Glad you liked M'Onel's entry. I had a hard time with him - I didn't want to delve into the whole Valor thing again, since it's been explored already in the Postboot (Legionnaires 56, for instance). I preferred to focus on his impact on his friends.
The plan Gigi and Shvaughn are working on will likely be revisited again in passing later on I already know which character I'll likely have for that.
How long had it been since she’d been left powerless? Two years? Three? More than one, definitely. It had been just before the Legionnaires were lost.
Time seemed to swim around her, now. It wasn’t an illusion, nor was it meaningless. However, it did only have as much meaning for her as she allowed it to have.
She walked along her domain, the walls covered with images of her favorite moments in her history. The time she stopped the shapeshifter. Other times she had wielded power.
She paused, coming across a panel that depicted her first true brush with the 30th Century.
The time she’d met XS. The speedster had been a good friend to her. Kinetix, Monstress, Saturn Girl had also been friends, but XS was the best of them.
The screens shifted, trigged by her will and her memories. Flashes of XS’ best moments were shown – rescuing the rest of the Legion from a bomb; the first activation of her powers; fighting to save Xanthu from Robotica.
Many quieter moments appeared as well. XS laughing with her teammates and friends. XS being there for them in times of need.
What had happened to her? She hadn’t looked in on her in a while. She waved a hand, and the wall shifted to a view of another 30th Century, in another reality. XS was sitting peacefully, finishing a mosaic. Curious.
She didn’t belong there, of course. No, none of the Legionnaires belonged where they were now. They should be here.
She let the screens shift again, glancing through each of them. She saw the final moments of Monstress. Element Lad. Leviathan. Kinetix; though her magic had been absorbed, her soul was free. Gates was lost now, but would be found again soon.
Perhaps she should simply reach through time and return them all to the present. She could destroy the new reality XS had found herself in, and pluck her free to come home. It would be a simple matter to release entropy into that world.
She raised her hand, then stopped. What was it XS had told her? “You’re still a hero, no matter what. Your choices make you even more of a hero than your abilities ever did.”
That was a good point. She could destroy that reality... but she could choose not to, and spare the lives of everyone in it. There was no NEED to kill them all.
She would let events play out as they would.
In any case, XS’ ultimate role was yet to be unveiled. So she would wait. For it would come… in time.
She turned away, letting the screens melt before her. She should return, for now.
She walked off, leaving the era of entropy for one of life.
Lori Morning woke up to a licking. “Proty, cut it out!” She said with a laugh. “Hey, I had this weird dream… I was like, watching holos of all the lost Legionnaires. Especially XS.” She grabbed Proty, who taken the form of a Shih Tzu, and held him tight. “You know, I miss them all, but I think I miss Jenni most. She was the one who was coolest about me being a kid compared to them. After I lost the Dial, she really talked to me like an adult.”
She sighed, looking out her window. Stars shone faintly in the distance. She missed having powers too; sometimes she wished things could go back to the way they were! She realized now she was lucky that Ra’s al Ghul had left her alone when he’d impersonated McCauley.
She was grateful for a lot of things now, but they were almost all gone.
Well, nothing to do about it now. What had Mr. Latham told her? “Instead of crying over spilt milk, clean it up…” Maybe her dreams were just a way of telling her she should have appreciated what she had more, when it was still there.
It was good to be able to see things so clearly, though.
Lori jumped out of bed and began to get dressed. She would work hard again today; she owed them that much.
“Matriarch Enkenet? Would you like some rainbowbird?” Enkenet looked up to see a young Kwai enter with fresh meat in his arms.
“Thank you, Ramses. I shall join you for your meal later. Right now, though, I need to find my path.”
Ramses exited with a bow, while Enkenet returned to her troubles.
Like most leaders who love their people and have the luck to sit at a time of great change, was deeply troubled. Recent events and their future developments were making it harder and harder to be sure of their path.
It was troubling not because the path of the Kwai was changing; they were nomads, but they were used to change. It was troubling because, for the first time in a while, Enkenet was not certain if they were taking the right paths. This hadn’t happened since she was but a child.
Some outsiders thought that path-finding merely meant closing your eyes and letting your instincts guide you. Yet a skilled path-finder did not trust instinct alone, for such was the way of disaster. Skill had to be honed and sharpened. The best path for a certain destination had to be chosen; for that matter, the best destination among many had to be selected too.
She had to decide soon – to what destination would she lead the Kwai? There were many suggestions, proposed by many individuals, but none of them seemed suitable for the Kwai as a whole.
She buried the urge to simply let each follow his or her own path. That was a weak leader’s decision. Or was it?
She had let Shikari follow the urges that burned bright in her blood – the warrior’s urge. When the Progenitor’s rule collapsed, whispers spread that it had been the Legion’s doing. When the Legion themselves came, those whispers turned into praises. When the Legion again stopped the Credo, those praises became songs and legend. Shikari had accomplished a great deal for the Kwai without causing them any harm, and more importantly - she had been truly happy.
Shikari had become a hero to many of the young. Enkenet was pleased with that. What displeased her was how many of the young confused the heroism of being a protector with the disgrace of vengeance. More of them were using their skins to hunt – and a few lost ones were still active with the remnants of the Credo. Unlike with Shikari's path, this path could only lead to disaster.
Perhaps what was needed was a way to guide the paths of these young ones. Much like with catching passing lights – a path-finder had to gently guide one into orbit. To do so, one had to allow oneself to be caught up in its path. Forcing it would not work. The young would no longer be satisfied to act as mere guides. They had to feel more involved in the destiny of the Kwai.
Perhaps she would benefit from discussions with another leader who had guided the young of his own society...
She quickly looked through the Omnicom that Shikari had given her, and left a message with RJ Brande. Thankfully, she was becoming adept with such things.
And then, she went to dinner. To enjoy the spoils of the young lone stars who had turned into hunters. She smiled a little as she remembered how good rainbowbird could taste.
posted
Matriarch Enkenet was very well thought out. you really get her sense of leadership...but i will say i would have thought she'd be a little more torn... but we didn't see much of her so this could be very true to her... I'll have to reread those issues.
i loved Lori's duality and how you captured her friendship with XS.
i wish we knew what this ultimate destiny for XS was though...
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posted
Thanks, Omni. I was struggling with the new "path" as well. I reread Legion 5, and got the sense that Enkenet was willing to tread new paths BUT she didn't want the Kwai involved in any violence. That is, she'd be OK with trying new things as long as the Kwai didn't turn into aggressors.
I didn't want her to be too torn since this has been brewing since before Legion 5, but looking back I could have captured that better. I was trying to make it so Enkenet had been thinking about it for a while. I've gone back and made a few edits for the Shikari post - hope it's a bit better now
Re Lori, thanks! It's quite a challenge, since the Legionnaires aren't available. I can't let the characters interact with one another.
re XS' ultimate destiny... i'm not sure, either. I have some ideas, which I'll bring up via PM
The figure tensed her muscles, peering down the hallway. The coast was clear. She hurried, footsteps muffled by the technology in her costume. The technology also allowed her to blend into her surroundings, though it was certainly nothing like true invisibility. Still, she was skilled enough for it to be a huge advantage.
She came to an intersection. She crouched silently, waiting for the guard drones to pass. She’d memorized their patterns from footage she’d hacked into earlier. 3… 2… 1… and as predicted, a drone floated past. She had 3 seconds before the next drone.
She pulled herself up to the ceiling. As a child would crawl across a set of monkey bars, she made her way across to the door housing her prize - a replica of the Legion symbol that was indestructible as inertron yet light as a feather. Said to have been created by Element Lad, it glowed with a rainbow of colors.
She attached a device that would disable the alarms, and picked the lock of the door. As it slid open, she took in the glow of the sculpture for just a second before reminding herself to focus on the job. She sprayed the area before her with a gas and watched as an array of lasers appeared before her.
Her hair snaked through the web and reached the switch at the far end. With the sensors off, she made her way calmly to the treasure.
She was out of the area in another 15 minutes. The whole thing had taken less than an hour.
Standing outside, she took off her mask. “Well? Do I make it in?”
“We’ll know tomorrow, after we have the active membership vote. You’ll be getting my vote, though,” said the yellow-skinned girl. “We could really use your skills in espionage on the team. It’s a major hole we have to fill right now.”
“I am curious, though,” said the boy in the red jacket. “With your skill, you could always hire yourself out as a security consultant. We pay well, but given your past, I’d have thought you’d go after the bigger credits.”
She shook her head, letting her red hair flow in a wave. “To be honest? That big lug Jo – Ultra Boy – always made me wonder why he joined the Legion and picked Apparition over me. After McCauley tossed me out without so much as a thank you, I realized that I was tired of being completely selfish, and I think Jo was too. If I can take care of myself while helping others at the same time, why not? It does feel good too.”
Nightwind smiled. “That is a pretty good answer, Spider-Girl.”
Sussa looked her right in the eye. “Make no mistake. I had a hard life growing up, so I’m not about to become a charitable 100% do-gooder. Maybe I’m not as pure as Apparition was. I can promise you, though, that my morals are in the right place. I may stay only until I get tired of this, but at least I won’t turn to the other team. Fair enough?”
Chuck stuck out his hand. “Fair enough. Thanks for being honest – we’ll consider that when we discuss your application.”
Sussa took it and shook warmly. “Thanks. Now… can you point me to the memorial room? I’d like to say one last goodbye to Ultra Boy.”
“Because even though I won’t admit it, she thought, he still did break my heart. But he also showed me the path to a better life. If I had been smart enough, I would have followed him earlier.
She followed Nightwind and Chuck Taine silently into the building. The past was the past, but she would make sure she had a bright future ahead.
She’d also ask if she could keep the sculpture as a souvenir. Hey, it didn’t hurt to ask right?
posted
absolutely loved how you wrote Spider Girl! ;sniff sniff: LOVED it!! her tribute to Ultra Boy is absolutely spot on!
From: Hayward, CA | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
Aww thanks Supes I find Spider Girl a cool character, especially how she was written 5 Years Later. It seemed like a natural development for Sussa.
Titans Idol - vote for your favorite Titans members!
From: Wouldn't you like to know? | Registered: Oct 2003
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Set
There's not a word yet, for old friends who've just met.
posted
Excellent use of Spider-Girl. I like how she's portrayed as competent at her role, even before busting out her super-power, making her kind of a double-threat.
Registered: Aug 2006
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posted
Thank you, Set. I borrowed heavily from the Spider-Girl of 5 Years Later. Frankly, living hair isn't that impressive a power; however, like many other "weaker" Legionnaires, Sussa has earned her stripes.
quote:Originally posted by Set: Excellent use of Spider-Girl. I like how she's portrayed as competent at her role, even before busting out her super-power, making her kind of a double-threat.
i agree with this totally! i think that its actually the best use i've ever seen of her.
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I already know which character I'll likely have for that.
![[XS]](graemlins/XS.gif)
![[Shikari]](graemlins/Shikari.gif)
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
![[Ultra Boy - Post-Boot]](graemlins/UltraBoy1.gif)
