Legion World Forums LEGION OUTPOST Bits o' Legionnaire Business Legion Worlds - Tales from the Academy Two (updated 15 Dec 20)

Hi, all, these were ideas I had for potential interns in my Legion World fic. These are all stand-alone vignettes so I probably won't be doing too much else with any of these characters but they do add a nice bit of back ground to the stories.I'll add to these from time to time and other than the first two which mention the evacuation of Talok viii they are not set in any particular time.

Hope you enjoy.

Caron

Academy stories (i) Haze

Science Police Cadet Tkemwa Autmi-Hu from Ungara was unsure about the legion prior to attending the Academy. The whole 'hero' thing just didn't make much sense to him.

His home world had produced a couple of Green Lanterns over the last couple of thousand years but generally it was far enough away from the major empires as to have a peaceful existence with a stable culture. It was generally felt by the planetary population that they lacked the need for meta-heroes as they were peaceful and law-abiding by nature. Ungara wasn't even fully within the United Planets; it had a few trade agreements and a mutual peace pact but otherwise it kept its own business.

Cadet Autmi-Hu's family unit had no history of being outside of genetic norms until he had been born. His variances weren't initially seen as so great as to need for the local authorities to involve the governmental body charged with maintaining genetic stability, the Purge. That said, he was monitored closely afterwards. His family complied fully with the scrutiny they were put under - it would be unthinkable to do anything else. Any of his race found to be too far from the genetic norm were often seen as useless to productivity, or even dangerous, so were given to the Purge to cleanse.

As he reached the T'trumstat, the age whereby his life-role would be given to best serve societal needs, it was decided that he should take part in the training for law enforcement. This was an incredibly rare offer as these planetary agents were usually bred for the task. It was true that he was smarter and stronger and faster than the racial norm, but it was his unusual extra-sensory skill to confuse and slow the minds of organic beings and also negating the processing skills of AI's that fascinated the planetary elite. They knew that he needed to be trained to serve the state while reaching his optimum potential so in the following three years he was subjected to a far more rigorous training regimen than most law enforcement agents could expect.

As the United Planets Science Police had a small team based on Ungara, Tkemwa was given the opportunity of additional training under United Planets tutelage. As soon as his meta-mutation became known the Science Police suggested he should be part of the Legion's elite meta-training program. The planetary leaders were initially suspicious, but they encouraged the young officer to learn everything he could as they knew this might be a once in a generation offer for one of their people.

Tkemwa found the training on Home Base initially to be quite unstimulating. He found the initial few weeks to be full of lectures on law enforcement and planetary laws and history of law enforcement and creating reports and listening to reports... it finally started to become more interesting in week four with the introduction of training teams. He was top of his group in all the combat classes and enjoyed learning the new techniques his tutors taught in this field. His classmates had taken to call him Haze, and he loved the name as well.

He was a week away from finishing when the student body had been called up with the evacuation of Talok viii. After witnessing the professionalism and passion involved as the Legion and the Academy tried to save as many of the natives as possible from that poor damned world, he knew that it was something he wanted to continue doing. During a volunteered shift two days later while assisting with food distribution to the refugees of the Forest Folk from Talok viii, Tkemwa asked Duplicate Girl if it would be possible to transfer out of the SP training program to become a full-time student as he hoped one day to become a Legionnaire. Luornu had only smiled fondly as a reply.

And now several days later, when by rights he should be packing up to return to his home world, Tkemwa was furiously researching how he could alter his status from Science Police trainee to full time student at the Home Base Legion Academy so he wouldn't have to return to his distant home world.

Academy stories (ii) Kid Flux

Uri Yekolleks had never really given the Legion much thought as he was growing up.

As a youngster on the Rim World Stratokoviesk xiii, or Strak as the settlers called their world, Uri had been far more interested in ensuring his grades remained high enough to justify him attending school and not being reassigned to work in the Planetary Atmosphere Re-Processing Plant, or the Parpp as the natives called it. The work that unskilled children were given in the Parpp was reputed to be fairly grim. Uri had decided at an early age he wasn't going to end up there. This didn't mean that he spent all of his time in studies, he was a gregarious boy who enjoyed sports and in particular was a gifted skater who would spend as much time as he could on the Ice that surrounded the colony with a large group of friends taking advantage of the space and freedom that the endless ice fields could offer.

At 16 he had graduated from school and had been enrolled for his obligatory Year of Great Works before attending the Rim world's only university. The Supervisor he was assigned to in the Water Reclamation Control Centre liked the young man and often allowed him to sit in the main control room and make notes on the workings of the section - it wasn't terribly exciting as it included the deepest parts of the Parpp cut into the ancient bedrock of the world but Uri took every opportunity he could to continue learning... it was this curiosity that led to him finding the ancient alien artifact buried among the foundations of the Atmosphere Re-Processing Plant.

When the alert 'pinged' that an unusual element had appeared on one of the drilling heads he set of to investigate without a second thought. As it was a mid-Night Shift Uri doubted if any of his colleagues were willing to help anyway. It took him half an hour to negotiate the small drill from the exploratory hole it had been cutting - one of hundreds that were sunk to reach the free water underneath the huge re-processing plant. What he found altered the course of his life.

Twenty-five million years before the Sgargrathi Confederation had developed trans-light warp capabilities. The Sgargathi were already incredibly scientifically advanced so with their technologies alongside their aggressive nature it meant that within twelve standard years they held over fifty worlds under their draconian control and were ready to spread out further. It is generally accepted that the Green Lantern Corp and other aliens were involved in the eventual destruction of this empire though little clear historical data is definitively known.

The technology that Uri had just come into contact with was the heart of the bio-adaptive technology the Sgargrathi used to ensure their crafts were suitable for any environment. And, as it was no bigger than a matchbox it certainly didn't appear to be of any threat. It had been lying inert since the craft it had been part of had been disintegrated as it fell through a warp onto this distant world at the end of their empire all those millions of years before. The technology itself was intact, though as it was no longer attached to a craft it had been inert... it was waiting.

The touch of Uri's hand changed all of that.

As he touched the small silver box it appeared to flow like mercury and dissolved into his palm. As it entered the young man's flesh the ancient artifact reverted to its prime directive and altered its host accordingly. Uri fell immediately unconscious and was discovered four hours later. The medic team that came to assist found it impossible to take any sort of medical reading - the Sgargrathi technology would not allow it so Uri's skin simply repulsed the scans.

Over the coming weeks the full extent of the adaptions became clear as a group of planetary scientists tried to find out more about the strange mutation of the young man. Seven weeks later, on the first day that Uri was allowed out from the hospital wing where he had been isolated while being tested, he joined a group of his friends onto the Ice and they skated across a huge frozen lake. This time though the ice cracked and one of Uri's friends plunged below. Without thinking he dived into the freezing dark liquid below to rescue his friend.

Surprisingly Uri didn't feel the cold and could see perfectly well in the darkness of these deep waters. It took him seconds to reach his friend with a surprisingly powerful flex of his legs propelling him through the dark waters. Once Uri had an arm around his friend he turned and sped back to the gap in the ice where they had come through and threw his unconscious friend out of the water onto the relative safety of the Ice. After that Uri was feted as a hero. The local scientists wanted to run even more experiments but his new-found celebrity amongst the small colony meant he could refuse without any sanctions being put in place. In the months that followed though Uri tested his limits himself and found that no matter how compromising the situation he would instantaneously adapt and not only survive but thrive: he would instinctively know how to apply the adaption to his circumstances.

It was at that point that the expanded role of the Legion's Academy on Home Base had been announced to the greater galaxy during a newscast and Uri realised that perhaps his destiny wasn't to live out his days on this small Rim World.

It took a standard week from his initial application before he heard a reply and those were the longest seven days he had ever known. Within days of their reply though he was saying his goodbyes to family and friends. On the day that Luornu Durgo and the Science Police Training Officer Jaxi Delgrado-Hynd had stepped through the warp to take him to their far-off satellite Uri had cried a little.

He had quickly wiped the tears away and then laughed as he had a final hug from his mother and sister. Uri walked out of the side room into the big hall where a sizeable percentage of the local community waited to cheer him off. He kept his chin up and waved and smiled as best he could before following the tutors through their warp to Home Base and to his future.

Seven weeks later the call was made for volunteers to assist the refugees of Talok viii. The following week was the most physically and emotionally tough time of his life as he worked hard to help the survivors of that lost dark world. If there were any doubts in Uri's mind before that about whether or not he should try for Legion membership, they were quashed then.

The young man from the cold, distant colony world knew he had found his life's calling; he would become a Legionnaire if it was the last thing he ever did.

Academy stories (iii) Aqua Lass

Hetha Howahe was one of approximately 600,000 descendants of Atlantis living on the Jovian moon Europa in the dark oceans under the klicks thick ice sheet.

It would be fair to say Hetha followed the standard cultural beliefs of her people and so didn't really have too much trust in Homo Sapiens. Sure, Earthers, as her folk called them - usually with a strong note of scorn - traded with her people so their supply vessels were always welcomed. Some even appeared to be genuinely interested in the natives. Though generally, she wasn't really interested in them as it had been those people that had forced her ancestors to flee their home world and set up their colony on the underside of the great ice sheets of this moon seven centuries before.

That all changed when the power within her bloodline started to manifest itself. Initially it was simply clumsiness as things near to her fell over and mysterious crashed as she got close. One morning Hetha was alone in her dormitory room concentrating on a particularly tough piece of homework that she needed to hand in that afternoon and was feeling frustrated by it when the waters around her started to swirl and turn as if a whirlpool was forming. Several small objects started to fly around as the water spun quicker and quicker. Hetha quickly moved away and stared at the strange phenomena before her, though as she did it began to slow down until the waters were calm again.

"What was that?" She said to herself, unsure if she had really witnessed it. Hetha felt suddenly vet alone and scare...

Without warning the waters in her room seemed to pulse and the whole room shook. Hetha screamed. She put up her hands to protect herself and the waters rushed away from her crashing the door open at the other end of the dorm room. Hetha screamed again.

The silence that followed was louder in Hetha's ears than the screaming or crashing it followed.

There were legends of Atlanteans with power, some had even fought alongside the Earthers it was said. But Hetha knew these could only be legends... surely? The Mystics that had fled with her people to his moon had died out centuries before so she was unsure how she could find out anymore. One thing was certain, she thought to herself, she would have to be careful where she pointed her hands until she had more information.

A month later, after several more of these strange currents appearing in the cold ocean around her when her moods were strongest, she started asking her grandparents about the ancient legends. One morning over breakfast her father confronted her about her constant questions. She felt some relief as she finally came clean about what had been happening to her. Her father went pale with shock. He quickly checked over his shoulders that there was no-one else around to overhear before he replied. In hurried whispers he told her that he heard that his grandmother had said similar stories when he had been quite young. One day she had even displayed these powers to sceptical neighbours, so word had soon spread out from their town into the cities. The Rulers of their dark ocean had sent the Trident, their law enforcement agents, to place her into confinement for her own good as she was obviously suffering from a delusion... they said. Not unexpectedly, the family had never heard from her again.

Hetha's father took his daughter to their cellar. Here he opened a hidden door and led Hetha into a small room empty apart from two containers.

"I've been collecting these since your mother passed. I'll leave you to look through it and come to your own conclusions... your breakfast will be waiting for you when you're done." And with that he left her.

It was over an hour later that a much-shaken Hetha left the hidden room to find her father. The information he had collected and kept secret pointed to only one thing: their family were descendants of the people of Xebel. This rogue state was often mentioned among the Atlantean survivors as the reason for their original home being irretrievably lost. The information her father had carefully collected pointed to a far more nuanced history. A princess from Xebel had married the half-Earther King of Atlantis and had children that shared the Xebellian's hydrokinetic abilities... and from the fragments that her father had found, over the centuries these abilities had shown up in the female descendants.

The suggestion was clear - Hetha was the latest in a long line that led back to two royal families from the Time of Heroes on ancient Earth.

She was truly stunned!

As they ate their breakfast Hetha asked her father what he suggested she should do next. His answer surprised her almost as much as learning of her family's true heritage. The call to Home Base Academy took minutes and the AI holo that replied to them several hours later asked for her to demonstrate her abilities. Hetha threw the furniture around her using only the water she swam in.

One standard day later a warp opened to Home Base and Hetha Howahe hugged her father tightly before walking through to her future.

Academy Stories (iv) Rebounder

Lozaro Koosta-Nevarra felt a little bit sorry to be going.

He had finally made his mind up to quit Rimbor four days before, but it was still sad for him to leave the only planet he had ever known behind.

It was the attacks that finally made him decide to leave. The first had been from two young men with nasty tattoos on their bodies and alcohol on their breaths - both older than he was though clearly not as smart. They tried to grab him but very quickly found themselves laying facedown, unconscious on the cracked ferro-concrete. They weren't anywhere near a match for his street fighting skills. He hadn't even really needed to use his abilities; he simply dodged their attempts to strike him and threw them both face first into a wall. A bang and crash and it was all over.

He had expected something like this. Big Lazzalo had been annoyed that he hadn't completed the job he had been given. Here on Rimbor, if you were in any of the Gangs or Guilds, you quickly learned that disobeying orders carried consequences. Sometimes because the person above you ordered it and sometimes because your peers wanted to curry favours. Either way, you could be messed up pretty quick for the most minor of perceived infraction.

He was one of six operatives from the Green Dogs that the month before had been given experimental mixed meta gene-mod treatments. The orders had come from above that they would then use their new abilities to teach the White Bears a lesson by destroying several of that gangs known brothels, bars and gambling dens - it didn't matter if there were people in them, just so long as the White Bears learned that they were no longer in charge. Three of the other gang members that had gone through the same treatment had carried out their orders. The other two had died during the gene-mod treatment.

Lozaro knew he owed the Green Dogs as they had been like a family to him for the last four years but that didn't mean he would murder people for them. He had only been a courier or sometimes a messenger for them so would see very little serious violence... the level of trouble they now expected him to take part in was way out of his orbit! Instead, the young man had informed a friendly police detective then went on the run. He had a plan though. There was one sure-fire way to get off the planet and somewhere safe even from the heated gang wars that were erupting on Rimbor. Lozaro planned on getting to an open holo-comm and calling Legion Home Base. If the Legion had been tough enough to keep a gangbanger like Jo Nah safe, then they would certainly help a low-level nobody like him.

He really hoped so, anyway.

Especially as his gene-mod treatment had changed him so he was difficult to hide now. His skin had turned a dark blue and there were these strange powers - he was faster and stronger than before while still keeping his wiry frame, though the strangest thing was that his body had become like some sort of super-dense rubber - tough but incredibly flexible. Any blows that struck him concaved his body which then rebounded the force back at his attacker.

After he had first started running several of his old gang had tracked him down and tried to beat the snot out of him. At that point he wasn't exactly sure what the meta gene-mod had really done to him, but he quickly learned, as did his former gangmates. The attackers were as surprised as he was when their blows rebounded, and he threw them around like they were toys.

That had been a few days ago, and on the other side of the massive central continent. Lozaro had hitchhiked north out of Rimbor City before backtracking at night and stealing an air car before flying south-west to the towns on the mountains 1,000 kicks away. He hadn't believed he had been followed but had expected that somehow his old crew would eventually track him down. Lozaro knew he was on borrowed time.

The next attack had involved two of the survivors from the gene-mod experiment. One of them was clearly much faster and stronger than before and glowed like a firefly as he charged straight at Lozaro. This attacker was rebounded and flung back forcibly through several walls, crashing unconscious under a pile of broken masonry. The second attacker was more careful after that. It was a girl Lozaro had known, Garetta Kloumhoff, and she was nasty! Even before the gene-mod she had been tough, cruel and someone most of them would not choose to argue with. She was known for her vengeful attitude if anyone crossed her.

"Just come back Lozaro, you'll be forgiven soon enough. We need you as the 'Bears will retaliate y'know." While her tone was soft, pleading, her eyes showed her true intentions - she was planning on killking Lozaro regardless what he chose to do.

"Make me. We both know you're lying..." He said softly. At that moment he didn't actualy agree with what he had just said, he was only trying to keep face. He felt pretty hopeless. He knew he couldn't fight; it was all so useless... he was useless... there really was no point to this...

Garetta Kloumhoff took a gun out of her should holster and took aim... she knew that the little runaway coward was feeling the full extent of her abilities now so would not be able to resist. The blast struck Lozaro on the chest and, for the first time since the gene-mod treatment, he felt some pain, though it did not break his skin. Instead, his torso appeared to cave in on itself for a split second before springing back and returning the blast fire at his attacker. Garetta's gun exploded throwing her back into a wall, which she slumped down. As she fell Lozaro's quickly lost the sense of dread and defeat he had felt... and realised what his former gang-mate's abilities must be. Sneaky and horrid in equal measure - perfect for a nasty girl like her, he thought to himself as he ran away.

He never saw them again after that, instead he made the call to Home Base and impressed upon the replying AI holo that he would make a perfect student. Twelve very long and nerve-wracking hours later he had his reply.

As he walked through the warp to the distant planetoid and a very unexpected future Lozaro Koosta-Nevarra was surprised as he realised that he felt a little bit sorry to be going.

Academy Stories (v) Thunderbolt

Ness Strakinos closed her eyes and thought about what she needed to do next.

She knew that her future plans had irreversibly changed and felt at peace about that even though it had only started several days before.

Her final exam had been tough, but she had an aptitude for languages so hoped that her nerves hadn't shown and the answers she had given where enough to get the grades she needed to get into University.

Since the age of ten she had wanted to be a diplomat. This was entirely after seeing a cool character in some holo-novella she had been watching saying the same thing, though back then she wasn't really sure what that was. Her parents had told her that she would need an exemplary understanding of politics, languages and economics if she wanted to succeed in that field. They never believed that their little girl would remember but, in the months, and years ahead she impressed them both with her diligence and determination.

She had finished her last exam before potentially leaving the family home on the southernmost continent of Gardenhome to study at the prestigious Lakeside University in the northern hemisphere. Her parents surprised her that evening by celebrating at an exclusive restaurant in Satellite Plaza in the capital city of their small continent. This one decision changed all of their lives forever.

Gardenhome was a peaceful planet 174 light years from Sol, most associated with its large universities and, not surprisingly, enormous garden estates where otherwise extinct flora and fauna thrived. With the huge university campuses and large population of academics a secret society had been established nearly a century before that initially had been set up to data mine student research for their own gains. This cabal called themselves the Untied Hands and currently included the Senior Secretary to the Vice-Chancellor of the Planetary University Chambers, two Deans of certain colleges, over a dozen professors from a diverse range of fields of study, quite a few PHD students and many research assistants. The Untied Hands had developed a predictive AI that over the last fifteen years had increasingly warned about the rise of meta-beings and governmental instability. Initially, as the Legion was in its infancy and there were only a scattering of established meta-beings of any worth known, the cabal had not taken this warning too seriously. In the last few years though, especially after the Darkseid event had unleashed billions of possessed Daxamites onto the galaxy they had given it far more serious consideration.

Almost three years ago one PHD student's research into the human meta-gene had thrown up some interesting results. For one thing, they had developed a predictive tool that showed a 98.5+% success rate of naming potential Beta+ level metas from researching historic family data and a DNA sample. As their research was being finalised the student had sadly, and perhaps a little too conveniently died in an aircar collision and their data-sphere logs were heard to be lost. The Untied Hands wanted this information for themselves. They had DNA samples of over 99% of the planetary population on file and familial data was easy to come-by, especially when the one asking was the Dean of History from a prestigious university...

The cabal quickly located over 20 potential metas on the university campuses and amongst the general population. They spent almost a year arguing amongst themselves at every level on what to do with the data. One camp wished to do nothing, merely monitor their subjects. another wished to try to activate their meta-genes while the other wanted the potential metas eliminated. Eventually, a compromise was achieved. The cabal would use their predictive AI to figure out the most likely potential-metas that would not destabilise their planetary population if activated and so the Untied Hands used their data to pick half a dozen candidates to activate. Their thinking was that these candidates could become a planetary guard if needed, under their control of course. It would also lead them to understand the mechanisms of the elusive meta-gene so they might control or neutralise it if necessary.

It took eighteen standard months of secretive testing before the Untied Hands were ready to attempt activating the potential metahumans they had chosen. Both Ness Strakinos and her mother were targeted as candidates. The Untied Hands had been monitoring the family for several months and knew of this celebration as soon as the reservation at the restaurant had been made. It was easy enough for them to arrange to be at the same table hours before and plant a small device that would generate low levels of a specific radiation that had been shown to aggravate the meta-gene.

And without any idea of the Untied Hands or their experiments upon the local population the Strakinos family attended the restaurant at 2000 hours to celebrate their daughter finishing her school examinations. From the moment they arrived Ness' mother, an architect who usually showed exquisite manners, complained about a high-pitched whining noise that was giving her a headache. After the waiter had made a few changes to the ambience around their table this seemed to stop, though it was obvious that the woman was still not at ease. During the first course she started sweating and shortly after complained of pains along her back and in her ribs. Ness' father, a local property developer and coach for a community Space-Ball team at the youth centre, asked for paramedics to be called.

Her mother didn't last long enough for the paramedics to examine. She was curled in the foetal position on the floor screaming within minutes and as Ness' father and several waiting staff tried to help Ness' mother erupted in a ball of blue fire. Seeing her mother consumed by flames finally triggered Ness' latent meta-gene. She erupted in a flare of electricity and flew through the nearest wall and out above the city at tremendous speed. Her next memory was waking up in a smoking crater on a hillside some 50 or so klicks from the restaurant with two Science Police Officers pointing guns at her head.

The Chancellor of the Planertary Council requested the Legion's help early the next morning immediately after reading the report that had been holoed to him. He was canny enough to know this was not a freak accident. Sun Boy had led a team that had found the remains of the meta-gene triggering device and M'Windaji had tracked down the engineers that build it. Faced with Legionnaires looking annoyed, the engineers quickly talked. Otaki verified that they were all telling the truth. Ferro and Gazelle said loudly that they were disappointed that they hadn't resisted as the two of them would love to punch people... this enticed further information from the three men that had built the device that had been placed in the restaurant the day before.

Within a day the Untied Hands were dismantled as the Science Police tore each strata of the organisation apart with the thorough information the Legion had been able to glean.

Sun Boy and the new Legionnaire that he had mentored, Friction, visited Ness in the infirmary two days later. She had experienced another incident, unfortunately, after being told that both her parents had died in the restaurant by a consultant doctor the night before the Legionnaire's visit - Ness had quite literally exploded out of the hospital. The one benefit of this occurrence was that this time there was in-house security holo-footage to examine and Sun Boy gently explained to the young woman that it appeared that her meta-gene had given her the ability to transform into a being of living lightning. Friction had held Ness' hand the whole way through the conversation.

"So, you're saying I'm... I'm some sort of meta-freak now?" Ness asked with tears streaming down her face.

"No, you're an incredibly powerful, smart and capable young woman who has been hurt, manipulated and badly let down." Sun Boy didn't smile as he said this. "The question really should be, what do you want to do about it?"

Two days later, directly after her parents' funeral, Ness Strakinos walked through a warp to join the student body on Home Base in the Sol System. It wasn't the educational or career path she had planned on, but she intended to do the very best that she could, regardless of what now lay in her future.

Academy Stories (vi) The Terror Twins

Kalis and Drin Yip had lived their lives in the mega-city blocks of Nu-Beijing. The aunt that had brought them up had been kind but distant, ensure all their physical needs were met though never quite got too involved in their day-to-day lives. Their Aunt Bo rarely left their apartment and would often be found watching old holos with a wistful expression. The siblings could not remember a time without Aunt Bo in their lives. When either had asked about their birth parents Aunt Bo had changed the subject and suddenly remembered chores for them both to complete, often very messy chores.

As they reached their teenage years their features became more pronounced - pointed ears, cheekbones and chins marked them as slightly different, though in a massive and cosmopolitan city state like Nu-Beijing this was not exotic enough to bring them any challenges.

It was the night before their fourteenth birthday when they found out about their true heritage.

They arrive back at their apartment and were quickly attacked and overcome as cloth sacks holding some sleep-inducing agent were roughly pulled over their heads. Kalis woke up first. She didn't know where she was or what exactly had happened but the rough carpet against her skin was unfamiliar, so she knew it was not good. Kalis was smart enough to not make any sudden movements as she could hear several people speaking.

"...why they're still alive Boannana? These criminals should have been eliminated years ago!" Said a rough male voice.

"They are not their parents... they were babies when the Rightful Readjustment of Power happened. Their abilities were neutralised by the Ch'hor implants we put in their arms and so... I thought... they were only babies!" This reply was Aunt Bo's voice and she sounded scared!

"They are the last living Royal-Twins of Exor... "

"They never knew, I made sure they never knew anything." Aunt Bo sounded scared as she said this.

Kalis tried desperately to think of anything she had heard before about Exor... She thought it sounded familiar from some news broadcast but couldn't put her finger on the elusive information she knew she must have heard at some point... She wished she had spent more time paying attention in school. Drin groaned by her side and started to stir.

Without thinking Kalis sat up and shouted "Leave us alone! We don't know anything and haven't see you so ...so you can go now, and no-one will ever know." Even as she finished, she heard the desperation in her voice and wished the bag was off her face so she could at least have glimpsed whoever it was that had attacked them.

There was a whack! And once again Kalis was unconscious.

When she woke up, she was no longer in her home apartment and had her arms and legs tied up. At least the bag was no longer over her heasd, she thought. Drin was lying beside her nudging her with an elbow.

"Well, nice to see you're finally waking up and joining me..." Drin's dry attempt at levity made her snort a painful laugh.

"They said we are Exorian Drin. What does that mean?" Kalis whispered.

"Forget it for now, we need to get out of these binds."

"I heard Aunt Bo said we had an implant in our arms... " She continued, desperate to share as much as she remembered.

"We'll deal with that when we get out of this place. He thought we were both asleep... a man, he took Bo with him. Said he couldn't trust her alone with us again."

"We need to get untied." Kalis said, suddenly aware that if they were alone then they could have a chance to escape from this nightmare.

The twins managed to unpick each other's bindings and quickly stood up. They were in a unfamiliar and very scruffy apartment. While Drin looked for some medical supplies, anything really to ease the uncomfortableness he felt from being tied up and drugged, Kalis found a small personal 'puter and accessed information on Exor.

"We need to get the implants out of our arms Drin." She said as the hard-light screen whizzed by with information on the magical planet where their attackers said they were from.

"If this is right, we can do things... like superpowers. It says the Royal-Twins all changed shapes. What does that mean?"

Drin rushed back to the main room, he looked scared "I can't find anything, let's get out of here. We need to find Bo and get answers."

Although the door out of the apartment was locked, they managed to break open a window and climb over a balcony and lower themselves onto the one below. Drin tried not to look as they had been at least twenty stories up. The elderly couple in the apartment let them in though were obviously scared. Drin explained that they had been kidnapped and needed help. Within minutes the elderly man had taken the two scared teenagers to his aircar and they were on their way to a hospital. Both were emphatic when they arrived that they needed to be scanned for implants. After an initial assessment by an attendant revealed that neither were too badly hurt the medics took them seriously enough to look into their claims of strange implants. In no time these were found and removed - small organic looking spirals that had wrapped around the muscles in their left arms.

Within minutes of these being taken out from them they felt immensely better, and not just better but something more. "Like... super-better!" Drin said.

"Your scans show neither of you are human, that's weird... the implant must have fooled us when you came in. How strange! Do you know what..." A doctor in white started to ask.

"I think we're Exorian." Kalis said, "That's why we were kidnapped." The doctor tapped at a hard-light screen for several long seconds.

"Oh stars! You are... you... your majesties, I'm so sorry to have not... uh, what is the protocol?" The doctor looked confused as he double checked the results before him. "According to this you were both reported dead as babies. This can't be right. Hold on, I'll be right back." The young doctor hurried out of the room.

"What do we do?" Kalis asked.

"If we stay what's the worst...?" Drin knew his sister would have an answer, she was the smart one of the pair.

"Worst case? Probably we get sent to Exor and put on trial for being born? Then executed." Kalis answered, her voice betrayed her fears.

"And if we go?"

"Where to? ...and with no money?"

"So... we stay and fight if need be." Drin sounded resigned as he spoke, but his sister knew how stubborn he could be. If he needed to Drin would keep fighting until there was no-one left to face.

"We're supposed to have super-powers." Kalis said softly.

"What powers? How do they work?" Drin sounded more animated. This was something to hope for.

"The file I read said the Royal-Twins needed to touch each other, some meta-symbiosis magic thing, then they changed shapes into some really strange stuff like a mystical beast or a water sprout. Though it didn't say exactly what else..."

"Well, I want to be a thunderstorm." Drin said with a laugh as he held out his hand.

"And I want to be jet car." Kalis laughed as she said this and reached across for her brother.

The cost to repair the destruction the twins caused in their initial transformation was fully covered by the Legion Foundation three days later after Kalis and Drin had been welcomed to Home Base. The Legion looked for their Aunt Bo though she was never found. As she was the only family member they had (and even then, this relationship appeared to be rather tenuous) Luornu Durgo applied for and became the twin's legal guardian.

After a day or so of searching various historical sources Luornu had the information needed. She explained to the twins that their species had innate transformative abilities that came from a magical source but could only be activated by both touch and speech - they needed to verbalise what they wanted to become as they made contact with each other. From what Duplicate Girl had discovered the first time that Royal-Twins activated a change it set the thematic limits on all their future transformations, so if they had named an animal then they would only be able to change into things within that broad category in the future. This was a magical limitation that seemed to run true throughout their race's history.

The twins learned that Drin could assume the form of atmospheric conditions like a thunder cloud or a twister or even fog, while his sister became mechanised, assuming the shapes of personal jetcars, speed boats, antennae or, even a large ray gun.

Both Kalis and Drin were excited and scared by the sudden changes in their lives but promised Lournu, or Duplicate Mama as they called her when she wasn't in the room, that they would do their best to learn about both their abilities and heritage while finishing their education. The Home Base Head Mistress reassured them that, once they were legally adults, they could do whatever they wanted with her full blessing.

Without ever talking about it the twins knew that as soon as they were able to apply, they wanted to become Legionnaires.

Academy Stories (vii) Army of One

Ashia Servito was so excited.

Her home system of Luzonus Minor had 18 planets and three asteroid belts that were high in mineral wealth. When the system had been discovered in the 25th century it was quickly taken control of by several large interstellar mining corporations and within three centuries they had stripped much of this once pristine system's mineral wealth. The one inhabited planet, Luzonus Prime, was quickly forgotten about as, other than having a population of willing workers, it wasn't seen as worth the effort to visit without the minerals that had brought the corporations to it.

Luzonus Prime was one of hundreds of worlds that humanity had emigrated to that suffered from being stable enough to not need assistance and not being seen as exciting enough to generate much interest. The planetary economy was fruitful but was not rich, the land that could be occupied or farmed all sat within latitudes that regularly experienced extremes of weather were common, the populace had a strong work ethic but lacked political connections within the greater galactic hegemony. There was one historical event that gave some interest to scholars - the Maurti Uprising of 2788 happened after the general populace rose against the corporations and their brutal bonding of the workers and their families. This led to the one interesting historical fact - the recorded involvement of a meta-human called the One-Man-Army. This legendary character was never seen or heard of after that, although there are many, many local legends and stories of this mysterious hero helping local people, after the uprising had finished there was very little hard data to confirm any of these tales.

Ashia Servito loved her home world but had always known that, much like a sizeable percentage of her fellow Luzonians, once she reached adulthood, she would most likely leave it behind to seek her fortune off world. If she had been asked six months prior, she would never have guessed the circumstances around her leaving.

She lived in a large rambling house in the northern suburbs of Numanila with her great aunt, maternal grandmother, paternal grandmother and grandfather, her parents, an older brother, two younger sisters, two aunts and their husbands and seven cousins. As the oldest unmarried girl in the family a lot of the household chores were passed onto her. She didn't mind really as she had learned at an early age that boredom was... well, boring! The clue was in the name really...

Ashia was sorting through her great aunt's belongings, in a desperate bid to make some room for a box of children's toys that her youngest cousins had outgrown though the family wanted to keep in case there were any more children, when she found the small golden box. It was no bigger than her hand, plain on all sides except where it had an engraved 'X' on what Ashia assumed was the top.

"That belonged to my great, great grandfather... please be careful with it." The voice came from over Ashia's shoulder and she almost dropped the box as she jumped in surprise. Her great aunt smiled warmly as Ashia turned around. The girl started to apologise to the older woman. She was affectionately shooshed quiet.

"The story goes that he was the last of the One-Man-Army. Certainly, I never knew if it was true or not, but it's said the answer is in that box... I could never open it and your uncle, while he was alive, always thought it was a ridiculous story so never tried. Maybe you...?" There was something very teasing about the tone of voice, as if the challenge had already failed but the older woman wanted to see it anyway.

Ashia smiled shyly, she was half afraid that this would be some practical joke that would give the family a reason to laugh at her... her cousins in particular would love that.

"Just try to open the box Ashia. I promise you, dear child there is no trick." Her great aunt had seen the concerns in her eyes and now smiled encouragingly.

"This is clearly something to do with it..." Ashia slapped her palm against the 'X'. As she did it felt as if the world had quickly spun around her and then came to a sudden stop. She wobbled and blinked her eyes, momentarily unsure where she was.

"What was...?" As she asked her great aunt reached out to her from where she sat behind and wrapped her arms around Ashia in a tight hug.

"It is you my girl, it is you! You are who we've been waiting for!" The older woman's voice had an edge of happy hysteria to it.

Ashia felt relieved, as her great aunt could strict when she disapproved of anything the children did, though was unsure exactly what the old woman was talking about. Her great aunt squeezed Ashia tightly, her arms around her great niece's shoulders. As Ashia had her back to her she could not hug the older woman in return though she wanted to... as that thought entered her mind a figure appeared before them, a figure that looked remarkably like Ashia! The stranger reached across to hug the older woman, who started to laugh and cry happily at the same time.

"It is you Ashia, you are the one! I knew it would work again!" The older woman said as she laughed.

They spent the next hour discussing what had just happened and their shared ancestry. Ashia's great, great, great, great, great grandfather had made an unbreakable agreement when he was a young man with an alien traveller that said it was from another galaxy entirely. They had agreed that if he dedicated his life to helping it in every way it wanted for the rest of his life then his son and all who came from that line could ask for help whenever he wanted and would receive it if worthy. The alien had agreed and for the next 58 years he was little more than a slave to the strange creature he served. His wife and son rarely saw him, and when they did, he would not say exactly what the alien needed him for though they could see scars on his body and he always looked exhausted. After he died, they only learned about it when the alien appeared before them and handed the now middle-aged son the golden box.

"You must have the right intentions to activate this gift. You and all your line may use it if you are pure." The alien sounded as if it were upset as it gave the box away though it vanished immediately after the son took it, so the family were never able to learn any more information about what had happened.

While his mother wept the son tried to get the box to open. He never said what he had been thinking when his first duplicate appeared, but it went to their small kitchen and returned with a tray of hot tea and fresh biscuits. After that the son only had to think of something and a duplicate would do it for him, whether or not he held onto the golden box. Often, he would have several duplicates running errands at the same time, though once he saw that the duplicates were getting rather pudgy, he realised how idle he had become. They were after all his mirror images. He swore never to use this gift unless he had to after that.

Two years later the uprising against the corporations that controlled the population started and he knew could do some good with his ability. The first One Man Army of Luzonus Prime was a hero to this mass revolt. He could summon an almost endless amount that would do whatever task he set them... and quickly learned that whatever he was in contact with would be duplicate too, like weapons. Once the duplicate had completed the task, it he no longer had need them, or if they were killed, they would simply dissipate into the air. They were the perfect agents for the uprising!

As Ashia listened she began to wonder how she could use this strange ability to benefit her family and community. She was careful not to think of specific tasks as she realised the duplicates would do them without question... Her great aunt gave Ashia a solution:

"There is no need for a One-Woman-Army on our world now Ashia, though there are places that would benefit. Perhaps you should look further afield."

"I don't understand..." Ashia's head began to spin as she considered what her great aunt was saying.

"You need to learn how to use this gift. I can think of only one place where you could do that safely."

"Where?" Alisha's voice was small as she asked.

"It's time you went to that Academy the Legion set up in Sol, they are looking for students."

Two weeks and several long conversations with the extended family later and the warp spun existence in the freshly cleaned living room of the Servito's sprawling home. Gim and Yera Allon stepped through and spent time talking to the extended family before leading Ashia away to her new life. Before she left Ashia dropped the golden box into her great aunt's pocket and asked her to keep it safe, the older woman gave her great niece a tight hug.

As she stepped towards the warp Ashia turned and waved one final time to her family. Her smile was as wide as they had ever seen it.

Ashia Servito was so excited.

more great stuff, Caron.

Haze! I like how you're touching on migration topics - something dear to my own heart, oh how I googled and worked to get out of my own country. The Purge sounds nasty... and I am sure the Ungarian leaders will not be very happy, after all, Haze's training was meant to benefit their world...

Aqua Lass. So sweet of her father to help her, after all he himself could be in danger (considering what happened to Grandma being taken away by the Trident). Nice callout to Mera!

And what a sweet shout-out to the Philippines with Army of One! Luzon = Luzonus, nuManila, the surname Servito, and the massive family living under one roof! Amazing origin too, the man who became a slave for his descendants' future...

more great stuff, C! still amazed at how creative you are in coming up with backstories

Once again, you're very kind in your reviews IB.

Three of the characters are based on people I know, and, yes, Army of One is very much based on a friend from the Philippines. Other than the fantastical and sci-fi elements it's pretty much how she describes her family though the surname came from a chap I worked alongside a few years back.

Actually, all of the stories touch upon families, whether it's the multi-generational life of Ashia through to the other extreme of Rebounders gang upbringing. Without thinking about it I guess I was channelling that moment when teenagers fly the nest...

Thanks again, I'll be adding little stories here from time to time, so hopefully you'll continue to enjoy them.

C

Oh that's a good one C. It is indeed an important, life-changing moment when teenagers fly the nest...

Here are three more, there are another half a dozen being drafted so will get them to you soon

Neutron Boy

Noor R'manali had never been away from the Hopper Colonies of the Alanorian Protoplanetary Disc before now and was both excited and sad to leave.

Like most of the community he belonged to, Noor's ancestry was tangled with bio-alternants and gene-modifications to produce a people that could function, if only for a short time, in this hostile environment. The corporation that had acquired the rights to this system during the 25th century human expansion out from the Inner Worlds had ensured the workers they brought here to strip the minerals out from the accretion disc would be as efficient as scientifically possible.

Like the rest of the Hoppers, Noor had a third eyelid able to filter out bright stellar lights and also a wide enough optical range giving him clear vision in near-darkness, he was physically tough enough to survive unaided in space for up to 15 minutes, with a preternatural awareness of his surroundings and directional sense and incredible dexterity. The people of this colony were also bio-manipulated to have a prehensile tail - something the corporation found aided workers in low or zero gravities. Noor's tail was almost as long as he was tall with bands of short blue-white fur over his nut-brown skin, the same colour as the hair on his head.

His community's Nestship had been designed to house up to fifteen thousand workers but as the corporation had left the system well over a century before and the majority of workers had left with them, there were now only 850 or so of the descendants of the original workforce left living on it. Thankfully, there were still a few valuable minerals to be extracted and a trading route of sorts to keep the colonists supplied and in contact with the other races of mankind in the Milky Way.

Noor was one of a few of the colony that had, most likely due to the primitiveness of the gene-splicing his ancestors had undergone, further mutations beyond those that the corporation had enforced. It made him both someone the colonists admired and also feared. It was the nature of his ability that was scary to the colonists rather than his temperament using it. Noor could absorb energy by touch. Initially Noor was terrified of his ability though he quickly learned he could actually suck the energy out of an object if he wanted. The more energy Noor absorbed the brighter he would glow until eventually he released the stored energy in an omni-directional explosive burst. He could feel when that blast was due so would leave whatever craft he was on and float in space until the eruption was over, with a pre-set retrieval program running on a drone to return him to the safety of the ship.

He had gotten the bursts mostly under control, and was no longer draining energy by mistake, so was surprised when the Council of the Disc Workers called for him to appear before them to discuss his mutation and the damage it had caused. Most of the Council were people he knew so despite the formality of the request Noor wasn't too nervous as he stepped into their chambers. He expected an apology would be asked for, though the conversation didn't go anywhere close to his expectations.

After twenty minutes the young man left the chamber with his head spinning. He knew he needed training in the use of his abilities, he also knew the colony would benefit by having its profile raised within the United Planets, but the solution that had been offered to him was way beyond anything he had ever considered.

It was three workday-cycles later when the warp opened and Jacques Foccart, the Invisible Kid, and a powerful looking man who introduced himself as Science Police Officer Vae Loct of Daxam stepped through it. Noor R'manali felt both excited and a bit sick as he introduced the two tutors to his extended family and members of the Council that had turned up to wave him off.

Less than an hour later the young man from the distant colony stepped through Henry's warp and began a new and wonderous chapter in his life.

Invisible Kid iii

Mors Gwokyalya never outgrew the adventurous nature he had exhibited as a child.

As a teen he was part of a moderately successful group of 'Teen Influencers' on the Sol System Webnet that encouraged their peers to enjoy sports and outdoors activities. Para-gliding without an anti-grav harness was Mors' specialty. To say Mors could be cocky was perhaps something of an understatement.

He thrived on challenges, the more outrageous the better.

So, when he held his weekly slot on the 'Public Dares...' broadcast he happily agreed to film himself para-gliding from Mons Olympos Level 4 down to the Chapel Valley on Level 0. It was a drop of just under 35,000 feet in an atmosphere far thinner than Earth's. It was also likely to take place at the start of the Martian simoon season when the dust storms would limit visibility and hamper the delicate controls of the glider. This was the sort of stunt that gave the 'Public Dares...' broadcast some of the highest ratings for Real Life Programming in the system. The route Mors needed to take was carefully worked out as there were UP Militia and Science Police no-fly zones and private estates of the mega-wealthy over several large sections of the immense peak that had warnings barring trespass.

Although Mors was something of a daredevil, he did not have real self-harming urges so for the three days prior to the stunt he planned his route meticulously and checked and double checked his kit. He memorised the weather patterns, wind directions and speeds, as well as the expected density of dust and the loss of visibility that this would bring. On the morning of the dare, he had one last glance at the expected weather read-out and was helped into the straps of his para-glider. This wasn't his usual one, the wings were longer to help give him lift in the thin atmosphere, but he had flown in similar before so wasn't really concerned.

His friends all wished him luck and, once the cameras were ready, he jumped!

The cliff was over 2,000 feet straight down and he picked up a lot of speed as he fell, but Mors wasn't too worried. He knew that he could flick open the wings and the updraft would carry him up but he wanted this to look good for the holo-show so he allowed himself to plummet for over 1,800 feet before he activated the wings. The dramatic up-surge pulled him 800 feet straight back up, and he knew it would make incredible viewing for the audience at home!

Mors flew for almost an hour before a blast of dust-heavy wind blew him off course. At first, he wasn't certain and by the time he knew for certain that he had lost the route needed to take him safely to the finish line it was too late - he had entered a private citizen's no-fly zone and the dust was building around him so he was unsure how to find his route back.

The citizen in question had hidden himself away on Mars for several centuries under various disguises, but always owning this 100+ hectare site of Olympus Mons. As Mors was away to discover, the owner of this estate was also one of the very few surviving members of the long-lived original indigenous species of this world - a true Martian.

As was the norm, the owner of this huge estate was underground in a stasis chamber enjoying a dreamless sleep as Mors dropped out of the Martian sky and crashed into the main building. Thankfully the camera drone that had been following had security protocols that meant it could not follow where it would not be authorised. This was just as well as what followed would have been too painful for many of the audience at home to witness.

The auto-security triggered when what it assumed was a flying attacker smashing through a glass wall into the estate owner's private residence. The auto-security also registered that this intruder altered its shape - Mors retracted the wings of his para-glider as he crash-landed which in turn set off an older program that overrid the standard protocol. An alert was sent to awaken the master of the property as the security system initiated its Alpha-Red Defence protocols. Mors' arms and legs were violently torn from his body as the house security kicked into action. The security system at this point registered that the intruder was not a White Martian as expected by the shape changing it had monitored but a human so before any further physical damage could be inflicted it set a stasis field around the dying para-glider.

The Martian home-owner phased through the floor expecting an ancient enemy of his people and instead found a young human torn apart on the very edge of death.

It was thirty four minutes later that Mors awoke in a strange room. A tall green-skinned stranger stood at the end of the bed waving his hand through a holographic read-out.

<I am glad you survived> This was the first time that Mors had experienced true telepathy and it frightened him! The Martian explained to the young man what had happened and how he had been saved by the urgent application of the ancient technology hidden under the residence. The Martian had given a mysterious smile as he mentioned that there may be side effects... the healing chamber was meant for his own people after all. Mors fell back asleep. The next thing he knew was he was para-gliding out of a thick dust cloud just under half a klick from the finishing line. He knew that he would never be able to speak about what had happened, but also understood that the strange figure in the off-limits estate had given him a gift of sorts, he only had to figure it out for himself.

It didn't take long.

Mors kept his experience to himself as he researched the indigenous people of this world. It took less than a day of sifting through the legends and rumours until he eventually found a record of the legendary Manhunter from the Age of Heroes who exhibited a raft of abilities. Mors wondered if perhaps he had been given the Martians' abilities so tried to change his shape as that was at the top of the list of powers the Martian hero had exhibited, and as he concentrated he noticed that he vanished from the reflection in his mirror! The parting gift from the ancient Martian's technology that quite literally put him back together was the ability to disappear from view! The irony that someone who loved being in the public eye could turn invisible was not lost on him. After a little practice he found he could affect anything he touched and concentrated upon. Mors Gwokyalya knew that there was only really one place he should go if he wanted to do something exciting with these abilities...

Two days later he announced to his many millions of followers that this would be his last transmission. He didn't say what he would be doing but cryptically said that they would definitely see him again in the future.

An hour later a warp appeared in his apartment and he strode through.

Gravity Lass

Chayaanu Kir had been a pretty stupid when she stopped to consider it afterwards, but then again if she been any sort of smart, she would never have ended up on Home Base so perhaps stupid wasn't so bad.

Still, there were so few opportunities for people of her caste to make a decent wage that often the unexpected became a necessary life choice. On her home world of Thanagar though that could also be a life-threatening choice. Born on the lowest level, Chayaanu had needed to develop her quick mind and strong sense of self-preservation as primary survival skills. By the time she was eleven she had moved up to a level of the city-state where at least there was a chance of occasionally seeing sunlight. She worked in a bakery as little more than a scullion but it gave her a roof over her head and food each day.

Over the next few years, the bakery had a rise in its fortunes and began providing food for governmental functions. As Chayaanu had grown to be a rather pretty young woman and had learned how to act and speak in an appropriate manner by watching the clientele in the shop she had been given a role as one of the serving staff at these events.

On the night of a ball held in honour of the Assistant General Grand Marshall of the Western Provinces, Chayaanu had just finished with one tray of hors d'oeuvres and was returning to the immense kitchen when the oldest son of the Assistant General Grand Marshall approached her and asked that she follow him. She knew that there could be risks, after all she was a Nowhere-Born - one from outside of the upper echelons' political protection, but to refuse would have been troublesome. She followed the young man and his winged bodyguard, both of whom appeared to be slightly intoxicated, up to an apartment on the upper levels. She knew that she would be missed back at the event but there was little she could do about that.

The apartment's main room was huge, with comfortable couches collected into groups. Several large display cabinets had amour and weapons from throughout their planets' history. The largest cabinet, a cylinder in the centre of the room, was dimly lit and in it was a blob of silvered material about the size of her fist that hung suspended in mid-air. Chayaanu could feel the hairs on her arm start to bristle as she walked past and as she glanced at it the material seemed to bubble out towards her.

"Excuse me sir..." she said timidly, "What is this? It is ...very beautiful."

"The rarest material in the galaxy, pure Nth metal." the bodyguard said quietly as he walked behind her. Chayaanu was stunned! After the last Thanagar-Rann war almost three centuries before it was reported that the Nth Metal mines were utterly destroyed and there were no fresh supplies in the galaxy; the Hawk-Force of Thanagar had been virtually wiped out and their numbers had never really recovered since.

"So..." the oldest son of the Assistant General Grand Marshall said as he reached a plush looking day bed, "...after all those little snacks you handed out downstairs, what are you able to offer us as dessert? Hmmm? What sweet treats are you hiding there?" It was clear from expression that he wasn't meaning food.

Chayaanu froze for a second as she realised what an idiot she had been to come here. No-one knew where she was and even if they did, they would never take her word over this young man's were she to survive and try to raise a complaint. The security guard put a hand on her shoulder stopping her from running. After a lifetime on the streets and surviving in tough situations her instincts took over and she snatched the guards' gun from his hip-holster and pointed it toward the arrogant man on the day bed. The guard pushed her and, as she fell, Chayaanu twisted around and pulled the trigger. The blast whizzed past the guards' shoulder and shattered the cylindrical glass cabinet that held the Nth Metal. It exploded with an incredible bang!

Chayaanu was blown off her feet and was momentarily stunned by the force of the blast. Her instincts kept her moving, as she scrambled across the floor towards the door and her escape. Her vision was blurred and her ears rang, her hands and legs had been cut by the shattered glass and she felt sick with the pain. As she crawled on fours, she had the strangest sensation that she was being watched so raised her head half expecting more armed guards but instead above her hung the swirling ball of Nth Metal. She knew that if she managed to grab it then she would have some leverage against the son of the Assistant-General Grand Marshall as he was certain to try to punish her for this awful situation.

The metal wrapped itself around her hand as she reached for it and she heard the Assistant General Grand Marshall's son scream at her. Strangely, time seemed to slow down as the metal snaked its way around her arm and covered her face. She felt its warmth as it slipped down her throat and she fought the urge to gag. At the same time, she started to hover above the ground, her cuts and aches almost immediately healed and she felt a flush of strength that hadn't been there before. The guard ran at her but without consciously thinking of it she flew out of his way and dived through a large window out into the night sky.

Two days later she returned to the bakery. She had been hiding amongst the spires and rooftops of the citadel but knew she couldn't stay hidden forever. Since she had escaped Chayaanu had been experimenting. The legends around Nth Metal were as much part of the Thanagarian culture as the caste system. She found that as well as healing quickly she could fly at super-sonic speeds, seemed immune to fluctuations of temperature, could lift far, far more than she ever could before and, create a gravity wake as she flew that would carry things behind her.

She had been watching the bakery, waiting until there were no customers. The bakery owner quickly shuffled her through to a back room. He explained that they thought she had died as the Assistant General Grand Marshall's son had said she had tried to rob them at gun point then when his guard had grappled with her, she had supposedly caused an explosion destroying some precious items but was blown out of the window. The baker also said that no-one had believed his story but due to his status it was under official investigation so she needed to get away and somehow find herself protection. Chayaanu expected as much...

There was only one thing she could think of and the risk was they might not believe her either and hand her over, but if the Legion was anything like the stories said then they were her best bet.

The next day, almost a whole 20 hours since she had risked contacting Home Base, the warp opened before her. Science Police Officer Ella Drottmi walked through followed by Rokk Krinn. Chayaanu was momentarily shocked -Cosmic Boy was here on Thanagar in the slums beside her! The two Home Base tutors introduced themselves and asked if Chayaanu would object if they verified her story. She had never experienced telepathy before but found the mind-probe to be strangely comforting - she said later that it felt as if someone had been doing their washing-up in her head. Three minutes later the two tutors exchanged a glance and invited the young Thanagarian to join them to the Legion Academy and a new life.

Chayaanu never found out but Rokk Krinn and Luornu Durgo-Taine had warped into the Assistant General Grand Marshall of the Western Provinces' private chambers later that day and met with him. They discussed how his son was to publicly refute his untrue claims against the young woman and any potential actions of retribution were to be immediately dropped. The Thanagarian initially scoffed at the two former Legionnaires. Luornu smiled as she explained the truth of the situation and most likely consequences if the Assistant General were to ever try to negatively influence Chayaanu's career within the Legion or force her to return to face Thanagarian justice. Duplicate Girl spelled out in forensic detail both the physical cost and political fall-out that would happen for the pompous Assistant General Grand Marshall if he didn't do as they requested. Rokk Krinn did not smile the entire time.

All charges were dropped within an hour and a story was circulated that Chayaanu had earned High Status due to heroic acts, though the details of her actions or why her status had changed were kept intentionally sparse...

The Assistant General Grand Marshall's oldest son was sent to oversee the Drrungegrut Mining Complex on the very edge of Thanagar's system. It was reputed to be one of the least hospitable places for many, many light years around.

I just started reading through these and I like the thought you put into worldbuilding for all of them...Aqua Lass is someone I would like to see again; if you're gonna have a 21st century descendant hero then Arthur and Mera are good choices for it as they already come from different cultures which as you have shown, clearly survives in some manner to the Legion's time, so it's a bit more interesting than just some random person throwing on a Batman suit or finding a Green Lantern ring.

Thunderbolt is the last one I got up to though, and I love a world of academia and the concept of the Untied Hands! I might steal Gardenhome for a story backdrop sometime if you don't mind, Harbi! Thunderbolt's story is in itself very sad and a great comic-book origin, and the story of the Legion team sent out to investigate is one that would be good to read in itself.

Looking forward to the rest!

Thanks Raz, greatly appreciated.

I knew I wanted to add an Atlantean but honestly knew nothing of Aquaman and Mera really until I saw the movie, and as much fun as it is there's not really too much substance involved so had to research their stories before writing Aqua Lass. There are two more 'legacy' characters in the latest batch as well, so hope you like my ideas there as well.

Feel free to use any ideas in your own stories that you want, these were just fairly random things that were rolling around my mind that I needed to get out to make room for other stuff more in line with my Legion Worlds storylines.

Thanks again,

C

Gravity Lass, Aqua Lass and Thunderbolt are my favourites out of that lot - I am a sucker for a good 'poor kid beats the establishment' story and I really like the detail that Cos and Lu visited the douchebag's dad without Gravity Lass's knowledge. I could also very easily see the scene with Lu enjoying making him squirm while Cos would be all business!

Also - interesting with Mors taking on the Invisible Kid name, it would be the first time a Legionnaire took on a legacy name while their predecessor is still around if I am not wrong! I'd be interested to see if he gets anything else out of his Martian gifts as time goes by too!

Thanks Raz,

I hadn't considered it but you're right about taking Invisible Kid as a name when Jacques is still very much alive. I may try to work that into a story now

As I have about 25 or so posts waiting to go in LW7 I'm going to leave these Academy stories for a while and focus on the main team for a bit. These students will reappear at some point though .

Thanks again,

C

this! really liking Gravity Lass and the little bit of justice with it.

I always enjoy it when you start giving us more Academy students. Even though you said not all will appear in Legion Worlds 7, I hope we do get to see some of them after this.

Haze-
The Idea of a culture that still practices a form of genetic purity in the 31st century is really sad. But I guess I'm glad they see and understand the value of his gifts.

I like the power set and that it also affects AI.

Kid Flux-
Interesting. So are he and the silver metal bonded forever or can they be separated? I have to admit I have a love-hate for these kinds of characters. situational adaptation powers can be both a good romp for a story and a downfall with them either being taken out early because they are too powerful or kind of mary-suing it and being the solution always. That last line about being a Legionnaire no matter what, makes me think it will be a long hard road for him.

Aqua Lass-
an Atlantean is always an interesting touch to bring in and having a hydro-kinetic is a nice touch. Legacy characters are touch and go for me. But there's so much distance with this one that I think it will work well. it's interesting how the family had changed over the centuries and obviously went from being royalty to regular sentients and losing that history in the process. I wonder if some of that history will be coming for her.

Rebounder-
ooo a gene-mode applicant. This could definitely play into Cham's storyline. I liked that he had sense enough to try and leave the gangs once he realized what they were asking of him. I liked that he wasn't duped by his former co-gang member, especially since he said how much they had been his family for four years.

Thunderbolt-
a student who wanted to be a politician? Well, I can't think of a better training ground to help in that endeavor than the Legion.
a cable creating meta's by tracking DNA and family histories? That sounds like another potential operation for Cham to look into. ...aww never mind. I'm glad the United Hand was stopped. But I would have liked to see how that played out. having them be part of the gene-mod situation would have been interesting. Especially as that would introduce even more meta's!
Poor Ness losing her parents like that. But I hope she knows they'd still be proud of her. She'll be able to do a lot of good.
Living Lighting huh? I wonder how she, Garth, and Ayla would work together. Could they control her? Could she give them power boots?

The Terror Twins-
Nice addition. I don't know much about The Wonder Twins homeworld but I liked how you explained how the powers work and that the Terror Twins wouldn't be the same as the Wonder Twins. The royals in hiding is a fun angle and can bring lots of story ideas. especially who would want to take them on while in the care of the Legion?
How many of the students are legal wards of the Legion or specific legionnaires?
will they be given individual codenames?

Army of One-
I like how this one is a family ability, passed down like a prophecy.
Another rich rim world that you've exposed us to. The "small town" feel you've given us was well done. knowing that even though this is home, it's not where you'll end up is something I relate to.
I loved that the moment her power came about was because she wanted to hug her great aunt. It was the nicest and sweetest power activation I've ever read. Power activation is almost always destructive in some way. So It was nice to see something different.
Pure of heart? good detail and allows it to stop from falling into the hands of evil. But I wonder if the alien will ever come back for it? or did it create an opposite one as well, and there's an evil Army of One out there. I also like that the duplicates aren't harmed and just disappear if they die.

Neutron Boy-
love the description of this one. The tail with the white and blue fur has me intrigued.
An energy absorber? nice. I wonder if he'd return home to his people or join the legion. The council might find his inclusion helpful to their world. It would make sense that a number of worlds would be vying for that kind of claim to fame.
Another student who I think is going to be homesick.

Invisible Kid III-
Raz makes a good point. I wonder why he chose that name.
Love the idea of a social media influencer gaining superpowers and how that affects them. I like that the irony isn't lost on him about his lifestyle and the powers he gained. I'm also curious if Mors gained any other powers may be limited telepathy will come later...
Would you say he's an adrenaline junkie? That could be good and bad for the team.

Gravity Lass-
An Nth metal bond? oo there's a lot of potential for the story there, especially a rare element that once was so abundant.
The prince is no prince that's for sure. But i'm glad Rokk and Lu were able to set the record straight and get the prince his due. Hopefully, he gets the punishment he deserves.
The Nth metal, is it alive to a degree? the way it invaded her was kind of like Marvel's symbiote. Is she now a host to something greater than what she knows? I hope we get to find out!!

aww, just as it was getting rolling it has come to an end for now. I can't wait to see who makes it to the main title and how they work into the story.