asked Shrinking Violet. “And you will return to Talok?”

"Quite the opposite!" exclaimed Korvea. "Korvea-the-Greater -- that's her technical title -- will be formally assuming the role of Planetary Champion on Talok VIII as soon as she marries.Menaleas. Which means I can do more or less as I please, while they get down to business producing metagenetic offspring. And I choose to remain here on Mars."

"I knew there was something odd between you and your cousin," said Shrinking Violet. "How do you-- and the other you-- feel about this marriage?"

"I was having doubts about our forced engagement already. But she's absolutely ready to settle down," said Korvea. "I, on the other hand... Well, they may call me Korvea-the-Lesser, but I have never felt freer in my life. The future is full of possibility."

Author’s note: It is frankly astonishing to me that a third of the time-displaced Super-Hero Club survived the Khund-Dominator War. Phantom Girl, Shrinking Violet, Chameleon, and Korvea. But it appears things could not have worked out any other way.

CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
VIRTUAL TRYOUTS

"Welcome to our first weekly virtual tryouts," said Cosmic Boy. "Before we begin, I'd like to mention that this last week I have contacted Planet Galadriel, asking if they can spare one of their Leetas. Also Manna-5, for a Xera-in-training. I messaged Hykryaius and Vasmeer, since we have this huge body of water next to us, to see if they might send a representative. Mosteel and Llar have young Planetary Champions, so I sent an invitation there. And I contacted that new Dark-Flyer of Zur-En-Arrh."

"And no responses?" asked Lighting Lass.

"Oh, they all responded," said Cosmic Boy. "Just no interest."

"So here we go," he continued. He placed a memory crystal into the holo-stand. An image of a brown cow appeared.

{Slide 01}


"This is Cow Girl. She's from Adarsa, one of the distant Ranch World colonies. Her brain was placed in the body of a cow, while her body is in a healing coma. She wants to spend the next six to nine months with us until they can return her to her own body. She's offering us a gallon of fresh milk every day."

"Eewwww," said Korvea. "Disgusting."

{Slide 02}


"Okaaay..." said Cosmic Boy. "This is Ariel Herrera of Thanar. She calls herself Wind Wizardess. She claims to have the ability to transform into any sort of wind, from a light Spring breeze to a Winter hurricane."

"Does she do tornadoes?" asked Star-Woman. "Those are much more targeted phenomena."

"Her application doesn't mention tornadoes," said Cosmic Boy. "And I don't want to assume."

"It's funny," noted Lightning Lass. "She's covered head to toe. Almost like she's wearing a containment suit. I wonder if all she is is wind. Like that old guy, Ulthoon."

"Let's schedule an in-person interview," said Star-Woman. "We can arrange to bring her to Mars with the Pentachoron, and she can show us the extent of her powers."

The other Members nodded in agreement.

{Slide 03}


"This is Dathuil," said Cosmic Boy. "A regular Geeqouan."

"The problem with Geeqouans," said Shrinking Violet, "Is that they are really annoying to be around, and their powers fail at unexpected times."

"Agreed," said Lightning Lass.

{Slide 04}


"This guy calls himself Pimple-Popping Pete. He can shoot powerful acid from the severe acne on his face."

"I'm sorry," said Polar Lass. "Maybe I'm shallow, but I just couldn't face that face every morning."

{Slide 05}


"This is Esuap of Myar. It says here that when he drinks his proprietary alchemical potion, anything he says out loud for the next half-hour will not happen-- until the end of the half-hour."

"I can see rare instances when that might be useful," said Star-Woman. "But very rare."

{Slide 06}


"This is Matt Kartessus of the Blindenwelt Colony on Apploza. He claims his sense of touch extends some 2OO meters beyond his physical body. He calls it a 'Tactile Field'. He says he can even touch inside objects within the field."

"So this 'tactile field' also grants him a form of telekinesis?" asked Ten. “He can manipulate the objects he touches?”

“That’s not really clear,” Cosmic Boy replied. “His powers may be only sensory in nature.”

"Whatever," Lightning Lass interrupted. "I can’t see living with him in the Clubhouse. Or being anywhere near him, frankly. I don't want him fondling my... er… pancreas... with his Tactile Field from a hectometer away. Rejected, please."

{Slide 07}


"This is Rehy Nashmia of Alkun. He suggests we call him Olfactive Lad, or possibly Fragrant Boy. He has the ability to produce any scent. That is, he can smell like anything he wants to."

"He looks like a technicolor Polecat," noted Shrinking Violet. "But I'm trying to get my head around how his powers might be useful."

"A living air-freshener?" suggested Ffiona.

{Slide 08}


"This one calls herself Defenestration Damozel. She creates windows to other dimensions, then throws people through them."

"And she can bring them back?" asked Saturn Girl.

Cosmic Boy examined the attached file. "Not sure," he said. "Maybe we can get in contact with her and more thoroughly define her powers? I'll table it for now."

CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
VIRTUAL TRYOUTS
{continued)

{Slide 09}


"This is Oddritu, a giant carnivorous plant from a world of giant carnivorous plants. Can I take a pass on this one myself?"

{Slide 10}


"And this is Cerise Bombe of Earth. She can... oh, there is a permanote attached to her UPID. 'Aberrant Psychological Profile.' Well, we can skip that one, too."

{Slide 11}


"And this application is from a White Warrior of Regulus Leon. I understand they are impressive fighters..."

"Absolutely not," said Korvea. "The Regulus Leons are skilled warriors, and the White Warriors are the elite. But they are absolutely brutal, without scruples, honor, or loyalty. They are the perfect mercenaries, if you want to hire killing machines. But we don't need them in our Super-Hero Club."

{Slide 12}


"Here is one claims to be immune to any toxin, either liquid or gas... "

{Slide 13}


"And this one claims that for every word she speaks, a precious gemstone drops from her mouth. Interesting, but not much good in a fight?"

{Slide 14}


"This one calls herself Candy Girl... she's a Cwookiee..."

{Slide 15}


"Oh, this is interesting. This guy claims to be able to transform himself into any chemical element, using an artifact known as the Orb of Ra... Oh, but he wants our help in finding the Orb of Ra..."

{Slide 16}


"This one calls herself Akris. She says she's a native of Earth, although she looks far from human. She writes she is 'a member of the Locust Army, awakened before my time, and seeking allies in executing my mission of vengeance and retribution...' I don't know what any of that means."

"He opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit," recited Polar Lass. "And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given great power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. It was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, nor any tree; but only those men which had not the seal of Righteousness in their foreheads. To them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented for five months: their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. In those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. The shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men; they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. They had breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. They had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months."

"Well, that's a pretty good description of her holo," said Lightning Lass. "But not really the kind of person I would choose for a roommate."

*

*

*

"Hmm... this next application is only six words," said Cosmic Boy. "Not even a holo.
'Chel-Eb of Rokyn. Usual Kryptonian powers'."

"That's not possible," said Star-Woman. "Rokynites never leave their homeworld."

"Shall we send him an invitation?" asked Cosmic Boy. "The return address is... He's been staying at The Grand Marshall Hotel, over in New Metropolis. We wouldn't even need to use the Pentachoron."

CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
CHEL-EB OF ROKYN

He wore classic Kryptonian clothing. A turquoise 'Nehru'-style jacket with epaulets, a wide metallic belt, indigo boots, and indigo overpants. Evidently fashions on Rokyn had not changed in a thousand years or more.


He hovered, toes pointed, about three inches off the ground.

"I've been to Rokyn. I thought emigration was strictly limited," said Star-Woman. "Even forbidden."

"I suffer from a rare disease," said Chel-Eb. "I do not believe it has a parallel among Terrans. But I think you would call it Congenital Atypical Adiposity."

"You gain weight uncontrollably," Ffiona translated.

"I am already at the Terran equivalent of two-hundred-fifty pounds," said Chel-Eb. "In another ten or fifteen years, I could top four hundred. After that..."

"And your condition could only be exacerbated by Rokyn's stronger gravity," Ten speculated. "I would assume it has already become difficult for you to move around on your homeworld without assistance."

Chel-Eb nodded. "When all other attempts at a cure failed, it was speculated that I might be helped by the super-abilities Kryptonians obtain under a yellow sun. I endured the arduous process of de-acclimating to Rokyn, and entered outer United Planets space. I find I am much more comfortable here. It is speculated my new physiology might even pause, or reverse my condition."

"Or," Ten replied. "Exposure to sub-yellow solar radiation could make it worse. You could accumulate mass even more rapidly."

"I am under observation by a group of Daxamite researchers," said Chel-Eb. "I will be receiving a complete check-up every six months."

"And you wish to join The Super-Hero Club because...?" asked Star-Woman.

"I have been living on Mars for two weeks now," said Chel-Eb. "With an enhanced Stipend from RokynGov. I have been exploring New Metropolis… and other Martian cities. It has been interesting. But these... 'super-powers'... are far beyond anything I could have imagined. I somehow feel I ought to put them to good use. To... do good."

"Exploring Martian cities unchaperoned could be dangerous," warned Ffiona. "Keep away from the Superman Museum in New Metropolis. They have all kinds of kryptonite samples there."

"'Mined on Rokyn itself,'" Chel-Eb quoted. "Not exactly true. I've been there. The Green and White samples are real enough. But Red and Gold K have short enough half-lives that they are vanishingly rare. And Rokyn, as you know, needs all the Gold K it can acquire. I'm afraid some of those samples at the Superman Museum are counterfeits."

"Let's give your Kryptonian powers a test," said Star-Woman. "A quick flying trip around Mars."

They took to the upper atmosphere, to avoid damage from shock-waves to things on the ground.

"Surely you can fly faster than this," said Star-Woman. "At this rate, it will take us over twenty minutes to circumnavigate Mars."

"They say flight is the hardest ability to master," said Chel-Eb. "Right now, if I try to exceed orbital velocity, I have trouble holding a steady course."

"Theoretically, as a Kryptonian, you ought to be able to access hyperspace, and fly to the stars under your own power,," said Star-Woman. "But you will need training. And some looking after, I think. Reason enough to have you join The Super-Hero Club. Let's go back."

"What do you think, Dorrit?" asked Star-Woman.

"I have no objection," said Saturn Girl. "He seems ingenuous and sincere, and as long as he can restrain his curiosity and x-ray vision, I say let him in."

"We’re family here," Star-Woman explained to Chel-Eb. "We treat one another with respect, and respect privacy, and assume goodwill from each other. You are not the only one with enhanced senses."

"I understand," said Chel-Eb.

"Have you thought of a super-hero name?" asked Star-Woman.

"Well, all things considered," said Chel-Eb, "I was thinking Fat Boy."

CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
WIND WIZARDESS

“I have an old Earth-riddle for you,” said Shrinking Violet.
A stick I found that weighed two pound:
I sawed it up one day
In pieces eight of equal weight!
How much did each piece weigh?
(Everybody says "a quarter of a pound," which is wrong.)

“Well,” said Ten, “The last line tells you that this is not just a whimsical way of asking ‘What is thirty-two divided by eight’, which would be four. Four ounces, incorporating the dimensionality. I wonder why Terrans gave up their convenient hexadecimal system of weights and measures? But the question must relate to a real-world scenario. Puzzling. It is not possible to divide a physical object into exactly eight equal parts. Or even two-- ‘sawing’-- really, any method of physical division-- requires the severing of chemical bonds, which results in the creation of innumerable particles in addition to more massive sections. So the ‘stick’ in this riddle must represent some non-physical object or property. And I imagine the use of ‘pound’ would be metaphorical as well. It might refer to the division of nations, property, or fortunes, but unfortunately I am not sufficiently familiar with the minutiae of Terran history to make a reasonable guess.”

“Well, the answer is the book is:”
[/i] In Shylock's bargain for flesh was found
No mention of the blood that flowed around:
So when the stick was sawed in eight,
The sawdust lost diminished from the weight[/i]

“An incomplete analysis,” replied Ten. “I am familiar with the Shakespearian reference: Shylock was not permitted to take his contractual ‘pound of flesh’; perhaps the author means to say that the scenario described is impossible in the natural world.”

Ten tapped on his ubiquitous computer screen for a moment. A text in old Terran appeared.

“Your riddle is from a work called ‘Puzzles from Wonderland’, by the 19th-century logician Charles Dodgson," mused Ten. "Interesting. It is the second in a series, the first being:
Dreaming of apples on a wall,
And dreaming often, dear,
I dreamed that, if I counted all,
—How many would appear?’”

Ten burst into a brief spasm of laughter.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “Back to business. We have an interview with Wind Wizardess tomorrow, I have completed a cursory background check, and have found nothing out of the ordinary.”

"Do me a favor," said Shrinking Violet. "Could you dig a little deeper? I'm feeling a little suspicious."

"On what basis?" asked Ten.

"Ariel Herrera." said Shrinking Violet. "It's a very common name. There must be hundreds of Ariel Herreras in the U.P.-- both male and female."

"You are suspicious because she has a common name?" asked Ten.

"I know it sounds silly," said Shrinking Violet. "But the Terran colonies on Thanar are an out-of-the-way place, and would be easier to hack into and create a false identity there than from, say, Earth."

"I will look again," said Ten, tapping on his screen. This time a detail of coding was displayed. "Interesting. Your Krill intuition is correct. This Ariel Herrera is a false identity... of course, there is no way to be completely sure of its origins, but the hack has all the earmarks of the warworld, Tyrazz."

"Lamda Lass," said Shrinking Violet. "Ojina Einstein. Her powers of space manipulation could easily be disguised as wind powers."

"Let us not jump to conclusions," said Ten. "Scientifically, we ought to run a biometric comparison with the UP database with appropriate controls..."

"This isn't science," said Shrinking Violet. "This is a detective story. And that's what detectives do, jump to conclusions based on insufficient data. Besides, couldn't they fake biometrics, too?"

"Only within limits," said Ten. "For example, if I altered your biometric scan to say you were ten feet tall, no one would believe it when they met you."

"Do me a favor," said Shrinking Violet. "Run your complete scan, but compare the biometrics for Ojina Einstein and our Ariel Herrera first."

"This is contrary to good scientific practice. I ought to set up random populations in a double blind…," said Ten. "Fascinating. Your detective instincts are vindicated. There is a seven-sigma probability that Ariel Herrera and Ojina Einstein are one and the same."

"But why would she be coming here?" Shrinking Violet wondered. "A second tryout? That seems unlikely. Infiltration? How long could she keep her identity secret living in such close quarters with us-- even if we ultimately accepted her?"

"The Pentachoron," said Ten. "It has capabilities beyond what you can imagine-- capabilities suppressed by ColuGov and the Circadians. Properly accessed, it would magnify Lambda Lass' natural powers tremendously. And she does not even need to come to Mars. Once she makes contact with the Pentachoron-- once we attempt a lock to transport her here for the interview-- she could... I need to go talk to the Circadians." Ten rushed out.

o o o

All fifteen members of The Super-Hero Club were gathered around the Pentachoron to welcome the 'Wind Wizardess'. The two Circadians were at their posts. A circular spot on the sand began to glow. A female form appeared. Simultaneously, a second Pentachoron materialized opposite the first.

"She is now frozen in a single moment of spacetime," said Circadia Ascheon.

"Summoning the Science Police now," said Circadia Segundus.

Two SPs headquartered at Metropolis Earth appeared, with a power-dampening containment tube between them. They lifted the motionless super-villain into the tube. The second Pentachoron vanished.

"Ojina Einstein of Faustos. Identity verified, Warrant executed," said one of the SPs. "Thank you, heroes." Then they vanished as well.

"Oh, that was exciting," said Circadia Ascheon. "Just imagine! Bringing a fugitive to justice!"

"I think I will have to have a little lie-down," said Circadia Segundus.

"Agreed. Myself as well. Perhaps for the rest of the day," said Circadia Ascheon.

"I have some concerns, just handing her over to EarthGov," said Korvea.

"Since the disaster on the Dominion homeworld," said Star-Woman, "There have been some remarkable changes on Earth. The mysterious disappearance of President Bridges. Recurrent, growing support for the re-institution of elections through the World Computer. The mysterious disappearance of the New Justice League of Earth. A number of more the conservative Earth Supreme Justices suddenly retiring-- and disappearing. The simultaneous financial collapse into bankruptcy of the Earth-First, neo-Niedrich, Devolutionary Neanderthal, and Ogilvy Society movements. Not that any of them actually had any obvious or direct connections with the Dominators, of course. Possibly a pure coincidence of timing. But I do tend to trust EarthGov a lot more just at this moment in time."

CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
THOU SHALT KNOW THE MAN BY THE ATHENIAN GARMENTS HE HATH ON

"Someone just appeared in the woods beyond the Clubhouse," said Fat Boy.

"Vesta has detected a short-range teleporter," said Ten.

"Auberon Tyrson," said Shrinking Violet.

"An unwarranted conclusion,," said Ten. "But I do not discount Eulia’s detective instincts."

"If Lambda Lass was here, could Auberon be far behind?" asked Shrinking Violet.

Fat Boy took off towards the woods at super-speed. "Wait," cried Star-Woman, too late. There was a thunderous crash, and a moment later, the Rokynite soared into the air, his flight powers out of control. Star-Woman went up after him.

Meanwhile, on the ground, a small, mostly spherical golden object approached Vesta. It was only about a quarter of the size of Ten's robo-nanny, but had a nasty-looking barrel attached.

"That's a Tyrazzite gun-hand," said Lightning Lass.

The gun fired, but was suddenly enveloped in a glowing, yellow-white sphere. It fell to the ground, scorched and smoking.

"Inverse Coluan shielding," Ten explained. "Thank you, Vesta."

High in the Martian atmosphere, Star-Woman instructed Chel-Eb: "You need to get control of your anti-gravity. Level off."

"But how..." asked Fat Boy.

"You are much stronger, faster, and more durable than Auberon," Star-Woman explained. "But he is better trained, and had the element of surprise. Auberon is also also stronger, faster, and more durable than anyone else on our team. He is a deadly opponent. Think before you act... but think fast."

"I can take him down," said Fat Boy. "I have the power."

"We have plenty of power on our side. But so does he. You could win by brute force, but the trick is to protect everyone else from injury."

"They are trying to trap him somehow," said Fat Boy, leveling off, and gazing at the ground.

"Polar Lass has frozen him in ice," said Star-Woman. "But that will slow him down, it won't hold him for long. He will shatter his ice-prison, and you need to protect the other Members from the flying shards. Can you do wide-angle heat vision?"

"I've never tried," said Fat Boy.

"Then target each fragment quickly, with super-speed," she ordered. "See what Cosmic Boy and Lightning Lad are doing? In that configuration, Pol can create a containment field for Dacey's lightning, and turn it into a beta-particle beam. That has a nasty kick."

"Are they trying to kill him?" asked Fat Boy, subliming the exploding ice.

"No, he's too tough for that," said Star-Woman. "They are trying to incapacitate his equipment-- he probably has a lot of small, weaponized electronics all over him."

"What is Hillary doing?" asked Fat Boy.

"What he does best," said Star-Woman. "A lot of Tyrazzite technology is self-repairing, so he is eating the gun-hand while it's temporarily offline. Phantom Girl will be sneaking up behind Auberon, either underground or through the Phantom Zone, in another attempt to completely de-weaponize him. Unfortunately, it also looks like he has now nearly made it to hand-to-hand range with the group. Do you think you can relieve him of any surviving weaponry at super-speed?"

"I can move my hands pretty fast even when I'm standing still," said Chel-Eb, and flew down at the villain. He tore off what he could find, and tossed the electronic debris in Matter-Eater Lad Two's direction. Star-Woman suddenly appeared behind Fat Boy, and pulled him away. There was another particle-beam attack from Lightning Lass, then Auberon vanished.

"Where did he go?" asked Fat Boy. "You said they weren't trying to kill him."

"He's not dead," said Star-Woman. "Just transported. Teleported."

"But I'm sure I got his short-range transporter device," said Fat Boy.

"That you did," said Star-Woman. "But there are other transporters in the area."

Auberon Tyrson woke up. The sky was turquoise, the sun was green. He was lying on a golden street, as smooth as glass, with immense skyscrapers towering above him. Except for their size, he would have thought they were fragments of computer chips. He tingled and ached all over.

On one of the smaller, squatter buildings sat a gigantic young woman, at least a hundred meters tall. She smiled down at him.

"I'm supposed to make sure you don't try to escape," said Shrinking Violet.

Ten set the little flask on the table. "It's a miniature reconstruction of the area I grew up in on Colu," he explained. "I have Vesta II monitoring, and Shrinking Violet can contact us on her flight ring if there is trouble."

"The SPs on Earth say it will take at least a couple of hours to prepare another stasis chamber," said Star-Woman.

"We recovered two 'most wanted' escapees in one day," said Korvea. "They have a right to be unprepared."

Wednesday, May 2nd, 3O22

WORLD BUILDING
The United Planets in the K1 and K2 Paracosms
Preface:

I'm not telling these stories to you. I'm telling these stories to myself.
The Earth-K paracosms are little highly-detailed head-canons I carry around. I spend a lot of my free time there.
Although heavily based on the Silver-Age Legion universes, they naturally contain many expanded details and modifications of my own.
Some of these details have been referenced in the texts of my Young Legion and Rainbow Girl tales, but a great deal of it has not. What follows is a brain dump of miscellaneous head canon about some prominent U.P. worlds.
FWIW here is a little peek into my fantasy life.

Winath: {Stellar Primary: Amarta}
Korbal, the Lightning World, is a planetoid also located in the Amartan System.
Lightning Ring Farms is one of the most profitable homesteads on Winath. This is partially due to the fact that the Ranzz siblings left the soil on their ancestral farm to lie fallow for some two decades, re-invigorating the soil. Over the years, a small wooded area has grown up on the property.
Winath differs from other agricultural worlds like Mardru and the Manna systems in that their farming methods are more "natural" and "organic". Of course, this being the 31st century, Winath utilizes weather-controlling Ziggurats, stationed across the planet and administered by WinathGov, and mechanical robo-bees for pollination, so "natural" and "organic" differs from our 21st-century understanding.
At the very least, though, it does mean that Winath does not use growth accelerants and ultra-ethylenes the way Mardru does.
There are plenty of GMO grown on Winath, although this is considered "natural".
Meatmelons, for example, externally resemble watermelon, honeydew, or casaba, but internally produce animal fats and proteins in their flesh. There are numerous varieties, which imitate a wide range of Terran and non-Terran meat products. Hammelon, grown in hydroponic salt swamps, can be eaten without cooking. There are bovimelon, porcimelon, ovimelon, and cervimelon varieties. It is even theoretically possible to create a custom meatmelon from one's own unique proteins.
The coloring and patterning on the rinds are unique identifiers for each variety.

Braal:
The planetary wars of the 28th century were followed by the Great Rebuilding, both with the reunifying the United Planets and the physical structures destroyed during the war. Braal became a wealthy planet, as a result of high demand for Braalien construction workers with their powerful magnetic abilities.
However, the construction boom did not last forever, and by the mid-3Oth century, Braal was in a deep economic depression. By the beginning of the 31st-century, and new expansiona on the borders of UP space, Braal began to recover.
One industry unaffected by the Braalien slump was Magno-Ball, a popular entertainment across the United Planets beginning in the first half of the 3Oth century.
Hu Krinn was the First Baseman for the 2938 Championship Braalien Steelwolves Magno-Ball team. He was one-third of what is considered the greatest infield lineup in the history of the sport, with Second Basewoman Peggi Su Watt and Hal Ideno on Third Base.
Some twenty years later, and shortly after his joining the Legion, Rokk sponsored his parents and his brother Pol as immigrants to Earth, and the family settled in Metropolis.

Kathoon:
Native Kathooni naturally possess infra-red vision.
As Terran descendants, they also possess vestigial daylight-vision, and often find daylight on other worlds optically painful. When offworld, many Kathooni wear blackout "contact lenses" which cover the entire eye. This is especially true of the elderly.

Durla:
There are quite a number of uzolg-myrx: "families", "tribes", or "clans" on Durla, each with their own signature default form. The most numerous are the cthunic tentacular clan, but the United Planets has standardized the offworld appearance of all Durlans as the orange-skinned, pointy-eared version-- the second most populous clan on Durla. The Chameleon Men of Action Comics #287 are yet another Durlan clan. The Super-Hero Club's Chameleon belongs to an uzolg-myrx whose default form resembles Roswell Greys. (Zeta Reticulans)
There are quite a number of Durlan expatriates in the UP, as exile is a popular form of punishment on Durla. And there are a great many ways to violate Durlan law and custom.
Somewhat paradoxically, while Durlans are shape-shifters, their dietary requirements are quite rigid. All food must be somewhat pre-digested, and they require colonies of living bacteria or fungi with each meal to assist in further digestion and assimilation. Some favorite Earth foods are raw bread dough, miso paste, tempeh, kimchi, poi, yoghurt, lutefisk, sauerkraut, and beer. They also require regular ingestion of copper acetates, which are used like salt.
There is a Durlan fruit known as gnelo which alone provides all necessary nutrients, if eaten with a copper spoon.

Carggg: {Stellar Primaries Sanshimai}
The planet was originally colonized by a Terran contingent that was primarily of Japanese origin, although there are members of the population resembling pretty much all Terran races and ethnic groups. Still, remnants of Japanese culture, especially food and casual (non-interlac) language are still in evidence.
The radiation from Carggg's triple sun endows the native Terrans with triplicating powers at birth, and to a greater or lesser degree, all animal life on Carggg.
The Carggan "tripli-cat" and "three-headed vulture" (also called the vuvuzela vulture, for its yelping cry), as examples, are only able to triplicate from the neck up.
When triplicated, Carggans will temporarily age at three times the rate of ordinary Terrans
This is just one reason that the triplicating power is highly regulated in Cargggan culture, by etiquette, tradition, superstition, and even law.
The name of the planet Carggg derives from the Karagawas, one of the "first families" who were the original settlers of the planet. The triplicates in the Super-Hero Club, Ffiona, Ffarrah, and Ffey Ffarr, are descendants of the Karagawas.

Orzde: {Stellar Primary: Irulan}
Also known as Irulan III (Imsk is Irulan IV) it is populated by descendants of the Krill, an ancient race most remembered for the destructive galactic Krill-Llorn War. The people of Orzde resemble 21st-century Earth polynesians: Tall, dark skinned, dark-eyed, and broad-shouldered. Many are over two meters tall. Contrariwise, Imskians are redheaded, green-eyed, and much smaller, seldom reaching much more than one-and-one-half meters in height.
Outside the big cities, the farming communities of Orzde are reminiscent of the farms of old Scotland, with stone cottages on the farms and broad moorlands between the cultivated fields.
There are a number of "fractal cities" on Orzde, with neighborhoods where everyone lives at 5O% size, containing neighborhoods where everyone lives at 25% size, and so on. Conceptually, this would allow a city to contain infinitely many inhabitants, but things begin to break down at the quantum level.
Orzdeans and Imskians must have regular infusions of energy harvested from the "space-dragons" which roam their system, or they will gradually llose their shrinking abilities. They must also have regular exposure to the rays of the white-dwarf-star sun Irulan.
While resembling humans in appearance, Krill have one distinct anatomical difference. Krill males nurse their children after birth, while Krill females take a rest, and both sexes are built for it. Krill males are also smaller and more slender, while Krill females are more robust.
Thus Shrinking Violet is technically male, and Micro Lad is technically female, at least from the perspective of what gamete they produce.
Other Krill worlds include Torad, Ikros, Hajor, and the Juno colony in the Sol System.

Bgztl: {Stellar Primary: Gnohho}
The alternate dimension in which Bgztl exists is known as "Bgztlrside". There is an entire star system Bgztrlside which parallels the Solar system. (Known Bgztlrside as the Gnohhon System)
Mercury = Lbzqbk
Venus = Gnlzo Xvtzb
Earth = Bgztl
Mars = Gzbk
Asteroid Belt = Xbqbtbz (Bgzltrside, this is a full-blown planet, between the size of Earth and Venus.)
Jupiter = Rbjk
Saturn = Yzopok
Uranius = Ojzgpok
Neptune = Nokbvxop
Pluto = no equivalent
There is an equivalent to the Oort cloud, but these objects have no particular collective name.
In the 31st century, Gnlzo Xvtzb, Gzbk, and Xbqbtbz have all been colonized by the Bgztlr, as have moons of Rbjk and Yzopok, although their populations are not as large as those on Venus, Mars, and the moons of Jupiter and Saturn.
Bgztlrside and Earthside are separated by the Phantom Zone, also called the Buffer Zone. Occasionally elderly Bgztlrs will voluntarily enter the Buffer Zone and never return, existing as immortal, geriatric but unaging phantoms, observing their descendants over the generations. This behaviour is generally considered cowardly and shameful in Bgztlr culture. Nevertheless, there are probably millions of permanent phantoms "haunting" Bgztl's Buffer Zone.
All Bgztlrs possess a kind of 4D-vision, able to see through, or rather around, solid objects. Visual acuity over distance falls off rapidly when using 4D-vision (as the cube rather than the square). Nevertheless, homes on Bgztl are set farther apart, and rather further back from the street than on Earth.
Laws concerning privacy are rather strict in Bgztlr culture.

Mercury: {Stellar Primary: Sol}
The Medivac lab, as well as all other Terran scientific installations on Mercury have been permanently closed, the colonist populations resettled, and other United Planets personnel reassigned. The planet is now wholly under the governance of the native Thermoids. Negotiations for their entry into the United Planets are ongoing.

Venus: {Stellar Primary: Sol}
By the 31st century, Venus has been completely terraformed. As part of the process, its spin had to be accelerated, so that a Venusian day is now only 27 hours (as opposed to 5800 hours in the 21st century), making just 2OO Venusian days in the Venusian year.
Venusian gravity is 90% Earth-normal. The average atmospheric pressure is 3x that of Earth.
In order to generate tides in the new oceans, it was necessary to give Venus a moon. To accomplish this, the asteroid Ceres was moved in from its orbit. The Cereal "month" is only three days long, and Ceres is so tiny it appears from the surface of Venus as only a bright point of light.
Note: the carbon dioxide removed from Venus’ atmosphere during terraforming has been sequestered on Ceres, mostly as mountains of crystalline calcite and magnesite.

Juno: {Stellar Primary: Sol}
3 Juno is an asteroid in the Sol system with a surface area of about 80,000 square miles, about the size of Nebraska.
Its gravitational force is about 1/8Oth that of Earth's. Escape velocity is ~400 mph, so an earthman could not just jump out into space, but could certainly leap eight or ten story buildings in a single bound. An ordinary bullet fired from an ordinary hand-gun would fly away and never return.
It hosts an ancient colony of Krill-descended humanoids.
Juno was known in the 2Oth century as the home of Power Boy, Zarl Vorne of Atlantis. His powers far exceeded what could be expected of an ordinary earthling, even in Juno's low gravity. For example, he was able to fly unaided through space, and lift objects massing hundreds of tonnes.
Superboy discovered that his presence (and by extension, the presence of any Kryptonian) weakened Zarl, causing him to lose his super-powers, and ultimately to become so weak he could not even stand in Juno's low gravity.
Half of Juno was once covered with a "creeping jungle", which threatened to eventually engulf the entire planet. In the mid-2Oth century, Superboy cut the world in half, and flung the "creeping jungle" half into the sun. He later replaced the missing half with other material from the asteroid belt.
(italicized text is silver-age canon, based on Superboy #52)
In the 31st century, the Juno Colony remains the home of a few million Krill.

Jupiter: {Stellar Primary: Sol}
The four largest "Galilean" moons of Jupiter are Io, Callisto, Europa, and Ganymede.
Io is the home of the Themiscryan Diaspora. (They paved Paradise Island and put up a parking lot)
Callisto once hosted an experimental recombinant DNA facility. This is the origin of, for example, the Jovian Attack Squid, Camelephant, Helgramaxis, and Montressor. These were originally intended as bio-weapons to be used in the 28th-century Terran wars, but the wars ended before they could be used.. While these researches are no longer ongoing, there is still the small Jupiter Zoo And Wild Animal Park for the remaining Jovian beasts.
Europa has a great ocean beneath a miles-thick ice sheet. Strange sea life dwells there in the depths, mostly near-microscopic in nature. There are also, deep beneath the surface ice, larger oyster-like filter-feeders, but they are non-sapient, and visually indistinguishable from rocks.
Callisto, Ganymede and Europa are for the most part uninhabited by Terrans in the 31st century, with the exception of several small scientific research stations.
One of the Galilean moons was once the site of New Bokk, but there is no remaining archaeological evidence, and even the Bokkites of New Titan do not remember.
In the late 31st century, it was (will be?) discovered that Jupiter itself is inhabited by a bizarre form of hydrogen-methane-based gaseous life. The top-tier predators are known as the Jovian Gas Giants, and are border-line sapient.

Neptune and Uranius: {Stellar Primary: Sol}
Domed cloud cities (Wolkenstaedte) float high in the atmospheres of each world. With a population smaller than the Venusian nations, but larger than the Martian colonies, there are just over a billion Terrans on both worlds combined.
Deep within the clouds of both worlds, 'diamond rain' falls from the methane-rich atmosphere, which is harvested by "diamond nets" which draw the precious stones up to the cities for processing and export.
While ordinary diamonds themselves are common and worth little in the 31st century, the particular imperfections in these naturally formed diamonds of Neptune and Uranius are perfect for the manufacture of memory crystals, and are used all over the United Planets.
(Neptune and Uranius are not the only source of memory crystal diamonds; there are plenty of similar worlds throughout the U.P. But it is still a lucrative industry, with room for many players.)
The bizarre conditions of these worlds also have led to numerous natural mutations in some of the Terran (and some non-Terran) inhabitants, including Ronn-Karr of Neptune, the infamous super-villain.
Uranius houses a Museum of Forbidden Weapons, a popular attraction on many worlds.
The First Church of Neptune is one of the Solar Systems preeminent charitable organizations, ranked alongside the Red Tesseract and United Planets Way. Congregations exist on Earth and Uranius as well.

Lupra:
Inhabited by non-Terran, non-Krill humanoids. Their physiology nevertheless utilizes ATGC DNA. Their interior physiology most parallels that of Terran snakes.
They are known as Lupracons.

Shwar:
Shwarans are tall, slender humanoids with pupil-less eyes and large pointed ears.They have some characteristic biological differences from Terrans and Krill-descended humanoids. For example, their DNA is composed entirely of unique nucleotides (That is, not adenine, thymine, guanine, or cytosine). The proteins in their bodies are right-handed, and the sugars in their bodies are left-handed, as opposed to around 80% of the galactic population. This makes dining out on other worlds problematic.
Their skin is made of bands of keratin, similar to sharkskin. Their bones are not primarily calcium, but are composed of woven carbon fullerenes, making them flexible and tough. The Shwaran atmosphere is notable for its lower percentage of oxygen.
Shwarans are characteristically as xenophobic as Daxamites, if not even moreso. Very few Shwarans have ever left their homeworld. One exception is Staq Mavlen, who has made a comfortable living selling his interplanetary travelogs. Shwarans may be naturally xenophobic, but are more than equally curious. Lurid tales of the fabulous dangers of interplanetary travel are particularly well received by the masses.

Cintos:
Another extra-dimensional world (like Bgztl and Teall), its inhabitants are made of solid light.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HU6t8QvGZmA&ab_channel=TheScienceAsylum
And are capable of transforming into ordinary, non-solid light.
Quanto of the Taurus Gang was from Cintos. Although not generally known, Starfinger's agents Starlight and Starbright are also Cintosian.

Lallor:
By the mid-thirty-first century, Lallor is a dead and uninhabitable world, due to the Second Nuclear War.
A small number of Lallorans were off-planet during the apocalypse. Floyd Belkin is employed as a casino courier on Ventura.
For several years, Somi Gan kept herself “alive” with her animation powers. She even re-animated Ord Quelu, and by having the zombie replicate the powers of Duplicate Girl and Chameleon Boy, gave the appearance that the population of Lallor had survived. However, this facade eventually overtaxed her powers, and she ultimately succumbed to PTSD and psychosis, and she and Lallor reverted to their natural state as a radioactive corpse.

Pretzor:
Approximately the size of Earth, it is a watery world of some twenty-five million small islands.
Some islands are heavily colonized, others inhabited by a single family, others entirely uninhabited and unexplored.
Morning and evening, there are a lot of misty rainbows.
The largest is only about fifty miles square, somewhat smaller than Staten Island. Nevertheless, it hosts the capital city of Abracada, home to some one million residents. As humans have a preference for gathering in large numbers, Abracada has been extending its reach into the surrounding sea, with a number of floating villages attached to the main island with arching bridges.
Some younger Pretzorans have undergone genetic surgery, allowing them various aquatic adaptations. These modified humans are extending the population into underwater cities.
Jeem Rehtu and his wife Jhina live in Abracada, at least on Earth-K2.
The twelve Rehtu children, ranging in age from thirty-five to fifteen, are Jeem Jr.(son), Jaak (son), and Jhyyll (daughter) (twins), Jeeth (son), Jhiigg (daughter), and Jhyyxx (daughter) (twins), Jiip (son), and Joof (son) (twins), Jhoodee (daughter), Jhubilee (daughter), Jhuuraa (daughter), and Jaan (son).
As Pretzor is a relatively new Terran colony, large families are encouraged.

Colu: {Stellar Primary: Yod}
Yod was once a double star, a yellow dwarf (type G) partnered with a diffuse blue giant (type B). At some point in history, the giant star "swallowed" the dwarf, which now has a tight orbit inside the blue giant.
Young Coluans are raised by professional Adult Guardians, although they do also have relations with their biological parents. Renlo Tagor is the Adult Guardian of Txalrz Luz 4523 (also known as Ten).
A Coluan's primary diet consists of a special nutritive paste and distilled water. This does not mean they cannot eat ordinary food, it just means they usually don't. When they do, it is in small portions. The Coluan digestive system does not require roughage as humans do. Note: Chocolate is poisonous to Coluans in the same way that chocolate is poisonous to Terran dogs. (due to theobromines and caffeine)
While throughout most of the United Planets the age of majority is fourteen years (earth-equivalent) on Colu it is one-hundred-and-three. (Sixty-five Sola-years)
The Yoddish "alphabet":



Tharr:
Tharrans are descendants of Terran colonists primarily from the Scandinavian countries.
As such, Scandinavian culture and traditions persist, although in a somewhat altered form. Seafood, for instance, is a dietary staple. The underground caverns where the human population dwells are catacombed with seafood breeding tanks, although the saltwater in these tanks is near the boiling point. (Obviously these fish have been genetically modified to survive at such temperatures.)
Temperatures underground run from about 205F to 210F (95c – 99c) thanks to the psychoglaciating powers of a fraction of the population. Temperatures on the surface run from 400F to 500F (200c - 250c).
There are native lifeforms on the surface, including a felinoid creature called a "firecat", which occasionally wanders down into the lower chambers for short periods of time.
Adapted to such extreme high temperatures, Tharrans require layers of warm clothing, and even thermal devices to be comfortable-- or even survive-- at ordinary Earth temperatures. This explains why Polar Lass is always cold.

The United Planets in the K1 and K2 Paracosms
(continued)

Bismoll: {Stellar Primary: Peptu}
Contrary to popular lore, Bismollians cannot eat absolutely anything. They are unable to digest the toxic microbes in the plant life of Bismoll, as well as the highly poisonous trans-feynmanium metal Magnozite.
The structure of the Bismollian digestive tract is essentially Kryptonian, possessing invulnerability, super-strength, and super-speed. Ingested matter is assimilated through both enzymatic nuclear fission and cold fusion. There is also a biological transtator pathway which converts high-energy radiation to usable lower energy levels.
The Bismollian stomach is a three-and-a-half dimensional structure, the additional half-dimension storing extra ingested mass. This allows Bismollians to eat more than their own mass, without gaining weight.
The highly efficient Bismollian digestive system would mean that Bismollians would not have to eat anything- gaining all their sustenance from the fusion of the hydrogen in water vapor in the air, producing about 1OO watts of power. However, quite a bit of additional energy is required to maintain the integrity of their Kryptonian-like digestive tract.
Physics Review: Beginning with hydrogen, nuclear fusion creates heavier and heavier elements, until iron-56 is reached, which has the lowest energy-per-nucleon ratio of any element. Similarly, nuclear fission creates lighter and lighter elements down the periodic table, until iron-56 is reached, where lighter elements can only be created by inputting additional nucleonic energy.
Ergo, after extracting all available nucleonic energy, the end waste product of Bismollian fusion / fission is iron. Bismollians poop pure inert iron pellets.

Naltor and New Titan: {Stellar Primary: Kassandra}
Twin worlds that orbit one another at a distance of something like a million miles, (and a hundred million miles from their primary) Naltorans have precognitive abilities, and Titanians have a variety of telepathic powers. While each world has a separate government, they do have strong ties through a series of treaties, and trade agreements. Both have heads of state with semi-royal authority: The "High Seer of Naltor" and the "King of Saturn". (If the King of Saturn is female, they are Queen Regent, and still technically a King.) Both chief executives are appointed by their respective legislatures, although practically there are only three or four families on each world from which these appointments come. There are religious duties associated with the King of Saturn, as they are considered Counselor to the Hierophant of the Church of Saturn.
The population of New Titan consists of Terran diaspora, as well as both Red and White Bokkite Saturnians. While officially subject to the majority Terran government, the Bokkites have their own covert tribal systems of law and justice. The several majority Bokkite villages on New Titan are known as the Bokkjill.

Zwen:
Due to its highly elliptical orbit, Zwen is only habitable one-fourth of its year. (It's too close to its primary the rest of the time) It is well known that Zwenites hibernate during this period in petrified form. What is less well known is that they do not age while petrified. If they did not hibernate at all, they would age at only two-thirds the rate of ordinary Terrans. With the hibernation period, a native Zwenite who appears fifty years old would actually be about three hundred or so.

Talok VIII: {Stellar Primary: Talok, obviously}
The Mallorean and Nahtahnie families have a genetic predisposition to be attracted to powerful members of the opposite sex. This even extends to non-Talokan aliens. The families encourage this, even practicing artificial genetic accommodation of alien races in order to improve the status and power of their descendants.
Individual Shadow and Memory Champions are aware of this, but usually unable to resist the compulsion.
The "S" symbol of the Malloreans is actually a barred spiral galaxy, visible in the Talok system through a trick of gravitational lensing.

Shelbon: {Stellar Primary: Kragnax}
ref. Vertigax, Zhelbon, Zelbon, Harley Quinn (2O16) #1-3
Shelbonites have the ability to replicate the appearance of other living beings, although their repertoire of alternate forms is not as extensive as the Durlans. They are also able to re-integrate and heal their bodies, even after disintegration down to the sub-cellular level.
Korvea Mallor's mother is a Shelbonite.

Superboy Planet:
This artificial planet, constructed by the Legionnaires in the 2Oth century, is an inhabited world in the 33rd century. At one time Superboy Planet was mined for the rare trans-feynmanium element sigellian, a by-product of the construction process. This is in part how Dori Aandraison's uncle, Gaal Jindrich, obtained his wealth.
The present-day inhabitants are non-Kryptonian admirers of Kryptonian society, culture, and legend. While existing in UP territory, it is not technically a member of the United Planets. Its residents include a coalition of renegade geneticists, who intend to create GMO super-beings as one of their projects.
They have already managed to create a living teen-aged simulacrum of Mordo, the six-armed mythical Kryptonian god of strength.

Thanar
The rust-colored, "mineral-fleshed", humanoid natives of Thanar welcomed the Terran colonists. The aboriginal Thanaran population was concentrated in large cities widely scattered over the surface, with mineral forests in between. Human population centers are domed and isolated, as some terraforming is necessary to remove toxicity from the soil.
Also home to the bizarre, metal-eating Dxaundii Wingfish.

Rimbor {Stellar Primary: Rambor}
Throughout the United Planets, Silverale is legally sold only on Rimbor. This is unsurprising, as this potent potable contains not only alcohol, but colloidal silver and a small dose of a powerful opiate.
The three purple moons of Rimbor are, from largest to smallest, Morado, Roxa, and Talong.

Rokyn: {Stellar Primary: Jor-El (a name meaning "new star", or "new hope"}
Rokyn is a technologically advanced world inhabited by the restored inhabitants of Kandor, refugees from Argo City, released Phantom Zone criminals, and their descendants.
It has a population in the 31st century of about thirteen billion.
Gold Kryptonite radiation mimics yellow solar radiation, and is absorbed by Kryptonian metamitochondria. However, similar to the way carbon monoxide replaces oxygen in Terran red blood cells and suffocates them, the Gold K radiation is "inert", causing the cells to overload, and negating "super-powers".
After Kandor was enlarged, its scientists found a way to modify Gold Kryptonite radiation to grant all Rokynites super-fast healing and a lengthened lifespan, even under a red sun. The limit of this life extension is not known, as no one has died of illnesses incident to old age on Rokyn since Gold K treatments began. (Note that in one universe, Superman lived over eight hundred centuries)
Before venturing beyond their homeworld to a planet with a sun of another color, Rokynites must be purged of this golden energy or their biological systems will be overloaded, and they will lose any potential for super-abilities, as well as the life-extending benefits.
All Rokynites now sleep with little gold lamps beside their beds, and very, very few ever venture off-world. Many of the Kandorians alive in the 2Oth century are still alive on Rokyn today.
In the 24th century, a strict one-child policy was adopted on Rokyn, so that the population would never exceed 2OO% of the population in the 24th century, even if no one ever dies.
Rokyn has two moons, named Lara and Kara.
There are other worlds in the Jorlian system which might one day be Kryptoformed, but they are uninhabited in the 31st century. This may be due to Rokynites' general reluctance to leave their homeworld at all.

The Compleat Jorlian System:
01 Finud
02 Lorra
03 Tahn
04 Zugur
05 Rokyn
06 Jorargo
07 Zhehiod
08 Bothgar-Jevia
09 Khethgar
10 Esh
11 Dovrosh
12 Dhehraogh
13 Zil


Daxam: {Stellar Primary: Rickleff (Terran: Mirach)}
Much of Daxam is uninhabited and unexplored. A massive world with a habitable surface area some thirty times that of Earth, it has a population of just three billion-- less than three percent that of Earth's hundred billion plus.
The Daxamite population is not only xenophobic, but highly gregarious. Half the population resides in a single, sprawling, densely populated oceanside city. This is the Daxamite capital Ekvotugrash (also called Daxamopolis by ignorant Terrans) which lies along some ten thousand square miles of coastline on the largest continent. The average Daxamite experiences extreme anxiety without the companionship of their own kind, and the more the better. (Lar Gand is at the extreme end of "not an average Daxamite")
There is a small population of Kryptonian-descendants on Daxam who never migrated to Rokyn. They mostly blend in with the general Daxamite population, although one well-known Kryptonian resident is Nam-Ek, the Rondor Man, who does not blend in anywhere.
Not well-accepted among the general Daxamite population, identified Kryptonian immigrants are colloquially, and somewhat disparagingly, known as "Kreeps".

Kormo:
Homeworld of Skyboy, aka "Tharn of Kormo", in the 2Oth century. [World's Finest Comics #92]
A high-gravity, red-sun world, the humanoid Kormons receive Kryptonian-level super-abilities under a yellow sun. Prolonged exposure, however, leads to "yellow sun fever", a brain inflammation. Symptoms proceed from confusion and amnesia to sociopathy and psychosis.
Unlike Krypton and Daxam, Kormo does not obtain its high gravity from being a giant, massive world. Rather, it is the burnt-out shell of a neutron star, covered in a crust of rock and arable soil.
The population of Kormo is only a little over a million.
Kormons have developed a stun-ray which is effective on otherwise invulnerable super-powered individuals. An odd quirk of Kormon anatomy is that they all have identical fingerprints.

Zoon: {Stellar Primary: Zuun}
On a world ruined by pollution from intensive mining, sapient androids colonized the surface of the planet. Some of the original shareholders in the Zuunian mining venture attempted to reclaim the androids, but without success. Led by the liberator Karth Arn, the android population has been petitioning the United Planets to recognize them as legitimate life-forms, independent sapients, and full citizens. There is a Zuunian android who calls himself "Lance" employed on Lightning Ring Farms.

The Invaders of Bizarro World {Homeworld and Stellar Primary: Unknown}
Yellow-skinned, lemon-headed, almost naked aliens who invaded Htrae, the Bizarro World, in Adventure Comics #287.
A proud, greedy and cowardly species, immediately upon developing sufficiently advanced spacefaring technology, the "Lemonheads" invaded the nearest available planetary system in an inauguration of a plan to conquer and ransack the Galaxy. Unfortunately, that world was Htrae, and the bizarre behaviour of its native inhabitants caused the Lemonhead invasion force to flee in terror.
Later (on July 4th, 1961, to be specific) the Lemonheads planted blue kryptonite golem-soldiers deep beneath the surface of Htrae, in a second effort to conquer the planet. (as recorded in Adventure Comics #290) This stratagem, too, was a failure.
Disheartened by their failed attempts at conquest, the Lemonheads returned to their homeworld, renounced interstellar travel, and never ventured out into the Galaxy again.

Dryad: {Stellar Primary: Korlon}
Korlon experiences massive, periodic solar flares. This is why the Dryads evolved. A few centuries before a flare, the crystalline female Dryads, responding to some innate, subconscious impulse, begin gathering a seed bank of all flora on their homeworld. They then leave the surface, hibernating in deep underground chambers with their seed banks. Shortly before the flare, one or several stony male Dryads will leave their world, finding safety on some other planet. After the surface has melted, cooled, and healed, these "First Wardens'' will return to their homeworld, awaken the sleeping females, and begin the process of reseeding the biosphere.
The precise history of each of these flare events varies. The time between flare-ups is measured in tens of millenia, longer than the life of any single Dryad. (Individual Dryads commonly live six to twelve thousand years) Therefore, the history of the Wardens is passed down primarily through story and myth.
In the Earth-K1 paracosm, Chip, the parthenogenetic son of Blok, will eventually serve the role of First Warden.
In the Earth-K2 paracosm, Chip was never born. The shattered body of Blok is on Zerox, the First Sorcerer's World, in an entirely different Universe, in the care of Mysa Nal.
If a First Warden will eventually appear in the K2 paracosm, and who that might be, is unknown at this time.

The Sorcerer's Worlds
Zerox and Tharn: The fundamental political entity on both Sorcerer's Worlds is the Coventry- an alliance of thirteen like-minded sorcerers. Not all sorcerers belong to a Coventry- especially as it is difficult to find like-minded sorcerers- but only a Coventry can vote. There are non-magical individuals providing support services on both Zerox and Tharn, and these belong to Guildes ov various sizes, but also have no vote or direct voice in the political process.
The highest ruling body is the First Coventry, the head of State is the First Coventry Chair, the senior member. Each Chair organizes his or her or its government according to their own principles. Mordru has been elected frequently, as the Sorcerer's Worlds favor powerful mages; his governments looked imperial.
In the Earth K-2 paracosm, Mysa Nal is the Chief of State on Zerox, which inhabits another dimension.
The capital city of Zerox is called Zeresh, and the capital of Tharn is St. Bosco.
The current Chair of the First Coventry on Tharn is Doctor Leitseid (also known as Professor Leitseid) and his government looks like the governing board of a university.
Tharn is a world of thirteen continents, six in the northern hemisphere and seven in the southern.
It is home to some ten billion sorcerers, about one-fiftieth of whom are of Terran origin.
Alien races and climates range from the Star Yeti in the frozen hyperborean mountains to the Andorran Nagas in the equatorial desert lowlands.
Important mostly-human metropolitan areas are Nuevo Paulo, Emerald City (not the original), the Oxford Mage School, and Merlinopolis.
There are a number of portals to other magical worlds scattered across Tharn.
Sorcerers and their apprentices are almost as fun to imagine as new members of the Subs. I have a list somewhere of over one hundred.

Cyranus:
One of the five members of the Inner Council of the United Planets. Its native inhabitants are humanoids with dog-like facial features. It is a member of the Felkan Confederation, which also includes Sirius Station, and the unnamed world which once was home to the Space Canine Patrol.
Cyranus also administers the Tellarite Federation, which includes Gamorr and World 318; and the Cephalopoid Coalition, including the Octoid-Men of Luvan, the Xakkans, the Sand-Octopi of Aressia, and the Dyss.
Cyranus is also home to the Super-Hero Club of Cyranus, and the galactically renowned five-star Legion of Soup Restaurant.

Torad:
One of the five members of the Inner Council of the United Planets. Its native inhabitants are descendants of the Krill, like Imsk, Orzde, the Juno Colony, Opralgar (New Hajor), and Ikros. In addition to these, Torad also administers the twelve Antarean worlds: Antares II, Antares X, Dhor, Mosteel, Alstair, Llar, Uwilla, Laroo, Trago, Raagaar, Vulxan, and Omeron.

Amazonia:
One of the five members of the Inner Council of the United Planets. Its native inhabitants are gender monomorphic, in that their appearance does not vary substantially between genders. All Mazons resemble tall, broad-shouldered humanoid women. Contrast this with the world of Khazad, whose inhabitants all resemble short, stout, bearded humanoid males.
In addition to other responsibilities, Amazonia represents Taltar, Femnaz, and Sklar in the United Planets.

Oranx:
One of the five members of the Inner Council of the United Planets. A heavy-gravity, red-sun world, Oranxans have superhuman strength, but not the array of powers of say, Daxamites. They do, however, represent Daxam, Rokyn, New Zoron, and Kormo to the United Planets.

Xanthu:
One of the five members of the Inner Council of the United Planets, replacing Earth after political instability made its membership problematic. Their responsibility is to represent and administer all Terran colonies to the United Planets.

There are, of course, hundreds of worlds which are members of the U.P. but the Inner Council divides up responsibility for them all, one way or another. It is a matter of no small importance, politically speaking, that all five members of the Inner Council are from humanoid worlds.

Strange New Worlds

Here is a listing of original planets I have needed to create for the various series set in the Earth-K paracosms. I have probably missed a few

PART ONE

Amphora: Planet of the frog-like, or possibly toad-like, aliens. In any case, they are bipedal, and almost humanoid in profile, with a Coluan Intelligence Level range roughly equivalent to Terrans

Aparrion: see Kilima and Aparrion

Arau: One of the worlds of cat-people. Part of the Felikan Confederation, also known as the Cat-Dog Hegemony. Homeworld of the Jellicle Girl, the Tesser Cat, the Other Mara, and Kit.

Aressia: Homeworld of the superintelligent Sand Octopi

Asellus: Luddite Terran colony world. Donkey Lass hails from here.

Asteroid Colony 1967: Tiny world where it is always The Summer of Love. Homeworld of Decal Damsel

Auxgate: Another farming planet, like Winath, Mardru, or the Manna Worlds. Home of Pastry Chef Kid and Cake-Frosting-Hair Girl

Bastegar: Home of the Bastet, a matriarchal society of cat-headed humanoids

Bdelugma, the Pariah Planetoid: A specialized prison planet, for individuals in the 31st century who conducted forbidden chemical and genetic experiments on themselves or their offspring. The children of the offending scientists are also housed here. (Mar Londo and the Doctors Jath would have been imprisoned here, for example, if that law had been in effect in the United Planets in their time)

Blag Planaid Ur (New Scotworld): Terran colony world, home of Kathleen McMoon

Caerbannog: Planet of fierce, super-strong, super-fast rabbit-headed warriors known as the Sgwarnog.

Cheron Shtaim: Founded by refugees from the dead world of Cheron, which was destroyed by war some forty to fifty millennia ago. Cheronites are very long lived; some of them have memories of the destruction of their original homeworld. Cheronites also have the unique characteristic of bilateral asymmetry.

Chikyuu: Another colony world of Terrans of primarily Japanese descent. Homeworld of Fan Boy

Deasil: see Widdershins and Deasil

Dwarvon: Home to sexually monomorphic dwarf-like aliens

Duorann: Home to sexually monomorphic dwarf-like aliens, including Plover Zegg, who serves on the 31st-century Martian SP force in Nix Olympica, and their spouse, Ruby Zahl

Faerth: A world of desolate, gloomy, lifeless continents surrounded by seaweed-choked oceans. All the portals to Faeryland have been moved here, with the exception of a small number on the Sorcerer's World

Fezen: see Zhyfkod and Fezen

Fossey: Planet colonized by Gorilla City emigrants.

Fronterra: Luddite Terran colony world. Thom Greyson was born here. (In the Earth K-1 Paracosm, Thom eventually becomes Volthoom of Earth-Three)

Galadriel: Homeworld of Leeta-87 (not previously established in canon)

Gan Aeden: A "Paradise Planet" perfectly suited for Terran colonization, even moreso than Earth itself.

Ganesagar: Home to the Ganesagarians, four-armed elephant-like beings, leaders of The Pacht, a coalition of pachydermoid aliens

Grenearmus: Planet of Terran weapons manufacturers who have fallen on hard times. Homeworld of Alex Hamster the Great.

Goodall: World of intelligent chimpanzee-like aliens. There is also a colony of Gorilla City emigrants here

Hagen: Homeworld of semi-sentient, radioactive pools of chemicals which merge with higher life-forms to form Clayface-like beings (not previously established in canon)

The Hexagon: Six worlds which orbit a single star: Mo, Lari, Kurli, Xemp, Jo, and Kurlijo. Kurlijo is home to the Jigsaw Creatures, one of which was once used as a Beast Guard at the Interplanetary Bank. A different Jigsaw Creature, named Symbiote, joins a later iteration of the Legion on Earth-K1 (not previously established in canon)

Houyhnhnm: Homeworld of H'Hrnath of Nullport Shipyards and his race (previously unnamed in the canon)

Ra’akham H'Ronmeer: Meaning "H'Ronmeer's Mercy" in the Martian language, a small planet orbiting a red dwarf star. This is the final home of the Yellow Martian diaspora. (also called the Gold Martians, Theban Martians or Aureate Martians) Anyone visiting this world expecting to see Martians will see only trees, rocks, wild animals, and abandoned buildings. All of which are the Martians. (not previously established in canon)

The Hundred-Acre Universe: A small planet filled with multiple sentient alien species resembling small golden bears, piglets, donkeys, rabbits, owls, kangaroos, tigers, elephants, jaguars, weasels, ferrets, stoats, otters, foxes, squirrels, rats, badgers, moles, toads, bees (a hive mind), butterflies, dragonflies, mice, and hedgehogs. Covered with several varieties of small trees, gorse, grass, and flowers, meandering rivers, and in the far distance, great oceans.

Indrik: Another world of the Pacht, home to gigantic Paraceratherium-like aliens

Iuquhu: Homeworld of Chameleon Chief's people. (Not named in canon)

Jahnson's World: Theme park world where Ennis Jahnson temporarily transforms wealthy patrons into various animals and sends them on brief adventures in artificially created and maintained forests of various descriptions. Formerly called Basura, and later named Tesoro.

Jahnson's Planet: Artificial planetoid constructed by Brande Industries and Cobb's Reparo, which orbits Jahnson's World. This is where Ennis Jahnson moved his theme park operation when it was discovered that Tesoro was inhabited by giant telepathic chelonians. After Ennis Jahnson's death, the world fell into disrepair and ruin, and became known as Planet Ozymandias. The Tesoran chelonians continued to thrive.

Jome: Heavy-metal world orbiting a red dwarf. The dominant life-form is a sort of troglodyte, called the Mbenzi, or Gani. About the size of a four-year-old human, they are sapient, but at a pre-industrial, stone-age level of development, just beginning to understand the use of tools.
https://www.legionworld.net/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=935422#Post935422

Kalorus: Super-hot, mostly water world with a line of boiling water at the equator. Clouds of steam form a thick cloud cover over the "temperate" zones. There are two small desert-like continents at the poles. Life is just beginning to leave the oceans for the land on their borders.

Karika: A water-world, home to the Papaya Sailor-Men

Kilima and Aparrion: Twin worlds, in orbits analogous to Earth and Mars, populated by insectoid life forms. Kilimans resemble Earth beetles in all their multichromatic glory; Aparrions resemble green-black locusts, or possibly mantises. Apparions are completely colorblind, seeing only black-and-white, and are thus unable to appreciate the Kiliman's iridescent beauty.

Kolloid: Alien homeworld of semi-humanoid aliens made of near-invulnerable orange gelatin. Homeworld of Gelatinus

Lagflocon: A small asteroid moved into an Earth-orbit, about a million miles out, It is a science station and museum which includes:
* The L1 Agrifloral Consortium
* The United Earth Seed Bank
* The Microgravity Orchard
* The Botanical Gardens… of Space!

Langstrom: Home of genetically transformed, bat-like Terrans

Lapidarius Yu: Homeworld of tall, broad, brightly colorful gemlike silicon-based lifeforms

The Library of Destinies: Not a planet so much as a sort-of place, outside space and time. An infinitude of books of destiny reside here, as well as an infinitude of anthropomorphic incarnations of Fate. Each Fate and Book of Destiny is tied to a particular Universe. It may appear different to different viewers, but last time I looked it appeared as a series of hanging staircases, resembling infinite DNA molecules, with a Book of Destiny and an incarnation Fate on each landing. Some are less anthropomorphic in appearance.

Lumian: Terran colony near a B-type star. Homeworld of Clever Girl

M30-omega (M30?): Planet in which the dominant species resembles a Terran housecat. There are varieties all over the planet, having adapted to grasslands, forests, deserts, and tundra. While none of the species exceeds ten kilos in mass, they are the largest animals on the planet, and the dominant predator. While replicating all the fur-patterns of Earth cats, they also have an extra gene for a blue pigment, and so are found in all colors of the rainbow. A small but vocal minority in the UP has called for the M30-omega to be free from colonization for all time, and to be left to develop without interference from outworlders. So far it is working.
https://as1.ftcdn.net/v2/jpg/01/02/65/18/1000_F_102651805_aZEj6JcKPVcThaFOhyIdKTOdpEJ7asd1.jpg

Malhaya: A hidden graveyard asteroid, the polar opposite of Shanghalla. Here is where some of the most infamous super-villains are buried, as well as some far less notable criminals. Final resting place of Lex Luthor's mortal remains, as well as Roy Travich. Maintained in the 31st century by a secret society of super-villains.

Strange New Worlds

PART TWO

Mariceleste: Orbits the golden star-sun Daleth Meissa. The cities boast neatly laid out boulevards lined with fruit trees in a variety of colors. The atmosphere is free of radio or sub-etheric signals. Walk into any one of the many cunning houses, and you will be served a meal by automated 'bots. Stay here long enough and those meals will become customized to your personal tastes and physiology. You can relax after dinner with sixty channels of entertainment, available twenty-four hours a day—but it is all ancient pre-recorded material, repeating on a one-hundred-twenty-year cycle. New furnishings are provided to the homes regularly; the old stuff is collected and recycled by more 'bots. Buildings are re-painted on a regular basis. Damages are swiftly and efficiently repaired. Factories stand ready to receive special orders, and produce goods immediately. But there has been no one living on Mariceleste since Cleopatra ruled Egypt, except for a few U.P. archaeologists. No one is home. All the life-forms here: trees, birds, insects—exist only as scenery and landscaping for billions of homes in a hundred thousand cities across the planet. All have been obviously genomorphed. It is also home to the Gremlings, which are completely artificial living beings, having been genoformed from the ground up. All the machinery control is decentralized. There is no single command center. If a local hub is damaged, there is no way for it to be fixed, so an entire sector could eventually fall into disrepair. But the Gremlings fix that. They range all over the planet, making the repairs the auto-systems can't. Not truly sapient, they are nevertheless astoundingly intuitive engineers. They exist on the detritus of the machines—they essentially eat worn-out technology. "Urk", who was imported to the Legion Academy by R.J. Brande is a typical example of a Gremling. (not previously established in canon)


Megathor: Another Pacht World, the Megathorians resemble the ancient, extinct giant ground sloths of Earth. They live in the midst of massive groves which produce Perseus Fruit, green softball-sized globes which are the sole food in their diet.

Meleagris V: Home of the Turkeymen (Turkopoids)

Planet Methuselah, in the 32nd century, is where many immortals and semi-immortals eventually end up. A few residents you may be familiar with from the 21st century: Luke O'Brian / Tefé Holland / Joseph Stagg-Mason / David Tenzer

Mig Jalth: World of purple-skinned near-humanoids whose royalty and nobility carry a metagene which gives them a wide variety of seemingly random super-abilities. One Jalthan prince, named Pogyrtoon, visits Earth in the 33rd century.

Millennius (a): Ostensibly the one-thousandth Terran colony, ruled by a Council of Archons. The Khundish Empire disputes the United Planets claim to this world

Millennius (b): Ostensibly the one-thousandth Terran colony, its peculiar soil biology makes it unsuitable for cultivation of terrestrial vegetation. Abandoned after less than ten years

Mish Qeng: Planet of winged, golden humanoids. Homeworld of Arnion the Charioteer, once Dacey Ranzz's demon-possessed boyfriend

M'Khoar: Homeworld of the ‘Uglies’

Mnemnos: Terran colony world where the inhabitants practice memory-enhancing exercises. Home of Starchart


Monkaros: Another Pacht world, the Monkartians are a horned, rhinoceros-like species.

Mycoworld: A planet dominated by fungi, a few of the taller plateaus have been colonized by Terrans and other alien races. Most are enclosed within hyper-polymer domes, or something similar. The lower regions are entirely uninhabitable, due to the toxic or allergic properties of the atmospheric spores. There are probably some very interesting fungal species here, among the billions that overrun the planet.

Pennggulling: Homeworld of semi-humanoid, pangolin-like aliens, a member of the Pacht

Neohellas: A world beyond the United Planets, and therefore not subject to UP law, where geneticists have tried to recreate the heroes and monsters of ancient Greek myth. 33rd-century home of Caduceus, Herokalos, and Cyclops.

New Hajor: Planet leased by Gnill Opral, formerly known as Kid Psycho, with the intention of re-populating the Hajoran race

Nilpferd: Another Pacht world, home of a massive, bipedal hippopotamus-like species.

The Nohmadd: A race that travels from planet to planet, destroying their ecosystems before moving on to another. Often several of their people are left behind to starve or die of chemical poisoning. A few of these colonies have survived planetary desolation, and have been discovered. Where the main body of the Nohmadd are at the moment is unknown.

Novaares: Homeworlds of powerful white-skinned, telekinetic humanoids, who physically resemble white Martians, Saturnians and Czarnians

Planet Nyuk: Home of The Interstellar University of Thalia and Sock: the Carnival, Circus, and Clown College. Of Space.

Olamhaba: A "Paradise Planet '' perfectly suited for Terran colonization, even moreso than Earth itself.

Oscuro: A hidden world of evil magic-users, the "Evil Sorcerer's World". Home to, among others, the Absurdist Coven: (1) The Blueberry Cobbler (2) The Anagrammist, who speaks his spells in anagrams (3) The Quotidian Duck-Man (4) Mister Pince-Nez (5) Monsieur Mechant (Ce N'est Pas Un Villain) (6) Mr. Black, The Master Blacksmith (7) Napoleon Blown-Apart (8) Meretricious Maximilliano (9) Scissor-Boy, originally from Orqwith (10) Avatar Master, who is able to summon avatars of various gods of evil, (11) Docteur Allant Démodé, and (12,13) The Kakoset, a pair of indistinguishable nameless, faceless, mute twin brute mages

Porlat: Terran colony world, home of Polly Popout (Margareth Marz)

Pullum: A planet inhabited by a race of chicken-headed, feathered humanoids. Homeworld of Kukku Tazava, "Chicken Boy"

Relav: Red sun world of four-inch-tall dormouse-like aliens. They have a waking cycle of around ten minutes every fifty hours.

Rhode's Asteroid, a tiny world of only about 1,000 square miles located out in the middle of deep space. It has an artificial sun, and an artificial atmosphere held in by a polymer sphere. Positioned half-way between Xanthu and Rimbor, it is an important stopover location for space-traffic.

Rhombus: Home of Hyperlad. His 'penta-vision' allows him to quintuplicate anything he looks at.

Planet Roanoke, one of the first extrasolar Terran colonies, long since abandoned. It received its name from the historical Roanoke colony in North America, but only after the colony was abandoned. Originally called Terratu.

Rodentopia: Terran colony where the inhabitants have developed a psychic link to various rodents, notably hamsters and gerbils, who fulfill the role of servants to their human masters. Homeworld of Gerbil Commander

Rossum: Famous throughout the galaxy for its robot factories

Planet Scarborough: The "Turnpike of Space", where a number of intragalactic routes intersect with natural wormholes.

Sidelee: A planet of plant-like beings somewhat similar to the worlds Arbro, Alstair, Fluvian and Treleas. The inhabitants are made of a light, pliable, super-soft wood, similar to balsa or cork.

Sasquatch: Homeworld of sasquatch-like and yeti-like primates

Snahannahan: Homeworld of humanoid-like slugs

Txanz: A cut-rate Ventura where scientists study probability. Homeworld of Ludi Jarb, the Pitagora Girl, who attended the Legion Academy with Pol Krinn II on Earth-K1

Utmylgh: A watery Sorcerer's World for the Gil'Dishpan, although there are several Gil'Dishpan sorcerers on Tharn. If you thought their technology was bizarre, you should see their spells.

Vinculus Portae (Deneb Kaitos IV): Deneb Kaitos is a giant orange star 100 light-years from Earth, also known as Diphda or Beta Ceti. The fourth planet is a rocky wasteland, except that it houses the trans-dimensional gate leading to the World of the Last Children of Echidna. These one million massive, immortal monsters battle one another in a continual, unending orgy of violence. Many are similar in appearance to Validus and Tribulus. An immortal centaur who calls himself Jiron, and a strange corpse-like woman named Velissa are the gatekeepers here. (not previously established in canon)

Vulx (31st century): In the 2Oth century, the Vulxans realized that so-called “Mutra rays” from space were slowly killing them. Superboy discovered that Kryptonite absorbed all the incoming Mutra rays, and their silicon-based bodies of poison for the first time. A Vulxan named Romax sculpted the kryptonite into an image of Superboy to honor his actions.
By the 31st century, Vulx had learned to harness Kryptonite as a power source in nuclear reactors, and developed an industry of manufacturing artificial Kryptonite. In addition, they have mastered interstellar teleportation technology more reliable than the “zeta-beam” of Rann, and a temporary “animation ray”, which is used to create robot-like servants, primarily from anthracite.

Widdershins and Deasil: Odd double-planet in which one partner spins clockwise, and the other counter-clockwise

Witch Haven: An alternative to the Sorcerers' World, this planet has served as a distant refuge for persecuted witches for tens of millenia. The magicks here are more ancient, arcane, and earthy than those of Tharn or Zerox. Witch Haven is the go-to destination for curses, curse-breaking and healing magic

World 318: Homeworld of the pig-faced aliens who invaded Paradise Island in Wonder Woman #318 (not previously established in canon)

Planeta Xamayka: Terran colony, primarily colonized by Hispanics of African descent. Apparently a low-technology world, it is actually one of the most highly advanced in the United Planets, but rather than finding new ways to consume energy, their technology is ultra-efficient. Although they consume less energy than the sunlight which naturally falls on the surface of their world, they live lives of remarkable ease and comfort.

Yelmok: A Terran colony world where there is no societal prohibition against nudity. Rather, the naked human body is considered unattractive and repellant. Individuals in this society wear elaborate, ornamented robes to "cover their nakedness", even during sleep, or intimate activities. On the other hand, both males and females comfortably swim in the nude, quickly re-donning their robes when coming out of the water.

Ylzagar: Around the size of Earth, it is another watery world dotted with a million islands.

Zafarus: Home to the giraffe-like Zafarans
(Second from the right)


Planet Zhou: Terran colony populated with individuals primarily of Chinese and Korean descent.

Zhyfkod and Fezen: Twin planets orbiting one another under a red sun. Home to creatures of various descriptions with Kryptonian-like powers under a yellow sun, none of which are sapient.

CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
A NEW NAME

"Where is our latest member?" asked Korvea.

"Out on patrol," said Lightning Lass. "New Metropolis. Marsopolis. Nix Olympica. Probably saving cats from trees."

"Fat Boy takes super-heroing very seriously," said Shrinking Violet.

"Look," said Korvea, "I'm just saying the name 'Fat Boy' seems a little insulting, considering all he's capable of."

"They say Kryptonians are slightly stronger than Daxamites," said Lightning Lass. "Pound for pound."

"That's exactly what I mean," said Korvea. "We don't want people to think the SHC is a joke."

"Sometimes," said Lightning Lass, "It is a tactical advantage for the enemy to underestimate your strength."

"Although," mused Shrinking Violet. "What was that name Lar Gand used? Before he became Mon-El?"

"The Legionnaire Lemon?" asked Lightning Lass.

"No, something else," said Shrinking Violet. "Miracle Lad? Marvel Boy?"

"Mighty Lad," said Lightning Lass. "Here he comes, to save the day."

o o o

"What's wrong with Fat Boy?" asked Fat Boy.

"Indeed," said Ten. "In certain ancient Old Terran dialects, the word for 'fat' implied strength, health, the best of the best. 'Fat of the Land' was an idiom."

Korvea glared at the little Coluan.

"But not in Interlac," Ten amended. "In Interlac there are connotations of greediness, laziness, even slovenliness. Mockery. Ahem."

"This was Lar Gand's Mighty Lad costume," said Korvea, holding up her 'phone. "We could replicate one from the solid printer."

"Better to have it made on Daxam," said Star-Woman. "Much more durable. I have all my uniforms made of fine-spun Daxamite wool, with boots of Daxamite xheep-leather."

Friday, June 1st, 3O22

CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
UTMYLGH

Saturn Girl frowned.

"The United Planets seems to think we are competent and effective ambassadors," she said. "This causes me to doubt the capabilities of their own diplomatic services."

"You’re saying they want to send us on another mission?" asked Ffiona.

"To the Gildan," Saturn Girl acknowledged. "Not to Gil’Dishpan, but to their version of the Sorcerer’s World, a place called Utmylgh."

"Wow," said Cosmic Boy. "I thought of the Gildan as a super-technological society, not as sorcerers."

"It appears they can be both," said Saturn Girl. "And as we have had more experience with Tharn than virtually any other non-magic-users in the United Planets, they have asked us to act as a delegation."

"Why not send a Coventry of Tharnans," wondered Ffiona. "Or a delegation from the Museum of Mystic Arts?"

"It is likely," said Ten, "That the Tharnans do not wish to have their powers corrupted by exposure to Gildan magicks. Much of sorcery occurs in the mind, and having one’s prejudices and expectations challenged can be fatal to magical abilities."

"You really have been studying this, haven’t you?" Lightning Lass remarked. Ten merely nodded in return.

"My sister and I, the Triplicates, Hillarie and Chameleon were summoned to Tharn for the war against the Analysts," Saturn Girl mused. "As Utmylgh is a water-world, we would need to wear enhanced trans-suits, which would interfere with Bismollian and Cargggan abilities. Dacey’s powers would possibly be difficult to control: the oceans are filled with methane and methanol, which would probably be explosive?"

"Methane isn’t soluble in water," Ffiona remarked. "How much could there be?"

"It bubbles up from beneath," Ten explained. "Methane is quite soluble at the low temperatures and great pressures in the depths of ocean planets."

“How about others?” asked Star-Woman. “Who weren’t involved in the Analyst War, but might have powers useful on a water-world?”

"Utmylgh orbits a red sun, so I wouldn’t want to bring Mighty Lad. And if I’m going, so I would like you to remain here. Chameleon, are your powers developed enough to replicate Gildan physiology?"

"Aquatic methane-breathers are still carbon-based lifeforms," Chameleon replied. "I would only have to take a look at one to replicate their physiology."

“May I suggest Cosmic Boy,” said Star-Woman. “If Lightning Lass’ powers get out of control, he has some experience helping to control them.”

"Good call,” Saturn Girl agreed. “Then I think I will select myself, Lightning Lass, Cosmic Boy, and Chameleon for this diplomatic mission. "Ambassador Quintapilot will brief us tomorrow by view-screen, and we can leave as soon as we’re ready."

o o o

The Gildan delegation were absolutely indistinguishable from one another. Their minds sounded to Saturn Girl like cracking static.Their voders, however, were producing perfectly intelligible and grammatically correct Interlac.

"Gil’Dishpan is already a member of the United Planets. If our brethren cannot convince us to join, why do you have hope?"

"We have to try," said Saturn Girl. "Can you understand what we are saying? Our translators do not seem to be up to the job."

"Gildan technology is not more advanced than yours, but we have spent more time refining our translators. Yes, we understand you perfectly."

"I need to change back," said Chameleon Boy. "My nervous system is so scrambled I’m starting to lose myself. I’m not sure how much longer I can keep this form. Can we contact the Circadians and have them send us a spare trans-suit?"

"We have also had experience dealing with Durlans. We anticipated your need. This is Jeminos, a representative from Hykraius. He has agreed that you may duplicate his appearance."

Chameleon morphed into a Hykraian form, although more orange-and-magenta than yellow-and-violet.

"<I appreciate your colorful variation>," said the Hykraian, in perfectly intelligible telepathy.

"The fact is, the United Planets has nothing to offer us. Your Sorcerers’ Worlds disdain our magicks, and refuse collegiate investigation. The study of mystical arcana is our only pursuit on Utmylgh."

"But you have sent representatives to study on Tharn," Saturn Girl objected. "You cannot find their form of sorcery entirely without merit."

"We find Tharnan magic unnecessarily showy and theatrical. Sparks and flashes and lightning bolts often accompany their spells. Audible incantations and complex gestures. Magicians are mutated and metamorphosed into forms that reflect their magical specialties. Such side-effects are inefficient, a waste of magical energies."

"Your magic never has side effects?" wondered Saturn Girl.

"For example, we have just performed a minor spell-- we have changed the past. You Ranzz twins have been born-- what is the word-- 'gingers’."

Saturn Girl and Lightning Lass exchanged a glance. "But we’ve always been red-headed," said Saturn Girl.

"Of course you have. We changed the past."

The Ranzz twins found themselves rather nonplussed.

"What is that?" One of the Gildan pointed a mottled spherical appendage at Cosmic Boy. "You are carrying foodstuffs."

Fumbling through the enhanced trans-suit, Pol extracted a "fun-size" candy bar from a pocket in his belt. "It’s just a Spunow," he said. He carefully manipulated the candy through the trans-suit field, until it was floating in the water. The Gildan absorbed it into one of the openings in its appendage, then spit out the wrapper.

There was a moment of crackling telepathic communication among the Gildan.

"We have been… " The voder paused for a moment. "'Narcissistic’. Overestimating our knowledge and thoroughness of United Planets technology. We had believed that we knew all the United Planets had to offer. In this we have been mistaken. Please return to your homeworld and inform the United Planets Diplomatic Corps that we will be getting in touch with them in the near future. The very, very near future. We have much to discuss."

"Spunow?" Cosmic Boy wondered as they emerged from the Pentachoron. "I buy that ready-made for ten kilos a credit. And that’s what the Gildan want?"

"I myself am often surprised at life's little quirks," Lightning Lass replied.

Wednesday, June 6th, 3O22

CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN
JAN ARRAH AND HADRU JAMIK, ADVENTURERS

"Qarda is going out on another tour?" asked Jan Arrah.

"Yes, the season starts next week," said Hadru Jamik. "It's a whirlwind, it's stressful, but she loves it. And it means I'm free for Adventuring for a couple of weeks."

Jan stepped inside. "Something seems different in your decor..." he mused. "Oh, I know. It's that massive stone statue taking up half your living room!"

"That's no statue," said Hadru. "That's Lith. Say hello to Mr. Arrah, Lith."

"Hello, Mr. Arrah," said the immense stone man. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Tsaurin crystals," Jan swore. "Are you a Dryad?"

"My homeworld is known among your people as Dryad," said Lith. "My people called ourselves the Wardens of Korlon."

"But how is that possible?"

"He's a time-traveller," said Hadru. "From twenty-five hundred years in the past, as best we can estimate."

"There was a great oblong portal," said Lith. "The Elders called it The Guardian. We children were forbidden to go anywhere near it. So of course we did. My friends dared me to jump through the doorway-- when I landed on the other side, the world I knew was gone-- in ruins-- and The Guardian was nowhere to be seen. I wandered my dead homeworld for months before an exploratory vessel picked me up."

"They took him to Weber's World," said Hadru. "And not knowing what else to do with himself, he registered as an Adventurer. They asked me to apprentice him. Us, now, I guess, if you're agreeable."

The older man nodded. "I have a quick, easy assignment for us," he said. "A few months ago, someone stole a Weather Ziggurat from Winath."

"That's insane," said Hadru. "How could they… What did they do? Just unbolt it from the ground, and load it onto an ultra-massive transport?"

"Believe it or not, that is exactly what they did," said Jan. "And they've had it out for bid on the black market ever since. Apparently they haven't got the offer they want to accept yet, though. I've had feelers out among my... contacts. I think I've found someone who knows where the Transport and Ziggurat are. A fence in the Rambor system. I have found his tips pretty reliable. He generally has his finger on the pulse of the Black Market."

"You believe you can convince this-- criminal-- to share information with us?" rumbled Lith.

"Not really a criminal," said Jan. "Just criminal-adjacent."

"It has always concerned me," said Hadru. "How many of the criminal-adjacent characters you know."

o o o

"Welcome to Troisballe's," said the little Jaquaan. "The fourth-largest Pawn Shop in the United Planets." His three arms made sweeping motions, indicating the massive warehouse.

"We would like to see your boss," said Jan. "I believe he is going by Mr. Nessos at the moment?"

"And who shall I say is calling?"

"Element Lad, Chemical Kid, and… Lith."

"Interesting," said Lith. "Kid. Lad. You are hardly young, by human standards."

"Those are our official aliases," Hadru explained. "As registered Adventurers."

"I had enough difficulty choosing my Interlac name," said Lith. “Now I will need another?”

"What was your name on... your homeworld?" asked Jan.

Lith made a sound like a distant, echoing avalanche.

"What was that?" called out the Houyhnhnm, bounding up to the trio. "I hope nothing is falling..." He looked around nervously.

"Nothing at all to worry about," said Jan Arrah. "We are just here to present you with an opportunity."

"What do you want?" asked Mr. Nessos.

"I heard you might know where to find a Winathan Weather Ziggurat," said Jan quietly.

"That kind of information is valuable," said Mr. Nessos. "What's your offer?"

"Same as always," said Jan. "What do you want? Any material substance."

"One deciliter each of Entheogen and Theradelysid?" asked Mr. Nessos.

"You're going to need my help to produce those chemicals," Hadru informed Jan. "And you realize that we would be making him a very rich man? That order would be worth more than everything in this building. Building included."

"What do you do with all your money, Nessos?" said Jan. "You always seem on the brink of destitution. Paying you is like pouring water on sand. But never mind. One deciliter of Entheogen now, one deciliter of Theradelysid upon the recovery of the Ziggurat."

The horse-man made a long face. Give me a secure address," he said. "I'll message you."

o o o

"Menoscero is one of the Graveyard Worlds," Hadru explained. "Completely dead. No plant or animal life, no microorganisms, even. Only the crumbling remains of some ancient civilization. This seems to be the eventual end of evolution in a number of cases. Life destroys itself."

"It reminds me of Korlon now," said Lith. "Although there were legends among my people of a… Ragnarok, I think, is the Human word, and of a Final Warden who would bring the world back to life."

"The United Planets mounted a rescue operation to Dryad," said Jan. "The Legion was involved, although that was before my time. The native population refused to leave."

"They were bound to the soil," said Lith.

"One colonist family smuggled out a Dryad child," said Jan. "I knew him as Blok. He was... strong, honorable, but seemed lost, and sad. He claimed not to remember his true name."

"I would have liked to have met him," said Lith. "You speak of him in the past tense. Is he still alive?"

"He bonded with a powerful human sorceress," Hadru explained. "Their world vanished into some unknown dimension. Nothing has been heard of them for decades."

"He's the only Dryad I'd ever known, before you," said Jan. "Your face is more... bear-like… than his was. I suppose that means not all Dryads are the same."

"We are an hypoelasomorphic species," said Lith. "Slowly changing, over time, in response to our environment. Of course, once I hit puberty, there will be some large, rapid changes."

Hadru looked at the eight-foot-tall rock man. "You haven't reached puberty yet?"

"No. At first my collar will loosen, then fall off." said Lith. "Later, my gender will be revealed. If I am male, I will develop caldera. If female, my body will crystallize. Then there will be a growth spurt that lasts several years. In the end, I will be twice as tall as I am now, and ten or twelve times as massive. At least, that's what the Elders say."

.o o o

Menoscero was empty, rocky and desolate.

"Someone's been here before us," said Hadru.

There was a corpse among the rocks.

"I know him," said Jan. "Mick Yardreigh, also known as Black Mace. The late Mick Yardreigh, I should say."

"Another registered Adventurer?" asked Lith.

"A criminal-for-hire," said Jan.

"He can't have been here long," said Hadru. "Newly dead."

"No micro-organisms on this world, remember?" said Jan. "He might have been here for weeks. Years."

"His arm looks badly burned," Hadru noted. "Almost as if his mace delivered some kind of energy backlash."

The skies had been gradually filling with clouds. There was a crack of thunder as lightning struck nearby.

"The weather machine," said Jan. "Whoever is operating it will be able to target us more accurately soon." He waved his hands. "I've transmuted some of the larger ruins into duralim," he informed the others. "Those should keep the lightning away from us for now."

The wind was picking up, blowing stinging sand in their direction.

"Get behind me," said Lith. "I will shield you as best I can."

"It's odd," said Hadru, examining a small device. "The mobile sensor array doesn't pick up any unusual energy readings-- yet whoever it is is obviously using weather control against us."

"I suspect there is some heavy shielding," said Jan. "Some sort of dampening field."

"I sense a life-form in the direction the wind is coming from," said Lith. Jan and Hadru registered surprise. "Dryads are silicon telepaths," Lith explained. "I can't really read the minds of carbon-based lifeforms, but I can often detect the faint sensation of their presence."

"Can you fuse the blowing sand in front of us into some sort of glass shield?" Jan asked Hadru.

"Convert half the silicon into carbon, and I'll transform it into transparent carborundum," said Hadru. The three were soon pushing forward behind a transparent, wedge-shaped shield.

"I'm glad you're with us, Lith," said Hadru. "The two of us would have quite a time moving this shield by ourselves."

"Your combined abilities are impressively versatile," said Lith. "I am sure the two of you could master any situation. But I am pleased to be useful."

They continued pushing on into the wind.

"That mound of rubble to the left," said Jan. "Is huge, compared to anything else we have seen around here. Large enough to conceal the top of a massive Ziggurat. Shall we have a look inside?"

There was little to prevent a party with mastery of transmutation, psychocatalysis, and super-strength from gaining entrance to the rocky mound and the Weather Ziggurat within.

The guardian of the Weather Ziggurat turned out to be a little H'Lvenite with a bad stutter. After some interrogation, it became clear that he had been employed by the original thieves as a guard while they were away trying to arrange a sale.

"I had hoped we would find the Transport here as well," said Hardu. "That way, we could have returned the Zigguat to Winath ourselves. But I suppose the thing to do is to alert WinathGov, and wait with Skippy here until they can come and get it."

"Th-that's not my n-name," said the H'Lvenite.

"And if Skippy's bosses show up, we can... restrain... them, as well," said Jan.

"I thought there would be more excitement in Adventuring," said Lith. "This was, all, remarkably mundane."

"Well, a lot of it is just sitting around and waiting for the Science Police," said Jan.

"I'm good at waiting," said Lith. "And sitting."

Wednesday, June 13th, 3O22

CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO LLUORNU DURGO?

"Uncle Chuck! Auntie Aemelia! What are you doing here?" asked Lightning Lass.

"A little unannounced visit," said Chuck Taine. "Do you have a favorite place to eat around here?"

"There's Prospero's Pizza downtown," said Lightning Lass.

"Pizza! I haven't had pizza in years," said Uncle Chuck. "Do they have a dining area, or is it take-out only?"

"They have tables," said Lightning Lass.

"Make a reservation for eight," said Uncle Chuck. "Aemelia and I, you, Dorrit, Pol, and The Triplicates."

"Can we make it nine?" asked Chameleon. "I would like to accompany Ffiona, Ffarrah and Ffey, if that is acceptable."

"Certainly," said Aemelia Tollydiggle Taine, smiling.

o o o

Kastellus Prospero was enthusiastic. "Marshall Taine! An honor to have you visit my establishment! May I get a holo with you and your lovely wife?"

"How do I know you?" asked Uncle Chuck.

"Oh, I am sure you don't," said Prospero. "But Lawmen Of The Colony Worlds is a series I never miss. The way you foiled the Gemstone Raiders! And tracked down that Khundish claim jumper! Oh, you are a lawman's lawman, a detective's detective. Now, what can I get for you?"

Uncle Chuck perused the menu. "I'll have a large one, with ham, pineapple and artichoke," he said.

"Chuck needs to keep his weight up," Aemelia explained. "In order to retain his elastic powers."

"I leave the bouncing to Aaron and Lloyd now," said Uncle Chuck. "But a few extra pounds keeps my arteries flexible. Can't be too careful at my age."

"I'll have a personal-size mushroom and anchovy," said Aemelia.

"And I have some plain, over-risen dough for our Durlan friend," said Prospero. "Nice and yeasty. And a cup of my home-made yoghurt. What will the rest of you have?"

They went around the table, giving their orders. Prospero wrote nothing down, but nodded approvingly with each order. When they were done, he pulled out a small metal box.

"These are authentic Martian Truffles," he said. "One apiece for you. New here. Some group in the Alba region have learned how to grow them again. They say that in the time of the native Martians, these formed a large part of their diet. Millions or billions were harvested each day."

Ffarrah looked at the truffle curiously. It was hard and black, with some sort of corrugation or ridging. She bit into it; it crumbled slightly, but was not as hard as it appeared. In the center was some sort of whitish semi-solid creme. It had a slightly odd flavor, which was entirely overwhelmed by a cloying sweetness, so sugary it burned her throat. She wanted another.

"It is claimed they are slightly addictive," said Prospero. "Unfortunately the Alban agricultural engineers have not been able to cultivate them in anywhere near the numbers they were once found, so only one a day to special customers."

"Dad would be offended at being called an agricultural engineer," said Dorrit. "He's a plain farmer."

"My dad would love it," said Pol.

"I will return posthaste with your orders," said Prospero, and swept away.

"An interesting appetizer," said Uncle Chuck. "It makes one's head quite dizzy. I suppose you are wondering why I called you here today."

"This seems like an intervention," said Ffiona.

"We have gone through enough of them to recognize them," said Ffey.

"Young ladies, this is indeed for your benefit," said Uncle Chuck. "But I am not going to try to convince you of anything, and I will not hold you hostage. Merely the enticement of a good meal. I just want to tell you a story. No moral, no moralizing. You know I married another unique Cargggan, Lluornu Durgo. She left Carggg, and never returned."

"Yes, Lluornu Durgo, who lived her life among Monads," said Ffiona.

"And even married a Monad," said Ffey.

"Yes, that was me," said Uncle Chuck. "But it was only after the death of her third self," he continued. "An experience that would have killed most Cargggans. It was not trivial for her, either. She buried the shock and trauma for years, but there were other effects she could not ignore. She began aging at an accelerated rate-- 5O% faster, we estimated. She aged three years while I aged two. Her psyche was affected as well. Her personality fractured-- she named her new personality "Lelith"-- the more daring, risk-taking side of her."

"When Lelith was kidnapped by Starfinger, Lu suppressed the memory, unable to deal with another trauma of loss. That was the day we were married. I almost lost her then... but we recovered, and she recovered-- re-integrating her personalities, at least while she was in her combined form. We made a life together on Wondil IX. Away from the Legion."

"We eventually partly rejoined the Legion, teaching at the Academy... and that was a mistake. Lu was talked into one last mission. The part of Lu that wasn't Lelith-- we called her "Una"-- travelled back in time with one of Queen Projectra's Karate Kid reanimations. The moment they left, Lu knew that Una had died, and was never coming back. In addition to the trauma, her aging problem worsened. As time went on, it became more and more apparent. For every year I aged, she would age three. We looked for a solution."

"Eventually, we found one on Ventura-- a way to increase her abilities, and more importantly, stop the accelerated aging. The Venturans gave her the ability to summon virtual other selves from the quantum probabilities of paratime-- alternate possible universes which never really existed. Each quantum duplicate she summoned reduced the rate at which she aged-- never really reversing it, or reducing it to zero-- but she began to make up for lost time, on average, aging one year for every three of mine."

"We became confident in our ability to start a family. After the Legion and the Academy were dissolved, we returned to Wondil IX. When Aaron and Lloyd were born with both triplicating and bouncing powers, we were glad for Lu’s quantum duplicates. After they were born, Lluornu was never fewer than twelve at a time. But there were other problems. The duplicates couldn't sleep for Lu, and vanished when they slept themselves. So the problem of parental exhaustion was still... a problem."

"That's where I came in," said Aemelia. "I was just a teen-ager, but I was full of energy, and as the older sister to a pair of twins, I had had some experience. The Taines hired me as a live-in nanny to the boys, and I really loved them. I stayed until the boys started Kindergarten."

"And everything was fine for a decade. It was just the four of us- or ten of us, or more. But then, something started to go wrong. One of Lu's duplicates called us for help from Equatorial City on Wondil IX. Lu hadn't summoned her-- she had just appeared there. Lu began to lose control over when and where her duplicates appeared, more and more. And they began to become more... divergent. Baby Lu. Old-woman Lu. Monster Lu. Evil Lu. And now the temporal adjustment reversed-- the more duplicates there were, the faster Lu aged. We contacted Ventura, but they couldn't help us. Then the duplicates stopped coming, but the accelerated aging continued."

"She couldn't take care of herself any longer," said Aemelia. "Chuck called for me again. I had completed a nursing program-- received my doctorate-- and I came back to take care of Lluornu. It was really... palliative care. Chuck took care of himself and the boys-- they were in High School now, adults, really-- and I stayed with Lluornu. She was aging at an increasingly accelerated rate. Then in the end, her quantum duplicates began re-appearing. But only for minutes at a time, and only as horrible, misshapen abominations. In her last weeks, Dorrit and Dacey's mother came to help me. She soothed Luornu's deteriorating mind, while I soothed her deteriorating body. One night she became lucid, and called for Chuck. Imra went to wake him. Lluornu told him she loved him, and Chuck kissed her. Then he went to wake Aaron and Lloyd. He explained that this was probably the last chance they had to see their mother alive. They were brave enough to come into her room. They sat on either side of the bed. They each took her hand. The quantum duplicates stopped appearing and vanishing. She smiled at them, and then at Chuck one last time, and closed her eyes."

"No moral," said Chuck. "No moralizing. It's just a story I thought you should hear."

"Aren't you going to tell us we are foolish to live our lives separately?" asked Ffarrah. "That's usually how these interventions end."

"I know that chronologically you are only twelve," said Uncle Chuck. "Even though you appear to be nearly twenty. Because you have lived essentially separately since you were eight, awake and asleep. You may only live another thirty years. But if that is the price of your happiness…"

"Forty or fifty years of age is an ordinary Durlan lifespan," said Chameleon. "Even with Rejuvium. The Durlan philosophy is to treasure every moment."

"A philosophy I can't disagree with," said Uncle Chuck.

CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE
AN OBLIGATION

Chuck Taine’s shoulders slumped as he came out of his study. His ordinarily cheerful demeanor was nowhere in evidence. He turned to his wife.

“What’s wrong?” asked Aemelia. “It must be very bad news to take away your smile.”

“An old obligation I need to fulfill,” Chuck replied. “A rash promise I made decades ago. I had hoped this day would never come, although I knew it would, eventually.”

“Tell me,” said Amelia.

“It has to do with… Lluornu. When she got her Duplicate Girl powers.”

“The Luck Lords of Ventura?” Aemelia asked. “I suspected you had made some sort of deal with them, but we have never really discussed it…”

“Not the Luck Lords,” said Chuck. “Someone else on Ventura. He’s calling in my debt. Let’s call up Aaron and Lloyd and see if they can take Talitha for a couple of days. Again.”

“Can’t she come with us?” asked Aemelia. “She’s at that clingy age where she misses her Momma. And she’s just started to walk. Which means she gets into everything if she isn’t watched carefully. You don’t think it will be dangerous, do you?”

“I have no idea,” said Chuck. “This… he’s so unpredictable. It’s almost like dealing with a Zrfffn or… a Bizarro.”

“Now you’re scaring me,” said Aemelia. “Who is this guy?”

“You won’t believe it until you see it,” said Chuck.

o o o

Chuck, Aemelia, and little Talitha stood at the end of a broad street in The City Of Meadows on Ventura, in front of a massive structure.

The building was a huge golden sphere, at least ten stories tall. The walls were decorated with a dizzying array of cameos, intaglios, and etchings depicting seemingly random people, creatures, and events from innumerable worlds. There were few Aemelia recognized. A small human-sized door was opened by a small, human-sized porter, and Chuck, Aemelia and Talitha were ushered into a waiting-room filled with overstuffed couches and chairs, covered with too many pillows in a riot of colors.

A bell rang, and a second porter opened another human-sized door-- this golden, and decorated in a manner similar to the outside of the building. This led into a vast chamber, which must have taken up half the interior of the building. Within it was a giant humanoid seated on a golden throne.

He would have been at least fifty feet tall standing, Aemelia thought. He wore some sort of metallic pink-and-magenta body armor that covered him from head to toe. Robes and sashes of colors and patterns not found in nature wound round his body.

Chuck craned his neck, and waited until he had the giant’s attention.

“Well?” he asked.

“Welcome back,” said the giant. “I have a task for you, according to our agreement.”

“So your messenger said,” replied Chuck. “It is true I once asked for a boon from you, and agreed to repay you in time, according to your will and conditions. Although I must say that I was not entirely pleased with the way things have ultimately turned out.”

“Yes, your wife has grown most uncommonly fat,” said the giant. “An unforeseen side-effect.”

“This is my second wife, Aemelia Tollydiggle,” said Chuck. “Lluornu is dead.”

“Oh, dear,” said the giant. “A very unfortunate side-effect. I never claimed to be all-knowing, only mostly all-powerful. Still, as I recall, I originally said, ‘I will do what I can’. And I did, didn’t I? Her duplicating powers were restored, and better than ever?”

“More numerous, certainly,” admitted Chuck. “But it was also what killed her.”

“Ah, well, one cannot live forever,” said the giant. “Even the Universe must eventually die. I, myself, have died on occasion.”

“If I may ask,” asked Aemelia, clutching Talitha in her arms. “Who are you? I don’t believe we’ve been introduced.”

“I have had many names over the centuries,” said the giant. “The Great Architect. Qwewq, the Living Universe. The Celestial Huntsman. The Nebula Man. Neh-Buh-Loh. Oh, that was a mistake. Kirtan-Rodd the Modifier. But for the past several centuries I have called myself Mister Nebula. My friends call me Nebbie. Pleased to meet you, Aemelia.”

Mister Nebula seemed to be inspecting the trio more closely.

“And this, of course, is little Talitha! Oh, how tiny you are.” The child stuck out her tongue at the giant, then buried her face in her mother’s shoulder, in a dissimulation of shyness.

“How do you know Talitha?” asked Aemelia, frightened.

“Let me introduce you to my own daughter,” said Mister Nebula, ignoring the question. “Her name is Debbie. I created her with my own semi-infinite cosmic power, without the aid of a partner.”

“The Universe is my mother,” said Debbie.

The young girl looked about fifteen, and stood just five feet tall. In contrast to her father’s swirling colors, she looked as though she were dressed for a funeral. Her hair was black, her lipstick was black, her six earrings were black, as was her nose ring. A string of black pearls hung below a black neck choker. Her face was pale, nearly clown-white. She wore entirely too much mascara.

“A terrible disappointment,” said Mister Nebula. “But I cannot deny her anything. She has gathered from throughout the Cosmos a band of aspiring super-heroes. She wishes you to train them, as you and your wife once trained the members of the Legion Academy. I have even created a neat little headquarters for her. For you. Good-bye.”

The room melted around them, and Chuck, Aemelia, Talitha and Debbie Rodd appeared on the surface of a desolate world. A great obsidian tower rose on the horizon.

o o o

“That’s the Academy,” Debbie explained. “Here on the moon of Wondil IX.”

“Wondil IX has no moon,” objected Aemelia.

“It does now,” Debbie explained.

“You made this?” asked Chuck. “Or your father?”

“My cosmic abilities,” said Debbie, walking towards the black tower, “Are only half those of my father’s. But as his are semi-infinite, creating a place like this is well within my power.” They noticed the black tower was surrounded by spacious flower gardens, in a kaleidoscope of colors. “There are, however, random side-effects which I am unable to control.” She sneered distastefully at the flower gardens.

The inside of the tower was more silvery-grey than black. There were more than a dozen teen-agers milling around.

“I have collected a number of individuals with powers similar to mine,” said Debbie. “Their powers also have a random element, or are not entirely under their control. We are hoping your training can help us overcome this disability. Let me introduce you to my hand-picked, all-new Academy of Fabulous Heroes! ”

They first met a chicken-headed humanoid teen.

“This is Kukku Tazava of Pullum,” Debbie narrated. “He has the ability to summon a random number of alien chickens to defend himself or others..”

“This is Polly Popout, a random teleporter. And Doug Dealer, Muckle Ickle Lass, and Cereal Killer.”

“Perfectly Frank is over in the corner sitting atop the sentient Invisible Wall, which, of course, you can’t see.”

“And this is China Doll of Dollworld; Elegant Lad; Pentalad; Jellicle Girl; Kangastar of Nebulosa; and Colombina of Rossum, our robot clown girl.”

“And here is our time-traveling ‘Mother of Ice Dragons’... I brought her here myself!”

“It’s Talitha!” exclaimed Aemilia, elbowing Chuck in the ribs. “Look at her eyes!”

Chuck’s eyes darted back and forth between the one-year-old in Aemilia’s arms, and the teen-ager who stood before them, flanked by two Wondilixian ice dragons.

“Hello Momma. Hello Daddy,” said the Mother of Ice Dragons. “You’re looking good!”

CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE
ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE

"It is a call from the United Planets," said Star-Woman. "And we would do well to honor it. But we should ask for any objections from the members anyway."

There were no objections.

"The Science Police have already investigated, and have come up empty. We might be facing anything... and faced with the unexpected, I suggest a small team of the strongest members only. "

"And by 'strongest', you mean...?" asked Korvea.

"Fat Boy and I," said Star-Woman.

"Mighty Lad," Korvea corrected her. "And just how do you measure strength? May I remind you that recent events indicate that I may be effectively immortal?"

"I intend on asking Izen's help, as well" said Star-Woman. "This sounds like an assignment tailor-made for a Green Lantern."

o o o

"Every schoolchild knows," the robot Green Lantern was saying, "That the city of Gothiker, on the planet Beztia, is populated by 'monsters' who take turns concentrating on a purple globe located high overhead, which magnifies their love vibrations to counteract evil everywhere in ouir galaxy. What many people don't realize is that the purple, green, and gold 'monsters' are all members of the same race: three different sexes, or genders. And the number three plays as large a role in their society, in its own way, as it does among the Cargggans."

"And now the purple globe has disappeared," said Korvea. "One of the great defenses of the Galaxy."

"Stolen, no doubt," said Izen. "But how, and by whom, and for what purpose, are the mysteries we have been called on to solve."

"The Pentachoron will transport the three of us directly into the Cathedral of the Nine," said Star-Woman. "With their approval, we will begin an exhaustive search of the planet."

The Beztaliens were intimidating. It was understandable that some called them 'monsters'. Each of the Nine stood fifty to sixty feet tall. Some were scaly and tentacular, others looked lobsterlike, or like great, near-shapeless mounds. They each spoke in quiet, penetrating voices, so as not to alarm their tiny guests. There was a hint of telepathic emphasis.

"You are three, that is good," said one. "But unbound. That is unfortunate."

"We appreciate the assistance of the United Planets in this matter," said another. "Our society has been devastated by the loss of the Orb."

"We have been its custodian for many generations," said a third. "It provides much meaning to our existence."

"The Orb is of great value to the United Planets as well," said Izen. "One of the few sources of pure Good in the Galaxy."

The first stop for the three heroes was the apex of the obelisk that had once held the purple Orb.

"My ring can find no trace of the path the Orb might have taken," said Izen.

"Nor can my star-rod," said Star-Woman. "It is perplexing."

"By re-focusing my eyes," said Mighty Lad, "I can examine much of the electromagnetic spectrum, from radio waves to x-rays to cosmic rays. This is only the second time I've really used this ability-- but I don't see anything remarkable at any level. It's as if the Orb was never here."

"Is that possible?" asked Star-Woman. "Some kind of time-travel-- a re-arrangement of history?"

"But everyone remembers the Orb being here," said Izen. "There are pictures of it in textbooks-- it is programmed into the Mentazo-rings of every schoolchild in the United Planets."

"We should try to search as much of the planet as possible, before sunset," said Star-Woman. "We can then report today's findings to the Nine, and start again early tomorrow."

That evening proved unsuccessful, and the following day as well.

"Brute force does not appear to be providing a solution," said Izen. "Perhaps we should call on the abilities of the other Members to help us solve this conundrum."

"Ten might have some insight," said Star-Woman. "And Saturn Girl... I wonder if the Beztaliens are as truly united in their adulation of the Orb as we have been told?"

"Summon them all," said Mighty Lad. "One of the Nine told me privately that there are Beztaliens willing to take us Members into their homes if need be."

"Why would one of the Nine speak to you privately?" asked Star-Woman. "They have always spoken to us together, as one."

"She... he... it... said that I am 'the object of great love'," said Mighty Lad. "I suppose... it... meant my parents."

"How very strange," said Star-Woman.

o o o

Gothiker was weirdly beautiful. The buildings were massive, broad, and stretching ten and twenty stories tall. Some of the buildings were based on spheres, domes, cubes, pyramids, or other geometric objects. Some were festooned with parapets, minarets, flying buttresses, balustrades, and friezes. Many were painted or sculpted with realistic scenes or abstract images. Some flew pennants, flags, and pennions. Each structure was unique unto itself. There were also alien-looking gardens and parks scattered throughout the city.

Saturn Girl, Lightning Lass, and Cosmic Boy were staying with three monstrous Beztaliens. They had said their names, but they were a collection of growls and roars which the flight ring were unable to translate. Lightning Lass thought of them as Big Orange Scaly, Little Orange Scaly, Big Green Lobster.

"What other cities of note are on Beztia?" asked Saturn Girl.

"Our race dwells in Gothiker alone," said Green Lobster. "Beyond are the wild lands of Beztia, jungle, and the Great Ocean."

"And you are the only intelligent species?" asked Lightning Lass.

"There are Ultra-Oysters in the Great Ocean," said Little Orange Scaly.. "Each one larger than any of us Beztaliens. Some regularly produce pearls larger than... larger than one of you. They are known to be quite intelligent, and telepthis, but they keep their thoughts to themselves. Mostly."

"You are promising representatives, but incomplete," said Big Orange Scaly. She turned toward Lightning Lass. "You are the nexus of a great love from your two companions. But there is an enmity between your beloveds that must be resolved. Only then can your triad be complete."

"You are making some erroneous assumptions," said Saturn Girl. "We Terrans are binary, not trinary. My affection for my sister is... sisterly. And any negative feelings I have for Pol are because... he is like an annoying little brother to me."

"Aw, that's sweet," said Pol, pulling a Spunow out from his utility belt. "But how did you know that Dacey and I are a couple?" he asked their hosts.

"We are... experts... in Love," said Big Orange Scaly. "It is our... reason for existence."

o o o

"Tragic love is the most beautiful," said one of the fifty-foot-tall purple mounds. "And secret, unrequited love is almost as beautiful."

"Whose love is tragic?" asked Matter-Eater Lad Two.

"Why, yours, of course," said the second purple mound. It gestured with its tentacles as Matter-Eater Lad Two and Polar Lass. "You will be forever separated by your incompatible physiologies, yet your love persists."

"We are both Terrans," Polar Lass objected. "It is true that Hillarie cannot live in the temperatures common to my native world, and I need my thermo-belt to avoid hypothermia on his world, but in time... we love being together. I can't imagine my life without him. We will find a way."

"Ah, the Hope of Young Love," said the third purple mound. "It is most comforting to have you as guests. You bring a beautiful aura to our home."

"You seem very direct about matters of love," said Korvea. "If I may ask... I had supposed that each of your disparate forms represented a different gender. You live in groups of three... yet we see all manner of combinations of households."

"It is true that only a triad of Purple, Green, and Gold may produce offspring," said the first monster. "But Love nests where it will. If only a few of us form Breeding Triads, well, who is to argue with Love? Love is Love."

"Your own Love is forbidden, for now," said the second monster. "Yet can you deny it?"

"What do you know of my love?" asked Korvea. "You speak of something which may not even exist."

The three Beztaliens began to quiver. Great huffing sounds began to issue from them. The Matter-Eater Lad Two, Polar Lass, and Korvea suddenly realized that their hosts were laughing.

The third great beast recovered first. "Oh, you young ones. You imagine that your emotions are hidden, when they are as plain as if they were written all over your tiny faces."

o o o

Ten, Phantom Girl, and Shrinking Violet were hosted by two Greens and an Orange.

"When you each fall in love, my dears, you must return to Beztia," said Orange. "We delight in Love, and have eons of experience to share."

"When was the last time you saw the Orb?" asked Shrinking Violet.

"For our Triangle, it was twenty-five days ago," said Orange. "But every day, a portion of the city is assigned to focus on the Orb. It was eight or nine days ago that it was stolen."

"Was it eight or nine days?" asked Shrinking Violet.

"The Ritual of the Orb occurs every day," said Orange. "Except on the Days of Mourning, when there is a death in Gothiker, and the whole city mourns. Such was the case nine days ago. And on the following morning, the Orb was gone."

"How often do these Days of Mourning come?" asked Ten. "They must be frequent."

"Perhaps two dozen each year," said Orange. "But it is as important to mourn the loss of a loved one, as to celebrate Love. And every inhabitant of Gothiker is beloved of someone. Of course, we expect that the other companions will soon pass away as well, and there will be two more Days of Mourning. For who can live long when their Love is broken?"

"Two-thirds of your people die of broken hearts?" asked Ten.

"Is it not the same everywhere?" asked Orange.

"And there are some four million of you in Gothiker? More or less?" asked Ten.

"That is so," said Orange.

"And you know when any of them... pass away?" asked Ten.

"We know immediately," said Orange.

Ten looked at Shrinking Violet. "Four million Gothikers, but only a couple of dozen die every year. This implies a life-span of some one-hundred-fifty-thousand years."

"And a correspondingly low birth rate," said Shrinking Violet. "No wonder we have seen no children on Beztia." She turned towards Orange. "If I may be so bold, how old are you?"

"I am middle-aged," said Orange. "We do not concern ourselves overmuch with such things, but I believe, in your reckoning, I must have seen fifty or seventy thousand sola-years."

"Were you here when the Orb was first constructed?" asked Shrinking Violet.

"It was not constructed," said Orange, chuckling. "It arrived. It is one of the First Creations, made by the God-Architects of Ancient Days. And it arrived long before my birth"

"The god-architects," said Ten. "In your theology, the creators of the Universe?"

"No, no, the Architects were the designers of the gods, before the Universe was created," said Orange.

"The creators of the gods?" asked Ten.

"You still misunderstand," said Orange. "The Architects designed the gods. Their creations were left to others."

"And where was the Orb before it... arrived... in Gothiker?" asked Shrinking Violet.

"There was no Gothiker in those days," said Orange. "The Orb fell from the sky, creating the crater that would become the city center. It came to rest upon the Central Peak, and its light brought our race out from the Wilds. We built Gothiker around it."

"And the Orb still sits on the Central Peak?" asked Shrinking Violet.

"No," said Ten, "It rests upon a crystal obelisk at the city center."

"The Central Peak was eroded away by time," said Orange. "Our ancestors created the Obelisk to honor the place of the Orb. And the Orb does not rest upon the Obelisk. It hovers above it, immovable."

"Immovable," said Ten. "Is it unaffected by gravity?"

"Or any other known force," said Orange. “The Orb abides.”

"Then how could anyone have stolen it?" Ten wondered aloud. “How could anyone have moved it?"

"When you have eliminated the impossible," said Shrinking Violet, "Whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."

"It's still there," said Ten.

o o o

"It's still there," said Ffiona.

"What do you mean?" asked Chameleon.

"It's still there," said Ffey. "I can see it. We can see it. All three of us."

"Do you know how we once explained to you," said Ffarrah, "That the Universe seems more... present... more intense when we are separated? We tried fusing into one, and we couldn't see the Orb. But when we triplicated again, it's obviously still there."

The house they were staying at, home to a Breeding Triangle, and had a clear view of the crystal obelisk out one of the windows of the city center.

Chameleon concentrated. Two additional sets of eyes appeared on his forehead. "I am trying to replicate the molecular structure of your triplication... it is there. It's still there. Something is just preventing the Beztaliens from seeing it."

"And the other members," said Ffey. "Izen, Kallor, and Chel couldn't detect it either, with all their powers."

Chameleon resumed his ordinary form. "I can still see it, sort of. It's misty, but now that I know it's there..."

Their three Beztalien hosts came to the window.

"Is it really...?"

"Now that I know it is there..."

"Yes, I can see it..."

"We need to meet with the other members," said Ffiona. "And with the Cathedral of Nine."

o o o

"It's like the story of the Emperor's New Clothes," said Polar Lass, "Only in reverse. Once you know the Orb is there, you can see it."

"Wait a minute," said Matter-Eater Lad Two. "So in this other story, everyone could see the Emperor's New Clothes, until they knew they weren't there?"

"Exactly," said Polar Lass.

"And was he wearing them at the time?" asked Matter-Eater Lad Two.

"Yes," said Polar Lass. "An innocent little boy cried out, 'But he doesn't have anything on,' and then everybody could see. Or not see. I'll have to tell you the whole story later."

"I'm looking forward to it," said Matter-Eater Lad Two.

The Cathedral of Nine had called together that day's team of Concentrators, and they were even now magnifying their Love Vibrations through space.

"The question is," said Saturn Girl, "Who was shielding the Orb from view? How did they do it, and how were they able to affect a whole city?"

"And my power ring," said Izen.

"And the Quarvat, and Fat Boy’s Kryptonian senses," said Korvea.

"Follow me," said Saturn Girl.

She led them through Gothiker, down winding streets, and into and out of alleys. They finally halted in front of a tall, stone-grey wall.

"You might as well stop running, and show yourself," Saturn Girl shouted into the air. "I'm not going to give up. We just want to know what is going on."

"I shouldn't have to explain myself." It was a huge creature, at least as large as one of the Beztaliens, with the appearance of an elephant. Or a giraffe. Or a hippopotamus. Or a huge gorilla. The forms melted one into another in a distracting manner. Giant ostrich. Spider. Earthquake beast. Each one a specific form for a moment, then morphing into the next form.

"Who are you?" asked Saturn Girl. "And just what do you think you have been doing here?"

The being sighed. It took on at least two new forms in doing so. "You may call me Grixx, I suppose. One of the Pantheon of... oh, you wouldn't know them. They have been extinct for millennia. I was god of... apathy and solipsism... those are the closest words in your vocabulary."

"Can you stop shape-shifting?" asked Chameleon. "It is dizzying, even for me."

"Am I shape-shifting?" asked Grixx. "I don't think so. You are just... perceiving me... as best you can. Would you prefer I go invisible again?" He rapidly flickered through giant forms of the Super-Hero Club members, several Beztaliens, winked out to invisibility, and then started on fish-forms.

"Why did you conceal the Orb?" asked Saturn Girl.

"What do you Mortals care?" asked Grixx. "That the magnified 'Love-Vibrations' weaken The Butcher and over-nourish The Predator... The Balance is... How can I explain? Would you even be concerned? After all, you were the ones who thoughtlessly introduced-- and then banished-- the Entity of Hate. It took what remains of us decades, working day and night, to set that right. The ripples in Reality... Well, I suppose you get the Universe you deserve."

"Are you really a god?" asked Matter-Eater Lad Two.

"There are so many of us," said Grixx. "Why are you surprised when you meet one? Especially when you meddle with the fundamental forces of the Universe. Ironic, isn't it? I'm the only one who cares anymore. The rest of my Pantheon have retired, or found other professions."

"'Old gods do new jobs'," Matter-Eater Lad Two quoted.

"Well, yes," said Grixx. "Some of us. Even Plagues changed over to Pollution for a bit, until he got his second wind."

"Are we wrong?" asked Saturn Girl. "Should we warn the U.P.? Get them to stop? Gothiker has been operating for thousands of years at least"

"That may be an underestimate," said Ten.

"No, no, pray let them continue," said Grixx. "A slight interruption, and the wheel of balance trembles into position. Slightly. I would not want to be rid of the Beasts of Gothiker anyway. They are so quaint. One could almost... love them. Fare well." The god vanished, without fanfare, thunder, or smoke.

"He really seems to be gone," said Saturn Girl. "Once I started looking for him, his mind was so... blindingly bright. But there is no light now."

"We're going to have trouble putting together a report for the United Planets," said Saturn Girl.

"I agree," said Star-Woman.

"I volunteer," said Izen. "I will forward you a copy."