Legion World Forums LEGION OUTPOST Bits o' Legionnaire Business Legion of Superheroes RPSC story (Current issue: Revenge of the Rejects)

Pre-amble: A few years back, over on the hcrealms.com site I was part of the Role Playing Scenario Campaign, whereby a number of heroclix player's assembled teams, and then writers/editors would put together stories around matches those teams would play in (We'd call them "Issues"). For a short time I was head writer for the Legion of Super-Heroes stories, and thought I might share some of them here. I took over with the Epilogue of the first Annual.

The Story so Far: Up until this point the Legion had been an amalgam of pre-boot, reboot, and threeboot, but not really a lot of world building went on. The team had faced a fledgling LSV only to find they'd been put together by COMPUTO, a renegade creation of Brainiac 5's. During the course of the Annual, while fighting COMPUTO, Supergirl mysteriously appeared on the battlefield to help turn the tide (She had been struck by Darkseid's Omega Beams in a Justice League issue the month before and thought dead). I picked up in the Epilogue of the Annual, as the team tries to cope with COMPUTO and their mysterious new visitor.

Link to the Annual and the match if you are interested: http://www.hcrealms.com/forum/showthread.php?t=188876

OK, so I seem unable to paste the story itself here. Am I hitting a line limit or something?

Epilogue:

“Greeny? Hey Green kid, wake up!”

Brainiac 5 slowly eased back into consciousness. His vision was blurry and he could only make out the indistinct outline of the figure above him. She slowly came into focus.

“Just like an angel…” he murmured.

“What was that?” Supergirl giggled.

Brainy suddenly sat straight up, his cheeks blushing.

“Nothing. Just guttural sounds one makes upon regaining consciousness."

“Umm, OK. ‘Cause I have super-hearing and everything and I thought you just said…”

“Computo!” Brainy shouted, somehow relieved that the threat of imminent death was there to break up this awkward moment.

“Relax, he’s junk. The rest of your team is cleaning up the leftovers. Cosmic Kid asked…”

Oh, apparently Nighty hasn't yet done the software upgrade to fix the cutting and pasting problem.

Ahh, thanks. Well, looks like I'll wait then.

Epilogue:

“Greeny? Hey Green kid, wake up!”

Brainiac 5 slowly eased back into consciousness. His vision was blurry and he could only make out the indistinct outline of the figure above him. She slowly came into focus.

“Just like an angel…” he murmured.

“What was that?” Supergirl giggled.

Brainy suddenly sat straight up, his cheeks blushing.

“Nothing. Just guttural sounds one makes upon regaining consciousness."

“Umm, OK. ‘Cause I have super-hearing and everything and I thought you just said…”

“Computo!” Brainy shouted, somehow relieved that the threat of imminent death was there to break up this awkward moment.

“Relax, he’s junk. The rest of your team is cleaning up the leftovers. Cosmic Kid asked…”

“Cosmic Boy.”

“Right, sorry. Anyway, he asked that we check on the wounded. You took a pretty big bump on the head. You sure you should be sitting up?”

“I’ll be fine. We should gather the team.”

Nearby Tasmia was setting Jasmin’s arm in a makeshift splint, designed to hold until they returned to the ship with its medical supplies.

Imra hovered over Cosmic Boy, dabbing at the nasty cut on his forehead with a torn piece of her costume.

Rokk smiled sheepishly at Imra.

“Thanks, I think I’ll be OK.”

“Yow! Hey, watch it Sparky!” exclaimed Wildfire, ”The party’s over. You can turn off the juice, now.”

Lightning Lad unclenched his fists in surprise. And let the electricity crackling off of him die out.

“Sorry buddy, my mind was somewhere else.” He said, but he couldn’t help staring at his best friend smiling like a nass-head at the girl he loved.

Brainy strolled up to the deactivated siegebot, his Omnicron flashing numbers at a near imperceptible rate beneath his lightning fast fingers.

“Hmmm,” he grimaced, “Something else else’s wrong.”

“With the giant robotic killing machine that just tried to eviscerate us? What makes you say that?” asked Drake sarcastically.

“You unsubtle attempts at humour, continue to be wasted. Based on the fragments of code remaining here, I can verify that Computo has been substantially rewritten.”

“Didn’t we know that already?”

“No, I said he had self-actualised and expanded beyond his programming, but the changes I’m seeing here are something Computo couldn’t have altered himself.”

“Meaning what?”

“That someone hacked my code and rewrote it!”

Cos looked around grimly.

“Can you confirm that we’ve stopped Computo, Brainy.”

Brianiac 5 sighed testily.

“Computo was not simply some killer Robot you beat up with your Neanderthallic aggression. He was a program, and presumably has been backed up somewhere, or worse downloaded onto the Net. We may be able to destroy his manufacturing facility here, but Computo himself could be anywhere and everywhere right now.”

“Do we have any idea who is behind this?”

“None. Whoever it is, they are highly intelligent and resourceful. It would take an intellect of exceeding brilliance to be able to crack my code.”

“He’s a little high on himself, huh?” whispered Supergirl to Tasmia.

”You’re seeing him on one of his more humble days.”

“Well, um yes,” stumbled Brainy, “noticing Supergirl and Shadow Lass giggling together,

“That brings us to our other problem…”

The others all turned and looked at Kara.

“Oh yeah. Hi, my name’s Supergirl. I’m from the planet Earth. Well, not originally, but that’s where I live now. Obviously I’ve ended up somewhere else in the galaxy, and while I didn’t understand half of what you all were just talking about, I thought I’d lend a hand against your Big Bad. But if it’s not too much trouble, I’d really like to get home and figure out what happened to my cousin. If any of you have heard of Earth that is…”

“We’re based on Earth too.” said Jasmin quietly.

“Really, wow. What a co-incidence. Sorry, I don’t recognise you, I’m still a little new. Are you guys affiliated with the Titans or something?”

“The who?” asked Wildfire scratching his helmet.

“Look, why is everyone staring at this girl all saucer-eyed? I don’t see the problem bringing her back with us.” huffed Shadow Lass.

Cosmic Boy looked a little startled, and then realised Tasmia’s confusion.

“I forgot Talok VII was still in seclusion back then. Supergirl was one of the last survivors of Krypton, she came to Earth with her cousin Superman and the two of them started the new Heroic Age.”

“Remember the orientation videos, they’re the two legends the Legion is based on,” offered Kid Quantum.

“’Legends’? ‘Based on’? Listen guys it’s nice to have fans, but my cousin and I are regular people. When we get back I’ll introduce you.”

“I’m afraid that won’t be possible,” said Brainiac 5.

“Sure it will. I know he’s busy with the League but I can work something out.”

“But Superman’s been dead for a long time!” blurted out Lightning Lad, receiving a quick elbow in the ribs from Imra.

“What?” he asked.

Kara’s face went ashen.

“D..D..Dead? When? How? Who?”

Her fists clenched up and her eyes began to smoulder.

“But, it’s been, like hundreds of years,” protested Lightning Lad.

The fire went out of Kara’s eyes.

“Did you say ‘hundreds’? What are you talking about?”

“What my inarticulate colleague is trying to say is that you are no longer in your own time,” said Brainy stepping up to complete his scans of the young girl.

“Chronoton particles consistent. DNA match confirmed. This is Kara Zor-el, and she is from a time period almost exactly 1,000 years ago.”

“But Brainy, how is that possible?” asked Cos.

“And how do I get home?” asked Kara, looking around nervously.

“Both excellent questions that I don’t know the answer to,” said Brainy, furiously typing into his Omnicron.

“But I intend to find out.”

(Between stories, players had the option of doing "Training" as a way for trying out their team configuration and gaining experience. I would sometimes wrap additional stories around these. Think of them as a backup. This followed the Annual above:

"Ok Team, the Legion of Super-Heroes has touched down on Lallor and asked for our help in combat training." Evolvo Lad stated as he paced in front of the other three heroes. As he spoke his forehead began to bulge slightly.

"This will be an excellent opportunity for us as well and compliment the training regiment I have devised. It will also give us a chance to get a look at the strange new visitor they've rumored to have picked up back on Khardia."

By now his Head had swelled to egg shape.


"I theorise that the new member may be a wanted criminal (15.678%), a celebrity of some sort (12.563%) or possibly a new form of life (10.677%)."

Evolvo had now been reduced to essentially a large bobbing head, on a shriveled atrophied body.

"Further calcuations, give me cause to presuppose that...erk."

There was a whoshing sound as Duplicate Boy took to the air, grabbing Evolvo and a lare chunk of pavement as he went.

"Sometimes, you talk waaaay too much, dude. Let's just bust some heads!"

"Boys, boys boys" tssked Gas Girl, dissolving and floating after them.

View the fight here: http://www.hcrealms.com/forum/showthread.php?t=189665

Evolvo devolved slightly, so his limbs once again became functional, although his head still remained massively large

"Charmed, I'm sure," he said dismissively, extracting himself from Supergirl's grip.

"Barianiac 5? Might I confer with you. While I appreciate you may be somewhat... distracted." Evolvo looked Supergirl's way and bounced his eyebrows a few times in an oddly suggestive way, "There are some calculation's I've just run you may be interested in."

Brainy turned three shades of crimson, though whether from anger or embarrassment was hard to tell. He and Evovlo stepped into the Lallorian's lab and began heatedly discussing something.

Duplicate Boy sat down next to Tasmia.

"Say, is your smart dude as condescending as our smart dude?"

"You have no idea."

Just then Brainy stormed out.

"Legionnaires, we're leaving."

"But we just got here."

"I will not abide another minute."

Evolvo stormed out as well.

"Brainaic 5, you can't ignore the data! You're too good a scientist for that."

But Brainy had already taken flight in the direction of the cruiser.

Cosmic Boy quickly thanked the Lallorians for their help and he and the rest of the team joined Brainy on the ship.

"What was that all about?" asked Cos.

"Just because he's a few degrees more intelligent than the average chimpanzee doesn't mean he could talk to me like an equal."

"Chimpanzee, huh? Wonder what that makes the rest of us?"

Brainy ignored the comment from Lightning Lad.

"So what did he say?" prompted Imra.

"He had two things to say. First he didn't think Kara was here by accident, and there was a good chance the reason for her being here wasn't very good. Which is preposterous, assigning motive to an unknown! Plus, we still aren't sure how she came here and ....."

"What's the other thing?" asked Kara uncomfortably.

"What?"

"What's the other thing he said?"

"Something else else... something about my mother." said Brainy, clearly agitated. He didn't say another word and closed himself off in his onboard lab for the rest of the trip home.

Legion of Super Heroes #13
“Earth War pt. I”

By Rouge2


“Wow! What’s it called again?”

“This is Webber’s World. It is the bureaucratic hub of the United Planets,” said Brainiac 5.

“The what of the who now?” asked Supergirl watching in awe as the orange metallic orb grew larger and larger in the view screen.

Every inch of its surface was taken up by the same non-descript structures, most of them uniform in height with pedways connecting them. The surface was alive with activity as thousands of huge transports flitted above the skyscrapers like tiny gadflies.

“It’s an artificial satellite. When the United Planets was formed, it was agreed that the seat of government would move from planet to planet every 23 years. All levels below the executive, which executed the day to day workings of government, needed a more permanent home. Rather than choose one planet over another and create political hardship, it was agreed to construct an independent structure in neutral space to house it all.”

“So it’s like the Death Star of office buildings, huh?”

Brainiac 5 looked at her kindly.

“No, in our century we’ve learned that stars are actually large balls gas undergoing constant nuclear reactions. This is more like what we’d call a ‘planet’. But your office building analogy is apt.”

“Yeah, riiiight,” Kara sighed shaking her head.

“Brainy, are you sure about this? The U.P. aren’t exactly big Legion boosters these days,” interrupted Cosmic Boy, “I’m still surprised they’ve let us get this close.”

“You forget, I used to work on Webber’s World before I joined the Legion.”

“So your friends from your old job are letting us come in?”

“No, I simply re-activated my old security code.’

“Brainy!”

“What? This is the most logical place for Computo to strike. If he is on the Interplanetary Network, it would only make sense to infect the nerve centre of the U.P. first. We don’t have time to build a relationship of trust with the United Planets Senate if we are to head Computo off before he strikes again.”

“And of course you never thought the act of several underaged terrorists breaking into the same facility would be seen as equally bad.”

“Terrorists?” asked Supergirl, “I thought we were the Good Guys.”

“’Suspected terrorists’,” corrected Saturn Girl telepathically, “Adults in our time are a little… uptight.”

“It doesn’t matter,” responded Brainiac 5, “Once we isolate the threat of Computo we’ll be hailed as heroes by the U.P.”

“Until they find out you created him,” quipped Kid Quantum.

“Can we get back to the part of the plan where we’re breaking into a secure U.P. facility without my consent as Legion leader?”

“I haven’t heard you order us back, yet.”

Cos glared at Brainiac 5.

“We’ll talk about this after the mission is complete, Brainy.”

“I’m sure it will be very stimulating.”

The com screen suddenly blared to life and a large reptilian creature filled the panel. He was yellow-skinned with a round bulbous head. His nose consisted of two tiny nostrils and his large saucer eyes sported pinprick black pupils that stared blankly forward. When he spoke his tongue darted in and out.

“Ssss. Unidentified Sssspace Cruisssser. You are usssing an outdated sssecurity pass. Identify yoursssself.”

“Ontiir. It is good to see you again.”

“Brainiac 5. Thiss is a ssurprissse. I noticed your signal had become active again. I asssumed sssomeone had sstolen your codesss.”

“You’ve become quite vigilant old friend.”

“Indeed.”

“Legionnaires this is Ontiir, Science Police Chief for Webber’s World.”

“Science Police,” started Jasmin, “Brainy!”

“Do not fear Legionnairesss. Though my sssuperiorsss question your intentions, I trust Brainiac 5’s judgement enough to at leasssst hear you out. Please dock at post 247A.”

The screen faded out.

“That guy was kind of creepy,” noted Supergirl.

“Nonsense, the Tsaurons are a peaceful race respected throughout the galaxy and I’ve known Ontiir personally for years. We have nothing to fear.”

Supergirl nodded, although she still felt a sense of apprehension. She really hadn’t had time to catch her breath since arriving in the 31st century. She had been thrown into the maelstrom in the fight with Computo followed by the trip to Lallor (*see Legion Annual and Training respectively), and now to this giant artificial planet with Alien races she had never heard of. The Legionnaires had been very nice to her, but had also avoided any of her questions about what happened to her cousin or speculation on how she had arrived here.

Brainiac 5 was the biggest puzzle of all. Here was a man named after the tyrant who had taken Kandor from her beloved Krypton, yet he seemed so sweet and full of good when talking to her. But as soon as she relaxed around him, he snapped at one of the other Legionnaires and she found herself doubting him again.

The ship entered the docking bay and the Legionnaires disembarked, meeting Ontiir on the platform. Brainiac 5 quickly explained the situation to the Tsauronian Science Police officer.

“An interessssting theory, but I can asssure you that Webber’sss World is secure from any virus or malicisousss program.”

“I don’t doubt your vigilance Ontiir, but the Computo program is quite extraordinary. With your permission I would like to run a scan against the main CPU.”

Ontiir hissed apprehensively.

“Brainiac, by rightss I ssshould be arresssting you. I can’t simply allow you accessss to the mainframe. It would be impossssible.”

Brainiac sighed in frustration.

“Can I at least download the parameters I’m searching for to a safe-box and have your people verify it’s harmless to run it themselves?”

“Brainy?”

“Just a second Supergirl. Ontiir, I wouldn’t have come to you with this if I…”

“Brainy?”

“Supergirl, I’m sure social mores have changed since the 21st Century, but it is now considered rude to interrupt people when they talk. Now, Ontiir…”

“Listen guys, I know you’re talking, but I was just sight-seeing with my X-ray vision and there’s a bunch of guys unloading weapons two levels down, and they aren’t wearing Police uniforms.”

“What? What do they look like?”

“They’re all wearing the same purple outfit with black facemasks. There’s a grey circle on all their foreheads.”

“The Dark Circle!” gasped Jasmin in astonishment.

“I know this question is probably getting old from me, but: ‘Who’?”

“The Dark Circle is a terrorist outfit opposing the United Planets and working towards their disbandment.”

“So… like us?”

“What? No! These are real terrorist with the blood on their hands to prove it. We’re nothing like them.”

“Ok, OK, Sorry! Rao, I’m really going to need a scorecard to keep the 31st century straight.”

“OK Legionnaires, Let’s go down there and take them out!” ordered Cos.

“No need,” hissed Ontiir, “I’ll have a squad apprehend them in no time.”

Ontiir whipped out a keypad and began punching codes into it.

“Stop him, he’s one of them!” shouted Kara.

“Impossible,” snorted Brainiac 5, “Ontiir’s on our side.”

“Brainy, he’s wearing their uniform under his, I just X-rayed him.”

Saturn girl put her hand to her temple.

“She’s right. He’s alerting the others and…. Look out!”

Ontiir pushed a button on his hand held console and a blinding flash erupted taking all in the room by surprise.

The Legionnaires, including Supergirl, were blinded and dazed by the sudden luminary shock. When their vision returned, Ontiir had fled.

“After him!” shouted Cos.

“I love it when he barks the obvious orders,” chuckled Kid Quantum, taking flight, “Which way?”

“That way!” said Saturn Girl and Kara in unison, pointing towards one of the access conduits.

“Be careful,” said Brainy, “My scans show the blast doors between levels have closed.”

“Then we’ll make our own doors,” said Cosmic Boy, raising his hands.

He grunted and pushed out with his magnetic field. The floor in front of them ripped open, giving the Legionnaires free passage to the lower levels.

“Where to now?”

“He’s on the other side of that maze of corridors. He’s got a bunch of those Dark Circle guys with him. He’s also sitting in some kind of battle armour.”

“Ok team, be careful, who knows what kind of arsenal this lunatics have brought with them.”

“We are hardly Lunaticsss, child.” Hissed the Tsauron over an intercom speaker.

“The Ccccircle ssservesss a higher power.”

“Ontiir, I can’t believe they’ve gotten to you. You have to fight their influence.”

“Foolissh Coluan, I have Sssserved the Circle my whole life. It’s taken me yearsss to infiltrate to this high of a level within the wretched Science Police.. My masters and their allies have planned this for too long to have you whelpsss interfere at thissss juncture.”

“Give it up Ontiir, you don’t know who we have with us.”

“Oh, but I do. Pulsssar Ssstargrave was most helpful in informing usss of your Kryptonian guessst.”

“Who the sprock is Pulsar Stargrave?”

“That youth, isss a mystery you take to the grave!”

See the fight here: http://www.hcrealms.com/forum/showthread.php?t=192633

Once the battle was decided Saturn Girl pulled the wounded Cosmic Boy to his feet. He turned immediately to Brainaic 5.

“Brainy, can you figure out what kind of damage they did to the main computer?”

“Already on it.” said the Coluan curtly. He accessed the nearest portal, his fingers blazing over the console.

Cosmic Boy turned back to the captured Dark Circle operatives.

Kid Quantuum had placed Ontiir in a stasis field, while Supergirl disabled the rest of his armour with surgically precise blasts of her heat vision.

“Release him, we need to find out what they’ve been up to.”

After Supergirl indicated the Tsaurian was harmless, Jasmin dropped her field.

“Ssssss,” he spat, “My defeat at your handsss ssshall not go unpunished Legionnaires. My masterssss will be most displeasssed.”

“Your masters are gonna get their own can of nass-kicking to worry about soon enough, ugly,” snarled Kid Quantum.

“You cannot hope to defeat the Ccccircle, whelp. Our strength is too great, our alliesss too many.”

“Imra, we don’t have time for this. We need to know what the plan was.”

“Cos, I’m not comfortable taking information forcibly from minds, even if they are Dark Circle scum.”

“I know, but we don’t have time…”

“Don’t bother.” said Brainiac 5, “I’ve already found the sabotaged systems. It’s the defense and communications grids. The entirety of the U.P. has been under selective communications blackout for at least 18 hours and the automated planetary defenses for the same time period.”

“What do you mean ‘selective’?”

“It looks like they are only suppressing communications in certain areas at certain times. As if to mask something….”

Brainaic Five stopped cold.

“Was it worth it?” he bellowed, “Was it worth selling out our friendship.”

“Brainy, what?” started Supergirl.

“I wassss never your friend. You were emotionally stunted and easssily manipulated. I usssed you to lay the groundwork for most of this grid, but more importantly, you ssshowed me how to shut it down.”

Brainiac stared coldly at the Tsaurian for a few seconds, then turned back to the console.

“Brainy what are they masking?”

“It’s an invasion force,” said Brainy grimly. “They’ve passed undetected into Earth Space.”

“But the Dark Circle isn’t big enough to mount an invasion.”

“Khunds,” said Jasmin.

“What?”

“This armour,” she said holding up a portion of Ontiir’s dismantled breastplate, “It’s Khundish.”

“Are you sure?” said Imra wide-eyed.

“I come from Xanthu. We’re on the edge of the U.P., for most of my life we were disputed territory. You don’t think I’ve seen Khundish battle tech?”

“What’s a Khund?” asked Supergirl.

“They’re a warrior race, who live outside the United Palnets. Their empire is vast and their numbers aren’t really well known. There’s been an uneasy truce for the last decade or so. If they’re working with the Dark Circle….” Cos trailed off.

“Brainy, we need that communication grid back on-line!”

“Working…”

Ontiir began to hiss in short staccato bursts. It took the Legionnaires a second to realised he was laughing.

“What’s so Sprocking funny?” demanded Jasmin.

Suddenly the audio blared to life.

“..ssistance! Repeat, this is Ferro Lad of the Legion of Super-Heroes issuing a priority one distress call! We need immediate assistance!”

“Ferro,” Cos barked into his flight ring. “What’s going on?”

“Cos? Oh gods Cos, we thought you were dead! Where the Sprock have you been?”

“The Comm grid was down. What’s the situation there?”

“Legion Plaza is under attack. We’re trying to get as many of the kids inside the bunkers as we can, but the casualty rate is enormous. It’s Khunds, Cos. There’s so many they’re blocking out the sky! I don’t know if we can hold out much longer.”

“What about the Science Police, and the Earthgov?”

“Grife, Cos. I don’t think you understand. The SPs have been overrun. Earth has fallen!”

The phrase echoed throughout the chamber, sending a chill down the spines of the Legionnaires.

“Hold on Ferro, we’re coming!”

“Hurry! Ultra-Boy’s pushing back scores of the Invaders, but it’s only a matter of time before…. Holy Sprock! What is that?”

“Ferro, what’s going on?”

“It’s impossible… I can’t believe that….. ARRGGHH”

“Ferro? Ferro!”

But the line was dead.

The only sound that filled the chamber was Ontiir’s continued laughter.

To be continued....

Legion of Super Heroes #14
“Earth War pt. II”

By Rouge2



The Legion Cruiser dipped and rolled, narrowly avoiding a volley of particle beam fire from the Khundish Frigate off it’s starboard valve.

“Wildfire!” screamed Lightning Lad.

“On it! I’m on it! Geez, I’m only one guy here.”

Wildfire tore through empty void between the two vessels and unleashed a torrent of Anti-Energy. The cannon battery on the warship was reduced to molten metal in a flash. The ship, defanged, veered away.

“One down, four hundred to go,” quipped Shadow Lass from the com.

“We’ll make it Shady, count on it,” shouted Garth from the pilot seat, “I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve yet.”

“Says the pilot who got his powers after crashing his cruiser into a planet.”

“Ha. Ha.”

“I’m just saying, it’s almost as bad as having Starboy-- Woah!”

The gravitational compensators went off-line momentarily as Garth pushed the Cruiser into a series of barrel rolls slicing through the narrow passage between two more Khundish Battleships.

“Sorry, you were saying?”

Shadow Lass just grumbled.

“Jan, how are the Shields holding out?”

“We’re at acceptable levels, but there’s not much in our reserves should we take any more substantial hits.”

“I don’t plan on it. Any sign of Imra and the others?”

“I’ve got Cos’s ship on view screen,” called out Invisible Kid. “They’re drawing heavy fire, but Supergirl’s soaking up a lot of-- umm, scratch that.”

“What? What happened?”

“She just took a direct hit, looks like she’s out of it. Flight ring monitor still shows life signs, but I don’t think she’s conscious…”

“And the ship?”

“…They’re about to get boarded.”

“Nass! Nass! Nass!”

Garth pulled hard to port and swung the ship about face.

“What the sprock are you doing?” shouted Shadow Lass.

“I’m not leaving Imra with those animals!”

“Worry about us, first! Cos and the crew can handle themselves, we don’t need more captured ships.”

Garth grimaced, but knew Shady was right. “I’ll come back for you, Imra,” he whispered to himself.

“Incoming call from Triplicate Girl’s ship!”

“We’re a little busy getting shoot at, Luornu,” Garth said, thumbing the communicator while never taking his eyes from the action outside.

“Us too, but I wanted you to know we’re disengaging.”

“What? On whose orders?”

“Well…”

There was a silence and then a second voice came on the airwaves.

“Mine, Lightning Lad.”

“Dream Girl?”

“I just had a vision, and I need to get to Zarox. Now.”

“Dreamy, we need to break this blockade and get to Earth.”

“Yes, you do. It’s vitally important you get there, but the plan won’t work unless we get help from Zarox first.”

“Who’s plan? What are you talking about?”

“You’ll see. We’ve got to go Garth. Good Luck.”

The line cut off.

“I can confirm they’ve left the battlefield,” sighed Lyle.

“Sprock it,” grumbled Garth. “We’ll do this ourselves.”

“Guys, watch your backs!” came Wildfire’s voice over the com.

Garth turned hard to starboard at the last moment. Several small star fighters zoomed past, in hot pursuit of Drake.

“Where’d they come from?”

“Uh-oh,” Shadow Lass said, furiously working the console.

“Uh-oh, what?” barked Garth.

“They’re Dominion models.”

“The Dominators? Here? Working with the Khunds? That doesn’t make any sense!”

“More bad news,” piped in Element Lad, “Shields are down.”

“But we didn’t take a hit!”

“I can’t explain it. The system just went off-line.”

“It’s a Dominator Scrambler,” yelled Lyle, “Garth, get out of here before it spreads to other systems!”

But it was too late. Navigation was off-line and Garth could hear the propulsion drives dying out. The Legion cruiser drifted helplessly and the Khundian Armada closed in.
_________________________________________

They had put up quite a fight when the Khunds boarded, but sheer strength of numbers was their undoing. Eventually the Legionnaires were subdued and Garth found himself thrown into a cell without light and very little heat.

He tried to summon up a discharge to blow the cell door up but couldn’t even manage a spark.

“Neural inhibitors….” He grumbled. He pounded on the cell door in frustration then slumped down to the floor. All he could do was wait.

After what seemed like days, the door swung open and several Khund warriors stood in the blinding light, weapons trained on him.

“Get up. Remember, we still have your friends. Do something stupid and one of them dies.”

They lead him through a labyrinth of iron and steel corridors. The stench was unbearable and it was inhumanly cold. The Khunds didn’t seem to mind, their dark pink skin was almost leather-like and had probably never known goose-flesh.

The corridor opened into a large room, almost as large as Legion Plaza itself. The outer area of the room was occupied with stadium style seating, and populated by what must have been thousands of Khunds. They were all deadly silent and stared at him intently as he got his bearing.

The gravelly expanse before him was littered with Man-sized blocks of stone, razor sharp configurations of what looked like metal wire, and curious looking spheres that glowed with a pale white light.

“An Arena…” he muttered.

“They call it a Challenge Court,” came a familiar voice. He turned to see Shadow Lass being led into the stadium next to him. She was similarly bound and guarded.

“It’s how they dispense their twisted brand of ‘justice’.”

Next to Shady stood Wildfire, or at least his containment suit, for the figure made no movement and seemed utterly lifeless. Beside him Lightning Lad could make out a figure struggling within a stasis field.

“Supergirl!” he shouted. “Can you hear me? Are the others…”

“Quiet! None are permitted to speak!” came a booming voice.

Garth looked up as a floating platform hovered to the centre of the room. Upon it rode a large Khund, distinguished by a billowing purple cape that adorned his battle armor. He held a glowing mace of some kind above his head.

“I am Drukar, Grand Magistrate of the Challenge Courts,” he thundered in a deep animalistic voice, “You, the Legion of Super-Heroes, have been charged with trespassing into Khund territory!”

“Earth is our territory,” bristled Garth.

“Not anymore,” sneered the Magistrate. “As the accused,” he continued, “You are permitted to challenge for your innocence in this most holy of courts. Four of your fiercest warriors have been selected to face four Warlords of Khundia. In the arena are Four Fusion Power Spheres that either side may use in the Battle.”

The Crowd suddenly let out a deafening chant that shook the arena:

“FOUR BY FOUR BY FOUR!”

Then returned to its ritualistic silence.

“And if we don’t want to fight your stupid fight for you?” offered Garth.

“You have no choice. Offer no resistance, and the Warlords will simply slaughter you without mercy.”

“And if we win?”

“You won’t.”

“But if we do?”

“Then your group is innocent and free to continue its journey.”

“And if we lose?” ventured Shadow Lass. The magistrate looked coldly upon her.

“After you have been killed on the floor of this Court, your remaining comrades will be executed.”

“You animals!’ bellowed Garth.

“Save your insults, whelp. You have enough problems.”

Drukar raised his hands above his head.

“Let the trial commence!”

With that his platform rose into the air and retreated to the far side of the arena. Across the floor, four new doors to the stadium slid open and the Khundian Warlords emerged. Each was more machine than flesh, sporting arsenals enough to arm an entire battalion, and battle-scarred armor that was painted in bizarre Khundish runes. The guards had retreated from the Court floor and Garth felt his bindings spring open. Electricity crackled out of his hands, leaving the now familiar smell of crisp ozone behind it.

He couldn’t help but smile for a brief second.

“Status?” he shouted.

“I’m good,” called Shady.

“Yeah, I can move again too,” replied Wildfire.

“Supergirl?”

“m’Okay… just a little drained,” said Kara, rubbing her arms.

“Can you get us out of here?” asked Lightning Lad.

Supergirl looked a little perplexed. “Ummm, I don’t think I can fly…”

“Hey, my thrusters aren’t working either,” said Wildfire.

“And the Flight Rings are useless,” commented Shadow Lass.

“Okay, so we’re not as free as we could be. Looks like we play it their way for now. Just be careful-- who knows what else these Nass-heads have up their sleeves. Let’s take the fight to them.”

“Now you’re talking,” said Wildfire, his fists erupting with a roar of anti-energy.

See hoe the fight plays out here: http://www.hcrealms.com/forum/showthread.php?t=195991

Kara’s heat vision flared up as she bore a hole thought the final warlord’s cybernetic arm. It sparked and hissed like a wild animal as she sheared off the end of the weapon attachment. It fell to the arena floor with a thud, then an instant later the rest of the appendage erupted into a ball of fire.

“Crap!” Kara cried. Without thinking, she pursed her lips and blew a blast of concentrated breath at the source of the explosion. Almost as soon as it started the blast was halted as a large ball of snow and ice appeared, capping the warrior’s severed limb.

The shockwave from the blast still continued however, lifting the Khund from his feet and hurling him across the battlefield with tremendous force.

He crashed to the ground with the horrible shrieking of rent metal. For several seconds Kara focused very hard, a wild panic creeping up her throat. Then she heard it: a heartbeat.

“Thank Rao!” she whispered.

Composing herself she turned and faced Drukar. She folded her arms and glared defiantly at him.

“Are we done here?”

“Yeah,” added Wildfire, raising his fist, “Who else wants some?”

While Wildfire’s enthusiasm may have held true for him, Kara knew her confidence was a façade. She was desperately fighting exhaustion, and could hear Lightning Lad’s laboured breathing behind her as well.

“Never let them know how much you hurt,” was one of Clark’s first lessons to her. “Let them think you’re as invincible as everyone says, it gives you the advantage when sometimes there is none.”

Supergirl pushed as hard as she could and forced herself off the ground, straining imperceptibly with every muscle to overcome the Gravity trap that hung over the arena. She rose no more that a foot off the ground but her point was made.

“Well?”

The Grand Magistrate grimly surveyed the battlefield.

“You have been judged innocent.” He snarled.

The crowd in the arena grumbled en masse and there were scattered shouts of rage and disgust.

“Silence!” screamed Drukar “Do not profane the most sacred of Courts. The law is clear, these Legionnaires are not guilty.”

He turned to face Kara,

“I would have preferred you stuck with tradition and killed your opponents, but there is nothing in the laws that expressly calls for this. You and your companions may continue your journey.”

“That’s it? You’re letting us go?” asked Shadow Lass incredulously.

“You have committed no crime as your actions here have proven. The other Legionnaires shall be released and returned to your ships. The charge of Trespassing shall be stricken from the record.”

“Unacceptable!”

An alien form rose in one of the observation boxes spread throughout the arena. It was a tall creature dressed in green robes. While humanoid in structure, its head was enlarged and it sported a seemingly impossible array of razor sharp teeth. It had yellow skin and sported a large red disc on it’s forehead.

“Guys, a little help here?” whispered Supergirl.

“It’s a Dominator” replied Garth, “They’re a hostile race known for all sorts of nastiness: Genetic Experiments, Hyperspace Weaponry, Slave Trading, you name it. They’re supposed to be at war with the Khunds.”

“These creatures are enemies of the Alliance. They are too dangerous to be set free when we worked so hard to capture them.”

“Your presence here is barely tolerated Alien.” said Drukar disgustedly. “You are here only because we both serve the Dark Lord. Do not challenge my authority, unless you would like to enter the court to defend yourself?”

The Dominator stared malevolently at the inquisitor and then sat down.

Drukar returned his attention to the Legion.

“But be warned, Legionnaires, your amnesty is not unlimited. If you choose to engage our forces on Earth or anywhere else, your verdict is overturned and the punishment is death.”

“Listen ugly…” began Wildfire.

“Enough Drake,” said Garth, “Let’s get our people and get out of here while we can.”

“Agreed,” said Shadow Lass, “we don’t have much time and now they know we’re coming.”

The four Legionnaires were led from the arena.


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


Across the galaxy another Legion Cruiser entered the atmosphere of a large brown planet orbiting a small dwarf star.

“We’re coming in for a landing,” said Triplicate Girl, “you sure these co-ordinates are correct Dreamy?”

“Dream Girl stood behind the Carggite, with a hand on her shoulder.

“Positive, Luornu.”

“But there’s nothing there. It’s in the ocean.”

“Trust me.”

As the cruiser descended to less than 1,000 meters the ocean surface below them began to shimmer. Triplicate Girl watched the view screen astonished as a blurry indistinct form began to take shape. As the vessel moved closer the geometry became more obvious.

“It’s an island….”

“Welcome to Zarox, the Sorcerer’s World.” smiled Dream Girl.

Phantom Girl laughed a little

“Too bad we didn’t have Brainy with us, he’d have an aneurysm around all this talk of magic.”

Dream Girl smiled. It was good to see Tinya talking. Ever since they had lost contact with Earth she had been keeping to herself, worried about Ultra-Boy.

“There are things even Brainy doesn’t understand,” she said, “He’ll always try to rationalise the mystic arts into some logical construct, but what happens here is as much a part of the universe as his science.”

Timber Wolf snorted.

“Well, these people had better conjure up a pretty good reason for us being here, because I’m still pretty sprocked off we’re not kicking Dark Circle nass on Earth.”

“Patience Brin, it will all make sense soon.”

The Cruiser landed and the team disembarked to find a delegation awaiting them. There were five beings of various sizes, but all in the same flowing white robes. The female in the front looked human and was quite striking with flowing red hair and a pale completion.

As soon as she and Dream Girl saw each other, they raced to embrace.

“Mysa, it’s been so long!”

“Nura, they said you were coming but I didn’t believe it.”

“Um, Excuse me?” interrupted Timber Wolf.

“Oh, sorry.” blushed Dream Girl, “Everyone, this is my sister Mysa. She’s been studying here for … well, for a long time.”

“Greetings Legionnaires, welcome to the Teacher’s Island. It is good of you to come in such dark times.”

“Then you know about Earth?” asked Triplicate Girl

Mysa nodded.

“We have followed his presence there.”

“Whose presence?” asked Triplicate Girl.

“The Dark Lord. The one responsible for all of this. He… he was an elder here on Sorcerer’s world. He was my teacher. But in reality he was a serpent waiting in the grass. All these years, he was simply biding his time, waiting to learn the secrets of this island.”

“What secrets?”

“The ultimate mastery of the mystic arts. He stole forbidden knowledge from the template as well as a malevolent artifact known as the Emerald Eye of Ekron. He used his newfound powers to enslave the enemies of your United Planets and bind then to a singular purpose.”

“Earth.”

“Yes, the final secrets of the very essence of magic lay buried forgotten beneath the Earth’s surface. If he remains there a single day more, Mordru the Merciless will have them, and all the universe will be under his thrall!”

To be continued...

“Earth War pt. III - the Conclusion”

By Rouge2



“Whoa!”

“OK, Everyone stay calm…”

“But Cos, look at it!”

“I know Jasmin, but we can’t let it get to us.”

“Let it get to us? The entire planet looks like it’s on sprocking fire!”

Out the view port, the Earth hung like a blood red ruby against the backdrop of Infinite space. Crimson clouds raced across the darkened surface as a myriad of enemy ships flitted across the continents like incandescent parasites.

“Look, we knew this would be bad, but right now we’ve got to focus setting it right.”

“Right now, I’d be more focused on the Khund armada that’s followed us all the way here waiting for us to step out of line,“ remarked Wildfire.

“We’ll deal with it, Drake.” Said Cosmic Boy, “First we need a target. Imra?”

“Scans show most of the activity is focused around Metropolis, that seems to be their command centre. I’m trying to pinpoint the exact… oh my…”

“What is it Imra?” asked Lighting Lad, moving to her side and staring at the screen.

“It’s Legion Plaza. They’re using Legion Plaza as their main headquarters!”

“That tears it, I’m through taking this kind of Nass from…”

“Cool it Wildfire, we need to stick to the plan. Imra, any sign of the others.”

"Not on scan, but let me….”

Saturn Girl closed her eyes and went silent. After several seconds of obvious strain she let out a gasp.

“I found Ultra Boy, Chemical King and few of the others holed up not far from plaza. Brainy’s telepathic blocks are on, so it was hard to locate them, and I can’t make contact, but they should be safe from Psi-scans.”

“OK, Brainy? You there?”

The communications link to the second ship crackled to live.

“Of course I’m here.”

“We have a target, you just need to get us in there.”

On the other cruiser, Brainiac 5 turned in his chair and faced the other Legionnaires.

“Lyle, I need you to come here for a moment.”

Invisible Kid left his station and moved to Brainy’s.

“What is it, Brainy?”

The Coluan motioned to a circular opening on his console.

“I need you to stick your hand in there.”

“What? But…”

“There is no time for argument, I require your assistance without question for this to work.”

Lyle sighed and stuck his hand into the opening.

“This isn’t going to hurt is it?” he grinned nervously.

“Actually, it will be excruciating.”

Brainiac 5 flicked a switch and Lyle howled in pain.

“Cloak engaged,” Brainy said into the com, “Both our ships are now undetectable until such time as Invisible Kid loses consciousness, which will be roughly five minutes or so.”

“Ok,” answered Cosmic Boy “Let’s move. Don’t forget to thank Lyle for volunteering.”

“Of course,” said Brainy glancing sideways at the young Legionnaire staring daggers through him.


“My Lord, we have lost them!”

Mordru the Merciless rose from his throne as glared malevolently at the Khund warrior before him.

“What?”

“The Legionnaires en route to Earth, they simply vanished!”

“Explain yourself!”

“We had them on sensors my lord, and then they just … blinked out.”

“Mordru raised his hand and a small globe rose up form behind him. It floated, eerily silent, next to its master. Entirely white, except for green and black circles at the centre. The Khund warrior realised with horror that he was staring at an unblinking eyeball.

A second later the eye flashed to life with electrical green energy. Emerald energy arced from the eye obliterating the Warrior and leaving no trace behind. The Emerald Eye of Ekron than vanished once more from view.

“What of the other Legionnaires, the one’s here on Earth?”

“Still in hiding, my Lord,” said the Dominator Caste Leader at the foot of his throne.

Mordru spat.

“You’re reliance on ‘science’ is your undoing. All this technology and you can’t find a group of children.”

“My Lord, perhaps if we contacted Stargrave, we could pool…”

“I am Mordru!” The Dark Lord roared. “I need no help from the likes of Pulsar Stargrave! After I have what I need from this planet, this “Robotican Uprising” will be crushed next!”

“Yes, my Lord. Of course.”

"I think it’s time I take matters into my own hands.”


“Mordru’s power continues to grow exponentially,” continued Mysa, “even the combined might of your Legion won’t stand a chance against him now.”

“Than what are we doing here?” asked Triplicate Girl, “We need to warn the others.”

“No,” whispered one of the teachers, it’s raspy voice matching it’s ghostly form, “They must confront Mordru, it is our only hope.”

“But you just said…”

“I said they can’t fight him now, but if we can weaken him, they may have a chance.”

“How do we do that?”

Mysa pushed open a pair of large double doors. They opened into a dark chamber lit entirely by candles. The walls and ceiling were lost in the murk, but the floor was adorned with a large circle, nearly thirty meters in diameter. Strange runes were etched within it’s perimeter.

“We take the power that he stole back.”

“Grife! Look at that!” murmured Phantom Girl.

“How does it work?” asked Dream Girl.

“The spell itself is not difficult, finding Mordru is. This won’t work unless we are in contact with him.”

“But he’s halfway across the galaxy!” grumbled Timber Wolf.

“But so are your friends.”

“Wait a minute, you want us to link through to Cos and the others, like a conduit?”

“Essentially, yes.”

“But our communications system won’t reach that far. Not without serious delay.”

“”We don’t need your technology,” snapped one of the other teachers, a avian looking alien with wild eyes.

“But how, Saturn Girl can’t even bridge that distance.”

“But Love can,” said Mysa kindly.

“Oh grife!” growled Timber Wolf, “This gets hokier and hokier.”

“Believe what you will, but the connection between two souls can bridge any gap in time or space. That is why we needed you here.”

“But who…” started Triplicate Girl, and then stopped and followed everyone’s gaze. They were all staring at Phantom Girl.

“M...me?” she asked confused.

“Yes,” said Mysa taking her hand, “you have a connection to one on Earth who yet lives to confront Mordru.”

“Jo? He’s alive?”

Mysa nodded.

“And this will help him?”

“It is not without risk,” said the young sorceress.

“I don’t care, if this is the only chance they’ve got, then let’s do it!”

The other Legionnaires nodded in approval.

“Ok, then let us prepare the spell, we haven’t much time.”


“Grife, they’ve found us!” shouted Ultra Boy, unleashing a blast of Flash Vision into a Dominator tank.

“Fall back and form a perimeter!” shouted a helmeted Science Police officer.

“You got it Shvaughn,” said Ferro Lad, taking up position.

“It’s ‘Officer Erin’ you terrorist squaj! Don’t play friendly with me.”

The young Science Police officer had been thrown in with Ultra Boy’s group when the invasion began. Although it wasn’t what you’d call a rosy relationship, her tactical training had been useful in keeping their rag tag group together.

A second tank rolled into view,. Before it could aim it’s weaponry however, the ground began to shake and an ear-piercing scream filled the air. The tank shuttered and shook, before it’s armour shattered and the crippled vehicle powered down.

“Tyroc! I had that,” barked Ultra Boy, “save your strength.”

“Man, I don’t remember voting to let you call the shots!” snapped the young Legionnaire, gripping his side in pain.

“He’s right though,” said Chemical King, helping to right his friend, “You’re injured, and need to cool it.”

“I’ll cool it when every last one of these things are off my planet!”

“Incoming!” shouted Ferro.

The sky suddenly went dark as a squadron of Arial bombers took to the sky.

“Things don’t look to good, huh?” grimaced Ultra Boy

“Just make sure you take as many as you can before they get us,” said Shvaughn.

The Legionnaires braced for battle as the bombers closed in, when the sky was suddenly torn apart by a raging storm of Anti-Energy. Numerous aircraft well from the sky, trailing plumes of smoke behind them.

“WHOOO-HOOO!” Screamed Wildfire as he torn off through the sky after them.

“Grife, I never thought I’d be glad to see that pain in the nass,” smiled Chemical King.

“Heads up Legionnaires, your re-enforcements have arrived,” shouted Cosmic Boy, swooping into view with the others in tow.

“Glad you could make it,” grinned Ultra Boy.

“Don’t be thankful yet, we’re moments ahead of a whole army heading this way.”

“What, an army against a Legion?” smiled the young Rimborian.

The battle raged for what seemed like hours. Wave after wave of Dark Circle soldiers, backed up by Khund Infantry and Dominator Air Support, pounded on the Legion position. The young heroes in turn ploughed through scores of their enemies, pushing through tonnes of wreckage and forcing the ever so gradual retreat of the Dark Alliance.

"We’re making progress, with thankfully no casualties!” screamed Cos above the din of battle.

“Don’t get cocky!” replied Shvaughn, "we haven’t seen him yet.”

“Seen who?”

There was a large thunder clap and Brainy’s Force Field above them shattered, the feed back sending him sprawling.

“Him.” said Shvaughn.

Towering above the battle stood Mordru the Merciless, nearly 70 feet tall. His white beard blew in the wind and his eyes were wide with madness. Circling his head was a small orb of some sort, green energy crackling from it.

“Legionnaires!” He boomed.

“I am Mordru. I am both your better and your master. Bow down before me, or I shall eliminate you one by one.”

“The Legion surrenders to no one,” shouted Cosmic Boy.

“So be it!”

Mordru pointed a finger toward the groups location. There was a surge of power and all the hair on their necks stood up on end. There was a large buzzing noise followed by a scream of pain.

“Condo!” shouted Tyroc.

Chemical King’s frame was struck by the Dark Lord’s mystical energy and had become translucent. Condo screamed in pain as his skin melted away and his skeletal structure was laid bare before slouching over and falling to the ground.

“You bastard!” screamed Ultra Boy, letting loose with a full torrent of Flash Vision.

The Blue Energy leapt from his eyes and spread in a wide arc, engulfing all of Mordru’s face. Jo was putting out enough radiation to melt a large city, but the evil sorcerer just laughed as wave after wave of energy pounded harmlessly into him.

“Jo”

Ultra boy continued to push as hard as he could.

“Jo!”

He shook his head, in his grief and rage he was now hearing things.

“Jo, listen to me, that’s not doing anything. You need to do what I ask.”

“Tinya?” he said puzzled, “Where?”

“Jo, there’s no time. He’s going to swat you in a second, I need you to do exactly what I say. I need you to use your Pentra Vision instead. You have to try and look inside him, and when you do, PULL as hard as you can.”

“You got it, babe”

Ultra Boy switched powers and began to peer into the gigantic frame of Mordru. At first he thought nothing was happening because he couldn’t see anything, then he realised that what he was seeing was the pure and utter darkness inside the being known as Mordru.

“Pull, Jo. Pull!”

Jo began to mentally tug on the darkness. It resisted at first, and then as if he had undammed a river, it suddenly began to rush towards him.

As the shadowy substance hit his body, he felt it just a quickly being siphoned away form him somehow. As if it were being flung across the vastness of the galaxy.

“What’s Happening?” screamed Mordru, as the energy flowed out of him.

Friend and foe alike, watched awe struck as the energy began to escape from the Dark Lord. As the power leeched away, Mordru’s stature began to diminish, swiftly shrinking him down from his impossible size.

“That’s it Jo, just a little more.”

“No sweat, we got this guy on the ro…Arrgh!”

A blast of green energy enveloped Ultra Boy, had he not switched his powers to invulnerability instinctively, he would have been fried to a crisp. As it was, the concussive force of the blast ripped through every fiber of his being and he felt himself losing consciousness and plummeting to the ground as the Emerald Eye of Ekron hovered over him dispassionately.


Tinya’s eyes opened in shock.

“I’ve lost contact,” she said.

She sat in the middle of the circle, her hands joined with Mysa’s. The young Sorceress looked pale and drained. Around the outside of the circle sat the teachers interspaced with her friends, as of them sweating profusely from the strain of the spell.

Mysa took a moment to catch her breath.

“It was the Eye,” she gasped.

“Is Jo OK?”

“I’m sorry, I… I just don’t know.”

“Can’t you establish contact? Can’t you do something?”

“I’m sorry Phantom Girl, we’ve done all we can. All that’s left is to hope that we drained enough power to make Mordru vulnerable, and that your friends have the strength to deal with him.”


Back on Earth the battle reached fever-pitch. Mordu, drained, but obviously still dangerous, swatted Legionnaires out of the sky like gnats. Each time he did so, however, he seemed to diminish in size a little. The Legionnaires, in the meantime had managed to neutralize most of the allied army, leaving Mordru and his inner circle to deal with.

“Status,” barked Cosmic Boy.

“Imra, Tasmia, Jan, Jo, Thom and a few others are down. Wildfire’s suit is leaking and I don’t think this magic is doing Supergirl any favours,” shouted Kid Quantum.

“Ok, let’s finish this,” shouted Cosmic Boy,

Pulling to together as much wreckage as he could from the nearby area, he fashioned a shelter for the wounded, then rose up in the air.

“Those of you with working flight rings, carry those who can’t. We’re taking this fight right to Mordru. Watch out for the Eye and any other surprises. Don’t do anything stupid, but don’t hold back, not even for a second. Let’s go Legionnaires!”

“Let’s go Legionnaires!” the others shouted in unison, converging on the location of the madly laughing Mordru.

See how the battle plays out here: http://www.hcrealms.com/forum/showthread.php?t=199538

“Foolish Mortals!” cried Mordru, clenching his fists and shattering Kid Quantum’s hold on him.

“I am a Lord of Chaos! I cannot be killed, and I certainly can’t be defeated by the likes of you. Continue to waste your energies trying to contain me, and when the last of you falls from exhaustion, I will ….”

“Ok,” growled Supergirl, “That. Is. ENOUGH.”

The Girl of Steel hurled herself at full speed into Mordru’s mid-section, catching the sorcerer off-guard and carrying him into the stratosphere.

“Kara, NO!” Shouted Brainiac 5, “His magic!”

But Supergirl was already engaged and out of sight.

“Stupid girl,” snarled Mordru, “I will crush you like…”

“Keep talkin’ Beardo,” grunted Supergirl, shifting course and driving back towards the Earth as fast as she could.

She aimed for an expanse in the Gobi desert, still untouched even after all these centuries of technology creeping over the planet like a second skin. It was, vast and wide, and more importantly uninhabited.

They stuck the surface of the Earth with the force of ten atomic bombs. Sand was turned to glass and debris and dust flew into the air covering a radius of several miles. At the center of the crater Supergirl, continued the unrelenting push against the tyrant. They broke through the surface of the earth and began tunneling into the crust.

Within seconds they were into the Earth’s upper mantle. The pressure and heat were monstrous. Kara could feel Mordru’s body begin to go slack.

“What’s happening to me?” he screamed.

Supergirl pushed even harder, and the descent continued. They were now down into the Lower mantle. Sweat poured off of Kara and evaporated instantly. Mordru’s eyes rolled back into his head.

An instant later they broke into the liquid iron core itself and the two bodies were suddenly enveloped by the intense fires of the Earth’s very essence.


“Brainy, where are they?” shouted Cosmic Boy

Brainy worked furiously on his Omnicron.

“Seismic activity is dying down as they move deeper under the surface,” he said, “But there’s too much interference, I can’t…. wait! More seismic activity. It’s on a vector that heads straight for…. Grife! Everybody hang onto something!”

The ground beneath the Legionnaires began to shake and rumble. Many of them were thrown to the ground as the tremors seemed to increase. Then, just as suddenly, they stopped.

“200 Metres down.” said Brainy hoarsely.

“Ok, everyone get ready,” said Cosmic Boy grimly.

The ground beneath them erupted and from the chasm Supergirl emerged, battered, bruised and covered in soot.

“Kara!” shouted Brainiac 5 ecstatically.

“hi…” she said weakly, collapsing in his arms.

“Are you Okay? Where’s Mordru?”

“He…he went into some kind of coma. I left him at the centre of the Earth. I can still hear his heartbeat, but it’s slow and steady. I think he’s gonna stay there if we leave him.”

“Good work Supergirl,” said Cosmic Boy

“Thanks boss,” she said with a tired smile, “We made it out of this okay, huh?”

Cosmic Boy lowered his head.

“Not all of us…”

Across the Plaza Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad knelt over Tyroc.

“Troy…” said Garth, griping his comrade’s hand.

Tyroc coughed and spit up some blood.

“C…Condo?”

Saturn Girl looked over her shoulder as Shadow Lass shook her head mournfully and blanketed Chemical King’s remains in shadow.

“He’ll be fine,” she projected telepathically, “Please don’t try and speak.”

“You’re a horrible liar,” he thought back with a smile, “Guess this is it, huh?”

“No Troy, hold on. We’re trying to get help…”

“It’s cool, Imra. I’m cool. I remember when you two came to Marzal to recruit me. I told ya joining you fools would be the death of me.”

“You were a real hero today, Tyroc.”

Tyroc smiled, and squeezed Garth’s hand and nodded at Imra.

“You take good care of her, brother.”

“You know it,” said Lightning Lad, forcing a smile.

“Now stand back, I gotta say something.”

Garth and Imra silently stood up and backed away from the stricken Legionnaire.

Tyroc took a deep and laboured breath then let out a deafening scream.

“UIUUIEEEE!”

As the others watched, the very sound of his voice seemed to take shape above him, forming a radiant white dove. The light grew in intensity until they all had to shield their eyes. When it had faded, Tyroc’s body was no longer there. All trace of the Legionnaire had vanished save for his flight ring, which sat mournfully on the ground.

Saturn Girl began to cry on Lightning Lad’s shoulder.

“Um, Cos?” asked Kid Quantum quietly.

Cosmic boy stared at her, grief welling up in his eyes.

“I know this isn’t the best time, but the communications grid is open again. It looks like the Khunds and Dominators are fighting each other.”

“Mordru’s hold on them must have broken…” said Wildfire.

“It looks like they’re pulling back out of Earth-space. We did it! We won!”

Cosmic Boy took to the sky and hovered above his teammates.

“Everyone,” he began slowly.

“We’ve lost good friends today in Tyroc and Chemical King. They sacrificed everything to save us all. We will get a chance to grieve them and to thank them later.”

The other Legionnaires nodded sadly, some of them only now letting the realisation hit them that their friends were really gone.

“Right now though, there are still scores of injured civilians to tend to and after that, a planet to rebuild. Computo is still out there, and so is the Dark Circle.

“But I want each of you to remember this day. Today we stood up and showed the galaxy what we’re made of. Today we liberated this planet and put an end to a tyrant. Today, we showed them what underagers can do. Today we proved that working together for a common good means something. Today… We were Legion.

“There will be time to grieve, and there will be time to celebrate. But right now, I need you all to take a deep breath and focus. Enjoy this moment, and then let’s get to work.”

He raised his fist in the air.

“Long Live the Legion!”

“Long Live the Legion,” the others shouted triumphantly.

This is awesome Dave, thanks for posting!

Thanks kindly. It's been interesting dredging these up, as I had honestly forgotten a lot of the details and it's only been a few years.

“You’ve got to be Sprockin’ kidding me!”

Freshly minted Science Police Chief Kimball Zendak stared calmly at the indignant young woman in front of him.

“I assure you Officer Erin, I am quite serious.”

Shvaughn Erin slammed her fists into Zendak’s desk, her nostrils flared and her eyes were wild with anger.

“But sir,” she cried, “I was just awarded a medal of distinction for my efforts in the Earthwar!”

“Yes, for working with the Legion to stop Mordru…”

“Then why punish me by saddling me with those sqajs’ anymore than--”

“Officer Erin,” Zendak interrupted sternly, “The United Planets have chosen to recognize the Legion’s efforts in the Earthwar by granting them official status as a sanctioned Crisis Response Unit. As such they require a Science Police Liaison. Given your recent history, there is no one more qualified…”

“But Sir--”

“That is enough, Officer!” Zendak stood to face the hot-headed young woman. “I could frankly give a flying nass about your opinion in the matter. I have an entire planet that is under reconstruction, an Earthgov that’s all but wiped out, and a decimated Police force to rebuild. I could care less about my predecessor’s problems with the Legion. I’ll take all the help I can get right now, and you’ll facilitate that. Are we clear?”

“Yes sir.”

“Good. A Legion representative will meet you in the lobby. Dismissed.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Shvaughn grumbled to herself the whole turbo-lift ride to the lobby. This was not the plumb assignment she had envisioned herself getting. While she grudgingly admitted to herself that the Legion had fought well and even bravely against the forces of Mordru, they were still little more that a band of under-aged hooligans. This new affiliation with the U.P. wasn’t sitting well with the rank and file members of the Science Police, and she was definitely not going to get any favorable treatment being the officer assigned to baby sit them.

The lift came to an abrupt halt, and she exited the tube. It took her exactly one nanosecond to identify her contact: he was the one everyone in the lobby was keeping a minimum of forty feet distance from. He was also the only Durlan within several light years’ distance.

“Chameleon Boy,” she said curtly.

“Ah, Officer Erin. Nice to meet you,” the alien said jovially extending his hand.

Shvaughn recoiled slightly. Despite time spent with these delinquents, she still couldn’t come to grips with their pre-disposition for actual physical contact with other individuals. She took a deep breath and clasped his hand in a perfunctory manner as briefly as possible.

The Legionnaire was nearly as tall as she was, although the orange antenna protruding from his forehead technically made him taller. His face was smooth and nearly featureless except for the pointed ears and wide, toothy smile. His costume was a mix of red and purple, with the exception of the black band around his right bicep. An affectation all the Legionnaires were sporting to remember the sacrifice of their fallen comrades in the Earthwar.

Of course, his appearance was all a façade, as the shape-shifting alien could look like anything it wanted. Even its clothing wasn’t real. Shvaughn shuddered slightly. She had just shook hands with a naked alien.

“Shall we go? A sky-jumper will be picking us up outside.”

“Yes, of course.”

As they left the lobby to stand outside, the few people that passed gave them a wide berth, with looks of obvious disgust directed at the Durlan. He seemed oblivious and chatted away with the officer.

“I know many of your colleagues are probably upset with our new affiliation,” he commented, “and obviously this hasn’t gone over well within our membership either, but I’m really looking forward to working closely with the S.P.”

Shvaughn frowned. “Really, why is that?”

“I personally respect keepers of Law and Order. Coming from a world as chaotic and lawless as Durla, I can greatly appreciate the role a proper police force can play in society.”

Noticing Shvaughn’s raised eyebrow, he laughed. “We’re not raving anarchists, you know. Well, not all of us, anyway.”

“Funny - you seem intent on bringing the entire fabric of the U.P. down.”

“Not true. We’re trying to break the oppression that under-agers face and foster a new, more open society.”

“Not everyone would see that as a distinction.”

“What about you, Officer Erin?”

Shvaughn chewed her words over a little and against her judgment stated her actual opinion. “In the Science Police, we train long and hard to be able to interact with others on a daily basis. You people not only do it openly and often, you seem to really enjoy it. Doesn’t that strike you as unnatural and just not very… wholesome?”

“Just the opposite. It’s been years of social conditioning that have led people to avoid interaction and meaningful relationships. The tipping point is coming when Earth will swing back to a more tolerant and interactive society again.”

Shvaughn shook her head and was about to respond when a sky-jumper roared into the plaza area coming to a screeching halt before them. The doors to the small transport vehicle opened and they stepped inside.

Triplicate Girl sat at the helm, the navigation console and the communication station. One of the three identical triplicates of the young Carggite turned to the newcomers.

“Hi Cham. Officer.” The addressing of Shvaughn was dripping in sarcasm and disdain. Shvaughn barely had time to strap in before the sky-jumper roared back into the sky, roughly jolting the Science Police Officer around.

“More open and tolerant my a**,” she grumbled.

“Where are we heading, Lu?”

“Time Institute. Brainy’s meeting with some suits about the Supergirl situation. Cos wanted us there in case something goes wrong.”

“Are you expecting something to go wrong?” shouted Shvaughn over the Engine roar.

“Its Brainiac 5 in a laboratory. Odds are something will explode,” chuckled Cham.

“Besides,” responded one of the Triplicates, “I’m sure Cos wants to look important with the election coming up and all.”

“Election?”

“Our annual Leadership Election is coming up, and Cosmic Boy’s popularity took a hit after he accepted the deal from… you people.”

“Wait, your going to change leaders? Based on a vote?”

“You got it.” snarked Triplicate Girl, “Maybe we should call you Brainiac.”

“But who’s running against Cosmic Boy?”

“Just about everyone. Why don’t you ask the Legionnaire next to you.”

Shvaugn turned to Cham. “You?”

Cham grinned sheepishly.

“But will people actually vote for… you know… a Durlan?”

“I can think of no better way to change the image of my race than to take such a prominent role.”

Shvaugn sighed. This was going to be one hell of a report to fill out.

They arrived at the time institute - a sprawling techno-city unto itself. It had miraculously survived the Earthwar more or less intact. The Legionnaires disembarked from the jumper and entered the complex.

The reception area was a massive atrium, easily the size of a football field with turbo lifts and transport tubes snaking their way off to distant parts of the Institute. In the centre of the foyer was a large golden statue of Rip Hunter, father of Chronal Theory. He seemed to stare down at all visitors with a warm and inviting smile.

“Legionnaires,” squawked one of the Avian receptionists, “the Chronarch is waiting for you. Please take Transport Tube B”.

Chameleon Boy, Triplicate Girl and Officer Erin entered the capsule in the tube and were immediately whisked through the bowels of the institute, coming to rest almost instantaneously in the main lab of the Institute’s Chronarch, Circadia Senius. The insectoid administrator was currently conferring with Brainac 5 and Cosmic Boy in the centre of the Lab. Supergirl, Kid Quantum and Lightning Lad were milling around to the side. Cham and the others sidled up to Supergirl’s crew.

“What’s the news?” asked Cham.

“It’s hard to say,” grumbled Kid Quantum. “Between Brainy’s techno babble and Garth’s incessant campaigning, I haven’t been able to understand a sprockin’ thing.”

“Hey,” said Lightning Lad, “I was just telling Jasmin how if I were elected--”

“Save it. Please,” groaned Kid Quantum. “If I have to hear it again I’m going to go into meltdown.”

“They ran a bunch of tests,” said Supergirl. “I think they’re trying to sort out the results.”

“K-K-K-Quite K-K-correct, Supergirl,” responded Circadia, turning to face the group. “It would appear Supergirl’s K-K-K-Chronoton Levels are K-K-K-consistant with the jump forward in time she took-K-K-K.”

“So does that mean you can get me home?”

“It’s not that simple,” replied Brainaic 5, “In the past thousand years no one’s been able to reproduce Rip Hunter’s work and create any sort of consistently viable form of Time Travel. In fact, in the last two hundred years, no one’s been able to move anything through time at all.”

“Oh,” Said Supergirl sadly.

“But,” he continued, “no one of my unparalleled intellect has tackled the problem, either.”

“Oh, grife!” moaned Kid Quantum.

Supergirl smiled. “Thanks, Brainy, that’s sweet.”

Brainiac 5 turned quickly back to his console to hide his blushing.

“But more important is the other signal,” said Circadia.

“What other signal?” asked Cham.

“Supergirl has an excess of K-K-K-Chronotons, but they are cirK-K-Kcling her in a repeat pattern.”

“Meaning what, exactly?”

“Circadia and I have theorized that the Chronoton pattern attached to Supergirl is actually the original target of the Time Travel attempt.”

“Original target?” frowned Supergirl. “Brainy, you’ve lost me.”

“I believe that when you were… attacked, your body was actually reduced to Chronoton particles. They would have eventually responded to Entropic forces and drifted towards the end of time, except there was an unusually strong Chronal Event near your location at roughly the same time. Your particles were attracted to the signal and attached themselves to it, in a way, displacing the original. That’s why Computo was so surprised to see Supergirl. He had expected something else entirely.”

“Wait,” interrupted Cos, “So what happened to the original time traveler?”

“It’s linked to Supergirl. The signal’s weak, but it is possible to re-constitute it.”

“So there’s been a time traveler living in my body these past few weeks?”

“In a manner of speaking, yes.”

“Kal…” said Supergirl under her breath.

“So how do we find out what this signal was…?”

Brainiac pushed a button on the console and turned to face the others. “We pull it out.”

A sphere of electrical energy formed in the centre of the Lab.

“Brainy, wait!” shouted Cos. But all of their voices were drowned out by the roar as a huge discharge shook the room. Portions of both the north and south walls collapsed and several pieces of equipment began to spark.

“Are you out of your mind?” shouted Cos, “You have no idea--”

“A heartbeat!” cried Kara, racing towards the southern breach. She frantically pulled rubble off of the man who was just thrown through the wall.

“Unhhh…” he groaned.

“Here, let me help you up,” she said, holding out her hand.

“S..S… Supergirl?” said the costumed figure, surprised.

“Hourman?” said an equally dumbfounded Supergirl.

“K-K-K-Chronoton readings off the scale,” chirped Circadia.

“What, the heck’s that?” said Rick Tyler, trying to gain his bearings.

“It’s okay, he’s friendly.”

“But where are we? What’s going on? They said you were dead….”

“They did? Oh no. Listen, it’s a long story. What’s the last thing you remember?”

“I was with the JSA in the Siege Tower and I was fighting…. Uh-oh!”

At the opposite end of the room a second figure emerged. His cold dispassionate eyes scanned the room as he sized up his situation.

“Little worm,” he growled, “I don’t know where you’ve taken me, but I thank you.”

Suddenly the equipment in the room began to move, seemingly of its own accord.

“You’ve given me so many tools to kill you with.”

Before the Legionnaires’ eyes the technology around them began to morph and mold into threatening constructs.

“Robotican?” asked Cos.

“No, this is something different,” responded Brainiac 5, “He seems to be animating the technology with his mind.”

“His name’s Baron Bedlam,’ said Hourman, “He’s one of Darkseid’s lackeys.”

“Then we shut him down, quickly!” said Supergirl clenching her fists.

“Let’s go Legionnaires!”

See how the fight plays out here: http://www.hcrealms.com/forum/showthread.php?t=203832

EPILOGUE:

The battle continued at a furious pace, with the automatons pressing on with their relentless attack.

“I don’t get it,” yelled Cosmic Boy, “We’ve shut this guy down, why are his toys still attacking?”

“I surmise that his actual consciousness is jumping between automatons” said Brainiac 5, “We need to isolate them.”

Supergirl let loose a blast of icy breath, knocking the airborne automaton from the sky.

“One down,” she said.

Hourman smashed his clenched fists together on either side if the brutish automan’s head. It sparked and shuddered as its skull caved in.

“Another here.”

“That leaves one,” grunted Shvaughn.

She threw herself into a diving roll, ending up on her stomach with her blaster drawn. She let loose with a series of short bursts aimed at the mechanical legs. The concussive blasts ripped the knee joins from the monstrosity and it teetered for a few seconds before collapsing under its own weight.

“Nice shooting, officer,” said Cosmic Boy.

“Quick,” shouted Brainiac, “We need to secure it before he jumps to another…”


But before he could finish there was a tremendous explosion as the roof caved in.

Supergirl instinctively cut loose with a wide dispersment of heat vision, trying to destroy any of the debris crashing down on her teammates. Surprisingly, the beams met resistance a few metres above her head. Similarly, the falling rubble crashed into an invisible opposing force and appeared to rest on the empty air above the Legionnaires.

“Force field,” said Kara, “Brainy?”

“It isn’t mine, although there are similarities.”

“I’ve improved upon it.”

The new voice belonged to a woman who stood on a circular platform floating above the opening in the ceiling. The green pigment of her skin revealed her to be of Coluan origin, and she sported shoulder length flaxen yellow hair. She wore a simple black skin suit and stood with her arms clasped behind her back. She surveyed the Legionnaires dispassionately.

“You?” cried Brainiac 5 in surprise.

“Your emotions get the better of you again, Querl Dox. That is why you are destined to fail.”

The newcomer turned to the confused Baron Bedlam.

“Baron, I have been expecting you for some time. My Computo is in need of your talents.”

“Your Computo?” growled Kid Quantum, “That tears it!”

Jasmin unleashed an quantum discharge that proved entirely ineffective against the Force Field that encased them.

Ignoring the Legionnaires efforts to free themselves, the Coluan woman pressed a button on her belt and a stasis field formed around herself, and extended down to the Baron’s remaining body.

“Release me,” cried the Apokolyptian Warrior.

“Silence,” said the woman.

There was a large popping sound and they were gone.

“Short-haul transmatter jump,” said Brainaic 5, “Facinating.”

“Sprock their disappearing act,” barked Cosmic Boy, “get us out of here!”

“No need, the force field is no longer active.”

“Ok, Legionnaires, spread out and secure the area. I want to make sure there are none of those animated monsters left.”

“Wait a minute,” asked Hourman, “Can someone please explain to me what the heck is going on here? Who are you people?”

“It’s a long story,” said Supergirl with a smile, “just hang on for two secs, Okay?”

“Brainy,” said Kid Quantum, helping Chameleon to his feet, “who was that woman?”

“It should be obvious,” said Brainy mimicking the mystery woman’s dispassion, “She was Pulsar Stargrave.”

“But none of us knew who Pulsar Stargrave was, including you,” interjected Cham, “so how are you suddenly aware of her identity?”

“Pulsar Stargrave would be an assumed name” said Brainy dismissively, “She changes names a lot.”

“But you still haven’t said who she is…” prompted Supergirl.

“On Colu, she was designated Brainiac 4.”

“Brainiac 4…” said Kara, “ But that means…”

“Yes,” said Brainiac 5, a hint of emotion creeping into his voice, “She is my mother. And she is a danger to all who live.”

Legion of Super Heroes #17
“Revenge of the Rejects”

By Rouge2

“So, I’m trapped here in the future?”

“Well, from our perspective,” said Cosmic Boy, “you’ve come to the present, from the past.”

Rick Tyler, the Hourman, shook his head.

“And I can’t wander off by myself, or ask questions about my time?”

“Look, we’re trying our best to get you back, and if we do we don’t want to pollute the timeline anymore than we have to. The less you know about your future, the better.”

“But what about Supergirl? I don’t see you keeping her under house arrest.”

“To be honest, she has been under our constant supervision, it’s just never really been an issue.”

“What do you mean?”

“She just hasn’t asked a lot of those questions, she seems almost… content.”

“Well sorry, but when I last left my team, they were on what amounted to a Suicide Mission. Getting back to them is my number one priority.”

“And it's ours too, as soon as we get our.. um… resource back on the case.”

“You mean the green kid?”

“Brainiac 5, yes.”

“So where is he?”

“He’s a little… indisposed.”
_________________________________________

“C’mon Brainy, you can’t hide in there forever!”

Supergirl stood on the outside of Brainiac 5’s Lab. The young Coulan had disappeared inside, locking the entrance behind him as soon as they had returned from the Time Institute. That was fourteen hours ago.

“Hey, this is nothin’,” said Wildfire, leaning against the wall across from the Lab’s vault-like door, “When Brainy lost the last leader election he sulked in there for two weeks.”

Supergirl pressed on, unperturbed.

“Brainy, listen, I know you’re upset about your Mom being Pulsar Stargrave, but that’s no reason to shut us out. We’re your friends!”

Wildfire looked around in mock puzzlement and was about to say something in protest before Supergirl shot him a dirty look.

“Listen, I didn’t even get to know my Mom very well, so I can’t imagine what you’re going through, but it would make me…”

Her pleadings were cut off as a massive rumbling sound emanated from the lab. The force of the explosion shook the entire headquarters.

“Brainy’s lab exploding? There’s a shock!” said Wildfire.

“Shut up and help me,” said Supergirl unleashing her heat vision on the reinforced doors.

Wildfire added his anti-energy blasts to the Kryptonian’s heat vision and moments later, the entrance way was reduced to molten slag.

Supergirl rushed in and took a sweep of the rubble inside with her X-Ray vision.

Brainiac 5 stood impassively in the centre of the blast zone, and trickle of green blood oozing down his forehead.

“Brainy, you’re hurt!”

“Only slightly,” he said, “the micro-surgery had to be rushed at the last minute.”

“Micro-surgery?”

“Yes, I was removing a foreign object from my cranium when I triggered its self-destruct routine. I had to extract it quickly to get my force field up in time.”

“There was a sprocking bomb in your head?” said Wildfire incredulously.

“Much more than that, I’m afraid.”

Cosmic Boy and Saturn Girl flew down the hall with Hourman and Shvaughn Erin in tow behind them.

“Status!” shouted Cosmic Boy.

“It is under control, I merely removed an explosive implant from my head.”

“You what?”

“Perhaps we should take this to a meeting room and I’ll explain.”

As the Legionnaires headed to the Mission Monitor room, Hourman caught Supergirl by the arm.

“Is the future always this messed up?”

“You have no idea,” she grinned.
_________________________________________

Brainiac 5 stood at the monitor screen as the others took their seats.

“For months now, we’ve been one step behind Pulsar Stargrave and her plans. From the formation of the second Legion, to Computo, to the Earthwar, to her usage of Time Travel. It is completely unacceptable that I have been unable to anticipate any of her actions.”

“Brainy, no one expects you to…” began Kara.

Brainiac interrupted her.

“You fail to understand. I have a twelfth level intellect. It is not an abject failure in judgment on my part, it is simply impossible. In brief, I’m too smart not to figure this equation out.”

“Not to mention modest,” said Hourman, rolling his eyes.

Brainiac 5 continued undeterred.

"Therefore I came to the inevitable conclusion that something was interfering with my thought processes. After a thorough investigation, I located the object and removed it from my neural pathways.”

“Wait a minute,” said Wildfire, “someone stuck something in your brain to make you stupid?”

“Crude, yet accurate,” nodded Brainiac 5, “ I estimate I’ve only been operating at 9 to 10th level intelligence for quite some time.”

“But why go to the trouble?” said Shvaughn, “Why not kill you? Or make you as smart as the rest of us?”

“Obviously, Stargrave needs me alive. As well, a drop of any greater magnitude would be detected much earlier.”

“So how did this happen? During the battle on Kharida?’

“No, this happened before that encounter. If my calculations are correct (which they must be) this happened during one of our training exercises.”

“The Rejects,” said Cosmic Boy.

“The who?” asked Supergirl.

“The so-called “Legion of Super-Rejects” was a group of failed Legion applicants Cosmic Boy invited back for a sparring match. We suspected a few of them may have become hostile to us.”

“Gee, do you think giving them a name like that might have been a help in that area?” said Hourman sarcastically.

“In any case, during the course of the match the safety protocols failed. Sabotage was suspected, but never proven. I now believe Micro Lad was able to inject the nanotech into me during the exercise.”

“So, if we find Micro Lad,” said Shvaughn, “we find Stargrave?”

“Precisely.”

“OK, here’s the plan,” said Cosmic Boy, “We start searching at the last known…”

“No need,” said Brainiac 5, “I’ve got it covered.”

He pressed a button on the console and the monitor board sprang to life revealing a young raven-haired beauty.

“Violet, report please.”

“I’ve tracked Micro Lad to Talok VII, he’s here with Esper Lass and Magno Lad. Something else else else is on the go here too. I’ve spotted more than a few known mercenaries as well as a couple of kids from that other Legion here.”

“Understood. Sit tight and we’ll be there shortly.”

As Shrinking Violet cut her communications, Cosmic Boy stood up red-faced.

“You put the Espionage Squad in play without my knowledge?”

“The constitution clearly states the Espionage Squad doesn’t report to the leader…”

“It doesn’t make them your own private strike team either.”

“Chameleon Boy is the head of the Squad, Violet’s mission had his approval. We both felt the Rejects were a potential threat that needed to be monitored. Something else else that seems to be borne out.”

“We’ll talk about this later. Wildfire, grab Shady and have her meet us in the Cruiser bay. We’re heading to Talok VII.”

As the left the meeting room Hourman whispered to Supergirl,

“Umm… where the heck is Talok VII? Somewhere in Asia?”

“Oh boy…” sighed Supergirl.
_________________________________________

Sometime later the Legion Cruiser screamed into the atmosphere of the remote planet known as Talok VII.

“Bring us in easy Shady!”

“Sorry Cos, I’m just a little sprocked off. I’m planetary champion here, and I won’t abide some nass-heads using it as a staging area for some criminal convention.”

“Ok, just put us down in one piece. Violet’s coordinates have them in Galtor city.”

Shadow Lass’ eyes narrowed and she kicked in the cruiser’s afterburners.
_________________________________________

“I can’t believe I’m on another planet,” marveled Hourman, staring at the strange architecture of the city.

“And I can’t believe what a dump it is!”

Shadow lass bristled, but said nothing. Tasmia knew it was true. The cities had fallen into disrepair and decay. How could the elders have allowed this to have happened? Talok VII was always a harsh place to live, but to see her home city turned into a ghetto was breaking her heart.

“Violet should be here,” said Cosmic Boy, “Imra?”

“I don’t sense her.”

“Her flight ring signal ends here,” said Wildfire.

Cosmic Boy raised his hands and shut his eyes. He pushed his senses into the Magnetic fields of the planet.

“There,” he said.

Supergirl followed his gaze to an empty spot of dirt.

“I can see it with my microscopic vision. It’s a flight ring alright, but where’s Violet?”

Brainy and Cos looked at each other.

“A trap!” they both shouted.

“Hello, Legionnaires!” shouted a voice from somewhere in the labyrinths of the deserted streets, “We have your little spy.”

“Who are you? What do you want?” shouted Cosmic Boy

He looked at Kara who held up eight fingers, indicating the number of foes she could count with her X-Ray vision.

“We just want to play with you,” mocked the voice, “And as for who we are? We’re the Legion of Super-Villains, and we’re about to make a big name for ourselves.”

See how the fight plays out here: http://www.hcrealms.com/forum/showthread.php?t=209211

Epilogue:

Shvaughn Erin took the opening provided and hit Titania with a concussion bolt from her sidearm. The already weakened villain was stunned by the blast.

“Supergirl,” she barked, “Grab her while she’s stunned.”

The Maid of Steel swept in and put Titania in a full nelson hold. The brutish teen came to her senses and began to struggle and kick wildly.

“You’re strong. I’m stronger,” said Kara simply, “Give it up.”

Titania grimaced in frustration and eyed her captors warily.

“OK, I’ve lost all my patience,” said Cosmic Boy, “So we’re not messing around anymore. Tell us where Violet is.”

“Sprock you,” spat Titania.

“It wasn’t a request. Imra?”

Saturn Girl locked Titania with a steely gaze.

“Tell him,” she commanded.

“I don’t know.” said Titania with a cruel smile.

“She’s telling the truth,” said Saturn Girl, “Give me a second.”

Imra closed her eyes and concentrated.

Titania continued to seeth in frustration until she suddenly howled in pain.

“Get out of my mind, witch!”

Saturn girl opened her eyes and shook her head.

“Mind Blocks. On all of them. They remember capturing Violet, but everything from then on is blocked.”

“Can you unlock them?” asked Brainac 5.

Saturn Girl shook her head,

“No, it’s like a snake wrapped around their consciousness, if I try to pull it off, it constricts even tighter. If I probe too hard, I might literally destory their mind. Cos, this is beyond anything Esper Lass is capable of, someone else is behind this.”

“What about Stargrave?” asked Supergirl.

“They were hired just as Brainy thought, but they never made contact and don’t have any knowledge of her whereabouts.”

Cosmic Boy’s face was hard set

“OK Team, here’s the plan…”

He was interrupted by a beeping from his Flight Ring.

He tapped the side of the ring and a holographic image of Triplicate Girl popped up.

“What’s going on Lu?”

“We got a lead, Cos. Cham was able to track some supplies coming into old Gotham that seem to match the kind of machinery Brainy said would be used in reconstructing Computo. We need to send a team in.”

“Ok, hold tight, we have a missing Legionnaire here and that takes priority. Have the Espionage Squad monitor Gotham and keep me up to date…”

“Who’s missing?” interrupted Triplicate Girl

“Violet.”

“Ok, I want you to leave Shadow Lass and Saturn Girl there to continue the search, the rest of you report back, I don’t want to let Stargrave slip through our fingers, and I’d like the firepower here.”

Cosmic Boy frowned.

“Sorry Lu, I just said…”

“I heard what you said, but I think this is the better course of action. Now, report back to Earth, please.”

“Excuse me,” said Cosmic Boy somewhat taken aback, “but as leader, I….”

The Holographic image of the Legionnaire cocked her head quizzically, then tried to stifle a smile.

“Grife!” she said, “You haven’t checked your Omnicrons have you?”

“We’ve been a little busy here.”

“Sorry Cos,” said Triplicate Girl, “The election results are in. I’m the leader now.”

Good stuff! Love the inclusions of Kid Quantum II and Shvaughn Erin. A bit surprised to see the fates of Chemical King and Tyroc, yikes.

Lu as leader, yeah!

Love the use of Lyle's power to cloak the ships, and using Tinya's connection to Jo to turn the tide of battle.