Legion World Forums LEGION OUTPOST Bits o' Legionnaire Business Beginnings-- A Story by EDE

Excellent work so far. I'm waiting eagerly for the next installment.

IX

Ivy stayed by Ami's bedside, waiting for him to regain consciousness. A potted plant of Winathian origin sat in the corner of the room. Ivy could sense it hungrily sucking up the nutrients in the soil. It needed to be watered. She made a mental note to tell the nurses of this before she left. She could feel the very lifeforce of the plant, felt so connected to it.

She turned her attention back to Ani. He lay there unmoving and unaware. She wished she could feel the same sort of oneness with him that she felt with the plant. That she could know he was okay just by reaching out with her mind. But he seemed so distant, so lifeless, so alien. He was her friend, but he felt so foreign to her.

And then her thoughts turned to Garridan. Sometimes it seemed almost like she could feel his soul, like they were indeed one. Even when separated by great physical distance, the light years between the planets, somehow she always knew exactly what he was feeling whenever they communicated. It wasn't exactly like it was with the plants, but there was certainly something there. Something else else that she had with no one else.

As she left the hospital, she asked the nursebot to water the plant in Ami's room, as well as to let her know if there were any change in his condition. She'd spent enough of her life in hospitals to know that the med staff would do their jobs to the best of their ability. And everyone kept telling her this wasn't anything serious.

She arrived home to find Garridan's brother Graym and his companions waiting for her.

As she hugged Graym, tears began flowing from her eyes. She barely listened as the tall winged man said something about the "trail" leading to her. She did notice that the pale young woman Graym introduced as Kleanna seemed to be made somewhat uncomfortable by her display of emotion. She recognized the somewhat gruff but friendly R.J. Brande, who'd she'd briefly met once before while she was still on Quarantine.

She invited all of them in for tea.

Good to see this story continuing, EDE!

X

The girl called Black Mace led Sandy through an elaborate series of secret passages that led deep into an elaborate complex below the streets of Metropolis.

"What is this place?" Sandy asked, not really expecting a straightforward answer.

"It's a training facility for young people with special talents."

In a hallway they met a tall, handsome young man with slightly unkempt blonde hair. He seemed somewhat nervous and not very keen on talking to them.

"Hey Barrage," Black Mace said to him. "Where's the boss at?"

"He-he's in his off-office, I b-believe..."

Sandy noticed that Black Mace opened the old-fashioned wooden door of the office without knocking or otherwise indicating her presence. In the office a thin, bald man with a slightly pale yellow tint to his skin sat with his right side to them in a hover chair floating slightly above the floor. He was pouring a drink as they entered. He turned in the chair and looked at them through strange goggles that somehow hid his eyes.

Sandy didn't like him. Something else else about him instantly made her uncomfortable. But she was here, and apparently he was responsible for her being freed from the holding cell, so she thought it best to find out what he wanted.

"Welcome," he said as his chair spun around in the air. "I have been waiting to meet you for quite some time. I have heard nothing but good things about your talents. I'm sure you will succeed in our program very nicely."

"What is this place?" Sandy asked again, suddenly extremely uncomfortable.

"Why... it's a school for super-assassins!"

XI

Science Police Chief Dvron had just finished reading the report on Sandy Anderson's escape when the masses began their armed assault on Science Police Headquarters. The assault began with the detonation a small zeta-bomb on the outer perimeter of SPHQ, which shook the building enough that Dvron's prized distinguished service plaque fell from its place on his office wall and cracked upon hitting the edge of his desk.

Though caught off-guard, the SP's quickly gained control of the situation, subduing and capturing a number of those engaged in the attack, with minimal casualties on either side. While the riots had been going on for several weeks, the sudden escalation of violence was completely unexpected. Previously, it had just seemed as though vague unease and discontent was compelling these diverse groups within the Metropolis community to come together in protest of the governing structure. Today's attack, however, suggested a level of sophistication and organization which seemed completely lacking from any of the previous incidents.

The rioters who had been detained were interviewed, but very little seemed to be gained from the interrogation. Most either seemed to stare blankly when asked questions, or seemed to offended that they were being held, as though they somehow expected to just continue on with their daily business.

As he walked into the office of President Vidar, Dvron steeled himself for the meeting. Vidar was calculating and manipulative. Even though his powers of hypnotism had supposedly atrophied, he still had a way of influencing people to do exactly what he wanted. He seemed in control of every conversation they had.

"Roon, it's so good to see you! I'm so glad you made it through that little incident this morning unscathed." President Vidar said once he'd entered the room.

"Mr. President, that 'little incident', as you call it, caused serious damage to the outer wall of SPHQ, as well as leaving another three of my officers injured. That is in addition to the one who was severely burned in last week's riot, and the two severely injured during the escape of the suspect responsible for that incident."

"Oh, yes. So it is my understanding that the Anderson girl was broken out of her holding cell by an unknown party?"

"Yes. Apparently a woman dressed in a all-black body suit including a mask covering her face. We're looking into a few leads on her identity, but there's nothing very promising..."

"A pity. I had hoped to get a chance to speak to Miss Anderson. It's funny you know. Her father was the legendary "Sun Boy" of the Legion of Super-Heroes, and I, "Universo", their arch-villain. And yet he died a traitor to the planet he was supposed to protect. And me... well, I became a hero. The war changed so many things... I just wish I could have had the chance to help prevent Miss Anderson from going down the same path as her father..."

"I'm sure you know," Dvron responded, "that her paternity was never proven..."

"Of course! But is there any doubt? I mean... look at her powers! They are magnificent!"

"Yeah... anyway about today's attack, I'm worried that there may be some more sinister force behind the riots. This latest incident seem way too well-orchestrated to have been the work of an unruly mob..."

"Oh... I am certain that you and your officers will soon capture the people responsible. I trust that you will pursue the matter with the upmost dilligence. If you will excuse me, however, I actually have to begin getting ready for a meeting this afternoon with the ambassador from Titan over some trade matters. The royal family there still holds a long-term grudge against me, and it doesn't help that the royal consort is an ex-Legionnaire."

As the conversation had apparently ended, Dvron wondered what Vidar had gained from the encounter.

As Dvron left the room, President Vidar called out, "Oh, be sure to give my regards to your lovely assistant, Miss Joston."

Dvron wondered why Vidar would single out Lahne as somone to mention...

XII

Zartak piloted the small cruiser toward the junkyard moon of Talus. While out of his way, he believed the aid that might be enlisted here would be worth it. He knew Graym had headed straight towards Earth in search of Garridan. If Zartak was right, they would need all the help they could get to stop Garridan from accomplishing his mission.

Born on the planet Horgot in the Khundian Empire, Zartak had been orphaned at a very young age during the war with the Dominion. He had only the vaguest memories of the experiments that the Dominators had performed on him. He had since learned that the chemical treatments they had exposed him to originated with stolen research from the Murran Federation, research that had once been a part of a program to create a “super-army” in preparation for invasion of the United Planets. Zartak was one of the lucky few that not only survived the experiments, but gained genuine power from it. He could alter the size of inanimate objects at will. There were definite limits to this ability. Make an object too large and its structural integrity would be compromised, causing it to collapse. Make an object too small and the process could never be reversed.

Having escaped his Dominion captors, Zartak eventually made his way to the planet Rimbor, notorious as a haven for criminal elements as well as a refuge for “lost souls” from all over the galaxy. There he came to the attention of the Chief Nah of the Rimborian Science Police. Jo Nah and his wife Tinya Wazzo had once been Legionnaires before settling on his homeworld of Rimbor to “clean the place up”. Even one as young as Zartak was impressed by the immense love between this couple. They had spent several years separated in which Jo had believed Tinya to be dead. Now reunited, the passion between the two was indescribably intense.

Chief Nah helped Zartak lift himself out of the Rimborian slums and gain admission to one of the best private schools on Rimbor. The young Khundian was bright, and learned quickly. His particular interest in cosmology had led to him spending a summer at Xanthu Celestial Academy.
He had first met Graym and Garridan during one of the annual reunions of ex-Legion members on Winath. He had become good friends with the twins, and was the only person Graym had confided in when he determined that he would pursue Garridan to Earth. It was a day later that, researching Legion history, Zartak hit upon a theory about what was going on with Garridan. He knew he could never convince anyone else without proof, but he also knew that Graym could be in serious danger if he was right. And, if he was wrong, well... at least it gave him a chance to drop by Talus and see the girl he’d had a massive crush on for the past five weeks.

XIII

Kleanna slowly sipped the drink that Ivy gave her. She didn’t particularly care for hot beverages as a rule, and this one seemed rather bitter for her taste.

“Do you like your tea?” Ivy asked.

“Yeah, it’s fine,” Kleanna responded.

Kleanna watched Ivy as she related the story of Garridan Ranzz’s attack on her and her friend. She noted how scared Ivy seemed to be. She could tell how much Ivy cared about Garridan, and she hated knowing as much as she did about what was to come.

She turned her attention to Graym, who also seemed very concerned about his brother. She knew the power that lay deep inside Graym, the product of Antarean manipulation of his genes, and she knew the circumstances under which it would be unleashed. She felt bad for him.

They were three now. And three times three would found the third Legion. Or so said the prophecy. Well, to be fair, the prophecy was couched in the language of chance, so nothing it said could be taken as completely certain. But thus far it seemed to have been accurate. Kleanna had escaped from the Ziggurat, just as foretold, only to find herself the captive of flesh-traders who saw profit in pretty young women such as herself. Her escape from them led her to R. J. Brande, who at least paid attention to her story, even if she wasn’t sure he believed her, and whose compassion was great enough that he protected her from the slavers when they tried to reclaim her.

She knew Brande was surprised when they actually encountered Graym on the shuttle from Ventura to Earth. She had convinced him that they needed to go there, and that it was key to the formation of the new Legion, as well as discovering what happened to the last one. Brande’s son was among the missing second Legion, and she figured he thought that any chance to help him had to be taken. He was a good man, though flawed in many ways. She trusted him.

Graym had turned out to be everything she hoped. She knew before she met him that they would turn out to be the best of friends. Ironic perhaps, since the godlike beings who raised her had spent a quarter of a century or so trying to kill his father. Her parents had been gamblers, so addicted to the game that they wagered their infant daughter, and lost. The Luck Lords, the mysterious and generally believed to be mythical observers who ultimately controlled the casinos of Ventura, arranged that the girl be brought to them. She learned more than any human ever had about the ways of luck and chance. She learned to control and manipulate it herself. And she learned of the prophecy, which led her to leave, against the wishes of those that had taken care of her.

Though her skill lay primarily in curses and jinxes, Kleanna hoped that she could muster some good fortune for them in the coming weeks. She knew they would need it.

Great Stuff, EDE!

Thanks! I know its been accumulating kind of slowly, but it's taking a lot of concentration to get each section out. I'm trying to get in the head of the characters whose points view I'm writing from, so it can be a pretty intense experience trying to channel each one.

How in heck did I miss this...!?!?!?!?!

Jeepers! That latest section has taken me forever to write!

I'm glad this thread was bumped, as I haven't seen it before.
I just read the whole story and all I can say is: FABOO!!
Can it be possible that I love EDE more than ever??

EDE this is fantastic!!!