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

Six Legionnaires from the past watched from the safety of a futuristic space vessel as countless scores of heroes floated and zipped about the outer edges of Earth's solar system using their vast array of powers against the unbelievable demon planet they called the Leviathan. The tentacled sphere was more horrific than any hologram could convey, and none of them envied the psi-talents among the Legion who'd had to make direct telepathic contact with the thing. As much as the Leviathan tested their sanity just to gaze upon it, none of them could imagine what it must be like to touch its mind.

Dream Girl stood back from her lover, taking a moment to admire the new costume he'd been given on Legion World. It was covered in stars like his previous outfit, with black and purple trim giving way to stark white boots and gloves and a large white star on his chest. "Are you sure you're ready for this Thom?" she asked with uncommon tenderness.

"Not really," he replied, smiling down at her. Nura was glad he'd elected not to wear a mask, she wanted to remember him like this always. He held her chin and kissed her gently, his beard scratching her soft skin. "But there's another version of me out there in the middle of all of that, and he's got a good couple of decades on me. If an old man can fight this thing I don't see why I shouldn't be able to step up to bat."

Despite the circumstances, Polar Boy's eyes darted from one combatant to the next in excited awe. "All these heroes are Legionnaires? There must be hundreds of them!"

"147," Stone Man informed him. "Not all on active duty under normal circumstances, but well...as you can see, these aren't exactly normal circumstances. I just wish we knew how the Leviathan broke out of the Phantom Zone...and why now of all times?"

"I can't answer how," Chameleon Girl said in a faraway voice. "But I know why...it's here for me."

"Yera," Luornu soothed, touching her arm. "I can't imagine how you must feel knowing this Leviathan's history...but Stone Man said it appeared three days ago. We weren't even here then."

"This isn't misplaced guilt, Duplicate Damsel." Yera shook free and faced the team, her voice trembling with emotion. "I know it's here for me. I can feel it. I suspected before, but now that I'm here, now that I can see this thing with my own eyes and feel it in my soul...this is the Fhrr Maless. I don't know how it knew I was coming, but it knew I was coming and it's returned to finish what it started. No Durlan escapes the Fhrr Maless." Her eyes welled with tears now, and she wiped at her cheek with the back of her hand.

The Legionnaires looked at one another utterly confused. "What the sprock is a Fur..Fhhr..." Sun Boy struggled with its name.

Yera collected her wits about her and took a breath. "Do you remember when we fought that bone dragon in Metropolis? Some of us fell to it, and the rest of the Legion thought we were dead for a little while..?"

Sun Boy hadn't been present then and looked on cluelessly till Star Boy explained. "It was just after we thought we'd lost Jazmin Cullen. I do remember. You and some of the others fell before Dragonmage could tame it."

"We did die that day," Chameleon Girl continued. "We entered the realms of Death and we were forced to fight the Fhrr Maless to return to the land of the living. If it weren't for the help of Legionnaires who'd already passed on and Element Lad and Shadow Lad's people, we may have stayed there forever."

"Yera," Dream Girl asked soberly, "What is the Fhrr Maless?"

"When a Durlan's shapeshifting power is no defence against death," she explained, "the Fhrr Maless waits for us on the other side to torture us with the forms we can no longer assume ourselves. No Durlan escapes the Fhrr Maless...but I did. It must have been biding its time, waiting for a chance to exact its revenge. And when I had Gim's baby..." She broke down into tears.

Luornu moved to hug her without thinking twice about it. She barely knew anything about Chameleon Girl really. The two were in the Espionage Squad together, but they'd never really worked together in the same sense that Lu had worked with Cham. And Yera tended to keep to herself when not fulfilling her duties as a Legionnaire. As far as Luornu knew, Yera had few close friends on the team. Right now though she was just a person in pain, and that was a state Luornu Durgo Taine could relate to only too well. "Even if that is what this is, we're going to help you get through this Yera. I promise. All of us."

"You don't understand," the young Durlan woman sobbed into Luornu's breast. "This isn't something we can fight, the Fhrr Maless isn't like Lightning Lord or the Fatal Five...it's like...like..." She struggled for a comparison.

"Like Mordru?" Polar Boy finished for her. "Or Superboy-Prime or the Time Trapper? Beings that are so powerful it's laughable we'd take them on being who we are?"

"We're the Legion of Superheroes, kiddo." Sun Boy stroked Yera's hair behind her ear. "Ridiculous odds are what we do. Now come on, let's go send this thing packing so we can get you home to your husband. I hate seeing a pretty girl cry."

Chameleon Girl collected her wits about her and dried her eyes. "Thanks, you guys." She stepped away from Duplicate Damsel and straightened up. "Grife, how embarassing."

"Don't worry about it," Star Boy reassured her. "Everyone's allowed to have a crisis of confidence occasionally."

"If what you've told us today is right, we've got more knowledge about this monster now than we've ever had before," Stone Man said to Yera. "And knowledge is power, we just need to figure out a way to put that to use."

"Actually," Dream Girl spoke up, one perfectly manicured finger on her chin. "I might have an idea there. I think it might be time for us to meet your grown-up Dragonmage, Stone Man!"

Stone Man relayed a command to Batman in the ship's bridge, and within an instant the heroes were underway.

**********
Twelve minutes later, the Legionnaires were standing on a tiny asteroid with Dragonmage, Harlak the Khund and half a dozen other sorcerors none of the time-displaced heroes recognised. Saturn Empress had also returned to them along with her ever-staring crimson eye. Dream Girl couldn't help but notice that her sister Mysa was not here among the magic users of this Legion. The realisation filled her with a profound sadness but she pushed it aside.

"This kind of thing's really light years from my area of expertise," Stone Man admitted. "I'm way more comfortable with bad guys that can be punched into submission, so you tell me Dragonmage...do you really think this will work?"

The cloaked Dragonmage wore the same colors as the teen with whom the time-displaced Legionnaires were familiar, but beyond that he might as well be a different man. While they were accustomed to young Xao being more quiet than many of his more extroverted comrades this had always seemed to stem from a lack of self-confidence. Even in the short time he'd been a Legionnaire they had seen this improve, but none of them could have suspected he would become the intense figure who now stood before them. He was just as quiet now, but it was a silence which demanded attention. "The logic is sound," he replied with complete confidence. "There must be something linking the Fhrr Maless to this plane of reality. If it had always had the power to exist here untethered, why not come long before now? If Saturn Empress can use her own telepathy and the power of the Eye to seek out the soul of Gim and Yera's child within the Leviathan, she may be able to strengthen its resolve to leave this plane behind. To be honest with you all I am not at all assured of this plan's chances for success, but it has as much likelihood as anything else we have tried."

"What about you, Kyla?" Stone Man looked down into the young woman's face. "Are you up to this?"

"I guess I have to be," she answered, biting her lip. "I don't get it though, why would it be linked to Chameleon Girl's baby? If it could do that whenever it wanted, why wait so long?"

"Nobody wants to say it out loud," Chameleon Girl responded flatly, "But my baby...mustn't have survived birth. Durlan physiology is barely compatible with any other race in the UP. Healthy mixed Durlan babies can and have been born, but I suppose....I suppose that was never meant for me and Gim." She wiped tears away once more and cleared her throat. "The Fhrr Maless must have taken our child just as it passed on. While it could maintain a link between life and death. And it's been keeping it there ever since. That's why I need to go with you."

There was almost unanimous uproar at this, everybody throwing in their reasons why Yera couldn't be involved. It was Dragonmage's voice who finally cut through the din to silence them all. "Actually, Yera's got a point."

"What are you talking about?" Stone Man threw his hands up in protest. "That thing's already killed her once!"

"Yes," Dragonmage nodded. "During childbirth, when she'd have been at her weakest and with the element of surprise on its side. But as powerful as Saturn Empress is, asking her to find one infant soul on a dead world is stretching even her capabilities. Chameleon Girl has already said she could feel the Fhrr Maless' presence in her soul. If she can feel that, she can feel her child. And she's likely to have more sway over it than any of us could."

"Yera," Luornu said quite seriously, "You don't have to do this. We're not going to be able to be there with you."

"What a bunch we make," Chameleon Girl gave a pained laugh. "Falling over ourselves to make sure nobody else has to sacrifice themselves but always being the first to jump into the firing line ourselves. It's okay, Luornu. You've all been here more than I could rightly expect. This is something I need to do."

"Well we're not going to just sit back at a safe distance while you do all the hard work," Sun Boy volunteered. "Stone Man, put us to use. Me, Thom and Brek at least should be able to be as much of a physical distraction as anyone else out there."

"You're all really set on this, aren't you?" Stone Man replied. He shook his head in mock disbelief. "As if I should ever have expected anything different. Alright Legion, let's do this."

**********
Yera Allon felt a surreal weightlessness as she and Saturn Empress followed the Crimson Eye at blinding speed through the raging battle and closer to the Leviathan's surface. "This feels so strange," Yera noted. "Under different circumstances I'd even say it was good....I can't believe you converted our physical bodies to psionic energy! How much power does that eye of yours have?"

"Actually, that part is all me," Saturn Empress replied coyly. "I've been called the most powerful psi in Titan's history. I don't know about that, but I'm fortunate enough to have been able to develop my power a lot more than most Titanians. We're about to enter the Leviathan's atmosphere, Chameleon Girl. The Eye will protect us from the brunt of any psychic damage, but prepare yourself. It's still not going to feel nice."

That was an understatement. Yera felt the crushing pressure of a world of dead souls and the ageless monstrosity which had been torturing them for so long. If she'd been able to, she felt that she'd be sick right now. Use it, she told herself. Let it give you purpose.

"How do we find my...my child?" Yera asked.

"Just let yourself feel for it," Kyla answered. "You'll feel it. The Eye knows to let you lead."

The task felt overwhelming, all around them were visible and ethereal signs of damnation. Yera tried anyway though, and to her surprise, she felt a glimmer of something so faint she wondered if she'd imagined it. But no, it was real. The women and the Eye both adjusted course and flew through the writhing slashing form of the Leviathan immaterial as phantoms. Soon they found themselves on the other side of what was once Durla. Every square inch of the planet crawled with the Leviathan now, there were no landmarks. Yera had no doubt in her mind whatsoever though; her child was here.

The Eye flared to life, bathing their surrounds with unforgiving red light. It searched their surroundings for what seemed like an eternity, driven by Yera's own tenuous link to a child she'd never borne. Finally it came to stop, a tiny green kernel of light glowing amidst the teeth and tendons of the Leviathan. Yera approached it, held her hands out gingerly. "This is..?"

"This is your baby," Kyla told her as the Durlan woman's palm enclosed the neon speck. "You said no Durlan escapes the Fhrr Maless but that's what he's been doing all this time, Yera. Resisting as best he can."

If Yera could cry, she would cry again now. She closed her fist gently around the child's soul and brought it close to her breast. "So brave," she whispered. "He must take after his daddy. You can't be here, little ch'rr. Too many people have been hurt and it's time for you to stop hurting too." The two women felt the psychic pressure enclosing them spike dramatically and Yera looked to Saturn Empress. The strain of maintaining her power was showing on the young Titanian's face.

"It knows we're here," Kyla explained through gritted teeth. "It knows what we're doing. Yera, you have to hurry. I don't think the Eye can protect us for much longer."

Yera kissed her closed hand and held it out before her. "Go, little ch'rr. This thing can't hurt you anymore, I won't let it." She opened her palm and though she didn't consciously know how she was doing it, she refused to let the Fhrr Maless near it. The Fhrr Maless abandoned its physical assault on the other Legionnaires, abandoned its attack on Saturn Empress and her Eye. It concentrated all that it had on Chameleon Girl and the one tiny gleam of innocence in her palm. Yera Allon stood strong though she felt her mind would surely snap, and a second later the tiny green light flickered and faded from this plane entirely. She held the Fhrr Maless here with everything she had, stopped it pursuing her child until it became too much for her.

Then it too was gone, and the dead world of Durla was all that remained.

**********
Yera had been unconscious for nine days before she woke. She opened her eyes to find her teammates standing around her bed, along with Stone Man, Saturn Empress and the Infinite Boy. "Is it...over..?" she asked fearfully.

"It's over," Saturn Empress smiled. "You broke the link that enslaved your son to the Fhrr Maless, Yera. They've both gone to the places they deserve."

Yera felt as though she were in a daze. "How long have I..."

"You've been asleep just over a week," Duplicate Damsel sat by her side. "Kyla says it took that long for her to help repair the damage to your mind. Yera, how do you feel?"

"I feel..." she looked around at all of them. "I've lost a child I never even had. But I've beaten the worse demon my people know. For the second time. Honestly, I don't know how I feel. Drained." Realisation suddenly dawned on her and she sat bolt upright. "Oh no! If I've been here over a week...we need to get home! The Infinite Man!"

"The Infinite Man can wait," Dream Girl calmed her. "Kando says he can return us to the exact same position we left...all of us, every Legionnaire that the Infinite Man exiled."

"What?" Yera focused on the Infinite Boy at the foot of her bed. "How?"

"I've had nine days to think about it," the star-faced boy replied. "I can focus on Duplicate Damsel, use her like a kind of temporal beacon. I can draw all of her time-displaced bodies here, and any other Legionnaires that went with her. Then I can just send the lot of us back to your own time."

"You're powerful enough to do that?" Chameleon Girl gaped. The Infinite Boy nodded.

"So take your time," Luornu assured Yera. "Make sure you're fully recovered. I want to make sure we're all in perfect condition for a fight because if the rest of our friends and loved ones have gone through half of what that maniac has put us through, he's going to find out what it means to have 37 very angry Legionnaires breathing down his neck."

NEXT: DOGS IN SPACE!

Thanks again for the comments y'all! It is really motivational knowing that people enjoy what I am writing!

Poor sacrificial lamb Amp was indeed based on Amp Girl from the postboot Legion...and while our adventure with the 3035 Legion was pretty intense, I hope people still liked it!

There are two more teams to go till we're done, and coming up next....well let's just say Comet Queen and Quislet make up almost half of our next team, so that should give you some idea how grim it's likely to be...

BRAINIAC 5: Early 21st century Smallville
CHAMELEON GIRL: Legion World, 3035
COLOSSAL BOY: Trom, doomsday
COSMIC BOY: Weber's World, 2980s
DAWNSTAR: Smallville, 1871
DRAGONMAGE: Central City, 2038
DREAM GIRL: Legion World, 3035
DUPLICATE DAMSEL (deputy leader): Legion World, 3035 / Smallville, 1871 / Trom, doomsday / Weber's World, 2980s
ELASTIC LAD: Weber's World, 2980s
ELEMENT LAD: Smallville, 1871
INFECTIOUS LASS: Central City, 2038
INVISIBLE KID II: Central City, 2038
KID COMPUTO: Smallville, 1871
LIGHT LAD: Trom, doomsday
LIGHTNING LASS: Trom, doomsday
MATTER-EATER LAD: Smallville, 1871
MON-EL: Central City, 2038
NIGHT GIRL: Weber's World, 2980s
NIGHTWIND: Central City, 2038
POLAR BOY: Legion World, 3035
SHADOW LAD: Early 21st century Smallville
SHRINKING VIOLET: Trom, doomsday
STAR BOY: Legion World, 3035
SUN BOY: Legion World, 3035
SUPERBOY: Early 21st century Smallville, remained behind
SUPERGIRL: Early 21st century Smallville
TELLUS: Weber's World, 2980s
TIMBER WOLF: Trom, doomsday
TYROC: Central City, 2038, remained behind
ULTRA BOY: Weber's World, 2980s
WILDFIRE: Smallville, 1871

BLOK
BOUNCING BOY (leader)
CHAMELEON BOY
COMET QUEEN
DIAMOND DAMSEL
PHANTOM GIRL
QUISLET
GAS GIRL (Legion ally)

Wow! Ludos to you for not undoing any of the deaths you wrote (I can only imagine that some/most of that future knowledge will have to be wiped from the Legionnaires' minds?). And good job on having a great in-story use for having at least one Luornu with most of the teams!

I'm kind of running out of ways to praise your work Raz, it is consistently high quality action packed character driven 100% enjoyment.

The idea of Comet Queen and Quislet working together sounds great so I'm really looking forward to the next part.

Your work is amazing, more, more, more.

Thanks peeps! Should be able to get some more online by the end of the week!

Hope everyone had an awesome new year!

Reep Daggle's head was spinning.

A moment ago, he'd been face to face with a prehistoric predator twice his size and had been evaluating whether he should become something big and scary enough to frighten the beast away, or if a discreet mosquito evasion might be the better tactic. Now he wasn't quite sure where he was but he was reeling with an overwhelming input of sensory data. The sensation at least passed quickly, as his Durlan mind finished cataloguing this new world of shapes in which he found himself. It was an autonomous activity, a response that all Durlans had when exposed to new forms to adopt. Normally he never even noticed it happening. For it to affect him this overtly, the Legionnaire known as Chameleon Boy wondered where exactly this strange place was.

"What happened?" a disembodied voice asked warily. "Where are we?" A cloud of pale green mist formed before Cham's eyes, revealing the face of the Lallorian hero Gas Girl.

Along with Gas Girl, Cham also saw Duplicate Damsel and Comet Queen. All three women shared the same stunned confusion written across their faces.

"Infinite Man sent us away!" This came from behind Cham, but he didn't have to guess who it was. The singsong trill of Quislet's voice was as familiar as it was grating. Quislet's microship circled around noisily to join Chameleon Boy and the girls. "Infinite Man sent us far away! Hoo boy, this gonna be fun!"

The landscape they found themselves in was almost cartoonish. They seemed to be in some kind of primitive town nestled in a valley with huge dark mountains looming in the distance. The streets were unpaved and there was no sign of vehicle traffic. None of the buildings were more than two stories high, and all of them were shaped like simple dog kennels. Residents peered curiously at the newcomers, hiding behind doors and walls and whispering in hushed tones. All of them had humanoid bodies with canine heads. None of the Legion had seen a race like them before.

"They're like stardust gleaming!" Comet Queen beamed. "Don't be scared, furries! We're the Legion of Superheroes!" She held up her flight ring for the aliens to see, sparking more excited chatter among the natives.

"I'm concerned that they don't seem to recognise us," Duplicate Damsel said quietly, "And that I can't get hold of any other Legionnaires."

"I agree," Cham added. "To echo Gas Girl's question, I wonder where the Infinite Man's sent us?"

"Quislet can't tell where," the Teallian explorer zipped between Cham and Luornu, "But when, Quislet can help there! Infinite Man sent us into the future! Quislet's ship still calculating, but Legion a loooong way from home!"

"Quislet," Chameleon Boy asked calmly, "How long is long?" He traded a somber glance with Duplicate Damsel. Quislet sounded far too excited about this revelation, that couldn't be good news.

"Still gathering data," Quislet replied cheerily. "Boring, ship can do that! After a terasecond, lots of variables. Boring analytics, maths, Quislet doesn't care about that!"

Gas Girl returned to her normal form. "A terasecond?" she repeated. "Isn't that...thousands of years? He's not really saying we're thousands of years in the future, is he..?"

"At least 32,000!" Quislet chirped.

"How can you possibly know that?" Luornu asked, annoyed that he was taking this so lightly.

"Quislet's ship monitors cosmic background radiation, tells perfect time all the time!" the little Legionnaire answered with a large degree of self-satisfaction.

"You didn't know that?" Comet Queen whistled. "Nova burn!"

"Grava, how did you know?" Luornu asked with genuine shock.

Comet Queen shrugged good-naturedly. "I just talk to him, starshine! Haven't any of you ever talked to this shiny little shuttle before?"

Duplicate Damsel blushed awkwardly. She had to admit, most of the Legion actively avoided Quislet when they weren't on a mission with him. She wondered what else they didn't know about him for lack of making the effort.

Before she could ponder the question any further, a rich telepathic voice resounded throughout all of their heads. Sentients, please identify yourselves and state your purpose on G'Newt!

The Legionnaires somehow felt the voice had originated above them, and peered upward to find a stark white labrador floating in mid-air. It wore a golden collar with a red cape attached, and seemed to be analysing them all.

Gas Girl's jaw dropped. "Did...did that dog just talk to us?"

I am Krypto, here on behalf of the Space Canine Patrol Agents, the dog's oddly baritone telepathic voice continued. The good sentients here called us when they realised you were off the Headnet. Please identify yourselves and state your purpose for being here.

As the lone Legionnaire present without an organic mind, Quislet had missed this entire exchange. He flew in a beeline straight at Krypto, his ship obnoxiously loud. "Why everyone gone quiet?" he teased. "Nobody see flying dog before?" Krypto's eyes narrowed and he exhaled an impossibly cold gust of breath at the microship. A moment later, the ship fell out of the sky encased in a chunk of ice. Unable to open his hull, Quislet was trapped.

"Quislet!" Comet Queen cried out. "I don't care how bright you are, white dwarf! You don't get to freeze my friends and get away with it!" She flew circles around the dog, obscuring him with noxious fumes. Duplicate Damsel tried to call out a warning, but Krypto moved with blinding speed before Luornu had even finished drawing breath. He dispersed Comet Queen's gas trail with another burst of super breath, then flew in circles around her at dizzying speeds to create a vortex which sucked the air away from her almost instantly. Comet Queen passed out, and Krypto carefully manoeuvred himself beneath her so he could guide her gently to the ground.

You must know you have no hope against me, he warned the others. I am the direct descendant of Krypto the First, and all the powers of long-dead Krypton are mine to bear. Will you surrender now or do I need to dispatch the rest of you?

Luornu slapped her forehead. "Flight, super breath, super speed...of course you're descended from Superman's dog." She raised her arms, hoping it was still considered a gesture of surrender in this crazy future populated by talking animals. "I'm called Duplicate Damsel, our team is known as the Legion of Superheroes. We've come from a long long time ago in your past, and--"

The Legion of Superheroes? Krypto's tail wagged. Companions to the legendary Legion of Super-Pets? This is unbelievable!

"I...don't know if I'd call us companions exactly..." Luornu started. Cham nudged her in the ribs and she cleared her throat. "...Yes. Yes, that's us."

This is a real honor! Krypto approached Duplicate Damsel, Chameleon Boy and Gas Girl on the ground as Comet Queen began to stir into consciousness. They could see clearly now a symbol similar to Superman's familiar golden crest on the dog's cape. The rest of the Space Canine Patrol Agents will be so excited to meet you all! Would you please come back to our headquarters with me?

Chameleon Boy and Duplicate Damsel looked at one another and shrugged. "Why not?" Luornu replied. "It's probably not the craziest thing we've ever done."

As Krypto and the Legionnaires chatted, Gas Girl watched with uncommon meekness. She felt completely over her head here. In all her time with the Heroes of Lallor she'd never encountered anything half as crazy as today's events, but the Legionnaires seemed to be taking it all in stride. She wondered if she could ever be so blase about falling into insanity like this on a regular basis. She smiled to herself watching Krypto's heat vision free Quislet from his frozen prison. It was crazy, but it was also a little fun.

She kind of hoped she'd get the chance to fall into insanity with the Legion more often...

Duplicate Damsel, Gas Girl, Chameleon Boy, Comet Queen and Quislet found themselves presented before the full assembly of the Space Canine Patrol Agents. The SCPA's headquarters was in many ways reminiscent of the Legion's own, albeit built to scale for the smaller canines. The walls were lined with images of previous members of the team, and though nobody would go so far as to say it was spacious, the building was large enough for the Legionnaires to navigate comfortably.

Allow me to introduce you to my comrades, Krypto announced telepathically. Hot Dog, Bull Dog, Paw Pooch, Chameleon Collie, Prophetic Pup and Mammoth Miss.

"You're all so hypernova cute!" Comet Queen gushed. "Is it okay if I pat you, little furries?"

"Grava!" Luornu scolded her.

Please, Krypto soothed her concerns. It's no problem. We recognise the gesture is one of affection. Comet Queen crouched down before the skinny dog called Mammoth Miss and scratched behind her ears playfully. Mammoth Miss's tail wagged appreciatively, and Krypto continued speaking. I hope you'll accept my apologies, Legion of Superheroes. There have been mysterious attacks in this sector of space recently. When we heard that strangers had appeared on G'Newt and that you weren't on the Headnet, we were naturally suspicious.

"Excuse me?" Gas Girl asked gingerly. "You've mentioned this Headnet a couple of times, what is that exactly?"

The Headnet links all sentients in the galaxy, Krypto replied. Information and ideas can be shared near instantly. I imagine your neural networks are not, if you'll forgive me, sufficiently advanced to make use of it as we do.

"Has anybody else like us appeared that any of you know of?" Chameleon Boy asked. "The rest of our teammates were displaced in time as we have been."

We would know if anyone like yourselves had come to this sector of space, Prophetic Pup answered Cham's question. Unfortunately we can confirm that you are almost certainly alone here. I have the power to bring the future into view however, would you like me to take a look? Perhaps they just haven't arrived yet!

"If you could," Luornu smiled. "It'd be much appreciated!"

Prophetic Pup looked like a normal tan chihuahua with one glaring exception. A gigantic bulbous growth emerged from the top of her head, so large that the Legionnaires were surprised her tiny head could support its weight. As she concentrated now, the sphere atop her skull lightened in color, became opaque and soon looked like a crystal ball. The scene it displayed was as surreal as anything else the Legionnaires had seen here thus far; a pride of flying mechanical cats descended upon the dog people of G'Newt and were causing chaos as they fired lasers from their eyes and grabbed random terrified natives. Prophetic Pup gave a sharp bark. These must be the attacks we've heard about! she declared. Canines, quickly! This is going to happen soon, we mustn't delay!

The heroic dogs had already adjusted their telepathic wavelength so that Quislet could understand them as well as his teammates, and the Teallian Legionnaire flew excited circles around Prophetic Pup's enormous head. "Woohoo!" Quislet cheered. "We get to have fun now? Quislet wondered if anything was ever going to happen around here!"

"We don't want to intrude," Luornu said diplomatically, "But if you need our help we're more than willing to offer it!"

It would be welcomed, Prophetic Pup answered, the scene on her head changing now to somewhere else on the dog planet where more mechanical cats terrorised the locals. They will be mounting their assaults on two separate continents at once and even you can't be in two places at once, Krypto!

It's very kind of you, Krypto addressed the Legion. And it will be a thrill to work with the legendary Legion of Superheroes! Let's split up, SCPA! Hot Dog, Chameleon Collie, you two come with me! The rest of you accompany Prophetic Pup! The dogs all barked and jumped around in hyperactive chaos for a few moments before obeying Krypto's orders.

"Cham, can you go with Krypto's squad please?" Duplicate Damsel asked. "I'll take Grava and Quislet with the others. Gas Girl--"

"I want to help too!" Gas Girl protested. "I know I'm not a Legionnaire, but I don't want to be a redundant drive either!"

Duplicate Damsel was visibly relieved. "I didn't want to make the assumption, but I'm so glad you offered. Can you help Chameleon Boy please? This whole day has been so surreal I haven't even had a chance to say sorry yet for dragging you into this, Gas Girl!"

The bald Lallorian woman waved away Luornu's concerns as she dissipated into a cloud of mist. "Forget it," she remarked. "It's like I said to Bouncing Boy back on Earth, this is probably the best distraction I could ask for at the moment." She and Cham flew off with the three dogs, Prophetic Pup having telepathically implanted their destination in all of their minds. As the other Legionnaires followed Prophetic Pup, Mammoth Miss, Bull Dog and Paw Pooch, Luornu thought about Gas Girl's last words. She wondered where or when her husband had been sent. Luornu shut the thought from her mind. Chuck Taine was an accomplished hero in his own right, and certainly more resilient than herself. She had to trust that he could look after himself. Right now, she needed to rein in two of the Legion's most uncontrollable personalities to help a bunch of superpowered dogs from the future fight robot cats.

Somehow she thought she might leave this one out of her journal...

**********
Though none of the rest of the SCPA possessed Krypto's natural power of flight, they all wore propulsion collars which were like a trumped up version of the Legion's flight rings. Soon, Prophetic Pup's group were descending upon more than a dozen airborne cats who were in the process of terrorising the villagers of G'Newt. They're just automatons, Prophetic Pup announced. So we don't have to be gentle with them, but leave at least one reasonably intact so we can find out who sent them!

Why do I feel like that was for my benefit? Bull Dog growled sardonically. Appropriately enough, he did actually resemble a stocky Earth bulldog. As he charged one of the mechanical cats though, the Legionnaires realised where he really got his name. Twin horns emerged from his skull, thick and facing forward where they came to a sharp point. He careened straight through the artificial feline with a triumphant bark, smashing it in half.

"Quislet like this one!" Quislet piped up. "Bull Dog got the right idea! Smash 'em, bash 'em!" He flew his gleaming microship in close to one of the other cats, dodging its deadly eye lasers with ease. As soon as he was close enough, the hull of his ship opened and the tiny spark of life that was Quislet leaped forth to possess his assailant. "Woohoo!" Quislet's voice came forth from the cat's mouth. "Quislet got heat vision like Superboy!" He opened fire on the other cats, disabling two of them before his power took its toll and his own cat disintegrated. Quislet returned to his ship to continue with his next target.

Like her diminutive teammate, Comet Queen easily flew circles around the cats. She wasn't strong enough to physically damage them but she could obscure their vision with her gas trail and soon she'd manoeuvred two of them into blasting one another's heads off. "These robo-kitties aren't much of a workout! You and Bouncy gave us a harder time at the Academy, starshine!" Duplicate Damsel knew Comet Queen was right. Causing her own duplicates to appear and disappear at the right times, she duplicated Grava's tactic of making the robots unintentionally fire upon one another. Luornu supposed she shouldn't question their good fortune, but this really did seem like it was almost too easy.

At least we should be able to wrap this up fairly quickly, Mammoth Miss said. The wiry little dog flew into the midst of three of the automatons, disappearing beneath a pile of metal much to Comet Queen's horror. "Oh no! The little furry is gonna get full meteor impact!"

Don't count her out just yet, Paw Pooch said casually. He showcased his own power, extending his body lengthways and growing four extra pairs of feet. He kicked out at five of the cats at once, damaging their metal shells with his powerful thrusts. As if on cue, a loud sproing sounded like a cartoon sound effect and in place of the unimpressive looking mutt that was Mammoth Miss now floated an inflated spherical dog some eight feet across. The cats that had been moving in on her were bounced metres away by her sudden growth, and Bull Dog and Quislet soon finished them off.

Comet Queen squealed with glee and clapped her hands together. "Furry! You're a bouncy furry! Oh, parse me to the absolute C-span, this is the limit!"

Is that all of them? Prophetic Pup asked.

It is, Paw Pooch answered. And we've even got a souvenir to take home! He gestured at one of the robots he'd disabled himself which now lay sputtering on the ground near a brightly painted kennel. The many-legged canine turned back to his clairvoyant teammate and barked suddenly, his tail between his legs. Prophetic Pup, behind you! His warning came too late though, and the other heroes gaped in horror as one of the cats who'd somehow evaded their attention grabbed a firm hold of Prophetic Pup. There was a flash of light and when everyone's vision cleared, both the cat and Prophetic Pup were gone.

Oh no! the absurdly rotund Mammoth Miss howled. We'd better tell Krypto!

**********
Halfway around the world, the other heroes were coming to the same conclusion as their teammates. These robotic cats were no real challenge at all.

Krypto drew fire from the automatons with his indestructible body and returned the attack with his own heat vision. They were far less durable than him, melting into puddles of slag. This makes no sense, the Kryptonian dog analysed the situation. They seem to have appeared solely to cause a commotion, there have been no demands made, no motivation made clear!

"Your foes are normally tougher than this?" Gas Girl asked, having taken on a highly acidic vapourous form which even now hissed through the chestplate of one of the robots.

Oh, definitely! Hot Dog answered. A bright red daschund, he joyfully charged straight through one robot after the other. His body was so superheated that he went through them like a knife through butter. When we saw these were artificial creatures, I thought they may have been the work of our enemy Mechanikat! He's been a claw in our side for the longest time!

We should be glad they aren't, Chameleon Collie countered. He morphed his form as expertly as any Durlan and became a large purple octopus covered in bright orange polka dots. Reaching out with eight powerful tentacles, he grabbed robot cats and held them tight or smashed them into one another. The last time we faced Mechanikat he almost made the Dog Star go nova, remember?

"You're a shapeshifter?" Chameleon Boy asked with a beaming grin. "A really good shapeshifter! What kind of animal do you call that?" He copied the collie's own form and soon two airborne octopi were wreaking surreal damage on their enemies.

I can become any creature I can imagine, Chameleon Collie explained. He changed forms again, this time into something resembling a twelve foot long mirror-plated armadillo. The cats' laser eyes reflected off of his hide and caused even more damage to themselves.

"That's fantastic!" Cham continued, becoming a hummingbird an instant before some of the cats began to fire upon him and dodging their clumsy blasts. "I wish I could do that, but my people are mimics. We can only copy forms we've seen."

Krypto suddenly flinched. Mammoth Miss is calling me, he advised the others. I'll broadcast her communication to everyone.

Mammoth Miss's frightened voice continued. Krypto! One of the cats took Prophetic Pup and teleported away! We can't re-establish telepathic contact with her!

Krypto bit through the last remaining cat's mechanical throat and tore it to shreds. We're all finished here Mammoth Miss, let the others know we're en route immediately.

"Uh, Krypto..?" Gas Girl's misty form floated before the white dog. "We might have our own problems actually..."

Krypto looked around. He and Gas Girl were surrounded by piles of mechanical debris, but Hot Dog, Chameleon Collie and Chameleon Boy were nowhere to be seen.

All of these attacks must have been a ruse to draw us out into the open! Krypto growled. Well played, mystery villain. Well played.

But every dog has his day, and you're about to have yours!

TO BE CONCLUDED!

In hummingbird form, Chameleon Boy had landed on top of a robotic cat's head just as it had grabbed hold of the aptly named Chameleon Collie. Chameleon Boy had planned on becoming a horned Braalian constrictor to wrest the mechanical menace's head from its shoulders, but in a flash of light the cat had teleported and taken both shapeshifting heroes with it.

They weren't the only ones here either. Hot Dog and Prophetic Pup were nearby, also held by robotic felines. All of the heroes were in a state of physical shock after the jarring teleportation, and in no shape to fight back when the cats hurled the Space Canine Patrol Agents in a heap before them. Cham realised his own presence here must be both accidental and unrecognised, because none of the cats had made a move on him. By the time he recovered his faculties enough to take action, his canine allies were already surrounded by a luminescent sphere of light.

The robotic cats walked away into the darkness of the room where they'd all been transported, and Cham quickly took flight. He could see the three dogs inside the force sphere had all come to their senses now and were fighting to break out, but their struggle seemed fruitless. Before Cham could take a stronger form to help, a new figure came out of the darkness.

At long last, a high-pitched voice sounded telepathically in all of their skulls, the time has come for the circle to complete itself! The voice's owner was an actual cat, though the strangest one Cham had ever seen. It was black with white paws and white markings that gave it the appearance of a fuzzy hairpiece and moustache upon its feline head. It also had an almost perfectly round white circle on its chest between its two front limbs. Aside from its normal four legs, it also had three extra elongated green limbs growing out from each side of its body. The extra limbs seemed to have a life of their own, all of them tapping or swaying with no relation to the other limbs around them. There was something about this that seemed awfully familiar, but Cham couldn't put his finger on what that was exactly. The SPCA seemed to be in no immediate danger, so he decided to stay in the shadows of the unlit room and gather more information before making his move.

Who are you? Chameleon Collie barked. Why have you dognapped us?

It won't matter when I burn our way out of here, Hot Dog snarled.

Struggle all you like, my one-time friends! the cat seemed to smile. My karmaglobe will hold fast!

We're no friends of yours, Prophetic Pup retorted, and you haven't answered our question! Who are you?

At one time you called me other names, the cat's extra limbs gesticulated dramatically, Lover, liege, brother...now though you may call me the maundering Dr Meowvale!

In his hiding place, Cham shook his head in disbelief. It couldn't be possible...then he saw the feline villain's head move up and down as he cackled furiously. The noise wasn't quite the same coming from non-humanoid vocal cords, but the laugh unmistakably belonged to only one maniac...and if Cham's one prior encounter with him was any indication, he was going to be laughing for a while. Cham didn't know how a sentient cat tens of thousands of years in the future could possibly be the same entity as the humanoid Dr Mayavale he'd faced once in his own time, but they were unmistakably the same being. This encounter was panning out almost exactly the same as it had when Mayavale had abducted Chameleon Boy, Dream Girl and Karate Kid so long ago. The Durlan decided it might be time to throw an omniwrench in the works.

"That's enough Meowvale!" He shapeshifted into an enormous orange-furred sabretooth tiger and leaped down to confront the much smaller cat. "You didn't succeed the first time you did this, what makes you think you'll win now?"

Meowvale's back arched in fright. You're not a part of my plan! he hissed. How did you get in here? I thought of everything! My minions were equipped only to collect those with the correct psychodestine auras!

"No doubt," Cham edged closer. "But this isn't the first time you've tried to seek your twisted revenge on a precog, a shapeshifter and a hand...er, paw to paw fighter, is it? Maybe your equipment figured if I fit the bill once, I would again!"

Meowvale's eyes widened. You! How could you possibly be here in this form? You've already reincarnated--

"I don't know if I believe in reincarnation," Chameleon Boy countered, "But I definitely believe in karmic retribution, just like the sort you're about to get!" He pounced at the much smaller cat, and Meowvale gave a panicked yelp and ran away. Before the evil cat could run more than ten feet, there was a tremendous crash and a section of the ceiling caved in revealing a starlit sky beyond. Duplicate Damsel, Comet Queen, Gas Girl and Quislet hovered above with the rest of the SPCA.

You may have cut our friends off from the Headnet, Krypto glowered, but I can follow a scent and hear a heartbeat across light years, Meowvale. You couldn't possibly believe you'd get away with this.

I have had hundreds of thousands of lifetimes to prepare! Dr Meowvale ranted. I may not have expected this level of intrusion, but I have prepared for it just the same! With a mental command, he activated the lights and the heroes saw that they were in a room the size of a sporting stadium. It was cluttered with devices and weapons from countless eras, and all of those things now hummed to life. Let us see how well you fare against the warworks of a thousand thousand years, interlopers!

The battle was short and embarassingly one-sided. Krypto, Bull Dog and Quislet made short work of most of Meowvale's anachronistic arsenal within minutes, and Cham in sabretooth tiger form was soon carrying Meowvale back to the others by the scruff of his neck while Krypto liberated his captured teammates. Chameleon Boy dumped a scowling Meowvale before the others and resumed his normal orange-skinned form. "This is without a doubt the absolute strangest adventure I've ever had as a Legionnaire," he admitted. "What do we do with this little fellow now?"

"Oh he's kinda gleaming don'tcha think?" Comet Queen leaned forward, hands resting on her thighs. "This whole future is so hypernova blazing, you guys!"

We thank you for your assistance, Krypto spoke on behalf of his team. Once we have secured Dr Meowvale in custody, I am certain that we return the favor and send you home, Legionnaires.

"Really?" Gas Girl beamed. "That'd be great, thanks so much! It's been a lot of fun being here, but--" Multi-coloured light filled the bald heroine's field of vision, and cleared just as quickly. "--it'll be really good to go...home..?" she finished in a daze. Neither she nor the four Legionnaires accompanying her were in Dr Meowvale's lair any more. All around them, groups of Legionnaires stood equally as confused as Gas Girl herself. In front of the assembled Legionnaires stood Chameleon Girl, Dream Girl, Star Boy, Sun Boy, Polar Boy, another version of Duplicate Damsel along with someone who seemed to be the Infinite Man himself and a handful of heroes Gas Girl didn't recognise at all.

The new Duplicate Damsel stood before the star-skinned male everyone was now glaring at. "Legionnaires! Before you over-react, this is not the Infinite Man! He's a Legionnaire from our future called the Infinite Boy, and if it wasn't for him none of you would be standing here right now! This is the Legion of Superheroes from 3035, we're currently in their base of--"

"Yera!" Gim Allon's voice bellowed through the assemblage of heroes. He pushed his way through the crowd and grabbed his wife, picking her up and kissing her passionately. Tears streamed down her face as she embraced her husband and Saturn Empress watched their reunion with a quiet sadness.

"Wait a minute," Ultra Boy hollered as the other Legionnaires chatted excitedly amongst themselves. "We're not all here! Where's Tinya?"

The Duplicate Damsels reintegrated and the one remaining Luornu staggered under the weight of their experiences. While Chameleon Boy supported her, she tried to regain enough control to take charge but there was so much to take in...the death of yet another of her bodies protecting Kid Computo, the destruction of Trom, learning about the Intergalactic Law Patrol and the Oversight Watch, poor Yera's child...she needed a couple of minutes, but she could hear the Legionnaires around her already building to a crescendo of near-panic.

"Where are Superboy and Supergirl?"

"Brainy!"

"My brother, where's my brother? Where's Jacques?"

"Bouncy!" Comet Queen's shrill terror cut through Luornu's haze of confusion like a knife. "Where's my Bouncy?!"

Duplicate Damsel steadied herself and placed a hand on Comet Queen's arm. "Legionnaires!" she shouted. Everyone stopped and stared mutely at her, the only sound in the room Grava's short shallow breaths. Luornu's heart was pounding. The Infinite Boy had used his power to latch on to all the versions of her which had been flung throughout time, he'd made the Duplicate Damsel who'd landed in this time his anchor and through her latched on to every other displaced Duplicate Damsel and the Legionnaires who'd accompanied her. But he'd warned her before he started that finding any Legionnaires who'd been separated from her was an impossible task. Luornu looked around. There were more than a dozen Legionnaires missing, her husband among them. Mon-El, Superboy, Supergirl, Blok, Diamond Damsel....they were without most of their heavy hitters too. Still, she had to take action. "We're going to go home," she announced, her voice trembling. "The Infinite Boy's going to take us home, we'll deal with the Infinite Man, and we'll find our lost Legionnaires."

"How are we supposed to do that?" Wildfire challenged her. "Brainy got us in this mess in the first place using Tyroc's power and they're both missing!"

"We're the Legion of Superheroes," she answered with as much strength as she could. "We'll find a way." She was terrified that Wildfire was right. Without Brainiac 5 or Tyroc, they had no chance of breaching the Flashpoint barrier again. But they needed to go home. If she stayed here, she was worried she'd become too scared to ever want to leave. Luornu turned to the Infinite Boy. "Can you send us home please?"

"I can take you home," he answered. "My power's pretty versatile, but honestly I don't trust my control of it enough to send a dozen or so people to an exact point in time without accompanying you all there. I might even be able to help you out with your Infinite Man problem while I'm there!"

"Thank you Kando," Luornu smiled, her voice catching in her throat. "Let's go before I lose my resolve."

"Back soon everyone," the Infinite Boy waved to his own teammates. He closed his eyes and focused on his task. His face was peaceful at first, though soon grew a frown.

"Is everything okay?" Saturn Empress asked, concerned.

"It's fine," the Infinite Boy mumbled, "Just seems to be some...weird congestion..? Okay, try it now." The Infinite Boy and every Legionnaire from the past vanished in a rainbow flare of light.

When their vision cleared, they found themselves once more in the familiar surrounds of Weisinger Plaza. The Infinite Man wasn't here though, nor were any of his temporally displaced army of warriors. They did notice that their headquarters was surrounded by Science Police, who saw the Legionnaires now and started running towards them. Before any of the dazed heroes could respond, a red and blue blur suddenly shredded the ground before them at blinding speed. Where once had been a vast expanse of open plaza was now a trench that descended at least two levels below the ground and more than a dozen feet across. A wall of impenetrable shadow fell over the moat, completely segregating the Legionnaires from their base.

"What...what's going on?" Light Lad asked.

A noise like the rushing of wind sounded, and the Legionnaires were bathed in a lavender light. They all turned to its source, a large portal crackling with mystic energies. The portal's creator stood shaking before it, the sorcerous Legion Academy student known only as Glorith. "I can't hold it open for long," she uttered in a tiny voice. "Saturn Girl, please..."

"You're doing an excellent job," Saturn Girl reassured the girl. "But still, we don't have time to waste. Legionnaires, it's good to see you all but reunions are going to have to wait. Come through the portal please."

Cosmic Boy stepped forward. "Imra? What's this about? What about the Infinite Man?"

"The Infinite Man's not a problem anymore." The Legionnaires heard Shadow Lad's voice and looked up to watch he and Supergirl descend from above.

"That's not going to keep us safe long," Supergirl said, eyeing off the wall of darkness. "Guys, really we have to go." She, Saturn Girl and Shadow Lad started leading their teammates through Glorith's portal.

Cosmic Boy stood aside to let the others go through first so he could talk to Saturn Girl again. "Imra...if the Infinite Man's not a problem anymore, then who are we hiding from?"

"Somebody worse," Imra Ardeen Ranzz answered perhaps her oldest friend.

"Somebody much worse."

TO BE CONTINUED..!

NEARLY DONE! I am so excited to get the team back together again in their proper time! No doubt everyone has heaps of questions after this chapter...why are Saturn Girl and Glorith involved now? Who's worse than the Infinite Man? Why are they hiding from the Science Police? All of these questions and more will be answered, but first as the below scorecard shows, we've got one tiny team to go......

BRAINIAC 5: Early 21st century Smallville
CHAMELEON BOY: 851st century
CHAMELEON GIRL: Legion World, 3035
COLOSSAL BOY: Trom, doomsday
COMET QUEEN: 851st century
COSMIC BOY: Weber's World, 2980s
DAWNSTAR: Smallville, 1871
DRAGONMAGE: Central City, 2038
DREAM GIRL: Legion World, 3035
DUPLICATE DAMSEL (deputy leader): Legion World, 3035 / Smallville, 1871 / Trom, doomsday / Weber's World, 2980s / 851st century
ELASTIC LAD: Weber's World, 2980s
ELEMENT LAD: Smallville, 1871
GAS GIRL (Legion ally): 851st century
INFECTIOUS LASS: Central City, 2038
INVISIBLE KID II: Central City, 2038
KID COMPUTO: Smallville, 1871
LIGHT LAD: Trom, doomsday
LIGHTNING LASS: Trom, doomsday
MATTER-EATER LAD: Smallville, 1871
MON-EL: Central City, 2038
NIGHT GIRL: Weber's World, 2980s
NIGHTWIND: Central City, 2038
POLAR BOY: Legion World, 3035
QUISLET: 851st century
SHADOW LAD: Early 21st century Smallville
SHRINKING VIOLET: Trom, doomsday
STAR BOY: Legion World, 3035
SUN BOY: Legion World, 3035
SUPERBOY: Early 21st century Smallville, remained behind
SUPERGIRL: Early 21st century Smallville
TELLUS: Weber's World, 2980s
TIMBER WOLF: Trom, doomsday
TYROC: Central City, 2038, remained behind
ULTRA BOY: Weber's World, 2980s
WILDFIRE: Smallville, 1871

BLOK
BOUNCING BOY (leader)
DIAMOND DAMSEL
PHANTOM GIRL

Wow. Just when I thought things would settle down, you knock us for a loop! Worse than the Infinite Man? Running from the Science Police? Makes me think of Mordru or Universo, but... Darkseid maybe?

Maybe we'll find out more when we see where the last team's ended up. And, it looks like the group with Mon-El is going to be in for a very nasty shock...

Tinya Wazzo came to her senses to see Bouncing Boy's inflated form careening straight at her. With a startled yelp, she turned intangible just in time for Chuck to speed harmlessly through her. The Legion of Superheroes' leader ricocheted off the rock hard form of Blok directly behind Tinya and straight up into the cloudless blue sky above them.

"Chuck!" Phantom Girl shaded her eyes from the blazing sun and craned her neck to watch her longtime teammate dwindle in size as he rocketed away.

"I am sorry," Blok apologised. "I am confused though, Phantom Girl. We do not seem to be in Metropolis anymore?"

"We're not," Phantom Girl confirmed. She turned her attention from Bouncing Boy to their surroundings. They were surrounded by lush vegetation on all sides and insects flitted around them. There was no sign of their other teammates or the Infinite Man and his minions, but Tinya felt that it might be best to remain intangible for the moment just to be on the safe side. "I don't know where we are Blok, and I don't know if there's anywhere on Earth like this. Can you raise anyone else? The Infinite Man must have separated us."

Blok sent out a call to the team on his flight ring but to no avail. He'd just finished trying a second time when a now deflated Bouncing Boy returned. "Nobody else is answering you either, huh?"

"Unfortunately not," Blok answered. "I hope I did not hurt you, Bouncing Boy."

Chuck Taine gave a good-natured smile. "I may not look the part, but I'm pretty tough when I'm bouncing. Wasn't your fault anyway, so don't sweat it." He wiped perspiration from his forehead, rolled his sleeves up to his elbows and unzipped the top of his uniform. "Speaking of sweat, this heat is insane! I don't know where we are, but there's no sign of civilisation anywhere...we'd better find some fresh water because I've got a feeling we're gonna be here for a while, guys."

Seeing her leader's obvious physical discomfort, Phantom Girl was quietly grateful that her power protected her from temperature extremes as easily as it did physical force. She didn't at all like the idea of staying here any longer than necessary though. "Do you think it's that bad, Chuck? Even if we can't contact any other Legionnaires we should be able to find a Science Police outpost, right?"

Bouncing Boy shook his head. "I tried calling the SP on my way back down when I couldn't reach any other Legionnaires. No go. Also, I covered quite a bit of distance when I was up there. We're in a clearing here, but all around us there are trees pretty much as far as the eye can see. No buildings, no signs of technology at all. I don't know if you can tell but even the air smells more natural. I don't know if this is a reserve or unexplored territory, but I'm pretty sure we're alone here."

"Well that's--"

"Ssh," Chuck hissed. "You hear that?"

Phantom Girl and Blok strained to listen. There was the buzz of flying insects and much further away the exotic calls of the native wildlife. Then they too heard what Chuck had heard. Something else else was rustling through the foliage, breaking branches as it came their way. The crashing came closer and closer, and Bouncing Boy inflated his form once more in preparation of whatever this might be. The plant life here was so thick that they didn't see the intruder until she was almost in their midst.

"Diamond Damsel!" Blok exclaimed joyfully as a gleaming multi-faceted arm smashed through the final low-hanging branch barring her way.

"I'm glad you're all still here!" Diamond Damsel returned the greeting. "I saw Bouncing Boy go flying a couple of minutes ago and thought the fight might have moved over here...wherever here is!"

"I think it's us who have moved from the fight," Bouncing Boy said. "Or who've been moved from it. Why didn't you answer your flight ring?"

"One of the Infinite Man's 23rd century shocktroopers shot me with a pulse gun," Diamond Damsel explained. "He must have assumed I was a robot, he was quite...well, shocked...when I kept coming for him. The pulse fried my flight ring though, so I'm groundbound and without any comms."

"If you saw me up there," Chuck reasoned, "Someone else may have too. Maybe we should see if we can attract some more Legionnaires before we go looking for water and shelter. Blok and Diamond Damsel, you two stay here and make a racket. Phantom Girl, join me up top? We'll be the only things in the sky for miles, if there is anyone else here they should be able to see us easily enough."

"Sure, I--" Phantom Girl heard more rustling to her left and turned around. "Hey, they might have beat us to it!" Again, the heroes heard something coming closer and waited expectantly for more of their friends. Instead, they saw a handful of tiny blue reptiles leap out of the underbrush and straight through the clearing on their hind legs. The creatures didn't seem to even notice the Legionnaires' presence. "Cute," Phantom Girl shrugged, "Rude though, they didn't even stop to say hi!"

An ear-splitting shriek filled the clearing, and half a dozen more lizards became visible. These ones were much larger, almost six feet tall. They were covered in tiny orange feathers with pale white underbellies, and like their prey they too ran upright. They had long snouts with razor-sharp fangs and they all bore three talons on each limb. With lightning speed, the leader of the pack slashed straight through Phantom Girl without effect. The creature lost its balance and tumbled into the clearing, with one of its fellows soon leaping through Tinya to join the first predator in a vicious jumble. "Not very smart attacking a phantom," Tinya teased them.

"They're not very smart or friendly," Bouncing Boy added. Using his flight ring for propulsion, he charged straight into another of the creatures then bounced into yet another. He knocked both the lizards off of their haunches, though they quickly recovered and bolted.

Blok held his hands up peacefully as the last two animals launched themselves at him. "Please," the gentle giant pleaded. "You cannot injure me and I do not wish you harm." The beasts ripped at him with utter savagery, breaking their claws against his stone epidermis. They yowled in pain and followed the other pair through the greenery.

"They can't understand you, Blok. They're just dumb animals." Diamond Damsel approached the two lizards who'd tried to kill Phantom Girl. They were caught in some kind of frenzy now, so preoccupied with ripping into one another that they didn't even register anything else around them anymore. Diamond Damsel grabbed both the lizards by their hefty tails. She swung one of them into a nearby tree trunk hard enough to knock the creature out, and the other she hurled into the distance.

"That was a little extreme, wasn't it?" Phantom Girl asked in obvious distaste. "You said yourself they're just dumb animals, we could have scared them away."

"If my suspicions are right, I think we're about to have a lot more to worry about than an ethical disagreement," Diamond Damsel responded. She kneeled on the ground by the animal she'd knocked out and examined one of its hind limbs.

"What suspicions?" Bouncing Boy asked. "What are you thinking, Diamond Damsel?"

"Before I was trapped in this form I was a librarian. I've only ever seen pictures of fossils, but see this?" She held the foot up so everyone could see. "This giant sickle-shaped claw on its foot? I think these are velociraptors."

"What are velociraptors?" Bouncing Boy frowned. "Are we supposed to recognise them?"

"Maybe not Blok or Phantom Girl," Diamond Damsel looked from one of her teammates to the next. "But you're from Earth, Bouncing Boy. I thought you'd know what this means."

"If these velociraptors are Earth animals, is this not good news?" Blok asked.

"No," Diamond Damsel bowed her head. "It's really not. Because velociraptors were Earth animals...

...75 million years ago."

TO BE CONTINUED!

Blok, Diamond Damsel and Chuck Taine made an odd threesome as they waited expectantly for the return of their absent comrade. Blok's appearance hadn't changed at all since the Legionnaires' exile from their home era. Diamond Damsel's costume had once been bright pink and blue but was now faded, covered in dirt and dried blood. It was torn in several places and her boots had long since been discarded. Her actual body however remained as flawless as ever. Of the three of them, Chuck was the one who most bore the burden of their time away from home. He'd lost weight since they'd been here, nearly 40 pounds in total. He'd ripped the sleeves from his costume several weeks ago, and his hairy chest and belly were exposed to the sun constantly as this climate was far too humid to be constrained by a closed seam. A bushy black beard hid the lower part of his face, and he had to constantly wipe his sweat-soaked fringe from his eyes.

Right on time, Tinya Wazzo slowly faded into view before them. Her own white costume was streaked with dirt, and her hair was tied back into two distinct ponytails which reached the middle of her back. Chuck's eyes lit up as he saw Tinya return from her interdimensional excursion. "What did you find?" he asked with a hint of desperate excitement.

Tinya simply burst into tears. Diamond Damsel and Blok shared a silent communication while Chuck placed an arm around Tinya's shoulder. "Hey," he soothed, "It's okay, don't let it get to you. We'll get out of here, PG. Doesn't matter how long it takes us, we'll find a way."

"I'm sorry!" the young Bgltzr woman blurted. "It's just been so long, you know? I just...I really miss Jo and my mom and my brother...I don't know how much longer I can do this, Chuck! It's been...how long, 5 months now?"

"158 days," Diamond Damsel answered flatly.

"Nobody's come to rescue us and every day I use my power to go to Bgltz to search for help and every day there's nothing there but volcanoes and lakes of lava! We're going to die millions of years in our own past and nobody will ever even know what happened to us!" Tinya shuddered with heaving sobs and buried her face into Chuck's chest.

Chuck cast a sad look at Blok and Diamond Damsel while he stroked Tinya's hair. He turned his gaze to the setting sun and self-consciously straightened his posture. "It's getting late," he announced. "Why don't we make shelter for the night and we can figure out our next move tomorrow?"

"We'll get to work," Diamond Damsel nodded. "Come on, Blok." She nudged him in the side and the two powerhouses walked away to gather construction materials while Chuck comforted Tinya.

Two hours later, the night sky was filled with stars and Blok and Diamond Damsel sat around a campfire while Chuck and Tinya lay beneath the log shelter that had been made for them. While both Chuck and Tinya had initially felt guilty about letting Blok and Diamond Damsel take on night watch for the group, it had soon become apparent that it was simply practical. Due to their inhuman physiologies, neither Blok nor Diamond Damsel needed sleep the way Chuck and Tinya did.

After months of practice, Diamond Damsel and Blok had become quite proficient at building a weatherproof shelter out of materials at hand for their friends who needed it. The shelter was roughly ten feet cubed, giving Chuck and Tinya enough room to sleep on either side with space to spare. They'd been fortunate enough to find trees whose leaves grew as large as their own bodies, and it didn't take much creativity to turn those leaves into very primitive bedding. It never grew cold enough for them to need more than one rubbery leaf's thickness to keep them comfortable and more often than not even that was too much. They also had to build the shelter far enough from the fire that they didn't feel like they were basting in their own sweat. Blok and Diamond Damsel both sat with their backs to their friends, and as Tinya watched the light of the flame dance very differently off of their indestructible bodies she was struck with the realisation of how long it had been since she'd felt Jo's arms around her. "Chuck?" she asked timidly. "Can I lie next to you..?"

"Sure," he smiled wearily. "Scoot over." Tinya picked up her makeshift sheet and dragged it across the dirt floor of the shelter feeling suddenly very childlike. Before their exile here, neither of them would even have considered this kind of intimacy. Their relationship had changed over the months though. All four of them had grown closer, but Chuck and Tinya especially so. The four friends still believed they'd find home again, even if some days they had to force themselves to believe just to have a reason to survive. But though none of them spoke it they all knew that if there was no rescue, if they never did find their friends and family again, Chuck and Tinya would die here a long time before Diamond Damsel and Blok. Chuck and Tinya's shared vulnerability had become a powerful platonic bond between them.

Tinya lay in front of Chuck, resting her head on his outstretched arm. It was too humid for them to be much closer, but any physical contact was a salve. Her back to him, Tinya continued to watch Diamond Damsel and Blok. It was almost meditative to just watch their prone forms, not even the rise and fall of lungs betraying that they were alive.

Chuck gently moved Tinya's hair away from her face and behind her ear. "I wonder what Lu's doing right now," he mused.

"It's time travel," Tinya replied with a soft smile that he could hear in her voice. "Somewhen, you're already home lying next to her right now....then...in the future, whatever."

"Heh," Chuck grinned. "Good point." They lapsed into a mutual silence for a minute before he continued. "Hey PG..? Can I ask you a question?"

Tinya nodded wordlessly.

"How come you and Ultra Boy never got married?" he asked. "After Garth and Imra and me and Lu, I thought for sure you two would be the next ones down the aisle. You've never been interested?"

Tinya answered without changing position. "Marriage is...different on Bgltz. It's something we do to commemorate a lifetime spent with the person we love. I guess you guys have spatial privacy, we have personal privacy. The only thing you can ever really keep private on Bgltz is your own sense of identity, so giving that up...or compromising it might be a better way to put it...it's a big deal, even if it is just a symbolic gesture." She rolled around to face Chuck, still lying on his arm. "Don't get me wrong, I love Jo and I want us to be together forever...and if I thought for a second that it was something important to him I'd be honoured to be his wife, but giving up even the tiniest part of my personal privacy like that...it's not something that comes easily. And Jo...well, you know Jo's parents were never married. So it's not like he was raised to value it like some of you guys were." She allowed him a moment to digest it, then poked him playfully in the chest. "Okay, my turn."

Chuck's blue eyes shifted to meet her coquettish expression. "Hmmm?"

"How come you keep calling me PG?" she asked. "I can't remember the last time I called you by your superhero name."

He looked up at the ceiling of their shelter, flickering light dancing across the wood as he considered his answer. "To remind me," he finally answered. "Blok and Diamond Damsel don't have the duality that we do. We're Chuck Taine and Tinya Wazzo, but we're also Bouncing Boy and Phantom Girl. And Bouncing Boy and Phantom Girl are the parts of ourselves who are going to get us home."

Tinya thought about his answer then rolled over before she spoke, her back to him once more. "I'm glad I voted for you to be leader of the Legion of Superheroes, Bouncing Boy."

Then the two drifted off into a contented sleep.

**********
Diamond Damsel heard the familiar chainsaw of Chuck Taine's snores and turned away from the fire to make sure he and Tinya were both asleep. It had taken a long time for Tinya to acclimatise herself to his nightly racket but they both now were in a deep slumber. Diamond Damsel remembered the peace on Tinya's face the first time she'd slept through a whole night undisturbed. She'd looked just like a little girl.

...She was going to miss Chuck and Tinya so much when she left.

"It's time," she whispered to Blok. "We need to do this now before I lose my nerve."

Blok bowed his head in sadness. "Diamond Damsel...I am not comfortable with this. They are our allies. They are our friends."

"We need to face facts, Blok." If she still had the capacity to cry, she would cry now. "We're never going to be rescued. You know it as well as I do."

"Even more reason to stay," he countered softly. "The four of us...we are all we have in the world."

"I can't do it again, Blok. I really can't." She turned away from both him and the two sleeping heroes. "I had to watch my friends and family die once. Everybody who ever meant anything to me. I can't do that again. I can't just stay here and watch them grow old and die while we live untouched by everything forever."

Blok remained unconvinced. He cast a wistful look over Chuck and Tinya and responded. "It doesn't seem right," he frowned. "To abandon them like this..."

"Blok." Diamond Damsel placed a hand on his forearm. "You lost your whole world, I know that. But with what the Dark Man did to you...there's no personal connection. You don't remember your parents or any family...anyone you loved. I'm not downplaying the tragedy of what happened to you, but when it's people you've known and loved, to watch them age and pass...there's nothing more painful. Nothing. Besides, if my plan works, we can come back for them. We can come back and collect them from this exact moment in time, but we need to leave now so that plan can have a chance."

Diamond Damsel had shared her plan with Blok days ago. It was the ultimate long shot, but after five months here long shots were all they had left. Diamond Damsel had already survived a millenium with no ill effects. There was no reason to suspect that Blok would be any less long-lived. She planned for them to wander the Earth long enough that they could come back with a time machine themselves to save Chuck and Tinya. But a thousand years was a far cry from 75 million years, and that was assuming they didn't meet a premature end during that time. Blok had studied the Legion's case files extensively, he knew Earth had a history of powerful superhumans that was almost as old as humanity itself. There was the possibility of dementia. So much could go wrong with this plan, so much was almost utterly likely to go wrong with it. But Blok knew Diamond Damsel well enough now to know the nuances of her tone and her body language, and he knew that the truth was she didn't expect this improbable plan to work any more than he did. She just didn't want to have to watch two of her only three remaining friends die...and Blok didn't know if he had it in him to make her. "Will they be safe here?" he asked.

"In all the time we've been here, we've never had a night assault," Diamond Damsel answered. "The native animals here have never seen a man-made fire before us, it terrifies them. The fire will last till daylight, and we both know Tinya will be awake at the crack of dawn. They'll be fine, Blok."

"Very well then." Crestfallen, Blok slowly twisted his flight ring off of his finger. As big as he was, it could double as a bracelet for Tinya. He lay it by the fire hoping she'd think fondly of him when she found it in the morning.

Diamond Damsel followed suit, removing her own flight ring. Leaving it behind hit her like a punch in the gut. "Come on," she urged, unable to look at the others anymore. "Let's go then."

The two walked for some time alone in their thoughts. Blok was not at all happy about this course of action. As well as he could read her now, she could read him. He would come around though. He had to. Diamond Damsel couldn't allow herself any doubt or it would eat her alive. After half an hour of trudging through endless greenery beneath a full moon, Blok suddenly gripped Diamond Damsel's arm. His eyes were as wide as saucers. "Diamond Damsel!" he hissed. "Listen!"

She cocked her head to one side, straining to hear what Blok had heard. There was the usual rustling of nocturnal animals, the now completely familiar cries and hoots that constantly rang through the darkness. But there was something else.

There was a voice.

Half-convinced she must be delusional, Diamond Damsel started hacking a way through the ferns and vines around them both. Blok followed close behind, and soon the pair were almost running. The voice was unmistakable now, deep and soulful, chanting to the night. The voice stopped as they came closer, and they realised they themselves must be the noisiest living things for miles. "Who goes there?" the male stranger boomed.

They tore through one final wall of vines and Diamond Damsel and Blok's jaws dropped in astonishment. Not twelve feet away, standing atop a small boulder, was a stone man slightly smaller than Blok himself. Unafraid, he stepped down from the boulder and approached them. "And who might you two be, interrupting my communion with Mother Dryad?" he asked.

"D-Dryad?" Blok stammered helplessly.

"This isn't Earth?!" Diamond Damsel exclaimed.

"I know nothing of this Earth," the stone man replied as he looked Diamond Damsel up and down. "But if it brings me such creations as you, it must be a wondrous place indeed! You are called..?"

"...Diamond Damsel..." she answered vaguely. She felt as though reality were spinning around her. If this wasn't Earth, if it was in fact Dryad....how far back had the Infinite Man sent them? This planet was dead by their time, but not long dead. They could be mere years from home! For the first time in a long time, Diamond Damsel allowed herself to feel a wellspring of hope.

"My name is Blok," the gentle giant trembled. "I...I am so honored to meet you. I have never..." He found himself speechless, and resorted to simply staring at the only other member of his own race he had ever laid eyes upon.

"I imagine you two have quite the stories to tell," their new friend smiled. "Come!" he beckoned towards the boulder he'd been standing upon, and two more large flat rocks grew out of the rumbling ground. "Have a seat. I am Khor the Geomancer, and I eagerly anticipate knowing you both much better!"

...and just like that, Diamond Damsel felt hope die.

TO BE CONCLUDED!!!

Good stuff, as always. Loving the focus on Diamond Damsel, who is my favorite new fanon Legionnaire since Laser Ape!

Yay! I love Laser Ape so I will take that as a big compliment, thanks Set!

Blok watched as Diamond Damsel told Khor of Earth, a dark mood growing inside him the longer they chatted. He'd been so ecstatic to finally meet a living member of his own race for the first time, and that joy had turned to ash the instant he learned it was Khor.

Khor. The sorceror who'd shared Blok's own body once. The being whose machinations had menaced Blok's friends in the Legion of Superheroes as well as the Legion of Substitute Heroes and the entire population of the planet Zwen. Khor had done none of these things yet of course. Blok knew that he couldn't hold the man responsible for actions he hadn't yet taken, but his mind's truth was not the truth of his soul.

"Blok! Didn't you hear? That's great!"

Diamond Damsel looked at the stone hero expectantly, and Blok realised he'd been so lost in his own thoughts he had no idea what they were talking about anymore. "I apologise," he shook his head. "What was the question?"

"I have just been explaining to Diamond Damsel," Khor explained, "If her ties with her homeworld are strong enough, I may be able to create a mystic link. It will not be powerful enough to be of much use alone, but it will be powerful enough to draw attention. If this Earth has practitioners of the occult arts itself, we may be able to facilitate a line of communication."

"Don't you think that's good news, Blok?" Diamond Damsel grinned. "If nothing else, we may at least be able to figure out how far back in time we've been sent! We could even get home this way!"

Blok ignored her and glared intently at the geomancer. "At what price, Khor?"

Diamond Damsel stood and walked across to touch her friend's shoulder. "Blok...Blok, it doesn't matter. I know why you're concerned, but we don't have the luxury of choice. We've been here for months, this is the break we've been hoping so long for!"

Blok looked down at her now, and though they were in physical contact she'd never felt him so distant. "We always have a choice," he said simply. "Sometimes it is all we have."

Diamond Damsel turned away, unable to meet his gaze. "This is going to help us. The two of us and Chuck and Tinya. I have to do this, Blok."

"Very well." He stepped away from her and considered his next words carefully before speaking. "I cannot participate in this. I should never have abandoned my friends, I see that now. I am sorry, Diamond Damsel. But this is wrong." He turned and walked off into the night, back the way the two had come.

Diamond Damsel called after him almost fearfully. She wanted to chase after him, but she knew in the deepest part of herself this was going to be their only opportunity to be free of this time and place. She had to go through with this. Peering up at the moon above, she steeled herself and faced Khor.

"One does not have to be a sorceror to divine his dislike for me," Khor noted dryly. "I sense that in the future from which you hail, our relationship has not been overly friendly?"

"You could say that," Diamond Damsel replied. "Can we get this over with please? I don't mean to be rude and I'm incredibly grateful for your help, but I need to go make sure he's okay."

"Of course," Khor nodded. "All I ask is for you to share some knowledge of this future of yours in return." He raised his hand before Diamond Damsel could object. "I understand you are limited in what you can tell me, but any knowledge is power...and with more power, there is much more I may accomplish on this world. Still, let us not talk about that now. We can discuss this further after I have assisted you."

"Of course," Diamond Damsel mimicked as she forced a smile. She took some solace in knowing that whatever she told him would do him no good anyway. As long as she avoided any mention of the calamity that lay in wait for Dryad itself, there was nothing she could tell Khor that would jeopardise the timeline. She'd prefer to fulfil her end of this bargain first, having this debt hanging over her head was not at all pleasant. As long as it was all over soon though, she would just grit her teeth and barrel on through.

The two sat beneath the light of the moon and Khor talked Diamond Damsel into a meditative state. Even if he'd been a friend this wouldn't be an easy task. It had been a long time since Diamond Damsel had fully let another person inside her defences. The closest she'd come for centuries was with Blok, and she was scared that what she was doing here now would ruin that entirely. Eventually however, she relaxed enough to feel his voice guide her. The sensation was not one she could describe. She seemed to feel the cool rock beneath her, the mass of the world from which it had been born, its molten heart as if all these things were her own. Then gradually the focus shifted, the world seemed...different. She didn't know how, she couldn't possibly have explained it to another person, but she knew that she was no longer feeling herself on Dryad. This was unmistakably Earth. The link was so tenuous she wasn't entirely sure that she wasn't imagining it at times. But it was there. And then something completely unexpected happened.

"Diamond Damsel?" Khor asked. "I thought you told me you were alone among your people? That you have no stone kin?"

"I am," she answered. Even as she said it though, she knew why he'd asked. She was being drawn like a magnet to something else on this phantom Earth. Someone else. She realised with a shock that it wasn't another diamond woman at all! She sat bolt upright, shattering the spell. "...Diamondeth..." she uttered breathlessly.

"The connection between the two of you is very very strong," Khor explained. "Far stronger than it should be considering the distance between the two of you. If this woman is not your kin, then who is she?"

Diamond Damsel looked at him wide-eyed. "It...it's me. Oh my god, I...for just the tiniest fraction of a second, I was there. I was feeling what she felt, seeing what she saw. I know what time we're in now!" She saw that Khor was waiting for an explanation, so she obliged. "When I was first trapped in this form...I called myself Diamondeth and I served a horrible man. That...she...I'm there now with him. We're in the 21st century! God, her anger...I'd forgotten what it was like to be that angry all the time."

"This changes everything of course." Khor smiled and it was chilling. "...I can give you the ability to communicate with your younger self. Even to control her if you do desire. After all, she and you are the same being."

"We're not the same," Diamond Damsel protested reflexively.

"I did not mean to offend," Khor continued. "But the fact remains...you wanted to connect with somebody from your Earth, this is the best opportunity you will ever have to do so. I can help you with this, but it will not be an easy task. In fact it will be quite taxing. I am afraid I must change the terms of our agreement, Diamond Damsel. If I am going to help you with this, I think it's fair that this should be worth my while before we begin."

Diamond Damsel's mind was reeling. In the heartbeat she'd been connected to her younger self, she'd known exactly where and when Diamondeth had been. She had only served the Lord of Time for days at this stage of her life. Diamondeth had full unrestricted access to his time-travel equipment because she hadn't yet learned how to use any of it. If Diamond Damsel could take over her younger self's body, even if only for a few minutes, she could take Chuck, Tinya and Blok home herself! But she hadn't been prepared for the rage and the pain that had driven her back then. This would hurt. Then there was the matter of payment. Khor knew what this meant to her, and he knew that she knew that. He wouldn't settle for vague predictions of the future now, she was going to have to give him something really game-changing. Blok's words repeated in Diamond Damsel's mind; We always have a choice.

Diamond Damsel made her choice.

**********
Tinya Wazzo stretched and yawned as she greeted the early morning sun. The temperature was actually quite cool, she hoped that meant that the day would be pleasant later on. Her intangibility protected her from the brunt of the sun when it bore down, but she always felt guilty about using her power to keep herself comfortable when Chuck didn't have that option. She looked over to where she expected to find Blok and Diamond Damsel in their normal position by the ashes of last night's fire, and was mildly surprised to find Blok alone. Instantly she could tell something was wrong. He sat slumped, his back to Chuck and Tinya.

"Blok?" She moved over to him and touched his arm. She often asked herself if he could even feel the touch of a normal person through his rocky flesh, but she hoped he found the gesture consoling regardless. She saw that he held something golden and gleaming, tiny in the palm of his massive hand. Still sleepy, it took Tinya a moment to realise it was a flight ring. "Morning...is everything okay, big guy? Where's Diamond Damsel?"

"Phantom Girl..." She could tell that he was struggling for words, and wondered how long he'd been sitting here like this. Blok turned to look her in the eye. "We are not on Earth."

Tinya was taken aback. "What..? What do you mean?"

"This is Dryad," he continued. "My homeworld. Diamond Damsel and I discovered the truth last night while you slept."

"Wait a nano," she held up a finger. "Chuck needs to hear this."

She rushed over to the snoring man's side and shook him until he came to life with a grumbling groan. "Wha.." He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand and stifled a yawn. "Lu, wha's the 'mergency.....oh." Slightly embarassed, he cleared his throat and sat up. "Sorry Tinya. What's going on?"

"Tell us, Blok." Tinya looked over to the stone man. "Tell us what happened last night."

Blok stood and lumbered over to join his friends. "Last night...Diamond Damsel and I found out that we have been wrong all these months. This is not Earth at all, we are on Dryad."

Chuck stood up, instantly alert. "Are you sure?" he asked. "How do you know this?"

"We met Khor," Blok answered. "He is alive in this time."

"Oh wow." Chuck paced a few steps, trying to take this all in. "But...the dinosaurs...and we haven't come across any other sentient beings the entire time we've been here!"

"I am sorry I could not tell sooner," Blok bowed his head. "The population of Dryad was never as large as that of other worlds...and it seems that our animal life must be similar to that of your world's past--"

"Blok!" Tinya scolded him. "Don't you dare apologise! We know the Dark Man messed with your memories when he brainwashed you, nobody blames you for not remembering something that was taken from you! I guess that explains why I've never been able to get help from Bgltz either. Whatever world is in dimensional sync with Dryad, it's not my world!"

"But Khor," Chuck brought the conversation back around to him. "Blok, are you sure?"

"I am certain," Blok nodded. "Diamond Damsel is with him now. I...I could not abide his help, Bouncing Boy. But in denying him I may have doomed us to stay here forever. Did I make the right decision?"

"I'm sure you did," Chuck replied. "We'll find another way, Blok. Right now, we'd better go find Diamond Damsel. I don't trust him alone with her for a second."

"How did you even find him?" Tinya asked. "Did he see our fire?"

Blok was at a loss for words. How could he explain to them that he'd abandoned them? Before he had to try, a familiar voice called out to them all.

"Diamond Damsel!" Tinya greeted the diamond heroine with relief as she pushed through the foliage. "Are you alright? He didn't try anything creepy, did he?"

"I'm fine," she answered. "We need to move though, I don't want to give him a chance to notice it's gone."

"Move where?" Chuck asked. "You've taken something from Khor? Diamond Damsel, I'm not sure that's wise--"

"Not Khor." She pulled aside a wall of vines. "The Lord of Time." Behind Diamond Damsel, the three heroes saw the first sign of technology any of them had laid eyes on since they arrived here. It was a transparent cube, glowing circuits embedded in its walls and a console inside covered in buttons and screen displays.

Chuck's eyes widened. "Is that..."

"A time cube," Diamond Damsel confirmed. "I stole it from him. Actually, thanks to Khor I possessed my younger self and she stole it from him. He's got her sedated at the moment, but we need to move as fast as possible before the Lord of Time notices this is missing and comes after us. Once we're home I'll reprogram it to come back here and Khor can send my younger self back to make the stupid mistakes I'm bound to make none the wiser that this ever happened."

"Why would Khor help you with this?" Blok asked.

"It doesn't matter," Diamond Damsel deflected his question. "Blok, please! We can talk about this later, but we need to move."

"She's right," Chuck took charge. "Diamond Damsel, what you've done today...I don't know how we can ever repay you."

"It's what any Legionnaire would have done," she replied hastily. She gestured toward the open door of the time cube. "Now please, guys."

Tinya ran to Diamond Damsel and hugged her spontaneously, her eyes welling with tears. "I can't believe we're really going home! Home! Diamond Damsel, I could kiss you!"

Chuck followed Tinya into the cube, Blok slowly bringing up the rear. "Here." He handed Diamond Damsel's flight ring back to her. "This belongs to you."

"Blok..." Diamond Damsel couldn't read him at all and it made her profoundly sad. She tried to say the words to make it right, but he'd already entered the time cube. Looking down at her flight ring, she slid it onto her finger. She pushed her emotions down where she could deal with them later and she followed the others into the time cube.

And the Legion of Superheroes went home.

The last scorecard for Legion Lost! It's finished!

Next up the Legion come home and we answer the question...who could be worse than the Infinite Man?

BLOK: 21st century Dryad
BOUNCING BOY (leader): 21st century Dryad
BRAINIAC 5: Early 21st century Smallville
CHAMELEON BOY: 851st century
CHAMELEON GIRL: Legion World, 3035
COLOSSAL BOY: Trom, doomsday
COMET QUEEN: 851st century
COSMIC BOY: Weber's World, 2980s
DAWNSTAR: Smallville, 1871
DIAMOND DAMSEL: 21st century Dryad
DRAGONMAGE: Central City, 2038
DREAM GIRL: Legion World, 3035
DUPLICATE DAMSEL (deputy leader): Legion World, 3035 / Smallville, 1871 / Trom, doomsday / Weber's World, 2980s / 851st century
ELASTIC LAD: Weber's World, 2980s
ELEMENT LAD: Smallville, 1871
GAS GIRL (Legion ally): 851st century
INFECTIOUS LASS: Central City, 2038
INVISIBLE KID II: Central City, 2038
KID COMPUTO: Smallville, 1871
LIGHT LAD: Trom, doomsday
LIGHTNING LASS: Trom, doomsday
MATTER-EATER LAD: Smallville, 1871
MON-EL: Central City, 2038
NIGHT GIRL: Weber's World, 2980s
NIGHTWIND: Central City, 2038
PHANTOM GIRL: 21st century Dryad
POLAR BOY: Legion World, 3035
QUISLET: 851st century
SHADOW LAD: Early 21st century Smallville
SHRINKING VIOLET: Trom, doomsday
STAR BOY: Legion World, 3035
SUN BOY: Legion World, 3035
SUPERBOY: Early 21st century Smallville, remained behind
SUPERGIRL: Early 21st century Smallville
TELLUS: Weber's World, 2980s
TIMBER WOLF: Trom, doomsday
TYROC: Central City, 2038, remained behind
ULTRA BOY: Weber's World, 2980s
WILDFIRE: Smallville, 1871

Wow! That wraps it up pretty nicely. I'm glad Diamond Damsel didn't even think for a moment of changing her own history - that is a very heroic thing to do and makes me like her much, much more. Can't wait to see what you have in store next.

MONTAUK POINT
Legion Academy
Lightning Lad watched his students navigate the Legion Academy's reactive aerial obstacle course using flight rings that had been provided to them for training. Some of the students were more advanced than others, none more so surprisingly than Laurel Kent. According to her student records Laurel had a tendency to over-rely on her own natural invulnerability and had traditionally scored poorly in agility tests. Since she'd rejoined the Academy however both Garth Ranzz and his wife Imra had noticed Laurel was really making an effort to broaden her skill set. Garth knew she hated having to remain at the Academy as a student while all of her old friends had moved on. He supposed she was pushing herself to get out of here as soon as possible. Good for you, Garth thought with a smile. I wish all these kids had that kind of constructive attitude.

As if to illustrate the point, Dragonwing strayed too close to a whirling three-pronged fork mounted at a right angle on the wall of the training room. Her voluminous duster was caught up in the fork's tines and with an undignified yelp she was yanked into the device. She spat acid, melting it into slag. "Stupid sprocking machine!" the red-haired teen cursed, examining her distinctive coat for tears while the animated dragon image programmed into the coat continued to writhe and turn across its surface.

Garth used his own flight ring to levitate the twenty feet between himself and his young student, the room programmed to automatically avoid anyone recognised as faculty staff. "We're not testing how well you can damage school property, Marya."

"This is stupid!" she exploded. "When am I ever going to need to dodge something I can destroy?"

Lightning Lad was unfazed by her anger. In truth, she reminded him more than a little of the recklessness of his own youth. That recklessness had cost him his arm once and even his life briefly before he'd learned the error of his ways. He was damn well going to make sure these kids didn't have to pay that price if he could help it. "There's always going to be something out there tougher than you are, Dragonwing. I've learned it, every Legionnaire's learned it. Sometimes discretion really is the better part of valor."

Before he could continue, Lightning Lad felt his wife's telepathic voice inside his skull. Garth, I don't want to alert the students just yet but can you please meet me in the staffroom immediately? Lightning Lad knew that Saturn Girl wouldn't normally use her powers when the intercom was available He didn't need to ask any questions, this was obviously gravely important. "Alright everybody!" he announced. "I'm leaving you to the room for a while. I'll downgrade the obstacle course while you're not being directly monitored but don't slack off! Gravity Kid, Laurel, you're our best fliers. I want you to help the others if they need it!"

The two students gave their assent and Lightning Lad left them all to it.

"Why do you think he left in such a hurry?" Lullabye Lad asked.

Laurel Kent watched their teacher leave, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Only one thing ever made Bouncing Boy or Duplicate Damsel leave us in the middle of a lesson like that," she answered.

"Legion business."

**********
The Academy's security system recognised Garth Ranzz as he approached the portal to the staffroom and automatically allowed him ingress. When he walked in, he found three women waiting for him; his wife and fellow Legion founder Saturn Girl, the Legion of Superheroes' Science Police liaison Shvaughn Erin and a blonde in a tight red bodysuit with holes strategically cut out to reveal patches of flesh. Vivid blue skinpatches surrounded her eyes, almost giving the appearance of butterfly wings spanning her face.

"Shvaughn!" Garth kissed the seated officer on the cheek. "I'd like to say it's a pleasure, but as you're in full uniform I have a feeling it's not going to be. And this is Calorie Queen if I'm not mistaken?"

"Sorry to have to meet you under these circumstances, Lightning Lad." Calorie Queen offered her hand and Garth shook it. He had first heard of Calorie Queen years ago when she'd assaulted his wife and several other Legionnaires after being rejected for Legion membership. Since then, she seemed to have matured. Lightning Lad had heard she was an occasional heroine on her native Bismoll, unlike some of the other so-called Super Rejects who had turned to a life of crime. None of that explained why she was here today though.

"What circumstances are they exactly?" Garth asked as he took a seat next to his wife.

"There's no easy way to say this," Shvaughn explained, "So I'll just come out and tell you what I told Saturn Girl. The Infinite Man has taken over Legion headquarters, and he's done something to the Legion. We're hoping they're still alive, but honestly we don't know."

"I was on my way to visit Salu - Shrinking Violet - when I saw there was some kind of enormous battle happening in Weisinger Plaza," Calorie Queen continued. "I'd just decided to help out when he waved his hands and they all vanished into thin air. I don't know if he killed them or sent them away somewhere or what happened, but I figured anybody who could do that to the Legion of Superheroes is a little out of my league. So I went to the Science Police."

"There's no trace of them at all," Saturn Girl noted without any obvious trace of emotion, though Garth knew she must be as concerned as he was. "Shvaughn and Calorie Queen came to us when they couldn't reach anybody on their flight rings, and I haven't been able to make telepathic contact with anybody either."

"Where is the Infinite Man now?" Garth asked.

"As far as we know he's still at Legion Headquarters," Shvaughn answered. "I've managed to convince my superiors that if he could deal with the entire contingent of the Legion of Superheroes that easily, we could throw a solar system's worth of Science Police at him and it won't make a difference. Frankly, I'm at a loss what to do. I know you two aren't active members of the team anymore, but can you help us?"

"It's not even a question!" Garth replied without hesitation. "We'll need more people though. Imra, can you call Englenna and tell her we'll need her to watch Graym and Garridan?"

"Already done," Saturn Girl nodded. She placed a hand on Shvaughn's knee, the warmest gesture Shvaughn had ever experienced from Imra Ardeen Ranzz. "I know the Legion," Imra said with quiet confidence. "I don't know what the Infinite Man's done to them, but they'll find a way to come through. They always do." Imra turned back to her husband. "Let's make some calls."

**********
70 minutes later, Saturn Girl was in the Academy's comms suite, the holographic visage of Queen Projectra of Orando before her. "I understand," Imra nodded. "If you don't hear from us by tomorrow, the magnoball's in your court." Imra tapped at the touchscreen before her and Projectra blinked out of view. Saturn Girl swivelled her chair to face the others. "Sensor Girl's out," she reported. "There's a situation on Orando she can't leave unattended. I've told her what's going on though, she's prepared to hunt down the Wanderers if we can't deal with this ourselves."

"I can't reach Shadow Lass," Lightning Lad advised. "The whole Talok system's cut off for some reason...which is something we'll need to investigate, but one crisis at a time. I'm glad you could all come to help though."

The nine heroes who constituted the Legion of Substitute Heroes stood gathered before Garth, Imra, Shvaughn and Calorie Queen. They'd gathered as soon as Lightning Lad had called. "You know the Subs are here for you any time you need us," Fire Lad replied. "Looks like it's just us then? A baker's dozen of reservists, Subs and Legionnaire girlfriends against a guy who single-handedly took out the entire Legion of Superheroes?"

"What about some of the other Academy graduates?" Fire Lad's teammate Crystal Kid spoke up. "I can't believe Lamprey or Visi-Lad wouldn't be here in a snap if you asked them!"

"We can't throw everything we have at the Infinite Man at once," Saturn Girl reasoned. "If we fail, somebody needs to be able to pick up where we left off."

"What's the plan then?" Color Kid asked. "The Subs have always thrived as underdogs, but this might be pushing it a little. We're going to need a plan, right?"

In reply to Color Kid's question, Saturn Girl asked one of her own. "Chlorophyll Kid, do you have anything that might help deaden the Infinite Man's will?"

"Not on me," the green-garbed Substitute Hero stroked his chin. "But if we can stop by the Exotic Herbarium in Metropolis, I know they have specimens of Hykraian Kelp. It's a restricted substance though."

"Don't worry about that," Shvaughn held her hand up. "I'll authorise it myself if it'll help."

"Good," Saturn Girl nodded. "I know the Science Police have evacuated Weisinger Plaza. Shvaughn, can you make sure it remains that way? I want Garth and Fire Lad to take point when we take Legion Headquarters back, their powers will draw the most attention. Everybody else, your role is to follow their lead and attract as much attention as possible while Color Kid, Chlorophyll Kid and I work to sedate the Infinite Man and find out what he's done with our friends. Any questions?"

"Let's just do this," Calorie Queen punched her open palm. "I want to find out what that nasshead's done with my girlfriend."

"Good answer," Shvaughn smiled. She stood up and walked to the portal. "Let's -- oh!" The privacy field barring the doorway disappeared, and the red-haired Science Police officer came face to face with seven equally surprised teenagers. "Were you listening out here the whole time?" she demanded. She heard her own question echoed back at her a second later from a glowing sphere of lavender energy suspended between Glorith's outstretched palms.

"We didn't mean to do anything wrong!" Variable Lad hurriedly began to apologise. "We just--"

"We want to help," Laurel Kent stood defiantly in front of Shvaughn. "Don't blame Glorith, we made her use her magic to eavesdrop. It's not like you'd tell us what was going on any other way!"

"That's because you're not ready for this!" Lightning Lad marched up to the doorway. "This isn't a game, Laurel!"

"Oh come on," Chemical Kid rolled his eyes. "We're not ready but Antennae Boy over there is? What even is his power again?"

"It's Antennae Lad!" the object of Chemical Kid's derision complained.

"We heard it all," Dragonwing scowled. "The Legion are gone, maybe dead, and you can't get Shadow Lass or Sensor Girl to help. Face it, you need us."

Saturn Girl joined her husband at the doorway. "You can come, but you all answer to Captain Erin. None of you are to engage the Infinite Man directly, and none of you are to engage any of his forces unless it's to protect innocents from harm. Are we clear?"

Lightning Lad didn't contradict his wife openly, but thought his dissent knowing she'd pick it up through their rapport. Imra, they're just children. We can't do this.

We were just children when we formed the Legion of Superheroes, Imra thought back at him. And you know how obstinate some of these children can be, Garth. I'd expect at least some of them to follow us whether we give our blessing or not. This way we get them to work within the rules we impose.

"You heard Saturn Girl," Lightning Lad said out loud. He didn't like it, but he knew Imra was right. "Are we clear?"

"Crystal," Laurel and Dragonwing answered simultaneously.

"Then let's go," Lightning Lad continued.

He began to leave the room when Shvaughn's voice suddenly rang out. "What the sprock?!"

"Shvaughn?" Lightning Lad asked. "What is it?"

"I was going to contact the Exotic Herbarium for Chlorophyll Kid," Shvaughn explained. "When I saw this." She handed her omicom to Garth Ranzz.

"This doesn't make sense!" Lightning Lad exclaimed after scanning the omnicom. "The Science Police have removed you from the case? You're the Legion's liaison with the Science Police! You're Element Lad's girlfriend! Why would they do that?"

"I don't know," Shvaughn answered darkly, "But according to this, Dvron's in command of the Science Police in this region and he's ordered everyone to stand down. I'm his superior officer, somebody's got some explaining to do."

"Then it looks like we're on our own," Saturn Girl pondered. "Change of plans, everyone. Crystal Kid, you're in charge of the students. Previous instructions apply. They're not to engage the enemy directly unless there's no other way around it, understood?"

Crystal Kid was visibly shocked. "You're putting me in charge? I mean yeah, yes of course Saturn Girl!"

Saturn Girl turned to Shvaughn. "Do what you need to, Shvaughn. We'll rescue Jan and the others."

"Good luck," Shvaughn replied. "With any luck this will just be a good story in a few hours."

"It will be," Imra asserted. She knew they weren't the mightiest group of heroes, but she also knew every single one of these people would fight to their death to help the Legion of Superheroes.

She just hoped it wouldn't come to that.

**********
When the ragtag group of heroes reached Weisinger Plaza, it was still empty though the Science Police were no longer actively keeping people away. The Infinite Man hadn't made another appearance since he'd defeated the Legion of Superheroes but an air of tension hung over the plaza. The whole city was expecting him to emerge from the Legion's headquarters at any time and unleash more of his chronal chaos into Metropolis.

"Remember what we said," Lightning Lad addressed his students. "None of you go near the building and all of you listen to Crystal Kid. Your job here today is solely to protect innocents if any of the Infinite Man's footsoldiers get past us. Don't go chasing danger."

"Don't worry, Lightning Lad!" Crystal Kid saluted the Winathian hero. "I'll keep 'em in line!"

A deafening peal of thunder startled the group. The sky suddenly grew dark, black clouds blotting out the sun. A strobe lightburst exploded across the plaza, sheet lightning followed by more rolling thunder. The wind rose and the temperature dropped drastically. "This weather!" Glorith shouted over the wind. "It is not at all natural!"

"Look!" Rainbow Girl pointed up towards the roof of Legion headquarters. "What is that?" It had begun raining now, and the combination of rain and storm clouds obscured the colossal object coming down at them until another burst of lightning showed them that it was a person.

Garth's eyes widened. "Scatter!" Everyone leaped into action, but the enormous grey man had already slammed into the ground with the impact of a meteorite. He left a small crater, and everyone was knocked off their feet.

"The Infinite Man wants to play rough?" Dragonwing snarled. "Good! Rough is my favourite way to play!" She leaned forward and bathed the seven foot behemoth in a plume of intense flame even while Crystal Kid snapped at her to fall back. To her utter surprise, the villain was completely unfazed.

"Nice try," the grey monster gave her an evil smirk. "My turn, kid." Dragonwing saw that he had two giant tusks protruding from his lower jaw. He tipped his head at her, and the tusks elongated straight at her with terrifying speed. Dragonwing backpedalled, but she knew she wasn't going to be fast enough to avoid impalement. Just as she gritted her teeth and prepared for the bloody impact, Laurel Kent dived in front of her. The tusks slammed into Laurel's invulnerable hide, knocking both girls back. Dragonwing was winded, but she knew it was better than the alternative.

"That's Tusker!" Saturn Girl cried out. "That means--" Hailstones the size of their fists pummeled down from on high, interrupting her. Tusker simply laughed as the dense balls of ice shattered or bounced against his hide, but they were a lethal threat to most of the others.

"What did Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad say?" Crystal Kid barked at the students as he rushed to erect a crystal shield over everyone. "This needs constant regeneration so we're not bashed to death by the sky falling so if you could all try for a nano not to get yourselves killed and let me concentrate I'd really appreciate it!"

"Storm Boy's doing this!" Saturn Girl shouted, her hands at her temples. "I can feel him gloating above us!"

"Why would Tusker and Storm Boy be working for the Infinite Man?" Fire Lad queried. "It makes no sense!"

The deluge of hailstones ceased, and Crystal Kid's protective barrier finally exploded into gleaming splinters when Tusker brought his two giant fists down upon it. The hapless heroes saw their enemies revealed once the shield fell; not only Tusker and Storm Boy, but also their teammates Golden Boy, Spider-Girl and Radiation Roy. Almost the entire assemblage of the xenophobic Justice League of Earth were present, but absent was the most dangerous one of them all.

"In a way, they are working with the Infinite Man," Kirt Niedrigh's voice spoke from behind the heroes, though it sounded somehow transformed. "Not in the way you morons think though. See, when your precious Legion of Superheroes failed to stop the Infinite Man's rampage, Earthgov let my team out of jail to have a try."

As the assembled heroes faced the villain known as Earth-Man, they felt their stomachs churn with fear. He wore the militaristic outfit some of them were painfully familiar with, but the blue areas of his costume were now a starfield, as were the shadows of his face. Instead of his blonde buzzcut, he wore the distinct stylised head-dress of the Infinite Man. "And what do you know?" Niedrigh gave a smug grin. "Some real Earth heroes did what your alien freaks couldn't. The Infinite Man is dead.

...Long live the Infinite Man."

TO BE CONTINUED!

METROPOLIS
Weisinger Plaza
In front of the battle-damaged headquarters of the Legion of Superheroes, 19 hastily assembled heroes faced off against six of the last villains they'd ever have expected to find here. Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl and Calorie Queen had brought the Legion of Substitute Heroes and the current students of the Legion Academy to fight the Infinite Man. Instead, they found themselves face to face with Earth-Man and his so-called Justice League of Earth.

Chemical Kid's eyes widened in fear. "These are the guys who took over Earth and tried to deport every alien off the planet, right?"

"The ones they didn't murder," Color Kid answered, glaring hatefully at the team who'd not so long ago blinded him and killed his teammate Double-Header.

"Good thing we outnumber them more than three to one then," Dragonwing smirked. "These squajes might have gotten the drop on the Infinite Man, but what are they gonna do to all of us?"

Saturn Girl said nothing aloud, but the tone of her telepathic command to the assembled heroes left no doubt whatsoever as to the gravity of the situation. Color Kid, give us a distraction. Crystal Kid, get the students out of here. We'll hold them off as long as we can.

Before either of the heroes could act, the plaza around them suddenly filled with dozens of primitive gladiators armed with shields, spears and nets. "The little girl is right of course," Earth-Man beamed. "Hardly seems like a fair fight, does it? Of course, we don't have the superb training your Junior Legionnaires do, so I'm sure you won't mind if we tip the odds in our favor a little." His grin vanished instantly, replaced by a cold stare. "Kill them."

Within seconds, Saturn Girl's command meant nothing and the scene was violent chaos.

Lullabye Lad barely managed to avoid the thrusting tip of a spear and retaliated, putting his attacker to sleep before he could strike again. "There are too many of them!" he cried out in a near panic. "I can't knock them all out!"

"Waiane, use your other power!" Gravity Kid shouted, using his own abilities to send a swordsman flying.

"I can't just hibernate while he kills you all!" Stone Boy's younger brother protested bravely. Another spear penetrated his bright pink cape and almost his ribs. Again, his assailant's eyes rolled back in his head and he fell in a heap.

"Babe, I've got an idea!" Gravity Kid yelled over the din. "Trust me!"

Uncertain, Lullabye Lad nonetheless did as his boyfriend requested. Waiane Wentim's flesh and blood form instantly turned to stone, and the next weapon to come at him shattered against him. Gravity Kid bit his lower lip and reached out with his power. Lullabye Lad's immobile form became a human battering ram, smashing through the gladiators like they were rolling pins.

"Tel, that's brilliant!" Laurel Kent congratulated her fellow student. "Keep it up, I'll cover you!" She intercepted a sword meant for Gravity Kid's exposed torso and smashed its owner in the face with an indestructible elbow.

Not all of Garth and Imra's students were doing so well however. Glorith cowered before a trio of gladiators, Chemical Kid trying to rally her into action. Distracted, he completely missed the sword coming down upon his skull and only realised he'd been under attack at all when his would-be killer was encased in a large chunk of crystal, lost his balance and fell. Crystal Kid crouched down beside the two students and erected a wall around them to give them some space while Stone Boy waded into the gladiators. "I know this is scary," the Academy graduate said, "But you can be scared later. Right now we need to get your class together and get out of here."

They heard Dragonwing's voice several feet away, then saw her dart into the air above the battle. "Get off me! Get off me!" One of the gladiators had grabbed her around the waist, and she struggled fruitlessly to free herself. She resorted to using her acid spit, and the man fell away with a pained scream. Dragonwing followed up with a wide arc of flame breath, scattering the frightened gladiators beneath her. "Come on!" she yelled to her allies. "I'll burn us a path!"

"Dragonwing, look out!" Chemical Kid cried out in warning, but it was too late. The thrown spear tore across her upper thigh. She screamed in pain and lost focus on her flight ring, dropping like a rock into the crowd.

Just as quickly as she'd fallen, a ring of trees grew up around her. Their thick trunks separated her from the gladiators, and their creator kneeled down by the injured teen's side. "Here," Chlorophyll Kid handed her a sopping mass of leaves, thin stringy roots stretching between his fingers as he grew the plant in the palm of his hand. "H'lvenite aloe, it'll help stop the blood flow and disinfect the wound." Dragonwing gritted her teeth and held the sticky green leaves to her leg. "Tough one, aren't you?" Chlorophyll Kid chuckled. "You'll make a ferocious Legionnaire one day."

Un-noticed until it was too late, wriggling tendrils of red hair snaked between the tree trunks around Chlorophyll Kid and Dragonwing and writhed around the two of them. Spider-Girl's prehensile hair dragged them back until each of them were ensnared against one of the trunks and unable to move. Tusker's massive arms demolished the remaining ring of trees, and he stood above the two heroes. "Remember me, kid?" He leaned over Dragonwing, close enough that she could feel his breath on her face. Gagged as well as she was bound, the fierce teenager couldn't even curse let alone use her power to protect herself.

"Leave her alone, you cowards!" Chlorophyll Kid shouted. "She's just a kid! You want to bully someone, pick on me!"

"Oh don't worry, Porky." Spider-Girl tightened her unusual restraints around him to the point that it began to hurt. "We will. But she wants to be a Legionnaire, she better learn what that means."

"Personally," a woman's voice interrupted the villains' taunts, "Over the years I've come to the conclusion that being a Legionnaire is kind of over-rated." Tusker and Spider-Girl looked to see an attractive blonde woman holding what looked to be half a gladiator's shield with bite marks along its edge.

"Who the sprock are you?" Spider-Girl asked rudely.

"Not surprised you haven't heard of me," the woman replied. She took another bite out of the shield, chewed and swallowed. "My name's Calorie Queen. Outside of Bismoll I'm not all that well-known."

"Bismoll??" Tusker and Spider-Girl looked at one another and burst into laughter. Tusker gave her a dismissive wave. "Get out of here, Matter-Eater Maid. I got some real heroes to kill." Before he could turn back to his originally intended victims, Calorie Queen charged him. She effortlessly knocked him off of his feet and landed punch after powerful punch on the stunned villain.

"And that's what happens when you underestimate your enemies," yet another opponent added as a stream of fire engulfed Spider-Girl's hair only a foot from her scalp. She screamed and released her two captives, running off to find a way to douse her burning mane. "Chlor, you two okay?" Fire Lad asked.

"We will be now," Chlorophyll Kid replied. "Thanks, buddy. How are the others?" As if in answer, lightning filled the sky and booming thunder sounded across the plaza.

In the sky above, Storm Boy and Lightning Lad hurled lightning bolts at one another in an impasse. Garth was mildly surprised that this was taking so long. The last time they'd met, Storm Boy hadn't had any particular defences against electricity. The man had a disturbing predilection for technological implants though, Garth supposed it wasn't too hard to imagine he'd simply added lightning defences to his weather-themed armory. Still, Lightning Lad wasn't particularly worried about being able to beat him. He just didn't want to misjudge the battle and permanently injure the man. Before he had to worry about it any longer, the strangest thing happened. A rainbow emerged from somewhere below the two men and arced right through Storm Boy, disappearing into the distance. It was only light and did him no harm at all, but he found himself completely unable to use his abilities. "What have you done?" he raged, looking down to find Rainbow Girl standing at the base of her creation. "What have you done to me?!"

He began to fly down at her, but Lightning Lad neatly intercepted his path and socked him in the jaw. Garth gently placed the unconscious villain at Rainbow Girl's feet. "Nice work, Dori."

"And you Legionnaires thought my power wouldn't be useful in combat," she teased.

"You'll be a useful piece of jewellery in a minute!" the villain called Golden Boy came running at Rainbow Girl, but with a single release of power, Lightning Lad sent him flying.

"Idiot," Garth shook his head. "Gold's one of the most conductive materials there is, might as well attack us with a lightning rod!"

"How about I attack you with radiation then, big shot?" Lightning Lad and Rainbow Girl both fell to their knees, paralysed by Radiation Roy's power. Porcupine Pete bravely blasted volley after volley of quills at the villain, and though some of them lodged in the seams of his crimson armor the vast majority ricocheted harmlessly. "Don't worry," Roy sneered, "I'll be with you as soon as I finish these two off."

Weak enough that he knew this would be his only shot, Lightning Lad grunted and released arcs of electricity in Radiation Roy's general direction. Paralysed as he was, he couldn't aim but he gambled that Roy's metallic armor would make up for that handicap and he was right. Radiation Roy cried out and fell over. "Two...metal...idiots..." Garth groaned before he finally joined Rainbow Girl in unconsciousness.

Nearby gladiators began to advance on the fallen heroes, but Porcupine Pete's quills were more than enough of a deterrent for the half-naked men. Antennae Lad joined his fellow Substitute Hero and used his power to play Garth and Dori's voices through his massive ears. "That's broadcast from the future," he explained. "They'll recover...I wish I could do more though! Picking up comms broadcasts from different time periods is useless in a fight, Pete!"

Porcupine Pete looked overhead where Earth-Man himself was squaring off against the sole remaining member of the Legion of Superheroes here. "In this fight I think we're all useless, Chee. We can beat his friends, but I don't know what any of us can do against him."

Above the din, Saturn Girl and Earth-Man were locked in a silent battle of wills. Normally it wouldn't be the slightest effort for Imra to overpower the weaker-willed Niedrigh. The Infinite Man's absorbed powers expanded his consciousness in ways she couldn't be prepared for though, it was taking everything she had to distract him from slaying everyone on his own. More worrying, it seemed to Imra that he was getting stronger.

I am getting stronger, you stupid cow. Imra was shocked to hear his voice inside her mind. In this close proximity, I'm starting to copy your power too. Once I've got that, I think I might just make all you aliens kill yourselves and save me the trouble.

Earth-Man's world suddenly exploded in a kaleidoscope of color. Even knowing Color Kid must be responsible, he was still dazed long enough for one of the other Subs to make their move. Moving quickly, Polecat flung himself around Earth-Man's shoulders. "You call yourself Earth-Man, you think you represent us? From one earth man to another, let me tell you the truth...your xenophobia makes me sick! So let me return the favor!" Polecat pushed his bizarre power to its limit and the tiny horns protuding from his forehead bathed them both in a cloud of pure stench. The odor was so powerful that Earth-Man's stomach cramped and he doubled over retching. It was just the opening Saturn Girl needed. She bypassed Earth-Man's mental defences and psionically froze him in place.

"We did it!" Color Kid pumped his fist into the air. "I can't believe we did it!"

"You're the one who said we thrive on being underdogs," Polecat grinned. "I guess you were right!"

"We're not home safe yet," Saturn Girl interrupted their reverie. "He's amazingly strong, he's already fighting back. Color Kid, project those strobe bursts across his eyeballs as we discussed. Chlorophyll Kid, we'll need that Hykraian--"

Imra never completed her order because with no warning whatsoever, the already crowded plaza was suddenly immersed in a rainbow flare of light and twelve more heroes appeared. Bouncing Boy, Diamond Damsel, Blok and Phantom Girl stepped out of the time cube Diamond Damsel had stolen and it vanished without them. Mon-El, Dragonmage, Infectious Lass, Invisible Kid and Nightwind hurtled through a cadre of gladiators on a Speed Force dragon before it faded away and an exhausted Dragonmage collapsed in Mon-El's arms. Brainiac 5, Supergirl and Shadow Lad came into existence with their jury-rigged time machine. Through all of this, Saturn Girl managed to maintain her focus enough to keep Earth-Man under control. It was only when Brainiac 5's overworked time machine gave a loud bang and started spewing smoke that she was startled enough for Earth-Man to take the upper hand. He'd already mimicked Polecat's power and thus gained its defence, identical nub-like horns emerging from his forehead. With a guttural roar, he flipped Polecat over his shoulder and hurled him straight into Saturn Girl. "You think you can touch my mind?!" he bellowed at her. "You think you have that right, you Titanian piece of filth?! I'll send you to the end of time!" He unleashed a blast of pure chronal energy at Saturn Girl and Polecat before either of them could recover from their painful mid-air collision.

"No!" Variable Lad till now had been fighting wave after wave of gladiators. His adaptive abilities were incredibly successful against the horde, but his own lack of confidence had prevented him from taking on any more powerful foes. Now though, he was the only one close enough to save his teacher from a fate worse than death. He had no idea if he'd survive this, but he couldn't just watch it happen. The chronal energy hit him, and Oaa Tseldor felt his power kick in to protect him as it always did. This time felt different though. He felt consumed by a terrible emptiness, an entropy that devoured him fully. He wondered where the high-pitched screaming was coming from, and realised with a dull acceptance that it was himself. Everybody watched in awe and horror as the youngest Legion Academy student grew larger even as he seemed to lose mass. His costume deepened in color, grew around him until he was cloaked in tattered purple robes and his arms swathed in bandages. Just as dramatically as it had all happened, his power switched off and he returned to his normal form pale and catatonic. Shadow Lad swooped up and grabbed him before he could fall.

"Saturn Girl?" Grev Mallor voiced the confusion everyone was feeling. "What's happening? Is that another Infinite Man?! Do we fight him or regroup?"

Imra scanned the gathered heroes. They had already taken out most of the Justice League of Earth and the gladiators were more of a time-consuming distraction than an actual threat. They could fight now, and they might win. But the heroes who had come here today had already suffered injuries, and some of the newly arrived Legionnaires didn't look that much better. Earth-Man would only need to absorb Mon-El and Supergirl's powers and they were all doomed.

"No," she answered breathlessly. Then telepathically to all the heroes gathered, We run.

Shadow Lad blanketed the plaza in darkness and as Saturn Girl had instructed, the Legion collected their fallen and scattered. Earth-Man watched them go with smug self-satisfaction. The power he'd absorbed from Saturn Girl and Polecat had already begun to fade, so he'd have to track their whereabouts using other means. He was okay with that though, it would give his team time to recover and it would give him time to reconsider his team.

With the power of the Infinite Man, he had all the time in the world...

Wow, what great timing! I'm glad to know that at least all the Legionnaires made it back at or near that point in time. Can't wait for the next installment!

TITAN
Time Institute
Charles Foster Taine looked over his reflection in the mirror. A hot shower, a new costume and some nutri-treatments had helped him feel much more human than he had for months, but he was still strangely out of place with this reality. He scratched his beard thoughtfully. He'd trimmed it from the scraggly mess it had been, but Chuck had decided to keep the beard. He wasn't quite sure why but the idea of shaving it altogether left him feeling somehow...

"Empty..?" Chuck caught Phantom Girl's reflection in the same mirror. She was perched on the edge of a table, sitting on her hands. Tinya too had been given a new costume, and her hair was tied back in two ponytails. "It feels empty here, doesn't it? Jo's not here...Luornu's not here...nobody's been able to contact Shady and even though they haven't said anything I know Mon-El and Shadow Lad want to fly straight to Talok VIII and find out why. Everyone's hurt and lost and we've come home but it doesn't really feel like home..."

Chuck sighed and met Tinya's sad stare with one of his own. "It'll get better, PG. I promise."

There came a chime at his door and Chuck gave a command to allow Lightning Lad entry. "How are you two?" Garth asked.

Phantom Girl shrugged. "Does it matter? It was nice of the Time Institute to let us use their spare dormitory space and it's nice knowing Earth-Man won't follow us here considering this is probably the place best equipped to deal with someone with the power he absorbed from the Infinite Man, but half the team is still missing and the half that are here have been through so much we're already defeated."

"That's not true," Lightning Lad responded firmly. "Some of you have undeniably been through the wringer, but it's not all bad news. Have you spoken to everyone else? Mon-El met his son, Tyroc and Superboy have taken the chance they thought they'd lost to be reunited with their parents. The Infinite Man tried to destroy the Legion but he wasn't at all successful, Phantom Girl. He's hurt some of you, but we're a team. We're a family. We'll help one another through this, we'll kick that smug xenophobic bastard out of our headquarters and we'll find everyone else we love and bring them home."

Phantom Girl looked across at Lightning Lad with tears welling in her eyes. "You really think so..?"

"I know so," Garth nodded. "I know what it's like to hit rock bottom. I fell hard once when I led this team, but I climbed back up again because I'm a Legionnaire and so will you. We all will."

Bouncing Boy gave a half-smile and patted Garth on the shoulder as he walked past him. "Never knew you could be such a good motivational speaker, Lightning Lad."

"My wife and my best friend have that covered in spades," Garth blushed. "I wouldn't want to steal their thunder, but I have my moments."

"I guess we should decide what our next course of action's going to be," Chuck continued. "I don't know when it's going to stop feeling weird to step back into being leader again, but I've got to do it sooner or later. You ready, PG?"

Phantom Girl wiped her eyes as the door to Chuck's room opened automatically for him. "Yep," she nodded stoically, "Let's -- oh."

Bouncing Boy and Lightning Lad both followed Phantom Girl gaze towards the door to find Saturn Girl, Supergirl, Duplicate Damsel and Ultra Boy standing in the corridor outside."Look who we found," Supergirl announced cheerily. "That Glorith sure comes in handy with her scrying--" She was interrupted by Ultra Boy's ecstatic whoop of joy as he pushed past the maid of might to embrace Phantom Girl.

Duplicate Damsel's hands rushed to her mouth as she looked her emaciated husband up and down. "Oh Chuck...what did he do to you...?"

"Lu..." Bouncing Boy's voice broke and he rushed to his wife. The two couples hugged, completely unaware of anyone else's presence.

Saturn Girl gave her own husband a subtle glance which he understood completely. He tactfully stepped around Chuck and Luornu and tapped Supergirl on the shoulder. Let's give them some time, he mouthed, and the three heroes walked away.

**********
GERMANY
1947
Bettina Herrmann sailed over the panicked crowd below. She was quite plump and the government agents shooting at her couldn't help but hit their target. To their frustration however, the bullets didn't even penetrate the blonde woman's black leather outfit. The criminal also known as Bouncing Betty simply seemed to glow with brighter incandescence each time one of the bullets struck or whenever she ricocheted from one surface to the next. She was less than a foot from striking the wall of a three story apartment building when impossibly long red strands of hair reached down from above and entwined themselves around her pudgy limbs, swinging her away from the wall. Betty struggled to no avail and bellowed in outrage as she was pulled up to the building's rooftop while the shocked crowd watched.

On the roof, she saw that the web of hair was attached to the scalp of an athletic young woman dressed in green and black. Spider-web patterning adorned her very revealing outfit, and it seemed that she controlled the growth and movement of her hair purely by force of will. Bettina was both astounded and furious. The spider-garbed girl spoke, but it wasn't until Bettina felt something snap onto her ear that she could understand her words.

"--I know you think you don't need anyone," the stranger explained, "With your power to absorb kinetic energy till you explode you might as well be Supergirl by the standards of this stupid era. You were supposed to help your country win the war but things don't always work out the way we want them to. Your powers are killing you and one day really soon they're gonna finish the job, Betty. You'll never be anything more than a wartime myth unless you come with me now."

Bouncing Betty stared at the girl in dumbfounded shock. "What nonsense are you talking? Who are you? Why should I come anywhere with you, you skeleton of a girl?"

Spider-Girl rolled her eyes. "Save me from these Neanderthals," she muttered under her breath, then at a more audible volume, "Fine. Let's dumb it down for you, fatty.

Come with me if you want to live."

**********
TITAN
Time Institute
The Infinite Boy stood apart from the other Legionnaires and watched them interact. Kando Vyr had known some kind of awareness of these people since he gained his powers, but panchronospatial awareness was very much a different thing to meeting them in person. He knew some of them already of course. It was strange seeing the Subs here before they'd become respected Legionnaires themselves, seeing Laurel Kent as a student. Some of these heroes were dead before his own time and this was an opportunity he knew he'd never have again. He was glad he'd come back to this era, even though it was beginning to dawn on him that he would probably never go home again.

"Uhh...Kando, right?" Colossal Boy stood before him now, jolting the star-faced boy out of his reverie. The Infinite Boy stared at the muscular hero dumbly for a moment. When he was lost in thought, Kando's awareness often drifted from the here and now. He saw Gim Allon before him in all of his incarnations, each one superimposed on the next. Gim was a child, then a Science Police cadet, then a rookie Legionnaire in his green collared shirt and golden pants. Finally Colossal Boy's current red and blue outfit solidified over all the others.

Kando shook the cobwebs from his mind. "Yes, sorry...I was years away. How can I help you, Colossal Boy?"

"I just wanted to say thanks," Gim offered his hand in friendship. "I'll be honest, it's a little weird seeing you here looking just like a younger version of the guy we're fighting. But Yera tells me she wouldn't have come back to me without you so I owe you big time."

The Infinite Boy shook Colossal Boy's hand. "Any Legionnaire would do the same," he smiled vaguely. "It's nothing." His awareness shifted now to Yera Allon watching her husband with haunted eyes. Saturn Empress hadn't been able to risk mind-wiping Yera after Yera's contact with the Leviathan of Durla, not without the possibility of permanently damaging her mind. Chameleon Girl remembered everything she'd been through in the future.

Very soon, Colossal Boy wouldn't be thanking Kando so eagerly at all...

**********
SOL ORBIT
Daedalus Research Station
2434
The golden skinned woman who'd rechristened herself Celestine hovered arms outstretched before the crumbling ring-like habitat which orbited Earth's sun. White-hot flame coursed down her arms and surrounded her head in a corona of energy, revealing the shape of a star in her gleaming bosom.

An unprecedented solar flare had ruptured the artificial structure's magnetic and physical shielding, in the process killing almost everyone on board. Only five crew members had survived, each of them mutated into powerful new forms by the cosmic radiation. There was Celestine herself, she whose starborne power was all that held their research station together now. There was Tachyon, gifted with the ability to travel backwards seconds in time and to become temporarily immaterial. Red Giant with the power to grow, and White Dwarf whose density increased as his size decreased. Finally, the one most transformed of them all, the eerily noiseless silhouette of a man they now called the Void. Each of them were powerful beyond their wildest dreams and had decided to use this power in their solar system's service as its new rulers. It seemed they were to be denied that opportunity however. Almost as soon as they'd given themselves new names to match their new forms, the damage to Daedalus had taken its toll and the habitat began to fall into the sun. Even Celestine's enormous control over magnetism and gravity could not long combat the pull of an actual star. She was forced to admit that their new lives would be over before they'd begun.

"Celestine?"

She heard radio waves bearing Red Giant's voice and responded in kind. She had no transmitter on her person, but with her mastery of the electromagnetic spectrum she herself was both transmitter and receiver. "What is it, Red Giant? I fear I'm bound to fail us as it is, I don't need further distraction."

"Could you come back on board Daedalus please?"

Celestine was aghast. "The power I'm wielding...were I to come inside I'd tear the station apart, and if I release my control, within minutes it will be drawn too far into the sun's gravitational pull for me to halt!"

"I'm aware of that," Red Giant returned in a flat tone. "You're not the only physicist here. We may have another option now though. Just come on board."

Her curiosity picqued, Celestine melted her way through the massive structure's hull. She made sure to do so far away from the others, and crushed the hull back together before decompression did too much more damage. Making her way half a kilometre through the enormous ring, she soon came upon her crewmates with one other; a man in bulky red armor which covered him from head to toe. A thin polarised slit allowed him vision, and a golden radiation symbol adorned his chest. Celestine wondered if one of the other members of the Daedalus crew had survived after all.

"I'm Radiation Roy," the stranger spoke. His Interlac was strangely accented, his words slightly clipped. "You're all destined to die here today, but I can give you a way out.

What do you say?"

**********
TITAN
Time Institute
"The Infinite Man isn't dead."

The combined forces of the Legion of Superheroes, the Legion of Substitute Heroes and the students of the Legion Academy had gathered in an auditorium to discuss their next move and they all now stared at Brainiac 5. Chemical Kid frowned. "But...Earth-Man said..."

"I don't care what Earth-Man said," Brainiac 5 huffed dismissively. "Earth-Man lied. Kirt Niedrigh is a fool, but he's not that much of a fool. He would have kept the Infinite Man alive for the same reason he kept the Legion of Superheroes alive when he captured members of our team. He needs him alive to continue utilising his power. I guarantee you the Infinite Man is alive somewhere in Legion Headquarters. We just need to find him, convince him to depart this era, and Earth-Man will be much easier to deal with."

"That does make sense," Dream Girl joined in. "Kando, you have his power. Can you find him?"

"Quite the opposite I'm afraid," the Infinite Boy shook his head. There's a blind spot around your base. I'd assumed it was due to the Infinite Man's powers in Earth-Man's possession but there's no reason it couldn't be the Infinite Man himself. The same power that makes us aware of all space and time also serves to keep us apart from it to some degree."

"It's true," Dawnstar confirmed. "My own tracking power is just as useless."

"Maybe magic?" Saturn Girl glanced across to Glorith, who instinctually hid shyly beneath her cowl.

"No," Duplicate Damsel dissented firmly. "Glorith's not ready."

"For what it's worth I agree," Lightning Lad said more softly. "Glorith, don't feel badly. You've done a great job helping us today, but you're not ready for battle. None of you kids are."

Some of the students began to argue before Gravity Kid raised a hand and spoke over them. "Lightning Lad is right, you guys. Some of us did okay in that fight, but some of us could have died. The Legion don't need to be babysitting us when their own lives are on the line."

"That's very mature, thank you Gravity Kid." Saturn Girl turned to the other sorceror in their midst. "Dragonmage? Could one of your dragonforms help?"

Though he'd been a Legionnaire for some time now, the slight boy still blushed to feel so many eyes on him. "I - I'm not sure, Saturn Girl. I could certainly try, but--"

"Once we get back to Earth, I can just tap into our security systems," Kid Computo volunteered.

"Let's face it," Wildfire spouted, "Even after we find the Infinite Man how are we meant to convince him to cooperate with us anyway? It's Brainy's fault we're in this mess, maybe he should find us a way out of it instead of lumping all this on the new kids!"

Supergirl spoke up to defend Brainiac 5, someone else spoke in Wildfire's defence, and soon the room was a cacophony of raised voices and released tensions. A horrible squeal of feedback penetrated the din and everyone suddenly heard Earth-Man himself, his voice carrying from one corner of the room.

"--Ethel, don't leave the medbay under any circumstances. We still can't get into that Coluan freak's multi-lab so we're going to have to keep Rugarth sedated there. You see any movement, anybody other than me comes through that door, you let me know immediately. You understand--"

The transmission cut off just as abruptly, leaving everybody's attention focused on its source. "I umm...I just thought it'd help..." Antennae Lad offered meekly. "I didn't think it would be so loud, sorry. I can't always control the volume when I get nervous."

"Don't apologise, Chee." Fire Lad slapped him on the back. "You did good!"

Bouncing Boy had remained silent for most of this meeting, but he stood now and spoke to the gathering. "Fire Lad's right. Thank you Antennae Lad, you reminded us that sometimes action is more important than words. We could discuss this for a Titanian day, at the end of that day though Earth-Man and his cronies would still be in our headquarters while we're all the way out here. The Time Institute has been kind enough to let us use their facilities but I think it's time we got our own back. What do you say, Legion?" Everybody raised their fists in the air and cheered. "Good," Chuck continued. "Brainy, Saturn Girl, Infinite Boy, I need to speak with you three on the way. Everybody else, get ready for the fight of our lives!" The heroes cheered again, and Bouncing Boy realised that Lightning Lad had been absolutely right.

The Infinite Man had tested some of them, but the Legion of Superheroes were far from broken.

**********
EARTH
Metropolis, Legion of Superhero Headquarters
Golden Boy led his two new recruits through what was now the headquarters of the Justice League of Earth. Both men following the metallic villain were much larger than he. "What's in this for you?" the time-displaced Maori named Black Dagger asked. The dark-skinned man was a muscled powerhouse and his signature weapons lined almost every inch of his form-fitting black outfit. "You appear out of nowhere, save me and Bow here from death by volcano and take us to this shiny future...don't get me wrong, this beats an island of creeping lava, but what does the future Justice League want with us?"

Something else else about Black Dagger had rubbed Golden Boy the wrong way since he'd first laid eyes on the man in the 22nd century. He was so rough around the edges, such a product of his time. Golden Boy found him frankly vulgar. The other one, the towering albino named Bow...he was a different story altogether. The giant archer had barely spoken two words since Golden Boy had appeared in his time. There was something incredibly unsettling about it. Why Earth-Man wanted these two men particularly was beyond him, but he'd learned the best way to serve Earth-Man was just to do as he was told. Golden Boy answered without turning around as he paused at a large entry portal. "You're about to find out."

The portal opened and the three men entered what had once been the Legion of Superheroes' Hall of Heroes. The remains of golden statues lay broken around the room having been moved aside, defaced and broken by Golden Boy's teammates. Thirty men and women filled the room now in total, facing a 16 foot tall Earth-Man. "Good," Earth-Man announced. "We're all here. You're all no doubt wondering why I've brought you here to the 31st century. For some of you this is years, maybe even centuries in your future. For some it's your past. There's one thing this time and place has in common for all of you though. It's your salvation. With my powers over time and space, I found you all facing certain death. My Justice League gave you the opportunity to cheat the reaper and to become Earth's greatest champions in the process."

"And what would you have us do?" A thick-bearded bear of a man asked, almost half his body replaced by clunky cybernetics.

"Yeah!" another voice rang out from the crowd. "What's the catch?"

"No catch," the colossal Earth-Man replied. "Any of you want to go home, say the word and I'll send you now. But I promise you, you will die and none of you will even be a footnote in the pages of history. If you want to become living legends, all you have to do is join the Justice League of Earth, kill the Legion of Superheroes and wipe every stinking alien off the face of this planet. What do you say?"

The fantastic crowd looked at one another. Some of them had friends and allies in this room already, but most were strangers. Still, all of them came to the same conclusion as the person next to them. The golden woman Celestine left a flaming trail as she flew before Earth-Man. "You have our allegiance," she announced imperiously.

Earth-Man grinned an evil grin in return.

"...Superb."

TO BE CONCLUDED!

Love your ingenious use of Antennae Lad! Proves that even those with the "weakest" powers have something to contribute!

And love how you are upping the stakes. Can't wait to see the conclusion.

Also, poor Yera and Gim. I suppose Yera is the only one who retains her memories? It must be torture for her, if she doesn't lose those memories until that fateful day she'll be knowingly leading her husband and friends into that...

Thanks! I am a big fan of the underdog powers!

Part 4 should be a pretty action-packed finale! With somewhere between 70-80 characters involved I will be happy if I just remember them all to be honest hahaha

Will definitely be touching more on the consequences of Yera's trip to the future and what the other Legionnaires who went with her have taken from that trip....all those little trips to different times will be fuelling plots for a while yet

Wow! How epic can you make this story Raz? It's at fever pitch already!

Loved PG and Chucks moment together -so to speak - and Garth's rallying speech too.

Your villains are really interesting, did you create them yourself or are they obscure characters you wanted to breathe life into?

Am waiting to see if Variable Lads dramatic transformation then comatose collapse will lead to anything - or did he just overtax his inexperienced powers?

Great stuff as always Raz, I'm on tender hooks waiting for more, more, more!

Oh, meant to say very clever having the team hide out at the Time Institute too.