Legion World Forums LEGION OUTPOST Bits o' Legionnaire Business Post ZH Legion: Volume 5 - What Makes Us Special (August 26, 2023)

Thanks Raz, really pleased you are liking this! I am determined to give everyone a moment so more to come.

Brek still has a lot to learn but he has a lot of enthusiasm


The universe hopping early on made a Monitor a nice choice for me.

And the Five are going to keep being trouble, definitely.

Thanks again for the continued support!

IB,

These have been some great character and action scenes.

I'm loving watching the old guard and the new interact. That moment between Nightwind and Saturn Girl and Live Wire was really well done.

I love the team of Garth and Berk! They have a natural chemistry that i think will be fun to see explored.

Berk is over zealous but i like it. he's still inspired and this team needs that from time to time.

I love that he took Vi's advice and didn't do something stupid. His crush on Zoe is really cute.

Lyle's fear is so real and i hope they get everyone out safely.

You really give these villains some real nice moments too. Density was much more effective here.

Dune's take down was wicked inventive.

A Monitor! i never saw that coming. Good twist.

I agree it will be interesting to see what the Fatal Five do.

So much great stuff here IB.

Can't wait to see the finale battle.

Hi Omni I am so glad you are liking these! As a fellow Postboot fanfic writer it is great to have your seal of approval.

Brek seems to be a breakout star. I see Garth as a more mature version of Brek and I can promise more of the two of them IF Garth makes it out in one piece. Brek is still eager but has a good head on his shoulders.

Happy you like the action scenes, the vilains are surprisingly fun to work with and I enjoy thinking of ways to use their powers.

A lot of Lyle's reactions are based on my own experiences, I am glad they seemed realistic

Glad you liked the Monitor twist. I am actually finding him harder to write than most of the other villains! I will certainly make sure I do my best with him in the finale.

Thanks again for all your support Omni.

Feel daunted by the length of this thread? You can also check out the Recap Thread to catch up!

VOLUME 3: HOMECOMING

Back Home, on Earth...

Brainiac 5, Querl Dox of Colu; 12th level intelligence and force field powers
Cosmic Boy, Rokk Krinn of Braal; magnetokinesis
Dreamer, Nura Nal of Naltor; precognition
Magnetic Kid, Pol Krinn of Braal; magnetokinesis
Particon, Jennifer Sanchez of Earth; "hard light" energy casting and manipulation; energy disruption
Spark, Ayla Ranzz of Winath; electric manipulation
Ultra Boy, Jo Nah of Rimbor; enhanced speed, strength, invulnerability, vision powers and flight, but can only use one power at a time

Dyrk Magz of Braal (Honorary Legionnaire). Science Police officer and former Legionnaire, currently depowered. It remains to be seen if his recent operation will restore his powers.
Tenzil Kem of Bismoll (Honorary Legionnaire). Consume and digest all forms of matter. Skilled chef and Legion support staff member.

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

"Sprock, sprock, sprock! And I thought our mission would be safest!" Tenzil awkwardly used his flight ring to avoid a stray projectile. Debris flew through the air and exposed wires crackled as Spark, Ultra Boy, Particon and Dreamer faced off against the villains who had suddenly popped into view. Out of nowhere. Three of the Fatal Five were here! "And Chuck finds this sort of thing exciting?" Tenzil shook his head.

"Over here, Tenz!" Dyrk beckoned from behind a large piece of machinery. Tenzil clambered over, chest heaving as he sat behind Dyrk. "Grife, what do we do, Dyrk? Brainy and the Krinns are trying to work on the machine, but even one lucky hit will take it out!"

"I know," Dyrk said grimly as he cocked his blaster. "We need to help."

"How?!" Tenzil asked as he watched Dreamer dodge a swing from the Persuader. "I'm not combat-trained, and the other SP are already out. What can we do?"

"C'mon, Tenz, we're still Honorary Legionnaires." Dyrk turned to Tenzil, gray eyes glowing. "They don't hand out these flight rings to just anyone, you know. Come on, let's join Brainy and the others." Ignoring Tenzil's protests, Dyrk took off.

"Gaaah. Make a difference, he said. Be part of something bigger than you are, he said. No danger, just cook real good food and lend an ear to the other kids..." Tenzil spat in annoyance as he followed, keeping low to avoid becoming a target. "Sigh... I can see the headlines now... Legionnaires return. Nobody chef gets axed by the Persuader." He kept grumbling to himself as he followed Dyrk's lead.

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"I thought Andromeda had taken you squajes out?" Spark aimed a blast at Mano, who deftly used his hand to block it. Sprock, he's fast, she thought as she fired another.

"She did, and I admit she was effective," Mano retorted. "But we're back, and we're not going away until we destroy you. I regret killing needlessly, but for now my path is set." He suddenly lunged forward, grabbing Spark's wrists. "You will die now."

Beads of sweat rolled down Spark's forehead as she felt Mano's energy aura come uncomfortably close to her fingers. "I don't think so!" She concentrated on the electrical charge within her and released it from her eyeballs. A stunned Mano was thrown backwards, body smoking. Spark put a hand over her aching eyelids. "Ouch... I can see why Garth never wanted to use this trick again..."

"Watch out, Ayla!" Spark felt herself being lifted up. "Jo?" she asked. "Still can't see."

"Tharok almost got you with his cannon," Ultra Boy said as he set Spark down gently. "I'll need you to draw his fire so I can get closer."

"And here I thought you rescued me to take me to safety," Ayla quipped. "Just kidding. Give me a moment and then let me at him."

"You forget that I can hear you, children," Tharok sneered as he fired beams of energy at Jo and Ayla. Jo instantly shifted to invulnerability, shielding Ayla from the worst of it. "You have to do better than that, Tharok," Jo taunted. Ayla peeked out from behind Jo, sending bolts of electricity back at Tharok. Tharok turned so that his computerized half absorbed the blast harmlessly. "You kids have just been wasting time. And now I have control of the equipment in the area... like so." A crane suddenly sprang to life above the two, smashing into a pile of crates. Before they could react, they were buried.

"Two down," Tharok smiled as he spoke into his commlink. "Persuader, how are you doing?"

"Fighting Dreamer," Persuader replied brusquely. "Later."

"Please, Persuader," Tharok snorted. "Surely you can beat someone who can only see the future."

"Don't underestimate her, Tharok." Before Tharok had a chance to turn around, he felt a something stab through his robotic chest. He looked down and gasped to see a pink rod of energy protruding from his body. A second later, his robot half was convulsing uncontrollably. Particon quickly blasted Tharok's human half into unconsciousness. "And don't underestimate me," Particon finished as she looked at her handiwork. Then she ran to where Spark and Ultra Boy were buried. "Are you two okay down there?"

"Yup... stand back, Particon," Jo replied. Jennifer backed away a safe distance. "I'm clear, and so is the area." The crates rumbled, then burst outwards courtesy of Spark's lightning and Ultra Boy's flash vision. "Whew, I do not want to be buried like that again," Spark shook her head.

"How'd you do that, Jen?" Jo asked Particon as he looked at a still-shaking Tharok.

"Energy disruption IS one of the applications of my powers," Jennifer smiled. "I simply messed with the circuitry running through Tharok's computer half, stopping his commands from reaching the other parts of his systems."

"I TOLD Garth they should have let you in first time you applied," Ayla laughed.** "Come on, let's check on Dreamer."

The three made their way to where Dreamer was locked in battle with the Persuader. They watched as she dodged the Persuader's axe for the umpteenth time. The Persuader snarled as he twisted the axe, bringing the handle down towards Dreamer's arm. She quickly reacted, using her flight ring to pirouette gracefully in the air.

"She's doing a good job," Particon noted. "Her visions are coming hard and fast."

"She can't keep it up forever, though. Allow me, please. I haven't punched anyone yet today." A burst of flash vision streamed from Jo's eyes, hitting the Persuader's right arm. The villain bellowed in pain, and nearly dropped the Atomic Axe mid-swing. Dreamer used the opening to drop down to the ground and kick the Persuader in the knee.

"Arrggh! You witch!" Persuader snarled as he grabbed the Axe again, pointing the blade at Nura. "I'm taking you down!"

"No, you are not." Jo barreled into the Persuader, switching from ultra-speed to invulnerability at the last battle. Jo's knuckles connected with the Persuader's jaw; with the momentum from his ultra-speed, it was enough to flatten the Persuader. The villain collapsed flat on his back, Atomic Axe clanking on the ground beside him.

"Thanks, Jo," Nura dusted herself off. "Evading him was easy with my precognition, but he's a good fighter. The Axe made it tough to hit him back."

"You did just fine," Jennifer smiled.

"Yeah, thanks for keeping him off our backs while we handled the others," Ayla added. "Now come on, let's go see how Brainy and the others are doing..."

"Wait..." Nura touched a hand to her forehead. After a moment, her eyes widened in fear. "Oh no! Brainiac, listen-"

She never finished her sentence. In an instant, all four Legionnaires were transformed into stone, courtesy of Stheno. The blue-skinned villain laughed as she stood in front of her victims, her serpentine features twisting in glee. "Better believe it. Stheno delivered where three of the Fatal Five did not!"

"Don't gloat yet," Repulse replied gruffly as he gathered his squad. He spared a glance for Tharok, Mano and the Persuader. "Told them they should have waited for us. Never mind, let's go." He used his magnetic powers to sharpen the blades on his wrists. "We have Legionnaires to kill."

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

IB's notes:

1) Particon first used this trick in Legionnaires 50 to break through a mystical energy dome that Mordru and Emerald Violet had erected.

2) Particon first applied, and was rejected, in Legionnaires 43. Spark and Ultra Boy, among others, were trapped in the 20th century then so did not vote.

Feel daunted by the length of this thread? You can also check out the Recap Thread to catch up!

VOLUME 3: HOMECOMING

Back Home, Asteroid JM-L15 near Legion World...

Apparition, Tinya Wazzo of Bgztl; intangibility and disruption of mechanical devices
Karate Kid, Val Armorr of Omega Colony; skilled martial artist
Lume, of Silvan; energy being made of light
Spider-Girl, Sussa Paka of Luna; prehensile hair

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

Karate Kid made his way relentlessly through the crowded installation as wave after wave of opponents came at him. He dodged and parried nimbly, dispatching each with as few moves as possible. He was single-minded in his goal - to reach his teammates. He sprinted at a steady pace, dropping to one knee to kick a particularly large guard in the leg. The man cried out in pain, dropping to the floor.

"Grife, this nasshead is unbeatable!" yelled a guard who was rushing at him. "Fire!"

Six blasters fired in unison. Val cleared his head of any thought as he evaded each one, largely reflexively. After clearing the distance between him and the guards, he targeted each one in turn, taking them out in seconds.

"Hold it right there, Karate Kid!" Val turned to see Violence Queen and Klamorr. He quickly dove to the left as Violence Queen fired at him; the blaster rounds seared the wall behind him. He quickly jumped forward, gripping Klamorr's beefy arm and throwing him into Violence Queen.

"Are you okay, Val?" Triad's voice called over his flight ring.

"Just having some good exercise," he replied. "Where to next?"

"Go straight. Shikari says to take the third left from where you are." Karate Kid flew through the corridors; as he entered the third left, he stopped in his tracks.

"Watch out, Val!" Apparition called as she allowed Twine's lash and Stormfront's lightning to pass harmlessly through her form. Behind her, Lume was firing laser after laser at the horned Stormfront; the large amount of crackling electricity greatly reduced visibility. Holdur tried to grab at Lume; the light-based Legionnaire evaded quickly and fired. Spider-Girl's hair looped around Holdur's leg and pulled, sending the large yellow brute crashing into the floor. "One point for the good guys!" she cheered.

"Let's make it a tie then." Caress leaped onto Sussa's back, forcing her onto the floor. Sussa writhed desperately as she felt Caress' weight pushing her down. "I remember you, pretty little thing," Caress sneered. "Now I get to finish the job I started."

"Hold on, Sussa," Val started as he leaped closer.

"I'll be fine! There are bigger threats." Taking advantage of being face-down, Sussa used her hair to grip Caress' wrists, forcing them away from her face. Cracking her hair like a whip, she pushed Caress off her and into the wall.

"Good work, Sussa," Lume said as it focused on Stormfront. The furry humanoid was throwing lightning bolts uncontrollably in all directions, all the while shrouded by a big black cloud. "As for you, Stormfront, what you lack is direction and focus." Lume stood its ground as it brought its arms together in front of it. "Something else else which I have been taught to have by the Legion." A ball of light appeared in between Lume's open palms. It coalesced into a laser, and Lume let if fire right at Stormfront. It penetrated the storm clouds around Stormfront, who screamed in pain as the laser hit. As he fell to the floor, the storm clouds dissipated.

"Now, who's ne..." Lume's sentence was cut off as Twine's lash wrapped around it. Lume crashed to the floor, struggling weakly. "You're very energetic, Lume," Twine said with little effort. "And now all that energy is feeding my lash."

"So you're like a vampire, then," Apparition countered as she rose through the floor. She quickly slammed both fists into Twine's chin, knocking the villain out. Tinya looked at her handiwork for a second. "Most villains are. Feeding off other people; just taking and taking." She quickly turned to help Lume.

"Oh no you don't," Holdur snarled as he chased after Apparition. "Not while I'm still here." Before he could reach Tinya, Val stepped in between them and slammed an elbow into his side. He followed with a pinch to the neck; the unconscious Holdur crashed into the floor.

"Nice work," Sussa clapped her hands together as if dusting them off. "Four second-rate villains down."

"We're not done yet, though," Tinya noted. "Listen."

<kzttttt> "Gear to the other teams..."<kzttttt> "Cover is blown... Cannot regain control of all systems... need to <kzttttt> destroy in order to bring shield down...

The four Legionnaires looked at one another. "It seems we have more to do," Lume mused.

"What are we waiting for, then?" Sussa shook her head, hair flailing behind her. "Never let it be said that we didn't finish a job."

Tinya nodded as she flew in the direction of the control room. "Let's go, Legionnaires!"


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IB's notes:

1) The Legion and the Workforce teamed up on Planet Hell, a prison inside a sun. Caress was one of the inmates.

Thoroughly enjoying this IB, you've really ratcheted up the excitement by revealing a Monitor is behind it, and he's now onto the teams stealth attack.

Particularly like Val and Sussa, Dreamer and Shikari, though all the characters, including the villains are popping out of the screen when you write them. Really looking forward to seeing how you resolve this.

More, more, more!

Thanks Harbi, so nice of you to say! I'm glad these Legionnaires are pulling their weight even though they aren't really the most powerful. Glad the villains are getting their due too.

Things are going to get a bit worse before they get better...

I'm looking forward to the resolution too These plots have been rumbling in my head for over a year now!

Feel daunted by the length of this thread? You can also check out the Recap Thread to catch up!

VOLUME 3: HOMECOMING

Back Home, on Earth...

Brainiac 5, Querl Dox of Colu; 12th level intelligence and force field powers
Cosmic Boy, Rokk Krinn of Braal; magnetokinesis
Dreamer, Nura Nal of Naltor; precognition
Magnetic Kid, Pol Krinn of Braal; magnetokinesis
Particon, Jennifer Sanchez of Earth; "hard light" energy casting and manipulation; energy disruption
Spark, Ayla Ranzz of Winath; electric manipulation
Ultra Boy, Jo Nah of Rimbor; enhanced speed, strength, invulnerability, vision powers and flight, but can only use one power at a time

Dyrk Magz of Braal (Honorary Legionnaire). Science Police officer and former Legionnaire, currently depowered. It remains to be seen if his recent operation will restore his powers.
Tenzil Kem of Bismoll (Honorary Legionnaire). Consume and digest all forms of matter. Skilled chef and Legion support staff member.

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

"Legionnaires!" Repulse bellowed into the auditory amplifier he brought. "We have incapacitated four of your number. Surrender now or we will do worse to them!"

"Just let me get in front of them," Stheno smirked. "Once they see me, they'll be out of our hair. Figuratively speaking of course," she added as she rubbed the smooth skin on her head.

"I told you, don't get cocky," Repulse scolded as he watched the machine the Legionnaires were building. No sign of movement... "We've all fought the Legionnaires before and lost. Stay sharp."

"Hmph. I almost beat 6 of them one time*. I..." Before Stheno could continue, a large chunk of debris zipped out from behind a pile of metal and struck her in the head. Letting out a cry of pain and surprise, she fell down, unconscious.

"Sprock! Fan out and... mmph!" The metal he was wearing wrapped itself around Repulse's mouth. The strips covering his limbs anchored themselves to the ground, preventing him from moving.

Abyss dropped into a fighting stance as he looked around, right hand supporting his left as he pointed his void ring out in front. "Where are you, you cowards?"

"We're not cowards. We just fight smart," Magnetic Kid's voice sounded as small bits of metal began flying towards Abyss. The villain quickly opened a portal in front of him, sending the debris flying into the void. As he closed his portal, a large metal sheet flew at him from behind, hitting his back with a crack.

Pol Krinn smiled as he stepped over the unconscious body. "Wow, I am impressed that you knew how Stheno's powers worked, Brainiac 5. I know she only fought the Legion once..."

"Once was enough, Magnetic Kid," Querl replied crisply as he landed beside Repulse. "I read all the files. And even if I hadn't, it seemed logical that her powers would only work if she consciously willed them to affect those looking at her; otherwise, those she worked with would have had to be careful to look away the whole time. Quite difficult in the middle of a heist... Be ready, though, there may be others here."

"I think Repulse can tell us more about that." Cosmic Boy's tone was anything but genial as he magnetically ripped away the piece of metal over Repulse's mouth. "Talk, Repulse. Who else is with you her, and what is your mission?"

"I ain't talking, punk," Repulse spat. "Nothing your Legion code will let you do to me is worse than what the boss will do to us!"

"Interesting..." Brainiac 5 mused. "This boss of theirs is powerful and controlling enough to have the likes of the Fatal Five following him. Very few villains we have encountered in this time have the power or resources to manage that..."

"Could it be Chu?" Rokk asked. Chu had given him so much trouble during his time as Legion leader, he still preferred not to rule her out as a suspect even though she was on Takron-Galtos. "Or Ra's?"

"I'll need time to think about it," Querl replied. "In the meantime, we should go see to our machine. Let's gather our teammates; their petrification should wear off in about 47 minutes."

"I have a better idea," a melodious voice called. "Why don't you three boys surrender and save us all the trouble?"

"Charma!" Brainiac 5 gasped as he held up his hands. "She must be using her pheromone power!" Microseconds later, Pol and Rokk followed suit. A laughing Charma peeked out from behind a pile of rubble.*** "Hah! You men. Always so overconfident, to the point of getting clumsy." She sashayed forward and put a finger under Cosmic Boy's chin. "The master will surely reward me for this."

"You mean for getting your butt kicked?" Rokk grinned as he wrapped Charma up in metal. Her eyes bulged as she struggled. "No! How could this be?"

"Transuits," Pol laughed as he magnetically levitated a small screw and sent it hovering at Charma's forehead, knocking her out. "We know your pheromone powers are transferred through the air."

"Good work picking up on my cues to play along," Querl added. "Now, Repulse, perhaps you would be so kind to tell us who else you might have brought along?"

Before Repulse could respond, Brainy felt something hitting his forcefield-covered leg. Curiously, he looked down to see what appeared to be a plastic dart. Eyes widening in recognition, he yelled out a warning. "Get away from them, now!"

It was too late. Both Rokk and Pol slumped to the floor; each had a dart sticking out of his leg; their transuits torn by the force with which the darts had been thrown. The terrorist called Arrow grinned as he stepped out of the shadows; beside him was a hooded figure. That figure held up a hand, and Querl felt as if his stomach were turning inside out. He knelt on the floor, trying his best not to throw up.

The hooded figure removed its hood, revealing her to be a Sarccan; her species could control the bodily functions of other races. "I'm very happy I had practice on other Coluans," she laughed as she walked near Querl.

"Good work, Arrow, Undertaker. Good thing some of us didn't get overconfident," Repulse said pointedly as he shed his metal prison. "Now come on; this should be all of them, based on our intelligence. Let's go."

As Arrow and Undertaker made their way to the machine, a loud VIP was heard. A blaster round hit Undertaker in the face and neck; she fell to the ground, stunned. Arrow quickly grabbed several throwing stars stuck to his body and threw them in the direction of the attack. He grabbed several more just as he released the first round. As he raised his hand high, a gob of liquid landed on it. He screamed in pain as it ate into his flesh. As he crouched onto the ground, Dyrk Magz and Tenzil Kem stepped out of the shadows. Dyrk gave Arrow a nerve pinch, rendering him unconscious; he took a rag out of his pouch and wiped Arrow's fingers dry. Tenzil checked on Undertaker;
"Out like a Naltorian hibernatrix," he laughed. "Good job setting your spare blaster to fire on delay, and predicting that Arrow would fire in that direction."

"And good job aiming your acid spit at his fingers," Dyrk added as he trained his blaster on Repulse. "Give it up, Repulse. This is made of plastic. You can't snag it with your powers. You make a move, and you go down."

"And we're wearing transuits too," Tenzil laughed as ran over to Brainy. "Come on big brain; let's see how bad a number she did on you."

Repulse slowly lifted his hands up. "I know you. You're Dyrk Magz, formerly Magno. Pretty much the only living Braalian who can't even feel a magnetic field."

"I can, too," Dyrk spat as he moved closer to Repulse. "And what does it matter? Even without my abilities, I've beaten you."

"Have you?" Repulse smirked. Too late, Dyrk realized what was happening - Repulse had been building up a large pulse of magnetic energy. Before he could warn Tenzil, he felt it cascade outwards in a burst. Dyrk just barely registered Tenzil and Brainy being thrown backwards before he felt himself slam into something. He blacked out almost instantly.

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

"Ohhh grife..." Dyrk's head was ringing as his vision slowly settled. He gasped in shock as Repulse looked at him. "I have to admit, you guys do good work. None of my squad is conscious yet. But then, none of yours are." Dyrk turned his head to see Tenzil, Brainy and the Krinn brothers were trussed up beside him. They were all bound to the machine they had been building.

Dyrk shook his head, trying to clear it. No good, have to buy time, see if one of the others can wake and do something... "I've got to hand it to you, Repulse... Never thought you were powerful enough or skilled enough to pull that off..."

"Heh. I may have stopped being a magnoball champion, but it wasn't for lack of talent," Repulse sneered as he faced the machine. Dyrk's body tingled; he could feel Repulse gathering magnetic force. He cursed himself; he should have realized that earlier. And with Pol and Rokk down, nobody could counteract Repulse's abilities. "And with this talent, I am going to destroy that machine, and you five with it. The boss is going to reward me with a nice paycheck."

"No!" Dyrk screamed as he tried to struggle against his bonds. Sprock! He could feel the magnetic currents around him, but he couldn't do anything!

"You can yell all you want, won't change anything. I almost wish that smug bastard Cosmic Boy were awake to see this. He always pissed me off with that attitude of his." Repulse held his hands above his head. "Now I'm going to rip that machine into pieces and bury you all in the rubble."

"No! Cos, Pol, wake up!" Dyrk screamed as he felt the magnetic forces come nearer and nearer. Sheets of metal at the top were beginning to fall off. A chill went up Dyrk's spine as pieces fell beside him. He drew his legs up under him to protect them from more rubble.

"Sayonara, kid," Repulse said as he stretched his hands out even further. The top of the machine shook. Dyrk's eyes widened as a large sheet of metal fell straight for him.

"No!" he screamed in his mind as he struggled even harder. "It can't end like this! It can't! He kicked his feet desperately, trying to wriggle out of his bonds. He saw the metal loom closer and closer. Sweat began dripping from his forehead and down his armpits. If only he had his powers... Sprock! Why hadn't they come back? Kent and Mysa had been so hopeful... He kept staring at the falling metal sheet. Jenni... why hadn't he said something more? He shouldn't have waited so long... The metal was only meters away, and more were falling. No... If only, if only... He hated feeling so helpless!

"STOP!" A frustrated Dyrk yelled with all his might.

And the metal did.

Dyrk stared in shock as he watched the metal hover above him. Could it be? He quickly looked to the side to see Pol and Rokk still unconscious. Then he realized he wasn't just feeling the metal bonds around his wrists... he was feeling the magnetic currents holding him there.

He wanted to cry out with joy as he saw the flabbergasted expression on Repulse's face. Then his years of training kicked in and he remembered to push.

A long, thin metal sheet smashed into Repulse, pinning the villain against a wall. Dyrk quickly lowered the other floating bits of metal safely as he removed his friends' bonds.

"Nyaaargh!" Repulse yelled as he ripped the metal off him. "I don't know how you did that, brat, but I'm going to..." Before he could finish, a blaster round hit him right in the face. As he slumped to the ground, Dyrk kissed his blaster. "Good old plastic blaster," he laughed. "And good old powers!" He gently levitated his teammates one by one using the metal on their clothing; he felt like jumping for joy, but settled for keeping a gigantic grin plastered on his face. "Oh my grife, I can't believe this is happening!" As Brainiac 5 groaned, Dyrk moved beside him. "Brainy! Brainy! Can you believe it? I have my full power back! I mean, I seem to be as powerful as I used to be! This is the best day of my life!"

Querl sat up, hands to his head. "I share your elation, Dyrk, but could you not scream in my ear?"

"Oh, sorry," Dyrk rubbed the back of his neck, but with the grin still on his face. "But can you believe it? I bet it was that Repulse's magnetic surge that reempowered me!"

"I can believe it," Querl said as he stood up. "I posited that exposure to large amounts of magnetic energy might act as a catalyst to the effects of the operation performed on you. But I decided to stay silent until I could test it out, as I did not want you to go and do anything dangerous." He gave a small smile as he looked at Dyrk. "I am glad it did work, though."

"Hah! I'm not even mad that you didn't tell me. I'm just glad I have them back!" Dyrk closed his eyes and threw his head back as he felt the glorious feeling of the magnetic currents all around him. "Oh grife, you can't know how much I missed this."

"I don't know either, but I do know how happy you are." Tenzil placed a hand on Dyrk's shoulder. "I'm really glad you got them back, bud."

"Or perhaps it would be better to call you Magno," Brainy added with a twinkle in his eye. "As a former Active Legionnaire, I think the majority would support your return to duty, if you so wished. Now," he continued before Dyrk could interject, "as our other Braalians are still drugged and I calculate will remain so for another 30 minutes, would you be so kind as to repair and empower this machine? Thankfully, you were able to stop Repulse before he did more than cosmetic damage. With my guidance, we should be ready in 12.38 minutes."

"Brainy, you could ask me to shovel dralgo dung and I would do it gladly, as long as it meant using my powers," Dyrk laughed as he used his magnetic powers to pull himself up the machine. It would be easier to use his flight ring, but... where was the fun in that? "Let's do this!"

"So, what exactly ARE we going to do?" Tenzil asked as they flew up. "I mean, I appreciate that you couldn't tell us earlier because a telepath might attack us, but surely you can tell us now? So at least we get surprised 12.38 minutes before everyone else is."

"It's simple, really," Brainiac 5 said as he strapped himself into the top of the machine. "We are going to generate a forcefield around the entire Earth."

Dyrk almost dropped himself as he heard that. He quickly activated his flight ring as he hovered beside an equally shocked Tenzil. "Whoa. You can do that?!" Tenzil asked.

"The other Legion's Earth had a polymer shield around it," Brainy replied matter-of-factly as he played around with the machine's settings. "It was extremely easy to modify it for our needs, once I gained a copy of the blueprints."

"Well, I'll be a three-toed babootch's uncle," Tenzil said as he sat down. "This day is going to be one for the memoirs, it is."

"It certainly is," Dyrk smiled as he began returning the metal sheets to the top of the machine. "It certainly is."

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IB's notes:

1) Stheno faced the Legion in the second story of LSH 100. She turned Element Lad, Gates, Triad and Ultra Boy to stone; Violet beat her by looking at her reflection in Ferro's mask.

2) Reboot Charma has the ability to control men - a departure from Preboot Charma, who made men love her and women hate her.

3) The Undertaker is an original creation of mine, although her species is not. Legion Academy student Tomb was also from Sarccus. I thought that a species that powerful (able to control the bodily functions of others) would make a good villain!

Awesome fight scenes! It was fun seeing Particon take Tharok out, I stopped reading the reboot around about the time she came on the scene so I don't remember seeing her ever actually do anything before. She's great!

You did really well showing how dangerous Mano and the Persuader are too...I like that it took some thinking and teamwork to take them down!

Tenzil and Dyrk's last stand was suitably heroic....and Dyrk getting his powers back was really well done! Some great suspense and an awesome way for him to come back. I actually quite liked Magno back in the day and was disappointed to hear he'd been depowered so it's cool having him back in full force

Totally agree with Raz, your fight scenes are great!

Found it funny that Cos automatically blames Chu

They are in for a shock when they find out the truth.

You use a lot of characters that I assume are from the Reboot so I don't recognise them, but you write them so well that they could be your own. I assume Repulse, Undertaker and the Saccran are reboot characters? Either way, I love how you give them personalities and purpose clearly.

Saved by Tenzil and Dyrk - thats a real silver age Legion story there -the underdogs coming to the rescue!

Loved how Dyrk got his powers back after teasing us with it for so long, but my favourite part was Brainy saying he knew but hadn't said anything - how like him to make sure everyone thinks he's thought of everything spot on characterisation there.

Looking forward to the climax, it's gooing to be awesome!

More, more, more!

Thank you both, raz and Harbi! So nice of you to say

I'll reply more later - am trying to get to work early today - but Harbi is right, Repulse is a Reboot-era character (as are Arrow and Stheno). Undertaker is an original creation of mine, but her world Sarccus is not. Legion Academy student Tomb was introduced as being from Sarccus, and I thought a species that dangerous would make a good villain. I added a footnote to my post to show that, I had meant to but forgotten all about it!

If you enjoyed seeing Magno return in full glory (and I'm glad you did!), watch out because he's not the only one making a return...

Glad you are liking Particon, raz! She actually had some good moments in the comics despite her few appearances. In Legionnaires 50 she used her powers to break through Mordru's mystic shield (using a weak spot placed by Vi) - that was the inspiration for her taking down Tharok.

Glad you felt Mano and Persuader were dangerous. Sometimes I find it hard writing them because many long-range attackers should easily be able to take them out, but their fighting skills definitely make them forces to be reckoned with.

And glad you liked Magno (not just Dyrk anymore ) and Tenzil to the rescue. As a fellow Magno fan, I agree it's good to have him back where he belongs

thanks again for the kind words Harbi, glad you liked this latest installment. I have a lot of fun with the fight scenes, and am glad you like them.

Glad you also liked the littler bits like Cos blaming Chu (she really gave him a lot of headaches!) and Brainy being all "I thought of that but just didn't tell you"

I'm really excited to get to the end! I should be done within the next month, hopefully less. Then it's a bit of a rest for me

Dyrk Got his powers back! i'm so happy for him and to welcome him back to active duty.

IB your doing a great job of bringing this team home and to a completion!

I agree with everyone else that Brainy's line about how to fix Dyrk was great and so Brainy!

As much as Tenzil doesn't see himself as a active Legionnaire he's doing a great job.

Rokk and Chu...hmm could you be hinting at a future story line?

Undertaker in uber scary and i love it. the idea that someone can use your own body against you like that is just cool.

I can't wait for the big confrontation. Keep it coming!

Thanks Omni! Really appreciate the comments

Glad you liked Magno's long-delayed return. He will be a refreshing addition to this team.

Glad you all liked Brainy's line too!

Tenzil IS doing a good job isn't he? Makes me think...

Chu IS still around somewhere but I don't have concrete plans for her... yet

Glad you liked Undertaker too, I can't take the credit for her powers though. But she is indeed very scary and it's a wonder there aren't more villains from her planet!

Very happy you're excited. I'm excited to write too! Been sick the past few days though so not much energy, but the ideas are rolling around in my head!

I have a few more pieces to set up... and let's just say that Magno isn't the only one gaining (or regaining?) active status at the end of this!

Feel daunted by the length of this thread? You can also check out the Recap Thread to catch up!

VOLUME 3: HOMECOMING

Back Home, on Legion World...

Babbage, I-45ENG/Nth Series of Robotica; combat mechanoid
Blizzard, Brek Bannin of Tharr; cold projection
Gates, Ti'julk Mr'asz of Vyrga; opens teleportation disks
Microbe, Drura Sehpt of Somahtur; generate and control harmful and beneficial microorganisms
Nightwind, Berta Skye Harris of Earth; wind and air manipulation
Saturn Girl, Imra Ardeen of Titan; telepathy
White Witch, Mysa of Zarrox; sorcery
XS, Jenni Ognats of Aarok; super-speed, granddaughter of the Flash (Barry Allen)


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

The balding, pink-skinned man known as High-Brow was happy that his visor kept his eyes from being seen. Right now, anyone looking into them would notice his bewilderment at all that was happening. Here he was, maintaining a forcefield around all the hundreds of hostages on Legion World not chosen for further study by the mysterious "boss"... Of his quartet of criminals, only the amorphous Slopp was with him. Violence Queen and Klamorr had been shuttled off to some nearby asteroid.

He looked around the gathered villains and criminals with him. The agile Devil made him uneasy; she seemed to enjoy getting under other people's skins as a challenge. The ancient Scavenger kept muttering about self-righteous persecuting super-heroes while brandishing all sorts of archaic weaponry. Ar'dn of Gil'd floated in its water-filled bubble as it telepathically tasted the fear and sadness of the hostages. High-Brow wouldn't lie; he was as vile as any of them, killing and willing to kill innocents if it furthered his plans. But what made him uneasy was the vast collection of beings who were under the thumb of their mysterious master. Working with vile beings was one thing, but he wanted them to be HIS vile beings, the ones he could predict and control.

"Hate these heroes... hate, hate, hate. I thought we would be rid of them by now," Scavenger muttered as he flew past.

"Heh. You failed when you fought them, Scavenger," Devil purred as she curled her tail around her trident. "We all did. And that's why we're here now."

An uncomfortable truth, High-Brow conceded. He and his band had failed against Spark even before she became a Legionnaire. * Most of them were here because they believed the boss would be successful. And also because none of them could hope to stand in his way.

Ar'dn suddenly turned its globe around. "Prepare yourselves! Hated Legionnaires are... EEEEEEEEEEE!" A pink glow surrounded Ar'dn's bubble, drowning out its telepathy.

"Oh well, at least this alleviates my boredom." Devil sprang towards the entrance just as a quintet of Legionnaires burst in. Nightwind blasted Devil backwards with a gust of wind; she slammed into High-Brow's forcefield and slumped to the floor.

"Take them out fast, Legionnaires," Nightwind barked. "Don't let them hurt the hostages!"

"No! I will not let you win again!" Ar'dn began firing electricity wildly in all directions. Blizzard conjured up an ice shield to keep one from hitting Saturn Girl; it shattered under the attack. "Thanks, Brek," Saturn Girl replied as she refocused on Ar'dn. "But let's end this before we lose our edge." The pink cloud around Ar'dn became deeper and thicker. Ar'dn screamed again as it lost consciousness, its bubble falling and rolling on the floor.

"Hate you Legionnaires! Hate, hate, hate!" Scavenger whined as he flew towards their attackers. In one hand he held a gun. "Eat heat!" Microbe dodged the blast just in time; the floor on which she had been standing was now a blackened mess. "Why don't you just leave me alone?!"

"Slopp! Back him up!" High-Brow barked as he began fiddling with his forcefield controls. He knew they couldn't win, but he could buy them an ace in the hole.

"I comply with your instructions," Slopp droned as it extended its arms and reached for Microbe and Saturn Girl. Microbe extended her hand. "I'm not familiar with your species, but I'm sure I have something for you," she said darkly. "I hope so," Saturn Girl added as she concentrated. "Slopp's mind is quite... slippery."

"My species possesses a natural immunity to disease and telepathy," Slopp intoned as its tentacles reached for both Legionnaires. "I believe I am countering your abilities quite effectively."

"Let me save you the strain." Blizzard pointed at Slopp, causing the water vapor around it to condense into a hard block of ice. Slopp's green, gelatinous limbs looked strangely compelling, frozen like that, High-Brow thought. "And now you're in ice."

"Get down!" Saturn Girl tackled Blizzard as Scavenger swooped around and fired again. Scorch marks littered the ground and burning filled the air as he fired again and again. "Won't let you take me, won't let you!" he screamed over and over as he did.

"He's moving too fast," Nightwind called as she tried to snare Scavenger in wind currents. "Babbage, can you do something?"

"I shall." Babbage flew straight at Scavenger from above. "Your power is impressive, but your battle tactics are lacking. While you are focused on those below you, you ignore your undefended back." Babbage slammed right into Scavenger and locked its robotic arms around the villain's neck. In seconds, Scavenger was unconscious and disarmed.

"Bravo, Legionnaires," High-Brow called with all the confidence he could muster. "But in all this violence you seem to have forgotten your main objective." He made a show of holding up his wrist. "I control the forcefield keeping all your friends, and possibly family members, under wraps. If you don't surrender now, I will seal off all air entering and let them die a nasty, suffocating death. And they will know it was your fault because I'll let them hear you from inside."

Five angry faces stared at him. At least, they seemed angry. Suddenly, he wasn't so sure. Why was he feeling so... drowsy? He struggled not to yawn as he kept his eyes on the attackers.

"We didn't forget," Microbe smiled as she approached. "I targeted you from the moment we came in here." High-Brow cursed as he tried to press the button on his wrist, but never made it. He was asleep before he hit the floor.

"Nice work, team," Nightwind called as she used her powers to gather the defeated villains. "Babbage, figure out how that forcefield works. Brek and Drura, watch the door. Imra, have you found our teammates?"

"Focusing on unconscious minds is a bit trickier," Imra admitted as she closed her eyes. "And I'm having to sort through a lot of stray thoughts. I wish their flight ring signals weren't being blocked. But I think... there." She turned and pointed to a side room just off the main chamber the other hostages were in. Nightwind and Saturn Girl quickly ran inside. "Oh."

Gates, XS and the White Witch were standing silently in liquid-filled tubes. "Just like Lyle described the prisoners in the lab, only without all the wires," Nightwind mused. "And without Garth, of course."

"I'll keep trying to find him," Imra said determinedly as she closed her eyes again.

"I know you will," Berta added kindly. "Babbage, can you come over here, please? Let's get our teammates free and bolster our ranks."

"I hope you do it soon!" Brek called from the main hall. "We've got incoming!"

"Nnnh. Always something," Berta hissed as Babbage joined here. "You two stay here and keep doing what you're doing. We'll hold the line outside." She flew out to join Blizzard and Microbe; the former was creating walls of ice between the hostages' opaque forcefield and the entrance to the chamber; the latter was holding her arms out. "Nice work, Brek, but keep an inch of space open at the top. Drura, you and I are going to spread some non-lethal airborne diseases," Berta ordered. Silently, she hoped Babbage could work fast enough. They were all exhausted, and taking on random villains was hard enough. Protecting all these hostages, sealed off from them by a forcefield that prevented communication, was not going to be a cakewalk.

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

IB's notes:

1) As told in Legends of the Legion 2, Spark (with some help from her non-powered friends on Winath) beat High-Brow and his gang when they tried to kidnap the Winathian presidents.

Feel daunted by the length of this thread? You can also check out the Recap Thread to catch up!

VOLUME 3: HOMECOMING

Back Home, on Legion World...

Impulse, Kent Shakespeare of Earth; enhanced speed, strength, durability and recuperative abilities, medical doctor
Invisible Kid, Lyle Norg of Earth; invisibility
Kinetix, Zoe Saugin of Aleph; advanced telekinesis and animation of objects
M'Onel, Lar Gand of Daxam; enhanced speed, strength, invulnerability, vision powers
Violet, Salu Digby of Imsk; size manipulation of own body
Wildfire, Drake Burroughs (energy gestalt of two beings). Anti-energy being

Shvaughn Erin of Earth (Honorary Legionnaire). Science police captain and Legion Liaison Officer.

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

"Try to hold him still, M'Onel!" Kinetix concentrated on the Monitor's limbs as she said that; the intertron floor flowed under her mental command and wrapped itself around the Monitor's feet, burying them. The Monitor grunted as M'Onel followed with a flurry of super-speed punches.

"Impertinent children!" The Monitor caught M'Onel's fist. The Daxamite's eyes bulged in surprise as he was slammed into the wall. The Monitor blasted the floor around his foot, freeing it. He took a step towards Kinetix, who made portions of the wall turn into bands that wrapped around his eyes and shoulders. "You are only prolonging your defeat," he sneered as he reached for the metal. Suddenly, he stopped; trembling, he sank to his knees. "What is happening?"

"I happened." Violet suddenly grew beside Kinetix. "Just like what I did with Roxxas the Daxamite some time ago*. I played around with your balance AND damaged your motor controls. Grife, just made it in time too - it was really uncomfortable in there!"

"Nice work, Vi, but now I could really use you here," Invisible Kid called. Vi looked at Zoe, who nodded. "Go," she said as she used her telekinesis to shove the Monitor back into the wall. As she pinned him, she began to cover his face and limbs.

"Yeah, we'll be fine," Wildfire's confidence was palpable as he blasted the Monitor with his anti-energy. M'Onel followed with his heat vision.

"Looks like it," Violet smiled as she flew towards Invisible Kid and Impulse. The two were frantically tapping on Omnicoms. "I'm downloading data from Babbage," Impulse noted without even looking up. "It helps confirm that the fluid they are in acts as a sedative and helps maintain bodily functions like respiration and nutrition; it also hydrates them."

"Wonderful," Lyle continued. "XS and the others will be in no danger if they're freed then. Babbage can continue with that. Now..." He turned to Violet. "Can you go in and investigate the wires? We need to understand what they do and how we can know if they're active or not. Wear this," he handed Violet a pair of goggles, "and we can see what you can see."

"Sure thing." Violet wore the goggles and began shrinking. Lyle turned one of his Omnicoms to Vi's view and began watching as she flew through the wires. Kent sat behind him and began charting the cables sticking out from the tube holding Condo Arlik. "Good thing you noticed that this poor prisoner's tube had the most... um... attachments," Kent noted. "Once we figure out what these do, it should be a cinch to free the others."

"... yeah, that's right," Lyle said almost absentmindedly as he continued watching Vi's journey. "Start with the most complicated..."

Kent began scribbling furiously on his Omnicom even as he spared a glance at the nearby battle. The Monitor had lunged at M'Onel, who had flown backwards to avoid being hit. Wildfire and Kinetix blasted the villain backwards with their powers. Three of the Legion's most powerful were just managing to hold the Monitor off; but for how long?

He forced himself to stop watching the battle and pay attention to what Violet was seeing. These poor hostages desperately needed to be freed, evacuated and possibly treated. He would not let them down.

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

Shvaughn Erin stared in frustration at the shield which had reappeared around Legion World. With communications and visuals cut off once more, there was precious little she could do but hope that the Legionnaires on Legion World had been able to adapt their plans in time. She wanted to shake her head; fifteen highly capable Legionnaires had gone in, far more than would usually be sent on any mission. And smaller groups had succeeded against seemingly bigger odds. But still...

She was shaken out of her reverie by what seemed to be a squeak. Was she imagining things? She listened again. Silence, but she thought... Best to be careful. She quickly set the onboard computer to silent and ran a check. Cloaking, on; communications, active; life support, active... Her eyes narrowed as she saw the next report. Heat signature detected near the airlock.

Activating her transuit and cocking her blaster, she flew to the airlock, giving thanks once more that the Legionnaires had finally granted her Honorary status and a flight ring with it. She peeked around the corner leading to the airlock cautiously, searching for signs of movement.

"Looking for me?" She gasped as a boot slammed into her knee. She rolled forward with the blow, twisting her body despite the pain so she faced her attacker. He pointed a gun at her and sneered. "Some Science Police Captain you are. Beaten by Benn Pares, master thief." His grin lit his roguish features up as his eyes twinkled. "And you're a baseline human, too. Offing you will greatly up my rep."

"Anything would boost your rep," Shvaughn taunted. "You did manage to break into Legion HQ** one time, but you went home empty-handed."

"That won't happen again," Benn smiled as he pointed his blaster at Shvaughn's head. "I have the whole of Legion World to loot now. Goodbye, CaptaAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Benn covered his ears as alarm klaxons sounded all over the ship. Shvaughn smiled; she had set the alarms to go off - at max volume - as a precaution. She quickly drew her blaster and zapped Benn's gun hand and his leg. As he dropped to the floor, crying out in pain, she finished with a kick to the head. She turned Benn Pares over; he was unconscious.

After tying Pares up, Shvaughn turned the alarms off, then pulled out the telepathic plugs in her ears. She had set them to block out any noise above a certain volume. She sighed as she settled back in her chair; she needed a bit of a rest after all this. Then she needed to think. Benn was probably expected back after some time; she couldn't just stay here. Her best option was to return to Earth and come back with whichever Legionnaires could be spared - if any could be.

Suddenly, the computer pinged again. "Unknown ship detected approaching at subluminal speed," it announced. "Grife," Shvaughn muttered as she began scanning the readouts. "This ship has weapons, but I need to know what I'm facing." Suddenly, a vessel materialized in front of her. Shvaughn gasped as she looked out the window.

As recognition dawned, a smile slowly spread across her face. "Well, it looks like I won't have to go back to Earth now..." She quickly opened her communication channels and began sending a message to the other Legion teams. Things were finally looking up.

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

IB's notes:

1) Violet trashed Roxxas' motor control center in Legionnaires Annual 2 to be exact!

2) Benn Pares broke into Legion HQ in Adventures in the DC Universe 10.

Feel daunted by the length of this thread? You can also check out the Recap Thread to catch up!

VOLUME 3: HOMECOMING

Back Home, In space between Earth and Legion World...


Andromeda, Laurel Gand of Daxam; enhanced speed, strength, invulnerability, vision powers
Kid Quantum II, Jazmin Cullen of Xanthu; time manipulation
Star Boy, Thom Kallor of Xanthu; gravity manipulation
Thunder, Cece Beck of 90th century Binderaan; SHAZAM-empowered human with enhanced strength, speed, durability, stamina, wisdom and flight powers

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

"Validus! Surely you can handle a non-invulnerable hero?!" Empress snapped as she commanded the Eye to blast Andromeda. Star Boy was flying rings around Validus! The gigantic oaf was flailing around, but Star Boy was keeping him off-balance AND evading his swats! No matter; she would deal with him later. Now she wanted to destroy that wretched Andromeda and take revenge for her humiliating defeat so long ago. She had been defeated by one flick of Andromeda's finger... and she had so looked forward to finally killing a Legionnaire bare-handed...*

Hm...

"Eye, I want you to remove Andromeda's powers!" she gleefully commanded. She saw Andromeda's eyes widen in horror as she issued her command.

"No you don't! Captain Marvel!" The Empress forced herself not to shriek as lightning came down from above, striking the Legionnaire called Thunder and the Emerald Eye! As her vision cleared, she saw a young girl - about the Legionnaires' age - floating in space with a determined look on her face. "Eye!" she called. "Kill her!"

The girl gave her the most insolent grin, then shouted once more. "Captain Marvel!" Lightning appeared from out of nowhere yet again, striking the Eye before it could react. The Empress screamed, as much in frustration as in pain, as her vision blurred again.

"Eye! You're powerful enough to stop this," she shrieked. "Eye!" As the smoke cleared, she could see the Eye pulsing and glowing. Yet nothing seemed to be happening. What was going on?

She tried to wade towards the Eye, but felt something pinning her down. She dropped to her knees and stared as Kid Quantum II and Star Boy came into view. Both Legionnaires appeared to be concentrating. Yet why couldn't she move?

Outside the area their powers were affecting, Kid Quantum II felt sweat beading on her forehead even as she manipulated the flow of time around the Emerald Eye and the Empress. "How are you doing, Thom?"

"Well enough," Thom responded. "Better than the Empress, who is feeling mighty heavy right now. And you?"

"Nnggh... The Empress is easy, she has no natural resistance to my powers. The Eye is trickier, of course... I'm slowing it down while speeding the Empress' personal time field, then doing the opposite. It's keeping them off-balance so far, but..."

"But you could use an assist," Thom smiled. He focused his immense gravity powers on the Eye as well. "Nice tactic, by the way. I think I'll do the same. Make the Eye lighter, Empress heavier, then switch..."

"Thanks. Andy, Thunder, how are you two doing with Validus?"

"Give us a second," Andromeda said determinedly as she flew around. "We want a clear shot, so let's come at him from below." Thunder joined her as they flew through Validus' chaotic web of brain lightning. Andromeda nodded at Thunder, and the two Legionnaires looped around the floating behemoth. As if synchronized, they approached from the same direction below, dodging lightning all the way, and punched Validus with all their might.

With a mighty bellow, Validus roared in pain, but the two kept pressing their attack. "XS once told me** that Validus has the slowest reflexes she has ever seen," Andromeda said as she pushed forward. "I can see it here."

"So can I. Even without Atlas' Stamina, I think I could withstand most of Validus' brain lightning by using Mercury's speed," Thunder noted.

"You definitely have an impressive array of powers," Laurel smiled as she pressed the attack with heat vision. An enraged Validus used its hand to cover the spot she had zapped, freeing the path in front of them. "Now, shall we finish this?"

"With pleasure. And your powers are more than impressive as well," Cece smiled.

"On 3 then," Laurel winked.

"THREE!" the two shouted as they rocketed into Validus. The behemoth roared in surprise and anger as they slammed him into a nearby asteroid.

Watching from afar, Jazmin and Thom looked on in awe. "That has got to be the biggest cloud of dust I've ever seen," Thom whistled.

"I'll say," Jazmin added even as she continued manipulating time around the Empress and the Eye. "But don't get distracted. I can feel the Eye breaking through my fields..."

"Let it try breaking through this." Thom waved his hand, and the Eye crashed into a nearby asteroid, all while still surrounded by Jazmin's quantum bubbles.

"Nice one, Thom. Now make it bounce again, and I'll follow your lead." Thom grinned as he made the Eye crash into another asteroid, then another, and another.

"It's working!" Jazmin noted with no small hint of satisfaction as the emerald glow surrounding the Empress faded. "We're doing it, Thom!"

"Hah! Teamwork wins again," Thom laughed as he slammed the now-powerless Empress into the ship she was kneeling on. "And now for the Eye..."

"If you will permit us." Star Boy and Kid Quantum II turned in surprise to see a combat mechanoid, not unlike Babbage, floating towards them. It carried a large opaque cube which Jazmin recognized as the prison they had placed the Emerald Eye in***, but with some additional enhancements. Beside the Robotican, Andromeda and Thunder floated with slightly confused, but elated, expressions.

"If you will guide the Eye into this containment unit, Star Boy," the Robotican continued. "We have made some modifications to make this a more suitable prison."

As Star Boy complied, Jazmin extended a free hand. "I thank you on behalf of the Legion, Robotican. And you are?"

"My apologies for not introducing myself," the Robotican bowed. "PMC-87 unit, Diplomatic Corps of Robotica. My colleague JRH-92 unit, also of the Diplomatic Corps, is even now approaching Captain Shvaughn Erin to assist her. We received a transmission from Legionnaire Babbage while the shields surrounding Legion World were down, and we of course made haste to support both Legion World and Earth. We owe you much."

Jazmin felt a small smile creep across her face even as her three teammates gave mutters of approval. And she was secretly proud of herself for engaging with this Robotican emissary as she would any other sentient species or race in the United Planets.**** As Thom used his powers to place the Eye into the containment unit, PMC-87 quickly shut it and pressed some buttons. The unit began to hum. "You may drop your fields now. We designed this unit together with the White Witch and others from Zarrox. It draws on the Emerald Eye's own mystical energy to power it."

"Wow. That sounds like a wrap," Andromeda smiled, though she shivered slightly. She couldn't forget the malevolence she had felt the first time she had encountered the Eye.

"So now we should support our Earth-based team," Thunder added.

"Oh, I don't think we need to do that," Kid Quantum smiled. Her teammates turned and gasped in unison.

A shimmering, transparent shield surrounded the Earth.

"They did it!" Star Boy cheered.

"I never doubted Brainiac 5 could," Andromeda murmured.

"So now, we consolidate our forces and wait for the Asteroid teams to remove that pesky shield around Legion World once and for all," Kid Quantum II continued. She raised her flight ring to her lips. "Hear that, Triad? Show's yours, girls."

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

IB's notes:

1) LSH v4 80: Empress was looking forward to killing Andromeda with her bare hands, only to find out that Laurel was Daxamite. The Empress had not encountered the Emerald Eye yet.

2) XS said that also in LSH v4 80!

3) I introduced this prison in one of my Volume 1: Loss posts.

4) The UP voted to recognize Roboticans as a sentient species in Legion 14.

Feel daunted by the length of this thread? You can also check out the Recap Thread to catch up!

VOLUME 3: HOMECOMING

Back Home, in an asteroid belt near Legion World...

Shikari Lonestar of the Kwai; pathfinding, armored skin and claws allowing for flight and survival in space
Triad, Luornu Durgo of Cargg; triplication; skilled administrator

Chuck Taine of Earth (Honorary Legionnaire). Skilled architect and mechanic, pilot of the bouncing ship called the Bouncing Boy

************************************************************
Triad Neutral prayed Purple would bite her tongue as Kid Quantum's transmission came in. "We're a little busy here, Jaz!" Neutral answered as she reintegrated to avoid a punch. She quickly triplicated again, only to have her opponent do the same. Triad cursed silently; Kuga was no tri-jitsu slouch, and he was much, much physically stronger. Grife, he looked like he had been carved from stone! She couldn't rely on superior numbers here. Worse, she still had to worry about gathering the three smaller teams of Legionnaires scattered throughout the asteroid belt and ensuring they destroyed the shield around Legion World. She didn't want to think about the fates of the Legionnaires already on Legion World if they couldn't get reinforcements through...

"Lu! Kari!" Chuck called from the cockpit. "I'm sorry, I can't leave the controls! Are you..."

"I can handle it," Purple snapped as she kicked at the nearest Kuga. "She means we can manage, Chuck!" Orange called more soothingly while she crouched down to avoid a punch.

"Yes, we can defeat our opponents, Jovial Legion." Shikari fell silent after that, a far cry from her previous penchant for combat badinage. Just as well; her opponent, Swool, was a Gil'dan in an exosuit.

"Why did you stop talking, insect?" Swool taunted as it fired at Shikari. "Afraid my telepathy will anticipate your thoughts?"

Shikari resisted retorting. Instead, she flew around to the other side of the Bouncing Boy, away from Chuck. "Triplet Legion! We need to draw them out of the ship!"

"You're right, Kari," Triad Neutral replied as she used her flight ring to leap over Kuga's "main" body. As she landed behind him, she kicked his knee, forcing him to kneel. He kicked backwards, forcing her to dodge. "And I know just the thing. Sis!"

Orange, the only one of them not otherwise engaged, urgently pounded on the airlock. Shikari quickly rammed into Swool, sending both of them tumbling outside. Purple followed as she tackled one of Kuga's bodies, and Orange pulled at another.

"You'll be okay, Chuck?" Neutral called as she used her flight ring to pull Kuga Neutral out of the Bouncing Boy. Chuck flashed his favorite sign, a thumbs-up, and nodded. "Yup, I'll have the Boy in tip top shape before you know it!"

Triad waved back, and Chuck smiled warmly. But as soon as she was out of sight, his face fell. He wished he had been as confident as he sounded. He initiated auto-repair systems to seal the hole the villains had entered through. "Okay, what do you know happened, exactly?" He began talking to himself; it helped him think. "First we're floating here minding our own business and coordinating the teams, then somebody blasts a hole in the Bouncing Boy, and these two bad guys come in... but neither of them seems to have that power... Oh grife, could there be someone else out there?"

As if in answer to his question, a sneering voice sounded over the communications link. "Hey, Bouncing Boob! This is Cherry Bomb, and with me is the Molecular Master." Chuck froze as he saw the one-time failed Legion applicant chewing gum outside his ship. But what scared him even more was the black-clad man whose hands were glowing. Violet had reported fighting him once before*, and he was reportedly immensely powerful.

"Okay, this is what we're going to do," Cherry Bomb continued. "Molecular Master is already coating your ship with an explosive mix. If you don't surrender, I explode. We'll be fine, but you, your ship and your friends blow up and the Legionnaires on the asteroids get stranded. So you have five minutes to think about it."

Sweat poured down Chuck's forehead. He knew Triad and Shikari were still locked in battle. And he didn't want the Bouncing Boy to fall into the bad guys' hands.

"Oh sprock oh sprock oh sprock oh sprock..."

He had always wanted to be a Legionnaire, but had never had the powers. Piloting the Bouncing Boy was one way to get closer to the action, as was working with the new Legionnaires that had continued after the original team vanished. This was the first time he really thought that maybe it was better to just be part of the team's support staff.

"3 minutes, Bouncing Boob!" Chuck swallowed as he made his choice. He gunned the thrusters on the Bouncing Boy and aimed for the nearest asteroid. He could hear Cherry Bomb cursing over the comms and Shikari's cries of surprise over his flight ring.

"Chuck! What are you doing?!" Triad's worried voice called. "Sorry, Lu..." Chuck muttered as he angled the Bouncing Boy just so. The ship bounced off the asteroid he had targeted and hit another one, building up momentum. He could see Molecular Master firing blasts of energy at the Bouncing Boy as Cherry Bomb began to glow.

"Chuck, please stop!" Triad pleaded. "We're almost there!"

"I really missed you, Lu," Chuck smiled as the Boy hit the second asteroid, picking up momentum as it did. He bit his lip as he watched Cherry Bomb's panicked expression as he zoomed closer to them. "Stop it, you squaj!"

Then his world went white as Cherry Bomb exploded.

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IB's notes:

1) Kinetix, Star Boy and Violet fought the Molecular Master in LSH v4 109.

Feel daunted by the length of this thread? You can also check out the Recap Thread to catch up!

VOLUME 3: HOMECOMING

Back Home, in an asteroid belt near Legion World...

Shikari Lonestar of the Kwai; pathfinding, armored skin and claws allowing for flight and survival in space
Triad, Luornu Durgo of Cargg; triplication; skilled administrator

Chuck Taine of Earth (Honorary Legionnaire). Skilled architect and mechanic, pilot of the bouncing ship called the Bouncing Boy

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

A reintegrated Triad wanted to look away, but she couldn't. She watched the Bouncing Boy jump from asteroid to asteroid, all the while coated in the explosive alloy generated by the Molecular Master. "Chuck!" she screamed. What was he doing? He's not invulnerable! He doesn't even have any powers! She looked around frantically, but only Shikari was nearby, and she was locked in battle with Swool.

"He's dead, witch," Kuga sneered as he grabbed her from behind.

"Let GO!" His arms were like steel; there was no way she was getting out of his grip. Triad activated her flight ring, propelling herself and Kuga backwards into an asteroid. She braced herself; the impact loosened his grip on her. She wiggled away, and followed with a kick to the groin and an elbow to the solar plexus. A pair of punches to the head finished him off.

Summoning all her will, she flew after the Bouncing Boy, heart pounding as she noticed Cherry Bomb glowing brighter and brighter. The villain had to charge herself up, but the results could be devastating - she had once blinded and deafened Umbra.

"Chuck, please stop!" she called. "Please!"

"I will stop him." Shikari dodged a round of fire from Swool, then decisively sliced through its exosuit, severing its aqueous globe from the body. Without its limbs, Swool was no threat. Shikari kicked Swool's globe away for good measure, then she began flying towards the Bouncing Boy, easily overtaking Triad. Luornu's mouth felt dry. Would she be fast enough?

Shikari dove through the space in between her and the Bouncing Boy, weaving her way through tiny asteroids and the occasional blast from Molecular Master. Her wings moved faster than Triad had ever seen. She was gaining, but to Triad it seemed like she was moving at a snail's pace.

And just as Shikari touched the Bouncing Boy, Cherry Bomb exploded.

Triad clasped her hands to her mouth as she flew closer. The light had been blinding; even with her visor on she had to blink to adjust. As the explosion cleared, she saw the unconscious forms of Cherry Bomb and the Molecular Master flying into an asteroid, no doubt just as Chuck had intended.

"Triplet Legion!" Shikari flew out of the dissipating cloud, wings fluttering. Her armored skin had protected her from the worst of it. In her arms, she cradled the still form of Chuck Taine.

"I reached him only a few seconds after the explosion hit," Shikari explained quietly. "The Bouncing Boy... it was almost completely destroyed... I saw the hull rupture. He was drowning in different fluids..."

Triad gingerly touched Chuck's face, but he didn't react at all. She barely felt a pulse. His body was almost completely coated in... whatever it was. She guessed it was a combination of the
Molecular Master's handiwork and the rubber mixture that had allowed the ship to bounce. "Shikari, we need to get him to a doctor, now!"

"Yes." The tell-tale pinkish-red glow surrounded Shikari's head as she used her pathfinding abilities. "Sneaky Legion and Doctor Legion can help him. I'll bring him to Legion World. You stay and gather the rest."

"Wait... a... minute!" Triad felt the welling of emotions that preceded an involuntary triplication. Purple jabbed an angry finger towards Shikari. "We're going with you!" Orange placed a trembling hand on her mouth. "Oh grife, he looks so weak!"

"I understand you are worried, but you must stay here and gather the rest," Shikari said firmly. "Our teammates are still scattered here, and we will all need to stand together to retake Legion World."

"Now, you listen-!" Purple started.

"No, sisters," Neutral cut Purple off. "Shikari's right. She's faster. It just makes the most sense."

Purple and Orange both stared at her. Then, after what seemed like an eternity, they nodded. Neutral turned to Shikari. "Take care of him, please."

"I will." Triad lingered for a few seconds as she watched Shikari and Chuck dwindle in the darkness of space. Then she sighed as she turned towards the asteroid field.

After her grandmother and RJ Brande, Chuck Taine was the first person to make all three of her feel the same way. And now all three of her were afraid she would lose him forever.

WOW! I honestly thought Chuck was dead, it was a great sacrifice scene but very shocking....I really like where it looks like you're taking him instead though!

Glad you liked Chuck's moment, raz, and glad you were shocked by it! I think you've read my mind as to where this is going...

Feel daunted by the length of this thread? You can also check out the Recap Thread to catch up!

VOLUME 3: HOMECOMING

Back Home, Asteroid TMC-89 near Legion World...

Ferro, Andrew Nolan of 20th century Earth; previously could turn his body into durable iron, but now stuck in his iron form
Gear, I.Z.O.R. of Linsnar; bio-mechanical techno-morphing
Sensor, Jeka Wynzorr of Orando; sensory manipulation

Mentalla, Delya Castil of Titan. (Reserve Legionnaire and Cadet). Telepathic control of others' physical functions

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

Gear hung his head in resignation. "No use. I've tried and I've tried. I can't regain control."

"No shame in that, Gear," Mentalla said gently. "But it's time for us to move on."

"Yeah..." Gear looked wistfully at the controls one last time. "Let's do this."

"Here goes nothing." Ferro stepped up beside Gear and raised his hands over his head. In one swift motion, he brought his fists down on the controls, smashing them to bits.

Alarms sounded all over the installation. The four Legionnaires looked at one another. "My illusions are on," Sensor said. "Let's go." The four raced towards the exit.

IB you killing me! i swear you gave me a heart attack when i read that post about Chuck and seeing all three Lu's react like that broke my heart.

The battle scenes have all been awesome. Zoe and M'onel taking on the Monitor was scary good.

Star boy and KQII also great. i never would have thought of them working so well on the Emerald Eye.

Laurel and Cece are a fun pairing still.

Can't wait for more!

Thanks Omni, of course I would never want to give you a heart attack but I'm glad the Chuck and Lu scene worked so well for you.

Glad you are liking the battles and Legionnaire pairings there will be a few more scenes but they'll be a bit shorter and crisper as we are nearing the finale!

One thing I realized is that there is quite a lot of power among these Legionnaires. Kid Q, Star Boy, Kinetix, M'On, Andromeda, Thunder, Wildfire... all quite powerful!

Thanks, and more to come very soon!