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

Ooh I think I spotted the plot point Omni asked about! I could see that foiling Glorith’s plan indeed!

PS I found pics of Sizzle and the other newbies that I originally started when I had them join the team that I initially thought were awful but with some time to grow on me I think I can salvage now! I will go through them all as I get time, but Sizzle is first off the bat!

(I added it to her Who's Who Profile as well)

I love her outfit!!!

Thanks! She showed a lot of skin in the threeboot but she also looked ready for an aerobics class...I wanted to give her a kinda sassy rockabilly of space look but still keep some of the cutouts in the costume.

You can hear her saying don't call me Sizzle Lass!

THE 21ST CENTURY
Gotham City, Robinson Park

ROLL CALL
Justice League of America
Batman aka Bruce Wayne: martial artist, strategist
Green Lantern aka Hal Jordan: Green Lantern ring
Wonder Woman aka Diana: enhanced physiology, flight, Amazon weapons

Legion of Superheroes
Chameleon Boy aka Reep Daggle: Durlan shapeshifter
Night Girl aka Lydda Jath Krinn: photosensitive super-strength
Shadow Lass aka Tasmia Mallor: darkness generation
Timber Wolf aka Brin Londo: super-strength and super-agility

Wearing the gorilla-like form of a Slith, Chameleon Boy held a struggling Poison Ivy in six strong arms while the Avatar of the Green whom men had named the Swamp Thing held Ivy's chin between his finger and thumb. The other heroes here gathered around feeling either awe at the imposing plant man, trepidation about his presence here, or a blend of both.

"We should--" Timber Wolf began, his body tensed to pounce.

"Let's see how this plays out first," Batman held a hand up.

"I may have judged you too harshly earlier," Shadow Lass stared down the Darknight Detective, "But villainess or not, the Legion will not allow that woman to come to unnecessary harm, Batman."

"I don't think she's going to come to harm," Wonder Woman joined the conversation. "You're not going to hurt anybody, are you Swamp Thing?"

"That's not what I came here for," the creature before them growled, "But she needs to stop all of....this." He looked around at the overgrown plant life surrounding them all.

"You should be on my side!" Poison Ivy spat at Swamp Thing. "I've heard of you, aren't you supposed to be some ecological champion? I'd have thought you'd be happy I'm bringing your precious plants to prominence!"

"What you're doing is serving an evil sorceress who doesn't even live in our time, May Queen." The Swamp Thing's blood red eyes glared at Ivy. "Do you really think this wholesale destruction is what the Green wants? If it were, would this Glorith person have dispatched Felix Faust to keep their Avatar trapped while you embarked on your campaign of terror?"

"Stop calling me that, my name is Poison Ivy! And why would your Green even care?" Ivy snapped back. "What do trees care about a few hundred thousand people dying?"

"May Queen is a title, not a name," Swamp Thing explained cryptically. "And the Green probably care nothing for the fates of a few hundred thousand people if we are being blunt. But Glorith's plans don't stop there...why do you think she's even got you growing that huge tree in the first place?"

"I..." Poison Ivy faltered, for the first time allowing her considerable intellect to override her anger as she realised that she really didn't know why Glorith had instructed her to create the monumental tree.

"The Phantom Stranger told me everything before he sent me here," Swamp Thing cut her off. "This Glorith person...somehow she's using this tree to take over the Earth for a thousand years, and she's using you to wipe out any opposition to her plan. She's going to decimate the entire human race, woman. For a millenium, maybe longer. You're helping her destroy your own race, and it's something that this biosphere will never fully recover from. Who's going to monitor the hazards to the environment that humans have created when all of the humans are gone? Who's going to protect this planet from the threats that it faces constantly from aliens or extradimensional invaders? Make no mistake, plants were here long before humans ever existed and they may be here long after, but the Green are not willing to risk what that existence might look like. Simply put, Poison Ivy...

...you need to stop this, or I will stop you."

**********

On the other side of the city, an extremely large and primitive cage hovered safely above the plant life crawling its way through Gotham. Taking inspiration from Element Lad's recent work on Korbal, Cosmic Boy had created this cage and he floated alongside it now using his power to keep it aloft. Legionnaires and the other vigilantes of Gotham alike had been rounding up the many criminals taking advantage of this chaos, and bringing them here to be temporarily incarcerated.

Rokk Krinn's expression was stern as he faced down the two dozen or so men and women hurling abuse at him from behind iron bars, but his heart was secretly racing. Some of the miscreants here were just ordinary criminals, but Two-Face and the Riddler were among that caged mob! He'd gotten to meet two of Batman's most famous rogues! And Batgirl had brought some of these men in herself! Rokk was well aware of the gravitas of the situation, but the part of him that could happily spend hours poring over history holos couldn't have been more excited to be a part of all of this.

"Heads up, Cos!" Lightning Lass's voice pulled Cosmic Boy from his thoughts. "New inmate for Takron-Galtos Version 1.0!"

Cosmic Boy turned to see Lightning Lass flying up from below with a thin man in a purple greatcoat draped over her shoulder and Batman's famous ward Robin keeping pace on a swingline close behind. While Robin perched on one of Gotham's ubiquitous gargoyles, Ayla Ranzz dumped her unconscious cargo unceremoniously into Cosmic Boy's floating prison. "Ayla!" Cosmic Boy gasped. "Is that the Joker? You know he's Batman's greatest enemy, right??"

"He's a crazy man who tried to electrocute me with some kind of stupid palm buzzer thing," a clearly unimpressed Lightning Lass replied. "If I wanted to be electrocuted by a crazy man I'd go see my brother Mekt."

"He's one of Earth's most unpredictable serial killers!" Cosmic Boy persisted. "Did you really beat him all on your own?"

"Cos, please." Ayla brushed the ash that had once been Joker's lethal joy buzzer from her gloves. "The day a glorified clown gives me a hard time is the day I hand in my flight ring. Besides, this cutie helped!" She thumbed the air in Robin's direction, and the Boy Wonder flushed bright red.

The much younger Jason Todd laughed nervously at this attractive woman from the future calling him a cutie. "I just distracted the creep...you did all the real work, Lightning Lass!" Glancing away from the Legionnaires, the smile faded quickly faded from Robin's face. "Uh...are you two seeing this?"

Cosmic Boy and Lightning Lass followed his gaze, and Cosmic Boy was the first to reply. "That's so strange," he puzzled.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd swear those plants were...receding..?"

**********

In Metropolis, Jimmy Olsen had been leaning precariously off of a window cleaning platform suspended some twenty stories above the ground snapping photos of the plants invading his city. Leaning too far, the reckless young photographer lost his balance and hollered ungraciously as he tumbled toward certain death. Clutching his camera with white knuckles, he jabbed at the ultrasonic signal watch Superman had given him and closed his eyes tight waiting for his inevitable rescue.

When Jimmy felt the familiar thump of landing in invulnerable arms, he opened his eyes again and was surprised to find that his saviour wasn't Superman at all but rather a teenager wearing his colours. What's more..."You're a girl!" he gaped. "But you're not Supergirl! Gosh, who are you?" As he spoke, he raised his camera up to snap a photo of the young raven-haired woman with the blue and red streaks in her hair.

Laurel Kent jostled Jimmy just enough that he couldn't get her face in the shot, and then she repositioned him in such a way that he wouldn't be able to get a clear shot of her again. "Oops, sorry citizen...uhh, strong winds up here. And I am Supergirl kinda...you know what, it's a long story. I gotta say, I never noticed till now but you really look like a guy I work with...it's crazy!"

"You really look like a lady I work with!" Jimmy shot back. "I mean if she were a little younger maybe..." Having said that out loud, Jimmy quickly looked around to make sure Ms Lane hadn't miraculously found a way to be in earshot of his remark. They were floating mid-air in between two towering skyscrapers but you could never be too sure with that woman...

"Okay, enough chit chat!" Laurel burst out in a hurried bid to prevent any further awkward and potentially temporal paradox-creating observations. "Let me get you to safety, buddy!" Propelled by her flight ring, she zoomed Jimmy up to the top of the Daily Planet building he'd been hanging from only seconds ago and deposited him safely with a bunch of other Metropolis natives on one side of the roof while her teammate Dogstar patrolled the other side. "How's things going up here, Dogstar?"

"Things are far more under control than they have been," the humanoid canine answered as his solar vision incinerated another thick vine creeping over the roof's edge toward the crowd of innocent people up here. "I almost think--"

The sound of overly excited barking interrupted Dogstar, and before he knew it a white dog wearing a red cape emblazoned with the crest of the House of El had almost knocked Dogstar off his feet. Tail wagging madly, the flying dog yipped happily and licked at Dogstar's face.

"Krypto, knock it off! You're embarassing us!" Another Supergirl descended, this one far more well known than Laurel Kent. Kara Zor-El landed on the roof and called Krypto over, but her cousin's dog was too full of joy at this new friend he'd found to pay her any heed.

"This is the Krypto that Wildfire and Matter-Eater Lad have named me after?" Dogstar held the dog back gently to look him up and down. "Well, it certainly seems like I have a wonderful pedigree to maintain!" He laughed heartily, rubbing Krypto's belly while the dog hovered upside-down and gleefully kicked at the air.

"I'm sorry, did you say Wildfire and Matter-Eater Lad?" Kara Zor-El repeated the names Dogstar had mentioned. "Oh, and you're wearing flight rings! You guys must be Legionnaires! But I don't recognise either of you..?"

"We're...a little after your time," Laurel explained, hoping she wouldn't have to go into any more detail. "This is Dogstar and I'm Super...woman." She felt awful lying to the girl whose name she'd taken on as a mark of respect, but she also knew it would be way too difficult explaining to the Girl of Steel why the Legion of Superheroes had two Supergirls.

"Why are you here in the 21st Century?" Kara asked. "I mean that's a stupid question, it must have something to do with all these plants, huh? Whatever it is, I'm glad you're helping out - Krypto and I have been looking after Metropolis while my cousin's off with the Justice League but we never say no to more help and it's always nice to meet more friends! You two have done a great job, I've been keeping an eye on you with my telescopic vision all day!"

"Really??" Laurel beamed. "You think I..we...are doing a great job? Thanks, Supergirl!"

"Anytime," Kara smiled in return. "I actually just came over here to let everyone know the plants have died down everywhere...they've all just either stopped in their tracks or they're going back to wherever they came from. There's still a lot of cleanup work do, search and rescue, stuff like that...but I think the immediate crisis is over!"

"I suspected as much," Dogstar joined the conversation. Krypto had calmed down somewhat now and walked beside him on the roof, though the famous dog from Krypton's tail still wagged frantically. "Thank you for confirming this, Supergirl, and it's been an honor to meet you both." He patted Krypto on the head and the dog let out an appreciative yip.

"We'll find you guys later," Kara gave both Laurel and Dogstar a quick hug. "I can't wait to see Brainy and the others again! Come on, Krypto!" When Krypto didn't move, Kara crouched down and grabbed his collar. "Honestly, we're coming back...come on, would you?" He eventually obeyed, and the two flew off into the distance.

"...Superwoman..?" Dogstar enquired when Kara and Krypto were both on the other side of the city.

"I'll explain when we get back home," Laurel looked up at him, her face glowing with pride. "But did you hear? She said I'm doing a great job!"

"I am just pleased that our work here may almost be done," Dogstar gazed off into the city around them.

"Let us hope that our allies fare just as well against Glorith and Verdant..."

**********

ELSEWHERE/WHEN

ROLL CALL
Justice League of America
Atom aka Ray Palmer: size and mass control
Flash aka Barry Allen: super-speed
Superman aka Kal-El: JLA chairperson; Kryptonian physiology
Zatanna Zatara: sorceress

Legion of Superheroes
Blok: magically enhanced strength, invulnerability, speed, flight, stamina, wisdom and courage
Chlorophyll Kid aka Ral Benem: chlorokinesis
Comet Queen aka Grava: flight, gas generation
Dragonmage aka Xao Jin: dragon magic
Mon-El aka Lar Gand: Daxamite physiology
Mysa Marvel aka Mysa Nal: magically enhanced strength, invulnerability, speed, flight, stamina, wisdom and courage
Phantom Girl aka Tinya Wazzo: leader; intangibility
Truth Girl aka Oliv Hollowai: truth sense, wields the Golden Perfect

Phantom Girl considered her options as Glorith gave her a sinister smile. Surely even a witch of her caliber couldn't really hurt her while she was intangible, could she? Tinya considered fleeing to Bgltz until she could come back with reinforcements but then what would become of her friends and allies who'd just been dragged beneath the ground in this weird plant limbo? She would rather die than abandon them like that.

Before she could consider options outside of dying or escape, a gold-flecked stone hand tore out of the ground and Blok's gravelly voice intoned one purposeful word. "Glorith."

"You again?" Glorith forgot about Phantom Girl and turned to watch Blok emerge from the ground; for the magic word to affect him, she'd need Blok to be fully visible. "Not that it matters, you don't have that hunky Kryptonian to save you now."

"Blok doesn't need Superman," Phantom Girl defied the time witch. "All of the Legion look out for each other, Glorith." Tinya wasn't sure if this would even work, but she was hoping that whatever enchantments made Glorith so physically tough wouldn't protect her from internal assault. Phantom Girl phased through Glorith's flesh to deliver a literal kidney punch and the platinum blonde sucked in air as she doubled over in pain.

"You..." Glorith's eyes glowed with infernal power as she turned toward Tinya. "I'll scatter you across the Phantom Zone for that, you little--"

Blok slammed into Glorith before she could complete her threat, and the two of them charged noisily into the eternal forest surrounding them.

Superman had recovered from Glorith's earlier attack, and with his assistance as well as some of the others, everyone else was now also free of what had been intended to be their mass grave.

Chlorophyll Kid and Comet Queen approached Verdant, the anguish on their faces evident.

"Little sprout, please, don't let that mean old Glorith totally eclipse your star!" Grava begged.

"We're not going to stop, Ivy." Wearing the baggy old green costume that had once been his garb in the Legion of Substitute Heroes, Ral Benem walked forward knowing that his daughter could end him whenever she wanted. "We're never going to stop, you'll have to kill us first."

"Haven't you been paying attention?" Ivy asked. "I just tried to do that, Benem! You think you're clever not wearing that dopey wooden armour or carrying any seeds on you, I don't need that stuff! I'll just--"

"I think you've done quite enough, actually." This was Zatanna, adjusting her coat tails and top hat. "Now it's our turn. Stnalp Nrut Ot Trid!"

Even Zatanna Zatara wasn't powerful enough to counter the power of the Avatar of the Green combined with Glorith's sorcery entirely, but for a twenty foot radius all around Verdant every plant immediately turned to dirt and crumbled into formless piles on the floor. Ivy's own unique hybrid nature protected her from the spell, but she'd just lost her nearest weapons and had been weakened enough that she couldn't just create plants out of thin air as she normally did. "You've just brought yourself a couple of seconds at most," Verdant taunted. "We're surrounded by plants, all I need to do is summon--"

"We did think of that, Ivy." Mon-El hovered overhead and used his heat vision to burn any animated vegetation trying to cross the perimeter of Zatanna's spell.

"We've been dealing with things like this for a while now," Superman added as his own heat vision took care of the encroaching plants on the other side of the circle.

"You are going to listen to us," Chlorophyll Kid asserted himself as he came closer to the daughter who hated him. "I don't care how long we have to do this, we will make you see the truth."

"I know the truth!" Ivy's voice broke and her eyes filled with angry tears as she screamed into her father's face. "My mistress Glorith was the one who was there for me all those years in the wastelands, she was the one who looked out for me! You two left me to die! I know the truth, Ral Benem! I grew up knowing the truth every day I woke up without a mom or a dad!"

"You don't know the truth, my poor little sprout." Comet Queen's eyes too now were full of tears, though hers were from a breaking heart. "But we'll show you. We'll show you bright as a supernova. Truth Girl? Starshine?"

The Flash had helped Truth Girl to her feet before racing off to help fight Glorith, and Oliv Hollowai readied her golden lariat though she wasn't sure where Comet Queen was going with this. "Do you want me to use the Golden Perfect on Verdant, Comet Queen..? It gifted me with the ability to see the truth in all things, but it doesn't do that for other people. I can only make other people tell the truth."

"No, Starshine." Grava locked the three fingers of her own hand with her husband's and then held their interlocked hands out toward Truth Girl. "I want you to use it on us. Me and Chlory."

Truth Girl suddenly realised Grava's intention. Without another word, she looped the gleaming lasso around Chlorophyll Kid and Comet Queen's linked arms while Verdant simply watched confused.

"We have to tell the truth with this pretty rope on, little sprout!" Comet Queen explained to Ivy. "And I'm telling you -- I-I'm telling you we love you--" Her emotions finally overcame her, and Grava burst into tears.

Chlorophyll Kid squeezed his wife's hand. "We love you, Ivy." His voice was far more calm and controlled, but his eyes still welled with tears. "Glorith took you from us when you were a baby and she brought you back seconds later fully grown. We would never have stopped searching for you. Never. But we never even got the chance to try. She took all your precious moments away from us and I'm so scared that she's taken your humanity away from you."

"You - you're lying," Ivy replied automatically. She didn't seem so sure of this as she had been though. Even in the post-apocalyptic world where she'd grown up, Wonder Woman's golden lasso had been legendary. It was said that people within its coils had no choice but to tell the truth, and the Legion had certainly been counting on that when they used it on Glorith earlier (even if that hadn't worked out to their benefit in the end).

Ivy had almost slain Chlorophyll Kid once already and he was still here risking his life to get through to her; and Comet Queen was wracked with sobs, her face buried into her husband's chest. Ivy wasn't sure that level of emotion could be faked.

The truth was that Ivy had spent a lifetime nursing this festering bitterness and resentment for the horrors that she'd had to live through; but for the first time in her life, she was beginning to wonder if there could be more than one truth...

**********

In the forest far behind Ivy Arcane, Glorith found that fighting the Legion of Superheroes and the Justice League was more work than she'd prepared for.

She hadn't counted on the two teams learning to work to one another's strengths so quickly and effectively; Blok and Mysa Marvel shattered her forcefields like so much glass, and between the varied nuisance of Xao Jin's dragonforms and the endlessly hammering blows of the Flash's bloodied fists, she was slowly but surely being worn down. The final straw came when she felt a wave of vertigo overcome her and realised that this was the Atom inside her very ear.

She'd finally had enough of this ceaseless humiliation, and forsaking her usual sassy commentary Glorith simply released an omnidirectional wave of occult force outwards that flattened the scenery around her along with the heroes who'd had the audacity to degrade her like this. The display of power took a lot out of her, and she steadied herself on one knee as she brought her hateful gaze up to focus on Blok and Mysa Marvel. With Dragonmage, Flash and Atom unconscious or groaning on the ground at her feet and every other hero here preoccupied with Verdant, the stone man and the former Black Witch were the only ones standing against her now.

Glorith started to speak the magic word when a flash of white and gold streaked past her and broke her jaw.

Standing opposite Blok now with Glorith on her knees before them, Mysa Marvel returned the sorceress's stare with her own cool gaze. "We are not like you," Mysa said simply. "We do not enjoy hurting others, Glorith...but one does not need the Wisdom of Solomon to see that your defeat is simply a matter of time now. It is up to you whether you wish to drag that defeat out any further."

"Kill...you..." the time witch gurgled and spat blood on the ground. "Kill you..all.."

"Nobody is going to die, Glorith." Blok was next to her now, holding Glorith's own hands within his own enormous fists. He gripped Glorith hard enough to prevent her from weaving spells, but not hard enough to break her bones. The threat, however, was inherent.

Glorith turned her gaze upon Blok and mystical beams blasted forth from her eyes and into his. Surprised, Blok took a step back and released her hands and the witch fell to the ground once more. Mysa Marvel rushed to Blok's side, but he reassured his friend immediately. "I am fine, Mysa...I just did not expect such an assault."

Still, Mysa stood protectively before her giant friend until his vision cleared. "It is fitting that it comes down to you and I, Glorith," Mysa addressed the sorceress. "If it weren't for my actions, you would never have returned to spread your evil here. Perhaps defeating you here now is the beginning of my penance for the hurt my actions have caused."

Glorith suddenly sat back on her haunches and gave a defeated laugh. With some effort, Mysa's perplexed eyes never leaving her, the sorceress stood up and wiped the blood from her face with one white glove. "It doesn't matter," she muttered hotly, magic already healing her injured jaw. "I can feel that Poison Ivy has broken the spell...that primitive idiot has chosen life over glory. This is all over, but at least I can take solace in the fact that it wasn't you who ended it, you hypocritical sow."

"Then you'll surrender?" Blok asked, his vision clear once more.

"Surrender?" Glorith snarled. "My scheme may not have succeeded, but there's no way you can stand against Ivy's power combined with mine...Ivy! Attend me, child! Let me empower you to destroy these fools before we take leave of this place once and for all! We'll find another way to fulfil my plan!"

"...No." Ivy Arcane strode forward, Mysa and Blok parting to let her through. Chlorophyll Kid and Comet Queen were by her side, and every other hero here gathered behind them.

"No?! What do you mean, no?!" Glorith screamed. She hadn't yet noticed the thin green tendrils snaking forth from the ground at her feet.

"I mean no," Ivy said through gritted teeth. "You've spent my whole life manipulating me, Glorith, and I've always known on some level that I was serving your ends...but I was happy to do that when I thought there was nothing else in my life that was worth striving for, nothing else good. I know now that you took me from everything in my life that could have been good, and now you're going to pay for it." Glorith couldn't help but notice the vines crawling over her now, dragging her into the ground as they'd dragged her enemies such a brief time ago.

Chlorophyll Kid knew that he should stop his daughter from murdering Glorith but after all the witch had put his family through, he just watched coldly as she sank to her knees. Comet Queen couldn't face the sight, and hid her face against Ral's chest again.

Some of the others were about to intervene when lavender mists suddenly started filling the air around Glorith. "I'll flee then," she spoke with bile dripping from every word. "I'll flee to somewhere none of you can follow, and when I come back I swear to every demon in every Hell that I'll kill all of you, I'll kill your children, I'll wipe out your bloodlines before they ever existed." The Flash had recovered by now and ran forward to stop Glorith from disappearing but even his speed wasn't enough as he simply kicked coloured dust up in the air around him while Glorith vanished from sight.

"We'd better get out of this weird limbo place they created and back to our own times," Zatanna cautioned. "I don't know how stable this place will remain with Glorith's enchantments broken."

"Agreed," Phantom Girl nodded. She was disturbed about how Ivy had nearly ended all of this, but this was no time to think about that. "Kal, it was so good to see you again and I wish we could have had more time together but I've been lost in the timestream more than often enough in my life and I have no desire to do that again. Mon, could you please fly back to our own time ahead of us and make sure any Justice Leaguers there get back home before this whole structure falls apart?"

"I'll do the same for any Legionnaires in our time," the Flash volunteered. Both men were gone in a heartbeat and the other heroes followed in their wake at a more human pace.

Phantom Girl brought up the rear and watched carefully how Ral, Grava and Ivy interacted. Tinya was glad that their family had been reunited, but she also couldn't help but think about the worlds that had suffered so grievously for them all to get to this point.

The danger might have been dealt with, but this story was far from over...

**********

THE END OF TIME

The lavender mists around Glorith faded, and the fuming woman looked around herself curiously. "This...isn't my celestial palace?" she uttered to nobody in particular.

There was no palace here...there was not much of anything here. She found herself on a featureless craggy rock floating in a void of pure cold darkness, a place she didn't recognise and absolutely had not intended to visit.

"It is not your palace," a voice like the grave spoke, "Though I suppose it could be said to be mine."

An icy chill ran down Glorith's spine and she spun on her heel to face the cloaked form of the Time Trapper before her. Visibly shaken, Glorith was nonetheless furious. "You kidnapped me? You dare to kidnap Glorith of Baaldur??"

"I dare that and far far more," the Time Trapper replied, the void within his hood mirroring that of the void around them. "After all, you have exhausted much of your power with this little foolishness, haven't you Glorith of Baaldur?"

"I'll kill you!" she screeched, spittle flying from her mouth as her hands charged with mystical energy. "I don't care if I die with the effort, I'll kill you for what you did to me!!"

"You will not harm my father," a whispering voice rasped from behind Glorith. "Nor anyone else ever again." She touched the small of Glorith's back, and with all of the sorceress's power devoted to taking on the Time Trapper, Glorith never stood a chance. A misshapen bubble of golden energy surrounded Glorith of Baaldur, and an instant later she'd decayed into so much dust blowing into the emptiness that was the universe at the end of time.

"Did I do well, Father?" the woman named Decay rubbed her skeletal fingers together to remove the last trace of Glorith from her forever.

"You did exceptionally well," the Time Trapper praised Decay as he stood motionless before her.

"Then we can leave this place?" Decay almost pleaded. "We can resume your plans to rule all?"

"Have patience, my dear daughter." The Trapper turned from Decay now and shuffled away, the dejected woman following in his footsteps.

"After all, patience is all we have here..."

**********



EDITOR'S NOTES:

* It's probably obvious from context, but the Jason Todd in this story is from just after he became Robin and he's still kinda Dick 2.0 personality-wise

* I didn't really have a chance to describe it in story, but this Kara is also the best Kara (aka headband and big hair)

* Jimmy Olsen of course looks like Elastic Lad, and Laurel Kent canonically looks like a young Lois Lane (going right back to her very first appearance!)

* And now it's time for....the next LEGION OF SUPERHEROES LEADERSHIP ELECTION!! I got some fun and unexpected votes when I did this last time, and IB doing it in his series this time around has inspired me to give it another shot!

Anyone can vote, and to keep us all on our toes I'll calculate the tally privately and then post results at the end (without saying who voted for which characters, though you're welcome to come forward if you want bragging rights). Rules are as follows:

*Give me your top 3 choices. Points will be assigned as per below:
1st choice: 3 points
2nd choice: 2 points
3rd choice: 1 point

*Highest number of votes gets to be leader, second highest gets to be deputy - if there's a tie I'll pick one of them randomly, and voting will be open until the end of April.

*I have got no problem with people discussing it in this thread, but for the actual votes please try and send me a private message (just so I can keep track of the votes in one place)

* The current active roster is:
BLOK
CHAMELEON BOY
CHLOROPHYLL KID
COLOR KID
COLOSSAL BOY
COMET QUEEN
COSMIC BOY
CRYSTAL KID
DAWNSTAR
DIAMOND DAMSEL
DOGSTAR
DRAGONMAGE
DREAM GIRL
ELASTIC LAD
ELEMENT LAD
EVOLVO LAD
FIRECREST
GAS GIRL
GRAVITY KID
INFECTIOUS LASS
INVISIBLE KID II
KID COMPUTO
KING CANARY
LIFE LASS
LIGHT LAD
LIGHTNING LASS
MATTER-EATER LAD
MON-EL
MWINDAJI
MYSA MARVEL
NEON
NIGHT GIRL
NIGHTWIND
PHANTOM GIRL
POLAR BOY
SHADOW LASS
SHERANEE
SHRINKING VIOLET
SIZZLE
SLUG
STAR BOY
STONE BOY
STRUT
SUN BOY
SUPERGIRL II
TELLUS
TIMBER WOLF
TRANSPOSITION LAD
TRUTH GIRL
ULTRA BOY
WILDFIRE

yay! conclusion time, super stoked to read this, raz!

Sliths already sound really cool. also liking the tension from Swamp Thing's sudden appearance!

I like that Tasmia is still butting heads with Batman, even though it may be a bit one-sided!

Also good that Ivy is smart enough to at least listen, and I like the reasoning of the Green re "we don't care about a few hundred thousand humans, BUT we also don't want all the humans gone cause, you know, they actually DO stop invaders who could be worse..."

LOL at this giant metallic cage, and also LOL at Cos secretly fan-boying!

and also LOL at Ayla being completely unimpressed by Joker... the Joker is always a paradox, he gives Batman so much trouble but many super-powered heroes could take him out easy - though they do have to catch him first!

hah! this Laurel Kent/Jimmy Olsen scene was gold. also, Laurel! stop blabbing about the future and future Elastic Lad!!! ah ok, good that Laurel thought of it on her own

also, hah at Krypto thinking Dogstar was "just" a dog too, hahaha! also funny how Dogstar acts like a human with a dog pet, rubbing Krypto's belly and all

smart of Laurel going for SuperWoman rather than Supergirl. awkward indeed!

I love how Glorith is still such a vamp even when giving the good guys a drubbing. "Hunky Kryptonian"!

nice distraction by Tinya! I was worried for a sec that Glorith was just pretending the kidney punch worked!

yes! yes! Truth Girl comes to the rescue, and very fitting that she did it after such a heartfelt scene with Grava, Ral and Ivy! also well done with that scene, having it end with Ivy doubting but still questioning. way to keep the tension going!


nice bit at the end, with the differing reactions to Ivy maybe murdering Glorith. I can totally get Ral's thinking, and Ivy must be so angry now.

Tinya is super smart, of course, this isn't over. Ivy, Grava and Ral will have a lot to deal with... smart thinking of her, I like that SHE was the one taking charge even with some Justice Leaguers there.

whew! Glorith's threat is finally over... I like how the Trapper (and Decay) waited until Glorith was exhausted and powerless before making their move! (too bad the Legion doesn't know Glorith is done for!)



yay! reader votes! yay yay yay! I'm gonna have a good think...

Continuing with my pics of the newbies....10 points to whoever can tell me where Transposition Lad has appeared before in canon!

First cab off the rank, IB! Sliths are actually a real Legion critter....I stole them from here (where I get a lot of my beastie inspiration tbh): https://www.writeups.org/legion-super-heroes-animals-aliens-monsters/


Cos secretly fanboying, Ayla being thoroughly unimpressed with the Joker, Laurel and Jimmy's scene, and Dogstar and Krypto being instant besties were some of the things I was most looking forward to writing in this story


I think you and Omni both anticipated Truth Girl's role in this, good work!

The Time Trapper is definitely moving towards BIG things, but it's gonna be a while before we touch on that....the next few instalments are gonna be some more downtime/characterisation heavy stuff but then we will see what the Sisterhood of Sin have been up to and it's gonna be a LOT for whoever the next Legion leader is!

Transposition Lad sure is a tall one! loving the hat! did he... appear in the tryouts before?

Omni should get more credit re anticipating Truth Girl's role, Omni thought of it first

looking forward to the Sisterhood already!! and of course, seeing the Time Trapper down the line!

For the benefit of everyone else who hasn't seen Transposition Lad's write-up in my Who's Who thread - Transposition Lad is based on this guy who appeared in one panel in Fortress Lad's Secret Origins story way back when. I stole his homeworld name from Klar's Young Legion fic where I saw this pic!




That is true, clever thinking Omni!


I actually just added a surprise final member to the Sisterhood of Sin which is gonna make them about 40% more fun

And the Time Trapper's story will be a HUGE one but that is some ways off yet

always a fan raz, thanks for sharing the sources of T-Lad's origin! and looking forward to more more more!

LEGION OF SUPERHEROES HEADQUARTERS
Turbolift 3
The turbolifts in the Legion's new mobile base were each capable of comfortably holding twenty people, but the only occupants in this one right now were Verdant, Comet Queen and an out of costume Chlorophyll Kid. Ral, Grava and Ivy had been granted three whole days after Glorith's defeat to begin to forge some kind of relationship together, but now reality was intruding on their fragile family unit.

"I hate this!" Comet Queen finally burst out, unable to hide her despair anymore. "We just got our little sprout back, now we have to watch her go away again?? It's not fair, Chlory!"

"I don't like it either, Grava." Ral Benem gave his wife a comforting squeeze. "But we're not above the law, and Ivy...I'm so glad you don't hate us anymore, but you hurt a lot of people. Innocent people died because of your actions...you understand why we need to do this, right?"

Ivy's expression was resolute as she stared straight ahead at the turbolift doors. "I get it. Glorith manipulated me into greening all those worlds, but I'm still the one who did it." She turned to face her parents, her own face lacking the exhausted trauma she saw clearly painted on theirs, and she softened her approach. "Look, Ral, Grava...this might be for the best anyway. When Glorith stole me from you guys, she took me back in time to an Earth that was a nightmare. Every day was a fight for survival, and it made me hard but it also..."

She took a deep breath as she tried to figure out the best way to continue. "I can't be like...like you all are with one another. I don't have that in me, I don't know how to have normal friendships or relationships or whatever, and it's honestly a lot to be around you both right now. I think...whatever is gonna happen with the three of us, you guys need to understand that I'm never gonna be that little baby you lost. For the time being, maybe the best way to learn to be around one another is for me to not be around you all the time."

"But Takron-Galtos??" Comet Queen protested. "That's like...a supermassive black hole of blahh! And your creepy granddad is there!!"

"We spoke to Sizzle about this, remember?" Ral Benem tried to soothe his wife. "For prisoners who want to rejoin society, Takron-Galtos isn't that bad a place. Sizzle was a prisoner when she got sent there and now she's in the Legion...and Alek Arcane is on Skepticism Isle without any access to his sorcery; there's no way they'll ever cross paths, Grava. Believe me honey, I would have fought this to my dying breath if I didn't genuinely believe that to be true."

"Anyway, I know you guys told me how Alek Arcane gave the Legion a hard time," Ivy's lip curled into the tiniest smirk of bravado, "But so did I. I'm not scared of some geriatric old wizard or whatever, Comet Queen."

The doors whooshed open, and Chlorophyll Kid and Comet Queen led Ivy out into the hangar where Mon-El, Firecrest, Infectious Lass, Crystal Kid, Tellus and Sizzle waited by a shuttle for them. The larger group had been idly discussing the current leadership election, but they stopped as soon as they saw the lift open.

"We'll come visit as soon as we can," Chlorophyll Kid said with a touch of desperation in his voice. "Ivy...I'm proud of you for doing this."

"It was either go to prison or spend the rest of my life fighting the Legion," Ivy shrugged, "And I might not be ready to start playing happy families yet but I don't want to fight you two anymore either."

With a wordless squeal of emotion, Comet Queen flung herself at her adult daughter and hugged her tight. Ivy was completely rigid at first, but tried to accept the embrace. She patted Grava awkwardly on the back as Comet Queen retreated back to her husband. "We'll miss you, little nebula sprout! We'll come visit sooo much, you wait and see!"

While the other Legionnaires accompanied Ivy Arcane on to the shuttle, Firecrest, Infectious Lass and Tellus hung back. "I can't imagine what you two must be going through," a human Staq Malven gripped his longtime friend Ral's shoulder, "But we'll make sure she's treated as well as she can be, buddy."

"And Tellus, you'll--?" Comet Queen began to ask.

"We will notify you of Ivy's safe arrival as soon as we can," Tellus replied, the monotone of his voice modulator at odds with the empathy he was extending his friend. "You have my word, Comet Queen."

Crystal Kid poked his head outside the shuttle. "Guys..? Sun Boy's finished prepping the ship to leave."

"You're doing the right thing," Infectious Lass said to Ral and Grava lamely, wanting to be supportive but feeling that she lacked the right words. "We'll be in touch soon!" With that, she entered the shuttle alongside Firecrest and Tellus.

Chlorophyll Kid and Comet Queen stayed until the shuttle had left the base and disappeared into the starry void beyond, and then with slumped shoulders the couple retreated to their quarters.

**********

MARS
Legion Academy, Arqiia Memorial Campus
Martian weather satellites had programmed light showers for Husband Hill, and there were very few people outdoors to see Gravity Kid descending through the rainfall.

The slightest application of his power repelled the rain from Gravity Kid's chiselled body, keeping him dry. The temperature was still chilly for anyone with as much exposed skin as Tel Vole however, and he was looking forward to being inside soon; what he wasn't so much looking forward to was having to help Saturn Girl run a training session for his ex-boyfriend Lullabye Lad and his old Academy friends. "Every Legionnaire has to take their turn," he reminded himself out loud, "Just suck it up, Tel..."

He turned his head to spare a glance for the twin statues of Fire Lass and Otaki outside the campus building, and so it was that Tel nearly knocked a dark-skinned girl over as she walked out of the building with her jacket over her head to protect her from the rain. "That was so clumsy of me, I'm sorry!" Tel quickly apologised. "Oh, Nightstone! It's you!"

The slightly younger teen girl stepped back into the Academy's lobby so Tel could enter the building. "No harm done," she said quickly, avoiding Tel's gaze. "I just had to discuss some prospective students with Lightning Lad--"

"Wait!" Tel continued. "Please..? Look, while you're here...I just wanted to apologise. For how things went down that night in Argentea."

Nightstone's brow furrowed as she recalled the humiliation she'd felt that night...she'd let her guard down for a moment, thought that Gravity Kid might want to help her, and then Crystal Kid had taken advantage of her vulnerability to ambush her. She now understood why the Legion had acted the way they did, and working with the Bina Nawoti Foundation had done a lot to dispel her anger, but it was still a sore spot.

"You did what you had to," she muttered. "Forget about it."

"That's just it," Gravity Kid persisted. "I want you to know...I wasn't trying to set you up or anything, Nightstone. Crystal Kid's an idiot, and I had no idea he was going to use his power on you. I just...I don't want you thinking that I was trying to trick you."

"Well, okay...thanks I guess?" She wasn't really sure how she was supposed to react, but she looked at Gravity Kid's face now for the first time since they'd started talking and somehow it seemed that he really needed her to believe him. "Gravity Kid, are you...okay? No offence, but you look kinda stressed. I've gotta run now, but if you want to talk about this later..."

"I don't have time for relationships," he unconsciously stiffened as he rebuffed her. "I tried that, and--"

Nightstone guffawed. "I'm not trying to hook up with you, Gravity Kid...you just sound like maybe you've got some stuff you need to get off your chest is all, I was being friendly."

Gravity Kid blushed beet red. "Oh grife, I'm sorry...I just....I'm screwing this all up, just forget you saw me."

Giavana Markova watched as he stalked off into the building, and she wondered if maybe she should talk to Jrey Lefen about this the next time they got together to review clients for the Bina Nawoti Foundation. Placing her jacket over her head again, Gia rushed out into the rain and thought better of it.

After all, Gravity Kid was a member of the Legion of Superheroes...surely he'd know how to ask for help if he really needed it.

**********

LEGION OF SUPERHEROES HEADQUARTERS
Truth Girl's quarters
Oliv Hollowai, the new Legionnaire better known as Truth Girl, lay on her bed among half a dozen different-sized cushions while she hugged yet another pillow close to her. The holographic image of a young Caucasian woman with honey coloured hair tied back into a loose ponytail hovered at the edge of her bed, and Oliv told her girlfriend for the tenth time how much she was missing her.

"I miss you too, Oliv baby." A smile lit up Bobbi Stiles's face. "I am going to eat you alive when you arrive on Earth...all that business with the plants made it easy to move my classes around for a few days so you're getting my undivided attention when you get here."

"I'm looking forward to it!" the Kenyan heroine returned Bobbi's smile. "I mean it's already been a wild ride with the Legion of Superheroes and everyone here has been amazing but it's kind of isolating living on a space station, you know? I miss real air and being able to see you and our families whenever we want."

"Our families?" Bobbi's eyes immediately brightened. "Does that mean we're going to visit your mom while you're here?"

"She's already started planning a feast," Oliv laughed. "I swear she thinks I'm starving you the way she shovels food at you whenever we're there."

"You leave that woman alone!" Bobbi mockingly chastised her. "I will not hear a bad word about Kaweria Hollowai and her endless nyama choma!"

A polite but insistent breep sounded, and Truth Girl remembered the alarm she'd set earlier. "My love, I need to go...duty calls. After this mission though, I am logging off for three days and I am all yours!"

The girls dragged out their goodbyes for another couple of minutes, and then as she rushed to exit her quarters Truth Girl remembered one more thing she had meant to do earlier today. It had been overshadowed by the crisis with Glorith and Verdant and its aftermath, but the Legion of Superheroes had recently opened up leadership elections. Oliv had been pondering the election for days now; she felt as though she hadn't really been here long enough to have earned a vote, but Phantom Girl had assured all the new recruits that their input was just as valid as anybody else on the team.

Truth Girl had been impressed with how well Chlorophyll Kid and Comet Queen had carried themselves while trying to liberate their daughter from Glorith, but she wasn't sure if she could see that quirky golden girl delivering orders to a couple dozen superheroes...and ultimately, Truth Girl felt like she still barely knew either of them well enough to make a truly informed judgement about their capabilities despite Phantom Girl's encouragement.

No, better to play it safe and vote for the one person she already knew could command this team. Muttering a voice command which summoned up a holographic grid featuring all of the active roster's icons, Truth Girl jabbed one gold-painted fingernail at the only choice she felt comfortable making, and Phantom Girl's symbol blinked in response as Truth Girl raced out the door.

**********

Several levels down, Tinya Wazzo reflected on her own nomination for the team's new leader. She'd chosen Blok for the second election running, and had talked Jo and Shady into following her example. Tinya had found it a great honour to lead this team that had been part of her life for so long and she felt proud of the storms she'd weathered as the Legion's leader, but she also felt that Blok had more than proven himself up to that challenge since being gifted with the powers of Shazam and he deserved the opportunity to show it.

"Credit for your thoughts?" This was Ultra Boy, standing in the open doorway of Phantom Girl's office.

"Jo! What a nice surprise!" She phased through her desk to kiss her boyfriend on the lips. "What are you doing here?"

"I actually came to see if you needed any help packing up, but it looks like you've got that covered!" Jo placed an arm casually around her waist as he eyed the packed boxes sitting neatly on Tinya's desk.

"I know I'm still technically the leader for the next few days, but I figured I might as well get it out of the way," Tinya explained. "Honestly, it's just as much to give myself a break from hearing about all the casualties Glorith and Verdant left behind on Earth. I know things would have been much worse if we weren't there and I'm glad Ivy finally came around, but there are still a lot of people who died for no reason....it's so pointlessly sad."

"Yeah, I hear ya." He kissed her on the forehead and held her close. "At least it's all over now though."

A breep sounded from Phantom Girl's desk and she groaned. "Let's hope you didn't jinx it, lover."

Returning to her seat, Tinya accepted the call and the team's Communications Officer Trava Coruu shimmered into holographic life. "Hello, Phantom Girl...I have M'Rissey and Marte on line if you're available?"

"Together?" Phantom Girl exchanged a curious glance with Ultra Boy. "That's odd, we don't have a meeting scheduled today! Sure, put them through - thanks, Trava!"

Jo walked around the desk to lean on Tinya's chair, his arms draped loosely around her shoulders. As much as it was a gesture of affection, it was also a way to indicate to the team's Business Manager and Manager of Diplomacy that Phantom Girl wasn't here alone. When the holographic image changed from Trava's attractive features to those of Marte Allon and M'Rissey, Tinya greeted them warmly.

The middle-aged woman and the young boy both looked like the proverbial cat who swallowed the canary. "Hello Phantom Girl, Ultra Boy," Marte Allon grinned from ear to ear. "How would you two like to hear some good news?"

"I would love to hear some good news, Marte!" Phantom Girl couldn't help but smile in return. "What have you been up to?"

"Just getting Earthgov to rectify a bad decision is all," M'Rissey noted smugly.

Phantom Girl and Ultra Boy both looked mystified, so Marte took over to explain. "You remember how Earthgov forbade the Legion from operating on Earth during all of that nonsense with Earth-Man and his awful Judgement League? Well, my very bright young colleague here helped me put together a case to get them to reevaluate that decision, and we're happy to report that it has been successfully overturned!"

"What?!" Phantom Girl's jaw dropped. "Marte, M'Rissey....that's incredible!! But how?? I mean, I didn't even know you two sneaks were working on anything??"

"We weren't," Marte replied. "But I knew sooner or later there would be some kind of crisis that would need your attention on Earth, and as soon as that terrible business with the plants began I knew just as surely that was the crisis I needed. I know it sounds a little mercenary, but what kind of Manager of Diplomacy would I be if I didn't see an opportunity for diplomacy when it becomes available?"

"Mrs Allon, you're the sprockin' best!" Ultra Boy gushed. "Gim and a bunch of other people on our team are gonna be so happy to be able to visit their homeworld again without feeling like criminals the whole time they're there!"

"Jo!" Phantom Girl hissed, slapping her boyfriend's hand. "Don't swear in front of Colossal Boy's mom!"

Marte gave an indulgent chuckle. "Dear, I used to be a politician; I've heard much worse. Besides, this young man did most of the work...I just organised a stage for him to shine on!"

"I just slapped together some data to show how much more economically damaging Glorith and Verdant's invasion would have been if the Legion of Superheroes weren't there," M'Rissey noted with a self-satisfied twinkle in his eye. "And then some extrapolative projections showcasing how often Earth seems to be the centre of weird stuff like this compared to most planets...the nasty old xenophobes in charge of Earthgov might not appreciate doing the right thing for its own sake, but finance talk sure gets them in their little black hearts!"

"I won't lie, I've been dreading the backlash from Earthgov a little after we went to Earth without their permission," Tinya admitted. "I mean we did the right thing obviously, but I was ready for it to come back and bite us anyway. Why didn't you two tell me you were taking this on though?"

"Honestly, dear? I didn't want to build up anyone's hopes until we knew we'd be successful," Marte answered. "I hope I didn't overstep my boundaries!"

"Marte, not at all!" Tinya shook her head vigorously. "This is exactly why I hired you, thank you so much!"

"You're very welcome," Marte Allon made a move to leave. "If you'll excuse me though, I think I'll call my son now and give him the good news."

"And I'll send through a more detailed presentation later this afternoon," M'Rissey added.

"Thanks again, you guys!" As soon as the team's support staff blinked out, Phantom Girl spun her chair around to face Ultra Boy and kissed him passionately. "It's so nice to just get some legitimately good news for once, don't you think?"

"You bet," Jo replied. "Now if you've got no other leadership duties to keep you distracted, I move that we go celebrate in style, fearless leader!"

"Motion carried!" Phantom Girl giggled. "Let's get out of here!"

Feeling lighter than either of them had for a while, the two ran off hand in hand down the corridor.

**********

ELSEWHERE
In a well-equipped penthouse suite that the Sisterhood of Sin had commandeered, Veilmist walked into the recreation room to find Nimbus and White Bat sitting at a console with VR headsets on while Vista reclined with an omnicom in a giant egg-shaped pod lined with memory foam cushioning.

"I appreciate that we are no longer forced to be living like paupers," the stunning Khund woman addressed her teammates, "But when are we going to actually do something? Can I at least bring a few men up here?"

Nimbus chortled loudly, paused the combat game she'd been playing with White Bat and removed her headset. "You're kidding me, right? You know why you and Scorn insisted that we had to be a Sisterhood when you recruited us in our own time, right?"

Veilmist was utterly perplexed, but from the knowing looks that White Bat and Vista were casting, they were obviously in on this joke as well. Hands on her hips, Veilmist pouted at Nimbus. "Obviously I do not know, please educate me."

"In our time," Nimbus snorted, "You hate men. In fact, you and Scorn..." The young blonde crossed her index and middle finger on one hand suggestively.

"Absurd!!" Veilmist almost shouted in disgust. "I do not have to stand here and listen to this...this..."

She was about to teleport away when a door slammed and Scorn stomped out of the bedroom where she'd been sequestered for the past 16 hours. The more physically imposing Khund sorceress was dripping in sweat, with what had once been a silk pillowcase wrapped tightly around her right hand and soaked a deep red. "The blood has shared its secrets," she announced cryptically. "If we are to find this Demon Father, to petition him for power, I know where our quest must begin."

"Your quest should perhaps begin in the bathroom," Veilmist cupped a hand over her nose and mouth. "You reek like the locker room of a Challenge Court, blood witch!"

Scorn sneered at Veilmist, and Vista stood from her luxurious seat before the two could start sniping at one another properly. "So tell us," Vista asked. "Where are we going?"

"Earth," Scorn answered simply. "To a place named Mega-California...we seek a thousand year old Terran artifact."

"If that's the case, we might need somebody more familiar with that era," Vista reasoned. "And it probably wouldn't hurt to have some extra muscle, we're bound to encounter the Legion or the Substitute Legion or the Cavalry or whichever annoying hero types live on Earth these days..."

"What have you got in mind?" Nimbus asked, standing to join the others while White Bat silently followed her lead.

"I think it's time the Sisterhoood expanded, ladies." Vista turned to Veilmist. "You wanted something to do...how about you and I go on a recruitment drive, Veilmist?"

"Happily!" With a twirl of her fingers, Veilmist summoned her trademark lavender scented plumes of smoke and she and Vista both vanished.

Nimbus gave Scorn an unconcerned shrug and returned with White Bat to their game; once she was certain that the other two were distracted by their foolish game, Scorn sniffed at her armpit and begrudgingly admitted to herself that Veilmist may have had a point as she marched off to the bathroom...


**********

EDITOR'S NOTES:

* Gravity Kid and Nightstone are of course talking about their encounter just before Nightstone got recruited to serve Mordru, that can be found here

* in my fic, waaaay back in 2014, Earthgov booted the Legion off of Earth and decreed that its members who were Earth natives could return home only as civilians. Probably surprising that it took this long for something to happen to make Earthgov change their minds really, so thanks Glorith I guess..?

* LEADERSHIP ELECTIONS ARE NOW OPEN! DM me your top 3 choices and we'll see who comes out on top at the end of April! The current roster is:

BLOK
CHAMELEON BOY
CHLOROPHYLL KID
COLOR KID
COLOSSAL BOY
COMET QUEEN
COSMIC BOY
CRYSTAL KID
DAWNSTAR
DIAMOND DAMSEL
DOGSTAR
DRAGONMAGE
DREAM GIRL
ELASTIC LAD
ELEMENT LAD
EVOLVO LAD
FIRECREST
GAS GIRL
GRAVITY KID
INFECTIOUS LASS
INVISIBLE KID II
KID COMPUTO
KING CANARY
LIFE LASS
LIGHT LAD
LIGHTNING LASS
MATTER-EATER LAD
MON-EL
MWINDAJI
MYSA MARVEL
NEON
NIGHT GIRL
NIGHTWIND
PHANTOM GIRL
POLAR BOY
SHADOW LASS
SHERANEE
SHRINKING VIOLET
SIZZLE
SLUG
STAR BOY
STONE BOY
STRUT
SUN BOY
SUPERGIRL II
TELLUS
TIMBER WOLF
TRANSPOSITION LAD
TRUTH GIRL
ULTRA BOY
WILDFIRE

yay, more! super stoked to see some good character moments here, raz!

Makes sense that Ivy would have to face justice for her actions. Grava's sadness, Ral's also-sadness-but-in-a-more-subdued-way, and Ivy's own feelings and dealing with her trauma, all very realistic! Nice call-back to Sizzle's time on TG too, and glad to see the prisons of the future are much more humane and with an eye for rehab!

Aw, at Ivy trying. poor thing.

also sweet of Staq, Drura and Tellus to hang back, and a little LOL at poor Drura being awkward

also lol at Gravity Kid's annoyance at facing Lullabye Lad. And a really cool application of his power, keeping himself dry! (but also: him being cold lol, but hey he works hard on his body, if I had a body like that I'd show it off all the time too)


wow! I've been waiting for this Tel/ Nightstone scene, and you delivered in spades! Nightstone is clearly like, over it all, AND she's in a way better/good place than Tel is actually! Even thinking about helping Tel, while Tel is all "I have no time for relationships". Sometimes I wanna smack Tel silly! (and also his bit about "Bobb is an idiot", whoo boy someone is not over the ex!)

I love Oliv and Bobbi, I mean I loved them before already but I love em even more now. And Oliv's mom is so relatable lol!

also, great way to show Oliv's thinking process re voting for Tinya again! TBH that's what I thought of - Tinya has done SUCH a great job, on the other hand I also think she could use a break. But she's still among my pics

and yeah re barking commands. There aren't many Legionnaires I'd vote for... I'd think about whom I would follow. I'll throw out my vote, I put Blok because of his wisdom of Solomon; Tinya as the incumbent; and kinda left field but I think Dragonmage is thoughtful enough to do a good job!

wow! woozah, and Tinya also picked Blok! awesome-sauce! yay, my pick isn't completely nuts lol

nice convo between Tinya and Jo, about the casualties. TBH I always think that's gonna be one of the toughest parts of being a Legionnaire, seeing all that death! and it's natural that Legionnaires would need a break from it...

OMG Marte and M'Rissey are brilliant, brilliant! I know it sounds a little mercenary, love how self-aware Marte is, and how clever - but also her giving M'Rissey full credit. Jo supporting Tinya, and her smacking him into not swearing, were also amazing. Plus, this is an awesoooooome development for sure! lol at M'Rissey being so gleefully clever too, talking about finance.

Also Tinya expecting Earthgov to make trouble. and it is good leadership of her, being both grateful BUT also asking why they didn't tell her - but also affirming that they didn't overstep any boundaries. it is just sooooo cool how well they work together!

hah! Veilmist's reaction about the future is so hilarious. Also, nice intro to the Sisterhood origins, about them hating men.

How does Veilmist know where to teleport herself and Vista, by the way? Is there some telepathy involved? or did she just send them to the hangar?

also: hah at Scorn needing a shower!

well done raz, great installment, some awesome character bits and plot being moved along!

Tel Vole is certainly somebody who does not cultivate good relationships with his exes lol...however you are right that once Nightstone started getting some good influences (and not living in an abandoned warehouse anymore!) she has adapted well!

I hope I get a chance to introduce Truth Girl's mother properly at some stage, she is a fun character in my head so far

I actually realised after I wrote the nomination scenes that it mirrored your choices, but it makes sense that someone who's been on the team for like a week is going to nominate the only person they've actually seen lead so far and I remember I had Tinya talking Jo into voting for Blok back when she got made leader so that seemed logical as well

Marte and M'Rissey's little scheme is something I only came up as I was writing this up actually! I couldn't really be bothered doing another round of the Legion vs Earthgov, and it seemed like a cool way to show how the support staff are useful in arenas the Legion don't really much operate in

I like to imagine Veilmist just teleported herself and Vista to the roof or something just to make a dramatic exit and then once she got there was all "umm, okay so where are we going actually?"

re Marte and M'Rissey, score one for a great idea! And agree, plus the timing was great - coming after Earth was overrun by plants! (and showing the effects makes tons of sense, instead of showing the whole process!)


this fits perfectly well with Veilmist getting all bored sitting in the apartment lol! so let's go with that

Hey Raz, sorry I've fallen so far behind - I promise to try harder in future

Just re-read my last post so I'm up to date - after a month away and spending three days catching up on IBs I needed that Why can't any of us write straight forward adventures that don't require any conscious effort to keep up

The Phantom Stranger is always fun so I'm happy to see him involved. I'm assuming this the Satellite era JLA? Tellus is always great, for such a physically imposing being his lack of confidence is quite sweet, and I think Dream Girl is right, Faust's mind is not going to be a nice place. Like the dissing of Faust, and meow! He's gives it back to Aquaman (quite right too). Nice take down with the aligators. Go Tellus and Tenzil! Hah, chomping on the amulet was funny. And Firestorms transformation of Faust's robes were fun too, if he wasn't angry at the league before he will be now! Hahaha. Phantom Stranger freeing Swamp Thing and taking Faust away wasn't a surprise but Nura's annoyance was, and I liked it She's such a drama queen.

I don't really know much about Poison Ivy, though nice that Diana addresses her as Pamela - makes her threat seem more personal. Is there a history between them? Chameleon Boy to the rescue! Oh, maybe not then, that was cocky of Reep, he really should have just knocked her out. Batman to the rescue then, of course (sigh, am I the only DC fan that actively dislikes him?) though really Hal should have thought of it himself. WW, "I've been restrained by experts." is that a reference to her very early days when she was a BDSM fetish doll? So, it was Chameleon Boy that stopped Ivy in the end - that was good as the rest of the team are pretty helpless. Finally, Brin and Lydda let rip - I feel sorry for her having to deal with her collapsed beehive, what an image! Oh, an angry Swamp Thing, that'll be interesting and I'm glad I'm not Ivy.

And now the big team with the powerhouses on it - I've been looking forward to this encounter! I kind of half expected you to have Glorith turn them into toddlers and now I'm not sure if I'm disappointed or not Glorith is so arrogant that of course she'll explain her master plan - that ego! Nice that Verdant can see that this is a mistake, she's a lot more canny than her mistress. Somehow, I doubt that letting the Green control time is really part of Glorith's ultimate plan, as she says, it's a stepping stone. And a Glorith/Trapper face-off would be awesome! It feels like it's on it's way too, hoorah! Quick thinking of Supes to stop her from saying Shazam.Unlucky catching that blast though and knocking out Xao in the process - whoops. Truth Girl should have asked a follow up question or two, but too slow.

Yay! The Trapper and Decay, I'm really looking forward to their part in this. It's going to be epic!

Nice picture of Sizzle - her hair is a weapon n itself but seriously, great picture Raz, I'm both impressed and envious of your talents!

And I'm out of time just as we we're back to Gotham.

This has been a fun, and funny, adventure Raz, really like how you give your characters great little moments in amongst all the excitement, well done!

I'll be back soon for more, more, more!

Right, I have half an hour, let's see if I can get this arc finished

Batman knows Swaamp Thing to his caution is well played. May Queen? Sounds Alan Moore-ish to me, though I've never heard that phrase before. The green's justification fpr stopping the wild growth makes sense, and of course trees would take a long term view over a short term victory. "... or I will stop you." Swamp Thing is quite scary!

Rokk, always a history buff - it's such a decent character trait that it's always nice to see. Ayla taking out the Joker - great! And her casual attitude towards it was perfect. Super Girl ii and Jimmy Olsen - inspired! Great little scene. And Dogstar and Krypto! Haha, that was really good. A young Kara and Laurel talking, and I think that's perfect. You could have stopped there and I'd have been happy actually, those three little interactions together are the mutts nuts - as my son would say

Tinya delivering a literal kidney punch - ouch! Bless Ral and Grava for continuing to try to talk to Ivy. And there it is, the lie that will get Verdant away from Glorith, the Legion left her to die... and I love your Grava, I really do. Poor Verdant is away to get a real solid dose of reality to deal with.

Mysa Nal - hardcore breaking Glorith's jaw. Blok's compassion and resolve are perfectly shown. Ivy saying no to Glorith - about time too Though she might not be the most stable or upstandingcitizen after being brought up by Glorith so have the team created a monster? And she runs away - smart but I was kind of wanting to see her get a good smackdown, which doesn't exactly say great things about me really The danger might have been dealt with, but this story was far from over... you tease! haha

Nice, if creepy scene at the end there, The Trapper and Decay are quite worrying. Am looking forward to seeing what you do with them next.

I think there's another section below this but I have run out of time for today.

Nice resolution to your story there Raz and great writing of the JLA too.

Not sure what you have coming for us next but I'm sure it'll be great.

More, more, more!

Hi Harbi, thanks for commenting! No worries about falling behind, real life does tend to get in the way like that

It was the Satellite era JLA, and the Phantom Stranger being all spooky for no reason was always my favourite part of when he would rock up

re Wonder Woman calling Poison Ivy by her real name, there's no particular history between them but I think Diana would be the kind of character to recognise when someone isn't outright evil and try to appeal to their humanity. And yes, that was a sly wink to Diana's original days where she was getting hogtied every other page hahaha

I kinda needed to give Batman something to do but I didn't want to have him be the Batgod he is nowadays....and in writing this story I think I have discovered that I don't really like Hal Jordan much; his most standout features I can remember off the top of my head from 80s comics are knocking himself out on a bar of soap and hooking up with a 13 year old so he's not really my favourite GL...

I was VERY tempted to get a toddler Legion story out of Glorith before this all finished, but I couldn't figure out a way to slip it in and keep the same tone going hahahaha

May Queen is....I wanna say a Neil Gaiman term actually, but I'm not 100% sure; it might have been Alan Moore, it did come up around the time he did his classic Swamp Thing run.


Thanks! Those bits were my favourite parts to write actually! Well, maybe that and Ayla wrecking the Joker with no effort at all

There is one more instalment already up which is kind of an epilogue, but you have probably got a few weeks to get round to that as I am holding off on posting any more until the end of the month to see if any more leader nominations come in.

Then we got a couple spotlights on Light Lad and Dragonmage coming up that I am looking forward to writing, before we dive into what is turning into a pretty nasty confrontation with the Sisterhood of Sin!

And I'm back for more - hoorah!

Love the picture of Transposition Lad - cool hat, I do love hats ooh, my guess, was he one of Kirby's Inhuman designs from way way way back in the day?

Ah, no, he's from a Legion story I've never read, haha, oh well.

Right, on with the story - Nice that you start with Grava, Ral and Ivy, and it's obvious that Ivy has taken the three days to reflect on her own part in the previous action - nice personal growth there on her part and for all of her talk of lacking relationship skills she clearly has some empathy that she realises she needs to take responsibility. Her creepy grandfater - ooh, I'd forgotten about Alek Arcane... and how much do I love your Ral for his reassurance of Grava? Hugely, I love your take on him hugely! Nice moment with Staq and Tellus too. That was a nice resolution to the Ivy situation, hopefully Grava and Ral get through this okay.

Gravity Kid's trick of keeping the rain off sounds great - wish I could do that but then, don't we all? Tel being wary about running into his ex is understandable, it's rarely something to look forward to. The meeting with Nightstone was ...uncomfortable. Tel wanting to apologise for something that no longer bothers her was fair enough, but the miix up about what Gia's intention were was cringey - Tel needs a shrink in both our fan-fics, obviously And why does Gia's final thoughts about Tel knowing how to ask for help seem like a missed opportunity? Hopefully things won't get too helter-skelter for him. Though, tbh, he hasn't been the nicest of characters on your team so perhaps a learning curve on how to deal with people is due to come his way.

Truth Girl curled up on bed surrounded by cushions s such a sweet imahe, and her catching up with her girlfriend was sweet. I think most mothers are feeders when their children take home partners or friends that they like. sounds like they have a good family around them. And, while it wasn't my vote, her choosing Tinya as leader was understandable.

Tinya voting for Blok - good choice Her sadness over the loss of life was understandable and nice to see - she hasn't become jaded in the years she's be on the team. Ultra Bot acknowledging her feelings was sweet too, he's good egg isn't he? M'Rissey and Marte - the Diplomatic team, this'll be fun And how nice! They can return to Earth. Jo's reaction was funny, as was Tinya slapping his hand for swearing. And, yup, talk finances and senior management are interested, seems planetary governments are run the same way as educational institutions. You just know M'Rissey's 'detailed presentation' will be 74 pages long

Yay, the Sisterhood of Sin are back! You do love your bad girls Raz Veilmist learning of her fture self's change in taste was interesting. Scorn and Veilmist sniping was fun. Mega-California for a 1,000 year old artifect? I won't guess as I'm not really up on my DC mystical lore. And a recruitment drive? One or two of Earth Man's former Judgement League spring to mind - will be interesting who you have coming up. And nice cliff hanger there. Looking forward to wherever you take this, as the Demn Father cn't be all that far aay and I don't reckon the Sisterhood will find him as accomodating as they hope.

Great stuff Raz, as always I thoroughly enjoyed this and am looking forward to more, more, more!

Tel has been getting fairly unlikeable on occasion, and it's probably gonna sit in the background for a bit to be honest but it is going somewhere eventually...


74 pages and a LOT of fishbone diagrams

I just wrote my first scene with the Sisterhood of Sin's new recruit and I am already happy I added her, I think y'all will like her

NEXT: Surprise return of the Legion villain nobody asked for!

LEGION OF SUPERHEROES HEADQUARTERS
Jrey Lefen's waiting room

ROLL CALL
Sun Boy aka Dirk Morgna: heat and light generation
Supergirl II aka Laurel Kent: invulnerability

One of the things that Jrey Lefen had requested when he took on his role as the Legion of Superheroes' counsellor was his own dedicated waiting room as part of his office suite. He'd reasoned that therapy could be a deeply personal thing for his clients, and he wanted to make sure they had somewhere more private than the corridors of a mobile space station to wait for their session with him or to collect themselves afterward if necessary.

A modest aquarium stood along one wall featuring a number of brightly coloured Vavallan tropical fish, and a selection of beverages were available through the autovendor. Right now, one of his next clients was drinking a sparkling water that he didn't really feel like and his second client was staring at the aquarium but watching Dirk Morgna's reflection more intently than any fish.

"Hey." Supergirl finally steeled herself enough to say what she wanted. "Thanks for coming here with me, really."

"If it'll help things get back to normal with us, I'm all for it." Sun Boy gave what be hoped was a supportive and understanding smile. "Laurel, you know I wouldn't...I would never deliberately hurt you, I hope you know that."

"...I know." She replaced the omnicom on the table and her arms slid beneath her poncho as she hugged herself and looked far more vulnerable than Dirk was accustomed to seeing. "I want things to be normal too...I think Jrey's helping with that, but I guess...it's a process, ya know? Anyway, thanks for coming with me. I really appreciate it, Dirk."

Jrey's door whooshed open and the Durlan counsellor welcomed them in with a broad gesture. "Dirk, Laurel...come in, make yourselves comfortable. Do either of you need some more water or a juice perhaps?"

"Not me," Sun Boy threw his cup in the atomic recycler. "I'm just glad you were able to squeeze us in! When Laurel asked me about coming to a therapy session with her she made it sound like you weren't gonna be free for another couple of standard weeks!"

"I wasn't at first," Jrey explained as the door closed politely behind them. "I had an unexpected cancellation which is good news for you two...now, if everybody's comfortable shall we begin?"

**********

EARTH
Russia, Novayamoskva

The megalopolis called Novayamovska engulfed much of Russia within its plasteel and ferrocrete canyons. Once upon a time the seed at the heart of this sprawling city had been known simply as Moscow, but that was several hundred years and several wars back. These days Novayamoskva was a typical Earth city in the same vein as Metropolis or Barcelona, and much of the old Russia's distinctive architecture was either gone or subsumed in the ubiquitous towering megascrapers that looked just like every other towering megascraper on the planet.

In this city of the future, the stocky woman named Ursula Yenova sat back in a very anachronistic sofa in her equally anachronistic one bedroom apartment. Macrame throws, a faux wood coffee table and bureau, and a wide selection of tchotchkes made this space feel more like a museum piece than a home.

Ursula herself was an anachronism here as much as her apartment. She had been snatched from almost a thousand years earlier in Earth's past to fight alongside Earth-Man and his Judgement League against the Legion of Superheroes, and like all her other time-displaced comrades she was now stranded in the 31st Century. Her furnishings and decor had come from several harried designers after Ursula had explained to them in her own forceful way that she found the aesthetics of this time a little too sterile for her sensibilities.

Ursula Yenova had proven something of a nuisance for Earthgov and the Science Police after the Judgement League had fallen apart. She was more amoral and impulsive rather than evil, but she did have a visceral love of violence and as the cosmically powered Star-Bear she was incredibly powerful. Ursula getting into what she considered a fun bar brawl usually meant mass hospitalisations and frightening amounts of property damage for others...and considering that she'd been a member of an Earthgov-endorsed metahuman team and she was a temporal refugee here, nobody particularly wanted to go through a messy court hearing trying to get her sent to Takron-Galtos. Still, the authorities had to do something with her to stop her causing trouble again and again; and so it was, Ursula explained to her two houseguests, that she now had to wear a chunky ankle bracelet which kept her under house arrest and kept her from using her powers.

Very out of place in the once and former Star-Bear's living room, Vista and Veilmist listened as Ursula told the rollicking story of how she'd fought off three Science Police officers even without her powers the last time they dragged her into custody. Lazing back with a cigar in one hand and a foul-smelling brown liquor in the other, she certainly didn't seem very fazed by this change in her circumstances.

"But why the visitation, Vista?" Ursula finally asked. "You and I were never particularly bosom buddies in the Judgement League, I assume this is not a social call?"

"You presume correctly." Vista suppressed a cough at the vile cigar smoke hanging thickly in the air. "I'm part of a new team now, Star-Bear. We call ourselves the Sisterhood of Sin, Veilmist here is one of us. We'd like for you to join us."

Ursula took a swig of her Rimborian Whisky and emitted an obnoxious laugh. "Ha!! I thought this one was your slave girl!" She gestured at Veilmist, who simply gave her an icy stare in return.

The Russian woman raised her tree trunk of a leg to show the thick ring of metal around her ankle. "Have you not been paying attention though, Vista? I am the Star-Bear no more, this shiny future is too soft for me it seems!"

"Veilmist here can take care of that," Vista replied smoothly. "But we could use your power, Star-Bear...and I'll be honest, we really need somebody from your home era to help us with the next phase of our plan."

"You have me curious!" Ursula leaned forward in her seat, and both of her guests involuntarily leaned away slightly while she puffed on her cigar. "What plan is this?"

"We'll tell you everything once you join us," Vista answered. "But I can assure you, it's going to give all of us more power than we'll know what to do with."

"If this pretty young thing can restore my power, that is all the power I require! But tell me Vista, will there be punching?"

"Undoubtedly." Vista wore a wicked smile.

"Then it seems I am at your service!" Ursula slugged back the rest of her drink and stubbed out her cigar in the icy slush at the bottom of the glass. "Let the Star-Bear be reborn!"

Veilmist too wore a smile, but her words dripped with venom. "Let us also hope I do not accidentally teleport your foot off along with this power dampener."

The woman once again known as Star-Bear roared with laughter. "Pushkin's grave, I like this one's spirit!

My new sisters, this is going to be fun!"

**********

UNNEVEI ASTEROID BELT
United Planets designated mining territory colloquially known as "The Rocks", Science Police Outpost

ROLL CALL
Evolvo Lad aka Sev Tcheru: hyperevolution/devolution
Kid Computo aka Danielle Foccart: cyberempathy
Life Lass aka Somi Gan: matter animation
Matter-Eater Lad aka Tenzil Kem: can eat inorganic matter in all its forms
Mwindaji: tracker infused with White Lantern energy
Neon aka Zoe Saugin: infused with Green Lantern energy
Polar Boy aka Brek Bannin: cryokinesis
Sheranee Shah: enhanced physical characteristics, night vision, solar-fuelled starbolts, tactile language absorption, animal empathy
Truth Girl aka Oliv Hollowai: truth sense, carries the Golden Perfect

"Thank you so much for coming all the way out here, Legionnaires!" The excited and slightly awe-struck Science Police officer Nor Illin held open the door to a conference room barely big enough for the ten of them. "I'm sorry, you're probably used to much better facilities than this...we get the bare amenities out here in The Rocks I'm afraid."

"Polar Boy, isn't your homeworld in this system?" Sheranee asked brightly.

"Yup! That's why Phantom Girl asked me to lead this mission!" Brek Bannin grinned, pleasantly surprised that the Legion's perky newcomer knew anything about his background. "Not that I'm particularly familiar with the Unnevei mines myself, but mining is a popular industry for Tharr generally and asteroid mining is the main reason anyone's out here in The Rocks. Tharrians are all used to living underground in what most people would consider extreme temperatures and there's a lot of creds in asteroid mining!"

"Speaking of extreme temperatures, would anyone mind if we get the climate control going?" Kid Computo had already stuffed her gloves in the pockets of her distinctive red jacket and was in the process of removing that jacket to bare her arms. "Even Sun Boy would be sweating in here!"

"Oh, of course! I'm so sorry, Legion!" Officer Illin rushed to a climate control panel on the wall that was covered in a visible layer of dust. "I guess it's like Polar Boy said, we Tharrians don't really feel the heat so much." He laughed nervously as he desperately tried to remember how the climate control system that he'd been shown how to use two years ago actually worked. "Uhh, I'll just..."

Unnoticed by Officer Illin, Matter-Eater Lad whispered something in Neon's ear, and the heroine's Green Lantern ring flashed to life. "Why don't you let me handle that, Officer? No need for the rest of us to be comfortable at your expense!" Zoe had already surrounded herself in a skin-tight field which maintained a more pleasant temperature for herself personally, but she now manifested little green hand-held fans for any of the others who wanted one.

"Thanks but I'm fine, Neon." Polar Boy declined a fan and folded his arms across his chest in an attempt to project authority. "Officer Illin, why don't you show us the transmission?"

"Sure, of course!" The exuberant young brown-haired man rushed to set up a flat screen audio-visual display, and Polar Boy tried to hide his impatience. Most of Brek's teammates found it endearing that the SP Officer was a touch starstruck, but for Polar Boy it was an uncomfortable reminder of how eager to please a young Brek Bannin had been once upon a time.

Finally, Officer Illin got everything set up and he switched the room's lights off so they could watch images flash across a wall. While the technology was a far cry from the holograms the Legion were accustomed to, it got the message across clearly enough. The heroes watched as one of the estimated 1.3 million asteroids in the Unnevei Belt exploded dramatically, if silently, and still pictures showed the remaining devastation that had once been a thriving platinum mine.

Life Lass couldn't help but gasp in shock. "How...how many sentients were killed in that accident, Officer?"

"Thankfully, we only recorded one death and less than a dozen injuries." Reading from his notes, Illin's tone had unconsciously become more professional. "Out here in The Rocks, a lot of the workforce is automated and machines do the majority of the hard labour. Magnusson Industries sustained billions of credits worth of damage, but that's not the reason we asked for the Legion's help."

"This wasn't an accident, was it?" Evolvo Lad asked. His base form may not have been hyper-intelligent, but Sev Tcheru wasn't a fool either.

"It wasn't," Officer Illin confirmed. "This happened two standard days ago, and we received this transmission later that day." He pressed a button, and someone wearing what seemed to be a loose-fitting tan sack pulled down over their head filled the screen. The sack's eyeholes were cut to different sizes and fitted with opaque white lenses, and the man wearing the bizarre outfit erupted into maniacal laughter even while most of the heroes present were wondering at his identity.

Hearing Matter-Eater Lad groan under his breath, Mwindaji opened his mouth to ask who the poorly garbed stranger was when the stranger curbed his cackling to speak. "Yeehaw, fun times for ol' Terrus! You science piggies better listen up close, the big booms don't stop there! No Siree, that was just a taste of what ol' Terrus has got in store for y'all if you varmints don't come through with muh ransom to the account encrytped in this here tele-message!

Now Ah ain't gonna tell y'all muh next target, that'd make things just too easy! Ah'll give y'all a hint though - muh next target's gonna be either McCauleyCorp's mine in Sector 141D, Sunstar Mining's operation in 2310BA or that sweet as pie lil' ol' phyridium mine that Savage Holdings got goin' on in 4507W! To play it on the safe side, all three of 'em ol' boys better pony on up with 100 million creds each by the time Tharr eclipses that dusty ol' sun in the sky over yonder or else it's lights out for one of 'em!" He erupted in the same maniacal laughter again, and Officer Illin paused the recording.

"Was that man speaking Interlac..?" a confused Mwindaji asked.

"Why is a scarecrow blowing up asteroid mines and talking like a bad holo-Western villain?" Neon couldn't help but release a snort of laughter despite the gravity of the situation.

"...He's lying," Truth Girl said simply, her own face a mask of confusion.

"Okay wait, let's double back to that." Polar Boy held a hand up. "Truth Girl, are you sure?"

"I don't know what he's lying about," Oliv clarified. "But he's definitely lying about something...I think he did actually blow up that mine, it's just when he gave us his list of possible targets....something was off about what he said."

"I just accessed his file, and apparently Terrus just loooves blowing stuff up," Kid Computo joined in, her mood much improved now that she could feel cool air on her face. "Do you think--"

"Do we think he's booby-trapped all three sites?" Matter-Eater Lad completed Danielle's question for her. "This guy is cornier than Mardru Chowder...I guarantee you that's what he's done, kiddo."

"Terrus said we've got till Tharr eclipses the sun," Polar Boy addressed the group as a whole. "That means we can only have a few hours if I'm not mistaken--"

"2.4 standard hours actually," Kid Computo interjected, having accessed astronomical calculations while Brek was speaking.

"2.4 standard hours then," Polar Boy continued, mildly annoyed at the interruption. "We should split into four squads then."

"Four??" Officer Illin declared. "Do you think there's a fourth bomb, Polar Boy?"

"I don't see any reason why there would be," Polar Boy replied, "But we're not just taking care of Terrus's bombs, Officer...the Legion is gonna take that creep back to jail where he belongs!" Polar Boy paused for a moment while he looked his teammates over, considering what individual qualities each brought to the table.

"Okay!" Polar Boy clapped his palms together. "Here's how I think we should do this..."

**********

ROLL CALL
Evolvo Lad aka Sev Tcheru: hyperevolution/devolution
Life Lass aka Somi Gan: matter animation

Approximately 30 minutes later, Evolvo Lad and Life Lass found themselves all alone in the bowels of a Sunstar Mining facility which had been dug into one of the more prominent asteroids on the inner ring of the Unnevei Belt. Evolvo lad had taken on his hyperevolved form on the way here, the better to determine the optimum placement for an explosive device. A few omnicom adjustments later, and Sev had traced the transmitter which was linked to volatile chemical explosives deep within the mine.

Right now, Life Lass sat cross-legged in front of an oblong cabinet almost as big as herself. She had already used her power to remove one of the cabinet's dull metal plates, and Evolvo Lad sat behind her with his fingers at her temples. While there was no visible sign that the two heroes were doing much of anything, anybody with psionic senses would have seen a soft pink aura emanating from Evolvo Lad's enlarged cranium, travelling down his arms and enveloping Life Lass's head.

Evolvo Lad and Life Lass had more of a history working together than some actual family members in the Legion, and they had performed this exact procedure nearly a dozen times with live explosives on their homeworld Lallor and countless more times in practice drills. At this point, it was second nature for Life Lass to allow Evolvo Lad to telepathically direct her actions in safely taking bombs apart. While each of them were acutely aware of how dangerous their task was, they also trusted one another implicitly to do what was expected of them...so it was that a job which could have been incredibly stressful for other heroes was the easiest thing that either Sev Tcheru or Somi Gan had been called on to do as Legionnaires for some time now.

Normally painfully shy, Life Lass was always a little more outgoing around her fellow Lallorans and she made conversation with Evolvo Lad while they toiled away. "I'm glad the Science Police evacuated all of the organic staff, but gosh...its creepy down here without anybody else around! Don't you think, Sev?"

"Fortunately my hyperevolved form does not succumb to irrational fears so easily," Sev answered truthfully. "But yes, I can imagine the effect this environment would have on me were I not able to regulate my body chemistry and emotional responses so efficiently."

"Have you voted in the leadership election yet?" Somi spoke up again some minutes later as couplings uncoupled and wires carefully unfurled before the two of them.

"I have," Evolvo Lad replied. "I cast my vote for Dream Girl; she has led the Legion of Superheroes before, and her high intellect combined with her precognition make her a highly desirable choice for leader...and may I ask how you cast your vote, Somi?"

"I know you know that I voted for you," she teased him lightly, "But thanks for asking." She looked down at the mass of circuitry, wiring and loose sections of metal and plasteel lying before them. "Do you think we're done..?"

"Firstly, I thank you for your confidence in my abilities," Evolvo Lad replied humbly. "Furthermore, I believe that we are in fact, done with this now former demolitions device. Your assistance has been invaluable as ever, Somi. I believe I could have achieved the same result using my own telekinetic ability, but it would have been a much more arduous task." Evolvo Lad withdrew his fingers from where they lightly brushed Somi's head and stood up, offering Life Lass a hand once he was on his feet. "I shall call Sheranee now and advise her that we have completed our assigned job."

"Sheranee?" Life Lass cocked her head, a rare mischievous gleam in her eye. "Not Polar Boy?"

"I am certain Polar Boy has his mind occupied with the other duties associated with leading a mission," Evolvo Lad replied smoothly. "And all of our new recruits could use the experience in operating every function of their flight rings in the field."

"...Uh-huh." Life Lass cocked an eyebrow.

"Somi, I acknowledge that my less evolved forms may experience some superficial attraction to Sheranee Shah but you know as well as I that in this form, I am not susceptible to such hormonal impulses. Now if you will excuse me..?" He turned his back on her so that he couldn't see the bemused smile lighting up Life Lass's face, and so that more importantly she couldn't see the subtle turn of his own upper lip as he opened a comms channel...

**********

ROLL CALL
Kid Computo aka Danielle Foccart: cyberempathy
Matter-Eater Lad aka Tenzil Kem: can eat inorganic matter in all its forms

As they walked through the labyrinthine tunnels of McCauleyCorp's mining operation, Kid Computo looked up at Matter-Eater Lad beside her. "It should be just around this bend if I'm not mistaken...maybe another couple hundred feet away?"

"I still say I could have eaten us a path straight to the bomb," Tenzil joked. "We'd be kicking back on the shuttle by now, maybe finish that Battleships game."

"I'm not sure I'd recommend just blindly eating tunnels through a big rock that's already honeycombed in tunnels," Danielle Foccart retorted dryly. "My family wouldn't be very happy if you got me buried in a cave-in, Matter-Eater Lad."

"Hey, the life of a Legionnaire is fraught with danger," the Bismollian shrugged. "Sometimes you chomp fate, and sometimes fate chomps you!"

"I'll make sure that gets engraved on your urn on Shanghalla," the younger heroine chuckled. The humor was becoming a little grim for her, and Danielle quickly changed the subject. "Say, Matter-Eater Lad...have you ever thought of running for Legion leader? You've been around as long as most of the old school crew!"

"I ain't really the leader type, kiddo. Have you ever thought about running?"

"Me??" Danielle was taken aback. "You're crazy, I couldn't lead the Legion! I think we're here by the way." She stopped walking, and with a casual use of her cyberempathy disabled a chameleon field that had been hiding the same kind of dull metal box that Evolvo Lad and Life Lass had found themselves. "I've shut it down, I think it might be too heavy for us to just carry out of here though."

"Then it's a good thing I brought my appetite!" Tenzil patted his tummy and moved toward the box before he thought better of it. "Wait...it's not gonna blow up in our faces if I start munching, is it?"

"Nah, it's a chemical explosive." Kid Computo sat down on the rocky ground opposite her teammate. "While the component chemicals are still isolated from one another and without the electrical charge Terrus was planning on running through them, it's just a couple of tanks that smell weird." She watched as Matter-Eater Lad got down on all fours before the bomb, and then spoke up again before he took his first bite. "...Do you really think I could lead the Legion..?"

"You led me here just now, didn't ya? You've been indispensable to the team since you joined us, even if you do have the worst taste in codenames...and you don't intimidate easy. They're pretty good leadership qualities where I come from!"

Although it was delivered with his trademark irreverence, Kid Computo could tell that Matter-Eater Lad sincerely meant his compliments and she felt touched. "Aww, thanks Tenzil! I mean while we're talking about awful codenames I'll remind you that you named yourself Matter-Eater Lad but the rest of what you said was sweet!"

"Stop watching me eat, you'll make it weird," Tenzil returned her banter. "And tell Polar Boy we're taking care of the bomb, it'll do that kid's ego a world of good having a real life Legionnaire report in to him."

**********

ROLL CALL
Neon aka Zoe Saugin: infused with Green Lantern energy

With oversized emerald headphones covering her ears, Zoe Saugin flinched as she heard the muffled explosion of the third bomb detonating inside the spherical forcefield in which she'd enclosed it. She dissipated both the headphones and forcefield with a thought, and watched as the ashes of the explosive device scattered along the surface of the tunnel.

Creating a hardlight swing which hung from the carved roof of the mine, Zoe took a seat and kicked her legs back and forth lazily. I can't believe Polar Boy didn't want me to come down here on my own, Zoe mused. That whole thing took about 30 seconds! Realising that her teammates still needed more time to accomplish their own tasks, she considered flying out to meet one of the other squads and give them a hand, but then reconsidered. "Nobody likes a show-off, Zoe," she muttered out loud to herself.

Instead, another idea struck the young redhead and she created a hardlight screen and called on Nightwind.

"Hi Neon!" The Legion of Superheroes' outgoing deputy leader greeted her teammate. "Hey, aren't you on that mission with Polar Boy? Do you need backup?"

"Hmm?" Neon pondered for a moment. "Oh, that! No, I already blew something up today...I was just bored and remembered I've been meaning to ask you something, do you mind if I nominate you in the leadership election?"

"The Legion leadership election?" Nightwind asked.

"No, dope! The Neon Fan Club leadership election...of course the Legion leadership election!"

"Zoe, that would be amazing!" Berta broke out into a broad grin. "Thank you so much!"

"No problem, friend." Zoe returned Berta's smile. "I've been thinking about it the past few days and well...you pretty much led the entire team to Robotica as soon as you were elected deputy last time, and if there's one thing I've noticed while working with you to develop your air control it's how sprocking intense you are about being a hero. I think you deserve it, girl! Show these old fuddies how it's done!"

Nightwind laughed. "I don't know about all that, but thanks Zoe - really! If you don't actually need me for anything important though, I better go. A bunch of us are on the way to Earth to help with clean-up now we're not criminals there anymore."

"See?" Neon raised an eyebrow. "Dedication! That's what I'm talkin' about! I'll let you go anyway, I better check in with Polar Boy before he gives himself a stress ulcer worrying about poor defenceless me stuck in a mine on my own with my godlike Green Lantern powers...later!"

**********

ROLL CALL
Mwindaji: tracker infused with White Lantern energy
Polar Boy aka Brek Bannin: cryokinesis
Sheranee Shah: enhanced physical characteristics, night vision, solar-fuelled starbolts, tactile language absorption, animal empathy
Truth Girl aka Oliv Hollowai: truth sense, carries the Golden Perfect

As their flight rings propelled them across the surface of a pock-marked vaguely spherical asteroid some twelve miles in diameter, this quartet of Legionnaires had plenty of time to reflect on the surreal desolation of the Unnevei Belt. Even though it was common knowledge that asteroids floated sometimes millions of miles away from their nearest neighbour, three of these Legionnaires had grown up watching action heroes fly ships through densely packed asteroid fields in their favourite childhood holos; the cognitive dissonance was real.

"Kid Computo and Matter-Eater Lad just called in," Polar Boy reported to the others, their transuits providing an environment for them to be able to use the comms in their flight rings. "That's all three bombs taken care of...how long till we find Terrus, Mwindaji?"

"Only another minute or two I suspect," the tracker replied, leading them across the barren rock. "I feel that we are closing in quickly, Polar Boy."

"You...seem very confident," Brek spoke deliberately, trying to voice his doubt as tactfully as possible. "...I thought your powers didn't work in space so well?"

"My tracking ability does not have interplanetary range," Mwindaji corrected him, "But it does not require a planetary atmosphere to function. When Evolvo Lad's calculations gave us the villain's general coordinates, I knew that I would pick up Terrus's presence as soon as we were close enough."

"I've been wondering something," Truth Girl piped up. "Feel free to tell me to mind my own business if I'm prying, but Mwindaji, Sheranee; how come you two don't use codenames like the rest of us?"

"I am happy to answer your question, Truth Girl." Mwindaji looked back briefly and flashed her a friendly smile. "On my homeworld Kirinyaga, names are an integral part of who we are. Each child of Kirinyaga is given their...I do not think there is a word in Interlac, but it is called neiahnne on my world. Our mothers partake in sacred rituals while they carry us in their womb and when the time comes for us to enter this world, our mothers bestow upon us our neiahnne, our name that will see us with a blessing of love through our childhood.

When each child of Kirinyaga is of age, we take an Initiation Trek through the wilderness with only our own resourcefulness to see us through; and at the end of our Initiation Trek, we earn the right to choose the name that will be ours until we leave this world behind to be reborn upon the Endless Plains of the Savangati. I chose the name of Mwindaji, one of Kirinyaga's most legendary heroes and an accomplished explorer...and it is such a great honor to bear his name that I could never disrespect that by taking another."

The four heroes were silent for a moment before Sheranee's jaw dropped. "There is no way I am following up that story! Mwindaji, what a beautiful tradition!"

"Oh no, you don't get out of it that easy!" Truth Girl ribbed her fellow new recruit. "Here, I'll go next; I'm called Truth Girl because I see the truth. I don't know why Polar Boy would be called that though, it's too subtle for me."

All four of them laughed, and Sheranee decided to play along. "Okay, okay...so you all know I'm half Tamaranean? Well, that's on my father's side...my mamma is actually from Earth, specifically from a country called India. Sheranee means 'tigress' in one of the ancient languages from Mamma's homeland. I guess my folks thought it was cute, what with Tamaraneans having feline ancestors and all...when I decided to try out for the Legion, I thought I didn't exactly need to call myself Tiger Girl or whatever when it's basically already my name anyway!"

"Besides, there's already a Tiger Girl,' Polar Boy chipped in. "Last thing we need is a cat fight over the same name."

Truth Girl gave an exaggerated groan and Sheranee's dainty hand rushed to her mouth to hide her giggles. "Polar Boy, that was awful."

Of all of them, Mwindaji's Interlac was the weakest, and as occasionally happened, he didn't quite get the wordplay that had amused the girls but he didn't let it bother him. Having already turned his attention back to his duty, he was the only one of them to notice an enormous shadow falling across them and covering the asteroid's surface. The light out here was incredibly dim and it was possible none of the others might have noticed even if they were paying attention, but Mwindaji had spent most of his life training to be hyper-aware of his surroundings. He turned back and his eyes grew as big as dinner plates once he saw what had cast the shadow. "Legionnaires! Behind us!!"

The other three heroes followed Mwindaji's aghast stare to see at least two dozen rocks speeding down from the black void above straight at them. The oversized projectiles ranged in size from 20 to 60 feet in diameter and were of various shapes, but each and every one was on a path to turn the immediate area surrounding the Legionnaires into a whole new set of craters.

"Damn it, I should have expected something like this!" Polar Boy cursed. "Of course we wouldn't hear anything get triggered out here in space but booby traps are Terrus's whole thing! I can put up an ice shield, but I don't wanna think about how many tons of ore are coming down on us! Mwindaji, we might need your healing more than your tracking power soon, pal!" While he spoke, the short Tharrian had begun building a thick protective dome of ice around them.

"Let me see if I can even our odds a little, Polar Boy!" Sheranee zipped outside the ice dome before it closed over them, knowing that Polar Boy would likely stop her from going out there alone if she gave him the option.

"Sheranee, are you space crazy?!" Polar Boy bellowed through his flight ring. "Some of those asteroids are half the size of our sprockin' base!"

"Don't worry," Sheranee retorted cheekily, "They won't be for long!"

The petite young woman was tiny compared to the rain of death coming down upon her, but she wasn't at all frightened. This was exactly the kind of adventure she'd been looking for when she joined the Legion of Superheroes. She knew she only had scant seconds to act, so she needed to decide on a course of action quickly. Her large round eyes darted from left to right, up and down, and she made her move. She ignored the rocks on the outskirts; while they would no doubt make a big mess and cause enough of a shudder upon landing that it might unnerve the others, she could tell that they were going to land far enough away so as not to be an immediate danger. Sheranee flew right up into the midst of the plummeting chunks of space ore and weaved and ducked around the rocks with a sensual grace that made it seem as though she were dancing between them. She wore a broad grin as she extended both arms and released two starbolts, then four, then six, and rocks shattered noiselessly into so much dust and debris around her. Just as she'd planned, the exploding rocks themselves threw other boulder-sized chunks off course, lessening the burden that Polar Boy's ice shield had to face below.

Sheranee allowed one asteroid almost as large as their cruiser to fly straight past her, and then she pivoted around to face it as it made a beeline for her three teammates beneath the ice. With her wild mane of orange hair whipping about her and the excited jangle of her jewellery filling the space of her transuit, Sheranee held both arms outstretched with her hands clasped. Sheranee closed one eye tight, extended her index fingers as though she were shooting a gun, and let one mighty starbolt rip forth from both arms to reduce the boulder to a shower of pebbles. Sheranee tore apart four more large rocks, and then deemed the remaining assault force well within the limits of Polar Boy's power to handle. Buzzing with adrenaline, she couldn't help but release a whoop of victory as she flew around in exuberant loops.

"They're happy screams, right? Right, Sheranee??"

Sheranee's laughter was a joyous lilting sound as she looked down at her flight ring. "Polar Boy, I'm so sorry - I didn't realise the comms channel was still open! Yes, the score is definitely Sheranee 1, Big Rocks 0. Give me a moment and I'll come down and blast a hole in that dome for the three of you to re..."

Polar Boy heard Sheranee's voice trail off and called again with a note of panic in his voice. "Sheranee?? Sheranee, what's going on out there?!"

"I...will have to call you back, Polar Boy." This time Sheranee did remember to give the mental signal to close the channel, because she was going to need all of her wits about her. Coming at her from roughly 90 degrees east of the first assault, another couple of dozen rocks were careening at her as if flung from some giant's catapult...and these ones were all easily twice the size of their predecessors.

You wanted adventure, girl? Sheranee asked herself as her hands glowed with fierce energies, Then let's have an adventure!

**********

In the temporary base he'd set up for himself in one of the cave-like recesses that dotted this unnamed asteroid, Terrus swayed in his ill-fitting tan and brown outfit.

As he watched Sheranee with glee on one of many monitors, the deranged villain's cackling filled the small space. He'd been furious when those other Legionnaires disabled his beautiful bombs and ruined his big scheme, but watching this baby Legionnaire get squished flat might go some way towards making up for what he'd lost here today. Truthfully, Terrus didn't particularly care about the credits the Legion had cost him today...wealth for its own sake had never been his objective. It was the bombs and traps that he could build with those credits that he was really upset about losing.

The hidden camera tracking Sheranee's movements suddenly fritzed out, and Terrus stopped mid-laugh. For a brief instant he suspected that she'd detected and destroyed the camera somehow, but then he realised it had most likely just been taken out as collateral damage. Those starbolts of hers were impressively destructive. Without even the delight of watching Sheranee die, there was no reason for Terrus to hang around here any longer. He wasn't worried about that baby Legionnaire or the other three accompanying her, but one of those other heroes caught on his hidden cameras had been a Green Lantern. The legend of the Green Lanterns was very well established on Terrus's homeworld Apiaton, it was whispered that one of Apiaton's native sons had even been part of the mighty Green Lantern Corps countless generations ago. It was time then, for Terrus to make his last-minute escape.

He'd been packing a selection of tools and hard to replace equipment to take with him for a few minutes when the osmium steel door he'd installed blew apart with a spectacular bang. Standing in the doorway, looking a little roughed up but not really injured, Sheranee lowered one glowing fist. Mwindaji, Polar Boy and Truth Girl flanked her.

"Good work, Mwindaji!" Polar Boy complimented their tracker. "You brought us right to him! Give it up, Terrus...we've survived all your stupid booby traps and we've defused all your stupid bombs. You might have escaped confinement in all the chaos when Glorith and Verdant greened your world, but you've had your fun...we're here to take you right back home again."

"Y'all are hardy as cockroaches!" Terrus tipped an imaginary hat. "And take it from ol' Terrus, who'd know better than me?" He started up again with the maniacal cackling, using his bizarre behaviour to mask his cunning. The Legionnaires were thrown off just enough that when he suddenly made a loping run straight for a secret exit on the other side of the electronics-packed room, he had what he hoped was enough of a head start to get him home free.

"No you don't!" Truth Girl recovered quickly, twirling her lasso once at her side before she expertly cast it to land around his waist. When she began to rein him in though, Oliv was shocked to find that the Golden Perfect ripped right through the villain's costume as though it were made of tissue paper. Terrus's oversized outfit fell to the floor, and the cloud of bugs that had been populating it passed right under and over the golden lariat and kept flying toward the door. Terrus was still laughing like a maniac, but without the vocal amplifier in his mask it was now the reedy voice of a single insect.

"Sprock, I'm sorry Polar Boy!" Truth Girl frowned. "I remember you told us he's really a swarm of insects, but I didn't expect his costume to tear so easily!"

"No harm done," Brek Bannin raised both arms. "You three might want to activate your transuits again though, it's about to get very cold in here."

Polar Boy brought his power to bear, and the temperature dropped so dramatically that a sheen of frost started forming over much of the equipment around him. Without the insulation of his suit, Terrus and every other mind-controlled insect that made up his humanoid 'body' slowed and dropped out of the air one by one, all of them entering a docile state akin to mild hypothermic shock.

"Now that batjerk's been dealt with," Polar Boy brushed his hands together to clean his gloves of ice crystals that had formed there, "What say we let Officer Illin wrap this up and head home? The election should have been called by now...

...Let's go meet our new leader, Legionnaires!"

**********

EDITOR'S NOTES:

* Laurel and Dirk are of course still struggling with their friendship because of that time Mordru forced Sun Boy to nearly kill Laurel and Shady by emitting red solar rays

* Star-Bear has honestly only really had one significant appearance in my fic so don't feel bad if y'all can't remember her. That story is here if anyone wants a refresher!

* We actually first met Mwindaji in my series while he was on his Initiation Trek! They grow up so quickly

* Terrus is an honest to god real Legion of Superheroes villain from the comics, but he's had like 2 appearances ever and one of those was Blok punching a big hole in his suit and revealing that he's a swarm of bugs. He's so so weird, I love him

* We found out that Terrus is from Apiaton in my series (one of the worlds that Glorith and Verdant greened) alllllll the way back in 2012! That particular story is here if anyone is interested!

NEXT: WHO WILL LEAD THE LEGION OF SUPERHEROES? MORE OF THE ENIGMATIC ENIGMA LASS! AND THE SISTERHOOD OF SIN MAKE THEIR MOVE!

yay, more good stuff raz!

nice to see Laurel take a step in reaching out to Dirk, and going to a session together. That was really well done, glad she took that big step.

also liked Jrey's thinking ahead re having a waiting room. especially as we know that some (ahem Tasmia!) do not see the need for a psychiatrist

I wonder, is the unexpected cancellation gonna be a plot point?

glad to see Barcelona still making it to the 31st century, although it's a bit sobering that indeed, the future may not have as many of the old landmarks or unique country-specific architecture anymore

lol at Ursula intimidating the designers. and also makes sense that she would still be a tough brawler even without her powers.

"someone from your home era", eh? and of course, Vista only wants to spill the beans once Star-Bear is in. wise...

and also love Veilmist getting back at Ursula's slave-girl dig!

Star-Bear is proving to be quite the treat to read!

I can relate with Kid Computo, I would probably be sweating buckets already

haha at Polar Boy trying to project authority and nice call-back re Nor Ilin being so starstruck, reminding Brek of how HE was before! also great seeing Brek having to lead again, after all he was leader once upon a time

poor Life Lass, that would have been my first question too. thankfully indeed, only one death!

Terrus! bwahahaha and I love your speech patterns for him! hahahahahaha and Mwindaji's confusion was comedy gold, and Zoe's "bad holo-Western villain bit" was great too

nice display of Oliv's power, and also nice that it does not automatically tell her what is true. just that something is off. handy limitation to have

and also like Tenzil showing off his experience and smarts. it's so easy to underestimate him, but he's one of the Legionnaires I'd like to have along most in a weird situation!

I like the four-team split idea, good going of Brek. One team to get right to Terrus.

Team 1: of course, Sev and Somi. logical pairing, used to working with each other. I like how Sev's intelligence is needed to guide Somi. and it's good seeing them together again, alone, after so long (relatively)! Also love how Sev is all "i'm too evolved to feel that BUT I understand why you feel that"

nice nod to Dream Girl getting a vote here!

and bwahahaa at Sev calling Sheranee, and Somi being so amused about it

Team 2: loved this little Danielle/Tenzil scene, they're not a pairing you normally see.they bounce off another quite well, loved the banter. and also Tez referring to Brek as a kid... actually, Danielle would be a good leader choice I think!

Team 3: Well, makes sense that Gl-Zoe can go alone lol. and also her telling herself that nobody likes a show-off. but of course... I bet Zoe, along with Mon-El and a few others, have thought that many times. hahaha re Zoe being all... and actually, she and Berta kinda have the same confidence, though Zoe's is more. anyway, another nice scene. love how you're working so many convos about the leadership elections in!

if I remember well, Mwindaji is likely the one Legionnaire who didn't watch childhood holos - I think he came from a relatively tech-free world right?

I like Brek having to sound tactful, and Mwindaji correcting him re the applications of his tracking power .

and nice Q re the code names. great answer from Mwindaji, I love it. also love Oliv's sense of humor. and Sheranee's reasoning. oh, and nice bit re Mwindaji not being as fluent/native speaker as the others! very realistic!

also makes sense that Mwindaji would have, like, trained himself to pay attention!

awesome scene with Sheranee running into action, and showing what she's got! impressive! and also her thinking - ignore the outskirts etc. hopefully Brek does not get a heart attack from Sheranee shutting off the comms!

nice look into Terrus's motivations... he's just a terrorist lol

ooph, missed that Terrus was from Apiaton!

and whoop, nice take down from Brek!

and of course, that's the lie that Oliv detected - that Terrus was only gonna bomb one site, not all three!



now I'm stoked for the next bit. Legion leader winner, Enigma Lass, and the Sisterhood! yahoooooooo!

Thanks for the R&R, IB!


You will find out very soon if it is a plot point! (Spoiler: it is a plot point )

Star-Bear is so much fun to write, I am almost sorry for what I am about to subject her to but she is a bad guy after all!

Glad you liked all the little mission squads...it has been a while since I had a little one-off adventure that doesn't have enormous stakes for a change, it's nice to let the characters breathe a bit and play with different combos

oooh I love searching for plot points!

yeah, I especially love Star--Bear's speech patterns and personality, aside from being a bad guy I mean. but her humor is great

Raz, hi, as per my PM, I#ve lost the review I've spent the last hour writing out - sorry, I have ten minutes until my next class so will have to give you the highlights:

Dirk and Laurel always kind of struck me as a potential couple, so I'm interested to see where you take this, and your Dirk is a much better person than in canon - or my fic - for helping her out so willingly, I'd expect so quid pro quo arrangement from him normally. Who cancelled their appointment?

Love Star Bear, she would be absolutely awful in person but as a character in a story she is great, looking forward to seeing where you take the Sisterhood next.

Polar Boy leading a mission - eek, my least favourite Legionnaire. Though, nice character moment with him getting cross at the SPO as they reminded him of himself. Love your use of Terrus - last time you gave Dawnstar a moment that has stuck with me as one of the best uses of her tracking skill I think I've ever read, and it made me think about how I could use her (not that it's a competition, but I was inspired!), though I have still to match that moment when she caught him. it'll be interesting to see what you do with him here.

LIfe Lass being all shy is very endearing, I do like the personalities you give your team.

Danielle and Tenzil are two characters I's never think of putting together so it was great to see. Tenzil telling her what a potentially great leader she would be was well done, shades of the SW6 Batch?

Zoe taking care of the problem quickly nd then not wanting to showboat - funny - and loved her call to Berta, that was a good moment.

Sheranee and M'Windaji not taking codenames - very nicely explained about M'Windaji, wasn't he on his Iniative Trek when the team first met him? Sheranee dealing with the rocks - loving her enthusiasm!

Terrus missing the money as it would mean less bombs and traps - nice! Truth Girl ripping his costume apart - well, it had to happen really, it's just too good an image to not do it. And Brek stopping the swarm was a nice way to round it all out.

Thoroughly enjoyed this done-in-one story Raz, very nice character moments, great humour and a lot of fun. Though what was the lie that Truth Girl sensed?


More, more, more!