Legion World Forums LEGION OUTPOST Bits o' Legionnaire Business Post ZH Legion: Volume 5 - What Makes Us Special (August 26, 2023)

Feel daunted by the length of this thread? You can also check out the Recap Thread to catch up!

VOLUME 5: What Makes Us Special

Swizzar

Swizzar is a quiet world of botanical wonders, with one of the greatest densities of endemic plant species of any United Planets world. Its native race of butterfly-like sentients are botanical experts with a vast wealth of knowledge of plant care, and an almost intuitive ability to learn about new plant species.

When the Elementals were released, the Air Elemental possessed Flutter. They wrought havoc on a small section of Swizzar before departing, killing dozens of locals and offworlder scientists.

Most Swizzarians have been content to spend their lives on their homeworld, but one, Swallowtail, has recently joined the Legion Cadet program. Recently, more and more Swizzarians are also opting to study and work offworld to expand their knowledge of plants - and to encourage other worlds to embrace plant life more.

- The Anthropological Almanac

Active Legionnaires

Babbage, I-45ENG/Nth Series of Robotica; combat mechanoid
Kinetix, Zoe Saugin of Aleph; telekinesis and animation of objects; affinity for magic
Microbe, Drura Sehpt of Somahtur; control harmful and beneficial microorganisms
Rebound, Chuck Taine of Earth (Canada and Uzbekistan); inflates into a durable bouncing form

Reserve Legionnaires (Still in the Legion Cadet program)

Swallowtail of Swizzar; flight, scales from wings can refract light and cause effects such as hallucinations, sleep, paralysis

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

Swallowtail forced herself to keep her feet on the Legion cruiser's floor as they exited the Threshold. Their Kwai guide saluted, then jumped back to the Threshold to Legion World. And Swizzar hung in the distance.

Beside her, Microbe was making notes. "Our Kwai guide has declined to accompany us to Swizzar. He says he is more interested in navigating the spaceways. I have to note though, Shikari, that more of your people are showing interest in actually exploring the planets they guide us to..."*

Swallowtail didn't really register what was being said. She wasn't sure what was giving her more excitement: that she was returning to her homeworld; or that she was doing so on a real Legion of Super-Heroes mission!

As a Reservist, she'd been on a couple of missions before, but going on one to her own homeworld...!

"Easy there, Swallowtail," Microbe said, not unkindly. She had already set their course, so she could relax. Her small smile showed that she understood. "Your wings are twitching up a storm there."

"Oh!" Swallowtail self-consciously glanced behind her. She could feel the blushing in her cheeks; at least, she knew she had enough control over her abilities that the effect-causing scales weren't shedding!

"Jitters going back home?" Microbe asked. Swallowtail nodded breathlessly. "I remember my first time going back home to Somahtur after becoming a Legionnaire," Microbe continued. "It was... an experience."

"I really don't know HOW they'll react," Swallowtail blurted out. "We've all heard of the Legion, but I don't think the Legion has ever been to our world, and... it's different, seeing everyone on holos, and..." She flushed. "What if they act weird around me?"

"When I went home, some people acted differently, but many did treat me the same." Drura turned to the Cadet and smiled. "Just remember, you probably have changed from their view - but that's because of the experiences you've been through. Deep down, you're still the same, and you can show them that."

"Thanks," Swallowtail smiled.

Beside Microbe, Babbage chimed in. "Apologies for keeping silent. Despite my processing speed, I cannot sustain quite as many processing-tracks as, say, Brainiac 5... Multi-tasking does slow me down, and I appreciate that it will take much of my attention to land properly on Swizzar."

Swallowtail blanched again. "Our government was supposed to improve the spaceports..."

"It was not meant to be a criticism, Swallowtail, I apologize," Babbage intoned. "I do realize that we have to take a cruiser because Swizzar has not yet acceded to the Threshold protocols, because the United Planets is still studying whether our technology will damage the local environment. And by proper landing, I meant doing so without damaging the local flora."

Mollified, Swallowtail leaned back with a gasp of relief.

"We will make planetfall soon," Microbe said gently. "Take a breath, Swallowtail, you'll be fine.

In the back of the cruiser, Kinetix was on a holo-call with Violet. She looked around to make sure nobody could hear: Rebound was in the toilet, and the other three were too far away. She eagerly nodded to her best friend. "Well?!"

Violet giggled. "It... was... amazing!"

"Oh! I wish you could give me all the juicy details now!" Kinetix breathed. "Later. But tell me, did you do that thing I told you Brek likes?"

"I tried, and Tenzil said it was too ticklish!" Violet grinned, eyes flashing mischievously. "But I can say, there was a lot of juiciness...!" Both Kinetix and Violet laughed atr that.

"I'm so happy for you both," Zoe gushed. "It's about time, and I'm glad you just out and asked Tenzil!" Zoe peeked over her Omnicom. "Okay, gotta go, we're entering Swizzar's atmosphere. But! You owe me the full story later!"

"Promise," Violet said, before ending the call.

Zoe tucked her Omnicom away, then folded her legs under her as she used her telekinetic field to levitate. Sitting in a descending cruiser made for great practice; she had to monitor the cruiser's speed to keep herself floating in the exact same position relative to its walls. She concentrated...

"Kinetix?"

Zoe's eyes popped open to find Rebound biting his lip at her.

Sighing inwardly, she stretched her legs out, though remained floating. "Yes, Chuck?"

"Funny isn't it, the four of us..." Chuck gestured. "We're the same four who fought Brawler."

"We talked about it while you were in the toilet," Zoe said flatly. "Apparently, M'Rissey decided to run some simulations on the effectiveness of mission team combinations, and thought to try out the random quartets that fought each Zodiac sign. I'm sure some of the others are going to give him an earful for that."

"Ah, yeah, I can see how it's kind of insensitive, and..." Chuck looked away.

Zoe tried her best not to roll her eyes. "You want to ask me something, Chuck. Go for it."

"Ah, well..." Chuck tapped his fingers together. "Well, Luornu, and XS, and Tenzil, and Vi, they all say you're so worldly, and..."

Zoe sighed. How the sprock had she gotten such a reputation? It was awkward enough when Lori Morning had asked her about getting Rond Vidar's attention,** but now even some of her shyer teammates were coming to her for advice. This was why Zoe was taking greater pains not to gossip about things with Violet where others could hear! "Yes, Chuck? We're about to land, so just spit it out!"

Chuck gulped. "Well, ah, see, Luornu does... um... she kinda wants to try this... um..."

Zoe held her palm out and closed her eyes. "Okay, I don't want to know the details, Chuck!" She muttered under her breath. Gossiping with her best friend Vi was one thing; she didn't want to know all of the torrid details of her other teammates' sexual lives! "Look, you're obviously not comfortable doing whatever she wants you to do. My advice is: talk to her openly. Tell her you're not. Work it out together, you're both adults, and mature ones at that."

Chuck's eyes bulged, and he nodded silently. Zoe continued, "And if it's Lu, make sure you either talk to her un-triplicated, or with all three of her at once. Preferably the latter - just to be sure whatever she wants you to try, is something all of her wants too!"

Chuck pursed his lips and tapped his finger on his chin. "Hey, come to think of it, she seemed reluctant when she asked me. Maybe only Purple wants it!" He suddenly took Zoe's hands in his own and shook them vigorously. "You are a genius! You are THE best person for relationship advice!"

"Please, don't go trumpeting that around," Zoe gingerly pulled her hands from Chuck's grasp. "Enough people have tried asking me for advice as it is..."

"Buckle in, everyone!" Microbe called from the front. "We're about to land!"

"Finally," Zoe said under her breath, as she sat down. "Maybe I should just write an anonymous advice column... not!"

Beside her, Chuck whistled happily as he began thinking of how to talk to Luornu. Maybe over a nice dessert...

Below them, Swizzar loomed closer.

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

IB's notes:

1) This bit about the Kwai, stems from the end of Volume 4. The Zodiac's Rooster was a disgruntled Kwai, and Shikari and Kwai Matriarch Enkenent have been talking about giving Kwai more opportunities to do more than just guide people through Thresholds...

2) Legionnaires 39! Lori had a crush on Rond for a while, when Lori was physically aged to 21 (but still had the mind of a 10-year old).

Also, in case you missed it: I've written Bios for every Active Legionnaire, Honorary Legionnaire, and some of the Reserve Legionnaires over here!

https://www.legionworld.net/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1025308#Post1025308

Feel daunted by the length of this thread? You can also check out the Recap Thread to catch up!

VOLUME 5: What Makes Us Special

Linsnar

The inhabitants of Linsnar are bio-mechanical techno-morphs, able to alter their body structure to generate tools and machinery. When the United Planets first made contact with Linsnar, this native ability generated much alarm. However, it soon became apparent that there was little to fear from Linsnarians. The all-encompassing philosophy is that Linsnarians exist as tools for others; before Linsnar discovered other planets, every Linsnarian toiled in service of their homeworld, under the direction of a coordinating council. Coordinating, not ruling; everything was done in service of society as a whole.

The few Linsnarians who went offworld, did so to gain new experiences and knowledge that they could bring back. They tended to follow orders unquestioningly.

The first documented case of a Linsnarian questioning their philosophy is Gear of the Legion of Super-Heroes, who turned against the wardens and guards of the Blackstar Juvenile Correction Facility upon seeing that they were abusing their prisoners. Recently, a second Linsnarian has been found doing so - S.I.R.I, who joined the criminal operations of Ragulti Agonal on Corvan IV.

It remains to be seen whether other Linsnarians will choose their own paths, and how Linsnarian society will evolve.

- The Anthropological Almanac

Active Legionnaires

Andromeda, Laurel Gand of Daxam; enhanced speed, strength, invulnerability, vision powers, flight
Gear, I.Z.O.R. of Linsnar; bio-mechanical techno-morphing
Gravity, Tel Vole of Earth (Cambodia and Thailand); gravity manipulation
Saturn Girl, Imra Ardeen of Titan; telepathy

Reserve Legionnaires (also Legion Support Staff)

Tomb, unpronounceable of Sarccus; controls others' bodily functions (Legion medical staff)

Reserve Legionnaires (Still in the Legion Cadet program)

Healer, Mend'rr of Jaquaa; accelerates natural healing by borrowing strength from others

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

still on Legion World...

"Wow..." Healer breathed as their briefing concluded. He wasn't sure what fascinated him more; the Legion World Threshold Chamber with all its hustle and bustle; going on an actual mission as a Reserve Legionnaire; or...

He turned to Gear. "You're actually mentioned in the Almanac entry! This is so cool!"

"Eh, you should see how often Cosmic Boy is mentioned," Gear deflected. "Articles about the Legion, articles about Magno-ball, why if I were his brother Pol..."

Saturn Girl and Andromeda traded looks, abandoning their conversation about M'Rissey's controversial idea to form teams based on the recent Zodiac battles*. Imra nodded, and Andromeda moved forward. "Okay, we're going into a situation with a lot of unknowns, so let's go through our protocols. Healer, what precautions would you take?"

"T-" Gravity began, then bit off. He mentally kicked himself; he had been a Legionnaire for long enough to stop acting like a Cadet still competing with Mentalla and Echo for who could answer first! He watched as Healer began listing down safety protocols such as wearing a transuit, while Andromeda pretended not to have heard Tel. To cover his embarrassment, he turned to Tomb. "You've never been to Linsnar before, have you Tomb?"

"Is our first Legion mission there," Tomb said simply.

"Okay, yeah well I've never thought of going there for tourism either..."

Tomb just looked at him, then slowly blinked. Unnerved, Gravity turned to their Kwai guide. "So... you're Leos, right?"*

"Yes. It is a pleasure to meet you, Tel Vole."

"Ah, you know my name..."

"We Kwai owe the Legion much," Leos smiled.**

"Yeah... so, are you going to explore Linsnar while you are there?"

Leos shook his head with a smile. "While some of my fellow Kwai like Shikari enjoy exploring planetary environments, I am one of those who prefers the stars. Once I bring you there, I will fly back to Legion World the long way."

"Ah, well, that's nice then..."

While Tel was struggling to think of how to keep the conversation going, Saturn Girl had approached Gear. "Gear, a word please?"

"You can have two, if you want," Gear snarked.

"I know you're using humor to distract from your other emotions," Saturn Girl said quietly, with a small smile. "I promise, I'm not using my telepathy to pry..."

"No, I guess I'm just completely readable, eh?" Gear snorted.

Imra took a deep breath. Even without Invisible Kid calling her to tip her off about Gear, she would have seen it. "Gear, everyone deserves the right to privacy. But on the other hand, we are going on a mission, and if you have major issues that would hinder us from completing it..."

Gear looked away for a moment. "I've never talked to anyone about this, Saturn Girl."

"You can call me Imra." She waited for a moment. Gear breathed in deeply.

"I've never returned to Linsnar since leaving," he said quietly, head hung. "It was just so... after I realized that I am my own sentient, and I can judge right from wrong, I began to question our entire philosophy. The one drilled into me since birth." He looked up and met Imra's eyes. "I feel... sprock, I don't know HOW I feel. Betrayed, in a way. Disappointed. Maybe a bit angry."

"It must be a lot to take in," Imra tried to project a sympathetic smile. "I can imagine you need time to sort through things..."

"I'm not even sure how I will react when I see the Council. I mean, that philosophy existed long before any of them were born, but they propagated it, and..." he shook his head. "And to top it all off, the only other Linsnarian I know who questioned the teachings went to work for a bad guy!"***

Gear abruptly sat down, head in his hands. Imra awkwardly hovered for a moment, then sat down beside him.

"I never even talked to S.I.R.I..." Gear whispered.

"Gear... Do you want to sit this mission out?" Imra said. "We can say you were unavailable, call someone else to help..."

Gear sighed deeply. "No, I think I need to do this. I can't keep running away, right?" His eyes twinkled, and he broke into a grin. "I'm no super-speedster, and even XS runs towards danger when she needs to..."

"And we'll be here to support you," Imra smiled. She and Gear walked over to join the others.

Andromeda was helping Healer untangle his transuit.

Gear clapped his hands, a bit theatrically. "Okay gang, one thing to remember. On Linsnar, we used to bow and scrape, like, a lot. Comes with the whole "we are tools for others" thinking," he winked. "Just roll with it; if you don't let them be all obsequious, they're gonna feel bad about themselves. And another thing..."

As Gear rattled off tips about Linsnarian culture, Imra gave Andromeda a nod. "He's generally fine, but let's keep an eye out..." she sent telepathically. She considered saying more for a moment, then decided against. After all, Gear did deserve his privacy.

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

IB's notes:

1) Check the recap thread for the Zodiac battle lineups... but a shout out to razsolo for commenting that the two quartets in particular were very interesting (Andromeda, Gear, Gravity, Saturn Girl; and Babbage, Kinetix, Microbe, Rebound)

2) Leos appeared in Legion 5! to my knowledge, he never appeared on-panel again... Some of the things the Legion did for the Kwai? Save them from being murdered by the Progeny, bring them in contact with the United Planets so they could explore more worlds...'

3) I'm talking about S.I.R.I - check her debut here!

Time for some reading and you were right, IB! I am very excited to see these teams again!

I liked Drura's little chat with Swallowtail about going home again...it IS a weird feeling going back home for the first time after you've moved away and started a new life!

Babbage is always fun to see as well!

Zoe being the team's go to for sex advice is hilarious...I love her reaction to Chuck almost oversharing

But also, it seems like she is good at it! I like that she knows Triad well enough to know that all three of her should be involved in any decision making.

A very Tel moment with him having to remind himself not to be such an overachiever...and I am looking forward to seeing what Linsnarian society is like with the whole living tools thing! I haven't read Gear's early appearances but I get the idea that while he obviously likes being useful he doesn't really see himself as being predetermined to serve others, so it will be interesting to see what the rest of his society looks like!

heya raz, you sure read fast thanks as always for the R&R

right! I can so relate to the "going home again" bit!

Yeah, and Zoe is soooo kicking herself for being the go-to lol! but indeed, it's general relationship advice. Zoe does have a bit of a knack for reading and understanding people, though she doesn't quite have the patience to actually apply it in all of her interactions with her friends (unlike, say, Cham, who makes it a point to shift his manner as needed, heh!)

and yeah, Triad has done enough things where only one of her wants to... see, Triad Orange saying she hired Dr. Gym'll (with Purple/Neutral getting surprised - see Legionnaires 38), or Purple flirting with Superboy (while Neutral and Orange were focused on Valor - see LSH 74/Legionnaires 31)

Tel still needs to learn to relax a bit

and yeah, I've been thinking hard about how to develop the Linsnar story - aside from the "we're tools to be used" bit, it's such a blank slate!

thanks, more to come soon, though after the weekend - the temp is gonna rise and I won't be able to write while it's that hot lol!

Feel daunted by the length of this thread? You can also check out the Recap Thread to catch up!

VOLUME 5: What Makes Us Special

Swizzar

Active Legionnaires

Babbage, I-45ENG/Nth Series of Robotica; combat mechanoid
Kinetix, Zoe Saugin of Aleph; telekinesis and animation of objects; affinity for magic
Microbe, Drura Sehpt of Somahtur; control harmful and beneficial microorganisms
Rebound, Chuck Taine of Earth (Canada and Uzbekistan); inflates into a durable bouncing form

Reserve Legionnaires (Still in the Legion Cadet program)

Swallowtail of Swizzar; flight, scales from wings can refract light and cause effects such as hallucinations, sleep, paralysis

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

"Elder Birdwing!" Swallowtail 's wings were vibrating with emotion as she flew over to the elderly Swizzaran who was watching the Legionnaires exit their cruiser. Though the hair on his head was white, Elder Birdwing still stood straight-backed, with a merry twinkle in his sharp eyes.

Having been briefed by Swallowtail, the four Legionnaires gave small bows as they were introduced.

"Ah, this is one reason I like you Legionnaires so much," Elder Birdwing grinned. "You know how to show proper respect, not like many of the young larvae these days..." He motioned to the Legionnaires to follow him.

As they flew along, Babbage worked overtime cataloguing and cross-referencing various plant and invertebrate species with the United Planets databases. Microbe let her self open; she could sense many new micro-organisms, and invited them to enter her system. Kinetix marveled at the iridescent rainbow wings of the Swizzarans; she began thinking of how to incorporate such the next time she threw a costume party.

Rebound settled in beside Elder Birdwing and Swallowtail. "You have such a beautiful world," Chuck breathed. "There are every few places on Earth with this much greenery, but here I see plants everywhere!"

Elder Birdwing chuckled. "One reason we're making it difficult for tourists to come here... Our world IS pristine and beautiful, and we intend to keep it that way."

The Elder and Swallowtail regaled Chuck with stories of the various plant and animal species around; Chuck was almost startled to realize they were now coming up on a small hut. Inside, a pair of Swizzarans offered the Legionnaires refreshments. "This juice is made from a very sweet and nutritious berry," Swallowtail helpfully explained as Chuck took a glass. "My mom used to tell me it would make me taller."

Elder Birdwing took a spot at the front of the room and smiled. "Welcome, Legionnaires. Thank you for coming to us in our time of need."

"It is our pleasure to be here, and we hope to be of assistance," Microbe smiled. Kinetix resisted the urge to comment; Microbe was always extremely polite and respectful, but Zoe understood it was because of the stigma and fear surrounding Microbe's people. And besides, it did prove helpful when dealing with authority figures.

"We have reviewed the files you sent," Babbage continued. "Have there been any incidents after you notified us?"

"Thankfully, none," Elder Birdwing's smile slipped a little. "And I hope you can prevent any more from happening. This is what we know so far..."

Rebound laid a comforting hand on Swallowtail's shoulder, as Elder Birdwing went through his presentation. In the past week, three incidents occurred where witnesses reported sudden flashes of light appearing seemingly out of nowhere. Groups of Swizzarans had been caught in them; and some had vanished along with the light, once it faded. And those Swizzarans who were left behind, remained in catatonic states. All of those were now on Swizzar's main hospital.

The Legionnaires quickly conferred, and this time it was Kinetix who approached the Elder. "We will get your people back," Kinetix promised, eyes blazing.

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

Microbe kept her face still as she and Swallowtail walked through Swizzar's main hospital. She was pleasantly surprised at how modern and well-equipped it was! She had expected something much more rustic...

"This is our pride and joy," Swallowtail whispered. "We Swizzarans are normally fairly hardy, and rarely get sick. But once offworlder scientists came, we realized we had to keep them safe... and ourselves, too."

"I do sense some non-native micro-organisms here..." Microbe whispered.

"Yes, we all got inoculated upon first contact," Swallowtail continued. "Thankfully, we haven't had any disease outbreaks yet, but..."

She gasped in shock as they entered the ward where the victims were held. A couple dozen Swizzarans were sitting, one to a bed. They were straight-backed, unmoving and with open eyes staring.

"Oh my..." Swallowtail flew to one. "We went to school together..."

Microbe walked up to another. She had consulted with Brainiac 5 and Invisible Kid before arriving, so she had a shortlist of microbes she could safely use. "I'm going to learn what I can, but sadly I will need some of them awake, just to ensure we don't alter anything. In the meantime though..." Microbe cast a glance around the room. "Some of them seem to be in very poor health..."

"We've tried everything," a doctor came up to them. "I can draw up a list of medications we've tried."

"Thank you, doctor," Drura smiled warmly. "And if you could work with Swallowtail, please? I think she can help the ones who have gone without sleep the longest."

"Oh, of course, my sleeping scales!" Swallowtail beamed. She went off with the doctor.

Drura concentrated. She sent her microbes out, eager to see what they could learn...

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

Babbage's sensors and systems were whirring at full speed as it surveyed the area of the most recent incident. It was confident that with enough data points, it could trace the origin of the mysterious lights.

One running process was trying to compare the residual radiation and marks on the grass with its catalog of types of energy. Another was calculating the circumference and volume of the blast.

"Is there anything I can do to help you, Kinetix?" Rebound asked, even as Kinetix was casting her telekinetic field about to see if she could feel any objects that did not belong there.

Kinetix grimaced as she lifted a piece of rotting fruit. "My field is more sensitive than any normal pair of eyes, Rebound. But maybe you can take a look around?"

"I will," Rebound saluted, then bounced off.

Both Kinetix and Babbage continued scouring the area. Normally, Zoe would have tried to make small talk with her teammates, but... Babbage never felt the need to engage in such. Instead, Zoe absorbed herself in her work. After all, there might be a very small clue lying about...

Rebound ricocheted off a branch and in front of Babbage. "Babbage, I've found something." Babbage turned to look to where Chuck was pointing.

"That branch is hanging at such a weird angle," Chuck continued. "I checked, and there have not been any storms or gusts of wind here in the last few days..."

Babbage flew up to the branch. "Curious," it intoned as it focused its optical sensors. "It appears to be..."

Babbage never finished its sentence. The next moment, a blinding light surrounded it. It heard Kinetix cry out for Rebound to join her in her protective field...

... and then Babbage felt its circuits overload, and everything went dark.

Hey IB, thank you for your message as I'd totally missed it! Sorry, will review on Wednesday when I have a bit of time, can't wait ti see what you've done

Hi IB, some notes on your latest!

Everyone's reaction to Swallowtail's world is some good characterisation - Babbage acting like a walking Encyclopedia Galactica, Drura communing with new lifeforms, and Zoe of course being fashion-forward as usual!

Microbe is very in her element in the hospital and I love it....you have a really holistic view of how she fits in the Legion's world, it gives her a unique way to shine!

ooh, good cliffhanger!! But also, I like that Chuck's skill with spatial geometry came in handy where Zoe's power missed a clue.

This is some really good character work, world-building and a mystery all in one! I am ready for more!

Harbi - please take your time, your comments are worth waiting for, and thanks for the note

Raz, appreciate the R&R! glad you liked these little bits! and yeah, I really think Drura has more potential than "just" making people sick and I'm always a big fan of highlighting Legionnaires' knowledge and skills beyond their powers, hence the bit with Chuck

thanks, glad you liked it - more to come soon-ish!

IB, so happy to see you're writing again, and excited to jump in and find out what you've got planned for this arc.

Great to see you're making Jo grow up a bit - the ang-banger swagger is all fine and dandy but it does lead to mistakes (Tinya's burned body, being the obvious). Protein enhanced coffee sounds awful! Coffee enhanced coffee is more my thing And Jo with a dad-bod? I can think of worse things That was nice scene setting, Jo enjoying the family life - I take it something will happen at the memorial that will create a distance (literally) between Jo and Tinya?

Ah, the memorial was for Xao. That's fair enough, though I'm not too surprised that not many of the team turned up. I keep forgetting this Andromeda had the whole Space Nun thing going on, and expect her to act like the 5YL Laurel - whoops! Nice use of her though, her concern for Mysa was sweet. Does Candi need a hanky? Does she cry in her crystalline form? Dryad remembering things from when t was an actual planet kind of surprised me, and it'll be interesting to see what else it can recall. The chat between Zoe and Dirk was great - it's nice to see them as two friends. Brek boring? Never....

Vi and Tenzil make a cute couple so I'm glad to see you keeping it going. And good that they are both contributing - her place but he cooks. Intersting that she needs to explain how the grapevine works between her and Zoe. Tenzil shy? Okay, that is unexpected, he's usually the most outwardly confident team member - and, yeah, I realise this is the reboot team that I don't really know, but this was an unexpected twist. Body shame? Wow, that really was unexpected! The relationship between them was really nicely written IB, with cute jokes and serious subjects mixed into it, like a real conversation. That was handled really well.

And at the other extreme, Taryn's gossiping about Brin is fun. I'd forgotten that you've had a Leadership vote recently - am looking forward to seeing who got the top spots, and how it will affect the team. I think none of the people mentioned will get the leader post - which s a pity as I voted for one of them

Nice team for Swizzar - they were one of the Zodiac's teams, weren't they? Be great to get a back story for Swallowtail too. The Kwai wanting to investigate spaceays rather than planets is a good not to their nomadic back story. Nice support from Drura. Zoe and Vi gossiping, ah yes, so much for discretion... haha. So it was the team that fought Brawler, glad my memory hasn't failed! And Zoe, who you have just shown to be indescrete is the person the team go to for relationship advice? Um, that might not be wise really, but it will be fun. Good advice though, perhaps Chuck didn't make such a bad choice when he spoke to her.

And now onto Linsnar - this will be interesting! I only really know the basics about Gear (that's why my version is so different) so am looking forward to this. More gossip! Gear discussing how pol must feel - your team are all so indescrete! Thankfully Imra and Laurel are around to be mature Tel slipping back to academy competition mode was nice. And Tomb is an interesting choice for this mission - going to a planet of technomorphs when he manipulates organics. And another Kwai that doesn't want to go to a planet - is there something brewing there? Imra checking in on Gear was well handled. And it'll be fun to see how he is treated and treats others given his differences. I can only imagine it'll be something like what a formwe religious cult member would feel being amongst the cult again after a time away.

Back to Swizzor - love the "Not like many of the young larvae these days..." haha, even amongst alien species there's inter-generational non-communication. I like how Babbage and Drura take the opportunity to learn more about the new environment in their own unique ways. Wonder what's causing the lights and taking the natives? How considerate, building a state of the art medical facility to accomodate the scientist visitors - and fortunate, given the current situation. Can't be nice for Swallowtail seeing someone they know in the hospital like that. And Drura using her microbes to get information - that's a very novel idea! Am glad you're giving Babbsge screen time, they're such an interesting concept but with virtually nothing in canon to go on it's a great character to let your imagination lose on. Good use of Chuck's spatial geometry awareness - or whatever it's called, being good with angles. And they're gone! Or at least Babbage is! Wow, unexpected ending and a great cliffhanger.

This was fun IB, you covered a lot of ground without making it feel like a trek. Looking forward to more, more, more!

hi Harbi, yay, thanks for the R&R!

Glad you're liking Jo growing up. I loathed Threeboot Jo because he was the worst kind of dumb jock, and I figure after everything they've been through in this reality (such as, indeed, Tinya's burned body!), plus having a son!, this Jo should be growing up.

Candi does not need to cry, but she uses a hanky to make her feel all ladylike and she can't physically cry either

stoked that you liked the Vi/Tenzil bit! re the grapevine, it's mainly because Tenzil and Brek aren't buddy-buddy, but they are friends in a way that "well, our girlfriends are best friends, so let's hang out". hence, the need for Vi to explain a bit

you might be surprised re the leader results, Harbi As soon as I wrap up the Swizzar and Linsnar missions, I'll get to leader announcements

Swallowtail's origin was laid out when she first applied as a Cadet, but I'll refer to it in the coming segments

I do think Zoe mainly has herself to blame, for her reputation re a go-to for relationship advice

re the Kwai, hee it's mainly a way to answer why they're not hanging around on-planet and tagging along on missions, but...

thanks Harbi, glad you liked these bits! more to come soon for sure

Feel daunted by the length of this thread? You can also check out the Recap Thread to catch up!

VOLUME 5: What Makes Us Special

Linsnar

Active Legionnaires

Andromeda, Laurel Gand of Daxam; enhanced speed, strength, invulnerability, vision powers, flight
Gear, I.Z.O.R. of Linsnar; bio-mechanical techno-morphing
Gravity, Tel Vole of Earth (Cambodia and Thailand); gravity manipulation
Saturn Girl, Imra Ardeen of Titan; telepathy

Reserve Legionnaires (also Legion Support Staff)

Tomb, unpronounceable of Sarccus; controls others' bodily functions (Legion medical staff)

Reserve Legionnaires (Still in the Legion Cadet program)

Healer, Mend'rr of Jaquaa; accelerates natural healing by borrowing strength from others

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

"Welcome to Linsnar." As the Legionnaires stepped onto the space in Linsnar designated for Thresholds, Gear's voice dripped with irony as he looked around. "Just like I remember it. Looks advanced, but..."

A small round globe floated over towards them. "Greetings, Legionnaires. I am a drone programmed by the Coordinating Council to welcome you to Linsnar."

*Imra, if you would?* Gear sent telepathically. Complying, Saturn Girl set up a private telepathic network among the six.

As we Linsnarians are mere tools, we should not think for ourselves and should just follow the lead of our users." Andromeda was taken aback at how angry Gear sounded, despite his face remaining completely blank. "Therefore, please ask to be taken to the Coordinating Council, as per their request for us to come here."

As Saturn Girl addressed the globe, Gravity mentally nudged Healer. "Healer, try not to let on that we're chatting privately. You're gawking at Gear, now."

The Cadet shook himself visibly. At Gravity's amused grin, Healer bit his lip and pointedly looked around. "I'm sorry, I was just surprised..."

"You won't be the only one," Gear's tone was snarling. "Just wait until you meet actual Linsnarians."

"Gear..." Saturn Girl sent privately. "I know you have strong feelings, but please..."

"Fine, fine," Gear sent back, his face still expressionless. Addressing the whole group, Gear continued. "Apologies, I just have issues with the way most Linsnarians think. I thought I'd never visit again, and being here brings back strong and unpleasant memories. I'll try to behave, though."

"Legionnaires, please follow me. Are you all able to fly on your own?" The globe asked. At Saturn Girl's affirmative reply, the six took to the sky.

"It is remarkably devoid of Linsnarians..." Gravity mused as they flew over the sprawling city. "Where are they, Gear?"

"We mostly stay indoors. To do our tasks," Gear softened his tone, with effort. "Why go outside when we can have things delivered to us? And it's not like we need to shop or choose from a nice menu. We just have the most basic of rations - food isn't meant to be enjoyed, it's meant to keep us alive."

Andromeda shook her head. Even when she was with the Sisters of the Eternal Cosmos, food was simple but tasty, and meals were meant to be enjoyed with company. This... this was something else.

"And yet you have well-developed taste buds and tissues..." Tomb broke the silence.

"Yes, this reminds me of how much we deprived ourselves..." Gear said flatly. Gravity looked uncomfortable for a moment.

The rest of the flight was quiet, with Healer trying his best not to react to Gear's stoic silence.

"Please follow me as we descend," the globe announced. Gravity looked down, and almost frowned. None of the buildings below stood out in any way; there was nothing to indicate which one was the most important. "Probably a sign of their belief that they are all tools to be used..." he thought to himself.

They landed in front of a building that looked like any other, though it was maybe slightly larger. They followed the globe as it floated to the door. A soft red light beamed out, scanning the globe. The door swung open.

Three Linsnarians were kneeling in front of them. "Our typical greeting," Gear announced to the group telepathically. "To show we are ready to be of service. Be warned, they will address you and not me."

"We welcome you to Linsnar, Legionnaires," the Linsnarian in the middle spoke. "I am M.E.T.A., the First Coordinator of Linsnar. With me are the Deputy Coordinators D.E.L.L. and Z.O.O.M. We thank you for coming to our aid."

"It is our job and our pleasure," Saturn Girl intoned, drawing from Gear's suggestions as to what key words to use in her response. "Have you more to share with us about the situation?"

"Of course." A panel opened on M.E.T.A's back, and a holo-screen emerged. "we have prepared a briefing for you."

As the Legionnaires took seats, Andromeda caught a flash of anger on Gear's face. "Gear...?"

"I just noticed their fingers," Gear replied to all of them. "You should know this. On Linsnar, we have developed simple hand signals, usually used by the head servant on any particular job to communicate to the rest so we do not disturb our... masters." Healer made as if to peek at the Linsnarians' fingers, then caught himself.

"What are they saying?" Healer instead asked telepathically, telling himself not to make his mouth move.

"That I'm a broken tool," Gear snapped. He alone did not move to a seat, but remained standing.

"Would... would it be weird for them if I asked you to sit?" Gravity asked.

"I'd rather not... but thanks."

Gravity tried not to make a face as the briefing began.

Linsnarians have been taken ill all across Linsnar. Symptoms begin with a general malaise, and end in a full coma. Even after plotting the locations of the infected Linsnarians on a map, no patterns emerged; none of them had come in contact with each other. Retracing their movements for several days before falling ill, had also not revealed anything. No modern medicine has helped, either.

"We beg your help, Legionnaires," M.E.T.A. ended. "Please help our people."

"We will do our best, M.E.T.A.," Saturn Girl stood up. "Okay, two team split..."

Gear's face remained remarkably calm as he followed Andromeda and Gravity outside.

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

in Linsnar's main hospital, Saturn Girl scanned the next patient. She still marveled at how structured Linsnarian minds were. Each was like a control panel; which made sense, considering their techno-organic nature. She imagined herself sitting in front of the Mission Monitor Board, pressing icons for commands. For this patient, she focused on their memories before they got taken ill. But just as with the last dozen, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. This one had been out maintaining transport vehicles when they had first felt a stabbing pain of fatigue....

Sighing, she exited their mind, snapping back to reality. "Still nothing," she addressed Tomb and Healer. "I also can't detect any telepathic interference that could be causing this; I can't find any evidence that their minds have been tampered with."

"I also do not sense anything to fix with their systems," Tomb muttered as he swept a hand over his latest patient. "Everything should be functioning normally... but it's not."

Healer sat down with a sigh. "And there doesn't seem to be anything to heal, at all!" The Cadet looked down glumly. "What use am I here, if there's nothing to fix?"

"Legionnaires are more than just our powers," Saturn Girl said gently. "Think along with me. We've investigated telepathic causes and bodily injuries, and the Linsnarians have checked for mechanical damage. What else could cause the Linsnarians to fall sick?"

Healer shrugged his shoulders. "I mean, they lack energy, right? So maybe.... an energy weapon?"

"That's good thinking," Saturn Girl encouraged. "That's one of the things Andromeda's team is searching for now..."

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

In the skies over Linsnar, Andromeda seemed to be staring off in the distance. In reality, she was scanning circling through her vision powers to see if she could detect anything odd. What was different though, was that she was wearing a helmet and visor on her head - one connected to Gear's left hand. On Gear's back, a console similar to an Omnicom was displayed; and Gravity was sat behind it.

Anything Andromeda saw, was being magnified on the Omnicom.

"That's it, keep going at that pace, Andromeda," Gravity said. "We're getting a lot of samples, and we're able to cross-reference them with Linsnarian scans to see if anything odd is in the air..."

"We should check the water later, too," Gear telepathically sounded; even at this distance, Saturn Girl was maintaining their telepathic link.

"Gear, I don't see any other Linsnarians around... why don't you talk verbally again?" Gravity asked, looking around, puzzled.

"You never know if one of those drones will fly by..." Gear sent, sounding resigned. "And I'd rather not get into a word war with any horrified Linsnarians, offended that I'm not being a good tool."

"I'm sorry, Gear," Andromeda thought. "I can somewhat empathize. It's why I've never been back to visit Daxam again, you never know which Daxamites subscribe to the White Triangle's xenophobic beliefs..."

"Yeah.... but at least there are many there who think like you," Gear replied. "The only other independent Linsnarian I know is on Takron-Galtos*. I can't imagine anyone else here thinking that..."

Gear's thought cut off as a hoverbus carrying a dozen or so Linsnarians appeared in the distance. Andromeda scanned it with her telescopic vision; what struck her was that each of the passengers was sitting quietly, hands on lap, eyes straight ahead. Most sentients on most other worlds would be chatting with their seatmate or scrolling through their Omnicom!

"Sometimes I think other Linsnarians are the real drones," Gear telepathically remarked dryly.

Suddenly, the hoverbus swerved.

"Um, the driver didn't hear you, did he?" Gravity asked Gear.

"No, the driver just slumped forward!" Andromeda cried out as she dove after the bus. Before she reached it, a light gray aura surrounded it.

"I've got this!" Gravity called. "You're needed elsewhere, we're getting reports of Linsnarians everywhere falling unconscious!"

Using her telescopic vision, Andromeda's heart leaped. Hoverbuses were falling everywhere! Without another word, she zoomed off.

"Hold it steady!" Gear told Gravity as he clambered onto the bus. He disconnected the driver's systems from the bus, then gently shoved the unconscious driver out of his seat. Taking his place, Gear let wires snake out of his right arm and into the bus controls. "If I can foozle a link to the central transport system, I can try to land everything on the planet gently!"

"Copy that," Andromeda said. "I'll try to prioritize the most urgent ones."

"Affirmative," Gravity agreed. Then he concentrated as he gently lowered the hoverbus down to the ground.

Gear tried to push down his feelings about the Linsnarian philosophy as he interfaced with the central command. At least the signals from each hoverbus were still being relayed; he could track which ones were in danger of crashing. One by one, he guided each of those so they landed safely. No matter how much he hated the teachings they believed, these people didn't deserve to die.

************************************************************************************************************************************************************
Hours later, the Legionnaires regrouped in a room at the hospital. Gravity plopped down into a chair and grabbed an energy drink. "We must have lifted thousands of Linsnarians to the hospital!"

"We've done our best to keep them stable," Healer said quietly. "Some of their circulatory systems were beginning to stop working." Healer sighed as he leaned back in his own seat, and looked grateful as Gravity handed him a drink.

"And again, I cannot tell why," Tomb looked annoyed for the first time since arriving on Linsnar. "Their systems should work, but they just don't."

A chime sounded on the door. "First Coordinator M.E.T.A. would like to ask if she may come in." At Saturn Girl's assent, the door swung open.

M.E.T.A. prostrated herself before the group. "I thank you, Legionnaires, for acting quickly and saving the lives of my brethren. Your quick thinking in instructing I.Z.O.R. saved many lives."

Gravity was about to point out that Gear had acted on his own, but Gear warned him off through the telepathic link. "It's better that they not know," Gear sent.

"But wouldn't it help if they knew?..." Healer began.

"Let's discuss this later; our mission here is to save lives, not to change the Linsnarian way of thinking," Saturn Girl said firmly.

Andromeda sighed as she watched Gear's impassive face, and M.E.T.A.'s obsequiousness. If only they could do both...

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

IB's notes:

1) Said other Linsnarian is S.I.R.I., who was involved in crime on Corvan IV!

Hi IB! I had some time to catch up on your Legion's happenings tonight, let's go!

Poor Gear! It must be so hard coming from a world where everyone thinks their greatest purpose is to be subservient to other people...it also raises some interesting ethical questions; how do you tell if Linsnarians act that way due to peer pressure and social tradition or if it really does make them genuinely happy?

I imagine there has to be some shame and anger to deal with coming from a place like that when you're not that kind of person yourself, and you are doing a good job of showing Gear's reaction to going back there. I don't recall him ever getting any real character depth in any of the comics I read so it is good seeing your take on it all!

Also, Gear and Laurel working together to share what she sees with her enhanced vision is so clever! Love it! And it is a good indication of character that as soon as his people are in danger, Gear puts aside his conflicted feelings to immediately help them.

On another note, your Linsnarian names crack me up

Intrigued to see how this weird malady develops!

hi raz, yay! always a treat reading your R&R!

yeah you raise some great points about Linsnar. the more I think and write, the more questions I ask myself lol

glad Gear's reactions are ringing true to you! It was tougher than I expected, though on the other hand I'm also drawing from my own experiences having to be closeted back home

hahaha! I'm digging these punny Linsnarian names too, it was fun Googling for four letter tech words

It's funny, I kind of had the same thing when I wrote Drura going back to Somahtur.....sometimes these stories creep up and do an accidental therapy as you're writing them!

high five! glad we're both getting some little therapy from our stories, raz It IS nice!

Me too, or is that me three I've definitely snuck some ...issues into my stories over the years.

Welcome to the club, Harbi, it's a great club to be part of

Feel daunted by the length of this thread? You can also check out the Recap Thread to catch up!

VOLUME 5: What Makes Us Special

Swizzar

Active Legionnaires

Microbe, Drura Sehpt of Somahtur; control harmful and beneficial microorganisms

Reserve Legionnaires (Still in the Legion Cadet program)

Swallowtail of Swizzar; flight, scales from wings can refract light and cause effects such as hallucinations, sleep, paralysis

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

Swallowtail fell silent as she watched Microbe scan the field where Babbage, Kinetix and Rebound had disappeared from. If the Somahturian Legionnaire were worried, she didn't show it; she was standing still in the center, turning her head left and right.

Swallowtail shivered involuntarily, and hugged herself.

"Are you okay?" Microbe asked from afar. "I know you're not physically cold, you're wearing a transuit."

Swallowtail mentally kicked herself. She wanted to be as professional as possible, but...

Sighing inwardly, she explained. "It's just that... this area. It looks pristine now, but it used to be..." She gulped. "When the... when the Air elemental came...*" Swallowtail began to breathe heavily. "I was here. I was caught up in the tempest of winds, and I thought I would die."

Microbe came up to Swallowtail. "Oh, honey..."

Swallowtail smiled gratefully, though tears welled up in her multi-faceted eyes, making them shine like diamonds. "It's fine, I'm mostly over it... but it did make me nervous about strong winds for a while. I used to enjoy feeling the soft breezes, but sometimes I still have nightmares of floating on a gentle breeze and having it turn into a tornado..."

As she consoled the Cadet, Microbe wondered if she should organize some training sessions between Swallowtail and Nightwind. She made a mental note to follow up on that; but for now...

"Take a moment, dear," Microbe smiled gently. "Every Legionnaire has fears; but we support each other so that these fears don't cripple us."

"Thank you," Swallowtail dabbed at her eyes. "It's really kind of you, and I'm ready now."

"Good," Microbe smiled. "I can't figure out where our friends went, but I think I know how we can find them. If you help me package some soil and water samples, I think Brainiac 5 and the Legion labs will point us in the right direction."

Intrigued, Swallowtail began shuffling in her belt pouches to find some specimen containers. "I suppose you've detected something with your powers?"

"Quite a few things, actually," Microbe's smile grew wider. "Quite a few..."

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

Active Legionnaires

Babbage, I-45ENG/Nth Series of Robotica; combat mechanoid
Kinetix, Zoe Saugin of Aleph; telekinesis and animation of objects; affinity for magic
Rebound, Chuck Taine of Earth (Canada and Uzbekistan); inflates into a durable bouncing form

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

Rebound heard himself moaning. He clutched at his head, trying to remember what had happened.

A blinding flash, then he felt some force hit him...

He let his moan finish, then opened his eyes cautiously, in case he was being watched. Peering through half-opened eyes, he jerked his head to the left as if he were rolling in his sleep; satisfied that nobody was around, he turned to the right. All he saw was Kinetix and Babbage lying prone beside him.

He moved his limbs gently. No bounds, good. He slowly stood up, trying to ignore the pain in his muscles.

He quickly looked around. He was in a room with bars, like a jail cell. It was bare, with only the mattresses they were lying on, and a small toilet in the corner. There was a small pile of junk in the corner; this looked like a storage room which had been fitted into a jail cell hastily, by someone who had not bothered to clean it up. Clearly nothing professional.

He inspected himself. His flight ring was gone, and so was his Legion utility belt. But he could still feel his transuit on him;

He crouched down and tried to rouse Kinetix. She had her hands bound together, and was breathing shallowly. "Zoe?" he whispered. He quickly checked for a pulse and a heartbeat; she was alive, but likely drugged. Too bad he didn't have access to the medicines in his Legion utility belt.

He moved on to Babbage. His Robotican teammate lay completely inert. limbs splayed out like so much scrap metal. He fiddled around Babbage's neck; Babbage had showed its teammates how to reboot it if needed, and the button hidden below Babbage's metallic jaw was keyed to the bio-rhythms of whichever active Legionnaires were on a mission with Babbage at the time. Chuck pressed twice short, and three times long, as Babbage had taught.

Nothing. Chuck frowned; their captors were thorough. He did feel a momentary twinge of annoyance that they hadn't taken any precautions with him; but he reminded himself that this would be a fatal mistake for them.

He glanced up as he heard footfalls in the distance. Chuck gently laid himself on the floor, splaying out in a similar position to when he woke up. He slowed his breathing and closed his eyes, though he made sure to face the bars.

"... what are we gonna do with these Legionnaires?" Chuck recognized a voice strikingly similar to Gates' own. What in the great egg...?

"The bosses can figure that out. I just want to get them off our hands!" This voice was also familiar!

"I'm not worried about the two carbonforms; I can blind them." This one sounded like Lume, and it was very likely from Silvan too - that was a term commonly used on their planet! "But the robot..."

"Zula Hex can take care of him!" The second voice repeated. "Coluans are still smarter than Roboticans. Besides, I've coated Babbage with some rust-causing pollen. Give him some time in this musky damp hold, and... poof!"

Chuck heard the footfalls stop, and he lay very still. "Heh, Tubby is still asleep," said the same voice.

Chuck heard the voices receding, and opened his eyes wider. He caught a glimpse of a familiar greenish disk; a bright glowing light; and familiar purple-and-green boots... He knew who held them, but not why.

Chuck decided to keep lying down. He closed his eyes and began to think. Now that he knew whom he was up against... how could he get out of this situation?

He really wished Kinetix or Babbage were conscious...

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

The laboratory was a whirr of activity. Zula Hex's slender green fingers tapped incessantly on controls as she her instruments poked and prodded at an unconscious Swizzaran.

Though their buyers' contract said the Swizzarans should come undamaged, Zula Hex was taking great pains to ensure she studied the Swizzarans as much as she could using non-invasive methods. After all, biology and genetics were her specialty.

"Hey, Zula, the prisoners are still locked up," came Pollen's voice over the coms. Zula ignored it; she had told them to report into her, but she was confident they would be fine. She had concealed their tracks well, and the dangerous Legionnaires were sedated and/or disabled. Even if Rebound woke up, what could he do? No amount of bouncing could break through those bars without endangering his two teammates...

Zula was so engrossed in her studies that she failed to notice the swooshing of air behind her. She did, however, feel the nerve pinch on the side of her neck. She was unconscious before she hit the floor.

Invisible Kid picked Zula Hex up gently and placed her to the side. Keeping invisible in case anyone walked into the laboratory, he quickly scanned the captive Swizzarans with his Omnicom. All were seemingly comatose, but none seemed to be in deathly harm. Good. They could wait, then.

He spoke into his flight ring. "Microbe, all yours." Then he turned to Zula Hex's console and began to play around with it. "Let's see if we can fix what you've done to Babbage..."

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

Pollen leaned back in her seat, feet on the table, as she sipped her coffee. She sat at a table on one side of a large banquet room; one that had once been grand, but was now in disrepair. Old, dilapidated furniture was spread out haphazardly through the area.

She looked around at her companions. The super-strong saurian Bronto and the self-multiplying Gangster were the only two from her original gang**. They had picked the rest up after the Monitor's army dispersed, following the return of the original Legionnaires**. They had fought the Legion once, and lost badly badly. Then that arrogant serpent Slizz**** had left them behind... and Zula Hex, that even more arrogant greenhead, had co-opted their group.

But Pollen didn't mind too much. Zula's plans made way more sense than Slizz's constant moaning about taking over the Orandan monarchy, and they were getting paid much better now, too.

Pollen's reverie was interrupted by Disks' screeching. "Stop trying to pet me, you oaf!" The Vyrgan teleporter was waving her arm at Bronto.

"But bug-lady cute!" Bronto protested, hands held out in front of him. "Me just want to pet..."

"I am just as sentient as you are, you idiotic reptile!" Disks screeched.

"Okay, knock it off, you two!" Gangster brandished a gun.

"Or I will make you knock it off." The Undertaker grinned evilly. Pollen felt a chill run down her spine. She was confident she could take any of the others down one-on-one, if needed; but Undertaker was from Sarccus, and had her race's ability to control other's bodily functions. Undertaker relished in doing so; Pollen thought she got off on having control. She was glad there weren't many Sarccans running around off their planet...

"Is this some kind of carbonform ritual?" Licht asked. Pollen didn't pay any attention; the Silvan was always clueless, and Pollen had no patience to explain things to it. Besides, their last teammate would doubtless answer...

"Non, eet ees just ze stupeed macheesmo!" Ze Tongue's tongue swayed as he spoke. Pollen rolled her eyes as she watched some of Ze Tongue's disgusting spit splatter on Licht. The saliva evaporated as it did; but this was why Pollen always wore her transuit. She didn't feel like getting splattered.

Disks rounded on Ze Tongue. "I'm a female, you idiot!"

"Zo?" Ze Tongue snorted. "Even ze female can act like a stupeed male sometimes, non?"

Pollen sighed as she stood up. "I'm going to check on the prisoners again. Just to be sure." Without waiting for anyone to react, she stood up and started for the door.

Before she could reach it, the door fell inwards. Pollen cursed as she saw a familiar tangible darkness reach out towards them.

"Legionnaires!" she called out. Then she began to flood the area with her poisonous pollen.

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

Active Legionnaires

Babbage, I-45ENG/Nth Series of Robotica; combat mechanoid
Invisible Kid, Lyle Norg of Earth (Australia and Israel); invisibility
Kinetix, Zoe Saugin of Aleph; telekinesis and animation of objects; affinity for magic
Microbe, Drura Sehpt of Somahtur; control harmful and beneficial microorganisms
Rebound, Chuck Taine of Earth (Canada and Uzbekistan); inflates into a durable bouncing form
Triad, Luornu Durgo of Cargg; triplication
Umbra, Tasmia Mallor of Talok VIII; darkfield casting

Reserve Legionnaires (Still in the Legion Cadet program)

Swallowtail of Swizzar; flight, scales from wings can refract light and cause effects such as hallucinations, sleep, paralysis

The Bad Weeds

Bronto of unknown; saurian physique with enhanced strength and durability
Disks of Vyrga; opens teleportation disks
Gangster of unknown; generates unlimited duplicates that vanish if he loses concentration
Licht of Silvan; energy being made of light
Pollen of unknown; plant-based physiology, including production of spores that cause a variety of effects
Undertaker, unpronounceable of Sarccus; controls others' bodily functions
Ze Tongue of unknown; prehensile, stretchable, shapeshifting tongue
Zula Hex of Colu; 8th level intelligence

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

Dark tendrlls slammed into Bronto and Undertaker, stunning them to the floor.

"It's the darkness lady!" Licht shone its light at the spinning darkfield. "Get away!"

Umbra flew forward, her darkfield swirling around her tightly. "I'll need to concentrate on this one; it's burning really brightly." She commanded her darkfield to encase Licht in a shadowy sphere.

"Go, we'll take care of the rest," Microbe called. Triad had already triplicated; Purple flew towards Bronto, while Orange and Neutral were trying to keep Gangster off-balance. Unfortunately, Gangster had already created six duplicates. Knocking out the original would make all the others vanish, but figuring out which the original was was another problem...

"I wish we had been able to put them all to sleep," Swallowtail said as she flew in after Microbe.

"I wish that too," Microbe said as she assessed the situation. "That would have been easier if they all had the same biologies; but with opponents from eight different worlds, plus our three teammates and your fellow Swizzarans on board, I simply didn't have time to find the right microbes that could work safely on all of them. And we have the same issue with your scales. Now, let's make our way to Undertaker; she's the most dangerous. I've got just the virus for her."

"And that purple girl?" Swallowtail pointed at Pollen, who was still straining to coat them with some paralyzing spores. Before Microbe could answer, Triad Neutral flipped a Gangster body over and into Pollen, knocking both to the floor.

"That takes care of... ohhh!" Swallowtail staggered, stunned, as something smashed into the side of her head. As she bent over, woozy, she felt a long, slimy appendage wrapped around her waist. "Ewww!" she stared in disgust as she realized what had attacked her.

"Hah! Ze Tongue scores one on ze young stoopeed girl!" Ze Tongue gloated from across the room.

"You think so," Microbe said grimly. Thankful that all the Legionnaires had donned transuits in preparation for fighting Pollen, she reached out and touched Ze Tongue's tongue with her fingers. She reminded herself that, though she could sense the warm, wet saliva, she wasn't actually touching it. "I'd retract your tongue if I were you. I've just given you lockjaw. From your homeworld, so nobody else here will get it!"

"No! You stopeed Somahturian!" Ze Tongue's tongue snapped into his mouth so fast, Swallowtail was afraid he would knock his head off.

"Mmmm! Mmmmmfff!" Ze Tongue grabbed at his mouth. Then his body stiffened, and he fell over.

"Full body lockjaw," Microbe noted as she went to check on Swallowtail.

"Hurry up!" Umbra called testily as she dodged a blast from one of the Gangster clones. "It's taking most of my concentration to contain Licht!" She reached out with her free hand and swung a Gangster clone around by the arm, just as it fired at her; the resulting energy blast slammed into a recovering Bronto, who keeled over with a painful roar, joining a still-unconscious Undertaker on the floor.

"Swizzaran, join us!" Disks said as she opened a teleport disk in front of Swallowtail and Microbe. "Shake off the yolk of oppression from these vertebrates!" Microbe pointed at Disks, intending to infect her with Vyrgan Vermincoccus. Too late though; with a snap of her arm, Disks teleported a surprised Microbe away.

"Where did you send her?" Swallowtail demanded.

"Never mind, join us!" Disks stretched her arm out, as if in invitation.

"You kidnap my people, and you think I will join you?" Swallowtail flapped her wings, unleashing a storm of scales. Disk vanished into a teleportation disk.

"That won't help," Swallowtail said darkly, recalling her training sessions with Gates. She kept sending her scales into the disk...

... and watched another disk open across the room. Disks fell through it with a thud, snoring.

"Now to find Microbe," Swallowtail began to check her flight ring, then remembered her training. She scanned the room; Bronto and Undertaker were still out cold on the floor; Umbra was deadlocked with Licht; and Triad was keeping Gangster busy. That left...

"You think I'm a pushover just because you have transuits?" Pollen's voice quivered with pain as she stood up. She grabbed one of the Gangster clone's guns and aimed it at Swallowtail. "You little wre-"

Pollen's next words were drowned out as she was flattened by a familiar round red blur. "Looks like I found the party!" Rebound said cheerfully as he bounced off of Pollen and into a trio of Gangsters, bowling them over.

"Chuck!" Triad Orange said, even as she elbowed another Gangster in the gut.

"Lu! I'll give each of you a kiss later," Rebound called as he landed on the floor, deflating into his humanoid form. "But now, Swallowtail and I have to go get Kinetix and Babbage!" Making sure Swallowtail was following, Chuck flew out the door. "Triad and Umbra are great fighters, but they're still outnumbered," Chuck explained.

"Are they hurt?" Swallowtail asked as she followed Chuck down the hall, and downstairs into a basement. To the right, she saw a room with bars extending about halfway down. Beside the bars was a sparking control panel, with a small metallic disk sticking out of it.

"You were held here and escaped, I guess?" Swallowtail cocked her head.

"They thought I couldn't bounce my way out of there," Chuck smiled as he went over to Kinetix. "But we Legionnaires are more than just our powers. Now..." he turned to Swallowtail. "Some of your scales can wake people up, right?"

"Yes." Swallowtail began to hover above Kinetix.

"Wait, use your Omnicom to check what she has, first," Chuck cautioned. Swallowtail dutifully complied, blushing mildly that she didn't think of it. She waved the Omnicom over Kinetix and checked the report.

"Nightglade pollen," she read out. "Easily remedied by ammonia fumes."

"Pollen's work," Chuck muttered. "I don't want to downplay your powers, Swallowtail, but you do have your Legion utility belt with you..."

"Already on it," Swallowtail smiled, pleased that she had thought of the same thing. She pulled a vial from her belt, opened it, and placed it under Kinetix's nose as Chuck held the sleeping Legionnaire up. Kinetix's eyes fluttered open, and she groaned. "What... Swallowtail?" Then her eyes focused, and she floated up in anger. "Who, and where?"

"Bronto, Gangster, Undertaker, and over there," Chuck pointed upstairs.

Kinetix glowed a bright green as she coated herself in her telekinetic field, and she flew off.

"Let's go -" Rebound began. Then his flight ring buzzed.

"Chuck? Lyle here. I think I've figured out how to reactivate Babbage. I'm in the upstairs lab, but I'll need you to help configure its systems while I fiddle with the signal."

Swallowtail looked at Chuck, who nodded. "Nobody else is here?"

"We checked the installation before we entered," Swallowtail smiled. "Everyone is accounted for."

"Go enjoy the show, then," Chuck smiled.

"I'm actually going to find Microbe, just in case she's in trouble," Swallowtail smiled as she flapped her wings.

"Good thinking!" Chuck watched approvingly as Swallowtail take off, then bent over Babbage. "Okay, Lyle, I'm ready to roll..."

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

Triad Neutral recalled her sisters into her just as a Gangster clone fired at where Triad Purple was flying. As soon as she reintegrated, she triplicated again; she had to keep moving, else she would be a sitting elvabird. Purple quickly rammed into the Gangster clone that had tried to shoot her. Orange tsked; Purple was always so vengeful! Instead, Orange went after the Gangster body they thought was the original. They had been keeping an eye on him since the beginning of the fight.

"Can't you hurry up?!" Umbra complained as she wrapped her darkfield tighter and tighter around Licht. "You know I can't create darkfield structures and just leave them! Licht is burning brighter!"

"I'm doing my best!" Purple snapped as she slammed the heads of two more Gangster clones together. "It's three of me against - so far - fifty-six, you know!"

"Plus one more!" Bronto erupted from the floor and leaped at Umbra. "Bronto smash puny Legionnaires!"

"Good, you saved some for me!" Kinetix flew through the door, hair swirling around her. She extended her telekinetic field and slammed Bronto into the far wall with a deafening thud, followed by a volley of pure telekinetic force that knocked the wind out of him. She then wrapped him up tight so he was hanging by his arms, unconscious.

"I could have-" Umbra began, frowning.

"What?!" Kinetix snapped, her tone indicating she was not in the mood.

"... Thank you," Umbra continued, though she didn't smile. "Now, maybe you can help me with this Silvan...?"

"Gladly." Zoe looked around. "Ah, this should do." She pointed at a mirror in the corner of the room. The reflective glass flowed fluidly through the air as Zoe commanded it to surround Umbra's darkfield sphere. "On three, Umbra. One... two... three!"

At the signal, Umbra let her darkfield disappear. A cowering Licht appeared for the briefest of moments, then Zoe encased it in a spherical mirror. She gently fastened her makeshift prison to the wall where it would not be broken.

"Now," Umbra cracked her fingers. "I've been dying to hit something." Leaping into action, Umbra fired her darkfield at a couple of Gangster clones, and knocked a third unconscious with a kick. Kinetix set her sights on another half-dozen, making poles of metal erupt from the floor to hit her targets in the jaw or in the groin.

"Zoe, Tasmia, clear a path for me!" Triad called. "That one hiding in the corner is the original!"

"You witch!" Gangster called out as Kinetix and Umbra looked at him. Both were smiling. The floor came to life, glowing green as the metal flowed and pulled Gangster bodies on the right side of the room away. Mystical tendrils of darkness cleared the left side of the room, felling muscular Gangster bodies even as their weapons were destroyed.

"No!" Gangster watched the three Triads fly at him. In desperation, he generated another ten bodies to shield him.

"Oh, give it a rest!" Triad Neutral said as she tackled the nearest body, slamming it into three more. Orange kicked a fifth in the jaw, then flipped it over to crash into another two.

Purple simply flew over the last three and slammed full-speed into the main Gangster's face with both fists. He was unconscious before he hit the ground, and the dozens of bodies he had created faded into nothingness.

The three Triads high-fived as they surveyed their handiwork. Kinetix's field surrounded Gangster, molding his metallic belt into handcuffs. Kinetix lifted him and laid him beside the other criminals; she had created a blindfold for Disks so she could not see to teleport, and she had wrapped Undertake up tight like a mummy. "Now we have a collection of dolls," Zoe gloated.

"And now we can find Microbe..." Umbra began. Then she gasped in pain as she was forced down, kneeling. "My stomach...!"

"Oh!" Kinetix gasped as she fell to her knees as well. Triad clutched her midsection, groaning.

Undertaker, who had played possum after regaining consciousness. smiled under her bandages. "I don't need to touch or see you to affect you, idiots," she said, muffled through the bandages. "And now you will bow before me! I can control any body! I- AIEEEE!"

Undertake screamed in pain as the blast hit her. She fell, unconscious; the bandages around her stomach charred.

Babbage stood over Undertaker, its arm morphed into a laser cannon. Swallowtail, Microbe and Rebound all rushed in, each rushing to help a different teammate.

"She can command bodies, but I don't have a biological one," Babbage noted.

"You do like stating the obvious, but this time you've earned it," Kinetix chuckled as she raised herself up.

"And you even found Microbe," Triad smiled as she wrapped her arm around Chuck's shoulder.

"And I've called the authorities," Invisible Kid flew in, an unconscious Zula Hex slung over his shoulder, her arms handcuffed. "Also found your flight rings and utility belts," Lyle held his hand out to a grateful Babbage, Kinetix and Rebound. "We just need to wake the Swizzarans, and I'd call this a wrap."

"Wow," Swallowtail sat down with a sigh. "Just... wow."

"I know," Microbe said as she patted dirt off her legs; a souvenir from the nearby swamp that Disks had teleported her too. "It's been quite a day, huh."

Chuck walked over to a refrigerator on the other side of the room. "Let's see if we can get a snack, at least."

"Oh, Chuck," Triad Orange pinched him teasingly in the belly. "You're incorrigible."

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

Back at his hut, Elder Birdwing gasped in amazement as he watched Triad, Rebound and Swallowtail give their report.

After Babbage, Kinetix and Rebound had gone missing, Microbe and Swallowtail had sent some soil and water samples back to Legion World. The Legion World labs had confirmed Microbe's theories: she had detected microorganisms native to Vyrga, Colu, and the homeworlds of Bronto and Ze Tongue. A quick search through the Science Police and Legion databases showed the other members of the gang.

Invisible Kid, Triad and Umbra had come over as reinforcements. It had been a simple matter to trace the missing Legionnaires; as a precaution before splitting up, Swallowtail had scattered some invisible scales on them. And Microbe had also infected them with harmless Venusian Lactobacilli. They had simply followed the trail to where the Legionnaires had been brought.

Invisible Kid had analyzed Zula Hex's equipment, and found a signal she had used to shut Babbage's systems down and prevent it from rebooting. Zula's files showed how they had abducted the Legionnaires and Swizzarans in the first place; Licht would generate a blinding light, giving cover for Disks to teleport in. Pollen and Undertake would immobilize their targets, while leaving other Swizzarans behind in a comatose state. Bronto and Gangster carried the captives back, while Ze Tongue would leave false trails and clues behind to confuse things.

The files didn't show who their buyer was, and of course none of the villains knew. They had been contacted anonymously, and told to meet on a barren planetoid far from any inhabited world.

"But we will find out who they are, and bring them to justice," Triad finished with fire in her eyes. "The Legion won't let anyone who wants to abduct innocent sentients go free."

"This... this is amazing," Elder Birdwing breathed. "I never would have imagined this was happening... and you solved it all in a day!"

"All in a day's work," Rebound smiled as he shifted the channel on the screen. Elder Birdwing gasped again as he saw the main hospital. Babbage, Invisible Kid and Microbe had concocted an antidote for all the Swizzarans, and Kinetix and Umbra were helping transport the awakened ones to treatment. It would take a few hours before they became fully mobile again, but at least they were otherwise healthy and safe. None even remembered a thing beyond the bright initial flash of light.

Elder Birdwing sat down. "This..." he sighed. Someone... paid... these criminals... to kidnap his people and bring them offworld? For what purpose? What did they plan to do with them? He hung his head in his hands. "Do you... do you think that us opening up to the outside world invited this? Maybe we have to close ourselves off for our safety..."

"No!" Swallowtail stood up, causing Elder Birdwing to look at her sharply. "Elder, please! When the Air Elemental came, it was the United Planets that helped us recover." She stepped closer and knelt down, taking his hand in hers. "Evil would have come to us anyway, Elder. But our being in the United Planets has also brought help to us." She clutched his hand tighter. "We have become healthier because of UP medicine; more of our plants survive because of UP knowledge. We must not close ourselves off to all this good, just because of some of the bad things out there..."

Elder Birdwing clutched Swallowtail's hand tight. "You are wise beyond your years, little one."

Rebound and Triad looked at each other, and smiled. They still had a lot to do, but for now they would chalk this up as a victory.

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

IB's notes:

1) Legionnaires 71. For a summary of Swallowtail's origin, see her debut here

2) Bronto, Gangster and Pollen first appeared in the Legion Worlds 5 back-up story. Like many villains and bad guys, they were co-opted into the Monitor's mega-army in Volume 3...

3) Yes, that Slizz! The Slizz who was the Snake in the Zodiac gang (Volume 4). See here for this group's first encounter with the Legion!

IB, hi there, sorry I didn't have enough time to review for you yesterday, but ere goes - better late than never!

I love how competent your Drura is, she's not the goofy Sub anymore.And her compassion towards Swallowtail after she explained why that area was troubling her was really sweet. Arranging training with Nightwind would be smart too, good thinking! And what has Drura found?

Chuck is another character that you write really well, as much as he is a comedy character (like, he inflates and bounces!) you write him as a serious member of the team, smart and strategic.

So, it seems that their captors didn't plan on getting Legionnaires, but are still a threat. A greenish disc, a Silvan, pollen? All seems a litt;e familiar (if memory is working properly at this time of the morning)... "He really wished Kinetix or Babbage were conscious..." yeah, that makes sense, as much as he is decent character, being alone against a group that has defeated you and your teammattes already will never be anyomnes first choice to wake up to.

Great to see (ha) your Invisible Kid in action, he was never a favourite of mine in canon (apart from when he slapped Jo, of course) but I do like how you write him.And his effective dealing with Zula Hex and then getting straight to work helping his colleagues was smart, efficient and well done.

Pollen - oh I do remember her, and Bronto and Gangster - this should be a fun little reunion (as the Legion kick their asses again). Love Bronto trying to pet the Vyrgan, haha. . "Even ze female can act like a stupeed male sometimes, non?" - very true, sadly.

And here comes Umbra - fab!

It shows just how competent your team are that they field Umbra and Triad to take on a larger group of villains, and the Legionnaires just dive right in there. Triad against Gangster seems like a totally unfair faight for starters! Nice logic why Drura didn't just flood the area with Venusian Sleeping Sickness, different biologies and the unconscious natives. Ze Tongue retracting his tongue that quickly gave me laugh. He's really not the most competent of bad guys is he? But then, with his rather gross ability, what else coud he be?

Disks telling Swallowtail to throw off the yolk of oppression - ha, seems there's a common ground between this Vurgan and Gates. Yay! Chuck gets into the action - and takes out Pollen, that'll learn her for calling him tubby earlier on Love how he escaped his cell - nice call-out to his spatiel awareness that he could smash the control panel like that. Kin etix getting straight into the action - go Zoe! Swallowtail going to find Drura - sweet!

Nice way to show how different each of Lu's selves are - Purple is vengeful - ouch, you wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of her! Wow, Umbra said thank you! For all his power, Gangster is prettty rubbish really, you'd think three against fifty six would be a no-brainer, no matter how martial artsy the three are. Clever dealing with Licht (great name btw) by encasing it in a mirror. "I've been dying to hit something." Umbra is as scaary as Lu! Oh, Undertaker, you missed your chance, and Babbage is hardcore - morphing an arm into a laser. "You do like stating the obvious, but this time you've earned it," well said Zoe Nice conclusion there to the scirmish.

Clever use of Microbes and Swallowtails powers to track each other. And the villains were pretty clever in their plan, until the Legion showed up, of course But we're left with a mystery - who wanted the Swizzarians, and why? Swallowtail's reassurance of the elder at the end was perfectly done, the UP might bring problems but also much better solutions.

Nice litte story IB, you've shown how versatile and commited Swallowtail is to the group so I assume she mat be heading for a promotion soon? Great use of Chuck, Lu and Zoe in particular, though all of your team had their moments to shine, which was great.

I'm looking forward to seeing where you take this mystery and, of course, am eager for more, more, more!

Harbi, thank you for the R&R! what a treat, that was fast

good memory you have, you caught on that this villain group has appeared before

nice Invisible Kid pun

yeah, I brought Umbra in because she was the perfect counter to Licht, whom Drura and Swallowtail wouldn't be able to affect. not gonna lie, when I looked at that list of villains I was like, hmm, I'm gonna need some reinforcements lol! Triad vs. Gangster was also a nice paralleling of powers, a bit.

(and yeah, I needed a good reason for why Drura didn't just do her stuff, else we wouldn't have this fight scene lol!)

glad you liked the little bits and the different Legionnaires stepping up

I almost feel bad for making Ze Tongue go down so easily, in his one and only canon appearance he KOed Sensor and Magno, and gave Umbra a hard time! but not much he could do against Drura's lockjaw attack

Umbra only said thank you cause Zoe was giving her the big stinkeye and yeah, Gangster is just a whole bunch of warm bodies, but nothing too tough. (still, he did occupy the team long enough for Undertaker to recover, that's his role - cannon fodder lol!)

thanks re Licht, Dutch word for "light"

also glad Swallowtail left a good impression! she's still a bit inexperienced, but I can see great things in her future...

thanks again Harbi, glad you liked this little outing... and indeed, there will be more to his mystery for sure!

Feel daunted by the length of this thread? You can also check out the Recap Thread to catch up!

VOLUME 5: What Makes Us Special

Linsnar

Active Legionnaires

Andromeda, Laurel Gand of Daxam; enhanced speed, strength, invulnerability, vision powers, flight
Gear, I.Z.O.R. of Linsnar; bio-mechanical techno-morphing
Gravity, Tel Vole of Earth (Cambodia and Thailand); gravity manipulation
Saturn Girl, Imra Ardeen of Titan; telepathy

Reserve Legionnaires (also Legion Support Staff)

Tomb, unpronounceable of Sarccus; controls others' bodily functions (Legion medical staff)

Reserve Legionnaires (Still in the Legion Cadet program)

Healer, Mend'rr of Jaquaa; accelerates natural healing by borrowing strength from others

***************************************************************************
In Linsnar's main hospital, the silence was only broken by the murmurs of the Legonnaires, and the rustling of Linsnarian staff eager to follow instructions.

"Please set all beds this high," Tomb muttered as he pushed the button on the hoverbed carrying his latest patient. The bed rose to Tomb's chest, and he pointedly laid his hands over the torso of the Linsnarian woman lying on it. Two Linsnarian doctors bowed and moved on their way.

"These are the most passive doctors I've ever seen," Healer thought over the telepathic link maintained by Saturn Girl. "On every other planet I've been to, the doctors take the lead!"

"When no offworlders are around, they do," Gear thought back from his seat. He wasn't tired, not physically anyway; but he was mentally drained from pretending to only follow instructions without taking initiative. "But because you're here..."

"I understand," Healer said even as he mended the bruises on a Linsnarian teenager who had fallen. Though he didn't really understand. That is, he understood that their presence made the Linsnarians act differently, but he really couldn't understand their philosophy. His own homeworld of Jaquaa was rather meritocratic, and everyone was expected to raise their hands and take charge whenever the situation warranted their expertise. His fellow Jaquaans, Dr. Gym'll and Dr. Ryk'rr, both carried themselves with an authority while attending their patients. Yet here... the normally taciturn Tomb grumbled over the telepathic networks; Tomb preferred to concentrate on his work, but now he had to keep instructing the local staff!

"Keep at it, Tomb, Healer," Saturn Girl encouraged. "These Linsnarians may be sleeping, but at least you're keeping their bodies physically safe."

"I really don't get what we're missing, though," Gravity's frustration was evident as he pored through all their readouts. "We've run so many tests and gathered so much data. Our analysis of the blood and tissue samples - and Tomb's power - can't find any pathogens or viruses or poisons. Your telepathy's found nothing. Our scans of the air and water can't find any unusual particles!" He took an angry swig of his iced coffee. "Should we ask the White Witch if she can find anything magical?!"

"Or maybe Brainiac 5," Andromeda pondered. "He might spot something we're missing. Or maybe Babbage. Or both." She sighed as she munched on a sandwich that the Linsnarians had brought her. She would not ask them again; when she had asked for some food, they had asked what she wanted; she had had to specify the kind of bread, exact fillings, and even how spicy the sauce she wanted should be...

"Wait a minute!" Saturn Girl stood bolt upright. "That's it! Gear... you've tried to interface with both Brainiac 5 and Babbage before, right?"

"Yes," Gear's eyes flashed for a moment as a small grin spread across his face. He instantly smoothed it; he had already received enough sign language insults from the Linsnarians around, who likely thought he would not notice. "My biology allowed me to link with Babbage's systems, and I was able to interface with Brainiac 5's forcefield controls..."

"Because you have both biological and technical components," Gravity finished, his eyes twinkling with eagerness. "Do you mean..."

"The absence of any telepathic tampering could indicate-" Saturn Girl's thought was interrupted by a klaxon of alarms. First Coordinator M.E.T.A. burst through the doors, her face a mask of fright. "I am sorry for disturbing you, Legionnaires, but-"

"We asked you to," Andromeda said firmly, but gently. "We can't waste time." They had admonished M.E.T.A. earlier, saying that if she had news, she should just come in instead of waiting to be buzzed in. "What is it?"

"Our power reactors," M.E.T.A. was shivering. "Like you instructed, we had our technicians begin shutting them down and switching to safer back-up systems. Except our technicians were afflicted at the Northern Station before they could begin the shutdown. One of them crashed a transport and..."

"Andromeda, Tomb, with me," Saturn Girl stood up. "First Coordinator, please brief us on the way. Healer, you stay here and keep helping the victims. Gravity and Gear..."

"We will find the source and end this," Gravity smiled. He waved as Saturn Girl's team flew off, M.E.T.A. in tow.

"Come on, Gear," Gravity sighed inwardly. "At least I won't have to order you around verbally while we're searching, right?"

"As long as we keep talking telepathically," Gear replied, his mental tone carrying his mirth. "Wouldn't want any of my people to faint in shock now, would we?"

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

Andromeda flew through the hallways of the power station, her x-ray vision and super-hearing working overtime. She had already evacuated most of the staff inside, and was making her way to the last four that they could detect. Between her super-senses and Saturn Girl's telepathy, they were fairly confident they had caught everyone.

She landed in front of the door housing the staff kitchen, and tore it off the wall. There was no time to be delicate; but there was time to be careful. She didn't punch through the door because one of the staff was lying just a few meters from it. At super-speed, she flew through the kitchen, collecting all four unconscious Linsnarians, and flew out of the station.

Depositing the staff gently by Saturn Girl and Tomb, she once again scanned the station, just to be sure.

"I can't find anyone either," Saturn Girl told Andromeda. "I think we can shut the station down now; I'm filtering through the technicians' minds to pull the safety protocols."

"Thank you, Imra," Andromeda said privately. "I appreciate how tough it must be to read sleeping minds."

"It is, but it's a lot easier for me than it used to be," Imra smiled*. "And their minds are not so strange for me now that I've had practice with Gear." Imra thought for a moment; she and Andromeda had never been close. Should she say something?

Deciding to take a chance, she did. "You've come a long way too, Laurel."**

"Thank you," Andromeda tried to project her emotions of happiness and pride at how far she herself had come in countering her xenophobia. "I still sometimes find some things strange, but I try not to judge."

"It's not easy to remain impartial," Imra acknowledged. "Though sometimes I think, there should be some ethical absolutes..." Imra fell silent, reflecting upon her experiences with the White Triangle's xenophobia, the Progeny's prejudice***...

"Now's not the time," Imra scolded herself. Re-focusing on the task at hand, she searched through the orderly pathways of the head Linsnarian tech. She was glad that Linsnarian minds were generally so well-organized, unlike, say, fluid Durlan minds. And they were certainly less complex than Coluan minds... almost as if Linsnarian minds were designed to be easy to search. Locating the technical memories, she sifted through the information and sent the correct steps to Andromeda. The Daxamite Legionnaire sent her gratitude, and flew back into the station.

Beside Imra, Tomb was waving his hands over the last batch of rescued Linsnarians. "Mild radiation poisoning, but easily cleansed - we retrieved them in time," Tomb muttered.

"Good," Saturn Girl whispered as she turned her attention to the surroundings. First Coordinator M.E.T.A. had already asked all Linsnarians to evacuate the area, but it was always best to check for stragglers...

"Saturn Girl!" the First Coordinator nearly stumbled as she ran to Imra. "Another emergency, we've asked all Linsnarians to gather outdoors to avoid being trapped, but some were too slow and have remained caught in one of our underground tunnels!"

"Andromeda...?" Saturn Girl asked.

"Three more minutes," came the reply.

"We will travel there in five minutes," Saturn Girl told M.E.T.A. "Could you please ask the hospital staff to bring these technicians to the hospital?"

As M.E.T.A. bowed and scraped, Saturn Girl spared a thought for the rest of the team. Hopefully, they would soon find what they needed.

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

Amp, Ming Sul of Earth (Korea and Taiwan); amplifies the natural abilities of self and others
Apparition, Tinya Wazzo of Bgztl; intangibility
Brainiac 5, Querl Dox of Colu; 12th level intelligence and force field powers
Gear, I.Z.O.R. of Linsnar; bio-mechanical techno-morphing
Gravity, Tel Vole of Earth (Cambodia and Thailand); gravity manipulation

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

"Down there," Brainiac 5 pointed.

Gravity looked down; the building that Brainiac 5 indicated looked just like any other Linsnarian building. But he already knew better than to question Brainiac 5's conclusions. Besides, Gear had explained that Linsnar prized functionality over form; based on their overriding philosophy that they were tools to be used, they had no need for beauty.

It was a practical outlook, Gravity mused. But also a bit sad. Looking good made Tel feel good, after all...

"I still can't get over how convenient the Thresholds are for our work," Apparition mused as she landed beside Brainiac 5. "In the old days, we had to call for help and hope someone was close enough to make it; these days, we can just call a Threshold back to Legion World and pick up whomever is needed!"

"How did you even choose mission teams back then?" Amp questioned. "Like, how would you ever anticipate who would be needed?"

"We can discuss that later," Brainiac 5 said firmly. "Saturn Girl's deduction was correct. There is some sort of radio frequency interfering with the Linsnarians, and it originates from here. Apparition...?"

"Way ahead of you, Brainy," Apparition flew towards the building. "Open the door."

"And don't..."

"Don't scout ahead, I know," Apparition called. "Not without getting you all in, as we don't know what we're facing." She vanished through the building walls.

A few moments later, the doors opened.

"This looks like an old storage depot," Gear mused as they walked in. Gravity felt it odd that he could actually hear Gear's physical voice. now that Gear felt confident no Linsnarian could see them. Without being asked, Gear extended his ears and morphed them into small satellite receivers. Amp's hands glowed a tell-tale red, as she extended her boosting aura to Gear.

"I would not try to track it yourself," Brainiac 5 cautioned. "You have thus far not been affected, but we don't know if it is due to some resistance on your part, or by design."

As if in answer to his question, the walls began to open, and energy bolts and metallic projectiles rained down on the Legionnaires.

"Incoming!" Apparition warned as they passed harmlessly through her intangible form.

Brainiac 5's forcefield expanded to envelope him and the rest of his teammates, who watched as a dozen smaller forcefields opened in front of them***, sending the energy bolts back to their sources and destroying some of the energy weapons.

"Nice aim, Brainiac. And I can take the rest," Gravity concentrated on the wall, using his powers to detect the ballistic weapons. Every one he found, he caused to collapse in on itself.

"And I've got this side," Apparition flew along the far side of the room, phasing her hand through each weapon she encountered just so. The disruptive feedback disabled each gun that she passed through.

"That was a clumsy attack," Amp muttered. "Did they really think it would work?"

"Actually, yes." The five Legionnaires turned to watch a viewscreen activate along one side of the wall. A balding, middle-aged man and a silvery Robotican stood side by side on the screen.

And Gear doubled over in pain with a sharp cry.

"What's wrong?" Gravity asked as he knelt beside Gear.

"We will kill your teammate if you do not let us go," the Robotican intoned.

"But how...?" Amp asked, even as her hand's glowed. "I'm heightening Gear's pain resistance, but I'm not certain I can stop any physical damage...!"

"We re-activated the Roboticans' Asimov Circuits after they were freed from COMPUTO,"****** Brainiac 5 posited. "It stands to reason they could be de-activated again. But only by someone technically very capable - which I assume is you," he addressed the man directly.

"I am not some holo-villain who will be flattered into revealing his plans," the Robotican snapped. "Promise me you will let us escape, and I will let your teammate live."

"Gear, are you able to withstand?" Brainiac 5 asked. Amp looked concerned as Gear replied through gritted teeth. "I will bear it for as long as needed..."

Taking his cue, Gravity faced the man. "You know we can't let you go, without you healing the other Linsnarians."

"That will be done once you let us leave," the Robotican continued.

"And what guarantee do we have?" Amp moved in front of Brainiac 5. "How do you know we can trust you?"

"You do not have a choice," the Robotican said. Gear screamed even louder in pain. "I have intensified his pain. Now, you will agree to our demands or..."

Apparition's intangible form phased quickly through the floor, and reached into the Robotican's torso. Remembering her practice runs with Babbage, Apparition found the the internal switch that would provide Brainiac 5 access to the Robotican's inner workings, and flipped it on.

"No!" the Robotican cursed. The old man beside it turned, open-mouthed. Apparition didn't give him the chance to move; a nerve pinch to his neck caused him to squirm in pain as his mouth opened to scream.

"He's not even making a sound," Apparition commented, as she pulled his arms behind his back and handcuffed them together.

"Of course not," Brainiac 5 said matter-of-factly as he tapped on his Omnicom. Gravity and Amp looked at each other; but though both of them were fairly new to the team, they already knew that Brainiac 5's 12th-level intelligence came with 12 thought tracks that allowed him to multi-task to a degree they could only dream of.

"That man is Tarik Ahmadi, also known as Tarik the Mute, a very technologically-skilled mechanic who turned to villainy after a workshop accident severed his vocal cords. I have already studied his work, and now..." Brainiac 5 finished tapping as his Omnicom made contact with the Robotican's Central Processing Unit. "Now, your Asimov Circuits are reinitiated."

"Your are inhibiting my free will!" The Robotican protested, even as it in turn tapped on the console in front of it. Gear groaned as he felt the onslaught on his nerves ease; the signal that was hurting him had cut off! He stood, supported by Gravity and Amp, and glared at the Robotican.

"I have also disabled all weapons in this installation," the Robotican continued. "My Asimov Circuit will not allow me to cause any harm to you... even though it is against my will."

"Free will is not absolute," Gear glared at the Robotican. "I believe in everyone being able to make their own choices, but only if they don't hurt others. Now," Gear's eyes flashed red in anger. "Wake my people up."

"It will take time," the Robotican explained, even as Tarik the Mute's eyes blazed in anger. "Our signal had to be configured to consider differences in the biotechnological patterns that your race has; that is why we were only able to affect individuals at first, and then smaller groups. Which ones shall I prioritize?"

"All of them," Brainiac 5 countered, not looking up from his Omnicom. "I've already determined how to modify your signal to reach all Linsnarians at once. Only..." he frowned, for the first time since arriving on Linsnar. "Only, my method will only be possible if we filter it through Gear's form." Querl looked up from his Omnicom and addressed Gear. "Gear, this will be physically very taxing, and there is a 36.57% chance of serious injury, and a 4.56% chance of death. I recommend tackling smaller groups, the situation is not so urgent that we need to risk your life."

"There is one problem with that," the Robotican uttered. Tarik the Mute glared angrily at it, shaking his head. The Robotican faced Tarik, and its body posture was almost apologetic. "My Asimov Circuit is reactivated, and I cannot cause death to sentients through inaction..."

"Oh, just speak up," Amp rolled her eyes. Apparition firmly pushed Tarik the Mute so he sat down.

"Yes..." the Robotican faced the Legionnaires again. "We have programmed an algorithm into the signal to constantly shift and target different genomic sequences within the Linsnarian population. The only way to cure the Linsnarians affected is to keep the signal on; but it will keep changing. While we cure one group, another group will be affected again."

"Then..." Brainiac 5 tapped on his Omnicom furiously. He looked at his teammates sadly. "I have confirmed it. Indeed, unless we alter the signal to affect all Linsnarians at once, we will fall into an endless loop where one group will be cured, and another will be affected."

Gear pulled himself up defiantly, and gently pulled his arms away from Gravity and Amp. He stood on his own two feet. "I can manage it. If Amp boosts my stamina..."

"Gear," Amp cautioned gently. "You'll be completely exhausted when we're done. I can only temporarily magnify characteristics; there's a whiplash after, you know that."

"Yeah, but you heard the big brain here. We have to do it all at once, or not at all." Gear's tone was light, but his demeanor was deathly serious. "Besides, I honestly can't wait to get off this world again."

"You're really brave, Gear," Gravity whispered. Gear looked at him in gratitude. "Coming back here took the most guts," Gear laughed.

"Very well," Brainiac 5 said. "But let's do it in the control room, where I can maintain the best control over the process."

Guided by Apparition, the four Legionnaires flew into the room she was in. Under Brainiac 5's direction, Gear sat in front of the control panel; Amp sat behind him, her hands glowing as she boosted Gear's stamina. The Robotican, compelled by its Asimov Circuit, helped Brainiac 5 through the controls. Apparition and Gravity kept a watchful eye on Tarik the Mute, with Gravity concentrating his powers on Tarik to keep him immobile.

"Gear, this will be a difficult experience," Brainiac 5 said. "Are you certain?"

"Yes, just do it," Gear replied.

"Very well." That was the last thing Gear heard, before he felt a draining, piercing something enter his body. He groaned with exhaustion. Amp clutched Gear's hand in solidarity, even as she focused her power on Gear.

"You have a lot to answer for," Apparition told Tarik the Mute, as she watched her teammate suffer.

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

Reserve Legionnaires (Still in the Legion Cadet program)

Healer, Mend'rr of Jaquaa; accelerates natural healing by borrowing strength from others

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Healer looked up with a sigh as he finished mending the punctured lung of his latest patient. Wiping his brow, he scanned the room; this was the last one. So far.

He plopped down on a chair and grabbed an energy drink. He had been drawing on his own strength these past few patients; he had already exhausted most of the hospital staff. He really wished his power didn't require some sort of strength transfer between living beings...

He let his mind wander for a bit. Then he jerked as his Omnicom alarm sounded. Putting his flight ring to his lips, he called Saturn Girl; they had arranged for regular check-in calls every half hour. Healer understood; he was only a Reservist and Cadet, after all. Though the Legionnaires had shown great trust in leaving him alone, he wasn't a full Legionnaire yet.

"Saturn Girl, all well here. I've healed up the last victims, at least enough that none is in critical condition," Healer reported. "I've had to triage though, as the staff and I are running out of strength. I've left some with minor bruises and wounds."

"That's logical, Healer. We don't know what's coming, so best to conserve your strength," came the reply. Healer smiled at the praise.

"How- how are things there?" Healer asked.

The weariness was evident in Saturn Girl's voice. "Some Linsnarians collapsed while constructing a transport tube. We've been trying to be more all-encompassing with our requests to M.E.T.A. to stop unnecessary activities, but we are learning more and more that most Linsnarians interpret instructions very narrowly..."

"I guess they're not used to thinking for themselves," Healer pondered. "I think... Wait, hold on, please." Healer craned his neck. He thought he'd seen...

"What... Where..." called a voice.

Healer jumped up. Was it...

One patient began sitting up, then another. The one closest to him blinked, as if waking up from a dream. She stared at Healer, then sat up and made a bow. "I am here to serve."

"Saturn Girl, they're waking up!" Healer couldn't keep the excitement from his voice.

"I know, they're waking up here too!" was the joyous reply. "I trust you can handle them?"

Healer looked at the sea of faces looking at him expectantly, all with their hands clasped in front of them. "Oh, I think I can manage..."

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

The Legionnaires had gathered at the Coordinating Council's office. Gear was lying, exhausted, in a hover-chair; Tomb had given him a clean bill of health, admonishing him to rest and recover his energy. Amp and Gravity were doting on him, making sure he was comfortable.

Brainiac 5 was debriefing. "Our Robotican is called WIN-97. Tarik sought it out, thinking it would be open to Tarik's way of thinking. Tarik was angry at the loss of his ability to speak, and wanted to enrich himself through crime. WIN-97 always thought COMPUTO was right, and disliked the actions Robotica took to appease the United Planets after being freed from Robotica. They came here to try to understand how to control the Linsnarians, but they only managed to learn how to make Linsnarians comatose. Saturn Girl and Tomb couldn't detect anything because it was done through radio frequencies attuned to the technological part of Linsnarian physiology..."

Saturn Girl took over. "All the comatose Linsnarians are now awake, and we did manage to prevent fatalities through our precautionary measures."

First Coordinator M.E.T.A. bowed deeply. "We thank you, Legionnaires, for your actions in saving us. If Tarik Ahmadi and WIN-97 had learned how to control us, we would have had no choice but to obey."

"You would have obeyed anyway," Gear sent telepathically, where only his teammates could here. The stubborn set to Amp's jaw showed what she thought of the Linsnarian philosophy.

"If I may," Brianiac 5 ventured, his dispassionate face hiding his thoughts, "we could explore methods of preventing you from obeying harmful commands. Commands to harm yourselves or others, for example."

Andromeda tried, and failed, to hide her consternation. What would this mean for the Linsnarians' free will? Although, if they were so keen on serving...

"I... would need to discuss this with the populace," M.E.T.A. stammered. "And consult our constitution. After all, we Linsnarians are tools to be used; we have never needed to judge the motives of our users before."

"It might be wise to start doing so," Saturn Girl noted. "Thus far, your location in the center of the United Planets has protected you. But what if you were to be subjugated by a hostile race, like the Blight?"

"You are very wise, Legionnaires," M.E.T.A. bowed. "As evidenced by your solving this case. And indeed, by your wise guidance of our compatriot, I.Z.O.R..."

"His name is Gear," Amp bit off. She thought about holding her tongue. But a glance at Gear's impassive face... she saw how he had pushed himself for this ungrateful world. She needed to say something. "And he is a valued teammate, an equal to the rest of us."

"We trust him to do what's right," Apparition added.

"And we trust in his competence," Gravity piled on.

"Thanks, guys and gals, but it won't do any good..." Gear telepathically sent.

"Oh, forgive me, Legionnaires," M.E.T.A.'s tone was conciliatory, but her eyes flashed contempt as she looked at Gear. "It's just that... well... I.Z.O.R. here broke his tasks at Blackstar Juvenile Correction Facility*****. To this date, only one other, S.I.R.I., has abandened her post..."

"Don't you dare compare me to her!" Gear snapped. Everyone, Legionnaire and Linsnarian alike, gasped; this was the first time Gear had spoken aloud in front of another Linsnarian.

Pushing himself up, Gear stared defiantly at M.E.T.A., and at all the other Linsnarians in the room. "S.I.R.I. knowingly took part in criminal activity. I rebelled to stop criminals from exploiting youngsters and slowly causing them to die!"

"You disobeyed-" M.E.T.A. began.

"He followed his conscience!" Andromeda stood beside Gear. "S.I.R.I. wanted freedom and used it to do evil; Gear sought to right a wrong, and discovered freedom himself."

"And at least I know right from wrong," Gear's eyes blazed. "At least I'm willing to take responsibility for my own actions. It hasn't happened so far, but imagine if one of us fell into the hands of a conqueror, a mass murderer? Imagine if one of us was formed to commit mass murder? What then?"

M.E.T.A. sank back in her chair. "That has never happened before..."

"But it could." Saturn Girl drew herself up. This flew in the face of all the diplomatic training the Legion undertook; but the conversation had been steered this way, and indeed, the risk was great.

"Indeed," Brainiac 5 stared M.E.T.A. in the eyes. We have faced many beings with the power to co-opt your entire world, First Coordinator. Darkseid, Universo, Mordru, the Blight, the Progenitor, the Emerald Eye, the Monitor... I say this not to scare you, but to strongly consider preventive actions."

"In fact," Apparition continued. "I will recommend to President Wazzo, that the United Planets approach you with a proposal. After all, other UP worlds like Daxam, Bgztl, Titan and Durla are all taking measures to police their own populaces. I think Linsnar could benefit from doing such, too."

Gear let his jaw drop. His teammates had been supporting him telepathically this whole team, but now they were standing up for him out in the open... Apparition was even playing her "My mom is the UP president card", something she hated doing!

Cowed by this display, M.E.T.A. made herself very, very small. "I... thank you, Legionnaires, for your concern."

"And we thank you for yours," Saturn Girl said. "Now, I think it's time we departed. We will send you our formal report soon."

"And please... don't hesitate to call us for anything," Gear quipped as Gravity guided his hover-chair away.

"I can't believe what we just did..." Healer sounded incredulous.

"We discussed this possibility with Kid Quantum before arriving," Brainiac 5 noted. "She shared that the UP had been concerned about Linsnar for a while."

"And I know my mom," Apparition smiled. "She'll be publicly furious, but in private she'll thank us for being the bad cop here, so she can swoop in and play good cop."

"It looks like you may be bringing positive change to Linsnar after all, Gear," Amp patted Gear's hand.

Gear had the biggest smile on his face as they entered the Threshold back to Legion World.

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

IB's notes:

1) Saturn Girl has come a LONG way in the Reboot! When the Legion first fought the Composite Durlan (way way back in their first year, LSH 69/Legionnaires 25), Imra thought about how scary it is to immerse in the mind of a race/species she had never encountered before. We also later found out that her mentor, Micah Aven of Titan, had placed mental blocks to rein her powers in - these blocks would be destroyed by Doctor Psycho, unleashing Imra's full potential (LSH 90, Legionnaires 58). Imra would have to exert some effort to fully control her powers.

2) Andromeda has also come a long way - she was raised with xenophobic White Triangle beliefs on Daxam, after all (LSH 70). Through time, she came to see that other races were not inferior to hers (Legionnaires Annual 2).

3) The Progeny were in Legion Lost volume 1! They "deleted" anything they deemed deviant.

4) Brainiac 5 first used this trick in Legion 1, to reflect multiple energy blasts back at a bunch of attackers!

5) In Legion 14, COMPUTO's disappearance meant the Roboticans were in control of themselves again. I explain in Volume 4 that the Roboticans had their Asimov Circuits re-activated out of goodwill, to prevent them from harming other sentient life except when necessary to save other sentients - and even then, only non-lethally.

6) Gear was the prison warden at Blackstar, but he rebelled against the prison owners when realizing they were working their inmates to death. He and Sensor freed the prisoners (LSH 107).

Feel daunted by the length of this thread? You can also check out the Recap Thread to catch up!

VOLUME 5: What Makes Us Special

Ventura

Sandy Anderson of Luna (formerly Inferno of the Workforce); pyrokinesis

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Sandy Anderson was having the time of her life.

Despite being stuck in the 20th century for too sprocking long*, she had returned to find the 30th century changed for the better.

For one, her dormant credit account had been easily revived - apparently, the administration of current United Planets President Wazzo had vastly improved consumer protections in the last couple of years, meaning her account had been kept alive despite her not using it. A quick genetic scan had restored her access...

... and the accrued interest on her savings had left her with tens of thousands of credits more than she had remembered!

Say what you will about Leland McCauley as a boss, but he had paid nass-loads of money!

And now, Sandy was living it up on Ventura. She had been enjoying the amenities in one of the fanciest hotels on the planet, getting drunk on Silverale and sleeping her hangovers off in the soft, fancy deity-sized bed.

Ahhh, this was the life.

Okay, she knew her money wouldn't last forever, and she'd need to think about either getting employment or investing, ugh... maybe she could bully that do-gooder Cosmic Boy into helping her with that. After all, he had seemed so guilty about having left her behind in the 20th century, even though she had done so of her own accord...

But that was a problem for future Sandy. She would live it up for a couple of months more, and then figure it out.

She whistled to herself as she plopped down at a booth in the Sky-bar. Tapping idly on the menu, she jabbed at random at the cocktail list.

"Hmm, a Saturnian Sling... nah, I've had this before. Let's see... Pluberry Potion, what am I, a Scout Girl... aha! Jupiterian Julep!" Sandy placed that order, along with three servings of Soystix, and leaned back happily.

An hour or so later, she was sipping her fourth drink, and was tapping through the menu to see which others she hadn't ordered. She had already tried about half of the cocktails, and was determined to try each one at least once during her stay.

Then she felt someone sit behind her. And that person leaned forward. "Sandy Anderson?"

Pretending to be more inebriated than she was - after all, she could hold her alcohol - Sandy faked a hiccup. "Who wants ta know?"

"I have a proposition for you."

Sandy resisted the urge to flare up. "I'm on vacation, here."

"You don't even have to listen to me now," the voice continued. It was a deep, yet female, voice. "But I will leave this device on the table. It is keyed to your genetic signature. Anyone else uses it, it won't work. You use it, it will play a message with instructions."

Sandy began to look around.

"Don't," the voice said, with authority. There was something in it that made Sandy think twice. Then, she turned back to nurse her drink.

"Good girl," the voice said. Then Sandy heard the sound of a chair being pulled bac, and footsteps walking away.

Sandy turned to catch a glimpse of the figure, but all she saw was someone in a dark cloak disappearing into the crowd. She turned to the table beside her, and saw a small gray disk, with a button on it.

Sandy thought for a moment, and picked it up. Shoving it into her pocket, she bit her lip.

Then she ordered four more cocktails. She had to think about what to do with this... and whether she would one day push the button...

But for now, she was going to get sprocking drunk.

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IB's notes:

1) As Inferno of the Workforce, Sandy was stranded in the 20th century alongside some Legionnaires (LSH 85), and she refused to return to the 30th century (LSH 100). I had her return some time in Volume 4

Hi IB, I had some time to catch up!

I love your Drura, she really comes into her own - she's so clever with her powers and I like how she's still very sweet and compassionate but also confident.

I also get Chuck's reaction to seeing the others taken out with more precautions than were used on him. On one hand it's annoying being underestimated but on the other hand it's a tactical advantage really...

Ze Tongue! He's so silly and gross, I love him!

ooh, trapping Licht inside a mirror is smart! And seeing the girls put some teamwork into play so Triad could take out Gangster was fun! Babbage taking out Undertaker was a neat use of an inorganic character too

Nice that Swallowtail got a chance to shine at the end with her little pep talk to Elder Birdwing. I like the cut of her jib!

Back to Linsnar, yay! Man, I really feel for poor Gear! And Laurel having to instruct the Linsnarians how to carry out every facet of her request....that would get very old very quickly!

Imra and Laurel having a little moment was nice to see...and I like Imra's acknowledgement that Laurel has had a LOT of self-improvement. Laurel's response was good too, as xenophobic as she was when she first came to the Legion, I'd imagine she must second-guess her reactions occasionally when she does come across some weird lifeforms or cultures.

Tarike the Mute! Awesome! What a cool way to introduce him...and to bring up the ethics of the Linsnarians' way of life as well. It's all well and good that they see themselves as tools to be used, but that doesn't absolve them from responsibility for what they allow themselves to be used for.

I am glad everything worked out as well as can be expected for Gear...it's a shame that even after he risked his life to save his people they still miss the point that he chose to do that himself. But it was good to see the Legion fight for him and to see him fight for himself as well.

Inferno is a nice surprise! Of course she's living it up on Ventura...I got a laugh out of the idea of her bullying Cos into helping her with her finances hahahaha

Was that Nura that gave Inferno the disk for Inferno?? Intriguing!

Looking forward to more!

hiya raz, wow you read fast! thanks as always for the R&R, always a treat to hear from you!

yay, score re Drura! I really like writing her, for me she's a naturally awesome person who strives to do her best cause of the stigma re her race/species. Kinda like Cham. hmmm... maybe these two should hang out as friends more...

glad you liked the bits on Swizzar! Chuck is definitely very satisfied that Pollen and co. regretted underestimating him

and yes, go Swallowtail!

Gear definitely had a bit of a win there in the end. maybe not a perfect win, but the door is open for change on Linsnar I imagine news will get out, and many other Linsnarians will start thinking the same way he does...

glad you liked the bits re Laurel's growth and the ethics around Linsnar!

he he, it wasn't Nura who went to see Sandy-Inferno this will pan out soon-ish, stay tuned!