posted
He turned around to find himself facing a young blond woman, resplendent in a blue uniform and cape. On her ample chest lay one of the mightiest symbols for justice in the universe. “Supergirl!”
“That’s right. You don’t have a chance, Persuader. Surrender now, before I have to get…….rough.”
The Persuader slowly brought up his weapon. “Maybe I like it rough.”
And then they both froze where they stood. Suddenly, a young man appeared beside them. He was dressed in a top hat and tails. He carried a cane. With a whoop, he got down on one knee and began to sing.
“Hello you watchers, Hello you users Hello you fans and such. I’m Matter-Eater Lad And this kind of stuff is bad
Stories of action, Risk and adventure Those don’t upset us (much) But what really earns our scorn Is this stupid Legion porn”
Then he got up and started tap-dancing.
*********
The rec room was filled with the sounds of Legionnaires’ laughter.
“How did you do that, Brainy?” asked one Lu.
“Yeah, spill!” insisted the other.
“Very well,” began the green-skinned scientist. “I had to get some recording equipment from my lab to capture Tenzil’s movements, but other than trying to keep him on track, it was all pretty simple. All of these fan-holos are coded independently and then uploaded to a central site for running. But they all use similar elements. It was child’s play to break into the code and determine how it runs, and just as easy to create a routine of my own and place it in a hidden file on the site proper. That routine waits for anyone to activate one of the simulations, and then searches its code. If looks for certain element names in the code, and certain dialogue in the audio portion – words I can’t repeat in mixed company, or any company, really..”
“Try us, “said Tenzil.
“I think not. As I was saying, it looks for these items, and if it finds them, it immediately freezes the holo in place and the Tenzil sequence is run over the offending simulation. I could have just erased everything, I suppose, but that wouldn’t have made as clear a point.”
A buzzing sound came from Tenzil’s wrist communicator. “I’ll be right back, guys. I’ve gotta take this,” he said, leaving the room.
“Good thing you had all that holo stuff already,” said Chuck.
“Do you think this will stop them for good?” asked Kara.
Brainy shook his head. “I’m afraid not. If the site’s owner knows what he’s doing, which is likely, my routine won’t last more than a few days at most. We can’t really shut them down. But we can make them aware of our displeasure.”
“Without it being officially traced back to us, “said a Lu. Brainy nodded.
“Guess who that was,” said a returning Tenzil.
“Your agent?” guessed Chuck.
“No, it was my agent. And he wants to meet with me tomorrow! This is it! I’m on my way!”
“That was a bit sudden, don’t you think?” asked a Lu.
“More like overdue,” replied Tenzil. “But come to think of it, he did ask if I knew how to dance.”
“Well, I’m glad that’s settled,” said Kara. “But I really should be getting home now.”
“Already?” said Brainy. “I was hoping we could….spend more time together this time.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I have to get ready for school tomorrow. I’ll…I’ll be back as soon as I can.
“Sure. Sure, I understand.”
“Thank you for everything.”
“It was my pleasure.”
One of the Lus cleared her throat. “Well, we should get the others together so she can say goodbye to everybody. Are you guys coming?”
“Sure,” said Chuck.
“Sure,” said Tenzil. “I can tell everybody the good news!”
“I’ll be along in a few minutes,” said Brainy.
“Ok,” replied Lu, as she and Lu herded the others out the rec room door. “We’ll be outside.”
“Fine.”
The door closed behind them, and Brainy allowed himself a sigh. He walked to the simulator and sat down at the terminal. He pulled a disc from his pocket, and stared at it for a moment. Then he placed it in the simulator’s drive, and when prompted, chose “Play”.
They walked along the shore, the two of them. Alone.
“Oh, look, Querl! Both moons are full tonight. They’re beautiful!”
“Yes, they are. But not as beautiful as you, Kara.”
“I wish it could be like this forever.”
“It could be.” He took her in his arms. “Stay here, in the future. Stay with me.”
She looked into his eyes. “I will.”
“I’ll stay with you. Forever. Querl, I..”
Brainiac 5 ripped the disc from the drive, aborting the sequence. He threw the disc to the floor, stamping on it until it lay in pieces.
Then he stood up, straightened out his uniform, and went outside to say goodbye.
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Can't wait to see more.
