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

Is the Legionnaire Tyroc? I remember we left him in the 20th. or maybe Yera and Gim?

writing can be therapeutic i have used writing to deal with some of my own demons too

The Somahturan funeral, returning to the sea of bacterial soup from which they came, was amazing. It was alien and exotic, and yet the ideals and feelings were human and familiar, and so it really worked for me.

Jacques. Oh man. I'm willing to cause a diplomatic incident (and possibly a plague!) being a creepy stalker. Yikes.

The returning Legionnaire/s will be a mystery for now but I can tell you that in a roundabout way it has something to do with Infinite Boy

I'm glad the funeral scene worked - hopefully I'll be able to revisit Somahtur sometime, I've got a lot of ideas that couldn't make it into the story!

I initially posted this yesterday but then realised it kinda spoils the last instalment so held off a bit...now that the dust has settled a bit though, here's the updated roster as it stands currently

BLOK
BRAINIAC 5 (leader)
CHAMELEON BOY
CHLOROPHYLL KID
COLOR KID
COMET QUEEN
COSMIC BOY
DAWNSTAR
DIAMOND DAMSEL
DRAGONMAGE
DREAM GIRL
ELASTIC LAD
ELEMENT LAD
FIRE LAD
GAS GIRL
INFECTIOUS LASS
INVISIBLE KID II
KID COMPUTO
LIGHT LAD
LIGHTNING LASS
MATTER-EATER LAD
MON-EL
MWINDAJI
NEON
NIGHT GIRL
NIGHTWIND
PHANTOM GIRL
POLAR BOY
QUISLET
SHADOW LASS
SHRINKING VIOLET
STAR BOY
STONE BOY
SUN BOY
SUPERGIRL II
TELLUS
TIMBER WOLF
ULTRA BOY (deputy leader)
WILDFIRE

Lovely stuff Raz, you never fail to impress

The scene with Drura and the Mahn's was very touching, with the families appreciation of her being the gentle affirmation that she desperately needed after her worries about returning home. As Set says above, it's a great concept of returning the dead to the bacterial soup that spawned them. Drura's realisation about how far she's come since leaving her homeworld was nicely introduced too, could we be seeing her start to really blossom now?

I really love how you take weaker and less flashy characters and make them the focus of your stories - case in point being Dream Girl, Stone Boy and Matter-Eater Lad on a mission together. While Nura and Tenzil have the fun personalities none of them would be my first choice in an emergency, so the respect and time you invest in them is really good to read. The reference to Elongated Man mysteries was nicely added, especially the thought of Tenz and Thom's addiction to them, well it gave me a smile. Infinity Boy... hmmm! There's trouble brewing. Which, in your stories, is always a good thing!

Drura's fear of what is in store for her when facing her family was neat - we've all been there, poor girl. Her brothers lack of affection was a nice precursor to her parents behaviour. I felt really sorry for her, how ironic that a family that had never met before whose son had died were more accommodating. I reckon Jacques and Drura will be okay, as creepy as his stalking was. I hope she'll get over the hurt she feels about her family, give Jacques a sound telling off and then get back to him. Nicely characterised scene, with both sides being understandable and open to wide interpretations. Looking forward to seeing where you go with this now.

So, Laurel's on the big team now - great! Definitely looking forward to reading where you go with her. I enjoyed how you dragged it out and Brainy's almost casual dismissal of her question.

Great stuff Raz, once again.

As always, I can't wait for more, more, more!

Oh, thank you for the roll call too. I'd like to see the return of Shadow Lad - how does he feel about Kara going away?

Thanks for the feedback Harbi! I'm glad you picked up on the contrasting reception Drura got from her family vs the Mahns...tbh I had originally only intended for Drura's family to be disapproving of Jacques rather than Drura's whole lifepath (to echo Jacques' sister being weird about Drura in the story where Durran Mahn first appeared) but then the rest kind of wrote itself, and it was probably a surrogate way for me to explore some of my own family stuff. Also, I wanted to make sure every Somahturian didn't just have a copy&paste reaction and that they behaved like individuals

Re: Dreamy's team - Y'all know I love my underdogs....to me it's what makes the Legion unique among super teams, that strength of character trumps physical power every time. I feel like I harp on the Subs too much occasionally, but I am gonna keep doing it because they represent the best part of the Legion's universe to me. Also I kinda love that Tenzil brings out this relaxed playful vibe from teammates who would never act that way around a lot of other characters, that's his real power if you ask me

No spoilers on Jacques/Drura's future just yet...as for Shadow Lad, I would LOVE to bring him back to the team, as I would Garth & Imra & Mysa and a few other characters...like all of them though he's kinda written himself into a corner that it doesn't feel right to shove him out of yet. I do like the idea of seeing his reaction to what happened with Kara though, so a trip to Talok VIII might be in order soon

Good installment Raz.

Laurel is finally a Legionnaire. i think you're the only one to do so. so bravo.
I liked how that scene played out. Brainy being dismissive is well Brainy.
Sun Boy telling her is fitting and he's right. her reasons for taking Kara's code name and her plan to defeat Satan Girl was amazingly inventive!

Dura's scene with both families were really well done. The boy's family were so kind and understanding while her own family were just so angry. that's all i could read from them. But i wasn't 100% sure if it was anger at their situation and resent Dura for helping contribute to it or if they were just hurt that Dura wouldn't choose them. i could see it being both. I felt so bad for Dura and i hope her family and Smouthar can start to open up.

I like how this world isn't like really any of the others we've seen and it makes total sense that tec wise they would be behind everyone.

Infinity Boy!!! this one is going to be good but i'm guessing things aren't going to be so good for Tenzil....
i'm with you Raz the underdogs can do really powerful things if they are used right.

i knew it wouldn't end well with Jacques but at least he only went to the funeral and not to her family's home. i could have seen that going bad quick. i hope its just a fight but he needs to get over his jealousy of Kent. Ken't is with Light Lad and him and Dura are just friends.

Also thank you for the roll call. i was wondering who was still kicking around on the main team.

Thanks Omni! Harbinger got there before me with Laurel, but we have gone in different directions with her so I don't mind not being the first

Infinite Boy is gonna be popping up a little bit here and there for a while....and I have been wanting to update the roll call for a while as well, I have just been waiting for the team to stabilise enough so it wouldn't be out of date in a month lol

TITAN
Titanopolis, The Morning Institute’s Spatial Research Wing

ROLL CALL
Dream Girl aka Nura Nal: Naltorian precognition
Matter-Eater Lad aka Tenzil Kem: can eat inorganic matter in all its forms
Stone Boy aka Dag Wentim: ability to transmute to living stone

While not particularly glamorous, the Morning Institute was Titan’s most highly regarded place of learning and one of the most respected in the solar system. It was a pleasantly warm day as three Legionnaires gathered outside of the Institute’s Spatial Research Wing, seated at a comfort bench while they waited for the fourth member of their party. Around them, students and staff members filtered in and out of the fifteen storey building while other sentients crossed the plaza separating the prestigious school from the even more famous Time Institute nearby.

“Titan’s so weird,” Matter-Eater Lad noted, his head craned toward the enormous ringed planet Saturn dominating the heavens. “I mean we’ve been here for what...half a day back on Mars..? And the sky looks exactly the same as when we first arrived!”

“Weird for you maybe,” Stone Boy replied. “Not all UP worlds rotate at the same rate though; to be honest, I find it kind of relaxing here. Back home on Zwen, our days last for what you’d consider months...it was very disorienting for me the first time I left home and saw how quickly the rest of the UP moves!”

Dream Girl opened her mouth to add something, then seemed to zone out for the briefest of instants. Without another word, she stood and turned to greet the approaching Infinite Boy before her teammates had even noticed his arrival. Like the Legionnaires, he too was in costume; it was a costume that none of the trio were familiar with however. He wore a black mask covering half his face, and a bodysuit the same color with golden-edged white gloves and boots. A golden infinity symbol adorned his chest, and a voluminous white cloak trailed behind him. His face was hidden beneath its large open hood, gold trim around the edge of both cloak and hood. Beneath the cloak, much of the Infinite Boy was in shadow and with his power in effect it made him seem as though he were hidden within a shifting starscape. “Very fashion-forward,” Nura complimented her fellow Naltorian.

“Thanks,” the Infinite Boy nodded. “I thought it was necessary to hide my face given that we’re going to be defending the Time Institute today.”

“About that,” Matter-Eater Lad shaded his eyes as he gazed across the plaza, “Bouncing Boy and Duplicate Damsel have been at the Time Institute for a minute now...one of the brains there is helping Luornu figure out her powers. Why don’t we see if they want in on this cross-time team-up?”

“I actually contacted them while you three were on the way here from Mars,” the Infinite Boy explained. “Duplicate Damsel is being subjected to some fairly intensive tests today that she can’t get out of...and Bouncing Boy is going to have his hands full helping with something else.”

“Something else..?” Stone Boy raised an eyebrow. “What might that be..? I hope I’m not being presumptuous, but we could help a lot more if we knew exactly what it was you’ve called us here for. You’ve been fairly vague since we got here, all we know is that the Time Institute’s in danger and for some reason you can’t show your face around there.”

“Sorry,” the Infinite Boy smirked. “Old habit...I’m so used to having to be careful not to impart future knowledge I forget how I sound most of the time. If I’m not mistaken though, the reason I need to keep a low profile around these parts should be making itself clear round about...now; and there he is.” He pointed, and the heroes saw a passenger vehicle alighting outside the main entrance of the Time Institute. A platinum blond boy clambered out of the hovering car and the vehicle pulled away silently into the Titanian sky while the youth made his way to Bouncing Boy beckoning him into the building.

Matter-Eater Lad removed his sunglasses and squinted at the stranger. Tenzil looked back at the Infinite Boy and once more to the almost identical boy across the plaza. “...That’s you! Was your daddy a Carggite, kid?”

The Infinite Boy chuckled. “Nothing that simple...you’re right though, that is me; a younger me. Today’s the day kid genius Kando Vyr arrives from Naltor to begin his career at the Time Institute. I mean maybe I’m being overly paranoid, but I don’t think it would be wise for young me to meet current me given that I don’t have any memory of anything like that happening in my own past. I asked Bouncing Boy to keep me...him I guess..safe and more importantly out of sight of me. Me me.”

Dream Girl saw the utter confusion on the faces of her teammates and took charge. “Let's focus on what's important. You told us you had a vision that a woman claiming to be the Time Trapper’s daughter would attack the Time Institute today.”

“She calls herself Decay,” Kando nodded. “And she’s not the Time Trapper’s daughter like she claims, she’s a woman in desperate need of psychological help. Her real name is Wensai Saturni and she was a quantum engineer here working on some classified project for the SP when Fearstorm launched his last emotional assault on Titanopolis. Most of Fearstorm’s victims recovered after psychomedical care, but she didn’t. It turns out Wensai Saturni has a crippling fear of death which Fearstorm exacerbated and the only way she could live with that was to embrace it; she genuinely believes she’s the daughter of the Time Trapper and that she’s been sent here to bring total entropy to the universe.”

“You got all that from a precognitive flash?” Stone Boy asked incredulously.

“I was a genius before I ever became the Infinite Boy,” Kando replied casually. “Once I dreamed her face I just did some old-fashioned research.”

Dream Girl made a show of examining the perfectly manicured nails of her outstretched hand. “Did your research tell you how an unbalanced woman became enough of a threat to warrant calling in three Legionnaires to help deal with her?”

“We can ask her ourselves,” Tenzil cut in before the Infinite Boy could answer. “Because we’ve either got a visit from your gal Decay or the Time Trapper’s come down with a bad case of Grandin Gender Reversal Disease.”

The others saw now what Matter-Eater Lad had just spotted; a woman in loose-fitting purple tattered robes descended from the sky toward the Time Institute. Her forearms were bound in frayed bandages, her hands and feet bare. A hood hung limply over her shoulders, her gaunt face framed by a listless mane of greying black hair.

Nura shook her head sadly. “The first thing we’re going to do when we take that poor woman into custody is give her a decent spa and beauty treatment; her feet must be filthy. Let’s go, Legionnaires.” Dream Girl rose into the air to cover the distance between them more quickly, Matter-Eater Lad and Stone Boy flanking her. The Infinite Boy brought up the rear, careful to ensure that his face was hidden beneath his white hood.

Dream Girl took the lead easily, the others deferring to her just as naturally. “Stone Boy, Infinite Boy, can you two please evacuate the immediate area? Tenzil and I will try to talk her down, but if that doesn’t work I don’t want any innocents getting hurt.”

“We’re on it,” Stone Boy saluted Nura, transforming to his petrified state midway through the gesture. As the two men made their way toward the largest gathering of citizens, the Infinite Boy hung back and watched Dag Wentim in action. In Kando’s own time, Stone Boy had changed his name to Stone Man but Kando remembered him looking almost the same age as he was right now. Years spent in stone form had protected Dag from time’s passing, while simultaneously forging him into one of the Legion of Superheroes’ most valued leaders. The Infinite Boy allowed himself a nostalgic smile for events which hadn’t happened yet; it might still be several years before Dag would grow into his true potential, but Kando could see that potential in the efficiency with which Stone Boy convinced bystanders to clear the area calmly and without raising a panic.

As Decay landed on an elevated walkway which connected the Time Institute to the city behind it, Dream Girl and Matter-Eater Lad touched down closer to the Institute itself, passively blocking her access. The two Legionnaires stood just over seven feet apart, hoping that whatever power she possessed wouldn’t be able to target them both. Decay’s face was almost skeletal, dry skin pulled back taut over jutting cheekbones and beady black eyes buried within enormous dark sockets. “I know you,” the thin-lipped woman sneered, “You’re the Legion of Superheroes!”

“Right the first time,” Tenzil removed his glasses and flashed what he hoped was a disarming smile.

“Of course I’m right,” Decay snapped at him. “Did you think I wouldn’t know who you are? You’ve fought my father often enough!”

“We’re not here to fight anyone, Wensai.” Dream Girl found the woman repulsive to look at, but she struggled to hide her reaction. “The Legion of Superheroes help people...we’d like to help you if you’ll let us.”

“My name isn’t Wensai, it’s Decay! And I don’t need or want your help!” She lunged at Dream Girl faster than her decrepit appearance would indicate she was capable. Still, as fast as she was she hadn’t been trained by two Karate Kids. Nura avoided her golden glowing hands easily. Before Dream Girl could respond however, Nura’s eyes rolled back in her head and she collapsed a victim of her own power.

Decay moved in for the kill, but before she could take more than a step she felt something tugging on her robes and Matter-Eater Lad flung her rudely backwards. The would-be villainess tripped over her own tattered cloak and fell flat on her backside. “Sorry about that,” Matter-Eater Lad held his hands up in a gesture of peace as he subtly interposed himself between Decay and Dream Girl. “We really don’t want to hurt you, can’t we just talk this out?” Tenzil could hear Nura groaning behind him as she began to stir; he didn’t really expect that they would be able to resolve this without violence at this stage, but he could at least buy Dream Girl a chance to recover.

“You think you can trick me?” Decay spat, still sprawled on the walkway. “You think because you outnumber me, because you’re faster than me, that you can win? Decay takes everything, Legionnaires...everything!” Her outstretched palms glowed once more, this time targeting the ground she sat upon.

“The walkway!” Dream Girl’s eyes snapped wide open. Without a second thought, she raised her flight ring to her lips. “Stone Boy! She’s going to collapse the walkway, tell Infinite Boy we need as many flyers as he can give us!”

Stone Boy and Infinite Boy immediately began flying back and Matter-Eater Lad lunged toward Decay, but all three were too late just as Nura’s precognitive flash had told her they would be. For the second time in a minute, she was forced to watch as Decay’s power ate away at the ground beneath her and disintegrated a path to the left and right until it had cut a swath through an elevated walkway weighing countless tons. Decay’s own flight belt kept her from falling, but with a menacing rumble the ground fell away beneath her and took more than a dozen people with it who had not yet reached a safe distance.

“We’re four levels up!” Stone Boy looked grimly to the Infinite Boy. “If that thing crumbles apart altogether, it’s going to kill a lot of people...Dream Girl says you can summon flyers, is she right? I can hold the walkway up if you can help the people on it!”

“My powers aren’t what they used to be,” Infinite Boy gulped, “I’ll try my best, but Stone Ma - Boy, can you support that much weight on your own?!”

“We’re both Legionnaires,” Stone Boy answered stoically. “We’ll get the job done!” Without another word, he positioned himself under the falling ferrocrete ramp. Stone Boy ignored the people screaming around him, ignored the stabbing discomfort that went through his head as some of the less disciplined Titanians here lost control of their powers in their anxiety. Flying up beneath the walkway, he grunted as more weight than he’d ever held aloft now pushed down upon his rigid shoulders. The pressure was intense, and it brought with it a physical sensation he was unaccustomed to feeling in his stone form; pain. A large chunk of the path to his left came loose and plummeted straight down, taking off another section of the walkway below as it fell. Luckily there had been nobody directly in its path, but as Stone Boy followed the falling debris with his gaze he realised just how many people were gathered on the levels below. Some were gawking up as they tried to see what was happening above them, many of those further down were completely unaware that anything was happening at all until they were saw boulder-sized chunks plunge past them. All of them were relying on Stone Boy to keep them alive right now, and a grimacing Dag Wentim’s teeth made a grinding sound as he swore that he would not let them down.

The instant Stone Boy had flown off alone, Kando Vyr focused on his own task. Once upon a time he would have been able to effortlessly summon exactly the right person or creature from any point in time to help here. Then he’d given up the majority of his power in order to free Jaxon Rugarth of the curse of the Infinite Man, and these days Kando found that the power of the Infinite Boy was a lot more unpredictable than he’d like it to be. Still, it had served its purpose before and he vowed that it would do so again today. Held aloft in the Titanian sky by a flight ring which hadn’t even been created yet, the Infinite Boy gritted his teeth and rolled almost into a ball as he called on what had once been world-shaking power. He felt cosmic energies surge through his every cell, and arched his back with his limbs outstretched. It had been a long time since he’d had to summon this many people from the timestream, and the effort was draining.

Watching wide-eyed from a window of the Time Institute, a younger Kando Vyr was astounded to see the mysterious levitating stranger’s cloak billow outwards dramatically as not one or even a few but twelve Thanagarian Hawk-Police burst out. Clothed in archaic harnesses, primitive weapons and handguns holstered at their belts, their wings carried them swiftly to each of the falling men and women and carried them to safety. Two of the Hawkmen veered away from their fellows and dived down to snag the largest of the falling chunks of debris in a metallic net before they could do any more damage. Satisfied at the outcome, an exhausted Infinite Boy descended to the plaza outside the Time Institute and dropped to one knee. Feeling watched, he cast a curious glance toward the building only to see Bouncing Boy ushering someone away from a window.

While all of this was going on, Matter-Eater Lad and Dream Girl found themselves at an impasse against Decay. Having seen what her power did to the walkway, they couldn’t allow any of her graceless attacks to land. Still, as easy as it would be to simply knock her out they didn’t want to hurt her either.

“What I don’t get,” Tenzil remarked as he ducked Decay’s glowing swipe, “Is where does her power come from in the first place? I mean I get she thinks she’s the Time Trapper’s daughter, but how does that give her the power to disintegrate stuff?”

“I am the Time Trapper’s daughter!” Decay protested. She lunged at Matter-Eater Lad once more and he took a quick step back.

“That’s it!” Dream Girl snapped her fingers. “Matter-Eater Lad, doesn’t her power effect remind you of something? A golden glow that decays anything it touches? And Wensai Saturni was a quantum mechanic before she became Decay!”

Decay changed targets, charging straight at Dream Girl. The heroes were wearing her down though, and Dream Girl knew this was the right time to make her move. Nura nimbly skipped to the left, jutting out a leg to trip Decay as she ran by. Decay fell flat on her face, and Dream Girl immediately twisted her arms behind her back and rolled the woman to one side. “Matter-Eater Lad! Check what she’s wearing under these robes!”

“Uh, Dreamy..?” Tenzil paced around the two women, scratching his chin. “This fight just got sexy all of a sudden and I don’t know if I’m mentally prepared to think of any of the Time Trapper’s kids in that way…”

Decay’s clawing hands found a lock of Dream Girl’s hair and turned it to dust. “Tenzil!” Nura hollered. “She’s using quantum decay technology!!”

“Ohhh, right..!” He dropped to his knees and looked a sputtering Decay in the eyes as his hands groped clumsily at her waist. “For what it’s worth, this is as awkward for me as it is for you, Wensai.” He found the technology-laden belt beneath her robes, leaned down and took a massive chomp out of the buckle. There was an anti-climactic fizzle and the belt powered down straight away.

“No!” Decay screeched, but the fight had gone out of her. The glow fading from her trembling hands, she went limp in Dream Girl’s grasp and lost herself in tears. “I’m sorry,” she bawled, having forgotten that Matter-Eater Lad and Dream Girl were even present. “...I have failed you, I’m so sorry Father…”

“Are you okay?” Matter-Eater Lad asked, extending a hand to Dream Girl.

Nura slapped his hand aside and stood up under her own power, giving him an icy stare. “Do I look okay, Mr Kem? I’ll have you know you’re paying for my follicular rejuvenation as soon as we get back to Mars!”

“Uhh guys..?” Stone Boy’s voice called out from somewhere below them.

“...If the fight’s finished, can I get some help here..?”

**********
MARS
Husband Hill, Legion of Superheroes Headquarters

ROLL CALL
Brainiac 5 aka Querl Dox: 12th level intelligence, team leader
Color Kid aka Ulu Vakk: color manipulation
Elastic Lad aka Jams-Ols 5: super-elongation
Fire Lad aka Staq Mavlen: fire-breathing
Kid Computo aka Danielle Foccart: cyberempathy

Danielle Foccart watched as a small army of servodroids rushed to restore Brainiac 5’s multi-lab to its former condition at her command.

“Kid Computo!”

She turned at the sound of her codename to see Brainiac 5 and Elastic Lad standing before a cylindrical tube surrounded by all kinds of exotic protuberances and energy-emitting rods. Color Kid stood off to one side, hands clasped behind his back while he tried not to worry too overtly about Fire Lad standing inside the tube. The plexiglass surrounding Staq Mavlen was darkened, and only the orange flames of his crest could be seen through it. “You’re ready for me, Brainiac?” Danielle asked.

“We have been ready for the past 17 standard seconds,” Brainiac 5 muttered, adjusting some controls as he spoke. “Thus the reason I called your name four times.”

“Okay, well I’m here now.” Danielle gave a final command to the repair droids to continue their current work and to alert her if anything unexpected occurred, and switched her attention to the complicated machine around Fire Lad. “What exactly is it you want me to do?”

“Elastic Lad and I will be making adjustments to the genetic code of both Fire Lad and the microbial parasite inhabiting his body,” Brainiac explained. “Your role is to ensure that the machine processes any changes simultaneously. It is vitally important that our movements are coordinated if Fire Lad’s various mutations are to be reversed.”

“Gotcha,” Kid Computo nodded. Like all of Brainiac 5’s inventions, this machine was vastly complicated but she was confident she could do as she’d been asked.

Watching from the sidelines, Color Kid felt sorry for his friend within that tube. Fire Lad had wanted to be a Legionnaire for so long, longer than even Ulu himself. It seemed so cruel now that the power which had made that dream possible for his friend was actually a parasite which was slowly transforming him into some unknown lifeform. Brainiac’s machine would expunge that parasite, but it would also cost Fire Lad his power. Ulu wasn’t sure if he’d be able to voluntarily give up the only thing that made him special if he had to, he couldn’t imagine what Staq had gone through to make that decision for himself.

A familiar poop-POP-poop noise filled the room, and Color Kid watched Quislet’s microship zoom through the multilab. “Woo woo, what happen here?” the Teallian micro-explorer asked with a tone of excitement. “No fair, Legion have fun while Quislet off doing boring ambassador work to make Teall play nice with United Planets?” The others were all preoccupied with Fire Lad’s treatment, though Elastic Lad did spare a second to give Quislet a broad grin and an animated wave of his elongated hand.

Color Kid raised an eyebrow. “You’ve got a funny idea of fun, Quislet. The Heavensent trashed Brainiac’s lab looking for Arqiia...we caught Red Giant and White Dwarf, but Tachyon escaped and Void...Void, Celestine and Arqiia all vanished in a tesseract explosion. Neither Dawnstar or Mwindaji have been able to find any sign of them at all.”

“Really?” Quislet’s microship circled Color Kid’s head before zipping off to the ruins of the tesseract gateway where Arqiia, Void and Celestine had last been seen. “You want to find them? Celestine and Void bad guys, no?”

“Well, yes…” Color Kid came closer to the microship which now hovered in place a few feet above the ground. “But Arqiia’s not. And she needs our help. She hasn’t got a chance against those two on her own, I just hope she survives long enough for us to find her.”

“Settled then,” Quislet chirped. “Quislet find them, we beat up bad guys, Arqiia safe. Quislet big hero!”

Color Kid’s face screwed up in confusion. “No offence Quislet, but if Dawnstar couldn’t find them how are you going to do it?”

“Not going to!” Quislet trilled. “Quislet find them already! Quislet know dimensional travel, remember? Void not gone, Void just lost in between here and somewhere else! Quislet fix it!”

The air in front of Quislet began to shimmer now, and Color Kid could swear it had almost human proportions. “Uhh, Quislet..? I think you should talk to Brainiac about this…” Ulu looked across the room at the others but they were all consumed with Staq’s treatment and hadn’t noticed anything else since Quislet’s initial entry.

“Too late!” the Teallian blurted out joyfully. “Quislet save the day again!”

There was a muffled thump as air rushed outwards in a soft wave, and Ulu was now certain -- the air before him was taking on a recognisable silhouette, one whose identity was unmistakable. “Quislet!” he shouted, but it was too late. There was a burst of light and a second shockwave, which this time knocked Quislet and Color Kid back a few feet.

Sliding across the floor, Ulu came to a rude stop against the remains of a burnt-out console and looked up to see Celestine before him, her hand around Arqiia’s throat as she held her off the ground. The golden woman returned Color Kid’s gaze with one of utter contempt and spoke three words to the featureless Void at her side.

“Kill them all.”

TO BE CONTINUED..!

Nice little excursion on Titan! Infinite Boy’s younger self, cool, explains also how he seems to be adjusting so well to being stuck in the Legion’s time

Loved the references to Dag’s future and his determination, Dreamy making a show of looking at her hands to express frustration at Infinite Boy (I almost wish Reboot Nura had the same personality, this Nura is so fun to right!) and her annoyance at Tenzil for not getting her hint the first time, and Tenzil’s quips.

Your illustration of Nura’s power made me think, surely she has something built in to her costume or flight ring that protects her from pain and damage when she trances out? I think I’ll reference that in my own work! (sorry, just had a brain fart lol)

Sigh, Quislet. It really thinks in a different way. Nice use of its dimensional travel knowledge though. Quislet and Zymyr should duke t out one day (another brain fart)

Staq! i wonder if he will really lose his powers, or do you have a curve ball planned?

loved how you have Chuck something to do too!

eager to see the next bit!

Raz, hi, this is great!

from the start you have such great characterisations - Nura is totally on point, Dag as the reliable but slightly insecure young man, and of course Tenzil as Tenzil - perfectly executed. You really do excel at making the under dogs into capable heroes, more so than any other fan-fic writer (or pro, actually) and I can't praise you enough for this as it is a total joy to read.

Decay, the wannabe daughter of the Time Trapper, was an interesting, if worryingly deranged opponent. I'd like to see her again.

Infinite Boy having his abilities curtailed was a smart move otherwise this would have been a very much shorter story. Have you any plans for him to join up with the team? He's an interesting character and I loved his musing about Dag's future self being far more confident and respected.

Tenzil saving the day with a chomp was a delight - e really does have the most god-awful super power yet you always have him use it really well.

The second story was a great set up for another round against the Heavensent. Even with your imaginative use of the less powerful team members I think they'll be in trouble this time without a heavy hitter or two joining in.

Brainy's comment about being ready for seventeen seconds gave me a laugh - he sounds like my ex-husband.

Elastic Lad is one of my favourites on your team so I'm glad you've included him. It's really well done that you can create this goofball, socially naïve character yet make him one of the most accomplished scientists on the team as well - not just a one-note comic relief character.

Quislet, as always, is trouble - I do love him but find his ego infuriating. His skill as skimming through the dimensions makes total sense by the way so well done for adding that in here.

Void on the rampage! Terrifying thought!

I'm looking forward to seeing how you get the team out of this situation and if there'll be any repercussions for Quislet.

As always, I'm really looking forward to reading more, more, more!

Some good work here Raz. i liked the mission to Titan and it was a good way to reintroduce Infinity Boy and his limited powers. Which i agree with everyone else its a good thing they were downgraded.

Decay the Time Trapper's daughter...hmmm i wonder what would happen if the actual Time Trapper decided to intervene I wonder how much the two would bond.

Tenzil and Dream Girl do make an effective team. That last chomp was perfect.

Brainy's lab things are going to get hairy for sure. Poor Staq. It's too bad Brainy can't figure out a way for him to keep his powers.

Quislet is likable and annoying all at the same time. it was cool to see him use his powers in another way and it makes sense that he could do that as a inter dimensional traveler himself and where that scene left off? Void and Celestine are going to be tough.

Side note sorry about the Laurel comment. as you've said before its will happen. So many teams so close of lineups. But i love every minuet of it.

I can't wait for more.

Glad y'all liked it....Infinite Boy will be popping up again pretty soon though whether he actually joins the Legion might depend on how well he survives what's coming. Also just to keep everyone guessing, he might be bringing one or two very unexpected guests with him !

IB re your question about Dream Girl having something to protect her when she zones out - tbh I think I rely on her narcolepsy as a plot device more than it's really been used in the comics for a long time....it's been a while since she passed out at an inconvenient time in any comics even when the Legion were regularly appearing but I am a big fan of powers that come with their own drawbacks or are seemingly useless so I like to draw on it more. It would make sense for her to have something like you mentioned, just like Night Girl having a tinted transuit but I like the challenge of writing around that stuff more so it's one of those things as a writer I'm just like "LOOK AT THIS SHINY THING" and run away if anyone ever brings it up hahaha

Quislet vs Zymyr is inspired, they are as bad as each other! Let's see who gets to it first

Omni: interesting that you wonder about the Time Trapper intervening with Decay, but let's just leave that there for the moment......

Fire Lad's final fate will be decided next instalment, and I can promise that Quislet will definitely see some consequences for his actions for once....and certain members of the Heavensent might just live up to their potential for a change!

Unusual team with Nura, Dag and Tenzil, but you made them highly effective. Of course Tenzil gets the final chomp!

I really appreciate all the effort you put into Stone Boy; he's so different from the one-trick pony/joke of the comic.

Decay is such a tragic villain - amazing "superpower", though!

Infinity Boy's limitations are well handled - that he does research after getting a precog flash shows he doesn't just rely on his innate power, but capitalizes on it.

Glad you liked it FC...I like Nura and Tenzil together (platonically), they bounce off each other well

MARS
Husband Hill, Legion of Superheroes Headquarters
Though his eyes were obscured by jet black patches, fear could clearly be read on the face of Ulu Vakk. Seated on the floor against a console in Brainiac 5’s multilab, the hero better known as Color Kid gaped up at the two villains standing over him. One of them was called Celestine and she was powerful enough to challenge even Mon-El. Celestine wasn’t the immediate threat however, distracted as she was with choking the life out of the Mercurian woman Arqiia whom she held dangling inches above the ground. No, the immediate threat to Color Kid’s life was Celestine’s teammate Void. An eerily silent silhouette of a man, Void moved toward Color Kid and reached one featureless arm toward him.

“Don’t be scared!” Ulu heard the overly chirpy voice of the being who had brought Celestine and Void here in the first place, and Quislet’s microship interposed itself between Color Kid and Void. “Quislet make Void go bye again!”

Somewhere in what passed for his mind, Void remembered the last time he’d come across the Teallian Legionnaire and he hesitated.

Color Kid came to his senses and scrambled away furiously while Celestine herself finally turned her attention to the heroes. “You have found success against us in the past,” she admitted as she reached her free arm out toward Quislet. “I assure you that will not be the case this time, annoying creature.” A blast of pure white flame travelled down her golden skin and roared outwards. The heat seared Color Kid’s exposed skin, but it consumed Quislet’s ship entirely and before the tiny hero had a chance to even protest the attack he’d been reduced to so much ash.

“You killed him!!” Color Kid’s jaw dropped in horror.

“Don’t be upset, Legionnaire.” Celestine fixed a blazing look on Color Kid for a second before turning her attention back to Arqiia. “If Void doesn’t dispatch you, I’ll send you to meet your friend myself as soon as I’ve finished with this failed experiment.”

“Move, Color Kid!” Ulu heard Danielle Foccart’s panicked voice from somewhere behind him, and he finally clambered to his feet and backed away toward her. A small fleet of servodroids which till now had been working to restore the multi-lab after the villains’ last assault diverted from their task and buzzed angrily around Void. They could do nothing to harm him but they served their purpose by distracting the walking singularity. While Void swiped the tiny hovering machines out of existence, Color Kid retreated to a safer distance.

“Arqiia!” Almost as an afterthought, Ulu recognised that the flame-crested woman was still in deadly peril and had in fact lost consciousness in Celestine’s vice-like grip. Arqiia’s face abruptly changed color, darkening almost instantly to a shade of red so deep that it was almost black. Unexpectedly, the bloody darkness crossed from Arqiia herself to Celestine’s hand, and started to consume the golden woman’s arm. It was only after a shocked Celestine threw Arqiia aside that the villainess realised Color Kid was responsible for the illusion.

“For a lesser being, you are a cunning one.” Celestine forgot about Arqiia and closed on Color Kid. “For your cleverness I’ll do you the favour of a quick death.” Blazing fire roared out toward the Lupran hero and he gave an involuntary yelp, flinching back instinctively.

Both of them were surprised when the flames cleared and Ulu was completely unharmed. Color Kid realised almost immediately the reason for his survival however, and turned to see Brainiac 5 standing alongside Kid Computo. The Coluan’s forcefield protected himself, Danielle, Ulu and even Fire Lad still ensconced in his machine. “You’re a lifesaver, Brainiac!” Color Kid beamed. “But even your forcefield won’t stand up to the two of them!”

“That’s why he got me to call for reinforcements.” Danielle Foccart gave Ulu a sly smile as she held her flight ring up to the light.

The air in the room suddenly began to stir, and Celestine found herself in the centre of a small whirlwind. The merest portion of her strength kept her grounded while Void marched on oblivious that anything untoward was happening at all. Celestine looked around the room for the architect of her frustration, and came across Nightwind frowning as Berta concentrated to use her power in the confined space. “You can’t possibly believe this will stop me,” Celestine declared.

“Nope,” Nightwind muttered, “But it brought Elastic Lad some time.”

“What--” Celestine noticed now that the unusually quiet hero was fleeing the room, Arqiia wrapped safely in his arms. The villainess scowled and prepared to incinerate the two of them when she was abruptly pummelled by a tremendous force.

“Hey, remember me?” Laurel Kent charged the gleaming powerhouse across the lab and through a wall, then straddled her and landed a flurry of punches.

“How did she do that?” Color Kid’s jaw dropped. “Laurel needed me to change the color of Celestine’s flames last time!”

“Celestine’s not the only solar powered one around here,” Sun Boy made his entrance, bright blue flames dancing across his body rather than the orange flickers he normally emanated. “And I’ve had a little more practice using my power than she has. We got your distress call, Kid C...everyone else is on the way.” True to Sun Boy’s words, the Legionnaires were soon joined by Ultra Boy, Chameleon Boy, Element Lad, Shadow Lass, Night Girl and Star Boy.

Brainiac 5 had already turned his attention back to the machine housing Fire Lad. “Star Boy, subdue Void - everybody else, go help Supergirl. Outside of this room she’s no longer under the effect of Sun Boy’s power and I anticipate that her enhanced abilities will only last another 7 seconds at best. Whatever happens, our work here is not to be disturbed or Fire Lad may pay the price!”

Star Boy gestured at the walking singularity who was even now about to breach Brainiac 5’s forcefield but before Thom could make his move there was a blur of motion and he went flying several feet. He was unconscious when he landed, and he was soon joined by Nightwind, Element Lad and Chameleon Boy. “What the sprock--?” Ultra Boy frowned, switching his ultra-energy to invulnerability as his only defence against this unseen foe.

“Tachyon!” Night Girl shouted. “It must be!”

“Very perceptive, beehive.” The Heavensent’s resident speedster finally stopped moving and made himself visible for the first time. He was carrying a limp Gas Girl, her broken limbs hanging at awkward angles and her face almost unrecognisable from the damage she’d sustained being dragged through the Legion’s headquarters at high speeds. “It won’t save you anymore than it saved this one though...she was the one who took me down last time, right? ‘Last time’ as in the last time she’ll do that.” He threw her toward Void faster than most of them could stop him, but there was one Legionnaire who could act.

Though he knew he was setting himself up for a world of hurt, Ultra Boy switched his ultra-energy into speed and intercepted the helpless Lallorian heroine. Tachyon vanished the instant Jo moved and while Sun Boy fired fruitlessly at where the villain had been, an almost invisible uppercut shattered Ultra Boy’s jaw and sent him and Gas Girl bouncing painfully across the lab to land in a battered heap together.

“That’s quite enough from you,” Shadow Lass announced icily, and blanketed the entire multilab outside of Brainiac 5’s forcefield in darkness.

“Thanks, Tasmia.” Night Girl advanced on the sightless speedster, her own Kathooni eyes unhampered by the absence of light. “What are you doing here anyway, Tachyon? Kid Computo’s distress signal only mentioned Celestine and Void!”

“Celestine has total control of the electromagnetic spectrum, moron; along with everything else she can do. She radioed us as soon as she realised where she was, and I transcend...transcend...what’s wrong with me..?” After his last experience within Shadow Lass’s darkness, Tachyon had decided to shift back in time a few seconds and kill the Talokkian before she could bring that power to bear. He’d not done any more than consider the idea though when he was overcome with vertigo. Night Girl’s fist found Tachyon’s face, and Shadow Lass dissipated her darkness field once she was satisfied that he was out cold.

Seemingly from nowhere, Shrinking Violet appeared standing over the defeated villain. “Yeah yeah, you transcend speed,” Vi mimicked him. “We’ve heard your little tagline often enough to know it by heart...too bad you don’t transcend idiocy; it’s not like it’s any more difficult for me to disrupt your inner ear than it was for Gas Girl to take you out when she faced you but as soon as any one of us starts you talking you never shut up...and a bad guy who never shuts up is an easy target even in a pitch black room. Moron.”

“Oh no, Gas Girl!” Night Girl ran to her fallen comrade’s side. “She’s still alive, thank the shades! But she and Jo are both going to need medical attention - not to mention the others.” She cast a concerned look over the rest of Tachyon’s victims strewn about the lab and her eyes fell across Void who had disrupted Brainiac 5’s forcefield and was now within reach of the Legion’s leader. “Brainiac, get away from him!” Lydda warned.

Brainiac 5 didn’t even turn around from his work at Fire Lad’s machine. “Night Girl, it is taking the full undivided attention of myself and Kid Computo merely to prevent Fire Lad’s physical form from devolving into a primordial slime at the moment. You’ll all have to deal with Void without--” Anything else the Coluan had to say was lost in an agonised scream as Void’s hand disappeared into his shoulder.

Before the slow-moving Void could fully claim his victim, a rush of wind filled the room. Mon-El swept through the lab, collecting Brainiac 5, Color Kid and Kid Computo and depositing them safely with their teammates who were still standing. Brainiac 5 was mercifully unconscious, a hand-sized hole in his back gushing blood. “Sorry for the delay,” Mon-El apologised. “I had to dispose of a malfunctioning powersphere on the other side of Mars. You all might want to turn away, this isn’t going to be pleasant.” The Daxamite’s eyes flared red and the room filled with the acrid scent of burning flesh as heat vision cauterised Brainiac’s wound. “I saw Mwindaji on my way here with some of the others, just make sure Void doesn’t kill anybody till he arrives.”

“You’re leaving us??” Violet cried out. “You just got here!”

Laurel Kent suddenly hurtled through an internal wall, across the room and up through the ceiling. “And I’m needed elsewhere,” Mon-El retorted without missing a beat. In another second he was on the trail of the newest Legionnaire’s golden assailant.

With no other targets within easy range, Void ignored Sun Boy’s escalating flame blasts and reached into the machine holding Fire Lad. Kid Computo cried out in protest, but she was cut off by the din of the machine exploding around them. For an awful moment the room was filled with heat and noise until fire suppression systems came into play, and when the dust settled only Sun Boy was still awake. The explosion’s flames hadn’t fazed him and he’d managed to emit a pulse of heat to counter most of the shockwave, but the effort had taken a lot out of him. He could see Void closing in on Shadow Lass’s inert form, but he was too dazed to do anything about it. “...Stop, damn it…” he ordered weakly.

Four psychedelic dragons appeared around Void before he could get any closer to the unlucky heroine. They circled him, changing colors as their serpentine forms moved gracefully through the air. He forgot about Shadow Lass and swiped instead at the dragonforms, popping each of them in turn as though they were delicate balloons.

“I’m sorry,” Dragonmage leaned against a damaged wall, clutching his head with one hand as he felt a stab of mystical feedback from each one of his destroyed creations. “It seems he consumes magic as easily as anything else.”

“You have no reason to apologise,” came a monotonous electronic tone from behind him. The massive form of Tellus swam forward through the air, overtaking the young sorceror to approach Void more closely. “We all have our part to play, and you may well have saved Shadow Lass’s life, my friend. Perhaps my telepathy can assist further.” Tellus came to a gentle halt just out of Void’s grasp and reached out with his mind. There was precious little consciousness there, but it did exist. Tellus envisioned Void’s mind like a blob of quicksilver adrift in endless space. Trying to hold it in one place was pointless, it would simply melt away and reconstitute elsewhere. No, a more passive approach was needed to keep that vestige of intellect rolling in on itself in one place. To any observer, the two seemed simply to be staring at one another but Tellus was actually keeping Void’s mind looping over and over again as though caught up in a whirlpool. The villain didn’t move an inch.

Diamond Damsel, Mwindaji and Polar Boy entered the multilab next, coming to a startled stop as soon as they saw the extent of the damage. “There are so many wounded!” Mwindaji’s eyes widened. “Where do I start?”

“Gas Girl,” Sun Boy commanded, already feeling healthier. “She looked half dead when Tachyon dragged her in here and that was before Fire Lad’s machine exploded.”

“Fire Lad…?” Polar Boy turned to the smoking pile of twisted metal and wiring which had been at the epicentre of the blast. “Staq’s under there somewhere??”

“He won’t be for long,” Diamond Damsel stomped across to the ruined machinery. “Don’t worry Polar Boy, we’ll have him out of there in no time.” She took a second to assess the scene and then grabbed the edge of the largest plate which looked least likely to cause any further collapse by its removal.

Before she could lift it though, a low rumbling growl issued forth from somewhere inside the mess and debris flew outwards as a leathery winged creature more than seven feet tall burst out. Its thick skin was a greyish color and two curved horns emerged from its hairless scalp, a flaming mane between the horns extending halfway down its spine. The creature had an extended crocodilian snout lined with fangs, and blazing orange reptilian eyes. Its bony arms ended in long talons, and two sharp spikes emerged from its wingtips giving it a demonic appearance. With a frighteningly loud roar the beast opened its jaws wide and immersed Diamond Damsel in a stream of flame.

Polar Boy knew the flames wouldn’t bother Diamond Damsel, but they’d surely cook anyone behind her. He quickly erected an ice wall to shield the others and looked to Sun Boy for guidance. “What the sprock is that thing? The Heavensent didn’t have a dragon man any other time we’ve fought them! And where’s Fire Lad?!”

Mwindaji was crouched by Gas Girl’s side, his power bathing her in a soft white light as it healed her injuries. He looked upon the dragon creature at first with a suspicious glare and then his eyes bulged as his tracking ability confirmed what he’d already suspected. “I do not know what has happened to him, but Polar Boy...that is Fire Lad!”

“What??” Brek stared open-jawed at the monstrosity before them.

“That machine!” Sun Boy snapped his fingers. “Brainy was using it to reset his genetic structure; when Void made it explode it must have mutated him even further! Tellus, is Fire Lad’s mind still in there somewhere?”

“Fire Lad’s rational self slumbers below the primal flood we are witnessing now,” Tellus explained as Diamond Damsel tried to restrain their wild teammate. “Sun Boy, I could awaken him but it is taking all of my focus to ensure that Void does not continue to menace us further.”

“Then Polar Boy will have to do it,” Sun Boy joined the shorter hero’s side and slapped a hand on his shoulder.

Polar Boy was aghast. “Me?? But I’m not a telepath!”

“You’ve known him longer than anyone else here,” Sun Boy retorted with uncommon bluntness. “Man up and help the poor frood, Brek.” Polar Boy peered over as the creature that had been Staq Mavlen swatted Diamond Damsel through what remained of the melting ice shield.

“Careful,” she cautioned as she climbed to her feet. “I didn’t expect him to be so strong, it threw me off balance.”

“It’s okay,” Polar Boy decided. “Dirk’s right.” He approached the towering firebreather, his heart pounding in his chest. Night Girl or Color Kid would be far better suited to this task than himself, but until Mwindaji treated their injuries they weren’t in any position to do anything. Standing nearly a dozen feet away from Fire Lad, he was dimly aware of Sun Boy behind him holding the other Legionnaires back. If he was going to make his move, he’d better do it now. “Staq..?” he ventured. “Buddy..? You know your old pal Brek, right..?”

In response, the creature’s maw gaped open and he roared hot air at Polar Boy. It was like standing inside the lip of a Tharrian volcano and Brek couldn’t help but flinch, but he also couldn’t help but notice he hadn’t been charbroiled. He gulped down his nervousness and continued. “Staq...we’ll fix this. I don’t know how, but we’ll get you back to normal. You need to calm down though pal, you’re gonna hurt somebody. I know you don’t want to hurt anybody...right?”

The thing that had been Fire Lad lunged at Polar Boy and pinned him to the ground, crouching over him with one clawed hand splayed across Brek’s chest. Steam rose from the beast’s flared nostrils as a low growl built up within him.

Polar Boy saw Diamond Damsel inching forward and covertly waved her away. “Staq...listen to me!” the young cryokinetic shouted with more confidence than he felt. “I know I’ve not been there for you when I should have, I know I’ve let you down and I know I’ve given you every reason to be mad at me...but you’re Fire Lad, you’re a hero! You’re in the Legion of Superheroes! You’re better than this! Settle down and let us help you...please!”

Something else else in his voice caught the creature’s attention. Predatory eyes narrowed as it glared at Polar Boy, then widened and grew less animalistic. Brek felt the pressure on his chest decrease, the hand holding him down reduce in size and proportion. Over the course of several seconds, the dragon-like creature shrunk down, his skin became more pink in hue and his flaming crest petered out to be replaced by a full head of blond hair. Soon the creature was replaced by a naked and thoroughly unmutated Staq Mavlen, looking for all the world like any other native of his home planet Shwar. “Yanno,” he mumbled weakly, “...Not everything’s about you, Bannin.” His eyes rolled back in his head and Fire Lad passed out on top of Polar Boy.

Mon-El flew back into the room at that exact point, followed closely by Blok and Neon. Neon carried an unconscious Celestine behind them tucked away in a floating emerald four poster bed.

“I’m glad you were all able to deal with the others,” Mon-El announced, landing by Shadow Lass while Mwindaji healed her injuries. “With Blok and Zoe’s timely arrival, Celestine didn’t put up too much of a fight at all.”

“...Uh, guys?” Zoe Saugin addressed the room.

“...Why is there a sweaty naked man sleeping on Polar Boy..?”

**********
ELSEWHERE...
In a small room littered with medical instruments, broken furniture and shards of glass, two women crouched together beneath flickering ceiling lights. What had once been a desk now served as a barricade against the room’s one door, and the nurses could hear scared shouts from beyond the room’s cracked walls. One of them looked down at the dark-skinned infant swaddled in her arms and was grateful that at least the child was sleeping through this chaos. “I hope the Legion of Superheroes get here soon,” she whispered in a fearful tone to her fellow nurse.

“They will,” the second woman tried to sound reassuring. “Ral won’t let us down, Diyah.”

A resounding thump shook the room, and the two nurses stared in terror at one another. Both held their breath for long seconds, and let out a long sigh of relief when nothing further happened. “Why do you think this is happening, Eletha?” the woman named Diyah asked.

“Honey, I don’t know.” Eletha stroked her colleague’s short red hair. “All I know is we need to keep this little one safe until Chlorophyll Kid and his friends rescue us.”

There was another thump, and this time the windows shattered inward. The two women screeched as thick woody tree branches burst into the room, more than a dozen vines creeping over the walls and the ceiling as though in search of the trio. The infant awoke at the disruption and began bawling, and her cries were enough to penetrate the women’s paralysing fear. “Come on!” Eletha leaped to her feet and dragged Diyah up with her. “We need to get out of here!” Working together, the two nurses moved the heavy desk blocking their only escape route and swung the door open. In a panic, they ran out to the corridor, but thick green vines circled around Eletha’s ankle and rudely yanked her back into the room.

Diyah stopped in her tracks. “Eletha! No!!” Clutching the screaming newborn close to her breast, she reached out to her friend of seven years with her free hand but the plants encased her almost entirely now and dragged her back roughly through the room toward the window.

“Forget me!” Eletha screamed. “Run, Diyah, run! Save yourself! Save Ivy! Save Ivy!!”

Then the greenery consumed the woman named Eletha entirely and she screamed no more.

...TO BE CONTINUED!

Oh wow!

what happened to Quislet? it’s made of energy so I assume it’s still floating around somewhere?

And so Staq can control his mutation somewhat, regressing back to normal form. this is an interesting change!

gosh the Legionnaires sure took a beating... nice tactical decision by Jo, nice nod back to Tal taking down Tachyon before, Laurel/Dirk and Tasmia/Lydda make good teams as usual, great thinking by Ulu, nice use of Brainy’s forcefield and Tellus’ telepathy. Glad Mwindaji healed everyone in time.

I loved Vi taking down Tachyon so effectively and giving that smug squaj a hard time. But also found it a bit funny how she ranted about him not stopping talking, and how long her rant turned out to be...

Mon, Zoe and Blok taking Celestine down was priceless too

The plants! Ivy! is that on Mardru? what a cliffhanger!

Hi IB

Quislet is clearly 100% irrevocably dead and won't come back, which is good cuz I never liked him anyway

I'm glad you found Staq's change interesting...for ages I have been looking for a way to make him stand apart from Sun Boy and Dragonwing, this will definitely get some more exploration soon!

After I wrote Vi's rant I did actually think it was too wordy, but then I was too amused at the idea of her going nuts at an unconscious dude so I left it

Good remembering! That certainly is Mardru and we'll see what's going on there next up!

Raz that was a good battle with the Heavensent and the progression of the team getting involved was well done.

Staq the dragon! i like it. it a good twist that i hope he can learn to control.
i loved his line "its not all about you." before he collapsed on to Berk.

i honestly hated Quilset as well so i'm glad you've killed him off. as powerful as he was he wasn't much help. so thank you!

Aquilla is now with the team and safe i hope.

Tacyon is super powerful for a speedster. i think you need a speedster to come in and show him some manners.

looking forward to more.

Let's see how you feel after my next instalment hahaha

Arqiia will indeed be hanging around for a bit if not necessarily as a member of the team...and Tachyon is crazy powerful for a speedster, but fortunately in the manner of all good comic book villains he's too arrogant and short-sighted to really be as much of a threat as someone like him should be; maybe one day we'll see if Dawnstar can get a better round 2 with him

Okay hopefully it works this time...I tried to upload this last night but I couldn't get the UBB code right

ANYWHO....Laurel Kent aka Supergirl II, y'all!

(the S is terrible but I have long since come to terms with not being able to draw the Supers S symbol lol)

Laurel Kent aka Supergirl II from my Legion of Superheroes fanfic by razsolo, on Flickr

Yes! Fire Lad is a dragon!

Love it.

Also neat to see such very powerful characters having to deal with things they aren't ready for. A speedster can't necessarily run super-fast when he can't see his surroundings. An untouchable singularity still has a mind that a telepath can mess with. Good stuff, in that the villains are supremely powerful, but can't handle *everything* that the Legion can throw at them, because the Legion's just got so darn many different weapons in their arsenal, even if some of those 'weapons' are as niche as 'get really small and fly into your ear' or 'eat your time-manipulating belt.'

I like the characterization. Sun Boy, in particular, telling Brek to cowboy up and talk to his friend, was cool. I like seeing his occasional serious side. Shady, as always, uber-confident in the use of her powers, in this case stymying a speedster who had just wiped out a bunch of her teammates. I love her swagger, no matter the odds. (This is the woman who threw darkness at Darkseid, after all, although in that particular case, she got out-swaggered by Karate Kid. "Astound this, stone face!" Heh.)

Weird bit of fanwanking on my part; About the time that Staq's hair burned away and was replaced by fire, his friends and teammates attempted to console / reassure him by likewise changing up their hair and making it look, to outsiders, like they'd all made a deliberate choice to have 'theme-hair.' Night Girl wore a starry hairnet that made her big black bouffant look like Star Boy's starfield costume. Color Kid added a rainbow of color to his hair. Stone Boy turned his hair, and just his hair, to stone. Chlorophyll Kid wore plants and ivy vines in his hair. And Polar Boy made 'ice-hair.'

Polar Boy (and Color Kid) kept up that tradition for awhile, in solidarity with their friend's new (involuntary) flaming 'do.

Thanks Set, I am reasonably sure I stole DragonStaq from you actually haha

I like your Subs themed hair idea, mainly because it seems like such a Giffen thing to do but also I like to imagine that Stone Boy would have just stoically put up with neck strain and migraine and accidentally tearing through shirts etc until someone else went back to normal and gave him an excuse to tap out as well

I wondered if that idea came from my Fire Lad and the Dragon (of Space) fic, or was parallel evolution. Either way, it's a fun way to buff up Fire Lad and give him a more unique visual (and tone) than just 'dude who breathes fire.' Plus it gives the Subs someone who is a bit more alien/exotic-looking, even if he's still a humanoid by birth.



I'd imagine that Chlorophyll Kid was the first to abandon the idea, not because he's a terrible friend, but because having plants on his head was both a strain on the neck and distracting, because they were attracting bugs.