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CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-FIVE
"|K"

Alala was a white Old Colonial-style mansion built up on a hill just outside Mars City.

It had, among other amenities, seven cleanrooms. "One for each day of the week," as Vera Danforth noted.

Known to her grand-nieces and grand-nephews as 'Old Aunt Vera', she was actually the youngest of her sisters. Small in stature, and prematurely gray ("It is premature, isn't it? I'm only in my mid-forties.") she had been given sole stewardship of the Danforth estate on Mars, while her sisters and their extended families remained on Earth.

Some of her relatives, she was sure, referred to her as 'Crazy Old Aunt Vera'. It was no doubt due to that unfortunate incident with Kimball and Emelia Zendak. May they rest in peace.

Not that she did not have one family or another come for a visit nearly every Martian month for a vacation. Still, the house was large enough that she did not need to see them if she did not want to. Unless she wanted to use the pool.

But this week had been blissfully quiet. She enjoyed the solitude, no doubt rather too much. She has spent the afternoon playing 1O-S with the Pro-bot, but all the house robo-staff had now retired to their charging stations. They would be up and about again before the Martian sunrise, long before she woke up.

The picture window in the sitting at the front of the house had a beautiful view of the Mars City Dome, which shimmered with iridescent rainbow highlights during the day, and glowed with bright interior neon lights at night. But Vera had no interest in relaxing in the sitting room tonight.

She had set herself up in the more secluded interior of the house.

A high desk stood beside a comfortable easy chair. The lights were comfortably low. The house was silent. On the desk was a large box, containing, well-organized, a collection of perhaps fifty small ring-boxes. One small box, marked with a bright green Interlac '"|K", had been placed within easy reach of the armchair.

Vera took a seat, relaxed, and opened the box. Within, a gold ring with a small emerald stone glowed faintly. Vera was the only member of her family in generations to be affected by these elements.

The pain was excruciating. Waves of weakness washed over her. The veins in her left hand, nearest the kryptonite ring, fluoresced a pale green.

Before the enervation overcame her, she clicked the lead-lined lid shut. She gasped at the endorphin rush as the pain subsided. She replaced the little box in its space.

There was a box marked with a gold '"|K", another blue, another white. There were four dozen small boxes marked with a crimson red '"|K". Each had a small card inserted next to them.

One read, 'Ant's Head'. Another, 'Lion's Head'. Others, 'Understand the Language of Birds', 'Third Eye', 'Gender Reversal (96 hours)', 'Dwarfism', 'Hallucinations of Death'. More than half of the little cards were blank.

Vera chose one of the red '"|K" boxes at random with the blank cards. The tiny mineral chip was not set in any jewelry, merely on a slip of plain paper, yellowing at the edges.

"Well, Vera, you are quite fortunate," said a voice. Her own voice. "We are about to become very, very wealthy women."

Vera blinked in the dim light. Her thoughts swirled, but then coalesced into perfect clarity. It was like looking into a mirror. The second diminutive, grey-haired, middle-aged woman slowly rose above the carpet, and with a blast of wind, flew from the house.

Vera closed the ring-box, and picked up the little white card. She wrote in small, careful script, "Super-Powered Evil Twin", and replaced it in the appropriate slot.

Are Lyle-Zee and Lili Van-Zee existing characters? I like her very matter of fact approach to things!

Also, Stormtrooper is an excellent name considering the not very subtle analogy Geoff Johns was putting out there when he did that Legion/Superman story...and I have to admit, every time I see Storm Boy all I can think of is a kid and his pelican friend

In the Silver Age, Van-Zee was the Kandorian cousin of Superman, and was his exact double. He married Sylvia DeWitt, an Earth-woman and wealthy heiress who was the exact double of Lois Lane. It was canon that Van-Zee gave his wife a serum which allows her to survive in Kandor's red-sun, super-gravity environment, which gave her Kryptonian-like super-powers on Earth.

Van-Zee and a reformed Phantom Zone criminal named Ak-Var were stand-ins for Superman and Jimmy Olsen as "Nightwing and Flamebird" when the latter two were not in Kandor-- which was most of the time!

Van-Zee and Sylvia (whose married name was, we suppose, Sylvia Van-Zee, according to the then-current Kryptonian naming traditions) were the parents of twins, Lyle and Lili, who, when last seen in the late 1960's, appeared maybe kindergarten age.

The Zee family occasionally visited Earth, and Superman's friends occasionally visited Kandor. So the Zees were well-known to Lois Lane, Lana Lang and Jimmy Olsen-- including the fact that there existed a way to give any human Kryptonian-like super-powers. Think on that for awhile.

Van-Zee write-up

Here are some pics.

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net...01.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20140714181212

https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MgOEYPpw...2eOdU0lseydK2TqG3wCLcB/s320/jo53_002.png

Thanks! Now that you have told me, I kinda remember reading something with them in it maybe....it was somewhere in my head with all the other stories with identical duplicates of Superman just coincidentally wandering around

Van-Zee also had an identical twin brother named Dik-Zee.

I blame Mort Weisinger.

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-SIX
SHOPPING

Kallor, Kimota, and Annie announced that they were going shopping in New Metropolis.

"It's kind of ironic that a village this small is called 'New Metropolis', don't you think?" asked Kimota.

"I'm sure it was originally intended to be bigger," opined Annie. "But we can't all be Nix Olympica, or Mars City, or Marsopolis."

"Prime beach-front real estate, though," said Kallor. "There is a lot of coastline around New Hellespont just waiting for development. Look at Rabe City."

"And there is a Mr. Phil's here," noted Annie. "I could use some additions to my wardrobe."

The New Metropolis Mr. Phil's was small, but pricey. Custom fitted clothing was available to order from Earth, as well as off-the-shelf miscellany.

“I need shoes,” Annie announced.

Mr. Phil did not have a line of shoes of his own, but sold creations from Rivera Zapateros in-store.

The cheapest were one hundred credits.

“We also solid-print replicas, in-store,” the salesgirl offered helpfully. “Not the same quality, of course, but still quite stylish.”

A holovid screen, the sound turned low, was set to a news channel.

"The Capitol Building in Mars City has been successfully evacuated," the newswoman reported. "We are waiting for a message from Martian President Ynner."

The screen flickered, replaced by an image of the President Ynner. He was a youngish Ungaran, and he stood beside a diminutive, gray-haired, middle-aged Terran woman.

"The Science Police are by no means to approach the Capitol," he instructed. "I am officially tendering my resignation as President in favor of Mars Citizen Vera Danforth." He indicated the woman beside him.

A crawl immediately appeared on the bottom of the screen: "Eccentric cosmetics heiress Vera Danforth named President of Mars under bizarre circumstances," it read. "This is a developing story."

"Greetings, my loyal supporters," said the new President Danforth. "This is a request for donations to my campaign for re-election. Please transfer your generous donation directly into my account with the Intergalactic Bank." She glanced at the Presidential Desk in the background. Twin lasers shot from her eyes, and the desk was split cleanly in two.

"Those who donate generously will have their names recorded," she continued. "Those who do not, will also have their names recorded. Donations in kind-- precious metals and jewelry only, please-- may be left outside your front doors. The offerings collection in Mars City is scheduled for one half-hour from now. Other Martian cities will be notified soon when in-kind pickups will be scheduled as soon as practicable."

"A Daxamite imposter?" Kimota suggested.

"I don't think so," said Kallor. "Otherwise, why use her personal bank accoutnt? I imagine it is something far stranger. She does not seem quite… sane."

"Well, the Science Police have been ordered to stay away," said Annie. "So she must have made more direct threats than those that have been already implied."

"Well, Star-Woman can't stay away," said Kallor. "This Vera Danforth is coming out within the half-hour to pick up her 'donations'… and I've gone up against Daxamites before. The trick is to get her as far away from Mars City as possible, and as quickly as possible-- to avoid casualties. There may be a little damage to the Mars City dome."

"Don't you think you're acting a little rashly?" asked Annie. But she was talking to the wind. "I'd put a curse on this Danforth woman, for Kallor's benefit," she told Kimota, "If only she weren't on the other side of the planet."

Kallor Nal, the Star-Woman, and the super-powered Vera Danforth, were tangling just above the Martian atmosphere. There was a small hole in the Mars City dome below, just large enough for two women to squeeze through.

Star-Woman had blocked several attempts at heat-vision and frost-breath aimed at the ground. Her efforts were focused on getting them higher, beyond the atmosphere, out into space. The older woman's strategy seemed to be to ignore Star-Woman, and try and cause as much random destruction as she could on the surface. She had so far been unsuccessful.

The Danforth woman was fast, and Star-Woman had to prevent her from using that speed: keep her locked down, and pointed away from the planet. It was difficult to get in any disabling move, but so far, it had only been seconds.

That was when the third woman showed up in the sky.

Slender, and dressed in a red-and-black form-fitting jumpsuit and skirt, she appeared to be of approximately the same generation as the Danforth woman. She approached the newly-appointed President of Mars from behind, and put her in a head-lock, eyes facing the stars.

"Slip this on her finger," said the third woman, offering a small ring-box to Star-Woman.

Inside was a gold ring with an emerald-colored stone set in it.

Vera Danforth collapsed almost immediately. The other woman winced, dropping out of the sky. 'President' Danforth fell toward the surface as well, hitting the ground hard. Kallor descended more slowly. The other middle-aged woman recovered quickly, landing some meter away from Danforth and Kallor Nal.

"Lili Jazar," the red-clad woman introduced herself. "You looked like you needed help."

"I appreciate it," said Kallor. "Should I know you?"

"Probably not," said Lili. "But I know you: Kallor Nal, the Star-Woman, Planetary Champion of Naltor and New Titan."

"It's a funny thing," said Kallor. "As a Naltoran, I should have expected something like this today. Chalk it up to the inherent randomness of Naltoran precognitive powers."

"Maybe it just wasn't important for you to know," said Lili.

The SP's were converging quickly around the prone body of erstwhile 'President' Vera Danforth.

"Is there a red-sun holding cell in Mars City?" asked Star-Woman.

"It will only take a short time to equip one," said the SP captain. "We will have to requisition the generators from Earth, but the transport is pretty quick."

"There is already one set up in New Metropolis, although it hasn't been used for months," said Star-Woman. "I'd like to get that ring off her finger before it kills her."

She looked at Lili Jazar. "Can you keep up?"

"Oh, yes," said Lili. And they were off around the planet.


==========================================================================================================================

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-SEVEN
LILI JAZAR’S STORY

Officers Bradbury and Burroughs took possession of the prisoner. Freed of the kryptonite ring, she sat sulking under the red-solar-radiation projectors.

By the time things had settled down, Kimota and Annie had found Kallor at the jail, and Shrinking Violet, the Triplicates, and Chameleon had joined them.

Star-Woman returned the ring in its lead-lined box to Lili Jazar.

"You seemed affected by this kryptonite, too," said Star-Woman. "Two Kryptonian descendants on Mars in one day seems too coincidental. Who are you?"

"I was born Lili Van-Zee… oh, nearly eleven hundred years ago, now. But time is a funny thing. Non-linear; a big ball of wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey stuff. I was lost when I accidentally came to Earth around thirty years ago. Lost in time, and, as I would learn, from a different version of reality as well."

"Exiled from Earth by Kirt Niedrigh and his 'Justice League'... I got here at just the wrong time... I knocked around the Galaxy for awhile, registered my identity on Weber's World, got a job, earned some credits. I tried living on Daxam, but Daxamites were too strange… insular, tribal, and xenophobic, even more than Earth's present-day xenophobes."

"I learned of Rokyn, founded by the descendants of Kandorians, and a few other the survivors of Krypton, but… well, they've changed over the past thousand years. They're not like the Old Kryptonians at all anymore."

"I was finally successful in going back in time… a thousand years, but found it was not my own Universe. Different Superman, different Krypton, different Kandor. I'm not even sure my world is even accessible from here anymore... or even 'exists', in the strictest sense."

"I had no place in that Earth's 2Oth century, so I came back to the 31st. But not back to Earth. Not at first. I moved around a lot before that."

"When Niedrigh's government failed, I went back-- I am half-Earther, after all-- thinking I might play super-hero there. But it turns out I don't really have the disposition for heroics."

"I got acquainted over the years with some of the other families who claim also Kryptonian descent here: the Emorys and Kweskills in Metropolis, the Bennets and Beignets in France, the Canterburys and the Danforths in England. Never really got to know the Shakespeares. Stand-offish family."

"And then I met Jake, and all I wanted after that was to be was an ordinary Earth-woman. The Danforth family had a collection of various kinds of kryptonite: a family heirloom passed down for generations. They did me a favor. Exposed me to a little sliver of gold K, and that was the end of my Kryptonian super-powers… forever, I thought, at first. So I married Jake Jazar, without worrying I might accidentally crush him to death."

"We had a pretty normal life on Earth together. We've got a son about your age," she indicated Star-Woman. "Esau. And a daughter, Bianca, probably close to yours." She indicated the Triplicates. "Both one-quarter Kryptonian, but they don't fly." She shrugged.

"Then there came that one horrible day. Bianca was on an 'outdoor school' trip. Jake had gone along as a chaperone. It was supposed to be completely safe, well-vetted, well-supervised, but in a distant star-system."

"They didn't expect an invasion by a renegade Khund fleet. But I guess no one ever does."

"UPGov was doing what they could, but it was taking days. No one wanted to go in guns blazing with a bunch of school-kids hiding in some unknown location on the planet's surface."

"Now, I'm only half-Kryptonian. My mother Sylvia was from Earth. But the Kandorians developed a serum which allowed her to live comfortably in the super-high gravity, and under the artificial red sun in Kandor. Provided she took it regularly."

"Whenever she came out under Earth's yellow sun under the influence of the serum, she gained Kryptonian-like superpowers. It was kind of an unfortunate side-effect really: her human body processing that much energy was so exhausting it was dangerous, so we mostly stayed in Kandor. But it gave me an idea."

"I knew that formula. I'd mixed it up before with my parents in our kitchen. By the 3Oth century, the ingredients were all easily available. I didn't know how it would affect me, after the exposure to the gold K, but I was desperate."

"It restored my powers for twenty-four hours. Long enough for me to disable the Khund fleet, and rescue Jake and Bianca and all the rest of the class."

"I was miserable for three days after that. It wasn't like using my powers when I had them naturally. I was wiped out, exhausted. I just stayed in bed for half a week, and Jake fed me chicken soup."

"Vera was in a complete panic this morning when she accidentally created an evil, super-powered red kryptonite clone of herself." Lili indicated the woman in the cell. "I was the first person she called. And I had a little serum prepared for just such an emergency."

"The original Vera Danforth is being interviewed by the Mars City SP's," said Officer Bradbury. "We may be sending her little kryptonite collection back to her family on Earth."

Lili nodded. "Vera is a little eccentric, but not really dangerous. Well, except this time around. When I got her call, it was a quick trip from Earth to Mars, although I'll bet I set off a dozen alarms streaking through the atmosphere, and out beyond the polymer shield. Vera had given me a kryptonite ring. Every Kryptonian family chould have one, and... Oh, dear." Lili Jazar stumbled. "The serum is beginning to wear off. I'll need some help getting back home. Either an SP gate, or hitch a ride from one of you?"

The Members and SP's nodded. Lili Jazar sat down.

"Here," said Lili. "This might interest you. It's a holo-crystal that came with me from Kandor-- all I have left of my childhood."

"This is a picture of our family-- Lyle and I are about four years old. Dad was a dead ringer for the Superman of our world, and Mom was the same for Lois Lane."

"She was also heir to a small fortune on our Earth-- if I could make it back there, I'd be a corporate heiress myself. I guess my brother Lyle would have ended up running DeWitt Industries after he grew up."

"This is a picture of my brother and I, dressed as Nightwing and Flamebird on Masque Night. We must be ten or eleven years old here."

"Masque Night? What is that?" asked Shrinking Violet.

"It's an annual Kryptonian holiday, something like Hallowe'en on Earth. We dress up as characters we admire or fear-- real or imaginary-- and there are games, and parties, and food and desserts. That's my mother, Sylvia, dressed as the Kryptonian demon-goddess Chythonna, and my father, Van-Zee, dressed as a Kryptonite Man. The costumes are always very intricate and ornate, but they're only made of paper*, and at midnight, there's a big bonfire where everyone's costumes are burned. It's symbolic of overcoming one's fears and overcoming... what's the word? Hero-worship? It's about learning to be your own best, authentic self."

"This is the last holo I have of my parents, and this one is the last I have of Lyle. Our sixteenth birthday." She sighed. "So many memories… oh, dear, I think I serum might need a nap before getting back home."

"And how are you doing?" she asked the Vera Danforth clone. But as they watched, the woman faded away.

"Twenty-four hours," said Lili. "Her time must be up, too. Oh, I'm tired. Do you have a place where I can lie down?"

"We'll take her back to Earth in when she wakes up," said Kallor Nal. "That is, if the SP will give their approval."












*Note: When Lili says “paper” she means something more like “papyrus” or “linen”, because it is made from Kryptonian crimson marsh rushes. After exposure to radiation of a yellow sun, it is more stronger and more durable than titanium steel.

Loving your work Klar. Officers Burroughs and Bradbury need another appearance.

Spotted this at lunchtime and thought of you:

https://www.cbr.com/superman-exact-doubles/

Officer Douglas Bradbury and Officer Lance Burroughs of the New Metropolis Science Police Department (NMSPD) are minor characters for whom I have no immediate plans.

This does not mean, however, that I have not already gone down a rabbit hole developing these characters in my mind.

When first introduced, these two were working at the Nix Olympica SPD, but were captivated by the charms of New Metropolis, and recently transferred there.

I even have an outline of the hierarchy structure (positions, if not names) of the NMSPD, including such developed characters as Police Chief Moqed, Gamma (Graveyard) Shift Sergeant Howard Phillips, and K9 Officer Zeus, a genetically corrected Doberman Shepherd, and his handler, young Sergeant Alyss Holt, a New Titan telepath...

Officers Bradbury and Burroughs are assigned to the Alpha (Afternoon) Shift.

Perhaps I will take some time and do a full write-up (or Brain Dump) in my “Who’s Who” thread.

Being partial to felines, I admired the Aruaans, even the bad ones.

Imra convincing Kal to join the Legion: none of the gosh-wow hero worship of the original story, this Imra is negotiating a deal of mutual benefit. She's a smart one.

Some characters certainly have interesting ancestors. Will we learn more about Annie Foxmoor's faery heritage? And the Kryptonian-blood families sound like a bit of an aristocracy or private club. What makes the Shakespeares so standoffish? Vera Danforth is just the right kind of batty, playing around with the kryptonite samples. Scientific curiosity or getting some thrill out of the unexpected. She seemed pretty calm about creating the super-powered evil twin although Lili claimed she called in a panic.
I want to know more about l'Affaire Zendak.

Lili Van Zee-Jazar is a great character. You take a character with nothing more than a name and give her a detailed and credible (for comics) history in a couple of chapters. With great power comes a three-day headache.

I like the idea that Naltorans might only get visions of what's important or pertinent to their own lives. It puts a limiter on the power that isn't associated with lack of reliability.

Masque Night sounds like an excellent idea. We should reformulate Hallowe'en - dump the candy, examine your soul.

What a fascinating universe to visit!

Canadian Cramer: I am gratified that you enjoy visiting my little intrapersonal paracosm. I spend a lot of time there myself.

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-EIGHT
"ROKYN”

Kallor Nal found the high gravity and dense atmosphere of Rokyn psychologically oppressive, but it was nothing her electro-cometary enhanced metabolism couldn't handle.

The Speaker-- an ambassadorial position?-- introduced herself as Kymura Won-Bah. Her office was appointed in comfortable furniture and copious artwork.. "What can I do for you, Ms. Nal?" she asked.

"As I am sure you know, one of the greatest heroes in Earth's history came from Krypton. Two, actually. I represent an organization which calls itself 'The Super-Hero Club'. Inspired in part by those heroes, it is our goal to restore a heroic tradition to the Galaxy. We were curious to know if any of your young citizens, as descendants of Krypton, might be interested in such an endeavor."

"Do not each of your worlds have a Planetary Champion of their own?" asked the Speaker. "And are there not a number of able part-Kryptonian descendants on Earth, and scattered throughout the United Planets?"

"A few worlds have Planetary Champions," admitted Kallor. "But by no means all. Not anymore. And the vast majority of citizens of the U.P. claiming part-Kryptonian abilities have no remarkable powers or abilities at all."

"Ah, well, I am not surprised if my information is out-of-date. Time does move on. Nevertheless, I am afraid we cannot help you," said the Speaker. "The cost to our people of leaving Rokyn is too great. I have researched your Super-Hero Club, and its predecessor, the Legion of Super-Heroes. It is filled with idealistic young people, and I daresay we might be able to find some such among the youth of Rokyn. But they would be too immature to appreciate the... gravity of what you are asking, and the consequences of leaving Rokyn. The adult population of Rokyn would never stand for it."

"What dire consequences could come from from association with the greater Galaxy?" asked Kallor. "Perhaps there is something I do not understand about your world?"

"I am sure you are correct," said the Speaker. "We do not advertise it. We do have little contact with the outside Universe. And I will tell you why."

She produced a card.

"Please meet me at my private residence, at sundown," she said. "Our ordinary meal-time. Let me treat you to dinner. I will introduce you to my family, and then I will show you something."

The streets of New Kandor, Rokyn's capital city, were laid out in a straightforward logical manner. Kallor was able to find the little house easily. The speaker greeted her warmly.

"'This is my husband, Won-Bah," she introduced. "And our great grand-daughter, Rora Mar-Ur, who is staying with us at present."

Rora Mar-Ur was a woman who appeared at least as old as Kallor herself.

"Great grand-daughter?" exclaimed Kallor. "Perhaps I misunderstand the term. I would hardly have thought you would be old enough to have grandchildren, let alone a generation beyond."

"We are older than we appear," said Won-Bah. "You would be surprised.

Dinner was adequate, heavy on fruits and grains, with a bland sort of meat dish called babootch.

"Tastes just like chicken," thought Kallor.

"Now let me show you something," said the Speaker. She and her husband led Kallor to another room. "These are our sleeping quarters. You see the golden lamps on each side of the bed? They bathe us as we sleep in a modified gold kryptonite radiation."

"So the people of Rokyn will have no powers under a yellow sun?" asked Kallor.

"It is not that simple," said the Speaker. "Gold kryptonite radiation is in many ways similar to yellow solar radiation. A Kryptonian under a yellow sun, when exposed to gold K, experiences a metabolic overload, and his or her powers simply shut down-- permanently. But there is no such effect under the red sun of Rokyn."

"Solar-induced super-abilities confer a number of benefits, one of which is invulnerability-- including increased resistance to disease. A Kryptonian under a yellow sun seldom becomes ill, and only in extraordinary circumstances. The modified Gold K radiation from these lamps replicates that-- and only that-- longevity benefit."

"Exposure results in a greatly extended life-span as well. At least in one alternate future, Kal-El had a lifespan of more than eight hundred centuries. We do not know how much longer he lived beyond that. The same appears to be true of Rokynites exposed to the modified Gold K radiation."

"My husband and I were, in fact, two of the original colonizers of Rokyn. Born in the original Bottle City of Kandor, we were just toddlers at Rokyn's founding. We are both now well over nine hundred years old. As you see, we have aged well. Rora is, in fact, our descendant, but not exactly our great grand-daughter. She is some nine generations removed." Kymura counted on her fingers. "Our great-great-great-great-great-great grand-daughter. She is visiting us from the Provinces; living with us now, while studying at the University here."

"Children are precious on Rokyn. It became necessary to severly curtail our population growth at one point in our history. Each couple may now have only one child… which means, mathematically, that the population of Rokyn will never more than double its present size."

"It is theoretically possible to leave Rokyn, and to gain super-abilities under a more energetic star. But it would first be necessary for the individual to spend several days in isolation, purging the body of the life-giving K-radiation, so as not to overload the Rokynite metabolism. It would be just as difficult to return. And there is no guarantee that the life-extending benefits would remain. We cannot risk sending our children out into the outer Universe-- where they might risk losing millennia of life."

"So you see, we cannot help you. And you ask not merely for our children, but the finest and bravest and noblest among us to be your heroes. And putting them in danger as well, to possibly risk hundreds of centuries of future, productive life. Or longer."

"Perhaps, at some time in the future, Rokyn will be of benefit to the rest of the Galaxy. With great age comes great wisdom, they say. And in a hundred thousand years, who knows what Rokyn might learn and know and become."

“And so I must refuse you. Are you satisfied with my answer, Kallor Nal?"

Kallor looked at the speaker. This woman who might consider Terrans-- or even the long-lived Coluans-- as mere mayflies, whose lives are lived out in what is relatively a single day.

"I thank you, Madame Speaker," she said. "I see that our… perspectives… are quite different. Keep an eye on the Galaxy's heroes throughout the centuries, if you would. They seem to come and go from history. But I think that they are ultimately necessary."

"Peace and long life," said the Speaker, by way of farewell.

"That means a lot," said Kallor Nal, "Coming from you." 

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-NINE
WHEN THE STUDENT IS READY, THE TEACHER WILL APPEAR

A dozen flying mini-drones hovered above the training field.

“Saturn Girl!” cried the first drone. “How will you defend against a blast of psionic white noise?” The green-and-yellow clad girl fell to her knees.

“Lightning Lass!” cried the second drone, on the opposite side of the field. “These restraints contain duralim, which will absorb and negate your powers. How will you escape?”

Cosmic Boy was surrounded by a ring of blazing fire from the third drone, the heat calculated to weaken Braalien magnetic powers.

The fourth drone snaked out cybernetic fibers, attaching themselves to Vesta. “Ten, I now control your robo-nanny, which in turn has access to your force-belt and other weapon controls. You are at my mercy!”

Matter-Eater Lad Two was imprisoned by the fifth drone in a cage of a metal so toxic even Bismollians are unable to eat it.

Polar Lass, always sensitive to cold, was trapped in an ice cage by the sixth drone.

Ffiona found herself wrapped tight in an elastic polymer. “In this plastic prison, you will be unable to summon your duplicates, and will, yourself, suffocate in a matter of minutes!” announced the seventh drone.

Chameleon was sprayed with aerosolized Cancelite from an eighth drone.

Shrinking Violet found herself bathed in a beam of golden energy. “This radiation will cancel the effects of the Irulan white dwarf ultraviolet radiation which gives you your powers!” the ninth drone declared.

Korvea found herself enveloped in hot, blinding white light from the tenth drone. “Has your Talokan training prepared you for this?” the drone mocked.

No drone approached Star-Woman, hovering above the training field. Rather, an odd robot descended from the sky. Its metallic body was skeletal, and painted a metallic green. A motley collection of odd weapons decorated its torso. Its crimson-and-gold head was too large for its body, and resembled a giant toaster, with for the two strange antennae protruding from its forehead.

“You are the most powerful of all,” said Topar, the Super-Teacher from Krypton. “But this exotic, radioactive mineral will nullify all of your powers.” The robot produced a fist-sized chunk of black stone, which glowed with a bizarre dark radiation. Star-Woman fell to the ground. The robot descended with her, at last tossing the stone before her supine body.

The Super-Teacher looked around the training ground at the helpless members. “Your training routines are foolish and ineffectual,” Topar declared. “You need me to teach you how to use your powers properly, before you can become real heroes. Admit I have defeated you all, with a single surprise attack, and I may consent to be your instructor.”

Star-Woman pulled herself up on her elbows. “You’re a monster!” she cried. “This black element not only removes my powers… if I were exposed to it long enough, it would kill me! How can you be so cruel?”

“I suggest you agree quickly, for several of your colleagues are in similar danger. Talokites cannot stand too long an exposure to super-intense light, and your Cargggan friend is unable to breathe…”

“This black element would kill me,” said Star-Woman. “If I were Star-Woman.” Chameleon reverted to his Durlan form, picking up the deadly stone as he rose to his feet.

The ‘Chameleon’ who had been exposed to Cancelite revealed herself to be Ffarrah, disguised by Chameleon’s shape-shifting Martian Zo’Ok ‘costume’. “And my sister was prepared for your polymer trap, with a small plasteel knife in one of the pouches of her utility belt." Ffiona had already cut herself a breathing hole, and was swiftly removing the rest of the plastic prison.

“Your ultra-bright light trap would have been effective, if I were Korvea, and not Phantom Girl, wearing Korvea’s costume.” The black-clad Phantom Girl sank down through the soil, beneath the surface of Mars, suddenly emerging from the Phantom Zone behind the befuddled robot. "Surprise yourself," she said.

Phantom Girl brought with ther the real Star-Woman, previously hidden in the Phantom Zone. The Planetary Champion of Naltor raised the ancient star-rod, which glowed with a blade like a light-saber. A quick super-swing severed the robot’s head from its body.

“Your first error,” said Star-Woman, “was discounting Naltoran precognitive powers. We prepared Ffiona, Ten, and Vesta for your anticipated attack, and the rest of us simply switched costumes. There were a dozen ways you might have been defeated.” She indicated the nearby wood. “The real Korvea has been hiding there, in shadow, since before you arrived. Saturn Girl is disguised as Lightning Lass, and vice-versa. Cosmic Boy and Matter-Eater Lad Two switched costumes, as did Polar Lass and Shrinking Violet. I think you can figure out the rest. It was a simple gambit, but we knew that, overconfident, you would not even bother to use your facial recognition software.”

“Your programming has become corrupted over the past centuries,” Ten remarked. “Including your prime directive. But when you attempted to take over Vesta’s systems, we took over yours. Your central operating system, after all, is centuries inferior to Coluan computing technology. But do not despair.” Ten pulled a small toolkit from his utility belt. “I can repair you… or, at least, patch you up, with instructions to go in for a full rebuild on Colu.”

Matter-Eater Lad Two sat munching on one of the alien weapons attached the robot’s inert body.

“Don’t eat its anti-gravity generator, I’ll need that,” said Ten, diligently working in the back of the robot’s open head. “And there should be a warp coil or superluminal drive attachment. And some sort of mapping and guidance mechanism. Leave those alone, too.”

* * *

Sometime later...

Cyranus. Headquarters of the Super-Hero Club of that world.

“Look, it’s just too confusing,” said Whippy. “One of us needs to change his name.”

“OK, you can change yours,” Whiptail replied hotly.

A crimson-and-gold robot head, somewhat resembling a 2Oth-century Earth toaster, quietly appeared on the conference table beside them.

“A little confusion among your enemies can be a good thing,” said Topar, the Super-Teacher from Krypton. “I have had some experience with these things. And now that I have completed some extensive repair and refurbishment, I would like to offer my humble services as an instructor to your team.”

DIGRESSION: VIGNETTE BETA
TRUE BELIEVER

=========================================================================

I stared up into the night sky. I could find it. I believed I could find it.

The Charybdis of Space had once been thought to be an Old Spacer’s Legend.
Then it had appeared here, in Central United Planets Space, near my homeworld of Cyranus. Several ships had already vanished completely. A few had escaped. Some members of their crews swore the the strange, warped spacetime maelstrom had followed them. Others said they heard it speaking to them.

Whatever the truth was, I had to stop it. I had the power. I had to have the power.

Hadn’t I proved himself faster than the Velocitas Squadron? Wasn’t I more powerful than the giantess Trex Trolgre?


They tell me do anything I truly believe, I can do. This is my super-power. Of course, I also have to actually do something. It wasn’t as if I can just imagine that everyone on Cyranus is suddenly peaceful, and law-abiding, and kind, and good.

Or could I? Perhaps it would be worth giving it a try.

But for now, I must find Charybdis.

I scan the skies, deeper and deeper into space. The interstellar void is black, featureless. I stare harder. I see the thin mist of hydrogen gas that permeated the Galaxy, hear the song of 21-centimeter radiation. I observe the few stray molecules of heavier elements. Then I see it. An invisible line, separating normal spacetime from… something else. It is small, no larger than a large asteroid. It is drifting on a seemingly random, meandering path, but appears unaffected by gravity.

My silver-and-gold Planetary Champion uniform gleaming, I launch myself into space.

Now I see the Thing before me, a portal to Elsewhere. I cannot see inside-- or, perhaps I don’t want to. I am afraid. But there is nothing for it but to go through.

It is like flying through black gelatin. For a moment, I seem to sense a voice in his mind, calling my name.

“Vrai Hundueber… Vrai Hundueber… “

Then suddenly, I am through.

It is a tiny universe, no more than a few miles across. Rocks and debris were everywhere; there are no large planets. There are, however, over a hundred lost starships. Nearly half show signs of life to my scanning-vision. I approach the nearest one, and phase into a nearby airlock.

“May I speak to your Captain?” I ask the first being I meet-- a canary-headed llamazoid. “How long have you been here?”

He takes me to see the Captain.

“It is hard to say,” the Captain chirped. “We cannot trust the chronometers-- they sometimes run backwards-- and there are no constellations to measure the years. The Charybdis seems to regenerate our stores automatically, as well as fuel for life-support. Our children have all grown to young adulthood, but have not seemed to age beyond that. None of us seem to have really aged for quite a while. And no one has died for a long, long time.”

“The Charybdis cares for you? Feeds you, provides for you, and extends your lives?”

“That is true,” chirped the Captain. “But we would still like to leave, and return to our homeworlds. Even those with family here. This place is too weird and uncanny. And there is a sense that we are being kept… like animals in a zoo”

The story is the same on the other ships I visit. There were two Cyranian vessels here, which cannot have been here more than a couple of weeks, but are still beginning to feel the eerie timeless quality of this pocket dimension. Everyone wants to go home to a more mundane reality.

I can hear the Charybdis of Space calling from the portal. It is unmistakable now. It is calling my name.

“Vrai Hundueber. Come to me, Vrai. Come Back to the portal. Vrai. Come to me, my child.”

I fly back to the strange, sticky blackness between the universes.

“See how well I am caring for our pets?” the voice in my mind asks.

“How many are you,” I ask.

“At first, I was alone. Then we were two. Then I was alone again. But now you have returned, my child. Have they made you forget me so soon?”

“I am not your child,” I protest. “I was born on Cyranus. My parents are Cyranians. I am the Champion of my people.”

“Are you really Cyranian?” asks the silent voice. “Do you remember your parents? Do you remember your childhood home?”

The Charybdis watches as I search my mind.

“This is your childhood home. I am your beloved mother. I made you to help me-- to go into the Universe where I cannot go myself. But you became lost. I am so pleased you have returned to me.”

The dark, gluey space becomes warmer.

“Mother,” I say. “You must release these living beings you have captured. They are unhappy here. They wish to return home.”

“But they are my pets,” Charybdis protests. “They are all I care about. They are my only pastime, my only darlings. I have learned how to care for them.”

“They have family who miss them. Surely you understand that?” I plead.

“Some of them are too old to return. They have lived ten or twenty or thirty times your brief existence. If I were to send them back, they would die.”

She was silent for a time.

“Bring me your adopted world of Cyranus,” she suggested. “With your power and mine, we can enlarge my inner space, to make room for it. Those who are here can have a real planet to live on, a complex ecology and technology, and many friends. In time, you could bring me a real star. After many generations, they would forget that the Outer Universe. We would never be lonely again.”

This does not sound like a good idea to me.

The Charybdis of Space reads my mind, and casts me back into the graveyard of ships.

“I will give you time to think about it” are the last angry words that echo in my mind.

I try to imagine where I am. There is the portal to the Universe of Cyranus. There is this pocket Universe-- the ‘interior’ of the Charybdis? And a membrane of some kind, separating the Charybdis from… what? A higher-dimensional space? I imagine the Universe of Cyranus as an immense sphere, curving through 4-dimensional spacetime. The Charybdis is a smaller sphere, attached to the larger Universe like a parasite. I fly to the side opposite the portal. Space is noticeably curved here. I step through…

Into a five-dimensional chaos. My three dimensions of space, and one scalar of time, are like a flat playing-card here. At the same time, I see my past like a great cord, looping out of what must be the Charybdis, out into space, and then back again. I travel some way into my future, and meet…

“J’Nn J’Nnzz, Imphunter from Zrfff,” says the little bald green-skinned man. “At your service.”

“I am called True Believer, Planetary Champion of Cyranus,” I explain.

Time flickers, and I jump forward a few moments.

“So your old Ma is feeling lonely, is she?” asks the Imphunter. “Try one of them Coccus Glomes grazing over there.” He gestures. “I myself can’t tell the boys from the girls, but maybe you’ll have better luck playing matchmaker.

“What is your real name?” I ask.

“I can’t tell you that here,” he laughs. Time skips again.

“Wait here,” I tell the young Glome, and re-enter the Charybdis. There is no indication any time has passed since I have been gone. The Charybdis immediately reads my mind, and turns away from the Universe of Cyranus, through Otherspace, and towards the Coccus Glome I have brought. Their portals align and meet. The Charybdis’ interior shudders, as a brief electrical storm ripples through.

The world is madly spinning as the Charybdis turns back toward the Universe of Cyranus. The graveyard of ships, small asteroids and debris accompany me in our trip back into normal space. The portal between Universes turns away, shinks, and vanishes.

The Charybdis of Space is gone, having found something more interesting to focus on.

My name is Vrai Hundueber.

On my world of Cyranus, I am known as Planetary Champion, and leader of the Super-Hero Club of Cyranus.

But secretly, I am the son of a small Universe. Mother and I have a complicated relationship.

I have powers and abilities even I do not understand. They tell me that anything I can truly believe is within my power to do.

I am… True Believer

=========================================================================

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED THIRTY
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE LEAGUE OF SUPER-ASSASSINS?
(RAZOR’S STORY)

Razor (Atta-Karr of Earth): He has Neptunian and Korlon-Dryad colonist heritage, as his parents are Ron-Karr and Ki-Lan (the Silver Slasher).

“You would think it would have been easy,” said Razor. “The Dark Man kidnapped Mom and her cousins, held them prisoner for years, brainwashed them, implanted false memories, and overlaid violent personalities. Modern psionic psychological medical technology ought to just be able to peel away those layers like an onion, and reveal and restore the normal mind and personality underneath. Right?”

“On the other hand,” said Dorrit, “Our mother is a master psychic, so Dacey and I know just enought to understand how difficult that kind of therapy can be.”

“The League was also physically transformed by the Dark Man,” said Razor. “With the exception of Blok. And with no real attempt to moderate the brutality of the process.” Razor paused a moment, collecting his thoughts. “I don’t think the Dark Man really expected the League to survive their encounters with the Legion.”

“Blok’s history is the one I least understand,” Razor continued. “Everyone thought at first that all the Dryads had been rescued, along with the Terran colonists, but when when they arrived… only Blok had escaped, with Titania’s family. The rest of the Dryads had disappeared. They called him Blok, because they couldn’t pronounce the name he called himself... he grew up on the comume my great-grandparents established on Korlon-Two.”

“I thought the Korlon colonists were resettled to Ganadan,” said Shrinking Violet.

“Ganaden was what United Planets officially named the place,” said Razor. “But the descendants of the original colonists still think of it today as Korlon-Two. Our family was closer to Dad’s parents than my Mom’s-- I’ve only been to Ganaden a couple of times. Mom has a hard time even remembering her family is still alive-- not intellectually, you know, but emotionally-- a residual of the Dark Man’s programming. She’s close to the other Leaguers, though. Blok’s death at the hands of Validus and the New Fatal Five hit her hard. Although, from what you tell me, it’s more complicated than that. She blamed the Legion-- she still blames the Legion for a lot of things, including the way the rest of my ‘aunts’ and ‘uncles’ ended up.”

“Next to Mom, Titania is the most normal of the Leaguers, and the one who has come closest to a happy ending. She’s married, has a more-or-less stable home and family. Of course, she and Tyr are pirates, but that’s an honorable profession on Tyrazz. And he’s an important figure in government, too, which makes her something of a celebrity. I understand their son Auberon is ambitious, and looking to make a name for himself as a warrior-- although that has already put him at odds with the United Planets. Still, from a Tyrazzite perspective, he’s a success.”

“The psych-techs had good luck with Uncle Sti-Tuan, after the introduction of the 7G protocol.”

“7G: that’s what helped Uncle Mekt so much,” said Dacey.

“Yes, well,” said Razor. “The problem was, his powers continued to mutate, and overwhelmed him. He lost control of his… bodily cohesion. In the end he just… sublimed away into vapour. Whether he remained conscious or not-- that’s a horrifying thought, isn’t it? The Titan telepaths couldn’t find any indication of his mind remaining in existence.”.

“Uncle Cey-Nu had a similar problem. He had to be kept in a mirrored room. It contained him when he lost control, and transformed into pure light. I don’t really remember him, but I have a holo of the two of us in his hospital room when I was a toddler. With my sister, and my parents. Uncle Cey-Nu was luckier than Uncle Sti-Tuan. The crosstime researchers discovered a dimension inhabited by sentient light-beings, and he eventually relocated there. Of course, Mom hasn’t heard much from him since then. Although I understand he found a ‘female’ beam of light, and got married. Or the equivalent.”

“Mom had the opposite problem. Her powers began to fade. She can still assume ‘Silver Slasher’ form-- superhard metallic skin, super-speed-- but only for short periods, and with sustained concentration. She passed on some of her abilities to my sister and me. Dad complains his arthritis makes it painful to become two-dimensional anymore, so they’re pretty much normal Terrans. As much as any family is normal.”

“Aron Chazir is a mid-security prison hospital for inmates still receiving psychiatric treatment. It’s a massive artificial structure, covering most of the surface of Triton, the largest moon of Neptune. Dad’s parents, and my aunts and uncles and cousins on his side of the family, live in various Sky-Cities of Neptune. So it’s not hard to visit Aron Chazir. That’s where Wi Kan Muur, my ‘Uncle Neutrax’, lives. He’s the worst off of them all. He suffers delusions-- not just the ones the Dark Man implanted in his head, but other, ever-changing ones as well. One time we visited, he insisted that he was a champion bat-ball player, and was being held against his will so that Xanthu would win the interplanetary cup. This despite the fact that he is paralyzed from the neck down. His neutralizing powers have turned in on himself, making it impossible to heal his somatic nervous system. He’s also dangerous: he sometimes goes into fits of rage where he tries to ‘neutralize’ people. He’s even managed to thrash his head around to the point where his protective visor has come loose, and he’s caused some injury to the staff. Still, Mom and Dad take us kids to visit him, and they do what they can. If they don’t visit him, they send presents and holo-cards to Aron Chazir for Christmas, and his birthday, and Klordny Week. I think Uncle Neutrax is why they eventually became Pastors of the First Church of Neptune on Earth. Mom, especially, seems to get satisfaction from being of help to others.”

“And that’s why you’re also studying theology at Metropolis University?” asked Dacey.

“I was studying theology,” said Razor. “Now I’m just cooling my heels on Mars. EarthGov won’t even allow me to go visit my parents in the Maldives. Or allow them to come here.”

I love reading your interpretations of various characters as we often share the same thoughts. I agree with a lot of your choices for the fate of the League of Assassins. The main places we diverge is that I usually write about a weakened United Planets, so I often give the villains their own planets.

I'm also using the light dimension in my stories, mostly in regards to the Aurakles of the Outsiders.

I think Kallor should turn to juvenile delinquents to get her Kryptonian! Drax-Zod would be a lot of fun, though you would have to de-power him significantly to be usable.

Oh, I suspect the Lazon probably got himself involved with the Cintosians. Of course, Razor would not know this, as Quanto was before his time. Before his parent’s time, really. Well, his mother, at least.

I impose some pretty strict rules on myself in creating the Earth-K and Earth-K2 paracosms. Drax does not exist in either Universe.

And the Super-Hero Club Members have to live with each other in pretty close quarters, so personality trumps power in Member considerations.

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED THIRTY-ONE
RHEA

“What do you think?” Ten asked Vesta. He proudly displayed the steel robot monkey, built from odds and ends he and Cosmic Boy had collected. It had been rebuilt, revised, reprogramed, and polished to a shine. “I call it Kappa-Omicron-Two.”

“It is inferior technology,” said Vesta. “Why do you build it? I am more useful.”

“Inferior technology can have its uses,” said Ten. “Do I detect a hint of jealousy?”

“I am not programmed for emotional response,” said Vesta. “I merely observe that this mechanical creature seems extraneous.”

“Don’t you love me, Vesta?” asked Ten.

“If necessary, I would sacrifice my positronic artificial intelligence to assure your continued well-being,” said Vesta. “But no, Master Txarlz, I do not love you, or anything else.”

“Too bad,” Ten shrugged. “Why did I build it? Nostalgia, I suppose. My intention is for it to be a lookout for the Clubhouse. A watchman. Or watch-monkey. Of course, as a neural network, it will define the limits of its own function, to a great extent.”


“A lookout?” asked Vesta. “A… nanny for the Clubhouse?”

“Well, it’s solar powered, and charges slowly in the dim Martian sunlight,” Ten explained. “I expect it to remain on the roof of the clubhouse, charging itself most ot the time. A good spot for a lookout. But I believe it should be capable of about a half-hour of motion every day.”

“You could have installed better batteries, a more efficient charging system,” said Vesta.

“I could have, but I didn’t,” said Ten. “It is based on my original two-year-old design. I did not want to modify it too much; only sufficient to extend its projected lifespan.”

Phantom Girl interrupted Ten’s conversation with his robo-nanny.

“Saturn Girl and Star-Woman want to meet with us all. They have another mission for us.”

“It is a typical super-hero mission,” said Saturn Girl. “This is Rhea, the largest moon of Saturn. The Terran colony is at Tirawa City in Infinity Valley. It has now been etherwave-silent for thirty-six hours. An investigative team of SPs was sent from Earth twenty-four hours ago, but they too fell silent. Nothing has been heard from a second team for twelve hours. I propose we investigate ourselves.”

“Could the whole city have been destroyed?” asked Cosmic Boy. “As well as the two investigative teams?”

“Long-range sensors show continuing life-signs,” said Saturn Girl.

“You ought to do a reconnaissance through astral projection before we go rushing in,” Ffiona suggested.

“We already have,” said Lightning Lass. “There is something preventing psychic contact with the city itself. And everything there is, well…”

“Blue,” said Saturn Girl. “There is some sort of blue energy permeating the whole area. Any ideas?”

“Some sort of energy that makes the area psionically opaque, and cuts off etherwave transmission as well,” said Ten. “And produces a blue-light signature as a side-effect. Honestly, I admit I cannot identify any known phenomenon with those characteristics.”

“We’re thinking, some unique meta-human,” said Star-Woman. “Is twenty minutes to prepare, and load up the Sojourner sufficient time?”

Within the hour they were orbiting above Tirawa City on Rhea.

“Those two large craters form a figure-eight,” Saturn Girl pointed out. “Or, the old symbol for ‘infinity’. That’s why it’s called ‘Infinity Valley’.”

At the intersection of the two craters, a deep blue light gleamed. “I’ll set down just outside the blue area, and we’ll use our flight-belts to get us to the city center. Be alert for… well, anything.”

About a mile in, as they passed through some sort of municipal park, Matter-Eater Lad Two announced, “I feel drained, exhausted. I need to stop and rest a minute before we go on.”

The other Members paused. “Could some strange radiation be affecting us?” asked Polar Lass. “I’m feeling tired as well.”

Ten checked his portable sensors. “I detect no unusual energy readings,” he said. “I cannot even account for the blue color around us.” He sat on the ground, absorbed in the readings, adjusting the sensor.

“Master Txarlz, I have lost my link with Colu,” Vesta announced. It settled down on the ground beside him.

Ffiona looked around in alarm. Korvea was sitting on a bench, head back, sound asleep. Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad, and Saturn Girl were somewhat ahead, also apparently passed out on the ground. Chameleon had collapsed into an orange puddle, the other members were similarly lethargic.

“Are you all right, sisters?” Ffiona asked.

“As OK as always,” said Ffarrah.

“Normal,” said Ffey. “What’s wrong with everyone else?”

The Triplicates approached Star-Woman, who sat on another bench with her head in her hands.

“What’s going on?” Ffiona inquired. “Are you feeling sick?”

“No, I’m all right,” said Kallor Nal. “It’s just… I think we were wrong to come here. There’s nothing we can do.”

“You think we should leave?” asked Ffiona. “Go back to the Sojourner?”

“No,” said Star-Woman. “We may as well stay here, as anywhere. It makes no difference, anyway.”

Ffiona looked at her sisters. “You know what’s happening, don’t you?” Dawning comprehension crossed Ffarrah and Ffey’s faces.”

“We haven’t got enough for everybody,” said Ffey.

“Ten first, then Saturn Girl, I think,” said Ffiona. “Her telepathic abilities might be able to help the others, once we pull her out.”

Ffiona approached Ten, and pulled a small container out of a belt-pouch. “Just one, for starters, I think,” she said. “I hope it’s enough.” She placed the pill under the little Coluan’s tongue. Slowly, he stirred, opening his eyes.

“The Lantern Corps,” said Ffiona. “The emotional spectrum. What is Blue?”

“It is powered by Hope,” said Ten.

“Could a Blue Lantern be absorbing all the Hope in this area?” asked Ffiona.

Ten re-calibrated his sensors. “Unlikely,” he said. “But a reverse Blue Lantern-- say, from the Anti-Matter Universe-- its light might project and inspire Despair.”

Saturn Girl was up on her feet now, as well, thanks to Ffarrah. “What did you give me?” she asked.

“A powerful, fast-acting, serotonin uptake inhibitor,” said Ffarrah. "Fortunately, we carry a supply."

“Of course,” said Ten. “You were not affected by the Anti-Blue Lantern because the three of you must be somehow used to resisting clinical depression.”

“All our lives,” said Ffiona. “You learn to cope, after a while. Plus the fact that we three are always doped up to the gills on this stuff. Now that we know what’s going on, we can sense the waves of hopelessness emanating from… there.” She pointed towards the city center.

“Saturn Girl, can you broadcast cheeriness, positivity, and emotional energy to the rest of the Members?” Ffey asked.

“I’m not sure I have the resources,” said Saturn Girl. “Do you have another one of those Happy Pills?”

“It would probably be better if you could draw from within,” said Ffiona. “We’ve only got one left, without going back to Mars. Best to save it for an emergency. It’s only likely to get worse, the farther we get in. Don’t you have any happy memories?”

“Happiness, yes,” said Saturn Girl, concentrating. “Although anger works, too. Anything to motivate action.”

The other Members began to stir. Saturn Girl, Ten, and the Triplicates quickly explained the situation.

“Somehow, this blue light has affected Vesta as well,” said Ten. “She’s not supposed to be programmed for emotion, but all her systems have shut down. I’m afraid we’ll have to leave her here. For now.”

Matter-Eater Lad Two raised his hand. “I am really not good at handling this,” he said. “It seems to be really affecting me badly. Maybe I could take Vesta back to the Sojourner?”

“I could go with him,” said Polar Lass, “and if you… um… don’t make it back, we can go for help?”

“Ffiona, Ffarrah and I will make it back,” said Ffey. “This artificial hopelessness is nothing compared to the Hopeless Bleak Despair that comes from our own triple-mind. But it’s probably a good idea for anyone who’s badly affected at this point to turn back. This Anti-Blue Lantern has a whole city-- and two platoons of SPs-- under its control.”

No one else besides Matter-Eater Lad Two, Polar Lass, and Vesta turned back.

The waves of despair increased as they approached the city center, but Saturn Girl pulled up memories of happy times on Winath, from herself, her sister, and Cosmic Boy. She pulled will from the Triplicates, and anger from Star-Woman and Ten, who really did not like having their minds messed with.

The source was a little alcove at the top of a tall building. The creature from the Anti-Matter Universe was about three feet tall, and as blue as the lantern and ring it held.

“I am St. Zophos,” the little creature announced. “Look on me, and despair.”

“Or not,” said Star-Woman, blowing a blast of scarlet fire-breath at the blue-metal lantern.

“Blue Lanterns in this Universe have no offensive capability,” said Ten. “I imagine it is the same where this creature comes from.”

The little blue man powered up his ring, and vanished through a wall, leaving the smoking blue-metal lantern behind.

Phantom Girl followed immediately. “That won’t help, you know,” she said. “There are a lot of us, and we are smarter and faster, and, frankly, meaner than you.”

Using the star-rod, Star-Woman followed the Bgztlr through the wall.

The little man vanished. The blue aura around Tirawa City faded away.

“I’m pretty sure he’s gone back to the Anti-Matter Universe,” Phantom Girl reported. “I’ve never been there myself, but the dimensional path he took seemed weird enough.”

“At any rate, I don’t think he’ll be much of a threat without this,” Star-Woman held up the scorched, battered blue lantern. “Do we have a Souvenir Collection?”

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED THIRTY-TWO
THE TRIAL OF THE SUPER-VILLAINS

“I have good news and bad news,” said Star-Woman. “On the one hand, you ‘super-villains’ have been set a court date. On the other, it is before one of the extremist judges newly-appointed by the Acclaimant.”

“I don’t understand,” Annie Foxmoor complained, “How 15% of the population can just say, ‘We no longer accept the decision of the World Computer’, elect their own ‘Acclaimant’, and the President of Earth just steps aside. And the rest of Earth is just OK with this?”

“Politics is not logical,” said Atta-Karr. “Governments ought to gain their power only by the consent of the governed. The alternative is violent compulsion. Earth is not prepared for a civil war.”

“And many more Terrans support the goals of the 15% than you might think,” Black Flame noted. “The neo-Neidrighs, the Ogilvy Society, the Earth-Firsters, the Devolutionary Neanderthalists… even combined, they are a small minority, extreme in their views. But many see the general direction of their positions as morally defensible. There still remains an undercurrent of xenophobia on Earth even a quarter-century after Kirt Neidrigh came to power.”

“There is also the slogan nowadays, ‘Shall We Be Ruled By The Programmers?’,” Villian offered. “As though the World Computer was controlled solely by a small elite of computer scientists-- and that those computer scientists formed some homogeneous political bloc.”

“The pendulum swings,” said Star-Woman. “History shows that political fads and opinions come and go. But I am optimistic that the trend will always be forward. I suspect that the vast majority of sentients everywhere disdain politics as a necessary evil, and would prefer to just leave it alone, wishing merely to live honest, quiet and peaceable lives.”

======================================================================

“Tell me what you think," said Ten, as he downed the purplish-black liquid. It smelled like turpentine. His chartreuse-gold skin began to fade to gray, then brightened to a pale peach. His freckles darkened from teal to café-au-lait. The yellow sclera of his eyes lightened to a dull white, his lime-green irises deepened to a more human-like green. "How do I look?" he asked.

"Like an ordinary human third-grader," said Phantom Girl. “Still bald, though.”

Ten picked up an auburn wig from his workbench, and attached it to his head. "Shaved head not the current fashion on Earth?" The wig was not too long, and not too short. The edges were ragged; he looked like a boy who needed a haircut. He had changed into a plain grey-and-black jumpsuit in the current style, adaptive coloration for his visit to Earth.

"You look like a perfectly non-descript Terran eight-year-old," Phantom Girl complimented him. "Or, you could pass as Dacey and Dorrit's little brother."

"Saturn Girl is not allowed on Earth during the trial," said Ten. "A remnant of anti-psi prejudice. But Lightning Lass will be accompanying me as my 'big sister', as you suggest."

"How long will the color change last?" asked Lightning Lass.

"At least a hundred hours," said Ten. "Or until I take the antidote." He held up a pack of gum. "Which has been infused into this ‘gum’. One stick will get me back to normal."

'Black Flame', 'Evil-Eye Annie', 'Villian the Sorcerer', and 'Razor' entered Ten's lab. The little Coluan held up a small device.

"This is an ordinary MusicJakk®, such as any child might wear", he explained. "But I have adapted it for my own purposes. I have added a telepathic-mike, which can pick up-- some of-- my thoughts." He opened a small box containing a dozen miniature earrings. "These are your receivers. The whole system operates on an unused sub-etheric frequency; the courthouse will be telepathically shielded, but with these, you will be able to hear any messages I may 'think' at you. I will also be able to hear anything you say, or anything you may hear. So if you want to talk to me, just say something out loud. It has a very low energy output, and should not draw attention. However, it is quite limited in range-- only a few hundred feet."
"I would expect your Selachii will be able to give you better advice than I can," said Ten. "He will have had years of practical experience, while my studies of Earth and U.P. law have been purely theoretical. However, Star-Woman asked that we prepare for whatever contingencies we can imagine. And she wants to know what happens in the hearing in real time. I can keep her informed with a more ordinary connection."

"The Terran Members will be in the audience at the courtroom," said Phantom Girl. "Cosmic Boy, one of the Triplicates, Polar Lass and Hilary. Ten and Dacey will be on a bench in the park across from the courthouse. Dorrit will have to remain on Mars. Kallor will be coordinating things from somewhere in Metropolis, and the rest of the us will be scattered around the city as well."

"Surely you don't think you're fooling anyone," said Kimota. "The officers of the court will know who we are and why we’re there. And the city SPs as well."

"Yes," said Phantom Girl. "We're just trying to keep a low profile. Remember what a circus the first hearing was, when we all showed up in costume?"

"Well, that 'circus' ended up allowing us to spend the last few months on Mars," said Atta. "Rather than being banished to one of the Purple Moons of Rimbor, or somewhere like that."

"All except for poor Menelaus," said Bungle. "Although I can't feel too sorry for him on Talok, where he's treated like royalty.

"He actually is royalty," Ten noted. "But I have an idea about his exile, too."

======================================================================

Elsewhere, Cosmic Boy was asking, “Do you have something against Star-Woman? You have seemed rather distant from her recently. Perhaps you feel she’s usurping your role as Leader of the Super-Hero Club?”

“I don’t consider myself the leader,” said Saturn Girl. “We thought we agreed at the beginning that the Club would be more of a cooperative venture? It’s just that… well, she hasn’t really integrated into the Club yet, has she? We’re more a group of side-kicks than equals. And she socializes more with the ‘super-villains’ than with the rest of us. I’m afraid after the trial, with them gone...”

“You think she went to Rokyn looking for a replacement?” asked Cosmic Boy. “There is a big difference in age between us. It’s normal. Remember when I was only twelve, and you and Dacey had just turned fourteen? It was like you were embarrassed to be associated with me.”

“Well, you were a little brat at the time, if you remember,” said Saturn Girl. “But you’re right, Kallor probably feels more at home with college-age kids. And despite calling themselves ‘super-villains’, they seem nice enough. I wouldn’t mind having them permanently in our ‘Super-Hero Club’. They have some interesting talents.”

“It’s too bad they don’t have more of a sense of adventure,” said Cosmic Boy. “They’re more like super-civilians… super-bystanders… something like that.”

======================================================================

The judge looked at a note from the bailiff on his Omnicom.

“It appears that the EarthGov-appointed defense attorney has been delayed,” he reported. “Mr. Prosecutor, I am afraid we will have to postpone jury selection at this time. However, I will take pleadings from the defendants.” He addressed the ‘super-villains’ directly. You four are charged, collectively and separately, with violation of EarthGov Penal Codes Chapter 12769, sections 543, 822, and 233. How do you plead?”

Atta-Karr, Annie Foxmoor, Kimota Grezz, and Bungle Spelling sat at the defendant’s table. Conspicuously empty was the chair for their defense attorney.

Kimota scratched her ear. “I’m not sure what all those numbers mean,” she muttered, apparently to herself.

“Excuse me?” asked the judge. “I didn’t catch that. How do you plead?”

Ten sat on a park bench outside the courthouse. “You are being accused of terrorism, conspiracy to commit terrorism, and destruction of property in an act of terrorism,” said Ten. “Which does not seem to fit the underlying facts of this case.”

“I plead not guilty,” said Kimota. Atta, Annie, and Bungle made the same pleading.

“You are further charged,” said the judge, with three violations of Chapter 34969, in the first degree.”

“Three charges of first-degree murder,” Ten explained. “This seems… perhaps we are at the wrong trial? EarthGov cannot possibly…”

“Who do you think we murdered?” blurted Kimota. The judge seemed taken aback.

“The victims are all aliens,” the prosecutor volunteered. “Listed are Menaleas Mallor of Talok VIII, Ojina Einstein of Faustos, and Auberon Tyrson of Tyrraz.”

Murmurs erupted throughout the courtroom. The ‘super-villains’ were part of the chaos. “These charges are absurd… what are they thinking... We never heard anything like this… how do we ask for a continuance… “

Amid the chaos, the doors of the chamber opened, and Kallor Nal entered, accompanied by a very disheveled-looking Selachii.

“The defense’s vehicle was delayed by some... unusual... construction work downtown,” Star-Woman explained to the court.

The Selachii approached the bench. “May I have some time to confer with my clients?”

“Menaleas is absolutely alive,” Bungle told the Selachii. “I talked to him just yesterday.”

“And the others…” Kimota added, “Well, last time we saw those two, they were in the custody of the Justice League of Earth. What is going on? We don’t even know them.”

“Technically,” said Atta-Karr, “Auberon is my cousin-- second cousin, I guess-- but our moms really aren’t that close since she moved to Tyrazz.”

“The prosecution is charging you with as much as they can think of,” said the Selachii. “They can always walk it back later. There is a list of a half-dozen other charges. They are hoping to get you to plea-bargain: plead guilty to something, make this case go away, get it out of the spotlight. The worst that can happen to them is more delay… I’m sure you want to get back to your families, but... It may mean your returning to Mars for a while longer.” The four nodded.

“Your honor,” said the Selachii, addressing the bench. “I request a writ of habeus corpus be served upon the prosecution, requesting that they display to myself and appropriate witnesses the bodies of Auberon Tyrson and Ojina Einstein, presumably deceased. We are willing to travel to make the identification, if necessary. I also would like time to locate a physician of my choice to conduct private autopsies. At the same time, I request a subpoena be sent for Menaleas Mallor on Talok VIII, who, I have on good authority, is still alive, so that we may depose him, and resolve at least one charge against my clients. I have also examined the remainder of the charges, and have advised each of my clients to plead not guilty to each and all of them. I also observe that my clients are charged with illegal entry to the planet Earth, and unauthorized residence therein. As all persons of Terran ancestry are considered sin argumento citizens of Earth, and have a right to immigrate to and reside upon this world, I request the DNA samples obtained upon their arrest be examined, that we may prove their Terran parentage, and settle that accusation as well.”

The prosecutor looked at the judge, and shrugged helplessly. The judge seemed displeased. “We will take a fifteen-minute recess, while I instruct my staff to prepare the requested documents.” He looked sternly at the Selachii. “We will then begin jury selection in this case.”

When the judge arrived at his chambers with the prosecutor, Ten was waiting outside the door.

“Your honour,” said Ten. “I have information relevant to this case which you would be very interested in hearing. The prosecution would no doubt be interested as well. If possible, I would like to exclude the Selachii; the defendants would probably be upset to know that I am revealing this to you.”

“What is this child doing here?” asked the prosecutor.

“A child, yes,” replied the judge. “But don’t let his appearance deceive you. He is a Coluan. I don’t trust Coluans,”

“You don’t have to trust me,” said Ten. “I said I have information. But it is, in fact, information you already possess, but seem to be unaware of, although it is… what is the idiom? ‘Staring you in the face’.”

Ten, the judge, and the prosecutor settled comfortably in chambers.

“You took DNA samples of all those arrested,” said Ten. “Including one who is missing today. Menaleas Mallor of Talok VIII. You know he is a descendant of members of the Legion of Superheroes?”

“Yes,” said the judge. “The fact that he is the son of Tasmia Mallor and Lar Gand, but is a mule, who has inherited none of their powers, is well known across the Galaxy.”

“Yes, well,” said Ten. “You have the DNA sequenced for all the Legionnaires in secure, protected database, correct? Unavailable to the public, but easily accessible to you through your government computers. True?”

“Of course,” said the judge.

“I wonder if you would do a quick sequencing match, just to verify his parentage,” said Ten. “Menaleas, I mean.”

“I don’t see why…” the prosecutor protested.

“I think you will find something... interesting... in this exercise,” said Ten. “Interesting to you. And relevant to this case.”

It took only moments. The judge and prosecutor stared at the screen, open-mouthed.

“A little disconcerting, isn’t it?” said Ten. “And here the defense attorney has requested a subpoena to have him come and testify. It would be… awkward… for the public to learn he has as much right to be on Earth as his four other Terran friends? Perhaps you could bar the defense attorney from pursuing any embarrassing lines of questioning. Beginning with ‘state your full name’.”

“Are you trying to blackmail this court?” thundered the judge, rising from his seat, and facing down the little color-changed Coluan.

“Not at all,” said Ten. “I am merely pointing out the obvious: that you will be stepping into a… ‘hornet’s nest?... when you summon to the stand, to testify, under oath, a member of the Royal Family of Talok VIII, Menaleas Niedrigh Mallor.”

Well, DAMN.

And here I thought Tenzil and Brek had the most memorable courtroom victory in Legion history

Oh, please Raz.

Nothing can possibly compare to Tenzil's brilliant banana-custard-cream-pie defense.

<Legion of Super-Heroes v.4 #11>



“There, you see! He's powerless against the color yellow!" *

* Editor's note: Due to a necessary impurity, Green Lantern rings are powerless against the color yellow.

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED THIRTY-THREE
RETURN TO MU

Metropolis University, Metropolis, Northwestern Continent, Earth

The hovering MU parking lots were a bustle of activity. Crowds of family and well-wishers gathered in groups around students beginning their higher education, or returning to the University. It was crowded and chaotic enough that no one noticed the group of a dozen-and-a-half off to one side.

The Super-Hero Club had dressed in civilian clothing. Korvea wore a hood to somewhat conceal her Talokan features-- although aliens far from uncommon on Earth, there was no sense antagonizing the Earth-Firsters. Chameleon had assumed his ‘Ffameleon’ guise, so the Triplicates now looked like Quadruplicates. Ten wore his human appearance, looking like Dorrit and Dacey’s little brother.

“Wow, look at this place,” said Ffey. “Maybe I’d like to go to school here in a couple of years.”

“You would need to buckle down in your studies,” said Star-Woman. “Enroll in a University Prep program through an Upper School. Metropolis U. has very high admission standards.”

Dacey looked around. “Where are your parents?” she asked the nominal super-villains. “I would think they would be here to see you off.”

“We had a big hail-and-farewell at the hotel last night,” said Kimota Grezz, the Black Flame. “We even met Bungle’s parents-- Mr. and Mrs. Sammad.”

“I am still registering at the University under my Sorcerer’s World name,” said Villian.

“How many other identities to you have?” teased Evil-Eye Annie. “Villian the Sorcerer-- Bungle Spelling-- Bandar Sammad.”

“Perhaps I should invent a few more,” said Villian. “Those are becoming too well-known.”

“Over the past few months,” said Atta-Karr, aka ‘Razor’, “Our parents have come together, united by difficult circumstance. They have even formed a classic holo-vid club. The eight of them now meet regularly to watch and critique old movies-- some from the 29th century! I think they are planning to view The Nightingale and The Mockingbird together as we register for classes.”

A peculiar, boxy, flat-black mini-ship with a golden barred-spiral-galaxy emblem descended from the sky. Menaleas Mallor emerged from the gull-wing door. He wore all-black (naturally): a loose, half-open tunic, black harem pants, and black leather boots.

The four other ‘villains’ rushed over to him, the young men vigourously pumping his hand, and the young women embracing him tightly.

“And this must be the Super-Hero Club,” said Menaleas. Star-Woman greeted him warmly, and the others followed suit.

“So, Prince Talok, are you ready to continue our University extracurriculars?” asked Atta. “It got us into nearly a year of trouble last time.”

“He is no Prince,” a commanding voice interrupted. “His proper title is Aloof.”

Tasmia Mallor’s presence was as commanding as her voice. Tall and slender, her black hair was half-greyed, her cerulean blue skin somewhat weathered. She wore a formal black salwar-style suit, and a voluminous black hooded cloak-- some of which may have only been floating shadow.

“Lady Tasmia.” Star-Woman bowed slightly.

“Seersdaughter,” Tasmia Mallor acknowledged.

“She is impressive, isn’t she? I’ve never met my Aunt before,” whispered Korvea. “Or Menaleas either, for that matter. Only seen them from a distance, at big family gatherings. Well, there goes keeping a low profile.”

“Aloof,” mused Star-Woman. “I am not familiar with the term.”

“I believe the Old Terran equivalent would be Duc,” said Tasmia. “The Interlac would be archaic-- it is a language unfriendly to the concept of subtle distinctions among nobility.”

“Wow, you’re a Duck?” exclaimed Villian, clapping Menaleas on the back. “You never told us that.”

“Menaleas, Duc d’Ombres,” Menaleas explained. “It means that I am the lawful inheritor of a Talokan Estate-- although in former times, that included a small city as well.” He staggered, putting a hand to his head. “I’m sorry, I feel… odd.”

Then Aloof Menaleas Mallor, Duc d’Ombres, fainted.


============================================================================================================
Note: Lady Tasmia is not Korvea’s literal aunt. She uses the term out of respect. Genealogically speaking, Tasmia is technically Korvea’s grandfather’s first cousin. This means Menaleas is Korvea’s 2nd cousin once removed. Due to common intermarriage among the Malloreans, her is also her eighth and tenth cousin.
============================================================================================================

Tabor the Super-Teacher was clearly outclassed. Must have felt like a substitute teacher with an unruly class. The Super-Hero Club got to demonstrate that they aren't as inexperienced as they used to be. Interesting idea to have Tabor as some sort of itinerant teacher, looking for students. When the students are ready, the teacher appears.

I got a bit lost in the interlude with Vrai Hundebeur and his strange mother, although it did remind me a bit of a Sandman story in which our young sun, Sol, meets other suns.

The scenes with Vesta made me think that Ten should have Mary Poppins as a nanny, then thought, cancel that idea. Those two would get up to all sorts of mischief.

Anti-Green Lanterns, with casting hopelessness as a super-power - devastating. Score one for the Ff girls and modern pharmaceuticals. Also interesting that both anger and happiness were used together to combat despair.

Looks like the courts - and politics - function just like today. A happy ending for the Villains regardless, with more than a little help from their friends. By-standers indeed. A rather comedic ending for Duc d'Ombres, and a fine appearance of an older, impressive Tasmia.

I am curious to see if Star Woman will be moving on. She has been very beneficial to the group.

Not my idea.



Adventure #382

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED THIRTY-FOUR
FAMILY REUNION

Metropolis University Cafeteria One was at the top of the 99-story dome at the center of the campus. It was large enough to comfortably accommodate the three dozen concerned sentients who awaited word of Menaleas’ condition.

It also afforded an unobstructed view of the hundred kilohectare Metropolis University campus.

“Unbelievable,” said Khadija Sammad. “There must be ten thousand protestors down there.”

“And most of them are entirely unaffiliated with the University,” Bandar noted. “Earth-Firsters, even some... neo-Neanderthals. News of our sudden acquittal has traveled quickly. They have an extensive network, and Menaleas’ return to M.U. has incited a call for protests. He is a symbol-- moreso even than the rest of ‘super-villains’.”

“They see non-Terrans on Earth as an economic invasion,” noted Justin Foxmoor, Ann’s younger brother. “Jobs are so scarce on Earth-- and so many of them are held by aliens.”

“It is an absurd position,” said Ali Sammad. “What do you suppose would happen if the fifty billion non-Terrans were to suddenly leave Earth?”

“Well,” said Justin, “There would all of a sudden be a lot more jobs and resources available.”

“The inhabitants of Earth-- Terran and alien-- are our resources,” said Ali Sammad. “When you send an alien back to their ‘home’ planet, you may as well convert a hundred thousand credits into gold, and toss it into a tank of aqua regia.”

“You’ll have to excuse him,” said Olivia, Justin’s mother. “Dr. Sammad is an Economist.”

“It is a valid argument,” said Ten. “This anti-alien sentiment is born only of ignorance and prejudice.” He was seated at a table with the Sammad’s younger children, Mo and Najri, and the Sammad family’s huge manny, Dhuon. His own robo-nanny, Vesta, hovered nearby.

Mo was only a little older than Ten, but the two found one other’s respective interests mutually boring. Najri was three-going-on-four, and at the moment was very involved with her manny, a spoon and a very green pie.

“It is true that the majority of Earth is on the Stipend,” said Ali Sammad. “But there is a reason they are called Consumers. They are the chief engine driving the Terran economy-- which is axiomatically the circulation of credits. When any Consumer leaves Earth, the economy cools a little. And for anyone seeking additional credits-- well, there is a nearly unlimited demand for Walgdockers, Mome Lawyers, and Roboriders. And anyone at all can begin a Treeming business, or become an Artisanal Reviewer.”

“Some argue, ” said Justin. “That Earth needs to remain free and independent. We need to be able to rely on ourselves, on our own industry, and not give away what we have to aliens.”

“What do you suppose would happen,” asked Ali Sammad, “If Earth shut its borders, expelled all non-Terrans, and cut off all contact with other worlds?”

“Oh, I think we’d do all right,” said Justin. “Earth is one of the richest-- if not the richest-- worlds in the U.P.”

“A wealthy world which imports twenty million tonne of food per hour,” said Ali Sammad. “Without the Manna Worlds, there would be food riots in a matter of days-- and the population of Earth would starve to death in a matter of weeks.”

“Don’t forget Winath,” Dorrit reminded him.

“Oh, I am not even considering the fresh, artisanal shipments from places like Mardru and Winath,” said Ali Sammad. “That is consumption for the elite. Most Earth imports are just to keep the food packs full for the AutoChefs. The notion that Earth could be a solitary, independent world meeting all its own needs is a centuries-old anachronism. Perhaps if 99% or more of the population were to emigrate, and we had a five or ten year head-start on restoring sufficient arable land...”

The Karrs and the Grezzes shared a table. They were substantially older than the Sammads and the Foxmoors, and had known each other a long time.

“Human beings are suggestible,” said Meta Grezz. “And not only through Titan telepathy. Groupthink and mob mentality can afflict each of us all more easily than we would like to believe. But there are always a core few in any revolution that promote the enterprise-- that exploit prejudices and discontent of others for their own goals.”

“In our case,” said Kort Grezz, “It was Laevar. He set the agenda, and enforced compliance ruthlessly.”

Kimota Grezz looked at her parents, and then at the members of the Super-Hero Club scattered about the room. She knew the story. At one point, her parents, as members of the Legion of Super-Villains, had sworn an oath to kill a Legionnaire apiece-- any Legionnaire. The same was true of the Karrs. Had they fulfilled their oath, Dorrit and Dacey and Pol would never have been born. Advances in psychiatry in the past couple of decades had cured them of the violent tendencies that had overwhelmed their minds.

Kimota looked past Mrs. Sammad to the thousands of protesters swarming the MU campus like ants. Here and there she saw the bright yellow crowd-control vans of the SPs. Would this crisis only be resolved by the mass psychiatric re-education of a substantial population of Earth?

“So is President Bridges the one orchestrating this?” she asked.

“I think not,” said Ron-Karr. “President Bridges is a Useful Idiot, appointing the officials and judges he is instructed to. He enjoys the spotlight, and the trappings of power, but he does not have the wit, will or endurance to manipulate on this large a scale.”

“Then who do you think is at the center of this?” asked Atta-Karr. His father shrugged.

“Ask yourself: who would benefit by the collapse of the economy and society of Earth?” said Ali Sammad. “Cyranus, Amazonia, Orax, and Torad, of course. If Earth leaves the Inner Council, Xanthu is expected to be named fill its position. There is the Dark Circle, the Dominion, and the Khunds, of course; they are benefitted by anything that weakens the United Planets, and Earth’s collapse would certainly do that. But we do not need to look to extraterrestrial agents. Certain wealthy interests here on Earth no doubt believe that they could prosper from an economic collapse, Earth’s economy as a whole might go into depression, but their personal position would improve.”

“So which do you think it is?” asked Atta-Karr.

“I have no idea,” said Ali Sammad. “I expect, however, it would be some disparate coalition of some or all of the above.”

At another table in the cafeteria, Polar Lass, Shrinking Violet, Lighting Lass, and Phantom Girl were sitting with Qi-Karr, Razor’s older sister. Justin Foxmoor, Ann’s younger brother, was just out of hearing range at a table with Matter-Eater Lad Two and Cosmic Boy.

“Are you interested?” Lightning Lass was asking Shrinking Violet. “If you’re not going to… approach… Justin, I will.”

“Would you find him as attractive if you knew his name is really Eldon, not Justin?” asked Qi-Karr. “He thinks calling himself Justin makes him seem retro and cool.”

“Your brother’s power is pretty impressive,” said Phantom Girl. “Have you inherited either of your parent’s abilities?”

Qi-Karr smiled. Her skin lightened, brightened, becoming white, then silvery. Her original peach complexion quickly returned. “That’s all, I’m afraid,” she said.

“Our families really got to know each other while Ann and the others were in exile,” Justin was explaining. “The only one not here now is Ronal Grezz-- he’s back on his father’s homeworld of Braal, participating in their economic resurgence.”

“Braal is prosperous now?” asked Cosmic Boy. “According to my father, it’s been nothing but Magno-Ball and off-world construction work there for decades.”

“They had some sort of breakthrough in the formatting of attoprocessors,” said Justin. “Even the Coluans are impressed.”

“What I wonder,” said Ki-Lan Karr, “Is whatever happened to Auberon? Tyr and Titania came looking for him a couple of weeks ago, but the only answer they got from EarthGov was a beating from the Justice League.”

“But they put up a good fight,” said her husband. “I think Doctor Shakespeare is going to have to learn to live with that scar. Tyr and his people are little better than pirates, and I’m afraid the psych-conditioning didn’t entirely take on your cousin, but I was rooting for the two of them in that confrontation. Is that wrong?”

“A mother bear will fight for her cub,” said Ki-Lan.

The room suddenly fell silent, and all eyes turned when Lady Tasmia Mallor walked into the room.