Legion World Forums LEGION OUTPOST Bits o' Legionnaire Business Postlo3w stories *LATEST UPDATE 13 AUGUST*

Hey raz, just catching up on your stuff here! Such a great read!

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Love to see a Brin/Marella reunion.

Everything seems so peaceful at the moment! The tour is nice; it reminds me of some of the annual stories, which are good as they get people caught up with stuff!

Wow, 43 Legionnaires! Whew! That's so many to juggle! I don't know how you and Harbi and Ibby do it!

I hadn't thought about any height limitations on Gim based on the particular environment, but I guess it makes sense.

LOL on Zoe vaccuuming! Also on Elastic Lad!

Cool sequence with the living planet! That was fun to read the demonstration for the press!

Also, thank you for the footnotes!

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Back with the sisters! Hmmm, the grey protien sludge sounds like they've been hanging around with the Matrix crew!

Love the D&D callback!

The search for Ivy is really compelling, raz. I feel bad for Ral. And you write Grava really well.

uh oh - Glorith!

Thanks GL!

I figured I put everyone through the wringer with Mordru enough, they can have a few rest days

With Gim growing bigger in space, I don't really see it as a physical limitation so much as there's just more room to maneuver...I always think about when Omega rocked up in the comics and knocked Gim off his feet and smushed dozens of buildings, having a giant butt flatten your whole apartment block can't be a very dignified way to die lol

The Sisterhood of Sin are gonna be back right away and Ivy and Glorith is building up to something BIG (which is gonna lead to more team members joining, I might be crazy for doing this to myself hahaha)

that's always an issue with growing heroes - the collateral damage if they can't shrink down fast enough when being knocked down!

re more team members, ooh color me interested - will Veilmist be one?

re more team members also, I feel your pain... I find it a bit tough juggling so many Legionnaires lol!

Veilmist may not quite be there yet, but I will say that two of the newbies already have profiles written up in my Who's Who thread!

Weirdly I am not feeling overwhelmed with the size of the team + the students + occasional checkins with my other teams just yet, I guess if it gets too out of hand Glorith can just turn half of them into toddlers again

oooh two of! so more than two I'm off to your other thread to see who the candidates are, but I won't post here to avoid spoiling any surprises or forcing your hand

re team size, it's why I love the old "split into teams with related missions" trope, makes the cast more manageable, gives everyone some screen time and exposure...

IN ORBIT AROUND MARDRU
Legion of Superheroes Headquarters, the Brainstem

ROLL CALL
Phantom Girl aka Tinya Wazzo: team leader; intangibility

Phantom Girl solemnly looked over the many monitors and holoscreens that circled her in the communications hub of the Legion's new mobile base. Most of the visuals here depicted the grand scale suffering that Glorith and Verdant had inflicted on Chlorophyll Kid's homeworld Mardru today. Entire cities had disappeared beneath a worldwide explosion of plant life, and damage to Mardru's infrastructure and populace had been catastrophic. The Legion had spent long hours doing all they could to stem damage and to help the Science Police rescue and evacuate people, but even so the current estimate was that 40% of Mardru's population was no more...and that number was only expected to rise.

Sighing, Phantom Girl addressed her team's Communications Officer. "Trava, any word from Chameleon Boy yet?"

Dressed in different shades of green with her ever-present gold jewellery, the dark-skinned Carggite turned to face Tinya but could only hold eye contact with her for a moment. "I...I'm sorry, Phantom Girl. Nothing yet, but I'll let you know as soon as I hear anything!"

"It's okay." Tinya attempted a weary smile as she placed a hand on Trava Coruu's shoulder. "I wasn't really expecting anything more to be honest, just hoping. You've done a fantastic job today by the way, Trava. I didn't expect that you'd have to face this kind of a crisis so early on in the piece, but you really stepped up today with helping coordinate rescue efforts with the Science Police and other local authorities."

"Oh! Thank you, Phantom Girl!" Trava felt blood rush to her face, and turned away self-consciously.

Tinya excused herself politely and phased through the floor as Trava went back to monitoring comms channels. Phantom Girl knew that Chameleon Boy could look after himself...and if he was going to contact the team, he likely would have called Tinya directly rather than make contact with their Communications Officer. She'd worked with Cham long enough in the Espionage Squad that she knew exactly how capable he was even when he was cut off from the rest of the team...but looking at that newly green world below them, Tinya also had a sense of what Glorith and Verdant were capable of.

"Be careful, Cham..." Tinya whispered between the walls of the Legion of Superheroes' home.

**********

ELSEWHERE

ROLL CALL
Chameleon Boy aka Reep Daggle: Durlan shapeshifter

Reep Daggle flapped his eagle wings to ascend into a swifter air current as well as any real bird might.

It had taken Chameleon Boy some time before he felt safe leaving his hiding place in the folds of Glorith's cape to get away from the two villainesses who'd unwittingly brought him here. Cham supposed that Chlorophyll Kid and Comet Queen wouldn't approve of him placing their adoptive daughter in the same category as Glorith, but Cham also realised that Chlorophyll Kid and Comet Queen were understandably too close to the situation to see Ivy Arcane for who she was now. Ivy had been a sweet loving baby, but at least from her perspective she clearly hadn't been a baby in quite some time.

Blending unseen against Glorith's cape as a square of white fabric, Chameleon Boy had picked up enough from listening to Glorith and Ivy's conversation that he knew that what they'd done to Mardru was more than just some headstrong young woman's act of spite against an absent father figure. He'd listened to them talk about doing this to more worlds, and though they hadn't chosen those worlds yet he'd discerned that there was some kind of logic behind how those worlds would be chosen...and when Chameleon Boy had switched forms from a square of fabric to a common housefly and then to the shape of the eagle he wore now so that he could escape Glorith's palace, he'd come to another realisation; wherever they were now, they'd already worked their horrors on this world.

As he flew away from the bejewelled marble palace that dominated the landscape, Cham saw that everything below him had been conquered by the Green. It were as though he were flying across some continental rainforest, but he could also see the throttled buildings and dregs of civilisation which lay beneath these trees, and they were not ancient ruins. Thinking himself far enough away from the palace, Cham dived down until he was beneath the green canopy which covered this world. 70 feet above the ground, he landed on a branch thick enough that he could have laid upon it. Here, he was confident that he could let his guard down.

Cham reverted to his normal form, sitting with his back against the enormous tree trunk. He lifted his flight ring to his lips, and it was only then that he noticed dozens of tiny pink flowers blooming all around him. Momentarily taken aback, he didn't have time to react when those flowers opened their petals with an almost silent pop, and a hazy cloud of perfume sent him to sleep...

**********

MARS
Husband Hill, Bina Nawoti Foundation

ROLL CALL
Lightning Lad aka Garth Ranzz: reserve Legionnaire, Legion Academy co-head; electricity generation and manipulation

As he left Jrey Lefen's office, Garth Ranzz reflected upon everything they'd just discussed.

Garth was glad that the Legion had enlisted the services of such a good counsellor; Legion Academy classes were resuming in just over a standard week, and Lightning Lad needed to make certain that he was at peace with the way he'd acted while he was in Mordru's thrall if he was going to be able to look any of these kids in the eye again. The guilt was at times overpowering, and he'd considered leaving the Academy behind altogether until Imra talked sense into him. Garth allowed himself a grateful smile; he shuddered to think where he'd be without that woman sometimes.

"Hello, Lightning Lad. A moment?" The voice, artifically modulated, shook Garth from his introspection. He saw its owner standing by an open office door in an adjoining corridor.

Lightning Lad looked the woman who'd spoken up and down. She was covered from head to toe in a black bodysuit, even her eyes hidden behind polarised lenses. Purple pouches and holstered weapons were strategically placed about her athletic form, and two small air filter discs emerged from the lower half of her face. It took him a moment, but Garth quickly realised who she was.

"89," Lightning Lad replied abruptly. "If you're looking for more Academy kids to lure into your black ops team, you're in the wrong building. Arqiia Memorial Campus is next door. "

"You've got some promising talent, but it'll be a while before they're up to my standard." 89 saw Garth stiffen and held up her hands in a pacifying gesture. "I'm sorry, that was a poor attempt to lighten the mood. I'm actually here to see you, Lightning Lad."

"What could you possibly want from me?" Garth retorted. "I'm not even in the Legion anymore--"

"I don't want anything from you," 89 interrupted him. "I do however have a proposal for you." She took a step back and nodded toward the empty office which was now between them.

"I don't have time for this," Garth muttered under his breath. "I've got course outlines to complete, and then--oh!"

Lightning Lad saw the purpose of 89's visit, and his eyes grew wide as any further complaints withered in his throat.

**********

XEROX
The Sorceror's World

ROLL CALL
Dragonmage aka Xao Jin: dragon magic
Mysa Marvel aka Mysa Nal: magically enhanced strength, invulnerability, speed, flight, stamina, wisdom and courage

So soon after Mordru the Merciless's brief reign of terror here, Mysa Marvel realised that it might cause unease if the inhabitants of Xerox saw a space shuttle descending through their atmosphere. She had recommended to Dragonmage that they leave the vessel in orbit, and then the two of them used their flight rings to make their way planetside.

Once they'd descended low enough below Xerox's candy coloured clouds that they could hear themselves speak, Dragonmage turned to Mysa. "Thank you again for inviting me for this task," the young sorceror said. "I had a great deal of respect for Harlack. If I may say so though, I'm a little confused...I thought our destination was Harlack's homeworld within the Khund Empire?"

"That is our final destination," Mysa responded, "We just need to make a brief stop along the way." She held out a small translucent crystal case in her palm, careful to keep her grip on it up here in the high winds. Within the case, two blood red gems could be seen. "These are Bel'yana Stones; accomplished practitioners of Khund blood magic can permanently seal a minute portion of their soul away in these stones. They're a rare and exceptionally powerful enhancement for blood rituals, but more importantly for our purposes they're also the last remaining remnant of our dear Harlack after Mordru's Shadow Demons so callously murdered him. Harlack gave these to me for safekeeping after I surrendered my magic; he asked me to bury one of them here and another on his homeworld should he depart this mortal plane before me." Mysa's eyes were wet with emotion, but to Xao it seemed caused more by bittersweet affection than grief.

"That's sweet," Xao said genuinely.

"It's more than just sentiment," Mysa continued. "This way, Harlack becomes one with the Sorceror's World and in time his mystical essence will add to that of the world that meant so much to him. It may be only a small thing, but small things are not insignificant."

"Especially when it comes to magic," Dragonmage agreed. "It took a lifetime of small advances for me to be where I am now."

They descended further in mutual silence until Dragonmage felt bold enough to speak up once more. "Mysa? May I ask you a personal question? You don't have to talk about it if you don't feel comfortable..."

"I am an open book, Xao Jin." Mysa flashed him a supportive smile. "Ask me what you will."

"Do you ever miss it? Having your magic I mean? You're one of the mightiest Legionnaires now, so I don't mean in the sense of missing the power itself, but...I think what you did when you stopped being the Black Witch was so brave, I don't think I could make the same sacrifice."

"I think you might surprise yourself if push came to shove. But--" They were only a couple of stories above the ground now, near a small roadside tavern. The quaint stained glass window of the small stone building exploded outwards as a pale green goblin came flying out and bounced across the grass. The goblin skulked away, but the sounds of further crashing inside made it clear where Mysa and Dragonmage were needed.

"Let's table this discussion till later," Mysa suggested. She flew across to the tavern's thatch roof, and gripping the roof's ridge beam in both hands she simply lifted the entire ceiling off of the pub and held it overhead. "We've come to Xerox to say goodbye to a friend today," she addressed the stunned bar. "I do hope that isn't going to be spoiled by an excess of violence."

A little awestruck himself, Dragonmage hovered a few feet behind his teammate.

Below the Legionnaires, half a dozen men who were obviously denizens of the Sorceror's World judging by their fantastic appearances looked as though they'd been in the middle of a fracas with a group of women. The women were the Sisterhood of Sin, and the red-skinned Khund Scorn released the man who'd almost fallen victim to her blade before Mysa's dramatic entrance. While Scorn's pig-faced victim scurried away clutching his unharmed throat, Scorn leaped up onto the bar and glared Mysa Marvel right in the eye. "Strength doesn't frighten me, woman. I faced Mon-El, I'm not frightened of whomever you might be."

"You should be frightened," the Sisterhood's leader Vista noted. "We can handle a young Dragonmage, but that's Mysa Marvel. Veilmist, get her out of here."

Veilmist nodded obediently, and an instant later Mysa Marvel vanished in a puff of lavender smoke. The roof that she'd been holding collapsed, and before it could cause any damage Nimbus extended her bright blue forcefield out to smash it into so many splinters.

Momentarily shocked, Dragonmage nonetheless recovered quickly enough to begin weaving a protective spell about himself. By the time the silent killer White Bat had circled around and come down from above Xao, he was protected from her talons by an emerald dragonform.

Nimbus now took to the air as well with a playful smirk. "Let's test your dragon against my forcefield, huh?"

"Let me," Vista interrupted her teammate. "Sorcerors are too versatile to play games with, Nimbus." Assuming that his dragonform could protect him against any assault Vista might bring, Xao was utterly unprepared when the small implant in Vista's forehead flashed a vivid pink and he too vanished from sight.

White Bat made eye contact with Nimbus for a second, then ascended high enough that she could see the gently rolling fields all around them for half a mile around.

"Bat says they came alone," Nimbus reported to Vista.

"That doesn't sound like the Legion of Superheroes' style", Vista thought it through, "But Dragonmage is a sorceror and Mysa Nal was the White Witch for a long time...I think they may have just been here in their capacity as magic users. I mean it makes no sense that they'd have had any idea we're here or why we're here unless Dream Girl warned them, and I certainly don't see her about."

"Speaking of which," Scorn jumped down from her vantage point to a glitter-haired young woman who looked like a fairy cowering behind the bar. "Let's get back to our mission, I had enough of this place when I was a teenager. You. Bar wench." With the fairy's apron scrunched up in Scorn's fist, the Khund woman effortlessly lifted her from the ground. The fairy squealed in fright, her diaphanous wings quivering. "You must know everybody in this sickly sacharine community. You will tell us where to find our quarry or you'll find out just how versatile a sorceress can be." In her free hand, she held her blood dagger up menacingly for the bartender's benefit.

The fairy bartender was too traumatised to speak, and Scorn was just about to take her threat to the next level when they all suddenly heard Vista cry out. Vista's exclamation of pain became a wail of agony, and the Sisterhood of Sin's leader suddenly flung herself backwards as a dragon of blindingly intense light emerged from her implant and grew larger than Vista herself. She was moaning helplessly on the ground when that crackling lightning dragon released all of its energy in a soundless explosion of psionic energy that knocked everyone present off their feet.

Xao Jin was crouched down on one knee in the epicentre of the explosion, his head bowed with the effort of having created a dragon capable of transporting him from Vista's personal mindscape back into the physical world and converting him back into flesh and blood. His breath ragged, he raised his head with an expression of cold focus. Dimly aware that the innocent bar patrons and the fairy barmaid were taking this opportunity to sneak away, Dragonmage was glad...because now he wouldn't have to hold back.

Ignoring the Sisterhood of Sin recovering around him, Dragonmage stood and commanded a simple spell; one which was effective against a group, but not too draining. He almost danced these dragonforms into creation, twirling on one heel as his fingers wove light into the air. A moment later, the tavern contained a maelstrom of flying screeching dragons filling the room and confounding his foes' senses. They ranged from several inches to several feet long and as their multicoloured snaking bodies multiplied, the Sisterhood soon lost sight even of each other let alone Dragonmage.

"Veilmist!" Nimbus screamed over the din. "Teleport him into the sun or something, would you?? Vista's still out of it!"

"Veilmist has already exercised a coward's discretion, I suspect." Scorn could smell the lavender on the air. "Wherever you are, Nimbus, White Bat; be still. I will deal with this." Scorn didn't know if the others had even heard her over the racket of the dragons, but it didn't matter. She knew magic, and she knew that magic was sometimes as much trickery as it was power. Sheathing her knife momentarily, Scorn pressed both palms against her closed eyes until she felt a dull ache there. She recited words she'd learned on this very world so many years ago, and she sucked in a sharp intake of air as her incantation took effect. Removing her hands from her now eerily blood-filled eyes, Scorn saw the arteries within her fingers with more clarity than she saw the flesh encasing them...and when she looked out beyond her own warm capillaries she saw Nimbus, White Bat and Vista's bloodstreams as well.

...And she saw Dragonmage's blood.

Stalking confidently through what she now knew to be an illusory swarm of dragons, Scorn drew her blood dagger once more. She wouldn't need trickery or power for this next part, just cold steel. Feigning ignorance, Dragonmage waited until Scorn was almost on top of him and then just as she struck he used his flight ring to send him straight up fifteen feet into the air.

"I hope that you didn't think I was going to just wait for you to slay me," Dragonmage spoke. "I was just recovering my strength, and drawing on the natural energies of this world to do this." Scorn was the only one who saw his hands move in a calculated flurry, and before she could do anything to counter whatever spell he was casting, she realised that every single one of these dragons was now solid. Vista still lay unaware of anything transpiring on the floor of the tavern, but Scorn and Nimbus were battered about worse than if they'd been sealed in a barrel and rolled downhill. Scorn's Khundish toughness protected her from serious injury, but Dragonmage's onslaught still hurt like the devil; and for Nimbus's part, her forcefield protected her from harm entirely but she was being buffetted about so rudely that she couldn't steal a moment to concentrate on offence.

While Dragonmage was considering his next tactic, a faint whipping sound caused him to turn an inquisitive glance to his left. Xao Jin hadn't heard White Bat coming for his throat, but he had heard Mysa Marvel's cape catching the wind as Mysa darted in just in time to grip and hold the mute assassin's wrists steady. White Bat's extended talon was only inches from Dragonmage's jugular, and Xao gulped down his shock. His concentration broken, his dragonforms shimmered away into the ether and Nimbus and Scorn dragged themselves to their feet.

"Sorry I didn't get back sooner," Mysa apologised casually. "Even with the wisdom of Solomon, it took some time to orient myself and find my way back from where Veilmist deposited me in space."

"But I am here now," Mysa addressed the Sisterhood more firmly, "And while I suspect Dragonmage here could handle you all on your own I know for certain that you can't stand up to the two of us working together. So why don't you tell us who you are and what you're doing on Xerox, ladies? I'm also quite curious as to how your friend laid out on the floor there knew who I was. I appreciate the boost to my ego, but I don't believe I've been a Legionnaire long enough for random villains to recognise me on sight."

"We are the Sisterhood of Sin," Scorn stood defiantly. "And Veilmist aside, we back down from no foe."

"Oh, for..." Nimbus had now also found her feet, and she took position before Scorn. "Look, Legionnaires...maybe we came on too strong, okay? But we really have no problem with either of you, or with anyone else on this world. We just need to find some kid called Harlack and we'll be out of everyone's hair."

"Harlack??" Mysa was visibly taken aback. "Then you have come here far too late, because my dear friend Harlack is dead."

Vista had by now recovered enough to hear this, and Mysa's words sent an invigorating jolt of shock through her system. "That...that can't be true!" Vista protested, leaning against Nimbus to stand beside her.

"But it is true," Dragonmage countered. "Mysa Marvel was there when it happened!"

Mysa released White Bat so that her hands were free to retrieve the Bel'yana Stones. As the silent villain rejoined her team, Mysa held the case open to display the stones to them all. "The sole reason we are here today is to perform Harlack's last rites; this is all that is left of him....and now I have another question for you all; what does a Sisterhood of Sin want with my beloved friend Harlack anyway?"

"You're asking the right questions." With her disaffected tone, Vista tried to mask how much news of Harlack's death had rattled her. "But you're not going to get answers today, Legionnaire. Veilmist, I know you're around here somewhere! Get us out of here!"

The women disappeared in Veilmist's trademark puff of smoke and perfume, and Dragonmage turned to Mysa. "What do you think that was all about?" he asked.

"Perhaps we'll find out some day," Mysa replied. "Perhaps we won't."

"But right now," she looked down upon the Bel'yana Stones, "We have far more important matters to occupy us."

**********

IN ORBIT AROUND MARS
Legion of Superheroes Headquarters, Phantom Girl's office

ROLL CALL
Phantom Girl aka Tinya Wazzo: team leader; intangibility
Shadow Lass aka Tasmia Mallor: darkness generation

The Legion had exhausted themselves helping with search and rescue on Mardru, and while their help was greatly appreciated it was still not enough to render the world liveable again for much of its formerly dominant humanoid species. The Legion of Superheroes had brought their mobile headquarters back to its home position near Mars, and many of the team had retired to whatever form of relaxation most suited them. Before doing that though, the reserve Legionnaire Chlorophyll Kid had insisted on one thing; he'd asked Phantom Girl to call an impromptu team meeting and requested that the Legion vote him back in as an active member.

Phantom Girl was now viewing a recording of that meeting, chewing her thumbnail as she watched Chlorophyll Kid's friends and former Subs gather round him to congratulate him on his return to the team. "I'm still not sure we did the right thing," she admitted to her best friend sitting beside her on the small couch Tinya had placed here in order to make the space more cozy and less sterile.

"Honestly, I didn't support Chlorophyll Kid joining the Legion at all initially," Tasmia Mallor shrugged. "But I'm not too proud to admit when I'm wrong, and I was wrong then. I think you're wrong now."

"I'm just worried, Shady...I'm worried about Chlor, and I hate to sound like a heartless tactician but I'm worried about what it's gonna mean for the Legion if he's not up to it when we need him to be. Tellus told me he had some kind of horrible anxiety attack back on Mardru."

"Don't be ridiculous," Shadow Lass chided Phantom Girl with a bluntness their close friendship allowed. "You're not heartless for being concerned about your team's welfare, that's a leader's role...and of course the poor man had an anxiety attack; his adopted daughter is a full-blown supervillain, his wife was wounded, and his homeworld has been decimated. But don't forget, he asked to be reinstated back on to the active roster. I'm sure Chlorophyll Kid is well aware of his own capabilities, and he deserves the chance to regain his family's honour, Tinya."

"I just wish he'd let me talk him into seeing Jrey to get his opinion first," Tinya continued, "But I know how bad Chlor's been feeling and how isolated he's been lately, I didn't want to take this away from him. I don't know, Shady. Did I really do the right thing?"

"Jrey? The new counsellor?" Shadow Lass tittered. "Oh Tinya, I know you mean well and I'm sure counselling is wonderful for people with psychomedical issues and such...but we're the Legion of Superheroes, we're made of stronger stuff. Look, let me ask you something as one heartless tactician to another; have Dawnstar or Mwindaji figured out a way to track Verdant yet?"

"No..." Tinya admitted.

"Exactly," Tasmia noted. "Which means that Chlorophyll Kid is now the only person who can. We need him on the team if we're going to stop Verdant and Glorith from doing this to any other innocent worlds."

Tinya opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by her door's melodic tone. At Phantom Girl's command, the shimmering field covering the doorway vanished and Dream Girl sauntered in and perched herself on Phantom Girl's desk. "Shadow Lass is right," Dream Girl said as though she'd been a part of the conversation all along. "We do need Chlorophyll Kid."

"Hi Nura," Phantom Girl sighed wearily, resting her head against Shadow Lass's shoulder. "I assume you haven't been standing outside my door waiting for your power to tell you when to come in here just for that zinger."

"You assume correctly," Dream Girl answered. "We need Chlorophyll Kid, and we're going to need a lot more besides.

...We need new recruits, Phantom Girl."

NEXT: NEW RECRUITS!

EDITOR'S NOTES:
89 is of course the leader of my version of the Oversight Watch, and the first thing she did in my fic was recruit Mandalla and Power Boy straight out of their Legion Academy graduation so it's understandable that Lightning Lad might be a little suspicious of her motives...

The Sisterhood of Sin now have an entry in my Who's Who thread! Not really much more to them than what y'all have seen in the past few instalments, but it is here anyway

I was going to post a roll call after this instalment, but as we're getting a whole bunch of new recruits next up anyway, I figured I would wait until then!

Yay! more good stuff!

my gosh, 40% of Mardru's population lost... that's awful! And such widespread suffering and death

gonna be hard for Verdant to come back from that on...


good going, Trava, good going!
it's also nice that Communications also relates to coordination. very key job...

oy... I wonder, did Glorith and Verdant know that Cham was there, or was it a magical enchantment that caught him? and curious what his big plan is... it's good to see some sneaking around too, from our resident shapeshifter!

ah, nice to see someone dealing with the Seven Sins possession fallout!

well, I'm curious about 89's visit! also nice to see a flash of Garth's temper, when 89 was dissing the students

alas poor Harlack... nice to see that his story isn't necessarily over though, curious as to why the Sisterhood wanted him



Vista has some tactical smarts, makes her more dangerous... taking Mysa off the board, and not leaving anything to chance with Dragonmage...

nice going, Xao!

ah, Veilmist has a lavender-scented teleportation field eh?

I also like Nimbus' practicality

And loving the way Tinya and Tasmia talk with each other, those two are definitely best friends

new recruits! whooo! super eager to see who. OK, Veilmist won't be one of them yet I think... and probably not Nightstone... maybe one of the Academy students will get promoted? and welcome back, Ral!

Hey raz! A nice meaty installment here with lots of great stuff. Thanks for including the Editors notes, as I was completely unfamiliar with 89.

Nice moment with Cham - Shows his aptitude and sneakiness, but I caught the foreboding there with him letting his guard down! Nice passsage.

I'm really interested in where you're taking Ivy on her journey. It sounds like there are a lot of people will be heartbroken one way or another there. But I'm in for the ride.

The interplay between Xao, Mysa and the sisters was fun to read. They seem to exist specifically to cause chaos, but very much enjoyed reading the action, especially how Xao was dealing wtih things. He really seems to flourish with your writing, raz. I really like this version of Dragonmage more than any that was put in the comics for sure.

Last comment - it makes complete sense for the Legion to have a counselor. It also makes complete sense for Tasmia to dismiss the notion. It's a little bit in the text, but its great.

Looking forward to tryouts!

I am still reading and enjoying, just haven't been able to post for a bit, after swapping computers. But I'm back!

These new Sisters of Sin seem interesting, and I particularly like the one who can yoink people into her internal mindscape. That's a neat trick!

Thanks for commenting, y'all! Sorry I haven't had a chance to respond before now, I just got over (well, am still getting over) a very nasty flu so I have been sleeping like 16 hours a day

We will find out what the Sisterhood wanted with Harlack before too long, those girls have schemes!

I can't remember if Veilmist having a lavender-scented teleportation effect is from the comics or if I made it up, but I feel like it suits her at any rate!

Ivy and Glorith are gonna take centre stage in a BIG way before too long...and I don't think it is spoiling anything to say y'all are right that there will be heartbreak as well as stuff that it's hard to come back from along the way!

GL: thanks for your Xao appreciation...I really liked him as the kind of mild-mannered unassuming guy he was in the SW6 Legion, it's a shame we never got more of that!

Tasmia dissing the counselling was fun to write too....I really like when the characters write themselves! To be honest, I only even included Shady in that scene because I feel like I don't give Tinya and Shady enough time together but it just made sense to me that would be her attitude toward mental health.

Next up: I have been hyping up the new recruits, BUT we are also gonna see the Legion Academy kids officially back in class again!

APIATON
Grid Reference GLJ21-11, United Planets 2460 Topological Study

ROLL CALL
Chameleon Boy aka Reep Daggle: Durlan shapeshifter

Reep Daggle heard women's voices around him as he woke, and though in his confused state he didn't recognise who they belonged to or where he was, he did possess enough presence of mind to do what his friend Gim's homeworld called "playing possum". His eyes still closed lightly, Cham considered his surroundings. He could instantly tell that he was in his default orange-skinned form, he was familiar enough with his own body that he didn't need eyes to see that. He was curled in on himself in what for anyone else would be an uncomfortable position. One of the benefits of Durlan physiology however was that he was generally more flexible than a lot of humanoids.

Not for the first time, Cham pondered how much more useful his antennae would be if they could more actively detect his surroundings. They absorbed data from the world around him even while he was asleep, but that ability was completely autonomous and not something that he could consciously interrogate. He would just have to rely on his regular senses like nearly every other person on his team would need to do in his place.

Shifting position with a muffled groan, he knew he wouldn't attract any more attention than any other sleeping person. The simple change in posture taught him a lot though. The walls around him were claustrophobically close and rounded. There were no textural changes to give him any clue as to what substance this could be enclosing him, but he did feel the mildest bobbing motion and there was the strangest charge of static electricity across his skin. Cham pursed his lips and blew onto the back of his hand to feel the slight pressure of his breath. He knew he wasn't wearing his transuit, which would have created a barrier between his mouth and his hand. He could breathe freely, but he couldn't feel an air current at all. Cham's heart sank as he put all of this together. I'm inside a forcefield.

He remembered the flowers that had sedated him now, and he knew which women these voices belonged to. Realising that there was no point in subterfuge at this point, he opened his eyes and confirmed what he'd deduced; he was balled up in a perfectly spherical field made of translucent violet energy. Glorith and Verdant stood before him with their backs turned to him. They hadn't yet realised that he was awake, or if they had they weren't showing it. There was a small space cleared around the three of them, but outside of that plant life bloomed everywhere. A rainbow spectrum of flowers burst into life in the midst of shrubbery and long grasses, and vines snaked across the earth at their feet. Trees stabbed into the sky like mighty titans.

"How are you feeling, dear?" Glorith asked Verdant, touching her shoulder lightly with one gloved hand. "Do you need a rest?"

"I'm actually....just about...done!" Ivy Arcane gave a final flourish, and Chameleon Boy noticed that while the plants' expansion continued unabated, the rate of that expansion slowly reduced. Ivy Arcane sat cross-legged on the ground and admired her handiwork. "...and that's three worlds down!"

"Three??" Chameleon Boy could no longer restrain himself. "You've done this to three planets?!"

The women turned around to face their captive even as Chameleon Boy subtly activated his flight ring's emergency beacon.

"Well, look who's decided to join us!" Glorith smiled at Cham like a spider with a fly in its web. "Welcome back to the land of the living, Chameleon Boy!"

"How did you find me?" Cham snapped. "Magic, I guess?"

"The plants told me," the young woman named Verdant met Cham's gaze with cool green eyes. "I don't just control plants, Chameleon Boy...I'm the Avatar of the Green. I know all that the Green knows. I see all that the Green sees."

"And you, you silly boy!" Glorith wagged a finger at the trapped Legionnaire. "My homeworld Baaldur doesn't have bird life, and there you were flapping your little wings away - you may as well have turned yourself into a lighthouse, Chameleon Boy."

Cham ignored the sorceress to try and reach Verdant. "Ivy, please! I don't know why you're doing this, but think about all the people you're hurting! I saw Mardru, I saw the remains of the civilisation you destroyed on Baaldur...whatever you're trying to do, there must be another way! This is genocide!"

"Don't be so dramatic." Glorith waved a hand at him before Ivy could respond. "What's a few billion sentients here and there if it gives us all of this?" She leaned over to smell a nearby cluster of bell-shaped flowers. "Heavenly! Besides, this is Apiaton. The dominant lifeforms here up until today have been a bunch of disgusting bugs and we've just given their biosphere quite the makeover with all of this new vegetation! You're very lucky you're here to watch it all happen when I could just as easily have turned you into a chair, Chameleon Boy. Perhaps you should remember that." Her tone remained sweet, but the malice in Glorith's icy glare was unmistakable.

"Mistress?" Verdant climbed to her feet. "Back on Mardru...Chlorophyll Kid tricked the Green into giving him some kind of bond with me, but he doesn't realise it works both ways. We'd best depart, he's bringing the Legion of Superheroes here now and I'm not in much of a state to face them after greening this world."

"Of course, my dear. I'm so very proud of you, Ivy." Glorith held her charge's chin up toward her with her thumb and forefinger. "Well, let's not dally then!"

As she gathered mystical energies about them to craft her teleportation, Glorith turned to Cham once more. "Just like that forcefield prevents you from being detected by your annoyingly resourceful friends, my palace will do the same for us all. You were so eager to find out what we're up to, Chameleon Boy? Let me assure you, you've only seen the beginning."

Then in a flash of light, the three of them were gone.

**********

MARS
Husband Hill, Legion Academy's Arqiia Memorial Campus

Lullabye Lad poked his head sheepishly through the doorway into his class's homeroom. Dragonwing, Amp, Variable Lad, Key Kid, Sojurn; most of his fellow classmates were here already but at least he wasn't the last one to arrive.

"Oh thank the stars, Iron-Butt Imra's not here yet...I was sure I was gonna be late!" Waiane Wentim rushed to his seat, gathering his cape up from beneath him with practiced ease so as not to sit on it. "How are you guys? Anyone do anything fun on vaycay?"

"It wasn't a vacation, Waiane." Slumped over her desk with her face buried in her arms, Dragonwing looked up just enough to cast him a withering stare. "Fire Lass is dead. And Glorith...grife, who knows what's happened with Glorith."

"Sorry, Marya..." Lullabye Lad's expression dropped immediately. "...I was just trying to lighten the mood I guess."

A tense silence fell over the group again until Key Kid couldn't handle it anymore. "Did you guys know Kid Quantum went back to Xanthu?" he blurted. "Amp and me caught up with the old Heroes of Lallor for dinner last week and Gas Girl said apparently Kid Q had some kind of fight with Dream Girl and Mysa Marvel and quit the Academy!"

"Amp and I," Amp corrected him without thinking.

"What?!" Dragonwing regained some of her trademark feistiness. "No way, why wouldn't she tell us??"

Variable Lad raised one of his three arms timidly. "Uh, she umm...she told me. Sorry Marya, but you know Jazmin and Glorith were very close...after what happened with Glorith, Kid Quantum didn't feel comfortable here anymore, she's gone back to the Uncanny Amazers."

"Why would she tell you and not me?!" Dragonwing slammed both palms on her desk in outrage.

Amp raised an eyebrow. "You're kind of intimidating, girl! You haven't noticed that half the kids in our class start any conversation with you with sorry Marya?"

"Bite me, Lallor." Marya slumped back down again. "Whatever, it's not like she ever wanted to even join the Legion of Superheroes anyway. No big loss."

"Good morning, students." Saturn Girl entered the room, and with the exception of Sojurn who hovered silently as usual in the area they'd been assigned as their own, the rest of the class unconsciously corrected their postures. "I know class was meant to have started three standard minutes ago, apologies for my tardiness. Before we go into anything else today, I would like to introduce you all to your newest classmate. Legion Academy, meet Enigma Lass."

A much shorter person had accompanied Saturn Girl into the room, and the students all now directed their attention to her. She was covered from head to toe in a loose-fitting cucumber green outfit with a hood so voluminous that her face was completely immersed in shadow. Her costume's overcoat was sealed from her neck down to her thighs, and then it split to reveal trousers and boots the same color underneath. Rather than dragging upon the ground, her coat floated at calf height giving her an almost ghost-like quality. The lining of her costume was an undulating mass of seafoam bubbles; the whole look very much suited her codename. "Hello," Enigma Lass raised one hand in a half-wave, her softly spoken manner at odds with her appearance. "I am most pleased to join the Legion Academy."

The students exchanged curious glances for a moment before the questions started flying.

"Where are you from?"
"What are your powers"
"Are you telekinetic? Is that why your coat floats like that?"
"What's with the foam bubbles?"
"Is the foam your power?"
"Why the enigma?"

Saturn Girl had anticipated this, and the corner of her mouth curled almost imperceptibly upwards as she saw her students recapture some of their old energy for the first time in weeks. "Students, please." She stood behind Enigma Lass and placed her hands gently on both of the girl's shoulders. "I can assure you that Lightning Lad and I have both vetted Enigma Lass thoroughly, and that she deserves the chance to find her place here. For now, Enigma Lass has asked that her identity, her background and her powers remain a secret. I hope some day soon she comes to understand that she has nothing to hide from any of you, but for now we will respect her choice. Do I make myself clear?"

"Wait, so we're not even gonna find out what her powers are?" Dragonwing challenged her teacher. "How are we supposed to work with that??"

"All things in their own time," Saturn Girl responded. "For now, please just make Enigma Lass feel welcome. In fact, why don't we start by going round the room and introducing ourselves? Dragonwing, would you like to start?"

Before Marya Pai could say anything, Variable Lad's arm shot up into the air. "Teacher? I am very sorry to interrupt, but...should we not wait for Chemical Kid to join the class?"

The students saw a rare expression of surprise cross Saturn Girl's face for the briefest instant before her usual mask of calm composure slipped back into place. "I'm so sorry Oaa, I honestly thought Hadru would already have shared this with all of you...

...I'm afraid Chemical Kid has withdrawn from the Academy and returned to Phlon!"

**********

IN ORBIT AROUND MARS
Legion of Superheroes Headquarters, Fitness level

ROLL CALL
Legion of Superheroes
Cosmic Boy aka Rokk Krinn: magnetism
Element Lad aka Jan Arrah: elemental transmutation
Gravity Kid aka Tel Vole: gravity manipulation
Kid Computo aka Danielle Foccart: cyberempathy
King Canary aka K'rk T'wiiu III: sonic generation
Life Lass aka Somi Gan: matter animation
Phantom Girl aka Tinya Wazzo: leader; intangibility
Strut: electrochemical perceptions, insectoid physiology
Sun Boy aka Dirk Morgna: heat and light generation
Timber Wolf aka Brin Londo: super-strength and super-agility

Nightstone aka Giavana Markova: Legion ally; geokinesis

Legion Applicants
Dogstar aka Rufus Remulus: Daxamite-level flight, strength, speed, durability, stamina, senses; solar vision
Mirage Master aka Jeeve Swiner: illusion generation
Nature Boy aka Lilin Luin: control over natural phenomena
Night Owl aka K'ria K'llor: darkness generation
Quiz Queen aka Michel Marvina Jemimala Colby-Wolfington: ability to instantly learn all there is to know about any one subject
Sheranee Shah: enhanced physical characteristics, night vision, solar-fuelled starbolts, tactile language absorption, animal empathy
Sizzle aka Teela Spuunvll: energy conversion
Slug aka Kes Mtsto: inertron form and projectiles
Transposition Lad aka Kappa Snarrk: teleportational transposition
Truth Girl aka Oliv Hollowai: truth sense, carries the Golden Perfect

In this area of the Legion's new headquarters dedicated to combat and power training, there were usually at least two or three Legionnaires honing their skills or superhuman abilities at any given moment. The enormous room had multiple forcefield generators to divide the space into as many discrete compartments as necessary, but these forcefield generators were not in operation today. Instead, ten Legionnaires stood in the centre of the room alongside the girl sometimes known as Nightstone and the ten applicants they'd selected to take part in the final stage of their new tryout process.

"I want to congratulate you all for making it this far," Phantom Girl addressed the hopeful new faces. "And I'd also like to thank you for indulging us while we try out this new approach to tryouts." There was some nervous tittering at her tame play on words, and Tinya continued. "I know that some of you were on Mars the last time the Legion hosted a tryout, and I'm sure the rest of you saw the chaos that came out of that day on many many news holocasts. We realised that we can't keep hosting Legion tryouts the way we used to; in the old days, we might have had a few dozen sentients turn up and two thirds of those were overeager fans or other people it was easy to weed out as not having approached us with genuine intentions. These days, the Legion tryouts attract thousands of applicants from all across the United Planets and beyond, and honestly it's gone way past the stage where we can just have all of those people turn up on our doorstep and start throwing energy bolts around."

Tinya gestured toward a mildly embarassed teenage girl with dreadlocks as she continued. "At this point, I'd like to thank Nightstone for her tireless work with the Bina Nawoti Foundation. We asked Nightstone if she thought there were any prior Legion applicants that we may have been too hasty in dismissing, and some of you have her to thank for your invitation to take part here today...the rest of you responded to our open call for applicants, along with literally thousands of other potential Legionnaires. It might normally have taken us a month or longer to pore through all of those applications to find the best and the brightest, but fortunately we have Kid Computo and a couple of people with Daxamite class superspeed on our side. And so we narrowed that very daunting list of applicants down to you ten in under a day, and now here we all are. This has been a very quick process to be sure, but I don't want any of you to think it's been a reckless one. None of you would be here if a majority of the Legion didn't think you might be a good fit for our team. And so, without further ado..."

Following Phantom Girl's cue, Kid Computo gave a slight nod and put her power into play. A muffled humming noise came from the floor nearby, and panels slid away to reveal some kind of round multi-seated contraption. Simultaneously, cylindrical podium-like consoles emerged in front of each of the Legionnaires. "You've all made it this far based on your skills, powers and relative experience levels, but we still need to see you in action. We've done this in different ways in the past, with various degrees of risk. Thanks to our new Tryout Machine, the risk factor should be all but eliminated. Danielle, this is your baby...would you like to take it from here?"

"Thanks, Phantom Girl." Danielle Foccart kept talking while Phantom Girl logged in to her console. "To be honest, most of this was Evolvo Lad...I just followed his instructions. But the Tryout Machine is basically a virtual environment for you all to show us what you can do. Remember the biometrics we made you all go through when you first came on board? We use those to create your user profiles, and then we can put you through a course of challenges to gauge your strengths and weaknesses. While you're in there it'll feel real, and out here we Legionnaires will be able to monitor you and see everything you guys see."

The Tryout Machine looked almost like some kind of theme park ride. It was composed primarily of yellow metal tubes and bars, with cozy seats forming an outer ring that faced away from the delicate technology that formed the majority of the machine. Each seat had a visor with headphones that could be lowered for full immersion into the virtual environment, and soft restraints to prevent anyone accidentally lashing out in the real world. The applicants circled the Tryout Machine, eyeing it curiously.

One of the applicants was a Pseudatanian; a race of enormous limbless creatures that resembled human-sized Terran slugs. The alien's body was a dull metallic grey, and upon their back they wore a magnetically attached accessory which resembled a kind of flat rounded pink disk with four raised chrome domes surrounding it. "Kid Computo?" the slug-like applicant's body stayed facing the Tryout Machine but their eyestalks twisted to face her. "Uhh, Slug isn't sure these seats are gonna fit Slug..."

"Don't worry, big guy!" Danielle smiled as she approached. Slug was at least seven feet long and maybe half as wide, they were right that there was no way they'd fit into one of these seats.

"We thought of everything!" Danielle Foccart gave Slug a cocky wink, and two of the chairs clicked and clacked together in seamless motion to form a sort of flatbed capable of holding Slug's mass. "You'll need to retract your eyestalks, but we can make the immersion helm big enough for ya as well."

Another of the applicants resembled another Earth animal, albeit a normal-sized one; Night Owl was a great horned owl with black wingtips and saucer-sized eyes that glowed a bright gold. She hopped across to the much smaller King Canary, and spread her wings wide as she kowtowed low to the floor. "Forgive my enthusiasm but I wish to thank you for this honor, Your Highness. I swear on my life that I will not disappoint you."

"Grife, come on...not in front of the Legion!" King Canary grumbled quietly. "It's okay, just...just stand up for sprock's sake!"

Element Lad walked up to Dogstar and shook the humanoid canine's hand. "Not that I suspect you'll need it, but good luck my friend."

Gently illuminated by his own power, Dogstar's firm grip emitted a comforting warmth. "Thank you, Element Lad...we will see if Solas shines upon me today so far from my home."

Another of the applicants was a perky young woman with the figure of a dancer. She had skin the color of burnt orange, and a thick head of hair that was a more vivid orange. Her unkept bangs half-obscured her round amber eyes, and a silk headband held the rest of her wild mane back. She wore a midriff-bearing sleeveless top and a sarong the same blend of shifting sunny colors as her headband, and she was adorned in daintily engraved golden jewellery; earrings, rings on her fingers and toes, a belly button piercing, necklaces, bangles around her wrists and anklets above her bare feet. She jingled delicately as she approached the two applicants nearest to her. "My name is Sheranee!" she burst out with a wide grin. "I'm half-Tamaranean, I wield starbolts like the ancient Queen Koriand'r herself! Isn't this exciting? What do you girls do?"

"My name's Sizzle," a slightly taller red-skinned woman began before she was rudely interrupted.

"You may call me Quiz Queen!" a shorter girl announced imperiously. Her own blonde hair was styled into an elaborate pompadour with a jewelled tiara perched on top. Her enormous collar was equally ornate, and her tiny frame was buried beneath a royal purple cloak. "I have been blessed by the Orakills of Orando to know any subject of my choosing as intimately as I please! Of course, what I wish to know right now is how I'm expected to be seated within this device without ruining my hair! Phantom Girl!!"

Sheranee and Sizzle gave each other a sideways glance at their fellow applicant's overblown sense of entitlement, but before anybody could say anything more an emerald flash of light filled the wide open space and five completely new people appeared in the room.

A lanky green-skinned applicant realised instantly who these newcomers were, and his eyes widened. "That--that's--"

"We are the Fatal Five, worm!" The Emerald Empress decreed to the assembly of heroes. "And we have come to destroy the Legion of Superheroes once and for all!"

"Danielle!" Phantom Girl barked. "Get Nightstone and the applicants out of here and call for backup! Legion--"

Some of the Legionnaires had already leaped into action, but not fast enough. The Emerald Eye of Ekron cast its evil glare upon the heroes, and a wide beam of energy washed over every one of the Legionnaires in the room. They were all knocked out instantly, leaving Nightstone and the applicants to face Tharok, Validus, Mano, the Persuader and the Emerald Empress alone.

"That's the original Fatal Five!" the tall young green man who'd first identified the villains finished his outburst.

"But that doesn't make sense!" Slug responded. "The original Fatal Five haven't been together in forever!"

"They're together now!" Dogstar intercepted another beam from the Emerald Eye that had been meant for the group as a whole, and he was blasted across the room and half-buried in a wall. "Move the Legionnaires to safety!" Dogstar bellowed as he pulled himself free.

"We're gonna die," yet another applicant stared in wide-eyed horror at the group of villains. He was a long-haired young man in a flowing tan robe, and he was too frozen in fear to even notice Tharok levelling his cyborg arm up at him. "Great Gaea, we're all going to die..."

"We are not going to die!" A dark-skinned young woman from Earth rebuked him. Clothed in a golden metallic bodysuit with matching arm-length fingerless gloves and a choker, she carried a gleaming gold lariat which any student of Terran history would instantly recognise as having once belonged to the legendary heroine Wonder Woman. She lassoed the terrified young man to pull him back behind the Tryout Machine, just as Tharok unleashed a deadly stream of plasma in his direction. Tharok's assault was enough to finally get the rest of the would-be heroes moving, giving these two a moment to talk.

"I'm Truth Girl," the young woman unceremoniously dragged her captive back to meet her and released him from the lariat. "And I'm telling you, we are not going to die. But we need to work together, and we need to work with clear heads. Tell me who you are and what you can do, friend."

"I-I'm Nature Boy," he stammered. "I control natural disasters..you know, like earthquakes or hurricanes! But I can't do anything here in outer space!! Oh great Gaea--"

"You can do something," Truth Girl countered firmly. This close to the attractive young woman, Nature Boy could see that the irises of her eyes were gold as well, and the effect was striking enough to get past his fear. "You can always do something. Hey! Nightstone, right? Do you know your way around this place?"

Nightstone crawled across the floor, too scared to stand in case she caught a stray hit from Tharok or the Eye. "Barely!" she admitted as she huddled away behind the machine with them. "If we were back on Mars I could just put these chumps in a sinkhole but my power's useless here!"

"Seems to be a lot of that going around," Truth Girl smirked. The remark could easily have come off as catty, but instead the touch of humour helped the others relax a little. "Okay, let me think...Quiz Queen! I heard what you told Sheranee and Sizzle before about your power! The Fatal Five have to be doing something to stop alarms from going off or the rest of the Legion would have been here already. Do you think you can access the Legion's comms room and get a distress signal out?"

"Of course I can!" Quiz Queen seemed insulted that it was even in question. "But surely I'm of more use here? I could tell you their vulnerabilities, their secret weaknesses!"

A tremendous boom rattled their bones, and everyone's heads snapped up to watch Validus put Dogstar through the wall yet again. "No offence, Quiz Queen," Truth Girl continued, "But this is the Fatal Five. We're going to be lucky if we can stay alive, we're hardly in a position to take advantage of any weaknesses these monsters might have."

"But--" the haughty girl attempted to protest.

"No, she's right!" Nightstone snapped. "The four of us, we can't operate on their level....there's a time for being a hero and there's a time when being a hero just gets you killed. Believe me, I know. But how are we meant to get out of here? There's no way those creeps are just gonna watch us waltz out! And we can't just leave the other Legionnaires here! We need some cover...we need..." Gia's voice trailed off and a sly smile creased her face.

"Well??" Quiz Queen demanded. "Spit it out then!!"

"Quiz Queen, Truth Girl; you two weren't the only ones I invited to try out here today," Nightstone explained as her eyes scanned the room. She found the object of her search, a very panicked young man scrambling away from emerald beams, plasma blasts and chunks of Validus-launched metal and plastic. He wore a simple blue leotard with matching gloves and boots, though very little remained of what had once been his pink high-collared cape. Nightstone cupped both hands to her mouth and shouted.

"Mirage Master! Get your nass over here!"

**********

While those with less aggressive powers plotted away, the Fatal Five had taken on the rest of the would-be heroes. Validus and the Emerald Eye were both quickly wearing Dogstar down, Sheranee was dancing her way around the Persuader's attempts to slice her in two, Sizzle was trading blasts with Tharok, and Slug shot low velocity inertron pellets to keep Mano at bay while Night Owl and the tall green man who'd since identified himself as Transposition Lad hid from misfired energy bolts behind Slug's indestructible form.

"Poor Prince K'rk," Night Owl fretted, unable to tear her attention away from the unconscious form of King Canary amongst the other Legionnaires. "These monsters best not have caused him serious harm!"

"Forget about King Canary!" Slug countered. "Slug and the rest of the applicants are not gonna be able to hold the Fatal Five off for long, the applicants need a plan!"

"If we could buy that Dogstar guy a second or two, I bet he could wrap this up!" Transposition Lad joined in. "Look at him, he's like if Krypto was a real boy! Krypto and Superboy together couldn't stand up to Validus and the Emerald Empress for long though!"

"I can blind the eye," Night Owl ventured. "I have faith that my shadows are more powerful than any demon's sight!"

"I'm liking your energy," Transposition Lad thought it through, "But I'm pretty sure you're the only other one of us who can fly...why don't you go do your darkness thing on Validus there, he'd just stomp on the rest of us. I can handle the Emerald Eye."

"Very well." Night Owl spread her wings, and as she did so her feathers turned an impenetrable black. She looked now like a living shadow of a bird, her only discernible detail her huge glowing eyes. "Good luck to you, boys."

"Oh, Slug isn't a--" Slug began to explain, but she was already gone so Slug switched their attention to their other new friend. "Can Transposition Lad really handle the Emerald Eye? The Emerald Eye is super powerful!"

"Can I handle the Emerald Eye?" Transposition Lad repeated in jest. "You just watch what I can do, my pronoun dodging pal!" His long neck craned as he panned from one part of the battle to another, waiting for the perfect opportunity to make his move. Then, just as the Emerald Eye of Ekron was about to fire on Dogstar again, the orb vanished with a sudden plink to be replaced by the Persuader's Atomic Axe. The Persuader's axe fell to the floor behind the Emerald Empress with a resounding clank, and a confused Sarya turned to see what had happened.

Meanwhile, the Persuader had been holding his axe overhead for one more strike against this annoyingly agile girl. He was as surprised as Sheranee when he found his hands suddenly gripping the Emerald Eye, and the Persuader's surprise turned to pain when the Eye unleashed the blast it had been building for Dogstar straight down upon him instead. Sheranee heard Slug and Transposition Lad release an exuberant whoop and realised they must have had something to do with this. "Thanks, boys!" she shouted across to them while the Persuader lay smoking and catatonic at her feet. "I always say one good deed deserves another, no?" Keeping the Emerald Eye in her peripheral vision, Sheranee swung to her left and unleashed a starbolt from one outstretched arm to blow Mano off his feet before he could progress any further through Slug's onslaught of projectiles.

Night Owl by now was circling Validus's head, trying to steel herself against his inhuman roars as she enveloped his monstrous cranium in the shadows trailing from her feathers.

"You're doing great, Night Owl!" Slug hollered. "Just remember, he's also got--"

"--psychic lightning!" Slug and Transposition Lad shouted at the same time.

As they spoke, Validus lashed out at the golden eyes peeking out from this sudden darkness and Night Owl felt as though her brain were on fire. With an agonised screech, she flipped backwards and spiralled down towards the ground.

Sheranee saw Dogstar speeding toward the falling owl and intercepted him. "You've got way more of a chance against this big boy than I do," she reasoned. "Let me take care of our wounded bird." She leaped up to catch Night Owl in both arms, and still somehow managed to roll in such a way as she came down to evade a blast from the Emerald Eye.

**********

While all of this was going on, Sizzle had found herself in a standoff with the Fatal Five's leader.

Tharok had been blasting her with his plasma cannon head-on for minutes now, and with every strike Sizzle had tried to find a way to turn it against him. Sizzle's gift was in converting energy from one form to another, but no matter what she chose it didn't seem to help. When she'd tried electricity, Tharok had mocked her for assuming he'd attack the Legion of Superheroes without being prepared for Lightning Lass or Lightning Lad. His robotic half's fire suppression systems rendered a flame assault useless. Turning Tharok's plasma into light or sound was equally useless because his robotic half was superbly defended from sensory overstimulation. Worse, he kept gaining ground...and Sizzle knew she had no way of dealing with the enhanced strength of his robotic half if he got close enough. She spared a quick glance to see if anybody was free to help her, but it seemed they were all equally as overwhelmed as she was.

Think, Teela! Sizzle chastised herself. She cast her mind back to not so long ago, when she was part of Takron-Galtos's resident superhero team the Workforce. That big nerd Magno must have put us through some kind of training routine where I couldn't affect someone with my powers... "That's it!" She snapped her fingers as Tharok increased the intensity of his assault once more and bathed her in white hot plasma. Effortlessly absorbing the exotic energy, Sizzle converted it into a tightly focused vibrational beam and pointed finger guns at the ceiling over the villain's head. It turned out that the panels above them were far less resistant to injury than the leader of the Fatal Five, and even as he realised what was happening Tharok was buried under a ton of plasteel.

"Enough!!" The Emerald Empress suddenly exploded. There was a brilliant green flash, and when everyone's vision cleared Sizzle, Slug, Transposition Lad and Sheranee found themselves hovering as stiff as boards within an emerald aura. Dogstar had powered through the dual assaults of the Emerald Eye and Validus, but even he was on his last legs now. Validus picked him up in one giant fist and slammed him with childish rage against the floor over and over until Dogstar was barely conscious.

"Can't Transposition Lad teleport out of here?" Slug hissed to their newfound friend beside them.

"My power doesn't work on myself and the Eye's resisting me after last time," the tall green hero explained quickly. "I can't just teleport things, Sluggo; I have to swap two things, or two...people..." A dopey grin crossed his face. "Everyone, this is either gonna be amazing or we're all about to die, so cross your fingers."

Transposition Lad forgot about trying to affect the Emerald Eye of Ekron itself and turned his attention to its mistress. While she was ranting about how she was going to slay the lot of them, he put his power into effect and

plink

suddenly Dogstar was standing where Sarya of Venegar had been; he staggered, but managed to stop himself from dropping.

More importantly, Validus now clutched the Emerald Empress in his three-fingered hand. Fortunately for her, the child-like villain had relaxed his grip significantly after bashing Dogstar into submission but he was still holding her tightly enough to crack ribs. The Empress screamed, and Validus dropped her in shocked confusion. Acting reflexively, the Eye released the heroes it had been holding and blasted Validus.

Validus flew into a mindless fury, trying to hit the Emerald Eye with his psychic lightning and thrashing out with his fists at the same time.

Tharok now finally pulled himself free from the wreckage that had buried him, and saw the chaos that had been unleashed. "These children are too untested!" Tharok's cybernetics amplified his voice. "We don't know enough about their capabilities....Empress, get us out of here!"

Another flash of emerald light blinded everyone temporarily, and then the Fatal Five were gone as quickly as they'd appeared.

Sheranee ran across to Dogstar and offered him a shoulder to lean on. "You poor thing, are you badly hurt?"

"I'm heavier than I seem, Miss," the Dalman hero swayed on his feet.

"And I'm stronger than I seem," the much shorter heroine responded as she grabbed his arm and draped it around her neck. "Now don't be silly, accept help when it's offered."

"Oh, grife!" Sizzle's eyes grew wide. "The Legionnaires! We better check on them, none of them have woken up yet!" She ran across to the nearest prone hero, but when she went to check Sun Boy's pulse she was surprised to find her hand pass straight through his throat.

"Is it...is it safe now..?" The air shimmered a few metres away and Mirage Master appeared before them. Simultaneously, the unconscious Legionnaires all shimmered into non-existence. "That Truth Girl...she really took charge and they carried the Legion out of here. They told me to stay here and cover them, they didn't want the Fatal Five to know the Legion had been taken to safety. But it's okay now, right?"

"Slug thinks it is!" the large gastropod beamed, their wide grin and elongated eyestalks giving them something of a comical appearance.

"So what do we do now?" Transposition Lad asked. "Do you think they'll be back? The Fatal Five I mean?"

"I doubt it." This was Truth Girl, coming back into the room through the secured doorway that Quiz Queen had found a way to bypass so that they could carry the injured Legionnaires out. "Because I think this simulation is over."

Truth Girl looked up at nowhere in particular with a knowing smile.

"Am I right, Kid Computo?"

**********

SOME TIME LATER

Standing before a majority of the Legion of Superheroes in their newly finished meeting room, Phantom Girl finished her speech. "...in closing, the Tryout Machine was an unqualified success. It enabled us to test potential recruits safely, without the participants suspecting that it was only a virtual environment...except for Truth Girl obviously, whose power to detect the truth in all things obviously goes way above and beyond just picking up on a criminal's white lies.

And that is as good a way as any to segue to our final item of business...I would officially like to welcome to the Legion of Superheroes Truth Girl, Dogstar, Sheranee, Sizzle, Slug and Transposition Lad. We're looking forward to many adventures together!"

While the rest of the Legion cheered and moved to congratulate their new teammates on their success, Dream Girl stayed in her seat with a worried expression and her hands clasped together tightly.

"You don't seem particularly happy, Dream Girl." Shadow Lass stood nearby, having sent Mon-El off on his own to meet the newcomers before her. "This whole thing was your idea, and Tinya practically moved the stars themselves to accommodate your prophecising. I'd have thought you'd be more satisfied, the Legion has six new members today."

"I know that," Nura replied tensely. "And I'm glad, Shady. I really am. But I hope these new kids are up to the task, because I had another vision during this meeting and soon...very soon...

...we're going to be fighting to protect time itself."

**********

EDITOR'S NOTES!
Apiaton has come up once before a loooong time ago in my fic, but all you really need to know about it is that it is home to sentient bug life

For most of the Legion applicants, this is their first appearance. These guys are the exception:
- DOGSTAR is from the planet Dalma where everyone looks like a humanoid dalmation. He has only popped up a couple times, but Element Lad was there for both of them. There's a more detailed writeup for Dogstar here
- MIRAGE MASTER and QUIZ QUEEN had a blink-and-you'll-miss-it appearance at the last Legion tryouts when Strut, King Canary, Crystal Kid and Gravity Kid joined the team
- NIGHT OWL is making her debut here and I didn't actually come out and say it in the text, but she's from King Canary's world if that wasn't obvious
- SIZZLE is of course the same Sizzle as in the Threeboot, although she has had a bit more of a weird career path in my fic - she also has a writeup here

ah I love crafty and sneaky Cham!

also love the deep dive into Durlan physiology!

Glorith and Verdant are being surprisingly cordial... why? and also callous. 3 worlds!!! though Apiation... bugs.. were they sentient?

nice checking in on the Academy kids! ah classic classroom gossip...

hah funny how everyone is unconsciously intimidated by Imra

Enigma Lass! whoa. so this is 89's surprise. floating seafoam and green... is this the Reboot Kinetix?!?! or maybe that Dominator girl they rescued from Revenant?

Whoa why did Chemical Kid leave??


applicants! whoa! nice cast here... love the creativity. hah nice seeing Dogstar again! an illusionist! Nature Boy... and seems Chinese inspired. darkness generator... ooh Sizzle came over! and the Golden Perfect, how did she gett that???


I love Tinya's intro. and how the Legion thought carefully about this, inviting and pre-vetting rather than just opening for everyone

ooh I like the Tryout Machine idea

haha love how Night Owl embarrasses King Canary

haha I love the trickery here, shades of that Reboot tryout where Umbra, Magno and Sensor made it. surprise and threaten the applicants to see how they react in danger.

some clever work here! Transposition lad rocks! and of course Dogstar is experienced

wow, Sizzle rocks too!


wow, Transpositino Lad rocks even more! and this Legion has no teleporter yet...

ah I am loving Truth Girl too!



whoa! 6 new Legionnaires, what an expansion! and all very deserving too... we get future Krypto, always nice to see a transplant from the Threeboot in Sizzle. Truth Girl and T-Lad earned their stripe for sure, Slug will be fun, and you got a half-Tamaranean - inspired by Harbi's Lexikon? glad I called it with T-Lad too



also cool of Truth Girl playing along! wow! cool power!

whew! Nura's idea huh... and protecting time itself!! whoa!!!

First cab off the rank!

Glorith knows Cham isn't in a position to challenge her so she can afford to pretend to be nice (for now anyway...)

Enigma Lass will remain an enigma for a while I think, but we are gonna get some answers on Chemical Kid before too long!


Very good question!!


And yeah actually! I've had the idea for Sheranee floating around for a while, but it never really occurred to me to make her an alien....Lexikon is such a cool character though she has rubbed off on me a bit!

I actually do have profiles written up for all the newbies, but I'm not sure if I want to put them up in the Who's Who thread just yet or let you guys find out stuff about them in-story...let me know if y'all wanna see them, otherwise I might just leave it for now!

Also I realise I should probably have put some editor's notes in that one, I will go edit it now

It has been a while since rosters were updated, so let's go!

LEGION OF SUPERHEROES
Blok: magically enhanced strength, invulnerability, speed, flight, stamina, wisdom and courage
Chameleon Boy aka Reep Daggle: Durlan shapeshifter
Chlorophyll Kid aka Ral Benem: chlorokinesis
Color Kid aka Ulu Vakk: color manipulation
Colossal Boy aka Gim Allon: growth powers
Comet Queen aka Grava: flight, gas generation
Cosmic Boy aka Rokk Krinn: magnetism
Crystal Kid aka Bobb Cohan: crystal construct creation
Dawnstar: translightspeed flight, interstellar tracking
Diamond Damsel aka Iris Jacobs: living diamond
Dogstar aka Rufus Remulus: Daxamite-level flight, strength, speed, durability, stamina, senses; solar vision
Dragonmage aka Xao Jin: dragon magic
Dream Girl aka Nura Nal: Naltorian precognition
Elastic Lad aka Jams-Ols 5: super-elongation
Element Lad aka Jan Arrah: elemental transmutation
Evolvo Lad aka Sev Tcheru: hyperevolution/devolution
Firecrest aka Staq Mavlen: weredragon
Gas Girl aka Tal Nahii: can transform into any gas
Gravity Kid aka Tel Vole: gravity manipulation
Infectious Lass aka Drura Sehpt: disease transmission and immunityInvisible Kid II aka Jacques Foccart: invisibility
Kid Computo aka Danielle Foccart: cyberempathy
King Canary aka K'rk T'wiiu III: sonic generation
Life Lass aka Somi Gan: matter animation
Light Lad aka Darvan Locke: gravity negation
Lightning Lass aka Ayla Ranzz: electricity generation and manipulation
Matter-Eater Lad aka Tenzil Kem: can eat inorganic matter in all its forms
Mon-El aka Lar Gand: Daxamite physiology
Mwindaji: tracker infused with White Lantern energy
Mysa Marvel aka Mysa Nal: magically enhanced strength, invulnerability, speed, flight, stamina, wisdom and courage
Neon II aka Zoe Saugin: infused with Green Lantern energy
Night Girl aka Lydda Jath Krinn: photosensitive super-strength
Nightwind aka Berta Skye Haris: deputy leader, wind control
Phantom Girl aka Tinya Wazzo: leader; intangibility
Polar Boy aka Brek Bannin: cryokinesis
Shadow Lass aka Tasmia Mallor: darkness generation
Sheranee Shah: enhanced physical characteristics, night vision, solar-fuelled starbolts, tactile language absorption, animal empathy
Shrinking Violet aka Salu Digby: shrinking
Sizzle aka Teela Spuunvll: energy conversion
Slug aka Kes Mtsto: inertron form and projectiles
Star Boy aka Thom Kallor: celestial mass-transference
Stone Boy aka Dag Wentim: ability to transmute to living stone
Strut: electrochemical perceptions, insectoid physiology
Sun Boy aka Dirk Morgna: heat and light generation
Supergirl II aka Laurel Kent: invulnerability
Tellus aka Ganglios: telepathy and telekinesis
Transposition Lad aka Kappa Snarrk: teleportational transposition
Truth Girl aka Oliv Hollowai: truth sense, carries the Golden Perfect
Ultra Boy aka Jo Nah: ultra-energy which can be directed into any one of strength, speed, flight, invulnerability, flash vision, penetra-vision at a time
Wildfire aka Drake Burroughs: anti-energy being

LEGION OF SUPERHEROES SUPPORT CREW
Dr Skorski: Team Physician
Jrey Lefen: Team Counsellor
M'Rissey: Business Manager
Marte Allon: Manager of Diplomacy
Trava Coruu: Communications Officer

LEGION ACADEMY
Lightning Lad aka Garth Ranzz: co-head; electricity generation and manipulation
Saturn Girl aka Imra Ardeen Ranzz: co-head; telepathy

Amp aka Ming Sul: amplification of any power or characteristic
Dragonwing aka Marya Pai: acid venom, fire breath
Enigma Lass: ?
Key Kid aka Miqui Ver: ability to bypass any man-made barrier
Lullabye Lad aka Waiane Wentim: Zwennite physiology, narcoleptic induction
Sojurn aka S'jn: interdimensional cephalopod; teleportation, telekinesis, telepathy
Variable Lad aka Oaa Tseldor: abilities change with each manifestation

49 Legionnaires, wow!

Am really digging the mix of "elevated" characters from canon (Nightwind, Infectious Lass, Dragonmage, Sizzle, Gravity Kid, Crystal Kid, Gas Girl...) + some very new and creative ones (Transposition Lad, also LOL at his surname Snark) , King Canary, Truth Girl, Strut...

re profiles, I would love to see them, but if you prefer to let us find out in-story am all for it! whichever suits you better as the writer and creator

saw your author's notes late: was Quiz Queen the entitled failed tryout candidate who was telling people to get off Nightstone's floating rock so the rest could escape? lol!

Also, again, really cool idea to have the Legion actively go and invite others to try out, I really love this idea, from a Human Resources standpoint it makes so much sense!

Quiz Queen WAS the unbearably entitled person on Nightstone's rock!

Nightstone thought the potential usefulness of her power might overcome her awful personality but I guess they can't all be winners

haha I am loving Nightstone more and more. I love how she stayed conscious when all the Legionnaires were playing possum lol!

I wonder, would Nightstone potentially be considered a Support Crew member? she works for the Foundation, so it's a bit different, but...

it WAS pretty clear from the proceedings, that the 4 who didn't make it (Nature guy, Quiz Queen, Night Owl, Mirage Master) did so cause of personality, rather than usefulness of powers. Owl was too distracted by King Canary + didn't think tactically, Quiz Queen was sooo gosh darned entitled and would have dozens of Buzzfeed articles written about her today, and the other two just fell apart under pressure and had to be instructed

I did think about that actually, but even with her referring applicants to the Legion it's more like that's just a facet of her work with the Foundation as opposed to her working directly to support the Legion; at some point we'll see it more in an actual story, but I like to think the majority of her work is seeing if people would be good fits for the Science Police on different planets or finding jobs where their kooky powers might actually be really useful instead of just weird, that kinda thing.

And I am glad you got the personality thing - I wanted to show that all the ones who made it onto the team have really good qualities outside of just their power in terms of leadership or teamwork or stuff like that

ah, Nightstone is like a dispatcher/jobs placement person, got it

oh yeah for sure, the 6 who made it in all had great displays of teamwork, courage, ingenuity alongside their powers (Sizzle doing the indirect bit versus Tharok, Sharanee helping Dogstar and Night Owl, T-Lad's tactical brilliance , Truth Girl's leadership, Slug just being awesome, and of course Dogstar, etc...) so well done for making that clear!

IN ORBIT AROUND MARS
Legion of Superheroes Headquarters, Slug's quarters

ROLL CALL
Neon aka Zoe Saugin: infused with Green Lantern energy
Slug aka Kes Mtsto: inertron form and projectiles
Strut: electrochemical perceptions, insectoid physiology
Transposition Lad aka Kappa Snarrk: teleportational transposition

"Thanks for helping Slug move in!" the Legion's first gastropod member addressed the other three Legionnaires here with them.

"We're buddies now, Sluggo!" Transposition Lad replied cheerfully as he deposited one of many sealed crates onto a growing pile in the corner of the room. "And buddies help buddies!"

"Besides which," Strut added, dumping two more crates on the pile. "I must say, it's lovely to have another non-mammal in the group!" The flamboyant insectoid swivelled immediately toward Neon and Transposition Lad. "No offence meant, you're both wonderful too of course!"

"Well, obviously." Neon rolled her eyes with a wry smile. "Slug, where do you want these?" A winding beam of emerald light snaked out from her ring finger to form a floating pallet which bore six more large crates.

Slug directed her to one of the wide open room's few empty areas, and Zoe gently lowered the crates. "You've sure got a lot of stuff...hey, how come half of these have Cosmic Boy's name on them? And Magnetic Kid? Who's Magnetic Kid?"

"You don't know who Magnetic Kid is??" Transposition Lad's jaw dropped.

"That's just Slug's memorabilia," Slug answered Neon a little self-consciously. "Souvenirs, things like that."

"Oh dear." Strut lowered two more limbs to the ground so that he could come down and meet Slug on their own level. "You're not heartbreakingly obsessed with Cosmic Boy, are you? Night Girl really doesn't strike me as the sharing type! Of course, you'll need to tell me about this other magnetic person before I know how much shock to feign."

"What? No!" Slug wobbled with laughter. "Cosmic Boy is just...well, Cosmic Boy is kind of Slug's hero, and so is Magnetic Kid. Magnetic Kid is Cosmic Boy's sibling...Magnetic Kid made the ultimate sacrifice during the Magic Wars."

"You two really don't know who Magnetic Kid is??" Transposition Lad persisted.

"Okay, I get it, we're bad superheroes," Neon replied. "But...why those two specifically? I mean Cosmic Boy's great and I didn't know Cos had a sibling who died, that's really sad. I'm sure Magnetic Kid was a great hero too, but--"

"Cosmic Boy and Magnetic Kid are from Braal," Slug explained, "Braal is a very poor world...like Slug's homeworld, Pseudatania. Slug always thought...if a Braalian could help form the greatest superhero team in the galaxy, and if another Braalian could follow in Cosmic Boy's footsteps...then maybe Slug could do something good too. Slug knows that probably sounds silly..."

"It certainly does not sound silly!" Strut chastised him. "We love a good inspiration story, darling!"

"And you're here now, right?" Transposition Lad added. "So it can't have been all that dumb!"

"Hey!" Zoe suddenly changed the subject. "Slug, Transposition Lad - actually, what's your real name? Transposition Lad is kind of a mouthful!"

"Kappa," Transposition Lad replied, then after a pause; "So, wait. You two know about the Magic Wars at least, right??"

Zoe waved the question away. "Speaking of magic...I was gonna check up on my friend Xao today anyway, he's heading to Khund territory. Slug, Kappa; you wanna meet two more Legionnaires?" She'd already created a large flat screen in various shades of green as her flight ring put a call through to Dragonmage.

The two new recruits eagerly agreed, and soon a green-tinted Dragonmage and Mysa Marvel appeared before them all. "Xao, Mysa! Strut's here with me, we wanted to introduce you to Slug and Transposition Lad!"

"Oh, uh...hello," a clearly distracted Dragonmage answered. "I'm very pleased to meet you both, but Zoe...this may not be the best time."

"Dragonmage is right, I'm afraid we'll need to call you back!" Mysa added quickly. "I hope you two are settling in well, sorry to cut this short!"

Dragonmage ended the signal, and Zoe was visibly taken aback. "Okay, that was weird..."

Meanwhile, an astronomical distance away, Xao Jin watched as the emerald beam that had piggybacked all the way here on flight ring subspace relays fizzled out of existence. Dragonmage traded an unsettled glance with Mysa Marvel, then both Legionnaires turned their attention to the Khund superteam standing before them in this rusted old airlock; Echo, Flederweb, an unfamiliar four-armed cyborg who was almost as large as the hulking Bloodclaw at his side, and their leader Firefist.

"Now," Firefist addressed the two Legionnaires smugly, "Where were we?"

**********

APIATON
Low orbit, on board a Legion Cruiser

ROLL CALL
Chlorophyll Kid aka Ral Benem: chlorokinesis
Colossal Boy aka Gim Allon: growth powers
Comet Queen aka Grava: flight, gas generation
Elastic Lad aka Jams-Ols 5: super-elongation
Infectious Lass aka Drura Sehpt: disease transmission and immunity
Nightwind aka Berta Skye Haris: deputy leader, wind control
Star Boy aka Thom Kallor: celestial mass-transference

Chlorophyll Kid had been 15 minutes away from Apiaton when his newfound bond with Verdant told him that she'd evacuated the humble little world. Remembering the devastation she'd wrought on Mardru, the Legionnaire had steeled himself for the worst. He was surprised to find that Apiaton's insectoid population had weathered the sudden explosion of plant life much better than Ral Benem's homeworld had. Of course there was still a tragic loss of life, and the Legion had spent a tiring three hours helping out where they could, but all of them were relieved that things hadn't been much worse.

Now that they were all finally back on board their vessel and taking a moment to recharge, Nightwind was checking in on the team she'd led here. She'd pushed herself hard today, using her wind powers to clear away enormous tree trunks as well as freeing the native population in more subtle ways when they'd found themselves trapped. Berta didn't want to appear weak in front of the other Legionnaires though, so she continued pushing herself to make sure everyone else around her was okay. She'd just come from the cruiser's small medbay where Colossal Boy and Elastic Lad were in good spirits after having accidentally inhaled a cloud of toxic Zuunian sporeroot earlier. Leaving Infectious Lass with the boys as they recovered, Nightwind made her way to the bridge.

Comet Queen and Chlorophyll Kid were sitting by one another in a quiet section of the bridge, talking in hushed whispers. Nightwind paused as she entered the bridge, giving them time to see her before she approached them. Berta was suddenly struck with an enormous amount of pride for her friend Grava; Comet Queen had always been so much more emotionally driven than anyone else Nightwind knew, and that made her seem childish. Berta hated to acknowledge her next thought, but she'd always wondered whether Grava would really be able to fulfil the obligation she'd taken on when she married Ral Benem. Here was Comet Queen though, going through the worst thing any parent could possibly go through, and Grava wasn't screaming or bawling or demanding attention; rather, she was doing everything she could to show her husband that they were in this together.

Chlorophyll Kid's weary face looked up toward Berta and she made her move. Steadying herself on Grava's shoulder, Nightwind squatted down to bounce on the balls of her feet beside the married couple. "Grava, sweetie...Chlorophyll Kid...is there anything at all I can do for you guys?"

"Hypernova gleaming of you to ask, starshine." With wet eyes, Grava forced a smile for her friend and placed one of her own three-fingered hands over Nightwind's. "But we just need to find our little sprout, you parse?"

"I can't imagine what it's like," Berta admitted. "For what it's worth, I think you're both doing an amazing job."

"We don't have a choice," Ral answered, his voice slightly hoarse. "What Ivy's done...this is incomprehensible. I just don't know how our little girl could wind up...could end up...you know..?" Berta took a breath to reply, but Chlorophyll Kid continued in an almost rambling tone. "What I don't understand is...why Apiaton? I thought she targetted Mardru just to get at me, but Mardru is light years away from here and nobody on the Legion has any ties to Apiaton at all...Apiaton is more attuned to nature than most planets in the UP...she didn't need to bring the Green to prominence here...it just doesn't make sense, you know?"

"Nightwind?" This was Star Boy, calling over from where he was seated at the comms console. "I have Phantom Girl, she wants to talk to you."

"Sorry, guys." Nightwind stood up again and laid a hand on both their shoulders. It seemed like an empty gesture, but she felt frustratingly powerless to do anything else. Making her way across to the other side of the bridge, she leaned against a railing to face a small floating hologram of her team's leader. "Hi, Phantom Girl. You got my report earlier?"

"I did, thank you Berta. How's Chlor doing?"

"Chlorophyll Kid?" Nightwind shrugged impotently. "He's doing better than anyone could expect, to be completely honest. But listen, something he just said has made me think...why would Ivy come to a planet so far away from Mardru to take it over with plant life as well? I mean, there's no connection between them. And there's no tactical benefit to doing really much of anything to Apiaton. It doesn't really make sense, but it also makes me wonder if--"

"--if this isn't going to be the last planet she does this to?" Phantom Girl finished.

"Yes, exactly!" Nightwind couldn't help but feel a little surge of validation that her leader had come to the same conclusion.

"I don't feel nice saying this because I know how emotionally and physically exhausted you all must be..." Tinya took a deep breath, "But we don't have time for any of you to be exhausted right now. Whatever planet Ivy Arcane is going to target next doesn't have time for that. I need Chlor to find out exactly where Ivy's going next and I need you to keep your cruiser's beacon beaming strong. I'm bringing backup to join you. We're going to find our friend Cham, we're going to stop this happening to another world, and one way or another...

...we're going to end whatever scheme Glorith and Ivy Arcane have planned."

**********

MARS
Husband Hill, Legion Academy's Arqiia Memorial Campus

ROLL CALL
Legion Academy
Amp aka Ming Sul: amplification of any power or characteristic
Dragonwing aka Marya Pai: acid venom, fire breath
Enigma Lass: abilities unknown
Key Kid aka Miqui Ver: ability to bypass any man-made lock or barrier
Lullabye Lad aka Waiane Wentim: Zwennite physiology, narcoleptic induction
Sojurn aka S'jn: interdimensional cephalopod; teleportation, telekinesis, telepathy
Variable Lad aka Oaa Tseldor: abilities change with each manifestation

Lightning Lad had left the classroom moments ago to attend his twin children's birthday party, and the Legion Academy students were saying their goodbyes to one another when Dragonwing had stopped them all.

"What's up, Marya?" Lullabye Lad asked.

"Hadru leaving is what's up," Dragonwing answered. "Kid Quantum, fine; she was only ever really slumming it with us till she wanted to go home to Xanthu anyway. But why the sprock would Chemical Kid quit the Legion Academy without telling any of us?"

"I do not know, Dragonwing," Variable Lad answered uncertainly. "But we need to respect his decision, do we not?"

"Oaa, never respect a stupid decision!" Dragonwing scolded her younger classmate. "He's not answering my calls, I think we need to go make sure everything's okay with him."

"I don't know, Marya..." Lullabye Lad ventured. "...Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad said they had a big heart to heart with him when he said he wanted to go back to his homeworld..."

"Yeah well, Saturn Girl doesn't actually use her powers on someone until there's no other option," Marya Pai replied bluntly. "Nobody knows Hadru better than us, I think we should go see him in person and decide for ourselves if he needs help."

"I agree," Amp piped up. "Key Kid and I have had our own experience with someone we trusted not being what they seem, I think if Chemical Kid is acting out of character then we should definitely investigate."

"Thanks Lallor, but you're not invited," Dragonwing retorted. "This is just for Hadru's friends. And Sojurn obviously, we need them to get to Chemical Kid's homeworld."

"I've been here longer than Sojurn has!" Amp shot back. "If they get to go, Miqui and I get to go!"

Variable Lad noticed that this whole time Enigma Lass had been silently watching them, and she was now slinking toward the doorway. He knew what it was like to be an introvert among these bombastic personalities, and he didn't want this mysterious newcomer to feel excluded before she'd even really had a chance to become a part of the group. "I think we should all go to Phlon," Variable Lad announced. "It will be a good opportunity for us to become more accustomed with our new friends!"

"Absolutely not," Dragonwing shut Variable Lad down. "Oaa, you're a good kid but--"

"Or I guess those of us you leave behind could just tell Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad what the rest of you are doing," Amp interrupted. "What do you say, Miqui?"

Taken by surprise, Key Kid shook his head. "Wait, what? We wouldn't--"

"Oh, sprock. Fine!" Marya fumed. "Sojurn; you can just teleport us all to Chemical Kid, right? Back to his homeworld Phlon?"

<I can transport us to Chemical Kid's location> Sojurn's ever calm telapathic voice projected to them all. <Should we advise our teachers of our intentions?>

"Grife, just do it!" Dragonwing snapped.

In response, the alien cephalopod extended their many limbs so that the rest of their class could make physical contact with them. An orange glow built up around Sojurn, and then the entire group vanished.

**********

yay more good stuff!!

Cosmic Boy and Magnetic KID are... is this confirmation that Pol is alive and well? (I think I asked this before but I may have forgotten...!)

it's also funny that Slug and T-Lad are such Legion nerds, whereas slightly more tenured Zoe and Strut are just completely clueless about who poor Pol is!

ah ok, poor Pol is indeed dead! Wait, are you subtly hinting at some time shenanigans, cause I would expect Zoe and Strut to have seen the Hall of Heroes by now and also that they don't know about the Magic Wars. is this a clue?

or does Slug just really use the present tense when it means past tense?

so cool that T-Lad is named Kappa. homage to our fellow LWer? or...

oh! uh oh, makes sense that Veilmist's earlier presence would draw Firefist and company over...

good to see the Legion doing some relief missions. And glad that many of the locals on Apiaton survived....

so sweet of Berta, recognizing how Grava is stepping up

and also loving the thinking-ahead bit (figuring out what Verdant's next target is) and everyone's determination to stop Verdant and Glorith at their next stop!

figures Marya would wanna check up on Hadru - but it IS very sus that he'd up and leave suddenly, and without telling anyone! and also Marya's insight that Imra wouldn't read Hadru's mind uninvited

"this is just for Hadru's friends!" lol at Marya!


so sweet of Variable Lad to think about Enigma!

lol at Amp's check-mating of Marya!

well, three nice cliffhangers here, raz! looking forward to what happens next!

Hi IB!

The Magic Wars still happened and Pol is sadly still quite dead....that whole scene was really more about Slug & T-Lad being huge nerds while Zoe & Strut are maybe just a tiny bit too self-involved to be spending a lot of time hanging around a creepy hallway full of dead people they don't know, although I see how you read it as dropping hints of something more now that I go back and look at it again

Kappa as a name it turns out is just a happy coincidence...I think I mashed some of those character names together from writer names in the old letter columns; I definitely got the idea for Transposition Lad's power from one of those reader-submitted character suggestions. I actually meant to drop another factoid about T-Lad in that scene and forgot about it, but that just means there is another fun thing to find out about him at some stage!

re Apiaton: I figured a bunch of bugs who already live in harmony with nature anyway would be less bothered by a bunch of plants popping up everywhere than an industrialised world of human-size people were...also, I like increasing the stakes for the big bad guys but I don't wanna go slaughtering half the galaxy every other month

...It IS quite sus that Hadru just up and quit, isn't it? We will definitely find out what that was all about next time around, with bonus guest villains from some old-school Legion comics!

Hey raz thanks for clarifying, I love that I can pick your brain and hear directly from the creator re intent, instead of going round concocting my own fan theories lol

Yeah definitely, Zoe and Strut are def more self absorbed compared to TLad and Slug

And I feel you re Apiaton, i always struggle with making villains a threat without killing too many innocents… as a writer i know that people die all the time, but I also like my bright and shiny future so… ;p

As always super looking forward to the next bit!

Raz, hi there, happy to see that you've been busy! I'll post my thoughts as I'm reading.

Tinya's scene with your new communication officer, Trava, highlighted how much she feels - the planet below has been virtually destroyed (certainly the human accomadating part to it) and one of her oldest friends hasvanished. Yes he's very capable and resourceful, but... I felt for Tinya in this small scene.

And speak of the Durlan... nice that he has the sense to bide his time before sneaking away, and they've managed to hammer another world already? Wow! That's very fast work! Show's just how powerful the two women are. Ah, watch out for those sleepy-plants Reep. Oh too late

Garth's thoughts were very sweet: guilt over something he couldn't control and listening to - and appreciating - Imra's advice. He's a good egg, isn't he?

89? Wow, that was a surprise, last time we saw her was against the Lallorian mutants wasn't it? Wonder what her surprise is? It must have something to do with either Winath or Mekt or the Academy or she's have approached a full Legionnaire.

Xao and Mysa Marvel - great combo! So, we're going to find out Harlacks last wishes then, fab.

it seemed caused more by bittersweet affection than grief - nice line!

Xao asking Mysa if she missed it - I want to know the same thing And you've dodged it with some action, haha.

Vista is too cool! Bye bye Xao, how can anyone stop her - unless perhaps they have a mirror?

Ah, that's hpw Xao is one of the most powerful Legionnaires if used right - from my very limited reading of him I didn't think he was in canon, so it's good to read your take on him Raz, show the boy some respect, he summons dragons after all!

He almost danced these dragonforms into creation - another tremendous line, creates a really nice picture!

Nice use of blood magic there by Scorn. She's a bad egg, so she is but I still find her fascinating.

Nice! Xao recovering enough to cast a real offensive spell. White Bat is sneaky, and pretty scary really. Good catch Mysa.

Funny how quickly Vista backs down when Mysa returned Didn't expect them to be after Harlack. Another mystery to tease us readers with Great little scene, and nice mystery to leave us with.

Mysa's pragmatism at the end was very in character too, as the Witch she would often do things because it was the right thing to do, so it follows that as a Marvel she would too. And why does Vista seem so shocked? I can't remember if she's one of the Justice League from the future or not, though that was my first thought - she wanted to take out someone that'll cause problems in the future.

Great scene between Shady and Tinya, you really showed how close they are and how much they respect each other's opinions. I can see both sides of their POV regarding Chlorophyll Kid returning, though am glad that he has.

And new recruits? Yay! You teased that one of the characters in your who's who would become a Legionnaire - I vote for either Veilmist (twist, she was playing the Sisterhood all along) or Dogstar, as teams need more talking animals

This is great but I'm runniing out of time Raz, sorry but I'll complete my reviews on Friday.

Hi Harbi! I am glad you like Vista, those girls are gonna be causing trouble again before too long! I dig the mirror idea, kinda wish I had a Reflecto on my team to see what would happen now!

It is fun writing different magic users and coming up with ways to differentiate them, I don't really get to do it as often as you do with your guys!

You are pretty on the ball with a couple of your points as well, although I won't say any more on that as you'll probably get confirmation by the time I post my next instalment up!