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Hive planet,
The Dark Oval

Cobalt Kid continued to move with the rest of the Legionnaires as the slushing sound of their footsteps became a repetitive, never-ending pattern of noise. He focused on it entirely, forcing himself to ignore the putrid stench of the cavern they were in. More than that, he ignored the total disgust he now felt after the realization of where they were. Once Lard Lad said it, confirming an inkling he had, it became increasingly obvious that the Hive “Planet” was actually the rotting corpse of a giant, cosmic entity that was being continually fed on by the Hive. All around him was the decaying organs and tissue of the being that may have been Pornis, slowly disintegrating over a process that took years and years. The sheer scope of it—a giant cosmic entity rotting in open space—was too difficult to comprehend in terms of how it was happening; the why was awful enough for now.

All around them the bugs continued to weave in and out of their path, generally ignoring them because of the Princess’ pheromones. Yet he could hear them crunching away and feeding on the carcass, growing ever stronger.

None of them said anything and continued on.

Up ahead, Goon Boy appeared to be in good spirits, happy to see the Princess of the Hive and that made Cobalt all the more alarmed. It all felt like they were walking into a classic trap, though the always present practical side told him that if it was a trap, why not simply alert the Hive to their presence as they would undoubtedly be obliterated in seconds. Despite their powers, they were so out of their league it caused an anxiety that was close to breaking them.

All of it was getting to them. The exhaustion of the journey thus far. The nausea of their surroundings. The claustrophobia of their further decent into the grandiose corpse. The alarming knowledge that they were deep into an alien territory unexplored for a millennia, surrounding by enemies and with one ally whose very nature made her dangerous.

As he moved forward to the squish squish squish he began to feel a buzzing sound in his mind, but it was too low level for him to notice it at first. Always one to feel an obligation to his duty as an LMBer above all else, to a fault even, he pushed on and ignored all the pain and disgust.

The buzzing continued to grow stronger as they grew ever closer.

And soon new feelings began to hit him. I’ve placed all this trust in Goon Boy—how could be seduced? Has he doomed us all?

Invisible Brainiac is much like I was…only without having his spirit crushed and his trust in others vanquished. He’s pure and I’m nothing but used goods, a tool for the betterment of the United Planets until one day I’ll be discarded when its clear my ways no longer have a place in civilized society. It’s always been a great relief to me to see him maintain that innocence…yet it is so unfair…

Tempest deceived me all those years ago! My second wife, Viviane, was nothing but a mockery. I loved her and she’s gone as if she never existed. Tempest did it. SHE KILLED HER!

Power Boy carries on as if this is fun for him. How delightful it must be to not know suffering. There’s an easy remedy for THAT!

They would imprison Lard Lad if they had a chance! I would kill them all before it came to that! But perhaps…Lardy is the one whose existence threatens us all…. The final thought suddenly made him physically cringe as if he was at war with himself. NO! They’ve brainwashed me to think that…! He immediately felt guilty for the thoughts, his sense of self overriding the evil thoughts, but that guilt quickly turned into blame towards the others…

He was growing angrier and angrier. Years and years of bitterness creeping up into his throat, as if it was choking him.

I swore I would raze the entire galaxy if it meant saving Legion World and the LMB. I would mutilate thieves, geld rapists and hang traitors. Am I surrounded by traitors now?

Cobalt’s pace began to slow down. He was unaware the others were feeling similar things. The awful effect of Harold Ryan Wyandotte’s mental domination took over. He only knew that he had to strike first and eliminate these traitorous enemies.

Earth-4,
The Dark Oval

"INYUK CHUK!"

The call went out as a rallying cry throughout the city of New Wystuv’ryy, and indeed, planet-wide. Two giant-sized Shark Lads hulked through the city and destroyed everything in their paths as the full defenses of the Evil Emperor Penguin rained down upon them. Spurred on by one another, they grew increasingly more full of rage.

“This is incredible,” said Hugh Taylor, playing his part in directing this aspect of the assault. Nearby, the Loser known as Hummingbird was using her sound powers to full effect, while down below in the streets the super-speedster Beagz was disarming every soldier in sight and dismantling their guns before they could be reclaimed.

“Isn’t it, though?” smiled Portfolio Girl, who watched his side. Her briefcase hung open as the full fury of her monsters had been unleashed upon the city. Horrific, slithering ones next to silly ones and so many more nearby.

Hugh ran down a series of stairs to get into the action himself. “We’re really doing it,” he said to himself with a smile.

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

The city’s west side had a natural border as the suburban area grew into a series of hills, small at first and then turning into a large mountain. It provided beautiful scenery, especially when covered with ice and snow as it was now. But it also provided for an excellent launch point for a cadre of rebels. On skis.

They came flying down the mountain and then hills on skis covered in white camouflage feeling the adrenaline of the assault. Yellow Kid, of the Primary Colors Gang, laughed a deep, hearty laugh and the other PCG members followed suit. Soon, even the other Losers were doing it. The ski assault of New Wystuv’ryy had begun.

Helena Handbasket and Seth Gaterra led the charge as the sheer bravado of the assault took the enemy forces completely by surprise.

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

The cold, barren iron of his cell prevented most noise from ever making its way inside. Being purposely built in a ‘magic dead zone’, even his spells could not extend any awareness of what was happening outside. For many long years, Ratmage has suffered in silence. Any lesser man would be totally broken, but the Ratmage known as Stu was no lesser man. He knew the love of his life, Seahorse, was nearby, and she would be equally as strong.

And so it went, day after day, week after week, month after month.

And it all came to a crashing end with a mighty kick that folded up steel like it was paper, as Karate Kid and Bat-Fem stood before him when the dust began to clear. “Ratmage,” said Bat-Fem firmly, “the War for Earth has begun…and your planet needs you.” She extended a hand to pick him up. He was dazed and confused for a few moments but soon took it, and got to his feet.

Farther down the corridor, the longtime leader of the Society of Message Board Posters herself felt similar emotions. Seahorse’s super-hearing alerted her to new voices in the prison and a subsequent melee. Though at first taken by surprise, she backed away from the door to her cell, hoping beyond hope, that it was what she thought it was.

It was. Lightning ripped apart the door and caused it to explode, revealing Lightning Lass and others.

Far off, Seahorse could hear the familiar, rough voice of Satan Claws Cramer as she took on new guards running forward to stop them. “Come on mother fuckers! Make my fucking day!”

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

“I’m just about finished,” said Gear as he checked every detail another time. There was no doubt he had it right from the onset, but Gear was meticulous. He had to be—everything relied on it. “If you two need to begin powering up, I would suggest doing so now,” he added.

Both Faraway Lads nodded. The ragged, gaunt Faraway Lad of Earth-1 put his glass down with some port left in it, while the Faraway Lad of Earth-4 drained his. “Normally we don’t,” said the latter, “but given all we’ve been through recently, it is probably a good idea…”

“Indeed,” said Faraway Lad of Earth-4.

Lolita said nothing, though the concern was apparent on not only her face but her body movement. Her new friend Zhiya was near her side. “We have all suffered because of the Dark Oval,” she said softly to Lolita. “But there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Focus on that.”

Lolita knew she was right, and she reached out her hand to Zhiya’s and squeezed it. She had found strength in many odd places throughout this journey.

Suddenly Zhiya’s body language tensed up, and as Lolita held her hand, she sensed it. Zhiya steadied herself and Lolita could see her listening with her enhanced sense of hearing and also her sense of smell. “The Emperor has sent another emissary. They are quickly approaching.”

“Dammit,” said Polka Dot Kid, who unslung his laser rifle from his shoulder into his arms. “Gear, keep doing what you’re doing and then protect the Faraway Lads,” he said. He turned to Lolita and Zhiya.

“It’s up to us, then,” said Lolita. She felt the familiar fear of pre-battle jitters but knew she had to shrug them off.

In the distance they could hear banging and explosions. The emissary was ripping apart the new Loser Cave. Suddenly Lolita felt a sharp pain in her head and she leaned forward, putting her hand to her face. A telepath. They knew the Evil Emperor Penguin kept one. Lolita suddenly felt as if she was going to fall to the ground as it dawned on her what was happening.

If the Evil Emperor Penguin’s telepath is here, it must mean that it read the mind of one of the Losers and knows about our plan. He or she rushed over to the Loser Cave to stop us. All of our hard work will go down the drain if we’re not successful! “W-we can’t let them get to Gear and the Dardens,” she said. That was obvious, she realized. She couldn’t find the words to tell the other two that this telepath knew exactly what they were doing.

And suddenly the entrance to the cave ripped open as well. Telekinesis.

And once more realization dawned on Lolita as a familiar looking figure stepped forward. The figure was incredibly beautiful—an image of feminine perfection enhanced by a raw strength. She was covered in purple with white fringe white as if she were a great snow Princess. She had an air of authority about her but it was more than that; she looked as if she was truly a Queen. She was clearly royalty.

Her beautiful blue eyes were clear even from thirty feet away. She had flowing blonde-hair coming down her shoulders, highlighting her strong shoulders and full bosom. Her long legs had her standing almost a full foot taller than even Polka-Dot Kid.

Telepathy. Telekinesis. Blonde-Hair. Royalty.

“Oh no,” said Polka-Dot Kid.

“Cru-Crujectra…?” said Lolita.

And the Earth-4 Princess of the House of Jectra smiled an evil grin as she yanked them all forward with her telekinesis.

The Innards of the Hive planet
The Dark Oval

The group trekked on in silence, slowly walking further apart from each other as time went on. The Insect Princess’ elite guard walked at the front and the rear of the fellowship, hedging them in and pushing them on.

They followed the path as it widened and begin to have insect made branches off of the main path. They were approaching some larger space, they could tell as the chasm became broader and broader.

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Power Boy felt an oppression as they continued. Like a pressure on his head. 'This must be what the terrans call a headache.' He thought. His vision was dimming.

At first he thought it was the … ‘atmosphere’ … climbing through the planet sized corpse of a cosmic being was troubling in many ways. Now he suspected an external cause of the pressure.

Power Boy reflected on his many adventures, and whatever could lay low a being of this size and power was very deadly. Cosmic level entities did not just die like mortals … and they certainly did not leave their corpses to lay about for the eternity required for a race of insectoid beings to root their civilization into their rotting husk. Cosmic beings carried an enormous amount of the power of the universe within them, they balanced the cosmos between them. If a being this large and powerful was dead, then it’s power had shifted elsewhere or elsewhom in the cosmos.

That being would be very powerful indeed.

Power Boy was broken from his thoughts as three of the smaller insectoid guards closed behind him, chittering at him. He didn’t know what they said but they seemed to be getting more and more irritable. They apparently thought it was there job to keep the fellowship from falling behind.

Power Boy gave them a direct look, and they all backed away on their sharp legs.

Way up at the front of the procession, near the Insect Princess, the enormous white man from the waist up, and spider from the waist down looked back at the minor confrontation.

The spider guards regained their composure. Curiously, the guards near the front, near the lead warrior and the Princess remained orderly as they walked, showing little of the stress the rest of them did. Power Boy looked around, every member of the fellowship walked with heavy feet and hunched shoulders. Disaster Boy was withdrawn, his face barely visible from within the hood of his parka. Lard Lad walked with his sword out.

Something else else was pushing on them, on their minds, and it was more than the labor of walking in this miserable place.

‘The android?’ He thought and looked around. ‘Where had the android gone? He must have taken one of the turns that we passed and left? How did I not notice, this blasted headache is making me dim.’

Tempest stumbled back into him. “We must away from here” She whispered. Her face was pale as if she were sick.

“I’ll get the others.” Power Boy replied as he held her up.

“No, we must get away from here, it’s too late.” She gripped Power Boy’s bicep as she nearly collapsed, her hand went to her temple.

Whatever had been the cause of Power Boy’s throbbing headache, had been at Tempest as well.

“That’s it.” Power Boy touched his shoulder and his Mother Box teleport device appeared on his arm. “I’m getting us out of here.”

At that moment, Invisible Brainiac, Juj, Lard Lad, and Cobalt Kid turned around to stare at Power Boy and Tempest.
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“ARRGH!” A magnetic wave of energy surged through Power Boy. His Mother Box device was disrupted and faded away, as did his power baton on his thigh.

Power Boy stood perfectly still and cocked his head at Cobalt Kid, “I didn’t know you could do that.”

“There’s a lot I can do that you don’t know about!! You think you’re so superior, just because you live longer, and your feet don’t have to touch the ground … Well I have powers too ... ”

“I bet he even uses his telekinesis to keep his clothes clean. Such a pretty boy.” Came from Disaster Boy who had moved behind them.

The rear spider guards had pulled back, intending to stay well clear of the deadly air that had just come over the strange humans. The Princess, Goon Boy, and the guards at the front hadn’t noticed yet, they kept walking up the enormous cavern.

Tempest had weakly regained her feet. She said again “Get yourself out. Get help. You’re faster without me.”

SLASH!

“Gah!” A sword slashed across Power Boy’ back, leaving a trail of light leaking out of his body like a human bleeds blood.

Tempest and Power Boy exchanged startled looks.

“Your boyfriend’s going nowhere! I knew you wanted him Tempest! Well, now you two can be together … forever!!” Lard Lad stood with his sword pointed at Power Boy and Tempest as the fellowship closed in on them.

The LMB had often looked fierce before, but there was a nobility to them that clearly separated them from the bad guys.

But what Power Boy and Tempest saw now on their comrades' faces was pure, malevolent hatred.

Fast as thought, a telepathic exchange occurred.

"I can't leave you to that." Power Boy said.

"If you don't leave at all, we're dead."

"I can't get far anyway - IB's too fast and help is too far. We have to stand together." With that, Power Boy picked Tempest up and flew, just dodging a sword thrust from Lard Lad.

Waves of magnetic energy and geysers of rock followed them as Cobalt Kid and Disaster Boy tried to bring their allies down. Power Boy dodged them as best he could. "Don't you have enough strength left to shield us?"

"Not yet. I could barely stand, remember?"

"Do something about Juj or Invisible Brainiac, at least. They can follow us."

Tempest craned her neck to look. "They probably already are, I can't see them down be-"

She was cut off abruptly as something twisted the air. Juj the Durlan appeared, as if out of nowhere, shifting his form into a giant roc. He slammed into Power Boy's side and sent him crashing into a rock wall.

"No!" Power Boy wasn't seriously hurt, but Tempest wasn't invulnerable. Even if she survived the fall, she'd be easy prey for the others. But Juj had shifted into a skitterer; his fangs were stabbing at Power Boy's face.

Bad move - Juj should have attacked from a distance. This form was small. Power Boy wrenched Juj from his face and tossed him to the side. Now where was...

A flash of light blinded him. Damn. Invisible Brainiac.

"Still think I'm just some useless kid who can't take care of himself?" The normally cheery voice was dripping with anger and sarcasm. Power Boy noted that it sounded deeper and fuller, too.

Before he could answer, a laser shot into his side. "Argh!" He usually didn't scream, but the heat! It felt like a hole had been punched through his side. Then another laser shot through his leg. And another through his arm. He hadn't felt this much pain in a long time.

He braced himself against the wall and launched himself at IB in a tackle. But he went right through.

"Bet you think you were letting me off easy during our workouts, huh? But it looks like I was the one going easy on you!" As PB regained his footing, IB let loose with a cascading wave of color. It was like an aurora had gone off in his mind.

PB crouched in pain. IB could finish him off easily now. Only one chance, if he could reach his mind...

Just as his own mind reached out, another wave of color washed over him. Even with his eyes closed, he could see it. "IB, no... I always respected you as a great warrior. Especially after our battle with Titus! Please, a true warrior isn't just about strength, but honor. Control yourself!"

"Too late, Peebz. You should have respected me sooner." IB's eyes began to glow, and a second later his whole body followed. "I'm going to enjoy cooking you to a crisp."

Power Boy closed his eyes. If this was his day to die, so be it. He braced himself for the pain.

It never came, though.

"Bad idea, bro! This is one of the dumbest things we've ever thought of doing!"

Peebz opened his eyes to see... another IB absorbing the light from his attacker?

"You okay, Peebz?" Another IB, this one casting a gentle blue glow, came to support him.

"Just my luck. I finally get my hands on you, and we're in the middle of a firefight!" joked another one, as he gave off a yellow light while cradling Tempest in his arms. She spared him a glare. "We still have to leave quickly. Three of you are free, but the other four are mind-controlled."

"And down for the count. Well, almost!" said the IB shielding Power Boy. He noted that this one was green, and thus the "main" IB.

"Allow me." The blue one zipped off and downed their attacker - who had begun glowing red - with a karate chop. He laid him down gently on the cavern floor and made a face. "We're going to stink when we wake up and recombine."

Then, as if in answer to Power Boy's unasked question, he explained. "We split as soon as we reached the homeworld. When Wyandotte started playing with our minds, three of us were unaffected - Green, Yellow and I. Dunno why, but maybe because we're the three nearest the center on the emotional spectrum."

"We'd try to forcibly recombine them, but with four of us affected, we don't wanna risk a restored IB being controlled. So..."

He was cut off as a blast of lightning struck between them.

"As I've been saying since earlier," Tempest repeated, "we should run. I don't want to die at my allies' hands."

As Power Boy and the blue, yellow and green Invisible Brainiacs contemplated her words, the rear guard of their insect convoy suddenly attacked them and separated them from one another.

Power Boy fought off the ones that had dragged him away and strained to locate the others. It was nearly impossible in the melee that had developed. He would have to--

He was startled as he was suddenly hit with great force by the blunt end of a sword.

"We have unfinished business, Hrykos!" yelled the man who'd just hit him.

Peebz realized very quickly that he faced the enthralled Lard Lad once again. Moreover, Lardy now glowed with a bright red aura.

It's the Lard Force! Peebz thought. And he thinks I'm a Hrykos....possibly the one he killed back when.

Instinctively, Peebz reached toward his thigh for his power baton until he remembered suddenly that Cobalt had made it disappear, along with his Mother Box, earlier.

"Looking for your sword, Hrykos?" Lardy grinned evilly and pulled the baton from his belt and tossed it to him. "Time to settle this once and for all!"

Peebz caught the baton and grasped it just in time to parry a death blow from his enthalled opponent.

What followed was a flurry of blows from both of them that continued to escalate. Peebz soon found himself revelling in the combat. He'd heard tales of Lardy being considered the most dangerous LMBer back when he was empowered, but he'd never had the opportunity to see for himself, much less engage with him in mortal combat before. He began to wonder if Titus had been a warm-up act in comparison to this!

Don't get carried away, Peebz, he thought to himself. But with every fiber of his being, he absolutely wanted to! And, unlike Lardy, he still retained his free will.

-----

Up ahead of the skirmish developing amongst the LMBers, those at the lead began to take notice.

"By the Great Collective," swore the Insect Princess, "Wyandotte has gotten his hooks into them! And we haven't even reached the heart. He shouldn't have been able to sense us, yet! How could he have....?" Suddenly, her glowing eyes latched onto the hulking half-man/half-spider who served as her Captain. "Traitor!"

"No, Majesty, no! I--!"

But his eyes betrayed the guilt she'd already detected in his mind. He was about to either raise up to attack or flee as the Princess morphed up into her true, terrifying form, lunged at him and devoured him.

Watching nearby, Goon Boy seemed strangely non-plussed by this, distracted almost. The Princess morphed back into her humanoid form and took notice of him. He was now holding his head as if he were trying to remove something from it.

"My love?" she said as she approached him. "What is wrong? Your mind is impervious to any mental attack...even from one such as Wyandotte."

Struggling to even speak, Goony managed, "d-dunno, sweetheart....summ'ow...he's gittin' in! C-can't keep fightin' it!"

Her mind raced. Everything was falling apart. Wyandotte had somehow gotten to her Captain and set her up. Her eyes darted around. The insects surrounding them were starting to stray. She tried to reinforce her control, but something was...blocking her pheromones?

She smelled deeply around this main artery that comprised their path. The walls were tainted with a foreign agent that was masked sufficiently to fool her senses at first. In fact she felt strange now, as if---No! She couldn't transform back into her true form now!

She turned back to Goony. "We must retreat!" she screamed.

But his eyes were now blank, and before she could comprehend what was happening, Goony's hands were on her throat.

-----

Deep within the literal heart of the incredibly huge monolith that had once been a god, Harold Ryan Wyandotte watched the carnage unfold on dozens of monitor screens he had mounted along a wall.

"Oh, yes," he said, savoring every moment of his devious plan unfolding, "I will accomplish what so many have tried to do and destroy the hated LMB! These will be but the first to fall, as the rest will do so soon enough! So, too, shall fall your traitorous daughter...right, my 'love'?"

Wyandotte glanced a few feet over to his wife, the Queen of the Hive, where she lay catatonic in a plexiglass cage like some perverted Snow White.

Wyandotte blew the uncomprehending Queen a mock kiss and laughed fiercely in this, his moment of triumph.

Goon Boy’s eyes were now blank, and before the Princess could comprehend what was happening, Goony's hands were on her throat. She gasped and tried to breath but it was no use; stuck in her humanoid form she needed her respitary functions to survive and he was slowly crushing the life out of her. And then suddenly his eyes went wide, and he looked down at his stomach. His hands opened slowly and the Princess fell to the floor gasping for air, which burned as it went into her lungs. Knowing her survival depended on knowing what was happening, she looked up and saw a makeshift spear of metal and bone pointing threw Goon Boy’s abdomen as blood and other gore leaked out.

Goon Boy held his hands up to his face, looking at the blood and the shock of the assault seemed to snap him back to reality and out of the threshold of Wyandotte’s telepathic dominance. He turned and saw his attacker walk forward: Cobalt Kid.

“I’ve often dreamed of this, barbarian,” said Cobalt. “That I could kill you again, but this time slowly. And just like you taught me, a wound to the stomach is the slowest, albeit most painful way to die.” Cobalt’s voice was chilly but there was something different; something unhinged. He was letting his rage show instead of suppressing it like usual.

Goon Boy fell to his knees and tried to speak though he coughed up blood as he did. “Cobie…don’t do this…you’re…not yourself…”

“Did you ever once feel remorse for what you did to me?!” screamed Cobalt as he grabbed the back of Goon Boy’s hair and yanked his head backwards so they were face to face. In Cobalt’s mind he saw the barbarian he called “Dark Conan” that on three occasions delighted in the slow and violating torture he performed on Cobalt Kid. “Did you like choking her just now? You liked choking me. You took great pleasure in strangling your victims you said! Choking and cutting! Those were your things! And then at the last moment, letting your prey live—otherwise you would lose it.”

Cobalt’s anger was so intense that he was trembling. “Now you can choke on your own blood!” he screamed and he threw Goon Boy down to the ground.

He walked over to the Princess slowly who was still recovering and catching her breath. “This is madness!” she said. “You’re being mind-controlled! You must stop! I’ll kill you if I have to!” she said. The last thing she wanted was to lose another soldier but she would what she had to.

“You can try, mother,” said Cobalt Kid. “You did once,” he added, and now his face was covered in grief. He stopped for a moment and put his hands over his face. For many years he had lost the ability to cry though now it seemed he might. Instead, he ripped some of the hair out of his head and screamed at the top of his lungs. It was a piercing, awful scream, held back for sixteen years. He leaned forward, losing his balance.

The Princess prepared to strike but suddenly she realized she was being slowly pushed forward to Cobalt. There were small traces of magnetism in her armor and clothing. Almost minute. But Cobalt was extremely powerful and had honed his power like a master over the years. “Release me!” she yelled in defiance, but it was no use.

He looked up and his face was fresh scratch marks where he scratched his own face in grief, causing it to bleed. “How could do that to your own son?!” he screamed at her. “What kind of monster tries to kill their own son!!!”

Magnetically, he yanked back the spear out of Goon Boy’s body, which caused the fallen LMBer to lurch and begin bleeding at a much faster pace. He would not have long now until death. He held the spear in an attack position, ready to strike.

”Father, Hoffman, Dark Conan…but you were the worst. YOU RUINED ME! ALL I SEE AROUND ME ARE ENEMIES AND ITS BECAUSE OF YOU! AND NOW WE’LL DIE TOGETHER!”

At those words, Cobalt lunged forward to plunge the spear towards the oncoming Princess when suddenly a bolt of lightning ripped through him.

He fell forward, burnt and crispy, as smoke cleared and Tempest stepped forward. “Forgive me, Cobaltus, but I had no choice...and now we may have lost two LMBers in one battle…”

The Blue IB fell to his knees at what he saw. Lard Lad and Power Boy locked in battle; Cobalt Kid and Goon Boy grievously injured.

This was all coming unglued fast.

Grief, pain, rage, all sort of emotions were washing over him. But he had to maintain control and hope.

He ran forward and helped the Princess up. She thanked him quickly, then ran towards Goon Boy.

Blue turned to face Tempest. "Can you help them? Can you do anything to heal them, or to stop Wyandotte from doing this to us?"

She shook her head sadly. "The strength required to resist Wyandotte's telepathy has tired me out. I am not certain if I have the time or the energy to do much more. And I need concentration..."

Her words were cut off by a large wall of flame, and Yellow IB limply falling to the ground with a thud.

Blue IB and Tempest turned and stared in horror as Disaster Boy and a recovered Juj stepped forward. Juj carried an unconscious Green IB.

Disaster Boy sneered. "You think being able to split yourself into 7 makes you so big, huh? Now you're at only one-seventh of your strength!"

"Tempest, run now! Grab the Princess and run!" Blue pushed Tempest away and began to charge his energy. He hoped this would not turn into a fight to the finish. They'd already lost so much...

The Emperor's Palace
Earth-4
The Dark Oval

As the Battle for New Wystuv’ryy, raged on, Rockhopper Lad, Rockhopper Lass and Hyvvie the Wonder Beagle went off on their own to take down the Emperor.

They approached the palace and found it almost unguarded. Most of the Emperor's guard were engaged in the battle below. It was relatively easy for the Rockhoppers to put the few guards remaining on ice while Hyvvie tracked down the Emperor with his Nose of Wonder.

Finally, the Wonder Beagle led them to a secure door. The Emperor, Blaine Fey and Tempus were within.

Rockhopper Lad was strangely quiet. He seemed almost like he was meditating. He calmly turned to Rockhopper Lass and said, “Adelie, when I tell you, freeze the door and shatter it. Then, you and Hyvvie find someplace safe and hide till I come and get you.”

“Eudyptes, I haven't come all this way to...”

“Adelie, please. Trust me. If either of you enter that room, you will be killed. That I won't allow.” He placed one hand on Adelie and one on Hyvvie.

Seeing the seriousness in his eyes, Adelie nodded.

Rocky remembered an encounter long ago with Pagan Lass, Abin Quank's late wife:
That bequest from the LMB's greatest sorceress had lain latent within him. It was time to use it.

Yes, there were so many rules in Pyngwyny culture and in Pyngwypalia about the use of magic; but with so many lives at stake, there could be no question.

“Now, Adelie!”

Rockhopper Lass gestured at the door which exploded in small shards of ice. She and Hyvvie then ran off to a secure corner as Rockhopper Lad entered the door. “All right, Eudyptes, this is it!”

“Well, my foolish double,” the Emperor sneered as he entered from an inner chamber, flanked by Blaine Fey and Tempus, “did you truly think you could take on all three of us by yourself, you weakling?”

Rockhopper Lad made a slight gesture, almost a fingersnap, with both hands and in an instant, both Blaine and Tempus were encased in ice.

“Three of you?” Rocky grinned. “I only count one. And you are about to learn a whole new meaning of weakling, Eudyptes!”

“Hardly. Good-bye, Eudyptes!” The Emperor began to hurl raw mystical energies at Rockhopper Lad who closed his eyes, recoiled, tensed up and took two steps back. The Emperor continued his assault. Rockhopper Lad moved back a little more, bending at the waist in pain. “Weakling!” The Emperor taunted as Rockhopper Lad squatted on the floor from the assault.
Then Rockhopper Lad opened his eyes.

He stood up, arms outstretched, his chest tensed and thrust forward. Rockhopper Lad smiled. “You are about to lose everything, Eudyptes!”

As the Emperor continued to pour his energies out at Rockhopper Lad, Rocky stood motionless. The Emperor was astounded. Was he somehow repelling his magic? No! He was absorbing it! Rockhopper Lad was drinking in everything his double was sending out.

The Emperor then realized what was going on. His double wasn't merely absorbing his powers. He was actively taking them. The Emperor desperately tried to stop, but he couldn't Rockhopper Lad's pull was too strong. In desperation, the Emperor shot a bolt to either side of him and freed Blaine and Tempus from their frozen prisons. Surely, his double wouldn't expect this. “Throw everything you have at him!” the Emperor commanded. And they did.

Of course, Rockhopper Lad was planned on this. As he pulled the Emperor's power into his chest, he began to pull both Blaine and Tempus' powers into each hand.

It was all over within a few minutes. The Emperor, Blaine Fey and Tempus all lay on the floor: all unconscious and completely powerless.

Rockhopper Lad sat on the floor, his head buried in his hands. Presently Rockhopper Lass and Hyvvie ran in.

“Eudyptes, what happened?” Adelie cried. It sounded like the end of the universe in here and then—silence! Are you all right?”

Rocky stood up and uncovered his face. His red eyes sparkled like rubies. He took a deep breath. “I'm fine, Adelie. Please freeze these three for me. We have a war to win.”

Hours later, the Battle for New Wystuv’ryy still raged on. Whether this occurred in ignorance of the Emperor's downfall or in spite of it was unknown. The enemy forces were still numerous and powerful.

In an abandoned warehouse the remnants of what had been the fourth wave led by Commander Helena Handbasket of the Losers' assault were cornered in an abandoned warehouse. The first three waves had entered relatively smoothly, but the fourth was met with a massive ground and air response. A well-placed bomb had hit them right in the middle of their ranks. Helena lead just over two dozen survivors to the warehouse as they were being picked off by the fire of unseen snipers. Eleven of those didn't make it inside.

As they hunkered down inside, waiting for whatever came next, Helena repeatedly tried getting reinforcements over the radio.

"Repeating, this is Commander Helena Handbasket requesting backup! We are at coordinates delta-niner-tango-six!"

She depressed the comm button and waited for a response. What she could hear were voices so garbled that she couldn't verify they were responding. If her message was just as garbled on their end, she hadn't a prayer that they'd been heard or understood.

She glanced over at the unconscious Saturn Guy and shook her head. He'd taken a shot to the chest and was in really bad shape. Any hope of him being able to teep for help was slim.

She wondered if the Primary Colour Gang was among the dead. The PCG and Saffron Kid were on the far side of the blast, so there was a chance. But they were probably also hunkered down and cornered somewhere as well if they survived.

"Any luck, my love?" Seth whispered.

She shook her head. "So far me and you being still alive and together for the moment is about it." She reached over and squeezed his opaque hand.

"That...is good enough for me."

She smiled for a moment, and then it faded. "Dammit, Seth!" she exclaimed, though still technically whispering to keep out of earshot of the others under her command. "I could handle dying in battle...but this! Sitting like a caged animal awaiting slaughter---it's--"

"I know, my love. You have a warrior's heart, as fierce in battle as it is in love."

"But leading them out there," she continued, "would be suicide. I--"

"Ahem," came an interrupting voice. Helena and Seth saw it was Rose McDermott, one of the surviving non-powered soldiers with their group. "I've spoken to the others, ma'am, and they all agree--we'd rather fight our way out than wait here like sitting ducks. We won't defy you, ma'am, but that's how we feel."

Helena stood up and addressed the rest of them. "Does McDermott speak the truth? Would all of you rather take your chances out there?"

At once, the other twelve yelled, "aye!"

Helena smiled at them. "You all understand the odds?" Another affirmative. "Then, fight we will! I'll give you all a moment to make peace with whatever gods you may worship..."

Helena sat down and took Seth's hand back. A tear formed in her eye as she said, "Seth, these few weeks I've had with you have been the very best of my life."

With his free hand, Seth wiped away her stray tear. "Helena, my love, I can barely remember anything that happened before I first laid eyes on you..."

Then, the two embraced and kissed with all of the passion that a last kiss between lovers should have. Their fellows took notice and grinned at the sight.

The kiss ended and Seth and Helena lingered in each other's gaze for a long moment before, at last, Helena turned back to the others and stood. The rest of them rose with her.

"Alright," she said, "gear up. Anyone injured should find a buddy to assist them. Seth, you'll carry Saturn Guy. We're going out through the front door, where they'll least expect us to. Shoot anything that moves!"

As one, they moved toward the door and started removing the barricades. They'd barely begun when they suddenly heard explosions and artillery ringing in their ears.

"Take cover!" Helena barked, and everyone hit the deck and hid behind some of the discarded items from the barricade.

Helena listened carefully and soon realized that the fire wasn't directed at the warehouse but seemed to be taking place around it. Yes, some stray shots and shrapnel penetrated the building but not nearly as much as if it had been the target of the attack.

Could it be the backup after all? Helena wondered.

After countless minutes, the sounds subsided until they were finally completely silenced. All of those in the warehouse kept silent themselves, not knowing what the quiet meant.

Finally, the silence was broken by a booming, amplified voice. It said, "AHOY, LOSERS! ANYONE ALIVE IN THERE? GENERAL ELITE MILITIA, ELYSIAN DIVISION, AT YOUR SERVICE! WE GOT YOUR DISTRESS CALL, AND I'D SURE LIKE TO SEE MY SISTER IF SHE'S STILL WITH YOU!"

Helena gasped. "Horatio? Could it be...?"

Moments later, the survivors cautiously exited the warehouse, weapons drawn. When Helena saw her brother, she smiled and signalled for the others to lower their weapons.


Later, aboard a G.E.M. battle wagon, Helena embraced Commander Horatio Handbasket and introduced him to Seth. Seth and Horatio shook hands.

"Hor," she said, "what is all this?"

Smiling broadly, Horatio replied, "Hel, I showed our people everything you gave me about our true history...of Lubahæfen! You should see how the people have had their souls set free, Hel!" He beamed and embraced her again, tears in his eyes. "After that, it was a trifle to convince the Elysian G.E.M. contingent to break away and come to your aid! the reports from Earth-4 made it readily apparent where you'd gone! By pure happenstance, we arrived just in time to receive your call for help!"

"How goes the effort here, Horatio?" Seth asked.

"Well, the Emperor has fallen, but it seems his militia fights on. And reinforcements are on the way from other G.E.M. contingents that still serve the Dark Oval." He frowned, "we have two Elysian--no, Lubahæfen!--starships, but I fear it won't be enough..."

Helena grinned, "we have something up our sleeve, Hor, that will turn the odds in our favor...but we need to continue to buy time."

Horatio's face brightened. "I know you well enough to know that you're not prone to empty boasting, Hel! The free men of the Lubahæfen G.E.M. will fight with you 'til the time comes!"

Horatio slapped them both on their backs, and a moment later, they were all, once more, into the breach......

Earth-4,
The Dark Oval

<Before>

Timberwolf grinned to himself.

Kalla Hykros glanced over at him and shook her head. "It's not that funny Lon..."

"It's almost time," he said trying to suppress the grin coming back to his face. "Another couple of seconds and it will be 12:34."

"Stop it. Not everything has to be that complicated."

"Sorry..." he glanced down, "it's time."

They moved quietly through a perimeter defenses of their target. Once they reached sight of the entrance, Lon simply stood and walked towards the guards posted there.

They immediately raised their weapons and shouted warnings that he really could have cared less about. Their focus was on him and that was what he wanted. He caught sight out of the corner of his eye that Kalla was in position.

"You may want to drop those things and run now boys."

"Freeze! TAKE ANOTHER STEP AND WE OPEN..." His words were cut short by a blast from the side as Kalla revealed herself.

"You're sure this is the place?"

Lon nodded. "Go on in and take care of things. I'll hold things here."

She smiled at him and started oon getting the door opened.

"You want help?" he asked.

"Later big boy," she said as she opened to door. "I'd rather save your energy for later.

As she vanished into the building, which was mostly underground, Lon scanned the area around them. {I]They should be here any time...[/I]

-----------------------

Inside, Kalla found little resistance as she moved towards her goal.

As she rounded a corner, there were two guards outside a door. They noticed her and immediately opened fire.

-----------------------

Reinforcements were coming from several directions that Lon could see, and he was sure there were others that he could not see.

He glanced around...and waited.

-----------------------

Kalla rolled across the hallway opening and returned her own blasts. One of the guards had come close to actually hitting her, but that didn't matter now, he was not going to be shooting at anyone again.

Her target was inside. She was surprised to find so little resistance here, but then again, Lon and her had penetrated very deep into The Emperor's facilities. It ewas probably thought that things this far inside their perimeter were safe enough.

Well, they were wrong.

-----------------------

Lon watched the groups converge and head towards him. He grinned...it had been too long since he had truly been able to let himself go.

He ran out to greet the oncoming group, and as he did, he pulled a trigger switch and hit it.

Explosions happened all over the place, taking scores of the Emperor's forces with them.

-----------------------

>Now<

Kalla and Lon sat quietly waiting. Their patience paid off as the door to the room they were in burst open.

They glanced at each other and smiled. They were sitting out of sight and those that had broke in were panicked.

"The Emperor can't be defeated!" One of them all but yelled.

"Be quiet you fool. If we had not gotten away from the others to implement his plan, we'd be captured already as well."

The third member of the group looked around. "It does not appear that the fail-safe device has been harmed. Whatever happened here, the attackers must not have known what he had stored here."

After a short time, they were ready.

"In the name of the Emperor!" They yelled as they hit the button that would make them martyrs and in theory, kill most of the opposing forces.

-----------------------

A few seconds later, they looked around.

"What happened?"

"I built this myself at the behest of the Emperor..."

They all froze as the door to the room locked.

-----------------------

Kalla stood at the door as they spun around to face her.

She melted their weapons in an instant, and smiled. "I wouldn't think of trying anything else," she said and let her eyes purposely dart to their left.

They turned that way and saw Timberwolf standing there.

-----------------------

The three looked at eeach other and decided to charge Kalla anyway.

They made it about two steps before they hit the ground.

-----------------------

Lon pulled out a broken piece of machinery. "Not setting off anything without that...amongst other things that I did to your little toy."

Kalla hugged Lon and they walked out of the room.

As the door closed, Lon threw a grenade in for good measure.

"Did he really think we wouldn't find this?"

"You know darlin, doesn't matter now. Rocky did what he came here to do, if those three are to be believed...lets go help mop these guys up."

"You sure know how to sweet talk a girl," Kalla said as they moved towards the biggest fight they could hear .

Earth-4, The Dark Oval
The Loser Cave v.2

She stood before them magnificently, her figure crackling with power and menace. With her luscious figure, flowing blonde hair and twinkling blue eyes, she looked just like Earth-1’s Princess Crujectra; only this Princess was icey cold, and her eyes were filled with venom. A cruel grin stretched out from her ruby red lips and before they could react, all they felt was pain.

Polka-Dot Kid and Zhiya bent over in pain from the telepathic assault as the Earth-4 Princess of the House of Jectra penetrated the deepest recesses of their minds and pushed down on the pain-centers of the brain. All around them, debris began to swirl from her telekinesis.

She knows our plan… thought Lolita, all at once realizing she must have read the mind of one of the Losers in the know. “Gear, Darden, whatever you do, don’t stop!” she yelled, and though all she felt was pure fear, she ran forward, because quite simply, it was what she had to do.

Behind her, the Faraway Lads of two worlds had begun channeling their powers into Gear’s nega-bomb powered device; the process had begun and there was no turning back now. If the device was destroyed or either Faraway Lad killed, then everything the Losers had accomplished so far would be for nothing. Every sacrifice would mean nothing.

In that instant, time froze for Lolita. She realized this minute may be her last; that there was a very good chance she would die. And in that realization comes a small freedom very few ever know. She charged the Princess and screamed, unable to find the words, and crunching her hand into a fist, punched her as hard as she ever hit anything in her life.

The Princess double-backed in shock at the blunt assault, and her attention shifted squarely on the Legionnaire. She reached out telepathically to lift her up and choke her, and Lolita knew she was reading her mind. Reaching deep into her most guarded secrets. In an instant, the Princess smiled at her, and Lolita knew she was learning of all the petty jealousies and angry feelings Lolita secretly harbored against Earth-1’s Spellbinder for so many years, and the guilt that came with having those feelings towards one of the galaxies greatest heroes. The Princess sensed the embarrassment and capitalized on it.

{{How simple you are, dear}} she said telepathically to Lolita, her voice crisp and cold. {{In mere moments I will rip your throat out and all you can think about is that stupid man and how embarrassed you are to be so petty.}}

“Sorry if I interrupt, your highness,” said a voice that Lolita knew was instantly Polka-Dot Kid’s, and he tackled her to the ground, freeing Lolita from her telekinetic hold. They rolled a few feet over but Lolita knew PK didn’t have a chance. She stole a look back at Gear and the Faraway Lad’s and encouraged by their continued survival, she ran forward too.

But it was too late.

Polka Dot Kid staggered back and Lolita saw the Princess had ripped open his throat telekinetically. Polka-Dot Kid’s face went pale white as the realization set in on what happened. The Princess simply and said nothing, watching with glee. Polka Dot Kid put his hands to his throat to stop the blood but he knew it was too late.

“No!!!!” screamed Lolita, running to him; in that moment she realized she had come to care for him in these last few weeks.

But Polka-Dot Kid could not talk and instantly turned and threw Lolita away from himself, letting the blood run free.

The Princess smiled and Lolita could see her penetrating Polka-Dot Kid’s mind as if to taunt him in his final moments. But instead, he did something she did not expect.

He ripped out a grenade, pulled the pin, and ran at her, leaping into her arms.

And the explosion rocked everyone backwards.

.
.
.
.
Lolita scrambled to her feet, in disbelief that they were all still alive. In an effort to save herself, the Princess used her telekinesis to limit the blast radius, but Lolita could see she could not shield herself entirely. Her body was on the floor though it was on fire and badly burned. The costume was in tatters.

*Cough* *Cough* “Zhiya! Gear! Darden! Is everyone okay?! Where is everyone?”!

{{They’re all dead you naïve little girl}}

And the burned, ugly body of the Princess rose to her feet once more.

This time, Lolita felt no fear—only fury. “No matter what happens here today, you ugly bitch, I’m going to kill you.”

{{You can try}}

And this time Lolita ran at the Princess, who stepped forward in pain to launch a telekinetic assault.

Only this time, it was Zhiya who surprised the Princess. She leapt from the shadows from where she was hiding, landing on the Princess’ crispy back. In one single motion to quick for the human eye, Zhiya took her sai an sliced open the Princess’ neck, causing blood to spill out in exactly the same manner as Polka-Dot Kid.

At last the Princess spoke, but only in a scream which soon faded as her vocal chords were severed. She telekinetically tried to heal the wound but Zhiya struck again, stabbing her abdomen and then slicing open her arteries with well placed cuts. She stood back, calm as ever, knowing no amount of telekinesis would be able to save her now.

“Zhiya…” said Lolita, moving to hug her friend. “Bloody Liberty…I thought we were all dead. Polka-Dot Kid…?”

“No,” she said simply. Then she added “he sacrificed himself to save us; and save us he did.” She turned as the dust was clearing and both were shocked to see Gear and the Faraway Lad’s still standing, as Gear had created a makeshift shield during the battle to protect them.

“That’s a few too many throats being sliced open for one day, I think” he said in gallow’s humor.

“Then, she didn’t succeed?” said Lolita. “We’re in business?”

“We are indeed, my dear,” said the Earth-4 Faraway Lad, as he began to relax his body. The Faraway Lad of Earth-1, gaunt and worse for wear, began to do the same. Their visual show of power that each were receiving from the machine was starting to fade, though the machine continued to work and each had a glow about them.

The Faraway Lad of Earth-1 almost fell but Lolita ran over to hold him up. “Is it done, Darden?”

“It is, my dead. Your plan has succeeded. Though I’m afraid it’s taken quite a toll on me…” he said, as his eyes rolled in the back of his head.

“Darden!” yelled Faraway Lad of Earth-4, running to help Lolita set him down gently.

“All throughout the planet, they do not realize yet?” said Zhiya.

“No,” said Gear. “But they’re about to….”

Earth-4
Universe-4, the United Planets

When powers of the Dark Oval consolidated their control of their separate cartels, it truly began with one of the cleverest tricks ever pulled. To the average person the galaxy, it was to their horror that Earth, within the fourth universe, had suddenly and inexplicably been destroyed. But what had really happened was the Dark Oval powers ingeniously switched “Earth-4” with the barren and destroyed Black Sun planet so that the barren planet took the place of the thriving metropolis; while Earth-4 found itself in the Dark Oval protected by the eyes of the United Planets. The Evil Emperor Penguin could consolidate his control with assistance from his new allies while the rebels fought a war no one realized still was being waged.

It had become clear to Lolita that the liberation of Earth-4 did not simply mean toppling the Evil Emperor Penguin. Rather, it meant restoring Earth-4 to its proper universe and proper place in the world. It was with this goal in mind that the plan began to take shape and the Losers saw an endgame at last.

The Faraway Lads of the multiverse solely contain the power to move between worlds and would be essential. Gear would create the necessary equipment to make this idea into a reality in order to utilize their power. And Kalla Hyrkos, in an act that showed she choose life and camaraderie over death and self-preservation, provided the power source.

While the rebellion waged and word of the Evil Emperor Penguin’s fall spread, the Empire’s soldiers awaited word of Dark Oval reinforcements—for surely their allies would help them tame the rebellion and restore the tyranny? But that word would never come.

The plan had succeeded.

Earth-4 was now once more in the fourth universe; in the Dark Oval, there was only the barren wasteland of the destroyed Black Sun planet.

The switch had been reversed.

Now in its proper place, the sun shined brightly onto the planet and sunlight crept into the Loser Cave where the Princess had punctured holes in the walls with her telekinesis. Faraway Lad of Earth-4 carried his injured analogue, while Lolita, Gear and Zhiya walked outside. The sunlight was instantly changing the landscape: the ice sculptures and snow fields were beginning to melt.

“We’ve done it,” said Gear. For the first time in a long time, he was smiling.

“You’ve done it, my dear,” said Faraway Lad to Lolita and she saw he was openly weeping.

“It is not over yet,” said Zhiya, knowing the fighting was still going on.

“But it is over, Zhiya,” replied Lolita with a smile. She was crying as well, allowing the tears to fall down her face.

Once the plan was in place, Lolita had the Faraway Lad of Earth-4 contact the Faraway Lad of Earth-1 because she knew they would need at least the two of them. But then the realization occurred that their plan could use one final step to consolidate their efforts. They had journeyed to Universe-4 itself and prepared them for what was to come.

Former Society of Message Board Posters Lash Lad and Stretchable Lass, long since married and retired from the SMB, were not among the group when it was imprisoned. Their shock at the news was enough to break anyone’s heart; their shock at the news of the friend’s survival was even more incredible to witness. They promised the United Planets would be ready.

And it was. The entire UP fleets of Universe-4, including all SMBers who had not been taken, were waiting in orbit, ready for the switch to take place. And now the descended upon Earth to ensure its liberation once and for all.

Moments earlier, combatants and bystanders alike all over Earth-4 paused as a blinding flash of light engulfed the entire planet. Most of them braced for the worst, expecting some horrible doomsday device to end this once and for all. In truth, some would have welcomed it after the several years of pure hell that their lives had become.

But after about a minute, the light faded and quickly dimmed to almost nothing. Almost, because those on half of the planet could see, in variable degrees, a light that had previously not been there before: the warming, nurturing light of a star much more comforting than the one they'd grown accustomed to over these past several hard years of subjugation. This one was yellow, not the sickly blue one they'd had since their forced relocation. Slowly, realization among the populace dawned that somehow, impossibly, their world must have been restored to where it belonged--they were actually and truly HOME!

-----

In the city that had been renamed New Wysturv'rry by its world's former dictator, it was now the exact moment of sunrise, and it shone on a moment of victory for the ironically named freedom fighters calling themselves 'Losers'. With the help of the G.E.M. of Lubahæfen, the tide had turned with the remnants of the Emperor's grand army retreating to their holes as realization dawned that the expected reinforcements from the Dark Oval would now never come as they were literally universes away.

-----

Helena Handbasket, Seth Gaterra and a handful of Lubahæfens looked on as Helena's brother Horatio was being worked over by medics. Eventually, the medics gestured for them to come over.

Grimacing in pain, Horatio said, "docs say I'll live, Hel, but they say my arm's a goner."

Helena frowned.

Then he finished, "on the bright side, I'm hoping to replace it with a kick-ass prosthetic like yours! Maybe we can get matching plasma cannons?"

Helena looked puzzled for a moment until everyone burst out with laughter.

-----

Saffron Kid and his uncle Yellow Kid looked on at the rising sun from the top of the old Gotham Tower.

"Never thought I'd see it again," Yellow Kid sighed as tears welled in his eyes.

"Mom would be so proud of you, Uncle Art," Saffron Kid said, smiling at him.

"Sis would have been proud of you as well, Artie," Yellow Kid replied and put his arm around his nephew.

"So what's next for you? Back to robbing and pillaging?"

"Those days are behind me, kid. From now on, the Primary Colour Gang is gonna be all about defending this great planet of ours, so that this never happens again."

"And the other PCGers agree?"

"Yep."

"Even Kid Blackout?"

YK smiled. "KB didn't survive that blast that split up the fourth wave. He won't be a problem anymore."

Saffron Kid felt suddenly safer having that knowledge and hugged his uncle for emphasis.

"Nothin' like a yellow sun, kid!"

-----

Val Armorr, the Karate Kid, took a moment to meditate quietly in a church unblemished by the occupation and the war.

Eyes closed, he spoke quietly as if praying. "Jeckie, there will never be a moment in my life when I'll stop missing you or stop loving you. But for the first time since I lost you, I feel a sense of peace...of fulfillment. Until the day we meet again in the next life, I will honor your memory by doing the most good I possibly can in this one. I know in my heart that this is exactly what you would want me to do, and it's what I want to do, as well. Love you, Jeckie."

And Val smiled and opened his eyes. He felt reborn.

-----

Elsewhere, Hugh Taylor bounced all over the riverfront in his own unique celebration until something sobering caught his eye. He controlled his descent and landed at the site.

Confirming his fears, he found Bat-Fem tenderly cradling a blue-hued humanoid who bled profusely from a large hole in his chest. Hugh recognized him as fellow Loser Grev Mallor. He was looking weakly at the stunning sunrise.

"Fem!" Hugh cried in exasperation. "We've got to get him help! He--!"

Grev gasped and struggled to speak. "T-too late for m-me, Hugh. G-glad I got to see such a b-beautiful s-sight b-before I went..."

"It is beautiful, Grev," Bat-Fem said soothingly as she ran her fingers through her hair. "You did your ancestors very proud."

"I...owe you and the o-other Bat-Fem ev-everything. I was n-nothing before you two r-redeemed me. S-such...a thug..."

"You always had it in you, Grev."

"T-tell Tasmia about m-me...p-please..."

"I definitely will, Grev. Your family will know your story."

"...one...more thing....wh-what's your name...your real name..."

She smiled. "It's Nakia, Grev."

"Th-that's......b-beautiful," he said. Then, his eyes refocused on the sunrise. "B-beaut..i..ful......"

Grev Mallor passed away and joined many other brave souls who had given their lives for a very worthy cause this day.

-----

All over this Earth, as over 24 hours everyone experienced their first real sunrise in longer than they could remember, the rescue and aid ships descended. Everywhere, people were laughing, cheering and celebrating even as they mourned those they'd lost.

Hope was alive again on Earth-4.

Cobalt Kid writhed in pain along the floor of the cavern, his skin a burnt black color, flecks of it falling to the floor. Hot steam continued to emanate from his body. The pain was immediate and shocking.

But in that moment of pain, it brought a sense of clarity. Cobalt regained his sense of self, his savage instincts for self-preservation taking over and pushing Wyandotte out of his mind. He screamed in pain.

Tempest felt an enormous wave of guilt wash over her, as panic continued to set in. They were running out of time and all around them her friends were falling. She looked to see Goon Boy bleeding out in front of her eyes. Cobalt, by her own hand, was on the verge of death. She could hear the clash between Power Boy and Lard Lad & Invisible Brainiac not far off.

She walked over to Cobalt and grabbed his crispy hand, holding it in hers. “Cobaltus. You must listen to me. Steady yourself! You have but moments! Steady yourself and heal yourself! You’ve got the power! Feel my energy…feel it flowing into you. I may not have prepared a spell but I can lend you some magical willpower!”

Cobalt held her hand as tight as he could and howled in pain. He could hear Tempest speaking but could not make out the words. He felt his strength continuing to fade…his eyes becoming blurry…the relief of the sound receding and the world quietly going away…NOT YET NEPHEW…

The words pierced him like a sharp object; with them was a burst of energy, as if cold water had been thrown into his face. The pain continued but ever so slightly subsided. He felt as if after days of thirst, he was being replenished.

Tempest stared at him, his howling now stopped and his vibrant blue eyes looking directly into her piercing greens. “Are you alright?”

“R-Romaltus…?” was the only word he could utter.

But she could see that somehow he had reversed the effects of the spell and was beginning to heal himself. His charred body was greatly diminished but she knew first came the spirit and next would be the physical extension. He looked over at Goon Boy and she understood. She walked over and carried him back across, the Princess looking at her in disbelief, still shocked by the events.

Cobalt reached out and put his hand on his friend, and used his healing powers. They had always been much stronger when used on third parties rather than himself. “Goonie…I’m sorry…” he uttered, “…won’t let die…after all you’ve done for me…”

And suddenly Goon Boy inhaled deeply, as he caught his breath once more, and the wound in his abdomen began to heal.

Tempest wiped away the sweat on her brow, sighing deeply in relief. They were in bad shape but healing. “We’ve got to move past this,” she said out loud, “we’ve got to take the fight to Wyandotte.”

Cobalt Kid and Goon Boy, both conscious, nodded in agreement. The Princess was now next to her strong-willed lover and was holding him tightly. Cobalt seemed to be far off, thinking of something else—Romaltus, Tempest suspected. But nearby they could hear the clangs of battle. Power Boy, Lard Lad and Invisible Brainiac still raged on in a fury. How could they move on from this?

For once, Invisible Brainiac didn't have any answers. He could knock his friends out over and over again, but it wouldn't matter if he couldn't shake the mind control.

He could evade Juj and Disaster Boy easily, but he needed to draw them away from Tempest. Give her a chance to work her magic.

He was also running low on energy. Resisting the mind control, fighting his own selves, and dodging blasts had tired him out. The weaker he got, the more likely he’d be taken over. He needed more power; but the only way to get that quickly was to recombine with his selves. Unless… he toyed with the earring he wore. He could take it off…

Yeah, and risk obliterating the entire planet. He wasn’t confident in his level of control yet.

Of course, by recombining with his selves he risked succumbing to mind control – if the neurons of those under control had been tampered with, there was no telling whether the changes would stick when he recombined. Still, it wasn’t nearly as hopeless as the other alternative.
He quickly zipped off – at his speed, it would only take seconds to forcibly merge with his unconscious selves.
A recombined IB cautiously tested himself. His body hurt more than he thought it would, but his emotions seemed in check. He quickly let himself be found by Juj and Disaster Boy.
"Here I thought your battle experience would make you a tougher opponent, Dork Boy!" he taunted as he dodged a jet of fire. Disaster Boy followed it up with a sandstorm, which IB blasted through.
"Not gonna catch me the same way twice, pal!" He wished he felt as brave as he sounded. He hated fighting his friends. He...

His thought was interrupted as something heavy hit him from behind, and claws raked into his back.

Juj!

IB cursed as he let out a burst of light and peeled Juj away from himself. Just as he did, a waterspout hit him square in the chest and knocked him back.

He desperately tried to turn himself into light, but water forced itself into his lungs, and sharp razors sliced into his legs. A tentacle forced its way into his mouth, forcing him to drink more water. He couldn't focus, couldn't counterattack.

His vision blurred. Ironic, he thought. He never thought darkness would be there when he died.

Dev Em awoke with a start. It took him a few seconds to regain his bearings and remember where he was. He was aboard the “Dragon’s Teeth," a battle cruiser under the command of Hrun the Barbarian.

Dev was not overly familiar with Hrun, as he had been off planet several times that Hrun had been involved with the LMB, but he knew from his friends that Hrun was one of their true friends.

-----

Dev Em started wandering around the Battle Cruiser looking for his fellow LMBer's CJ Taylor and Kent Shakespeare.

He finally found his way to the dining area...he wasn't really sure what Hrun would call it, but he smiled at the possibilities. Sitting at a table was CJ Taylor.

"Hey Ceej." Dev said as he walked over to him and took a seat. He passed a few tables that had other members of the crew

sitting at them, one had a person passed out with his meal spilled all over the table.

CJ Taylor looked up and returned the greeting. "Welcome back Dev."

Dev looked at him with a puzzled look, "what do you mean...welcome back."

CJ laughed. "You've been asleep for over a week. We were a little worried about you at first, but Kent assured us that you were alright."

Dev smiled and lowered his head a little. "Over a week. I was worse off than I thought."

CJ nodded. "Before he left, Kent told us to monitor you, but to not wake you unless absolutely necessary."

"Yeah, he's seen me go into those before...they've been termed 'healing comas' by everyone. I guess that sums them up pretty well. So Kent left us?"

"Yep, about two days into your 'coma.'"

Dev and CJ lapsed into silence for a while. Both realized that even though they had served in the LMB together for years, they really didn't now each other at all.

After a while, Dev finally broke the silence. "Where are we at this point?"

"A few days from the UP border. There's apparently some sort of blockade there...Hrun has been itching to get there as fast as possible."

"A blockade? I'm guessing he is going straight towards it instead of just veering around it."

"Yeah. He said we could get around it, but that there is no honor in that course of action."
"Of course not...well, I guess I'll go find him and see if there's anything that I can do."

"Have fun."

------------

Dev Em walked aimlessly for a while. His mind was wandering to his last hours on Daroon.

He had went to see everyone that he knew, including Helen, the mother of Lard Lad's children. She had been wounded in the final conflict with the bugs, and had not been stable for any length of time. She was in and out of consciousness several times a day. He happened to be in there to say goodbye when she woke, giving Dev a slight shock.


She had grabbed his hand and just watched him for a while, then suddenly pulled him close and whispered something to him. Moments later, she was unconscious again.

There were other things that happened...conversations, or arguments, that happened. His father, Kar Em, had given him hell

about leaving...even though he admitted that he was getting too old to traipse across the galaxy again, and that Dev needed to do what his instincts told him. Things were never easy between them, they always seemed to find something to argue about, even when they agreed on something. Damnedest thing...something he had vowed to work on, just like he promised that he would try to work on his marriage with the Queen. He felt that he couldn't leave her alone, even as he was heading out of the UP, with everything that had happened. She understood why he had left, did not like it, but understood.

He was blasted back to reality by a booming voice coming from behind him...

"DEV EM! It is good to see you about my friend...let us talk of the days to come..."

Angdar Fel flew high above Webers World. He felt good. The best he had in years really. So muich had happened to him over the last month, but he could not have forseen what happened in the last week since his arrival on Webers World.

-----

He had been shuttled to a meeting as soon as he had landed. It was no surprise to him that Ambassador Mirenna Helene was there, but the other two individuals in the room had taken him aback.

Sitting there were the Head of the Wingman Academy and the Vice Chancellor of Thanagar. They both stood as Angdar entered the room.

Ambassador Helene walked towards him as the door closed behind him and she took his hand in greeting and escorted him to the meeting table that was positioned in the center of the room. "Welcome young Angdar, I'm sure you have many questions."

"Thank you Ambasador Helene...yes I do," he said as he looked from one man to the other.

"My boy," the Vice Chancellor said as he sat back down at the table. The rest followed suit. "My apologies for what happened on Thanagar. Things are not what they seem though."

Angdar just stared at the man, saying nothing.

The Head of the Wingman Academy spoke next. "We had every intention of admitting you to the Wingmen...it was impossible to not given your scores and what you represented to our society."

"Then why..."

"There are bigger things happening on Thanagar than you can possibly know about. Internal power struggles within the government and within the Wingmen themselves."

"We had wanted to put an end to the superstition that accompanies your natural wings, but that old story carries so much wieght with the populace, it was becoming more and more difficult to accomplish. Believe me son, we tried," the Vice Chancellor said.

"My family though..."

"They are alive, and safely hidden for now."

Angdar almost slid out of his chair. "But how..."

"The Wingmen that gave you the weapons were loyal to us. They and their group got your family out, at quite a cost to themselves," the Head of the Wingman Academy said, hanging his head. "They knew the risks, and volunteered for the mission. They were good men who died to save you and your family from the extremists."

"The Vice Chancellor held his hand up. "Let me explain the background to all this...as simply as I can."

Ambassador Helene stood. "I have another matter to attend to gentlemen," she said as she shook their hands. "I will see all of you later, at some point or another." With that, she was gone.

The Vice Chancellor proceeded to explain to Angdar about the history of the Legend of the Wings. The revolution starting to form on Thanagar to bring an end to the oppressive regime that currently controlled the planet, and had for centuries. Angdar learned that the two things were intermingled, and that there were people on Thanagar that felt he was their best hope.

"We do not expect you yourself to liberate the planet, we just need you to be everything that you could have been on the Wingmen...but with another peacekeeping group."

"The LMB?"

"Yes. We are trying to contact them to see if there can be an arrangement made, or at least if they would be willing to train you further. You are our best academy student...ever, and we hope that you can become a symbol of what Thanagarians can achieve if we were to open more communication and trade with the United PLanets. Ambassador Helene has graciously offered to help in any way she can, as she has many connection throughout the United Planets."

"What do I need to do then?"

"Do your best...do what you would have done on Thanagar, only on a much larger scale. Be you, and do not worry about your family. You will see them again...once it is safe to move them. We have no idea how long that will be though."

Angdar nodded. This was a lot to take in. He was being used as a pawn in a political game...he knew that, but that his family was alive was something. His mind raced at the thought that they could be used as something to make him do what they wanted...but he wanted to do this anyway, so it was alright for now.

As the three stood to part company, the Vice Chancellor handed him an Omnicom. "This has messages from your family on it...you know them, so you will be able to tell if they are well.

-----

Angdar banked hard towards the building in front of him and landed on the roof. He looked out over the buildings below him and smiled. The wind wushing past him felt good. His hair had started growing out a little, and he wondered to himself how long he would let it get now that he was no longer beholden to the Wingmen codes.

He also wondered if the LMB would be open to having him join them. He figured he would find out soon enough.

Deep within the Hive

As LMBer continued to fight LMBer with the insect hoardes closing in from all sides, Lard Lad and Power Boy raged at one another.

Lard Lad continued to glow a brighter and brighter red until he was surrounded by an aura, an after-image almost. While most were too busy with their own battles or occupied by injuries to notice, viewed from afar, the after-image was clearly of someone else. A great and terrible being with a massive frame and one terrible glowing eye. The other features were hard to discern, other than the generally massive humanoid shape. The eye dominated all. It was haunting and seemed to look deeply into the core of all sentients. If one gazed at it too long, one's very soul may very well have been rent assunder.

Lard Lad's mind at this point was no longer being controlled by Wyandotte. It was possessed now by some aspect of the Dark Lord and fueled by Lard Lad's own endless rage and desperation borne of all his trials and tribulations, past, present and future. He no longer viewed Power Boy as any of his various enemies, save one: Lard Lad's greatest enemy always has been and always will be himself. Power Boy stood against him as a surrogate Lard Lad. And his rage at himself was endless.

For his part, Power Boy remained uncontrolled by Wyandotte or any other entity. But as the battle escalated and the violence grew, he found himself subservient to his own lust for battle. It was something Power Boy had struggled with all of his life. Always he sought greater and greater challenges, only for them to fall short. It was his upbringing among the New Gods that instilled this within him. Since their fall, there had always been a void, a gnawing chasm really, within him to meet someone who could be his equal, or even his better.

Power Boy had found many challenges in recent months. The Red Bee and his reign of terror on Legion World had been a worthy, if despicable, opponent. Likewise for Titus and his recent onslaught against the Fellowship. Ultimately, he was up for both and was key in vanquishing them.

But there was still an emptiness inside him. Was there no one that he couldn't vanquish? There was a degree of satisfaction knowing that he may very well be the best warrior in the known universe, but it came with a certain malaise. Did Power Boy have a death wish? Maybe that wasn't exactly it, but perhaps there was something to it. For sure, he was lonely for his people, even as horrible as some of them were. The LMB had filled that void somewhat, but he always stood alone and had yet to form an extremely close bond with any of them. This adventure was helping to allay that, but he secretly feared the emptiness would always be there.

Right here, right now, though, as he held nothing back, Power Boy began to feel that he might just be in for the battle that he'd been craving all along, one that might meet, or even exceed, what the legendary Darkseid of his people could provide. He'd heard tell of the great Lard Lad as the LMB's "Big Gun" but had never seen it firsthand. When he came to really know Lardy, he was a shell of what he had been, relying on a suit of armor to stand and fight among his LMB brethren. His swordsmanship had still been one of the foremost among all swordsmen, true, but a sword and armor were surely no match for a power baton and the pedigree of a New God.

Now, Power Boy had struck blow after blow against his opponent and shattered Lardy's exo-armor into a thousand pieces that littered the surrounding rotting membranes and tissue. Lardy was now half-naked, barefoot and wearing only tattered remnants of his Lard Knight's robes he had worn beneath. But Lardy seemingly grew more powerful with each blow struck to his person.

At first, Power Boy acted only in self-defense, knowing the pall that hung over his fellow LMBer. Very quickly, though, his own battle-lust just consumed him. As it happened, his own power levels eclipsed anything he'd ever manifested, and each man was simply out to finish off the other and then move on to the next fight.

At some point, all other activity around the two ceased. LMBer stopped fighting LMBer. The encroaching insects retreated from their advancement and hid deep within the carcass as cockroaches do when someone turns on the kitchen light. All mind control ceased and the most basic survival instincts as well as the human instinct to gawk as one who looks into the fire kicked in.

-----

Nearby in the heart of the Hive, Wyandotte grasped his temples as the psychic backlash of having his control ripped from him pummeled him in waves. What had he unleashed here? This hadn't been part of his plan! As he writhed, blood began to issue forth from his nose and ears. He screamed as the dormant form of his Queen suddenly began to twitch.

-----

Still in pain, Cobalt Kid, managed to shakily stand up with the aid of Tempest.

"Terry," he managed before noticing his error, "er, Tempest, can you stop them? They're gonna kill each other!"

"And maybe us with them," she nodded. "I'm not sure what I can do here, Cobalt. The power they're exhibiting is...beyond anything I can counter."

"Then...maybe you can help me over there...shield us from their wake. Maybe I can heal their minds...calm them down. That's my best friend over there...and another good friend in Peebz. I won't stand idly by while two LMBers kill each other!"

"You can barely stand at all! And your guts are being held in by a thread--if you use your powers right now...."

"...yeah, I know--I'll die. They'd both do it for me, Temp."

Temp smiled. "I know...just had to make sure you knew what you're getting into. I can't watch...them...die either."

Cobalt looked in her eyes. He could see that she cared, too. Especially for Lardy. At that moment, he knew that she reciprocated Lardy's feelings for her. She was in love with him. Even if she didn't know it herself, her eyes betrayed the depth of her feelings.

"Come on!" Temp yelled as she grabbed Cobalt and flung them toward the heart of the storm with her winds, even as she formed an invisible shield around them.

As they approached, Lard Lad caught Power Boy offguard with a bolt of unimaginable force that came just after a feint, swordsman-style. The bolt hurled him into through layer after layer of the corpse of the Hive until he exited and continued to hurtle beyond the Hive's minimal atmosphere.

The thing that wore Lard Lad's skin roared something unintelligible that was either a war cry or a victory yell and then looked around for its next opponent. What it saw was Tempest and Cobalt hurtling in its direction. It smiled and prepared to deliver a killing blow that no magic shield could withstand.

But as they approached, the one eye it looked through saw something familiar about them and felt something other than rage and bloodlust. What was it?

Suddenly, the aura that had surrounded him dispersed, and Lard Lad fell to his knees. Noticing this, Tempest slowed their descent, and she and Cobalt landed gently beside him. Tempest fought an impulse within herself to go take him into her arms and stood back as Cobalt attended to his friend.

"You okay, pal?" Cobalt said as he knelt beside him.

"I'm alive, Des." Lardy shook his head and wept. "Almost killed you guys." He looked up at his friend and then gazed a long moment at Tempest. "But some things are still stronger than rage...thank the gods."

Suddenly, a wave of near-panic went through Cobalt. "Shit! What about Peebz? Is he--?"

Lardy closed his eyes and concentrated. "He's alive...and he's coming back."

Tempest gasped and readied another shield.

"It's okay," Lardy said, eyes still closed. "The rage has passed. Outer space cooled him off."

A moment later, Peebz landed next to them. He didn't know what to say, at once embarrassed and exhilirated by what he just experienced. But he looked at Lard Lad with newfound respect...and concern. In fact, he was pretty winded.

Everyone just kind of looked at each other silently as all the others in their group gathered near. Lard Lad watched as red sparks danced between his fingertips. He was able to sense Peebz' survival and his overall state earlier at will. And now he could see he was able to manifest the full power of the Lard Force. Unfortunately, it was tainted by evil.

So be it, he thought. If that's what I need to use to help us win this thing, then so be it. It won't rule me, though. I'll die before I let that happen.

He stood up strong, straightened his tattered clothing as best he could and walked to the others. "How about we stop pussy-footing around and go take out that bastard Wyandotte?"

The others just gaped for a second, until each and every one of them grinned and either nodded or spoke their assent.

Moments later, they headed off into the heart of the darkness.

An hour later, the LMBers were locked in combat in the literal heart of the rotting monolith that was the Hive planet. Wyandotte, though injured, had reasserted his control over the insect hoardes and brought seemingly endless reinforcements in. Every time the heroes thought they had plowed through the last wave, another one replaced it.

Getting to Wyandotte through these hoardes proved impossible. Attempts at using magic, teleportation, flight and brute force were all rebuffed by insect intervention. It became apparent that though Wyandotte couldn't exert his control over the LMBers anymore, he could still sense their movements very clearly and direct counterattacks with the speed of thought.

Meanwhile, the Insect Princess stayed off to the side and attempted her own strategy. Though she was still stuck in her humanoid form, her ability to command insectoids remained intact. As Wyandotte strained more and more to direct his defense against the LMBers, her window to break his control moved closer and closer.

Unfortunately, Wyandotte sensed this. In desperation, realizing that he couldn't depend on his insects to take her down, Wyandotte reached out for another option--and he found one.

Suddenly, Goon Boy stopped in his tracks and felt his will being bent. An unbidden urge to murder overcame him...the urge to murder the woman he loved.

With great speed he zipped through scores of insects that suddenly didn't seem to know he existed. In moments he was behind the Princess and then grasped her from behind. He held his knife to her temple and prepared to plunge it through.

The Princess gasped, totally taken by surprise. "My love," she managed, "what are you doing?!?"

Goony struggled to speak, "s-sorry, darlin'...the Bug King's got my noggin again...t-trynna f-fight it..."

-----

Wyandotte smiled from his perch above the melee. This would be a sweet kill indeed--forcing one lover to kill another. He hadn't had the opportunity in quite some time. Luckily, he had discovered an implant in Goon Boy's brain that was meant to correct his amnesia. Unfortunately, the device had also made him extremely susceptible to mind control when the natural, unaltered state of his mind had previously made him invulnerable to such manipulation.

But the moment for dramatic pauses was over. It was time to eliminate the Princess and force her lover to stab her in the brain.

-----

At that same moment, Goon Boy realized what had made his mind weak and had to act before it was too late. With every bit of will he could exert, Goon Boy released the Princess and turned the knife to his own head. He knew exactly where the device was in there.

"G'bye, darlin'," Goony whispered, then positioned the knife between his eyes and plunged it exactly three inches inside. Immediately, he slumped to the ground.

-----

"No, damnit! GYAAAAAHHHHH!!!" Wyandotte screamed as the feedback of Goon Boy's selfless act caused his eyes and ears to bleed anew.

Nearby, the Insect Queen opened her eyes.

-----

Elsewhere, the Princess cradled her lover and checked his wound and his vitals.

Still alive, she concluded. His strike was well-positioned. His internal healing factor may yet save his life, but he once told me that his implant was a 'one shot deal'. If it ever failed, another such device would never work because his physiology would compensate.

She removed the knife and secreted some mucous over the wound to keep it from bleeding out and give his healing factor a shot to save his life.

"If you survive, my love, you won't remember me anymore. I used you as a means to an end, but you truly came to mean something to me. Farewell...I will always remember you...even though you won't be able to do the same."

She kissed the unconscious Goon Boy on the forehead, then turned her gaze upward toward Wyandotte's perch. Reaching out with her senses, the Princess could feel that her lover's act had weakened him. She summoned some flyers and had them carry her upwards toward him.

-----

Below, the LMBers still standing noticed the insectoid onslaught abating and several rushed to Goon Boy's side when they noticed him lying unconscious.

Cobalt was among those who went to him. His healing power was at a low ebb from having to help heal both himself and Goony just over an hour earlier, but he hoped that what little he could manage would kickstart Goony's own healing factor.

Cobalt looked up, "did she do this, Temp?" he said looking up at the Princess. "If she did, she'll pay!"

At his side, Tempest shook her head as her eyes glowed. "This was self inflicted," she said, as if she were seeing the events of the last few moments playing out in front of her. "He did it to save her..."

-----

Above them, Lard Lad, Power Boy, Ameratsu, Disaster Boy and Invisible Brainiac all headed for Wyandotte, right behind the Princess.

She looked back at them, scowled and yelled, "NO! This is MY right, above all!" With a gesture, another huge wave of insects descended and blocked their way to the perch.

Then, the Princess turned her gaze to the reeling Wyandotte who was now only about ten feet away.

Feeling some of her ability to transform returning, she caused a long stinger to emerge from her forearm.

"I should let my brothers feed on you, but I don't want your evil festering inside them. So I will give you a much more merciful death than you deserve!"

As she moved closer and prepared to strike, another feminine presence interjected between them.

"Mother," the Princess said plainly.

"I will not let you murder my husband," said the now-awake Queen of the Hive, she also in human form.

"'Husband?" derided the Princess. "Males are inferior and only exist for us to use." She pointed to Wyandotte. "This one deemed himself your superior and dared to control our Home! He kept you comatose, Mother! How can you defend him?!?!"

"He is of your father, the Dark Lord's brood, Daughter. Your Father's is the most perfect Evil in all of creation, and in one perfect moment he gave me billions of children. He left but has kept His watchful Eye on me. I long for the return of His embrace that will never come." She gestured toward Wyandotte. "This one is your half-brother and, though a pale reflection of his Father, the closest I shall ever have to Him again."

The Princess shook her head. "That is pathetic, Mother. You are truly no longer worthy of being Queen. So be it...."

The Princess transformed into her true monstrous figure, and devoured her mother, who had been too weak to change.

Wyandotte looked up at the Princess in horror and attempted to scramble away.

"....no...." he mumbled. "....can't die before the rest of the universe does!"

Those were the last words he spoke as her stinger buried itself in his chest. Its poison filled his entire body at once and first burned out his eyes and then his tongue in a white foam. Moments later, all of his tissue was consumed and nothing remained but his skeleton.

She turned to the LMBers and roared, "NOW, LEAVE LEGIONNAIRES! THE HIVE UNDER MY LEADERSHIP WILL NO LONGER ACT WITH THE DARK OVAL, AS PROMISED! BUT YOU ARE NO LONGER WELCOMED HERE! FLEE WITH YOUR LIVES BEFORE I LET MY BROTHERS FEED ON YOU!!!"

Stunned and in awe, the LMBers felt no inclination to tempt her. They were, after all, outnumbered by the billions, and their goal was more or less achieved. Lard Lad had all of them gather around him, including Goon Boy who Power Boy had picked up, and teleported them all back to their vessel.

After they disappeared, the new Insect Queen powered down to her humanoid form. She had achieved and lost much this day. She would have much to consider for her and her Hive's future.

The HIVE: High Orbit

Power Boy stepped out through the doors of the sick bay that the Starsong had provided. He quietly stood in the hall where the others were waiting to hear news of Goon Boy.

“No.”

He finally spoke into the air. “The problem is physiological. Nothing my telepathy can permanently fix. I can hold his memories with my power but once I stop … they dissipate. He’s resting now. I’ve telepathically sedated him. It’s the best I can do.”

“Same as with my magics.” Tempest whispered from the side of the crowd.

Invisible Brainiac was the first to offer hope “When we get to LegionWorld we can have the doctors look at him, maybe Tamper Lad or one of the others can help him more permanently.”

Lard Lad thought to himself ‘It might be best if the poor guy doesn’t remember what’s happened to him ... for now …’

Ameratsu the gilded android rushed down the stairs into the hall where everyone was digesting the news about Goon Boy. “I’m terribly sorry to interrupt. The new Queen seems to be withdrawing her welcome. Several intimidating insects with the ability of stellar travel are starting to gather around the Starsong.”

“Let’s get the hell out of here then.” Lard Lad commanded as he stormed off towards the upper deck.

The small group of heroes looked at each other and smiled at seeing a bit of Lard Lad’s confidence return, at long last. They began to disperse, Tempest rushing to direct the Starsong, when Cobalt Kid grabbed Power Boy by the arm as he walked past.

“Peebz can we talk for a sec …” Cobalt Kid said shyly.

Power Boy merely glanced down at the arm that Cobalt Kid held. The venom within Power Boy’s eyes made CK flinch, and Power Boy strode off down the hall without a look back.

“damn.” Cobalt Kid said morosely.

Power Boy had been one of his most loyal companions. His disinterest in politics and subterfuge made him indifferent to many of CK’s plots. Power Boy was also a pragmatist. War was never fair, he understood this and while he didn’t like some of Cobalt Kid’s tactics, he saw them for what they were and let them pass. But during the battle when CK was controlled by Wyandotte; he disabled Power Boy’s technology and weapons. Power Boy now knew. He knew. While Cobalt Kid couldn’t be blamed for what he did under Wyandotte’s control, He knew that CK had previously planned for ways to take out Power Boy.

As an immortal, Power Boy didn’t have many morals but one of them was loyalty.

As the others busied themselves preparing to leave orbit, Cobalt Kid stood motionless in the hall outside Goon Boy’s sickbay. He thought about their victory and as he went in to visit Goon Boy he saw him sleeping soundly. Cobalt Kid thought of the victory they had won … and the costs.

Timberwolf and Kalla Hykros stood hand in hand as the proper sun had risen on Earth 4 for the first time in a long while.

Lon squeezed her hand a little as he turned to her. "It worked...I mean, we knew it would, but it's always nice to see things that are this well planned out pay off."

Kalla looked at him and he could tell she was trying not to laugh.

"What?"

"You're so cute when you really have no idea what to say Fuzzy."

He sighed. She was right though. He was used to doing his part in secret and being gone long before the light shone on a victory, or mission accomplished. Yet, here he was in the middle of a victory, one that he had participated in...out in the open for the most part. Without being huge and furry.

-----

A short while later they had made their way back to the Loser Cave.

Looking at the devastation that the place had sustained the last week or so, he grinned a little. "Good thing you guys don't need to hide anymore."

Kalla hit him on the arm, "Lon..."

Gear smiled, "He is right though. We have no need of a hidden headquarters. I already have plans underway to rebuild on this site, but above ground." He turned and looked at the area, "Also keeping the Loser cave as intact as possible to honor those that fell during this fight for liberation."

Lon watched his would be nephew very closely.

Gear looked back at him and nodded.

They walked away from the others and Gear looked at Lon and smiled a lopsided grin. You want the truth...right?"

"That would be a good start."

"Alright. I am your nephew from this reality. The one that we are in now. Except here, you were a little different, at least gender-wise. Personality is totally intact."

Lon grunted and smiled. "That much I know, there's just one problem."

"I'm older than I should be...with everything being even."

Lon just nodded.

"I'd ask how you figured that out, but I know better."

"So..."

I'm from a future that does not exist anymore. The presence of this earth being here...now...tells me that I succeeded, and can never go back to my real 'life' if you will. Everyone I knew, no matter how close these people are to them, are gone now. From this point on, everything has changed. I don't belong here anymore...I already exist here, and I will not get in the way of that me growing up and being happy."

"You think that's possible? Given what's happened to him...you?"

"Yeah. I have things in place to help him get through this time...things I had to create for myself that will let him know a relatively normal life."

"What about you?"

"I return to help you guys out, and then...I don't know," he said as his gaze fell over several of the Losers milling about a ways away.

Lon looked from Gear to the group and back to Gear. He smirked a little. "You never know kiddo...maybe you'll end up being happy yourself."

Gear lowered his head and blushed on his one fully flesh cheek. He turned to say something to Lon, but Lon was already half way across the clearing.


-----

Kalla watched Lon coming back across the clearing from his talk with Gear, and started walking towards him.

They greeted each other with a hug and turned towards where the other LMBers were gathered.

Lon stopped her and looked into her eyes. "We did it...all of us, but especially you darlin'. This really could not have happened without you and what you provided to us."

"Lon..."

"Shush. I love you...and I can't wait to see where we go from here, because I have a feeling that life with you is never going to be boring."

"You have no idea Fuzzy," she said with a smile and started then walking back towards the others.

Invisible Brainiac floated silently above the Starsong. Unusual for him lately, he was invisible.

He didn't feel much like talking to anyone, anyway.

He felt useless yet again. Maybe he hadn't been totally useless in battle, but he hadn't really made a difference. Hadn't utilized his powers, skills or intelligence to the fullest.

He hadn't even been able to keep from getting mind-controlled, when theoretically he could have in his light form.

He had been useless. Certainly not as useful as he could have been. Not as great as he could have been. Stalled. In limbo. Afraid to reach his full potential.

Dimmed.

He fingered the earring on his right ear. He hadn't touched it in ages. Why did he continue to rely on it? Couldn't he control his powers by himself now?

He began to unclasp it.

Then, painful memories of the past tore into him. Blood. Rubble. The screams of people he loved. Looks of horror. Limp bodies.

He let go of the earring, and began to cry.

He hadn't cried in a long time, either.

He held himself, because the only person he would allow to hold him was an eternity away and probably didn't even know he was alive.

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

The young man woke reached out an arm to comfort his lover, and unceremoniously fell out of bed. With a curse, he woke up as he thumped onto the floor.

He looked up to see an empty bed and an empty room. Crestfallen, he sat up and rubbed his eyes. His dream had been so vivid.

His love had been in his arms, crying. Needing him.

After all his love had given him, he wanted to jump at the chance of being needed back.

He sat on the bad sadly, looking at the last message Invisible Brainiac had sent.

"I know you're out there somewhere, baby," he whispered. "Come back to me, please."

Cobalt Kid paced around the Starsong ship, anxious to hear word on Goon Boy. As ever, he tried to coldly push away his feelings and focus on what was next, but after all they had been through, he was finding doing that harder and harder. Right now, all he could feel was emotion.

For years Goon Boy had acted on his behalf, never receiving any credit for his heroism, never experiencing the joys of Legion World and the LMB. There was always the promise of times to come: one day, he’d be back with them laughing and celebrating like old times and it would all be worth it. Stupid, Cobie, he thought to himself. You did such a good job convincing Goonie of that, you convinced yourself. But that dream was gone now. The implant that corrected Goon Boy’s memory handicap was destroyed and in the process, it made it impossible for a similar operation to be done. Goon Boy could not produce memories anymore. Cobalt had asked him to sacrifice everything, offering a light at the end of the tunnel, but when all was said and done, Cobalt made him sacrifice the light at the end of the tunnel too.

And Power Boy…that was something else Cobalt felt guilty about. Peebz was immortal and had a long memory. Once Cobalt shut down his weaponry, Peebz saw the much bigger picture. Power Boy realized that during their adventures he had sparred and trained with all of them—except Cobalt Kid. Because Cobalt did not want Power Boy to know anything about his style of fighting. Because Cobalt still could not bring himself to trust people; still could not bring himself to lay it all out there. Power Boy considered him a friend and ally and Cobalt made plans on how to take his friend down if he ever had to. He had a million reasons for it. But none of it meant anything to Peebz.

Cobalt paced around, once more trying to push these thoughts away. Focus on the mission at hand. Did you ever think you’d get this far? The Hive has been taken off the chess board. Now we move on to Epsilon Sector. If our allies succeeded, this is the final cartel of the Dark Oval before the Dark Lord himself. We’re so close. So why do I feel as if I’m missing something?

As if on cue, the robot Ameratsu moved forward from the edge of the ship. Cobalt had not even seen him there before. The robot was looking at him coyly, as if it was thinking and measuring Cobalt just as the Legionnaire was him. “You are on edge,” he said.

“Yes,” said Cobalt. He knew Ameratsu was clever and insightful, and he felt an urgency now as if the time for playing games was passed. “What am I missing? We’ve been more successful than I could ever dream. So why do I feel as if it’s for nothing?”

Ameratsu’s face gave no emotion but Cobalt felt as if the robot was smiling somehow. “Your instincts are right, Cobaltus,” it said. “While you all were killing one another and playing with the bugs, I was doing my own reconnaissance. I tapped into the secret transmissions between Wyandotte and the Dark Lord. And what I found is you are correct. You are, indeed, missing something.”

Cobalt Kid felt the anxiety and emotion begin to drain from his body. As ever, when things grew serious and dire, Cobalt became cold and calculating. “Wyandotte’s transmissions with the Dark Lord? That must have been interesting.”

“It was,” replied the robot. “Maybe one day I’ll tell you about it. But for now, the matter at hand. Our allies on Earth-4 were indeed successful. So much so, in fact, that Earth-4 is no longer within the Dark Oval.”

Cobalt’s jaw dropped in surprise. As they were speaking, Lard Lad, Disaster Boy and Invisible Brainiac were emerging from below deck. They heard the words immediately and were equally shocked.

“Bloody Liberty…” said Lard Lad, “…then…they did it! Hahaha, they did it!” He turned around and gave Invisible Brainiac, whose spirits perked up slightly, a big hug.

“What else?” said Cobalt, not allowing himself a moment to celebrate. His heart was pounding; something felt wrong. He wanted to ask about the SMB. Rocky. Lolita. But first: the mission.

“The Dark Lord is feeling the pressure. You’ve been more successful than he could have ever possibly imagined. He’s impressed, even. But while he has designs for some among you in particular, he has no use for the UP. Whether its confidence or truly as horrible as it sounds, the Dark Lord believes himself more powerful than all the five Oval powers combined. He now intends to take a direct hand in this war.”

The others had grown quiet as Ameratsu talked, the sense of foreboding Cobalt felt expanding to them.

“How?” said Cobalt, almost at a whisper.

“He’s held his greatest and most terrifying army in reserve all along. It is filled with the greatest of each Oval power’s warriors, each one given as a tribute to him. Even more, it is full of monsters and horrors unseen in the galaxies for thousands of years. Creatures long his slave that he’s waited eons to unleash. This army he sends to crush his enemies and bring this war to an immediate close.”

“Where?” said Disaster Boy.

“The UP,” said Lard Lad, catching on immediately. The army would not liberate the Dominion. It would not search for the Fellowship. It had a more devastating goal in mind.

“Weber’s World,” nodded Cobalt at Lard Lad. “To cut off the head so the body withers and dies. We know that is how the Dark Lord thinks. He’s direct, he’s bold and he’s cruel. The army marches on Weber’s World.”

“Yes,” said Ameratsu. It marches to destroy the UP leadership, expecting to cripple the unity of the planets once and for all. If it takes centuries to claim the membership planets one by one afterwards, he is more than willing to patiently do so. Time means nothing to him.”

“Who knows?” said Cobalt. His mouth was growing dryer by the second as he spoke.

“Just us,” said Ameratsu. The robot’s voice was rigid and cold but they felt as if it contained some emotion; as if the words caused him pain.

Cobalt turned to the others. By now Power Boy and Tempest had also emerged. “They need to be warned,” he said matter-of-factly.

“But what of Epsilon?” said Tempest. Her thoughts were ever on Mala, the evil sorceress that only Tempest had a chance of defeating.

Lard Lad seemed to know what Cobalt was thinking, as always. “We’ll go to Epsilon as planned,” he said. He looked at Cobalt and nodded in agreement, “Des means just not all of us.”

“Someone has to get to Weber’s World to warn them,” said Cobalt. “Meaning someone has to leave the rest of us. Someone fast.”

Before Invisible Brainiac realized Cobalt and Lard Lad had him in mind, he stepped forward. “I’ll go,” he volunteered. His words had an edge to them. He was tired of feeling useless and tired of being scared. If possible, the stakes just became even greater, and instead of the usual emotions that come with such heightened intensity, all he felt was a sense of duty. “Only I can make it there in time,” he said. “You all know I’m right. I wish I could see this thing through with you until the end. But we need to save the UP.”

Power Boy smiled at his friend and clasped him on the back. “We will see you at the end; and we’ll celebrate like never before afterwards.”

Invisible Brainiac smiled, but he was overcome with all kinds of feelings. He simply nodded.

“Paulo,” said Cobalt Kid, walking forward. “You can do this; you were born for this.” He meant every word he said. “Weber’s World is a planet with too many leaders and not enough followers. But now you’ll have to make them follow your lead.” He smiled. “I know you will.”

“Thanks, Cobie,” said Invisible Brainiac. Cobalt has always supported him from his earliest days and it felt good to have that support now. But suddenly, Cobalt surprised everyone, as he stepped forward and hugged Invisible Brainiac tightly. It was the hug an older brother gives to a young one. It said one thing loudly: I’m proud of you.

He backed away and the others came forward to offer some advice and have a moment with him. Disaster Boy spoke up loudly that he would volunteer to go with him; it was only fitting, as Disaster Boy’s health was a concern. Perhaps on Weber’s World, he could re-find his lost mojo.

Tempest came beside Cobalt Kid as they watched the others with Invisible Brainiac. The two had become quietly closer after the events on the Hive. Perhaps because she knew that Cobalt had seen with all certainty her love for Lard Lad. She put her hand on Cobalt’s forearm. “Goon Boy is awake now, Cobie.”

Cobalt’s eyes lit up and he immediately turned to run to Goonie. He left before Tempest could add the words she meant to follow-up on: it’s not pretty.



Cobalt Kid walked into see Goon Boy with a huge smile on his face and extended his hands to give his friend a hug; his emotions were now flooding out of him. But it did not take long to recognize a familiar look on Goon Boy’s face. He was dazed and confused. He did not recognize him.

“Goonie,” said Cobalt, “are you okay?”

Goon Boy nodded. “I feel fine,” he said. “A little sore, but that’s something I’m used to.” He seemed reluctant to continue on.

“I know about your condition,” said Cobalt. As he said the words, he felt a stabbing pain in his chest. That was what the LMB had been accustomed to saying to him years ago before he was cured.

Goon Boy looked relieved and broke into a smile. “Whew,” he said, sighing. “Okay then, that always makes life easier. I don’t recognize you from Adam,” he said. “And I got no clue where we are. Am in a ship or something? Am I at sea?”

“You’re in space,” said Cobalt, flatly. “You…you’ve been on quite a quest. The universe owes you one again. You and the rest of the LMB.”

“LMB?” said Goon Boy perplexed. “What’s that?”

Cobalt’s heart sank. It was his greatest fear. He put his hand on Goon Boy’s shoulder. “It’s nothing, old friend. Nothing at all. We’re going to get you home now, and you’ll be safe there.”

“I doubt it,” said Goon Boy, “damn Dominators won’t ever let it be safe.”

Cobalt tried to smile but couldn’t. “There are no Dominators there anymore, Goonie,” he said. “You’re planet is safe now.” And they owe you a huge debt for it. We all do.

“Ha!” he said, “That’s great news! And thanks for the clothes too,” he added. He was looking at his LMB issue walking ring, as if for the first time. He shrugged and put it on. “Well, I appreciate you taking me home, pal.”

“Nonsense,” said Cobalt, as he felt the dagger in his chest twisting. “It’s the least I can do for you...”

Later, Lard Lad was at the helm studying a star map that he was using to guide the Star Song to its next destination: Epsilon Sector.

Cobalt Kid entered wearily, his eyes red from the inability to sleep. He leaned over and looked at his friend's project.

"Damn, Lardy...that's more detailed than anything Goony, Ameratsu or anyone else has been able to give us. Where'd you get it?"

Lardy pointed to his temple. "It's all in here."

Cobie looked a little surprised for a moment before saying, "Lard Force?"

"Yeah," Lardy replied absently, then picked up his quill and added more detail to the map as if it were just now occurring to him.

Cobie put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "You okay, pal?"

Lardy smiled wearily and turned around to face him. "Yes...and no, Des. On the plus side, I'm not struggling with my 'inner darkness' or whatever. I don't know why, but once I broke through Wyandotte's mojo, I was fine. No 'urge to kill rising' or anything." He laughed.

"So what is it, Lardy?"

"I...just know a lot, now. Too much."

"Like what?"

"For one thing, I can sense my kids now...how they're doing."

"Shit! are they okay?"

"Yeah, yeah...they're fine. Daroon got nailed really bad, but they're okay." He shook his head. "It's their mom...Helena...she's in bad shape. She might not make it..."

"Lardy...I know she means so much to you. Maybe we could...?"

Lardy looked him in the eyes. "You know we can't, Des! Even if your power could save her, we can't abandon the mission!"

"I...I know, Lardy. But I'd do anything for you--you know that, right?"

"I do, Des." Lardy took his hand. "I do. And I know you're beating yourself up right now. About Goony. About Peebz. About Lolita and the Dominion and everything else. You make hard decisions, Des. You always have. More often than not, though, they've been the right ones. Always remember that, Des! I know that I do."

Cobie appreciated his friend's support more than he could say, but the doubt and the guilt wouldn't go away that easily. In any case he was glad to have his friend along with him.

Cobalt looked in his friend's eyes and saw something else was on his mind. "There's more, though, isn't there? Something else else else your Lard Force has revealed to you"

"Oh, yeah...definitely. It's Pornis."

"Yeah, Pornis. That was his carcass the Hive was hanging out in. We agreed on that, right?"

"No, Des. The Dark Lord is Pornis."

Cobie was befuddled at that. "Pornis? But Eryk and Lucy--you told me they said he was dead and that the Dark Lord is Pornis's father XXXauron?"

"Yes, that's what they said. But it's XXXauron's body that the Hive inhabits. Pornis killed him some time ago. He fathered the insect hoardes with the former Insect Queen and let them nest in his father's corpse. I think he wanted Lucy, Eryk and especially our mother, the One, to think he was dead while he built his power base in secret behind the Dark Oval. The XXXauron thing was...misdirection."

Cobalt's eyes darted to the locket around Lardy's neck that his siblings Eryk Davis Ester and Lucifer Lass gave him. It was supposed to contain XXXauron's severed eye and allow them to defeat him by destroying the eye in the dark Lord's domain. "So the locket...?"

"...probably won't kill Pornis."

"So how are we going to take Pornis down?"

"I guess we'll do it same as always..." Lardy said, grinning as widely as he could manage. "...we'll wing it!"

Cobie managed a grin back. "It's the LMB way, I guess!"

The two friends exchanged a quick embrace.

"Let's get some rest, pal," Lardy said as they let go. "We'll have to see Ibby, Disaster Boy...and Goony...off in a few hours."

So the two went to their separate quarters with heavy hearts and with the weight of the universe on their shoulders.