Legion World Forums LEGION OUTPOST Bits o' Legionnaire Business Re: Legion Worlds Six - updated 20 Oct 20

Between Zoe's telekinesis and Gahaji's tramsformative magic gifted to him by the Ruby of life they freed their colleagues in minutes.

After that it didn't take the team long to track their missing teammates. Any monks that got in their way didn't stand much of a chance as Jazmin froze them, Brin and Ardren hit them and Zoe bound them in their robes.

Fifteen minutes later they stood befor two large doors and M'Windaji told them their missing friends wer just beyond them.

The doors opened onto a large circular courtyard with small garden areas and fountains.

Timber Wolf took the lead with Laurel and Ardren right behind him. Zoe and Jazmin, with their long range abilities let them go through first though darted close behind. Gahaji was last in and he closed the doors quickly behind him.

Several monks strolled nonchalantly amongst the gardens while about two dozen woman sat in small groups chatting while small children ran around happily. Around the walls stood about thirty more of the monks, these looked far more like obvious security staff.

Timber Wolf leapt over his colleagues and crashed into a group of about five of the monks and threw them into the air, leaving them to crash heavily into the ground as they fell. One tried to draw a firearm from under his robe but with a blow the Legionnaire broke his arm and sent the monk sprawling into a wall. within seconds he had reached a second group of monks and repeated the process.

Ardren Kent ran at another group of the monks, his invulnerable frame deflecting rays of stunning energy from another of the guards guns, before he charged through the group felling them like ten pins. As they tried to stand up he tapped them on the head knocking them unconscious.

M'Windaji had alerted Jazmin to the two women that had influenced his mind, stopping him from escaping from this planetoid after he discovered the truth about the Magi's origins. Kid Quantum sheathed them both in quantum energy effectively stopping them in their tracks before their telepathy could cause any more problems.

Many of the women were cowering as the Legionnaires erupted into their sanctuary, the children cried and scene was quickly turning chaotic.

Laurel Kent strode into the courtyard and raised her flight ring to her mouth and willed the loudhailer function to switch on.

"We are not here to hurt you, we only want our friends returned to us. Psyche! Quantum Queen! We are coming for you!" Even before the echoes of her voice had faded there was a shift in the atmosphere as the women in the courtyard all turned and faced up towards the mezzanine that ran around this cultivated space. To the left of the Legionnaires, up on the broad level that ran around this space, wide doors opened and the Magi stepped through but before he could do anything another quantum bubble appeared and he stood frozen within.

<Hey, I can't split my focus like this for long so anyone got any plans?> Jazmin sent through the telepathic grid.

"He's mine." M'Windaji said as he took to the air. The tracker landed beside the Trommite and asked Jazmin to drop her stasis field. As she did Gahaji reached out and touched the Ruby of Life gently against the Magi's arm. In front of their eyes the middle aged Trommite turned to crystal. Several women screamed and cried though it was the actions of a young boy, perhaps six years old, that stopped the situation from getting any further out of hand.

"Papa!"

The child yelled as he ran at he Legionnaires, "Stop hurting my papa!" His fear was obvious but he screamed at the Legionnaires in desperation.

<What's going on?> Brin sent through to his colleagues.

Kinetix approached the boy and bent her knees so she would be the same height as him. He tried to strike out at her but gently Zoe held his arms and brought him close to her for a hug. As she did several of the women ran forward and took the the boy back. Kinetix gave the child a smile and waved at him as he was dragged away from the Legionnaires.

<That kid called him 'papa'? What the...? Oh my stars! Guys, I think we've made a big mistake... Think about it! Why would a Trommite set up on a planetoid out here with a harem? Don't you see... he's trying to recreate his race!> Jazmin Cullen had been floating above the scene and with this realization she released her quantum fields and gently landed on the paved courtyard.

The two psychic women that Kid Quantum had frozen came to their senses and quickly assessed the situation - while the fighting had stopped and Ardren Kent was checking the Monks that he and Timber Wolf had beaten, the Magi had been transformed into crystal.

"We just want our friends back, that's all. We didn't come here to cause any trouble" Kid Quantum quickly took charge of the situation as she spoke with the two telepaths. She could feel the gossamer touch as they read her mind to check if she was telling the truth.

"Give him back to us and we will give you back your friends... please." One of he women said as she took to her knees, the desperation in her expression was heart wrenching. Other women and their children stepped forward and followed suit, each kneeling before the team and begging for the Magi to be released.

"Gahaji... do it." Jazmin said while her colleagues tried to get the women to stand up.

One touch of the Ruby of Life and the Trommite began to change again as his skin returned to its normal fleshy tones. The Magi would have fallen had M'Windaji not put an arm out.

"Sorry 'bout that, changing can be disorientating." The tracker said as he helped the older man remain upright. Kid Quantum, Kinetix and Shield all flew up to the mezzanine level where the Magi stood and landed softly beside him.

"If you give us back our friends we'll leave and we won't return to trouble you." Laurel spoke softly.

"We really don't mean you any harm. We know what you are doing here now and don't want to interfere." The tracker said as he reached out a hand to help steady the Trommite.

“You don’t know... my people were wiped out... every one of them is gone.” The Magi wiped his fore arm across his eyes before standing up and looking across the mezzanine and down towards his wives and children in the central courtyard below.

“One of our friends is from Trom, Jan Arrah. There may be more as well. I’ll help you find them if you like. You know I’m a tracker.” As Gahaji spoke the Trommite had turned to him, the older mans eyes shone with a momentary hope.

"Yes, that violent one you say is a friend does not follow the true path of Trom..." The Magi looked upset as he described Element Lad, "I know of him, but don't believe there are any others of our people left. None but me who remember the true ways of the transmuter." The Magi looked away from the Legionnaires and nodded towards the two telepathic women below. "Take your friends. They are both asleep, that is all. We wouldn't hurt them. Take them and leave us."

Timber Wolf, Ardren Kent and Gahaji followed a couple of the wives of the Magi led towards two small rooms at the back of the enormous courtyard where the Quantum Queen and Psyche both lay asleep on large four poster beds.

As Ardren Kent went into the room where Quantum queen slept and Gahaji went into check on Psyche one of the wives turned to the Legionnaires and said: "We would never harm them... or any of you. We were only going to remove your knowledge of us from your memories. We don't keep anyone here that doesn't want to be here. You understand why we need our privacy? Why we don't want anyone to know about us... about him and our children?"

Brin Londo replied, "You could have just told us, d'you not think we can keep a secret?" Neither wife replied.

The Magi had left the mezzanine and walked down a spiral staircase to join his extended family. He hugged the children, tears flowing down his cheeks as he did. Jazmin walked behind him, unsure what she should be doing but knew to be careful enough not to antagonize the situation any further.

Minutes later and Psyche and Quantum Queen were fully conscious. Both were unharmed and said they had been having incredible dreams. As Timber Wolf and Gahaji told them what had happened Psyche took stock of the situation quickly and asked if she could speak to the Magi in private. His psychic wives looked blankly towards the ceiling for a couple of seconds before nodding and telling the group that their husband agreed.

It was half an hour later, after the Legionnaires and Wanderers had been offered refreshments and been introduced to the sixteen women present who called themselves the wives of the Magi, along with their nine children, when Psyche rejoined them. The empathic Wanderer had tears in her eyes as she announced that she had decide to stay. The retreat was, she decided, actually a real haven of sorts were she could rest fully and recharge herself while the Magi had offered his full protection. She told the team that she fully believed that he was no danger to her and someone she could trust.

"I need to stop moving, being on the Controllers world showed me that. I'm not as young as I used to be..." she grinned as she added the last comment, "Perhaps this could be a home for me... for now anyway. The Trommites had meditative practices that I would benefit from learning." Quantum Queen hugged her friend before she could say anything else. They had been friends and fellow adventurers for over a decade now and were the only two left of their original group.

"So..." Laurel began, "Do we call ourselves the New Wanderers and go on from here or rejoin the Legion or go our separate ways or what? What do you want to do now folks?"

"Definitely going back to the Legion." Jazmin said without a trace of doubt.

"Me too... Gahaji, are you joining us?" Zoe asked. She did not sound entirely confident as she asked but smiled at the tracker anyway.

"Yeah, yeah I think we should." The tracker smiled and put his arm around the petite redhead. Zoe wrapped an arm around Gahaji's waist.

"Laurel, perhaps we should go back too, though if you want to do anything else...?" Brin Londo looked at his partner, his dark brown eyes unreadable.

"You're probably right... Dad? If you and QQ want to join us that'd great too." Laurel smiled at her father hopefully.

"No, no I don't think so, sorry but I think we need a while to travel together, just the two of us... what do you say Helanna, fancy joining me on an adventure out? Do you fancy seeing what's beyond the next horizon?" Ardren Kent held out his hand to his fellow Wanderer. There was a moments tension in the air as Quantum Queen tossed her head back and ran her hands through her electric mane of hair before she gave Ardren Kent the widest smile. They both laughed as they took a step towards each other and exchanged a sweet kiss.

Ardren blushed as he stepped away while Helanna chuckled.

"Ohhhhkay, so do you want us to drop you anywhere? ...A motel maybe?" Laurel said as she tried hard not to laugh at her father's embarrassment.

"The docking station where I met your friends will be fine Laurel. We will make our own way from there." Quantum Queen put an arm around Ardren Kent and the two exchanged another, quicker kiss.

And so it was, four hours later that Laurel Kent had tears in her eyes and the biggest grin on her face as she waved to her father from the Legionnaire's shuttle craft.

"Maybe we could take a day or two to visit some of the stroids out here? Y'know, while we're here..." Zoe said.

"Nah," said Gahaji, "Honey, I think it's time we went home."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Zoe agreed with a quick smile.

<Oh girl, stop agreeing with that man every time he speaks. Don't make it too easy for him!> Jazmin sent across a personal link to Zoe.

<As if! Just lulling him into a false sense of security before we get back to First Base is all. This boy has a lot to make up for before he's out the dog house, but it doesn't mean I can't have fun along the way, eh?> Zoe gave a surreptitious wink as she sent her reply.

Both young women started laughing at the same time which raised a couple of eyebrows from their colleagues.

Neither said a word as they watched the screen before them fill with the majesty of the nearby nebulae as they started on the long journey back home.

Legion World Second Base, private quarters of Bina Nawoti:

Otaki's headache had gotten much worse.

Dr Shoodixi Singh, the newly arrived representative from the Science Police who oversaw the medical facilities on Second Base, had prescribed some fairly standard Titanian painkillers three hours ago after Bina had presented herself to him in a rather disheveled state. The young psychic had been experiencing increasing pulses of pain for a few hours beforehand but after the last blast which quite literally knocked her off her feet she knew she needed some assistance. The Legion's physician had suggested she ask Dr Faulkner, the newly assigned SP counselor for some medi-path treatment if it continued.

Bina Nawoti had nodded but knew that as her psychic mutation was not actually telepathy that style of treatment would have marginal benefits for her - when her mutation had first manifested she had similar troubles and it had taken two years to define and resolve the problem.

At the age of 10 she had been living in Lunar London Dome with her mother when she had started getting headaches. Initially they had been dismissed as part of the maturing of her young body but as within only a couple of days they became increasingly savage her mother had pulled what strings she could and had her daughter flown to Titan to be examined at one of their medi-path facilities. She was lucky that co-incidentally Professor Aven and his specialized team were available when she arrived.

It took Professor Aven less than two hours to realize exactly what causing the problems for the frightened girl: she had a mutation that allowed her mind to touch other living minds - not exactly telepathy nor psychic empathy, not really, but something that lay in-between the two. He also realised that the range of this skill was almost uncharted in Titan's history.

As Bina was lying in a medi-path ward on Titan the Legion helped defeat the rogue god Darkseid, his control over billions of Daxamites was broken and a fragile peace was restored.

These events were very quickly assessed as the root of Bina's headaches and her mind sensing abilities were thoroughly tested and trained until by the age of 13 she was seen as a bit of a wunderkind for the psychic community. The young girl with the amazing abilities spent half of her time on the Moon with her mother and the rest of her time on Titan awing the resident telepaths with the range and control that she had developed.

As Bina curled on her bed in her quarters she screamed as another blast of pain ripped its way through her skull, sending her body into convulsions. It seemed to last for half an hour though in reality she knew it was at most a matter of ten seconds. Her body ached with shock and she wept as she shook.

The last time this had happened to this painful extent it had been because her nascent abilities were picking up the horror on Daxam and the paths of destruction that followed. What, she wondered as she gasped for breath was causing her so much pain now? Using breathing and meditation techniques taught to her all those years before on Titan she managed to calm her mind.

She needed to let the team know that something was happening that was so truly horrific it reached across the stellar firmament and attacked her senses in such a raw fashion. As much as her body still screamed at her in pain she concentrated and allowed her prodigious abilities to search out the source of these psychic waves of evil that were causing her such agony. anything she could learn would help the team...

She could picture a world, distant and beautiful as it spun around a flaring star. She knew where it was but couldn't hold onto anything else as the sense of the place was obscured by a wave of horrific darkness.

Something else so evil had arisen on that planet that it made her mind flinch back in defence. The glimpse had been enough though, she knew where they needed to look.

Something else truly evil was erupting from Talok viii.

And with that thought another wave of pain erupted in her skull sending her to the floor, curled up and unable to do anything other than cry in her pain.

Omni, thanks for your kind words.

Yes,it was the Ruby of Life that was getting Zoe so worked up.

So, that's Zoe and Gahaji's storyline completed and we've a few vignettes including one with Jenni and Po that ties in with Otaki's story coming uo next then Mon El's arc comes to an uncomfortable close before the main story of LW6 kicks off. Ooh things are away to get dark, real dark... poor Tharok!

Thanks again,

C

Kara had to virtually drag Querl out of his laboratory.

The time lost Kryptonian hadn't even spoken to her Coluan partner in 72 hours before deciding that enough was enough!

A quick search through the planetary database had thrown out the name of several isolated and reputedly beautiful places they could visit and she decided that whether or not he agreed Querl Dox would join her to at least one of them for an afternoon. In the end she chose a park on Xanthu that was reputed to have more rainbows than any other terrestrial place in the UP.

The Dancing Crystal Fountains in the Spine Range were legendary for both their beauty and their remoteness. Usually one had to apply for a government permission to approach this majestic place - and it was reputed 99.75% of the time these requests would be flatly rejected. Rather than going thropugh the painfully bureaucratic process Kara had contacted Thom Kallor and Nura Nal to ask for advice. Thom, the former Star Boy, laughed and told her that he could arrange a pass for them in a couple of hours, he would call in a favour or two without any bother. Nura, once the Legion's Dream Girl, had pouted and said that she had never been invited there. Kara smiled as they bantered and Thom's blush grew. Nura ended the call by saying that Querl was lucky to have a woman who thought as much of him as Kara did and Thom blew a raspberry as he laughed.

Three hours later, after a quick holo from Thom saying the access pass was now open for 18 hours, Kara had persuaded Querl to join her down to Henry's warp control room for a surprise. The Coluan genius was less than happy but grudgingly accepted that his Kryptonian partner was not going to be impressed if he refused her this time.

As they stepped through the warp both gasped at the sight before them. The air appeared to shimmer with bands of colour as the clearest of water poured over silver freckled rocks down dozens, in not hundred, of tight channels carved through the rocks all around them. As the sharp sunshine hit the clear water spray curves of colours erupted into the air, these bands of rainbows then sank over the crystal heavy rock in amongst the streams which refracted their hues back into beams that twinkled and shone amongst the dancing semi-circular spectral displays.

"We have eighteen hours Querl... all this just for us." As she spoke the Coluan gently put his fingers on either side of her face and pulled her in towards him for a kiss. For once he had allowed himself to act on an emotional impulse. The dazzling lights did not really impress him after all he knew how simple luminal physics worked, but that Kara had went to the effort to organise their time here... that had been thoughtful and kind and he knew that to initiate a kiss would be appreciated by the young Kryptonian.

The kiss lingered before she pulled away and pointed towards the platform were a service droid had placed a pre-booked picnic.

"Are you really hungry?" Querl asked.

"No, not really... but..."

"But... " he smiled broadly, "neither am I." His eyes twinkled and Kara laughed as she pulled his face in towards hers to initiate their kiss this time.

Legion World Second Base, main engineering level:


Thirteen – Dann Hortra of Naltor, line of sight probability manipulation
Green Lantern - Dkyun Mu of Xudar, wearer of a Green Lantern power ring
Hethuk Bran Drommsi - Smith from the Green Rift Forge of Talok viii, weapon maker and engineer


Hethuk smiled as he watched the Green Lantern effortlessly lift the Q-Drive system into its new allotted space with twin emerald energy pincers generated by her Oan power ring.

The large dark sphere contained enough anti-matter and trans-dimensional waft and weave to power a large city back on the weaponsmiths homeworld of Talok viii. Dann Hortra had insisted on being here when this task was being completed as the Naltorian had a masters degree in astro-physics specializing in Q-Drive technology. Hethuk hadn't initially warmed to the Naltorian as he appeared to be quite arrogant but the Talokean had quickly seen that the façade Thirteen wore hid an exceptional engineers mind and the two were fast becoming friends as they spent more time tinkering in the bowels of this planetoid.

Dkyun floated across the great engineering hall and landed close to her teammates.

"Will you require any further assistance? My training was as a pilot and standard astro-warp drive engineer, not quite the same but close enough." She gave a small high pitched chitter as she finished, a Xudarian chuckle.

"Really? Well... I always appreciate help, if you're sure it won't get in the way of any missions." Hethuk smiled, his mauve face lit up with his genuine pleasure at having two legionnaires with genuine engineering experience to help him as he retro-fitted this new planetoid base.

Within two hours the three of them had fixed a damaged power conduit that was causing disruption to the southern hemisphere energy grid, located and attached two Drenagarrian rad-monitoring systems into the newly activated Q-Drive, rewired a complex holo-announcement service that had been draining power while not actually providing any holograms, tidied and reordered the stock in the two large store rooms that held mountainous heaps of diverse objects, tools and materials that the Tyrazzian former owners of this planet had kept and, finally, fixed the squeak on the doors into the Engineering bay.

As they finished working Hethuk shook them both firmly by the hands.

"It would have taken me a week to do all of this by myself, thank you!" He said earnestly.

"It has been my please to assist." The Green Lantern said before she took to the air and bid her colleagues goodbye.

They watched her streak out of the bay before Hethuk turned to Thirteen.

"Well, my jobs done for the day, thanks Dann. According to the log Marya got back from a mission a couple of hours ago and she'll've had a sonic shower by now so hopefully'll let me near her." The Talokean smith gave the Legionnaire a wide lascivious grin.

"Have fun Heth, I'm gonna just go check out the Q-Drive one more time, gotta make sure she's purring okay."

"Don't stay down here too long, you'll turn into a machine." Hethuk said as he left.

After the Talokean had left Dann Hortra sighed. He closed the bay doors with a glance and hovered up towards the large sphere that sat at the heart of the planetoids newly functioning Q-Drive system. As he approached the sphere his form altered, expanded, and by the time he was level with it the Naltorian probability manipulator had assumed his natural form.

The Naltorian gently ran his fingertips across the dark casing.

His eyes glowed as he used his probability altering abilities. In their last base an attacking force had damaged the Q-Drive and potential put the entire team at risk. With concentration he altered the tensile strength of the casing that shielded the ominous energies within. It took him almost ten solid minutes until he was finally confident that this was as much as he could do with potentially altering the function of this great engine.

Thirteen lowered himself to the floor and sat on one of the few seats available behind Hethuk's large round desk, breathing hard. This level of exertion drained his abilities and he estimated it would take half an hour or so until he would be able to return to manipulate his appearance enough to regain his usual form.

Wiping his hand across the desktop Dann activated a hard light consol. He figured he would have the prefect amount of time for a quick round of Holo-Moop Ball Championship MXIV - the Imbrillian Jungles Edition.

Just what he deserved after a hard day in engineering.

XS and Cosmic Kid had only 10 minutes left of their shift on Mission Monitor Board duty before a full 36 hours of unrotaed time all to themselves. They had swapped this shift with Marya and Dann just so they could get this time off together.

While they had been on monitor duty Mon El had contacted them to say his mission would take longer than expected while Tyroc, Lightning Lass and Duplicate Girl had all returned from leading successful missions. Other than those there was little for the two Legionnaires from very different realities to actually monitor. Jenni tried to snuggle under Po's arm but their chairs weren't designed to click together like the Smart furniture they had in their apartment so instead she got up and stood behind him and ran her fingers through his dark curls, massaging his scalp. It was an exercise in self control that she kept her hands moving slowly but Jenni tried her best as she knew Po loved it.

They had spent the last few hours discussing their plans for the next six months, the places they wanted to visit and people they would like to meet. As neither were originally from this reality they both made suggestions, some of which the Boards AI informed them did not actually exist. Po was particularly upset that the Ochre Moon Museum of Childhood Sweet Snackery wasn’t an option which made Jenni laugh out loud.

The reason why they were making the list was because the two of them agreed that when the team met up with their counterparts in the Justice Legion again in just under half a standard year they would ask if they could rejoin the team from the far away dimension.

While Po enjoyed being with this realities version of the Legion he hadn’t realised how much he would miss his family. Jenni knew how he felt, though there was no way back to her home reality... it no longer existed, so she understood perfectly how insidious these homesick feelings could be. Po noticed that Jenni looked a little melancholic with the talk of ‘going home’ and empathised immediately. He quickly apologised and offered to make her a sandwich.

When Po Mimman had joined Jenni to this world he had known that he would miss his family. He expected to have some feelings about it though as his parents, sisters and he were not particularly close he hadn’t realised how strong the feelings could get.

Still, as exciting as it had been to meet this realities premier meta-team and witness a whole different universe with Jenni it had not been enough to deflect the sadness that was beginning to creep in, especially if he had been part of some event or mission that he wanted to share with his family... those moments really struck home about just how far away he really was from them.

Of course Jenni had been amazing!

Po loved his fiancé's resilience and positivity... she kept on going, both literally and metaphorically, long after he wanted to call it a day and being with her made him realize how much more he could achieve with the right approach. The reality XS had originally come from had been destroyed a couple of years before and the team she had been part of had decided to leave their reality to find a new home... as a result Jenni Ognats had literally nothing and no-one that she could turn to for comfort from her original home yet he had never heard her seriously complain about her tragic circumstances.

Cosmic Kid was ruminating on this thought when the alert came though.

The holo of the Science Police Officer erupted out of nowhere. Her tunic was torn and her helmet had a crack across the visor. In her left had she held her blaster out as she scanned the surroundings with a small hand held device in her right.

“Legion, I’m burning through a years worth o' creds to get you this so hurry... we’ve been overrun and urgently need you...”

As Jenni punched the general alert button and rushed to track the display Cosmic Kid approached the holo.

“Where are you Officer? We can warp right there...” the Legionnaire from an alternate world held out his hand towards the holo as if offering to support her.

“Talok VIII... oh hell... get here quick!” In the holo the scared Officer started to use her blaster to shoot at something that only she could see. Within three seconds her holo-stream had been cut off but not before something flew in front of the transmitter and tore through the Officer in a bloody gush of violence.

The murdering attacker that had brutalized the officer moved back into range of the holo-cam just before it ended transmission. The figure was a twisted mockery of a person, their eyes burned with an eerie light and they moved awkwardly as if under the control of something that was not used to their current form. It turned towards the holo-camera and for an instant the murderer's face was clearly visible.

“Was that... was that Grev? Oh holy stars above... Grev Mallor just murdered that officer!” Jenni exclaimed as she held her hands over her mouth in horror.

Whoops, sorry Raz, seems Grev hasn't gotten off scott free after all. More from Mon El next time then t's all hands on deck forthe big bad and things will get worse before they get better.

I'M DOING JENNI'S FACE RIGHT NOW!!! 8-0

Me too Raz, me too!

Hi Harbinger,

Yes! I knew it was the ruby. But I'm glad it wasn't the Ruby doing something on the darker side of things and was calling to her to help release him. I wonder if as the protector of the Ruby will Zoe have a bigger role to play in its destiny?

It makes so much sense now why the Magi's complete seemed more militant than spa-like from what Quantum Queen was seeing. He's trying to protect his family. I wonder what's lead all of the women there to stay and help repopulate Trom in a sense. I know you said everyone was there of their own free will. But did it start out that way? How long was the Magi alone before he started this plan? Also, why did the Magi never reach out to Jan? He was so young when Trom was destroyed. Of course, he doesn't know all of the ways of his people. I wonder if the Magi and Jan will ever meet. So many questions.

Quantum Queen's world sounds interesting. I like the idea of keeping family cultures alive. But eventually, I would think some of these would just be impractical/ grow out of favor with society so much that it would look down on that person for trying to continue it. But it is a different planet.

When Brin was snooping around one of the telepaths said they knew the Legion would come for them. Why would they say that unless they were doing wrong...

Jaz did a good job saving them. I liked how Laurel mentioned how weird it felt to be brought into the quantum bubble Jaz was forming. The three of them do make a good team and I had forgotten how much I like this class of junior members that had joined.
Interesting that The Magi can't counter the Ruby of life. I don't know if its something your Jan has done or even the Magi, but in the Reboot Jan could transmute himself and still had his sentience. Did the Ruby also freeze the Magi or is it the magic that stopped the Magi from countering. again more questions. I love when that happens.
I know they keep saying they wouldn't have hurt them. But why were Quantum Queen and Psych kept separate would they have been inducted into the harem if the Legionnaires hadn't saved the day?
I'm glad the team has decided to go back to the Legion.
Aww so cute. Good for Ardent and QQ. I hope they find happiness in exploring their feelings and the galaxy together.
Lol It's really nice that Laurel is happy for her father and I laughed a bit at her line about getting a motel room. It's a joke we've all heard 100 times. But it fits. Something elses are timeless I guess.
Haha. Loved Zoe's line.



Poor Bina, But that makes her pretty powerful if she can sense the universal disturbances. Ooo. So she's tied to the GDS in a sense. nice. But the downside of this crippling pain...IDK if I'd want that power. Is she sensing Tharok's pain or form the ancestors?

Kara and Brainy are good together. Very cute and that view sounds amazing. I'm glad they got a moment of happiness. ooo Maybe they should get a room. hahah
Thom and Nura are fun.

Thirteen, GL, and Hethuk seem like a nice small team. It was cool to see the LEgionnaires practice some of their other skills.
I really wish Thirteen would just drop the probity illusion. I hope what he's done has helped...

Running her hands through his curly hair is an exercise in self control. That line didn't go where i thought it would. lol.
Smart furniture that can rearrange itself? I could use some of that.

Wait what? were going to lose Jenni and Cosmic Kid? It makes sense that he's homesick. I like their plan to travel and see this reality's popular spots. Aww poor guy. I hope he gets to reconcile with his family.

Wait what? Grev killed an SP and is some sort of monster? What did Tharok do?

can't wait for more!

Academy student interlude:

Magnus Laviksen of Nordhelm had attended the additional classes at the Academy teaching up to date tech skills just as Retro had suggested when he had joined.

As a result the young man from the distant Vikings Planet had quickly begun to find the technologies available on the Academy planetoid quite easy to use. By then he had made friends amongst the other lo-teckers present so he still kept going, even after the Naltorian that ran the additional classes said the young illusion-caster knew enough to comfortably get by so didnt really need to attend them any more.

Initially the young illusion caster had felt self conscious and embarrassed that he was the only member from the group of students he had been joined with that needed these classes. One of his group, the smug girl from Mars called Tesseract, had called them his remedial classes in such a tone that he knew she was calling him stupid and insulting his Nordhelm heritage... Magnus had just smiled in response, he wouldn’t forget that comment or how it had she had tried to shame him in front of the rest of the group.

During his sixth class the Spear of Artemis and Karate Kid had joined them. The two Legionnaires were both originally from lo-tec worlds and suddenly his class hadn't seemed as much of a chore... The next day the student team he was part of asked him no end of questions about the Legionnaires and after that each morning they would be interested in any slight hint of news or gossip he may have gleaned at the classes. Tesseract of course praised him for having the ingenuity to join the class to get close the Legionnaires, which made Magnus smile. Though the smile he gave her as an acknowledgement would never be classed as particularly warm.

The healer Shardwurd Gandussen attended these classes too and while the tall young man from Avalon wasn't a full Legionnaire he had graduated from the Academy recently.

Magnus liked Shardwurd, the polite mannerisms and supportive attitude reminded him of his former guardian Lord Asta back on his Viking planet homeworld. For all his courtesy there was a determination and awareness underneath the healers facade that could be easy to overlook. Magnus picked it up though and smiled to himself as he realised the tall young man would make the kind of friend Deen Toro had advised the illusion caster to aim towards... Kind, compassionate and determined to do the right thing.

Magnus approached Shardwurd to ask for some assistance and tried hard to make conversation after that. After their second class sat together they agreed to meet socially.

The two young men quickly became friends and would often hang out together when neither had work or classes. They were an unusual looking pair: Magnus was short and powerfully built having come from a hi-grav world, while Shardwurd was taller than average and slim built with elegant mannerisms. Their friendship brought comments and sniggering from some of the students at the Academy and they quickly picked up the nickname of the Odd Couple. Several of the other attendees from the additional class started to hang out with the two young men and within a few weeks of starting the class Magnus had a solid group of friends from throughout the Legion organisation to call upon.

On this day he had taken a few hours to visit the Central Science Museum in Metropolis on Earth along with Shardwurd and another classmate, the student they called Granite Girl: Shessan Monasdotta from the distant colony world of Frentoni Six. The three of them had taken on assignments for their class that would involve reporting on specific exhibition pieces and how their invention or creation advanced the technology available to the human race.

The museum was busy with several large classes of school children and various other groups of people milling around between the exhibits and virtu-pods. Magnus strode through the crowds while Shardwurd apologised to virtually everyone they passed. Shessan giggled as she walked behind the two young men, finding the whole experience to be exhilarating.

It was also the day that a large group of disenfranchised hooligans decided to vent their frustration at a lack of employment opportunities, money making options and affordable housing on the gleaming museum.

It would be a learning experience for everyone involved.

Shardwurd Gandussen bowed his head solemnly.

The healer had such exquisite manners that he even aknowledged and thanked the AI as it provided the three off worlders with a directional beacon light towards the exhibition of mid 24th century interactive smart-fashion. Shessan had been especially interested in this exhibition as she found the clothing that the vast majority of people wore on Earth to be rather odd, but then the young woman had not long left a planet with an average global temperature of minus 8 degrees, where the natives generally wore something akin to a hooded sleeping bag with arms and legs in their everyday lives.

Shessan had initially found the heat at the Academy to be stifling, until Duplicate Girl had fitted her with smart clothes that kept her body at a reasonably cool temperature. She knew wearing less would help but was not quite confident enough to wear as little as some of her fellow students and generally had a hooded outfit which only bared her face. Even back home on Frentoni Six this would have been seen as totally outrageous as it showed her curves and figure but she promised her family and the settlement elders she would try to fit in and learn as much of the Old Home Systems as she could. Her hooded outfit was a brave start...

The three students were in a popular exhibition hall surrounded by a noisy crowd. Shessan led the way, pushing and squirming her route through a group of teens that appeared to be following a historical holo show. It was because of her hood being up and blocking her peripheral vision that she did not see the youth that, out of the blue, swung a punch at her head.

"RIOT!" The shout went up as about thirty youths started attacking the people and exhibits in the museum. The sudden explosion of violence was shocking!

Without stopping to consider his own safety Sharwurd rushed over to Shessan and took the dazed young woman in his arm, his bio-kinetic healing abilities reaching out automatically to sooth any pains. Meanwhile Magnus had punched the youth that had hit his friend squarely on the jaw. The young man from Nordhelm had vastly greater strength that an ordinary human due to being brought up in the high gravity of his homeworld, so the young thug flew across the floor and crashed into a wall.

After quickly looking around him Magnus sank down beside his friends and cast an illusion that the space they were in was empty.

"What the hell is going on?" He hissed towards the healer.

"Shh... please Magnus, we may need to get out of here..."

"No..." Shessan spoke, brushing off the healers hands as she sat upright, "No, we need to stop the idiots that're doing this. That's what we're all training to do isn't it? Stop idiots like these... If you can get the public to safety, Magnus and I'll do the rest."

As the young girl stood up the air around her shimmered as she took on the alter-form that gave her the codename Granite Girl. In the place of the short stocky girl with dark hair and mischief in her eyes stood a broad statue-like figure that appeared as if she had been hewn from silver speckled bedrock. Her head turned towards her friends as she spoke:

"Well, d'ya think we're gonna do this anytime soon?"

"I'm going to agree with her Shardwurd, will you be okay if I drop the spirit picture?" Magnus looked around at the yobs as they terrorised the other patrons and damaged the exhibits.

"Not to sound vain dear friends but I have already completed the Academy's combat training. My martial arts are as good as anyones." Shardwurd Gandussen gave a small grin before he stood up as well.

The three students hadn't known each other very long but in that moment they shared a look of total trust and understanding. Today they would prove their worth to the Legion.

"Right then, let's do this!"

Shardwurd helped guide the terrified museum guests out of the path of the rampaging yobs.

He apologised as he punched one of the hooligans unconscious as they harrassed an elderly couple. The two women backed away from the healer, expecting more trouble from him. Sharwurd bowed his head and showed his flight ring, quickly explaining that he was Legion suport staff and assistance was on its way. He also mentioned he was a healer and asked if they needed any help. Both shook their heads and shuffled nervously towards an exit.

There were quiet a few sentients with obvious injuries that needed his attention so despite his desire to ensure the elderly couple were personally escorted safely from the building Shardwurd let them go and focused on the injured that were trying to leave the museum. As he approached each of the wounded victims he reassured them that he was not one of the yobs that was causing this uproar and very quickly his healing gift made any distrust that he could be one of the hooligans a thing of the past.

Shardwurd had to tackle a couple more of the thugs that had chased after their already terrified victims but judicious use of elbow strikes and his feet quickly stopped them from causing any more trouble, and raised a couple of cheers from the departing crowds. Several, encouraged by the young healers defence of them tried to return into the exhibitions to 'deal with' their attackers but the Silver Shaman put the crowd control training that Lydda Jath had drilled into him to good use and shepherded the crowd out of the museum to safety.


Magnus saw three young thugs ahead of him. All looked quite scrawny to his eyes, though they were all taller than him. He had implanted an image of a young girl, perhaps only aged five or six standard, into their minds overwriting his own impression from their senses. All three had stopped shouting when they had seen his illusion as if embarrassed that their riotous behavior was intruding on the young girl's day. Even as they quieted down the young illusion caster pounced at them, invisible to their senses. Three punches and the thugs were unconscious. He used this same trick on a separate group that ran around the corner looking to find out why their comrades had suddenly stopped making any noise.

The young man from the distant world quickly looked around for something to immobilize the thugs with. After almost half a minute he realized that there was nothing nearby that he could realistically use to tie them up with so, reluctantly Magnus took off his thick shirt and ripped off the arms, tearing them into long strips. He used these to tie the young aggressors wrists together so they were bundled in a heap in the centre of the floor. He hoped it would be enough to slow hem down so the Science police could catch them when they arrived... actually, he thought, why weren't they here already? Had they not been called yet? Surely Shardwurd must have... Magnus tapped on his student's flight ring. He realized that they could have summoned help and ended this almost as soon as it started and with that realization he knew that his tutors would want to know why he hadn't - he didn't have a good answer, really, other than he had simply wanted to punch the gang that were causing all this trouble. He hoped wildfire would pick the call up as at least the anti-energy former legionnaire would understand that logic.

Magnus Laviksen groaned and took a deep breath before activating the alarm signal on his student flight ring.


Beside a doorway Shessan stood still. She was in a large eight sided room with only two exits. The exhibition mixed holos and physical objects highlighting historic use of garden spaces within built up city blocks. She had pushed a large cabinet in the way of one of the exits and planned on using the confined space to her advantage. There were five of the young hooligans inside the next room smashing up the contents of an architectural exhibition. As far as she could hear there weren't many left - she had personally knocked out five already - so taking out this group would help end this horrid situation.

Shessan coughed and said loudly in her most disdainful tone "What an ugly bunch of children!"

As she expected the yobs came running through towards her. As they ran past into the exhibition space she stood still by the doorway in her granite form so appeared to be a statue. Once they were all through the door she slammed her fist on the door release allowing it to swing shut behind them.

"Guys... stop this before things get serious, okay?"

"It's one o' those freaks, get her!" A rat faced boy at the back of the group shouted.

The three at the front ran towards her, one brandishing a broken chair as a weapon. The chair shattered against her head as she tackled the two in front of her. Three punches and the three attackers were down. She tried not to notice the blood that streamed from the nose her fist had just smashed.

The two that were left had split up, one moved to her right and picked up a scythe from one of the smashed exhibition cases. The second had went to her left and grabbed a length of rope.

"You know I'll beat you, don't you?" She tried to sound reasonable. The two youths ran at her, both swinging their respective weapons. At the very last second she used her flight ring to shoot up into the air. The two yobs crashed headlong into each other and stumbled to their knees. The student smiled as she dropped onto the top of them, grabbed the rope from one of their hands and used it to tie rather firmly around them.

Job done!

Less than two minutes later, after Shessan had started to use her basic first aid skills to try to stop the rather heavy bleeding from the young mans nose she had busted, a holo of Henry appeared before her.

"We will transport them to medical facilities." the future mans avatar announced before a warp swooped over them all and Shessan found herself in the slightly lower gravity and clinical environment of Medicus One. Around her were the semi-conscious and groaning yobs that the three students had been struggling against being treated by a group of medics in long white coats. Both Shardwurd and Magnus stood to the side looking somewhat crestfallen as Night Girl and Science Police Officer Purtha from Naltor spoke to them.

"... think a flight ring alarm is for again? Shardwurd, you passed through the Academy already yet it was Magnus who remembered that you are all part of something bigger... that none of you, not one of you, are full Legionnaires or even have twelve whole months experience yet. I am very disappointed!"

Lydda Jath turned away from the two young men and looked at Shessan. Her eyes were dark and her face stern.

"Shardwurd, you can remain to help out here. Magnus and Shessan are with me, back to Home Base. Obviously we need to arrange some basic training module re-runs."

"Ma'am..." Said Shessan, "We only did what we are training to do, we stopped people and property being unnecessarily hurt or destroyed. Maybe we don't have twelve months experience but we did the right thing. We did it!"

"Shessan, contrary to what you may have heard, this level of violence is only ever a Legionnaire's last resort. There are a lot of hurt young people here that you three need to apologise to."

"Ain't gonna happen. Those yagabo's can sing for my apology." Granite Girl pouted belligerently as she replied.

"You are not authorized law enforcement officers, what you did was assault children."

"No. What we did was stop a riot and lots of innocents gettin' hurt."

The Academy tutor glared at the student for a long couple of seconds before Officer Purtha broke the silence by asking Henry to provide a warp back to their satellite base. After they had walked through the warp the Kathooni tutor strode off without a word to her students, her tense body language saying everything about how disappointed she was feeling that they needed to know.

Officer Purtha had stayed with the two crestfallen students and once Lydda Jath was out of sight he turned to them and said:

"Personally, I think you did right, and well done for dealing with it so quickly. Though next time you might think to give us a call before you put that many trouble makers into hospital. I believe the Legionnaires prefer it when you share the sport around rather than keeping it all to yourself." He smiled broadly before walking away, whistling a tune to himself as he did.

Hey all, I meant to post this before now, but at least I got it to you eventually. Next up we have the end to Mon El's mission then it's through a warp to Talok viii for some serious action.

It is interesting for me to see your take on Retro/Deen. I have been having trouble knowing what to do with him my own stories; his powers seem too powerful if used competently.

15 hours after being warped to the Host home world in the Voligaxxian System

Mon El – Senior Team member, Lar Gand of Daxam, incredible strength, speed, stamina, senses, laser vision, space flight, invulnerability
Lexikon - Princess Daheenisha of Tamaran iv, enhanced speed, strength, durability, flight, omni-linguist
Babbage- I-45ENG/Nth Series, of the Robotica Confederated Worlds, strength and durability, internalised weapons, hyper awareness and analytical skills.
Sister Eclipse - of Rhoohanisett iii, durability, heightened senses, physical possession of any living being.

Newly promoted from Home Base Academy (Mentor in brackets):

Southern Lights of Starhaven - spaceflight, magic user (Mon El)

Science Police meta-squad seconded to Legion World Second Base:

Changer - Science Police Investigative Officer Urill Yagthal of Durla, shape changer


Mon El and Babbage had remained on guard duty.

The Daxamite had circled the emperor's palace from above many hundreds of times in the last standard day using his super-senses to monitor the goings-on while his Robotican teammate had stood guard outside the huge entrance way. Sister Eclipse had remained inside the cavernous hall, assuring her teammates that her species could stay awake for up to six standard days before needing rest. Lar had muttered that he really would prefer if their mission didn't take anywhere near that long. Babbage reported that his senses could not determine any real difference from one member of the Host and another, leading the Robotican to surmise that cloning may be involved in the propagation of the species. Mon El didn't reply directly but said that an open mind was the best solution in these sort of cases.

Lexikon and Officer Yagthal had each taken several hours rest before joining Mon El in the air. Southern Lights alternated between resting and meditating. After Sister Eclipse had shared her theory that the emperor himself was behind the supposed assassination attempts the young mystic had taken it upon himself to find a way to stop it if at all possible; the Starhavenite's beliefs simply did not accept that suicide could ever be an answer to a predicament.

The planet Voligax had a 21 hour day and this new day was to be the Affirmation Event when His Eternal Omnipotence, the Emperor of All That Are Civilized Under The Void, was to appear before his billions of people to give praise to the Eternal Warp That Gives Life.

Mon El thought it was all just a bit hokey... and the time that the emperor, if he was feeling like topping himself, was most likely to do it.

The emperor was to give his speech from above a colossal amphitheater that Mon El guessed had been build on the remains of a huge impact crater from some time in this planet's very distant past. They estimated that upwards of a billion of this planets many billion population would be there in person waiting to see their ruler and hear his words. As the emperor could not been seen without wearing the rather ridiculous and unwieldy head dress that showed his status the Daxamite had wondered how the diminutive ruler would ever make it up to the floating platform; the Legionnaire hoped he wasn't supposed to carry him.

Mon El was relieved when the time came that the entire chamber started to spin around the emperor and slowly the cathedral-like roof peeled back while the floor started to rise. Underneath the flooring a thick white cloudbank poured out, filling the space with a scent similar to lavender while also masking the mauve flare of the anti-gravity pads. Without needing to be asked, Babbage and Lexikon flew underneath the rising emperors platform ready to catch him if anything were to go wrong. Meanwhile Southern Lights, Officer Yagthal and Mon El flew several hundred metres before it, scanning the immense crowds that were watching this spectacle for potential trouble. Southern Lights fingertips spun a trail of translucent magical manna in the air as he weaved a spell of detection. So far it had pulsed and spun but had been unable to pinpoint anyone that meant harm directly to the emperor.

The one thing that Mon El found entirely eerie about this event was how quiet the crowds were. Not one of the Host cheered or clapped yet all stared at the floating emperor in his ludicrously huge headpiece as if in awe. The small blue intra-dimensional vortexes appeared to be increasing, swirling in amongst the crowds and flickering like distant fireworks as they moved. It appeared as if there were a lot more of these strange blue pulses than before. As the blue glows multiplied they often seemed to emanate from within the individual Host then flicker out to appear near-by.

The blue pulses made a pattern of sorts - concentric rings of them ran around and around the crowds silently stood below the emperor as he started to speak. Within the strange pulses of blue the indigenous people had started to roar. As the swirling circles swept out through the immense crowd more and more of the small natives opened their mouths and screamed. And as they screamed the pulses seemed to jump creating a chaotic wave form the pushed into the air wqith many thousands of jagged edges. As the emperor spoke - of his loyalty and love of this world and all it's billions of people - the noise rose until very quickly his voice was drowned out by the primal roar from below. It was at this point that the floor beneath him spiraled open and he dropped out, falling down towards the screaming crowds.

It was almost too late when Mon El reacted.

The Daxamite raced towards the plummeting figure but even at his great speed he could see something wasn't right - the emperor glowed with a blue light that mirrored the pulses in the crowds below. Mon El swooped under the plummeting planetary leader and cradled the falling royal in his arms as one might do a baby until he landed gently in the crowd. As Mon El started to lower the emperor the crowd attacked, jumping upon the Legionnaire as they screamed their blue screams.

Within seconds there were literally hundreds of the small beings covering Mon El as he tried to shield the emperor. HIs colleagues sent messages asking if he was okay while they tried to gently extract the natives from off of the pile of bodies but the sheer mass of the crowd made even this virtually impossible. It was only his natural invulnerability that saved Mon El from being maimed in the midst of the huge scrum as the being he tried to protect took a small dagger from within his robes and smashed it into the Legionnaires eye. The emperor glowed with a rhythmic pulse of blue.

Southern Light had also attracted the crowds wrath and the mystic from Starhaven had been dragged in towards a huge group of angry natives. He spun, his wings sweeping his attackers sideways then dove into the air away from the clawing hands. The pulsing light gave the mob a stroboscopic effect as they surged and clambered over each other to attack the Legionnaires that were trying to release Mon El and the emperor.

Lexikon fought her way through a mob of the small natives that appeared fearless in the face of the Legionnaires much greater physical prowess.

<I cannot read them as individuals any more, they have become as one great beast!> she sent to her colleagues as she spun loose from dozens of grasping hands.

Urill Yagthal had initially chosen a larger and tougher form but as the crowds surged and the sheer mass of aggressors threatened to overwhelm him he became a golden banded hawk and took to the air out of their reach.

<Enough!> Mon El rose to the air, a ball of perhaps a hundred of the small natives clung to him, still tearing at his clothes and trying to scratch and bite him. The Legionnaire waited until he was about ten feet above the surging crowd before he gave a tremendous shrug and shook off those that still clung onto his body.

<Can someone tell me what the hell this is about?> He sent to his colleagues, his tone clearly showing his exasperation.

Babbage gave the team leader his scan results - the immense crowd were increasingly turning savage and potentially the casualties currently calculated into the dozens of thousands. The blue pulsing energy was rippling with an increased velocity throughout the billion or so beings in the vast amphitheater and as it passed the Host were become increasingly agitated. The Robotican Legionnaire suggested they retreat before further harm was caused.

Sister Eclipse had initially been on the platform with the emperor, her prostrate figure had been out of sight of the crowds as she had lain not far from this planets ruler. She floated down towards her colleagues.

<Lar, you must let the emperor go so he can pass on...>

<You've got to be kidding me sister, we didn't come all the way out here to let an angry mob rip him apart> Mon El replied.

<You misunderstand me, I believe it is how the role of Emperor is chosen... each one releases the warp energy they hold this way>

<No, we're not going to allow this savagery. We're here to save people not throw them to the mob>

<Then this situation will only get worse> was Sister Eclipse's cool response.

Southern Lights interrupted them <I may have a spell that could help... can I have two minutes before you decide?>

<Of course, okay everyone we've got to stop the crowd from tearing themselves apart while we let our colleague do what he needs to do. Sister, can you look after the emperor while I do crowd control?>

<I am unable to posses these beings and do not believe it would help our cause were we to restrain him> Her tone was light but there was a sense of disappointment in her message.

<Okay... so can you help out then, stop the little buggers from killing each other>

<Lar, have you not noticed...? None of the Host are dying, it is as if they are play fighting...> Sister Eclipse broadcast to her team leader.

Mon El focused his senses on the blue pulsing crowds below and watched as they tore into each other as they tried to reach the emperor and even as they fought and bit and clawed and gouged there was no apparent real harm, only a battle to get to their paws onto the planetary ruler...

<Oh... What the bloody hell is going on here?>

Southern Lights focused on the spiraling trans-dimensional energy that rippled and swelled amongst the huge crowd of the Host.

The mystic from Starhaven specialized in spiritual magic. The blue light that swirled through the mob had a guiding intelligence, he was sure of it and if he could somehow create a bridge between himself and this force then maybe he could help calm the situation down. If he could only hold the spirit of the blue energy then with the team he was with they should come to a solution... Between Mon El and Sister Eclipse's life experiences and Lexikon's language skills surely they could come to a compromise where the natives would stop this violence. At least that's what he hoped.

His mind's eye searched on astral levels beyond the senses of the vast majority of beings, desperately trying to reach a place where this trans-dimensional force could be reached. It appeared to him as if reality around him were composed of the gentle hues of autumn as the world faded from his physical senses... And then he found it, or perhaps it found him! The sense of identity was different, something truly alien to his experience. It was vast in comparison to any soul he had touched before and this virtually unending scale made it appear to be without the limiting doubts that every other being naturally possessed. It was truly vast... As if it encompassed everything of value with only dross left outside.

There were images and ideas and sensory imprints jumbled across each other that smashed through the young mystics mind, each overlapping and enforcing the next. Southern Lights knew that whatever he had touched it had barely noticed him, as if he were a grain of sand, or less...

<Let the emperor go Mon El of faraway Daxam, it is his time to move on in the cycle> The thought had been broadcast by Southern Lights but all the Legionnaires were immediately aware that their winged colleague was not really responsible for sending it.

Babbage, Sister Eclipse and Officer Urill approached their colleague, he appeared to share the blue glow that had so enraged the crowds below them.

<Southern Lights...?>

<The emperor is an extension of our purpose. As are all upon this world> again the thought had come from the winged Legionnaire but possessed none of his identity.

Mon El lowered himself until he floated directly opposite the new Legionnaire he mentored. The Daxamite's eyes briefly flickered red.

Southern Lights hovered with his white wings barely moving and his body glowing blue before the powerful Daxamite Legionnaire, there was no fear or doubt in the expression on his face. Whatever was now in control of the young mystic had not reservations about its actions.

<Tell me why>

<Would you explain yourself to a single weed that grows between your crops in the furthest of fields?> There was a feeling of goading in the reply as if it wanted to test the Legionnaire.

<This weed holds your chosen emperor, I think there won't be another until he gives himself to the crowd and you don't rule without your chosen figurehead on his throne>

<You are truly ignorant... truly, truly ignorant. That one is a creation of the expectation the cultures that this broken realm hold. A link to our experiment and your ignorant peoples. It is not the way of the True Host to rule like this but we shall imitate your cultural norms as we discover this realms many ways>

<What are you going on about?> Mon El’s exasperation was obvious.

<Lar, please wait... We are speaking with the voice of the Warp>

<Whatever we're talking to it can let go of Southern Lights and stop this... this riot!> Mon El had flown up towards the young winged mystic who was glowing blue as the warp energies possessed him. The Daxamite had an expression that clearly showed he was desperate to hit something.

<Let our experiment run as it must and we shall leave this child>

Mon El looked around at his colleagues, none of whom were sure what the right answer was to the question in his gaze. The Daxamite swooped down to the crowds and released the emperor, who whispered his thanks before a mass of hundreds of the Host swarmed over the planetary ruler. Mon El floated above the riotous mob, his eyes glowing as his super senses watched what was happening below. Although the emperor was engulfed in a wave of bodies he rolled and moved with the agitated flow as if part of the mob. The little ruler pulsed with the strange blue light and with each burst the locals all fought to touch him as if in benediction. And as the crowd roared the blue pulsing light coalesced in the thirty deep pile of bodies around the emperor and gave an almighty flash before vanishing almost entirely.

Under the pile of bodies one of the host glowed faintly. The small being had been holding the former emperors arm and now appeared to be the sole recipient of the Warp's energies. All of the Host around it started to back away with their faces down, their new emperor had been chosen. Tubes from the massive structure that the previous emperor had worn as part of his headdress snaked down from the floating platform and gently cradled the new ruler as they lifted him up. Within a minute he was firmly ensconced underneath this enormous symbol of his position, almost invisible amongst the construction of his crown. Below the floating platform the blue glow built up again throughout the entire crowd until it finally pulsed a beam of light that shot up and through the platform scattering across the sky as the new emperors enormous crown deflected and redirected the light.

The crowd below cheered and cried for several minutes until, as if on a cue that the Legionnaires could not hear, they suddenly stopped and started to leave the huge amphitheater. Their natural belligerence and antipathy towards each other and the Legionnaires returned and there were many scraps and scuffles as they trundled back about their business.

<Order has been restored to the Host> Sister Eclipse sent to her colleagues.

Southern Lights floated next to Mon El, the young mystic's skin had remained blue after his possession by the warp but other than appearing dazed he was apparently physically unharmed. Babbage and Lexikon flew up to join their team leader and colleague.

Southern Lights claimed to have no recollection of the Warp being inside him and said he felt absolutely fine though he looked at his hands with wonder - his skin now a pale dusty blue colour, the colour of the warp. Babbage's scans confirmed that other than the pigmentation changes in the young man from Starhaven's skin there were no physical signs of harm or lasting damage that the Robotican could find. Mon El told Southern Lights that it was a striking look that suited him, but he'd be happier if Doctor Shakespeare and SP Counselor Faulkner were to examine the young mystic and give the all clear.

Underneath them the Host did not seem to care that they had half a dozen Legionnaires floating above their heads; the small creatures continued about their business with the usual belligerence that the team had witnessed prior to this event as they pushed and barged and bickered their way our of the enormous amphitheater.

And so it was the Legionnaires called for Henry's warp to take them back to their base.

The Holo-man appeared before them and shook his head, "I'm sorry but I cannot. You have orders from Thunder that once your mission was complete you were to immediately assist her."

"What's going on Henry?" Mon El sounded annoyed as he asked.

"It appears something is attacking Talok viii. Three teams of Legionnaires have gone there and disappeared already and I believe the Science Police are discussing the possible tactical destruction of the world in an effort to stop the dark disease from spreading."

"Get us there now!" Mon El ordered.

"Of course." Henry smiled and nodded as the warp opened before them. Through it they could only see darkness.

"Henry..." Sister Eclipse spoke to the holo as her teammates rushed through the warp, "You must take Southern Lights to the medi-bay, he will need attention."

"I'm afraid you're too late Sister, Southern Lights has joined your colleagues through the warp already. You must also join them." And with those words the honey and violet swirling warp swooped across and Sister Eclipse found herself stood in what looked something like a war zone. The ground and air were each equally black with ashes falling from the sky and choking smoke as if a huge fire were raging nearby.

It looked to her like a scene straight out of some primitive religions depiction of Hell.

The sky smelled of death.

Everywhere around Mon El the air was filled with dark burning stinking ash.

The land below him looked charred and ruined, as if the aftermath of some unforeseen and horrific battle. The Daxamite felt sick in the pit of his stomach. He knew that he should be floating just 2 klicks north of the prosperous City State Dalalugawushthra. The air was layered with dark toxic bands of the burning powdered remains of the city state. The broad and beautifully carved aqueduct that took fresh water from springs in the hills to the northeast was smashed beyond repair, the roads and farmed fields that spread out to the horizon and beyond were nowhere to be seen under the falling cloud of embers. The city itself, with a population that he estimated had been around four million or so looked as if a giant malicious toddler had taken out a god-tantrum upon it.

Within the centre of the smashed city a structure had been erected that looked something like a rotten trunk of some obscene tree. It twisted in an organic curl as it reached up towards the ash heavy sky. Pink electrics crackled around its tip. Mon El tried to focus his senses upon this alien structure but they slid off of its purulent skin.

At his side the young mystic from Starhaven, Southern Lights, traced arcane sigils with his finger tips. They glowed with an angry red pulse as they beat a sharp tattoo upon the air. It was obvious the spell, whatever it was for, was not giving positive results. Southern Lights continued to mutter in an undecipherable language and trace the shapes with his fingertips upon the ash laden sky around them.

Lexikon, Babbage, Sister Eclipse and the Durlan SPO Urill Yagthal had all flown off to look for survivors amidst the rubble and ruin several minutes ago. Mon El could no longer see them. He knew they were in terrible danger but while Southern lights was writing his enchantment upon the air the Daxamite realised his priority was to guard the young mystic. Soon enough they would search for their teammates and help or avenge them as needed.

And, with this thought, Captain Tuk Shir, Chemical Kid, Tellus, Dragon Mage and Grev Mallor rose through the streaks of ash below. Mon El saw them approach and sighed. He knew these mockeries were not his friends, not really. Their eyes burned with a red glow that appeared somehow fitting amongst all this desolation as they shone with a light bright in desolation and they wore organic looking straps and armour over their costumes that appeared to be made of the same stuff as the twisting tree-like building at the centre of the destruction below.

Mon El considered his options; Captain Shir from Daxam was potentially more than a match for him physically, while Tellus, Dragon Mage and Chemical Kid could all do him serious damage if he gave them enough time. Yet somehow Lar Gand knew that it would be Grev Mallor that he should watch out for. The cousin of Tasmia Mallor, the current Planetary Shadow Champion of Talok viii, had a look about him that clearly indicated he was the being in charge of this group of Legionnaires. He also looked as if he were stark raving mad.

The Daxamite Legionnaire's 1,000 years of watching the universe through the thin veil of the Phantom Zone had taught him a hard pragmatic wisdom that served him well.

<Southern Lights, you need to leave now, this is an order! Get away from here and get in touch with Home Base. Tell Lu it's serious... tell her I think this is an Omega Event, we have been severely compromised. Go. Now!>

With that message sent to the young mystic who had been partnered to the Daxamite for the last month Mon El dived down towards the approaching group.

Three hours before:

First Base:

Phantom Girl – Team leader, Tinya Wazzo of Bgtzl Dimension, intangibility
Tellus - Ganglios of Hykraius, telepathy and telekinesis
Dragonmage - Xao Jin of Earth, manipulation of magical energies using dragon forms
Chemical Kid - Hadru Jamik of Phlon, catalyzes chemical reactions
Atom Girl - Sylva Nrilsan of Imsk, can shrink herself to microscopic size

Tyroc – Deputy leader - Troy Stewart of Marzal city pocket dimension, sonic control
Dawnstar of Starhaven - Senior Team member, space flight, incredible speed, tracking
Starkling – telepathic swarm-being composed of indestructible ball bearing sized components
The Spear of Artemis - Amynta of Nostos ii, incredible strength, speed, invulnerability, space flight, carries magical weapons

Newly promoted from Academy student to full membership (Mentor in brackets):
Bouncing Boy ii - Stoor Chamble of Pasnic, creation of personal spherical force field (Tyroc)
Atomsmasher - Ergus Wraithcat of Betelgeuse, spaceflight, invulnerability, hyper senses, telepathy, radiation manipulation (Dawnstar)

Seconded members currently based on Legion World Second Base:
Green Lantern - Dkyun Mu of Xudar, wearer of a Green Lantern power ring

Science Police meta-squad seconded to Legion World First Base:
'Captain Heavyweight' - Captain Tuk Shir of the Science Police from Daxam, Senior Team liaison, incredible strength, speed, stamina, senses, laser vision, space flight, invulnerability


The footage of the Science Police Officer being ripped apart by the cousin of one of their members who also happened to be a former student of the Academy was very, very alarming. They could all see that Grev Mallor was not acting normally, even in the two seconds that he was shown on the holo.

Tinya considered the team she had chosen for this mission. Atom Girl and herself provided stealth capabilities while Tellus gave psychic support. Dragon Mage would be on hand to help against any magical threat and Chemical Kids abilities were incredibly versatile in both offensive and protective situations, and Captain Shir of Daxam SP would provide the raw power that Tinya was afraid they would need... and still she worried if they would be enough. There was something here that had affected her in a way that she couldn't quite understand, an unease that made her feel hyper-vigilant, jumpy... scared even. Looking at the assembled team Phantom Girl guessed that she wasn't the only one feeling that way.

Tyroc would be warping across any second now with a team from Second Base as the Senior Team had held a hasty meeting and decided a strong team would most likely be needed. Tinya had requested he bring the Green Lantern, it was just a feeling but she couldn't shake off that this was something more Cosmic than their typical mission. Tyroc had happily agreed with her assessment.

Henry's honey and violet warp spun open in from of them and the team from Second Base stepped through.

<You brought two new kids Troy, was that wise?> Phantom Girl sent across a personal channel to Tyroc.

<They're Legionnaires Tinya and a part o' my team. I have faith in them... and they need to face dese things, prove t' themsel's that they are worthy of their flight rings, okay?> With that the sharp rebuke the conversation was finished. Tinya was disappointed but was not away to undermine her colleagues authority in from of the team. She only hoped Bouncing Boy ii and Atomsmasher were up for the challenge ahead.

"Okay, listen up," Tinya began, "We've all seen the holo by now and we need to act fast, so... Dawnstar, you take the Green Lantern and Atomsmasher into an orbit above the planet. You will be our eyes in the sky and can stop anything leaving that we don't want to get off world..."

"D-Do we know who the enemy is yet?" Bouncing Boy said quietly as an aside to the Spear of Artemis, not meaning to interrupt the team leader.

"Stoor, shoosh. Not now." Tyroc said in a low voice.

"No... he's right to ask," Tinya said, turning to the new Legionnaire from Pasnic, "Stoor, we don't know who or what we are facing but the whole planet is in darkness and our long range scans show some strange energy flares erupting from the surface. Also, it appears Grev Mallor has gone rogue. So, who knows who else might be there and no longer our friend. Don't trust anyone outside this team... for now anyway. Thunder is on hand with another team if we need urgent back up but for now I'm hoping we will be more than enough to deal with this challenge."

"O-Okay." Despite the stutter the new Bouncing Boy sounded relieved to find out that the team leader knew as little as he did.

Tinya smiled briefly at him before continuing.

"Okay... we ready?" She didn't wait for a reply before motioning Henry to open a warp for them to step through.

As soon as they stepped through the warp Phantom Girl had gasped in shock.

She had visited Talok viii many times and usually found a bleak beauty in its stark cities, roaming deserts and truly wild forests, but today there was only darkness and the disgusting taste of burning upon the air. She quickly called the teams before her and spoke about their mission: They would try to rescue as many civilians as they could while locating the source of this horrific situation.

Tinya had then split the teams with Captain Shir flying overhead on point. The Daxamite's role was to warn the teams below of any attack or disturbance and also to act as a target himself - he would draw attention away from his colleagues as his invulnerability and strength should prove a match for almost any opponent that tried to get at him.

Tyroc, the Spear of Artemis, Starkling and Bouncing Boy, went one way towards the centre of the destruction while Phantom Girl led Tellus, Chemical Kid, Atom Girl and Dragon Mage along a slightly different route. The two teams picked their way through the ruined city only streets apart from each other amongst all the fallen debris and raw destruction. They found many bodies though no survivors.

It was Tinya that saw Grev before her colleagues and she did a double take. Grev Mallor had always been slightly reserved, less sure of himself than his cousin. The young man from Talok viii had shown more empathy and far more doubts than Tasmia Mallor ever had, yet the figure before them exuded a brash confidence that clearly stepped over into bloody arrogance.

<Team... we have company, I'll take the lead here okay? No heroics until I say so, perhaps we can....> Her message was cut off as the air turned to absolute darkness and ground exploded around each of them, large thorny tendrils erupted out to encase them while a psychic blow primarily aimed at knocking them out smashed through any mental defenses they had in place.

Phantom Girl could have easily escape the tendrils but the psychic assault caught her off guard and she was unconscious with her teammates tangled in the purulent vines as their former ally, Grev Mallor, strode over to examine them.

"Good pets, lie down before you master. You will make good hounds."

The ground opened underneath the unconscious Legionnaires and they were dragged into the darkness.

The Spear of Artemis smashed through the wall.

Amynta of Nostos ii quickly looked around at the wasteland before her. This was where Phantom Girl's broadcast had cut off only seconds before but there was no sign of her teammates. Above her head Starkling swarmed while floating behind the Amazonian were Tyroc and Bouncing Boy.

Captain Shir circled in the air above. The Daxamite had called for assistance as soon as the dark bubble had expanded around their team leader and colleagues but even with his speed and super senses he had been unable to reach or even find them in time. Instead, Grev Mallor was sat on a boulder amongst the rubble calmly examining the nails on one hand as if there were nothing to trouble him.

"Legionnaires, you need to listen to me." He said, his voice grated on their senses even though he had spoken softly. From his arrogant body language and strange armour he wore this was clearly not the Grev Mallor they knew from the Academy.

The Spear of Artemis drew back her arm, her spear ready to fly.

<Hold Amynta, let's hear what he... this creature... has to say, we need info> Tyroc sent to his colleague.

"You will all submit, you have no choice really." Grev Mallor's mouth moved into a smile as he spoke, "The whole universe will eventually, that is truth of your situation. We do not want to have to hurt you too badly but if you give us no choice..."

Amynta had heard enough. Despite what her team leader had ordered she threw her spear at the creature before them. The Amazonian warrior knew that it would not tell them anything, it was simply gloating, playing with what it thought of as its prey.

The magical artifact flew straight towards the sitting young man but before it reached him the ground erupted with dark tendrils and plucked it from the air. Grev Mallor turned to look directly towards her and once again smiled.

All hell broke lose!

The ground erupted again as more and more of the dark tendrils reached for the Legionnaires.

Starkling flew at the young Talokean, its swarm form easily dodging the jagged forms of the tendrils as they grew out of the ground underneath it. As the swarm reached Grev he glanced towards it, looking mildly confused before breaking into another grin. The individual components of Starkling stopped in midflight and dropped lifelessly to the ground in front of him.

"Telepaths are the easiest." Grev said casually as he continued to watch the other Legionnaires struggle.

Captain Shir dived in to tackle their former ally but was quickly overcome by tendril after tendril of sharp edged darkness as they wrapped themselves around his broad frame and dragged him under the ground. His laser vision flashed and blasts of blizzard-like breath blew but ultimately were as useless as his strength in this fight.

Bouncing Boy flew straight at Grev, pushing his flight ring to move at the fastest possible velocity while pulling his force field in to be as tight and dense as it possibly could be. He would hit the former Academy student like a wrecking ball. Tendrils slammed out of the ground and against his shield slowing him down until he too was dragged under the rubble strewn ground beneath them.

The Spear of Artemis had leapt into the air and crashed into an already smashed building. She tore off a strip of ferroconcrete and threw it towards Grev as he sat watching her colleagues fall. She had noticed that the attacks came out of the ground so she made sure to get high enough to avoid the tendrils.

"You are quite the little warrior aren't you? I bet my cousin hated you..."

As he spoke Grev Mallor casually pointed a hand towards Amynta and a wash of darkness overcame her. When it dissipated she was unconscious on the ground wrapped in the dark tendrils that had captured her colleagues.

Tyroc unleashed devastating screams that shredded the nearest dark tendrils to him but as they shattered before him another wrapped around his torso from directly under his feet and he struggled to get loose. He reached for his flight ring but was not fast enough to send of an alert back to their bases before too he was overcome as dozens of the dark strands wrapped themselves tightly around him.

slightly later:

Dawnstar of Starhaven - Senior Team member, space flight, incredible speed, tracking
Atomsmasher - Ergus Wraithcat of Betelgeuse, spaceflight, invulnerability, hyper senses, telepathy, radiation manipulation
Green Lantern - Dkyun Mu of Xudar, wearer of a Green Lantern power ring


The flash of electric pink that tore past her team had surprised Dawnstar.

They had warped directly here several minutes before and skimmed the edges of the atmosphere, trying to ascertain how much damage the planet had sustained when the blast had struck from out of nowhere. Atomsmasher had used its abilities to bounce the electrical energy away from itself and Dawnstar, while Dkyun Mu had surrounded herself in a cloak of emerald energy that smoothly redirected the energy burst back towards the planet.

<We are discovered, I fear. That was intended to strike> The Green Lantern sent to her colleagues.

<Company approaches> Atomsmasher sent to its colleagues. The telepathic message was accompanied by a sensor image of two dark figures approaching through the bleak atmosphere below. Once again Dawnstar was quietly awed by the Wraithcat's immense sensory range; there was easily a thousand klicks and a horrifically damaged atmosphere between them and the two figures the Wraithcat had sensed. The two approaching figures were moving fast though and the Starhavenite knew that they had at most half a minute before they would be upon the Legionnaires.

The Green Lantern flew in front of her colleagues, an emerald shield glowing out from her Oan power ring. Dawnstar and Atomsmasher were close behind both straining to use their sensory abilities to track and identify the approaching being.

<Legionnaires> Sent Atomsmasher, and once again a sensory image of the figures slid into Dawnstar and the Green Lantern's minds. Approaching them were Captain Tuk Shir and the Spear of Artemis, though they could see that something was amiss. The two approaching Legionnaires should be on a mission below and yet here they were without announcing themselves, and they both had dark purple armoured straps around their shoulders and arms...

<Be careful, they are not...> Dawnstar swerved as Amynta of Nostos ii launched her enchanted spear at her colleagues. The enchanted weapong flew straight towards the tracker from Starhaven. Even as Dawnstar dodged the fast approaching missile it swerved and turned towards her, continuing to follow her path. As she swooped and twisted in increasingly tight circles to avoid the magical weapon twin beams of the Daxamites laser vision exploded off the Green Lantern's shield. The momentary flash was enough to distract the Xudarian and give the Daxamite time to use a burst of super speed and strength to punch with such force against the shield that Dkyun Mu was left stunned. Captain Shir reached out and put a large hand around Dkyun Mu's throat before dragging her back towards the dark planets surface at super speed.

The Spear of Artemis approached Atomsmasher and grabbed one of the Wraithcat's long tentacles. As the Amazonian did this Dawnstar flew past at incredible speed and knocked her shoulder throwing the Spear of Artemis off balance. Her magical throwing spear still tore after the Legion's tracker, swerving to avoid its mistress. Even as Amynta struggled to regain her composure and ahold of the Wraithcat her spear caught Dawnstar and pierced her wings. The tracker screamed as the metal shaft spun, pirouetting her around like a rag doll on a stick.

Atomsmasher used the distraction to fade out of sight.

The Spear of Artemis looked around her, desperate to find the new Legionnaire. The void around her seemed to sparkle until a crash of concentrated ambient radiation tore through her stunning the Amazonian warrior momentarily unconscious. The Wraithcat phased back into view and extended a tentacle to gently brush against its fallen colleague's brow. the Wraithcat was not as adept at telepathic probing as others on the team and had trained extensively at the academy in this field but still, the images it tore from her unconscious mind showed it that its fellow Legionnaire was no longer in charge of her own body. As if she had been consumed by a killer virus every cell of Amynta's mighty frame was fighting a losing fight against an outside element.

As the Wraithcat tried to process the imagery that sprung from its colleagues mind the Amazon started to wake and reached out to grab hold of the tentacle by her face. Atomsmasher phased out of sight and tried to reach Dawnstar. The winged tracker was in agony as she was held by the enchanted spear that their Amazonian teammate had hurled at her.

Amynta of Nostos ii coolly held out her hand and her spear returned to it, Dawnstar hung from it like a trophy in some barbaric hunt.

<You will not be free for long Ergus Wraithcat, so enjoy these precious moments before you succumb and join your teammates in becoming one of the hounds> and with that the Spear of Artemis allowed herself to fall back towards the planet below, taking the still struggling Dawnstar with her.

Legion World First Base

Dr Richard Kent Shakespeare -Impulse – Chief medical officer - enhanced strength, speed, durability, stamina
Henry – Anti Lad – Spatial warp controller


"What do you mean 'no'?" Dr Shakespeare said, his voice louder than he had intended.

The holo-man Henry kept his gaze level as the Legion's physician raised his voice at him.

"I am unable to create a spatial link between here and the point you have requested Dr Shakespeare therefore am unable to warp you to Talok vii as you requested."

"Why, Henry? You managed fine to send over the teams fifteen minutes ago... we had multiple injuries showing from their flight ring readouts before they cut out." Kent shook his head. He had never felt entirely safe around Henry but even without those doubts right now he knew that the holo-man from the 75th century was not being entirely honest, it was written all over the semi-transparent hologramatic face.

"I am unable to re-create that spatial link at present."

"Unable or unwilling? Goddamn it Henry, our teammates are in need of urgent assistance."

"You cannot access Talok vii at present Dr Shakespeare, it would not be in the best interest of the team."

"Really? Why is that then, exactly? Tell me what's really going on Henry or open a damned warp so I can do my job and save lives! I'm more good to the team there than standing around here!" Dr Shakespeare held eye contact and his body language made it clear he was not budging from the spot where he stood until he had an honest answer.

There was a moments pause and Henry gazed to the left of the physician, his face showing small emotional twitches as if in communication with another before he turned back and replied.

"My reasoning is this: I doubt you will return if you go to Talok vii at the present time Dr Shakespeare. Although probabilities are impossible to read due to the current situation, residual knowledge within my matrix of diverse timelines appear to hint at your likely corruption on that planet at this point in time. Reading those timeline shadows it transpires that subsequent to your loss several of the team would die unnecessarily if you are not here on First Base to deal with their injuries upon their return. I am truly sorry for refusing to transport you as you request but if we are to save our teammates you should remain here and prepare for their home coming."

"Oh..." Kent's voice trailed off, "What else Henry? What is it we are facing? Who is doing this to us... to Talok?"

"They shall be known to history as the Blight. I believe the team will be sorely tested as they battle them."

"Ah, ...I'd better get ready then." There was something about the coolness of Henry's answer that rattled the large doctor, "Is there anything else I need to know that will help us out?"

Henry gave the doctor a small knowing smile and shook his head.