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

Hi all,

Thanks for commenting, I am glad y'all are enjoying the ride!

I will neither confirm nor deny any Trigon-related rumors just yet, but any remaining doubts about the Demon Father's identity should be well and truly blown out of the water after my next instalment and there are gonna be some big impacts for the Sisterhood of Sin, the Demon's Claw and of course the Legion after the dust clears!

The Academy students will also get some more upcoming focus, specifically Enigma Lass and Key Kid (although I have a cool scene in mind for Sojurn coming up soon too)

Harbi - re Enigma Lass's power, I will be posting a profile up for her soon which will define her power a bit more but to answer your question: her power is just resurrection...at this point anyway. Whether she can expand that into a more general regeneration ability is something that we will have to wait and see

Ooh will the next instalment be the finale? I’m well and truly hooked raz, eager to read what you’ve got in mind

Definitely not the finale! Everything that's happened so far has really just been a kind of prologue, it all kicks into high gear with the next chapter!

color me excited!!!

MARS
Husband Hill, Legion Academy's Arqiia Campus

ROLL CALL

Legion Academy
Key Kid aka Miqui Ver: ability to bypass any man-made lock or barrier
Sojurn aka S'jn: interdimensional cephalopod; teleportation, telekinesis, telepathy

Key Kid sat against the wall of the Legion Academy's training room sulking while Sojurn hovered nearby. The students of the Legion Academy had been randomly paired off and then each pair had been locked inside a simulated deathtrap escape room...even with the surprise defences their teachers had programmed into the rooms, it was a cakewalk for Key Kid and Sojurn and they were out in almost less time than it had taken to lock them inside in the first place.

"Ugh, this is so boring," Key Kid rolled his eyes. "I can't believe we have to wait for everyone else, they're gonna take forever! I mean what's the diskhead meant to do, die her way out of there?"

"Key Kid?" Sojurn spoke, having quickly become familiar with the new voice modulator they wore. "Our teachers told us that term...diskhead...is not to be used under any circumstances, did you forget?"

"Yeah, well...our teachers aren't here, are they?" Key Kid's gaze moved to the enclosed control console above them where Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl monitored the students' progress. "And they won't know unless you tell them." There was an uncommon edge in Miqui's voice as he glared now at Sojurn.

"Perhaps this is a matter of what Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl called privacy," Sojurn pondered aloud. "Fear not, I will respect your privacy. But Key Kid...if you don't mind me asking...you seem to be projecting far more negativity than usual since we returned from Jaquaa. I am not a native denizen of your dimensional plane, and I do not wish to pry, but I would like to assist if there is any way I can do so..?"

Miqui sighed and let his head flop. "Sorry Sojurn, I don't mean to take it out on you...it's just that when me and Amp were on Lallor, the diskheads -- the Dominion -- they gave us fake lives, fake memories, and inserted us onto the Heroes of Lallor as like...sleeper agents I guess. They actually turned one of our friends against us and...well, me and Amp are the only ones who survived out of the new Heroes of Lallor*. And now everyone's treating that squaj Enigma Lass like she's a normal kid. I don't know if I can stay here if she's gonna hang around."

"I see," Sojurn replied. "Thank you for your explanation." There were a few moments of silence, during which Key Kid found Sojurn as impossible to read as any other time. For once, Miqui Ver was grateful though. Since his outburst about Enigma Lass back on Jaquaa, Miqui had been on the outs with pretty much the entire rest of the class and he was beginning to feel like Sojurn was the only one not constantly judging him.

"Key Kid," Sojurn eventually spoke again, "Do you know how I came to be exiled to your dimensional plane?"

"Sure," the redhead shrugged. "You had some adventure with that Science Police lady you're friends with...Officer Lamprey, right?"

"That is a succinct overview," the extradimensional octopus answered, "But the reason for our adventure was that my people abducted Lamprey, along with another friend Turtle and the Legionnaires Chlorophyll Kid and Comet Queen and their daughter**. My people, the Ceph'ii, have abducted lifeforms from other dimensions for time immemorial. We age immensely slowly compared to those species I have encountered in this plane...I believe it is fair to say that I have lived for 10,000 of your United Planets standard years. Your lives pass so swiftly compared to ours...I am ashamed to say my people treated anybody else they came across like the basest of animals. We exhibit other lifeforms in...there is no direct equivalent in Interlac, but you may think of them as exozoological research and entertainment locations."

"You...put people in zoos??" Key Kid's hazel eyes grew wide. "And wait a nano; you're 10,000 years old??"

"The Ceph'ii put people in zoos," Sojurn corrected him. "And I am but a youngling among my race, Key Kid. I tell you this story because...I am not who my people taught me to be. When I discovered that our captives were sapient, that this dimensional plane teems with sapient species, I rejected the ways of my people. I believe there would be more Ceph'ii like me if we were just given the opportunity to be more than we were indoctrinated to be."

Silence fell between the two again, until they heard bickering from one of the other escape rooms, and the outer door opened to release Chemical Kid and Amp. "Perhaps we should rejoin our classmates," Sojurn ventured. "I imagine the others must not be far behind."

"You go ahead," Key Kid mumbled in a distracted tone.

"...I've got some stuff to think about."

**********

Inside one of the escape rooms, Enigma Lass and Variable Lad had been paired up. They were inside a cube with three of the walls all composed of glowing numbered square tiles one of 10 different colours. Like an inverted version of the child's toy called a Lupran Cube, they had to slide rows of blocks around into a configuration which would allow them to find the winning combination. They'd tried four different combinations now though, and failed each time. Every time they failed, the room closed in on them a little more with the tiles also shrinking proportionately to fit the smaller space. Variable Lad had already taken on a super-strong form to smash their way out, but failed. He suspected a semi-liquid form could ooze between the tiles, but that would still leave Enigma Lass in here.

"Enigma Lass, I feel that I must apologise," Variable Lad spoke up. "I am the more experienced of the two of us, I should have found us a way out by now."

"Oaa, that's silly!" Enigma Lass rasped. Though she still wore her full body costume which concealed her appearance entirely, Variable Lad had convinced her that she at least didn't need to use a voice modulator around the other students. "We must be a team," the Dominator girl continued, "And I must pull my weight as well. Besides, I am on the cusp of solving this puzzle, I can feel it!"

"Well...I am pleased that you decided to stay," Oaa volunteered, "And equally pleased to be on your team today. You know, Enigma Lass...you don't have to wear your mask and hood around us now that we know who you are..."

"I know," the girl replied in a small voice. "...And thank you. The mask...the mask is because I want it. My people damaged so many, Oaa...I hate what I am and I hate all rreminderrs of that. Even my awful voice! I can't even say my stupid rrr's prroperrly!"

"All is well!" Variable Lad rushed to reassure her. "Just take your time, Enigma Lass...I just hope one day you'll realise that you are appreciated as your true self. If I may ask, what is your real name actually? You know all of ours!"

"Oh, Oaa..." the faceless girl sighed, a muffled sound almost like a low growl. "I am of the Dominion...a Dominion female....I don't have a name, I do not even have a disk..."

"Well, you're not in the Dominion anymore!" Variable Lad challenged her lightly. "And you don't have to live by their rules! If you want a name, I say you can have one all of your own!"

Enigma Lass was about to answer the Jaquaan youth when an epiphany came to her; in a flash she understood just what she'd been missing this whole time!

"Oaa!" She rushed to the nearest tile and shuffled it across the wall with new purpose. "These rrooms...they werre neverr intended to challenge our powerrs! They werre meant to challenge ourr intellect!" In her excitement, she'd even forgotten to modify her speech patterns as she usually did. She moved more squares around, creating groups of colors that Variable Lad found familiar, but not quite familiar enough to see what she saw.

"I...I...it's a chemistry association, isn't it?" Variable Lad finally realised. "I recall this from helping Chemical Kid with his studies!"

"It is the Perriodic Table!" Enigma Lass confirmed gleefully. "The alkali metals are light blue, the alkaline earrth metals arre rred...and the numberrs tell us wherre they appearr on the table!" She moved the last square into place, and a doorway obediently appeared in a wall of predominantly purple-colored transition metals.

"You did it!" Variable Lad clapped two of his hands together. "You're so clever, Enigma Lass!"

"Thank you, Oaa." Beneath her mask, her lipless mouth curled upwards in a grin. Variable Lad had supported and defended Enigma Lass since she'd come to the Legion Academy, and she was happy to finally be able to feel like she'd done something to earn that support.

It also made her remember another time someone had been there for her when they'd had absolutely no reason to, and her mind flashed back to Invisible Kid rescuing her from Revenant's attack on the bio-vessel that had once been Enigma Lass's only world. She recalled Jacques Foccart's words as clearly as if they'd been spoken to her seconds ago, the only words that any being had ever said to her in kindness at that time of her life.***

-- You were very brave, mon petit. I am sorry that we could not help everybody else on board your vessel, but you will be safe now --

"Oaa?" Enigma Lass turned to face Variable Lad as the two of them left the room, though he couldn't actually see her face behind her mask. "I think I'd like to be called...Monn Petti."

Oaa Tseldor beamed. "I think that's a wonderful name, Monn."

**********

IN ORBIT ABOVE THE BORDERWORLD KURSZGE III
The Legion of Superheroes mobile base, the Brainstem

ROLL CALL
Kid Computo aka Danielle Foccart: cyberempathy

For most of the Legionnaires, the Brainstem was (at least initially) one of the more intimidating areas of their mobile headquarters. A highly protected cylindrical space in the centre of their base, the Brainstem contained an overwhelming array of holographic and physical screens connecting the Legion to any number of data feeds. This place was home to the Legion's Communications Officer Trava Coruu more often than not, but as competent as that young woman was, even she sometimes needed to make use of all three of her Carggite bodies to navigate the deluge of information that flowed into this room constantly.

This was one of the rare times when not even one of Trava's bodies was on duty, and Danielle Foccart was totally comfortable with that....because while most Legionnaires treated the Brainstem like a challenge to be overcome, for the Earth girl called Kid Computo it was a playground. Sitting at ease in one of the three seats centred on a raised dais in the middle of the room, Danielle's computer-linked mind took in far more than her eyes or ears. Danielle rarely encountered this intensity of data transferral, and she was loving every second of it.

The Legion of Superheroes had come to the distant world of Kurszge III in part because it was close enough to the Khund border that they could enter Khundish territory quickly if they had to; more importantly though, this planet's largest volcano was in the process of erupting, and the Legion of Superheroes were all that prevented a planetary extinction event. The volcano itself, named Hukhaoao after an ancient deity, was some 5 miles high and spewing enough lava to decimate the local people and enough volcanic ash to put the world into a lifeless winter for decades.

Danielle's cyberempathy boosted by the Legion's superior tech allowed her access to not only the base's own sensors, but also every other piece of equipment focused on the disaster unfolding whether that be Science Police surveillance systems, communications satellites or even local journalism broadcasts and social media. Dogstar, Diamond Damsel and Neon were the highest trending heroes across many channels right now, each of them putting their great strength of body or will to the task of carrying entire buildings full of people off the densely populated island upon which Hukhaoao was situated.

Many other Legionnaires did their part in less sensational ways whether that might be Chameleon Boy, Gas Girl, Shrinking Violet or Phantom Girl finding their way to people trapped in collapsed buildings, Life Lass peeling those buildings open like an onion, or Transposition Lad freeing people from spaces that seemed otherwise inaccessible. Slug, Ultra Boy and Supergirl put their invulnerability to good use by wading through lava to bring isolated people and pets to a safe space, and Mwindaji and Dawnstar tracked down those who'd been lost in the chaos.

Kid Computo only marginally paid attention to those Legionnaires, for all the good they were doing. Her main focus right now was to guide Blok, Mon-El and Night Girl on their own very important missions which were likely to go completely unrecognised by anyone outside the Legion.

Following a path that had been mapped by Evolvo Lad's hyperevolved form, the Legion's strongest members were currently digging tunnels bare-handed through thick miles of rocky crust right into the main vent that delivered superheated material from the magma chamber beneath the giant peak to the world above. Danielle traced their progress on a computer-generated map, three small bright dots deep beneath the surface of the planet pushing onward. There were no cameras down there to record their feats, but they were creating additional chambers to bleed lava out far far away from civilisation and they would save many lives by doing so.

Kid Computo opened comms channels to the three of them. "Blok, Mon-El; you two are another half-minute or so away. Night Girl, I think you should call it quits after the next few meters."

So far away from any source of light, Night Girl's strength was almost unmatched among the Legion of Superheroes. Lydda Jath Krinn was far from invulnerable though, and within her subterranean tunnel she could already feel the heat emanating from the magma teeming nearby; she wasn't going to argue with Kid Computo on this point. "Thanks, Danielle. I'll give it another couple of punches and start heading back."

"Kid Computo, how is Cosmic Boy's squad faring?" Mon-El asked.

"A good question," Blok agreed. "Cosmic Boy, Element Lad, Evolvo Lad and Nightwind have the most important work here of any of us." The wisdom of Solomon told Blok that his Daxamite teammate could easily have used his own enhanced senses to check on Rokk Krinn, but by making Kid Computo verbally report Cosmic Boy's progress they could also ease any anxiety Night Girl might be feeling about her husband's role here tonight.

"Seems like everything's on track as far as I can see," Danielle reported back. "That's gotta be a good sign, right?"

**********

High above the erupting volcano, plumes of cloying black ash miraculously parted to reveal the sea of stars beyond.

The clearing in the clouds expanded until there was a ring several miles wide where it seemed that the apocalypse happening all around Hukhaoao just didn't exist. In the centre of that clearing, so small as to appear utterly significant against the violence happening around them, four Legionnaires descended from low orbit.

"There's so much ferrous material in this ash that it's barely an effort carving it out of our way," Cosmic Boy noted. He seemed completely relaxed, as though they weren't directly above a rupture in the planet's crust spewing lava with volcanic lightning crashing all around them. "To be honest, this is much easier than I was anticipating!"

"I'm glad for you," Nightwind next to him retorted. Though their transuits protected them from the toxic gases and heat, Nightwind nonetheless perspired from the effort of exerting her power upon this world's atmosphere. "The winds up here are insane, it's taking everything I've got just to make sure we don't get shredded to pieces!"

"We appreciate both your contributions," Evolvo Lad spoke, the voice of his hyperevolved form as placid as ever. "After all, it would be far more difficult for myself and Element Lad to complete our task if your command of the air and the magnetic materials around us weren't so complete."

"About that," Element Lad joined in, "How much time do you need to complete your calculations, Evolvo Lad? Our transuits protect us from the worst of the environmental extremes here, but we probably shouldn't be too complacent. The sooner we're done and gone, the happier I'll be."

"Your concerns are quite reasonable," Evolvo Lad agreed. "Let us begin then, shall we?"

Within the calm eye of the storm that Cosmic Boy and Nightwind had provided, Element Lad and Evolvo Lad faced one another in cross-legged levitation. Evolvo Lad's long bony fingers reached out to touch Element Lad's temples, and a meeting of minds was initiated.

What transpired next was not as visually sensational as many other Legionnaires' powers might be, but it was the most vital action that anybody would take on Kurszge III this day. Since the quartet's flight rings had brought them within the planet's troposphere, Evolvo Lad's 14th level intellect had been calculating the precise chemical composition of the planet's biosphere and simultaneously calculating how severely this volcanic eruption would disrupt that delicate balance which allowed life here.

Left unchecked, Hukhaoao's eruption would cause so much long-term damage to this planet's biosphere that Kurszge III would be uninhabitable for at least another generation. The Legion of Superheroes refused to accept this. Evolvo Lad had determined precisely how this cloud of ash was composed down to each individual element within it, and he now telepathically fed Element Lad instructions on how to change these elements to more harmless alternatives. One element at a time, 90 billion tons of silicon, aluminium, magnesium, calcium, barium, copper, manganese and many more were shifted to less harmful variants. The whole process took less than 10 minutes, but by the end of it the skies were remarkably more clear and Jan Arrah was completely exhausted.

"You two just saved a world," Cosmic Boy was stunned. "In as much time as it'd take us to fight the League of Super-Assassins!"

"Cos is right," a weary Nightwind rejoined. "Even Blok or Mon-El couldn't have done what you just did for these people!"

"And to think..." Element Lad remarked breathlessly, "...We wouldn't even have known about this if it we hadn't come looking for an excuse to be in this region of space today..."

"Yes," Evolvo Lad agreed, "That is certainly something to think about, isn't it..?"

**********

THE KHUND EMPIRE
H'crides, the Demon's Gate

ROLL CALL

The Demon's Claw
Bloodclaw: super-strength, vibro-claws
Echo aka Myke-4 Astor: sonic mimicry and amplification
Firefist: team leader; cybernetic walking arsenal
Flederweb: gliding, wall-crawling, claws
Strongarm: four-armed super-strong cyborg

The Sisterhood of Sin
Nimbus: personal forcefield, flight
Scorn: Khund blood witch
Star-Bear aka Ursula Yenova: cosmic ursinthrope
Veilmist: teleportation
Vista: contains a pocket astral environment in her mind
White Bat: aerial assassin

Atop the towering peak named the Demon's Gate, the Sisterhood of Sin had readied themselves for their resident blood witch Scorn to slay the aged cultist Jh'ein when Veilmist's husband Firefist had appeared on a hover platform alongside the rest of the Demon's Claw.

"My wife must be captured alive," Firefist commanded his team. "As for the rest...slaughter them all."

Before the women could take action, one of the Demon's Claw stepped up beside his leader. His face hidden behind the intimidating glare of a metallic mask, one word emerged from the thin slit where his mouth should be. That word was amplified with so much intensity that it was like a wall of force slamming against both the Sisterhood of Sin and Scorn's devoted attendee. Appropriately enough for the man named Echo, that word was a repeat of Firefist's own.

"Slaughter."

Driven by the sonic assault, the Sisterhood all staggered back dangerously close to the edge of the peak. The cultist Jh'ein tumbled over with a terrified scream, and White Bat followed suit. The rest of them were lucky to stay conscious let alone on their feet, and they struggled to clear their heads enough to retaliate. Taking no chances, Firefist immediately turned to his errant wife. A panel whirred open in one of his outstretched arms, and two small disks emerged. Joined together by a barely visible string of hazy energy, the screaming disks homed in on Veilmist and circled furiously around the dazed woman.

"Echo has incapacitated you all for now," Firefist boasted as he approached Veilmist, "But my sonic bola will make sure you stay that way, wife. After all, you've run me quite the chase till now...best not to underestimate you when I finally have you under my thumb again."

As the rest of the Demon's Claw approached the Sisterhood, it didn't occur to any of them that White Bat might have survived her plummet. She showed them differently when her hardlight wings brought her round the Demon's Gate to swoop behind them and rake two deep gashes in Echo's back. Like the Sisterhood's silent assassin, Echo himself was ironically mute; his cybernetics allowed him to amplify any sound he heard for lethal effect, but he couldn't actually give any audible sign of his own agony as he collapsed bleeding to the rocky floor.

"Flederweb!" Bloodclaw raged. "Slay her!"

The least physically imposing of the Demon's Claw, Flederweb nonetheless leaped into the dark night and spread his own bat-like wings to pursue his female counterpart. The two of them dipped and dived, and soon they disappeared on the other side of the jutting rock.

"Now this is my idea of a good time!" Star-Bear beamed as she took on her cosmically powered form. Sizing up the Demon's Claw, she saw two men who looked like they could give her a decent tussle. Both Strongarm and Bloodclaw were huge powerhouses, but Bloodclaw particularly had a savage gleam in his eye that really appealed to the Russian woman. Star-Bear launched herself at the enormous Khund with a ferocious roar, and the two of them were soon lost in their own hyperviolent dance.

Meanwhile, Strongarm advanced on one of the only women here he actually recognised. Scorn had been his predecessor in the Demon's Claw, and though they'd never met, he felt that it was his duty to show her that the better man had taken her old spot on the roster. The sorceress was still swooning from Echo's earlier attack though, and it would be a meaningless victory for him to crush her skull when she could barely even stand to face him.

"Not that it will make any difference," the four-armed cyborg sneered, "Your death is a foregone conclusion, witch. But hurry up and recover so that I can slay you as I have been ordered."

"As you wish," Scorn looked up at the much taller man with her own leering grin. Scorn's own Khund physiology made her more hardy than most of her teammates, and she launched herself now at Strongarm with surprising speed. Both hands clutching the hilt of her blood dagger, she rammed it into his chest and spat an incantation at him. Strongarm's blood felt as though it were on fire, and his back arched as he released a hair-raising roar.

He too recovered quickly though, and as soon as Scorn withdrew her blade from his tree trunk of a chest he backhanded her with one of his equally massive cybernetic arms. Scorn spat blood herself as she bounced across the rocky ground and grazed one side of her face. Scorn's head was once again spinning as Strongarm advanced on her to tear her limb from limb, but before he could strike her a second time a translucent blue forcefield slammed into him hard enough to send him flying right off the edge of the Demon's Gate.

"You wanted a sacrifice for that gate, right?" Nimbus stood protectively over Scorn while the blood witch climbed to her feet. "How's that for a sacrifice?"

"I need to provide a sacrifice to the Demon's Gate," Scorn snarled ungratefully at the pretty young blonde hovering inside her namesake energy field. "These bastich men have already robbed me of my devotee...try not to rob me of any more potential sacrifices, woman!"

"Shock, forgive a girl for trying to help..." Nimbus took a step back.

Still laid out on the ground herself, Vista was finally cognizant enough to be able to take in what was going on around her. She had no idea how the Demon's Claw had known the Sisterhood were here or why Veilmist's husband had mentioned the Legion of Superheroes earlier; that was two too many unknowns for Vista's liking. She also didn't like how evenly matched the teams were. Echo and Strongarm looked as though they were down for the count, but Bloodclaw was faring far better against Star-Bear than Vista was comfortable with, and Scorn looked like Strongarm had broken some bones with his blow. The team's two aerial specialists weren't even anywhere in sight; for all Vista knew, their creepy little winged man had already killed White Bat and was on his way back now for another victim. As for Vista herself, she thought she had maybe one display of power in her but she would need to push. She would need to make it count.

Forcing herself to one knee, Vista focused on the sonic bola that was keeping Veilmist incapacitated. The Third Eye implant in Vista's forehead flashed a bright pink, and the bola abruptly vanished. "Veilmist!" Vista commanded. "Pull yourself together and get us out of here!"

"Your interference is unwanted and short-lived, woman!" Firefist turned on Vista and sprayed a hail of bullets in her direction. At the last possible instant, Nimbus projected her forcefield between them, but two of the bullets struck Vista and she fell with a sharp wail.

"Oh, you're going to regret that," Nimbus fumed. She extended her field around herself like an exoskeleton and towered over Firefist while he emptied futile rounds of ammunition against her. "You're going to live just long enough to regret that more than you've ever regretted anything, you sleazy little--" The rest of Nimbus's diatribe was drowned out by the sound of her rending both of Firefist's arms from his torso and hurling the weapon-laden limbs over the edge of the rock.

More than half of Firefist's body was made of plasteel and wiring so the horrific assault didn't actually hurt him, but the startled Khund lost his balance and fell to the ground. Foul-smelling mechanical fluids spurted out of his busted shoulder joints while he sputtered impotently at the slight young woman who'd done this to him.

Nimbus moved to stomp him flat, but the warrior leader of the Demon's Claw had already regained his senses. "You may have quite literally disarmed me," Firefist spoke through gritted teeth, "But I can see you, girl...and if I can see you, then that means your accursed forcefield is permeable to light." Firefist's artificial right eye locked onto Nimbus's natural eyes, and sent a strobing frequency straight into her optic nerves that temporarily scrambled her synapses and left her defenceless and convulsing on the ground. Firefist had never liked that particular weapon in his arsenal, he found it a cowardly attack at best...but desperate times called for desperate measures.

Veilmist had finally recovered enough to follow the command she'd been given by Vista, and she glared hatefully at her husband while avoiding direct eye contact with him. "You will never possess me again, husband. No man will ever possess me again, I'll run from you till my dying day."

"Veilmist, stop!!" This was Scorn, who crouched down now behind the prone Firefist's head. Positioned as he was, Firefist couldn't see his old teammate but he recognised Scorn's voice and cursed her for her treachery. Ignoring him, Scorn raised her blood dagger once more. "There is another way to end this, Veilmist...but he is your husband. You should be the one to decide if he will serve the Demon Father today."

If ever there had been compassion for Firefist inside Veilmist, it had atrophied long ago. She nodded at Scorn grimly, and the blood witch brought her flashing blade down.

**********

Just outside the planet's atmosphere, seven outlaw heroes came to the end of their mysterious quest in a shuttle cloaked by Sensor Girl's powers.

Star Boy and Wildfire were at the shuttle's controls, and Wildfire now hollered at the others with his usual blunt demeanour. "So where do we go from here, O Oracles of Naltor? This planet looks like one big chunk o' rock as far as I can tell, I hope you haven't led us all this way on a wild goose chase!"

"We've come too far for you to question me now, Drake Burroughs!" Dream Girl chastised Wildfire only half-seriously. "We..."

Dream Girl trailed off weakly, and Star Boy called after her. "Nura? Everything okay back there?"

Mysa Nal turned around in her own seat to see Dream Girl and Infinite Boy sitting behind her. Mysa gasped as she saw that the two of them had already begun shuddering, their eyes rolling back in their heads. "Xao--!!"

"I'm here!" Dragonmage leaped from his own seat to stand in the aisle, and he immediately began weaving intricate dragonforms in the air. "It's okay, everybody...after seeing how Dream Girl's vision affected her back at the Legion's base, I've been preparing a defensive spell just for this occasion." Long-tailed silvery dragons flew forth from Xao's outstretched fingers and circled Dream Girl and Infinite Boy's heads while they both dreamed whatever it was they were dreaming. It wasn't a pleasant experience for either of the platinum-haired Naltorians judging by their anxious moans and the way their faces were screwed up as though in pain, but Xao's magic successfully protected them from the worst of the dark magic that was polluting these visions.

Just as the dreams seemed to be abating a bright red flash of light filled the shuttle, startling everyone greatly. It was gone as swiftly as it had come, and it left everyone feeling unnerved in its wake.

"What the sprock was that?!" Wildfire burst out.

"Nothing on sensors--" Star Boy scanned the console urgently.

"I may not possess magical abilities myself anymore," Mysa's brow furrowed, "But that felt like--"

"Magic," Dragonmage agreed darkly. "...The blackest magic."

Dream Girl and the Infinite Boy simultaneously sucked in a lungful of air and sat straight up wide-eyed in their seats.

"The Demon's Gate!" Dream Girl announced frantically.

"The Demon Father!" Infinite Boy yelled at the same time. "I know who he is, I know his name--!"

Sensor Girl went as white as a ghost. "Legionnaires..." she mumbled, having forgotten in her dread that they were no longer a part of the Legion of Superheroes. "On the planet's surface, I see him...it must be this so-called Demon Father!" She projected an image for all of them to see what she saw; a broad-shouldered muscular man with red skin, barely garbed in white clothing. He sat as if in meditation upon a petrified throne, a staff entwined with a winged serpent in his right hand. Hair like straw hung limply about his antlered head, and four eyes upon his face opened to reveal blazing golden orbs that made everyone on board feel as though he were staring into their souls even though they all knew this was only an illusion.

"That is him," the Infinite Boy responded to Sensor Girl with something between fear and wonder. "The Demon Father...the Great Ravager...

...TRIGON THE TERRIBLE!!!"

yay, more! what a treat, raz!

LOL at the super easy test for the Key Kid/Sojurn combo! inspired pairing too, raz, I can imagine Sojurn's different perspective will give Key Kid some insight!

oh, so Key Kid and Amp don't know yet that Duplicate Boy II survived? ah, security clearance, huh! I wonder if that will blow up in the Legion's faces later, if/when Key Kid and Amp learn about this!

I love it, I love how Sojurn's origin is kind of like an Aesop's fable - brilliant way to show the analogy with Enigma Lass and the Dominators!

aw, Variable Lad is so sweet! And good of Enigma Lass to solve the puzzle!

awesome origin for Enigma Lass' adopted name, too!

the Brainstem, loving the concept!

heh at the trending heroes! love that Diamond Damsel is such a powerhouse. And nice glimpses into how many others are helping out

... and also love the strength ranking you got here, with Mon, Blok and Night Girl at the top! (and of course Mysa would be up there too). also makes sense that Lydda is actually strongest, to balance out her weakness!

and I like how Danielle is monitoring things to keep Lydda safe!

wise of Blok to think of Lydda and Rokk!

ooh, Evolvo Lad is smarter than Brainy: 14th level versus 12th! nice bit here, as the Reboot firmly established that Reboot Evolvo was a 10th level one


wowza, nice feat there with that quartet! whew!

ah, nice bit there re Echo, he needs an outside sound source! brilliant way to tie his powers into his name of Echo!

lol at Star-Bear being all "let's fight the more exciting one!"

oy, clever of Firefist to use light to get through Nimbus' forcefield!

well, Veilmist got her revenge! and Scorn got her sacrifice after all! that was an amazing scene, raz, I could picture it - great cinematic fight scene, and epic cliffhanger ending!

smart move, having Xao be ready with a spell, considering how badly Nura and Infinite Boy reacted before!

and of course, Jeckie's super senses would see Trigon!

whohoo! that was epic, raz, take a bow! eagerly awaiting the next bit!

Welcome back, IB!

re: Brittle and Dupe Boy II/Revenant surviving, it made sense to me that the Oversight Watch would want to keep them under wraps, and I am sure it will make for a good story somewhere down the track when the truth comes out (also, I find it funny to think that Enigma Lass was there the whole time but would just have no idea who they are or why Key Kid and Amp would care!)

Sojurn's place in the story is so often unfamiliar outsider or team transport, it was nice to find a way for them to have another role for a change!

I can't remember if I got Evolvo Lad's 14th level intellect from old-school Legion or if it's something I made up, but I kind of like how it gives him an edge over Brainy but only for limited periods of time

I am glad you liked the Sisterhood/Demon's Claw fight - it was fun to choreograph!

And of course, Dream Girl and pals have been cruising along in subplot land for the last couple instalments but they are very much going to be front and centre now!

Alternate title for the story coming up might as well be "And You Thought Mordru Was Bad..."

hiya raz, re Brittle and Dupe Boy II, yeah logically the Oversight Watch would wanna keep them under wraps! I just recalled that the Legionnaires present did know that these two were alive - did the Oversight Watch put something in play to swear the Legion to secrecy? (re Engima Lass, totally, she probably had no idea who anybody there was!)

whoo boy! I'm really digging it, I bet you'll have so much fun making Trigon do crappy evil stuff lol!

Not anything more than usually shady, I just figure there's probably some things about Legion missions that are on a need to know basis - and the only Lalloran Legionnaire on that mission was Evolvo Lad, whose evolved form I think would be able to rationalise the benefit in everyone thinking Brittle and Dupe Boy II are dead when they're working on a covert ops team. Gas Girl and Life Lass would struggle with it more I think if they had been there

makes a lot of sense! and gives a lot of elements that can make a possible future scene more... explosive

THE KHUND EMPIRE
H'crides, the Demon's Gate

ROLL CALL
Dragonmage aka Xao Jin: dragon magic
Dream Girl aka Nura Nal: Naltorian precognition
Infinite Boy aka Kando Vyr: Legionnaire from the future, ability to summon beings from the timestream
Mysa Marvel aka Mysa Nal: magically enhanced strength, invulnerability, speed, flight, stamina, wisdom and courage
Sensor Girl aka Projectra Armorr: illusion-casting, super-enhanced perceptions
Star Boy aka Thom Kallor: celestial mass-transference
Wildfire aka Drake Burroughs: anti-energy being

The moonless sky of H'Crides was thick with clouds, and contained a sickly humid atmosphere that gave each breath hot weight like there was a storm in the making. There seemed to be an ominous rumbling from somewhere in those clouds which never quite became thunder, and instead of ozone the air reeked of sulphur...and in the minute or so that it had taken for these former or future Legionnaires to traverse this rocky wasteland from their shuttle landing zone to the Demon's Gate, they realised that the only sign of life they'd seen on this planet was the 100 foot tall muscular red man sitting on a throne grown from the surface of the planet and a similarly red-skinned woman of more human proportions hovering at his side. Both of them had two pairs of eyes which were mercifully closed right now, and both of them seemed completely ignorant of the presence of their visitors.

Mysa Nal had adopted her powered form before they'd even left their shuttle; she didn't need the wisdom of Solomon to tell her that it was a valid precaution when confronting a giant demon that the Infinite Boy had named Trigon the Terrible. Now that she was in the form of Mysa Marvel though, Solomon's wisdom told her something she may not have noticed otherwise. "Xao," she almost whispered to Dragonmage, "That four-eyed woman....she seems more demonic, more powerful, but look at what she's wearing! I think that's Scorn of the Sisterhood of Sin!"

"You're right!" Dragonmage's eyes widened. "But how--?"

They were at the base of the towering monolith called the Demon's Gate now, and Sensor Girl turned at the almost imperceptible sound of glider wings on the hot still air. Descending from where he'd been hidden from them on the other side of the rock, the man named Flederweb tumbled down roughly by the heroes. Gashes in his costume and bloodied flesh made it clear that he'd been in some kind of fight. "Gliding's...not so easy when a giant demon appears out of nowhere to suck all the life out of the air..." he complained.

"Flederweb?" Dragonmage ran to his side. "What's going on here? Where are the rest of the Demon's Claw?"

Flederweb flinched at Dragonmage's touch before he realised the young sorceror was just trying to help him regain his footing. "Most likely dead I assume," the winged man answered darkly. "No bother to me, but I didn't think you Legionnaires had it in you to send your enemies into an ambush like that."

"What are you talking about?" Star Boy demanded.

"We got a message that your woman...saw something here that we needed to investigate," Flederweb explained. "We didn't know that we'd been sent to investigate a surprise assault from our leader's beloved wife and her friends."

"His wife...Veilmist?" Dream Girl put the pieces together. "Wait, if that's Scorn...and Veilmist was here...is this why the Sisterhood of Sin ransacked the Museum of Mystic Arts? Are they responsible for this creature being here?"

"Guilty as charged." A waft of lavender temporarily overpowered the rank sulphurous odor they were drenched in before fading back into the overpowering omnipresent stench again. When the plumes of colored smoke vanished, Vista and Veilmist stood there.

It was Vista who'd spoken, and in a blur of motion Mysa Marvel was suddenly behind her with one hand covering Vista's eyes using the villain's own unruly brown hair. "You can't move anyone into your mindscape if you can't see us!" Mysa boasted.

"That still leaves Veilmist!" Dream Girl said. "Spread out so she can't teleport us all at once! And Sensor Girl, the rest of the Sisterhood must be here somewhere--"

"We are not here to fight, fools!" Veilmist said crossly, hands on her well formed hips.

"Veilmist is right," Vista added calmly. "We...may have made a mistake."

"...Understatement of the century," Flederweb mumbled at the women.

"Release the villain," Sensor Girl commanded Mysa. "My power will keep them from locking on any of us visually if they try anything." Indeed, to Vista and Veilmist's eyes everyone seemed to be shifting in position by a couple of feet back and forth.

"Time to 'fess up then!" Wildfire barked. "What the sprock is going on here and who or what the sprock is a Trigon the Terrible?"

Dragonmage flashed an anxious glance at the giant demon sitting above them. Speaking Trigon's name within his earshot was a dangerous risk, but fortunately he hadn't seemed to react...then again, Xao Jin wondered, how fortunate was it after all? He recognised well when a magic user was in meditation, gathering their power about them, and he was certain that's exactly what Trigon and Scorn were both doing right now.

"The Sisterhood of Sin found legends about a so-called Khund Demon Father," Vista recited a version of events, looking at the ground between them all rather than go cross-eyed trying to focus on any of their distorted images. "We traced him here, but when we got here we found he's not the father of all Khunds...just Scorn."

Star Boy threw his hands up in disgust. "You came looking for someone called the Demon Father?!"

Dream Girl touched his arm lightly. "Darling, I agree but not the time. Continue, Vista."

"We figured that he'd owe us a favour if we reunited him with his daughter," Vista continued. "So Scorn summoned him. What we didn't count on was that turncoat Scorn betraying us as soon as Trigon transformed her into...that. She hit us with a wave of pain so bad that I thought we were going to die, so I told Veilmist to get us out of here."

"I have never felt agony like that before and I never wish to again." Veilmist held herself. "I only had the strength to take Vista and myself away from here...and the only reason we returned was to rescue any of the remaining Sisterhood of Sin who survived Scorn's attack. I have no great love for them, but nobody deserves what that woman inflicted upon us."

"What do they want?" the Infinite Boy spoke up. "I mean what's their end goal? Surely Trigon didn't transform his daughter into a demon like him so they could just space out forever."

"It doesn't matter," a new voice sounded gruffly. As Flederweb had done earlier, the four-armed cyborg Strongarm now came stalking across from the far side of the Demon's Gate. He was covered in cuts and bruises, and had a nasty looking gash in his chest where Scorn had stabbed him...considering he'd been thrown off the top of the Demon's Gate earlier though, he was surprisingly hearty. "I'm going to tear these two apart and then I'm going to tear the rest of their misbegotten team of wenches apart as well!"

"Oh, you didn't die," Flederweb observed without inflection. "...Congratulations."

"We might not be in the Legion anymore, but we're not just going to let you kill these women," Star Boy took a stand against the approaching Khund.

"No, let him come," Veilmist faced Strongarm. "Him I can see clearly."

Star Boy ignored Veilmist, using his power to increase Strongarm's mass. The Khund was as strong as he looked, and Thom barely slowed him down. "Wildfire, a little help??"

Strongarm crouched before springing into a leap, allowing his mighty leg muscles to propel him through the air straight at Veilmist and Vista. Wildfire and Mysa both moved to intervene, but he was already claimed by Veilmist's power. He reappeared in the air just a few feet away from Scorn, and unwittingly slammed her straight into the ground.

"Are you insane--?!" Dream Girl turned on Veilmist.

"Khunds have a saying," Veilmist replied coldly. "I slayed two pit rats with one shot. Now they will occupy themselves fighting one another while we find the others and flee this place."

"If you think we are leaving these two here--" Sensor Girl began.

Unnoticed, Dragonmage began weaving a spell while all the time darting nervous glances at Trigon.

Wildfire and Mysa Marvel changed direction mid-air, both of them flying toward Scorn and Strongarm.

Then Scorn's outraged cry travelled across the land. "You dare?!"

Before Scorn's transformation, Strongarm's attack might have broken every bone in her body; now it just made her angry. While Strongarm fought the effect of Star Boy's power so he could stand, Scorn was already floating above him. Her dark auburn mane of hair framing her face and her green cloak billowing about her, Scorn's four eyes blazed and Strongarm felt a rare chill of fear.

"You have already had a taste of my power," she spoke down to Strongarm, as scornful as her name. "Now you may have your fill!"

Golden light poured forth from her eyes, consuming Strongarm within. Instinctively, Mysa and even Wildfire averted their gaze while Strongarm screamed a scream that sounded like his soul was being wrenched from his body.

When Scorn's work was done, Strongarm collapsed to the ground looking frighteningly emaciated. Scorn had taken enough blood from him to leave him weak but alive, and her magic now turned this blood into a half dozen coagulated forms shaped like winged demons. "I was a blood witch before Trigon the Terrible awakened my potential!" Scorn announced to the group as the blood wraiths swarmed Wildfire and Mysa Marvel. "Let me show you what I am capable of now!!"

The ground quaked mildly, and even the Demon's Gate itself shuddered for a brief second. Dragonmage wasted not another moment, sending serpentine forms of crimson and jade out into the world where they flew rings around himself and the rest of the heroes aside from Mysa Marvel and Wildfire (both of whom had flown too far for Xao to protect). Vista, Veilmist and Flederweb were also close enough to be covered by Dragonmage's spell, and they all watched in mounting trepidation as rivulets of blood flowed up through cracks in the dry ground outside the dragon circle and into the air like some perversely reversed rainfall.

The blood was that of the many cultists who'd died here over the years waiting for Trigon's daughter, whose corpses had been preserved underground by the old man named Jh'ein for precisely this kind of sick defilement.

The blood was Jh'ein's blood and it was that of Veilmist's husband Firefist.

The blood flowed from the wounds of Star-Bear, White Bat, Nimbus, Echo and Bloodclaw wherever they lay...

...and when the blood was gathered, an army of wraiths filled the sky of H'crides.

**********

KURSZGE III
The ruined city of Hukhaii

ROLL CALL
Dawnstar: translightspeed flight, interstellar tracking
Gravity Kid aka Tel Vole: gravity manipulation
Matter-Eater Lad aka Tenzil Kem: can eat inorganic matter in all its forms
Phantom Girl aka Tinya Wazzo: intangibility
Transposition Lad aka Kappa Snarrk: teleportational transposition

Hukhaii was the name of the city which had been erected at the base of the supervolcano Hukhaoao nearly three thousand years ago. While the Legion of Superheroes had been able to stop Hukhaoao's eruption before its effects impacted the entire world, some damage could not be avoided.

Once bustling with tourists, the dazzling spires of Hukhaii now lay in ruins. Thousands of people were trapped in their homes and the places they worked, shopped and played. The Legion of Superheroes had not slowed their efforts to help these people even after the immediate danger had passed; Evolvo Lad, Kid Computo and the planet-based Science Police had all agreed two hours ago that the volcano was unlikely to be an active threat anymore, so the Legion had doubled down on search and rescue efforts.

In a field of rubble which had only this afternoon been a busy traffic intersection, five Legionnaires toiled away to help save the people who still needed help on Kurszge III. Night had fallen hours ago, but between Color Kid's power and emergency lighting supplied by the Science Police the city was lit up as bright as day.

"We're doing a lot of this lately," Matter-Eater Lad quipped after swallowing a chunk of metal; grateful citizens poured out into the fresh air from the hole Tenzil had eaten in their grounded skybus. "I might put disaster response on my resume in case this superhero thing doesn't work out...I mean I've already got politics to fall back on, but a guy can't have too many backup plans!"

"This is all just part of being a Legionnaire," Gravity Kid retorted perhaps a little too peevishly. "That's what our teachers used to tell us back in the Legion Academy anyway."

Dawnstar was helping a terrified sentient from the second story window of a dangerously tilted apartment building, and she glanced down toward Tel once she was sure the orange-skinned person was safe. "I am certain that Matter-Eater Lad doesn't need you to tell him what the role of a Legionnaire entails, Gravity Kid -- Gravity Kid??"

Tel Vole swaggered as if drunk, his hand touching his forehead weakly. His power began to fade as he swooned, and Dawnstar saw in horror that the ton of ferrocrete he'd been levitating was about to collapse on a Kurszgian woman making her way out from beneath its shadow. As exhausted as Dawnstar was, she had no doubt she could reach the woman in time but she couldn't collect her with a grown adult already struggling in her arms.

Dawnstar's cry caught the other Legionnaires' attention, and they all looked across at the tragedy waiting to happen.

"Kappa!" Phantom Girl commanded with uncommon authority. "Swap me with that woman!"

Transposition Lad's reaction time surprised even himself. With the distinctive plink of his odd power, the dazed Kurszgian woman was out in the open where Tinya Wazzo had just stood while Phantom Girl was buried beneath the tremendous crash of what had once been part of Hukhaii's road system.

"Oh wow..." Transposition Lad bent over, his hands on his thighs. "I didn't think I was gonna do that in time at all." The tall green man looked across at Matter-Eater Lad. "Phantom Girl's okay under all that junk, right? I mean she must have phased in time--?"

"I did," Tinya answered, floating up through the wreckage. "And you did great, Kappa. Take a few minutes to get your breath back. But you, Tel--"

The blood had drained from Gravity Kid's face. "Grife...Phantom Girl, I'm so so sorry! I can't believe I screwed up like that--"

"It's okay, kid." Tenzil placed a friendly hand on Tel's shoulder. "Nobody's mad at you. But you're not going to be able to help people if you're this tired...maybe you should take a break, huh?"

"Matter-Eater Lad is right," Phantom Girl agreed. "Dawnstar, once you've helped that sentient to safety could you please escort Gravity Kid back to base?"

"I don't need a babysitter!" Tel began to complain.

"With all due respect, you almost passed out a second ago." Phantom Girl didn't raise her voice, but it held a firmness that she'd honed in her time leading the team. "Dawnstar will take you back home, Tel."

"Okay..." Gravity Kid surrendered. He sat on the ground and buried his face in his hands. Dawnstar provided her assent before she flew off, and Transposition Lad wondered awkwardly if he should try to say something to make Gravity Kid feel better or just leave him be.

Phantom Girl and Matter-Eater Lad shared a silent look that said this might just be something they'd need to look into a little more deeply once they got back home...

**********

On H'crides, Trigon the Terrible remained unmoving while Scorn's blood wraiths tried to tear everybody else apart at his feet.

A writhing mob of the wraiths splattered apart into a gruesome shower of blood when two wide arcs of anti-energy sheared straight through them. "These things aren't alive!" Wildfire shouted. "It's just some kind of weird Khund hoodoo...no offence Mysa, but I've had enough of sprockin' magic for the rest of my life!"

"I'm no longer a witch, so no offence taken; though I will say magic still does some favors for me." Mysa Marvel was buried beneath a mass of reeking red-black creatures as Wildfire had been a moment ago, and she decided to take care of her own enemies less explosively than he had. Arms stretched out to her side, Mysa spun around at great speed and the wraiths were thrown up, down and all around. One came hurtling straight at Wildfire and he blew that one to pieces as well.

"Now--" Mysa began to speak, turning back to look at their clearly overwhelmed friends.

"Now we see how good blood magic is against a bag of anti-energy!" Wildfire rocketed straight at Scorn, his bootjets roaring.

Mysa was torn; she desperately wanted to protect her sister, but she didn't feel comfortable leaving Wildfire to fight a demon's daughter alone. Solomon's wisdom made the decision for her, and Mysa hoped she wouldn't regret it as she followed Wildfire into combat.

The others were all still more or less safely encircled within Dragonmage's spell. At Dream Girl's command, they'd formed a protective ring around the young sorceror.

"How long can you keep this defence in place against these creatures?" Dream Girl asked Dragonmage. The diving mass of blood wraiths hadn't yet crossed the colorful dragonforms flying round the mismatched group, but Nura couldn't help but notice they had a few inches less space in this dragon circle than they'd had a minute ago.

"Honestly? I can feel the dragonforms succumbing already," Xao Jin answered. "They will weaken significantly before the spell is broken, but I only give us another few minutes at most."

"I have been attempting to confound their senses," Sensor Girl admitted, "But it seems they have none; none that fall within the range of my abilities at any rate."

"I don't expect dreams or illusions to be any use here," Vista sniped as she pulled three more of the swarming wraiths into her mindscape where they immediately fell apart separated from Scorn's power. "But aren't you supposed to be the Demon Claw's aerial specialist, Flederweb? Why aren't you taking on these things on your own turf?"

"Vista is correct!" Veilmist's own power teleported a half-dozen of the monsters to the other side of the planet. "Will you not act even to save yourself, coward?"

"I have no particular attachment to my life," Flederweb retorted sardonically, "But I'm not suicidal either. Those things are worse than a cloud of plague locusts, I'll stay right where I am if it's all the same to you." Though he was grounded along with the others, Flederweb had nonetheless drawn his gun and was firing energy pulses directly into the maddened throng above them.

The Infinite Boy listened to the exchange happening around him. In the future from which Kando Vyr hailed, Veilmist was known as a battle-hardened warrior and Flederweb had died after long and loyal service to the Legion of Superheroes. That timeline might not exist anymore thanks to his own interference, but maybe he was inadvertantly helping push those two now into the roles they were fated to play.

"Enough, Kando..." the Naltorian boy chastised himself under his breath. "Dissect destiny later...right now we need some serious backup. In all of the past, present and future there has to be somebody who can tip the odds in our favour." He drew on his own strange power, and everywhere shadow fell upon him seemed to be hiding a secret starscape. Then, anticlimactically, the Infinite Boy's eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed into his cape on the rocky ground.

"I can see why you recruited this one," Flederweb remarked sarcastically.

Star Boy recognised what this was immediately and he stopped transferring mass into the encroaching horde for a moment. "Nura, is he..?"

"...Experiencing a vision," Dream Girl finished Star Boy's sentence. "Absolutely miserable timing though, now I know how you must feel half the time." She flashed her lover a wan smile as she dragged Kando closer into the circle, then Dream Girl's striking blue eyes grew wide. "Thom, look out!!"

The warning came too slow however. The dragon circle had contracted enough that one of the blood wraiths was able to reach down and snag its claws right into Thom Kallor's shoulders. The creature lifted him up and started flying back toward its mistress, ignoring Star Boy's pained exclamations and Dream Girl's panicked shrieks. While they were still reeling over the loss of Star Boy, another one of the creatures dipped down and yanked Sensor Girl into the sky by her cape. Flederweb turned his weapon toward the abductors, but they were all too soon lost in the larger crowd; it was the best he could do to temporarily keep more of them at bay.

All the noise jolted the Infinite Boy awake and he sat up and rubbed his eyes. "I had the most awful dream..."

"It doesn't matter!" Dream Girl squatted down to meet his eye. "Kando, please! Summon...summon the Legion or the Justice League or...please, they're going to kill Thom and Jeckie!!"

The Infinite Boy shook the cobwebs from his head and immediately jumped to his feet. As though he hadn't even heard Dream Girl's plea, he stared with open fear at Trigon. "Veilmist, you have to get us out of here."

"What?! No!! We have to help Star Boy and Sensor Girl!" Dream Girl shouted into Infinite Boy's face, but he couldn't pay any attention to that because his dream had told him exactly what was coming and he knew they had to be far from here when it happened.

Far above them, Trigon the Terrible finally stirred for the first time. The enormous demonic figure looked down upon the superhumans who might as well be gnats at his feet with his lower pair of eyes...and then, as a coldly evil grin found its way to Trigon's face, his upper pair of eyes began to open.

"Veilmist!!" The Infinite Boy grabbed her arms and shook her. "We need to get out of here right now!!"

The golden eyes of Trigon the Terrible blazed to life, and then...

...Veilmist, Vista, Flederweb, Dragonmage, Dream Girl and the Infinite Boy were suddenly standing in a brightly lit shopping mall with a 20 foot tall holoscreen blaring some news story about the Legion of Superheroes doing relief work on a neighbouring world. A stunned crowd of onlookers surrounded them all, wondering who these strangers were who'd just appeared in their midst.

"Take us back!" Dream Girl wagged a finger in Veilmist's face. "You take us back right now!!"

"Out of the question," Vista stepped between the two women. "I let Veilmist talk me into going back for the Sisterhood, but that was about 12 levels of insanity ago. There is no power in this universe that's sending me back to that hellhole."

"This is a rare occasion then," Flederweb added, "Because I agree with the sexual tension crime sisters."

"Please," Dragonmage said weakly. "Just...give me a few moments. If I'm going to face Scorn and Trigon's sorcery--"

"Thom doesn't have a few moments!" Dream Girl turned on him. "Neither does Jeckie! And I'm not leaving my sister there with those two--"

"The decision is not yours to make, woman!" Veilmist spoke with bile in her voice. "Not unless you've developed teleportation powers of your own in the past few minutes..?"

"...You're all doomed."

They all paused at this new voice, and turned to see a young woman with long straight strawberry blonde hair standing next to the Infinite Boy. She wore an anachronistic green pleated skirt and collared blouse, a loose belt sat upon her waist and darker green boots rose most of the way up her shapely calves. She had pretty features and a dancer's body and otherwise should have been thoroughly unremarkable, but there was something about her that seemed to radiate a haunting presence.

"I reached into the timestream for someone who could help us against Trigon and Scorn," the Infinite Boy tried to explain.

"And who are you?" Dream Girl asked the girl.

"My name is Lilith Clay," the newcomer introduced herself, "And if you've really summoned Trigon to this plane, then you, your missing friends, whatever this world is...

...All that lives is doomed."

yay! i've been waiting for this, oh goodie!

nice description of the area, raz, you really set the scene! (also, former and future Legionnaires, very nice!)

gotta love that Wisdom of Solomon! you are great at giving it a lot of useful applications!

heh, loved the next bits, with Flederweb showing up, then Veilmist and Vista. Love Flederweb's snark.

good of Nura to take charge, tactically. and lol at Thom and Nura being all "really, you went looking for a Demon Father"?

nice application of Jeckie's power - curious,could she have used it on Vista only? seems like everyone got the full effect

ooh, now I'm curious - and a bit afraid - to see the fates of the rest of the Sisterhood!

hooh boy, Veilmist sure turned things on their head! now Scorn is angry...

that was ominous, seeing the list of other characters whose blood flowed into Scorn's spell. eek!

I just love your development of Dawnstar. some time ago, I could see her being the snarky one in place of Gravity Kid... but here she is not taking any nass from Tel. now Dawny actually appreciates some humor, and has no time for anyone being too haughty.

and Tel is pushing himself too hard, again. with Tinya and Tenzil on the case, I have a feeling this is all gonna come out in the open soon!

ooh, nice nod to Flederweb being a future Legionnaire...

lol at Nura's joking about the visions!

oh sprock! Trigon awake, Thom and Jeckie and Mysa and Drake left behind... way to up the ante, raz!

Flederweb is such a hoot! Sexual tension crime sisters! hahahaha

also, loving the nod to Veilmist being a good person, and wanting to save the rest of the Sisterhood in the first place!

LILITH! Was not expecting her - nice!!

wow, I am super hooked, raz! exellent installment, cannot wait for the next one!

Welcome back IB!

I feel like I probably harp on about the wisdom of Solomon too much sometimes, but the idea of an external source of superhuman wisdom is exactly the kind of weird power that I love


This is a very good point actually, thanks! I went back and edited it, it's a bit silly that it would affect everyone when she can just do it to Vista and Veilmist

re Dawnstar - thanks, I appreciate it! To be honest, she was never one of my favourites as a reader but once I started writing her I have really got into her head heaps more. She is going to have kind of a weird journey coming up, but that's a story for a later time...

You are right on the mark with Tel as well...I think once all this business with Trigon is over, Tel's story is going to be my next focus!


This will hopefully have a big payoff next instalment, especially with all the stuff that's been going on with Wildfire recently...I don't know if you read the Titans comics where Trigon came to Earth, but I am drawing from parts of that a whole lot for this story!

I am glad you enjoyed! As you are probably aware by now, things are definitely going to get worse before they get better, these characters haven't been tortured nearly enough yet hahaha

hahaha! well you're so good at upping the ante, really excited for the next bit! (and also the developments to come, like with Tel and Drake!)

re Dawny, I also appreciate you building upon that Tangleweb story where Dawny started to respect Tenzil - it's showing here, where she tells Tel off for being condescending to Tenz

and yes, I remember the original Trigon story a bit, excited to see what you'll do with the Legionnaires left behind - eager to see what Mysa, Jeckie and Thom will experience!

I totally had Dawny and Tenzil in that scene by coincidence but as soon as I wrote her telling Gravity Kid off I was thinking how it was accidentally a nice throwback to the Tangleweb story! Good mermory, IB!!

your awesome story made it easier to remember, raz

Aw thanks!

It was awesome! And my : D emoji was a laughing one, I thought it would be a big grin! i changed it to a smilie one to show my sincerity!!

Hey Raz, I've finally got time to dive in and review your work - am really looking forward to this!

Starting with Key Kid and Sojurn, after the end of the previous section, is a surprise. Sojurn's concern for Key Kid was very sweet. The potted history of how Sojurn came to join the team is very relevant to the Key Kid/Enigma Lass situation, I'd forgotten about Sojurn's people's love of zoos so that was a nice reminder. Let's hope that Miqui takes it on board.

How cute, Variable Lad apologising for not finding the way out. She really does have issues, though given her past that's not unexpected. His support and concern are sweet, and nice that he straight away tells her that if she wants a name she can have one. Nice that she gets to figure out the puzzle and get the two of them out of their test. And, Monn Petti, is a sweet name, nice! very un-Dominion!

I love the Brainstem and am a little jealous that you thought of it first. It makes for a striking image. Glad to see the team have moved towards the Khund border, and also that they've found something to justify their being there. Nice to see so many of your team being used with the disaster relief and especially Slug, et al, wading through lava to save pets (amongst other things) - yup, that's what heros do, don't leave animals behind. Am particularly impressed with the three digging channels, and Mon El's attempt to ease any anxiety of Lydda's was clever. He's a good egg, despite being incredibly boring, haha.

Wow, I really wouldn't want to be in the team above the vulcano! Hukhaoao is a great name, by the way. 90 billion tons to change? Wow, Jan is deservedly cream-crackered after changing that! Evolvo's comment at the end - are you planning on taking your team out into the wilds of space or keeping them more Sol-based?

And now onto the main event! Yay, the Sisterhood of Sin face off against the Demon's Claw! This is gonna be epic! And straight into the action, no chance to talk their way through it - I do love the single mindedness of Khunds! "Slaughter!" indeed, though I fear it's the Demon's Claw that will be slaughtered here. Firefist has the tech to stop Vielmist, of course. You make a point od stating Flederweb is the least physically imposing, which makes me think you might be planning on getting rid of him - I hope not as you write his so well. "Now this is my idea of a good time!" Star-Bear is great! Strongarm letting Scorn get to her feet will be a mistake. Nimbus and Scorn 'discussing' the sacrifice - haha, that was a cute moment. Vista freeing Veilmist was clever. Nimbus is mean, pulling Firefist's arm's off- Ouch! And he's the sacrifice. Somehow I don't think things are going to improve any now...

Yay, Nura and the rest of them to the rescue! Or maybe not... Sensor Girl cloaking their vessel - great use of her. Xao preparing a spell just in case Nura had another epic vision was also clever use and in character for him, he's a studious type. Yay... and ekk! It is Trigon!

This is great stuff Raz, you've really done yourself proud with the lead up and execution of this storyline. I'll have time tomorrow to read through the next section, and am really looking forward to more, more, more!

Welcome back, Harbi!

Glad you liked the stuff with the Academy kids! We will be picking up on some of the stuff you mentioned after Trigon has his little rampage!

The Brainstem is really my ripoff homage to the JLA's monitor womb that (I think) Grant Morrison introduced back in the day....I like the visual of a supehero surrounded by a bazillion screens

When I actually looked up how much volcanic ash a big eruption spews out I was a bit worried that it would be overkill for Jan to be able to affect that much, but then again he didn't seem to have any trouble increasing the lead in a whole world's atmosphere back during the Great Darkness Saga so I guess we can give him a frighteningly godlike moment occasionally

Will Flederweb live? Will he die?? Nobody is safe!!!

I do have fun writing him though so at least he'll get some good lines before he goes

I am looking forward to your thoughts when you get to the next instalment!

Yay, back for more!

You really set the scene on H'crides well with that description of the unpleasant atmosphere. And if the only sign of life is Scorn and a 100 foot tall Trigon then it's definitely not going to be a fun outing for them. What a scene to set, that paragraph was gold. I'm glad Flederweb survived, the l'il gliding cynic is my favourite Khund. Nice use of Jeckie's powers to stop Vista from Mindscaping them. With Vista and Veilmist free, I wonder if Nimbus and star-Bear will be either slaves or goners... which is a shame as both are interesting characters. Strongarm being teleported to Scorn was a good move, that should wake her up! "I slayed two pit rats with one shot." yup, sounds like something the Khunds would say Ah, perhaps waking Scorn was not a bright idea... eek! Poor Strongarm, that sounds horrible! As does the blood wraiths Scorn has created. That really is unpleasanr, but also really cool, haha, the perfect mix of horror and excvitement.

What a time to cut away to other team members Nice to see a follow-up to the volcano erupting story from the previous section. As IB rightly says, this isthe sort of work we'd want heroes to do IRL, if they existed. Love Tenzil's thoughts about jis CV Dawny sticking up for him as Tel gets waspish was a nice moment, she's usually pretty aloof from this sort of thing but I guess she's still trying to make friends so the Bounty future doesn't happen. Oh, what's up with Tel? And good move Tinya, very clever! Nice seeing Tinya assert her authority too.

Yay, back to H'crides! Mysa and Drakes conversation about magic was cute. The rest of the team seem to be in a precarious position, if Veilmist is teleporting them, Vista is doing her mindscape thing, the wraiths are being blasted, and still there are enough to push Xao's barrier inwards. Infitinty Boy worrying if he's forcing history is a nice nod towards his own past. What a bad time to have a premonition! And nice exchange between Nura and Thom there. Oh, bye Thom and Jeckie - that's unexpected and horrible! Kando getting Veilmist to take them away, even when Thm and Jeckie have been taken by Scorn's bloodwraiths really highlights how bad things are going to get. Nura's reaction is perfect, she would never accept running away as an option. "but that was about 12 levels of insanity ago." we've all had days like that "the sexual tension crime sisters." and unfortunately we all know people like that And Kando brought Lillith! Wow! That was totally unexpected Raz, and a great cliffhanger. I'm hanging on by my fingernails here!

More, more, more!

Hi Harbi, thanks for the extra commentary!

I am taking a lot of inspiration from the classic Titans story where Trigon comes to Earth for this story - I very much had George Perez's creepy transformed Earth in mind when I was describing H'crides and there will be another big homage in the next instalment as well.

Gravity Kid's story has been happily bubbling along in the background for a while now, but that will probably be my next focus after the Trigon story is over...and while the stakes are not as crazy big as fighting Trigon or Mordru, I think it will result in some good character exploration.

I am enjoying writing Mysa as a physical powerhouse - she gets to have more fun interactions with the other powerhouses on the team these days!

Having the Infinite Boy pop up occasionally is a surprisingly fun way for me to have the Legion team up with characters from other time periods that isn't too contrived, and Lilith will be well and truly earning her keep before all this is over!

Next up: we find out what's going on with all the poor suckers Veilmist left behind on H'crides and none of our guys are having a good time!

Also: a cool display of teamwork!

Sensor Girl muddling Vista's vision so that she couldn't mindscape everyone was super-clever!

And 'sexual tension crime sisters.' Ha!

Thanks! I like when Jeckie gets to be more clever with her powers than just creating giant demons outta nowhere...


Flederweb is quite fun to come up with dialogue for

I really like the bit where Enigma Lass chooses the name Monn Petti for herself! So cool.

A Dominator Legionnaire, that's awesome.