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Roommate Counseling: A Legion Academy Pilot

You probably expect this to be a fun story about a perky and optimistic teenager filled with hopes and dreams. I don't know if any of these characters fit the bill, but they do try very hard. If this gets a good response, you will probably see more stories like this in the near future.

I want to credit the site Comic Vines for cataloging these more obscure Legion Academy characters so I can use them in the story.

Roll Call
Name: Gar Sector (Fanfic Character)
No Codename Yet
Homeworld: Earth?
Species: Hybrid Human and Starro DNA
Previous School: Cloverton Elite Prep
Powers: Telepathy, Telekinesis, can shift to complete starfish when under certain stresses/pressures
Reason of Entering: Tellus needs a replacement and the Caulders convinced the Legion it was a good idea to help him.

Name: Cub Nah (Reboot character)
Codename: Ultra Boy II
Homeworld: Rimbor
Species: Bgtzlian/Rimborian hybrid
Previous School: Too many to list (his parents moved a lot)
Powers: superhuman strength, flight, penetra-vision, flash vision, , invulnerability, ultra-speed, and intangibility (but one at a time for all powers)
Reason of Entering: Legion Legacy

Name: Ming Sul (Reboot Era character, but I'm filling in a lot of the details)
Codename: Amp Girl
Homeword: New Shanghai
Previous School: Nanjing Road Number 2 School
Powers: Control of Sound Waves, Sonic Cry (originally her powers were amplified senses)
Reason for Entering: Expelled from previous school due to low grades; let in due to the Department of Education's request to lower the Legion Academy's standards in order to get more grant money

Name: Nigel Okafor (Fanfic Character based on Retroboot character)
Codename: Mwandaji II
Homeworld: Kirinyaga
Previous School: MCcabe Hall
Powers: Super-strength, invulnerability
Reason for Entering: Coach (Mwandaji I) encouraged him to enroll after his school of choice denied him admission; doing Summer School because some of his advanced placement credits did not transfer

Name: Deen Toro (Reboot character, but I'm fillinf in a lot of the details)
Codename: Retro
Homeworld: Titan?
Previous School: Faith Alternative School/Ardeen Central High
Powers: Can rewind time by touch
Reason for Entering: He had a habit of using his powers to cheat on tests (and nobody could really prove it!), let in due to the Department of Education's request to lower the Legion Academy's standards in order to get more grant money

Name: Ringtoss (Reboot character)
Homeworld: Unknown
Previous School: Sloane Private Institute
Powers: Can project energy beams from giant one eye
Reason for Entering: Legion Academy claims he is missing some AP credits, but he is appealing to the Board

Name: Xera Kharindot (Five Years Later character?)
Homeworld: Manna-5
Previous School: N/A, private tutoring
Powers: Control of the classical Greek elements (Earth, Water, Fire, and Water)
Reason for Entering: Political reasons, a "crazed heretic" is trying to overthrow her family

Name: Eli'Morrisor (Fanfic Character)
Homeworld: Tam'Rann (after 1000 years the Tamarans and Rannians are basically one culture)
Previous School: Bet'Kaner High School
Powers: Super-strength, Super-Agility
Reason for Entering: She was placed on a Wait List by the Okaaran Military Academy, and her grades would normally be too low to enter the Legion Academy. However, her appeal to the UP Embassy was warmly received as the Department of Education wishes to "make friends in the universe instead of enemies".

~~~~

Summer School Session, Legion Academy Dormitory

"I can't wait around for you much longer. You are going to be late for class!" Gar shouts.

Cub replies, "Have you ever heard of being fashionably late?"

Gar replies, "No, is that some sort of Legionnaire habit?"

Cub laughed as he picks up his book bag and heads to join Gar by the door. The two of them look like complete opposites next to each other. Cub was tall, athletic, and wears his father's uniform. In contrast, Gar was rather scrawny (we will get to why) and wears a simple plain green uniform. It looks good against his lavender-purple skin. His eyes are small and red by human standards...and he is not quite human. He doesn't need his eyes though as he is a telepath.

The two of them make it to Biology just in the nick of time. Most of the other students had already arrived; Ming Sul (Amp Girl), Nigel (Mwindaji II, Deen (Retro), and some guy who is only called Ringtoss. They were missing two students, Xera and Eli'Morrisor. Before the teacher could call attendance, they hear a scream coming from the hallway. When Kent Shakespeare goes outside to take a look, all the students decide to slowly follow him. and watch from the doorway.

Xera shouted, "You stole my Silverale, you *****!"

Eli'Morrisor, "Check your vain tongue in your cheek!"

The white-haired lady replies, "You shall bow before your superiors, Tamaranian!"

"I serve no princess but she of the House of Grayson!" Eli'Morrisor said. "I challenge you to personal combat for the silverale!"

"Stop it now girls and come to class or I will look into detentions, " Kent replies. He turns to his students, "And all of you need will return to your seats right now."

Most of the students were confused by this statement as colleges do not give detentions. After a brief moment of silence, everyone returned to their desks, Kent Shakespeare began the lesson. It was a routine lesson about the cardiovascular system. After class, the students mingled amongst themselves to figure out what was going on. Poor Ming Sul was assailed by both Xera and Eli'Morrisor because they were determined to switched rooms. Ming Sul ended up making up an excuse about a "club she was forming" in order to get out of the conversation. The rest of the morning was uneventful, and they had combat practice after lunch with Bouncing Boy.

Bouncing Boy said, "Today's scenario involves fighting a bunch of missiles from outer space. Your goal is to destroy or disable as many of these "missile robots" while keeping damage to civilian life and property to a minimum."

The students gathered into the simulation room and waited as the timer went off and the robots began to be dropped from the ceiling. Xera and Eli'Morrisor "accidentally hit each other" about as often as they hit the robots. Retro found his powers to be useless on the robots as they were apparently coated in a highly resistant metal, and he was almost hit by debris from Nigel and Cub's attacks. Meanwhile, Gar was struggling with telekinetically keeping the robots at bay. Only Ringtoss got a good grade for that session.

~~~
Later that day, Legion Academy Offices

"I think we have hit a new record in combat score lows," Bouncing Boy admits to Duplicate Damsel.

Duplicate Damsel replied, "The Summer Sessions are usually better than normal sessions because the kids are trying to get ahead. However, this batch of students are trying to catch up before the Fall Semester. To put it lightly...there might be over issues at hand."

Bouncing Boy says, "It is clear most of them dislike their roommates. Should we let them switch now? I know it is not our normal procedure but since Summer Session is usually laid-back. We could bend the rules a little."

Duplicate Damsel shook her head, "Then we will have to let them switch rooms whenever they want, and they will tell the other students to do the same thing. There has got to be a better way to deal with this...oh, now I remember! Remember when we had that adventure with the Doom Patrol and they suggested we could have the students talk about their problems?"

Bouncing Boy replies, "You mean therapy? Or maybe a better way to phrase it would be roommate counseling?"

"Yes, let's try that," Duplicate Damsel said. She gets out an omicrom and begins tapping out a list of students. She messages them to meet in the Dormitory Main Common Room at 7:00 PM sharp.
~~~

"Did the professors say why we are meeting tonight?" Ming Sul asked Nigel as they walked into the Dormitory Main Common Room.

Nigel replies, "I have no idea. Do you think it is about our combat scores?"

"It could be, but this is only a Summer Session. My father donated too many credits to this institution for it to fail me out like the last one did," She explains.

Nigel gasps, "Wait, is that why you are here? You were expelled?"

Ming Sul shrugs, "Yes, you could say that. How about we have a seat while we wait for the others? Oh wait, I see Deen and Ringtoss now."

Deen and Ringtoss take the seats to the left of Ming Sul and Nigel. Shortly after, Xera and Eli'Morrisor join the room, each standing on opposite sides, seemingly afraid of sparking another fight. Gar joins the room, rolls his eyes, and takes a seat to the right of everyone already present.

Deen taps Gar on the shoulder, "Psst, do you know what the meeting is about?"

Gar shrugs his shoulders, "It's probably going to be about how we need to work together as a team or they will punish us."

Deen replies, "Grife, I hope not. By the way, which school did you go to before this?"

"I didn't really go to school...it was called Cloverton Elite Prep but it that was a front for the psychic training center of the Brotherhood," Gar replies.

Ringtoss asked, "Brotherhood of what?"

A voice coming from the direction of the door said, "Brotherhood of Evil."

Gar sighs, "Cub, you don't have to tell that to everyone we meet. It is kind of sensitive."

Cub replies, "Then why did you share such "sensitive" information with me?"

"You were the one that decided to fill lots of tiny cups of water in front of the room and leave them for me to trip on," Gar explains, "Apparently I was not making myself clear when my sense of humor is off."

Cub replies, "Gosh, we should nickname you Angst Lad!"

Duplicate Damsel and Bouncing Boy arrive in the room looking extremely strict and annoyed. They seem a bit unsure as to what to say and to how this will turn out. Duplicate Damsel thinks to herself, The Doom Patrol didn't tell us how their sessions went. I wish Tellus was here, he actually has a certificate in counseling.

Duplicate Damsel said, "So we are all here for roommate counseling. I know there are a lot of people in life you don't like and I don't like, but you have to learn to work with them. You do not have to be friends. You simply have to have basic respect for one another as sentient beings."

Gar says, "Sorry, I'm not in the mood for therapy."

Bouncing Boy said, "This isn't therapy, this is roommate counseling. Anyways, who wants to start?"

Xera replies, "I apologize for accusing Eli'Morrisor of stealing Silver Ale...which I did not consume here at the dormitory. I follow the rules."

Eli'Morrisor says, "And I apologize for taking her accusations to heart. I was at the embassy party at the time she had it, so I could not have done it. Can we go back to our room now?"

Duplicate Damsel closes her eyes and shakes her head, "No, you will stay here and listen to the others. We all have to be on the same page in our professional relationships. Nigel, how about you go next."

Nigel says, "Well, I admit to not reading the manual as well as I should, but I think something bigger is up in this school. I keep getting weird brain flashes before and after I get homework done."

Gar thinks aloud, "Who or what are you seeing?"

Nigel says, "Well, sometimes I am having random conversations with my roommate and then I feel kind of dizzy but then everything feels okay."

"That does not sound normal. Madame Durgo, may I please try to help?" Gar asks.

Before she can respond, Deen frantically responds, "I confess! There is no need to use telepathy...I was simply altering the flow of time to make it easier for us to do homework."

Almost all the students in the room respond, "Nass!"

Nigel replies, "Then why are my grades lower than yours?"

"Sometimes you need more than time in order to be a good student," Deen answers slowly.

Duplicate Damsel interjects, "Unfortunately, this is not a session about cheating. However, if any of you use your powers on another student without their permission to alter their bodies and minds, unless it is an emergency situation, that is grounds for expulsion. Are we understood?" Everyone mumbles in agreement that they understood and the conversation turns back to the students.

Cub states, "I want to switch roommates too. I did not sign up to room with someone raised by Super-Villains...no offense."

"And I didn't sign up to room with someone who wasn't taught basic discipline," Gar replies.

Bouncing Boy replies, "Cub, being raised by Super-Heroes does not make you a better person than Gar. Neither is being raised by Super-Villain make Gar inherently evil...many Legionnaires have personal demons and deal with them in their own way. In turn, Gar, you should work on socializing and communicating with your roommate. Do you think you both can do that?"

Cub says, "Yes, I can."

"Yes, I can," Gar agrees.

Bouncing Boy and Duplicate Damsel considered their session a success and dismissed the students back to their rooms. On the way back to their room, Cub stops Gar.

"So, um, how do you wake up in time for class every day?" Cub asks.

Gar says, "Self-hypnosis. I will show you; it works like a charm."

seems a bit weird how Cub all of a sudden says he doesn’t want to room with Gar. he didn’t seem to have a problem with the whole Brotherhood thing earlier

interesting cast of many less-used Legion characters

so Ming is a rich kid...

Heh, both Xera and the Tamaranean seemed so snooty at first. interesting that they were humbled

nice bit about Tellus having a certificate in counseling. that implied that he had gotten better at understanding humanoids

I chose Cub to represent someone that would be considered a jock/prep in high school due to who his parents were and input from a fb friend. My main purpose was finding a personality to counteract Gar's angst. Do you think this was a poor choice? I am thinking of switching their roommates after the Summer Session is over.

I cannot figure out from the art panels if the Legion Academy is supposed to be high school or a college so I'm portraying it as college for now.

I glad you like Tellus, you will be seeing more of him in the next vignette. You can scroll down toe Epilogue if you want to read that first. I'm considering your response to be neutral so I will write another story. I will also go back and edit the first story's grammar and inconsistencies.

Since I don't have regular artist at this time, this is a useful reference for the color of Gar's uniform: https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Doom_Patrol_Vol_1_86

Too Many Gars

Roll Call

Name: Gar Sector (Fanfic Character)
No Codename Yet
Homeworld: Earth?
Species: Hybrid Human and Starro DNA
Previous School: Cloverton Elite Prep
Powers: Telepathy, Telekinesis, can shift to complete starfish when under certain stresses/pressures
Reason of Entering: Tellus needs a replacement and the Caulders convinced the Legion it was a good idea to help him.

Name: Ming Sul (Reboot Era character, but I'm filling in a lot of the details)
Codename: Amp Girl
Homeword: New Shanghai
Previous School: Nanjing Road Number 2 School
Powers: Control of Sound Waves, Sonic Cry (originally her powers were amplified senses)
Reason for Entering: Expelled from previous school due to low grades; let in due to the Department of Education's request to lower the Legion Academy's standards in order to get more grant money

Name: Nigel Okafor (Fanfic Character based on Retroboot character)
Codename: Mwandaji II
Homeworld: Kirinyaga
Previous School: MCcabe Hall
Powers: Super-strength, invulnerability
Reason for Entering: Coach (Mwandaji I) encouraged him to enroll after his school of choice denied him admission; doing Summer School because some of his advanced placement credits did not transfer

Name: Deen Toro (Reboot character, but I'm fillinf in a lot of the details)
Codename: Retro
Homeworld: Titan?
Previous School: Faith Alternative School/Ardeen Central High
Powers: Can rewind time by touch
Reason for Entering: He had a habit of using his powers to cheat on tests (and nobody could really prove it!), let in due to the Department of Education's request to lower the Legion Academy's standards in order to get more grant money

Name: Eli'Morrisor (Fanfic Character)
Homeworld: Tam'Rann (after 1000 years the Tamarans and Rannians are basically one culture)
Previous School: Bet'Kaner High School
Powers: Super-strength, Super-Agility
Reason for Entering: She was placed on a Wait List by the Okaaran Military Academy, and her grades would normally be too low to enter the Legion Academy. However, her appeal to the UP Embassy was warmly received as the Department of Education wishes to "make friends in the universe instead of enemies".

Xera Kharindot and Ringtoss have minor roles in this story as well.

~~~~

Gar Sector is finally unpacking his boxes of stuff he brought with him from Cloverton. He had been in quarantine for a long time after the Brotherhood of Evil's "War" against the UP so he was not sure how long he would be at the Legion Academy. Or frankly, sharing his room with this guy named Cub. Hopefully, things would be better now that they worked through their differences in sleep schedules.

He opens the bottom drawer of the desk and finds a mysterious clear jeweled prism. It is about the size and weight of a soccer ball. It reflects five colors when it the sunlight from the window touches it. Gar is amazed by its colors and decides to pick it up to examine it closer. He cannot tell if it is made of glass or some sort of precious stone. He sits it on his bed and decides to push the prism with his telekinesis. Unfortunately, it seems to trigger a reaction in the prism it starts to glow. Gar panics and let's go of the prism, sending the prism crashing towards the floor. He quickly grabs the prism and is engulfed in a wave of light. The silence is broken by a knock on the door.

"Gar, the delivery man is here and we need your money!" Eli'Morrisor shouts.

"Can you, um get the door?" Gar asks sheepishly.

Eli'Morrisor opens the door to find that there were five Gars, each wearing a different colored uniform. There is one in red, one in gray, one in orange, one in green, and one in yellow. She looks around to make sure that what she is experiencing is reality. After a few moments, she realizes this is not a hallucination or a dream.

She asks calmly, "Are you part Carggite?"

They all reply in unison, "No!"

Eli'Morrisor says, "Oh, okay. I don't know what to do then, I think I will go get someone that knows more than me."

The one in red answers, "No, we don't think so. You will tell the others everything is normal, that five Gars are better than one. Here is your money."

Eli'Morrisor rolls her eyes, "If there is five of you, you will need to give me more money."

The one in gray replies, "Give her more money....wait how does this work? Is everything we owned duplicated? I have never been in an adventure like this before."

"We should link our brains in a hive mind together and be the five-in-one!" The one in green shouts happily.

All the others look and him and reply, "No, I think the Stepford Cuckoos would sue us. Jinx! Anyways, Eli'Morrisor--"

They turn to notice that she has already left the room and she left all the money on the dresser.
~~~~
Dormitory Main Common Room

"...so, I think that we need to do something! I don't know what that something is, but we need to do it fast! The one in red looks really devious," Eli'Morrisor explained to rest of the students gathered for their take-out party.

Nigel asks, "Did you remember to lock the door behind you?"

Eli'Morrisor shakes her head. All the students look at each other and then back at her. She thinks for a minute, All the Gars are telepathic and could cause a lot of harm if they are scared or angry. I have made a terrible misjudgment. I must make it up to my friends by taking charge of the situation. She states, "How about if I go back to the Common Room with Nigel and see if we can contain them all? If something goes wrong, we will send a signal."

Nigel and Eli'Morrisor run back to Gar's room and slowly open the door. They see that it is almost completely empty and almost miss the Gar in gray sitting in the corner of the room. They approach him and he nervously puts his hands up.

The Gray Gar says, "You have me! Please arrest me, I am completely guilty!"

Nigel says plainly but firmly, "What did you do?"

"I touched a prism left in the desk by the last occupant! It is really dangerous! I should have used gloves and given it to a teacher," He pleads.

Eli'Morrisor looks around the room and sees the prism lying on the bed. She is about to touch it when Nigel puts his hand in front of it to stop her. Eli'Morrisor understands that it could still be dangerous and turns her attention back to Gar.

"Where are the other four of you?" Eli'Morrisor asks.

Gray Gar explains, "Green Gar went to the observatory to find a way home, Red Gar went to the library to do research for his secret plans to defeat you all, Yellow Gar went to the Virtual Reality Theater--"

"Wait, did you just say Red Gar wants to research secret plans to defeat us?!" Nigel says.

"Yes, he is Gar Prime's Paranoia. I am his Self-Pity," Gray Gar says.

Eli'Morrisor muses, "Cub was right, he is Angst Lad. It's too bad that son of Rimbor chose this weekend to go home and visit his family. Nigel, you tell the others to split up into sub teams. I shall lead the charge into the library and take on the toughest Gar as compensation for my poor judgment earlier today."

"Please don't tell the teachers, I don't want to go back to quarantine in Rita Farr's Hospital," Gray Gar pleads.

Nigel says calmly, "Just cooperate with us as we merge you back to 'Gar Prime' and everything should be okay. You didn't know that prism would cause you to split into five parts. It sounds like something out of horror film or a children's sitcom."

Nigel heads back to Dormitory Main Common Room and explains everything that just happened to his friends. He draws pictures to explain how the different color uniforms represent different emotions. Nigel theorizes that if they can get the Gars close enough together, they can use the prism to merge them make into Gar Prime. Ming Sul and Deen agreed to get the Yellow Gar (Creativity) from the Virtual Reality Theater. Ringtoss and Xera were given the task of retrieving the Orange Gar (Obedience), but were not sure where to go. Meanwhile, Nigel decides to head to the observatory to retrieve the Green Gar (Enthusiasm).

Ming Sul and Deen head to the Virtual Reality Theater with Gray Gar to find that Yellow Gar was playing in a tournament of Kalanorian Chess. The rules have not changed since the mid-25th century and rumors state that Despero still has the highest score. They watch for a few minutes, then get bored and try to figure out how to coax Yellow Gar closer to Gray Gar. Deen argues it would be appropriate to use his powers to end the game early, but Ming Sul tells reminds him that cheating is wrong. She then looks around at the speaker system and decides to turn things up a little using her control over sound waves. The speakers screech terribly and the tournament goes on pause. Yellow Gar is annoyed and goes to sit down when he notices his double in the audience. He runs up to Gray Gar with an angry expression on his face.

You did this, didn't you! You have to ruin all my fun with your whining! ,Yellow Gar thinks to Gray Gar.

Gray Gar thinks back, Sorry, hopefully I will shift to less whiny emotion soon. How about we merge back?

Yellow Gar turns to see that Ming Sul is pointing the crystal between the two of them and tries to find a way out, only to see Deen blocking the seat in front of him. He sighed and reluctantly recombines with Gray Gar. The result is a being whose top is yellow and pants are gray. Ming Sul asks Combo Gar to use his telepathy to track the other missing Gars, but he tells her that Green Gar (Enthusiasm) already thought of that and would probably take over as a hive mind if he were to try it. They decide to let Nigel know that they were successful and would bring Combo Gar to the Observatory. They climb to the top of the Observatory expecting to find a battle, but instead Nigel and Gar and sitting together and admiring the stars.

"That cloud over there is the Triangulum Galaxy...someday I will go back there and meet my creator. The real one, not the one that sold me to the Brotherhood," Green Gar explains.

Nigel replies, "That is really nice. We should all visit together during Spring Break. The Milky Way is kind of boring, most of the aliens look the same."

"It is nice to find someone that isn't scared of non-humanoids. All the other Gars are terrified about turning into a complete Starro, but I don't mind it as long as I can change back." Green Gar said. "And yes, I know you are here, Combo Gar. Oh, and you brought Ming Sul and Deen with you. I should have made more coffee."

Nigel walks over to Ming Sul and Deen. He says, "I kind of prefer this Gar over the other ones. Can we make him the dominate emotion?"

Ming Sul replies, "I don't think it works that way. But Combo Gar says that emotions change over time, so there is hope."

Green Gar offers "How about we find Red Gar and become a three-in-one? That way you don't lose the best emotion. With the way things are going, I am going to turn into Happiness."

Combo Gar says, "Yes, just come a bit closer so we can touch eachothers minds in the old-fashioned Starro way."

Combo Gar comes close to Green Gar, gives a signal, and Ming Sul uses the Prism to recombine the Gars again. This time, he looks almost identical to Gar Prime. His suit is lime green instead of dark green.

Nigel says, "So the latest message from Xera is that they found Orange Gar in the funniest place and that they are waiting for us back at HQ. I haven't heard anything yet from Eli'Morrisor, we should go check on her at the library. But it is a Saturday so the library is closed. They must be hanging out in the cafe in front of the library."

"Who would choose to study on a Saturday?" Ming Sul asks.

Nigel says, "Some of us care about our grades. But I doubt Red Gar is just hitting the books, if you know what I mean."
~~~~
The Cafe

The cafe is deserted because it is Saturday during a Summer Session. Only Red Gar (Paranoia) is studying here, reading up on the powers and abilities of his teammates. Eli'Morrisor is banging against a telekinetic shield and frantically banging it trying to get in. I should not have gone here alone, this was another bad idea, She thought to herself.

Yes, it was a very bad idea. You are silly. I don't even know what your powers are. Some sort of super-strength? No matter, I let you stay you here until you agree to bring the other Gars to me so I can kill them. The lesser emotions are pointless and lead only to doom, Red Gar thought in return.

Hi, it is me, Nigel. The Combo Gar, don't ask, is using me as a go-between so Red Gar can't detect his psychic signature. Red Gar only has one fifth of the power of the main Gar, so if you can keep him distracted, we can encircle him slowly and then attack. Please try to lure him out of the cafe so we don't damage any property, He explained.

"It is really dark in here. Is it really safe to read with this lack of light?" Eli'Morrisor asks.

Red Gar pauses, "I know you are trying to trick me into leaving the cafe. But yes, it is too dark in here to read. We should really go back to the dormitory. I think I will release you to warn the other students that I know they all want me dead." He starts walking outside and Eli'Morrisor follows him.

Eli'Morrisor says, "Don't be so dramatic. We don't want you dead, we just want you to be more mature. It might be hard cause of this Brotherhood of Evil...and really your parent's naming you Gar was a double-cruelty on their part--but you cannot live your life in fear."

"I am fear! I am darkness! I am Gar the Conqueror! Wow did I just say that aloud?" Red Gar gasps. "I really sound stupid, don't I?"

A loud voice shouts, "Stand down now or you will say things even more stupid!"

Suddenly, Combo Gar drops the shielding and the four other students are revealed to be standing around Red Gar and Eli'Morrisor on the sidewalk. Red Gar does not know what to do and decides to run. The four students decide to tackle him at the same time. Despite his psychic powers, he is no match for four super-powered beings and he goes down fast. Combo Gar then points the prism at him and they recombine once more, with Combo Gar looking almost back to his normal self. They silently walk back together to the dormitory and see Xera, Ringtoss, and Orange Gar (Obedience) gorging on the take-out food.

"You guys want some noodles? They are quite excellent. I'm afraid Ringtoss ate all of the wagyu. And Orange Gar said he would make us all tea and dessert like he used to when he served Madam Dirge. Doesn't that sound nice?" Xera said.

Eli'Morrisor said, "Enough. Please pass me the Prism, Combo Gar, let's just end this."

Combo Gar silently nods and allows Eli'Morrisor to recombine him with Orange Gar, which restores him to his normal self.

He says, "Thank you all for restoring me to my proper self. I am kind of embarrassed that you had to see every part of my personality."

Nigel says, "We all make mistakes and have negative emotions, but it is learning how to control them and change them that makes you a better person. At least that is what my old coach said, he used to be a super-hero."

Eli'Morrisor said, "I will take the crystal to Tellus on Monday for safe-keeping. I won't tell him anything that has happened. But for now, I declare this mission to be a success! Dig in everyone!"

~~~~
The Mysterious Prism is from the Teen Titans and Teen Titans Go Cartoons
Guide to Gar Sector's Emoticlones[b]
Red- Paranoia, hopefully will change to either Caution or Anger
Gray- Self-Pity, evolving to something more mature, maybe Humility
Green- Enthusiasm, evolving to Happiness
Yellow- Creativity
Orange- Obedience

[b]Epilogue: Private Advanced Telepathy Lessons with Tellus

On the following Wednesday, Gar arrives to the clean white classroom for his monthly advanced telepathy lesson with Tellus. The teacher's believed he needed more in-depth lessons in addition to what Otaki provides for the general population. They were supposed to study Kalanorian deception techniques.

You are distracted, aren't you, starfish child? , The Hykrainian thinks.

Well, I wonder, can you change your own personality? And if so, should you force it? I don't mean putting on a 'mask' like many sentients do, I mean real change, Gar asks.

The Hykrainian answers, Life tends to change people in ways they do not expect. You are very young, and experiences you have here and other places will change you subconsciously if you allow it. I would change habits first, and then the rest will follow. Now, let us turn to the 25th century Kalanorian master, the supposed son of Despero...

The End

I would say the Academy should be a college, the students have traditionally been old enough (or almost) to join the Legion. I would give them a bit more maturity than one would expect from high school students.

I think Cub and Gar would work as a contrast. But the bit where Cub jokes around with Gar earlier, then suddenly seems to have a problem with his origins, is a bit odd. His earlier scenes seemed to show him as a type of guy who would not care (plus, depending on the continuity, his dad Ultra Boy may have had gang origins, so it's a bit hypocritical too). Gar does not seem to have much angst either.

This might be an obvious question but does the House of Grayson referred to by Eli'Morrisor have something to do with the original Robin?

I will try to keep that in mine going forward. Now that I have edited and reread the story a few times I realize my memories of high school and college are merging together.



Yes, I’m some future stories Robin does marry Starfire and they have kids. I decided to go with that idea for these stories so Eli’Morrisor will have some knowledge of Earth history. Since Dc continuity is in a state of flux, I have not chosen a specific version to base these stories in.

The Petty Thief

Nigel Okafor wakes up early on the following Tuesday to go into town to buy some supplies. It was a beautiful day so he decides to go on his bicycle. However, when he goes outside, he notices that the bicycle is missing. Not only is the bicycle missing, but clearly someone also took the entire bicycle lock and chain with it as well. Nigel is shocked and looks around to see if there are any possible witnesses. Sadly, the only other living creatures present are birds and squirrels.

He goes to the Security desk up to report the missing bicycle. Nigel then decides he has no choice but to try flying to the store. He is still getting the hang of flight, as it is unnatural to have such a high amount of gravitational force directly against a human body. Luckily, he manages to master it sufficiently enough to make it to the store and back in one piece. He returns to his room to find Deen Toro sitting at his desk, playing some sort of game. He puts away his groceries in silence, internally debating whether or not to tell Deen that his bicycle was stolen. Nigel has not trusted Deen since he was revealed to be a cheater It remains to be seen whether or not he wants to change, Nigel thought.

“I want to let you know that my bicycle got stolen today. Please remember to lock the door when you leave the room,” Nigel said.

Deen said, “I am sorry that happened to you, that is really low. Though I have to ask, why didn’t you just fly to the store in first place?”

“I like to keep in shape,” Nigel said. “Besides, even Superman took the subway.”

“What does that even mean?” Dean blinked.

Nigel said, “I have powers, but it does not mean I need to use them. It makes people think you are arrogant. Anyways, I alerted Security and they are investigating the matter.”

Deen said, “If I were to guess, we are going to have a mandatory meeting about Security later tonight?”

“AIYEAH! “, A scream fills the hallway.

Nigel and Deen look at each other and then run out of their room to see what the commotion is about. Xera was holding open an empty box and running towards the stairway. She looks extremely distraught. Deen slows down time a little so they can catch up to her. Nigel locks the door to their room, then proceeds to follows Deen and Xera down stairs.

He asks, “Hey, what happened?”

“Someone stole my necklace! It has real spinals in it!” Xera exclaimed

Deen pauses, “But spinals are worthless rocks…”

“Maybe they are on your planet, but on Manna-5 they are more valuable than diamonds,” Xera explains. “That necklace has been in my family for generations so my mother will kill me if I don’t get it back.”

Nigel explains to Xera how his bicycle was stolen this morning. The two of them wonder if there is a connection between the two thefts, or if there is just a lot of crime at the Academy this time of year. Deen and Nigel then escort her to the Security desk. They stand back and let her give the statements privately. After she is finished filling out the paper work, the officer gets up from the desk and decides to talk to the three of them. He is a short, middle-aged Saturnian. He looks similar to the famous Hunters in the history books.

Officer Pavro his head, “I told them they should have hired the guy with the camera eye. That would solve all our problems with theft.”
Nigel asks, “Is there anything we can do?”

“Well, Mr. Taine doesn’t seem to like it when I say the students should just arrest people as you are all legally sanctioned vigilantes,” The officer muses. “However, I guess I would be out of a job then. I guess I would join the Wanderers.”

Deen blinks, “The Wanderers?”

“You never heard of the Wanderers?” The officer was surprised. “Anyways, I will come to the Dormitory Main Common Room and give my spiel about security tonight. You should all head to class, it is almost 9:15 AM.”

As they left the building, Deen smiles at Nigel, “I told you so.”

END Part 1

Interesting premise you have here Emily - could you give us a roll call though as i don't know who half the character are.

Thank you, Harbinger, it's been a joy to write these stories so far. I got stuck in "Chronicles of Bgtzl" so I decided to try my hand at a more humorous universe. I will go back and add Roll Call lists to the start of the two finished stories and the current one. As time goes by, I will try to add humor to those as well. After this detective story is over, we will finally tackle the problem of Codenames. I am undecided if that will be just the kids talking or if I will combine it with an Auction story idea.

Name: Nigel Okafor (Fanfic Character based on Retroboot character)
Codename: Mwandaji II
Homeworld: Kirinyaga
Previous School: MCcabe Hall
Powers: Super-strength, invulnerability
Reason for Entering: Coach (Mwandaji I) encouraged him to enroll after his school of choice denied him admission; doing Summer School because some of his advanced placement credits did not transfer

Name: Deen Toro (Reboot character, but I'm fillinf in a lot of the details)
Codename: Retro
Homeworld: Titan?
Previous School: Faith Alternative School/Ardeen Central High
Powers: Can rewind time by touch
Reason for Entering: He had a habit of using his powers to cheat on tests (and nobody could really prove it!), let in due to the Department of Education's request to lower the Legion Academy's standards in order to get more grant money

Name: Cub Nah (Reboot character)
Codename: Ultra Boy II
Homeworld: Rimbor
Species: Bgtzlian/Rimborian hybrid
Previous School: Too many to list (his parents moved a lot)
Powers: superhuman strength, flight, penetra-vision, flash vision, , invulnerability, ultra-speed, and intangibility (but one at a time for all powers)
Reason of Entering: Legion Legacy

Name: Xera Kharindot (Five Years Later character?)
Homeworld: Manna-5
Previous School: N/A, private tutoring
Powers: Control of the classical Greek elements (Earth, Water, Fire, and Water)
Reason for Entering: Political reasons, a "crazed heretic" is trying to overthrow her family

Name: Eli'Morrisor (Fanfic Character)
Homeworld: Tam'Rann (after 1000 years the Tamarans and Rannians are basically one culture)
Previous School: Bet'Kaner High School
Powers: Super-strength, Super-Agility
Reason for Entering: She was placed on a Wait List by the Okaaran Military Academy, and her grades would normally be too low to enter the Legion Academy. However, her appeal to the UP Embassy was warmly received as the Department of Education wishes to "make friends in the universe instead of enemies".

~~~

Dormitory Main Common Room, 8:00 PM

“…so please be aware of your surroundings at all times. You should keep your room locked when it is unoccupied. You should not keep valuable objects inside your dorm room, those should either be kept at home or stored at a bank,” Officer Pavro explains. “Any questions?”

Everyone present is silent and has no questions. Xera and Nigel feel a bit reassured that at least Officer Pavro cares about his job. Half of the other students prepare to be more vigilant, while the other half are confident that they already do a good job securing their rooms. Officer Pavro dismisses the meeting and everyone returns back to what they are doing.

The next day, as Xera was leaving the building to go to class, she almost lets in someone with bright white skin and red eyes. She starts to close the door in front of his face, but then, suddenly with a blink of an eye his appearance looks different. Xera assumes she made a misjudgment and let the person in now, thinking that it was Cub. Later that same day, Eli’Morrisor goes to the Security desk to report a theft of two platinum bracelets.

“They also left a typed note saying, ‘This is for giving me worthless Spinals :)” She said.

Officer Pavro asks, “Thank you for the note, we can try to trace it to a printer on campus. We will also take a look at security footage to see who is entering and leaving the building. May I ask why you are you keeping platinum in your room? That is really valuable.”

“It is? It is really common in our part of the galaxy. The Legend of the Omegan says it was massively mined by the Spider-Guild,” She explains.

Officer Pavro dismisses Eli’Morrisor and attempts to trace the note to a printer on campus. After some time, the computer reveals that the note does not correspond to any of the public printers on campus. He pulls the security footage which shows Xera holding the door for a male student, who has medium length black hair, bright white skin, and red eyes. Pavro pauses and rewinds the tape, then watches it forward in slow motion. He thinks, I told those students not to hold the doors open for strangers. I do not know what more I can do. I guess I should talk to Xera and ask why she held the door open for this person and ask for a more detailed description.

5:00 PM
“So, did you find my necklace?” Xera asks hopefully.

“Unfortunately, it is still missing, “Officer Pavro said. “I am here to ask you about a possible suspect in a different, possibly connected theft. Around 2:00 PM today you let this man into the dormitory. Do you know this person of interest?”

He places still images of the man that Xera let into the building. She examines it closely. Xera makes a disgusted expression, as it does not show what she remembers. However, she is not sure how to describe it to the officer.
“I let someone in the building, but he did not look like this when I let him in. He looked like Cub Nah, so I let him in,” Xera explained.

Officer Pavro said, “I suppose appearances can be subjective. Thank you for your cooperation into this investigation.”

4:00 PM the Next Day

Officer Pavro gestures for Cub Nah to take a seat. He is wearing sports clothes and seems to be in a hurry. He must be annoyed at me for keeping him away from training, Officer Pavro thinks to himself. I will try not to keep him long. This is, after all, just a formality.

“Where were you at 2:00 PM yesterday?” Officer Pavro asks.

“I was in Remedial Social Studies, taught by Professor Glorith,” He explains.

Officer Pavro asks, “How about between 7:00 AM and 9:15 AM on Tuesday?”

“I was still sleeping at 7:00 AM, my roommate can vouch for me, he always is up early,” Cub answers. “I was on my way to class by 9:00 AM.”

Officer Pavro says, “Thank you for your cooperation. I am sorry for keeping you from your training.”

As Cub leaves the Security desk, he checks the time and decides to skip weight training today. He heads to his room, only to find the door open a jar. This is strange to him, as Gar always locks the door when he goes to study in the library. I had to convince him not to reinforce the locks with experimental sub particle telekinetics, He thinks to himself. Cub turns intangible and decides to peek through the door. Sure, enough a stranger is present! It is a man with bright white skin, medium-length black hair, and red eyes. He is going through Gar’s dresser drawers, slowly combing through the clothes for any valuables.

“Then we shall find out what kind of wonderful things there were in the little chest…” The thief mumbles to himself. “This guy is strange; he has no valuables. These are just tourist trinkets.”

The thief turns to look at the door, sees Cub’s head sticking through, and gives a horrified expression as he realizes he is trapped inside the room. The thief looks at the window but realizes it would take a long time to cut through the screen. He then tries to use basic telepathic attacks at Cub, but it is no use.

Cub says, “Psychic attacks may not work on me while I am phased.”

The thief smiles, “May? That is interesting word choice!” The thief tries a physical approach instead, grabbing the door handle, and running through Cub’s intangible form.

Cub then resumes his tangible form and gives chase, running through the halls and yelling, “Stop, thief!”

Nigel is returning from weight training and notices the thief running through the halls. He decides to block the staircase, which causes the thief to turn to the elevators instead. Fortunately for the students, the thief cannot not outrun super-speed and Cub gets there before the elevator doors open.

The thief holds his hands up, “You got me this time. When I am booked, can you please tell them I want to be called Latchkey Kid?”

Cub shakes his head and waits for Officer Pavro to arrive with a Science Police vehicle to take “Latchkey Kid” to a local holding cell. After some time and effort, the police manage to find the stolen items and build a case to put the thief in jail. Despite the thief’s desire to be famous, the local press simply referred to him as a petty thief.

Roll Call

Name: Ming Sul (Reboot Era character, but I'm filling in a lot of the details)
Codename: Amp Girl
Homeword: New Shanghai
Species: Human
Previous School: Nanjing Road Number 2 School
Powers: Control of Sound Waves, Sonic Cry (originally her powers were amplified senses)
Reason for Entering: Expelled from previous school due to low grades; let in due to the Department of Education's request to lower the Legion Academy's standards in order to get more grant money

Name: Gar Sector (Fanfic Character)
No Codename Yet
Homeworld: Earth?
Species: Hybrid Human and Starro DNA
Previous School: Cloverton Elite Prep
Powers: Telepathy, Telekinesis, can shift to complete starfish when under certain stresses/pressures
Reason of Entering: Tellus needs a replacement and the Caulders convinced the Legion it was a good idea to help him.

The Auction Story

It is a beautiful Friday evening at Legion Academy. The last classes are getting out and everyone is ready for the weekend. Ming Sul is excited because she heard of a cool auction happening at—or rather above—Metropolis this weekend. The only problem is that she does not have vehicle. Cub and Nigel are going out of town together to watch a sporting event. Gar and Eli’Morrisor said they are going to relax at the dormitory and try to figure out their code names. Xera said she needed to catch up on sleep due to the demanding classes. As always, Ringtoss keeps to himself and nobody knows what schedule Deen is on. Ming Sul decided to knock on Gar’s door and ask if he could help. As the only native of Earth here, he is the best person to ask, she thought to herself. Gar opens the door and is surprised to see Ming Sul. Today he is wearing a pink shirt and black pants. In his left hand is a large book called, The Batcomputer Encyclopedia of the Universe.

“Hi, Ming Sul. What brings you here?” He asked.

She replied, “I want to go to the Grand Auction taking place this weekend. However, I do not have a vehicle and I can’t get anyone to respond to my ride share requests. It is like this campus is a black hole.”

“I guess their insurance doesn’t cover super-hero damage,” Gar quips. “Anyways, you are in luck, I have no plans this weekend other than getting my codename sorted out. I will help you out as long as you give me energy money.”

Ming Sul replies, “Great! You are the best.”
~~~

The next morning, Ming Sul meets Gar in parking port Lot Z. He has an older model and Ming Sul does not recognize the brand. To her, it looked similar to pictures of Chemical King’s vehicle in the Library’s archives. She tries not to judge Gar and quickly gets in the vehicle. They smoothly get out of campus drive and head straight up to where the floating “Auction House and Fun Zone” currently resides. It is so big that is more akin to a floating fortress than a spaceship. There are robotic parking attendants ushering vehicles in and out and large signs which state that all vehicles are scanned for hidden compartments.
“Apparently, the host has a problem with theft”, Ming Sul comments as they find a parking spot.

Gar replies, “What kind of auction are we attending?”

“We are attending Auction Room D on Level C at 2:00 PM,” Ming Sul said. “I want to get here early to check things out, apparently the Auctioneer only visits a planet once per decade.”

“No, I mean what kind of stuff?” Gar asks as he finishes parking the vehicle.

Ming Sul explains, “It is a collection of supposed artifacts from 21st century Earth. If they are real, it is incredible that they survived considering all the crises and disasters that happened in the following centuries.”
They exit the vehicle and walk into the floating fortress. The security guards check all attendees for ID and confiscate any and all weapons. Ming Sul and Gar walk through a highly advanced bio-scanner and a metal detector before they are finally free to wander the Auction House and Fun Zone. First, they take a picture together in front of a giant display of plant-life in the shape of the Auctioneer’s body. Shortly afterwards, a large yellow humanoid wearing detailed armor walks arrives at the entrance hall. Everyone gasps and takes out their screens to take a picture. The Auctioneer ignores them and walks straight up to Ming Sul and Gar. He tries to smile at them as he knows that is a peaceful expression to Terrans.

He says, “Welcome to my Auction House and Fun Zone, Ming Sul of New Shanghai! I remember your family’s substantial purchases from our last visit there.”
Ming Sul replies, “The pleasure is all mine, Sir.”

The Auctioneer continues, “I don’t like to pry…but the bio-scans revealed interesting things about your friend here,” He turn to Gar. “You are called Gar Sector on this planet?”
“
Yes, I am Gar Sector,” He replies, “I still need to think of a codename, Monsieur Auctioneer.”

The Auctioneer laughs, “No, it is I who should be deferring to you, son of Starro. You should just call yourself Starro II…or is it III or IV? I will have to do some research. That name still invokes fear and power in some corners of the universe. It is an honor to meet you, my child. I expect to see you achieve great things.”

Gar blushes, “Thank you, I guess.”

The Auctioneer says, “Well, I have some things to do, but feel free to check out the Fun Zone! The Auction House levels will open to the public at 1:30 PM. I am glad some Legion kids are here as I need some help. I have a bit of a theft problem and hope to lure out the thief at the end of the auction. You are free to destroy as much property as you like!”

Ming Sul and Gar look at each other as the Auctioneer casually walks away. They both wish that the Auctioneer had given them some warning ahead of time so they could come prepared. Gar suggests that they communicate telepathically until they enter the Auction Levels—which are shielded from psychic communications among other things—and Ming Sul agrees that is for the best. They quickly walk through the entrance part of the Fun Zone, which contains mostly shops, restaurants, and a movie theatre. They turn right and enter a wing full of various exhibit halls—full of vehicles, antiques, and even one called “One Man’s Trash”. In one of the students they saw a young man about their age—his skin has the texture of tree bark. He is writing a lot of notes, which strikes Ming Sul as suspicious. Ming Sul thinks, I feel this could be a potential thief.

They stop for lunch at a sandwich stand and sit down at a table to eat. They wonder if the Proteans sitting at the next table writing on clipboards were acting suspicious. As they are waiting for their food, they are approached by a young boy, who looks about thirteen at most. He was dressed like he is from an old nature documentary; he is wearing a t-shirt and shorts complete with a necktie. Ming Sul thinks to Gar, Wow, it is rare to see a Pioneer in outer space! *

Gar thinks back, Is that the same as a Scout? You can ask him what he wants.

“Hello, are you a Pioneer?” Ming Sul asks.

The boy pauses and chooses to ignore the question. He changes the subject, “I am selling peanuts for my organization. Do you care to buy some?”
Ming Sul says, “Sure, I guess we will get hungry later.”

Gar says, “I will have some too.”

They pay for the peanuts and the boy leaves as quickly as he came. The two students then go the right of the Fun Zone to explore the activities located there. There was an obstacle course, a maze (laser fighting at night), a mini-golf course, and even some rides. There was nothing suspicious in this area unless one counts the “Authentic Gingold” seller. Ming Sul and Gar play a few rounds of mini-golf and then decide to head towards the Auction House. The architecture in this section of the fortress is incredibly tall, with three giant chandeliers hanging on the ceiling. On the way up the stairs, they overhear a conversation between a woman in a spacesuit and a security officer.

“I got permission from Rond Vidar himself to keep this holoimage,” The woman argues.

The officer replies, “I thought he has been dead for more than a decade?”

“Time flows so strangely these days,” The woman yawns. “Besides, you do not want me to scare your customers.”
The officer says, “I don’t scare easily.”

The woman turns to make sure nobody is looking, so Gar and Ming Sul hurry up the stairs so as not to be seen. Fortunately, Ming Sul has control of sound waves so she amplifies the voices of the two talking by the staircase. They hear the woman turn off her holoimage and the officer heavily gasps; he is trying to refrain from screaming.

“You…you can go in as is!” The officer shouts nervously.

The woman chuckles, “I thought you would say that. What is everyone looking at?!”

Ming Sul then returns the sound waves to their natural levels, and they make their way into the auction room. The Auctioneer reserved seats for them in the front row. The room slowly filled with sentient beings of all types. They saw the planetoid from the museum, still busy taking notes. Security already asked him to put away his screen, so the students maintained their suspicion. The Proteans were not present at the auction, so that suspicion was immediately ruled out. The woman by the staircase was also present, as well as at least fifty other people that Gar and Ming Sul did not recognize.

Gar whispers, “I guess we need more training.”

“Yes, the Auctioneer has a lot of confidence in Summer School students,” Ming Sul quips.

“Attention! The Auction will begin in ten minutes! Everyone must take their seats. As a reminder, the walls are psychic proof and bullet proof. Anything short of New Genesian hardware will not be able to teleport in and out of this room. If you chose to shape-shift or use any powers in an attempt to steal goods, the ceiling will rain Cancelite, Kryptonite, and who knows what else!” The loud speaker announces.

Everyone in the room takes their seats and a hush begins to fall upon the attendees. The Auctioneer himself arrives and walks up to the podium with a handful of lists. He raises his hands in the air, “Welcome one and all to the 2:00 PM auction today. First, we will begin will jewels and jewelry. First up, we have the Claw of Horus. It was a weapon of Hawknem, and comes complete with a certificate of authenticity from Carly Perker! Can I get a $1,000.00…”

The ‘Claw of Horus’ was purchased by a Korugarian gentleman for $4,000.00. Ming Sul and Gar both find themselves tuning out of the next few rounds as none of the items catch their interest. The next interesting item up for auction was a slab of ‘White Kryptonite’. This fabled substance is supposed to be able to destroy all plant life. Before the bidding can begin though, a Security escorts the planetoid out of the room. Most of the audience assumes it is for his own safety. However, he shouts, “I am just studying journalism! I would not steal something that could kill me.”

Gar says, “That rules person of interest is ruled out.”

Ming Sul nods, “I have a feeling we will not catch a thief today.”

The auction continues on to clothing, where the Invisible Destroyer’s uniform was the most desired object. After that, the auction continued on to vehicles, then objects which included Batman’s supposed tweezers, and finally to weapons. Ming Sul is relaxed at this point and decides to bid on a Birdarang, a weapon supposedly owned by Robin.

“Do I hear a $500.00? Going once, going twice…” The Auctioneer says.

“I bid $600.00,” A familiar voice shouts. It was the woman the students saw earlier that day by the staircase.
Ming Sul counters, “I bid $700.00!”

“I bid $800.00,” The woman replies.

Ming Sul says, “I bid $1,000.00.”

The woman shouts, “I bid $2,000.00!”

Ming Sul puts down her card and looks down into her lap. I cannot bid any higher, this is so disappointing, She sighed. Gar tries to comfort her by whispering that the Birdarang is probably a reproduction as Batman put self-destruct mechanisms in his weapons, but she does not believe that is true. They tune out the rest of the auction, and instead try to focus on the faces of everyone present.

A Security guard taps on Gar’s shoulder, “The auction is ending soon. We are going to begin the operation soon. We are going to guard the back entrances, while you two stay here. If you see the thief, you know what to do.”

Gar replies, “What do you mean…oh, right, we are Legion Academy students. We will do our best!”

Ming Sul adds, “Please keep the sound system on. Gar’s powers do not work in this room, but I should be able to use the speakers.”

After the sale of a non-operational Weather Wizard wand, the auction comes to a close. The Auctioneer thanks everyone for attending and gives instructions as to how to obtain their objects. The woman who won the Birdarang gathers her items and turns to leave the room, when she is stopped by the Scout/Pioneer the students encountered at lunch.

“Hi, Ma’am, can I please hold the Birdarang for a second? I have always admired the detective skills of the Boy Wonder,” He said.
The woman smiles, “Sure, I can even take your picture with it.”

The boy winces at that phrase but slowly grabs the Birdarang. While the woman grabs her screen, he walks towards the front exit. However, Ming Sul amplified all the sound waves in the room after the auction was over so the woman heard the footsteps.

“Stop, thief!” The woman shouts. She looks down at her hands, as if considering whether or not to attack the thief herself. The woman ends up taking a seat, so Ming Sul and Gar decide to try to stop the thief from running away. The boy is clever though, and knocks down several chairs as he makes his escape.

Ming Sul shouts, “Stop, you brat”

The boy smiles, “No, I will never stop. You amplified the sound in the room, right?”

He pulls the fire alarm on his way out, which turns into a sonic attack due to the amplified nature of the room. Almost everyone left in the room is covering their ears, except for Gar, who has below average hearing due to the Starro DNA (it is a trade-off for telepathy). He continues chasing the thief out of the auction room because he knows his powers will work by the staircase. They both reach the bottom of the staircase around the same time.

The boy taunts Gar, “Are you afraid to punch me? I’m not afraid to punch you. I’m actually curious as to what color you bleed.”

He turns around, pulls out a knife, and lunges at Gar, who quickly dodges the blow. Gar decides to use his telekinesis to levitate in order to give more space between himself and the boy. Curiously enough, telepathy does not work at all against this boy. I do not detect any psychic shielding, Ming Sul, I wonder how he is immune to telepathy, He thinks. Ming Sul replies, The woman he stole from told me this kid is undead. I’m not sure how she knows. I am coming out of the auction room and locking all the doors. The Auctioneer contacted us and said his Security Team has the perimeter surrounded. So, we can, and I quote, kick his head in. Please do not take that as an order.

The boy shouts, “You are ruining my fun! Why don’t you say something, purple guy?”

“I don’t know, random blond kid. Perhaps only super-villains rant about their evil plans?” Gar suggests. “Please surrender, you are outnumbered and outgunned. Knives do not scare telepaths.”
“Yes, and I am undead so I do not fear telepaths,” The boy smiles in return.

Gar replies, “We know that already. That is why I wanted you to stand in this spot.”

He uses a blast of his telekinesis to send the chandelier on the ceiling crashing to the ground, which pins the boy to the ground. Gar waits for Ming Sul to come down and she is relieved to see that the thief has been captured. The Security Team arrives along with The Auctioneer and the woman whose item was stolen. Ming Sul and Gar slowly remove the chandelier off the boy, who tries to pounce at them, only to be blasted with a laser baton.

The Security Team says to the boy, “Who are you and how did you get here? Before you answer, keep in mind this is private property that operates under no jurisdiction.”

“They call my Jeremy or Karnevil. I was imprisoned as a statue by one of my enemies centuries ago and was accidentally freed in the backroom by one of your servants. He was quite squeamish and didn’t last very long. I wonder how long you will last?” The boy licks his lips.

The Auctioneer interrupts, “I think we have all heard enough. Guards, take him away! The true heroes today are Amp Girl and Starro the Young!”

The boy laughed, “As in Starro the Conqueror? The purple guy is related to the lamest super-villain of all ti—”

The Auctioneer ignores him, “As I said, the true heroes today are Amp Girl and Starro the Young! I will spread word throughout all known galaxies about your deeds this day!”

The End

*= In China and other Communist countries, the rangers are referred to as Pioneers.

I'm going to revert to posting long stories in multiple parts, because doing otherwise leads to unsightly copy and paste errors. I'm also going to open up requests for stories that focus on one or two particular characters.This is your chance to learn more about these characters before I begin the major cast overhaul. The Fall Semester will add more students, more teachers, and more fun!
~~~
The Archaeological Mishap

Bouncing Boy was sitting in his office signing out paperwork when an alert comes up on the mission monitor board. It is from Professor Donas of the University of Mars. He is standing in front of an archaeological dig site located in Middleton, Earth. The professor is wearing khaki hiking gear and looks to be in extreme distress.

“We have disturbed a monster and it is attacking my students. Please, you have to help me!” The Professor pleads.

Bouncing Boy yawns, “Have you tried contacting the Science Police or the military?”

“They don’t believe me when I say a Giant Microbe is attacking my students,” The Professor replies.

Bouncing Boy offers, “Have you tried the Legion of Substitute Heroes?”

“Their voice mail says they are off-world with the Challengers of the Unknown. I don’t even know who they are,” The Professor makes a pun.
Bouncing Boy nods his head, “Fine, I will send some students over tomorrow. Let me talk to all of my staff and see who we have available.”

Duplicate Damsel (President, Military Intelligence Classes, Ethics), Officer Pavro (Policing, Detective Classes), Kent Shakespeare (English, Basic Science Classes, and various Electives because he is a Renaissance Man), Jagged (Life Skills, Music, Basic Projectiles), Glorith (History, Mythology & Magical Creatures, Time Control Elective) and Otaki (Telepathy Classes) gather in a conference room. It is a “fishbowl” room with two glass sides, and a large wooden table in the middle. All of the professors are a bit annoyed as it is a Thursday evening and they have other things to do.

Duplicate Damsel looks at her staff list, “Has anyone seen Lamprey today?”

“She called in today because one of her kids is sick,” Kent Shakespeare said.

Duplicate Damsel replies, “That is good to know. Hmm, it would have been useful to have a combat expert go with our students.”

Bouncing Boy enters the room and waves to everyone present. Duplicate Damsel relays Lamprey’s absence to Bouncing Boy, who frowns at the news. Bouncing Boy explains the situation at hand and that someone will need to accompany a portion of the students to Middleton to deal with this “Giant Microbe”.

Glorith asks, “Has Harlack returned with the high school scholarship students who entered his internship program yet? They seemed very competent.”

“No, he said they had car problems,” Duplicate Damsel shakes her head. “The last time he said that we found out he was taking them to a racetrack. I don’t like to argue with sorcerers so I didn’t say anything. Does anybody have suggestions as to how we deal with the threat at hand?”

Glorith muses, “Since this happened at an archaeological site, I will look through the timelines and see if a ‘Giant Microbe’ has shown up before. If so, we can find out how they defeated it then and duplicate that solution.”
Kent Shakespeare comments, “If this ‘Giant Microbe’ is some sort of science experiment gone wrong, I will contact Professor Ovil at the local community college and see if they can help us come up with something we can us to defeat it”

Bouncing Boy said, “Splendid, these are all great ideas. Now, who wants to volunteer to lead our Summer Session students on this mission?”
Jagged said, “Sorry, I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow.”

Otaki says, “I have to work on my article for the Naltorian Journal of Psionics.”

Bouncing Boy thinks aloud, “I guess since they will be with students from another university, we can call it a cooperative field trip and let them go by thems—”

He sees Wildfire looking in from glass walls of the room. Bouncing Boy stops speaking and opens the door, gesturing for Wildfire to join them. The Legionnaire walks in slowly and takes a seat at the other end of the table, facing the front where Duplicate Damsel is sitting. All the other staff members look at him in surprise, was he not busy on a mission with Dawnstar? Or was her name Shikari?

Wildfire says, “I have been looking for somebody all over this school! Lamprey told me she needs to take a leave of absence due to personal problems. She requests me to be her substitute. Not like the Legion of Substitute Heroes, but as in taking her place as primary combat teacher until further notice. So, what is going on?”

Bouncing Boy smiles, “Actually, you have arrived just in time….”

The End Part One

Middleton, Colorado, North America, Earth

The students are happy to be at the “emergency/field trip” to an archeological site in Middleton. The flight to Middleton was fun for most of the students because this region of Earth is very different from Metropolis. It is sparsely inhabited outside of the Denver area, which still has a respectable population level due to aggressive migration during the early 21st century. Most of the students looks at Wildfire with awe and respect, with the exception of Cub who thinks he is a killjoy. During the flight, Gar and Eli'Morrisor were informed that Wildfire decided to choose code names for them since they were still undecided.

Professor Donas greets the Legion Academy students at the dig site. He says, “Welcome to our camp, please feel free to make yourselves at home. We appreciate your help and supplies at this time. I take it you brought a chemical that can defeat the Giant Microbe?”

All of the students look at each other and then at Wildfire. The Legionnaire then realizes it might have been premature for Bouncing Boy to have sent him before the solution was found. Still, it would be a good learning exercise for the students. Wildfire thought to himself, That is if the Giant Microbe is real and this is not an elaborate prank.

“Hello, Professor Donas. I am Wildfire and I am the primary combat instructor. My colleagues at the Academy are researching your problem as we speak,” Wildfire explains. “Can I see a picture of the Giant Microbe?”

Professor Donas hands him a screen and Wildfire sees a giant green glob with tendrils emerging from a nearby river. It appears to have struck two students, who are able to fight it back with a stun weapon. Wildfire passes the screen around to the students, most of whom wince at the image.

Wildfire said, “I will have Xera, Ultra Boy, and Ringtoss dig a moat around your camp as a defensive measure. Mwandaji, Mento, and Wildstar will accompany me to river to investigate where your students got attacked. Retro and Amp Girl will stay here and guard the base.”

Gar whispers to Ultra Boy, “Should I tell him about who Mento was?”

“I don’t think this a good time,” Ultra Boy replies. “At least it’s a step up from Starro the Young.”

Professor Donas asks Wildfire, “Do you really think it is a good idea to split up?”

“It is the best way to do multiple things at the same time,” Wildfire argues.

“Fine, we will do our best to assist you,” Professor Donas sighed. “Thank you for coming here.”

Mwandaji, Mento, Wildstar, and Wildfire along with an archeological student named Briitz (originally from Havania) go to investigate the scene of the attack. The student, naturally cautious, takes along some weapons and a jar of amoxicillin. He explains that the night before two other students went to get water from the river when they were attacked by the Giant Microbe.

Wildfire asks, “Why did you choose this place for an archeological dig site?”

“It used to be a major industrial park. It was shut down shortly before the Great Disaster,” Briitz replies. “The town was briefly abandoned during those times, but it is now seeing a resurgence due to tourism. We are digging for artifacts to display at the Martian Manhunter Museum slated to be open in a few weeks.”

Mwandaji goes up to the water’s edge to scan for unusual lifeforms, but the scanner does not pick up anything unusual. Wildstar puts her hands into the water and picks up a bunch of slime. Wildfire relaxes his stance, Well, at least we know it is real now. As Mento he reaches to examine the slime, a candy bar falls from his pocket into the water. He instinctively reaches in to grab it, but Briitz pulls him away by the shoulder. A slimy tendril brushes the surface of the water, and everyone draws back. Then, the Giant Microbe emerges from the depths.

“Don’t just stand there, run!” Briitz shouts. He fires several bullets as he leaves, but the Microbe simply absorbs the blasts. The student then dumps the amoxicillin on top of the monster, which also has no effect.

Wildifre says, “No, do not lead that thing back to the camp! Mwandaji and Wildstar, take Briitz away from the river and wait for us. Mento, can you get in its head?”

“What head? Microbes do not have brains!” Mento yells. He quickly forms a telekinetic shield around Wildfire and himself.

Wildfire says, “Hmm, this won’t work, I am afraid. Can you make, I don’t know, psionic maces?”

“No, I only know shielding and basic telekinesis,” Mento replies.

“Please release this shield then and let me blast the creature!” Wildfire instructs.

Wildfire quickly flies up in the sky and blasts the creature with several blows, all of which are harmlessly absorbed by the Microbe. He contemplates turning up the heat, but with the amount of vegetation present he risks starting a forest fire. He looks back down at Mento and gets an idea.

Wildfire suggests, “Try placing a shield around the Microbe and see if it will stop moving,”

Mento puts in place a thick telekinetic shield around the Giant Microbe, which causes it to stop in its tracks. Wildfire leads Mento to where Mwandaji, Wildstar, and Briitz are waiting for them. He also reports to Xera that the Giant Microbe is real and asks her if Kent’s friend had supplied them with the formula yet. She forwards all the messages she has received that confirm that it will be ready in twenty minutes. Wildfire then tells her to leave the camp with Ringtoss and head to where the group is gathered, and to make it fast. He also asks for Ultra Boy to deliver the formula, but is given a strange response.

“Um, Ultra Boy fell in a hole while we were digging and disappeared a while ago. The hole collapsed when we tried to rescue him, so now we are waiting to see if he responds to our texts,” Xera explains.

Wildfire says, “Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?!”

“We usually solve our own problems,” Xera replies.

Wildfire shouts, “Well, then send Ringtoss here to help us! You can deliver the formula to us when it is ready.”

End of Part Two

Several minutes later, Ringtoss arrives to the scene and joins the larger group. Mento is struggling to keep the shield up at this point and is sitting on a rock. His eyes are glowing pure green with energy and his skin (scales?) seem to be more translucent, as if he is about shift into a different form. Wildfire attempts to get ask how things are, but is immediately hit by an instinctive shield, so tells Mento to slowly let the shield go. The Giant Microbe does not attack them. It just sits in the same spot consuming the candy bar. Wildfire decides it is time to attack, and tells everyone to fire on it. The attacks only serve to slow it down.

Mwandaji asks, “What was the point of that?”

Wildfire replies, “We are just buying time until Xera arrives with the formula. Look, there she is now.”

Xera flies above them holding the formula. Unfortunately for them, instead of waiting for Wildfire to give orders, she decides to dump the entire bottle onto the Microbe. The Microbe sputters and then splits into two parts.

Wildfire yells, “Why did you do that?”

“What else would I do?” Xera shouts back.

“I will deal with you later,” Wildfire snaps. “Mento, since you are exhausted, please escort the archaeologist back to camp. Once you are rested, use your telepathy to search for Ultra Boy. Everyone else will stay here and fight until this thing is destroyed.”

Wildfire tells Xera to raise the ground between the two smaller Microbes in order to separate them. He instructs Mwandaji and Wildstar to attack the one on the right. Ringtoss and Wildfire blast the one on the left. Sure enough, his instinct was right and the Microbe split again, this time smaller. The formula encourages the growth of bacteria, but it is an uncontrolled growth. After several rounds, the Microbes were small enough to be destroyed by a wave of controlled fire courtesy of Wildfire and Xera. Everyone was happy but exhausted that the Giant Microbe was defeated and return to camp to find everyone sitting around the campfire. Xera was thrilled to see that Ultra Boy was alright and gave him a big hug.

“I am so sorry,” She said.

Ultra Boy replies, “No, it was my fault for not just using intangibility to go back to the surface right away. On the bright side, I discovered an abandoned bunker and made a new friend while I was down there.”

He gestures to a small orange humanoid with small antennae sitting to his right. Wildfire feels that he recognizes the alien, but he cannot place that name. It was someone related to Martian Manhunter, but I forgot about him, he thinks to himself. I guess it makes sense given that this was the town he first lived in when he arrived on Earth

Professor Donas remarks, “He will be the guest of honor at the opening of the Martian Manhunter Museum. Thanks to fortunate timing of Ultra Boy we will have an excellent display of artifacts.”

“Yes, I, Zook, am grateful to have been rescued from that cannister! We will have so much fun together!” The humanoid exclaimed.

THE END?

Harlack's Heroes aka "The Competent Ones"

While our normal cast is catching up on schoolwork while working on themselves, another group of students is working as as high school interns for Harlack of Khundia. He is a former student of Mysa Nal and operates on a planet between Khund and United Planets space. His main business is the transportation and capture of unwanted magical creatures-- basically pest control. Harlack keeps a veritable "dungeon" of creatures and appreciates the help of interns during the summer. For their part, the students learn a lot about fighting magical creatures that gives them an advantage on some Legion missions. In this case, all the interns happened to be enrolled at the Legion Academy in the same year. Therefore, they would be known as Harlack's Heroes, even though the name made the professors cringe.

Name: Arthur Greeter

Codename: The Ray (Based on Quality/DC character)
Homeworld: Earth
Species: Human
Previous School: Quality Central High
Powers: Ability to control and project light/heat; at a near quantum level with training (The Ray being the highest powered light related power)
Reason of Entering: He is a distant descendant of a 21st century hero. His powers were activated by a secret government program during Earth's Second Xenophobic Period.


Name: "Red" Rogue
Species: Korugarian
Previous School: Unknown
Powers: Ability to project glass/turn objects people into glass, similar to Crystal Kid or Golden Boy
Reason of Entering: He is interested in seeing the galaxy.

Name: Brin Londo Jr (his mother is not Ayla)
Codename: Arctic
Previous School: Like Cub, he traveled a lot until the Lando's decided to settle down in Metropolis
Powers: Super-strength, super-stamina, super-agility; result of nefarious experiments with Brin's DNA. Brin felt sorry for him and adopted him as a young child. He has one older brother, one older sister, and one younger sister.
Reason for Entering: He has been training most of his life to follow Brin into the Legion since his brother Bran decided to become a surgeon instead. The two brothers resent each other, feeling the other is more loved by their father.

Name: Selena Wright
Codename: Pantha (Based on DC character)
Species: Human
Previous School: Unknown
Powers: Enhanced agility and strength, razor-sharp claws, cat's-eye vision
Reason for Entering: Like Arthur, she was a part of a secret government program during Earth's Second Xenophobic Period. In this case, the scientists wanted to duplicate the powers of the Teen Titans in order to make sure the Justice League of Earth would have replacement members. Unlike the Ray, Selena does not have any memory of family and spent time wandering the world after the Justice League fell until she was found by Catspaw.

Name: Lileki
Codename: Tact
Species: Minchiri (located around Minchir, in the Hydra constellation)
Powers: Intangibility and Invisibility via Equations
Reason for Entering: She was appointed by lottery to represent her species to the United Planets.

Name: Ash Bolingbrook
Codename: Concord (oblivious to it's associations with the grapes)
Species: Naltorian/Titanian humanoid mix, Atlantean ancestry
Powers: Telepathy, Psionic Maces
Reason for Entering: He wants to be in the Legion of Super-Heroes and save the galaxy.

"Well, I took a walk around the world to ease my troubled mind; I left my body lying somewhere in the sands of time"- "Kryptonite" by 3 Doors Down

The Resident’s Assistant

During the normal semesters, Bouncing Boy and Duplicate Damsel have a lot of duties involved with running the school. As such, the task of overseeing the dormitory fall into the hands of two paid upper-class students, called the Resident’s Assistants. (In bigger colleges, there is one Resident’s Assistant per floor/wing and a Hall Director per building, but the Legion Academy is still too small to need that much staff.) Due to unfortunate circumstances, they have to replace both positions this semester. The first position was difficult to fill, and they ended up having to do multiple interviews to narrow down the selections. Finally, they decided to hire a young woman named Iris Anderson aka Sunshade to fill the position. The second position is proving impossible to fill. They only received one application, from Meta-Vor of Daxam. This young man is nice but seems a bit off. To make matters worse, the Daxamite government is paying for his education so the Legion Academy could not say no to his admission. When Bouncing Boy tried to ask why, the government just said it is a ‘Classified Matter’ and Meta-Vor can return home ‘after he has saved the galaxy a few times’.

Meta-Vor knocks on the door as scheduled and is ushered into the President’s Office and takes a seat across from Bouncing Boy and Duplicate Damsel. He is wearing a flannel t-shirt and blue jeans. He has short brown hair and green eyes.

Bouncing Boy said, “Can you tell us why you want to be a Resident’s Assistant?”

“I believe it will allow me to develop skills that serve me well in life,” Meta-Vor forces a smile.

Duplicate Damsel asks, “Do you have prior management experience?”

“As it says on my resume, I manage the Smallville General Store incognito every summer. Mayor Lar Gand says I do a great job!” Meta-Vor emphasizes the other Daxamite’s name.

Duplicate Damsel continues, “Do you think you can teach yourself basic maintenance skills?”

Meta-Vor explains, “I have picked up skills here and there, and what I don’t know I can easily teach myself via super-speed reading. My various super-vision powers will insure there are no holes in the walls or furniture will go unfound.”

“My only remaining concern is that your squad mates say you are hard to relate to; that you make references to things they don’t understand. One of them even went as far to say that you are mentally unfit for the Legion. Of course, the Daxamite government in their wisdom demanded you be waived from any in-depth mental screenings unless you apply for the Legion proper so we need you to tell the truth,” Bouncing Boy demands.

Meta-Vor shrugs, “I admit to being a bit weird, but no weirder than any other member of the Legion Academy or the Legion itself for that matter. Besides, this will be a great scene when they make a movie about it!”

Bouncing Boy and Duplicate Damsel look at each other and then back at Meta-Vor. It takes the Daxamite a few minutes to realize he said the wrong thing. He pauses, I got to get this job so that I have spending money. There has to be a way to turn this into a positive, Jai is always telling me that.

“Err…when I make the movie that is! I will put together a movie we can show to local high schools when we having recruiting drives,” Meta-Vor widely grins.

Bouncing Boy frowns, “But we don’t advertise at high schools, usually applicants come to us.”

“What if there is another Crisis? This way you can be prepared!” Meta-Vor replies.

Duplicate Damsel admits, “You have a very good point. Well, I think we have our decision, right Bouncing Boy?”

“Yes, you are hired as Resident’s Assistant! You can move in during the second to last week of August. We have two freshmen squads this year, not including the Honor’s squad who basically takes care of themselves. One of the squads is currently here doing Summer Sessions. The other squad consists of scholarship students. They are currently doing an internship with Harlack of Khundia,” Bouncing Boy explains. “However, we have to move some people around at the beginning of the Fall Semester. We made a few mistakes on our part and ‘Harlack’s Heroes’, as they call themselves, are requesting that Ash Bolingbrook we removed from their squad. They suspect that he is breaking multiple Legion Academy rules but have no evidence to back up their claims.”

Duplicate Damsel adds, “He is a telepath so we must tread with caution. Otaki and Tellus can investigate these matters better than any of us if he breaks any rules.”

Meta-Vor thinks to himself, I don’t like it when people try to mess with my head. Fortunately, I saw the cartoon where Superman uses heat vision to disable Manchester Black.

“What do you think?” Bouncing Boy asks.

“I would not worry,” Meta-Vor changes his voice to a more serious tone. “I can handle anything short of Mr. Mxyzptlk. And that is only because I cannot say his name back words.”

Duplicate Damsel says, “Here are your keys to the dormitory, your room, and the hall closet. Welcome to the team!”

The Beginning

Note: Meta-Vor is a revamped version of Meta the Daxamite from the Reboot. I imagine that the all-black costume is his Freshman uniform (courtesy of 'Uncle Dev-Em') and that he wears something more colorful now that he is a bit more mature.

Move-In Day


Today, Meta-Vor the Daxamite is wearing a sweater, jeans, and a pair of glasses he bought in the clearance isle back in Smallville. He looks in the mirror and tries his best to make his smile appear real. He thinks to himself, Today is the move in day for the Freshmen. I will be a mild-mannered resident’s assistant. All the parents are going to love me! He walks out of his suite and sees that the other Resident’s Assistant, Sunshade, is putting the finishing touches on the informational boards on the first floor. Part of the Resident’s Assistant’s duties is to put together informational boards revolving around a specific theme once a month. That is of course if there is not some sort of crisis (both the upper- and lower-case C kinds) or if one of the Resident’s Assistants decides to betray their squad. That is what happened last year when Iris West was in charge. Who would have thought the super-powered sibling would be sent to spy on the Legion Academy?*

Once the clock reached 1:00 PM and the new students were allowed to start unpacking, Meta-Vor begins checking the condition of each room. He decides to start with the room closest to the staircase. He knocks on the door and Cub immediately answers it.

“Hi, I am Meta-Vor and I will be checking you in—” Meta-Vor gives a rehearsed spiel before being cut-off.

“Yes, we met you a few days ago. We were all checked in by Mr.Taine three months ago. Unless…this this mean we are switching roommate?” Cub asked cheerily.

Meta-Vor insists, “I have to inspect the furniture for any holes in case that does happen.”

The Daxamite uses his microscopic vision to check the furniture for any holes. Surprisingly, it seems like Cub’s parents listened to directions and did not put any holes in the furniture. As for Gar’s side of the room, it was immaculate because he spends the majority of his time in the library. Meta-Vor checks the boxes that confirm everything is normal, has Cub sign the form, then repeats this process several times with other rooms.
Meanwhile, Sunshade is helping move Natalie Rojas aka Acrata into the room she will be sharing with Ming Sul. The informational forms state that Natalie is a legacy of a 21st century hero, though it is unclear where or when she exactly came from. She recently made the news for saving the STAR Museum from the Galactic Golem with her teleportation powers. Acrata was recruited into the Legion Academy by Night Girl in order to fill the space left by someone who withdrew last minute.

After checking in six rooms, Meta-Vor feels that his job is done. It was relatively easy as half the new students did Summer Sessions, and the other half were scholarship students. He decides to go back in his suite and begin working on the college recruitment video he promised Taine. Meta-Vor scrambles to find the School Manual, tossing aside a brochure for Superman the Musical (the less said the better), he hears a knock on his door.

Sunshade says, “The newest Freshman, Hugh Freeman, is here and needs someone to check him in. After you finish doing that, we should give our welcome speeches.”

“What welcome speech?” Meta-Vor narrows his eyes but Sunshade is already walking to the other side of the floor.

He goes through all his notes and sees no reference to a speech, just a meeting to explain the rules. Meta-Vor thinks about it as he greets the Freemans and shows Hugh to his room. Meta-Vor thinks, It says on the form that Taine gave me that Hugh Freeman was involved with an accident regarding Legion statuettes, so he is constantly manifesting different powers. He has it temporarily under control via medication. His current power is listed as super-stretching like Elastic Lad. I will try not to anger him. I also need to keep the other students in line if they give him flak about getting a prized single room

A Little Later
“…finally, please do not use eye laser beams to shave in public bathrooms because it leaves massive holes in the walls. Do you have any questions?” Meta-Vor finishes reading the rules to the students gathered in the Main Dormitory Common Room on the second floor.

Deen raises his hand, “What happened to Ringtoss?”

“The school’s computer system made an error and assigned Ringtoss to the wrong section. He has been moved to the Honor’s Squad. They get to spend a week on Winath with the Founders,” Meta-Vor explains. “But I need to get to the motivational speech or the viewers will be disappointed. Some of you come from esteemed backgrounds of noble origins, some of you from humble origins, and some of you from unusual origins. However, we are all here to learn the ways of the Legion. Of course, not all of us will get there. I know at least one of you will transfer to another school when you get tired of being used as panel props. If you wish to escape that fate, I suggest being friends to those who seem to have the most adventures. Gar, do you understand what I am saying?”

At that point Gar was leaning against a chair with his eyes half-closed. He quickly answers, “The best way to survive is to have great adventures?”

Meta-Vor smiles, “Yes, have great adventures! Oh, and by the way, you and Ash are about to start your next great adventures. You are swapping combat squads due to ‘balance issues.”

Ash and Gar look at each other and then back at the room. They shout in unison, “What?”

Meta-Vor says, “On that note, I declare this meeting to be a success! I will go see if Sunshade is done with her meeting.”

The End

*For a detailed account on how that happened, please check out the more somber "Iris, Queen of Speedsters".

The Bridge: Part One

Gar, Cub, Nigel, and Deen decide to sit together on the couch as everyone else is leaving the meeting. Freeman feels like a stranger, so he decides to give them space and head back to his room. The remaining four young men are still trying to process what Meta-Vor just announced and what it means to their squad. Gar feels like this could be a good opportunity for him and is open to the change. Cub is slightly annoyed that they are not switching roommates when they switch their squads.

Nigel finally says, “It has been a great summer. I wish you the best of luck in your new squad. We will try to keep in touch.”

“Thank you,” Gar replies.

“If I have learned anything from having time control powers, it is that history always repeats itself. I am sure we will still have classes together,” Deen says.

Gar comments, “As a telepath, I have learned that history repeats itself because memory is weak. I hope that is not the case here.”

Deen smiles, “It also repeats itself because sentients want it to. If worse comes to worse, we will bring you back on the team.”

A new voice interrupts them, “Are you already thinking of getting rid of me?”

They turn to see Ash Bolingbrook staring at them at the doorway with his arms crossed. He is blond humanoid with tanned skin and green eyes. Today he is wearing a black jacket over a lavender shirt and black pants. He walks over to the couch and Gar gets up to let Ash take a seat. Gar quickly excuses himself from the conversation as he is not in a mood for conflict.

“I will see you in Telepathy 2.0,” Ash says, “I am ready to meet everyone and get down to business. How are everyone’s combat stats?”

“I think we are a well-rounded team with a good balance of strength and fire-power,” Cub replies.

Ash asks, “Then why was I switched with Gar?”

“I don’t know, you will have to ask the teachers. However, I am looking forward to developing new combat strategies—” Cub said. H

He cuts his sentence short as he is distracted by the sound of footsteps. He sees the female Freshmen leaving the elevator, each of them carrying a potted plant. Eli’Morrisor spotted the boys sitting in the Common Room and decided to see what is going on. Ming Sul and Xera decide to follower her, while Acrata is tired and excuses herself she so can return to her room. Eli’Morrisor puts the plant down on a nearby table. She grabs a chair and faces it towards the couch, and the other two girls copy her actions.

Eli’Morrisor asks, “What is going on?”

“The school decided to switch Gar and Ash to different squads. This is Ash Bolingbrook…he is with us now,” Nigel says in neutral tone.

Eli’Morrisor looks relieved at the news. However, Ming Sul and Xera look very disappointed. These two young women have enjoyed Gar’s company. They appreciate his compassion towards his colleagues and the respect he showed towards them personally.

Eli’Morrisor said, “I, Eli’Morrisor of Tam’Rann welcome you to Summer Squad! Where do you hail from, Ash Bolingbrook?”

“I am Naltorian. My mother is a native of Naltor, and my father immigrated from Titan,” Ash replies with a wide grin. “And who are the other two young ladies?”

Xera replies, “I am Princess Xera of Manna-5 but you can just call me Xera.”

“It is an honor to meet you. I am descended from Atlantean royalty myself. In fact, I could be considered to be a prince,” Ash said.

Deen and Nigel can barely contain their laughter at this remark. Cub rolls his eyes and thinks to himself, If he is a prince, then I am Emperor of the Galaxy.

“I do not recognize your last name, but my title does me little good now anyways. I am in exile,” Xera frowns. “However, it is getting late and I would like to get some rest, see you all later.” She picks up her potted plant and returns to her room.

Ming Sul decides to ignore Ash and instead turns to Cub. She asks point blank, “Did you have anything to do with this decision?”

“No, not at all. If I did, I would have asked to switch roommates again,” Cub answers. “I do not hate Gar; I just don’t understand him. I would rather room with someone with a similar personality to myself.”
“How does he bother you? He spends all his time in the library,” Ming Sul argues.

Ash interrupts, “By the way, who are you?”

“I am Ming Sul of New Shanghai. Please forgive me, it will take me some time to get used to this personnel change. Why would they take our telepath away from us?” Ming Sul said.

“I am a telepath too. I can even create psionic maces,” Ash explains. “Can you at least try to tolerate me?”

“Yes, of course I will. That is a silly question,” Ming Sul thinks aloud. “Now, if you excuse me, I think I will go talk to Gar and see how he feels about this.”

Ash shrugs, “Suit yourself. I will see you in class. Now, I wish to know your combat scores for the past two weeks so we can calculate the best strategy--”

First Combat Practice Session of the Semester

The Summer Squad arrives in the gymnasium and enters a classroom overlooking the main indoor combat simulation room. If they look out the windows, they can see members of ‘Harlack’s Heroes’ exiting the combat simulation room. They seem very happy and everyone is smiling, including Gar. The score board lists everyone’s individual statistics. The group grade is an A.

Wildfire stands in the doorway and shouts, “Summer Squad, start lining up! You will be starting your session in five minutes. This one is based upon the, err, events of last semester? Lamprey did not tell me what happened, but it sounds pretty bad since they want all of you to get a psychic screening once a month. You will be fighting the droids in the forms of Mandolin, Shadow Kid II, and Spellbinder.”