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

Omni! Thanks for your comments, and I'm sorry I missed reading when you first posted. Things have just been so hectic here back in school.

Glad you liked Kari's thoughts about meeting a "fake" Tinya way back then, and my little backgrounder on Sussa. I always did want to explain why she ended up working for McCauley, and feel like it was a good way to flesh her out.

Happy you liked Troy as Echo. I'm not sure if I want my version to be all tied to Marzal, so I decided on this little change for now.

To be honest I haven't fully planned for Xanthu and the Second Galaxy yet. I figure, with Thresholds and all, it will be easy enough to send Legionnaires out and have them recalled to Legion World quickly, so I'll see how it goes.

Thanks for the compliment on the Tinya bit. Winema seemed to have such high expectations of her back in the day (Legionnaires 0!), so I imagine she picked up a few things from assisting her mom.

The Luck Lords will get their turn in the spotlight, for sure

and glad you are liking the bits about the away team promoting the Cadet program. One thing I love about a text format is being able to explore all these little questions about the practicalities of things introduced in the comics!

Hey, Ibby,

Just read the opening 4 chapters of Volume 2, with the various conversations and confidences between different Legion members as they continue to wander.

Beautifully done, my friend. Your love for the Postboot characters shines in every syllable. The Reep/Lyle chat, and the Brainy/Val chat, those in particular brought tears to my eyes. And that's a good thing.

The main reason I love the Postboot Legionnaires -- and, as I've said often, it's thanks to you that learned to appreciate them in the first place -- because they proved that there's no need for creepiness, pathology, or nastiness for Legionnaires to be well-rounded, fully-engaging characters. I'm glad you're carrying on, and if the upcoming Postboot trades are any sign, even DC is finally learning to appreciate this version of the LSH.

Hi Fanfie,

Thank you so very much! I sometimes think about whether I should introduce more interpersonal conflict between my Legionnaires, but you have reinforced my conviction not to make them nasty or mean just for the sake of it.

Thanks again for your comments, they mean a lot.

Oh, it's my pleasure, Ibby.

One of the main reasons I put my own Postboot fanfics on hiatus was that I found I was doing just that, making the Legionnaires snarky and stuff in ways more appropriate for the Preboot/Retroboot versions. In particular, I had Spark talking more like the other Ayla, and even though it was fun writing it, at the same time it didn't feel quite right.

That said, one of the 7 Worlds of Wonder does have a Legion iteration based on the Postboot (it's Earth-7.7.) Once I'm done with the Retroboot within the next year or two, I'll get to that one. And do it right this time.

One great thing about us here at Bits, we can and do use our writings to distill what makes different versions and eras of the Legion unique. Not just in the case of individual characters, but how they come together as a team

here's to more such writing from us!

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

VOLUME 4: MOVING FORWARD

The Cordillera Mountains, Philippines, Earth

Blizzard, Brek Bannin of Tharr; cold projection
Kinetix, Zoe Saugin of Aleph; advanced telekinesis and animation of objects; affinity for magic
Violet, Salu Digby of Imsk; shrinks and grows own body

Matter-Eater Lad, Tenzil Kem of Bismoll; consume and digest all forms of matter. Skilled chef and Legion support staff member. (Reservist)

************************************************************
For 3,000 years, the high rice fields of the Ifugao have followed the contours of the mountains. The fruit of knowledge handed down from one generation to the next, and the expression of sacred traditions and a delicate social balance, they have helped to create a landscape of great beauty that expresses the harmony between humankind and the environment.

- The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, on the inclusion of the Terraces in the World Heritage List



"How much longer are we going to spend here?" Tenzil grumbled as he adjusted his shades. The group had been trekking through the ancient Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras for over an hour now.

Zoe laughed as she looked at Tenzil. He was all wrapped up in a transuit; its atmospheric-control features kept him comfortable from the harsh sunlight and stifling humidity that characterized much of the Philippines. Even at this high altitude. She herself had chosen to climb transuit-free; she loved feeling nature at its rawest. "We're almost there, Tenz. The Batad Cluster is the smallest one. And also the steepest," she added with a laugh. She frowned as she saw a speck of dirt on her shorts; without much thought, she brushed it off with her telekinesis, leaving the cloth pristine. Realizing what she had done, she conceded to herself that her telekinesis did make things a lot easier for her to bear the climb.

"Let's stop for a bit," Violet suggested. Salu took a sip from her water bottle. "You know, as much as I enjoy the natural beauty, I do have to admit that the scenery hasn't changed much over the past hour..."

"You're right," Zoe said as she looked at Salu and Brek. Both had also chosen not to wear transuits, but the heat was beginning to bear on them - even with Brek's cooling of the air temperature around them, and Zoe's telekinetic shielding from the sunlight. "Maybe we should cut this short. After all, we have a big day planned for tomorrow."

"Yes, please," Brek exhaled as he used his flight ring to hover in the air. Without seats around, hovering was the best way to rest weary legs. "We can enjoy the view by air."

Zoe laughed as she took off. "Fine, then. A short flight over, then a big feast tonight!" She let the wind flow through her air as she zipped down the mountain. It was nice seeing all this greenery. After checking to see that her companions were behind her, she whipped out her Omnicom - telekinetically, of course. It was always best to be careful - Star Boy had almost lost an Omnicom once flying over Metropolis, and only Gates' quick teleportation had saved him from possibly killing someone with it. She set their course for the nearby town of Sagada.

As they flew, Zoe let her thoughts wander. She idly contemplated the difficulties early Filipinos had traveling over the rugged terrain; in the 21st century, the winding, mountainous roads would have stretched their trip to six hours. Now, it would be over in minutes.

Zoe was shaken out of her reverie by Brek's voice. "You sure put a lot of research into our itinerary." She returned his smile as he flew beside her. "I love learning about different cultures, whether past or present. One reason I didn't mind my mom's job too much."

"Do you like the past more than the present, though?" Brek asked. Zoe paused for a moment. Brek smiled apologetically. "A bit of a weird question, I know."

"No, no, it's not," Zoe considered. "It's actually made me think, and that's a good thing. I mean, I'm naturally curious about how different sentients live, and Earth more so than most other worlds. The sheer variety of cultures here is immense compared to most other worlds... And it's not easy to separate past from present. Many Earth civilizations have died out, but you see traces of ancient practices even in the modern day."

"Like how Shvaughn keeps saying, "Saints preserve us", despite not really believing in saints?"

"Exactly," Zoe smiled. Brek often seemed like a happy-go-lucky, cheerful guy with nary a care in the world. But these past few months, she had come to realize how deep and insightful he was.

A beep from her Omnicom interrupted her. "Arriving at the Hanging Coffins of Sagada."

"Yes!" Zoe smiled as she arced her body downwards. "Sky burials are fairly common in the UP, but people from Sagada keep the actual coffins suspended!" In seconds, she and Brek were hovering just above the coffins. A transparent energy screen kept them from going close. Violet and Tenzil followed moments later.

"Hmmm... when you said hanging coffins, I was expecting something more... magnificent..." Violet muttered. "Like coffins made from precious stone, or with beautiful carvings..." The coffins were wooden boxes of various colors. Most had the names of the deceased written on them in bold letters of the old Latin alphabet or in Interlac.

"I agree they're not spectacular in themselves," Zoe breathed, "but it's just amazing to see this practice up close!"

"It IS interesting," Tenzil noted. "I can see how some people would be awed at this. Sometimes we get tourists on Bismoll who wonder at how Bismollian remains can sparkle so... but for us, it's mundane because of our mineral-rich diets."

"Their reasoning is most interesting for me," Brek said as he peered at the exhibits. "The locals believed that the higher up coffins were, the closer they were to their ancestors... Ah, and there are practical reasons, like keeping the bodies away from animals..."

Zoe and Brek spent the next few minutes reading the exhibit text, while Salu admired the mountainous scenery. Tenzil chewed on some soil and pebbles; he claimed that every country they had visited so far tasted different. As the first hints of twilight appeared in the sky, the four took off once more for a well-earned dinner.

Another good down moment for the team. I do like this quartet. Zoe and Berk make a cute budding couple if that is the direction they are headed.

Your imagery of the mountains is really well done. These moments really do flesh out your love for Zoe as we see into her. i like how she acknowledges the little things like her powers and how easy it is for her.

Tenzil complaining was funny once you described him and his transuit shade wearing coolness.

Zoe's love for archeology is show cased well here and i like your point about how somethings are passed down even if we no longer celebrate them or practice aspects of long dead cultures and using Shavangs "saint's preserve us" line was a good example.

The floating coffin's things was new and a tradition that i could see developing someday. i like the reasoning about being closer to the ancestors and the coffins being normal and not ornate at all. that gave it some real weight that this was a practice for ordinary people and not kings or queens or even a heroes burial place.

looking forward to more.

Thanks Omni, I appreciate your detailed reading and comments

Zoe and Brek will certainly grow closer

Glad you liked Tenzil's complaining, Zoe's self-reflection and love for architecture, and the imagery. I have been to these mountains and was inspired to describe them well. Glad you also liked the musings on culture.

Also happy you liked the description of the coffins. They are a real, modern day tourist attraction - one that I visited a few years ago. Glad to share them with everyone here

Thanks for the link IB - I had not heard of these hanging coffins before, it's really interesting! I am glad some non-western culture survives another thousand years

I like how this trip is showcasing Zoe's interest in other cultures, and little throwaway bits like her thoughts about needing to be careful carrying things while flying and Tenzil's remark about Bismollian remains glittering do a lot to give their universe depth...Also, why am I not at all surprised that Star Boy would be the one to drop an omnicom on someone lol

Thanks Raz, glad you liked this little bit from my home Those hanging coffins are not the most famous sight in the Philippines, but they are certainly one of the most unique! Your common is apt, as I was just planning on including bits in the next post where I talk more about how many Earth cultures decided to have little pockets of preservation.

Zoe is my author avatar here, in the sense that I also love learning about other cultures. Glad you like the throwaway bits too (I always imagined fliers had to be careful about dropping things; the Bismoll one was a flash of inspiration)! And yes, Thom is such a klutz

IB, this is a cute vignette, and your love of the characters is very obvious especially Zoe who always shines when you write about her.

After reading this I was reminded how much I enjoyed yours and Blazes travelogue story and how much I've missed it.

Tenzil was great, he's always fun and the mental image of him in a trans suit with his shades on was great.

As Omni and Raz have already brought up, the throwaway lines like Star Boy dropping debris are really good additions to the ongoing plot, rounding out your characters and adding nice depth.

As FL commented before, the positivity in this version of the team is one of the strengths especially as you write it so authentically, it reads 'real'.

As always, thoroughly enjoyed your story and looking forward to more, more, more!

Harbi, thank you for your usual support. I'm happy that Kinetix shines under my writing, and does not come across as a Mary Sue or a panel hog!

It's very kind of you to mention my Homecoming travelogue. I always had such fun writing it, and I'm almost done - 25 countries left to feature, if I counted right. Perhaps I can write some more during the summer - it's just too hectic otherwise!

Tenz is the type who would wear his shades even when not sunny; and when it is sunny, he relishes the chance to look "cool"!

Happy that you like the throwaway bits and the positivity as well! I'm glad that the optimism and brightness comes across as very real

More to come soon - I was hoping to finish this little Philippine trip last weekend, but alas, didn't have enough time (what with papers and schoolwork and chores). Maybe next weekend - before the deluge of midterms starts!

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

VOLUME 4: MOVING FORWARD

The Cordillera Mountains, Philippines, Earth

Blizzard, Brek Bannin of Tharr; cold projection
Kinetix, Zoe Saugin of Aleph; advanced telekinesis and animation of objects; affinity for magic
Violet, Salu Digby of Imsk; shrinks and grows own body

Matter-Eater Lad, Tenzil Kem of Bismoll; consume and digest all forms of matter. Skilled chef and Legion support staff member. (Reservist)

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

Zoe munched eagerly on her breakfast of freshly-baked pandesal, the soft, round, fluffy little rolls that Philippine locals swore by. She remembered having them at her friend Mabuhay's home when they were kids; along with them came an assortment of spreads, jams, and cheeses. Today, she was having them with local peanut butter; it was much creamier and sweeter than any peanut butter she had tasted elsewhere. Mabuhay had always joked about the fattening nature of Filipino food; most was either fried or loaded with sugar. Zoe didn't mind, though; they would need it for the six-hour trek through the Lumiang and Sumaguing Caves.

She did wish that Mabuhay could join them, but her old friend was working feverishly on her next collection. Zoe clicked through the reports from the Institute of Functional Design*,and was glad that the students were doing well AND that the name had been changed. Really, their parents had been sweet, naming it the Zoe and Candi Institute, but she and Candi had thought it was gauche to have it named after them!

Salu stifled a yawn as she sat down beside Zoe. She nursed a cup of coffee in between her hands; the scents of cinnamon and hazelnut wafted around her. Two empty cups were stacked beside her.** "I don't suppose..." Salu paused as she let out her yawn. She shook her head and downed her cup of coffee, closed her eyes for a second, then continued. "I don't suppose I could bargain for another hour's sleep?"

"I wish," Tenzil grinned. "But if we want to have a proper lunch..."

"I know, we need to count 6 hours backwards from noon," Salu sighed as she stretched her arms above her head. "I would be much more enthusiastic if we could start at a NORMAL hour..."

"At least we have a good breakfast," Brek pointed out. He picked up his fourth pandesal and spread edam cheese on it. How the Dutch cheese became a delicacy in the Philippines, Zoe was not quite sure. But she didn't care; it went extremely well with the pandesal.

"Yeah, because it looks like we will need it," Tenzil whispered. "I met our guide, and he is..."

"OKAY, TOURISTS!!!" A portly, dark-skinned man with a thick mustache waved his arms towards them. His grin made Zoe's skin crawl as he looked her up and down; it seemed a little too appreciative. "Well, aren't you a pair of pretty ladies?" He winked and elbowed Brek in the side; the Legionnaire winced in surprise. He raised his sunglasses as he leered at Zoe and Salu. Are you ready to get wet?"

"Yes, we are ready for the caves," Zoe said flatly, not wanting to encourage his innuendo. Jokes between friends were one thing - her conversations with Vi and Ayla about their male teammates were certainly not meant to be overheard - but she had just met this man. She resisted the urge to telekinetically alter her outfit to cover up her legs. She would do this as they entered the cave, not before!

"Not in that outfit, you're not," the man grinned. "Listen to Papa Jack, and you'll have a good time! The belts are a good idea, not least because your Legion icon will make for a great picture later!" Papa Jack's smile grew even wider as he rubbed his hands in glee. "Ah, wait until I tell my buddies that I was the guide for four Legionnaires!"

Zoe bit off a retort as Salu stepped in front of her. With a firm glance at Zoe, she spoke. "And what should we be wearing?"

"Lose the shoes," Papa Jack grinned as he pointed at their feet. "You should wear these." He held up his own, and Zoe frowned in surprise. Ferro had shown her a pair from the 20th century; they were called flip-flops. "I had no idea they still made these."

"We like to keep our traditions," Papa Jack said proudly as he puffed out his chest. "And these make for easier climbing. We call them slippers here in the Philippines, but they will definitely not make you slip!"

"Okay, then, let's give it a try..." Green glows surrounded all their feet,and moments later, all four were wearing flip-flops.

"Huh," Tenzil said as he wiggled his toes. "I'm glad I trimmed my toenails and all that."

"Now listen carefully to the rest." The four gathered around Papa Jack, who rattled of a series of reminders. Zoe, alone among the four, had chosen not to use a transuit, and found herself making sure her limbs were completely covered to help her withstand the cold inside the caves.

"Too bad you don't want to wear a transuit," Papa Jack winked. "It will be more comfortable... and besides, you have such nice skin, you shouldn't cover it up."

Zoe grit her teeth as she bit back another retort. The caves weren't the only thing that would be cold.

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

IB's notes:

1) I had the Institute of Design be started by Zoe's mom Azra, and Monstress' dad, to honor their fallen (at the time) daughters.

2) Violet's sleepiness and Zoe's rise-and-shine attitude are a reference to LSH v4 Annual 6, where an energetic Zoe wakes up a sleepy Violet while on a dig.

So I'm just starting this, and not yet ready for in-depth commentary. But I'm hugely impressed so far.

Thanks, Set! I appreciate you taking time to read my work. I know you commented on some of the very earliest posts before. I'm pleased you like it so far!

Set, you're in for a treat!

Thank you Harbi, so kind of you to say!

So. I've finished Volume 2, Scattered Souls, which I read twice, 'cause that's how I roll.

Random thoughts as I'm reading (some of which become moot as I read further!);

My first thought is that various grudges and conflicts were being cleared away a little too quickly in the first five or six posts, but then I remembered that this was supposed to represent weeks, or even months, of time stuck together, and that it would be unnatural for their relationships not to evolve over that time, as if no time had passed, particularly when they are cut off from a world of distractions they could use to put off uncomfortable conversations or encounters. Nobody can close a door, or put on loud music, or go shopping as avoidance measures. Everybody is kind of in everybody else's face, 24/7, so things are going to have to move forward.

I like the references to stuff that happened in Legion Lost, with Echo and Captain Adym, and with the mosaic and XS, and various other details from the sometimes very tonally different Legion bits and pieces we've gotten over the last decade. Your research is top-notch, and it's neat to see, and very impressive. References to issues and numbers just makes it all the cooler, sort of like the little boxes with editors notes that used to be common in comics of the 70's and 80's.

In the Universo Project, Saturn Girl enters Dream Girl's mind to break Universo's control, to find that Nura has spun her prison into a giant ruby, and remarks that it's a sign of her strong will that she's turned her prison into something glamorous. I get a similar vibe from how Zoe's fake reality here includes a bunch of her friends, re-imagined as 'Sally' and 'Irma.' Her own strength seems to come from her strong affection for and ties with her friends (and not necessarily her family, who are sidelined or given short shrift in her dream-existence, which her mother absent and her brother mentioned, but not seen), which suggests that her Legion life has had a stronger influence on her than what came before, which might be handy when it comes time to choose a superhero 'fantasy' life over this mundane 'reality'... Also intriguing that she's included some of her dead companions, Candi, Gim and Jan. That could pull her in another direction when it's time to choose, a world in which some of her friends are dead, or one where they live on? And does that 'prove' the reality of what she's learning, because it's *not* as pretty and perfect and safe and happy as the world she'd be leaving behind? If it was a lie, wouldn't it be shinier and more tempting, and not contain such loss?

Gates is being more impulsive and ornery than I recall, although I'm not too terribly familiar with him. Perhaps being in the 'wrong' universe is causing him some stress? Perhaps being in a different universe than his 'hive' world, even if he's not the hive-iest hiver around, is wearing on him on some psychological level? It's one thing to not *choose* to go home, but to know that the option is there, and another entirely to be unable to go home, or even know that 'home' still exists!

I like the explanation you've come up with for why Drura got 'thrown into the past.' Woo, Earth-Man with Infectious Lass's powers would indeed by nasty, assuming that he could just unleash all sorts of alien contagions that don't particularly affect humans, to cause suffering and death among aliens on Earth!

<<This takes place before the last Retroboot story - the new Fatal Five. Sun Boy and Star Boy are still alive, Phantom Girl hasn't fled to who knows where, Glorith and Zerox are still in this plane of existence, and the Legion is not in any danger of being disbanded.>>

Yay! I was not a fan of that nonsense, and prefer Sun Boy, Star Boy and Phantom Girl to still be active, and Zerox to remain where it is, for now.

And everyone's back! No lengthy reunions, and off to the Sorcerer's World on a desperate mission! Good economy of storytelling, and good writer's discipline to bypass a reunion scene which might have just felt like another feelgood nostalgia scene in a story that, by it's very nature, is going to have quite a bit of that already.

In this next bit, Zoe takes long enough to make her big decision that I get a little bored with it. Narratively, it needs to take long enough for the rest of the Legion to be in deep doodoo with Mordru and his army of magical slaves, but still, it, IMO, went a bit long and didn't really do Zoe any favors. OTOH, I like that words like grief and sprock are plot-relevant.

Huh. Good to see Zatanna again, but would she know what inertron is?

Glorith having healing abilities is both very convenien and very sensible, since she manipulates time. A quick time-spell, and your targets body heals as if it’s had hours, or even days, to recover. Clever.

I like the teamwork with Sun Boy and Lamprey vs. Maya.

I also like the use of Chemical Kid, working with the heavy hitters Mon-El, Wildfire and Ultra Boy. Also cool to use Dawnstar as a spoiler, to draw fire, since she can evade attacks fairly well so long as she has ample room to move.

Ooh, Crystal Kid gets to play with the big leagues, too!

Ha, Rainbow Girl with yet another powerset! Is it heat/cold/light/kryptonite radiation? Is it green lantern energy constructs? Nope, it’s emotion control today! Quantum Rainbow Girl is the best Rainbow Girl!

I have barely even heard of, let alone read about, some of these magical characters, like Anna Fortune and Ibis the Invincible. Very cool. I like the idea of magical bullets conducting spell effects, and want to read more about Anna Fortune now!

During the flashback scenes you leverage your knowledge of the Reboot Legion, and Kinetix’ history in particular, very effectively here.

I like that not every team has the exact powers necessary to counter their threat. Lacking someone able to make Jinx super-light, or a telekinetic or gravity manipulator, the Legionnaires make do by just hoisting her off the ground with merely human strength and a Flight Ring.

Effective and creepy use of Kid Eternity, and cool way to work dead Legionnaires like Ferro Lad, Chemical King and Lu’s dead original third into the story. I also like how you suggest a limit to Lu’s new ability to create many duplicates, that it takes up some sort of resources, and that them being injured weakens her. The last Legion run didn’t really last long enough to get into any sort of detail or limitations on her new power, so it’s up to us to decide where we want those limits to be (can she create hundreds of dupes? Can she send them off to die by the dozens and be unaffected? Is she mentally linked to them? Do they have duplicate Flight Rings? All questions we kind of have to decide on for ourselves.).

HA! Manitou Dawn and Manitou Raven using the power of Apache Chief is too funny!

<<*This is a direct quote from Zoe's origin story in LSH v4 Annual 6, where she dreams of using her power to perfect herself and to help people all over the galaxy.>>
I guess that explains why that quote is so much clunkier than your own writing! (“I am too pure?” Even in comic books, who talks like that?) :)&#61514;

<<"And you know what happens when this incantation is used against more than one soul." Glorith's voice was soft, but lined with steel.>>

Mordru may know, but I don’t! I’m guessing that the spell fails, but that feels like an arbitrary thing. Perhaps it fails because the spell pits soul against soul, and two (or three!) souls can overcome one?

Nice big climactic battle, and I like the use of Kid Eternity during the resolution. Very cathartic, for various Legionnaires.

And the epiloque, dealing with lost Reboot Legionnaires. I like the 'name-drops' of the zombie apocalypse, planet of the apes and water world realities! Interesting that Karate Kid was on the verge of snapping out of it, and then a bite of the apple and he’s ready to stay in paradise a little longer… Suspicious!

Great story, so far. Can't wait to dive into Volume 3! I like the plotting, the language choices, the characterization, pretty much everything! Thanks for putting such dedication into this !

Set! Thanks for the detailed review (and for reading Volume 2 twice, whoa!)



Indeed, and I'm glad that came through. Another thing I was going for was that they had lost their entire reality, so all they had were each other. I would think grudges (especially silly ones like the Thom/Jo thing that started with Thom telling Cos that Jo was having pains; and the Brin/Jo thing which was completely juvenile!) would start falling away.



Thanks! A lot of those hanging threads from the Retroboot have always bugged me. And besides, I needed to get XS and Gates back in so took the opportunity to resolve some of their danglers...



Part of the inspiration from Zoe's reality came from LSH v4 Annual 6 and L* 42. Zoe always yearned for power "so she could make a difference"; being a hero was such a big fit. She was never very close to her bro. I did mention her mom, but as in "real life", mommy Azra was a traveling archaeologist / explorer.




Gates would probably not admit it to most (except Brainy), but he did miss his team and his reality! I alluded to this in the earlier scene with Brainy and Val as well.



The scariest part about Drura's powers, I think, are that she just has to release something - and it would spread on its own. Very, very difficult to contain.




That last Retroboot story was a big mess, no way I could have fixed that



Thanks! That's how the Legion rolls - when an emergency rises, they just have to move!




I completely agree with you. Looking back, I could have trimmed down the word count/scenes with Zoe struggling. I wanted to have at least one scene with everyone in the large, large cast I had assembled, but those scenes could have been worked in without Zoe thinking so much. I remember being stuck there for a while, I was doing tons of overtime then, but still!




Mordru would have used her as a slave before, so she would have learned a little about the outside universe in that time.




Glad you liked all these little bits! I tried my best to have everyone get the chance to shine. For some, such as Ibis, I don't have any appearances - so extensive Googling was a must!

Rainbow Girl's powers have been so varied over the years, so I just went with this. I honestly have no idea what Retroboot Rainbow Girl's final powerset is, but figured I would never get to write her again, so... I also remember she had one appearance where she draws on powers similar to the GL rings, so that's where my compassion-inducing idea came from. I will have to check where that happened... against Earth-Man, I think? I remember a scene where she glows red and suddenly levitates some debris.

Anna Fortune's spellcasings can be seen in the JSA All-Star series

Can't take credit for Manitou Dawn and Raven growing, I remember Manitou Raven doing that once in a JLA comic

I am especially proud of the Kid Eternity scene, thanks. I always thought that Lu's power should be finite in that sense - having tons of dupes that can die without any ill effects (being tired, sapping her energy/will) seemed like too much of a power-up! I would say she can sense each dupe's feelings, but not actually FEEL them (unlike her closer mind-link with her original bodies!)



Zoe's origin story was... interesting. I would say it was well-plotted, but the lines in her "diary" were way, way clunky, all right! Maybe that was their way of positioning her to be a future villain?



Yeah, that's what I was intending. The spell can only be used on one soul at a time. Try it on two or more, and it backfires horribly.



I thought that giving Jeckie and Lu a little closure was the least I could do. Sadly, could not do the same for Zoe and Gim, but she'll move on from that




Thanks for bringing up those name-drops. Maybe one day, I will revisit some of those

Really glad you liked this! (and thanks again for the comments and constructive criticism!) I hope you will find Volume 3 as big a treat as Volume 2 was - you liked the big, climactic battle in Volume 2, and Volume 3 has quite a bit of that too

And Chapter 3 is done now!

I am reading these at work on breaks/lunch/downtime (waiting on other people, mostly) after cut-and-pasting them into a word document, because I can't access the internet at work, so I don't really get to see other people's reactions to this, which is a bit of a shame, since I'm sure other readers are having valuable insights that I'm missing (and I'm flat out repeating them, in other instances!). But I only have so much time at work, and cut-and-pasting the entire thread didn't seem to be an option anyway...

On to random observations;

I like the notion of starting things out with some unrelated characters, like Jancel Ardeen, it sort of reinforces that there’s an entire world around these Legionnaires, people living their lives, whose fates depend on the heroes, and who, for better or worse, will get tangled up in the outcome of their adventures. What a great way to remind us about the greater universe full of people that the Legion are fighting for, and make the story a bit less zoomed in to the point it feels a bit incestuous, or even gives the impression that the heroes are the source off all the problems (since all we ever see is disaster happening around them). Comics tend to spend too much time 'zoomed in,' IMO, and very much give that impression, that the world might be a better / safer place without the Justice League / Avengers / X-Men / Authority, who seem to always be surrounded by a cloud of destruction, while the rest of the (unseen and unmentioned) world around them 'feels' like it's much safer, by comparison.

By spending even just one post, your very first post in this chapter, dealing with people just living their lives, the people who will be affected by what's to come, it puts the hero's struggle into focus, and this is a good thing, and a good way to start the chapter and set the tone before a sort of 'Civil War / the heroes are the problem, look at all this mess that happened because of them!' tone creeps in.

And now something more critical (and skipping ahead to the end, since I read this one twice as well, re-reading it while composing my thoughts), although I haven't read Chapter 4 yet, so I might be premature and talking out my ass.... There seems to a lot of bringing everyone back, and giving everyone closure and eliminating any regrets (this latter bit highlighted by scenes like the later reconciliation between Umbra and Monstress, or Candi and her father). Used sparingly, this is perfectly in keeping with comic-book tradition, where nobody stays dead, and no ‘permanent’ change lasts past the next creative team shuffle. Dyrk getting his powers back, after Zoe and Gates and XS are brought back into the fold, and, later, Monstress, etc. return, and Chuck and Condo gain the powers they had in the Preboot, feels like you’ve maybe tapped that well a lot. I love my Legionnaires, and hate to cause them pain in my own fanfic (or keep them in pain, if the canon sort of left them there), but I wonder if a sense of risk and danger is being lost here. (And I recognize that you haven’t undone *everything* unhappy in their past, Gim and Jan and James Cullen, for instance, are still dead, dead and dead.) Now, sauce for the goose, I do the same thing myself, utterly ignoring that Preboot Sun Boy and Star Boy are supposed to be dead, or finding ways to bring back characters that I like, so I'm hardly one to harp on this, but it just feels like this sort of thing is happening a lot here, and the more people 'come back,' or 'get their powers back' or whatever, the less powerful it is, for me.

Wow, that’s a harsh fall for Dragonmage! I’ve always been intrigued by him, perhaps mostly his visual and his (rare in the Legion) ethnicity. And there’s something that’s the opposite of what I mentioned above, which is probably a good balancing item, piling on some new regrets, and some fairly epic loss (entire worlds? Yikes. That's not easy to come back from, ask Jean Grey!). To be a complete hypocrite, I kind of wish it didn’t happen to someone I’ve seen so little of as Dragonmage, because he feels like his story never even began, really, and he’s already been kind of beaten down and ‘failed’ as a hero, because of his own power-seeking nature (ironically giving him the sort of storyline that was more Kinetix’s bag, in the Reboot!). OTOH, I'd probably be jumping up and down and pulling my hair out if it happened to an established Legionnaire that I feel like I know better, so Dragonmage was a better choice.

Eh, pour syrup on me, as I sit here and waffle.

Spider Girl, Infectious Lass, Nightwind, etc. are good to catch up with, they tend to get underutilized in the comics. And I’ve seen very little of Insect Queen, Particon, Lume, etc. so more on them is always welcome. The Reboot really added a *bunch* of new female characters, didn’t it? That’s cool!

I love Stheno! Pol? Meh. My least favorite Krinn brother.

Great to see a living Mentalla get to strut her stuff, although I think she’s better suited to a team that doesn’t have an Imra….

While Tenzil is recovering from being tossed into the hard vacuum of outer space, Nightwind un-ironically motions for everyone to stop crowding him, saying, “Give Tenzil some space.” and I laugh out loud and say, “Tenzil’s already had all the ‘space’ he can stand.”

Ooh, a bit of drama between Dawnstar and Shikari, on 'Eden.' I've always wondered how those two would interact. Dawnstar's a bit prickly, at times, and could be irked that her Reboot doppleganger is so much different than herself, compared to the Reboot versions of Shadow Lass or Dream Girl.

Perhaps I read it too fast or whatever, but I’m still not clear on what these 108 evil spirits in the keystone in Eden were all about. I see the narrative use of the entities, to give the team a chance to rescue those lost, and have some hero on hero action that's not too clichéd, but I'm not entirely getting the in-story reference. 108, for instance, seems like a highly specific number, and I feel like I should be recognizing something here, like how 108 villains got sent to the Phantom Zone in a past story and their essences ended up here, a lingering threat to anyone who lands in the 'spiritual sinkhole' where their darker impulses ended up.

I like the idea of the Affiliated Planets. It would make sense that there are some other planetary alliances out there (perhaps even a few within the UP, just as Germany and France often seem to have a special relationship above and beyond their EU ties). Planets that, for reasons of tradition, or just a desire to maintain some unfair or 'barbaric' practices, like slavery or honor duels to the death or hereditary monarchies, that the UP frowns on, might be 'UP allies' without necessarily being able (or willing) to abide by all the terms and conditions of UP membership.

Micro Lad's just a toad in any reality, isn't he?

<<"Why, Brainy, you do have a heart underneath all that scowling," Tenzil teased as he bit into a metallic sheet. "Mmmm, cold titanium. Just the way I like it.">>

I like the way the second sentence could be taken as a follow-up to the first, suggesting that Brainy does have a heart, but it's cold titanium. Well juxtaposed!

I like seeing the espionage aspect in play, and GEAR and, especially, Spider-Girl, get some good play here. I love this use of Spider-Girl, and she'd be a natural Espionage Squad member. Instead of teams attacking and taking out the asteroids, and having four running fights on their hands, they neutralize the asteroids without a fight, and with much less risk of personal injury, or something going catastrophically wrong, or the hostages being endangered. (And, later, it all goes south, but, hey, it was a good idea, and it's not like the Legionnaires, even the stealthy ones, aren't also good at punching face!) Great use of Shikari and Triad here, as well, coordinating three teams through a maze of corridors.

Ooh, a Monitor! I was expecting a Controller, from the visual hints, but this is more out of the standard Legion villains lineup/playbook and therefore intriguing!

Are Gangster (the multiplying villain) and Pollen from the reboot or original characters? In either event, they seem cool.

I like the use of Drura here, and her combining her powers with GEAR and Nightwind to spread 'sleeping sickness' or whatever around quickly through airvents and via nano-tech, to target specific groups. Great teamwork!

Rokk, Pol, Dyrk, Repulse. Wow, it's magnokinesis-palooza all up in here!

And Violet dives into someone's inner ear. Little lady has consent issues! Git out of mah body, girlie! (I'm reminded of how she blocked some dark servants artery in the Great Darkness Saga. Her power can be brutal!)

And Chuck is covered with bouncy formula. Doesn't take a Naltorian to tell where this is going.

I was just thinking that it was weird to have Jed go by the name Density when there was a villainess using that name earlier, and then it gets mentioned in-story. Ha!

There's some tantalizing stuff in your Roll Call. Nightwind is from Iceland? Lyle Norg might be Jewish? Partocon is from India and / or the Phillipines? (And what does it mean when a character is from two places?) Chuck's Canadian? Crystal Kid's Brazilian, Jed's from Mongolia and Nepal, Visi-Lad's Egyptian, all interesting choices! I like the notion of making Troy Stewart this universe's Echo. Nice way to streamline those two underutilized characters together. And there's Theena, who, in the Threeboot, was drawn to have pods of (explicitly) unknown origin that looked exactly like the Dominator technology later shown. Is she a Dominator plant (unwittingly). Since the Dominators use plant-based biotechnology, was that a bad pun on my part?

Good stuff, and it's quite possible that my quibble earlier about so many people coming back from the dead, or coming into power, is going to end up sounding silly when I read Chapter 4! There's still Nura's dire prophecy for Thom lurking in the uncertain future, after all...

Huh, the post says, 'Quick Reply' and this is anything but a 'quick reply.'

Thanks for the great story, so far, hopefully I'll have more free time at work over the next couple of nights to get into Chapter 4!

Your writing is professional grade, so much so that the rare typo (generally always an obvious spellcheck fail, like heat for height), or sentence fragment is an outlier.








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Hi Set, thanks again for reading and reviewing - that was fast! Really appreciate the time you put in and reading it twice - wow!



My initial intent for that scene was to explain why the Titanet - which was being set up as an early warning system due to the combination of Titanian and Naltorian talent - couldn't predict the events to come. But it did end up serving a nice dual purpose!



Totally valid point, Set. I was consciously aware of how many returns and "resurrections" I had planned though - Zoe, Gates and XS are all faves of mine, as is Chuck; Condo and Lyle are surrogates, somewhat, for myself and Blaze; I always liked Dyrk and figured that a combination of science and magic - as is present in the Legion now - could give his powers back.

And Monstress was a flash of inspiration as I was nearing the end of Volume 3, where I was thinking about whether to give Condo the Chemical King powers or the Element Lad powers, and realized there was a plausible way to get the Element Lad powerset back... on another character

Not the most realistic plotting I admit, but I did let my nostalgia and love for the characters guide my hand here. With an entire universe being restored and a Monitor being involved, I just ran with it.

I am trying to keep in mind the need for more "realism" so to speak in Volume 4... let's see how that pans out



I share Dragonmage's ethnicity, but in this case I really had to let my better judgment rule. Unlike with the "fixes" above, there was no plausible way for me to "fix" this one so quickly- Dragonmage's Reboot actions, though inadvertent, DID lead to the destruction of Dryad and mass deaths on G'ild. Blame it on the canon writers (L* 71-74)



Happy you are liking these bit characters whom I've promoted to the big leagues! I have always had a soft spot for these characters, both Preboot and Reboot. And Particon and Stheno are completely Reboot original; both had such intriguing concepts that I couldn't let them go

Ah, poor Pol. Even I never really warmed to him, though I hope I did him justice.



Heh! I wish I had thought of that Sounds like a joke Tenzil would make!



I always imagined Dawnstar would be more intrigued by Shikari's different powers - or perhaps dismissive, as she is very sure of herself.



The 108 spirits do not have any connection to anything in the Legion mythos. 108 is a sacred number in many Eastern religions. It is also central to my favorite video game series EVER, the Suikoden series - each installment of which involves recruiting 108 characters



The Affiliated Planets are another concept that the canon writers can take credit for - it was formed as a puppet organization by the Dark Circle (LSH 104-108, L*62-65) and continued after the Circle dissolved. It did seem like a good idea to pick up on.



Micro Lad really is a brat.

And happy you liked that little play on words



My use of Spider-Girl was inspired by her 5YL portrayal. And I purposely played up the espionage aspect so Volume 3 wouldn't be full of fights; plus I wanted the Legion to be super careful about the hostages. Glad you liked them all, especially Gear, Triad and Kari. It was tough thinking of something for every single one of my 45+ characters to do!



A Monitor just felt right, especially considering how the Reboot faded away because of Infinite Crisis!



Both canon characters from Legion Worlds 5, and I did feel they had tons of potential too!



Drura, Nightwind and Babbage combining powers was fun! After playing plenty of Plague Inc. (simulation game where you infect the world, where air is one of the carriers), having Berta and Drura work together just made tons of sense.

Sometimes I wonder why we don't see more fights between people from the worlds that have powers. I'd expect the Legion to occasionally run into more Naltorians, Titanians, Carggites, Braalians and what have you

Go, Vi! Her scene messing with Roxxas' inner ear in L* Annual 2 was so effective, I had to use this bit again!

I think all my readers figured out where I was going with Chuck right away

I couldn't think of a better code name for Jed, so I just went with Density and had everyone in-story laugh at it



A lot of the countries I picked are those I really, really want to visit one day!

A character from two places has mixed parentage. It's pretty common nowadays, so I imagine it will be unremarkable in the 31st century.

I'm not closing the door on Echo appearing separately, but for now I really liked that code name... AND I'm not sure I want to deal with Marzal, so Troy gets to be Echo for a bit.

And Theena - a Dominator "plant", hee! Thanks for this idea, I may have some fun with it...



Heh! I may have some surprises in store, but don't count on it... though my head tells me to, my heart won't let me kill my babies just yet!



Many,many thanks for the kind words! Looks like my nearly three decades of reading and writing has paid off Now to figure out how to make money from all this writing skill

And I'm caught up with Chapter 4, to date!

Again, random thoughts that struck me while reading;

It makes sense that Amp Girl would be piqued that she didn’t make the cut. The nature of subtle ‘buffing’ powers are such that her contribution to the last big fight went more or less unnoticed. Tenzil and Chuck also nearly died during their big moments, so they got a lot more attention! I like the idea that she's very driven, very conscious of how she's doing and where she thinks she should be at this point, and that not succeeding brilliantly kind of burns her a bit. She feels a bit like an overachiever with a 'five-year plan,' perhaps whose achievement-conscious parents sent her to all the best preparatory schools and whatnot.

Ah, Orin Fex, such a useful quasi-villain. Are his shenanigans during the Robotican situation well known, or, at least, known on Colu? If he messes up another scheme, for what other Coluans might consider petty emotional vindictiveness, I could see him getting called back to Colu and replaced with another UP representative (and *really* having something to be mad about!). I doubt Brainy would be so political as to consider de-throning Fex in this manner, depriving him of a lot of his power, and the bully-pulpit he's using to undermine the Legion, but *Gates* sure as heck would think of this, and is just the scheming political bug to plant this idea in Brainy's twelve-track mind...

Delya, kind and warm? Well, this is another universe, I suppose, and we didn’t really get to know her in the Preboot, although she seemed a bit driven to prove herself, and perhaps with just a touch of both overconfidence and condescension to her fellow applicants. (I remember her giving a fake looking smile to Energy Boy, when he was bragging about them 'getting in together' that made me think that she was dismissing his chances...) But that could just be me reading into her expression.

I don’t care for the idea of Tinya being half-Carggite, but accept it as part of this continuity, just like Orandans being snake-peeps. I am curious as to whether or not Luonel Burdo has also gambled away his own other selves into debt-slavery… It would make sense that he would have gambled himselves away before turning to his daughter, but he could be just that much of a slimeball! (And now I've read further, and he was able to at least duplicate, so he *did* sell his kid before he sold himself! Dirtbag!)

Mollie Dennum is a play on the element molybdenum, right? ‘Cause that’s what I hear everytime I read her name.


Ah, Violet's an orphan. The Legionnaire from Imsk has the smallest family. Heh, smallest, get it? I'll show myself out...

Oh dear, Gates is (kind of unintentionally, but he's totally enabling it!) fomenting a youth rebellion back on Vyrga, as should surprise exactly no one…

Does Dirk have a mother in the Reboot continuity? I toyed with the idea for a fic that Derek Morgna was simply too self-involved to ever get around to marriage, and instead had himself cloned, and that Dirk is quite literally a younger version of his father (and was raised mostly by a succession of nannies). But that's all in my head, and for all I know he's got one of those mom's that got kidnapped once and was never seen or mentioned again, like Shady's parents.

It would be an interesting twist if a side-effect of Mentalla’s proficiency at taking control of others is that she is telepathically ‘loud,’ so much so that while she can broadcast her thoughts like a champ (powerfully enough to drown out someone’s own nerve impulses and wrest control of their limbs), she is ‘too loud’ to be able to ‘hear’ as well as someone like Imra, and doesn’t receive thoughts, or tell when a boy (like Ferro) is crushing on her, that well… A different sort of Titanian might have a 'quiet' voice and find it difficult to project their thoughts, but be one heck of a 'listener,' able to hear other people's thoughts at greater range, or 'hear' even subconscious thoughts or deeply buried memories or whatever.

Ferro's tics, like taking a deep breath, or 'cracking' his neck, are interesting. It's like he hasn't entirely accepted that he's got a metal body now. His metal is flexible enough that he can walk and talk and stuff, which leads me in a prurient direction, and to wonder if he actually might discover that he *can* 'be a boyfriend' to Delya (or whomever), unlike Wildfire, because his various 'tics' suggest that his metal body might still be able to function appropriately, as long as he's careful (since he'd remain crazy strong and stuff). Oy. The places my mind goes...

Sensible to give Theena a range limitation. Going with the notion that her symbiote seemed to be plant-like in nature, I fanwanked that it released some sort of spores that coated areas she had been, or people whom she’d been in contact with, and that anyone carrying those spores, she could view on her ‘monitors.’ So she couldn’t open a viewport to anywhere she hadn’t been, or ask to see someone that she’d never met (or even met long ago, since the spores would have perhaps a 30 day lifespan).

Of the newbies, I'm a big fan of Visi-Lad / Vision (who is even more intriguing to me with your additions of him being Egyptian, and him being able to produce any of his visual powers through any of his eyes). He reminds me of a Marvel mutant named 'Peepers,' who is unfortunately dead, but shared lots of visual senses, and eyebeams, although not, I don't think, visual hypnotism.

Lots of people sticking their tongues out, for a story in which couples are old enough to be having kids and getting married. It seems like an odd juxtaposition between occasionally childish behavior, when these young people are clearly transitioning into adulthood. I haven't read too much of the Reboot, but remember feeling the same way about the comic, that these people were being drawn as children, and even sometimes written kind of brattily, and yet being thrust into war situations, surrounded by dead bodies, and, occasionally, *breeding.* (Tinya and Jo, obviously.) It was a bit jarring, like the writing couldn't decide whether or not they were cub scouts or special forces, and sometimes yawed from one extreme to the other. Maybe that's what Gates objected to, when he called the Legion a 'teenaged death squad,' not merely that exact thing, but that these young people were being forced to grow up (and lose their innocence) too soon.

While a man with the power to hold his breath for hours on end intrigues some ladies, Phelps is far too ‘normal’ a name for the 31st century. It should be Felpz or something

Bismollan corpses sparkle because of their high mineral content? Interesting. But do Bismollan *vampires* sparkle? :>

So someone who can phase is following them, and Kono, a phasing Sklaran angry over the destruction of her homeworld, has also been stalking some Legionnaires. It’s all part of some plan, because, on her own, I’d expect a vengeful Sklaran would go after Dragonmage, who is publically known to be at least partially responsible for the destruction of her homeworld, not playing peek-a-boo with some unrelated Legionnaires, some of whom weren’t members, or were dead, when the event in question happened…

If I didn’t know it was Kono, I’d suspect a red herring, and question where Tinya’s third body ended up. A Bgtlzn spy/assassin working for the Luck Lords that ‘adopted’ her as a child would be one hell of a twist as a villain!

Great stuff! Your writing continues to shine.

You are a wonder,Set. What a speed reader!






Orin Fex would probably defend his vindictiveness by citing logical reasons for opposing the Legion I would say that he covered his tracks during the Robotican invasion quite well; with Sharn Nux gone there's nobody to question or give him up. And he was smart enough to cover his trail... so far.

And Gates and Brainy make a dangerous combination on their own



Preboot Delya was very self-possessed, I remember. I wanted my Delya to be driven but playing "within" the rules, and not to the point of being dismissive of others. And having the more accomplished Saturn Girl also on the team at the same time would drive a pang of self-doubt or two into her.



Burdo is indeed a dirtbag. And in the Reboot, Carggite triplets die when they are separated for a prolonged period of time (Triad herself was in danger of that a couple of times!). In LSH v4 102, Tinya even remarks that being half-Carggite saved her from dying; and she does not know if her dad knew that it would save her, or if he had gambled. Which ups the dirtbag level a lot!



Ooohh, never thought of that. Clever of the writers and clever of you for figuring that out!



It was wildly speculated when RJ revealed his telepathic abilities! But who knows...



That sounds like something Tenzil would say, but probably not to Violet's face



I haven't decided about Dirk's mom yet. I'm inclined to remain silent on it unless I can make it add to the story - I have too many characters running around as it is

Intriguing thoughts on the differences among the telepaths! I think this is a great way to differentiate them. Among the worlds where everyone has the same power, Titan is ripest for this kind of differentiation, I think.




Theena's Threeboot depiction had her seem to have almost limitless range, and I didn't want that. The Thresholds themselves are already a bit too wide-ranging for me! You have, as usual, an interesting take on her powers.

I have to think about Vision's limitations, too. I'm pretty sure I've only used his canon Preboot powers for now. I don't want him to suddenly sprout new powers like crazy under my writing!



Spark just has this carefree personality to me, so her sticking her tongue out feels right. I have to watch myself for making others do that though. I don't remember having anyone else do this, but I might have.

And that sounds like something Gates would object to...



Thanks to you, I have changed Phelp's name to F'e1lpz



No plans for vampires in the immediate future, but we shall see Maybe I'll name one Edward...



Ooh! Great idea for Tinya's third body, that would add a lot of drama. But Reboot's story already had Tinya's third body die, and I accepted it as canon explicitly in my writing, so there it stays.

Ah, Kono was too obvious, wasn't she?

Dragonmage, Dragonmage. Well, he is not off the hook yet... and I'll give you a bit of a clue. That scene at the very start of Volume 4 where Kono appeared is laden with imagery, and a hint as to where I am going....

Thanks again, Set! Appreciate the reading and the encouragement!

And I've been reading each installment twice! (Once just to read it, again to add comments.) My job has it's perks.



One advantage of her very brief tenure is that you have great freedom to characterize her in all sorts of directions. We really only got to see her in a very specific context, as an applicant who seemed like a veritable shoe-in, replacing a founding telepath going into retirement, to lose that seemingly 'in-the-bag' role to Tellus, who added telekinesis to his bag of tricks. It would have been a very logical human reaction for her to feel 'robbed' in this case, and even more driven to prove that the Legion had made a mistake, which could have led to her somewhat rash (and ultimately fatal) idea to infiltrate the Empress's Femme Fatale Five... This Delya lacks that specific character-defining event, and so, logically, would be quite different.



I love the idea of different residents of the various worlds having different levels of proficiency, or different specialties, that not all Durlans, for instance, are as good as Cham at some of his tricks, and that not all Imskians can shrink (and grow back again) as fast or as capably or as much or as adaptably as Violet. Telepaths have tons of areas they can go into, like specialists in tapping (or manipulating) sensory information, or specialists in reading, recovering, altering or even deleting memories, or specialists in translating languages, or specialists in adapting or even imparting skills, etc. IMO, the average telepath on Titan doesn't *need* to have telepathy that functions much more powerfully than a human's vocal abilities, perhaps being able to 'talk' to a few people in a room, read surface thoughts and 'shout' over a distance of a kilometer. Saturn Girl's ability to project her thoughts over an entire planet, or to seize control of people's minds, project false sensory information, deeply probe into unwilling minds, etc. could well be *vastly* exceptional, and not at all indicative of what Joe Average from Titan can do.

It makes Legionnaires like Phantom Girl and Chameleon Boy that much more special, for me, if not everyone from Bgtzl can just freely pop between universes, for instance, or not everyone from Durla can turn into a giant monster or tiny bug.

Sometimes I take that to extremes, such as fanwanking for Emerald Legion that only the elite among Carggites get 'the full treatment' and can triplicate, while 'middle-class' folk can only duplicate, and the lowest classes are stuck with a single body, unless they win a lottery or something, or that the elemental powers of Element Lad represent the power of *all* Tromnians, and that when they were alive in their hundreds or thousands, each of them was individually only a fraction as powerful as Jan is now.



Yeah, she definitely had too much range, and it seemed that her sensors could find and display anything, except when the writer didn't want to let her do that, in which case she vanished for a dozen issues with no explanation... Always better to build a limitation in at the outset, than find oneself writing a character out (or worse, having them pick up the Idiot Ball and never use the power you gave them to do anything useful, because it would 'wreck the story').



Very much my pleasure. Your writing is a treat!

You make a good point about Mentalla's different history. And her being aware of Preboot Mentalla's fate is bound to make her more cautious too!

You also make a good point about the Legionnaires who share the powers of their entire planets. It's easy to forget that they must be more skilled than the average citizen, something that should be shown regularly. else, why would they be here in the Legion? even if not more skilled in terms of power mastery, at least in terms of crime fighting skills (Cham as detective, Triad as an administrator, Violet in hand to hand, Tinya in leadership and politics...). of course, Imra and Rokk and Nura have those as well as greater skill in their powers too, and the four I mentioned earlier are also more skilled overall. We also have Shikari the fighter.

Glad you are enjoying my writing, Set! That inspires me to write more &#128512;