Legion World Forums LEGION OUTPOST Bits o' Legionnaire Business 21st Century Legion (vol. 1): Remastered

Related threads:

• 21st Century Legion (vol. 2), continuation
• Roll Call (all characters) thread
• Chat Thread
• Unedited version of v1

Original post, stating the premise:
Just an idea to play around with:

Reinvent the Legion as a 21st century (Earth-based) super-hero team. How would it work stripped of its futuristic sci-fi setting? What would the new origins of the characters be? What would the series be like? Should it be part of the mainstream DCU, or an alternate reality?

Note, this version has been expanded by Reboot. The original post can be seen here

The Raines, a farming family from Kansas, were on holiday in the Carribbean. They had three children - Mark, the oldest, a rebellious loner; and the twins Garth and Eileen - or "Ella", as everyone called her - who were almost inseparable, and always suspicious of Mark.

One day, while the whole family was on holiday in the Caribbean, they tagged along with him, aiming to keep a watchful eye on him. Unfortunately, the batteries on their electric speedboat ran out. Using oars, they managed to paddle to a small isle nearby, where they found guardian robots, able to electrocute intruders, as they noticed when a small animal touched them.

Rather than questioning why such a small, deserted island needed such robots, Ella desperately suggested that maybe they could use them to recharge the speedboat. While they technically succeeded, all three received massive electric shocks which should have killed them. At the end, Garth and Ella were left in a coma, while Mark, panicking, took them to the mainland, dumped them in a hospital and scarpered, discovering that the shock had granted him electrical powers in the process.

They both spent weeks comatose, during which they were airlifted back to the USA. When Garth awoke, he found Ella still in a coma, and Mark gone. After being held a couple of days for further observation, he was discharged with a clean bill of health, before Ella had woken up. Alone for the first time in his life, he spent a few days sleeping a lot and kicking about the Raines farm, near Winthrop, Kansas, not talking to anyone, when he decided to take some of his anger at Mark out on a scarecrow in a remote field, and ended up blasting it with electricity. Amazed at this, he tested it out further, without telling his parents, and when Ella finally woke up the next day, a week after he had, he cautiously revealed his power to her when he visited her in the hospital. She tried to do the same, but, still weak, was only able to manage a few sparks, something which was a source of amusement to her brother.

That night, still alone in his room, he made a decision. Mark probably had the same power - who knew what he was doing or if anyone could stop him. So, when Ella was discharged the next day, she found he had packed his bags and was ready to leave for Metropolis in search of Mark, and despite her protests to either stay or take her with him, he maintained she was still too weak and left without telling their parents.

This version has been expanded by Reboot, with a nod to a concept originally introduced by Juan/Doctor One. Quislet's original post can be seen here

Irma Ardeen was orphaned as a young child, which activated nascent telepathic powers. When Checkmate, a US government black ops agency, started planning to recruit superpowered children from orphanages around the US, Irma was one of those chosen. After she accepted the offer, unaware of the consequences, she was handed over to Cadmus, Checkmate's scientific division, who - with the aid of STAR Labs, a private contractor - activated her potential with chemical treatment. In the blink of an eye, she found herself being able to hear and manipulate the thoughts of thousands of people. Thereafter, she underwent years of training, mediation and chemical therapy at their hands to help deal with her new power, having to live in the most strict isolation in the deepest part of Cadmus to avoid being constantly overwhelmed by the sensory overload - though a few voices still permeated though the Earth, helping to keep her sane.

Ultimately, she became the premier telepath at Cadmus, and one of the most successful subjects overall, which led Checkmate to recruit her into the active group. Unfortunately for Checkmate, thanks to the contact with her friends, she'd kept her conscience, and became more powerful than their psi-baffles. After she had begun to be used to spy on foreign dignatries and found it disgusting - as were the plans for the information - she "borrowed" knowledge from their computer science division, writing a virus to erase all trace of her from the Checkmate, Cadmus and STAR computers; used her power directly to achieve a similar effect in the minds of those in each place, and slipped away with several thousand dollars in cash and an air ticket to Metropolis while "cajoling" a Checkmate employee to take her to the airport.

Aboard the plane bound for Metropolis, Garth Raines encounters Rex Kline, a high school basketball champion from Braydon, MN, who was known back home as "Cosmic Boy" for his amazing feats on the court. What no one knows is that Rex and his younger brother, Paul, have amazing magnetic powers, due to their father's exposure to an experimental form an electromagentic radiation in the laboratory where he worked.

Rex's college scholarship was cancelled when Braydon was hit by an economic downturn. So, with the last of the money he's saved, Rex is flying to Metropolis to look for a job. On board, he and Garth spot two other passengers, a gorgeous blonde named Imra Ardeen and ...

Billionaire transportation mogul R.J. Brande, on his way home from a meeting with Bruce Wayne, with whom he discussed some revolutionary technology his company has developed based on a recovered boom tube.

But after thoroughly covering its tracks, Luthor Corp. has sent assassins to off R.J. and steal the technology for Lex Luthor.

While deplaning with her two new friends (and isn't that redhead a cutie?), Irma gets a mental image of what the assassins are about to do. She warns Garth and Rex, who use their powers to disable the crooks, who, of course, have no knowledge who their real employer is.

After heaping them with thanks, R.J. turns to his assistant and ward, Lorna Durgo (no Lorna Doone jokes, please) of Carthage, Mo., and says, "Get these kids names and numbers. I want to see them in my office first thing tomorrow morning. I see great things in their future."

Meanwhile, a young woman of the European aristocracy is chafing under her mother's strict control. As daughter to the U.N. Ambassador, Tamara Wazzo (I couldn't use "Tonya", could I?) enjoys New York but longs for adventure and romance. Although her family had long practiced a branch of witchcraft which permitted them to become phantoms, Tamara has only used this power in the secrecy of her home. She believes she could use her abilities to help people, if only she knew where to begin - and could get away from her mother.

After working late into the evening, Lorna Durgo has finally identified and tracked down the three "kids' names and numbers" and has arranged a meeting with R.J. for them at 10:00 AM the following morning. In order to accomplish this, she has had to put off tons of work that keeps accumulating on her desk.

Sighing at the long night that awaits her, she dials the phone to order Chinese food. As she places the order she gently strokes the latest addition to her "genie" lamp collection, which is displayed in the place of honor on her desk (reserved for her latest acquisition.)

As she waits for the restaurant employee to take her order, she sighs again and wistfully thinks "I wish I could split into three so I could keep up with all this work." There is a sudden, brilliant flash of light followed by billowing smoke, both of which combine to leave her momentarily blind.

As the smoke and her sight clears, she sees her reflection in the mirror across the room...but she's seeing triple! Or is she? Looking to her sides, she realizes that her wish has been granted by the magic "genie" lamp! There are now three of her!!!! She's triplets!

The 16-year old boy loved his part-time job at the costume rental shop. He had always enjoyed disguising himself as somebody else, imitating voices and mannerisms to perfection. Was it the role-playing or the subterfuge that was so appealing? His father, an undercover cop, thought the boy had a great talent for disguise and deception - and encouraged him, teaching him the tricks of the trade. Reed Daggly planned to follow in his father's footsteps someday, although, at this point in his life, he didn't know if he wanted to put in the years required to be assigned to undercover work.

It was a slow Saturday afternoon at the store, and Reed spent some time looking through a newspaper. His attention was captured by a story about three teens who had saved a rich businessman...

Well, there's also that offshoot of the Ute tribe that lived downwind of the U.S. government's Nevada Atomic Test Site, and got more than a normal dose of radiation. Fortunately, though, rare chemicals in their water supply diverted the particles into having nearly entirely benign effects, and the last three generations seem to have been growing bigger and bigger wings on their backs.

Nobody could take photos of these people, though, as the radiation in the area both made visitors sick and screwed up the film in their cameras. Still, one particular family had also gained what a particularly desperate reporter for the Enquirer mis-described as "psychic powers ..."

Note, this version has been expanded by Cobalt Kid, which also combined several posts by Proty.

Meanwhile, in Carlsbad, California, Jose Rimbaud paddled his surfboard out to catch the waves. All his friends heeded the reports that advised against surfing in the high storm surf, but "Surfer Jo", as he was known in the community, couldn't resist the swells. It was only there on the serene open ocean water that “Surfer Jo” could forget about the life he knew prior to Carlsbad and all the pain he had seen. There Jose was truly gone; so was even the “Surfer Jo” act. Joe was a strong swimmer, but this morning the waves were pretty strong even for him—causing him to misjudge a giant wave and be thrown down deep beneath the surface.

For a moment he's too disoriented to know which way is up. Swallowing some water, he thought for the first time that just maybe he might have made a mistake. Desperately, he swam for the light but something sucked him down. It felt like he was in a whirlpool as darkness surrounded him. GULP.

…time passed…

Joe awoke to find himself washed up, somewhere in a dank cave lit by phosphorescent fish. It stunk. It really, really stunk. He noticed the water is acidic and seemed to be eating away his neoprene suit. Climbing up on a pile of flopping fish, he tried to figure out just what happened to him.

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

The crew of the Japanese whaler was excited. This would be the biggest whale they had ever caught! They chased it for over a day before they finally harpooned the giant creature and brought it to the surface.

"That's no whale," cried the Captain. "That's GODZILLA!"

Very little remained of the ship when the wreckage was found days later.

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

The rescue ships searched the waters for days looking for survivors of the ill-fated whaler. So far they had only found three: one was near death, the other refused to say anything about what happened, and the third was obviously driven mad by the experience. All he would do is scream "GODZILLA" and hide beneath the covers.

They were just about to call off the search when one of the helicopters spotted a bizarre sight: a teenaged boy clinging to his surfboard in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. In the aftermath of its battle with the whaling ship, the dragon-like sea creature had disgorged young Jose Rimbaud, who thanked his lucky stars for his survival. Soon after, it became clear the experience forever altered the California surfer; as the Navy doctors who examined him learned, Surfer Jo was now the Boy with Ultra Powers!

Sally Digby is the shy but intelligent daughter of a faculty member at Ivy University. There she befriends Professor Ray Palmer, aka the Atom, and learns of his ability to shrink in size. Without Palmer's knowledge, she repeats the same process that gave him his powers. Fortunately, there are no side effects and she is able to shrink to sub-atomic size with no problems. It is also there that she meets a prodigy by the name of Lyle...

Quentin Docks was the fifth - and only successful - product of a designer baby program, code-named Brainiac, conducted by a black-ops division of Star Labs. The genetic manipulation raised the boy's intelligence far beyond that of any other human being, but he still lacked the social skills that developed throughout childhood. Both parents were totally absorbed in their work at Star Labs and regarded him more as a successful experiment than a child.

Quentin grew up on his own, with free reign to pursue whatever interested him within the confines of the premises, quickly surpassing the best scientists. The directors began to get nervous as the years passed and wondered if they could possibly control him as he reached his teen years. They began to look around for a way to unload the boy and wash their hands of whatever he might do in the future. Someone suggested the maverick R.J. Brande might be interested in hiring him....

Zoe Saunders and her mother Azura are investigating some ruins in Western Europe. Zoe decides to bring up a subject that has been on her mind for a while: her upcoming prom back home in America, which will take place in six days, just enough time for her to fly back home, pick out a dress and line up a date.

Unfortunately for her, Azura confesses that she has forgotten about the prom completely, and as things stand now they have no way of making it back in time.

Distraught, Zoe runs off into the ruins. She can't belive that her mother has ruined her life AGAIN! Bad enough that she doesn't get to hang out with her friends anymore, but she has to spend most of her time in creepy, smelly places like this one!

Angrily, she kicks at an old, crumbling wall. Suddenly, the wall crumbles to dust, revealing a glowing pool of energy...

Years ago, out in the windswept plains of New South Wales, Fred and Myra Kallor worked to put the final touches to their revolutionary gravito-scope, assembled near the massive Parkes Radio Telescope. Unbeknownst to them, a comet dragged to earth by the malfunctioning device was to have dire consequences not only for their project, but their infant son Tom...

Tatiana Mallor clutched the book tightly to her chest as she struggled across the rocky beach. She hadn't expected the wind to pick up, but that wasn't too uncommon along this part of the English coast.

Everyone had told her that her grandmother had drowned in the ocean, but she knew better. That was impossible. Her grandmother Lydia Mallor had secrets, and Tatiana knew where she kept them -- in the book she now held. Lydia had been taken by the shadows.

Tatiana finally reached the line of caves. Someone long before her grandmother had marked one with a small sunburst, though Lydia had kept the groove fresh in the constant barrage from the blasting sea. Tatiana counted eight to the right and went in, letting muscle memory take over in the darkness.

She had been in this cave countless times and knew every rock. She wasn't afraid of the darkness. It wouldn't hurt her, but still -- shadows could be unpredictable. The familiar "ta-lok" of dripping water comforted her as she reached the spot she was looking for.

She pulled a candle from her pocket and set it on the stone table. She lit it and opened the book. She didn't know every word, but she knew enough to find the spell of communion. Lydia had always taught her that her ancestors were very important and that she could come to them in dire need.

Need didn't get more dire than this. Her grandmother had disappeared, leaving things in disarray. Her grandmother's house was going to be sold, and though Tatiana's father and uncle couldn't care less (they wanted the money), Tatiana knew she couldn't let this place of power go to someone who didn't know what he was getting -- or worse, someone who did. But she was only 13 and didn't know what to do.

So she read the words of the communion spell and waited. For a few moments, nothing happened. Then she noticed the small circle of light around her getting smaller, though the flame hadn't dimmed. She smelled her grandmother's perfume and snuffed the candle.

A familiar touch wrapped around her, and Tatiana knew her grandmother was with her. She could also feel other pairs eyes watching her, and she thought she heard a sniff of incredulity.

"Oh, Tati," Lydia's voice whispered. "The shadows took me away too soon. If only my sons ..."

"Grandmum! I knew they were lying to me! I knew you'd be here! Father is going to sell your house so he can buy us some stupid fancy flat in London! What can I do?"

"Hush, child. Everything will be fine. Do you think I'd leave this place totally without defense? I knew your father and uncle wanted no part of their destiny, but you, Tatiana, you and your cousin Gregory may be the greatest of us all."

Again, the snort.

"Greg? But he's only 10!"

"I know dear. Now listen closely. I have much to tell you, but this spell won't last forever."

Three years later, Tatiana lived in Lydia's large, rambling house with her parents, aunt, uncle and cousin Greg. Tatiana had returned from the cave with a will, leaving the property to her and Greg with no option for sale. One look in Tatiana's darkened eyes told her father and uncle this was not to be contested. They knew where she'd been, and as much as they had never wanted to believe it, they knew the family's ancient power had been passed along.

Reluctantly, they moved their families into separate wings. Provisions had been made so that her father and uncle could continue their business, while Tatiana and Greg learned their grandmother's secrets in a dark cave.

(Edited to fix duplicate name -- sorry, FC, I didn't look back on the first page)

The girl in white was determined to make her plan work. The wind was fierce this December evening in New York City. She looked up, to the top of the grey building in front of her, took a big breath, and went in. "Yes? May I help you?". The security guard was a big man. He was flanked by 4 others. "I would like to see Mr. Brande, please". "I'm very sorry, but Mr. Brande doesn't see anybody without an appointment." This was as she thought, R.J. Brande had a reputation for generosity that attracted many people in need to his offices. Tamara looked at the guard, smiled, and said: "I see. Where can I make an appointment, please?". She knew exactly the answer to that question, the large queue to her left was obvious enough. And she had been here before, visiting with her mother, Countess Winona Wazzo, second in line to the Austrian throne and ambassador of her country at the U.N. That had most certainly NOT been a nice visit. R.J. Brande had seen right through the usual insincere unctuousness of the Austrian heir, and had politely but firmly refused to take part in Winona's political schemes to return Austria to a monarchical system. "The Austro-Hungarian Empire must rise again!". Yada, yada, Tamara had heard this line from her mother throughout her life. She had never been interested in this, Austria was doing quite well as a republic, but her mother's obsessions did cause some problems. For example, R.J. Brande had sworn never to see Countess Winona again. And he would certainly not be inclined to see her daughter, either.

Tamara looked at the guard, smiled politely, and with a gentle bow of her head, turned towards the long queue. When she reached a corner, she turned towards the wall... and disappeared. She knew exactly where R.J. Brande's office was, but it still took her a while to get through the myriad of offices unseen. Fourty-five minutes later, she had made it. Nobody had seen her (she was quite proud to have had the patience to wait until people got out of her way) and she was standing inside R.J. Brande's door. She looked inside, through the darkness. In addition to R. J. Brande, there were six people in the room, two boys and four girls. Three of the girls, triplets, obviously, were sitting on a sofa, holding hands. The fourth girl, a stunning blonde, had her hands at her temples, and was watching the triplets intensely. The men were looking from behind. And suddenly, the triplets... merged into one person! The blonde woman lowered her arms, smiling, but then frowned and looked straight towards the dark office door. "There is someone else here!", she said, and two seconds later, Tamara was surrounded. "The Austrian princess!" R.J. Brande was not pleased. "Hi. I'm Tamara, but you can call me Tina".

The village of Trom was abuzz with talk of strangers being spotted nearby. Young Jan Arrah was excited. He hoped that he would get a glimpse of the strangers. He had dreamed of exploring the world outside the village, to see the cities from which the village ancestors came from. Occassionally certain villagers were selected to go into the outside world. Jan's father had done so.

According to the stories, centuries ago a group of alchemists in Munich had discovered the secret of changing one metal into another. It was a great discovery. But there were those who wanted the secret for their own personal gain. There had been fights and death in the struggle over the secret. Finally his ancestors had prevailed. They knew the secret was too dangerous for the outside world, so they took their families to this remote area and founded the village of Trom. Hidden from the world, the villagers kept guard of their secret power.

Jan spent the afternoon scouring the countryside, looking for the strangers with no luck. Tired and hungry he returned to the village. What he discovered there shocked him. All the houses were now just charred and smoking ruins. The villagers' bodies, his friends, laid everywhere. Running to his own home, Jan found his father and mother on the floor. Dropping to his knees, he cradled her in him arms, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"cough, cough" She was still alive, but just bearly. "Mother what happened? What should I do?" "Jan? Is that you? It..it was the strangers. They came looking for our secret. But we did not tell them. cough, cough, choke. Jan? You are safe? You must hide. You must get away from here." His mother clutching at him, her fear and desperation evident in her voice. "Run, my son. Save yourself!" With that she collapsed, breathing her last.

Jan looked for any other survivors, but they were all dead. Jan knew he could not stay here, but where could he go? Then he remembered all the stories his father had told him of his time in the outside world. There was one man whom his father had repeatly said was the best of all the outsiders - RJ Brande. Jan would find this RJ Brande and seek his help.

It was finally happening! The Legion was forming! Nura sat up from her futon, beaming towards her sister Maizah. But of course she knew already, Irma had probably broadcasted her news to all of her 'telepathic' friends simultaneously. Nura stood up, and walked towards a window covered in intricate wooden patterns. She peeked outside, towards the other soaring skyscrapers in the blazing sun. That it had come to this, having to flee from one's own father! It would be nice, though, to finally see that place she had always dreamed about, America!

But first things first, they had to get out of here. And that was not going to be easy. Maizah ("the discerning one", how appropriate!) was already packing, putting a few prescious books she had taken from her father's library into a camel-leather bag. Nura did not have much to put into her bag, but this did not concern her. They were finally leaving! The Legion would be a success, she had foreseen it. She put her burka on and opened the door, Maizah two steps behind her, also covered from head to toe. As the two sisters started walking down the hall, Maizah waved her hands, and all sounds from their walking were muzzled. Maizah had been preparing for this moment for a long time, waiting for their father to leave the house. She was not going to let themselves be caught. The two sisters reached the stone steps, and walked down the fourteen stories of the earthen skyscraper. The heat of the sun welcomed them as they arrived at the bottom. The streets of Shibam were almost completely empty, at this, the hottest hour of the afternoon, but a few people, mostly men, were conversing in the shade. Reaching the market was no problem, but to get to the bus station, and then beyond...!

As the two sisters were trying to board the bus to Aden, a large, surly looking man with a big moustache and a uniform stopped them. "Who are you, and where are you going?", he asked. "I am Nura bint-Mordru bin-Ahmad Al-Nayal, and I am leaving for America!". At the same time, Maizah waved her hands again. The man stopped frowning, put on a beatific smile, and went to his office, ready to follow Maizah's "suggestions". He came back ten minutes later, having written fake permission papers from the two women's non-existing husbands. "Your papers are in order, you can leave the country now". The sisters looked at each other, pleased with their success. They boarded the bus, the first step out of Yemen in their long trip to America. "It will be so nice to finally meet Irma, Jacquie, and the dark English lady!"

Long ago in Ancient Rome, the warrior Monius Ellysius was the greatest champion of the Roman people. Some said he has decended from the real Hercules, for he possessed the amazing ability over super-strength and invulnerability.

Others said that he was Achilles, who had secretly lived on since the Fall of Troy.

One day, on a trip into Persia, Monius explored the ancient caverns of the Babylonians and stumbled upon a terrible form of led that he inhaled.

Poisoned, Monius was brought by the Persian people to their greatest Zoroastrian Priest. The Priest was able to gain favor with his deities, and a spell was woven so that Monius would not wake up for 2000 years. Hidden in the cave, the Persians left him there and covered the cave, scrawling only these words over it's entrance: "Zone of Phantoms".

This was during the reign of the Emperor Augustus.

Irma Ardeen, sitting in the back bench of one of R.J. Brande's airplanes, had a headache. The past couple of days had been so eventful! After years lived in isolation in the deepest part of the Cadmus Laboratories, life on the outside was proving to be very stressful. Fortunately, she could still count on her telepathic friends to keep her sane. The effects of the chemical treatment inflicted on her by the scientists at STAR labs had been instantaneous (oh, how she wished she had never volonteered for that!), at the blink of an eye she found herself being able to hear and manipulate the thoughts of thousands of people. It took her years of training to learn to silence those voices, but at last she was getting there. There were limits to her power, though. Although she could receive the thoughts of people physically close to her, her abilities diminished with distance. That simple fact had meant that for years she had had to live in the most strict isolation, while learning to cope with her new powers. She found, however, that she was able to communicate with a few people, usually adept in the mystical arts, even if they lived at the other end of the planet. Maizah had been first, Irma didn't know what she would have done without her! Such strength and determination in such a small frame! Quickly afterwards, Maizah had managed to open Nura, her sister, to Irma's telepathic messages. For years the three of them had shared their innermost thoughts as only teenagers can, all of them completely isolated from the outside world. As Irma's powers grew stronger and her control better, she started to "invite" others to her conversations. Tatiana Mallor, the dark lady from England, had become a good friend in a small time, as had Sara, the "empress of Venegar", as she liked to be called. A small girl called Jackie was also receptive to the messages, but she was so shy! Irma didn't like her very much, actually; it was only at Maizah's insistance that she kept her in the group. But over the years she had been able to find out next to nothing about this so-called "friend".

The training period ended when the people from Checkmate arrived to recruit her. How she hated those people! She had been used for one thing, and one thing only: to spy the thoughts of important dignataries. And Irma hated every minute of it. To invade the privacy of these people in such a blatant manner! Because most of them were actually good people, with wives, kids and mundane problems, peering into their minds without their consent was simply revolting! The Checkmate operatives didn't see things in the same way, and so one day she simply had to leave. And leave she did. She went to the basis of operations of Checkmate, read the mind of the head of personal, and proceeded to erase the memory of her existance from every single person related to that program. And then she did the exact same thing to the 250 people at Star Labs that had ever known of her existance. She was free at last! Or so she thought, she hoped she didn't miss anybody...

Garth and Rex had been the first boys Irma had ever met. Of course there had been the STAR scientists, but they were OLD! It had been so exciting, managing to save the life of R.J. Brande! Of course she was willing to join the new Legion, Nura had foreseen that it would be a great instrument for good! She had also enjoyed helping Lorna to get herself back together, perhaps her telepathic powers would be able to do some good, after all! The Austrian girl was nice enough, but Irma found her open, smiley demeanor a bit too much. And then there was Quentin, another child of Star Labs. When he was "delivered" to Mr. Brande, Irma hid, not wanting to meet anybody from Star Labs ever again. But to her surprise, she found that she got along with the green kid well enough (God, she hoped that particular side effect from his genetic manipulation would not appear in her!).

And now, here they were, the new Legion of Super Heroes, off to their first mission. Garth, Rex, Lorna, Tina, Quentin and herself. She hoped things would work out... But why did she have a feeling that there were two other people on the plane? She had checked over and over again, and had found nothing. It must be the headache.

At the very back of the plane, Lyle Norga and Sally Digby looked at each other and smiled. They had just confirmed that Reed Daggly had made it onto the plane, too, disguised as one of the co-pilots. They hoped everything would work according to plan...

Laura Long was a shy & quiet girl who made the most startling of discoveries. Her cute next door neighbor Mick Russell was the hero of her hometown, Foreman.

Drawing from her lifetime love of entomology she developed a serum to allow her to pupate into a more attractive form. Determined, she drank it without a test - and when she woke up in the morning she found it had worked. Now, she had much longer legs & a butt to rival JLo's.

Unfortunately, it was not without side-effects: within a few weeks she had begun to turn randomly into turn into ferocious Were-Bugs. Thankfully Mick figured out what happened and brought her to STAR labs. There, they developed a ring that helped her channel her powers in a less violent manner. She was relieved because she didn't want to go all Praying Mantis on her potential boyfriend. Now she was the sultry Insect Queen.

Next ››

Brian was loner, he always had been. Growing up in a military had seen to that! His dad was a doctor in the Army and they had moved from base to base. Sometimes it seemed to Brian that they had just gotten settled in a new house when they had to start packing again!

Because of the frequent moves, Brian had never let himself make friends with any of the kids he met on the various bases or at the various schools he attended. What was the point? He would only have to say goodbye in a few months and never see them again!

Without friends to play with, Brian mostly concentrated on physical training and sports, the individual ones...no team sports for him since that would mean teamMATES. He ran constantly, lifted weights, loved to box and wrestle, and was even an excellent gymnast. One good thing (the ONLY good thing, in Brian's opinion!) you could say about the military, they always provided terrific training equipment at the base gymnasiums.

They were back in the States now, in Texas actually but his family had spent the last year stationed on the base at Diego Garcia. It was there that he had gotten stung or bitten by one of the dangerously venomous animals or lizards that infested the island. He was running, alone as usual, when he was stung, and had not seen his attacker. Somehow he had made it back to the base before blacking out.

It was almost a month later before he came out of his venom induced coma. His father and the other doctors had struggled mightily to save his life, trying every antidote, hormone and treatment they could think of to fight the unidentified venom. Something else else had worked, or maybe some combination of things had worked...no one really knew although they were all releaved.

One good thing had come out of that experience, Brian smiled to himself, as he climbed the sheer cliff face. Whatever combination of drugs they had treated him with had caused an unanticipated side effect, one which he had not shared or spoken about with anyone, even his father.

He was even more agile, you could say super agile! He was also faster, stronger, and had significantly more endurance than he had ever had before! Something else else had enhanced his physical abilities way beyond the norm!

Zoe couldn't believe it. She was flying! Up in the sky! Like a bird! This was WAYYY cooler than being a cheerleader.

It was getting chilly up here. She quickly morphed her green mini into a warmer yet no less chic pair of pants. Her newfound abilities were SO convenient.

She hoped the kids back home would still remember her... The kids who had been her friends before her mom and dad had split and mom had taken her and her stupid baby brother Than looking for artifacts on a wild-goose chase around the world!

Although it hadn't turned out to be a wild-goose chase, had it? That mysterious artifact in the ruins had been charged with some mystical energy, and now she could do all these cool things...

Three days after she had first absorbed that energy, she had first discovered her high scale telekinetic abilities. It hadn't taken long for her to decide to fly back to America on her own and pop up at the prom. She had left her mom a note before she left. She'd be back soon, of course. It's not like she could get into any trouble with these cool powers, could she? She'd be perfectly safe.

She was thinking about which boy would be un-gross wnough to ask to the prom when the plane carrying the Legion flew right above her.

The two women who stepped out of the plane in Frankfurt could not be more different to the ones who boarded it in Aden. During the flight, the two sisters had removed their burkas and had shyly returned to their seats, under the stare of practically every single male passenger on the plane. But it was in Frankfurt where their full physical beauty was revealed. They had decided to exchange their Arab-style clothing for a more "westerly" attire, in order to attract less attention. The effect of the change was the exact opposite of what they intended. Maizah had chosen white pants and a white silk blouse that contrasted brightly with her fiery red hair. Nura had chosen a pair of tight jeans and a red blouse, and had tied up her platinum hair with an oriental-looking needle. Both were extremely uncomfortable with the amount of attention they were getting.

"We can't linger here too long, father is bound to find us!" The day before their flight from Shibam, when they learned about their father's so-called "business trip", Nura had made sure to take enough money from their father's vault to last them for a lifetime, while Maizah raided the library. They had absolutely no compunctions in using that money, the rightful owners of it would certainly approve of the sister's efforts to oppose their father. Had they been alive, that is.

The plane to New York City was still on the runway. Nura sighed in relief when they finally found their seats, but Maizah was... distant, she thought. She looked at her small sister and smiled. Whatever would she do without her? They had never been apart in all their lives. Maizah looked at her sister with a tremulous smile and kissed her in the cheek. And then she stood up. Ten minutes later she still hadn't returned, and the plane took flight. Nura was frantic. She was just about to go to the cabin to force the plane to fly back, when fluorescent green letters appeared in front of her spelling a message in Arabic. "I am so sorry, Nura", it said, "I have to help Jacquie". "I'll find you in New York."

Nura bint-Mordru Al-Nayal fell back into her seat, tears streaming down her face. How come she had not foreseen this?

Zoe had been deeply lost in thought when the plane had almost hit her.

She dove sharply just in the nick of time.

She shook her head slowly. She would have to be more careful! Having to spend the prom in the hospital would be so not fun.

Suddenly, she realized that she had forgotten something important. She didn't have a clue where in the United States of America she was!

She quickly turned around and followed the plane. Maybe she wouuld find herself a date in the process.