Legion World Forums LEGION OUTPOST Bits o' Legionnaire Business Young Legion Book 2

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“If you can quit, then quit. If you can't quit, you're a writer.”
-- R.A. Salvatore
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It is Darian year 752 on Mars, corresponding to Earth year 3023 CE.
It has been seven years, Earth-standard, since the Super Hero Club was formed
Their iridescent clubhouse lies just outside New Metropolis, on the shores of the New Hellespont.

Roll Call
(O1) Dorrit Ardeen Ranzz of Winath (Saturn Girl) (age: 23)
- Telepathy
(O2) Irinia Apero of Bgztl, Gnohhon System (Phantom Girl) (age: 22)
- Intangibility
(O3) Txarlz Luz 4523 of Colu (Ten) (age: 14)
- 1Oth-level intelligence
(O4) Korvea Mallor of Talok VIII (Korvea) (age: 19)
- Shadow-casting, Avian form, Enhanced Healing
(O5) Chel-Eb of Rokyn (Mighty Lad) (age: 19)
- Kryptonian Power Set
(O6) Vqzga (Viqi) Gzxbp of Yzopok, Gnohhon System (Yzopok Girl) (age: 22)
- Intangibility, Telepathy, Telekinesis
(O7) Arna Nah of Gzbk, Gnohhon System (Kid Ultraboy) (age: 21)
- Intangibility, Kryptonian Power Set (one at a time)
(O8) Ghurwil Tanr'r of Jaquaa (Alter Boy) (age: 21)
- Able to assume various monstrous forms, with a wide array of powers and abilities. There is a certain necessary randomness to his powers.
(O9) Luto Kabillian of Pantano, Antares System (Sludge) (age: 14)
- Able to produce a biological slime, and control its coefficient of friction
(1O) Juno Kazan of Witchhaven (Magissa) (age: 14)
- Magical abilities, with an emphasis on potion-making

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“The Club has always been small,” Irinia insisted. “We have been down to ten members before.”

“True enough,” Dorrit replied. “But I had always envisioned the Super-Hero Club as an organization for young and aspiring heroes. We have only three members under the age of nineteen now.”

“To keep a group that young would require rapid turnover,” noted Txalrz Luz, “Unless we were accepting members as young as I was when I was recruited.”

“The obvious answer is to recruit more members,” said Chel-Eb. “The Legion on Deimos has over fifty members, some of whom might be interested in joining us Marsside.”

“It seems unlikely. Sadly, many of them display very limited abilities, or have not achieved very good control over them,” noted Korvea. “And I am deeply suspicious of their coterie of artificial beings.”

"We have been lacking a versatile shape-shifter for years, ever since Chameleon left us," said Txarlz Luz. “Not to denigrate the impressive abilities of Korvea and Alter Boy, but their alternate forms are not conducive to, for example, disguise. Fortunately, there are a number of elasomorphic races in the Galaxy. Unfortunately, the Hagenites, the Vuldarians, the Tormocks, the Shoggoths of Yuggoth, the Farfarmniflatch and the various Children of Ra, have a deserved reputation for instability. Zelbon lies beyond the United Planets, for now. Which leaves the Bokkites of New Titan, the Antarean Proteans, the Durlans, of course, and the Iuquhu, and the Nyorpans as possible recruits. Or, we might also might consider the Zyzans, with their holographic disguise technology. Or if we could find any surviving aboriginal Martians. Or a Cryll."

"There was the ancient Oberon family on Earth," said Arna Nah. "Shape-shifting superheroes for several generations. Perhaps some of them survived into the 31st century?"

"Some texts attest their family name as O'Brien," said Txarlz. "Even if we could find them, our direct recruitment efforts have proven futile over the years. It seems we must wait for young heroes to seek us out. Thus the try-out application process."

“We are competing with Deimos as well now,” noted Dorrit.

"Why not," said Irinia, "Find the individual with a heroic temperament first, and give them powers afterward? Not necessarily shape-shifting. But there is certainly enough obscure technology floating around that we could cobble together a sort of workable power-suit."

"Quite true," said Txarlz. "We might consider a Coluan force-shield. A Zyzan holo-projector. Telepathic technology from Brrym. Any number of strength-enhancing exo-skeletons."

"The question is," said Irinia, "Who?"

"'Who?' is a good question," Ten replied.

o o o

A day later he announced: "I have been examining the populations of Mars and Earth, and I believe I have found a candidate."

"She is fourteen years old. She has featured in several feel-good, 'human-interest' stories over the past few years. Appearing in choirs, popularizing local gardening co-ops, that sort of thing. She is also the developer of a new application to quantum communications security that has revolutionized the field. Even as a Coluan, I am impressed with her approach."

"So, intelligent, involved in Community Service, exemplary moral character,” said Dorrit. “Who is this Wonder Girl?"

"Her name is Speophania Brojj," said Ten. "She lives on Earth, in the Old New Rochelle borough of Metropolis."

"{An excellent suggestion}" said a voice from nowhere.

o o o

The young girl sat in the hoverchair, her legs useless, facing the wallscreen. She alternately scanned the daily newsholos and her personal mailfeed.

“Spiffany, there’s someone here to see you,” said Flynt Brojj. The tall woman looked about forty, brown hair lightly streaked with grey. Her eyes could have been a thousand years old.

“Your father tells me that even 31st-century Daxamite medicine is unable to cure your disability.”

“There is nothing to cure,” Speophania replied. “I was born this way. It is inconvenient sometimes, but I have my hoverchair, and exoskeletal prosthetics when I need to go out. I will admit they are a little uncomfortable. But we must all seek to live our best lives with the gifts we have been given.”

“If only more had your attitude,” said the older woman. “But I am here to add one more to your gifts, if you will accept it.” She set down a holo-crystal. An image flared of a girl who looked a great deal like Spiffany, perhaps a few years older. Her lower limbs were shapely, not shriveled, and she seemed to hover in the air. She wore a garish costume of purple, silver and gold.

“Enhanced strength, speed, durability, and intelligence. The power of flight, and a kind of oracular clairvoyance to enhance the senses. Some psychic control over the natural elements: stone, wind, lightning, and fire. All at Daxamite power levels, at a minimum.”

“Who is she?” asked Spiffany Brojj.

“She is you,” replied the tall woman. “If you will accept my gift.”

“What’s the catch?” asked Spiffany suspiciously.

“If you accept this gift, you must use these powers for good. But you have already learned to use your natural powers for good. And there is always the possibility of returning to your natural state again.”

“How?” asked Spiffany.

“Magic. I come from Tharn, the Sorcerer's World. You may call me Mariam Abraxas. My sorcerous specialty is granting others the powers and gifts of ancient gods and heroes. I was working on a mnemonic to help you remember your powers… the Speed of Atalanta, the Wind Power of Aeolus, the Wisdom of Juno, Invulnerability of Baldur or Siegfried, the Oracles of Apollo... but it was just too much. You are a bright girl, and I don’t think that is really necessary? I have already cast the required spells. Just say my name-- Abraxas-- to accept this gift.”

“Abraxas!” said Spiffany.

And a new hero was born.

“You may come visit me on the Sorcerer’s World anytime you like, should you have questions, or need guidance,” said Mariam Abraxas. "I am always busy, but I will make time for you."

“And what should I call myself?” asked the new hero.

“Anything you like,” Mariam Abraxas replied.

“You know, you are the second Legion to contact me in twenty-four hours,” said Spiffany Brojj.

“We are the Super-Hero Club,” Ten corrected her.

“I’ll tell you what I told the others: I need some time to master these powers on my own,” said Spiffany. “And I have an excellent mentor already. I am looking for a good hero name, though.”

“May I suggest Ischyri?” suggested Ten.

“I’ll think about it,” said Spiffany. “Thanks for the effort. ’Bye.”

The wallscreen went dark. Ten sighed.

Phantom Girl sighed herself, as she swiped left on her own viewscreen. "No, just no," she muttered to herself.

"Sorting through applicants is a difficult process,” Ten stated.

“You can’t imagine,” said Phantom Girl. "This one calls himself 'Alex Hamster the Great'."

"I have an octet that has applied as a group," said Ten. "Their circumstances are somewhat... special."

"Let's hear about them," said Phantom Girl.

"They call themselves 'The Replacements'," Ten began.

"Billy Randall, formerly of Planet Xanadu, was treated with gingold, and Tao Chemical's Elasticizing Fluid, giving him the powers of Elastic Lad and Bouncing Boy. The interaction of the two chemicals has left him completely bald. He has thus adopted the name 'Q-Ball'."

"Ral Zamal, formerly of Mardru, was exposed to the same super-growth formula as Chlorophyll Kid, and the same meteoric vapors as Fire Lad. She is able to produce a bizarre green napalm-like flame which devours flesh, metal, and stone, but causes uncontrolled growth in plant life."

"Guy Ishtron, formerly of Venus, was exposed to radiation from fragments of the same meteor that gave Gim Allon his powers. He is able to enlarge his body, but somewhat... unevenly. His giant forms tend to be lumpy and misshapen."

"Mrak Gaal, formerly of Winath, received his powers on the planet Korbal, in the same way as the Ranzzes. He wears a permanent healing mask, as this resulted in some facial deformity. Which is apparently aggravated every time he uses his powers."

"Similarly, Czaxton Regulus also wears a permanent healing mask, and for the same reasons. As his name indicates, he is a clone of Sun Boy's old foe Dr. Regulus. He has solar powers from an exposure to a solar furnace, mediated and controlled with radioactive gold."

"Luquaan Ginnz, formerly of Zoon, was treated with Zuunium, with all the usual semi-lycanthropic effects. She has adopted the name 'Quickhatch'."

"Myke'l Tarnstark, a native Kathooni, received her powers from a combination of Jathosterone and Norgine, and has super-strength at night, or in deep shadow, or while invisible."

"Finally, Evanna Quasp, formerly of Earth, has the twin abilities to temporarily make anything green, and to make keratin-- feathers, hair, fingernails, and so forth-- as heavy, dense, and durable as lead."

"I'm beginning to see a pattern here," said Phantom Girl. "These kids were all human guinea pigs experimented upon by their parents, weren’t they?"

"Affirmative," said Ten.

"And while 'formerly' of Winath, Kathoon, and so forth, they all now reside with their parents on Bdelugmos, the Pariah Planetoid?"

"Correct again," said Ten. “Excepting Czaxton’s ‘parent’, Dr. Regulus, who is incarcerated on Takron-Galtos.”

"All due to various violations of the Forbidden Scientific Investigations Statutes”, Phantom Girl continued. “Had those laws had been in effect fifty years ago, Pol’s mother would have been an inmate on Bdelugmos as well."

"They are requesting our help in having their family's sentences commuted, and in return, wish to join the Super-Hero Club," Ten explained. "As a group."

"They overestimate the amount of influence we have with UPGov," said Phantom Girl. "I empathize, but there is really very little we can do. I'm afraid they will have to resign themselves to remaining in the protective custody of CPS until they reach the age of supermajority."

|* Editor’s Note|

All ten members of the Super-Hero Club had gathered on the Try-Out Court just outside the Clubhouse.

“You are H'Hchanamh of Houyhnhnm?” Phantom Girl addressed the young alien centaur.

“Yes, ma’am,” replied H'Hchanamh. “But you can call me Hitch, if it's more comfortable for your throat.”

“You have the power of duplication, and you call yourself Cavalry?”

“Yes, ma’am,” replied the little centaur.

“And you can duplicate only yourself?”

“Yes, ma’am. And my clothing-- made of modified Cargggan materials.”

“How about a demonstration?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Another little Houyhnhnm appeared, then another, then three, then four.

“How many duplicates can you make?” asked Ten.

“I’ve made up to fifty,” Hitch replied. “But they don’t have independent will, so the more I make, the harder they are to control-- unless I have them all charging off in the same direction. And they are temporary… and a little unstable. If you hit one of my duplicates hard enough, it will… disintegrate.”

“Well, we will have to take this under consideration, but I’m sure you will at least be accepted into our training program.”

“{We have a training program now?}” asked Saturn Girl telepathically.

“{Well, I think it's about time we had one. Otherwise, we’re going to lose these candidates to Deimos.}” Phantom Girl thought back.



o o o

“Our next applicant has been delayed,” announced Ten. “Some sort of last-minute visa problem. She is Cryton Tull of Earth, who calls herself Wolf-Girl, or Wolfhound, or possibly Wolfram.”

“I know we have been discussing adding a shapeshifter to the team,” said Korvea. “But again, she has just two forms: wolf, and girl. And from what I gather from her dossier, she’s only a wolf three nights out of thirty.”

“Don’t underestimate her,” said Magissa. “She is evidently an actual werewolf, her whole family under some magical curse. Which means she is no ordinary wolf: super-strong, fast, and nigh-invulnerable. As one of the undead, she cannot be killed. Decisively destroying a werewolf is no easy task-- it takes more than mere silver. There are rites to be performed. Even in human form, if a werewolf appears to ‘die’, they will completely heal and resurrect by the next full moon.

“The werewolf and I may have more in common than I thought,” Korvea mused.

“On the other hand,” Magissa continued, “The werewolf magicks are specifically bound to the cycles of Earth and Luna, so I don’t believe her shape-shifting powers would manifest on Mars, or any other extraterrestrial world.”

“That is an education,” said Ten. “Under the circumstances, Irinia and I may have been mistaken in putting her through for consideration.”

“A Coluan admitting an error?” Magissa smirked.

“To deny the facts would be illogical,” Ten replied.

o o o

“You are a Bismollian?” Phantom Girl asked the young blonde girl.

“My name is Zilla Mijoy. My parents are Taryn Loy and Thon Mijoy. My father is a Hagenite, and has the morphogenic powers common to his people. I grew up on my mother’s homeworld. A Bismollian is like a living nuclear furnace. Anything we eat is ultimately changed to energy. Excess energy usually escapes into the environment, but my grandfather discovered a way to divert some of that energy to useful purposes. I can utilize it to triple my physical strength... or to power my shapeshifting!”

“Generalized shapeshifting,” Korvea commented. “Can we see a demonstration?”

Zilla looked around. “Do you have some small scrap of matter you don’t mind me eating?”
Ten tossed her a small aluminum screw. The Bismollian girl tossed it in her mouth. Instantly, her body melted into a mud-like form, then reshaped itself into a sparkly rainbow unicorn, before melting back into her human form.

“The more I eat, the longer I can hold my morphs,” she explained.

“Anyone have any objections?” asked Phantom Girl. The other nine Members shook their heads. “Then welcome to the Super Hero Club, Zilla Mijoy. Did you have a codename in mind?”

“I was thinking Bouch. It’s from an ancient Terran dialect.”



o o o

“Botboy, right? I met you once on Deimos,” declared Phantom Girl.

The little mauve robot looked like Tharok, if both halves of the villain had been mechanical. It stood just fifty inches tall.

“As a child, Boris Zador of Zadron was infected with a rare necrotizing neurological disorder. His father had the roboticists of Zadron replace his deteriorating biological parts with robotic prostheses. First a foot, then a leg, then a hand, then an arm. But they could not stop the progress of the disease. Eventually, they attempted to download the child’s bio-consciousness into an exitonic platinum-sponge brain. Unfortunately, the operation was a failure, and Boris Zador was declared deceased. But they were left with me, a living, sentient machine, with traces of Boris Zador’s memories and personality. His parents found themselves unable to tolerate my presence; I left Zadron and joined The New Legion of Super-Heroes, LLC, of Deimos. But I have been uncomfortable there recently.”
“My first assignment was about a week ago, teaming up with another group of artificial beings, a group of responsometer-powered robots called The Non-Metal Men. Carbon, Silicon, Phosphorous, Sulphur, Selenium, Iodine, and Bromine. Each has powers relating to its particular elemental composition.”
“We were commissioned to stop a group of Waste Collection Pirates. This is a criminal scam perpetrated on small, low-income worlds. They are promised waste collection and recycling services at a discount. But the Pirates merely dump the trash on larger planets, Earth, for instance, rather than pay the appropriate fees to have it properly disposed of in a U.P.-certified landfill, recycling, or composting asteroid.”
“We tracked the Pirates’ largest ship, despite its cloaking device, and the Non-Metal Men used their powers to disable the vessel, leaving it floating derelict in space.”
“I thought that was enough, but then they transported the eighth Non-Metal Man, Astatine, onto the ship. Astatine is highly radioactive, and unstable. It decays in a matter of minutes, spewing heat and radiation. Ordinarily the Astatine robot is kept in a stasis field… I don’t know why it was ever created in the first place. But the Pirate vessel was utterly destroyed, and any living beings incinerated. The LLP collected the bounty, but… it was too much for me.”

“And what did the UPGov think of this disaster?” asked Saturn Girl.


“There was an investigation,” Botboy replied. “It was deemed a tragedy. The higher-ups called it an unfortunate mistake. Incident investigators agreed. Reports were quietly buried. H&B promised the U.P. that The Non-Metal Men would be scrutinized and reprogrammed. But I just can’t stay there anymore… But I cannot return to Zadron. I have nowhere to go.”

“The rights and status of artificial life-forms in the United Planets is still in flux,” the teen-aged Coluan stated, “However, I would be interested in taking on Botboy as a protege. Should his exitonic platinum-sponge brain prove stable, I believe he could be a valuable asset to the team.”



o o o

“That is the last straw with me,” Saturn Girl remarked privately. “Are we going to finally begin a full investigation of this New Legion of Super-Heroes, LLC? There have been too many rumors of this sort of overreach circulating.”

“I used to think you were just being over-competitive,” said Phantom Girl. “But I am beginning to agree with you. Would you like me to start putting together an old-fashioned Espionage Squad?”

College Grounds, University of Agriculture, Manna-3

“Hello, Oz,” said Ten. “Do you remember me? I’m a friend of Dorrit Ranzz."

The statue blinked, then stirred, then sat, legs casually draped over the pedestal.

“You grew up,” said Osmium.

“Most UP citizens are considered adults at the age of 9 sola-years,” Ten replied, “And reach their full majority by age 16. Colu, however, grants majority at the age of 65 sola-years-- so I do have some time left as a ‘child’. However, my Adult Guardian no longer requires me to be accompanied by a robo-nanny. That is something.”

“Congratulations,” said Osmium.

“I would like to discuss with you the ancient, and mostly lost, technology of Responsometers,” said Ten.

“Doc built us,” said Osmium. “I got a Responsometer, but I dunno how to make one.”

“Doctor Magnus never gave any clues about how they were built?”

“Doc always said he had to start with human minds to get a Responsometers,” Osmium mused. “But they aren't perfect copies. Doc used the word ‘cartoon’.”

“So your personality is based on some 2Oth century Terran, now extinct?”

“My Responsometer is a copy of Lead’s. A copy of a copy. Lead and Tin did the same thing when they made their ‘girlfriends’.”

“So in order for someone to build a new Responsometer, all they would need is an existing Responsometer?”

“I guess,” said Osmium. “Lead and Tin did it, but I dunno if I could. I’m… a little more dense.”

“How many of the original Metal Men are still around?” asked Ten.

“I dunno,” said Osmium. “There was dozens of us, long time ago. Lot of us were scrapped. Tin and Dorothy went to Ten-Alpha. I know that. I dunno about anybody else.”

“I appreciate your help, Oz,” said Ten. There was a commotion in the distance. “Great Yod, what is that?”

Something like a flying bulldozer was approaching the University Complex. Although easily a mile away, it was large enough to be clearly visible. Ten willed his flight ring into action, and flew towards danger.

Ten consulted CYNDI, his Colu-Yod Neuromatic Data Implant. The ship was Gohani in origin. The computer uplink informed him that Gohan had recently suffered an ecological disaster, and while the U.P. was trying to assist, desperate Gohani pirates had been raiding U.P. technological facilities.

There were already boots on the ground assaulting the ship. One was a humanoid female, the other some sort of pachydermoid. Each was at least twelve meters tall. The CINDI identified the two as Joan of Arcturus and Paraceratherium Pete.

There was a spaceship parked on the grounds large enough to carry the two giants. It was clearly marked with the stylized H&B emblem, indicating that the two were members of The New Legion of Super-Heroes LLC. Still, it was dwarfed by the Gohani vessel.

Nevertheless, the two heroes from Deimos were attacking the Gohani ship. Their only powers seemed to be super-strength, which was proving ineffective.

As he drew nearer, Ten observed another half-dozen brightly-clad vigilantes. He recognized Arthropodo of Xanthu, whose bio-ring allowed him to assume various insect-like shapes. There was a huge blue-and-magenta-striped elephant, who would only be Gaal Jahnson, the son of Animal Lad and Rainbow Girl. There was a six-foot-tall froglike creature, an eight-foot-tall pangolin, and a nine-foot-tall sasquatch in the group as well.

None of them were making progress against the dreadnaught.

The Gohani vessel had a standard energy shield around it, but Ten was able to slip through by modulating his own force field. The same force field protected him from the flaming gasses as he flew into an exhaust manifold.

There were a number of heavy-set Gohani waiting for him when he emerged inside the engine room.

“You thought we couldn’t see you on the internal sensors?” the ugliest of the Gohani asked mockingly.

“I thought it would not matter,” said Ten. “Leave Manna-3, and return to Gohan. Penultimate warning.”

The ugly Gohani laughed. “Manna-3 has something we want. Food. Something the United Planets will not give us.”

Ten consulted his CYNDI. “The United Planets have shipped a great deal of food to Gohan,” he remarked. “They were not prepared for the shipments to be hijacked by space pirates, and re-sold on the ground at extortionate prices.”

“Yeah, and now the grain ships are accompanied by SP military ships,” piped up another Gohani. “Which makes hijacking them a lot more difficult.”

“But it still slows distribution to a starving population,” said Ten. “Return to Gohan. Final warning.”

The ugly Gohani’s only response was “Fire.”

Energy and particle weapons rained down on Ten’s force field. It easily absorbed the blasts.

“It is dangerous practice to fire weapons in an enclosed space,” Ten observed, as he strolled over to the Central Engineering Controls. “Hang on, it’s going to be a bumpy ride,” he warned, as the dreadnaught fell out of the sky.

The ship’s shields disabled, SPs and Legionnaires swarmed onto the ship. Joan of Arcturus and Paraceratherium Pete had to wait outside, but Gaal Jahnson was able to enter in the form of a great grape-purple Slith.

“Last time they were here,” one of the Agricultural Directors explained to Ten, “They raided the Seed Bank, but I imagine that none of what they stole would germinate in Gohan’s soil. That is, after all, the definition of an ecological disaster. This time, it looked like they were headed for the Hydroponic Orchards. We appreciate the help of you and your fellow Legionnaires in stopping them.”

“Not my fellows,” corrected Ten. “I just happened to be in the area.”

“Did you hear,” Ten was telling Saturn Girl, “That the Chairman of the Board of the Palomar Trust was kidnapped some eighteen months ago? He was missing for weeks.”

“Palomar Hotels?” asked Yzopok Girl. “We have those, even Bgztlrside.”

“Not the hotels,” Ten explained. “The Trust, which distributes dividends to the shareholders; primarily the several dozen members of the Palomar family. A much smaller, and less conspicuous organization.”

“Still, large enough that the mysterious disappearance of the Chairman of the Board ought to have been a more memorable news story,” said Saturn Girl. “Why didn’t I know about this?”

“Well, he did return safe and sound,” said Ten. “Although with no memory of where he had been. He is an artificial life-form, so that may account for the laissez-faire attitude. Just a robot. A centuries-old robot. Made of liquid gold.”

“I know you,” said Saturn Girl. “You are making some point, in your own roundabout way.”

“Indeed,” said Ten. “I believe that H&B Industries may have abducted the robot in order to reverse-engineer its technology to create their Non-Metal Men. Reprogramming them somewhat, of course.”

“Do you have proof?” asked Saturn Girl.

“Only a suspicion,” said Ten. “I do not know how else they could have acquired lost centuries-old Responsometer technology. We know they have repurposed outmoded technology before. They purchased a non-functioning Superboy robot, an Ultra Boy robot, and a Zaryan robot which formerly belonged to the original Legion of Super-Heroes. And one of Nardo’s android replicas. Then repaired them, thus making up the core of their artificial life-form group.”

“They also had Hasahl make another Lucifer android,” remarked Saturn Girl. “Series thirteen. Supposedly built with an Ethics Chip. All completely legal, of course. They are creating a small force of cybernetic Adventurers. But I’m sure something else less legitimate is also going on on Deimos.”

“Why are you so suspicious of them?” asked Yzopok Girl. “They have never been anything but open with us, even inviting us to visit their training facility.”

“You don’t know the history,” said Saturn Girl.

“Not from around here, Dorrit,” said Yzopok Girl. “Grew up in another dimension, remember?”

“NLSH, Inc, a Deimos Corporation, dba The New Legion of Super Heroes, LLC, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hanscom-Burrane Industries. A few decades ago, the Hanscom and the Burrane families fought a multi-generational war for control of the Starfinger Crime Syndicate. There was a lot of blood shed, and a lot of collateral damage. Innocent civilians. Eventually, all of the primaries of both families were either dead or imprisoned somewhere, and the Syndicate was dissolved. There were a lot of legal businesses involved, however, created to cover up the organized crime activities. Those went into receivership with the Interplanetary Bank for years. Eventually, some lawyers turned up a couple of distant cousins, Kjell Hanscom and Ferd Burrane, who teamed up to run the corporation as co-CEOs. They recast the old criminal connections of the business as more legitimate enterprises. The old protection rackets became Starfinger Security, the old escort businesses became Starfinger Staffing Services, the illegal gambling houses became… well, legal gambling operations. Then Starfinger Security discovered they had clients with special needs. Hanscom and Burrane spun off NLSH as a half-philanthropic, half-heroes-for-hire organization. Over the past three or four years, the SPs have gradually moved to working with them over our Super Hero Club. I suspect there may be money changing hands.”

“So you don’t like them because they are stealing our spotlight as heroes?” asked Yzopok Girl.

“You know, that doesn’t really bother me,” said Saturn Girl. “It allows us to pick and choose the cases we want to work on. And if good is being done, well, I really don’t mind who gets the credit for doing it. But something just seems-- off. Sometimes the NLSH seems overly aggressive, or… or taking the side of the big fish against the little fish.”

“Not the way you would handle things,” said Yzopok Girl. “But you’re not in charge over there.”

“I always appreciate your frank observations,” Saturn Girl replied.

“Why not just accept the New Legion’s invitation, go up to Deimos, and poke around with your Saturnian telepathy? There’s no telling what you will find.”

“Wow, I hadn’t thought of that,” said Saturn Girl. “But I’ve got so much on my plate. Maybe you could wander up and poke around with your Yzopokr telepathy. Maybe sometime this week. Deimos passes overhead every five days or so.”

“Maybe I will,” said Yzopok Girl. “Do you know you’re shielding your thoughts?”

“Am I?” said Saturn Girl. “Gosh. Force of habit, I guess.”

o o o

“I went up to Deimos today,” Yzopok Girl reported.

“Did you?” said Saturn Girl. “The headache will go away after a good night’s sleep.”

“I’ve never run into mind-blocker tech like that before. Do you know what it is?”

“Nope. No idea. But H&B must be big believers in psychic privacy for their Legionnaires.”

“You could have just told me,” said Yzopok Girl. “You know I’m going to be useless for the rest of the day.”

“You understand my suspicions now?” Saturn Girl asked.

“Well… maybe,” Viqi admitted. “Although I took a tour of their headquarters. They seemed very open.”

“They wouldn’t show you anything they wouldn’t want you to see, though, would they?”

“I sort of ‘got lost’ from the tour, and wandered about on my own for a little bit. I did see something odd. There was a vase-- well, to three-dimensional eyes it looked like a vase, but it was a little more complex up in the higher dimensions. There was a kid who seemed to have gotten trapped in there, and I helped him get out-- you know, with my phasing powers.”

Saturn Girl gasped. “You released something from a multi-dimensional bottle trap? Didn’t it occur to you that it might have been placed there for a reason? For all you know, it could have been some fifth-dimensional sorcerer!”

“He… I think he sort of introduced himself,” Yzopok Girl stammered. “One I got him out, all he said was ‘William Hasaram’, then gave a little bow, and vanished.”

Saturn Girl sighed with relief. “Oh, that’s just Mrshmllw. He’s harmless. Thinks of himself as an Adventurer of sorts. He likes to call himself The Zrfffn Imphunter.”

“Well, you gave me a scare for a moment there,” said Yzopok Girl. “I’m still getting used to all the unique perils of Earthside. And this headache doesn’t make it any easier.”

“Go lie down, and I’ll bring some soup to your quarters,” said Saturn Girl.



Yzopok Girl (Vqzga (Viqi) Gzxbp of Yzopok, Gnohhon System, Bgztlrside)
Saturn Girl (Dorrit Ardeen Ranzz of Winath, Amartan System)

this is quite a team you have built, Klar!

I like your conversational writing style. It reminds me a bit of some children's authors.

I take that as a real compliment, IB.

Some of my favorite authors are Lewis Carrol, A.A. Milne, J.M. Barrie, L. Frank Baum, and Johnny Cruelle.
Terrible and horrifying things happen in the stories of Peter Pan, the Land of Oz, and the world of Raggedy Ann and Andy. But because of the authors’ straightforward, matter-of-fact style, many little children read these stories without trauma.
(On the other hand, I knew a teen-aged girl from Sweden who read a translation of “Alice in Wonderland” and remarked, “This is like a nightmare”. Yes, yes it is. Exactly.)

Ernest Hemingway invented the “Iceberg Theory” of storytelling, where 9O% of the information you know about the characters is kept from the reader, The theory is that this makes the story more mysterious, engaging, and compelling-- and also life-like, because we know very little about the world as we experience it. Imagine yourself driving through suburbia, passing house after house, each house full of stories of families you will never meet, and never know. It is fascinating to think about.

I have on occasion forced myself to write “Iceberg” stories, particularly in Creative Writing classes. But I am more comfortable with the J.R.R. Tolkien method, which I call the “Brain Dump”. Every tiny detail of the author’s imaginary world is spelled out, right there on the page, mostly through exposition and digressions, sometimes through footnotes and appendices.

(You see what I did there?)

Glad you take it as a compliment, Klar, I fully intended it as one

And indeed, I’ve read works from most of the authors you list - and I appreciated the style. I like the “Brain Dump” style for making works more accessible…

“You would think that Trade would be more profitable than War,” Chel-Eb opined.

“Khunds don’t trade,” said Star-Woman. “They conquer.”

“They have tried to ‘conquer’ Xolnar before,” Chel-Eb mused.

“The Empire is not monolithic,” Star-Woman reminded him. “Others have been defeated, but for some young Warlord, Xolnar is too tempting a prize.”

“Xolnar is honeycombed with Pluridium mines,” said Kid Ultraboy. “More pluridium than any other world in the Khundish Empire-- or in the U.P., for that matter. And they use it to fuel their starships. Unbelievable.”

“They use it to catalyze warp reactions,” Star-Woman corrected her. “A little Pluridium goes a long way, but eventually burns out.”

“We appreciate the Kassandran system lending you to us,” said Kid Ultraboy. “It must be hard being the Planetary Champion of two worlds.”

“Three,” said Star-Woman. “I am on call with Xanthu as well. The strategy is non-fatal containment, I understand. Disable their weapons, including any fighter on board the main ships. They might be disguised as escape pods, but don’t be fooled-- Khunds don’t believe in escape pods.”

“And don’t allow them to reach landfall,” added Chel-Eb. “That means destroying landing gear, if necessary.”

“We have no intelligence on what ships or how many are being deployed,” said Star-Woman. “So use your vision powers, be careful, and be diligent.”

Silently, a subspace transwarp portal opened in the distance. The Khundish Armada came through.

Star-Woman stared into the distance. “I count… 128 ships of various sizes.”

“Confirmed,” said Chel-Eb.

“Doubly confirmed,” said Kid Ultraboy. “That would make… about fifty thousand warriors. I do not want to fight them all individually.”

“You’re right,” said Star-Woman. “Some of them might get hurt. Keep communications open.” She darted off into the blackness of space, toward the invasion force.

“This shouldn’t take long,” said Chel-Eb, and vanished as well.

As Star-Woman and Chel-Eb ripped weapons from their moorings, cauterizing the damaged hulls, Kid Ultraboy had to work more slowly. Fading into intangibility, she flew through space at ultra-speed. Phasing through a ship’s hull, she scanned for weapons systems. On finding one, she would materialize, switch to ultra-strength, and do as much damage as she could. If the controls were guarded, she would remain intangible and use flash vision to melt anything that looked important. Once she was surprised by a platoon of soldiers, and quickly switched to invulnerability before turning intangible again. She was enjoying herself smashing up a small attack vessel when her attention was drawn to some sound in the distance. She scanned the ship again with ultravision.

“Someone else is here,” she announced through her telepathic earplugs. “And they’re destroying the engines.”

“Stupid, stupid stupid,” Star-Woman swore. “How are they supposed to get home? Now we’ll need a fleet of military SPs to piggyback them back into Khundish space.”

“Did you see who it was?” asked Chel-Eb.

“No, they were moving too fast,” said Kid Ultraboy.

“Wait, I see them,” said Chel-Eb. “Two humanoids, one male, one female.”

“We don’t have time for this,” said Star-Woman. “We’ve only disabled about a quarter of the armada.”

“You work faster than I do,” said Kid Ultraboy. “Let me try to intercept them, and talk some sense into them.”

She quickly found one of the interlopers. She tried to grab him, but he shrugged her off as if she were a flea. She followed him as he zig-zagged through the ships like a missile. His actions were predictable, so she was able to get out in front of him. The Khunds had started firing on him, but with no effect. In the vacuum of space, speech was impossible, but she used her flash-vision to scorch the message “Stop Destroying The Engines” in Interlac on the next ship. He ignored it, and crashed right through, leaving a gaping hole. She tried the same message on the next ship, with the same result. On the third ship he wrote, “How Will They Get Home?” He crashed right through the message, then circled back and scorched his own message into the side of the ship: “Who Are You?” She responded by writing again, “Kid Ultraboy of the Super-Hero Club. I have two friends who are disabling…” But the second party-crasher, the female, had shown up. She pulled what looked very much like a telepathic plug out of her ear, and motioned to Kid Ultraboy to do the same. There was a little flashing of lights, and she replaced the earplug, motioning Kid Ultraboy to copy her.

“That’s better,” said the woman. “Our telepathic earplugs are now paired.” She scanned the wreckage of the Khund ships around them. “Your friends are doing a good job. I’m Skygirl of the New Legion of Super-Heroes, and this is my little brother, Skyboy.”


{Skyboy (Kando of Kormo) and Skygirl (Kyrkka of Kormo)}



“Are you hearing this?” Kid Ultraboy asked Chel-Eb and Star-Woman.

“Yes,” was the unanimous reply.

“We can hear your friends, too,” said Skyboy.

“Listen, why don’t the five of us meet down on the planet?” suggested Star-Woman. “We’re almost done here.”

“A few of these ships are carrying Kryptonite,” Chel-Eb reported. “Kallor, I’ll leave them for you.”

“They really are very efficient,” said Kid Ultraboy. “Can the three of us give it up, and just discuss this planetside?”

“All right,” said Skygirl.

o o o

“Our ship was a casualty,” said Skygirl. “My brother and I are Kormons; we can survive in space, but can’t open spacewarps like Kryptonians and Daxamites. I don’t suppose you could give us a lift home?”

“My cruiser is parked in orbit,” said Star-Woman. “But I’m on my way back to Naltor.”

“Chel-Eb and I can take you back to Mars,” said Kid Ultraboy. “That’s just a quick jump from Deimos. I would have to scan you first.”

“Scan away,” said Skyboy. “I’ve got nothing to hide.”

“No, you do not,” said Kid Ultraboy. “And my penetra-vision if very thorough.” She tapped her earpiece. “Four for the Pentachoron,” she said.

And they were on Mars, right in front of the Super-Hero Clubhouse.

Magissa had a sharp face with olive skin, green eyes, and hair as black as a moonless midnight. Her working clothes were green-black robes and a matching pointed hat. But off-duty, she favored classic Romani dress, in autumnal colors. “Who is this?” she asked.

“Skygirl and Skyboy of the New Legion,” Skygirl replied.

“Juno Kazan of Witchhaven, but you can call me Magissa.”

“We don’t have any magic-workers on Deimos…” Skygirl began. She swayed for a moment, then passed out. Skyboy quickly followed his little sister to the ground.

o o o


The two unconscious siblings lay in unused quarters in the Clubhouse.

“The first thing to do,” said Ten, “is to unpair these telepathic earplugs. The NLSH has had full access to our communication network since you connected.” There was a little flash and beep as the devices unpaired. “I have reset access protection for our network, so they will not be able to reconnect.”

“But you could hack into their communications at any time?” asked Saturn Girl.

“That is a question for another time. The next order of business is to contact my Adult Guardian, and bring him to Mars, if possible.” He looked around. “For the benefit of the new Members, he is a renowned medical exo-biologist.”

o o o

“An interesting factoid regarding Kormons,” said Renlo Tagor. “All of their fingerprints are identical. One does not see them often away from their homeworld. These two are a case in point as to why. They are both suffering from what has been termed pyrexia solaaurumnis: Gold Sun Fever. The first stage is amnesia, then a sort of controlled mania, and finally catatonia. It has never been seen to advance beyond the third stage, but organ failure leading to fatality is likely.”

“So the yellow sun which gives them Daxamite-like powers is toxic to them?” asked Ten.

Renlo Tagor nodded. “They are unable to fully process the sub-yellow energies, resulting in… something like overcharging a battery. Fortunately, the treatment is simplicity itself: place them back in a red-sun environment. I have had a pair of red-sun lamps imported from Colu. You should ask Chel-Eb to keep away from this section of the Clubhouse. With his condition, depowering due to red solar energies could be debilitating.”

“You said the first symptom is amnesia,” said Saturn Girl. “So they may not be who they say they are?”

“Ask them after they wake up,” said Renlo Tagor.

“They seemed perfectly rational when I spoke with them,” said Kid Ultraboy.

“The wanton destruction of the Khund vessels,” said Renlo Tagor, “Without consideration of the consequences, would indicate otherwise. But I must now make my way up to Deimos, and see if Hanscom and Burrane provide medical services to their little Legion, and why they allowed the Kormon’s condition to progress so far. Hopefully there will be a Head Physician that I can berate.”

o o o

“You have stopped using the name Mighty Lad,” Kid Ultraboy commented.

“It was beginning to sound juvenile,” said Korvea. “Chel-Eb is fine for now.”

“I was thinking of calling myself ‘Zygai’-- the Kryptonian word for hero,” said Chel-Eb. “But it sounds silly in Interlac. Or ‘Mordo’, after the six-armed Kryptonian Hercules, one of the Aspects of Rao. But in some common planetary languages, ‘Mordo’ can mean ‘animal face’, ‘rebellion’, ‘death’, or ‘one who bites’. Then, it could be confused with Mordru as well.”

“ I have never used a code-name myself,” said Korvea.

“Well, Kid Ultraboy is also getting old. Perhaps I should just start using the name Arna.”

“It is breaking a long tradition among adventurers,” said Chel-Eb. “Shall we all begin using our ordinary names?”

“How does Daughter of Nah sound?” asked Kid Ultraboy.


Kid Ultraboy (Arna Nah of Gzbk)



Korvea (Korvea Mallor of Talok VIII)




Chel-Eb of Krypton, formerly Mighty Lad[b], formerly [b]Fat Boy (he has lost weight since living under a yellow sun)


[img]https://64.media.tumblr.com/5d8e1c4...7e23b9209dd4640297030aa77be8bebc271b.pnj[/img]
Star-Woman (Kallor Nal of Naltor)


o o o

“Dorrit,” said Ten. “Our Kormon guests have been relocated to Deimos. My Adult Guardian reports that they have a small Medicus in their headquarters, and that the physicians there are aware of the Gold Sun Fever problem. The siblings sleep in quarters with red solar emitters, but have been on assignments away from Deimos recently. The physicians' group claimed ignorance regarding how quickly the illness progresses. They have promised to be more circumspect in the future. Still, I find myself concerned with their laxity.

Saturn Girl nodded. “I like your Adult Guardian. If it had been Brainiac 5, he just would have said, ‘no time to explain’ over and over again. At least Dr. Tagor let us know what was going on.”

“Had it been nearly any other Coluan,” said Ten, “They would have presented an eighteen-page analysis of Kormon physiology, including footnotes. I take some credit. I have learned from my time with the Club that most non-Coluans do not need terabytes of data presented. But that does not mean no information needs to be conveyed. Simplified, relevant explanations as to causes and motives are welcomed and expected. I wrote a treatise on it about four years ago. My Adult Guardian was one of the few who found it valuable, due to his interest in exobiology.”

“If you can get Coluans talking to the rest of the U.P., you will have done a great work,” said Saturn Girl.

I dig the ongoing interactions with the new Legion of Super-Heroes but my biggest takeaway from this last lot of stories is that the Non-Metal Men is an awesome idea!!

OK, Raz, here is more information than you want or need:
I have created more than fifty new characters to populate NLSH, Inc, a Deimos Corporation, dba The New Legion of Super Heroes, LLC, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hanscom-Burrane Industries.
Not all of them will appear.

And by “Click to Show Content” I mean “Here is Some Boring Stuff”.

The Non-Metal Men

Love it! I think I am going to spend a couple of hours in a periodic table rabbit hole now

“Why did you give up the name Alter Boy?” asked Sludge. “You don’t really turn into a monster, you just alter your form.”

“On my homeworld, my alternate forms are considered truly monstrous,” the young Jaquaan replied. “Even my ‘humanoid’ form is considered grotesque.”

“And that was the reason you changed your name?” asked Sludge.

“There was already an ‘Alterhawk’ on Deimos. He’s from Novae Xanshi, with the ability to randomly modify the super-powers of others.“

“You know Saturn Girl is suspicious of the NLSH?”

“Everyone knows that by now,” said Ghurwil. “But I found them a perfectly acceptable Adventurer organization.”

“Why did you leave?” asked Sludge.

“You know, I applied to the Super-Hero Club first,” said Monster Boy. “Under the name of Variable Lad 2. The New Legion of Super-Heroes is more like a military academy. The Club has more of a family feel to it. Family is important on Jaquaa. As few Jaquaans are capable of replicating, those who can have large families. We have scores of siblings, and even more cousins. Yet Jaquaa is always on the verge of a population collapse.”

“On Pantano,” said Sludge, “We have had a stable population for centuries. We don’t even think about it.”

“On Terra,” said Monster Boy, “There are animals called Lagomorphs that breed outrageously.. They take population growth to the extreme, in an attempt to outbreed their predators. Eventually, their populations become so large they either exhaust the food supply, or overcrowding breeds disease. The population crashes to nearly zero. Their predators also starve to death, so things are still kept more-or-less in balance. Then the cycle continues. It seems like a detestable way to live.”

Sludge and Monster Boy were joined at the Spacetime Pentachoron by Ten, Botboy, Magissa, and Bouch. Venus was only a quick distortion away.

“When Venus was terraformed,” Ten explained, “There was a complement of Earthlings who wanted to preserve the natural Venetian environment. As a compromise, 12.5% of the planet’s surface was left unchanged, separated from the rest of the world by forcefields and polymer domes. We have received a notice from EarthGov that there has been a breach, and some of the native fauna has escaped. The Justice League of Earth is working with IshtraGov techs to repair the breach; they have asked us to round up the animals.”

Magissa nodded. “This is similar to the training exercises the old Legion were sometimes involved in,” she said. “Ten gave me the heads-up early, and I have prepared some scrying potions to track and observe the escaped Venusian creatures. Keep in touch with me, and I will give you your assignments.”

“It is important to work quickly,” said Ten. “These beasts are not able to survive long in the Terraformed environment. Many may be suffering badly already.”

Magissa quickly directed Sludge to a couple of gorillions lying on the ground.

“<<Quickly>>,” Magissa directed. “<<I think they are freezing to death>>.”

Sludge extruded his slime beneath the pair, reducing its coefficient of friction to near zero. He was then able to push the two massive creatures to an opening in a polymer dome.

“I can’t produce my slime in a trans-suit,” he explained to the IshtranGov techs. “Can you get them to safety without me entering your 9OO-degree, acid-filled landscape?”

The hazmat-suited techs nodded, producing a couple of sets of null-grav lifting gear.

After some trial and error, Monster Boy transformed into a tall, bushy tree-like form, sending out an effusion of some silico-sulfurous fragrance which at first attracted scores of luminous nightcrawlers and maggot-like creatures. Bouch was able to return them to their natural environment in the enclosure.

Later, they were visited by larger creatures, resembling flying crocodiles, crocosaurs, and giant frogs which required Bouch to consume a considerable amount of stone and debris to gain size and strength enough to handle the creatures.

Meanwhile, Sludge was able to handle a half-dozen assorted varieties of furry pachyderms, as well as a couple of “bulletproof tigers”, using webby cocoons of sticky slime to immobilize them and avenues of slicker slime to move them on.

Ten had engineered a flight ring into Botboy, and Magissa directed them to a flock of vaporous “cloud-rays". Almost indistinguishable from the giant sting-rays of Earth, they were far more diaphanous in structure, making the skies their home, rather than the seas.

“We need to treat them carefully,” Ten explained. “They are extremely fragile…”

The two were knocked from the sky by a deafening concussive blast. The cloud-rays dissipated into precipitating powders of silicon sulfides.

“Great Yod,” Ten exclaimed. “What in the Cosmos…”

“I recognize that,” said Botboy. “EarthGov must have called on the NLSH as well. That was one of Thoom’s concussive blasts. The people of Urrika-3 often undergo elective cybernetic surgery, like the Khunds. Thoom has had kinetic blast generators attached to his wrists. They give him a kind of super-strength, and, well, concussive blasts like that one.”

“But why would he use it on the rays?” asked Ten. “If the NLSH is here, they ought to be trying to rescue these creatures, not destroy them.”

“Thoom sometimes underestimates his own strength,” said Botboy. “He may have been just trying to knock them out of the sky.”

A complement of the New Legion came flying up on jet-packs. Ten recognized the siblings Null and Void of Exxor, an Antarean protean, and the entire Replacements team of Bdelugmos, whom he had so recently rejected. He assumed the white-skinned, bald-headed Urrikan was Thoom.

H&B’s New Legion of Super Heroes certainly has more influence with UPGov than The Super Hero Club, Ten thought to himself.

“Our apologies,” said Solar Boy, through his mask. “Our companion got carried away.”

“Don’t apologize to us,” said Ten. “Apologize to IshtraGov. These creatures are exceptionally rare.”

The New Legionnaires with visible human faces looked abashed.

At that moment, Magissa gave the telepathic all-clear. All the escapees had been accounted for, living or not. Ten signaled to Botboy, and they returned to reunite with the rest of the Members.

o o o

“Do you think they managed to get visas for their parents as well?” Saturn Girl wondered.

“I cannot believe they would have left Bdelugmos under any other conditions,” said Ten. “But I will report that in spite of the interference of the NLSH, the junior team acquitted themselves very well.”

o o o

“I brought back a Venusian animal,” said Magissa, abashedly. “It stowed away in my minicauldron. A sneep.”



“We are aware,” said Ten. “The pentachoron detected the anomalous member when our party returned home.”

“Do you think IshtraGov might let me keep him?” asked Magissa. “He’s carbon-based, and I think he could adapt to Mars.”

“Sneep are not native to Venus,” Ten replied. “Having arrived subsequent to its full terraforming. No one really knows on what world they originated. They are something of an invasive species, and IshtraGov amenable to one being transported off-world. MarsGov animal control wants it registered, and they will have regulators monitor our treatment of it. They do not want an infestation on Mars. You wanted to keep it as a pet?”

“He’s very bright,” said Magissa. “I wanted to try to train him as a familiar. I’ve already named him Toby.”

“An appropriate name for a witch’s familiar,” Ten remarked. “Tobias ben Tobit was a noted exorcist in ancient Terran literature.”

Villian the Sorcerer had dropped by to visit old friends. He had only become more distinguished as he approached thirty.

“Things have certainly changed since I last saw you,” he told Phantom Girl. “Most of the old members are gone.”

“It's just Dorrit, Txarlz, Korvea, and I,” said Phantom Girl. “Everyone eise is new. It’s a long way for you to come, just to say ‘Hello’, after all these years.”

“My troupe begins a tour on Neptune in a couple of days,” Villian explained. “I had…”
He was suddenly distracted by the passing of a young girl with a mystic aura, less than half his age.

“Finally, a Club Member from the Sorcerer’s World?” he asked Phantom Girl.

“I am no sorceress,” Magissa replied. “I have no need to disguise my true name. I was born, raised, and trained on Witchhaven. You are Tharnan?”

“Sadly, I am a failed sorcerer’s apprentice,” Villian admitted. “I now make my living performing only stage magic in traveling circuses across the United Planets. Hm…on Tharn, we were taught that Witchhaven has no true magic. Obviously we were misinformed. There is a powerful magical aura about you.”

“Yes, the Sorcerer’s World claims that Witchhaven is merely the home of charlatans and snake-oil sellers. And we are taught that Tharnans consort with demons, and desecrate the bodies of the dead. No offense intended,” Magissa laughed. “I am a potionmaker; my skill is a magical art. I don't entertain with fake legerdemain; I can brew potions to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses; stopper fame, brew glory, or bottle oblivion. A sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. I can create a stone that will neutralize most poisons-- even after they have been administered. I can see your past and future revealed in a single glance at a still bowl of smoky, silver liquid.”

o o o o o o

WHO’S WHO IN THE EARTH-K2 PARACOSM

VILLIAN THE SORCERER

Bandar Sammad had been interested in magic ever since he had seen an amusement “fakir” perform in a local concert hall.

{In the 31st century, there are few true fakirs left, as almsgiving is a function that has been subsumed into the federal, planetary, and U.P. governments. There are many more “manoranjak fakirs”, who perform for the entertainment of the masses. Rope tricks, escapology, and snake-charming are usually included in these shows. Many of these performers are not of Indian descent.}

It was, of course, stage magic. But Bandar became enamored of the real thing. This was somewhat embarrassing to his family.

His father, Dr. Ali Sammad, was a respected professor of economics at the Nizam College of Osmania University. His mother Khadija was a local politician, a member of the city-state government of Hyperbad.

Nevertheless, he persisted. At the age of fifteen, Bandar was admitted to Myrddin University on Tharn, the Sorcerer’s world, in the Freshman class of apprentices.

He soon discovered he had absolutely no talent for magic at all.

Even a simple candle-lighting spell seemed beyond his abilities.

Still, he managed to struggle by for two years, always at the bottom of his class. He was not immediately expelled due to his teaching himself prestidigitation and other stage magic to hide his incompetence, and his very real ability to identify real magic and magical auras. At some point in their education, apprentices are encouraged to take magical pseudonyms to protence their true names. Due to his frequent failures in magical exams, Bandar took the pseudonym ‘Bungle Spelling’.

However, all good things must come to an end, and late in his second year, his deceptions were exposed, and he was expelled. He returned to Earth. His psych-scores being impressive enough, he enrolled in Metropolis University, at first majoring in Philosophy of Science. He was one of the founders of the Super-Villain Club, an ironically-named campus organization dedicated to protesting growing anti-alien sentiment on Earth. In accordance with his new interests, he changed his major to Political Science. At the same time, he began earning money by performing on- and off-campus in private gatherings displaying his abilities in stage magic, taking the name Villian the Sorcerer.

{Other members of the Super-Villain Club were Kimota Grezz (Black Flame), Anne Foxmoor (Evil-Eye Annie), Atta-Karr of Neptune (Razor), and Melaneus Niedrigh Mallor, later known as Collage. Some of these were the actual children of former ‘super-villains’.}

At the wrong place at the wrong time during an anti-alien protest (and counter-protest), Bandar and the rest of the “super-villains” were expelled from Metropolis University and banished from Earth while awaiting trial, and found a home for a short time at the Super-Hero Club clubhouse on Mars.

Cleared of all charges, Bandar went on to complete his education, and graduated with a degree in Performing Arts, and ultimately found a position with an intragalactic traveling circus. The members of the circus troupe also hold the honorary titles of United Planets Goodwill Ambassadors.

The Sammad Family:
Dr. Ali Sammad (retired economist), father (age: 6O’s)
Khadija Sammad (local politician), mother (age: 5O’s)
Bandar Sammad, aka Bungle Spelling, aka Villian the Sorcerer (age: 27)
Mo Sammad, younger brother (age: 14)
Hajri Sammad, younger sister (age: 8)
Martin Dhuon, the Sammad family’s giant manny

o o o o o o

WHO’S WHO IN THE EARTH-K2 PARACOSM

MAGISSA
Juno Kazan was born, raised and educated on the planet Witchhaven, the daughter of Thomas Kazan and Floretta Manyar. She has an older brother named Isaac whose magical talents lie more in the psychic line. Her family is of Romani descent, with a family history dating back over twenty centuries.
She has a sharp face, with olive skin, cat-green eyes, and hair as black as a moonless midnight. Her working clothes are green-black robes and a matching pointed hat. Off-duty, she favors classic Romani dress, in autumnal colors.

Juno grew up in a mountainous region near an inland sea called the Gansas Highlands.
The climate there is somewhat similar to Scotland: cool, damp, marshy, and frequently overcast.
At the age of six, she showed a precocious talent for potion-making, and was taken under the tutelage of Swamini Phoola Visha.
Witchhaven has a bad reputation on the Sorcerer’s World, as sorcery is considered superior to witchcraft.
The feeling is mutual.

As the area around the Super-Hero Clubhouse on Mars is protected by a powerful anti-magic spell (courtesy of the First Coventry of Sorcerer’s World), Magissa has her own “witch’s cottage” somewhat removed from the main building in which she conducts her experiments.

She has a half-dozen memory crystals which contain her ‘recipe books’, but many of them contain only holograms of old alchemical tomes, which have not yet been translated into Interlac.

Abilities

Healing:
Given sufficient prep time and the proper ingredients, Magissa’s potions can heal virtually any illness or injury, short of death. Some infected excrescence from the patient is usually necessary: e.g. blood, sweat, tears, pus, or lymph.

Glamours:
These concoctions usually take the form of powders, usually sparkly. The illusions and hallucinations produced may be general or detailed, convincing or merely artistic. All effects are transitory, to one extent or another.

Scrying:
Scrying fluids allow the user to see specified geographical areas at particular times, or the past or future of an individual or object. Often the visions conjured up are subject to interpretations.

Poisons:
Alchemy is hardly necessary to brew poisons, but there are some deadly concoctions. It is also possible to induce only debilitation or deformity, either temporary or permanent.

Psychic Affect:
There are potions to excite or inhibit love, lust, hate, fear, envy, appetite and any number of other psychic conditions. There are potions which carry delusions to the mind. All of these are of limited duration.

Chemistry:
Even without using magic, is a perfectly capable Chemistry Laboratory Technician. She is as proficient as Ten in creating Profem or Norgine or any number or other common chemical concoctions. Providing she has access to the proper ingredients, that is. Her witch’s cottage on Mars always has the proper equipment.

Limitations:
Certainly there are potions which transform and transmute, but these are beyond Juno’s training. Besides, many of the ingredients are exceedingly rare and expensive. So while she is perfectly capable of a glamour which would make a bar of iron appear to be a bar of gold, she does not actually transmute lead into gold.
Similarly, there are a number of ways she could brew a potion which would convince others that a prince is a frog, or one which would (temporarily) convince some prince that they indeed were a frog. But it is beyond her power at present to create a potion which would actually transform a human being into a frog.
There are a couple of clever little potions, technically in the ‘poison’ category, that will permanently give a person pointed ears, change the color of their eyes, or cause them to (temporarily) grow an extra set of thumbs.

Magissa has recently acquired a familiar: a purple, round-headed Venusian Sneep named Toby.

“Welcome home,” said Pol.

“They say ‘you can’t go home again’,” said Dorrit. “Coming back to Winath is like a visit to the past for me.”

“This is our home now,” said Dacey. “Our time away from Winath was something like a long vacation for us.”

“I have ten thousand things to see before I see Winath as home again,” said Dorrit.

Dacey laughed. “Well, Lightning Ring Farms, and Pol, are Home enough for me.”

Pol looked into Dacey’s eyes. She blushed.

“‘Where she was, was Eden,’” he quoted. He turned to Dorrit. “Let’s talk about our visit to Deimos after dinner,” he said.

The young Krinns had an asparagus fern growing in the yard outside their little home. Dorrit thought it so sweet, it was like eating strips of green cake. The rest of the meal was the same. The elder Krinns and Ranzzes regularly shipped care packages of fresh produce to the Super Hero Clubhouse, to supplement the food from the AutoChef. But Dorrit had forgotten how delicious a whole meal fresh from the farm could be. She ate more than she should have; more than was good for her. More than her sister and brother-in-law, who had been on Winath so long they took its bounty for granted.

In fact, she was feeling a little drowsy when Dacey said, “Let’s go to the living room and talk about it.”

Of course there was an overstuffed chair for Dorrit, and a loveseat for Pol and Dacey. If she didn’t love her sister so much herself, she might have felt a bit nauseated as the two cuddled together.

“So what do you think of these New Legionnaires?” asked Dorrit.

“We only left Mars a little over a year ago,” said Dacey. “Even without our costumes, I’m pretty sure everyone we met on our tour knew who we were, and were on their best behavior. But none of the New Legionnaires we did meet seemed particularly suspicious. A little green, overenthusiastic, and awkward, but we were the same once. There was something odd about the building itself: the Legion HQ on Deimos is huge, and laid out with meandering, labyrinthine corridors. But there is clearly a lot of empty, unused space there. Its like a building hidden inside another building.”

“You know Dacey can sense electric fields,” said Pol, “And I have both Kathooni infra-red vision, and Braalien quantum magno-vision. So we can see when there are hollows behind a wall, if not clearly everything that is there. Dacey is pretty sure some of these hidden rooms had machines in them, and I’m pretty sure there were a few people, too.
“And we did meet a couple of New Legionnaires who we think could use some help. Have you ever heard of the Land of Oz?”

“Sure,” said Dorrit. “It’s a fictional place from literature, like Narnia, or Fairy-Tale Woods, or Diogenes’ Cloudcuckooland, or Butler’s Erewhon.”

“Well, it may not be so fictional,” said Pol. “They have a meet-and-greet after the tour, where some of the New Legionnaires introduce themselves to the visitors, and show off their powers. We met a girl named Suzi Jamb, who claims she is from the real Oz, somewhere in Faeryland. She calls herself the Were-Woozie, and is able to transform into a bizarre blue creature that looks all squares and corners, like it was made out of building-blocks. In this form, she is nigh-invulnerable, and has a kind of magical, short-range heat vision. But she confided to us that all she really wanted was to go home: but no one knows where there is a portal to Faeryland.”

“How did Hanscom and Burrane find her?” asked Dorrit.

“She didn’t say,” said Pol. “She kind of got called away in the middle of our discussion.”

“Speaking of lost legends,” said Dacey, “We also met a Yellow Martian. Her name is Paz Yaldah-- or maybe P’Az Y’Aldah-- and calls herself Golden Girl. She’s older than most of the members. Tall, statuesque. If she were human, I’d guess she was in her thirties. She told us that centuries ago, the Yellow Martians fled the war between the Whites and Greens, and settled on a world called Ra’Akham H’Ronmeer, a small planet orbiting a red dwarf star. She wants to go home too, but no one in the United Planets knows where Ra’Akham H’Ronmeer is located. She said it's possible it has been visited by UP explorers, but they would have found no sign of intelligent life: only rocks and trees. The Ra’Akhmanii-- the Martians-- like their privacy, and would conceal themselves from any alien visitors.”

“And how did she end up a New Legionnaire?” Dorrit asked.

“She said she came to Mars on a pilgrimage,” said Dacey. “But then… I’m not sure how she got lost, or why she doesn’t know where her homeworld is herself. We were only able to talk to these people for a few minutes before they were called away elsewhere.”

“Don’t you find that odd?” asked Dorrit.

“It all seemed pretty natural at the time,” said Dacey. “The New Legion Headquarters is a busy place.”

“We met someone else you might have heard of,” said Pol. “El Mano De Angtu.”

“Mano? You’re joking,” said Dorrit. “Oh, no, you’re not. Mano is a member?”

“Not exactly,” said Pol. “The HQ is very complete: they have a hospital wing. We were walking out past it when we met him. He looked older than you would think. Confined to a grav-chair, emaciated, his skin lemon-yellow and papery. He wore only a leather diaper and a fishbowl-helmet attached to some sort of life-support belt, and a glove on his right hand..
“He was accompanied by his private nurse. I’ve seen a number of aliens, but his appearance was… disconcerting. His eyes were completely human, and the skin around them normal, if tinged with green. But it quickly became translucent, then almost transparent, by the time you reached his cheeks. The skull, nerves, blood vessels and muscles under the skin were completely visible. But his muscle tissue did not look as you would expect: instead it resembled writhing masses of elongated maggots, with small, dark masses weaving in and out here and there. The translucent skin bubbled and pulsed with the motion beneath. I’ll admit it was difficult for me to keep my composure.
“He introduced himself as Douglas Nolan, and his voice was as gentle and soothing as his face was horrifying. I talked to Mom later, and she told me his brother had been a member of the original Legion, far in the distant past.
“Mano was amused when he saw us. ‘I knew your parents,’ he said. He explained that Hanscom and Burrane had discovered that his powers did not work the way everyone believed they did, after all these years. His power does not disintegrate things, but moves them whole into another dimension; a dimension where time is in stasis. Hanscom and Burrane were working with Mano on a way to access that dimension, and bring everyone back. Including the entire planet Angtu, with its billions of inhabitants, unchanged after over fifty years.
“Mano had a room filled with mists which replicated the strange, smoggy atmosphere of his homeworld. There, he could remove his helmet and still live. In his invulnerable iron form, Mr. Nolan could accompany him without difficulty as well. They made him as comfortable as possible while conducting their research.”

“Hanscom and Burrane are definitely pursuing some worthy work,” said Dacey. “I think you need to stop worrying about this.”

Dorrit mused. “Maybe so,” she said.

It was raining on Mars.

It’s a small world, after all, and when it rains on Mars it rains everywhere all at once..

“You know the old saying,” said Saturn Girl. “Dhanus Showers Bring Makara Flowers.”

Ten shrugged.

“I am receiving a distress call,” said Botboy, who had been manning the viewscreen of the Mission Monitor Board. “It is weak, and intermittent.”

Dorrit, is that y ^^^ ? This is Jan Arr ^^^ ried to contact ^^^ onn Winath, but it’s too far ^^^ damaged equipment. Can you help us? ^^^ ship inoperable ^^^ how much longer we can survive…

“Where is that message coming from?” asked Dorrit.

“Dryad, in the Korlon system,” said Botboy. “Korlon is undergoing substantial stellar instability at the moment, and the increasingly chaotic flares and stellar wind are causing much interference.”

“It’s a distress call,” said Saturn Girl. “They are clearly in distress. The question is, how do we help them?”

“We could ask the Circadians to determine the coordinates of the distressed ship ,” said Ten. “And bring it and its passengers here.”

“Get everyone on-planet down to the Pentachoron,” Saturn Girl ordered. “We are going in blind; we have no idea what we will be dealing with. Let’s just hope this is not a deception or a trap.”

The ship had a broad base and a tall central spire, looking something like a metallic whiskey bottle. It was battered and scarred, and in a few places had been inexpertly repaired. An archway in the side opened. A tall, blonde-bearded, broad-shouldered man, well into middle age, was carrying a slightly younger dark haired man in his arms.

“We need to get him to a hospital,” said the older man. “Fever, chills, convulsions, delirium, I have no idea what is wrong with him.”

The younger man tore out of the older man’s arms, screamed, ran a few yards screaming, then collapsed, twitching. Yzopok Girl ran to his side.

“The brain controls the body,” she said, “If you probe deep enough.”

“That is… brilliant,” said Saturn Girl. The younger man now lay peacefully on the sandy martian soil. “You will have to teach me that technique.”

“I may soon need your help,” said Yzopok Girl. “His body is rebelling. There is something fundamentally wrong.”

“I need a diagnosis before I can prepare an appropriate potion,” said Magissa. “Any ideas?”

“Perhaps it is time to call upon the medical knowledge of your Adult Guardian again,” Botboy suggested to Ten.

o o o o o o

Renlo Tagor appeared in holographic form. “Jan Arrah. One of the associates of Querl Dox. Are you ill?”

Jan Arrah indicated his friend trembling on the couch. “His name is Hadru Jamik… “ he began.

“I cannot help you,” Renlo Tagor interrupted. “The diagnosis is obvious: his psychocatalytic powers are out of control, ravaging his body, randomly slowing and accelerating chemical reactions. But he can be helped, it is only by the recombinant DNA technologists on his homeworld of Phlon. Their work is highly classified by PhlonGov. Even Colu has not been able to pierce their veil of secrecy. And, of course, no one has access to the DNA structures saved from Condo Arlik which were used to empower him. It would be foolish for me to attempt to treat him. You must get him to Phlon.” His hologram vanished.

“Your Pentachoron can easily take us to one of the hospitals or research centers on Phlon,” said Jan Arrah.

“We cannot,” Circadia Segundus informed the Club.

“It is not a matter of technology,” Circadia Ascheon added. “Visitation to Phlon is heavily regulated. To suddenly appear without proper authorization, even for a Phlonite citizen, would cause an interplanetary diplomatic incident.”

“It’s true,” said Jan Arrah. “My visitor’s visa expired years ago. Even I have been unable to renew it..”

“Even you?” asked Saturn Girl.

“I used to be a minor celebrity,” said Jan Arrah. “But not enough to break through the bureaucracy. What we need is a major celebrity. I need to contact Hadru's wife.”

Jan Arrah and Saturn Girl joined Ten and Botboy in the Mission Monitor Room. Jan Arrah chose the ordinary wallscreen.

A bored-looking young girl appeared. “This is Qarda’s communications director. How can I help you?”

“It isn’t,” Jan Arrah explained. “It’s an A.I. programmed to filter out irrelevant communications.” He faced the screen. “Begin recording. This is Jan Arrah. Tell Qarda Meson that her husband Hadru Jamik is ill. He needs transportation to the Medicus on Phlon as soon as possible. End recording.” He turned back to the Members. “Now we wait,” he said.

Ten looked puzzled. “Hadru Jamik’s wife is Qarda Meson? She is the premier influencer on Phlon.”

“And almost unknown anywhere else in the U.P.,” said Jan Arrah. “Your computer mind specializes in some interesting topics.”

“I contacted the hospitals in New Metropolis, Nix Olympica, and Mars City,” said Saturn Girl. “None of them are willing to admit a Phlonite, let alone an Arlikian-modified Phlonite.I’m not sure how we can keep your companion comfortable… or alive.”

o o o o o o

“He is quite ill,” Yzopok Girl reported. “I may not be able to keep his illness in abeyance long enough, even with Saturn Girl’s help.”

“I believe I can concoct a potion that will alleviate his worst symptoms,” said Magissa. “But for the magic to work, we will need to move him away from the clubhouse.”

“We could move him back to his quarters on our ship,” Jan Arrah suggested.

“I have been attempting to replicate his powers,” said Monster Boy. “In order to counter the havoc they are causing in his system.” He morphed into what resembled an immense, glowing, purple tower of toxic waste. “However,it would be difficult to fit into either the Clubhouse or the ship in this form.”

Hadru Jamik remained on Mars another five days. His condition was touch-and-go, but the combined efforts of Jan Arrah, Yzopok Girl, Saturn Girl, Magissa and Monster Boy kept him alive. In the end, Phlon sent a ship to transport both Hadru and Jan to the Medicus Phlon.

“I will return for our ship,” said Jan Arrah. “But I need to let you know… there is a third member of our crew. He has been in deep meditation until now, but is due to awaken soon. His appearance may be somewhat alarming, but he is harmless. No, not harmless. He is… he has remarkable self-control. Let me introduce a couple of you to him.”

Jan Arrah led Saturn Girl and Yzopok Girl into the ship. The third passenger appeared to be a massive pile of stone-- roughly humanoid in shape, well over eight feet tall seated. Miniature caldera dotted its rocky skin, some of which were smoking.

“Is it alive?” asked Yzopok Girl. “I don’t detect any mental activity.”

“Nor do I,” said Saturn Girl.

“Megalith is highly resistant to organic telepathy,” said Jan Arrah.

“Meg-A-Lith,” rumbled the stony giant, in a sleepy, far-off voice.

“Hadru and I will be back as soon as possible,” said Jan Arrah. “In the meantime, you are among friends.”

“Fri-Ends,” the creature rumbled.

o o o o o o

“Dryad is a graveyard world,” Megalith explained. “Dead. No animals. No plants. No life.”

“And yet it is your home?” asked Magissa. She had taken a great interest in the massive creature.

“I am from the distant past,” Megalith explained. “Only here because of an accident of time travel.”

“Where is your original home?” asked Magissa. “In time, I mean.”

“I am not good with U.P. or Earth calendars,” Megalith admitted. “Jan Arrah tells me my birth corresponds approximately with the fall of the Roman Empire, if that means anything to you.”

“Older than my family’s lineage,” said Magissa. “You know, the Pentachoron is the apex of time-travel technology. We could probably return you to your time, when Dryad was a living world.”

“No. I am here for a purpose,” Megalith insisted. “My homeworld was only recently destroyed. This was not the first time. It has happened before. My people are the… Wardens of our world. Every few generations, we become innately aware that something is changing. Our females gather seeds and spores from all over Dryad, and take them underground for the Great Sleep. The males stay aboveground, tending to the planetary garden..”
“Always, there is a Traveler, who is not present on Dryad when Korlon flares. He then returns, as the First Warden, to awaken the sleeping females, and leads the restoration of Dryad for the next generations. It appears that for this epoch, I am to be the First Warden.”

“That is a fascinating history,” said Magissa.

“It is the legend the Elders tell us,” said Megalith. “And I have found a transmuter, and a living catalyst to aid me in restoring the planet.”

“You have never seen it happen yourself?” Magissa asked. “Or known anyone who witnessed it?”

“Dryads have a life-span some ten times that of humans,” said Megalith. “And there are many Dryad generations between cataclysms. Still, is my presence here coincidence, or providence? Unfortunately, Korlon is still too unstable to begin the restoration of Dryad. This we discovered when the stellar storm hit us. Perhaps we will return in another half-century.”

“Your companions will be very old men by then,” said Magissa. “If they are still alive at all.”

“Then there will come others,” said Megalith, confidently

“I know someone who would be very interested in your story,” said Ten. “A Coluan temporal historian. The inventor of the Spacetime Pentachoron: Grumm Boz.”

o o o o o o

“As anyone can see,” Grumm Boz was explaining, “The Spacetime Pentachoron can serve as a time viewer as well as a transporter. See here: I have followed your chronotopic path back to the moment you left ancient Dryad, some 1.6 kilo-sola-years ago. Fascinating. That arch appears to be one of the legendary Guardians of Forever. They are quite elusive. I never expected to witness an instance of one. Whatever possessed you to enter it?”

“It was a dare,” Megalith confessed.

“Ah, the foibles of youth,” said Grumm Boz. “I, myself, once… oh, but that is wholly irrelevant. Now let me see,,, . it is known that the instability in Korlon’s photosphere is due not to any intrinsic volatility, but to the effects of a supermassive long-period comet. I believe the period is something like 60 to 65 mega-sola-years. Let me see… yes, there was the last instance of stellar disturbance. At approximately -62.9. Now if we move forward a little.. In just over a hundred sola-years, Dryad is green again. Let me mark that. Now, who visited this world between the cataclysm and the renovation? Let me zoom in for you.”

Within the triangular faces of the Pentachoron, the Members could see an adult male Dryad, with a glowing golden stone embedded in his forehead.

Magissa squinted. “Unless I am mistaken, that is a Hajar Al-Falasifa-- a Philosopher’s Stone,” she said.

“It makes sense,” said Megalith. “While we were on Dryad, we discovered we were very much in need of Jan Arrah’s transmutative powers and Hadru Jamik’s psychoanalysis. A philosopher’s stone would provide the same qualities. I wonder where I might be able to find one in a half-century or so?.”

“Ha-ha! No need,” said Grumm Boz. “Once your companions are wholly well, and back from Phlon, I can transport the three of you an appropriate distance into the future. When I see your work is complete, I can transport you back to this current place and time. And then, my stony time-displaced anomaly, I can return you to ancient Dryad, only a moment after you left. I can even return you to your pre-pubescent state, so you can grow up among your own people. It will seem almost as though this little spatio-temporal excursion was merely a fanciful dream. Although, of course, you will have done a great service to your homeworld of the future. Let me know when you are ready to depart. The Circadians will know how to get in touch with me. Now, sadly, I must leave you. My laboratory will not run itself. At least, not for long.”

Grumm Boz activated his Pentachoron himself, and vanished.

“He is a brilliant scientist and technician,” said Ten. “But perhaps a little too casual in disrupting the timeline. Perhaps before Hadru Jamik and Jan Arrah return, we ought to run this proposal past the Technarchs of Colu for their approval.”

“And the United Planet Inner Council,” added Saturn Girl. “And the Chronarchs of New Titan. And the Interstellar Counter-Intelligence Corps, just for good measure. And any other responsible body we can think of in the meantime.”

“Megalith,” said Magissa. “With enough time and preparation, I believe I could make a Philosopher’s Stone.”

I really like this nod to modern-day, real-life bureaucracy. I was just chatting with a colleague about the pain of applying for visitor's visas... I really detest them in real life

Mariam Abraxas’ Witch’s Cottage was actually more of a chalet, occupying a rocky outcropping on a large hill, or possibly a small mountain. An L-shaped pool sat in the front yard, and a low trellis fence surrounded the entire property. It was located in the northern climes of the Sorcerer’s World. In the winter, there was snow, and the pool was heated. In the spring and summer, flowering vines twined throughout the fence.

The house itself spoke of both comfort and utility, with bookcases, potion cabinets, and small cauldrons scattered throughout the house in easy access. But Spiffany Brojj was most impressed with what lay behind the house. One room ended in a long hallway that led back into a deep, stony cavern within the interior of the mountain itself. It was a storage area, with shelves and shelves of the most fascinating magical items.

“I understand you have taken the name Pantheon,” Mariam Abraxas remarked. “Appropriate, considering the source of your powers. But I wonder if we could supplement them with a piece of this gear.”

Spiffany picked up a large sword from a shelf and examined it.

“Don’t pull that sword from its sheath,” Mariam Abraxas warned. “If you do so, you will immediately become the Monarch of Trollheim, and that fate is a long and difficult one to escape.”

She pulled a pair of daggers from the same shelf. “Now these are useful,” she said. “But not particularly enchanted.”

“They look like they’re made of solid gold,” said Spiffany. “Isn’t gold a soft metal, not suitable for weapons?”

“Gold is no more soft and malleable than silver,” the older witch replied. “And silver knives are common, as are silver forks and spoons. But these golden daggers are edged with platinum, and so sharp they could split a human hair lengthwise.”

They stopped at a shelf containing winged helmets, winged sandals, and a large rolled-up carpet. “You already have flying abilities, although a Fliegendmantel is always a useful companion.” She continued on. “Now this might be useful to you.” Mariam Abraxas offered the young hero a golden spindle. “You could use a good ranged power. This is one of the thunderbolts Hephaestus crafted for Zeus. A multiple-use weapon. I’m not sure how many charges it has left.”

Spiffany took the thunderbolt and rolled it in her hands. It was as heavy as if it were made of real gold. “I can already draw lightning from the clouds,” she said. “As well as summon winds and levitate stones; this seems somewhat redundant.”

“Yes, I forgot I gave you those elemental powers,” Mariam Abraxas recalled. “Senior moment, I guess. I can’t be getting old, can I?”

“What’s this?” asked Spiffany, picking up a large, flat helmet, much too large for her.

“That is the Golden Helm of the giant King Mambrino, which is said to bestow invincibility on its wearer,” said Mariam Abraxas. “Although the last wearer died when his head was cut off, so I’m not sure how effective it is. You have been granted the invulnerability of Marzosh and Rivalvei at any rate.”

They wandered a little further and picked up a little silvery ring.

“Now this might be helpful to you,” said Mariam Abraxas. “This is Koikjal’s Ring of Ubiquity. It allows you to be in two places at the same time.”

“Interesting,” said Spiffany. “But two places at once is not ubiquitous.”

“Well, after manifesting a duplicate, you can transport that duplicate anywhere in the Universe. Possibly to other time-frames and dimensions, too. You can carry other things and people with you, as well. But it's not really a duplicate. It’s you, existing in two places at once. Should anything happen to either of you… both of you would be injured.”

“Despite your cautions, I think the Ring of Ubiquity might be useful to me,” said Spiffany. The sub-etheric ultraphone in her utility belt chose that moment to chime.

“Hello, Spiffany. Saturn Girl again, of the Super-Hero Club,” said Dorrit Ranzz.

“Still not interested in joining,” said Spiffany.

“Yes,” said Saturn Girl. “And you told the Legion on Deimos the same thing. Did you have a chance to tour their HQ?”

“I did, in fact,” said Spiffany. “An impressive structure. Room for at least a hundred heroes. Training rooms. A top-notch medical facility. On-site classrooms linked to the UP University system. A small fleet of star cruisers. They were even talking about installing their own Trans-Matter Gate.”

“Did it seem like the kids who were there wanted to be there of their own free will?” asked Saturn Girl.

“Many of them-- possibly all of them-- were receiving a generous stipend, and so may have been hesitant to leave. I think some of their families were being taken care of, too. There were also more than a dozen robots and androids, and it is sometimes hard to tell what is programming, and what is ‘free will’ with them. I’m sure that Karth Arn was there by choice, and would have left immediately if asked to do anything he didn’t want to. And I met a girl called B.I.O.N.2-- she used to be an organic: a Dominator child. But the Dominion experimented on her, injecting her with nanobots that eventually took over her whole system. Eventually, she became too powerful, I guess, and escaped to UP space. Found a home on Deimos. I don’t think she wanted to be anywhere else.”

Saturn Girl sighed. “Thank you,” she said. “These reports are not what I have been expecting. The truth is, the New Legion of Super-Heroes LLC is wanting to merge with the Super-Hero Club, and it is looking like this may be a good option. Unfortunately.”

Saturn Girl signed out, and Spiffany turned her attention back to Mariam Abraxas.

“This is what you need,” said the sorceress, holding up a small rod. “The Asklepian. Capable of magically curing any illness or injury.”

“Wow,” said Spiffany. “That would… that could be a full-time call.”

“Sadly, it only works for one the rod deems ‘worthy’,” said Mariam Abraxas. “Fortunately, there is an easy way to test. Sorcerer’s duels are going on at the University right now, and there are always a few injuries there. Shall we go test it out?

o o o o o o

“Here are a few more rejects from the Legion on Deimos,” Ten told Saturn Girl. “I was able to decrypt a file from when our two communication networks were paired. Unfortunately, the NLSH may have been able to do the very same to us.”

o o o o o o

Nightingale’s costume was entirely black and shades of gray. Mockingbird’s was a riot of color. The two Planetary Champions of Vannar were otherwise very similar in height, build, and age. Nightingale was, of course, the Champion of the Darklings, while Mockingbird was Champion of Diurnalites.

“I’m afraid the time has come for another ‘decisive battle’, Mockingbird was saying. “The drums of war are beginning to beat here again.”

“It is the same on the Night Side,” said Nightingale. “It seems to happen every few years. Your people are a convenient scapegoat for problems the politicians are unable or unwilling to solve.”

“Our seismic survey and ultracomputers predict that there will be a severe earthquake in Mothag, leading to much property damage and loss of life, within a couple of weeks,” said Mockingbird. “Of course, they have not bothered to communicate with your government.”

“That sounds like a perfect venue for our next encounter,” said Nightingale. “Don’t start the heavy destruction until there is a chance to evacuate the city’s population. I’ll clear out the stragglers, then meet you for a beat-down in about half an hour.”

“With luck,” said Mockingbird, “We can set off the earthquake early, and leave a smoking crater that will remind our peoples of the cost of war. For a few more years.”

“Hold on,” said Nightingale. “I have a call coming in on the other line.”

“So do I,” said Mockingbird.

“Why did you turn down membership in the New Legion of Super-Heroes?” Saturn Girl asked.

“It was a philosophical difference,” said Mockingbird.

“They seemed to believe that the appropriate response to violence was more violence,” said Nightingale.

“Violence is a fact of life,” said Saturn Girl. “There is violence in storms, earthquakes and other disasters. Is it not the role of the Champion to defend the defenseless against such violence?”

Mockingbird shrugged. “It is not my intention to debate philosophy. You asked a question. I answered.”

“I’m trying to understand…”

“We enter conflict only in extremis,” said Nightingale. “As Champions of Vannar, we are primarily figureheads. Our people must, for the most part, work out their own problems.”

“Great power,” Saturn Girl reminded them, “Comes with great responsibility.”

“No matter how great one’s power, to refrain from attempting to impose one’s will on the Universe is the beginning of wisdom,” said Nightingale.

Saturn Girl signed off in frustration.

“Do you think she really bought that?” asked Mockingbird.


o o o o o o

Lusilla Blake Opral of Hajor Dyakis had little patience for the inquiries of the girl from Mars.

“I do have Solarian ancestors,” she admitted. “One of my great-grandfathers was born on early 2Oth-century Earth. But my primary concern is re-establishing our world, and defending against the Zard.”

“Hajor Dyakis lies far beyond the farthest colonies of the United Planets,” said Saturn Girl.

“And the Zard think they can take it from us, because they perceive us as weak,” said Lusilla.

“I would think that having a super-powered organization on your side, free of government restraints, would be desirable,” said Saturn Girl.

“We are fighting a war,” said Lusilla. “We cannot enlist the aid of weak, super-adventurers who might hesitate to use lethal force against the enemy.”

“Considering my last conversation,” said Saturn Girl, “Your position is somewhat ironic.”

“I am not privy to your last conversation,” said Lusilla. “I am recruiting soldiers, period. I have no interest in being recruited into a ‘super-hero’ legion, or club, or whatever. If you can provide me with volunteers or mercenaries, let me know. Otherwise, you have nothing to offer me.”

o o o o o o

Sara Oz was troubled.

Ever since the departure of True Believer from the ranks of the Super-Hero Club of Cyranus, their power level had dropped precipitously. They were now barely capable of putting down a street brawl, and off-world expeditions were wholly off the table.

“We considered a merger with the New Legion,” she was telling Saturn Girl. “We have some difficulties on Cyranus that might be solved with some additional firepower.”

“We might be able to help,” Saturn Girl replied. “By lending out a couple of our more powerful Members. But why didn’t you take up the offer of the Legion on Deimos?”

“We want to focus on problems at home,” said Sara Oz. “And… well, my powers are in the realm of precognition and similar psychic abilities. I was elected leader this session, and… well, I trust my intuition. I did not foresee anything positive coming out of an association with the NLSH.”

“Interesting,” said Saturn Girl. “Anything in particular?”

“No specific vision,” said Sara Oz. “More of… a sense of unease.”

Saturn Girl hung up her sub-etheric ultraphone.

A hunch, she thought. A sense of unease. Just like me.

o o o o o o

Renlo Tagor was back in the Clubhouse.



“He is not what he appears to be,” said Ten. “Nor is he as he at first imagined himself.”

Botboy shifted uneasily. Saturn Girl looked intrigued.

“When the Zadrons built Tharok, they inserted a technorganic corpus callosum between his human and computer brains. This allowed them to communicate, and to function as a single entity. I detected a similar structure in Botboy. While he does have a completely functioning exitonic platinum-sponge brain, that is not the whole story. He also has a human brain as well-- what I can only assume is the mind of Boris Zador. True, the brain is dreaming. Also, the cerebellum and most of the medulla oblongata have been removed, and the cerebrum has been-- I believe the word is ‘spatchcocked’-- but it is functional, and the amygdala remains intact. The organ is well-armored and cushioned within his robot body, between the shoulder blades..”

“We found yet another anomaly,” said Renlo Tagor. “Somewhat disturbing.” He held up a small, yellow, crystalline triangle.

“It is primarily a crystal of golden titanite, CaTiSiO5, in your parlance. It has been fabricated in a manner resembling common memory crystals. Young Txarlz summoned me to surgically remove it from the child’s technorganic callosal sheath. While active, it placed the human brain into a state resembling something between sleepwalking and hypnosis. Equally as concerning, if such a device were inserted between the cervical vertebrae of a human being, it would have the same effect.”

“A mind control device,” said Saturn Girl.

“Precisely,” said Renlo Tagor. “With sufficient funding, any number could be manufactured, and it would be simplicity itself to implant them.”

“Someone is creating a literal Legion of mind-controlled super-heroes,” said Saturn Girl.

“An unwarranted conclusion,” said Renlo Tagor, “Without further evidence. But a theory not outside the range of possibility. Of course, as with hypnosis, it would not be possible to force an individual to act outside their moral or ethical parameters. Still, the ‘puppetmaster’, as it were, would have considerable control.”

“The Super-Hero Club needs to make a visit to Deimos,” said Saturn Girl.

“I would suggest Earth instead,” said Renlo Tagor. “The headquarters of Hanscom and Burrane Industries.”

Sleepwalkers

The Espionage Squad consisted of the three Bgztlside heroes: Phantom Girl, Kid Ultraboy, and Yzopok Girl, as well as the shadowcaster Korvea, the shape-shifting Bouch, and Magissa, who had brought scrying potions and an invisibility draught.

They were on Earth, in Downtown Metropolis, in a hotel suite across from the Ludwig Donner building, where Hanscom-&-Burrane had its main offices on the 1O1st floor.

“What are we supposed to be looking for?” asked Magissa, swirling the silver bowls in front of her.

“Anything unusual,” Yzopok Girl replied.

“To me, everything in the worlds outside of Witchhaven is unusual,” said Magissa. “And a great deal there, as well. But I will see what I can descry.”

Magissa poured over magical concoctions for some time, then leaned back in her chair in frustration.

“This is very peculiar indeed,” she announced. “My scrying elixirs allow me to see through the ‘eyes’ of the natural world: animal, vegetable, even mineral. But there is nothing natural on the 1O1st floor. No men, no plants, not even an insect or piece of natural stone. The windows are somehow sealed against passing birds. I can scry the outside of the building, but the interior is a perfect void.”

“No employees?” asked Yzopok Girl.

“If there are, they are blind and deaf,” said Magissa. “And I have looked for traces going back several days. It is a black box.”

“Well, it's time for phase two,” said Korvea.

Most of the Ludwig Donner building had shut down by 2am. Even the janitorial staff had gone home. Bouch and Korvea had secreted themselves in a dark room before the building closed, now they flew under cover of shadow-- Korvea on dark wings, and Bouch in the form of a tiny blackbird. All entrances to the 1O1st floor were tightly sealed, but an office on the 96th had a balcony that led outside. The two winged Members flew up five floors, but found the windows silver-black and opaque.

“Phase three,” said Yzopok Girl the next evening.

The three Bgztlrs found obstacles just as daunting.

“The 1O1st floor is protected by transdimensional shielding,” Phantom Girl reported. “There is no access, even from the Buffer Zone.”

“I have an idea,” Kid Ultraboy said. “Follow me.”

She led them up to the 1O2nd floor, and into the unprotected offices there.

“Our 4D vision may be able to see through the floor,” she suggested.

Yzopok Girl seemed embarrassed. “I’m actually acutely nearsighted in the 4th dimension,” she said. “I won’t be able to see much.”

“Well, I’ll do double duty then,” said Kid Ultraboy. “And augment with my ultrascopic vision.”

“Magissa was right,” said Phantom Girl. “There is nothing below us but banks of machines. I see a few low-level service ‘bots, but I doubt any organics have been in those rooms for a long time.”

“It’s just some sort of data hub,” Yzopok Girl agreed. “Data comes in, the machines process it, and it goes right out again… I wonder where?”

“It’s odd that they would list this as the official headquarters of the entire corporation,” mused Kid Ultraboy.

“Everyone wants a Metropolis address,” said Phantom Girl.

o o o o o o

“The Clubhouse is under attack,” Yzopok Girl announced. “The Pentachoron is down, so we need to find a way to get back to Mars on our own.”

“There is a transmatter gate in New Metropolis,” said Korvea. “We just have to find the nearest one to us here.”

Kid Ultraboy was checking her ‘phone. “There’s one in the Ludwig Donner building right across the street,” she said. “But it's not open until 9am. I know there’s one on Legion Plaza, but that’s too far… There’s one in the Tree Museum, but that’s closed, too.”

“I don’t suppose you could work some magic to teleport us back?” Bouch asked Magissa.

“Maybe,” said Magissa. “I’ve heard of potions creating stepping pools. I might even have a recipe for one in one of my books. But I would have to be back on Mars, in my lab, and have access to the ingredients.”

“So, short answer, no,” said Bouch.

“OK, there is one open about a hundred klicks from here,” said Kid Ultraboy. “We can be there in a couple of minutes using our flight rings. Then we just have to convince them to give us an emergency pass to let us jump ahead in line.”

“There were just four of them,” Saturn Girl explained, “Against the six of us. The two Kormons, and the Superbot and Ultrabot androids. They went after the Circadians first. Monster Boy was able to morph into a form with super-strength, but he couldn’t match their speed. Sludge managed to get in a hit that stopped the Superbot in its tracks; gummed up its works pretty badly. Chel-Eb was balked by Skyboy at first, then the Ultrabot. Ordinarily, he could have ripped it apart, but someone had modified the Ultrabot with kryptonite vision. Skygirl, Skyboy and the Ultrabot grabbed the Circadians and Chel-Eb, stepped on a one-use teleporter, and vanished.”

“I have tracked their destination,” said Ten. “As suspected, the trace leads to Deimos.”

“They intend to leave us stranded here,” said Botboy. “By kidnapping the Circadians, there is no one to operate the Spacetime Pentachoron.”

“Fortunately, Grumm Boz has already provided me with the necessary codes to transfer control of the Pentachoron to the Mission Monitor Board,” said Ten. “Unfortunately, I will have to remain planetside, but I will monitor your progress.”

“Ten has installed weaponry in my robot body,” said Botboy. “A Coluan forceshield, shrinking ray, and a number of specimen bottles. I would like to accompany you, if I may.”

“For now,” said Saturn Girl, “The mission is to get our people back. We will worry about shutting down the NLSH and HB Industries. Later.”

“But not too much later,” said Yzopok Girl.

o o o o o o

The NLSH HQ on Deimos now looked less like a clubhouse, and more like a citadel. There was already a couple, well past middle age, waiting outside.

“You are the Super-Hero Club of Mars, if I am not mistaken,” said the old man. Well over six feet tall, he still retained some of the herculean proportions of his youth. “Ennis Jahnson, of Jahnson’s Planet. My wife, Dori. We are here to pick up our son. Glad to have you with us.”
{Authors Note: After publishing an extended fanfic some eight years ago featuring a romance between the adult Rainbow Girl and Animal Lad, I am mortified to discover now that his name, as listed in DC Comics Who’s Who, is Ennis Janhson, not Jahnson. Oh well. Not changing it now}
Rainbow Girl in the Earth-K Paracosm

He turned to face the massive wall before them. “I know you can hear me, Hanscom. Send out my son. We’re going home.” There was no reply. “Don’t make me angry, Hanscom. I want Gaal back. Now.”

A door opened in the citadel, where there had been no door before. A young man in a garish costume stepped out.



“Father, mother,” he said. “Don’t worry about me. I’m happy here. I know I’ve been at loose ends recently, but I’ve decided I want to be an Adventurer. With the New Legion of Super Heroes.”

“Do you see it?” Phantom Girl asked Kid Ultraboy. “In the back of his neck.” The indigo-skinned Bgztlr walked up to the boy.

“Are you sure you wouldn’t want to join the Super-Hero Club on Mars?” she asked, pointing to the reddish orb in the sky. “What are your powers?”

“I can assume the form of any animal,” said Gaal Jahnson. “Like the old Lallorian hero Beast Boy. I’m thinking of borrowing his name.”

“But he can never get the colors right,” said Dori Jahnson. “My fault, I fear.”

Distracted by his mother, Gaal did not react as Phantom Girl swiped her hand quickly through the boy’s neck. She wound up holding a small yellow gem in her hand, nasty-looking tendrils dangling from it.

Gaal Jahnson staggered, then shook his head. “My older sister is a queen in Faeryland…” he said. “Hey! I don’t want to be here!”

“Go home with your parents,” said Saturn Girl. “We have some friends that need to be rescued from this place as well. And something in there is giving me a splitting headache, and I am becoming impatient.”

But where Gaal Jahnson had once stood, there was an iridescent blue hawk. The hawk leapt into the air, soaring out of sight.

“Stand back from the citadel,” Ennis Jahnson warned. “I know this maneuver. Run!”

The hawk came swooping down from the sky at a sixth the speed of sound, a mile of momentum behind it. At the nadir of its flight, just before crashing into the citadel wall, it transformed into a 100-tonne blue whale-- except it was a bright magenta pink.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” asked the boy standing in the rubble.

The Jahnson Family and the Super-Hero Club of Mars invaded the headquarters of NLSH, Inc, a Deimos Corporation, dba The New Legion of Super Heroes, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hanscom-Burrane Industries.

There was a reception committee.

“I estimate that you are outnumbered by five to one,” Ten transmitted from the Monitor Board.

Joan of Arcturus and Paraceratherium Pete, enlarged to their full twelve-meter height, came crashing through the broken opening in the wall.

Bouch had consumed enough rubble that she was able to morph into a doppelganger of Joan, taking her down easily with three times her strength. Pete’s 15-tonne mass was opposed by Gaal Jahnson, in the form of a 20-tonne Titanosaur. A third colossus appeared, the Bdelugmotian Giant Guy, steadily growing until he towered over the NLSH citadel. Kid Ultraboy quickly took the threat out with her ultra-strength. She was immediately set upon by the Ultrabot, the express image of her father as a teen-ager, except for its glowing green eyes. It was joined by the recovered Superbot as well, each of the two robots grabbing a shoulder, restraining her in the air. On the ground, an android copy of Nardo blasted her with nuclear energy from its third eye.

Meanwhile:
Monster Boy assumed the latest form he had been working on: a boxy, machine-like configuration with numerous octopoid cables extending from his body and into the walls of the NLSHQ. Saturn Girl and Yzopok Girl kneeled near him, immobilized by blistering, migraine-like headaches.

Meanwhile:
Inside the Citadel, Null and Void, the Exxorite twins, clasped hands to activate their shared powers. The area inside and around the citadel was enveloped in sudden darkness and silence.

“This is my fight”, thought Korvea. Manifesting her myrlon-wings, her Talokan senses pierced the blackness, only to see another Talokan flying toward her. “Cousin Zophos,” she thought silently. They grappled for a moment, then the darkness and silence gave way, as suddenly as it had appeared. “Cousin,” said Korvea, “Your allies fight independently, without cooperation or plan. Of what use was that flash of darkness?”

“But we are superior in numbers and strength,” Zophos replied. “Do not fear, we only wish you to join us.”

“But that is exactly what I do fear!” said Korvea. She was wrapped in Zophos’ projected darkness, which was thick and sticky, like warm taffy. Immobilized, there was a real danger Korvea might suffocate.

Meanwhile: Phantom Girl was trying to access the citadel from the Buffer Zone, but it was protected by the same trans-dimensional force shield they had found at Hanscom & Burrane’s Metropolis headquarters. She was able to make her way through the halls to the infirmary, where she could warn the doctors, nurses, and patients of the confrontation brewing downstairs. She handed off charge of the evacuation to Douglas Nolan who cared for his own patient while organizing the exodus of the rest.

Meanwhile:
“I have located the source of the telepathic interference,” reported the mechano-octopoid Monster Boy. “Disabling now. I have also located the transdimensional force-field generator. Also disabled.”

Saturn Girl and Yzopok Girl recovered quickly, the remaining headache only making them cranky and irritated.

“I haven’t had much chance to use my telekinesis since joining the Super-Hero Club,” said Yzopok Girl. “I feel like smashing something.”

“I rather suspect I will soon have an opportunity to use my psychic counseling skills,” Saturn Girl answered.

Meanwhile:
“Unlike your father,” said the Ultrabot to Arna Nah, “I am able to use all my ultra-powers together.”

“With two of us against one,” said the Superbot, “How can you possibly prevail?”

The Ultrabot gave a reasonable facsimile of laughter. “Especially as you can use only one power at a time!”

Kid Ultraboy laughed in return. “You ‘bots were created to mimic super-powers, not to match them. I am much faster than either of you.” She went intangible, then zoomed away at a substantial fraction of the speed of light. She had been scanning the members of the NLSH with both ultravision and Bgztlr 4D vision, and with speed and precision was removing the golden mind-control triangles. Once she had as many as she could carry, she dumped them at the feet of Bouch, who was consuming them with astonishing rapidity herself. Flickering in and out of intangibility, not even the Kormons could lay hold of her.

Suddenly, Kid Ultraboy’s progress came to an abrupt halt, as B.I.O.N.2, matching her intangible form and ultraspeed, held her immobile. The Dominator cyborg grinned. “I can replicate any of the powers of the original Legion,” she gloated. “Or all of them. Surrender.”

Arna focused carefully. “This might hurt,” she warned, and blasted the mind-control device in the back of B.I.O.N.2’s neck with a burst of flash vision. The cyborg shook her head, then, memories flooding back stared intently at Kid Ultraboy.

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend,” said B.I.O.N.2.

Meanwhile:
With the transdimensional shields down, it did not take long for Phantom Girl to find the hidden room she was looking for. The Circadians had retreated to the protection of their chrysalis-pods, and were stacked in one corner. Chel-Eb lay on some sort of examination table, his irradiated by artificial kryptonite lamps. Even after Irinia had shut the lamps off, his skin still glowed green. One of the golden triangular mind-control devices lay on the table, waiting to be installed in the Rokynite. A quick examination showed that no surgery had even been begun. Unfortunately, there were also no signs of life: no respiration, no heartbeat. His body was cold.

“Ten,” Phantom Girl messaged her comrade. “Use the Pentachoron to bring the four of us back to Mars.” They materialized inside the Clubhouse. “Do you know how to wake the Cirdadians? I think… I think it may be too late for…”

Meanwhile:
More than half of the New Legionnaires were under thrall against their will and joined with the Super-Hero Club. Unfortunately, that meant that there were still dozens still loyal to Hanscom & Burrane. That included all the robots and androids, excepting only B.I.O.N.2, Karth Arn, and Lucifer-13, as well as both of the Kormons, Skyboy and Skygirl.

There was a pause as nearly one hundred super-powered beings divided into two camps. Saturn Girl and Yzopok Girl were ensuring that their allies were truly their allies, and not double-minded. Neither side had a clear advantage in terms of raw power: the Kormons loyal to Hanscom and Burrane were matched by B.I.O.N.2 and the yellow Martian Golden Girl on the opposite side.The Replacements of Bdelugmos had also chosen to remain with the New Legion, but their various powers were well matched by others who had chosen to join with the nine remaining Members of the SHC.

Some kind of grey energy-field suddenly dropped on the whole area, seemingly emanating from a large purple pangolin on the SHC side.

“I am called Satyagraha of Pennggulling,” he called out. “My power is Projective Invulnerability. Within this field, you will be unable to harm one another, nor can you come to harm, nor can you damage this building, or anything in it. Let us take a few moments to settle this diplomatically-- with our words.”

There was some murmuring on both sides. Then, into the space between the two armies of combatants, stepped Hanscom and Burrane themselves.
Both men were well into middle age.
Kjell Hanscom was easily two meters tall, and as slender and pale as a birch tree.
Manferd Burrane stood at barely a meter-and-a-half, and was as round and red as a rubber ball.
Both had ragged mops of snow-white hair. Burrane’s beetled brow and high forehead made it appear as if he was balding badly, although this was not truly the case.
Burrane had a look of wicked cunning in his eyes.
Hanscom’s blue eyes bulged, giving him an appearance of pure madness.

“Kjell, are you pondering what I’m pondering?” asked the smaller man.

“I think so, Burrane,” said the taller man. “Time to bring in the calvary?” He held up a largeish, boxy device, and pressed a button. There was a thunderous BOOM, and a space-warp appeared behind the remaining New Legionnaires.

“These are our lieutenants,” cried Manferd Burrane. “Allow me to introduce Mad Donna, Creepy Jean, and Memento Moria of Apokolips Reborn! Summon your Hunger Dogs and Parademons, and recapture the prizes we have so carefully collected!”

Dorrit, Korvea, Viqi, Arna, Ghurwil, Luto, Juno, Boris, and Zilla received a message from Ten in their telepathic earpieces.

“The Boom Tube technology of the New Gods is far beyond anything known in the United Planets, even on Colu,” he reported. “But I believe I can use the Pentachoron to interfere somewhat with its capabilities.”

Before any more forces could emerge from the Boom Tube, it began to flicker and distort.

“Something is interfering with Mother Box,” reported Creepy Jean.

“Well, are you New Gods or not?” asked Manferd Burrane.

Mad Donna seemed to summon multi-colored knives from the air, and sent them hurtling at Satyagraha. The Pennggullingii fell to the ground unconscious, and the field of projective invulnerability vanished.

“Weak against psychic attacks,” Mad Donna noted.

Magissa had prepared several alchemical attacks for use against the Non-Metal Men, and chose this moment to use them.
Water and air transformed Carbon into a hydrocarbon sludge.
Elemental oxygen turned Silicon into sandstone.
The Phosphorus robot was transformed into immobie phosphorite rock.
A reaction with iron turned Sulphur into a statue of sparkling pyrite.
Selenium was transformed by sodium into the mineral selenite.
Iodine became a shapeless mound of potassium iodide.
And she used silver to bond Bromine to create the mineral bromargyrite.

Kid Ultraboy stepped forward to collect the inert responsometers.

Then pandemonium broke loose.

Hanscom and Burrane used twin rings to summon the twin Cintosians Starlight and Starbright into battle.

Those who could fly, flew. Those who could morph, morphed. Bolts of energy in all the colors of the rainbow flashed.

And then the Justice League of Earth showed up.

And Lusilla Opral of Hajor Dyakis.

And the Super-Hero Club of Cyranus.

And Nightlingale and Mockingbird of Vannar.

And the new magical hero Pantheon, formerly known as Spiffany Brojj of Earth.

Science Police from Earth, Mars, and the United Planets arrived in time to take The New Legion into custody, as well as Hanscom and Burrane themselves.

It was a fairly easy transfer, as BotBoy had used Ten’s Coluan Shrinking Ray to imprison them in a few Microversal Ampullae.

o o o o o o

Renlo Tagor was back on Mars again, not without protest.

“He is in a coma. He is not dead yet, but is surely slowly dying. It takes a good deal to kill a Kryptonian, even after all ordinary signs of life have ceased. But he has received what is surely a fatal dose of kryptonite radiation, and there is nothing in the technology of Colu or Daxam or Rokyn that can cure him.”

Korvea sat beside the glowing green body of Chel-Eb, wrapped in a mantle of gloom and darkness. “There is technology on Talok that could place him in stasis until a cure could be found,” she said through tears.

“It is a problem which the greatest minds of Science have struggled with for over a thousand years,” said Renlo Tagor.

“Perhaps the answer lies with Science,” said Speophonia Brojj, appearing out of thin air. “But in the Asklepian of Asclepius. Kryptonians are not resistant to magic, am I correct?”

She touched the rod to Chel-Eb’s forehead. The greenish glow began to fade immediately.After a few minutes, the Rokynite sat up shakily. “I seem to have lost my powers,” he said, flexing his arms weakly. “And I am feeling very, very hungry.”

THE FINAL CHAPTER
>> ‘Series Zeta’

Wrap-up:
The two Cintosians and the three New Gods managed to escape the Coluan microversal bottles. Now on the alert for an Apokolips Reborn movement, UPGov increases galactic security, the ICC searching for the location of Darkseid’s missing planet.

Chel-Eb does regain his powers after about a month’s exposure to the yellow sun. He spends much of that time on Mercury, as a guest of the Thermoids, to be nearer the source of his rejuvenation.

Lucifer-13 joins the Super-Hero Club. The remainder of the liberated New Legionnaires, who do not end up on various prison planets, go their own ways.

Hanscom-Burrane Industries is liquidated by the United Planets Department of Commerce. It is divested of its assets, which are then re-allocated to those private entities whose claims against the corporation are arguably most appropriate, and deemed in the best interests of the public good.

The Super-Hero Club makes no such claims.

Nevertheless, UPDoC grants them stewardship of the New Legion Headquarters on Deimos.

“Well, of course they would,” said Phantom Girl.

“I wish Eulia were still here,” said Saturn Girl. “She had a real head for finance.”

“She’s busy getting her detective agency up and running,” said Phantom Girl. “But we should talk to Lue, Eulia’s trans-temporal duplicate. She and Niri are running the M'Kord homestead on Orzde now, but I’m sure she wouldn’t mind doing a little bookkeeping for us on the side.”

“Well, it appears we are stuck with a big old building filled with high-tech training equipment,” said Yzopok Girl. “And a continuing stipend for a score or more of employees.”

“The reasonable course,” said Ten, “Is to use a portion of that stipend to hire a manager for the property.”

Phantom Girl stared at the young Coluan in astonishment. “That is actually a great idea. Did anyone ever tell you you have a tenth-level intellect?” she asked.

“Ah,” said Ten. “Sarcasm.”

“What we really need to do,” suggested Yzopok Girl, “Is to get up there, and inventory the property, to see just what kind of White Camelephant the United Planets has saddled us with.”

During their investigation, the Super-Hero Club discovers a well-protected, super-secure room. Naturally, they break into it. They discover a number of birthing pods, which contain clones of individuals from the Age of Heroes. That is, the 21st-century.

There is also an odd device that Ten identifies as a Time Pool. After some examination, he determines that it is an extension into paratemporal realities. “Of course, it could only retrieve very small samples,” he notes.

“You mean,” replies Monster Boy, “Like, DNA?”

There are eleven birthing pods, each tagged 'Series Zeta'. Nine are active, and two are emply and broken. Each pod also has a nameplate attached.

In alphabetical order, the nameplates read:

Marcus Desmond {Missing / Pod empty}
Caroline Ferris
Milton Fine
Cyrus Gold
Morgen deGorlois
Matthew Hagen
Pamela Isley
Selina Kyle
Alexei Luthor
Adolph Mausmann {Missing / Pod empty}
Harleen Frances Quinzel

Ten determines that despite accelerated gestation, the inhabitants of the pods have only matured to ages of between six and eleven. Nevertheless, the Legionnaires shut down the stasis program, and release them all.

Monster Boy makes appropriate clothing for everyone as they emerge, taking the form of a giant purple spider.

The children eventually take on super-hero names, calling themselves 'Series Zeta'. They are placed under the auspices of the 31st-century equivalent of Child Protective Services, and are not allowed to go adventuring.

Of course, just because they are not allowed, does not mean they don't.

Their new identities are:

"Xel"
The eldest of the clones, physically nearly twelve years old, and the de facto leader, he is a tall, slender red-headed boy. He is perfectly aware who he, and everyone else is. The clones have been mind-fed the Encyclopedia Galactica. He remembers all of it, and is perfectly comfortable in the 31st century.

"Zamora"
Willowy and fair, with dark hair and blue eyes, she immediately encountered a semi-sentient star sapphire power gem upon awakening. It was almost as if it had been waiting for her.

"Psiborg"
A short, chubby boy with a black mohawk. Although perfectly human in appearance, he is actually 50% android. He is a powerful telepath, able to communicate with-- and control, to a degree-- both humans and machines.

"Green Grundy"
The youngest of the group, barely age six physically, he is small in stature, but built like a wall. He has greenish-white skin, and curly white hair that looks like wood shavings. Incredibly powerful, he is strong and durable, and able to repair damage to himself, even to the point of growing new limbs. He cannot be rendered unconscious-- perhaps because he has no subconscious mind.

"Morgan"
A fine-featured little girl with auburn hair, dark eyes and slightly elfin ears, she awoke with a natural (sleep-learned(=?)) ability to manufacture and manipulate magical artifacts. She found a suit of golden armor waiting for her-- but it was made for a full-grown woman. She was able to magically reduce it to the proper size. She constantly projects a magical 'glamour' which makes her appear attractive and likable.

"Kaolin"
He originally 'hatched' as a whitish-yellow stone-like statuette. At first, it was believed his 'egg' had malfunctioned. However, he eventually pulled himself together, demonstrating impressive shape-shifting abilities. He is uncomfortable in a world where he is constantly changing, and sometimes becomes confused and disoriented.

Initially dubbed "Toxicodendron" by Xel, she prefers the name “Flora”
Viridian-skinned and vermillion-haired, she immediately developed a rapport with all plant life within a half-mile radius. Over time, she develops a special attachment to "Green Grundy" and is the only one able to control his occasional, unpredictable rages.

"Felina"
Dark haired and green eyed, she was found with a all-black, prehistoric saber-toothed tigress sharing her pod. She names the cat Fille-de-Nuit, but everyone else calls her Night. Sharing some sort of telepathic link, the cat obeys her every command.

"Miss Punch"
White-skinned, red-green-and-blue-haired, with a rictus grin, she is less mad than you might expect. Still, she is not all there. In time, she begins to suspect that she is not truly a clone of Harley Quinn, but a feminized clone of the Joker. We shall see.

The Adolph Maussman (Mouseman) and Marcus (Blockbuster) Desmond clones escaped together sometime before the Super-Hero Club showed up, and are out there, somewhere

Stationed on Weber's World, Series Zeta is eventually joined by "The Other Thing From 40,000 AD".

Klar, hi, if this is the end of your tales of your Super-Hero Club then I'm sad to see it go. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your work, it has flowed like the very best fairy tale and you should take a well deserved bow!

I'm looking forward to seeing where you direct your writing skills to next.

Harby:
There are more stories to tell.
o There are the stories of the missing years when most of the original Legion leaves, which I skipped. (I particularly wanted to take the team to visit the “Time Pyramid” in Wemding, Germany (der Zeitpyramide) which would still be under construction by the year 3123.
o There are the stories of how the SHC ultimately evolves into the New Legion seen in Phantom Girl’s vision in Chapter Sixty-Six.
o There are the stories of how the pre-teen Series Zeta deals with the New Blockbuster and Mouseman (now both adults) and their recruits. (I am particularly intrigued by Xel, a non-Coluan mad-scientist-as-super-hero let loose in the 31st century.)

But I feel I am getting stale.

I have indulged myself in the creation of dozens of new characters to populate the Starfinger Legion, (‘Series Zeta’ being only the tip of the iceberg) an indulgence which I imagine is just tedious for the reader. And it would take years to properly explore and flesh out each one.

So, I’m giving it up for now, unless I get really inspired later on.

I have a few things partially written, for my own amusement.
o One is my autobiography, thinly fictionalized, in order to disguise the identities of my grown children.
o Another is the story of Lazarus Clark, the elder brother of the Earth-Two Martha Kent. He is a Civil War veteran who goes on a remarkable journey, meeting many fantastical figures of the 19th century. (Note that Martha Clark Kent was an elderly woman when Kal-L came to Earth-2 in 1916.)
o I have a continuing exploration of my vision of the Sorcerer’s Worlds, including the weird encounter of Konk! of the Uncanny Amazers, and Galea Fati, the Helm of Fate.
But all of this is probably not that appealing to a group looking at primarily Legion fanfics.

For those who may be curious, and have a lot of time on their hands. here is a listing of the Members of The Legion of Super-Heroes LLC, a subsidiary of Hanscomb-Burrane Industries, inc., as presently constituted in my mind.


TTFN

I continue my obsession with creating “Legacy Legions”, as well as building worlds for them to live in.
> In my Rainbow Girl fanfic, I took 5YL as a jumping-off point with children of both the original Legion and the Batch SW6 group, there being actually two Legions extant simultaneously.
This is Earth-K1

> In my Young Legion fanfic, I assumed 5YL never happened, but proceeded from TOS and the retroboot.
This is Earth-K2.

> Now I am imagining a future which descends from Action Comics #267, and the original Adult Legion stories (Adventure 354-355.
I suppose this must be Earth K-3.

Action Comics 267:
https://www.legionworld.net/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=946225#Post946225

Adventure 354-355:
Phantom Woman and Ultra Man have two children, Ronn and Arna, who each have both their parent’s powers.
Timber Wolf and Light Lady have three kids, Brin, Bran, and Loni, none of whom have super-powers.
Chuck and Lu have a (unnamed) little boy, who is a normal Carggan.
The former Shrinking Violet and Duplicate Boy live on distant Lallor, and have two children, a boy and a girl (also unnamed)
Thom and Nura are also married, and living on Xanthu, where Thom is an astronomer.

Other members of the future Adult Legion included Quantum Queen, Reflecto, Shadow Lass, and Power Boy, all deceased; as well as 30th-century versions of Lex Luthor and Mr. Mxyzptlk. And, presumably, Douglas Nolan, Ferro Lad 2.

But this is not their story.

THE SETUP
This would be some fifteen years later after the events of the Adult Legion stories, and shortly after the events of Action 267.

The infants, toddlers, and teens we met above are now all over 18 years old. The Adult Legion has retired. An all-new iteration consists of other children of the Legionnaires. Once again, the roll call:

Cosmic Boy: Pol Hu Krinn II
Parents: Rokk Krinn & Lydda Jath

Lightning Lad: Graym Ranzz
Parents: Garth Ranzz & Imra Ardeen

Saturn Girl: Dorritt Ranzz
Parents: Garth Ranzz & Imra Ardeen

Chameleon Boy: Juulz Allon
Parents: Gim Allon & Yera

Colossal Boy: Lenaar Allon
Parents: Gim Allon & Yera

Invisible Kid: Dryscoll Foccart
Parents: Jacques Foccart & Drura Sehpt

I am considering replacing Dryscoll with Pol’s little brother Jarn (an original character) which would mean that this neo-Legion would be staffed from just three families: the Krinns, the Ranzzes, and the Allons. After all, anyone can take Lyle Norg’s invisibility serum.

And they have found their Supergirl.


Her complex backstory:
The actor who played Klar Ken T5477 on the holovision show “Superman 2965” was the Daxamite Jorkris Riiv. Lyra 3619 was played by the Earth human Nollis Coatl. They married in real life, and their daughter is the half-Daxamite Lor-El Riiv. As a child actor, (she starred in the long-running holovid series Zeta the Space Girl). *
She was known by the stage name Lor-El Ken T5477, but he gave up her acting career at fourteen.
At sixteen, she was recruited into the next generation of The Legion of Super-Heroes.

o o o

But there is also a new Legion of Super-Villains:
Validus: Garridan Ranzz
Parents: Garth Ranzz & Imra Ardeen
(He is only just under six feet tall at this age, but he will grow)

Cosmic Queen: Indira Pradeshi°
Parents: Laevar Bolto & Nehali Pradeshi
https://www.legionworld.net/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=780173#Post780173

Saturn Princess: Norja Kem
Parents: Tenzil Kem & Eve Aries
Unfortunately, she takes after her mother.

Black Phantom: Youdu Darga
Parents: Solon Darga (Phantom Lad) & Chi Tsan (Caress)
He has all the powers and abilities of both his parents: Intangibility, Acid Touch and Martial Arts training.

Quetzal: Quetzal Ranzz
Parents: Mekt Ranzz and Beauty Blaze
He is able to control both fire and electricity.

Super-Mannequin
A robotic superman-analog from Dollworld, programmed for ‘evil’




My convoluted backstory for Beauty Blaze:
Beauty Blaze is actually Matil Dirx of Bunyon’s World, the former Significant Other of Rejik Thomak, the Psycho-Warrior.
Granted pyrokinetic powers by the nova her ship fell into, by the time she reunites with Rejik she finds him a broken, psychotic prisoner in Takron-Galtos. Blaming the Legion, she seeks revenge, but is eventually reformed through the same psychic surgery that cured Mekt Ranzz.
Undergoing treatment in the same infirmary, Mekt and Matil grow close, and eventually marry.
They have twin boys named Quetzal and Xolotl, each with power over both lightning and fire.

The thing is, the LSV are not exactly evil, their goals are political in nature, although at odds with United Planets culture.
And the LSH are reckless and impulsive, often making a mess of things that their parents-- or the older children of the Legion-- will have to clean up.
Neither group is particularly making the Galaxy a better place.

O O O

Thinking a little more about it, I might go for a Supergirl substitute who is a little more... Iconic...

Metropolis, Earth, April 2997

“I don’t understand how he got his hands on it.”

“You know how it is today-- anything and everything is available on the Galactic Web.”

“You know that Gim and Jo are going to be furious about this. It's going to be a political disaster. For both of them.”

“Which will be completely forgotten… eventually. Meanwhile our son is… like this… maybe forever?”

“You know, I’m right here!”

O O O

“At its peak, there were one-hundred-twenty-five Legionnaires, with four hundred support staff and their families- human, alien, and android- housed on Legion Plaza. The Legion Tryouts Auxiliary processed over a thousand applicants each year. Less than one out of a hundred qualified, although a couple dozen each year went to Montauk Point.”

“I know all this, Dad. We studied it in school. Ancient History. Then the Directorate placed the Legion under the umbrella of the Science Police, and it eventually disappeared as a separate organization. Legion Plaza is a tourist attraction now. Mostly gift shops.”

“Ancient history? I lived it! I was Legion Leader for two decades, with your Aunt Imra as Deputy. I don’t suppose today’s course material includes why the Legion was disbanded?”

“I guess they wanted Adults in charge?”

“Adults were always in charge. At first, it was Rene Brande and Marla Latham in charge. Then when the Founders were old enough, we took over training the kids. EarthGov and the UP always had a finger in the pie as well. But then…
“He called himself Carom. He used the same elasticizing serum your Uncle Chuck did to give himself nearly identical powers. He had a similar temperament, too: good-natured, with a self-deprecating humor. Chemically, the stuff expands adipose tissue into a spongy, super-elastic material.
"The problem is, he was a Mardrite, not a full Terran, and he reacted differently to the serum.
"There were side effects. He began to develop pustules on his skin. He went to the Med-Techs, and they got it under control for a little while. Then it turned cancerous. They got that under control, too. Then one day at a public appearance-- not even on duty, just doing publicity for the Legion-- he had a runaway outbreak. His body expanded uncontrollably, pox breaking out like balloons. It was horrible. He died before anyone realized what was going on.
“Legionnaires had died before. But in battle, heroic sacrifices. And not so publicly, not in front of a bunch of adoring fans.
“And at that point, kids were experimenting with the drugs that made the Legion superheroes recreationally. Jathosterone. Gingold extract. Miraclo. It was an open secret. In small doses, they all wore off quickly. Parents tolerated it, the SP looked the other way.
“Parents panicked after Daon died. Everybody panicked. New laws were passed. It’s why Norgine is a strictly controlled substance today, locked away in labs. The Legionnaires were placed under the direct supervision of an all-new bureaucracy in the Science Police. They passed over your Uncle Jo, picked someone else to head it. Jo was on track for a position as Commissioner for the Sol system, but that somehow evaporated, too. The Legion was seen as too dangerous for mere children. Or young adults, for that matter. And then… just unnecessary.
“I understand you hear the stories of a ‘New Golden Age of Heroes’, but there are many UP citizens, my age and older, who don’t look back on those years as so golden.”

“Look, we'll be careful, OK?”

"You need to be more than careful. You need to not do this."